#third wolf would like to remind me that I hate writing and I’m not good at it lmaoo

[yappacadaver]

Two wolves inside me

One wants to write fanfic for this forsaken fandom

The other thinks that’s cringe as hell and a waste of time and effort cause who would even read that shit 😭

[noteguk]

bad attitude | jjk | m

[ ! ] this is part of the bad influence collection. You can read it as a stand-alone though! 

— summary; in which Jungkook finally learns how to behave. Kind of. 

— contents and warnings; pwp, smut, badboy!jk x goodgirl!reader, enemies with benefits/enemies to lovers, brattysub!kook x dom!reader, actually more of a switch!kook/switch!reader, the oc is kind of a demon with teasing because payback is a bitch, bondage, edging, dirty talk, begging, oral (m receiving), female masturbation, cockwarming, unprotected sex (don’t be dumb), creampie, stuffing, Taehyung makes a cameo, terrible use of the two wolves meme I’m so sorry 

— words; 7,2k 

— author’s note; yes I started this with a meme and no I’m not okay. This is kind of chaotic tbh but I wanted to write something a bit more unhinged and lighthearted after all that drama from the third part of the series. This happens some time after bad reputation. 

Also! Take a look at the text messages that brought them to this moment ;) 

Probably one of the dumbest things that Jungkook had ever heard came from his roommate and childhood friend, Taehyung, after a few hours scrolling through Facebook with a blunt hanging from the corner of his lips. Taehyung was in the deep web equivalent of social media: entrepreneur pages, where young, overly-dressed men with obviously rented convertibles promised to teach gullible people how to become millionaires by working at home (if you only pay for their courses). Nevertheless, what started as an ironic scroll through shallow motivational quotes quickly escalated into a semi-believable, mostly high rant about the importance of controlling your inner demons, which Jungkook sadly had to endure, since he was the only person around and, therefore, his roommate's sole target. 

Taehyung was high out of his mind, but it seemed as if he would be the last to get that memo: in his twisted conception, he was spilling the hottest of truths (and not the incoherent ramble that it really was). Fighting through Jungkook’s complaints and eye rolls, he simply went on and on about how the page “Alpha Billionaire 101” wasn’t really that off beat when they said that you do, in fact, have two wolves inside you — and the one you feed is the one that wins. Jungkook was basically disassociating by the point that Taehyung started drawing some graphs, looking fixedly at the two wolves on the screen of his computer (one written “success and drive” and the other one representing “failure and procrastination”) and wishing that the gods above would strike him down once and for all. 

And why is that important? Well, because eventually Taehyung fell asleep and moved on with his life, only casually mentioning the other stuff he saw on that page, but his words stuck around, glued to the back of Jungkook’s head. Not because they held any sort of meaning, but because the wolf metaphor was just too stupid to forget. And that eventually caught up to Jungkook in the strangest, most unexpected of ways: with you and bondage being involved. 

Now, Jungkook had two wolves inside of him: one was extremely laid back and barely cared about most things that happened, as long as he was having a good time. The second wolf was a bitter, prideful, egocentric, mean little thing that simply wouldn’t fold no matter how much the world wanted it to. And it was that second wolf that took him to that position: because Jungkook told you that he was positive, certain, a hundred percent sure that he’d never be like you and beg for something during sex. 

Which made both of your wolves absolutely pissed. 

“What the fuck…” he mumbled, looking up at your agile hands moving like wasps around his wrists. The room was dark, barely illuminated by the moonlight that came from the window, but that wasn’t really the reason why his pupils were so blown-out. “Where did you learn to tie knots like this?” 

You smiled, giving a last pull on the ropes to make sure they would stay still. Jungkook had been elated when you finally told him that you’d be willing to try it out bondage. One thing he didn’t expect, though, was that he would be the one getting tied up. “I was in the Girl Scouts,” you told him, sitting back against his thighs. 

Jungkook scoffed, tugging at the ropes. They weren’t too tight, yet they burned his skin a bit — not an unwelcome feeling, but his mind wasn’t too focused on it. He had to live up to his own words. “Of course you were in the fucking Girl Scouts.” He rolled his eyes. “So, how long is this gonna take?”

His gaze followed as your hands unclasped your bra. Jungkook, who had already been stripped down to his boxers, could barely disguise the twitching of his eyebrows when your breasts finally came into view. The bra collapsed somewhere on the floor. “Depends on how long it takes for you to say it,” you reminded him. 

Jungkook shifted around, gaze following the rise and fall of your chest. His hands struggled against the ropes, aching to touch your breasts, and you could notice the frustration blossoming at the back of his throat when he spoke up. “I’m not gonna say it.” 

With a pout, you leaned back in, placing your hands on his broad chest for leverage. “Then it’s probably going to take a long time.” You blinked up at him, and there was a devilish glint in your eyes that he didn’t remember seeing before. He was doomed. “Comfortable?”

“Not at all,” he complained. 

The smile you gifted him made his knees weak for a second. “Perfect.” Your hands traveled to the back of his neck, fingers playing with his hair and eyes zeroing in on his mouth. “Now, be good and kiss me like you mean it, okay?” 

Be good? 

Jungkook didn’t get any time to digest your words before your mouth was pressing against his, enveloping him in your warmth — and suddenly he didn’t want to think about anything else. How could he? When you had your hands caressing his neck, with a soft sigh against his lips, there was nothing else in the world that could rob his attention. 

In the end, past his brooding, unshakable persona, Jungkook was still a weak man when it came to you, he really was. It had become a natural, well-rehearsed reaction of his to explore your mouth with his tongue at every chance that he got; your lips slapping together as he groaned against you. The skin of his wrists was tingling, pressing hard against the ropes that held his hands back from exploring your body; from pulling you closer like he wanted to. Instead, he was at your mercy, following your own pace as you leaned your head to the side, fingers tugging on his hair as you sighed happily into the kiss. 

It was exactly the way he liked: sensual, slow, messy; made his head spin when you rolled your clothed center on his erection before sucking on his tongue. Jungkook was sure that you were doing all that on purpose, riling him up as much as possible before finally touching him where he needed so much, and that was definitely going to be a problem. 

In the back of his head, Jungkook was currently trying to decide if he hated Taehyung or not: the fact that his roommate had compulsively chosen to attend a party three hours away was the reason that you were there, kissing him like he was the air that you breathed, but also the reason why Jungkook had gotten tied up in the first place. If he had had a bit more time between texting you that he would never beg in sex (a very dumb, very unthought action), and the moment that you actually tried to make it happen, perhaps he would be able to convince you to step down from it. Perhaps he would realize that his prideful side was also really, really fucking stupid when it came to predicting his own limits. 

Truth was: Jungkook was pretty much panicking when you moaned against his lips, because his cock was unbearably hard inside his underwear and he just knew that he would fold after some time. Especially when you were acting like that, like a demon trying to seduce him into selling his soul; a siren about to drag him to the abyssal depths of the ocean. He could barely follow what was happening. 

Because of his dominating tendencies, Jungkook had never seen you showing your typical neurotic, controlling self during your sexual adventures — which was something he endlessly teased you for, but never thought it would actually have any sort of backlash. It seemed that both of you liked the usual dynamic (of Jungkook taking over) well enough and, yet, as he watched that sadistic expression monopolizing your features, he realized that maybe it was for the best. Maybe you had been training your whole life to perfect the masterful art of having things happening the way you wanted it, and maybe giving you the lead was one of the worst decisions he had made in some time. 

As you pulled away, Jungkook chased after your mouth, managing to place another small kiss on your lips before the ropes held him back. “More,” he groaned. 

The curve of your mouth was a wicked little thing, almost making him lose his composure for a second. “No, no more,” you were firm in your words. “Be patient.” 

He huffed. “You only got an attitude because my hands are tied up.”

“I always have an attitude,” you were fast to correct, getting out of his lap. The lack of your warmth was instantly felt, made his chest heave in frustration as you sat down next to him. There was an embarrassingly large wet spot on his underwear that he was hoping you wouldn’t notice. “But, yeah, maybe I’m a little braver because of it.” Before he could muster up a response, one of your hands traveled between his thighs, faintly tracing its way up his skin. “And what are you going to do about it?” 

Jungkook clenched his jaw — it was embarrassing how sensitive he was, goosebumps spreading through his legs. “Don’t tease."

“Or what?” A squeeze of his bulge was everything you need to make him shut up, his hips buckling up to meet your palm. Jungkook was hard and leaking, pulsating as you gave him a few, half-assed pumps through his underwear. A few seconds were more than enough to let him have his fun, it seemed, because you were soon removing your hand from his erection. “Now, stay still unless you want me to tie your feet too.” 

He hissed at the lack of contact, but refused to complain about it out loud. You smiled at his reaction: Jungkook was so stubborn when it came to things like that, would never show you his weak, needy side so easily. But you were patient and, from what you had been told, you had all night to get your way. 

Call it revenge, call it whatever: there was nothing that you wanted more than to see Jungkook bite back his own words and beg for you. It was an ego thing, perhaps, the mission to leave him just as overwhelmed and desperate as he had made you so many times in the past. Maybe you were a bit mean about it. But it was well deserved. 

You took your time pulling one of his legs towards you, watching as his cock throbbed when you placed your body between his thighs. Jungkook could only think about how soft your mouth felt as you kissed up his thigh before, at last, you were nuzzling your face against his erection, placing kisses on his clothed member as your thumb pressed down on his sensitive tip. His breath grew irregular at the feeling, his tongue poking out to wet his lips as you looked up at him with that demonic smirk of yours, those big doe eyes that wiped his thoughts clean. Jungkook was absolutely fucked. 

Luckily, he didn’t have to urge you further because, soon enough, you were pulling his underwear down, making it join your bra on his bedroom floor. Jungkook could’ve cried when you rolled your thumb over his crown, spreading his precum all over him, a delighted hum dripping past your throat. “You’re leaking,” you commented, eyes following the glistening of his reddened tip. He could only muster a raggedy, short sigh before you were talking again. “I can clean you up, don’t worry.” 

Jungkook moaned out when you wrapped your lips around his cock, not hesitating much before you sank down on him. His head fell back when you started sucking, your cheeks hollowing out and tongue pressed flat against him. “God, your mouth feels so fucking perfect.” His hips thrusted up, but you had enough of a reflex to pull away before he managed to hit the back of your throat. “Take it deeper, baby, do it for me.”

But you did the opposite, removing him from your mouth. You glanced up at him with a disinterested look plastered all over your face, lips glossy with a beautiful mixture of your saliva and his wetness. Jungkook made a mental note to never forget that sight. “I don’t know if you understand what’s going on here, Jungkook.” You wrapped one hand around his cock, pumping it twice. It felt good, but nothing compared to your mouth. “But it’s really not your place to tell me what to do right now. That’s not how it works.” 

“Yeah?” He chuckled, eyebrows raised in a silent dare. “And what are you going to do about it?” 

Poor decisions: Jungkook’s week was filled with poor decisions. Blame that unshakable arrogant side of his, blame his terribly constructed defense mechanisms; blame whatever it was that didn’t allow him to think clearly when you were so beautifully placed between his legs, but it seemed that he really thought it would be a good call to provoke you when you were already 1) deadset on making him embarrass himself 2) probably the best Girl Scout to ever tie a knot in history. 

Jungkook was completely helpless: he knew that, you knew that. So the reason why he mocked you in such a position would forever be another mystery that science could never answer. 

And the payback arrived soon enough. Jungkook only earned a few seconds of relaxation, staring at your impassive face, before your mouth was sinking back down around his member. 

If Jungkook thought that you were teasing him before, now you were sucking him like you wanted him to cum in two seconds — hands pumping his length, playing with his balls, tip hitting your throat, tongue dragging against his slit: the four horsemen of your apocalyptic blowjob technique that got him seeing stars in no time. “Fuck, that’s my girl,” he moaned. He was sure his wrists would be all red in the following morning from the way he was mindlessly moving his arms around, his mind just so hyper-focused on the need to touch you, to pull your hair when you were wrapping around his cock so well. “Feels so fucking perfect.” 

Then, as he was just about to tip over, you pulled away. 

“No, what the fuck,” Jungkook’s eyes snapped open, still unfocused and glazed-over. His body flinched at the interruption of his pleasure, and his cock throbbing against his pelvis, angry for attention. “Fuck, why did you stop?”

“That’s what I’m going to do about it.” You smiled, and Jungkook noticed that he was really playing a very dangerous game. In a span of two seconds, he asked himself if he was that mean to you, realized that he probably was, and came to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t change anything about it. “Are you going to behave now, Jungkook?” 

He groaned, fighting against the frustrated waves that overtook his body. His orgasm, before so close, had now been washed away, leaving him with a pulsating feeling inside his guts. “You’re pissing me off.”

“Likewise.” You tilted your head to the side, placing one hand on his thigh. “Now, stay still and do what I tell you to do. That’s the last time I’m asking.” 

He frowned. “Or what?”

You blinked, pausing for a second. “Isn’t it obvious? Or I’m leaving you like this.” 

Jungkook’s brain finally seemed to comprehend the fact that, sometimes, it’s better to keep your mouth shut. So, instead of saying something, he simply watched as you removed your underwear before sitting between his legs, your thighs over his. 

Because you absolutely hated him, you had opened your legs wide, pussy on full display, as you used one hand to lean back against the mattress. His eyes almost jumped out of their sockets when you used two fingers to spread your folds apart. “Look,” you said, your breathy voice making something inside his chest switch. “I’m so wet.” 

And wet you were. Jungkook exhaled, nostrils flaring. His mouth salivated at the thought of licking you clean, fingers growing white around the ropes. He never hated an object so hard in his life. “I can… I can see that.” 

You giggled at the grogginess of his tone, dove into the satisfaction that came from his focused eyes on your soaked folds. A gentle suspire left you as your digits slipped up, covering your clit with your arousal before pressing down on it. You were acting up a bit, whining loudly at the feeling because you knew that it drove him crazy to hear you make sounds for him. “Jungkook…” you trailed off. You had to bite back a laugh when his stare snapped up at you, looking so overwhelmingly horny and pissed off at the same time — the duality of men. “Want to have you inside me.” 

He exhaled heavily. “Do it,” he said and you allowed him to think that it was his order (and not your decision) that made you move. 

Jungkook’s pupils were blown out in sheer desire, wanting to absorb every light that bounced off your soft skin when you lined yourself with his cock, covering his tip with your warm wetness, allowing it to rub between your folds. By the time that you sat down on him, he was dangerously close to cracking. 

“Oh fuck.” His hips thrusted up, wanting to feel more of your tight walls around him. It was heaven and hell, just the way he loved it, but his delight wouldn’t last long. “Fuck, baby, that feels so good.”

“It does,” you agreed, but there was a teasing inflection in your tone that he did not miss. Soon, your fingers were back where they were before, circling your clit. “And I happen to know how to make it even better. For myself, at least.” 

It took him a few moments to understand what was going on, but, once it clicked inside his head, he could’ve cried from frustration. “What are you doing?”

“Getting myself off.” You smiled — oh you were such a fucking demon, he thought, a trickster spirit that wouldn’t rest until he was begging you to let him cum. Worst part? He might as well do it. “You don’t mind, do you? I know you love to keep your cock inside me like this.” 

They say that revenge is sweet and, as you saw the flash of desperation that crossed Jungkook’s face, you couldn’t agree more. “Aren’t… aren’t you going to move?” He tried. 

You could tell that he was holding back from just thrusting up inside you, which was equally satisfying and arousing: maybe, just maybe, he was starting to learn one thing or two about following your orders. “Hmmm… not at all.” You smirked, a tiny gasp leaving your lips as you circled your sensitive spot just the right way. Jungkook followed the movement of your lips as if they were writing the secrets of the universe. “Not if you keep that attitude up.” 

He frowned, the corners of his mouth twitching in frustration. From your peripheral vision, you could see his wrists vaguely struggling against your knots — humbly speaking, you were a great Girl Scout, the typical overachiever, and you were positive that they would hold up. 

“You’re going to regret this later,” Jungkook warned, but his words didn’t even have the chance to affect you. One clenching of your walls around him was all that it took for his head to roll back, a deep grunt dripping from his mouth at the sensation. It was just enough to keep him dangling over the edge, but not even close to making him cum. “Your pussy is so fucking tight, baby. Feels so fucking good.”

“I’m almost there, that’s why.” Your other hand slithered up your waist, cupping one of your breasts. Being a bit more theatrical than necessary (because you wanted to provoke him as much as you could), you gasped out his name as you rolled one nipple between your fingers, arching your back at the sensation. You swore you saw Jungkook’s eye twitch. “Gonna cum just like this. And you’re gonna be good and watch me.” 

Again with that be good bullshit, again not giving him enough time to process it before you were timidly rolling your hips. “Baby,” he gasped. “This isn’t fair.” 

“It isn’t,” you agreed, slightly breathless, your hand moving to play with your other breast. Jungkook followed the action like every part of you was magnetic, calling for his attention. “You do that to me all the time, though.” 

He frowned. “But I let you fucking touch me.” 

“How nice of you,” you sarcastically remarked. Another small roll of your hips made you gasp, fingers working faster around your clit. Teasing Jungkook got you shamefully turned on, it seemed, because you were just about to tip over the edge. “Fuck, feels so good.” 

“It would feel so much better if you just— God, you’re so fucking wet,” his mind was barely functioning at that point, the heavenly feeling of your walls clenching around him was making him go insane. “Just ride my cock, baby.” 

“No,” that simple word was like an arrow, shooting all his hopes down. Jungkook closed his eyes and threw his head back, trying to fight against the claustrophobic nature of his position. There was no way he could hold himself back, he thought, he would beg you as many times as he needed it that was what it took for him to finally cum. “I’m close, Kook.” 

That whimpery, needy tone of yours would be the death of him one of those days. “I can fucking feel it,” he cursed. Jungkook just wanted to thrust inside your dripping pussy, make you cream his cock like you were made for it, but he knew that you would just stop everything again if he did so, and he seriously didn’t think he could take that. “S-Shit, baby, you don’t know what you’re doing to me.” 

But you had a good idea of how you were affecting him. Through parted lids, you watched as his face contorted in pleasure when you squeezed particularly tightly around him; a muffled sob perishing on his throat when you vaguely raised your hips. Jungkook was filling you up so perfectly, like he always did, and it was that amazing stretch of his cock inside you, combined with the clear hunger that covered his features, that pulled your climax towards you. 

The orgasm that washed over you was abrupt, overbearing, just blinding enough so you didn’t notice the weak little moans that Jungkook let out at the throbbing of your walls around his aching length. You tried to prolong it for as long as possible, rubbing yourself, crying out his name for theatrical reasons, but eventually sensitivity got the best of you and you stopped. 

What you found when you did, however, was a glorious sight. Jungkook was a perfect picture of lust and desperation, his chest rising and falling rapidly and eyes locked on where your two bodies joined. There was a thin coat of sweat all over his skin, the small sound of the  ropes pulling on the headboard. When he noticed you were staring, he found your gaze. “I- I stood still,” he said. 

“I know, you did so good.” You placed one hand on his cheek, leveling your face with his so you could kiss him. Jungkook melted under your touch, a deep sigh leaving his mouth as you pulled away, his cock still deep inside you. “I’m proud of you.” 

As if something had magically changed, Jungkook tried to fight against his immobilized hands, only to find out that he was still unable to free himself. “Wanna touch you so bad, baby. You look so fucking hot sitting on my cock like this.” Jungkook was spoiled, you realized, because it didn’t take him two seconds of good behavior to revert back to what he wanted to happen. It was a terrible habit, you realized, one that you probably helped enable. “Fuck, just let me cum, baby. Take these off and I’ll fuck you just the way you like it.” 

And maybe if you weren’t so high up in your power rush, you would’ve at least considered his offer. However, having Jungkook turned into a pliant mess beneath you was worth more than anything else at that moment. “I’ll think about it if you say the magic word.”

He frowned, his charm melting away. Jungkook was so adamant on having it his way that it bordered on a joke. “Not gonna do it.” 

You kissed him once again before speaking up. “Then we don’t have a deal.” You shook your head, moving away from him. Jungkook searched after your mouth, but your stupid Girl Scouts knots didn’t allow him to go much further. He collapsed back against the headboard with a frustrated groan. “You’re a terrible sub.”

“Maybe because I’m not a fucking sub— Shit.” All his thoughts were wiped clean when you slowly raised your hips, only leaving his engorged tip inside, before, finally, sitting back down. The drag of your velvety walls against his sensitive cock was driving Jungkook up the wall, his tied-up wrists mindlessly knocking against each other. “Fuck. I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” You pouted, repeating the movement. You watched as his jaw clenched, a sharp exhale leaving his nostrils as Jungkook both fought against and searched for his pleasure. “Sure you don’t wanna say it?” 

A deliciously slow roll of your hips got him gasping out. “I’m not gonna — fuck — not gonna say it.” 

You leaned your head to the side, stopping your movements. Jungkook’s abdomen was caving in with every small brush of your pussy around him, the illumination from the streets making the drops of sweat on his skin look like small diamonds. It was an erotic sight, from the falling of his dark hair over his hooded eyes, to the beautiful inked drawings on his arms. Unfortunately, you had other things to do other than to admire him endlessly. 

With a sigh, you got up from his lap. “Too bad.”

“Baby,” Jungkook whined — actually whined —  when he felt his cock slip out of your perfect heat, collapsing against his abdomen. The sensation got him flinching, made him bite his lip for a second in an attempt to compose himself. “Baby, don’t leave me like this, come on.”

You frowned, faking annoyance. “How can I not leave you like this, Jungkook?” Your palms slithered around his shoulders, pulling your body closer to his. “You’re being horrible right now.” 

“S-Sorry.” His breath caught in his throat when your mouth met the skin of his neck, tongue prodding out to lick a small trail up his skin. Your heat was unbearable, suffocating him and drowning out his thoughts to the point that he had really apologized for his poor demeanor. If your predictions were correct, it wouldn’t take long before he folded the way you wanted him to. “Just, come on, you can’t just— I’m just so hard right now.” 

You giggled, fingertips moving down on his chest until you found what you were looking for. “Aw. Poor thing,” you teased, feeling as he grew stiff when you started to play with his nipples. A few weeks back, you had made the wonderful and unexpected discovery that Jungkook was really sensitive there, but you never really had a chance to explore that side of him before he flipped you over and had you his way. But the universe always searched for balance, and that moment was the karmic payback you were looking for. “What’s the problem, Kook?” 

“Wanna cum.” He winced away from your faint caresses, but he really didn’t have anywhere else to go. A smirk curled up on your lips as you watched Jungkook fight against the knots, a frail, airy moan leaving his chest as you rolled his nipples between your fingers. He sounded so perfect: so needy and desperate that you could feel another gush of arousal accumulating between your folds. “Just wanna cum so bad, baby.” 

“I’m not gonna be mean and hold it off,” you told him, moving back so you could place a kiss against his pouty, swollen lips. Jungkook looked so beautifully messy, so on edge, that you almost cried out at the sight of it. “You just have to say it,” you told him, lowering your hips until you were straddling his cock. 

With a roll of your pussy against him, his cock brushed between your wet folds, tearing a broken sob from his throat. “Fuck,” Jungkook cursed. He was never in a position like that: edged for so long that he couldn’t even control the grunts that left his throat. “You’re so fucking evil.”

“You love it.” Another grind of your pussy had him throwing his head back, a loud moan ripping itself from his heaving chest. Jungkook was sensitive, responsive to the tiniest of your touches and, most of all: he was desperate, seconds away from cracking. “You know, if you say it, I’ll let you cum.” 

His cock throbbed against you when you finally stopped your movements, raising your hips so your center moved away from his. Jungkook complained at the lack of sensation, practically on the limit of throwing a tantrum, and his pelvis mindlessly buckling up in search of your warmth. Instead, he found nothing, and his member simply collapsed back against his abdomen, aching for its release. 

“This— This is torture,” he groaned. You giggled at his distress, taking one hand to brush away the sweaty hair from his forehead. Jungkook leaned into your touch. “Please, baby, just fuck me.”

Your ears perked up at that, a pool of arousal starting to grow between your legs. That sounded even better than you had predicted. “Sorry, what was that?” You teased. 

Jungkook closed his eyes, clenching his jaw. “Don’t make me say it again.” 

Slowly, you lowered your hips again, pressing your pussy against his cock. Jungkook reacted instantly, taking in a sharp inhale. “Didn’t hear you,” you said. 

“God, baby, just fuck me, please,” he finally broke down, his dazed-out gaze seemed to have some trouble focusing on your face. Desperation was plastered all over him, staring at you like a beautiful, shimmering trophy. “Please, just let me cum. Please.” 

You hummed, leaning away so you could sit on his thighs, facing his erection. You were a woman of your word: you said you wouldn’t hold it back, and you wouldn’t. “Since you asked so nicely…” you trailed off, one hand wrapping around his base, pumping him a few times. Jungkook throbbed in your hands, his abdomen sinking as your thumb grazed his sensitive crown. “Where do you wanna cum?” 

It looked like you had truly broken the poor boy down because, for the first time in his life, Jungkook didn’t have any idea on how to answer that question. “I- I don’t know,” he struggled to speak when your hand was still caressing his member: just enough for him to feel something, but too slow and light for him to actually cum. “Anywhere. Just wanna cum.” 

You pouted, letting his cock go. It bounced on his pelvis, tore a painful cry from his throat as he felt his pleasure wash away once again. “I need an answer, Kook.” 

And he said the first thing that came into his mind. “Your pussy, baby, please.” 

A smile tugged on your lips — it seemed as if that word wasn’t so hard to say anymore. “Of course, you’ve been so good.” You moved around until you were sinking down on him, feeling that fantastic stretch all over again, and earning a shaky moan from his part. You only spoke up again after you were sure he couldn’t go any deeper. “Kook?” You called. His pleading eyes shot up at you. “Wanna fuck me?” 

He breathed out, just a tremulous gush of air that he could barely get ahold of. “Y-Yes, yes, please.” 

You hummed, wiggling your ass around just so you could watch his face contort in despair, crumbling under the delicious drag of your plump walls around his cock. Jungkook almost looked cute, you dared to think, even if you were sure he would fold you in half the second that he got those ropes off. It was like teasing a tiger in a zoo: people only felt brave enough to do it because there was a thick glass between them. “You better do it, then,” you told him. 

After everything you had put him through, Jungkook seemed almost hesitant to do so. “C-Can I move?” He asked, just to be sure. Last thing he needed was to do something wrong and have you walking out on him. His cock was so hard, leaking inside you, and he didn’t believe that he could handle being left like that. 

“Of course,” you told him, the tenderness of your voice so different from what you sounded like all night. Jungkook was still on the palm of your hand, but your victory when it came to making him beg had already been achieved. So you could relax and let him do the heavy lifting for once. Being active was exhausting sometimes. “Come on, Kook,” you egged him on, leaning forward so you could find support on his chest. You knew what was coming. “Fuck me.” 

That seemed to be the last spark he needed to ignite his fire because, soon enough, he was placing both feet on the mattress and thrusting upwards, your body collapsing forward under the force of his movements. Jungkook barely gave you any time to breathe: he fucked you fast and deep, helped by the gravity of your weight above him; shallow breaths and noisy whines leaving his mouth in a beautiful cacophony of sounds. It wasn’t long before he was making you bounce on his cock, pretty moans melting upon your lips as you fought to keep your balance over him. 

“B-Baby,” Jungkook stammered, an airy, high-pitched moan sounding from his parted mouth. His brain was utterly bewildered by the movement of your body above his own, the bouncing of your breasts and the wild fluttering of your eyelashes. And those moans, those gorgeous, ethereal little sounds that you reserved just for him. “S-So perfect. All mine.” 

“All yours,” you said promptly, struggling to meet his gaze. No matter how much you tried, you could not follow the speed of his thrusts, so you simply kept your body in place as he used it as he pleased. “Is this what you wanted?” 

He nodded, mouth falling open. His lips were pouty and swollen, slightly red from the way he had bitten them before. “Wanna cum,” he breathed out, “inside you.” 

No pretty please, you realized. Perhaps it wasn’t your best call to ask him to fuck you, because it dawned on you that you had just handed Jungkook his esteemed control back on a silver platter. That started simply as a doubt in the corners of your mind, however, you were sure that you had lost that battle once his needy whimpers started to wash away, instead replaced by the guttural, rough groans that he usually presented to you. 

Not that you truly cared about it: you had already proven your point. 

His head leaned to the side, pressing against his elevated arm. Jungkook was hypnotized by the way that your bodies met, the way you held yourself up so he could fuck himself inside you. You were always so good for him. “Your pussy feels so fucking amazing, baby,” Jungkook moaned out, hips snapping up against yours. A hiss dripped from his mouth when he felt you clench around him, signaling that you were close once again. “Look so pretty. Made for my cock.” 

“Y-Yes,” you stammered, head falling back. You could feel that familiar tingling at the bottom of your stomach, your orgasm ready to snap once more. Jungkook always fucked you so well, even when his hands were tied up, always left your brain scrambling after the most basic of words. “I’m c-close.” 

Jungkook tried once more to pull at his restraints, but it simply wouldn���t bulge. The contrast between the red ropes and the dark ink decorating his skin was beautiful, the veins of his hands getting thicker as tugged again and again. Jungkook was beyond the realms of reason by that point, struggling like a caged animal because there was nothing else in the world that he wanted more than to touch; to suck your breasts and to fuck you the way he wanted to. “Gonna cum too, baby,” his voice was almost a roar, deep and frustrated. It shot straight up to your core, made you tip over the edge and come down spasming around his cock, your high washing over you. “That’s it, cream my cock,” he praised. In the background of your overwhelmed state, you could feel as his member throbbed inside you, ready to release. “Take everything for me, alright? Wanna fill you up.”  

You barely had any time to nod before he was spilling himself inside you, a long, throaty moan dripping like sin from his lips. Jungkook tried to keep his movements up for a bit longer, delighting himself in the way you winced at the feeling, but even he had grown too tired to continue it. So, at last, he collapsed back against the mattress, sweaty hair falling over his eyes. 

“Get up,” he commanded, breathless. “Let me see it.” 

With shaky movements, you did as he requested, planting one hand on his thigh so you could raise your body. His cock slipped out at the motion, already softening, but his gaze was stuck on the gradual dripping of his cum between your pussy lips. As much as you were used to that specific request, it always made your legs weak when you looked at him during that part — no matter what happened before, Jungkook always had that maniac expression plastered all over his face, like the mere image of his cum slipping out of you was enough to send him into a frenzy all over again. And, most times, it was. 

“Good girl,” his dark stare slowly navigated towards your eyes. His arms were surprisingly still, no longer battling against the ropes, and there was something ominous about that. “Push it back in.” 

Because you didn’t want to anger him any further, you agreed. It was almost impressive how quickly Jungkook was able to take back his control: even with him being immobilized, you were still folding and following his wishes like it was your second nature. “Like this?” You asked, using two of your fingers to stuff his cum back inside. 

“Yeah, just like that.” He breathed out, the final seconds of his exhale morphing into a low growl. “Now, ___,” he called, eyes still glued to your pussy. “Untie me.” 

You almost wanted to go against that, given the way he was about to break you in half, but that wasn’t probably the brightest of ideas. A bit nervous, you moved off his lap and sat down next to him, hands flying to undo the knots. “Hang on,” you requested. From the corners of his vision, you could see Jungkook staring you down, his piercing eyes focused on your face, silently watching you through the curtain of his black hair. At last, you managed to undo the ropes, the thick material falling beside you as Jungkook lowered his arms and started to massage his wrists. “How are your hands? I hope it wasn’t—“

“Lay down.” He interrupted, dry. Your mouth fell shut — none of your usual sarcastic remarks finding their way past the lump in your throat. 

The softness of the pillow was a welcomed sensation, but your body could not relax, not when Jungkook was still looking at the pink marks on his inked skin, thinking about what he was going to do to you. You waited for what seemed like hours until he finally moved around, arms on either side of your head and chest pressed flush against yours. Jungkook’s heat was asphyxiating, his nose bumping against yours as he placed a small, tender kiss on your lips. He was being too calm, you noticed that instantly; still waters with sharks swimming underneath. 

“Silly girl,” he mumbled against your mouth, fingers pressing on either side of your jaw. Jungkook pulled your mouth open, thumb caressing your lower lip as he stared down at you like an arrogant monarch. You felt terribly small, shrinking under his presence. “It’s not my hands that you should be worrying about.” He smirked, and his thumb paused its tender motions on your lip. He sighed. “Now that you had your fun, I’m gonna have mine.” 

~ 

Jungkook was right: his wrists were red the next day. He naively thought that no one would be able to see it through his tattoos, but Taehyung, even in his hungover stupor, had his detective eye ready and noticed the marks right away. There was absolutely no way all his crime documentaries made him such an expert, Jungkook thought, but couldn’t really be sure of it. 

“You know… things like this only make me more curious,” Taehyung said after Jungkook had refused to tell him who had come over the previous night. He was munching on his sandwich like his life depended on it, brows furrowed into a perfect picture of concentration. There was jelly all over his mouth, pulling up the corners of his lips and making Taehyung look like a terrible, discount copy of the joker. “Like, a chick tied you up? Come on, I have to meet someone like that. It’s a matter of, like, survival, some alpha wolf bullshit—“

“Fuck off,” Jungkook cut him short, burying his face on his hands. He was too tired to deal with any of that. “I never want to hear about you or your wolves ever again.”

~

check out the rest of the bad influence collection! 

taglist > @minyoongiboongi  @bvrrym0re @marcoazam2 @shojotae @youurkryptonite @fan-ati--c @btstrasht @crazy4myself @ft-multi @kooafraid @dianaaviny @ggukkieland @cryinginmypromdress @kissestothesky @imluckybitches @gyukult @jinsalpaca @0901-1230 @we8joon​ @gamerkooks​

[sugamamacustard]

Please don’t let me go

Pairing:  Alpha! Tetsuro Kuroo x Omega! Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, NSFW

Request: HIII my favourite author!!! Happy new year 💜. Wishing you a very happy 2021. Ok sooo i got a scenario In mind. You don't have to write it if you don't want to Reader (half wolf/half omega, and if you don't write half wolf, then omega) in a pack (maybe like you know joint nekoma, fukorodani and karasuno but it's ok if you don't write that, only nekoma then in case) where their pack hasn't exactly accepted them, they're very cold with her. Reader , who has madly been in love with kuroo (cuz I'm such a kuroo lover) for very long, doesn't mind and continues to take care of everyone, making sure their ok and basically like having a soft sweet motherly attitude despite how they treat reader. But at one point reader is just fed up and feels very hurt, thinking they hate them and blames themselves. They also have to keep seeing kuroo bring in other girls for his heat and that Hurts them a lot. So reader thinks they never needed them and slowly stops contacting them. That's when everyone realises they fucked up and tried to find them but they can't. Until one day reader comes to practice and says their joining another pack and apologies for not being enough and all, how would the pack and kuroo, who loves them, stop them, apologize and make it up with them? Angst to fluff, and if you want idk if you write it but nsfw. You don't have to write it ofc! It's just a quick scenario that came to my mind. Please ignore this if you don't want to write it, and sorry if it's too specific and long 🥺

Summary:   You were excited when the other packs joined yours, even finding solace in one of the alphas of one, but suddenly, you weren’t needed. Wanted. Not what he desired. And that hurt. So you do the only thing you can think of. Try to find someone who will comfort your poor omega heart.

Author’s Note: I’m your favorite 🥺 🥺 Happy new year babes!  And I was reading this, and I just kept getting more and more ideas and began writing it right away Hope you enjoy!

Requests: Open!

Keep in Mind! This heavily based off of my Dragon/Shifter! AU from my mainblog! (@Angstyclowns) . The long short of it, is that Shifters have three forms. The first, is completely human. Though the person still has some attributes (Better sight, smell, hearing, etc.) they don’t have any visible features. The second form gives the shifter about half of their features. Tails, ears, wings, fangs, things like that. The third is the “full form”. This is a full dragon, wolf, cat, dog, etc.. You aren’t able to talk in this form, but you do have full control of your actions. I can go into more depth in this AU! if you all want, be sure to let me know!

Tetsuro Kuroo

➵ The Fukorodani pack was big. Huge maybe. 

➵ It was made up of three different, smaller, packs that had combined for both numbers and power. Karasuno, (the namesake) Fukorodani, and Nekoma. 

➵ You were originally apart of Fukorodani, only really close with Akaashi and Bokuto and had yet to get close with anyone else. 

➵ You still cared for them though. 

➵ You prepped meals in the morning, making enough for everyone. 

➵ Made sure you always had band-aids just in case.

➵ You took the role of pack omega well. 

➵ But people still seemed to hold you at an arms length. 

➵ You at first brushed it off, as they were getting used to being in such a big pack, but as they got more comfortable with Bokuto and Akaashi, you began to feel this sense of unease. 

➵ It was obvious they didn’t trust you, but you couldn’t quite place why. 

➵ It soon got to the point where even Akaashi and Bokuto were spending less and less time with you. 

➵ Your omega was hurt and you felt completely deserted. 

➵ You had no idea what was happening. Did you do something wrong?

➵ You didn’t think so. You just did what you always did. Maybe you were too clingy. 

➵ Too overbearing. 

➵ Yeah, that was it. Right? 

➵ Too much too soon. 

➵ So you slowly began pulling away. You stopped making breakfast (Staying in your nest and feigning being asleep when Akaashi or Suga would come check up on you.). 

➵ Stopped carrying medical supplies. Which hurt at first when Hinata or Noya would excitedly ask you for a cartoon printed band-aid, but immediately frowned when you said you didn’t have any.

➵ You just stopped...caring? 

➵ You went on runs a lot more, staying out later and later and leaving earlier and earlier. There were days when no one saw you at all-- Bokuto ending up crying on those days, almost as if his alpha knew you were pulling away. 

➵ He would make an effort to spend the next day with you but then the process would just repeat itself. He’d be gone with Kuroo for days, weeks on end and you were stuck alone one more time. 

➵ “We always have an opening.” Daishou hummed, stretching his arms out as his forked tongue wiggled between his lips. Your tail swiped behind you as your ears fell back. “We could use a wolf like you. Strong legs, strong jaw, good looks-” 

➵ “Don’t.” You sighed, wrapping your tail around your waist and wringing it gently with your hands. “I appreciate the offer, but I- I can’t. I just-”

➵ “I get it. It’s that damned cat, yeah?” The olive haired alpha smirked, playing with one of his scaled fingers. He chuckled at your red cheeks, licking his teeth all the while.  

➵ It was not secret that you fell for the Pack alpha of Nekoma, Kuroo, quickly. Though Daishou (A snake shifter that you ran into during one of your all day runs) didn’t approve of the crush, he didn’t interfere with it. He respected it, in fact, encouraging it on days he felt good. 

➵ You could honestly say Daishou was one of your closest friends at the moment. He always allowed you into his territory, his pack supporting and loving you all the while. 

➵ He had offered to let you join his pack, in fact, but you turned him down. You were tied with Fukorodani, with Akaashi, with Bokuto. They were your family.

➵ Whether or not they saw you the same way, that was how you saw them. 

➵ Your inner omega kept reminding you that Daishou was also your family. 

➵ You suppose the final straw was seeing Kuroo laughing with some random Beta girl. She smelled like cheap perfume, making you reel. You merely watched as he kissed her neck, nipping her ear, quickly taking her to his room. His rut was around the corner so you knew what was going on. 

➵ Didn’t mean you had to like it though. 

➵ Maybe like a rebellious teenager, this kicked off that side you had been hiding.

➵ Instead of disappearing for a day every few weeks, you disappeared for days, one right after the other. You would pop in for a change of clothes, shift into your wolf and you were gone. 

➵ You were strategic about it too. You made sure one person saw you enter, just to assure everyone else you were alive. You made sure they were far enough away they couldn’t catch you even if they shifted-- which most did. They tried to talk to you, just once.

➵ But you had routes made in the deep of night to get you out of sight, running through water to get rid of your scent, just doing everything to make you disappear. 

➵ And slowly, but surely, Daishou and his pack began considering you their omega, just as you began forgetting about the Fukorodani pack. 

➵ Everyone on the other side just got worse though. More often than not, meals were either ordered in or skipped all together. Alphas snapped on each other, Betas snarled in retaliation, omegas were hissing and closing in. 

➵ While Bokuto and Akaashi were expected to be the worst of this all, they weren’t. While they growled and hissed and snapped, they didn’t snarl. They were recluse and kept away, looking for you day in and day out instead. 

➵ The worst of all was Kuroo. He snarled and snapped, baring his teeth at anyone who crossed his path. That beta girl? She ran out a week ago, bleeding from her hand because Kuroo had bitten her for touching him when he told her to go away. 

➵ Even Kenma had been on the receiving end of a near-close call, making everyone turn their attention to what his issue was. 

➵ They only got their answer on one of the few short trips you made back. You smelled heavily like the territory next door, so much so they could smell it from your room while you were re-packing your bag. 

➵ Your nest had been dismantled and one of the several blankets in there was folded and you began putting it into your bag, only for Kuroo to slam open your door. 

➵ You chirped in surprise, crawling back from the seething alpha. He was angry, you could tell, and you didn’t want to get in his way. 

➵ You bowed your head, quickly zipping up your bag before making your way to the window. 

➵ You couldn’t deal with him right now. Not with your feelings, not with his anger. You just couldn’t. 

➵ “Where the fuck are you going?” He hissed, stomping to your window and shutting it before you could crawl through. 

➵ “I- I don’t- Just-”

➵ He stopped you, sniffing your neck. “You smell like him.”

➵ “Who’s him?”

➵ “That fucking snake! Who else?!” Teeth are dragged dangerously down your neck, making you shudder. “What the fuck are you doing near him?”

➵ “Dai-”

➵ “Don’t fucking say his name. Answer the question. Why were you near him?! His pack?! We are right here. We’re your pack. Not them.” He sounded close to exploding,  making you whine as you withdrew. 

➵ He ran a hand through his hair as he paced in front of you. “Were we not good enough? Huh? You needed another pack? WHY WEREN’T WE GOOD ENOUGH?!” 

➵ You didn’t realize it, but you began shaking, slowly drawing in on yourself, trying to seem as small as possible. 

➵ You didn’t want to make the alpha angry. Why was he so angry? 

➵ “Tell me!” Looking up, you hiccupped as tears began streaming down your face, Kuroo having his own tears dripping down his cheeks. “Why wasn’t I good enough?”

➵ He collapsed in front of you, hands yanking on his hair. 

➵ And while you were hesitant, you slowly crept closer. He was shaking his head by the time you got close enough to hear him whispering “Please don’t leave.” Making your heart and omega whine. 

➵ “I-” You stopped. What was there to say? All of a sudden he wanted you here? Where was he the past however many weeks? 

➵ You wanted to scream at him. Turn and leave through the window anyway. 

➵ Leave this pack, and Kuroo, behind. 

➵ “Don’t leave me. I don’t care about the rest of them-- maybe Kenma-- but don’t leave me. Please. I can’t handle- I can’t handle not seeing you everyday. I thought I could. I thought I could fill the void with meaningless flings, but they couldn’t even touch me before I was aching for you. “ He was sobbing now, tears dripping down his cheeks. 

➵ You hesitantly wrapped an arm around his shoulder, allowing him to cry into your shoulder. He held you tightly, refusing to let you slip through his fingers as he almost had. 

➵ “I-I don’t- I don’t know what you want from me anymore, Kuroo. I-I tried staying, and that didn’t work. I tried leaving, and that didn’t work either. I don’t want to leave but I can’t stay. I’m so touch starved and I can’t keep living like this!” You cried out, frustrated with all the mixed signals around you. 

➵ What did your pack want from you?

➵ “We’ll fix it! I swear, I’ll fix it myself. I swear on my life. I’ll fix it. Fix myself. Make myself that alpha you deserve. Please.”

➵ You said nothing. Only allowing him to hold you close. 

___NSFW___

➵ “Tetsuro!” You squealed, laughing as soft kisses were laced down your thighs. 

➵ “Kitten~” He responded, suckling a hickey right near your cunt. 

➵ You were wearing nothing but his sweatshirt and he was rabid seeing you, his pretty omega all nice and ready for him. 

➵ And his cock. 

➵ Sitting up, he pulled you onto his thighs with a swift movement, making you laugh once more.

➵ He smirked down at you once you calmed down, pressing a sweet peck to your lips, making you hum with satisfaction. 

➵ His hands trailed under his shirt to rest on your hips, keeping you close to him. You seemed so ethereal, sitting in the light that filtered through the window-- oranges and reds highlighting your body.

➵ “I love you. I love you so much.” He huffed, leaning his forehead onto yours, feeling the heat of your smile against his lips. 

➵ “I love you too, Tetsuro.” Another peck was pressed to his lips. 

➵ His heart felt so full, having you in his arms, having you in his grasp. He just couldn’t let you go. 

➵ He had almost done that once. 

➵ But he would never make the same mistake again. 

___

His cock dragged slowly out of your walls, sending shocks of pleasure and sensation wavering through your body as you shuddered. It wasn’t often you got to see the slow and sensual side of Tetsuro-- the one that would kiss your bond mark, the one that would tear up as he spilled praise after praise into your ear, the one that would hold a hand on your chest just to feel your thundering heartbeat only to pull your hand up to feel his own, which was just as bad--but when you did it left you  just breathless as he always did. There were days when you just needed this side and he always picked up on that, but some days he needed the solace he got with it as well. 

You’d always enable it, purring and whispering your own praises to him, kissing his temples when his emotions bubbled far to quickly for him to properly absorb, spilling over.  

It was times like this, when his forehead rested against your shoulder, did you feel closest. His pants were hot against your already flushed skin, adding already to your sensitive body. 

Running a hand through his hair, you waited for him to give you an indicator of what he wanted. What he needed from you at that very moment. 

When he didn’t move it hit you. He just wanted you close. To keep you close. To remind himself you were still there. To remind himself he won the war. He won you. He finally got the queen to his kingdom. The one he wanted from the star. 

And you would indulge him, running your both your hands through his hair and holding him close.  Even if you pretended not to feel the happy tears falling onto your shoulder. 

____

Soft sex Kuroo had me  🥺 🥺 

[bringbackthebastard]

Bring Back the Bastard Daily Prompts

Hello, folks! I'm posting these two weeks before we begin our fest, on September 1st, to give folks some inspiration on what to write each day as we celebrate Severus Snape's pettiest, most dastardly moments. I specifically picked out moments Snaters always harp on, that Snapedom personally enjoys--from any moment with Trevor to bitching at Lupin at Sirius, to the moments that Lily turns away and Dumbledore's face flashes with disgust--sure, he's a bastard, but he's our bastard, and that's what we like about him. You don't want him? Good. We'll keep him. Here are 30 scene prompts for 30 days--it's a long list, pulled chronologically from all seven books, but I found that it reminded me of everything I love about this character. The moments where he's called deranged, the moments where he slips into all-caps, the ugliest moments of the soul. Hope yall enjoy. Excited to kick off the fest starting September 1st, and absolutely excited to see what Snapedom will do. Let's Bring Back the Bastard! The prompts are below the readmore.

Day 1: The Scar Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacheer with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes--and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. "Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. "What is it?" asked Percy. "N-nothing." The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look--a felling that he didn't like Harry at all. "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy. "Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to--everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

Day 2: Bad Impressions Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name. "Ah, yes," he said softly. "Harry Potter. Our new--celebrity."

Day 3: Potions Class "Potter!" said Snape suddenly "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand shot into the air. "I don't know, sir," said Harry. Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut--fame clearly isn't everything."

Day 4: A Horrible Sight Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages. "Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?" Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but-- "POTTER!" Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped. "I just wondered if I could have my book back." "GET OUT! OUT!"

Day 5: Maybe He's Ill "Hang on..." Harry muttered to Ron. "There's an empty chair at the staff table...Where's Snape?" Professor Severus Snape was Harry's least favorite teacher. Harry also happened to be Snape's least favorite student. Cruel, sarcastic, and disliked by everybody except the students from his own House (Slytherin), Snape taught Potions. "Maybe he's ill!" said Ron hopefully. "Maybe he's left," said Harry, "because he missed out on the Defense Against the Dark Arts job again!" "Or he might have been sacked!" said Ron enthusiastically. "I mean, everyone hates him--" "Or maybe," said a very cold voice right behind them, "he's waiting to hear why you two didn't arrive on the school train."

Day 6: Slytherin Takes the Field "But I booked the field!" said Wood, positively spitting with rage. "But I booked it!" "Ah," said Flint. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. 'I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker.'"

Day 7: No Quidditch For You! "I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful," he said. "It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest." "Really, Severus," said Professor McGonagall sharply, "I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Potter has done anything wrong." Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look. His twinkling light-blue gaze made Harry feel as though he were being X-rayed. "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said firmly. Snape looked furious.

Day 8: Expelliarmus! "Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry--you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!" "Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?" Ron muttered in Harry's ear. Snape's upper lip was curling. Harry wondered why Lockhart was still smiling; if Snape had been looking at *him* like that he'd have been running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them. "As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our fist spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course." "I wouldn't bet on that," Harry murmured, watching Snape baring his teeth. "One--two--three--" Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried: "Expelliarmus!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet. He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Day 9: Only Bite Him A Little Bit, Please "Don't move, Potter," said Snape lazily, clearly enjoying the sight of Harry standing motionless, eye to eye with the angry snake. "I'll get rid of it..."

Day 10: Poisoning Trevor The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was cowering by his cauldron. "Everyone gather 'round," said Snape, his black eyes glittering, "and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned." The Gryffindors watched fearfully. The Slytherins looked excited. Snape picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand and dipped a small spoon into Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down Trevor's throat. There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then there was a small op, and Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm. The Gryffindors burst into applause. Snape, looking sour, pulled a small bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor, and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown. "Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, which wiped smiles from every face. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."

Day 11: Insufferable Know-It-All Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air. "Anyone?" Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted smile was back. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between--" "We told you," said Parvati suddenly, "we haven't got as far as werewolves yet, we're still on--" "Silence!" snarled Snape. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are..." "Please, sir," said Hermione, whose hand was still in the air, "the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf--" "That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger," said Snape coolly. "Fire more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."

Day 12: Your Saintly Father "I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Potter," he said, a terrible grin twisting his face. "Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you--your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't gotten cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts." Snape's uneven, yellowish teeth were bared.

Day 13: Don't Talk About What You Don't Understand "KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end o his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Hermione fell silent. "Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..." "The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" --he jerked his head at Ron-- "I'll come quietly...." "Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black...pleased enough to give you a little Kiss, I daresay...."

Day 14: A Great Disappointment "He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have let somebody in the room with him. When this gets out--" "HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE *OR* DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS--HAS--SOMETHING--TO--DO--WITH--POTTER!" "Severus--be reasonable--Harry has been locked up--" BAM. The door of the hospital wing burst open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself. "OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" "Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!" "See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw--" "THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. "Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!" "YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT--" "That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the war ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?" "Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard them!" "Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further." Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward. "Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore." "Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

Day 15: Haven't You Heard? "Blimey, haven' yeh heard?" said Hagrid, his smile fading a little. He lowered his voice, even though there was nobody in sight. "Er--Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'....Thought everyone'd know by now...Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on the grounds las' night...He's packin' now, o' course."

Day 16: I See No Difference "And what is all this noise about?" said a soft, deadly voice. Snape had arrived. The Slytherins clamored to give their explanations; Snape pointed a long yellow finger at Malfoy and said, "Explain." "Potter attacked me, sir--" "We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted. "--and he hit Goyle--look--" Snape examined Goyle, whose face now resembled something that would have been at home in a book on poisonous fungi. "Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly. "Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said. "Look!" He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth--she was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls were doubled up with silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back. Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, "I see no difference."

Day 17: The Dark Mark Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He struck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled. "There," said Snape harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eater to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."

Day 18: If You Are Ready...If You Are Prepared... "Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready...if you are prepared..." "I am," said Snape. He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely. "Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Sirius.

Day 19: Obviously "Now...how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" she asked, her quill poised over her clipboard. "Fourteen years," Snape replied. His expression was unfathomable. His eyes on Snape, Harry added a few drops to his potion; it hissed menacingly and turned from turquoise to orange. "You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Professor Umbridge asked Snape. "Yes," said Snape quietly. "But you were unsuccessful?" Snape's lip curled. "Obviously." Professor Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard. "And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?" "Yes," said Snape quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry. "Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?" asked Umbridge. "I suggest you ask him," said Snape jerkily. "Oh I shall," said Professor Umbridge with a sweet smile. "I suppose this is relevant?" Snape asked, his black eyes narrowed. "Oh yes," said Professor Umbridge. "Yes, the Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers'--er--backgrounds...." She turned away, walked over to Pansy Parkinson, and began questioning her about the lessons. Snape looked around at Harry and their eyes met for a second. Harry hastily dropped his gaze to his potion, which was now congealing foully and giving off a strong smell of burned rubber. "No marks again, then, Potter," said Snape maliciously, emptying Harry's cauldron with a wave of his wand. "You will write me an essay on the correct composition of this potion, indicating how and why you went wrong, to be handed in next lesson, do you understand?"

Day 20: Very Like His Father "How touching," Snape sneered. "But surely you have noticed that Potter is very like his father?" Yes, I have," said Sirius proudly. "Well then, you'll know he's so arrogant that criticism simply bounces off him," Snape said sleekly. Sirius pushed his chair roughly aside and strode around the table toward Snape, pulling out his wand as he went; Snape whipped out his own. They were squaring up to each other, Sirius looking livid, Snape calculating, his eyes darting from Sirius' wand-tip to his face. "Sirius!" said Harry loudly, but Sirius appeared not to hear him. "I've warned you, Snivellus," said Sirius, his face barely a foot from Snape's, "I don't care if Dumbledore thinks you've reformed, I know better." "Oh, but why don't you tell him so?" whispered Snape. "Or are you afraid he might not take the advice of a man who has been hiding inside his mother's house for six months very seriously?" "Tell me, how is Lucius Malfoy these days? I expect he's delighted his lapdog's working at Hogwarts, isn't he?" "Speaking of dogs," said Snape softly, "did you know that Lucius Malfoy recognized you last time you risked a little jaunt outside? Clever idea, Black, getting yourself seen on a safe station platform...gave you a cast-iron excuse not to leave your hidey-hole in future, didn't it?" Sirius raised his wand. "NO!" Harry yelled, vaulting over the table and trying to get in between them, "Sirius, don't--" "Are you calling me a coward?" roared Sirius, trying to push Harry out of the way, but Harry would not budge. "Why, yes, I suppose I am," said Snape.

Day 21: Wormtail's Whine "We...we are alone, aren't we?" Narcissa asked quietly. "Yes, of course. Well, Wormtail's here, but we're not counting vermin, are we?" He pointed his wand at the wall of books behind him and with a bang, a hidden door flew open, revealing a narrow staircase upon which a small man stood frozen. "As you have clearly realized, Wormtail, we have guests," said Snape lazily. The man crept, hunchbacked, down the last few steps and moved into the room. He had small, watery eyes, a pointed nose, and wore an unpleasant simper. His left hand was caressing his right, which looked as though it was encased in a bright silver glove. "Narcissa!" he said, in a squeaky voice. "And Bellatrix! How charming--" "Wormtail will get us drinks, if you'd like them," said Snape. "And then he will return to his bedroom." Wormtail winced as though Snape had thrown something at him. "I am not your servant!" he squeaked, avoiding Snape's eyes. "Really? I was under the impression that the Dark Lord placed you here to assist me." "To assist, yes--but not to make you drinks and--clean your house!" "I had no idea, Wormtail, that you were craving more dangerous assignments," said Snape silkily. "This can be easily arranged: I shall speak to the Dark Lord--" "I can speak to him if I want to!" "Of course you can," said Snape, sneering. "But in the meantime, bring us drinks. Some of the elf-made wine will do."

Day 22: A Loving Caress Snape set off around the edge of the room, speaking now in a lower voice; the class craned their necks to keep him in view. "The Dark Arts," said Snape, "are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible." Harry stared at Snape. It was surely one thing to respect the Dark Arts as a dangerous enemy, another to speak of them, as Snape was doing, with a loving caress in his voice? "Your defenses," said Snape, a little louder, "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures" --he indicated a few of them as he swept past-- "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse" --he waved a hand toward a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony-- "feel the Dementor's Kiss" --a wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed, slumped against a wall-- "or provoke the aggression of the Inferius" --a bloody mass upon the ground.

Day 23: Better People "What does it matter?" said Malfoy. "Defense Against the Dark Arts--it's all just a joke, isn't it, an act? Like an of us need protecting against the Dark Arts--" "It is an act that is crucial to success, Draco!" said Snape. "Where do you think I would have been all these years, if I had not known how to act? Now listen to me! You are being incautious, wandering around at night, getting yourself caught, and if you are placing your reliance in assistants like Crabbe and Goyle--" "They're not the only ones, I've got other people on my side, better people!" "Then why not confide in me, and I can--" "I know what you're up to! You want to steal my glory!" There was another pause, then Snape said coldly, "You are speaking like a child. I quite understand that your father's capture and imprisonment has upset you, but--"

Day 24: Revulsion and Hatred Etched on His Face "Severus..." The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed. Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. "Severus...please..." Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. "Avada Kedavra!"

Day 25: Don't Call Me Coward Mustering all his powers of concentration, Harry thought, Levi-- "No, Potter!" screamed Snape. There was a loud BANG and Harry was soaring backward, hitting the ground hard again, and this time his wand flew out of his hand. He could hear Hagrid yelling and Fang howling as Snape closed in and looked down on him where he lay, wandless and defenseless as Dumbledore had been. Snape's pale face, illuminated by the flaming cabin, was suffused with hatred just as it had been before he had cursed Dumbledore. "You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them--I, the Half-Blood Prince! And you'd turn my inventions on me, like your filthy father, woudl you? I don't think so...no!" Harry had dived for his wand; Snape shot a hex at it and it flew feet away into the darkness and out of sight. "Kill me then," panted Harry, who felt no fear at all, but only rage and contempt. "Kill me like you killed him, you coward--" "DON'T--" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly deranged, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them-- "CALL ME COWARD!"

Day 26: The Guest Voldemort raised Lucius Malfoy's wand, pointed it directly at the slowing revolving figure suspended over the table, and gave it a tiny flick. The figure came to life with a groan and began to struggle against invisible bonds. "Do you recognize our guest, Severus?" asked Voldemort. Snape raised his eyes to the upside-down face. All of the Death Eaters were looking up at the captive now, as thought they had been given permission to show curiosity. As she revolved to face the firelight, the woman said in a cracked and terrified voice, "Severus! Help me!" "Ah, yes," said Snape as the prisoner turned slowly away again.

Day 27: I Regret It "All this long night, when I am on the brink of victory, I have sat here," said Voldemort, his voice barely louder than a whisper, "wondering, wondering why the Elder Wand refuses to be what it ought to be, refuses to perform as legend says it must perform for its rightful owner...and I think I have the answer." Snape did not speak. "Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen." "My Lord--" "The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine." "My Lord!" Snape protested, raising his wand. "It cannot be any other way," said Voldemort. "I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last." And Voldemort swiped the air with the Elder Wand. It did nothing to Snape, who for a split second seemed to think he had been reprieved: But then Voldemort's intention became clear. The snake's cage was rolling through the air, and before Snape could do anything more than yell, it had encased him, head and shoulders, and Voldemort spoke in Parseltongue. "Kill." There was a terrible scream. Harry saw Snape's face losing the little color it had left; it whitened as his black eyes widened, as the snake's fangs pierced his neck, as he failed to push the enchanted cage off himself, as his knees gave way and he fell to the floor. "I regret it," said Voldemort coldly.

Day 28: You Hurt Her! "Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet. "Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?" Petunia was breathless, alarmed at being caught. Harry could see her struggling for something hurtful to say. "What is that you're wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at Snape's chest. "Your mum's blouse?" There was a *crack*. A branch over Petunia's head had fallen. Lily screamed: The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears. "Tuney!" But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape. "Did you make it happen?" "No." He looked both defiant and scared. "You did!" She was backing away from him. "You *did*! You hurt her!" "No--no I didn't!" But the lie did not convince Lily: After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Snape looked miserable and confused....

Day 29: Save Your Breath "I'm sorry." "I'm not interested." "I'm sorry!" "Save your breath." It was nighttime. Lily, who was wearing a dressing gown, stood with her arms folded in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. "I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here." "I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just--" "Slipped out?" There was no pity in Lily's voice. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends--you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?" He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. "I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine." "No--listen, I didn't mean--" "--to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I any different?" He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole....

Day 30: Anything "If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for the mother, in exchange for the son?" "I have--I have asked him--" "You disgust me," said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard so much contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to drink a little. "You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?" Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore. "Hide them all, then," he croaked. "Keep her--them--safe. Please." "And what will you give me in return, Severus?" "In--in return?" Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and Harry expected him to protest, but after a long moment he said, "Anything."

[binniesthighs]

call me babydoll | reader x chan

soooo shhhh this actually a part one shhhh but i’m just trying out writing out different things and getting out some of my ideas outta my head that i’m really excited about, this one being one of them!! for now...just pretend that this is just a regular ol’ drabble hehehehe. this part is the set-up chapter (shhh i mean drabble) 

One

Pairing: self insert, female reader x bang chan 

Genre: fluff, smut, and angst 

Tags: (overall) bodyguard au, moderndayprince!chan, bodyguard!reader, secret agent au, royal au, action and peril, plot driven, running out of time, slow-ish burn, growing feelings, softswitch!chan, hardswitch!reader, some skz side characters, jeongin third wheel and comedic relief LOL, travelling, chan being expensive and having a lil bit of a superiority complex, flirtyyyy chan, bits of mystery, explicit language, mentions of food and alcohol, idk think like 007 vibes hehe 

CWs: guns and gun violence, a shooting in a ballroom, mentions of blood 

Word count: 4.6k 

Parts

ONE | TWO 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here early.” 

“Well, expect the unexpected.” 

“Don’t turn the motto back at me. I’m sick of hearing it so many damn times.” 

“What? You and I both know that it’s true. You’re here early too, so, technically you don’t get to say anything.” 

Jeongin straightened his bow tie, then patted down the sides of his perfectly ironed tux with not a crinkle to be found. Knowing him, it was a miracle that he hadn’t messed it up in some form yet. He promptly took out his pocket square to clean off his glasses. 

“You’re looking nice. Seems like they don’t mind spending money now on you these days.” He blew off the flecks of dust on his lenses. 

“They know that they get their return on their investment. And thank you.” 

You smoothed down the sides of your dusty pink dress that nearly went all the way down to your ankles. Had you any other choice, it would’ve been something different, but, dresses were really good at hiding your thigh holster compared to the slacks you usually favored. You didn’t mind the times that you would have to put on a pretty dress, it somewhat reminded you that there was normal life outside of your job. Not to mention, they had started sending you jewelry as well. You always had liked the look of a diamond necklace. 

“You do your research for tonight?” 

Jeongin nodded, then took from his pocket his phone to read over the details. 

“I’ve done a background check on everyone attending, we shouldn’t have any issues. It’s already a low risk event anyway. Charity is never something to get too worked up over, but, you never know with the detail that some of these people come with...who they might be tied to...” 

“--The only people we can trust is ourselves.” You nodded with arms crossed. 

“Expect the unexpected, I know.” He slid his phone back into his inside suit pocket to adjust his cufflinks. 

“--Nervous?” You took note of his fidgeting actions. 

“Nervous? No. I’ve been through this before. You know that.” 

You flicked your partner right on his forehead strung with his white hair. You had really wished that he had picked a less conspicuous color, but he had strings to pull that you didn’t. 

Jeongin cleared his throat, “You do your once over?” 

“Do you even need to ask? I did it hours ago and when we arrived. You know that I’ve done this before too.” 

“I know. I know.” 

Jeongin looked out at the vast circular atrium that made up the center of the hotel. Several stories down under the glass rooftop, you could hear the faint sprinkling of the intricate fountain which smelled of copper. A bit further down, you could see the tips of the tree branches from the indoor landscaping. Across the way, a door slammed with residents tucking in their ties. The two men you had recognized from the roster: a simple thing which made you feel at ease. Your young partner must’ve started to have an effect on you. A sense of unease seemed to quell in your neck. You always listened to your hunches. 

“W-what do you think he thinks of us?” Jeongin broke the silence. 

“Well,” From inside the room you had waited outside, you could hear his distant murmuring, so you lowered your tone. “I think that he has yet to trust us. It’s only been a few weeks. He doesn’t seem like the kind to give himself up easy. That, and I’m sure his resentment of his father must have some influence.” 

“You think he hates us?” 

“I think he hates his father for hiring us. I mean, wouldn’t you? His old security detail, he had them for years.” 

“I guess so. But, we’re not like his old detail.” 

“No. We’re not. I don’t think he gets that yet. I think he sees us as one more way his father has a hold on him.” 

“It’s not like he can do much else about it when his dad’s a kin--” 

“--No, no, thank you, really, it’s lovely. Some of your best work. Thank you.” 

Chan swung open the door to his room, stopping Jeongin right in his sentence. 

“Ah. You’re here already. That’s...punctual.” 

As dazzling and showy as ever, Chan looking nothing short of a magazine model. For a prince, he had certain...appearances that he had to maintain. Today, it was a velvety and maroon suit jacket with a white button up. On the collar, two matching brooches had been perfectly placed, and they were silver like moonlight in the shape of English ivy and adorned with diamonds. On his lapel, he wore the royal insignia of the lion and the wolf. Behind him, you could see his slew of stylists cleaning up their makeup kits and obscene assortment of designer dress shoes for him to pick from. You had thought before that he even smelled like royalty: stuffy white roses with a hint of priceless cognac. 

Jeongin bowed his head respectfully. “Everything has been prepared for tonight. The rest of your guards are surrounding the building, and I’ll be corresponding with them as needed, your Highness.” He tapped at his earpiece. 

Chan drew his attention over to you, giving you a rather lusty glare. Over the past couple weeks, you had gotten used to it. He was a prince to every extent of the word. If there was anything that he had wanted, he simply had to ask. It drove him insane that all he could do was merely look at you. You had  wondered if he harbored anything else for you besides the way that he would devour the curves of your shoulders and hips. 

“Fox. Bee. You look nice tonight. I like seeing you dressed up. Makes me feel less out of place.” 

You couldn’t help but let out a little sound of discontentment over his rather affectionate nickname for you. You and your partner had been introduced to him as F and B. Quickly he had figured out Jeongin’s codename as Fox, considering that he had done a poor job picking out one that wasn’t related to him at all. Anyone could tell that boy was fox-like, and he also just wasn’t that creative when it came to picking out a name for himself. B, or Bee as he had decided, was your name; as in bumblebee. After learning about Fox, he figured that there was an animal theme going, so Bee seemed to fit best in his oponion. 

You tested his glare with your best, “Thank you, your Highness.” 

Jeongin gulped. “Your assistant should be waiting downstairs with your itinerary. She told me that you should meet her first off.” 

“You work too hard F. Have some fun tonight, hm? But don’t...drink too much. You’re responsible for my life remember?” Chan clapped his bodyguard on the back. 

Your partner nervously laughed and adjusted his glasses once more: his preferred tic. 

“And Bee?” Chan rose a brow to lean into close and whisper. “Stay close, alright?” 

“Of course, your Highness.” 

Chan let out a little scoff after getting one more proper look at your frame. “Damn. You really are stunning. Just a little too dangerous for me though.” 

You rolled your eyes, dishing him outa, “Whatever you say, your Highness.” 

Jeongin threw you and annoyed glare before tracing after Chan as he sauntered down the hall to the glass elevator. 

“Bee? You coming? Or do you have something better to do?” Chan’s voice called down the hall with an echo and a little teasing gesture of his hand. 

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

It had been seven years since you had chosen this line of work, and each time that you had to go to one of these things, you hated them more and more. Not because they were hard to control--they were easy--but you just hated how many superficial and self-absorbed people that they could fit into one room. 

The air was filled with the scent of champagne bubbles and too much Chanel No. 5. From corner to corner of the room, and even next to the ice sculpture of the lion and the wolf crest, silk, satin; velvet and the best cotton could be found. Long gloves covered the arms of ladies with wrinkling skin, and tweed vests held in the guts of men who indulged in their food just as much as their mistresses. All this effort just to appear as if they had given one care about the philanthropic efforts of the royalty.

Several neatly dressed waiters passed you with golden platters of hors d'oeuvres made of ingredients so expensive, they would’ve cost the same amount as the generous donations made by the attendees. If you could’ve, you would’ve scooped up as many of them as you could, just to eat all of their copious amounts of money yourself, but, there was somewhere a rule that you had to keep your hand to yourself when you were on duty. The best that you had to look forward too was take-out to eat at 3 in the morning with Jeongin later. 

Buzzing chatter filled your earpiece while each of the additional guards gave their hourly report. 

“Damn. It’s fucking colder out here than I thought. It’s fucking summer.” One of them joked to the tune of the other guards laughter. 

“Stay focused.” Jeongin scolded over the line. “Don’t leave your posts until your shifts change.” 

While he was a timid man, Jeongin was not one to mess around. Son of the director, he knew that he had big shoes to fill. After pleading for years for her to admit him into the academy, she had agreed. Everyone knew the reason why she didn’t want him in this line of work. Too many dead. Too many missing. In some ways, he was also yours to look after. 

You trailed after Chan who was busy talking to his assistant and his publicist. While he nodded at their words, you knew that he must’ve been barely listening. Chan never really was one for formality, but much rather enjoyed simplicity and pleasure. Jeongin and you had somewhat of a bet going: out of all the guests, you had liked to bet which one he would take with him to his bedroom. Since you had all the profiles of the guests, you liked to bet a little money on which one it would be. 

Jeongin had guessed it to be the heiress and daughter of a tycoon who had made a multi-million won donation in the name of his company. It was ironic; his very company was a big-scale pollutor who liked to make nice with the crown. She was conventionally very pretty: long legs, a thin frame, she was educated and looked as if she could hold somewhat of a conversation...not like that mattered to him. 

You had predicted it to be the foreign CEO who had just started business dealings with the crown. While she might’ve looked a bit stuck-up and prim, she was intimidating, and a challenge. Chan loved challenges. Chan also had a pension for pretty boys with a bit too much money on their hands--usually inherited--and with nothing much else to do other than dote on him. There were plenty of those attending the gala tonight. 

Chan snaked through the crowd, bowing his head at all of the Good evening, your Highnesses and the It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Highnesses. Every few moments or so he would take a bite from a golden plate and then pop it into his mouth. The whole night long, he would hold his glass with him and it would get refilled for him without him even needing to ask. You sometimes liked to pretend that in some places, they must’ve assigned someone to watch him from afar to make sure that he would never need anything before it was given to him. It wouldn’t have surprised you. 

“Having fun Bee?” Chan languidly rolled his head back, swirling his glass. 

“As much fun as you are.” You quipped. 

“Anything that I should be concerned about?” 

“Nothing of concern.” You stated matter-of-factly. Had you matched his flirting tone, you knew that you wouldn’t hear the end of it for the rest of the night. “Fox. Report?” 

“Nothing that I can see. No one has been tagging you.” Jeongin had staked himself up on the upper balcony of the banquet hall room, and had been watching for as long as you had been following after the prince. “You sensing anything strange?” His voice tickled in your in-ear. 

“Just a bunch of the normal crowd.” You kept your tone down low. “He’s rubbing noses with the usual. You’ve seen too?” 

He chuckled. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”

You followed Chan to his seat nearest the front of the room which had been fashioned into a stage with a clear glass podium in the center. Right in front there was one more crest decorating it. Chan had ensured it to be so: he had wanted everyone to know that this was all for his charity. 

“It seems like our bets aren’t working out. He hasn’t talked to either of the...suspects.” Your partner changed his choice of words knowing that the other guards were listening. 

From the opposite side of the room both the heiress and the CEO stood with thin glasses of wine in their lithe hands. Chan had in fact walked right past them, and didn’t even notice. 

“Tonight is going to be a long night.” Jeongin sighed over the line. 

You politely pushed past attendees with a raised hand and a sweet smile. You had found that when you smiled, you had appeared less intimidating. 

“Oh wait...what’s this?” 

“What?” You whipped your head around after Jeongin’s interjection. “What? Do you see something? What’s the call?” 

“Relax! It just looks like he’s approaching someone he wants to talk to. I think both of us are about to be proven wrong.” 

“Ah, shit.” You sighed. “Don’t put me on edge like that.” 

“I’m only trying to entertain myself.” 

“Name. Who is it? You’ve got the roster.” 

You partner was quiet for a minute, and you watched from a distance as Chan approached the man leaned over a martini seated at one of the perfectly decorated tables. 

“Uh, I think that he’s Lee Minho. Some kind of royalty from somewhere else. Pretty low ranking from the looks of it. I think that he made a donation himself...and it’s...damn, larger than you would expect.” 

“Should we be concerned?” 

“No. Seems harmless.” 

“Thank you for coming,” You made out the words that Chan had mouthed. He drew a chair next to the unknown man. 

From what you could tell, Lee Minho was handsome to the full extent of the word: nearly all of his physical features were exemplary and his suit appeared to have been fitted to perfect for him; likely one of a kind. He too wore an insignia on his lapel, but it was one that you hadn’t recognized before. He had immaculately styled hair that had some kind of rebellious and boyish charm to it. The man had a kind of mystery about him too: you had been able to pride yourself in being able to read people, and it had saved your life on more than one occasion. But with him, there was something that you couldn’t place. 

“Do they know eachother?” You asked Jeongin. 

“Not that I know of. School friend maybe? Seems like all the royals send their kids to the same schools.”

“Hm. That would make sense.” 

“Enjoying yourself?” Chan said. 

Lee Minho nodded, and rose his glass to clink it with the prince’s. 

“Do we think that he’s our...suspect?” 

The stranger dipped his head into his hand as he listened to Chan speak. A flirty gesture that you had seen a hundred times or more. Still, the way that he inspected Chan, it wasn’t adoring. Or at least, you didn’t think that it was.

“No. I don’t think so.” 

“What the hell are you yapping about?” One of the other guards snapped over the line. 

“Um, classified stuff.” Jeongin quickly explained. “Above your paygrade. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Fox. Watch out for him tonight.” You snuck over to a corner of the room where you could watch the two of them more discreetly. 

“Affirmative....” Your partner paused. “Babydoll.” 

“Pffff--Babydoll??” The same guard stifled his laughter. “You call her Babydoll, Fox? Damn, you all must be closer than I thought. Didn’t know that I was missing out on some of the action--” 

“--Ever heard of a codename, Three?” 

“Babydoll’s her codename.” 

A grin crept over your lips. “Expect the unexpected.” 

You had almost gotten distracted enough to miss how Lee Minho had leaned over to whisper something into the prince’s ear. After he had done so, Chan laughed out a little, then reached his arm around the other man’s chair comfortably. 

“They’re...cozy.” You updated your partner. 

“I’m trying to cross-check where he might know him from.” 

Chan’s assistant and publicist finally slipped away with giddy little smiles. In many ways, you were jealous of them. They could leave whenever the wanted, eat what they wanted...

Jeongin scoffed. “Well, turns out...nothing. I can’t find anything.” 

“Nothing?” 

“Negative. I’m not seeing any crossover.” 

“So they really are strangers?” 

Your partner sighed. “Looks like neither of us are cashing ou--I mean--finding the suspect.” 

Under your breath, you wondered aloud, “Who are you...Lee Minho?” 

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

The night drew on longer with the rest of the formalities: the formal dinner, followed by several speeches from important people while dessert was being served. It all led up to the final act: His Royal Highness, Prince Chan’s speech. On several neat notecards marked with the crest, he held them in front of him while he ate his last bits of Mont Blanc Chocolate Pavlova. Even the name of the sweet itself sounded pretentious. Granted, it smelled delicious--as many expensive things did. 

You stifled a yawn from your little set up on the edge of the room. At least you should’ve been able to sit, but it turns out that sitting is also against the rules in this line of work. A couple other security and bodyguards had joined you at the edge: some of their heads nodded with sleep, and the others looked as if they had taken one too many energy shots. Luckily, your stamina had been well crafted. 

A fancily dressed MC made his way up to the podium and the room filled with applause after the last speaker had said all of their correct mandatory words. 

“It is my honor to introduce to the stage, our wonderful head benefactor of this organization, His Royal Highness, Prince Chan of the Crown. 

Applause tenfold of before erupted through the whole room and it wasn’t even an afterthought for the every attendee to stand up from their seats in an ovation. It was a force of habit for you, but you found yourself clapping as well. 

Chan rose with grace, and re-buttoned his jacket with finesse. A blinding spotlight found him and it made the diamonds adorning his beck wink brilliantly. Even more blinding was his pearl white, and perfectly trained smile accompanied by his wave. 

Thank you. Thank you. He mouthed. 

“It’s like he’s a frickin’ movie star.” Jeongin groaned. 

“Might as well be with the way that they treat him. You know deep down they’re all just terrified.” 

Chan made his way up to the stage in all of his regality, and the applause didn’t stop until he cleared his throat. A collective groaning of a couple hundred chairs squeaked when everyone sat back down. 

“Thank you everyone, really. I wanted to thank you all for your generous support in your donations to this organization, as well as your association with the crown. I’m sure that all the beneficiaries of your donations are beyond thankful compared to me. Without you, this would not be possible.” Chan spoke with grandiose gestures, as usual, but this time, he had found you on the side of the room. “Listen, aside from being a prince, I’m also just a person. A person who knows what it means to struggle, to--” 

“--I can’t listen to this anymore.” You whispered into the quiet room, and to your partner. 

“Just a few more hours.” He droned. “I almost wish that something would happen so that we don’t have to sit though much else of this.” 

“Be careful what you wish for.” 

In the corner of your eye, Lee Minho shifted in his seat, but still kept his undivided attention to the stage. You figured he must’ve been just like the rest of them: enamored by the flashiness of the crown--and Chan. He had a way of putting a spell on people: it was the kind of spell that a prince of deception had crafted after years of being kept under lock and key. 

“--Anyway, what I’m trying to say, royal or fanciful we all might be, in the simplest way, we’re all just people, therefore this is what connects us all. Thank you.” 

Chan was gifted yet another standing ovation that was somehow even more thunderous than before. 

“Yeah right.” You scoffed. “People born into money. There’s a difference.” 

Chan gave his last waves, then a clamor echoed from the back of the room. At first, it had just sounded like the same raucous laughter you had heard all night, but then it shifted to something different. The sound of laugher turned into shouting, then screams: high pitched and piercing. You had seconds to respond, head whipping around the room to catch sight of the confused prince. In your in-ears, the the sound of gunshots echoed with rapid-fire speed. Machine guns. Shouting commands barked in your ear, and muddled with Jeongin’s string of demands and questions. 

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT THERE? REPORT! REPORT!” 

Your heart instantly started beating into hyperdrive, and your legs sprinted as fast has physically possible 

“THEY’VE GOT GUNS!” A shrill and cracked voice of an older woman wailed from the back of the room. 

Immediately after she had said so, shots fired into the darkened room with sparks, and the metallic sound of bullets hitting the marbled ground followed. 

Chan looked around in his panic for you, petrified on the stage. You slung your gun out from your thigh holster and latched onto him with all of your might. 

“TH-THEY JUST CAME OUT OF NOWHERE IN THESE VANS. THEY’RE ARMOURED, WE CAN’T--” 

“Get the fuck down there and secure the exists!” Jeongin growled into his mic. “B--is the prince secure??” 

“Secure!” You yelled back. Using your body as a barrier, you led the cowering prince through the mass hysteria of the crowd. 

“Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Shit.” Chan shook under your iron grip. 

More shots fired into the room and bodies parted like the sea and fell over each other. 

From the balcony, you had caught Jeongin aiming his own gun at the chaos below. 

“I’ll cover you! Fuck! There’s so many of them! Get him to the car out back--Three, Six, meet B out there! Three!? Six!? Report!” 

“Three and Six are down F!” One of the guards panted. “I can provide cover out back!!” 

“Who’s speaking??” Jeongin bellowed, then aimed from above at one of the intruders. Your only focus was on weaving you and Chan out of there, but you had seen one of them in a blur. Each of the men with guns wore dark grey suits with black ties and leather gloves. Each of them wore their own crest: and it was all red. 

“Bee?? Bee???” Chan shouted out for you, and jumped every time the crack of a shot echoed in the ballroom. 

“I’ve got you, your Highness. We’ll be out soon. Keep your head down and listen to me.” Your arm held to him tightly, and you soon found the exit nearest. There was no telling if there would be more of them outside, but you loaded your gun quickly just in case, and pointed it out. 

“Jeongin, get your ass down here!” 

“Jeongin? Who the fuck is that??” Chan ducked down to hide himself behind your frame. 

His name had slipped on your tongue, but that hardly mattered. 

“I’ll be down in a second!!!” 

“Don’t fucking waste time up there when I need you down here!!” 

“Two! Two Reporting!!” A man suddenly yelled in your in-ear. “I’ve made it out back and I’ve secured the exit. The car is safe!!” 

“FOX! Now!” 

Your partner heaved, “I’m coming, I’m coming!!” 

You kicked open the exit door, gun’s still blazing, however one one else could be found on the other side. 

“Thank God,” You sighed. 

“Oh shit, I’m gonna be sick.” Chan had turned paler than white, then stumbled in your arms. 

“Hey, HEY!” You held him upright. “It’s gonna be alright. I’ve got you. You’re safe. You need to trust me. Your life is in my hands and I’m not giving it up easy, got it?” 

“O-okay.” He stammered, then attempted to straighten himself. 

“The Prince is outside, repeat, The Prince is outside. Two, are you in position?” 

“Yes. Yes, I am.” 

Other than the fact that you had just escaped absolute peril, the evening was unbearably pleasant. Crickets chirped in the summer evening, and the humidity of the night smelled gorgeously of the lake that was near-by as well as the vast array of flowers that had been purposefully landscaped around the hotel. Chan’s uneven steps scraped at the gravel walkway. 

Since you had canvassed the whole building well, you had known exactly where the getaway car was, but you were still careful. 

“Bee. Bee!” Chan blabbered. “Have-have I told you yet that I-I’m in love with you?” 

“No, you haven’t Your Highness.” 

“I fucking am. If I die tonight, I want you to know that I am ridiculously in love with you, and fuck, I wanna--” 

“--I’m sorry, Your Highness, respectfully, but now is not the time for this and you are not dying on my watch.” 

Somewhere off in the distance, frogs croaked, and the splashing of fish in the lake plopped at the surface waters. You turned a corner to finally see Two waiting his his gun raised. He was a bit of a shorter and scrawnier man, but something about him told you that where he lacked in strength, he must’ve made up for in agility. 

“I’m out! I’m out!” Your partner gasped, and over the in-ear you could hear his running footsteps. “I’m almost there! I’ll be there in a second!” 

“Your Highness,” Two bowed and opened the car door. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You can call me Two or J. Either you prefer.” 

Jeongin came bounding around the corner with heaving breaths and his clothes askew. His glasses which just barely held onto his face had a crack on them and his knuckles were covered in blood. 

“Let’s go.” The younger man prompted. 

“In the car you go, Your Highness.” You motioned for him to do so. 

Chan whimpered like a toddler. 

You shoved his body in, “Stop that. Get in the car.” 

“I’m in love with you Bee!” He yelled out, “I’M FUCKING IN LOVE WITH YOU BEE!” 

Jeongin slammed the door in his face with a bit of a chuckle. 

“He’s delirious.” 

“Mm.” your partner smiled. “Sure.” 

[ibijau]

How to Woo a Lan pt 5 / on AO3

Jin Ling meets with Sizhui again

It would have been a lie to say Jin Ling wasn’t surprised when his letter to Lan Sizhui quickly received an answer. He still didn’t know what he’d said that was so bad last time they’d seen each other, but he understood that he had, in fact, deeply offended the other boy. So deeply that Jin Ling had been prepared to start writing to Lan Jingyi too if that first letter didn’t do its job, in an effort to get him to convince Lan Sizhui to forgive him.

Instead, Lan Sizhui just wrote back.

It had been an unpleasant enough morning for Jin Ling up until that point, full of annoying elders, and requests for help, and so. Many. Stupid. Bills. Jin Ling had thought he would die of boredom sitting at his desk, when he’d spotted that one letter bearing the Lan seal, dropped among many others he had received that day. Even as he started opening it with trembling hands, Jin Ling made a mental note to ask that letters from Gusu Lan not be mixed with other more common correspondence. He then started reading, and…

And Lan Sizhui wasn’t angry at him.

Lan Sizhui wrote that he accepted Jin Ling’s apology about their last encounter, and would be delighted to go on another Night Hunt sometime soon, without Wei Wuxian present. A less creepy one if at all possible, Lan Sizhui added, and Jin Ling could just hear his soft laugh. Something normal like a giant beast, or a demon, or just anything other than a ghost, really. It would be good fun, Lan Sizhui said, and he’d be happy for the chance to chat a bit.

Jin Ling’s mood rose for the rest of the day and nothing, not even bills could bring him back down again.

Night Hunts, however, weren’t that simple to organise. Jin Ling had responsibilities, as did Lan Sizhui now that he had returned from his mysterious journey. They had to find a moment that would fit both their schedules, and to decide on a place to go Night Hunting. So for the entire month that followed Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui wrote to each other to decide on details, making sure to exchange at least one letter each week, more if they managed.

When they finally managed to decide on a place and date for their Night Hunt, Jin Ling also wrote to Nie Huaisang to inform him of that development, and to thank him for his help. Nie Huaisang promptly responded that he didn’t care in the least about anyone’s romantic life, reminded Jin Ling to be honest, to speak openly about his own failings, and to not dress too ostentatiously since the Lan valued simplicity.

Then, at last, the day of the Night Hunt came. Jin Ling picked his clothes to be elegant but as simple as possible, packed his best bow, and flew to the meeting point that had been agreed on. He was practically vibrating with excitement as he hopped down from his sword at the entrance of the village in question, as he walked toward the inn where Lan Sizhui would be waiting for him. He entered the small building, scanned its dim-lit main room, and felt his heart skip a beat when he spotted a silhouette in white by a table.

His joy was short-lived when he noticed a second silhouette wearing that colour, right next to the first, and a third wearing a darker robe.

Ouyang Zizhen was the first one to notice Jin Ling had arrived, and though he looked quite apologetic, he jumped to his feet to greet his friend, even giving Jin Ling a tight hug as if they hadn’t seen one another in years.

“Sihzui told Jingyi about the hunt and he invited himself,” Ouyang Zizhen whispered under the cover of that hug. “And I was in Gusu anyway, so I thought I should come too. I’ll try to distract Jingyi so you two can have a moment alone.”

Jin Ling quickly nodded, grateful beyond words, then pushed Ouyang Zizhen and complained about him being too sentimental while they went to join the Lan at their table. He silently promised himself that next time Ouyang Zizhen had one of his dramatic falling out with his father he’d be welcome to stay in Jinlin Tai as long as he pleased, no questions asked. It was really the least Jin Ling could do.

Now that the four of them were together, they chatted for a bit. Lan Sizhui, ever the perfect host, ordered some fresh tea for everyone, and poured some for Jin Ling. He poured some for everyone, really, but he did so for Jin Ling first, which surely had to count for something. When they were done with their tea, they headed out toward the forest where some great beast was supposed to live which sometimes took children.

“I’m still saying it might just be wolves, or a tiger,” Lan Jingyi said as they walked past the last house.

“But an animal wouldn’t target only little boys,” Lan Sizhui gently countered.

“It wouldn’t go for humans at all unless it had nothing else to eat,” Jin Ling added, to which Lan Sizhui nodded approvingly. “And since there’s plenty of game in the woods according to locals, it’s really too odd. Even if it is an animal, it’s not an ordinary one. Maybe a demon with a taste for human flesh…”

“Or a creature on its way to becoming a demon,” Lan Sizhui mused. “I’m really with Jin Ling on this, it’s really unlikely to be a normal animal. We’ll have to be careful.”

Jin Ling beamed upon hearing that Lan Sizhui was on his side, though his good humour was rather spoiled when Lan Jingyi took one look at his face and snorted. He didn’t say anything, didn’t openly mock Jin Ling or comment on how happy he looked just because Lan Sizhui agreed with him. Lan Jingyi just snorted, gave him a disdainful look, and said nothing.

Jin Ling hated him, and didn’t know why they were even friends.

For a few hours, the four boys wandered into the forest, following a trail toward the spot of the last known attack. Two days earlier, a toddler of barely two had been following his father on the way to another village where relatives lived. The little boy had trailed a little behind, which hadn’t much worried his father until he’d heard a shriek. When he’d turned around his son was gone, no trace of him left behind save for a little wooden toy he’d been holding.

“No blood?” Jin Ling asked.

“None at all,” Lan Sizhui replied, who’d had a chance to speak with the man before Jin Ling arrived. “The father says he might have seen a dark shape running away, but it was very far, going very fast, there were trees blocking his view and… well, he admitted himself he isn’t sure he actually saw anything. He was quite distressed. That was his only child, and he’s a widower.”

Ouyang Zizhen gasped in horror, and lamented the bad luck of that poor man until they arrived where the attack had happened.

There was nothing to mark the place, no sign had been left, and indeed not a drop of blood visible. Yet as soon as they reached a certain part of the path, they all shivered and looked at each other. That part of the path felt nearly freezing when the rest of the forest was merely pleasantly fresh. Seeing it confirmed that there was something unnatural at play, the four boys investigated for a little while, and determined it might be a wolf-life creature. Although they couldn’t find blood, Lan Sizhui had managed to spot some coarse hair near the site of the attack. 

It was Ouyang Zizhen who suggested that they split up in teams of two, only to immediately demand that he go with Lan Jingyi. This displeased Lan Jingyi, who tried to argue first against the idea of forming teams, then against the fact that he didn’t get to be in Lan Sizhui’s. Ouyang Zizhen had to whine that he’d already been alone on a Night Hunt with Jin Ling long ago, so he’d had his turn and someone else should deal with him. If Jin Ling hadn’t been so grateful, he would have been rather annoyed by that turn of phrase.

In fact, grateful or not, he was starting to get angry when Lan Sizhui interrupted the argument between their two friends.

“I don’t mind at all going with Jin Ling,” he said. “Which I would have said earlier if I’d been given a chance to speak. Don’t be hasty, Jingyi. Does everyone have signals in case of trouble? Good. Let’s all meet here again at sunset if we don't find the creature, and see what progress we have made.”

The plan, barely tolerated when suggested by Ouyang Zizhen, was immediately accepted by Lan Jingyi now that Lan Sizhui was on board. This, combined with the nasty look Lan Jingyi threw at Jin Ling before they split up, almost worried the younger boy. If Lan Jingyi too was in love… but he'd never done anything to indicate that was the case except by getting in Jin Ling’s way, and he seemed to like girls better.

Not that it would have mattered even if Lan Jingyi had loved Lan Sizhui. Jin Ling wasn’t going to let anyone else seduce the great love of his life.

“Don’t mind Jingyi, he’s just protective,” Lan Sizhui said as they walked away from the path. “I told him you’ve apologised for last time, and that you didn’t mean anything bad, but he won’t listen.”

Jin Ling kicked a piece of dead wood.

“I don’t know why I’m even friends with him. He’s annoying.”

“Maybe you’re friends with him because he helped you corner your cousin and punch him in the face so hard his nose broke?” Lan Sizhui suggested.

Jin Ling stopped in his tracks and stared at the older boy, horrified that this misbehaviour of his had been revealed. Almost nobody knew about that, because Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi weren’t stupid enough to boast about it, and Jin Chan wasn’t going to let anyone know he’d been beaten by his cousin. 

Lan Sizhui tried to put on a stern expression for a moment, but that quickly dissolved into a grin.

“Jingyi told me about it, and he also said it was deserved, even if he wouldn’t say why.”

It certainly was deserved. Jin Chan deserved to have his nose broken just on the principle that he existed, and that he was very annoying. Of course in that particular case he’d also said some very rude things about Lan Xichen, which had upset Lan Jingyi a great deal, and Jin Ling hadn’t liked that because the only person allowed to be mean to Lan Jingyi was himself.

“Well? Can I get the story from you?” Lan Sizhui asked.

“What happened to ‘gossip is forbidden’?” Jin Ling retorted, which made Lan Sizhui chuckle.

“It’s very cruel of you to turn my sect’s rules against me,” Lan Sizhui complained with a bright smile. “But anyway, I don’t think that would count as gossip. You were there, and you were directly involved, so it’s just… sharing information.”

Jin Ling snorted at the weak justification.

“Admit it, you just hate Jin Chan too. It’s fine. Very understandable. He’s the second most annoying person in all of Jinlin Tai, if you ask some people.”

“I can believe that. But who’s the first, then?”

“By popular judgement, that would be me,” Jin Ling grumbled.

Lan Sizhui said nothing for a moment, watching him with a strange intensity before poking him between the ribs with a soft laugh.

“I think you’re just fine, actually. Much better than him, certainly. Your cousin was horrible that time in the Burial Mounds and did his best to annoy others, while you kept your temper admirably. Everyone else was scared, but not you.”

Jin Ling blushed, half from pleasure at hearing Lan Sizhui speak so well of him, half from embarrassment. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been scared back then, and just that he’d been utterly convinced his uncles would get him out of trouble, as they’d always done before.

To avoid saying something stupid, Jin Ling pretended to closely inspect a young tree that had been snapped in half, as if something heavy had stepped on it. He didn’t think the tree was in any way relevant to their investigation since the break appeared very recent, but it made him look busy. To his mild horror and joy, Lan Sizhui stepped closer to have a look as well. Their elbows brushed together a few times before Jin Ling resumed walking without a word, certain his face had to be horribly red.

If it was Lan Sizhui made no comment on it, but the older boy seemed to be biting back a small smile. Jin Ling wanted to curse himself for already making a fool of himself.

“So, will you tell me why you attacked your cousin?” Lan Sihzui insisted. “It was already odd that Jingyi wouldn’t say, but if you’re acting secretive too, I’m getting really curious.”

“A story for a story,” Jin Ling offered. “I tell you why I punched Jin Chan, and you tell me where you went all that time. Deal?”

In all of the letters they had exchanged, Lan Sizhui hadn’t once mentioned what had taken him away from the cultivation world for several months. Jin Ling had tried to hint interest in that by saying a few times how nice it would be to catch up on everything that had happened, but Lan Sizhui hadn’t said anything. Of course certain things couldn’t be written about, so Jin Ling had figured they would just talk about it when they’d meet in person.

They were friends. Wasn’t it normal to talk about it if one of them went missing for weeks and weeks?

Jin Ling thought it would be normal.

Lan Sizhui, apparently, was of a different opinion. The instant Jin Ling mentioned his long disappearance, the sweet expression on his face vanished, replaced by a hardness that felt out of place.

“I was busy,” Lan Sizhui stated. “There’s nothing more to say about it.”

“Busy with something even Lan Jingyi didn’t know about? That’s weird. I thought you told him everything. Isn’t he your best friend?”

Lan Sizhui stopped walking, so Jin Ling promptly did the same. It really was odd to see Lan Sizhui so serious, and about something like that. It was weird that he’d been gone so long, but not exceedingly odd either. Sometimes people went on long missions for their sects, because their expertise was needed in a remote part of the country. Or else, they went on long seclusion to improve their cultivation, something the Lan sect was famous for. Everyone knew that their previous sect leader, Lan Xichen’s father, had spent more time doing secluded meditation than out of it. Lan Wangji too had famously spent several years doing that, a dozen years earlier.

There were many legitimate reasons for someone to vanish for a while, so it really was weird that Lan Sizhui seemed so upset to be asked about that.

And he was upset, there was no doubt about that. His lips were pinched, his face a little pale, and there was a slight crease between his eyebrows. And then, the way he was staring at Jin Ling was… In a weird way, it reminded Jin Ling of Nie Huaisang, watching him to decide whether or not he should bother with him. 

“Some things can’t be shared,” Lan Sizhui announced, tearing his eyes away. “Not even with Jingyi. Not even with you. I’m sorry, Jin Ling. Please don’t ask again.”

“Fine. It’s not like I care,” Jin Ling retorted. He instantly realised how stupid that was to say, and wince. “No, I do care. I really do care. Friends shouldn’t have secrets!”

Lan Sizhui sighed, crossing his arms on his chest. “Jin Ling…”

“Yeah, I won’t force you to speak, I’m not stupid enough to think I can,” Jin Ling grumbled. “But it’s dumb to be keeping secrets. I wouldn’t do that.”

“What secrets would you even have?” Lan Sizhui asked with a thin smile. “You’re too honest for secrets.”

Too dumb and too much of a loudmouth to keep anything to himself, was what that meant. Jin Ling almost wanted to retort that he'd done pretty well of hiding from nearly everyone that he’d gone to Qinghe and gotten Nie Huaisang to help him with his great plan to someday marry Lan Sizhui, but… but that wasn’t exactly something he could say. Maybe when they were already married it would be fine, but until then…

Though of course, that meant Jin Ling was, in fact, keeping secrets from Lan Sizhui. He didn’t like that. It wasn’t a very big secret, so it was probably fine, but the idea still didn’t sit quite right with him. Maybe for Nie Huaisang too, it had started with small secrets, and then it had ended up… not so small anymore.

“Please, let’s drop this,” Lan Sizhui all but begged. “Can’t we talk about something else?”

Something in his tone startled Jin Ling. He’d seen Lan Sizhui scared before, in Yi City and in the Burial Mounds, but never before had he heard such a hint of terror in the older boy’s voice.

He liked that even less than he liked secrets.

Lan Sizhui wasn’t supposed to be scared around him.

“Ok, let’s talk about something else,” Jin Ling agreed. To his relief, Lan Sizhui instantly relaxed, his expression regaining some warmth. “So, hm… how are things in Gusu, then?” he asked, before being struck by a different sort of curiosity. “How is your uncle doing? We missed him at that last conference, he’s a lot nicer to listen to than Lan Qiren.”

Surprisingly, Lan Sizhui expression turned dark again.

“Uncle is… he was doing better,” he explained with an irritated sigh, kicking some dead leaves. “Hanguang-Jun says Zewu-Jun was starting to make preparations to leave his seclusion by Qingming. It would have been much earlier than we all anticipated, we were all so relieved. But then, a letter came for him from the Unclean Realm and ruined everything.”

Jin Ling tensed and looked away, barely daring to breathe.

“A… a letter?” he remarked, feigning innocence and surprise. “From… from Nie Huaisang? How odd.”

“Odd indeed, and very unwelcome,” Lan Sizhui commented, too angry to notice Jin Ling’s inferior acting skills. “Nobody knows what it said, Zewu-Jun wouldn’t share it with anyone. But it upset him greatly, so it can’t have been anything good. Now we’re not sure when he will leave his seclusion. Why did Nie zongzhu have to write? Surely he’s had revenge enough now, so why can’t he leave Zewu-Jun alone?”

A cold ball of guilt and dread dropped inside Jin Ling’s gut, nearly freezing him on the spot. He hadn’t expected that Nie Huaisang would actually take his advice, not when he was so obviously quite content to wallow in misery over his lost secret love. He also hadn’t expected that should such a letter be written, it might make things so much worse between the two men. What had Nie Huaisang even said to have such an effect on Lan Xichen?

Grown-ups were so stupid, Jin Ling thought.

But before he could again try to find a better conversation topic, a giant wolf the size of a horse leaped out of some shadows, fangs aimed at Lan Sizhui’s throat, and Jin Ling had more urgent things than romance to worry about.

[shimmershae]

Just watched the episode and I’m going to have a lot of thoughts for you, most of them probably bordering on incoherence (LOL) so this is your last chance to nope on out of this post because I’m going to go ahead and put everything else behind a cut to save the eyes that do not want to see any  spoilers at all.  Unlike mine, that very much wanted to see but in a lot of cases?  Could not see shit, but I digress.

Shae’s stream of consciousness coming at you in 3-2-1.  

First of all, can I saw how good it is to have my show back again?  Like, no.  I don’t quite have Season 5 levels of excitement about the new/last season, but it is definitely nice to have all these characters back.  

So all these thoughts of mine.  Okay.  Bear with me because there be a whole lot of them, lol.  

My immediate impression as the episode opened was WHOA.  Such a cool shot of Daryl with one light wing, one dark wing (representing the two sides to Daryl maybe--the man of honor versus the man he was raised to be, hmm?) looking out over some dark vista of something.  Seriously.  It’s dark.  My room is also dark at the moment and still I was squinting to see.  To make out what I’m “looking” at.  I really, really hope the rest of this season isn’t this hard to make out.  

Is that a tank?  Kinda sorta a callback to Rick’s first episode?  If so, cool.  If not, well.  Us fans have always put way more thought into things.  For real.  Change my mind.  

Holy intense eye contact, Batman!  Daryl Dixon has literally never looked at anyone--not BethusConLeah--in quite the same smoldering way as he looks at Carol.  It’s next level.  I don’t know why people be fooling themselves into thinking different.  

Let’s see.  I can make out--besides Daryl, Maggie, and that face mask dude I already forgot the name of--Kelly, Magna, Jerry (who’s that with him?), and Carol.  Sorry.  My world, like Daryl’s, inevitably narrows to Carol.  She’s loking fierce and fine AF per usual.  

Was that Rosita I noticed rewinding to relive Daryl eye-fucking Carol?  

I’m guessing this is the army base they talked about in 10C.  

That Walker perking up like “I smell food--pancakes and bacon and oohhhh” has me giggling inappropriately right off the bat.  WTF.  

Look at all my fabulous ladies tiptoeing through that Walker minefield.  And Carol spotting that gun that might be useful right away.  Listen, if you don’t think her mind ain’t always ten steps ahead of everybody else’s, you’d be wrong.  

So.  Are these Walkers just so old and feeble not even the call of fresh meat attracts them?  Because just tiptoeing through their midst without the knockoff Lady Gaga meatsuits or skin masks has never really worked before that I can remember.  

I just want to see most of this season.  Is that really too much to ask?  Don’t X-Files and Game of Thrones us, Angela.  Please and thank you very fucking much.  

Okay.  Is the one drop of blood thing making anybody else have 28 Days Later vibes?  Kinda?  Sorta?  No?  Just me?  Okay then.  Carry on.  

Wait a minute, though.  How they be explaining how Daryl keeeps acquiring all these new tats all the time?  Hmm?  It’s like they just quit giving a shit about continuity in these latter seasons.  

I mean.  Do Walkers sleep now?  LMAO.  What is this?  I guess they’re constantly evolving?  

There’s my baby Lydia.  Love my smol bean.  

Alright though.  I love to see the ladies of TWD kick some ass.  It’s very gratifying.  Gimps would never.  Thank you, Angela.  

Clever, resourceful, calm and collected, quick thinking Carol to the rescue!  Seriously.  Her haters must be withering away inside with absolute envy.  

Hey, ya’ll.  Remember when Carol was still mastering her sharpshooting skills at the Prison yard and shot at Rick’s feet?  Her little “sorry, sorry”?  LOL.  If Rick could only see her now.  Wait.  He already knew what so many of his stans refuse to acknowledge--Carol=ultimate survivor and true savior to the group many times over.  

Maggie’s got herself a gun, too.  Go my badass girls.  

Of course, Carol’s got everybody’s back.  Of fucking course, Daryl’s got hers even when everybody else seem frozen in some kind of awe or stupification or something.  Microcosm of the whole damn show right there.  

Carol’s like “here’s your knives, love of my life.”   

Eh.  Maybe that’s just me.  

Nah.  She’s totally thinking it, too.  

YAS!  YAS!  Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride with the top billing.  How very far my babies have come.  

Listen.  I miss all the characters we’ve lost.  Absolutely.  But I love the ones that are still with us, that have been with us for so very long so hard.  Whether I love their stories or decisions or not.  

Is that THE Alexandria sign?  That sign’s been through some shit.  

DOG!  Daryl kneeling to embrace our Grimes babies has me all up in my feels.  And how cute is Dog getting all excited and making sure he’s the first one there to welcome back, Daddy?  

Hershel is literally just as puppy dog cute as Glenn ever was.  Really some Grade A casting.  

What did Maggie call Mr. T?  Ducky?  Dougie?  Sometimes with Maggie?  I really cannot tell.  Anyway.  He’s Mr. T. for me until I find out differently, probably through rewatching with close captioning, lol.  

Maggie’s got more people.  So.  Some new redshirts to sacrifice for plot purposes.  I don’t know if I should bother learning their names or not. 

I seem to remember Meridian being mentioned in one of the episode synopses.  

Sophia’s hair tie around Carol’s neck will never fail to be an emotional throat punch.  My heart.  

“They come at night and by the time you see them, you’re already dead.”  Welp.  Guess that means we ain’t seeing shit for at least this first third of the season, lol.  Very horror-eque though.  

“You’re leaving to fight ghosts.”  Aaron, to Maggie.  So I see Aaron’s the type to get the hell outta Dodge when the Boogeyman comes calling, hahaha.  Least he was.  In the old world.  

Rosita’s pissed off expression at Gabe’s decision to volunteer for the so-called suicide mission gives me life.  

My baby Carol is tired AF of suicide missions.  You can tell.  Also?  Methinks she has something to prove to Daryl here.  Or at least feels like she does.  

Dog with his little tactical vest.  I love it.  

I guess I get why they had Carol and Rosita stay behind.  They had to more evenly split up the badassery to make things more fair and balanced, lol.  

Okay.  So Negan’s definitely earned everybody’s disdain.  But they’re being woefully short-sighted by not at least hearing the dude out.  Isn’t he at least native to the area?  

“That is God telling us to turn around.”  I’m actually on Negan’s side with this one, but Gabe answering him with “I’m pretty sure he would have run that past me first” has me howling with laughter.  Father Gabe has gone straight up savage in these last couple of seasons.  Rosita’s influence, perhaps?  

I see what Angela is doing.  Trying to make Negan the voice of reason.  In this particular case?  It’s kind of working.  I’m still ultimately on Maggie’s side with this though BECAUSE GLENN.  

Imagine showing up to work and unironically dressing like a storm trooper every day.  Excuse me while I LOL.  

Even in the ZA, there’s bullshit paperwork.  

“Pumpkin colored spacesuit.”  Good one, Ezekiel.  

LOL forever.  I love Princess.  

“Michonne.  Our Michonne shut people out of Alexandria for years.”  Timely reminder that choices aren’t always perfect.  Neither are people.  

WTF is reprocessing?  Sounds ominous.  LMAO at Eugene’s “Okay.  We gotta go.”  

What in the actual hell with all those bagged, squirming undead?  Creepy AF in that subway tunnel.  

Should I just go ahead and call that the Easter bunny?  We’ve had some version of it pop up since Season 1.  

Is it stubborn pride with Maggie or what?  Why go through with something when all signs point toward the wisdom of stopping?  You can argue that she’s acting similarly to Carol last season, but there’s a huge difference here folks.  Carol did her damndest to Lone Wolf that shit and minimize the danger to those she loved.  Maggie’s straight up enlisting those she “cares about” to carry out her mission of revenge or vengeance, what have you. Let’s see if she gets near the amount of hate for it.  Personally, I don’t blame her for her feelings one bit.  They are valid.  But her knowingly drawing the others into the game?  That’s my sticking point.  That’s how she and Carol differ, even if some people refuse to see or accept it.  Anyway.  Hopping right on off my soapbox.  

“Why don’t you get up on your little tippy toes and try?”  Omigosh, I’d dying.  When I tell you I about passed out with laughter, I do not exaggerate.  I should hate Negan forever and I do.  Really.  But I adore JDM and he frequently makes me LOL.  He’s made Negan entertaining if not completely redeemable since Angela took over and more layered so I say kudos.  

He has a point about Maggie playing dictator.  Damn you, show, for slanting the writing just that smidgen that makes Negan make sense over his victim.  I guess, though, it’s better this way.  Gives both characters more shades of gray.  

“He’s a dick but he makes sense.”  I feel like this is Angela calling us all out when we dare to harbor any lasting resentment toward Negan for what he did to Glenn.  

Speaking of--Negan.  You deserved Daryl’s punch to the mouth.  You just went a bridge too damn far.  

“Keep pushing me, Negan.  Please.”  Warning shots fired, Asshole.  You better watch yourself around the Widow Rhee.  

Have I mentioned how much I love Princess?  Her shipping the Commonwealth guards is killing me, lol.  I can’t wait ‘til she meets Carol and Daryl.  She’s going to have their number in two seconds flat.  

I like Ezekiel and Princess as a duo.  I’m not saying romantically necessarily.  I just like them in scenes together because they’re fun.  There’s sort of a protective indulgence Ezekiel seems to telegraph whenever they’re in scenes together.  Like he’s like don’t hurt this one.  I don’t know.  For all these words I’ve written, I can’t quite find the ones to adequately describe what I mean.  

The wall of the lost gives me such Battlestar Galactica feels.  What sad thoughts it inspires.  

Eugene in that Commonwealth gear.  Omigosh, lol.  So did they just sneak up and take Princess’s little Commonwealth ship’s gear when they were sneaking off on their own to have a quickie?  

Princess finding that note for Yumiko on the wall actually gave me chills.  Yeah.  I’m easy.  Just the suggestion of someone getting reunited with lost family gets me all up in my feels.  Yumiko saying “I have to stay”?  I felt that.  

Oh no.  Dog ran off!  Somebody protect my favorite fictional puppy.  Of course, Daryl goes after him.  He’s always been the sweet one.  Merle said it.  

Eh.  Negan taking Maggie’s hand at the end there would have smacked too much of Negan Sue and Maggie’s biggest plot of the season would have been prematurely dealt with so I get why they did what they did.  But c’mon.  It’s not really that big of a cliffhanger, is it?  

Okay, so Angela calls those sleeping beauty Walkers “Lurkers” and I get it.  Apparently they’re a bigger deal in the comics, but I really don’t remember seeing them all that much on the actual show.  Somebody jog my memory.  

Of fucking course, you can actually see what’s happening in the inside the episode clips.  I wish we could choose to view the episode with that lighting because some of us be blind.  And this time I mean in the more literal sense.  Not the figurative one.  

Anyway.  I’m going to stop trying to write a novel for ya’ll and move on to better things.  Like maybe a nap.  Maybe some early dinner.  I don’t know.  I’m tired AF and need a little recharge.    

Before I go, though?  Overall impression of the episode?  I liked it.  There were parts that I loved (all the ladies being badass, every second of Carol, Daryl reuniting with the Grimes babies and Dog, all things Princess, some of Negan’s one-liners about had me busting a gut, Rosita serving looks, Kelly and Lydia getting to be badass too) and parts I didn’t love (not being able to see a damn thing, Angela trying to tip the scales in Negan’s favor, not enough Carol or Aaron or Rosita, no reunion between Aunt Carol and the Grimes babies even though that picture floating around suggests it was at least shot, not being able to see a damn thing, all the Alexandria people playing follow the leader for Maggie when she’s been gone 6 years and Daryl’s right there--hell, even Father G deserves the honor over her because it’s obvious they’re not exactly on the same wavelength anymore).  

I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m just glad to have our show back.    

Later, lovelies.  

[stachmousworld]

Meeting the Personal Assistant (final part)

Pairing: Black!Plus size!YN x Bucky Barner

Tags: unprotected sex, choking, mention of edging, chastity cage, restraints, cockwarming, cockring.

Words: around 4000

(The dividers come from @/firefly-graphics.tumblr.com)

She started packing as soon as the ambulance left with the Sergeant’s body. She watched, numb, as James Barnes’ body was transported. She couldn’t help but feel guilty. And it worsen when she saw Steve’s face.

Pale. Stricken.

She hadn’t been able to say a word and stood by her table completely silent. She hadn’t wanted their attention to be on her. She actually feared their reaction. There was no way she wasn’t going to be fired. And all that because she hadn’t remembered a fucking appointment. One single appointment.

She looked for the piece of paper and found it nowhere. Did it really matter, anyway? She gave a once over to her desk and bent to check her drawer.

“What are you doing?”

She almost hit her head when she heard mister Stark’s voice. She struggle to stand up and almost fell when her heel got stuck on the carpet.

“I’m packing, sir.”

Stark watched her eyebrows furrowed. “I can see it. But why are you packing?” He glanced at the mountain of stuff in her box. She didn’t really know if she’d be able to hold or she’ll have to do two trips, which she didn’t want.

“Are we really doing that, right now?” She asked in hope that he’ll drop it.

Stark walked closer and grabbed one of her stress balls from the box. “Humor me. Why do you think I’d fire you?”

She sighed. “I didn’t warn you for the meeting, which almost caused a third world war and your friend probably fainted because of me. So, I may not be the smartest cookie in the world but even I can tell that it’s over.”

Stark hummed, a small smile playing on his lips and threw the ball in the air and caught it as fast. “There were so many things wrong in what you said. First, you are far from being stupid. If you truly think we employ every average Joe and Jane in my company, I’d be disappointed. Also, considering how Miss Potts was my assistant and is now CEO of the company, you too may be lucky.”

She let out a brief laugh. “I’m not sure Miss Potts would be happy hearing that you’re already planning a coup.”

Mister Stark handed her the ball. She rose an eyebrow barely irritated by his usual quirks. She grabbed the ball and felt something smooth underneath.

“What -”

It was the paper from earlier. When did Stark take it?

“Is nothing weird about the paper?”

She read the paper over and over again without finding anything suspicious.

“Take your own agenda and compare both,” he said, with a gentle and patient tone.

With trembling hands, she scavenged through her pile of stuff. Her cheeks grew warmed under his gaze. She muttered under her breath as the leather book was unreachable.

“Need help?” Mister Stark asked amused.

“No,” she grunted. She shook the box and peered into it. There it was. Regaining a sense of confidence, she picked it up, and browsed through it. She scanned both papers attentively.

“Do you see it now?”

She was about to say ‘no’ when she finally noticed a few differences.

“It’s not the same. It’s not the same writing,” she said, appalled. She grabbed her glasses and put them on.

“You give me some sexy librarian--”

“Sexual harassment seminary, Mister Stark,” she reminded him with a stern, disapproving voice.

She glanced when he didn’t retort and saw him shuffle on his feet like a guilty kid.

“Do I want to know?”

Mister Stark smiled, sheepish. “Not my fault I like bossy people.”

“Still not appropriate on the workplace, I’m afraid.”

He grunted dramatically.

“So, going back to the point.” She waved the paper. “She lied. What does that mean for me?”

“You’re not fired. I thought that was clear. I can’t fire you for something you didn’t do.” He waved at her box. “You should put everything back because you are not going anywhere, and I’ll use restraints if I have too.”

A smile played on her lips. “Do you realize that all the things you’ve been saying so far can be interpreted differently. And send you straight to the anti-harassment seminary.”

He shrugged. “Been there done that.”

She raised her eyes to the sky and repressed her laugh. “Unbelievable, Mister Stark.”

Stark crunched his nose. She knew he hated that she called him ‘mister Stark’ and would rather be called by his first name. Something to do with how many times she’d save his ass from a bunch of paparazzi and from condescending shareholders. She also had to babysit him for a few years now because in his creative binge he’d lose track of anything and would often faint from hunger and exhaustion. It was a surprise he was still alive. Fortunately, he met someone, Steve Rogers aka Captain America aka the ultimate mother hen, otherwise mister Stark would have been entirely too lost.

“You’re such a kid. I should’ve fired you.”

He leaned and peered inside her box.

“I don’t know what kind of kids you’ve seen but there are two things they don’t get,” she said with a mischievous smile.

Stark raised his eyes, curious. She stood up tall and wrapped her arms under her boobs, pushing them up. His eyes were drawn like a moth to the light. He closed his gaping mouth.

“Well, your arguments are solid.”

He wasn’t moving at all. Now she had opened the door, Tony jumped on the occasion. His eyes were glued on her cleavage.

“You do realize that I’ll fill a report, right?”

“One for a penny, one for a pound,” he replied, nonchalant.

“What would your husband say?”

“Steve is as bi as I am and even he wouldn’t deny how smoking hot you are.”

She sucked her teeth. “Can I fill a report on your husband even though he doesn’t work for the company?”

“He’d die.” A beat of silence. Tony raised his eyes to hers and smiled like a wolf. “Do it. He’d be mortified because it is my fault. And he’d punish me later…” He caressed his goatee. “Maybe find a way to stuff my mouth.”

She was already regretting this conversation. She’d forgotten that Stark was a master in shameless innuendos.

“One day, I’ll get you,” she whispered, falsely annoyed.

“You know you love me, though.”

She rolled her eyes and started unpacking her box. In silence. Stark was still watching her. It was unnerving.

“Don’t you have anything else to do? Avenging, maybe? Going to the hospital where your husband bff is?”

“I’m waiting because you are going with me.”

She almost dropped her favorite mug. A Howling Commando limited edition. Mister Stark almost had a heart attack when he saw her mug. He had been a bit sarcastic but fairly surprised that she knew and loved the Howling Commandos. Who wouldn’t? Especially Cap’s sidekick. But that was a secret.

She would never reveal to anyone that she used to have a fairly big crush on James Buchanan Barnes. She even had the real dog tags.

It was a gift from an elderly person she used to take care of. She hadn’t even known he had known any of the howlies; so imagine her surprise when he gave her the dog tags. It has taken a few months to check if they were the original. She hadn’t wanted anyone to take what was precious to her and to give it to any museums. It may be selfish, but she didn’t really care.

Since then, she wore it every day. Some days like right now, where she wore a pronounced cleavage, she’d place the dog tags in her bra.

The cold metal was harsh against her sensitive skin and she reveled in the feeling. There was something so primal in wearing someone’s belongings. Even though the person wasn’t aware of it.  

Seeing Sergeant James Barnes walk in had almost brought her to her knees. It was by sheer will that she didn’t hyperventilate and faint. Gosh…it would have been so embarrassing.

It didn’t help that Sergeant Barnes had been so charming and somewhat shy. He said she reminded him of a fresh brioche, and the way he gazed at her…so hungry and ready to pounce. If the other bitch hadn’t been there, she’d probably act recklessly. She would have jumped on him and maybe suck his dick.

She took a deep breath and avoided Stark’s inquisitive eyes.

“Let’s go. I’ll do the rest later.”

He threw his hands in the air and smiled. “Finally.”

They made their way to the elevator in silence. Only then, did she realize something.

“Where are we going?”

Mister Stark zipped his mouth and pretending throwing the key. She groaned. She should definitely demand a raise.

They were at the hospital. She had tried to get out of this situation, even pretending that she had an emergency. Tony had put his foot down and cut through all of her lies.

“Why am I here again?”

Stark was typing quickly on his phone. “Buckaroo would be really happy to see you.”

There was something in the way is said ‘happy’ that was worrisome.

“But why?”

Stark raised his eyes. His nostrils flared and she knew she’d hit the jackpot. If she could annoy him that much, she’d be able to get the truth out of him.

“You’ll see.”

He gave her a sardonic smile before returning to his phone. She grunted under her breath and stomped her feet.

“A kid…” Tony joked.

“I’ll tell mister Rogers and he’ll punish you.”

“Don’t threaten with a good time.”

“You won’t laugh when I’ll tell him about chastity cage, and edging.”

His smile flickered. He nibbled his lower lip, eyes darting around. “Still a good time.”

“Are you sure?” She leaned closer to him. “How long can you hold, mister Stark? I’m sure mister Rogers can be very thorough about his discipline. With his mind and my knowledge…”

She leaned back and examined her fingernails.

“How much do you want?” He growled.

She caught a glimpse of mister Rogers coming their way. She stood up and waved at him.

“Your demise will be my reward,” she retorted sweetly.

His eyes grew wary.

“Tony,” mister Rogers said with a blinding smile.

It was hilarious to witness her boss jumping to his feet, looking quite anxious.

“Steve?” He squealed.

“Is everything okay?” Rogers asked looking at them.

She shrugged. “Mister Stark has told a few interesting things about him.”

Mister Stark glared at her.

“I can tell –”

“I will fire you,” Stark whispered.

“Are you sure about that?” She rose an eyebrow. Tony glared at her in silence. “Can you show me where the room where Sergeant Barnes is, mister Rogers?”

The blond man was still looking at them at loss.

“I’ll go with you,” her boss said through gritted teeth.

“The more the merrier,” she replied with her best candid smile.

The tension was palpable. Stark tried to cut her off every time she asked a question and pulled his husband closer to him.

They were in front of the room and she saw her boss sag. As if he thought it was the end.

“Mister Stark, do you have your phone with you?”

He looked at her, suspicious. “Yes, why?”

She looked at her watch and counted the seconds. Her boss’ body froze when a familiar ringtone played.

“You should take the call, Mister Stark. After all…you’ve been for this meeting for a long time.”

He looked at his husband than her.

“Tony, baby, I’ll be here when you come back. Go take your call.”

The smaller man was grimacing and if she considered the scathing glare, he sent her way, he’d make a pay later. They both watched him leave.

“So, what was that all about?”

“It’s time for phase D.”

Steve hummed. “What did he do?”

“Try to send you along with him to an anti-harassment seminary. I may have pushed his buttons and revealed a bit of our plan, but he’ll be fairly surprised.”

“A bit?”

“Edging, chastity belt.”

Steve laughed. “I wish I’d been there to see his face.”

“Don’t worry about that. You’d see it soon enough. Did you receive the paddle and restraints?”

“Yep,” he replied, proud.

“He won’t know what’s coming.”

“Nope.” He pressed a hand on her back and pushed her toward the room. “And…I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work. Go. Bucky will be really happy to see you.”

Why did they think he’d be happy? And why did they say it like that? Before she could formulate a proper answer, she found herself in the room. Steve closed the door behind her.

She wiped her hands on her dress and walked slowly to the bed where Sergeant Barnes was. He was still asleep. She took the time to examine his face. Her fingers itched to trace the rough lines of his face. From his sharp jawline, to the valley of his cheekbones, and she’d brush his eyebrows. They looked so soft.

Too lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice his blue eyes watching her through long eyelashes.

She patted her breast where the dog tags were and took them out. She played with them absently.

The blue eyes darkened, and blood rushed south. His fingers twitched to touch her.

“I’m really a creep,” she whispered.

Bucky’s eyes went to the dog tags and he let out a gasp. His dog tags? How did she get them? He had been trying to find them since the Smithsonian denied having them. Which at the time had sounded like a big ol’ lie.

“I should give them to you when you wake.” She brought the tags on her lips and kissed them.

Bucky’s eyes grew wider when he felt himself get hard. He looked at his lap and watched with shock the tent on his hardening cock got bigger.

He let out a small breath and tried to hide his erection. The small movement attracted her attention. Her head snapped up and he was suddenly pinned down by two brown eyes.

“Oh oh,” she let out with a grimace.

Bucky smiled or at least tried his best while pressing his hand on top of his erection. Her eyes didn’t bulge from his face which was a relief. He ignored the way his erection twitched when she leaned back.

They stayed silent for a couple of seconds, none of them knew what to say. Bucky’s erection was still distracting, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to resist his urges to palm it.

“Well…here.” She handed the dog tags. Bucky looked at the metal in her hand and glanced back at her.

“You can keep it.”

“I can’t. It’s yours.” She dropped the dog tags on his chest and gathered her jacket and bag. Bucky stopped her.

“Keep them. I know you’d take care of them better than I. In my line of work, it’d be difficult not to lose them or have them stolen.”

She frowned. “Are you sure?”

Bucky nodded and handed them back to her. She took them eagerly and a little unsure. Like she didn’t know what to do with them.

“You can put them back?” The words escape his mouth before he could stop himself.

“Back?” She squealed, embarrassed.

Oh.

“How long have you been awake?”

Bucky felt his cheeks grow warm. “I mean…I wasn’t actively trying to ogle you. You were there and I was –”

She leaned back and her face behind his hands. Bucky tried to rearrange himself as silently as he could but failed. He let out a desperate groan. Gosh…two erections in the same day. This was a day to be set in the stone. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat smug. His body and his mind worked perfectly well together, although it seemed to be at the wrong time.

She raised her head and gaped. Bucky froze. Her eyes caught the outline of his erection before he could really hide it.

“I’m sorry. I’m not a creep. Please don’t scream.” The words tumbled out of his mouth not really in the right order. He for sure believed that she’d scream and run away, insulting him or worse. What he hadn’t expected was for her to stay silent and to look somewhat interested.

“Okay.” She seemed to want to say something else but shook her head instead.

“You believe me?” He asked wearily.

“Well, yeah.” She shrugged. “It’s a normal bodily reaction. I know guys can pop boners for the random stuff.”

“You are not though.” Bucky slapped his hand on his mouth and closed his eyes.

“I’m not what?”

“You said that it was random but it’s not. You are in no way random.”

“What do…” A beat of silence. “Oh.”

Bucky spread his fingers and peeked through them. He watched her, still eying his cock.

“My eyes are up there,” he joked.

Her eyes snapped to his. She cleared her throat and looked away. It could have stopped there but Bucky was on a stroll. He’d have time to feel mortified later anyway.

“I don’t want you to pretend. If you feel unsafe or somewhat disgusted, I’m really sorry.” He waved at his clothed dick. “To be honest I’m not really ashamed –”

“I can tell.” She mumbled. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No!” He exclaimed a little to forceful. “What I want to say is that, as a POW and a brainwashed soldier I wasn’t really in tune with my body.” He lowered his voice and gazed down. “Even after therapy and a dozen of medical consultation I couldn’t have an erection. At all. So yeah, I feel a bit mortified that you saw that but at the same time I’m happy because it means I’m getting better.”

He risked a glance at her. She looked at his face wistfully, the dog tags still dangling from her fingers. He was expecting a few questions on his condition or maybe she’d call bluff –

“Do you want me to help?”

It threw him off. Literally.

“Or not.” She gathered her bag and closet and stood up. “I’m sorry that was way out of the line. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you.”

Wait a damn minute… Bucky’s heart was racing, and he was sure that his dick was so hard it’d cut through the cover.

“Wait!” He exclaimed, panicked. “Don’t leave.”

She froze. There were a million things he wanted to say. None could actually help with the immediate issue.

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want it,” she whispered.

She was still back to him. The sudden distance between them felt like a torture. His mind still had warped up behind what she offered. All he could imagine was warmth, tightness and wetness. Wherever it came from he’d take it.

“Okay.”

She spun around quickly. “Okay?” She repeated surprised.

Bucky nodded frantically. He pushed the cover below his hips revealing his aching cock. He hissed at the lack of friction and from the cold air.

She stood there, mouth agape and all Bucky could think was how she looked like with his dick in her mouth. His erection twitched and he groaned.

“Ok, we are two consenting adults…” She pep talked herself. “I can do it. God he’s going to ruin me for any man.”

An ugly green-eyed beast roared in his chest.

“There would be no other man if you want me.”

She huffed in disbelief. “You don’t think that. You’d probably say that to anyone who’d promise to get you off.”

Bucky glared at her. “I wanted to ask you for a date before the other bitch triggered me.”

“Really?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “I don’t call anyone “fresh brioche out of the oven”.”

She giggled. The movement made her boobs jiggle and Bucky lost track of his thoughts. Again. He waved his hand and motioned her to come closer. She surprisingly obeyed. He sat upright on the bed and untied slowly caressed her curves. He reached for the bottom of her dress and slowly took it off. She raised her arms and let the silky material drop on the floor.

Bucky liked his lips. He could come from the sight alone.

“Come here,” he ordered, with a deep voice.

She climb on the bed and sat on his naked lap.

Bucky moaned. Jesus it was getting too much already. Her hot cunt was pressing hard on him. He snaked a hand between their bodies and gasped when he met her naked wetness. Her panties had a hole. Big enough for him to fuck her without discarding them. Bucky’s toes clenched and his balls tightened.

“Relax, Sergeant.”

He came. Hard. His vision whitened and his breath grew shallower. He basked into this bliss and went limp.

“That was…woah.” She whispered amazed.

Bucky smiled softly, hands back on her hips. He pushed back onto her looking for any friction.

“Are you not overstimula—”

She moaned when Bucky rubbed her clit with the tip of his dick. He caressed her body making sure to capture each of her moans and gasps and pleads for more.

Her bras were soon off. She sighed deeply and it could have made Bucky jealous if it wasn’t for the sight. Her breast sagged down to their normal position.

“Jesus…” He let out in reverence.

He leaned forward and took one nipple in his mouth. He tried to fit the entire areole and moaned. He latched onto his newfound desire and didn’t let go until the nipple was sensitive. He released her nipple in a wet pop and gave the same treatment to the other.

Her hands went straight to his hair and she gripped and scratched his scalp. Bucky bit harsher un nipple. The reaction was immediate. She grinded, looking for more. Her hand went between them and she spread lips farther. Bucky buckled up as wetness spread onto his shaft.

He needed…he wanted…

He flopped back. “I need more…I need…”

She leaned on his chest and oh God did it feel good.

“Condom?” She asked out of breath.

Bucky shook his head. He felt his eyes tear up. Why…oh why…

“Please…” He begged. He cupped her face and pressed their forehead together. “Please…maybe just the tip?” He hated how tiny he voice sounded.

“Just the tip?” She repeated amused. She must have noticed his confusion because she explained. “It’s interesting to see that men even from last century give the same excuse in order to have sex.”

He sniffed and blushed.

“It’s okay, Sergeant. I got you.”

Buck felt more than he saw nimble fingers grab his dick. The tip of his dick bumped onto something wet and warm. Bucky shut his eyes, tightening his grip on her hips.

“Take a deep breath for me,” she ordered him.

Somewhere in his mind he found that ironic. He should have been the one to tell h—

His tip passed through a tight ring before sliding smoothly an unbearable warmth. Gosh…his eyes rolled into their socket and moaned her name.

“So big…” She moaned back.

He bit back his answers and thrusted experimentally. He slid a further into her.

“So fucking big…”

“All for you,” he groaned.

Everything clicked in Bucky’s mind and his instinct took over. He rolled them over swiftly and bent her knees on her chest. She barely got the time to react that he was thrusting faster, barely changing his pace. He went hard and deep, lost in the feeling of her around him, how she squeezed him perfectly and how her pussy sounded when he entered her. She gripped her legs harder, pulling them closer to her and started sobbing as he kept his quick pace and pushed deeper if that was even possible. Bucky didn’t dare look where they were joined, or he’ll come quick.

As he watched his dog tags juggle between her breasts, something dark and twisted snapped in him. His metal hand went to her throat, barely choking her. Instead of fighting him…Bucky felt her walls spasmed around him. He tightened his grip.

“Yes! Please…Sergeant…choke me…” She babbled. She raised her head and look down and moaned loudly. “Fuck…so big…so deep.”

Bucky slowed down and rolled his hips against hers. She hissed every time thrusted back in and stared straight into his eyes.

“Who do you belong to?” He asked darkly.

She didn’t waste no time to answer. “Sergeant…James…Buchannan…Barnes,” she screamed as picked up the pace and pounded into her. Her body was now so loose and pliant. His cock fit perfectly.

Tears started running down her face as she gasped his name. Bucky almost roared. He leaned forward, not slowing down one second and kissed her. It was all teeth, and tongue. She let him ravage her mouth and pussy with no restraints. In return he swallowed each of her pleas like it was his to take.

An unfamiliar yet familiar sensation sneaked up on him. His balls tightened and his mind already started drifting.

He groaned in her ears. “I’m going to come…” His tone turned plaintive. “Please let me come in you.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” She screamed. She gazed at him with wonder. Her eyes were unfocused, dried tears covered her face and she was covered in sweat and drool. Bucky squashed down his ill-times concern and chased his own climax.

It felt nothing like the first time earlier. It was like a sucker punch. But pleasurable. His breath hitched and his stomach clenched. Actually, his entire body seized under the pleasure. He kept thrusting until she came which didn’t take much time. As soon as the first spurt of his sperm coated walls, it triggered her own climax. Her walls spasmed around his dick and she cried his name.

Lick a puppet whose strings had been cut he fell on her, caging her with his arms. He rolled his hips as he kept coming.

“S’ good,” she muttered in his embrace.

“Never let you go,” he replied. “Mine.”

“Yours,” she replied half asleep.

The following weeks went in a blur. Bucky and his girlfriend. It felt so weird to think about it like that. They barely knew each other, but in his mind, she had always been his doll’. His girlfriend and he had gone to a few dates, with the certitude that now the sex off the table they’d be able to learn to know each other.

Well. At least they tried.

Date 1: The night ended with Bucky being sucked off in his car.

Date 2: Bucky was railing her from the back in the communal room.

Date 3: He had gone to a mission which hadn’t stopped her from sending a few videos. He nearly got kidnapped because of it.

Date 4: 69 became his favorite number.

Date 5 and 6: He lost a bet and had to suffer through two day of cockwarming. After his first fail, she had been forced to use a cockring. Let’s just say, he never took bets with her.

Date 7: Restraints. Wakanda’s best metal to hold him down.

Date 8 (the last): Voyeurism. She sucked him off while everyone was watching a movie in the communal room. He certainly had never come that quick.

After being almost being caught by Tony – of all the people – they slowed down their sexcapades and really tried to stay platonic. Emphasis on ‘tried’.

They only lasted a week.

End

[vivilove-jonsa]

Yours Before I Knew

Again, since we’ve got some lovely new Jonsa-themed headers for WIP Wednesday, I’m dusting off some old drafts to share some things.  I can still call it a work in progress even if I’ve only completed two chapters in a year, right? *sighs*  (You can find the lovely Canon-themed headers here if you want to use one)

This is a Rhaegar Won/Arranged Marriage AU that I’ve been wanting to write for ages but am easily distracted from and it may never see the light of day on ao3 so here’s the first two chapters in case anyone wants to see what I’ve got.  Fair warning, it’s all set up for Jon and Sansa marrying with a side of scheming so probably pretty dull :(

****

Chapter 1-ELIA 

The queen sucked on an orange wedge relishing the sunshine as the clacking of wooden swords silenced the morning songbirds.  She did not mind that.  All her life, she’d known the sounds of boys and men training every morning.  

The stone walls of her little courtyard had been baking in the sun since it rose three hours earlier. Touching those walls might lead to a burnt hand now.  But Elia would not touch them.  She was content to enjoy the radiated warmth of them as she broke her fast and watched the boys, her son…and Lyanna’s.

Not everyone loves the sun as the Dornish do and the Sun does not love everyone.

The Dornish had been infuriated with her husband of course, none more than her brothers, but they had stayed true to the Iron Throne.  When Robert’s Rebellion had ended with the usurper’s death outside the city walls, they had remained Rhaegar’s subjects though silently sullen over the insult he had done their princess.

Heeding the advice of others, Rhaegar had chosen to avoid single combat with Robert Baratheon and instead made overtures to Tywin Lannister, appealing to the man whose ego his father had wounded more than once with promises of a better reign in the future.

And despite his melancholic outlook in general, her husband chose not to dwell overly long on his part in his father’s removal from the throne nor the circumstances surrounding his death.  Lord Tywin’s men had done all the dirty work for their new king and the unpleasantness had been swept away like filthy rushes to be replaced with fresh, sweet ones.  

But not everything had been forgotten and not everything had been swept out the door either.  

“Do you yield?” she heard Aegon cry, an edge of triumph in his childish voice.

“Nay!”

Elia scowled and continuing sucking on her orange wedge.  The boy was stubborn.  Aegon was a year older.  He was taller and a bit broader.  But Aemon would not yield until he was on the ground and pinned, usually with Aegon shoving his face into the stones if the master-at-arms did not stop them quick enough. Always determined to prove himself, Aemon fought like a wolf.  No doubt the stigma surrounding his birth and his questionable place at Court plagued him.

Like a wolf. Elia smiled despite herself.  That was what he was.  He is no true dragon.  

“That’s good, Jon!” the master-at-arms said as the tempo of the clacking wooden swords increased.  

Jon.  He preferred to be called Jon.  It was the name his uncle had given him when he’d taken the child and his sister’s bones out of Dorne before he’d learned of his friend’s death.

Lord Stark had been spared by Rhaegar.  Some whispered that he should’ve met a traitor’s end but their shared grief over Lyanna had stayed her husband’s hand.  Elia did not object to it though she would’ve thought Rhaegar might’ve stripped him of his title and lands at least.  However, the Northman had been allowed to return to his frozen forests, grateful to be reunited with his wife and young son.  He’d only been south of the Neck once since the end of the war.

Rhaegar had permitted the boy to be fostered in Winterfell as a babe before sending for him when he was six.  “The North is in his blood.  It is where he will fight his greatest battles…and where he will die someday perhaps,” her husband had once said.  Rhaegar’s obsession with prophecy had only grown with the passing of years.

The North was a place that held little interest for Elia but she was aware of their own discontented murmurs.  Nevertheless, Lord Stark had kept the vast kingdom under control and helped stop Balon Greyjoy’s ill-fated rebellion recently even though many of the Northmen held no love of the Crown.  And why should they?  Aerys had killed Lord Eddard’s father and brother after Rhaegar had made off with the Stark girl inciting the rebellion to begin with.  

The fact that Rhaegar had married Lyanna in a secret ceremony, pressuring the High Septon to allow the practice of polygamy as the Targaryens of old had, had not tempered their displeasure.  Most did not believe Rhaegar’s talk of prophesies or Aemon’s potential role in some war to come but no one said as much to the king.

“My lady?  May I join you?”

She tilted her head in acquiescence.  “Have you come to watch them?” she asked once Rhaegar had taken a seat and kissed her hand, his courtly manners undimmed despite the strained state of their marriage.

He looked towards the courtyard for a handful of seconds, watching the battle below with an indifference she couldn’t understand.  “I’ve spent my morning closeted with the Hand arranging betrothals.”

“Whose?”

“The children’s, both mine and my father’s.”

Elia swallowed her disquiet and brushed her hands along her silk skirts.  “Did Viserys have objections?”

“Objections to Arianne? Why would he?  And it was agreed to long ago.”

“And Daenerys will marry Quentyn?”

“She will.”

“Doran will be pleased.”

He hummed softly in response.  She knew the young princess’s opinion would not be sought.  Elia felt sorry for the girl and her own daughter but it wasn’t as if she’d been given any choice in the matter of her own match.  It was the lot of all highborn girls whether they carried the title of lady or princess.  And besides, Quentyn is a sweet boy.  

“And who are our children to marry?”

“Rhaenys will marry Willas Tyrell.”

“You’d marry my daughter to a Tyrell?” she asked sharply, her earlier acceptance of the fate of highborn girls quite forgotten.  

“The enmity between your family’s house and the Tyrells should end.  Willas bears no ill will towards your brother nor Oberyn towards him. It’s time the rest of you follow suit.”

Elia bowed her head, knowing that any argument would be fruitless.  Rhaegar was not his father but he would not be talked out of a decision easily either.  

“And Aegon?  Who is to be his queen?”

“I had thought to heal another breach.  The North is vast and anger lingers there.”

She could not be silent on this.  “You will not marry my son into her family!”  

Rhaegar’s eyes moved from the boys below to his wife, that strange distance in him so visible.  If he was blood and fire, why were his looks always so cold?  She contained a shiver but dropped her eyes.  She rarely spoke so heatedly towards him.  Her rages would do her no more good than her sweetness in this case regardless, she feared.

“I had thought to. I’ve decided differently.  Tywin has been a faithful servant and Cersei serves you well.”

Tywin had decidedly differently is what that meant.  And Cersei...  “She hates me.”

“Nonsense.”

“You see her beauty and her smiles.  You do not see her contempt.  You do not hear her barbed words.”  You only see what you wish to when you bed her, the wife of your best friend. She would not dare speak those words.

“She won’t be marrying Aegon, her daughter will.”

“Myrcella?”

“Yes.”

“She’s only three.”

“He’s only eleven. They’ll marry after she flowers.” He softened marginally.  “It is only a betrothal, my lady.  If things change, things change,” he shrugged.    

She stewed over that before asking about Rhaegar’s third child.  “And Aemon?”

“It is my hope that match will end the rumbling in the North.  He will marry his uncle’s daughter, the eldest girl.”

“Lady Sansa?”

“Um…yes, that’s her name.”

Did he know it to begin with? she wondered.  No matter. This arrangement did not matter to her. It suited her.  She’d have Lannisters and Tyrells as her children’s good-parents.  Wasn’t that enough to worry over?  

Who cared if Aemon, or Jon as he preferred, went North someday?  It wasn’t that she disliked him.  It was just that he was a constant reminder of things that Elia would rather forget. He’d go North and marry the Stark girl. Maybe she’d never see Lyanna’s son again if he did.

But Rhaegar had other plans as always, it would seem.

“Aemon will marry Sansa Stark once they’re of age, get an heir by her and then…we’ll see where I need him most.”

“Where you need him most? I don’t understand.”

Rhaegar did not answer.

“Well done!  Well fought, boys!” the master-at-arms cried a moment later.

Elia’s expectant smile curdled when she saw Aegon clutching his hand, his wooden sword on the stones at his feet and Aemon doing a poor job of hiding his delight.  The North could have Lyanna’s son.  She could not say she’d miss him here.  

  Chapter 2-JAIME

 Ser Jaime Lannister of the Nights Watch strolled along the corridors of the Red Keep towards the chambers occupied by his twin sister Cersei.  He caught his reflection in a mirrored panel.  He didn’t look half bad in black.  He felt no more soiled in it than he had in his white cloak.

Due to his father’s role in winning Rhaegar his crown, Jaime had not been beheaded for his own rather hands-on part in seeing an end to Aerys’ regime but he had been discharged from the Kingsguard and sent to the Nights Watch for killing his king.  

He hadn’t stayed there very long.  

It was cold and inhospitable and his fellow brothers in black had all loathed him.  He hadn’t gone out of his way to make any friends there to be honest.  They were all beneath him, none could hold a candle to him with sword or lance and the North was clearly not for him.  

So, when Lord Commander Mormont had been lamenting the lack of able-bodied recruits to fill their numbers and man the Wall, Ser Jaime had graciously offered to go South to the king and his father the Hand and see to it a regular supply of warm bodies were sent the Lord Commander’s way.  It didn’t matter that most of them were the excrement of the lowest pothouses or the ague-ridden sweepings of dungeons, Jaime knew Mormont would take them, desperate as he was.  And so long as the recruits kept arriving, Mormont did not recall Ser Jaime to his post. That suited Lord Tywin and, since Jaime avoided making a nuisance of himself around Rhaegar, it seemed the king was content for him to remain and ignored him for the most part.

He gave me a life sentence meant to humble me for killing his father but knew it was necessary if he was ever going to ascend to the throne himself.  Besides, he’d have no city to rule from if not for me.  

He had fallen into a little place here at Court.  He competed in tourneys here and there, not enough to draw too much attention to himself though.  Mostly, he assisted the master-at-arms in drilling young guards as well as the young princes.  Occasionally, the Small Council would ask him questions about the Watch.  He was as ignorant as most of them but he spoke the words he thought they wanted to hear given the current mood.

It was infinitely preferable to stalking along the top of the Wall or overseeing the digging of new latrines in the frozen shit hole that was Castle Black.  He wasn’t even sure what the Nights Watch’s purpose was anymore. The ragamuffin Wildlings who made it over the Wall once in a while weren’t any true threat to the Seven Kingdoms and it’s not like that could all breach the 700 foot edifice in their way.

As for his pupils, Viserys was quite hopeless and Jaime had been glad to see the back of him when he’d left for Dragonstone a couple of years earlier.  Aegon and Aemon, or Jon as the boy preferred, had some promise though, the younger boy more than the older.  

His twin sister Cersei was at Court as well, one of the Queen’s ladies, while his father had chosen to leave Tyrion behind at Casterly Rock, out of sight and out of mind.  

He rapped upon his sister’s door and entered when a maid answered.  Cersei stood before a mirror adjusting the emerald green gown encrusted with gold she wore which highlighted the eyes which matched his own, whilst her golden hair shone in the sunlight.

“What do you want?” she asked irritably as her maid clasped a great diamond and onyx necklace around her throat.  

You, he mouthed, earning him a scowl.  Theirs was not a typical brother-sister relationship to say the least.

“Connington’s here,” she said in a conversational tone next.  “His ship arrived in the harbor last night.”

Her husband, Lord Jon Connington, was one of Cersei’s least favorite people to see.  Gratefully, he spent most of his time in his castle while his wife spent most of her time at court.  

Only five years older than the bride he’d been gifted as a reward for his faithful services during the rebellion, Connington appeared a withered old man when stood next to Cersei these days.  Jaime highly suspected she was slowly poisoning him…or having someone do it for her.  He honestly didn’t care if it was so.  The oaf did not deserve Cersei.  A good thing the children weren’t his.  

“And did you entertain your husband when he arrived last night?” Jaime asked mockingly, his gloved hand tracing her pale throat when the maid was dismissed at last.  

“There was no need. He was eager to spend as much time as possible with the king.”  Connington would rather lick the king’s boots than his wife’s teats.  That suited Jaime just fine.    

“And who was the king eager to see last night?” he whispered in her ear, the hand at her throat squeezing ever so slightly.  

She jerked her chin and stepped away from his touch.  Jaime clenched his fist and told himself it didn’t matter.  The children weren’t Rhaegar’s either.    

Saying no to Rhaegar after carefully flirting and teasing her way into an affair with him would be foolish though.  Cersei had her reasons, no doubt.  Regardless, she was still his.  She was part of him.  She would always be his in a way the others never could be, not her husband who she spent less than fifteen minutes at a time in the company of if she could help it and not her current and practically acknowledged lover, the king.  

Deciding he didn’t wish to quarrel today, he asked after her children.  My children.

“Myrcella will be queen someday.  Father has arranged it,” she told him, clearly pleased.

He nodded.  It was neither here nor there to him.  Cersei had warned him not to get too close, not to appear too doting so as not the raise any awkward questions and he’d followed her lead.  He hoped Myrcella would be treated well by Aegon but that was the extent of his interest. They were only little children for now.

“That will be something…for you to be the mother of the queen.”

A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes as a cold smile formed upon her crimson lips.  “Yes, the mother of the queen might be enough for some.”

The door burst open a moment later.  “My lady! The Queen!” the maid from earlier gasped.  

“Oh, dear.  Whatever is the matter?” Cersei asked, the sweet concern in her tone not fooling Jaime for an instant.  “Forgive me, brother.  I must go to her,” she said once all had been relayed, a sudden pain in the stomach and the queen had vomited blood after breaking her fast.

“Of course, sister,” he bowed.  “You are one of her ladies.  You must attend her.”

And I will follow you.

Outside Queen Elia’s chambers though, he was halted by the youngest member of the kingsguard. Cersei hastened within and he took up a post of sorts opposite the knight, Ser Garlan Tyrell.  

“Has the king been notified?”

“He has, Ser Jaime. He’s expected to arrive soon.”

The pounding of feet soon met their ears but it was not the king rushing to his wife’s side.  It was her children and the king’s other son.  

“Let me by, Ser Garlan!” Princess Rhaenys shouted, her dark curls bouncing as she stood.  The knight bowed and stood aside as the princess and her younger brother headed in.  But before Jon could pass the threshold, Rhaenys rounded on him.  “Not you!” she hissed.  “She won’t want to see you!”

The boy’s crestfallen expression was quickly hidden by a jerky nod.  He would not be wanted by any of them.  It shouldn’t surprise him.  He really shouldn’t allow it to wound him by this point and yet it was plain it always did. Jaime might almost feel sorry for him…if he was much given to sympathy for others outside of himself and Cersei.

“Come along, my prince,” Jaime said affably, putting an arm around the boy’s shoulders to guide him away. Out of sight, out of mind. They looked nothing alike but Jon always reminded Jaime a bit of Tyrion, a motherless boy, unwanted and unloved by most everyone.  Jaime had an undeniable soft spot for his little brother so maybe he had a touch of one for this boy as well.  “It’s been a fortnight since I’ve seen you practice with your lance.  You can’t be a knight if you never master it, you know.”

“Yes, Ser Jaime,” Jon said, looking back over his shoulder once before he allowed himself to be led outdoors.  

All morning, he drilled Jon in the lance and then swords.  He was getting quite good…for a boy of ten.

When the bells began to toll, they had just stopped to sup on roasted hen, shallots and crusty bread.

“What are the bells ringing for?” the boy asked.

“You know, don’t you, Jon?”

The queen was dead.  

Those dark grey eyes widened and the long pale face grew paler.  He looked remarkably like a Stark to Jaime.  There was little of Rhaegar in him.  

A member of the kingsguard came to share the news as night fell.  The king was said to be in seclusion and Elia’s children were with their attendants.  No one came for Jon so Jaime sat with him.  The boy cried bitter tears for the step-mother who had never loved him but never treated him unkindly either.  

Jaime allowed him a second cup of wine and soon the child was dozing in a corner while Jaime wondered how his fair sister was managing her performance, the aggrieved courtier and friend, so concerned for the welfare of Elia’s children whilst maneuvering and plotting for the day she might be Rhaegar’s queen.

Mother of the queen might be enough for some…but not Cersei.  

[hoggle-is-hoggles-friend]

My Notes on Dracula (1992)

I was prompted to finally just watch this movie when watching the review by Maven of the Eventide on YouTube, and I would highly recommend her channel. Also, a handful of my longer, more rant-y, and more in depth notes will be in their own posts.

TLDR: it was a pretty movie, but overall I disliked it very intensely. I cannot say it was a bad film, but I can say that it is probably my least favorite Dracula adaptation.

Good Grief! The amount of fake blood in the first 5 minutes alone! They must have had to use a cement mixer. There’s just so much of it.

The way they reinterpret a common piece of vampire lore for Dracula’s origin is actually pretty neat. The trope is that vampires were people who had killed themselves and were cursed by the Abrahamic god to revive and feast on the living. In this case, Dracula becomes a vampire following a suicide, but it is that of his beloved instead of his own.

I heard Keanu Reeves’ voice and melted. And Winona Ryder with an English accent? I’m in love with this entire couple.

I’m a sucker for adaptations using source material as narration. (Yes, I also have an unnatural obsession with The Muppets’ Christmas Carol.)

So atmospheric and aesthetic. Can’t believe this was a film made by a major production company in the 90s. This would be freaking huge on social media if it were made today. (Not that it doesn’t already get acknowledged for that.)

Gary Oldman’s accent! It reminds me so much of Bela Lugosi! He really did cement Dracula’s Eastern European accent in Hollywood and it’s fantastic.

I spent a good 10-15 minutes straight desperately trying to come up with a thought besides “Keanu Reeves pretty” and then failing miserably.

The scene with the three brides was bizarre. I have absolutely no idea how to interpret it. Like… seriously, can someone please explain to me what that was?

I probably could have done without all the graphic scenes of patients being abused in the hospital. But it was also the 90s… so they get a little, teensy-weensy bit of grace on that.

This movie has The Most beautiful costuming, if a touch gratuitous (and gross) in the amount of boob showed.

The use of and play with Dracula’s shadow is so cool and fun! It just gets cooler every time his shadow is on screen!

Is Dracula out in the sunlight? Also the lack of reflection in the window is so neat! (Despite not actually relating to traditional lore)

The dichotomy of the scene with Lucy and then Dracula encouraging Mina to see him out on the street was probably the most well-written piece of dialogue so far.

Don’t mind my middle school theatre nerd jumping out, but the blocking and spacing of the scene where Mina and Dracula meet in the street is so good! And the way it shifts throughout the scene plus the score!!! This is a really well-written scene!

Dracula is being very creepy. And this was supposed to be the “romantic” take on the story? It was very clearly written by men. Sexual shots of Mina’s mouth while Dracula gets her blackout drunk? Definitely not creepy. /s

Paralleling Dracula and the wolf was very clever. They did that part pretty well.

The way the movie tried to showcase late 19th century technology was actually really interesting.

Van Helsing putting all these arrogant men into their place is incredibly amusing. I have a hard time telling if Van Helsing is being creepy (protective) or creepy (predatory). I don’t know if this is poor writing, poor acting, autism, or a combination.

They did somewhat okay on Lucy’ and Mina’s friendship. Could have been better (seemed a lot like Mina was just shaming Lucy toward the beginning), but they did okay.

Lucy’s actress was phenomenal when she was becoming a vampire.

They occasionally tried to contrast two simultaneous events (Jonathan’s escape and Mina’s date with Dracula, Lucy’s Death and the wedding). There are some movies who do this very well. This is not one of them.

The shift to Mina accepting Dracula felt really sudden and weird. I absolutely did not like that. Genuinely felt like the whole “if she says no then just have persistence” thing a lot of people teach their children. The fact that it was all crammed into the last third of the movie probably made it feel a lot more rushed.

I almost can’t hate this movie too much because Wojciech Kilar did such a breathtaking job on the score.

[yichens]

thank you once again @yibobibo​ for tagging me ♥ even if, like I said, this is pure torture. I have so many sons that I’ve given up on counting them sigh but here goes.

favourite male fictional characters.

I took it that this meant ten so am going with that (tho am not gonna try and put them into order). am also sticking to all the characters I loved this year. and gonna ramble and add gifs so cutting it here. 

1. Liu Sang

The Lost Tomb Reboot/Reunion: The Sound of The Providence

I have so much love for this boy it’s not even healthy. it’s a bit funny tho bc once I started tltr, I didn’t really like him and almost forgot about him as the first season ended. he just felt so annoying and bitter in what I saw him, even if I did get that he had a Tragic BackstoryTM (I felt for him but well. tltr really made him hard to like at first). but then they brought him back in the second season with his sad puppy eyes and inability to handle his thoughts on wu xie and being all touch-starved and pitiful and whatnot and baam, I had the adoption papers ready. he’s wonderful and so strong and so smart and amazing. and liu chang as his actor has been wonderful (and he’s so pretty my god, have you seen him??)

2. Shen Wei

Guardian

never did I expect to just. fall into this hole after a year? I remember what a mess I was when I first watched guardian over a year ago, right after finishing the untamed. I was in shambles even as I knew how it would end. and now I’ve done this all again while also reading the novel and. my love for shen wei, especially bc it’s zhu yilong acting as shen wei? astronomical. I want to write poetry about him and his stupid responsibilities that he chooses to carry silently and his devotion to zhao yunlan and his love for his ppl and his didi and. I hope that one day I manage to write weilan bc I have this one idea and you can come pry it from my cold, dead fingers if it doesn’t get out there (am also super happy about the edit I made bc my god does he deserve at least that)

3. Cloud Strife

Final Fantasy VII

ok so stepping into the video games territory now. I was waiting for the remake like crazy and it was everything to me once the quarantine hit during spring. the game is so beautiful and I felt like I looked at this gorgeous boy once and was ready to give him my heart (tbh am quite sure he owned my heart before I even learned to know him). he is tragic in so many ways (I’ve only scratched the surface of all of his pain I know) and I wish I could just. hug him a lot. he is kind and cares very deeply even if he hates to show it and I love it how remake showed him also just being a human disaster (some of his scenes are just. peak comedy). I would kill for his smile (I have already cried for it a dozen)

4. Geralt of Rivia

The Witcher (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)

if there’s one grumpy, brickwall of a man I love, it’s geralt. I affectionately call him “papa wolf” while playing witcher 3 and his voice in it does things to me (I am just so fond of him ok, begone you dirty fuckers). I got introduced to him through the books and adored him in them bc he is so prickly and sarcastic and still so full of love even if he will never admit to it. he is the father figure I wish I could have in real life. (and yes, I’ve seen the tv series (or at least a couple of the first episodes) and it looks stunning but. this is my version of geralt and that’s the hill I will die on)

5. Xiaoge

Zhang Qiling, Daomu Biji (The Lost Tomb 2)

(wow finding a gif for him was a pain, apparently I gotta learn how to gif or?) ah, my dear boy who I’ve ended up just calling xiaoge bc he seems to prefer it over his real name/title/whatever zhang qiling really is. I got introduced to him through tltr where we really didn’t get to know that much about him bc he was just... there. huang junjie was absolutely stunning tho and his soft smiles made me super fond, but only in the lost tomb 2 did I really fall in love with xiaoge as a character. I was surprised tbh bc I didn’t expect it to be this drama? I had so many doubts about the cast in tlt2 but they all delivered! and I think cheng yi’s xiaoge is now my favorite bc he somehow captured that softness and the pain of him? (and we do not talk about that buxun storyline tyvm) tho now that ultimate note is on the way, I gotta say that xiao yuliang does a wonderful job as xiaoge too!

6. Wu Xie

Daomu Biji (Ultimate Note)

(sorry we have to go with a pingxie gif now but maybe it’s only fitting) tbh it’s hard to choose my favorite version of wu xie. I think all of the actors for him have done amazing job showing wu xie in different parts of his life (all of them are very distinct but still feel like the same person) but currently zheng shunxi takes the lead. I really wanted to put the reboot version of him here (bc I love that mature, relaxed and somehow very soft version of him and the angst is phenomenal and the thoughts he has about death... yeah) but I already have zhu yilong’s face here once so :’D wu xie is just one of those characters you cannot not like. he is so strong, so kind, so stubborn, so wonderfully stupid sometimes and in need of careful protection. I also adore it how smart he is and I could listen to him spew history facts for 10 hours straight (even if it was in a tomb full of blood zombies) ♥

7. Jiang Cheng

Jiang Wanyin, The Untamed

my darling boy! my beautiful angry grape! I love him beyond words. I love him in all of his raging, misunderstood, stupid, sassy, constipated, abused, tragic, bitter, big hearted glory. I could write novels about him (and I did and am still writing oh boy) and his love for ppl and his inability to show that love and his loneliness and his issues. I could also write another novel for all of his outfits etc. bc damn, what a fashion king. he is just so great. he owns my soul. he deserves happiness and in this essay I will

8. Isana Yashiro

Adolf K. Weismann, K Project

I rewatched k project this spring bc a) it’s one of my favorite animes ever (it just looks stunning with all the colors) and b) I love yashiro to bits. I remember falling in love with him when I first watched k project many years ago bc he was just so kind and bright. this time though, I ended up seeing another side of him and my god did I cry. he is... so sweet. he cares for others so deeply and is ready to sacrifice so much for them and his love for his two clansmen... yeah. I think I finally saw the tragedy of him too, all the pain and loneliness and insecurity he decides to hide behind his smile and obnoxious personality. he reminded me a lot of myself and watching him made my heart bleed in a good way

9. Qi Tiezui

Ba Ye, The Mystic Nine

(wow am going to riot for the lack of all the gifs hhh) yes, we’re continuing with the dmbj universe that sucked me in big time this year. the drama of the mystic nine wasn’t probably that earth shattering for me as it somehow got boring more than once but I did love ba ye to bits. he was just... so nice? I got it that he was somehow this “comedic relief” in the drama with all of his funny scenes and ridiculous mannerisms but I could see the brilliance of him. he is warm and smart and kind of a romantic too and he cares for all of his friends so deeply? it was also sweet how protective of him his two zhangs were (does that run in the family? the tendency to imprint into one smart but disastrous man and keep him safe? maybe) and I really hope I knew more about him bc he seemed to have a lot of knowledge and a lot of impact to ppl’s lives (I yelled when they mentioned him in ultimate note, I miss him ;;)

10. Dorian Pavus

Dragon Age Inquisition

(yes I’ve been replaying DA:I this year, this counts!) another darling boy! my lovely sass master son! I have so much love for him and his story in DA:I. he is my favorite companion (and his romance is my favorite too, probably obvious in the way am currently romancing him for the third time) and he has given me a lot of strength. the way he stands up against his father, how he’s ready to reform his homeland instead of walking away, how he’s so caring for those he sees struggling... it’s very warming and I feel like I’m safe with him. it feels a bit silly to say that but he really is that comfort character I will seek out when I just want to know am doing fine :’) (and I am so excited to see him again in DA4! probably?)

+ 11. Li Cu

Tomb of the Sea

yes I cheated a bit (with my own rules lol) to fit li cu here. I didn’t really expect to like him or tomb of the sea as much as I did once I started it? I’ve seen leo wu elsewhere before this (battle through the heavens, nirvana in fire) and his face always makes me think about a sad puppy so maybe I just grew fond over li cu instantly bc he was... so hurt? the first episode really slaps you in the face with all of it, showing him being abused, wounded, kidnapped, tortured, used and then just very, very scared and broken. he continues being that throughout the whole drama and I feel like tomb of the sea (or sand sea or sha hai idk) is the darkest and angstiest story in the dmbj universe. I know it deserves to be bc this is a dark time for wu xie but... my darling li cu. I wish him only happiness ;; he was so strong and smart and wonderful in this and it was just so amazing to watch him grow and find his own place in the world just bc he did something himself (even when he got dragged into all of this bc of wu xie) also I support the wu xie adopts li cu -agenda

Honorary mentions: 

Zhang Rishan, Xie Yuchen and Hei Xiazi from DMBJ universe. The Twin Jades of Gusu and Ouyang Zizhen from The Untamed. The Iron Bull and Fenris from Dragon Age games. Thane Krios, Kaidan Alenko and Jaal from Mass Effect games. The whole lot of Assassin’s Creed protagonists (especially Ezio Auditore and Shay Cormac). Adam Parrish and Ronan Lynch from The Raven Cycle. Neil Josten from All For The Game. Eduon and March from The Smoke Thieves. Qiling from L.O.R.D. Critical World. Luo Fei from Detective L (played by Bai Yu). 

well, with this I can really see that I have a thing for those who are tragic :’D I have a thing for grumpy, prickly and antisocial guys or those who hide their pain behind a smile. maybe it’s bc I am somehow both, even if I can’t show my anger or be mean to others and even if I feel like my smile never sticks either. I just find kinship in all of the characters who are on this list. and I feel like I aspire to be as strong and as kind and as loving despite all the pain I’ve been put through.  

thank you, this was so much fun! and sorry I made this so long and so complicated ^^’ but well, there are just way too many male characters I love haha

at the end I want to tag @i-am-just-a-kiddo​ @ashenwren​ @kholran​ @tiesanjiao​ @lan-xichens​ @aheartfullofjolllly​ @manhasetardis​ and @lzswy​​ ♥ feel free to do this in your own way or not at all! and thank you if you managed to read through my rambling :’D

[marumafan]

You said misepan 2 is one of ur favorite yuuram short stories, can u give an analysis of it please!

Hello anon!

Ok! But I would really recommend reading it.  I have said this many times, there's something about Takabayashi-sensei style, the way she writes her stories, that I really, really like.

Misepan 2

Title: Misepan, means "Showing panties". So the first part (written 2 years prior and almost completely disconnected of part 2), was about a bet Murata thought for Yuuri. Yuuri said he was unpopular and Murata said he wasn't and bet Yuuri he could get someone to "show him their panties."

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

Summary of part 1: In part 1, some chick was looking for a ring her bf gave her in the river and Yuuri helped her. That and the bet is the entire story.

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Intro: Misepan 2 starts in Shin Makoku. The topic of 'lost item' continues. This time it's Yuuri who has lost something very important. A hand made necklace that Greta gave him.

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

The first part shows Yuuri and Wolfram around the castle. Yuuri tells Wolf he's looking for the necklace because he lost it. They meet Cherie-sama, who is wearing a maid suit and bunny ears and tells Yuuri that she wants Wolf to wear the same to attract customers for her new shop (a bar to find love).

Wolfram says he will refuse because of the bunny ears, because Yuuri hates rabbits (the mascot of Seibu Lions opposite team is an orange rabbit). Cherie mentions Wolfram used to love rabbits as a kid, because cats grabbed the attention of Gwen, and that they need Wolfram's help to cure Yuuri's rabbit-hate. (Yuuri is thinking he doesn't hate rabbits just that mascot from that team).

Yuuri calls Wolfram 'Honey-chan', and Wolfram gets angry and tells him that because he's younger he doesn't have a right to call him that. (Yuuri monologues that 'it hurt him to have Wolf remind him he is younger’)

When Yuuri mentions the lost item made by Greta, Cherie-sama remembers the 'pig soap' that Wolfram made for her. To which Wolfram mentions that it wasn't a pig, it was, of course, Cherie-sama herself. XD Cherie sama goes speechless due to the shock and Yuuri pulls Wolfram by the hand, and trots away from that place; so that he wouldn't see them fight.

Wolfram and Yuuri are alone again, and when Yuuri reveals he needs the necklace because he's going with Greta to the zoo the next day, Wolfram starts unbuttoning his shirt.

Yuuri panics saying he shouldn't be exposing his skin , people could see him ! What if some younger girl saw his bare exposed chest!  Yuuri is making a huge scene as if Wolfram were undressing. He seems jealous that someone might steal a glimpse of his beautiful chest.

At any rate, Wolfram shows him a necklace, just like Yuuri's. So it turns out that Greta made the same necklace for all 3 people in the family, Wolf, Yuuri and herself. Yuuri also notices that the stone used in all 3 are the color of Wolfram's eyes.

Wolfram says he will lend it to Yuuri for the zoo trip.

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

Important scene:

Yuuri holds Wolfram's necklace still around Wolf's neck with both hands, and then pushes it against Wolfram's chest.

And says he can't accept borrowing it.

Wolfram asks why, wouldn't you do the same for me, if I needed something and you had it.

Yuuri says: "Of course I would."

At this moment, Yuuri has both his hands on Wolfram's bare chest. He goes into a monologue about how anyone would get 'blood rushing' to their brain, if they had both hands on their partner's bare chest, feeling how their heartbeat is the same as their own, and were thinking about something serious. He's overwhelmed and needs to take a moment.

Then he says:" when it comes to things that I can give you, I would give you anything, Wolf. But this is different. Because it's a handmade item. I'm sure that the shape of the stone is slightly different."

--------------------------------------------------- Important scene analysis: This scene is huge. Let’s analyze:

Yuuri: 1) Has both hands on Wolfram's bare chest 2) Gets blood rushing to his brain (to be taken literal and/or a symbolism for arousal) 3) feels Wolfram's heartbeat beating at the same rhythm as his own (symbolism for being in sync, one person, in love) 4) is thinking about everything he would "do" 5) says he's thinking about "something serious"

He's overwhelmed. Can't function. He takes a while to calm down and when he does, he tells Wolfram that "When it comes to things he can 'give him' he would give him anything."

Do you remember the 5 last points? Touching Wolf, aroused, in love, thinking about Wolf, and a "serious matter".

The undertone here is that 'anything' is referring to his virginity.

There was a time in novel 2, when he thought he was going to 'lose " his virginity to Wolf. But here, he's very clear when he says, he would 'give' it to him. It's those little things in the stories that brings back a memory of past things that happened and wraps them up with a little bow.

It's such a good scene. And although it has this sexual undertone, I like to see it more for the theme of 'sacrifice'.

He loves Wolf so much there is nothing he wouldn't give to Wolf. His virginity is cool, but what about his life? Is he thinking about that? If he's thinking about everything he would give to him, and this overwhelmed him. Is he thinking about that too?

I mean, who hasn't thought of that? What would you do for a loved one? How far would you go? And here Yuuri says it clearly to Wolfram, he would give him anything.

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

Second part Gwendal is trying to find Yuuri because he found out about the lost item and thinks it can cause an international problem. The rumors have exaggerated what happened. Conrad also shows up, and Wolfram tells Yuuri to escape. Conrad follows him and Wolf stays there to stop Gwendal.

Yuuri sees Wolf as the bravest man alive, then this scene happens:

---------------------- Interesting scene: Wolfram: "Don't worry! It is a husband's job to rub their henachoko wife's ass!"

Yuuri: "Wait isn't it, maybe, "It is a wife's job to wipe her husband's ass" ? Yeah, maybe. No, I mean, I'm sure."

Conrad: "Eh? You're letting him call you henachoko? How generous. Well, then let us rely on Lord von Bielefeld's words"

------------------------ Analysis of this scene: Preamble: Before we get into it-> Because Japan has like a 4000 year old culture, and the 'couples' terms are always 'female' and 'male', we see a lot of 'wife' and 'husband' even between two males. Some may read into it (the top/bottom stereotype from the 90s), and I will analyze it too, but there's also a lot about 'kanjis' having certain associations that don't really fit the gender of same sex partners.

Analysis:

1) Wolfram makes a joke about rubbing Yuuri's ass (and asserts he's the husband and it's his duty)

2) Yuuri says the proverb is incorrect and "Isn't it "it's the wife's duty to wipes her husband ass?" But then he says maybe I don't know, I'm not sure.

3) Conrad is only surprised at the lack of complain of "henachoko", and not all the other married couple/sexual innuendos they've been throwing at each other.

This is the Conrad I love. He's so supportive of Yuuri and Wolf. He could have said something like "Wait, how long have you been married?" and make them both self conscious, but he didn't.  Conrad is great, and I love him and he deserves all the best. I'm a yuuram fan, but I love Conrad. He's an awesome character and a sweety. He's been through so much and I feel sorry for everything he's been put through, simply because the fans forced Takabayashi sensei to bring him back from the dead. (Additional info: Conrad was supposed to die in novel 5 and Takabayashi sensei spent many years trying to kill him after that, but the 'Conrad' fans didn't let her. This has lead to Conrad just 'floating around' in the novels... she was so angry she even made him the enemy for a while)

About the proverb: I couldn't find the actual proverb Wolf and Yuuri are talking about. The internet says two things: 1) it's a wife's duty to cut her husband's ear hair, and 2) it's a wife's duty to take care of her husband's arousal. Now I have no clue whether either of them are old sayings ... I simply couldn't find it.

But here's my interpretation. 1) Wolf says it's his duty to protect Yuuri as the husband 2) Yuuri says isn't that the wife's role? and in the end he's confused about the proverb. I think Takabayashi-sensei is 1, throwing sexual innuendos as usual here, and 2 is bringing ambiguity to the whole top/bottom stereotype. "Is he the top? Am I? I don't know", is what Yuuri says about this.

I think, as mentioned before, sensei addresses the top/bottom topic (because it's actually very uncommon not to bring it up), and says : yeah whatever, who cares.

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

Third part : Yuuri has a scene with Conrad, where he realizes that his necklace was shorter than Wolf’s so that both, the blue maseki and the emerald necklace Greta made, won’t become entangled. Yuuri is moved thinking that Greta even thought about that.

They find the necklace Yuuri lost, and this part ends with:

"Things will always return to the place they should be."

This makes me happy. It makes me think that Yuuri will always be back to Shin Makoku no matter what. I hope that Takabayashi-sensei sticks to her words.

And there’s another clear meaning: Conrad (blue maseki) and Wolf (the emerald necklace) will not entangle and cause problems. Conrad will continue to be the friend, and Wolf will continue to be the spouse, and the ‘necklaces’ won’t disturb one another. Another very important symbolism. Everyone has their place and role, and won’t mix, entangle or bother Yuuri. 

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

Last part:

The end of the story goes back to the main story in Misepan 1. So Yuuri is there with the chick looking for her bf’s ring. An old dude sees them, then the three find a bag full of gold in the river and they appear on TV.

In the end, Yuuri gets shown panties "mise pan" by the old dude. And the story wraps itself with a joke.

In the afterword Takabayashi sensei admits she didn't know how to end the story. This means, for what I can understand, that she just wanted to talk about the royal family necklace and Yuuri and Wolf, while finishing up a story he had to finish for the DVD set.

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

The main reasons why I love this story :

1) There’s a new canon yuuram trope:" the family necklace”. This necklace is the color of Wolfram’s eyes. Greta was the one to chose it, too. She could have chosen ‘black’, the royal color and the color of Yuuri’s hair and eyes (that everyone loves in Shin Makoku), but instead she chose the color of Wolf’s eyes. I feel this is a symbolism Takabayashi sensei threw in there to make sure everyone understands it’s not Yuuri and Greta anymore, Wolfram is 100% part of that family, and it’s his color that binds the family together.

2) Yuuri’s line: “When it comes to things that I can give you I would give you anything Wolf”. As analyzed before, this is the ultimate expression of love, and he has said it clearly to Wolfram out in the open.

3) Yuuri and Wolf as established as a couple as they can be, not only between themselves, but also by others. Out in the open they’re calling each other husband and wife (in front of Dacascos and Conrad), and no one even questions this. Meaning it’s been a long time since people have known them as such.

4) Yuuri calling Wolfram Honey-chan (and Wolfram getting angry due to cultural misunderstandings)

Anyway, it’s a really great story! Please read it!

[frywen-bumbles]

The Way to a Man’s Heart Goes Through His... Cat? Ch3

AO3

As much as Jaskier adores the fact Roach seems to warm up to him, there's one thing he can't stand.

<I think the cat is planning to kill me>

   <why>

Jaskier snaps a picture where all that's visible are glowing eyes in the dark, staring down at him and sends it.

<She keeps staring at me> <And tries to sleep on my face> <And licks my hair!> <She won't let me drive her away> <help>

   <Maybe she secretly likes you>

<Then why won't she let me touch her?> <I have to hide under my blanket so she won't eat my hair>

   <yeah, i'm with Essi, you're on your own>

   <think of it as a free haircut>

<Firstly eww> <Secondly how can you be so cruel> <Have you no mercy for my luscious locks???>

   <absolutely none>

<screaming emoji> <you are horrible friends>

   <good night Jaskier try not to die>

   <good dying>

<when you don't hear about me in the morning you will regret those were your last words to me>

   <your thesis supervisor will drag you back from the grave to finish your thesis>

<don't remind me I'm trying to sleep!!!>

   <sleep tight don't let the type errors bite>

<I hate both of you>

   <kissy face emojis>

   <zzz>

The morning routine is something Jaskier has learned to both love and hate. His alarm rings at 8 like every morning and like possessed Roach jumps on top of him and screams.

"Mmmm yeah, I'm awake, Roach..." Jaskier mumbles and tries to sleep just one more minute. Roach is having none of it. She runs over him, to the door and screams bloody murder and jumps on top of him again.

"Please... Roach... just two... minutes..." Jaskier tries to bury his head under the blankets but Roach walks on top of him and screams again.

"Ugh... you're heavy... Okay, okay, I'm getting up. See Roach, I'm getting up..."

He walks downstairs to feed Roach who keeps screaming and thrilling until her bowl is full and walks back up to brush his teeth.

Roach doesn't take long until she demands to be let in the bathroom, scratching and meowing making her demands known.

"One of these mornings I will get to brush my teeth in peace," Jaskier sighs as Roach curls herself into the sink. This is not one of those mornings.

He checks his phone over morning coffee and is surprised to find a message from Fiona so early.

   <Help me out>

<Sure, swallow. What do you need?>

Fiona sends him a picture of her math assignment.

<What is it you're having trouble with?>

   <I don't understand anything.>    <I asked uncle L but he was no help.>    <I usually ask uncle E but he's not here>    <What do i do?>

Jaskier looks at the math over and starts to explain it in detail. It's somehow endearing how much trust Fiona puts in him and he does not want to ruin it for her. Not that third-grade mathematics is hard, he suspects 'uncle L' just isn't that good at explaining things.

He can't help but venture to reread a different conversation entirely while he waits for Fiona to finish.

A picture of Cat Dad and Fiona. And actual texts after it.

   <how is roach>

<She's very fine! Quite vocal about what she wants but still lovely!>

   <good>    <let her outside>    <she enjoys it>

And on another day:

   <thank you for the pictures>

Then another selfie with Cat Dad and Fiona, this time taken by Cat Dad. He is very bad at taking selfies, but somehow even that is endearing, despite the man looking like he's a member of a biker gang with the beard and all of the black leather. When he got the first picture, he hadn't even noticed. He had been too distracted by... other things. Jaskier really shouldn't feel this giddy just looking at a picture. Just rereading the texts. But he can't help himself.

   <i like seeing roach happy>

The man is clearly crazy about his cat. And what's hotter than a person who loves their pets to the moon and back. Nothing, if you ask Jaskier.

<I'm glad you like the pictures! Like I told you, I'll send one or two every day!>

   <tell me before you run out of cat food>    <i know a person at a pet store>    <dont feed her too many treats>

<I won't, I promise>

What Jaskier doesn't tell is feeding the cat cheese every single day to get her brushed. Little treats never hurt anyone.

Fiona sends him a picture of finished assignments.

<Very good! You did it on your own, I'm very proud of you!>

   <Thank you, MrJ!!>

Jaskier thinks he will melt. While being a tutor wasn't in his job description he doesn't really mind. To him, it's evident what Fiona wants most of all is company and support and he's happy to provide. The family she's staying with is trying their best, Jaskier is sure of it. But from what Jaskier gathers through Fiona's texts, they don't seem to have enough time to look through her school work as much as she wishes they would.

How can two people he's never even met manage to occupy most of he's thoughts?

***

Jaskier has barely put the first forkful of instant ramen in his mouth when he hears the door open.

"Geralt, it's me!"

Jaskier scrambles to meet whoever just walked through the locked door using their own key, what the fuck.

"H-hello...?" he manages to greet through a mouth full of food before he even sees who it is.

Jaskier is not one to be intimidated nor is he one to be at loss for words.

Somehow, the woman in front of him manages to do both. She's gorgeous, her raven hair falling in curls over her shoulders, violet eyes staring straight at him like he's a piece of cheap meat and suddenly Jaskier is keenly aware of wearing nothing but pants and an undershirt, his hair a ruffled mess, hands covered in ink, pencil and pen marks.

"You're one of those... trainees. Melitele forbid, what sort of trash does Geralt drag in here, why aren't you with the old wolf?"

Jaskier opens his mouth to answer but is immediately interrupted.

"No, don't answer that. Where is Geralt, I need to talk to him."

"I... um..." Jaskier gets the feeling this is a person who gets what she wants. She quirks an eyebrow at him expecting an answer and when none come she sighs, a dramatic gesture Jaskier is not sure he could perform better even if he tried.

"Where. Is. Geralt?" she asks like he's an idiot and Jaskier things at this moment he really is.

"He, um... is not here?" Jaskier tries his best. He does. But something about the woman, no matter how beautiful she is, radiates power, like she could crush him without even blinking an eye.

The woman eyes him, up and down and glances behind him to the kitchen. And smiles. It's a small amused quirk of her lips, one that makes Jaskier spin around immediately only to spot Roach sitting on top of his papers, meticulously dropping every single pen to the floor.

"Roach, no!"

Roach meows and jumps down from the table with a mrrrp. She trots to the woman and rubs herself against her legs before she jumps up to her scratching post to stare at them.

Jaskier kneels to collect his pens, muttering curses under his breath.

"You know Roach."

"Um, yeah?" Jaskier mutters as he crawls deeper under the table to reach the pens.

"Soooo, witchers, huh? Interesting topic of research."

Jaskier hits his head on the table.

"Yeah... yeah I. I know it's not the most conventional one but I do find it quite fascinating especially when you look at all of the historical songs..." Jaskier crawls from underneath the table and is met with the woman standing next to him and suddenly he's keenly aware of being in his underwear on his knees on the floor in front of one of the most beautiful women he's ever seen.

He blushes.

He's sure he's never blushed as much as he is right at this moment and he honestly wishes the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

"You're not one of the trainees," the woman says eyeing him, amusement still lingering on her lips.

"No, I'm not," Jaskier admits and tries to get to his feet in a somewhat dignified way. He fails and all of his pens scatter to the floor again. "Fuck..."

"And who are you then?"

"I'm the cat-sitter. Julian." Jaskier gives himself a mental slap. He is an adult person why does he introduce himself like a toddler? "Can I please go put my trousers on?" he pleads. Maybe clothed he'll have a chance to be on equal grounds with the woman.

"Sure."

A few minutes later he comes back down, fully clothed this time, to find the woman sitting by the table and reading his scribbles.

"Um, hello?" Jaskier greets the woman again. She looks up but does nothing to stand up to greet him in return. "Julian Pancratz, the cat-sitter." Jaskier extends his hand to her and she takes it.

"I'm Yen. Geralt is my-... we're... friends. Now, where has that grumpy bastard gone?" The woman - Yen answers and looks at him expecting an answer immediately.

"I honestly don't know, he only told me it's work-related. I've never even met him. I was recommended by a friend of his who is also a client of mine. He occasionally answers the texts I send him, maybe you could try to reach him by phone?"

"He answers your texts? What did you do, enchant him?" Yen sounds honestly baffled and it makes Jaskier feel bad. She obviously has some sort of history with the Cat Dad so the least he could do is answer her.

"He only answers every now and then. I don't think it was even his idea to reply."

Yen smiles, a true smile this time, not just an amused quirk of lips, "You're probably right." She picks up one of the papers again and taps it, "Ever met a real witcher?"

"No, I haven't. I've just always found the stories interesting... I have plans for real research for my doctoral thesis as soon as I manage to finish my master's degree, I just need to get around to figuring out... well pretty much everything outside of the basic structure. I already know all of the material by heart, it's just... just look at this, how can someone write something so vile about people who work to keep us safe from monsters? And this here..." Jaskier rummages through the piles of papers and pushes the ones he meant on Yen's hands, not waiting for her to answer. "And look, I even came up with this account of someone killing a witcher after he had finished a job for them, just the audacity of it all!" He glances up at Yen, suddenly keenly aware he is probably either boring her or making her uncomfortable with all of this talk about monsters and monster hunters. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't bore you with this..." He reaches to take the papers from Yen's hands but she holds them out of his reach.

"No, you're not boring me at all. Please, tell me more about your current paper?"

Yen proves to be a far better company than Jaskier first thought. At the end of their discussion and a few cups of tea later, Yen turns the conversation back to him.

"Why do you live here? Wouldn't it be easier to write in your own place?"

"Oh, you know, roommates..." Jaskier mumbles, avoiding Yen's eyes. No way in hell is he going to tell a complete stranger he sleeps in his friends' sofas and in the musicology society's guild room at the uni when he can't find anyone to room him between jobs. His parents already think him a failure, no need to add a complete stranger to the mix.

"Hmm," Yen agrees and stands up. "I feel I have held you long enough. Good luck with your thesis. Here is my number, call me if you get into any trouble while you're staying here." Yen scribbles a phone number on the edge of one paper with a bright red pen she picks up from the floor.

"Um... what trouble?" Jaskier asks, suddenly wary. "I have only told one person the address like was the deal? I haven't told them anything else, I'm not in danger, right? This isn't some mob bosses hideout or something? I'm in trouble, aren't I? Melitele's tits, Essi will kill me..."

"Calm down, no trouble. Just... if anything comes up, like bills or something and you can't reach Geralt. He can be unreachable for days." Yen smiles at him, an uneasy smile, not quite reaching her eyes.

"Oh, okay, yeah, that's. That's good..." Jaskier feels so stupid. Not only has he managed to be half-naked while Yen walked in, but now he has also made a complete ass out of himself.

"Take care of Roach," Yen says as a goodbye and walks out of the door. Jaskier rushes to say goodbye but when he reaches the door, she's already gone.

Come night Jaskier is surprised how much he has managed to work on his thesis. Talking about it with someone made writing so much easier, even when most of the talk was him ranting about the unfair treatment of witchers which will never end up in the final paper.

He grabs something to eat before bed and spots Roach. She sits facing the front door, waiting for someone to walk through it.

It breaks Jaskier's heart.

Roach has done it every night, giving up only after Jaskier has gone to bed to crawl on the other side of the bed to stare at him.

Jaskier snaps a picture of Roach and sends it despite the late hour.

<Roach misses you>

Jaskier doesn't expect an answer.

   <tell her im sorry and i love her>

That. That is too cute. Jaskier can't handle it, he just can't.

"Roach, your owner is a big old sap and he wanted me to tell you he's sorry and he loves you, okay?" Jaskier tells her from a respectable distance away. Roach looks at him and meows pitifully.

"I know, girl. I'm sure he misses you as much as you miss him. Come on now, I'm going to bed, you can come and stare at me until I fall asleep."

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Riverdale 5x05 Review

Well I’m still reeling this is the third episode in row of Riverdale that I’ve enjoyed it seems to me like its got some of the its magic from season 1 back. I’m really enjoying seeing them as adults so far and most of the storylines are interesting to me. So lots to talk about, as always these are my own opinions and there are spoilers obviously. 

Jughead

Ok so first lets talk about Jughead and what he is up to this episode. The first scene we really get with him is when he is talking to Betty. We learn that part of the reason Betty never got in touch with Jughead was because on the night of his book launch Jughead left Betty a voicemail that made her think that he wouldn’t want to hear from her again. I am really curious to know what was said on that voicemail. Jughead does apologise for making it sound that way and that it wasn’t his intention which only makes me all the more curious. If he didn’t mean it the way Betty interpreted then what did he mean? I feel like it was probably a case of Jughead drunk dialling his ex and maybe be more honest than he normally would have been. I mean we know he wrote about thier relationship in his book so on the night of the launch his mind was likely on their relationship and how it ended and the betrayal he felt which then likely led to him calling Betty and leaving the voicemail. We’ll most likely learn more about the voicemail in a flashback but until then we can only speculate what it was about.  

So this may be an unpopular opinion but I’m actually happy that Toni, Sweetpea and Fangs called Jughead out on using them in his novel without asking them first. I said way back in my review for episode 19 that Jughead has this habit of using his friends stories and trauma’s to write his stories but he doesn’t ever seem to ask their permission or check if they would be ok with it. We see him do it when he writes about Jason and then when he writes about Betty’s dad and then again when he writes about Reggie’s abuse in episode 19. I think its about time somebody called him out on it and I hope that he learns from this. I think is starting to understand that its not ok because whilst he sent the chapters about Pop to the publishers he was clearly reluctant to actually write a novel about him, we can also see him look over to Tabitha at that moment which makes me think he knows she’ll be upset if he uses Pop Tate for the basis of his next novel. 

There are two things that Jughead is struggling with in this episode one is that he still has writers block and the second is that he still has a huge amount of debt and collectors looking for him. He is staying in the bunker which I think is really sad because it was obvious that he felt embarrassed to tell his friends that he is in trouble and struggling, Archie thinks he’s staying at the Five Seasons. He’s come back to town and all his friends believe he’s this successful world famous writer as Archie puts it and so Jughead is probably feeling really insecure about telling them that he actually has writers block and debts. Then Archie asks him if he will write a speech for Pop Tate’s retirement. Can I just say how much I love Pop Tate. That scene where Jughead hides from the debt collectors and Pop instead of judging him actually asks how much it is he owes because he wants to help. Like the guy was literally prepared to give up his retirement pay to help Jughead out the man is a pure angel. I am also really glad that Jughead said no and pointed out that he wasn’t low enough to take Pop’s retirement pay. I do think this is what changes Tabitha’s mind about hiring Jughead as she seemed cold towards him to start with. I will say I am really liking what we’ve seen of Tabitha so far she seems like the kind of woman who won’t take crap from no one and can stand up fro herself but I feel like underneath that she’s got a good heart too. I think two of the lines that really sold me on her character were when she was talking to the debt collectors and she says she’d ‘remember a weird ass name like that’ in regards to Jughead but even better than that when the guy called her sweetie and she called him pumpkin in reply. Judging by next weeks promo and the fact that Jughead is now going to be working at Pop’s it does look like Jughead and Tabitha are going to be getting alot of scenes together and so far I’m liking their dynamic so I’m looking forward to seeing more of them together. 

One of my favourite moments in this episode was Jughead’s speech at Pop’s retirement party. I will confess to tearing up and I loved that analogy of Pop’s being like a lighthouse in the dark for them. The idea that whenever things got really dark in Riverdale they always had a safe place to go. I also loved when Jughead was clearly emotinal talkng about how Pop was about the only reason he made it through. I also love that it was Pop that broke through Jughead’s writers block and got him writing again. It’s like Archie says Jughead does his best writing in a booth at Pop’s. Hopefully his journey this season will be him rediscovering what made him a writer in the first place and him finding himself again because I really do think he’s very lost right now.  

Veronica

Honestly I’m not really loving Veronica’s storyline so far. I said in my last review that I surprisingly didn’t hate Chad and that to me he just seemed like an overly concerned husband but that I suspected that they were going to make me hate him. Well I was right I am not a fan of Chad. I mean freezing their joint accounts and having her followed all because she’s in a different town from you is going way too far. Also I’m not sure exactly what Veronica’s plan was she sold some things to get cash and a gun and was planning to buy a car and go to LA for a job as a sports agent and to be honest I have so many questions. Firstly why on earth does Veronica suddenly want to become a sports agent? I mean last week she was talking about wanting to be the She Wolf of Wallstreet again, this week she wants to go to LA and become a sports agent. Also this happened before she found out that Chad had frozen the accounts and was having her followed so I’m just confused had she already decided that she wanted to leave him before he did those things? I mean she does lie to him and say she was online shopping as oppose to trying to buy a plane ticket to LA. Also right before that scene she was talking to Hiram about her and Chad buying a weekend home in Riverdale so was that just a cover for why she wanted back in on the family business? 

Speaking of Hiram we learn that Veronica never told him that she was marrying Chad which Hiram is upset about but you know her last boyfriend he tried to murder on several occassions so its really not that surprising that Veronica didn’t tell him. Later Veronica does go back to him for help at Reggie’s advice hoping that he would, I don’t know, scare Chadwick into not being as obsessive. Look I get it Chad is a obsessive and controlling husband and Veronica is a strong independant woman who doesn’t want to be tied down. But to be honest I just don’t think Veronica is handling it the best way. Neither is Chad. You’ve got him having her followed and freezing the accounts but then you’ve got her trying to buy plane tickets behind his back and going to her daddy instead of talking to him herself. I just don’t think her storyline is being as well written as it should be. Also once again it revolves around the men in her life. I don’t know maybe its just me but so far I’ve found her storyline irritating at times and confusing at other times. Judging by her conversation with Archie I do feel like she feels trapped at the moment but instead of talking to her husband about it she’s trying to run away. Peronally I think if she’s not happy with Chad then she needs to divorce him. Or if she wants to make it work with him for whatever reason then she needs to start communicating with him and he needs to start listening to her. I just think overall I’m not really here for where it looks like this storyline is going. It reminds me way too much of Hermione and Hiram’s relationship which I am guessing is the point but that relationship I really hated so I was hoping not to have to watch Veronica go through the same thing. 

To be perfectly honest if I could choose who Veronica would ultimately end up with it would’ve been Reggie. I thought those two worked really well together as a couple. He supported her in her career and deeply cared about her but the problem in that relationship is that I felt like it was too one sided and there were times when I felt like Veronica didn’t treat him well, I think she was still too hung up on Archie to really commit to Reggie. However as adults they might have stood a better chance. They do get a scene in this episode where she goes to him to buy a car and he asks if she is running away from her husband before telling her to ask her dad for help. It did seem like Reggie cares about Veronica. But then he is working for her father which I am really curious to know how he ended up in that situation. I do wonder if they’ll give him a redemption arc this season or whether they are going to make him full villian.      

Ultimately I am glad that at the end of the episode Veronica did kind of lay down the law with Chad and call him out on his behaviour and let him know that she’s not going to put up with it. I do wonder where their marriage is going to go from here. We know he shows up in Riverdale next episode from the synopsis. To be honest the idea of both Chad and Hiram in the same town fills me with dread and I do feel like Hiram is going to manipulate Chad into going down an even darker path. 

Barchie 

Now onto my favourite part of the episode I loved all the scenes we got of Barchie. Obviously for a barchie shipper that shower scene was amzing and jaw dropping but on top of that there were so many other little moments and details that I just loved. I felt like they had alot of throwbacks to previous moments in their relationship. Like that scene when they are at the window spying on the ghoulies and Betty admits that her and kevin used to sneak peeks hoping Archie would be shirtless. It took me right back to that scene in the pilot episode. Also maybe it was jsut me but that scene seemed really flirty to me. But also you can see how well Betty knows Archie and how much she cares. She knows it must be hard for him seeing the home that he grew up and where all his memories of his father are being trashed by the ghoulies. I also love that she offered her help it really reminds us of how they will always have each others backs.

I think this continues with Archie showing concern over Betty’s situation with Polly. I think the thing I love most about those little scenes where they clearly care about each other problems is that its not about their romantic relationship in those moments its about that deep friendship they have with each other showing how strong their bond is. I think having that deep friendship as a foundation will make any romantic relationship they might choose to persue later even stronger. Another little scene that was really cute was when they were texting each other and again Archie was asking after Polly clearly showing that he cares about Betty’s problems. I also loved that she was the first to agree to his plan for them all to become teachers. Also that scene during the raid where they bump into each other and they both check the other is ok and Archie puts a hand on her back.   

So lets talk about that shower scene. I know some people feel like it came out of nowhere and it was really random. I kind of get where they are coming from but to be honest me personally I didn’t think it cam eout of nowhere at all. Firstly there was four seasons of build up to this moment. Also there were moments throughout the episode that were ramantically and sexually charged they were just subtle. For example like I said above that scene where Betty is talking about wanting to see him shirtless it had a very flirty feel to it. Also after Archie tells Betty about seeing Polly with the Ghoulies and Betty says when do we kick their asses Archie was definitely turned on by her in that moment judging by the look that comes across his face. Then there is the scene right before. Their conversation starts out innocent enough they both need a shower but I think that then leads them to both imagining the other in the shower. The thing I loved was that you can see them both decide together that its what they want to do. The way they looked at each other right before really reminded me of the way they looked at each other right before their kiss during Hedwig. But the thing I loved the most was after the shower scene because THEY ACTUALLY TALKED!!! Like they had an open honest conversation about what had happened between them and about how they had wanted to do it since high school. When Betty said that I again flashed bakc to one of their previous scenes which is when they were in the bunker and Betty says its not like they could do more than this. I said in my review for that episode that the line was really significant becaus eit showed that Betty wanted to do more. This confirms that. I also feel like its confirmation that a large part of the reason why they didn’t take it further then wasn’t becaus ethey didn’t have feelings for each other but because they didn’t want to hurt Jughead and Veronica. After the shower scene not only do they talk about what had just happend but they also have a conversation about where they are going to go from there and they make a FWB agreement. I also think it is significant that Betty points out that Veronica is married and that her and Jughead have been over for a long time. I think Barchie have found themselves in a new situation for them where they’ve reunited after seven years to discover that those feelings they had before are still there but for the first time there is nothing standing in there way there’s no significant others to hurt for once they can give in to those feelings and boy do they. 

Another thing that I think is significant in that talk was that Betty says they are both single adults. I made a post before the episode addressing how people were saying Betty was cheating on Glen and that I pointed out that we haven’t actually been told the nature of their relationship but that I got the sense that it was a casual thing maybe a FWB thing or even not that far maybe they had just been out on a couple of dates. To me her saying that she is single is confirming that her relationship with Glen isn’t something that is exclusive. Of course she could be lying to Archie but I doubt it. I do think Glen is going to be used as a plot device to drive Barchie together. I think he is going to show up in Riverdale at some point and that’s going to cause some jealousy for Archie which will lead to them having another conversation about what they are to each other. I mean at the moment it looks like they are going to be sneaking around and jumping each others bones every chance they get but we all know how the FWB thing usaully goes and I think as time goes on they will relaise that they do want something more with each other.

Archie and the ghoulies 

So Archie’s main goal this episode was getting his home back. He says to betty that he’s going to win back the town building by building if he has too and he is starting with his house. But they can’t just go barging in there they need a plan first. Archie gets help from Tom Keller who we find out is now having to run the sheriff office by himself but that reggie is head of a private security force owned by Hiram. Tom tells Archie that if he tells Reggie anything then he’ll tip the Ghoulies off but Archie decides to use this to his advantage and lets reggie tip them off so that he can get a lay of the situation. One thing I did notice is that when Archie says its almost like they’ve been tipped off Reggie looked I’m not kind of sad or guilty. I mean I could be projecting but I feel like he’s not 100% ok with working with Hiram. Again I am really curious to know how that came about. But I thought those scenes were actually kind of sad because he and Archie were friends and so its not fun to see them on different sides. After getting an idea of what they are dealing with Archie, Betty, Kevin, Sweet Pea, Fangs and Tom all raid the house. I loved this scene it was so good very action movie feels to it and they are successful at getting Archie’s house back. 

The other concern Archie has is keeping the school open so he comes up with the plan for them to all become teachers. To be honest when I first saw that spoiler way back when I was really worried about how they would write them all becoming teachers in a way that would make sense. But I actually think this works and I am surprisingly invested in the plotline of saving Riverdale. I think I just really want to see Hiram lose. Also as a sidenote poor Kevin having to teach like five classes. 

Toni

I am loving all the scenes with Toni she really is an absolute queen. I think my favourite moment for her this episode was the speech she made at the meeting. I also loved when she was introducing the core four as the new teachers and shes telling them all their credentials and they each stand up in turn, it was very riverdale. Also the scene between her and cheryl was sad but kind of sweet too. I mean Cheryl always looks like shes on the verge of breaking down into tears she is very clearly really struggling right now. When Toni said if our love meant anything at all to you it really pulled at my heart strings especially as Cheryl does end up giving the money to help keep the school open as a private school. I also love that she seems to head most of the meetings they have and she seems to very much have stepped into a leadership type role. I also love that she doesn’t take any of Hiram’s BS and I loved her line that if he wanted to mess with the serpent queen he was going to get bit. I also liked how she using her serpents to get into Hiram’s office and find out about his plans to dissolve Riverdale. I enjoyed everryone of Toni’s scenes and I can’t wait to see even more of her. 

Betty and Polly

Polly is back and so are the twins who we get a quick glimpse of. It seems like things have been strained between Polly and Betty this whole time and they have a conversation and try to clear the air a bit but Betty begins to get very suspicious of what going on with Polly which leads to even more tension. It seems like Polly may or may not be dealing and she almost certainly is working the night to put it politely. Both Polly and Alice point out to Betty that she can’t just come bakc after seven years away and start judging them for the things they are doing to survive. It does seem like everyone left in Riverdale is really struggling and having to do things that they don’t really want to but they have to to  survive. I think Betty is slowly starting to understand that the Riverdale she came back to is not the same as the one she left behind. It isn’t looking good for Polly right now as the last we saw of her she was running away looking terrified from the same truck that squeaky got into last episode. I also think its going to take them a hot beat to realise that she is in trouble because of Alice’s statement about her going off the grid in the past before eventually showing up again. 

Ok I am going to leave it there for now as I am really tired and need to get some sleep. Overall I really enjoyed this episode and once again I am looking forward to the next.          

[bardsingingasong]

My words are my weapon, but my lute also can be useful

Well, this is my second work in English. I feel more comfortable writing in this language now. But have in mind that isn't my first language and probably the work has many mistakes.

In any case, I hope you'll enjoy this! 

Read on AO3

My words are my weapon, but my lute also can be useful. 

He really wasn't planned to go to Blaviken.

Jaskier was walking in the paths when he saw a sign on the way that pointed to Blaviken. His mind reminded automatically all the stories that he listened when he was a child. All in his house knew the story of the butcher of Blaviken. Jaskier grew up listening theses stories and now he knows that wasn't true. Yeah, of course, Geralt killed many bandits and Renfri but it wasn't for all the people said. The Bard knows what his Witcher isn't a butcher. For one reason or another, he was forced to do what he did.

When he was a child, Jaskier loved this story. Now he hated. He knows Geralt, he knows the Witcher never kill an innocent one. All these stories make Jaskier feels sick. They aren't true, and he wasn't letting these idiots of Blaviken to blemish his Witcher's name! If he can avoid it.

And now he was here.

Blaviken wasn't what he expects. The streets are dirtier like any other village, but not than dirtier like others. Jaskier thought the habitants of Blaviken was more distasteful, but for his surprise that wasn't true. Maybe he only wants an excuse to hate the people of Blaviken for humiliating Geralt.

Jaskier knows both versions of the story. He knows how blavikens was afraid of the Witcher but he also knows how these persons trowed rocks to his Witcher. For Jaskier, this sample of disregard is not justified. And he pretends to change it.

He'll sing all his repertory about how wonderful, brave and incredible is Geralt of Rivia.

Walking on Blaviken's streets, Jaskier discovered how people don't forget the story. He started to search for an inn where sleep during his stay. In the first inn, the innkeeper would hire a simple room for a few coins less than he expected.

The the innkeeper was fat. His face was red and he was lost some teeth. A little hair layer covers his head. Maybe, in the past, he had great hair, but now the last of his hair was gone. The man was too happy with the idea of a famous bard playing in his inn. To his joyfully try to convince Jaskier to play exclusively in his inn, he made a mistake.

"You're the best bard of the Continent," He said "But it's better if you try do not sing about the white wolf. Blaviken hasn't forgotten his butchery".

Jaskier doesn't need much time to change his accommodation and swear to himself that he never play in this inn.

His search was pretty well after that, but he only chose one of the inns owners were frank with his and she doesn0t mind if he sang about Geralt.

The first day was an exploration. The bard wanted to know the best places to play his songs, he even asked the villagers for information. Lucky for him, his name was quite famous at this point and he would play in every inn easier.

The second day was more productive. He starts to play few songs in a local tavern, only for extending the rumour of his in the village. While he was playing, he has free drinks, food and other type of attention. The villagers were delighted to hear him and they try to gladding him to play the song what they want. The women and men come and back once and once for try to capture his attention.

In fact, was a good day, principally for his bag. The number of coins in his bag was double when he finished for the day. More money ever was bad news. This will count as a win for the bard. Jaskier enjoyed the night. He sang, ate and drank what he wants even he had some fun with a particular hot man who insisted on bought one or two drinks for him.

After this Jaskier has gone to bed drunk, full and satisfied. With this situation, the third day he started to play in the streets and the only sang about Geralt, winning one or two bad looks of the villagers.

He really didn't care what villagers think about the songs, he only wants to sing about Geralt, he wants to rub the fact of how powerful and good the Witcher was. If Blavikens had a bad experience with him, Jaskier wants to make clear that was their fault, not Geralt's fault. At this point, the bard even doesn't care if he'll need to run out of the village. He'll happily run for his life if he made Blaviken feel regretted by how they treated Geralt.

At the beginning, people looked at him with curiosity. This feeling changed quickly to disregard and then to the disgust. Many of Blaviken's villagers talked to each other in front of him, mumbling how strange was a famous bard sang in favour of the white wolf. They thought Jaskier can't hear them under his self voice. But the bard had heard every word. Jaskier doesn't do anything, he needed to continue his performance. The mumblings don't distract him, he had an objective and nobody would stop him to comply it.

During his trip to Blaviken, the bard composed a new song. The title was The real history of the butcher of Blaviken, and he planned to sing this song for the first time in the village. The ballad had one or two bad words about the villagers, but they aren't pretty obvious. On the other hand, the words that he said about Stregobor was another question.

He knows Geralt's version of the story and There's nothing to make he thinks that Geralt could have lied to him. His trust in the Witcher more than any other person in the world. His songs were only a little compensation for everything Geralt gave to him. Jaskier would be happy if he can pass the rest of his life with the wolf travelling together. There isn't anything that Jaskier didn't give him yet.

The bard was a man in love with the white wolf and everyone knows how the downgrade was a man in love.

The mumblings were changed to screams fulled of hate. But no one of his listeners tried to stop him. Maybe they were too afraid of how bad publicity the bard can make about Blaviken, or maybe they're too afraid of the possibility of the Witcher comes to avenge his bard. Jaskier laughed inner, he was born in a noble family, he knew how to play with the farmers and ordinary people.

He was playing around the village for a few hours when a man approached him. He was an old man who stopped in front of him, the man heard his song to the end and when Jaskier finished singing, he started to applaud.

The man clothes were black and luxurious. He doesn't be another villager more, he would be important, maybe he was a noble or one's mentor. Jaskier doesn't know, but he felt like when he was a child and his tutors scolded him. His eyes are blue like crystal. Jaskier doesn't be a big fan of his eyes, they made him uncomfortable.

"Your voice was one of the best I hear in years young man," he said. Jaskier was sure he doesn't look so young at this point, but he only smiled back. "I'm curious about which led you to make this song in particular. It's not common for nobody thinks about the butcher of Blaviken like this".

"Someone made me aware of the truth under the legend" He answered. Jaskier had been in very hostile situations and he knew how to handle them. If he answered mysteriously to the old man probably he'll go after one or two sentences. After all, the bards had the right to keep their secrets about the fonts.

The man looked Jaskier from top to bottom. He knew the old man was studying him, looking at something that Jaskier doesn't know what is. After a while moments of silence, the situation was starting to be much for him. Jaskier wanted to run away from the man, far away from his look. He was just about to leave when the man started to talk again.

"This wasn't what happens" His words made Jaskier scroll. "Geralt of Rivia isn't a hero or something like this, he's a Witcher, a murder. Whoever who put this idea in your mind, maybe just played with you young man".

"And what do you know that, sir?" Jaskier needed all of their strength to not scream. He wouldn't let the man insult Geralt in front of him. "The legends usually are half true half false. What does the original version true? " He replied. This old man might have seen something in the scene, but, according to Geralt, all the villagers cannot see the complete scene. Maybe he was one of the persons who threw stones to Geralt for a mistake. Jaskier didn't know and he doesn't care.

"Because I tried to Geralt made the right decision" Their words were like a wall where Jaskier crashed. His mouth opened a little and all his face showed the surprise that he felt. The killing of Blaviken took place twenty-five years ago, it wasn't strange someone of the villagers was lived yet.

"You're Stregobor" he mumbled almost sure about his conclusion.

"Yes, I'm".

The silence set up between them during a while. It can't be true. Jaskier thought Stregobor left Blaviken after Renfri's death. The stories he listened never mentioned that he only assume that. If he had known this fact probably he was to be more careful about how sang in favour of Geralt.

On the other hand, Stregobor was who instigated the villagers against Geralt. If Jaskier wants to teach them a lesson, Stregobor must participate. The bard pretended to be in shock, he put the belt of his lute out of his shoulder. He set aside the lute, holding the instrument for the pole.

For a time Jaskier was without words. He didn't know what say even many things pass for his head. Stregobor seemed to notice it and started to talk after the bard can say anything.

"I know how you're a bard," Stregobor said. "You travel with the Witcher, followed him in the paths. You chose to share the life of an outcast". All of their words made Jaskier feel sick. How this son of a mare can talk about Geralt like this? "Why a pretty boy of a good family like you would follow someone like Geralt of Ribia?" Stregobor continues. Jaskier started to shake. Every word the mage said feel like a pouch in his stomach.

"What that monster can let a viscount stay at his side? Witchers have only made problems".

"You don't know Geralt" Jaskier's voice was trembling with rage. He never felt so angry with anyone more than Stregobor at this moment. None of one was bothered to know Geralt, anyone wanted to spend his time to break his walls and watch the truth of how Geralt was. But Jaskier does. He knows how Geralt was when he was angry when he was scared. And he knows how protector and affection the Witcher can be while he loves someone. "You have no right to talk about him like that".

Anyone would notice the tense atmosphere between them. Most of the villagers passed for their side carelessly. During minutes none of they said nothing. Jaskier was angry, more than that, he wanted to hit Stregobor in his face, he wants to cry too because this isn't just. It's not just Geralt and the other witchers must be forced to live like this, with everyone's hate focus on them.

"So, it's love. You love him". Stregobor said after a while. A smile spends of his face. He was mocking Jaskier. "Poor Julian, how much time will take the Witcher before he throws you out of his way? He'll do. Never trust in a Witcher young man less of Geralt of Rivia, the butcher of Blaviken"

Jaskier didn't know of where his force came from but he grabbed with strength the pole of his lute and hit Stregobor in the face.

The villagers stopped their way to look at the two men. Jaskier was breathing fast. The adrenaline was running on his body, he hasn't thought about nothing more to shut up Stregobor. The bard only met one sorceress before Stregobor, but Yennefer never does this even she was scared. If Jaskier had to choose he prefers Yennefer.

"If you'll insult Geralt or any other witcher in my presence, I'll chase and kill you.". Jaskier said. His voice was hard, trying to copy his father. "Maybe I'm a bard now, but I'm still being a noble, one with a powerful friend".

The bard picked up his bag with an elegant move and he started walking. While he would walk away from Stregobor, he saved his lute in the bag. He thought he would need to run away soon or later and he preferred that the lute was safe.

No-one stopped him when he left Blaviken. Months later, some stories arrived at Jaskier's ears. Stories what spoke about one bard bewitched by a Witcher and a sorcerer who tried to free the bard, but he can't. Jaskier wanted to back at Blaviken and burn the entire village.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Far away of Blaviken, a Witcher was trying to drink alone in a corner while his friend was playing around the inn.

While he drank a woman approached the table and sit in front of his. Geralt of Rivia founded Yennefer of Vengerberg watching him closely.

"I have news," She said. "About your boyfriend".

"What boyfriend?" Geralt mumble. "Talk clear Yennefer".

"I talk about Jaskier"

"He's not my boyfriend" The Witcher grumbled quickly. Maybe the relationship between him and the bard was close, but they didn't talk about what they are. Geralt doesn't want to put a name before talked with Jaskier about that.

"Sure?" Yennefer seemed fun and this has never been a good thing. "He'll be after you know how he hit Stregobor with his lute after the old insulted you".

Geralt spit out the beer of his mouth after that. While Yennefer left the Witcher put his head in his hand, full of shame and fun. That's what stupid, but he was his stupid and Geralt loves him.

[paintedrecs]

@mad-madam-m​ tagged me in the “list 5 OTPs from 5 fandoms” meme a couple days ago, which I laughed at her for because (a) she knows my otps FULL WELL (b) our lists are very nearly an exact match (which i am by the way delighted about because half my list right now is full of rare pairs, and I have never before known the hell of treading that landscape alone)

but!

I’m gonna do the meme and double it up as an announcement of what I am currently into and what you’re likely to see on this blog if I start picking up my activity levels a little.

I honestly have no idea how active tumblr is at this point - how many of you are still around, and how many of you I might lose if I start reblogging my other fandoms in addition to Sterek - but after doing a Pillowfort experiment for a while, I think I’ve finally figured out how to use social media again in a way that works better for me.

My old method, before tumblr kinda imploded and fandom got weird (filled with antis and ship hate and constant infighting, ugh why), was to create a separate blog for everything I was into, which is why I have appreciatederek, appreciateshiro, appreciatejack, and...is that it? See, this is why I need to stop scattering myself into a zillion different pieces.

So I’m going to consolidate more (like I do on twitter and now Pillowfort), and also hopefully get back to my fandom roots: digging into more meta, like I did 8 years ago when I first fell in love with Sterek, and posting fic recs, like I also did thanks to Sterek. (And sharing my own fics as I write them. Guess which fandom pushed me down that path, too.)

So it’s fitting that the first ship on this list is...well, an obvious one.

1. STEREK (Teen Wolf)

Y’all know this one. Sterek will always, always be the OTP of my heart. I love their dynamic. I love the creativity and passion of the fandom. I love that they brought my writing back to me and introduced me to so many of you.

I still have dozens of Sterek fic ideas; quite a few of them are partially written or have significant outlines, so at some point I will still be writing them. Life is just, as you know, very busy and very tiring and it’s so hard to fit everything into my days. I’m working on it, I promise. 

I’d like to start doing more updates with snippets of my upcoming fics, maybe a lil Q&A if anyone wants to chat about what I’m working on/my thought process behind what I’ve already written/what you’d like to see from me, etc. Interactive fun stuff! Sterek fandom is still the best and most supportive fandom I’ve ever been a part of, and it makes me happy every time I’m reminded we’re all still around and thriving.

And here’s some of the other stuff I’m into right now...

2. XANATOWEN (Gargoyles)

I have been sailing this ship entirely by myself since January, recently joined by the aforementioned M, who also created this gif for me while she was still in the patient “I’m your friend, I will listen to you yelling about this show” stage. (ha ha ha look at her now, that’s what you get)

I’ve been genuinely holding myself back from spamming tumblr with my thoughts about this show and this ship, which I’m beginning to realize is...maybe silly. I’ll still try to keep it a little bit balanced, but you can definitely look forward to more Gargoyles on the horizon, including:

Fics - 30k so far, with another 4.6k that I’m hoping to post this afternoon, after I look over it and decide if I still like it (ha ha fic writing amirite). I also have a fairy tale AU that I’ve done a substantial outline for, so I’d really like to get that underway.

Episode recaps/meta posts - these are currently being posted over on Pillowfort. The goal is to get the last two episodes of Season 1 up there, then to start crossposting them here.

As long as it’s not a gigantic hassle to paste over all the screencaps, because I uh. I have a lot of them. And a lot of thoughts about the show as a whole, but particularly about the relationship between David Xanatos and Owen Burnett: the meta’s currently averaging from about 1.5k to 2.5k per episode, whoooops.

I love them. I love them a LOT. See my meta posts for very detailed explanations as to why.

3. TREVORCARD (Castlevania)

I honestly did not expect to get this deeply invested in this ship. I watched and liked the first two seasons of Castlevania and really enjoyed the dynamic between Trevor and Alucard, but it wasn’t until the lead-up to Season 3 (and then the devastation of how absolutely terrible that season was) that I realized how much I loved these two together.

So now I’m having a very Sterek Fandom moment of “eff you canon, they’re ours now” in regards to Trevorcard. 

I’ve written one fic for them - it’s a 20k coffee shop/modern/college/artist/musician AU because they deserve all the fandom tropes and so much happiness together..

I don’t currently have plans to write any more, although if I do, it’ll likely be some sort of neighbors AU with wolf!Alucard, since my vast experience with Sterek fandom has taught me the absolute joys of exploring characters who can canonically turn into a beautiful giant effing wolf. 

I’ve also been steadily reading my way through every single Trevorcard fic in the AO3 tag, which unfortunately is only ~200. (HOW is this a rare pair. I will never ever understand it, they’re perfect together, and the animators literally said they intentionally storyboarded moments like the one above with the knowledge that people would start shipping them.)

Once I’ve finished up my AO3 tour, I’m going to compile the ones I enjoyed into rec lists. There are some really wonderful fics in there, and I’m excited to see what the rest are like.

4. TAIBANI (Tiger & Bunny)

I really don’t talk about this ship much, but it’s so immensely close to my heart. I have...so much...official merch of Kotetsu and Barnaby; it makes me happy every single time I see it. If I used my Tiger & Bunny stuff as the standard for what sparks joy during a konmari, the rest of my apartment would probably wind up empty.

The show (which is finally getting a second season in 2022 - Kotetsu & Barnaby had better be getting married) is wonderful. I genuinely can’t recommend it enough. Great writing, wonderful character development, beautiful animation, and Kotetsu and Barnaby are absolutely perfect together. Here’s an old post where I talk about that a little bit.

I’ve only written one fic so far: a canon compliant established relationship future fic that focuses more on their family dynamic as Kotetsu’s daughter adapts to turning 18, becoming a hero, and living with her frustratingly affectionate dad & his new husband.

I have ideas for two AUs: a single dad mature student/young professor one and a sorta weird circus/steve irwin-inspired one. We’ll...we’ll see if I ever get around to either. What I end up writing always surprises me, so I sorta give up on planning what words will come out.

And oh wait! I totally forgot about the third idea, which will be roughly canon compliant, with “Kotetsu sets Barnaby up on a series of blind dates that Barnaby initially thinks will be with HIM” angsty/funny fic. Hrm. I should get back to that one, I’ve outlined part of it.

I haven’t actually read a ton of fic for this pairing, because the more I like canon material, the less I seek out fandom content to “fix” it, but I would like to start going through the AO3 tag after I finish my Trevorcard project. I did an initial rec list ages ago and would like to follow up with another.

5. SHEITH (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Here’s the last pairing I write fics for. I have several more in progress that I’d really like to finish - including a dragon AU that I wish someone else would just finish for me so I can read it, hahhhhhhh sigh. I wrote 15k, did a ton of research, and basically intimidated myself out of continuing, because it’s one of my Big Projects. Not gonna be like, PDIW length or anything, but it should be a pretty hefty fic once it’s done.

Then there’s the roommates AU, the burrito shop AU, the....wow. I really need to get back to these, don’t I. A couple of them are super close to being finished, too.

I’ve also compiled a few fic rec lists, although I haven’t updated those (or my Sheith blog) in a while.

This fandom has been...interesting. Rough sometimes. Sliding into some of the other pairings on this list has provided a good break for me, particularly since they’re all such small fandoms that they’re relatively free from drama and hate. Once I’m fully refreshed and re-inspired, I’d love to get back into writing Sheith. They’re such a perfect, feel-good, extraordinarily balanced and supportive ship, and I am disappointed every single day I remember that Voltron didn’t stick the landing with making them canon.

Look at that almost-kiss. Just...look at it. And tell me they aren’t in love.