#that I didn't even know was still sailing

[orcboxer]

Listen, man, you don't fuck with that shit. It ain't worth it. My buddy, few years back, he tells me he got this crazy idea that's gonna net us a ton of cash. Gonna set us up real nice, house in the Bahamas, hookers and blow, whatever, he's obviously full of shit. I ask him what he's got cookin, he says "Mermaids."

I say, "What," he says, "Fuckin mermaids, dude. Swear to God, I found some on an island just off Barkley Sound. They're just lyin on the shore like seals."

I say, "What, we sell pictures to a magazine?" He says "No we're gonna catch em and sell the meat." He gives me this shit eating grin, because he knows that this is the stupidest thing he's ever said to me. Obviously I'm in.

We set out with rifles and earplugs and a bigass net and hit up this islet east-northeast of Cree, where he says he saw em, and of course there's nothing there. He tries sailing past Howell, Wouwer, Benson, no mermaids, I'm laughing at him the whole time.

I think we're just about to hit Felice Channel when I stop laughing. On a tiny little islet out northwest of us, they're right there, flopped on the rocks like he said.

We netted a few, hauled em on deck, they didn't even struggle. It was like they wanted to be caught. They just stared at us with these big, I mean unnaturally wide eyes, no sclera, all pupil. With that, the earplugs, and the waves rocking the boat, it felt like I was in one of those sensory deprivation chambers.

That's when one of em chewed through the net. I heard my buddy scream, looked over just in time to see a mermaid unhinge its jaw and bite him nearly in half. Everything from the ribs up is inside this thing's mouth, when it just lets itself topple over the side. I don't wait for him to come back up, I shoot one mermaid and throw the other one overboard, still tangled in the net. It degloves my left hand but I barely even notice till I'm far enough away I can't even see the islet.

Ended up keeping the hand but it looks nasty now. Look at that. Fucked up, right? Worst part is, mermaid tastes like shit.

[megalony]

Silence Is Golden

This is a new imagine for Eric from A Quiet Place: Day One. I know there aren't too many people interested in this fandom but I really enjoyed writing this one and hope you will all like it too.

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Summary: Eric is relieved when he finds his wife amidst the chaos. And when they try and find a safe haven, (Y/n) calms him down when his panic overloads and becomes too much.

Enjoy.

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

Eric didn't like this.

He had the desperate need to cup his hands over his ears as he walked and cower down as if to make himself a smaller target, but he knew it wouldn't help. He knew covering his ears wasn't going to make a difference when everyone around him was still making such apparant noises that they were going to attract the creatures. Cupping his ears wasn't going to cause everyone else to be quiet.

With his elbows pinned into his waist, Eric bound both arms around his middle and continued to walk against the tide of people.

They nudged past Eric, pushing him left and right, moving him at all angles while they made noises that were surely going to cause their impending doom. The wheels of a wheelchair squeaked and clicked over stones and curbs. People pulling suitcases let them tumble from left to right and get stuck in pot holes.

Women wore heels, rough shoes clicked against the floor, people hummed and muttered and bashed together.

Eric aimed his head down towards the floor and made himself as small as he possible could so he could weave through the crowds.

He was well aware that he was walking in the opposite direction to everyone else. He knew they were all aiming for the river. He heard the announcements through the tanoids on the helicopters; boats were being set up, people were urged to get to the water. Apparently the creatures didn't like the water. There had been nothing said about the destination of the boats or where anyone was trying to go.

For all they knew, people could be getting on boats, preparing to sail for days or possible weeks on end without an actual destination in sight. But no one could live on the water forever. They would need food, water, supplies, things they couldn't possibly get while sailing into the abyss like that.

Eric couldn't think about any of that. He couldn't follow the flow of people and aim for the water; for a brief sense of security that might not last or even be true. He couldn't go with everyone else.

Not without (Y/n).

He had to find his wife.

Deep down, Eric knew that he might not be able to find her. He might not be able to find his wife anywhere. Anything could have happened to her. He prayed she had stayed in the apartment, that she hadn't gone out anywhere, but there was always the possibility that she had left for an errand.

(Y/n) could have been crushed in the panic of people trying to survive and escape. She could be trapped beneath a collapsed building, caught in an explosion or dragged along with the sea of people towards a boat, never to see Eric again.

His worst fear was that she had been maimed or killed by one of those creatures.

Eric couldn't think of a world without (Y/n). Trying to imagine this world in an apocolypse was hard enough, but Eric would rather scream until his lungs shrivelled up and show himself to a creature than live a life without (Y/n). Therefore he was going to find her. Eric had to find her.

He was going to search the streets until he eventually found his wife. He was trying to make his way back to their shared apartment, praying that she would be there when he walked in and he would be able to hold her in his arms and thank God that he had her safe with him. Eric wasn't going to stop searching for her. He only had two choices, find (Y/n) safe and sound or lose his heart and give himself up to the creatures.

'I can't do this alone.'

He had never been good at doing things on his own, even simple tasks were worrying for Eric. When he met (Y/n), he found someone to share his life with, someone to be himself around and someone who wouldn't judge him and would walk through life with him. Someone to hold his hand so he never had to do anything alone, someone who he could love with his whole being and protect with his life.

Eric couldn't survive in this strange, terrifying new world on his own; he had to have his wife by his side or he wasn't going to make it.

His head stayed bowed down as he weaved through the throng of people until he was pressed up against a building with his feet shuffling along the pavement.

He hated the feeling of his sopping wet suit clinging to every inch of his skin. Riding the subway had been Eric's intention this morning, until chaos overtook everything and he ended up fighting for his life, swimming his way out. He barely made it half the ride on the subway before everything turned around. He had been going to work. How could plans change so much since this morning?

Just the memory of why he was dripping wet made Eric shiver and wince and he imbedded his arms tighter into his chest to try and calm himself down. He had been on the verge of a panic attack since the moment he crawled out the subway. He couldn't afford to slip into one now and risk getting himself killed.

Someone made a sound.

Maybe it was the accumilation of all the different noises, the squeaky wheels and the clicking of heels and the rustling of coats and papers and people barging together.

Whatever noise alerted the creatures, it seemed to drag a handful of them towards the street, all at once.

Eric's arms unravelled from his waist so one hand could smother against his mouth and nose. He pressed down harshly enough that his palm was almost grating against his teeth and his upper lip ached as he tried to smother himself and stay quiet. He didn't want to make a sound. He didn't want to be cut to pieces or torn or impaled or thrown about the street by one of those merciless things.

But he also wanted to cry. He wanted to burst into a fit of tears and scream and wallow in self-pity and terror all at once.

The tears leaking from Eric's eyes mixed in with the water that was already cascading down his face from his sodden hair. Every inch of him was drenched in water so at least no one could spy the tears pouring down his face.

His eyes turned a horrible shade of red as his brown iris's deepened and his body began to shudder on the spot.

He found himself backing up until his back was against the wall and his stomach creased forward until he was compacting in on himself to try and calm down and stop from screaming. Screaming had never been something Eric was accustomed to, he didn't feel the need to burst out into fits of screams all that often. But right now, in this moment where he knew silence was golden and necessary, there was nothing he wanted to do more than to unleash a scream so horrible it shook the world to its core.

When a creature jumped down from a building with a horrible echoeing scream and blundered past a swarm of people, Eric's eyes snapped closed. Tears continued to streak down his face but he kept his eyes tightly closed so he didn't have to see people fly into cars or see the blood splatters when people were needlessly and carelessly maimed.

Eric wasn't sure what made him open his eyes a few moments later. Maybe it was the screams and the need to look and see which way he should move to be away from immediate danger. Or maybe it was just something within him telling him to look and become aware of his surroundings.

Whatever it was within him, Eric opened those dark brown eyes and tried to look around him.

He found himself shuffling to the left, sliding along the building as he tried to find somewhere safe to cower down and hide.

That's when he saw her.

He recognised that frame, that hair, those sparkling eyes that were fuelled with fear. He knew that beautiful frame that was cowering down, trying not to get crushed by the swarm of frightened people running, sliding and colliding in all directions.

Eric's legs began to move before he registered what he was doing and he was trembling as he aimed for her. He had to get to her. That was (Y/n), that was his wife. Eric didn't have to run all the way back to their apartment. He didn't have to scour the streets or stay out all day and all night to try and find her. He didn't have to imagine her lifeless body somewhere in the street, carelessly killed and forgotten by all who passed her by. He didn't have to contemplate throwing himself in front of a creature to be joined with her again.

He had to fight for her, he had to fight to get to her and stay with her and make sure nothing happened to her. She was his reason for living through this mayhem.

The need to call out her name had never been more prominent and Eric clamped his lips shut to make sure that he didn't make a single sound.

Tears pelted against his skin, scraping along his face with the wind when he pelted across the road. His body skitted to the left and he twisted at an angle, narrowly avoiding colliding into a man running the opposite way to try and find somewhere safe. Somewhere to hide, some sense of shelter in the chaos that enveloped them.

(Y/n) tried to keep moving. She tried to weave through the crowds who were now screaming, despite knowing that sound was what would get them killed.

She tried to cower down, to find somewhere to stop, somewhere that she could hide and wait for the creatures to finish their destruction.

An arm deadlocked around her waist. A frozen, dripping wet hand clamped around her mouth, as if sensing the scream she was desperate to let out at the sudden unwanted touch.

A sodden chest pummelled into her back and sent her spiralling off kilter, allowing whoever had hold of her to drag her towards an alley. Their intention was unclear. Surely someone couldn't be trying to hurt her in a world where silence was the key to their survival. This person couldn't be trying to harm her when the desolate creatures were in thee midst of another attack. That was a death sentence for them both.

(Y/n) tried to move. Her elbows thrust out behind her before her hands curled around the wrist near her mouth and she tried to yank the hand away from her mouth. But all her movements ceased when she felt a familiar, if frozen, pair of lips hovering over her ear.

A quiet, almost non-existent rendition of 'shh' tickled the shell of her ear before their face was tucked into the crook of her neck and she felt those ice cold lips attaching to the crook of her neck. She could feel each frosty breath that fanned against her skin, showing just how close he was to a panic attack. Stood on the edge of the abyss, one centimetre from falling over the edge.

Her body went lax in his arms, allowing him to steer her into the alley and tug her down until they were both crouching on the floor, hovering as close to the wall as they could manage.

(Y/n) could feel every bittersweet wave of relief that flowed through her body while she pushed back into Eric's arms. Changing from trying to fight off his touch to cling to any part of him that she could. Her hands curled around his forearm when his hand moved from covering her mouth to curve over the top of her chest instead with his hand clamped down on her shoulder.

Her eyes fell closed when she felt Eric pressing his chest down into her back, curving around her like a protective blanket with his arms enveloped around her. She realised after a moment or two that he was slowly rocking them back and forth, swaying from his toes to his heels, presumably to try and calm himself down.

She could feel how badly he was breathing into her neck, but not from any injury. From the sheer overload of panic. Her thumbs began to swipe across his forearm and she tilted her head down to press a kiss to his exposed wrist where she could feel every aching beat of his heart.

Where had he been? Why was he in this part of town? What had he been doing to be drenched from head to toe? She could feel the water dripping off his suit, creating a puddle beneath them while his damp curls tickled her cheek and his frozen features were beginning to thaw out against the crook of her neck.

(Y/n) let a few tears fall from her eyes as she dug her nails into Eric's forearm and curled in on herself even tighter. She pushed back into Eric at every sound of a creature screeching like a siren or the sound of its claws scraping through the road, tearing up the streets as they passed through in a haze of destruction.

Each scream that somebody let out made them both wince. Screaming because they were scared was futile and a mistake, but screaming in agony or the process of death was even worse. Neither Eric nor (Y/n) wanted to hear their last sounds.

The silence was worse.

When the world seemed to settle, when the street suddenly died and all the noises stopped, (Y/n) wondered if time itself had paused for them. It felt like fate was giving them a moment to be with each other before their end would take them.

(Y/n) didn't want to raise her head or open her eyes. She didn't want to move and see the end coming to take them, and she was sure that Eric felt the same.

The pair of them stayed like that, wrapped around each other in a cold, broken alleyway for what felt like an eternity. Until the dust settled and the threat of the end seemed to vanish into thin air.

Eric was the first to move, he rose his head from where his face had been tucked into the crook of (Y/n)'s neck and took a second to glance over his shoulder towards the end of the alley. There was no creature hovering around, no monstrosity making clicking noises, prowling to find its next victim. No stranger wandering nearby crying or whimpering or screaming or searching for a loved one or a friend to sit with.

It was just… silence.

It felt dangerous to move, to break the bubble of serenity and closure they found themselves in. Moving felt like threatening their existence. It felt like taking an unnecessary risk, but (Y/n) couldn't just sit here anymore. She couldn't stay crouching here in the alley forever without turning round and looking at her husband. Checking if he was alright, hugging the life out of him. She had to move.

Her body trembled as she slowly unhooked Eric's arm from across her chest like a seatbelt of protection. Her knees quaked and shuddered as she tried to turn around without making any sound. It was harder than she thought, to concentrate on being quiet when she never had to think about making a noise or a scuffle before.

It made her move ten times slower than normal and moving so cautiously felt strange. But once she was turned around, (Y/n) could feel the flood gates opening.

She felt the tears streaming down her face and her lower lip wobbled so much she had to bite down on it to stop herself from sobbing and making a sound.

He was here.

Eric was here, he had found her when she had been trying her best to search for him.

When the world turned to madness, (Y/n) didn't know what to do. Staying in the apartment felt safe, it seemed like the safest thing to do when strange creatures were roaming outside causing mass chaos and destruction in their wake. Staying in the apartment would have been safe, but it wouldn't have helped.

How could (Y/n) stay when she didn't know what had happened to Eric? He left for work in the morning less than an hour before the world turned to madness. (Y/n) had no idea whether he made it to work, whether he had been hurt along the way or God forbid, killed. She didn't know if he was injured and needed taking to hospital or if he was stuck or trapped somewhere and couldn't get out.

She had no idea what had happened to him and (Y/n) couldn't just sit at home and ponder on what could be and what ifs when she could go out and try to do something. Try to find him.

The subway clearly wasn't an option and (Y/n) had felt her heart shatter to pieces in her chest like shards of glass splintering throughout her blood when she realised the subway was flooded. Eric could have been down there. He could have been trapped, drowned, torn apart. He might not have made it out.

And (Y/n) couldn't get down to the platforms to search for him. She had traced the subway from up above, followed the roads along the street on Eric's route to work to see if he was anywhere abouts while she prayed he had made it to work and was somewhere safe.

But now he was here. He was safe, they had found each other and nothing was going to tear them apart again.

(Y/n) looped her arms around Eric's neck and leaned forward until her chest was merged against his. The movement was slow, making sure their clothes didn't make any squelching noises as they glued together and that she didn't knock him off balance and tackle him to the ground making an echo that would give away their location.

Her arms shook horribly around his neck and she couldn't help but scratch her nails into his back, tearing into his maroon jacket that looked more like melted chocolate now it was drenched through to the bone.

More tears poured down her face as she held her breath deep in her lungs to stop from gasping and choking. Her knees pressed in between Eric's sodden thighs like she was wedging herself into his chest, trying to become a vital organ hidden away in ihs ribcage.

One hand moved from his back to cradle the back of his neck and her nails scratched through his damp curls, knotting them between her fingers when she felt him trembling in her arms. His fingers clutched tightly into her upper back and she could feel him silently crying into her neck as she did the same with him.

Having Eric in her arms had never felt so compelling and deadly before. She had never been so relieved yet heartbroken at the same time because he was here, he was safe, but he was shell shocked. He was tormented and frightened and emotionally hurt. And it wasn't going to get much better than this. They had found each other, that was the highlight of their lives, things couldn't get a lot better than this.

(Y/n) continued to scratch her fingers through his hair against his scalp while she turned her head and pressed her lips against his damp cheek that was just starting to thaw out.

She pressed open-mouthed kisses along his cheek and up to his temple until her lips were against the centre of his forehead and her hand slid around to cup his cheek rather than his neck. Her thumb swiped beneath his eye, brushing away the tears cascading down his face while she began to sway them from side to side like he had done moments before.

Eric didn't want to clutch at (Y/n) as tightly as he was, but he didn't feel like he had much other choice. If he didn't hold onto her like his life depended on it, he feared he might just fall into a nightmare or wake up from this dream into a world where he didn't find her in time. Into a world without her; a world which he wouldn't be able to survive in.

He let his nails puncture into the middle of her back through her shirt and his lips pressed against her collar bone while he focused on the feeling of her lips against his temple.

But when he heard what she was whispering against his skin, he could feel himself starting to shake all over again and it was harder to stop a sob from escaping past his lips. He was almost sinking his teeth down into her collar bone to stop from saying anything at all when she spoke so softly and hushed that it sounded like he was listening to her voice in his head rather than out here in the real world.

"You're safe, baby. You're safe now."

***

A grin pulled at (Y/n)'s lips when she heard the front door slam shut with a bang that echoed around the apartment towards the kitchen where she was stood. And when she heard the all too familiar sound of Eric's leather shoes clicking against the laminate with a fast pace and a quick stomp with every other step, she gathered that he was rushing.

She turned around just in time to see him barrel over to her and his hands found her hips with vigour. He couldn't seem to stop himself in time and his chest barrelled into hers, pushing her back until her hips thudded back against the kitchen counter and she was pinned between the counter and Eric.

A sharp grin spread across his face as those deep brown eyes creased and he dove down to steal a kiss from her lips.

When the shock wore off, (Y/n) reached her hands up to cup his face. Her fingers traced and tickled along the edges of his jaw where he was just starting to grow a few traces of stubble.

She could taste traces of coffee on his lips which mingled in with the cherry lipbalm she wore and a chuckle escaped her lips when she felt Eric's tongue move out to taste the balm on her lips.

She could feel his hands tightening around his hips and his pelvis pushed against hers until she was positively crushed against him in the best possible way. The feeling of Eric's chest depending and moving with a laugh made (Y/n) shiver but the sound of his laugh flooded her ears like the best symphony she had ever heard.

"So?" She drawled while her hands slithered down his neck until she was clutching at his collar which she carefully began to alter and smooth out the creases. Her fingers worked to straighten the collar over the edge of his blazer jacket before her hands patted down his chest and her fingers danced over his shirt while her head angled to one side.

Was he going to keep her waiting in suspense all afternoon?

Eric took a moment to dart his eyes up and down her frame like he was searching for something when really, he was just drinking her in. And his tongue traced his lips, savouring the taste of her lip balm while he watched her bubble over with excitement before he had even said one word.

"I passed. I can apply for the internship now."

The bright smile that lit up Eric's face was enough to make tears well up in (Y/n)'s eyes as an excited cheer left her lips and she surged forward to loop her arms around the back of his neck. She yanked him down to her until their lips meshed together in a tangled fight for dominance, while both of them were still laughing.

He passed the test. He could apply for the job he wanted at the law firm across town. The best law firm in the city. The firm that would help him pass the bar and become a lawyer. Just one more year and a handful of other tests, and that would be it. Everything would be official. Eric would have the job he'd always wanted, the job his parents had coached him through and helped him move to New York to do.

Everything was slotting into place and it had been suspiciously easy so far. Just one more year, and everything would be official. Everything would be set in stone.

The memory flashed before Eric's eyes and had his pace slowing down when the large multistory building came into view. He wasn't sure what kind of building it was or what it was used for or even why it had brought such a memory to the fore front of his mind.

The building didn't look like the office which Eric used to work at, the place he used to visit everyday. His office hadn't been made of glass like this with about one hundred floors reaching up towards the sky. But something about the building brought that memory to light for Eric and it made his heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

He would never be able to run home to (Y/n) like that again. He would never be able to pick her up and sit her on the counter and hear her laugh and cry and say how proud of him she was. He would never do anything that made her proud; not in a world like this. The only thing he could do was protect her and keep them both alive. Nothing else mattered; there was nothing else he could do.

Eric wanted to go back to that day. There were so many days he would want to revisit, to live again and experience and see. He would have to replay them all in his mind like a videotape and hope that none of them started to fade or change and that they would get him through this strange, corrupted world.

His hand tightened around (Y/n)'s as they continued to walk through the near-empty street.

They had gone home, they had spent one last night in their apartment, somewhere they felt safe but where they would probably never be safe and never see again. They thought about their memories, their possessions, everything they would be leaving behind.

And they decided to leave in the morning. They couldn't stay here, it wasn't practical. They couldn't live in the middle of a broken city that was void of everything except chaos and predators. They had to go somewhere safe, they had to find their way to the sea and go with others to keep themselves alive.

But making the journey down-town towards the sea wasn't as easy as it seemed.

Eric felt the way (Y/n) suddenly tugged on his hand and when she merged her temple into the back of his arm, he paused. He turned his head to look behind him, to look down at his wife and figure out why she had stopped. But he didn't need to look. He heard it too.

The familiar, blood-curdling clicking noise that indicated a creature was nearby.

Without thinking, Eric tightened his hand around (Y/n)'s and picked up the pace again. He steered towards the right, pulling her along with him as he tried to be quick but not too fast that his trainers clicked against the floor and alerted the creatures of their presence.

The only place to hide was the office building beside them that looked abandoned, deserted.

(Y/n) curled her free hand around Eric's arm, trying to glue them both together so she didn't lose him, not for one moment. Her body stayed as close up behind him as she could manage and she followed him into the turnstile doors.

But her face bashed into his back and her heart jumped into her throat when the doors wouldn't move. She looked up at Eric, a sense of panic flooding her face as a look of sheer anxiety mixed with a small dwindle of determination crossed Eric's features.

He let go of her hand and pressed both his palms down against the glass while his knees bent and he hunkered forward to try and shove the door.

There was a briefcase in the way. Wedged between the door and the corner of the wall, preventing the doors from spinning and opening any further.

They couldn't just stay here, the doors had to open. They had to get inside. They had to find somewhere relatively safe, somewhere they could hide.

Eric felt (Y/n)'s arm curl around his lower back and her cheek pressed against his shoulder while she moved her other hand to try and help him push the door. They had to get inside.

'Come on. Please!'

His lips rolled together and his brows furrowed as he shoved the door just enough to poke his head through the gap. Just a little more, just another two or three feet and they would be able to get through.

"Oh no." The quiet, almost non-existent noise fell from Eric's lips when the door swung round and the briefcase slammed closed and spun out like a spinning wheel.

The screech was almost instantaneous and (Y/n) could feel tears welling up in her eyes when the noise got louder. They were here; and there was more than one.

With both her hands on Eric's hips, (Y/n) nudged him forward and clutched him tight as they set off into a sprint. They had to move, fast. They had to get somewhere safe, somewhere to hide. They didn't have a choice but to take a diversion inside here on their way to get to the sea.

Both their bodies stayed hunkered down as they bolted through the unused, seemingly broken turnstile and aimed for the escalators.

(Y/n)'s hands left Eric's hips and clamped over her mouth to stop herself from screaming when a violent crash shattered from above and they both hunkered down when a sprinkling of glass clattered down on them like deadly flakes of snow. One of the creatures had crashed through the glass ceiling.

Her body hunched over until she was running crouched over but all she wanted to do was go down on her knees and curl up into a ball. Running while fuelled with adrenaline and every nerve set alight wasn't an easy task.

It was as if Eric's movements spoke a thousand words when he reached behind him and hastily turned to the left to reach out for her. His left arm secured around her waist and his other hand clenched around her arm so he could tug her in front of him.

One hand clamped down on her hip and the other held her shoulder so Eric could keep her in front of him. He couldn't hurry if (Y/n) was behind him, he needed his wife ahead of him so he could ensure she was alright and push her in an emergency to get her out of danger.

His chest kept merging into her back as they skidded around corners but every time Eric turned to look over his shoulder, he could feel his lungs tightening up and threatening to quit on him.

Three- no, four creatures were following them. Reaching for them. Desperate to tear them apart.

Their feet skidded against the marbled floor littered with glass and dirt and shoes and hundreds of sheets of paper as they turned a hasty corner and pelted out of an open side door.

What other choice did they have? Where could they go?

As long as she had Eric's hands on her body and his frame close behind her, (Y/n) could keep running. She could ignore the pounding of her heart, the squeeze in her lungs that were gasping for air and the pins and needles in her hands and feet. She could ignore everything as long as Eric stayed with her and didn't fall a step behind.

'Oh dear.'

She didn't want to. She really, really didn't want to steer Eric down there, not after what he had been through yesterday, but they didn't have much of a choice. They needed to get somewhere safe, somewhere to lose these creatures so they could get back on track and try and get to the sea.

The subway was right there.

The subway was down below and this entrance wasn't flooded to the brim with sewage and water. They could lose the creatures easier down there. There would be more places to hide, smaller gaps to wriggle into and things to use as cover down there. And there might be water.

The tanoids said these things don't like water. They could hide in the water or in the subway cars. They had to take the chance.

(Y/n) didn't bother to point, she didn't want to take the risk of showing Eric where she was trying to go and have him panic or try to drag her in a different direction. He had pushed her ahead and (Y/n) was going to try and guide them somewhere safe.

She reached behind her to latch her fingers around Eric's wrist where his hand was on her shoulder and she tried to run on her tiptoes, which was a challenge, as she headed down the steps.

Eric didn't seem to realise where they were going until they reached the bottom of the stairs. She felt the shiver that coursed through him and the way his nails pinched through her clothes and into her skin, but he didn't try and stop running. He continued to rush behind her, despite the agony pounding through his system.

'I'm a horrible wife.'

How cruel did this make her? She knew what Eric had been through yesterday, she had listened to him last night as he explained what he had gone through and the panic he had felt. She listened to everything he said, and here she was, dragging him back down somewhere that was going to scarr him again.

Tears glistened in her eyes that she tried to force back as they hurried around the corner and down another flight of stairs towards a platform. Any platform, just somewhere to keep them safe. Somewhere they could hide.

This time, as they neared a platform, (Y/n) could feel Eric's resistance start to build up. She could feel his hands piercing into her hip and shoulder, she could feel the way he was hunching over her and trying to steer her to one side, presumably to get her to run away from the track and to somewhere they could cower down.

There was a broken train car ahead. It seemed to have come off the tracks with how it was scraped up against the concrete edge of the platform and tilted on one side.

Hiding in the car wouldn't be a safe bet. The electrics could still be on and with all the water around, that was a recipe for disaster. Anything could collapse on them in there, they could become crushed or trapped or fatally injured. The creatures could tear that car apart piece by piece and kill them in the process.

(Y/n) paused on the very edge of the platform and looked between the tracks and Eric.

He shook his head. The way his lips curved down into a broken, gaping expression and the hollow look in his eyes made (Y/n)'s own eyes water. She didn't want to force him to do this, but they needed to get away.

That track was submerged in water, the water was flowing right to the very top of the platform. They could hide in there, they could trail through the water, follow the tracks, towards another subway stop and get out somewhere else in town. The creatures didn't like water, either they couldn't swim or they couldn't last long submerged in water. Either way, this was their only advantage.

A shiver coursed down Eric's spine and he visibly shuddered when (Y/n)'s hand reached out to cup the side of his face. she brushed her thumb along his jaw and nodded at him until he reciprocated the action and agreed.

He could hate her if he wanted; but she had to try and save them.

Eric could feel himself shaking before he got into the water. He sat down on the edge of the platform and carefully lowered his legs into the water. They couldn't afford to make a splash.

It felt strangely familiar to have water right up to his waist again and he cringed at the feeling and the memories of yesterday that came rushing to the fore front of his mind. He didn't want to think about yesterday. He didn't want to think about how close he had come to drowning.

Once he was in the water, he carefully turned towards (Y/n) and curled his hands around her hips when she sat down on the edge. He helped her lower into the water and he took the time to press a gentle, careful peck of his lips against her forehead.

He liked that she moved in front of him, he liked that (Y/n) was taking the lead, taking that stress from him and allowing him to follow her. And when she reached behind her and held onto his hands, Eric felt like crying.

He let her lift his hands and place both his palms down on her shoulders and she curled her hands around his wrists, brushing her thumbs across his skin to try and calm him down.

They could walk in tandem together, if Eric needed to cling to her to stay calm and get through this, then that was okay.

For a few seconds, his chin perched on top of her head and his chest glued down against her back as they waded through the water, one step at a time. The distant sound of the creature crashing around on the platform made them both shudder with each crack of the wall tiles and each screech it erupted.

There was very little light down here. Only the ventilation shafts in the ceiling provided little glimmers of light, but it was enough to let them see straight ahead and allow them to continue their descent along the track. The only relief was that they knew without a doubt that no subway train was going to come from either direction and mow them down.

(Y/n) could feel the panic radiating off of her husband the further they tried to trail through the water. And as they moved and Eric began to shake and his breathing started to become shallow and stuttered. He was panicking. He was getting nervous and upset. And (Y/n) couldn't blame him, not one bit.

"What happened?" The sound of the rain and the cushioned walls of the apartment gave them a little leeway and enough cover to be able to speak without just mouthing their words silently or trying to use what little sign language they knew. They were both too shaky to try and write down their conversations.

(Y/n) laid her head on Eric's shoulder and bound her arms tighter around his waist as they sat in the window seat, trying to be close enough to the rain to use it as cover.

Her fingers skimmed up and down the softness of his jumper while she felt him lean his cheek on top of her head. The way he shuddered told her whatever he experienced today hadn't been good. She figured by the looks of him that he didn't make it to the office this morning.

That might have been a blessing. The office could have collapsed. Eric could have been crushed or killed or left for dead at the office. Him not making it might have done them a favour and brought them back to each other.

"I was on the train for five minutes when- when they… the train stopped at the next platform, we were told to evacuate, but it was too late." Eric couldn't help the way he started to cry as he remembered the memories of this morning that somehow felt like a lifetime ago.

"I was one of the last to get off, t-the water was so high already. I was about to ask what was happening, when one of those things, it… God, baby, it got a woman and h-her kid. Snatched them and all they did was whisper."

Eric had been one second away from asking the man beside him what on Earth was going on. Why the subway was covered in broken tiles and bricks and clawed posters. Why everyone was panicking, where the water was coming from and why it was rising fast. Why they needed to evacuate. He almost asked any number of these things when a lady ahead of him whispered something to her child.

That was it. They were attacked, they were killed.

Their deaths had effectively saved Eric's life. He clamped his hands over his mouth and backed away into a corner, trying his best to stay alive.

"The lights went out and the water, I couldn't breathe. I was at the stairs when it rose high, I h-had to swim out. All I could think was getting back to you; to make sure you were okay."

The only thing pushing Eric to keep going was the thought of getting back to (Y/n). To make sure his wife was okay, to make sure she was alive. That was all Eric could think about and that was what got him through the event.

His arms tightened around (Y/n) when he felt her pressing a bundle of tender kisses against his chest and along his neck.

She was his reason for staying alive.

When it felt like Eric was slowing down, (Y/n) turned to look over her shoulder. What she saw broke her heart.

Tears were sliding down his features and those beautiful brown eyes that always reminded her of chocolate buttons were all but melted over and full of sorrow and panic. Those eyes bore right through into (Y/n)'s soul.

She watched as his lower lip wobbled like he was frozen cold and it made his chin jutter up and down. The way Eric's shoulders started to tremble showed (Y/n) that if they weren't in the water right now, he would of been tremoring from left to right and probably would of collapsed to the floor. Her husband was terrified.

"It's okay." (Y/n) tried to speak as low as she possibly could until it felt like she was moving her lips but nothing was coming out. She couldn't risk being any louder, she needed to calm him down but she couldn't use her voice and alert the creature of their presence.

Her hands tightened around his wrists and she watched as Eric nodded to himself and switched from clutching her shoulders to deadlock both arms around her neck and shoulders instead. He clasped his hands together over her collar bone, pushed his chest down against her back and squished his cheek against the side of her head so his lips were hovering against the side of her temple.

They started to wade through the water again, but (Y/n) shuddered when she felt Eric's arms clutch tighter until he was almost cutting off her breathing. And she found herself shaking her head when she heard him speak.

"It's okay. It's okay; we're okay." Eric started to whisper those words again and again, over and over to keep himself moving. But his voice was rising. He was whispering rather than muttering or mouthing. He was going to alert the creature where they were.

Eric snapped his eyes closed to try and ward off the tears as his shoulders quaked and his hand cupped the side of (Y/n)'s face so he could dance his thumb across her cheek to calm himself down.

When (Y/n) felt his chest shudder against her back and his breathing started to hitch, her eyes widened and she did her best to turn around in his tight embrace.

'No. Baby no.'

She tried her best to mouthe slowly and carefully so Eric could see what she was trying to say. He couldn't speak, he couldn't. But he was. He was muttering again.

Reaching her hands up, (Y/n) clamped them down on either side of Eric's face that was starting to turn cold and frozen just like when they found each other yesterday. Her thumbs brushed away his tears and just as his lips parted to whimper, (Y/n) surged forward.

Her chest meshed into his, glued together by the water that made their clothes tangle and entwine and stick together. Her elbows pressed against his chest, her hands squeezed his face and she brought him closer until her lips smothered his own.

She kissed him like their lives depended on it.

Her tongue swiped across his lower lip, her mouth parted to inhale what little air Eric had in his lungs and her tongue battled against his as she tried to calm him down and keep him quiet at the same time. When she felt Eric's hands shift down to clutch at her waist, she parted just enough so that there was a gap between their lips that were still barely touching.

She allowed Eric to suck in a deep breath before she engulfed his mouth again and savoured the touch, a little less erratic this time. She could feel Eric calming down against her. His chest wasn't stuttering or heaving, he wasn't gasping with shallow breaths, clutching at straws for a gulp of air. And more importantly, he wasn't muttering or whimpering anything anymore.

His frozen lips felt heavenly and calmed (Y/n) down more than she thought possible. She parted slowly to gulp for air before she moved to kiss the corner of Eric's mouth. She watched as his eyes closed and his head tilted back and his mouth hung open while he lost himself in her touch, trying to melt into her.

He was more than happy for (Y/n) to short-circuit his brain to get them through this mess.

He didn't want to be in the water after yesterday. He fought, scrambled, pushed and clawed his way out of that subway station to get back to fresh air, to stop from drowning. Eric didn't want to do that again, but if this was their only chance at refuge then he didn't have a choice. As long as he had (Y/n) with him this time, Eric might just be able to get through this.

'Okay?'

(Y/n) mouthed quietly once Eric finally opened his eyes after their lips parted. He seemed a little calmer and his breathing was a lot better now.

He managed to nod and before (Y/n) could turn around in his arms, her eyes widened and she grasped onto his neck when she felt his hands move. He was slow but stealth as he pulled her chest against his and started to walk, giving her no choice but to loop her legs around his waist.

At least with them being in the water, Eric wasn't really carrying her or needing to hold her weight; the water was doing that for him.

If he wanted to see her face and hold her like this, if it was going to help get him through this then (Y/n) was okay with that. She would stay cuddled up against him if it was what Eric needed.

Her legs looped loosely around Eric's waist to sit on his hips and her arms curled around the back of his neck. When Eric rested his chin on her shoulder and meshed his cheek against hers, (Y/n) began to card her fingers through his curls and she turned her head slightly hush and breathe against the shell of his ear. Praying that giving him some kind of noise, no matter how discreet, might just calm him down.

Eric breathed against her shoulder and tried to look dead ahead and every few steps, he would tighten his arms around (Y/n)'s waist.

(Y/n) kept her eyes peeled for the creature that was slowly but surely heading their way. Climbing the ceiling, crawling somewhat like an oversized spider to get to them. To kill them. She was glad Eric was looking the other way, him seeing the creature would only ignite his panic. Not that (Y/n) wasn't panicking, seeing the creature getting closer, but she could cope a little better than Eric.

It wasn't until the water rose towards Eric's lips that he started to struggle. He could walk and wade through the water just fine, but it was harder to keep moving with the water getting higher the further they went. He didn't want to start taking a nose dive under the water. He wanted to get out now.

The creature screeched as it scrambled faster along the tunnel when a bit of concrete smashed against the wall with the flow of water.

The noise made (Y/n) shudder in Eric's arms and she turned to look behind her to see how much further they had to go to get to the next junction. The next platform where they would be safe.

It didn't look much further. If they could get through that water, the creature wouldn't survive. It wouldn't follow through the water. The current was already doing half their job by dragging them along.

Another whimper left Eric's lips as he stopped walking, but it didn't make a difference. They were floating along now. He could barely breathe. His lungs were tightening, his head was tilted back with (Y/n)'s but they didn't have a lot of space left to breathe before they would be submerged.

He couldn't go under again. He couldn't drown again. He couldn't!

"No, no." Eric's lip wobbled as he started to shake his head and he wafted one arm to try and stop them from going any further, but it was futile. The water was dragging them. The creature was screaming behind them and getting closer. It splashed into the water and started to speed up towards them, despite its own sense of panic.

(Y/n) unravelled one arm from Eric's neck so she could point to her face before she pointed to the water.

She watched him shake his head; he didn't want to go under. They were running out of time, air, space; and choice.

Her legs unlatched from his hips but her hands cupped his face and she kissed the corner of his mouth again while she forced him to look into her eyes. She wasn't going to let go. She would stay with him, she would be here with him and she would look after him. But he had to trust her, he had to do this.

"Baby, you have to." When Eric shook his head, (Y/n) nodded and kissed him again. "Keep hold of me baby. Head under. Now!"

Her lips attached to his and she tried to breathe as much air as she could into his lungs before her hands moved to his shoulders and she pushed. She only had to nudge a tiny bit before the water did the rest and rose above their heads.

The feeling of Eric's nails piercing her skin was somehow oddly comforting, it meant he was still clinging to her and by her side through the madness. His fingers scraped and clutched at her skin until he had a tight grip of her forearm and he dragged her arm towards his chest.

To stick to Eric without being pulled away by the current, (Y/n) looped an arm around the back of his neck when they were close enough. She tried to keep her eyes open but the water burned and the little flecks of grit and dirt made it impossible to keep looking.

She had to close her eyes and hope the current would take them to a pocket of air or a new platform. Somewhere they could get out.

Their legs thrashed together, kicking at bits of ironwork, bricks, tiles and what Eric was sure was the creature which made him thrash harder. He fought with all his might, twisting as the current turned him upside down like he was on his way to Wonderland.

He clutched at (Y/n), making sure not to lose her for a moment. He didn't want to become parted, they couldn't be separated. Not at any cost.

He had to close his eyes when he felt the need to scream, the need to make a noise and the desperate urge to breathe which he knew would choke him.

A rock pummelled into Eric's chest and sent him reeling to the right, barelling into (Y/n)'s frame before the water seemed to spit them out like a bad taste.

They crashed onto a broken pile of rubble and dirt and the air overwhelmed them until they were both spluttering and gasping for air.

They made it.

The creature wasn't nearby. It hadn't survived the water. They did. They had made it somewhere safe; they were near a makeshift tunnel, leading up to a patch of light ahead. That had to be somewhere safe, somewhere better than this.

(Y/n) felt her head spinning in circles as she collapsed on her back on the rubble with the water licking at her heels like it was trying to thank her. Her chest heaved but she spluttered when she felt Eric move. His head plopped down on her chest and his arm deadlocked around her waist as he laid on top of her, gasping just as much as she was.

His wet lips attached to the side of her neck and he clung to her as much as he could without fully squashing her beneath him.

When he felt her fingers weave into the hair at the back of his head and her lips flutter against his temple, Eric could of cried. But it was her words, hushed against his dripping forehead while they clung to one another, that made Eric's whole body light up.

"I'm so proud of you."

[rey-jake-therapist]

Crazy thought maybe, but what if finals 'Glambrand' was a foreshadowing of the look that Sauron will have in season 3? 👀

I know most of TROP fans want Sauron to create another persona and to have another change of look. It wouldn't make sense for him to remain Annatar to meet the "kings of men" who will take the Nine rings of power, so he'll probably turn into a man again. But as much as I'd like to see Sauron with red hair from a purely esthetic point of view, TROP-canon wise I don't really see why he would bother transforming again, while a connection has already been established between him, the ex Southlands now Mordor, and Numenor...

I just don't believe that the "king of the Southlands" plot was created only for the sake of showing Sauron deceiving Galadriel tbh. I also don't think that Sauron asked Adar to "let his people go" only to deceive him into thinking he was just a good king who cared for his people. I still believe he had another agenda, like reminding the Southlanders that he was still alive, and making them root for him.

I mean, imho he influenced Adar into releasing them. Adar's first reaction to Halbrand!Sauron's proposal was "I will torture you until you tell me everything I want to hear and beg me to kill you", basically. Adar had no intention of freeing these people, he didn't take this little man seriously.

But finally, what happened? Adar didn't even try to torture Halbrand!Sauron (I don't think we can count Waldreg's pathetic power trips as 'torture', and it wasn't done on Adar's orders), he went straight to him and told him his people were free. What changed, if not that Sauron messed with Adar's mind and influenced him into doing what he wanted? Like he did through all season 2: until he wore Nenya, Adar was doing Sauron's bidding without being aware of it.

Between the scene where Waldreg mistreats Sauron for fun (which is hilarious considering that his goal always had been to serve Sauron, not Adar uh uh) and the scene where Adar visits Halbrand!Sauron, we see Adar filmed from behind, standing and hearing Waldreg beating him up, apparently deep in his thoughts. I think Sauron felt/saw his presence outside and established a connection with him.

Let's not forget what Gil-Galad told Galadriel in the following episode: "once the Deceiver obtains a being's trust, he gains the ability to sculpt their very thoughts. To deceive not only their heart and mind, but their eyes and ears. To alter their very reality. You have already been affected once." (a foreshadowing for a struggle that we didn't see Galadriel face yet, by the way. Sauron didn't try to do that to her at any point during season 2, not even during the finals). Adar was already affected by Sauron as well, the connection they have is undeniable.

And why would Sauron want Adar's slaves to be freed? There's no way he genuinely cares for these people, hence why I suspect it was part of a larger plan...

As Halbrand, Sauron's already considered as "king of the Southlands": he's just got one more extra step to claim himself as "King of Men", after distributing the Nine rings of power like candies to the "good people" of his choice (men he can easily corrupt), which would connect TROP with the lore.

"[...] and [Sauron] had taken now the title of King of Men [...]" —The Silmarillion, Akallabêth"

It will piss off Ar-Pharazon, who will sail to Mordor with his armies, seemingly capture Sauron and take him to Numenor as a 'prisoner'. Sauron being the sneaky little shit he is, he will of course turn the tide in his favor. That won't happen before the end of season 3 or early season 4, imho.

Master and god of most of the Men in Middle-earth in the Second Age,[1] Sauron styled himself as "King of Men",[2] encouraging a cult of fear and worship among his subjects.[3] Later, Ar-Pharazôn arose seeking to supplant Sauron as ruler of all Men, After seemingly humbling Sauron, Ar-Pharazôn claimed the mantle of "King of Men" upon returning to Númenor, though in truth "Sauron ruled all from behind the throne". Ar-Pharazôn continued to formally hold onto the title until his fall.[2]

Why wouldn't he take another form to do all that? To me the real question is, "why would he?"... Because in the lore, it's said he has a new appearance and calls himself by other names? It's a fair point, no doubt, but TROP has established its own canon. There's no 'Halbrand' in the books; Sauron was never crowned "king of the Southlans", and he probably never met Galadriel before he went to Eregion. And he of course didn't get access to Celebrimbor thanks to her either. That's why I'm not convinced that they'll follow the book lore in this regard, while they have this Halbrand personal who already established a connection with Ar Pharazon (who knows he's Sauron thanks to the Palantir).

If I suggested at the beginning of this post that he could go back as Glambrand and not just as Halbrand, it's because in the books he's described as "wise and fair", when he claims himself "king of Men". Halbrand didn't look "wise", but I think Glambrand could do the trick.

This if of course pure speculation from my part. Feel free to bring another point of view!

[artificial-absinthe]

Crazy, how you ask for understanding and end up being slightly vilified by the entitled ppl who are too lazy to litteraly tag a post...

Btw great point with ooc tag. I'd also love it. I'm just scared of rebloging your post as it seems whenever you want personalization, you may be seen as queer fobic and the worst evil, while it's just a preference to see the canon. Like litteraly ppl don't get that if they'd start making Megatron in green colours just because they like it, the ooc tag would be nice too.

But of course it's a gender thing so ppl will get offended... and I'm saying this, being in favour of your post, and being fuken queer... It's just sad, cause it's always going to the "oh consider xyz because we feel offended" while the op requesting this may be the nicest ally or queer themselves. But because their bubble is touched, they can't understand that they pierce your bubble as well, in the end turning into the conservative thinking of "I'd not tag my post, cause my idea is more important, or it makes me happy, so fuck you I'm free citizen, and allowed to do what I want"... and then they try to say, they are the opened, inclusive ones... while their thinking is litteraly the same as those, they oppose. It's just funny to me... how ppl just can't take a simple, kind request... they need to go balistic on both sides over it, as I'm also disapointed with those who just ran to harras the person... they are also guilty of asshole type of thinking... It's just sad how even in seemingly progressive place, there are still so many "conservative thinking" assholes...

Eh sorry for the long ramble. Just wanted to tell you, that you're not alone with this thinking. Just wanted to let u know, even that I know you'd say you don't care if someone agrees or not. But still, thank u for this post. Maybe it will change something for the better despite countless idiots who can't take a request like a civilised human beings...

No need to apologize at all. You absolutely understand it all and make very accurate and relevant points, and I totally agree with you.

I didn't even knew that this was still going. I figured some people had, though begrudgingly, accepted to use a tag, and some others would flood the Megatron tag with their occ content without a tag to filter out of spite (exactly with the mindset that you described), because people speaking ill of me doesn't even come to tell me directly, perhaps because they know I genuinely won't be affected by their hate and misplaced adjectives, and so I only know of this when someone else tells me.

On the other hand, while I do not crave for understanding, it's very nice that the people who agree with me voice it, because this request and pointing out is not only for me, but also for everyone else who is tired of the OCC thing flooding the content about a character.

Indeed, you are not the only one who has said this to me, and even before I made that request I had held conversations about how people was tired of it, but also feared voicing it because they, like yourself, were wary about getting the "queerfobic" hate. Which is no more than a shield that people abuse of whenever someone disagrees with their headcanons or anything else. That way they make themselves to be "on the right" and rally sympathizers to share their grudge with and attack the ones disagreeing with them. Which is a very unbecoming thing to do, and I wish they just acknowledged the reasons for what they are. (In this case, not everyone likes mischaracterization/Occ content. Period)

Thus, I decided to be the one to voice it, but it would be good that all the anons and people agreeing with me in private would do it publicly, without being haters themselves as some had been (which was counterproductive, actually), because that way it could be taken seriously and only for what it is... Perhaps... hopefully.

Of course I'm not saying that I don't appreciate that you say it also like this, since I understand that not everyone can be as cold as myself.

[five-one-two-station]

At this point I am convinced some people are watching this show solely via the subtitle files, because that's the only thing that explains drastically misunderstanding everything that's not spelled out in dialogue to this extent.

Honestly some of the most embarrassing mass failure of media literacy I've ever seen. It's not even complicated stuff, it's basic text comprehension and story fluency.

- No, Caitlyn's "I know!" is not anger at being called out; she's saying she is very, very painfully aware of what she's done wrong. Watch it again.

- No she didn't take the guards away or go to the cell to have sex with Vi. TF?!?

It was Vi who initiated; Caitlyn was surprised she did.

She pulled the guards away to help Vi if/when she chose to do what she knows her well enough to know she probably would. Vi makes her choice - Caitlyn doesn't "let" her, she just supports it, because it's Vi's choice to make.

Vi has no idea she's done this until after, it doesn't affect her "agency" at all. That's not what any of those words mean!

- She did this as a direct acknowledgement of and response to Vi's previous criticisms.

You are supposed to be able to make the very, very minimal leap of imagination required to understand what the show is telling you here; that she is genuinely sorry, genuinely committed to getting her shit together, and that she has heard and received every word that Vi has told her.

The reason this gesture is so important is that it demonstrates she's now going out on a limb to put herself, her resources, and her privilege to work for the greater good.

And the reason Vi reacts the way she does is that she understands all of this immediately.

You should not need the show to sit you down and spell this out to you step by step Barney the Dinosaur style.

- She works very hard and sacrifices quite a lot to try to do right by people after fucking up so badly before, but not before very explicitly acknowledging that she can't undo the harm she's already done. And this isn't even an inference thing, she actually even says this bit out loud twice, and you still somehow missed it.

- For $5, what do you think the show was suggesting by having Sevika take up her seat, her final costume have no Enforcer uniform elements, and having her allude to an ongoing struggle. Come on, guess.

I am loathe to call people stupid just because some tv show stuff sailed over their heads, but... y'all are legitimately testing that. This is not exactly The Holy Mountain or something, it is very straightforward storytelling.

And just... I mean why would you be this loud about anything without making sure you didn't have it ass backways first?!? In public!?!? 💀

You guys, you have to watch shows to know what is happening in them.

[vivwritesfics]

Easy Is The Way

He made it very clear that you would entertain his company, but little else. He would no fall for you, but he would not be cruel to you. He would be kind to you, he would care for you, but he would not let himself fall for you

Lucius Verus x reader (general Acacius's daughter)

Chapter One

"What did he do to you?" Your father whispered once you had gotten home.

"Nothing," you said quickly, shaking your head. "Father, he was not cruel to me. He did not lay a hand on me. He allowed me to rest." Your arms were crossed over your stomach, holding your sides as you looked at the floor.

Your father wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head. "I will put a stop to this," he whispered, a tear escaping his eye and rolling down his cheek. "Even if it ends me."

You swallowed, your mouth dry as you stepped back, as you walked away from him. The baths. You just wanted to wash. Wash away the Colosseum, wash away all of it.

Hanno. His home had been taken from him by your father. His life had been ruined by your father. His wife, murdered at your father's command. He had no reason to be kind to you, had every reason to wrap his hands around your neck and watch you die.

It was the revenge he so deserved. Take the life of Marcus Acacius' daughter, avenge his wife.

Something was going on with Lucilla.

As you bathed, you heard whispers. Things that the staff had overheard, that they were sharing amongst themselves. But they weren't sharing it with you. You tried to listen in as you soaked in the warm waters of the private baths in your home, but they were keenly aware of you.

The information was not for your ears, that was clear.

Your father was being secretive, quiet. Whatever was going on with Lucilla was shared between them, not for your ears. You gritted your teeth and tried to not let the frustration show on your face.

No matter what room you entered, it fell silent as soon you did. Even if you tried to creep, you were unable to keep yourself hidden. Your fathers trained ears were able to pick you up the moment your sandals hit the stone floor.

You couldn't hide that it frustrated you. Not knowing, being left in the dark.

The next day of the games. You didn't expect your gladiator to survive. But he wasn't your gladiator, was he? He was just a gladiator who happened to be kind to you.

Maybe the Emperors would make another example out of you. Maybe they would send you down to the Colosseum again if he won, send you to be his prize. You could spend time with him, get to know more about him and his home.

The colosseum was full of water. It looked beautiful, but you knew that it was deadly. Water full of sharks and, soon, the remains of gladiators.

Seated beside your father, you watched as the ships emerged. There was little you could hear over the cheer of the crowd, but Hanno's voice rang out. You couldn't make out what he was saying, but it was clear as day that he was leading his men.

Whilst everyone cheered, while the twin Emperors grinned down at the scene in front of them, the scene that had been carefully curated for their amusement and pleasure, you shut your eyes. The violence and blood and gore of men fighting men had already been too much for you.

This was another level of barbaric.

The same air of unease settled over Lucilla and your father. She held his hand, unable to breathe as the flaming arrows were shot towards the gladiators.

The sail was on fire as the two ships headed towards each other. Muttered prayers left your lips, not loud enough for anybody to hear over the noises of the crowd. This wasn't real to them. Some game to fill their afternoon.

The first gladiator fell into the water. You could only hope that the arrow piercing his armour got to him before the shark did. The beast grabbed him, tore him apart as the water around his body turned red.

Your heart beat erratically as you searched for Hanno. There he was, still commanding the gladiators. You released a breath, sitting back in your seat.

They used the ship like a battering ram, splintering the hull of the other one. Immediately, Hanno began running. He leapt onto the other ship, taking two men down with him.

Another man fell into the water. The sharp immediately grabbed him and dragged him to his death.

In a way you were grateful for the smoke that obscured your view. You couldn't see the danger, couldn't see the brutality happening before you.

You couldn't see if Hanno was stabbed. You couldn't see if he was tossed into the water and torn apart by the sharks. In a way it was a blessing.

But you didn't know what was happening. It had unease settling in your chest as you desperately tried to see what was going on. The glimpses, not long enough to see which gladiator was which, did nothing to settle you.

The ships moved closer, oars splintering against the Colosseum walls. They were in front of you now, close enough that you could hear every time their swords clashed, every grunt that left their lips. You couldn't look away.

Suddenly, you caught a glimpse of Hanno. He grabbed the crossbow and raised it as the other gladiators fought. For a moment, one moment where your anxiety had spiked so high, you thought he was pointing it at you. But his eyes were trained on you, he hadn't even looked your way.

Your father. He wanted to kill your father. If it wasn't for the gladiator that knocked into him, he would have. He loosed the arrow as the other gladiator touched him and the arrow embedded itself in Emperor Geta's seat.

You couldn't stop the way you gasped. For a brief second, while he picked himself up, he looked at you. Geta shouted. You didn't know what he shouted as you sat forward in your seat. Your father stood, pulling Lucilla up with him. It wasn't safe, that was clear.

Your father pulled you to your feet, but you shrugged off his grip, desperate to see more. Hanno would not hurt you, you knew that much.

Geta and Caracalla ran, their tails tucked between their legs. But your father was still, unable to look away from the gladiator that had threatened his life. Did he know that he was the real target? That the arrow was never meant for Emperor Geta?

"In the name of the Emperors!" The games master shouted, drawing out every word "The victor is Hanno!"

Macrinus stood, and you did the same. You raced out ahead of him, heading the way they took you the day before, when you being given as a prize, as a punishment.

They didn't stop you as you moved through the colosseum. Everybody beneath the colosseum cheered, beat their chests as Hanno as his army (because really, what else were they? They were willing to follow him to the ends of the earth) walked through.

You watched, hidden behind the men as they stopped. "Who did this?" Somebody shouted, but you couldn't see who. You didn't move around too much, desperate to keep yourself hidden until you could get to Hanno.

Nobody answered. The cheering stopped, all eyes on the gladiators that had just finished competing. The ones that had made it out of there alive, anyway.

"WHO DID THIS!"

"It was me!"

"I did it!"

"I did it!"

"I did it!"

There were shouts from every direction, making it impossible to pinpoint the true culprit. But you knew, you had seen it first had. It struct you then how close you were to losing your life at Hanno's hands.

"Geta will want retribution for all of you." He approached Hanno as each word left his lips, seemingly punctuated by his steps. "Did you learn to shoot the same place you learnt to recite poetry?"

"Be glad it wasn't me or that arrow would have found you." Hanno's deep voice echoed throughout the Colosseum. Low and deadly, reverberating through you. But the laughs of the gladiators drowned it out.

He turned away, moved through his fellow gladiators until his eyes landed on you. His eyebrows went up, but he said nothing as he grabbed you and tucked you into his side.

It wasn't a move of affection, a move to keep you safe from the other gladiators. "I was not aiming for you," he said quietly, the words meant only for you.

"I know," you replied as he sat down. "You were aiming for the general, weren't you?"

He nodded and your fingers worked to strip him of his armour. He sat still, staring up at you as you tugged the leather. His injuries weren't as bad as they were the game before. The wounds that Ravi had closed up previously had remained closed through the game.

"I don't blame you for wanting to kill the general," you whispered, rocking on your feet. You didn't realise that you were doing it until he grabbed the backs of your thighs to still you.

The both of you were still, unmoving as you stared at each other. Hanno blinked at you, searched your face. You didn't know what he was reading in your face.

You wanted to touch him, wanted to reach up and wipe the blood from his cheeks. You wanted to touch his shoulders, feel the muscles there. He could easily cage you in with nothing but his arms, and it would leave you feeling nothing but safe.

"You watch the games with him although you hate it," he said, eyes still searching your face. You didn't move didn't react. "You are there as punishment. Just as you are here as punishment."

You shook your head and let go of his armour, letting it drop to the floor. "Yesterday, the emperors sent me here to set an example for my father. To show him what they can do should he threaten to disobey. Today, I am here of my own volition."

You stepped back as Ravi approached, letting him check over your gladiator. But still, Hanno was looking at you. "Why?" He asked.

Swallowing, you looked at your sandals. Ravi glanced at you for a moment, only a moment, and turned his attention back to Hanno. Did he know who you were? He must have. You could only pray that he didn't reveal you.

"I had to know," you whispered, breath catching in your throat. "I had to make sure they hadn't killed you for what you have done."

It took you by surprise when Hanno laughed. He let his gaze drop to his lap as he continued to laugh. "I will not be slain by a Roman sword," he said and Ravi stepped away from him.

Standing once again, Hanno grabbed it. It wasn't harsh, pulling you close once again to lead you through the Colosseum. No other gladiator dared to look at you when Hanno, the champion, had a hold of you.

It was a night much like the first. This time, Hanno sat closer to you as you. Your words were hushed, whispered between the two of you. To anybody looking into his cell, it would have looked like a sweet moment, two lovers, sharing their affection between each other.

But it wasn't that. You spoke of Rome, of a dream that had died when Emperor Geta and Emperor Caracalla took power. The dream of Lucilla's father, of Lucilla. You didn't mention her name in front of Hanno, didn't mention the wife of the general.

Hanno echoed back your thoughts. He, a man from Numidia, had the same dream of Rome. A free Rome, a Rome for the people.

"You speak such fantasies," you whispered as you laid down on his bed, forced to lay against each other by the size of it. "You speak of it like you how great Rome can be."

He let his arms wrap around you, pull you close so that you weren't hanging from the edge of the bed. A more comfortable way to lay, that was how the both of you justified it to yourselves. He moved closer and you realised why when he started speaking. So quietly, you wouldn't have been able to hear it if his lips weren't pressed against your ear.

"I am from Numidia, yes, but I was not born there," he said to you, lips kissing your ear with every word.

Hanno gave you no more information. But you took in his words, a secret you would keep close to your chest. He brushed your hair back, laying your head down on his bicep. "Sleep now," he said to you, and you shut your eyes.

But you didn't sleep right away. "Hanno?" You whispered, shuffling closer to him. You opened your eyes as he grunted, meeting the one eye he had open to look at you. "What will you do once you are a free man?"

Hanno let his eye fall shut and furrowed his brow. "The Colosseum does not lead to freedom. I will die in there, killed by another man or worn down by exhaustion, struck down by an infected wound or a disease."

You felt yourself deflate, your hand on his bare chest. "I do not wish that for you." His lack of response, steady rise and fall of his chest beneath your fingertips left you to believe that he had fallen asleep.

***

You were not there, not in his house. Not in the palace, either. Wherever you were, your father just had to hope that you were safe.

General Acacius was doing this for his wife. He didn't want you mixed up in it. There was no telling what the Emperors would do to you if they found out what Acacius was doing.

He prayed to the Gods before he set off to the Colosseum, his most loyal men following him. Cloaked and under the cover of darkness, they rode to the Colosseum. Acacius was privy to the Emperor's plans for their praetorians, where they were stationed.

It should have been safe.

His men surrounded him as they marched into the Colosseum, holding their torches high. They walked through the stone corridor, heading towards the gladiators sleeping quarters. He didn't know that you were there, sleeping soundly against the gladiator that had tried to kill him.

Suddenly, his men dropped, arrows embedded into their necks. Their arrows hit their marks, leaving only the General Acacius standing.

No.

The Emperor's guards were not supposed to be here. This wasn't right. How could they have known about a plan hushed between husband and wife?

A guard used his sword to push the hot from Acacius's head, revealing his face. He kept a look of defiance on his face has he stared at the guard. But inside, he was screaming.

Somebody had betrayed them. Because of that, he was going to lose everything. His wife, his co-conspirator, would be punished in much the same way he would be. Death.

You were innocent in all of this. You didn't know what Lucilla and your father had been planning, yet the Emperor's would punish you. Punish you to hurt him one last time before he was put to death.

Your life at risk because of him. He would never forgive himself.

a/n: i'm hoping to do just one more part for this mini series, but I am loving it, i must admit - also, do i change my blog theme to lucius?

taglist:

@barcelonaloverf1life

@lefroggie

@tsunchani

@bxm-1012

@nicolebarnes

@whoopie6995

@shelbyteller

@saragrx

@ariesandwolves

@biapascal

@rrrrussosstuff

[bemuseing]

If someone told Descole that he had a mental illness, how would he react? / What if a close friend suggested it? / What if a professional made an official diagnosis? / What if a close friend or relative of his was given the diagnosis instead?

I am not sure exactly how he would react but considering this man and what has happened to him during his life I am pretty sure he would not be surprised. I think he's fully aware he has issues. (For the first option at least, the exact reaction will probably depend on the tone in which it was said.)

I tend not to go into named specifics of what my muses may or may not be suffering from (I'm not confident enough or knowledgeable + experienced enough to do that beyond offhanded mentions or hints here and there) but that doesn't mean there is Nothing Going On.

Honestly, I think he would give it credence no matter who said it, as long as they weren't saying it in a mocking way. He might not express that he's giving it weight depending on who's saying it, but he would at least evaluate it - again, he Definitely has issues and he isn't blind to them. If it's coming from a close friend or family member [even if his family situation is... complicated], he would give it serious consideration. A professional diagnosis would re-enforce that, although I can't see him seeking one at this stage for any reason.

I'm not sure being aware of it would change a great deal about what he does. He's not really a seeks recovery or help type of person, at least in canon.

As for the last option, I think again the specifics would depend on the person and the situation in question (mental illness is a very broad term after all). If it was his brother or his father for example he wouldn't be surprised at all. They ALL have issues. Traumatised the entire family. Overall though I think he would approach it from a fairly intellectual point of view (as in he's accepting of the fact it is how it is, and will try to understand, even if he can't relate or isn't well-versed in it. But he'll probably research it, then! Man is a nerd after all and when he cares he cares).

[pix-writes]

Stanford Pines relationship HCs

(ford pines x reader) there will be smut so, 18+ below... Some angst, mainly fluff, I HC that most if not all of the pines family are neurodivergent in some way.

A/N: I had a long journey last week and all I could think about was the stans, so this will become specific... 😅 Will do the same for Stanley too in the future.

Ford has a lot to catch up on when he comes back through the portal, but he won't jump into a relationship immediately, it will still take a little time, he's got a lot to adjust to in his home dimension and being with someone has not been his forte.

But once he does he's surprisingly clingy, will want to cuddle up to you, in bed, on the couch, wherever you both are. Not one for real PDA, but will be close to you and call you terms of endearment out in public, just a little less than he does at home. I HC that he'd call his partner "dear" "darling" "honey", looooves your hips and putting his arm around your waist (it's a great way to pull you in to snuggle).

Doesn't hold your hand at first but since you like him to hold your hand and give him assurance over the fact that you like his six fingers, he does. It loosens his insecurities around his hands a lot.

Gets addicted to kissing you, doesn't care whether it leads to more or not, Stanford simply loves kissing whether it's brief or a good long make out session. But he does prefer to take his time over it.

Stanford is very logical, good at patching himself up from decades of portal hopping and therefore will do the same for you if you need it, is meticulous if you get hurt in any way but also has an appalling bedside manner! Doesn't tell you if he's going to do something that will sting and tells you not to be overdramatic if you react negatively to it (you know how people can get a little angry when someone they love gets potentially seriously hurt?). And yet you know him to be a gentle man, generally touches you softly like you're made of glass (unless it's to pull you away from something dangerous), so having him take care of you can also be comforting, he'll never do something painful unless it's necessary. (Don't worry though, his brother will make you stan cakes to cheer you both up.)

Speaking of food, Ford definitely prefers his home universe food to what he had in the other dimensions, tried lots of different unusual dishes, some he even liked, but none of it can compare to his homely comforts. When not sailing and adventuring, he puts on a few pounds. Satiates his sweet tooth and caffeine addiction with mabel juice (is the only other one of the pines to like it), prefers it to coffee. Stanley swears his tastebuds must've been affected during his time away. Doesn't like it with as much edible glitter as mabel does, but this is the only deviation from the original recipe he has.

Excellent teacher, you want to learn how he does something? More than eager to teach you with a steady hand and clear pace. Will teach you regardless how to shoot his laser and magnetic guns, how to defend yourself and how to meditate (if you didn't know these already). Can get into the information and ramble like you know about a topic and then realise (eventually) that he needs to break down or explain what he means.

Despite this he also has a romantic streak, whilst he can forget everything aside from his work or adventures, including important dates, he can also be a very considerate and supportive partner and post-portal wants to include you as much as possible in his life and conversations. You can talk for hours about any and all topics and he loves to be mentally stimulated in a relationship, however that may be.

Does sometimes have nightmares and deep guilt over Stanley and is dealing with it as best as he can, likes to know he can count on you for comfort and guidance, makes him feel less panicked or paranoid after Bill. He and his brother talk things out too and these talks can go on all night into the early morning and it's best for them to have space, Ford is grateful for your patience and willingness to be involved in his life, especially as he knows he wasn't good at opening up to you when you were starting to become friends let alone a relationship.

Ford would be shy at first, but once he gets comfortable with how to pleasure you, expect this man to be kind of obsessed. That absorbing focus he can have on his projects and studies? Yeah that can be transferred to you just as easily, which can be a little intense!

You off-handendly mention something about sexual experiences, perhaps even a joke about things you haven't tried, catching his perplexed look afterwards, you say it's simply fantasy and not really something you need to experience. However what you took for confusion or slight insecurity was actually Ford processing what you said. In fact, it doesn't leave his mind and so he does something he's good at: he does some research 😏

One night you might even wake up from sleep to find him sitting upright, lightly snoring, bedside lamp on, clearly fallen asleep whilst writing on his portable writing desk (it's either a gift from you or the twins, not sure which to choose!), when curiosity gets the better of you and you sneak a page out into your hands, you're faced with his attempts at organising fantasies, what he thinks you would want to try, how would you react to different stimuli or some of his own fantasies... Mainly figuring out how many orgasms he could coax out of you or how long he thinks he could edge you over time, what positions or rp you might like: he's worked it all out in a haphazard kind of way, like he's brainstorming the best approaches.

It's so plan-sexual scientific it's frank but... attractive, because it's so... him.

Whether he wakes up on his own or you wake him up, he ends up blushing, though he's not really sorry that you've found it. He's looking at you with this mix of nerves for how you'll react and new found smugness when he sees that you've been affected by what you've read... And yeah, neither of you are leaving that bed for a long time.

Basically, like a true scientist, he is down to experiment! 😄 He's willing to try anything as long as it's not going to seriously hurt you or it's something he wouldn't try on himself first, this is a boundary he's never willing to cross. Trust and open communication is an important thing for him post-weirdmaggeddon especially, and he's getting better at it as he goes along, so even though he often doesn't feel confident, he is infuriatingly good at aftercare and all the rest!

This means when he's not tripping over his words or flustered by you himself -he can be a damn tease at times and will chuckle to himself when you curse him out for the subtle touches he'll give you over the course of the day before pulling away. Sometimes he doesn't even know he's done it, which is evil.

Stanley will make grumbly jokes about how "you two lovebirds need to get a room!" Or about needing to move out 😅 but honestly he's truly happy his brother is happy and if you get married he will sob the whole time, even through his roasting joke filled best man speech! (Cracks a joke more than once to you that you need to make Ford an "honest man" and then laughs at it himself before whispering to you that he can get the rings if you really want to.)

Will and does suffer in the warmer months because he will wear long sleeves, full length pants and or a turtle neck for the comfort aesthetic

Personality wise him and Stan are different as can be but they often sync up physically in their mannerisms or what they say, as freaky as it is cute in a way, when you are tired/drunk you can swear you're seeing double, which amuses both of them.

His favourite shared past time with you is any kind of board or card game, some of them the rest of the family will join in for, but will also love someone to play d&d&md with if you're willing! Loves to get into the details of the rules of whatever you're playing together and it can get quite heated (secretly finds your frustrated side quite attractive, as long as you're not actually angry at him).

I feel like Stanford would get into videogames as soon as he becomes more adept at technology in this dimension, likely it's dipper who is the one to introduce it to him and he loves it (nerd). Will marathon catch ups on all the movies and shows he's missed; especially the series he was into that got continued after the portal incident. You lose him to Star Wars prequels etc for at least a couple weeks of him getting his head round all the lore and how it works, may have controversial opinions and needs to work it all out, may need to contact dipper about this.

Regularly has calls with the family (mainly the twins) over video chat (and will always call it 'video calling' no matter what platform they're using), so once you're together that includes you too and be prepared to be bombarded with questions from them (your their new graunty or grunkle after all) ❤️

[thedarkermelody]

Cale Henituse is the funniest bastard to have as an MC, he's a unreliable narrator and everyone sees it. He wants to slack off and says world peace needed first before that.

Hates cats yet adopts two and plans to make a third king, scams people constantly, the most skewed perception of how to be a trashy man. Says he isn't a good person, does things that help people constantly, justifies it saying cause he didn't have pure motives for doing it it's not a good deed so he's still a bad person. Adopts a dragon even though he said he didn't want it near him cause he'd be in the middle of crazy situations, said by the guy who puts himself in situations constantly all the time. "I don't care about this old man assassin and want him to leave as soon as possible' several chapters later when said assassin comes back hurt and dying "What the fuck i'm going to blow up an island the bastards behind this are on" Yeah he blows up an island, says 'well the ships can just sail a bit further so it can go no biggie.' Said explosion is several times bigger then it should be, cause of his chronic inability to communicate with anyone ever. Stop saying shit exclusively in your head dumbass! He coughs up blood constantly from rebound his powers cause, fails to understand why anyone is upset by this sight when he's 'fine'. Has a healing power, fails to disclose that too to anyone. "I'm weak." Says this fucking idiot, while blasting his charisma aura that makes you feel like your going to die at people who have no idea it's a buff and take it seriously. While using a giant fuck off shield to block bombs. While blasting people with a thunderbolt that can blow up a forest. He's so stupid /aff I want to bite him like a chew toy and shake some sense but we all know he'll never get any.

[bumblebeesfromvenus]

Soft Feathers, Softer Kisses 🦉

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

I'm soooo excited for y'all to see this!!!!

My first time writing for Telemachus and EPIC in general so please go easy on me 🥲

This was born from my need to smooch Tele. He's so cute 🥹

*the art is not mine, I got it from pinterest, if anyone knows the artists lmk pls!*

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

You're betrothed to the prince of Ithaca. His father is lost at sea and 108 suitors are pushing his mother to choose a new king. When one of them insults the queen, a fight breaks loose, and you end up fiercely defending your lover with a determined owl at your side.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

The sound of your sandals on the smooth palace floor echoed off the marble walls, the fabric of your chiton that wasn't bunched up in your hands was brushing against your legs while you hurried towards the hall.

The commotion had managed to make its way through the entire building like a breeze of the salty sea air.

Still, the news reached you later than you'd have liked.

Worry and anger twisted in your chest, a feeling like countless arrows piercing your heart. Your lungs were burning, no breath managing to get enough oxygen in your blood.

You had to hurry.

They would eat him alive.

You were well aware of the suitors. The 108 men who'd grown stubborn roots in the palace and refused to leave without getting a chance.

The king had been gone for so long, leaving his throne empty and his family behind. It had been two decades since he sailed off to war.

Not many believed he was even still among the living, instead thinking he was slaving away in his place in the Underworld.

The queen managed to keep the kingdom from ruin for years, ever since her beloved left, and yet they insisted on a new a king, a new man to wear the crown and sit upon the throne.

A new man to take Penelope as his wife.

The moment they showed up at the gates you'd stared at them with disgust, boring into them with your sharp gaze.

None of them were fit to lead, let alone rule an entire kingdom.

The queen stalled and stalled, the hope of her husband's return heavy on her heart.

However, the suitors soon grew impatient. Causing havoc within the walls of the palace, pounding on Penelope's doors, threatening bloodshed if she didn't choose a new king.

And now, your betrothed, the prince of Ithaca, was caught in the middle of it all because he was cursed with a heart too big for his body.

When you turned the corner of the hallway, you were met with a sight that made your heart shatter and wrath boil in your veins.

The suitors had circled Telemachus, leaving him trapped with no way out while Antinous stood over him, broad shoulders throwing shadows on the face of your beloved.

He was beaten and bloodied, heaving while trying to fight back.

Although a small, proud smile cracked on your face when you saw some of the men limping or nursing their bruised eyes.

Even Antinous was left with crimson streaks dripping from his mouth, staining his teeth. Your feet were carrying you further in their direction, a mindless action.

Panic struck you when Antinous raised his hand to deliver another blow.

Without thinking, you called out to him, rage tinting your voice accompanied by the angry grinding of your teeth.

"Antinous!" You yelled, a scowl on your face as you forced your way through the ocean of suitors.

"Get away from him!"

The giant man lowered his hand with a deep chuckle and turned to face you with a smirk that made the previously boiling blood to freeze.

"If it isn't the little princess. Come to save your prince, have you? I swear it's the other way around."

The grin that sat on his face, his bloodstained teeth exposed, made bile rise up your throat.

The men chuckled, making Telemachus' head fall forward in shame.

You payed them no mind, rushing to your lover.

Giving Antinous a look that could kill, you kneeled down next to Telemachus and cupped his face, a worried crease forming between your brows while you gently brushed your thumb over the blooming bruise on his cheek to soothe it.

"Look at you.. you're bleeding!" You gasped, quickly using your chiton to wipe away the blood on his face.

"I'm fine, I promise."

Telemachus gave you an unconvincing smile, followed by a wince. The worried look on your face tugged at his heart.

You looked like you were about to cry, and he hated to think that he was the reason.

"You're not fine. You're bruised and-and what if you broke a bone? How did this even happen? They knew there'd be consequences if they-"

the words just spilled out of you, the concern for your lover was something you could no longer contain.

He cupped your cheek and smiled weakly.

"My love, please. I assure you, I'm alright-"

He was cut off by Antinous, a scoff falling from his split lips. You scowled again and rose from your knees, a panicked expression appearing on your beloved's face.

"No, don't-"

Telemachus grasped at your hand, only for you to gently tug it from his grip as you approached Antinous.

Only when you made your way over to the grinning man did you notice a big owl circling the suitors, flying high towards the tall ceiling.

You spared it a glance, noting the magnificent coloring of its feathers and the bright eyes filled with something you could only describe as a sense of justice.

Not once had you see such determination in an animal, but it managed to put your mind at ease a little.

"You filthy dog! Who do you think you are?! He is your prince, whether you like it or not. And you have no right-" you snarled, raising your hand to point a finger at him.

He quickly caught your wrist in his fierce grip, a deep frown sitting on his face.

Antinous glanced at Telemachus, who was holding his aching side trying to pull himself off the ground, before averting his eyes back to you.

"He doesn't look very princely to me."

The smirk he sported was enough to make the fire in your chest spread even more.

"You-" you sneered only to be interrupted by Antinous again.

"What? Hm? What will you do?"

"Stop." Telemachus heaved, supporting himself on a marble pillar.

You didn't let yourself be intimidated by him and rivaled him with a look just as sharp.

"There's a special place in Tarturus for you, Antinous. If he'd even allow it." You spoke quietly but firmly, feeling satisfaction bloom in your heart at his reaction.

Antinous scowled, tightening his grip around your wrist.

"He," he began, "is dead."

You smirked, a scoff making its way past your lips.

"You better pray to the gods. Lady Tyche is not on your side. You'll be lucky enough if he even grants you a way to the Underworld. I hope you have enough gold on hand. Because the only way you're getting across the Styx is in pieces." You spat at him, venom dripping from your tongue.

Antinous bared his teeth, fury blazing in his eyes as he raised his other hand in the air, presumably to strike you.

"Get."

Telemachus' voice boomed through the hall, a scorned look on his face.

"Your hands. Off of her." He sneered, pushing himself away from the pillar.

"Do you want another beating, boy?" The giant man roared, almost crushing your wrist in his hand.

Down came your feathered friend, swooping in with its sharp claws and a chilling screech, successfully tearing open a new scar across Antinous' eye. He cried out and dropped your wrist, clutching his face instead.

The other men quickly drew their swords, swinging at the bird, only to miss and receive a peck from its beak against any vulnerable spot.

The owl evaded the suitors' weapons with such grace and struck back with such vigor that you were almost mesmerized.

"Αγάπη μου." *(my love)

Telemachus' gentle call for you snapped you out of your haze.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, worried Antinous had caused you any harm. You stared at him, your lips parted.

"I... no. No, I'm alright. We should leave." You said hurried, supporting his weight while you dragged him down an opposite corridor.

You spared the suitors and the mysterious owl a last glance, a smirk tugging at your lips at the sight of 108 men being defeated by a bird.

Antinous caught your gaze, and he snarled at you, still holding his eye.

"Next time.." he called out after you, "you're dead."

The threat sent an unpleasant shiver down your spine, but he was quickly put back in line by the owl, who promptly delivered a peck to the top of his head.

With a small smile playing on your face, you led your beloved back to his rooms to take care of his wounds.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Back in your chambers, you knelt in front of Telemachus, a worried crease between your brows while you gently held a damp linen cloth to his swollen and split knuckles.

The pure white fabric was stained with the crimson blood of your lover, a sting in your heart.

Telemachus sighed and took your chin in his hand, tilting your head to look him in the eyes.

"Λουλούδι μου, your expression pains me. I'd rather see your heartwarming smile." He spoke with a small grin, hissing when his busted lip reopnend and the blood began pouring once more. *(my flower)

Quickly, you pressed the cloth to his mouth, a deep frown on your face.

"And your state pains me. You-... You could've died. These are vicious, feral men, and as much as I don't doubt your ability to stand your ground, 108 against 1.... the odds weren't on your side." You replied, such sadness in your eyes it made Telemachus' heart ache.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if..." you sighed deeply, tears threatening to fall from your lashline while your head fell forward.

His gentle hands cupped your face, the rag in your grasp long forgotten.

"But I'm okay. I promise you, my love, it's barely a scratch." A smile cracked on his face and you couldn't help but chuckle, followed by a sniffle.

"You have a larger heart than all those men combined." You whispered, pressing your palm right above his beating heart.

Telemachus cupped your hand and placed a gentle kiss to your forehead. Your eyes fell shut at the sensation as you melted further into his touch.

"Besides," he broke the silence, a smirk on his lips, "I had help."

He glanced towards his balcony and you followed his line of sight, being met with the owl resting contently on the railing, curiosity in its bright eyes.

"Yes," you chuckled, rising to your feet and walking towards the creature, gently dragging Telemachus behind you by his hand, "your mysterious feathered friend. Care to introduce me?"

"Right. Her name's Ath-"

he was cut off when the owl screeched at him and furiously flapped her wings. He startled and chuckled nervously, clearing his throat.

"I-I meant A... Alena. Yes. Her name's Alena."

If an owl had shoulders and they could sag, this is what you'd imagine it'd look like.

You laughed softly, watching as the bird narrowed her sharp eyes at Telemachus. He swallowed thickly and gave her an awkward smile.

"Well, Thank you." You said sincerely, smiling when the owl bowed her head at you.

What a curious creature.

"We should get you some ointments for those cuts and bruises."

You turned back to your beloved.

"I told you, I'm totally fi- ow."

He winced, holding his side that would undoubtedly bloom with purples and blues come evening. You sighed softly and shook your head at him.

"You're too sweet for your own good sometimes."

You caressed his cheekbone and pressed your lips to his in a gentle kiss, minding his injuries. He hummed into the kiss, resting his hands on your waist.

Lost in your embrace, the owl made another sound, something closer to the typical hoot, averting your attention to her.

She ruffled her feathers and with a last glance at the both of you she took off into sky. With a content expression you watched her glisten in the afternoon sun.

Telemachus had a bright smile on his face and waved after her, watching as she flew into the sunset, disappearing behind the horizon.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

Please let me know what you thought! <3

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I think you wanna see this @withonly-sweetheart @allysunny 👀

Thank you so so so much to @vampkennedy for assisting me with the translations 🩷

[punkshort]

Swept Away | Epilogue: Smooth Sailing

Pairing: sugardaddy!Joel Miller x f!reader

Chapter Summary: Your new job at The Parador allows for some exciting perks.

Chapter Warnings: language, angry!joel, oral (m!receiving), smut (18+ MDNI), office sex, unprotected piv sex (reader has implant now as previously mentioned, we're safe), spanking, praise kink, mentions of substance abuse (not Joel or reader)

WC: 6.1K

Series Masterlist

Ten Months Later

It was still surreal sometimes to walk into an office with your name and Creative Lead printed on a nameplate next to your door, but after a handful of months, you were beginning to feel like less of an imposter.

Admittedly, it wasn't the type of job you had been applying for. You tried to use your experience as a production assistant to get your foot in the door with a talent agency, but you weren't having any luck. When Joel offered you the job in his marketing department, you didn't think you were qualified for it, but after discussing the duties with Caroline Harris, the creative director, you discovered your background would be well suited for the job. He must have known you would have instantly taken a liking to her because after a few more days of soul searching, you accepted the offer.

It felt strange in the beginning, and sometimes you still felt paranoid other employees were looking at you like you didn't deserve your success, but you felt confident all the hard work you did in the past several months spoke for itself.

And as it turned out, you were actually really fucking good at your job.

You left your office door cracked and set your things down on top of the chest of drawers behind your desk. Smoothing down your simple, grey dress that fell just above the knee, you sat down with a sigh in your leather chair and booted up your computer. While you waited for it to turn on, you sipped your coffee and glanced at your phone.

Zoe: Remember to call me later, I have news! I'm dating someone new!

You grinned and tapped out a quick response, promising to call before it got too late on the East Coast. Zoe never found out the truth about you and Joel, but you figured by now it didn't matter much. As far as she knew, you were still planning the "wedding", but it was just delayed until the hotel was built in Fiji, meaning you had a decent chunk of time to come up with another cover.

You saw a flash on your computer screen, indicating the monitor was up and running, so you placed your phone down to type in your password, then gasped excitedly when you were reminded of a Zoom call you had scheduled with Ellie.

Even though hiring Ellie wasn't technically your idea, Joel told Caroline it was because as he had told you at the time, he wouldn't have given her a second thought had you not been so taken with her work. So Caroline put you in charge of overseeing her progress, as well as a few other things for the new hotel.

It had been almost a month since you last spoke to Ellie and you were thrilled to get an update. The little video popped up, briefly displaying her name before she turned her camera on. You grinned from ear to ear when you finally saw her, specks of paint adorning her face and hair.

"How are you still up? Isn't it, like, three in the morning?" you asked.

"Yeah, but you know I do all my best work at night," Ellie replied before flipping the camera around so you could see her studio. There were a few drop cloths down, splashed with all sorts of colors of paint, and about six easels, all of which held paintings in different stages.

"Don't look at those yet, they aren't done," she said, and you laughed.

"You're the one in control of the camera, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled. You could hear her converse sneakers scuffing along the canvas drop cloth while she took you across the room. She flicked on a light and you gasped at the shock of color.

"Oh, my god!" you exclaimed.

"Man, I was feeling so inspired last week, I just couldn't stop. We had a little tropical storm blow through and it just created all these beautiful scenes. Like, beauty amongst the wreckage, you know?" Ellie was saying as she slowly walked around the room, panning the camera to each painting so you could get a good look.

"Oh, wow. Ellie... these are stunning. You've made such incredible progress, I'm so impressed!"

She finished her lap around the room and there was a pause in the video before her face returned to the screen.

"Yeah, thanks. It's going really well. You know how nervous I was in the beginning, I didn't think I would be able to make the amount of paintings you were looking for, but at this rate I think I'll have them done ahead of schedule."

"Well, I always knew you could do it. You're so talented and you see things in such a different way than everyone else. I swear, your work is going to make the hotel really stand out," you gushed before taking a long sip of coffee.

"You gotta thank Joel again for me," Ellie said, flicking off the light and heading back into the main part of her studio. "The amount of money he's paying me is keeping my bills paid so I can focus entirely on this."

"I will. I'm sure I'll see him later this afternoon. He'll be so happy to hear about all your progress."

"I'll take a few pictures and text them to you before I go to bed. That way, he can see for himself," she promised.

"That sounds perfect. Is there anything else you need? How's Dina?"

You spent the rest of your thirty minutes catching up with her about her girlfriend, laughing as she told you how Dina finally wore her down and they adopted a cat. Just as she was telling you how the cat stepped in some paint and walked across one of her paintings, she yawned.

"Go get some sleep. We'll touch base again next month but in the meantime, if anything comes up, you know how to reach me."

She gave you a little wave before ending the call and you sat back in your chair, your office filled with silence once again.

The rest of your morning was spent reviewing potential candidates for a pianist position in the hotel lobby. On one screen you had a video of a candidate playing and on the other, their resume and list of references. All of them were natives from Fiji, just like Joel had promised Glenn.

By noon, you had whittled down the candidates to your top five. You were making a little pile with your notes written on bright pink post-it's when you heard a gentle knock on your door.

"Come in," you answered distractedly.

"Hey... busy?" Liam said. You looked up and smiled before shaking your head and offering him a seat.

"Just getting some resumes ready for the pianist job. I have to set up some interviews after lunch. What's up?"

Liam sighed dramatically and collapsed into a chair.

"Your boyfriend is on a tear today, I needed a break," he said, curling his fingers into a loose fist so he could examine his cuticles.

"Why? What's going on?" you asked, setting down your pen, curiosity piqued.

"Well... first, Jack kicked his ass during his boxing lesson, which he always fucking hates," Liam said with a roll of his eyes. "Then he found out there was a delay in shipping the marble flooring, but I told him that shit's coming from Italy and it's custom!"

"He really hates when there's any delays in construction," you said, wrinkling your nose. You had seen your fair share of his outbursts over the past few months as the hotel in Fiji slowly became a reality. Joel always said, Time is money, baby. The longer this takes, the less money I make.

"Then Tommy called to tell him some wood or... something... got damaged in a storm they had down there recently, so now he's waiting on another shipment from the states."

You buried your face in your hands at that point, knowing exactly the type of mood Joel was in just one floor above you. On one hand, you were always thrilled whenever Joel and Tommy spoke after they finally hashed things out and made amends six months ago. But on the other, you would have much preferred Tommy call with an update about his wife, Maria, or TJ, their son.

"And about ten minutes ago, Chrissy spilled his coffee," Liam finished, dropping his hand to his lap and crossing his legs. "Only saving grace was she spilled it on the floor and not on him."

You cringed when you imagined how stressed out poor Chrissy must have been in that moment. She was a trooper, you had to hand it to her. She had been Joel's secretary for almost three years and every time you saw her she looked more meek and frightened than the last time.

"So, what you're saying is I should surprise him and take him out to lunch."

Liam's face broke out with a huge grin and he lightly clapped his hands.

"Would you mind? I think it would really help. He's always so much easier to handle after he sees you." He was really laying it on thick now and you knew it.

"I already agreed, you can drop it," you laughed, locking your computer and grabbing your purse.

"It's not an act," Liam said, following you out the door towards the elevator. The floor was quiet, most employees likely out to eat already. "I mean, yeah, maybe sometimes I try to flatter you into helping us out, but I'm serious. It's like you're chamomile tea on legs."

You arched an eyebrow at him when the elevator doors slid open. "Chamomile tea?"

"Is a tranquilizer dart better? Or lion tamer?"

You pursed your lips, thinking it over when you pressed the button to his floor. "Yeah. I like lion tamer."

Liam laughed and pulled out his phone to check his texts.

"This is perfect timing. He's about to wrap up a meeting and he doesn't have another one until two." Liam slid his phone back into his pocket and gave you a pleading look. "Please feel free to take your time."

"Oh, come on! He can't be that bad," you said with a hand on your hip. The doors opened up and let you out onto the executive floor, on the opposite side of the building from Joel's office, which is why it was so impressive you could hear him shouting from where you stood.

"Is the door open?" you asked quietly.

"Nope," Liam replied, giving you a look that said I told you so.

You swallowed nervously then lifted your chin with confidence as you made your way past the conference room towards his office. When Chrissy spotted you, she practically jumped out of her chair.

"Oh, my god, thank you," she whispered, her curly brown hair bouncing across her forehead with every step she took. She clasped her hands together and held them tightly against her chest.

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't done anything," you replied, but gave her a reassuring smile anyway. "Why don't you guys go to lunch? I'll take it from here."

The speed in which they tore out of the office was Olympic level.

You perched on the edge of Chrissy's desk as you waited for Joel's meeting to be over. Through the door, you could hear some voices through his phone, as well, one of which you recognized as the project manager for the hotel in Fiji. You looked down at your hands, ignoring the raised voices in the next room, and stared down at the huge diamond ring on your right hand. Splaying your fingers wide, you admired the way the light caught the little facets of the diamond, smiling a little when you saw rainbow flecks dot the walls of the mostly empty floor.

Ages ago, Joel had asked you to keep the ring he got you to use in Fiji. You nearly had a heart attack until he realized how it looked and he nervously clarified he wasn't asking you to marry him, just that he felt the ring was always yours and he couldn't bring himself to return it, so he bought it.

You smiled to yourself when you thought back on that day. It was just after he finally said I love you for the first time. It was a little ridiculous to think he would be asking you to marry him when it took him months to say those three words, but your heart still skipped a beat in that half a second of confusion.

After your pulse slowed, you accepted it with an awkward laugh, putting it on your right hand where it had remained ever since. You knew there was no use arguing with him about gifts and money anymore. When he bought you something, he was relentless until you took it.

Actually, you've grown to kind of like it.

Or, maybe you just liked the idea of Joel thinking about you when you weren't around.

Through the door, you heard the phone call cut with a terse farewell and then, the tell-tale rustle of men's dress pants with the clearing of throats. One man was still talking, his voice forcibly calm as he assured Joel that he would get back to him by the end of the day with the correct numbers on some payroll report, and then the door swung open. Men poured out, some hurrying past you without even realizing you were there, their faces red and their jaws clenched. The ones that did notice you gave a quick nod of acknowledgement before hurrying away, as if they were afraid Joel would remember he had one or two more biting comments and call them back in.

When the last of the men filed out, you heard Joel bark, "Shut the door," and then the creak of his leather chair under his weight. A man you vaguely recognized pulled the door shut behind him before spotting you. He was frazzled and exhausted when he exhaled and loosened his tie.

"Good luck," he said, and you laughed softly. You watched as the last of the men filed towards the elevators, their padfolios and phones overflowing in their hands as they shuffled onto the car and disappeared behind the closed doors.

The floor was quiet now. Joel's office was the only one with a light on.

Biting back a smirk, you pushed off Chrissy's desk and straightened your dress before rapping your knuckles on his door.

"What the fuck now?" came Joel's sharp voice from the other side. You pushed the door open and crossed your arms, waiting until he dragged his gaze up from his desk. When he realized it was you, his expression instantly softened and he stood.

"Sorry," he grumbled.

"It's okay," you replied, stepping inside the room, shutting the door behind you. Joel rounded the desk and raked his fingers through his hair. You bit your lower lip, gaze quickly drifting down his broad frame. He was wearing a white dress shirt with his dark grey suit, the coat abandoned over the back of his chair. It was the first time you had seen him since you left him asleep in bed early that morning.

"What's goin' on, baby?" he asked as he crossed the room to pour himself a drink. You made a face at the amber liquid and he swiveled around, raising the glass of whiskey in your direction.

"Want one?"

"No, Joel. It's barely noon. I came to see if you wanted to get lunch, but I'm guessing today's not the best day," you said, closing the distance between you to smooth down the front of his shirt with your palms. He lifted the glass to his lips and tossed the drink back in one go before setting it down on the bar and wrapping his big hands around yours, pressing them firmly to his chest.

"'M sorry, not havin' a great day."

"I can tell."

"You hear all that?" he murmured, bringing one of your hands up to his mouth. His lips brushed over your knuckles as he gazed at you through tired, heavy eyes and you smiled. Moments ago, those eyes were firey and filled with rage.

But not when he looked at you.

"Some of it," you admitted. "What's wrong?"

Joel exhaled through his nose and dropped his hands to your hips, giving them a little squeeze and pulling you closer. "You weren't there when I woke up this mornin'."

You rolled your eyes playfully at him and he gently pinched your side.

"I told you I had to get up early so I could get ready for work-"

"'N I told you to bring your stuff over last night," he countered.

"Joel, I hadn't been home in days. I needed to make sure the place was still standing and water my plants."

Then, he said something that sent shockwaves through your whole body.

"Just move in with me, then it ain't a problem anymore."

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise and you forgot to breathe for a moment.

"What?" you asked breathlessly. But Joel just shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Move in with me," he repeated. "Plants, too."

"Y-you... you want me to move in with you? Like, permanently?" you repeated in disbelief. Joel smirked down at you and nodded.

"Yeah, like, permanently. The hell you think I mean? Get rid of that place, you know I don't like that neighborhood," he said, then lifted his chin when he heard his email program chime somewhere behind you.

"Joel... are you sure? That's a big step for you," you replied, feeling completely knocked sideways by his blunt request. Sure, he had the room. His house was the closest you'd ever come to being inside a mansion. Hell, to you it was a mansion. Six bedrooms and four bathrooms with an in-ground pool, tennis court, steam room and gym was only ever something you'd seen on television. But living in Los Angeles told you there were plenty of houses three times the size of his.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I want you with me all the time," he said, kissing your cheek before leaving you by the bar so he could check his email.

"My stuff, too? I can't imagine my shitty television in your house," you joked. Joel just nodded, his eyes pinned to his computer screen.

"Your stuff, too. I want all a'you. Even your coffee pot."

Joel collapsed angrily into his high back chair to answer the email while you sneakily slid back to the door, quietly flicking the lock before slowly walking towards his desk. You knew most people were at lunch, but you still didn't want to risk it for what you had in mind.

"Okay," you said softly, hip pressing against the hard wood, fingers nervously digging into the complex design carved into the edge.

"Okay, what?" he murmured, focus still fixed on the email. You watched his scowl deepen the more he read and you knew he was slipping back into that mood you found him in earlier.

"Okay... I'll move in with you."

His eyes snapped up to yours and for a moment, the scowl smoothed out into a pleased grin.

"Good. Start packin' tonight. Don't wanna be wakin' up anymore without you," he said, then his eyes dropped back down to his email. "Messes up my whole day when I do."

You giggled and rounded the desk, intentionally slotting yourself between his eyes and the computer.

"Is that why you're up here screaming at everyone? 'Cause you woke up without your sugar baby?"

Joel leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes at you.

"Quit it. You ain't a sugar baby."

"Didn't answer my question."

Joel laced his fingers together and dropped them in his lap with a sigh. "Sure didn't help."

You gave him a fake pout and leaned forward, hands bracing yourself on each arm of his chair. "I'm so sorry," you whispered, mouth hovering over his as you spoke. You could see his muscles tighten under his shirt when he heard the seductive tone in your voice. "Want me to suck your dick and make it all better?"

The corner of his mouth tugged into a devilish half-smirk, email long forgotten.

"Feels like it's the least you could do," he replied, his voice deep and gravelly. It sent a shiver down your spine and you grinned.

"The least I could do? What else do you want?" you asked before allowing your lips to brush delicately over his. You could taste the whiskey there and you licked your lips.

"Wanna bend you over this desk and fuck you. Hard."

A soft moan slipped past your lips right before his mouth crashed into yours. His tongue opened your mouth, licking feverishly past your teeth, giving you a stronger taste of the whiskey and mint from the gum he was likely chewing in anger during the meeting.

"I think that can be arranged," you gasped when you pulled away from his kiss. His dark eyes lit up when you sunk to your knees, his legs spreading wider when you began to unbuckle his belt. Two fingers rubbed against his lips, hiding his smile while he watched you pop the button on his slacks and slowly work the zipper down.

Your heart was beating wildly in your chest when you dipped your fingers past his waistband and felt the stiffness of his cock hiding just underneath a thin layer of fabric. Your eyes flickered up to meet his and with a sly smile, you said, "Hard already?"

Joel shrugged with a shit-eating grin.

"Been hard since you walked in the goddamn room, baby."

You bit back a smile, chest bursting with pride and, yeah, it turned you on to be the one who made this big, scary man all soft and weak. Rubbing your thighs together, you inched forward to gently pull his stiff cock over the top of his underwear.

You tutted under your breath and frowned, both of you watching your hand slowly slide up and down his shaft.

"Poor thing," you murmured, smiling when you heard his breath stutter after your thumb swiped over the bead of arousal pooling at the tip. "Look at you. All worked up and angry the whole morning when all you needed to do was call me. I would've come up to help you."

Joel gasped, fingernails digging into the padded leather armrests when he felt your fingers tighten around him.

"Then fuckin'... goddamnit - fuckin' help me now. C'mon, quit teasin' me and suck it," he commanded through clenched teeth.

You raised an eyebrow at him and your hand paused.

"Say please."

"Please," he whined without hesitation. The sound made you weak, eyelids fluttering for a second before you shook it off and met his gaze again.

"Good boy."

He smirked down at you, some snappy response on the tip of his tongue but it disappeared when your wet lips wrapped around him, tongue darting forward to flick teasingly at his slit, all while maintaining eye contact.

"Oh, fuck," he groaned, allowing his eyes to close and his head to tip back when you took him deeper into your mouth. Before he reached the back of your throat, you swirled your tongue around his girth, moaning when you tasted a new drop of precum.

"Yeah, baby, just like that," he murmured when his hand found a new home on the back of your head. Carefully, he urged you down, hissing when you hollowed your cheeks and took him as deep as you could handle. Joel forced his eyes to open so he could admire the pretty little mess he made of you. Your lips were swollen and wet, stretched wide over his considerable length while you focused on keeping your breath steady and your gag reflex in check.

He could have came from the sight alone.

You pulled back with a gasp, saliva pooling around the corners of your mouth as you dragged in deep lungfuls of air. Your hand picked up where your mouth left off, twisting your wrist and spreading the wetness up and down his shaft as you caught your breath for a second.

"You taste so good, Joel," you whispered, locking eyes with him again. "Might just have you come down my throat, instead."

Before he could answer, your lips were wrapped around him again, sucking and moaning around his cock like it was the sweetest thing in the world.

"No," he rasped, fingers tightening their hold in your hair. "Wanna - fuck you," he added with a deep groan. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he let you keep going, his hips involuntarily bucking up towards your mouth as he spoke.

Right when you began to get carried away, your head bobbing faster and your wrist flicking quicker, he yanked you off with a shared gasp.

"Sorry," he apologized, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before reopening them. "Too close."

You stood up, thumb swiping your lower lip with a cocky grin. Then, Joel watched as you shimmied out of your panties, dropping them in his lap before hiking up the skirt of your dress to your mid-thigh.

"Whenever you're ready, sir."

He chuckled darkly and stood, thighs trembling for just a quick moment before he swiveled a finger in the air.

"Turn 'round."

You did as you were told, palms pressed flat against the top of his desk, tilting your hips back so your ass jutted out, just barely covered by your dress.

With one hand he pulled the material up, exposing you to the tinted windows behind him. His other hand came down with a sharp smack across your skin, the action so fast and unexpected that it took you a few seconds to register it.

"Again," you whispered over your shoulder, this time bracing for the hot sting of pain across your ass. When he gave it to you, you moaned, arousal pulling tight between your legs, then you dropped your head limply between your shoulders as the pain blossomed into pleasure.

"That's my girl," he growled in your ear. His knee pushed your legs open and you held your breath when he leaned back to slide his cock through your folds before lining himself up at your opening.

"Breathe, baby," he whispered, and you let out a shaky breath right as he pushed inside.

"Shit," you panted, arching your back and digging your fingers into the dark wood of his desk while he continued to ease inside of you, muscles only relaxing when he finally buried himself to the hilt and his lips returned to the shell of your ear.

It wasn't the first time he fucked you in his office. In fact, both of you were very eager to take advantage of the new situation only a week into the start of your job. But it didn't matter how many times you'd done it because it was still always a thrill. There was something incredibly hot about this powerful man fucking you on his desk. Or his couch. Or his chair.

Or one time on the conference room table long after close of business.

Joel set a quick pace right away, knowing full well your time was limited before people began to return from lunch and inevitably came looking for him. One hand remained firmly on your hip while the other drifted up to squeeze your breast through your dress, fingers giving your nipple a little pinch just so he could hear you whimper for him.

"Always ready for me, ain't you?" he groaned, teeth grazing over your earlobe. His breath was shallow, soft pants against your skin matching the rhythm of his hips. "Christ, baby. So fuckin' wet. You love takin' my cock like this, huh? Or was it me askin' you to move in that did it?"

"Both," you moaned, tossing your head back to rest on his shoulder, eyes gliding shut and mouth falling open as you focused on the intense pace he set. The tip of his cock brushed steadily against that spot inside you that had your knees going weak and you could feel that warmth in your stomach turning into fire the harder he fucked you.

Joel's eyes lifted to glance at his door when he heard the faint sound of voices filing off the elevator. Lunch hour was wrapping up, and so was your time. He clenched his jaw and pounded into you faster, the telltale sound of skin slapping against skin the only noise echoing in the room.

"I... locked it," you gasped, falling forward onto your elbows, hips sparking with pain against the hard wood of his desk. He grinned and straightened his spine, watching the way your ass rippled against him every time he slammed into you.

"Good. 'Cause no one gets to see you like this 'cept for me."

You nodded dumbly, unable to form words as your orgasm began to swell, threatening to destroy you. Your pussy started to pulse around him, stars littering your vision and you slapped your palm over your mouth to muffle the sound when you came.

"Oh, fuck yeah," he groaned, hips losing rhythm. Breath growing sharp. Fingers digging deep and eyes rolling to the back of his head. You whimpered when he pounded into you one last time, stilling as he pumped you full of his release, broken moans tumbling from his lips until he was spent.

Almost immediately, his arms wrapped around you, pulling you up and pressing you protectively against his chest.

"You okay?"

"Mhm," you hummed, admittedly still in a bit of a daze but you were starting to snap out of it. His ragged breath in your ear was all you could hear, his pounding heart against your back all you could feel, and it was enough.

Without warning, he slipped out of you, but kept his arms circled around your front, pressing sweet kisses behind your ear and down your neck. You melted into him, knowing how much he enjoyed holding you after, at least until he caught his breath and came back down to earth.

"I love you."

Those three words still managed to send a tingle down your spine and brought a lazy smile to your face.

"I love you, too," you whispered, twisting your neck so your mouth could seek out his. His beard was untamed and prickly against your lips, tickling you and making you giggle.

"C'mon, get yourself decent," he teased with a playful grin and a smack against your thigh. He stepped backwards to fix his clothes while you swiveled back and forth, searching the ground for your panties.

"Lookin' for these?" he asked, holding them up between two fingers when you turned around. You reached out to grab them but he pulled them back, shoving them in his pocket before tucking in his shirt.

"You're gonna make me walk around the rest of the day without underwear? With your come dripping out of me?" you asked. You already resigned yourself to your fate and pulled down the skirt of your dress.

Joel pinched your chin and pressed a quick kiss against your lips.

"Yep. Just the way I like you."

"Dirty man."

"Just the way you like me," he laughed, dodging your hand when you reached out to smack him against the arm.

You opened your mouth to say something back when his desk phone chimed and the red light in the corner lit up. Joel finished buckling his belt and glanced up at you to make sure you had fixed yourself before pressing the intercom button.

"Yeah?"

Chrissy's nervous voice filtered through the speaker.

"Mr. Miller, just confirming your dinner reservation for tonight. Still expecting three people?"

"Yep," he replied, then thought about it for a quick second before pressing the button again. "Thanks, Chrissy. Why don't you take off early, after my two o'clock?"

You grinned, practically sensing her shock through the wall as you sat down in the chair opposite his desk.

"Uh... okay. T-thank you so much!"

"No problem," he said, then the red light turned off and he slumped down tiredly into his leather desk chair.

"Where are we going tonight?" you asked, crossing one leg over the other while you watched him shake his computer mouse back to life.

"Sarah picked this time. Some Mexican spot she wanted to try," he murmured, already fixating on an email in front of him. After some encouragement on your end, Joel had reached out to Sarah around the same time he called Tommy for the first time in years. While things had been rocky and awkward at first, it got easier over time. Eventually, they committed to dinners every other week, and after maybe the fourth one, Sarah had asked to meet you.

You were nervous leading up to it, but the moment you met you knew you'd get along. She was smart, beautiful, funny and had the same smile as her dad. She told you both a little bit about high school but preferred to talk about her soccer team or the play she was trying out for.

She didn't mention her mom much, and you didn't want to pry. From what Joel had mentioned, her mother ended up having some substance abuse issues in the past, which caused a strain on her relationship with Sarah. He felt horrible when he found out, told you that he felt like he should have been involved more to protect her, but you reminded him that he was there for her now and that you were proud of him for stepping up.

Despite it all, Sarah was a great kid. Every time you saw her, she opened up a bit more, smiled wider and laughed louder. After your dinners together, you could see the change in Joel: he was happier, too.

"Sounds good. I like Mexican," you said, fidgeting with your ring while Joel quietly replied to an email. The scowl was gone, his shoulders were looser and there were no more angry taps on the keyboard.

You opened your mouth to announce you should get back to work when he suddenly spoke.

"Why're you wearin' the ring on your right hand?"

Your eyes flickered up to his face but he looked like he was still absorbed in an email.

"This ring?" you asked, holding up your hand. It was the only ring you wore but you didn't know what else to say. You'd been wearing it on your right hand for months and he never said a word.

"Yeah. You wore it on your other hand in Fiji," he said, tearing his eyes away from the computer to look at you.

You stood up from your seat and gave him a curious look. "We were pretending to be engaged then, if you recall. We're not engaged now."

Joel smirked, the corners of his mouth dipping down when he shrugged, then stood to walk you to the door.

"Huh. Suppose you're right. Someone oughta do somethin' 'bout that."

You threw your head back and laughed before coming to a stop at his door and turning around.

"You just asked me to move in with you. What happened to the commitment-phobe I fell in love with?"

He grinned and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close so he could press a gentle kiss against your lips.

"You're right. I'll wait a week," he joked, then gave your ass a little tap before opening his door for you. "Thanks for lunch," he added as you walked past Chrissy, who was mid-whisper to Liam, no doubt telling him about Joel's sudden burst of generosity. You gave them both a little wave and tossed a wink over your shoulder at Joel leaning against his doorway, hands shoved in his pants pockets with a sly smirk on his face after his fingertips grazed the wet fabric shoved in there.

"See you tonight."

"Can't wait," he said, watching you disappear around the corner towards the elevator bank.

"So, you ate?" Liam confirmed, holding a leather bound journal and pen in his hand as he approached Joel. Even though the answer was no, he still nodded in response. "Good, because I have a couple things," he continued after clearing his throat. "Ellie's painting arrived yesterday, I'm having it gift wrapped right now. I got a call back from the guy who's renting you the yacht. He's good for Saturday. The captain and crew know the deal, too. Drop the anchor, make the food, pour the champagne, and disappear after dinner's cleared up. They have a little boat they can take back to land so the yacht's all yours til morning."

A slow smile stretched across his face and he looked down the hall again, towards the elevator bank.

"Reschedule it for next week. I made a promise."

Please follow @punkshort-notifs and turn on notifications for fic updates ❤️

[madwomansapologist]

──────〃✰ kinktober 2024 ୨ৎ

welcome to my first kinktober! bellow you'll find prompts i've come up with + one that was commented on a post i made about this very same subject.

if you want to be tagged, tell me! i update this post everytime i finish one of the prompts with some details.

୨ৎ WEEK 1: LET'S PLAY PRETEND ୨ৎ

OCT 1ST strip poker with sir crocodile

title: poker face synopsis: luckily, mr. zero didn't knew you were a mugiwara. luckily, mr. zero fell for your bluffs. unfortunately, you never imagined it would be that hard to not fall for crocodile's charm. [3.1K] cw: mugiwara!fem!reader, strip poker, strip tease, public sex, cock crush, nipple stimulation, size difference, fingering (f!receiving), riding, biting, scratching, finger sucking, p in v, creampie, possessive behavior, mob boss meets a baddie, pussy so good he wonders about marriage.

OCT 3TH somnophilia with kento nanami

title: sweet dreams synopsis: watching the man you love deny himself of his needs, you take matters into your own hands. or lips, to be more precise. [1.5K] cw: established relationship, service top!reader, somnophilia, body worship, nipple stimulation, masturbation (m!receiving), oral (m!receiving), choking (gn!receiving), hair pulling, overstimulation.

OCT 5TH incest with karlach

title: a small favor synopsis: a movie night turned into you being a good girl for your older sister. if only she had warned you of what it truly meant. [1.1K] cw: t!karlach, plus size!reader, incest, lil sis/big sis, dub con, gaslighting, obssessive behavior, apologetic, spit, dry humping, pussyjob, premature ejaculation.

୨ৎ WEEK 2: MONSTERS AND LESBIANS DESERVE LOVE TOO ୨ৎ

OCT 6TH monster fucking with multiple monsters

title: haunted bang synopsis: when you decided to explored a haunted mansion, all you wanted was to gain more knowledge for your grimoire. you never expected it to be habited, even less for all the residents to agree that sharing is caring. [2.4K] cw: wizard!reader, teratophilia, monster fucking, gangbang, voyeurism, size difference, manhandling, mind connection, scent kink, oral (females!receiving), pet play, pussy drunk, overstimulation, you know that post about "would you fuck your clone?", f in v, monsters included are a eldritch creature, a werewolf, a vampire and a shapeshifter.

OCT 8TH shower sex with namivivi

title: let it sink in synopsis: the fight was over, the war was done, but the tension was still there. watching the princess falling victim of her own mind, the navigator has to intervene. [1K] cw: established relationship, insecurity, a bit of hurt and a lot of comfort, this isn't sex it's love okay i'm sensitive about them, shower sex, masturbation.

OCT 10TH scent kink with farcille

title: animal attraction synopsis: back from the dead, falin could feel something changing inside of her. but with marcille's scent blinding her mind, she ignored the dragon and focused on the warmth coming from her friend. [0.8K] cw: the night pre-chimera, scent kink (in a dragon’s mate way), nipple stimulation, a tiny small bit of somnophilia, erotic dreams, public sex.

OCT 12TH masturbation with nico robin

title: a helping hand synopsis: there is an aspect of sailing in the grand line you failed to consider: there is no one to fuck. of course, that's only true if you ignore your crew as candidates. [0.5K] cw: sorry for the delay! reader has a little crush on luffy, masturbation, accidental orgasm denial, accidental/non-accidental voyeurism.

୨ৎ WEEK 3: REWARD SYSTEM ୨ৎ

OCT 13TH praise kink with kagaya x reader x amane

title: pretty, pretty, pretty synopsis: back from a mission, is time to remember your lovers you will always be there to take care of their every needs and desires. [1.1K] cw: sorry for the delay! established relationship, kagaya x reader x amane, dom!fem!reader, praise kink, voyeurism, masturbation (f! and m! receiving), body worship, oral (m!receiving).

OCT 15TH bondage with dark justiciar shadowheart

title: sing your prayers synopsis: to worship lady shar, one must be perfect. shadowheart will guide you, make you the best you can ever be. don't matter the cost, her teachings shall find a way into your very soul. [1K] cw: fem!reader, bard!tav, domme!shadowheart, power imbalance, memory loss, bondage, humilliation kink, temperature play, gaslighting, dacryphilia, religious imagery, Shar vs Selune.

OCT 17TH corruption kink with shan yu

title: training session synopsis: you're tired of being treated like a glass about to be shattered. if he will have you whole, than it's only fair you receive the same. [1.3K] cw: established relationship, corruption kink, finger sucking, masturbation (m!receiving), oral (m!receiving), cum eating.

୨ৎ WEEK 4: ANIME SEASON ୨ৎ

OCT 24TH sex pollen with kyojuro rengoku

title: milk me synopsis: usually demons' poisons just kill whoever was affected by them. this time, it served for something else. something way better. [2.1K] cw: established relationship, eye patch!kyojuro, crystal hashira!reader, sex pollen, public sex, pussy drunk, forced orgasms, overstimulation, oral (f!receiving), fingering (f!receiving), p in v, dacryphilia, spit, nipple stimulation, accidental voyeurism (we'll say: sorry miss shinobu).

୨ৎ WEEK 5: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE ୨ৎ

OCT 27TH exhibitionism kink with ryomen sukuna

title: mine synopsis: watching the man you love deny himself of his needs, you take matters into your own hands. or lips, to be more precise. [0.5K] cw: established relationship, toxic couple (only towards others), exhibitionism, public sex, cockwarming.

taglist: @ffinosie @lovelyy-moonlight @alzaira @s2-angells @eyes-ofhell @inlovewithmariah @chiiyohiimee @shaquilles-0atmeal @bloodyziggy @salemey @kcch-ns @notanalienindisguiseblink @py-schi @miyanosm @idonthaveanameforthisacc

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[star-suh]

Sea of Thieves

Bang Chan x Male Reader

cw: pirate au, top chan, bareback, rough sex, dacryphilia, non-con/dubcon, musk kink, restraints/use of shibari (kinda), degradation, spit, cumming hands free, fingering, blowjob, rimjob, a belly bulge mention.

—

yn was escaping from the law, he had just become the most wanted after stealing the black pearl from the royal family. with no other way out, he boarded a ship as a stowaway, hoping that it would take him to a place far away from there, but unbeknownst to him, he had made a serious mistake. he didn't know it, but he had boarded the ship of the pirate christopher chan.

chris was known for getting what he wanted, he doesn't care if he has to kill for it, he'll do it, a player who slept with the daughters of the kings of the areas he visited and then stole their precious jewelry and had loot in gold coins. truly a motherfucker.

chris was going downstairs to secure his treasures, then, he heard a sound, he dismissed it at first thinking it was just a rat. “fucking plague” he snarls, while moving one of the big chests a tiny vase fell from the top of one and fell right over yn’s head making him emit a whimper. chris turns his head quickly to the sound “that’s not a fucking rat” he furiously stomps to where he heard the sound. pushing chests and nests aside he found a man covering his mouth, fear plastered on his face.

“the fuck you’re doing here…” he asks. yn shakes in fear, his first reflex was to throw something at the pirate and run. he climbs the stairs and when to the top of the ship just to find out it already sailed, he was now in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to escape, seeing no other way he was already to jump when something hit his head. the world around him became blurry while he fell to the wooden floor. then suddenly everything turns to black.

in a dark room with only the dim light of a candle. the sound of a slap echoed on the room accompanied with a “wake up bitch”. yn opened his eyes, confused, “where am i?”

“in my boat” someone responded. yn tried to follow the voice then his eyes met with a face, a handsome one, but he was angry. “are you one of those spies that fuckers send to steal my treasures?” he stands up, walking towards yn, each step echoed in the room as if a giant was coming near the prisoner. chris tugged on the rope that was preventing yn to move. he was suspended on the roof in a rather uncomfortable position. the rope went all the way to his neck, circling it, then going down his body with lots of knots here and there, on his wrists, torso and feet. unbeknownst to him, the pirate chris, tied him as if he was going to practice shibari.

the ropes on his ass were uncomfortable, they were positioned as if he was wearing a jockstrap, the ropes highlighting his clothed ass.

the interrogation went for almost like an hour, yn’s pleas annoyed chris but his tears were causing something to him, something hardening in his pants. at first chris ignores it thinking it was because he hasn’t slept with someone these past couple of days, maybe it was because he was alone on the ship now, right?.

the pirate tried so hard to avoid that growing burning sensation on his crotch but failed. something about yn’s flushed and helpless face, the tears sparkling due to the dim candle’s light.

“please i just want to get away from these lands” he said, “if- if you help me i can give you something in return”. the last part catching chris’ attention, “what?”. “i have something that if you help me to sell it you can buy a new ship with it.. hell even 10 ships if you want” yn quickly offers “let’s split my treasure in half, just.. just take me away from here”.

chris was dumbfounded, what was that thing that he had that would cost so much but his dick was still aching, it was begging to be freed so he added something more to the proposal, “we have a deal but.. i want something more” he moves around yn then positioning himself behind the prisoner. his fingers doing circling motions on the other’s clothed ass and then grabbing it full with his hand “let me take care of this” as he said that he rips yn’s pants, exposing his back entrance. “what the fuck” yn yells but his protests are quickly muffled by chris’ fat manly dick swinging in front of his face. the pirate undoes a knot so yn’s head hangs lower and he can take all of his dick on his mouth “put that mouth to better use. whore” chris put all his shaft inside it at once, making yn gag. he starts slowly then increased the speed. everytime he pulls down to go back and slam his junk on that wet cavity lots of saliva dripped to the floor and yn’s face. “watching you cry made something to me, so you should take full responsibility for it. be a good manwhore and swallow it all”.

“open wide” he keeps demanding, his balls slapping against yn’s face. yn obeyed and chris forced him to deepthroat him.”you’re skilled at this huh?. it makes me wonder how many dicks have you sucked before”. the pirate keeps slamming himself against the restrained man as if he was some kind of toy made just for his pleasures.

while he waits to cum on yn’s mouth he starts to spit and finger his exposed hole. his trust were sloppy now, signaling he was about to cum, in one of the his cock slipped out of yn’s mouth. the stowaway asks “what are you doing to my ass?” he was about to keep protesting but chris’ cock enters again on his mouth, he shushed him, “keep on sucking me bitch boy. i’m just preparing you for later”.

chris spat, fingered, slapped and kiss the other’s ass, it looks as if he was making out with his already puckered hole, “look how he’s winking at me. he wants me so bad” chris joked about yn clenching onto nothing but soon he would have the other’s tongue inside to clench on it.

yn wet gagging sounds filled the room, he was trying to swallow all the sperm the pirate shot inside his throat, it was a lot that he choked on it, coughing out some of the liquid. “i almost die, you bastard” once again yn’s complaints were ignored because chris was only focused on sucking his hole ‘this motherfucker is so good with his tongue’ yn thought, the anger on his face being just a facade to hide the pleasure he was receiving.

chris rearranged the rope and the knots leaving yn still suspended on air but this time his legs are wide open so the pirate can get an easy acces to his hole “time for real fun” he jokes slapping his tip on the wet hole. “don't fucking put that thing on me.. it's too big” he cried, “don't worry bitch boy” the pirate reassured in a mocking tone that didn't convince yn at all.

“let me use that used hole” he muttered, ramming all his shaft inside at once. tears formed on yn's eyes accompanied with a guttural moan “what's up bitch boy, you can’t handle me” he laughs at how pathetic yn was looking but his hole feels good so he's not gonna complain.

he put his calloused hand on yn's mouth “you're crying it's getting on my nerves” using it as a way to pound yn harder, every inch of it making its way on yn's insides. once in a while he stops thrusting to spit on his shaft as if it was a lube. the warm sensation of the spit making yn ‘feel funny’ causing that he clenches even more.

minutes later yn was free, except by his hands that were tied behind his back. he'a riding the pirate who got tired of doing all the work, “come on, move faster” he demanded slapping his hand against yn's cheeks. “hngh” he squirmed, still feeling the hand imprint burning in his ass “yes sir” he accelerated his pace. gushy sounds echoed in the room, accompanied by the crashing waves outside the ship and some moon light.

chris locked his arm around yn's neck and thrusted like a beast, forming a bulge in yn's stomach “wait. ahhh~” and as if it was a fountain yn's dick spurted cum everywhere, white drops falling on his body, the floor and even some on the walls.

“hahaha” chris laughs, amused of what he just saw “look at you cumming just by your ass. and you swear you're not a bitch”.

yn legs tremble, the tiredness and overstimulaton mix hitting him. “don't sleep on me i still have to fill you up” the pirate cooed, moving his hips slowly in a sensual manner. knowing that he could stay the rest of the night being drilled by that fat dick and seeing that he's falling asleep he decide to made him cum faster.

he grabbed chris’ neck getting his face closer towards him and kissed him, tongues battling to control each other's. meanwhile he moves his hips faster meeting chris’ thrusts that never slowed their pace, “what's gotten into yo-” he was cut by yn sloppy kisses. he was determined to make that bastard cum no matter what.

few thrusts later the pirate cums, yn’s walls sucking the milk out of it like a milking machine, “holy fuckkkk” chris slurred “you know how to work with that hole of yours”. he didn't pull out until the last drop was emptied on yn, his face resting against the stowaway's back, “shit that was good” a smile creeping on the pirate's face while yn just nodded tiredly…

yn wakes up in a bed, with new clothes, he climbs the stairs to look for the pirate, “hey bitchboy you're awake” he waved “yeah but my ass is sore. and stop calling me like that” yn replied, brows furrowed showing how annoyed he was. “tell me about the treasure” he asked with a serious tone and yn told him about the black pearl and how he got it. they planned to stay with it but knowing how dangerous it will be when everyone finds out they have it they decided to sell it and split the coins in two.

“i'm gonna reunite with my crew, see you later” chris said and turn his heels to go back to his ship, “why did you say see you later?” yn asked, being quickly responded by chris “i have a feeling that we will meet soon again” he says while doing some vulgar signs with his hands and sticking his tongue out, “you're disgusting” yn yells and chris just laughs at him showing the middle finger.

[re-lmayer]

i can't afford rent because of my abusive ex and desperately need help. if i don't pay, it will cause a domino effect where i'll be homeless, lose my emotional support animals, and eventually i can be sued and my paypal account seized. i'll also fail this college semester, which will mess up all my student grant funding and getting a degree

i'm disabled and was recently hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, and stress is making me sick. i've been diagnosed with an ulcer

there's a lot of ways to help me and my cats. you can commission me on kofi, donate directly via paypal, check out my crowdfunds on youpay, share my twitter and bluesky threads, and of course reblog this post. sharing is free!

more context under the cut. it will be updated as things change

my ex boyfriend is an abusive alcoholic. he's raped me, tried to medically neglect me, stranded me at our new apartment alone with no food and a clogged toilet, and most recently refuses to pay any rent and is content to allow me to become homeless despite legal obligation

i have been granted a hud/section 8 housing voucher, but to use it a unit must pass inspection

the apartment i applied for didn't pass, and needed repairs. the landlord told me he'd accept the first applicant that could pay first month rent and a huge deposit. the housing authority told me i'd lose my voucher if i didn't proceed with this exact unit

originally, i was supposed to be on my own. but i was shoved between a rock and a hard place with the voucher and deposit. i couldn't afford the deposit despite friends crowdfunding for me, so... i asked my boyfriend for help

he needed a place to go himself, because he broke his lease bringing me and my cats in. (i was unaware of this, and had no suspicion he'd do something that would compromise his 2 bed/bath apartment)

my doctor also prescribed caregiver after my hospitalization so it seemed mutually beneficial from a financial standpoint, even if i wasn't enthused about it

we couldn't afford movers, so over the course of march we'd been moving things by the carload ourselves. the queen bed was too big, so the night before last he informed me he was dumping it while he had help from a friend to move it. i had a bedframe and mattress from the last place i'd lived, but it had already been taken to the new place. i thought we'd agreed i'd basically move in to the new place early so i'd have somewhere to sleep

come saturday night, i messaged him that the toilet was clogged. he refused to bring a snake, and told me i was using him because i don't hug and kiss him enough. (i'm a csem victim, asexual, and autistic and don't like physical affection)

he's decided he doesn't want to proceed with the unit, and it hasn't passed the inspection, so my voucher doesn't cover it yet. i can't afford the rent out of pocket, and i'm broke because i'm disabled. we agreed he'd pay rent until the voucher kicked in, then he would be added to it as my caregiver, because he'd take me to medical appointments, ensure i get my medication on time, ensure i'd and bathe, etc.

but that ship has sailed. now i'm left in a lurch, and desperately need help. a large portion of the security and pet deposits were nonrefundable, so all the previous effort would go to waste if i can't stay

because i was recently hospitalized, i don't know how i'll survive homelessness. my cats are prescribed emotional support animals, and losing them would be devastating

these are text messages from when he refused to bring the snake and dumped me:

after this, he proceeded to continuously ignore me when i'd bring up rent, that he's on the lease, and going to the bank to pay the landlord

he never responded to the above and then proceeded to act like nothing happened

he didn't respond to any of these except agreement to let me get my cats with the help of someone from my weekly ywca meetings

he is now proceeding to STILL not respond or accept responsibility despite me explaining to him in great detail what the repercussions will be if he doesn't help pay rent. he continues to say "you"

as of august 29, i don't have enough to pay the rent on my own, but i am keeping all of these text messages to present in eviction court if it comes to that. i also intend to take my ex to small claims court

the landlord's maintenance guy also """plunged the toilet""" after leaving me without a working one for five days, and after i was informed there was a problem with the entire complex's pipes. i was not here, so i can't vet if it was true. they """plunged""" without permission, and then sent me an invoice after the fact. i also can't afford this fee, and find it predatory in nature. the maintenance company is owned by the landlord

i have reached out to legal aid to ask about the legality of the landlord handling the situation like this. i will reach out to them again if i get an eviction notice

[littlestpersimmon]

Guy with cataracts and scarred from an explosion has a fail toymaking shop in front of a rundown temple and he has a crush on a disfigured lowly priestess whom he suspects is a stealth trans guy because she always picks the boy option when they play board games (he’s right btw)

He's from Kalantiaw, but his mom is diaspora, and I thought her to be half "Japanese" (coded) - still trying to figure out how japanese ethnicities come to play.

She was a sailor turned pirate. She didn't know the language spoken in Kalantiaw (more akin to Khmer), and she spoke a different language (more austronesian), and she named him Kahilingan, which means "wish". But in Kalantiaw, where she settled, his name means "curse" or "bad omen" 💀 it doesn't help that her life ended with the beginning of his. So.

Kahi spends much of his life chasing the image of his mom and trying to.... live up to her- because sailing is the most esteemed occupation in their world. Only very very very very very few people have managed to work on "dragonships".

Basically, their world is physically broken (like living on an asteroid belt) and they sail to and fro each sundering / country on specialized stone ships called "dragonships" / "bakunawa"- and the ships themselves are semi-alive? They're like.. Stone ships laminated with the spirits of devas and dragons and other great beings who have all died because of (redacted).

Anyway, his mom, Maaya, was a renowned sailor- she tamed a dragonship that was imbued with an infamously wild dragon called Duksa- Dragonships are Sponsored, but those who sponsor the ships are almost never in command, and they also easily lose ownership to their hired captains- because the ships themselves are sentient, and they never obey anyone who they deem are incapable of commanding them. Only Maaya could control Duksa hehe. So she became known throughout all their world as this wild woman who loved fast boats and only accepted voyage commissions "if they are very fun". Anyways blah blah blah she fell in love w Kahi's other parent (who is nonbinary) and she got pregnet with him. And they eventually settled in Kalantiaw, in it's countryside near the subterranean capital (Kamharik).

Kahi always annoyed his other parent abt his mom because he too wanted to meet Duksa, but his parent kept warning him not to go near the ship because after Maaya died, it went even more mad with grief. Kahi more of an engineer than a captain like his mom, but his goal was simply to acquaintance with Duksa rather than actually captain her. But Duksa did not accept anyone, not even anyone who was part of Maaya's original crew.. Kahi went to an apprenticeship on shipbuilding-

he became somewhat popular for being clever with his hands, and all around Kalantiaw, everyone thought of him as reliable and very creative when it came to problem solving. So he went from normal ships to fixing dragonships.. ..

The Greatest dragonships are ones that are imbued with the spirits of actual ancient dragons and qilin, bc some are imbued with "lesser" dragons or false dragons, and some are with non-dragon albeit great spirits- like minor gods, wind spirits, phoenix,naga, etc etc..

Duksa was a true and great dragon, and Kahi knew that she was suffering from severe neglect, so all he wanted was to patch her up-

Everyone, every single one of Kahi's peers discouraged him, bc it is known that anyone who even approaches her is immediately kilIed by her; but Kahi, he is different. When he approaches Duksa, she was a shadow of herself, a ghost ship- She senses Maaya, and she even thought that Kahi was her at first- so she lets Kahi patch her big crabclaw sails, fixed her boilers and really tried to replicate how she used to look when Maaya lived.. and Duksa didn't know it wasn't her, because her eyes were covered in barnacles.. The "eyes" of a dragonship is its lodestar, and Kahi was purposefully saving it for last because he is frightened of what Duksa could do to him;;

But before that, Duksa spoke to him, joked like "ah beauty, what happened to you?! Your voice sounds like you swallowed a frog.. are you ill? Why did you abandon me?" Fhjsjs

"Why are your hands so gentle now? I want you to be rough!! Stop this at once! I am not old!"

But when Kahi started scraping finally at the lodestar, and he opened Duksa's eyes to the world once more, she cried in great anger because who tf was this intruder! And why did he carry Maaya's spirit with him !!!

Her entire deck creaked so hard the floorboards broke again, and she swayed her whole body so Kahi nearly fell from the lodestar;; he tried to reason with her, and it sort of mirrors how his mom tamed Duksa. She barrelled in head on and confidently, but Kahi was meek and gentle.

Eitherway.. an angry dragonship is like highly radioactive, its like being in a storm in a contained environment, and she started puffing steam- it's like microdosing being in fukushima; And she called Kahi a fool, he'll never measure up to Maaya, he will never be her- aaaah, but she didn't kiIl him. Maybe because she knew he was Maaya's boy. She warned him never to return, and tossed him into the open shallows. So, he was absolutely brokenhearted. He was 19.

~intense lonely lovestory between him and a closeted trans guy raised by mean transphobic priestesses in a cult the antithesis of a loving and wise lesbian death goddess occurs.~

There she is.. her name is Viharana Magayarin

Names-

Maaya's name is spelled a certain way in kanji, I want it to mean "True"

Duksa's name is Tagalog, it means "grief"

Kahilingan's name is tagalog- and it means "wish". Inspired from.. in tagalog, "curse" is a contronym of sorts- "curse" and "promise" is the same word ("sumpa")

Kahi's trans boyfriend's name is Tala, and it means "star" 😌

[puripurin]

— "What the fuck." You started at the merman who wriggled around for space. His eyes looked at you in fear as he saw you, before a blush had spread across his face.

Up until 30 seconds ago, you had lived a normal life, well, except for the obscene amount of work you were stressed out with. So you hopped on the boat your parents had gifted you some years ago and sailed into the sea. The feel of the ocean breeze hitting your face was a familiar sensation to you.

This was because your parents were fishermen and loved to eat seafood, and naturally, you had gravitated towards seafood, but with prices these days and your never-ending workload, it didn't allow you to do anything without setting you back on your tight deadlines. Until today.

You had gotten a whole week of paid vacation because a coworker was threatening to bring them to court for a long list of harassment. So they gave the people who worked the most a one week paid vacation. Though, to her, it wasn't enough, so you're getting a paid vacation week while they are still going to get sued. Whatever, its their fault either way.

Anyways, how did you reel in a merman that shouldn't even exist? Frankly, you don't know either. You had accidentally started to daydream, which turned into you not realizing something was caught, so instinctively, you were able to reel in a merman.

"H-huuuumann?" His deep moss green eyes stared at up at you with interest whilst you nearly got blinded by the shimmering gleem of his scales that were scattered across his cheeks. He stopped his advancements towards you until it was difficult to hold up his neck to see you.

"Erm... sorry for catching you, I was daydreaming. I'll unhook the fish hook attached to you..." You apologized and went down to unhook him, only for him to pull down your pants and underwear down, making you fall on the bench below you and stuffing his face in your genitals.

"Hey! W-what are you doing?" You pushed his face away, to which he pouted to. He sat there for a while as you tried to push him off the boat, to no avail.

"I... Accceppt thhis marrriaage!" He excitedly said as he tugged on your pants to gently pull it off again, but you held on tightly to your pants.

"What marriage? I didn't propose to you?" You evaded from his pulling hands in confusion.

"Whennn youuu reeeeledd mmeee inn dummmyy!" He slurred his words once more. "Shtop! I waant too tasstte you firrst beeforrre you tassteeee mee!" He huffed before his nails turned into sharp claws that shreaded your pants, then pulled down your underwear again and happily stuffing his face and licking your crotch with his tongue that felt rough.

Once more, you tried to move away but only ended up moaning at the feeling. Your face was slightly hot as you looked away but was swiftly pulled back in for a kiss, tasting your own fluids.

"Ah... finally... now it's your turn, cutie pie. We have to go to my hometown to get married <3"

"WHAT!?!? Firstly, no! Secondly, i will drown!"

"... Who said you can say no? When you reeled me, it was akin to a marriage proposal. Also, that's why you suck my dick and kiss me <333"

"WHAT--"

Was supposed to be posted yesterday, but when i saved a portion of it, i didn't see that i was save so i went back in to edit it to see what's rong before i saved it and for a slpilt second i saw the rest of it before it saved, so i lost majority of my work.

So now it looks like tjis. Womp womp. I think tjis is an afab reader? But i tried to make it gn as possible but i wannted a weird ass mermaid culture where to speak another's language, you gotta eat them out/suck them off before kissing person to speak. At first i wanted him to just kiss in order to get the language js like starfire but i was like,, so what do i do with him tryna eat you out??,, then boom yeahh.

Also, yo quero voy en me casaaaaaa *cries pathetically* No me gusta Español :((((((( not proofread. L

Edit: i forgot about tags. Mb.