#I NEED TO GET AS MANY ORBS AS POSSIBLE TO GET ALL OF THEM
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dekariosclan · 2 days ago
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Hello! I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on this:
So the Party is doing their adventure, as usual, to solve their tadpole problem. Gale has already explained everything to Tav, yet they do not share something for fear of betrayal, especially from Gale. Elminster arrives and gives Gale Mystra's order, however before he leaves he warns him to keep an eye on Tav and to eliminate them the moment they start to be "dangerous" or "suspicious".
The mission goes on, Gale doesn't detonate and the Party reaches Baldur's Gate. Elminster comes again to tell him that he's expected by Mystra in the temple and that she may have found a way to give him forgiveness without the use of the orb.
Long story short: Mystra demands Gale to kill Tav because they too have found something that they shouldn't (not as bad as Gale's one but still enough to piss her off, also in this case Tav is a sorcerer)
Obviously Gale would refuse, even if they were just friends, but do you think that moment would be the drop that breaks the dam to the point that he decides to no longer worship Mystra? Of course Gale loves magic. But to know that the goddess of all magic demands something so important to him after everything she has done? I don't know, if I were him I would probably go "you know what? Fuck you Mystra, I've had enough of your absurdly crazy demands, I won't kill the love of my life/the only person that has helped me get on my feet again. I don't care that you're scared of Tav becoming the next Karsus like you did to me. After I give you the Crown I'll make sure to stay as far away from you as I humanly can and warn everyone of who you really are!"
I don't know.... I think that would be pretty dope of him (especially if he discards his earing after the visit, even more hot in my opinion)
Anon, I feel the need to quote Gale himself:
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😂 I have been put on the spot! Not because of your ask about Gale’s response—which I think you and I are of a similar mind on—but because I am rather unfamiliar with the mechanics of DND and the Weave. So I apologize if I mess up or state anything incorrectly regarding the ‘rules’ of magic use!
The thing about Gale is this: He values life and prefers to avoid conflict whenever possible. Yes, he has killed and can kill with magic quite effectively and will do so whenever needed—but he prefers not to. One of the quickest ways to earn his approval early in the game is to avoid unnecessary bloodshed during confrontations. And he gets very angry and upset if, in the Grove, Nettie tries to poison Tav—because if he had been in Tav’s place, it would have resulted in the orb exploding and the devastating loss of many innocent lives.
So let’s start with the friend scenario: I do agree completely that Gale would refuse to kill Tav, and that he would be angry and frankly shocked—moreso than when Mystra demanded his own sacrifice.
Gale’s guilt and shame over his ‘folly’ with the orb, his lack of self-worth, plus his sense of loyalty to Mystra and the Weave, made it so that when he received the order to self-sacrifice he initially responded with sad acceptance, rather than anger. Plus, he knew he would be saving countless lives by doing so.
…but if the order has been that he cause the death of his friend? That he essentially murder his friend? A friend that saved his life? He would 100% outright reject it, and be appalled as well.
I think his anger would be equivalent to how he reacts to Mystra in the Stormshore Tabernacle meeting where he is gunning for the crown: He admonishes her, he raises his voice at her, he is scornful. I don’t think he would have a shred of respect left for her, goddess or no. But I’m not sure if he would give up magic entirely as a result.
From what I’ve seen in the game, if I understand correctly, Gale (or any magic user…?) can be at odds with Mystra and can still achieve magic, as she’s just the ‘conduit’ for the Weave and cannot decide on who does or does not use it. So while he would not ‘worship’ her any longer, he would still allow magic in his life.
But if Tav was his beloved and he was asked to kill them?
I think Gale would be so completely repulsed he might actually give up magic entirely.
This is a man who, in Act 1, explains his relationship to magic as this:
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But then, once he knows Tav loves him as much as he loves them, spends the rest of the game
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telling them
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how much more important
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they are to him.
And so I do think, to your point Anon, this could actually be something that would break him and sever his relationship with magic entirely.
Where we differ slightly is that I can’t see Gale going on a verbal rampage and saying “fuck you.” Full disclosure: this definitely veers into my own person hc territory, but I imagine Gale says “fuck you” VERY RARELY, if at all. He does swear a few times in the game, and he absolutely can destroy someone verbally, but I feel that he tends to go the clever/sarcastic route or just straight honest anger without devolving into extremely harsh swearing. Instead, in this instance, I think he would be so repulsed and horrified by Mystra’s request and the thought of betraying Tav that he would actually be at a loss for words.
All I think he would be able to utter in that moment—he, the always talkative, overly-loquacious, extremely chatty wizard—is “Never.”
And I think the absolute revulsion in his eyes would say the rest.
Now, the timing of all this is significant, because it would be in Act 3 and Gale would know that he needs to use his magic abilities to help defeat the Netherbrain. So regarding the earring, if it has no effect on his magic use, I think it would be out of his ear and crushed under his foot immediately.
If, however, it is his ‘magic focus’ (as has been theorized) and he needs it to cast magic, then I think it would stay—even though he would hate it—until the end of the game. And then it would be tossed into the Chionthar along with that goddamn crown, which Gale would deliberately not be returning to Mystra, nor would he be collecting for himself. I believe in this chain of events, Gale would be removing himself completely from all things related to the divine. Because:
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yeyayeya · 1 month ago
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I’m so done I barely got orbs
IntSys I hate you for dropping this when I got nothing
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nichuuu · 6 months ago
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From Eden
Jeon Heejin x M reader
(1st instalment of De Selby)
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PSA: This shit has not seen the editing board because I'm lazy. Fell off real hard. Sorry gang.
Word count: 10k
You liked to think that your first meeting with her after all those years was a fluke. 
As it went for most people who went their separate ways at a point in their lives: there was history between you and Jeon Heejin. It was a little more choppy than you’d like to admit, but it formed the crux of your relationship and you couldn’t just ignore it. She seemed to find no qualms in forgetting what happened between the two of you. And as you caught up with her at a booth seat in some club you guys bumped into each other at, you wondered if you’d overreacted when the two of you had your falling out.
She was possibly kinda bad company for the night – not exactly a face you wanted to see three beers in and ditched by the rest of your friends cause they all got too drunk and found themselves booted from this hellhole. But at the end of the day, they all say that it’s better to be in poor company than to be alone. 
***
To whatever gods that were out there, you thanked all of them collectively for the fact that the toilet that she’d dragged you into was empty. You hoped that the cubicle door was enough to keep whatever was happening in the bathroom privy to its occupants. The music that pulsed on outside the bathroom should be enough to cover you right? 
Heejin—as usual—had no qualms about skipping past the usual formalities of intimacy. Those deft hands were on your belt faster than you could utter her name, and your cock was in her hand before you even knew it. She was gentle with you, stroking you considerately as she laid a hand on your chest. Those fingers made you tingle from the tip down, pushing you to new levels of pleasure you’d no idea you could experience. They gripped you lightly yet firmly, applying pressure at all the right spots to make your toes curl in your shoes and your muscles tense throughout your body. You could only wonder: did she know what she was doing to you? Or was she just getting really lucky. However sordid this situation was, it felt right to you… and maybe to her as well.
“Jesus Heejin”--your hissing through your teeth. It sounds a little more aggressive than you’d like, but you know she’d have no qualms about it anyway–“you sure know your way around a dick.”
The smirk on her face was snitching on the fact that she definitely knew what she was doing. She leaned in, flushing herself against your chest while she continued to deliver languid strokes to the rock hard meat in her hand. “Thanks… He loves a nice handjob from time to time, though I always imagine myself giving it to you instead of him to get into it..”
You summoned the strength to look into her eyes – really gaze deep into those lustful, beautiful orbs she’d been blessed with. Past the want and need, there was an undeniable look of sincerity she held, a wordless soulful confession to you that she had always fantasised you in place of her ‘lover’. It drove you to push a little further, ��and what are you thinking about now that I’m actually the one you’re giving it to?”
Heejin thought about it for a moment, almost as if she had a million and one answers that could express her carnal desires. Honestly, you wouldn’t put it past her to actually harbour a million and one answers. She was always a wild thinker in many aspects. She was also diligent, and that translated into the way her hand hadn’t stopped moving throughout the eternity (it was shorter than that, but it sure felt like it) she took to produce a congenial answer. 
“Now that you’re actually here,” she finally answered, making sure to hit you with a smile that blurred the distinct line between sweet and sultry, “I’m thinking about how good you’re gonna fill me with this pretty, thick cock.”
“Pretty?” you couldn’t help but chuckle. You’d heard and read of many ways that people described dicks, but never in your life would you ever expect the word ‘pretty’ to be amongst that mix. Heejin giggled – one of mischief and ‘know-it-all’ energy. It’s pretty – her grip around you tightened, squeezing you with pleasurable force as her movements quickened almost in sync with your breathing – because I like the way it feels in my hand… and I know that this cock is gonna be better than anything that he’ll ever give me. 
She stopped, putting a jarring halt to the pleasure that surged through your system. Her hand on your chest snaked up to your cheek – a sweet action that almost took the pure filth out of the words that followed. “I want you to fuck me–no, own me.”
It felt almost like a command in the way that you immediately wanted to fulfill her request. Her thumb traces circles on your face; her speech only gets filthier, “fuck me like I’m yours. Make me cum so hard that I forget all about him.”
You found yourself back in control of the part of your brain that controls the facilities of your speech and movement. You gingery held the wrist that was delivering those soft strokes of heaven just moments ago and pulled her hand off your throbbing shaft. As much as you’d love to have her jerk you off, there were more pressing matters at hand – namely the situation of her clothing and the fact that it was still on her. You wrapped an arm around her, pulled her close.
“Heejin darling,” you whispered, relishing the way she shivered as your warm breath made contact with her ear. “I can’t do much if you still have all of these damned clothes on.”
She quickly recognised the game that you were playing and was eager to match you step-for-step. She held your gaze as she hooked a finger into the top of the tube top that adorned that wonderful figure and—rather enthusiastically—pulled it down. The nipple covers were quickly discarded and her small, perky breasts caught your gaze. Judging from her smile, she loved that you were staring. 
“You’re nice”, she told you, moving some hair out her face like you were looking there of all places. “He’s always commanding me: take off your clothes, do this, do that… I could get very used to you.”
You couldn’t help but smile a little. Her constant comparison of you and the man she was supposed to be loving was making you feel a little better about yourself (even though you knew that was far from the intended effect). You’d like to return the favour; you began running kisses down her body – starting from her lips before making your way down to her collarbone. Her shuddering sighs told you that you were doing something right, and you endeavored to keep up your performance for the rest of… Well… Whatever this session was.
“God… you’re fucking perfect, you know?” you informed her, wondering if she ever knew how much you adored that body of hers. Yes, you were more wholesome at a younger age – looking at her soft features and dorky personality to decide that you liked her. However, innocence never stopped you from stealing a glance or two at her ass when she wore tight jeans or a quick look at her slim figure whenever she wore anything that hugged her body like a glove. You’d never know if she ever caught you looking, but now you’re glad she knows that you are giving her your fullest attention (it was hard not to really).
You weren’t sure if her cheeks were flushing because of your comment or if she was just getting turned on. Either way, she still had remarks to deliver, “perfect is a little strong, but I’ll take the comment because I’m just so humble.”
Mischief was and would always be her idiosyncrasy.
A creak made both of you freeze. Female voices filled the bathroom, accompanied by the sound of heels clacking against the floor as your little getaway location was patronised by unwelcome guests. 
“Ugh… This damned contact lens is not coming out,” an identified voice carped. It sounded like the woman who said it was just in front of the stall that you were in. Judging from the slight look of annoyance that crossed Heejin’s face, you deduced that those were fellow bridesmaids who were in there together with you. With the same expression lingering on her soft features, she reached down and unclasped her jeans. She unzipped them slightly before pulling them down – past the delightful curve of her waist and till they were halfway down her supple thighs.
“Do you need help?” another voice rings out. Heels striked against the floor as another female occupant moved to join the scene; Heejin moved to grab you by the cock and pull you closer (as if the two of you weren’t already skin to skin in that stall).
“Fuck me now,” she hissed, an almost angry look filling her eyes. It was like she was being fuelled by the annoyance that stemmed from the presence of her fellow bridesmaids – using it as an excuse to quickly get filled with cock and have it pumping in and out of her within the next few seconds or so. She was lucky that you were taught to never keep a girl waiting.
Your movements are quick and firm; grabbing her by the waist and turning her around. Her gasp was telling of her surprise towards your sudden movements, but the grin that followed when she turned halfway around to you to watch as you pulled down her underwear told you that she liked how things were moving. Never in your life would you have imagined this: you and Jeon Heejin – each of you half naked in your own respects in a bathroom stall while people chatted freely beyond the wall of the stall. If the teenage version of yourself ever found out about this, you didn’t know how he’d respond.
Your right hand snaked down towards her crotch, and you are pleasantly surprised to find the slick wetness that could very well be running down the inside of her thigh. You could always check, but you liked to imagine. You took your shaft in your right hand. She bent slightly at the waist, her hands pressed against the white wall of the stall. The rest of her tight frame joined her hands soon after you parted the wet lips of her cunt and hilted yourself inside of her. 
Her insides felt like a warm embrace – better than you could’ve ever imagined it to be. It felt like a perfect fit; the throbbing meat within her walls filled her perfectly and felt every small movement the flesh could ever register. To call it heavenly would be downplaying the sheer pleasure she was bringing just by letting you be inside of her. Jeon Heejin felt like something unreal, unfathomable. You doubted that your hastily crafted description of her sweet wet cunt could allow one to process this taste of heaven.
Heejin let out a sharp gasp – loud enough for only the two of you to hear and loud enough for you to know that she too was unprepared for this new experience. From the way the muscles on her back tensed as her walls tightened around you, it felt as if her body was welcoming you. It was almost like she was subconsciously pulling you closer, deeper. You could get very used to this.
You revel in it a little, take in the feelings, the new sensation; the sound of the intentional soft breaths that the two of you were taking. This was certainly a novelty for you, and if you were being very honest with yourself: the events that led up to this moment felt a little too much like a fever dream. You half expected yourself to wake up in the next few seconds, or maybe—
“What are you waiting for?”–of course. It had to be her to really cement the fact that this whole thing was actually real. Sure, it’s inconceivable; but no imaginative power of yours could ever replicate the sarcasm (splashed with hunger) behind her voice, nor could you visualise the smouldering look in her eyes as she bit her lip–“your dick is in me. Do something with it.”
It felt like a challenge. She knew damn well that you always took up her challenges.
Withdrawing yourself from the warmth of her slick, you took a moment to cast your gaze downward. You appreciate the sight of your shaft glistening in her juices for a moment—and only a moment. There were pressing matters at hand—before thrusting back into her and reacquainting yourself with the warmth of her walls. You’d have loved to get into this slowly; unfortunately, Heejin chose the worst possible place to get it on. You’d have to live with her choices (and this isn’t exactly new for you).
And as a third voice joins the fray outside your stall—I think I have some eye drops here. Maybe that could help?—you began pumping yourself in and out of her, slow and controlled with full strokes that filled her to the brim. The voices continued to fill the bathroom as the three anonymous patrons struggled with one of their lenses; you struggled to keep yourself together inside of Heejin’s hot wet cunt. 
“F-Fuck yes,” she hissed. Don’t worry, it was soft. Or you could just be too absorbed by the delightful sound of wet squelching as your shaft appears and disappears between her legs to notice that she may be a tad loud. Even if it was, the trouble outside was enough to keep the other three  “I can’t believe I’m finally getting this dick. God… You’re so… Oh my god.”
It humoured you to see her in this state, though laughing at her would be the pot calling the kettle black; you yourself were trying to hold on to something tangible—that wasn’t her waist cause hot damn was your grip on it doing a number on you. Counterintuitive, but hot nonetheless—to keep you grounded in your senses. Slip up and you’d be dealing with the risk of being found in a girl’s bathroom. 
“Jesus Heejin”–you were trying your best to throw in some dirty talk. It would help to spice things up if it weren’t for the fact that your own words were failing you. Your mind was almost completely consumed by the warm squeeze of her pussy, the small twitches of her walls as you drilled yourself into her tight frame like you were slowly nailing a painting onto the wall of the cramped stall. Actually, you were nailing a painting to the wall of the stall: the way her body moved and responded to your thrusts could easily be considered fine art in your books; her body could be considered a canvas given its pale complexion and its smooth surface. Heejin was an art piece herself – a complicated mix of emotions that could take the place of colour and a mind so complex that no composition could ever capture its essence. Good god… You were hooked on this girl–”you have no idea how fucking good you feel around my cock.”
To be clear: from the moment you started fucking her, she hadn’t turned back to face the wall. This whole time she’d been facing you – eyes smoking under the fire of passion and her mouth slightly parted as if her soft moans and sighs were keeping them permanently open. Simply put – she was hot. If you were to discard the complications behind the sex, one could easily classify this as plain, passionate and simple fucking (in a highly risky scenario that could jeopardize both of your reputations, mainly Heejin’s) between two people who have longed for each other. But the plainness of that sounded unappealing to you; the enthralling fact about this was the complexity of the situation – the thrill behind the immorality of it and the sheer risk behind satisfying your own desires. As she gasped when your hands found purchase in her soft breasts, you wondered if she had the same thoughts running through your head as you (though from the looks of it, she was purely enjoying the sex and probably leaving her thoughts behind. Words fail in times like these – you’d be one to know).
Her voice is unsteady as she hissed through her teeth—harder. Fucking give it to me like I’m yours—to perversely request for more than what you were giving her. To see her this uncouth enthralled you to no end. With one hand on her left tit, you moved to secure her hair in a bunch in your other hand. Her hair was a little far from silky—no doubt from all the dye that it’d seen—but it provided friction for you to grip onto her strands with ease as you decreased the intervals between your thrusts. The sound of wet squelching began to permeate the stall, and it was starting to be accompanied by the soft sounds of skin slapping against skin as you struggled to control your desires to rail the girl before you. Thankfully, the cries of victory from the women outside masked the unsavoury sounds.
“Thank god!” one of them, presumably the one who had their contact lens stuck. You’d affectionately refer to them as ‘Eyes’. “I thought it’d be in there forever. Thanks guys.”
“No worries”, another chimed. It was the second voice you heard when all of them entered. She’d be ‘Two’. “Normally you could take this to Heejin. She’d get you fixed up in a flash.”
“Really?” the third asked. You’ll call her ‘Three’. “Do idols get their contacts stuck a lot?”
“Probably,” Eyes mused, “all that dancing on stage probably isn’t suited for glasses, and who knows what type of contacts their stylists have them on.”
Heejin catched your gaze. Struggling to control her breathing, she managed to confirm Eye’s statement—she’s… kinda right. Oh fuck…—before you pulled back firmly on her hair to shut her mouth. Don’t be mistaken: you loved her personality and all, but now really wasn’t the time for it to shine. For good measure, you sealed her lips with a kiss – sloppy and clumsy and hurried. You squeezed her breast a little harder. 
“Where is she anyway?” Three asked. “I haven’t seen her since she left to go talk to that friend of hers…”
A tongue click of disapproval could be heard. You could imagine that it was followed by a tongue wave of dismissal from the way Two commented, “leave her be. She rarely gets to get out of her schedule. Probably trying to catch up with some old friends or something…”
There was a hum of agreement; Heejin moaned straight into your mouth as you captured her nipple between your fingers and squeezed. If the women outside knew how Heejin was ‘catching up’ with you, you didn’t know how they’d react to the sight of her being fucked raw in a bathroom stall meters away from them. You didn’t know how she was getting away with this, but you weren’t exactly complaining. If it wasn’t for understanding bridesmaids, you wouldn't be able to make a wet mess out of her. Maybe you’d thank them later, but you’d decide on that after you were done with Heejin.
“Was that the guy she was talking about the other day?” Two inquired. You had no idea what she looked like, and it scared you a little that she’d seen your face.
There was a moment of pause before Eyes quipped, “what guy?”
Silence followed Eyes’ question. For a second, you were worried that they’d all picked up on the lewd sounds of you fucking the very girl that they were speaking of. You held your breath, but you didn’t stop pumping your shaft between Heejin’s legs. She was almost like a lifeline – a slick and wet and oh-so-hot one that was keeping grounded in your senses while hooking to the sensation of the slick thrusts inside her pussy. Miracle drug… Or maybe just a drug – either way: Heejin was everything to you right now. Listening in on their conversation was just so that you wouldn’t be found during your few minutes in heaven.
“Nevermind. I think I wasn’t supposed to talk about that,” Two muttered. “Let’s get out of here before someone spikes our drink or something.”
They began discussing more mundane things, and you couldn’t care less about them because all that really mattered was the fact that their voices were fading away. You waited till you heard the sound of the creaky door closing to relinquish Heejin’s lips from your possession. She let out a gasp of air, followed by a desperate cry – loud and pleading now that she had the freedom to speak.
“I’m gonna fucking cum,” she hissed. It was almost a snarl really. “Cum with me. Please.”
She was lucky that you: a) had a really big soft spot for her and; b) knew better than to turn a nice girl down.
With a grunt, the hand on her breast shoots to her throat, gripping it tightly as you frantically fuck Heejin to catch up with her imminent orgasm. She was into it, reciprocating by accompanying your hand on her throat and squeezing even tighter. She lets strained cries tumble from her mouth—Oh yes baby… I’m yours. Oh fuck… Oh my fucking god… You’re gonna make me cum so hard—her wells squeezing tighter and tighter around you. Husky was her voice as she pleaded with you to take your liberties—Fucking cum anywhere you like. I just want to be yours—with her, and she was practically shaking in your grasp as you drove yourself closer and closer to the point of no return inside her wet tight walls. Everything – your heart and soul and whatever – pointed you towards making a huge mess out of the women in your arms, and you endeavoured to achieve that goal one way or another.
The tingling at the base of your cock was steadily growing up your shaft. Your thoughts blurred together, nullifying and cancelling each other out till all you could think of was her. With every pump into her, you told yourself that she was yours to take. With every sigh that left her lips, you thought about how many times she pictured this moment in her head. With each gasp and sigh and moan and cry, you fought the urge to hiss through your teeth—Heejin, I love you so much—and admit your feelings for her and how much you’ve missed her touch; tell her how no one made you feel like she could; let her know that for all these years, you’d longed to reconnect with her and sort things out once and for all. Sweet thoughts; perverse desires. The latter wins – all that comes out of your mouth is, “I’m gonna fucking cum.”
And it happened. A little quicker than you’d have liked but there was no way to control the course that the lust of man would take you down. Your cock pops out of Heejin’s heat, glistening with her slick wetness as you pump yourself to completion with your free hand. The hand on Heejin’s throat was pulled down to her crotch, and she used your fingers to rub the swollen nub of her clit as the first ropes of semen shot out and landed on her lower back. She came as the second rope landed on the swell of her left ass cheek, and her knees buckled as the third and fourth spurts hit the fabric of her tube top and the right side of her lower back respectively. You lost track of the rest of your load as Heejin leaned against you, quaking as her orgasm struck her in waves and your load continued to streak her back. It all was so fast. You wondered how either you managed to process your actions in the moment. 
She panted against you, sweaty and spent as she closed her eyes and caught her breath. Your dick stayed flushed against the small of her back, slick with a mix of fluids from you and her. Your hand at her crotch slowly rubs circles into her clit, easing her off her peak and giving you something else to focus on other than how beautiful she looked. You feared that if you stared too long, you’d say something that you didn’t want her to know. The last thing you wanted was to have that moment of intimacy—facilitated by the afterglow of really good sex—to be ruined by some stupid feelings.
“Hey,” she whispered – all soft and tender as she opened her eyes to stare up at you. “That was fucking incredible.”
You managed a chuckle, restraining the urge to kiss her where she stood. She smiled, reached up to cup your cheek as you stared deep into her eyes. For a moment, the world went silent for you and her.
Then she pulled you down to her, kissed you where she stood. The position was a little awkward, your noses bumping each other at odd spots on your faces as she let the sweet nectar that was her lips grace your mouth in a soft and sweet kiss. It was like nothing you’d ever experienced, different from the kiss you’d given her in the midst of fucking her. It felt so right, so tender.
She released your lips with a soft smack, positively glowing as she gazed into your eyes for a little bit longer. 
“Keep this between us,” she whispered, “I love you. I always have.”
***
You stared blankly at her. It was all you could do really.
“What part of this can’t you understand?” she asked. The anger behind her voice was potent, palpable. “I have a boyfriend. Stay away.”
In your hand, the note that you’d plan to hand her felt a little lighter than it had when you first approached. Wishful thinking had you delusional; there was no chance that she would ever go to that dance with you. 
You thought that maybe the friendship could coax her into it – that maybe the years of what almost felt like kinship would drive her to just hear you out for a little bit; yet you seemed to forget that love is blind and can cloud your judgement.
In a moment, it felt like everything you’d built with her had turned to ashes.
***
“Indulge me Heejin. Bring me through your thought process.”
On the bed of your apartment, Heejin tosses her phone aside. Languidly, she flips onto her side, propping her head up with her hand as her elbow dents the pillow. 
“I know,” she mutters, a little bit shamefully if you might add. “Dating another guy to make you jealous and confess is a classic fanfiction folly and all… But I was desperate.”
You raise an eyebrow. “You know that we could’ve just… talked, right?”
Her lips form a line. She sighs and lets her head flop back onto the pillow with a bit of a thump. To be very clear: you aren’t asking her all these questions to guilt trip her into an apology. You are genuinely curious to understand how she was thinking at the period in your lives. It’s a good point of reflection for the both of you considering you both screwed up in one way or another, and maybe even a good chance to offload some emotional baggage. You’ll admit – finding out that she’d dated the guy she was currently with just to get you to run to her and confess your love in highschool was a bit of a shocking discovery. It was foolish, yes… But you wondered why Heejin of all women would resort to such methods. She could be awfully blunt when she wanted to be, and somehow even more blunt when she was telling you that you looked like shit in skinny jeans. You never knew as one to shy away from a confrontation when necessary, and even though she could be a bit of a big dork, she was emotionally aware enough to understand that communication would easily have settled your feelings for each other.
Heejin rolls in the bed, moving close to you so that she can throw an arm around you as she asks, “you’re not mad right?”
“No. Just curious,” you tell her truthfully. She’s silent for a moment, then she looks you in the eyes and opens up: I always meant to talk to you about it. When I heard from Haesul that you liked me I… I was just ecstatic. You were everything I wanted in a man, and I really just wanted to make you mine. Believe me when I say that I wanted to just run to you after the school bell rang and tell you that I loved you too… and maybe ask you out on a date the next weekend.
Her thumb traces circles on your back. You can tell that she’s being sincere from the way she never shies from your gaze. She continues, “but as I’m running to your class down the hall… This guy comes up to me and just tells me that he’s been crushing on me for years and wants to date me. I want to tell him ‘no’ on the spot. I really did. But I see an opportunity to… I dunno… Spice things up a little.”
And you can guess the rest of the story, but you just want to hear her say it just to be sure. Sure enough, she tells you the exact line that you predicted out of her—one thing led to another and then… well, here we are—and you can’t help but chuckle. The whole thing is pretty damn foolish to be honest, and you recognise the fact that if you’d just acted a little less rashly, maybe you wouldn’t have had to go down the path that you did. It’s a folly of the past but it does bring some shame to your present.
“I’m sorry”—she surprises you with this one. You assumed that you guys are past the stage of reconciliation at this point. I mean… You did fuck in a bathroom before she texted you after the wedding she was attending, so it would be kinda right to just conclude that you guys pre-fired the make-up sex—“I was rash and stupid. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologising again?” you ask her, “I thought we were through with the sob ‘sorry’s and what-nots.”
“Just for good measure,” she whispers, a gleam in her eyes as she shifts around in your bed a little. “You can never be too careful when it comes to these types of things. Don’t want to make you an enemy again, do I?”
“That wouldn’t be too bad,” you reason, albeit playful rather than serious. She recognises that and scoffs as you continue, “they say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
“So what I’m hearing is: you’d stay for the hate sex,” she fires back. You smile.
“Not quite… But somewhat.”
Heejin sighs and slaps your leg. You secretly like pissing her off a little, but she didn’t need to know. 
“Now mister,” she says, hijacking the course of the conversation. “Indulge me and bring me through your thought process, and this isn’t about highschool by the way.”
She presses herself up against you, and you feel her hand slide down your torso and to your crotch.
“Tell me,” she whispers, a bit of smoky sultriness sneaking its way into her voice. “Why are you so fucking hard?”
It’s here that you realise that you’ve kinda walked into a trap. Not that what’s about to proceed is bad or anything, but it’s just that you’re a little disappointed that you hadn’t spotted this a little earlier. There were signs that you ignored when you saw her in your bed – namely the fact that she was wearing a see-through sleeveless dress that had a plunging neckline. If that wasn’t enough, she was blatantly playing with herself when you walked in, staring at her phone with this blanked out expression while her fingers worked between her thighs. If it weren’t for your questions about her relationship decisions, the two of you would probably have been naked and sweating in your bed right now. 
“Can I guy not be excited by a pretty girl?” you’re not trying to play innocent, but you are seeing how far it can get you in this situation just for fun.
“Not this guy.” Heejin’s fingers snake around your cock, gripping it lightly through your pants. “And definitely not when it comes to this girl.”
You chuckle softly and catch her hand at your crotch. You pull it away and lean in to whisper into her ear, “don’t worry Heejin. I’m not ignoring the fact that you’re wearing the easiest thing for me to fuck you in.”
Her eyes brighten. “So you did notice…”
And the kiss that follows is far from tame really. You’re at fault for this one since you initiated it, but that knowledge doesn’t stop you from keeping your hands to yourself as you reach down and locate her pussy. Okay wait, you’re making it sound like it took you some effort to find it when you really only took about a second; it’s really easy considering that the panties she’s wearing were so sheer and thin that you could hardly consider it underwear. It was probably more like a concept of clothing than an actual, tangible thing. And her dress? The hem was a lot shorter than it looked. She probably hiked it up or something.
You’re unsurprised by the slick wetness of her cunt practically dripping out of her at this juncture. She’s probably been holding it in for a while now – suppressing all that lust and hunger to talk about feelings for some 30 minutes before she finally gets the chance to let loose on you. Hats off to her really: she had more control than you’d credit her for.
“Fuck baby,” you whisper, latheing your fingers in her juices by dipping them in between her undoubtedly flushed lips. “So wet for me already.”
“Wetter than I’ll ever be for him,” she sighs, almost breathlessly as she shuts her eyes to enjoy the sensation of your fingers getting familiar with her warm cunt. “You should—mmph… you should be grateful that I’m actually attracted to you.”
“I feel honoured.” you’re being genuine with her, but right now it comes off more as a sarcastic passing comment that leans towards the more tame side of dirty talk. Either way, anything you say would probably end with her putting your dick into one—or maybe all—of her holes and using it to her liking. Not that you’re complaining or anything, but it’s just the way the cookie crumbles. There’s no stopping Heejin’s desire, and there really isn’t a point to trying to stop it. You’d be missing out on, like, a lot. “Though, no pressure, I’d be more honoured if you actually did something about that attraction.”
She smiles, borderline sadistic and a bit more enthusiastic than you’re used to. Her hands are deft as she quickly undoes the knot that keeps your sweatpants around your waist, pulls it off eagerly and makes quick work of your boxers. Your cock springs free, hard and throbbing as she slides out of bed to discard her dress. In record time, she’s between your legs and stroking your shaft with patient strokes of her hand. The cheeky comments that you had beforehand quickly sank back down your chest – replaced by an earthy groan that only Heejin was capable of drawing out of you. 
“You know… I was doing a bit of thinking,” she tells you.
“You do a lot of that.”
Heejin has no comments, only a cheeky little grin as she breathes warm air onto the tip of your cock. It makes you shudder, surging pleasure through your veins down to your bones. She’s oddly good at making you squirm, and you’re not too sure how to feel about that.
“Anyway,” she continues, unfazed by what she’d just done to you. “Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was about to suggest that maybe I could cross out one of my fantasies today.”
You’re no stranger to her wild thoughts that could probably fight that of Sabrina Carpenter. As you’d recently found out: fucking in a bathroom stall was one of many wild fantasies that she’d been wanting to cross out. Now that she had you, she’d been busy crossing more and more of them out. The whole infidelity thing was already a major part of her list considering the fact that she’s doing it with you instead of her ‘official’ partner, and things only get wilder from there. Sex with her can sometimes be like exposure therapy, not that you’ve done it before or anything. 
“And which one are we ruling out today?” you inquire, watching with great interest as she produces her phone from below the mattress and swipes through it eagerly. You never saw her grab the damn thing, but you figured that you were probably too preoccupied with the sight of her undressing to take notice. By the way: the entire time that the two of you had been talking? Yeah, she’s been stroking you through all of that. One can only imagine how you were feeling at the moment.
When you saw her phone, you thought that she was going to open her notes app and start looking through her kinks or something. Nothing prepares you for the sound of a dial tone, and you can only watch as she lays the phone next to your thigh, just out of your reach. 
“No prizes for guessing who I’m calling,” she grins, almost too innocently for your taste. “Try not to make too much noise okay?”
And before anything can be said, she slacks her jaw and draws you into the warm wet depths of her mouth. 
The dial tone only continues as Heejin goes still – adjusting to your size and length and taste and shape and whatever she needs to configure herself to. Frankly: if she’d just started sucking you off with that tight seal around your cock, you would’ve been in perdition in mere seconds after she starts. So you give a small thanks to whoever’s watching over you from up above, and you pray that the person on the other end of the line doesn't pick up. While you utter that silent prayer, Heejin’s tongue introduces itself to your tip, sliding almost gracefully over the head of your cock as her phone rings for the nth time. Another ring; her tongue flattens itself against the base of your dick and melts itself to the surface. You grit your teeth, fearful that the moment you make a sound, the other party would pick up and hear it. She slides up in a fluid motion, almost perfectly seamless if she hadn’t gone too far up too fast. Your cock ends up hitting her in the chin, and she smiles as if it were some cute thing that she was taking care of. 
“Heejin,” you grunt, keeping an eye on the phone screen in fear for both of your lives. “Let��s not—”
The caller chooses that moment to pick up, and this is where the game starts. Your lips shut so fast it feels almost automatic, and Heejin tears her eyes away from yours to focus on the other player of this perverse game. 
“Hi baby,” she greets her ‘lover’, all sweet and cute like she isn’t pumping your saliva-slick shaft in her hand as she calls him a pet name. “I was missing you, so I called.”
“Oh… I’m kinda busy now.” he sounds highly uninterested in her, tone dull and dry as Heejin takes a moment to give your cock a squeeze. “Can you call me back another time?”
For a moment, you’re ecstatic. Maybe you wouldn’t have to be subject to her games this time. 
“Quick chat. Promise,” Heejin fires back. She smiles wickedly, relishing the look on your face as you stare at her in a mix of shock and horror. “Just tell me about your day so far. It’s so hard to wait for you to get home to tell me about your day.”
There’s a moment of silence. Heejin takes advantage of the situation; she puts you back into her mouth and makes quick, sloppy work of your cock. The sound of slurping and gurgling is almost deafening, and there’s no way in hell that this man on the other side of the phone was not hearing all of this as Heejin blew you. You tilt your head back, clenching your teeth to prevent the guttural groan that’s building up deep within your chest from escaping your body. You’re hoping deep breaths of air can fill the space – block the desire to cry out in pleasure at the cusp of being translated into phonetics.
“Fine.” you’re almost grateful to hear that dull voice. “I’ve just been doing some filing and some paperwork… Nothing much really.” 
“Mhm,” Heejin mumbles, your cock still in her mouth. She frees it for a second to deliver a line—that sounds like super important work babe—that’s definitely sarcastic in her head and in concept, but masterfully manipulated to sound sincere and enthusiastic. “Anything else?”
“Uh… No.”
Heejin seems almost too gleeful between your legs. “Great. I’ll give you a quick run-down of my day then.”
She proceeds to give him utter bullshit, lying through her teeth about lazing around in her dorm and eating yoghurt. All the while she’s lazily delivering firm pumps to your cock, the sound of her spit squelching in her own hand a little too loud for your liking. Then she starts twisting, and you feel as if all hell is breaking loose inside of you. Your throat is pricked with the sharp gasps that are fighting to be let out of your mouth, skin tingling with the effervescence of pleasure racing through just about every vein in your body. You’re certain you have a knuckle-white grip on your sheets as uses her thumb to rub against the underside of your slit while her other fingers pull the skin around your head tight to keep the sensitive part of you exposed to her impending assault. 
“Oh, and by the way,” she adds, and you’re wondering what other lies she’s capable of generating right now. “I got a call from my old friend that I met at the club before the wedding… He says he wants to be my personal photographer.”
And now you’re shocked and stunned. What was a passing joke yesterday is now being used against you in a way that you can’t even fathom. Heejin revels in the silence—and all the emotions that could possibly be engendered by that single statement—as she smiles and licks you from base to tip. The layer of saliva around your cock thickens, and she uses that to get more aggressive with her motions. You didn’t know if she has limits to her cruelty, and you really hope that she’s reaching it soon. 
“You know how I feel about that guy…” he begins.
“I know, I know… I’m just telling you to keep you in the know.”—her dismissal of his worries is quick and almost genuine if it weren’t for the fact that she was going against his wishes while she assuages his worries—”wouldn’t want to fight with you again, would I?”
He grunts in agreement. “Stay away from him baby. He’s bad company.”
“Yeah,” she hums, locking eyes with you as she hovers her mouth over your tip. She gives it a swipe of her tongue, smiling as you grimace under the pressure that shoots up from your crotch. “He’s such a bad guy…”
Not that you’re into this or anything, but hearing that drawl—sinful and sultry; raunchy and earthy—made your breath hitch a little. Sure, you’re no stranger to Heejin’s sensual side; but this was a bit of her that you had yet to experience. It felt like she’d dug up a new side to her, something unearthed and unaired, and you’ll be the only one to see it. She could take your breath away in many ways and you’d just found another.
The man on the other end grunts once more. With a gruff “Alright. I’ll text you later”, he hangs up on Heejin, leaving you free to let out the breath that you’d been holding in up till that point. 
“Isn’t he a bundle of sunshine?” Heejin drops the facade almost instantly, using the hand that wasn’t occupied with your cock to retrieve her phone. “Five minutes and twenty-seven seconds… Huh. That’s longer than most of our calls.”
You can only pant and watch as she giggles and tosses her phone aside. She crawls back up the bed and takes your lips into hers, and you’d like to think that it’s a sweet apology for the hell she’d just put you through. Deep down you know it wasn’t, but you’re in the mood for some wishful thinking after what you went through.
“Not sure if I’m being greedy here,” Heejin whispers, “but I’d like you to indulge me just a little more…”
“I’d like to hear this one through first,” you quickly request, because no way in hell were you about to live through those 5 minutes and 27 seconds for a second time. “Can’t let you bite off more than you can chew.”
Heejin laughs, fully aware where this was coming from. 
“Don’t worry. I think you’ll like this one,” she assures you, placing a hand on your chest for good measure. “Hand on my heart, honest-to-god: you’ll love this one as much as the next guy.”
You couldn’t help it. You had to check her – match her step for step.
“Considering that I just saw you lie through your teeth, I think it’s fair to say that I don’t quite trust you,” you tell her as plainly as you can. And it’s not that you actually don’t, but more so the fact that you’re just baiting her into saying something really raunchy that’ll rile the two of you up to no end. Depravity is the root of really good sex after all.
“I promise you,” her lips tilt at an angle as she smiles, “when we're done with this one, I’ll let you cum in my mouth.”
***
You figured that she’d come to you with the news at some point – tell you that he’d found her out and that things are gonna happen and blah blah. What you didn’t expect was for her to show up in the middle of the night to be a bearer of bad news.
“Went back to get a sweater that I’d forgotten,” Heejin’s explaining, a can of beer in her hand and fry in the other. “Open the door and next thing I know, the fucker’s blowing up on me in my face.”
She takes a swig and sighs. “Never liked him anyway… We fought more than we talked. Before you ask, make-up sex was horrible.”
You can only frown and nod in sympathy. You’re complicit in this whole ordeal and so don’t have much of a say in this thing. Guilty as charged, red-handed and whatever. You’re just glad that he didn't come over and beat you up like she said he would. Heejin downs the rest of the beer in the can in a gulp and gently places it on your table.
“Is anything gonna happen to you?” you can’t help but ask out of concern. 
Her smile assures you a little, but her words don’t, “honestly? I don’t know. I’ll find out if my publicist gives me hell tomorrow.”
She rises from her seat. “I’m just glad it’s over,” she says. “Don’t know how much longer I could’ve lived with that dry son of a bitch.”
Her sweater comes off her body. She tosses it at you. In her T-shirt, she struts towards the bedroom, stops in the doorway. With a look over her shoulder, she beckons you to join her—come make my night, would ya?—before slipping into the room.
Always a dance with her.
***
You’re starting to question where Heejin draws the line between her sex life and her regular life. 
(You’ve said this about a thousand times by now, but) Not that you’re carping or whatever, it’s just that sex on the kitchen counter while your instant noodles are clearly being overdone in the pot a few meters away is a bit of a safety hazard. You’re no chef, but bubble frothing out of a closed pot really isn’t a good sign.
“Heejin,” you say, struggling to fit her name between the ragged breaths and frantic thrusts. 
“I know,” she rasps in reply. “Ngh… We can… Turn it off later. I’m so close.”
Pretty solid reasoning in your opinion.
How you got into this situation is a bit more complicated that you’d care to explain, but let’s just say that a late night snack can quickly turn into a literal fuck-fest when Jeon Heejin palmed the shape of your boner as you put a pack of instant noodles into a boiling pot. You didn’t know what came over you really, but after the noodles went in and the pot lid was closed, you had her propped up on the counter and her panties around her ankles. You can figure out how you got to this point. 
Okay: to be fair to Heejin, you did kinda start this whole situation that might just put your lives on the line. You’re the perpetrator, criminal mastermind; yada-yada. But if you were to consider the technicalities, she did aggravate you to fuck her, and by so virtue of that you’re kinda both at fault. Does it make sense? Great, cause a situation where you’re both a little dirty minded makes for really great sex. 
Great… Now you just explained the complicated situation. Eh, who’s exempt from a little contradiction now and then. Anyway… Where were you?
“Oh my fucking god.” she’s moaning a lot louder than usual, loud enough to probably convert her voice into some sort of energy for the homeless or something. Between her thighs lay a wet mess that was the source of all this crying and keening, and your juice slicked cock is the thing that’s driving her wild with ecstasy as she wraps her legs around your waist and pulls you deeper into each thrust with her legs. “Fuck me harder please. I need to cum all over your pretty cock so badly I–”
She barely has it in her to finish her sentence. Her plea is truncated by a sharp cry, and it would be pretty funny if it weren’t for the fact that it's probably one of the hottest things you’ve ever heard. The cry is almost delicate, fragile to the ear and almost like sweet music that plays in the dark. The keyword here is ‘almost’. Your description rings true, but the fact that she’s such a needy little bitch right now kind of ruins it. ‘Ruin’ is a little heavy handed; ‘taint’ would be a better word. 
Yeah… Her want taints the beauty behind her desire… But only a little.
“I’m cumming”—Heejin’s practically whimpering at this rate. God you’d have quite the mess to clean up later—”I’m fucking cumming on your cock daddy I–Oh… Oh god oh fuck.”
“Fucking cum,” you hiss, saliva flying past your teeth and maybe onto her ear. “Be a good little slut and cum for me. Give me a nice and tight pussy to cum inside of.”
It feels weird, dirty even, referring to Heejin as a slut, but her reaction tells you she likes it. She loves being called your slut. You can see her mouth agape, tongue sticking out a little. She can barely keep her eyes open as the pleasure courses through her. Her nails dig into your back, and you think she might be drawing blood, but the pain doesn't matter right now. The only thing that matters is the sight before you.
She cums hard, and you know this because her walls clamp down on you like a vice. If you could, you would have taken a picture. The sight is just that amazing, but you're also preoccupied. The pressure is just right. The rhythmic pulsing of her walls against your throbbing cock is too much for you to take. Your hips stutter to a stop as you release a deep moan, and she gasps as she’s filled with rope after rope of hot cum.
When you finally come down from your high, Heejin is still panting heavily, eyes still squeezed shut, and legs still wrapped around your waist. You can't hold back the little smile that crosses your face as you watch her catch her breath. She looks so peaceful. It's hard to imagine her as a girl with the dirtiest mouth you've ever heard. 
She peeks an eye open to see you staring.
“The pot dummy,” she reminds you, and the horrors of reality come crashing back all at once.
***
So you do find a little bit of a charm behind really soggy Buldak in the wee hours of the night. It’s not the best thing you’ve tasted, but it had its appeal. The sauce helped to mask the depression in the sad, close-to-slimy strands of dough in your bowls, though it didn’t stop you from experiencing a new texture that was severely overcooked noodles.
“Still think we could’ve left it in a little longer,” Heejin muses, staring at the limp noodle trapped between her chopsticks. “Maybe from there we could reverse-engineer the noodle and re-cook it.”
“Yea. And maybe we don’t fuck when there’s clearly a four minute limit to this stuff,” you add befor slurping up the last few spicy, sad and soggy strands in your bowl. 
“Hey. I’m pretty sure the sex was good enough to offset this abomination,” she huffs, setting down her bowl next to yours. “Besides… We’re kinda both in the wrong this time. It’s not always just me you know?”
“Never said it was your fault.” you’re admiring the way her eyes glow in the dim light. At the right angle, it looked like the light was filling her pupils in the most adorable way. “You’re just inferring shit from a passing statement.”
“Wonder where I picked that up from…” she fired back, though it felt much more like she was conceding defeat than challenging further provocation. It was always a dance with her: unpredictable patterns in constant motion, and all you can do is follow her lead.
Maybe one day you’d find the time - make up for the dance you lost and dance with her for real.
Hi. Kinda posting here again because my therapist said that it was good for me to continue writing to regulate my emotions. This one is kinda messy and unedited cause I just wanted to get this out here for funsies. Anyway, I won't be posting as frequently as I used to, but I will drop by from time to time. No promises that I'm gonna be incredibly active and no promises that I won't disappear of the face of the earth again.
Cheers, Nichu
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suusoh · 8 months ago
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(pwp or something idk. just got horny in the tags of my last post about eddie not looking anywhere else but at his wife and only his wife while doing his husbandly duties.)
cw: female reader, sex, eddie's orbs, overuse of the word staring because I want you to start feeling annoyed and maim this man, slight yandere (maybe if you squint?) cheesy and unfunny frank valli reference at the end.
———
he's staring at you again.
Eyes fogged with a love sick haze in them at the absolute sight of you, his wife, all warm, soft, and pliant under him. You try to close your eyes from time to time, but even when you open them again— it just comes back to the first thing you see which is this man on top of you, mouth switching between grinning and gasping, and eyes wide open.
"...Eddie?"
He hums tenderly. "What is it, dear?"
"I-I.. can you just-"
It's so hard to talk when his hips don't stop moving despite his concern. The weight and absolute mass of him on top of you and grounding you into the bed with each thrust makes it all the more harder to think straight.
Thoughts on how to sound out your request begin to blur and buzz out with him fucking into you like this. In and out, in and out, inside of you. over and over again as he buries himself deep within your cunt. your pubic bone practically connecting with his, and sending sparks of heat inside your belly with each time he ruts himself into you.
"Just what? What does my darling wife want?" He starts searching your face for any indication or answer to complete it for you what you want him to do now. Still looking at you intensely.
Looking. He keeps looking. Which is, sort of the thing you wanted to point out in the first place.
"You're... o-oh- oh-"
"I...?" he acts as if he's not quite catching on. Pondering for a second with the sounds of your moans and wanton sighs, and the creaking of the worn out bed acting as background noise to aid his thinking.
"Oh! I'm doing a swell job is that it? Is that what you're trying to say, dearest?" he lets out a content loving sigh, and your breathe stutters as he picks up his pace. "You and your words never fail to make me blush, my love."
Another particularly good thrust has you arching your back, of which he's making sure his eyes connect with yours once more while you writhe and wiggle underneath. But your wriggling quickly eases from bodily pleasure, to slowly morphing into a sense of discomfort now.
Because he's staring at you.
Again.
Which should be good isn't it? Eye contact during sex is a sign after all of a good partner paying attention to your needs. And with someone like Eddie, him paying attention to your needs is the tiniest sliver of hope you cling onto to make sure his reason for keeping you alive is a bit more... cemented, substantial even. Gives you a little bit more reason (or delusion) to believe he'd be inclined to make this relationship, make you, last longer.
(Compared to the alternative route of him using your body for his own sick dispositions, and casually stringing you all up when he's done.)
Though you're sure that this is not the type of bedroom eye contact many normally wish for.
"Y-you... you're.." you try to murmur out again.
Not that you should talk about having anything normal with this man. You might as well find the solution to world hunger long before you find anything even remotely "normal" in this place.
It's not that you're expecting him to do things normally, but can't he... can't he just... do something else maybe?
Look anywhere but you for just a split second, maybe bury himself into your neck, or close his own eyes to focus on the feeling of his cock getting squeezed, or look at any other part of your body that could possibly entrance him; mouth, chest, stomach... hell, you could even hope that he tries to glance down at your clit? Maybe marvel at the sight of where the two of you connect, since that's all his fucked up baby fever mind thinks about anyways?
You'll take anything really, just one small thing to act as a reminder that you guys are indeed having... sex— and not engaging in some sort of impromptu staring contest out of nowhere.
Because his eyes are doing absolutely nothing but looking into your own and as they continue staring at you.
and staring at you...
and staring...
and staring...
and staring...
Jesus fucking christ you don't think he's even blinked in the past few seconds anymore.
You let out a mix of a whine and a groan, opting to shut your eyelids close and try to shield your face away from his unmoving eyeballs by trying to wiggle your hands free out of his grasp (him and his damn insistence to hold hands while making love as he calls it.).
"What is it my love? Must I pay you a penny for your thoughts perhaps?"
"You keep staring... "
You try to wiggle free again, inadvertently adding onto the delightful friction between your parts and his— to which he gets a small shiver of his own at the roll of your hips. A light laugh escapes him at your captivating and somewhat fruitless display. He finally gives reprieve to your brain's rising fear of being uncannily perceived at, and blinks.
"Ohhh, my darling."
He lets go of one of your hands so that he can cradle your face, tilting it so he can capture your mouth into a kiss. humming into your mouth, but the humming isn't just the usual sighs of pleasure, as you can pick up the movement of him saying some words.
He pulls apart from his half kissing-half speaking into your mouth, as he slowly begins to playfully laugh again.
"You can't blame a man for looking at his wife when she's like this; all breathless and beautiful, now can you? I sure can't!"
Said wife that he just knows for certain was sent down by god all-mighty himself into the 7th circle of hell named "mount massive asylums".
When Eddie sees you, he can't help but imagine your rotting carcass somewhere else. An alternate place where those filthy bastards could have gotten their hands on you, torn you limb from limb (if they didn't have the patience to pull your teeth and your eyes out first), then have their way with using your dead body as a urinal afterwards.
You must have been scared to not have your dear husband around to protect you from all the nasty violence around the asylum, weren't you darling?
No, no. No meed to fret now and get your panties in a twist! None of that here. Not when your dear ol' Eddie is here now.
You are very much alive and perfect, preserved by your own sheer dumb luck or maybe by fate itself to be kept alive long enough for him. Just him.
And under his care, your body is experiencing the furthest thing from excruciating physical pain right now, isn't it darling? Feels good, yes? To have your husband make love to you like the passionate man he is. Lest he's supposed to take in the sight of you rolling your eyes back and your legs hooking around his waist, pulling him in for more as something otherwise?
Oh goodness him... It's almost too good to be true.
And he really can't take his eyes off of you.
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sttoru · 2 years ago
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dad!Toji losing megumi on his sight in a grocery store.
⟣ tags. dad!toji x female reader. fluff.
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“where the hell did that brat go. . .” toji sighs in frustration as he makes his third trip around the numerous aisles, peeking through each gap between to see where his son could’ve possibly hid.
you had been gone for one minute to grab something you had forgotten in the car, leaving your husband and son alone at the grocery store. you thought toji would be more than capable of keeping an eye on megumi during the time you left.
he did succeed for a couple seconds, but then somehow lost sight of the little boy. it happened out of the blue—even for someone as quick as toji, his child seemed to have disappeared into thin air, without him noticing at all.
“tsk, just wait ‘til i catch ya..” toji scoffs and makes quick strides. the other customers seemed to scurry off to the sides as the dark-haired man passes them—the reason for this being his bulky and tall body and that cold yet pissed off expression on his face whilst walking forwards.
of course, toji was still secretly worried for megumi. he didn’t want to think of the worst case scenario at all. he needs to stay calm and collected in such situations. panicking will do him no good.
toji passes by a pit of plushies, paying it no mind until he hears a soft, muffled giggle from that same area. he stops in his tracks and turns his head to the right. that voice was one he could recognise from miles away.
“oh, y’re so done.” the dark-haired man mutters under his breath and digs through the many plushies, hands looking for the source of that giggle. there were a couple strands of dark blue hair sticking out from between the big stuffed animals and toji wasted no time, “c’mere, brat.”
he uses a bit of his strength and fishes out a child from under the pile of softness—his child.
“papa!” megumi squeals and was holding onto a plushie: a cute black dog one. it seems like he had waddled off and climbed onto the box to grab that specific plushie, but couldn’t get out afterwards, “papa, waf! waf!”
toji sighs and holds megumi up by the back of his shirt, walking back to your shopping cart. he gains some stares due to the obscure way he was carrying his son around, though megumi himself couldn’t care any less as he cuddles up to the plushie in his tiny arms.
toji puts the little boy in the baby seat and grabs onto the stuffed animal, tugging at it; “gimme that. ya can’t have it ‘cause ya ran off without tellin’ me.”
megumi whines and pulls the toy back in his arms, giving toji a pleading look. his lips formed a desperate pout and his eyes were starting to glisten with tears that appeared on his waterlines.
“yeah, stare at me all you want with those big bug eyes—y’re not gonna get that.” your husband shakes his head and grabs the plushie again, taking it away from his son to put it back.
megumi reacts to this by curling his chubby hand around toji’s index finger—still with that cute pout on his lips whilst trying to prevent his dad from stepping away. it’s specifically those shiny blue orbs that seem to mellow toji’s heart to the point he almost gives in.
“…”
you come back after five minutes and spot your family back in the candy aisle. the duo didn’t appear to have seen you yet since they were busy picking out some sweets for later.
“hi, my angels.” you creep up behind toji and tap his back. he instantly steps aside and your (surprisingly) super excited son comes into view.
megumi was smiling widely and that’s when your eyes land on something in his arms.
“oh, you got ‘gumi a dog plushie!” you gasp and seem to get excited for your child—megumi giggling right alongside you, “how nice!”
toji rolls his eyes, though wasn’t about to admit that he eventually did give in to megumi’s adorable tactics. he gently flicks the little boy’s forehead and looks back at you;
“didn’t get it for him out of my own free will.” your husband grumbles and then continues to squish megumi’s cheeks together using one hand, “this little brat threatened me.”
“i’m sure he did.” you chuckle and nudge toji’s side with your elbow. you knew just how much of a softie really is for his son.
“i’m not lyin’,” toji replies with a sigh and pushes the cart ahead, you following next to him with a smile, “he threatened me with those big eyes of his. i’m tellin’ ya, that stuff is dangerous.” —for my heart, he adds in his head.
you couldn’t contain your laughter as you hear your lover’s words. your gaze then lands on megumi, who was contentedly staring up at both his parents, cuddled up to the big stuffed animal.
“good job.” you gave megumi a thumbs up and ruffle his hair as a reward. the kid sticks his tongue out and almost looks proud of the fact that he got his way in the end.
toji really was just a big softie for his son. and for his wife as well, of course.
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vergiltopia · 1 month ago
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Random headcanons about Vergil pt. 2
★ Literally anything about him. I love him <3
Warnings: none!! have fun.
Note: I didn't know I had so many followers in here since I barely post, but this motivates me to be more active and post more here!! I'll try to be more active hehe :)
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★ Vergil is the type of guy who likes to hold your chin with his fingers and make you look at him like this, analyzing you with his icy orbs.
★ He hates when people touch his things without permission, or when they get too curious about him and get bombarded with questions. If you don't have intimacy, don't do it.
★ His fav ice cream flavor is definitely chocomint! “Oh but it tasted like toothpaste—” NUH UH IT DOESN'T! Mint in general is so Vergil coded btw.
★ A cat person, we all clap and agree, yet he adores big dog breeds and would be the type of owner who teaches them tricks and has a dedicated routine to them.
★ Touching him while talking is overwhelming and he tenses up, he will be like “I don't see the necessity of your hands while we speak, hands do not talk.”
★ He would play hard if he was gifted with a kindle, saying he prefers the real thing, to feel the pages and the smell of books, yet Vergil will quickly fall in love with it and find out it's actually very practical. Physical copies will always be his number 1, so make sure to always give them to him.
★ Not just because he's the tea man, but he doesn't like coffee flavor and caffeine in general, he doesn't think it's healthy. Vergil also doesn't like energy drinks (too old for this shit).
★ Talking about the tea man: he usually doesn't put sugar on his tea, and if he does, small quantities but it's rare. Vergil likes the pure and raw flavor, even if it's bitter. “Bitter as the lessons I've come to learn”, he thinks.
★ He takes the Yamato pretty much everywhere, so sometimes you need to previously ask him to not bring it together. His sword is the equivalent of a phone to him, you shouldn't leave your house without it.
★ Vergil doesn't know how to drive… I mean, he spent most of his life in the demon world, I don't think they have cars there.
★ Vergil actually has healthy food habits, he usually makes his meals at the same hour everyday, 4 meals a day, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. He tries to balance them and eats only what he needs to, Vergil likes to keep a routine and regulated life, he believes that to be a stronger and powerful warrior you have to think about not just your behavior in battle but also out of it.
★ He has a serious problem with putting his coat to wash and complains about it for some really mysterious reasons, guess everybody has their own weird habits, even him.
★ Body hair. HE'S A GROWN ASS MAN HE DOES HAVE BODY HAIR, it just isn't so thick and since they're white it's very discreet, and it also grows more slowly than normal, specially on his chest and his arms, it's very thin.
★ Can learn new languages very quickly, he's fluent in a few human and demon languages, more likely in the demon ones. Yet, some human languages me thinks he knows: english, latin, italian, ancient greek and japanese.
Note: I already talked about the Vergil latin speaker in another post but I elaborated this a bit more… Vergil learned lots of latin thanks to books about how to exorcise demons, he constantly also learned several prayers in that language.
★ He doesn't like to eat in bed. The katana guy wants to keep it as clean as possible since it is where we sleep. He also doesn't spend too much time in bed, for Vergil this is literally only to sleep, so you will probably never find him rotting in bed, only if he's VERY ill and because someone forced him to stay.
★ Sharpens and cleans the Yamato blade every morning like a ritual, it's not like the sword REALLY needs that, yet this is his own little way to show respect to his legacy and keep his mind grounded with small habits.
★ Vergil doesn't like crowds, not only for the obvious reasons that HE'S AWKWARD, but also because they're overwhelming for his demon senses, he feels too much, senses too much, hears too much.
★ Has light sleep, he's always aware so it's really easy to wake him.
★ Loves philosophy, he's a nerd for it. I also think he's such a music nerd, bet Vergil knows how to read a score.
★ He's a good observer and learns a lot just like that, like a sponge that absorbs everything.
★ Knows how to draw a little, mostly pen gray scale drawings, he has his own sense of art and art style, though it's not really a hobby so Vergil doesn't practice or pay too much effort to it.
★ Very assertive about what he likes or not, usually he will go for the same movies/food/books/activities.
★ I'm sure if Vergil knew he was going to be a father, he would stay to take care of his baby. He would be a good dad if he knew earlier. I never thought and never will think that all of the jokes about his fatherhood make some sense or are funny (sorry) since he only discovered he was a father only at the end of DMC5.
★ For some reason, he prefers stairs instead of elevators.
★ Vergil adores baths in the bathtub because it's relaxing and therapeutic. In the shower he prefers cold water baths, usually more to motivate himself, it's more practical.
★ He seems like the type of person that's into crocheting or any other granny hobby.
★ Vergil is not a MasterChef, he can cook very simple meals since he had to do his own meals for a long time, they're edible, it's not like he mastered the art of cooking, he doesn't work with lots of condiments and spices, sometimes he even forget to put salt. Let's just say he's not very demanding with food.
Note: Vergil seems to have a palate as strong as him, he isn't easily bothered by bitter taste, he's the one responsible to eat the 80% (or up) cocoa chocolate if someone bought it by accident or received it as a gift, he seems to actually enjoy it.
★ Vergil probably ate some questionable things at some point of his life due to survival needs, think about it…
★ He types everything correctly when messaging someone, and he doesn't use abbreviations or slangs, also uses correct punctuation.
★ Mr Katana is very resistant to alcohol, Vergil isn't the type that likes to drink at all, he simply doesn't like the taste of alcohol, yet he enjoys a good wine, specially dry red wine. Though, the chances of seeing him getting tipsy because of it are almost 0. Besides, he makes sure to not overdo it and avoid ending up embarrassing himself in front of others.
★ Already said this a lot, but never said it here, sooo… VERGIL IS HAMMERHEAD SHARK CODED. He is shark coded in general, but his DT looks like a hammerhead shark so much I will never be able to unsee it.
★ Vergil is not rude or arrogant just because he's more closed and distant, he has his own way of speaking which can make him look like he came directly from a Victorian book sometimes. He's introverted at heart, and also finds lots of difficulties expressing his emotions facially, which can make it look like he's always angry.
★ Doesn't care about birthdays in general, especially his own. He won't celebrate it, he won't even say it's his birthday.
★ Vergil's lick when he's on DT can help to clean and heal a wound more quickly and efficiently thanks to his demon DNA. His tail will also give hints of how he's feeling, like a cat.
Important note: yes, he purrs on devil trigger if he's content, cause his growling turnout so low it turns into purring.
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evilminji · 4 months ago
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Weird/Unusual Crossover time?
Weird/unusual crossover time! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ (oh shit~! She's back on her billshit!) (That's RIGHT! Nothing is sacred and NO ONE IS SAFE!)
ANYWAYS~
Danny Phantom. Cultivation Novels (my current obsession). A match made in hell? Or an exciting new adventure‽ Cause like... the Zone DOES go EVERYWHERE, right? Infinite means Infinite means "Literally Without End" Infinite.
As in, Forever.
You COULD, in fact, pick a direction and just... keep going. Forever. For always. Without end or limits. The Zone is not just "really, REALLY big and we need a word your mind could comprehend." Not "as big as a galaxy or the known universe". It is? On a scale that even GODS can not comprehend.
The place GODS go to die. A place they are BORN from. The great primordial soup where universe end and begin anew. Where the cracks are glued backed together, and the souls of the living flow in and out. Endless scraps of fabric, realities, atop a churning sea of green. Keeping everything even.
After all... you can't CREATE a soul. They got to come from SOMEWHERE. Where do you THINK they arrive from? When populations grow? Thin air‽
But... ah~, there in lays the rub, doesn't it? Would knowing the Zone? Knowing SOME of it's mysteries and machinations (for NO ONE, not even all the Ancients COMBINED, can ever claim to understand even a fraction of them all.) mean that Danny??? Was powerful in a Cultivation reality?
He's certainly a powerful GHOST.
But?? They FIGHT ghosts all the time. Wouldn't he be WEAKER and more in danger? As they try to hell the restless spirit move on? Not knowing he is balanced between life and death? They could very well kill him.
Which, given the moral standards of the Realm? Would NOT be viewed as a bad thing.
But! On the OTHER hand?
He is a ZONE ghost. Not a simple spirit. Far beyond what they are used to dealing with. Arguably? ASCENDANT. From a higher plane of existence. A lower one. Several steps to the side. He is, for all intents and purposes, shrimp colors to the human eye. The color blue to a blind man. An orb to the two dimensional.
CAN he even interact with the world's cultivation systems? Does it recognize him as a god? A dead man? Some sort of ascendant dead god?
Something... Not Right™
Yet still utterly natural? Clearly not meant to be here. Yet... not wicked. Granted, not, perhaps, benevolent. But...
Because what IS he? Is he a boy? A man? A corpse? Immortal, perhaps? Is this creature a demon? The resentful dead? They DONT KNOW! It... probably scares a lot of them. Makes some of them think he is a test. Probably makes OTHERS wanna fight (friend? Hey! New friend!).
And like? Why would Danny even BE there? He's already immortal. The swords are pretty cool... but he has Fenton tech.
So, WHY?
I propose?
His well know Anger Issues. His fear of becoming Dan. He's heard meditation is good for shit like that, right? Mindfulness and stuff. Sam recommended it. And? They were watching Fantasy Kung-fu 17, "bamboo monks of vengeance" (now with more slow motion aerial battles). So he was like? Hmmmm... those misty valleys and mountains shots DO looks relaxing... I could go camping...
Maybe find a mysterious old kung-fu monk? Is that what they are? Tucker. Tucker! What's the name of this genre again? Xanxia. Yeah. That! I'll do the whole "live, laugh, love. Hot girl, cultivation summer" thing! That'll fix my shit! This is a GREAT idea!
Thus? Danny. Terrorizing some poor Xanxia Cultivation world with his Zone Ghostiness. Pretending to be a human... very, VERY badly. Yes, hello Fellow Locals! It is him! Average Human Man! Take me to your *checks notes* Cultivation Sect! *smiles with far too many teeth*
#nailedit he's gonna get SUCH a good job at blending in! A thing that is both real and possible to achieve!
@babbling-babull @legitimatesatanspawn @mayfay @hdgnj @spidori @the-witchhunter @leftnotright @lolottes
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ponderingmoonlight · 1 year ago
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I'd love Obanai + Sanemi saving reader from a demon (like in the first episode??) You are awesome, thanks!
This escalated so quick damn, but hey, there you have a full on fic hehe - hope you enjoy <3
Sanemi saving your ass even if you don't want to
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Pairing: Sanemi x fem!reader
Word Count: 1,9k
Synopsis: You knew what you got yourself into when you let a demon capture you instead of your beloved friend. Little did you know that help already arrived, viewing you as nothing but a damsel in distress until suddenly, you turn into much more...
Warnings: (y/n) fell but I fell harder, just saw the movie and it's so AHHH, honestly Sameni's voice is so mezmerizing omg, however this includes violence and language, might incluce spoilers for the movie but if you haven't seen it already you don't know what's going on anyway lol, like all my demon slayer fanfics this includes ai pics of reader so if this doesn't sit right with you, I'd suggest to not read it
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED MORE SANEMI CONTENT
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Your dirty cold feet pound against the muddy floor, haunted eyes darted towards nothing but sheer darkness. You still don’t know how you managed to keep the demon from kidnapping your best friend, how you’re still alive when at this very moment, this frightful creature his hunting you down like its prey.
So many innocent young women, one after another disappeared from your village nearby. Why did you never even think about the possibility that you or even worse, a person you love could be next?
Not until now. Not until you stared into the demon’s stone-cold red orbs when it began to run after you. Not until you were the one threatened to get eaten alive.
“Run! Run and don’t look back!”
“But (y/n), you’ll get killed-“
“I won’t. Leave it to me, tell everyone to lock their doors, just don’t come back!”, you screamed on top of your lungs.
“I’m getting impatient, stupid girl. You know you will get killed, right?”
Blood rushed through your ears, body threatened to fail you.
“If you want to kill me you have to get me first, stupid demon.”
How long have you been running for? Minutes, hours? You lost track of time completely with your body screaming, begging you to stop and take a break. The bitter taste of iron covers your whole mouth, blood sticks to your new Yukata like a second skin. Your mother will completely lose it when she sees the crimson discolouring on the white fabric.
“I’m having enough.”
If you ever see her again.
With a swift motion, the demon swings you over his shoulder, his claws digging into your flesh so roughly that you cry out. No, this can’t be the end. You can’t allow yourself to die like this: in the arms of a demon, without even fighting back. No one ever told you what to do, you were always able to stand up for yourself. Today will be no exception. Even if you get killed, you will fight back with everything you have.
“Shinazugawa…Something’s not right.”
Sanemi can’t help but look around, eyes meeting the countless demons around him. What the hell is this place?
“Yeah, I don’t like this, either. I’ve never seen demons swarming around like this.”
“Let me go!”, you yell, fist banging roughly against the creatures’ back while it drags you into what looks like a haunted mansion.
Your eyes widen when you feel multiple pairs of red orbs laying on your body.
“Demon slayers…”, you hear your kidnapper hiss through gritted teeth, turning his head over his shoulder.
Demon slayers? You’ve heard of them before, how they behead every demon coming their way, how desperately they fight for humanity. But…where were these demon slayers when all the girls from your village got kidnapped? Where are they when you need them the most? How absoluteley useless.
You don’t know what has gotten into you. Is it the anger, the grief? With a rapid motion, you dig your nails into the eyes of the demon until he lets you fall to the ground abruptly, groaning out in visible pain.
Everything hurts, a trail of blood follows you as you drag your body against a rotten wall. You feel your body giving in, all the stress, agony and exhaustion rushing over you like a wave. But no, you can’t give up right now. Not when there’s still a slight chance for you to survive.
“You little bitch. Eat her, I will leave and get her little friend.”
Suddenly, the urge to puke becomes almost unbearable. Countless demons come near you, their teeth exposed to the harsh moonlight. No, this is not how you want to end. You can’t die getting eaten alive by these creatures. But what else are you supposed to do? There is no way out of this living hell.
Except for the destroyed window a few steps away. This is your only chance. You drag yourself up, sprint over the rotten wood underneath your naked feet and jump.
Floors into the depths.
Away from the demons, into another certain death.
“Where is the girl?”, Sanemi questions harshly, sword oh so ready to behead that bastard of a demon in front of him while heading down.
Screw this strange place and the countless demons around him, he needs to find you, needs to carry you into safety.
“The girl? She jumped out of a window in order to safe herself. She’s probably dead by now.”
He lets out the breath he didn’t knew he was holding, blank eyes staring at the stone ground his blade has crashed instead of the demon. What was this place?
No, he can’t think about this right now. As fast as his body carries him, he gets out of that cursed mansion, eyes instantly finding your falling body.
Only metres away from crushing into the ground.
Oh, how much you wished it wouldn’t end like this. But maybe this was everything you could do, dying like this is still better than getting eaten up by a demon. Where are those demon slayers? You close your tired lids, enjoy the weightlessness for a brief second. It doesn’t matter now. Hopefully, the demon is long dead before you. At least you're dragging his ass with you…
“Hey, you aren’t dead, are ya?”
That voice…A male voice, without any doubt. So harsh and tempting at the same time that you can’t help but open your eyes in confusion.
Only to be met by purple ones. Male ones, to be exact. Are those...his arms wrapped around your trembling body?
“Let me go!”, you shriek.
It seems like all power that left your body appeared again while you miserably try to fight yourself out of his arms. Who is this man? Another demon, maybe?
“I won’t let you eat me!”
“Eating you? Are you dumb, woman? I’m a demon slayer”, the man in front of you barks, his hands roughly holding onto your arms in order to stop you from hitting him again.
“A demon slayer?” you repeat.
“Yeah, the wind hashira to be exact.”
Your gaze falls from his face to his exposed chest, his toned abs. He breathes heave while still holding onto your arms. Suddenly you feel so…hot.
“You are a demon slayer.”
With a swift motion, you free one of your hands and slap him so hard that he sees stars.
“It sure took you some time to get here! What about all the other women who died here, the countless young girls that were killed by demons you did nothing about? Why did you save me!?”
“I’m wondering that too”, Sanemi mutters under his breath.
Did you actually go inane? The way you look at him with your eyes completely furious, face and yukata smeared in your own blood. You can’t be serious about that, right?
“You should be thankful”, he finally hisses.
“Thankful!? YOU should be sorry!”
“Yeah, I’m sorry for saving you…you…you ungrateful thing!”
“I could have saved myself”, you argue.
“Oh, is that so?”
No, absolutely not. You would have died if it wasn’t for the wind hashira.
“Everything was under control”, you snap at him.
Nothing was under control. This was your last way out of your misery.
“Is it so hard to just be thankful?”, he argues.
“Who’s your new friend, Shinazugawa?”
“We aren’t friends”, both of you reply at once.
Your heavy breath hangs in the air, hands still clenched into fists. Deep down you know how wrong it is to snap at him, that the demon slayer corps aren’t responsible for the countless lives the demons took in this area. But still…Why does it have to be you they saved? Why not the girl next door who would have married the next day or the girl that was supposed to leave only days after she got killed? It’s not fair, it’s not enough, it’s-
You take a heavy step back when your vision starts to get foggy.
“I won’t catch that brat if she faints now”, the wind hashira grumbles.
“We both know you will.”
The last thing you see are his purple eyes before you fall straight into deep darkness.
-a few days later-
“She’s awake now, Shinazugawa. And she asked for you.”
He hates the way his heart skips a beat by hearing those innocent words from Shinobu. You didn’t leave his head. Despite the state of Oyakata-sama, despite the hashira training, despite the stinging fact that the king of demons himself will come for them, you were always on his mind. You, with your strong but feminine eyes. You, who jumped out of a window into certain death only to keep your body away from the mouths of these demons. You, who straight up slapped him. Was it your attitude that caught him off guard? He never experienced a woman saved by him being this ungrateful. Aren’t you aware of the fact that you would have died that night if it wasn’t for him?
“What do you want, brat?”
His words come out harsher than anticipated while your sight simply takes his breath away. Since he can remember, Sanemi was never interested in any women romantically. No, love is nothing but weakness, women mean nothing but trouble. But even though you glare at him with venomous eyes the second he enters the room, he can’t help but feel drawn towards you.  
“You’re a hashira, right?”
Your words sound just as harsh as his, your gaze meeting his with so much strength that it is him who starts to feel uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I already told you that-“
“Train me”, you interrupt him.
“I want to become a demon slayer and kick your ass.”
“You, kicking my ass?”
You grab the fabric of his uniform so roughly that he isn’t able to react, suddenly so close to you that he can feel the heat radiating from your body.
“Train me.”
“Fine brat. I’ll train you. But don’t think I’ll go easy on your ass.”
-bonus-
“Try to keep up, (y/n).”
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His katana clashes into yours over and over, makes it hard to stand your ground. But still you fight back, your hands holding onto your sword so tightly that your knuckles stand out white. You just have to win. There is absolutely no way you’ll lose against your master again.
Especially since he’s your lover.
“Are you tired yet?”, he teases you with a smirk.
“Absolutely not”, you press out while dodging another hit just in time.
This won’t help. If you continue to fight like this, he’ll sweep you off your feet like all these countless times before. But what are you supposed to do? It almost seems as if Sanemi has no weakness.
Except you.
“But you’ll be when I’m done”, you purr.
That sudden change of mood catches him completely off guard, forces him to hesitate for the split of a second.
Enough for you to sweep him off his feet, your body resting on top of his while your blade hangs into his face.
“I won”, you announce triumphally.
“You cheated”, he protests underneath you.
“Demons play dirty as well. You need to be prepared for everything-“
All it takes his one swift motion for him to position himself on top of you, body forcing you onto the ground before you’re able to catch a breath.
“Imma show you how dirty playing really works, then.”
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Tags: @chilichopsticks @hellkaiserinphoenix  @ynackerman9499 @keepghostly @beatrexworld @froufrousnowman @hidazinie @tomiokathedepresso  @poketrainer2270 @chaoticwinnercupcake @lees-chaotic-brain @wordskeeper @polarbvnny @kayleegomez @ryva @baku2345 @komelrebi-san
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twis-world · 1 year ago
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The Remedy That Is You (Riddle Version)
Mentions: Fluff, Riddle-Centric, Second Person, Gender Neutral Reader
No matter how many a time the students of Nightraven College witnessed how their Housewarden did a complete 180 in your presence, it never ceased to amaze them.
It eventually got to the point where a majority of students began to question if you really were magickless. There was just no way your mere presence could bring out such light in their eyes, face softening and a smile so tender it was as if they were gazing upon one of the Seven.
Just how did you do it?
Riddle
“You imbecile!” Riddle’s voice boomed, echoing all throughout Heartslabyul. Fear set into all who heard it, a chain reaction flowing through their bodies as their hearts beat quicker, palms growing clammy in a cold sweat. No matter how many times their beloved Housewarden proved that he had changed, that he was no longer the cruel tyrant they all once feared, it did not stop the utter terror that ran through them when they did succeed in trying his patience.
Especially when it concerned the prized animals they cared for.
“Have I not made it clear several times that you are not to directly hit the hedgehogs?” Riddle continued to scream, face flaming red as he cradled the delicate creature in his arms. Whether or not the poor thing was shaking of its own account or fear of the one holding it was to be determined, but it mattered not with all eyes on the beholder. “Are you so dense that you cannot remember something as simple as that?”
“Housewarden Riddle,” the victim stuttered. It was a first-year clearly, face deathly pale and looking as if his soul would leave his body any moment in a fit of desperation. Anything to get away from such a ghastly scenario. “I-I…I swear it was a-a-an accident-”
“How do you accidentally do such a thing?” Riddle snapped back, nearly frothing at the mouth as he marched forward into the other’s space. The surrounding students gasped, taking a step back in turn and preparing for the inevitable as his hand noticeably itched for his pen. The first-year clearly noticed as well, eyes bulging and feet shifting in preparation to run if need be. “Even so, there is no room for such impertinence. Why, I should have your head for that!”
“Riddle?”
The effect was almost instant.
The speed at which the male stepped back was almost inhuman, head snapping back so quickly a few flinched at the thought of such inevitable whiplash. The snarl on his lips dropped, not taking on a smile but smoothing out the lines his earlier scowl created. In fact, the only evidence of his incredible fury from but a moment ago was the ever present brightness of his face, taking its time in ever so slowly draining away.
Then, they saw it.
The moment you managed to break through the crowd, eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly agape as you surveyed the situation, the sharpness in his gaze disappeared. It was almost comical how instantly his pupils blew, nearly overtaking the storm in his eyes. Some swore that if it were possible hearts would most definitely be shining from his orbs, beating in tune with the one confined by his mortal body yet still promised to you.
Great Seven, the way he greeted you as well. It nearly ached how tenderly a soft ‘My Rose’ escaped from his lips, and it was then they all knew that in his mind the rest of the world faded away until all that lay within it was you.
“Ace nearly gave me a heart attack when he blew up my phone, spewing nonsense of a bomb about to blow the whole of the dorm,” you gently teased, stepping towards him with such ease despite the still shaking of Riddle’s body. Yet, as you placed a delicate hand on his arm, the tremors all but disappeared. “Guess he wasn’t that far off for once.”
The red fury on his face was now one of shame and embarrassment, tucking his head down and staring as he gently calmed the still shaking hedgehog. “He exaggerates…” he nearly mumbled, refusing to look up at the gentle smile you were giving him. 
You stared at him with the same fondness he just had moments ago, thumb softly rubbing against his arm. Words could not explain the relief they all felt when you looked up at them all and nodded your head back to the main dorm building, silently giving them permission to finally escape.
At the sound of their retreat Riddle’s head shot up, confusion evident. “Who gave you all permission to leave?” he called out, stepping out of your grasp and staring at their retreating backs. If his hands weren’t occupied you were sure he would be waving them in a blind fury. “Come back! You have yet to-”
“Riddle,” you interrupted, cupping his face in your hands and turning his gaze to you instead. It was a miracle that he had yet to pass out, blood still continuously rushing to his face as he had no choice but to lock eyes with you. Fingertips caressed under his eyes, exaggerated breathing from you goading him to follow with, not once turning away. Not daring to escape the land you’ve trapped him in.
He didn’t know how much time passed, just the two of you standing there and the animal in his arms long since passed out, nor did he care. Just your touch alone was enough to soothe his soul, your gaze and sweet words were simply a bonus that he thought himself unworthy of, yet here he was.
“There we go,” you cooed, dropping your hands but not once breaking contact from his face. Down his cheeks that you held for a moment, nails barely scraping down his neck in tune with the pleasant shiver it sent down his spine, dancing across his shoulders and tickling his waist before coming to a stop there. “Why don’t we sit and enjoy some tea to help calm you down more, hm?”
“It’s not yet past the lunch hour,” he responded, yet almost drunkenly. “Rule 148 states-” The small burst of laughter that left you was enough to shut him up, watching as your head tilted back and shined even brighter than the sun that warmed you both. He decided that he really didn’t want you to stop anytime soon. “Though…though I suppose I could make an exception…”
A few more chuckles rang, and you gave him another playful smile along with a gentle squeeze. “How kind.”
Yes, yes you really were quite magical.
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sherbertquake56 · 7 months ago
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okay I’m dropping some of my fable arcane au thoughts before the new episodes drop tomorrow even tho most of it is based on season 1 anyway—
so some basic taggings for you that I based the AU around:
1. Icarus as Jinx.
powder vs jinx is just the sherbert vs icarus name thing. toxic father. unhealthy relationship with sibling. a lil crazy and maybe evil. thinks that they are at fault for the things around them. lil bombs? nah- little SPLASH potions. hearing and seeing mylo and claggor? it’s Haley- it’s literally Haley—
2. Fable as Silco.
okay fable’s design WAS partially inspired by silco— they literally look the same— they’re both a man with two priorities: take over and make his own nation & care for child.
you know the ending scene of season 1? where they’re sitting at the table? THAT. With Jinx assuming that he’s gonna give her up to topside and him getting the first chance to talk and saying “her name is JINX!” i could write an essay on that for icarus. they’re so toxic and it’s so perfect. also that scene at the start of s2 ep2? YEAH THAT—
3. Centross as Ekko
This one is controversial and up to debate but i will die on this hill— SO THE S1 BRIDGE FIGHT. I am so willing to put aside any possible prison duo gay-ness in this AU for that rivalry/fight. they were friends!!! they were so good!! and now they wanna KILL EACH OTHER!! it’s great.
It’s also specifically thinking of Ekko’s tree home as solstice— older Ekko very much has the vibe of Violet specifically-
4. Arisanna as Sevika
I DONT KNOW WHY BUT IT MAKES SENSE TO ME. It’s specifically vexed Ari during the coworkers era but idk it just feels right— I look at her relationship with Silco and Jinx and go ‘hmmm this could be something’
[I will also say there is an argument here for swapping Centross and Ari tho— big tree city as Ari rebuilding the records goes hard, and angsty fighty toxic with jinx centross is also good— it’s like 50/50 for me]
5. Isla as Vander
LET ISLA BE A BADASS IN THIS AU. SHE DESERVES IT— something something raising vi and powder alone, something something the backstory with silco— there’s something there and it hits really hard in scenes where vi sees vander and helps her get back up— also I look at jinx and vander and I go “mmmm this is in fact how icarus sees Isla”
6. Rae as Vi
This was obvious given the above but LISTEN— in this ALTERNATE UNIVERSE OF EVENTS I think it would be fun- do I think that vi perfectly fits canon rae? no. But in this world it would KICK ASS. rae deserves to beat some people up— got kicked out of the overworld (zaun) by fable (silco) and had to go to the end (piltover) to get away from him?? rae end prince aus are already here so why not end rae also punching people huh??? also. gay people.
———
Okay— here’s where I need some help, thoughts, and opinions from you all…
1. Caitlyn.
POLYAMORY IS HARD TO TAG AND I DONT KNOW WHO FITS BEST?? For me, season 1 Caitlyn fits best as Caspian, but season 2 Caitlyn is more for Fenris— so I’m very stuck. yes absolutely give thoughts on this please—
2. Viktor as Aax (but how does that work)
Viktor absolutely should be Aax— mr. Scientist / lab experiment / turned religious figure vessel for god is CORRECT. But honestly the rest of Piltover gang is really hard with Rae as Vi— Jayce/Viktor/Mel is yelling at me to be the polycule but aGH— ya know??? very stuck on this so I instead look at the coworkers and go “mm good yes—”
Random other tags I think also make sense:
- Ulysses as that Telchin looking mf Stev— mans took out one lil medical device as his fish self and I said YUP
- The hexcore big orb thing underground as Quixis— big white glitch orb room make things go wack. couldn’t be easier than that.
———
Anyways that’s all— I’ve been rotating this in my mind for like a week and have had way too many thoughts about it thank you for your time—
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sashi-ya · 1 year ago
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a valentine's mini story 𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑻𝑯 𝑺𝑬𝑹𝑼𝑴 trafalgar law x f! reader
🩰 tw: a soft sfw story. spoilers from the last anime episode (not manga). happy valentine's day! 💕 🦢 wc: 923
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“I LOVE YOU; I LOVE YOU; I LOVE YOU (NAME)-YA!” “ME???”
If there is something Law has passed are different types of “illnesses”; from amber lead to being feminized against his will. Now, as if that wasn’t enough, the truth serum had been injected into his body and his lips couldn’t get sealed any longer.
Your kneels hit the ground, with widen orbs and opened mouth.
“What- what did you gave him?!” you scream, kicking and trying to be let go. Just two people have fooled you two, and now you are taken hostage by a guy of who knows how many meters tall.
The era of piracy is so full of this random -and annoying- devil fruit users that sometimes it can take you by surprise. Today, was the day a couple of unknown pirates decided to mess with you two.
“Oh, just the Truth Serum. Isn’t it amazing? This fruit came to me like a gift of the Gods!” a lady, quite peculiar, laughs loudly at her victim. Who could have said someone that powerful like Trafalgar Law could be defeated so easily?
Her filthy hand grazes Law’s forehead. He is drenched in sweat, also kneeling down. He is desperate to help you, but her unstoppable tongue can’t stop saying how much he loves you.
And that, to you -but probably not for the rest of the crew if they were there - is surprising.
“He seems to love you, mh? Such good timing for Valentines! Well, then, in order to spare her life, he will cooperate… right? You have those Poneglyph right?” that villainess says, slapping Law’s cheek.
Law feels miserable and absolutely embarrassed; not even his strong Haki can undo the spell of such stupid fruit ability. Or maybe it is also relieving to finally confess to you?  
“Law, don’t- don’t worry- I’ll be fine! Don’t give her shit!” you scream, looking away. You, who are also deeply in love with him but never confessed, can’t look him in the eyes.
“No, I won’t let them touch you any longer. You are mine! I won’t let them hurt you!” he shouts, desperate. Never -and probably ever again- you will hear those words being screamed into the world like the public statement of pure romance.
You dare to cross sights with him, even if in pain as that brute is holding you like a kitten by your shirt collar up in the air. Your gazes are so intense, the world around seems to disappear for a moment. Why it has to be in this situation?
“Law! I am in l-!”
You take a big gasp of air, and when your tongue begins moving, ready to give him your own confession… something happens.
“HAYAAAAAAH!!!”
A big ball of white fur covered in bright orange suit appears to save the day; a strong kick to the back of that villain sends her flying away. Law has enough time to break himself the spell, as well as using a little rock to exchange your body for it.
It doesn’t take much more for Penguin and Shachi to give Law his beloved Kikkoku; a blade he uses to slash -but not hurt- both attackers. They both ask themselves why their heads are floating around detached from their necks, but that’s just a little taste of what it means to mess with a man like him.
Soon enough, and to your amusement, his arm surrounds your waist and quickly he runs away from “the scene”.
A coward? Not really. There was something Law needed to do, now that the truth has seen the light.
“L-Law? Are- are you ok? Stop. Stop!” you demand, asking for him to put you on your feet.
He tries to find the farthest spot; the secluded place possible. It’s enough with you listening to his “pathetic” confession -and the rest of the island too.-
When he finally puts you down, his inked hands run through all of your body. He needs to make sure you are fine. You are, indeed, more than fine… you have just realized he loves you as much as you love him.
“Scan!” he takes Kikkoku to asses your body in depth, but your hand intercepts him from doing so.
“Stop…” you sigh. Again, and as always, he is searching for every single way to avoid speaking about his feelings. “Law… it’s ok, I- I do feel the same…” you murmur, softly pushing the hilt of his katana down.
Law takes a deep breath. He can’t run away. Or he can?
The surgeon ponders the possibility of escaping from there. But wasn’t for his own body acting on behalf of his love, he might have probably done it. Luckily, his hand reaches your cheek, and his feet walk towards you.
“I love you too, Law” you repeat, looking down but still enjoying the delicate touch of his hand. A touch that migrates from cheek to your chin, lifting your head up to encounter your lips with his.
“I didn’t plan for this to go this way, (Name)-ya. I had flowers prepared for tonight… I really planned on confessing tonight; it’s just that my plans always get ruined”
“My sweat Law, when will they let you plan in peace? Did the kiss part came into the original plan?” you ask, coming even closer to his lips.  
“No… I- I actually didn’t think you could-“
“My bad, it seems I am also going to ruin your plans this time. Now please, kiss me and never let me go”
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itsnathateasy · 9 months ago
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aot characters reacting to you asking them “what are we?” (part 2)
warnings: just fluff word count: 1,4k author's note: i’m sorry if your fave isn’t here, even tho it’s a part 2! i focused on the characters i connect with the most, also, why did i go so overboard with zeke lol
read part 1
⭑🌻 ⭒🤎 . ✦ 🙈 . ⁺ . ✦ 🙈 . ⁺ . ✦ 🙈 . 🤎⭒🌻 ⭑
reiner simply goes “what do YOU think we are hehe…” you could tell he was being more awkward than before you popped the question, because he kept rubbing his palm on the nape of his neck, as he was getting more and more red by the second. “i guess i need some reassurance reiner. we’ve been dating for a while and i’d like to know what lies ahead, are we an item or are we casual?” “damn y/n, do you really wanna be in a relationship with me?” at this he plopped himself down on the chair, burying his head in his hands. “ugh… you do remember i’m in love with you, right? and you wanted to talk about moving in together soon, but we need to check another box first” you didn’t think you were being too mean, but reiner was silently sobbing?? (poor baby!) “hey… reiner… you don’t have to respond right now, i’m sorry to upset you… but we need to talk about this soon, yeah?”, you ran your hand from his shoulder, down to his arm. “nothing to talk about y/n… i’m in love with you too, i just… i can’t believe you see a future with me, you know?” you moved closer to him and he parted his knees a bit to rest your head between his legs as he kissed you on the forehead. “we’re an item, y/n, and we’re more than good… we’re more than good”
bertholdt didn’t understand the question at first, and asked you to “complete your sentence, y/n! what are we doing? what are we up to? what do you mean?” but the look on your face was enough for him to register the information and simply go “oh”. he sighed as he moved closer to you, clapping his hands together once (and quite awkwardly) before he spoke. “i know that i’m having the time of my life with you, everyday spent with you is wonderful and i love you so much. if the same applies to you, i’m confident we can make this official. what do you say, y/n?” your response being burying yourself in his arms and squeezing him as tightly as possible.
annie would probably give you a good glare when you ask her this, examining you with her gaze, not sure if you’re playing tricks on her or if you’re being serious. eventually, she’d drop the “playing it tough” facade and talk things through with you. “we probably should’ve talked about this way sooner, don’t you think y/n?” she questioned as she leaned her head closer to yours, your heads accidentally banging on each other, resulting in the both of you bursting into laughter. “well, you know what they say annie, friends who headbang together, stay together, i’m sure we can apply it to lovers too”, she smiled at you contently, one of the few times when her smile reached her eyes, her pupils dilating as she stared into your orbs. “you know what y/n, i’m certain we can apply it to lovers” she said as she sloppily banged her head on yours again.
historia gets so nervous she ends up crying, you have to console her back to calmness. it’s not that she’s bothered by your question, but it was too soon for her. “just let me explain myself, y/n”. she told you all about why she reacted like this, the main reason being she’s lost all of her family and many friends and is afraid to properly commit to anyone for fear that they might be gone as well. “are you willing to stick by my side y/n?” she asked you with pleading eyes. when you reassured her that you have all the time in the world, she finally relaxed into your embrace.
pieck was working on your car, half of her body presently concealed by the machine. however, she responds at once, not a tiny bit phased by your inquiry. “we’ve been dating for a while now, i think it’s high time we made our relationship official. plus, with zeke and porco being in town these days, it’s easier to plan our formal dinner, don’t you think? of course you should contact your friends too and make sure at least some of them are able to attend on such short notice. how about two sundays from now? we should get some decor too, right? and a banner that says “just married”, as a joke of course. we can discuss marriage after the party. y/n, are you still there?” she questioned when you didn’t respond. “just wasn’t expecting you to be so eager about this, but yes, it all sounds amazing pieck! can you come up from the car now so i can kiss you?”
you caught zeke in the midst of him completing some paper work, he was so focused, he paid you little mind. “what was that, y/n?” he asked. you didn’t respond, your arms folded on your chest. you weren’t dropping this AGAIN. you’d tried to discuss this matter with him before, but he’d asked you to put it off. this time, you were determined to get a proper answer, even if it meant waiting for him to acknowledge your question. “are you for real now?” he looked up at you, pen falling on the side by the way he was relaxing his grip on it. “i’m for real zeke. i can’t go on like this. i see so many of our colleagues flirting with you at the office and you do nothing. how am i supposed to feel? if i’m your sneaky link, i’d much rather know about it”. zeke pushed his papers aside and patted on his legs, motioning you to sit in his lap. “i never realised this was so important to you, i’m sorry. in my head, we’re very much together, but i see why you want to let the world know. also, i’m not addressing my colleagues’ flirting, as i never addressed yours…” at this point he pinched your cheek playfully “because we work together and i’m trying to keep things drama free, so i’m being friendly and declining their offers. but it’s just you and me babe, don’t worry your mind too much” he put his fingers on your chin, softly pulling your face upwards so that you’d face him. “do you want us to drive together at work tomorrow and walk in holding hands? hm? would that be okay with you?” “yes, zeke, but can we also do that everyday after tomorrow too?” “if that’s what you wish for, love” he said as he kissed you softly.
petra blushes all over and avoids your gaze. as the seconds pass and you get no response out of her, you realise she’s spiralling, you have to pull her out of her thoughts, which you do with a gentle squeeze on the arm. “no need to worry about it, petra. i’d just feel so much safer about us if i knew where we’re standing”. she put her own hand on yours, touching it softly before moving it away from her arm, so that she could hold your it in both of hers. “it’s understandable, y/n, this… conversation’s been long due… but we’re in a relationship, i think. i mean, we’re officially in a relationship. this is what you want too, right?” “yes, petra, of course it’s what i want!” you hugged her and kissed her all over her face, and, as if it was possible, she kept blushing more with each peck. “do you think we should tell captain levi, y/n?” you held back a laughter, before admitting that it was captain levi, who, in fact, encouraged you to talk things through with petra. “so… you mean that captain has known this entire time?” poor baby almost fainted out of embarassment.
yelena isn’t amused, and i mean, not at all amused, she thinks you’re pulling her leg. “seriously, y/n, you ask me this after you’ve met my family, been sneaking away with me during your patrols for months on end and basically everyone knowing we’re together??” she was glaring at you, her gaze filled with anger. “shit yelena, just making sure… we’ve never really discussed our relationship status before, that’s all… please don’t look at me like you’re about to kill me”. at this statement, yelena calmed down a bit, she hadn’t realised you were unsure of where you two stood. “i can forgive you neglecting your duties, but not you not thinking you’re mine”
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galedekarios · 2 months ago
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Not sure if you still do Gale meta asks so if you don’t, feel free to ignore me, but after replaying BG3 recently and getting to Gale’s third artifact explanation, I realized I’m actually a bit lost on his character on that slot.
I am of the opinion that Mystra groomed Gale and their relationship was unhealthy (I’m pretty sure you’re on agreement with that.) For a long time I thought Gale sought out to bring her the Netherese orb in an act of love and because he did not feel worthy or equal to her, but when he explained to me again I noticed at first his motives seemed to be based in the fact that Mystra closed veils to him despite how close he was to them while with her. So it leaves me a little lost because he also swore it was to serve her better, which I don’t get how that could be.
My current personal understanding is Gale, being with Mystra, was constantly looking into the “precipice” others could not access, and Mystra restricted that as she did with others. Gale, feeling like he wasn’t enough, desired to instead prove himself worthy in her eyes to access this knowledge. Perhaps it was still an effort to feel equal to someone he could not be? I’d love an explanation, ty!
thank you for your message!
yes, i am still doing them. i apologise for the wait, but they do take a lot of time, with the amount of research and time that goes into them (outlining, writing, putting together quotes and screenshots if needed). i hope you are still seeing this! 🖤
as for your confusion as to gale's motives:
i think the fault doesn't lie with you. i think the fault lies with larian.
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the problem with re-writes and purging
i don't think your confusion is down to you not understanding, but rather it's larian's fault for their at times sloppy re-writes of early access in general to re-work it for the full version based on the fan feedback they received, as well as fitting the story they originally had planned within the scope of the possible.
they rewrote characters (gale, wyll, shadowheart, astarion, etc), they rewrote entire plotlines around factions and npcs while cutting others (halsin's and ketheric's relationship and how it pertained to the shadowcurse and isobel, cutting candlekeep and the astral plane, etc).
they softened up a lot of characters -- gale included -- and, important to your question, they sought to largely remove any dialogue that hinted at lingering feelings or had too many mentions of mizora from wyll and mystra from gale to placate players who felt upset by those mentions made -- even though it (imo) harmed the overall narrative for these characters -- both of which larian discussed prior to release and after release in their panels from hell and interviews, for example:
What is, in your folks opinion, is the funniest (and non-spoilery) addition or story that’s occurred because of either fan reception/feedback? Baudelaire Welch: We mercilessly purged any references to Gale or Wyll being hung up on their exes.
the fandom in general has talked many times about larian and their tendency to adopt popular fandom narratives and/or compromise their stories and characters over fan feedback so i won't rehash it at this point once again, although you can be sure i do have some less than charitable thoughts about it all.
however, i'm of the opinion however that these "purges" often left scars in the stories and character, and they left old traces that lead to a poorer characterisation for it, they messed up timelines, motivations or caused inconsistencies in characterisation and lore -- especially because in gale and wyll's cases, these "purges" were not substituted with new scenes.
things were only taken and scrapped, and nothing new was added in its stead.
the "purging" and re-write of gale included not only changing aspects of his personality, but removing scenes that were very much integral to his character and to understand not only what happened to him and mystra, but also the direness of his situation, the sheer loss of power and status he suffered -- from a waterdhavian archwizard able to wield silverfire to a, essentially, level 1 adventurer struggling to hold onto a fraction of the control he once held over the weave.
these two "purged" scenes are the loss scene and the deer stew scene, as well as a rewrite of the first romance scene, which then took place during the tiefling party.
i have detailed many of these scenes and cut dialogues in my series re: early access gale's cut content. if you wish to read it, you can do so here.
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early access gale vs full release gale: why did he seek out the orb?
the loss scene and the tiefling party scene revealed early access gale's intentions: he sought the orb to proof his love to mystra and to win her back after she abandoned him.
it was the actions of, as he puts it, a very young and very naive man, who was in love for the first time, lost that love and tried to win it back.
i think it's very important to keep in mind here also that originally, gale's entire story was set on different premise than the full release version storyline. i, and others, have speculated that he was physically even more affected by the netherese orb housed inside of his body to the point of where auntie ethel was able to smell the rot on him. i have written another meta on that original storyline here.
but back to the dialogue explaining why gale sought the orb as it was in early access:
i have written down and edited here a part of the tiefling party scene after the protag and gale spent the night together, which is when he would reveal the full extent of what happened mystra, after having hinted at it in the loss and in other smaller dialogues before:
Gale: Once upon a time, not quite that long ago, there lived a wizard in a tower. The wizard was what one might call a prodigy, who from an early age could not only control the Weave, but compose it, like a musician or a poet. Such was his skill that it earned him the attention of the mother of magic herself. The Lady Of Mysteries, Mystra. Protag: What did Mystra’s attention feel like? Gale: Love.  Gale: Perhaps it was not quite love, but you see, the wizard was but a very young man. It was most certainly love to him. Mystra showed him the secrets behind the veils. The gossamer veils first, draped across the Weave. The delicate veils next, draped across her body. ‘Chosen One’ she whispered, as she slipped them off completely. Protag: The veils draped across the Weave? Gale: Indeed. What most wizards perceive is but the ripple of the Weave’s surface. Untold wonders lie beyond. I enjoyed them for a while, as we enjoyed each other. Gale: Alas it was Mystra’s interest that didn’t last. One day all too soon, the whispers stopped. The goddess spurned the mortal. The veils were drawn once more, and the wizard was left behind heartbroken. Protag: Poor wizard Gale: Poor wizard. Silly wizard too, for he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Protag: What happened next? Gale: Like so many of the heartbroken, he did something infinitely foolish. One has to think big if one seeks to win back a goddess. So the wizard thought big. Protag: Define big. Gale: Here goes; once upon a time, very long ago, a mighty lord lived in a tower. A flying tower to be precise. I’ll save his story for another time, but the gist of it is that he sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed but not quite, and his entire empire – Netheril – came crashing down around him as he turned to stone. The magic unleashed that day was phenomenal, rolling like the prime chaos that outdates creation. A fragment of it was caught and sealed away in a book. No ordinary book, mind you; a tome of gateways that contained within it a bubble of Astral Plane. It was a fragment of primal Weave locked out of time – locked away from Mystra herself. ‘What if’, the silly wizard thought. ‘What if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the Goddess?” Protag: What was the answer to his question? Gale: The answer was to try, and the outcome was to fail. Here. Place your hand over my heart. Let me show you. Narrator: You feel the tadpole quiver as you realise Gale is letting you in. Into the dark. You see through Gale’s eyes, staring down the corridors of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. It’s teeth, it’s claws, it’s unstoppable as it digs through you and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever hungry… Protag: Yank your hand away. Gale: Terrifying isn’t it? And that is only the beginning This Netherese taint... this orb, for lack of a better word, is balled up inside my chest. And it needs to be fed. As long as it absorbs Weave it remains stable – to an extent. The moment it becomes unstable, however... Protag: You will die, obviously.. Gale: Rather worse, actually.  It will erupt. I don’t know the exact magnitude of the eruption, but given my studies of Netherese magic, I’d say even a fragment as small as the one I carry… It’d level a city the size of Waterdeep. Gale: It is my truth, finally revealed. It is this folly that led Mystra to abandon me completely. I can only hope you won’t abandon me as well. After all we’ve been through... After the night we spent together. Surely we can brave even this side by side.
the reason for the full release version of gale is curiosity and thirst for knowledge and wanting to feel equal to mystra:
Gale: Such was my skill that it earned me the attention of the mother of magic herself. The Lady of Mysteries. The goddess Mystra. She revealed herself to me and she became my teacher. In time, she became my muse, and later, even my lover. Protag: Are you telling me you made love to a goddess? Gale: Oh yes. We enjoyed each other's company - body, mind and soul. But even so, I desired more. You see, no matter how powerful a wizard we mortals can become, we never scratch more than the surface of the Weave. Mystra keeps us in check. There are boundaries she doesn't let us cross. Yet every time I was with her, I stood on the precipice, gazing into the wonders that lay beyond. I sought to cross her boundaries. Protag: How exactly did you try to cross those boundaries? Gale: I tried to convince her. I pouted, I pleaded, I swore my ambition was only to serve her better. But she only smiled and told me to be contented. As inconceivable as it seems to me now, I shared a bed with a goddess and yet I wasn't satisfied. So I sought to prove myself worthy to her instead. We come now to the crux of my folly. Shall I share the story behind it, or would you rather head straight to its sordid finale? Protag: I'm intrigued. Tell me all. Gale: Very well. Here goes: Once upon a very long time ago, a mighty lord lived in a tower. A flying tower, to be precise. I'll save his history for another time, but the gist of it is that he sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed, but not quite, and his entire empire - Netheril - came crashing down around him as he turned to stone. The magic unleashed that day was phenomenal, roiling like the prime chaos that outdates creation. Even the Weave itself could not withstand the onslaught. It fractured, then shattered, and all magic was lost to the mortal realms until the day Mystra returned. She restored the Weave, reuniting all its scattered shards. Or so I thought, until in the course of my studies I learned of a book. A Netherese tome in which a piece of the fractured Weave had been sealed beyond her reach. 'What if', I thought, 'What if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the goddess?' Protag: So your grand plan was akin to emptying a cup of water in the sea. Brilliant. Gale: I certainly thought so. Sometimes there is great strength to be found in symbolism. I was certain that this deed of raw power draped in romance would convince Mystra to take me by the hand and welcome me into her hitherto forbidden domains. I was mistaken. I obtained the fabled book and took it into my study. As for what happened next... Here. Place your hand over my heart. Let me show you. Narrator: *You feel the tadpole quiver as you realise Gale is letting you in.* *Into the dark.* *You see through Gale's eyes, staring down the corridors of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened.* *Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces.* *Its teeth, its claws, it's unstoppable as it digs through and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever-hungry...*
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in conclusion, early access gale did it out of love for mystra as a young man, as a chosen, and as a romantic trying to win back his lost first love, however naive and grand (and ultimately doomed) the gesture was, which was then cut to appease those who thought gale was "too hung up" on mystra, and changed around, purging some scenes and dialogue while keeping others.
(on a tangent: this also once again shows, imo, how ultimately it's completely futile to try and appease these sort of demands/complaints since this is still very much a big complaint that is levied against gale's character.)
it's now more about power, curiosity, knowledge and a desire to be equal, while the new narrative of the full release version still to some extent kept the relationship with mystra intact.
with the removal of the deer stew scene, of the loss scene, and all those little dialogues, purging and cutting away to re-write gale's devotion to mystra as the embodiment of weave and his first true love, while still leaving in some of that, with lines from those very conversation, is where your (as well as other's) confusion is coming from.
i'm only rambling now so i will stop and say that i hope this was at least somewhat helpful for you!
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quirkwizard · 8 months ago
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I've been getting a lot of asks about the various futures of the characters in this setting, specifically Class 1-A. So I thought it'd be fun to mix them all up together and toss in some headcanons about the various students in the future. And yes, I will change some of the hero names and titles to what I believe are better versions. Because I like to think that someone from the Management Course got to these kids before they went public.
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The Fresh-Picked Hero, Vineyard: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: Sticky purple orb toys that you can throw around.
Mineta eventually grew to a more decent of a hero. He learned to properly apply himself rather than coasting on what little talent he had and worked to put on a brave face when fighting villains. He was hoping his growth would improve his image with the ladies. It did not.
The Super Sweet Hero, Sugar Ray: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of sweets designed and endorsed by Sato himself.
In spite of his brutish power and appearance, Sato found himself loved among old folks and housewives that loved the recipes he came up with. He'd always spare his treats with anyone he helped in his hero work, always brightening the spirits of anyone he came across.
The Taping Hero, Cellophane: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A brand of tape supposedly based on Sero's own tape.
While never the most popular or successful hero, Sero was always the most approachable one of the class, remaining down to Earth in spite of his past and lifestyle. This ended up making him more of the "working man's hero", finding fans in blue-collar workers. His power may have played a part in this.
The Fighting Hero, Martial: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of fur coats inspired by his tail and costume.
Ojiro was never going to be a popular hero, yet found a hardcore audience in niche communities. He would go on to found several dojos that would help young heroes learn how to apply themselves as marital artists, with or without their Quirks, and would accept many of them as his sidekicks.
The Unseen Heroine, Ultraviolet: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A shoe line inspired by the ones from her costume.
In spite of the massive controversy when she appeared on the hero scene because of her power, Hagkaure has taken to stealth-focused hero work well. Still, she tries to gain as much attention as possible as not to be left in the background. Surprisingly, this does not interfere with her work since no one ever sees it coming.
The Petting Hero, Anima Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A playset featuring various animals Koda works with, including little information cards on them.
While Koda had a role in the Heteromorphic moment, he found himself far more preoccupied with animal protection and conversation, working to endorse several zoos and sanctuaries. The once shy boy found his voice in sharing his love of animals. He remains popular with young children.
The Tentacle Hero, Sixth Sense: Rank: 50s to 60s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A mask and headpiece set resembling Shoji's costume.
True to his word, Shoji helped foster and repair the relations with the Heteromorphs. He worked tirelessly as the public face of the movement and as the hero who would help deal with cases of Heteromorph related crimes. In time, Shoji started to feel like he didn't needed to hide his scars.
The Illustrious Hero, Rayonnant: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A clothing line heavily inspired by his own fabulous wardrobe and costume.
In spite of his flashy looks and grandiose persona, Aoyama was always one of the more empathic heroes. He would always help encourage "lost causes", becoming an icon and true hero for those that felt alone and afraid. He wanted to make sure they all grew to shine as bright as he did.
The Astonishing Hero, Paradigm: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A toy version of his masks that distorts your voice.
Preferring to stay away from the limelight, both for himself and his Quirk, Shinso made a valuable underground hero for the world at large. He's been immensely helpful in deescalating dangerous situations and assisting police in doing wet work to gather evidence. In spite of that, he never once felt like a villain.
The Stun Gun Hero, Chargebolt: Rank: 70s to 80s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A toy version of his disk launcher and glasses
While not as lazy as he was in his youth, Denki still takes a laid back attitude to hero work and tends to treat it more like celebrity work. Less out of any selfish desire and more that he's surprisingly good at that part of it, especially with teenagers. Still does little electrical shows and short circuits himself sometimes at the request of fans.
The Hearing Heroine, Treblemaker: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: Various musical equipment themed after her, especially headphones and musical toys.
After her injury, Jiro focused less on hero work as a whole. While she still went out and landed her ear when she was needed, she instead used it as a platform to prop up her music to a resounding success. She'd often use her music and concerts to help raise money and attention to disaster areas she had worked in. Eri has been and always will be her biggest fan.
The Alien Heroine, Pinky: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various health and beauty products, especially skin care ones.
It's been said by her fans that Mina was built to be a hero. And they'd be right. Between her flashy power and friendly personality, she quickly gained a following and shot up the ranks. She remains a fan favorite among the crowds, earning the fan name of Alien Queen. Tends to gossip a lot about her fellow heroes and causes undue drama.
The Sturdy Hero, Red Riot: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: As much as Kirishima wants it to be his workout equipment and videos, it's his hair care products.
Kirishima became a noble and courageous hero, always being the first to run into whatever danger was in his way. In spite of his simple ability, his overall brand helped him garner the attention he deserved. He became an icon for young men around the state, inspiring them to be brave, to improve, and to protect the ones they love.
The Everything Hero, Refine: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Support Popular Product: A junior chemistry set that actually taught quite a bit about chemistry.
While never at the front of any one operation, Momo's plays a pivotal role in organizing and planning many operations, both big and small, and is considered the resident "mastermind" among the heroes. When she isn't doing that, she is assisting Uraraka, helping to provide the resources for needed to help those who can't afford the needed support equipment.
The Jet-Black Hero, Tsukuyomi: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various plushies designed after Dark Shadow
In the shadows of the night, this dark hero would strike out giving all villains a true terror for the dark beast inside him. Yes, Tokoyami is still a massive dork. His own phrase of "Revelry in the Dark" became his catchphrase in the public eye, especially among his massive chunibyo fan base, much to his embarrassment. He thinks he could have come up with something cooler.
Rainy Season Hero: Froppy Rank: 100s-150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A collection of Froppy themed water accessories, like goggles and water guns.
Tsuyu still patrols the coastline with her sidekicks, the Tadpoles, searching for anyone in need. While her niche work keeps her from the limelight, she is still extremely popular with small children. This is helpful whenever she helps Uraraka with her Quirk Counseling endeavors, helping to educate younger children on the matter.
The Turbo Hero, Ingenium Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: An Ingenium themed car for the action figure to drive around, much to Iida's confusion.
As Tenya grew older, he began to mellow out more, becoming more like the man Tensei was than the man Tenya thought he was. Still, he holds himself and his sidekicks to the high standards of the Ingeium family name. Hopes to instill those values in the younger generation and works extensively with Uraraka with her efforts in Quirk Counseling.
The Lighthearted Heroine, Uraravity Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A series of space themed toys based around a space mission storyline her brand did.
Uraraka went on to participate in and champion the act of Quirk Counseling. She helped to push for the implementation and personalization of the process across many schools. She wanted to make sure that no one would feel hatred for the Quirk and would regularly go around to help teach kids to understand and accept their Quirks.
Great Explosion Murder God, Dynamight: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Toys inspired by his bracers that light up and shoot out plastic darts.
Ever the firecracker, Bakugou remains a solo hero through and through. He fails at having any real media presence and is well known for his tumultuous relationship with the press. Still, he remains one of the most impressive heroes in terms of incidents solved and time spent patrolling. Tends to take in "troubled kids" and whip them into shape as his sidekicks.
The Thermal Hero, Shoto Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A limited edition model based off of his first costume.
Shoto became the pro hero he was always meant to be, moving on from the shadow of his family. However, in spite of his time and dedication, his public image keeps him from the higher rankings. He still cannot talk to people to save his life, and the awkward interviews are legendary in the hero fan community. Still manages to rank high among the "Hottest Heroes" listing.
The Greatest Hero, Deku: Rank: ??? Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A short-lived action figure from his time as a hero. It is considered a high-value item that any fan would kill for.
Deku's time away has led to endless speculation on what happened to him and why he left. However, with his big splash back on the hero scene, he's made huge waves in the hero world and is fully expected to shoot up the ranks. Many fans watch on in excitement to see what will come next of the young hero. Though for him, he's still eager to help teach his adoring students.
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valandrawrites · 6 months ago
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2024 Recommended Fics - Incomplete List
Here's my start at an end of year round up. If you're looking for a specific kind of fic or trope, let me know, and I'll try to find something for you! I have many, many more I could add, and what I've included is in no particular order.
I didn't list the rating or warnings with this because it just got too long, and honestly, I'm lazy. Read at your own risk.
A. fragilis by eachainn @eachainn
This is quite simply the best fic I've ever read. Do not continue until you read this one!
150 million years ago, an Allosaurus finds a stranger had wandered into his territory and he wants the intruder out.
1878, the middle of what will become known as the Bone Wars between O.C. Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope. Castiel Novak is transporting fossils from the latest dig in South Dakota back to Yale. He has to be careful, because there are people who work for Professor Cope who would gladly take the fossils off of his hands.
Those Who Get in the Way of Peace by ladyofthelake17 @ladyofthe-lake
“Don’t make me an optimist. You will ruin my life.”
Dean Winchester finally has his shit together: business is booming at his auto repair shop, he's eating healthy (okay, he's eating salad with bacon bits), he's exercising (in a cemetery). He's single, but he's claiming it as a good thing. And so what if Sam's not talking to him? So what if his dad is marrying an insane artist? And so what if the priest marrying them is hot as hell with a name that sounds like a sin just to say it — Castiel?
AKA: another Fleabag fic, but maybe it'll have a happy ending. Maybe.
Illicit Ink by allmystars @allmystars-i
Dean Winchester has a secret. He does this thing maybe two or three times a week, and he loves it, don’t get him wrong, but… He’s a camboy, and that’s not exactly something he wants shared around the breakfast table. When Dean decides he needs a change, it’s nothing too drastic, just a tattoo. But the hot-as-sin tattoo artist he gets to do the job might just change everything.
Ground Control to Major Tom by MrsShinigamiDaiko @mrs-shinigami-daiko
Dean Winchester dreamed of being a mechanic all his life, but he never thought he would end up working as a mechanic for NASA and going into space. He is thrust into his first ever space mission after a strange lunar body, dubbed Luna-b I, mysteriously appears in Earth’s sky. Teams of astronauts scramble up to the permanent lunar base and begin analysis to determine if the blue orb is any threat to mankind. Most of the first team is sent home after a few months, nearly all of them having fallen ill with devastating cases of space sickness. As time goes on, it becomes clear that something altogether unnatural is going on here. Dean feels like he’s losing his mind as he and his crewmates also begin to succumb to sickness. He races to figure out what could possibly be the root cause. Is Luna-b I really just some weird, deep space rock that got caught in the Moon’s orbit by chance? Or is it something much more sinister, watching and waiting for the opportune moment?
Pinfall by crowleyo @crowleyo
Cas runs the family diner with his adopted son, Jack. His old high school flame rolls into town and he thinks he can just step back into Castiel's life. Well... He's kind of right.
This Impossible Happiness by FriendofCarlotta @friendofcarlotta
In one universe, Dean Winchester is pushing thirty. He’s just danced at his little brother’s wedding, he likes his job at the garage, and he goes on the occasional hunt with friends and family. He’s also desperately lonely for someone to share his life with. One day, he finds a mysterious package outside his door. It contains a news clipping about an urban legend that just might be real, and a book by Professor Castiel Novak, who happens to specialize in that same urban legend.
In another universe, Castiel Novak’s roadside motel is slowly dying, its business hollowed out by the interstate system. Dean Winchester, the man who asked him to run away together years ago, is only a painful regret these days. Until the day a mysterious letter Castiel doesn’t remember writing brings Dean back to his doorstep.
Out there in the multiverse, a man and an angel look for each other in all the wrong places. In the meantime, they might as well help a few other versions of themselves figure things out.
Then Comes the Rain by someonetoanyone @someonetoanyone-blog - a three part series
“I’m not looking forward to it,” Rowena tells him, as though that will absolve her of anything, “he may have a better solution for this, but the spell requires a smidge of spilled Grace. He’ll need to be hurt for this to work, and — Dean, all joking aside, you may be the only person fit to do this.”
“Oh, this’ll be great — go ahead, tell me why I’m the only one that can get butt-fucked to save the world.”
Mind Your Own Business by BunnyHunter
While the ability to overhear the secret thoughts of the people around him was distracting at best and anxiety-inducing at worst, Castiel had found ways to cope that included a pair of noise-canceling headphones and burying himself in his PhD research. After hearing inner thoughts for his entire life, there were very few things he overheard that surprised him anymore. So imagine his shock when his roommate Sam's brother, Dean, came to stay with them. While Dean may have been able to keep a straight face on the outside, his inner thoughts told a much different story.
Survivalism by bleuzombie @bleuzombie
Genetic engineers Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester are on the verge of a breakthrough in cancer treatment and possibly even a cure, using genetic manipulation and incredibly, shark DNA.
Following a devastating diagnosis of brain cancer, and amid growing pressure from his boss, Dick Roman, for results, Castiel is pushed to an act of desperation. He tests the cure on himself with disastrous and violent results.
He has never been so hungry.
Dean Winchester’s half-way house for orphaned half-monsters (and humans) by foolondahill17 @foolondahill17
What if Dean just kept every kid he’s ever interacted with?
A re-write of season 6 onwards in which Dean slowly collects every conceivable stray that crosses his path.
The eyes of a lamb by naughtystiel @naughtystiel for Shedar
The year is '98 and Spring is approaching fast. For most, the season is a symbol of new beginnings with Mother Nature’s chaste kiss that breathes life into everything once more. It's inspiring, peaceful and beautiful. So, the fact that this is exactly when a certain serial killer loves to strike makes Detective Winchester's blood boil. Two years in a row now, the guy has slipped through his fingers, not leaving a single trace behind. No clues, no leads, just murdered women in the most picturesque places imaginable. And the worst thing of all? Sometimes Dean catches himself admiring the killer's work.
where there is darkness by quiettewandering @quiettewandering @wanderingcas 
When Castiel Milton takes a job to be the new assistant keeper at Whaleback Lighthouse in Kittery, Maine, he expects to live out his new life in quiet isolation. What he gets instead is Dean Winchester: bitter, brash, and, like Castiel, harboring a dark secret. As the spark of attraction between them grows into a flame, the lighthouse walls start closing in—as do the ghosts of Dean and Castiel's checkered pasts.
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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 1 year ago
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Dirty Work 2
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Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as bullying, familial discord/abuse, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.
This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.
Summary: You start a new gig and find one of your clients to be hard to please.
Characters: Loki
Note: Let me know if you want more. Didn't get too much on Part 1 but I have ideas so...
As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.
Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)
I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖
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Your third week begins in the same place. Before the iron gate, the code unlocking the green maze within. You’re still just as impressed as your first day there. To you, it’s like a fantasy. Entirely unattainable but it’s right there. You can look, but you can’t touch… not beyond cleaning.
You linger outside, not thinking. You admire the tall tulips and the hedge trimmed to resemble some landmark you can’t quite place. You could see a place like this in an Austenian film or perhaps something Victorian. You don’t have an eye for the difference.
You key in the code for the backdoor and continue on. You put covers on your shoes and grab a fresh set of gloves. You’re getting into a pattern, though each client differs slightly. You put your things away and bring your water bottle with you. You bought a cool strap that keeps it against your hip, a small splurge with your first paycheck. The rest went to bills.
As you start on your usual journey through the many rooms of the airy house, you wonder how its sole resident isn’t lonely. Or perhaps he is. He doesn’t seem the type to admit to it. You turn your thoughts back to your work. You try not to think of him, truly, you don’t know much of him.
You take a candlestick and polish it. You move on the small globe; an ivory orb on a silver axes, the outlines of the continent carved into the surface. As you put it back, you notice something. An item you can’t recall being there before. You reach for it but stop as you realise it’s a camera.
You retract your hand and move on to dust the shelf itself. Does he not trust you or was it there before? Of course, somewhere like this would need security. There was a story just the other day about a break-in, but that was closer to your father’s where those culprits dwell.
The second floor is always easier. It seems even less lived-in than below. All but the study and the main bedroom. You flit in and out, checking points off the list until you’re content. You can only hope he will be too.
As you descend, the epiphany tickles your brain. It’s the first shift he hasn’t appeared. It’s easy to assume he’s busy. You don’t expect him to hang around. As if he would supervise you. Besides, that’s probably what the cameras are for.
You pack up and get your single refill of water. You leave the way you came, as you have twice before. The keypad flashes red to signal the lock is in place. You haul your kit higher on your shoulder and tread slowly along the little path along the side of the house.
You look at the gazebo trimmed in hanging ivy. It’s beautiful. You’d like to venture up and sit on that bench. Just sit and watch and smell and feel. You force the thought away and turn back along the stonework.
You’re going home. Not to pollen but tobacco smoke. Not to lush gardens but wilting strands in soggy mud. Not to immaculate floors and pristine decor but to stained walls and broken springs in your mattress. 
Home, to another man that makes you nervous.
🧹
Your father is as he always is, smoking on the couch. You say hi as you come in with a bag of groceries, the prize for what was left of your check. He grumbles and flicks through the channels. You go to the kitchen to put away the food.
You’re almost at the end of your first month, a third of the way through your probationary period. Hopefully after that, you can pick up more clients. You shut the cupboard and go back to the living room. Your father coughs into a crumpled tissue. He sounds horrible. You can’t say so, he doesn’t seem to care.
“I got some fresh produce,” you announce proudly, “I’ll steam some veggies with the chops.”
“You get fries?” He growls.
“Uh, no,” you admit, “I thought we could eat something healthier–”
“I don’t like steamed veggies,” he drops the remote and grabs his pack of smokes.
“Oh, sorry, I was only thinking–”
“Don’t lie and say you were,” he snorts as he pulls out a cigarette and taps the end of the pack. “Go on, I’m tryna watch this.”
He nods at the television and you follow his gaze to the rerun of All in the Family. He’s seen them all before. You take the dismissal and retreat up to your room. Like you always do.
It’s always been like this. You don’t hate your father but sometimes it feels like he hates you. You put your kit and your water bottle on your dress and change into clean clothes. You lay in bed and close your eyes, trying to let go of the tension in your muscles.
You don’t remember your mom but he does. You assume that’s why he’s like this. It’s not you, it’s what happened. Tragic. A loss he won’t talk about.
You rub your forehead and let your arms fall to bend on either side of your head. You only ever saw one picture of your mother. You don’t think you look like her. She was pretty. And young. You were always too afraid to ask about her but you could tell she was younger than him. No one could’ve expected her to go so soon.
You close your eyes. It’s a strange sort of grief to miss someone who is only a shadow in your mind. Not even a voice, just this ghost you know by name. Mommy…
You blow out a deep breath in an effort to bid away the sadness. That was so long ago. This is now and you have a lot to worry about.
🧹
The Laufeyson house greets you once more with its elaborate brickwork. It’s starting to feel familiar, like a habit to put in the new code and walk along the winding path around to the back door. Six more numbers and you’re inside; shoe covers, gloves, bottle, and the list.
You always check the new email sent by the agency. There’s always something small and new squeezed into the bullet points. This week, you notice the first task is laundry. 
‘Retrieve hamper from hallway. When hamper is left outside door, it means clothes must be washed.’
Easy enough. You go upstairs first and take the tall hamper from beside the door frame. It’s heavy and there’s no wheels to aid in your struggle. The laundry room is downstairs. Your descent is treacherous, one step at a time as you haul the basket down step by step. If Mr. Laufeyson is there, he can’t happy with the noise.
You finally get to the machine and follow the instructions about cycle type and separating colours from whites. However, there is only the bedding to be cleaned. You load the linens in and take a moment to figure out the touchscreen. Your father’s machine has a dial that only works on one setting and gives off a dingy stench.
You leave the basket in front of the washer and retreat to start your usual progression through the urban manse. Mop, sweep, dust, vacuum, polish; hallway, kitchen, dining room, sitting room… Nothing unusual or unexpected.
As you cross the narrow foyer to the den, the sunshine glows a warm orange through the slender windows on either side of the front door. The patterning of the glass reflects prettily on the floor. Despite your best efforts, you can’t help but imagine residing somewhere so brilliant.
You sigh and carry on. You’re sure to open the long drapes to let in the late spring sunshine. It’s not so bad working in the light and you can see where the rare spec of dust is hiding. You go to the tall shelf beside the record player and pull out the albums to wipe beneath them. Music would be jarring in a place always so silent.
You slip the albums back into place, pulling out one to admire the cover; Ane Brun. You’ve never heard of them. You read the track list curiously. You know you shouldn’t be wasting time.
“I don’t believe I’d have anything to your taste on my shelf,” the mocking slither has you pushing the album in line with the rest.
You almost apologise but you remember. You don’t speak. You just clean. So clean.
You glance over at Mr. Laufeyson as he struts in, a book held in one hand as his other is tucked in his pocket. He wears his usual pressed attire; a dark button-up and even darker slacks. You note that he has no tie that day. A single curl dangles by his temple as the rest of his black hair is precisely combed back.
You return to your tasks, gently wiping the cover of the record player and along the stand. You  hear the book drop onto the low table before the sofa before his footsteps continue on; closer. He approaches as you get to the next shelf, a collection of EPs in unmarked sleeves.
You wince as he stops near you, flipping up the cover of the sleek record player before stepping back to peruse his selection. You do your best to keep on as he looms. The air is thick and suffocating. Should you go to the next room and come back?
He slips a record free of its sleeve and places it carefully on the players. He moves the needle over and flips the switch, a crackle before the sound drones from the tall standing speakers. Acoustic guitar with a gritty feel to it. The sudden addition of a woman’s voice jolts you; her tone is peculiar but not unpleasant.
When I woke I took the backdoor to my mind And then I spoke I counted all of the good things you are
He backs away without a word. Not an explanation. You finish cleaning the second shelf and dare to glance over. He reads his book on the couch, unbothered by your existence. That isn’t too unfamiliar.
You finish the space but leave the vacuuming for later. You wouldn’t want to ruin the music. You go into what you can only call a sunroom. The french doors peek out onto the garden and a patio set with a large dining set in white iron and glass.
The music drifts in and keeps you company. It almost makes the work easier. You make quick work and go to check the washer to switch over the load. Once you have the dryer figured out, you begin on the second floor.
It’s only as you come out of one of the guestrooms that you notice the silence is returned. You turn down the hallway and near the next door. You enter the study with your usual reverence. Something about the space is intimidating. 
The large leather chair with its dimpled back and the even bigger desk; slabs of marble set into polished ebony. Shelves of a similar material, decked out with numerous volumes and the occasional ornament. Some appear even to be genuine artifacts. The rug at the centre is patterned in Persian style.
Behind the desk are a set of doors that open onto a balcony. The drapes are drawn shut. You find that is often the case. It’s a sombre and dark space hidden from the bright gardens without. Your tasks here are minimal. You use the hand vacuum and dust the shelves. You aren’t to touch the desk at all.
A shadow startles you as you drag the cloth along the edge of the bookshelf. Your eyes round and you look over as Mr. Laufeyson enters. You blanch but he doesn’t acknowledge you. He sighs and goes to the desk, sitting in the chair and wheeling it closer. You narrow your sights on the shelves; focus.
You feel a tremble but quickly shake it away. This is his home, he must be able to exist within it, but this feels strange, almost deliberate. Is he trying to make some point? To scare you? You remember the mention of those who came before you. Did they quit or did he dismiss them? Regardless, you can’t afford either.
It isn’t that difficult to follow the rules. Don’t speak? You haven’t much to say. You get closer as you advance along the shelves to the back of the office. He lets out another long exhale. His chair creaks, once, twice, and again.
“Hm,” he rolls back and swivels, an action you observe from the corner of your eye. He tuts and wheels back to the desk, resuming tapping on the keys of his slender laptop. The glow limns his silhouette sinisterly.
You rustle the drapes as you pass them and cross to the opposite shelves. As you brush over the spines of the books, you nearly drop the cloth. His low hum frightens you as he mimics the same melody that played from the speakers below. His tone is deep and sonorous, even delightful.
You squeeze the cloth and pause before regaining your composure. This cannot be a coincidence. The camera and now he’s following you. Or so it seems. Does he distrust you? What reason have you given him?
You are mindful to wipe down the bronze statue of what you assume is a viking warrior. You place it back staunchly, making sure your work is entirely visible to him. You are honest and you like to think you do your work well. Or at least, you try to. Perhaps if he sees that effort, he won’t be so suspicious.
As you head for the door, he quits his humming. His chair squeaks again.
“You are rather more thorough than the last,” he muses.
You stop and turn your head. You nod. He’s baiting you to break his number one rule.
“And you take orders well,” he adds blithely, “that is rare these days.” He taps a key again, “as you were.”
You take the dismissal in stride and flit off to your next task. It isn’t much, maybe only a statement of fact, but it’s something. He isn’t unhappy with your work. So far, neither are you.
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