#so I compare them and my suspicions confirm that they are almost basically the same

[niccerooniererer]

Another rounda’ doodles

[volturiwolf]

The Volturi Princess - A Felix Volturi x fem!Reader Story (part 2)

No of Words: 5182

Mentions of: Abandonment, Abortion, Anxiety, Blood, Bruises, Coma/Comatosed State, Death Emotional Abuse, Emotional and Physical Pain, Gaslighting, Greece/Greek Language - with translation, Heartbreak, Italian Language - with translation, Manipulation, Murder, Pain, Panic Attacks, Pregnancy, Suffering, Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts, Swear Language, Throwing Up/Puking, Witches/Wizards/Witchcraft

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

part 1

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

Felix’s POV:

My days in the castle were becoming more and miserable by the minute. I couldn’t stop thinking about (Y/N), she was always on my mind. When there was a mission, I would make myself forget her for a while and would focus on my job. But in times like this, when there was nothing to do in particular, I would stay in my room for hours and hours, and just wouldn’t think about anything else, but her.

It must have been about two decades or so that she left Volterra to “explore the world”, as she said. Time is pretty subjective when you’re supposed to live forever. Yet, I was mentally counting every moment she was away. I was taking mental notes of everything that was going around here, every prank Demetri and I would pull off to annoy either Jane or each other, every important event or mission we were sent to, so I could tell (Y/N) later. I smiled at the thought of her laughing along with me, and then my smile dropped when I realized she may never even come back.

Why would she? Living with the Volturi - with Aro - controlling her life, how she should have looked like, how she was expected to act in every different situation, and, on top of that, pushing her to her physical and mental limits to declare any gift besides strength, speed and tracking must have been exhausting for her. All these years.. All these years of emotional isolation must have affected her greatly.

Aro had never been the most affectionate person I’ve met. When the twins joined the Volturi, and then the Guard, he focused on them exclusively, training and mentoring them every day to develop their gifts. (Y/N) was pushed aside, a lost cause; she would never be the powerful vampire/weapon Aro hoped he acquired all these centuries ago.

He hoped that she would manage to declare a power similar to her mother - an exceptional mind-reader (and shield, as we found out centuries later) or even a new and unique power, given her father’s lineage. (Y/N) never expressed anything “unique” for Aro’s standards, but to me, she was just perfect. We were equally strong and fast - maybe she was even stronger and faster than me, and she was also an incredible tracker, like Demetri, though he could track anyone he has ever met, just by hearing their conscience.

And now, she is gone. She had left me. I caught myself quite a few times thinking what would our lives be like, had I told her how I felt - and still feel - about her. I am pretty sure that she was feeling the same, that she felt our bond, our connection. But, just like her, I never came forward; I was never true to myself, or her; I never told her that I would dedicate my immortal life to her if that meant that she would stay here with me.

And now, I pay for it. I've been drowning in misery and pain. Not physical pain, I could handle physical pain by now. Even Jane’s induced pain was nothing compared to the kind of pain I’ve been feeling ever since (Y/N) left. I felt as if I were a mortal and my heart was ripped out of my body and stepped on. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe, though I didn’t actually need to breathe.

Demetri must have heard my sharp gasps for air, as my door opened widely, a terrified Demetri standing under the framework. He stared at my unwell state, and rushed to me, hugging me tightly. I left a few sobs and felt tears that couldn’t come. Demetri did not say a word for a few minutes, stroking my hair with his left hand and holding me with his right one. I held onto him as if I was holding on for dear life.

My mind was just blurry and I couldn’t think straight. Was that what it felt like, being away from your mate? I missed her dearly. All these years, I never told anyone other than Demetri about (Y/N) possibly being my mate, although I think Marcus would probably know already.

As my sobs started coming to an end, I was able to finally take deep breaths, and focus my mind on a particular spot on the floor to calm myself. Demetri cupped my face with his hands, trying to calm me down by saying a few comforting words. To outsiders, this scene may have looked strange, if not weird, but Demetri and I, being best friends for almost one millennium, had that kind of intimacy, and we both liked how open we could be to each other.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them slowly, feeling a bit calmer than I did 10 minutes ago. I needed to feel each moment of my pain; I needed to feel again what it’s like being apart from the only person I ever loved; I needed to remember every moment I was close to her, and then wasn’t.

“Are you feeling better now?” Dem asked calmly, still holding my face. I nodded slightly, and he let his hands fall on his lap. “Were you thinking about (Y/N) again?” I nodded again. I nodded again.

He frequently caught me thinking absentmindedly, or even sobbing slightly, but never a full-on breakdown. He took my quite big hands in his smaller ones, patting them condescendingly. I didn’t want to be pitied by others, but Dem never made fun of me for hurting, never made me feel less of the “evil executioner” I was known to be.

“I don’t know what it feels like, being separated from your mate, so I won’t tell you how to feel or act about it. I just want you to know that you can come to me if you feel down. It pains me to see you hurting, though I understand that her very absence has affected you greatly. I just want you to know that I’m here for you, and I’ll always be here for you, no matter what. You may not see it, but Alec, even Jane, worries about you and want you to be happy. We will all do whatever it takes to see you happy again, even if that means running after (Y/N)..”

My head jolted. I asked him if he was serious. “I’m not lying or joking, Felix. If we have to go after her and bring her back to you, we’ll do it. You’re our friend and we’re your friends. That’s what friends do.”

I couldn’t believe it! There was a chance that (Y/N) was still out there, and my friends were willing to help me find her. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, the Witch Twins felt like true friends to me, and as long as I had them and Demetri, I think I could do anything in this world.

Now, we just had to talk to the twins, and see what they thought of it. I don’t know if we were even allowed to drop off all the missions and duties we had here and go search for (Y/N). I know we had to take the kings’ permission before we could do anything, and I was worried and kind of terrified with the idea of them knowing (Y/N) and I were mates, and how badly in love I was with her.

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

Demetri’s POV:

It was just another day in the Volterra castle. I was wandering around, having finished my duties for the day, probably for the week as well - it all depended on the Masters’ or the Twins’ mood for a “sudden, important mission” popping up in my schedule.

I wasn’t the type of person to spend their free time in the library, like the Twins, or in my room, like Felix. I vaguely remember my human life. My family was a typical middle-class Athenian family, and we were lucky enough to own a decent piece of land for cultivation. I would spend hours working on the fields, planning possible expansions and new techniques for richer crops.

I smiled slightly at the memory; that’s basically what I mostly remembered from my mortal life before Amun found me and turned me into what I am today. Before I traveled to Egypt to live with the Egyptian coven. Before Aro found me and converted me to his coven. I didn’t know how he managed to convert me then until I found out about Chelsea’s gift.

But even then, I never actually felt the need to leave the Volturi. I had a good life here; I had great friends; easy access to human blood, thanks to Heidi; I had it easy for the price I paid serving the three Volturi kings.

My train of thought was cut short when I heard quiet sobs. I wasn’t regarded as the best tracker for nothing; based on the volume of the sobs, the surrounding atmosphere, and the tone of the voice coming out, I could easily detect that it was Felix, sobbing in his room.

I run quickly, not caring about anyone walking through the corridors. I reached his door and opened it widely, not caring to wait for a response. I saw Felix sobbing on his bed, his eyes tearless but still desperate, trying to gasp for air, although we don’t really need to breathe. I rushed to his side, hugging him tightly, letting his sobs shake through my body.

I didn’t say a thing for some time, stroking his hair with one hand and holding him with my other, trying to find the right thing to say to calm him down. He held on to me for dear life, and I felt as if he was, once again, upset for (Y/N). His sobs started slowing down and he started taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Without thinking, I cupped his face, telling him a few comforting words, watching him close his eyes, and taking one deep breath.

“Are you feeling better now?” I asked him calmly, and I felt myself getting calmer as he nods slightly. I let my hands fall on my lap and asked him what I’ve been thinking about all this time. “Were you thinking about (Y/N) again?” Felix nodded, confirming my suspicions.

I caught him plenty of times not being himself - his cautious, meticulous, present self; the one who was always concentrated and focused on the present. He sobbed often these days, but never a full-on breakdown. This had me worried. I took his hands in mine and patted them, showing him that I understood what he was going through, although I, myself, never found my mate. I told him so, that I didn’t know what it was like for him to be away from his mate, but also that I would never disregard how and what he felt.

I just didn’t want him to hurt; I wanted him to know that I’ll always be there for him, whenever he needed me. And, though he may not actually believe it, Alec and Jane were also worried about him. He may have not noticed it, but I wasn’t the only one who saw that he was in pain.

Alec and Jane also saw that Felix was not his confident, straightforward self anymore, so I told them once what I suspected all along. That the absence of (Y/N) affected him way more than it affected Jane, who was (Y/N)’s best girlfriend, or even Heidi, Chelsea, and Corin, even Renata, who spent most of her time on Aro’s side, being his main bodyguard.

Without thinking clearly, I suggested that we could all go after (Y/N), find her, and bring her back to Felix. His head jolted, and looked at me in disbelief, not being sure if I was serious. I told him I was, and, at this moment, his whole demeanor changed. It was probably the first time after such a long time that I’ve seen him actually smiling, and my undead soul felt at peace at last. We now only had to inform the twins, and, probably, anyone else willing to help.

My only worry was the kings, especially Aro; he probably didn’t know about (Y/N) and Felix’s mate bond, and I don’t even know what he’ll think of it when he finds out. Now, I had other things to worry about; how to get the Twins to come with us and bring (Y/N) back to Volterra.

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

“We’re in.” Jane declared decisively, Alec agreed along with a nod, standing close to his twin.

“Are you both sure about that? We don’t know if the kings will allow us to go find her. Heck, I don’t even know if I could track her. I could never track (Y/N)’s mind, like ever. We may be wandering in vain, searching for her in places she’s never been. It may take a lot of time if we ever find her.”

I wanted to be honest with them about the worst-case scenario, feeling Felix slightly squirm nearby. I turned around to face the giant. His face was a mix of pain and anger, his eyes a dark burgundy, almost black from not feeding the past few weeks. This reminded me to get him to hunt soon, whether we left Volterra or not. I turned back to the twins.

“Demetri. You know that (Y/N) is our friend, too. Alec and I would do anything to bring her back.” Jane then turned to Felix. “Whatever happens, we will all stand by your side.” Felix mumbled a small “thank you”, so quiet that only us four could barely hear, still looking down, at the floor.

“We have to go and tell them.” I announced, gulping my non-existent saliva. They all knew I was referring to the three kings, and we all knew the possibility of being denied to leave on this mission of ours.

“Let me handle this. You know they cannot deny me anything.” Jane stated and led the way towards the throne room, full of confidence and reassurance.

It was true after all that Jane and Alec, being the kings’ favourite guards, were not denied anything. (Y/N) enjoyed such privileges as well, being the continuation of Aro’s bloodline, possibly our future Queen, if the kings ever decided to step down from their royal duties.

Within a minute, Jane opened the doors to the throne room widely and stepped in, followed closely by Alec and Felix and I following nearby.

“Jane! Alec! To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing my two favourite children?” Aro almost chirped at the sight of the twins, not even acknowledging Felix and I’s presence.

He has always been too nice to the twins, the Volturi’s most powerful offensive weapons. My gift and Felix’s raw strength are nothing compared to Jane’s ability to inflict mental pain, or Alec’s ability to deprive one or multiple people’s senses at will.

“Masters, the four of us request your permission to leave on a mission. We don’t know how long it will take us or when we’ll come back, but I assure you we’ll be back as soon as we’re done with it.” Jane informed the kings confidently, and Aro’s brows furrowed slightly.

“What kind of a mission, dear Jane? I don’t remember giving you all a mission recently.” Aro seemed curious, as he nodded towards Jane to come closer. Jane obeyed, stepping closer to Aro and extending her hand towards him, who gladly took it into his palms.

A few minutes passed by, with Aro looking nowhere in particular, while he studied Jane’s thoughts, until he came back, and let Jane’s hand slowly out of his own ones. Felix tensed beside me; we both knew now that Aro knows about the purpose of our mission, and that he may also know about (Y/N) and Felix’s bond, as he stared at him with an evil smirk. He turned towards Marcus.

“Is it true, brother?” He asked the melancholic vampire to his right. Marcus seemed unamused, which was quite typical of him.

“Yes. They’ve been mates for quite some time.” He dragged his words.

Aro turned back to us. “And yet, (Y/N) chose to leave Volterra, to “explore the world”, away from her mate. Seems that their bond is not as strong after all.”

Felix was becoming more and more furious beside me. I could sense his distaste towards our master, as Aro invalidated their bond, and probably, him being his granddaughter’s mate. Felix confessed to me multiple times that he didn’t feel worthy of being (Y/N)’s mate; that she deserved a lot more than just an average vampire guard.

That’s why he never confessed his true feelings towards her, only looking at her from afar, and hoping that one day, she would confess her feelings first, so they could be together forever. Neither of them ever confessed, and, with (Y/N) being gone for quite some time now, Felix seemed to have regretted not telling her. Maybe they could have been together now, and he wouldn’t have his heart broken over her absence.

Aro’s voice broke my train of thought. “You have my permission to go find my granddaughter, but, before you go, you’ll have to make a plan. I cannot risk my guards leaving Volterra for too long. You’ll have to decide who will come with you, and you’ll have to be back as soon as you find her. No procrastination. You have three days to plan and make your decisions. Now, go, and make sure you bring (Y/N) back!” Aro waved his hand, showing us our way out of the throne room.

We never thought we had to make a plan to find (Y/N); we didn’t expect Aro to let us leave on such a mission, where we wouldn’t know if we’d even find (Y/N). But he did, and now we had to make a plan. We knew that it would definitely be Felix, the twins, and me, but we didn’t know if anyone else wanted to join us.

Word spread fast because, within a few hours, most of the guards were already trying to help us decide on a plan, whether they could or could not join us on the actual mission. In the end, we decided it would be just the four of us, and we only had to make a plan as to where we would go to search for (Y/N).

We left within 3 days, going down to Sicily, traveling across the sea, to Malta, where we found Renata’s family. When we asked them about (Y/N), out of fear of Jane and Alec, her uncle told us she visited them once, about 20 years ago. “She kept saying how she planned to travel the world, Europe, Asia, America, Africa.. Wherever she could go.” Luca kept saying.

We left immediately after that. We decided to continue with our plan, first traveling across Europe. It wasn’t an easy task; most of the continent was at war with the Ottomans, and the rest was divided into smaller or bigger countries, nothing stable or permanent yet. We passed through North Europe, traveling towards the South, traveling across North Africa, ending up in Egypt.

I met with Amun, almost 700 years after I left him and Egypt for Aro and Italy. He was neither pleased nor surprised. He was rather cautious and guarded due to the Twins’ and Felix’s presence. He didn’t ask me why I left him, but he did invite us to stay in Egypt for some time. We told him we were in a hurry, we had to find (Y/N).

“So, it is true then? Aro’s granddaughter abandoned him at last..”. He grinned.

“What do you mean “at last”?” Felix became upset quite quickly.

“You never realized it before? When Chelsea, (Y/N) and yourself came with Aro and took Demetri with you, I saw it in (Y/N)’s eyes.” We were all confused. Amun continued.

“She looked miserable. She probably didn’t even want to be here, doing Aro’s bidding. She wasn’t made to serve him and his every wish. She indeed passed by a decade or two ago. She apologized for her part in Demetri’s departure, and she stayed with us for about a month or two. I welcomed her because I understood Aro destroyed her life, just as he destroyed ours.”

“What did she want in Egypt?” Felix was becoming more anxious by the minute.

Amun continued his narration. “She wanted to learn about Egypt, the Pyramids, the Pharaohs. She told me she read a lot about Ancient Egypt; how Alexander the Great colonized Egypt and many Greeks have been living here ever since; how the Great Pyramids were built. She just wanted to see all the history from up close. She wanted to experience everything. Who wouldn’t, right?” He grinned again, like the proud Egyptian he was, having seen all of Egypt’s glory through the past millennia.

It was Jane’s time to ask the questions. “So, she just visited? She didn’t say where she was going after she left?”

“She said she wanted to go and visit places. Though, she didn’t say where she would go. I would tell you if I knew.” Amun looked arrogant but cautious. He wouldn’t risk getting on Jane’s bad side, so he chose to tell the truth about (Y/N).

“We won’t be staying then. Let’s go.” Jane ordered and ran out of Amun’s palace, Alec following closely behind her.

Felix stayed behind, and I stopped in my tracks. “If you have her and you lied to us, I swear I will rip you apart with my own hands!” Felix pointed at Amun while threatening him.

Amun didn’t seem to be phased at all. “Believe me, I wouldn’t want to get on Aro’s bad side. I already lost someone important to me.” He looked straight at me, and then back to Felix. “But, if you want to find her, you may want to find Carlisle first. She admired him, for choosing to be more human than vampire. When he visited me last time, he did mention how (Y/N) was the only Volturi that didn’t really seem to actually belong in the Volturi. She was too kind for her own good.”

Felix's jaw clenched, and I grabbed him before he managed to attack Amun. I mumbled a “thank you” to Amun, and we ran to find the Twins. My tracking skills could sense Carlisle from a distance, so it wouldn’t be hard to find him. Finding (Y/N), though, was a totally different story.

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

(Y/N)’s POV:

I woke up with a throbbing headache in an unknown place. My eyes couldn’t focus on anything in particular around me. I could barely distinguish the wooden furniture around me, and the burning fire in the fireplace. My hand traversed through woolen fabrics of different textures. Was I in bed? Was I in a bedroom? As my senses started to go back to normal, I started hearing people talking, a woman and man talking..in Greek?

“Αλέξανδρε, η (Ο/Σ) γύρισε! Το κοριτσάκι μας γύρισε επιτέλους!” (“Alexander, (Y/N) is back! Our little girl is finally back!”)

“Το ξέρω, Στέλλα. Πρέπει να την προστατεύσουμε, να την κρατήσουμε κοντά μας. Δε γίνεται να γυρίσει πίσω στη Βολτέρρα.” (“I know, Stella. We have to protect her, to keep her close to us. She cannot go back to Volterra.”)

“Τι θα κάνουμε αν την ψάξει ο Άρο ή κάποιος άλλος από τη φρουρά; Το ξέρουμε και οι δυο ότι, όπου και να είναι, θα κινδυνεύει.” (“What are we going to do if Aro or someone else from the Guard is looking for her? We both know that, wherever she is, she will be in danger.”)

“Το μόνο που μπορούμε να κάνουμε είναι να φροντίσουμε να την προετοιμάσουμε κατάλληλα. Πρέπει να μάθει το πραγματικό μέγεθος της δύναμής της. Ένιωθα τη δύναμη που είναι συσσωρευμένη μέσα της. Μπορεί να κάνει πραγματικά σπουδαία πράγματα, αρκεί να μάθει να ελέγχει τον εαυτό της και τις δυνάμεις της.” (“The only thing we can do is to make sure she is prepared accordingly. She has to learn the true extent of her power. I felt the power built up inside her. She can do amazing things, as long as she learns to control herself and her powers.”)

I was confused. My parents.. I found my parents. I faintly remember when I met them in the woods. I looked down at my body. I did not wear my white gown anymore, the one which I had once cut below the knee, so I could run around freely. I was now wearing a red dress, the vest covered in gold details. The vest’s sleeves went down, just a few centimeters above my wrists. The dress was made of silk, and it felt nice against my skin; I was finally wearing new, clean clothes and it felt nice.

I jumped out of the bed, and the dress flew around me, falling gently just above my ankles. There was a tearing to the side, which I thought was a nice detail, so I could actually run. I ran at a vampire speed towards the door and out of the room. I saw my parents talking in the living room, in front of the fireplace where another fire was burning bright and warmed up the room.

“Για τι πράγμα μιλούσατε; Σας άκουγα. Γιατί να έρθουν για μένα; Τι πρέπει να μάθω;” (“What were you talking about? I heard you. Why would they come for me? What do I have to learn?”)

My mother cupped my face affectionately. “Ψυχούλα μου, το ξέρεις ότι ο Άρο θα σε αναζητήσει. Θα κάνουμε τα πάντα για να σε προστατέψουμε, αλλά πρέπει να μάθεις να πολεμάς για τον εαυτό σου. Ήρθε η ώρα να μάθεις για τις πραγματικές σου δυνατότητες. Ο μπαμπάς σου θα σου μάθει ό,τι χρειάζεται να μάθεις για να εξασκήσεις τη μαγεία σου.” (“My little soul, you know that Aro will look for you. We’ll do everything to protect you, but you’ll have to learn to fight for yourself. It’s time to learn about your true capabilities. Your dad will teach you whatever you need to know to practice your magic.”)

“Now, follow us, (Y/N). I will teach you everything I know.” Dad took one of my hands in his and mom took my other hand in hers, and they led me outside, to the garden.

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

In the months that followed, I learned how to defend myself using my powers; how to cast spells; how to attack; I even learned how to use dark magic. And as time passed and I perfected my magic, the more magic and energy I could pump out of me, and the more I felt drawn to dark magic. It gave me an unexplainable power; a confidence that I could define my own life; a confidence that I could free myself from Aro.

My only concerns were my friends and Felix; though I was quite powerful by now, the only thing that kept me behind, trapped between what I have to do for myself and what I have to do for others, was the thought of Felix. I have already lost so much time being away from him, and sometimes, that was translated to physical pain, which I didn’t know could happen between mates. I assumed that it was the same for him as well, and I didn’t want him to be in pain.

Unlike the other vampires, I could cry, heck, I would cry for hours and hours. And that pain, that emptiness, would eventually feed the darkness in me. I couldn’t see it at first, but I started having darker, evil thoughts. I stopped feeding off of animals and started killing people. I killed people for their blood, or for fun - either way, I would still consume their blood. I was feeding my thirst and my darkness, becoming insensitive and slowly mad for revenge.

My parents wouldn’t say anything; I knew that it was part of their plan to get revenge on Aro. Unbeknownst to my mom, I also managed to copy her mind-reading, and having already copied Aro’s power, I could manage to know everything both of my parents have ever thought about. My magic penetrated her shield quite easily, and I managed to learn everything I needed to know about their plan, their lives, their abilities, and magic.

I was now way more powerful than them. I didn’t need them; they needed me - they needed me to take over Volterra. It all started as a need to take over territory and become powerful; powerful enough that they could challenge the Volturi and cease their powers, possibly manage to take me and any other powerful guard they found under their rule.

However, me finding them made their plan way easier - they knew that they could persuade me to do their bidding and join them. I was their daughter after all; we were family, and, although they didn’t raise me, they knew that I would much rather stay with them than Aro, given his past.

I didn’t oppose their plan; I wasn’t fond of it, but I didn’t mind. It could be a way to be finally recognized and appreciated. I could finally become the princess, officially, and I could take my friends and Felix away from Aro. We would be together; we wouldn’t be scared of what Aro may think of us; we would be finally free.

These thoughts pushed me day after day to push myself and my limits more. I had to become as powerful as I could ever be. The darkness was consuming my soul and I was welcoming it; I wanted to be in power; I wanted to be in control. I visualized the darkness surrounding me and consuming me; a black smoke swinging out of my body, surrounding me, and swirling around me. I could feel my eyes stink and I smelled the blood that was now oozing out of them. I felt my insides twist and turn, and I screamed in pain; my feet not being able to support my body anymore, as I fell down on my knees.

I felt the darkness “painting” my soul and turning it into a long abyss. I felt my humanity being stripped away from me, like a hand reaching out and ripping my heart out of my body and slowly crashing it. And then, it all stopped. I raised my head and looked at the world around me in a different light. The world was darker, meaner; everyone was my enemy. I would not let anyone subjugate me again; I would not be a victim anymore. I would take my revenge on the Volturi, I would make them pay.

[aros001]

First time read through light novel vol. 18. Random thoughts.

I somewhat suspect the author was hungry while writing this volume.

Also, wow, I knew Kizuna was short but the prior artworks never gave me the full idea of how short. She

is only chest-high compared to Naofumi and Glass (I suppose that could make Glass happy, though; ease of access for Kizuna and whatnot).

Given that, outside of the natural gluttons like Filo, S’yne, and the killer whale sisters, the only person on Naofumi's side with the "Eat food for EXP" matter is Itsuki, I think this is him falling dangerously close to thinking only in terms of game mechanics instead of reality, much like the other three heroes had been early on. Theoretically, yes, if you can gain levels and strength just by eating, why wouldn't you do a lot of it? But he's almost outright ignoring the physical discomfort and pain it's causing his allies and seeing only the numbers. Not to mention that he himself doesn't appear to be eating nearly as much, as he's focus on the cooking.

That said, it is cute that this is the first time in her life Filo is starting to feel full.

Chapter One: Sloth

OH SHI-! Oh, wait. Wrong franchise. We're good. I did not want to have to imagine Kizuna biting her fingers off (Kizuna: "My brain trembles!!!).

If Kizuna is indeed suffering under the curse of Sloth, I'm curious what triggered that specific sin for her. We only have the four heroes of Raphtalia's world to go off of but each sin applied to that specific hero for a reason. Naofumi: Wrath because of his hatred of what Witch and Trash put him through. Ren: Greed because he wanted more EXP, levels, and loot; a toxic extreme of his solo-adventuring. Itsuki: Pride because he believed only in his view of justice. And Motoyasu: lust and envy because of his obsession with Filo and being kept away from her. Kizuna's obsession with fishing, even when there's other important matters that need to be dealt with, I suppose could be considered lazy and thus lead to sloth as its extreme, but it feels a little bit like a stretch.

As he did so, the books from a nearby shelf whirled up into the air, forming . . . a dinosaur . . . perhaps. No, a dragon. The monster’s name was “Magical Tome Dragon.” Now things were really getting a bit crazy. A dragon created from books! Was this some kind of joke?

I want a Yu-Gi-Oh card of that.

“Don’t tell me, Glass is like the Raphtalia of this world? Could we really get that lucky?”

I mean, that's what the fandom likes to joke when it comes to her and Kizuna.

Breaking the sloth curse through Kizuna's love of fishing was about what I expected. Not complaining, of course. Again though, I'm just wonder what about her coincides with Sloth. She prefers talking it out and making allies as opposed to fighting but I wouldn't exactly call that lazy or slothful either.

Kizuna had a lot of folks like this among her allies—people who had started out as enemies but then became allies. If I fought someone as an enemy, there was generally no coming back—there were exceptions, like Sadeena and Shildina, so it was probably better not to generalize.

Glass and L'Arc are literally standing right next to Naofumi as he thinks this and Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki all tried to murder him at one point or another. S'yne was part of the gladiator fights too, now that I think about it, and while they never fought he and Trash were definitely enemies for a while. This dude turns more enemies into friends than freakin' Naruto. Being kind of oblivious is part of Naofumi's character but I suppose this could be seen as an interesting look as to how exactly he considers someone an enemy. If they fought him for reasons he eventually came to understand and sympathize with, then he perhaps doesn't consider them as ever having been a "true" enemy.

Aww, Glass is jealous of Tsugumi being close to Kizuna. And unlike Raphtalia with Naofumi, Kizuna doesn't have any kind of tragedy that keeps her opposed to relationship and would require Glass to be patient. I suppose Glass could simply be afraid of hurting their friendship by proposing romance or even that Kizuna doesn't swing that way. And this is from Naofumi's perspective, so Glass being gay could be completely off the mark. Still, it'd be nice to get a solid landing one way or another. Even Eclair unknowingly rejecting Ren at least give solid confirmation that he's into her and why they're not together.

“What! I’m the Hunting Hero! I don’t handle the cooking part!” Kizuna complained.

“And I’m the Shield Hero!” I retorted. Not the Stewpot Hero! If anyone called me that, I would kill them with cookery!

And technically, you're not even that right now. Not with that mirror on your arm. The mirror is cool and all but I am looking forward to Naofumi eventually getting his shield back. He just feels incomplete without it.

“Almost feeding time!” one of them said. Others proceeded to chime in.

“Yes . . . the time we’ve all been waiting for.”

“The moment we live for, basically!”

“Even if I only get to eat one mouthful . . . that is the fuel that will keep me alive!”

“I’ll never eat anything but his cooking ever again!”

“I think the schweiz is the best! It has to be!”

“No! The stietz!”

“Hey! No fighting! We’ve been warned about fighting!”

Did they stumble across a food cult?

“It isn’t bad,” Filo said. “It just isn’t as nice as yours, Master.”

“Well, okay . . .” I replied.

“All of the heroes have cooked in the village, Mr. Naofumi, but Filo and everyone else all feel the same way,” Raphtalia told me.

Filo also grew up with Naofumi's cooking since birth, so while he's already a good cook you get the added taste of home for her. I've said it before but out of everyone I consider Filo to be the most like Naofumi's daughter.

“Then you wish to settle the bill,” she replied. I thought it was free. As my suspicions intensified, the girl spread both of her hands and continued. “How was the food at Seya’s restaurant? It was so delicious, wasn’t it? If you wish to become a member, please leave all of your assets or hand over anything that can be turned into money. If you leave some personal items as collateral, you can have some time to go and fetch some offerings.”

Yep, that's a cult alright.

“Master’s food!” Filo said.

“They’ll get a surprise when they taste what you’re cooking, kiddo,” L’Arc said.

“Indeed. Your victory is assured, if that’s the best they can do,” Glass agreed. I was still concerned about how aggressive they were being. Were they hopped up on endorphins or something? They weren’t acting in character at all.

My first thought was that the OOC behavior was some side effect Naofumi didn't realize came with the Mirror weapon's power-up method, but then why wouldn't Raphtalia or Kizuna be effected when they have been eating the food too? Then I thought maybe they were more used to eating Naofumi's food in general and would have a tolerance to any addictive effects, but then why is Filo still effected?

“That’s the best dish Seya’s restaurant has to offer! Seya’s curry bag! And it’s Fifth Floor too!” one of the MCs shouted. I barely stopped myself from tipping over onto the ground. He really was just reheating a premade curry in a bag! So he was allowed to heat and serve already finished dishes? I mean, that might give me some ideas myself . . .

“The flavors that are normally lost in reheating have been sealed in the bag using proprietary technology! Now you get the maximized flavor from the moment you open the bag! This truly is the ultimate culinary technique! Everyone, watch this kitchen miracle closely as it unfolds before your astounded eyes!” The MCs continued their diatribe, but it just made it harder for me to keep a straight face. It was all a matter of perspective. Capturing the flavor in a bag was certainly a worse approach than making it on the spot.

“Naofumi . . . am I imagining things? It looks to me like he’s just adding or warming up instant ingredients using hot water,” Kizuna said.

So, like most other antagonists in this series lately, Seya is just an arrogant, entitled fraud high on his own stolen power. Why am I not surprised? Though he is giving me a bit of a Kazuma from Konosuba vibe with how he managed to figure out how to recreate items the old heroes would have talked about from Japan. It's odd to say he doesn't have nearly the same level of charisma as Kazuma give...well...it's Kazuma and he's deliberately written to be a massive scumbag.

I do like with his magic powers and awesome cape, Naofumi is basically the little muddy boy meeting a superhero, one who will save the day through cooking.

As for Kizuna . . . I handed her some of the fish we had brought in and had her cut it up. She’d finished with the poisonous fish already. Her life as a fishing fool was paying off now. She knew her way around a fish. The blood had been skillfully drained, and overall, she was a step ahead when it came to gutting and cleaning.

...You think the Hunting Tool can turn into something like the Wunder Boner

?

I explained pointedly, looking at Seya, Trash III, and the other MC. Trash III responded by flipping me off. I could taunt with the best of them, and I mouthed some swear words back.

I mean, one of my favorite scenes in Isekai Quartet was Naofumi and Shalltear sassing each other, so I can agree with that.

“Pollution?” Kizuna asked, looking puzzled.

“You didn’t notice that?” I replied. “Well, just watch.” She wasn’t the brightest bulb, that was for sure.

“Hmmm, I think I need to go wash up,” the rotund noble said. “I’ll be right back.” The judges proceeded to take turns visiting the washroom. Once they had all returned, it was time to eat Seya’s food.

“Huh?” Kizuna, L’Arc, and Therese were looking puzzled. The other diners around us too. I guess there was cause for a little suspicion.

...Did Naofumi give them laxatives?

“Ah!” Kizuna finally cottoned on. “So that’s why you used so many medicinal herbs in your dishes!”

“Exactly. The reason they all wanted to go to the washroom after eating was to expel the toxins. I also used other herbs to bolster the lethargic feeling that would bring on,” I explained.

He gave the judges f**king laxatives! That's hilarious! I get the actual explanation he gives is more complicated than that, relating to purifying and digestion and getting them to finally take notice of the toxins in Seya's food now that they're free from its hold, but it's funny to think that's basically what he did. He won a cooking competition through dishes that encouraged the judges to take a sh*t (or a p*ss, I suppose).

“Hey . . . you’ve been reading too many cooking manga. It’s an illusion that delicious and good things will be evaluated highly. What you need is popularity and demand,” I said. Of course, it had to taste good, but putting the emphasis on that as a bare requirement was also a problem. If you were planning on selling food in a restaurant, of course it had to taste good. Customers came because of other elements, because of popularity. If Seya’s restaurant collapsed here, it would cause trouble for all the judges. That was why I’d created an escape for them. In order to realize the future that boy wanted.

While we don't see Naofumi selling his wares so much anymore because he has far less of a need to, it is nice we do still get that cynical and merchant side of him. All that time didn't just go to waste and it's still a key part of his character.

“What, then? What do you want?” Seya asked.

“There’s someone behind all of this, correct? Someone pulling the strings. If you tell us all about that, we’ll let you go. Hey, I have an idea. Write it down on this piece of paper here. I want a record of this.” I said and passed a piece of paper to him. Seya’s expression immediately brightened.

“That’s all you want? Fine, I can—” But the rest of that sentence vanished into an awful grunt. The moment Seya tried to write a single word, his head simply crumpled in on itself. He managed a brief scream, and then his entire melon exploded. I didn’t want to traumatize my allies, so I quickly threw up a cage and blocked out the grisly scene. Then I gave a sigh.

Well...that was kind of f**ked up for Naofumi to do. Don't get me wrong, after what they had to do to get Takt to be willing to confess, this is much less horrific. But Naofumi did basically just give Seya false hope and then trick him into executing himself. I get why he did it and how dangerous the vanguards are, but it is interesting to think that while ROTSH isn't the darkest of the light novel series I've been reading, Naofumi, save for Ainz Ooal Gown, is definitely the most morally grey of the protagonists compared to Kazuma, Subaru, and Goblin Slayer.

“No matter how delicious the food is, if you eat the same thing every time, you’ll start to get sick of it. Once you get sick of it, you won’t overeat simply because you won’t want to. I’ve been applying that concept to my food,”

That is better than what I was thinking with Naofumi getting too into the game mechanics. And boy do I feel for his friends. It's the same thing that killed me off of soda for a few years. Obviously it's worse to starve than be overstuffed but it's still not a pleasant experience.

We were talking about the primary reason why Kizuna was summoned here in the first place. To put it simply, the idea was to revive the Demon Dragon.

YYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

And they Tanya'd him too; reborn as an infant of the opposite gender. So does that make Kizuna or Naofumi Being X?

“Seriously . . . it brings dragon tears to my dragon eyes to see you, the great Shield Hero who defeated me, now reduced to this.” The Demon Dragon placed her front paws against her head and muttered sadly to herself.

“I hope you aren’t looking for sympathy,” I said harshly.

“Just think about it for a moment. The same bunch who shouted about defeating me and saving the world are now back, having screwed everything up, relying on me—their sworn enemy—to save them! Take a look around. Does this world look like it’s at peace to you? Well?” the dragon said, really coming for me now. What was worse, I didn’t really have a reply. This world was still plagued by humans fighting each other and had been ravaged by the vanguards of the waves. Everything the dragon had said so far had been so on the money that Kizuna and Glass probably didn’t have any response either. “Can you see how this might feel like something from your own past? Having been chased as a criminal, and then having to clean up after those very weaklings who were chasing you after they had been beaten down by the waves and people from another world?” That punch really landed hard. I wanted to call it a low blow, but she was basically providing a stunningly succinct summary of my life in these other worlds.

Seriously though, after Kyo, Takt, and the various other vanguards, it is so refreshing to have a villain who speaks with some dignity and can actually make a decent point or two, rather than "I'm strong so I can do whatever I want! Losers!" In my vol. 16 random thoughts I compared Takt to All For One from My Hero Academia and I still feel the same way. The two are not that much different goal-wise. They wanted the world and had the power to make it theirs, thus their actions. It is an immature goal when you think about it but AFO did not act anywhere near as immature as Takt and it made him feel so much more intimating. He would sometimes mock his enemy but when he did they were deep cuts that he knew would get under the skin of someone he truly hated, like All Might, rather than just throwing out insults and acting like a brat. And the Demon Dragon is the same (the High Priest too, now that I remember him, even if I don't talk about him as much). I liked Glass as an antagonist because she was intimidating, spoke only as much as she needed to, and was very powerful compared to the protagonists at that time, getting Naofumi to fear facing her again and giving her weight to the story and for the audience. Finding out later her motivations gave her some depth and added grey to the situation. The Demon Dragon is not nearly as sympathetic, but he still works for a lot of the reasons she did. There's presence to him, er, her. It's not a brat who needs to be knocked off their high horse but a genuine threat.

And being able to work with the heroes weirdly makes that even better. The Demon Dragon calls a 100 year truce, not because she's on the side of good, but because she wants there to still be a world around for her to take over. She's completely open about her goal, which ironically makes it easier to trust her.

“That should do for now,” the dragon said. “Hmmm, and this is a female body. Excellent. Shield Hero, under the condition that you will ultimately mate with me, I shall provide even greater cooperation.” So that was how long it took for things to take a crazy turn.

Still a little weird that she wants to f**k Naofumi though. And when the anime gets to this part there is almost definitely going to be a fanfic or doujin. Actually, now that I think about it, there are going to be creators getting some mileage out of when the Demon Dragon tried to take Naofumi over earlier in the series.

“Can’t you make do with Kizuna? She’s one of the four holies from this world. You’ll just have to overcome the gender barrier,” I said.

“Why me?!” Kizuna exclaimed.

“What are you planning on doing to Kizuna?” Now Glass turned a hostile gaze on me too.

Ahh, Naofumi's such a d*ck, I love it. Also, now that's two rivals in one book for Glass. She's almost caught up with Raphtalia.

It would have suited us better if the enemy was a bunch of morons. It was annoying that life never worked out quite so easily. We had no idea how bad it was going to get with the waves, so we had to plan our moves carefully and move to prevent this “fusion of the worlds,” whatever that meant.

Wouldn't that be a heck of a comeback to my bitching about the villains? The ones behind the vanguards have been sending out their idiots first, the ones arrogant and drunk off their power, to soften up the heroes first and cause a bunch of damage but that they know will ultimately just get killed. Takt and the others getting offered up as sacrificial lambs basically because those like S'yne's sister don't like them either.

“I’m starting to feel sorry for Naofumi,” Kizuna agreed.

“He probably thinks you two are in the ‘harem,’” I told them.

“I really don’t like that,” Glass responded. “No, I don’t. I don’t like that at all.” I wasn’t sure why she said it three times, but I didn’t like it either. Just for the record.

“Naofumi is a friend and a comrade, but we’re not like that!” Kizuna retorted. I wondered if she really understood the situation. She was the type who needed things to be said directly to her face.

“A shame we don’t have Fohl here. Even L’Arc would have worked,” I said. Just a few guys mixed in might have broken the group up a bit and prevented it from looking like a harem.

“Naofumi . . . even if we did have some guys, it would probably just give them some different ideas. Like . . . boys love?” Kizuna said. It sounded like, whatever the composition of the party, they would presume a lewd relationship with me at the center.

You know, you never hear about this kind of thing with Ren and Itsuki. Motoyasu went out of his way to have a harem and he still doesn't get it thrown at him as much as Naofumi does. Maybe it's one of those "He protest too much" kind of mindsets, where the more Naofumi denies it the more people think it's true.

“You got lucky. If a wave had occurred with the world of our illustrious leader, we were planning on shattering you. That’s the problem with this system; that’s the only way to get the reward for destroying a world,” the sister explained. I’d heard this talk about rewards for destroying worlds before, I vaguely recalled. I had no idea where that reward came from.

So there's a third world mixed up in all this. Obviously there already was the implication of multiple universes with S'yne and such but now there's a big spotlight on somewhere besides Raphtalia and Kizuna's worlds, where the big bad supposedly lives.

“That’s pretty much what I was expecting. Shield Hero, let me tell you something interesting,” the Demon Dragon began. Then she looked at the Artificial Behemoth’s chest again. “That part there houses a corrupted holy weapon from this world, which has artificially turned the monster into one of the four holy heroes and has allowed it all the power-up methods. It’s basically the monster version of a holy hero.”

I'm somewhat suspecting it's the Blunt Force Holy Weapon, given how easily that beast is smashing through barriers.

The soul that Raphtalia had pulled from the vanguard of the waves was not much like the body it had come from. Instead, it was a gloomy, Japanese-looking guy who was probably in his thirties.

...

“The vanguards of the waves are people who have been reborn or transferred over here after being selected by the one who assumes the name of God. They are given all sorts of abilities, such as the power to steal holy weapons or seven star weapons. They come into these worlds and start causing chaos,” I explained.

“Reborn? You mean like having spare bodies, like Kyo?” Raphtalia asked.

“No, something else. Just their souls were led to this world from Japan, and then they were reborn here as someone from this world. With their memories of the past,” I said. For example, they are people who died in unfortunate accidents—people like Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu. This “god” would whisper to them that they had died an untimely death and offer to reincarnate them in any world they liked. They were already dead and so had no reason to reject such an offer. If they did, the “god” probably claimed to be taken with their resolve and promised to give them additional cheat powers, basically forcing them to accept. In some cases, maybe they were just forced to be reborn, no matter what they felt. I’d read books like that, loads of them. Now that they knew being summoned to another world was actually a thing, why not getting reborn or transferred over?

So I was right about Takt being some OC f**kboy! They're all OCs! They're people from Japan who died and now are getting to live out their sh*tty power fantasy fanfiction as their equally sh*tty original character! As a source of useful but disposable minions, that's actually kind of brilliant. We saw how bad Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki had been at the beginning (with Naofumi himself potentially on that path as well before he was betrayed) and they were chosen by weapons that actually have the world's best interest at heart. Take those same people and have a malevolent entity constantly feeding their egos and pushing them to do terrible things because "it's their right to do so" and "they're the real heroes" and you've got an near endless source of wrenches to throw into the works of those trying to stop you.

Of course, now I just have this image in my head that the World Eater is Aqua from Konosuba. Which would actually be kind of amazing, not gonna lie. A godly being reincarnating otakus from Japan into a new fantasy-based world for a singular purpose and giving them special powers and tools in exchange.

“What if . . . and just hear me out . . . what if this one who assumes the name of a god is somehow responsible for my game knowledge?” Itsuki quietly suggested. That sounded possible to me now. Even if being summoned was the correct process, having some prior knowledge would change your actions once you arrived.

Before, when the Shield Spirit had explained to Naofumi that he was a first pick choice and the other three heroes were their weapons' third picks, I'd theorized as to why and how the final selection ended up. Assuming the weapons were telling the truth about being able to grant any wish once the waves were over, it could be assumed they have some power over reality even in the four's home universe. So I'd theorized the weapons set up a window to snag their picks, with the shield getting Naofumi and the other weapons, by sheer unfortunance, had their picks keep missing the window and thus they became more desperate, thus why their third picks had to die in order to reincarnate because the weapons couldn't leave things to chance anymore.

Now, with the new speculation and info, we can assume the World Eater has some influence over other universes too, including the heroes' original ones. So two new theories come to mind.

The first, and one I find most likely, is that the World Eater is causing video games that are similar to the worlds impacted by the waves to appear in the original worlds of the heroes. In theory, the butterfly effect could cause a chain of events that'd lead to such games existing, so it's not like the World Eater is just dropping them into each reality. It would just need to nudge things in the right direction. If video game knowledge is actually detrimental to the heroes, then that leaves less choices for the Holy Weapons (at least in regards to what their ideal candidates would be) and opens up more choices for the World Eater, since it wants arrogant and know-it-alls like that for vanguards.

The second, which could still work with the first, is that the World Eater is aware of humans the Holy Weapons have their eyes on and is actively sabotaging them. A weapon has a first choice, so the World Eater throws the game or other things in their path to turn them into a less desirable option, possibly even vanguard material.

After all my comments about the recent antagonists, S'yne's sister is starting to grow on me. She's filling a similar role as Witch; manipulating and using people before ultimately tossing them aside. But like the Demon Dragon and High Priest, there is more of an air of dignity about her than with Witch. With the exception of her sister, she's not really talking down and belittling anyone to try and promote her own strength. Like Glass she feels like someone who is genuinely powerful and doesn't need to prove it. How she's using the enemies of the week is curious and perhaps even a little scary because it does feel like she's testing and experimenting and these losses are not really a loss for her. And there's the added mystery Sadeena threw in over what she really wants. Whether bad guy with a bigger agenda or a secret good guy, she's more enjoyable to read about, as opposed to the vanguards where the biggest enjoyment they offer is watching them get taken down, and even that's not much with all the whining and tantrums they have after they're beaten. She's different from Witch and Kyo. She's not completely high off her own power and doesn't refuse to recognize her enemies' strength. Her casually teleporting away for a bit when she realized the battle was turning in the heroes' favor gave a ton to her character.

I'm just looking forward to when she gets a name other than S'yne's sister or Moron Woman. I appreciate Naofumi's completely lack of caring for learning the names of people who don't deserve it, but if she's going to be a serious antagonist or secret ally, a name would help.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/shieldbro/comments/kdwai7/first_time_read_through_light_novel_vol_18_random/

[lokislittlesigyn]

// loki spoilers

This is basically a huge infodump on my thoughts about the first episode, because I doubt y’all want to sift through my trauma-ridden ramblings. I’ll make another post for the rest. This is just everything not related to the IW stuff/my reaction to that. It’s general thoughts, theories, musings.

1. When Loki gets first taken into the TVA. Is that Peggy Carter in the background? Others have suggested it might be. What would that mean??? Will we see the TVA fix the mess the Russos made with Steve/Peggy (not likely) or is it just a lookalike? Who knows..

2. A skrull at the main intake desk! Idk not super relevant just interesting!

3. I’m kind of glad they changed the... uncomfortable scene... with the robot burning his clothes off. He gets more time to react to seeing the machine itself, and he seems more shocked (”Now.. H-hang on just a minute.”) than angry (”Now hang on just a minute!”) i still feel.. horrible for him, i’m glad nobody Saw him and that the machine didn’t grab the clothes off, but still. Ehhh.. uncomfortable.

He is beautiful though, don’t get me wrong - I’d just prefer a shirtless Loki scene where he wants to be shirtless? let him do what he wants with his body?? he’s probably felt so out of control of his body, from being jotun to falling through space that any invasion of privacy like that hits extra deep...

That being said, I recognize the utility of the scene for the narrative - his lack of control, his literally being stripped of what he was before.

4. WHO IS THE MAN WITH THE CAT. What is his name. I love that he has a mug with his cat on it. But I want to know more. Who is he?

4.1 WHY DIDNT YOU LET LOKI PET THE CAT Please,,, I am begging you,,, let loki pet the cat and have something react kindly to him and purr all happily at his scratching behind their ears plea s e

5. The info sheet. Now this is just a little nitpicky tidbit, but in a previous promo they listed Loki’s height as 6′4 ft and weight as 525 lbs. This is taken directly from the comics if I’m not mistaken. However, in the actual show he’s listed as  6′2 (Tom’s height and Loki’s presumed height) but I don’t remember if his weight is the same. Is Loki 6′2? 6′4? please let me know i want to know how smol i am in comparison

6. His little aggressive shaking of the ticket at the guard makes me giggle each time.

7. The fact the turnstile hits so low on him reminds me,, I am short compared to him. Those things hit my stomach/waist. That one hit his legs. I am once again asking Loki to pick me up.

8. The cartoon with Miss Minutes introducing the TVA is wonderful, I love the art style especially. But it raises questions about Variants... I guess Variants can just, pop out of nowhere? Any action could be the wrong one? And then once you commit the wrong action you either get returned or pruned? Yikes??? And THIS ties into another thing later!

9. The trial scene. I have a hunch - a feeling, a suspicion. That one of three things may be true.

A. The Time-Keepers never actually existed. They’re fabricated, and now whoever runs the TVA is actually using the excuse of “The Time-Keepers decree it so!!!” to carry out whatever They think is right. The fact we haven’t seen the Time-Keepers makes me.. suspicious...

B. The Time-Keepers existed, but they have since passed on, however that may have happened. Now someone is doing the same as above, using the excuse of the Time-Keepers apparent dictations to run things.

C. The Time-Keepers do exist, and do run the timeline/TVA, but maybe they’re not infallible? Maybe the TVA info video is lying or incomplete in some way? Idk I just feel like, something about the TVA and how they run things has to be wrong. It has to? Something is off. Again, this will tie into another thought later...

I have no idea if any of these are actually true! But Loki’s questions of “Who’s in charge here? What do they do? What do you do?” punctuated by laughter leads me to believe he’s suspecting something too, or perhaps just trying to figure this mess out.

10. Seiðr/Magic. We see in this scene, Loki’s magic (”powers”) don’t work in the TVA. (and a quick side note, did he have to Flex like that? do you have to make me see Loki’s bare arms Flex like that? be still my heart. anyway please get that collar off of him and let him rest for five minutes) This makes me wonder.. Why isn’t Loki in his Jotun form? His pale skin and blue eyes are decided by magic, are they not? I suppose this is 2012, so perhaps Odin’s magic is keeping Loki looking like that. But if magic doesn’t work in the TVA, why would his spell reach so far? Clearly Loki’s magic isn’t what’s doing it. How is Loki not appearing as a Jotun? Is his Jotun form repressed - is pale skin his default now, rather than something hidden by magic? I need answers!

11. he sounds so scared about being “reset” please dont hurt him,,

12. cALLING LOKI A PUSSYCAT? (lokitty confirmed) I think Mobius was goading him (Mobius strikes me.. As extremely clever. He’s trying to push Loki’s buttons to see who he’s dealing with. At least, I hope so. Because if he really meant that “You were born to cause pain and suffering and death... All so that others can achieve the best versions of themselves.” and that line about killing Frigga??? No no no he is not guilty. He had no way of knowing what would happen. It wasn’t right to send Algrim up to Asgard (i think algrim wouldve found the way up anyway) but there was no intent to hurt Frigga. I really hope you’re trying to goad him, Mobius, because if you believe that I trust you much less. anyway i digress) but wow is he pushing Loki’s buttons a lot. I can’t... Blame him entirely, I understand he’s trying to make sure Loki’s on his side, maybe I’m just too soft for Loki idk. But some of that was very cruel to say. /:

12.1 AND ANOTHER THING ABOUT MOBIUS. That scene with the girl in the church?? Did that little girl kill the men? Is that young Sylvie? Or is she using an illusion to make herself look young and innocent? What’s going on!!!!

13. LOKI SNATCHING THE LITTLE TIME-TWISTER DEVICE AND STOWING IT IN HIS POCKET.... POCKET....... sorry sometimes i get so caught up about loki that i just say random words in between little noises and squeals,,, i am a silly thing

14. CASEY. CASEY??? That whole exchange is funny. Poor Loki, just trying to intimidate this guy so he can escape but - Casey doesn’t know what a fish is. to be fair.... thor doesn’t seem to know what a raccoon is... right?

15. That bit with the infinity stones is kind of funny until you realize

A. Natasha died for a paperweight

B. Tony died from paperweights

C. Loki was tortured for paperweights

D. Oh, and Gamora died for a paperweight too. And Vision. Need I go on?

Then it becomes less of exclusively “haha funny” and now it’s a mix of funny and pain and gosh, is that a good way to sum up being a Marvel/Loki fan sometimes...

16. Loki gazing at the timeline all “Is this the most powerful thing in the universe?” or something, i’m sorry i don’t remember exactly... made me think of a meme and i shall make it presently.

17. I love that Loki got to see examples of how his family loves him but the fact he’s all “I can’t go back.” really just breaks me. It’s like he can finally see they love him after all of this mess, and now he doesn’t have the chance. Please, please let him be happy. Give him some relief. This is the Loki that just came off finding out about being Jotun, falling from the Bifrost, encountering Thanos, attacking Earth, facing defeat, and now he’s being thrashed around in this wild place and has just found out he inadvertently caused Frigga’s death (he did not kill her: his actions, by mistake, lead to her murder, let me be very clear) AND Odin will die AND all the rest... And he wants to be with them.

18. Loki’s reaction to Thor suggesting the hug makes me soft. Please I want to hug this little mischief man so so so bad-

19. Skipping over the iw parts! That’s for another post because this one will be grossly long anyway.

20. “I don’t enjoy hurting people.” and “It's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. A desperate play for control.” was all so, so validating. I’ve been trying to argue on Loki’s behalf for almost a solid decade. Seeing the show recognize that Loki’s not all just violence and hurting for “fun”, that he’s not unhinged and bloodthirsty.. Is so nice. It’s just so, so comforting. and it gives me hope for future episodes that they won’t go the route of “oh haha loki bullied and mistreated and stabbed thor for years!!! :)” loki cries during basically every fight with Thor and you want me to believe he stabs Thor for fun? absolutely not.

21. Theory.. Just another hunch.. So we know a fugitive variant, aka Loki, is running amok. Refer back to 8 and 9.C. What if the Time-Keepers never actually fixed the timeline into a single timeline? What if there are other timelines, and these different Loki variants have hopped over to the current one? Or, maybe the Time-Keepers did fix the timeline into a single one, and these Lokis are remnants from that huge time-war at the beginning? Time runs differently in relative spaces, they may have Just Left that war from their perspective!

I say Lokis and not Loki because we’re pretty sure there’s Female/Lady Loki, Old Man/King Loki, and possibly Young/Kid Loki. That’s at least three. From the peeks of Asgard and NYC we’ve seen from the trailers, I think we’re also getting an Asgardian King!Loki and Midgardian King/Vote!Loki. (unless our dearest variant is hopping into timelines and situating into them, but I doubt Mobius would let that happen..?) That’s five.

To further support this, keep in mind, I believe recently six (i think 6 regular and 6 rare...) different funko pops were announced for the series? I’m not sure if they’re in addition to the Loki and Mobius already released. If they are, there’s enough room for each Loki and maybe a TVA agent. One of the pops is supposed to have a buddy/companion I think? Maybe they’re making the cat guy into one, or maybe there’s something else (Throg, anyone?).

22. That is totally Lady Loki/Sylvie at the end by the way. Has to be. But why does she want the reset devices? Why did she snatch that TVA Hunter? Again, WHAT’S GOING ON

ANYWAY this was a very long post if you made it this far, I commend you.

[lafox]

RE:ID Rant! /SPOILERS/

I just finished watching Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness and made some scene pack which you can find here. 

I’m not the biggest fan of putting my opinion out there on the internet but I'll try to write my opinion while still be careful.

NO HATE TO ANY CHARACTER LISTED BELLOW THANK YOU!

Anyhow, I need to talk about it! 

First of all, amazing character design and rendering. All the characters looks amazing and I adore the little details, for example, Leon's little head twitch or look at the president’s facial details. I think we all agree that they aced in that department. (will talk more about that subject after character analysis)

Now, the plot... the plot.

Look in all honesty it was a nice plot but i felt it went a bit too fast, not enough build up and stuff. I don't have much to say on it, only a few default on the characters and why and how things happen but I'll talk about that through character analysis. 

Okay, about our main character Leon.

He was badass, I'm so surprised he knew what to do in the submarine, honestly that was a good scene I was really anxious for him. He did care for the people around him but I didn’t get that sweet side of him like he had in RE2 or in DAM, I'm saying this because even if he saw Shen May’s brother, he didn’t have the empathy of his last wishes, like Shen May basically said: “He doesn’t want this to happen again and that why this *the chip* can help us.” And what annoys me the most and that both the ‘villain's’ didn’t deserve to die so the least he could do is to not make it *the virus* happen again. 

I am revolted at Leon for not giving the chip to Claire, not even telling the president about this shit! LIKE BRO. Also denying Claire, thinking he knows best?! Excuse me but Claire literally interviews people, she knows the Press! Anyhow, Annoyed...

Now let’s talk about Claire. 

My girl Claire! They made her a side character that didn’t have much to add only confirmation to our suspicions which is good yes, but it isn’t Claire’s job, she deserve a much bigger role in the RE universe! I get it, she was also a ‘side’ character in RE2 and Leon is the star but still tho! She did give #girlboss energy which I am LIVING for! She was stunning! her character design and CGI was beautiful and I've seen a lot of people saying that she is ‘ugly as shit’ as i quote. I’m sorry but she looks realistic and you are going to cry about it? She is around her mid-tweenies, maybe around 27 and you gonna tell me that her being realistic is ‘ugly as shit’?! Yeah nah sorry pal, go and like Shen May (no hate to her, she is gorgeous) then and not our OG Girl Claire! 

Claire deserved a bigger role and she is smart, like she is fucking smart! She almost decoded everything before the agents came and kidnap her, one of many reasons she should’ve had a bigger role! (Also please, your hand in marriage Claire ilysm)

Next on the list is Jason.

Okay, I'm sorry but i am in love with him.

I’m sorry okay! He fits the dilf characteristics and I cant-

Anyhow back to analysis. 

I feel horrible, he didn’t deserve to die, the man had serious mental illness and PTSD involved, they showed that but they killed him off. Why? Because he wanted to stop the virus from ever happening by his own ways? Even if it is a violent way, there is still, there was a logical and reasonable. Honestly i think and/or probably, a lot of people might relate to him and Shen Mei, because he has PTSD and mental health issues and Shen Mei lost someone close to her and they are both trying to make the world better, in their own way and for Capcom to kill them both is such a shame.. 

Jason is such a badass tho like.. damn~  He was really well written as a side character, like, I enjoyed when he was on screen (Maybe because i like him but whatever) 

Last but not least, Shen Mei!

I’m gonna be real and probs a lot of people are not going to like this but she was the least prominent character for me, like, yes she stands out a bit but for at least 2 episode she is.. just there and having little dialogue. But i did enjoy her twist, i felt like all that nothing from her was worth in someway. She is definitely #girlboss *chef kiss* and i can relate to her on a deeper level. I enjoyed that she silent for 2 episode because i can relate that she doesn’t talk, that she only listen and observes. I enjoy how she will do anything to help the people she love and that think that's what make Shen Mei a great character! Overall i did enjoy her character and i think her side role is very well placed with her personality.

CGI and Rendering Rant

I need to talk about the amount of details in the male characters but lack of it for female characters... You can see how, The President, Jason or Leon have detail, you can see their pores on their skin, you can see their history and age through those CGI detail on their skin and others but.. Claire or Shen May, their skin is  perfect. They do have a few details under her eyes but no pores, no small wrinkles, nothing. I think that's a shame. Shen Mei looks absolutely perfect, you cannot tell me that there is any default on her. I think that is marketing.. what I mean is that Shen Mei is an attraction for people to watch REID. She is absolutely stunning and has no default. 

I was talking with a friend of mine that studies human biology and we were talking about those details, we went on the subject of the women representation and rendering and we both suspect makeup is involve. What i am saying is that Capcom doesn’t show those pores because : Makeup. 

It can be a valid point. Exhibit A is Shen Mei eyelashes and slight makeup, she is meeting the President after all. So of course she would whip out some makeup. (I know i would.) Shen Mei eye Lashes are way longer longer than Claire’s which would go back to out theory of make up.

Photo comparation: 

Claire in her hotel room.

VS

Shen Mei in the submarine. You might think that it’s not convincing enough but keep in mind that Shen Mei is looking up as her head is downwards!

Coming back to skin. In the last two picture, yes, you can see pours and details of the face of Shen Mei but i want to talk about normal viewing of the two character VS male character same view point.

Photo comparation: 

The girls, looking perfect (ily both sm) 

VS

Leon at the (almost) same camera leveling and depth and you see way more characteristic then other female character even when Leon and Claire are around the same age. But they did nail it when the camera was close on both women. 

Adding a note that Claire does show a it of characteristics, more than Shen Mei and the we get people calling her ‘Ugly as shit’ for having a realistic face.

Maybe Shen Mei is younger, Probably and surely but I'm 18, i have facial characteristics. the only thing that is realistic is her beauty spot which is a really nice touch I love it. 

Anyhow i think I'm done talking about it. 

I enjoyed watching the show and i was excited for it! i hope everyone enjoyed it! Also I love all the character, I'm not bullying them or critic them for their physic or anything else! I’m just ranting about things that was ���negative’ only because i enjoyed so many aspect of it that the post would be longer aahh. 

A few positives I will list are:

Camera angles (immerced) 

Character movement (No awkward movement or glitch) 

Motion blur (None sickening blur, right place Motion blur)

Lighting (Accurate lighting, not forgetting lighting through hair, ear etc)

Animation (Overall fucking amazing like holy shit)

Tension (Performed very well through animation and plot) 

Emotion and facial expression ( I could write a whole essay on that, that’s how well they did it)

I think that's it :) 

I hope you enjoyed me rambling on about this, i will write soon I've just had a holiday! scheduled writing around the end of next week!

-Chlo

[mummybear]

Cursed To Distraction

This Is Day 25 Of Roleplay May

Words: 5183

Warnings: Smut, Impala Sex, Swearing, Teasing, Sex Curses, Oral Male And Female Receiving, Filthy Dirty Talk ;), Size Kink, Dry Humping, Rough Sex. Think That’s It.

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Reader, (OC’s) Molly and Ash.

Pairings: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: When a bartender hits on you in what you think is attempt to make Dean jealous, what happens when not everything is quite as it seems?

A/N: So, this ran over way longer than it was supposed to but I’m really proud of myself for getting as much posted as I did! So sorry this is late again and thank you so much to everyone who has helped me and who has continued to read these smutty little works of mine, it really does mean so much to me :) I will be posting the roleplay May masterlist later today, and I will pin it to my tumblr main page for a time, for anyone who is interested! Once again thank you to Bee for betaing for me again :) @negans-lucille-tblr​ I honestly dunno what I would’ve done without you the last few months :) and a big thank you to @deanwanddamons​ and @dylanholyhellobrien​ as well as everyone who read any and all of the fics!

Another successful hunt had brought Sam, Dean and you to one of the local town's bars. You were surprisingly less disgusted by this one, especially compared with a lot of the others which you’d been in lately, this bar was practically paradise. The three of you sitting in a corner booth, hidden away from the rest of the bar a little and you were steadily getting tipsy. Which was actually kind of unusual for you with it being this early on, in fact, you weren’t sure that you’d even drank that much.

You lean across the table and gather the beer bottles, making your way to the bar since it’s your round. The trouble is, the more you drink the harder it is for you to hide your feelings for one Winchester in particular. Walking over to the bar you look up, meeting the bartender's eyes and she smiles at you, a smile that’s a little more seductive than you’d been expecting and you certainly hadn’t been expecting the wink she throws you. She's actually kinda hot, you're surprised that Dean hasn’t hit on her yet.

Looking back at the table for some kind of indication you weren’t seeing things, you quickly find that the brothers are deep in conversation. You hand her back the beers with a gentle smile and go to order another three. She has them in front of you before you even get the words out. You thank her and pay for them but she gently takes hold of your arm before you can leave and hands you another drink.

“This one is on me, if you’ve got five minutes?” She asks curiously, licking her plump red lips as she leans forward on the bar.

You take the seat at the bar and take the offered drink, drinking down the shot in one gulp.

“I’m sure I can spare a few minutes,” you reply, licking the drop of whiskey from your lips.

“Good. So, what’s your name?” 

“Y/N, how about you?” you ask as she refills your shot glass from the bottle she’s keeping right in front of her.

Flicking her brown curly hair over her shoulder, her sparkling brown eyes meet yours and she smirks when you take yet another shot.

“You can call me Ash.” She tells you grabbing a beer of her own from under the bar and taking a long pull, wrapping her full lips around the opening of the beer bottle. Licking her lips before she speaks again, “I have a question for you, Y/N. How long have you had the hots for your friend over there?” Ash asks nodding over to where Sam and Dean are sitting. 

“What are you talking about?” You half laugh,but the blush you can feel rising in your cheeks is a dead give away if your voice hadn’t been enough.

“Oh sweetie, of course you do. You can tell me, it’s kinda what us bartenders do. He definitely likes you too, take my word for it.” She assures you, nodding over at the table as her fingers brush your arm.

You turn to look at the table surprised to see Dean watching you intently while Sam seemingly talks to himself. “You think so?” You ask curiously, turning back to her, finding her smiling wide again.

“Trust me. Now, do you want me to help?” She asks, leaning forward so she’s an inch away from your face. “Or  if he’s too chicken shit to do something about it, there’s always me.” She smirks, taking another swig of her beer. 

“Sure, what’ve you got?”

“He’ll either really fucking love this or he’s gonna really hate it. Either way, win win for you.” She grins, leaning in and pressing her soft lips against yours. You lean over the bar a little further when she cups your cheek and you feel something strange and warm in your stomach but you ignore it.

Ash pulls back from your lips and drags her teeth over her full bottom lip. 

“Are you always this nice to strangers?” you giggle, when she wipes her lipstick from your lips.

“Hmm, only the cute ones,” she winks, making you blush all over again. “Now, give it a go, tell him what you want. You never know, he may want it too,” she suggests, pushing the beer bottles towards you. You look between her and the table where the boys are staring at you with open mouths and there’s a pretty girl sitting beside Sam who just looks a little like she’s impressed.

Confidence swims through your veins as you swipe the beers from the bartop and walk back to your table with an extra swing in your hips. What you don’t see is the way that Ash smiles as you walk away or her hiding the bottle she’d been pouring your shots from with a purple glint in her eyes.

“What the hell was that, Y/N?” Dean asks with a grin when you slide Sam’s bottle to him across the table. You smile at the girl that he has his arm around and she returns it confidently.

Ignoring Dean’s question, you slide into the booth beside him, feeling the warm feeling return to your belly when his knee nudges against yours. 

“Who’s your friend, Sam?” You ask with a knowing smile. The girl grins back at you and leans over to shake your hand before Sam can speak.

“Hey there Y/N, I’m Molly.” She smiles sweetly. She seems nice and really cute but you can clearly tell she’s not someone to be messed with. Your suspicions are confirmed when Sam tells you she’s another hunter and she’s actually on a hunt right now. Basically, she’s the exact kind of girl you would hope for Sam to find. 

You’re trying to ignore the sudden need to straddle Dean and kiss him as you listen to Sam and Molly tell you about the case. But since his knee had brushed yours you can’t wash the thoughts from your head. You’re starting to get the feeling that something is wrong, because that feeling is back in your stomach and your hands are shaking. You glance over at the bar, quickly noticing that Ash is missing but you can’t seem to form the words. 

“Sweetheart?” Dean asks gently, shaking your shoulder but his skin against yours almost makes you whimper, you have to bite into your lip to stop the noise from escaping when you look at him. Those plump pink lips of his wrapped around his bottle as he finishes it off, you do the same to try and get rid of the dry feeling in your throat.

But you quickly realise that the warm feeling you’d had in your stomach has moved. Now you find yourself fidgeting in your seat, it’s like you’re unable to ignore the way that Dean makes you feel. All you can think about is how good he looks, licking your lips as you look over at him and for once you allow yourself to really look at him. Noticing just how many freckles dust his face, the curve of his lips as he listens to his brother talk with a slight smile. The crinkles beside his perfectly green eyes and you certainly don’t miss the clench of his jaw when you press yourself closer to him, even if it’s subconscious at first. The second time you do it, you do it completely on purpose.

Sam and Molly are in deep conversation when you finally fully turn to Dean with a smile, leaning into him you press your lips to his ear as one of your hands rests on his thigh beneath the table and you feel him stiffen beneath your touch. You feel Dean shiver when the tip of your tongue flicks at his earlobe.

“Fuck, you smell good,” you groan quietly. Your free hand moving over his chest as you press yourself closer, hooking one of your legs over his knees. “And you’re so big and strong, I bet you could throw me around our motel room so easily couldn’t you, Dean?” You breathe out against his ear as your hand slides up higher, feeling him jump where he sits when your hand brushes over his half hard length and gently squeezes.

Neither of you even notice Sam and Molly slipping out of the booth.

“Fuck,sweetheart. What the hell has gotten into you?” Dean asks his voice deeper than usual, trying to hide his moan when you grab one of his hands and slip it just beneath your t-shirt. You feel his fingers grip your hip, clearly forcing his hand not to move any further.

“I dunno what you’re talking about, gorgeous. I just finally decided to let you know just how fucking hot you are, that’s all. I’m sure you already know but I would really love to show you.” You giggle hearing him groan your name. It sounds like he’s trying to warn you but if that’s the case, then he’s failing miserably. 

“So, did you enjoy the show earlier? I Couldn’t help but notice you were almost falling off of your chair just to get a good look.” 

You quickly shift your body and climb into his lap, straddling his hips and your eyes stay locked on one another. His free hand moves to grip your other hip, stopping you from rolling your hips down into him. 

“It was hot, sue me. And as much as I know I’ll regret saying this later, this right here, this is not you,” Dean states firmly, fixing you with a look that makes you shiver when it probably shouldn’t.

Reaching behind you,you smile at Dean seductively as you grab your beer and take a long swig, enjoying the way his eyes move between your lips and your throat. Once it’s empty you place it back on the table and lick the few drops from your lips. 

“Y/N, look at me,” he says quietly, which of course you already are.

Ash looks from her spot at the bar, cussing him under her breath when she notices Dean looking for something she doesn’t want him to find. But she’s quick with an idea and makes her way over to the couple.

“Hey, pretty girl,” Ash purrs seductively, looking down at you in Dean’s lap and she leans forward and roughly presses her red lips to yours, causing your hands to dig into Dean’s shoulders and you certainly don’t miss the way that his hands tighten on your hips.

“Hey, you,” you wink when she pulls back. “This is Dean,” you inform her, running one of your hands through his soft hair, feeling his head tilt back as he follows your touch.

She smiles at you and turns her attention to the older Winchester. 

“Well, aren’t you a lucky boy?” Ash grins, surprising Dean when she presses her lips against his, he doesn’t pull away and you giggle feeling his grip on you loosen on your hips. Dean pulls away quickly and turns to you, his teeth dragging over his bottom lip before his mind seems to be made up. You don’t have time to question the flash of purple that sparks in his green eyes because his lips quickly press against yours. 

You smile against his lips, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing yourself closely against him. Dean’s tongue flicks out against your bottom lip as his hands move behind you to grip your ass tightly. 

“You wanna get outta here?” Dean grunts against your parted lips when you roll your hips down into the line of his now fully hard cock. 

“You sure? You sure changed your tune.” You tease, feeling the grip he has on your ass tighten.

Dean pauses for a moment, letting his eyes flick between your eyes and lips before he shakes his head.

“Well, whatever was stopping me before I can’t remember.” He chuckles, leaning in closer once again so his lips are brushing yours when he speaks and his eyes stay locked on yours.

“All I can think about right now is burying myself between your thighs, see if you’re as small and tight as you look like you’re gonna be. Haven’t stopped wonderin’ about how sweet that pussy tastes,” He rasps quietly, the green in his eyes darkening before you as he licks those plump lips, pink from all the biting he’d inflicted on them.

You knew Dean liked to dirty talk, you’d heard it through the thin motel walls but when it was directed towards you it was on a new level of sexy.

“You got the keys?” You moan out as he starts kissing down your neck, dragging his teeth along a particularly sensitive patch of skin.

You cling to him harder feeling his hot breath against your skin, “yeah, course I do.” He smirks pulling back from your neck, keys dangling from his forefinger. 

“Of course you do, silly me.” You smile back, climbing out of his lap and curling your finger at him, “come get it Winchester.” 

Flicking your hair over your shoulder you make your way out of the bar, with more of a swing in your hips than usual, fully aware that Dean is hot on your heels. 

You shiver when the cool air hits your skin, it’s colder outside than it has been in weeks. You can feel Dean’s eyes on you as you walk, coming to a stop at the side of the impala you feel Dean pressing up against your back. Pushing your hair over one shoulder as he presses you into the car, so that you’re able to feel his hardness against your ass. 

“Would you let me fuck you right here?” He asks knowingly, breath ghosting over your ear and his fingers slip beneath your t-shirt, running along the soft skin of your stomach. You swallow hard, failing to hide the needy whimper of his name that slips past your lips. “Of course you would, right here, right up against my baby.” There’s a pause and you feel his hand by your hip as he slips the key into the lock.

“Maybe next time, hmmm?” He chuckles backing away as he pops the door open.

The throbbing between your thighs is almost painful and when he pulls away you suck in a deep breath when the burning in your stomach returns. You still have no idea what it is, but you can’t find it in you to think about it too much. And judging by the pained grunt from the other side of the car Dean’s felt whatever it is too.

“See, the teasing isn’t so funny now is it?” 

You slip into the front seat beside Dean, your doors closing almost at the same time. Pressing yourself against him your hand starts slowly moving higher up his thigh and you see him smirk as he starts the engine. 

“Fuck sweetheart, what’re you up to?” He groans as you unbuckle his belt and pop the button of his jeans. You bite your bottom lip watching his zip slide down when his cock jumps in the suddenly not so tight confines.

Dean lifts his hips as you tug on his jeans and boxers enough to free his perfect long thick cock. You’re almost drooling at the thought of having him in your mouth, finally. No surprise it’s one of the best looking cocks you’ve ever seen, the swollen head already leaking with pre-cum.

“How about you keep your eyes on the road, Winchester, let me worry about looking after you,” you practically purr, leaning over and pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

He groans deep in his chest watching you stretch out across the bench seat, back arched, with your head down and ass up as he pulls out of the parking lot. Wrapping your small hand around the thickness of his cock, the tips of your fingers just barely touching the tip of your thumb. 

You look up at him through your lashes as you lean in closer, swirling the tip of your tongue around the swollen head of his cock, moving over the very tip and moaning as the taste of his pre-cum hits your tongue. Dean’s free hand moves to the back of your head, fingers winding into your hair as he glances down at you. 

“Come on baby girl, open up,” he smirks, licking those plump lips that you dream about.

Dean sucks in a breath as you do as you're told and his fingers tighten in your hair. You hollow your cheeks as you suck at the head of his cock, which feels even thicker than it looks and tastes so good. 

He shifts in his seat, spreading his legs open a little further when you finally take more of his thick length into your mouth. The heat in your stomach starts to ebb away and you let out a relieved sigh, breathing a little slower through your nose as your tongue presses against the thick vein that runs along the entire length.

Your lips stretch wide when he presses against the back of your head, a loud growl leaving his lips when your hand cups his balls and his hips jolt up off of the seat. Pushing the thick head of his cock into the back of your throat, making you cough around the moan as the drool leaks from the sides of your lips. Your free hand moves to his thigh, nails digging in as you grip tightly.

“Fuck, look at you. Takin’ that cock so good, sweetheart. Such a pretty little mouth,” Dean rasps as the car swerves around a corner. 

You start to bob your head over him, swallowing around his cock when it hits the back of your throat again. You can hear Dean’s breathing increase as your movements do. His fingers tighten further in your hair and he roughly pulls your head up, you gasp for air when his cock falls from your lips. 

In fact, you hadn’t even realised that the car had stopped until both of his big hands cup your cheeks and he pulls you into a demanding kiss. Your hands move to his shoulders, slipping beneath his jacket and helping him pull it free of his arms.

While Dean’s hands move to your hips, unbuttoning your jeans, hooking his thumbs into the sides of them and panties. He pulls away from your lips when you sit up on your knees and roughly pulls them down your legs. You sit back on your ass laughing a little as you stumble. Dean just smirks at you as he pulls them free of your legs and tosses them behind him. 

“Wanna take this to the back seat, handsome?” You grin watching his eyes rake over your body. You wiggle out from under him and climb into the back seat.

You lay out on the back seat and pull off your shirt and bra, feeling his eyes on you the entire time. He licks his lips as he finishes undressing himself. 

“Looks like Sammy’s gettin’ lucky himself. Probably a good idea we kept this in baby, huh?” He smirks pulling his black shirt over his head. You shift a little, letting your feet rest on the soft leather so that Dean can climb into the back with you.

“C’mon, scoot back and spread those legs for me,baby.” 

You do as he says, the light from the motel and the moonlight shining through the impalas window, so that you can see that little boyish twinkle in his eyes when he presses his lips to your inner thigh. He’s still smiling when his eyes meet yours again. 

“Somehow, this was always how imagined our first time was gonna go.” You tell him a little shyly with a smile.

“Really? So you’ve thought about it then?” he chuckles kissing his way closer and closer to where you want him the most. 

You can’t help but smile at the look on his face, your fingers pushing into his hair when he moves lower, pulling your legs over his shoulders and his breath ghosts over your hot, wet pussy.

“Of course I have, you dork. You’re seriously annoying but you’re still my best friend. There’s always been that what if there, I’ve seen you looking,” you giggle when he wiggles his eyebrows at you and presses a kiss to your hip bone. His tongue sliding slowly across your skin until he reaches the other hip and he nips at the skin lightly. 

“Mmm, you have, have you? Well sweetheart, you can hardly blame me for lookin’.” 

The words are barely out of his mouth before his tongue moves through your slick, your back arches trying to press yourself closer to his mouth. He looks up at you from between your legs, slowly swirling the tip of his tongue around your extremely sensitive clit. Your whimper turns into a loud moan, feeling your pussy stretch around two of his thick fingers. 

“Dean, please.” 

The heels of your feet dig into the top of his back harder. The deeper his fingers push the more of him you want. 

“Fuck, that looks good,” Dean groans before sucking your clit between his lips. 

You watch his eyes fall closed and his fingers start moving faster inside of you, his free hand presses against your stomach keeping you in place as he fucks you with his fingers, curling them in a come hither motion. You can feel the band inside your stomach ready to snap but it’s like your body can’t let it go, you can feel the bliss climbing higher and higher with every swirl of his tongue and every curl of his fingers.

The wet sound of his fingers moving inside you starts to fill the car and Dean pulls his face up to watch you fall apart.

“God Dean, please! I need it,” you beg him desperately, rolling your hips down into his hand.

“You’ll get it sweetheart, relax. I’ve got you,” he assures you with that deep husky voice, that sends chills down your spine. You do as he says, taking a deep breath, allowing yourself to really feel everything. 

“Fuck, there you go baby girl. Let it go.”

You gasp loudly, feeling your orgasm hit you as if from nowhere. Your fingers grip tight in his ridiculously soft hair as your other hand clings to the back of the bench seat. The orgasm rolls through your body like fire licking at your skin. His fingers continue to work you through it, prolonging your orgasm that much further until you're panting for breath and gently pushing on his head. The sensitivity is a little too much, even more so when the vibrations of his chuckle moves through you.

He pulls back with a smug grin on his face when your body slumps against the seat.

“Jesus Christ, if you’re that good with your hands and your mouth-” 

He cuts you off pressing his lips to yours, “stop it, you’re gonna give me an even bigger head.” Dean smirks wiggling his eyebrows at you, making you laugh all over again.

“Have I mentioned that you’re a massive dork, Dean Winchester?” you smile up at him as he moves between your legs.

“Oh baby, when you stop lovin’ it, you just go ahead and let me know.” 

“So fucking cocky,” you groan as he presses his lips to your jaw and the head of his cock nudges against your soaked pussy.

You wrap your arms around his neck as his lips press against your ear, “you’ll see. I’ve got every right to be, sweetheart.” His teeth drag along your earlobe as he starts to slowly push the head of his cock inside you. Your nails dig into his back as you cling to him. 

“Gotta go slow, don’t wanna split this tight little pussy in two. Want you to feel it, every fuckin’ inch.” 

“Such a dirty mouth on you, Dean!” You gasp when he lifts your leg and rests it over the back of the front bench seat. So that you're spread open for him, his fingers move over your clit slowly as he continues to push inside your wet heat. “So fucking deep, shit you’re so big!” You cry out, once his hips are flush with your own.

The clunk of your head falling back against the door is the only noise that isn’t one of you breathing heavily.

“Relax, sweetheart,” Dean murmurs, pressing kisses to your neck.

One of his hands cups the back of your head and he pulls you into another searing kiss, that momentarily distracts you from the sting of his thick cock stretching out your pussy. When he pulls back from your lips,you know you need more, “move Dean, please.”

“Thank fuck for that,” Dean grunts, slowly pulling out until only the head of his cock is pressing into you. The moonlight shines through the window as he pushes back into you slowly, both of you moaning loudly, sounding like a pair of porn stars but it feels so fucking good you can’t help it. He kisses you when he pulls almost all of the way out again and instead this time he snaps his hips forward. You can’t help but whimper into his mouth, pleasure mixing with pain so perfectly as your calf tightens on the front bench seat to keep you anchored, you feel Dean’s fingers move to grip your thigh on the same leg.

Your free leg pushes over his hip, your foot pressing into his ass harder as every thrust of his hips gets faster. The heat in your stomach has disappeared and all you can feel is the returning warmth of another orgasm building inside you. 

“Dean, talk to me please,” you whisper breathlessly against his lips, every thrust of his hips is hitting spots inside you that you didn’t realise existed before tonight. 

“Shit, sorry darlin’, you just feel so fuckin’ good.” He half laughs, which quickly turns into a moan when he sits up on his knees and pulls you closer, propping your other leg up on the top of the back seat. Somehow he’s even deeper like this, with you spread open wide for him. 

“Wanna come all over your big cock baby,” you pant biting into your lip as he grips your hips and lifts you a little and with every thrust he pulls you onto his cock. The slap of your ass against his thighs echoes around the car, along with your mixed moans and groans of pleasure.

“Yeah? Come on then. Wanna see how much better it feels when that tight little cunt grips my cock,” Dean grunts, every harsh thrust punching a gasp of air from your chest.

“Oh! Oh fuck!..... Dean!” You all but scream, feeling your pussy starting to clamp down around his length and your thighs starting to shake. 

“Give it to me Y/N! Come on baby!” Dean encourages you breathlessly, moaning praises until you finally fall over the edge with a scream of his name. Your entire body feels like it’s on fire as your muscles clench and tighten painfully.

When you finally start to come down you feel Dean wrap his arms around your back and pull you up so you’re sitting in his lap, with your legs wrapped around his back. His eyes meet yours when you lick your lips and quickly press them against his, feeling his groan before you hear it when you roll your hips over him.

“You’re somethin’ else,” Dean tells you, pressing his forehead against yours. His hands move to grip your ass as you start to rise and fall on his cock. “Fuck, yeah that’s it baby, just like that. Gonna fill you up.” Dean growls, helping you move, your open mouths pressed against one another. Neither of you are able to kiss, everything feels so damn good.

“Do it Dean, want your come,” you moan out into his mouth, feeling his hips stutter beneath you. You know he’s close, “can’t wait to get you back to the bunker, just imagine all the fun we’re gonna have.” 

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Dean groans through gritted teeth.

Your voice is just a breathy whisper at this point but you know he can hear you.

“Imagine how many tables you can bend me over, or how many beds we can mess up together. Maybe when we get in the motel you can fuck me in the shower, make me take it like a good little girl. Nobody's made me come like you do Dean, maybe I can show you just how good my mouth can be, take you so deep let you fuck my mouth….” The rest of your words die on your tongue when Dean slams his hips up into you roughly, before groaning your name and coming inside you hot and thick.

His mouth quickly covers yours as he twists you rolling onto his back so you’re on top as his chest rises and falls fast. You pull away from his lips with a satisfied smirk on your lips.

“Fuck Y/N, I thought I had a damn good dirty talkin’ game. And yes, all of that is happening.” 

You giggle and shake your head at him falling against his chest, letting his racing heart press against your ear.

However, before either of you can get too comfortable there’s a knock on the window. Dean dives for his gun but you catch his hand with a shake of your head.

“Dean calm down, since when do monsters knock?” you reason quietly.

Dean seems to accept your answer, letting the hand that’s now holding the gun relax. You don’t move to answer the door, you simply lean forward in the seat and pull on his black t-shirt just in case.

“Yeah, that looks so much better on you.” 

“Stop it!” You laugh gently slapping his hands away, rolling your eyes when they settle on your ass again.

“Y/N? Where’s Dean?” Comes the sound of Sam’s voice through the fogged up window.

Biting your lip you look down at the man trapped beneath you, big green eyes staring up at you as he smiles.

“Right here, Sammy!” Dean calls out, making you laugh when you hear Sam’s overreacted gagging noises from the other side of the glass.

“Do you want something? Or have you taken up dogging or some weird shit!”

“Oh ha ha, very funny. No, we want something, turns out the two of you were cursed by that Ash girl back at the bar. But don’t worry, Molly and I took care of it while you two were working it out.” Sam deadpans.

“Huh, who knew?” You giggle as Dean pulls you back down on top of him.

“Best damn curse I’ve ever been hit with,” Dean winks.

“Thank you, Sam!” You call out hearing a mumbled you’re welcome as Dean pulls you into another incredible mind scrambling kiss.

Tags: @chewie-redbird @lettersofwrittencollective @stiles-o-dylan24 @mogaruke @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone @desireepow-1986 @emichelle @lilulo-12 @22sarah08 @simsadventures @charmed-asylum @nicole-lynne @hazel-eye-coffee-shop-girl-blog​ @defenderrosetyler @emilyshurley @emoryhemsworth @foxyjwls007​ @mylovelydame21​ @sunshineandwings86 @akshi8278​ @peaches009​ @captain-shannon-becker​ @heimdoodle​ @plushpyrate​ @winchester-wifey​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​ @flamencodiva​ @hobby27​ @akshi8278​ @littlelonewolfgirl @ladywinchester1967​ @screechingartisancashbailiff​ @maddiepants​ @spnfanfic-reblogs​ @holylulusworld​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @sonofabringmesomepie​ @mrsjenniferwinchester​ @hhiggs​ @pisces-cutie​ @trina44sb @heartsaved​ @matsumama​ @adoptdontshoppets​

Pond Tags: @aprofoundbondwithdean​ @manawhaat​ @thing-you-do-with-that-thing​  @nichelle-my-belle​ @notnaturalanahi​ @deanscarlett​ @roxy-davenport​ @impala-dreamer​ @samsgoddess​ @frenchybell​ @scorpiongirl1​  @deandoesthingstome​ @deansleather​ @curliesallovertheplace​ @whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname​ @waywardjoy​ @imadeangirl-butimsamcurious​ @kayteonline​ @supernatural-jackles​ @wevegotworktodo​ @quiddy-writes​ @babypieandwhiskey​ @supermoonpanda​ @deanwinchesterforpromqueen​ @chaos-and-the-calm67-blog​ @memariana91​ @teamfreewill-imagine​ @chelsea-winchester​ @becs-bunker​ @castieltrash1​ @supernaturalyobessed​ @ruined-by-destiel​ @winchester-writes​ @evilskank-inthemegacoven​ @maraisabellegrey-blog​ @faith-in-dean​ @winchestersmolder​ @bennyyh​ @clueless-gold​ @deanwinchesterxreader​ @winchester-family-business​ @there-must-be-a-lock​ @just-another-winchester​ @cas-backwards-tie​ @winecatsandpizza​ @firefly-in-darkness​

[kat-tamin]

bailemos (let’s dance)

Kat makes a plan. Rafael goes along with it. Sonny wonders what the fuck is happening.

Ship: Kat x Sonny x Rafael

Warnings: Threesome, Smut: Oral, Hands, Anal, Vaginal. The whole shebang.

Word Count: 4501

Normally during big cases like the Mickey Davis one, Sonny and Kat’s sex life would take a dip. Kat would have to take care of herself, a vibrator in one hand, phone in the other. But lately Sonny would come home from work and fuck her into the mattress, almost before she could properly greet him.

After meeting Barba, Kat thought she understood why. He was a frustrating man to deal with, the epitome of a snaky lawyer. It seemed like Sonny was getting out his stress by fucking her. That’s what she thought was happening, until Sonny admitted one night that he and Barba had history. Not just work history, but sexual history. Sonny said it basically ended as fast as it began, with Barba leaving New York soon after.

Kat wasn’t angry. They both had histories, some better left in the past, but she looked at Barba differently after that. She saw the brief glances he sent her boyfriend, packed with unsaid words. His frustrating lawyer talk now sounded like flirty banter to her ears. The reasoning behind their sex became clearer. Sonny wasn’t frustrated: he was turned on by Barba.

Kat expected to feel jealous, but her mind pictured the two men together. Her own movements got more passionate at the thought. She would go to court, her body having a Pavlovian response to Barba's presence, because Barba + Sonny = Kat cumming. She would watch the two men argue, her panties becoming wetter and wetter.

The Davis case was over, a hard one for everyone involved. For her own selfish reasons, Kat didn't want it to end. But then Sonny invited Rafael over to his and Kat’s new apartment for dinner. They both wanted to relax and catch up.

Sonny made homemade pasta with red sauce. Barba brought over a bottle of Tequila, straight from Mexico. After dinner, they moved to the living room, the two lawyers sitting on the sofa together. Kat curled up on the chair across from them taking in their conversation, her head swiveling between them, like she was watching a tennis match. She could debate with the best of them, but tonight she could barely hang on, their words like a roller coaster.

She sipped at her red wine, tuning out their words to look at their faces. The stress of the past few weeks had evaporated from her boyfriend, Sonny looking so happy to be in the company of his former mentor. Mentor slash ex, she reminded herself.

Barba seemed happy to be here too. He hadn’t excluded Kat from he and Sonny’s conversations, keen to get to know her too. It turned out they were both Bronx babies, and they talked extensively about the changes in the borough.

So he was nice, and, if Kat was honest, pretty damn sexy with that beard. It was too bad he had to shave it off for trial. Her mind wandered, wondering what his stubble would feel like between her thighs.

She shouldn’t be thinking this, she thought, tipping her head back to drain the rest of her wine. She was in a committed relationship with a great guy who treated her perfectly. She didn’t need anybody else.

Sonny said something, making Barba laugh. The older man’s hand dropped to Sonny’s knee, giving it a small squeeze. Sonny stopped laughing, his blue eyes growing wide. He looked at Kat, panicked. Barba quickly withdrew his hand, the tops of his cheeks turning pink.

Kat waited for the drop of jealousy to well up in her chest, but instead, a rush of arousal flooded her core. 

It felt too warm in here. Her hand went to the buttons of her blouse, undoing the buttons until she had a nice deep V that showed off her cleavage. Both men eyed her, Barba's gaze going straight to her chest. 

Kat stood up, reaching for the tequila and the shot glasses. “It’s a shame if we let this go to waste,” she said, pouring out three shots. She handed one to Barba along with a lime wedge, her fingers lingering too long to not be deliberate. Rafael’s brow raised. Kat just shot him a slight smirk, confirming his suspicions. 

They all clinked glasses, throwing their heads back in unison. The alcohol burned all the way down Kat’s throat, heating up in her stomach. Her body felt like liquid, her courage soaring. 

Barba sucked on his lime wedge, the obscene noise going straight to Kat's clit. His eyes never left her’s as he sucked every last drop from the fruit. He found her very attractive, with a tight, strong body apparent even under her clothes. Her bright brown eyes were arresting, pulling him in.

Kat leaned forward in her seat, putting her hand on Sonny’s knee. She massaged gently, rubbing up and down his thigh.“You didn’t even flinch, baby. Do you like that?”

Sonny lifted his brow, looking at her quizzically. “Yes…” He glanced at Barba, lifting his glass in a toast. “Very good bottle.”

“It’s a special occasion,” Rafael said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. He shifted in his seat, angling his body towards the man beside him. “Only the best for you, Sonny.”

The temperature of the room seemed to go up a couple of degrees, the tension thickening. Kat looked at Rafael, trying to communicate what she was thinking; what she wanted.

His mouth curved into a smirk, picking up on the vibes she was sending him. His hand went to the back of Sonny’s neck, tugging on the strands of his hair. Sonny shivered at his touch, once again looking at Kat, who was running a finger over her own lips. She was looking at him like a wolf looked at a rabbit. Sonny peered at Rafael, who had the same leer as his girlfriend. 

“Okay, what’s...what’s going on?” Sonny tripped over his words, the drinks making his tongue thick in his mouth. They were acting weird. Not drunk, but just… weird.

“Do you wanna know a secret, Rafael?” Kat asked, tilting her head. Her brown eyes looked black with want, making Sonny even more confused.

“Tell me,” Rafael answered, his fingers still stroking patterns into Sonny’s skin. Sonny unconsciously leaned into his hand, seeking his touch.

“Sonny and I have been fucking non-stop since you got into town.” The words spilled out of Kat’s mouth before she could stop them. Not that she wanted to.

“Kat!” Sonny hissed, his eyes wide as saucers. What the fuck was she doing? He thought, his heart leaping into his throat.

“I think he was thinking about you,” Kat continued, as if Sonny hadn’t said anything. Her tone wasn’t accusatory or jealous, but an almost purr, ladened with arousal.

“Hmmm, is that true, cariño?” Rafael moved closer to Sonny, his mouth near his ear. His hot breath brought goosebumps to Sonny's skin. “Were you thinking of me?”

“I-” Sonny couldn’t speak, too baffled at what was going on. Rafael’s stubble scratched at his cheek, making his shudder. His girlfriend was watching them, her breathing slightly laboured.

She was turned on. Sonny’s mind spun, trying to make sense of it. She was turned on watching Rafael and Sonny together. She was biting down on her bottom lip, her nails digging into his thighs. What the fuck?

“Cariño, do you want this?” Rafael asked in a husky voice. He brushed his lips over the shell of Sonny’s ear. “Do you want me?”

Sonny hesitated, his gaze once more seeking Kat’s. She laid a hand on Sonny’s cheek, soft compared to Rafael’s scratchiness. “It’s okay, baby, tell the truth.”

It was like a dance, but Sonny didn’t know the steps. He looked from Rafael to Kat and back again, trying to get the rhythm. He paused, wondering if this was a good idea. But the beat was too intoxicating to step away.

He took a deep breath and joined their dance.

“Yes,” he answered in a rough voice. He looked between his current lover and his former one. “I want you. I want…” He swallowed, suddenly nervous about saying what he truly desired. “I want both of you.”

Kat let out a breath of surprise, sitting back in her seat. “Really?”

Sonny’s light brows drew together in a frown. “Of course I do.” She was his girlfriend, and no matter what she might say, he felt like being with just Rafael would be cheating.

Kat crossed her legs, trying to control the throb between her thighs. “I was just going to watch, but…” She looked at Rafael for reassurance, licking her lips nervously. “If that’s okay with you?”

Rafael let out a low chuckle, rolling his eyes. “You’re really asking if I’m okay having two of the sexiest members of the Special Victims Unit at the same time?” He got to his feet, offering his hands to Kat who took them without hesitation. “It would be my pleasure.”

Kat rose up with Rafael’s help, pausing to touch Sonny’s shoulder. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

It was no surprise that Rafael and Kat took the lead. They both loved to be in control, even more when they were in control of Sonny. He loved it even more, all his thoughts evaporating at their touch.

As soon as they entered the bedroom, Kat's lips were on Sonny's, frenzied and hungry. She undid the buttons of his shirt, so fast she almost ripped them off the fabric. Kat felt a mouth on her neck, strong hands on her hips. Rafael stood behind her, pressing into her. She could feel the slight bulge in his pants, a slight moan escaping her throat. Rafael kissed up and down her neck, stubble rubbing at her skin.

Once Sonny's shirt was on the floor, Kat turned to kiss Rafael, his tongue plunging into her open mouth. He tasted like lime and salt. His five o’clock shadow scratched at her skin, pain mixing with pleasure. She worked at the buttons on his shirt, a bit more carefully than she did with Sonny. His clothes looked a tad more expensive, and she knew she'd feel guilty if she wrecked the fabric.

Sonny went behind Rafael, helping him out of his shirt, leaving him naked from the waist up. Kat ran her fingers over his hairy chest, rubbing his soft stomach. His body was different from Sonny's, but it was just as sexy.

She ended their kiss with a soft nip at his lower lip, stepping away from Rafael. She intended to strip off her clothes slowly, give them a show, but the two men weren't even watching. They were drawn together like magnets, their bodies pressed close to each other. As she got rid of her top, Kat watched Sonny and Rafael kiss, almost manically. They kissed like they had to make up for lost time. Rafael gripped Sonny’s cheek, trying to bring his face as near as possible. Sonny sighed into his lips, feeling content. His hands roamed over Rafael’s body, remembering each dip and curve.

Kat wasted no time getting naked, cupping herself as she watched them kiss. Her body was positively burning with desire. She carefully reached for Sonny's belt, not wanting to disturb their makeout session. As soon as she tugged it off him, Sonny drew back from Rafael, breathing hard. He stepped out of his pants, stumbling in his haste. Rafael put out a hand to steady him, his own face flushed. "We have time, cariño. Don't worry."

Rafael turned his eyes to Kat, widening at her bare body. He had been so busy focusing on Sonny, he didn't notice her getting undressed. He swept his eyes up and down, taking in her part nipples and the dusk between her legs. His cock began to firm at the sight. "You're so beautiful, Katriona," he murmured. Her name sounded like honey in his mouth, making her even wetter.

"Thank you," she responded, moving towards him. "But I'm very interested to know what you're hiding under here." She touched the waistband of his trousers, trailing her fingers to touch his hardening cock. 

Rafael's hips instinctively rutted against her hand, seeking friction. He undid his belt, shimmied off his trousers and briefs. Kat and Sonny gasped in unison as they finally saw Rafael's prize. His cock was shorter than Sonny's, but thicker with a delicious looking vein on the underside. Sonny wrapped his hand around the shaft, feeling like he was greeting an old friend.

Kat's mouth began to water, her cunt clenching at the sight. She sank to her knees in front of the two men, putting her face to face with their cocks. Sonny was already at full staff, precum leaking out of his slit. She started there, licking up his salty fluid, the taste familiar but exquisite. Her hand came up to hold his cock steady as she took him into his mouth. Sonny let out a loud groan, echoing in the small room. His girlfriend was one of the best cock suckers he ever had. She could swallow him whole without even flinching.

As she began to bob her head, Kat's other hand went to Rafael, squeezing the base of his cock with her strong fingers. He was so fat, she almost couldn't fit her whole hand around him. She let her hand go to his balls, heavy and full. She fondled him, still sucking Sonny off.

She felt Sonny’s hips get more and more erratic, a signal that he was close. She wrenched her head back, switching to engulf Rafael's cock. She took all of him in one swoop, making him shout. Her other hand jerked Sonny off, using her own spit as lube. Her mouth was hot and wet around Rafael's cock, her tongue swiping along his skin. Pleasure radiated down his spine, growing with thrust into her mouth. 

Over the next few minutes, Kat pleasured them both, alternating between her mouth and her hand. Her mind went blissfully blank, only focusing on her instinctual need to please them. Wetness was leaking from her cunt, leaving a puddle between her legs. Her knees were burning from the cheap rug, but she paid it no attention. 

She just needed their cum.

Rafael put his hand in her hair, yanking her away from his cock. She whined at the loss, her tongue going for Sonny's. Rafael stopped her with another tug of her hair. "What do you want, Katriona?"

"Your cum," she panted, not even thinking. "My face. My mouth." She looked up at Sonny, her eyes pleading. "Please cum for me."

Fuck. Sonny's hips stuttered, so close, her words spurning him on. "Open wide," he said through gritted teeth.

Kat leaned back on her heels, Rafael's hand still tugging on her hair. She put her hands on both their cocks, quickening her strokes. She opened her mouth into a large O, waiting like a baby bird for food from its mother. 

Sonny came first, a stream of cum hitting her cheek. She reached her tongue out further, catching his release. Rafael came a moment after, shooting his cum right into her mouth.

Kat swallowed as much as she could, their seeds mixing together in her stomach. It was salty and delicious, coating her tongue. A few strands landed on her face and chest, painting her dark skin white. 

Sonny thought she never looked more beautiful, cum spilling from her mouth. Her brown eyes were dark with desire, her cheeks a faint pink. 

Rafael thought so too, cupping her chin to get a better look at her. "So beautiful," he murmured, swiping his thumb along her bottom lip. He brought it to his own mouth, tasting his and Sonny's mixture.

Kat got to her feet, unsteady from being on her knees for so long. She stumbled to the bed, laying down on her back. Her chest was heaving, making her tits jiggle.

"Now, this won't do," Rafael announced. He knelt on the bed beside her, looking at her body. Her thighs were sticky with her juices. He licked his lips. "We can't leave you like this, now can we?"

Sonny got on the bed, tucking himself behind Kat. She placed herself between his legs, his chest pressing into her back. Sonny tweaked a nipple, making her jerk in surprise. “You want Raf to eat you out, doll?”

Kat nodded enthusiastically, thrilled her fantasy was about to become a reality. 

Rafael knelt between her legs, his hands ghosting over her shins. “What do you say?” the lawyer asked in a mocking tone.

Damn him and his fucking words. Kat was no sub in the bedroom but something about Rafael’s voice made her want to obey. “Please, Raf… Touch me.”

Rafael’s face broke into a wicked grin. “With pleasure.”

He dipped his head between her thighs, cleaning up the mess she had made on herself. Goosebumps erupted all over her body, made worse by Sonny touching her breasts. Her boyfriend played with her nipples, twisting and pinching softly.

She needed more. Her hips jerked to try and meet Rafael’s mouth. He just chuckled softly, looking up at her. “Impatient.” His gaze shifted to Sonny. “Hold her down, will you?”

Sonny obeyed, his strong hands moving to Kat’s hips, pinning her down. She whined, craning up to look at him. Sonny just grinned, enjoying the tortured look in her eyes.

Rafael finally moved his head to her core, his stubble scraping her sensitive thighs. She gasped at the sensation, another drop of wetness escaping her pussy. Rafael caught it with his tongue, licking into her entrance. She wanted to thrust against him, but Sonny stopped her again, his fingers surely leaving bruises.

Rafael moved to her clit, sucking the bud into his mouth. Kat threw her head back, almost knocking into Sonny’s chin. “Fuck, Raf… Just like that.”

His talented tongue circled and swiped along her clit, sending sparks up her spine. Pressure began to build in her core. She felt fingers at her entrance and eagerly spread her legs.

Rafael stopped his movements, ignoring Kat’s whine, to ask Sonny: “How many fingers can she take?”

Sonny thought back, biting his lip. His face curved into a smirk, nuzzling at Kat’s hair. “3 easily, especially when she’s this wet.” In honesty she could take more, but Sonny wanted her to be able to do a few rounds tonight.

Rafael shot them a decisive nod, going back down her body, flexing his fingers. Sonny was right: Kat swallowed all three fingers with ease. Kat shrieked at the intrusion, Sonny having a hard time keeping her still. Rafael’s fingers were bigger than Sonny’s, stretching her further than her boyfriend usually did.

Rafael thrust into her, angling his fingers to press into her front wall. His tongue didn’t stop, lapping at her clit. Kat screwed her eyes shut, her pleasure building and building. 

Sonny could feel her shaking, so close to the edge. He put his lips near her ear, whispering: “Let go, doll.”

She did, with a long, loud scream. Wetness coated Rafael’s fingers as she came. He kept thrusting into her, letting her down easy until she stopped twitching. He withdrew, putting his fingers in his mouth to taste her sweet juices. The tangy liquid tasted like sweet nectar, straight from the Gods.

Sonny let her hips go, rubbing the red skin tenderly. She opened her eyes, looking glassy eyed. “How was that?” he asked her, pushing a strand of hair off her sweaty forehead.

“Amazing,” she answered lazily. She looked at Rafael and repeated her words: “Amazing. Fuck, you got a mouth on you.”

“So do you,” he replied, bringing her in for a kiss. She could taste herself on his tongue, a bolt of pleasure running down her spine.

Kat sat up, rolling off Sonny’s body. She laid down on her stomach, exhaustion settling in her bones. “Okay, your turn. I need a minute.”

Sonny’s head turned to Rafael, his gaze expectant. His blue eyes swiped down his ex’s body to his half-hard cock. The sight made his own dick twitch. He got to his knees to give Rafael a kiss. Their tongues danced with each other, wet noises emerging from their mouths. 

Sonny felt Rafael’s strong hands moving to his ass, kneading the pliant flesh. A thrill went through Sonny’s body. He knew what was coming next.

Rafael swiped a finger down Sonny’s crack. “I missed your ass, cariño.”

His words sent shivers through Sonny’s body. “I missed you in my ass,” he admitted, swiping his tongue along Rafael’s lower lips.

Rafael groaned at the admission, his grip tightening on Sonny’s hips. His cock hardened to it’s full state, precum leaking out of the tip. “Get on your knees.”

There was no room for discussion. Sonny got onto the bed on his hands and knees, his ass in the air, his face near Kat. She watched, her gaze sharp, taking in everything.

Rafael looked down at Sonny’s pink hole, virgin tight with disuse. It would take a bit to open him up, but Rafael was confident in his abilities. 

“Do you have…” he trailed off as Kat rolled off the bed, rummaging in the bedside table. She emerged with a bottle of lube, almost empty from use.

“Sorry,” she said, handing it to him. She walked to stand beside Rafael, putting a hand on the base of Sonny’s spine to signal her whereabouts.

She followed Rafael’s movements as he drizzled a healthy amount of oil on his fingers and Sonny’s ass. She took the bottle from him when he was done, like a nurse in an operating room.

“Have you done this before?” Rafael paused to ask her, lube dripping onto Sonny’s cheek, making the other man flinch in surprise.

Kat nodded. “Not with a guy, though.”

Rafael’s brow shot up. “Really?” 

Kat shrugged; shot him a coy smile. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, counsellor.”

The title went straight to Rafael’s cock. Normally he abhorred being called that in the bedroom, but he found himself liking it coming from her mouth. His mind spun, picturing himself fucking into her, Kat moaning the title into his ear.

Sonny’s ass wiggled impatiently, drawing Rafael back to the present. “Sorry, cariño.” He rubbed his finger around Sonny’s asshole, making the other man jerk back into his touch. He started slowly, pressing his ring finger into Sonny, working past the tight ring of muscle.

Kat’s breath caught in her chest as she saw Sonny swallow Rafael, the man’s finger disappearing into his ass. Rafael, very patiently, stretched Sonny until he could fit another finger.

Sonny moaned at the intrusion, pleasure radiating at his spine. Every thrust of Rafael’s fingers brought sparks behind his lids. It didn’t take long before he was meeting his movements, seeking more.

“Are you ready?” Rafael asked, rubbing Sonny’s left cheek.

“Fuck yes,” Sonny asked, his voice strangled. He was already panting.

Rafael smirked, withdrawing his fingers out of Sonny. Before he could adjust to the emptiness, Raf pressed the tip of his cock to his hole. He slid into Sonny, Kat watching as it went in, inch by slow inch.

Rafael bottomed out, his pubic bone pressing against the swell of Sonny’s ass. It was heavenly, feeling Sonny’s ass around his cock. He was so hot and tight. “Good boy, cariño.”

He began to thrust into Sonny, slow and steady, letting him get used to the stretch. Sonny’s walls clenched around his cock, drawing a loud groan from him. He moved his hips faster and faster, rocking into Sonny.

His cock dragged along Sonny’s prostate, lightning shooting through his body. With every thrust, Sonny moved closer to the edge. It had been so long since he came like this, he wasn’t sure how much he could take.

Kat’s hand went to her clit, her core dripping at the two men fucking. She circled the bud, desire building in her abdomen. Rafael’s gaze shot to her then to her hand. He moved his hands from Sonny’s hips to his waist, hoisting him up, to the blonde’s shock. Sonny yelped at the change in position, Rafael’s cock hitting at a different angle.

“Get under him,” Rafael said to Kat through gritted teeth. 

Again, there was no room for arguing. Kat slid under Sonny’s body, spreading her legs. She grabbed his cock, red and angry looking, and guided it into her pussy. Rafael snapped his hips, pushing Sonny deep into Kat. The two lovers moaned in unison at the feeling.

Sonny thought he was going to pass out in pleasure. With a cock in his ass and his own in a pussy, he felt fireworks going off in his body. His eyes rolled back in his head at the push and pull. Every atom, every molecule, every cell of his body was screaming. He was going to die between the two people he adored most.

Rafael set the pace, fast and rough. He fucked Kat through Sonny, his eyes never leaving her face. Her mouth was open, small mewls spilling out. It wouldn’t be long for each of them to cum. Rafael bit his lip, trying to stave it off. He tried to think of something, anything to keep his body from giving in.

It was no surprise that Sonny came first, with an almost animalistic howl. He would have collapsed onto Kat if Rafael hadn’t caught him, holding him up as he spilled into his girlfriend.

Rafael was still fucking him, and it became too much for Sonny.

“Stop,” he gasped, trying to pull out of Kat. “I need…”

Rafael pulled himself out of Sonny’s ass, letting the younger man move out of their embrace. Sonny was barely out of the way before Rafael pushed into Kat in one swoop, Sonny’s cum making the transition easy.

Kat moaned at the switch. It felt deliciously dirty, two men right after the other. She met Rafael’s thrusts with her own, close to the edge. Her hands gripped the sheets, holding on for dear life. So close, so close…

Sonny saw the signs of her orgasm. He was exhausted, but he knew what to do. He put his mouth on Kat’s breast, sucking a nipple into his mouth.

His mouth mixed with Rafael’s thrusts made her pleasure peak, waves of ecstasy rolling through her. She screamed as it came, over and over again. The orgasm seemed never-ending.

The clutching of Kat’s walls sent Rafael over the edge as well, his cock spilling into her with a twitch. The pressure in his lower back ebbed, relief pouring into veins.

He stilled his movements, making sure Kat was done. When she shot him a shaky nod, he stepped away. Sonny and Rafael’s cum dripped out of her, making a mess on the sheets.

“Well,” Rafael said in between loud gulps of air. He looked between the couple, who were red faced and exhausted, curling into each other. “Maybe I should come to the city more often.” 

[starrysupercell]

UwU the rest of the outline at per request. @lumpy-veev (still unfinished but it's okay! This should be thought of as a rough draft.) 💙

🦝 "RaR 3" or "Breaking Point" 🐍

It would be an unofficial Brawl, which is not allowed, but it happens, and what can you even do?

I see the two as basically ignoring each other's presence upon finding out that the other is there. Of course, as much as they won't admit it, it's making them think of. Everything.

This leads to even more on edge tense atmosphere whenever they would cross each other's path, because even if it’s a big park, you can only avoid someone for so long, especially when you happen to have common associates. (the Coworkers, Tara, etc.)

It doesn’t help they have growing animosity and take every little thing personally for every interaction.. and it’s only been a month or two.

Rumors begin to pick up around the park-- Just a little chatter at the bar. Just a little observation that those two sure have something between them huh? The gossiper is shushed, because did you forget who runs the place? his connection to Byron?

Luckily, the bartender didn’t seem to hear. He was busy cleaning glasses. The topic’s changed. customers continue to come and go.

One who arrives is Piper, who sits down at the bar. It’s busy, so she waits patiently for Barley to get her usual. (he’s good at that.) He sets down a coaster and the glass in front of her, but instead of a greeting and bustling away this time, he sticks around.

“Byron is well on his way to becoming a topic of interest around here...” he tells her.

She leans forward with a smile. “What have they said? And who, for that case?”

He explains what he heard, and omits the names.

Piper thoughtfully considers this. She had noticed this, but hadn’t chalked it up to a personal history, just conflict of interest. (byron was well off, belle was a thief. he would be cautious) Now that she knew, she wanted every drop of intel.

“I can talk to him. we wouldn’t want our dear coworker being talked about, do we?”

“I do not.” Barley replied, tipping his hat to bid her goodbye as he steps away to another client. He lets Piper take care of this, because he likes letting people come to him if they want to talk, and he feels that Byron would have already approached him if that were the case.

~

So, it’s another one of their patented teatime tête-à-têtes.

Piper skirts around the issue before dropping the news of whispers about the two.

But Byron doesn’t humor the topic, and refuses to talk about it.

Piper cheerfully pokes at him. “Crossed paths? Did you know her before the Park? maybe previous business associates? She robbed you, but you had good insurance, and one day she tricked you? Ooh~ Former flames-?"

And then Byron stands up and is about to leave wordlessly until that last suggestion processes bc if he doesn’t clarify now, ugh that’s gonna be what Piper thinks is plausible (kind of, bc he gay af) and he does NOT want that to be a thing.

“She’s a relative,” he says with so much distaste before he leaves that Piper is even more intrigued. but at the same time, there’s something that tells her she shouldn’t fan the fire any further.

they’ve had their share of back and forths, and it’s been a blue moon since something had gotten him so upset that he just up and leaves.

she drops it, and as the #1 gossipmonger of the park, the hushed whispers of “mystery between byron and belle?” is completely stamped out with a dismissive attitude and several “Really? I didn’t notice anything.”

If Byron really and truly didn't want this around the park, she'd honor that.

~

Of course, with QD Edgar on occasional trips with the Gang, that’s the biggest connection the sibs have at the moment.

The first time Edgar name dropped Byron, Belle froze and listened to 2.47 more seconds of the teen's rambles before telling him to get a move on around camp and quit yapping.

Edgar didn't notice this first time around and grumpily went about his way.

But I'm sure there's one thing or another that makes Edgar talk about his dad manager again, and one thing that will really piss Belle off, is comparison.

Tara, who notices the shift in mood, puts herself in between Edgar and Belle and swiftly soothes things over. She suggests getting on with the plan they have (already knowing what Belle will respond with).

"heist cancelled," Belle states, rearing up Elodie and galloping away from camp. (She usually winds down on her own after celebrating a big heist, but never before-- and never had called it quits at that.)

Edgar is put off. Tara muses that it's nothing he could help...

On her own, Belle just contemplates everything. Hours. It brings up familiar memories of being up on the rooftop with her head buried into her arms and knees feeling terrible.

Except now she's more than grown, with her share of things to be proud of and great memories she forged on her own. She's not curled up on herself anymore. She's staring to the long distance of the desert-- her home-- traveling with ease.

That stupid rooftop section of her life is nothing more than a fraction of her well-lived life.

It doesn't make her feel better.

Yet another thing Byron ruins for her without even trying.

She needed a drink.

~

Not wanting to head back to her camp for the night, and not in the mood to try nabbing some good drink, Belle simply walks into the bar and orders something.

Barley treats her the same as any Brawler, despite what he now knows about her.

As far as he was concerned, she came in there as a customer. And as long as she paid, he saw no problem in serving her...

She drinks quietly, and he keeps an eye on her intake.

And eventually, just like with any other customer with something heavy on their mind and enough drinks, words flow easier.

She doesnt use names, and keeps terms vague. Speaks angrily of her parents. Calls the brother a "dumbass of a pushover."

Now, it isnt like he associates Byron as a (pardon his french) 'dumbass' in any way, but it's the way she uses it that makes Barley connect the dots. The tone wasn't as bitter. Almost fond. Almost.

He lightly prods for a little bit more insight, and she gives up a little more as she drinks.

Unlike the other two members of his Trio, it wasn't in his nature to gossip, so this would stay between them.

Barley listens, because that's what she needs right now. Not advice, not interjections or lectures or deflecting the subject. Just someone to listen.

Eventually he cuts her off before she gets too inebriated (and probably causes trouble.)

{I AM going to write this scene out in depth. And cry while doing so.}

~

On the other side, after the season and back at the Gift Shop, Edgar is 🤔🤔 over that incident. He considers talking with Colette but 1) she's as mad as a Colette could be at the fact that he hung out with the NEW BRAWLER and TARA and didnt bother getting her ANYTHING. and 2) tbh she's a blabbermouth.

Byron does his regular check of the shop that day. Making sure Colette hasn't run off and Edgar isnt sneaking a nap.

He welcomes Edgar back from his little trivial loot and shoot games.

While Edgar hadn't even thought twice about it before, he recalls that when he had told Byron he'd be working at a different section of the park (namely with the new Brawler, Belle) he had acted just as dismissive.

Like yeah, there was your usual "old man doesn't get the teens" shenanigans, but Byron had never belittled his interest in anything before. Calling his involvement in the season a 'trivial game' sounded... personal.

He outright asks Colette if Byron was acting weird.

Any snippiness that Colette may have had for 2 minutes diminishes when there's a chance to talk with her favorite person in the world that she's seen little to none of for two months, AND about her favorite topic: Brawlers!

She spills everything she knows, because despite Piper's efforts, theres no secret a Brawler can try to keep when shes around.

She didn't find out everything of course. But she knows that there were questions involving Byron and Belle. Piper hushed it up, so for sure there was something.

Edgar nods. "Totally. I think she was close to rippin' my head off once. I brought up Byron once and she was ready to chew me out." (in case i didn't make it clear, Edgar picked up a slight drawl because of belle)

"Cool!" Colette exclaimed. "..I mean, not the rip your head off part. But that is cool too. I meant do we have lore on our hands?? That nobody ELSE knows!!?"

Edgar shushed her. Byron is in his office but the shop wasn't really sound proof.

......cue shenanigans from the Coworkers trying to figure things out in their very amateurish ways compared to Piper by "sneaking" around and "nonchalantly" trying to get him to admit something.

Byron knows they're up to something, and humors them until realizing the topic when Edgar tries bringing up the Goldarm Season.

He shuts them down even faster than Piper.

Of course, instead of deterring them like her, he just confirms their suspicions. Colette and Edgar are "o yeah we are def going to get to the bottom of this."

~

So, it's plan B! If they even try asking Piper she throws them for such a loop and leaves them so bewildered that Colette even forgets to ask for anything she could keep, and Edgar didnt realize she gave them nothing to work with until they're already out the door and down the street with cake pops in their hands.

So, Plan C! ...Barley.

It's hard to find a time to go there, since it's busy when they get off work. And Barley always seems to be at one place or another....

So the kids choose the perfect time (roughly midday), and just wait for the perfect day... when Byron comes in and checks the shop, then decides on his own that they could handle it for the rest of the shift and leaves them to it.

When the stars align, the teens wait until Byron is out of sight, and close up the gift shop. Their plan is to head to the bar... and maybe try and get something out of Barley..... not much of a plan, but they don't realize it there.

They make haste, running to the bar, because time crunch (when/if complaints start rolling in.)

Bursting through the doors of the Bar, Barley gives them a look. "Don't.. do that, please."

Colette apologizes enthusiastically, and urges Edgar forward. "Ask him! I'll keep watch!"

She hops over to the door and peers through it periodically.

Meanwhile, Edgar is stammering because he didnt plan anything to say, he expected Colette to talk to the robot.

"If you two think I allow underage drinking, I most certainly do not, no matter what Penny says." Barley warns.

"Uhh, no it isn't that. ...Umm. do ya know... well, you would know about Byron, and not Belle, I guess. But they've been acting weird lately, and we want to know why."

. . .

Barley pauses in consideration.

Options and questions flood around his mind, and he still had no answer.

Wonders if he should even mention Belle's visit some time ago, or the fact that he knows more in depth about it than Byron would care for, or that if Piper found out he knew more than her, and then told these two over would she be offended? ....Actually, in that case, why was he considering telling them anyway? Well, if they were interested in the topic for genuine reasons...

Edgar doesn't even know what to do either. Barley's not saying anything.

Colette squeaks, and scrambles from the door. "Edgar!! Any luck here? Because we're out of it over there!"

"What?"

"I think I see Byron heading here!!"

Who would have thought.

this is where i kind of dropped off the outline, but to continue/wrap it up, Barley points them to the curtain that covers the back room. There's an exit there which he tells them about, but the teens stay to EAVESDROP bc they care.

Barley and Byron chat. the conversation dips into the area having to do with Belle.

Byron frowns. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you're trying to get me to admit something, Barley. I can understand Piper, but you?"

"Me?" Barley asks. "Sir, you know I never mean harm."

"..." Byron stares at him unconvinced. "If Piper did put you up to this, you can tell me."

"U.. Believe it or not, I am among others in this park who care about you, Byron."

"...." wouldn't that be nice. But Byron believes him. My bad. He humors his coworker for now. "Fine." And asks for a drink.

Barley gets him his preferred one. [Lol I'll come up with it eventually.]

They talk. Barley finds out a little more. But just a little bit. Byron... it isnt like he has practice talking about ☆~feelings~☆

The teens listening in leave before too long. Colette is like O.O;; and Edgar decides that all they wanted to know was the relation between Byron and Belle, and they got that.

She agrees, and they both leave through the back door.

Byron didn't get as drunk ofc, it's still his working hours. Just enough to loosen up a bit and get through mild robot therapy.

After his leave, Barley sees him off, and then goes to check in the back. They're gone and he has a brief "oh, thought they would have gotten the hint to, listen in. Oh, well."

[There's one more event, involving the Coworkers interacting with Belle one last time, but still unplanned <3 it leads to the meet up and the fight... somehow though. I'll release that when I think of it.]

I can also see Piper being ":0 you knew before I did? And didn't tell me? You're mischievous, Barley!" In a very light hearted way at the very end.

Barley frets ;;; "I am not!"

[justcallmenikki7]

BTS Reaction To: Your Boyfriend’s Alter is triggered by Jealousy

Summary: your boyfriend gets jealous, which triggers his alter ego.

Request: Can you do a SplitPersonality!au and mafia au were they are jealous because someone is hitting on their girlfriend?💗

Warnings: angst (especially in Jimin’s), fluff, smuttish? (only in Taehyung’s and Jungkook’s), splitpersonality!au, mafia au (so you know what comes with that).

Notes: life has been so hectic for me that I have barely any time to write, and it also has caused me writers block and I hate this stuff.

Note pt.2: I hate this title and couldn’t think of a good one.

Seokjin (Jin):

Seokjin was invited to a ball that was being thrown by one his gangs allies. Your boyfriend could not say no due to wanting to make allies with an upcoming gang, the intention of having more allies and future back up if something happens. Of course, your boyfriend was going to bring you along with him, wanting his companion with him. Seokjin always loved having you by his side, wanting to show you off and have people also see you as his equal, because you are his equal. With that, Seokjin also loved having you as his company, and he always has said that you make things a lot more bearable.

But sometimes, Seokjin regrets bringing you along because you always track unwanted attention from males. And this brings his alter ego, Jin, to the front.

You did not recognize the shift between Seokjin and Jin as you stood and talked with one of the upcoming gangs’ member. The both of you connected easily when you saw his wrist tattoo, which was a heartbeat tattoo that goes through a dove, something that raised your curiosity. You asked him what it meant, and he told you that it was the last beat of his mother’s heart and the dove was a symbol for his mom. This made you feel a little emotional, the meaning of his tattoo was something so beautiful in your opinion. After voicing your thoughts on the tattoo, the both of you began talking about other tattoos that you both. You also learned his name, which is Choi San.

Never would you think that this kind of interaction would trigger your boyfriends alter ego. But when you felt an arm slip around your waist, pulling you back into their chest, you knew that Jin was fronting. The scared look on the male’s face, you knew that he put two and two together, realizing that he was speaking to the deadliest mafia leader’s future fiancé. Wanting to spare a life, you turned around in your boyfriends’ arms.

Placing your hands on his cheeks, you caressed his cheeks. “Love, Choi San and I were talking about our tattoos, there was no harm done.” You began to explain in a soothing tone, “I showed him our matching ring finger tattoo.” You added, wanting him to know that you made it clear that you were taken.

This information made Jin relax, but not enough to allow Seokjin to front again. Focusing his attention on Choi San, he gave a deadly glare, “You’re lucky that she was here,” and with that, he dragged you back to your guys seat, wanting your full attention.

Yoongi (Suga):

In both Yoongi’s and Suga’s eyes, they view you as perfect. Anything that you do they think that no one can beat you in whatever you do. You could have drawn the worst picture ever and have it compared to a better one, and they would still think that yours is better by placing their opinions and pointing out things that the other one did not have. But they both agree on something – you are very oblivious. This can be both a good and a bad thing.

And right now, your obliviousness is bad – to the point where Suga was triggered.

Suga was standing against the hallway wall that led to his office, a hard glare on his face and his arms crossed, watching one of the newbies try and flirt with you. He trusted you, knowing that you would never allow something to go to far. But the person that he sadly does not trust at the moment was one of his men. Rolling his eyes at the cheeky compliment he gave you, he decided that he needed put an end to this conversation. Walking over to you lazily, he noticed that the newbie became aware of his presence, quickly bowing to him. Sliding his arm across your shoulder, pulling you against him, Suga gave a fake, tight lip grin.

“So, I see that you have met my girlfriend,” Suga emphasized ‘my,’ enjoying the newbies reaction, “if I were you, consider yourself lucky that I am not planning on killing you because you are a good asset to my gang. But if you weren’t, well …” Suga trailed off, a deadly smirk on his face.

“I am so sorry, Min Yoongi-ssi and Miss. Y/N.” He apologized before running off.

Suga looked down at you, meeting your glare. “What?” He asked, a frown on his face.

“You know what, Suga, and Yoongi,” you began, “Now, I want you apologize to him whenever you see him next or else, you’re going to sleep on the couch.” Was all you said before walking off to his office.

“No! Baby, wait!”

A smirk made its way onto your face as you heard him call out for you.

Hoseok (J-Hope):

Truthfully, Hoseok cannot control when J-Hope wants to make himself present. Hoseok always apologizes whenever J-Hope all of the sudden fronts whenever something becomes too stressful, hating that he cannot be mentally strong enough to control his emotions. This results in you comforting your boyfriend, telling him that J-Hope is there to make sure that nothing bad happens to him, because it is the truth. The reason why J-Hope was created, basically, is to help Hoseok cope with things.

But the one thing that makes both you and Hoseok worry is when Hoseok becomes insecure, or, jealous.

“God help anyone who disrespects his Queen,” was something Jungkook said one day when he saw Hoseok once again, worship the ground you walked on.

When you felt that possessive arm slip around your waist, and the harsh pull into a firm chest, and dark chuckle sound above you, you knew that this rookie will have a 50/50 chance of seeing tomorrow. You hate having this assumption, but it is the truth when it comes to J-Hope. The trauma that Hoseok lived through, and the reason why J-hope was created to protect him. But ever since you became apart of their lives, that protection stretches to you. So, whoever messes with you and Hoseok, they have to the deadly wrath of J-Hope.

You were knocked out of your thoughts when J-Hope began to mimic the rookie, “’I-I,’ what? Can’t talk?” J-Hope pouted mockingly, a teasing smirk on his face.

“Hope, stop it.” You demanded, looking up at your boyfriend, receiving a shocked look from both the rookie and your boyfriend. Turning to look at the rookie, you gave him what you hope was a comforting, reassuring, smile. “You can go.”

“T-Thank y-you, Noona.” He bowed to you and then your boyfriend before leaving you both. You noticed that he peed his pants, something that shocked you. You knew that your boyfriend was scary, but my gosh you did not think he was that scary. Upset at this knowledge, you gripped your boyfriends’ hand and began to drag him to a private area to give a huge ass talk.

And to say that J-Hope was shocked by your talk would be an understatement, because by the end of it the talk, J-Hope cannot deny that he has a strong leader to stand beside him in this dangerous world. And was also surprised to admit that there would be, for once, no killing on his part. And the rookie was also surprised to wake up not dead.

Namjoon (RM):

Namjoon is secretly a sensitive person who loves to be cuddled and have every ounce of attention that you can give him. Yes, his intimidating mafia leader vibe he gives out can be hard to believe that he can be very sensitive. You were shocked when you found this out because you were always met with his confident persona, not his sensitive persona. Not that it was a bad thing, it was just new to you.

But you were not shocked when you found out that he is a very, in hopeful good words, possessive. Kim Namjoon is not afraid to admit that he has a possessive, territorial side when it comes to you. When his alter ego is present, this possessiveness is heightened, especially if they are both jealous. One thing is, though, the jealousy and possessiveness is a way to cover up his sensitive side, and the worry that he has that you will leave him (them).

That is why the moment Namjoon, later finding out that it is RM, pulled you away from the conversation that you were having with his ally, you were not surprised to find out that it was from jealousy. You allowed your boyfriend to go through his process of jealousy, which is demanding to know what you were talking about, why you were talking about such thing, ask you if said person made you uncomfortable or force you to talk to them, and then apologize when your answers added up to be non-threatening.

“Are you sure it was a consensual conversation?” RM asked one last time, wanting the confirmation.

“Yes, love, everything was okay.” You smiled up at him, leaning up to give him a comforting kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” your boyfriend smiled down at you happily. He hugged you close to him, resting his cheek on top of his head. “Are you sure that I do not need to kill him?”

“Yes. I am sure.”

Jimin (Park):

Both Park and Jimin are very insecure. Some would think that a person’s alter would not have almost all of the same insecurities, but your boyfriend was very unique. The thing is, though, is that Park’s insecurities are worse. This makes it to where you always end up in a fight with Park sometimes at three a.m. after getting home from a party or ball because of Park overreacting about a conversation that you are having with a member of his gang.

Once you saw the change in personality of your boyfriend, confirming your suspicion of Park now fronting, you sighed and ended the conversation with his gang member. The sigh did not go unnoticed in Park’s eyes, something that brought him sadness. Biting his lip, he followed your irritated self out of the bar. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife when you both made it closer to the car. You stood irritated at the passenger door, waiting for your boyfriend to unlock the car, something that never came. Turning around, you were met with a conflicted Park Jimin. Instead of the accusations and yelling, something that normally happened when the both of you are stood outside by the car, you were now met with crying – more like sobs from your boyfriend.

“Park?” You asked cautiously, for the first time not knowing who you were talking too.

“It’s Jimin,” your boyfriend answered.

“Jiminie, what’s wrong?” You questioned, worried about your boyfriend.

“I’m sorry that I am a burden. I’m sorry that I cannot handle my insecurities a-and always get jealous and insecure. I’m sorry.” He sobbed, hands gripping his hair tightly. “I can’t lose you.”

Fuck, he’s about to have a panic attack, you thought, knowing that you needed to handle this and help him through his panic attack. You knew that there will be a lot of talking due to his confession. There was a silent agreement on where you both stand on this, that if this keeps on, then one day the line will be drawn and the actual possibility of you wanting to leave can happen.

Taehyung (V):

Taehyung sat in the VIP section, watching you intensely as you laughed with Hoseok. He could feel V pushing to front, but Taehyung tried to fight him off, knowing that the interaction was innocent and that he had nothing to worry about. But for some odd reason, he had a something close to a vision of you and Hoseok being together, and that thought triggered him, allowing V to become present.

To V, the interaction that you were having with one of his close friends was … unacceptable. You were his and Taehyung’s alone. The want to make that present to his close friend had him standing up, posture straight, but also cocky and relaxed.

You, on the other hand, did not notice V become present and headed towards you and Hoseok. But the look on Hoseok’s face told you that something has happened, and before you were able to turn around and see what was going on, you felt a very familiar pair of lips press against the skin of your neck. Gasping at the pleasurable feeling that you felt, you leaned into the touch of your boyfriend, completely forgetting about Hoseok.

You did not notice Hoseok get up from his chair to give you and V privacy, but V did. The smirk that he threw Hoseok did not go unnoticed by said male, making Hoseok blush in both embarrassment from witnessing that and from guilt of getting turned on by such actions. Giving you one more bite to your neck, wanting to create a mark so everyone can see, V pulled away from your neck unwillingly. Your protest was a whimper, wanting your boyfriend to continue his ministrations.

“I know, baby, I know. But I can’t just devour you in front of this whole crowd. I’m the only one who can see you in such ways.”

Jungkook (Jeon):

Jungkook did not complain when his alter, Jeon, wanted to front. The reason why is, is because in these kinds of situations, Jeon is much more confident that Jungkook is. So, leaning back in his chair, he watched you dance with your friends on the dance floor, the feeling of happiness overwhelmed him as he saw how happy you are. Your happiness is what both Jeon and Jungkook want from you. If you are happy, then so are they. He also could not deny how beautiful you look with your hair looking wild, your natural curls cascading down your back freely, genuine smile on display, and beautiful body moving freely to the beat of the music.

“Damn, she’s fucking hot,” an unfamiliar voice admitted to him.

Looking away from you and to the voice, he was met with a younger looking male, possibly a year younger than him. The feeling of jealousy had him shifting in his seat, not liking the admission from this random stranger. Taking a sip from his drink, Jeon nodded in agreement, not being able to deny the truth that the guy stated. But he did not agree on how the random guy said the words, and how he looked at you.

“Yeah,” Jeon nodded, “she is very beautiful,” changing the word into something more positive and polite.

“I wonder how she is in bed,” the guy thought aloud, causing Jeon to squeeze his cup in anger, the urge of wanting to kill this man becoming very close to being realistic.

But knowing that you hate that kind of stuff, Jeon decided to take a different route. “She’s fucking wild,” Jeon stated, smirking when the guy’s face paled in realization, “especially when I have her nails scratching down my back, screaming my name out to the point where she loses her voice.” Taking one last sip before standing up, he turned to look at the still pale faced male, “be careful to who you are talking too,” he winked, turning around to take make his way towards you, a satisfied grin on his face.

[gubes-sweaters]

Mind, Body, and Soul 2

Authors note: This is a Spencer Reid AU started by @subspencer​. I got their permission to use the concept of this AU and all credit for the idea goes to them. I debated on when this story would take place either in 2020 or 2003 when Spencer would’ve actually been 22. I decided it’s going to take place in 2020 but all characters in criminal minds would be the same age in the story that they would’ve been in 2003 (if that makes any sense at all). I’m only mentioning this because the BAU will be a part of this story and besides Cat, Lindsey, Spencer, and Penelope all of the other characters will be canon. 

Content Warning: Drug use(weed), drinking, swearing, kidnapping(not really the reader just gets scared)

Word Count: 2.8K

You can find part one here

Chapter 2: A “Germ Thing”

Does someone ever get on your nerves for literally reason? Like you can’t put a finger on it but for some reason, you could rationalize hitting them. Maybe it’s just a me problem or maybe it’s a Spencer Reid problem. Spencer is one big problem because on one hand I just want to hand over my soul to him and to stare at his puppy dog eyes even though I just met the guy. On the other hand, I can’t help but think I’m just another notch in his bedpost. Despite his all of the sudden sweet demeanor I keep replaying the little make-out session I saw earlier that led to god only knows what. I’m constantly debating either to kiss him or hit him in his stupid but cute smug little face. I decided right here right now that Spencer Reid will be the death of me. I probably look out of my mind thinking about this as Penelope is giving each of us a solo cup and pouring us a drink for never have I ever. 

“(y/n)?” Penelope says while trying to grab my attention by waving her hand in front of my face.

“Y- yeah what’s up?” I stutter back as quickly as possible because now I’m very aware that Spencer is slowly but surely making his way towards my inner thigh.

“You spaced out on us for a minute is everything all right?” Penelope asked being genuinely concerned for me.

“Never better.” I replied before smiling because I know Penelope is just trying to be a good friend.

“Okay, so are we going to play or are we all going to hold hands around a fire while singing kumbaya.” Cat muttered out while giving me a side-eye.

“Yeah that sounds like a great idea Catherine.” Spencer snipes back while squeezing on my thigh. I couldn’t tell if it was a reflex out of anger or if it was to comfort me because Cat clearly has some disdain for me and Spencer.

“Okay, so... I'll go first never have I ever went skinny dipping” One girl out of the group named Layla who was sat on the other side of Spencer chirps up clearly trying to dissolve any tension in the room.

Pretty much everyone had a look on their face that said “obviously” except for me. After everyone took a sip of their drink their eyes wandered towards me. I just shrugged and attempted to move on. Growing up going to a catholic school where nuns compare your virginity to objects to scare the shit out of you doesn’t leave you much room to do anything fun like that. We went around the room and everything was just now becoming no longer awkward then we got to Cat.

“Never have I ever hooked up with more than two people in one night” She said while darting her eyes at Spencer.

Spencer sighed and looked at her basically giving her a silent “fuck you” before taking a sip of his drink. After he cringed at the bitter taste of his drink he squeezed my thigh again. Cat spotted it immediately and of course, had to open her loudmouth.

“Looks like you’re really going for a world record there aren't ya Spencie.”

“You know what let’s all take a breather bec-” Penelope cut in before it could get any worse. She’s someone who hates confrontation, especially between her friends.

“That sounds great!” I say cutting her off, so I can get out of this hellhole as fast as possible, before brushing Spencer's hand off of me and hopping up from the couch.

Everyone quickly disperses to get away from the situation as fast as possible. Three people make excuses to go home partly because that was the most awkward yet hostile thing a person could witness and partly because it’s almost four in the morning. I walk off towards the kitchen once again to get water in attempts to sober up as much as possible before going home. Even though everyone else wasn’t really anything more than buzzed because we were taking sips out of a cup instead of taking shots. I’m a huge lightweight and I’d rather not test my ability to drive like this. As I crack open a bottle of water I feel a tap on my shoulder. I was surprised when I turned around and I didn’t see Spencer but instead it was a guy I’ve never met before. He sat next to Layla, but we never talked to each other until now. 

“Hey, I didn’t mean to spook you. I’m Josh by the way.” He introduced himself with a big smile, and then he extended his hand out to me. He was cute not as tall as Spencer, but still taller than me. He had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“Hi my name is (y/n)” I say as I reach out my hand to shake his hand, but it didn’t quite get there because the handshake was intercepted by a third hand.

“And I’m Spencer.” He quickly cuts in and shakes Josh’s hand. I have to take a quick step back because he shoved himself between me and Josh. I then step around Spencer to see the interaction between the two of them.

“Um hi?” He says with a confused look on his face. You can tell Spencer had a good grip on his hand and is shaking his hand way longer than necessary. It looks like his grip just keeps getting tighter and tighter until Josh starts to wince. Soon enough Spencer finally lets go of the poor guy’s hand. Josh couldn’t have booked it over to Penelope to say goodbye literally any faster.

“What happened to your little “germ thing?”” I ask while giving him a look of total irritation. Spencer was clearly peeved by me talking to another guy even it’s an innocent little handshake.

“I still have a germ thing but I just thought I’d introduce myself.” He says innocently while he wipes his hands on his pants before stuffing them in his pockets.

I turn around in attempts to ignore him, and when I do realize I’m now trapped in my own personal hell. I turn around and now there's just five of us me, Penelope, Spencer, Cat, and a girl who was sitting next to Cat the entire time. So I can either talk to one of my best friends, but she's sat next to two girls who are looking like they’re about to devour me or I can talk to the guy who is irritating the shit out of me. Looks like I’ll take my chances in the lion’s den. I walk over to Penelope and sit down on the couch. When I sit down I realize that this girl and Cat are holding hands and are acting very cuddly (which you wouldn’t expect from Cat because of her bitchy demeanor). I figured they’re probably dating and my suspicions were confirmed when she introduced herself to me.

“Hi, I’m Lindsey. I’m Cat’s girlfriend” She says while waving at me. It’s odd because it looks like Lindsey looks like a genuinely sweet girl, but Cat is playing her like a fiddle, so she will act in any sort of way that Cat wants. Even it means being stand-offish to people you don’t even know. Shortly after Spencer walks out of the kitchen and sits right next to me and instead of attempting to be subtle in any sort of way he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me so close to him I’m practically on his lap.

“Okay, as much as I love all of my friends It’s now four am and a girl needs a little beauty rest. Is everybody okay to drive home? If not you’re more than welcome to stay the night.” I couldn’t tell if she was serious or if she was trying to end this night before it got any worse. Meanwhile, Spencer and Cat look like they could maul each other any minute. We all agree that it’s okay and say our goodbyes to Pen. Cat and Lindsey leave right away but I loitered around for another minute or two just to make sure I’m good to drive. I hear the front door open and close once more. I figured that it was Spencer deciding he wasn’t getting anywhere with me, so he left. I eventually say goodbye to Penelope and make my way out the door. I suddenly remember I had to park in a parking lot across the street because Penelope only has one visitor parking spot. Most people took a vacant parking spot or parked on the side of the street, but there was absolutely no room for me to do that. I wrap my arms around myself because I’m only wearing a skirt and a thin sweater which in retrospect was absolutely stupid considering its fall in DC. I can’t help but feel like I’m being followed or at least like someone's eyes are on me. I start jogging because I wasn't about to take any chances. My jogging is more like very fastly walking because let’s face it, I have the athletic ability of a sloth. I’m only a little bit away from my car when I hear footsteps. I immediately start to try and unlock my car, so I can hop in as fast as possible. Of course, as luck would have it my car wouldn’t unlock because I was supposed to change the stupid battery a week ago.

“Fuck you shitty car and your shitty remote.” I mutter to myself. I’m only about a foot away from my car when I feel a hand firmly grasp my shoulder and I do the only thing I could think of which was scream bloody murder. As I start to scream whoever is behind me puts their other hand over my mouth.

“Shhh it’s okay. Everything is okay It’s just me.” I immediately recognize the voice. When they let me go I turn around and shove them.

“Fuck you Spencer why did you do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack I thought I was going to die you dick.” I shout at him before turning around and going to stick my key in the car door.

“I’m sorry I called for you when I saw you walking out of Penelope's apartment building but you clearly didn't hear me. I didn’t want you to take off without me, so I tried running to catch up with you.” He apologized, but he was clearly not super sincere because he was trying so hard not to smile or bust out laughing.

“Well, go on then what do you want?” I ask while standing there with my car door cracked while I’m waiting to get in the car.

“My friend who I came here with wanted to take a girl home. I no longer have a ride home and I thought I’d figure it out before I was going to leave but I didn’t I guess.” He says kinda shyly in attempts to ask me for a ride without actually asking me.

“Do want a ride?” I sigh because I know he already has me wrapped around his finger.

“Yes please.” He says while giving me puppy dog eyes obviously to try and make me forget that two minutes ago I thought I was going to be kidnapped.

“Hop in then” I gesture for him to get in the passenger seat. We close the car doors almost in unison then I start my car. I ask him for his address while pulling out my phone, but he insists that he can give me good directions and I don’t need to get directions from my phone.

“Whatever you say Sherlock” I roll my eyes at him while I start to pull out of the parking lot. Spencer starts fiddling with things in my car while he gives directions. He flips on the radio and changes the channels about fifty times before getting bored and turning it back off. Soon enough I pull into the parking lot of his apartment building. Pulling into the parking lot is a bittersweet moment because I’m not sure if I’ll ever see him again, and overall I had a fun time tonight mostly because of him despite all of the awkwardness. On the other hand, somehow this man knows how to push all of my buttons and is able to get on every single last one of my nerves, so I couldn’t be happier to say goodbye. I put the car in park and look at him to say goodbye. I look over, and he’s looking for something but I'm not sure what he’s looking for. He starts to pull everything out of his pockets and places them on my dashboard. Out of his front pockets, he pulls out some pocket change, a money clip, and a plastic bag with a rolled joint in it. Out of his back pockets, he pulls out his wallet then searches through it. After that, he pulls out an iPhone, two lighters, and a condom. Really classy Spencer really really classy.

“Shit” He mutters to himself before patting his front pockets once more and putting everything back in his pockets and I still can’t believe what he is about to say next, but this man looks at me dead ass in my eyes, and says.

“I lost the key to my apartment.” He looks at me with puppy dog eyes and I already know what he’s suggesting.

“Can’t you get one from your landlord or have your roommate let you in?” I suggest in attempts to avoid the inevitable.

“I live alone and my landlord wouldn’t be able to get me a new key until eight in the morning.” He says and I swear to god he intentionally pouts his lips ever so slightly. I would normally say one thousand percent no but it’s almost five in the morning now and I’m so desperate for my head to hit the pillow. I don’t have time to shoot the shit with Spencer for even another minute.

“I can let you stay the night at my place I guess.”

“I’m really sorry this isn’t a normal occurrence I promise. I feel bad because I’m a huge inconvenience right now but I’ll make it up to you, I promise someway somehow.” He says while looking at me with the same guilt as a child who broke something of their parents.

“It’s okay I won’t make you sleep out on the street.” I say before chuckling hoping to lighten the mood and to make him feel less guilty. We both laugh at the ridiculous situation as I make my way to my apartment. Turns out I only live a little bit under ten minutes from him. As I pull into my parking spot I begin to tell him I have a few terms and conditions.

“Firstly my roommates cannot know you’re here, or they’ll never let this situation go. So you can’t sleep out on the couch you’ll have to sleep in my room. Then in the morning once the coast is clear I’ll find a way to sneak you out. Deal?”

“Deal.” He repeats back while stepping out of the car.

I open the door to my apartment, and we both tiptoe to my room to avoid making any noise. Surprisingly we didn’t make any noise at all, so once we cross the threshold of my doorway I close it and lock it before telling Spencer I’ll get him a pillow and blankets to sleep on the floor. I turn around and see Spencer already took his shoes off and is already curled up under the blankets half asleep. I just give in because at this point I’m only thinking about sleep. I get my pajamas and change in my bathroom. I walk back into my room and throw back the covers and let my head hit the pillow. Just as I feel myself slipping into a deep sleep I feel Spencer throw his arm around my waist and pull me flush against his body. This is going to be one interesting morning.

................................................................................................................................Taglist: @rexorangecouny @haylaansmi​

[pinelife3]

An investigation: if supermodels are so dumb and vapid, how do they pull artistic geniuses?

This is a picture of Nick Cave and his wife leaving the inquest into their son’s death. Their 15 year old boy fell from a cliff after taking acid and becoming disoriented. 

I cannot even conceive of how terrible it must be to lose a child. The drugs and the cliff make it an episode of Skins (or Euphoria for the zoomers) but that’s your little boy. It was a stupid accident and now you never get to see him again. A teenaged tragedy. Unendingly unfair. 

Ghosteen, the 2019 album from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, is a complex, existential album in conversation with the death of Nick’s son and his feelings of loss and grief. Nick Cave is an artist - his life’s work is to share how he feels and what he thinks. What he’s expressing with Ghosteen is sorrow and longing - and some larger angst about the purpose of existence.

Through all this tragedy, I’m sure you couldn’t help but notice... who’s the babe with the shiny hair and the fabulous gazongas? That’s Nick’s wife, man! Susie Bick - or sometimes Susie Cave. She was a major model in the 80s and 90s. A model and an artist - it’s actually fitting. 

And what’s more, Susie is the founder of The Vampire’s Wife - a label which has become super popular in the last couple of years. (Fashion people eyeroll The Vampire’s Wife because every dress has the same silhouette, but that’s out of the scope of this blog.)

There is a perception that models are are vapid and unserious. Their job is to look good, keep their mouth shut, and move merchandise. They cannot offer anything profound because their value is surface level. Men and women both push this way of thinking. 

For example, when Brad Pitt was recently revealed to be dating 27 year old model Nicole Poturalski, people were disappointed. Brad Pitt has been a cultural fixture for decades - after all this time, people still find him fascinating. And they expect him to date someone who is equally compelling. Clooney married a human rights lawyer - why is Brad dating someone who makes posts like this on Instagram...

This was Lainey Gossip’s take on the new girlfriend: 

A model, younger, it’s so predictable it’s almost boring.

Nice! I guess we’re all feminists until the woman in question is young and hot. 

It's easy to assume the worst of a person who is unknown to us, but is beautiful and hooking up with someone famous. A million mean thoughts spring to mind. “A model, younger”. That’s scorn. You know exactly what she’s saying: hot but dumb. An uninteresting person. We know what Brad really wants her for... 

If Brad Pitt is compelling to you, how compelling must Nicole Poturalski be to have won and held his attention? Brad Pitt has not been celibate in the four years since he separated from Angelina Jolie, but not until Nicole did we have confirmation of someone who he was definitely seeing. He allowed himself to be photographed with her en route to his French chateau. And what ensued was a weird story - she’s in an open relationship with some old German restaurateur and she has a son? She’s a sugar baby? Why would Brad fucking Pitt get publicly involved with someone who has a messy personal life: why hook up with a married 27 year old and weather months of stories about her open marriage if he didn’t actually like her? Why even be seen with her? The relationship is a little weird - but the reporting on it has been nasty. The new sugar baby angle which has emerged in the last week (late October 2020) is basically calling her a whore. This is the level of suspicion and derision directed at a model dating a public fixture like Brad Pitt. The notion that Brad Pitt would pay for female company or sex is patently absurd. 

If our assumptions about models are correct, why do so many models end up with artistic geniuses? I don’t care about the Victoria’s Secret models who hooked up with the bassist from Kings of Leon. I’m talking about beautiful women who made it with icons, the premier humans of the past century:

MUSICIANS

Nick Cave and Susie Bick

David Bowie and Iman

Kanye West and Amber Rose

Bob Dylan and Sara Lownds

Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall

Mick Jagger and Carla Bruni

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd

George Harrison and Pattie Boyd

Madonna and Jesus Luz

MISC. POWERFUL PEOPLE

Salman Rushdie and Padma Lakshmi

Donald Trump and Melania (lol)

Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni

Evan Spiegel and Miranda Kerr 

Hitler and Eva Braun (What?! She had a brief career an artist’s model...)

Michael Jordan and Yvette Prieto

Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall 

ACTORS (perhaps not artistic icons... but still creative and interesting)

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves

Johnny Depp and Kate Moss

Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk

Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse

Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse

Vincent Cassel and Tina Kunakey

Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubrey

Leonardo DiCaprio and half the VS roster

Huge congrats to all the models with more than one entry on the list. You’ll note that there is a dearth of female icon/male model pairings - this is kind of interesting but not something I feel like getting into.

To some extent, the prevalence of the artist and model pairing makes sense. Men like good looking women. Rich, powerful men are high status and have access to good looking women. Plus, an artist needs a muse.

Many of the models in the list above are actually iconic in their own right. Like, when someone is having a great day on RuPaul’s Drag Race and looking sleek and skinny and flawless RuPaul might compare them to Iman. People pay $10,000 USD for handbags named after Jane Birkin. 

Conversely, in the case of Amber Rose, she became the most desired woman in the hip hop industry c. 2010 because she was with Kanye. And most especially because she broke Kanye’s heart. Everyone wanted the girl from “Hell of a Life”. People point to that song as being about Kim - it was prophetic, yes, but not written about her.

Anyway. Could an icon, a legend, a genius, make it work with someone who had nothing to offer but a fast metabolism and a beautiful face? Do poreless skin and puffy lips make up for never finishing high school? 

Wouldn’t being with someone superficial or unserious mean the artist was fundamentally boring in some way too? This is increasingly the assumption about Leonardo DiCaprio - seen above photographing his 23 year old model gf for her Instagram. Even Reddit mocks him for his age gap relationships with models.

And here’s where I try to make my point: 

Kate Moss’ daughter, Lila, recently had her modelling debut during Paris Fashion Week. It was big news because she’s celebrity spawn - and of course her mother is one of the most iconic models ever. She was eviscerated. 

On The Daily Mail, the comparisons to her mother flowed. What’s interesting is that Daily Mail readers do not like Kate Moss but they will defend her 90s modelling career with their life. They laud her bone structure, her waifish figure. An irresistible, undeniable face. 

It seems silly to praise someone for the shape of their head and the way their skin fits over it... it’s not a talent, is it? Maybe it is! There is no shortage of hot girls in the world - but there may be a shortage of girls with preternatural charismatic beauty. Lila Moss (left above) is attractive - she even looks quite a bit like her mum. Perhaps in the pic above she even looks hotter than her mum (right above). But Kate Moss is more interesting: less perfect - half her eyebrow is missing, she’s less manicured. She exudes some kind of darkness, newness. Lottie Moss, Kate’s younger half-sister, is a similar story. Obviously attractive, obviously interested in modelling - but she’s lacking something. 

Bella Hadid came from a similar-ish background to Lila Moss (Bravoleb parents, frequent appearances on Real Housewives of Beverley Hills in her teen years, groomed by her ex-model mother) but Bella Hadid has it. She may have risen through the ranks due to nepotism and cosmetic surgery but she is someone people want to look at. She is sought after - not foisted upon us. Again, it’s not because she’s the hottest woman on the planet. She is gorgeous, but on top of that, there’s something beguiling about the angles of her face.

What’s this thing that clicks in your head telling you that Kate Moss’s face is more interesting than her daughter’s? It’s an intrusive thought: her skull shape is pleasing, let your eyes linger. A command: you will not forget that face. 

Iman has it. Look at her. On meeting Iman, Bowie said: "I was naming the children the night we met... it was absolutely immediate." How many beautiful women had Bowie met in his life? How many had this effect?

Can you imagine trying to keep David Bowie or Bob Dylan interested in what you’re saying? Or Madonna? Or Michael Jordan? Most of us do not have a single thought in our head which would be of interest to these people. The models I listed earlier transfixed them. Mick Jagger could have romanced every woman on the planet - but he only wanted Jerry Hall (pls disregard affairs so I can make my point). 

When a model hooks up with an artistic genius, it’s illogical to assume she’s vapid or that the icon is with her for shallow reasons. What we should assume is that she is the most interesting woman that icon has crossed paths with in a long time - which would make her very interesting indeed.

[girlboss-molina]

Kryptonite

I was getting some juke feels, so yall get a drabble 

TW caps near the end

Words: 1280

AO3 Link

...

The notes of Wake Up echoed throughout the studio, vibrant and fitting perfectly with the aroma of dahlias and the bright green leaves. Julie could play this song with her eyes closed by now, it was always her go-to for warming up. Familiar grooves on each of the keys brushed against her fingers, and the warmth of the sunrise on her back sent a familiar tingle down her spine, like that moment months ago when she’d played this for the first time in a year. 

As she finished the final chords, quietly singing the last “wake up,” she closed her eyes, only to reopen them a moment later in shock, hearing Luke’s familiar voice from right in front of her.

“Sounding amazing as always, boss,” he told her with a smirk, his head phasing through the middle of the piano. The nickname made her laugh, and she noticed Luke’s cheeks tinge pink. “It always amazes me how good you are at the piano,” he added, and then it was Julie’s turn to blush. Though she couldn’t help noticing the strain in Luke’s voice.

“You okay?” she asked, suddenly concerned. 

“Yeah, actually,” he replied, putting on his puppy eyes. “I was just thinking, since Alex is on a date with Willie, and Reggie is helping Carlos with homework, and you don’t have to, but I was wondering if you could, well, maybe teach me how to play?” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know, it’s just, you’re really good, um-”

“Of course,” she agreed, biting back a laugh. “Have you ever played?”

“Does Happy Birthday count?” Julie snorted. 

“We’ll start with the basics.” 

...

Julie cringed as Luke hit yet another stray note. They’d chosen Amazing Grace, because it had a simple melody, but wasn’t so simple that Luke would start pouting. For the most part, he’d gotten the scales, notes, and corresponding keys down, which wasn’t surprising, given his aptitude for music. But his hands were trained for guitar, not piano. 

“How the heck am I supposed to do this?” He groaned. “The notes are so far apart compared to guitar! And there’s only one key for each note! On the guitar, you can play the same note on different strings just by placement!” He mumbled something about superiority and Julie cracked up.

“Don’t ask me,” she told him. “You have bigger hands than I do, this should be easy,” she teased. He knew she was teasing, but still rolled his eyes. “To be honest, a huge part of it is muscle memory. You just have to play something over and over and over again to get used to it. Then it’ll feel like second nature.” Luke pouted but nodded, bringing his fingers back to the keys. 

He hit the D, then held G, then B, A, G all perfectly, and he got so excited that when he went for the next note (which should’ve been B), he went all the way up to E, and then his pout was back in full effect. Julie couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

“Who would’ve thought that the piano would be your kryptonite?” 

Julie knew she was in for it when Luke gave her his best puppy-eyed smile. Her suspicions were confirmed when he told her, “the piano isn’t my kryptonite. You are.”

Julie wasn’t sure it was possible to die whilst feeling completely, utterly alive, but there she was, her cheeks aflame, doing her best to digest the unruly butterflies in her stomach. It did help that Luke’s cheeks seemed to be bright red as well. Julie punched his arm, a little harder than she meant to. She’s half forgotten that he could be physical now. 

“Ow!” 

“Sorry, I-”

“Relax, I’m kidding,” he said with a shit-eating grin. That time, Julie did mean to punch his arm, but her fist only hit air. He’d gone metaphysical again. “Perks of being a ghost, I suppose,” he added. 

Julie and Luke had both been dancing around their feelings, she knew that. And while there was no way Luke didn’t know about her feelings for him, she still wasn’t sure whether he felt the same, or if he was just being his normal, dorky self. So, she hadn’t admitted it to him, though it hurt to keep it away. 

“If you keep being that cute, I’m actually going to die.” She thought she’d regret the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, but she didn’t. Her face did its best to catch fire, but she didn’t take them back. 

“Ooh, then I might have to keep being my charming self! Then we could be ghosts together!” 

Julie rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. “Are you coming up with these on the spot, or do you have them written down?” 

“Memorized,” he said proudly. “Flustering you is too much fun to fumble. Plus, if I was actually trying to do it on the spot, I’d probably die all over again,” he admitted, and he looked confused, as if he hadn’t meant to say it. 

“That explains it. The Luke I know isn’t smooth.”

“Oh, so you think I’m smooth?”

“No.”

“That’s fair.” Luke’s face was red once again, and Julie was pretty sure she would spontaneously combust if he kept looking at her with that adorable face, so she changed the subject.

“Do you want to keep trying to learn the song?”

If Julie had thought she would get him to stop being adorable by changing the subject, she was completely wrong, because his adorable grin when he said “yes” made her melt. 

She couldn’t believe it herself, but she somehow found the confidence to place her right hand over his, and guide his fingers to the right keys. She tried to ignore how close they were, tried to ignore the catch in his breath as her hand met his, but she just couldn’t. Her heart was racing, and she met his eyes, searching them for some sort of answer to her unsaid question. 

Part of her wondered if she even had to ask it.

He held her gaze before his eyes closed, and he gently touched his forehead to hers. And before she knew it, her lips were on his. 

At first, their noses bumped, and Julie hesitated, but Luke smiled into it, and Julie knew she was safe. It might not have been a movie-worthy kiss, but it was perfect, and something inside her clicked into place. 

The kiss was sweet and chaste, and Julie couldn’t help but giggle when they pulled apart, her forehead still on Luke’s. 

“Took you long enough!” Reggie shouted from across the garage. Julie jumped back, as did Luke, but Luke had the advantage of being able to poof up before he fell. Julie had no such luck. 

“Dude!” Luke said, his face almost on fire. “How long have you been there?”

“Only a moment,” Reggie told him, and Julie somehow knew he was being honest. That didn’t change it, though. 

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Alex asked, walking into the garage, hand-in-hand with Willie.

“Luke and Julie finally kissed!” Reggie exclaimed before Julie could think of a response. 

“FINALLY!” Alex shouted as Willie cheered. “You’ve only been pining for months!” 

Julie bit back an indignant reply, before she realized- “Wait. Months?” Luke somehow got even redder, which shouldn’t have been possible.

“Oh yeah,” Willie said. “He’s been a simp since day one. You didn’t know that?”

“Jeez, and I thought Alex was oblivious,” Reggie remarked with a grin, dodging Alex jumping at him with mock offense.

Well, at least they didn’t have to go through the awkward “we’re together” conversation with the others.

[faewhump]

Unseelie Pet: 17. Chapter

Alex is struggling with his confusing feelings towards Malachi, when suddenly he’s presented with an almost suspiciously perfect opportunity. 

Previous Masterlist Next

Content warnings: dehumanisation, drugging (faerie food), mentions of torture, mentions of noncon, dubcon touching (not sexual), dubcon kiss, captor bonding

Tagging: @galaxywhump @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @slaintetowhump @whumpsideblog @thewhiteraven73 @frnkieroismydaddy @u-n-o-f-f-i-c-i-a-l

At first Alex had been horribly embarrassed about his lapse – he’d sworn himself to not let Malachi kiss him ever again, but then had initiated a kiss himself. And it hadn’t stayed at one kiss, he had basically made out with the Fae while sitting comfortably in his lap. He would have loved to put the responsibility for his actions solely on the faerie food but had to admit that even in his clearest moments the memories were strangely pleasant.

He had expected Malachi to gloat, after all he had told him a while ago already that this was only a matter of time. Instead he didn’t even mention it once, and he didn’t try to pressure Alex into anything else either. It seemed almost like he was waiting for him to take the next step again. Alex didn’t understand why the Fae didn’t just take what he wanted, but at the same time he was very glad that he didn’t.

Although, the thought of being intimate with Malachi didn’t horrify him nearly as much anymore as it had originally… In general the Fae had turned out to be a lot different from what he’d expected. He had expected to be locked away in a dungeon to be starved and tortured as he had been before. But instead Malachi had given him a luxurious room, beautiful clothes and more than enough delicious food.

He visited him basically every day, took him outside on walks whenever the weather allowed, let him choose books at leisure, played chess with him and talked to him like a person. He also bathed, fed and petted him, and just showered him with more affection than he had ever received in his entire life. Another thing Malachi loved doing was dressing him up in lavish outfits, making him sit in front of the vanity mirror for ages until he was happy with the make-up and jewellery.

No, it truly wasn’t what Alex had expected. He had expected to be treated like nothing but a piece of meat to be tortured and abused, but instead Malachi treated him more like a mix between pet, dress-up doll and companion. For better or worse Alex couldn’t shake the impression that maybe, Malachi actually did care about him. He hadn’t picked him at random, but because he’d wanted him specifically. He’d wanted him for years and because of his personality, not just his looks.

He said he loves me, Alex thought, stealing a glance up at Malachi as he followed him along the forest path. And faeries can’t lie, so it must be the truth.

The Fae looked as gorgeous as always, causing Alex’s stomach to flutter. Sometimes he really damned the circumstances under which they’d met, if only it weren’t for those… It wasn’t just Malachi’s looks that he liked, as he’d learned from their conversations about books and philosophy, he was also highly intelligent and eloquent. And while some of his perspectives and opinions were simply strange to Alex, they never failed to make him think and enjoy the discussion.

They came to a halt inside a cavern formed by large flowering bushes. There were white and soft pink blossoms all around them, and Alex couldn’t help staring in wonder.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Malachi said. “I had these Rosa corymbifera planted a few years ago, haven’t they just turned out lovely?”

Alex nodded; this probably was the most beautiful place Malachi had shown him so far. A light breeze moved the branches above, causing white flower petals to rain down on them. Malachi stepped closer to Alex and gently removed a petal from his hair, the end of the leash wrapped casually around his other hand. Alex looked up at the Fae, suddenly noticing how close they were.

His floral perfume mixed marvellously with the sweet scent of the rose blossoms, and Alex couldn’t help leaning in further. Unable to resist any longer, he stretched up and kissed him. Malachi’s lips parted willingly, and he answered the kiss with the same unhurried softness as he had before. He slowly wrapped his arms around Alex, holding him gently as Alex’s hands rested against his chest.

“Good boy,” Malachi murmured when Alex broke the kiss. “You’re so lovely, my beautiful darling.”

Alex blushed and looked down; he didn’t know how to deal with this situation. It was wrong, he shouldn’t kiss the man that held him captive, shouldn’t like the way he complimented and praised him. And yet there was a warmth inside him, filling him, making him wonder how this feeling could not be right. As if he sensed his uncertainty, Malachi loosened his hold and stepped back.

“Let’s go and have some tea, hmm?” he said and led Alex back the way they’d come. “I asked my cook to prepare strawberry tart for us today. It’s your favourite, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Alex confirmed quietly, not quite trusting his voice yet. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, my sweet.”

Alex followed Malachi along the winding path, his thoughts still dwelling on the sweetness of the kiss earlier, when a metallic flash suddenly caught his attention. A couple of yards ahead, hidden amongst the fallen leaves at the side of the path, there lay an iron nail. In this moment Alex realised that this was the very opportunity he’d been waiting for all this time.

It was a well-known fact that if there was something able to break a faerie magic, it was iron. Some other poor human must have taken iron with them as a means of protection and had lost this nail. Alex hadn’t seen it on their way to the rose cavern, and Malachi seemed oblivious to it even now. Within the split of a second Alex made a decision.

Pretending to stumble over a stone he fell and grabbed the nail tightly. Malachi was at his side immediately, soothing him and making sure he was unhurt before he helped him up. Alex accepted his fussing without complaint, assured him that he was fine and able to continue walking without aid. Seeing how concerned the Fae was over just a small fall almost made him feel bad for the iron nail he hid within his clenched fist.

Once they were back in his room Alex obediently knelt upon his favourite sitting pillow and quickly slid the nail underneath it when Malachi looked away. As promised the Fae fed him a delicious piece of strawberry tart and even allowed him to take sips from his teacup while they talked. The hidden nail was a constant buzz in Alex’s mind, and he tried his best to act all unconcerned and cute to avoid rousing suspicion.

“When will you come visit me tomorrow?” Alex asked, pretending to ask for Malachi’s schedule out of clinginess instead of planning his escape.

“Around three in the afternoon, probably.”

“Why so late?” Alex whined. “Can’t you come earlier?”

Malachi stroked his head apologetically. “Sadly there is a very important Court meeting tomorrow morning, and you know how long those usually take.”

Alex continued to sulk, and it was almost humbling to see how well his strategy of playing nice paid off – Malachi didn’t become suspicious but only enjoyed Alex’s supposed clinginess. First the iron nail and now the important Court meeting tomorrow, it was almost too perfect. Maybe destiny was finally repaying him for all the bad luck he’d had before. If everything went as planned, he would be safely at home in less than twenty-four hours, and yet there was something at the back of his mind that continued to bug him.

After breakfast on the next day Alex retrieved the iron nail from its hiding spot under the sitting pillow. This was the moment he’d been waiting for so long; his chances couldn’t be better than now with Malachi and most of the other faeries busy at their meeting and the tool he’d found – and yet he hesitated. How would Malachi react when he came to visit him in the afternoon, only to find the room empty? Would he be angry? Worried? Or sad?

Guilt rose in Alex, despite all the Fae had done to him, he didn’t want him to be upset. But he had to leave, right? This was the chance, he had to take it, he wanted to be free and away from Malachi… didn’t he? Tentatively he looked down at the iron nail in his hand, suddenly not feeling all that sure anymore. What Malachi had said at the beginning was true, in the human world he was relatively poor and had to work hard to make a living, while here he was surrounded by luxury and taken care of.

He shook his head; he couldn’t think like that. The important difference was that in the human world he was free, while here he wasn’t. No matter how kindly Malachi treated him compared to others, he still held him captive against his will, forced him to obey and hurt him whenever he resisted. Let alone the effect the constant faerie food and manipulation had on his mind – Alex saw it clearly, if he didn’t escape now, he probably never would. This was his last chance.

Steeling himself Alex raised the nail to his neck and pressed it against the golden collar. Immediately the spell Malachi had laid upon it disappeared, and the collar sprung open. He carefully placed it down on the pillow, then stood up. Next he used the iron to nullify the spell that kept the door closed, before making short work of picking the lock with the nail. Looking around the room one last time he regretted that he didn’t have any paper or ink to write a farewell note to Malachi, then he slowly opened the door.

After making sure the corridor was clear he smoothly slid out of the room and followed the route he had laid out. As expected the palace was mostly empty, and the only servants around didn’t seem to pay him any mind. His throat felt weirdly unprotected without the collar around it. There was no way the guards would open the main gate for him, and so he didn’t make his way to the entrance hall but instead to the first-floor window he’d climbed in the night he’d snuck into the Court.

Dropping down to the ground he found it hard to believe that he’d actually made it this far, now the only thing between him and freedom was the forest. He quickly collected himself, then briskly walked into the direction he knew his village to be in. His heart raced, this had been almost impossibly easy, and he kept on throwing looks over his shoulder, half expecting to see Malachi behind him. But there was nothing chasing him, so far his escape hadn’t been noticed.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out from behind a tree ahead, blocking his path.

“Well, well, well,” Darerca said, grinning. “Took you long enough.”

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Another Kind of Chameleon, Part 3

-

“So, what do you think about this new hero?” asked Chat Noir to Ladybug once he caught up to her. She was on a roof, watching the stars.

“I asked the Master and her story checks out.”

“That’s not what I asked”

“Well, it’s weird. Normally, I would have more suspicions, but the Master said that what she said about the Miraculous of Perception is true, and that that Miraculous was lost way before the others were put on boxes in the temple. And Tikki also confirmed that Glamm was a real kwami”

“Yeah, Plagg did too. Apparently they didn’t got along really well”

Ladybug snickered. “I guess he’s still mad about Glamm hiding his cheese stash and blaming Trixx for it?”

Chat Noir grinned, taking a seat next to her. “Yeah, a bit. Cheese is serious business for him. So, what’s the plan of action then?”

“Basically, we wait and see. There’s a small chance she’s working with Hawk Moth, so we have to keep our eyes open.”

Chat Noir nodded. There was something about that Chameleon girl that rubbed him the wrong way, but after jumping to conclusion with Volpina… with Lila, he knew he has to be more cautious this time.

-

“Chamelopardalis!” blurted Lila out. Glamm looked at her with a single eye.

“… That’s a giraffe”

“I know, I just wanted to see if you were paying attention”

“I am.” Glamm said, focusing again on the TV. So far, nothing had appeared on the Ladyblog, and Nadja Chamack had stopped her report after the higher ups noticed it was Mister Pigeon again. Lila had been furious at Glamm for going after such a crappy akuma. They, however, pointed out that they had gained good will with the Ladybug, and that mattered more, as fame and fortune will arrive sooner than later. “You should stop refreshing that site and do something else. Have you finished you homework yet?”

“No, I’ll just ask Alya tomorrow before class starts”

“And how are you going to convince her?”

“… I hate you so much”

“You love me. C’mon, those equations won’t solve themselves.”

“What do you know about math anyway” asked Lila rolling her eyes at the little chameleon, while going for her backpack to get her homework.

“Admittedly, not much, but I can totally help you and be your moral support slash cheerleader.”

Glamm *did* know about math, but if they admitted such, Lila would make them do her homework. The unlikely duo started with Lila’s homework, and after some ups and downs, Lila managed to finish it before bedtime. She wouldn’t admit it, but she had enjoyed the ‘challenge’.

-

At the next day, Lila was careful when going for breakfast, hiding Glamm in her purse… but it turns out it hadn’t been necessary. There were no signs of her mom being home, just a note saying she had been called from work early and would be working late. Lila had to pretend to not care, and Glamm just distracted her with more talk about yesterday. It turned out that while Alya had reported the akuma on the Ladyblog, she had been curiously quiet about the new hero. Lila, was, of course, pissed off about this, but Glamm assured her that Alya might want to do an interview or some other better feature than just defeating Mister Pigeon.

They were so engrossed in their talk that they almost didn’t notice Nino approaching them, like almost every morning. Glamm was quick to hide in Lila’s hair, and later in her school bag.

“Hey Lila, good morning!”

“OH! Hey Nino! Didn’t see you there!” said a scared Lila, looking everywhere for Glamm, until she noticed they weren’t there.

“Yeah, I’m totally a ninja… Is something wrong?”

“What? Oh no!” Lila stopped looking for Glamm. Either they can turn invisible or they managed to hide before Nino noticed, so she was relieved either way. “Nah, it’s all good, I’m a bit nervous for today math work” she said as they started walking to school together. Normally, Lila would go earlier or later so she wouldn’t have to walk together with him every day, but of course she couldn’t do that every day. She felt uncharacteristically at ease after seeing that Nino hadn’t caught sight of Glamm floating around her, that one would have been hard to explain with or without perception powers.

“You tell me about it, I had a hard time doing it! I’m half-sure some of my answers are wrong”

“We can check them when we arrive to school. I’m pretty confident I have them right myself”

“Cool! Wait didn’t you say you had trouble with math?” Lila looked away. “Sorry, didn’t meant it like that”

“Don’t worry. I did have help with that.”

“Oh, cool, my mom says it’s a sign of maturity to admit you need help”

Lila stopped for a second there. She quickly shook it out of her system. Nino didn’t notice, or pretend he didn’t.

“You must have a great relationship with your mom”

Nino shrugged. “Yeah, except when I need to clean my room” he chuckled. “Let’s just say my room isn’t the tidiest room you’ll see.”

Lila giggled… And then she stopped in her tracks again. She had been genuinely amused at Nino’s lame joke.

In no time, they reached their school and soon their classroom and their seats and started comparing their notes. They only had different results on two of the problems, and Max was quickly called as an arbitrer to point out which one was right. It was a draw, as both were wrong. Lila laughed it off, and then noticed she wasn’t even mad at having been told she was wrong, she actually had had fun just talking with Nino and being taught by Max (even if he sounded a bit condescending, although Kim later told them it wasn’t on purpose)

Alya and Marinette arrived while they were finishing comparing notes, Marinette glared at her. Lila could bet she thought she was shamelessly copying Nino’s work and really couldn’t blame her for thinking that about her… and then realized what she just thought.

“Ugh, I still can’t believe it!”

“What’s wrong babe?” asked Nino, quickly going to his girlfriend. Lila approached them cautiously, remembering hard to not try to impress them or lie, as without Glamm’s passive magic, she didn’t know if she would be believed or shunned.

“There is a new hero running around!” Said Alya in a weird tone, that Nino couldn’t really tell if it was excited or angry.

“You don’t seem very happy about it” Lila hid behind Nino immediately after saying that, as Alya glared at her. Alya seemed to notice and took a deep breath.

“Yeah, sorry. I normally would, but I was playing with a new app on my phone that turned out to be a battery drainer, and long story short, I didn’t get any video of her.”

“I’m sure she will appear again, don’t worry about it. Besides, it was Mister Pigeon.”

Alya chuckled at that. “Yeah, but…” she looked at Nino, and then looked away. “For the looks of it, Ladybug replaced Carapace”

“WHAT?” surprisingly for Alya, it had been Lila who yelled, not Nino.

“She was green, the only green miraculous is the turtle, so what other one could she be?” said Alya, with a clear angry tone to her voice.

“A Chameleon!” yelled Marinette and Lila at the same time. They looked at each other and then diverted their eyes. Even if Alya was annoyed at the replacement of Nino, she had to admit that seeing Marinette and Lila agree onto something was amusing.

“What?” asked Nino, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Unlike Alya, he seemed okay with the concept of being replaced, either temporarily or on a permanent basis. He also had been busy last day with Chris, so he held no ill will to Ladybug if she had indeed replaced him. “A Chameleon?”

“Well, she couldn’t be the turtle; Carapace has a shield as a weapon, right?” Alya nodded. “I saw the fight, she had a to…a whip thing” Lila tried as hard as she could to sound convincing. She was telling the truth after all.

“Yeah, I saw it too” said Marinette, looking a bit annoyed at having to agree with Lila. Lila took that look of annoyance as victory. Telling the truth was a small price to pay to get Marinette annoyed.

“Really? I didn’t manage to catch Ladybug after that.”

“You should ask her then.”

“I don’t wanna bother her”

Nino and Marinette looked at each other and laughed.

“What?” she said, annoyed, crossing her arms

Marinette put her hand on Alya’s shoulder. “Didn’t you stopped her the other day to ask her which was her favorite flavor of Ice Cream?”

“That’s different, someone asked that in the Ladyblog, and I pride myself of having just facts on my blog.”

Lila had to use all her willpower to not laugh at that. After all, all her phony interviews were still up.

Wait a second.

All her phony interviews were still up.

And without the magic of the broken Miraculous, anyone who rewatched them would question her credibility, and worse, the credibility of Alya!

…

Wait.

…

Did she just thought that Alya being discredited would be worse than herself being discredited?

What?

[captainpikeachu]

DISCO S3 NYCC TRAILER ANALYSIS!!!!!!!

sMESA BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And boy oh boy was Saturday, October 5 such a good Trek news day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so....let’s get back to some good ole analysis of the teaser trailer for Discovery Season 3, still likely to be about a year away before we officially see it

Trailer begins with our queen Michael landing in the future

that is a lot of dirt you might say, it’s like she landed near volcano or something

ohhhhh a look into her gear - so it looks like her science division badge, a phaser, and a communicator maybe, the black one that looks like a phone and has the Starfleet delta decal on it, and there’s some other equipment that I don’t know what they are

then we hear Michael’s voice saying “I’ve spent a year searching for that domino that tipped over and started all of this”

and by this, I think she means she spent a year trying to find the cause of why the Federation has “fallen” in a sense, as this would tie into what looks to be the theme of the season by the looks of the rest of the trailer

accompanying her voiceover, we see the following images

we not only see Michael’s changing hairstyle, but also how her mood has changed, going from worry and fear to almost resigned and ready for whatever that’s coming - also we see that she did seem to pick up more equipment or other objects throughout this one year period as indicated by the growing piles behind her

it is confirmed that Michael and the Disco crew did not land in the future together, so it looks like Michael arrived first, and the Disco crew lands one year after Michael’s arrival

here we see Michael with our new series regular David Ajala who is playing a character named Cleveland “Book” Booker, from the looks of this scene, Michael runs into him at some point and they seem to be avoiding someone else or being chased by someone else and are trying to run away and hide

and it seems Michael and Book are running away from some Andorians with very interesting weapons, we also see some humans behind the Andorians - could this be some remnant of a Starfleet/Federation?

some sort of pulse weapon is released and Michael and Book are knocked flying and glass is breaking

Michael and Book are walking across some landscape and we got two planets in the sky - I’m not sure what this planet is or if this is even the same planet where Michael landed, but we do know from the panels and interviews that Michael and the crew did not land at Terralysium as they had hoped

Book asks Michael, “You believe in ghosts?”

Michael replies, “What does that mean?”

Book: “That badge on your shirt.”

the look on Michael’s face says it all - she realizes what he means - the Federation, Starfleet...they’re basically ghosts, something that doesn’t exist anymore

Saru and Tilly are the next shot that we see, the doors look to be the Disco bay area? Maybe they are getting ready to take a shuttle and go somewhere? They certainly looked to be dressed for it.

next we hear a man’s voiceover saying “I watch this office everyday, believing that my hope was not in vain...”

so Michael and Book are at this office and meeting the man speaking the voiceover, I don’t know if Book brought Michael there or if something else brought them there - like perhaps the people that were chasing them got them here?

and this man, I don’t know if he’s a Federation government member? or maybe this is a museum? or a believer of Federation ideals? or perhaps he is someone who is the descendant of a character we know from Season 1 and 2 (maybe like Ash Tyler) who has been told to wait for Michael and find her if she does appear in the future? that might be a bit of a stretch but it could be an easy way to explain his devotion and belief?

we see the flag of the Federation, interestingly this one has only 6 stars

just to compare it with, this is the usual flag of the Federation that we see

so at this point, it is looking like something caused the Federation to break up and become fractured? those 6 stars perhaps represents the 6 species/planets that are still standing together?

the man’s voiceover contines in this next scene, “...and that hope is you, Commander Burnham”

the fact that he knows her name is why I am inclined to believe that he is the descendant of someone who knows Michael and has been told to one day expect her

this next reaction shot of Michael’s face is not related to the scene before, as we see by the change in Michael’s hair, this shot is a year after the scene of Michael meeting the man above - this shot is likely Michael’s reaction to finding out that the Discovery crew has finally made it through

explicit confirmation of how many years we jumped into the future - so since Disco Season 2 mostly took place in 2257, this means that Michael lands in 3187 and one year later is 3188, when the Discovery arrives

at the panel, it was confirmed also that we would explore more of the Trill, and we see that in the trailer - the two people in red are likely Trills, the person in the foreground doesn’t look to be Michael, but it might be her, and the pool is where the symbionts are

this could be Michael in the pool? or it could perhaps be another character who becomes a host? we have heard rumors that Disco Season 3 is possibly bringing in a nonbinary character, so this may be that person as this looks like the actor I was informed they had cast

now these are definitely Trills, though it might be unlikely we will see the Dax symbiont from DS9 around in season 3, since I’m not sure the symbiont would be able to live into the 32nd century

and there’s Discovery!!!!!

REUNIONS!!!?!???!?!!

Michael has found her Disco family!

A shot of Detmer and Owosekun.

Culber looks rather concerned

some sort of confrontation is happening in the spore drive room, there is at least one person holding weapons, some non-Disco crew people, maybe someone after the spore drive? it was noted that the drive may become a target

we do see Stamets and Tilly in the top right corner, but the person to their left kinda looks like Stamets?

Stamets and Tilly both look very unhappy and alarmed at the same time.

Book and Michael are fighting on that planet we saw them walking across earlier, and it looks like those Andorians or whoever was chasing them has caught up to them

the person Michael is fighting doesn’t look like an Andorian, but Book is definitely fighting an Andorian

and here we see Georgiou getting into some fights as well, and we see Saru behind her - it looks like wherever Saru and Tilly were going, Georgiou went with them as well

this character here I believe is the nonbinary character they had rumored to have cast, and this might also be the same character we see go into the Trill pool and possibly be joined with a symbiont?

now this shot....ohhhhhhh

so from left to right, we got Andorian, a species that I cannot really be sure of, Human, Cardassian(?), Lurian, and another Andorian

they are part of the same group that we saw earlier in the trailer chasing Book and Michael

Book and Michael are booking it (sorry I couldn’t resist)

so through the last few scenes, we have been hearing Saru’s voice saying “This ship bears the name Discovery. She has carried us into the future, and it will be our privilege to make that future bright.”

Book and Michael are sure not skipping leg day in this trailer - this looks like some sort of science facility?

next shot is an interesting one - this could either be a flashback to Prime Georgiou, or this is Mirror Georgiou pretending to be Prime for some undercover sort of mission?

either way, she says “Let’s see how this plays out, shall we?”

Michael pointing a phaser at someone, now judging by her hair, this is one year after she landed in the future, and the person behind her is likely that nonbinary character (who I really need to know the name of so I can use their name properly)

also interesting to note about her uniform - the color stripes don’t look silver

and a close up look on her badge....that’s the command division badge

now Michael’s uniform is missing the stripes across the shoulders that indicate a captain, but the change in color and badge looks like Michael is officially moving from science division into the command track and she will be wearing gold and not silver anymore

something is happening on Discovery and Owosekun is getting shaken around

Georgiou killing some folks

Discovery flying

and finally, we hear the man say “Where will you go?”

to which Michael answers, “Wherever the answers are.”

but look at the way they are holding hands, you do not hold hands with strangers like that, I mean, short of this guy being a fan, this sort of familiarity speaks to a deeper connection, which just goes to further add to my suspicion that this character is likely a Ash Tyler descendant of some sort, or a descendant of someone who once knew Michael and has been waiting for her to appear in the future because they were told to wait for her by someone who had knowledge that Discovery went into the future

this logo color feels happier and brighter somehow

so there it is! the trailer giving us the first look into season 3! SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!!!!!

and I’m sure before its 2020 release, we will see at least one or two more trailers so we can have more of an idea, but I am so excited to see Discovery boldly go off into the future!!!!!!!!

whatever is happening this season, it’s looking like Discovery is going to be leading the way to rebuild a possibly fallen or broken Federation and restore it to the ideals that it once stood for! this is an interesting narrative, especially when compared to some of the themes we are seeing with Picard’s story and going rogue because the Federation won’t do the right thing to help.

I’ve said in other places already but it looks like Disco and Picard are both telling this overarching Federation narrative but going at it from two opposite ends with Picard detailing the gradual decline of the Federation while Disco is giving it a rebirth.

BRING ON SEASON 3!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

[jenovahh]

The Honey Pot - Ch. 10 - In Too Deep

You can see the white of Ardbert’s eyes as Zenos speaks to him, sweet chocolate orbs landing on you as Zenos explains that you will not be dropped off at the estate this night. It confirms your suspicions of tonight’s activities as he lets Zenos step into the car, Ardbert flashing you a concerned look as you crawl in behind the stoic heir.

The city lights beam down into the already dark vehicle, the atmosphere somehow foreboding despite your rides already being silent on the usual. However, you can feel a certain tension emanating from Ardbert who knows exactly where you’re going, and what it entails.

You want to ask, truly you do, but Zenos usual stoicism is replaced instead with a quiet anticipation, somehow focused on you despite him having not glanced your way since Ardbert pulled away from the office building. The city gradually fades away as the industrial district looms ahead, causing you to clench your hands into fists out of his sight.

Tonight, you would see just what Zenos’ role as the Galvus heir was.

“No questions, my beast?”

Your eyes cut to Zenos, who is looking at you out of the corner of his. He looks expectant, as if knowing exactly how you will respond. Confident and self assured despite the obvious body language that you are heading into the unknown. “What is there to ask? It’s not as if you picked me up under mysterious circumstances.” You snort, watching as his eyes crinkle with amusement.

“This is true...but even I am eager to see how cut throat you can really be.” He purrs, and you can feel the blood drain from your face. “Your role does not change much here, save for the fact that now the more...unsavory parts of my duties will now be handled by you. Father is above dirtying his own hands and feels I should be as well…” he sighs, sounding genuinely disappointed despite you displaying every signal of discomfort.

“...Unsavory?” You prompt, fishing for any kind of clue.

He fully turns to face you now, grin devilish. “Come now, I know that you’ve shown some signs of intelligence despite being a street rat. Did that riff raff you used to fight for never make you display your strength?” He questions, and you panic as you figure out the right thing to say. You dumbly shake your head and Zenos barks out a cold laugh. “It doesn’t surprise me. Such is the reason their ilk scurry along on their bellies, slinking through the shadows like rats.”

You try to find it in yourself to be angry, but find yourself too disturbed by the reappearance of this side of Zenos; the calculating, apathetic side. The side where he had not one issue of killing off one of his own underlings. The side where multiple of his employees feared him and with good reason.

The side where he encouraged others to hate him so that they could train to kill him.

“You must do exactly as I say tonight, without question. My father has an image he wants to maintain, and I am best suited to be the one to carry it out. Though, with you here now, think of yourself as a mere extension of my will. Take all that pent up frustration and hate I know you have for me and unleash it tonight.” He chuckles darkly, almost as if he revels in the anxiety in your eyes. “Can you handle that, my beast?”

“Of course.” You answer immediately, despite feeling the sweat running down your back, ruining your nice shirt.

“We shall see, my beast...we shall see.”

The remaining minutes are passed in total silence as Ardbert pulls up outside a seemingly abandoned warehouse, the expensive car looking out of place compared to the dilapidated surroundings. Body stiff, you exit the car to let Zenos out, his leather shoes crunching the gravel underfoot. You jolt as his hand covers your own as usual as he pulls himself out the car, his eyes darting to you for a second, but your face is the perfect picture of calm. Before you can set off toward the warehouse, Zenos stops you, staring directly behind you.

Turning, you hear the trunk pop open as Ardbert retrieves a sword from inside. Your eyes widen as you recognize it as the same blade he had drawn on you when you had met. Ardbert holds it out with a bow, allowing Zenos to take it from his hands to holster it to his side. Saying nothing more, you begin to near the hideout.

Several cars are parked outside the warehouse, all of varying quality. There are a number of unmarked vans as well, a low fog rolling in further dampening the already tense atmosphere. You stay near Zenos’ side, unable to follow behind him due to your role, but unsure of where to go. Getting closer you spot several people chatting outside of the warehouse, drinking, smoking, making out. The scene isn’t unlike your short stay with the Marauders, making you wonder what lesser gang this warehouse belongs to, and just why Zenos is paying a visit.

Well within earshot now, the chatter dies down, eyes upon the Galvus heir and his companion. Reaching the door, you can hear the bassline pumping behind the rusted metal, guarded by a rather tall Elezen. His eyes narrow into thin slits upon looking at Zenos, body immediately tense as the two of you come to stand before him.

“Who’s she?” The Elezen asks, reddish eyes glinting in the low light.

“Of no importance to one such as yourself.” Zenos replies smoothly, crossing his arms. “Step aside, savage. I’m here on business.”

The bodyguard growls, but clearly knows he’s outmatched. Lowering his head he raps his knuckles in rhythm on the metal door behind him. After a breath the door loudly creaks open, the music hitting you full blast now. Zenos steps inside and you follow, throwing one last glance at the guard as he shuts the door behind you.

The warehouse is in a lot better shape than the Marauders’, and you have to wonder if this gang has a bit more going for them as a result. Perhaps that’s the very reason Zenos is here, seeing as you can only speculate. You know nothing of Zenos’ gang relations anymore than you know of his business as a CEO’s son despite being by his side everyday. Even though there’s music pounding your ears, there is surprisingly little dancing going on, and instead more risquè activities happening. You flush red in the face as you catch multiple couples doing more than just light petting in the shadows, while Zenos looks completely unphased.

Saying nothing, Zenos steps further into the warehouse, eyes glancing over the area as if he’s looking for someone. You stay close, close enough it seems like you’re there for his protection instead of the other way around. The entire gang is full of Elezen you notice, where the majority’s complexion leans to the darker side. Bright eyes against dark skin take note of you immediately, some couples even stopping their frisking to watch the two of you casually walk around as if you own the place.

With an exasperated sigh, Zenos goes to the closest Elezen he can find, staring them down even with his height. “Foulques. Where is he.” He demands, shifting his weight to one leg.

The Elezen man glares hotly at Zenos, clearly feeling brave. “What do you want with the boss?”

“Nothing too important…” Zenos drawls, cruel smirk pulling at dark lips. “Just a little chat. Your little hideout had improved so much over the past few months, I was told to come ask who decorated.” Each word seems to rile the Elezen further until he looks damn near feral.

“Don’t mock me!” He snarls, whipping out a knife with lightning speed. Your body moves like lightning at the first glint of metal, knocking the knife from his hand, twisting the arm that held it behind his back. The man cries out in pain as you knock him to his knees before Zenos, clutching his arm tight uncomfortably behind him. “Who the fuck,”

“This would be my new bodyguard. She’s quite good at what she does.” Zenos smirks, tilting his head slightly. “Now, I can be merciful. Tell me where Foulques is, and I won’t kill you. Not today at least.” The way he delivers that statement alone sounds far more innocent than it has any right being.

“I will never,” You tug on his arm a bit harder, a silent encouragement for him to talk, but all it does is stop him for a moment. “I ain’t gonna tell you shit.”

Sighing, Zenos rolls his eyes. “Really. I wouldn’t think it so hard.” His eyes jump to you. “Break it.”

Your eyebrows shoot up, unsure if he was talking to you. “Break what--”

“His arm. Break it. Shatter it.” He orders, staring you down fiercely.

“Zenos,”

“Break. It.”

Biting down on your lip you give his arm a hard tug, eyes clenching shut as you feel his arm pop out of it’s socket, the man howling with pain. You hold him tighter as he tries to pull away from you, yelling louder as that worsens the pain.

“Tongue feeling any looser, savage?” Zenos taunts, his smile cruel as he looks down upon the defiant man. The beat of the music pounds as loud as your heart, your arms shaking in time with the melody. “All you must do is tell me where he is. Better yet, you may even cut out the middleman and tell me the information I seek.” Zenos tilts the man’s head up with a chin, clutching his face painfully. “We’ve reason to believe your leader has been tampering with the routes of our shipments. An underling like you wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, would you?”

Zenos lightens his grip on the Elezen’s cheeks long enough for him to clearly speak. You gasp in horror as he hollows his cheeks and spits on Zenos, who doesn’t even bat an eye. “Fuck you.” The man growls, chest heaving.

Releasing his face, Zenos shakes his head, clicking his tongue. “But a simple request…” Zenos’ fist connects with the Elezen’s face, hard enough you’re sure you heard bone actually break. The man falls into a heap out of your hands and onto the floor, crying out in agony at his surely shattered jaw. “And yet you wonder why we refer to you as savages. Unable to even follow the simplest of orders, the most basic of requests.” Zenos pulls his sword from his waist to toss it at you, your hands barely managing to catch it in time.

“A simple, ‘I don’t have that information’ would’ve given you another chance, yet now you lie with your teeth on the floor, not to mention your broken jaw. You’ve tried my patience.” Zenos squats down, snagging the man by his hair and raising him up, uncaring how the man’s face twists in pain. “I will not repeat myself again. Since I’ve taken your ability to speak, I will instead ask a yes or no question. Has your leader been interfering with our shipments?”

Blood spills out the man’s mouth, staining his already dirtied clothes. A groan of pain bubbles up from his throat, but he makes no other movements with his head. You watch as one arm slowly lifts to Zenos’ face, middle finger standing tall amongst the others on a bloodied hand. Zenos glances at it once before dropping the Elezen unceremoniously to the floor.

“Kill him.”

You stare at Zenos, positive you look like a deer in the headlights. “Zenos he,”

“What did I tell you before we came in here?” He interrupts, eyes hard as Garlean steel. You freeze in place, feeling that ominous aura you had felt when you had met, feeling so much smaller than him. “Without. Question.” He steps over the fallen man, unsheathing the sword and taking it’s scabbard away from you. “He is of no use of us. Kill him.”

You stare in horror at the man at your feet, your entire body trembling.

He knows you can’t.

He knows you can’t.

So why does he--

Why would he--

“You fucking bastard!”

You flip the hilt to the correct position in your hand in the same movement as you turn to catch a random member throwing himself at you with a knife. You block his attack with the dull side of the blade, clocking him in the jaw with your fist hard enough to knock him out.

Before you can turn to face Zenos again, he’s pulling his sword from your hand and shoving it into the man who just tried to attack you.

Blood spatters over your pants legs, your shoes, the warmth of it felt even beneath the fabric. You stand there horrified, feeling as if you’ve gone through too much shock to process anything. “A shame you lack the conviction, my beast.” Zenos murmurs, turning to make a clean slice through the throat of the previous man. “Those in power cannot afford to show weakness.” He states, stepping over the bodies to loom over you.

What comraderie you thought had begun to build is absent in his eyes which are now as frigid as the lands of Coerthas. He says nothing for a few moments, merely gazing down upon you as you dumbly stare back, too shocked to form words. Realizing this, he turns to the equally appalled remaining gang members, eyes bored. “Well, Duskwights, I believe I don’t have to kill any more of you to get my point across, now do I?” You jolt as his hand lands on your shoulder, pushing you in the direction of the door. “Unless you would like me to make another personal visit...I would suggest your leader make contact with us post haste.” Reaching into his pocket, he fishes out a black, glossy card, tossing it away to flutter to the floor. “You’ve bored me already. I believe I will return home.”

Giving you another hard nudge, he pushes you to begin your walk back out to the car. It is entirely silent, the sounds of the city distant as your thoughts as Zenos guides you back to the car with one hand still firmly grasped on your shoulder. Ardbert waits with the door open, his face contorted with pure worry at the sight of you as the two of you approach.

“My lord,”

“Do I pay you for your opinions or to drive?” Zenos cuts him off, expression far deadlier than what he looked as he had murdered two men in cold blood. Ardbert audibly swallows as he ducks his head, body trembling as Zenos all but shoves you inside the car.

The motion of the car pulling away from the industrial complex isn’t enough to break you from your stupor, too stunned to even put on your seatbelt. You couldn’t even shake anymore, body completely rigid even as you felt every bump, every rock and pebble the car drove over as Ardbert took the two of you home.

He was not mortal.

There was no way Zenos could be, no way that any mortal being in existence could be so cold hearted. So cruel.

It didn’t make sense.

“The Galvuses have little people like us under their heel yeah? Might shock ya to know, but they’re actual crime bosses; like the ones in the movies.”

How could you have forgotten Maetifyst’s words? How did the very reason you were here slip your mind?

Why did disappointment sit so heavy in your gut?

You reach to clutch your face in your hands, only finding them stained red with the dried blood of Zenos’ kills. Your eyes go wide, pain shooting through your skull as tears burn bright behind your eyes.

Only when Ardbert pulls into the driveway of the estate do you clamor to get out of the car as soon as you can. It takes all you have to not make a break for your room, to strip out of your soiled clothing as soon as you cross the threshold, but you’re halfway past caring as you yank the blazer off you, tossing it to the floor as you make a bee line for your sanctum.

You nearly make it inside your door before you’re forcibly grabbed by the arm and pressed against the wall by Zenos. Before you can even move to fight back he’s pinned you in place with his weight, a thigh wedged between your legs, hands pinning your wrists to the wall. “Get off me!” You snarl desperately, trying to fight against his brute strength but failing.

“Your weakness will get you killed.” He seethes, blue eyes narrowed on your own, the shadows of the dark hallway dancing across his features.

“I am not weak just because I’m not an unfeeling asshole who won’t just take some innocent man’s life!” You snap back, tugging at your confines again to no avail.

“Innocent?” He laughs, lips twisting cruelly. “These men are far from innocent, my beast. They are murderers, rapists, drug dealers. Are you truly so naive?” He cackles, the sound sending shivers up your spine.

“Naive? Who could be naive when someone as terrible as you exists, you fucker?” You lash out, hating the look in his eyes.

As if he pities you.

“Terrible wouldn’t even begin to cover the atrocities I’ve committed, my beast.” He croons, face nearing your own but you snap at him with your teeth, forcing him to back off. “I’ve killed. I’ve maimed. I’ve stolen, lied, and cheated all under the sanctity of the law. All in the name of my father.” The dark chuckle he gives reverberates through your whole body. “You’ve not seen the worst of me, Honey.”

Looking away, you can feel the tears pool in the corner of your eyes, trembling in his grip. He pins both your hands with one of his own, allowing him to cup your face between his fingers and force you to look at him as tears spill down your cheeks. Shame fills you, cursing yourself for being unable to stop the stream of tears that run down your cheeks.

“Such weakness...what would the staff think, seeing you weep like this? The same woman who would sooner insult me, demean me where others would rightfully fear me...crying like a child.” His voice sounds almost thoughtful, his thumbs swiping at the tracks of your tears as you shut your eyes to block him out. “And yet...I feel you shaking. Do you fear me now, my beast? Do you think me a monster?” He squeezes your cheeks harder and you whimper in pain. “Look at me.” He demands, his body pressing impossibly closer to your own. “Answer me.”

You hold his gaze, unable to cease shaking like a leaf in the wind. “I don’t know what I think.” You murmur, voice weak and frail. “I’m not afraid of you.” Tears still run down your cheeks. “I didn’t know what to expect.” You answer truthfully.

Anyone else would call him a monster. Absolute scum.

So why…

“The weak do not kill.” Zenos begins, cupping your face with a deceptive gentleness. “Man should fight for the joy of it. To live, to eat, to breed--” His breath catches for a moment, body shifting against your own, “...lesser beasts snap and howl at one another for this. Only man has the wisdom and the clarity to embrace violence for its own sake.” He purrs, nearing you slowly this time as you stare pitifully at him. “For we who are born into this merciless, meaningless world, have but one candle of life to burn.”

His words have dropped to a whisper, your breathing in sync as his thumb shifts to rub along your bottom lip, his eyes darting to them for a brief moment. “You possess such strength, such unparalleled power and yet you squander it on notions of feeling others deserve their lives despite how weak they are…” He rumbles, shaking loose strands of hair from his face. “You have long since lost the chance to run away from your cage. You have seen the dark side of our image; my father won’t suffer to see anyone who knows of it to live outside of his reach.” His gaze slides back up to you again, eyes half lidded. “Not that I would let you run. Not when you belong to me.”

You jerk your face away from his hold, ignoring the heat that’s left behind of his thumb on your lip. “Please just let me go.” You beg softly, vocal chords quaking. Fresh tears spring forward, a sob pulled from your lips as he tilts your head back to brush your tears away. The action only makes more flow forth, unable to stop yourself. “I don’t want to kill. I don’t want you to--” Swallowing thickly, you stop yourself, feeling the silence stretch between you.

He studies you longer still, still wiping the tears from your eyes and you have to wonder if he understands the weight of the gesture or if he just wants you to stop crying because you are weak. You had fooled yourself into thinking yourself strong enough to take on this job.

You knew the risks, knew absolutely everything going in to this undercover mission. Every potential pot hole, every setback, every challenge...

And yet, here in the arms of the Galvus heir, covered in the blood of his kills as he dries yours tears, you’ve never felt more in over your head.