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[haaniyasmp4]

@luvleyangeldust

[lacydaydream]

My Word is God

⤷ Soldier Boy

summary: after a battle gone wrong because of your mistake, Ben is pissed. and he’s gonna take it out on you. mdni.

cw: porn with no plot. Ben is his own warning. unprotected p in v (wrap it before you tap it). dom!ben. swearing. degrading. spanking. doggy style. missionary. clitoral stimulation. spitting. cum tasting. slightly public. name calling [slut, doll, sweetheart, my girl, pretty girl, naughty girl]. power dynamic - Ben is readers boss. breeding kink [if you squint]. I might have missed some!

estelle yaps: this is just pure filth.

word count: 2.8k

“You can’t fuckin’ listen to rules,” Ben grunts, voice low and menacing. He sounded pissed, and his body language contended it.

He shoves you into an empty room. His palm against your back heavy, burning with the sizzling rage that was bubbling in his blood. You had disobeyed a direct order. Taken the words he’d said and disregarded them. Like his voice didn’t matter. Like he wasn’t the one in charge.

While out fighting, you had gotten in his way. And it wasn't a simple misstep. No, it was a major screw up. It cost him his window of opportunity to fight the enemy- an enemy that had been a massive thorn in the side of the U.S government for the last few months. The colossal mistake you made fucked the whole team up. All in the span of ten seconds.

Ben had told everyone exactly how they had to move out on the battlefield. He had been precise, down to the very last detail. And there you had been, prancing around like a dumb little girl. Acting as if his orders were a suggestion. Acting as if just because you slept with him you’d be exhumed from any punishments. And he knew you were a smart girl- hell, you had suggested some of the counter moves he told Crimson Countess to make. So he knew you weren’t stupid enough to make such a mistake unless you were rooting around for a punishment.

The room he shoved you in had a desk with a cup of pens that had the words ‘Best Dad’ printed on it. The chair behind the desk was swiveled, obvious that someone had once occupied it. The walls are blank but you wouldn’t have noticed, the only thing you could focus on was the building ache between your thighs.

Ben steps behind you, shoving you down onto the desk, growling as he watches your back instantly arch. “My word is fuckin’ god.” His voice booms with a precise confidence only a predator could have, laced with a danger that clouded your mind.

His hand lands a slap to your ass, rough and fast.

The sting radiates through your body, skin setting on fire. His normal demanding and dominating demeanor had somehow turned darker. Just by the way he had approached you earlier, sweaty from battle and mouth set in a snarl.

When a whimper falls from your lips, Ben only scoffs. “Can only listen when you get cock, huh, slut?” His voice was steady, controlled in a way that made your stomach flip and heart rate increase.

When his hand comes back down against your ass, he hums in satisfaction. The squeaks and whimpers he pulls from your lips erect a tent in his jeans, pressing his hips forward so you could feel the thick hardness over your pants.

“Should fuckin’ make you suffer.” He grunts, hips grinding against your ass. “Fuck up the whole mission- now I’ve got the fuckin’ governor up my ass.” Ben’s rough hands grip the chub of your bum through your suit, kneading with skill. He was already rambling, needing to let you know just how much you’d messed up. “Should hand you right over, hm, doll? Let you get a proper punishment. Maybe you’d learn your lesson.”

He groans as you push your hips back against him, panting like a pornstar. And fuck, if that hadn’t made Ben want to drop his anger and plow you against the desk for beeing so needy. His eyes narrow as he watches you turn your head to look behind you, gaze instantly catching his. Your hair was frizzy from battle, sweat, and being manhandled. God, you were a sight.

You shake your head, a small hint of fear blooming in your chest at his threat. He wouldn’t ever rat you out- he could never do something like that. But that look in your eyes? The look that always came before you were desperately begging him and saying you’d ‘do anything’? Yeah, he’d threaten it all day long. Anything for that look.

“Yer fuckin’ lucky today, sweetheart.” His voice is low, eyes piercing as he rolls his hips against you. “Need this tight pussy more than giving you a spankin’. She ready for me? Fuckin’ better be. Better be ready to earn back my fuckin’ respect.”

Soldier Boy tucks his fingers into your pants and yanks them down, tearing the fabric with the sheer force. The air against your backsides causes you to shiver, hands gripping the edge of the desk. Your fingers curled around the edge of the desk, polished wood biting into your soft skin.

His eyes flicker down to the sight in front of him. No panties. Just bare, soft skin under the stupid suit Vought had given you. His eyes light up as a growl bubbles up from his chest. His hand grips your ass cheek, skin calloused and warm. Ben bites his lip as he looks down between your legs, inner thighs slick from how turned on you were.

“Look at ya, sweetheart.” His words are mumbled, the edge melting away from his tone. He was still pissed about the earlier situation, but the sight of your dripping pussy was enough to soften his bite.

He runs his hands up and holds your hips. He brings you closer to him with a tug, smirking at the way your legs buckled. His large hands that were settled on your hips drag down to your ass. He kneads your flesh, slow and deliberate. “Bent over a desk just for me. Ready to get fucked, yeah? Cunt dripping down your legs.”

He picks up his leg and uses his boot to tap against your leg, a silent order to spread your legs. When you oblige, he grins. “That’s my girl. Doin’ exactly what I say.” He slaps your ass once once more, cooing when you whimper.

His hands leave you, working on his pants to free his cock. His cock is heavy in his hands, pulsing in his fist, tip an angry red. He had half a mind to have you suck him off- jam his cock down your throat and watch as pretty tears collected on your lashes. But the team would notice your absence. And whoevers office this was would be coming back. But moreover, he just wanted to piston into your cunt and have you whimpering his name.

“Gotta be quiet, sweetheart.” He grunts, running his tip through your slit. You’re already so wet, soaking his tip in your essence. A grumble leaves his chest, rough and almost animalistic. He plunges in without a warning.

The moan that leaves your lips is strangled and loud. If you hadn’t taken him before, you would have sworn he’d ripped your pussy right in half. But he fit- every delicious inch of him fit. He’s warm and heavy inside you, your walls clenching around him.

His hands grip your hips, a low growl leaving his lips. “Fuckin’ perfect pussy, Dollface. She’s squeazin’ me so well. Gonna take everythin’ I give you, yeah?”

When you manage to nod he wastes no time. That was enough for him. He pulls out nice and slow, every vein and ridge rubbing against your walls. He slams himself back in, hips slapping against your ass. The sounds that are created from where you’re connected are pornographic. It’s a symphony of skin slapping skin, whimpers, and moans.

His cock pistons into you, walls welcoming him in with a squelch each time he shoves himself back inside you. One of his hands is sprawled over your back, keeping you down against the desk. The wood nips into your skin. It’s a delicious mix of pleasure and pain. Every thrust propels your body forward, your hands gripping onto the surface for dear life.

You whimper at the pornographic sound of the wet plap of his cock pressing into you, the feeling absolutely perfect. There were moments like these when you forgot how much of a jerk Ben really was- just thinking about how he’d walk around like he owned the place. And he did. Ben had his own center of gravity that used a smirk to charm your panties off.

He grunts, hips rolling with precision. You’re so warm and wet. Just the most perfect cunt he’s ever had the pleasure of fucking. Hell, he had half the mind to propose. Even if you acted like a brat and messed up combat rituals. He could always count on you spreading your legs and inviting him into your cunt.

“F-fuck, Ben—!”

Your legs are shaking, panting against the desk as he drives into you. Everything felt so good. His hands were big and warm, holding onto you and keeping you grounded to the moment. His cock drags against your walls, your slick coating his length.

The asshole laughs. Laughs. “Shakin’ already.” He says it coolly, not even a strain in his voice. The man had the stamina of a god because of his altered genes and he made it your problem. If you looked over your shoulder you were confident he wasn’t even sweating. “Always so greedy for this cock, doll. Always takin’ me so well. But look at ya,” The smile is evident in his voice. “Shakin’ like a baby deer.”

Ben leans down, nose nuzzling your neck. The new angle allows him to hit deeper, the tip of his cock kissing your cervix. His breathing is controlled as he grins against your neck, licking a stripe up your sensitive skin. “Feel good, Doll?”

You wither beneath him, eyes rolling back as his pace doesn’t dare let up. You nod, moaning, not trusting your voice to provide a good enough answer. Every fiber of your being felt alive and lit on fire, nerves sparking to life. The coil in your tummy was tightening, every delicious drag of his cock sending you closer to the edge.

“I need words.” Ben tuts, straightening his back to land a smack against your ass. His head tilts down to watch his cock drive into your cunt, puffy pussy welcoming him in with ease. Ben loved watching himself bury inside of you. Your slick coated his length, dribbled down your thighs, and even had his pelvis dripping with your essence. A beautiful sight. “C’mon, pretty girl.”

He slows down his thrusts, grunting under his breath at the pace change. He had to hold himself back. Slowly, he drags his cock out of you, tip barely breaking into your entrance. He pushes himself back in at a leisurely pace. Your cunt clenches around him as each inch gets swallowed, your lips parting as a long whine gets pulled from your throat.

“Tell me how good you feel- how good it is gettin’ fucked by your boss.” Ben coos at your whining, holding your hips so you couldn’t push back against him. He continues his tortuous pace. “You love sitting in meetings knowing you’re gonna get good cock after, yeah?”

“So good,” Your words are mumbled as your face drops down, forehead resting against the desk.

Ben doesn’t like that answer. He hoists you up, resting your back against his chest. His scent and warmth wraps around you, leather, cedar wood and something unmistakably him flooding your senses. The wide muscly expanse of his form swallows yours, instantly dwarfing you. Ben was huge- in more ways than one.

His cock stays buried to the hilt, stuffing you full. He pauses, hands on your hips rubbing and moving up your sides. Exploring every inch of your skin as if he’d touched you for the first time. When your head lolls against his shoulder Ben grins. His fingers run down your abdomen and dip between your folds, resting against your clit.

“So quiet, doll. Wanna hear you respondin’.” His fingers circle your clit in tight, deliberate circles. His thrusts are slow and shallow as he holds your body up against his.

“Feels so good, Ben.” You moan out, the coil in your belly about to explode. “L-love sitting in meetings… knowing I’ll get fucked.” Every word is swallowed by a pant, walls fluttering around his dick.

“You’re just a little cock slut.” He murmurs into your ear, fingers and hips working in tandem to hurtle you over the edge. Ben moans when he feels you gushing all over his cock, walls clenching as your cunt creates a creamy ring around the base of him.

His hips stay dragging his cock slowly, pressing against your cervix with each thrust. His fingers slowed to a lazy circling of your sensitive nub. He coos when he starts to feel your body convulsing, legs shaking as you rode out your orgasm. As whines and whimpers leave your lips, Ben’s hand gently wraps around your jaw to cover your mouth. “Shh, doll.”

He continues his pace until he can tell the overstimulation was too much, your thighs trying to clench. He pulls himself out, spinning you in his hold. His arms are around you and he picks you up by your thighs, setting you down onto the desk. Ben lays you onto your back, looking down at the fucked out glint in your eyes.

Ben lifts your legs, hoisting both feet over one shoulder. “Gonna be good and keep quiet?” He questions you as one hand grabs onto his leaking cock, dragging the tip through your slit. He rubs the head over your clit, circling it the way his fingers just had moments ago. He shushes you once more when a whine leaves your lips. He lines himself up, gaze shifting to yours as he sinks into your used cunt.

He smiles when you nod, watching you suck your lip between your teeth to stay quiet.

He grunts as he bottoms out, watching your face contort as every inch gets buried into your welcoming heat. “Gotta give me a few minutes, sweetheart.” His hips start to rock into you, the extra wetness from your orgasm making your pussy feel like heaven on earth. “Fuck, doll. S’the best pussy right here.”

Ben babbles some more, hips pistoning into your cunt like he owned it. Grunts fall from his lips like a prayer as his hips stutter. His thrusts were animalistic as he chased his high, cock twitching and throbbing as his tip bullied your cervix.

Every thrust felt like magic, soft whimpers leaving your lips despite your best efforts to be quiet. Your body lurched forward as his grip on your shins tightened as he thrusted inside you. Ben watches as your face twisted into pleasure, noises getting louder.

Ben growled, using his free hand to shove two of his fingers into your mouth. “Gonna get us fuckin’ caught. Balls deep in this pussy, havin’ you scream my name. You want that, doll?”

You shake your head, moaning around his fingers as they press down against your tongue. You suck on his digits, watching as his eyes darken at the sight of you. His cock twitches and he’s thrusting once more until you feel him shoot his load into your cunt.

Ben growls, hips stuttering slowly to a stop. He kisses your shin, pulling out of your cunt. Ben shifts one of your legs onto his other shoulder to watch his cum drip from your entrance. Ben’s cock twitches as he watches as white, creamy fluid dribbled out of you.

With a sigh, he gips onto his softening cock. He uses the head to collect the cum and push it back up inside you. “Don’t fuckin’ waste that.” His voice is low, thrusting shallowly to pump his seed back up into your cunt.

Ben’s gaze snaps up to you, chest rising and falling as your walls clench around him. He catches your fingers trailing back down to your clit, quickly taking his fingers from your mouth to swat your hand away. Ben grips your wrist and halts his movements. “Really, doll? Wanna come again that bad?”

A long whine leaves your lips, causing Ben to chuckle. He should leave you now, letting you wallow in your frustration after the stunt you pulled. But your pussy made him a weak man. “Alright, alright.” He chuckles once more lowly, fingers finding your clit once more.

“Stuffed full of my cum and still needing more. Naughty fuckin’ girl.” His fingers circle your clit roughly, watching your face twist in pleasure. He grins as your lips part, mouth forming an ‘o’ shape. Ben dips down, moving his fingers to dribble spit onto your puffy clit. His fingers go back to circling your clit, his spit mixing with your juices and his cum.

When your second orgasm crashes down on you, your legs shake as white hot pleasure shoots through your veins. Ben grunts as your walls flutter around his dick, pulsating as you gush around him. His gaze stays on your as he brings his fingers covered in your slick and his spit up to his mouth, sucking them clean. He growls, his eyes closing as he tastes how sweet you are.

Ben pulls out from your cunt slowly, watching you twitch as cum drips down your thighs.

“That’s my fuckin’ girl.”

estelle yaps some more: hello, my love. my requests are open! you can join my taglist here.

[hswriting]

Arranged to be Yours - Part 5 🚦

[Image Alt ID: a four picture collage with a black background. The first picture is of sun shining though the tops of trees onto a forest floor. The second picture is of a girl with black hair in a white dress. She is standing in front of a lake or pond. She is looking off into the distance. The third picture is of two hands touching some vines on a tree. The final picture is a close up of a girl. Her curly, dark hair is over her face. You can see her lips, chin, and neck. There is a white text block across the middle that reads “arranged to be yours” End Alt ID]

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Masterlist Series Part 4 Part 6

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7.8k words

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Sybil meets other lands royalty, Harry and Sybil spend the night together before their wedding, and they get married.

Warnings: SMUT (fingering, p in v sex, unprotected sex,) mentions of past sexual experiences (non-consensual) fuck James, crying.

Sybil stretches for a moment before opening her eyes to Harry rolling a tray beside of her side of the bed.

“Good morning Princess.” Harry says gently as she finishes her stretch.

“Good morning.” She says groggily.

“We got a big day today, so I thought we could have breakfast in bed together before we had to go and introduce you to the other lands leaders.”

“Okay.” Is all Sybil said, sleep still clouding her mind. Harry smiles at her as she rubs her eyes of the sleep, trying to make herself become more awake. Sybil is grateful for the sweet gesture, but desperately wishes she had coffee. She wants to go steal some from her world to have with her breakfast.

Sybil sits up and sees a plate of food for each of them. She takes one and Harry sits in front of her on the bed. They eat slowly, savoring the time they get to spend in bed wearing their most comfortable clothes.

The two weeks they got to spend together was not long enough. At least it didn’t feel that way. When Harry and Sybil finish their plates, Harry wraps his arms around Sybil and brings her to his lap. She rests her head in the crook of his neck as he plants small pecks on her hair.

“Can we stay like this? I’m not ready to go.” Sybil asks, already knowing the answer.

“I’m not either. These meetings make me nervous.”

“Nervous? If they make you nervous then I’m going to-“

“They are good people, I just get anxious because I don’t want to say or do the wrong thing. I want to make good impressions when I meet them. One day my dad is going to pass and I’m going to have to deal with them as this land’s king. I want them to take me seriously and not see me as some stuck up, mean person.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great. You study their cultures and learn their history. You’re always polite and you care so much about everyone. And you’ll make a great king. And if worst comes to worst, I’ll be beside you and can help. I’ll be there to support you through everything.” Sybil says to him. She looks up at him and meets his eyes, giving him a reassuring smile.

“You’ll make a great queen.” Harry says in return. Not that I want anything bad to happen to my dad of course, but when the time comes.” Harry tells her. He places a kiss on her lips before they both have to get up and get dressed.

Today is not a day for one of her favorite pastel colored dresses. Today, she has to dress up. Play the part. Look her best. This will be her first impression to these other lands that she has no idea about. Harry has tried to give her a run down, but she struggles to remember.

Sybil walks out of their room and to the tailor’s room. The tailor has a rack of dresses spanning the length of the wall. When she sees Sybil walk in, she rushes over to the rack and picks out a single dress. Sybil steps into the dress and the tailor zips it up. The dress fits perfectly. It’s a flowing dress that reaches the floor. It’s baby blue and has thin straps.

After the dress is secured onto her, the tailor sits her in a chair and styles her hair into a beautiful half ponytail.

Another woman walks in and does some light makeup on Sybil’s face and makes her stand in front of the mirror. She puts a silver chain around Sybil’s neck, a small stone attached to the necklace.

“Now remember to smile.” She says. “Smiles can go a long way. This is very important, but you’ve got this.” The makeup artist says before one final check of her clothes, makeup, and posture. She walks out in the hallway to be met my Harry, dressed up in his best clothes, a golden crown adorned with jewels upon his head.

Harry looks at you and his face turns a shade of red. Sybil’s face goes darker than his does.

“You look so beautiful.” Harry says as he approaches her.

“You as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so formal.”

“That’s because I hate wearing formal clothes. They are always so tight and uncomfortable.�� He says, trying to pull at the fabric. It doesn’t stretch and Harry chuckles.

“I’m sorry. Maybe we will get lucky and they won’t want to meet for long.” Sybil tries to comfort him. Harry takes her hand and leads her to his father’s office.

Upon walking in, Ace is dressed up similar to Harry. A bigger crown on his head.

“Our guests will be arriving at their cabins intermittently throughout the day. Are you guys ready to go?” Ace asks them. They both nod their heads. Ace and some guards lead them outside where a carriage with no wheels sets. Sybil looks confused at the large cart sits on the ground. Ace and Harry don’t blink an eye. The open the door and climb in. Sybil follows behind.

“How is this going to move?” Sybil whispers to Harry. Harry gives her a small smile. He points out of the glass to guards who walk two animals to the cart. They are unlike any animal Sybil has ever seen. They are small and furry, and also have wings.

The guards attach them to the front of the cart. The cart begins to feel weightless as it lifts into the air. Sybil clutches Harry’s arm, startled at the feeling. Harry is nervous about being in the air, but comforts Sybil the best that he can. He puts his arm around her and holds her close. Sybil looks out of the window of the cart and sees that they are high above the trees.

“We’re flying?” She says, a mix of nervousness and excitement. She watches out of the window as things fly past them in a blur. Harry looks at her, forgetting his anxiety at her excitement and curiosity.

Harry knows that if she loves this, she’s going to love her wings even more. She’s going to love flying, and Harry’s going to have to learn to love it for her. She looks so happy. She’s so beautiful he thinks.

Ace can feel Harry’s magic, just like Adeline could. Ace smiles, and Harry doesn’t even notice. He’s too focused on her.

When they begin to land, Sybil comes away from the window and looks at Harry who can’t hide his ridiculously wide smile.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Harry lies. “Are you ready?” He asks her, her anxiety coming back to the surface.

“As ready as I can be.”

“Just be yourself. They want to meet you. You’re going to do great. I believe in you.”

“I do too.” Ace chimes in. “You’re going to be just fine.” He tells her and she takes a deep breath. They step out of the cart to be greeted by a woman in a huge, puffy, green dress. She’s tall and her hair flows all the way to her legs.

“Good morning your majesty.”

“Good morning Ace. Lovely to see you again.” She says, hugging the king. Ace hugs her briefly before she makes her way over to Harry and Sybil.

“Harry, a pleasure as always.” She says as she wraps him into a hug. “And who might this be? The bride to be?”

“Queen Pandora, this is my fiancée, Sybil.” Harry introduces her. She’s slightly worried about her name being given out so freely, but if Harry trusts them, how bad can they be?

Pandora wraps her arms around Sybil. Sybil hugs her back and then extends her hand. Queen Pandora gladly takes her hand and gives it a a shake.

“A human tradition?” Pandora asks Harry and he nods. Shaking hands must not be a normal thing here? Sybil questions in her mind.

“I’m Sybil. It’s nice to meet you.” Sybil says nervously, but confidently.

“You as well. How lucky you are that you came over to this world and Prince Harry chose you?” She says, not knowing the true story.

“I’m very lucky. Harry is the sweetest.” Sybil says, lying about her arrival here. She could almost feel Ace’s relief at her hiding the truth.

“I know he is. Once upon a time I tried to arrange for my daughter to marry him, but things didn’t work out. It was for the best as she is happily married now.” Pandora says, keeping the conversation going.

“That’s right. How is Anastasia doing?” Harry asks, making jealousy paint Sybil’s features for a small moment. She quickly fixes her face when she realizes what she has done.

“She’s great. She’s married, like I said. They are expecting their first child soon.” She says. “Hopefully all goes well, given the curse.”

“Of course. Best wishes to her.” Sybil says, hoping Pandora didn’t see her attitude moments ago. Harry put his hand on the small of her back, knowing that she is confused about his prior arrangement.

“Shall we go inside?” Ace says, motioning to the luxurious cabin with guards posted outside.

“Of course.” Pandora leads them inside. It’s a large cabin, guards carry in a few cases of her belongings. Everyone finds a seat.

“So, Harry, what’s it like? You’re going to be a married man tomorrow!” Pandora expresses her excitement. Pandora’s kingdom and Ace’s have been allies and even good friends for a long time.

“I’m excited. And we hope you’ll want to come back for her transformation.” Harry suggests.

“Of course. I’m only a short carriage fly away. I bet you’re excited for your magic Sybil.”

“I am. I’m a little nervous to fly, but it was anything like the ride here, I’m sure I’ll love it.” She says.

“It will make you nervous at first but I’m sure you’ll be flying around here in no time.” Pandora says.

There’s more light banter as they all sit together in the cabin. Eventually, Ace reminds them that they have others to greet and that they need to go.

“It was nice meeting you Sybil. I imagine I’ll be seeing you at our meetings from now on?”

“I’ll be there.” She says, confirming that she is going to play an active role in their government. They walk out of the cabin and enter the flying carriage again. When the door closes and they begin to rise into the air, Sybil takes a deep breath.

“You did good. I knew you would.” Harry says, taking her hand.

“The day has only just begun. And am I not supposed to shake hands?”

“You can if you’d like, but it’s not common here. It’s definitely a tell that you’re from the other world.”

“I didn’t know that. I’ll just keep my hands to myself.” She said, getting softer as her sentence continued. Ace sits quietly across from them and observes.

“You don’t have to.” Harry repeats.

“I also didn’t know you were going to marry her daughter before I came along.” Sybil mentions her earlier jealousy.

“That was my fault.” Ace chimes in. “Harry was only 14. She kept insisting they marry to unite us across the water for trade purposes, but I didn’t like to think of Harry married at 14. I made her a trade deal instead.”

“Yeah. Don’t think I couldn’t see your jealousy.” Harry told her.

“I did my best to hide my face.” She says, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

“Nobody else noticed. I just know how you are. I didn’t like Ana like that.” He reassures her.

“But you have a nickname?” Sybil asks and Ace laughs.

“We were friends, and I was 14. You’re the only girl I want. That I’ll ever want.” Harry assures her.

Sybil smiles at this statement and looks out of the window. Ace gives Harry a discreet sign of approval. Harry chuckles slightly.

Sybil’s nerves calm as she watches trees turn into water to the next cabin that the king has let people stay in. Her nerves amp up as they begin to land.

Harry takes her hand and walks her out of the carriage to the door of the cabin. Ace knocks and the door swings open almost immediately as if the person on the other side was waiting for them to get there.

“Good morning King Asher.” Ace says, bowing at him. Asher stands taller than Ace, with broad shoulders. His hair and beard is black, speckling with gray. He is dressed in casual black pants and a gray long sleeve top.

“Good morning Ace! How have you been?” He asks, motioning us to come in.

“I’ve been good. Asher, you’ve met my son Harry.”

“Good morning Harry.”

“And this is Sybil, Harry’s fiancée.”

“Hello Sybil. It’s nice to meet you. Congratulations on getting married tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Sybil says, keeping her words simple as not to embarrass herself again.

“So what is this introduction for Ace? Normally we just meet and do what we need to do.”

“We just wanted to greet all of the royalty that will be attending Harry’s wedding, and let them know of a small part of the wedding.”

“Okay…” he says, waiting for Ace to finish. Harry pipes in to explain it.

“Sybil is human. And we felt it was important to note that she will be human until after the wedding when we can do a proper transformation ceremony for her.” Harry explains, getting right to the point. Asher doesn’t like to mess around.

Asher seemed slightly confused at Harry’s statement. “How will she give you her magic? That’s a vital part of our people’s marriage.”

“We know, which is why it will happen at the transformation ceremony. We wanted to explain so there wasn’t questions at the wedding.”

“I guess that makes sense. Prepare ahead of time for the questions.”

“We have messengers letting our people know.” Ace tells him and he nods.

“Good. Wouldn’t want any people being surprised by this. This is big. I don’t know that our people have ever done this before.”

“We know it’s unusual. We just wanted to emphasize in a way, that she is human. You know our population is dwindling more and more. Me having a human wife who then transforms into one of us might encourage more fae to encourage humans over to our land.” Harry explains.

“That makes sense.” Asher says after taking a moment to think it over. Sybil stands there quietly, hiding her truth once again. She didn’t choose to come here. She wasn’t encouraged, but she doesn’t say anything. She may not have chose this before, but she chooses this now. She chooses Harry.

Ace ends the meeting with Asher soon after that conversation. They climb back in the carriage and go on their way. There are 3 more people to meet, and already Sybil is exhausted. Putting on her fake smiles to hide the anxiety is taking a toll on her. She is ready to just go home and lay in bed in one of Harry’s shirts.

They go through these three meetings, explaining the same things the same way to them as they did to Pandora and Asher. When they climb in the carriage after those three meetings, Sybil lets her smile fall from her face. They take their seats in the box and get lifted into the air again.

“You alright?” Harry asks her, noticing her shift in moods.

“I’m tired. This took a lot out of me.” She admits to him.

“I know. I’m sorry. We can go home and relax if you want to? I can run you a bath to help you relax.”

“That sounds amazing.” She says, letting her hand join Harry’s and her head rest on his shoulder.

“It’s a little bit of a ride back to the castle. You can take a nap here. I’ll hold you.”

“Are you sure?” Sybil asks him. Harry gives her a nod with a smile. She lays on his chest as his arms wrap around her. She closes her eyes and falls asleep on the way back.

After Ace is sure that she is asleep, evident by her light snoring, he whispers to Harry, “She did an amazing job. She seems to be doing well with everything. And you’re doing so good with her too.”

Harry smiles at his dad and then looks down at her. “I’m just glad she feels safe now. She spent a while here feeling unsafe and not being able to use her name. I just want her to be happy.” He tells him. Ace smiles at him as the ride continues. “She’s going to make an amazing princess. She’s been studying so much just to make sure she’s good for the people here. She’s been practicing every day the writing that she’s being taught. She cares so much about this place.”

“I’m glad. She seems good for you Harry. You do seem happier. Brighter.”

“She makes me so happy dad. I love her so much.” Harry says. The carriage soon lands, and Harry hates to wake Sybil after such a long day. He gently sits her up so he can stand. He picks her up, her head lying on his chest, and carries her inside.

He lays her down on the bed, takes off her shoes, and lets her sleep a little while longer. After a while, she wakes up confused.

“When did we come inside?” She asks, sleep thick in her voice. Harry smiles at her and walks to her side. She notices he is in comfier clothes from earlier. She looks down and she is still in her dress.

“You were just so tired. I carried you in and let you sleep a while longer. I know how anxious you were today and how tired it can make you, so I wanted you to rest. I can still run you that bath and get you some dinner after if you want to?”

“Yes please.” She said. She rubs her eyes of sleep.

“I’ll be right back.” Harry says. He steps into the bathroom and turns on the water to get it warm. He begins to fill the bath with hot water and soap. He lights a few candles in the bathroom and turns off the lights. Harry comes back and Sybil is struggling to get out of her dress.

“Can I have your help Harry? I can’t get out of this dress.” She says to him.

“Sure.” He says, slightly anxious. She has always gotten undressed and dressed in a different room or she had him turn around. Now she’s asking for help undressing. He doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

Harry steps over to her and gently grabs the zipper. Sybil’s breath catches, but she hopes that Harry doesn’t hear it. Harry’s heart is pounding too loud in his ears to hear much of anything.

Harry slowly pulls the zipper down, his knuckles brushing down her spine softly. Goosebumps follow in his wake. When the zipper is to the bottom of her back, Harry feels frozen in place. He knows he should move, but he can’t. Sybil doesn’t want him to. She shrugs the straps of the dress off of her shoulders.

Harry is in shock at her movement, her shoulders bare in front of him.

“Do- do you want me to help you the rest of the way?” He asks nervously. Sybil has never seen Harry so nervous before, but it’s making her feel the same in the best way.

“Is it okay if I say yes?”

“Of course.” Harry says, trying to gain back his confidence. Harry’s hands slide up to where the dress has fallen off of her shoulders. He slowly pulls it down, revealing that there is nothing underneath. He pauses for a moment.

“The bra was built in the dress. I don’t have anything to cover up. I don’t mind, but I don’t know if you do.” She says shyly.

“Only if you’re comfortable.” Harry tells her. Sybil nods. Harry continues sliding the dress off. Once it’s past her hips, the dress falls to the floor, leaving her in only her jewelry and underwear. Sybil steps out of the dress and turns around to face Harry.

As polite of a gentleman that Harry is, he can’t help but let his gaze travel over her breasts. He looks at them and then back up to meet her eyes. “Are you ready to bath? The water is filling up as we speak.” He tells her and she nods.

She walks ahead of Harry and into the bathroom. She wants to speak on how sweet the candles and bubbles are but the words are stuck in her throat. She slides her underwear off, takes off her jewelry, and climbs in the water. Harry watches her as she sits down, the water coming up to her chest. Harry turns the faucet off and the bathroom becomes silent.

“Was it too soon?” Sybil asks after a moment of the eerie silence.

“What?” Harry asks, confused.

“I should have just bothered the tailor to get undressed. It was probably too soon and I made you see me-“

“No, Sybil. Not at all. It’s not that I wasn’t ready, I’m just so nervous about doing something you don’t like. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You don’t. That’s why I didn’t mind. You’re the only person here that I can trust one hundred percent.” Sybil admits and the hot water relaxes her tensed muscles.

Harry doesn’t respond immediately. He sits down on the floor of the bathroom and brings his knees up to his chest. “I love you Sybil.” Heat rises to both of their faces.

“I love you too Harry.” Sybil tells him without hesitation. Sybil leans back in the tub and closes her eyes. She takes a while longer in the bath, letting the stress from the day leave her body. When it’s time, she drains the tub and grabs a towel.

“Can I?” Harry asks, putting his hand out. Sybil handed him the towel. Harry came up behind her and started with her hair. He gently got all of the excess water out of her hair before moving on to her neck. Harry was careful, remembering her experiences with James and not wanting to take her back to that place. He moved to her arms, and then to her chest. Sybil’s breath catches again, and Harry heard it this time. Harry took his time moving the towel down her stomach and to her legs. When she was dry, he put the towel on the rack.

Just as Harry was about to grab her a set of pajamas to sleep in, Sybil grabs his hand and stops him. Harry looks over at her.

“I- um…” she says, her words getting caught up in her throat. “I don’t want to get dressed.” She finally speaks. “Tomorrow, it’s going to be a whirlwind. We are getting married in front of the whole kingdom…I’m giving all of my life to you and the kingdom tomorrow. Tonight I want to give you a small part of me for only you. I can’t give you magic like you’re going to give me, but this is yours.”

Harry instantly caught on to what she was talking about, but he wanted to make sure. He put his hand down and turned to her. Her hand never left his. She intertwined their fingers and walked to the bed. She climbed up onto the mattress and waited for Harry to join her.

“I don’t want you to be nervous about touching me. I can tell you’re really nervous.” She tells him as his hands shake. “I’m not fragile. I’m not going to break.”

“It’s just…” Harry struggles for the words, not wanting to say his name. Sybil’s eyes dart back and forth, searching Harry’s to find what he can’t say.

“Is it James?” She asks softly and Harry nods. She remembers vividly what the magic felt like on her throat, the breath leaving her before she passed out. The way he used to come in her room, his intent to get his way, to ‘see if a human was the same’. ‘To make you feel good’. She does her best to rid her mind of the thought.

“I just don’t want to make you feel like he did. That happened under my watch. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Sybil grabs his hands and hold them close to her. Harry’s heart races in his chest, his palms sweaty, but Sybil doesn’t mind.

“Harry, I don’t blame you for what happened. I’m not afraid of you hurting me. You could never. I can’t even picture you ever being so malicious and hurtful the way he was.” She says and the last sentence feels like a stab to Harry’s chest. He knows she is complimenting him and comforting him, but she revealed more about how James was to her. She’s been silent on the specifics of what James did, other than her slip up of him touching her. That’s all Harry knew, but it was enough to know. It was enough to know that it was sexual.

Sybil can see the worry furrowed in his brows. She took her thumb and brushed it over the lines etched onto his face. His face instantly softened. Sybil put her lips onto his and that’s all it took to make James fly from Harry’s mind. Of course he was still worried, but her lips were on his, his hands finding her body, Sybil flooding his mind. He lays her back on the mattress.

A soft moan escaped Sybil’s body under Harry’s gentle touch. His touch was so soft as if she was going to run at a moments notice. She wasn’t, but she wasn’t going to convince Harry of that. She let him lead, as not to push him into something he doesn’t want. Harry’s hands make their way to her breast, palming it in his hand while the other softly grips her hip, her skin on fire under his fingertips.

Harry’s heart was racing out of his chest again, but in a good way. Their tongues danced as his hands roamed. Harry hand inched farther down her stomach and to the most sensitive area on her body. Her mouth opened with soft moans that were music to Harry’s ears. Sybil couldn’t help but to be a little loud with how good his hand felt rubbing circles on her.

Harry’s hand found her core and he slid one finger in easily, her already wet. Sybil’s moans only for more loud.

“Harry please.” She begged. For what she didn’t know. “Please.” She continued. Harry heard her begging, using it as encouragement to keep going.

Harry adds a second finger, making her groan at the unfamiliar stretch. He worked on her for a while longer before withdrawing his fingers from her completely. She felt so empty now that he had been in her with his fingers.

Harry stood from the bed and stripped his shirt, pants, and boxers off, leaving him in nothing. Sybil looked over him, having never seen him like his before. His body is beautiful. He is beautiful. Perfect.

Harry climbed back on the bed, holding himself over her, kissing her lips and down her neck to her collarbones. He looks up at her, eyes full of adoration for her.

“Do you want me to?” He asks her, making sure this is what she wants. The clarification he needs to go forward.

“Yes. I love you.” She says breathlessly.

“I love you. More than you know.” He tells her. He lines himself up with her and teases at her entrance. Pleasure already filling Sybil. Harry kisses her neck, making her moan more by hitting the most sensitive spot on her neck. Harry goes in deeper, stretching her more than his fingers could have prepared her for.

Harry bottomed out and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, a moan escaping him. She already felt wonderful. Her walls fluttered around him and she was so warm. So wet. He knows he isn’t going to last long. Sybil didn’t even think about asking for a condom. Do they even have those here? Her thoughts were running wild until Harry started to move. Her mind went blank and was only focused on how good it felt. How good he felt.

Harry continued his slow pace, making sure she was enjoying herself. Sybil could hardly see straight and he had barely started to move. Harry picked up the pace and Sybil had to screw her eyes shut, the world around her so fuzzy. Harry brought his hand down to her clit and started rubbing circles, tears leaving her eyes at how good everything felt. Harry saw them and grew worried.

“You alright, love? He asked her as he slowed to a stop.

“Yes. Please.”

“You’re crying.” He says, worry evident. She opened her eyes and looked into his big, green eyes.

“It feels so good Har. Please keep going.” She begged him. He continued on, making more tears run down her face. Eventually the knot was built up so tight in Sybil’s stomach that she had to release it. She came undone under Harry, which felt so good for him.

The way she looked; the sounds she made, the way she felt, Harry was putty in her hands. It wasn’t long before Harry came inside of her.

They stayed like this for a moment, holding each other. Harry peppering her with kisses. Sybil scrunching her nose at him. Harry eventually did pull out of her. He helped her to the bathroom and cleaned her up. After they changed the sheets, put on pajamas, and climbed back in bed, Sybil ask Harry a question.

“Har?”

“Yeah?”

“We didn’t use a condom.” Sybil said. “What do we do?”

“We don’t have condoms here, but Adeline has options for you. We just have to ask her.” Harry reassures her.

“I really don’t want to have to ask. That’s kind of embarrassing. Just walk in and say hey I just finished having sex. Give me the birth control please.”

“I’ll take care of it and get you something. You don’t have to worry.” He reassures her and rubs his hand along her back. Sybil ends up falling asleep with her head on Harry’s chest. Harry falls asleep after playing with her hair.

When Harry wakes up, he sees that they shifted in their sleep. Sybil is on her side facing away from him. He has his arms wrapped around her. He slowly peels himself from her and gets dressed. He makes his way down the halls to Adeline’s room. She jumps when the door opens, not expecting guests at this hour.

“Harry! You scared me!” She says, making Harry chuckle.

“I’m sorry.” He says.

“What brings you here so early? Got the wedding day jitters?”

“Well, not really. I have more of a private question for you.” He tells her and her eyebrows furrow.

“What is it?” She asks. Harry suddenly feels the lump in his throat, understanding why Sybil was embarrassed.

“Sybil and I… she needs some way to not get pregnant. She called it birth control. I assume that’s what they call it over in her world but we aren’t ready to have a baby yet.” Harry states, dancing around the word sex.

Adeline takes a moment to process what Harry is telling her and just gives him a blank look.

“We have magic, but we don’t have birth control like the humans do. Ours is different and I don’t believe it would work on her yet.” Adeline tell him and Harry looks worried.

“What can we do?” He asks her.

“She can come in and I can do a spell or potion, or you just take the risk.” Adeline informs him. He nods his head. “And Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“I understand not wanting to have a baby yet, but do know that your dad will expect one from you in your future. Maybe talk to her about it. Whatever you guys choose is up to you though. Don’t let your father push you around.” She says honestly. Harry nods his head again, taking her words into consideration.

“Thank you Adeline.” He says. He gives her a hug.

“I have one more thing for you since it is your wedding day. I was going to give it to you later, but since you’re here.” She says. She goes into her desk drawer and rummages through her papers. She pulls out a white envelope with a wax seal. Harry takes it from her hands delicately and examines the writing. It’s simple. All the envelope says is “Harry” in his native writing. He flips it over to the wax seal and his eyes tear up.

On it is a beautiful sunflower stamped into the yellow wax. Harry knew that sunflowers didn’t exist in his world. Only hers. This letter is from his mother.

Harry looks back up at Adeline with tears in his eyes. She smiled at him encouragingly. “She wanted to talk to you on your wedding day. She had me keep this for you for when that day came.”

Harry looked at the envelop for a moment longer before peeling it open. He sat down on the nearest bed and unfolded the paper.

My dearest child, Harry,

Today is your wedding day. Congratulations! I hope today is an amazing day for you are your partner to be. I’m so sorry I can’t be there to witness your day, but just know I’m in a better place.

I wanted to make sure I was able to tell you a few things on such an important day of your life. First and foremost I want you to know I love you. I love you so much my sweet and beautiful boy. Don’t ever forget that, okay?

Always stand up for what you believe in. I know your dad can be stubborn sometimes, but show him who’s boss. You’re so smart and intelligent now, I imagine by the time you get this letter you’ll be a genius.

Treat your partner with respect. They are taking on such a big responsibility by becoming royalty. They may not be used to this life. Be gentle. Be understanding. It was a hard adjustment for me when I married your dad. He was sweet for the most part. I had a hard time learning my magic, and learning the rules of what a queen can and cannot do. Some days I still struggle remembering this language. I know he was frustrated with me some days. Just remember they may not have had the same upbringing you did. Be gentle. Be kind.

And lastly, don’t be afraid to show your partner love. I don’t care if it’s not “manly” or whatever. Your partner is your partner. You love them. Don’t be afraid to show them that. You’re making a lifetime commitment to this person. You better mean it. Don’t ever hurt them. Don’t ever be cruel. This person is your entire life. Make sure that is what you want. If you can’t love them with your whole heart, don’t marry them. This is your life. Make the best of it.

This letter is ending too soon. I wish I had more time to tell you all of the things I want to. You’re so young now and I want to be able to give you little pieces of wisdom as you grow. Just know I’m so proud of you. I love you so much. I wish you lots of luck and love on this path that you’re taking. Stay safe my angel.

- Mom

Harry has tears streaming down his face by the end of the letter. He sobs with emotion as he reads the words again. Adeline walks over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

“She’s proud of you Harry.” Adeline says, almost a whisper. “She loves you so much. She would love Sybil too.”

“I know she would.” Harry sniffles. “I miss her so much Adeline.”

“I know you do Harry. She’s with you always.” Adeline says. Harry takes a moment to let his emotions out before drying his face.

“Do you mind keeping this for me until after the wedding? I don’t want to fold it or lose it.”

“Of course. No go wake up your bride to be and get some breakfast. Today’s a busy day.” Adeline pushes gently. Harry gives her another hug before walking back to his room where Sybil lay on the bed, snoring away.

He walks up to her and gently shakes her. She immediately groans before opening her eyes and realizing what day it is. When her vision clears of its blurriness, she sees that Harry’s face is splotchy and red.

“Har, what’s wrong?” She asks worriedly. She sits up and cups his face.

“I went and talked to Adeline this morning. She told me that she can make a potion for you. She also gave me a letter from my mom that was not to be opened until my wedding day. It was a sweet letter.” Harry spills. Sybil feels relief that Adeline is going to try something to help them out. Sybil’s heart also yearns to comfort Harry about his mom.

Sybil pulls Harry down onto the bed and he sits in front of her. Sybil traces patterns on his legs as he sits there and admires her. He tells her a few of the things the letter said. Not long after waking up are they rushed to eat breakfast.

They ate what they could, but with the hustle and bustle came the anxiety. Sybil’s hands shook with fear of messing up and Harry’s hands became clammy as they both had to get ready.

Harry stands in his dressing room. The chatter of hundreds of people starting to fill the halls as they make their way to the room where the seats and the alter are set up. Ace enters his room with a soft knock on the door.

“How are you feeling son?” He asks. Harry continues to look in the mirror, making sure nothing about his outfit is out of place.

“Nervous.” He states honestly. He turns around to face his dad.

“What for?”

“I just want everything to be perfect. I want this to be a beautiful day.”

“It will be son. You’ve always worried too much.”

“My worry has gotten us out of some tight spots before hasn’t it?” He jokes. He gets a chuckle from his dad.

“I guess you’re right. But we’ve planned so much. We’ve got a whole team working on this. Guests are being seated now. Everything is going to go perfectly.” Ace says.

As Harry talks to his father, Sybil is in another room, her dress already on her body. The makeup and hair person has just left the room. She sits in front of the mirror while the quiet of the room surrounds her, no one there to comfort her anxiety.

Sybil looks down at her hands which are trembling. She balls them up to try and ease the shaking. She takes a deep breath, rehearsing the day in her head. Everything has a purpose. Everything is important. This isn’t just a wedding, but her wedding. She’s marrying Prince Harry. This is also her coronation when she will be crowned princess. There’s so many places she could mess up. So many ways it can go wrong.

Her thoughts are interrupted when a woman walks into the room. Sybil stands, putting on her brave face, clasping her hands to steady herself.

“We’re just about ready to start the ceremony. We are going to have you come out here and wait. Harry is already walking up.” The woman says. Sybil stands and follows her to a large set of double doors. She can’t hear anything from the room except light piano music. When the piano music pauses, the woman gives Sybil a thumbs up and pushes open the doors.

Sybil’s eyes catch on the beautifully decorated room. A while and gold carpet lines the aisle leading up to the alter.

Harry looks down from his position on the alter and catches sight of Sybil in her beautiful purple butterfly dress and purple flower crown. Even from this far away he can tell she looks stunning. Everyone in the room turns to face her, royalty, important guests, and staff alike.

Sybil looks up the long aisle to meet Harry’s eyes. He’s dressed in a beautiful suit of blacks and dark greens, his golden crown upon his head. The jewels sparkle in the light.

The piano music resumes as Sybil begins to take her first step of many, passing the hundreds of guests there to celebrate the marriage. Her dress drags slightly behind her as she takes her steps, trying her best not to trip in the heels they made her wear.

When she finally reaches the alter with Harry, he gives her a beaming smile. She returns a nervous one. Harry takes her hand it gives it a light squeeze. This brings her some comfort. The officiant faces the crowd from behind them.

“You may be seated.” He tells them. There is a small shuffle in the room as people find their seat. Once everyone is sitting, he begins his speech. “We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Prince Harry and Sybil. This marriage symbolizes not only love, but another link to the other world. Today’s wedding also serves as a coronation and dedication. Sybil will be taking on the responsibility of our princess.”

Harry listens intently as Sybil nods along to his words. The officiant looks over to Sybil and then to his book.

“Sybil. As part of your marriage vows you are also taking on the duty of royalty. You vow to protect our people, which will be your people. You vow to serve them to the best of your ability. Not to act selfishly or cruelly.”

“I do.” She says, hiding the shakiness in her voice.

“You also vow as part of your duty, you will transform into one of us. You will undergo a transformation into a faery as a show to your commitment and dedication.”

“I do.”

“And finally, you vow as Harry’s wife to love him for all of your days. From the worst days to the best days. The dark days and the light. Through any curse or any blessing. You promise to love him for the rest of time.”

“I do.” Sybil responds again. The man turns to Harry.

“Prince Harry. You vow to love Sybil for the rest of your days. From the worst days to the best days. The dark days and the light. Through any curse or any blessing. You promise to love her for the rest of time.”

“I do.” He responds.

“As a show of your vow, please now give Sybil a piece of your magic, and she shall return this when she receives her magic.” He says. He steps back and Harry drops down to his knees.

Sybil looks down at Harry as he closes his eyes. Harry feels nervous, but ready to give this to her. He is hers, forever.

He puts his hand to his chest, a faint green glow that matches his wings started emanating from his chest. Harry can feel the magic pulsing through him and focusing in his hand. He feels all of his emotions for Sybil pulse through him as well. The love for her overwhelming, making the light grow brighter.

When Harry pulls his hand away from his chest, a glowing green ball hovers above the palm of his hand. He opens his eyes and looks at it for a moment, before closing his hand around it. When he closes his hand, the ball of light shrinks until his hand is closed. He stands up from his knees and looks into Sybil’s eyes.

He opens his hand to find a small green crystal sitting on a dainty silver chain. Harry looks back up at her to see a smile cover her face. Harry motions for her to turn around. Sybil obeys and spins so her back is facing him.

Harry gently takes her hair and puts it over her shoulder. He takes the necklace and loops it around her and fastens it to her neck. Her hand immediately goes up to find it, feeling the smooth crystal on her fingertips. She spins back around and everyone claps and cheers for them. Harry and Sybil take this moment to let their lips meet, feeling that familiar spark in their chests.

When the kiss breaks, the people quiet down. Sybil and Harry stand there hand in hand. Ace comes beside of Sybil with a crown in his hands.

Harry’s hand lets go of hers at the sight, knowing she has to bow. Sybil looks ahead at Harry’s father holding the crown. He lifts the crown into the air. Sybil bends down slightly and takes her flower crown off. Ace gently places the crown on her head. When she stands back up, the crown feels heavy. The people cheer again.

“Congratulations to Mister and Misses Styles!” Ace says. Ace leads Sybil and Harry down the aisle and to another room, waving at people as they pass.

“Now, we are just going to make an appearance for the people, and then we can go and party and eat when everyone else clears out.” Harry reminds her.

“Good. I’m so hungry, and as cute as this dress is, I’m ready to take it off.” Sybil tells him with a laugh. Harry laughs with her. The party is only going to consist of her, Harry, Adeline, Ace, and a few staff from around the castle. No need to be fancy. No need to be nervous.

“Are you guys ready to make your first appearance together? I’m going to speak and then I’ll bring you out okay?” Ace says to the both of them. They both nod and Ace walks out onto the balcony. The room floods with sunlight when the doors open.

A cheer comes when Ace is visible to the people below. When they settle, he begins to speak, his voice echoing through the crowd. He takes a moment to thank them for coming and showing their support for Harry.

When he says their names, they take each other’s hands and walk out onto the balcony to greet everyone.

In the face of the kingdom, Sybil and Harry smile as brightly as the sun is shining. They wave and greet their people as a team. Together. As anxiety filled as the day has been for them both, they can’t help but to be happy. Happy to get to do this together. To have each other. To love each other. This is the start to the rest of their lives.

- - -

Masterlist Series Part 4 Part 6

Taglist: @jerseygirlinca @maudie-duan

[burrowofbooks]

Part One of books under 200 pages that I read last year 🦇🖤

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

“If you don’t slow down, you’ll meet yourself on the way back”

this book felt like when you open your windows to listen to snow and it’s just so quiet. It was beautiful in the most stripped down way. You follow the daily ins and outs of a coal merchant during the weeks leading up to Christmas in 1985 Ireland. In that span he deals with some of his own morals and learns how small actions have a large impact.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

I listened to the audiobook for this in one sitting while doing a puzzle, 10/10 experience. There would be no Dracula without Carmilla. The true vampire classic and sapphic. This is a perfect example of gothic literature if you’ve been wanting to explore the genre but are overwhelmed by options. It’s short but still has so much depth in the story

This World is Full of Monsters by Jeff Vandermeer

A “story” ‘monster takes over a man who then sleeps for a century only to wake up and find the earth he once knew has decayed and been reborn. Even in such a short amount of time we learn so much and even get hit with a few plot twists as well. VanderMeer is truly a one of a kind writer and a gem to the weird sci-fi genre. His ability to combine the ideas of storytelling with physical monsters in this short is incredible.

Ring Shout by P Djéli Clark

“in America demons wear white hoods”

Dark fantasy historical novella perfection. Every bit of this book blew me away from the writing style to the character arcs in such short time. It was brilliant to combine the violent history of racism in America with literal demons. Lots of nods to real events and traditions. I listened to the audiobook and Channie Waites is possibly the best narrator I have ever listened to

[blondeaxolotl]

So, what method do you use when drawing to keep going?

I personally always seem to struggle to finish an art piece and can never get myself to fully focus on learning the entirety of anatomy, etc.

I crave to finish an art piece again, I miss the feeling, but I haven't been able to do it in a long long while, I'm just hoping for a little advice, not sure who else to go to cause I don't have any friends but I look up to you a crazy amount so I figured I'd give this a shot, this isn't forced to answer by the way!

I don't want you to feel like you have to answer this.

If you do or you don't, you're still really cool, your art is awesome and inspiring and your aus are as well.

Heck, you're a pretty damn cool person too, art really does reflect artist sometimes huh?

Anyway, I'll get out of your hair, keep up the amazing work <3/p

When it comes to finishing an art piece that you know you want to finish but suddenly lose the motivation to

What I usually do (this might not work for everyone but it somewhat helps me so it helps you as well then that's awesome) is when I'm in the middle of drawing a piece and I suddenly lose interest or motivation, or something isn't going well which is making me lose patience. I just put the pencil down, and go do something else for a while until I get the urge to continue or try again. Example I go play video games for a while or maybe watch a movie or youtube for a bit, just giving yourself a small break from drawing until that motivation to draw comes back and then you go back to that piece and try again. And basically how ever often that happens (aka losing motivation, patience, etc), you just repeat the cycle until you're slowly getting closer and closer to finishing that piece (You can also doodle on the side as a refresher but I don't recommend starting a whole new piece when you want to finish your first one, usually for me I just end up forgetting the last drawing completely because I accidentally started a new project 😭 but that might be a me problem if it doesn't happen to you then it's a-okay) This is mostly what was helping me finish projects since I have a short attention span and often lose motivation and what not so I constantly do this FDSFDSDSF.

Now for anatomy, I'm not the best at anatomy myself but my first advice is don't immediately give up if your anatomy isn't perfect on the first try, it won't always look good on the first attempt which is why it's okay to go through a few trial and errors before you get it to a point you like it enough to continue. Also I'm not a professional and I suck at explaining things and honestly I know jackshit about anatomy I just wing it most of the time. But I can give you small tips that come in handy when drawing poses!!

We're gonna use a reference for this, when you have a reference for a pose you want to use. A good way to get a hang of the pose is by tracing over it with simple shapes (such as cylinders, circles, triangles, etc) and then redrawing it with those same shapes to again get the hang of the pose, you don't have to really do it but it's a good practice so I recommend it. Then, after you have your pose, you can take the lasso tool (or selection tool) and then just resize body parts to your liking so they fit your style more!!! And ofc now you can draw over it and use it as a base for the character you want to use it for.

Now that's the first method, but I have a second one which is fun, I call it "frankesteining", which is where you grab 2 or more images and then take body parts and paste them onto the main reference picture you want to use.

Like here, you like the pose of the first reference, but wish both of the models arms were on the hips? Fear not! Just grab another image of a model who's arm IS on their hip

Then carefully erase the arm/body part on your main reference that you want to replace with another. Select the arm/body part of the second reference with lasso tool, and slowly trace over it so you can copy/cut it out and then paste it onto your main ref

Like this! Now remember, the reference doesn't need to look aesthetically pleasing, after all you're just using it as a reference, so it's okay if it doesn't look perfect!! You can do this with many body parts as you want btw, just keep cutting and pasting until you get the pose you wanted!!

And finally just draw over it! Using the same methods as the first one, shapes, redraw and all! No one will ever know you were playing pretend dr frankenstein with the reference pictures before this!

Now these are the methods I use when posing characters, they might not always come out right the first time but if you keep trying you'll eventually get something you like a lil more than your last ones!! You can also just use a 3d model posing website/app and then screenshot the pose and redraw it from there. But this is if you're one of those people who for some reason just can't get the hang of those damn 3d model posers (aka me)

GUHH THIS POST IS SO LONG IM SORRY, I hope my rambles helped you out at least a lil bit and I hope you continue your journey in making art, believe in yourself and eventually everything will turn out alright in the end stay strong fellow artist 💜

[raxistaicho]

I played Berwick Saga, here's why you should!

It's a really really good games :)

For those not in the know, Berwick was the second of Kaga's post-Nintendo SRPG games. Despite having TearRing Saga in its ridiculously-long full title (TearRing Saga Series: Berwick Saga Lazberia Chronicle Chapter 174 for those who are curious), the game has only the loosest narrative connection with its predecessor, so don't feel obliged to play that first (though you still might want to to get your feet wet on Kaga's post-Nintendo design style, if you've never played Thracia).

Unlike TearRing, which was basically Fire Emblem with a new coat of paint slapped on top, Berwick is quite a bit different, most notably featuring a hex-grid layout, the player and the AI take turns taking actions on a single phase of play (so no player and enemy phase, but the player does always get the first move each turn) weapon access being mostly tied to a unit's level, playable units you need to hire each chapter if you want to use them until you manage to permanently recruit them, and horses that can take damage and die!

The cast of playable characters is rather small but highly unique on the whole. Units are seldom defined by their stats, but by their skills, weapon access, and prf weapons they have at their disposal. A number of units, including all the thieves, can hide on leafy or man-made terrain, the flier can fly over ground-based units and is safe from melee units initiating onto her, the christmas cavs of the game are defined by one having Vantage (due to the way countering works in Berwick, he can stop enemies dead in their tracks if he hits them first) and the other having the accost-like Deathmatch, a few units are highly valuable for their ability to re-roll avoidance against arrows (you'll be seeing a lot of enemy archers :p), some archers can set up an action to intercept units moving into their range with a free attack that immediately ends their action if the attack lands, and the pirate is less an axe guy who can swim and more a nautical thief who can actually pack a punch unlike the two pure thieves.

The writing is also excellent. Though the main lord, Reese, is involved in a continent-spanning war, the corrupt and incompetent king and his court do everything in their power to sideline him out of petty prejudice, so Reese's army spends as much time helping the common people of the capital as they do aiding the war effort directly. That's not to say Berwick is devoid of big moves and politics, but it is to say it has a stronger focus on the daily struggles of life during a time of war (though this naturally abates by the end of the game, focusing more on the big movements again). The playable characters also receive much more care in their characterization and different story arcs than is the norm, and almost everyone has their own story woven into the main plot, and their own ending once the final map is done.

Downtime between missions (for most of the game, each chapter has its own main mission followed by two optional side missions) takes place in the hub city of Navaron. Before you get worried, everything is done via menus, and the hub is purely there for watching cutscenes, taking on missions, preparing your team, hiring mercenaries, buying equipment and horses, exchanging prisoners, turning in bounties, chatting with an eccentric collector who's keen on rewarding you handsomely for giving him often-unsavory weapons, forging and crafting gear, and eating at the pavilion for chapter-long stat boosts. None of the tedium of exploring Garreg Mach or doing the Somniel's dozen or so chapterly minigames. Much of the NPCs are involved in giving you your side missions, so you'll get to know even them quite well.

Berwick is challenging but fair. And when it feels overwhelming, the folks on the FE Discord are extremely helpful and welcoming to new players. So yeah, I said my piece, Berwick's worth trying out :)

[drewizz]

how do you make the gradient text on your post?

hi!! this is kind of a long explanation (i've tried my best, but i'm actually balls at explaining stuff so pls bear with me... sweats.)

i use this website to help getting the code to input for html for the text i want. (the example i'll use for this post is "rafe cameron")

second, you can either input the hex code of the certain color you want (there are many websites available to search for a certain hex code you want. hex codes are like this -> #000000) or you can select in the given color finder in the website. in this case, i selected 2 colors from the color picker given in the website itself.

if you are using your own hex codes: line 3 where it says "first" will be the color appearing in the beginning, and line 4 is where it will end. make sure you replace the #FF0000 and #00FF00 with YOUR hex codes. if you use your own hex codes, click the yellow run button at the top. of the website. it should look like the one above.

third, in the first box of the section on the bottom right/very bottom, input exactly what you want to appear as gradient in your text. then, click run.

select the entire thing in the second box (where it says <span style='color:) and make sure to copy it.

now moving onto tumblr: in your post, make sure to have the text written out. do all your adjustments to that edit before inputting the code. i find it easier to do it beforehand then to adjust after. (however, it is possible to edit the text after.)

click the cog/setting icon on the top right, and change text editor from rich text to html. you should see something similar to the image above, on the right.

now using the copied code from the previous website, select the text on tumblr that you chose to have as gradient. in my case, it's rafe cameron. paste your code into that space. do not delete the <p> or <small> or <b> or etc codes. those are important.

your code should look something similar to this. click preview, and you should see that it worked!!

if you need to adjust your text, whether it's to remove boldness or make it bigger - do not adjust it with html. use rich text editor instead. if you're changing the gradient color, you'll need to delete the entire code pasted in html.

i hope this helped!! personally, i find it easier to input gradients from my laptop rather than phone. (also, i'm pretty positive that i've learnt this from another tumblr user, however i have no clue who. so, credits and kudos to them :')

[the-merry-librarian]

The first novel in a series revolving around the seventh most haunted town in America (per capita), Blight Harbor, The Clackity introduces twelve-year-old Evelyn “Evie” Von Rathe and her aunt Desdemona, advice columnist for those struggling with the local paranormal entities. The Clackity revolves around Evie’s journey through an eerie, surreal world to rescue her aunt, after Desdemona is abducted by the ghost of a serial killer and Evie makes a deal to save her—with an ancient, deranged spirit known as The Clackity, who lurks in the old slaughterhouse on the edge of town.

Genre: Fiction, Horror (Lone Star 2023)

Target Age Group:

10-12

Justification:

I first saw The Clackity while shelving at work, and was immediately intrigued by the cover. I grew up reading fantasy and horror, and I got into Stephen King at far too early an age, so I was interested to see what modern children’s horror looks like. When I looked up The Clackity, I found it was part of the 2023 Lone Star Reading List, and was delighted to add it to my list to review.

Evaluation:

For this review, I will be evaluating the style and language, the characters, the setting, and additionally the illustrations. The style is relatively simple prose, appropriate for the selected age group, but complex enough to maintain interest and not appear condescending to younger readers. Lora Senf does not shy away from vivid imagery or advanced vocabulary; early on in the novel she both uses and defines the word abattoir in character, as Evie casually throws in that it’s “just a fancy word for a slaughterhouse” (Senf p. 18, 2022). Speaking of characters, the cast of The Clackity is surprisingly small; there are only a handful of important characters, consisting of Evie, her aunt Desdemona, their friend Lily, and the antagonists The Clackity and John Jeffrey Pope, the long-deceased serial killer. While other minor characters appear, only a few have speaking roles and only three show up more than once. The Clackity’s characters may not have the same complex depth as characters from other series, but Senf does a good job of establishing strong character details that clearly sketch out the cast. Backstory tends to be more of a focus than personality and interests, especially when Evie enters the other realm, but I tend to align that with the qualities of a gothic plot—a focus on the haunting past rather than the living present. Where the characters may lack, Senf’s setting does not. Blight Harbor is consistently and humorously referred to as the seventh most haunted town in America (per capita), described briefly but lovingly by the names of its shops and the ghosts and hauntings which pervade the town. The slaughterhouse—or abattoir, if you will—is described almost like a character in itself, as “defiant” and “intimidating” (Senf p. 19, 2022), and the other world that Evie enters is described with many senses, marking the cooler temperature of the air and the gasoline smell of the broken grass (Senf p. 59-61, 2022). Briefly, I want to also touch on the illustrations. Beyond the jacket art, The Clackity has multiple watercolor illustrations scattered through its pages, courtesy of artist Alfredo Cáceres. Senf’s writing occasionally acknowledges them with “It looked like this:” followed by a small watercolor drawing (Senf p. 53, 2022). The art itself is technically beautiful, effectively utilizing a limited palette of black and grey to convey depth and contrast. The Clackity absorbed me, and I ended up reading it in the span of about two hours. I definitely recommend it for kids into horror, and it may even be appealing to younger teens around 14 or so. While the simpler style may not entirely capture the attention of an adult, I personally enjoyed it very much, and will be looking for the second Blight Harbor book when it releases in October 2023.

References:

The Clackity. Book by Lora Senf | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster. (2023). https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Clackity/Lora-Senf/Blight-Harbor/9781665902687 Senf, L. (2023). The Clackity. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

[mushroom-snake-coding]

Oh and reading HTML can be hard and super confusing when you add more. But maybe this could somehow make it easier ("Computer" refers to any device that can use tumblr)

<p> </p>

These tell the computer that these are paragraph tags. This means the computer should show the text in a kinda small format. All of the text so far are paragraph texts.

Example of what my first paragraph would look like.

<p>Oh and reading HTML can be hard and super confusing when you add more. But maybe this could somehow make it easier ("Computer" refers to any device that can use tumblr)</p>

<h1> </h1>

This means that the text between these tags will be in the Biggest format. The "h" stands for heading. The other headings are

<h2> </h2> (Bigger)

Example:

<h1>This means that the text between these tags will be in the Biggest format. The "h" stands for heading. The other headings are</h1>

There are other tags which I won't go over because that would be too much information at once. However, I will go over the specifics for the gradient font.

Text

Not going to lie I do not know what most of this means but I will give my best.

Example:

<p><span style="color: #da00ff">T</span><span style="color: #ad00ff">e</span><span style="color: #7f00ff">x</span><span style="color: #5200ff">t</span></p>

So we know that <p> and </p> make this thing a paragraph. I'm not exactly sure what "<span></span>" tag is, but let's assume that we use it when we want fun texts. The 'style="color: #______' basically is the color of a certain letter. We can see, that using this, makes each letter one pair of tags, which makes this inconvenient, but noticeable.

So key takeaway:

When using gradient texts and in HTML where you are overwhelmed with code, find the <p></p> tag with the text that is before where you will put your gradient text. Click enter, and paste. Then go to your preview tag and make further edits from there.

If you want: Test your ability here. Try to see what this would look like in non-code form

<h1> Hi my name is Anne </h1> <p>I like to read: KOTLC, PJO, Harry Potter, The Renegades Trilogy </p> <h2>I am procrastinating on putting my bedsheets on and have been sleeping on a bare mattress lmao. </h2> <p><span style="color: #da00ff">E</span><span style="color: #ad00ff">G</span><span style="color: #7f00ff">G/span>

(You don't need to translate the hex codes, just say the word of the gradient tag and put in parenthesis that it is a gradient tag)

huge question…how do yall get the bold ombré colored fonts?? I’ve literally been trying to find a website since I joined tumblr but only now thought to ask yall 😭

[eddiemvnsonsbabymama]

Pussy Poppin

Pairing: Rick Grimes X Fem! Reader

Summary: Being in the apocalypse meant that you had no time for your husband, Rick Grimes, since he was too busy being a leader and you were too busy being his..”vice leader.” That meant that both of you were extremely busy during the day and didn’t have time for each other. However after you both have a free night, you both decide to spend that night in bliss. Or (in simpler terms) you and Rick fuck all night

THIS BLOG INCLUDES: praising, pure porn, doggy style, switching positions midway, dom!rick grimes, hickeys, p in v, eating out, ass gripping, pet names, absolutely filthy grimey disgusting smut, small angst, unprotected sex (wrap your dick so you won’t have a kid ☝️), cream pie

BEFORE READING: aaaaa so sorry for the 4 month long hiatus. went through some bad shit and to be fair, i forgot my account existed so it’s just meh y’know. also it’s been awhile since i’ve written smut but this is dedicated to my dear friend kiyah :)

You were totally and utterly exhausted. It had been a day after Alexandria was ran over by walkers, tearing apart every person they saw, but one brave soul had stepped in to clear them off: your husband, Rick Grimes. He was an incredible leader. You both hadn’t met before the apocalypse, but as the months went on, you became his right hand woman..then his wife. It happened in a span of a year after his first wife had died while giving birth to his newborn daughter and it sucked seeing your best friend in such a bad situation, even though everyone had counted on him. Hell, he killed his best friend so your group would sleep comfortably at night and wouldn’t have to worry about some psychopath going rampant after trying to kill Rick. That’s all that mattered in all honesty.

But nowadays, Rick didn’t have to worry about any psychopaths or cannibals ever since your group had arrived in Alexandria. Members of the group got their individual houses and you shared a house with Rick and his son, Carl. But work would only continue for you both within Alexandria and there was no time to relax or properly see each other. It was torturous, especially for you since you hadn’t loved anyone else as much as you loved Rick and when you didn’t see him as much in the day..well, it hurt. You would even wake up to an empty spot next to you on your shared bed, and you wondered if you can even call it a shared bed anyway since no one was inhabiting it.

You hummed softly as you tugged on an oversized shirt — Rick’s shirt since it was something that he’d probably wear — that stopped at your thighs and you sighed as you slipped on a pair of panties. You had recently showered so your damp hair was tied up to the nape of your neck and you walked from your room to down the hallway where Carl’s room was. You gently knocked, waiting for a response and you slowly opened the door to reveal the dark haired brunet laying on his bed with a comic on his lap. You peered only your head in with a soft smile and you waved. “Lights out in 15 minutes.” You playfully reminded, causing him to break out into a soft smile and he placed the comic book away.

“You think my dad is gonna come home tonight? I mean, he has to, right?” He asked you as you were about to walk back to your bedroom, but you stopped when you heard his question and your heart had dropped at his sentence. The same thing that you had told yourself countless times when you were alone those nights and you could merely shrug while offering a meek smile. “I hope so, sweetie. I really hope.” You reassured, watching as he was satisfied with your answer and you closed his bedroom door before you walked to your own bedroom. You were exhausted from how much work you had done in the day and you sighed as you turned off the lights within minutes within the shared bedroom before you crawled into the empty.

A few minutes later, you heard a click from Carl’s bedroom which put you at ease and you sighed as you closed your eyes before falling asleep. At this point, you had gotten used to the feeling of an empty bed, but it still didn’t stop the pang of hurt within your heart. Where even was your husband? Did he just..leave? Not like there’s anywhere to go, but it just sucked in general. As if your thoughts had been answered, a ghostly presence had over-loomed your arm and the sudden feeling of warm skin had made contact with yours. The familiar sensation had caused you to stir and you blinked as you tried to make out what had happened.

Instinctively, you called out,”Rick?” The bed had moved down, an inhabitant had taken up the empty space and you gasped softly as familiar, calloused hands had been placed over your cheeks. It was him. He was finally back. No words could express how happy you were to finally feel him since you had missed his touch so much and your lips had twisted into a smile as they pressed against his. He pulled away after awhile, laying his head into the crook of your neck and you felt the small stubble that took the entirety of his chin. “I’m sorry.” He rasped, his lips brushing against the hot flesh of your neck and you gently reached up to cup his cheeks, forcing him to look at you. There was a moment of silence, both of your breathing were mixed and you whispered,”You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

A thankful smile came across his face, causing him to lean forward and kiss you again. The first kiss was short yet sweet, but he pulled back to catch some air before he leaned in and kiss you again, except that he was more lustful with his kissing. You didn’t mind though because he was in your arms now and his hand reached towards your shirt before he pulled away, tugging on the hem. He looked up at you in the dark. “This my shirt?” Rick asked you, waiting for an answer and you couldn’t help, but sheepishly smile at his question. “Maybe.” You replied, causing him to chuckle softly and you immediately discarded your shirt, your nipples hardening from the cool air. You felt his lips kiss in between your breasts before they began to make a line down your stomach. Instinctively, your back arched from the lustful contact and you felt his teeth against your warm skin.

Your panties were pulled down past your knees, cold air hitting against your warm skin and you giggled softly when he placed your legs on either side of his head. “Is this your way of an apology?” You whispered, desperately trying not to moan from his kissing on either side of your inner thighs and the man stopped for a moment or two. “I guess so.” He answered, a small smile coming onto his face and you smiled too before you felt pleasure take over your body when his lips had wrapped around your clit. You almost gasped, but you quickly cover your mouth with your hand and your free hand grabbed ahold of his gray locks, causing a groan from him as you felt his tongue move further down.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you moaned softly, one of his toned arms wrapped around your thigh and his other hand had pressed against your pelvis to prevent you from squirming. His nose was pressed against your clit as he firmly moved his tongue up and down your folds before finally paying attention to your throbbing pussy. You tried hard to be quiet, but with the kitten licks he was doing and the feeling of his stubble against your thighs almost made you burst. “Fuck.” You cried out softly, hoping the lewd noises wouldn’t wake up the people within the house and you jolted your hips when you felt the pad of his thumb play with your clit. You moaned at the new sensation, his hand continuing its firm placement down on your pelvis and felt your orgasm beginning to come. “Rick, Rick, fuck — I’m close.” You said, your eyes were squeezed shut and your orgasm began to approach faster when the flick of his tongue began to gain speed with more rhythm.

Wet sounds emitted from his mouth as he continued to eat you out, causing a hazy sensation to take over your body as your back arched and you tilted your head back into the pillows. His tongue continued to speed up and your orgasm was steadily approaching, but he suddenly pulled away which made the warm feeling disappear and he grabbed your hips forward. “Get on your hands and knees.” He said, sounding out of breath and the sound of a belt unbuckling made you even more excited as you positioned yourself on your knees, your hands grabbing onto the panel end of the bed.

The mattress sunk from behind you, causing your stomach to burst with butterflies and you yelped when he had a firm grip on your hips, your ass near his pelvis as you awaited for the familiar penetration. His calloused hands moved upward, his fingers gripping the flesh of your ass and you anxiously waited for him. You gasped when he slammed hard into you, catching you by surprise that you almost fell forward if his grip hadn’t tightened and you sighed as he began roughly thrusting into you, the flesh of your ass hit against his pelvis. Soft groans emitted from him as you moaned softly, trying your best to be quiet for a second time at that point.

“You’re doing so good, honey.” He praised with his gruff voice, digging his fingers deeper into your flesh and you moaned at his praise alone. Hearing those words from him made your heart throb and you continued to moan when his thrusting picked up pace, the headband starting to creak against the wall. “That’s it. Just relax.” He said, leaning over you to kiss your spine which made you shudder and all you could do was meekly nod. Your head was dizzy and hazy from earlier events, but you were suddenly free from that feeling when he began pounding harder into you.

The headboard banged against the wall, your moans and his gruff groans, and the sound of skin slapping filled the room as he relentlessly pounded into you with no remorse. You had gripped the bedsheets so hard that your knuckles were turning white and your body had bounced with every rough thrust he did, pleasure consuming your body. “Oh, fuck. Fuck.” You whined, squeezing your eyes shut and your moans began to grow louder as his nails dug harder into your skin. “Rick, I’m close. I’m close.” You reminded him, breathing heavily and you gasped when he turned you around, laying you on your back before placing your leg onto his shoulder.

He continued with his hard thrusts, his groans were louder than before and through the darkness, you could see the tip of his cock in your lower stomach. He was deep into you, leaning forward to groan into your ear and it felt like hours as he continued fucking you; having to stop twice to hold back his orgasm and he still continued as your chest began to rapidly rise and fall. “Rick, Rick, please.” You pleaded, your head dizzy from how good he felt in you and sweat began to form at both of your foreheads. He looked down at you, seeing at how fucked out you looked which drove him insane and his thrusts grew faster.

The speed made your orgasm wash over, your pussy clenching around his cock as you arched your back and your moans came spluttering as he continued to roughly fucking you through your orgasm. “That’s it, honey. You’re doing so well for me.” He breathily praised, his hips still thrusting into you before he came with a loud groan, cum spilt into your stomach and he felt his arms slightly grow weak as you both breathed heavily. He slowly pulled out, his cock still emitting strings of cum from your pussy and he groaned as he placed the pad of his thumb on the entrance of your pussy. “We’re not done yet.”

You were so fucked out of your mind that you didn’t even catch onto his sentence and you tilted your head to the side in confusion. You might’ve thought that you made up what he said. “Wha—What?” You asked, your mouth going dry and you watched as his silhouette towered over you. “I said. We aren’t done yet.” And then you sighed in exhaustion. This was going to be a long night.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

[astrojulia]

Hi!! I saw your blog and it's beautiful! I'd like to ask if you could share some tips about editing posts, specifically changing the font color and doing that cool effect where it has more than one color on the same font ☺ if you're not comfortable teaching that's okay too! Have a good night

Hello Siren,

Thank you for the compliment. Yes, I can teach you. Just follow a tip from Auntie here: do it because you genuinely like the aesthetic. The time you spend writing the post is sometimes the same as editing it, and in my experience, this won't necessarily translate into more likes or reblogs. So, do it because you think it's beautiful.

As comical as it sounds, I won't be using HTML in this post because using the codes could cause problems. I've seen some tutorials, but I just really learned when I searched on my own.. I also do all my editings on my notebook. So, here's everything I use:

Websites I use for editing:

HTML Code Editor: While you're creating your HTML, you can simultaneously see if it's working

BBcode & HTML Text Colorizer: This is where you'll create the gradient

Browserling: I use this site to make the gradient code compatible for Tumblr

Aesthetic Symbols: this is for that cute symbols

Piliapp: more copy/paste symbols

Fontes e Letras: copy/paste fonts

Canva: This is where I create some of my designs. I also use Photoshop

Deviantart: a lot of material for Photoshop like templates, PSDs and Renders (PNG image with a good resolution), you can see the ones I use the most in my sources

@animatedglittergraphics-n-more: dividers

@saradika: dividers

@engrampixel: cute material

Color Hunt: if you don't have a color pallete in mind, here you can find a lot of options

Adobe Color: if you want to create your own HTML color palette this site can help

DaFont: where I download my fonts, the ones I use the most are: Betterfly, Arcadepix, Starborn, Lemon Milk, Cursive Sans and BubbleGum

EmojiTerra: as I use tumblr on my notebook, this is where I get my emojis

HTML Text Editing

Important:

Go use the HTML Code Editor in this part and your life will be way easier.

Some things I do right here in the tumblr editor, like putting the images and different fonts like Lucille.

All HTML code starts with < > and ends with , that is, when you start a paragraph you will write <p> and when you finish you will write </p> (HTML Code Editor ends your coding automatically)

I'm teaching all this because if you want to make gradients in your entire text and not just in the title, you'll need to know about html

To start your HTML you will need to go to the gear that appears on the right side when you are writing your post, go to the bottom until you find the Text Editor and switch to HTML.

The Codes

<p> start a paragraph </p>

<br> to make a space between text less than a paragraph (good to use in indented text) you don't need to put </br>

<b> make the text bold </b>

<i> leave the text in italics</i>

<strike> leave the text crossed out </strike>

<small> make the text small like this </small>

<h1> make the text large like this </h1>

<h2> make the text large like this </h2>

<ul> Create unordered list (dotted) </ul>

<ol>Create lists with order (numeric) </ol>

*instead of making paragraphs you will create new items in the list using the code <li> </li>

<blockquote class="npf_indented"> make the text indented </blockquote>

<span style="color: #HTML"> Code to color your texts, pay attention that it uses (") instead of (') and doesn't use (;) </span>

Tutorial on creating invisible spaces, just like I use to do the navigation, if I put it here everything bugs. PT-BR

<a href="URL">Link Text</a>: Creates a hyperlink

Making your Gradient

Go to BBCode and HTML already with your HTML text and colors in hand. Write or copy your text in the box, choose the gradient type (I use middle) and select your colors (from one to three different colors)

Now copy the text in the "HTML code for this text: (To use on your website)" box and go to the Browseling, you will replace the (') to (") and the (;) for nothing

Copy and paste your new code direct in your tumblr post editor or in the HTML Code Editor. Success!!

I think that's all. Kisses from the Sea! 🐚

[poppurini]

hello!! ✮ how do you get different colors (aside from the standard tumblr selection) for your text?? i love the aesthetic of your blog btw. :)

hii !! u can copy this below and just replace the hex code (bolded) with the colour u want 🤍 do note that u can only do this on tumblr site. make sure u change the text format to html before pasting it, then u can come back to tumblr app to change the text size etc etc it’s easier on app :D

<p><small><b><span style= 'color:#bead8e'>small bold text</span></b></small></p>

if you’d like gradient texts, press this 🎀 ! it seems overwhelming but u only need to type what u want, insert ur desired colours then press run. after that paste the link you got into your draft like above and it’s all done <3 make sure you type all the information you want before running it okie

[anthrofreshtodeath]

#12 for the fic ask! (also #14 if u feel so inclined 😄)

Thank you for your ask! Appreciate you!

12) What is my favorite trope to write and why?

I really like fake dating and friends-to-lovers. Something about realizing there's something different going on, something different than friendship or partnership, I think. I like when I can make characters realize they've been reading things wrong. Fake dating is also very messy and I am know to love the mess haha.

14) Share a snippet - oooh, let's do one from P FKN R. I'm liking how it's going.

Jane closed her eyes to savor the tug of Tatiana Martinez’s teeth on her lower lip. Quickly, control spiraled, and her heart hammered. Her fingers trembled when they curled around Tatiana’s waist, and her back sweated when Tatiana put a hand flat on it. They kissed, lips on lips, tongue tangling with tongue, until Jane felt that hand move to her chest. “Jesus,” she whispered, more a feeling against Tatiana’s mouth than a sound in her ear.

“Just Tati is fine,” Tatiana teased when she pulled back. “I haven’t seen you in…”

“Five years? Five long-ass years,” Jane finished, just before lunging in for another kiss. The atmosphere of the steamy, rapidly-filling bar pressed in around them, cocooning them in with each other. 

Tatiana laughed when Jane found her again. “Stop for a second,” she said. “I’d like to think we have all night.”

“Do we?” Jane asked, eyes somehow darker and all alight at the same time.

“Don’t we? Do you have somebody to go home to?” Tatiana asked back. “You didn’t mention anyone.”

Jane shakes her head. “Nah. Not really,” she replied. “There’s a guy overseas… army. But we’re not serious. I think I might have already dumped him.”

Tatiana laughed, mouth open and a hand on Jane’s chest. “You think? You always were so messy when it came to love, papi,” she said, her accusation light, playful. When her fingers hit leather, she scrutinized Jane more directly: jeans, boots - possibly from work, a v-neck tee, and a jacket. She narrowed her perfectly threaded eyebrows. She shook her head.

Jane frowned, checked herself out. “What, I don’t look good?”

“I didn’t say that,” Tatiana replied. “You just look like you’re meeting my brother. What happened to the Jane that used to take me out? What happened to my Jane?” She was remembering Jane in silk shirts, with loud tropical prints, in dark skinny jeans, in exposed ribbed undershirts, catholic pendants around her neck, bathed in perfume. Reckless Jane - Jane chasing promotions and chasing Tatiana’s naked form all over the bed.

Jane remembered herself at that age, too. “To be fair, I had no idea you’d be here,” she said, blushing, her lips practically hanging off of Tatiana’s ear. The scent of Tati’s hair, of coconut shampoo and fruity styling products, set a symphony off against her ribcage. Knock knock knock knock. Memories of debauchery and athleticism tickled her brain before releasing in a deluge.

“Hmm,” Tatiana hummed when Jane gave into temptation and ran the tip of her tongue over the side of Tatiana’s neck. “It’s because I never know if I am gonna be here. That would be better with a shot and a little salt, you know,” she said, stepping confidently into the affection.  

“Jane!” Maura called over the music, with the tray serendipitously in her hand and Frankie right behind.

Jane jerked upright, as if just having remembered that she didn’t come to the club alone, or at least hadn’t planned to be there alone. “H-hey!” she shouted, catching sight of Maura. The visual was calming; it pulled her spirit back into her shoes when it had threatened to float above the crowd and out into the summer night. 

Tatiana, ever the extrovert, helped Maura take the tray to the small standing-room table close by. “You have excellent timing,” she said to Maura while Jane and Frankie followed along. “We were just talking about how we needed some shots! Jane, Frankie, who is this beautiful woman?”

Jane cleared her throat and tried not to use what little Spanish she had to decipher the salacious lyrics pounding into the room around them while she stared at Tatiana’s ass in that tight skirt. And then there was Maura’s tight skirt, ass and all, and…

She needed to get ahold of herself.

“This is uh, this is Dr. Maura Isles,” she said, coming up behind Tatiana, hand on her waist. “She’s the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth, and she’s my best friend.” Jane smirked at that last part, a smirk reserved only for Maura, which Maura was happy to see preserved considering Jane was behind Tatiana and therefore hidden from Tatiana’s view. Maura smiled back just before her lips closed around the lip of her beer. 

Jane gulped. “Shit. Before we do shots, I gotta get me one of those,” she said, squeezing her way through bodies as more started to hit the floor. Maura watched her rub her entire front on Tatiana’s entire back and suddenly had the urge to tell Jane there was no more waiting. Shot time was now. 

But then, Jane put a hand on Maura’s forearm and leaned close. “Wait for me, yeah?” she said into the hair at Maura’s temple, the only way to be heard now that the music had been pumped up. “I’ll be right back.”

Maura nodded dumbly. “Sure,” she said, once Jane had already left.

“Dr. Isles!” Tatiana shouted. Her voice sounded muffled and far away, but Maura still turned toward her. Again, stunning. Close up, Maura noticed all the ways that Tatiana and Rafael looked alike: eyes set the same distance apart and burning with intelligence, full and glossy lips, the same broad and beautiful nose. Tatiana deviated from her brother in the womanliest of ways, however, with the curve of her hips and the kind of ass Maura had begged the universe for in high school. She thought she’d gotten quite a good return on her investment, but… Tatiana had her beat in both shape and bounce. Maura only had the tiniest bit of a hard time admitting it. Apparently, she had been lost in thoughts of Tatiana’s good looks so long that she’d missed her name, because it came again. “Dr. Isles!” Tatiana repeated. “I looked you up when my brother said he was working with you!” she yelled across the cadence of drums and guitars that she swayed to. 

“Oh, you did?” Was all that Maura could think to shout back, feeling bold with her beer and putting a hand on the silk of Tatiana’s shirt, right above her wrist.

“I did! Youngest person ever to be Chief M.E.! I gotta say, that’s impressive!” replied Tatiana. Maura’s brain analyzed all aspects of her with impressive speed, trying to dissect all the things that might make Jane as wrapped up in Tatiana as she clearly was. Interestingly, her Spanish accent, slight, sounded different than Rafael’s, and Maura couldn’t quite place it. Mexico? Guatemala? Distinctly American-born.

She didn’t get the chance for further study because Jane slithered against her before moving past. “Hey, I got us a round,” said Jane, carrying four beers, two in each hand. “Seemed like a good idea.”

Jane’s deep voice, loud like Tatiana’s but not feminine like hers, carried notes of the North End and its own very specific Sicilian-American leftovers. Maura gulped, chugging the rest of her beer so she could take the next bottle from Jane. “Thank you!” she raised the empty one to Tatiana in response to her previous comment, and then, more quietly, she wrapped her fingers around Jane’s around the base of the amber bottle. “And thank you,” she said, in her normal volume, relying more on the hooding of her eyes to convey her words to Jane.

Jane, already on her way to Tatiana, stopped for a moment. “Y-yeah, you’re welcome,” she said, with that Maura-specific smile one more time.

[ashekirk]

Ao3 Work Skin: Easier Reading for old people

Hello, I am 36 and I don't like reading stuff in small text because my eyes have deteriorated over many years of staring at screens.

With no obvious way to share AO3 work skins, I figured I'd share mine here.

The purpose is to make the text a good size, be more legible, and not go all the way across wide screens - it limits the width of the text area, and shouldn't break with the major site skins.

I do change the text to serif, which I find easier for long blocks of text, so if you don't want that you'll need to make your own adapted version that doesn't use the same font family.

I also added in a few extra pieces, so if you use the following:

<p class="divider">***</p>

It will put a nice division in to separate two scenes or a time/perspective shift.

And using:

<div class="title-image">IMAGE HERE</div>

Will make whatever image you put in have a width 95% of the text area, which is good for title images, and it will reduce if the screen shrinks.

I also included 5 different highlight classes, so using:

<span class="highlight-1">TEXT HERE</span>

will highlight that text in the colour scheme specified. Change the one to anything up to five for different colours. <Span> tags can be used at any point inside paragraphs or other blocks.

Ashe Easy Readin'

I have no idea if anyone but me can view the link, so I'll post the CSS below.

I also have a version up in the Stylish user styles gallery (Stylish is a browser plugin that lets you change website style sheets):

Easier Reading Ao3

Easier Reading Ao3 - Dyslexic Edition

These are useful if you want any unstyled works on the site to change to this style. I use it because it improves my Ao3 experience.

#workskin { max-width: 600px !important; padding-left: 2%; padding-right: 2%; font-size: 15pt; font-family: Garamond, Baskerville, Georgia, Cambria, "Hoefler Text", "Liberation Serif", Times, "Times New Roman", "serif"; line-height: 1.7em; overflow-x: hidden; } #workskin div.preface { margin: 0; padding: 0; font-size: .8em; } #workskin p { text-indent: 0.85em; line-height: 1.7em; margin-top: 0.85em; margin-bottom: 0.85em; padding: 0; } #workskin h2 { padding-top: .6em; font-size: 200%; margin: 0; text-align: center; line-height: 2em; } #workskin .divider { width: 95%; max-width: 600px; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em; clear: both; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 3em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 1.5em; overflow: hidden; } #workskin p.divider { text-indent: 0; } #workskin h3 { padding-top: .6em; padding-bottom: .6em; font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; margin: 0; line-height: 2em; clear: both; } #workskin em { font-style: italic; } #workskin strong { font-weight: bold; } #workskin .highlight-1 { background-color: #B6ECC4; border-radius: 5px; color: black; } #workskin .highlight-2 { background-color: #BCE3FF; border-radius: 5px; color: black; } #workskin .highlight-3 { background-color: #F8BAFF; border-radius: 5px; color: black; } #workskin .highlight-4 { background-color: #004483; border-radius: 5px; color: white; } #workskin .highlight-5 { background-color: #7F0013; border-radius: 5px; color: white; } #workskin .title-image { width: 95%; margin: auto; text-align: center; overflow-y: hidden; overflow-x: hidden; padding-bottom: 1em; border-bottom: dashed 1px #ddd; } #workskin .title-image img { width: 95%; overflow: hidden; } #workskin .title-image p { text-indent: 0; }

[avatricism]

MY FIRST SUMMER (2020) dir. Katie Found

[sopejinsunflower]

Warning: violence, death

Ch.2: See-Saw Jimin

The clock strikes midnight and, as if he had been waiting outside the door like you knew he would be, you hear Jimin give three loud knocks. Unlike his older brother, Jimin waits to be told to come in.

Still in your bathrobe, your hair still wet from the bath earlier, you tell him to come in through gritted teeth. Jimin pops his head in and he had a sickly sweet smile on his face, a lock of blond hair falling over his eyes. “Can you say that again, please? Nicer this time,” he says, waiting for your reply. You chew on the inside of your cheek before nodding and he disappears back outside. Once again, he knocks three times.

Pushing back on your anger, you call out almost in a sing-song voice, “Come in, Jiminie.” He pushes open the door and smiles brightly, satisfied this time. He comes over and you’re a little surprised that he’s in pyjamas, a navy blue set with stars and moons all over it, making him look younger, almost childlike.

He locks the door behind him and approaches you sitting at the small table facing the opened French doors. There’s a light breeze and it makes this summer night a little bit more bearable. Jimin looks at the teapot and your empty teacup. “Chamomile? With honey?”

You give him a small nod. “Yes. It’s finished, though.”

“Good,” he replies, sitting down in the other chair. “Should be good to calm your nerves after what happened. I can’t believe Jin-hyung brought you there.”

You eye him suspiciously, trying to get a read of what mood he’s in. It’s always a hit and miss with Jimin. You choose not to say anything back, throwing your gaze out the French doors into the inky darkness outside. The balcony is wide with a double-seated wicker sofa pushed against one wall. This is where you sometimes spend your time on your two free days - the days that come after a complete cycle of the seven brothers - with a book or just a head so tangled you don't know where one thought begins and another ends. 

The balcony itself has an amazing view of the back end of the estate that the boys called their backyard; a huge understatement as it spans acres of land that looked like an abandoned garden. It’s as if someone decided to start a botanical garden but then completely discarded it years down the line. That, or the person died and no one has the time or knowledge to continue tending to all the different types of plants so much so that the west side is overgrown with rose bushes, their thorns growing almost as big as your pinky.    

 In the centre of the land stands one of the oldest and biggest oak trees that you’ve ever seen, its gnarled branches growing in every which way. At night, in the dark, the oak tree is a scary thing to look at even from a distance. For some reason, you can’t shake the feeling of malice and enmity every time you look at it. Taehyung mentions a mausoleum once but refuses to say exactly where it is and you think a house full of dead people would be much better than an ancient, evil-looking tree.

“We should go to bed,” pipes up Jimin after a long silence of you staring out the balcony door and him just curiously studying you. “Those bags under your eyes are not doing you any good.”

You glare at him. “And whose fault is that?”

His eyes widen in innocence as he shakes his head like a golden retriever, hair flopping over his eyes. “Definitely not mine since my day just started. I heard Namjoon-hyung was late to leave. Must’ve been his, then.”

You groan, rolling your eyes at him. You pad over to the closet, walking in and sitting down on the cushion stool, staring up at Jimin’s section. Yes, your walk-in closet is divided into seven sections of clothes you are to wear, one section for each of the brothers, all very different styles from each other. It’s madness, pure fucked-uppery how they treat you like a pet to be dressed up the way they like it and be used and abused seven different ways of hell. But to be honest, when you really think about it, the one person you want to put a bullet through is your goddamn sperm donor, but can you even do that?

Jimin walks in and goes straight to the nightwear of his section. He pulls out a blue pyjama set that matches his and hands it over cheerfully. “Here. This one.”

You look at the cotton set, a tell-tale sign of which side of Jimin you’re dealing with tonight. You take the pyjamas from him and let him undress the bathrobe, noticing the slight pinkish hue of his cheeks when he sees that you have nothing underneath except the lace panties, the only type of garment that the brothers all seem to agree on. That reaction alone manages to soften you up but only a little. 

You let Jimin put the pyjamas on you almost like dressing up a porcelain doll; careful touches, gentle grips, little soft manoeuvres. He seems content with the end product and insists on drying and brushing your hair. Sitting on the middle of the bed, he meticulously braids your hair, his tongue poking out in between his lips as he focuses on the movement of his fingers. “Your hair is very fine. It refuses to stick properly,” he complains, furrowing his eyebrows. 

You sense the change and quickly tell him, “It looks fine, Jiminie. It’s pretty. You’re doing a good job.”

He immediately perks up, eyebrows going up. “Really? I must be getting better then!”

“Mhm. You are,” you agree, breathing a sigh of relief. 

“Done!” Taking your hand, he leads you to the full body mirror in the corner, turning you this way and that to try and show you his work. You nod, smiling and telling him it looks good without even really registering how the top part is already coming loose.

Facing the mirror, Jimin wraps his arms around your waist from behind, resting his chin on the top of your head. “We look cute together, don’t we?”

You take this chance to scrutinise his face; the soft brown eyes, the wavy hair that hides his forehead, the full pouty lips, the crooked front teeth that’s actually cute. You nod your head again, smiling just a little before it turns into a yawn. You let him take you back to the bed and tucks you in, laying down next to you, running his fingers through your hair as he props his head on one hand, watching you like he always does before bed. It’s not long before your breathing evens out.

“You wish you didn’t have to be here, don’t you?” he whispers, tracing one finger over your forehead. “You wish you’re far, far away from us, don’t you?”

You barely hear him, fatigue kicking in the moment you relaxed yourself and sleep takes over pretty quickly, a rare occasion for a light sleeper like you. You squirm and adjust your position, turning your head away so that all Jimin can see is your left side profile. He smiles to himself, appreciating the exposed skin of your neck where he can clearly see where the pulse point should be. He watches the spot until he sees your breathing has slowed down enough before closing in, pushing his face centimetres away from yours.

Your eyelids flutter, a sign that a dream has taken you away. Jimin finds himself wondering about it, whether if it’s good or bad and if it’s good, was he in it, and if it’s bad, is he the reason? He shakes his head. No, if it’s a bad dream then it must be Jin-hyung because why the hell did he bring you over to the Wolfsbane House for? Even Jimin gets the heebie jeebies whenever he’s in the presence of Giacoma Wolfbane. The man would have his eyes all over him, looks that make him feel vulnerable and exposed like he’s undressing Jimin in his head. He shivers just thinking of it. 

Jimin’s eyes linger downwards, down to your neck almost upturned to him. He can smell the jasmine soap scent coming off your skin and he puts his nose closer, bumping it a little. He freezes but you don’t move and judging from your breathing, he didn’t wake you. Without stalling anymore in case you do wake up, he inches closer and brushes his lips against the pulse point. When you don’t stir, he tries again, pressing his lips ever so softly, feeling the warmth of your skin. Cheekily, he snakes his tongue out and takes a quick swipe, pausing to check your reaction.

 When again you don’t move, he continues his work, sweeping his hair back out of his face.

Morning comes blasting through the drawn curtains of the French doors and you wake with the sun literally shining into your eyes. You squint, using one hand to shield your face, groaning at the fact that it’s not even eight. You sit up and immediately jump, startled to see Jimin sitting in the armchair next to the bed, staring at you. 

“Jeez,” you sigh, a hand on your chest. “You scared me.”

Jimin doesn’t speak and you look at him more closely: all black outfit, black T-shirt, black skinny jeans, black Chelsea boots and his hair, straightened, is parted to the side, swept back and out of his face, displaying the silver dangling earrings he has on. Fuck, you think as you slowly pull the sheets back to get out of bed. You mumble about going to get dressed when Jimin stops you with one word, “No.”

You pause, turning on your heels to face him. You can never get a good read on him, never can fully tell what he plans to do or what’s on his mind, not that you’re actually good with the others as well but Jimin, when he’s like this, seems to be swinging from one random thought to the next. And just when you think you’re finally getting him, he completely flips. 

Jimin points to a spot in front of him. “Come.”

You shuffle over to the spot and stand there, waiting for him to speak first. He’s looking at you from top to bottom, his forehead scrunching up at the pyjamas. Then he looks up again. “Hair.”

You touch your messy, half undone braid with hair sticking out in different directions, pulling it over your shoulder to look at it. You glance over at Jimin, trying to decipher what he meant and go with the safest option. “I’m sorry. It must have come undone during the night.”

He returns your look coolly, his face void of any emotions.  He barely even moved, sitting back in the armchair, one finger at his chin. He barely even blinks, regarding you through hooded eyes. Finally he stands up, one swift motion that makes you step back involuntarily, and approaches you. He takes your hair by the tied up end and pulls off the rubber band.

“Ow!” you yelp. “What the hell was that for?”

He hands you the band. “Off.”

You ignore him, turning around and walking off to the bathroom. He follows you at a slower pace, but stops by the doorway. You start brushing your teeth, glaring at him through the mirror, growing angrier by his blank expression. He still has the rubber band in between his fingers, rolling it around as he watches you. 

You spit out the toothpaste and rinse your mouth, splashing some cold water onto your face as well. You shake out your hair from the braid, using your fingers to untangle it and that’s when you notice the reddish spot on your neck. You lean closer to the mirror, tilting your neck to see better. It’s a hickey.

“What the…?”

Jimin appears right behind you. “Mine.”

You lock eyes with him, unsure of how to proceed. What does that even mean? You look back in the mirror at the spot on your neck, rubbing one finger over it as if it might smudge off. Jimin catches your hand and pulls it down but not releasing it. He looms closer, never breaking eye contact and lightly places a kiss directly on the hickey. Again, he repeats, “Mine.”

He made the hickey? Or is he saying you’re his? 

Sensing your still confusion, he presses another kiss, harder this time in the same spot, and again, with added pressure, and one last time. This time he uses his teeth to pull at the skin, making you wince. He continues to suck on the tender skin there, turning it purplish blue now. You try to pull away but he’s holding you in place. There’s a sort of frenzy in his eyes now and there’s nothing you can do except wait him out, gritting your teeth to bear the sting. When he finally lets go, the hickey is now dark-coloured and very obvious, looking more like a bruise the size of your thumb than a love mark. He steps back, admiring his work, looking happy with himself. 

“Are you done?” you ask in a huff.

He doesn’t respond.

Collecting yourself, you gently push away from him and step outside, making a beeline for the closet. As if there’s a string attached from your hips to his, he follows you out. Going through Jimin’s closet section, you try to pick out something with a high neck, something that can hide the hideous thing on your neck. You pull down a high polo neck sweater but Jimin rushes forward and grabs it from you, putting it back up. He then chooses a royal blue satin tank top with thin criss cross straps and a black short skirt to match it with. He then goes over to the shoes area and picks out a pair of ankle boots before coming back to hand everything over to you.

He points to his watch and taps the face three times, looking pointedly at you. Then he walks out, hands in his pockets. You get dressed, put on light makeup and hurry downstairs. You head over to the front door but only see Jungkook’s car idling. You backtracked, going back inside and running into Jungkook, the youngest brother, coming down the stairs. 

“G’morning, sunshine,” he greets with his usual bright smile and passes by you heading into the dining room where the table for eight is set up with breakfast food. He’s still fixing his tie and seems to struggle with it. You follow behind, wanting to ask if he knows where Jimin is but he turns around with a cute pout, holding out the tie. “Help?”

You can’t help but chuckle, going over to help him with the tie. He doesn’t say much but you can feel his eyes on you. You don’t mind it; Jungkook is one of the easiest ones to get along with. He’s normal at least. Somewhat.

“No.”

You both turn to see Jimin coming from the kitchen, unrolling his sleeves. His face is clouded and his eyes are angry but you note that it’s not directed at you. You step back from Jungkook. “I just helped him with his tie, that’s all,” you say to placate him, knowing that if his mood is foul the whole day, you’ll bear the brunt of it.

“No,” he repeats, eyebrows stitching together, eyes fixed on Jungkook.

“Relax,” says Jungkook. “I’m leaving anyway.”

He picks up a cup of coffee and takes a few sips, grabbing a piece of toast and saluting you with it before leaving. You hear the front door open and close and the sound of his car driving off, wishing that it was his day instead of Jimin’s. 

You turn back to Jimin and he fixes a cool gaze on you. He makes a sweeping gesture at the breakfast spread. “Eat.”

What is with this family and food?

You take a seat and Jimin settles down next to you, spreading butter on your toasts. He picks up the strawberry jam bottle and looks at you questioningly. You nod and he proceeds to add the jam on top of the butter. One of the maids comes out and pours tea into your cup and coffee into his, barely making any eye contact before going off into the back. 

“...to get a lot of push back on the raised tax so we should be prepared for that. Fucking hell, I don’t even know why Jin-hyung had to do that. It’s ridiculous because we have to clean up the mess.”

Hoseok’s voice carries into the dining room as footsteps descend the stairs and you whip your head around just as he rounds the corner, buttoning the cuff of his white shirt sleeves. Tall and lean with his hair slicked back and no tie with the first two buttons undone, you can’t help but admire how handsome he is even with the half scowl on his face that immediately disappears when he sees you. But then his eyes flicker over to Jimin and the dip in between his eyebrows is back. 

Namjoon comes in behind him, his suit jacket in one hand, using one lapel corner to wipe his glasses. He puts them back on but barely acknowledges you, almost as if his eyes just gleam over your seat. He’s looking at Jimin, a cup of coffee at his lips. “Why aren’t you the one going to smooth things over with the Wolfsbane? It’s your department.”

Hoseok laughs. “It’s also his department that went and stuck a frigging knife in the boss’ hand.” He turns to you, one hand on the back of your seat. “I can’t believe Jin-hyung made you do that last night. I’ll give him a good talking to when I see him next, Jagi.”

Namjoon makes a face. “Yeah, but they’re literally PR. That’s their job.”

“And we’re the clean up crew,” Hoseok says, patting Namjoon on the shoulder. “How about this? I’ll handle the Wolfsbane and you can meet up with Yoongi-hyung in town.”

“You know I hate collection day.” Namjoon sighs, putting down his cup. “I’ll wait in the car.”

Hoseok arches his eyebrows at him good-naturedly. “Everyday is collection day. So you’re coming with me?”

Namjoon rolls his eyes. “Someone has to or you’ll go overboard.”

As Namjoon is leaving the room, you hear Hoseok mutter, “Damn it. Yoongi-hyung must have put him on me.” He whirls around and speaks to Jimin. “Can you believe this? Yoongi-hyung is making Namjoon watch over me.”

“Because of what happened last time?” you ask, sipping on your tea. 

Hoseok pouts. “They’re overreacting over rats who don’t know where to put their loyalty. Someone had to remind them.”

You snort. “I don’t think beating them half to death would keep it either.”

“Honey,” says Hoseok leaning down close to you, “if I was nicer, I’d be on the same team as Jinmin or Taekook, simple as that.” He straightens up and puts on his suit jacket. “But there’s a reason why I’m the Punisher and Namgi the Collectors.”

“Go,” Jimin growls from next to you, not even looking up at his brother, frowning so deeply at the scrambled eggs on his plate that they would’ve scrambled away if they had been given the opportunity to live.

Hoseok smirks and winks at you. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jagi.”

Munching on your toast, you ask Jimin, “Where are we going?”

He doesn’t answer but wipes his mouth with the napkin, takes another swig of his coffee and then stands up. He pulls on his jacket, buttoning them up swiftly. “Come,” he says and without waiting, walks out of the dining room and out into the courtyard.

You roll your eyes. “Come. Go. No. Stop,” you mimic, making a face. You stand up and frustratingly push back the chair only to turn around and see Jimin standing by the window looking at you darkly. You throw him a sweet smile and a wave before following to meet him outside, although you can’t deny the way your heart is thudding widely at being caught.

In the car, Jimin busies himself with his phone. You wonder how long this Jimin will hold before Jiminie comes back but he’s going to need his vocabulary when we arrive wherever we’re going. The crease in between his eyebrows is only growing so you keep your mouth shut and stare out the window, again finding yourself looking at the House crest on the iron gate, the seven petals blooming out almost spectacularly menacing.

Lotus Sanguis is one of the oldest, richest and largest House that spans from the east coast to the west coast of the region, their influence going deep down to the roots of most of the other smaller groups, like Wolfsbane, who have pledged their infinite loyalty to Lotus Sanguis. So deep and indisputable is their reach that it goes even into those of opposing Houses, acting as eyes and ears, reporting anything and everything and almost instantaneously. You can never hide from Lotus Sanguis, can never run either. Any signs of aggression or mutiny directed to the House will be met harshly but never with haste. There’s nothing more Lotus Sanguis love than the slow suffering of their enemies.

Jade Dragon House is one of the larger groups that managed to hold their own in the southeast, eluding the grasp of Lotus Sanguis yet smart enough to skirt around their territories to grow into an almost matching force, that is until your father took over. The death of Huang Feng, your grandfather, was surrounded with too many conspiracies and when your father took the throne, the whispers only got louder. He was hot-headed and impatient, greedy and reckless and too impulsive. He succumbed to the pressure of filling shoes that were too big and not made for him, dismantling the group completely from its glorious form. 

According to Jin, Jade Dragon was drowning in debt and businesses were going to ruin, and that they were hanging by a thread. That was when Lotus Sanguis came in, offering financial assistance in exchange for loyalty. But David had been too proud to serve under anyone and the group was at the brink of destruction. Fortunately for him, he had a sacrificial piece, the last of his play to maintain power. Not so fortunate for you, however. 

 “What are you thinking about?”

You turn to find Jimin staring at you with his head tilted to one side. A lock of hair has gotten loose from the gel and fallen over his face. You shake your head, smiling wryly. “Just my miserable fate.”

Jimin looks thoughtful for a moment then says, “Is it really that bad? Living with us?”

You stare at him, a little struck by his question. There’s sincerity in his eyes but his body language is somewhat defensive; the head cock, the constant chin rubbing with the side of his finger, the slight arch of his eyebrows. You turn away from him, muttering, “Do I even have a choice in that?”

“You’re not in shackles,” he comments lightly. “You can just run, if you had wanted to.”

 You laugh, incredulous. “Really? And I would’ve succeeded?”

Jimin hums to himself as he thinks, looking out the window. “Probably not. Hoseok would’ve loved the chase, though.” He turns around again. “But he’d have to bring you to the Tree if you did.”

You frown. “Tree?”

“We’re here.”

The car pulls to a stop and Jimin gets out before the driver can get his door for him, opting to come over to your side instead and help you out. The high-rise building looks like it belongs to some conglomerate group but you can’t see any signs or logos that could tell you whose it is. It’s a new building from the looks of the fresh paint and somewhat deserted parking lot. 

“Are you coming?”

You follow Jimin into the building, watching as he checks himself in the reflective surface of the elevator door, fussing with his hair and picking lint off of his clothes. His shoulders look more relaxed than earlier today but he doesn’t seem to like the choice of clothes on himself. You keep catching him looking at your top and then down to his own, pouting. 

“What?” you ask finally just as the elevator pings and the door opens, splitting your reflections into halves. You both step in and Jimin presses a floor number. 

“We’re not matching,” he grumbles. “And black is so boring.”

“Sounds more like a you problem,” you reply back.

He doesn’t respond, checking his watch. The elevator pings again and the door opens up to a bare hallway. You follow Jimin out, passing a few doors before he stops at one. 

“Do I have to be here?” you ask before he reaches for the doorbell.

Jimin looks a little flustered, looking from you to the door and then just the general surrounding. “Uh, well, no. You can wait down in the car, I guess.”

“Really? Now you tell me?” 

You sigh, ready to bolt back to the elevator. Suddenly, the office door opens and a man in a brown suit is standing there, a little confused. You meet his gaze, the faint bell of recognition ringing in the distance but can’t quite conjure up his name nor how you knew him. He, however, looks a little more surprised. He opens his mouth to say something but Jimin, noticing him staring, diverts his attention.

“So you’re going to invite me in or not?” 

The man snaps his eyes away to address Jimin. “Yes, sorry. Come on in.” He looks back at you making your way back to the elevator. He watches until you step away from his line of sight, finally closing the door behind him to focus on business.

Downstairs, the driver opens the car door for you but you shake your head, resting your back against the car instead, looking up at the building. Your brain is working through the folds trying to place the man you saw upstairs but everytime you think you almost got him, he sort of slips away. You’ve seen him before, yes, but when and where and more importantly, who the hell is he? 

The driver, a man probably in his thirties and looks like he served in the Marines, stands stoically a few feet away, hands behind his back. He maintains his eyes on the entrance, never even moving a muscle, doesn’t even look like he’s breathing. You heave a sigh, leaning further into the car. Without thinking, you ask aloud, “Who the fuck is he?”

The driver shifts ever so slightly. “Rafael Campania, Black Tiger’s advisor.”

You mull over the name, tossing it around on your tongue, trying to see if that will jog your memory. Nada. But Black Tiger, yes. They rule the southwest region and continue to flourish especially after your grandfather’s death. Both dragon and tiger have a sort of ironic bond, warring under the surface for the most influence of the southern region but maintain a sort of respect for each other, a little nod to acknowledge the other’s power whenever they cross paths. But David destroyed that long-nurtured relationship, too. Now, Jade Dragon looks to be at risk of being swallowed by the tiger, that much you’re sure of. Gone were the haydays of the dragon.

If Jimin is meeting with him, it can only mean one of two things: a merger or a collaboration, both of which mean nothing good to Jade Dragon. You curse yourself, wondering why you still even care about your family House when your father threw you to the wolves the first chance he got. But then again, your loyalty is not with Lotus Sanguis either. Stateless. Houseless. Homeless.

Thirty minutes later, you see Jimin come out through the entrance, immediately pulling on his dark sunglasses as he steps into the sun. The man from upstairs, Rafael, comes out just after him, eyes instantly locked on you. 

Jimin turns around to face him, extending out a hand. “Well, we’ll be in touch soon. I suggest keeping your phone close by. My brother isn’t a patient man.”

Rafael looks at Jimin and takes his hand. “Seokjin, right? Heard what happened with Wolfsbane last night.”

“Words travel fast,” Jimin remarks coldly. 

Rafael chuckles, eyes, again, flicking over to you. “Justified. We all know not to put our hands on other people’s toys.”

A peculiar feeling slides down the back of your neck like a cold clammy hand has been placed there and you fight hard against the shiver travelling through your body. That same bell is ringing in the back of your mind but you’re not sure if it’s out of familiarity or alarm. 

“And if you look too long,” Jimin drawls, gripping Rafael’s hand harder, “I might think you’re having ideas of touching other people’s toys.”

You watch as Jimin rakes back his hair, removing the lock of hair from over his forehead. His body seems to stiffen up, standing almost ramrod straight, his face turning stony, the easy smile wiping off. He takes a step back, regards Rafael for a second before turning his head and heading for the car, fixing his jacket. The driver moves forward to get the door and Jimin gestures to you with a jerk of his chin, “Inside.” For once, you oblige happily. Rafael Campania follows the car with his eyes until it disappears in the distance.

The car ride is silent. Jimin sits with his chin on his fist looking out the window, brooding. The driver watches his employer through the rearview mirror, glancing a few times before finally asking, “Sir, you have one more meeting or shall we head home?”

A couple of minutes pass and Jimin still hasn’t answered the question, probably won’t ever, judging by how he is at the moment. One-word Jimin is moody and short-tempered and if being monosyllabic isn’t a good enough reason to stay away from doing business, then his tantrums should be. You don’t know his schedule, not even any of the others’ but something tells you that this next one might be important enough for the driver suggesting going home instead so as not to botch it. 

Right when the car comes to the last intersection that would take you either homebound or back into the city, Jimin finally speaks up, “Meeting.” The driver makes a hard right.

You don’t like this side of Jimin but you haven’t actually experienced his meltdown firsthand, only had seen it when the brothers argued, which only ever happened once since you came. But they go hard. Imagine seven hot-blooded mafia lords going at each other in the confined space of the dining room and when it’s all over, the furniture is barely furniture anymore and it took two weeks for the room to be repaired and repainted over, the carpets and wall fixtures reinstalled and a thin scar on your arm from a stray glass piece. So you learnt to shut up but not out of fear, mostly to not escalate the situation for your own sake. You tend to get mouthy, too. 

“Hand.”

You turn around to see Jimin looking at you pointedly, one hand palm upward. Your eyebrow dips in a half frown, wondering what ridiculous game he’s playing at now. His forehead creases up when you don’t respond, holding out his hand further forward. Then his eyes move from your face to your own hands in your lap and then to his own coming back to look at you. He doesn’t repeat himself, hardly ever does, waiting. 

Reluctantly, you slide your hand into his and he pulls it over into his lap, turning away towards the window as if the whole exchange never happened. Sitting in an awkward position slightly slanted across the middle seat, you catch the driver’s eyes through the rearview mirror and you could almost swear he was smiling or was at least amused. 

Scooting over to make yourself more comfortable, Jimin now has your hand clasped in between both of his, one thumb absentmindedly tracing slow circles over yours, softly, gently much to your surprise. He’s still staring off into the distance, eyes clearly unfocused. 

“We’re here, sir,” announces the driver as the car pulls up into a shoplot district in a major part of town known to be associated with the mafia groups but always bustling with people. No one discusses the less-than-legal organisations openly and no one can actually prove anything and even if they could, no one dares to.  

“Your hand is so soft,” he mumbles.

You look up at Jimin, noticing the difference instantly; the softer eyes, the loose lock of hair, the kinder smile. He raises your hand up to his face and brushes his lips over your knuckles. “Fits perfectly in mine. Makes me more…centred.”

For the first time, there’s warmth in his voice and you feel it spread over you like melted butter, relaxing your shoulders as you sink back into the leather seat. He throws his gaze back out the window, watching the people passing by. When he speaks, it’s almost as if he’s speaking to himself more than to you. “I hate it when he comes out. It’s cold.”

You try to make sense of what he said but can’t quite figure it out so you remain quiet, not wanting to set him off again. It’s much nicer when he’s like this, anyway. He turns back around with a soft smile. “Stay in the car, okay? I won’t be long.”

You watch him walk towards a building, cutting through the throngs of people seamlessly almost as if they weren’t even there. He stops in front of a shop and that’s when you see Jin coming to meet him. They speak with their heads leaning in together and Jin looks over to the car once and you think you make eye contact even though it shouldn’t be possible since the windows are dark-tinted from the outside. Then they both disappear up the stairs to the side of the building, Jin leading the way. 

Sitting back in the seat, you rest your head back and close your eyes, breathing in deeply. The stress of being on alert since the moment you woke up slowly recedes in the absence of any one of the Lotus brothers. Lotus brothers. What were their surnames again? Surely it’s not Lotus, right? You sit up, trying to think if you knew their last name, and catch the driver looking at you through the rearview mirror. He quickly averts his gaze.

“Do you think I can go walk around?” you ask nonchalantly, looking out the window. 

The driver is quiet at first and then finally says, “The master told you to stay in the car and wait.”

You let out a heavy sigh. “Can’t you just let him know I went for a walk?”

“I don’t think that’s ideal,” he replies, turning around to look through the partition. “Please wait a little. He’ll be back soon. Or shall I call for him?”

You contemplate pulling Jimin out of his meeting but the consequences won’t be good. It’s Hoseok’s day tomorrow and if anything happens to you today, Hoseok, a little more on the protective side, will take it up with his brother and that will lead to a fight, which in turn will ruin everybody’s mood the rest of the week. Like the driver said, not ideal. You sigh again, heavier and louder this time. You sit back, listening to the low hum of the car engine idling. 

***

It’s exactly a hundred and twenty minutes later (yes, you counted), you finally see Jimin coming down the last steps from the corner stairs. He fishes out his sunglasses and as he’s about to put them back on, he pauses and stares at something in the distance, just beyond the car. 

You watch him for a little bit, wondering what caught his attention. Jin joins him and Jimin exchanges a few words with him. The older one looks up, scans the crowd and whispers something back. He glances over to the car, to the window you’re resting your forehead on, before briskly walking away. Jimin puts on his sunglasses and strides on over. You scoot over back to your side, noting how hungry you’ve become. 

The car door opens and Jimin steps in, unbuttoning his suit jacket to get comfortable. Without any verbal instructions, the car pulls away. Jimin hasn’t removed his sunglasses, turning to look at you and licking his lips. You can’t tell what he’s actually looking at but he has one hand resting in between the two of you, the fingers fidgeting. You wait for him to speak, to request for your hand again but he doesn’t. You notice that his hair is back in place, swept back and neat, a clear sign that it’s monosyllabic Jimin, but you can’t help but feel that something is off. Different.

After much staring, he finally asks in a small voice, “Can I hold your hand?”

You stare back, a little surprised but hold out your hand anyway. “I’m hungry,” you grumble, pouting as Jimin takes your hand and, again, brings it up to his lips. It’s not a kiss but a brush. 

“I know,” he replies, nodding. “Does sushi sound good?”

You think about it then nod, adding sarcastically. “The most expensive ones. I want sashimis.”

Jimin nods again, a lock of hair falling over his eyes. Ah, much better, you think. You want to know what he was looking at before he got into the car but the words never left your lips as Jimin cradles your head with one hand and pulls you into his chest. It takes a moment for you to register the whirring sound of the window opening and then the jerking motion of his body as two muffled shots go off above your head. The crowd screams as the sound of a vehicle, most probably a motorcycle, crashes to the ground. The loud sound of screeching tyres fills your ears as your car peels away.

Jimin never lets go until, in the awkward position of having your head pressed against his chest, you can see the car passing through the iron gates of the Lotus Sanguis estate. The sky has grown dark, thick black clouds rolling in and it seems like the weather has changed in a split second. A part of you wants to scream at him demanding explanation as to what the fuck happened but another, much bigger part of you just wants to remain in the safety of his embrace. How ironic, given the situation. 

The car glides up right to the huge front doors and the car door opens even before the car comes to a complete stop. Jin is standing there with a thunderous look on his face, pulling you out by your arm a little roughly. You don’t realise how much you’re still shaking, only standing up by the sheer strength of Jin’s arm around your waist. Jimin’s face is cool and impassive as he runs a hand to smooth back his hair into place. 

“Did you get him?” Jin snaps as Jimin pulls himself out of the car.

“Yes,” replies Jimin.

“Were there more?”

“Yes.”

“Little fuckers” Jin curses. “I’ll see if I can reach Hoseok. Get her inside. Is she hurt?”

“I’m right here, y’know,” you manage to say, pulling away from Jin and finally finding your own feet. Other than shaken up, you think you’re fine.

Jin eyes you from head to toe as if scanning for even any minute injury. You notice how his eyes zone in on the ugly hickey on your neck, narrowing his eyes but doesn’t say anything. Satisfied, he nods to Jimin who takes you by the hand and leads you inside back to your room. There, again, he checks you for any signs of injury, turning you this way and that. He cups your face and leans close. “A life for every scratch on you,” he breathes out raspily as if each word was pulled out with much force. 

You shiver, blinking up at him. “I’m fine,” you say quietly.

His phone rings from his pocket and he steps back to answer it. It’s Hoseok. He listens to the voice on the other end and, without a word, puts the phone away when the call finishes. He walks over to the door, turning around to look at you.

“Who was it?” you ask timidly, not sure if he would even answer.

“Nobody,” he answers almost instantly, noticing the way your body shakes as if you’re bracing against a cold gust of wind. “Come,” he sits on the armchair next to the bed and pats his lap. Oddly enough, you don’t hesitate but climb up and settle in. He pulls your legs to sit over him and runs a hand through your hair. You can feel the tightness in your muscle dissolving but this Jimin is also a source of your anxiety. It’s a full ten minutes of sitting like that when he finally speaks again, his voice softer. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. It must’ve been scary.”

You bite back on a sob, swallowing tightly. “Who did you shoot?”

He starts rocking you gently. “Don’t worry. Hoseok will take care of it.”

“Who was it?” you insist, your voice coming out hard.

After a few seconds he finally answers, “Wolfsbane’s men. They were tailing us.”

“I thought Hoseok went to go see him today,” you say.

“Yeah, he did.”

“Then?”

Jimin sighs. “Sometimes words are not enough, little one. Now hush. You don’t have to worry about it. I told you, Hoseok will take care of it.”

You press your lips together, holding back the mixed feelings you are going through; anger, sadness, guilt, mostly anger.This isn’t the first time another minor group will get wiped out, blood spilled. And this also isn’t the first time the reason being you. 

Lotus Sanguis is many things but merciful. Jimin knows that when Jin sic Hoseok onto the group, it will be like they never existed. But then again, Hoseok is all for the theatrical of it all so one can only guess what the outcome will be for the Wolfsbane House. A part of Jimin is furious that they dared test him out in the open like that, cementing the idea that Giacoma Wolfsbane had never had any respect for him the same way he holds for Jin and he gloats to think that Hoseok is about to tear them apart, literally. 

But you had seen him take a life, something he never thought he had to do in front of you. That was his only regret today. Curled up in his arms, your head pressed to his chest, he continues to rock you gently, entertaining the fantasy that this is just one of yours and his intimate moments and not just him trying to compensate for adding another trauma to your already long list.

a/n: Hi! Hope you like the update. I've been so busy lately (and will continue being busy for awhile) so i might take a long time to update each chapter. On another note, I finally went to Disneyland last weekend! woohoo! My first time! It was the best birthday! As usual, leave comments/ask on what you think of this chapter. Till next time!

Next chapter: here!

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