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aurorawritestoescape · 9 months ago

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BAD BLOOD pt 3

Pairing: step uncle Joel Miller x f!reader x stepdad Tommy Miller

Tw: +18, mdni, smut, step-cest, big age gap (reader is 22, Joel and Tommy are in their late and mid-40s), perv!Joel, dark!Joel, dark!reader, dubconned!Tommy, mention of f!oral, mention of mfm, fingering, semi public, cum eating, degradation kink, praise kink, daddy kink, alcohol consumption, swearing, reader wears makeup.

Summary: Joel and Tommy take you out and things get heated.

Word count: 5,8k

A/n: it took me longer than I planned but pt 3 is finally here. I really hope you’ll like it! Kisses and hugs to everyone who has given love to the series💖 I’m very grateful!! Special thank you to @milla-frenchy for the support! Ily baby❤️

Series Masterlist || MASTERLIST

*****

You’re sitting at your vanity putting final touches to your makeup. Butterflies are dancing in your stomach and your pussy is tingling as the anticipation of the night electrifies your nerves.

You can’t believe that it’s finally going to happen. You’ve been imagining it for so long. Every holiday, every family visit to your college, every time you saw your stepdad the desire for him ignited your core. You imagined him taking you in your bed, claiming your pussy under the secrecy of the night. You wished he would send your mom to hell, close the door in her face and take you in your dorm room. You dreamt of him fucking you on your desk and making you squirt all over the books. You’ve craved that cock and the man attached to it for so long and today you’re finally going to get it all.

***

“Can you hurry up?” Joel’s booming voice startles you and your hand jerks making your eyeliner too thick. “Tommy’s waiting at the car and getting on my nerves, fidgety fucker.”

You see your step uncle’s reflection in the mirror and exclaim not turning to him, “Fuck! Stop creeping on me! Go away!”

Despite your words you quickly check him out through the mirror. He’s wearing dark blue jeans and a cardigan with the lowest V neck you’ve ever seen. Your mouth waters when you see his naked chest.

The man curses and steps into your bedroom shutting the door behind him. You turn swiftly, raising your hand in a stop gesture.

“No. Get out! You’re not coming on my face again. I just did my makeup,” you turn back to the mirror and start fixing your ruined eyeliner barely moving your lips to talk, “tonight is about Tommy and me anyway.”

“In love with your stepdad. Fuckin’ hell!” Joel chuckles, walking to your bed. He sits down and places the elbows on his thighs. His voice gets serious, “I want you to remember what you promised me, angel. No back outs.”

“I’m not in love, Joel. Just wanna fuck him. I’m gonna do everything the way we planned, ok? I can’t believe he’s still talking to you. After what you’ve done.”

Joel rubs his beard hiding a smile. “Told him you wanted to find out if he’d fuck you and I obliged. Then I just made big eyes ‘What?! She recorded it? No way! What a bitch!’ He ate it up,” he adds, looking pleased with himself.

You finally turn to him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Oh, so he thinks you’re innocent?!”

“Tommy knows that I’m far from innocent. But you…”, he points his index finger at you, “your stunt shocked him. His sweet stepdaughter, blackmailing him into fucking her.. Shit!” He adjusts himself and you lick your lips shooting a glance at his bulge.

You turn back to the mirror and silence fills the bedroom while you’re applying your lipstick. You feel Joel's heavy gaze on you until his gruff voice breaks it, “This color will look great smeared on my balls, baby.”

You scoff at his words but don’t say anything. You can’t deny that the desire to suck him off has been growing exponentially since the moment he slapped you in the backyard. Especially when you saw his fat cock that morning. Now you really want that bonus he promised stuffed into your pussy.

When the makeup is done you get up and walk to the bed. Your short black dress with sheer sleeves is laid out next to Joel who’s manspreading his thick thighs. His knee touches your bare leg and you step away furrowing your brows and whine, “Can you leave? I need to change.” Your voice lacks confidence as in reality you want him to stay and watch but it’s hard to admit that this man who looks more like a pimp than a contractor makes your pussy tingle.

“What’s the matter, angel? We’re family, no need to be shy around me.”

You roll your eyes and shift on your feet contemplating your next move. After a few moments your hands rise up to untie your robe. You open it not turning away from Joel and throw it off your shoulders fully exposing yourself. The robe pools at your feet as you’re looking at him with defiance.

Joel’s expression is serious and pensive. He takes you in like you’re an object on display in a shop window. You hold your breath fearing that any degrading comment thrown your way now might really hurt you. But a wave of relief washes over you when you see him breathe in sharply, lean back on his hand, spreading his legs wider and palming his bulge.

“What if I give you my bonus right now, angel. I feel generous.”

Triumph seizes you when you see the signs of his desire - your power over him. You have an upper hand and now it’s your turn to smirk.

“Don’t think so, step uncle. Need to ask my daddy first.”

You turn around and walk to the dresser hearing the man chuckle. You feel his gaze on your ass and push it out a little to give him a better view.

You open the top drawer and look through your panties and bras wanting to choose a perfect set for tonight.

You hear your bed creak and then the heat of Joel’s body warms up your bare back and ass.

“Want me to help you choose, angel? I know what my brother likes.”

“I was thinking this one,” you muse picking up a red lacy set and showing it to him.

“Fuck, it’s hot, baby. Suits you well. Slutty,” he comments and then leans lower, his lips are brushing your ear as he whispers, “but don’t forget your role, angel. You’re his innocent stepdaughter. He thinks he hates that he wants to fuck you but he fuckin’ loves it. He’s as twisted as me, just hides it.”

He raises his arms at your sides caging you between his massive biceps and searches through the drawer. He’s looking over your shoulder and when his hot wet exhale hits your naked breasts, your nipples get hard. He picks up a light pink mesh set, decorated with cute little white hearts.

“Wear this one and he’ll bust his nut as soon as he sees you”.

“I kinda need him to last,” you murmur but decide to follow his advice.

The thoughts are jumbled in your head as Joel’s low voice and hot breath on your naked skin are making you weak. You press your thighs together chasing any relief from the ache in your core. You feel cold air on your wet pussy. His bulge grazes the hollow of your ass and you bite your lip trying to swallow a whimper that is crawling up your throat.

“Yeah, it’s a good one,” you say, your voice soft and breathy. You want to take the lingerie from him but he doesn’t let you and pulls his hand away.

“I’ll help, angel.” You hear shuffling and turn around slightly to see him get on one knee behind you. He looks up at you, still dominant even in this position and your breath hitches.

Suddenly his hands grip your thighs and he turns you around. His face is so close to your pussy now your clit tingles and you gush more.

He drops his head and brings the panties to your feet. Your mouth parts with a surprise.

“Come on,” he hurries you and you step into the underwear, one foot and then the other. He hums with satisfaction and pulls them up, his hands brushing your legs and tickling your skin making it erupt in goosebumps. He notices your body’s reaction to his touch and stops his hands mid thigh looking straight at your pussy.

“Joel,” you whine as a sudden surge of shyness grasps you.

He seems not to hear. He leans closer to your mound and you gasp when his nose pushes into the spot just above your seam.

Then he plants a soft kiss on your mound and you take a deep breath as the desire overwhelms you. You want his mouth on you with fierce desperation, your mind is empty and only one thought is swirling through it, “do it do it, do it.”

You shut your eyes ready to drown in pleasure and hear his soft and seductive voice as his breath warms your skin, “Who’s gonna eat your pussy tonight, angel, me or your stepdaddy?”

You can’t help but imagine them both between your thighs and you moan dropping down your head and running your fingers through his hair.

To your disappointment Joel pulls the panties up and doesn’t stop until your pussy lips swallow the sheer fabric. It presses on your clit and you take a sharp breath as a surge of need ignites your core.

You lift one leg, brace your hand on the dresser behind you and put your thigh over his broad shoulder giving him a perfect view of your pussy. Then your hand darts to pull the material to the side and you bite your lower lip as his hot breath hits your wet skin. Joel growls and raises his eyes at you. His gaze is so dark the irises are hardly visible. You’re sure your pupils are as blown as his.

“Want uncle to lick your pretty pussy?” he asks softly but you hear a trace of mockery in his voice. Your need suffocates your pride and you answer him by gliding your foot up and down his muscular back.

He hums and leans closer to your center. You hold your breath in anticipation and run your fingers through his hair ready to tug on them when he finally eats you out. But you furrow your brows and blink in confusion when he presses his cheek to your folds and stills. “What are you..?”

Suddenly he moves his head up and down against your sensitive pussy rubbing it with his rough scruff. You cry out and jump back away from him.

“What the fuck, Joel?! It hurts!” you’re fuming looking at your burning folds while he chuckles getting up from the floor with a grunt.

“Just wanted to save your scent, baby,” he laughs rubbing his beard and you shout at him to get out putting on a bra.

“You have 5 minutes,” he says, still chuckling as he leaves the room.

***

When you finally step outside the house you see the brothers smoking by Joel’s truck. Jess took your stepdad’s car to go on a spa retreat and her plans to waste Tommy’s money pampering herself coincided perfectly with your plans to fuck her husband.

You bite your lip when you see Tommy wearing a black western shirt and dark jeans. Your heart sings at the thought that he wanted to look good to take you out.

Tommy quickly looks you over, trying to hide his interest but you notice his gaze slide over your body tightly enveloped by the slinky dress.

Joel on the other hand doesn’t hide anything. “Looking good, baby,” he comments shamelessly adjusting his bulge.

“Let’s go,” you say, coming up to the truck and batting your lashes at Tommy, “Daddy, will you keep me company in the back?”

“Sweetheart...” Tommy starts talking with an unsure expression but you pout your lips, mouthing, “please”.

He sighs and gets in the back seat. A little part of you wonders if he’s pushed by your threat or genuine desire to be close to you. But you shut this little voice down reminding yourself that the result is what’s important.

When you get into the car your dress rides up exposing even more of your thighs but you don’t bother tugging it down.

Joel starts the engine and backs out of the driveway while you’re looking around at the interior of his truck. It’s surprisingly tidy and you’re genuinely impressed until your gaze raises up and to your shock you see your panties hanging on the rear view mirror. Your jaw drops and you’re about to shout at Joel when you stop yourself. You realize that the perv must have picked them up from the floor of your room that morning and you’re not eager to let your stepdad know about your fun time with your step uncle.

So you shut your mouth and see Joel winking at you in the mirror.

Tommy on the other hand reacts as soon as he sees it, “God, Joel, take this thing off!”

“Why?” His older brother asks with defiance driving through the town streets with one hand on the wheel.

Tommy just sighs, not even trying to come up with a reason.

You’re squirming in your seat praying that Joel doesn’t mention whose panties are now swinging in front of the windshield. You almost moan with relief when he turns on some classic rock and doesn’t say anything.

Your eyes keep shooting at Tommy from time to time who’s looking out of the window. You hate that he’s so far so you unbuckle your seat belt and slide over closer to him. You trace a wedding band on his finger getting his attention. He snaps his head your way, brows furrowed.

“Get back in your seat. ‘s dangerous.”

You take his hand and bring it up to your lips as he’s watching you closely. You press your cheek to his knuckles and rub your face against his hand.

“Love when you worry about me, daddy,” you purr into his hand and then place it on your thigh that’s further from him.

You put your hand over his and make him squeeze your naked flesh.

“Keep me safe, please,” you breathe out feeling his palm against your skin, so close to your pussy and at the same time torturously far.

“I ain’t a seat belt, sweetie,” Tommy mumbles looking down at your skin erupting in goosebumps under his touch. He takes a sharp breath and lifts his hips before spreading his legs a little wider. You notice his bulge has grown bigger and you close your eyes for a second trying to calm down but sink even deeper in the sticky pit of desire. You think about moving his hand to your inner thigh and then closer towards your pussy. His fingers would immediately find your panties soaked and if he slid his thumb under the fabric he could easily find your throbbing clit and …

“Hey, lovebirds!” Joel rumbles and you snap your eyes open as he interrupts your daydreaming.

Tommy clears his throat feeling his brother's eyes on him in the car mirror and his hand flies away from your thigh. You curse Joel inwardly for ruining the moment.

Joel’s head turns to you slightly as he asks, “how about we skip the restaurant and get a motel, huh?”

You know that you’re the one he’s asking because Tommy has no say in any of this thanks to the recording you have on your phone.

“I’m not some cheap hooker you picked up at a gas station, Joel. I can’t just jump into bed with you,” you reply, putting your seatbelt back on.

Joel laughs and your stomach burns with rage. You’re fed up with his mocking, his attitude, his cockiness.

“What’s so fucking funny, old man?” You spit out at him grinding your teeth.

“Fuck, baby,” he says locking eyes with you in the mirror, “I don’t remember buying you dinner before I jizzed all over your pretty face a few days ago?”

“You WHAT?!” Tommy exclaims and your heart falls into your stomach. As long as you’ve known him you never heard him raise his voice like that, maybe only watching sports but never at a person. Especially Joel. He scoots forward in his seat to get closer to Joel and grabs his arm. “Have you fucked her already?” Joel seems absolutely unfazed as he replies in his usual “fuck y’all” tone, “No, I haven, Tommy, relax. We just fooled around. The princess wanted to come and I helped her.”

Tommy’s head snaps in your direction and you squeeze your body into the seat as fear grips your heart. He looks livid, eyes are scorching you under the furrowed brows, lips form a tight line in anger or disappointment. You feel small under his stare and stammer weakly, “d..daddy, he didn’t… ”

He suddenly gets closer to you, leans in, grabs your hand and squeezes it in his. It’s not painful but his strength and wrath make your breath hitch and your pussy clenches around nothing as the fear affects you like an aphrodisiac.

“If he fucks your needy hole before I do, believe my words, sweetie, I won’t touch you. You can put that recording of me on national television I don’t give a fuck. Got it?” He throws the words at you as his eyes are boring into yours.

You whimper as his face is so close you feel his breath on your parted lips. Realizing that he’s waiting for your answer you nod hastily and he gets back in his seat.

You feel your world tilting and turning upside down. Your stepdad, the calmest, softest man you know just shouted at his brother and said all that to you.

Tommy’s still fuming, clenching and unclenching his fist resting on his thigh and you wonder why it stirred him up that much. Why has his possessiveness burst out now? It was the first time you witnessed his passion for you. Is it sibling rivalry? Insecurity? Or did he finally let himself do what he’d wanted? You ask yourself these questions before you see Joel watch you through the mirror. He looks smug and you try to make your expression neutral not to give him the satisfaction.

You glance out of the window and your anxiety spikes up again seeing that you’re almost at the place you’ve picked.

“Oh, fuck no!” Tommy exclaims seeing where you three are going. “Are you fucking kidding me? You know that it’s Jess’ favorite place. How am I gonna look with you grinding against me all night?” He’s shooting daggers at you and you take a deep breath trying to find the right words.

“Tommy, listen. This restaurant is the only ok place in this shithole of a town. And I promise I’ll behave,”

Mistrust is painted on his face but seeing you shaken and nervous calms him down a bit.

“No ‘daddies’!” he demands pointing his finger at you.

“No “daddies,” you promise with sadness in your voice.

He points his finger at Joel next, “You too! None of your usual shit!”

Joel raises his hands and brows acting like he’s never done anything wrong in his life. You scuff but turn your pleading gaze at Tommy.

“And we leave when I say we leave!”

You hate losing your upper hand in the situation but your pussy is throbbing for him now, so dominant and rough, and you decide to submit this time.

You all get out of the car and Tommy stomps to the restaurant still angry. Having stayed alone with Joel you use the opportunity and grab his arm to stop him.

“Why have you said it? About the morning? I thought we were on the same page.”

“We are, angel.” Joel replies, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you in the direction of the entrance, “I know my brother. He always wants something I don’t have. He must be ecstatic seeing how hungry you’re for him. I just fiddled with his toy a bit and now he wants it even more.”

His hand grabs your ass and you slap it off getting away from him as you see Tommy watch you two waiting at the door.

You can’t believe that Joel is manipulating his brother so easily. But his words have reassured you and you feel less agitated.

When the brothers and you step into the restaurant, a host greets Tommy by the name and you see the confusion hiding behind his features at Mr Miller’s unusual company.

He asks about Jess and you cringe rolling your eyes so far up your head, the host gets even more flustered.

He leads you to your table and you settle down.

A waiter brings you the menus and you order a glass of red wine, adding “Please, you two, no hard liquor, we have a long night ahead of us,” Tommy chokes on his water as the waiter slightly raises his eyebrow.

Joel gets a beer and Tommy follows suit. When the waiter leaves your stepdad glares at you.

“You promised to behave.”

“I am behaving. I just don’t want you to forget why we’re here.”

Joel chimes in, leaning back against his chair with a grunt, “And why exactly are we here, baby?”

“I want us to get to know each other better.”

“We’re family, angel, I know everything there is about you.”

“Really? What’s my favorite color, Joel,” you ask, narrowing your eyes at him.

“The color of my brother’s dick?” Joel asks and you burst into giggles while Tommy mumbles profanities under his breath.

When the drinks arrive Joel starts asking Tommy about his work and you’re surprised to notice how the older brother eases him up. They talk and you listen, not really getting through the meaning of a bunch of contractor terms but you smile when they do and laugh when they say something funny.

Soon you’re drinking and talking and it actually feels comfortable. They reminisce about their life in Austin and you ask them questions genuinely interested in their past.

At one point Joel acts like a perfect wing man telling you a hot story of Tommy getting arrested for starting a bar fight because of a girl and you tingle all over. Your stepdad gives you a shy smile and your breath hitches.

Suddenly you feel Joel’s piercing gaze on you.

“What about you, angel? Got any fun college stories for us?” Tommy looks uncomfortable and you remember your promise to him to behave so you say softly,

“I’m a good girl, uncle Joel. I’m there to study, not to waste my time on boys.” You drop your gaze acting so innocent even you don’t believe yourself.

Joel chuckles and Tommy glances up at you with a little smile.

“Ok, our good girl. What about girls? Bet you’ve licked some pussies after a wild party.”

“Fuck, Joel,” Tommy curses and you bite your lip trying not to smile at the way your stepdad squirms in his chair. The wine makes you bolder and you decide to spice up the night.

“How about we play a game? I answer your question and then you two answer mine?” you offer fidgeting in your chair giddy with excitement.

“Shoot, baby.”

“No!”

The men reply at the same time. Tommy’s shaking his head and Joel slightly punches his brother’s shoulder.

“Come on, Tommy. Let’s hear how naughty our good girl gets. I remember you were fine with her… how did you put it… exploring herself.”

Your eyes are glinting with excitement as Joel quotes that dialogue. You remember it by heart now having listened and come to it so many times you lost count.

“Go ahead, angel,” Joel nods, motioning you to speak.

You take a deep breath and start talking softly.

“I’ve been with a girl just once. We weren’t wasted or anything,” You shoot a glance at Joel and then continue, “We were in her room watching a movie and then it kinda happened.” You suddenly feel shy as not only Joel’s but also Tommy’s gaze is glued to you.

“Nah, baby. We need details.” Joel’s voice, seducing and gruff, pulls the words out of your mouth before you can stop them.

“We started making out.. then I tugged her shirt down and sucked on her nipples,” you muse tracing the edge of the wet glass with your finger. “I kissed her stomach, then her pussy… She was so wet. So soft on my tongue. I sucked on her clit and fingered her for some time and she came…her pussy was clamping on my fingers so hard.”

When you lift your eyes you see the brothers stare at you with hungry obsidian eyes as if they’re ready to pounce on you at any moment. Joel palms himself through the jeans and Tommy doesn’t tear his eyes off you as they slide from your lips to your breasts and back up again.

For a few moments you three are soaking in this horny silence until you break it clapping your hands together.

“My turn!”

Tommy takes a big gulp of his beer and Joel raises his brows waiting for your question.

“Have you ever fucked a girl together? Like… shared her?” you quickly regret your question as only saying it already is making you uncomfortably wet.

You’re looking at Joel expecting him to answer but suddenly hear your stepdad’s voice,

“Yeah, we have. Once.”

Your head snaps his way and you gawk at him. You don’t say anything and just wait for him to continue. And he does.

“She was Joel’s girlfriend at the time. We went to a bar, got really drunk and fucked in the bathroom.”

Tommy glances up at you and then quickly averts his eyes.

“Fuck…,” you moan rubbing your thighs together imagining them using some lucky girl like that and ask,

“How did you do it?”

Joel leans closer to you placing his massive arms on the table and replies savoring every word while his velvety voice hits you right in the pussy, “I made her bend over to suck Tommy off and then shoved my dick deep into her cunt. He fucked her throat, I fucked her hole and we pumped her full.”

The moment Joel finishes talking you hear the waiter’s shaky voice asking if you’d like anything else.

Tommy curses and sends him away. He acts polite but his voice strains with rage.

He hastily gets up and mumbling the word ‘bathroom’ leaves you two. Before he turns away you spot his massive bulge and swallow loudly.

You take a deep breath trying to calm down.

“Angel, you ok?” Joel asks and laughs at you, shaking his head, “you want him, he wants you, what are all these fuckin’ games for? You coulda been stuffed with our cocks by now but no, little princes wanted to be wined and dined. Lets hope he doesn’t change his mind about tonight. If our plan goes to shit because of you, uncle Joel will get very angry. And you surely don’t want that, missy.” Joel’s expression is serious and you remember that he has his personal motive and his concern quickly becomes yours.

“I’ll talk to him,” you say, getting up from the table.

You come up to the bathroom and knock. It’s quiet so you knock again until you hear the lock click.

Tommy opens the door and steps out of the room but you gently push him back in.

“Please, let’s talk,”

You hear people’s voices and not wanting to be caught with you alone at the bathroom Tommy begrudgingly steps back and shuts the door behind you two.

“What?!” He grumps and steps up to the sinks. He opens the tap and bends down to wash his face.

You lean back against the door watching him and contemplating your next move. He’s about to snap and you’re afraid what unexpected fit he could throw again. You know he wants you and you need to be wise rather than play on his nerves. “You’re his innocent stepdaughter,” Joel’s words emerge from your mind.

You come up to him slowly and wait while he’s drying his face with a hand towel.

“I’m not a monster, Tommy. I don’t wanna ruin your life,” you speak softly, placing your hand on his shoulder. He turns to you, anger still painted on his face.

You inch closer, press your forehead to his shoulder and whisper breathing in his scent,

“I want you, Tommy. So fucking much.”

You feel vulnerable at the moment but that’s exactly what he wants you to be right now.

“So that’s why you spread your legs for my brother? ‘Cause you wanted me?”

You sniff not saying anything for a few moments, then lift your head, and glance up at him. His face is blurry as you’re looking at him through the tears.

“I was just horny, daddy. And when he was fingering me, I was imagining you fucking my pussy.”

Tommy’s breath hitches and you hold yours as well hoping he’ll react.

“Fuck, babygirl,” your stepdad whispers as his rage shifts into sympathy, his eyes sad and blown out.

The next moment he grabs you under your thighs, lifts you and sets you on the counter. He’s standing between your legs as you place your hands on his shoulders. His thumb wipes a tear from your cheek as the other hand is pressed to your lower back. You open your legs wider and the dress pulls up at your hips exposing your light pink panties.

“Shhh, don’t cry, sweetheart. I’m here,” he whispers, kissing your cheek gently and his head drops as he’s looking at your pussy, “I want you too.”

His smell, his touch, his confession make you ecstatic and you press your parted lips to his. They’re soft and plump as his tongue breaches your lips and he licks into your whimpering mouth. You grab his ass and pull him closer to your heated center. You feel him hard against your pussy and start grinding on his stiff bulge.

“What do you need, babygirl? Tell me,” Tommy says, parting from your lips.

“Touch me, please… can’t wait any longer,” you whine, pulling your dress up to the waist. His hands rush to free your pussy and you lift your hips before Tommy takes your panties off.

The cold marble under your ass makes you hiss but you forget about it as soon as Tommy’s fingers push between your folds and he rubs your clit making you moan.

“You like it, babygirl? Daddy’s finally touching your needy pussy.”

You can’t form any words so you just moan and nod your head frantically. His forehead is pressed against yours as you’re both watching his digits glide down to your hole and without hesitation he pushes his middle finger inside you. You’re so wet it slides in easily and he starts massaging your walls.

“More please,” you plead and he groans as his index finger joins the first.

“Good girl! You're sucking me in so well, can’t wait to bury my cock inside you,” Tommy murmurs in your ear and you whimper before you see the door opening. Your heart freezes in your chest as you’re about to get caught being fingered by your stepdad. But you breathe out with relief seeing Joel stepping into the bathroom.

“Fuckin’ finally,” he grumbles coming up to you two. He stands next to Tommy, his bulge pressed to your thigh. Through the haze of pleasure you feel Joel’s hand cup your tears stricken cheek and he leans to your ear and whispers, “Clever girl.”

Then his big palm squeezes your naked thigh as he asks you,

“Enjoying daddy’s fingers, angel? Who’s better at fingering your tight little hole, him or your uncle?”

Tommy groans and suddenly his lips are on yours. His kiss is hungry, desperate, claiming. You melt into it feeling your climax build as his fingers are pushing on the soft spot inside you.

You moan into his mouth and Tommy’s lips leave yours as he mumbles, “I’ll feed your pussy my cock.. soon, babygirl… just wait.”

“You’ll be full by the end of the night, angel,” Joel smirks and pulls down the neckline of your dress exposing your naked breasts to the men. He starts twitching your nipple as his brother is working your pussy.

Joel watches your face twist with pleasure, your teeth biting your lips mercilessly.

“Don’t ruin your pretty lips, angel,” he says, bringing his thumb to your mouth. He brushes your swollen lower lip and pulls it out from between your teeth, “Here.” He pushes his thumb into your mouth and you welcome it. You start sucking on his thick digit making the filthiest noises.

With your stepdad’s fingers fucking your hole and step uncle's thumb stuffing your mouth you feel yourself about to unravel. Tommy pushes you over the edge pressing his thumb to your clit and swirling it a few times.

“Come, babygirl. Make daddy proud,” Tommy says and your explode clumping hard on his fingers and moaning, your pretty noises muffled by Joel’s thumb still pressed to your tongue. The man praises you, “That’s our girl. Perfect little slut.”

The orgasm is hitting you hard and you’re shaking and trembling so Tommy wraps his arm around your waist holding you tight but still pleasuring you.

They both are watching Tommy’s digits rhythmically disappear inside your dripping hole and your pussy squelches as your creamy cum, pushed out by the intrusion, slides down your ass towards the counter. Finally your climax subsides and your body stills, jerking with aftershocks from time to time.

Joel's thumb leaves your mouth and he holds the back of your neck while you’re trying to catch your breath.

Tommy pulls out his fingers too and lifts them up for the three of you to see. Under the bright lights you see his digits glazed with your juices. A drop of your slick slides down his middle finger and Tommy licks it off and then brings his digits to your mouth. You happily suck them clean while they both are praising you, “that’s our girl”, “like that, angel”, “came so hard for daddy and uncle.”

When you’re done cleaning your stepdad’s fingers off your cum, he cups your cheek and asks softly, “ready to go home, babygirl?” You look at Tommy, whose adoring and hungry gaze makes you tingle again, then at Joel, who’s eating you up with his blown out eyes, his hand palming his huge bulge, and the anticipation of the night ahead makes your heart and pussy flutter.

Batting your eyelashes at the men you give them a shy smile and say “yes.”

******

Thank you for reading!💖

Your comments and reblogs will make me very happy! I’d love to know what you think!❤️

Part IV

General tag list: @nervousmumbling @harriedandharassed @bbyanarchist

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caitified · 19 days ago

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Hi Hi! just want to say first off your writing is wonderful and i check the wnba x reader tag daily to see if you posted, but I was wondering if maybe you could write a Paige fic where the reader is Caitlin’s best friend and she brings her to the wnba draft and the reader is essentially in love with Paige and Caitlin kinda try’s to set them up! just super sickingly sweet fluff💓

draft day

paige bueckers x reader

warnings:none, thank for the support 💜💜

you’ve been friends with caitlin clark for as long as you can remember. from the first time you both stepped onto a basketball court as kids, all the way through high school, and then at iowa together, she’s been by your side for every win, every loss, and every chaotic memory in between. she’s seen you at your highest highs and lowest lows, and honestly, you never thought she’d be the one to try and set you up with anyone—she’s way too protective. but, to your surprise, she calls you one day, excitement in her voice.

“you have to come to the draft with me,” she insists. “i want you there.”

“of course, i’d love to,” you say without hesitation. “but why do i feel like there’s a catch?”

there’s a pause, and you can almost hear the smile in her voice. “well… there might be someone i think you should meet.”

now she’s got your attention. “you’re setting me up?” you ask, half-laughing. “who are you, and what did you do with my best friend?”

she just laughs, brushing off your teasing. “just trust me, okay? i have a good feeling about this.”

the day of the draft arrives, and you find yourself nervous as you walk into the venue beside caitlin. she insisted on picking out your outfit—a sleek, fitted look that’s slightly more formal than you’re used to, but you have to admit, she has good taste. as you both make your way through the buzzing crowd, cameras flashing around you, caitlin seems completely in her element, greeting everyone with that effortless charm she’s known for.

“so,” you say, leaning in closer to her as you walk. “when do i meet this mystery person?”

she gives you a sly look. “soon. be patient, would you?”

eventually, caitlin drags you over to a small group of people, and that’s when you see her—paige bueckers, laughing and talking with a few friends. you’ve seen her play before, of course; her talent on the court is undeniable. but seeing her in person, all dressed up with a confident smile on her face… it’s something else entirely.

“paige, hey!” caitlin calls out, her voice light and easy.

paige turns, her eyes brightening when she spots caitlin, and then her gaze lands on you. she gives you a once-over, her smile turning a little softer, a bit more curious. caitlin nudges you forward, almost like she’s showing you off.

“this is my best friend,” caitlin says, a hint of pride in her voice. “i figured it was about time you two met.”

you reach out to shake her hand, and when her fingers wrap around yours, you’re caught off guard by the warmth of her touch. “nice to finally meet you,” you say, trying to keep your voice steady. “i’ve heard a lot about you.”

paige grins, a playful glint in her eyes. “all good things, i hope?”

you laugh, nodding. “mostly,” you say, shooting caitlin a teasing look.

as the evening goes on, caitlin seems to vanish at all the right moments, leaving you and paige to talk. she’s surprisingly easy to talk to, with this magnetic energy that pulls you in. she tells you about her pre-draft nerves, the pressure she’s been feeling, but there’s also this spark in her—an excitement about the future, the kind that’s contagious. you find yourself laughing at her jokes, leaning closer every time she speaks, and you notice how she mirrors your movements, her arm brushing against yours like she’s closing the distance without even thinking about it.

“so, caitlin really never mentioned you before?” paige asks, raising an eyebrow, her smile teasing.

“not really,” you admit, shaking your head. “she’s protective. probably didn’t want anyone stealing her best friend.”

paige chuckles, glancing over at caitlin, who’s busy talking to a few other players across the room. “yeah, i can see that. but i’m glad she introduced us.”

the conversation flows easily, and eventually, the two of you drift over to a quieter corner. she asks about your time at iowa, your favorite memories with caitlin, and somewhere along the way, the conversation turns a bit more personal.

“so,” she says, her voice softer now, her gaze steady. “do you ever think about what’s next? i mean, with caitlin going pro and everything… are you planning to stick around?”

you hesitate, caught off guard by the question. “i’m not sure,” you admit. “it feels like everything’s changing so fast. but i think… i think i’d like to see what happens. maybe explore a few new things, meet new people.” you give her a small smile, hoping she catches your meaning.

her eyes linger on you, and for a moment, you feel like you’re the only two people in the room. “well, i’d love to be one of those ‘new people,’” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

your breath catches, but before you can respond, caitlin reappears, looking between you and paige with a grin that’s far too smug for her own good. “am i interrupting something?” she asks, clearly aware of the tension.

you roll your eyes, though you can’t help the smile tugging at your lips. “you’re the worst, you know that?”

caitlin just shrugs, unbothered. “hey, i did you a favor. you’re welcome.”

the night winds down, and as people start to leave, you linger by the door with paige, not quite ready to say goodbye. she shifts, looking at you thoughtfully. “so… what are the chances i could see you again?”

you tilt your head, pretending to think it over. “depends. are you always this smooth?”

she laughs, a little breathless. “only when it counts.”

you give her a smile, feeling bold. “then i’d say the chances are pretty good.”

she grins, her eyes shining. “good. i’ll hold you to that.”

as you and caitlin leave together, she throws her arm around your shoulders, her face split into a huge grin. “so? was i right or was i right?”

you shake your head, laughing. “okay, fine. you did good.”

she just laughs, clearly pleased with herself. “oh, i know i did.”

#caitlin clark x reader #paige bueckers imagine #paige bueckers x reader #paige bueckers #uconn wbb #uconn x reader #wnba imagine

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watchmegetobsessed · 1 year ago

Text

NO MORE GAMES

A/N: so this concept might be familiar for some of you bc i posted about it earlier before i started working on it but now its officially here! and this is my thank you gift for all of you for reaching 15k followers!!! it's insane, thank you so much and hope to bring you even more stories soon!!!

WORD COUNT: 7.9k

WARNING: sexual content

SUMMARY: Your friend forces you to give Tinder a try. Surprisingly you fetch a date with the handsome and a little bit older Harry. But he stands you up and you lose hope in dating. However it's a real plot twist when you run into him at your dad's barbeque and he is introduced to you as the future CEO of your father's company.

MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

“This has got to be the lowest point of desperation.”

“Don’t be so dramatic!”

“I’m not, this is truly the end.”

Dani rolls her eyes and just keeps tapping away on your phone’s screen, setting up your Tinder profile.

You. On Tinder. The app you swore you’d never use. How did this happen?

Well, it happened because your boyfriend of two years decided to dump you in a McDonald’s parking lot, only to post about his engagement to another woman on Facebook three weeks later.

Disgusting pig, you’re convinced you were blind and deaf in those two years, that’s how you could put up with him for so long.

You’ve been wallowing in your self-pity for the past three months and Dani, your best friend had enough and said that you need to get on a dating app, hook up with some fine ass men and forget about Cruz.

“Alright, it’s all set, want to have a look?” Dani smirks, obviously pleased with herself as she hands you over the phone.

It’s a decent profile, she chose some good pictures of you, your profile was never your concern, it’s others on the app that makes you crawl out of your skin.

“Perfect,” you flash her a forced smile, she grabs the phone and then starts swiping vigorously. “Hey! Don’t swipe right on everyone!”

“Not everyone! Just the hot guys!”

“You’re not even reading their bio!”

“Because I don’t care, we’re looking for a hookup, not your husband here, duh!”

You sit, feeling helpless as you watch your best friend decide who is worthy of you in the virtual meat market. This is really not your scene and you’re more than skeptical anything good will turn out from it.

Dani keeps swiping for a while before you finally talk her out of it and you settle watching a movie instead, forgetting about the profile that is now available for every single man in your area.

To be honest, it completely slips your mind until you’re getting ready for bed and unlock your phone to set an alarm and see all the notifications from Tinder.

“Fuck,” you breathe out, falling into bed as you unwillingly, but tap on one of the notifications and the app opens.

It’s been only a few hours, but you got twenty-seven matches and five out of those even messaged you. You instantly skip the first three because one straight up asks for nudes, one just sends you a bunch of emojis and the third one sent the worst pick up line you’ve ever heard.

The fourth one is okay, but it’s kind of… well, it’s a simple “Hi, how are you?” and you’re not sure how to reply to that, so then only one’s left.

Harry.

The age next to his name reads 36, that’s not that big of an age gap, only eight years, you’ve seen worse. Besides, he looks younger, almost your age according to the pictures. He has a couple, but not too many. He’s smiling on his profile picture, the t-shirt displays his many tattoos on one of his arms, his hair is slightly curly and mostly a mess, but it’s the good kind.

He is definitely your type.

He opened with referring to something that’s written in your bio which feels nice, knowing that he actually read it instead of just swiping right based on your pictures. Your thumbs hover over the screen for a bit before you finally give in and type him an answer.

He replies right away. And so the conversation starts.

One message follows the other, you’re jumping from one topic to the next and at one point it feels like you’re talking to an old friend and not a guy you’ve never actually met. The next thing you realize that it’s three am and you’re still talking.

Y/N: We’ve been talking for hours and you still haven’t asked for my number, should I take it as a bad sign?

HARRY: Didn’t want to seem too pushy, but I wanted to ask for it the moment I saw your profile.

You smile like a little girl as you type your answer.

Y/N: That would have been too soon, you’re right. But now would be a good time.

HARRY: Hey, crazy idea! Can I maybe have your number?

You laugh. You genuinely laugh at the screen and that probably never happened before.

You give him your number.

You didn’t think it would go this far, this whole Tinder ordeal Dani forced you into. You were kind of set that it won’t work so why should you even try?

Now it’s a surprising outcome that you’re on your way to meet Harry at a bar, only three days after texting nonstop. And you’re kinda nervous about it.

You haven’t been on a first date in a long time and it’s giving you the jitters as you get ready. Your experience getting to know Harry in the past few days has been incredibly positive, you wonder if it will be the same when you physically meet.

You arrive at the bar a little early and take a seat at the table he reserved on his name. To ease your nerves you order a vodka soda that you drink quickly, the alcohol mixing in your veins pretty fast, but you’re still nervous to meet him in real life.

As you wait, a guy comes up to you who seems to be more interested in your cleavage than you while he tries to chat you up, but you quickly reject him, your gaze keeps returning to the entrance, expecting Harry to walk in at any moment.

Minutes pass by and then seven o’clock rolls around, the time when you were supposed to meet, but you see no sign of him, which makes your stomach twist and turn. You double check the time, the date and the place to make sure you’re where you need to be.

“You seem awfully lonely,” a voice speaks up behind you and for a split second you think that it’s Harry, you just missed when he walked in, but when you turn around you see a totally different man, holding two drinks in his hands, clearly offering one to you. You make no effort to accept it.

“I’m not,” is all you say, turning your eyes back ahead. He doesn’t get the hint.

“If you’re waiting for someone I’m happy to be your company until they arrive.” He rounds the table and stands in front of you, blocking your view of the entrance entirely. Exhaling irritatedly, you finally look up at him, your face making an obvious statement that you’re not open to the chit-chat.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“You definitely seem like you could use some cheering up, let me be the–”

“Oh my God, are you really this dumb? It’s a no, I don’t want to talk to you, now leave the table!”

“Jesus, what a bitch,” he mutters under his breath as he walks away. Normally, you’d definitely call him out, but right now, you’re just staring at the entrance, almost like a maniac as the minutes pass by and there’s still no sign of Harry.

You check your phone, praying there’s gonna be a text at least, saying that he is just late, that he will be here soon, but nothing. It’s dead silent.

“Fuck,” you breathe out, your feet jumping underneath the table. It’s already twelve past seven. This is not just being fashionably late now.

You wait some more, hoping for a miracle, but it never comes. So does Harry.

When it’s been over thirty minutes you chug down the rest of your cocktail you ordered to make you seem less like a loser and call it a night. On your way out of the bar you pull up your messages with Harry and send him one last text.

Y/N: Thanks for nothing.

And then you block his number, throwing the experience to the very back of your head while you delete Tinder off your phone.

The annual barbeque is here. Once a year your dad’s home turns into one big fair, he invites most of his employees, investors and partners, throwing a feast in his backyard. It means about five hundred people invade your previous home, where you still spend a lot of your time even though you have your own apartment now.

You always come as well, because one, your dad loves to show you off and introduce to everyone and two, you usually use this occasion to network a bit. You’ve just opened your own gallery and what’s a better place to promote your art than a backyard full of wealthy investors? Selling your art can seem like an impossible task sometimes, or to be more precise, most of the time. Until your work is not known you make no profit, you need that first purchase that will bring in the rest and get the business rolling. Unfortunately you have not had that one first customer.

Yet.

It’s a sunny Saturday, as if your dad ordered the weather especially for the occasion. There has never been a barbeque with rain or cold before, your dad seems to have control over this as well. There’s endless food and drinks, several activities for children, since it’s a family friendly event and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, mixing and mingling.

You’re nursing a mojito you mixed yourself, so it’s generous in the alcohol department. Wearing a white sundress you’re trying to have a word with everyone you know and everyone you want to know.

“Sweetheart!” You hear your father calling out and you spot him a few feet away, waving at you. “Come over here, I want to introduce someone to you!”

Excusing yourself from the conversation you slalom between the guests and reach your father under the oak tree that’s near the tiny pond in the middle of the backyard. Yes, your father has a pond in his backyard, as well as two pools, a jacuzzi and a whole ass greenhouse. He is just that extra.

“Hi daddy,” you smile, joining him as he places a hand to your back and gestures towards a man who is currently turned away.

“Y/N, let me introduce you to the man who will take my place in the future, my successor, if you’d like. This is Harry Styles. Harry, this is my only daughter, Y/N.”

Your body makes the realization faster than your mind. The man turns towards you, but by that moment you’ve already recognized the tattoos you’ve looked at in pictures more than you’d like to admit. Then you see his face and your stomach drops before your brain processes who you’re facing.

Harry stood you up on your first date two weeks ago and you thought you’d never see him, but fate decided to make a joke out of it, because now he is here, in the flesh, looking at you with a just as shocked expression as yours.

You both are quick to gain control back over your faces and Harry is the first one to break the silence.

“Hi, it’s, um… It’s nice to meet you,” he clears his throat as he holds a hand out for you. For a short moment you think of just turning around and walking away, but you don’t want to cause a scene and have your father question your behavior, so instead, you shake his hand, the touch of his skin sending tingles down your spine as you let go of it in a bit of a hurry.

“Yeah, it’s really nice to meet you,” you nod, but can’t hold back the spite in your voice. Luckily, your dad seems to be oblivious to the scene happening in front of him.

“Remember that awfully long procedure we had to find the perfect person to take over after me? Harry was the only one to survive it and I knew we found our guy.”

Your dad pats him on the shoulder proudly and Harry smiles back at him, but you notice how tense he appears to be, most likely because of your presence.

“Ah, he seems like a decent, reliable guy,” you add with a forced smile and you know he understands the meaning behind your words.

“He is!” you dad beams. “And Harry, this is my wonderful daughter, she graduated from CalArts, top of her class, she is an exceptional artist, you should see her work!”

He has seen your work. Well, virtually. Naturally, you talked about what you do and he asked you to send pictures and you did.

He loved them. Or at least that’s what he said. Now you question everything he wrote in his messages.

“I’m sure she is… fantastic.”

The torture continues for a few more minutes before others join the three of you and you have a chance to slip away, which you grab without hesitation.

It feels like all your blood is pumping in your head, you can’t tell if you’re shocked, angry or disappointed, most likely all of these together. Part of you wants to chug something strong to forget about it all, but then another part wants to read everything on him and tell him to fuck himself.

A tequila shot and some internal raging later you’re inside the house, it’s quiet, everyone is enjoying the weather outside, so you have a chance to settle your thoughts. With another mean cocktail in your hands you’re pacing back and forth in the spacious living room, your racing thoughts making it impossible to calm yourself.

“Can I at least try to explain myself?”

The voice coming from the sliding door that leads out to the backyard makes you jump and when you turn around you spot Harry standing there, looking awfully good, but you’re way too angry at him to acknowledge it.

“I don’t think I want to hear it.”

Out of frustration you can’t do anything else than drinking and avoiding to look at him, hoping he might disappear if you ignored him. Unfortunately, it’s not the case, he moves closer.

“Y/N, I’m really sorry about standing you up. It was unacceptable, I know. I had a… um, I had a family situation and I didn’t have a chance to let you know I wouldn’t make it.”

“What situation?” you ask right away, and when he hesitates you know it’s all made up. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I don’t need your apology, you didn’t think it was necessary to tell me you wouldn’t come then, now you’re only apologizing because you were forced to meet me.”

“Y/N, it’s not… it’s not what you think.”

“Oh, I think it’s very much what I think it is,” you let out a bitter laugh. “It’s fine, but I thought you were mature enough to tell me you’re not interested in me anymore. I’m a big girl, I can take the rejection.”

“But I was interested, I still–” He cuts himself off, not sure if it’s fine to say that he is still into you in the situation you found yourself in. “Y/N, I didn’t want to hurt you. This… It’s not how I planned it. I’m sorry.”

You want to stay mad. You want to stand your ground and unleash all your rage at him, but… you can’t. He might have been bullshitting you about why he stood you up, but he truly seems like he feels bad.

And he really looks way too good.

“Alright. Apology accepted.”

He looks visibly relieved, his shoulders ease and even a tiny smile appears on his lips.

“Thank you. Really. So�� Do you want to have a drink now?” he chuckles, but the devilish smirk you flash at him scares him instantly.

“Oh, I said apology accepted. That doesn’t mean we’re fine and back at where we were.”

Before he could say anything or question what you said you walk away, leaving him in a blur.

You only see him from afar a few times until the end of the barbeque, you catch him staring quite a few times as well and his looks reflect hunger, so you assume your looks definitely live up to his expectations after all. You miss when he leaves at the end, but you know it won’t be the last time you see each other.

A plan is formed in your mind about how to teach him a lesson for standing you up. A little game, to be exact.

Two days after the barbeque you have to meet your dad in his office and you definitely don’t want to miss the opportunity to mess with Harry. You go out of your way to change before heading to the office, wearing a tight, extra short black dress that will surely catch his attention.

With a stack of documents under your arm you stroll into the building as if you owned it. Well, for a while you were set to inherit the business, but when your father realized you’re more into art, he ditched his plans and started looking for his successor. You remember how nervous you were before sitting down with him and telling him you wouldn’t take over the company like he wanted you to. To your surprise, he took it well and you realized he just wants you to be happy, doing whatever your heart desires.

As a side hustle, you still get involved in some part of the business, just to learn the basic ropes and gain skills you can use in other fields as well, so every once in a while you can be found in the office. Today is one of those days.

The girls behind the front desk smile at you warmly and let you pass by, heading straight up to your dad’s office on the top. Standing in the elevator you check your outfit, making sure it’s not too revealing, but will do the purpose you wore it for. It doesn’t look like you’re going clubbing, but the amount of leg you’re showing will definitely earn you Harry’s attention, just how you planned.

It’s like fate is playing on your side, when you’re approaching the office you spot Harry in there with your dad, a devilish smirk tugging on your lips as you finally reach the glass door, knocking on it gently. They both lift their head up, but the expressions they make are very different.

While your dad seems happy to see you, gesturing for you to come in, Harry on the other hand seems… shocked to say the least. Most likely not because he is seeing you, but because of how you look. You catch his gaze wandering down your legs right away, his chest rising with a deep breath as you walk inside.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt. I brought the documents you asked for.”

“You’re not interrupting anything, come in!” your dad waves around, rounding his desk to greet you with two kisses on your cheeks.

“Hi Harry, it’s so nice to see you again,” you smile at him charmingly, angling yourself so your legs are perfectly in his view.

“It’s uh, it’s nice to see you as well, Y/N.”

The blush on his cheeks is proof that your plan worked pretty well. While chatting with your dad, you keep an eye on Harry and see him practically devouring you with his eyes, his jaw clenches every time you move your weight to one leg and pop your hip out to the side. It’s safe to say he is a fan of your outfit.

“Alright, I better get going,” you sigh and start to pack your stuff when you drop your pen on purpose. The plan was to lean down and tease him even more, but he jumps to your rescue instantly, picking it up for you, but it gets his face to the same level as your thighs and he straightens up faster than the speed of light.

“Here,” he hands you the pen, obviously avoiding looking at you. This is probably the most fun you’ve had in a long time.

“Thank you,” you smile at him, making sure to brush your fingers against his hand as you take the pen from him. “Have a nice day.”

And with that, you stroll out of the office.

Y/N one, Harry zero.

You don’t give him much time to recover from your appearance at the office. A few days later, on Friday, you decide to take advantage of your dad’s pool, which is one of the reasons you spend so much time at his.

And of course because you love him.

Today however, you have a different reason to parade in his backyard in the tiniest bikini you own.

Your dad’s office has floor to ceiling windows watching over the glistening pool. Most of the time you try to avoid having a pool day when you know your dad is working from home, but Harry is here today, so that changes everything.

You saw him arrive a few hours ago from your room’s window and they are still working, so when you’re done with your own business calls you decide it’s time to go for a swim. The neon pink bikini you chose was worn last time in Miami on spring break when you were still in college, a wild weekend you’ll never forget, but you’ve changed since then and it’s not really your style, but it will serve the purpose the best. To help your success you ‘ve also covered your body in tanning oil, making you glisten in the sun.

Putting on your sunglasses you grab a towel and tanning oil and head outside.

It’s hot outside and you’re already planning to lie in the sun after a swim, the water glistening on your body. Putting on your best poker face you finally walk out and approach the pool. You know this place like the back of your hand, so you know exactly when you come into view from the office. Squaring your shoulders you keep your head high and walk up to one of the sunbeds, dropping your stuff down before striking a not too obvious pose as you put your hair up. Angling yourself just right, you catch a glimpse of what’s going inside and you need everything in you not to start grinning when you spot Harry not far from the window, staring at you like he is about to burst. Your dad is somewhere in the back on the phone, oblivious to the scene that’s happening so close to him.

The second act starts when you grab the tanning oil and start applying it, rubbing it into your skin, making a show out of it. Oh, how you wish you could see Harry’s face up close, but you have a good guess what’s happening in his mind and it’s very pleasing.

First, you lie down to tan some, normally you cover your head with a towel because of the heat and not care about how you look, but this time you try your best to look as if you just jumped out of a Sports Illustrated catalog.

Not long later it’s time to jump in the pool. You swim a few laps before emerging from the cold water and returning to your sunbed, all while imagining what could Harry be thinking right now.

You’re still chilling in the sun when you hear the sliding door open and spot your dad walking out. For a moment you freeze, afraid he might tell you off for using the pool when he is working with someone in his office, but he seems delighted.

“Hey, I have to head out for a quick meeting, I’ll pick up lunch on my way home, want me to grab you something?”

“That would be great, thank you,” you smile at him peeking over the rim of your sunglasses.

“Harry is here, so don’t be surprised if you run into him. He’ll probably stay in the office.”

“Alright.”

With that he turns around and disappears in the garage. You hear the engine start and then he drives away, leaving you and Harry as the only people in the house. Not to make it obvious, you turn to look inside the office, but you’re surprised to see that Harry is not there anymore. Has he left the house as well? Did your plan not work after all?

It’s starting to get too hot outside and you didn’t bring anything to drink so you decide to give up and go inside. Heading into the kitchen all you can think about is a glass of cold lemonade.

Rummaging through the fridge you grab the bowl of fruit salad you made yesterday and brought over and as you’re balancing everything in your hands and pushing the fridge’s door closed with your hips, it scares you when you see Harry standing behind you by the kitchen island.

“Jesus, are you a fucking ninja? I didn’t hear you.”

Walking closer you set everything down to the island and pretend like your pulse is not over the roof. Not just because of the scare, but because he looks incredibly good. FItted pants and simple white shirt, the top few buttons are undone, showing a glimpse of his chest, the sleeves are rolled up, allowing you to check out his tattoos as well. God, if you weren’t trying to teach him a lesson you would be all over him already.

It makes you feel better though that he is definitely checking you out as well. He is not trying to mask it too much, his eyes keep wandering down your body that’s still only covered at the most crucial parts by your tiny swimwear.

“Having a day off?” he leisurely asks, hiding his hands in his pockets as he leans against the island next to you.

“Nope, my work is pretty flexible. I’m mostly my own boss.”

You see him nod from the corner of your eyes as you dig into the fruit salad, trying to act casual and ignore the fact that you’re in a hot pink bikini while he is dressed for work.

“So how long are we going to play this?” he then asks out of the blue.

You know exactly what he is talking about, but you won’t give in that easily. With your hands on your hips you turn to face him with an innocent look on your face and you don’t miss how his eyes snap down to your chest, then to your lips before they move back to your eyes.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

A tiny little smile tugs on the corner of his lips as he looks away, out to the terrace where the pool’s glistening surface is probably reminding him of the show you gave him not long ago.

“Is this supposed to be punishment?”

“Did you do something you deserve punishment for?” you tilt your head to the side.

He opens his mouth to reply, but then decides against it, just stares back at you and you wish you could read his mind. He pushes himself away from the island and starts to walk away, you take it as your wind or this round, so you turn back to your snack, but then suddenly he moves back and cages you between his arms, his hands gripping the counter on either side of you. He is behind you now, not even touching you anywhere, but still, it’s as if he was everywhere on your body. Your breath hitches in your throat when you hear his low voice in your ear.

“If you want to play, I’m happy to play along. But be careful, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

This should be the perfect moment for a clever remark, but your mind is so fogged up you can’t articulate one solid thought. He moves back and you feel his presence disappear from behind you before you see him walking back towards the office, but before he could disappear he shoots one last comment at you.

“Pink looks good on you!”

He did not joke when he said he would play along.

So far, only you’ve been playing this game, but since your little pool side performance, Harry has definitely turned it up on his side as well.

He has been pretty subtle so far. The bastard has noticed that his tattoos make you droop, that you love to check out his backside whenever he is wearing fitted pants and those smirks… they make you weak in the knees every damn time. And he takes every opportunity to use these against you whenever you run into each other.

You’ve been dropping by your dad’s office a lot more often than usually in hopes of seeing Harry and he’s been a frequent guest at your dad’s house as well. Stolen looks, tiny touches and never ending teasing have become your usual lately and you’ve been enjoying it way too much probably.

It’s been pretty long since you had a crush and it’s an exciting change to have this little thing going on with Harry, whatever it really is.

The major change is that you’ve started to text again. A few days after your encounter in your dad’s kitchen the flow started again and you’ve been talking ever since. It’s like before the failed date.

Two weeks pass by and you realize it’s been only small little games, nothing extreme since your show at the pool. You’ve been trying to come up with a move that will leave him defeated and a shopping spree with Dani is what gives you the idea.

She always makes you go lingerie shopping, she likes to surprise her boyfriend with new sets and while looking around you find one that catches your eyes and you end up buying it with the pure intention of making it part of your game.

You’ve never been that big of a fan of fancy lingerie sets, but you do know it’s what you need to spice the game up.

When you’re finally home you put on the quite revealing black set, fix your hair and even look up what poses are the best if you want to send racy pictures to your partner. Well, Harry is not your romantic partner, but definitely your partner in this game.

You take quite a few pictures, some in the mirror, some with a timer, your camera roll turns into the newest issue of PlayBoy and it takes even more time for you to choose just one. When you finally settle on one it’s time for the fun part. Opening up the text threat with Harry, you send the photo and a few moments later a text.

Y/N: Sorry, meant to send it to someone else.

And then you just wait.

For an hour your message stays unread, but then the status changes and your heart jumps into your throat. He saw the message eleven minutes ago, but there’s no response and it sends you down the rabbit hole.

Did your plan work? Is he fighting a major hard-on at the office? Or does he think your attempt to seduce him was ridiculous? Is he gonna lecture you about sending nudes? Why is he not responding???

Minutes turn into an hour and you’re losing hair at this point, regretting you even thought about sending him a spicy picture and you’re about to block his number, getting yourself ready to never see him again when your phone finally chimes with a message and Harry’s name appears in the notification.

HARRY: No. Shit like this can only be meant for me. I’m serious.

You gasp. Almost moan reading his words. And suddenly you forget about the madness you went through in the past hour. It was worth it, it was all worth it because this one message has lit you on fire.

His message stunned you so much you didn’t even reply. What could be said after that?

Got it, sir.

Or maybe…

Don’t tell me what to do.

Oh yeah, that would have really messed with him, but you chose silence and he didn’t double text you either. It stopped the flow of regular messages too and in the next three days you realize how much you miss him when you’re not talking.

You’re falling for him and you hate that beside the little games, he is not taking the step you want him to.

A few days after the picture was sent an old friend of yours comes to visit his family in the city and the two of you agree to catch up over dinner. Salim was your study buddy through college, he was always up to spend the entire day in the library whenever you had a theoretical exam to take. Art school wasn’t just painting and creating all the time, unfortunately. After graduation he moved to France with his boyfriend and has been living there for the past years, but he often comes home to visit his loved ones and he always makes time for you as well. You’ve been keeping in touch, but not as regularly as you used to and it’s great to talk when you’re not only in the same time zone but also in the same room.

“Look at you! You’re glowing!” he greets you when you get out of the Uber and he wraps you in a tight hug.

“Not as much as you! I see Claude is taking good care of you!” you chuckle, squeezing him back before letting go of each other. He looks stylish as always and you notice he’s starting to dress more and more like Claude, whose style is excellent, by the way. They fit each other really well.

You walk into the restaurant, it’s one of your favorite places and the host shows you your table. You order appetizers and drinks and dig into everything you haven’t discussed over the phone in the past couple of months.

“Now, tell me about that Tinder guy you last mentioned,” Salim smirks at you over the table and you realize you never told him the whole story, just that you were going on a date with Harry.

A lot has happened since then.

You update him about the failed date and the meeting at the barbeque and how you’ve been messing with each other since then.

“You did what?” He almost chokes on his wine.

“I sent him a nude picture,” you repeat yourself with a coy smile.

“You’re really brave, I would have never had the balls,” he snorts.

“I needed to step my game up. But we’ve been stuck since then.”

“He’s too busy jerking off to your photo,” he chuckles.

“No,” you smile. “Maybe he is… here.”

Your eyes grow wide when you spot the all too familiar form of Harry by the bar and he is staring at you with a bewildered look that does things to you that you can’t exactly explain.

“What?” Salim’s face forms a confused frown.

“He is… literally here. At the bar and don’t turn around, but he is looking straight at us.”

Your body is reacting as if you were caught doing something you weren’t supposed to, but nothing like that is happening, so you’re not sure why your reaction is so intense. Luckily, discretion is no problem for Salim, so he turns to see Harry in a way that’s not too obvious. When he looks back at you his eyes are just as wide as yours.

“Holy shit, he really is hot!”

“I know!” you whisper, not sure what to do, because Harry is still very much staring at you. “Fuck, should I say hi?”

“No, let him come to you if he wants to!”

Nodding, you try your best to focus on the food and your friend in front of you, but it’s almost impossible when you can clearly see Harry over Salim’s shoulder. Either he keeps staring at you or you always catch him looking, doesn’t matter, because it makes your stomach drop every time your gaze meets his.

Then your phone lights up with a text from him.

HARRY: I hope it’s not a date.

“Oh my God, he thinks we are on a date,” you whisper to Salim upon reading the text while keeping your face as straight as humanly possible.

“Is he jealous?”

“Most likely,” you nod, typing your response.

Y/N: And what if it is?

His reply comes before you could even lock the phone.

HARRY: It better not be.

Y/N: So bossy. Unfortunately, you have no right to hold me back from dating.

“I think I stood my ground, but I feel like I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

Placing the phone back to the table with screen down you’re determined to focus on Salim from now on, but it’s just impossible to move on from those texts. At some point however, Harry disappears from your view and you fight the urge to check your phone to see if he had any response.

While Salim is trying to decide if he wants some dessert or just another cocktail you excuse yourself to the restroom. It’s definitely been an emotional rollercoaster, not just your usual friendly catch-up, you’ll surely be thinking about it for a while.

Just as you’re about to close the door behind you a foot sticks in and stops you and then everything happens so fast.

The door is forced open and you gasp as you take a step back and watch Harry walk in, close the door behind him and lock it as well. His eyes are burning as he looks at you and you’re just a speechless ragdoll as he pushes you against the cold, tiled wall, caging you between his arms, his hips pressing against yours.

“Who is he?” he hisses at you, his pupils dilated and wild and you’ve never seen him from this close, you’re basically breathing the same air.

“He’s…” You can’t speak or form any words, the air is pushed out of your lungs every time you try to fill them enough to give you the strength to speak up. Fuck, you’ve never seen him like this, but it’s making your pussy throb for sure.

“Answer me or I’ll go out and make a scene to find out.”

“He’s just a friend,” you manage to breathe out.

“Are you fucking him?”

“No.” You want to tell him that you couldn’t even if you wanted to, because Salim would be more interested in fucking him than you, but the words die on your tongue when he exhales sharply at your answer.

“Fuck your little games, Y/N,” he then says, almost growls as he shakes his head in defeat.

“Fuck me instead,” you hear yourself saying, but it’s as if it wasn’t you who spoke, yet you still said exactly what you had in your mind.

HIs eyes are throwing flames again when one of his hands moves to the side of your neck, his thumb moving under your chin to tilt your head upwards, angling your head, but still just teasing you.

“No more games.”

“No,” you shake your head desperately. Your hands have found their way to his waist and you fist his shirt, fighting the urge to rip it off him.

“I mean it, Y/N. It’s all in or nothing. I want you to be mine.”

“I’m already yours.”

His kiss comes so fast your head goes dizzy for a second before you recover and return it just as eagerly as it came. It’s been the longest foreplay, weeks worth of teasing and yearning after each other end now as Harry’s body presses you against the wall with so much force it’s almost too much, but you want him as close as possible.

Even though you’re certain you’ve lost your mind, your consciousness still knows you’re in a public bathroom and you have limited time. Harry knows too and he wastes no time moving you over to the counter, he hoists you up and sits you on top of the granite next to the sink. You gladly wrap your legs around his waist and lock him against you while his mouth is now exploring the curve of your neck and shoulders, desperately pushing the straps of your dress to the side to reach more of your skin. Your body is reacting instantly to him, your hips roll against him and you feel his bulge between your legs, a tortured moan slipping out of your mouth.

“Harry!” you beg him, when his hand slips under your dress and into your underwear, his skilled fingers teasing you just right, but you need him fast and hard, this is not the time and place to play games.

“I wish I could take my time with you,” he grunts before playfully biting the soft skin on your neck while unbuckling his belt. “But I’m gonna fuck you fast and you’ll take it like the good little slut you are.”

All you can do is whine and force your legs further apart, watching him push his pants and underwear down in one motion, his cock springing free, ready to ruin you. Harry pushes your dress up your torso and hooks a finger into your panties, pushing the fabric to the side to reveal your drenched pussy.

“Have you thought about me while touching yourself?” he asks, his other hand going to his cock, lazily tugging on it, precum dripping from the tip.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

He jerks on his cock a few more times before spitting on it and pushing inside you without warning. A scream dies in your throat, because you bite into your own hand not to make too much noise, but he is definitely bigger than anyone you’ve ever been with, his erection is filling you up, stretching you like nothing and no one before.

“Don’t whine, I know you can take it,” he pants, his eyes rapidly switching between your face and his cock buried balls deep inside you.

All you can do is nod before he starts moving. He gives you a few slow thrusts to adjust, but then he picks his pace up and starts slamming into you ruthlessly.

And you love every moment of it.

It’s so animalistic, so intoxicating, your head feels dizzy again and you need everything inside you not to start screaming his name. Normally you need more stimulation and time to feel your orgasm building up in the pit of your stomach, but it’s different with Harry. You can already feel your climax nearing.

“So fucking good, you take me so well,” he preaches you, his hands holding onto your thighs to keep you in place and you curl an arm around his neck to pull yourself closer to him, pressing your lips to his in a messy kiss.

“I wanted to fuck you the moment I saw you in that bar.”

His words reach your brain and you process what he said, but you can’t reply at that moment, because you’re already on the verge of your orgasm.

It doesn’t take long for the both of you to reach your climax, he is the first one but you chase after him just seconds later. It lasts long and he keeps thrusting into you even when it’s dying down. His face is buried in your neck when he finally stops and you both are panting heavily.

When he lifts his head he’s looking at you with hazy eyes, but the smile that tugs on the corners of his lips is something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

“You said you wanted to fuck me the moment you saw me at the bar,” you repeat his words from earlier now that you can actually form words. Judging from the look on his face he knows why you’re questioning him.

You never met at the bar, he stood you up that night.

“I went there,” he admits. “I saw that other guy flirting with you and… I didn’t think I stood a chance with you. So I left.”

You’re staring back at him in disbelief. All this time you thought he didn’t come because you weren’t good enough for him, but it was the opposite. He was there. He came and wanted to meet you, but lost his confidence because of that random guy.

“You’re the only person who ever stood a chance with me,” you softly say as you reach up to take his face in your hands.

“I thought I was too old for you.”

“But I knew you were older all along,” you chuckle. “It was never an issue for me.”

“I know,” he admits with a sigh. “I fucked up, I’m sorry.” He kisses you softly and it’s mind-blowing how he was fucking you hard just moments ago and now he is treating you so gently.

“I need to go back, Salim will get suspicious,” you sigh as you slip off the counter, trying to fix yourself.

“Oh, your date is waiting for you,” he teases you, pulling his pants back up.

“He is gay, Harry,” you chuckle and watch his expression change.

“Okay, I approve.”

You laugh and pull him down for another kiss.

“Should we talk about this after?”

“I can come over when you get home.”

“I’m afraid we won’t do much talking if you do that,” you grin at him, arching an eyebrow.

“Promise, I’ll be a gentleman for at least thirty minutes. That should be enough for all the talking.”

“Uhuh, alright. See you at mine then,” you nod before slipping out of the bathroom.

The plates are empty, dinner is now officially nearing its end but you still haven’t broken the news to your dad.

The news that you and Harry are together.

He is sitting across from you at the table, his hesitant eyes finding your gaze every other minute. He is shitting his pants, you know that, even though you told him your dad will probably take it well. He is not one to stress about such things, but Harry didn’t believe you, he thinks he’ll throw him out of the company and tell you to never see him again.

Absurd.

Clearing your throat you decide it’s time for the announcement.

“Dad, I want to tell you something,” you speak up and panic flashes through Harry’s face for a moment, but he’s quick to mask it.

“Alright, I’m listening,” he smiles at you.

“Okay, I’ll just… Um, I want you to know that I’ve been dating someone. It’s kind of… serious,” you add, your eyes finding Harry over the table and you don’t miss the blush on his cheeks.

“That’s amazing! Do I know this person?” your dad enthuses.

“Well, you know him very well. He is actually sitting here at the table.”

You watch as realization washes over his face, he looks over at Harry and then back at you, while you both wait for his reaction.

Then a tiny smile appears on his face and you know you were right, there was nothing to worry about.

“That’s great news, I’m happy for you.”

Harry exhales in relief and you can’t help but laugh.

“See? I told you,” you smirk at him with a shrug.

“Are you sure you’re alright with it?” Harry asks, still a bit doubtful, but your dad just smiles at him warmly.

“I’m more than sure, son. Why would I not be alright with it? I trust you with my company, I trust you with my daughter too. Easy as it is.”

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

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ms-demeanor · 1 year ago

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sex work is work, no problem with that, but spamming sex work absolutely everywhere now is not okay. bot or not, it is not okay to shove your probably fake/stolen tits or ass into everyone's face even where kids are. it is absolutely the lowest, cheapest trash doing that. are these people showing their barely covered up pussy to school kids on the street to maybe get a customer? because they are doing exactly that on the internet. if you cant find customers and need to lower yourself to std ridden junkey trash standards who missed the way and entitled themselves to begging for money outside trash town, zero support from me!

Yeah you really sound like someone who supports sex workers. That's what I always think when I hear people using words like "disease-ridden" and "junkie" - 'wow, that person must be SUCH an ally. braver than any US marine, thank you for your service, person who believes sex work is work but thinks STIs or drug addiction are 'trash'.'

So, point by point:

It's not absolutely everywhere. You don't see people trying to link their onlyfans on facebook most of the time (i've actually never seen it but i could believe it is happening, though it's not common because FB has real-name policies that are unfriendly to sex workers). You're unlikely to see fansly links as sidebar ads on cspan. People aren't linking their pages in the amazon reviews. You're seeing it "everywhere" because you're not going anywhere. Tell me you spend all your time on two to three platforms without telling me you spend all your time on two to three platforms. Instagram, tiktok, twitter, and tumblr are full of people who are promoting all kinds of brands and one of those kinds of brands is sex work.

Those are also all platforms that have age restrictions and behavior standards, and of all of them tumblr is the one that has the history of being the most openly sexual and the least connected to legal identities. People are linking to their diy porn because of the culture of these websites both currently and historically. I once posted a video on this website of me bringing myself to orgasm in a public bathroom stall then inserting a dildo into my vagina before I went on stage and performed a set with my band. I did it for free and for fun five years ago, the week before the porn ban hit.

What I'm saying here is that the culture of this website has a much longer history of openness about sex and sexuality and the visual presentation of sex than it does of being full of people who think teens shouldn't see nipples. This is an *extremely* reasonable place to post information linking to porn that you make and to use cute pictures of yourself to do so.

It's also really easy to tell that these people aren't bots or using stolen images because the whole point of the live platform is that you can click through and go talk to them. Strange Aeons did just that and you can see what happened. (click on that video for a fun cameo at 6:04) Turns out live users are just a bunch of people (not networks stealing images the way that actual porn *bots* on tumblr do) and the ones who are trying to do sex work on the live platform itself get banned.

But also kids too young to see the occasional boob shouldn't be on tumblr! (like, seriously, define kids. what age is too young to see the kinds of images allowed by the tumblr live tos? how about the ones banned by the tumblr live tos? How old should you have to be before someone shows you an ahegao face on a hoodie in public? What should the punishment be for the ahegao fashionistas for exposing six year olds to anime tongues? What should the minimum age be to go on the beach and see men in speedos? Fifteen, or is that still abusive to children? Maybe we should make it twenty to be safe, or better yet why don't we make it twenty AND ban speedos? this is what you sound like, you fucking asshole). Tumblr has age limits and people under that age limit shouldn't be looking at most things on this website. A smiling woman in a bikini top or a dude with his abs out are fucking nothing compared to the kind of damage you personally and specifically are trying to inflict with your shitty ideas.

Posting t&a on tumblr is not at all comparable to doing street level work and soliciting children for a number of reasons, but I'd just like to really take the time to point out that you just compared the profile pics on tumblr live to sexually soliciting a child. You literally did the "x group i hate are pedophiles" thing, which is exactly why it's such a huge problem that any and all types of nudity have been stigmatized online. We have created an entirely new paradigm of "pedophile" that means "existed around a child while wearing tight pants." You are such a fucking clueless, sanctimonious pile of shit that you can't even see that that's what you're doing. This is literally, exactly kink at pride discourse.

And that's even if I grant you that these people are posting t&a! Go look at the live leaderboards, you don't have to accept the ToS to see the leaderboards! We are talking about *at most* saucy pin-up levels of eroticism. I have seen fucking holiday cards with more visible cleavage than any of the top 200 tumblr live streamers right now.

The only thing in your final sentence that makes any sense is that you are positioning tumblr as trash town.

Yeah. I'm actually not at all impressed by tumblr recently and that has a lot more to do with the influx or resurgence of nuance-allergic, anti-sex, whiny shits like you than it does with a banner that i can scroll past in a quarter of a second.

I want people reading this to really, really sit down and think about what they're calling assault or hypersexualiztion or whatever. We are talking about profile pictures. You are so offended by a bar of 4 profile pictures at the top of your dash that you're comparing regular ass humans (some of whom are sex workers and some of whom are just streamers who took thirst trap selfies) to the real life solicitation and abuse of children.

TOUCHING GRASS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU PLEASE GO INTERACT WITH ACTUAL REAL HUMANS WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT DASHCON OR MILKSHAKE DUCK ARE. YOU ARE CRITICALLY INTERNET POISONED AND IF YOU TALKED TO SOMEONE AT THE DMV AND DESCRIBED IT AS ASSAULTING CHILDREN TO HAVE SOMEONE IN A BIKINI ON A BILLBOARD THEY WOULD IMMEDIATELY BEGIN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AWAY FROM YOU. THINK OF THIS POST AS THE CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR TELLING YOU THAT THE SHADOWS YOU'RE SEEING AREN'T ACTUALLY DEMONS BUT THAT YOU ARE GOING TO REALLY REGRET IT IF YOU DON'T GO OUTSIDE.

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l-in-the-light · 2 months ago

Text

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read: edition Dressrosa (part 9)

The last Lawlu randezvous in Dressrosa, country of love, let's go!

Law did it! And Luffy is just standing there and watching. Kinda reflects their Amazon Lily dynamics, doesn't it? Back then it was Luffy making ruckus and Law just sitting there quietly and waiting for him to calm down. Wait, why do I call it a ruckus? It's a big moment for Law, it's his revenge! Well, I actually don't believe Doflamingo and I'm on Law's side here: he called it "wanting to fullfill Cora-san's wish", not taking revenge. Whatever this here was, was a mix of a rampage and desperation. Luffy's witnessing Law on his lowest. To be fair, Law deserved to give Doflamingo a payback. He freaking severed his arm.

I feel like Luffy just understands. Their support for each other so far was always rather quiet and from a distance, after all.

Luffy is saving Law again. It's second time already (or third even, since he stops Mingo twice here!). Law's spirit meanwhile just broke into tiny pieces, he has "nothing left in him" anymore, not even his unyielding will from mere moments ago. It even takes him a moment to realize Luffy stepped up to protect him here and it kinda shocks him (it really shouldn't by this point but oh well). This all feels extremely emotional and personal.

Also correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it the Very First Time Luffy uses conqueror's haki like this? Like yeah, he can knock people unconscious but nothing else at this point. To even "coat" himself or "punch" someone with conqueror's he had to learn how to use Ryuo in Wano. But here? Here he does something special with his conqueror's that we never saw him do before that. And of course he was able to do it because he wanted to protect Law. Must be unconscious thing, just like I suspect he had a tiny moment of future sight in this arc. Both times for Law heh.

Getting out of the way so Luffy can go all out (anime suggests both him and Trebol got swept away by the gust, but for me it always looked like Law just rolled himself away). Just moment ago Law didn't even have the tiniest will in him, but now he has it again thanks to Luffy. Must have been a confusing feeling, perhaps despair mixed with gratitude, but bottom line is: it pushed him to keep going on.

Also Law already suspected Luffy has conqueror's haki despite never seeing him use it before. He says "yappari" here which translates to "as expected". He's very doting for Luffy, isn't he.

Time for reflection. Do you all remember Wano? Everyone called Kaido and Big Mom monsters who can't die. Everyone except Monkey D. Luffy. He said they're humans and if they're humans they can be beaten down and defeated. Here, we have Trebol's narration going on presenting to us Doflamingo as a literal demon. You really think Luffy buys this here and thinks Mingo is a demon or a monster? If he didn't think this way about emperors, there's no way he would think that about Mingo. But he doesn't deny because he thinks this matters a lot to Law and he's on Law's side here. But I guarantee you Luffy thinks this is bullshit and Mingo is just a human, as in: he wouldn't villainize him, he wouldn't deny him his humanity either. That's just not a Luffy thing to do.

Which leads us to this conclusion: Luffy is acting differently because he still is doing everything here for Law. Law called Mingo a devil just moments ago, Luffy is not gonna say anything to contradict that, no matter what he personally thinks on the matter. Luffy will always be on Law's side.

"Torao can't even move an inch!" Luffy's very protective and worried, tries to make Mingo focus on him instead, but all he can do is talk because Trebol caught him. Law meanwhile is indeed in a very bad spot.

Law: I will lose my face if I leave both of you to Mugiwara-ya. There's no way Trafalgar Law is gonna listen to Luffy saying "Torao can't move an inch and defend himself" (and not just once but twice!), he just had to prove him wrong, right? Petty bastard. Still, it was thanks to Luffy that fire and will to fight even ignited inside of him again here.

Luffy tries to free himself from Trebol and Law says a curious line (that guy's an empty marionette is how this line was translated in my native language), which is a hint for Luffy about Trebol's trick. Luffy doesn't get it though and realizes it only after Law takes care of Trebol himself (seems he doesn't even hold it against Luffy that he couldn't figure it out). Turns out Law doesn't even have to move an inch. All he needs is a finger.

Luffy is just so impressed beyond belief. Law managed to defeat an enemy while not even being able to get up. No wonder Luffy is always in awe about Law.

Sadly he couldn't make Trebol fall unconscious so the latter did his last deed to try to explode Law. Luffy reacted fast to rescue him (we can see him escaping the explosion just in time, Mingo as well). His concerned face when he looks at passed out Law hits right in the feels. He even remembered to grab Kikoku and Law's severed arm!

Also when did Law became "Lawland", because that's so hilarious to me for some reason. He didn't even meet the tontattas. Must be the result of some of Usopp's tales, I guess? Though it's noteworthy that Law was super close to meeting tontattas on Green Bit, I wonder how the plot would have developed if he did end up talking to them back then.

Curious wording from Luffy here. "Torao did his part to put pressure on Mingo". Not "he fought well", not "I will finish what he started". It's almost like Luffy is aware that Law was only there to stall Mingo, to buy time for Luffy to fight him. Hmmm. Also bonus miraculous intuition from Luffy here: telling Cavendish he counts on him. Because that will lead directly to Cavendish making sure Torao doesn't do anything stupid and will end up protecting him for a while. It's kinda thanks to Luffy again.

Standing in-between Mingo and Law again, with his body, words and resolution.

Here we go again, Luffy's motivation for this final stage of the fight. He's not gonna let Law's efforts go to waste. But he still doesn't admit that he does it only for Law, he claims "Mingo's cage is in his way". It's not entirely true.

And again, Luffy's withholding himself from stating his true reason of why he wants to beat up Mingo. "You made my friends cry, my crewmates mad! And you won't go down!" And yet none of those include Law who didn't cry or wasn't mad (he did have a rampage moment tho). Luffy's still holding himself back, because before he can do what he wants to do the most, he needs to "take it all on himself" and do stuff for Law first.

Law's biggest love confession. I mean, this is the moment when I finally thought "Damn, I was so wrong about Trafalgar Law, he cares so much it's overwhelming". We had him super cold all the time, and suddenly this emotional bomb drops. It hit me like a truck. I never doubted Law's caring heart from this moment ever again.

One important thing to note here. I think Law got inspired here by what Robin said earlier when defending Luffy, she said it's worth dying for Luffy's sake and that Luffy is always their trump card. This is Law's version of it. But he can't bring himself to say "die for him", probably for many reasons, but the most important one I believe to be this: both Law and Luffy had someone dear to them sacrifice their life so they can live. Law knows how's it's like to be the one left behind and he knows Luffy knows that feeling as well. He wouldn't want to force Luffy to go through that again, especially not now that he knows Luffy does think of him as his friend (he had his shocking realization about that when Luffy ran to rescue him from the Heart Throne). That's why "we either live or die together" is the only option he can give here. It's because they both understand the pain.

Law's words "I dragged him into this" hold a lot of weight as well. He was in that situation before, he believed Cora-san got beaten up by Vergo because of Law. He would do anything to avoid a similar situation happening ever again, and yet here he is, having to face it again. No wonder his reaction is so big and emotional that he even says to Cavendish "he's counting on him" to respect his choice. (thankfully Cavendish acted like a chad who said "no suicides on my watch" and stayed with him instead).

There's again an Ace parallel going on here. At Marineford Ace told Luffy to go away and mind his own business because he couldn't bear "dragging Luffy down with himself". Both Law and Ace had to face this situation turning out to be true. This time around, Law made sure to take the most consequences on himself to the very end, didn't he? I swear it feels almost like Ace is watching over those two.

Again, everyone's reactions to G4: "is that really Luffy??" "what is that bouncing ball??" "I heard he's a 25 feet tall monster!!"

Law's reaction to G4: "Oh great, he still had an ace up his sleeve (casual compliment). But he's using too much haki"

He can't just be impressed without also noticing *immediately* the biggest weakness of G4, right? Of course it's out of concern, but still, Law, come on... He's also one of the few if not The Only Person not weirded out (though my bet is Sabo also wouldn't be fazed heh).

Still, it shows how much attention Law pays to Luffy and his fights. He would know of so many ways to help him improve his techniques, wouldn't he? He just cares so much and I wish he just allowed himself to, you know, live a little, and do the things he probably yearns to do, like the thing I just mentioned: help him improve. Enough of keeping the artificial distance all the time!

They both notice the most important thing at the same time: birdcage is still up, the fight isn't over. Same mind, two bodies.

Luffy lost his G4 and people around him just run away, quite a sad sight. He's practically the only hope for them to survive but they instead ditch him in fear. Meanwhile Law is making another important decision, the fire to fight slowly burning back again. He's still not done with his "fight" in Dressrosa.

This happens in chapter titled "My Fight". But Law's not fighting anymore. Yeah, not against Doflamingo. But there's still one more fight he can't afford to lose. It's the fight to not let Luffy die. That's why he shambled himself all the way here, risking losing his arm for good (it's excessively bleeding again because of all the strain he put on himself just now!). Law saved a life back at Marineford, he's not gonna just lie down there and watch that life vanish again.

It's exactly because of this moment that I believe Law's always fighting to save lives ever since he lost Flevance and Cora-san. That's why him ready to give up on kids in Punk Hazard or on people of Dressrosa is huge, he was basically giving away something that mattered the most for him, just to keep Luffy safe. That's how much Luffy matters to him, which is More Than Anything Else, apparently.

Guarding him as Luffy is recovering. He positioned himself between Luffy and Mingo's position on the street below, he's literally protecting him with his body, just the same way Luffy did before when he dragged cuffed Law all over Dressrosa. They don't even have to communicate, one look, "go!" (said already after shambling him, mind you) and Luffy's back in the game. But Law still didn't finish doing his part, he's still keeping guard, shambling Rebecca and Viola out of the way and risking Mingo finding out his hiding spot. Doflamingo is still taunting him "watch me kill all your hope again by getting rid of Luffy".

Finally Luffy tells Mingo what he wanted to do for the whole arc. "You're suffocating me with your attempts at controlling everything and everyone!". Luffy's no longer fighting for Law, now he's finally doing it for himself (and he even has Law's support in this!). And he expressed it only before his very final punch. All the other ones? Those were all for Law.

It doesn't mean he didn't care about his crewmates wishes or Rebecca, but those flew all out of the window the moment Luffy almost believed for a moment Law is dead. Perhaps seeing Law there coming to his rescue really calmed down Luffy so he could actually think of something else. Dressrosa is indeed a country of passion and this fight was also full of it. Emotions constantly got in the way.

Law's still keeping guard, almost like he knows Luffy won't be able to get down from there on his own. The moment he notices him lose G4 he's ready to save him, despite the fact he's wheezing and his lungs are probably collapsing on him.

He saved Luffy, but look at what cost. Law himself is looking like not only his lungs but his heart are giving up on him there. Few moments later we can barely see him in the background, but he's lying there, most likely passed out just like Luffy. Also that extra huge room he did there to save Luffy from all the way up in the sky. How big was it? Was it as big as the one he did before to trick Mingo in the palace? Or even bigger? It was said it cut down on his lifespan significantly, but seems Law didn't cut down on his lifespan just once, but twice, and in Dressrosa alone. Again just to save Luffy's life.

Resting finally. They both freaking sleep in the same way with opened mouth. Law's also extremely injured and in bad shape, but it's Usopp together on the bed with Luffy, not Law. Maybe because of his touch trauma. But also maybe Law just didn't think he should be on that bed; we know that in Zou he will tell his crew that Mingo was defeated by Luffy, not giving any credit to himself. It might be the same here.

I wonder who patched them up. The only doctor around was Law himself...

I know this isn't Luffy-Law, this is Sabo-Luffy. but did any of you notice what Sabo is thanking Luffy for? "Staying alive" and "not leaving him alone for good". But that wasn't Luffy's achievement. That was actually literally thanks to Law, who dragged Luffy's dying unconscious body inside his submarine and operated on him for probably like hours, and then monitored his situation for a while. And the first thing Luffy did after waking up, having his life miraculously saved, was go on a self-punishing rampage. No, that feat Sabo is talking about, isn't thanks to Luffy.

Luffy could meet Sabo again, who told him not to blame himself. And I'm sure Luffy is aware how much of that is thanks to Law, he was the one who kept him alive, fullfilling Ace's wish.

Luffy stuffing himself silly and doing some stupid shanenigans. Law is just sitting a bit away from the table, but has a good view on him. I wonder what is he thinking about right now when witnessing Luffy acting all silly, heh. He for sure doesn't turn his eyes away even for a moment.

Also he's staying right next to the door, almost like he's guarding them all from danger, because he would be the first one to react and the closest to potential enemy arriving!

Both making the same decision: escape be damned, they have important business! And then they will make others wait for them heh. They're both as insufferable lol.

Rebecca "thank you!" Luffy "Shup up! I don't want to hear that!"

Yeah, I wonder why. Usually Luffy has no problem with hearing people thank him. Or at least wouldn't mind it, even if he doesn't care much about it. But telling Rebecca to shut up and not even letting her finish saying the thanks? I wonder why. Oh, maybe because he did not do it for Rebecca. He didn't beat up Mingo or save Dressrosa for her. Actually, he did it for someone else.

Meanwhile now making sure Rebecca's actual wish is fullfilled (staying with her father) is Luffy ultimately repaying his debt. And after she thanks him for it he just says "no problem". Completely different reaction all of sudden :)

Unexpected parallel that I will be surprised if any of you ever noticed. Remember how Luffy felt bad fighting against Fujitora because Fujitora can't see so he was shouting his moves outloud before making them? Yeah, turns out Law pulled off a Luffy long before Luffy himself did that. He called out to Fujitora that he's about to escape, lol.

And so we won't think it's just a coincidence, Law earlier confirmed to us that Fujitora's lack of eyesight/handicap was weighing actually on his mind heh. Law is smarter about that, but it's adorable they both acted basically in same way.

Let's talk about the grand fleet for a second. They all magically got along and decided to form a grand fleet dedicated to Strawhats. Their explanation for it is super vague, it's basically "so we stayed at the palace all together when recovering for two days and we got along". Like I bet you *anything* that's probably not what happened and there ain't no way they just blabbled together happily and conveniently arrived at this conclusion by themselves. We saw how they were, competing with each other and Luffy on who will beat Mingo. If they had the grand fleet idea it's only because someone planted it in their heads. Bartolomeo? If it was him he would brag about it. Cavendish? I highly doubt it since he's a narcisstic ego-maniac. Don Chinjao? Maybe, but last time he tried to voice his wish to give Luffy his fleet, he couldn't even said it outloud, too full of emotions. So my bet's here also on "no".

So here's my crazy take, run with it or leave it:

It was Law's initiative. He saw all those people feeling indebted to Luffy (he was forced to tag along, dragged all over Dressrosa after all). The only reason they ever did anything together was because of the said debt to Luffy and the heat of a crisis, but that never prevented them from fighting over it, even with Luffy himself. But if he approached them, for example through Bartolomeo (who constantly visited Kyros's hut where Strawhats and Law were hiding) and told him there is a way that they all can repay their debt and also that would fullfill Bartolomeo's own deepest wish (to be Luffy's subordinate), then now we're talking.

But why would Law do that? Because he also is grateful to Luffy, duh. He wanted to repay the favour and make up for dragging Luffy into his personal matters. Also do you remember what Cavendish told Law? "What you did here in Dressrosa is huge. Taking care of Doflamingo will put you two in the eye of the storm". Later Fujitora also says something similar: "Your life will be in peril from the Yonko now that you've eliminated Joker. Your future is hell!" which is exactly what was the main subject of Law's quarrel with Luffy in this arc: bringing Kaido's wrath on them. Obviously it was all still on Law's mind. And the consequences will go way beyond just Kaido. Ensuring that Luffy has a grand fleet (always ready to help) is the first step of Law's plan of keeping Luffy away from the said consequences. Law will be in the eye of the storm for sure, but he is already taking measures to make sure Luffy is not, pushing him away from the centre, giving him extra power and protection.

But if that's the case why didn't Oda just tells us, the readers, that this is the case? Well, it wouldn't be the first or last time Oda hides things from us. And I hope it will all have a payoff in the final arc!

Law's surprised and maybe even slightly disgusted impression here is so hilarious. He clearly expected Luffy to be thrilled, but surprise surprise, Luffy doesn't want subordinates. What Luffy wants is freedom. I'm sure Law will remember that from now on.

Law actually takes part in this feast. This is the first and the only feast so far he was part of (he didn't celebrate with others in Punk Hazard, Zou nor Wano. Wano's especially strange because it was the success of their alliance and yet Law decided not to celebrate, but he does here, hm. Dressrosa is so different somehow. Is it the passion?!). He's smiling and I bet you anything his eyes dart to Strawhat Luffy here.

And with that we mark the end of Dressrosa. Zou's next (as well as the trip to it), but we might take a fast post stop elsewhere before or after that :D still contemplating to include Wano's anime once we do reach Wano's arc in this series!

#one piece #trafalgar law #luffy #lawlu #lulaw #luffy x law #love is a hurricane #I agree Luffy and Law were basically equals in this battle #but it's also true Luffy didn't mind acting as backup and support for Law #Luffy doesn't mind anything as long as it's for Law and I hope Law will also understand this one day #Law was definitely buying time here for Luffy. those who read Law's novel know why Law was losing against Mingo #one piece meta

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charlieg1rl · 1 month ago

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𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐨𝐰𝐬, 𝐜𝐞𝐥��𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞’𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟏.𝟏𝐤

The sun was starting to dip low on the horizon, casting a warm, golden hue across the serene outdoor venue. Flowers lined the aisle, their petals catching the soft breeze as Bang Chan stood at the altar, his heart pounding, eyes locked on Y/N as she approached him. She looked radiant, every step toward him feeling like a promise of forever.

Chan couldn’t take his eyes off her, his hands trembling slightly with anticipation. When Y/N finally stood in front of him, her gaze filled with love and certainty, his breath hitched. They had been through so much, but standing there, in front of their loved ones, made everything feel worth it.

The officiant smiled at Chan, giving him the signal to begin his vows. Chan swallowed nervously, but when he looked at Y/N’s soft smile, his shoulders relaxed, and he knew exactly what to say.

"I’ve been standing here thinking about how to put all my feelings into words, but nothing seems to come close to how much you mean to me." His voice was steady, but the emotion was clear. "I never thought I deserved love the way you give it so freely. I was always hard on myself, always pushing for more, thinking I had to be perfect. But then I met you."

Y/N’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her hand clutching his, grounding him in this moment.

"You taught me that love isn’t about being perfect," he continued, his voice growing softer. "You taught me that I didn’t need to be anyone other than who I am. For the longest time, I didn’t know how to love myself. I could love everyone else around me, give them everything I had, but never for myself. And then you came into my life, and you showed me what it means to truly accept who I am."

Chan’s eyes met hers, his thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand. "You saw me at my lowest, at my most insecure, and instead of turning away, you stayed. You made me see the good in myself, the strength, the worth. And because of you, I finally learned how to love myself."

A tear escaped Y/N’s eye, and Chan reached up, brushing it away with his thumb. His lips curled into a soft smile, a mixture of tenderness and gratitude. "So, today, as we stand here, I promise to love you with everything that I am. I promise to be the person who sees you, who supports you, who grows with you. And I promise to spend every day of my life making sure you feel the same love and acceptance you’ve given me."

The crowd was silent, but the love and emotion were palpable. Chan leaned in, pressing his forehead against Y/N’s for a brief moment before pulling back, his eyes filled with adoration. "Thank you for being my strength, my safe place, and the reason I believe in love."

The officiant invited Y/N to share her vows next, but in that moment, everyone present could see just how deeply Chan was devoted to her, how she had become the anchor that helped him find himself amidst the chaos.

Y/N stood there, her heart full, feeling the warmth of Chan’s words still lingering in the air. She could feel every eye on them, but it was as if, in that moment, only she and Chan existed. His vows had touched her deeply, and now it was her turn.

She took a deep breath, squeezing his hand gently as she began. "Chan, when I look at you, I don’t just see the man standing in front of me today. I see the person who has worked tirelessly for his dreams, the person who has always been there for others, even when he didn’t think of himself. I see someone with the kindest heart, a heart that beats for others before it ever beats for himself."

Her voice wavered slightly, but she pressed on, the emotion only making her words more powerful. "Before I met you, I didn’t know what it meant to be truly seen. You made me feel like I mattered, like every part of me—the good, the bad, the imperfect—was worth loving. You’ve always been there to pick me up, to make me laugh when I’m down, and to remind me that no matter what life throws our way, we can face it together."

Y/N looked down for a moment, gathering her thoughts before gazing back up at him, her eyes shining with tears, threatening to leave her eyes. "You’ve shown me that love isn’t just about the big moments, but it’s about the quiet ones too—the moments where we’re just sitting in silence, or laughing over something ridiculous, or even when we’re both exhausted but still holding onto each other."

She bit her lip, a soft smile playing at the edges. "You’ve given me a love that is gentle, that is patient, that lifts me up when I need it the most. And today, I want to promise you the same. I promise to always be by your side, through every challenge, every success, and every quiet, simple moment. I promise to remind you every day how amazing you are, even when you doubt yourself."

Her hand moved to gently touch his face, a tender gesture that spoke volumes. "Chan, you’ve taught me that love isn’t just about finding someone who completes you—it’s about growing with someone, learning with them, and becoming better together. With you, I feel like I’m always becoming a better version of myself, and for that, I’m endlessly grateful."

Y/N took another breath, feeling the weight of her words. "So today, in front of everyone we love, I promise to love you with everything I have. I promise to be your strength when you feel weak, your laughter when the world feels heavy, and your calm in the storm. I promise to choose you every day, to remind you that you’re enough, and to love you just as you are."

Her voice softened, but the love in her eyes was undeniable. "Thank you for showing me what true love is. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by your side, walking through this journey together, hand in hand."

As Y/N finished, the air was thick with emotion. Chan’s eyes were glistening, his love for her written in every line of his face. The crowd might have been watching, but in that moment, it was clear that the only thing that mattered to them was each other.

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

tags: @estella-novella, @therealmsbahng, @amarecerasus

#stray kids x reader #bang chan x reader #bang chan #bang chan fluff #stray kids fluff #skz #bang chan x you #bang chan x y/n #stray kids fanfic #skz x reader #bang chan stray kids #bang chan imagines

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kaylatoonz · 8 months ago

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Amy meets everyone but Sonic

I think it would be funny/interesting if Amy doesn’t meet Sonic until the end or near climax of the movie.

From what I can remember from the games, Amy would almost always do something small within the sideline of the story that becomes impactful in the main story. Best example of this is how her interaction between Silver and Shadow both play a part in them switching from antagonist to friends/allies to Sonic and his friends.

If the SCU introduces Amy in the third film I think this would be the best way to go about it if she doesn’t get as much screen time. There could be a side plot where Amy is trying to find Sonic but she meets everyone that has some connection to him instead. Each person she meets she helps/supports them in a small but impactful way that helps Sonic and friends in a big way by the climax or end of the film.

They could give us a taste of Amy’s strengths and feisty nature by showing her teaming up with knuckles (maybe give them a dynamic similar to Sonic X or IDW). Then they can establish her kindness and determination to help those who have been wronged, by showing her helping tails at his lowest point (maybe Amy helps tails in his SA2 arc or help him break sonic out of prison island). Finally, by the climax of the film Amy indirectly helps Sonic in the biggest way possible by reminding Shadow of his promise to Maria which encourages him to aid Sonic in saving the world.

Bonus points if throughout the film there this running gag of Sonic and Amy keep just missing each other.

Amy just left after helping knuckles and wade defend citizens from strange creatures (black arms?)

Sonic: sorry I’m late to the party, I heard from tails that you guys might need some back up

Knuckles: no need little brother we have defeated our new foe with the help of a valiant new ally.

Sonic:?

Wade: yeah your pink girlfriend was a lot of help 😄

Knuckles:*look confuse then thoughtful*

Sonic:… Wade i don’t have a girlfriend why would you assume

Wade: oh she is a pink hedgehog like you and she got really excited when she found out that we know you so sh..

Sonic: Wade you can’t just assume we’re together just because we’re both hedgehogs I don’t even kno… wait! She's a hedgehog too?! And she’s on our side!

Where is she? I gotta meet her! * starts dashing round the battle field*

Wade: as I was just saying you just missed her and she was actually looking for yo..

Sonic: dang it! Maybe I can catch up to her, we could use all the help we can get if we’re fighting that faker. Contact tails for the deets gotta go! * runs off*

Wade: wait sonic she was look for.. and he’s gone

Knuckles: she could be a good partner, they’re both strong and reckless 🤔

Wade: I know right 😄

Amy get held up fighting off /distracting the guards while helping tails break sonic out of prison island

Sonic: thanks little bro I didn’t think I could broke out here on my own.

Tails: your welcome but I can’t take all the credit I had some outside help

Sonic: let me guess pink hedgehog

Tails: yeah you’ve met

Sonic: nope but I’ve heard great things. I seem to just miss her everywhere I go

Tails: *smirks* so the fastest thing alive can’t caught the girl

Sonic:*roll eyes* hardy har har, very funny… is she still around? I really like to meet this new heroine, maybe team up.

Tails: yeah she holding back the guards I can put her on speak if you insist 😏

Sonic: tails😑

Tails: ok ok Hey Amy do you copy?

Amy: yep still here though my hands are a bit full at the moment. How are things on your end? Did you find him? Do you need help?

Tails: yeah everything great I found him , we’re safe and he really interested in meeting you😏 (sonic: tails it’s not like that😠) so we were hoping we can make our escape and meet back at..

Amy: *wham!* That sounds great I.. *fzzzz* I can meet you guy at *fzzz* HEY! You better stay down or I’ll get my hammer and! *fzzz *wham!*

Tails and Sonic: hammer?

Amy: *fzzz* oops…

Tails: what do you mean oops…

* An explosion can be heard from the other end and the build shakes*

Tails: AMY! ARE YOU STILL THERE! ARE YOU OK?!?! AMY PLEASE RESPON-

Amy: I’m ok! I’m ok there’s just a lot more exits then we originally planned so I’m just gonna take one of those * awkward giggles* I’ll meet you guys at *fzzz* *line cuts*

Tails: * sighs in relief* well better luck next time Sonic I don’t think you’ll be catching miss rose any time soon.

Sonic: dang I was really hoping to catch her this time she sounds like a fun gal.

Tails:😏

Sonic: *lightly punches tails shoulder* welp we better make use of Amy’s specially made exits and get out of here.

After Amy reminds Shadow of his promise to Maria and so Shadow joins Sonic in facing the final threat of the film (black arm, bio lizard, metal sonic?).

Sonic: hey shads come to join the party? What changed your mind?

Shadow: your pink friend reminded me of something important…

Sonic: *looks confused for a second before realizing who he’s talking about*

Sonic: no way… she really is something special…😊

Shadow: she is…😌 now let get this over with this only one time thing got that faker😈

Sonic: whatever you say faker😈 now let’s kick some butts.

#amy rose #sonamy #sonic movie 3 #movie amy rose #sonic the hedgehog #sonic movie 2 #procreate #shadow the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the series #knuckles the echidna #shadamy

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venuscarrotsoup · 8 days ago

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Gyomei and Kagaya friendship analysis/yap

Everybody overlooks this relationship, not on purpose of course, but it’s not really noticed. Yes, Ubuyashiki views all the demon slayers as his children, especially the hashira, but him and Gyomei have a special bond.

Side note: I find it cute how Kagaya calls all the demon slayers by their first names because no parent would call their child by their last name 😭💓🤞

Gyomei was around 18 when the temple incident happened, he was rescued by Kagaya shortly after, meaning he’s been close to Kagaya for around 9 years, allowing them to have a really close bond.

Kagaya did so much for Gyomei, he saved him from being executed, and saw him differently from everyone else. Gyomei felt like others viewed him as a monster after the incident, but Kagaya knew of his innocence, and saved him. And when Gyomei broke down, Kagaya held him and comforted him. Gyomei even stated that Kagaya would say exactly what one wanted to hear, he told Gyomei that he wasn’t a murderer, which caused Gyomei to break down, as he was experiencing guilt and self-loathing after that incident.

Gyomei would’ve been there to see the Ubuyashiki family grow, since all the kids are around 8 years old. I feel like Gyomei and Kagaya have been there for each other every step of the way, I believe they were good friends, despite having distance due to Kagaya’s status as the master.

Kagaya trusts all his children, but he had the most trust with Gyomei, because of that strengthened bond from all the time they’ve spent by each others side. Kagaya entrusted Gyomei with his plan, and I believe he also wanted to say a final goodbye to one of his closest friends, he knew Gyomei would understand, because he has such a kind, calm and understanding soul, he wouldn’t freak out, he would simply go along with the plan and carry it out in Kagaya’s honour.

I like these two images paired together, it’s a nice parallel. In the first image Gyomei is at his lowest, and had just escaped death, relieved and emotional due to Kagaya’s actions, and Kagaya is there to comfort him. In the second image, Kagaya is at his lowest, his illness at its worst, and he is about to meet death, Gyomei is there to support him. And of course, Gyomei is crying in both images, and Kagaya is smiling, just like his calm, serene self always is. It’s a nice contrast as Kagaya was part of the reason Gyomei escaped death, and gyomei was part of the plan that would ensue Kagaya’s death.

Their relationship truly is beautiful, and I wish we had a bit more content of their friendship, because I know it was a strong one.

Another detail I really liked is how gyomei got so angry here when sanemi disrespected Kagaya, veins were popping out of him and everything. Gyomei is normally a calm and collected guy, but Kagaya is literally such a good friend to Gyomei that he can’t stand anyone disrespecting him, that was such a nice detail.

Look at him, still trying to remain calm but not being able to mask his anger because Kagaya has just been screamed at by this roach. Gyomei obviously really appreciates Kagaya for what he did for him (freeing him from death.) and it’s so adorable.

In conclusion, what I’m trying to say here is that these two have a very good relationship/bond which is very underrated and overlooked. I only came to this conclusion when I first watched season 4 episode 8, as it’s not very obvious since the two act professional in the only episodes they’re together before that (s1 e22-23). Please nobody try and twist my words to make it out like I’m shipping the two because I’m not, key word in the title: FRIENDSHIP.

Kagaya himself is underrated as well, give my king some more attention!! Anyways if you read this THANK YOU SO MUCH, I needed to yap abt them, and plz any gyomei fans and even better, people who share the same views as me on this, moot me up on TikTok at @inlovewithkorra <3

#demon slayer #gyomei himejima #kny gyomei #demon slayer gyomei #kimetsu gyomei #kagaya ubuyashiki #kny kagaya #kagaya and gyomei #kimetsu no yaiba #kny #yapping

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terriwriting · 8 months ago

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Hi. My name is Terry and I went into debt during the pandemic lockdowns. Some of it was because I had to break a lease to escape a building the landlords were turning into a slum (elevator was broken for nearly a year, roaches overran the place, next door neighbour was throwing coke parties all night). For a while things were okay, but then the rising cost of living and rising interest rates made that debt unsustainable. Now I'm lurching from one crisis to the next and I need to get out from under this debtload before it crushes me. Everything donated to this fundraiser will go directly to paying down that debt, because it is the single biggest problem in my life and makes every other problem worse.

I actually owe over $10,000, but I have one Guaranteed Investment Certificate left over from years ago when I was able to save money. That matures in August and I've already made arrangements with my bank to have it applied directly to my debt. The GIC is for just over $7,000, which leaves me with $3,000+ to pay off somehow.

Currently I make just enough to cover bare minimums (rent, utilities, groceries) and if I can get extra shifts I can keep up on interest payments. But if I can't get those extra shifts or if I miss a shift I fall further behind. And sometimes I get enough to pay the interest, but I get it too late in the month to pay by the due date and still end up being charged a late fee. For a while I was making headway on the debt, then the cost of living went up and I was just breaking even. Then both the cost of living and interest rates went up and now I'm barely hanging on by my fingernails.

I have tried to make up the difference by cutting back. I've reduced my phone and internet services to the lowest levels available, and I try to keep my power usage to a minimum. Water is included in my rent but the area I live in is in drought conditions and water bills are going up. Property taxes are also going up in the region. My rent will probably go up at the end of my lease, whether I stay in this place or try to find a new one. Every apartment in this city is too expensive now, and my landlords have actually been comparatively reasonable in raising rent.

The cost of living has gone up too fast for me to keep up with, and I can't make my interest payments or reduce this debt on my own. Every small setback becomes a crisis, and I've made two posts here to cover things like vet bills and end of month bills. If I can reduce my interest payments immediately and reduce my debt over the next few months, I can get out of this spiral. If I can't, I'm going to keep tripping from one crisis to the next until I fall completely.

It's not all bad news. I have a couple of ongoing writing projects that might actually earn some money. My cats are healthy (thanks to everyone who donated to my previous fundraiser). And I have an apartment that is close enough to shopping and work that I don't need a car. I'd be doing alright if not for this debt. So: Everything donated to this fundraiser will go directly to paying down that debt, because it is the single biggest problem in my life and makes every other problem worse.

Thank you for reading this.

$100/$3100. Thank you!

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artificial-transmutations · 24 days ago

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Novel News

Hey guys! A while back, I announced that I have released my novel, Dam Breakers.

Today, I have not one, but two pieces of moderately sized news for you (and a bonus)!

The promised discount

I did promise you a special thank you deal as a thank you for your continued support, and here it is!

Next weekend, between October 25th and 27th, there will be a -75% discount,

dropping the price to just 0,99$ for the ebook (the lowest Amazon would allow). As a caveat, due to limitations on Amazon, it's only available on the amazon.com marketplace.

I would be immensely happy if you could leave a rating and review if you liked it, because that helps me *a lot*.

As a side note, there is also a free short story at http://free-story.mikestruan.com that takes place in the universe of my next novel series. There's no transformation or romance in this short story, though there will be in the next novel series.

Paperback!

Also, if you like the feeling of paper in your hands, starting now, Dam Breakers is also available as paperback (in all international market places)!

So, be sure to check it out and claim your ebook discount this weekend!

Bonus

The picture above is inspired by one of the book characters. If you recognize the character and the part of the story I have tried to recreate with the AI, hit me up in a DM. I will raffle out a few juicy transformation short stories or captions to everyone who gets it right!

#not a story #muscle transformation #male transformation

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goron-king-darunia · 1 month ago

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Eggtober 9th, 2024

"Comforting" Fried Egg on Toast with Chives. A partially traced study of This Photo by @alkaline-noodles

(Krita, Wet Circle and Soft Chalk default brushes, 15 colors, 45 minutes on and off.) Life still insists on being super mean to me, so it's been very hard to keep up with Eggtober. I'm going to try to do a few more today and catch up soon, but I have things on the 14th and 15th that might leave me too tired.

But to try to get me motivated to work on the eggs again, I decided to use one of the prettiest Egg photos that popped up this year. I did want to do a freehand reference but I sat on that for 3 days and nothing happened so I decided to trace the main elements from an adjusted photo to make it a little easier. Just an exercise to make the task of drawing right now seem less daunting. User @alkaline-noodles, as the originator of the photo I traced, has full permission to use this for any and all purposes since it's their egg. I just really liked the soft sage green and the nice plating and the wispy highlight on the yolk a whole lot. I would have drawn, or traced, the plate too if I thought I could manage it. The whole photo just... felt like being invited to sit and have tea and breakfast on the back deck with an old friend to talk about things. It's just a kind of soft everyday sort of comfort that I really need right now.

Not to glorify suffering, quite the opposite, but I genuinely hope I'm having the worst possible time in the world right now because that would mean that everyone else is doing at least a little better right now. That would make me happy. It's probably not true, but I really want to believe that everyone else out there is doing better. To everyone that's loving and supporting me right now, it means the world. I don't know when I'm going to feel okay again, and I want to choose to be happy for everyone's sakes, because I know a lot of my IRL friends look to me for comfort and happiness and understanding when they're going through shit. I've been characterized on a few separate occasions as the person with the ability to put difficult things into words to help express some of those wriggly feelings. I like to think that's comforting for others. That by being able to find words, I can help people reach others and that by finding the words, they know I understand. I don't know if I'll find the correct words for this personal hardship any time soon. But I feel you all loving me. And it helps. And I'll keep being here however long I need to be until I'm back to the person who finds words for others and who makes others smile. But until then, it would make me very happy to know that everyone else is smiling when I can't. Thank you all.

Tagging Egg King @quezify. There's a little sunshine every morning and a reason to get up and fight for it. Because there are big shiny eggs in the world. And I get to see them all October. So even during what's probably the lowest low I'm going to experience for a while, I'm still glad. Even if I'm going to be a sludge instead of a human being for a while, I'm alive, and I'm loved, and that's enough until the darkness passes. Stay safe, stay warm, and hug your loved ones. And keep sharing beautiful eggs during these trying times.

#Eggtober 9 2024 #Eggtober 2024 #my art #art by GKD #Fried Eggs #Fried Egg on Toast #tracing is learning and anyone who says otherwise is a nerd #Noodle Collab #Somehow I started the count again at 7 instead of 9 so I'm retagging and editing the headers to reflect that

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e-dubbc11 · 9 months ago

Note

If you'd like to here's a wee request for your winter sleepover! ☃️

F!Reader, Frank, and Billy are friends but Bill knows damn well that you and Frank have been eyeing each other up for ages but neither has been bold enough to make a move. Maybe he intervenes and stages something cute or where they're forced to be together alone, and things get fluffy and sweet between them ☺️🥰

Stef! Thank you for sending in this ask! I’ve never really written for Frank as the object of the reader’s affection before but this was fun! I hope you like it!

Bullseye

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Frank Castle x F! Reader; supporting character Billy Russo

Warnings: Swear words, mentions of a divorce and a miscarriage, mention of the death of Frank’s family (Billy was no part of it in this little au, I can’t write that, I just can’t), and fluff

Word Count: 1.5K-ish

Summary: You join your friends dart league. She thinks it will be good for you to get out of the house and also thinks someone new might catch your eye.

A/N: I guess you could say this is my first Frank fic. Just a little meet cute. I wasn’t sure who to tag for this one, I hope it’s ok I just put everyone from my Billy tag list on this one

As always, thank you for reading! I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

“What do I know about throwin’ darts?!” You asked with narrowed eyes and a slight scowl on your face, planting another dart near the bullseye.

“You know a lot more than you think you do, that’s for sure, y/n!” Jamie said. “I’ve never seen anyone that has picked it up like you have.”

Taking a sip of your beer, you replied, “Jamie, I’m just messin’ around, I don’t know shit about throwin’ them, let alone enough to be in the league with you.”

She took a sip from her glass.

“Come on! It’s just for fun anyway! I get a break from my husband and the kids for a few hours a week and you…” she paused, “You get a break from your couch.”

“HEY!” You said, slightly perturbed at her statement. Although she wasn’t wrong. You haven’t really been out much since your divorce.

After a couple of beers and a few casual rounds of darts, you agreed to join Jamie’s league. She had been wanting you to join and be on her team for awhile now. She also thought it would be the perfect way to get you out of the house and among the land of the living again.

The divorce was hard on you. After your miscarriage, your ex-husband withdrew from you and there was no coming back from it. The distance was too far and he thought it would be best if you just separated. HE thought it would be best…he didn’t care what you wanted.

But if he didn’t want to try and work through the pain and the hurt of it all, then you didn’t want to either. He found someone new right away and his new wife was ready to give birth any day now which is why you were out with Jamie, trying to drink your problems away…even if it was just for a little while.

“Ok, that was a little harsh. Your ex is a dickhead who abandoned you at your lowest point and I would do anything to see you genuinely happy again.” Said Jamie.

With a shy smile, you said, “I’d really like to be happy again too.”

**********

Your weekly outing of throwing darts was a lot more fun than you thought it would be. Plus, the scenery was great…Frank Castle and Billy Russo. Billy was traditionally handsome, deep brown eyes, well-groomed beard, nice clothes, and a sexy voice. But Frank…there was just something about him that drew you in.

He wasn’t traditionally handsome like Billy but Frank just had something that had you stealing glances when he wasn’t looking. The deep gruff tone to his voice was incredibly sexy; you could tell his nose had been broken on more than one occasion but that just made him more attractive to you.

Jamie let him teach you the rules and regulations of the game. She knew he would have to get close, possibly put his hands on you to show you some things. She kind of had a feeling you might be into Frank.

“Is THIS why you wanted me to join?!” You whispered yelled into her ear.

Jamie’s lips curled into a sly smile. “Whaaaat? Nothing wrong with a little handsome scenery. If I wasn’t married, I’d ride Billy like a rented mule but I thought Frank seemed more like your type.” She said.

Looking over at Frank and Billy talking, you bit back a smile and turned back to talk to Jamie. “Frank is very handsome and he’s very sweet. He has sadness in his eyes though.”

After you said that, Jamie went on to tell you that Frank had a family. He had a wife and two kids. Billy had told her what happened to them, helped Frank get even for what those assholes did but it’s not like it brings them back.

That story broke you. To have your whole family taken from you and there was nothing you could do to stop it sounded excruciating. You had lost a baby but nothing like what Frank had been through.

Billy and Frank were still talking.

“Frankie…” Said Billy.

Frank, continuing to practice, replied, “Yeah…what is it, Bill?”

“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that y/n has a little bit of a crush on you.” Billy said with a wide Cheshire cat smile.

Frank took a glance over his shoulder at you.

“Ya think so huh? Well you would notice that, right Bill?” Said Frank. “She is beautiful but her eyes are sad. Wonder what happened to her?”

Your first week of playing darts, you had a little too much beer and told Billy about your divorce, your miscarriage, and how your ex walked out on you. It probably wasn’t one of your finer moments but it was out there now and you couldn’t take it back.

Anger stretched across Frank’s face. “Fuckin’ scumbag.” He growled.

Billy had a serious tone to his voice. “Look Frankie, she's experienced loss too albeit a little different from yours…you should talk to her. Plus, she blushes every time you look at her.”

Frank stopped throwing darts, looked at Billy and replied, “A loss is a loss Bill, it hurts no matter what. Yeah, maybe I will talk to her.”

**********

You and Frank continued to dance around each other for another few weeks. They were filled with stolen glances and smiles. Frank did give you a few lessons on how to throw a little better.

You could feel his warm breath against the top of your ear, the way his shoulder touched yours when he would stand behind you, and the gravelly tone to his voice gave you goosebumps as he was giving you pointers.

“Good…line it up now, yeah? That’s it. Now remember, a short hard flick of the wrist and…let it go, sweetheart. That’s better, stable grip and not too tight. Attagirl.” He said with a smirk.

It wasn’t easy to get a smile out of Frank but it looked good on him. You, on the other hand, were elated after hitting three bullseyes in a row.

After taking a sip of beer, Frank asked, “You been divorced long? Sorry, I’m not exactly subtle. Bill mentioned it to me.”

“Yeah, I told Billy a lot that night, didn’t I.” You said, slightly embarrassed.

“Bill has a big mouth sometimes but he’s trying to help.” He said. “He’s tryin’ to play matchmaker is what he’s doin’.”

Heat rose to your cheeks, you felt butterflies in your stomach, and warmth stretched across your chest. You tried to cover your face a little so Frank couldn’t see you blushing.

Frank brought up your divorce but you decided against talking about his family; maybe you would just let him bring it up if he ever felt comfortable enough to.

Noticing it was a little too quiet in the bar, you took a sip from your glass and looked around. No one from your team was in sight, not Jamie, not Billy…nobody. You only saw members of the team you were supposed to be playing in a few minutes.

“Frank?” You asked.

“Yeah sweetheart?” Asked Frank, holding the dark and aiming it at the target.

“Where…where did everyone go?” You asked.

With narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow, Frank took a quick look around the bar, then took a look outside. Billy’s car was gone and so was Jamie’s. Frank stormed back inside and took out his phone as you tried to stifle a smile.

“I’ll kill him; he’s my ride home.” Said Frank.

Frank stepped away so you couldn’t really hear his conversation with Billy.

As Frank walked back to where you were standing, you asked, “What did he say? Where are they?”

Frank smirked, putting his phone back in his pocket, he replied, “Well, he said he’s not telling us where they went, that they forfeited the match, and we should relax, have a drink and get to know each other a little better. He’ll be back later to get me.”

“They forfeited!? I HATE losing! Jamie knows that I HATE to lose!” You said with clenched fists and through gnashed teeth.

“I hate to lose; Bill does too but he always said if it was for the greater good then it was ok.” Frank said in a low voice with a slight smile.

You smiled warmly at him. “You must be the greater good for him then.”

Frank inched closer, you could feel his warm breath against your eyelashes as he replied, “I guess I am. He’s a good friend.” Pointing at your glass and walking away from you, toward the bar, he asked, “You ready for a refill, sweetheart?”

For the first time in a long time, you had gone through a stretch of time without thinking about your ex-husband or feeling sorry for yourself.

Maybe you were finally ready to move on with your life and enjoy the little things in it like darts with friends and drinks with a handsome man with kind brown eyes.

“Oh…yes please. I am…very ready.” You said softly.

You were definitely excited for more nights like this.

Tag List: @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialend @k-marzolf @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf @danzer8705 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @mysteriouslydeafeningwerewolf

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @jvanilly @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend @russosafehaven @mrsbillyrusso @ittybxttykxttytxtty

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

#frank castle #frank castle x reader #frank castle x female reader #frank castle x you #frank castle x y/n #frank castle fanfiction #billy russo #frank castle imagine #winter sleepover 2024 #ericca answers

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talisman975 · 7 months ago

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Credit to @trippy-maskow

🎶You see tonight, it could go either way

Hearts balanced on a razor blade

We are designed to love and break and to rinse and repeat it all again🎶

Credit to @joe-myosotis

🎶I get stuck when the world's too loud

And things don’t look up when you’re going down

I know your arms are reaching out from somewhere beyond the clouds🎶

Credit to @nova-streyart

🎶You make me feel like my troubled heart is a million miles away

You make me feel like I’m drunk on stars and we’re dancing out in the space

Celestial! Celestial!🎶

Credit to @goop-juice

🎶I see the light shining through the rain, a thousand colors in a brighter shade

Needed to rise from the lowest place

There’s silver lining that surrounds the grey🎶

Credit to @the-cosmos-withinus

🎶When I get lost, will you come back around?

Things don’t look up when you’re going down

I know your arms, they are reaching out from somewhere beyond the clouds🎶

Credit to @xxlemon-chanxx

🎶You make me feel like my troubled heart is a million miles away

You make me feel like I’m drunk on stars and we’re dancing out in the space

Celestial! Celestial! Celestial!🎶

Credit to @slightly-gay-pogohammer and @enchantedchocolatebars

🎶We were made to be nothing more than this

Finding magic in all the smallest things

The way we notice, that’s what really matters

Let’s make tonight go on and on and on🎶

Credit to @welcome-home-official

🎶(You make me feel!) We were made to be nothing more than this

Finding magic in all the smallest things

(You make me feel!) The way we notice, that’s what really matters

Let’s make tonight go on and on and on🎶

Credit to @beeb-o

🎶You make me feel like my troubled heart is a million miles away

You make me feel like I’m drunk on stars and we’re dancing out in the space

Celestial! Celestial! Celestial!🎶

Credit to @anona1-mous

🎶We were made to be nothing more than this

Finding magic in all the smallest things

The way we notice, that’s what really matters

Let’s make tonight go on and on and on🎶

🎶CELESTIAL!🎶

Note: I would like to thank this Belos tribute post to everyone credited who brought to life these incredible art of Philip at his most human, and I would like to thank everyone who showed their support for this amazing event!

This BelosFansTakeover may be done, but feel free to keep the tag alive as long as you wish!

Belos may be dead in canon, but as long as his fans keep around, think of him in our spirits and love and our work, he stays alive to us.

So share Philip’s determination! No matter how many times antis want to stomp on us or push us around, Belos and his fans shall stay alive no matter what!

#belosfanstakeover #my post #toh #emperor belos #philip wittebane #toh belos #toh philip #toh emperor belos #toh phillip wittebane #Spotify

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gretavanmoon · 1 month ago

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an omnipresent force • ch 4

Chapter 4 - DARK ALLIANCE

Jake x female reader

Words: 13K

A/N: Semi-AU// Set six years in the future, the world has decided to cast humankind aside, starting with the poisonous entities that are destroying her the most.

*Thank you to everyone who has shown support for this story that goes a little bit against the grain. I so truly appreciate your little messages of reaction and interest, it's truly what makes me want to keep telling the tale. xoxoxo

Warnings: Dystopian Horror, Cursing, Crying, Suspense, Feelings of Fear and Uncertainty, An Apocalyptic World, Violence (& mention of firearms), Kidnapping, Blood, Death & Dying, Lying, Attacks, Deceit, Panic, Mental Anguish. Smut: Kissing, Heavy Pining, Light Touching

JAKE

“Jake they’re right behind us…” I hear Y/N whisper from over my shoulder as we traipse through the thick field of grasses. A quick glance behind me shows that she’s right- three of the hooded guards are rushing behind us, their bodies floating a bit more quickly than us on our two legs.

“Fuck,” I gasp, trying my best to pick up the pace and catch up with Sam and Danny who are just a bit ahead of us trying to pull away at fallen branches and thick foliage. I pull her along behind me, just as she had pulled me through the building that’s now lying as a pile of rubble in the distance.

My mind is rushing with what to do, where to go as I feel them closing in on us in the dusk of the evening. Do we keep running? Do we hide? Do we turn around and fight? Every single survival movie I’d ever seen comes rushing back to my memory, but I’m left without a shred of an idea from the pure exhaustion that I feel in my bones, lulling my mind into a blur of confusion and panic again. I’m smarter than this, I’m better than this… think, Jake…

And then, as if our minds are still tied together with an invisible rope, Sam points to a tree with low branches a bit in the distance, and immediately I know that climbing it will give us an advantage. I nod to him as we duck under a thick thistle, thorns catching my ugly gray sweatshirt as I feel the sweat beginning to pool on my face.

“Can you climb?” I whisper as quietly as I can to Y/N, watching as Sam uses Danny’s shoulders as leverage to climb and sturdy himself atop the lowest branch.

“Yes,” she says with confidence, watching as Sam gets his balance and jumps on the branch a few times to test its integrity. Thankfully, the cover of trees has concealed us for just enough time to climb ten or twelve feet high into the tree, all of us running on enough adrenaline to not be afraid of falling. I reach out my hand and help Y/N out onto the highest branch we can reach, and make sure my brothers are safely hidden, as well. I get my balance and hunker down, trying to calm my breathing so as not to give away our location. The air is still blowing cold, and I wonder if these beings have any power to find our hiding place with anything other than sight, but I can’t think of that right now. I’ve got to stay tactful.

As the four of us perch on our respective branches, we watch as the four beings cross below us, their hoods and cloaks still covering their bodies as the thorn bushes are no match for the material they’re made from. I hold my breath as we try to stay as still as statues. I hear them begin to communicate, using a language I’ve never heard before with sounds that don’t sound anything like a human being’s. I’m terrified as I watch them below us, scrambling around as they realize they’ve lost our trail.

I cover my mouth with my hand as I try and calm myself, my heart beating from my chest as I realize these beings are mirror images of the ones that adorn the cover of our first album.

They’re real, and they’re right fucking in front of us, trying to do anything but share their wisdom around a stupid campfire.

Their noises are like the screams of ten people, each one emitting a screech while simultaneously the lowest, deepest bellow. I feel the branches barely shake as we all shudder with fear, and I glance to my brothers, seeing that they’re shaken with just as much terror as I am.

I feel the branch shake more as the leaves rustle, and my head darts sideways as I realize Danny has lost his balance, holding on for dear life as the thin branch he is standing on has begun to break. “Daniel!” I squeal as I reach out for him, my hand only barely gripping onto his sweatshirt as the branch finally gives way and his fingers slip from their desperate grasp. All the breath leaves my lungs as I watch him tumble through the leaf-covered branches, Sam even falling a few feet just from the knee-jerk reaction of trying to catch him as he falls.

All three of the beings look up to us, and I know our cover is blown. They rush to gather right where Danny is falling to, his hands and arms reaching out at every turn to try and stop his own fall, but his body weight is no match. He falls with a light thud onto the thick grass, and I watch as the hooded figures swarm him on the ground, their coverings a quick blur as the wind blows them.

“Daniel!!” Sam wretches as he begins lowering himself quickly, branch by branch. I feel the draw to do the same, I can’t stand by and let them be taken. I feel a fire beginning to burn within myself, much the same as I would guess Y/N felt as she watched these same motherfuckers attack me in the hall just an hour ago. Don’t ask me how I knew it, but I could tell that she was preparing herself to jump just the same as I was.

“Stay here,” I say to her with a harsh look of ordinance before I begin lowering myself down the damp bark of the tree branches, completely unknowing of what was happening below me. All I know is that I’m not getting separated from them again. I’m not losing them again.

“No!” she cries. “I’m going with you! I’m not staying here and watching you get–”

She can’t even finish her sentence as I watch her eyes well with terrified tears, still red and blotched from her cry earlier. I stand on a branch a few feet below her, turning to face her again. “If you stay here, you might be able to come and help us, or you might be able to find your Paps… they might not even know you’re up here. Just stay, please.” She doesn’t realize that I can’t even bear the thought of those things getting ahold of her. Fuck, I don’t even know this woman, and I already don’t want anything happening to her.

“Jake!!” I hear a curdled scream from Danny on the ground below me, and I jump right back into lowering myself back down the slippery branches. My arms and legs carry me down fast, just like they’d do when I was a kid and we were late getting home for curfew. The first thing I hear is the brash and mind-bending sounds that are coming from those creatures, all surrounding Sam and Danny on the ground. I nearly vomit with fear, and the need to protect my little brothers. I feel my fists ball up, my fingernails crushing into my own skin as my body lurches forward, digging the toes of my boots into the tall grass and dirt to get to them.

My hands make contact, my head in a rush of overwhelming adrenaline as I feel the fabric of the coat of the one I’d decided to tackle. Just touching it with the palms of my hands burns, but not in a way that makes me jump back in pain. It’s almost like it’s emanating a buzzed glow of energy, lightly zapping at my hands as I push it off of Daniel. I thrash my entire body weight onto it, pushing it over into the grass and expecting to finally be face to face with it, but all I see under the hood is darkness. It’s faceless.

I expect it to become violent with me, retaliating against my show of authority, but it doesn’t. It lies on the ground as it’s body thrashes and shakes below me, eventually teetering out into a somewhat peaceful relaxed position. And the sound it’s making suddenly isn’t haunting, anymore. Suddenly it sounds familiar, speaking words I recognize in a comforting timbre as I’m struck with surprise. My hands gripped hard on it’s chest, it speaks to me,

“Who… is the wiser… to help us steer?” it asks gently, it’s face still invisible to me.

“What?!” I cry, the familiar words hitting me in the chest.

“You… you are the wiser…” it answers itself.

I bite my lips, remembering all the information I’d been given as of late. They want Josh, they want us for the knowledge that they assume we possess. They think we are the wiser, able to use us for the preservation of their own world.

It’s then that I know for a fact that these beings must most definitely be those who live with one foot in our realm, and one foot in the other.

“I don’t know shit! And neither do my brothers!” I yell in its face, pinning my hands down harder into its burning chest. “Let us go!”

“You are the wiser…” it repeats, it’s voice sounding like an angelic plea. “You will steer our land of infinite wonders… that lies a billion lightyears from here…”

What in the everliving fuck is this thing talking about? Just then, the burning sensation on my hands becomes more intense, and I can suddenly hear my brothers struggling alongside me with the others. My hands can hardly stand the buzzing heat, but I try my best not to let up on it, keeping it pinned beneath me. My teeth grit as I fight against the raging fire I’m holding on to, to the point where I feel my hands begin to blister.

“Ah, the wounded warrior…” it says with a sly laugh, as if it’s taunting my pain. “Your world is riddled with scars, come, come with us…” I want nothing more than to strangle the thing with my bare hands, but I can’t seem to move them.

A strange softness overcomes me as I listen to it, and I feel as if I broke my concentration, I could float away. My body feels lighter, and my mind is suddenly filled with clarity. It’s voice speaks to me like a siren song, luring me in to listen to it, hypnotizing me…

“Get the hell away from him!” Y/N’s voice breaks me from my trance, and my body is knocked sideways and off of the being. I land in the grass, the wetness dripping off of the blades and onto my face, waking me up and bringing me back to reality. I sit up in surprise, finding Y/N straddling the same being that I just was, except it’s bony hands and fingers are now wrapped around her throat. It slaps her, grips her wrists, wraps its hands in her hair with force as it tries to undo itself from her reign.

And I’m filled with protective rage, all over again.

“Y/N, NO!!” I slip as I stand, darkness now falling around us. I reach underneath her arms, lifting her off of it and thrusting her back onto the ground. “Its gonna hurt you!!” But just as I get my words out, I watch from my peripheral as something is shot directly through the chest of the being that we were just fighting. It screams its terrifyingly haunting sound, causing the other two to repeat after it. Its chest caves, leaving it quickly lifeless as its limbs fall weakly to the ground.

Danny and Sam take the opportunity to rise up from their own physical altercations, and just as quickly as the first had happened, two more long objects fly straight through the chests of the other two, making them land with harsh thuds on the wet ground.

I hear Sam yelp from fear, falling as he crab-crawls backward to us. The four of us sit stunned, looking onto the beings in complete terror as we see them lifeless and unmoving on the ground, the thin sticks emerging straight from their chest cavities.

“What the fuck, what the fuck? Did something just–” Sam pants, his voice wrought with fear as he grips at his own chest and throat.

I can’t breathe, I can hardly even speak as I slowly inch closer to them, trying my best to get a closer look. “Jake, no! Back up!” Danny says through heavy breaths. “They could still be–”

“It’s arrows,” Y/N says quietly from behind us, confirming my suspicion. “Someone shot them…”

“Who did?! What did?!” Sam panics. I begin to shake my head side to side to signal that I don’t know, when I hear what sounds like horse hooves racing on the ground behind us. My first instinct is to run to Y/N, standing in front of her to block her from whatever new impending danger is about to face us. Danny and Sam stand quickly, too, joining at my sides.

The past ten minutes have been like a fever dream, pulling and pushing me through a hundred emotions one after another, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw that very second. My hand reaches behind me and finds Y/N’s, gripping her fingers and interlacing them with mine out of pure fear.

In front of us, in a glittering red cloud of dust, appears a man on a white horse. Two men, dressed completely in black, are walking behind him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Danny mutters.

“Stay away from us,” I warn him, my voice nervous and shaky, but commanding nonetheless. Y/N’s fingers squeeze into mine.

The man is ethereal, his skin a rich tone, glittering specks of orange and red as it reflects off the last bit of setting sunlight. His lower half is dressed in white leather and gossamer, with shining gold jewelry adorning his body. His dark hair reaches all the way down to his waist, and his movements are slow and calculated, powerful and confident.

And there, rested across his back, is a wooden bow.

His eyes jerk to me, bright orange as he finally makes sense of my threat. It’s then that I realize he only has one eye. He tilts his head back and laughs, showing all of his bright white teeth. He steps off of his horse, gripping it’s reigns in his hand as he begins stepping toward us, making us retreat.

“We said don’t come any closer,” Danny says from beside me. It’s then that I remember the two men behind the man on the horse.

“It’s okay, Jake, he’s on our team,” one of them says as the dust around them settles, the dryness throwing me off as we’re all covered in wet mud. I recognize his voice immediately, as the First.

“Hey, what the fuck are you doing here,” I ask, feeling a little more at ease that now the men I know only as the First and Second have found us. “What the hell is happening, who is this?”

“Do you not recognize me, Jacob?” the man laughs as he runs his hand along the mane of the horse. “Don’t any of you recognize me?” He glares at each of us intently, his one glowing eye bouncing from one to the next as he looks a little offended.

“I… think I could take a wild guess…” Sam admits under his breath.

The man drops the reigns and steps forward, pulling the arrows from the beings’ chests with ease as he inspects them, sliding them all back into his quiver. I take notice that there isn’t any blood covering them. “Don’t be shy, gentlemen, you did only write a song about me. A quite catchy one, at that. Lots of emotion, huh? What, does the steed and the bow not give it away?”

The four of us stand stunned as we watch him, the same thought flowing through all of our minds.

“Are we being fucking Punk’d right now?” Danny whispers into my ear, making me huff a disbelieving laugh through my nose.

The man glides over closer to our group, standing tall and confident as he places his hands on his hips. I watch behind him as the First and Second rest an arm against his horse. It only just now hits me that I can see their faces, reminding me that they are brothers.

“It’s alright, I know this must seem a bit… unreal,” the man boasts, wiping his hands together. I’m struck by his grit, mixed in with the right amount of a strange flawless beauty that I’ve never come in contact with before. He most definitely doesn’t walk this earth naturally. “But don’t be afraid of me, I beg you… I’m here to help. Just as Josiah just told you, I’m on your team.”

Josiah.

“Jake how the fuck did that guy know your name? Who is this? What the hell is going on, here?” Sam asks with a bit of annoyance in his tone.

“Sam, Danny, listen to me, I can explain all of this…” I try and calm him, releasing Y/N’s hand from my grasp.

“Yeah, you better explain because I think we almost just got killed by these fucking things, and then again by this guy,” Sam shouts, throwing his hands into the air. “He shot them with fucking arrows, Jake! They almost hit us!”

“Whoa, whoa, my aim isn’t that bad,” the man interrupts us. “I put them to sleep for you, didn’t I?”

“I’m talking to my fucking brother, please, sir, can you just–” Sam says, disbelief and aggravation written all over his face, and Danny’s too. The scene that’s unfolding around us looks and seems absolutely absurd.

“Listen, remember just a while ago I told you that there is more to this than we think there is…? Remember I told you we are in for a lot worse than we realize, and Daniel, how I was telling you that your thoughts about our music are very much real?” I try and begin to explain, knowing that I could sit here for hours before I get all the pieces put together.

They do nothing but nod, their eyes anxiously jumping from me to the new people behind us.

“Apparently uh, apparently you were exactly right, Danny. That world we created, or thought we created in our heads, in our music… it exists. In another realm, right alongside ours. Josh told me, right before the night they all came and took us from the cabin, that his inspiration was drawn from nightmares that he’s had for decades. All this time, he thought he was writing music about an imaginary place that his nightmares showed him, turns out that he is somehow able to see one that truly exists.”

The two of them stand and study me, looks of near entertainment daring to push through their features.

“You’re fucking joking, right? Like this is a joke?” Sam says through a smile.

“That’s exactly what I thought, too, when I learned about it all,” I say, glancing back to the brothers still standing by the horse. “Our world is killing us, right? Using the technology we created to exterminate mankind… well, that realm that exists alongside us can’t survive without our world, and neither can its inhabitants. And vice versa. So, the ones who inhabit that world,” I motion to the three beings on the ground beside us, “have been sent to collect us. The ones who can’t be infected by the rash, the ones who haven’t been victim to the extermination. And more importantly, the ones who they think know exactly what is going to happen next in the Infisonicosm.”

Danny erupts with laughter, just as I thought he would. Sam, though, studies me intently as his eyes squint.

“Nightmares,” he whispers. “All of that, that whole thing we created, was because Josh had nightmares?”

“Most of it,” I say. “Some of it was from our minds, if you remember…” Sam nods in what I feel to be a bit of understanding.

“So you,” Danny trudges forward, pushing himself between Sam and I, “What are you, the Archer? That dumbass character that we wrote about and I dressed up as in that video?!” he mocks. “Yeah fucking right, this is ridiculous.” I can tell Danny is in denial, which throws me off, given that he has been the one unraveling all of the ties of our music the past couple of months.

“Might sound ridiculous, but it’s true, my guy,” the Second says, reminding me of that first night in the dark room when they told me everything.

“And who the hell are you guys?” Danny presses. “Guards from the pods? Why should we trust you?”

“They were the ones that found me the first night we were taken, Daniel. They found me and told me everything. They were hired by the others, but they’re here to help us. They’re playing devil’s advocate,” I explain, earning two nods from the brothers. “They used to be fans of ours, actually.”

“Fans, fuck that’s convenient. And you, Archer Man, why are you helping us? If you’re from that world, why did you just kill these three things?” Danny presses. I feel Y/N at my back again, her presence instantly calming me.

“I’m part of the resistance, always have been,” he says nonchalantly with a shrug. “I’ve already been through this once, during the First Battle, the one you guys ended up writing about. Well, me and Sparrow, of course,” he rambles. “But now my people are using humans to their advantage so we don’t take as severe of a loss as we did last time. They’re taking your people and transforming you to bring you into our world, making you forget all about your own. Wiping all your memories of this place. And I promise you, though our world has it’s perks, you’d much rather stay here, even though Mother Nature is trying to push you off…” The man is explaining this all to us as if it’s second nature to him, which, now I gather is probably true. “Oh, and I didn’t kill these things. I told you, I put them to sleep. They can’t die all the way, because they inhabit both this world, and their own. They’re only half-alive over there.”

“This is fucking ridiculous…” Sam says with a huff, running a hand over his mouth as he turns away from us all. Danny just stands dumbfounded with his hands on his hips.

“So wait,” I hear Y/N’s quiet but stern voice speak up as she walks to the man. “You said they’re transforming our people, what do you mean? Wiping our memories?”

“Yes, that’s right,” the Archer clears his throat. “There are these… buildings where your people are being taken, elderly, from what I hear. They’re wiping their memories, taking all of their pasts away so that when they bring them permanently to the realm I am from, they won’t have a clue about the past life they lived here, on earth. Will force them to learn the ways of that land, and force their allegiance to it. Heartbreaking, really.”

“Paps,” I hear her whisper before turning to me. “That’s where they were taking him before the sink hole took…” she trails off, her mind obviously racing. I go to her again, taking her elbows in my hands.

“He might be there, Y/N, now we have more information, now we have help… we can find him…” I reassure her. “Hopefully we can get to him before–”

“This your mate, Jacob?” the Archer interrupts us.

“Uhh, no, no… just… just a friend,” I stammer, both of our faces turning bright red. “We ehm. We were kidnapped the same night, put into the same pod.”

I watch as the Archer slowly walks to her, his eyes never leaving hers. He towers over her, and at first she looks a little scared, until he gently takes her hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

“Well, she is beautiful… very intelligent, I can tell. Resourceful, fearless… I can see your aura, Ms…”

“Y/N,” she replies softly, her cheeks still bright pink.

“Y/N,” he repeats, still holding her hand. “You’ve got more inside you than you let on, don’t you…”

I stand by and watch as she pulls a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I–I don’t think so?”

“Mm,” he goes on, his thumb rubbing over the back of her hand, “I believe you’re full of a great amount of ferocity, zeal and passion. Remind me a lot of my Sparrow… you better take heed, Jacob, or another Immune might realize what’s in front of him before you do.”

My jaw nearly drops at his words, and I go to speak up but he interrupts me again. “Samuel, Daniel, are you going to spend the entire evening walking around with your hands behind your heads trying to make sense of all this? Or are you going to believe us, believe your brother, and allow us to get on with our journey?” the Archer asks as he picks up the three beings with ease, draping them across the back of his horse as they sleep.

Y/N makes short eye contact with me but shies away; I’m glad she does, I wouldn’t know what to say, anyway.

“You seriously expect us to believe all this, Jake?” Sam says. “This is all ridiculous, you have to understand that, right?”

I give Sam one last long glance as I return my attention to the Archer. “Do you know where our other brother is? And the rest of our family?”

“Not exactly, but if I had to guess, they’ve already taken your brother Josh into their protection. Deeper than they had taken you, simply because he was the one having the dreams,” he explains. “Now can we get going? We need to bed down before nightfall.”

Y/N

I’m. Fucking. Filthy.

I’m tired, my legs feel like jello, and I’m starving. I feel as though I haven’t had a shower in weeks, when it was only just a couple of days ago that they let us shower in the pods. I haven’t shaved my legs or armpits in forever…my nails need trimmed so badly it hurts, and my hair probably looks worse for wear than my pimple-covered face does. Gross. Just really fucking gross.

But I’m alive.

I pulled Jake free from the sinkhole and away from danger. And he, in turn, pulled me away from the danger of those…things.

The Archer had been leading us through the woods for about half an hour now, likely looking for a place to make camp or…something. The two guards that Jake knows walk alongside us with their weapons drawn, and their heads on constant lookout. Sam and Danny haven’t talked since we left, just walking along, stomping their feet and pulling at sticks and branches as they pass them by. I can tell they’re both mad. Upset, confused, pissed off… Hell, I would be too, if I were them. Knowing everything they had ever worked for had come down to this: walking through the woods with some mythical creature that they thought they had created in their minds.

My thoughts are frivolous and a little bit jumbled, and I know the other guys are having just as hard a time with this as I am, maybe even worse. I guess this is why Jake had told me to not show my tattoos, at the risk of one of the beings seeing them and knowing that I may have some kind of connection with the lore, too. He was trying to protect me.

I start thinking back to when Jake was trying to get me to understand, without outright telling me. When he was talking about The Battle of Evermore, using it as an analogy and trying to get me to put the pieces together myself. Make sense of what Josh had been unknowingly doing all those years, and why he did it. Hell, the amount of music that’s spawned over the years from fictional times and places is enormous, are they at risk, too? Are all of these places in time connected? Could these other artists have had the same dreams that Josh did?

I can’t think like that, my brain will explode. Instead, I turn my attention over to the only other person whose mind is probably right on track with mine, finding him already meeting me at my side.

“Hey uh, about what he said earlier, about another Immune getting to you–”

“Don’t worry about it, Jake. That was… really odd of him to say,” I try and brush off the interaction, when in all reality I want to harness this overwhelming emotion that I’ve noticed every time I’m in Jake’s presence.

He nods, his eyes heavy. “I just don’t want you to feel threatened by him, or anything. Uneasy, you know? He seems a bit–”

“Overconfident? Yeah, I agree,” I laugh, trying to stay quiet. “But no, I don’t feel that way. I can tell he’s harmless. Even though wrapping my head around who he is and why he’s here is a bit fucking…”

“Yeah, I know. This shit is making me feel crazy. But, good. Last thing we need is me having to fight a guy twice my size for offending you,” he chuckles, sending a shockwave right through me.

I laugh along with him. “Now why would you have to do that?”

He gives me the tiniest smile I’ve ever seen from him, and one sweet little shoulder shrug. I can tell he’s feeling shy, or holding something back from me. Probably the same thing I’m holding back from him. We stay quiet for a few minutes as we trudge on, our fingers barely brushing against each other’s every few steps. His hair is tangled at his neck, but still pulled back into a messy knot. Though none of us have eaten in days, and the sun wants to burn us more than ever, his skin still looks glowy and healthy. I can’t lie- right here in this very moment, I find him more attractive than I ever have, and that’s saying something.

It’s funny, years ago as we were all heavily in our lust for every man in this band, that’s all it was. Just rockstar lust. Screaming over photos and buckling at the knees during shows. Of course we were all enamored by the people that they were, and the things that they stood for, but now, as we’re all in our thirties, a new thought process has taken over the mindset that I lived in for so many years. Now they’re all grown adults, fully self-aware and sure of the men that they are. A bit more poised, and no-bullshit with their attitudes. A little rustier in their movements, a little gruff in their appearances. I’d always heard of what generally happens to men when they hit thirty, but damned if I’ve ever seen it come to life like it has in these three.

I just hope that Josh is doing the same somewhere safe, keeping true to himself and not in any danger.

“How do we know these people aren’t luring us there? How do we know this isn’t all a trick to get us where they want us?” Jake breaks me from my thoughts.

“I dunno…” I whisper, taking another look at the Archer still ahead of us. “You trust those other two, right? I guess we just have to trust the fact that they might know where Josh and your family are. If he can get us that, nothing else matters.”

“And Paps,” he adds without a thought. I bite my cheeks in, stifling a punch to the gut.

“And Paps.”

—--

The Archer didn’t take us to a camp. No, he brought us to a large, abandoned home balanced on a hillside equipped with a wraparound porch and what was once a koi pond out front. The home stood by itself, we’d passed no neighbors or other structures for about a mile. Obviously, this family had money, and just from the looks of it, you could tell they stayed alive inside this home for as long as they possibly could.

Stone made up the foundation of the beautiful A-frame home, and a heavy oak front door adorned the front. I caught sight of three generators underneath the porch, and I wondered if they lived long enough to use all of the fuel from them.

“We’re staying here? How do we know the people who lived here aren’t still inside?” Sam asks, the first time I’ve heard his voice in a couple of hours.

“Because I’ve checked. Do you think I would bring you to a place that was still inhabited and let your mortal self have to deal with digging graves this evening? I would never, Samuel,” the Archer bellows as he hops from his horse, his flowing sheer robes falling as gently as snowflakes around him as he lands. I’m starting to like this guy’s witty personality. “You will bed here. Get some rest, we’ve got a long few days ahead of us.”

“Why are you doing this, why are you helping us?” Danny perks up as I watch the two guards rush up the porch stairs. “For all we know you could be pretending and have plans to trap us all in that house without food or water and let us die. For all we know this could all be a ploy and you do work for those other guys.”

I watch Jake’s eyebrows raise in an agreeing question.

The Archer rolls his eyes as he runs a hand through his long hair, adjusting the bow that rests on his back. “Listen kid, I’ve got a long, long story. And I’ve been around long enough to know where and how to spend my time. I can’t die, do you get that? Unless something kills me in the other world, I’m stronger than ever here. I’ve spent hundreds of years fighting against those godforsaken people that rule my world. It’s tyranny, it’s control… and now that your world has decided to say fuck you human beings, my people have taken their chance at even more control than they’ve ever dreamed of. All at the expense of you.” The Archer is nose-to-nose with Danny now, pressing his pointer finger into his chest. I can feel the rage dripping off of him, and I know that Sam and Jake are ready to jump within a second’s notice. But Danny stays strong, not backing down.

The Archer realizes that and turns away, going back to his horse’s saddle as he continues to talk. “Most of my years have been spent protecting your world against any overlapping with mine. I run interference, I control what needs to be controlled, assisting your people if I ever catch word of my rulers overstepping their boundaries. Over the years, I’ve made progress. Caught onto things and stopped them before they could happen. I’ve managed to keep it at bay.”

“Why haven’t they tried to kill you?” I ask.

He smiles, reaching out his long arm and running his soft hand along my cheek. “They know better.”

I feel all of my insides grow weak and I shudder at his gentle touch. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that this man rather enjoys my aura.

“All clear up here, Odin!” I hear one of the guards interrupt our moment.

“Thank you,” the Archer replies, as I learn he has a name. “Now, Daniel, if you’ll follow our friends up the stairs to the place we’ve prepared you, I’d love to get my horse to some water.”

—--

“Come on, baby… come on…” I watch Sam coax the generator as he primes it, hoping and praying to start it up long enough to power the lights on. He jerks on the pull-start over and over before it finally starts running, a sound that I feel like I haven’t heard in decades. His face lights up with joy, and his smile reaches from ear to ear, but his happiness is short-lived, as the generator putts out after only a few seconds.

“Son of a bitch!” he yells. “Y/N are you sure you made sure there was connection?”

“Yes, I’m positive!” I yell back at him as I try not to laugh at his expense. He stands up with his hand on his hip, his free hand coaxing his beard that’s gotten fairly long, now.

“Sam, what’s the big deal? It’s not going to work…” I hear Jake say from up on the back porch.

“Yes it will. There, free-standing water tank, still half-full of water. Water pipe from tank to house. Generator connected to water pipe. Non-mechanical pressure system, boom. Water in the shower,” he spats at Jake, using his hands to talk. “This isn’t technology, Jake. It’s just moving parts powered by sparks and gasoline…”

I look up to Jake and Danny above me, leaning on the banister of the porch. He’s not really wrong…

“Your attempts are futile, Samuel. I doubt there is much fuel still left in that generator,” I hear Odin from the wooded area behind the house. “Come now, this fire is much better suited to assist you in your human needs than that old machine…”

As we cut our losses and give up, we walk behind the house to the wooded area where Odin and the two guards have prepared a fairly large fire. It looks as though they’ve salvaged a few things from the home, some canned goods and two or three jugs of water. I can smell the food already being heated, and I realize then how dehydrated we probably all are. We all wearily gather around it, taking places on the damp ground as the Second, as Jake had referred to him, hands us small bowls of some kind of cooked beans.

“What’s your name?” I ask him, getting comfortable with my back against the trunk of a tree.

“Me? Oh, I’m Robert. Robbie, if you want. That’s my older brother Josiah,” he responds, resting his hand on his belt as I take the bowl from him.

“See, Jake? They have names…” I tease as Jake comes and takes a spot beside me, his shoulder pressing harshly into mine.

“I think I’m still gonna call them The First and The Second,” he huffs. “Seems more fitting, seeing as how they beat my ass a couple times back in the pods.”

“Hey now, now, we told you that was coming,” Josiah interjects with a mouthful of beans. “We had to make it look like we were doing our job. Just be glad the sinkhole came when it did, we’d probably still be whooping your ass in there,” he laughs jokingly.

“From the bowing earth,” Danny interrupts solemnly from across the flames. “Uprises the weeds of war, caving the floor… a renaissance born.”

We all are struck into silence as Danny recites the old lyrics, his eyes boring into the fire as his hands stay wrapped around the bowl of food that he’s yet to touch.

“The earth is bowing, the floor… it’s literally caving. It’s–it’s the sink holes…” he reiterates, making my face feel like it has turned to stone. “We wrote about… we wrote about this, too…”

“Precisely,” Odin whispers. “A bit prophetic, don’t you think?”

“Fuck…” Jake whispers beside me, obviously not yet having made that connection, either. “What the hell else are we going to learn?”

“There’s much to learn, Jacob. Much for you all to learn,” Odin says as he adjusts himself on the ground. “I know you’re all full of questions, please, now is the time to ask. And I’ll do my best to answer.”

I look around at the three of them, their faces painted with fifty different emotions as I know they have no idea where to start, so I do.

“You keep mentioning this First Battle, what do you mean by that?” I ask. “Was it really The Battle at Garden’s Gate?”

“Excellent question, my darling,” Odin says, crossing his legs. I hear Jake huff a breath of annoyance. Hah, good.

“In short, yes. That Battle happened over 500 years ago, when our world was first threatened by another outside force, one that I don’t have time to delve into at this moment. You gentlemen really paid it justice, I will say, through your music. Joshua’s recount of his dreams was quite vivid, if I do say so.”

“We made up a lot of those lyrics while we were high as kites and three bottles of tequila in,” Sam jests, shaking his head. “How does that make sense with what you’re saying?”

“Ah, that may be true Samuel, but I’m sure your eldest brother pushed forth the guidelines for the majority of it, hm? If not filling in the gaps, writing the framework?” Odin says as the fire crackles between us.

Sam nods, “I guess so, yeah.”

“The Battle did actually occur at the iron gates of our Garden, the largest and most wondrous sight your human eyes couldn’t even comprehend. The outside force that threatened us had found a way to infiltrate our realm, seeking nothing more than blood and quick kills. You see, the Garden itself wasn’t just a garden, it was miles and miles of rolling green hills, bursting at the seams with flora and foliage and flowers and weeds, an abundance of life that all existed in harmony. Fields of thorned white roses grew naturally, some growing ten, twenty feet high with their vines all intertwined within one another. And on the other hand, it was also partially covered in thick ice and snow, with crystallized caps and pristine glittering mountaintops that you can hardly fathom with thought. It was beautiful, vast, alive… All of the natural life growing right alongside the roaring, freezing, ice-ridden landscapes.”

“Kind of like how it’s the middle of winter here, now, and the trees are more green than I’ve ever seen them…” Sam says.

“That’s right. It was normal for us, there, but I’m afraid your world is already starting to adopt it, too. This, my friends, will be called your Fifth Season.”

I’m startled, feeling odd now that I realize that the cold winds that blew today are now replaced by a heat that is not coming from the fire.

“The heat from above,” Odin goes on, “will come at night.”

“You’re shitting me…” Danny scoffs with a whisper, shaking his head in disbelief.

“My words are true, Daniel. If I may go on, you all told the stories of the Battle quite well, your imagery, from what I have been shown, illustrated nearly identically to what our lands were left like after the Battle. Dry, deserted, no longer did anything flourish, it’d been burned to ash.”

To wonderlands of ice and snow, in the desert heat where nothing grows…

My mind is absolutely overrun with all of the ties that are being made, with all of the old graphics that went along with this album… the green, the white, the red and the black…

“There was once a temple in the center of the Garden where very few lived, but many passed through. If my memory serves, you all included that image, as well. And, a nice statue-esque depiction of myself looking mighty handsome, I will say…back when my hair was a bit shorter. Though it was destroyed in the Battle, along with big parts of the temple,” Odin recollects. “Many of our ancient writings and teachings are etched in the walls there, still… written in gold.”

I feel Jake’s lungs fill as he sits still beside me, and I can hardly fathom what his mind is learning right now. All of it…

“You, my friends, have to realize that the music you’ve been writing since you were mere children is all centered around the true happenings of our world. So many things intertwine, so many concepts brought to life in your music. It’s astounding, really. And, from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry that my people are now exploiting it,” Odin says with a harsh solemnity in his voice.

“Well we exploited you, in all actuality,” Jake says. “We didn’t know we were making a mockery of your history, we had no clue it was all real.”

Odin smiles. “I wouldn’t say it’s a mockery, Jacob. If anything, you brought an awareness that your audience didn’t even realize they were a part of.”

“Who is Sparrow?” I ask, making every head jerk to look my way. He has mentioned the name twice, now.

“Let me take another wild guess…” Sam interjects.

“My Sparrow,” Odin breathes, recollecting himself to speak more mannerly. “I can honestly say though my ears interpret music differently than humans do, the words and melodies that you all wrote about my sweet lady were very close to the truth.”

I think back to those lyrics now, hearing the sweet acoustic guitar playing in the back of my head.

“Sparrow and I met by happenstance, in the city square ten days before the first Battle. She struck me, even from across the masses of crowds… I was drawn to her. She was only passing through, but somehow, after nearly three days spent locked up together in my quarters, I convinced her to stay. A wild flower, she is. Always blowing across the breeze wherever it decided to take her. And brutal, my,” his brows furrow as he smiles at the memory of her. “More fiery and absurd and hard-headed than any person I’d ever met. Her decisions were her own, then, and no word I would mutter across our pillow could keep her at bay. She decided that she was going to fight, told me that there was nothing keeping her from taking part in the war. Felt it was her duty. Suppose I learned quickly that I cared more for her than she of me, but alas. The sword she carried never left her side during it all as she rode on horseback only at night, surprising the enemy as they slept. All night, she would fight alone, reappearing only as the sun rose to retreat back, letting the rest of us fight while the sun shone. My Sparrow of the Dawn,” he explains, his one bright orange eye flickering in the reflection of the flames as he sits in deep thought. “Now where you all acquired the title of Flower Power, I always have wondered…”

All three of them laugh quietly. “We thought we were hippies, I guess,” Sam chuckles. “Felt fitting, at the time.”

“Is she still alive?” Josiah asks.

“She is. She rarely crosses to this world, she prefers to stay tucked away and safe, until absolutely necessary. I go and see her from time to time. Our love has faltered over the years… grown and subsided and grown again. I’ve come to realize that there is no taming her, and she’s best suited to live her own life, though I would lie mine down before her feet even to this day, if it meant she would stay with me,” he says, swallowing a lump in his throat.

“When did you see her last?” I ask.

“Probably eighteen, nineteen years ago,” he answers. “It’s funny, I suppose the timeline nearly meets of when your brother must have had the dream about her, and you all wrote the song. May have been right as I was seeing her for the last time.” I’m struck with disbelief again, in complete and utter shock of how all of this is mapping out. I wish that we could go to Josh, and he could learn of all of this, I wish he would have been comfortable sharing that he had these dreams at the times he was having them. I feel no shame in setting my bowl to the side, and taking Jake’s hand in my own, as I feel an overwhelming rush of sadness come over him. I know that he is feeling more isolated than ever, without his twin.

He gently lies his head onto my shoulder as Danny and Sam look at us, giving us both pitiful looks of empathy. Their eyes fall as they realize their brother is really just fucking sad. So I gently pat his cheek and pull him further onto my shoulder, surprised and glad that he feels comfortable enough to display himself like this, with me.

“What you gentlemen also need to realize is that the reason my people want to harness your knowledge so intently is that we were well aware there was a prophecy not long after the First Battle was fought, and nearly lost. We knew another was to come, though this one wouldn’t be fought on our soil. The hooded guards, the ones who attacked you earlier and who are now locked away in the basement, there are many of them. Uncountable. They all work for the ones who inhabit the Tower, the ones who rule us so harshly. They are all nearly omniscient, sharing their prophecies and fortunes with one another. There has been a fire burning at the Tower for nearly a millenia, it’s smoke always billowing a clean white. But right before your world decided to wipe herself clean, the smoke from the fires burned black.”

“The new age crisis,” Danny mumbled. “It signaled you that something was about to happen.”

Odin nods. “Yes. And happen, it did. And your brother saw it happening in his dreams nearly what, fifteen years ago? When you wrote that song as young boys… he prophesied it before our rulers even knew about it.”

Jake suddenly rips his head from my shoulder and stands, pulling his hair back with his hands as he stomps around the fire. He stands still for a second, his breath chopped as he looks like he is about to burst into tears. He darts around the side of the house, his sobs already wracking through him as I share a quick look with Danny and Sam before we all stand and follow him. “We’ll be back,” I say to the others before we take off after Jake.

“Go away, I just need a second,” Jake yells at us as we finally find him beside the old koi pond.

“What the fuck is happening,” Sam says rhetorically as he plops down on the ground, his elbows meeting his knees as he curls up around himself. Danny walks to the edge of the old driveway, his fingers interlaced at the back of his head as he stares off into the night sky.

Jake is leaning his hand on the post of the porch, trying to calm his own breathing with his back to the rest of us. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to think. This all feels so surreal, so fake and dreamlike, but again, the fire that’s burning in the yard behind us and the horse that’s tied to the tree five yards away are both very, very real.

I can smell the smoke from it, I can feel the little bit of food being digested in my stomach, I can recognize that these three men that surround me are going through one of the most unreal realizations that they’ve ever encountered in their lives. I can’t even fathom their thought processes right now.

“How did we do that, how did Josh do that,” Danny says as he turns back around to us. “All those years, all that we thought we just made up in our heads because it sounded good…”

“It’s okay, Danny, we’re gonna get it figured out, we’re gonna find Josh,” I try and intervene.

“No, Y/N, it’s not gonna be okay, don’t you see that?” Jake bombards me, taking my shoulders in his firm grip. “There’s nothing we can do to stop this, and Josh might already be too far gone, they probably already have him. And our families, they’re probably–” his face is riddled with confusion and hopelessness, he’s barely holding it together. “We’re fucked, we’re all fucked. The whole world is gone, and we didn’t even know that we knew it was going to happen!” He shudders with fear, and I can feel the guilt in his chest as he yells in my face. I’ve never seen him like this, and I have to admit, he’s scaring me a little.

“Hop off, Jake, calm it,” Sam is suddenly beside us, putting his hand on Jake’s chest. “This isn’t her fault, either.”

Jake huffs a sob as he steps back, running his hands over his face as enraged and guilt-ridden tears fall from his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“It’s okay,” I choke, feeling things calm for just a split second as they all try to breathe. “Listen, guys, I know you all don’t know me, and you probably think I know you more than I actually do, but. There is no way you all could have known that the Earth was going to do this. Honestly. And even if you did, how in the fuck do you think you would have been able to stop it? Huh? ‘Listen to our music… it’s telling the truth! All we’ve created is going to cease to exist!’ No, everyone would have called you completely crazy. So don’t even begin to blame yourselves, this was all going to happen regardless of if you realized your music was foretelling the future or not. All we have is what’s in front of us. We have each other, and we have Odin, and the brothers. And we have a mission. We’re going to find Josh, we’re going to find Paps, and we’re going to find your family. We’re going to keep ourselves alive, and we’re going to find the others like us and get them to a safe place. That’s all we can do. One step at a time…”

I know my words probably carry no weight, but I’ve at least got to try. A tentative plan might give them hope.

It’s quiet as their wheels turn, and Sam and Danny give me slow nods of understanding. “You’re right, you’re right…” they both mutter as they take deep breaths and pat my back reassuringly.

“Go get some sleep, huh?” I give them stern looks, lowering my voice to command them. I know they’re both probably exhausted beyond belief. “Go inside.”

They both stuff their hands in their pockets as they walk up the steps back to the fire, leaving Jake and I in the calmness of the night. I take a seat on the high wall of the koi pond, the grass high around my knees. It’s filled with bugs and loud wildlife, all making simultaneous noises as they take up refuge in the weeds. Jake is still standing nearby, looking out at the night sky and the new moon in the distance.

“I’m scared, Y/N,” he says, refusing to turn and face me. I swallow down his words.

“I am too, Jake. I think we all are.”

He finally turns and comes to join me on the wall, letting his body relax as he takes another deep breath. “You remember how dark our last album got, right? That day that Josh told me everything, all about his dreams, he said he was dreaming about that shit, too. Is this about to get that much worse?”

It’s true, their last album was the darkest, yet. Though Josh’s lyrics were sewn with allusions and metaphors and the like, the themes were heavier than anything they’d ever done. He focused on struggle, he focused on destruction, he focused on death.

“I don’t know, Jake. For all we know, that could already be happening, we could be in the middle of it right now,” I respond, and frankly, the way we are all feeling right now justly mirrors the way listening to that last album felt the first time I heard it. “We’re already surrounded by death and loss, you know?”

He nods again, his eyes never leaving the sky. But then his hand comes to find mine again, just like mine had done earlier with his while we were around the fire. The callouses that once were embedded in his fingertips are a little softer now, I can tell, and the scars that run the length of his left forearm are brighter than ever. In a bold act, I gently run my finger along them, feeling the caverns and healed skin from the stitches he had all those years ago. To my surprise, he lets me. His fingers intertwine with mine in such a way that feels more right than anything I’ve ever felt, more comforting than any contact I’d ever received.

His free hand lifts the sleeve of my dirty gray sweatshirt, revealing all the tattoos of his music that line the length of my arm, and he runs his finger along them, too.

“I can’t believe you followed us, all that time,” he says quietly, the touch of his fingertip sending shivers through me.

I huff a laugh through my nose. “It was the best adventure I ever took myself on, I can promise you that. Ten years of traveling with the friends I made, going to new places, taking Paps along with me… I’m sure you guys all thought it was weird that the majority of us did that, but. It was honestly one of the best parts of my life. Made me feel like I was really connected to something that I belonged to, I could call mine. I dunno, it sounds strange saying it to you,” I laugh.

“No,” he whispers. “Seems like you were genuine about it, not just in it for the same bullshit some of the others were. I know how it feels to connect with something really intensely, like that. And I couldn’t picture my life without my own escapes. So I get it. I’m glad we could be that for you, and your friends…”

“You still are, really,” I admit. “That feeling doesn’t really ever go away. Once it’s ingrained in you, you know.”

“I do know,” he smiles, finally turning to look at me, his face closer to mine than it was the day he told me everything at the pods.

“You’re a little different, aren’t you, Y/N?”

“Apparently, according to Odin,” I try to break the high-intensity of the moment, my heart thrumming so quickly I can hardly breathe. I feel his breath on my lips, I feel his fingertip moving up to my elbow, then my shoulder, then to my neck… My entire body is covered in nerve-ridden goosebumps from his proximity.

His other hand is still squeezing mine, his fingers kneading into my palm as my breathing audibly quickens. His nose grazes across mine as I try and collect enough breath to breathe him in, relishing in the moment that I never in a million years thought would happen. I feel the slightest brush of his lips on my cheek as his jaw clenches, the roughness of his mustache making my head spin with want. I haven’t been this close to anyone in so long…

“Well he’s right,” he whispers, his lips moving across my cheek and against my lips… but still yet, he doesn’t make contact. “There’s something about you… I don’t wanna stay away from.”

Then his fingers come up and cup my cheek, my jaw resting comfortably in his palm. Every inch of me is on fire, in complete disbelief that this is really happening. All of my odd, unimaginable feelings from the past couple of days, completely warranted.

“I know you’ve got to go find your Paps, I know you can’t stick with us forever…” he says, his jaw biting into itself over and over through his words, obviously holding him back from doing what he really wants to do.

“Says who?” I reply, my eyes fluttering open and closed. “This is a team effort, who says I want to leave you?”

“I don’t want you to leave me…” he mutters through a rough breath, biting his bottom lip in as I feel his eyelashes brush across my cheek. It’s taking literally every ounce of energy in my body not to connect us, my yearning urging me to do something.

“I’m not, I won’t,” I say, and just as soon as the last word escapes my lips, he finally connects his to mine, rough and needy and sweet, his hand still gripped in my hair and pulling me into him. I’m floating above us, the nerve endings in every centimeter of my body experiencing a euphoria I’ve been dreaming about for the past ten years… complete and utter disbelief… way more intensely than I had ever dreamed of.

My hands find him as I disconnect our intertwined fingers, gripping at the neck of his sweatshirt and gathering it up in my fists as I kiss him back, wanting and heavy as I allow my body to taste a shred of what it’s been begging me for since the world began to end. I feel the breath from his nose against mine, holding for just a few seconds as his subconscious reminds him he needs to breathe. I lean in, and he reacts, pressing himself closer into me, our chests touching and heaving already.

His hands are on either side of my face, squeezing me so tightly that I feel my ears ringing. But finally he pulls away for just a second long enough to utter one word, ‘Fuck,’ before he delves back in, his tongue searching deeply for mine. So I reciprocate, giving him exactly what he wants as I lick back into his mouth. I feel my core begin to throb, obviously, having gone without the touch of another human for months now, months before everything began to happen, really. My body is begging me, carnally and against my own will, to give it more.

I turn myself in my seat, my legs straddling either side of the wall we’re sitting on as he turns too, putting his hands underneath the backs of my thighs to lift me closer to him. It’s turned into a frenzy of hands and hair and mouths, our bodies both heaving and lurching into one another. I can’t breathe, I can’t see, I can’t even hear the sounds of everything I know that surrounds us. All I feel is him.

His hands are on my waist, his fingers digging into my skin up underneath my shirt as they pull at my skin, and I let out the tiniest whimper into his mouth, and I immediately regret it. Fuck fuck… no don’t, Y/N. But at the same time, it makes my mind clear. I’m fucking kissing him, right now. His hands are on my body… I have thought about this exact moment a thousand times…

I shouldn’t have been embarrassed by it, because as soon as the sound leaves me, he growls into my mouth, making the entire world around me shatter. Good god, this feels worse than heaven and hell combined. We’re unbridled and fighting, his hands yanking at the hair at the base of my neck as I bite at his bottom lip, the both of us treating the other as if we’ve been this close for a hundred years.

But we haven’t, and he’s not–

I rip myself away, my hair covering my eyes as I peer at him in the darkness, my breath barely able to keep me upright and from fainting as I see just as much surprise on his face. But I also see lust so heavy that I contemplate diving right back in. His hands are still balanced on my bare hips, his fingers now ghosting rather than digging.

“I’m sorry, I– yelled at you earlier, and then I– I shouldn’t have–”

“Fuck off, Jake,” I say, giving him a devious grin, this time throwing my own hand up to cover his mouth. “Don’t fucking apologize.”

Instead of answering, his featherlight touch on my hips switches back to a possessive grip as they run from them up to my ribcage. I lean in and kiss him again, my forehead knocking hard into his as he bites at my tongue. I can’t even begin to explain how he tastes, maybe I’ll get into that later, but for now I’m just going to enjoy it.

It’s only a few more seconds before I’m inching myself closer to him, my tits now pushed firmly against his chest. I know he can feel it, as he allows one of his hands to travel up from my ribs and under my sorry excuse for a sports bra, confidently taking my left breast in his hand. This spurs me on, of course, as I can feel myself absolutely pooling with desire for him. I stop myself from imagining what he has going on.

“Goddamnit, fuck, we can’t–” he finally says as his fingers pinch at my nipple, almost making me come un-fucking-done, right there by the koi pond. “I can’t I can’t I can’t,” he says in succession.

“Why, what?” I barely get out, my head still in a state of euphoria.

“We can’t– I’ve gotta, stop myself, Y/N… we can’t even do that right now, fuck…” he’s rubbing a hand over his eyes and hair, trying to calm himself as we separate. “There’s, there’s too much risk, I don’t know…”

I’m not mad, but I’m not happy, either. I pull my bra and shirt back down into place, checking behind us that one of the others haven’t caught us in the act. “Jake, I’m thirty years old, I know my body,” I willingly admit before I can even stop myself.

“Yeah but I didn’t… I didn’t even ask you if that was what you wanted, I don’t know, I acted too much on impulse, I just–”

“Listen to me,” I demand of him as I take his face in my hands. “I haven’t been touched by a man, by another human in almost ten months, Jake. Probably more, if I’m being honest. We’re in the middle of the fucking apocalypse, the world is fucking ending, and I haven’t had a goddamned drink since my home fell into the first sink hole in Tennessee. I don’t know about you, but if a little touchin’ and squeezin’ is wrong, then I don’t wanna be right.”

His eyes silently search mine for a few seconds before I release him from my hold, watching as he tilts his head back and laughs. Laughs hard.

“What’s so funny?” I complain as he’s wrapping his arms around my shoulders, leaning all his body weight onto me as his chest rattles with laughter.

“I like you, I like you a lot,” he says, void of any sexual sentiment. “You’re really funny. You make me feel normal.”

“That’s cause I am normal. You’re famous, you wouldn’t understand,” I answer, and I feel him smiling against my hair again.

“Shut up, you know what I mean,” he says as he pulls away. “Like I’m back down to earth and not part of a conspiracy that prophesied the end of the world.”

“You’re reaching, Jake,” I say, squinting one eye at him. My nerves are finally calming from the intensity of a few moments ago, and I can finally breathe.

I watch him look at me as he bites his jaw sideways, likely feeling conflicted about what we just let ourselves do.

“We’re human, Jake, with human needs, and human wants. Can you blame yourself? I mean, I’m hot, you’re hot…”

“Shhhut up,” he chuckles again. “You’re a really good kisser, Y/N.”

“Thank you,” I say. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Oh, really now?”

“Yeah, I think you’ll have to try again sometime, though, just so I can be sure,” I relay with faux confidence, pulling my leg back over the side of the wall.

I finally stand, the muscles in my legs a little jittery from the position I was just in, and from them wanting to wrap themselves around Jake’s waist, or his face, whatever I could, honestly. Fuck, I know the both of us are going to be thinking about that for days… making this journey alongside him now is going to be a lot more difficult now that we’ve been that… close.

“Come on, we need some fucking sleep,” he says, standing beside me to lead us back to the fire.

Just then, I hear a rustle in the gravel, like fast footsteps lightly barrelling their way toward us. We both gasp and turn back around as Jake shoves me in behind him. “Who is that? Who’s there?” he calls out.

I see nothing but shadows, and what was once my pounding, excited heartbeat is now replaced with terror. No one answers, but the rustle of the footsteps keeps getting closer. Jake backs us up against the porch, and I feel his hand grip around my thigh in protection, telling me not to move. “I said who’s there!” he yells. I see a reflection of silver metal glisten in the moonlight as the steps come in closer. “Josiah!”

Just as quickly as the figure closes in on us, I hear the rushing footsteps of the rest of the group coming behind us. “Who’s there! Name yourself!” Josiah yells, stepping in front of us with Robbie at his flank. I can see their hands on their weapons.

The footsteps close in and finally reach the grass, still covered in darkness as I watch the silver shimmer again. Jake’s hand is still wrapped hard around my thigh as he presses me into the wooden leg of the porch. Josiah and Robbie grip their weapons, removing them from their holsters as they begin to take aim. Sam and Danny are just behind us, already panicking as well.

“Don’t come closer, we’ll fire!” Robbie yells into the darkness.

I hear their weapons release their safeties, and I prepare myself to hear the worst, when Odin comes barrelling between us all, yelling and shouting for everyone to stand down. “Stop, stop! No!”

“Odin, move, it could be an armed looter!” Robbie yells.

“NO!” he calls, running into the shadows of the high grass. “It’s my Sparrow…”

I’m instantly at ease as she finally comes into the dim light of the fire around the corner, her body adorned in silver armor, her glittering yellow hair in braids that fall across her shoulders and back. And tucked away at her side, is her shining silver sword.

“Odin!” she calls as their bodies meet, “I thought I’d never find you…”

“My love, my love, you found me. Why are you here? Are you alright?” he comforts her as they embrace, almost emanating their own dusty light in a mix of silvers and reds.

I think back to what Odin had said earlier, that Sparrow only comes to this world when absolutely necessary.

“I’m fine, I’m well, but I come with news. Let us gather, so I can see everyone’s faces,” she says, gliding past Odin and toward us so that we can be close to the light of the fire.

The six of us let her pass through us, all of us in disbelief at her beauty. Her skin glitters just as Odin’s does, her movements graceful and quick as she blurs the air as she passes through it. I’m almost enamored at the presence of her, so intoxicatingly gripping as she makes her way to the light of the flames. We follow her in succession, everyone stunned and surprised at her sudden appearance.

“Here now, everyone around,” she says, her voice from somewhere ancient and her accent one that is nearly unrecognizable. We all do as she says and gather around the fire again, watching as she literally shimmers in the light.

“There we are, hello, hello,” she sings, looking each and every one of us in the eye as she introduces herself. “My name is Sparrow, I’m unaware if Odin has mentioned my name, yet.”

“Of course I have, my love, I rarely speak to anyone without the mention of you,” Odin gloats, acting though he’d fall at her feet. “What brings you here, what brings you to us?”

Sparrow is silent as she walks around, getting eye-to-eye with all of us as she passes. “You men, you were the ones who wrote about me, who wrote of the stories of our people. It is a true pleasure…” she curtsies, making Sam and Danny hop back with surprise.

“The uh, the pleasure is ours Ms. uh, Ms. Sparrow…” Danny chokes, his eyes darting nervously to us.

Sam looks to Jake beside me, mouthing a quick ‘What the fuck?’

“It is true, I come with urgent news. I hope that Odin has told you that I rarely cross over into your world, if not for good reason. And a good reason, I do have.” She takes a seat on an oversized rock that lines the wooded area by the fire, and we all follow suit. She takes her sword from its holster on her side, and balances it across her knees. She runs a finger down from the end to the tip of it, letting it poke into her fingertip as she cracks her neck.

I know that Jake is absolutely fucking loving this.

Just then, the sword itself looks as though it is glowing with cool white light, and her barren hands grip at the blade, squeezing onto it until her knuckles are white. My body tenses, expecting to see blood beginning to trickle from her hands, but instead, the sword just glows brighter.

Her head tilts back, and her mouth falls open, as she begins speaking in a voice that is not her own.

The voice, though, is one that is so familiar that I feel my bones begin to crumble, my blood begin to harden, and my organs turn to stone within me.

The voice that is leaving her is Josh’s.

“All is hallowed here, let their proclamations of faux deities and untrue alliances die along with the world that surrounds them! Upon this sacred ground they’ll surrender, within my words they’ll learn the truth of all that encompasses this divine ether. Let them not tether there, or they shall suffer with the insignificance of man, they shall perish alongside the ones the Earth has decided to exterminate. Let them live in jubilance as we celebrate here, as one, sanctifying all that is true. Faithful they shall be, and faithful they shall live! It is here, their destiny is manifested!”

Just as Sparrow speaks the final word, her hands let go of her sword and it’s dullness returns, as she collapses to the side into Odin’s waiting arms. I am stunned absolutely speechless.

Things just got way, way worse.

I look to Sam, then Danny, then Jake, the look on all of their faces identical as they have just listened to the voice of their brother recite a speech so terrifyingly haunting that I’m not sure if they are even still able to breathe.

“Inside, bed. All of you,” Odin orders as Sparrow stays asleep in his arms.

“Odin, what the fuck was that? You expect us to just–” Jake yells.

“I said inside!!!” Odin bellows, shaking the trees with the volume of his voice.

“That was my brother! His voice!” Jake challenges him. “Where is he?! Does she know?? Why was he saying those–”

“If you don’t get inside and get some rest this very instant, I will abandon all we have done for you, and you will continue this journey alone, without any guidance or anything to arm you. Now, do you want that, Jacob? Or do you want to do as I said and get some rest, so that you awaken with a clear and readied mind, and a rested body, for when Sparrow is strong enough to tell us what exactly she knows?” Odin presses, staying stern with Jake.

Jake reaches down into the embers of the fire, picking up some still-burning ash and harshly throwing it back down to the fire, igniting the it into a million sparkles as he trudges back toward the house, his fists clenched at his sides. I stand there, unable to move.

“Inside,” he orders me again, so I collect my losses against all my better instinct of leaving right this instant to go and find Josh, find our families. I rush up the stairs, and enter the dark house that is unfamiliar. I slam the door behind me and find the three of them stomping around the carpeted floors of the house, a huffing mess of confusion and doubt.

“On the couches, all three of you. Sit down, and try to rest. We won’t even make it to our families if we don’t. We need clear minds, and rest. Odin is right,” I repeat, the words tasting wrong in my mouth, but I know they are true.

They all three follow suit and find places on the old, oversized couches, hugging at pillows and old blankets in the darkness. I feel Jake find my hand underneath the red quilt I’m now under, interlacing his fingers with mine again as we try to calm our minds enough to rest, if only for an hour.

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