#tranquil suburbs

[celebrityresidence]

Dennis Rodman's Luxurious Bloomfield Hills Mansion

Explore the grandeur of NBA legend Dennis Rodman's mansion in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This image captures the essence of Rodman's residence, showcasing its blend of historical elegance and modern luxury. The mansion, known for its European architectural influences and contemporary design, reflects Rodman's unique personality and taste. Nestled in the tranquil suburbs of Michigan, this property is a testament to Rodman's legacy, combining opulence, personal style, and eco-friendly features. Visit: https://www.omnihomeideas.com/design/celebrity-homes/dennis-rodman-house-in-bloomfield-hills/

[vanteguccir]

── ୨୧ !　𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦 𝗠𝗘

　　　　　　　　𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒐 x reader

SUMMARY: Where Y/N and Matt are just friends that act like they’re in a loving relationship.

WARNING: None. (Friends to lovers trope)

REQUESTED?: Yes, by anon

AUTHOR'S NOTE: That is my work, I DON'T authorize any plagiarism, copy, or "inspiration"! | English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.

　　　༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

Matt had always believed that change was the only constant in life. He had learned this the hard way when he and his brothers finally decided to uproot their lives from the tranquil suburbs of Boston to the bustling, sun-soaked streets of Los Angeles.

LA was vast and vibrant, a stark contrast to the quiet neighborhoods they were used to. It was in this whirlwind of new beginnings that Matt met Y/N.

Y/N lived next door. The first encounter was serendipitous, almost as if fate had decided to intervene. Matt was struggling to carry a heavy box from the moving truck, screaming like crazy for help to Nick or Chris - and being successfully ignored - when Y/N appeared, offering a friendly smile and a helping hand. That simple act of kindness sparked a connection that would grow deeper over time.

From the very start, their friendship was unlike any other. There was an immediate, unspoken understanding between them. Matt felt a sense of ease around Y/N that he hadn’t experienced with anyone else, not even his brothers.

One of the most defining aspects of their friendship was their mutual love language: touch. It wasn’t something they discussed; it simply came naturally. A gentle touch on the shoulder, a comforting hand on the back, a little bit of cuddling, or a playful nudge, these small gestures were a constant, reassuring presence in their interactions.

Matt found himself gravitating toward Y/N whenever they were together. He cherished the way Y/N would drape an arm around his waist as they walked down the street during fall days, or how they would sit so close on the couch that their legs would almost be on top of the other.

It was these moments of physical closeness that made the both of them feel truly understood and cared for.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

The bright winter sun was high in the sky, casting a golden glow into the car, illuminating the black leather seats. The car windows were rolled down, letting in the slightly cold breeze and the distant sound of other cars rushing around in the - always - busy streets of LA. Matt was behind the wheel, his hands relaxed on the steering wheel as he guided the car along the venue heading to Target, ready to buy the items he and his brothers would use in Wednesday's upcoming video.

Y/N was in the passenger seat, her feet propped up on the seat so that her legs were bent and her thighs kept pressed against her chest, a carefree smile playing on her lips. The radio played a soft indie, melodic tune, adding to the serene atmosphere.

As they drove, Y/N’s hand found its way to Matt’s arm, a casual and unconscious gesture. Her fingers decorated with pink nails lightly traced patterns on his hoodie-covered skin, the touch gentle and familiar. Matt glanced over and smiled, a warm feeling spreading through him. He was used to Y/N’s touch by now; it was as natural as breathing.

"Look, Matt, that restaurant I sent you on Instagram! I really want to come here, they only do Arabic food, you know?" Y/N exclaimed, pointing out the window to the tall, large restaurant, the concrete walls in a warm shade of red with a silver sign that shined below the daylight. Her excitement was contagious, and Matt felt his heart swell with affection for his best friend.

"We could come this Friday. If you want to, princess." Matt agreed, his voice soft. He reached over and squeezed Y/N’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before returning his focus to the road. Y/N’s fingers lingered on his, her touch very soft as she traced the lines of his palm with the tip of her fingers.

They drove in comfortable silence for the last few minutes of the route, the only sounds being the hum of the engine and the occasional horn coming from the cars around. While singing the soft melody of one of Billie's songs, Y/N’s hand moved to Matt’s forearm, her fingers lightly brushing up and down, a soothing rhythm that Matt found incredibly calming.

Without thinking, Y/N’s hand slipped to the back of Matt’s neck, her fingers threading through his hair. Matt leaned into the touch, a contented sigh escaping his lips.

"Oh, we're here!"

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

Matt was sprawled out on the couch, enjoying the tranquility that followed a satisfying lunch. The living room was bathed in the soft glow of the afternoon sun, which streamed in through the large windows on the right side of the large sofa, casting a warm and inviting light over everything.

The sound of Nick's fingers tapping over the keys on his MacBook as he edited their next YouTube video was one of the only sounds that interrupted the comfortable silence.

Matt had his phone in hand, idly scrolling through TikTok. He chuckled at the occasional funny video, the sound mingling with the faint hum of the air conditioning. He was relaxed, content to let the day pass by in this peaceful state.

Y/N was in the kitchen, putting away the leftovers from their lunch, setting aside a significant portion for Chris, knowing he would return home hungry after his outing with Sam, the aroma of the meal newly cooked still lingering in the air.

As Y/N finished up, she wiped her hands on a dish towel and made her way into the living room.

Matt looked up as soon as he noticed a new presence approaching, a soft smile spreading across his face almost automatically.

"Hey." He said, his voice warm and inviting. The boy patted the space on the grey couch next to him, signaling for Y/N to join him. "Come here."

Y/N didn’t need any further encouragement. She crossed the room - stroking Nick's right shoulder quickly as she passed him - and settled onto the couch, her body naturally gravitating towards Matt. Without a word, Matt lifted his arm and gently guided Y/N’s head to rest on his thighs.

As Y/N nestled her head into Matt’s lap, a content sigh scaped through her lips. Matt’s free hand found its way to Y/N’s hair, brushing away loose strands over her eyes and cheeks, his fingers beginning to gently scratch her scalp softly. The rhythmic motion was soothing, and Y/N felt a wave of relaxation wash over her body. Her mind started to feel like floating.

Matt continued to watch TikToks, his focus still on the screen while his right tumb scrolled from one video to another, but his touch remained constant and affectionate. He didn’t even realize how naturally his fingers moved through Y/N’s hair, the light scratching and gentle strokes a habitual way of expressing his care.

Y/N’s eyes fluttered closed, the combination of Matt’s touch and the post-lunch drowsiness lulling her into a state of blissful relaxation. The soft rise and fall of Matt’s chest, the steady rhythm of his breathing, and the gentle pressure of his fingers all blended together, creating a cocoon of comfort.

Until she finally dozed off.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

The gentle glow of the TV cast a soft light across Matt's room, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere, the blinds blocking the moonlight from outside the house. Y/N lay curled up on his bed, nestled under the duvet, watching a random, soft movie, her body covered in Matt's blue striped pajamas.

The plot was slow, the characters spoke in hushed tones, and the overall ambiance was soothing. It was the perfect background for drifting into a peaceful slumber.

Y/N’s eyelids grew heavier with each passing minute, her mind teetering on the edge of sleep. She fought to stay awake, hoping to see Matt after his hours of recording with his brothers before giving in to the lull of the movie. The faint sound of footsteps against the floor and the jingling of car keys reached her ears. Matt was home.

A few moments later, the bedroom door opened quietly, and Matt stepped inside. He paused in the doorway, taking in the sight of Y/N with her eyes half-closed, looking so peaceful and serene. His heart swelled with care as he softly closed the door behind his back, careful not to make any noise, the click echoing through the four walls.

"Hey, princess, are you still awake?" Matt whispered, his voice gentle and filled with warmth, wanting to make sure before making any noise that would actually wake her up.

Y/N’s eyes fluttered open, lifting her head on Matt's pillow - the strands of her hair spilling over the cotton pillowcase - and looking at him, smiling sleepily.

"Barely." She replied, her voice a soft murmur. She lifted the edge of the duvet, a clear invitation for him to join her. "Come lay with me. Pretty please."

Matt didn’t need any further prompting. He could shower after. He kicked off his shoes and took small steps towards his bed, the sound of his white sock-covered feet sounding mutely against the floor. The boy slipped into bed beside Y/N, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight.

As he settled in, Y/N turned towards him, her eyes sparkling with drowsy affection.

"Come here, petal." Matt gently pulled her closer, wrapping one arm around her torso and positioning her head on his shoulder. He could feel the soft, steady rhythm of her breathing against his chest. With his other arm, he draped the duvet over them both, cocooning them in warmth.

He wrapped his arm more securely around her, his hand resting on her back, traveling to the hem of her - his - pajama top, delving beneath the fabric and up the warm skin that seemed to embrace the cold of his hand, fingers lightly tracing soothing circles. He felt Y/N’s body relax further into his embrace, their legs naturally tangling together, creating a comforting sense of intimacy.

Matt buried his face in Y/N’s hair, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent that always calmed him. He pressed a series of light, tender kisses to the top of her head, moving down to her temple and then to her cheek.

Y/N let out a contented sigh, her eyes drifting closed as she nestled even closer to Matt. She could feel the steady beat of his heart, a soothing reminder of his presence. Matt’s fingers continued to draw gentle patterns on her back, a comforting rhythm that lulled her further towards sleep.

"Y'need to tell me about your day, Matty." Y/N whispered against his chest, her voice barely audible, her words slurred with drowsiness.

"Tomorrow." He whispered back, feeling his best friend finally succumbed to sleep.

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

The gentle hum of conversation filled the air as Matt and Y/N strolled through the farmer’s market - one of the activities that Matt started to love doing after meeting Y/N. Stalls lined the street, brimming with fresh produce, homemade crafts, and delicious baked goods. The vibrant colors and lively atmosphere added to the charm of the day.

Matt and Y/N walked side by side, their hands occasionally brushing against each other. They had done this many times before, but today, something felt different. There was a lingering warmth in every accidental touch, a heightened awareness that neither of them could quite explain.

"Look at these strawberries!" Y/N exclaimed, stopping at a stall overflowing with ripe, red fruit. She picked up a small basket and held it out for Matt to see. "Aren’t they beautiful?"

Matt smiled, his eyes not on the strawberries but on Y/N’s face, lit up with excitement.

"They’re." He said softly, nodding slightly. "Let’s get some, yeah?"

As they continued to browse, Y/N slipped her hand into Matt’s without thinking, their fingers intertwining naturally. Matt’s heart skipped a beat at the simple, already familiar gesture, but today, it felt more significant. He glanced down at their joined hands, a small smile playing on his lips, and gently squeezed.

They made their way to a stall, selling freshly baked pastries. Y/N’s eyes lit up at the sight of chocolate croissants, and Matt couldn’t help but laugh.

"You and your obsession with chocolate." The brunette teased, nudging Y/N playfully.

"You know me so well, Matty B." Y/N replied jokingly with a grin, selecting two croissants and handing one to Matt. "Here, try this."

Matt took a bite, the rich, flaky pastry melting in his mouth.

"It's good." He agreed, picking two more for Chris and Nick, knowing they would complain if they knew he had some sweet treat with Y/N and didn't think about them.

As they continued their stroll, sharing the croissants, the simple act of enjoying a treat together felt intimate, more than it had ever before.

While choosing some fresh fruits and showing them to Matt, their eyes met, and for a moment, the world around them seemed to blur, the sound of salespeople announcing their sales seemed muted to their ears and the people moving around them seemed to disappear. Matt felt an overwhelming urge to close the distance between them, to let his feelings be known. But he hesitated, unsure of what he was even feeling.

Y/N’s hand found its way to Matt’s cheek, her touch light and tender.

"You’ve got a bit of croissant on your face." She whispered with a soft laugh, brushing the crumbs away with the tip of her fingers.

Matt’s heart raced at the simple touch, and he covered Y/N’s hand with his own, holding it there for a moment longer than necessary.

"Thanks." He murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

They stayed like that for a few moments, the connection between them growing stronger with each passing second. Neither of them spoke, but the emotions in their eyes said more than words ever could.

A rude sound from the small stall vendor broke the moment, the man clearing his throat as he watched them, his eyes traveling from their faces to the fruit in Y/N's hands and back again.

"Oh, uhm, sorry."

　　　　　༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room as Matt sat on the edge of his bed, his thoughts a whirlwind of emotions. He had been feeling off all day, a strange mix of anxiety and anticipation that he couldn’t quite shake. Nick and Chris had noticed his unusual behavior and exchanged knowing glances but said nothing.

The soft sound of knocking against his bedroom door sounded through all four walls, Y/N's head appearing between the door and the doorframe seconds after.

"Hey, Matty. What’s wrong?" The girl asked without even saying hi, her voice soft and full of concern. "Nick texted me. He told me you weren’t feeling so well… but you’re not ill, are you? You were fine earlier."

Before Matt could respond, Y/N stepped in his room, closing the door behind her back and taking small steps closer, positioning herself standing between his parted knees and pressing the back of her hand against his forehead to check his temperature. Matt’s heart raced at the gentle touch, his breath hitching slightly.

"No, you’re not, thank God." Y/N said with a sigh of relief, smiling hesitantly, her eyes filled with genuine concern. "But I know you, you're not feeling your best, huh? What can I do to help?"

Matt’s mind raced. He didn’t know why he had held back for so long, why he had ignored the signs that were so clear now. Every time Y/N’s eyes sparkled when she looked at him, it mirrored the way his eyes lit up when he saw her. It was like he had been voluntarily blinding himself, unwilling to acknowledge the truth. But now, it was as if he was seeing colors for the first time, and everything made sense. He almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, how it had taken a conversation with Nick, of all people, to make him realize what he had been feeling all along.

"Matty?" Y/N’s voice broke through his thoughts, pulling him back to the present, her hand traveling to his right shoulder, squeezing the covered skin.

Matt looked up, his heart pounding in his chest. He could see the worry etched on Y/N’s face, and it made him fall in love with her all over again. He loved how easy it was to fall for her, how every little thing she did made his heart swell with affection.

"A kiss…" He whispered, his voice barely audible, but he knew Y/N heard him because he saw her breath hitch, her hands movements stopping momentarily.

"What?" Y/N asked, her eyes wide with surprise while her lips parted in disbelief.

"I want a kiss… to feel better." Matt repeated, clearing his throat, his voice a little stronger this time. He felt vulnerable, his heart laid bare while his body pleaded him to get under his bed and hide, but he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Y/N’s heart pounded in her chest as she processed Matt’s words. Not wanting to raise her hopes too high, she gulped, leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead, right above his messy bangs. The simple act made her heart beat loudly in their ears, a rhythm that matched Matt’s - without her knowledge.

Matt’s breath caught at the touch, but it wasn’t enough. He needed more. He raised his head, his hazel eyes locking onto Y/N’s gaze, melting with a mixture of hope and longing.

"No... A proper kiss." He asked again, his voice filled with anxiety and nervousness, but courage. "Like... Like lovers do."

Y/N’s world slowed to a standstill as she processed Matt’s words. She had waited so long for this moment, and now that it was happening, it felt almost unreal. But the intensity in Matt’s eyes and the sincerity in his voice made she realize that this was real. This was happening.

Y/N inhale a big breath before leaning in again, her heart racing, looking deeply at his eyes for some seconds before finally pressing her lips against Matt’s.

The kiss unfolded with a tenderness that seemed to suspend time itself. There was a gentle hesitation at first, an unspoken acknowledgment of the years of friendship that had led them to this moment. Y/N's touch was feather-light against Matt's cheek as their lips kept pressed for some seconds in a tentative, exploratory caress.

The sensation was electrifying yet gentle, sending shivers of anticipation down their spines. Matt's arms encircled Y/N, pulling her closer between his spread legs with a warmth that spoke volumes of his love.

The gesture deepened, each movement a silent exchange of emotions long held in check. The world outside seemed to fade away as they lost themselves in the sweetness of the moment, their hearts beating in sync.

When they finally pulled apart, both of them were breathless, their foreheads resting against each other’s, Y/N's spine curved so that she could be closer, her fingers traveling down his neck and finding home between his messy chocolate strands.

"I love you." Matt whispered, his voice filled with all the emotions he had been holding back.

"I love you too, Matt." Y/N replied, her voice equally soft and full of love. "I love you too..."

taglist:

@lustfulslxt @ladybunny44 @worldlxvlys @earth2starkey @remussbitch @freshloveforthefit @sturniolowhore @luvr4miya @alorsxsturn @urfavgirllyyyyy @hearts4chriss @cupidzsq @dracoflaco @junnniiieee07 @lightsgore @gidgett11037 @ksskianshd @soimightlikeoldmen69 @ldr-sl0t @its-jennarose @sainzzsturns @ecliphttlunar @soso-scarlettolivia @bitchydragonparadise @freshsturns @h3arts4harry @patscorner @strnilolo @bernardsbendystraws @mattsneezingreal @poetatorturadaa @meg-sturniolo @orangeypepsi @jnkvivi @chrisactualwife @fratbrochrisgf @elordilover @somegirlfromasgard @hpyjw @colorthecosmos444 @dej4vhs @thewhispersofthewaves @mattslolita @imwetforyourmom @mrl217 @delilahsversion @sturnsmia @mattsfavbitchhh @sturnioloshacker @soursturniolo

(If you want to be added to the taglist, go to this post)

[yesimwriting]

⋆｡°✩ yesimwriting's masterlist⋆｡°✩

Below the cut is a full list of all my work :) (updated 10-10-23)

*pls limit interactions if you’re a pro ED/ana acc :)*

SCREAM 1996

Final Girl 

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 

Chapter 5

Chapter 6 

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9 

Chapter 10

To be continued.

Final Girl fic-verse:

First Impressions 

Sick Day

———————

Final Girl fic-verse blurbs:

Drunk Y/N 

Stu saying the L word

Billy saying the L word

Little Rituals  

Time of Need

Talking about Y/N

Stu’s thoughts about Y/N and POV

Gingerbread

Billy Loomis x S/O with Panic attacks 

Stu waiting for Y/N and Casual Intimacy

 Billy and Stu with S/O who cries a lot 

Billy and Stu Scaring Guys Away

People noticing their friendship 

Driving with Stu 

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

SCREAM VI 

Ethan Landry 

One of Them

Ask about Ethan 

Noticing they like Y/N

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

LAST OF US 

Joel Miller

First Rule

What Follows

Y/N gets hit on - Protective Joel 

Purpose 

Pulling Away

Pulling Away similar story

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

STAR WARS 

Anakin 

More Than This 

Promise

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

AMERICAN HORROR STORY 

Tate Langdon 

Modern day fic

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

DC TITANS 

Jason Todd

Resurgence 

Slow Nights

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

ELVIS THE MOVIE

Business Practical

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 

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

STRANGER THINGS 

Steve Harrington

Movie Club

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Times Have Changed

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

DAREDEVIL

48 Hours

Chapter 1

A Red Widow

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

SPIDER-MAN 

This Time it’s Different 

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

TASM Peter 

Domestic Assertiveness 

Hobbie Brown 

Ask about Hobbie

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

YOU

Bloodroot in the Suburbs 

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Babysitter 

Chapter 2: Kill Habits, Not people 

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

SIX OF CROWS SERIES:

Searing Starlight

Searing Starlight Chapter 1

Searing Starlight Chapter 2

Searing Starlight Chapter 3

To be continued.

—————-

Kaz Brekker:

Blurb series: The Promise of Rain (i define a blurb series' as a series with shorter chapters where each chapter correlates but can technically be read as a stand alone)

The Promise of Rain (blurb 1).

The Promise of Rain (blurb 2).

The Promise of Rain (blurb 3)

To be continued.

—————

Falling Angels:

Falling Angels Chapter 1

Falling Angels Chapter 2

To be continued.

———

Anastasia (Prologue) 

Bookworm reader 

A Knife in the Back

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

SHADOW AND BONE:

The Darkling:

Solace (part 1)

Solace (part 2).

———————

To Be Alone (smut).

Solutions

All the Good Dreams (might be getting a part 2)

—————

The Needs of Pain (part 1)_

The Needs of Pain (part 2, smut).

—————-

Corridor Moments

darkling x shy! reader HC

Comforting the darkling HC

Playing Vices

Darkling x anxious! Reader

Kirigan x Soft Girls/Similar personality 

Crossing Lines 

Darkling x Pregnant! Reader 

Possessive/Breeding 

Nikolai Lantsov:

Tranquility.

Handmaid reader x nikolai. childhood best friends to 

lovers fic

Enemies to lovers Nikolai HC (i'm thinking of making a series based on this

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

SHADOW AND BONE X SIX OF CROWS:

The Problem With Light Chapter One

To be continued.

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

RED QUEEN:

Maven Calore:

Dying Starlight

[likehoneyandsilk]

Hold Me Close, Hold Me Tight

Hello there loves! Wanted to share one more little piece given it has been a while. Thank you again for the ongoing support and love to each and everyone of you. Lots of love and positive energy to you all! 💖

. . .

Jora sleeps soundly in your arms. His left cheek pressed against your breast. Those soft pink lips curled into the most petite smile. His belly full of milk. You watch him in his slumber, your little bubba perhaps dreaming of all elated pleasures in life. Tucked in his orange sleepsuit, cocooned within his cashmere blankie. A smile remains on your lips, heavy eyes in awe of this tiny human being that's kept you and your husband somewhat coherent during these last few withering weeks.

He sleeps in oblivion, in the sanctuary of his cordial nursery adorned with cartoon animals. Glowing stars across the ceiling his father placed precisely. The yellow hue of a tall lamp in the corner paints your golden boy gold. Breaking your gaze from Jora, your eyes traverse to the large window capturing Cincinnati beyond the suburbs you reside in. From this angle, you can see the twinkling orange lights of Paycor Stadium. The place was filled with exhilarating energy earlier today and quickly depleted as the Bengals fell to another loss.

The cinder block of disquiet settles on your chest, familiar to the one while you watched your husband frantically run a massage gun along his right calf. You recall the tears brimming your eyes as you recognized the sentiments pass across his face.

Frustration. Vexation. Annoyance. And defeat. Every failed throw. Each hit. Every missed opportunity. All of it raged inside his head. Too far to console his mind. Too far to hush the noises in his head. Far too many hours before he'd finally be home. You felt helpless sitting in front of the television, gripping Jora's teddy with all your power.

Your breath hitches, toes curling against the plush carpet as an icy feeling ripples through your veins. Darkness devours your vision as you shut your eyes. As if feeling his mother's abrupt change in aura, Jora moves within your arms. Your eyes fall open, the hasty motherly instinct forcing you to push aside your trepidations to tend to your sweet baby boy. He settles immediately at your velvety voice, tranquil and faint, but enough to calm his mind and lull him back to sleep. And before you know it, as the darkness outside wraps around the house, warmth from the carpet creeps into your toes, you rest your head back just for a mere second as drowsiness swallows you.

While you fade away, all you can think about is Joe.

It is just past 8:00 p.m. when the front door shuts gently. From the entryway, Joe can see the trail of yellow light peering from Jora's nursery from the story above. He drops his bag on the floor and clumsily removes his shoes before placing his keys in the nearby dish. With defying ease, he maneuvers the spaces within the main floor. He checks all the locks and windows, shutting stray lights off as he moves. Upon finishing, Joe lingers in front of the medicine cabinet for a painkiller. His body, battered and bruised, aches. He wishes for nothing more but your embrace and Jora's soft skin pressed to his cheek. Suddenly, amidst the failure and vexed calf, Joe realizes he's missed Jora's bedtime again.

His large hands run through his shorter hair, pulling at the ends as he sighs. He feels like he's sinking. Estranged because of his limited time with his four-month-old. A messy beginning of a season. And the unwavering desire to support his wife as you navigate through motherhood. Rolling his head a few times and stretching out his arms, he slides the black Nike hoodie from the nearby couch over his head. His phone buzzes and he curses under his breath, setting a mental reminder to shut it off after this. A link to his post game conference stands out amongst the blue bubble. With one tap, Joe's ears fill with the sound of his own voice and his eyes witness the tired state he fought past to get out of Paycor as soon as possible.

Impatiently dismissing the rest of the visual of what he did hours ago, Joe throws his phone onto the loveseat nearby, making his way up to stairs towards the nursery. Soft and steady, halting after every few steps to give himself a break while holding back a frustrated groan. It feels like Mount Everest when he's made it to the top. As he rests his head against the wall outside Jora's partly open door, he takes a deep breath, counting to ten in hopes of alleviating his mind. It doesn't do much, but his heart settles at the sight before him.

Jora sleeps peacefully within his mother's embrace, the sling keeping him in place. He's quiet and safe, head tilted towards you, his tiny little hand grasping a strand of hair. And then there's you. Joe's serenity. His respite. His everything.

He's quiet as he approaches you. His long strides imperceptible. The sound of your breathing, steady rise and fall of your chest comforts his mind. Joe debates placing Jora in his crib and carrying you to bed, but his heart fights back as his eyes fall to Jora, innocently asking his father to hold him in his sleep.

Joe runs the back of his hand endearingly over your cheek. It's pink, sand warm against his touch. The lamp light trickles over your skin, draping over you in gold. Your hair has its evient shine, the curls loose. Goosebumps litter your skin against your forearms. Your eyebrows crease slightly, those big brown eyes opening as sleep flees your body. You shudder, the realization that you're merely in your white satin night slip, the fabric doing nothing to keep you warm. As your vision adjusts and you resolve back to your senses, your space fills with the familiar scent of eucalyptus shampoo.

"Hey, mama." His voice is soft, almost inaudible and you crane your neck, meeting those blue-grey eyes. His presence transmits a wave of warmth up your spine, calming some tension as he leans down, wrapping his fingers within your long dark strands and kissing you with such delicacy you feel yourself melting.

"Hi," you whisper, skimming the word past his lips that hold no desire to separate from you. Carefully, you hand Jora into his protective arms, advancing to stretch your rigid limbs.

"Hey buddy, dadda's home." You beam, your heart welling as Joe's stiff body unwinds ever so slightly, a small smile appearing on his lips, which you presume was last seen hours ago.

Joe holds Jora with such fragility as a relieved sigh vacates his body. His eyes soften at his sleeping son, mumbling apology after apology for missing his bedtime. Squeezing Joe's bicep in return as a measure of reassurance. You refrain from intervening more, knowing very well that Joe had called you post-game, frustration and gloom apparent in his voice as he lumbered towards his conference. He'd wanted nothing more than to come home to his family. Against his wishes, duty called, and you persuaded him with the utmost motivation, watching a few minutes later as he remained poised and courteous, despite the longing for home in his eyes. Jora leans into his father as Joe presses his lips to his forehead with tenderness. You brush your hand across Joe's arm as he tells Jora he loves him. And you leave them be, letting your husband relish in the tranquility of your baby.

Forty-five minutes later, you hear his footsteps proceed down the stairs. The diffuser in the corner of the living room carries a faint hum. It fills the air with lemon, juniper berry, and black spruce. A cotton blanket rests over your bare limbs, your upper body secluded within a silk robe, the ties hanging loose. Much to your dismay, you feel fatigue, rebelling sleep as you wait. Your fingers skim over the unread pages of the novel in your hand, and you tuck it away as Joe enters your peripheral vision. You rise, patting the space your head occupied, long hair falling over your shoulder now exposed as the robe slips off your smooth skin. His silhouette creates pictures on the wall against the dim lights encapsulating your bodies in a homely glow.

Joe drops to the couch with a muffled groan, his body immersing into the cushion as he closes his eyes. You carefully adjust yourself next to him, cautious not to worsen any more bruises that already hurt. You examine his face, distant and near all at once. His eyes closed, long lashes falling against his cheeks. His jaw clenches in torment.

In hopes to ease the frenzy running in his head, your fingers dance over his cheek, as if freeing the tensity. He takes a cavernous breath, opening his eyes as he wills himself to surrender to your touch, turning to face you, and suddenly everything is serene. All the discomfort. All his affliction, Every inch of frustration yields as he gazes at his muse.

The familiar look of profound worry etches in your equally tired eyes. Joe wishes to replace that look with the cheerful, vibrant glow he knows well. You purse your lips as you lean into him, muttering words of endearment he hardly registers.

"Talk to me nine, let me inside."

It appears more like a plea than a command, a reminder that Joe, regardless of his strengths and intelligence, needs a portal to pour his woes into. Somebody to hold him. Love him. Remind him of all the rationale when all else feels frantic. You pull the blanket onto his long legs, resting your head against his chest so gently you barely hear the thumping of his heart. His arm cascades around your waistline, fingers trifling with the lacey ends of your night slip. His lips press to the top of your head, inhaling your fragrance, lingers of Jora's scent, decompressing further against the couch because he knows it's just you and him now. With Jora sleeping above, the white noise from his room filtering in over the baby monitor.

He's safe and sound.

He's home.

You blink a few times, nuzzling your nose into the crook of his neck. As he gathers his thoughts you pepper kisses on his neck, light and airy, letting your breath fan over his skin. And you wait, patiently wait, until he's ready.

Finally he speaks.

"The whole world feels like it's watching me screw up. Every decision feels rushed. I feel different, lost if anything, thoroughly confused". You gulp, drawing stars along his free hand that rests in his lap, giving him space to think and resume. It's a sign you're ready waiting for more, so he opens his mouth to speak again.

"All that money". He pauses, letting out an airy laugh that looms over your head mockingly. His fingers linger on your skin, pulling the flimsy lace above the tattoo on your hip. You nod, the tickling sensation of your hair underneath his chin bringing his head lower, lips grazing over your hair smelling like coconut.

"The contract feels like it's hanging over my head. And why shouldn't it?" His voice is stern, fury articulated at himself as he scoffs in aggravation. You feel his muscles tense against your body. "I should be playing like a fucking perfectionist. But instead…"

The sentence remains incomplete as a shaky breath leaves his lips. It's silent for the next little while. You process your thoughts, doodling imaginary stars on his palm that rests wide open. He seeks words to describe the reflections in his brain, tracing the lines of the tattoo on you hip he has engraved in his brain. The hum of the diffuser persists, the dim lights encompassing you within your safe space. You shift against him, an uneasy flush of regret washing over you as he groans at your impulsive movement.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Joe shakes his head vigorously, presenting you with a boyish smile. "S'alright, don't worry." He holds your face in his hands, rubbing your cheeks with the pads of his thumb before leaning in for a kiss. It is firm, not soft like before, and within the ripples that surge through your body, you know it bears all the emotions he cannot fathom words for. He hoists your legs from under you, grunting as he lays you flat on the couch before towering over you. Before you can oppose, call claim to the bruises and his calf, he parts his lips from yours, resting his forehead against yours in submission knowing very well the concern running through your head. You lock eyes for a split second, carefully searching for any sign of relief in his. Your hands intertwine briefly, until Joe falls next to you, the blanket long forgotten as it descends to the ground.

Your cheeks burn under his touch as he rests his palm against it. You draw in a quivering breath, bringing a delicate hand underneath his clothing, and connect with his skin. Trailing over every pane and defined muscle as if to obliterate all the reminders of today.

"Nothing makes much sense right now." You nod, fighting back tears as your husband pours his heart to you. "Nothing makes sense but you and Jora."

Your eyes close as his fingers dance in your hair. You digest and taste every word, every act of affection. You permit him control where he can.

"I need to think through what I need to do next. The cost of my body and sanity, I can't. . . " His words trail off into a whisper, as he envisions the inevitable decisions he must make as the sun ascends tomorrow. Sacrifice out of a selfish desire to prove his worth, or take one for himself, his team, and most significantly, his family. All while listening to his body.

Joe's hand feverishly draws you close, tugging at your robe. His large palms, calloused from today, find residence against your honey-like skin, beneath the fabric separating your bare body from his loving lips.

"You don't have to know now what you want to do. What you need to do". Your fingers dance idly in his hair, thumbs rubbing away the tension in his temples.

He listens intently to your words, eyes following every so often to your lips. "That said, Jora and I will never judge you for your job. You're an amazing father and husband. You do the most when you can only do so much."

And before you can speak any further, you find the words stuck in your throat as you hold back a hopeless cry. "And Joe, I wish you could see how much grace you give others. If only you could do the same for your own sake." You draw back your hand from him, wiping away the sole tear obscuring your vision.

Something seems to click in him then. In all of the years you've spent in similar positions, one anchoring the other back to the ground, it's always a few words laced with love, depth, and admiration that seem to bring all distress to tranquillity.

The remotest of space closes between you as your lips near, your lashes fluttering against his skin while his hands work their way down your body. The robe slips off your skin, the warmth replaced by all the heat Joe radiates. He hovers above while your arms wrap around his torso. You inhale his scent, feeling those silky strands tickle your neck as he dips toward you, holding you as if you'll perish away.

"Some losses, mistakes, and sloppy plays don't define your worth. It's how you come back from these moments like you have numerous times before." Hushed whispers from lips as your body shudders. Your eyes close in splendor, the warmth bubbling through you riveting at his proximity. His teeth graze over the delicacy of your neck, drawing an impatient sigh from within you, sending chills down his spine because for once today he feels in control.

"I believe in you nine". Your voice is like velvet, dripping with sweetness and sincerity. A well-fought whimper escapes from within you, as he gently presses his teeth against your skin. You feel the expected warmth ripple in your core, the eruption of a million butterflies fluttering uncontrollably inside you. Drawing back his head from your neck, he holds his gaze with yours, easing ever so gracefully into your touch as you guide his lips closer to you, letting his weight drop with caution against you. His clothes are warm and soft against any of your bare skin, seeping through the silk.

Joe mutters against your skin as he slowly works his lips and hands down your body, stopping at your sternum as you resist the urge to raise your hips off the couch. His body needs rest, much deserved rest. And you know he's relying on his left leg to make his rounds on you. Your knees bend impulsively as his large hands ride up your legs, travelling underneath the slip. You gulp as he nears you again, breath fanning over your face, the remnants of mint sending you in a haze. "Joe . . . " His name comes out flushed, a plea to ease himself and leave it be. "Thank you." Two words, simple yet effective. A notion that says you've gotten past the barrier in his head.

Unable to speak, you nod while cupping his cheek. He leans into your caress. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"I love you." You release a relieved sigh, all the pent-up uncertainty soothing out of you as Joe places one final kiss following his words on your jaw. His hips press into yours and for a brief second, as you release a lovely whimper, you think he'll take you all the way despite your worries. But you both know it ends here. You'll hold each other tonight. Heal one another with embrace.

"I love you nine." You whisper when you've found solace within his arms, the straps of your dress lowered as he presses one faint kiss to your shoulder. "I love you so much." He relishes in your affirmation, enveloping you against him. Shielding you from the fears he holds beyond. Protecting you, protecting Jora from all that may disturb the peace hanging over your heads right now.

And when your breathing settles, the pink tinge calms on your face, and your eyes fight more sleep, because you haven't debriefed the game or asked about his calf. Yet Joe finds the last little peace he needs to rest tonight. As sleep consumes you, his fingers drafting spirals over the skin on your back, with your hair hanging loose, Skin littered with the reminders of him, Joe smiles.

It's all clear now. It's always clear with you.

[queenendless]

🪶❣️🪽This Bird's Beauty (Keigo Takami/Hawks x Adult!Fem!Reader)🪽❣️🪶

A/N: Testing the waters and getting back to writing BNHA stuff. This time on my recent simping/comfort character.

AU time, already established relationship, tickle fluff, and emotional stuff cause I'm an emotional wreck right now.

Plus I have read a lot of tickle fluff with this man and now I want in on it! There is some in here so I count that!

The past month and so this bird man has been on my mind. And I need new anime husbandos to write for!

PLEASE DON'T PLAGARIZE STEAL COPY TRANSLATE AND OR REPOST MY FANFIC CONTENT. Rather reblog like and follow please and thnx u.

Another day in Kyushu.

Another busy patrol.

All to attain his long-term goal of heroes having too much free time on their hands.

Worn out, scuffed here and there, and gliding slowly above his hometown, the #2 hero Hawks was heading back to his favorite spot in the city.

A conversation from earlier surfaced in his mind.

“No villain stands a chance against you, Hawks!” One of his sidekicks ego boosted him.

“And no hero for that matter.” His other sidekick remarked.

Hawks chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Endeavor would disagree on that last one. Even the fastest hero alive can't handle the flames so well.”

“And does the fastest youngest hero alive have their eyes set on anyone lately~?”

“I've got my whole life before this young bird settles down in the nest.” That was his ending remark before saluting off to his crew and flying on outta there.

“Still …” He murmured to himself as he took a certain familiar route through the air. “I've already got my sights set on a particular birdie~”

A precious light amongst the seas of blurred smudges.

Saving you on more than one occasion.

Just a regular quirkless person.

Coincidence turned into a kinda sorta reason.

Spotting you between patrols and breaks.

An instant curiosity turned to intrigue.

Walking with you, talking with you about anything besides hero work, getting some fried chicken together.

This new constant of his day-to-day life as the #2 hero of Japan became the one constant he wished to keep hidden from the rest of the world.

One minute you're the breath of fresh air that he gladly partakes in. The next thing he knows, seeing you waving at him one day had his stoic face burning up at how much his heart was racing.

Your genuine gaze, your comforting scent, your infectious laughter —

Razor sharp vision spotted your apartment a mile away as he arrived at the more tranquil suburbs set against the rowdy cityscape.

He could immediately visualize you reading something curled up on your fuzzy soft rug in your bedroom, laying on your tummy as your bare legs crisscrossed in the air, your balcony door cracked open to let in the fresh air.

“All too easy.” He snickered as he sent several of his small feathers to zoom in through the opening.

Your recognition of the tough supple fuzziness that is his feathers stroking your bare soles had you rubbing away those tingling touches only to giggle absentmindedly as those feathers split up to stroke your heels, your topsides, and your arches.

Viewing your smile growing and picking up your melodious giggles through the sound vibrations in the air his feathers received had him relishing in his newfound hobby on top of winding down with you.

“Beautiful, inside and out.”

Your concentration on reading crumbled as you squeaked from those feathers wiggling against your toes, having you roll over and pull your legs to your chest, rubbing your feet together as your narrowed gaze homed in on those feathers floating back to the big bird man perched outside.

“Hey birdy!” Hawks' cheery face and tone had you at a loss between glee and frustration. “I've missed ya!” He was met with a pillow thrown at his face, taking the plush smack, catching it right after. “I take it the feeling’s not mutual?”

“It's been a week.” You stood up and brushed out your wrinkled attire as he hopped down from his perch on the railing before you, his ruffled feathers straightening themselves out. “And the first thing you do is a sneak attack!”

“Well, performing my heroic duties comes first, of course. Didn't stop me from thinking about you, though.” His flattery could only get him so far out of the doghouse, tossing the pillow aside. “And your lovely voice.”

“Can't see why though – EEK~!” The feather tickling your neck had you squealing and smacking your skin for not catching said feather as Hawks snorted in his gloved hand, smirking his ass off.

“Well cause I like everything about you … and you being ticklish is just a bonus.” He laughed as you playfully smacked his arm. “This is the thanks I get for saving you all those times?”

“Yeah, thanks a lot. I owe you my life.” Your sarcastic remark trails off when his tough supple wings draped around you, pulling you flush against him as his pouting lips and downtrodden eyes made you sigh in exasperated admittance. “Okay okay.”

Grabbing both sides of his fluffy collar, you pulled Hawks down enough for you to gently peck his lips. “Seriously … thank you.”

He blushed bright as a rose, grinning all dopey like. He cupped and brushed your cheeks as he returned the kiss tenderly, murmuring between breaks. “How lucky am I to have a gem like you in my life?”

“Flattery will only get you so far, #2.” Your airy remark was short lived as his golden-brown eyes gleamed with mirth.

“And your teasing will just keep getting you this~!”

His wings scribbled against your backside, causing a stream of squeals to come out, sounding so melodious to his own ears.

“No fair!” Your frantic pushing against his chest only drove him to have his feathers strike your nape. “Stahahap!” You felt your feet slip over your forgotten book, leaving it up to Hawks’ quick reflexes to keep you standing as his arms and wings protectively wrapped you up in his fuzzy cocoon, increasing the tingling sensations rubbing every inch of you. “Hahahahahawks!”

“So sensitive.” His faint stubble brushed the side of your neck, grinning against your skin as you squeaked louder. “So squishy~” He swooned, his arms flexing as he squeezed your waistline, wiggling his fingers into your sides plus squeezing them for good measure. “So squeamish!”

“I hahahate you – AAH~!” Him lifting you by your thighs had your arms and legs instinctively hugging his neck and waist.

“That's not what I see here, beautiful~” His smug smirk made you hide your flushed whining face in his neck, feeling the rumbling of his laughter seep through you. “But okay, I'll stop with the tickles … if you help me strip~”

“God you tease.” Your complaint was betrayed by your heartfelt emotion. Gingerly taking off his visor, his amused affectionate eyes watched as you also took off his headphones with slow tepid care, keeping you steady with his hands pressed to you tight.

“Ya know … you can call me by my real name … if you want to, that is.” He mused as he plopped down on your bed and helped you take off his jacket. “Seems only fair since I always call you by yours.” He pried his gloves off with his teeth, tempting you with his actions. “I wanna hear my name coming off your lips~” He purred.

Tenderly setting his removed items down on your nightstand table, you cupped his own cheeks just so you could look him straight in those golden-brown hues. “Keigo.” His eyes lite up right away. “K … Kei.” He audibly gulped as rose red tinted from his ears to his neck for indeed his blushing face spoke volumes of how overjoyed he was. “Can I call you that? Kei?”

He cheekily grinned. “Anything for you, angel.”

You peppered kisses all over his own giggling face. Prying his boots off with help from the heels, Keigo delicately pushed you to lie down on your back, legs intertwined, as some of his feathers tugged the balcony slide door closed before returning to his wings draping you both in their cozy protective warmth.

“I really did miss you, baby bird.”

He froze up as the sounds of sniffles reached his ears. The sight of tears making your e/c eyes shimmer like jewels are as mesmerizing as they are heart wrenching.

“I missed you too, Kei. So much.” His butterfly kisses to your eyes and cheeks were his way to cheer you up and show you just how much he cares for you, smiling as his stubble tickled your sensitive face enough to make you giggle and smile yourself.

“This optimistic guy is just glad to finally be home with his beauty again.” He sighed deeply as you brushed through his unruly messy hair, relaxing and leaning in to your heavenly touch.

Lulled by your caresses, he felt himself falling asleep, whispering as his droopy eyes turned to you.

“Y/n, thank you.” His lazy kiss gets returned by you, having his tired smile still radiating endearment as you both pulled away. “For coming into my life. Letting me be myself around you. Just … everything.”

“I feel the same way, Kei.” You confess as you too felt the embrace of sleep taking you in, using his chest as a pillow, slacking as having him back in your arms made it that much easier to settle down and unwind, straight to sleepy town. “I love you.”

Keigo's heart beats right outta his chest at that confession, admiring your sweet sleeping self, giving your forehead a kiss, curling into you, lulled by your soft breathing as it became his favorite lullaby. “I love you too.”

His wings settled back, pulling away to rest behind him as Keigo pulled you two to lay on your sides, still enraptured in each other, as nighttime swept throughout Kyushu.

For their winged protector took a nice long rest.

With you, his beautiful partner, safe and sound in his arms.

[lotties-ashwagandha]

GETAWAY

shauna sadecki x reader, word count 1.2k

you enjoy a quiet day off work with shauna in the tranquility of your life together. garden obsessed shauna’s rabbit hatred is back. dedicated to my fav ever @webism

– 8:00 AM – 

The morning is warm as you embrace it. The sun is gentle as it glows in through the windows, it searches to greet you in its light. It envelops the kitchen, wrapping you in its comfort, a distraction from the cold tile floors under your bare feet. 

You lean against the kitchen counter, looking out the window above the sink into the garden. Summer has brought you abundance, the earth sings with it. Shauna stands looking over your plants, a cup of coffee in her hands as she examines them. 

Deeply, you inhale. The house is filled with the mixed scents of lavender and mint, from a floral candle you’ve burnt almost down to the wick and from the tea you hold. You take a sip of it, and your eyes fall closed for a moment in the gentle pull of the breeze coming in through the open window. The morning is timeless as you take it in. 

You set your tea down, and still barefoot you slip outside. You follow the path into the garden, joining Shauna. 

She looks back as you approach and smiles softly. You extend a hand to her and she takes it – as you walk through the garden together, you are able to breathe peacefully in the quiet space shared between the two of you. There is only room for serenity here, and it shows in the calm of Shauna’s expression – once haunted and usually so, but as she walks with you she is content.

Shauna stops in front of the tomato plant. She furrows her eyebrows, looking down at it curiously before turning to you. Her expression is serious as says, “The neighbors have been stealing our tomatoes.” 

You pause. You’re alarmed as you picture one of your neighbors crawling over your fence like a bandit in the night and stuffing a bag full of tomatoes – you mentally sort through everyone in your neighborhood, calculating the likeliness of who would be so jealous of your garden that they would steal from you. It’s the last problem you ever envisioned having with a small garden in the suburbs. 

“The neighbors?” you ask after a moment. You shake your head. “Which ones?” 

She sighs and points to a rabbit sitting at the edge of your yard. The creature stares back at her, and you half expect Shauna to claim it’s trying to size her up. You suppress a smile – you’re relieved you won’t be staying up tonight trying to fight any human neighbors out of your garden, that Shauna’s concern lies with the rabbits. 

You watch as she surveys the rest of the garden. Shauna is methodical in her observations, you do not understand the hidden details she sees in the plants and soil, but you appreciate what has come from the work as you gather a handful of what’s ready for harvest. You look down at a generous mix of vegetables and berries in your arms, small treasures that remind you of the love that bore them. 

– 12:00 PM – 

A day of comfort, though a day of work, and a day of caution – through almost burning the kitchen down trying to cook with Shauna, you have found a flow between you while cooking together, and attempt to maintain it. 

You have time today. For once you and Shauna are able to cook lunch together, and to do so without the stress of work or outside obligation weighing down on you. It’s peaceful – Shauna has banished you to the cutting board in her pursuit to conquer the kitchen, and you stand in complacency as you chop a series of fresh vegetables the two of you harvested from the garden this morning. 

Your movements are careful as you complete your task. It dawns on you again and again, that you are in no rush, you have everything you could ever need around you and nothing can reach you here. You are at home in a tranquil rhythm. 

Shauna comes to look over your shoulder at your work. She hums in what you take as approval, placing her hands on your waist and watching your movements. 

You place the knife down and turn to face her. A soft smile captures her lips as she studies you, and you feel the pressure of her gaze pleasantly. There is love in her eyes, it swallows you whole. 

“You’re good at this,” she says, and you look at her skeptically. 

“At chopping vegetables?” 

Shauna rolls her eyes. “I mean at this,” she says, gesturing to the rest of the kitchen – something neither of you are able to touch, though something both of you are able to feel. “What we have here feels like home.”

You nod – always would you agree with her when it came to this, that you were lucky together in every regard in the solitude you shared together, how you were cut off from the rest of the world by choice and intention. 

Shauna leans closer to you, taking a step forward that presses you gently against the counter. You feel your breath hitch at the sudden closeness, and you’re certain she means to kiss you when she pulls away — cutting board from behind you now in hand. 

You stand still for a moment, feeling a bit dejected as you watch her slide the contents of the cutting board into a pan on the stove. 

When Shauna turns her gaze to you, there’s something teasing in it. She moves back to you, and as if reading your mind she closes the gap between you and pulls you into a kiss. In her arms you feel at home, you feel at peace. 

– 9:00 PM – 

Soft moonlight rests over the garden. It pours over every plant, blessing your labor in a silver glow – you feel the peace of it as you watch from the kitchen window, two newly poured glasses of wine in hand. You are filled with pride, all you have is as it should be, it is beautiful. 

Taking the glasses of wine with you, you leave the kitchen for the living room. Shauna rests on the sofa, reading something – a book about a cult if you recall, something far more brutal than you would suspect from the way she sits so pleasantly immersed. 

She looks up from it for a moment as you sit down and hand her one of the wine glasses, murmuring a quiet thank you, placing her book on the coffee table and shifting to wrap an arm around your shoulders. Warmth is radiated from her – it wraps around you with the same serenity of the night. 

The wine is sweet on your tongue, though bitter enough to keep you present as you are come over with the day’s exhaustion. It’s a pleasant sensation, the aching of your muscles brought about by the work you did in the garden with Shauna after lunch again and the knowledge that your work lives in the earth, and it will come back as a reward to you – a labor of love, it will help nourish you through the coming winter. 

You lean into Shauna. It is endlessly calming to have her beside you – your love growing under the same moonlight as the garden you have cherished, and it will nourish you through the coming winter. 

[livingdreams97]

Sarah Cameron -- "The Ice Cream" (Part 1)

Sarah Cameron x Male reader/oc

Summary: Being the Kook Princess has never mattered to Sarah, especially when her heart beats and her eyes are only been fixed on a certain Pogue since she shared an ice cream with him at the age of 11.

Words: 3.944

NEXT

Masterlist

Sarah POV

I flip through the magazine, reading about celebrity gossip and what's new in the fashion world. But my tranquility is interrupted when my little sister enters my room like a rocket and runs to the window.

Sarah: What are you doing? - I ask confused, seeing how she practically sticks to the window and looks at something through it.

Wheezie: He's already arrived.- she informs me and when I realize I get up quickly; and I run with my little sister.

Sarah: When did he arrive? - I ask looking out the window and observing the boy who is cleaning my father's car.

Wheezie: Five minutes ago, but I just found out now. - she answers and I quickly run to my closet.

Sarah: Do you think this dress is nice? - I ask her and she looks at me, then looks at the light blue dress with dark lilac and white flowers in my hands.

Wheezie : Yes.- responds with a thumbs up.

I run into the bathroom, taking off the clothes I'm wearing, leaving me only in my panties and putting the dress over my head. I do my hair and makeup very simply and fast, since I don't like overloaded makeup. I put on a little of my perfume and leave the bathroom in a bit of a hurry.

I put on some white converse to finish the look, rearranging my necklaces and picking up my phone. I say goodbye to my sister and leave my room; practically running to the front of my house.

When I reach the front door, I smooth the skirt of my dress and take a deep breath; to calm my nerves. I open the front door, stepping out and closing it behind me. I walk calmly towards where Y/n is, watching how he cleans the car with the sponge and how he leaves a trail of soap behind it.

I look at what he's wearing, seeing the navy blue strappy t-shirt he's wearing, along with some washed white shorts and some simple white vans .

Sarah: Good morning.- I greet him, walking to be close to him and avoiding getting wet.

Y/n: Good morning princess.- he greets with amusement, stopping cleaning the car and looking at me for a few seconds.

Sarah: Why you always have to remind me about the Kook Princess tag? - I claim with crossed arms, somewhat amused and somewhat annoyed that they always call me that; for being the daughter of Ward Cameron.

Y/n: Because you are the princess of the place, but not only on the kook side and you should thank me for that compliment. - he tells me with a small laugh and returns to what he was doing.

Sarah: Even so, I'm not a princess because my father is one of the richest men on the island.- I tell him honestly, because it's something that everyone calls me and that bothers me.

Y/n: Okay, I'll stop calling you that.- he says with a small smile, looking at me for a few seconds and running over my body very lightly.- I like the dress, it looks good on you.- he comments as a compliment.

Sarah: Thank you.- I thank him kindly. - What kind of adventures await you on the other side of the island today? - I ask interested, but trying to look casual and not too interested.

Y/n: There is going to be a party on the beach in the suburb. - He comments without giving it importance. -So I guess I'll go with my friends.- he responds, shrugging his shoulders.

Sarah: I think I've heard something about that. - I comment without giving it much importance, remembering Topper's comment about the party and going with some friends.

Y/n: Will you come? - he asks curiously, turning on the hose and rinsing the car.

Sarah: My friends have told me about it, but I'm not really sure if it's the most appropriate thing for some kooks . - I respond with a small grimace.

Y/n: You should come.- he comments looking at me with a smile. - As long as your friends don't stop by, I don't think there will be any problem and I don't even think anyone will notice you. Everyone will be too drunk to recognize you.- he comments amusingly and I laugh at that.

Sarah: Then I guess I'll go.- I say, biting my lip to contain the emotion. -But only if you invite me to something to drink.- I tell him and he lets out a small laugh.

Y/n: Then you have a deal.- he tells me with a smile. -You should go with that dress, because it really looks great on you and it's not excessive.- He flatters me again and I guess I don't have to think about what to wear anymore.

Sarah: Then we'll see each other at night.- I say goodbye and walk back to the house.

Y/n: You know it, princess.- he says again as a farewell, making me turn around walking backwards and give him the middle finger causing him to laugh.

I just shake my head in amusement, turning around again and walking into the house. As soon as I enter the house, I lean my back against the door and sigh with a huge smile. I look down, staring at the dress and biting my lip; knowing that he liked it and praised me twice for it.

POV You

I walk among drunk people greeting my acquaintances and stopping to talk to others. The air hits my body, opening my shirt and exposing my chest. I was wearing a open black shirt with a print of white and gray flowers, with a simple gray swimsuit and my slightly worn white vans .

I approach JJ, to help him get up from the ground; since he climbed the trunk of a tree and ended up falling from it. I approach him, stretching out my hand with a laugh and seeing his amused smile on his face; taking the hand that I offer him.

Y/n: Up my friend.- I say amused, pulling at our hands and helping him stand up.

JJ: They pushed me.- he says struggling a little, removing the sand from his body and smiling like a clown.

Y/n: Sure. - I comment amused, patting him on the back.

JJ: I dropped the beer. - He points to the now empty glass on the floor and placing a pout on his face.

Y/n: Let's go to the barrel and I'll give you a new one if there's still any left.- I assure him, placing a hand on his shoulder and pushing him a little towards the barrel.

JJ: And why don't you give me yours? - he asks with doe like eyes.

Y/n: Because I'm not going to run out of beer because you started climbing logs and fell off them. - I respond, laughing at his absurd question.

When we reach the keg, I pour JJ a new glass; thanking whatever god there is still beer left and giving him the glass filled to the top. He does a weird dance, causing me to laugh at him and watch him drink from the glass. 

Taking advantage of the fact that we are here, I fill my glass to the top; since I barely had two fingers left and so I don't have to come back in five minutes.

We sit around the campfire, since it's starting to get dark and that's where Pope is also. I sit next to the girl Pope is talking to, listening to their conversation a little and feeling the girl's discomfort.

Y/n: I don't think that the gases of a dead person are of interest to everyone, Pope.- I assure him, smiling at the girl in a friendly way and trying to get her to change the subject. -But I'm sure you like surfing, right?- I ask the girl, when I notice the bikini marks on her tan and the shell necklace on her neck.

XX: Well, yes i do.- she answers me with a smile.

Y/n: Well, Pope is one of the best surfers I know, in fact yesterday he surfed with John B and I during the storm. - I inform him and I see how he looks at my friend with surprise.

XX: Is that true? - she asks, clearly impressed and I wink at my friend.

Pope: Yes, the truth is that it was a little difficult and all. But I managed to catch a couple of good waves.- he answers and they begin to have a normal conversation; so I ignore them and start talking to the girl who just sat on my left.

The girl I'm talking to is quite attractive, she has come on vacation with her family and some friends. She has brown hair, beautiful blue eyes and a completely attractive smile. It's not thin as a stick, it's a little wider and the truth is that I love it.

She places her hand on my forearm, leaving sporadic squeezes as we talk and getting closer and closer to me. The conversation is pleasant enough, but it's interrupted by my best friend's voice behind me and I turn to look at her.

Kiara: What is she doing here? - she asks and I look where she is looking; finding Sarah climbing onto a buoy stranded on the shore of the beach.

Y/n: I guess coming to the party.- I answer without giving it much thought, seeing the annoyance on her face and how she walks away angry.

I look back at where Sarah is, unable to prevent a smile from reaching my face and watching her point to something in the sea. But my smile disappears in a few seconds, as soon as Topper appears in the picture and extends his hand to help her get off the buoy. When I see how she jumps into the boy's arms, I roll my eyes in annoyance and return to the conversation with Lara.

Y/n: Would you like another beer? - I ask her, when my glass is empty and I see that hers is too.

Lara: I would love to.- she answers with a big smile, so we both get up and walk towards the barrel.

I refilled her glass, starting another conversation about her vacation and how they chose to come to the Outer Banks. I also refill my glass for the fourth time and drink a little of the contents. Lara's hand is placed on my forearm again and she approaches my body, leaving a few centimeters between our bodies.

But our conversation is interrupted again, when someone clears their throat next to us and I look to my right; meeting Sarah, Topper and some more of their friends.

Topper: Can you serve us a beer or what? - He asks bluntly and I look at him with a raised eyebrow.

Y/n: There you have the tap and two hands, help yourself and don't mess around. - I respond annoyed, because it is believed that we pogues were born to serve them and that is the only thing we have to do.

Topper: But you're already here and ...- he begins but is interrupted mid-sentence.

Sarah: Come on, Topper don't start and serve the beer yourself. - She tells him in a low voice, so that the rest don't hear her and so that Topper doesn't respond badly.

I just watch everything, watching as he pours himself a glass with a frown and then walks away angrily. I drink from my glass, watching as the rest of her friends do the same and Sarah is left alone in front of me .

Y/n: Do you want that beer?- I asked her with a smile, trying to be friendly and remove the tension from the place.

Sarah: I'll be happy to accept it. - She responds, returning my smile.

I pour her the beer, making sure I fill her glass and offer it to her with a friendly smile. I start talking to her, ignoring Lara's existence and focusing entirely on the dark blonde with chocolate eyes in front of me.

Y/n: I see that in the end you kept the dress.- I point the glass at her clothes, seeing how well they fit and how pretty they are.

Sarah: The weather was good to bring a dress.- she comments with a beautiful laugh. -And I see that you are a little too exposed.- she says, showing her teeth and pointing to my exposed chest and abdomen.

Y/n: I didn't know that showing nipples in 2020 was something so wrong. - I commented amused, covering my nipples with my hands; when the wind hits and they open my shirt more in a joking manner.

Sarah: Well yes , it is very excessive and provocative.- she says with a big smile, making her entire face light up and look even more beautiful.

And yes, I've liked Sarah Cameron since we were 11 and I dropped the ice cream of the month in accidents. Since my grandparents could only pay me one a month in the summer, I was really sad and I knew that they weren't going to give me money for another ice cream. 

But Sarah appeared with her ice cream and offered me to share it with a kind smile; where you could see how one of her upper canines was missing.

Over time it became platonic, as I realized that nothing could ever happen between us and that it was just a dream. Since when we grew up, I realized that money is everything on this island and that unfortunately I don't have it and her family has plenty of it. So a relationship between the kook princess and me is something impossible, which is a dream more than a reality.

After talking for a while, she goes back to her friends and I join John B on the shore of the beach. He was telling some people from the suburbs; about how we surfed during the storm and how incredible the waves were.

John B: And this guy, he surfed a wave that was almost five meters tall and managed to reach the end of it standing up.- he says after putting his arm over my shoulder.

Y/n: You say it as if it were the biggest wave we have ever surfed. - I say amused.

John B: But it was during a hurricane and not just any hurricane, but Hurricane Agatha no less.- he says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

JJ: John B, Y/n!- he shouts, approaching us. -Do you want the famous Milwaukee drink? - asks us, offering us two full glasses and I accept it.

Y/n: What does it have? - I ask, smelling the glass and taking a sip. -Fuck JJ, this is strong.- I say when the drink burns and scratches my throat when I swallow it.

JJ: It's the special drink.- he answers as if it were obvious. -Do you want yours or not? - he asks JB, but something catches his attention and he walks away from us.

From one moment to the next, we see how Topper and JJ begin to push each other. So we quickly approached them and tried to stop them. But Topper 's big mouth I had to talk and mess it up more .

Topper: Fucking pogues.- he says and I see how JB pushes him hard.

Pope: JB, we weren't supposed to mess it up and stay incognito.- he tells him, pushing him back and trying to avoid a fight.

But Topper pushes Pope out of the way and punches JB. Pope stops JJ and Kiara appears pushing me back, so we don't get into the fight.

Topper: Come on John B, or do you want me to drown you like your father? - he asks with sarcasm, making our friend get angry and respond by knocking him to the ground.

While everyone starts cheering for them to fight, I try to get rid of Kiara and separate them. When I see that JB is winning, I calm down a little and Kiara stops holding me back. But I still feel tense and ready to separate them if it gets worse.

Y/n: Fuck it.- I say when I see Topper sinking my friend's head into the water and drowning him.

I run towards him , tackling him by the waist into the water and separating him from my friend. But he breaks free and starts hitting me, so I start hitting him back and manage to hit him hard on the nose. I feel his nose crunch against my fist, making him hold it and start whimpering like a baby. I grab him by the collar of his shirt, starting to drag him and leave him at the feet of his friends.

Y/n: Either you take him or he doesn't come out of here. - I assure them, more than annoyed, releasing his friend and walking towards mine.

Topper: This will not remain like that orphan.- he shouts at me and I turn around fuming; walking quickly towards him, but JJ arrives first and points the gun at his head.

JJ: It is what you think.- he assures him with a crooked smile, causing everyone to flee in fear and Sarah to start screaming.

Sarah: JJ stop.- he yells in fear and Kiara also starts yelling at him.

JJ: You better leave, because otherwise I'll shoot you and I'll stay so calm. - he whispers and lets go.

An hour later, I find myself in my room wearing short black sweatpants and standing in front of the bathroom mirror. I look at my purple cheekbone, along with the eye and split lip that the idiot Topper left me with. I begin to heal the bruises, feeling the throbbing of the bruises and the stinging of the alcohol on my lip.

Sarah: That looks bad.- I hear from behind me and I jump scared.

Y/n: What the hell are you doing in my house and how did you get in? - I ask almost out of breath, feeling my heart racing and seeing the amused smile on her face.

Sarah: I came in my car, you left the window open and I came in that way. - she answers me, leaning on the bathroom door frame and giving me a soft smile.

Y/n: I'm impressed by you Cameron.- I commented with a smile, turning back to the mirror and continuing to heal my wounds.

Sarah: And can I know why? - aks with interest.

Y/n: Because you remember where I live, when you haven't been here in almost six years and you've snuck into my room without me or my grandparents noticing. - I respond, putting things away and turning to face her.

Sarah: It wasn't difficult to sneak in either and the house stuck in my mind. - She comments with a smile, passing her eyes over my body and stopping at the bumps on my face. - I'm very sorry for what Topper said to you.- she apologizes with a small grimace.

Y/n: He hasn't said anything that isn't true.- I assure her with a sigh. -Besides, you shouldn't be the one to apologize.- I say with a smile, although I'm sure it looks more like a grimace.

Sarah: Even if it's true, he doesn't have the right to tell you anything and even less so in such a low manner.- she says walking towards me and stopping a few centimeters from my body.

Y/n: Can I ask the reason for your night visit? - I ask her in a whisper, since we are really close and there is no need to speak very loudly.

Sarah: I wanted to see how you were doing, I was worried when Topper started hitting you and I wanted to make sure you were okay. - She answers me in a whisper, placing the palms of her hands on my chest and sticking as close to my body as possible.

Y/n: I think you can tell for yourself if I'm okay or not.- I whisper, placing my hands on her waist.

Sarah: I see that you are very well.- she assures in a whisper, and then lowers his gaze to my bare chest and bites her plump lip.

I can only swallow hard, feeling nervous at her closeness and the feel of her soft hands against my chest. My heart races as I look into her beautiful eyes, noticing the chocolate brown color and slightly dilated pupils.

My hands move along her waist, stopping at her lower back and feeling the softness of the fabric of her dress. She presses herself even closer against my body, moving her hands from my chest to my neck and clasping her hands behind my neck.

She starts leaning towards me and I just imitate her action, leaning forward and finishing joining our lips. At first we do not move our lips, but a few moments later we begin to move them calmly and without taking it any further.

Her lips feel plump, soft and warm against mine. The kiss is calm and is just a movement of the lips; without language or intentions to be deeper. 

When we break away from the kiss, I see the smile on her face and I'm sure I have the same smile on my face.

Sarah POV

I see his smile and I can't stop my heart from racing even more. I can feel the warmth of his body against mine. I put my hands in his hair, stroking his short dark brown hair and smiling into his eyes.

Y/n: What time do you have to go home? - he asks in a whisper, caressing my lower back over my dress.

Sarah: Are you already kicking me out? - I ask pretending to be offended.

Y/n: You know I'm not, but I just wanted to ask you and know how long you can stay with me.- he whispers with a small pout, looking somewhere between cute and hard from the bruises.

Sarah: I don't have to go home.- I respond, biting my lip. -My father thinks I'm at my friend's house, so I don't have to go home and he doesn't have to know I'm here.- I assure him with a smile.

Y/n: Is this your way of saying you want to sleep here? - he asks with an amused smile.

Sarah: I accept the proposal. - I say amused, leaving a small kiss on his lips and leaving his private bathroom afterwards.

Y/n: I didn't invite you.- he comments amused, walking behind me and laughing.

Sarah: You can't withdraw the offer now.- I say sitting on the bed and crossing my legs.

Y/n: Do you need clothes to sleep in or do you prefer to take off that beautiful dress and that's it? - he asks amused, standing in front of me and crossing his arms.

Sarah: Some clothes would be good.- I respond with a smile.

He walks to his closet, pulling out a baggy blue tie-dye t- shirt and gray sweat shorts. But I just grab the shirt and go back to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I change my clothes, leaving me only in the shirt that he left me; which reaches just below my butt and my panties.

When I go out to the room, the only light is on a camp lamp and Y/n is already lying in bed. I get in next to him quickly, moving closer to his body and placing my head on his chest.

Y/n: Goodnight princess.- he whispers against my forehead, leaving a kiss on the spot and hugging me to his body.

Sarah: Good night, idiot. - I respond a little amused, settling myself more against his body and closing my eyes.

I feel the beat of his heart against the palm of my hand, as well as the heat of his body against my hand and face, as well as his scent flooding my nostrils. All of it surrounds me and that makes my body relax immediately. So in less than two minutes I am completely asleep and in another world.

[janaem]

Let Me Rule You

Jareth x f.reader

This is chapter 1 (Entranced) | Chapter 2 (Wish)

Synopsis: She never imagined that she would once again be drawn into the enchanting world of fictional characters, a place she had not ventured into for many years. However, on a warm summer Saturday night, everything changed as she found herself captivated by the enigmatic goblin king, Jareth, while watching the mesmerizing film "Labyrinth." Word count: 5.4k (20 pages)

Warnings for this chapter: swearing and arguments

Key:Y/n= your name | L/n= last name | M/n= mom name |d/n= dog name

For visual purposes, here is the house you are living in.

Author note: It's sure been a while since I wrote something as long as this. I hope you all enjoy this first chapter as much as I did! I don't intend for this to be a slow burn, but I'm sure not rushing to the climax either. Things will definitely start to progress in the chapters to come at a reasonable pace since I'm aiming for this to be only a few chapters. I will also be publishing this on ao3 and wattpad:)

The dusk was calm, and the only movements were the swaying of the trees in the warm midsummer breeze. The dark green leaves of the trees fell sporadically on the fresh pavement street of Evansville. It is a typical upper-middle-class suburb located on the outskirts of the great city, beyond its beautiful lake. During the summer, Evansville is usually bustling with life. Kids can be seen racing on their scooters while their parents watch from the front lawn of their craftsman and single-family-style homes. Teenagers speed down Sherhigh Avenue by the Lakefront with their windows rolled down, blasting music and singing the lyrics. The beaches are always full from morning till nearly midnight.

Nestled close to the tranquil lakefront was Nordstin Street, which exuded an air of a close community feel. From afternoon till night, the neighborhood was painted with playful children and their parents' laughter on their lawns, the jingle of ice cream trucks, and frequent splashes from small backyard pools.

But once dusk faded away, it was different. The winds picked up abruptly around four thirty and leaves started dancing in a choreographed frenzy while flower petals broke free from their delicate confines. The windows of these sturdy homes rattled, adding a discordant note to the chaos. The tides of the lake were more than violent, threatening to engulf anything in their path. The crashing waves against the cluster of boulders are reminiscent of clashing symbols. 

In the heart of Nordstin, a grand single-family home exudes warmth and elegance. The gray fiber cement exterior, adorned with white accents, perfectly complements the intricately decorated gray brick roof. The beautiful porch is a work of art, supported by sturdy white stone pillars, making it both practical and stunning.

In the vast living room downstairs, an eighteen-year-old, Y/n,  lounged on the cream sectional sofa, surrounded by plush beige pillows of varying textures. With one pillow snug against her torso, she tuned into the news forecast, her gaze fixed on the screen as she observed the latest updates.

The male news reporter's voice filled the room, his words a solemn warning. "The winds are blowing at 26 miles per hour," he announced, his tone carrying a sense of urgency. "It's best to stay home if you don't need to be outside, especially away from water." 

Suddenly, a harsh voice from the kitchen shatters the tranquility, disrupting Y/n's peace of mind.

Y/n’s mother, m/n, walked urgently from the kitchen and halted at the entrance of the living room, wearing an unpleasant expression. She holds a meticulously cleaned empty Tupperware container in her left hand. 

“Y/n,  did you eat the last of the lasagna?” She asked, shaking the container so it was brought to Y/n’s attention. 

Y/n looked over at her displeased mother and replied dryly, "Yeah."

Her mother gives her a repulsed look, “Why? What makes you think it’s okay to eat up everything in this house and not leave anything left for anyone?” 

Y/n gave her a look of offense, sitting up from her leisure posture, her voice remained level, “Those were the only leftovers I ate. And you told me that I could  help myself to whatever I wanted today.”  

“That doesn’t mean you eat a whole thing of lasagna, Y/n. You can’t always think about yourself!” 

“It wasn’t even half of a container mom, relax.” 

“Don’t tell me to relax. I know what was in there.”

“Can you please stop yelling?” 

“I’m not yelling! This is how I talk.”

Already feeling fatigued from the ongoing conversation, Y/n released a small, exhausted sigh, grabbed the remote, and switched from the news channel in search of something else to ease her mind.

However, the fuming woman continued, “You could’ve called me asking if you could save me some because that is a lot for one person.”

“It wasn’t.” Y/n had completely given up.

“Okay, Y/n,” m/n scoffed, walking back into the kitchen, “This is ridiculous, you think about nobody else but yourself.  Your dad and I are already paying for your college, and the least you can do is not act selfish all the time!”

Y/n turned up the volume of the television, finally finding a show that piqued her interest. Unfortunately, she could still hear the immature mutters of her mother’s complaints.

“It’s all about Y/n, Y/n, Y/n…never thinking about anyone else…that’s sad…this is ridiculous!...eat something healthy…never seen anything like it…eighteen years old…”

“So fucking extra,” Y/n huffed, turning down the volume of the television. She throws the pillow from where it landed with the other pile of pillows on the couch and walks up to her room, considering watching a movie there instead. Maybe she’ll Facetime her friend to vent about how unbearable her mom was acting again. 

It wasn't uncommon for Y/n and her mother to engage in disputes, which seemed to arise almost daily, creating an atmosphere of constant tension. By now, Y/n was used to it, maintaining a more composed demeanor. However, there are times when she'll mirror or even exceed her mother's outbursts. Their relationship wasn't entirely negative, but it was far from fulfilling. As for her father, Y/n's connection with him was characterized by neutrality with a more manageable dynamic. He was currently on a trip with her uncle and a few friends at Turks & Caicos and won’t be back for another five days.

Y/n walked into her room, paying no attention to the insistent buzzing of her phone on her eider white desk. She sank into her plush queen-sized bed, surrounded by a sea of pillows and stuffed animals, and disappeared under the soft covers, letting out a long sigh of satisfaction.

She didn't want to get too hot under the covers in her oversized hoodie, so she shifted to a more upright position, reached under a nearby pillow, retrieved the remote, and switched on the television. The clock on the top right-hand corner of the starting page displayed 9:45 pm. She then clicked on one of the streaming apps and started browsing through the movies, uncertain of her current mood.

Y/n, with a deep appreciation for classic films, gravitated towards the 80s-90s subcategory. The screen was filled with a vibrant array of movie covers competing for her attention. As she scrolled through the seemingly endless list of movies, Y/n's eyes eagerly scanned the colorful and nostalgic offerings.

She scrolled through rows and rows of movies of all kinds, eventually getting bored and heading over to the sidebar for a better selection. There, subcategories of the 80s and 90s movies appeared: Action, Romance, Documentary, thriller…

Fantasy.

It has been a while since Y/n watched any fantasy-related films, especially older ones with effects that she found to be somewhat uncoordinated and eerie. However, curiosity got the best of her, so she clicked on it, and a series of other subcategories dropped down: Animation, Fairy Tale, Steampunk, Vampires...

Cult films.

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows at the name, “Cult?” she whispered as if she was sounding it out for the first time.

As she clicked on the remote, a rush of warmth and excitement filled her chest. Her eyes eagerly scanned the screen, searching for a familiar movie. Despite having watched The Neverending Story countless times, she scrolled past it along with other movies like The Dark Crystal, Short Circuit, Big Trouble in Little China, and The Goonies. 

Yet, an inexplicable urge drove her to keep searching. After a few more minutes, she suddenly paused, as if an unseen force prevented her thumb from clicking the arrow button, and her gaze settled on a movie she had never come across before.

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.

Y/n felt an overwhelming and unexplainable sensation coursing through her body as she gazed at the movie cover and its title. It seemed to evoke a powerful wave of nostalgia, captivating her as she fixed her eyes on the glowing screen.

She clicked on the movie, reading its summary.

“Sixteen-year-old Sarah is given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother Toby when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King Jareth.”

“Poor girl,” Y/n commented as she pressed play, where the credits roll while a white barn owl flies around. Her dog, D/n, shoved the door open with their nose and climbed into bed with her, lying at her legs.

Y/n was captivated by the film's cinematic elements and grainy aesthetic. In particular, she found the character Sarah Williams, to be incredibly gorgeous. Despite her beauty and gentle appearance, Y/n observed that Sarah's behavior didn't align, from her furious stomping into the house to her tendency to catastrophize minor inconveniences. 

Y/n grimaced at the first appearance of the goblins, all jumbled up as they awoke from their slumber. Their raspy and grating voices matched their grotesque appearances.  When they emerged in the bedroom after Sarah's brother went missing, they appeared in various parts of the room--- under the bedsheets, inside closets, behind the door. Sarah looked around frantically, unable to catch a break. Then, suddenly, the same white barn owl from the movie's beginning barges into the room through the balcony doors and lunges at Sarah. Startled, Sarah shields her eyes, and then a human shadow emerges at Sarah's feet.

The once barn owl had been mystically transformed into a human being. Y/n took in his lithe stature, which stood in a way that excluded flamboyance and regal confidence. His long, dark, and dramatic coat, adorned with intricate designs and embellishments, billowed in the wind as he made his captivating presence known on screen.

"You're him, aren't you? You're the Goblin King." 

The Goblin King tilts his head, offering Sarah a proud smirk. Y/n couldn't help but notice his untamed, tousled blond locks that framed his face, enhancing his unconventional and otherworldly allure.

"Sarah…go back to your room. Play with your toys and your costumes. Forget about the baby."

His voice flowed like honey, smooth and melodious. Y/n had heard that voice before, possessed by others, yet the Goblin King made it uniquely captivating with its rich, velvety timbre.

"I've brought you a gift."

"It's a crystal, nothing more."

The Goblin King outstretched his gloved hand, and a translucent ball appeared out of thin air. Y/n's eyebrows raised in awe as he effortlessly juggled it about his hands in a way she'd never seen before. It rolled from one hand to another, from his fingertips to the palm of his hand.

"But if you turn it this way and look into it, it'll show you your dreams."

As the film played, Y/n was entirely captivated by the intricate and fantastical journey unfolding before her. She couldn't help but admire Sarah's courageous interactions with the strange and repulsive creatures, except the adorable worm at the beginning. Fairies, goblins, and monsters filled the screen, leaving Y/n in awe of the film's grungy artistry.

She started taking a liking to Hoggle, although he is a coward, he truly cared for Sarah and her wellbeing, which is the type of friend that anyone could need in such desperate times.  However, above all the characters Y/n found remarkable, the enigmatic Goblin King, Jareth, captured her attention every time he appeared.

The ballroom scene, in particular, mesmerized Y/n, watching as Jareth's intense yet affectionate gaze lingered on Sarah in a way that set Y/n's nerves ablaze, leaving her breathless. Amidst the dancing figures and smooth song, Y/n couldn't help but imagine herself in Sarah's place, enveloped in the lingering sensation of Jareth's possessive regard.  

As she watched, a soft sigh escaped her parted lips, tinged with wistfulness. She pondered what it would be like to be looked upon with such desire in a crowded room, to be longed by someone you secretly desired, as you sought them out in the hopes of meeting their eyes again. She briefly fantasized about being in Sarah's place, feeling the electricity of Jareth's presence, drawing her closer every second.

Y/n's growing desires and anticipation danced amongst the sea of masked faces and whispered secrets. What would it feel like to be carefully handled the way Jareth did Sarah at that moment as she nearly lost herself in his eyes? She wondered this throughout the rest of the film, as the last scene with Jareth played on screen.

“Just fear me. Love me. Do as I say, and I will be your slave.”

A sickening sweet feeling aroused in the very heart of Y/n’s chest, causing her breath to abruptly become shallow as if it were her first time trying to breathe. Eyebrows furrowed and lips parted, she took in the lithe being presented on screen in front of her. Everything in her room surrounding her began to fall and fade away—all she could see was him. 

“Yes,” she subconsciously whispered, “say yes.”

“You have no power over me.” Sarah’s voice rang triumphantly, as the goblin king gave in, taking the form in his owl self once again.

As the film came to a close and the end credits started rolling, Y/n sank further into her pillows and covers. 

“I feel like there should’ve been more to the film,” she said to herself, “something’s missing. I’m not satisfied.”

D/n stirred in their sleep, not paying mind to a work y/n just said. The girl sighed, seizing the remote once more to watch something different.

That was until the door flew open and her moments of peace were shattered once again by the sharpness of m/n’s tone.

“Why didn’t you help me with dinner,”  she questioned, “let alone, make dinner?”

“It’s too late for dinner,” Y/n replied, “plus I’m not hungry.”

“So, you disregard everyone else in the house after you ate two servings of lasagna?”

“I guess so.” Y/n deadpanned, refusing to fuel the fire with the rebuttal about the lasagna being enough for one person. 

“Unbelievable,”  M/n huffed, putting her hands on her hips and looking around the room, “your room’s a mess.”

“Okay.” Y/n replied dismissively.

“No, I’m being serious, Y/n. You’re going to have a roommate in college and I sure hope you two get along through all this mess.” Her mother turned on the lights abruptly, waking up d/n and irritating Y/n. 

“Mom, what the heck,” Y/n fumed, getting out of her bed, and rushing to the wall to turn off the lights, the room went dark once again, “It’s eleven o’clock!”

“I expect you to get up tomorrow and clean this room,”  m/n declared, walking to the food frame, “I’m going to bed, and I want you to think about ways you can use your time more productively.”

Before y/n could fire back, M/n was already gone, shutting the lights of her room off. 

The eighteen-year-old girl couldn't catch a break even before bedtime. M/n, while not overly strict, had this unspoken rule that Y/n should just think like her. It led to endless clashes between them, leaving Y/n feeling weighed down.

Talking to friends helped a bit, but the constant disagreements with M/n still felt like a heavy burden on Y/n's chest. Trying to find common ground with someone who seemed to see the world differently was tough, and Y/n knew there was little to do about it.

"It'll all be over in a few months," Y/n told herself while she returned to her bed, submerging into the covers once more, turning off the television, and falling into a deep sleep, searching for peace of mind.

It was well into the morning when Y/n woke up to the sound of a mourning dove, the clock just nearing 10:45 am. She knew her mother was already awake, perhaps reading a book and having breakfast in her room. She planned to say good morning to her later.

D/n, who was once at the foot of her bed, was now propped up, wagging their tail in excitement to see Y/n, who smiled as she melted into the dog’s soft and loving gaze as she ruffled their fur. 

Y/n decided that this morning she would clean up her room and place all the unnecessary things in a giveaway bag. She immediately went downstairs, grabbed a garbage bag and a glass of water, and rushed back upstairs to get to work in her considerably well-kept room.

She wasn’t doing this because she wanted to; she was doing this so she wouldn’t be greeted by a nagging mother.

D/n remained on the bed, peering over at Y/n curiously as she continued. Y/n opened the cabinet of her desk and began rummaging through items she’d touched in recent months, setting aside everything except for one particular item. Tucked away at the back of the stacks of read novels and old workbooks rested a pristine bin.

She tossed the workbooks aside, intending to dispose of them, and placed the novels on top of her desk next to her computer, calendar, and another smaller stack of books. She then reached for the bin she hadn’t seen in over a few years. It was a simple clear plastic bin with a turquoise lid.

As she eagerly lifted the lid, a rush of nostalgia engulfed her senses. Beneath the lid lay a jumble of crumpled lined papers adorned with intricate drawings, stacked on top of older notebooks, comics, and mangas, which in turn rested upon other well-loved books from her middle school days. It was a veritable treasure trove of memories that Y/n found impossible to resist. Without hesitation, she reached for the first item on top - a character sheet.

Growing up, Y/n's love for storytelling and creativity knew no bounds. She had especially displayed a remarkable talent for crafting complex characters and their elaborate backstories. While progressing in her budding artistic skills, her true passion lay in building and immersing herself in fantastical worlds. She was engrossed in the worlds of anime, mangas, and fiction which surpassed the typical interests of children her age. Her mind was a treasure trove of knowledge, brimming with insights into various fandoms, literary works, and both contemporary and classic fantasy films.

“No way!” she chuckled, flipping through a notebook full of her drawings of characters she’d seen in anime along with anime characters she'd made up. Each page was adorned with meticulous side notes containing non-canon theories, potential romantic head-canons, and intricately woven backstories that she had crafted from her boundless imagination.

As Y/n spent the next twenty minutes soaring down memory lane, she felt a sinking in her chest, leaving her feeling empty and yearning for that same sense of creativity to ignite within her once again.

She continued sifting through the pile of memories until she reached the bottom, where she found a black velvet notebook with plain white pages. Upon picking it up, she discovered that it was empty. Feeling a bit disappointed, she placed all the objects back into the bin, carefully arranging them in the small compartment.

As she did so, she recalled the various stories she had created in the past - witches, vampires, fairies, and superheroes. She especially missed the sense of accomplishment she felt upon completing each small project, as well as the innocent crushes developed on fictional characters from specific scenes and fan fiction.

Y/n missed how she didn't have a care in the world between what was real and what was fake.

She got up and ascended the stairs once more with the garbage bin at hand and placed it at the bottom of the back door. She figured that once her father came back he’d drive it over to the Salvation Army warehouse. She walked into the kitchen welcomed by the blaring sound of the blender her mom was using to make a smoothie. 

M/n stopped the blender and poured some of the smoothie into a glass cup, handing it to Y/n with a “Good morning sweetie.”

“Good morning, Mom,” Y/n replied, taking a small sip of the berry enriched smoothie, “how did you sleep?”

“Oh, I slept fine,” M/n replied, unplugging the blender and setting it aside on the kitchen’s white valley granite countertop, “the bed feels empty without your dad in it.”

“I’m sure.” Y/n agreed leaning against the counter and taking another sip.

“Did you sleep alright?” M/n asked.

Y/n nodded.

“Good,” M/n noted, about to sip her smoothie once more; she then stopped, “Where’s D/n?”

“Upstairs,” Y/n replied.

“You should always take your dog out for a walk in the morning.” M/n inputted, setting her smoothie down.

“I know, but she was asleep and I was cleaning my room and disposing of things I didn’t need.”

“So, you were up this entire time and didn’t bother to walk your dog or make us any breakfast?”

Y/n studied her mother’s furrowed expression, not sure of what to say.

“Your room would have waited, Y/n. You need to start—”

“Mom, I don’t wanna hear it, it’s too early.” Y/n interrupted, feeling her boiling blood course through her veins.

M/n disregarded her daughter's advances, “It’s nearly noon, Y/n and we’ve barely eaten. I need you to start thinking and be able to multitask and take the initiative. What you’re doing right now won’t get you far in your career.”

Y/n had heard M/n repeat this thousands of times, using as many things to say back in previous times, Y/n was now worn out. 

“Whatever.” She uttered making her way to the kitchen’s exit.

“Excuse me?” M/n’s tone was sharper now.

“Nothing, Mom.”

“Y/n, I tell you these things so you can become more mature. The behavior has gotten too far. You’re eighteen years old and it’s ridiculous the way you act at such a grown age. I constantly have to repeat myself—”

“Then don’t,” Y/n argued.

“Then give me a reason not to,” M/n fired back, “I’ve never seen your age treat her mother the way you do and act selfishly and dismissively.”

Y/n sighed, “This is so unnecessary. All of this over breakfast.”

“You belittle everything, Y/n. Grow up.”

“You can relax now.”

“Grow up.”

“Telling me to grow up won’t do anything.” 

“What I’m saying, sweetie is that you–”

“Okay, mom. I get it. I’ll do better.” Y/n surrendered, not wanting to ignite the flame any further. She was already getting a sickening feeling in her stomach.

She exited the kitchen and rushed up the stairs and back into her room, shutting the door behind her. She set her smoothie down on her desk and paced her room feeling a lump forming in her throat. 

“It’s like she always has to start a problem no matter what I do!” She hiccuped feeling her eyes sting with tears. 

“Can’t she just let me live for once, God, for fucking once!” 

Tears streamed down her face, hanging at her chin, she looked outside at the clear blue sky with the sun well overhead.

“Y/n! Walk your dog!” Her mother yelled from downstairs.

“Okay!” Y/n’s seething voice cracked, “shut up.” she muttered sniffling.

“Now!”

“Give me a minute!”

More tears started spilling down Y/n’s face. She sobbed and hiccuped quietly, continuing to look out her window, which was only a few feet away. Her heart was aching, and her throat was twisted in a knot of sorrow; her chest heaved with exhaustion. She started to cry harder after she attempted to swallow her tears; she knew M/n was going to notice her tear-stricken face. 

Y/n grabbed her phone and trudged over to her bed and plopped down on her back, sighing in defeat. She figured that before she walked D/n she would at least distract herself from the pang of sorrow that knocked at her chest. 

She opened her web browser and typed in “labyrinth 1986,” and thousands of search results appeared, including links to websites, articles, videos, and even books and comics.

The girl's eyes widened in disbelief as she clicked on the first image that showed the same book with a striking red cover that Sarah had been carrying at the park.

“No way, there’s an official novelization of the labyrinth,” she gasped as she further searched. To her surprise, there were comics and mangas as well.

The pain Y/n was feeling suddenly subsided, replaced by a sense of wonder and excitement as she eagerly read through the summaries and reviews for each comic, book, and archived piece available.

“Finally back in print and for the first time in hardcover is the novelization of LABYRINTH written by A.C.H. Smith and personally overseen by Jim Henson. This is the first in a series of novels from the Jim Henson Archives.”

“Labyrinth: Coronation is a 12-issue comic book series written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Daniel Bayliss, published by Archaia from 2018 to 2019. It is a prequel to the 1986 film Labyrinth that takes place in 18th-century Venice and tells the story of how Jareth became the Goblin King.”

“You’re lying” Y/n muttered, enticed by the various series of books presented before her, she clicked on the official novelization first, seeing that it was available in her local bookstore for $30, seeing that there was only one in stock, she made a reservation to pick it up today on her walk with D/n.

“I have to have it.” She said putting in her online payment, which had been successfully authorized. 

Thank you for your purchase! The book you have requested will be available within 20 minutes. You have two days to pick it up.

“Oh, shit I gotta go.” Y/n gasped frantically getting out of her bed. She rushed to her closet and grabbed a pair of gray sweats and a simple scoop navy blue cami top, throwing on white socks. She grabbed her mini purse with her wallet inside and made her way down the stairs, D/n  followed.

“I’m going to the library, D/n is coming with me,” Y/n said as she passed the living room where M/n sat on her computer. 

“Okay. Take the car of course.” M/n replied in deep concentration on whatever was on screen. 

Y/n unlatched the garage door, the sound of its metal creaking filling the air as she stepped inside. She slipped on her comfortable slides and made her way to her car, with D/n following closely behind her. The afternoon sun poured into the garage as she settled into the driver's seat, and D/n took their place in the passenger seat. Y/n rolled down the windows, feeling the warm summer breeze on her skin as she carefully reversed out of the garage and onto the driveway.

She made her way down Nordstin Street, making a right onto Seems Street, she marveled at the vibrant activity around her, knowing that the lakefront was only a couple of streets away. It was nearly one o’clock, and the streets were alive with the energy of people going about their day.

It didn't take long before Y/n reached the library. Finding a snug parking spot near the entrance.

She turned to D/n, letting all the windows up, leaving the passenger’s side slightly cracked.

“I’ll be right back, the window will be cracked for you,” she said leaning in and giving her sweet dog a peck on the nose.

She quickly exited the car and walked up to the library and opened the dark wooden doors, where she paid no attention to her surroundings as she marched straight to the front desk, which was occupied by a lady cashier. They greeted each other warmly.

“My name is Y/n L/n and I purchased Jim Henson’s Labyrinth today.” She spoke clearly. 

As the lady behind the counter heard Y/n's request, she paused, her fingers dancing across the keyboard as she searched for the book. With a few swift clicks to confirm the order, she leaned down and carefully retrieved the treasure Y/n had sought. The rich, crimson book with the elegant golden title "Labyrinth" embossed on its cover was presented before the younger girl, its allure captivating her gaze.

“You’re all set Miss L/n, have a good day!” She chirped sweetly. 

“You too!” Y/n returned as she made her way to the front door, her heart hammering in her chest in anticipation as she made her way back to the car. Luckily, there was a park just across the street from the library.

Y/n opened the car door and let D/n out, the leash making a jingling sound as the dog shook its fur. Y/n shut the door and grabbed hold of the leash, holding the book in another hand and the two made their way to Gillson Park.

Gillson Park was one of the more popular parks in Evansville because it was known for its stunning natural landscapes that are cherished by both locals and visitors alike. Characterized by lush greenery, serene ponds reflecting the sky, and winding walking trails on steep hills. Tall trees provide a cool respite from the summer sun, while colorful blossoms add vibrancy to the surroundings. Many may describe it as a meadow away from the bustling suburban life. 

Y/n found a nice bench by an open field, letting D/n’s leash to wander about the grass and flowers. She propped herself so that she was lying across the bench comfortably, her elbow resting on the arms of the bench. She opened the first page and began to embark on her reading journey.

“Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child you have stolen.” She read aloud, attempting to capture the determination in Sarah’s voice, she chuckled to herself.   

“For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great…”

An Owl glided over the sky unnoticed as it emerged amongst Gillson Park. A creature of pure elegance in the backdrop of the midday scenery. His plumage, a pristine canvas of a bold white, seems to shimmer with an otherworldly luminescence, catching the last rays of the afternoon sun like a cascade of fire woven into feathers. He settled on a branch of the tree that was hovered over Y/n, as she continued to focus on the compelling words in the book. 

His large, dark eyes were fixed on her as she sat with rapt concentration. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes moved swiftly across the crisp, white pages. Her hands were holding the book motionless on the crimson red cover as if she was hesitant to disturb the stillness of the moment.

The Owl’s trance was interrupted by the barking of D/n, his heart shaped head turned to the direction of the galloping dog making its way to Y/n, who looked up from her book, set it on her lap, and petted D/n softly.

“This is a good book so far, D/n,” she said with a smile, “I appreciate its detail.” she leaned down and ruffled the dog’s fur, smothering her pet with the love and affection they deserved. 

Unbeknownst to them, the owl had been silently observing Y/n's every move from the highest branch of the nearby tree. Y/n shut the book and got up from the bench to grab D/n's leash. As Y/n closed the book and rose from the bench, the owl maintained its vigilant watch, its piercing eyes following their every step. Y/n secured D/n's leash, and the two began their stroll back towards the library's parking lot, the owl gracefully gliding from tree to tree, never losing sight of them.

Once both were in the car, the owl perched on the concrete edge of the library's roof, its keen gaze fixed on the departing car as it merged into the occupied street. 

Only when the car disappeared from view did the owl spread its feathered wings and take to the sky again, disappearing into the horizon.

[snk-smartpass]

DISCLAIMER: This is a Repost of a Fan Translation!

TRANSLATION: @worldofchicken

SOURCE: https://aminoapps.com/c/attack-on-titan/page/blog/smartpass-au-good-night-sweet-dreams-mike/BVzL_EJuwuJo0g1mRY5Xx4e71ZWqMX7eQ3

• • • • • • •

Goodnight Sweet Dreams Dear Vol. 16 Mike Zacharias

[People say, dreams are mirrors that reflect the heart.

Does sleep bring the tranquility needed to forget the ruthlessness of the day, or is it an abyss harsher than reality?]

“We’ve invited the chief and the squad leaders. Please eat.”

At a mansion owned by a wealthy merchant in the suburbs, there appeared Survey Corps members in full uniform.

This merchant is very important, since he helped Survey Corps that lacked funds, and helps funds their expeditions.

“Please drink this glass of wine.”

“…Erwin.”

When he was talking with one of his comrades, Erwin ‘accidentally’ dropped his glass.

“Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s alright. Would Squad Leader Mike like some too?”

“I’m not a good drinker, water is fine.”

“Thanks, Mike. Was there a drug in it?”

“Ahh.”

“They probably thought the Survey Corps isn’t worth to invest in, so they wanted to switch to the Garrison. They were planning to make a scandal once I lose my composure. Seems like that’s it for our partnership.”

On the carriage that brought them back to town from the suburbs, Erwin and Mike talked about their views.

However, it’s different outside the walls, where mankind struggle together. In the battle against the hidden enemies and the titans, Mike’s smelling ability has an important use.

In the rocking carriage, Erwin gave out a bitter smile.

“Your smelling ability is godly, good for you.”

You even know what you didn’t need to know, Mike felt like he saw that look in Erwin’s eyes, snorted, and gave no answer.

…the sound of the rocking carriage, unconsciously turned into the sound of the horses he rode with his comrades.

“S, squad leader! We can’t use this route! There’s the smell of blood!”

“Shut up, Mike Zacharias. We haven’t got any info from the commander.”

“But, this smell, it must be the titans…”

“Don’t talk too much! There aren’t any smoke signals!”

When Mike had just joined the Survey Corps, Erwin hadn’t invented the long-range battle formation, all information was spread by the smoke signals.

“Damn… why didn’t anyone believe me?”

Even when he was young, Mike was able to tell the smell of blood and sense danger. He had detected the enemy’s territory, however, being a new soldier, his idea wasn’t accepted.

“My trainee class is in front of us, if I want to survive…”

At the end of the expedition, Mike lost some comrades. It happened many times until his ability was recognized and he got promoted…

“Mike, we’re arriving soon.”

The rocking carriage made a rocky noise.

“Did I fall asleep?”

“You’ve been asleep for a while.”

Mike sniffed around, and smelt his own tears. The tears flowing from his eyes, probably was caused by the nostalgia of the pain in his dreams.

Without showing it in his face, he looked forward, and casually said:

“You were saying I’m unfortunate.”

“Is it about the smelling ability?

Mike nodded and let out a smile.

“Now that I think about it… it doesn’t hurt as much now because I’m useful in the battles.”

Erwin looked at Mike, who’d suddenly become talkative, and let out a laugh after listening to him.

“I’ll count on you next time.”

“Ahh. As long as it’s within my ability.”

The two of them remained silent as the carriage passed through the town gate; they were the men that commands the Survey Corps.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

"King Killmonger: The Golden Jaguar: Chapter 7"

Need to catch up? Masterlist HERE.

"'Cause all I see is the best of you and all you see is the best of meAnd you bring out the best of meAnd all I see is everythingYour goals, your glow, your inner beingAnd our bigger meaningSo, let's lose us in these sheets, yeahAnd when I get up to walk, I wanna feel weak, yeahWell, I ain't goin' far (ain't goin' far)So, stay where you are (stay where you are)Feel like you partied in Venus and we woke up in Mars (baby)I been waitin' my whole life (I've been waiting)My whole lifeAnd I'm gonna give you the best years of your life (for you and I) You and I"

Beyonce—"ll Hands ll Heaven"

N'Jadaka Udaku, the foreign born king of Wakanda was a large man.

Yani watched him stretch his muscled arms and strong neck as he powered the bulk of his big body onto the stern of the houseboat and joined her on the cushiony loveseat facing the water on the lower deck. She had been on the luxury ship before. In America and elsewhere it would be considered a yacht, but to the super rich Udakus, it was a family houseboat.

The king rolled his neck and snuggled next to her, enjoying the warm sunlight and letting the alcohol in the champagne they drank relax him into a slight buzzy stupor. For three hours they floated in a quiet bliss, watching the water become a foamy deluge in their wake slicing through the turquoise liquid. The shoreline view slowly changed from deluxe high rises and bustle of city life to the more tranquil and slower-paced suburbs that led to the rural beauty of outer Zana.

N'Jadaka's skin had turned browner than hers as they sunbathed in their swimsuits, and luxuriated in their togetherness. She kissed his hard bicep and started to cry.

"Yani…"

His concerned voice enveloped her in comfort. He hugged her into his side.

"I'm so happy," she sputtered, knowing the champagne had taken over her emotions. "You're my husband now, and it makes all of this seem so solid and real. I'm drunk…"

He laughed and the sound squeezed her heart.

"I'm not talking about the liquor," she said quickly wanting him to know her true feelings, "I'm drunk off of this love we have. I can't explain it well, but it makes me feel…safe. Finally."

He threaded his fingers with hers and kissed her hand.

"I know what you mean, Yani. I feel the same. I'm actually feeling so many things at once. Maybe that's why I've been so quiet for the last two hours. Taking it all in…knowing that I have a wife. That means everything to me. I didn't know I could possibly love you more, but going through the wedding ceremony, taking vows before gods and people. All of this takes on a deeper meaning."

He stared at their wedding rings.

"I should've married you after the first time we made love because I knew you were the one back then. I just didn't trust myself…I didn't know how to love you properly."

He cast his gaze toward the river water again.

"I have a queen, a family of my own…I have everything I've ever wanted. Maybe I'm scared I'll lose it all again…maybe that's why all of my senses and emotions are heightened. So many people in the world never get to have all of their dreams come true."

Yani leaned over and kissed his cheek. N'Jadaka turned his face to align their lips. He was larger up close, overwhelming her space the way he always did and she welcomed that sensation. It meant that he was her forever love. Her husband.

"Ohmigod, look…N'Jadaka…look," she gasped.

Their love boat passed a giant mountain waterfall that gushed whitewater into the once calm river. The automated boat moved away from the cascading flow that started three hundred feet above them. A cool mist from the water striking the river moistened their skin. Yani leaned her neck back to study how high the waterfall started. They stood and walked up to the top deck toward the bow. The boat switched directions on a pre-determined course and headed directly for the heavy curtain of water one hundred feet wide. She clutched his hand.

"What's happening? Why is the boat going toward the waterfall?" Yani said with a nervous tone.

"Wait and see," he said, throwing an arm around her shoulder.

"Aren't we supposed to cruise around the Ibukan?"

"That's what I told everyone for our safety, but that's not what we're doing," he said with a mischievous grin.

They drifted closer and the roar of the waterfall frightened Yani.

"Keep your eyes open baby…watch," he said.

A vibranium shield shimmered a neon blue streak all around the boat. They cruised straight through the waterfall and Yani marveled at the tons of water washing across the protective barrier.

On the other side they entered an enormous cave. The shield powered down and Yani glanced behind them, listening to the thundering roar of water keeping them out of sight.

The river cave was balmy and lit with lanterns decked around the stone walls. They were inside a mountain that led to someplace she was never privy to.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

"You'll see soon enough," he said, squeezing her closer to him.

The lanterns flickered a yellow-orange glow that allowed her to make out cave drawings that didn't look like Wakandan script. Without the light, the blackness of the interior would've swallowed them. Up ahead, a glint of white beckoned them to an exit.

"Oh!"

Yani covered her mouth with her hand. They floated out into a tropical rainforest with an explosion of colors on vines and canopies she had never seen before. The air smelled different and the scent of the blossoming rainforest flowers lured her steps forward near a railing for a closer chance to sniff the tropical atmosphere. If Joba had been there, she would've believed that her fairy garden had sprouted into a giant real-life wonderland. That's how magical it felt floating along with her husband.

Yani looked around with more wonder and couldn't get over how different the world looked in that place. One would've believed they slipped into a fantasy land with colors that vivid and varied. The boat followed a lazy "s" curve until it stopped. N'Jadaka gathered up their thin, ankle-length aquamarine honeymoon tunics. Yani slipped hers on and he did the same.

"We'll ride a hover bike to the place I want to take you," he said.

Yani walked beside him to the lower deck where a canoe and a hover bike were attached for their use on the trip. She climbed behind her husband and held his waist.

Two elder women and a young man waited for them to float over the water and settle on the landing near the water's edge. One woman carried a woven grass basket covered with a satin blue cloth and the other woman held a full bouquet of magenta and blood-orange flowers. Both women wore heavy brocaded lavender robes with gold sandals. The young man escorting them stood silently watching the royal couple climb off the hover bike. He wore a long plain white shirt with gold crotch-drop pants.

The woman with the basket stepped forward first and handed N'Jadaka the basket.

"Welcome kumkani. We have been waiting for your arrival with the new kumkanikazi and prepared your quarters for the next three days."

"Thank you. May I introduce you to Kumkanikazi Yani?"

All three lowered their heads and waited for Yani to acknowledge them with an offering of her hand. The woman with the bouquet gave them to the queen and Yani sniffed the heavenly scent.

"Where are we?" Yani asked the first woman.

"This is Ekuqaleni. The Beginning. The place where the Udaku clan first came to be through Ugogo Udaku…Grandmother Udaku. She is the matrilineal beginning for the king. You carry her name as your own now, kumkanikazi. The Udaku family line runs through their women."

"Udaku was her surname?" Yani asked.

The elder woman who gave the flowers shook her head and spoke softly.

"No. Udaku was her first and only name. Udaku of the Panther Tribe. Mother of Bashenga Udaku, the first Black Panther and our first united tribal king."

"The women ran everything," Yani said.

The women nodded at her.

"Come, you have had a long day and long journey. Time to rest and get acquainted with the roots of your people."

The fruit basket woman snapped her fingers and the young man became more alert and stepped three feet in front of N'Jadaka as the others did. All citizens were only allowed to stand the requisite distance of three feet unless invited closer by a royal personally.

"What are your names?" Yani asked.

The first woman pointed to herself and then the woman with the flowers.

"I am Mama F'Neka and that is Mama Yiswa. Niso will take you to rest. Supper will be ready when you ask for it. We are here to serve and help you enjoy your stay. Your pleasure is our grace," F'Neka said.

Niso stepped lively and the royal couple carried their gifts and followed a winding path through a wealth of nature's beauty.

"We are on the other side of Umbono Lake," N'Jadaka said.

"By the cove?"

"Close to it," he said.

Yani smiled. She had a better picture of the geography knowing they were further south.

"Are you the only people here?" Yani asked Niso.

"No, kumkanikazi. Several of us work here to take care of Ekuqaleni," Niso said.

N'Jadaka took a hold of Yani's free hand and clasped it as they walked through the tropical paradise.

"No one is allowed to be here except for the royal family, and most times it's just for the newlywed ones," N'Jadaka said. "This place is a historical landmark and not even the public can come here except for certain times of the month annually for special tours."

"Ekuqaleni is a holy place my queen," Niso added. "Ugogo Udaku encouraged her young son King Bashenga to follow the ways of the shaman during the time of constant tribal wars. With her wisdom and Bast's guidance, our revered king found isipho…the gift."

"Vibranium," Yani said.

"Yes, kumkanikazi. Ugogo Udaku was born and lived here in the forest for one hundred and ten years. My family has taken care of Ekuqaleni for generations. Mama F'Neka and Mama Yiswa are my grand aunts. We are a mix of the Panther and River tribe."

The path they followed narrowed and N'Jadaka made Yani walk in the middle behind Niso. Giant multi-colored butterflies with wing-spans as wide as her hand fluttered in a ring high above them. The forest had a cloying sweet odor where they traveled. Niso pointed to the butterflies overhead.

"They are drunk with the fermented nectar of the fruit we gave you," Niso said.

Grayish-green fruit shaped like pregnant pears hung on branches slightly at Yani's eye level. Many had over-ripened and browned deeply in sections where butterflies crawled over them licking the fermentation. She giggled and touched the wing of one nearby butterfly. The soft powdery feel slid across her fingertips as they continued moving into a clearing.

"What about our clothes and things on the boat?" Yani asked.

N'Jadaka fondled her backside with a gentle pat and pinch.

"Don't worry about that stuff. I have it all taken care of. Just enjoy the trip, Ma," N'Jadaka said.

Niso stepped aside letting the royals move ahead of him and Yani's eyes widened.

A natural heated mineral pool faced a sunken fire pit surrounded by low stools and a lounging seat. The lush area was cultivated to blend in with the surroundings with enough touches to look cozy and quite comfortable.

"My king and queen, Ugogo Udaku's family dwelling," Niso said proudly.

Yani had imagined some small thatched covered hut made to survive a tropical environment. Instead, her neck arched back and her mouth fell open at the sight of giant trees as tall, wide, and grandiose as American redwoods, but cultivated over a millennia to take on the braided curved shapes like lucky bamboo. The canopies were also intertwined across the tree tops creating the foundation for pearly white-washed circular tree homes made of smooth stone and earth. The light coloring looked spectacular against the backdrop of twining leaves and branches of bright emerald green etched with faint traces of lemon yellow and vermilion streaks.

N'Jadaka grinned next to her.

"Beautiful huh?" he said, putting the basket of fruit on a low tree-trunk carved table.

Yani put the bouquet of flowers down next to the fruit basket and walked toward the closest tree. She noticed the carved steps inside the trunk that led up to the tree home.

"May I?" Yani asked Niso.

"My queen, this is your ancestral home. You may do as you wish," Niso said.

Yani hurried up the organic steps and squealed when she reached the top. Entering the first room she immediately looked out of the window. Holding her breath, she couldn't believe it all belonged to her. N'Jadaka's heavy footfalls echoed from behind and she glanced at him quickly before spinning around the cool interior.

"So much space! It's huge in here and…ohmigod, N'Jadaka…"

Yani took off through a long hall that led to other parts of the tree house. More living pods were made for bedrooms, a restroom, kitchen area, and then treetop bridges that led to hanging gardens that grew fruits and flowers above the forest floor.

N'Jadaka followed, enjoying the delight in her eyes. They stood together on an above ground pathway that gave them a view of a lazy tributary of milky blue water that flowed to the east of the tree house. More steps carved out of the tree led down directly to the water.

"My ancestors had to live above ground because there was a lot of seasonal flooding before they started damming up spots to control the waterways. I thought staying here a few days before going on the boat cruise would be…romantic?" N'Jadaka said.

Yani hugged him tight.

"I love it," she said.

"I'm glad. I know we could go anywhere in the world, or do anything we want in Wakanda, but I just wanted to be somewhere special for us. You're making roots here too, and your lineage is very important to our history on this patch of land."

Yani's eyes welled up and she blinked away tears by glancing down below and noticing Niso. He waved up to them. A loud growling sound startled Yani. Two black panthers lumbered out from behind twisty vines looping below the trees.

Niso didn't seem fazed at all and bent down to scratch the ear of one panther that rolled over onto its back.

"This is S'Bu and Unathi, your personal guards. Would you like to meet them?" Niso called up.

Yani bounded down the carved stairs of another giant tree dragging N'Jadaka with her by the hand.

"Are they safe? They don't know us," Yani asked.

She quickly became cautious once she stood before the gorgeous beasts, their blue-black coats of fur gleaming like polished midnight. N'Jadaka walked up to S'Bu and cuddled its chin with his big hand.

"They are bred for the royals and brought up to obey your commands and watch over you in the forest," Niso said.

Yani was still hesitant to touch either panther.

"No worries Queen Yani. I have gotten them accustomed to your scent. King N'Jadaka sent over clothing belonging to you so they are familiar with your natural skin odor. They know you are to be respected and protected."

"Tell them to sit in Wakandan baby," N'Jadaka encouraged.

"They're not dogs," Yani said with a small laugh in her voice.

"Try it."

Yani stepped closer to her husband just to be safe and looked both big cats in the eyes.

"Hlala phantsi," Yani commanded.

Both panthers squatted on their haunches and kept direct eye contact with her.

"Good job, Queen Yani," Niso said.

Yani reached out and scritched the ear of Unathi first. The animal purred under her fingers and S'Bu nudged her fingers to get some affection too.

"A jealous baby," Yani said.

"They are both three years old and will come and go frequently to trek around the pereimeter," Niso said.

"Aren't panthers normally solitary?" Yani asked.

"Wild ones, yes. They prefer to be alone until mating season. But these have been raised in a claw of humans and were trained to live together with some female panthers that roam here too. You won't see them as much. They are fed by our team so no need to do anything for these big boys. S'Bu loves belly rubs and Unathi prefers back rubs. When you want them to go away, just clap your hands and they will leave."

Niso lowered his head and kept his hands by his sides.

"I will leave you to begin your honeymoon. Tap your kimoyos when you would like your supper brought to you, or any other extra meals and snacks. Ugogo Udaku's home is equipped with all the latest amenities as the palace. Refreshments are in the home already. There are marked trails and kimoyo scans for landmarks and such throughout the forest. I hope you will enjoy your stay. We are so honored to have you."

"Thank you, Niso," Yani said.

Niso wandered off and the forest swallowed all traces of him. Both panthers flopped down on their sides relaxed and without a care in the world.

"What would you like to do first? Explore a little, or relax. Anything you want to get into is good with me, baby," N'Jadaka said.

"What about you?"

He surveyed the empty fire pit and a stack of freshly chopped wood at the base of the tree house steps.

"I'm thinkin' of making a fire so we can have our supper out here. Shouldn't take me long to get one going. We have a couple of hours left before the sun sets."

"How about you get the fire going and I'll walk around here for a few minutes to get acquainted with the forest," she said.

"Bet."

He strolled over to the wood stack and Yani pivoted the other way. The two panthers sat up. S'Bu padded forward to follow.

"Stay," she said in English.

The panther kept walking and she repeated her command in Wakandan and the big cat abruptly sat on its backside again.

She wandered into an area of hanging vines taking in the fresh air and dense foliage. Staring up, she looked upon the thick canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight and created a shady walk through the forest. Despite the dense covering, tiny slats of golden light filtered down like sundrops, making dustmotes look like sparkly glitter dancing in the bright spots. Yani walked into magic and wonder feeling childlike.

There were a few other tree houses high above, but many hadn't been cared for as well as Ugogo Udaku's home over the years. They had eroded away or been grown over by the trees and vines they were built into. The constant buzzing of cicadas rang in her ears. She welcomed the sound and listened for other tropical noises to alert the world of other life going on around her. Frogs croaked and a few green and blue birds bounced from branch to branch watching her closely. A black and white colobus monkey, with an old geriatric-looking face and a tail of long white fur that favored horsehair, spied on her from above.

A sensation of peace descended over the forest and Yani ventured carefully back to the treehouse. The smell of wood smoke greeted her. N'Jadaka sat on one of the low stools by the fire petting both of the panthers that stretched out in front of him. Yani paused her steps and watched her husband interact with the animals. He looked regal and powerful handling S'Bu and Unathi like they were mere kittens. The fire crackled and so did a leaf under her sandal. N'Jadaka and the panthers glanced her way. His large physique reminded her of a human panther. Especially his eyes and how they could turn predatory against an enemy. He really was just a giant panther who would turn as docile as the big cats at his feet when she pointed him in the direction she wanted. Umama whispered in her ear before they flew away on their honeymoon that the queen of Wakanda was the true power behind the throne, and the best queens kept the king on point. Yani clapped her hands and both cats ambled away following her commands immediately. They retreated in the direction Niso disappeared.

"How was your walk?" he asked.

Yani went to him and touched his pulled back locs. She lifted his chin with two fingers and kissed his full lush lips in the firelight.

"This is perfect," she said after releasing his mouth.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, I could do with a good meal and then a nice early rest."

"We can go canoeing tomorrow and barbecue in the afternoon. We can also hike to see the top of the waterfall."

"So much to see and do… and all the time we need to do it. A whole month off," Yani sighed into his hair.

N'Jadaka pulled her onto his lap and they enjoyed the fire for a time. He tapped his kimoyo beads and Niso returned with two other attendants pushing a floating double food cart filled with delicacies and more than enough food for two hungry royals. The low dining table was just at the right level of the ancient seats. They sat across from one another and were served the first course of broth and flat bread with wine and fresh cheese bites. N'Jadaka dismissed their attendants after giving instructions to bring a late breakfast in the morning.

"I guess walking out here made us hungrier than we thought," Yani said.

She pulled out several platters filled with yellow rice, grilled vegetables, stuffed flaky fish pastries, tender cuts of beef smothered in rich red wine gravy, and skewers of chicken glazed with peanut sauce. Helping themselves to full plates, they ate and reveled in the calm peacefulness as the sun set. Small solar lights sprinkled around the tree house twinkled to life.

"How pretty…oh…I wish the kids could see this," Yani said.

"They will. We'll come back through here on the way back home our last week. But I want us to have this to ourselves first," he said, winking.

"You really have thought of everything."

She stuffed a piece of the fruit that was already cut up for them in the basket.

"This tastes so good, like a peach and passion fruit mix…here, try some."

Yani passed a small squared off piece to N'Jadaka and he ate it right from her fingers, licking the tips free of juice.

"I like it," he said.

He watched her face then smiled.

"You're glowing," he said.

"What?"

"Your face…your demeanor. It's a glowing vibe."

"Hmmm…I feel like I'm glowing. This might sound funny but, I feel like I'm married. It's like a sensation in my bosom, like a weight or something. Nothing heavy, but…a solidness?"

Yani watched his face. N'Jadaka leaned in closer to the table and reached for her ring finger.

"I kinda feel that way too, Yani. Like how we were discussing on the boat. Ceremony is one thing, but saying those vows to you…I feel more connected to you than I ever have. Once those words came out…it's like you said…almost like the word became flesh and lodged inside of us."

Yani nodded, understanding completely.

"Are you excited about when we get back and you attend your first palace meeting with the Council of Elders?" he asked.

Yani rolled her eyes and nibbled on some bread.

"I don't want to think about the palace right now. I only want to focus on us and this amazing honeymoon trip."

"Want any more wine?"

N'Jadaka held out a wine carafe and Yani shook her head.

"I've had enough to drink today, no thank you."

He sipped the last drops in his own wine glass and checked out the dessert offerings. Lemon tarts and mini vanilla bean cakes with fresh berry glaze. They shared a cake and then covered up the rest of the food for the attendants to retrieve later.

Shucking off their caftans to frolic openly with swimsuits again, they investigated the mineral spring bubbling nearby. A trough made of smooth robin's egg blue stones allowed cool water from the river tributary to flow through. All they had to do was lift a partition made of yellow limestone and clay and the cooler water drained into the steamy mineral waters regulating the temperature.

The spring was about five feet deep in the center with seat impressions carved into the sides that could accommodate up to six adults.

"Nature's Jacuzzi," N'Jadaka said as he helped Yani into the bubbling froth that smelled faintly of sulfur.

Yani lifted the partition and the milky blue river water rushed in and helped neutralize the strong odor from the spring. The frothy mix became soapy on their skin making it tingle.

"Feels like heaven," Yani said after the final adjustment of the partition to a perfect temperature.

Seated shoulder to shoulder, they soaked in heated bliss and held hands under the water. They spoke of the children and their education, and Yani fretted about the possibility of sending Sydette to the best science academy in Wakanda. Their eldest had taken her first Level 1 aptitude exam that all nine-year-olds took to determine their academic journey. Unlike most educational systems, Wakandans let the children's intelligence place them with their natural interests and not just a typical general core curriculum that everyone had to abide by for decades. They allowed children to specialize in their talents early encouraging self-motivation that would hopefully carry on into a lifetime of autodidactism.

Sydette tested high in the hard sciences and mathematics and her primary teacher was pleased to inform Yani and N'Jadaka that S'Yan University had the proper seed school within the institution that all the best young science minds went to early. In a year, Sydette would have to attend a new school for her grade level and Yani wanted her near the palace. Attending the Level 2 in S'Yan would mean boarding school for Sydette. Traveling back and forth to school hundreds of miles away was too much for a little girl. It was tough while she was living away from her father in the countryside under duress, but S'Yan was even further away near the sea.

Boarding school was what rich people did to have their children rub shoulders with the elite and to get high paying, high status jobs after graduation. Sydette was a princess and the daughter of the richest and most brilliant man in the world. She didn't need a boarding school to get ahead in life, she was already at the front of the line. Yani toyed with the idea of asking N'Jadaka to create a school in Zana just as heralded as the one in S'Yan just to keep Sydette at home. All the schools in Wakanda were better than anything outside of the country, but S'Yan University had three particular teachers there that created giants in their field. Shuri and T'Challa had gone there as children before attending the Royal Academy of Wakanda in Zana.

Her mind wandered to their "twins" Joba and Riki. In two years, all of their children could possibly be away from the golden city and boarding on the other side of the country. The thought bothered her to no end. She was supposed to see her babies every day to ask how their day went and help them with their class work. There were already rumblings from Joba and Riki's teachers about skipping them a few grades like N'Jadaka had been. That meant they could leave the palace sooner. Brilliant children meant losing parts of childhood sometimes. Her husband didn't talk about it much, but Dante told Yani that it was tough for the king to be the smartest and youngest child in the room when he was little.

Joba had an aptitude for linguistics and art. Riki…well…Riki was…Yani chuckled.

"What's so funny?" N'Jadaka asked.

"Thinking of Riki. What do you think he'll do with his life? We know he loves animals."

N'Jadaka pressed his lips together suppressing a smirk.

"Why are you looking like that?" Yani asked.

"He told me he wants to start a band."

"Ooh Lord, God…"

"Well, the boy can sing. My Baba could and so can you, which means he has the genetics."

"So Sydette becomes an astrobiologist, Joba the master linguist/art historian, and our son becomes a rock star?"

"Why not?"

"I know the music business first hand remember? It's not a nice industry. He's too smart for that."

"Wakanda is all about letting their young people develop their potential. Maybe it's time for an Udaku to be a famous musician. Give him a few more years with his piano and guitar lessons. He could be the next King of Pop. But a real one!"

"My baby is too sweet to become a raunchy musician."

"Stop projecting."

Yani curled her lip in a pout and N'Jadaka squeezed her kneecap.

"You have to let him have the same opportunity your parents gave you when you were allowed to try your hand at music," he said.

"That wasn't my dream and you know it. Chez wanted to be a star, not me."

"Kendall is doing well though."

"Kendall is a famous music producer now…all behind the scenes work."

"He would be a good mentor for Riki—"

"Are you seriously thinking of letting our son become a performer? You wahn me vex on this honeymoon?"

"You are the queen of Wakanda. Lil Man will never fall victim to the seamier side of the music business because who would want to fuck with his mama? Or his daddy? One word from your mouth and you already know I'm tearing up cities for our kids."

Yani relaxed more and rubbed her hand up and down his arm.

"Promise?" she said in his ear.

"Anything for my wife, ya heard me?"

She nodded. He stood abruptly and pulled at the elastic on his trunks.

"Too hot for me. Let's use the outdoor shower and head up," he said.

She stepped out of the mineral pool and slipped on her sandals. They rinsed off with cool water from an overhead shower nozzle connected to one of the trees facing the treehouse. Stripping off their suits, they wrung them out and strung them along a branch to dry. A second more thorough shower had them fully refreshed and energized.

"Let's stay outside a little longer," Yani suggested.

Even with the sun gone, the spring weather carried the whispers of summer on a slow breeze that followed them back over to the double lounger. N'Jadaka moved it to face the tributary where they could gaze at the bright stars in the evening sky. He tilted the back support so they could sprawl together at an angle. Yani waited for him to settle in the lounger first before she crawled to sit between his legs with the back of her head resting on his chest.

"Do you think Adam and Eve had it like this in the Garden of Eden?" Yani asked.

"Without attendants…maybe."

"Nude in nature and happy like this every day of their lives…"

"Until that whole apple situation," he joked.

"Shooting stars!" she blurted, pointing at the streak of burning dust overhead.

Yani closed her eyes when she spotted a new cluster of vaporized debris masquerading as shooting stars. She made a wish for her husband and herself to live long happy lives without any falls from grace.

N'Jadaka was pleased.

His new wife loved the surprise excursion to Ekuqaleni. Before his paternal grandfather vanished in the Thanos war, he gave N'Jadaka the suggestion to visit the place of his Wakandan roots where it all began for the Panther tribe. He made meticulous arrangements in secrecy and felt grateful that he listened to Baba Z.

Yani was in awe of the place and more than anything, she loved the seclusion and quiet from other people. She spoke to him with that soft tone he adored in her voice, and touched him constantly. She knew his love language was physical contact and catered to those needs just as he catered to hers by showering her with gifts that showed her that she was worthy of all the good things in life she struggled for. Yani wasn't materialistic by any means, but his constant presents for no special reasons brought her gratitude and acceptance that she was worthy of being spoiled by him. N'Jadaka puffed up ten feet whenever she expressed elation over a new surprise he bestowed upon her simply because he loved her so much.

Naked and tangled together on the lounger, they watched shooting stars and listened to the settling down of the majestic forest. An owl hooted and flew low past their seat right across the tributary. They were surrounded by mountains and away from the constant eyes in the palace. Being butt naked in a serene wilderness calmed his mind and body. He curled his arms around Yani's chest, feeling the soft globes of her breasts push into his warm skin. True Eden was holding her close and never letting her go.

He slid his fingers onto her nipples and played with them. They perked up, still tender from the soak in the mineral pool. She stayed quiet, watching his fingers roll across the firm tips, fat like plump grapes. Her sighs pleased his ears as he plucked and pinched them gently. He cupped each breast and looked down at her chest, slowly pushing them together. Staring at big tits always got him started in the arousal department. Yani's thighs fell open wider and he knew her inner labia were becoming engorged just by the way her backside squirmed against him. She turned her head and he lowered his so they could kiss, their tongues sliding into moist, ready caverns. His mouth watered kissing her, and he kept his tongue at the entrance of her mouth, forcing Yani to beg for more with her prodding tongue. He delved deeper into her throat forcing her to submit that wanton mouth. She matched his pace. His fuller lips took over hers and she moaned deep in her throat.

"Love me?" he whispered between kisses.

She nodded and arched her neck to capture more of his lips, her teeth grazing his bottom lip playfully. He slowed her down with softer kisses that tested the limits of her desire for him. Licking on her neck, he bit into her skin and nibbled on the spot just under the right side of her jaw. He sucked a small hicky there, marking her flesh with his teeth too. She shifted her body onto her side, and the heat from her heavy breasts seared warmth into him. He lowered his hand and touched her down there in that special place.

That pussy was wetter and hotter than the water they crawled out of.

The slickness coated his fingertips and he painted her wide labia with all the stickiness she spewed out.

"I've been waiting to play all in this pussy…"

He prevented her from responding by stuffing his fingers in her mouth, making her taste the sweet tasting nectar she released. She'd spent a week eating large amounts of pineapples and mangoes to make sure her pussy tasted delicious for them.

Good girl.

He gently smacked her vulva. The slap from his hand activated the pleasure of her labia piercings.

"Yesss," she hissed, and he slapped her vulva again, the frothy wetness between her legs making his entire hand wet.

"…playing with my wife's pretty pussy outside in the open. Anybody could walk past and see the queen's wet pussy lips…"

Yani huffed out an aroused breath into his right side. The exhibitionist in her was wound up tight. He drew lazy figure eights all around her jeweled clit. Her legs trembled as he rubbed slow circles on it directly.

"You can't cum on my fingers baby. The king has to eat your pussy first before he can get deep inside you. Would you like that now? My lips on your pussy? Licking all over that juicy clit?"

"Yes…please…Daddy…eat my pussy."

"You about to get some husband dick tonight, Yani. I already told you that shit was going to be different from what you're used to. Daddy gotta put in real work tonight to stretch you out good. I might make several big messes all inside you."

She trembled all over, the tension in her body palpable against his nerve endings. He inserted two fingers partially inside her pussy and they both heard the sound it made when he wiggled his fingers around to test how wet she was. He adjusted her position on his torso so he could reach down and finger fuck her. She spread her legs along the sides of his and savored his digits twirling pleasure inside of her. Her walls squeezed around his fingers. The deeper he sank his fingers the more moans tumbled from her lips. Her eyes were glassy and faraway. She was ready to be piped down good and hard.

N'Jadaka moved her body away from his and slid down to his knees on the soft grass. It was time for him to face the nation between her thighs. Pushing Yani's legs back on the lounger he smashed his lips into her vulva and commenced to pleasuring the queen with a thick wide tongue. She tasted sweeter and her slick offering soaked his lips and most of his lower face.

Tongue fucking her made Yani shoot her legs up to the dark heavens. Her toes pointed to the north star toward freedom in her pussy. A powerful orgasm rippled all across her lush form. He loved the way her entire vulva throbbed in his mouth. Her orgasmic contractions exploded again while he groaned into her soft center making it vibrate with delirious pulses. It forced her to let out a rapturous shout to God and anyone else who would listen to her praises of his tongue.

He slurped up all the stickiness she produced and swallowed it full of greed for more. Standing, he let her witness the growth of his erection. It stood saluting her. Her eyes glossed over his heavy nutsack before admiring his thick arousal. He lifted his balls and squeezed their heft, letting her see what was in store to flood her pussy.

Yani lifted one of the large fluffy pillows from the lounger and placed it on the grass in front of the seat. She dropped onto all fours facing away from him. Head down, ass up. N'Jadaka scooted into a comfortable position at the edge of the lounger and spread his legs. He gripped his dick with a firm hand and stroked himself, watching his wife wiggle her big, wide ass. Her fat vulva gleamed from her piercings and the fresh lubricant her body produced. The inner labia wings were spread out and all of her precious pink winked at him. She played with her pussy and he groaned stroking his dick. Her pretty rose-gold nails pulled her ass cheeks apart providing a gorgeous picture for him. When they got back to the palace he was going to commission a discreet artist to paint his wife in that position. That body was art, especially when it was aroused and that pink pussy throbbed like that.

"Fuck Yani, that pussy looks so juicy…so does that ass baby…"

She slowly rubbed her labia and it was torture staring at wet pussy teasing him to fuck. Women from all over the world had been in that position before trying to seduce him. Only Yani made him pant the way he did watching her tease him. She pushed three of her fingers inside her pussy and the squelching sounds had his fat lips twisted up in agony.

"You like your wife's pussy?" Yani said.

"I do baby…"

"Do you like how it sounds Daddy?"

His hand pounded his dick down to his balls. Precum drizzled down the shaft and all over his right hand. So much came out that he was losing the feeling of friction. He was going to need her tight pussy soon. Sweat poured down his face.

"Yani…damn…Yani…got this dick hard as fuck…shit…"

She started making her ass cheeks jump in a syncopated rhythm and he jumped down on his knees. He jammed his left hand down on the arch of her back and pressed the tip of his dick against her right ass cheek, rubbing it hard against the pillowy soft bubble.

"You like that big ass Daddy?"

"Fuck!"

N'Jadaka groaned and slapped his dick against her ass. His precum coated her skin and his dick slid all around feeling hot and dangerous in his hand. He slapped the other ass cheek several times leaving dark red-brown markings on her toasted brown skin. Yani liked that stinging pain and cried out for more. He was losing control. His vision became blurry from the sweat falling into his eyes.

"Get on your knees! Aw fuck, Yani! Hurry…get on your knees…'bout to bust a fat one. Wanna cum on your face…you know what I want…you know what I want!" he shouted.

Yani took her sweet time rising from her position. But she didn't stay on her knees. She sauntered over to the lounger and got cozy on her back, spreading her big thighs open.

"I want my husband…I want my husband right now," she said.

N'Jadaka stared at her earnest face and the beauty it contained. His entire body hummed with the thrilling sensation of lust and love and deepening desire. His dick was a heavy sword between his legs ready to be sheathed by a queen he loved with his entire heart, mind, body, and soul. He lowered his head and kissed her feet and made a trail with his lips all the way up her body. When he reached her lips, he gave her a small peck and lined his erection up with her receptive labia.

"I want my wife. I want my wife right now," he said to her with strong conviction.

The firelight revealed a shine in Yani's eyes that glowed like the stars above.

Everything slowed down.

His breathing.

His heart beat.

His mind.

All there was in that moment of exquisite time was her.

Yani.

The woman who brought him back from the land of the living dead.

The woman who loved him whole and free.

His wife.

His.

He entered her body slowly, burning into his memory the sensation of her vagina closing around his girth, holding him like no other woman could. Resting his forehead against hers, their eyes connected and locked together. He placed his hands into fists at her sides and grunted his satisfaction with a slow lovemaking that had him enthralled.

God she took that dick!

He closed his eyes and gasped at how tight and deep she was. When he was able to open his eyes again while savoring the sweet thrusts he gave her, he knew in his spirit he would be lost to her love forever. The thought of how easily he could've lost her on that island swarmed over him like a tsunami of watery heat in his bones, and he wept, fearful of how close his life could've gone down the drain if he hadn't found her and built a connection.

Yani cradled his face with her hands and wiped away his tears that threatened to fall on her. He shifted his weight and she wrapped her legs around his waist, giving him room to thrust harder into her.

His queen. His wife.

Yani.

She made love to him like no other and he reciprocated. His mind wandered for a second at a memory. Who was the lover he once chastised for trying to fuck him like that when it was better suited for a man who deserved her? He was at M.I.T. at the time…early twenties. Cocksure and slanging dick like a fiend. The woman had been much older than him and fell in love with him so fast that he felt bad for leaving her with unrequited feelings. Shaun knew her…a big fine…

Renata.

Yeah, that was her. He had been right to warn Renata about fucking men like that. That was husband territory and the woman that rightfully deserved his tender loving care would have it for as long as he lived. The wisdom of his youth flooded his limbs and he kissed Yani while thrusting his soul into her depths. He needed her to feel his love and devotion. She hugged him tight.

"N'Jadaka…my love…my everything," she said.

"Yes," he said, rocking into her in a steady love tempo. "Yes…yes…baby…yes."

Husband things.

Her mouth parted but no sound came out. Her eyes never wavered from his. Her pussy swallowed his dick with artful decadence. Every thrust he gave ripped a groan from him as well as her, and after awhile, it became a steady metronome of sound. Even the forest quieted down to listen to their lovemaking.

Yani's pussy was a gushy fortress of primal delight. He glanced down to watch his dick move in and out, stuffing her full of thick dick, stretching her with divine care. Giving him pussy like that, he definitely knew he would have her pregnant in a few months. She made the idea of pulling out a sin before Bast and Ogum. He had fought aliens from other galaxies, had Gods speak to him directly and ride his body within his own flesh, but none of those experiences were as profound as making love to Yani.

He gestured for her to turn around so he could take her from behind and waited for her to get into a comfortable position. He sank back into her with a hearty shout of her name and gripped her waist. She clutched the back of the lounger for stability. Slowly gyrating his hips, he gave Yani the backshots she needed as her man. With reckless abandon, she threw her ass back on him causing loud thunderous claps of her ass cheeks. He held back from plunging into her again and let Yani do all the fucking while he watched with half closed eyelids. Her grip on his dick made his balls ache to release. She twisted her hips and pushed into him at a new angle that tugged on his length with a new sensation.

"Dassit, fall back on that dick. Good girl…show me how you own this dick…show me…dassit. That's all yours, Yani... right there…right there…yank on this dick with that tight pussy baby."

She looked back at him while she bounced on his dick. It was that daring look in her eyes that made her lethal during sex. The look clarified that no one else could fuck him like she did. She was the big dick assassin and she snapped that fat ass against his groin to remind him that she was not to be toyed with. Flexing her back muscles, she started really cooking on his dick, twisting her waist from side to side the way she did when she danced seductively on a dance floor. Her ass moved like water with such fluidity that he squeezed his eyes shut again to keep himself from nutting before he was ready. He grit his teeth and huffed agitated air, suppressing the yell that built up in his throat and threatened to bellow out like a raging elephant.

Yani pushed the lounge chair's back support until it was flat. She lowered her face and kept her eyes locked on his as she arched her back into a more visually pleasing display that tooted her ass higher for his pleasure.

She knew what she was doing.

Setting him up for the kill-strike on his dick. Her pussy was already doing stunts on his shaft with all the concentrated squeezing. Using his large hands, he pulled her cheeks apart to admire the visual of tight pink pussy throbbing all around his pulsing erection. Locked on her target, her eyes narrowed watching him. He had something for her ass though that would mess up her goal to end him.

N'Jadaka lifted onto his feet and fucked her froggy style. That position gave his fat sack the ammunition angle to continually smack into her swollen clit harder. His switch up worked, and Yani's face transformed from a look of deadly accuracy into one of submissive bliss.

"Oh…oh…oh…oh…" she panted softly and repeatedly.

His balls and the thickness of his dick stretching her caused the right amount of friction to render her lost in the sauce. She had that faraway look in her glassy stare.

"MmmHmmm…thought you had me gone. Now I gotta teach you how to behave," he barked at her.

Yani whimpered and chewed on her bottom lip. Her shiny eyes looked more watery and ready to spill tears. He rubbed on her booty, smacking it on both sides, luxuriating in the recoil as it bounced in his hands.

"Not here," he said glancing up at the treehouse.

Reluctantly, he pulled out from her tightness and lifted her gently in his arms. She rested her head against his neck and circled her arms around his wide shoulders.

"I will cum inside you way up there…where my ugogo lived high above the ground…among these magnificent trees. I want the old ones who passed on to hear us and know that we're building a new nation," he whispered in her ear.

He strode across the peaceful landscape carrying Yani past the dying fire and the gurgling of the mineral spring. S'Bu and Unathi returned from prowling their territory and watched the king with his queen.

"You two stay here and watch this place. Stay," he commanded.

Unathi gave a subdued growl as if responding to N'Jadaka. Both panthers slinked gracefully near the fire pit and hunkered down like two giant loaves of black bread.

N'Jadaka walked up the treehouse stairway and carried Yani into the largest bedroom pod that was decorated like a honeymoon suite for the royal couple. Tropical flowers were placed around the bedroom in natural grass woven baskets. Heavily scented green candles burned inside copper wall sconces with protective glass coverings. Two royal purple robes transported from their palace home hung up on wall hooks. With the whitewashing of the walls and the flickering candles, the bedroom glowed with a subdued golden light.

Their bedding was a soft ancient pallet covered in a hand woven plum-colored quilt that had been lovingly repaired and refabricated over centuries, but still held the stitches of his greatest grandfather's mother.

Above them was a skylight where the ancient ones had trimmed away the canopy to let in starlight and sunshine. He made out the Wakandan zodiac sign of the baobab tree among the stars twinkling their light into the room. Placing Yani on her feet, he pulled back the quilt and soft sheets.

"Give me your hand," he said.

Yani placed her left hand in his and helped lower her onto the unbelievably soft and supportive pallet. It must've been made from some special material that deceived the eye into thinking it was too thin to handle two grown bodies that were about to get busy. He pushed two large pillows against the wall creating back support.

N'Jadaka held Yani in his arms and kissed her. Their tongues played a gentle game of hide and seek in their mouths. He fondled her breasts and whispered her name over and over, praising her touches all over his body. He nibbled her earlobe, licked the shell of her ear, and groaned while listening to her needy moans. The wide open wings of her labia beckoned him to plunge back inside her pussy. The stickiness between her thighs became molten lava on his hand. She crawled on top of him and guided his twitching erection inside her sugary walls.

"Oh…Killmonger," she sighed.

"Fuck!"

Yani leaned forward and her breasts smothered his face. She rode him hard and fast. He sucked on her nipples and tried stuffing as much of her breasts into his mouth as possible. She started bucking and he cried out with enough passion to make his throat raw. He gripped her big titties and held on to them while she fucked the shit out of him.

"Dammit! Fuck me Yani…keep going like that…oh shiitttttt!"

She leaned back and her breasts bounced like an earthquake rumbled their treehouse. His nutsack reacted to the vision, the hot semen held there on the brink of shooting out from his dick if he let her ride like she was on a mechanical bull much longer.

His lips bunched up and he started begging for mercy.

"Don't make me cum yet baby…please…I'm not ready for you to pull this nut out yet…Yani…Yani…please…"

She laughed and pushed her tits together, extending his torture. Her pussy made splashing noise all over his dick. A creamy stickiness covered his erection and more coated it as her arousal danced into a tipping point. The way his dick stretched her pussy lips as she went up and down paralyzed him into inaction and he took the pounding of her ass on his thighs like a champ. A lesser man would've tapped out a long time ago. He was on the verge and she knew it, and that knowledge turned her into a dick riding tyrant.

"Oh my God…Oh my God….shit, shit, shit, Yani you fucking bitch! Ahhhhh!"

There was no shame in a man screaming because his wife rocked his world. No shame in his voice going up two octaves either. He lifted his body and hugged her tight, slowing down her plans to kill him with pussy. The king planted kisses all over her throat and face before taking her lips. Distracted, Yani went limp in his arms and he flipped her over onto her back.

He plunged in deep, shocking her system. She clawed his back with those rose-gold nails and the pain of breaking skin seeped into his body as pleasure. He pressed his weight down into her and gave her what she wanted. The righteous pounding from a king.

Grunting and cursing, he looked at Yani directly, their warm moaning breath co-mingling

"Fuck me Killmonger! Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me!"

No noise came out of his mouth. Eventually it stopped coming out of her mouth too. The eroticism of silence shrouded them. Only their overstimulated bodies keened and shrieked the ecstasy drowning their pores.

He hit that sweet spot inside her walls and Yani's mouth opened wider and the tears finally fell. A seismic orgasm rocked her into a silent writhing. Her pussy tightened and quickly rippled a barrage of contractions up and down his dick.

He let go.

His hefty dick swelled within her walls and the first tsunami of cum spilled into her. He hunched his back so tight that he couldn't even focus his eyesight anymore. He became caught in a twilight world of physical euphoria and never needing to live again because he shot his entire life through his dick.

The second wave of his release helped him find his voice and he hollered into the wall the praise songs of his father's gods. Yani stroked the nape of his neck and he groaned out to Ogum to save him before he passed out.

Ogum answered and a soothing sensation trickled along his spine and helped him gather the strength to separate himself from his wife. The sensation rooted itself at the top of his head and he shifted to his knees and gripped his dick that remained erect. Yani squirmed seductively underneath him and kept her gaze on the wide head of his shaft.

"Suck my dick," he demanded.

Yani acquiesced with a smirk on her face. She knew what was coming.

She gave his dick little kisses first, allowing it to recover from his first orgasm of the night. When he glared down at her, she placed the head into her mouth and suckled the ridge and slipped the tip of her tongue into his slit. He groaned and stood up, widening his stance and jerking on his pipe.

Yani worked his dick with a good little slut mouth. She made it sloppy and spit on the tip several times letting saliva fall on her breasts.

"Open that mouth wider…dassit…you know how to handle all that…I know you well girl…made you my wife so I can have you whenever I want…"

She moaned all over his dick, and the vibration curled his toes. His balls throbbed and he didn't warn her verbally at all that he was cumming again. He aimed for the front of her face and she knew from experience what was up. She tilted her head back and he painted steamy white streaks all over the left side of her cheek and neck.

Yani gazed at his cement-hard dick and knew the night was going to be vigorous and long. Glory to Bast and that heart-shaped herb! He would give her pussy a little respite though. Lowering his big body back down on the pallet, he pulled her down in front of him and asked her to lie on her back, keeping her knees up and her thighs open. He wanted to watch his cum drizzle out of her pussy. She obliged as he expected. Situating the pillows in a comfortable position behind his back, N'Jadaka stroked his dick and watched his wife hold open her pussy lips.

"Push it out if you can," he asked.

She didn't have to do too much because a heavy flow came out and slowly became clear as the air hit it.

"Can I try to get you pregnant?" he asked.

Yani grinned knowing that thought got him off the most and she played into it by gently rubbing on her clit and touching all of her delicate piercings one by one for his entertainment.

"You want to cum deep inside of me and put a baby in here?" she cooed.

He heard her angelic voice but only saw the drenched wet pink she caressed.

"I wanna fuck you and put a new baby in your pussy so bad, Yani!"

"Will you fuck me good, Killmonger?"

"Fuck yes…"

She had him gritting his teeth again as she rubbed that pretty vulva slowly.

"I might be pregnant now. You put a lot in me," she teased.

He groaned and his dick jumped hot and ready in his hand.

"Maybe we should put the special lubricant inside me so I can get ready for that big dick again…huh?" she moaned softly.

He groaned louder knowing good and well that special lubricant helped her deal with long continual fucking from him. She was ready to play Lets Make A Baby. But only to amuse him.

He came hard in his hand. With her legs open, he rejoiced in the satisfaction of having an orgasm by watching her masturbate. The quivering in her pussy pushed more of his cum out into a pool of wetness on the sheets. He milked his dick thinking about how many times he was going to fuck her before the sun rose again.

Chapter 8 HERE.

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Summit : Chapter Three

A Ransom Drysdale Series

[THIS STORY WILL CONTAIN THEMES OF NON-CON/DUB-CON, MENTAL-EMOTIONAL-PHYSICAL ABUSE, ETC. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. 18+. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT]

WC: 4.6k

Dividers provided by @firefly-graphics

CHAPTER TWO | MASTERLIST | CHAPTER FOUR

all AI images are created from prompts i wrote. they are not real images.

            You weren’t sure which direction you wanted to go in just yet, just that you wanted to avoid the woods where you had got bitten. Though Ransom was helpful enough to provide you a bite kit & anti-serum, you didn’t want to have to use it. As the sun carried over your right shoulder, you thought deeply about the last 48 hours.

            You recalled how Ransom shared with you that you were welcome back should you want or need to return to his estate, that he would be there. But you were not naïve enough to consider it. The world was full of madness & you felt the safest you would be from it was to be alone. Though Ransom never made an attempt on your life, you knew better than to trust him. It didn’t matter that he offered you shelter, food, clean water, a bath, & protection against wildlife. He could be as dangerous as he was welcoming.

            Leaving was the best decision. You had been on your own for the last year, never having interacted with another human in that timespan. That was enough to prove to yourself that being alone was in your best interest. If your father was still alive, he would have never let you be saved by Ransom. He likely would’ve held him at gunpoint to retrieve the anti-serum then ran off with you. But he wasn’t here anymore. It was just you. You & whole wide empty world.

            It was midday, the sun at it’s highest point in the sky when you decided to take a break. You estimated you had walked roughly seven miles or so but it was difficult to tell since you stuck to the woods rather than the suburb of Sudbury.

            You came across a watering hole. There was a small waterfall cascading over moss covered rocks. Immediately, you felt the tranquil essence of the spot. Deciding this was a good spot as any, you perched yourself on a nearby rock & swung your backpack to your front, holding it between your knees.

            Inside the backpack, you blindly searched for the box of granola bars Ransom had given you as a parting gift, but instead your hand found something hard & metallic. You frowned as you pulled it out. It was a liter sized water bottle. You unscrewed the top & peered inside. The liquid was dark brown & steaming.

            On the other side of the bottle was a sticky note taped to the bottle.

            Hot chocolate for your travels. –R.

            Hmm?

            Bringing the rim to your nose, you sniffed, your senses filled with the sweet aroma of chocolate. You couldn’t even remember the last time you had hot chocolate. Had to of been when you were younger, during Christmas, when your mother was alive.

            Hesitantly, you brought the bottle to your lips & savored a small sip. It was as sweet as it smelled. But with it being the middle of the summer hot chocolate didn’t sound as appealing as you expected it would. Recapping the bottle, you decided you would save it for later that night when you sat by campfire to enjoy the drink.

            Silently sending a thanks to the man who aided you, you returned the bottle to your backpack before finding what you had initially been in search for. The box of granola bars had only five bars left. You snatched one & ripped it open, taking a bite. Though the bar wasn’t as good as it likely would’ve been during it’s shelf life, you still welcomed the sweet & savory flavors of the stale bar.

            You chewed mindlessly, staring ahead at the waterfall. The forest was quiet. Not even the scattering of a critter or the song of a bird could be heard. Just the muffled hush of water rushing & pooling.

            Removing your hat from your head, you angled your head upwards & faced towards the sun. It was only peeking through the treetops but enough reached you to warm your already heat-riddled face.

            Summer had always been your favorite season. Being sweaty & overheated never bothered you as much as being cold & shivering did during the winter. You had grown up in the South after all, & these New England summers had nothing on South Carolina summers. But you welcomed the warmth, nonetheless, having experienced far hotter & humid conditions.

            You lounged alongside the watering hole for some time before you decided to keep moving. Though the sun would not set for quite some time, you still wanted to find a decent clearing to rest for the night. The compass in your backpack assured you that you were still heading in the general direction of Nova Scotia, but without knowing exactly where you were on the map having come from Ransom’s estate & not knowing where his estate was, you knew it may be a day or two until you found a land marker that would help you in your travels to navigate better.

            Tomorrow, you decided, you would wake & the first thing you did would be to head towards where you thought the next closest town would be. Then you’d be back on track.

            Securing your backpack against your back, you had just risen from the rock you were sitting on when you heard a twig snap in the distance. Unfortunately, because of how sound carried through the trees, you couldn’t be exactly sure where the sound resonated from. But you felt it in your gut that it came from the direction you had come from not long prior.

            Crouching down, you hid behind the rock you had been sitting on & peered into the trees. The forest returned to being peacefully quiet, but you still felt uneasy. Waiting a moment longer, you heard no more sounds of life.

            This would be your only chance to get a head start in the event that someone was watching or following you.

            Buckling the strap of your backpack around your middle, you turned away from where you believed the sound of the twig snapping came from & took off. As you ran swiftly through the trees, you were sure to avoid stepping onto gathered foliage or fallen branches to avoid making sounds.

            Controlling your breathing, you paced yourself & ran for what felt like twenty minutes before you paused & hid behind a tree to listen.

            No sounds.

            Good.

            With that, you took off once more, & didn’t stop until you felt safe to.

            It was early in the evening by the time you got your camp set up. It was simple. A sleeping bag rolled out, a small fire built that you would only use to heat up some food & then stomp out before night fall. You lined the clearing of your campsite with twigs about twenty feet out. That way if an animal, or human, approached your site, you would be alerted to their presence.

            After heating up some beans & a quarter cup of rice, you ate the bland dinner. When the sky turned into a soft pinkish blue, you brought out the hot chocolate. Fortunately, it was still steaming. Watching the small fire cackle, you sipped on the dessert drink & stared aimlessly ahead.

            Your body was tired, your mind more so. As long as no danger came to you on this night, you would sleep like a baby. In fact, you were looking forward to it. Sleeping on a plush bed inside Ransom’s estate felt unusual. It was too soft, too big, too safe. You had grown much too accustomed to life on the hard ground to accept anything else.

            Once another hour passed & the sky was now a darkening blue, you stomped out the fire & covered it with dirt. You secured all your belongings in your backpack & perched it right beside your sleeping bag. Before going to sleep for the night, you checked the safety measure around your campsite once more, pausing every now & then to listen to the trees. It was still only you as far as you knew.

            Back at your campsite, you kicked off your shoes & crawled into the sleeping bag. It was still light out so you pulled out your favorite novel & lied on your stomach, perched on your elbows as you did. Time seemed to pass much too fast & before you knew it, the words were no hardly eligible. Closing the book & stuffing it beside you in your sleeping bag, you rolled onto your back & stared at the treetops.

            Eventually, the first sound of life came, but it was the welcoming kind.

            Cicadas.

            That’s what was missing from Ransom’s too-good-to-be-true humble abode. The chirping of the insects. It was like your own personal lullaby.

            Curling into yourself, you allowed your eyes to drift close. Your muscles relaxed after another full day of walking & carrying 30lbs on your back. And as you fell into what you hoped would be a restful sleep, you felt a smile form on your lips.

            The world may not be safe anymore, but it was your world to thrive in. And you felt so alive.

             Your eyes snapped open too late.

            A scream tore from your throat as you felt someone grab you by the hair at the top of your scalp & yank you out of your sleeping bag.

            Cackling, hoots, & hollers filled the clearing of your campsite as you swung blindly in the pitch black darkness of the forest.

            “Bitch thought we would fall for her trap!” A voice sounded above you, the one dragging your body across the clearing.

            “Not very smart, eh?”

            Needing to think fast & move faster, your hand reached for the knife holder attached to your thigh. You swiftly removed the knife you had there & thrusted it upwards, successfully attacking the hand that held your head.

            “Ah!” The hand gripping your hair released you & you collapsed against the forest floor. But you didn’t stay down long. “Fuckin’ bitch cut me!”

 Quickly, you rose to your feet & ran towards your backpack.

            But the darkness was not your friends.

            Before you could reach your backpack only a few feet away, the sole of someone’s boot kicked you in the ditch of your knees, sending you flying forward. Dirt gathered in your mouth as you fell face first into the earth.

            An angry grunt sounded from you as you quickly turned onto your back & peered into the darkness just barely in time as you caught a shadow racing towards you.

            Throwing yourself to the right, you evaded your attackers launch as they landed where you once were.

            A war cry parted your lips as you swung the knife towards them, catching them in the thigh. But it wasn’t a successful stab, only a deep cut as you heard fabric tear & the scent of blood stain the air.

            Another attack came from your left, & you were unprepared to stop this one.

            The boot came down on your wrist holding the knife, smothering your hand between the forest floor & their shoe. A pained cry left you as you struggled out from under the boot.

            “Spunky little bird thinks she can take on two of us!” An amused voice shared between shaky breaths.

            Ignoring their comment, you swallowed the pain erupting up your arm & leapt forward, wrapping your arms around the leg of your attacker & sinking your teeth into their leg.

            The man yelped once more & reached for your hair, tanging their fingers there.

            But you refused to let go, tearing into his skin with your teeth until blood filled your mouth.

            Then you reached up & gripped the man’s genitals through his cargo pants & squeezed until your nails hurt.

            The man collapsed beside you & you quickly used this opportunity to crawl on top of him. However, the hand that had been holding the knife was limp, likely sprained or broken.

            He then used his elbow to knock you in the face but you took it, barely registering it as you quickly brought your head down on his. The impact caused your nose to flare in pain & blood spilled from your nostrils.

            Somebody tackled you next, sending the two of you flying off the man.

            Now, you were on your stomach. A loser’s position.

            You reached blindly for anything to aid in your defense but only found dirt & rock pebbles.

            A hand reached around your front & secured you by the throat, cutting off your air supply.

            “Feisty little bitch.” The voice commented in your ear, “Been following you for some time now. Been a loooong time since we came across a female.”

            The revelation had dread pooling in the pit of your stomach.

            “Paulie!” The voice above you shouted, “Quit your crying & get over here!”

            Frustrated tears blurred your vision as you felt another pair of hands snatch you by the ankles, spreading your legs apart.

            No!

            “Now, hold still sweetheart, we’re tryna make this easy for ya.”

            But you continued to struggle in the man’s hold as the other reached for the hem of your yoga pants & began to yank them downwards.

            “Hold the bitch still, would ya?!”

            With your right hand, you reached backwards, aiming to catch the man straddling your hips but he must’ve easily evaded your attempts as he kept knocking your arm to the side.

            Warm air kissed your bare thighs as the second attacker succeeded in yanking your bottoms down to your knees.

            You fought harder, attempting to wiggle the man off you but he weighed much more than you & was sturdy on top you like a boulder.

            Fear took a tighter hold on you when you finally felt the fabric of your yoga pants disappear entirely & get flung somewhere in the darkness.

            “Alright, sweetheart, now be a good girl & hold the fuck still!” The voice above you seethed as the maneuvered their body until their hips were flush with your backside.

            Desperate wails erupted from you when you heard the unbuttoning & unzipping of pants.

            This was happening…

            A set of fingers found the top of your underwear, prepared to pull them down & leave you entirely at their disposal, but just as the fingers curled themselves inwards, a gunshot rang out.

            Hot liquid sprayed across your backside & the body above you went limp & fell to the side.

            Immediately, you scrambled forwards in the darkness.

            “Hey, hey!” The other man shouted, “What the fuck? Oscar? Oscar, y’okay?!”

            Fearful of what exactly was happening, you searched desperately for your knife. You quickly felt the handle of it covered in loose dirt & quickly gripped it.

            Spinning around, facing the darkness of your campsite clearing,

            “Oscar’s down for the count, buddy.” A third voice joined the noise but their face & body were shadowed by nightfall.

            “Hey man, hey!” The second voice shook with fear as you peered into the darkness, noting how he rose to his feet to face whoever was aiding you. But you trusted neither.

            Slinking to the edge of the clearing, you circled the outside to get to the second man who attacked you in your sleep.

            “Ya don’t gotta do this man, you can have her, I don’t care. Oscar’s the one who wanted to her. I didn’t care, I swear.”

            “Two men against one girl.” The third voice began. “Cowardly, I’d say.”

            “We were gonna let her go, I promise. Man, hey, c’mon, put the gun down!”

            “Nah, I don’t think so.”

            As they focused on one another, it gave you opportune time to reach the side of the clearing that was behind your assailant. Still, you could barely make out the man holding the other at gunpoint, but that would not deter you.

            You were fast & swift. You needed to be. Out there it was survival.

            As your attacker was unaware of your presence, he took another step backwards. Further from the man with the gun, & closer to you with the knife.

            “Just lemme go, man. I’ll get outta here. Won’t come back! C’mon, I don’t wanna die!”

            “And I doubt she wanted to be raped by two fuckin’ losers.”

            “I wasn’t gonna touch her! Oscar wanted her!”

            Having heard enough, you launched yourself forward, the knife poised in your unharmed hand. Reaching the man, you quickly wrapped your right arm over his shoulders before sinking the knife into his back.

            A chortled gasp sounded from the man as the knife sunk deeper, surely piercing his lungs between his ribs. His body went stiff as he blindly reached behind himself in search of you. Then you twisted the knife, gritting your teeth as you did.

            “Pl—pl—ease…”

            Using the man’s body as a shield, you then rushed forward, adrenaline pumping through your veins as you maneuvered the man’s body to knock into the other, the one with the gun.

            The man with the gun had not been anticipating the added attack & was not quick to get out of the way. You, with your knife still dug into the second man’s back, fell on top of the third man. You heard the gun he had been holding fall to the side.

            Swiftly pulling the knife out, blood coating your hand, you swung yourself around the two men & quickly brought the knife down on the ankle of the man that had been holding the gun, making it so he could not walk properly if he tried, let alone run. It didn’t matter that he had ‘saved’ you. As far as you knew, he was simply saving you for himself.

            The third man shouted & thrusted his body upwards, shoving the second man off him.

            A grunt sounded behind you but you ignored it as your fingers felt the cool touch of metal on the forest floor.

            Gripping the gun, you raised it upwards & aimed towards the now crouched figure in the darkness.

            “Don’t!”

            With your finger over the trigger, you were just about to shoot the man dead when his next words forced you to stop.

            “It’s Ransom!”

            Breathing heavily, you frowned in the darkness at that & peered towards him.

            ‘It’s me…” He grunted in pain, “It’s Ransom.”

            Noting that you were now only a foot from your backpack, you kept the gun aimed on the man as your hurt hand dragged your backpack closer to you. In a side pocket, you found your flashlight & flicked it on, bringing it under your hand that held the gun, like how policemen did it in the movies.

            Sure enough, as light flooded the clearing, the man at the other end of your gun was none other than the man whose estate you left only the previous day.

            He had his eyes shielded from the light. He was dressed in all black as he eyed you from behind his hand.

            “You’re okay…it’s me.”

            Grunting distrustfully, you kept the gun aimed on him.

            Why the fuck was he out here? This far?

            “I hunt at night.” He revealed as if he could read your thoughts.

            But his excuse wasn’t convincing enough for you.

            The gun remained trained on him.

            “And…and I was following you…” He finally admitted, “But only until you reached the edge of Sudbury. I wanted to make sure you got out of here fine.”

            You sneered at that. Bullshit.

            “Only if you got bit again… but then I spotted these guys earlier. Following you. I couldn’t just leave.”

            The sound of a death rattle emanated from beside him. You aimed the flashlight onto the man you had stabbed & you watched as his body finally went still.

            Ransom kept his eyes on you.

            “I know it looks bad. But it isn’t. Here, look.”

            When he turned his back on you, he reached for the knife that had been tossed to the side after you stabbed him in the ankle.

            Ransom grabbed the knife & threw it towards you. It landed only a few inches from you.

            “Fuck!” He grunted, falling to his butt as he inspected his ankle, “You got me fuckin’ good.”

            You watched silently as he pulled up the fabric on his leg to inspect his wound.

            Ransom touched the skin around his ankle then hissed.

            “I’m gonna try to stand now. Please. Do not shoot me with my own fuckin’ gun.”

            Taking a step back, you kept the light & gun trained on him as he shifted to a knee before making an attempt at standing. He stumbled slightly but used the trunk of a tree closest to him to aid his stance. However, once he put weight on his injured ankle, he grunted painfully & fell back to his knees.

            “Goddamnit!” Ransom rested against the tree as he stared at you. His skin looking pale as blood pooled around his foot.

            Fuck. You licked your dry lips, your mind racing.

            “Hey, so… I get it if you don’t wanna help me… but considering how I helped you, twice now, I think the least you could do is help me, no?”

            You frowned at that. I never asked for your help.

            “Look. We’re about 10 miles from my house. There’s no way I’m making it back on my own. Walking is out of the question. If I crawl… I’ll bleed out before I even get there.”

            You swallowed a lump forming in your throat.

            “I know you don’t trust me. Or anyone. I don’t blame you. But now it’s me who needs your help.”

            You said nothing, as usual.

            “It’d be so much easier if you would just talk…” Ransom commented though his voice was low, as if he was speaking only to himself.

            “Please… don’t leave me here.”

            Sighing heavily, your eyes trailed to the two bodies in the clearing.

            He had saved you, though you still felt uneasy about using the word ‘save’. And now he was injured because of you.

            If he hadn’t shown up, you would certainly be in a different position right now.

            “I need you.” Ransom voiced, his eyes trying to find yours behind the bright light.

            “As much as I hate to admit it… I need you to help me, now.”

            It was late morning by the time you reached Ransom’s estate.

            You took a great risk in choosing to trust him. After agreeing to his pleas, you helped bandage up his wound, gathered your things, & let him lean on you as the two of you trekked back the 10 miles to his house.

            There were many breaks, mostly for him. You shared water & food, the granola bars to be exact, which Ransom grimaced at but ate, nonetheless.

            Returning to his estate had been bittersweet. You were back where you started. But where, really, were in such a rush to? The world was staying the same no matter where you went, & it wasn’t like anyone was waiting for your arrival.

            Inside the estate, Ransom guided you to a family room just off the foyer. You gently deposited him on one of the leather couches.

            “There’s a better med-kit under the sink in the hallway bathroom.”

            Following his instructions, you quickly found the med-kit before going to the kitchen & retrieving more water & a bottle of vodka from a liquor cabinet.

            Back in the family room, Ransom had already managed to peel off his dirtied & bloodied pants. He was now only in a black long sleeve & black boxer briefs.

            You eyed him warily but still pushed yourself to help him. Dragging the coffee table closer, you raised his injured leg & placed it on the table. His blood had dried at this point, a good sign, but you still needed to properly mend the wound.

            Ransom chugged a bottle of water as you undid the bandages you had made out in the wilderness. You cleansed the area with an anti-septic wipe before reaching for the bottle of vodka.

            “Oh, hold on.” You paused as Ransom reached for the bottle you held & uncapped it. Taking a few swigs from it before handing it back.

            “What?” He asked when he noted your frown, “It’s gonna hurt like a bitch.”

            With that, you finally poured some of the vodka over his wound. Ransom stiffened on the couch, pressing his lips together so hard that they turned white.

            Inside the med-kit, you made quick work of stitching up his wound before bandaging it again. He wouldn’t be able to walk for a couple days.

            As if reading your thoughts, Ransom commented, “There’s a cane in my father’s study down the hall across from the kitchen.”

            Your eyes met.

            “He was in a car accident a few years ago, fucked up his leg really good. Crutches were too classless for his taste.”

            Nodding, you left him once more in search of the office. You eventually found it, but upon stepping inside, it was less of an office & more of a library. Your eyes briefly strayed to the shelves homing thousands of books. Your heart lurched at the potential there. But you quickly remembered that you needed to help Ransom.

            Approaching a large, finely polished desk, you peered around objects & furniture until you found a cane. It was beautifully crafted & reminiscent of an elite man long gone. Snatching it, you rapidly returned to Ransom. In the short time you were gone, however, Ransom appeared to be knocked out. Exhausted. His mouth was slightly ajar as he slept in an awkward position on the couch. You watched him for a moment longer before finally resting the cane against the couch near his head. He did not stir or wake.

            Exhaustion was hitting you at that moment.

            After the events of last night, you thought well enough that you too deserved a good sleep. More importantly, an undisturbed sleep without faceless monsters attacking you.

            Leaving Ransom to rest on the couch, you gathered your things & went towards the stairs. There were many doors in the upstairs hallway like you remembered, but you didn’t want to sleep in the room you had once before. If Ransom proved himself to be untrustworthy, you knew he would look for you there first. So, you chose a door at the opposite end of the hallway from the bedroom you stayed in prior.

            The bedroom you opened the door to was extravagant, more so than the one you stayed in. It had a higher ceiling, adding to the grandiose of the space. More so, it had an attached bathroom.

            Locking the door behind you & placing a nearby book expertly between the handle & wood of the door, you finally dropped your things near the foot of the bed. If Ransom attempted to come inside, the shaking of the door handle would knock the book to the floor, alerting you to his presence. It was your only choice, until you could trust him. If you ever could.

            Flinging back the many layers of blankets on the bed, you crawled inside, sure to keep your shoes on this time. Though Ransom had proved only thus far that he had no intention of harming you, you would not put the worst things he could be capable of behind him.

            Facing the door, you curled in on yourself, your knife tucked under your pillow, as you felt sleep reaching out for you. And as the naturally lit room began to darken around you, you eventually found yourself falling into a deep sleep.

            You only hoped that when you woke next, you’d feel rested enough to attempt your journey. This hell hole called Sudbury long forgotten.

chapter three!

sorry for the long wait! been busy</3

as always, please share your thoughts w me via commenting, reblogging w reviews, or dropping an ask. it's been a while so i'm thirsty lol.

thank you for reading!

oona<3

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[howieabel]

“When Communism fell in 1989, the temptation for Western commentators to gloat triumphantly proved irresistible. This, it was declared, marked the end of History. Henceforth, the world belonged to liberal capitalism – there was no alternative – and we would all march forward in unison towards a future shaped by peace, democracy and free markets. Twenty years on this assertion looks threadbare. There can be no question that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the domino-like collapse of Communism states from the suburbs of Vienna to the shores of the Pacific marked a very significant transition: one in which millions of men and women were liberated from a dismal and defunct ideology and its authoritarian institutions. But no one could credibly assert that what replaced Communism was an era of idyllic tranquility. There was no peace in post-Communist Yugoslavia, and precious little democracy in any of the successor states of the Soviet Union. As for free markets, they surely flourished, but it is not clear for whom. The West – Europe and the United States above all – missed a once-in-a-century opportunity to re-shape the world around agreed and improved international institutions and practices. Instead, we sat back and congratulated ourselves upon having won the Cold War: a sure way to lose the peace. The years from 1989 to 2009 were consumed by locusts.” ― Tony Judt, Ill Fares the Land

[rambosgirl]

First blood rambo, as a husband, where he and the reader helping each other with mental health issues? much love ♥

UUUGGH I love this idea! Thanks for the request <33 I spent so much time on the backstory oopsie

Warnings: mentions of Rambo's PTSD, depiction of depression, loss of parents for reader

We may not be perfect but we're perfect together

Hope was a small town nestled among towering pine trees and rugged mountains. Everyone knew each other in town, and the arrival of strangers was always a topic of conversation for the people. You had always lived there, your parents raising you in the quiet, predictable suburbs in the close-knit community.

All that changed the day he came into town. John Rambo.

You first spotted him walking along the main street in town, his military jacket and sad eyes marking him as someone who had seen too much in his lifetime. The townspeople buzzed with whispers about him, the drifter, especially after Sheriff Teasle confronted and escorted him out of town.

The way the sheriff dealt with drifters wasn't new, but the way you felt about this one was. You sensed there was more to him than met the eye, and you felt genuinely bad for him when the sheriff took him away.

The tranquility of Hope shattered and chaos erupted when news spread about Rambo's arrest and then escape. The manhunt that came next turned the town into a war zone. You returned to your home earlier than expected, as per the sheriff's request. Everyone had. You kept the news on, anxious about the updates it would give. You wanted your home to go back to its peaceful ways, but you also rooted for Rambo, who seemed to be fighting a war within himself. You just hoped he would be okay and that your town would be okay.

The news showed that he eventually turned himself in with the help of his old colonel. You didn't hear much about what happened to him after that, but even months later, you found yourself thinking about him often.

Many months later, through the usual conversation and gossip in the town you learned that Rambo's colonel, named Troutman, convinced the judge to shorten Rambo's sentence. The news was met with mixed reactions in Hope. Some feared he would return, others were indifferent, and some were angry. Angry about the wreck he left behind when he was arrested, and just angry about the war in general. You however, found yourself hoping he would find a fresh start.

Almost a year after the incident, you spotted Rambo again. He had returned to Hope, or rather the outskirts of it. He chose to live in a remote cabin nestled deep within the woods near where he had once escaped and hid.

The townspeople gossiped about his return and Sheriff Teasle made it clear he wasn't happy about it, but he had learned his lesson last time and steered clear of the veteran.

You decided to do the opposite of the sheriff and reach out to him. You didn't really know the reason why you felt the need to know him, but you at least wanted to offer him kindness he probably needed. One afternoon, you gathered your courage and explored into the woods intending to find his cabin, carrying a basket of homemade bread and jam.

His cabin was difficult to find, and you ended up seeing him before you found his home. He was in a clearing, carving something on a piece of wood with his knife. He spotted you when you were a ways away, and you approached him carefully. As you got closer, his eyes scanned you for any sign of threat. But your genuine smile and the simple gesture of bringing food softened his stance.

He accepted the food, a slight nod of appreciation the only sign that he welcomed the gesture. You stood for a moment unsure of what to say.

"I don't usually venture into the woods," you admitted, glancing around at the dense trees that seemed to close in from all sides. "But I thought I thought maybe you could use some company or at least some food," you said, holding your basket up.

His eyes met yours for a brief moment, his expression unreadable, but he didn't seem annoyed by your presence. He didn't say much, just a quiet "Thank you," before returning to the piece of wood in his hands. It was clear he wasn't used to having visitors, and you weren't sure if you were intruding or accompanying.

Feeling awkward, you added "If you ever need anything, I'm usually in town." With that, you turn to leave, the path back feeling longer than the way there.

During your walk, you couldn't shake the feeling that something important had started, even if you didn't fully understand it yet.

Over the next few weeks, you made it a habit to stop by his cabin. Sometimes you brought fresh bread, other times small supplies you thought he might need, like candles or a new set of gloves for the winter. Each time he accepted your offerings with the same quiet acknowledgment and each time the silence between you grew more comfortable.

During this time, the silence started to fade away and turn into small talks with each other. You and John started having short conversations about simple things like the weather, the recipe used for your bread, and your hobbies.

One summer afternoon during your visit, you lingered a bit longer than normal, the conversations flowing in short simple exchanges. You told him about the town, how things had settled back into routine since he returned. He listened, his responses brief but thoughtful.

Then, one week you didn't come. You weren't feeling well, stuck in an endless cycle you knew well. You all but abandoned your personal hygiene, opting to stay in bed or aimlessly wandering your home. You wanted to visit John, but you didn't have the energy to leave your house.

John noticed your absence, but there was nothing he could do about it. He made a mental note to mention it the next time you came. He was surprised just how much he missed having you a part of his routine.

When you came back the next week, John's eyes reflected a flicker of concern as you approached your meeting spot. You were quieter, less cheerful than usual, your smile faint and more tired. He noticed the subtle changes - how your steps lacked their usual lightness and your hair messy as if you just got out of bed.

"Everything okay?" he asked, his voice as low and steady as always, but with an undertone of genuine concern.

You hesitated, not wanting to burden John with your depression and the thoughts that came with it. But then you remembered all he'd gone through, so you thought, maybe he was the one person who wouldn't judge you, but would understand your pain.

I've just hit a tough patch," you admitted, your eyes glued to the ground. "Sometimes it's like this. It's hard to get out of bed to do anything, really. That's why I didn't come last week."

John nodded, looking in the distance like he was deep in thought. For a long moment neither of you spoke, the silence filled with the sounds of the forest around you.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke again, his voice almost a whisper.

"I get it," he said, his words simple but heavy with meaning. "Sometimes it gets difficult for me too."

You looked up at him, surprised by the admission. You knew that he had been through so much during the war and after, but it was the first time he opened up to you about anything personal and you realize how much trust he was placing in you by sharing even that small piece of himself.

From that day on, your visits felt different - more significant, more connected. You continued to confide in him about your struggle with depression, and told him about the dark days when getting out of felt impossible and the constant battle to find joy and meaning in life.

John opened up more about his past - his time in the war, the friends he had lost, and the nightmares that still plagued him.

Soon, the relationship between the two of you started to change for the better. You started to visit him more, and he even started coming into town to visit you. Before long, the two of you were inseparable.

Many of the townspeople began to accept his presence, now seeing him as less of a threat and more as one of them. Mitch, the young redhead deputy, reached out to John, and soon another friendship blossomed.

During this time, your and John's relationship started to become romantic. He would take you on casual dates at different cafes in town, the library, and John's personal favorite - hiking. It didn't take long for the both of you to know that you wanted to be together forever.

One evening, under the stars near his cabin, John asked you to marry him. He didn't have a ring or a rehearsed speech. Just a simple heartfelt question. You said yes without hesitation, knowing that despite your imperfections you were perfect for each other.

When it came time for your wedding day, everything was perfect. You were in a simple but beautiful dress, and John was in a freshly pressed suit. You both picked a beautiful clearing in the woods, and you invited a few close friends to witness. Mitch was the best man, a few of your close friends were bridesmaids, and John's closest friend, Trautman came all the way out to marry the two.

The ceremony took place at sunset, the golden light filtering through the trees as you exchanged rings and vows. John's voice was steady as he looked into your eyes.

"We may not be perfect," he said, "but together, we're stronger and better."

As the night went on, you did typical wedding things, like cutting the little cake made by your mom's old bakery, and tossing your bouquet to your group of friends.

Trautman offered his hand to you after the bouquet toss. You looked at him, confused.

"For a father-daughter dance," he said, taking your hand. "You're family now."

You teared up as you danced. You hoped that your parents would make it to your wedding, but they passed away a few years ago.

As the dance ended, you thanked Trautman, feeling a warmth in your heart you haven't felt in a long time. The loss of your parents had left a void, but today, surrounded by friends and the man you loved, you felt pure joy.

As the evening continued, your friends slowly began to go home, leaving you and John in the last light of the setting sun. The clearing was quiet now, the soft home of the forest filling the air.

"Would you dance with me?" You asked in a hushed tone. You knew John wasn't one for grand gestures, but he looked at you, his expression softening before he nodded and gently took your hand in his.

There was no music for you to dance to, just the sounds of the wildlife in the forest. You laid your head against his chest as the stars started peeking out in the sky. You listen to his heartbeat while his arms wrapped around you, and for a moment, it felt like nothing else existed but the two of you dancing in the woods.

"I never thought I'd have this," he murmured his voice low and filled with emotion. "A home, a family...you."

You looked up at him, your eyes meeting his. "You deserve it, John. We deserve it."

He smiled a rare, genuine smile and leaned down to press his lips against your forehead.

"Let's go home," he said softly.

He led you to the cabin you knew so well and started a fire in the fireplace. You sat by each other in the familiar comfortable silence you often shared.

As you sat together, you thought about the best day of your life that you just lived, about the vows you just made.

"We may not be perfect, but together we're stronger and better."

Those words echoed in your mind, I promise not just for today, but for every day that followed.

Married life was peaceful and happy with John, but the both of you still had your hard days. With each other, you were able to cope a little better and heal more with time.

The woods surrounding the cabin were quiet, the moon' glow filtering through the curtains and casting patterns of light onto the wood walls.

John suddenly woke up drenched in sweat and disoriented. He sat up carefully, trying to catch his breath while keeping you undisturbed. He looked over at your sleeping figure, your face relaxed and serene, framed by the moon's glow. The rise and fall of your chest was steady, a soothing rhythm that starkly contrasted with his erratic, fear-driven breathing.

He didn't want to wake you, he knew you had your own internal battles and needed to rest. He reached for a glass of water sitting on the nightstand, his movements deliberate and quiet, hoping that it might calm his nerves.

But the effort to keep still was in vain. You stirred sensing the disturbance in your sleep. Your eyes flooded open, and you noticed John sitting up and the haunted looking his eyes.

"John?" you whispered, "are you okay?"

"It's nothing," he reassured. "Just a bad dream."

You sat up, your hand reaching out to touch his arm. "You don't have to go through this alone," you said gently. "Let me help."

The weight of your words sat on his mind for a moment. He'd been fighting his trauma on his own and building walls for so long, he was still getting used to letting you in.

He leaned his head on your shoulder as you spoke again. "Was this a nightmare or a memory?"

"Memory."

An involuntary tear slipped down his cheek.

"It's over now, you're safe here," you whispered to him

John felt himself begin to relax, your words overcoming the fear his mind fed him. He pulled you into a hug and laid back down.

"What would I do without you?" John whispered.

"You'll never have to find out."

[tmwcs]

S E 7 E N : L E V I A T H A N P A R T 5 I VE

Warnings: oral sex (female receiving), reptilian features during oral sex, intimidation, use of force, mentions of torture, death, rape, and cannibalism, murder, insulting religion, characters going against God…I think that’s it.

The cult members merely stood in shock and fearful awe, processing the poetic riddle as Jake revealed his true identity, Leviathan, one of the Seven Princes of Hell, associated with the deadly sin, Envy. 

He didn’t budge his posture as he remained standing with the superior stance of having his feet shoulder width apart, his arms crossed as he makes eye contact with each cult member. 

It was at that moment you noticed the level of the ground starting to shake, as if an earthquake was breaching the city. It grew more intense at a rapid pace.

Paired with the raging waves of the ocean, there was a horrendously loud sound that emerged from the water. It was a screeching echo mixed with a roar that you’ve never heard from any other animal. 

Jake smirks as he maintains his glare, tilting his chin downward, he slightly turns to your direction and extends a hand out for you to grab onto. 

“Beautiful mortal daughter of God.…come over to my side.” He smiles. 

Taking his hand, he gently pulls you over in front as he wraps his arms around your waist and lifts his hand to cradle your chin. 

Slightly tilting your face upwards and tilting it to the side, off into the view of the wide ocean, he bids you to watch. 

“Witness what I can do…” 

You leaned back into his chest, your muscles shake at the sound coming from the sea, it was getting louder and the waves grew larger and stronger. 

“We-we’ll all drown! Those waves! They’re coming right towards us!”

“Get the Senator out of here! Quickly!”

As the men scurried and tucked the Senator away into the vehicle, the remaining regulators who stood by watched in disbelief and horror at what emerged from the water. 

You couldn’t lie, you also were stricken with fear for a moment. It drew its body out of the sea as it flowed through the waves, levitating, it continued its motions as it swam through the air, circulating around the tall buildings…yet all the infrastructure in the city couldn’t compare to its great size. 

“My pet…” Jake smirks out as he tugs on your waist. 

The creature continued to flow gracefully throughout the city, up high, it remained just below the clouds as it effortlessly tangled itself around the city buildings with its elongated and serpentine form.

Screams and chaos ensued in the city as the public all swarmed, hiding away for safety and cover. The creature roared and screeched, it’s thunderous sound effect caused glass to shatter, buildings to rattle, and the clouds to dissipate. 

“Listen here you morons!” Jake exclaims to the members who remained behind as the senator’s vehicle drives off. 

“Remember this, you and all who are like you, are so far from God. You praise his name yet you disrespect it in the unholiest manner. You believe yourself to be led by a noble leader, but take my warning with strict value…if anything should happen to y/n….I will personally see to it that the city and all who reside within it is devoured. Don’t even get me started on what HE would do…the world will cease to exist, and you all will face him in Hell…every single one of you.” 

The members all shook and froze in fear as both, Jake’s words and the monstrosity of the demon lurking through the city nearly caused them to lose pulse. 

Scattering as they hurried away, dropping their weapons and migrating deep into the suburbs, they disappeared like roaches. 

Smirking once more, Jake looks up and watches as the enormous serpent swiftly, with incredible speed, dives back into the sea. As the last bit of its form submerges and disappears into the depths of the water, the waves die down and the water returns to a placid state of tranquil ripples.

“Let’s go back princess.”

…….....

Just as Sunoo did, Jake stayed with you all throughout the night. You can’t recall what time you went to sleep, for the moment you both reached your apartment, he started up your shower and undressed you. 

“Let’s get wet….come here."

...............

Stripping you of your clothing, he follows suit as he guides you in the shower. Plastering your back against the tiled wall, he kneels down and loops one of your legs over his shoulder. 

With the sweet kisses of his lips, the metal lip ring pressing up against your skin as he sucks on your clit, thrusts in his tongue and explored you inside and out, causing your body to go limp.

Continuing on with his oral performance, he went on for what must have been hours, your body was reaching the painful tingles of overstimulation as you grabbed onto his hands, his hair, and his shoulders. 

“I-I can’t! Please…n-no more!”

“That’s too bad princess…Heeseung has a lot of stamina, we gotta get you up to speed…unless you want that type of pain…." he pauses as he performs a slow and painfully pleasing lick up your slit.

"trust me...you don’t want that." he finishes.

You screamed out your moans as both your bodies remained drenched from the sprinkling shower head. 

 “Just learn to overcome it…it’s going to help you in the long run….besides…" breathing against your clit, he gently taps his lips with gentle pecks as he speaks in between. "you taste really good.” 

Making sweet love to your entry with his mouth, you couldn’t recall when or how, but at some point while you were still inside the shower, you had passed out. Though it wasn’t too far from him finally reaching a finishing point as you heard him whisper out just before your vision grew dark…

“Not too bad. Longer than I expected…you’ll do fine with him….sweet princess....” 

A gentle kiss on your inner thigh was the last thing you felt before suddenly waking the next morning. 

…….

Taglist: @deobitifull; @solstramaii; @vampiregirl215; @nshmrarki; @enhypen14; @iamliacamila; @lisaaannna; @nikstrange; @jaehaki; @luv-enhy-skz33; @silcry @honeysjae; @crackedcameraa; @stinkmonkey ; @baekxo07 @raishaii @@yangjungwon33

[popsicle-stick]

I don't know anything about England but I'm interested in how the characters' locations inform their characters like Seward's. I'd like to know more about the implications of being from Purfleet/Essex for example (Though iirc Stoker immigrated from Dublin well into adulthood so I don't know how well he knew all the cities.)

there's so much to be said! i really don't think that stoker meant much intentionally, but the placement of the asylum in purfleet specifically is interesting.

long post so i'm cutting this!

the asylum at purfleet, essex, is an example of the common 19th-early 20th century phenomenon of establishing psychiactric hospitals in the rural counties surrounding london - simultaneously serving as a 'tranquil' location away from the city, while also serving the dubious, cruel purpose of squirelling away would-be patients into residences away from the city - out of society, out of sight, out of mind.

in terms of jack seward himself, purfleet is a kind of an in-between, nothing place - things and people pass through, not much stays. (there's a reason why whitby is remembered as 'the dracula place', and not purfleet.) it's quite literally on the edge of london - of society - and in that scene where jack's looking despondently towards the sun setting west over london, his own isolation becomes palpable - from society and from the world as a whole. the endless, transient, liminal feel of the essex saltmarshes just....gives the vibe. this was a scene that felt particularly gothic to me - jack is the custodian of his very own haunted house, here, in all its bleak, isolated glory.

It was a shock to me to turn from the wonderful smoky beauty of a sunset over London, with its lurid lights and inky shadows and all the marvellous tints that come on foul clouds even as on foul water, and to realise all the grim sternness of my own cold stone building, with its wealth of breathing misery, and my own desolate heart to endure it all.

this is an fascinating parallel with the count's situation in transylvania, which is NOT the topic du jour here so i'll stop before i ramble but compelling nonetheless! like the count, though, he's a liminal figure - in london, but not quite in london. in the group, but not in the group. alive, but not really living. wide awake in the witching hour, unsure how to re-integrate with society.

it's also worth noting that the opening of dickens' great expectations has pip in his childhood home on the kent marshes - which would pretty much be the opposite bank of the thames from purfleet. in great expectations, pip's village serves a similar role - the quiet, bleak, nowhere-place directly placed against the bustling cosmopolis of london.

in terms of other characters and locations, i've written a bit before about jonathan (and mina possibly) hailing from exeter, devon, in the south west of england - which is much further from london.

jonathan and mina, in terms of the group dynamics, are outsiders: they're very much lower middle class, hyper-aware of the importance of money and societal etiquette as a means for survival and social betterment. this is a personal hc of mine, but i like to think of jonathan as having the long supressed remnants of a devon accent. south west accents are often the subject of a lot of ridicule and mockery in the UK (akin to a southern US accent) and hiding that regionalism, in both the 1890s and today's britain, would be a means of survival and progress for him - i think the fact that he's always given a standard home counties RP accent in adaptations cuts out a major aspect of his character. he's a devon boy!

in contrast to all this, lucy's hampstead residence shows her affluence. it, too, at risk of breaking my social isolation metaphor, was on the edge of london at the time - but was known more as a wealthy suburb with huge areas of greenery at hampstead heath and highgate. there's something to be said, though, about a place like highgate cemetery - a liminal place between the dead and the living, between city and country, haunted at night by a vampire - and the same could be said for purfleet.

arthur is hard to pin down - for the life of me i CANNOT work out where 'ring' is supposed to be - at first i thought it might be a shortening for ringwood, hampshire, which could work! but i just don't know. his character does scream privileged southern/home counties though, and if anyone has any followups on 'ring' and its wherabouts i would LOVE to know because this has been bugging me for ages. lmao

tl;dr, psychology and sociology as informed by place is SO fucking fascinating to me like it just. it affects so much. from the liminality of certain places lending themselves to the supernatural, to characters being mirrored by their surroundings and vice versa, to the social implications of where you call home. it's just!!! interesting!!

[vivemonroi]

Ok, it’s just a draft of a translation of the first part of my Charlastor fic (English is my second language). But I think to post it in English, I wrote it like 4 years ago, when the pilot came out. If you notice any mistakes dm me please :3

“The suburb of 'Pentagram-City' could hardly be called serene, rather sparsely inhabited, as most of its denizens preferred to spend their days of indefinite punishment in the city where they could hire a prostitute, grab a drink, or die a gruesome death—anything seemed better than watching the pitiful imitation of local stars. Yet, by a strange twist of fate, right here and now, one could find the daughter of the ruler of the Underworld and one of the most powerful beings of Hell engaged in precisely this mundane activity.

— How did you die?

The question came out awkwardly, unpleasantly slicing through the tranquility of the quiet evening. Charlie shivered, instantly regretting daring to open her mouth and voice it aloud. But Alastor did not flinch, still gazing into the bloody sky of Hell, his lips stretched in a serene smile. Perhaps the demon hadn't heard her? No, considering how meticulously he listened to every word she spoke, that seemed very unlikely.

— You don't have to answer; I understand it's personal…

— I was shot.

His response was brief and to the point, a sharpness uncharacteristic of Alastor that puzzled Charlie even more, but curiosity quickly overcame tact.

— Was it police or…

— Hunters.

— Oh, I see. Sorry.

Coming out of his trance, Alastor looked at her in surprise.

— Why apologize, ma chérie? My demise isn't your fault, and let's be honest, it's not as if I didn't deserve it, though I must admit, I never thought I would die like this. The electric chair, yes, but a bullet? Pathétique! Such a banal method, I would even say barbaric, one shot and that’s it, what about the feelings? Personally, I preferred knives, ah, those emotions: fear, pain, the realization of the end of one's pathetic life…

Toward the end of his sentence, the pleasant French jazz from his inner radio was replaced by crackling and static. Noticing the princess’s slightly frightened look, the demon made a gesture very much like tuning into a radio station, and the melody returned.

— As much as I enjoy discussing my favorite pastime, I see you're uncomfortable. So, let me propose a counter-question, shall we engage in a little ‘quid pro quo’, ma chérie? Why did you ask?'

Charlie hesitated.

— No reason.

Alastor theatrically, almost paternally shook his head in disappointment.

— And this demoness dares teach us redemption! Yet she's not averse to the sin of deceit herself. And after so many sermons! I expected better from you, dear, you wound me deeply.

— It's silly, Al, I don't think you'd understand.

— Ah, but it's up to me to understand you or not, you know. I could have chosen not to answer your question. Asking a sinner how he died? Quelle vulgarité! And coming from the Princess of Hell herself, I think I'll broadcast this; my listeners will be shocked to learn that…

— Alright, alright! I'll tell you, but.. just don't laugh, okay?

— Can’t promise anything.

Charlie sighed; expecting such from him was indeed too much.

— Okay.

She paused for almost a dramatic effect and timidly began:

— You see, I was born here, in Hell, but you... you were born there, in the mortal world. Your main life was there, but... I know nothing but Hell.

She fell silent again for a few seconds, as if bracing herself to utter the next phrase.

She continued:

— I want to see trees, Al, the Sun, the Earth's Sun, animals, the sea with its beaches. I want to dance in the rain, shiver from the cold, languish in the heat! I wish to care for flowers, walk through the city for groceries, help the homeless. Smile at passersby and have them smile back! Greet neighbors, ask for some salt, and share pie recipes. But most of all... most of all, I want to see a rainbow. A real one, after a strong summer storm, when animals and people emerge from their shelters just happy to be alive. I.. I want to live!

On her last words, Charlie's uncertain whisper turned into a shout, and realizing this, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands, blushing with embarrassment. From the city, the drunken songs of bar regulars carried over, occasionally interrupted by the agonized scream of some unfortunate soul, but it seemed no one heard her, or if they did, they frankly didn't care. The audience from the receiver applauded approvingly, Alastor's eyes narrowed slyly.

— Sorry, as I said, it's very silly…

— Not at all, mon trésor, the desire to explore the unknown is perfectly natural for such a curious creature as you. But you're overlooking the fine print: diseases, poverty, wars, miseries, murders, hunger, and I'm not just talking about the physical sensation, lust, debauchery... shall I go on?

Charlie sighed.

— I know, Al, damn it, I grew up in a literal Hell, my whole life is that fine print.

She turned onto her stomach and shyly bit her lip.

— Just... sometimes I feel like I don't belong here...

Alastor laughed, Charlie thought his laughter sounded like radio interference mixed with distorted off-air laughter, but Husk and the other residents of the Hotel disagreed with such a comparison. "It's like dragging a rusty saw across your balls," he would say. Angel, and surprisingly, Vaggie, nodded significantly in agreement. Niffty usually kept quiet, though she admitted her boss's laughter gave her chills.

— Ding-ding-ding, bingo! We have a winner: the charming Princess of Hell who has finally realized the obvious. Honestly, dear, I'm surprised you only realized this now!

— Laugh all you want, Alastor. I shouldn't have started talking about it...

She began to rise from the ground, but Alastor easily grabbed her hand, stopping her.

— Wait, I didn't mean to offend you, at least not this time, really, hold on, no need to create drama out of nothing, please, go on.

Charlie looked at him skeptically, sighed in resignation, and lay back down.

— Don't get me wrong, I know my home is here, my family, my friends... but sometimes, just for a moment, I imagine what it would be like if I were born into a regular family, there. We would live on a farm, raise cows, shear sheep, sow wheat, pick apples. Dad would teach me how to ride a horse, and mom how to sew clothes. I would have a little brother or sister, and a dog! In the evenings, we'd all gather together and listen to music, and on Sundays, go to church...

— Church? I doubt your father would be let in, unless you're talking about the church, ha-ha! Si tu vois ce que je veux dire!

The radio listeners obediently laughed, Charlie shot him a warning glance.

— Oh, you should understand me, my dear, I'm a radio demon, notice 'radio' comes first. It's hard for me not to comment on such a wonderful monologue, especially when you speak with such passion.

A treacherous blush spread over her already red cheeks. She averted her gaze, embarrassed.

— Anyway... you get the idea, but it's just dreams, all I can do is help others reform, to leave this place, even if I never will.

Charlie felt uncomfortable; she hadn't even told Vaggie about this, why did she suddenly decide he would understand? When her heartfelt confessions were not met with an explosion of applause or the demon's own laughter, Charlie finally dared to look his way. To her shock, his face was frighteningly serious, though his eternal smile still lingered on his lips.

— I don't often say this, and it means a lot, but you, Charlie, more than anyone else, deserve a chance to get out of here.

The radio static that usually accompanied Alastor's voice quieted to such an extent that she could hear his soft baritone almost without interference.

Charlie still didn't dare look him in the eyes, the darn blush spreading to her neck, but an uncertain smile appeared on her lips.

— Do you really think so?

Alastor propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her with feigned bewilderment:

— Well, of course! After all, the essence of Hell is to punish sinners. First, you need to have at least a chance to wreak some havoc. If you had ended up here on your own, it would be a different story, but as it is, it's just bo-o-oring.

Even though his words touched that string of her heart, her feelings, which she dared not speak of, even to herself, seeing him almost shyly look away, she decided to leave that topic alone.

They simply lay there for a while, listening to the sensual performance of some early 20th-century French song whose name Charlie didn't know. Each was lost in their thoughts until Alastor sprang to his feet as if scalded.

— Well, I can't promise a rainbow... Get up, Your Majesty!

— Alastor, what are you...

He impatiently extended his hand.

— Hurry up, I might change my mind.

"Here goes nothing," Charlie thought, taking Alastor by the glove. In an instant, they were somewhere else.”

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