#time to go down down down by that river again

[peachesofteal]

Nori is such a menace she would deadass call Simon dad on purpose

Nori isn’t in bed when you wake up, and that’s a problem. 

You’ve been lucky, you guess, that Simon has been letting her sleep in your room. He even lets you lock it at night… if you’re “good”.

Small victories, or whatever. 

He’s figured out how to keep you here. How to threaten you effectively, complaints to child services, getting you fired from your job, getting you evicted, dumping your car in a river- 

Faking your death, and Nori’s. Letting you run only to bring you back again and again. 

“But I’d never hurt you, love. You or Nori, promise. Jus’ gotta trust me.” 

You’re biding your time. Waiting for the right moment, the opportune time to strike. He’s already told you he’ll have to leave for work, that he won’t be here for weeks or even months at a time, but he knows you’ll stay put. 

You’re not sure how he’s so confident, but you’re sure it’ll be his downfall. 

The saving grace in it all is that Simon doesn’t hurt Nori, or you. He’s not gentle with you so much, but with Nori, it’s different. It’s like watching a giant hold a delicate daisy in their massive hand, trying desperately not to crush it. 

It’s kind of… no. 

It’s kind of nothing. 

You rush out of the bedroom to find her sitting on the kitchen counter, little legs swinging and giggling, low cadence of Simon’s voice humming from the fridge to where she hovers over a big mixing bowl. 

“Mommy!” She smiles, arms up for a hug, but you stay on the outskirts, staring at the two of them. It’s bizarre how they look together. Nori is big for her age, was big when she was born, still in the ninety percentile, and next to him… she practically looks like she’s his. “Daddy said I could have pancakes.” Your mouth drop opens, so wide you know you’re catching flies. Simon only smirks. 

“Eleanor… baby, Simon isn’t… he’s not your dad.” Her little brow furrows, matching the pout in her bottom lip.

“But he said.” 

“He’s not your dad!” You snap, and the silence after is deafening. It lasts only a second before she bursts into tears, and Simon scowls at you. 

“Right, that’s enough.” He pulls her from the counter, holding her shoulders until she’s steady on her feet. “Go to your room and play, alright? Mum and I need to have a quick chat.” She looks from him, to you, nervously, reaching her hand out for yours. You squeeze it. 

“It’s okay, go ahead.” She nods, and waddles off, leaving you alone. With him. 

It’s quick this time. Face in the pillow, bent over his knees. He doesn’t pull your leggings down either, just wails on your ass, grunts every time he makes contact, squeezing and cooing as you sniffle. 

“If you’d listen, we wouldn’t have to do this honey.” 

“I’m not listening to you! You… you kidnapped us!” You’re trying to keep quiet for Nori’s sake, but it’s hard. Everything is hard. It’s unfair. He sighs.

“You’re in your own home, honey. How have I kidnapped you?” 

“Not kidnapped.” He hauls you upward, holding the back of your neck, wiping at your wet cheeks. “You’re holding us hostage. Just… leave! Let us go. Please.” It’s been weeks of this, and you won’t give up. The pleading. The begging. The tears don’t stop, and he pulls you into his chest. 

“I know, it’s hard isn’t it? I know.” He rubs your back, lips on your temple. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.” 

“Stop,” you croak, shaking your head. The comforting, the coddling, the affection makes it all worse. The way he kisses you, holds you. How he pulls you down on his cock and fills you up, wrists pinned tight at your back, your tits bouncing as he thrusts. 

You don’t want it. 

You beg him to stop. 

And he only holds you tighter as you come, eyes rolled back in your head, thighs shaking. 

It fills you with shame. Confusion. 

“I’m not going to stop, okay honey? We need to get this out of your system before the next one comes.” He caresses your stomach, and nausea builds in your throat. 

He’s been fucking you without a condom for weeks. Weeks. 

Your last birth control pack ran out six days ago. 

The time is ticking away. A bomb waiting to detonate, and there’s nothing you can do but sit in his lap- 

And cry. 

Later, he offers ice cream. A walk down the street to the parlor in search of Nori’s favorite flavor. A walk where you will pass people who will perceive you as a happy family, when all you want to do is grab one of them and beg for help. 

Nori is so excited for ice cream,  so happy. 

You can’t say no. 

“We’ll find you some strawberry baby girl. That sound good?” The two of you are putting on hats and jackets as he observes, thick fingers zipping your coat to your chin. “Can’t have you catching a chill.” 

“Right.” Nori beams as he does the same, tapping her nose before hoisting her up over his shoulder. 

“Ready?” 

She smiles at you mischievously, arms wrapped around his neck. “Ready, daddy.” 

[astarless-fights]

A question I have always had: Do people care about the border because someone tells them they need to be concerned? Do they ever see proof? Or speak with someone who lives down there? Is it actually an issue or are people coming in and paying taxes, beefing up towns, and taking a part in the community? Is illegal immigration actually bad or is it a complex issue that is both good and bad and non local medias are just giving you a basic interpretation to have a talking point? Let’s dive deeper.

I have heard OP’s thoughts here before and it’s always come from border towns and border city limits. Which always tells me something else is going on.

Because here’s the thing, media reports and political agencies always misreport and misrepresent things that happen across the country. I have a couple examples as someone who comes from the East Coast but has had the pleasure of working in western states.

1. Remember when they introduced the wolves to Yellowstone in ‘95 and the media updated us back in 2016 “oh there’s wildflowers coming back! And the water is clean again”? I got that propaganda too on the East Coast. And sure, the good stuff probably happened. But wanna guess what I found out that year when I eventually shipped out to Idaho and spoke to wildlife biologists on the rivers?

They introduced the incorrect subspecies of wolf. Instead of using the historic Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves, they introduced a much larger, well traveling wolf called the Northwestern Wolf. The NRM wolves were small and tended to stick to a territory which would have been perfect for what they were trying to do for Yellowstone and the area surrounding. Instead they added a much hungrier wolf that follows its meals across the region, fucking up the ecosystems and wildlife patterns in surrounding states. Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana already had a pretty decent Rocky Mountain Wolf population that could no longer source its meals consistently due to wildlife patterns shifting dramatically, so they started going after the farms. Which if you are not someone who pays attention to wildlife laws and regulations, is the worst thing that could happen for them because farmers hold a lot of political power and often lobby local governments to increase population regulation (ehem, kill em).

2. When that kid died at Disney World… the one with the gator attack? Yeah, that was awful. I come from the southeast and growing up with gators nearby was a common experience for me. I was out in Idaho watching the news when it hit breaking news. The western media proceeded to push ideas that gators are controllable, it’s Disney World’s fault for not putting gates around the whole property to keep them out. It’s Florida’s fault for allowing this to happen.

Sure, should a gate have been placed around that beach? Totally. From working in tourism my whole life, the number one thing I have learned is that tourists are generally ignorant of local knowledge and common sense. I don’t mean this in a horrible way… but people forget they can die on vacation and tend to act as if it’s not possible so they disregard a lot of warnings. The gate would have been specific to people though. Gates don’t stop gators.

In fact they can climb. They can climb over a wooden gate, a chain link, climb up a tree, climb up the stairs… they are the largest vermin. They know no rules or boundaries. If there is water, they are there and they will find away to be there. It is common sense for those in southern coastal states to not go near the water at feeding times, watch the water, maybe keep your distance. If there are warning signs, then there’s definitely a gator that frequents the area but if there’s no sign, then there still is when no one’s watching. Western US media made it sound like they should have killed all the gators off and that just is so ignorant of the sensitive Floridian habitat. We need them there and in georgia, in south carolina, in Louisiana, and alabama. We need them in that ecosystem.

I remember listening to my boss at the time and my coworkers who had just listened to what I had were already shooting off the mislead comments of what the reporters had brought to light. Mostly because they didn’t know gators. They didn’t know Florida. None of them had ever been down there so when information is presented by a trusted source, why not trust that it’s correct?

Yes I explained to them before the topic left. But my observation still stands. Media that is not local to the topic will misconstrue the topic.

So when I see the LA fires and the east coast media telling everyone “the reason is due to them not taking control of their wilderness”, I want you to think of this post, what I have heard and seen with my own eyes, and search for a local reporter to the topic. Because I guarantee it is more complex than that.

Or when you see the border crisis and you aren’t from the border and neither is your favorite news channel… find a local news report to the topic.

If you see something being reported on from across the nation and you are not local, do yourself a favor and check out local to the topic reports. You’ll get more correct information instead of talking points used for political needs.

there is no border crisis. there is no immigration crisis. there never has been. it’s fear mongering, xenophobic, racist propaganda.

sincerely,

a life long borderland resident

[rayraelleaizawa]

They're going hard on you

TW: none i think

gn!reader

Short stories of when OP men go hard on you out of worry

Characters: Shanks, Trafalgar Law

Shanks

You sat in the captains office and looked at Shanks who was unusally quiet. You had an anxious feeling in your guts. You knew you had fucked up, but you didnt think he would be that mad.

The red hair pirates docked at some uninhabited island, and you were assigned to not leave the ship since Shanks wasnt sure how dangerous the island would be. But when you saw a strange animal falling from a tree and into a river, trying desperately not to drown and reach the shore again but couldnt make it, you left the ship and jumped into the river and helped the animal out of there. The scared animal didnt realice you only wanted to help him, and trashed around in your grip and scratched and bit you.

When Shanks and a part of his crew came back from exploring the island, and he saw that you were standing on deck, soaked from head to toe and trying to clean up your bloody injuries, his usually carefree face fell. He wore an unreadable expression as he told you to come into his cabin when Hongo was done treating your wounds.

Now, half an hour later and bandaged up, you sat in Shanks office and looked at your lap. He still had that unreadable expression on his face and you werent sure in what kind of trouble you were right now. You had breaken the rules before, nothing too bad, but he never acted like that because of you. You thought that he'd understand why you left, everyone knew that you had a soft spot for animals.

You anxiously waited for him to start talking, but he didnt even look at you. After another silent ten minutes, he finally said something.

"What did Hongo say?"

"He said that it is nothing too bad, just some scratches. I need to go check up regulary tho in case of infection and if I feel weird I am supposed to go to him instantly. Hongo checks the books right now if the animal that bit me is poisenous or not."

You gladly would have left out the last part, but you knew you shouldnt do that right now. He would talk with Hongo and find out anyway.

There was another short silence before he spoke again.

"What did I tell you to do? No, what did I order you to do?"

"To stay on the ship" you quietly said.

"And what did you do?"

"I...left the ship."

"You disobeyed my orders. That's what you did. No matter what relationship we two have, I am your captain and you have to follow my orders like everyone else on this ship."

You were quiet for some time. You didnt mean to disappoint him, but you didnt think about his orders when you saw that helpless animal fighting for its life.

"I'm sorry. I only wanted to help the-"

"I dont care what you wanted to do. You had clear orders. Orders, which were meant to protect you. Protect you from exactly those animals that hurt you. We have no idea if they are venomous, or aggresive, or a religious species for any natives that live here."

You stayed silent. The uneasy feeling in your stomach growing by the second. Sadness and fear joined that feeling too. You thought he'd understand you, but in the end you just disrespected him infront of his crew with ignoring his orders.

"I'm sorry for messing up" was all you could get out in that moment, and you heard Shanks sigh. He stood up from behind his desk and walked over to you.

"What am I supposed to do with you? Even when i try to protect you you still seem to find a way to end up in Hongos medical office. Why cant you just listen to me?"

His tone was softer than before, and you finally dared to look up at him. He had a worried expression on his face.

"I- I didnt think in that moment" you admitted as he bend his tall frame down to you, looking at your bandaged hand where that animal bit you.

"You have no idea how it felt to see you all bloody on deck. How it feels to know that you could die if that animal was highly venomous" he said, gently touching your arm.

You avoided his eyes and looked at the stump of his left arm.

"Yes I do know how that feels. I didnt want to make you experience this too. I'm sorry."

He sighed again, moving his hand under your chin and forced you gently to look him in the face.

"Never do that again. I love you too much for that."

Trafalgar D Water Law

You didn't look at him as he walked past you. You both ignored each other since the argument you had. You felt frustrated and angry at him, but mostly because he was right.

There was an emergency at the submarine, something about the boiler malfunctioning in the middle of the night. You were the closest to it so you tried to fix it, but you werent an engineer - you weren't sure what to do so you just improvised and tried your best until the persons who knew what to do came. Before that happened, hot water splashed onto your arm leaving a nasty burn on it.

Law had bandaged you up, but you noticed something wasn't right with him so you asked him. Which resulted in a heated argument between you two which ended with him snapping at you.

"If you have no idea of something then why do you even try? You're no help here, we just have more work now because of you."

Your eyes got teary when you thought back to his words, but it hurts even more knowing he was right. He had more work because he had to bandage you up, while your crewmembers probably had to fix the boiler more because you damaged it even more with your improvised actions.

You self doubted your worth on this crew now. Sure, you knew how to fight, but that was it. You could bandage up small injuries and cook, but in the end everyone knew how to do that. You had no specialty like the others.

With frustration bubbling up inside you that your captain and lover thought of you as an useless inconvinience, you started working even more. You didn't take a break, you just cleaned the Polar Tank or trained. The burn on your arm hurt most of the time, but you didn't care. You wanted to prove yourself that you weren't just on this crew because you and the Captain were dating.

You asked Shachi if he could explain to you how the boiler and stuff worked. He was perplexed as why you wanted to know that, but you convinced him with saying that next time an emergency happend you could actually help. He agreed, tho he knew that Law wouldn't be so happy about you working when you're already injured.

He explained stuff to you in the engine room and of course, no other than Trafalgar D. Water Law walked in on you two while you were trying to name some parts of the enginge. He looked displeased and coldly said your name and then just walked off.

You didn't want to follow him, but knew that he would be even more pissed if you ignored him. He led you two to the infirmary and told you to sit on the exam table. He then grabbed your hand and unwrapped your bandanges.

"What do you think you're doing, y/n-ya?" he spoke calmly, but you immediately noticed that he was holding back.

"Learning new stuff so next time i can actually help" you answered in a snippy tone.

"You won't do anything next time. I don't allow you to" he said while turning around.

You started to argue back that you just tried to be a help when he interupted you mid-sentence.

"How do you want to be of help when you cant even look after your own wound!"

"You were the one who told me I wasnt capable of anything, and now it's wrong when i try to become usefull!" you almost yelled back, tears of frustration and hurt in your voice.

"I never said you weren't capable of anything, I simply stated that-"

"You said I am no help, that I have no idea what I'm doing and that you all have more work because of me!"

A tear rolled down your face and you started shaking slightly as Law looked at you with widend eyes. He grabbed his hat and pulled it over his eyes as he looked down.

"That wasn't what I meant. I just...you got hurt on my submarine while I was present. I- you shouldn't have gotten hurt when I'm there to protect you."

You looked at him with wide eyes, the tears now streaming down your face.

"You are more than capable of sorting stuff out on your own, you are a big help to everyone on this crew. I didn't mean to insult you or tell you you aren't worthy to be here. It's just...this could have ended up bad. And now I see you working in there again. I can't have you getting injured when I'm just a few feet away" he added as he walked towards you and grabbed your face so you'd look him in the eye.

"I want you to be safe, y/n-ya. And i failed to do that. You and this crew, you're everything I have. I'm a doctor but I can't heal everything. I'm sorry for insulting you, my heart."

Your eyes softend at the last nickname he called you. It wasn't often that he used it, which made it even more special when he did. He is a big softy and constantly worried about you. You laid your head to his chest and murmured an apology, while he leaned down and kissed your hair.

[ruruumin]

phone call.

₊˚ ᗢ itoshi rin x gn! reader.

⤷ an unexpected phone call breaks you out of your mess.

going home, by all means, should mean good things. you no longer had to worry about your next paycheck or whats in your fridge. your parents dote on you every now and then, checking up on you as you lay in bed, noting the change in smell of your sheets. you should be happy, you keep telling yourself, but every time you wake up in the morning with the grease in your hair and a frown that doesn’t seem to turn upside down, you’re growing ever so frustrated by the circumstances. 

there lacks a feeling of agency that you felt when you left. whenever you ask your family what they have planned for the week, your parents shrug their shoulders, meanwhile your siblings roll their eyes and wave you off. outings are reserved for only the most special of occasions, like someone’s birthday or a national holiday. and if things couldn’t get any worse, the stickiness in your hair hasn’t gone away.

two weeks. thats all you have to endure, so why is it so increasingly difficult to feel normal? your bed should be the comfiest it has ever been, but its uncomfortable when you toss and turn, struggling to find the sweet spot that lulls you to sleep. in the morning, you have to continuously tug the corners of the sheets down so they don’t roll up on you again. you’re determined to say you’re no princess and pea, but the bags underneath your eyes are telling you to wake up and fix the bed.

for a moment, you start to miss your job. as much as its dreadful having to wake up early every single morning and motivate yourself in the mirror that it’ll be an easy day, you’re starting to realize the beauty in routine. the miniscule of joy that bubbles up in your chest whenever you come home and drop your bags to the ground, sighing in relief as you pop all the joints in your shoulders. even with exhaustion hanging off of you, at the end of the day, there was something to do. something that made everything all worth it.

and yet you lay in bed, staring up at the popcorn ceiling that you swear will one day come crashing down on you like dust. its obsessive the way you check your phone for any new messages, scrolling through dozens of instagram stories and seeing your friends travel the world with their families. 

suddenly, your phone goes off. rising from your coffin you take it into your hands, seeing the caller id flash. itoshi rin is calling! fumbling, you hurriedly answer the call, nervous beads of cold sweat running down the side of your neck. you pat down the frizz from your hair as you sigh.

“rin-chan?” 

his nickname rolls off your tongue as easily as your sanity in this room. you’ve been calling him with the same honorific since you were middle schoolers. despite the childishness of it all and how frighteningly shocked his friends look hearing it, he never once corrected you. 

“hello.” his voice is deep and alluding. sometimes it comes off as a little dry from the way he ends each sentence with a raspy breath. you hold the phone close to your ear, pressing your lips together as you eye the clock on your wall. 

“is something wrong? you don’t call unless its an emergency.” 

ever since sae left for spain, he’s lost interest in calling people. he would prefer texting his parents over answering their phone calls. even when he’s gotten lost on multiple occasions, ending up next to a river five miles from his house, he refused to make the first call. perhaps its the pride in his heart that has him refusing any form of voice-related communication, like asking for help was the equivalent of kneeling down and begging. 

you could already imagine his voice: that’s disgusting. i’d never call unless i need to. 

however, that’s not the thing that comes out of his mouth. 

“...nothing, i just wanted to call and ask how you are.” he replies with the same nonchalant tone you’ve grown too fond of. “i haven’t seen you in a while.”

“oh, i see.”

“are you busy?” 

you shake your head, even if hes unable to see it through the other line. “no, i was thinking about watching a movie or something to pass the time.” you look over to the laptop on your bed. its covered in stickers from different conventions you’ve been to. some of which you’ve miraculously dragged rin into attending, only because the author of dragon head was doing a panel. 

“i see.” there is a pause before he speaks up again. “do you want to watch anything together?”

“like—in person? or stream something online?” 

he hums with a melodic trill that has you on the edge of your bed. 

“either or works. but i like watching horror movies in person.” 

a shiver immediately runs down your spine as you close your eyes, teeth clattering together comedically. the last time you agreed to watch a horror movie with rin (regrettably you were the one to ask him what he wanted to watch since you asked him out first), he chose the goriest film known to man. 

at the time, you were both high schoolers sneaking out past curfew to watch movies at the local theater. you were holding onto his arm, begging to squeeze his hand to ease your worries. he somehow agreed despite knowing your grip strength, and allowed you to grip his hand as tight as you wanted. during the movie, you didn’t think much about it, not wanting to overcomplicate the strange relationship you had. all you did remember though, was that his skin felt warm against yours and how perfectly your fingers fit against the cracks of his hand. 

“please don’t make us watch another film like the sadness. i couldn’t handle it.”

“it’ll be tamer than that.” 

“really?”

“would i lie to you?”

you suppose he wouldn’t. he hasn’t for the last few years you’ve known him. he’s been open as a book. he’s a quiet man but his eyes scream the words in his throat. you think he’s the true definition of the quote: eyes are windows to the soul, because every time he’s drooling over icy-blue popsicles, it shows in the slight sheen in his eyes.

he’s sweeter than sugar when he wants to be and it makes you wonder if there was more to this than just a simple phone call. you want to think by some heavenly force, he heard your thoughts and wanted to pull you out of this slump. unknowingly, you let out a soft laugh. 

“what are you laughing about?”

you exhale in response, “i just thought it was funny that you would call. you normally don’t—so i was wondering if there was more to it.” 

he’s quiet on the other line. 

“sorry, did i say something wrong?” 

“no. i guess i was thinking the same thing.” 

you hold back a surprised gasp. for someone calm and rational as rin, going out of his way to call you was already a big step. but him asking to watch a movie with you? out of nowhere? surely there was something at play here that you weren’t quite seeing. swallowing your nervousness, you open your mouth to ask him the most important question of all:

“what is the real reason you’re calling, rin?” 

he takes a deep breath before saying three words. just three. nothing more. nothing less. but enough to convey to you the true intent of his actions.

“...i like you.” 

“huh?”

“i liked you since we met, (name). i didn’t want you to hear it from anyone else but me.”

“what are you—wait, rin—”

there is knocking on the other side. you could hear rin’s exasperated sigh and the sharp inhale he takes when the door opens. you heard isagi call out his name alongside bachira. they stumbled into the same place as rin, asking him if he will confess to his special somebody, not knowing that this special person was listening into their conversation, heart stopped and cupid-struck. 

rin brings his phone back up to his ear, “if you feel the same, can you watch a movie with me? i’ll be at the same place we always go to.” 

after that, the call ends abruptly. you’re left in shock, hand trembling and fingers fumbling over the call back button. you wanted answers. like how long did it take you to find out? why confess now? did something happen between him and the other boys at blue lock? and will you be joining him? 

looking at his caller id, you press your lips together, swiping your phone and running to your closet to throw on any fitting clothes. you realize after exiting your house that he had kept you from spiraling.

[serickswrites]

Hold Back the River

Warnings: captivity, torture, restraints, forced to watch, water boarding, cruel whumper, self sacrifice, defiant whumpee, strangulation, unclear character status

"Caretaker, no matter what happens don't cry. If you cry they will hurt you. I can't let that happen."

Whumpee had said that hours ago when they had struck up a deal with Whumper that would keep Caretaker physically unharmed. Whumper had agreed enthusiastically on the condition that Caretaker not cry or else the bargain was null and void. Caretaker had tried to voice their protest, but Whumpee spoke over them, agreeing. Whumpee didn't want anything to happen to Caretaker.

But as they watched Whumper move from various methods of torture, leaving Whumpee weak and in pain, Caretaker felt they were fighting to hold back the river of tears that was threatening to overwhelm them. But they couldn't cry. Whumpee had asked them not to.

"Now, Whumpee," Whumper drawled as they tipped over the chair they had lashed Whumpee to, "you have done so well. You haven't begged me to stop once."

"You call this torture? I've had so much worse," Whumpee shot back weakly from the ground. Caretaker could see Whumpee was trembling. But they didn't let on that they were suffering. Caretaker knew Whumpee had to be suffering.

Whumper frowned. "I highly doubt that. Needless to say, I'm going to modify our bargain."

"So not only are you a shitty torturer, you can't even your own bargains. How disgraceful," Whumpee said as they glared up at Whumper. But Caretaker knew better. Caretaker knew that Whumpee was now very afraid.

"No. I'm making you a better bargain, Whumpee. I still won't hurt Caretaker. I keep my word. No, I'm going to make you a bargain that benefits you."

"I'm listening," Whumpee said carefully.

"In all my years working on people, I have never seen anyone not break under this next method. I doubt you will be the one to not break, before you get any ideas. You just have to last five minutes. Five whole minutes without begging. If you do that, I'll let both of you go."

"Deal."

Caretaker's heart was pounding. What did Whumper want to do to Whumpee? They opened their mouth to protest, but Whumper spoke again. "I'm going to give you three tries, Whumpee. Three tries to make it to five minutes. If you make it to five, you're free to go."

"Just get it over with, Whumper, I want to go home. I'm sure Caretaker does, too."

Whumper tossed a towel over Whumpee's face and re-angled the chair. Caretaker's mouth went dry as they realized Whumper planned to waterboard Whumpee. There was no way Whumpee would make it to five minutes.

Whumper grabbed a hose and aimed it at Whumpee's face. "Oh, and Whumpee? If you don't make it to five minutes, I'm going to keep you here until your body gives out. So, give it your best shot. I doubt you'll even last two minutes."

And they turned the water on.

Whumpee sputtered and choked as the water blasted their face. Caretaker strained against their own restraints trying to get to Whumpee. "PLEASE! DON'T YOU'RE KILLING THEM!" Caretaker screamed.

"See how they beg for you, Whumpee? Don't worry, I won't count their begging against you. Thirty seconds now, how are you feeling?"

Whumpee choked and coughed. "Stop," they rasped at last.

Whumper grinned as they turned off the water. "One try down. Total failure on your part. You didn't even make it a minute. I'll let you catch your breath."

Caretaker could see Whumpee's chest heaving as they struggled to breathe under the wet towel. "Whumpee, Whumpee. Say something! Please!"

"'m fine, Careta'er," Whumpee mumbled.

"If you have enough breath to speak, we can begin again." Whumper said as they turned the hose back on.

Whumpee lasted two minutes that time. Their whole body was shaking and they were sobbing as the water was turned off. Hearing Whumpee's cries of pain and terror made Caretaker's eyes well up once more. But they couldn't cry. They had to stay strong for Whumpee. Whumpee had bargained for their safety. They couldn't let that be in vain.

"Two minutes, not bad, Whumpee. Not bad." Whumper stared down at Whumpee with a maniacal glint in their eye. "But still not close enough to five. I'm going to enjoy destroying your body over these next few weeks. Maybe I'll still let Caretaker go when your body gives out. Maybe I'll keep them and force them to watch you to decay. Who knows?"

Whumpee made a low moan in their throat as Whumper spoke. The sound broke Caretaker's heart. Whumpee was fighting against impossible odds for their life. Whumper was beyond cruel.

"Ok, Whumpee, final attempt. Make it a good one. Or not," Whumper smirked as they turned the water back on.

Whumpee sputtered and choked, but they didn't speak. Caretaker could see their clenched fists shaking. But as the first minute went by, Whumpee held strong. Then the second minute went by and Whumpee still didn't speak.

After the third minute, Caretaker began to hope. Whumpee could do this. They would both be free. And then they could take care of Whumpee. They owed their life to Whumpee and they would spend the rest of their life repaying Whumpee.

"Four minutes now, Whumpee, you're doing impressively. Honestly, this is the longest I've seen anyone make it. But I doubt you will make it to five."

Whumpee's whole body began to shake at Whumper's words. But still, they didn't cry out. They continued to cough and choke, their breathing growing more and more ragged.

Whumper frowned. "You have twenty seconds to go, Whumpee. Remember not only your freedom, but Caretaker's freedom rides on this. You'll be letting them down any moment now."

Caretaker's heart fluttered in their chest. Hope built until they felt they couldn't contain it anymore. Whumpee was going to do it. They would both be free. Whumper wouldn't kill Whumpee today.

"Five.....four.....three.....two.....one. Impress--"

"For the love of God, please!" Whumpee cried out at last.

Whumper smirked as they turned off the water. "Congratulations, Whumpee. You survived five whole minutes of waterboarding."

Whumpee didn't say anything as they retched and coughed. And though Caretaker knew they should feel elated, Whumper's smirk and strangely happy demeanor had their blood running cold.

Whumper pulled back the towel off Whumpee's face. They knelt close and stared down into Whumpee's terror filled eyes. "Too bad you won't get to tell anyone what it was like." Whumper grabbed by the neck and began to strangle Whumpee.

"STOP! YOU'RE KILLING THEM! YOU SAID YOU WOULD FREE BOTH OF US!" Caretaker screamed as they watched Whumpee struggle weakly beneath Whumper. Whumpee's eyes were wide with fear, their mouth opening and closing as they desperately begged for air.

"I did say I will free both of you. And I will. I just never said if they would be alive when they were freed."

Tags: @mousepaw @jumpywhumpywriter @knightinbatteredarmor @hufflepuffwritingstuff2 @anightmarishwhump

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs @celestialsoyeon @st0rmm @ay5ksal @pedro-pedro-pedro-pedro-pe

@pepeniascat

[luvfy0dor]

“I Still See it All ♡⁠˖” Chuuya Nakahara x Reader ੈ✩‧₊˚

warnings; drinking, angst, death, may seem ooc, reader is (was) fighting Fyodor with the ada, I only proofread the first 2 paragraphs and I pumped this out in about 57 minutes so it might not be the best lmao

description; The memories of yourself and Chuuya were almost palpable in your mind as your torso leaked thick, crimson blood. It felt as though you could reach out and grab his hand again, kiss him again- feel him again. You watched the cloudy and hazy scenes in 3rd person, as if you were an onlooking spectator on the sweet moments between the two of you as your life slipped through your fingers.

a/n: hey guys I'm sad cuz I got too scared to rizz the huzz at my last swim meet of the school year so now y'all gotta be sad with me LMAO

You were still in a state of shock as Fyodors blade ripped back through your torso just as quickly as it moved when it impaled you. Your brows knitted together as you watched the blood seep through your shirt, your lips dropping down into a scared frown when two and two finally clicked. You were still high on adrenaline, but aware of what was happening. Your body felt stiff and it was hard to move on your own- every thing was slowing down and becoming shaky and foggy as your eyes welled up with tears. The balance that had once been stable and distributed in your body was now gone, and you couldn't stop yourself from falling backwards onto the hard ground. You hit your head and winced, slowly closing and opening your eyes, blinking back your tears and redirecting them from the center of your waterline to stream down the sides of your cheeks. The more your tears fell, the clearer you could see. A couple feet infront of you, you could see Fyodors tall, slender, form approaching with a cynical grin plastered on his thin, pale lips. You could tell they were moving, but you couldn't make out exactly what they were saying. You shut your eyes once again and tried to take a deep breath. The longer he hovered over your bleeding body, the colder you felt. His frame blocked the sun from hitting your face and allowing you to feel that natural warmth, but once he finally got out of the way and walked in the opposite direction, it felt even better than before.

It brought you back. All of a sudden, you were under the same sun, dancing on the bricks of public walkways with Chuuya in Paris. He held your waist and one of your hands, a smile on his face as the two of you spun and stepped together. The summer heat made the both of you sweat, but it didn't stop you from having a good time. You didn't even recall how you ended up there, but you didn't have the energy to try and remember. You could only remember the memories with him, the sound of his voice and laughter- him in general. After dancing until your feet were tired, you both stumbled into the grassy patches next to the street, your laughter never stopping. "Chuuya, where'd you learn to dance?* You asked, your speech a bit slowed from your earlier alcohol consumption. Chuuya was the same way, if not worse. "Mmm, I dunno babe- think I was just born with the natural talent." As he said this, his nose scrunched up and he spoke with his lips turned upward into a smug, proud grin. You giggled and playfully slapped his shoulder. "You should join talent shows as a side hustle." You slur, resting your head on his shoulder and gazing up at the Eiffel tower. "Maybe, but only if you're my salsa partner." You huffed. "I could never." Your eyelids grew heavier with each moment you say idly. If you didn't want to sleep, you'd have to move. "Mm, Chuuya, let's go see the river!" You say, standing up and pulling him along with you. He stumbled to his feet and follows you down the street, under the Eiffel tower to the railings that overlooked the water. "Do you think there's fish?" You asked, looking over to Chuuya with wide eyes. He huffs in disbelief. "Ofcourse there's fish, dumb dumb." You rolled your eyes and shrugged. "Well I dunno...I'm not an expert in...fishology..." You murmured, folding your arms over the railing and leaning against it. "I can tell."

The two of you occupied yourselves with conversation for God knows how long, and it was some of the most enjoyable time you'd spent in a while. You were so immersed in the subjects and the only time your thoughts drifted elsewhere was when you couldn't help but think about how happy you were to have met him and got to have this experience. You were both so into talking that you didn't even notice the change in the clouds until you felt the rain droplets splash against your head and nose. Over the time, the both of you had come closer to full sobriety. "We better get back to the hotel." He said with a sigh, adjusting his hat. "Yeah, good idea- in not really looking to get soaked." You huff, grabbing chuuyas hand as you started walking back. It wasn't a very far walk, but the rain was coming in quick, so you had to make it fast. The quicker the rain started to downpour, the faster your speed walking got, which ultimately backfired because you soon slipped and fell on the bricks. "Woah, are you alright?" Chuuya asked, bending over to make sure you were good, a hand on your shoulder. You stared at him for a moment before nodding and giggling. "Yeah, I'm alright, thanks babe." He offered his hand to help you up and you gladly took it, using the opportunity to pull him into a quick peck on the lips. "Aw man, im pretty wet anyways now." You groaned when you pulled away, but started to accept it because it was really all you could do. "Yeah, you gotta be more careful next time." He says. "Wouldn't want you to break a tailbone or nothin'."

Hah. If only he could see the position you were in now. Your memories cut out like radio static when you hear Atsushi scream out your name. You couldn't have been on the ground that long, but memories of Chuuya made you feel like you could live another lifetime with him before the blood loss could kill you. "Atsushi..." Your whisper of his name was like a phantom on your lips, slowly disappearing into the atmosphere without reaching anyone's ears. Your eyes slowly closed. Your heart was beating in your ears and your head was pounding. Your midsection was burning and sore and you couldn't tell if your next breath would be your last or not. You tried to lift your head from the ground, but in the moment it felt like one of the most physically taxing things you could do. Your vision started to blur again, and all the noise muffled. The beating in your ears was already slow enough, and with each passing second it just became slower. "This is it," you thought. "This is how I die. And I can't do a damn thing about it." The idea made you internally panic, but it took too much energy to show it on your face or act on that feeling of fear. "Chuuya?" You whimpered out, calling for your boyfriend, only for it to fall upon deaf ears. Your lips drew into a tight line and you whimpered, your tears falling even faster now. Ever since you met him, you wanted to die with him by your side, looking down at you with love as you went and passed over into the afterlife, but now all you had to stare at was a bright blue, slightly cloudy sky. "It kind of looks like his eye color." You thought, before exhaling quietly and closing your eyes, one last time.

A/n: yk that one song our last summer from mamma mia? Yeah that's this. Again I'm sorry if it's kinda cheeks the only thing I've been writing lately are school essays and responses, but I had a conversation with Eli before I wrote it out discussing how I kinda wanted it to go and originally this was gonna be a fyodor x reader fic but I changed my mind

[darlingdaisyfarm]

the river splits but still runs home (Stan & Ford)

twins. like light split in two, a star cracked open in the womb and made two hands of the same body, reaching for each other before they even knew what hands were

it starts like this

a house where the salt spray eats the paint off the walls. their mother, Caryn, is standing in the kitchen, wrists deep in soapy water, humming some song neither of them know the words to. the windows are open and the ocean breathes in, breathes out, just like she taught them

Ford is at the table with his glasses slipping down his nose, chewing on the end of a pencil, something half-sketched in the margins of his notebook. Stan is on the floor, legs kicked out behind him, tongue stuck between his teeth as he wrestles a knotted fishing line into submission.

“you're gonna snap it,” Ford says without looking up.

“no, i'm not.”

“you're holding it wrong.”

“you're holding your face wrong!”

Caryn sighs, scrubbing a plate with the practiced hands of someone who has done this a thousand times before and will do it a thousand times more. “boys.” she says

Stan gives the line a particularly aggressive tug and. . . snap.

Ford looks up. Stan looks down.

Caryn turns, raising her eyebrows.

“. . . Ford did it” Stan says immediately.

Ford's mouth drops open. “i did not!”

“you were distracting me!”

“you're the one who broke it!”

“okay, okay,” their mother interrupts before it turns into a wrestling match. she dries her hands on a dishtowel and comes over, kneeling down next to her son Stanley. “let me see.”

Stan holds up the ruined line, eyes downcast. Caryn takes it, carefully untangling what's left, making something whole out of something broken.

“not a big deal,” she says calmly. “i've got another one in the drawer.”

Stan sniffs, rubbing at his nose with his sleeve. “i wanted to do it myself.”

“i know, baby,” she murmurs. she kisses the top of his head softly. ”you'll get it next time.”

Ford watches, silent. Stan exhales, some of the tension leaving his shoulders, the need to prove something wilting under their mother’s hand on his back.

“help me with dinner?” she asks, gently ruffling his hair.

“yeah,” Stanley answers, already halfway to forgetting. he scrambles to his feet, following her like a little shadow.

Ford watches them go. he pushes his glasses up his nose. picks up his pencil. finishes the half-sketched drawing.

the ocean breathes in, breathes out

the first time Ford tastes saltwater, it’s because his brother dunked him under the waves. it’s a game kids play when they don’t yet know the world is full of real drownings. Ford comes up coughing, spitting out the ocean, laughing loudly. Stan’s grin is wide and reckless.

“gotcha, poindexter!” he crows, hands still in the water, ready to do it again.

Ford shoves him back, not that hard but it makes Stan stumble and splash into the shallows. their mother calls from the shore, “boys, don’t go too deep!” but she’s smiling, and the wind carries her words off over the tide.

their mother, so young. her dark hair twisted up in a scarf, her dress fluttering, hands on her hips. she worries, always, but right now she lets the worry go. the ocean is big, but her boys are still here.

Ford wipes salt from his eyes. “you’re gonna pay for that, Stanley!”

“you can’t even catch me, four-eyes!”

and then they’re off, kicking up seafoam, yelling so loud they could wake up every gull on the shore. Ford chasing, Stan laughing, the two of them running so fast they forget about gravity, about time, about the fact that childhood ends.

Caryn watches from the shore, hand shading her eyes. her boys. her impossible boys. her heart aches just looking at them.

years later, one name will be stolen, the other lost in a machine meant to swallow men whole.

but she does not know that yet.

for now, her boys are hers.

“boys! dinner!”

two twins, Stan and Ford are already running, tangled together, because that's what twins do. they spill into the kitchen in one motion, laughing, shoving, too loud, too much. Caryn shakes her head but she's smiling.

“plates,” she reminds, tapping the counter, and Stan groans but Ford grabs them both.

their mother watches them eat as she asks. “what are you going to be when you grow up?”

Ford swallows his bite too fast, too excited to answer that. “an adventurer!” he says, as if he's thought about this every night before sleeping. (he has.) “a scientist. a— a traveler, maybe. i'll see things nobody's ever seen before!”

“and you, Stanley?”

Stan taps his fork against his plate. shrugs. “i dunno,” he says. “but wherever he goes, i'll go too.”

Ford looks at him. like the sun looks at the moon, like gravity itself, like there is no world in which they are apart. “yeah, yeah, of course.” he smiles at his twin

their mother closes her eyes. she wants to believe it. she hopes. god, she hopes.

she has a feeling, deep in her gut, that one day, Ford is going to go somewhere Stanley can’t follow.

they are eight, they are ten, they are twelve.

“you think,” Stan mumbles one night. “when we're old, we'll still be like this?”

Ford snorts. ”old?”

“like, really old. like . . . like thirty.”

Ford laughs into his pillow. “yeah. of course. what kind of question is that?”

Stan doesn't know. it just. . . sometimes he gets scared, that's all.

years pass and they swallow them whole.

time is not kind to their dreams. it chews them up and spits them out on different shores.

Ford falls into another world, Stan falls into survival. they are no longer boys dreaming on a dock.

but here’s the thing about twins. you can split them apart, you can burn them down, you can throw them to opposite ends of the universe, and still they will find their way back.

years pass.

Stan's hands are steady on the wheel, the waves licking at the hull. the sky is full of bruises, pinks and purples spilling into each other, the last gasp of daylight.

Ford leans against the railing, wind pulling at his coat.

“remember when i broke that fishing line?” Stan asks suddenly.

Ford turns, squinting at him against the light. “what?”

“back when we were kids. mom fixed it for me.”

Ford blinks. then he huffs a laugh. “yeah. yeah, i remember that.”

Stan grins. “you were so smug about it.”

“because i was right.”

“no, you weren't.”

“yes, i was.”

mom's not here to stop them fighting. it's okay. they're not boys anymore

Stan rolls his eyes, but it’s affectionate. he looks out at the horizon, lets the boat sway beneath them.

Ford watches him.

the thing is, Stan was always like this. loud, quick-tempered, full of teeth. but he was also this. soft, sentimental, remembering things Ford never thought he would.

Ford clears his throat. “mom was good at fixing things,” he says.

“yeah.”

the sky darken and the stars blink awake. Ford glances down, at his own hands. at the scars, at the years worn into his skin.

“we turned out alright, huh?” he asks quietly.

Stan snorts. “speak for yourself.”

Ford rolls his eyes.

they drift. the boat creaks, the ocean sings.

Ford looks at stan. Stan looks back.

and then Stan reaches over. ruffles Ford’s hair. quickly and carelessly, just like their mother used to.

Ford freezes what makes Stan grin as he pulls away

Ford groans, swats at him. “you always do that—”

“mom did the same,” Stan says, laughing.

Ford rolls his eyes again, but he’s smiling. suddenly he gets too quiet, lost in his own thoughts and memories

“mom would love this,” Ford whispers. “us out here. she always liked the ocean.”

“yeah, she liked watching us in it.”

once, long ago, their mother sat on the shore and watched her boys in the waves.

now, the ocean stretches out before them, endless and unknowable.

“let’s head in,” Stanley says and pushes his brother lightly on the shoulder. ”before you get all misty-eyed on me.”

somewhere in the tide, in the wind, in the bones of the ship creaking beneath them, she is there. her boys are together again.

they sail on.

[madockisser]

lots of ppl have mixed opinions on cardan in the first book, which is fair, but me personally, just LOOK at how subtle he is at protecting her. and i don’t just mean when he stuck his foot in the water to scare the nixies away from jude when his buds threw her and Taryn in the river, i mean these:

This one, when he thinks that dains spies are about to beat Jude’s ass over who gets the pretty prince, so he cautions her away from picking a fight w them. And that’s AFTER she’s kidnapped him LOOLLL

And this. really cute and subtle way of saying “be careful babe!” but he makes it seem sorta like an insult. like she would be wasting his time if she went and died. he keeps himself so well guarded so as to not get himself hurt again PLS. guys i am normal about him.

him reaching for her after he learned that valerian tried to kill her AGAIN. 😐 i need him.

And then this one. imagine how he felt seeing her leave the tower covered in blood knowing that valerian was in there w her. and Hollys annotation here. yeah ok im so normal- this proves that he didn’t expect his cruelty to encourage valerians murdery lust for jude. to encourage Locke to take her as his prize, to encourage nicasia to humiliate the twins to get cardans and lockes favor.

AND DONT GET ME STARTED, on when he’s drunk and his families been murdered and he’s officially elfhames #1 most wanted and he’s telling Jude to be careful, that she shouldn’t be at balekins evil little revel 😭😭 he worried more for her than he did himself.

and i could just GO ON. and i shall:

when he sends her a dress made for royalty opposed to one that made her look more like servant/ would allow Taryn to outshine her (she could never tho)

When he told Locke to piss off and began dancing w her when Locke was abt to tell her that he’s been fuxking her sis the whole time.

When he saw her (canon according to Hollys annotations) after she stole Sophie (the human servant at hollow hall) and didn’t do or say anything AND PROBABLY EVEN TOOK THE FUCKING BLAMMMEEE IM SO SICK.

anyway I’m sure there’s more so feel free to add on 😭

But i just LOVE how cardan knows how jude is, the way that Taryn describes jude in her novella- as someone who doesn’t back down from a dare, who picks fights with anyone and everyone, who brings those that pick on her down to her level. he knows his wife so well, even in the first book, he knew her so much better than even her father. than ANYONE even Taryn. bc Taryn was all like “promise you’ll stop bothering them!” Like do you KNOW who you’re talking to lmao

anyway I LOVE TYEMEMEMMEMEHSIAPS someone sedate me fr

[aboveallthemess]

"It's just a bad day." I keep repeating to myself.

Just another day where my mind runs in circles and all the ghosts lurking in the shadows are here to haunt me.

"Just a bad day." I repeat once again, with my eyes closed, trying to convince my soul with empty words.

My heart is heavy again as are the stubborn tears falling from my eyes, they come without permission, flowing like tiny rivers down my cheeks.

"It's just a bad day" I say out loud to the avid ghosts staring at me from across the room, while I try, unsuccessfully, to wipe the tears from my face.

Maybe it is just a bad day but maybe this is the culmination point, the end stage, my body and soul finally agreeing and giving me an ultimatum "this is it we can't go any further, unless you start giving yourself the same love and care you give everyone else."

And suddenly the words "I need to take care of myself" came out of my mouth, which is weird cause I haven't been on my priority list for a long time.

[aplaceinthedark]

chapter 6: MADE BREATH and SKIN

Summary: The Appalachian Mountains hide numerous monsters, and it's up to Taylor and the Bad Omens to prevent them from causing any harm. 

Word Count: 4.3k+

CW: mention of death, witchcraft, ritual sex, mild use of aphrodisiacs (CNC), teratophilia, female anatomy mentions on nonbinary character, swapping of bodily fluids (blood)

[Sex Stuff: Oral sex (nb receiving), overstimulation, PnV Unprotected (just cuz TeeTay has their tubes tied, doesn't mean you can get away with it. Wrap it before you yadda yadda)

This is RPF, and thus will contain real people, but names and events will be changed. If this bothers you too much, then please leave this temple without causing harm. 

A/N: It's my birthday and I'll post Noah Sebastian mild-monsterfucking smut if I want to 🥳 big thanks to @deathblacksmoke and @concretejunglefm for screaming over this for me

I brought back my AU title for this cuz it was way too fitting.

Divider by @saradika-graphics

I'm not sure what I expected when we walked into the Grove, but it certainly wasn't that I had already been here before. 

My heart rate skyrocketed when I recognized the exact spot where Nick hung in preparation to become a Vessel; where he lay as I screamed over his dead body. Why would they choose this place to do this? This was a terrible idea.  

I kicked my feet, signaling to Noah that I wanted to be put down. He loosened his grip on me and let me slide out of his arms. I felt immensely better now that I had been off my feet for the last bit of the hike, and especially now that I wasn't pressed to Noah's chest. 

My eyes kept being drawn to That Spot. “This is where Nick died,” I muttered.

“It's where we all died.”  

I turned to look up at him. “Well, except Jolly, but the river isn't too far from here." He shoved his hands into his pockets. “A lot of things happened here." 

I looked down at the ground as if I could find their bones amongst the roots and dirt. But I could now see why this place was important: there was something here that permeated the air above and the earth below. 

“Come on, we got a ritual to perform,” Noah said, tugging me back to earth by my bag strap.

He led me over to an area where a blanket had been spread. It was placed at the foot of a giant tree. I looked up into the branches, which seemed to warp and twist onto the air. They actually reminded me of Noah's antlers. Nick hadn't been kidding when he said I wouldn't be able to miss it. 

My thoughts went back to Nick. What was he doing right now? Was he going to be able to sleep tonight, knowing that I would be in someone else's arms?

“Hey! Airhead!”

Once again, Noah’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “You've got all the stuff we need,” he said, holding his hand out. 

I stuck the flashlight in my mouth to free both of my hands and started pulling stuff out to hand to him. There were seven candles of different colors, all unscented. They had something carved into the sides, but I barely had time to look. 

“I could've held the flashlights." Noah sighed in annoyance. 

“Nah,” I said, words muffled thanks to my lips being wrapped around–

Oh. Ew.

Noah placed all seven candles around the area, all equidistant from each other. He then held his hand out towards me. 

"I don't have any more," I said, mouth free of a flashlight.  

“A lighter, Airhead,” he said.  

“Oh,” I jumped, searching the jacket for a lighter. I handed it to Noah.  

“You gotta be in the circle for this part,” he said.  

I ducked my head and sheepishly stepped over the imaginary circle the candles made and moved to the center of the blanket. 

Noah went to light the candle at the base of the big tree. “That one has to be last,” I piped up.  Without missing a beat, he moved away from that candle to a different one. The wick burst to life, creating a soft glow that just barely lit the ground around it. At least I could Noah's outline now. 

As he went around the circle, I watched his back. At first, I thought it was a trick of the light, but I realized that parts of the Back Tree tattoo seemed to pulse slightly with a green glow whenever a candle's wick was lit. I guess the spell had started.

I sat down, drawing my knees up to my chest. I dug into the bag for any more things, but all that was left was the thermos. Probably some liquid courage. 

When all seven candles were lit, Noah sat down next to me. “Nick said we had to drink this," I said, holding up the thermos. I unscrewed the cap and gave it to him and poured what might've been half in it.  

"Cheers,” Noah said hesitantly, clinking the cup to the bottle. I lifted it to take a sip. 

It was not alcohol. 

It tasted… different. The consistency was like tea, but it was sweet and earthy, cloying and pepper-y. It did have a warmth to it as it settled in my stomach.  

“Alright. Now what?” I asked, holding back a burp.  

“I guess we get started?” Noah said, though he sounded unsure. 

I started taking off my jacket when Noah surprised me. “Nick told me about your boundaries.”  

“Huh?”  

“The things that made you uncomfortable?” Noah asked. I stared up at him. “Like, no blowjobs, don't refer to your–"  

"He told you about all that?” I asked, heat rising through my body.  

“Yeah, he also said he would knock my teeth in and not help grow them back if I ignored them,” he said.  

"He would,” I muttered.  

“I told him I wouldn't,” he said. I must've not looked convinced because he sighed. “Taylor, I promise I'll take care of you.” 

The sudden tenderness of that statement caught me off guard. “You… You promise?”  I asked, twisting the hems of the jacket’s sleeves between my fingers.  

He nodded, ducking his head down to touch my forehead with his. “I promise,” he stated.

It barely took anything for him to press his lips to mine. His lips were softer than I expected, taking me by surprise as his lips slanted over mine. Something shot through me, like a lightning strike, causing me to breathlessly gasp.

Suddenly, one of Noah's hands buried into my hair, holding the back of my head as he flicked the seam of my lips with his tongue. I found myself hesitating, my judgement momentarily lapsing. 

Noah must have sensed it before he pulled back. “Tay…?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The sound of my name softly falling from his mouth pulled me back under. I raised my arms and wrapped them around his neck, making him lean down. I felt his free hand sneak around my waist to my lower back, where he pulled me up to where there was no space between our bodies. Earlier I had felt like I was being suffocated being pressed against him; his warmth leeched the cold from the Grove away, and it felt… good. Grounding, even.  

He suddenly pulled away, farther this time, leaving me dazed. "Breathe," he commanded, his voice not affected by our activity. I blinked up at him. His eyes were dark, lit only by the candlelight flickering around us. “We're not continuing until you breathe.”  

That was when I realized that I had been holding my breath for who knows how long. I breathed in for three seconds and exhaled for three more. As I did the same process again, he pressed his lips to my jaw, causing me to falter in distraction. 

After my third attempt to catch my breath, his lips returned to mine, hungrier than before. This time when his tongue pressed to my lips, I opened them with a sigh, letting him lick his way in. He tasted… surprisingly normal. Just the remains of that tea we had drunk. It sent a wave of heat down from my chest to the apex of my thighs.  

I combed my fingers through his wild hair, surprised at how luxurious it felt despite the tangles. It felt like I was making out with a regular person until my hand crept up and brushed against an antler. He groaned into my mouth, running a steadying hand up my spine below the jacket. He didn't pull away, instead muttering into my lips, “Take… Off.” 

It was easy to slip out of Nick's denim jacket. The cool air brushed along my bare arms, causing goosebumps to break out along my skin, until Noah wrapped his arms back around me. We didn't even part as I dropped the jacket somewhere off to the side. 

I felt his fingers run against the hem of my shirt, brushing against the skin of my stomach. I detached with a gasp, and Noah began to pull it upwards, but he was unable to.

The blanket of reality was settling over me, like a slap to the face. I didn't belong here. This place was too ancient, too sacred. And here I was, desecrating it with my human presence; desecrating it by attempting to fuck my partner's demigod best friend. 

“Taylor.”

The voice of said demigod pulled me back from the edge of an anxiety attack. Noah stared at me with concern. He cupped the side of my face, his long fingers nearly reaching the back of my head. 

“Don't think about what's going on outside of here,” he whispered, words hovering in the almost nonexistent space between us. “Stay here with me.”  

His tenderness with me was almost unsettling, but I still nodded. He licked his way back into my mouth, and I gave in to the warmth and melted into his arms. This time it was easier for him to pull my shirt off. 

I found myself reaching up and wrapping a hand around one of his antlers. The texture was as rough as I had expected it to be, like the bark of a tree. What I didn't expect was it to be so warm, almost like the rest of him. I tried to use my grip on it to pull myself up; at least put us on equal playing ground. 

He moved his hands down to my hips, pressing his fingers into the flesh behind them, and he pushed me down across his lap. I gasped as I felt the hardness beneath his jeans. Before I could try to pull myself up, he was pushing me back until my bare back was pressed into the soft blanket. 

He crouched over me and looked me up and down, like a predator that had just caught its prey. “Look at you,” Noah muttered, more to himself. He lightly dragged a finger down my body, from my collarbone to my belly button. I unconsciously squirmed, almost missing what he said next. “I knew I should've asked Nick for a turn before this.”

“What–” I tried to speak, but he silenced me with his lips pressing to mine once more. Heat simmered in my veins, turning molten and flowing down though my body. 

He pulled away and kissed my chin, then under my jaw, and then my throat. He trailed his kisses down until he got to my collarbone where I felt a quick sting. I hissed at the sensation until he sucked at the mark.

“Wanna mark you,” he muttered into my skin.  “Wanna make everyone know you belong to the Watcher of the Woods.”  

A needy sound left my throat, and I felt him smile against my skin. "Mmm, I bet you'd like that, huh?” he asked. He trailed downwards, sucking multiple blooms in his wake. He paused at one of my nipples, taking it between his lips and swirling his tongue around it. 

I mewled at the sensation, arching into his chest when he sucked. “N-Noah.” At the uttering of his name, he released my chest with a small pop. He looked up at me through his lashes as he trailed light nips down my stomach. 

Noah hooked his fingers into the waistband of my jeans and tugged them down. His large hands stroked briefly down my legs, one running over my tattoo-covered scar. He brought his hands back up and this time took my underwear down with him.  

He sat back and looked over me, tilting his head. I shifted, prepping myself up on my elbows. “What?” I asked, heat rising to my face. The scrutiny in his eyes was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. 

“Gimme a second. It's… been awhile,” he said.

His hand trailed up the front of my left leg until he wrapped his fingers around the back of my knee. Lifting my leg up, he tenderly placed a kiss on my ankle. He then trailed his mouth slowly up my leg, his kisses getting wetter the higher they went. I felt my heart rate increase the closer he got to where I wanted him.  

When he reached the crease of my thigh, he moved to kiss my navel, earning a choked sound from me. As he trailed his kisses down the other leg, I tried wiggling my hips to move him. Instead, his hands roughly grabbed my hips and held them down. 

"Relax, lil rabbit. Lemme have my fun,” he said. 

“For someone who claims that it’s ‘been a while’,” I tried to say calmly, “you sure do seem to enjoy–” 

My complaint was cut off when his lips pressed to the bundle of nerves between my thighs. My words choked off and increased in pitch when he moved one of his hands from my hip to my thigh, pulling it outward as he flattened his tongue against the bud.  

“Fuck, fucking fu–” once again my words changed to a moan when he lightly sucked my clit in between his lips to tease at it with his tongue, a move that felt like it had to be illegal in the state of Virginia. Jesus fucking Christ, how did he know how to move his tongue like that– 

I felt the heat in my body intensify until a sheen of sweat coated my skin. I could barely think how and why he had me so close so fast just with his tongue alone.  Another swipe and my fingers curled into the blanket with a white-knuckle grip.  

When he teased my hole with the tip of his tongue, I knew I was gone. “Noah, Noah, Noah shit shit I'm gonna–!” A pulse rippled through my body, and my hips jerked but got nowhere thanks to his grip. He gently licked me as I rode it out, tapering my climax until he slowly pulled away to leave sticky open-mouth kisses to my inner thighs. My thighs twitched with every kiss. 

What the fuck.  

“Illegal in the state of Virginia, huh?” His voice broke through my blissful haze as I tried to recover from the earth-shattering orgasm.  

“Shut up,” I said between labored breaths. I lifted a trembling hand and swatted him on the back of his head. "Don't read my mind." I flopped back down onto the ground, boneless and satiated.

Or… maybe not. 

The ache between my thighs was still present; the warmth from earlier still settled in my gut. It was like my body wasn't satisfied yet. I wanted - no, needed more from Noah. 

He must’ve also been unsatisfied, as I felt his lips trail back up my thighs. I didn't give it a second thought at first until I flinched from his tongue lapping at my entrance. “Noah, what're you–”  

He dove right back in, ungodly sounds coming from him. I gasped out “No-ah, waiiit.” I moaned loudly as his tongue pushed further in. My fingers dug back into their place into the blanket until Noah pried one of them out and maneuvered it to the top of his head. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt a pang as muscle memory took over and my fingers wove through his hair. Nick liked it when I pulled his hair when he ate me out.  

I let Noah's hair slip through my fingers, wrapped my hand around one of his antlers instead. I pulled on it slightly, earning a moan from him. The vibrations from it caused me to shudder violently. 

I looked down at him at the same time he opened his eyes and stared up at me. All I could see in them was the candle’s flicker. I watched him move his hand from my thigh to my center as his mouth focused solely on my clit. He slid a finger into my entrance, causing my neck to give out and my head to fall back as a wave of pleasure rose over me.  

FUCK, YOU TASTE SO FUCKING GOOD.  

The sound of his voice in my head startled me. That's when I realized he had slid in a second finger at the same time he curled them up in tandem with sucking on my clit. My toes curled, the heat in my core flamed higher and higher.

“Noah, I'm gonna–”  

DO IT.  

“Noah, oh god–” 

NO, IT'S JUST ME.  

With a few more curls of his fingers, he pulled my orgasm free. My thighs shook and clenched as the pleasure crashed down on me, and he continued to lick me through my aftershocks as if he didn't want to miss a single to drop. I tugged on his antlers to pull him away, and he finally parted with a whiny huff.

I fell back to the ground, dizzy and panting as I tried to catch my breath. I stared up at the canopy of leaves blocking the night sky. The shadows created by the candle flames worsened my dizziness, and I shut my eyes. I could just barely hear Noah sitting up, as if he was miles away. He had said something, but I couldn't focus on him.  

HEY. YOU OKAY?  

His voice in my head helped bring me back to earth. I opened my eyes to see him hovering over me, his body slotted in between my legs. It might’ve been just me, but the light flickering over his face made him seem otherworldly; the shadows messing with my eyes seemed to make his antlers twist and turn, seemingly growing. 

“Yeah… yeah, I’m good…” I said, taking in deep breaths. 

The corner of his mouth lifted in his signature smirk, and he quickly vanished from view. 

I closed my eyes as I heard him rustling around, but it wasn't long before I felt Noah's presence again. “Don't go falling asleep on me now,” he said out loud. His voice sounded rougher. I opened my eyes again. 

Strands of his hair framing his face were stuck to his cheeks. I stroked my fingers along the skin, pushing back some of the hair behind his ear. The gesture was soft, shocking me a little, as well as him by the look on his face. He shifted and the hair fell back down into his face.

I felt his skin press to mine, and my body tensed up as he began to wrap my legs around his hips. He leaned down, kissing me passionately, and my worries melted away until there was only the carnal urge to have him inside me. I widened my legs a little bit.

I tried to pull away to ask him to hurry up, but he beat me to it.  

PLEASE… LET ME... FUCK, I NEED YOU SO MUCH.  

He sounded so desperate. I'd never seen this side of him before, so needy and vulnerable. Like the demigod persona had peeled back and I was witnessing the human man beyond the glass.

“Yes… Noah, please,” I muttered.

He took himself in hand and lined himself up, and the feeling of the head of his cock pushing into me made me gasp. He was gentle, working inside of me slowly as if he didn't want to break me. Our eyes met, and I could watch his reactions. I could see his patience slowly crumbling with every keen sigh that left my body.

When he was fully inside me, hips pressed to mine, he paused to let out a long breath he had been holding. He rested his forehead on mine, his antlers scraping beside my head. His eyes squeezed shut, and he was seemingly frozen.

"Noah?" I whispered to him. He made a noise that almost sounded pained, slightly shaking his head. His hair fell over us, obscuring the forest from view. It felt like we were the only ones out here.

"Noah," I said a little bit more firmly.  

I… I CAN'T. 

“What do you mean–” Speaking out loud seemed to be blasphemous in this space. What do you mean, you can’t?  

YOU FEEL SO GOOD I DON'T THINK I CAN KEEP CONTROL OVER MYSELF IF I–

Noah... I lifted my hand up to cup his cheek. His eyelids fluttered open, and even in the darkness, I could see that they were no longer his dark brown. They seemed to glow with a soft green light, like his tattoos earlier. Let go.  

At those words, Noah looked at me as if I was hand delivered by the Devil himself. He then pulled out halfway, only to push back in. He was still deliberately holding back. As he moved, I could feel the growl coming from his chest rather than hear it. Every push seemed to anchor me into the ground. 

Noah buried his face into my neck, alternating between kissing and biting the skin as he whimpered with each drag in and out. I gripped onto his shoulders, trying to find purchase with every thrust. I'm sure I was leaving scratch marks, but he didn’t seem to mind.

It was after a rough thrust that had me crying out that I felt something tickle my nose. I brushed it away, thinking it was his hair. When it happened again, I opened my eyes to see that it was small white flower buds that were brushing my face. His antlers were sprouting flowers. 

I laughed out loud at the realization, causing Noah to pause. He pulled away, confused at first, but then he saw what I was laughing about. He grinned and violently shook his head, causing the tiny flowers to rain down on me, and my laughs turned to joyous shrieks.

“Come on, Noah,” I said breathlessly. “I said let go. I can take it.”

His demeanor shifted suddenly, and he looked down at me with his eerily glowing eyes.

NOT ENOUGH, HUH? 

Noah's hands slid down to my waist and he pulled me up off the ground. I yelped as he balanced back and propped me on his hips, roughly thrusting back into me. I cried out as he kept up that pace, holding me up with just his arms. “Noah, I'm gonna–!”

YOU'RE NOT GONNA FALL, I GOT YOU.

He finally sounded wrecked in my head, and his actual voice was reduced to swearing and choked sounds. I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face into the crook of his shoulder to muffle the sounds I made as he bounced me up and down on his cock. 

COME ON, I WANNA HEAR THOSE PRETTY LITTLE SOUNDS. 

I pulled away then, and as he opened his mouth, I cupped his face in the palms of my hands to pull him in to kiss him. He pried my lips open with his own as he thrusted upward, hitting a spot in me that had me biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. The taste was sweet and metallic, and I'm sure he could taste it as well as our tongues met. A hand left my lower back to curl into the tangled mess of my hair, pressing me closer to him. 

I clenched around him and he groaned.  

FUCKING HELL, LITTLE RABBIT, YOU FEEL SO GOOD. 

The snap of his hips was falling out of rhythm; he was getting close.  

YEAH, SO CLOSE… SO CLOSE. TOUCH YOURSELF… FOR ME, PLEASE…  

My hand left his back, sliding down his tattooed chest to slip in between our bodies. It was awkward going, and I accidently brushed his nipple with my little finger which made him jump. The movement hit something in me, and I almost screamed.  

My fingers finally made the rest of the way down, dipping between my thighs to circle my swollen clit. I twitched and clenched at the same time he thrusted and hit that spot inside of me again. My third climax of the night hit me like a lightning bolt, burning me from the inside out. 

I cried out, squeezing my eyes shut until I fell limp into his arms. Noah snapped his hips up one, two, three more times before I felt him spill into me, a loud gasp leaving him. 

I clung onto him with what little strength I had left, trembling as I tried to collect my thoughts and my breath. I could feel our mixed arousal dripping out of me, but neither of us seemed to care at the moment. I groggily opened my eyes, realizing how dark it was. The candles had been blown out somehow, half-melted as if we’d been at it for hours and hours.  

Noah shifted a little bit, slipping out of me despite my small whimper of complaint. He laid me down on the ground, straightening the blanket around me. I closed my eyes, dizzy once again.  

I could hear him rustling around again. I might’ve passed out for a little bit, because it was with a jolt I felt something wet between my legs. When I opened my eyes, I saw him cleaning me with some wet cloth. It was too dark to tell. 

Exhaustion washed over me, and I weakly reached out for Noah. He paused but eventually took my hand and surrendered himself to lay beside me. I curled into his warmth as he pulled the blanket over to cover us both. I snuck my arm around the wide mass of his torso, smoothing my fingers over the scratches I had left. Instead of the sweat-slick softness of skin, I realized that the areas around the marks had turned into the texture of tree bark.  

I let myself soak in the afterglow of the moment, knowing full well that in the morning I would be delivered back to Nick, and everything would go back to normal.

Except, with a pang, a tiny part of me knew that nothing would go back to normal. Not after this. 

A chill skittered down my spine, but not from the cold though. I shuddered as that realization hit me like a truck, but when Noah brushed a hand over my hair and made an inquiring noise, I shoved the thought to the back of my mind and kept still.  

For now, everything was alright. For now, everything would be okay.

tysm for reading! If you enjoyed this, please reblog to share the word of the Revered Father. Next chapter coming soon.

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[weepingtalecowboy]

Time is like a river (and fierce deity is straight up drowning in him)

Fanfic prompt :The good old horror of time using the ocarina or someone else using it is well known

But I think that it could get worse

Like for example if time hands the ocarina over to one of the other links

As they can turn back time for essentially eternity if they can mentally keep up (or not it would still work)

Them dying doesn’t actually make a difference

If legend for example after a literal eternity of looping back dies

What even changes ?

All that changes is the fact that someone else might take the ocarina to travel back in time

Now wind or warriors or any other link gets to do the exact same thing

But this character hasn’t lived the same memory of the first one even if legend told them that he comes from the future they literally can’t comprehend his memories because they haven’t lived them he could never hope to tell them Literally EVERY single outcome of all his attempts that physically could not be possible/especially if we included genuine eternities of looping back to fix stuff like making a list is not possible if it keeps going on for eternity

This eternal loop might actually be much worse because if legend dies then time (the construct) would be at square one

And legend's progress on finding ways to escape the loop would die with him

Who ever takes the ocarina next only needs to die once to get legend to take the ocarina back and he will be back with trying already long done methods again and again (he could never know that he did them already because he literally hasn’t yet by this point he will eternally be set to a very limited amount of options he will keep retrying and retrying and retrying endlessly)

The true horror in time travel is the possibility that you can’t escape because even if you know you are in one , you could have tried every option to ever exist and you wouldn’t even know how many times you tried it you cannot imagine something new if you keep losing the memory that you have already tried the past options

Because for all people think time is linear they don’t act like it is

If we think we will change the past if we fuck around and find out…

IF the timeline truly was linear then it would have already accounted for the fucking around with it and by assuming that you could potentially mess it up you SEVERELY limit your understanding and options

A good example is a river that flows down a mountain

No matter how hard you try to push it back it will just keep flowing down and continue on it will carve into the mountain and have its favored path

Trying to stop it with a dam only stops it for a while… at some point it overflows and it goes back to linearly flow downwards

Maybe the patterns it takes change a bit when you put your hand inside but the water downstream literally won’t be affected by you because it ALREADY is down there

To stop the stream in a way that truly stops it like pushing all the water back up even if you manage it the second you stop pushing it upstream it will just flow back into the carved out paths and the water is back at the bottom

To take a different option is literally impossible

You can’t try something you yourself are incapable of thinking about doing

Even if you try for eternity you are limited by your own mortality

If you are trapped then you are trapped (if you escape then you never where trapped in the first place)

The options are incredibly limited in time travel every time you forget you take them again

But now comes the part… that is genuinely terrifying to consider

The way majora's mask is defeated would be literally impossible without some entity that remembers every failure

Because we tend to suck at games (nobody can play a game without knowing how it works without dying at least once )

So every time link dies he is back to his limited amount of options with no memory of every having taken them, …

But we aren’t we can get better at the game and figure out stuff

Like fierce deity literally takes several cycles to get even if you never die

But realistically you couldn’t have known better if you didn’t know the game in some way (be it reading up a guide or trying it out )

But how can link know to try something in different ways or order whenever he dies

Like changing quests and figuring out where to go is not something that you can do on the first try

We are essentially the entity who has a collective of link's memory (I like to think that fierce deity is a representation of this collective memory)

So if time has the fierce deity to tell him to take another option (by force or otherwise)

He can break out because he can actually take another option

He might not even know that he is taking another option but he certainly can do so with the fierce deity's help

While the rest of the links are literally toddling around like kids indefinitely

Passing the ocarina back and forth not gaining any insight on how to get out the timeloop

Instead of retrying a certain set of options over and over again in repetition

Time could eventually use the fierce deity to get out the loop

If the option they need to escape isn’t figured out during the first loop where a character has their memory still

It literally won’t be figured out by the next loop or any other loop

Honestly that collective would totally make fierce deity’s actions and existence horrifying

It would literally have several millennia of the hero of time’s memory of past attempts and failures

Be it time biting the dust day one in majora’s mask twenty times over till it made him figure out stuff because it has the experience to do better or time retrying during linked universe for the five hundred time

He might not know just how often he had done that but the fierce deity surly does

And it’s gamer rage is totally justified because how often can someone suck at the same thing with losing their god damned mind

We as players tend to get incredibly frustrated when we fail over and over yet outright living the situation that link is in would be a completely different kind of painful because fierce deity wouldn’t just be looking at the happenings

[intiredtea]

Breaking a bargain for...?

As always, click for better quality.

More Bluejay origins!

(Context: He gave up his ability to sing as payment to a powerful crone who promised him protection and a new life. Bluejay casts spells using "Subtle Spell," a D&D 5e sorcery ability, which means you don't have perform somatic or verbal components of a spell. But without sorcery points, he had to make a decision to watch Gale die, or use his voice to save him).

This is super scrappy and I'm sorry. Almost scrapped this whole comic, but with some gentle encouragement from my wife and brother, I decided to just finish it the best I could and get my claws off of it.

As always, thanks for reading.

[jackass-jones]

Come back home when you have some sense

You can throw your life away just not at my expense

You’re not the son I raised

[transhoverfish]

check out my new and incredibly cool subnautica challenge!! i call it: Go More Than Ten Meters In Your Seamoth Without Hitting 17 Entire Fucking Fish. so far proving to be impossible.

[blackcatxmagic]

"Hey, like I said, it's not a bad thing," Brook reassured River, grinning at them. "It's kind of nice actually. I like that you just go for it. I'm not that confident." While Brook knew that physically he appealed to people most of the time, he was so socially stunted from years of working long hours as a surgeon that that aspect of him left a lot to be desired. But since coming to Cardinal Hill, he'd been making a marked effort to socialize more and develop his people skills. "I'd be down to watch that movie with you," Brook told River. "Sounds fun." He understood what River was saying too, and he nodded, conceding, "Yeah, you're right. Even if I don't know if I've found my true happiness yet, career-wise I've at least accomplished my goals. But you're not 40 yet, so you've still got time." Brook reached out and patted River on the shoulder, giving them another smile. "What do you think you'd want to do? Like what has always been your dream?" he asked the other.

Brook felt like he was being a little glum, and that hadn't been his intention, but now the thought struck him and wouldn't let go. But he was finding it was a little difficult to stay melancholy with River, and Brook looked at them and smirked. "Optional, hmm?" he mused. There was that flirting again. More seriously, Brook replied, "Yeah, I think that's part of it. Here I've got a chance to just exist and figure out who the hell I am, if that makes sense. Better late than never I guess, right?" He smiled at the other, saying, "And thanks, River. You're a really nice person." And then Brook gave them another pat on the shoulder, along with a little squeeze.

"No idea, maybe she just really liked her human sounding name..." The blonde snickered. When Brook called River on their flirting they gave a loud snicker "What?? I can't help it, it's like my best skill and it always works in my favour, even if that makes me sound like a complete slut!" They laughed out. "But I would love for you to watch the movie with me" They added, giving a little bat of their eyelashes.

"Yes, but you've been to college, you're a doctor, have your own digs here in town. Like you've done the work to be allowed to have gone past 40" They chided playfully "Indeed and bliss we should really allow for ourselves..." They agreed, giving a hum. "It's just that people forget it most of the time, which is why I know that I've had fun in my life, even if with nothing lasting to show for it" "I am absolutely getting under her feet, but she loves me and I suppose I love her too-" They giggled "But we have our fun and shes a real hoot when she wants to be". Brooks next words made Rivers eyes spark and they couldn't help but latch onto them "Well, now that I'm in town that can be quite optional for you, hm?" They shrugged, offering to be nonchalant. "Maybe here you're actually allowed to slow down and see things in real time? No no, you're not bringing the mood down at all, I like that you're honest with who you are. I think it's an admirable quality for you, don't allow yourself to think otherwise."

[nymphoutofwater]

getting ready for a party im hosting tomorrow and i feel like im forgetting something. oh i know!!! accidentally starting tumblr discourse bc i was curious about other people’s social norms!!! what should I ask this time?