#no banners because I really need to update them

[deoidesign]

Idk who needs to hear this but time and time again isn't over!!!

Webtoon removed the "time and time again will return!!!" Banner and I don't know why, but it's not over!!! There's still another 1/3 of the comic to go! There's a lot more stuff that I'm working on and it'll be coming back soon!

Please be patient with me, I know it's been a long time... But the stuff I'm making is really good and there's a lot of reasons it's taken this long. I promise I want it back more than anyone.

I'm trying to come back around the end of October. I'm doing my best to get everything ready in time, so no promises, but I'm on track to do so! I'm just one person writing and drawing everything, and my editor was fired so I'm not even getting any notes anymore. It's literally just me. I'm doing my best I promise!

[welcometoteyvat]

need people to stop posting leaks untagged right now

[ittybittyfanblog]

Error 404: (Self-Aware!AU, Sylus Edition) – Pt. 3

Summary: A LADS self-aware!AU featuring Sylus and a (now skeptical!) player. That’s it, that’s the plot. A/N: I’ve already outlined the entire thing–now it’s just a matter of writing it, so don’t worry! Even if some chapters take me longer to update, I’m gonna finish this one way or another. Promise. *fingers crossed* Tags: player!reader x sylus, fem!reader x sylus, reader x lads, self-aware!au, strong language, reader thinks she’s losing her marbles because of a certain someone

Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3

“Alright—okay, don’t be stupid,” You chant to yourself as you pace restlessly from the kitchen area of your studio, to the coffee table where you’ve set your phone lying facedown. “Just open the damn thing.” 

You’ve just arrived back at the condo a little past seven PM after a, frankly, productive–if not slightly distracted–day of running errands. You’re home, and you haven’t even got to unpacking the two paper bags (and a box) worth of groceries that were all but thrown carelessly on the kitchen counter, and already, you’re back to stressing over all the weird shit that's been happening lately.

Throughout the afternoon, you tried your hardest to resist the urge to check your phone, especially whenever you see the screen light up–whether it was in your hand or stashed away in your half-zipped fanny pack.

It’s at the most random times too, but always when you act on your unfortunate tendency to monologue your thoughts out loud. 

Sure, it could just be some random push app notifications. Text messages from the few people that hit you up on the weekends–invitations to hang out, maybe. A few newsletters you forgot to unsubscribe from, if you’re unlucky. 

But you think the timing’s far too deliberate to be purely coincidental. 

“Do I get a dozen eggs or just half? What do I even need a dozen for?” (Phone vibrates)

“Oh, hey, Indomie’s on sale if you buy in bulk. How much for a box?” (Screen flashes. Twice.)

“Who the hell is holding up the line, damn–oh, it’s an old lady. Better hurry the fuck up, grandma.” (Screen flashes) “...Sorry! I didn’t mean that.” 

“Ughhh… my tummy hurty…” (Phone vibrates) “What—” 

“Everything’s perfectly normal. Just your average, sunny Saturday! You are an independent, capable adult… who’s fucking losing it.” (Screen flashes–after a minute interval) 

Of course, you have an inkling as to what’s–or who’s–blowing your phone up; in fact, he’s never left your mind since this morning.

So presently, you’re in the middle of having a small existential crisis over what that means, for you and your sanity. No big deal. 

You puff out your cheeks for a couple of seconds before letting out a deep breath. Don’t be a pussy. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation to all of this. You’re–you’re not crazy. 

Landing heavily down in front of the low table, you finally grab your phone, hand shaking with the teensiest amount of trepidation. Not giving yourself any more time to think and second-guess, you flip it over, switching it back to Ring mode as you swipe up to see—

—a barrage of notifications; one popping up after another. 

Some of them are what you’ve expected: plain, old push notifications from banking apps, others from varying socials. There’s one from your mom. A reminder to email her the flight tickets you still haven’t gotten around to booking yet. 

And. Six banner notifications from the game. From… from–him. It’s something you’ve already braced yourself for. It doesn’t prepare you, however, for what they actually said. 

A knot grows in your chest, spreading rapidly like slithering twine as your mind tries, and somewhat fails, to make sense of what your eyes are seeing. 

Grab a dozen, sweetie. It won’t add much to the total cost, and you need that protein every morning. Cereal’s not gonna cut it. 

You really ought to lessen your sodium intake, kitten. (and) Do NOT get the box. Stop. 

Haha. A feisty one, aren’t you? 

Mmm, poor baby.

I– we can talk about this later when you get home.

Each notification contains a completely unique dialogue you’ve never seen before. A play-by-play commentary specifically in response to you— to your personal remarks from earlier, spoken out loud— that there is absolutely no way anyone could still pass it off as simply being system-generated. 

A faint ringing echoes in your ears as you slowly draw back, putting some distance between the onslaught of text and… you. You can’t seem to tear your gaze away from the screen, though. Even if the back of your head bumps against the seat edge of the sofa behind you from how far you’ve already leaned back. 

Blinking in stunned silence, the only thing you could croak out is a strained “what the fuuuck.” 

... Ping!

Still mustering the courage to face me? Don’t keep me in suspense, darling. 

The sudden message jolts you back to reality. You suck in a deep breath.

… Despite everything, you can’t help but find his nonchalant response to your gradual spiral into hysterics–because he knows–a little amusing. Also rude. But mostly funny. 

(It’s also probably just your brain’s last-ditch effort to find some semblance of control, but whatever.)

At this point, you know that you’re merely delaying the inevitable. Swallowing, you press on one of Sylus’ messages and it immediately boots up the game. 

Instead of soothing your nerves like it usually does, the orchestral background music from the loading screen puts you more on edge; your anxiety builds up to a crescendo, harmonious to the heralding of what you know will undoubtedly change the trajectory of your life. 

Dramatic, but true. 

48%... 82%... 98%...

There’s a hollow drop in your stomach when the screen–finally–reveals the familiar sight of the café. The golden ambient light enters your field of vision for a split second before your eyes flit reflexively to the man standing in the middle of the screen, whose presence commandeered your full attention.

He’s wearing his motorcycle jacket–the black one with the red and white thorn(?) accents, paired along the pair of leather pants with the iconic double zipper. Aside from the black zircon studs, he’s not wearing anything out of the ordinary. Nothing is looking out of the ordinary, actually. 

Holding your breath, you wait for the other shoe to drop. 

“Are you waiting for me to say hello? Then–” Sylus muses with an amused lilt to his voice, sauntering closer to flick “my” forehead. There’s a beat before he continues: “That’s my way of saying hello.” 

… Huh? 

That’s—this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. You… you don’t know what you were expecting, but this wasn’t it.

The man in front of you doesn’t look any different from how he usually does; the way that his… character animation (Should you call it that? It doesn’t seem right, given the circumstance, but you don’t know how best to describe anything anymore) flows is so–-so infuriatingly… normal. As if it’s just like any other day that you’ve logged in the game. 

Where did the sentience go? Why is he reciting lines he’s programmed to say? None of it adds up.

Your mouth tries to form words, but nothing comes out. With wide eyes, you helplessly gape at him. Speechless. For a moment, you feel like you’ve actually gone mad. 

A small “what’s happening?” slips past your lips. Your eyes dart across his face, trying to analyze every microexpression, any hint of sentience on him–in his eyes, in his movements. 

You find none. 

Mechanically, you exit the game.

“What the actual fuck?” You whisper-shout at nothing in particular, and maybe to the biggest cause of your current disconcertion; one who you thought… Who you were sure was—

-

-

Fuck it. It’s time to put your detective skills to work.

[peachtea-and-paint]

much needed distraction

modern! college ellie williams x reader

your girlfriend has been busy with midterms all week, and you've been missing much more than her company...

cw: 18+ MDNI! established relationship, masturbation, fingering, *oral sex r! and e! receiving, strap, dom!Ellie, sub!reader, breeding kink, dacryphilia if you squint, degradation, aftercare* (*part 2 will feature the strikethrough bits)

AN: This is my very first fic, so please be honest and kind! This is a WIP, so I will be updating w/ part 2 soon if this does well <3

Ellie rubbed the bridge of her nose, leaning back in the chair as far away from her laptop as she could. The lines of text began to blur together, the bright light starting to stab into her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t write the rest of this goddamn essay. She picked up her phone from the desk, desperate for a distraction. Behind the bolded 2:28 AM was a picture of you laughing in her arms, wearing sunglasses and Ellie’s favorite green sundress that flaunted your curves and was featured in some of her most favorite- yet less than… shareable… memories.

She scrolled through a sea of notifications, having put her phone on silent to try to focus on the essay that was kicking her ass, when her eyes paused on your name. She clicked on the notification banner.

Her heart jumped into her throat. You had sent 11 messages, all unread. Hopefully not time sensitive, she prayed silently. The first text read, “Hey you up?”. She quickly relaxed, smirking. Ellie knew exactly what you wanted, without having to read the other messages. That was something she loved about you: you were always so easy to read. She continued down, seeing an increasingly needy string of texts pile up.

1:30 AM        hey you up?

1:41 AM        baby pleeeeeease i’m so bored

1:48 AM        girl please, i need you

1:49 AM        like… in a biblical way

1:52 AM        ellie baby, i miss you

1:57 AM        sure i can’t tempt you?

1:57 AM        *picture attached*

Her eyes widened, bringing the phone closer to her face. It was needy all right. Ellie’s favorite sight, your face, was not in this particular photo. But she was not sad, as her second favorite sight, your breasts, were. A black lacy bra was covering almost none of you, allowing for Ellie’s eyes to lovingly caress the curves of your chest. Her eyes lingered on dip of your collarbone, remembering the countless hickies left nearby because she loved the soft gasps in her ear whenever she nibbled the sensitive skin.

Warmth started to pool between her legs. A second photo revealed that you were wearing a matching set. Ellie had probably bought this one for you, but to be honest she couldn’t really remember. The ones she would buy you were either ripped or on the floor so fast that she could never really get used to one set.

The third and fourth photos didn’t even gain Ellie’s attention. You seemed to have taken off everything by 2:10 AM, but by this point all she could focus on was the video sitting tantalizingly at the bottom of the text thread. Her hands scrambled for the headphones she left by her laptop, popping them in her ears and pushing play on the video the second the Bluetooth could connect.

A giggle, quickly followed by a quiet, breathy moan filled her ears. Ellie listened intently, pressing her legs closer together. The video was black; you had only sent the audio, knowing without a doubt it would drive Ellie even crazier since she couldn’t see what you were doing. No, she couldn’t see anything… which made every desperate little sound coming out of her headphones all the more intoxicating. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut, easily conjuring up an image to go along with your pretty little sounds.

You started off slow, in Ellie’s mind, your free hand caressing over your breasts first, pausing over the nipple to tease and play with, then dragging your fingers further down. A sharp inhale: you ghost your cold fingertips over the searing skin of your stomach, leaving a trail of goosebumps. You moan louder then, and Ellie imagined a finger brushing just underneath the waistband of the black lace. A small snap confirms this. Fingers stroke lower and lower, rubbing directly over your clit, eliciting more than a few curses out of your mouth. You teased yourself endlessly, this much Ellie knew for certain. You could never seem to get enough when Ellie teased you just to the edge, always begging for more despite the fat tears rolling down your cheeks. F-fuuuck, Ellie cursed in her head. The thought of you crying for her strap made Ellie as breathless as you were in the audio.

Gasps, moans, and low whispers of how much you needed her to come over right this second left Ellie dazed. So dazed, in fact, that she didn’t realize the video had finished a while ago. Her eyes shot open, mental images disappearing and replaced with the bright fluorescent computer screen glaring back at her. She removed the hand from the jeans she didn’t even remember unbuttoning. Somehow, despite the distance, Ellie could practically taste the heady scent of sex in the air, could feel the way your body arched through the phone. She suddenly remembered where she was and scanned the room, embarrassed that she could be caught by her roommate in such a precarious position as getting off in the living room from her girlfriend’s video. Haphazardly wiping her fingers on the black denim of her jeans, and satisfied that the room was completely roommate free (they were on vacation but old habits die hard), Ellie turned her attention back to her phone. She wondered for a moment if she could just listen to it again in the privacy of her room, but that thought left the instant she saw the time stamp.

5 minutes ago. Shit, you only sent this 5 minutes ago. Ellie’s heart started to pound. Her thumbs furiously typed a response and hit send.

Ellie 2:31 AM           Hey baby u still need me in a biblical way?

The three dots popped up almost instantly. Ellie could feel her boxers grow wetter by the second, the fabric clinging to her at the fucking thought of seeing her fantasy come to life. The three dots disappeared, and her fingers itched to send a second question. But she didn’t; after all, this was Ellie ‘Ego’ Williams. She never double texted, not even when her life- or her sanity- depended on it.

After what seemed like an hour (10 seconds), a blue bubble graced her phone screen. Ellie shot up, tripping over her feet to grab her jacket and bookbag. She shoved her converse on without even doing the laces and ran out the door. The normal 15-minute drive through quiet suburban neighborhoods became a 6-minute drive in a grand prix, blasting through every stop sign and practically drifting through roundabouts. Ellie pulled up to your apartment complex, miraculously remembering to lock the car before fumbling with her keys at the front door. She slid her copy of the key into the lock and burst into the door. Happily, you had no roommates, so Ellie didn’t have to worry about being loud. In any way.

She kicked off her shoes and placed her keys on the counter, but the adrenaline began to settle as she took in the stillness of the room. No sign of my girlfriend, she noted. The last photo you sent had clearly shown you sprawled on the couch, so the empty living room was strange. Curiosity piqued, Ellie slowly padded into the kitchen listening intently for anything that would give away your location.

Silence.

Ellie moved towards the hallway, getting ready to call out your name. The adrenaline and anticipation mixed together were coursing through her, setting her even more on edge. She passed the first door without a thought. Roommate’s room is always off limits, you weren’t that freaky.

(A/N: y’all don’t have sex in other people’s rooms/beds, it’s weird and violates SO many boundaries)

A sound whispered from down the hall, stopping Ellie in her tracks.

“…”

She moved forward wordlessly, inching towards the last door. Your door.

Another soft rustle, followed by a more distinguishable sigh reached her ears, sending a delicious shiver down her spine. Another moan, this one louder, spurred Ellie on. You were touching yourself, she thought, even though I was already on my way… Soft light filled the hallway as Ellie nudged the door open quietly, where her eyes settled on the object of her search: you.

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

You had had a very long day, and the absence of your girlfriend during her midterms could only be endured for so long. The worst period cramps of your life had stopped you and Ellie from being intimate for a while, so the timing of her being busy for a week with essays just happened to coincide with the most horny ovulation phase you’d had… ever. You were feral, having to take more than one bathroom break during work shifts to survive. You were having daydreams, starting to fantasize about Ellie taking you in the breakroom of the café you worked at. Bending you over the back counter and eating you out from behind. Fucking her strap into you as you tried and failed to do the dishes. Her staring down at you as you sat on your heels, gazing with heavy-lidded eyes as she fucked into the back of your throat.

No wonder you couldn’t get anything done today.

So when you had finally made it home, you tried to unwind by half-heartedly watching a movie on the couch. Unfortunately for you, the show you picked had a sex scene 20 minutes in that yanked you right back into lusting after your absentee girlfriend. You sent Ellie text after text, trying to nudge her into coming over. But by the 4th photo with no response, you begrudgingly took matters into your own hands.

You meandered (albeit naked) to your bedroom and rummaged in your dresser for your favorite toy. Plopping down on your bed and getting comfortable, you shut your eyes and started to conjure up the work fantasy from earlier.

A desperate thought crossed your mind, and you reached for your phone, pressing record before you could pause and regret. Moaning as needily and enticingly as you could (though it wasn’t that hard considering how sensitive you were), you sent the audio.

No sooner had you started to touch yourself again when a notification alerted you. Your eyes widened with giddy anticipation as Ellie messaged you. You confirmed that you were in fact still dying of need-to-get-railed-itis and eagerly awaited an “omw” text, but it never came. Maybe she’ll call? you thought, but the idea of waiting was just too much. Your thighs ached and underwear was already off.

Impatient fingers slipped down your curves, feeling your own skin prickle with goosebumps as you teased around your stomach and onto your inner thigh. You brushed against your clit, seeing if you were still as sensitive as you were a minute ago… You were. You gathered wetness on your fingers and then began to just lightly ghost around your pussy. Soft sighs escaped your lips as you pushed a finger in, moans growing louder as you slipped deeper into yourself and your fantasy. In your mind, Ellie had just slipped her strap inside you, as you begged her to go deeper. A particularly good stroke of your fingers made you gasp, and you begged fantasy Ellie to fuck you just like that.

A chuckle from across the room made your eyes shoot open. As you blinked away the fantasy and lust, the real Ellie stood before you; leaning across your doorway with the most irritating smirk you had come to know and love.

(they fuck, the end lol)

(jk, part 2 will get down to business in great detail. comments are appreciated)

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 27, Unhinged - Pt. 8

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, violence, voyerism, coercive sex, manipulation, Pocket reaching her Ultimate Bitch Form.

Word Count: 1.5k

Previously On...: Carthage has been spying on you and manipulating both you and Bucky from Day One.

A/N: THE FIRST TIME DIDN'T COUNT, GUYS!

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Sadly, tag list is closed; Tumblr will not let me add anyone new. If you want to be notified when I update, please Follow me for Notifications!) @jmeelee @cazellen @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @blackhawkfanatic @buckybarnessimpp @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff @angelbabyyy99 @keylimebeag @maybefoxysouls @vicmc624 @j23r23 @wintercrows @crist1216 @cjand10 @pattiemac1@les-sel @dottirose @winterslove1917 @harperkenobi @ivet4 @casey1-2007 @mrsevans90 @steeph-aniie @bean-bean2000 @beanbagbitch @peachiestevie @wintrsoldrluvr @shadowzena43

Tumblr will not let me directly tag the following: @marcswife21 @erelierraceala @jupiter-107 @doublejeon @hiqhkey @unaxv @brookeleclerc

“She was just toying with you, Jamie, because she could. She doesn’t respect you. Do you honestly think she would pick you over Steve Rogers? Captain Fucking America? Especially with all the pain you’ve caused? The lives you’ve ended? Come on, Jamie, don’t be dumb.” Video Jade caressed Bucky’s shoulders.

Bucky’s face fell, and you knew she’d hit him where it hurt him the most.

Jade sat back on her haunches on the mattress. “Don’t be stupid, Jamie,” she reiterated. “Do you really think she’d want someone like you, who can’t even control their cock in a fight, when she could have America’s Golden Dick? I bet they laugh at you, how easy it is for them to get away with it, right under your nose. You think it’s just a coincidence that, as soon as you're out of the country, she’s seen by all of New York’s elite getting cozy with your best friend? The one person you asked her to stay away from? She was just waiting for you to get out of the picture so she can show her real boyfriend off to the public.”

You watched as Bucky’s entire body clenched, his face tightening in anger. “You said you wanted to get back at her,” Jade urged, putting her hands back on Bucky’s body. “To punish her for what she did. So punish her, Jamie. Use me. Use me to make her hurt the way she made you hurt. Don’t let her play you for a fool.” You saw Bucky struggle, at war with himself, but you could see the anger pulse through him, and you knew that, with this snake whispering in his ear, there was no way he could have come to any other conclusion than that you had betrayed him. You almost felt sorry for him– he didn’t have a chance.

“Come on,” she said, leaning Bucky back so he was lying propped up on the pillows. “You won’t even need to do anything. Let me take care of you, okay? Let Vixen make you feel good.” Bucky scrunched his eyes closed, putting his hands over his face. It was painfully clear he wasn’t an enthusiastic participant, but it still hurt knowing that he had been so angry at you for something you hadn’t done that he was willing to do this.

“We just have to get Little Jamie to come out to play,” Jade teased as she straddled him. Your view was obstructed by her body, but you had no doubt that she was jerking him off in an attempt to get him hard. 

It just… seemed to be taking a really long time. 

“Come on Jamie,” Jade said after a few minutes. “You gotta help me out here. Give me a little something to work with.”

It seemed to finally work after a while, and Jade re-positioned herself as she lined Bucky up with her entrance. You couldn’t watch anymore, so you shut your eyes. It didn’t stop you from hearing the horrible sounds of her moaning as she bounced up and down on his cock, though.

You thought you were going to be sick, but then you heard it, so soft that if you had your eyes open, your senses diluted, you would have missed it. “Pocket,” Bucky moaned. “Fuck, Pocket. Keep going, baby. I’m so sorry, doll. I’m so sorry. I love you so fucking much.”

His moans grew louder. “Pocket,” he cried, “God, baby, I miss you so fucking much!”

You started laughing. It was the fucking weirdest, most uncomfortable position you’d ever found yourself in in your entire life, but you couldn’t help yourself. 

“Oh my god,” you panted, trying to catch your breath as Jade looked down on you in confusion. “That’s the most pathetic thing I have ever seen!”

Jade wrapped a hand roughly around your throat and squeezed threateningly, cutting off your laughter. “What did you say?” she seethed.

You coughed when she’d released your neck and you could breathe again. A few drops of your blood had fallen from your nose to rest on Jade’s wrist. “I said, that’s the most pathetic thing I’ve ever fucking seen.” You jutted your chin toward the phone she still held. “You think that’s proof that he wants you? Oh, honey. You truly are a stupid cunt, aren’t you? He couldn’t even get hard for you without thinking about me. You were a convenient fleshlight– just a hole when I wasn’t available.”

You would have felt monstrous speaking to any other woman like that, truly, but you had to do everything in your power to keep her distracted, to keep her from moving forward with her plan to auction you off to the highest bidder, so that you could buy some time for the calvary to arrive. And besides, Carthage wasn’t just another woman– she was your fucking nemesis, and she deserved every foul word you could throw at her. 

God, you hoped Tony showed up first. The image of him sending Jade through the wall with a repulsor blast was enough to send you into fits of giddy laughter. Then maybe Bruce could toss her around like a ragdoll, the way he had with Loki. You’d pay to see that. You wondered if Carthage had headbutted you hard enough to cause a concussion– you certainly weren’t feeling fully in your right mind.

Jade backhanded you, the force of the blow so hard that your head snapped to the side, leaving you seeing stars. “You’re LYING!” she shouted. Grabbing you by the hair, she hoisted you up, metal chair and all, and slammed your face into the nearest wall. Perhaps she’d rattled a screw loose, because you couldn’t seem to get your laughter under control. “Don’t damage the merchandise, Vixey,” you coughed, spitting out even more blood. “Wouldn’t want to hurt my chances at auction, would you? Bad for business.”

“You fucking bitch!” Jade shouted. She ripped your bindings free from the chair and lifted you up by the throat. “Fuck–” she punched you in the stomach– “the auction!” In the face. “I’m gonna–” In the solar plexus– “fucking kill you–” back to the face– “myself!” Each blow was excruciating, and you were sure you’d heard a rib or two crack under the force of her fist, but still, you kept laughing at her. 

“Poor little fox,” you wheezed through the blood that was pouring down the back of your throat. “All those years wasted, thinking you could ever have a chance with him.” Your head lolled to the side as you tried to look up at her through your rapidly swelling eyelids. “Thinking you were special, that you were made for him, and you can’t even get his dick up. He’s so repulsed by you, he has to imagine being with someone else!”

“Shut up!” Jade screeched. “Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!” She grabbed your left arm in her hands and snapped it. The pain was blinding, sending your vision into a white hot pulses. You screamed, holding the broken appendage to your body, as though that would protect you. You didn’t dare look down at it; knowing you’d be sick at the sight if you did, of your arm dangling uselessly at an unnatural angle. Instead, you curled yourself up into the fetal position, cradling your arm close to your core. 

Jade began pacing the room, tugging at her hair and mumbling to herself. You couldn’t quite make out what she was saying– you only caught snippets of words, like “fucking whore,” and “mine.” The girl had completely lost it, had completely gone off the deep end. Meanwhile, you suspected you were going into shock as you listened to the rat-a-tat-tat of your rapid heartbeat. 

No. You cocked your head, listening. That wasn’t the sound of your heart, beating out of your chest– that was the sound of gunfire echoing through the bowels of the base. You strained your ears. Mixed within the gunshots, you could hear screaming, voices crying out in agony and then cut short, as if their owners suddenly lost access to their breath. 

Through the distant din, you could make out a familiar voice, roaring with rage, and the sound filled your heart up like a balloon. “POCKET!”

You started laughing again.

Jade turned to look at you, her expression furious. 

“I feel sorry for you, Vixen,” you said, grinning like a madwoman. “Me?” she asked you incredulously. “I just snapped your arm like a fucking twig and am going to enjoy the shit out of killing you nice and slowly, and you feel sorry for me?”

You nodded vigorously, gleefully noting that the sound of battle was growing closer. Bucky called for you again, his voice contorted with rage and worry. Jade turned her head toward the sound, noticing it for the first time. “Yup,” you agreed, forcing yourself to stand and face her. You could feel the blood dripping from the corners of your mouth as you smiled from ear to ear. “Seems like my boyfriend’s looking for me, and when he sees what you’ve done, he’s going to kick your fucking ass.”

<- Previous Part / Next Chapter ->

[bludragongal]

hey i didn't want to @ you directly on bluesky but is DotL still staying independent? i ask because i know you've gotten it sorted with hiveworks, but i saw an running art of lyra again, do you still want/need the screenshot(s) of it? or should it just be left alone?

Oh yeah, DotL is remaining fully independent! I'm glad we were able to reach the best possible outcome where they took accountability and circled the wagons to really sort out their issues... but yeah, they shouldn't have any of my material in their promotional items.

CLEAR YOUR BROWSER CACHE AND HISTORY, and THEN see if you are still served the banners/advertisements with Lyra in them. THEN send me a screenshot with a timestamp, the url you saw it on, and what browser you're using.

Hiveworks has already expressed that they should have removed and updated those materials - if they're still in rotation, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and make them aware. But they should address it if they haven't already. They've got a LOT of work to do, though, and I want to give them the space to do it.

THANK YOU! I really appreciate that you're looking out for me. <3

[kifflepiffles]

Festival Skipper

Sam x AFAB (neutral terms) reader

Because I'm a new Sam simp and realised you guys are STARVING

Word count: 5.7k

Content: Praise, softdom Sam, smutty hurt/comfort, and tbh a lot of goofing around because I doubt Sam would be super serious AKJSHD Also because I just never really liked dirty talking that much

I'll edit this post more and post this to A03 later... I'm going to eep, it's past my bedtime

Update: its up on A03! And if you wanted more immersion, heres the playlist I listened to while writing this AKAHSH

Shoutout to @loverboykirstein for letting me use your banner -7-;;

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

Winters in the valley were always calm and slow. Quiet and beautiful, the villagers embraced the icy scenes while waiting for their home to come back to life. 

Calm, slow, quiet, and beautiful were all things that [y/n] had gotten used to over the past year of living on their grandfather’s old farm. A calm environment, a slower life, and quiet, beautiful surroundings had dissolved all of the ailments they lived with on a daily basis in Pine-Messa city. The hopelessness, the burn-out, the anxiety and insatiable exhaustion had been left in their Joja cubicle. 

But winter was different. This was an all-consuming, eerie kind of quiet. you had only started getting fully used to the brand new silence and slow living in the fall. You were far from ready to be plunged head-first into the abyss that is Pelican Town’s winters. There was genuinely nothing to do, and you couldn’t stand it. The Adventurer’s Guild has been your saving grace. It was something to keep you busy. But lately, you have been a bit too busy for comfort.

The usually cheery and social farmer had seemingly gone missing for a few days. The guild has given you a quest that they thought you were ready for, but you proved to be in over your head, even if you wouldn’t admit it. 150 slimes needed to be slain by the end of the week. Today was the last day, and you had only dealt with 90. Marlon was annoyed, and had given you a stern talk about the guild policy.

 “These slimes are breeding like rabbits!” He would hiss, “If they head upwards, guess what? The town is fucked, [y/n]. fucked!” His voice grit in the farmer’s skull like sandpaper. Your teeth grinded with rage over Marlon’s thoughtless blame. 

For the first time in days, you had plopped down on your living room couch and unlocked your phone. What seemed like hundreds of notifications flooded in. Missed texts from Abby, from Sam, even from Sebastian. Arching a brow, you scrolled down on the notification block to read more

Rock Eater

[Image]

[image]

[image]

3

Johnnie Gilbert’s lookalike

Where are you?

 I thought you would like the ice festival :(

Dog Boy

[Y/N]!!!

WHERE ARE YOU?? >_<

YOU NEED TO KICK WILLY’S ASS AT FISHING

PLEASE I MADE A BET WITH SEB I CAN’T LOSE

+17

“Fuck,” you whispered to yourself. You had been so caught up in the slime bounty that you completely forgot one of the festivals. It sounded like a fun one, too. It was a tradition older than Pelican Town itself. The festival started as a ritual to ward off winter depression, but it was given the Christmas treatment and now centered around ice carving, fishing and shopping. Abigail even sent a picture of the Gotoran cart merchant’s pig in a little jacket.

With a heavy sigh, you tossed your phone to the other side of the couch and rubbed your face. you’d answer them later. Right now, the last thing you wanted was to explain why you were gone. So why not pretend to be gone for a few more hours? It’s already been days. 

Slumping down against the plush of the couch, [y/n] turned on the new TV you had just bought from Robin, a smart TV in limited stock. You knew you had to grab one while you could; Tech products like that were a bit of a rarity in the valley. They were hard to get unless you wanted to travel to the cities, or pay a ridiculous shipping fee. 

Curling up against the armrest with a blanket, your brain went on autopilot as a streaming service booted so you could watch a comfort show. With your head resting on the armrest like it was a pillow, you found your arms clutching over your torso. Usually a plushy would sit there, but you couldn’t be bothered to get up. You didn’t even notice your blinks slowly becoming longer, filled with tranquility, until…

knockknockknockknockknock

The heavy, yet gentle knocking had made you jump out of your skin. Your eyes darted around as your body tried to come back to life. Hesitantly, you let your legs leave the blanket.

Knockknockknockknock

“Just a sec-!” you called out whilst scurrying to your feet. Oh Yoba, please don’t be Lewis asking for bills or Pam asking for more homemade alcohol. 

You quickly tried to fix your clothes and hair as they walked over to the door. You needed to look somewhat presentable if you wanted to avoid excusing your disappearance. Upon opening the door, A heavy load flew off your shoulders; It was just Sam

“Oh thank fuck,” you huffed. your heart rate slowed and you let your head rest on his shoulder. 

Your friendship was odd. You two were close. Really close. Not to say you weren’t also close to Sebastian and Abby, but this was… different. You were touchy. Everyone but you two acknowledged the tension and hesitance. 

“Hey,” Sam whispered, lazily wrapping a heavy arm around you. . His skin was cold, chilled to the bone from the frigid night. “I left the festival early to check on you. I… haven’t heard from you in days, I was getting worried,”

“Sorry,” you whined, “It's been… rough,” you sighed. A breeze flew by, causing both of you to shudder. “Here, come in, maybe I’ll start something in the kettle,” you invited, Which Sam quickly obliged. 

“Really? That’d be awesome, thank you so much [y/n]! You got any more of that mint hot chocolate? It was sick!” He suggested, closing the door behind him with his foot

“I can do that,” you hummed, grabbing your kettle off the stove and filling it in the sink

A shiver ran through Sam’s bones as removed his snow boots, leaving them at the door and made his way to the couch while you were occupied with the drinks. While sitting down, he rubbed his hands together and sighed into them in a sad attempt to warm them, 

“Um… Where have you been again?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at you as you returned and sat next to him. You paused and took a breath. Did you really want to open these flood gates?

“Marlon,” you finally grumbled, “Adventurer’s guild stuff. Slimes are breeding like crazy, which is odd because they usually don’t start until Spring. They’re starting to infest entire floors and rise closer to the surface. We’ll keep it under control but… Spring might be rough. I might need to cut back on my crop load” you vented. The release made you release tension in your face that you didn’t know you had., Sam’s smile contorted into a look of worry.

“Holy shit, dude. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” you insisted as you rubbed your face with open hands, as if attempting to scrub off the stress and sleep deprivation “Just,, hnnnggff,” You leaned forward, placing Your elbows on your own knees. “Marlon’s been on my ass, dude. Bad,”

“That’s not fair, he was at the festival earlier,”

“He was?” you snapped up with wide eyes

“Yeah! he cheered Willy on for the fishing competition,”

Suddenly, you felt your blood run hot, “That motherfucker,” you hissed. As if timed for this exact moment, the kettle began to whistle, and Sam had tried his best to keep his giggling quiet

In a swift motion, you stood from the couch and made your way over to the kitchen, “I’ll put arsenic in your drink,” you threatened as you opened the cupboard and grabbed two mugs along with the box of powdered drink mix. As grumpy as you were, his laughter was contagious. You needed to bite the inside of your cheek and clench your jaw to avoid giggling with him

“Aww, come ooon. You know you love me,” Sam teased. you rolled your eyes, ignoring the fact he was kind of right

“Please,” you giggled. After a few noises from the kitchen, you returned with two steaming mugs in hand and placed them on the coffee table. you plopped down beside your best friend, a heavy, slow sigh leaving your lips, “That mother fucker… was he seriously there?”

Sam tilted his head and hummed a curt “Hm?” 

“Marlon,” you whined. You shifted in your spot, then leaned your head on his shoulder. Sam’s eyes darted down at you. He had to admit, he felt a bit of pity for you. How could he not?. With a slow breath, he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and nodded

“Yeah. He was. … Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just… ugh, forget it,”you grumbled. You snuggled into your friend’s body, wanting to hide from the rest of the world with him. His jacket had just been washed, but the smell of weed still lingered under the faint scent of detergent. Domesticity was something that you had to admit you craved. It’s been a long time since you loved someone, and out of everyone in the small town, Sam may be your best candidate. You tilted your head up once you decided to stop hiding. Your gaze met his own for just a second before he anxiously looked away. A smirk tugged at your lips. You had to admit, his coyness was cute.

“I really missed you, y’know,” you commented. You kept your head down, but looked up through your eyelashes, a calculated puppy-eye to test the waters. Sam looked back down to you. A small smile joined the pink blush on his face

“Really? I mean, I uh, I really missed you, too,  [y/n]. I… I really did,” He stammered out with an embarrassed grin. Yoba, he was adorable. you snuggled closer, letting your hand rest on his thigh

“I like,, really missed you, Sammy

Sam’s eyes slowly widened as he started to realize what you were implying, “... Did you?” He whispered back, turning his body to face yours more, “...It really was quiet around here without you,”

Then there was silence. His wide, sweet blue eyes met yours, but you were focused on his lips. A precious mauve pink, complemented by the silver hoop filling his single lip piercing. The flesh looked smooth and soft, you couldn’t help but wonder if he had done that on purpose, in hopes you would kiss him one day. A slow blink adjusted your gaze to meet Sam’s eyes.

As if someone had told both of you that now was the moment, both of you leaned in. When your lips met, Sam’s hand moved to cup your cheek, just to feel a bit closer to you as his lips tingled from the contact.

Despite it being brief, the two of them had pulled away from the kiss with beaming grins and flushed faces. 

“... wow,” Sam whispered through shy giggles. How could you not share his laughter? He was so cute. If he had a tail, your drinks would be all over the floor and the mugs would be broken. His pretty eyes seemed to glisten in the light from the television and crackling fireplace, it being the only light in the whole cabin.

With a bright red face, Sam fidgeted with his hands, unsure of what to do next, let alone what he was allowed to do. He was terrified to overstep a boundary and ruin this moment, the kind he would dream of at night and wake up from in a wet spot. 

“Here Sammy, come here,” you whispered, placing your hands on top of his to guide him. his hands landed on your collarbone. You led him downwards, and directed his hands to cup your breasts. His eyes widened and his lips parted, making you giggle in a whisper

“Sam… are you… inexperienced?” you asked, trying to phrase it lightly. Sam swallowed, but seemed mesmerized by the warm, clothed flesh in his hands. He shook his head,

“Not exactly… just… It’s been a while. A long while, And I really like you,” he whispered. His eyes didn’t even twitch off of your body as his hands began to grope. Before you could question him, his eyes finally darted to your face. “Uh,, can I… is it okay if I keep touching you? I.. I want to explore a little bit," he asked. The sentence making its way past his lips was enough to feel himself swell into his jeans, the fit quickly becoming snug on him. With a smug grin, you nodded.

Sam leaned down, pushing you down into the couch. His irises seemed to tremble along with his hands as he took in the view beneath him. He couldn’t help but admire his beloved friend. You were prettier to him than anything his imagination could ever build. His fingertips snuck under your shirt, just to explore the body beneath it. A shiver ran up your spine from the contact, feeling the sensation get stronger and sweeter as his calloused pads ran upwards, then back down and towards the front, running down your ribcage and pausing at the belly button.

 Even though the sight and sensation was blissful, you continued to worry. You continued to worry about the trouble you may be in with the guild. Then you remembered the fun Marlon must’ve had at the festival you unwillingly missed… the fun he stole from you.

A stuttering hum crept up from your throat as Sam’s hands trailed down to your hips. Feeling his thumbs gently trace your hip bones, you gazed down at him 

“Sam?” 

Sam’s hand’s paused and his eyes flickered back up to meet yours.

 “Yeah?” He asked. 

There was silence again. Well, now you had to admit, you were a little embarrassed. But you already had his attention. Your stomach churned and you looked over at the wall to break eye contact.

“... Was he having fun?”

“... huh?”

“Nevermind, nevermind,” you stammered out. Sam sat up a bit,

“[y/n], if you don’t want to this this, I totally–”

“No!” you nearly shouted, making Sam jump, “Sorry,, I… I really want you. Please. Let's keep going,”

“Okay… okay,” Sam mumbled with a nod. 

He lowered his body again, letting his chest land on yours. He planted a kiss on your cheek, then another. He was so sweet…

He let his peppered kisses travel down, to your jaw, then to the side of your neck. His gentle, warm hand landed on your cheek again, and you let yours trail upward on his temple, your fingers tangling his hair

“I just…” You sighed out, staring at the ceiling. Sam stopped what he was doing and lifted his head again. You could’ve sworn a whine left his lips. He stared at you, like a dog waiting for a treat.

“I can’t believe he would do that and not tell me, he stressed me the fuck out all damn week-”

“[Y/N], are you sure you don’t want to pause and talk about this? Because I’m totally cool-”

“No, no, I’m sorry, please keep kissing me,”

Sam hesitated for a moment, but just shook his head and sighed, admitting defeat (and slight disbelief) with a raise of his eyebrows. His shy hands wandered back under the hem of your shirt, and his soft lips landed back on your neck, trailing towards your shoulder. His hands wandered up, his touch lingering on your rib cage until his hands landed on your bare breasts. A perverted smile tugged at his lips as he massaged at them and let his palms flatten against your nipples. A hum rose from our throat, you had to admit it felt good. Especially since it was him. Your hand ran through his hair, yet you continued to stare at the ceiling. You wanted to be immersed so badly, to surrender, but for some reason, you couldn’t make the leap…

“Y’know, I don't think I’d even be so bothered if h—”

“Alright,” Sam interrupted. In a fit of becoming a bit annoyed, he clasped his hand over your mouth and leaned over you. Your eyes grew wide and you quickly shut up. His head leaned down next to yours, his warm breath petting your earlobe, 

“Here’s what we’re gonna do.” 

He adjusted himself so that his weight was supported by his elbows and he raised his other hand: a clenched fist with his pinky finger up.

“Pinky promise me this is what you want. No feeling bad, no “sure why not”. You want this. You want me, truly,”

You were a bit stunned. This was almost uncharacteristic of him. But you had to admit, you kind of liked it. Though without hesitation, you lifted your hand and interlocked your finger with his.

“Okay, good,” He removed his hand from your mouth, using it instead to brush his knuckles against your cheek, “I’m gonna try something, okay? Nod if that’s okay,”

Your cheeks heated up, and you quickly nodded.

“Okay, perfect, awesome,” Sam mumbled to himself. His hand began to trace down your waist again, slowly. “I need you to stop talking for me, okay?” He whispered in your ear before kissing your temple. His finger trailed your hip bone, threatening to dip under your waistband. “I need you to clear your mind, as best you can. I need you to release that tension in your jaw,” 

Slowly, his finger dipped under your waistband, simply caressing the skin underneath,

“And I need you to surrender yourself, and let me make you feel good. Can you do that for me?”

His voice was soothing and loving, gentle and coy. But his words, they were so, so hot. His breath was hot, running down your neck. it made your crotch begin to throb. It made your breathing quicken with anticipation.

“Mhm…” You hummed with a nod, your voice faltering under the situation.

“Good, good,” 

His hand crawled even lower, until it met your lower lips. Despite being excited, he kept it slow. Carefully, he slipped one finger into your lips, then a second one, and spread them apart. 

“You’re… wow… you’re really wet,” He whispered, mostly to himself with wide blue eyes. His fingers explored the new territory a bit, grazing on the labia until his fingertip found itself on your clit. 

Your body spasmed, and a slightly startled gasp left your lips. His teasing drove you mad.

“I know, honey, I know. It’s okay,," He whispered, tilting his head downwards until his breath caressed the shell of your ear. "That’s an outside problem. It’s just you and me in here, baby, Okay?" His whispers echoed within your foggy head, and he began to press loving kisses onto your cheek again. 

He rubbed the thick, calloused pad of his finger over your clit, rubbing back and forth at a painfully slow pace, “Just like that. Good. ... You’re doing so good, sweetpea,” It left his soft lips in a delicate whisper, as if it was a secret for you and you alone.

 You reeled your head towards his. A helpless whine passed your lips and your back arched, revealing just how pent up you let yourself become over these past few weeks. It was a manifestation of how many times you pushed down your feelings for your beloved skater boy. 

He kept it going for a little, letting your body warm up while lewd whimpers and hums echoed into his ear. Such a sweet noise for him, one that made him rock his hips into the couch cushions with a groan 

“You’re so cute, you know that? Especially like this,’ He teased, 

The graceful movements of his hand slowed, leaving you to pout. Though your attitude switched up quickly once you realized he stopped so he could take his shirt off. You sat up, a new wave of excitement rushing over you.

“Lets go to my room,” You suggested in a hushed voice, as if anyone else was around to hear you aside from your pet. Sam dropped his shirt to the floor and smiled, the chain around his neck with his father’s old dog tag jingling as he moved

“Sounds good,” He agreed, “wait, we should try that thing they do in movies, y’know, where they’re trying to kiss and remove their clothes at the same time while going to the bedroom. It’ looks kind of fun”

Ah,There was the idiot Sam you knew and loved.

You couldn’t help but laugh and nod, “Okay, let's try it,”

Sam had become a bit shy again, “Wait, time out,” He muttered before he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, letting the bulge in his navy blue cotton underwear a bit more free, “Sorry, it got tight, It kind of hurt, time in,”

You snorted and covered your mouth with your hand, giving into your fit of giggling,

“What? It did!” Sam tried to defend, before the giggling overcame him too, “I’m sorry dude, I’m just, absolutely packing, y'know? I can’t keep my foot-long contained in these skinny jeans, he’s gotta breathe,” He joked between gasps and laughter, making the both of you erupt

“Okay, okay,” you said in an attempt to calm the situation, “Okay, come here and kiss me pretty boy,” You flirted, making a ‘come closer’ motion with your hand. He obliged and pressed his body to yours, taking your jaw in his hands and letting your lips collide. 

Both of your lips parted, deepening your kiss and allowing the tips of your tongues to meet each other. His hands wandered to the hem of your shirt again, this time pulling it up,

“C’mon, let's try to move a bit,” Sam suggested, shifting backwards while you shifted forward,

“Left Left, right left,, I don’t know my right from left,” Sam softly sung while pulling your shirt over your head, making you giggle more,

“What was that?” You asked,

“A military marching cadence my dad taught me when I was a kid. I just remembered it because this is… a lot harder than they make it look in the movies,” he rambled, the two of you giggled together again. With a grin, sam dropped your shirt to the floor and pecked you on the lips, 

“Maybe I’ll teach you the whole chant later,” He placed his hands on your bare waist, and turned so he could gently push you against your living room wall, “I’m a little busy right now,” 

“It’s a date,” You agreed with a rasp in your voice. You tilted your head to the side, letting Sam begin to nibble at your neck, this time with more intention than his gentle kisses. One hand found its way back to your face, the other found its way back to your breasts to continue his soft squeezing and massaging. He let his teeth sink into your skin, over your collarbone and shoulder. He kissed the bite marks he left, and carefully sucked some, leaving bruises, hickies, and your whimpers in his wake. 

“Sam…” You whined, “Mm,, You’re driving me crazy,,”

“Yeah?” He hummed, leaving one final kiss on your neck, “Come on,” He took your hand in his. His pretty eyes flicked at yours, and he placed a kiss on the back of your hand with a grin before pulling you back towards your room.

Your body collapsed into your mattress as Sam kneeled on the floor beside your bed frame. He began to work his way down, placing kisses between your breasts and down your abdomen. His hands took a firm grip of your hips. With a bit of a haste, he pulled down your pants and took a moment to admire you, your almost naked body with nothing but underwear. A big smile cracked his face

You looked down at him, feeling a little nervous,

“Is everything alright…?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” He assured, his eyes seeming to glow, “I’m just… You’re so pretty,” he whispered. He gazed up at you, his eyes meeting yours as he attempted something new; He grabbed the hem of your underwear in his teeth, and slowly dragged it down your legs.

Yoba… you could feel your hole start throbbing.

‘Heh,, learned that one from a comic Seb showed me,” he admitted a bit bashfully. You put your hand over your mouth to hide your smile and turned your head. Of course he would say that.

He took a second to admire you yet again, but the sight in front of him teased him beyond just gazing,,

He dragged his fingertips up your labia again, stopping once he reached your clit and flicking his eyes up so he can watch you squirm

“Where did we leave off?” He teased, “Something like this… right?” 

He continued his back and forth motion, regaining his confidence as he watched your face contort and heard your restrained moans. He let his pace quicken, and let his other hand begin to tease your hole with another fingertip. 

“Sammy…” You whimpered. Your walls throbbed and clenched around nothing, waiting very impatiently for him to make his move.

“Patience, honey… patience,” He cooed, letting his finger run a small circle over the rim before sinking in. You let out a groan and tilted your head back. Once pushing in to the second knuckle, he began to pull out, push in and pull out, then added a second finger. He leaned his body closer, keeping the pumps of his hand slow and methodical. You gripped at the blanket beneath you and let a small moan pass your lips. He was doing it on purpose

“Sammy… come on…” You whimpered, rocking your hips against his hand. He obliged, allowing his fingers to sink deeper and faster, an upward curl joining the routine as he leaned even closer. He moved his other hand away from your clit, and instead replaced it with his tongue. Soft, shy flicks of the tip of his tongue joined the rhythm of his hand. His masterpiece, and the finishing touch to his symphony was the moaning and mewling that left your chest. 

“Fuck-!” you cried out. Your knees began to tremble around his body, your nails scratched into your forearms and your hips rocked. In a fit of needing something to hold onto, your hands quickly switched to holding his shoulders.

Sam picked up his pace again, the tips of his fingers rubbing your walls and his head bobbing a bit for more movement. The velvety feeling grew stronger and stronger. You dug your nails into his skin, making him groan into your crotch, his voice reverberating into your core. 

“Ugh,, Sam! I’m so… I’m…!” You tried to whine, but the sweet sensation he provided made it hard to speak.

“I know, I know,” He hummed, “Give in, it’s okay,”

You threw your head back, a howl escaping your chest while your thighs vibrated. Your hole spasmed around his fingers as liquid arousal dripped around them, and your clit twitched in his mouth. 

“Fuck! Sammy-!” you whined, followed by one more long groan. He slowed down, helping you ride out the high of your first orgasm in weeks. 

Your body went limp and he leaned back. He extracted his fingers, and noticed how hot his face was. His skin was bright red, his eyes were puffy. And he was ecstatic. 

He crawled up into your bed with you, immediately kissing your face like a puppy,

“That was perfect. Beautiful,” He praised, “You did so good, so good,” He laid on his side, gazing at you while you continued to come down and catch your breath. You turned your head to face him, and a smile tugged at your lips. 

“...Round two?” you asked. Sam’s attention piqued. 

“Really? I figured I would give you an extra minute,” He commented. Not that he was complaining though. He stood up, and his knees cracked from kneeling on the hardwood floor

“Ow, holy shit!” He yelped, more so in shock than in pain. Even after having one of the roughest orgasms of your life, he made you giggle.

“You okay, honey?” you asked through deep breaths and giggles,

“Yeah, holy shit,”

He pulled down the waistband of his undone, sagging jeans. Seeing that your eyes were still on him, he decided to raise his hands beside his head and wiggle his hips in a hula hoop motion, earning a laugh from the both of you. You turned onto your side, watching as he kicked off his jeans and pinched the waistband of his briefs.

He pulled them down, and your eyes nearly popped out of your skull. It wasn’t the foot-long he pretended to have, but at first glance he could’ve maybe had you convinced. What bounced out proved Abby’s speculation of him being well hung. He was thick, and blushed dark red with arousal. 

You crawled back towards your pillows, and he joined you on your bed. 

He leaned over you again, the dog tag around his neck hanging down and laying against the skin of your chest. 

Your legs opened around his hips, and you bit your lip with anticipation. The tip of his penis rubbed on your wet slit, making him puff up his cheeks a bit. He was already so worked up, but didn’t want this to end so fast. He flicked his eyes to yours, and stabled himself on his elbows so his hands could touch your face.

“Don’t worry. I promise I’ll be gentle,” He whispered, “You ready?”

You nodded, and he adjusted his body so he could line up with you and grab your shoulders. He paused for a second, then began to slowly push in. 

both of you gasped. There was a slight, sweet sting with the stretch as he tried his best to keep moving so he could keep the friction going. As you encapsulated him, a groan left his throat. 

“Shit,” He whined, “You’re fucking great, [Y/N]” he mustered out, giving you a rush as he began to pull out, then push back in and begin a steady pace, or at least attempt to. It took everything for him to not fuck the shit out of you, but he knew he could never. You were too precious to him, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt you. 

Your arms hooked under his and you let out a groan. You felt him rocking through your whole body, filling the room with a squelching noise, heavy breathing and the quiet creaks of your bed,

“More?” He asked with a bit of a strain, almost as if he was begging, 

“Please,” You huffed. He picked up his pace, allowing himself to go deeper. In and out, in and out, his tip began to rub against the rough spot inside you, shooting electric pulses through your body. 

“Hnn-! Sam!” you yelped, making his body heat up. “Good,, So good!” You let out, a sad attempt to mimic his praises and sweet nothings that got you so riled up in the first place.

 With a guttural groan, he adjusted himself, attempting to get a better angle and speeding up again. The creaking of your bed gradually turned into a rocking. The heavy breathing gradually turned into a song of pleasure and bliss. The squelching turned into an arrangement of continuous wet friction. 

Your back arched as his tip began to kiss your cervix and massage your favorite spot. Your head reeled back against your pillow as Sam’s tilted down, watching you squirm and writhe worked him up more and more. 

“[Y/N]... I’m… getting really close, [Y/N]” he whimpered, 

“I am too, Sammy,” You mewled. You reached down through what little space there was between the two of you and began to rub on your own clit. It only took a few rubs for your body to spasm and for you to yowl.

You began to see stars as your hole throbbed and convulsed around Sam, turning his thrusts sloppy and rough. It pushed him to the edge as well.

 He whined and moaned out, grabbing tightly onto your upper arms so he could rock himself through his orgasm. Ropes and pearls of hot semen shot out from him into you. 

He slowed down into a stop, this time leaving both of you panting. With a tired groan, he pulled out and let his body ragdoll beside yours. 

“Are you okay, sweetpea?” he asked through heavy breaths. You turned over to face him and nodded,

“Yeah, I’m okay, I’m alright,” you assured, leaning into his touch while he pushed strands of hair out of your face. 

The two of you gazed at each other, taking the other’s fucked-out looks; face red, hair a wreck, eyes glimmering. 

“You did so good, honey,” You hummed, attempting once again to mimic his praises. You planted kisses over his face, making him grin and chuckle with what little energy he had left,

“Come here,” he mumbled, pulling you into his arms so he could snuggle his head into your shoulder. 

“...What are you going to tell your mom?” you asked, using your knuckles to pet his hair,

“I’m sure she’ll understand. She knew I was leaving early to see you. … I’ll probably sleep over though, I really don’t want to deal with that right now. Ugh, I’m so lucky she and my dad like you.”

A smile spread on your face as you allowed yourself to reciprocate his snuggling. Though Sam spoke up again,

“... What are you gonna do about Marlon?”

[project-sekai-facts]

Fes gacha updates

Before I say anything else I'm just gonna say the vast majority of the fes updates are incredibly disappointing, especially if you're F2P. Like seriously if you're F2P don't expect to come out of this post entirely happy. I can be mean to clpl because I'm F2P and this is total bullshit. Anyway.

Starting from the fes gacha on this sunday, Colorful Festival will now be known as Bloom Festival! It also has a newly designed logo as seen in the picture above, complete with flowers in all the unit colors, including Virtual Singer, which pretty much confirms that all 26 characters will be getting 2nd fes cards. The good thing about this confirmation is that unless they fuck with the schedule again and put 3 characters on one banner a few times, this means the story will continue past 6th anniversary, something there'd previously been concerns about. There's only 9 fes banners before 6th anniversary (10 if you include 6th anniversary), but you need 13 banners to cover everyone. So that's really nice news!

More information that we were told on stream, as well as story and gacha lineup predictions can be found below the cut!

Unfortunately we have not yet been told what exactly the differences between colofes and bloomfes are in terms of story. Based on the whole journey to bloom/world bloom (internal name for WLEs) thing, I reckon it could be something like the characters' Fragment SEKAI expanding, like what happened with the Tree SEKAI in Let Your Song Resonate. It would also tie into the plot of WLEs, so it would make a lot of sense. Some other speculation I've seen since March is that they might have entirely new Fragment SEKAI, which I think is entirely plausible due to character development and changes in their personal conflicts, and another was that these could be like bandori's kirafes cards, which focus on relationships. While I think this would be interesting, and makes some sense since prsk does take influence from bandori in some ways due to sharing a parent company (craftegg), I feel like they would've mentioned that.

We do know a lot about the differences between bloomfes and colofes on a meta and gameplay level, and unfortunately this is the not f2p-friendly part.

The main gimmick of bloom festival that differentiates them from colofes is that bloomfes cards will have 2 skills! One skill will apply for the untrained card, and one for the trained card. You can switch them at any time, presumably by flipping the illustration when it's on your deck. There's a catch though. The catch is that to train bloomfes cards, you will need 3 Wish Drops (the items used to level up area items past lvl10) on top of all the regular 4* training materials. All players will be given 3 wish drops for free, but aside from that these are incredibly hard to earn for casual players due to being the most expensive item in the event shop at 50000 tokens per wish drop. Basically the game is forcing you to sacrifice other shop rewards, tier, or spend money. Not that colopale needs it when the game earns millions a month.

(translated graphic from @/pjsekai_eng on Twitter)

The skills are also not the most fairly balanced. That's an understatement actually. You have to be a massive whale to get the max skill on these cards, it is literally impossible for casual players.

The untrained card skills vary between virtual singers and human characters. For vsingers, at max level, they give a 90% score boost, but gain +30% boost for every different unit type on your team (though it only applies to two types max, giving you a total of 150% bonus). This is pretty easy to achieve, so that's good for scoring purposes!

For human characters, you get an 80% base score boost at max skill level. By selecting one other card in your team, you get an additional boost of half of that card's skill increase (eg: if the card selected has a score boost of 100%, the bloomfes score boost will get 50% added to its base 80%, for 130% total). I'm not sure if this card is selected manually or automatically. But nonetheless this is a pretty good skill too!

The issue lies with the trained skill. At max level, it gives a base score boost of 110%, which is pretty good, but the additional boost is scaled by your Character Rank, with +1% score boost per 2 ranks (eg: a player with a CR40 Miku will get a bonus 20% score boost) on top of the 110, for 130% boost total). The issue here is that the absolute max boost you can get require CR100, which is ridiculously hard to get without spending money, and is near impossible to do for multiple characters. In other words, this skill is for your oshi, and you have to be willing to spend a lot or grind a lot for said oshi. And also be lucky enough to even pull your oshi from the gacha. It's incredibly geared towards P2P players and is totally unfair for F2P players. There's also the issue of the fact you need 3 wish drops to even unlock this skill, another thing that is against F2P players.

Anyway, let's move on to something a bit more fun! Who is gonna be fes? Here's an overview of how it's looking right now:

There's three possible ways that the fes cards could be paired up: using the same pairs as colofes, using different but still same-unit pairs, or using mixed unit pairs.

I think the second or third option is more likely. If you wanted to do the first option, it would have to be Honami/Shiho, Haruka/Airi or An/Toya, but there's still chance that An could be on Kohane5, Haruka only very recently had a card (though this has not stopped other characters, and Shiho is quite likely to be on the event.

In terms of alternate same-unit pairs, I think Kanade/Ena and Airi/Shizuku are the most likely. Kanade and Ena are both reward cards on the current Mafuyu event, so it could be a sign that they'll be fes, plus Kanade hasn't had a 4* since February. However, both of them have a lot of 4*s right now, with Niigo having the most in the game overall. Alternatively there's Shizuku and Airi. Airi is the second-most due for a lim out of all the characters, with her last one being released at the end of October last year. Shizuku only very recently got a card, but again this has not been much of an issue in the past, with Minori, Tsukasa, and Emu all getting fes cards very soon after an event where they got 4*s (or an event where they got unit-gacha lims for Tsukasa and Emu).

However if you wanted to go for mixed unit pairings, the most likely options are probably Ichika/Kanade, Honami/Kanade, or Airi/Ena. However if the june event isn't 2-B lims, the Hinomori sisters and Saki/Airi are also options. Ichika hasn't had a 4* since white day, neither has Kanade, and Honami hasn't had one since Rise as One. However, we know they will be getting cards soon, and under the assumption that 2-B lims happen, it seems a bit unfair to give 3/4 of Leoneed lims just before WLE. I don't have an argument against Airi/Ena, it's definitely the most likely out of these options.

However, just for consistency I'm willing to bet that they'll stick with same-unit pairs. In that case, I think either Kanade/Ena or Airi/Shizuku is very likely. Maybe I'm leaning a bit more towards Airi, but only because she's more in need of a lim.

But just to throw one last thing out there: the next update will implement an increased, 25% event bonus for default virtual singers, a bonus that pretty much exclusively applies to fes cards since players are far less likely to use the default vsinger 1*s and 2* on their team. So there's a chance, albeit slim, that they could throw us under the bus with Len/KAITO fes. I still think Kanade/Ena or Airi/Shizuku is more likely.

Anyway, that's all for now. Some of these updates are a bit disappointing but I'm interested to see the cards and read their stories! I'll update this post if we learn any more information.

[fereldanwench]

As of September 2024, most of this information is out of date. Please refer to this post for information on how to join!

So back in March or so, I applied to be a part of the closed beta phase for Tumblr's new community feature rolling out, and my Cyberpunk 2077 virtual photography community was accepted!

(pls don't judge the banner, i had to throw together something really quick for the submission and admins can't update community settings yet 😭)

This is a public community, which means when the feature goes live to everyone, anyone can view it and join without a special invitation. For right now, though, I can only invite 25 people* to be members. I've already invited a few folks who I know love VP, and I'd like to open up 10-12 invitations to the broader community!

*I can request more spaces once I hit the limit, and I'll make an update when those become available.

Shortly after I posted this, our member count was increased to 500, so we have plenty of room for anyone interested!

EXPECTATIONS FOR MEMBERS

You do NOT need to be following me to join.

You do NOT need to be a ~*virtual photography expert*~ to join. Newb or veteran, PC or console, mods or vanilla--Doesn't matter! If you enjoy the artform, you're welcome here!

You DO need to be at least somewhat active on Tumblr. I'd like to invite folks who: - Post at least one new CP77 virtual photography image a week - Have daily reblogs of other CP77 posts (VP, gifs, art, meta, etc) Note: This will not be a permanent requirement as the community feature grows, but since space is limited, I want to ensure the first invitations go to the folks who will make the most of them.

You DO need to be willing to deal with beta phase hiccups and growing pains. This is a new beta feature on Tumblr--We have encountered, and will continue to encounter, Hellsite™️ nonsense, both in terms of technical issues and figuring out how to best use the space. (For example: a part of the reason I've put off sending out a bunch of invitations at once was because, until recently, it was getting people shadow-banned, lmao.)

You DO need to join with a main account--Sideblogs can't join yet. As I understand it, this is something Tumblr wants to change in the future, but right now, invitations can't be sent to sideblogs. You'll have to be comfortable posting and interacting under your main account to join.

HOW TO APPLY

Just send me an ask* telling me you're interested! I'll reply privately when the invitation has been sent. If all the slots are full, I can put folks on a waiting list for when I can get the member count increased.

*Mutuals can DM me, but I think my current settings prevent anyone whomst I don't follow from messaging me, so asks are the best way to go.

[chrrychills]

Hi! I really really love your page! I don’t know if your taking requests but if you are could you please do Aiden and Logan with a s/o that gets fatigue really easily? Like she can barely go on walks with them because she just gets really tired to the point of almost passing out? I 100% understand if you can’t do this. Thanks for reading this though and stay healthy!❤️

am i making you feel sick ?

aiden clark & logan fields « easily fatigued s/o!

aiden clark:

•he won't really understand how bad your fatigue is until you sit down and explain it to him. at first, he just chalks it up to a lack of energy or that you just didn't get enough sleep the night before.

•when he does understand the extent of it, aiden's a lot more doting. it's subtle, but he'll be checking up on you at school, when you're with the group, and in the phantom dimension.

•if you need to take a small nap or need a break from whatever you're doing, he'll be there for you to rest on. if you end up falling asleep on him, he'll tease you about snoring/drooling even if you didn't.

•aiden's adventurous– he likes to do physically taxing/ adrenaline pumping activities. while he won't give that up completely, he'll learn to be content in staying in and having those tranquil moments with you because he knows that's what you need.

•piggyback rides. even when you aren't tired, he'll pick you up and carry you because he thinks it's fun and he lowkey likes taking care of you. he'll pretend to drop you at least 10 times, but he'll stop if you tell him to.

•overall, he's really understanding and accommodating. he's ready to advocate for your comfort when you can't/ won't do so yourself.

logan fields:

•lowkey freaks out the first few times you get super fatigued or close to passing out. he almost cried the first time you passed out with him because he didn't know what to do.

•as it keeps happening, logan starts to learn more about why it happens and what he can do to help. like aiden, he's constantly checking up on you and offering his help whenever you need it.

•logan would much rather stay in and relax than go out, which works great for both of you. most dates consist of baking/cooking or ordering food and watching movies until you fall asleep.

•you spend a lot of time in his grandparents greenhouse with him. you're able to rest/recharge while he tends to the plants, which is a win-win for both of you!

•he probably won't carry you because he's nervous he'll actually drop you, but he'll let you lean on him if you need it.

•honestly, he spends a lot of his free time researching what causes your extreme fatigue and trying to figure out if there's anything he can do to lessen the extremity.

•he worries about you constantly, even after you two have been dating for a while.

lacey's notes:

told u guys i'd update again 🤞

why can't i find any panels of aiden and logan pls ignore how low quality the banner is ok thanks

lowkey send in some tyler asks pls i wanna write him but i have no ideas

not edited because when do i ever

title inspiration:

[breelandwalker]

so, I know you've been vending at a lot of different craft fairs and witch markets for awhile now (sadly, too far away for me to attend!). would you happen to have any tips for someone looking to do the same at their local fairs? thanks!!!!!! ❤️

Sure! To start, brush up on three things - networking, recordkeeping, and people skills. Get an idea of what's going in on your area, talk to the organizers, see what the particulars are for the events. Here are some questions to ask:

What's the venue like? (indoors, outdoors, parking, accessibility)

Do I need to bring my own table and chairs?

Is there electricity / wifi available?

What is the table fee?

When is the event and how long does it run?

Is there a theme or target audience?

Is there advertising being done for the event? (Signal boost!)

Based on the answers you get, you can start putting your stock and setup together.

Do as much as you can WAY ahead of time. If you need to make things, start now. If you need to buy things, give yourself at least a month before an event to make sure everything arrives in time. Get yourself a 6-foot folding table and a comfortable folding chair or camp chair for events where they're not provided by the venue. Sign for Paypal, Venmo, and Cashapp as well as a card payment processing service like Square to give your customers the most payment options possible. And of course, plan to carry some small bills for cash patrons. (You don't need a register or cashbox, a simple bag of appropriate size will do. I literally use a pencil case that says Resting Witch Face. Works great.)

You'll want to get some displays for your merchandise. The type will vary depending on what you have, but it should be simply and sturdy and preferably easy to pack in and out. Vertical visibility is important at these events, so if you can find some kind of stand or tiered display, that will help you get noticed. I'd also suggest some simple clear plastic standups that you can put a printout price list and a basic sign in. A table banner helps people notice your table from afar and you should definitely have business cards to hand out with your shop info and socials. (I use Vistaprint for both.) Decorations are nice, but don't overload the table with them. They should augment your setup, not overwhelm it.

You may also want to get an 8x8 or 10x10 popup canopy and canopy weights if you plan to do outdoor events. Also, GET A COLLAPSIBLE WAGON. Best investment I ever made was a $45 collapsible wagon. It fits in my backseat and makes hauling things in and out of venues SO much easier.

Keep track of everything you spend related to your endeavors, including event fees, supplies, stock, setup items, displays, signage, business cards, and gas and food on the day. Keep those receipts - you can deduct them on your taxes later to offset your earnings. (Because registering as a business can be a pain and comes with fees, but if you don't do it, you may owe money for not collecting sales tax. Put aside some money for that tax bill, just in case.)

Prep your setup and stock the night before an event. Check your merch, charge your card reader (and bring a fully-charged auxiliary power pack and cord, just in case), make any updates to your inventory or pricing that you need to. It really cuts down on stress when you're loading up if you know you've already get everything set. I suggest reusable shopping bags or clear plastic bins to make things easy to haul, plus they can double as storage.

Plan to leave as early as you need to in order to account for traffic and pit stops. Pick an outfit ahead of time so you don't have to dither over clothes. It should be something appropriate for the event and the weather that looks neat and clean and is easy to move around in, including comfortable shoes. (Look to other vendors for examples.)

Make sure you bring water, snacks, and anything you'll need to get through the day, i.e. medicine (headache pills and stomach medicine at minimum), energy drinks, a fan for hot days, an extra layer for cold ones, etc. Get to the venue as early as the organizers allow. The more time you have to park, load in, and set up, the less stressed you'll be. Make sure things are arranged in a way that's accessible and makes sense. Place signage where necessary to explain items and pricing.

GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE THE EVENT BEGINS. TRUST ME.

During the event, you're gonna have to do a LOT of socializing, so prepare for that as best you can. Try to stand if possible when there's a lot of foot traffic so you're more noticeable. Be personable - you don't have to grin constantly, just try to keep a pleasant expression and greet people as they pass, especially if they look in your direction. Don't be afraid to invite passersby over if they pause to check out your setup. Welcome them in, invite them to check out your stuff, and let them know you're happy to answer questions. (And ALL questions are good questions. There are no dumb questions. Even if the question is the dumbest thing you've ever heard or it's the fifteenth time you've been asked that day.) Chat and banter a bit where possible. If you can get people smiling or laughing, they're more likely to stick around and possibly purchase your wares. Make sure as many people as possible take your card when they leave.

Yes, you will be exhausted when the event is over, even if you're a naturally outgoing person, and you'll still have to break everything down, haul it out, load your vehicle, and drive home. If you happen to have somebody who can help you out, that really comes in handy.

In any case, know your own capabilities and personal limits and plan for that when you're deciding where to vend. If a venue is too far away for your comfort or doesn't have what you need or the table fee is too high (be wary of any thing over $75 for a single day event), don't sign up. If an event is too long or too far outside your target audience, don't sign up. If you don't have an appropriate setup or don't have the stock / can't get it in time, don't sign up. If something about the event or the venue or the organizers rubs you the wrong way, DON'T SIGN UP. Talk to other local vendors to get an idea of where to go and what to expect. Most will tell you right away what works, what's good, and what to steer clear of.

This is all just the basics. You'll learn a lot more when you start to vend, as far as what your individual needs are, where to go to find reliable business, and how best to connect with local venues and customers. Keep records of everything you do (spreadsheets are your friend!), network with organizers and other vendors, and practice that sociable game face.

And trust me - if a disorganized introvert with social anxiety and ADHD and absolutely NO sales experience can figure out to do this, I think pretty much anyone has a chance.

Good luck!!!! 😁

[dnptarot]

alright updated pinned post because many changes have been made since this began!

i'm esmé (they/them) , @thighguys , and this is the 2024 collaborative phandom tarot deck!

the header art and banner were both made by the wonderfully talented @wdapteo so go show them some love!!

sign up to illustrate a card here SIGNUPS CLOSED

the deadline for all art submissions is june 5th, as i am aiming to roll this out for dan's birthday on the 11th :)

ARTISTS PLEASE CLICK HERE !!! this links you to a google doc that has all the information on formatting! it also includes .psd and .png files for the frame that will be required for all submissions, so this is very important! if you need help with ANY of this, the amazing @psychicmoth has offered to help! just dm her, she's wonderful and will get you all sorted 😊

when you finish your submissions, please email them to me at castrotophic@gmail.com and tag this blog in your posts so i can reblog and share the love ☺️

here is the twitter account for this event, i would really appreciate follows and retweets so we can spread this around the twitter phandom as well! also, if you post your art on twitter, please @ me so i can retweet it there as well!

when posting about this event on tumblr or on twitter, use the tag #dnptarot

if you don't have twitter, i would love to post your art to the dnptarot account there (with credit of course) so reach out to me for that!

finally, i really do apologize for the craziness of yesterday and the amount of changes that have been made to the requirements! if anything doesn't work for you, please dm me and we can figure it out together! i am learning as i go and i couldn't do it without your guys' amazing help!

taglist: @less-amazing @fagus-sylvatica-beech-hedge @thelibertini @aaaaaaaaa-no @macabremaxx @ghoulish-art-tendencies @wannieswifey @dnp-hateblog @emojackolantern @echioceras @rainytastemakeralpaca @danrifics @leanned-too-hard @an-internet-introvert @littlegreenfrog @jupiter-pls @freshbaked-bread @serendipnpipity @saturnisfallingdown @demonqueenart @mordekaiserswhore @all-star-lester @simplydnp @queenusagiblog @hiwatari @firehologram @feral-teeth @fuckingmeteors @dapg-otmebytheballs @psychicmoth @yonpote @anironsidh @lumintsu @will-kill-god-for-a-baking-video @ayushikuu @y0ubelongwithme @frissoningg @jutsomethoughtsihave @l0zito @obv10usly @hits-dipherent @ardenpng @koyalime @macaronimars @queercatwithhat @hingefreelester @artsyangely @lgbtspaghetti @precalamity @al3xluvsdnp

[slightlymediocree]

☆Update 2:☆

I remembered to take pics today! Sort of. Only after i had put away my machines and stuff...

Here are (most) of my edwardian undergarments

(i am wearing modern clothes under bcs the internet is weird)

Chemise, bustle pad, underbust corset, petticoat

I still need to make a corset cover someday, ive just been using a second thin chemise over all this:

I used these vintage buttons on the cuffs. I wanted some more security but ran out of buttons so i used small snaps:

Also put one on the collar so i could try it on. I think the placket at the back of the blouse is a little ugly and larger than ive seen in extant garments but i forgot to adjust the pattern for my broad shoulders and need the extra width for comfort.

I tried on the blouse and skirt together:

I may need to loosen the waistband of the skirt, the corset is a bit bulkier than i thought itd be. Also the blouse is just stuffed into the skirt and currently only has one closure on at the collar so it looks a little bit disproportionate. The belt/sash will help smooth everything out so i dont look like im drowning in voile.

I might go without the bustle pad during the final shoot because i think it gives too much volume in the waist/hip area for edwardian tastes. Its from an 1890s pattern, so the silhouette is a bit out of date. I should probably try the skirt on without the pad before extending the waistband though.

Im pretty happy with how the sleeves turned out! I have some vintage nottingham lace i bought on etsy from penelope textiles that i was going to add to another project. I think ill sew some different laces together and add it to the cuffs to elongate them a bit. Since this dress is supposed to be from roughly 1905, i want the sleeves to look as they wouldve in that time. The photos ive seen mostly feature large ruffles at the ends of elbow-length sleeves but i dont think ill be likely to wear ruffles very often. Ive also seen tighter cuffs that extend from the elbow to mid-forearm or from the elbow to wrist. I think the elbow-length sleeves are a feature of afternoon dresses but i could be wrong. Maybe that was just day dresses? Not sure.

Im also not sure if i want to get gloves/a hat/parasol for this project. On one hand, it would look really cool for the video. On the other hand, it sounds quite expensive and i doubt ill wear it again. I dont want to buy things i wont use and create waste, theres enough of that in fashion. I have a pink 1900s parasol that i might cover with black fabric, but idk.

There isnt much left to do! Im gonna make a list here so i have it written somewhere:

-sew snaps onto blouse

-finish blouse hem

-attatch lace cuffs

-press pleats on sash/belt

-order synthetic whalebones

-add bones, hook/bars to belt

This is just the sewing tasks though, i need to edit the video clips and record audio. I have no idea how to do any of this. I just downloaded davinci video editor so hopefully i can figure it out. The only experience i have with video making/editing was in 3rd grade on ipads on the imovie app. Ive just been binge watching bernadette banner videos bcs i love her video style.

Any tips/feedback are much appreciated! ♡

Date: 4/22/24

[alexawynters]

Scarlet Whispers pt 5

Gif not mine

A/N: I.... as always, don't know how I feel about this chapter. Anything involving the 'horror' theme is... not my forte.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Female!Reader

Trigger warnings (let me know if I forgot to tag anything): Mentions of past child abuse, ongoing adult child abuse, stalking, horror, dubcon, kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, gaslighting, angst, smut. There will be bits of fluff tho.

Rating: M. Minors DNI

Masterlist with parts 1-4 here

You weren’t quite sure what woke you up later that evening, only that you found yourself staring at the opposite wall, and unable to go back to sleep. It didn’t happen often since coming to live with Wanda, but in the past, a nice warm cup of tea would help put you back to sleep, so you decided that would be your best bet.

As you quietly got out of bed, being careful not to disturb the witch, a light caught the corner of your eye: Wanda's phone. It was connected to the charger and blinking with a new notification. You couldn't help but feel curious. Shortly after arriving here, Wanda had informed you that due to her magic, there was almost no network connectivity available, whether cellular or wifi. None of your gaming devices or cellphone had any network connectivity, so you had to rely on Wanda to update anything for you whenever she left your home. Because of this, you tried not to bother her too much. After all, you didn't really need the most up-to-date patches since you couldn't play online with anyone anyway.

You were confused about why her cellphone had a new notification if none of your devices had network connectivity. You assumed she would have checked her notifications since the last time she went out, which was at least a week ago. Personally, you couldn't stand having any of those little banner notifications and always cleared them as soon as they appeared, even if it was just by swiping them away from the notifications bar without actually reading them. So, the sudden appearance of a new notification on her phone puzzled you. There shouldn’t be any service for it to have come in recently. At least, not if you trusted what Wanda had been telling you...

A heavy, gnawing sensation settled in the pit of your stomach, creating a sense of unease. Undoubtedly, it was a breach of trust. Surely Wanda, of all people, didn't deserve for you to go snooping through her phone. She had always been kind, helpful, and loving towards you. Yet, despite her unwavering support, at the first sign of something that didn't quite add up, you found yourself doubting her. Why didn't you simply ask her instead?

But.. was it the first time? You were having flashbacks to all those moments of deja vu.

Haltingly, you took slow, hesitating steps towards Wanda’s nightstand where her phone lay. You didn’t understand this feeling of dread within you. You wanted to attribute it to your general mistrust of the human race as a whole, but your gut was telling you this was something more. You were in danger, you just didn’t know how or exactly where, but it had to do with the witch who's been sleeping next to you.

Shaky hands picked up her phone, and with your thumb, you pressed the power button to turn on the screen. Unsure of exactly what you would find, and the notification was innocuous enough - a news article regarding some superhero. What caught your attention was the date - it was listed almost ten months since you and Wanda had left your parents’ house. To your knowledge, it’s only been a month or so.

This couldn’t be right. Ten months? No. That wasn’t possible. Did time flow differently here maybe? You wanted so badly to give Wanda the benefit of the doubt, but now that you had opened Pandora’s box, you had to keep going. Hoping you wouldn’t accidentally awaken the witch, you held the phone in front of her face, and it unlocked recognizing her biometrics.

You should probably go to the bathroom to view this without risking waking Wanda up, but your feet refuse to move. Instead, you remained standing there, opening article after article, all of which displayed the same date. Curiosity led you to check the calendar app for today's date, and you had to stifle a gasp as it confirmed what the articles had stated. While you thought it had only been a month or so, Wanda had kept you here for ten months, employing fantasies and electronics to prevent you from questioning her.

Your grip on the phone waivered as you began recalling those moments of déjà vu. As you concentrated and tried to break through the fog of those memories, clarity emerged. You had asked for freedom. Wanda had yelled at you. You had yelled back. Then, Wanda had used her magic to make you fall asleep and erase your memories, essentially starting over and preventing you from realizing how much time was actually passing. How many times had that happened?

Wanda was not keeping you here to help you; she was your captor. The need to escape fought violently against your desire to stay with the woman you had come to adore, even if she had kidnapped and lied to you.

You place the phone back quietly, trying to make your way out of the room as silently as possible. It dawns on you that you should probably pack a bag or something. You have no idea where you are exactly, but if you don't leave now, there's a chance you may never escape.

Quietly, you escape the confines of the house, and head out of the grounds. You aren’t sure exactly where you are going, but you know you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other until you reach civilization. Previously during your numerous strolls across the grounds, you had noticed a vague perimeter, but never had the witch allowed you to go too far. Now you were intent on heading beyond the boundaries she had set, and you were in the dark on what you would find.

Speaking of the dark, even though the moon and stars were visible on this clear night, you had forgotten to grab a flashlight. Or rather, you had elected not to bother looking for one in your hurry to flee. Consequently, the darkness felt more overwhelming than you were accustomed to. You stumbled multiple times, each instance you were praying that you wouldn't accidentally sprain or break something. You weren't sure what was worse - the possibility of facing Wanda's wrath if she should catch you, or dying from the elements if you were to injure yourself and be unable to continue.

As you approached the tree line that marked the boundary Wanda had set, you paused. This was the farthest you had ever been. In truth, you had never even been this close before. Whenever you got within about ten paces, the witch would always give you a gentle warning. Curiosity tickled your thoughts as to what would happen next. Not all of Wanda's magic was mere illusion; she had the power to alter reality itself. What would occur when you crossed the tree line? Would you plunge off the side of Mount Wundagore to a grisly demise, or would you simply step into the woods as they appeared to be?

Either option had to be better to take the risk than to remain a prisoner in what you once believed to be the safety of your own home. Summoning your courage, you stepped into the forest and were surprised to find solid ground. As you continued, each step affirmed that this transformation by Wanda was real - the mountain had truly become a beautiful countryside. Perhaps there was a chance to escape after all. Without hesitation, you ventured further into the forest, hoping to reach civilization on the other side or find a safe hiding spot within before Wanda woke up.

Unknown to you, Wanda had set up protective barriers to alert her if you ever ventured too far. True to form, the moment you stepped beyond the tree line into the woods, her eyes snapped open, blazing with anger. You were leaving. Despite everything she had done for you. Despite the bond you two shared. The witch swiftly leapt out of bed, conjuring a portal not far behind you, determined to catch up with you. Did you really think you could escape her? You would dare? She would teach you. You belonged to her, and she was growing weary of this back-and-forth game you were playing.

As you fled through the forest, it grew denser, blocking out the moonlight. Initially, it seemed easy enough to navigate, but as you continued, the underbrush became thick, causing you to trip every few feet. The seemingly safe forest now loomed around you ominously, your paranoia starting to take over as you heard the skittering of various creatures around you. Logically, you knew they were probably just as startled as you, given how loudly you were thundering through their home. Still, that didn't stop you from feeling eyes on you the further you went, and you began to question if this had been a good idea after all. Unfortunately, it was too late to turn back, and you came to the uncomfortable realization that you didn't even know which direction home was.

A branch snapped somewhere to your left, causing you to turn your head so fast that you wouldn't be surprised if you woke up tomorrow with a crick in your neck. That is, if you managed to survive tonight. You froze in place, your heart pounding in your chest, your breathing loud in your ears as you strained to hear the source of the noise.

It was extremely unsettling for you to realize that the entire forest had suddenly fallen into complete and utter silence. No birds, no animals, nothing at all...

A leaf crunched. This time closer.

Fear seized your heart and you willed yourself to do something. Anything. Run. Hide. Just, something.

Suddenly, you became aware of a low growling sound approaching, and it became clear you were in serious trouble. Why hadn't you stayed inside the house? There must have been a logical explanation for the date change, and Wanda had always been kind to you. Maybe you were just remembering those arguments incorrectly. Now for your misplaced distrust, you were facing imminent death at the hands of something that likely had sharp teeth. Gods, how you despised sharp teeth.

A snarl to your left startled you, freezing you in place as your eyes frantically scanned the forest for whatever had made the noise. You could vaguely make out the silhouette of a creature on all fours not far from you, and your blood felt like it had frozen in your veins. Why hadn't you just gone back to bed next to Wanda?

As you witnessed the shape hurtling towards you from the darkness, a red streak intercepted it, accompanied by the yelp of an injured animal. You blinked and observed a fatally wounded wolf on the ground nearby. Your gaze followed the trajectory from which the red streak had come, revealing Wanda in her pajamas, her hands outstretched with red magic flowing through them, rushing towards you.

"Y/N, are you okay?!" Her voice was tinged with alarm. One hand extinguished her magic to gently hold your arm, while the other remained prepared for any possible threats. With a caring eye, she inspected you for any serious injuries, but found none. Satisfied that you were relatively unscathed, she finally registered your shocked face as you remained silent.

“Y/N what’s wrong? Why are you out here? Talk to me, please?” Wanda extinguished the remaining magic and took your hand, her ire at you dissipating at the fear of you having just been in danger that wasn’t from her.

“I- I had a nightmare. I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I just had to run.” You figured that would be believable enough - your night terrors sometimes had you fleeing for your life, you just usually accidentally woke up Wanda in the process before you could get too far. This would be the first time you would have made it out of the bed without waking her up.

Your gaze drifted back to the deceased wolf on the forest floor, and you couldn’t seem to shake the state of shock you were in. Wanda didn’t think anything more of your explanation, your night terrors happened often enough, and you didn't seem to be fleeing from her. It was the only thing that made sense to her. After all, everything had been okay earlier, there was nothing to indicate you were unhappy or would try to leave her.

Relieved that you were unharmed, and not attempting to escape, the witch focused on trying to calm you, as she could see telltale signs of you beginning to disassociate. Gently, she placed a hand to your cheek, tilting your face until you were making eye contact with her. “Don’t look at it, dorogoya, it’s okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you. Let’s go home, okay?”

In that moment, all you wanted was for Wanda to handle all your thinking. Anything else required too much effort, and honestly, you were too exhausted for anything else. You nodded and leaned into her touch, allowing your eyes to flutter shut as you embraced the sense of security she provided. Your hand reached up to cover hers on your cheek, interlocking your fingers with hers.

You heard more than saw the portal she summoned to take you both home, and blindly followed her through it back into your room. Hands still interlinked; she led you into the adjoining bathroom. At this point you had mentally checked out, completely overwhelmed by the night’s events. Under normal circumstances you would be mortified that Wanda was about to see you naked in this state - filthy, covered in scratches from your stumble through the woods, but you couldn’t find it within yourself to care. It didn’t help that you had entered a non-verbal state.

Wanda made it easier for you. Although this wasn't how she had imagined the first time she would see you naked, her main concern was to clean your wounds and ensure your comfort so you could fall back asleep. Tenderly, she assisted you in undressing, her eyes never lingering or straying where they shouldn't. She only took quick glances to assess any damage. You were grateful for her magic, which meant you didn't have to wait for the water to heat up to the perfect temperature.

She didn't bother undressing herself, but simply helped you into the shower under the falling water and followed in after. First, she helped wet your hair and then lathered it with shampoo before rinsing. The sensation of her blunt nails against your scalp was so soothing that you almost fell asleep. Then, Wanda took the washcloth, lathered it with soap, and started gently washing your body, beginning with your face. As gently as possible, the red head cleansed your wounds and removed the blood and dirt from your skin.

After deeming you sufficiently cleaned, Wanda turned off the water and began toweling you off, wrapping you up in a towel. She then discarded her own waterlogged clothing and began drying herself. While you stood there, feeling useless, Wanda grabbed pajamas for both of you and helped you put them on. After, she then put on her own pajamas before leading you back to bed.

“Do you want to talk about it, Y/N/N?”

You shook your head and climbed into bed after Wanda. Instead of the usual routine where she held you from behind as the big spoon, you surprised her by snuggling into her arms, facing her, and resting your head in the crook of her neck. Although you still had questions about the cell service on her phone and the months you were supposedly missing, Wanda has been kind to you, and she just saved your life. Those questions can be addressed another day. Finally feeling safe again, you allowed your exhaustion to consume you.

[celtigxr]

THE PINK DREAD - CH. 25 (Masterlist)

Chapter Summary:Daemon and Alicent try to give Valeana advice. Spoiler: she does not listen to either of them. Word Count: 5464 CHAPTER WARNINGS: AnnoyingUncle!Daemon. I only proof read this chapter once, so there's probably going to be more spelling/grammatical errors than usual.

Series tags: Aemond x Plus size!OfC, Aegon x Plus size!OfC, Celtigar!ofc, Plot with Smut, mdni 18+, Aemond End Game, Angst, Comedy, The Dragons Don't Dance, slow burn, friends to enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers.

Credits: Lace Banner by Aquazero, pearl divider by Pommecita

Notes: I'm going through a lapse in muse lately, but I'm trying, really. So updates will be weekly, or every ten days depending on how things go.

Daemon Targaryen was hit with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia at the sight before him. If he squinted, it would have been like staring into a window that framed the past. Perhaps the gods did have a sense of humour, because the parallels were just too perfect. 

Aemond and Daemon.

Valeana and Lysa. 

She was nearly the spitting image of her mother, had she had Lysa’s slimmer frame and wheat coloured hair. Daemon only met Valeana a few times, maybe less, though he never had a good look at her. She was younger than she was now, more fuller in figure, ashen from the lack of sun. He didn’t see Lysa in her until the day he returned to King’s Landing. 

“We were just having a reprieve from the ball,” the girl answered, sending a quick look at Aemond, who looked as if Daemon insulted his mother. 

Daemon wanted to laugh at her answer, “I can see that. You two look quite reprieved indeed.” 

Aemond’s nostrils flared, “What are you doing here, uncle?”

That had to be the first time Aemond Targaryen had ever spoken directly to him. They never met, not formally at least. Daemon was too busy in the Stepstones and then in Pentos to even look upon him as a child, let alone as an adult. 

“For the same reason,” Daemon replied coolly, still leaning against the archway at the foot of the stairs. “A reprieve from the ball.” 

“Then we shall leave you to your peace, Prince Daemon,” Valeana rubs her hands together before putting something into her skirt pocket. “Prince Aemond?”

The one-eyed prince didn’t say anything, just kept his eye on Daemon, waiting for the slightest movement to give him reason to lunge at him like a guard dog. He made a low growling sound in agreement, his elbow extending for Valeana to take. When her arm wove through it, Daemon immediately saw the way his nephew’s shoulders broadened, as if he had just won a great prize. 

“And where are you two intending to go?” 

Aemond stiffly turned to Valeana, his jaw taut with irritation and impatience. Perhaps it came with age, or because he was a father of two girls, but nothing was more amusing to Daemon than cockblocking young men that were keen on debasing a woman’s skirts (as ironic as that was). It was especially entertaining that it was his green nephew, sired by that snake of a woman. 

“To retire,” Aemond bit out his reply. 

“Is that what the kids call it these days?” 

“Oh, gods,” Valeana bowed her forehead into Aemond’s shoulder before forcing herself to look at Daemon. “Aemond is just going to escort me back to my apartments. Nothing untoward, Prince Daemon.” 

“Was ‘nothing untoward’ going to happen in this cellar had I not interrupted?” He didn’t give them room to reply as he sauntered closer to the couple. “Need I remind you, Lady Valeana, that you have an agreement with my step-son, the heir to the heir. You are supposed to be courting him.” 

She glared up at him shamelessly, just like Lyra used to do when no one was looking.

Daemon tutted, “Your father would be greatly disappointed in you when I tell him where his daughter was, and with whom. I dare say, ol’ Barty might go ahead and take away his promise of choice.”

He was sickly satisfied at her reaction. Caught between her anger and her fear of her father. Valeana leaned into Aemond’s arm once again, who in turn pulled her closer, all the while keeping his eye trained on his uncle. If Daemon was a sentimental man with a soft heart like his brother, he might have cooed at the lovers and let them go on their merry way. 

But he wasn’t; he was far more ambitious than he was empathetic. Even if the two mirrored his past so symbiotically, he almost wished he hadn’t interrupted just so he could bear witness to that treasured memory in real time. 

“I’ll escort Lady Valeana back, nephew,” Daemon continued before he did get sentimental. “It is just as well; your mother has been asking for your whereabouts. Something about a Baratheon girl.” 

Aemond’s lip thinned just before he made a threatening step forward, only to get held back by the ivory anchor at his arm. 

“Aemond,” she said softly. The younger prince looked down at her, the muscles in his jaw relaxing. “My father cannot know.”

He considered her words for a moment before nodding stiffly, “I will call on you.” Aemond’s hand hovered over her cheek, only stopping when he re-remembered that they now had an audience of one. He ended up letting his hand fall to his side, and giving her one last look before turning around to give his uncle one last glare. Keeping eye contact, Aemond strode by him, shoulder nearly checking him from the sheer proximity. 

Daemon’s smug smile did not wipe from his face as he nephew passed by him and bounded up the stairs two steps at a time. He hummed his amusement, and then brought his attention back to Valeana, who stood with her arms crossed, and green eyes venomous and lethal. 

He just smiled at her, irking her even more. 

“My Lady,” he offered her his elbow. 

Grumbling, she walked by him, marching up the stairs, muttering about how her mother should have slapped him harder. Daemon simply followed after her, keeping her in his crosshairs and ensuring she didn’t flee after her lover. 

Once they were in the corridors above, Daemon easily caught her stride, “The apple does not fall far from the tree, I see.”

His comment earned him a confused glance, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Formalities already forgotten. Perhaps the apple did fall farther from the tree, but he blamed that on her hot Valyrian blood. “Lysa Lannister also coveted the affection of royal blood. How far down are you planning to go? Should I worry for Lucerys or little Joffrey?” 

If eyes could slap someone, that’s exactly what she did to him, “You know nothing of my mother, and if you do not wish to feel another bite of a bejeweled slap across your cheek, I suggest you keep her name out of your mouth.” 

If Daemon was any other man, he would have bristled at her words, but instead he just laughed; louder than a hummed chuckle, softer than a loud guffaw. His hand went to his cheek, reciting the twenty-five year old memory in his mind. 

“I still have a scar from that, just above my left eye.”

“I can assure you that I can continue where my mother left off.” 

He peered at her interestingly; she was bristly walking, trying to keep a foot ahead of him, but failed miserably.  He was much taller than her, making his long languid strides match her pace with ease. 

“I would watch your tongue if I were you, Lady Valeana. One day I will be your king.” 

“Consort,” she shot him a look over her shoulder.

That wiped the smile off his face. His tongue rolled around in his mouth, a bitter taste of the truth that the closest way for him to reach the Throne is by being a consort to his niece. Not even his own sons would inherit it. Daemon had half a mind to slap the Celtigar girl across her face for reminding him of his place. 

He didn’t, for the sake of his wife. For the sake of his brother. For the sake of Lysa’s ghost. 

“I know plenty about Lysa,” Daemon’s voice was low as he acknowledged her previous statement. “More than your father. Certainly more than you.” 

“You’re assuming my knowledge of the woman who sacrificed her body and soul for me? My father has told me everything about her; he wanted me to know her as if I had personal memories of her.”

“Lysa lived in the Keep years before she started courting your father, or even met him,” his lips were in a thin line, eyes forward as they made it to Maegor’s Holdfast. “There are things that Lord Bartimos was not privy to, and I daresay he would not wish to know if presented with the option.” 

Her brow was still furrowed in indignation, but his words casted a frown upon her face. He could see it in her profile, the thoughts rolling around in her head like a collection of marbles. 

“What things?” 

“In another life, Lady Valeana, you and Clement would have been my children,” his confession startled her enough to falter her step and whip her head in his direction. “Had it not been for my grandmother’s insistence on marrying me to the Bronze Bitch, and your mother’s relentless stubborn devotion to Aemma Arryn.” 

Alysanne’s marriage arrangement with Daemon and Rhea Royce was politically sound from an objective point of view. Rhea was set to inherit her own title in Runestone, Daemon was third in line and effectively not set to inherit anything. This would have given him land and title, and would turn the second most powerful family of the Vale into a Targaryen dynasty. Lysa Lannister wasn’t to inherit anything, but she was the only female Lannister born in generations, until Jason’s daughters. She had a hefty dowry that could buy land if he so chose. But that was not the reason he wished for her hand, oh no. 

Daemon was absolutely obsessed with Lysa Lannister. She captivated him as much as she infuriated him, and the truth was he didn’t have an answer as to why that was. 

Turning to her, he allowed himself to openly examine Valeana’s features, grasping onto all the similarities, and ignoring the Valyrian attributes she inherited from her father. Peridot eyes and all. 

“Your mother refused to marry, not until Aemma died. She refused every eligible lord and knight in the Seven Kingdoms, claiming that her duty as the Queen Consort’s Lady-In-Waiting was more important than being a wife and mother. And for some reason, when she did decide to become one, she chose your father over everyone else.” 

Over me. 

Valeana let out a long groan, instantly reading into the subtext of Daemon’s little diatribe of being rejected by her mother. This isn’t the first time she has heard a lord tell her about how he tried to woo her mother only to be jilted politely in preference of being perpetually unwed – until Bartimos Celtigar came in with his jewels and his gold. 

“Prince Daemon, I am already juggling three princes, I do not need another, especially someone who is married, and so old—”

“I’m not old–” He instantly snapped back, but quickly switched off his offended tone. “And if I wanted you as my bride, I would not have wedded Leana. Your father would have no qualms betrothing you to me if I had asked–”

“I was five!”

“And that would have not mattered after ten years— what am I even bloody talking about?”

“How you wanted to wed me when I was five!”

“I did not– Hmm,” His hand swept over his face in frustration, a barely contained growl muffled in his palm. “You are more infuriating than your mother.” 

“Then why did you want her in the first place?” Valeana stopped walking when they reached her floor. Her family’s apartments were not long from there, but she did not wish to have Ser Steffon bear witness to this conversation. 

Daemon’s lips pouted in thought, one hand on his hip, the other on the pommel of Dark Sister, always attached to him wherever he went. 

“I wanted her because she infuriated me,” he finally said, voice low. 

Valeana raised her eyebrows, “And she did not want you, because she did not love you. That is why she chose my father.” 

At that, he tilted his head, “You really think your mother loved your father?” When she didn’t answer right away, too long to formulate an answer to what should have been obvious, he continued. “She loved someone else, someone she could not have. That was the real reason she didn’t accept anyone’s proposal. It was not until she could not handle her own loneliness did she decide to finally look for a husband. Your father offered her contentment, a life of comfort and ease, and in the end she chose to settle. That is the truth that your father would not want to hear.”

Valeana was silently digesting, though not entirely freely. He could see the defiance in her eyes, the clear unwillingness to believe a single word coming from his lips. He knew that feeling well, when he saw the truth before him the first time; it tore his innards out like an army of crabs feasting on a corpse on the barren lands of the Stepstones. 

“Trust me when I say this, Lady Valeana. Your mother would’ve wanted you to wed Jacaerys Velaryon. She would’ve wanted you to be the wife of Aemma and Viserys’ grandson.” 

She stared at him long and hard, the crease between her brow never wavering. Her mouth went from a frown to a tight line as she lifted her chin up, very distinctly Lannister in its nature. 

“No,” Valeana shook her head. “You really don’t know my mother, Daemon. She would have wanted me to marry for love, or not at all.”  

Valeana’s morning began blessedly late, as did everyone else’s she’d wager. Fast was broken in silence; Barty and Ursula were hung over, Shyla looked as if she was keeping a secret she did not want to share, Arthor seemed the same way, Clement  scarfed down food as if it would be his last meal, and Floris… Seemed rather content, bizarrely. Especially since Valeana recalled her being contrite for the entirety of the ball. 

It was just as well, Valeana much on her mind. Aemond leased her dreams that night, as well as all the things that could have happened under Balerion’s nose. Some of it didn’t make much sense, but she remembered being nude before him, hiding her intimate parts from him. Then he would respond by undressing himself in front of her, eye patch gone, hair undone, all without shame. Her mind stirred at that point and suddenly she was slimmer, younger, with golden hair instead of silver. Aemond before her had two eyes, shorter hair, youthful, and definitely not himself. 

Then the room filled with salt water, and she was submerged in an ocean, completely alone. Her hands reached out, clawing at the surface as a black mass flew in the sky above. Then… she woke up.

Valeana looked down at her breakfast: eggs, toast, and herb & honeyed bacon. Resting her chin on her fist, she moved the contents around her plate with her fork. Instead of swallowing down food, she tried to swallow down the pit of dread lodged in her throat. 

On the morrow, she will have to spend part of her day with Jacaerys, an obligation that she must entertain. Valeana knew the dark-haired Prince was not what she wanted, even if he could have been worse. He wasn’t that bad when he was a child, unlike his brother, and at the very least he had grown handsome. It still would be a short courtship, no matter how much her father and Daemon wanted it. Val simply could not see herself falling for Jacaerys, even if they had all the time in the world. 

Then there was Aegon, a surprising yet not unwanted addition in her life. But presence simply just makes her life so painfully complicated. His drunken confessions, lewd and scandalous as they were, took root in her privy parts vividly. Valeana never had a voracious appetite for carnal pleasures; she was a maid, whose experience of her own pleasure has always been curious fingers whenever she felt lonely, felt the need for romance that she was convinced was not in her future. Though even before then, she couldn’t deny that his companionship had become a balm in her life recently. What he did for her would not be forgotten, and that made the notion of even tossing him away for Aemond feel traitorous and unfair. Even if their arrangement was constructed with that goal in mind. 

But giving up on Aemond after last night… that felt like she was spitting in the face of the gods themselves. Surely, they were the ones that put them together in the first place, and they had always intended to keep it that way, one way or another. The image of Aemond on his knees, sapphire and amethyst eyes, his hands upon her in desperation, his kisses on her brow and hands, his gentle laughter in her ear… it all pulled on her heartstrings like a lyre. She could not give him up now, now that he was finally back in her arms; now that she found her Aemond.

Her mind also drifted to Daemon, and all the things he said about her mother. Valeana doubted much of what he said, but she also doubted her own confidence in how much she really knew her mother; how much her father knew about her. Val supposed that the only person that would have the answers for her questions was… The King. Of all people alive, he knew her the longest, outside Daemon, who already showed his biases with a decades old grudge over a rejection. There wasn’t even a Lannister relative alive that was old enough to remember Lysa, so Viserys was truly her only option. 

Fitting the Queen for her dress offered Valeana a respite from her thoughts. The distraction was a blessing, now that she was able to concentrate on something more productive than matters of her indecisive heart. Rosy had come with her, her ever faithful assistant to these things. She tended to like doing the more tedious tasks, so Valeana had her cut the scales from the fabric that would cover the skirt of the dress. In the meanwhile, Valeana worked on the bodice, making sure it fit Alicent snugly so that the scales that she planned on sewing would appear more like a second skin rather than fabric. 

“You have quite the eye for detail, Lady Valeana,” Alicent commented as she watched her map out the designs using a chalk pencil. 

Val smiled up at her, a genuine one, despite being marred by stress, “You flatter me, your Grace.” 

Alicent had not been one for conversation ever since Valeana revealed her leg to her. There was a point in which Valeana wondered if she even remembered that she commissioned this dress from her, but her doubts were proven wrong when requests were brought to her by servants inquiring about the progress ever since Alicent returned from Dragonstone. 

There was a beat of silence in the room, the only noise was Rosy’s snipping of scissors and the birds chirping outside the slightly ajar window. Then the Queen broke it after spending several seconds watching Valeana work. 

“May I ask you something, Lady Valeana?”

Val looked up, surprised by the request when she needn’t ask permission. But at the same time she wanted to deny her, because she had a good list of possibilities of what Alicent could possibly ask of her, none of which she had a desire to answer.   

“Of course, your Grace,” Valeana replied anyway. 

“This business with Prince Jacaerys…” She trailed off, eyes flickering to the girl, and then down at her diligent hands as it worked the fabric. Alicent was afraid to tread on these waters, it sounded like. Almost as if she wanted to inch closer to something more delicate, rather than simple curiosity. “Is it something you want?” 

Valeana ran her tongue around her teeth before sucking against them in an attempt to stall. The answer was no, obviously, but she did not know if it would hinder or benefit her if she told Alicent the truth. With the tensions between the greens and blacks, Valeana toed the line between the two families, not knowing what side she should choose.

“It never matters what a daughter wants,” she decided on answering truthfully, without being direct. It didn’t entirely feel safe confiding in a woman who very well may be her political enemy in the future. Or future mother in law. 

Alicent accepted the answer, even hummed in agreement. She allowed the silence to settle for a moment again, but Valeana knew the questions were not over. Eventually, the Queen broke the silence again when she inhaled, the words finally finding her. 

“It came quite a surprise to me and his Grace that upon our return, we learned that our eldest son has been courting you, Lady Valeana.”

There it was, the real thing she wished to talk about. Val hadn’t even thought about what the Queen and King would think about her and Aegon together, if it was something they considered, if it was something they wanted. It would surely benefit the green’s cause, though Valeana suspects that Alicent still wanted Aegon to marry his sister. Which left… Aemond. That was why the Queen had tried to talk her into forgiving Aemond when she first arrived. Gods, how that felt like it was eons ago. 

“It was as much of a surprise to me, your Grace,” Valeana trained her eyes on her work. She felt Alicent was particularly good at gauging someone’s thoughts with just her eyes. They were so large and doe-like, which reminded Val of Aegon, the puppy-dog that he was. “Prince Aegon and I were not exactly friends as children.” 

“Which is why my husband and I thought it a strange development, one that no one foresaw,” Even if there were just the three of them in the room, and Rosy was on the far end, sitting on a settee, Alicent spoke in a little over a whisper. “Whatever did he do for you to overlook his past transgressions?” 

“Well,” Valeana collected her thoughts when she turned away to grab a needle and red thread, “He apologized sincerely, and he also has been nothing but kind, caring, helpful… and eventually affectionate.”

Alicent looked utterly unconvinced. The image that Valeana just wove with her red thread was of a complete stranger that had been calling himself Prince Aegon, playing her for a fool. 

A thin eyebrow was raised at that, “Kind, caring, and helpful?” she repeated the words, foreign descriptors of her eldest son. “Excuse my skepticism, but I’ve only known my son to be the very opposite.”

Valeana shrugged bashfully, “A moon ago I would’ve agreed with you.” She paused briefly in thought, then added: “But if it comforts you to know, your Grace, Prince Aegon is still just as cheeky as a monkey.” 

Alicent smiled in spite of herself, “That is comforting. I was afraid he was swapped with an imposter.”

Val bit her tongue before she could say, “Would that be a bad thing?”

The Queen cleared her throat, the tell tale sign of someone gearing up to say something difficult to say and hear. “I wanted to say, Valeana, that…knowing Aegon, I… I think it is within your best interest to not pursue things further with him.” 

Valeana glanced up at her for a moment, then back at her work. She decided not to say anything just yet. Alicent appeared to have much on her mind, and the younger, subordinate lady didn’t want to appear dismissive over her apparent worries. She was a mother, afterall, even if popular opinion dictated that she put the title of Queen before the other. 

“I will be plain with you. I owe you and your dear late mother that. I watched you grow up since the moment you were born within these very walls, and I would not wish to bear witness to another one of my sons hurting you again.” 

Val’s hands stopped working as she listened to Queen Alicent’s words closely. It was true that she knew the woman since birth, but Valeana had very few fond memories with Alicent. There were few sporadically, but she always seemed to keep Valeana at an arm’s distance, almost like she couldn’t trust her existence. She wasn’t cold, but she wasn’t warm. Not to mention, Valeana still remembered how much she advocated for Aemond not to get punished for what he had done. 

“You feel that he intends to take advantage of me,” it wasn’t a question. Valeana could feel Alicent’s eyes penetrate her profile once she resumed her stitching. 

“You must know it is in his nature to do such a thing,” the woman bowed her chin in an attempt to capture the younger’s eyes. “Aegon has an… appetite for chaos, as much as he has one for drink and pleasures of the flesh. I fear he may be using you as a weapon against Aemond, simply out of entertainment.”

And this is the man you are trying to put a crown on? Another thing Valeana had to bite her tongue for. 

Val forced herself to smile up at her reassuringly, “I’ll take your warning to consideration, your Grace. I only hesitate because he has not shown that unscrupulous side to me. It has only ever been the very opposite.” 

The ends of Alicent’s mouth tightened, but she nodded nonetheless, “I only wish for you to be careful.”

“I will, your Grace. Your concern is appreciated and noted.”

“And–” she inhaled, squaring her shoulders, “I hope that you may extend Aemond the same courtesy of forgiveness as you did Aegon, in time at least.”

The memory of last night was still fresh in her mind, like that blessed dream that had her wake up with damp thighs and a sense of carnal hunger. Her cheeks pinked at the memory of Aemond’s gentle kisses on her palms and head, reverent in contrast to his devouring kisses on her breasts so many nights ago. 

It was hard to stop herself from smiling, and albeit small, Alicent noticed it immediately. 

“My relationship with Aemond is… complicated, your Grace,” Valeana carefully spoke, deciding to tiptoe around the truth. She wasn’t entirely comfortable sharing the breadth of the story just yet. “But… the steps towards reconciliation have taken place.”

“You speak true?” Alicent’s doe eyes glittered hopefully, “When did this take place?”

Valeana bit her lip, an attempt at reigning in her smile from becoming a full grin. She wanted to bury her face in the fabrics of the half-finished gown, embarrassed of the glow upon her face. Alicent was the first person that she had told this to, even a fraction of it. 

“We had a long discussion sometime during the Ball last night,” Val confessed, surprising herself for doing so. “It is still early days, your Grace.”

Alicent’s brow twitched slightly as she tried to recall a moment in which that could have happened at all. There was one when she could not spot Aemond in the crowd, sometime after she had dismissed Valeana to reprimand Aegon for his drunken display. A great, albeit silent sigh caused her shoulders to sag, as if a large weight of stress had been lifted off them. 

“Oh, my dear Valeana, that brings me much happiness,” Alicent pulled her little seamstress to her in a hug. Valeana’s eyes bugged out of her head, body stiff under the embrace of the Queen. “It brings me much peace.”

The rest of the day went by in a blur. After she had finished up with Alicent, she had brought the dress back to her family’s wing to finish a few adjustments. That evening she shared her supper with Ellyn, Wylla, Shyla, Catelyn, and Sharis and Malora Tyrell on the terrace above the training yard. There were men still down there, even when the sun was setting, trying to get as much training done before the beginning of the tourney. The seven girls simply watched in silence, sipping wine and eating grapes and berries. When the wine started to ease their sensibilities, they started to wolf whistle at every man who removed their shirt to combat against the evening humidity. 

Valeana squinted down at the men, not recognizing a single one. One of them walked around languidly with confidence, his brown hair was braided down to the nape of his neck, the sides shaved, giving him a rugged appearance despite his shaven face. His tunic was loose on him, covered in dirt and a bit of blood from the sparring. He was the loudest of them all and the most boisterous when it came to his audience of women that were seated above the yard. He would grin and bow at them after defeating his opponents, blow kisses and throw winks. The Tyrell sisters were absolutely smitten with him. 

“Who is he?” Valeana asked, narrowing her eyes at him. He seemed familiar, but from this height, she could barely make out his face through all the dirt and sweat. She took a sip of her drink in contemplation.

“Dalton Greyjoy.”

And then she spat out her drink. 

While Ellyn, Wylla, and her sister laughed – being the only three people present that knew the lore – Dalton turned to look up at the commotion, his intense steely blues on Valeana in an instant. At the sight of her sinking into her chair like a dying python, he grinned and laughed, giving her a small wave. 

Cat laughed in confusion, “Do the two of you know each other?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Valeana pulled a cushion off the sofa and put it in front of her face. 

Suddenly the girls started to wolf whistle again, and Val – out of morbid curiosity – moved the pillow away from her face to take a look. Dalton had finally pulled off his filthy tunic, exposing his lithe and muscular frame, littered with aged white scars, and black tattoos that she couldn’t quite make out. 

He grinned up at her with that shark grin of his, “What are you lookin’ for, Celtigar?!”

Val’s eyes narrowed annoyingly, then looked over at her sister who was giggling like a maniac. Suddenly numb to her embarrassment, Valeana sat up in her seat and peered down at him over the balustrade in clear distaste. 

“Bruises!” 

He threw his head back and laughed loudly. Then he turned around to face back towards his audience. To her absolute horror, Dalton shimmied down his breeches to expose his pale rear end. 

“All cleared up, I’m afraid!” 

The girls screamed and whistled, and Valeana sank down to the floor, face as red as the crabs that marched across her house’s banners. 

Valeana called it a night shortly after that, dragging a reluctant Shyla with her.  As they got dressed and clambered into their beds, the exhaustion of the last few days slowly seeped into her bones. Shyla was the first to pass out, as usual, but despite her body’s fatigue, Valeana had a difficult time shutting off her mind. Eventually sleep started to creep up on her, with her final thoughts lingering on the wish to not have to bump into Dalton “The Red Arsed” Greyjoy again. 

Just when her mind is pulled under the surface of her subconscious, Valeana could feel a dip in her bed. Too tired physically and mentally react, she simply remains still, trying to cling to sleep, convincing herself she just imagined it. 

“Valeana,” She could hear her name being called next to her ear, but she was convinced it was simply auditory hallucinations produced by exhaustion. 

“Valeana, wake up.” 

She made a loud snore when she inhaled violently, which made the voice chuckle softly next to her. Then, just when she thought the mysterious voice left her, something pinched her nose, causing her to gasp through her mouth and jostle up from her pillow. 

In her delirium, she did not notice anything immediately, not until her eyes focused on the body laying next to her on her bed. Shock jolted her awake immediately, her mouth opened to scream, but a firm hand covered it.

“Sh, sh, sh,” he said, putting a finger to his lips. “It’s just me.” 

Val’s eyes settled into a glare, her lips curling into a snarl when his hand dropped from her mouth. 

“Aegon, I am going to kill you.”

He laughed softly, “All in due time.”

“What are you doing here? How are you here?”

“Get up; put your robe on.” 

She eyed him suspiciously, “...Why?”

“Strap on your peg leg, Crab Cake, and get your pretty little arse out of bed. Then I’ll tell you.” 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX SNEAK PEAK

He decided to chuckle nervously again, wondering if she was joking, almost praying that she was. “Mayhaps we should call it a night. You are forgetting yourself, Crab Cake.” “I’m not,” was her immediate reply. “I’m… I’m curious. And I want to see… I want to try.”

Notes: So before you ask -- yes, there will be a prequel MINI series about Lysa Lannister, staring our favourite perverted uncle. Won't be out for a while, but you're gonna be seeing the ground work in the next few chapters regarding her mom's past. For those that are waiting on the Fem!Aegon one shot, please be patient with me, I keep on rewriting the last section of it. I'm not super satisfied with it yet. I don't want to give a definitive date, because I don't want to make promises I can't keep.

Tag: @queen-of-elves, @keylin1730, @anakilusmos, @weepingfashionwritingplaid, @sugutoad, @desireangel

( if you wish to be tagged for this story, just give me a reply! )

Please do not re post, redistribute or plagiarize my work. The only other place this story is posted on is ao3 under the same username.

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 21, Unacceptable - Pt. 4

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language,

Word Count: 947

Previously On...: Bucky confronted Steve when he thought you two slept together. It got... ugly.

A/N: Last part of Chapter 21! We're off to Atlantic City, baby!

I am probably going to start going back to 1/day updates tomorrow, at least until I make more progress on With Friends Like These.

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Sadly, tag list is closed; Tumblr will not let me add anyone new. If you want to be notified when I update, please Follow me for Notifications!) @jmeelee @cazellen @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @blackhawkfanatic @buckybarnessimpp @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff @angelbabyyy99 @keylimebeag @maybefoxysouls @vicmc624 @j23r23 @wintercrows @crist1216 @cjand10 @pattiemac1@les-sel @dottirose @winterslove1917 @harperkenobi @ivet4 @casey1-2007 @mrsevans90 @steeph-aniie @bean-bean2000 @beanbagbitch @peachiestevie @wintrsoldrluvr @shadowzena43

Tumblr will not let me directly tag the following: @marcswife21 @erelierraceala @jupiter-107 @doublejeon @hiqhkey @unaxv @brookeleclerc

“That was pure evil,” Sam said as you both buckled your seatbelts in the convertible you’d be using for the mission. “I knew you were a genius, Baby Girl, but damn! Didn’t realize it was evil genius! Remind me never to get on your bad side!”

You smiled and shrugged, adjusting your hair in the visor mirror and putting on a pair of sunglasses. “Serves them right, acting like I’m a fucking piece of property either one of them can claim ownership of. I hope they break each other’s noses.”

Sam laughed as he pulled the car out of the Tower’s underground parking garage and onto the city street. “We got about a two and a half hour drive,” he said. “What do you feel like listening to?”

You were prevented from answering by the sound of Cherry Pie by Warrant filling the car. You both looked around for a moment before you realized it was coming from your phone. You picked it up, staring at the screen in confusion when you saw Tony’s name flash across the screen.

“You asshole, did you hack my phone?” you asked, putting him on speaker, “Because this was certainly not your ringtone.”

“Can you blame an old man for feeling nostalgic?” Tony asked, and you could hear the grin in his voice. “Did Cap give you my message?”

“Yes,” you said, eying Sam, “and Sam was very hurt when you called him ‘birdbrain.’” Sam did his best to stifle his laugh.

You could practically hear Tony roll his eyes. “Yeah, well Rogers needs to learn not to repeat everything word for word. Listen, kiddo, I meant what I said about visiting, though. You need anything, anything at all while you’re gone, you call me, okay? I can be there before you even hang up the phone.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. “Jesus, Tony. I’m not a child, and Sam’ll have my back. I know I’m not a mighty Avenger like the rest of you, but I’m not incompetent. I’ve been trained–”

“Whoa, whoa,” Tony interrupted you, “that’s not why I’m worried. Not at all. I know you can more than handle yourself. Hell, I’d send you on this mission solo– that’s how much faith I have in your abilities.” You smiled unexpectedly at that. “I’m concerned about how this mission’s going to affect you mentally and emotionally, given your–”

You immediately took him off speaker and held the phone to your ear as he continued “--history. We’re dealing with missing women who are likely being trafficked for sex. If that’s not gonna be a potential trigger for you, I don’t know what is.”

“I’m not fragile, Boss,” you said, your voice softer now. In all the turmoil you’d gone through since finding out about Bucky and Carthage, you honestly hadn’t given much consideration to what the mission might mean to you on a psychological level. “I never said you were, kiddo. I know you’re strong. But, this is a lot. You’ve just been dealt a major blow because of Barnes and I’m putting you back in a position that’s a lot closer to your old life than you’ve been living in a long, long time. You’ve come so far, and, well, I guess I’m concerned that I’m doing you more harm than good by sending you backwards.”

“Thanks, Tony,” you murmured, touched that  he was still looking out for you, even from a distance. “That means a lot.”

“Just promise me– if it gets to be too much, if at any point you're struggling, you’ll tell me. I’ll pull you out, mission be damned.”

“But Boss,” you interjected, “these women need our help! We can’t just–”

“I know that, Pocket,” he countered, “and we will help them. But I’m not going to risk your mental wellbeing to do it. If it gets to be too much, we’ll pull you out, and we’ll find another way. Trust me.”

Your trust was running in short supply these days, but if there was one person who had never failed you, had never let you down, and was deserving of all the trust you had to offer, it was Tony Stark. “Yeah, okay,” you eventually agreed. “I promise. If it gets to be too much for me, I’ll let you know.”

“Good,” said Tony, and you knew he’d probably expected more of a fight from you, but you were too mentally exhausted to put one up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I promised Pepper I’d do a stopover in Havana on my way home from Belize and pick up this massage oil she absolutely loves. See, it warms up when you–”

“Good bye, Tony,” you laughed, ending the call before he could go into further nauseating detail. You shook your head, smiling to yourself. You noticed Sam glancing over at you. “What?” you asked him.

“Nothin’” he said, eyes back on the road. “Just think it’s sweet how much Tony cares about you, that’s all. I knew you two were close, like brother and sister, but I never saw it in action before. It’s nice.”

“Oh,” you said, surprised he hadn’t jumped to the typical conclusions people came to when they considered your relationship. “Yeah, he’s really been the best.”

“So, how did you two meet, anyway?” Sam asked as the two of you pulled onto the highway. “I know Tony said the strip club, but I figure there’s got to be more to it than that. If you don’t mind sharing, that is. I mean, we still have two hours of driving left to do.”

You chuckled. “Nah, it’s alright– I don’t mind telling you. It’s actually kind of a funny story…”

<- Previous Part / Next Chapter ->