#winning your father-in-law over one flesh wound at a time

[apogean-tides]

Callum, sliding down the prison wall next to Runaan: Hey, I'm really sorry that my brother arrested you.

Runaan: ...

Callum: And that my aunt Amaya stabbed you. We should really get you to a healer.

Runaan, exasperated: I'm sorry is this OUR stab wound? No. Stay out of it human.

Callum: ...

Callum: Alright then.

Callum: *stabs himself in the leg*

Runaan: WHAT THE FU–

Callum: Opeli, can you call a healer for OUR stab wounds, please.

[gogolucky13]

Southpaw (2)

Series summary: Tied up in the criminal world your godfather has built, you have no reason to leave, until you find one in the man they call Southpaw.

Pairing: boxer!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word count: 1,892

Warnings: Mentions of an accident/PTSD.

A/N: Part two! Mostly just some Bucky background and perspective. Thank you so much for all the love on the first part. Hope you enjoy this one and I promise things will start to pick up between these two soon! Divider by the lovely @firefly-graphics 💜😊

Bucky Barnes has always been a fighter. A literal one in the streets of Brooklyn defending his childhood best friend. A figurative one helping to support his family after his father walked out when he was fourteen. Then, he took on the fight of his life after the accident.

It was supposed to be a routine training session, something Bucky and his team had done numerous times before. But the old adage of Murphy’s Law held strong that day, and everything that could go wrong, went terribly, terribly wrong.

One second he had the rope in his hands, then a loud bang in the next. A small slip of his foot, his heart dropped to the deepest pits of his stomach as he fell the seemingly endless 50 feet to the ground below. The helicopter still hovered above him, swirling the sand and dirt around his limp body. Sometimes he can still feel the sting of it on his face, the burn of it in his lungs as he gasped for air. Shock took over soon after impact, the pain too much to bear consciously. Images of his mom and sister flashed in his mind, a welcome comfort that kept him company while he waited for help. Then, everything faded into peaceful nothingness.

Bucky woke up in the hospital two days later with a broken back, a mangled left arm, and a new outlook on life. But sometimes life is still cruel, even after it gives you a second chance. The physical wounds healed, but the mental ones lingered long after his body was put back together. Haunting memories of the accident incessantly replayed in his mind, clawing their way into his consciousness and spreading a darkness through him like an insidious poison.

It fractured Bucky’s life piece by piece, and he deteriorated from the inside out. He lost sleep and an unhealthy amount of weight. He found it difficult to keep a typical job. His relationships with his family and friends suffered greatly. Therapy only seemed to help dull the pain and bring him back to the light temporarily, just so he could succumb to the darkness once again.

He was left a shell of the man he once was, until he discovered fighting.

Working out was always something Bucky found cathartic. A safe and responsible way for him to release his pent up frustrations. The gym he attended offered boxing classes, and he saw it as a sign from someone that it was something he was meant for. Fighting wasn’t new for him. There were amateur fighters in the service, and he would gladly get his hands dirty with them during downtime. But as he continued to train, he soon realized not only how good he was at it, but how much he craved it. The feeling of fist meeting flesh, the shock of getting hit, the exhilaration of winning. He had never felt more alive.

Without even trying too hard, Bucky soon found himself in the world of underground boxing. He always trained alone and fought for himself, but the money wasn’t enough even when he did win. And he won, a lot.

Then a few months ago, Bucky took notice of a man who always seemed to be standing in the shadows of the fights. A look of concentration on his face as he watched Bucky—observing, analyzing, contemplating. After a few matches, he finally introduced himself as Sam Wilson and asked if he’d be interested in meeting with his boss, Alexander Pierce. Of course Bucky agreed. He had no reason or excuse to say no; between jobs and with no steady income, Bucky needed something. Pierce is well known in the underground fighting world, and he saw it as his opportunity to make some real money.

It was a surreal experience for Bucky to be sitting in the Alexander Pierce’s office just yesterday, reviewing and finalizing their agreement. He couldn’t help but feel as if he was almost signing his life away as the pen met paper and he became Pierce’s newest fighter. But the promise of a huge payout pushed out any doubts in Bucky’s mind. All he had to do was win against someone called the God of Thunder, the name alone reading like a joke to Bucky.

An old warehouse comes into view as Bucky turns off the main road, and he’s compelled to double check the address Sam texted him this morning. When it’s confirmed he’s at the right place, Bucky parks his vintage Mustang beside an expensive looking silver car in the dirt parking lot and heads inside.

Pierce’s gym is the nicest one Bucky has ever seen. The slightly worn down exterior doesn’t do any justice for the spacious, modern interior.

Commercial garage doors run along the same wall as the entrance. Metal rafters line the ceiling and a light grey concrete covers the floors. The brick walls give it a slight edge, and the bright industrial lighting calls attention to all the brand new equipment. On the opposite wall to the entrance, Bucky can see a row of black punching bags, all without tears, the silver chains they hang from shiny and rust-free. Treadmills and stationary bikes line the far wall to his left, and even from where he stands by the door, he can tell they’re top of the line. The training mats are smooth, clean from any dirt and sweat stains.

But it’s the boxing ring in the center of the gym that he’s most interested in. Eyes wide in awe, he feels almost like a kid in a candy store as he takes it all in. It sits on a raised platform about three feet high with four black posts in each corner. White ropes line the perimeter, framing the immaculate grey mat. Just looking at it has Bucky’s hands tingling and palms itching.

Walking further into the space, Bucky catches sight of Pierce on the other side of the gym. The shock of seeing the boss doesn’t last long when he sees who he’s talking to. You stand with a pad of paper in your hand, irritation warping your features as you apparently discuss something of concern with Pierce. It’s impossible for Bucky to make out what you’re saying, but he can’t help the small curl of his lips as he watches you.

The memory of literally running into you yesterday is still fresh on his mind, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it for the rest of the day after. There was a moment, as he held your gaze, where he saw the initial shock of the encounter brighten the colored specks of your eyes, but it quickly faded from the hidden sadness he saw behind them. The remaining embers of a dying star, holding on to hope something will spark it back to life.

He didn’t find it peculiar to see you at the office. Adorned in a pantsuit and heels, clearly distracted by some form of business on your phone, you looked like you belonged. But to see you here at the gym, Bucky finds that to be odd, and it has nothing to do with the office attire you still wear. Dying star, indeed.

As he continues to watch you, that instinctive pull Bucky felt yesterday ignites something deep in his chest, and he wonders about you. Everything from where you came from to how you ended up here with Pierce.

Lost in his own thoughts, Bucky is oblivious to his surroundings as he continues to stare.

“Hey, Southpaw!” Sam calls. “Are you ready?”

Startled, Bucky turns to face his trainer.

During his meeting yesterday with Pierce, he wanted to argue that he didn’t need a trainer, that he’s been fighting and training on his own for years, but the fierceness of Pierce’s aura and the stern look he gave told him not to. It seemed a lot of decisions would be made for him now that Bucky works for a man who speaks with such strong conviction and leaves little room for discussion.

Re-gripping his hold on the gym bag he carries, Bucky nods his head. “Uh, yeah.”

“Follow me then,” Sam replies, flipping a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of a set of steel double doors.

With one last glance over his shoulder in your direction, Bucky follows Sam through the doors and down a few flights of concrete stairs. Stepping through another set of double doors, wooden ones this time, they open up to reveal a brick hallway with bright fluorescent lights which illuminate the cream tiled floor. Sam walks about fifteen feet until he reaches the first door on the left and holds it open for Bucky to enter.

Inside, Bucky finds a room lined with black metal lockers, several wooden benches positioned around the space. Bucky watches as Sam makes his way over to a locker near the far right corner.

“You can put your stuff in here, James.” He opens the locker door and gestures to the empty space with a tilt of his head.

“Uh, Bucky.” Confusion twists Sam’s features, an almost comical quirk to his eyebrow as he stares back. “Huh?”

“No one really uses my first name,” Bucky explains, placing his bag in the locker. “I go by Bucky.”

Nodding his head and crossing his arms, Sam gives Bucky a once over. “Alright then, Bucky, let’s continue on with the tour.”

Sam leads Bucky to the back of the locker room where several showers hide behind a white mortar wall. Back in the hallway, Sam then shows him the medical station, the second door on the left side. As they walk back towards the locker room, Bucky takes notice of the two doors on the other side of the hallway, and his curiosity gets the better of him.

“What are those?”

Sam glances over his shoulder, then to the doors Bucky inquired about.

“That’s Pierce’s office,” Sam states, pointing to the farthest door, “and that’s Y/n’s.” His finger lands on the door almost parallel to the locker room.

“Who is she?” Bucky finds himself asking before he can even filter the question. His eagerness to know everything about you apparently disrupting the conscious idea of think before you speak.

Sam turns to face Bucky, arms crossing as he regards the new fighter with a stern gaze. Bucky can feel his skin begin to crawl at the unrelenting stare.

“Y/n is Pierce’s goddaughter,” Sam says, his voice firm, “And it’s best if you just stay as far away from her as possible.” He doesn’t elaborate, and abruptly turns on his heel towards the wooden doors that lead back up to the gym. “C’mon, we’ve got training to do.”

Before Bucky follows Sam, he steals a selfish minute for himself to peer inside the large window by your office door, hoping to find something, anything that would give him a small glimpse into who you are. When he doesn’t find it, he sighs and reluctantly joins Sam upstairs.

Returning to the main floor of the gym, Bucky quickly scans the room for you, but soon realizes you’re no longer there. He then focuses on Sam, who begins the process of wrapping his hands, a lingering thought of you tickling the back of his mind.

Part One // Part Three // Masterlist

[multi-fandom-imagines8]

Warrior Queen

Request: Hey can u do Rhaegar x reader where rhaegar survive the battle and she is his Wife instead of Elia martell and the mother of his children she is very kind witty knows how to fight and is beautiful and angry at him and lyanna ( she survives) but loves little Jon since she doesn’t blame a parents sin on the child and rhaegar tries to win her trust and love since he loves her and reader tells him she was pregnant but lost it when she tried to protect the children and a lot of angst but fluff plea. Requested by anon.

Request: Hey can u do a rhaegar x reader where he wins the Robert rebellion and lyanna survive to and the reader is is wife instead of Elia and the mother of his children’s the reader is loved by many she is sassy beautiful treats the poor people with respect and is a deadly warrior she love little Jon as her own but is angry at rhaegar and lyanna since her children almost dies and lost on while protect the children rhaegar who is madly in love with Her tries to win her back some angst and fluff please. Requested by anon.

Request: Au rhaegar x wife reader where rhaegar survives and reader is angry at him and lyanna but adores Jon rhaegar tries to win her back but she refuse and can’t look at him without thinking how her children’s are dead because he decide to marry another man women . Can the reader be immune to fire and tells rhaegar she was pregnant but lose it while trying to save their children’s please (rhaegar loves the reader and reader is called the warrior queen. ) please. Requested by anon.

Warnings: violence, miscarriage, cheating, angst!

Word Count: 2149.

There were rumors about Rhaegar being with another woman, but you decided to trust your husband over silly people’s words. How foolish of you! Then Lyanna Stark was supposedly kidnapped and raped by Rhaegar, but you knew better. He took her away, fearing what you might have done to her out of rage. Her father and oldest brother came to plead with your father in law, but he killed them, starting a war, which was called the Robert Rebellion.

At first, you thought he was sleeping around with some random whore because you were pregnant. Since,men tend to do that due to the lack of sex, but you never thought Rhaegar would be one of those men. After all, he was kind, gentle, loving and caring. For all the years you’ve been together, he’s been nothing but good to you. Never raised his voice or hand on you.

The two of you met, while you were training. He immediately noticed your skills and instead of announcing himself, he decided to fight you with a knight’s helm on. You came close to defeating him, but he won. He was the first man to ever defeat you. You were curious to know who that man was and at that moment he revealed himself. Instead of bowing down to him, you complimented his fighting skills as if he was a normal man. That’s what he liked about you. You treated him like anyone else. With kindness and respect but not as if he was in a higher class than you or anyone else.

Naturally, you were loved by your people and each one of them would die for you.

Flashforward to the war, there were rumors that Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon. The mad king was murdered by Jaime Lannister and the army of the Lannisters sacked the city.

“My lady, we have to go now. The King is dead and there are orders to kill you and the children” your handmaiden entered your room and locked it behind her. Luckily, there was a secret corridor that led to the sea, where a boat awaited you.

“Let’s go! It’s alright, you’re gonna be safe, I promise you” you kissed Aegon and Rhaenys’ forehead.

From the secret corridor, you took the children and stopped by Rhaella’s chambers.

“Your majesty, it’s time to go. King’s Landing has fallen” you informed her.

Unfortunately, she her water broke and she was about to have a baby girl; Daenerys.

“Your majesty, listen to me! You can’t have this child yet. If you do, they are going to kill it in front of you, then they will rape you and when they’re done, they will kill you. We need to move now! Just hold on a little longer” you wrapped her arm around your neck and helped her up and out of the chambers.

Your handmaiden took Viserys, Rhaenys and Aegon ahead of you.

When you reached the boat, you helped the queen on it first and started boarding the children, when three guards appeared.

“Kiyara take the children and leave, now!” You instructed your handmaiden.

“But my Lady-“.

“Do as I say now!” You kissed your children goodbye and as the guards tried to reach them, your Valyrian steel sword blocked their attack. “NOW!” You started fighting them and prevented the guards from reaching the children.

“Just three?” You asked.

“One can take you down” one of the guards said.

“If you’re so sure of yourself, why bring three? I’m the Warrior Queen. Who are you?”.

“I will be remembered as the knight who killed a queen” he smirked.

“Presumably you do live to see another day, do you think people will think that’s honorable. Three soldiers against a pregnant queen? I don’t know what’ll be more dishonoring that or that that queen defeated you and spared your life”.

“You are in no state to win” he looked at your belly and you looked down to see. You had been wounded when you tried to defend the children, but only now did you start to feel it. You feared that your nightmare has come true and that you’re losing your baby. You were so enraged, that you attacked them without thinking, tearing them limb from limb until two of them were dead and the third wounded and begging on the ground for you to spare his life.

“I would have, but you harmed by unborn baby and now I’m gonna rip your heart out with my bare hand” you knelt next to him and took his heart out from him to see before he died.

You may have one this fight, but you’ve lost the war. You lost everything. Your children were gone. Your husband was supposedly dead, the Lannister army control the city now and you were sure that you were losing the child you carried inside of you. You were badly injured and didn’t know what to do next. You lay on the sand next to the dead guards and waited for your death. Until you heard the bells.

A feeling inside of you told you that Rhaegar is still alive and is back with a bigger army.

You took your sword and went back to the city. Tywin Lannister saw you and because he knew he was losing, he wanted Rhaegar to lose as well. He took an arrow, lit it on fire and shot you in the stomach with it. Fire was surrounding your body, but luckily for you, you were wearing war clothes made of Valyrian Steel, so they didn’t melt, exposing your naked body to the world.

You took the arrow out and started bleeding again. You wanted Tywin’s head and you eventually got it.

“H-how?” He was surprised to see that you were immune to fire.

“You don’t have the time to find out” you slit his throat and ripped his head off.

Your army was winning the war and Rhaegar was searching for you, worried that you might have died.

“Y/n! Y/n!” He shouted in the streets of King’s Landing until he saw you from behind. He knew that outfit right away.

You turned to face him, blood all over you. Some of it yours, the rest of your enemies “Rhaegar” you muttered dropping your sword and collapsing on the ground.

—-

“Where are my children?” Was the first thing you asked once you woke up.

“They’re on their way home. You need to rest” Rhaegar placed his hand on yours.

“No, no! I need to see my children”.

“Y/n, you lost a lot of blood. You need to let your wounds heal”.

“You want to talk to me about wounds? How do I let my wounded heart heal? While, I was pregnant with your child, you were fucking Lyanna Stark. Then you dared to run away with her, leaving me and your children alone. Where were you when they sacked the city? Where were you when they almost killed your family? Your mother? Your brother? Your unborn sister? Your children? Me? You were too busy fucking her that your flesh and blood didn’t matter to you”.

“Y/n, I- I’m sorry”.

“Is that all you have to say? That you’re sorry? My baby is dead, isn’t he? His blood is on your hands, but mine as well, for staying here when I knew you’ve gone with her. How foolish of me!” You sat up and tried to leave the bed, but you were too weak to do so.

“Hey, hey, listen to me! It’s not your fault. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I truly am. I will do anything to make it right again”.

“Can you bring me back my dead son? No, I thought so. I want you to leave! When the children are back. I’m going to take them away. Away from here, away from you. Away from the danger that surrounds you”.

“Y/n, don’t do this”.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t”.

“I- I love you”.

“That’s not even a reason to begin with”.

“I’m the king now! I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you”.

“You promised me that a long time ago, but look at us. How can you not let anyone hurt me, when you’ve been doing that all along?”.

“I won’t let you leave! You can’t take away my children from me!”.

“Your children? The same ones you left to die? Now you want to be their father? If it wasn’t for me, they would’ve died and me along with them, leaving you to return to nothing”.

“You need to rest. I will place guards in front of you chambers and a handmaiden and the healer will stay with you” he informed you.

“Are the guards for my protection or to prevent me from leaving?” You asked.

“Both” he admitted.

“I hate you!”.

—-

When Aegon and Rhaenys returned, Rhaegar immediately took them to your room escorted by Kiyara.

“Oh, my babies!” You sat yourself up and they ran towards you to hug you.

You winced from the pain but didn’t let them go.

“Alright. Children! It’s time to go, let your mother rest” Rhaegar instructed.

“No, I just got them back, I won’t lose them again”.

“They are safe here! Nothing will happen to them” Rhaegar reassured you.

“Liar!”.

“My lady” Kiyara bowed and greeted you.

“Kiyara! I’m glad to see you. You’re the only one I can trust in this place” you looked at Rhaegar.

“Then, she’ll stay with the children”.

—-

Days have passed and you were still locked in your chambers. The children would visit you every day, but Rhaegar didn’t let them stay that long. Finally, you have recovered and started walking normally again. Today was the day you’ll get out. You didn’t know what was happening outside those four walls that you confided in.

“I have brought you food” Kiyara entered your chambers and greeted you.

“I’m finally leaving” you expressed.

“About that…” Kiyara seemed uncomfortable.

“What is it, Kiyara?”.

“It- it’s nothing”.

“Everyone out of my chambers!” You ordered the others to leave “you can tell me now, what is it?”.

“It’s…”.

“You’re scaring me! Did something happen to the children?”.

“No. His majesty brought someone back with him” she informed you.

“Lyanna?”.

“Not just her. Aegon-“.

“What does Aegon have to do with it?”.

“He had a child with her a- and named him Aegon. I wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t be surprised when you see them”.

“That monster! He dares bring his mistress and his bastard child to my residency. My city” you were so angry at him. After all, this was a sign of disrespect.

You got dressed and went to the chambers where Rhaegar was having a meeting.

“How dare you do that to me?! What kind of honorless man are you?” You barged into the room.

“Y/n, we can talk about this later. We’re discussing important things”.

“Don’t ever speak about importance again! I’ve had enough. I am leaving you and I’m taking the children with me” you threatened and he immediately ordered the men to get out and close the door behind them.

“What has gotten into you?” He held your upper arms.

“First, I lose my child because of you. Then, I’m confined in my chambers for weeks, only to find out it’s not because of me, but so you could have more fun with her. And now, you bring her and your bastard child here. Why do you hate me so much? What have I ever done to deserve this?” You crumbled in front of him and he knelt next to you.

“I don’t! I love you! I didn’t tell you before because I wanted you to heal properly and I knew if I told you, you would’ve collapsed again. She’s only here because of my son. He needs his mother. Once he’s old enough, she’ll go back to Winterfell. I do not love her. It was a mistake! But I will not abandon my son, the way I did with you and my other children. Give him a chance!”.

—-

At the beginning, you hated that baby so much and couldn’t bear to look at him. Whenever you were walking in the Red Keep, Lyanna wouldn’t come out of her chambers, but Rhaegar took the child out, for your children to familiarize with him.

With time, you have grown to love him. After all, he was innocent and wasn’t to blame for his parents’ sins. He was like the son you lost. That’s how you treated him, but you called him Jon.

You didn’t let Rhaegar into your chambers or anywhere near you, but he understood. You needed time to heal and you might never forgive him, but he was trying his best to make it up to you for the mistakes he made.

[wolkoshka]

AN: Did I think that, for a even a moment, I would watch Vikings and not write a fic for one of my favorite characters ever? Like, did I really think--                          I keep finding old gems in my files and one of them is this fic that I was working on a year ago. Ubbe is so INTENSE I just couldnt sit there and watch him not get more love, ya know? Tags: Ubbe x OC; M for Magnificent but also Mature. Gore/Violence. Romance/Slow-Burn.

                                                      Viking Sage

CHAPTER I

             For a few hesitant moments, she sat in the perpetual chill of the Northern soil, doubts as brisk as the air she was inhaling clouding her mind.

           Perhaps she ought not follow rash impulses and heed the devil’s tune. Perhaps she ought to be reasonable and sane, for what she was to execute was no child’s play. Perhaps she even be merciful; her father always spoke grandly the trait of forgiveness for not many possessed it. Or perhaps she ought to damn it all and off with the murderer’s head, for a terrible vengeance crackled in her blood and caused fury to beat in her heart.

           Raiders, rapists, heathens, fell upon her home alike a plague and left nothing but death in their wake. Blood of her neighbours. Blood of her parents. Blood of women drawn without consent and their wombs ravaged and forced to swell. How many clots of flesh had she seen being expelled from bodies? How many limbs and cuts sewn back together to give the dead a more dignified burial? How many tears spilled over bodies of loved ones, terror-struck faces with eyes carrying wounds that not even time could heal?

          Yet, to her, nothing was more terrorizing than the absence of Tanaruz. Sweet, beautiful Tanaruz. Her blood; her heart. Her everything. She was not among the pile of bodies they left to rot; she was elsewhere, taken as a slave with the rest to serve in the land of killers.

           Dhayl craned her neck to examine one especially revered killer.

           They called him Ubbe Lothbrok, a Budlungr, son of a famous raider king Ragnar Lothbrok. His people came for her home and ripped her loved ones out of her arms. Now, blood was due upon the blade, and she had long sharpened it for the slaughter.

           At that, her anger flared, and she nodded. They would pay. Verdict made, she rose and grabbed a cup of icy water—and splashed it in the man’s face.

           The burly man came awake with a snarl, and eyes of the clearest blue, arresting her with their colour and intensity, snapped up at her. He heaved, angrily, furiously, and lurched at her—and failed. Chains bound him to a tree, and ropes hugged his legs together in his seated position on the ground.

            He was not getting a mat; he was not worthy of such comfort.

            When he realized he could not reach her, he, after a moment, to her utter surprise, settled comfortably into his chains and regarded her in silence. She at the very least expected the unchivalrous display of his discontent with a spit on the ground to her feet.

            ‘’Hm,’’ he voiced roughly, eyes quickly giving her an onceover. ‘’You do not look helpless.’’ Studying his many traits—a skilled hunter being one—she’d bated her time in the woods when he’d ventured into them to hunt for dinner. She’d cried out, pretending to be a wounded traveller, and he’d come to her, failing to understand that the then predator was truly a tricked prey.

            ‘’No,’’ Dhayl said, looking down at him. Then, she crouched; her head tilted, and she returned his examination with an examination of her own. ‘’I never was. Never will be.’’ Her fingers reached for the blood trickling down his temple—courtesy from her—and smeared it down his face. ‘’But you are. Helpless, that is. Oh, you look hopeless and at my mercy.’’

             False. He did not at all look the unable man she was making him out to be. Even chained and bleeding, he very much exuded an energy that could level an army in a heartbeat. She ought to be cautious; she had seen what this man could do first-hand. He had done it many times. Her, on the other hand? She’d never chained up a man before. Especially a lethal one, at that.

             It must be done, she reminded herself. And you must be strong. Her fingers slowly travelled up and dug in to the wound. The muscle below his eye ticked at that. ‘’Did I press a nerve? I might have had. Indeed, what king likes his wounds probed?’’

             A soft laugh escaped his throat, and then a deeper one, though that too was short-lived. They were laughs that humoured her. She did not like it. ‘’You know me.’’

            ‘’Yes. I watched you for a very long time.’’

            ‘’Have you now?’’

            ‘’Yes.’’

             ‘’And?’’

             ‘’And I thought you were perfect for questioning.’’

             ‘’Hm,’’ came the rough response again as he tilted his head forward. ‘’If you had watched me for a very long time, then you would know better than to question me.’’

             ‘’Better than most. But, no, you are exactly the right person for such an act. You are exactly what I am looking for.’’

             ‘’What makes you believe so?’’

             ‘’Call it intuition.’’

              Another rough sound. ‘’Mine says you are not walking out of these woods alive. I tend to harbour a strong adherence to mine.’’

             ‘’And I tend to wear mine around my heart. It goes off like church bells. Do you have a heart? I thought not. I win.’’

             He moved his head away from her bruising touch, and sniffed. ‘’You are not from around here.’’

            ‘’No.’’

            ‘’You are different.’’

            ‘’Hm,’’ she echoed him.

            ‘’That means you do not know my people, and you do not know this land, and you do not know what you have done.’’

            ‘’No one will find us here.’’

             ‘’Something will. The sky is getting dark. You do not see it; you do not know how the sun is in this part of the world, but I do. And I can see that you have no firewood to keep at bay things you do not want keeping you company at night. I see no shelter, no weapon but for the blade on your waist, and not enough food. But more than all, if you are not careful, an army will be upon you soon; pray to whatever god that they get to you first before I do.’’

          ‘’Get to me, then. I am right here.’’

           He arrested her with those icy-blues. ‘’Have those church bells gone off yet?’’

           She wiped the blood on her fingers on his attire before uncurling to her full height. I’m in charge here. She squared her shoulders. I have the advantage over this Viking. Despite her braving words, a danger she was not at all acquainted with glimmered behind those long, spiky lashes, and for the life of her, Dhayl could not shake off the shivers that abraded her skin.

           “It took me a long while before I could find your people, find you. Many a year I lost on my travels and searches to better myself so I could best face you. I have not come unprepared. I have come light. It only takes a slice from this knife that so feebly hangs from my waist to bleed you dry—and I will. You reign as a lawmaker, but disregard any law that befits your tastes not. It is alike cheap ale to your kind, the kind that abhors difference and demands beyond their proper share. You pillage and plunder, rape and defile, and steal what belongs to you not. Tell me one thing, Viking, and tell me this honestly if you value your life at all: a few years ago, your people fell upon my home in the Mediterranean alike a curse, and you took a girl by the name Tanaruz. Where is she?”

           It was quick as lightning, but the Viking’s brilliant eyes flashed with momentary sincerity before the expression fell away and confusion distorted his fine brows. He knew something. Dhayl was sure of it. Hope, though she fought it, as it was too early, bloomed in her chest. “We are a people of trade and travel, that is our way. To be great and established, that is our way. To be violent and bloody, that is also our way. I know not of the girl you speak; many slaves came and left our country. Many slaves we traded to other neighbouring kingdoms. We do not keep record of each ones’ names. Perhaps you mistake us, mistake me, for another.”

           “I do not!” Dhayl retaliated. “Do not take me for a fool; it is not the Vikings of Kieven Rus that came to us—they wouldn’t dare. Moreover, they are better civilized than your people, as they established proper contract of trade with our Emir before they even considered shedding blood. Ubbe Lothbrok, son of the famous raider Ragnar Lothbrok, it is your brother, Bjorn Ironside, that lead the attack on Andalusia. Your younger brother, Hvitzerk, accompanied your travels, too. You desecrated our place of worship, burned our homes, and stole our children from us. Or do I have my facts wrong? I don’t need you to answer that—I know the answer. Now, one of the girls you took happens to be my sister. I’m sure she is a grown woman now, but taking in my appearance, as we do strikingly look more alike than not, you must recall someone of such similarity.”

           “I commend your memory, but I do not.”

           She grit her teeth. “Try.”

           “Unbind me, and I will help you look for this sister of yours. Wherever it is that she may be. But you will not get anything out of me before that.”

           Dhayl inched closer to him, and the Viking merely sniffed, gazing up at her and nonchalantly shifting the weight of his legs against the binding ropes. “It appears you value your life not.” Unsheathing the blade, she inched even closer. “Trade, you say, but you could not even trade innocent information to save your own life. I do not think you were fashioned for such deals.”

           The Viking moved fast, striking his booted feet against her ankles and knocking her over. Before she could gather her bearings, a powerful kick to her temple sent her propelling to her side, and oblivion, with an overwhelming wave, washed over her as her lids fluttered shut.

 UBBE worked fast. With the tip of his boot, he kicked the blade that had fallen from her grasp closer to him. With much effort, he, with his feet and the slight bending of his knees, succeeded in planting it by his roped legs. A difficult feat, but not impossible. Striking fast and hard, he moved his ropes against its sharp side. When a few trusses fell apart, Ubbe, with a powerful flex from his legs, kicked outwards, the force of it breaking the rope completely from its sturdy bind.

           Wiggling his legs free, he instead threw them over the female’s body and dragged her to him. Inch by inch, her body slid closer to his, dirt caking her dark curls and attire. When he had her where he wanted her, he used his legs to turn her from side to side, looking for the keys to the chains she must have. He didn’t find them.

           Cursing under his breath, Ubbe worked against the iron locks and uncurled to his full height. By the time he did, his arms and back were burning from the chaffing they’d endured from both the chains and the tree. No matter, he’d known worse pains than these. These, being mere inconveniences. Gazing up, he noted the thinning of the tree’s trunk and deftly nodded.

           Until he saw the thick branches extending from it. She’d chosen a good tree.

           Gnashing his teeth, he fought against his likely fate, his exertions marring his body. He would uproot this tree if that was what was needed. For a long moment, he kept at it—until he came upon the realization that not only did the female bind him to a tree with chains, but bound him to a tree with two thick chains, for no single chain could extend as long, and, thus, tutting a finger at even the slightest notion of escape entertaining his mind.

           Resting his head against the trunk, Ubbe glanced up at the sky and shut his eyes—and laughed.

           Give me patience, All Father.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness 63.2: Dreams and Honor

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I waited at the altar alone. Ren's wreath of pink and green was there. Penny was off to one side and waiting. But I was under the arch and up on the altar all alone and waiting. I folded my arms in front of me and looked out into the tiny crowd of guests. Oscar was close by to perform the ceremony. But really it was just me. Just waiting for my ladies to walk my way. 

There was a cool breeze which was nice but I still felt hot and dizzy in my peach yellow tuxedo. 

Then Ruby exited the house in her trumpet style wedding gown with her father beside her and for the second time that day my heart stopped in my chest. Her father was leading her by the arm down to me where I was waiting and the blood rushed to my face like I stood up too quickly. My face got hot and it felt like a dozen hooks were in the flesh around my eyes and we're all pulling gently. It was a little like I was seeing sunlight for the first time. Looking at her. It was a blinding rush. 

Weiss walked out in a low back mermaid gown and I nearly stumbled. I laughed a little when I saw her and only when my face moved did I realize I was crying. It still felt like all the skin on my face was being gently pulled away in a rush like hyper. Really right behind the eyes. It was a different kind of blinding sensation. Like I was being plunged into darkness as my blood pressure spiked and my vision tunneled. I didn't actually pass into unconsciousness looking at Weiss. But I did spread the legs of 'unconsciousness' and tease her. I almost made sweet, sweet love to unconsciousness. And it burned me in my skull like I just smoked a bowl or got a runner’s high.

I exhaled a shaking breath. I could do this. I could do this. I was a man. Come on, man. I was getting bopped. They were crushing me like a beer can. Only it was my brain. 

Taiyang handed Ruby off to me. She smiled and gave me a gentle giggle. My expression must have been funny. Because she was laughing at me. I couldn't get it together before Weiss was given to me by Klein. She tried to hide her own laugh behind her hand. It was a dainty quiet thing and I was glad they were deriving so much amusement from me. So glad. I mean… I did alright in my tuxedo. I did alright. I didn't look like a god though. They looked like little bright goddesses in all white. 

Taiyang and Klein took their seats in the single front row. 

Ruby cooed, "aww." And she patted me on the arm. 

"He's crying," Weiss whispered. 

"I told you!" Ruby shot back at a pitch that would be hard to hear even just a little away from us. 

"Yeah," I managed to croak out like an idiot. "I am." I couldn't stop or get it together. My face still felt flush like I stood up too quickly. I'd love to see a graph of my blood pressure over the last two minutes? Five minutes? I hardly remembered watching them walk down the aisle. They just sort of appeared. They were doin' it on purpose, too. It was hard to prove but if I was a betting man, I'd bet on that. 

"Welcome all of you!" Oscar began in an Ozpin like fashion. "We're going to go ahead and get started…" Ozpin trailed like he was Oscar.  "We are gathered to celebrate the union of these three in matrimony as a commitment for the rest of their lives."

"This marriage is being created through equality, mutual respect, affection, and a willingness to not abuse the power they each grant one another over themselves. It's not an easy trick to manage. It isn't a cheap trick. And if it's an illusion, then it's an illusion like the horizon or time itself. It possesses a recurrent and quiet beauty," Oscar pressed on.

I didn't much feel like Ruby's or Weiss's equal. Not really. It made me want to laugh a little. Ruby and Weiss were… well, they were fantastic. And I was mediocre at best. You feel me? Like I mean honestly. Who wrote this? Probably them. That made it a little harder to laugh at. It made it somehow stronger like they wrote it into existence like a law of nature. Like gravity or electromagnetism or color. 

"We are gathered here today to witness an enormous union surrounded by few friends and family members. We would like to embrace a quiet moment of silence for those fallen." Oscar bowed his head. 

My first thought went to Pyrrha. That… hadn't healed. It was a gaping wound in my heart that just rolled like waves on a beach. What if. Splash. What if. Splash. What if. And it was hard to tell that voice 'enough. I'm happy where I am and you can't take that from me.' I didn't always succeed in doing that. Sometimes it got the better of me. And I couldn't master myself. I couldn't tell it to shut up because it was so deep. 

Then my thoughts ran to Ren and Nora. I'd gotten them killed in a bad, bad way. I robbed them of their chance to explore one another. What if. Splash. What if. Splash. What if. In Pyrrha's case it was like yeah. Maybe. But in Ren's and Nora's I took that from them. And it was hard in a different way than the way Pyrrha was hard. But I'm not sure it was any less hard. It was brutal.

I looked at the flowers set out for my dead team. It was so far from enough to do them justice that I wanted to laugh a touch madly. It was like a nagging wiggling worm crawling through my brain and driving me absolutely nuts as it ate away at the grey matter inside. The pain I was in was excruciating. It was the sort of pain which unwinded you. 

"Okay. I think that's quite enough of that. Because today is a celebration. How many of us struggle and fail to find even one person to spend a lifetime with? And you three are so very fortunate to have found not only one, but two others to share it with. That's something beyond special. It is exceptional. And it tends to defy all logic and reason. I'm sure it wasn't easy to build what you have here. It probably stumbled together. It was probably fragile at times. I'm sure if you could go back you'd do it differently. Yes it worked out. But it didn't come to you all wrapped up in a neat little bow. Things like this are never clean. They can't be. But it's stronger for the difficult times. Scar tissue is stronger than flesh. And that's not to say your wounds are healed. Probably not. But you are better for it together. You may now go into your vows."

"I, Ruby Rose, solemnly swear that I know of no lawful reason why I should not be joined in marriage to Jaune and Weiss. And I ask those present to witness as I take them as husband and wife."

"And to Weiss I do swear to always be your best friend and partner in action. Besties to lovers. You know?" She giggled. "I know I'm a little energetic. I love your patience with me. I know I try you. It doesn't go unnoticed and unappreciated. I love that about you. It's quiet and strong but never lonely. I'll always be there beside you when you need me. Less than a call away. Always. You were there for me when I was hurting so bad and I want to work by your side as mothers, huntresses, friends, and lovers. I think we can make a wonderful life together."

"And to Jaune I want to be a light in your life. I know you are trialed and a lot is resting on your shoulders. I want you to know you can share that load with me. I ask a lot of you and put more on your plate. But if it's at all possible I want to make your life a little easier. I want you to always be able to count on me and never hide away in yourself. I want to feel with you and be a part of your struggles. I don't want you to ever hide what you're feeling from me. You've had some rough times and you have more ahead but maybe they can be happy even if they are difficult. Maybe you can let me take care of you. And I want to."

"I, Weiss Schnee, solemnly swear that I know of no lawful reason why I should not be joined in marriage to Ruby and Jaune. And I ask those present to witness as I take them as wife and husband.”

“To Ruby I never had a friend like you before or since I met you. For the first time in my life I wasn’t truly lonely and that’s all thanks to you. I want to mirror that companionship for you. I want to give back what you have given me. I will always be your partner. And together in true sisterhood I want that intimacy with you I started to crave in Mistral. And I was hungry to have you and be with you. I was starved all my life and it was like eating for the first time when I was with you. I can’t wait to continue to explore each other.”

“For Jaune you won my lonely heart. I got to know the real you. You’re protective, kind, and only a touch obsessive. Your drive is both your greatest vice and greatest virtue. You know how to push yourself and you keep pushing me to be better beside you. You make me want to be a better person. More kind, and gentle, empathetic. You make me hungry for more and I want to give you the rest you deserve. I want you to rest beside me, now. Rest like you belong here. Let your aura shine and shed power like a star. I want to provide you that gentle comfort and support. I want to be a good night’s sleep in your mind. If I could give anything to you it would be that. Because you’ve earned it.”

“I…” I started and choked and stopped for a moment to take a breath. “I, Jaune Arc, solemnly swear that I know of no lawful reason why I should not be joined in marriage to Weiss and Ruby. And I… I ask those present to witness as I take them as my wives.” My voice was shaking and low. But it was getting smoother as I talked more. I got into my rhythm and started to flow and I let my voice timbre.

“For Weiss I think everybody fantasizes about marrying their first crush. I don’t have to fantasize. From the moment I saw you I knew that I wanted you and I would do anything and be anything to impress you. I still feel that way. I still would do anything and everything to impress you and win one of those soft centered smiles you sometimes give out like chocolate. I want the last thing I ever see to be that little real smile I usually have to work hard for. And I want the last thing I ever hear to be your voice hitting a high note and singing me a sweet song. I want to work and struggle and earn those smiles from you. I vow to try as hard as I can to get just one more of those smiles each and every day.”

“To Ruby you were my first real friend. And I couldn’t have fantasized for a better first friend to have. When I fell apart you pulled me together. I could have been and would be nothing without you. Because you were the first person to ever really believe in me. I want to give that back to you. I want to believe in you and support you and be always faithful to you in every way. I feel like I can never ever be half as a good of a friend as you have been to me over these years. But I swear to try my hardest. And I swear to plea against fate and make your dreams come true. I don’t have dreams of my own. I borrow a little bit of yours and it makes me strong in ways I never imagined I could be. I vow to dream up something you can share in and be a friend of such unflinching affectionate solidarity that you always have a safe space you can return to.”

“You have all decided to exchange rings. Please take them and in doing so bind yourselves to this union.”

I reached out to the pedestal on the altar and took the largest Titania and engraved ring. I slipped it on my finger. 

“I take this ring as a sign of my fidelity to you two and my undying love. In doing so I bind myself to you both,” I murmured. 

“I take this ring as a sign of my fidelity to you two and my undying love. In doing so I bind myself to you both,” Weiss hummed and put it on her finger. 

“I take this ring as a sign of my fidelity to you two and my undying love. In doing so I bind myself to you both,” Ruby whispered and slid her’s on. 

"By the power vested in me I pronounce this union. You may now kiss," Oscar informed us. 

Ruby and Weiss leaned in and kissed me. One on each cheek and then turned and pecked each other to the applause of friends and family. 

It didn’t feel real. I stared at the ring on my finger and how the silvery metal caught the light. I turned my hand around, this way and that and stared at it. It felt like a long lost memory or a distant dream but I was awake. It was happening to me. 

“Jaune?” Weiss got my attention.

“Wha…?” I wondered dumbly. 

“Come on,” Ruby took me by the arm.

We weren’t really going anywhere for the recessional. Dinner was going to be served right here. Salmon and beef steaks and vegetables were served and I sat at a table with a wife on each arm. And that was pretty fucking slick. Not gonna lie. 

I thumbed my left earring with my left hand wearing the new ring. It felt fake. It felt too… dreamlike. Consciousness was an abstract if it wasn’t an outright illusion. This felt untrue. It felt too good to be real. Things this good didn’t happen to me. They just didn’t. I felt as though it was going to be robbed from me at any moment. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask, Jaune,” Ruby began over dinner. “Are you hiding your aura away on purpose? Does it have to do with Salem?”

“No… no. Am I? I don’t mean to be.”

“Well then, let it out. Let me taste your emotions,” Ruby pleaded. She was a hungry little empath. She wanted to feed off of me. And of course I was going to allow it. I allowed my golden aura to stretch all joyful and elated out of my body. I let the surrealness of it all known and I could taste Ruby’s and Weiss’s emotions. Ruby tasted like cinnamon and flowers. Weiss tasted like cold coffee and custard pudding and crushed crisp ice. I could literally feel how happy they were through our auras and my head fell in my hands and I started crying again. 

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-WG

[maxskulline]

Although the door closes with but a silent click, and it is her own hand that turns the lock, the sound cuts through her loudly enough to startle - and to worry, no matter how improbable the possibility, that someone might have heard. Doors in this house hardly ever stay shut, and - to the great amusement of those who don’t understand what it is like to live under constant scrutiny, who only see a large mansion with many, many rooms -  privacy is a cherished luxury. It is all thanks to the obsessive need for control and a sprinkle of paranoia her parents nurture so carefully, perhaps more carefully than they had ever nurtured her. It is not out of love that her mother and father keep such a close watch, or out of need to protect their only daughter. It is simply because Maxine Sullivan doesn’t like to play by the rules and they’re terrified that she’ll be the one to burn their status to the ground. 

Because she’s careless. Because they had wasted time and money to try and break her in like a wild horse, only for her to buck and break the reins and run off wherever she wanted to. At the age of nineteen, people share talk as to why she isn’t wed yet, a pretty thing like her, and it always falls back to the failure of her parents. Most suitors don’t like that she isn’t docile, that she can’t hold that sharp and sometimes arrogant tongue, while others tend to see it as a challenge. Taming this wild horse would surely feed their own fragile ego. After all, they believe it is a man’s duty to teach a woman her place.

But it is of no matter. She had learned to dodge these watchful ears and eyes a long time ago, learned to win the servants to her side so that they will not speak of her nightly escapes. Having allies is a good thing - even if it shocked her to find out that all it took was a bit of genuine kindness, gratitude and an extra coin of silver each to win their loyalty. 

Without these nightly escapes, she would be lost. It is the only time she can leave behind her prison and taste a life she might lead if the world was a little kinder to women. It is how she came to meet him  - and the very reason why she stands with her back against her bedroom door, one hand still on the handle, with a thundering heart so violent it might as well stop. Only eventually does Max let go, pry herself from the door and prowl through her room until her reflection catches her eye momentarily - and she stops the restless commotion.

Admittedly, when Max goes out, she hardly pays attention to the garments she chooses, or what her hair looks like, or if she is wearing a smile at all. It is the only time she gets to make that decision. No one else. But the woman staring back at her now, she reminds Max of someone else. Someone she has seen today - someone she maybe shouldn’t have seen, but couldn’t pry her eyes away from either way. 

Max can feel her breath hitch a little when the memories bury her like an avalanche, although it fills her with pure heat. Her own eyes are wide and curious, and a little daring - but that woman’s eyes were shut while her head had rolled back against her lover’s shoulder. She wonders if her reflection is what she looked like as she had watched them, just a moment before Guzma caught her in the act, before-

Her hands fist the fabric of her skirts, because she doesn’t know what to do with them right now. Because there’s the nightly escapades - and then there is this. Threading into a territory that most consider forbidden outside the laws of marriage. Why ever someone would call it sinful is beyond her, not when those lovers from earlier had looked so beautiful and so serene with each other. Max rakes her eyes up and down her own reflection and suddenly decides that she cannot bear the feeling of material on her skin. That she wants - she wants to see herself. 

With steady fingers, button by button the emerald silk peels off and reveals comfortable undergarments instead of the usual constricting cage. These join the pool of fabric by her feet too. Max turns this side and then the other, taking in herself in a way she had not dared to before. She knows her mother hates her freckles. It is for this sole reason Max loves her speckled skin all the more, and in the candlelight, they almost look like dust of pure copper. Unbinding her hair until the fiery locks fall loosely over her shoulders, she notices that her breasts are certainly not as full as she had seen on the woman from earlier. Yet, somehow, they suit her - small and plump and maybe just the right shape to fill one’s hand. Max walks a little closer to the mirror. One hand traces from collarbone to the soft curve below, mimicking the way this woman’s lover had touched her. Although her mind is already painting a new scene, until it is no longer the woman she’s watching. The hands touching her are larger, rough and calloused from reckless nights spent inside the ring, their skin contrasting as if he were the sun and she is the moon. 

Her eyes flutter shut and her breathing turns a little harsher. If he were here behind her, her head would roll back against his shoulder. His hands - just like her own are doing now - would tease her, roll her nipples until he has Max squirming. Then they’d trace lower, over the soft panes of her stomach. Maybe he’d stop and wonder why her ribs feel so sharp, but he wouldn’t say a word because it is Max’s choice to make. His fingers would circle her bellybutton while his lips press kiss after heated kiss into the junction between shoulder and neck, maybe scrape his teeth against her ear just to see her writhe again.

When she returns to her reflection and she only sees herself in the mirror, she buckles under the sudden weight of longing. Of wanting. It is the one feeling she had kept at bay so hard tonight, ever since she had seen Guzma in the arms of a young man while sharing kisses with another woman. She was only stopped from storming out of his mansion by the captivating sight of two strangers entangled in their passion, their beauty so captivating that Max had gladly forgotten the sting of jealousy in her heart. That they didn’t mind her audience filled her both with excitement and heated shame for wanting to see.... more. Frozen in her spot, Max’s wide eyes had followed the way the man’s hand dipped between the blonde woman’s legs, teasing and testing, suddenly ignorant to any watchful eyes, as if they were the only people in the world. If she had thought her heart was racing then, if she thought she felt hot and troubled then, it was no match to the moment Guzma stepped up behind her - silent at first, but Max knew he was there. Putting up a good act of ignoring him, it wasn’t long until the king of mirth and revel began to hate her silence. 

If only he knew how he shattered her, how she wished to give in then. To break free from rules and from constrictions and not care if anyone saw them - but they couldn’t. Max wasn’t ready for the risk it imposed just yet. And what would she do, anyway? She knows nothing of this world - his - world. In the end, she may only disappoint him with her inexperience. 

Now, Max leaves behind the mirror and, naked as she was, allowed the bed to swallow her whole. Her skin felt too hot to be comfortable, haunted by the words he had whispered to her that very same night. She couldn’t crawl under the sheets lest she burn to death, so she lay sprawled on her huge bed instead, a copper halo of hair fanned out to all sides. With knees bent only a little, curious fingers resumed their exploration from earlier, hoping to ease some of the heat by allowing herself to follow his sinful command.

                      ‘Tonight, I want you to touch yourself.’

Oh, and what a command it had been. At first she couldn’t believe her ears, until Guzma ensnared her body by trapping her chin in place, fixing her eyes on the lovers ahead. The writhing woman, now panting softly when his hand picked up pace, bucked into it and left Max beyond flustered. ‘You never touch yourself, do you? You’ve never seen anything like this.’ Guzma’s remarks stung a little, reminded Max all too painfully of her own innocence. Of what she might have missed out on. Of what women were to miss out on if they followed the rules of this wretched society.

So she had jutted her chin forward, shielding a very wounded pride as much as she could. 

                       ‘And what if I do? What do you hope to accomplish from this, my lord?’ 

Despite his touch and the way he held her chin, Guzma did not intend to go any further. He didn’t need to - his voice was effective enough. 

                  ‘When you touch yourself,’ he murmured, his voice so very close to her ear that she could feel every syllable grazing it. ‘Look closely. I want you to put your hand between your legs just like he does with her.’ It was obscene at first, though now, Max can’t help but spread her legs wider. Exhilarated by the knowledge of doing a forbidden thing, she draws in a sharp hiss when her fingers first find the hot and slick flesh between her thighs. Thinking once again that she is the ravished woman in the parlor, and it is Guzma’s skillful hand who all but spreads her to the hungry eyes of a girl who is so ready to break free.

Teeth dig into the flesh of her lip, muffling a moan when she runs two fingers between the soft folds, arching into her own touch. She finds a particularly pleasurable spot she fixates on, her mind suddenly running wild with the idea of Guzma’s mouth on her, or how incredible it would feel if it were his tongue instead of his fingers - although she hates and curses every part of him right now, for making her want so much. 

             ‘When you come back to me, I want you to tell me everything you thought of.’ He can go to hell. She will do no such thing, nor give him the satisfaction of knowing he was with her all through the night. Applying pressure to this sensitive spot has her gasping sharply, suddenly careless about the noises that might be heard down the dark hallway. With her other hand, she circles her nipples again, and her hips find their own rhythm, too - rutting into the palm of her hand now, struggling against the desire to explore further, to find out what it feels like to be filled. The woman had loved it when her lover entered her with two fingers, rode herself on him until she begged for another, a plea he was all too happy to obligue. They had dragged it out for as long as Max could bear it, until she thought she might burn up on the spot. Max was nearly dizzy with need when the woman cried out and he held her against his chest, kissing her face, kissing her neck, stroking her trembling body - if it weren’t for the giddy smile on her lips, she would’ve believed her in pain. 

Now she knows that she must have been consumed by a fire, the very same fire that begins to fill her body and endlessly builds up. Her skin gleams, her muscles are tense and trembling while her hand moves harder, faster, desperate to find relief from it all. She thinks of the sounds this woman made, thinks of Guzma’s breath against her neck, thinks of the times she had seen his body move while he fought, wonders if his muscles would move the same way while he claimed her. Yet it is this one shattering thought that ultimately pushes her over the edge when she comes and cries into the crook of her arm, shaking with the force of a fever, curling up and clenching her fists into the pillow beneath: he was watching her the entire time... while she tried so hard to ignore his presence in her back, while the two people before them looked so beautiful, Guzma’s eyes were on her. 

She can hardly stop gasping. 

‘I want you to tell me how you felt when you broke free from these strings that still hold you. Because, my darling Maxine,’ he had said, reaching for her gloved hand, loosing finger by finger until he slipped it off and kissed the top of her bare hand. She’ll never forget the lilac of his eyes when he looked at her, leaving a mark not only on her skin but her soul - her very being, as this night easily proved. 

               ‘Because if you can’t even allow yourself the right to your own body, how can you say that you truly live a free life?

Eventually, the tremors ease. Although her body feels pliant and soft, and she doesn’t trust her legs to keep her standing. Sprawled on the sheets like a flat pudding, she still finds herself unable to care if anyone heard her - it makes her smile to care so little. In fact, a part of her almost hopes that someone heard and that it brings them terror. The terror to know that their daughter can’t be tamed, nor that she’ll keep herself from finding the pleasure that she finally had her first taste of. If she’ll end up touching herself for every night to come, they can’t stop her - it is her body, and she is the only person on earth who has a right to it. And, if she were to give it to anybody, it’d be her choice.

Though for all the... liberating wisdom he had shared with her tonight, it remains to be seen if she’ll ever grant Guzma this privilegue. He is an ass.

 It would be a most deserving punishment to leave him wanting for the truth, just as he had left her wanting for his touch. 

[codyfernmorelikedaddyfern]

Tell Me One More Secret - Outpost!Michael x fem!reader

I was just a matter a time before I dove into my Langdon’s fantasy.

Feel free to send me any suggestions if you want to read something specific.

Description: You are having your interview with Michael Langdon in hope to win your ticket to the Sanctuary. After a long day of questions and obvious interests in you, Michael offers you a deal, “If you tell me one more secret, I’ll tell you one too, do we have a deal, Y/N?”.

Warnings: Breeding!Kink (I tried), Blood play, virgin!Michael, virgin!reader, mention of previous loss, Smut (but it’s quick). It’s also kinda long (4.1k+ words).

“I could make you as easily as I could break you, Y/N”, the raspy voice of Langdon made your eyes flutter shut. He had been cornering you during your own “cooperation” session, pushing your buttons and bordering the limits of decency. Your legs crossed and lost in the multiple layers of violet velvet fabric draped from your waist, you softly intertwined your fingers and rested your hands on your knee in a poor attempt to hide the quivering limbs.

His impressive frame stood before you, resting at the edge of his desk, his left feet crossed over the right, towering a couple of inches away from your legs. He had been questioning you for hours, prying open each and every petal guarding the pollen of your thoughts. So long, in fact, that the bell Venable rung for dinner twice. “Once is an invitation, twice is a reminder” her voice informed you 18 months ago when you joined outpost 3. Ms Mead had knocked on the door once neither of you made your way out of Langdon’s room. She suspected something was going on. Something out of the realm of the laws.

 The golden haired man had simply dismissed her with a flick of the wrist, requesting that the (not so delicious) dinner of his guest were brought to his chambers. He had already made you skip breakfast, after all. “What would your father think of you now that you are halfway in the lion’s den?” he enquired once the door shut and Ms Mead’s footfalls disappeared in the winding corridors.

What would he think, you wondered. He was a righteous man and having a daughter as strong willed as you was his biggest pride. Langdon languidly paced around you as your thoughts got lost in your memories of your dad, praising how strong, clever and independent you had always been. The day the Cooperative came and took you due to you “genetic makeup” and pulled you from the only family you had always known was the first real heartbreak you had ever experienced. Weeks spent in this prison-like cell as bombs fell on the surface of the already shattered Earth.

“He must be proud of you. Look at you, self-made and holding your pretty little face high”, he leaned in the shell of your ear to whisper. He had stopped prowling around you, his hands now resting against the back of the leather bound chair you were resting in. The warmth of his face felt like a slow burn against the plush skin of your cheek.

 And it was gone. He straightened himself, wiping away the few crinkles that had formed on his dress shirt, then he made his way to the fireplace at the back of the room. Looking back at him, you noticed him pouring two glasses of water before motioning to the comfortable set of armchairs wormed by the dancing flames, inviting you to sit in it.

Your legs carried you towards him and the next thing you know, he was pushing one of the glasses in your fingers, standing tall and proud in front of you. His palm went to rest on your shoulder as he restated his slow dance of walking around you, stopping. His digits ventured down your back, stroking the stitch holding your zipper and when he brushed his way back up the metal teeth, you felt a small tug.

 Eyes wide, you felt the metal slide down a couple of teeth. Bringing the rim of your cup to your lips and taking a gulp of the water, much louder than intended, the realisation struck you. A few more teeth and the neck of the high collared dress opened in front of him.

“Pride comes with pain, doesn’t it, Y/N?” he breathed. “I want to play a little game. I will carry on my investigation” he paused, the zipper slowly gliding down to the top of the corset you were to wear underneath the heavy velvet fabric. “And you will keep a hold of this cup. Do not spill it or drop it”. He let go of the small tassel to pry the fold of your dress open. The burning touch of his fingers slipped under the velvet, exploring the untouched skin of your shoulder in a broken sigh.

His touch left your skin icy cold under it’s path and before you knew it, he was back at pulling down your zipper. So incredibly slow. Painfully slow.

 “You have been such a good candidate so far, unravelling the secrets you hold, he inched his face right next to yours, his cheekbones grazing your temples.

-I feel like I wouldn’t be able to keep them from you anyways, sir.

-If you tell me one more secret, I’ll tell you one too, do we have a deal, Y/N?”

 His ringed digits wrapped around your chin, pushing your face to meet his, the tip of your nose brushing against his. The urge to give in was nearly as strong and your will to resist him. Something totally out of the realm of your own possibility was drawing you to him. Was it the fact that he was always two steps ahead of you or the fact that he looked like he had been forged in Hellfire by the gods due to his impossible beauty?

A halting breath escaped your lips as your parted them, your gaze fixed on his own mouth. Your mind ran wild, trying to relive your childhood and reminiscing this long day of questioning. What had you not discussed yet? “I-I never missed my mother” your whispered.

A smirk crawled on his lips while his finger teased the zipper open wider than before, letting the whole of your corset exposed. He then started to play with the knot holding your frame encapsulated in the heavily boned bustier. His other finger went to rest on your lower stomach and it suddenly felt like your womb bloomed. “You can do so much better than this, darling” he whispered huskily.

 Your trembling fingers looked down to the cup and you quickly took another sip of water before your shaky hands caused it to overflow. A soft chuckle escaped Langdon’s lips. “You want to put that glass down, don’t you?”. You nodded without even realising, earning a new laugh from the man towering next to you. Sheepishly looking up to him, he rewarded you with a smile. Letting go of your skin and the fabric of your gown, he grabbed the cup and placed it back on the small coffee table. “Did I fail?” your voice trembled. You were not sure why you were frightened. Maybe was it the fact that his touch had left you craving for more? His golden locks swayed in the amber light of the fire lighting up the room as he shook his head no.

 “I’m a men of my words so I’ll tell you my secret. You and I are special.

- How so?

-My father tasked me to rebuild the world in his image, he grabbed your hand, pressing his lips to your palm before guiding it to his cheek.

- Your… Father?

-Yes, and he created you to be by my side and carry our legacy through the darkest times of humanity, pushing your fingers further up to lodge behind his right ear, pressing against an uneven patch of skin.

-L-legacy? I-I don’t understand, you stuttered, the pad of your fingers trying to decipher what Langdon guided you to feel.

-My name is Michael Langdon and I am the antichrist”

 In a shallow breath, his body pushed against yours, his lips suckling gently at the skin of your neck. Your eyes fluttered shut, salted drops prickling your tears ducks and streaming down your face. This could not be true. You had never been much of a believer but the idea that the spawn of Satan walked the Earth and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.

Tilting his head while his lips assaulted your neck, a heavy curtain of golden hair fell and revealed what Michael tried to make you feel. The mark of the beast imbedded in his flesh. The will to resist was now stronger than ever and you peeled yourself off of him. His face, twisted in surprise, stared at you and watch you stumble backward in an attempt to flee.

Desperate to run, you quickly crawled to your feet. A flick of the wrist from him brought the heavy candle holders to fall in front of you, blocking your only way to exit. How did that happen? Was magic abilities really something possible? “Now, little dove, no need to fly away. I will not hurt you.” His voice boomed and it felt like it thrummed through your chest. “This is not how the story ends for us” he continued, his feet bringing you to him. You turned to face him, after your eyes darted around the room for another way out but once your gaze fell upon him once more, that feeling in your belly returning.

“Your father was right, you were destined to accomplish greater things and carrying our child is one of them”, his feet carried him to you and you felt him reach for the zipper once more. What surprised you was that, despite the fact that he was gently pushing you against the desk, his hands pulled up the teeth closed, covering your exposed skin. His fingers trailed up towards the candle holders, pulling them up to their normal position without even touching them in what you assume is another display of magic. “I cannot have you running down the hallways half undressed, Y/N. What would Venable think?” he stepped back while pushing in fingers through yours.

 Bringing his lips to your knuckles, you noticed now that you had scrapped your skin during your poor attempt at escaping. His tongue ran across the exposed wound, licking off the small droplets of blood that had piled there and that’s when you heard the sound of the cane lurking outside.

Ms Mead opened the door, carrying the plate containing your dinner. The delicious cube that filled you with enough energy to wander around the chambers. The tapping of the cane came next as Venable entered next. Langdon reached out for the dish, giving Mead a generous smile as he carried your meal to the desk, his palm still linked with yours.

 “I expect you to join us for our apple bobbing contest later on today, her despicable voice rung, a fake smile plastered on her face.

-I’m afraid not, Y/N and I have much more conversations to have, Michael replied, a soft gaze running across your features, his thumb drawing a large circle on the back of your hand.

-I will not accept this insubordination, Mr. Langdon, she banged her walking aid on the floor.

- Ms. Venable, with all due respect, my guest and I are in no way obligated to follow your selfish laws. I am the Cooperative and I will not allow this conversation to go any further.

- Fine, she spat. I shall meet you after our party is over to discuss salvation.”

 The room grew silent as Michael gently sat you in the chair, inviting your to feast on your dinner. “Please bring us two of those apples from the crate the Cooperative has sent. There is no reason for Y/N and I to not celebrate Halloween as well” he smiled down at you as you gingerly ate the content of the plate. Ms Mead nodded and quickly exited the room. “This is not over, Langdon” Venable threatened before retiring for the room.

 His gaze focused on you once more, his fingers slowly losing themselves in your hair. His digits gently brought a piece of your locks to his nose before deeply inhaling. “I hope you are not frightened of me anymore” he whispered as her kneeled down to face you as you chewed the remnants of your dinner.

You nodded shyly, tears still threatening to spill. Bringing his face closer, he breathed in your ear again. “Give yourself to me, dove. Give in. I will make you feel ways you could never fathom” his fingers now wrapped around your stomach, one of them trailing down your thigh, the other up against your chest, cupping your breast. “Let’s rebuild this world together, Y/N.” was all he muttered before his lip sucked at the skin below your ear, ripping a small moan from you.

 You wanted to fight it. Thig urge. This arousal. This power you were somewhat given. His touch seemed clumsier as he stroked his fingers against you, the burning warmth of his skin scalding you with ecstatic Goosebumps. You linked your fingers to him, a sigh leaving Michael’s heavy chest. You felt like a soft little lamb at the mercy of the big bad wolf. But how bad could he be if the simplest touch of your fingers against him caused him to crumble.

 Feeling bold, the young man twisted the chair around so your legs landed by his crouched frame. Scalding caresses travelled from your ankle, to the back of your calves, twisting your belly in a coil. “Please, my dove, let me worship you like you deserve” he whispered, bringing your left ankle to rest on his shoulder.

 His lips planted wet burning kisses against the muscle of your leg, refusing to push a kiss past your knee as if he was waiting for your approval. His fingers, however, moved underneath the bloomers that covered the most sinful parts of your body. He touched, grabbed and explored the flesh of your outer thighs, setting mental boundaries for himself as he was getting himself absolutely drunk of the scent and feel of your flesh.

You slowly melted in your chair, gliding down the leather and tentatively close to him. A sly smile escaped his lips when his fingers adventured further than the borders he had bound for himself, grazing the limit of your inner thigh. A slow moan escaped your chest when he tongued a broad stroke from the base of your knee down to the crook of your ankle.

“You belong to me and now I belong to you” were close enough to wedding vows for you to give in more. “I-I-‘ve never” you began, before his lips attached to yours, soft and gentle at first. “I know, neither have I” he whispered, as if that kiss had suck all of the air out of his lung.

 His eyes travelled to the door once again and gently helped you up on your feet, smoothing the velvet of your gown and gently helping you rest against his desk. “Apologies, darling, but we have a visitor” he pressed another kiss to your knuckles, his eyes planted in your as the door open. Two grey clad figures pushed the large trunk full of apples in the room. “Here is your delivery, mister Langdon” Ms Mead informed, in a stern and nearly robotic tone. He smiled at the woman, thanking her for her help. He then dug in the chest, looking genuinely happy, pulling a Red Delicious and bringing it to your lips, his free hand falling on your hips while he nestled between them in an alluring display of power.

“I feel obliged to remind Mr. Langdon that fornication is a crime punishable by death” the dark haired woman said flatly and for a second, his eyes buried themselves in yours, watching you intently as you sunk you teeth in the sweet fruit, your hands gingerly wrapped against his own. He motioned blindly behind him, requesting for the figures invading both of your obvious privacies to leave the room and once the door shut, the two heavy panels separating the small study to his actual bedroom rolled open.

 Swallowing thickly, he wrapped his arms under your thighs, pushing you up against his chest and pressing his lips against yours. He span you around and in one quick move, you found yourself falling. How did he bring your from one side of the room to the opposite in such little movement? It barely felt like he even took a step.

His body felt heavy against yours as you heard the panels closed again. You subconsciously found yourself thinking a quick prayer for your soul. Or did you whisper? You were not sure. “I am going to worship you and together, we will reign over this kingdom of ashes and sin”. His words were enticing but you still had that will to fight it off.

 Stuck between fear and enjoyment, between hate and indifference, between love and it’s contrary.

 He quickly spun you around so you could rest on your stomach, the zipper of your dress flying open this time around and you felt his touch again, clamping on your shoulders before his lips did. “I won’t be able to hold the beast for long. I apologies in advance, little lamb” he hushed, his fingers quickly untying the knot holding your corset closed then impatiently yanking it open, allowing a deep gasp to feel the air.

You pushed one step further past your previously set boundaries, giving in more to the antichrist’s mercy. But the question burned your thoughts once more. What would my father think if he saw me giving myself to this incredibly alluring stranger? He used to think you were the perfect daughter. The perfect example. Freeing, is what this felt like, as Michael practically ripped the fabric of the rigid corset to send it to litter the floor of his bedroom. Twisting yourself to face the golden framed features of Michael, fright came over you as you saw his gaze, hungry for you, practically black. He gently shushed your worry away before he placed a new kiss to your lips, tasting the apple from your tongue this time around.

He peeled off the velvet from your frame, deliciously taking in your shapes while a growl tore out of his throat. “I need to consume you now, darling. Formality will wait. We have a legacy to procreate” he howled, tearing a gap in the soft fabric of your bloomers and soon enough, he had ripped his shirt off of his chest. Langdon pressed his, now exposed, skin against yours and you were thankful you had not been both naked since the warm touch of his flesh nearly blistered your epidermis.

Another zipper was flung open, but it was the one holding Michael’s trousers closed. “You were made for me just as I was made for you” he murmured as you felt him lining up between your wet folds.

 You could not fight against it anymore. The only solution was to give in to him fully. A primal and raw emotion came over your body, burning through your veins like wildfire. You pushed yourself up while pressing on his chest to sit him up, a surprised expression plastered along his beautiful features. As you moved up, you felt him slowly splitting you open, a guttural moan escaping him as he buried himself deep within you.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you pressed against his chest once more, letting him fall back on the bed, your hands clawed against his ribs as your forced your hips up and down, easing the pain shooting through your body as you stretched yourself around him.

A swift hand pulled your slip up, freeing your breasts and exposing them to the cold air. His face looked mesmerised by the revealed beauty you were now stepping into, taking leaps and bounding quickly away from your previous principles and morals.

 What would dad think of me now? You shushed the thoughts. You were never the perfect daughter and now that the apocalypse had fell upon Earth, you would never be. A new sound came out of your mouth once you rolled your hips in an undiscovered angle, a straight shot of ecstasy pumping through your veins.

Your lover, mouth agape in surprise, admired your body as your breasts gently bounced. He had never felt such pleasure before. Killing and torturing had become enjoyable, for sure, but this was truly otherworldly. He had trusted his father with the choices that had been made but he could not imagine this being any better in any way.

 A small whimper escaped your mouth once you noticed him devouring you with his eyes. His arms wrapped around your waist, reversing the roles again as he was now pinning you down on the mattress. His large length pulled out of you for the last few items of clothing covering the both of you to get peeled off of your skins. He sank back in you, pumping in and out “Oh Y/N, you will soon be swelling with my child and you will be my queen for eternity” he moaned, causing a rush of goose bumps to cover your skin. His thrusts became rough and harsh, pushing you deeper and deeper in the mattress, knocking the breath out of your lung. His eyes had turned completely pitch black, trying his best to keep the beast at bay. “Let it out” you groaned at him through gritted teeth at you filled the unfamiliar coil start to tighten in your lower belly.

 He fumbled to reach the small ceremonial knife you had failed to notice, his thrusts stopped as he pulled you up, the both of you sitting on the silky red sheets. His powerful arms carried you to the floor. Grabbing the blade and carving a gash on each of his wrists, you looked at him, your blood running cold. Is he going to kill me? You wondered. He shushed your thoughts as the metallic smell of blood started to pool in your nose. He discarded the blade. “I promise I will never hurt you” he whispered as he gently marked your skin red from his blood, drawing a pentacle right on top of your pentacle, his breathing growing more unsteady with each of his strokes.

The thumb he used to paint your skin was the pushed against your lips before he launched forward against, laying you down on the floor, his blood smearing on the tile and your flesh. His hips assaulted yours against while his thrusts picked up again, the coil you previously felt tighten twisted once more and before you knew it, Langdon had you flipped on your stomach, holding your hips up so he could quickly start drilling deep into you in an harmony of grunts and moans from the both of you.

 “La-Langdon” you tried to whimper. “Michael, call me Michael” he corrected in a deep growl. That coil twisted as you and for a second it felt like your whole body was about to cease underneath the weight of your lover as he dug deeper and deeper inside of your heat, filling you to the brim with his cock.

Moaning his name intensely, you felt that tension suddenly release, spreading through your body in less than a heartbeat. You gave in to him, fully. His fingers roughly dug against the plump skin of your arse, holding his breath and bracing himself for his own climax. He told you he would be putting a baby inside of you and in a sloppy string of broken moans, he did just that, unloading his seed inside of your fertile core.

 Breathlessly whimpering your name, he soon collapsed right against you, his expression full of bliss and relief. His arm linked around your waist, pulling you in gently, feeling himself softening already with a groan.

“Mead and Venable will soon barge in and try to assassinate me. I need you to stay safely hidden in here.” he brushed the sticky hair off of your face. “She will not hurt either of us as you and you remain in here” he whispered in the shell of your ear as goose bumps erupted against your skin.

 He pushed off of your body, admiring you languidly as he wrapped himself in a new outfit. He collected a small kiss to your lips. “My father really outdone himself with you, my dove” he breathed against your lips. The heavy panels separating the bedroom to the study opened again and he gently pulled you to his arms to lay you down on the bed, the blood now congealed and dried on your skin.

“Once I am done with her, I’ll come back to actually worship you like the goddess you truly are” he caressed your cheek before pulling himself off of you, walking to the study after covering your gently body with the soft silk covering his bed. With a soft wave of the fingers, the room was separated again and you silently grew impatient to be visited by Mr Langdon again.

[salaka-chan]

Hello and welcome to my 2nd chapter :3

Have you already noticed that Gaius' third eye looks different compared to the other Garleans? I really needed a backstory and here it is! I hope you will like it and I hope you enjoy reading it. <3

              https://archiveofourown.org/works/28660071/chapters/70606650

Shards of the past

She gazed lovingly at him with her jade-green eyes as she gently stroked his head, trying in vain to tuck the unruly hair behind his ears. Her slightly trembling calloused hands finally came to rest on his cheeks before her soft voice broke the silence. "You will grow up to be a beautiful man Gaius. You have your father's eyes and face and with each passing day you resemble him more."

"It wasn't my fault! Appius started calling Quinta a traitor just because she's missing her third eye. I wanted him to stop but... instead he called me a gutter brat of a... a...", Gaius paused and bit his lower lip angrily. Blood ran down his chin and dripped onto the worn floorboards.

His mother exhaled audibly before carefully running her hand over the extensive blue swelling on his cheekbone. "Sometimes it is better to be silent and retire for the time being. Battles are not won exclusively by brute force Gaius." With a fluid motion she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed away the dark red line on his chin.

"But if the other one sees that I am stronger, he will leave me alone! You don't need words or pretended silence! The stronger is automatically right too." Gaius noticed that his mother was now cleaning his chin with a little more pressure.

"You are still so young and inexperienced. Practice restraint and you will see that new paths will open up for you."

Sullenly, he turned his face away from hers and looked towards the window. It was already evening and the last dark red rays of the sun were beginning to fade on the horizon. As his mother put back her handkerchief, she clasped his face again and forced him to look into her eyes. "I know you are strong, but learn to understand. Empathy, restraint and patience also show strength."

"But..." he had to blink a few times before continuing," it's so hard mother." A warm smile was on her lips. "Even as a seasoned man, your father, much like you, had his problems with it."

Silence filled the premises as mother and son gazed steadfastly into each other's eyes. Her lips formed a soundless," My little wolf.". No further words were needed.

The following days passed without any incident. It was already late evening when Gaius looked down spellbound at the book in his lap. Complicated formulas occupied most of the pages, explaining the causal relationship between voltage, energy and resistance on a scientific basis and putting it into context with current Magitek technology. He was aware that he would not be a gifted engineer like some of the other tech-savvy ones at the academy, but he wanted to use this branch as a means to an end. His mother's pleas would not be in vain. He would prove his strength. In the way SHE would want him to be. Even though he resembled his father in outward appearance, he would not make the same mistakes as him. He would not lay down his life as a lowly soldier in battle. Instead, he would rather be passive and strengthened the army from the background. Although it was not possible for the Garlean to cast magic, thanks to their advanced technology, they still had a great advantage in open combat.

His father's gunblade was leaning against his bedpost. Countless scratches adorned the medium-sized blade. The cylinder was defective and could no longer be recharged, yet Gaius cared for the weapon regularly. It was the only thing his father had left him. … … … A paralysing emptiness reigned inside him when he received the news. His mother had been found in a secluded back alley. Dead. A drunken mercenary was about to have his way with a girl and no one around paid any attention to what was happening. No one WANTED to see it, except his mother. She stepped in and wanted to settle the argument through dialogue, but the outcome of this situation turned out differently than she had imagined. None of the people present on the spot could testify in the interrogation how it had come to the murder of his mother.

Motionless, he stood in front of his mirror and gazed at his image with a fixed gaze. The golden eyes studied the petrified features, those that had so often been caressed by the familiar calloused hands of his mother. The same one that had received countless kisses full of affection. Most of the time she had kissed his third eye, laughing in amusement when he complained that she was tickling him.

During each of their hugs, she had held him tightly against her, tousling his unruly hair even more as she whispered lovingly, "My little wolf," in his ear. A term of endearment she had only uttered when they were alone together. He could still feel the warmth of her body, while her scent was still present in the room.

His golden eyes took on a glassy expression. "Do you see it now, mother? The strongest always win, that is the law of this world. The strong get to rule over the weak." He pulled out his pocket knife and flipped it open. Without a moment's hesitation, he placed it on his forehead and with precise accuracy, cut out smaller pieces of flesh around his third eye. Dark red blood poured from the wound and most of it ran into his eyes as he continued his work unflinchingly with meticulous precision. Meanwhile, his lips were pressed tightly together in a thin line and made no sound at all.

Finally, he wiped his face several times with his sleeve before he went to his bed and took his father's gunblade. Back in front of the mirror, he examined the result of his work, the expression in his eyes now having changed. Wild unbridled determination flared in them. He would become a conqueror. On the battlefield he would show no mercy and subdue anyone who dared stand in his way. As a son of Garlemald, it was his duty to protect the Empire and suppress or destroy anything that stood in her way. All will tremble before him.His knuckles stood out white as he tightened his grip on the gunblade while looking at his third eye in the reflection.  

A vertical eye that was capable of analysing the surroundings better than magic gifted beings would ever be able to.  Blood continued to flow from the deep flesh wound, dripping at irregular intervals onto the floor, while a single telltale tear mixed with it and drowned in the mass. He would become a wolf, which will tear everything and everyone in the air. He was ready.

---

---

Gaius groaned in agony as irrepressible pain consumed his consciousness and seemed to steal his mind. Every fibre of his body pulsed in sync with his heartbeat, while even breathing pushed the Garlean to his limit. Dying. He could have simply died like his father on the battlefield, and given his current physical condition, that was still a possible option. Breathing as shallowly as possible, he tried to open his eyes to scan the immediate surroundings and evaluate his situation, which also turned out to be an extremely painful affair. At first, he only saw dark colour gradients before he realised that someone was bent over him, motionless. Bright, large green eyes looked at him with a rather cold expression and he couldn't help but think of jade for a moment.

--- The fresh evening breeze made the individual blades of grass bounce up and down, while one of the young woman's elongated black ears tilted to the side. Her puffy tail twitched jerkily as the man beside her began to stir, while the sound of a smaller waterfall rang out in the distance, occasionally punctuated by the excited chirping of birds.

Amber gold met jade green. Time seemed to stand still as the two eyed each other, never breaking eye contact at any moment. During his campaigns, the Legatus had already encountered countless beings, but the presence and the sight of this woman made his body freeze and he forgot all his pain for a short moment. He felt neither fear nor affection. Rather, it was a feeling he had always assigned to the weak up to that point. Fate.

"I didn't think you would wake up so quickly. Your condition is still critical and I am not sure to what extent my healing powers can contribute to your further recovery."

When the man tried to sit up, the stranger pushed him unyieldingly back onto the bed. "You will remain lying down. For now."

A mirthless laugh escaped the Garlean, which shortly afterwards turned into a rasping cough and the pain finally robbed him of his senses. Blackness enveloped him and let him slip into a dreamless sleep. A Miqo'te had saved his life. The irony of this situation was unparalleled in its absurdity and he would accept his assigned fate with his head bowed. At least for this brief moment.

[sevenincubistolemyheart]

Tainting Purity

Au: Demon Au!

Tag list: @bangtans-apollo @xsmilebitesx @wilhelminalucinda @xsunnyhoseokx @okgoogul @mariacorbi @spiritualotaku @littlekitten8590  @felic-ci  @saturated-pink  @fckyouartclass  @saraisthoughts

Rating: I’m gonna stay safe and say M for this entire series!

Summary: If someone told you that demons would be an everyday part of society a month ago you would have called them crazy.  But now that they actually were, you were surprised to find them much more docile than you would’ve initially assumed. In fact, it was the Humans who were hurting them, more often than not. So when you get fed up and stand up for an innocent demon being attacked, you shouldn’t have been so surprised when your own species turned on you, including your own parents, and left you to fend for yourself. Luckily, the newly made treaty calls for a Human to live with demons if there’s 5 or more, and so, you’re now rooming with 7 demons. But not just any kind of demons. Incubi. Your life has suddenly just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

Potential triggers: Mentions of being turned on and other sexual topics, as in this au the boys are all incubi. Brief cursing, kinks including a bit of thigh riding, oral fixation, and a fair amount of dirty talk. I’m gonna go ahead and add dubious consent as well.

Pairing: BTS x Reader/OT7 x Reader

Genre: Supernatural, Drama, Romance, Angst, Fluff, Hurt & Comfort

Length: 6.2k

To say that demons were not very accepted when they came out was an understatement.

People were understandably terrified, and there was a lot of questions to be had. The demons, to their credit, were actually very accommodating. They'd been sent up here to gauge our reactions to them, and were to live here. They explained the different types, because yes, different types existed. From Incubi to Fallen Angels to Ifrits.

According to the demons, the rest were merely grunts, soldiers with supernatural abilities. As for Lucifer, and where religion fit in with all of this, the man who asked found himself pinned by the throat with the warning to never ask again. That was the one question they vehemently refused to acknowledge. They wouldn't even say if angels or God existed at all.

As for you? You actually thought it was some elaborate hoax at first. You'd always believed in the Supernatural, very strongly in fact, but the idea that demons suddenly just decided to reveal themselves was just too unbelievable. Until you saw their powers first hand, anyway. When you saw fire burst forth from an ifrits hand right before your eyes to light his cigarette, it hit you all at once.

This was real.

It took you a few more days to fully come to terms with it of course. You did a lot of research and unfortunately weren't surprised to find many hate-based groups, determined to hate them in the name of “good” or “God”. Many protests and fights had broken out, both from demons, fed up from being discriminated against and Humans, scared of the unknown and in defense of beliefs that were now called into question.

But in addition to the hateful people, there was another group that fetishized them, especially the succubi and incubi. Since they fed on sexual energy, it was often a win-win but some of them were disgusted by it. After being the ones to use Humans and manipulate them for millennia, it just wasn't the same to have themselves be used as sex objects. Others still, felt it was a give and take, and many incubi and succubi liked it that way, rather than merely being used for their abilities. Many found amusement in it, but the ones that didn’t were often shunned by the fetishists just as much as those that hated them.

Then, of course, there was the largest group, made up of the ones that were afraid or caught in the middle, unsure of what to believe, and how to act around these new, intimidating creatures we’d all been taught to fear. Eventually, a representative stepped forward for the demons, and talks began with the united nations. Experiments were shot down, immediately, but low-grade demons who underestimated what Human technology was capable of were sometimes able to be subdued. Sex trafficking was a booming market for demon slaves. Sometimes, demons turned and helped Humans capture them, either for their own safety or even for food, in the case of Nogtisunes.

Eventually, a compromise was reached. The demons would not kill any Humans, and only fight back if genuinely threatened, and the Humans wouldn't exclude them from establishments or try to harm them. Needless to say, both sides weren’t exactly happy with the arrangement, especially the Humans, and the law was frequently broken.

You were on your way to your favorite cafe to meet up with your parents for a late brunch when you saw it happen. There was a person being kicked and attacked by a group of surrounding people, men, and female alike. You stood in shock for a moment, surprised that people were walking past this like nothing was happening before you huffed and sprang into action, pushing past the people forcefully and standing in front of the person to shield them. “What the fuck is wrong with all of you!? Who do you think you are to pick on this innocent-” You checked behind you at the male struggling to get to his feet. “Boy?”

A boisterous male stepped forward and shouted at you.

“Boy? As if! That thing’s a beast in Human form, it deserves nothing but the pain and suffering they gave us for so many years!”

You looked over as you felt a hand on your shoulder, gently pulling you back a bit, seeing the bloodied male rising to his feet. He spat some blood out of his mouth and grinned at the man. “Actually, my kind gave you nothing but pleasure. Just because you get off on inflicting pain on others, doesn’t mean we all do.” He said cheekily, eyes glinting as the man’s face turned a brilliant shade of red. You gasped pulling him behind you in panic as the man lunged. “Watch out!” You winced as the hit of the man's fist met your stomach, doubling over in pain as he scoffed.

“You stupid bitch! Why would you stand up for this disgusting creature?”

You rolled your eyes, even as you grit your teeth at the pain, forcing yourself to stand up straight again, even as your stomach pulsed in pain. “The only disgusting creature I see is standing right in front of me. This incubus didn’t do a damn thing wrong, and you had no right to assault him like this!!” You hissed at him in return, eyes alight with anger.

“Jungkook! There you are!”

You looked up towards the unfamiliar voices only to gasp as you were violently pulled into the crowd by your hair. You tried to get free but heard a voice you knew all too well scoff. “Can’t believe I actually raised a filthy monster fucker.” You wretched yourself away from the hand even though you lost some of your hair with a pain that had your eyes tearing.

“Dad!? I know you don’t like demons, but abusing them when they haven’t done anything to deserve it is wrong! The treaty was made for a reason!!” You said back coldly. “And I’m not “fucking” any of them, I just have the basic common sense to know that hurting anyone innocent, whether demon or Human is wrong. I thought you did too. Clearly, I was wrong.”

You turned towards your Mother, expecting her to be on your side as she typically was only to find her looking on in terror at something behind you. You turned and watched in awe as the injured boy, Jungkook’s wound healed, despite being openly bleeding when you’d jumped in to help him.

“Leave, and never come back.”

You abruptly turned back to look at your Mother in total shock, eyes wide at her quiet words.

“W-What?”

She shouted then, voice louder than you’d ever heard it. “I said leave! You’re no longer welcome in our household! I can't believe my own flesh and blood would betray her own species like this!! If I ever see your face again I’ll personally make sure you regret it!” She stormed off with your father in tow as you stared at the spot she’d once occupied, numb with shock and fear slowly creeping in.

“She’s right! You’re on your own now little girl, and you deserve the same as the filthy monster you stupidly tried to protect.” The few remaining people of the mob turned their attention to you, and you couldn’t even find the strength to bring your arms up to try and protect yourself as another boy lunged at you, about your age.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” A deep voice spoke from behind you, close enough that you could feel the warmth of his skin as he held the boy's wrist in an ever-tightening grip beside your face. He must’ve stopped the boy before he could hit you.

Another voice spoke up to your right.

“Try and hurt her again, any of you, and you’ll never get off again, got it?” This voice spoke in a cheerful, more high pitched tone, and you turned to look at him, causing the shortest male of the bunch to smile kindly at you. You finally processed what was happening and backed up further, going towards the group of incubi and sighing in relief as they circled around you protectively. You mumbled a “thank you” but you saw Jungkook nod out of the corner of your eye, so clearly he at least heard you.

The attackers were clearly on edge now at the shortest boy’s threat and reluctantly backed off though not before shouting at you one more time. “That’s right you filthy whore, run back to your demonic sex toys!”

One of the boys huffed a breathless chuckle and you could’ve sworn his eyes flashed fully black before he snapped his fingers and hissed back to the boy spitefully. “Have fun trying to cum now you little shit!”

This was all a lot to take in and you were starting to feel a bit lightheaded, as it all hit you.

“Hey, Seokjin hyung, are Humans supposed to be that pale?”

You shook your head, trying to clear your mind and get your bearings as you groped for something to hold onto, taking a deep breath to keep calm as your hand was guided to a muscular arm which you squeezed gratefully. Eventually, you managed to come back to yourself fully, and blinked a few times, thankful you could see properly without the world spinning as it had been.

Once you looked around you flushed as you realized the men who’d stood up for you earlier were now observing you intently. You looked to your right and quickly released the tall boy beside you’s arm, blushing further in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry! I just got a bit dizzy is all.” You apologized to him, sheepishly rubbing the back of your neck.

He smiled at you, but it seemed forced. Your attention was brought to the one you now know was Jungkook as he bounded confidently over to you. “Thank you for standing up for me. I can definitely make it up to you…” His voice trailed off into a seductive growl that had you swallowing, and you stepped back in surprise as his nimble fingers briefly slipped beneath your t-shirt to skim your bare sides, making you jump away. “AGH, n-no that’s really not necessary!!” You squeaked out nervously.

You gasped sharply as you felt someone nibble playfully on your sensitive earlobe from behind, and you quickly surmised it was your savior from earlier, as his deep voice clued you in. “Oh, but we really wouldn’t mind princess. It’d be our pleasure, and yours too if your currently soaking panties are anything to go by~” He purred in your ear, grinning as you wrenched yourself away from him and put a bit of a distance between you and the other boys, suddenly dizzy for a much different reason.

“That’s enough, I mean it!” Your voice cracked and you nervously avoided their gaze, not used to boys being so...direct like this. It was flustering beyond belief, and if you were being 100% honest with yourself, hot as Hell. You finally looked up and felt another rush of pleasure go through you at the sight of one of them tonguing the inside of his cheek as he looked you up and down. His intense gaze suddenly met yours and he smirked, causing you to blush a darker shade of red as you ducked your head once again.

“I-I don’t even know all of your names.” You pointed out meekly, hating how submissive these 7 men were making you feel with just brief touches and looks.

The one whose arm you’d been clinging to snorted in amusement at your dazed state but obliged you nonetheless, with a simple nod. “Fair enough then. I’m Kim Namjoon.” He motioned to his friend beside him and he took over with a grin. “I’m Kim Seokjin!” He blew a kiss your way and chuckled as you looked away shyly. “The name’s Yoongi, Min Yoongi.” Your attention was brought to the person who spoke and you found it was the one who’d cursed the boy earlier. “Hello!! I’m Park Jimin, and you don’t need to be so shy cutie!” He giggled as you smiled his way, realizing he was the other one who had stood up for you. “I’m Jeon Jungkook, though I think you know that by now.” The youngest spoke up with a smirk.

“Aww you’re so adorable!!” you tensed before forcing yourself to relax under the sudden attack hug, returning it before he pulled back. “Hi!” He chirped. “My name’s Jung Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi if you want!” His cheerfulness did wonders or your nerves and you found yourself smiling back as you nodded, stepping back and turning to face the last boy in the bunch. He looked you up and down slowly before he chuckled in that deep voice of his. “Kim Taehyung, but you can just call me Tae sweetheart.” The way that nickname sounded coming from him was not helping your arousal and judging from the way his smirk widened, you guessed he knew quite well what effect his words were having on you.

You waved quickly, offering them a smile, along with your name even as you were trying not to clench your thighs and give away how truly horny you were. “I really should be going but I’m glad I could hel-” You were abruptly cut off by Yoongi.

“Going where, exactly? We all saw what happened back there, do you have a place to stay?”

You winced at the blunt reminder but hesitantly shook your head. “Well, no, but I’m sure I’ll find someplace!” You scrambled for an excuse to leave, trying to brush it off but Jungkook intercepted your path before you could go any further. “I can’t just throw you into the streets after you stood up for me, and lost your home because of helping me. Please, come stay with us.”

You opened your mouth to protest but Seokjin spoke up before you could. “We need a Human anyway. You may not know this since it wouldn’t affect a Human such as yourself, but in the fine print of the treaty, it was made clear that groups of 5 or more demons need to have a Human live with them if they want to obtain lodgings. They...heh.” He shook his head with a sarcastic snicker. “They don’t trust us demons as it is, and they don't like the idea of us banding together without Human supervision.”

You saw Namjoon roll his eyes at that, and you mulled it over. You checked your phone and quickly came to the conclusion that you didn’t have much choice. You were just about to start college, and you’d dropped out of contact with your high school friends after you’d graduated so it wasn’t as if you had many options. “Well...alright, fine. But we’ll need to set some ground rules when we get to the house, okay?”

Namjoon spoke up with a nod. “Sure, that’s fine. C’mon, you can just sit on someone’s lap in the back of the car.” He said casually, beginning to lead the way. On the way Hoseok slung his arm around your shoulder once again, making you notice he was quite the touchy-feely type, not that you minded. He was pouting though, which made you tilt your head in confusion. “Something wrong Hobi?” He seemed to perk up a bit at the nickname and nodded, if a bit nervously. “Well...why do you want to set rules? Do...Do you not trust us?” His voice is quiet, but resigned, like this is something he was used to.

Your eyes widen in surprise and you look up to see the others, while still walking, had an ear tilted towards your conversation. “Is that what you guys think? Oh my God, no, nothing like that! It’s just because there’s 7 of you guys and 1 of me. Plus, even though I know a little about demons and such, I really don’t know too many specifics. I didn’t even realize you guys were incubi until Jungkook pointed out that one guy was a sadist. You are all incubi, right?”

You jumped back as you accidentally bumped into Seokjin’s back as they’d all stopped out of the blue.

“What’s-?”

Your mouth went dry as you saw every one of them glaring at you intensely.

“You want to make rules? Fine, here’s the first one. Never say that name in our presence again. Got it?” Seokjin’s voice was a low rumble, a clear warning held within his words as he looked you up and down.

It took you a moment to put it together before your eyes widened and you nodded in understanding. Of course they wouldn’t want to hear God’s name come from your lips...they were demons after all. “Sorry I really wasn’t thinking…” You mumbled, shrinking beneath their gaze. At your frightened form, the boys all softened a bit, and Hobi squeezed your shoulder reassuringly, as Jimin spoke up to the left of you.

“No worries sweetheart, we just really don’t like hearing that name. Especially from those that belong to us. It may not make sense to you as a Human, but it brings out the worst parts of all of us when we hear it. The last thing we want to do is lash out at you when you haven’t truly done anything wrong.”

Namjoon piped up from aways in front of you as you all began walking again. “Anyway, to answer your last question...yes, we’re all incubi. We have a few friends who are other species but the 7 of us like to stick to each other most of the time. Safety in numbers and all that. Not to mention the amount of trouble some of our other kind cause.” He said conversationally.

You nodded in understanding and got lost in your thoughts as the boys bantered between each other. Your arousal was finally calming down to your utter relief, and you jumped in surprise as Taehyung waved his hand in front of your eyes, an amused grin tugging at his lips as he startled you. “Sorry for frightening you, but we’re here and you didn’t hear us calling you...” He chuckled.

You smiled apologetically as you shook your head to shake away your leftover thoughts, laughing sheepishly. “Sorry about that guys, guess I’ve got a lot on my mind. Where should I sit again?” You asked, feeling shy all over again as you remembered you’d need to sit on someone’s lap so there’d be enough room.

3 voices overlapped as they spoke at the same time. “You can sit with me!” Jimin chirped, while Jungkook leered at you. “My lap’s always open for you angel~” He purred with a smirk, and the irony of him calling you angel after just telling you not to say God in their presence wasn't lost on you. Taehyung meanwhile, looked you over unashamedly, before he shrugged. “Whatever will make you more comfortable.”

Seokjin huffed at the three youngest. “You three are shameless. Give the poor girl a second to breathe, she just calmed down.”

Jungkook’s smirk only widened and he met your eyes when his tongue darted out to wet his lower lip. “Exactly. Makes it all the more fun to get her wet for us again…” His voice was low and seductive and you found yourself blushing again as you pouted at him, even as you felt yourself growing slick. “Cut it out, this isn’t fair!”

Jungkook merely raised a challenging eyebrow in response. “Oh? Am I getting to you that much?” He huffed a breathless laugh as you crossed your arms in addition to pouting. “You’re so easy. I’m not even really trying you know.” He boasted.

You scoffed at that, and rolled your eyes, ignoring the way you saw his own narrow. “Whatever. Would you mind if I sat with you Jimin?” He’d been the one to mess with you the least out of the younger ones, so you were praying he’d have more self-restraint than the other two and show you a little mercy. You’d definitely need a nice cold shower once you were alone.

Jimin perked up at the sound of his name and sent you a boyish grin that had you smiling back unconsciously as you ignored the glare you felt burning into your back. “Of course you can!” You all piled into the car then, even though Taehyung pouted and you could still feel Jungkook’s eyes on you.

You hesitantly sat on the edge of Jimin’s leg in between Jungkook and Taehyung, barely sitting at all due to nerves as you held the handle tight enough that your knuckles cracked audibly. It wasn’t Jimin that you didn’t trust, he was nothing but sweet to you so far, but damn, if you weren’t still a horny mess from Jungkook working you up again. You yelped as Hoseok suddenly stopped short, causing Jimin to instinctively grab your waist protectively and pull you into him, and also rubbing your clothed core right into his thigh in the process. You couldn’t help your whimper and 6 pairs of knowing eyes were on you in seconds.

A loud honk at the back of you confirmed that it was actually 7 though Hoseok reluctantly returned his eyes to the road. You could still see his gaze flicking to look at you in the mirror anytime he could though.

You ducked your head in embarrassment as your cheeks burned, the intensity of all of their gazes not helping your dripping arousal any as you crossed your legs, and cleared your throat, trying to at least maintain some of your dignity.

The atmosphere of the car was thick with sexual tension, and you could distinctly feel how much from Jimin’s boner at your back.

“You don’t need to be ashamed, it’s us who should be. We're typically much better at controlling ourselves than this. I'm sorry babygirl.” You flinched as the sound of Namjoon’s voice broke the silence after a few minutes. You met his gaze and he suddenly inhaled sharply as your pussy clenched at the nickname that left his lips, cutting himself off. “You’re just-” He let out a chuckle and bit his lip, trying to fight his urges. Noticing his struggle, Seokjin piped up from beside him. “You smell so good, and because you’re a virgin in so many ways, that’s only enhancing every sensation, and making us want you more.” He admitted, voice a quiet mumble.

You blushed at Seokjin’s crude words. “How did you-?” Yoongi cut you off. “We innately know any Human’s sexual experience, and their biggest desires typically as well. Even the smallest kinks, things you want to experiment with, even if only once...we know it all, at just a glance.”

Hoseok suddenly stopped short again as someone cut in front of the black SUV, making you cry out in a half-whimper, half-whine, without conscious thought.

“Hoseok please-!”

A few groans emitted from the boys as they fought desperately to hold themselves back, but others were quickly starting to lose their composure. Hoseok met your eyes in the mirror at the next light, eyes hooded with lust, but with a dangerous glint you hadn’t seen before. “Sweetheart, if you call my name like that again, there is absolutely no way I’m going to be able to stop myself from pulling over and fucking you raw.”

Yoongi snickered huskily, and hummed, knuckles white from how hard he was clenching his fists. “Calls your name? If she makes another fucking sound I’m personally going to make sure she screams instead.”

The dirty words made your mouth dry and you swallowed, but nodded obediently, biting your lip hard to hold back God forbid Hoseok stopped short again. You started as Jungkook and Taehyung suddenly decided to teasingly walk their fingers up each of your thighs, making you try to lunge for their wrists, only for Jimin to easily hold your hands back, with a strength that took you off guard. When you looked back at him in surprise, it was like he was a different person entirely from the sweet boy you’d met earlier. You’d taken his silence and stiffness for control, and clearly, that was a mistake. He smirked at your shocked expression, leaning forward to leave a kitten lick on your ear that made you squeak before you quickly bit your lip harder than before at the warning looks Hoseok and Yoongi sent your way as he continued to toy with your sensitive ears, driving you absolutely mad.

Your ears, neck, and inner thighs were all highly sensitive areas for you, and it looked like the three boys were going to take full advantage of it.

Jimin's lips moved from your ears to your neck and began to leave playful nips and kisses on the exposed area while Taehyung and Jungkook's fingers reached the top of your pants. They shared a long look for a moment before you heard Taehyung let out a quiet huff, and abruptly his mouth took over Jimin's previous position, nibbling and teasing your ear, not unlike he had done in front of the cafe earlier.

Your attention was quickly brought back to Jungkook as he slowly pulled back the waistband of your pants, making eye contact with you and smirking as his hand slipped into them. You glared at him, opening your mouth to protest when he let one finger caress your clothed core teasingly, making you flinch violently enough that Jimin had to tighten his grip on you while Taehyung giggled quietly in your other ear, sending shivers down your spine. "I almost forgot how sensitive virgins are...ah, it's just so fun to tease you like this!" He mumbled, before returning to attacking your ear with renewed vigor. Your breathing hitched, the pleasure becoming enough to really make you want to cry out, as you tried to squirm in Jimin's iron grip.

You felt him smirk against your neck, but were once again distracted by Jungkook as he leaned forward to tease your other ear, whispering quietly. "Aww, is it too much for you? Scared you're gonna bring attention to yourself?" When you nodded, starting to turn submissive as your situation finally hit you, you felt Jungkook's teeth suddenly pull teasingly on your earlobe in unison with Taehyung, making you slam your eyes shut at the pleasure and frantically kick the air, while desperately trying not to vocalize how you were feeling. "Look what a good girl you're being for us princess." You registered that it was Jimin's voice by your neck now speaking. "Don't worry we'll help you be quiet~" Taehyung's deep voice at your left ear was the only warning you received before he offered you his index and middle finger. "Open." His command made you want to obey but your stubbornness won out at being humiliated like this and you instead tried to move your head away from him...and went right into Jungkook. "I'd do what he says little girl. You don't want to have us force you, and then punish you do you?" His voice was teasing but when you scoffed and turned to glare at him, the seriousness in his gaze made you shudder.

By now, your panties were completely soaked through, thank God you chose to wear black pants today so it wouldn't be too noticeable. You gulped, but tried to stay strong in your decision. You couldn't let them win, not when they'd decided to play dirty like this. "F-Fuck all of you." Your voice was a hoarse whisper but they all clearly heard it. Taehyhung let out a positively bone-chilling chuckle by your ear. "Oh, you're going to wish you didn't say that." Jungkook merely hummed. "I had a feeling you were a brat when you rolled your eyes at me earlier but to think you'd use such language? Tsk..." His hand cupped your core so unexpectedly that you couldn't hold back your gasp as he hissed in your ear. "We'll fix that." Jimin was oddly quiet and it was only when you'd calmed down and Jungkook pulled his hand away that he spoke, voice even and gentle. "That wasn't very nice of you to say, you know. We were even going easy on you." That made your eyes widen. Easy!? You'd never been so horny in your life, he had to be joking!

"Oh well, guess we'll just do this the hard way. Open."

This time, you heard his voice in your mind as well, and when you tried to fight it, you found yourself steadily growing more and more turned on. You tried to squirm in his grip but Jimin simply giggled and forced you still again with his superior strength, voice still deceptively light. "Bad girl. I said open." It was steadily growing harder and harder, and you were fighting desperately against his instructions until your eyes were literally tearing from so much pleasure. Jungkook relished in this, wiping away one of your tears as it fell and cooing at you. "Aww look how cute she is, trying to fight us. C'mon little girl, it'll only get worse the more you resist." His voice turned serious, as he growled. "Give in...Open your mouth." His voice merged with Jimin's in your mind, and you finally crumbled under the power of their suggestion. But you didn't just open your mouth. You begged, the second your lips separated. "Please stop it!!"

Your eyes opened wide as you panted...and locked eyes with the other 4 boys, all watching your predicament. When had the car stopped? You couldn't remember or focus on anything besides the pleasure the 3 younger demons had been giving you.

Now that you were back to yourself though, it hit you like a train what had just happened and you scrambled out of Jimin's now lax grip, desperate to get out of the vehicle you'd been trapped in. You caught your breath, completely humiliated and eyes teary for a reason much different than pleasure. You felt a hand on your back and actually jumped away. "Don't touch me!" You demanded, even as your voice shook with held back emotions. You saw Hoseok looking at you guiltily and looked away from him to glare at the three who'd put you in this state.

"What the Hell did you do to me? You...You were inside my head."

Truth be told...that made you feel more violated than any of their other touches.

Jimin looked genuinely sheepish as he stepped forward to explain, frowning when you took a step back, but staying where he was. "It's an ability of ours. We can suggest ideas in Human's minds. We typically disguise it better by tricking your mind into thinking it's coming from yourself but we didn't do that this time."

That made you scoff. "There won't be a next time, make no mistake of that. You had no right to do what you just did okay?" You snapped, clearly irritated, though truthfully, you were also disgusted with yourself, because part of you liked it and you just didn't know what to make of that. As if he'd read your mind Jungkook spoke up as he saw Jimin's face fall.

"You're overreacting. We made you feel good and deny it all you want, but you liked every minute of it."

You blushed but shook your head. "Even if I did, that's not the point! You need my okay first, you can't just overwhelm me like that without any notice!"

"So we're okay to do it if we ask you first?" Taehyung asked, eyes hopeful.

You sighed, shaking your head in exasperation, "I can't do this right now. I need a cold shower and a pair of clean clothes first and foremost. Then we're setting ground rules. Alright?" Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin all reluctantly nodded and you turned to check on the older one's responses. Seokjin spoke up as you thought he would.

"I'm sorry, I should have stopped the-" You shook your head, holding your hand up with a tired smile. "Jin, I appreciate it, I really do. But I mean it when I say I can't do this right now. I feel absolutely disgusting, and I need a shower stat. Please tell me this house has a shower I can use to clean myself and calm down?"

"Oh, so you're still-ow!" Jungkook winced as Yoongi smacked him over the head for the suggestive comment he was about to make and you nodded at him in thanks.

"Yeah, I know where the shower is. C'mon, you can follow me inside." Namjoon interjected, starting to walk to the gate. It was only then that you bothered to take in where exactly you were. This place was so charming! "Woah...how the Hell are you able to afford this quaint little place?" You asked as you followed after him, trying to push what just happened to the back of your mind, at least for the moment. Namjoon smiled a bit despite himself at your childlike awe as he led you into the entry hall, the other boys not far behind, though they quickly separated to do their own things. "We've been demons for way longer than most, and while we've never had a need for Human money, whenever we recieved it, we kept it. You'd be surprised just how many of your kind tried to pay us for our services. It came in handy when we came to the surface, and let us get this place and any other necessities or things we wanted. We've got more than enough between the 7 of us to last us several mortal lifetimes."

You nodded in understanding as he led you further into the homey cottage, taking in its simplistic beauty as he opened a door and let you go first before closing the door behind himself. "I know you don't really have any clothes yet so I'm going to lend you some of mine for now. They'll be big on you for sure, but we'll go out and get some proper clothes with you tomorrow. The bathroom is right there to the left of you and there are fresh towels inside. I'll leave the clothes outside on the bed for you." He bowed his head and turned to leave when you asked him the question that'd been plaguing you since you'd first interacted with him.

"...Do you not like me for some reason Namjoon?"

He turned to face you with a smile that was a little too wide; eyes a little too perceptive.

"Why do you ask? I haven't given you any reason to believe that, have I?" He asked, voice calm.

You shook your head and shrugged. "No, admittedly, you haven't done anything outright. But all of the others have either shown explicit interest in me somehow or made an effort to be friendly, and you haven't really done much of either. In fact, the few times you have spoken to me, it's been very..." You searched for the right word. "business-like, I guess."

Namjoon observed you for a moment with an unreadable expression before he suddenly strode towards you, backing you up until you hit the wall behind you with a light thud. Your cheeks heated as he placed his hands on either side of your head, bending down to your height to look you in the eyes. He observed your expression for a moment, before he smirked suddenly, something you hadn't seen before. It changed his entire demeanor, making him seem much more intimidating, and suddenly you were hyper-aware of the fact that he was close enough that you could feel his breath on your lips. It smelled like cinnamon, and his cologne was intoxicating.

"Do I seem business-like now?"

His words snapped you out of your stupor as your gaze jumped from where you'd been observing his lips to looking into his eyes. You felt meek under the borderline possessive glare he was giving you and shook your head stumbling over your words as you were taken aback at his sudden change in demeanor. "I-N-No you don't!" His lips twitched into a smile then, and you found your mind going blank as his tongue darted out to wet them.

'I really want to kiss him.'

The thought came as your gaze flickered to his lips again, your thoughts drifting to how nice and plush they looked, and would surely feel against your own...you went to lean in, but he pulled away just as you were about to close the last remaining inch. Just as suddenly as he'd cornered you, he was leaving with a simple wave of his hand. "Go ahead and take all the time you need in the shower, the clothes will be there when you get out, and we'll have lunch once you’re ready."

You blinked once. You blinked twice. Then, you let out the breath you'd were holding and sank to the floor, cheeks blushing a ruby red as you recalled just how close his lips had been to your own. Your fingertips brushed against your lips and you sighed. You'd been so close to losing your first kiss. Seokjin wasn't wrong when he said you were a virgin in more ways than one. It was a bit embarrassing for you to be entering college, never even have experienced a real first kiss yet. Though living with these boys, you had the sinking feeling that wasn't going to be the case for much longer, no matter what rules you put in place.

What the Hell had you gotten yourself into, agreeing to stay with these people?

A/N: And that’s a wrap on the first chapter! I really, really hope you guys enjoy this, since I kid you not I stayed up until 5am last night typing all of this out lol. I worked really hard on it, so I hope it paid off! I think this’ll be a really fun world to play in so I’m excited to continue the journey with all of you guys! 

Please send me an ask and let me know your thoughts since I crave validation and praise as much as Jimin! Also, feel free to tell me who you like the most so far, or who you’re looking forward for the reader to have interactions with! Kinks you potentially want me to explore would be super cool too! I take all of your feedback into account when I write! 

Okay, bye-bye thank you so much for reading!

[translightyagami]

@anon i’m going to post the fic prompt here, because tumblr is garbage and won’t let me do a read more cut on the ask??? anyway...

13. Being Experimented On

(this one is death note with a sort of L wins!AU spin)

He puts on music and tells you about his first case. Nimble fingers, their cool delicate flicker like a spider on your forearm, roll up the sleeve of a shirt that isn’t yours. You haven’t had your own shirts for a week; your father is supposed to send them soon. This shirt is Quillsh’s, whose name is knowledge you can sink your teeth into and never, ever taste the meat of. Useless without your notebook. Useless without your power.

In Russia, he tells you, there are few good people but many people in good costumes. He pauses, his dry lips the only color on his face that isn’t plunked through with ink, and taps your bare arm. Another tap, and you wonder what he’s looking for. Probably a good vein. To be honest, it don’t matter if he finds a good one or a poor one. The first vein always rolls on your right arm and he’ll have to try your left. Light has such reluctant veins, he says to you each week. Do they have something to hide too?

I want to go home, you tell him.

Another week, L talks down toward your forearm with its dishonest veins. Surely, you owe me another week.

When he was six, Quillsh took him off the streets of Leningrad and into the loving arms of capitalism, invention, and international criminal justice. Sorry, he rubs the skin inside your elbow, although he’s not apologizing for his pinching grip. I mean to say Saint Petersburg, but you know how it is to forget. Then he smiles; ha, ha. The great L makes a little joke. Your chest is a sinkhole, bigger and sucking, when he presses the needle to the vein. Cool steel—oh like those fingers, they circled your wrist when that thirteen days was up, when you were still alive—splits the flesh, cuts inside. A first time for everything—the vein doesn’t roll. L focuses his dark eyes on you and the sinkhole widens.

What do you care about names of places? You look anywhere but your arm—his pointed chin, the white chintzy ceiling tiles, the door with its little glass window—and land on a lamp where a fly is dying. Death buzzes are so loud and maybe, just maybe, if that fucking Shinigami hadn’t backtracked, you’d have heard L in his death flailing as an insect might.

Names are important, he says. You know that. Now, be still and listen to the story. This injection will sting.

He’s lying—it’s fire in your blood and only the leather restraints keep you from writhing in pain. Instead, you let out a strangle wail that he talks over. Story, story. Listen to the story.

His first case was also in Russia, which is funny because he told Quillsh he never wanted to go back. Snow and shit is what he remembers about his “home” but now he remembers it as where he saw his first dead body. Someone in the old regime killed their wife—a beautiful woman, L admits, although the people he interviewed said she was stupid as a stump—but not a single enforcer could prove it. Quillsh brought him in, held his small hand as they walked through an opulent hotel with gold framed paintings and mirrors on every wall, and delivered L right into the room where the wife’s corpse laid.

I vomited, L tells you as torture infects your body. You see, I can’t respect your distance from your victims. If you ever saw death, your stomach would be stronger. But you have a weak belly, Light, and a brilliant mind never outweighs weak bellies.

The needle slips out of you and so does a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Tears stick on your cheeks and a sob leaks out along with blood from the puncture wound. L presses a cottonball to the bleeding, wraps gauze around it and secures it with a butterfly clip. His movements are tender. You are special to him, he’s told you before. He wants you in good condition because the experiments depend on your health not being a variant. There’s always good food delivered to your room—a prison, even in how comfortable the bed is, how beautiful the crown molding, how elegant a desk L got for you—and he handles your body without cruelty.

The wife was shot in the head, but L found hand marks on her neck. Strangled, killed accidentally perhaps? His expression flickers with amusement when you ask this and admits it was his first conclusion too. Music swells as he takes out his memo pad and scribbles a note or two. His eyes on your pained twitches and crumpled moans are two microscopes zoomed into the details of your reaction. She was strangled for fatal purposes, then shot to give the loyal militsiya an excuse to not know the killer. But the wife had been having an affair with a man close to Quillsh, who brought his little genius in to catch the bad man who did it.

But when we brought the evidence to them, he talks to his own hands, empty now that he’s set the memo aside, the law enforcement told myself and Quillsh there could be no trial, as this wasn’t a crime.

He killed her, you hiss between clenched teeth (justice? Where’s the justice? You saved them, you saved the world from criminals and he locks you in here and he experiments on you and he—)

She had an affair, L says. That was enough justification for them. Good riddance they said when we showed them the strangulation marks. I was very upset and didn’t speak to Quillsh for weeks. It was a strained time.

Pain dies down and now there’s only ache in your bones. Your eyes are heavy; your mouth is both too wet and too dry. L folds his hand in yours and you squeeze it. The combination of the twin grips is a promise—not a handshake, but a sealing of flesh together.

Humans can justify anything to themselves, he tells you, same as he told you the day you agreed to let him test on your body in exchange for a lifelong house arrest sentence. He told you he wanted to know how Kira worked, what your limits were. Anything so we can say we’re good people. A conscience can be endlessly placated but justice cannot. We live in an unbalanced world, a world with a weak stomach that won’t look at the body in the room even though it won’t go away. Do you understand?

You don’t understand, you never do, so you don’t says yes. He pats your hand, stands up, turns off the music and lets you know Quillsh will take you back to your room.

I’ll make your stomach strong, he whispers to you. I’ll show you the bodies.

[missblissy]

Title: It’s in the Past Fandom: Red Dead Redemption Genre: fanfic, angst, one-shot, drabble, SUPER ANGST Characters: Dutch Van der Linde, Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Hosea Mathews, Van der Linde Gang

!!!MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!!! 

The air stung on its way down his throat. Surprising. He thought of all breathes he’d ever taken, this one would be the most painful. But it was only bitter and cold and he felt nothing at all. The wound in his side hurt more than breathing. Fascinating. You’d never read about that in a book, huh?

It didn’t matter anyway. The wind around him was chilly and gusting with a power he wished he had. 

Weak. He told himself. Weakness brought you here.

Weakness is what made boys into men and humans stronger but only when they could defeat that weakness and make it a strength. Dutch could never do that. He tried. But he just couldn’t. No matter how much he tried, he remained a weak, weak boy who grew into a weaker man, a man who couldn’t change.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you are near death, or on your way there. It didn’t really flash. He imagined it to be like lightning shooting down from the heavens during the darkness of a thunderstorm. No. It was nothing like that. It was more like a fog rolling off a lake in the middle of the forest to plague the fauna with its misty haze.

He could remember things all of a sudden that he had forgotten behind his walls of sanity. He saw his mother reading to him on those first few nights his father had left for the war. He could remember loving his parents, his father carrying him on his shoulders, teaching him to read and shoot. His father was always a military man so he could also remember the beatings he’d get for disobedience. He didn’t hold that against his father though, because honestly, he’d beat himself too for half the shit he’d done. 

Oh and how much he had done. Proud much? No. Not anymore at least, and certainly not for a long time. Dutch didn’t know what pride tasted like anymore and even if he did, he wasn’t sure if he’d enjoy it much.

He had hurt his mother, first off. Ture, yes they didn’t get along, but that was Dutch’s own fault. His father was killed, sure. But he ran away from home. His mother loved him, cared for him, and only wanted the best. Yet that could not stop her unruly son from lying to her, stealing from her, getting in trouble with the law, and then running away in the night without a single trace. If he hurt anyone the most, it was her.

The slow fog of his life moved on. He remembers his father leaving for war. He remembered running away. He was so cocky then. So very untouchable like the law itself. But he was more than the law, wasn’t he? He was better than the law!

That’s when he found Hosea. Oh... Hosea. You sweet bastard. At least he didn’t get to see Dutch now. Like this. A monster. No matter how much he tried to fight it, he knew what he was. He knew he was no different than those bastards who brought him to this point in his life. First the lawmen, the Pinkertons, the government itself. His own... well... he felt as if it was flesh and blood.

He couldn’t deny he was a monster but he knew he loved them at one point. His gang, his family. Arthur... John... Susan... He even loved Bill and Javiar. The girls... The grimy little boy Kieran. Uncle... He smiled at the thought of that older drunk fucker. Oh, how he loved them all. He felt for so long that he had found his purpose. He failed them. It was as easy to see as the sun. 

He tried so hard to be a better man, a good man. A father, lover, a son and a brother. He was doing good for a bit there. Perhaps it started when his father died. ANd it got worse when Annabelle was taken from him. Death a can do a funny thing to you. But he felt what he had suppressed long ago rise and swell like the tides and the moon. It was just so so very easy to stop caring. People are going to die. People are going to betray you. So why not do it to them, before they can do it to you? It didn’t feel that simple, as it is when you can’t describe your own emotions. 

It was easier to be angry, to lash out. He’d lost his marbles for being on the run and chased down. He was a murderer and lair and it only got worse. It’s easier to blame the lawmen that chased him. But he knew, then and now, that he didn’t need to kill all those people. He didn’t have to rob them. He could have just sat there in the dirt with the rest of the country. But he had such big dreams and those dreams could never happen if he stayed in the dirt where he belonged. 

God had a funny way of making him laugh though. He had climbed so high up this ladder. He’d started with his first petty theft of a few dollars, to his first murder, his first robber. He did it all. He was a king of kings. He cut a scar so deep into America that people would remember his name and what he did for the rest of time. 

But it’s funny how it turned into the world’s longest suicide note. He sure did make a mess of things, didn’t he?

He looked over the side of the cliff he found himself stuck on. It had only been a second. All those thoughts cluttered his mind as he took a step, and another forward as he found himself closer to the edge.

There was no surprise when he looked over his shoulder and found his match.

“Hello again, John,”

John inched closer while he stood his ground, “Hello Dutch,”

Oh, this was indeed funny. He deserved this and he couldn’t help but twitch a smile at this friend and foe, “We gotta stop meeting up like this!” He waved his gun slightly, edging on a laugh.

“Sure,” But John didn’t sound so amused.

He wouldn’t be either if someone had been chasing him down and shooting at him for the past several days, and only seconds before. It hit him while standing there on this mountain, that this was his boy. His boy that he raised, that he taught, that he saved and was saved by. A brother and a son. 

“I got a plan, John,” It felt oddly nice to say those words again. He didn’t expect comfort from those memories. Perhaps it was just the blood loss, or fear, or something he didn’t understand.

“You always got a plan, Dutch,” Even John’s words made him feel something, despite there deadpan ton and the threat of gunpoint.

But he snorted slightly with a poor single chuckle, “This is a good one,” He felt something in his chest boil down to a slow cold and icy pit. He threw his gun behind him and listen to it fall down the cliffside.

He remembers, and saw part of his life again in that single breath. He remembered Arthur... Another son and brother. He remembered the first time he thought he might die.

John lowered his gun in surprise and stepped forward, “I don’t doubt that,”

He felt all those feelings he did just moments before and pulled in a quick cold breath, “We can't always fight nature, John.” He shook his head and inched closer to the cliffs below, “We can't fight change,” He paused for a second breath, “We can't fight gravity, we can't fight nothin'. My whole life, all I ever did was fight...”

“Then give up, Dutch!” Oh John... he was. But he knew what John meant. He could never turn himself in.

“But I can’t give up, neither,” He wouldn’t let them win. In the end, he wanted to be the winner. He wanted to get away and this was the only way left, “I can’t fight my own nature,” He had spent so many years after Arthur died being a monster. He killed more he fought more he did more damage and he had done it with rage, “That’s the paradox, John. You See?”

John didn’t waste a second, “Then I have to shoot you,”

But that didn’t matter, “When I’m gone, they’ll find another monster. They have too because they have to justify their wages.”

“That’s their business,” John you stupid boy. He was always dumb, wasn’t he? 

Dutch faced him and stood square with the wind pushing him against a bottomless pit. He shook his head. Took a breath. It hurt. It hurt as much as he expected it to be. The words slipped from his lips and they tasted bitter. 

“Our time is passed, John,”

[rootofjesse]

(Lyrics) The Great Day Of Judgment

SoundCloud Player Version

Music, Lyrics and Spoken Words by Leslie (aka Jesse) Hughes ©

 The provided lyrics for Jesse’s SoundCloud Player Version of ‘The Great Day Of Judgment’ come from Jesse’s Spoken Word and Song Versions of

‘The Vengeance Kept In Reserve’:

 Chorus:

How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true ((Rev 6:9-10, Dt 32:15-43)

Until you judge the inhabitants of the earth

And avenge the blood of your servants?

 How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true ((Rev 6:9-10, Dt 32:15-43)

Until you take vengeance on your adversaries

And repay those who hate and lie to you?

 How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true ((Rev 6:9-10, Dt 32:15-43, 2Pt 2:1-4, Jude)

Until you put sinning angels in gloomy dungeons of darkness bound in everlasting chains

To then serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire?

 And how long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true ((Rev 6:9-10, Dt 32:15-43)

Until you blot out your enemies from the memory of mankind

And have the heads of the enemy leaders with a sharpened flashing sword?

 Final Chorus

And this is what the Sovereign Lord says (Dt 32:15-43)

To these godless ungodly sinning men who worship a no god (Dt 32:21, Jude)

Who make the Spirit who is the Lord jealous by their not god, non-god, no god

(Dt 32:21, 2Co 3:17, Isa 11)

And who anger the Holy Ghost who is the Lord with their worthless, detestable idols

(Dt 32:21, 2Co 3:17, Isa 11)

That they sacrifice to demons, which are not God (Dt 32:16-17)

Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults?

It is mine to avenge; I will repay

In due time the devils foot will slip; their day of disaster is near

And their doom rushes upon them

I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line (Isa 28:9-22)

And hail will sweep away the devils refuge and lies

And water will overflow their hiding place

Their covenant with death will be annulled

Their agreement with the grave will not stand

When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by

The devils will be beaten down by it

As often as it comes it will sweep the devils away

For morning after morning, by day and by night

It will sweep on through the synagogue of Satan

And the understanding of this message will bring sheer terror

To the devil enemy leaders who made a lie their refuge

And falsehood their hiding place that are staying there

 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says (Dt 32:15-43)

To the detestable, disobedient, unfit for doing anything good (Titus 1:10-16)

Do nothing, useless devils

Whose only work has been to bring the way of truth into disrepute (2Pt 2:1-4)

With their shameful ways and their minds always busy doing evil (2Pt 2:1-4, Isa 32:1-8)

Who practice ungodliness, and spread error concerning the Lord

Who are the false teachers secretly introducing destructive heresies

Even denying the Sovereign Lord who bought them

Bringing swift destruction upon themselves

Who in their greed have exploited our people with foreign gods

And stories they have made up

Who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality (Jude)

And deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord

Who lie to the Holy Spirit the God of Gods and Lord of Lords (Acts 5:1-11)

With their hearts filled with Satan

Who are the godless, ungodly sinning men who worship no gods (Dt 32:15-43)

And make Christ a detestable idol muffin

They sacrifice to demons and witches that are not God

And their condemnation has long been hanging over them (2Pt 2:1-4)

And their destruction has not been sleeping

For God does not spare angels when they sin

But sends them to hell, putting them in gloomy dungeons

To be held for judgment

 Therefore this is what the Holy Spirit who is the Sovereign Lord says (Dt 32:15-43)

See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me

I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal

And no one can deliver out of my hand

I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever

When I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment

I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me

I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh

And I will avenge the blood of the souls of my servants under the altar slain

(Revelation, Dt 32:15-43)

Because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained

Who call out in a loud voice to the Sovereign Lord’s name

And I will take vengeance upon the murderers since the beginning of time

Who worship the father of lies, worthless idols and a no god (Jn 8:31-58, Dt 32:15-43)

Who lie to the Holy Spirit, men, and God Almighty with their hearts filled with Satan

(Acts 5:1-11, Isa 14:1-23)

And these sinning angels will be put in gloomy dungeons of darkness (Jude)

And bound with everlasting chains

To then serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire

Until I blot out these sinning angels from the memory of mankind (Dt 32:15-43, 2Pt 2:1-4)

And have the heads of their enemy leaders with a sharpened flashing sword

Therefore, rejoice, O nations, with his people

For the Sovereign Lord will avenge the blood of his servants

He will take vengeance on his enemies

And make atonement for his land and people

 Verse One:

For there are godless ungodly sinning men who worship a no god (Dt 32:21, Jude)

They make the Spirit who is the Lord jealous by their not god, non-god, no god

(Dt 32:21, 2Co 3:17, Isa 11)

And they anger the Holy Ghost who is the Lord with their worthless, detestable idols

(Dt 32:21, 2Co 3:17, Isa 11)

That they sacrifice to demons, which are not God (Dt 32:16-17)

They are a perverse generation of children who are unfaithful (Dt 32:20)

And the Spirit who is the Lord will hide his face from them

And see what their end will be (Dt 32:19)

For this is what the Spirit who is the Lord says

I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them

I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague

I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust

In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign

Young men and young women will perish, infant and gray-haired men

Until they are scattered and blotted out of the memory from mankind

Therefore, do not be adversaries of the Lord, who is the Spirit (Dt 32:27)

And misunderstand and say 'Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this’

For you are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in you (Dt 32:28-29)

If only you were wise and would understand this and discern what your end will be!

How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight (Dt 32:30-33)

Unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?

For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede

Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom

And from the fields of Gomorrah

Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness

Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras

 Verse Two:

For there are ransomed lambs and bondservant slaves (Revelation, Dt 32:15-43)

That are held captive in prisons, behind stones in a cave

To be purchased as gold refined in the fire

From accusers, thieves, devils and liars

They were faithful to the word of God and did not deny his name

They are the souls under the altar that have been circumcised and slain

And they call out to the Sovereign Lord

To avenge their blood with a sharpened flashing sword (Dt 32:15-43, Jude)

And the Sovereign Lord will judge his people and have compassion on his servants

When he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free

He will say to the ungodly sinning devil angels who worship no gods

And worthless detestable idols they sacrifice to demons, which are not God

Now where are your foreign gods, your rock from the vine of Sodom

And the fields of Gomorrah you took refuge in?

The foreign gods you ate the fat of your sacrifices

And drank the wine of your drink offerings to?

Let them rise up to help you, let them give you shelter

On the Great Day of your judgment spoken of in the book of Jude

For Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied (Jude 1:14-15)

About these men whose condemnation was written about long ago

Who lie to the Holy Spirit with their heart filled with Satan (Acts 5:3)

See, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming with thousands upon thousands (Jude 1:14-15)

Of his holy ones from the order of Melchizedek

To judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly

Of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way

And of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him

 Verse Three:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! (Mt 23)

You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces

Yet you yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to

And woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!

You travel over land and sea to win a single convert

And when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are

And woe to you blind guides, when you say

If anyone swears by the temple it means nothing

But if anyone swears by the gold of the temple he is bound by his oath

You blind fools, which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

You also say if anyone swears by the altar it means nothing

But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by his oath

You blind men, which is greater the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it

And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it

And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne

And by the one who sits on it

 Verse Four:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! (Mt 23)

You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin

But you have neglected the more important matters of the law

Justice, mercy and faithfulness

You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former

You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel

And woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!

You clean the outside of the cup and dish

But inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence

Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish

And then the outside also will be clean

And woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!

You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside

But on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean

In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous

But on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness

Verse Five:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! (Mt 23)

You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous

And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers

We would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets'

So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants

Of those who murdered the prophets

Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?  Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers

Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues

And pursue from town to town

And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth

From the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah

Whom you murdered between the temple and the altar

I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you

How often I have longed to gather your children together

As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing

Look, your house is left to you desolate

For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord is the Spirit

And where ever the Spirit of the Lord is we have our freedom from devils and demons

The entire law is summed up in a single command

To simply love your neighbor as yourself

And no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid

That is Jesus is the Christ and Jesus is the Lord

  I am a New Order, New Age and New Covenant Gospel Rock and Roller preaching the Gospel to the world in the tradition of Dylan and Springsteen. My songs and spoken words metaphorically interpret the Bible and book of Revelation, helping to shine a light upon Bob Dylan’s lyrical clues. I serve the Spirit of the Lord, and dedicate my eternal Star to serving my King the Holy Spirit of Truth (Isaiah chapter 11 and 2 Corinthians 3:17) and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, the day of God’s Salvation and the New Covenant (Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah chapter 61, 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:7-13) by measuring the temple, unsealing the scroll in the book of Revelation and preaching the true metaphoric interpretation of the Gospel to the world inspired by Mt 13:35 and Ps 78:2 that states “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world." Visit my home pages to view my complete lyrics, Gospel references, notes and sketches. Thank-you to all my friends who listen to my songs and spoken words, and read my notes. Your friend and brother, Leslie aka Jesse Hughes

 Revelation Timeline references include:

God Almighty and Son of God Revelation timeline references: Rev 1:8, Rev 12:10, Rev 16:5, Rev 21:6 and Rev 22:13.

John and Son of Man Revelation timeline references: Rev 1:4, Rev 1:17, Rev 4:8, Rev 11:17, Rev 17:8, Rev 17:11, Rev 19:10, Rev 22:8-9

 Significant Gospel references:

2Co 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where     the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom”

Gal 5:14 “The entire law is summed in a single     command “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Ro 10:1-13, 1Jn 2:18-27, 1Co 8:4-6, 2Co 3:17-18     Jesus is the Lord and Jesus is the Christ, and the Holy Spirit is the Lord

Acts 13:20-23 Saul’s kingdom removed

Ro 1:18-25 The wicked men who suppress the truth

Mt 16:23, Mk 8:33 Jesus rebukes Peter and says     “Get behind me, Satan!”

Isa 32:1-8, 2Pt 2:1-4 Scoundrels no longer     respected who bring the way of truth into disrepute and spread error     concerning our Lord

Jn 8:31-58 children of the devil and father of     lies

2Co 11:13-15 Satan masquerades as an angel of     light

Acts 4:36-5:1-11 Joseph’s property stolen by the     devil and liar to the Holy Spirit

Acts 23:1-3 Paul struck down by a whitewashed     wall

Ge 41:41-43 Joseph rides a chariot in front of     Pharaoh

Ge 42:24 Simeon bound

Ge 42:36, Ge 44:2, Ge 47:21, Ge 46:4, Ex 6:2-4,     Jacob and Benjamin deceived

Acts 12: 1-3 James slain and Peter seized

Mt 14:1-12, Mk 6:14-29, Lk 3:19-20 John beheaded

Acts 8:30-31, 2Ti 3:15, Philip’s who never had     Bible since infancy

Acts 22:12, Ro 2:13 Devout observers and those     who obey the law

2Ti 3:8 Jannes and Jambres oppose Moses and the     truth

Ge 9:25, Ex 6:2-4 Noah curses Canaan

Deut 32:15-43, 1Co 10:1-5, Heb 3:1 to 4:16, Heb     11:13-16 God displeased with the disobedient images of God’s word in the     human ancestry of Christ that do not return like Enoch to the city of God

The Books of Romans, Galatians, Jude, 2Pe 2:1-4,     Titus 1:10-16, Isa 14:1-23

 Further Gospel References:  Ezekiel Chapters 29-32, Isaiah Chapters 11, 14, 28, 44 and 61, Jeremiah Chapter 46,  and Jer 31:31-34, Heb 8:7-13, Rev 6:1-9, Rev 6:9-11, Rev 7:2-8, Rev 7:13-17, Rev 12:1-12, Rev 13, Mt 19:28, Rev 4 & 5, Rev 16:4-16, Rev 17:1-18, Rev 19:11-21 Rev 21 & 22, Dt 32:15-17, Jn 16:5-15,  Lk 10:18, Mt 16:23, Mk 8:33, Mt 24:27, Lk 17:22-24, Rev 4:5, Rev 19:10, Rev 22:8-9, 2Th 2:4, Rev 15:7 to Rev 16:16, Rev 12:1 to Rev 13:18,  Mt 14:1-12, Mk 6:14-12, Lk 3:19-20, Heb 3:1 to Heb 5:10, Heb 9:9-10, Zec chapter 3, Heb 8:7-13, Jer 31:31-34, Heb 10:15-18, Gal 5:14, 2Co chapter 3, the book of Jude, Tit 1:10-16, 2Pe chapter 2, Mt chapter 23, Heb 11:13-16, Ex 6:2-4, Jn 3:27-31, Jn chapter 1, 2Cor 4:4, Col 1:15, 1Co 11:3, Ro 1:18-23, Ro 10:6-9, Ro 9:5, Acts 23:1-3, Acts 24:24, Acts 5:1-10, Isa 14:3-23, 2Co 11:13-15, 1Sa 8:4-18, Isa 28:9-22, Mk 7:1-23, Ro 14:1-4, Col 2:8-23, 1Ti 4:1-7, Mt 21:24-27, Mk 11:27-33, Lk 20:1-8, Phm1:1, Phm 1:9, Phm 1:23, Acts 8:29-31, Jn 14:8-16, 1Jn 2:22-27, 2Co 3:17, Lk 4:19, 2Co 6:2, Lk 20:41-47, Mt 22:41-46, Mk 12:35-37, Gal 3:16-20, Jn 8:31-58, Rev 3:9, Ro 2:17-29, Heb 10:1-9, Heb chapter 7, Gal 5:2-14, Acts 13:20-23 and most importantly by the Holy Spirit 2Co 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”, and as Gal 5:14 says “The entire law is summed in a single command “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 (Please note that a Jew and Israelite in a metaphoric interpretation of the Gospel is not a person of Jewish heritage, it is a metaphor for a part of all of us that is a Jew within and another part of us that is a Gentile within -see Romans 2:28-29- and how these two parts become one in Ephesians 2:14-22, Ezekiel 37:15-17 and Romans 3:27-31, also how there are those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars- see Revelations 3:9)

 Here are some links to my songs, complete lyrics, Gospel references, notes and sketches:

http://www.facebook.com/rootofjessesongs

 http://www.facebook.com/jesserootof

https://www.soundcloud.com/rootofjesse

 https://twitter.com/JesseRootof

 rootofjesse.tumblr.com

 http://www.myspace.com/jessesongproductions

 www.pinterest.com/JesseRootof

 https://goo.gl/K98kcr

[easyhairstylesbest]

Your Husband Cheated. Should You Be Able to Sue His Mistress?

“Did you say things like you love Elizabeth Clark?”

“Yes. She was my wife. Of course I would have said that at the time.”

“Okay. And did she say she loved you back?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“And did you love her at the time?”

“No.”

“You’re saying you didn’t love your wife.”

“No.”

“You just said you loved her?”

“Yes.”

That was the first time that Elizabeth Clark was in the same room as her ex-husband, Adam, and his new partner, Kimberly Barrett, the woman he’d cheated with. Though Adam and Elizabeth had been sharing custody of their two children since they separated, she hadn’t really seen Kimberly “face-to-face,” just brief flashes through car windows and the like, not “in the flesh.” But now here was Kimberly, seated to Elizabeth’s left, while her husband of nearly eight years sat on the witness stand answering questions about the demise of their marriage. As he spoke, Elizabeth tried not to look at anyone but the lawyers and the judge. But she believed Adam was lying. At the time of their separation, he had told her how much he truly cared about her, and she believed him. So much so that she sued Adam and Kimberly. In particular, she sued Kimberly for “alienation of affection,” a legal term used to describe the breakup of a marriage by a third party.

Cases like hers are rare in the U.S. overall, but they are somewhat common, though controversial, in North Carolina, where Elizabeth and Adam live. For such a claim to be successful, the plaintiff has to show that some degree of love existed in the marriage; that this existing love and affection was alienated and destroyed; and that the malicious conduct of a third party contributed to its loss. To defend herself against the lawsuit’s claims, Kimberly argued Adam’s affection couldn’t be alienated if it didn’t exist in the first place. As his testimony went on, Elizabeth couldn’t help but break down crying. But, she says now, “The only way to help yourself is standing up for yourself.”

Alienation of affection lawsuits are rare in the U.S. overall, but they are somewhat common, though controversial, in North Carolina.

MIKE BELLEME

The story of how Elizabeth and Adam Clark got to the courthouse that day in August 2019 begins about a year earlier at a restaurant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Elizabeth was working as a bartender. One night as she poured beers for two attorneys, Michael Porter and Jose Coker, she told them about how her marriage had ended because her husband had cheated with another woman and gotten her pregnant. Porter and Coker said they thought they could help her, and the next day, Elizabeth found herself sitting in Porter’s office laying out evidence as they explained how she might be able to sue for alienation of affection.

The legal argument behind such cases dates back to colonial times, when wives were considered the property of their husbands. Under common law inherited from England, men (and only men) could sue for harms they faced when women were unfaithful. Sex wasn’t a prerequisite. A mother-in-law who poisoned a wife against her husband could be labeled as an alienator; so could a church that convinced a wife to join the convent.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, alienation lawsuits flourished in the U.S. Even one of the nation’s most esteemed families was ensnared: In 1911, the millionaire playboy Alfred Vanderbilt married a divorcée whose husband threatened to sue for alienation. (The two settled out of court.) Many believed the lawsuits helped to reinforce good morals, though critics argued such policies were sexist. In response to demands for equality, states started to enact Married Women’s Property Acts in the 1800s, granting married women the ability to own property and collect wages—and file alienation of affection lawsuits.

“The only way to help yourself is standing up for yourself.”

But the move toward equality also caused a reconsideration of the legal tactic altogether. Could spouses really be considered property that could be stolen? Over time, many came to believe the markers of a modern marriage—respect, admiration, teamwork—could not be mandated by a court. The media showed how claims could be used for blackmail, greed, and revenge, and in the early 1900s, states began repealing alienation of affection statutes. Today, they are allowed in just six states—Hawaii, New Mexico, North Carolina, Mississippi, South Dakota, Utah—but are infrequent in all but North Carolina, which has the highest number of such lawsuits in the nation. The Family Law Section of the state’s bar association has tried to persuade legislators to revoke the tort, but has been repeatedly thwarted by socially conservative organizations. “This tort has a strong lobby,” says Carolyn Woodruff, a North Carolina attorney. Experts estimate the state sees about 200 such cases each year. Both men and women sue, typically targeting defendants capable of paying the awards. Because lawyers are “savvy” about vetting cases, Woodruff says, “most plaintiffs win.”

When her courtroom battle began in the summer of 2019, Elizabeth Clark knew what she was up against. Both she and Adam took turns on the stand describing their marriage. They had gotten engaged in 2010 after dating for more than a year. They planned their wedding in a hurry because Adam, then a captain in the U.S. Army, was stationed in another state. She bought a wedding dress at Kohl’s, assembled the cake from a mix in a box, and invited whatever family could make it. But, as she told the jury, the weekend of the ceremony, Elizabeth discovered Adam had been messaging other women. He consoled her, explaining it away, and Elizabeth celebrated as best she could. Still, after the wedding, Elizabeth couldn’t shake the feeling that Adam was cheating. She created an ad on Craigslist, where she had found him trolling for women, to see if he would reply. Instead, she wound up connecting with a man she’d previously dated, she told the jury, and the two of them carried on an affair for a few months before Elizabeth and Adam confronted each other about their mutual infidelities and promised to recommit.

After that rocky start, things seemed to improve. They went to marriage retreats, talked to a chaplain, and tried to strengthen their bond by writing love letters. Their son was born in 2014, their daughter in 2015. Adam proved himself a devoted father. “I thought it was going very amazing,” Elizabeth told the jury. “He was very loving, very caring, very affectionate.” Little did she know, Adam still had reservations, which he confessed to years later in court. In the spring of 2016, Adam met Kimberly, an army ob-gyn, when he was sent to Virginia for several months of leadership training. He and the 14 others in his class, including Kimberly, became close, working out as a group and periodically having dinner on weekends. Elizabeth felt a change in her husband’s behavior. She testified, “He wasn’t coming home as often. He started staying up there. He wasn’t texting me as often.” Late one night, she called his room and couldn’t reach him. Through a tracking app, she discovered his phone “pinging [at] the other end of the hotel.”

When Elizabeth asked Adam about his changing behavior toward her, he brushed her off. But when he came home one July weekend, Elizabeth checked his phone and saw he was texting with someone. When she called the number, she heard a woman’s voice, she told the jury.

Elizabeth Jamison (formerly Clark) and one of her lawyers, Michael Porter, who told her she might be able to sue for alienation of affection after learning of her husband’s affair.

MIKE BELLEME

Elizabeth saved the number and was able to figure out the woman’s name. When she asked Adam if he knew someone named Kimberly, he insisted they were just friends. But, Elizabeth would testify, she remained suspicious. Then, in August, she got the confirmation she was seeking: Adam had sent Kimberly a photo of his penis.

Two weeks later, Elizabeth and Adam separated. North Carolina mandates a separation agreement be in place for a year before couples legally file for divorce. The period is supposed to be a time for both parties to think about their decision. Elizabeth and Adam continued to see each other in the messy, complicated way many newly fractured couples do. “He would keep coming over and seeing the kids and in between—I mean, I was doing a lot of crying. And he was holding me, and we had sex a couple of times,” she told the jury. They continued to see each other on and off for months. She wanted to make the marriage work. In August of 2017, to keep him interested when they were apart, she sent him a topless photo.

The final straw came soon afterward, when Elizabeth learned Kimberly was pregnant. Adam had given her his sperm to use for IVF treatment, according to trial testimony. Kimberly told Elizabeth’s lawyer in court she wasn’t aware of the extent of the sexual relationship Adam was still having with his wife at the time:

“Did your partner tell you that he was still telling his wife [at] the time that he loved her and sending sex videos to each other?”

“No.”

“…What was he telling you about the relationship?”

“He told me their relationship was over, that the divorce would be finalized September 11th.”

“He lied to you; didn’t he?”

“I don’t know—”

“He didn’t tell you about that?”

“He didn’t tell me about this.”

The final straw came when Elizabeth learned Kimberly was pregnant. Adam had given her his sperm to use for IVF treatment, according to trial testimony. In August 2018, Elizabeth filed her alienation of affection lawsuit.

MIKE BELLEME

It is not unusual to see wronged spouses in North Carolina be awarded millions of dollars in damages. In 2011, a Wake County judge awarded what is believed to be the largest alienation of affection judgment in state history—$30 million—to Carol Puryear, against Betty Devin for breaking up Carol’s marriage to her husband, Donald Puryear. Proponents say these cases protect families by deterring infidelity and treating marriage as a contract like any other. Without such repercussions, what is there to prevent cheating? “If you see these large monetary awards, and you’re considering having an affair, you might think again about it, right?” says Marcia A. Yablon-Zug, a family law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. On the other hand, she says, some of the judgments in North Carolina have been excessively punishing, especially given how common adultery is. And while such cases are known as “heart balm”—torts meant to soothe the heart of someone who has been wronged—the acrimony caused by the lawsuits arguably creates more strife for the plaintiff and their family, especially when there are children involved. Others say the fact that such cases are rampant in North Carolina but nowhere else calls their legitimacy into question.

“The good outweighs the harm,” insists Porter, Elizabeth’s attorney. “The alternative would be that she would have no recourse.” Elizabeth and Adam’s divorce was finalized in February 2018; she received nine months of alimony, or $4,950.

In the months that followed the divorce, Elizabeth and Adam’s relationship grew more combative. Adam and Kimberly built a house on land he had once shared with Elizabeth. Over time, Adam disputed the amount of child support he had agreed to during the separation and ultimately stopped paying it, according to trial testimony. Elizabeth also saw the topless photo of herself that she had sent Adam (and only Adam) posted online in a solicitation for sex. (An investigation later traced the origin of the photo to Adam’s IP address.)

Elizabeth was awarded $3.2 million. Adam was ordered to pay $2 million; Kimberly, the remaining $1.2 million. While it is unlikely Elizabeth will receive the full award, her lawyer is confident she will receive some portion over time.

MIKE BELLEME

In August 2018, Elizabeth filed her alienation of affection lawsuit. In court, Porter presented Kimberly as desperate to start a family. “Ladies and gentlemen, she had spent her whole adult life on her career, which unfortunately sometimes leads you to a place where you’re over 40 and you realize, Oh no, I never had that family that I also want.… And now here I am and it’s getting too late.” So, Porter argued, she decided to steal the life that Elizabeth had built for herself: husband, children, and home. The defendants’ lawyers presented the marriage as troubled from the start and Elizabeth as an adulterer in her own right.

After 51 minutes of deliberation, the jury came back with a verdict: Elizabeth was awarded $3.2 million. Adam was ordered to pay $2 million; Kimberly, the remaining $1.2 million. The judge also awarded Elizabeth $10,000 in liquidated damages under North Carolina’s so-called “revenge porn” statute for the topless image Adam had posted. While it is unlikely Elizabeth will receive the full award, Porter is confident she will receive some portion over time. Adam and Kimberly, who have since married, are appealing.

Elizabeth reverted back to her maiden name, Jamison, and has also remarried. When she meets the new Mr. and Mrs. Clark, the interactions are formal. Even though, at press time, she hasn’t seen any of the money, Elizabeth says she’s gained something intangible from the experience. “I just want people to know that it’s okay. Help yourself. It’s the only way,” she tells me. “This was my way of going, ‘Don’t be afraid. Speak out.’”

This story appears in the February 2021 issue.

Sushma Subramanian Sushma Subramanian is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Mary Washington and author of How to Feel: The Science and Meaning of Touch.

Your Husband Cheated. Should You Be Able to Sue His Mistress?

[spirify]

Predator

“Kill or be killed. Be the predator of be the prey”. For twenty-four hours, the act of murdering another human being is considered legal. Few will be the night hunter and shed blood, and few will be the night-hiders and hide in the shadows. Who will be facing the verge of their death?

BGM BTS - Sea Piano Cover | Smyang Piano when there is hope, there is trials.

Predator

Terrified screams, horrified expressions― the lust for blood splattered across the cement walls does not end, not today. The only sound that echoes throughout the silent city is the mechanical buzzing created by the swift movements of six, highly technical weapon― dynamos. It effectively slashes flesh without a noise, too quick to even scream for mercy. The humanity is endangered, the population is decreasing at a fast rate. All because of one person, by the name of Add.

Predator, Edward Grenore, widely known as 'Add'. Since birth, his father abandoned his family that included Add himself and his mother. The mother who had to support his son's living, became a prostitute but soon enough, was brutally murdered due to unpaid debt. Since then he started to deeply despise the society and its culture. With naturally gifted skills: intelligence and swift movements, he was able to create six dynamos to assassinate every single human being. He have murdered numerous people prior to the government legally accepting the act of murdering for the next twenty four hours. Since the law is not kept in place, the number of victims continuously multiplies as time ticks by, as his main goal is to kill every single human being residing in his own city.

Add glanced up at the night sky, not a single petal of stars bloomed in the darkness. The only source of light was created by the full moon that illuminated down to the earth, absorbing the holy light. The humanity is the only enemy, and he will avenge his mother. Even if his fate ends up being his own death.

The sound of his shoes tapping on the marble stones are absorbed into the earth, not even echoing to others' ears. Silently and slowly, he turns his head to the side. His bloodshot, amethyst eyes glowing with bloodlust in the abyss of darkness. A feared woman and a child, embracing each other as they shake with terrorized looks.

Why are they even scared of him? He didn't even do anything. Yet.

With a lunatical smile slowly appearing upon his lips, he walks toward the innocent family.

"Please, at least let the child live o―," The woman spoke, only to be cut off as her neck was sliced in half. Blood gushed out of her body like a waterfall. The child's eyes widened with shock and fear, realizing that this nightmare is actually a reality.

At least your last memory will be with your mother. At least you will die with your mother.

Why? Why does this child have the chance to be with his mother even at his last moment? Why didn't I get to have that choice? Why did mother leave me? To rot in this world called hell.

Jealousy and anger overwhelmed the lunatic, staining his soul with insanity. He raised his arms slowly and rested his palms on top of his head, running his fingers wildly through his ruffled up silver hair. A chuckle escaped out of his mouth, only to transition into a psychopathic laugh that echoed throughout the silent city.

"Goodbye," Suddenly, his wild laugh changed into a gentle whisper, saying farewell to the little child as he slashed his neck with his dynamos. Pool of blood spreaded throughout the marblestone, staining his shoes.

Prey

What was that?

Trembling in the corner of her room wrapped around in blackness, the vulnerable female thought to herself. The sound of a maniacal laughter echoed into her ears, creating even more panic within her impotent self.

Prey, Ara Haan, widely known as the daughter of the Haan family, who are famous for their excellent spear fighting skills. However, that only meant more attraction for possible assassinations. With predator's advancement with technological weapons, the Haan family decided to stay quiet inside of their house, hidden in the shadows.

Just mere hours ago, two predators that were equipped with most advanced technologies invaded in, effectively murdering the two adults without much of a hassle. They used their equipment to turn invisible for couple seconds. Ara's father who had sharp instincts, realized something was wrong with the environment as he smelled foul smell of blood diffusing in the air. The father ordered Ara and her mother to go upstairs, yet both of her parents decided to fight in with the two predators while Ara escaped. She wanted to fight alongside them, increasing the possibility of winning the invasion yet her parents demanded that she should run upstairs. Obeying their orders, Ara hid herself under the shadows in the corner of her room, staying quiet. The two invaders could've walked up stairs to murder her as well, yet it seemed like her parents died along with the two predators, since the house was eerie quiet.

How much time have passed…?

She glanced up to see the clock hanging off of her wall, yet no light was reflected and instead, the clock was hidden under the shadows. She couldn't see anything. The only source of light was the moonlight illuminating through her window. If she moves just an inch, her flesh will be shown under the moonlight, for the predators to prey upon.

Then it was that moment, when her door cracked open. With a silent gasp, she quickly turned her head toward the bedroom door, a shadowy figure slowly walking towards her. Her palms turned cold and sweaty, but she gripped her hands tighter. If she was going to be preyed upon and be killed right here, it would better if she fought with her murderer, for there is a chance that Ara will be stronger.

Yet her opponent was not the usual kind of a night hunter. It was no other then Add, himself. The well-known serial killer who won't be a match for Ara, was standing right in front of her.

Escape? Fight back?

Did she even have a choice? Does she even have a time to make an escape for it, perhaps jumping out of the window? Does she even have the power to fight back? Only source of her weapon is her spear which she was gripping on for hours that it made a dent. On the other hand, he has six dynamos with a speed that a human eye cannot catch. She gulped down the fear and stood up with her trembling legs, ready to take action.

Yet that was not the case.

Add sat down next to her.

Wounded, exhausted, seeking for shelter yet the time is not over. He found a well-built house that would protect him if any hunter dared to even challenge him. The house was intricate enough with multiple shadowed areas, being the perfect place to hide and rest. Due to his fatigueness from fighting all day, he did not sense the fresh blood on the top bedroom floor. He too, was taken by surprise that another human being was already here.

Yet it was those apricot eyes.

She wasn't staring back at him with frightened eyes as if he was a monster. Instead, her eyes were ignited with determination.

In this sickened world of nightmare, somehow those apricot colored eyes brought hope.

"Time's over," He whispered.

"Kill or be killed. The act of murdering is now illegal starting this moment," The robotic voice echoed throughout the city.

The city is awfully quiet.

"Congratulations to the two who survived for the past twenty four hours,"

Predator ― finished.

clarification:

Add was close to finishing his original goal: to kill everyone in the city which he resides in. Even though he had one second left to kill Ara, after seeing those apricot colored eyes that seemed to tell him hope, he did not.

note:

i had outline of this story but didn't work on it until recently, and i made a lot of changes to the ending! i wasn't planning to make it just two surviving as if it was a hunger game or something lmao but i think the ending somehow worked out!

i just hate how everything looks so neat and nice in google docs, like the paragraphs were indented and stuff but copying and pasting it here ruins the format :c /aesthetic ruined also working on a lot of one-shots! i feel like most of them are add x ara or something lmao

Rielin’s Fanfiction Site

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

10th April >>  Celebration of the Lord's Passion (USA)

Good Friday 

(Liturgical Colour: Red)

(There is no Mass today. The readings given here are used in the afternoon celebration of the Lord's Passion)

First Reading

Isaiah 52:13—53:12

He himself was wounded for our sins. (Fourth oracle of the Servant of the Lord.)

See, my servant shall prosper,

he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.

Even as many were amazed at him—

so marred was his look beyond human semblance

and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man—

so shall he startle many nations,

because of him kings shall stand speechless;

for those who have not been told shall see,

those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard?

To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up like a sapling before him,

like a shoot from the parched earth;

there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,

nor appearance that would attract us to him.

He was spurned and avoided by people,

a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,

one of those from whom people hide their faces,

spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,

our sufferings that he endured,

while we thought of him as stricken,

as one smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our offenses,

crushed for our sins;

upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,

by his stripes we were healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep,

each following his own way;

but the Lord laid upon him

the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted

and opened not his mouth;

like a lamb led to the slaughter

or a sheep before the shearers,

he was silent and opened not his mouth.

Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,

and who would have thought any more of his destiny?

When he was cut off from the land of the living,

and smitten for the sin of his people,

a grave was assigned him among the wicked

and a burial place with evildoers,

though he had done no wrong

nor spoken any falsehood.

But the Lord was pleased

to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,

he shall see his descendants in a long life,

and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction

he shall see the light

in fullness of days;

through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,

and their guilt he shall bear.

Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,

and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,

because he surrendered himself to death

and was counted among the wicked;

and he shall take away the sins of many,

and win pardon for their offenses.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 31:2, 6, 12–13, 15–16, 17, 25

R/ Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In you, O Lord, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

In your justice rescue me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit;

you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.

R/ Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

For all my foes I am an object of reproach,

a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;

they who see me abroad flee from me.

I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;

I am like a dish that is broken.

R/ Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

But my trust is in you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.

In your hands is my destiny; rescue me

from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.”

R/ Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Let your face shine upon your servant;

save me in your kindness.

Take courage and be stouthearted,

all you who hope in the Lord.

R/ Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Second Reading

Hebrews 4:14–16; 5:7–9

Jesus learned obedience and became the source of salvation for all who obey him.

Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

In the days when Christ was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Philippians 2:8-9

Christ became obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him

and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.

Gospel

John 18:1—19:42

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM,” they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.” When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?” They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews answered him, “We do not have the right to execute anyone,” in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die. So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,” in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:

They divided my garments among them,

and for my vesture they cast lots.

This is what the soldiers did. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

(Here all kneel and pause for a short time)

Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:

Not a bone of it will be broken.

And again another passage says:

They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[neen-writes]

Prince Mononoke -- Chapter 7

Series: Fairy Tail/Princess Mononoke

Pairing: Gajeel/Levy

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Rating: M for violence and language.

Summary: Afflicted by a terrible curse, Levy is forced to abandon her home and her family in search of a cure; a journey that throws her into something far greater. She finds herself stuck between the world of humans, struggling to pull ahead and evolve, and the world of demons and gods, where she meets a beastly prince with a heart of unwavering loyalty and determination.

Note: And...here it is.  Over a year since the last update, I never wanted to give up one this story.  I told myself I wouldn’t, and I always sat and would look at the started chapter, two paragraphs, and then get distracted by something else.  So, this chapter is for all of you that have somehow waited so long for this update.  Thank you to all of you, and thanks to @spikerr for beta-ing for me :]

Read this fic on FF.net here, and Ao3 here

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6

From the green, a frothing, roiling mass of brown pelts came into the light.  More boars than they could count marched forward, tossing their heads to brandish tusks of varying length.  It was a warning to weigh carefully how to react to their appearance.

Reflexively, Gajeel moved to between them and Levy, his eyes narrowed in apprehension.  Immediately the attention of the boars went to the beast prince, and wails of disapproval filled the air.  Some stepped back, fully repulsed by the sight of them both in such a place.  But what had repulsed them more, was the calm leopard god standing near them, yellow eyes piercing them in a way that could only be interpreted as defensive.

“How could you bring a human to such a sacred place?  The humans would kill the forest.  We must save it,” one of the larger boars, near the front, spoke up.  He stomped the earth repeatedly with a defiant, proud hoof and tilled the soil.  “How repulsive to see one in such a place as this; this is not what we expected to find here.”

Metalicana did not flinch, instead he took one fluid step closer to his son and the girl.  The very motion brought a collective shudder and tensing from the group in front of him.  At this time, another black cat emerged from the shadows behind him, bringing even more alarm to the group.  Pantherlily sat, quietly but tensely behind the larger panther, his tail swinging idly behind him. Just once, he curled a lip to show his teeth, letting a little of his anger show, before he relaxed his face again and adjusted his paws in front of him.

Had Metalicana not committed to remaining calm and keeping the situation as controlled as possible, he might have laughed at the fear of the pigs.  Prey all act the same.  So frightened.  So weak.  “There are humans everywhere, you know.”  His giant tail swished silently behind him.  “Gajeel is my son, tread carefully.  You’d do best to go back to your own forests and butcher the humans there.  You need not have come so far for ours.”

The boar that spoke before found his composure again, and snorted.  “We must kill for the Forest Spirit.”  Slowly his dark gaze went to Gajeel, who in his pelt looked like he belonged more than the figure on the ground behind him.  His eyes settled next on Levy.  “Why is the girl here?”

“The Forest Spirit healed her,” Gajeel stated, tight-lipped.  If he’d had his way, he and Lily would have torn into them as soon as they dared confront them like this.  This was their territory, and this confrontation was outrageous.  

The very words were a blow, and the entire group stepped back, shaking their heads in earnest denial.  Now words rose up from everywhere in the herd.  “The Forest Spirit healed a human?  Saved her?  A human!  Why not one of our own?  Why not Nago!  Does the God of the Forest not protect us all?”

A sharp hiss cut into them and steadied them just enough for Metalicana to speak again.  His coat bristled enough to add even more to his bulk.  “You know as well as I that she gives life and takes it away.  We are not to question her ways.  Have you forgotten this?”  The black leopard tilted his head, baring a yellow fang.

The confident one hesitated only a second at the very quiet warning.  But no more than that second as his rage started to bubble.  “Nago came into your lands.  Injured, poisoned.  Debased.  Why did you not help him?  Why was the Forest Spirit’s favor stolen for another?!”

“Your brother feared death as much as I.  As do any of us with sense.  Like Nago, I carry a poisoned stone in my flesh.  A gift from the humans.  Nago ran from this.  I will face it.”  Metalicana was perfectly calm, composed, but as though in response a pulse of pain shot through his shoulder.  He could feel Gajeel and Lily’s eyes on him suddenly, burning into him and demanding that he acknowledge them.  The panther had not mentioned this until now, but he knew as soon as he was hit that the scalding metal would kill him.  Slowly, but kill him nonetheless.  He had accepted it already, but the human boy and the other cat would take time he didn’t have right now.

Still, this was not an answer the boar clan would accept.  “You lie!  Nago was brave!  Beautiful!  He would not have run!  You must have eaten him!  Traitorous cats!”  The rest of the herd wailed in agreement, churning the soil with their hooves.  They inched forward in their rage, but the leopards stood firm.  Even though he knew to not say anything, Pantherlily did not stop himself from firing off a terrifying snarl of warning, ears pinned back against his skull.  They could have counted every tooth and fang with the intensity of his snarl.

Gajeel could remain quiet no longer.  He stook a short leap forward, baring his teeth as well.  His black mane fell around his face, adding to his size and the feral look he had adopted.  “Watch yer damn mouth, pig!  Don’t ya forget who my father is!” he snapped.  A growl from the leopard god warned him, but he did not back down.  He was ready to fight for such disrespect.  His father’s sensibility would not stop him.

“Please...listen…”

But that tiny, weak voice did.  As though forgetting she was there, Gajeel whirled, his pelt billowing around him, to face the young woman that had weakly hauled herself up to sit.  She panted, sweat glistening on her face as she regarded the angry beasts.

“I killed your brother, far from here,” she said simply.  Angry snorts replied to her, and the herd crept forward again.  Only a hiss from the leopard god stopped them, momentarily, allowing her to continue.  “The iron turned him into a demon, and he attacked my village.  I killed him to protect them, and I was cursed in turn.”

Slowly, like the very action was draining what life she had left in her, she pulled back her sleeve to reveal the purple, burning flesh.  She lamented at how much it had progressed, but kept speaking.  “This is my proof.  I am here to beg the Forest Spirit to lift my curse.  He healed my wounds, but left my curse--Nago’s curse.  I too must now face my fate.”

The entire herd went silent, but not because of what she had revealed.

A white figure, larger than any other individual in the herd, slowly appeared through the parting mass of boars.

“Ah, Okkoto.  Finally,” the leopard god said in relief, visible tension leaving his body.  “Someone reasonable.”

The white boar ignored the cat, lumbering straight for Levy.  Metalicana looked to have taken no disrespect, knowing their time was limited.  Gajeel, however, tensed and moved to stop the god.  He didn’t know why he moved so instinctively to put himself between the girl and a threat, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Back, boy,” Metalicana warned sternly, but still Gajeel was unsure.

The white boar turned milky eyes to look upon the beast prince, calmly enough to give him pause.  His giant snout twisted as he breathed deeply, but his eyes were vacantly staring past him.  It took Gajeel a second to realize, He’s… he’s blind.

“You are the son of Metalicana, I have heard much of you,” the boar god finally spoke, his voice far gentler than the others.  “Fear not, boy, I will not eat her.”

The prince started to bristle, disregarding the words, but the woman’s small voice stopped him.  “Let me speak to him.  I owe him this, to tell of his brethren's end.”  Gajeel paused, looking at her for a moment with an emotion he couldn’t define; was it irritation or worry?  After a second, he finally stepped back to allow the boar god to advance.  He didn’t know why she had such a sway on him, but he felt no inclination to fight her.  Still, he would remain close and vigilant.  “Lord Okkoto, what I said of Nago is the truth,” she added weakly.

The large boar approached slowly, sniffing every step as his ears twitched.  He was gauging how close he needed to get, until finally an outstretched hand rested against his wet snout and he stopped.  He inhaled deeply of the purple flesh, so deeply that she thought he might swallow her up.  On the exhale, he nodded. “I believe you, and I thank you, little one.  It hurts and shames me deeply that a demon was born of my tribe,” he finally said, leaning away from her.

Levy nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her.  “I am sorry for your loss, but I must ask,” she started, and he snorted a reply. “Lord Okkoto.  Is there any way to lift this curse?  Any at all?”  Had she not been so weak already, it would have sounded more like she was begging.  Because she was.  She was begging for her future.

The boar went still, lowering his head slightly.  He was quiet, and she wasn’t sure if he was thinking or paying respects.  “Leave the forest.  This is no place for you.  If we meet again I will have to kill you; you must know this, it is our way.  Our law,” he warned, turning away from her.  He had nothing to offer her, and he had no more time to be sympathetic.  He had what he came for: closure for their comrade.  The girl visibly slumped at such a disappointment.

It was Metalicana’s turn to step forward, “You cannot win against the humans and their poisoned stones, Okkoto.  Go home.”

The boar sighed, turning an ear to the leopard, “Metalicana… look at us.  We grow stupid, and smaller by the day.  Soon enough we will be no more than mindless game for the humans to hunt.  This is our final stand.  It is all we have left.”

“You will fall right into their hands if you stake everything on this one battle,” the leopard retorted.

“I don’t need the help of the shadowcats.  We will die.  But we will leave the humans bleeding, in awe of us and what we are.  What we were.  We are gods, Metalicana.  They have forgotten it, but we cannot let them.  You may be content with that; we are not,” Okkoto replied, slowly and calmly.  There was nothing but resolution in his tone, a steady determination that was not going to be swayed.  The herd of boars parted to allow him to pass, and all followed him soon after.

The leopard clan and the human girl were left in heavy silence.  She let out a long, heavy breath and slumped forward a little.  She had no other ideas, no other hopes.  The Forest Spirit could do nothing, and the god of the clan where her curse originated from could do nothing.  Levy found herself robbed of the strength to stay awake, and as far as she knew, this was where the curse killed her.

Her vision quickly went black, and she remembered the sensation of falling before consciousness left her all together.

Before the back of her head hit soil, the prince was leaping for her.  He caught her by the shoulders, shocked that he had even moved to touch her at all.  Gajeel stared down at her for a moment, before slowly looking to Lily, baffled at the whole affair.

Levy awoke in a cold sweat, her cursed arm wracked with spasms.  Trying not to move too much, she grasped it with her good hand and hissed a steadying breath through her teeth, biting back groans of pain.  She had to all but dig her nails into the flesh to distract herself from the pain with another.  Several minutes passed before her own limb calmed down enough to let her take in her surroundings.

Eyes still closed, the woman inhaled deeply, expecting to smell soil and fresh water.  At her last memory, she was in the Forest Spirit’s glenn, and thus at this point she realized two things: she was somehow still alive, and she did not smell what she expected.  Old leaves, mostly.  Nothing more she could pinpoint over that.  

She forced herself to look finally, and overhead she found not sky, but stone.  A cave? she thought, wondering how she could have come to such a location at all.  Levy turned her head slowly, and felt her heart skip a beat or two when she saw a figure very close to her, sitting like a sentry against the wall.  The prince…  In her mind she found familiarity that brought her some peace.  Not only because she knew the face, but because she had dreamt he would be there.  They were short dreams, images mostly, but each one had him close to her.  

His eyes were shut, hair fanned out against the wall behind him.  He was missing his cape, she noticed, and when she tried to move, hoping to sit up, she recognized the weight over her.  She felt such stiffness in her bones and such a fog in her mind, like she had been asleep forever, that each of her senses took some time to catch up with her.  Levy looked, and found the leopard pelt draped over her like a blanket.  

It may have taken several minutes for her to wake fully, but at that moment a warmth spread through her that woke the rest of her up.  A warmth that did not come just from being under the pelt.  

As she came more to her senses, another flare of pain shot through her arm and she found herself again fighting the agony.  Levy bit down, hard, and forced herself upright.  Air.  I need air, she thought, desperate for even temporary relief. 

Quietly as she could, the woman forced herself upwards and wavered on her feet.  Her knees cracked and she felt the full effect of her stiff muscles then.  She tried to focus on the mundane pain over the curse, and walked quickly to where she could see moonlight illuminate the mouth of the cave.

Behind her, Gajeel cracked open his eyes, having listened to the entire process, and watched her hobble towards the exit.  He wondered if she would leave, or if she would be frightened back inside by what she found standing guard out in the open.

The cool night air wafted over her, and Levy stopped abruptly.  Not just from the relief of fresh air, but from what she found before her.  The cave exit was nothing but a large rock outcropping, higher up than she could imagine, with a view over the valley.  The sky was clear, revealing a tapestry of constellations, with the silver moon at its center.  She could see as clearly as she would at the height of any day, and Levy was so stunned by the silver forest, spanning out towards a ridge of mountains, that she forgot her pain.  On the rocky slope extending down to her right, she caught movement; Yakul, nibbling on some greenery in the rocks before he lifted his head to look at her.  At least you are without pain, old friend.

“There was a day, a day that feels so distant, when I looked out upon this and did not find myself counting the seasons until its disappearance,” a rumbling voice startled the woman, and she whirled to find the leopard god himself perched in watch over the mouth of the cave.  His eyes glowed yellow in the moonlight, focused not on her but at the same view she had been admiring.  “Every spring I wonder, ‘will it be this year?’  And every autumn I find myself unsure if it is the normal course, or if I am finally watching my home wither away.”

Levy wasn’t sure what to say.  She pitied him, knowing their plight against the humans, but still she could not find the words to offer.  What do you say to a god of the forest?  Any words that might have tried to come up with dried up when he turned his eyes down upon her.  More specifically, her arm.

“Does it pain you?” Metalicana asked, tilting his head slightly.  The tensing of her body, and the way she bit her lip was answer enough.  His lips curled in a bitter smile or sorts. “If you jumped, it would end the pain, you know.  You know of no way to rid yourself of that, as I have no way to rid myself of mine.  When you regain your strength, so will that curse.  And it will tear you asunder.”  

“Would you jump, then?  To end your pain?” Levy replied, unsure if she regretted saying such a thing, or if her somewhat dimmer outlook gave her more confidence than was healthy.  “Or do you feel your own curse drives you towards greater purpose?”

The leopard huffed, flexing his claws into the stone in a tense moment before he relaxed.  “Well said,” he conceded with a small bow of his head, shockingly tolerant of such boldness from the human girl.

Levy released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and shifted on her feet.  She looked back out towards the forest and rubbed her arm absentmindedly.  “I feel as though I have slept for days.  I dreamt that Gajeel stayed by my side, caring for me,” she said, softer than she realized.

“Nearly two days, child,” Metalicana replied simply, watching the girl look back to him quickly.  “I hoped the pain would make you would cry out in your sleep; surprise us.  I would have a reason to kill you then.”  He took a moment to watch the human girl tense again, like a prey animal unsure of whether to fight or flee.  He savored the nervousness in her body and scent, before his body shook with huffing, sharp noises that could only be taken for laughter. The girl did not relax.  “Gajeel would have been displeased with me if I did,” the cat added, and then the tension left her.  

So he had been there, it was not only a dream. Levy swallowed hard, wondering if there was not quite as much animosity here as she had expected.  She woke up warm, a little stronger, and safe.  Thanks were in order, at the very least.  “I am honored you have let me stay with you.  I know you hate me; my kind.  Thank you,” Levy said with a small bow of her head.  

A low growl, more of dismissive annoyance than anything else, rumbled in his chest.  He cocked his head, baring a single fang.  “Save your words.  We are of shortened lifespans, you and I.  Let us not waste what precious little we have left with useless pleasantries.”

Levy paused, taking a moment to try and understand his motives.  He did not look like he meant to attack her, but instead he looked at her expectantly.  Impatiently.  He’s… he’s deigning to speak to me.  I’m a human, he is a forest god.  Of course this is a privilege for me, he’s giving me a chance to say what I would like.  Or need, she thought, hurried by a swish of his massive tail.  A tail as big around as a young tree.

“Do the boars really mean to wage war?  Have they moved yet?” she asked.

“Not yet, but soon. Perhaps in another day or two,” he answered, reading the disapproval on her features.  He scoffed again, “You are lucky, child.  You cannot hear it.”

The woman tilted her head then, “Hear what?”

“The screams of the forest,” he said simply, and she balked slightly at the bluntness of it.  Metalicana looked outwards again, a faraway gleam in his eyes.  “You have your curse, and I have mine.  The forest cries as the boars advance, and my body wastes away,” he paused, giving Levy a chance to recall what the boars had said of their own wasting, “All I can do is wait for Titania to emerge again, and dream of the day we end her.”

Levy frowned deeply, and a pang of pain in her arm reminded her to control whatever emotions she felt.  “Why is peace so unattainable?” she all but cried out before she took a deep breath to steady her tone.  He could still kill her whenever he wished, and moreover her cursed arm reacted to her emotions it seemed.  “Why do both sides cling so steadfast to their hatred?  In my village… the home I left behind, we respected the forest.  It took from us and we took from it in equal measure.  We had balance.  If we can strive for that balance, perhaps we can reverse what has already been set in motion.  Would that not be a better future?”

“You were spoiled, then,” Metalicana shot back, baring his teeth in warning.  “These humans cannot be stopped.  You are a fool to think you can change them.  Their passions consume them, and they are gathering.  Even here we are not safe.”

“And what will become of Gajeel?  Will you drag him into this as well?  Foster more hatred in him too?” Levy glanced inside of the cave quickly before resuming eye contact with the cat.  Her eyes narrowed, feeling that foolhardy confidence from before ignite in her chest.

“He is my son.  Instead of killing him I raised him as my own.  He is a panther, he is of my tribe. If the forest dies, so does he,” he replied with such simplicity, such resolution that she took a hard step towards him.

“Then set him free!  He has the unique position to choose, either between the humans or the forest.  He is stuck in this conflict because of who you are, let him make his own decisions.  He nearly died trying to kill Titania.  And for what?”

“Foolish girl!” Metalicana was on his feet in a second, a hiss trailing from him as his fur bristled, brilliant under the moonlight.  “This is his choice.  The humans cast him out, rejected him.  Now he belongs to neither beast nor human, he has no set place in this world.  And he chose it.  You think you can save him from this war?  The tiny creature you are, curling up at the feet of death already?  You think he will go with you?  That you will live together outside of all this?”  Levy couldn’t tell if it was rage, passion, or both that drove the cat.  But what she could tell, was that his reaction to this topic indicated he was just as frustrated by the outcome as she was.  None of them wanted to die, least of all those of the forest.  He did not want Gajeel to die, he did not want his clan to die, but here they were.  On the brink of war, mortally wounded before it even began.  Nowhere to flee to with the forest near death itself.  

At this point in time, she could see how it would appear there was no other option.  Still, something in her would not allow her to accept that.  She reached up, clutching the crystal whistle around her neck and thought, just once, of her sister.  “These can’t be our only choices.”

The leopard god stared her down for a moment longer before the tension finally left his body, and he dropped back down into a reclined position.  “You can do nothing, child,” he said, “you will fight to, but soon that curse, the forest, or the humans will kill you, and none of it will matter.”  Finally, he tore his gaze from her in a way that felt like he grew tired of the conversation.  “We cannot stay here; we will leave at sunrise and rest elsewhere tomorrow until the boars begin their onslaught.  You will not come with us.  And the forest will not be safe for you once the fighting begins, so you will do best to flee.  Far, far away from here.  Telling you this is the last kindness I will extend to you, child.”

That was the end of it, and she knew it.  She didn’t plan to push her luck with him.  Levy, again, bowed her head out of respect and headed back into the cave.  Just being on her feet and speaking left her feeling exhausted all over again, and she feared she might collapse right there.  And she couldn’t be sure of how controlled the god would be over his instincts at that time.

The woman craved the soft bed of leaves now and the warmth of the pelt, but when she found herself inside, she saw red eyes staring at her expectantly.  “That was… stupid,” he grumbled, with just the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Levy stopped short, swaying a little on her feet.  She didn’t expect him to be awake.  “How much did you hear?”

“All of it.”

Her heart jumped a little bit, and she was forced to sit on the bed of leaves to avoid cracking her skull on the stone floor.  She sat for a moment, staring at him, and found his gaze to be just as unwavering.  “I don’t regret what I said.”

“Of course ya don’t, you’ll be dead soon,” Gajeel replied, faster and a little more insensitively than he had intended.  The realization hit him moments after, especially when he saw her reflexively hold her blotched arm to her chest.  “I, ah…” he fumbled for words, unsure how to communicate with someone who might actually not be as steeled against words as his brother and father were.  Communicating with a human girl was just… a little different from communicating with predators.

Levy smiled bitterly.  “Yes, well.  I’m sure that plays a part,” she said softly, finally averting her eyes.  “I am sure it is why Metalicana bothered to speak to me at all.”

Gajeel shifted uncomfortably, missing the meaning in her words.  Instead, his thoughts flew to the fact his father suffered just as she did.  He kept himself in complete denial that his ailment was anywhere as bad as hers, especially when the leopard refused to speak to him or Lily about it.  She had an actual curse, one the Forest Spirit couldn’t even touch.  But the mighty leopard god merely had a wound.  He would heal; he had to.  Something like that would not bring down his father.

“You will follow him?  Into the fight?” she asked, breaking him from his thoughts.

Gajeel took a moment to remember what she was talking about, and puffed up a little with a determined look on his face.  “Of course I will.  I failed the first time, I won’t again,” he glared at her this time, recalling the Iron Town incident.  His first instinct was to be angry with her over it, but then everything else trampled over his impulsivity.  He remembered the look in her eyes as she stopped the blow that could’ve killed Titania.  He remembered what she said to him to stop him from driving his blade through her throat.  And most significantly, he remembered the strange twist in his stomach when he overheard her advocating on his behalf to his very large, powerful, and dangerous father.  With no wavering in her voice, no hesitation.  

All at once he realized every memorable thing she had done in his short time knowing her, had been done completely selflessly and without hesitation.  He saw uncertainty in her face only a handful of times, primarily when dealing with the topic of her fate.  That arm would kill her.  He knew the Forest Spirit had come to her, even if he dared not be present.  But even she could not have healed the girl of the curse, only her mortal wounds.  “What’ll ya do, about that?” he inclined his head towards her arm, trying to break himself from his own thoughts that were running off too quickly.

Levy bit her lip and looked to her lap.  “As much as I can before it takes me,” she replied simply.  If she was to die, she would still follow her original purpose: to see with eyes unclouded by hate.  How exactly she was to achieve that she was still unsure but she knew it had something to do with this conflict.  Lady Gandeeney told Levy her fate laid in the West, and as uncertain as that was she refused to believe after all this her fate was just a slow death.  She had to find some way to stop all of this, and if doing that killed her, at least that would mean something.  For her family, for all the lives in the forest, she would not give in to the curse.

Gajeel tilted his head, struggling to understand her.  She was a human, she had to want something.  “Do ya really think you can do anythin’?  Why try?  This ain’t your fight,” he pushed, and she stilled him again with those golden eyes, pinning him with a strong look.

“Because it’s right,” she said simply.  “I have very little time left, and I am going to spend it doing what I think is right.”

“And that includes defendin’ me, huh?  Ya think I’m better off not following after my father?  Doing this for my clan?” Gajeel pressed, crossing his arms.

“I meant exactly what I said.  That you have a chance, being what you are, to take a position that isn’t for either side, but both.  You are both, help both. You can’t just… kill yourself for a senseless war,” Levy answered softly, “I can’t watch that happen.”

Again, he was taken aback by her words.  By the gentle, but steadfast selflessness.  She wasn’t saying any of this for her.  She wasn’t even telling him not to fight.  She was telling him to fight differently.  None of that matters.  Not now.  I ain’t got a choice anymore, it’s too late.  I can’t let my clan die and I can’t let Titania live, he thought.  Still, her words hung heavily over him.  After a long pause, he relaxed against the stone wall.  “You may think I’m both, but I gotta tell ya, you’re neither.  Ya ain’t beast, but ya ain’t like any human I know.”

Levy laughed a little at that, a sound that surprised herself.  When did I last…  “I suppose you’re right,” she agreed, more aware now than ever that she didn’t know where she fit.  “Regardless, thank you.  For caring for me,” she said with a small smile.  He crumpled his nose a bit at that, and opened his mouth to reply but was cut off.  

Another sharp pain shot through her arm, and she finally looked down to the patterns of rough purple. “A-ah!”  The muscle spasmed and her arm went stiff, and with a hiss she grabbed it and tried to hold it to her chest, applying pressure that helped just a little in controlling the shaking, burning flesh.  Levy curled in on herself, trying to hold it as tight as possible, huffing air through teeth clenched so tight she thought they might crack.  

What she felt next wasn’t more pain, but the leopard pelt that was previously her blanket being thrown over her.  She couldn’t look up to see what was happening, but there was a sudden, strong pressure that wrapped around her, and she was being pulled somewhere.  

Gajeel wrapped her in his cloak and sat behind her, pulling into a tighter hug than she could manage for herself.  Carefully, he shimmied backwards to rest his back against the wall of the cave, pulling up his knees slightly on either side of her.  He could feel her trembling terribly in his hold, and for whatever reason he felt completely compelled to stop her shaking and just hold her as secure as possible.  They could all die, very soon, so what did he have to lose for just giving in to a fleeting desire?  

So, he sat huddled with her, keeping her as close as possible until he felt her body calm and her breathing slow.  The tremors faded away, and the whimpers she kept in the back of her throat stopped.  They said nothing else to one another for what felt like a long time, largely because Levy couldn’t find the words, through her shock or pain, to say to him.  Eventually, her breathing had slowed down enough and her body relaxed enough for him to think she might have drifted off entirely.  Slowly, Gajeel tilted his head to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of her face to see if she was awake.  As if on cue, her head lolled back, resting against his shoulder.

Gajeel went stiff, taking in a sharp breath and looking utterly dumbfounded and wide-eyed at the sudden contact.  He was hit with a distant memory as a small child, curled up into the warm pelt of his father.  This wasn’t quite the same, that much he could tell, but the peaceful sleep she had fallen into reminded him of it regardless.  Craning his neck, he could see just the side of her face, her soft features framed by the brilliantly blue hair.  Nothing about her fit with what fate had handed her.  Cursed, a demon… none of that seemed right.  

She was soft, warm, and she smelled like spring.  And for once, he was frustrated by the timing of it all.  But even he knew it was useless to toil over it, and he couldn’t let himself be consumed with that image of her.  Slowly, he leaned his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.  This girl, touched by the Forest Spirit, a fearless traveller from the East, was anything but soft.  He thought instead of the moment he saw her face for the first time, and found himself consumed with another image of her.  Aflame with determination, hair a cerulean storm as the force of their collision threw back all covers from her face.  He remembered the surprise that shot through him like lightning, how his entire world of vengeful fury had come to a complete halt in that one, decisive second.  And the small, honey-eyed girl was the one responsible; the last figure he had ever expected to have such an effect on him.

Gajeel liked to think himself as fierce as his clan.  Unstoppable, fearless, and headstrong enough to never sway from his goals.  Everything he had thought of himself had been turned on its side by the appearance of the blue-haired, beautifully tragic woman.  Maybe there was more to her and her role here yet.  The idea brought a strange stillness to him that he clung to, fervently, until sleep finally took him as well.

All throughout the night, his dreams were filled with her.