#I know that I should be working on my other wips/sips on my main but…..

[dpxdcsideblog]

!WIP! The Case Of The Marine

Danny’s an old contact, really. Someone he met back when he first started out. He had a habit of wandering a bit too close to where he shouldn’t and walking out perfectly fine. Drove Jason crazy how he knew some Batman level type things without ever getting real dirty.

If anyone asks, Danny is a little crazy. He digs and digs til he finds the body and doesn’t stop there. He investigates and gets information you decide not to dig into how he got it. 

Good to know that crazy likes crazy, or whatever it is they say. Jason never really had a problem with him. He is crazy smart and definitely walking the tightrope of becoming a rogue, but a good contact. Around him you learn to play the game if you want a prize, or trick the game master and steal his secrets.

But that’s not important right now.

There’s a shipment of weapons coming in and Jason wants to know why. Of course, he could ask Barbie, but he’s heard the big bat’s been pissy lately. There are times to pick his battles and this? This is not one of them. 

So he off to Danny to find out the root of the problem and maybe a little more.

[wheneverfeasible]

No Obligation (part 1.2)

wc: 1.6k || rating: T || story tags: omegaverse steddie, post-s4 au, eddie lives, max lives, o!steve, a!eddie, rockstar!eddie, mpreg, oc!kid, friends-with-benefits, second chance love, secret pregnancy, pining || story summary: after corroded coffin makes it big, eddie leaves hawkins and never looks back, while steve is unknowingly pregnant with their pup. which might have been fine, had they actually been together.

Heyoooooo. So I didn’t realize that I basically had this part written before I dipped out for a bit, so here’s the second part of the first chapter of my accidental/secret pregnancy omegaverse fic lol.

There will probably be only one more part to it before the first chapter is finished, after which I plan to post the chapter to ao3. Whenever that is. No promises or guarantees for it to be speedy as I’m working on other WIP as well.

~

Steve would forever be grateful that his omega instincts had understood the situation with Eddie. He wouldn’t pretend that he didn’t feel some sort of rejection sickness, but it had honestly been more aligned with just dealing with a standard broken heart than anything omega related.

And morning sickness. Part of it had definitely been morning sickness.

Robin had done her best to take care of him during the worst of it, but that had always been one of the main lectures about omega promiscuity and the belief that omegas and alphas belonged together. An omega’s bonded alpha was able to help curb the negative symptoms surrounding pregnancy, such as morning sickness, which made bonding seem so much more important before pregnancy.

Even unbonded though, the alpha parent was still able to help the omega through the worst of it, soothing omega and pup both with scent and proximity.

Steve had neither of those things. Robin tried to help as much as she was able, but there was only so much she could do when she wasn’t Steve’s alpha. Or an alpha at all for that matter. But she was always there to bring him ginger or peppermint tea and to rub his aching muscles as his body got bigger. He didn’t know what he would have done without her.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that Robin only liked girls and was a beta, Steve would have been happy to bond with her if that had been a choice.

In any case, Robin helped him through the worst of the pregnancy, even taking a break from college to stay with him and help out during the pup’s first year. She’d only gone back to school once He assured her that he would be fine and she had set in motion her transfer to a nearer college so that she could be with Steve and the pup on weekends and any day she could make the trip to visit after classes.

Thank god she finally got her license.

That was all to say, things could have been worse. If he had let himself delude himself with Eddie, he might have had more than morning sickness to deal with those first couple months after Eddie’s departure.

Even now, Robin was always there to help Steve and his little nugget.

“Want me to punch him in the dick?”

Steve rolled his eyes in exasperation, shooting Robin an askance look where they were lounging on his thrifted porch furniture. She just grinned back at him, unrepentant, and sipped at her lemonade.

“There’s nothing to punch him in the dick for, Robin,” he said, repeating himself for the upteenth time. He glanced out into the little grassy area where Gregory was playing with one of the toy tractors he’d received for his birthday, the Barbie he’d also gotten riding it seemingly into battle against the army of troll dolls and army men lined up before him.

He let out a soft sigh. Honestly, it had been hard at first to go about his day and not think about Eddie. It got easier over time, however, and now he could go weeks without thinking about the alpha that a part of him would always love. A small smile curled his lips.

“If anything, I should thank him,” he murmured. “Without him I’d never have Greg in my life.” He shot Robin another sharp glance. “And that’s all we’ll say on the matter. Greg fully believes I had him without an alpha. He’s my son. Eddie is a friend and nothing else. I doubt there’s any reason for them to even meet while Eddie is in town, and if they do, it’s just as strangers.”

Robin held up her free hand in surrender. “I know, Stevie,” she softly said, apologetic. She knew it was a sensitive topic. Not so much the Eddie factor of it, but the idea that Greg could ever feel like he was missing something. It was the whole driving force behind Steve’s parenting; that Gregory never had to feel the lack of an alpha parent as an open wound.

When Greg first started school, Steve knew that it would come up more. Hell, even in the trailer park, there were parents who didn’t want their kids associating with the bastard child of the loose omega. Steve stuck to his story, however, about how he had chosen to have a pup sans alpha, stuck to the belief that there was nothing shameful about being an unbonded omega nearing his thirties with a pup already in elementary school.

Gregory was his and his alone. Steve was the one that carried him, birthed him, stayed up late at night with him when he was feeding or when he was colicky, helped nurse him back to health when he was sick, and was simply there. Steve was Greg’s parent and his only parent, though of course he had Robin as his godmother and plenty of aunts and uncles as well.

Eddie hadn’t wanted kids, didn’t want to be tied down to a shitty town that never cared to know him, and that was all okay. Steve never resented him for any of that or not being in the pup’s life. So…no, Eddie wasn’t Greg’s father. For both their sakes. He wouldn’t force that life that on Eddie, and he wouldn’t let Greg feel anything other than utterly and truly wanted.

“Flash!” Steve called out to his pup, and Greg lifted his head to grin gap toothedly up at him.

“Yeah, Poppa?”

It wasn’t uncommon for omegas of any gender to be referred to as “mom” as the birthing parent, just as alpha parents were frequently referred to as “dad” regardless of gender, but Steve had no interest in being seen as just an omega mother. It implied that the alpha father was missing, which he wasn’t. Steve was both the father and the mother for Gregory.

“Come drink some of your lemonade, sweetie,” he called out, making certain the pup’s Lion King cup was within reach. It was the first movie his son ever saw in theaters, Steve having taken him to see it when it came through the new drive-in theatre a couple towns over.

His pup had taken to the movie exceptionally, even getting to the point that he would even wake up early enough on Saturdays to watch the show that came out the previous year about the very obviously interspecies gay couple.

“Okay, Poppa,” Greg agreed easily enough, and Steve thanked his lucky stars every day that Greg had yet to become any sort of problem child. He’d had some issues as an infant as was common, but Steve had been worried that being around Steve’s first batch of nuggets would rub off on Gregory and make the pup as difficult as his uncles and aunts were—especially Uncle Dusty.

Greg left his toys where he’d been playing with them, wiping the back of his hand and wrist over his face and smudging a bit of dirt over his brow. The young pup bounded up the short steps to the porch and grabbed up his cup, sipping happily at the sweet and tart liquid.

Steve reached out, softly carding his fingers through his pup’s curls, reminded a little bit of Dustin, actually, all things considered. He was always glad when something of his pup reminded him of his pack, not anyone else.

He knew not everyone agreed with his decision, knew that Wayne especially wished to be more a part of the boy’s life as family, but that’s what everyone except Robin didn’t seem to understand; keeping the pup’s existence from Eddie wasn’t some sort of conniving subterfuge, but rather the simple truth that Eddie had never been the pup’s father. In the best way possible.

A part of Eddie would always be entwined in the pup’s existence for obvious reasons, but Steve had from the start seen his son as his and his alone because it was simply the kindest option for all three of them, especially since Eddie never wanted this like Steve had. But he would never see Eddie as some deadbeat dad, or someone who abandoned them, or anything else.

He would thus never begrudge Eddie for doing what was best for Eddie, nor would he let anyone else do so either, not even his soulmate. Everyone deserved their happily ever after, after all.

Greg beamed up at Steve, his neon curly straw slotted into the space where one of his bottom central incisors was currently missing, filling Steve with a fondness that almost ached. He loved his pup so damn much.

“I love you, pup,” he murmured, sliding his palm along the boy’s cheek before booping him on the nose with a smile. Which only grew at his son’s affronted noise at the boop.

“I love you too, Poppa,” Greg still said regardless, and it made Steve’s chest ache again at the sincerity in his pup’s tone. His hazel eyes turned towards Robin with equal sincerity. “Love you too, Auntie Bob.”

Robin grinned, her entire face flushed with pleasure at being included in the pup’s love as it always did. “Love you too, Flash.”

This was truly all that he needed, Steve often thought. Just his pup on one side and his soulmate on the other; nothing could ever give him greater joy.

What was loneliness to the warmth of his true family? And if there was a small twinge in his chest at the thought of seeing Eddie again? Well.

No one needed to know. Especially not the best part of his life before him now, reaching out with small dirt covered fingers to wrap around his pinky and middle finger with an affection so pure Steve knew that he would and could never regret his decision in accepting this life.

If only he had known that the past could never truly stay buried forever.

part 1.1

~

I never want children of my own, but if I ever had a son, I would name them Gregory/Greg. It’s one of my favorite masc names. Greg’s nickname comes from Flash Gordon, however, which I headcanon as becoming one of Steve’s favorite movies once he starts letting himself like nerdy stuff.

Greg’s fascination with Lion King comes from the fact that it was also the first movie I ever recall seeing in theatres, at a drive-in as well. His love for the cartoon show Timon & Pumbaa also comes from me lol.

Hostage Hotties (open):

@derythcorvinus @katyawriteswhump @scoops-aboy86 @dotdot-weirdlife @everywherenothere @bumblebeecuttlefishes @hiei-harringtonmunson @estrellami-1

As always, if any Hottie would like to not be tagged in this story and other omegaverse or pregnancy/kidfics in general, please let me know and I’ll remove from the list for this story only.

[bleuzombie]

Get to Know Your Fanfic Writer

Tagged by @underwater-ninja-13

When did you post your first ever fanfic?

August 2021

First Character(s) you wrote?

Dean and Castiel

Main Character(s) you’re currently writing?

Dean and Castiel. I do occasionally write Will Graham/Hannibal Lecture.

Character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan to write about soon?

Anyone from Our Flag Means Death or Crowley/Aziraphale from Good Omens. I also have an idea kicking around about Benny/Balthazar from Supernatual but I have written them before. Just not as the main pair.

Fandom(s) you’re currently writing?

Supernatural and Hannibal

Platonic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

Dean/Castiel, Will/Hannibal, Ed/Stede, Aziraphale/Crowley

Romantic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

I’m only working on Dean/Cas at the moment.

Your top AO3 tags?

Trans Dean Winchester/Fluff/Serial Killer Castiel. I’m as surprised as everyone else about the fluff.

Current platform you use for posting?

Ao3

Snippet of the WIP you are currently working on?

Cas/Dean/Cain BDSM story I’ve been working on.

Castiel feels a pang of jealousy. He wants to be the one to make Cain smile. “Dean, go throw your pie in the garbage disposal.”

Dean doesn’t move. Castiel doesn’t bother to turn to look at him. “Go along beloved. You heard him. Bring us the empty pie pan when you are done.”

Dean walks quickly out of the dining room and into the kitchen. Castiel hears the garbage disposal and laughs softly. Cain on the other hand throws his head back and gauffs. The sound fills the entire house.

“He’s a good sub. He just got excited.” Cain shrugs. “I can’t exactly blame him. I was excited about the prospect of getting my hands on you too. I should have checked.” Cain locks eyes with Cas as he picks up his wine and takes another sip. “Do you wish to punish me too, Castiel?”

Castiel looks down at his plate. “Oh,” he says softly. Quickly twirling more pasta on his fork and shoving it in his mouth. He needs a moment to readjust his expectations. Of course Cain is here so Castiel can work him over. It’s what he’s good at after all. Castiel knows better than anyone that a dominant energy doesn’t mean there isn’t a desire to submit. But still he had hoped after Cain castized him in the Shibari class that maybe Cain could be the one to keep Dean safe so he could finally submit. He swallows thickly, his food half chewed. “I can do that for you if that’s what you would like.”

Cain’s eyes darken slightly. “What would you like to do Castiel?”

“I don’t know your kinks Cain but I’m agreeable to most things. I’m sure we can find something we will both be excited about.”

“Dean!” Cain yells suddenly. “Stop!” The garbage disposal stops with a faint “son of a bitch” from Dean. Cain walks quickly to the door of the kitchen and pokes his head in. Castiel can only hear every other word but figures it’s not a conversation he’s meant to be a part of. Cain sits down and leisurely takes another bite of his pasta. “I told Dean to save a portion and bring it to you. I believe he deserves it. You need me more than I originally understood.”

“I don’t understand.” Castiel places his fork over his plate. “Dean keeps me very occupied. I don’t need another sub.”

“No, you need a Dom. Just as Dean suggested.”

No pressure at all to participate. @imbiowaresbitch @nickelkeep @cr-noble-writes @butterflyslinky @friendofcarlotta

[talktomeinclexa]

Mend The Heart You Broke (Heal The Wounds You Caused)

By: TalktomeinClexa

Rating: Mature

Warnings: None in this chapter, Panic attacks, Depression, Suicidal thoughts in other chapters

Status: WIP (6/9)

Summary: Clarke and Lexa led the perfect life. Married, two children, a big house, a group of reliable friends. Until Lexa cheated on her wife and the idyllic picture was smashed to bits. Three months later, Clarke is still trying to put the pieces of her heart together when Lexa slowly comes back into her life. The path to forgiveness will force the artist on a self-introspection journey that won't leave anyone unscathed. But isn't true love worth the fight?

***

Chapter 6: Come Home

Life thrives on being unpredictable. A lesson that Clarke should have learned by now. Yet, when her phone rings with another unexpected news, she is caught by surprise.

Dring dring

“Clarke Griffin-Woods speaking.”

After kicking Lexa out, she tried to go by “Griffin” again, only to burst into tears at the first call she received. Since the divorce is on permanent hold — and she doesn’t feel the need to let everybody and their cousins know about the state of her marriage — she reverted to her married name without too much heartache.

“Hello, Ms. Griffin-Woods. This is Marcus Kane, the owner of Arkadia, the gallery downtown.”

“Mr. Kane, hello. What can I do for you?”

She has had the occasion to visit the gallery a few times over the years. It’s not the MoMA or the Guggenheim, but it hosts an extensive collection of local and international artists on their way to fame. They have crossed paths in previous exhibitions and social events, one of Clarke’s former teachers doing the introductions.

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I recently decided to expand and acquired the building adjacent to Arkadia. In order to celebrate this and the new artists who have signed up with my gallery, I plan to organize a large exhibition for Christmas. And I was hoping you would like to take part in it.”

Clarke’s heart hammers against her ribs at the thought. Her name has gained some traction in recent months, and she has had more commissions than ever before. But to take part in an exhibit in Arkadia? That would put her on the map. Both a thrilling and terrifying prospect.

“That’s a very enticing offer, Mr. Kane. What would it consist of exactly?”

“Well, I currently have space for four of your paintings. Possibly more, depending on a couple of answers I’m still waiting on.”

Four of her paintings. Clarke’s mind goes on overdrive as she reviews the ones she has in storage or ongoing. With most of them being commissioned, she has only two pieces that could be submitted. None of them good enough, she fears, to fit the bill should critics be there. She can’t miss this chance to shine and take her career to the next level.

Enthusiastically accepting the challenge and thanking Mr. Kane for thinking of her, she wonders how to tackle the main hurdle in her path: finding time to paint while raising two children.

The following Sunday finds her nurturing a glass of wine at Raven’s, the Latina and Octavia listening to her with rapt attention.

“That sounds like an amazing opportunity. It’s what you’ve been dreaming about for years.”

“I know. Obviously, I said yes. But how am I going to manage with the twins? They are at day camp right now so it works, but what will I do once they are back in school? I’ll have to pick them up at three most days, and with the chores and my other commissions, it won’t leave me much time to prepare for the exhibit.”

Octavia hums as she brings her glass to her lips and swallows a sip of red wine. If someone can understand Clarke’s dilemma, it’s the cop married to a firefighter. Her and Lincoln’s shifts were a nightmare to synchronize at the beginning of their careers and even worse once they had Chris and Aurora. Clarke babysat them more than a few times over the years when a nanny canceled at the last minute. Things are easier now that Indra — Lincoln’s mother — is retired. But knowing how much of a handful Aurora can be, the artist doubts Indra will be willing to take care of the twins too.

“I wish I could help,” Raven starts, sensing she might be the only available option, “but I’ll be working on an important project in the coming months. I know that Anya will be happy to have them here from time to time, but it can’t be more than occasional.”

Clarke leans heavily against the back of her chair, bracing herself. Raven has proven to be more open-minded about the whole situation than expected, but Octavia wasn’t shy about her anger toward Lexa before. Which makes sense considering that her father cheated on her mother and then took off, never to be seen again.

“Don’t worry, I understand. Actually, I was thinking about asking Lexa to move back in.”

Keep Reading

[buckys-other-punk]

What the Hell is The Catch?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Steve and Y/N are forced by their friends to go out speed dating. Little did they know they would find their perfect match.

Warnings: alcohol, fluff, teasing and cussing

Word Count: 2.6K

A/N: HI I’m back!! First off, sorry @stuckonjbbarnes that this was late, I wanted to write this on time before the due date but my classes were literally beating my ass (BUT I did actually get inspiration for this fic idea by my stupid interpersonal relationships class so i guess that’s a win?) Anyways thank you for letting me join your writing challenge and ILY.  Second, hello again! Hopefully my writing is still worth reading lol, since I have free time I will try to write more and hopefully complete my WIPs. As always, please ignore my minor mistakes (i’m lazy to edit) and lemme know what you think of this fic!

Bucky and Sam had somehow convinced Steve to go on a speed dating event at a nearby bar. Steve wasn’t really in the mood to go out and mingle with horny women. All Steve wanted that night was to relax in bed and watch a movie about this group of people who dream hop (a/n: aka Inception lol i couldn’t think of an easier way to describe this movie). Steve sat on his bed ready to watch the movie then his friends bombarded his space about how lonely he is. As much as Steve wanted to brush the two off they annoyed him so much that he caved in. Now Steve was sitting at some bar with a pen and questionnaire in his hand.

Natasha and Wanda had somehow forced you to go on a speed dating event at your guys’ favorite bar. You, having no choice, rummaged through your closet looking for a good outfit. ‘At least I’ll be getting free drinks.’ saying to yourself. You picked out a black dress that has lace sleeves which accentuates your curves. Nat and Wanda of course approved the dress immediately, they gave you your red clutch and shoved you out the door.

You huffed as you got out of your cab staring at the bar dreading to ‘mingle’ with men. Walking into the bar a couple greeted you with obnoxious smiles.

“Hello! Welcome to our single’s speed dating night.” the woman said, handing you a name tag. You took note of her flashy diamond ring. You returned the smile and wrote a random name on the name tag. “Is this your first time, Twyla?” 

“Hmm?” you looked confused, then remembered your fake name. “Oh, Twyla! Me, I’m Twyla. Yes. sorry.” you replied.

“No need to be nervous dear.” the man next to her said. “We’re all here to have fun right?” he said with a smile looking around the area.

God, you hated being here already.”You two seem lovey-dovey. Did you two meet in one of these things?” you asked looking at the pair.

“Yes we did actually!” she said with a smile looking up at her man. “And just a few months later he proposed.” she added looking at her ring. You smiled then looked at the man, he looked behind you and quickly went back to his fiance. You turned slightly to “take in the area” and saw a woman with a flirtatious smile towards the man. 

Rolling your eyes and glancing back at the couple. You just wanted to get some free drinks and go back home. “Are the drinks free?” you asked the couple. 

“Yes, but-” the lady started to say but you waved her off grabbing the questionnaire on the table.

“That's all I need to hear. Thank you.” you said walking away from the pair and towards the bartender. “Hey, can I get a old fashioned please?” you asked the bartender who nodded and proceeded to make you drink. You scouted the area like you would on a mission and nobody was really peaking your interest. There was a woman who seemed right up your alley, but you had a feeling she wouldn’t swing your way. Sighing, you turned back to the bartender who handed you your drink. Taking a sip and pulling out your phone from your clutch you began texting the girls about how sad this event is and that you were ready to walk out.

“Can I have everyone’s attention please?” the lady from earlier said through the microphone in her hand. As you looked up from your phone you saw her fiance standing next to her with his own mic in his hand. His other hand holding the woman’s hand as he eyed a woman near him. 

‘Dear lord. He’s going to cheat on this poor woman.’ you said to yourself. You downed your drink and signaled the bartender for another one.

“We are going to ask the guys to pick a table with a number on it and stay there. Ladies please go to the table closest to you and begin talking with your partner. Once you guys hear this bell.” the lady’s boyfriend rang lightly. “You can move onto the next table going counter clockwise.” she added with a giddy smile.

“Alright love birds. Let’s get this thing started.” the man said to the crowd. You grabbed your drink and headed to the table closest to you. You saw the man who was seated at the table, on his phone not really caring about the event. He was wearing a leather jacket and dark shades. ‘This dude is a douche.’ you thought to yourself, downing your second drink as you stood across from him.

“So, you come here often?” he says not looking up from his phone.

“Oh god, no.” you replied with a fake southern accent. “I just came because my boyfriend turned into a mountain lion and tried to kill me.” you said politely looking at the man.

“Oh that’s nice.” he said but then realized what you said. “I’m sorry…” he began as he pushed his sunglasses a bit down to read your name tag. “Twyla? Did you say he turned into a mountain lion?” he looked at you concerned.

“OH, yes!” you said ever so sweetly. “You see, Caleb wanted me to join his cult and I refused. He got so angry that his eyes began to turn yellow and he started clawing at his face with his hands. Just when he finished turning into a mountain lion, the high priestess of his cult commanded him to capture me to be their sacrifice for their next meal.” you said with a straight face, looking dead into the man’s wide eyes. His mouth was hanging open, speechless. Just when he was about to ask you another question you both heard the bell. The man sighed in relief downing his drink as you waved goodbye to him and chuckled as you walked to the next table.

____________________________________

Steve was staring at his drink as a woman walked up to him. He noticed that this was the woman who was eying up the man who hosted the event. Steve smiled at the woman anyways as he introduced herself. He looked down at his questionnaire trying to figure out what to ask the lady. The woman who talked to him earlier just wanted a rebound and the woman before that didn’t even say anything to him.

“So, I noticed that you don’t really have any interest in being here.” he said kindly, looking at the woman.

“Yeah, I just did this so I can get my boyfriend’s attention.” she replied looking back at the male host.

“Your boyfriend seems to be a bit occupied.” Steve said as glanced at the man and back to the woman in front of him. “Are you sure he’s worth it sweetheart? I mean I don’t know your situation with him right now, but it seems that if he’s with that woman you’re not his main priority.” he added looking at the lady in remorse.

She looked up at Steve and pondered to herself. “You know, I think you’re right. I mean I’m practically his side chick when I want to be his main chick.” she said to Steve. “Thank you for making me realize that he’s not worth it and I should get my priorities straight, Steve. I’m sorry to leave you here alone, but I hope you find someone who deserves your kindness.” she said kindly, patting Steve's hand as she began to exit the bar.

__________________________________

You noticed the woman who the male host was staring at earlier left the bar. ‘Good for her. Realizing that man ain’t shit.’ you said to yourself as you downed your third old-fashioned. You wanted to change things up..so you ordered a long island iced tea. The man who was sitting in front of you was going off about his sex fantasies and how he was looking for the right woman to please him. The previous man you only talked about work and was completely monotone.

You were completely ignoring whatever he was saying and waited for your drink and the damn bell to ring. A waitress brought your drink over and you looked around the bar as the strange sex crazed man kept going off about his fantasies. Finishing your drink in one go, since you weren’t drunk enough for this, your prayers were finally answered as you saw the lady host ring the bell. She seemed to be looking for her fiancé who left the bar to run after the woman, but she didn’t know that. 

“Let’s make this next session a few minutes longer.” she said with a brief smile as she began to look for her fiancé. ‘Oh sweetie.’ you said to yourself feeling extra sorry for the woman. You grabbed a glass of champagne from a waiter that was walking around the bar and sipped the drink as you walked to the next table.

While walking over to the next table not really paying attention to the man seated there, you were thinking of another crazy lie to tell the poor soul. Maybe lie about how you believe that an alien had taken over your body this very night and that the alien was looking for someone to bring back to their home planet. Or maybe that you believe that the world will be destroyed in exactly 24 hours from now and that the only way to save it is to kill a man who was at this very event. That idea might be too dark, but might scare them off. 

As you approached the table you heard a familiar voice.

“Y/N?”

Looking up at the man in front of you in shock.  “Steve? What the hell are you doing here?” you asked the man.

“Well, Bucky and Sam kind of convinced me to come down here and find a girlfriend.” he answered. “Why are you here?”

Right when you were about to answer he stopped you. “Wait, let me guess. Free drinks? Don’t you already raid Stark’s liquor cabinet every weekend?” he said with a smile.

“Hey, fuck you Rogers. I’ll have you know I was forced to come here by Nat and Wanda.” you said sassily but paused. “But I mean you’re right anyways.” you added chuckling.

“I guess our friends thought the same about our love lives.” he said while taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah? And what’s that?” you smiled at him.

“We don’t have any.” he chuckled and you laughed along with him.

“I mean, you do have a point there Rogers.” you giggled as you finished your drink. You waved the waitress down ordering another glass of champagne.

“How many have you had?” Steve said motioning at your empty glass.

“I don’t know like 3 or 4? I’m not keeping count if they’re free.” you replied to the man.

“Well I don’t want you running off somewhere.” he said protectively.

“Rogers, you do know I have a strong alcohol tolerance” you asked looking at his blue eyes.

“Yes, but I still want you to be safe.” Steve replied as he drank his glass of water.

“Steve, I am literally an Avenger like you. I can take care of myself.” you huffed rolling your eyes. “You should live a little anyway, the drinks are free for a reason.”you added wiggling your eyebrows. This time Steve rolled his eyes and laughed.

“Fine, since you’re keeping me company for how long our little speed date is I’ll drink.” he smiled as he waved the waitress over and asked for a glass of whiskey. “But you do know that my alcohol tolerance is stronger than yours right?” he said, winking at you.

You giggled as your cheeks began to warm up. ‘Oh god, why is the alcohol now getting to me.’ you said to yourself as you gleaned around the room. You noticed that the host of your event went outside and found her fiancé. 

Steve thanked the waitress as she returned with your guys’ drinks. He looked up at you and his eyes skimmed over your frame. He had never seen you in that dress before, maybe it was new? Regardless, you looked beautiful wearing anything. Taking a sip of his drink he looked towards where you were staring at. He saw the host of the event talking to her boyfriend aka the man that was cheating on her. 

“I talked to the girl he was seeing.” Steve said.

“Yeah, I saw her leave the bar. Did you upset her?” you asked, looking back at the supers soldier.

“God no, I gave her advice.” he replied looking back at you. “I told her that he wasn’t worth it.” 

“Smart. I was thinking of telling our host, but she seemed so in love with him I didn’t want to hurt her. I mean I am a stranger to her after all.” you admitted taking a sip of your drink.

“Hopefully, she’ll find out.” Steve shrugged. “So find anyone interesting?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Nope, I’ve been trying to scare most of them off.” you giggled as thought back to your first date.

“Why the hell would you do that?!” Steve laughed when he finally noticed your name tag. “Twyla? Y/N, you really didn’t want to be here huh?” he asked as he looked at you.

“Well, clearly no if I was messing with these poor men.” you chuckled while finishing your drink. “Why don’t we play a game since I don’t wanna mingle with anyone else right now.” you said as you looked up at Steve.

“What, now? What the hell is the catch?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed as he stared into your glistening eyes.

“Why does there have to be a catch? I’m just suggesting something to do, unless you do want to mingle with one of these women?” you replied with a quirked eyebrow. 

Steve shook his head, “Not really, but I feel like you’re up to something.” 

You shook your head no. “Come on it’ll be fun.” you begged.

“Ok fine. What did you have in mind.” he sighed as he looked at you.

“An easy game of Fuck, Marry, Kill.” you said with a smile. The alcohol was now affecting and building your confidence. You saw Steve’s Adam's apple bob as he nodded. 

“Kill? That’s a little harsh.” Steve said as he looked at you. 

“Seriously? Kill is harsh, but fuck is ok?” you whined at him and he nodded. ”Fine, then avoid instead of kill, you baby.” you added shaking your head.

“Who are your picks then?” he asked as he downed his drink.

“Simple, the lady you gave advice to, the woman in the very short dress and me.” you smirked as you took a sip of his water. 

“Ok, avoid short dress woman, marry the woman I gave advice to and then have sex with you.” he answered honestly staring at you. You blinked in astonishment by his answer.

“Damn, Rogers you answered that way too quickly. Can I get an explanation as to why your answers came so easily?” you asked, staring at the blond.

‘Well, short dress woman I would avoid because I talked to her earlier and I was not feeling it. I would marry the woman I gave advice to because she seems to have good intentions.” Steve said confidently. “And I guess that leaves me to fuck you because I want to.” he added with lustful eyes.

‘Holy shit! Did he just admit he wanted to fuck you?!’ you thought to yourself as you sipped some water.

“Some bold words coming out of your mouth Rogers.” you said trying to think of something or anything to get more information about that last thing he said. 

“Why is it bold, when it’s the truth.” he said looking dead into your eyes.

“Well then fuck me already.” you whisper winking at him.

A/N: Was that good? I hope this was good. I feel like there should be a second part to this with some smutty action 🤔 Again if you wanna be tagged in future fics, have any requests or just wanna chat hit me up! 

Taglist: @lostinthoughtsandfeelings​ @sebtheromanianprince @aquabrie @who-the-hell-is-sebastianstan  @anbrax5553 @wintersoldierissucharide @caplanbuckybarnes @miraclesoflove @kitkatd7 @saiyanprincessswanie @chaoticpete @fandomsandxfiles @hailmary-yramliah @coffeebooksandfandom @thefallenbibliophilequote

^please lemme know if you wanna be added/removed for future tags or dm me if I forgot you^

[happys-crazy-queen22]

The Lady Of The Night

Gif credit by @runabout-river.

Requested on wattpad

Hope you all enjoy.

Happy reading dollies.

Taglist @nocturnalherb16 @jesseswartzwelder.

Requested by AmberBatterton. I hope you like it. Sorry for the long wait. Thanks for the request.

Warning: polygamy relationship. Smut!  

"Come on out, Y/N. I bet you look great". Antonio called from his desk. The whole team waiting for you to come out from Voights office. You were changing into something rather sultry and seductive. You might have volunteered to help with the John patrol, playing a woman of the night on the streets.

"I'm nervous". You yelled, covering yourself up with your coat.

"You'll be fine. We'll be right there with you. You could be saving a lot of girls by doing this". Voight calmly spoke reassuring you.

"Alright. Here I come". You took one deep breath and opened the door. Slinging off your coat and strutting into the room. Your hands on your hips. Feeling quite fierce.

"Holy shit". Antonio's mouth dropped as he seen you in the tight little dress that didnt cover much and leave nothing to imagination. Your heels clinked as you twirled around.

"So"? You asked shrugging your shoulders. Before you could get a answer Antonio hit the floor with a thud. Everyone rushed over to check on him.

As you bent over to see if he was okay. Everyone heard another thud behind them. Voight had taken Antonio's queue and fainted as well.

"Maybe this dress was a little to much"? You bit your lip as Adam called for a ambulance.

"You think? You just had two men faint over you. All their blood rushing to their cocks. So I think you'll do great tonight". Alvin assured, shaking Hank to wake up.

After the ambulance got there you decided to stay out of Antonio and Voights sight so you rode with Gabby and Shay. They were laughing and joking around the whole way. You felt bad that that happened with Antonio and Voight. Not meaning to look this sexy.

"Hey, Y/N". Kelly, Herrmann and Otis came in just as y'all pulled into the bay.

"Hey". You said with a frown.

"Why so glum, chum? Herrmann asked.

"Voight and Antonio fainted. It was my fault".

"Why? What did you do"? Kelly asked confused.

You were about to open your coat when Gabby jumped in front of you screaming.

"NO"!

"This isn't happening again. She's wearing a dress thats extremely sexy. No you may not see it". Gabby told them. They stood there with a what has gotten into Gabby today face.

"Okay. Geez. Calm down. Don't want you to have a heart attack". Kelly chuckled and walked away with the others.

Gabby turned to you. "I think you shouldn't show anyone else until you go to work and that's all. I hate to have to travel around Chicago bringing people to life because of your dress and sexiness". She giggled.

"Yeah. I should be getting to work anyways. Got a bet going that I can't get tons of John's with this dress. I'll show them". You giggled.

"You show them girl". Gabby and Shay cheerfully cheered. "She's going to give them all heart attacks". Shay whispered to Gabby.

"Oh yeah. We have our work cut out for us tonight". Gabby huffed with a laugh as they went back into the building.

The captain of the undercover unit put you on the corner of 5th and main. It was a hot spot for walkers and John's. You knew most of the girls were undercover just as you were.

Soon as it got dark the street lit up with cars more than usual. Of course you got picked first and when you got into the car he fainted so it was a easy arrest.

Luckily the whole night was easy. The John's were coming out of the wood work. Maybe someone spread the word that a hot new young thang was working and they had to get a taste but you were glad to get some of these guys off the streets. They were pure creepy.

It was around three in the morning when the van came around to pick you up. You were exhausted. Antonio said he would give you a ride home when you got to the station. You didnt know why he would have waited that long for you but you thought it was a nice jester.

"How many did you get"? Antonio clapped as you walked up the stairs.

"Seventy five guys and surprisingly four women. One had her husband with her. They were trying to spice up their marriage. I was tempted". You laughed as you plumped into your chair.

"I heard. Sorry I wasn't there".

"No I'm sorry. I shouldnt have picked out the dress that would send men into cardiac arrest".

"You're all good, Y/N. You should take it as a compliment".

"How are you and Voight"?

"We're good. Voights in his office now".

You nodded and headed to his office to see what he thought about tonight's events.

Knocking on the door he told you to come in.

"Great job. We heard it all. Excellent work". Hank proudly said.

"Thank you sir. I appreciate it". You spoke with a huge smile on your face. He was proud of you and you couldnt be more happier.

"Let's celebrate". Voight pulled out three glasses and a bottle of whiskey sitting them on the desk. Three, who else was joining us?

"Don't start the party with out me". Antonio came jogging up to the office, and closing the door behind him.

Hank poured the glasses and handed them out. "Cheers to great police work and great company". Hank winked at you. Sending your cheeks to cherry red.

"You must be tired? Why dont you take your jacket off and sit awhile"? Antonio suggested, sitting on the edge of Hanks desk. Looking you up and down as he sipped his whiskey.

"I'll leave the coat on. After what happened today I dont want that again". You shook your head.

"We're fine now. We just got a little excited that's all".

"Are you sure"? You were hesitant at first but they seemed fine now and you slowly took off your coat laying it across the back of the chair.

"You look incredible". Hank mumbled into his glass.

"Fucking hell". Antonio did the same. All eyes were on you and you felt your center become moist. You pushed your thighs together. Shooting the rest of your drink down your throat.

"Another"? Hank offered.

"Sure". You held your cup out and Hank poured you a double.

"Are you trying to get me drunk"? You snickered at the thought of Antonio and Hank getting you drunk and having their way with you. Oh God the thought made you moan deep inside. It was your biggest fantasy. No one knew but you had the biggest crush on them both. You couldnt act on it because for one Hank was your boss and Antonio was married. And I say was because now he's divorced.

"No. Just celebrating. Unless". Hank looked at Antonio.

"Unless"? You hiccuped as you finished your second drink, wipping your mouth with the back of your hand.

"We've seen the way you look at us. Undressing us with your eyes". Antonio came closer to you, bending down beside the chair that you were sitting in.

"I'm...I'm...I'm". You started to stutter. Trying to think of something. Antonio smirked and pressed his index finger over your lips.

"Shhhh. You're not the only one that has been looking and undressing". Antonio looked at Hank.

"So what shall we do about this, Y/N"?

"What do you mean"? You asked nervously.

"What I mean is, how would you like to have us. We both want you and we've came to an agreement that we'll share you if that is what you like. Is that what you want, for us to share you"? Hank got in your face licking his lips.

Yes! Yes! Yes!  Your mind and body screamed. But you really had to think this through. Would it effect your job? Your friendship? What will the others think if they found out?

"Well, I uh. Yes. I want you to share me". The words shot out of your mouth without thinking for long.

"Who would you want first? We've got all night long". Hank kissed your lips, his hand tangled in your hair as he kissed your roughly. His tongue dominating yours. Antonio's hand wondered up your leg, to your thigh.  Squeezing it, making you gasped into Hanks mouth.

Antonio took that as a sign to travel further up, until he could feel the heat from your mound on his fingers. He could smell your juices.

"She's not wearing panties". Hank chuckled. "That's why I fainted. I was fine until she bent over and I saw that pretty little pussy. Those puffy little lips, hiding that suckable little clit. God, you make me so hard". Hank growled as he devoured your lips once more.

Antonio gulped licking his lips as he brushed over your pussy lips. Sliding his middle finger between your slit. Your juices covering his finger. He so badly wanted to taste you but your wiggling and moaning made him keep going.

He guided his long finger into your tight little hole, wiggling it around.  Until he found the spot that made your legs tremble. His thumb pressed again your clit. Rubbing it slow and gentle. Teasing you because you liked it rough.

Hank released your lips and went to your neck, sucking and licking along to your collarbone. Your breast were bulging out of your dress.

"Do you like this dress"?

"Yes". You gasped out as Anontio added another finger to your wet hole.

Hank chuckled, taking his hands and running them down your chest. Taking your dress along the way. Your nipples were hard as rocks.  Hank clamped on them and squeezed and tugged on them. Making you purr. By now you were a panting withering mess under their touch. Antonio played with your pussy while Hank tongues you down and playedwith your nipples.  You were so close, they could feel it.

"Aww, is baby girl going to cum for us"? Hank cooed.

"She's clenching the hell out of my fingers". Antonio grunted, he squeezed his cock through his pants.

"That's it princess. Cum for daddy". Hank attached his mouth to your breast. Suckling at your nipple while his hand pinched your free nipple.

From Antonio fingering you and rubbing your clit to Hank sucking your nipple, you couldnt take it anymore. Your knees buckled, your heart face and your body trembled as you came. Your head fell back along with your eyes. They made you come so hard at that moment. You felt your soul leave your body during your orgasm.

"Such a good girl". Hank released your nipple from his mouth with a pop and kissed your lips.

"She soaked the chair". Anontio licked his fingers as he stood up. His cock just begging to be released.

"We'll clean after she comes down. How does she taste"? Hank asked Antonio as he greedily sucked on his fingers.

"Like heaven and peaches". They both chuckled.

"Fuck. Mmmmm". You moaned, your head spinning.

"I dont think she can move. We should take her home and make sure shes okay". Antinio suggested with a smirk.

"I think that as well. You take her to the car and I'll clean up".

"Up you go little one". Antonio picked you up bridal style and walked you out the back way. A smile on your face and your body wanting more.

Hank gathered your things and cleaned up your little mess. He wanted to sneak a taste but stopped himself. He wanted to enjoy the real thing. Very soon.

Turning off the lights and heading out the door. He hopped in the car with Antonio and you. You were coming off your high.

"Let's head to my place. You're not finished with me yet. Theres so many things I want to try with you two. So many". You fell back onto the back seat with a satisfied sigh.

"We have all the time in the word". Anontio and Hank high fived each other. They didnt know you were just as freaky as they were. This was going to be the best three way relationship ever.

[chuckbass-love]

So you wanted requests? Can I maybe get a breeding kink with Ransom Drysdale? I feel like we don’t see that a lot and dammit we should! And maybe if you have time, Henry Cavill realizing he’s in love with his girlfriend? Like maybe she does something cute or funny and it just hits him that he loves her. Anyway I hope you feel better soon! Toothaches are the worst 🥺

Hey love, sorry for the long wait! Been trying to work more on my WIP’s and my collab. I’m gonna reply to this with the main request you put in with the Ransom breeding kink and then i’ll do a separate post for the Henry Cavill request.

I really hope you love this and i agree, this is something we don’t see enough of. 

Disclaimer: My work is not to be posted anywhere else other than MY Tumblr, Wattpad and Ao3 without my permission. However, reblogs are welcome.

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Reader

Warnings: Smut, language, fluff, praise kink, daddy kink, breeding kink, oral (male receiving) and spit play (sorta, i guess) 18+

Word Count: 3,225

GIF NOT MINE!!! Credit to @definitelysoftransom go check them out 💙

Knock You Up

As a woman who firmly believes in romance and all of that mushy stuff, it sure is questionable as to why you’re in a relationship with Ransom Drysdale. He’s everything you should detest and yet you don’t, you adore him. 

He’s the only man you’ve ever been in love with and you cannot see that changing anytime soon. 

You’ve lost count of how many times your loyalty and love for Ransom has been questioned. Friends constantly ask and say

‘but why are you with him?’

or

‘you deserve better’ 

But you brush them off. Even his family, his own flesh and blood call you out on your apparent terrible choices. You just put it down to them not knowing him the way that you do. They don’t see the other side to him, the side that feels, loves and has a kind heart. 

Of course he isn’t always that way, he has a temper, he loses his cool. He kicks off, throws stuff, shouts and screams. And that’s just the aftermath of one of his family parties. Which you’re at right now.

You’ve been here for an hour with your boyfriend of 2 years and you’ve had just about enough of their digging and sarcastic remarks about your relationship. It’s like they are always mocking you. Making fun of you behind your back and to your face even, they have no shame. No remorse.

“What did you just say about me?” you speak up, after listening in on their conversation for long enough now “i’m sorry” Walt turns to face you, watching as you stand in the doorway, sipping at your drink.

“You heard me. You’re all having a jolly good time mocking my love life, the relationship i’m in with Ransom, why don’t you explain yourself” his smile soon drops, he’s straight faced, staring you down as he scoffs “i’m good thank you” you just chuckle as you walk over to him. 

You kneel down in front of him, your eyes locking on his “if you can’t explain yourself, the jokes you make, the digs. Then i suggest you keep your ugly mouth shut” you mutter, earning gasps from everyone in the room. Including Ransom who is more shocked at your attitude and bravery. You’ve always been the type to just sit pretty and ignore everything whenever you’ve attended a Thrombey party. Not tonight though, no, tonight you’re finally sticking up for yourself and your boyfriend. 

“He’s your family and you all treat him like dirt. You should really take a good look at yourselves in the mirror, because you’re all disgusting” you stand up as you speak, glancing over at Ransom who starts laughing, unable to hold it in, you laugh too.

“God i’ve spent 2 years holding all of that in and i’m so glad to finally say it. Walt, you’re a stuck up, old as fuck, ugly hearted bastard. Joni, you’re a money grabbing, selfish and self centred bitch. And as for you two, Linda, Richard. I’m glad that i don’t have to play nice with you anymore. The pair of you should have never been allowed to be parents. Ransom might be a lot of things but at least deep down he has a kind heart and one of the best personalities i’ve ever had the privilege to see. But you wouldn’t know that would you? Because all you’ve done his whole life is throw money his way and pray for the best results. It’s sad. Tragic even. Come on Ransom, we’re leaving” you strut out, Ransom follows closely behind.

Once you’re in the beamer, he crashes his lips to yours. It’s fiery and passionate.

“Have i ever told you just how much i love you?” he says as he turns the key in the ignition before stepping on the gas to get the fuck away from all of them.

“You might have a couple of times” you giggle, his free hand finds yours as he drives, holding it and intertwining your fingers before lifting it to his mouth so he can press a couple of quick kisses to your hand. He really worships the ground you walk on. 

And that just makes you love him more. He treats you like a princess whilst also fucking you like the whore that you are for him, every day and night. 

He pretty much speeds his way back to your shared place, well it was his place before you moved in and now it’s both of yours. Courtesy of Harlan Thrombey of course. One of the few members of Ransom’s family that you actually have the time of day for.

Ransom pulls up to your house and as soon as the engine stops, he’s rushing out and jogging round to your side to help you out, as he always does. He pulls you from your seat, lifting you up into his arms before kicking the door shut and continuing to carry you bridal style inside.

“Ransom” you squeal as he smacks your ass before putting you down.

He spins you around, making you go dizzy. 

“You were on fire tonight baby, might have to rile you up more often” you smack him playfully on his chest, rolling your eyes as you do so.

“I’m sorry i know they are your family and all and i’m supposed to just keep out of it but they make it so hard to do that when they are constantly bashing you and mocking what we have” you say, you can hear the care in your voice. How much he means to you and how much the relationship means to you. 

“It’s fine baby, really. I know i joke about it and play it off but really it’s fine. It stopped getting to me years ago. All that matters to me is you and our life together. Nothing else can faze me” you stand on your tip toes, wrapping your arms loosely around his neck to pull him down to meet your lips. Which of course he does. 

Your lips fit together so perfectly, it’s almost as if you were made for each other. 

And you believe that you were. You’ve always been a firm believer in soulmates. Someone for everyone, even Ransom Drysdale. A man who most would describe as an asshole. But even he found someone, he found you. The only woman that can bring him to his knees, the only person that knows everything about him that there is to know. 

You know all of his sweet spots, all of his kinks, all of his secrets. It took him a while to get there but when he did, it was so special. When he finally opened up, properly. 

Like the first time he cried in front of you, it broke your heart. It was actually the night you first slept with him. You were a virgin when you first met him so naturally, you made him wait. 

You really weren’t kidding with the whole ‘he’s the only man you’ve ever been in love with’ thing. It’s the truth. 

“I love you so much, you know that right? I never want to lose you, i want to be with you for the rest of my life” you say, cupping his face with your small hands, making sure to give him direct eye contact so he can see you properly. 

“I know. I love you too, i’ve never felt like this about anyone. You’re never getting rid of me now baby, you and me forever” you smile before diving back into the kiss. 

Tongues battle for dominance and teeth nip at bottom lips as you both tug at each others clothes. There’s a strong hunger that’s become very prominent since you left the party. Actually no, the hunger you have for each other is always prominent. You always crave each others touch and kisses.

“I want you so badly” you moan out as you remove his grey cable-knit sweater and he removes your tank top. You jump up, letting him catch you and you wrap your legs around his waist. He starts walking to your shared bedroom, laying you down on the Egyptian cotton sheets. Soft to the touch. Makes it even harder for you to leave the bed every morning.

“Do you have any idea how turned on i am by you?” he starts, removing the rest of his clothes and his boxers before hovering above you “you sticking up for me against my highly dysfunctional family and putting them in their place” you giggle from his open mouthed kisses as they begin at your jawline and trail down to your neck.

“No but i’m sure you can show me just how much” he pulls away, giving you the look. The look that even by now you know means he’s taking you up on that request. And boy will he show you how much he loves you and how hard you make him.

He gets off the bed and stands at the foot of it, signalling for you to join him and when you do he glares at you “do i even need to ask you pretty girl?” you shake your head no as you sink down to your knees, taking his hard cock in your small hand and pumping it a couple times. 

You give the tip a couple of kitten licks to rid it of the pre cum that’s leaked out during the lead up to this moment. He groans as you take him in your mouth for the first time, throwing his head back and letting his mouth fall open slowly “oh god, just like that. Such a good girl” he praises, taking your hair in his hands to hold it up and out of your face, letting you really go for it.

And you do.

Saliva drips from the corners of your mouth and he stills your head so that he can take over “that’s a good little cock slut” he mutters, his thrusting pace picks up, grunting and groaning each time you gag and splutter all over him.

All of a sudden he pulls out. He bends down to pick you up and throw you onto the bed like you weigh nothing.

“You like sucking daddy’s cock, hm? Like causing a big mess all down yourself baby?” you nod, biting your lip “yes daddy” he smirks, as he wipes your chin.

“Open that mouth for me” you do as you’re told, opening nice and wide for him. He hovers over you once again, lowering his head and spitting into your mouth “like that huh? want me to do that to your cunt, spill my cum inside of it after i fuck you senseless?” you can’t help but feel more turned on as the minutes tick by. He’s always been able to get you crumbling so fast. He knows all the tricks.

“Yes. Please cum inside me”

He slowly removes the rest of the clothes that cover you up. The bra that hides your breasts. You arch your back, allowing him room to unhook it before tossing it behind him, setting them free. He leans down to show them love. Pinching the hardened peaks in his fingers before taking one in his mouth. Sucking and biting.

He shows the same amount of love to the other nipple before pulling off with a pop.

Next up are your jeans, he slides them off once undoing the button and pulling the zipper down.

And now you’re left in nothing but your red lacy panties. He licks his lips, growling as his eyes rake over your figure “so sexy”. His fingers hook into the waistband before he removes them in an instant. Like it didn’t even take him a second to do it. 

You spread your legs for him, giving him a good show “look at this” he grazes his knuckles over it before pulling his hand away and tossing your panties. 

Once they are on the floor he kisses his way back up to your sex, starting at your legs. You feel shivers all over your body as he gets higher, the pool in between your legs is growing more and more with each one he presses to your skin.

“Please, hurry. I need you” you beg, gripping onto the strands of his hair. He just tuts “so desperate to be fucked, to get stuffed full of my cum aren’t you?Well not so fast baby, let daddy take his time” you arch your back as your head falls back down to the sheets underneath. 

“I need you now though, i need your cum now” he chuckles, as his face is now inches from your soaked pussy “oh you need it do you? And why’s that sweetheart?” you just hum in response, enjoying the feel of his breath on your clit. 

“I asked you a question baby” you prop yourself up on your elbows “i love how it feels when you spill your cum inside of me” you lie as he licks across your folds briefly before pulling away.

“Let me guess. You want my cum so you can have my baby is that it? Should know by now that you can’t fool me sweetheart” you feel your cheeks heat up at the embarrassment of your broody side coming out, now of all times. 

“Wait, no. That’s not it” you lie again. The thing is, Ransom is a lot of things but one thing you’ve always assumed of him is that he’s not the father type. That kids will never ever be a thing he wants. You don’t want to scare him away with how you feel. Lying is the best option right now. You don’t want to kill the buzz.

“Now now, don’t get all hasty. My woman wants a baby, she’s getting a baby” your mouth hangs open in shock as he moves upwards so that his head is level with yours. He presses a quick kiss to your forehead before lining himself up with your entrance. 

“So wet for me, just the way i like you”

He slams in without warning, not that you expected one. It’s Ransom. You should be used to it by now. You grip onto his biceps, letting him ram into you again and again. With each thrust you move further up the bed. Your legs wrap around him, pulling him in even deeper, you need to feel him deeper.

“Daddy” you moan, your toes curl “you like this? Like me fucking this tight cunt, stretching it out nicely” you nod, biting your lip as you cup his face and pull him down for a kiss. 

The kiss soon turns into a make out session to which you break away from, taking his tongue with you as you suck on it before he licks his fingers and presses them down onto your bundle of nerves.

“SHIT” your eyes roll to the back of your head, feeling every nerve in your body going crazy at how good he’s making you feel. All the hairs standing on end, goosebumps appear. 

The tip of his cock pokes at your g-spot and you can quite literally feel him in your stomach at this point.

“Want me to cum inside this pretty little pussy?” he moves his hand from your nub to your stomach “want me to put a baby in here? hm? would you like that sweetheart?” you can’t even muster up a single word to respond to him with. The pleasure is mind blowing and toe curling. You know if things continue like this then you won’t last much longer.

“God i want to knock you up so badly, make me a real daddy” he chuckles “you’re gonna make the best mother. Nothing like mine. You’re gonna care for our child like mine should have” his pace is rendering on animalistic at as the coil twists and twists.

“Gonna watch you glow as you carry our child” 

“Yes. Ransom. Fuck” he keeps going “make you my wife some day huh? would you like that? To marry me, be my wife?” all the words that you never expected are leaving his mouth as he grunts and growls, shocking you to your core. 

You never imagined him to ever want marriage or kids and yet here you are. Discussing it as he fucks you so good. As he pushes you close to a state of pure ecstasy and pleasure. 

“Yes, i want that. I want all of that with you, please, give it to me. Fill me up daddy, give me your cum” he lowers his head, burying it into your neck, kissing and sucking.

“Fuck, i’m gonna cum daddy, make me cum” you whine, reaching your hands around to his back, scratching at it as you let him send you toppling over that cliff for your sweet release. 

Your walls flutter around him deliciously, gripping onto his cock and keeping him from leaving you completely. 

His thrusts go from fast and rough to slow and hard, he’s close now. You pull his head from your neck so you can look into his eyes as you say “give me your cum baby, make me a mommy” and that’s all he needs to fall.

“Fuck”

“Gonna fucking knock you up”

“Give you a baby”

“My little fucking whore wants to be a mommy huh? Then she’s gonna be a mommy”

“That’s it. Keep squeezing my cock like that sweetheart, milk me”

“Fuckkkkk, i’m cumming” 

Soon enough you feel him twitch and spasm inside of you before the warmth of his seed spurts inside of you, painting your walls and doing exactly what you both wanted, filling you up.

“god, that was incredible” he pants, falling down onto the bed, beside you. You both just lay there, trying to take in everything that’s just happened. 

Everything you both just said.

“So you want a baby” you speak up, breaking the silence “i do. I never thought i’d ever say that but i do. But i only want one with you, i only want any of that serious shit with you” he turns on his side, you join him. 

His thick digits trace their way down your arm and eventually falling onto your waist and resting there.

“I didn’t think you were after all of that?”

“It’s you Y/N. You do this to me. How have you done this to me? I never wanted any of these things before and yet with you, i want it all and nothing else matters except from you. You’re the only person i care about” 

“I love you so much Ransom”

“And i love you, more than you know”

You kiss him quickly.

“I guess now this means more sex for us, we won’t make a baby doing it twice a day”

You squeal when he picks you up as he gets off the bed. He carries you over to the bathroom and into the shower.

“You gonna let daddy fill you up again baby?”

You just nod as you feel him slide inside of you, his cock still hard. How is that even possible. Once the shower is turned on and the water cascades over your naked bodies, he pushes you up against the wall. Picking his pace up gradually.

You can’t wait to spend forever with him.

-----------------------------

General Tag List: @deadlymistress24 @coffeebooksandfandom @chris-butt @holtzkinnon @mychemicalimagines @llamadelreyx @haus-of-bitch-talk @buckstaybucky @thewinchestergirl1208 @chrissquares @patzammit @adriannajackson @dummiesshort @cevans-fics @americasass91 @toni9 @aaliferouss @bradfordmyworld 

Just Chris & His Characters Tag List: @onetwo3000 @persephonequeenofthedead @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @rynabarnesrogers @princess-evans-addict @stxvercgersslut @chris-evanslover @bval-1 

[epersonae]

Fic asks: 37, 38 (I'm done now xoxo)

Talk about your current wips.

First: BOATS! AND PLOT! ok, so my post-S1 longfic; you know much of this, but the two drivers of the story have been:

Stede gets the Hot Topic Boat

Jim is actually a prisoner in the Kraken Era

And then a whole ton of other stuff has spiraled out of that, including: Olu recoups his investment with Abshir, what I have described as The Spanish Jackie Plot, competent lesbians dunking on Calico Jack, art therapy, more death faking, and tattoos! Plus I keep futzing with it as I read new metas and analysis, trying to just absorb all these interesting ideas (blender noises intensify). And also I'm using it to work through Some Stuff about love and grief and burnout (and burnout in grief times, even).

Also there are so many fucking boats in this dumb fic. (at least four?) And so many POVs! (at least 8?)

I am hoping to get the first chapter out soonish, since I have four chapters more or less nailed down (altho only the first beta'd), which should give me enough space to get farther in a few weeks. (the doc is about 30k, altho a good chunk of that is notes)

The other main WIP is ofc Hungry for love, ready to drown, my Stede POV canon retelling fic, which has turned out to be so much more than I expected when I started! I do love poking around in Stede's head, though; I've seen lots of stuff I didn't notice originally in the show, and I've had some uhhhhhh interesting personal revelations as I've been writing.

I'm currently noodling around in episode 6, which I started from the ending (sort of), because something struck me about the duel scene that I hadn't noticed, and I think it's going to thread through the whole chapter? But then also I enjoyed writing this bit this morning, which is a fun counterpoint to Izzy's narration from the actual show:

There is a sweetness in those days, an unhurried joy in the time they spend together. In his memory, the light glows around them like honey or amber, as they talk, as they sip brandy from cut crystal, as they lounge on the deck, Ed's hand on his knee, Ed's hand on his shoulder, Ed's laugh warm as the sun.

Talk about a review that made your day.

There was someone back when we were posting The Reckoning Arrives who left just fantastic comments on every chapter, to the point where I remember Ryn and I looking forward to them, and sending each other messages when there were new ones. (I would have to go back and look for more details than that, it's been forever, and I only just now remembered about that!)

That, and the people who commented on from here the view goes on forever, which is the technically unfinished last collaboration of the series that Ryn and I wrote together, because those comments were also condolences in a way, and hearing from people who only/primarily knew us through our writing together meant so much.

TBH, every comment makes my day, even if it's just a heart emoji. It's so lovely to hear from someone who enjoyed something I wrote.

[fenheart87]

Tall Cappuccino

Felt good to finish something and it started the ball rolling on other WIPs that I've been neglecting. Enjoy this humorous one shot based off my mom and her best friend creating a "coffee code" to talk to about cute guys and it backfiring. Did not work as well as it does for these two though.

“Girl, you need to get over Greg-” Alya started, opening the door to the coffee shop and holding it for Marinette and a few other customers.

“His name was Fillippe.”

“Or whatever his name was and get back out there! You are so sweet and beautiful and your parents have the best pastries in Paris-”

“Are you proposing marriage to me or my family?” Marinette frowned playfully when Alya reached out to pull her ponytail.

“Hush you, my point is we need to scout for potential dates for you. We can treat it like undercover research, a much better version than those schemes from our lycee days. Oh, we can have a codename for the hot guys we see so we’re not obvious about it. So where do we want to start looking?” The reporter stepped in line, glancing at the menu with half hearted interest.

“My dreams?” Marinette scooted forward so a barista could pass through, the balance of that many drinks was an amazing feat.

“I’m just saying you need to open your horizons and take a chance. You could get any guy’s number you so much as smile at and while I’m glad you don’t use your powers for evil, you need to use them to snag a boyfriend.” “All lies, do you think the caramel mocha will have caramel or just be a poor imitation?” Marinette pondered aloud, scanning the drink specials but not impressed by anything.

“You’re so coffee obsessed… Hold on a minute, what if we made a code using coffee to scope out some guys? Then maybe you obsession for coffee will lead you to true love instead of just a heart attack!” Alya grinned at her suggestion, not in the slightest put off by the dark glare coming from the shorter woman.

“Fine, since you’re so adamant about it, you buy me coffee every time we meet up to find my ‘perfect cup of coffee’ and you have a deal.”

“See, you’re already getting into it!”

The agreement took a couple weeks before they could actually start looking as both women had jobs that kept them busy and spare time didn’t match up often. A couple weeks later saw Marinette walking into the coffee shop named The Brew and savoring the rich smells of freshly crushed coffee beans. Alya had texted her that she made it first and had ordered a large cup of the newest creation for her and to not be late if she didn’t want cold coffee. Spotting her friend’s red hair, Marinette made her way over to the table and dropped herself into her chair.

“You are a zombie before coffee, it’s kind of creepy.” Her best friend pushed forward the cappuccino topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. “Drink up, I need your brain working to remember our code or we’ll never get anywhere.”

“I told you not to over plan it and you did anyways didn’t you?” Alya nudged the drink closer until she had to pick it up to keep it from falling in her lap. “Fine, three minutes.”

“I know girl, now you enjoy that and I’m going to get you a muffin and I want a scone.”

Marinette eyed the drink in suspicion but took a sip anyway, it was mocha with chocolate chips. Sighing in relief that the sprinkles were harmless decoration, until she would get to the part where she risked inhaling them with her coffee, the designer took a few more drinks. Slowly she could feel the warm feeling spread, her mind finally kicking in gear and half of it planning out her work for the day and the other half worrying about what insanity her best friend cooked up.

“Okay, so you like cappuccinos the best and you like chocolate chip muffins. Cappuccino is like an 8-10 and muffin is 5-8, hot chocolate can be a 3-5 and water is anything less. That’s how we can judge the drinks and get a better idea on what your perfect drink is.”

“You are terrible but okay, free coffee is hard to say no to.”

The first day was a total bust, no Alya I’m sure I’m not interested in girls, and they tried two coffee shops before they had to get back to their lives. Meeting up whenever they could was nice because it brought them closer instead of being too busy to talk longer than a few short calls or messages here and there. Although Alya enjoyed sending pictures and asking for a coffee rating of random guys, to which Marinette would reply with the matching emoji and sometimes even send some artfully taken pictures back.

A random Tuesday found them back at The Brew and for once Marinette beat Alya to the coffee shop. Deciding as it was midday and not early morning, she could wait for her coffee supplier to get there before ordering, Marinette found a table. Pulling out her phone to check for any updates from her best friend, and seeing none, she pulled out her current draft sketches and set to fixing or modifying the parts that didn’t blend with the look she was going for. Every so often the bell would ding and draw her attention, even going so far as to take a picture and send it with an emoji to Alya who was still stuck at work.

“Okay, this isn’t working but why?” The designer mumbled to herself, attention broken easily as she needed a distraction and turned her gaze to the door. A mistake because the man that walked in was stunning in the subtle smokey way, ripped jeans and well loved hoodie complete with steel toed boots. After her designer side was satisfied she skipped to his face and lost her breath. Blue, blue eyes brought out by the blue tipped hair and easy smile as he waved to the baristas in greeting. Quickly she opened her phone and texted Alya a hastily typed CAPPUCCINO. In perfect but dramatic timing her best friend loved so much, Alya walked in right as she sent that text.

“Hey girl, sorry to keep you waiting. There was an issue with the main story and printing and it was a nightmare! You didn’t have to wait to get a coffee, I would’ve paid you back.” She took off her jacket and hung it on the back of the chair along with her reporter messenger bag. “Oh well, I’m here now so what do you want today?”

“That tall cappuccino.”

“You and your obsession girl I swear. Should I surprise you with the flavor?”

“Nope, I want that tall blueberry cappuccino.” Marinette tried to hint towards the cute guy who was giving his order at the counter.

“Tall blueberry cappuccio?” Alya studied her for a moment, following her eyes to the blue haired stranger. “Oh, oh, got it! Good taste girl, you sure want the blueberry cappuccino? Different from your usual tastes.”

“Were you not the one who said I need to broaden my horizons and try new things with an open mind?”

“True, well then I’m hungry so I’ll be back.” Alya joined the line and left Marinette waiting anxiously. To distract herself, she focused on her sketch that was being stubborn. A ding from her phone had her admitting defeat and putting away her sketches in the folder she carried. Turning on her phone, the designer saw a picture message from Alya titled hot cappuccino. Clicking on it, the picture loaded to show a very fine rear encased in well loved black denim which happened to be the exact same pants her tall cappuccino happened to be wearing. She was going to kill her best friend.

"They don't have any muffins but you can share my scone if you want." Alya returned to her seat, offering the scone to Marinette who declined.

“Excuse me, I overheard you mention that you were interested in the tall cappuccino with blueberry so I thought I would bring you one.” Said tall blueberry cappuccino had stopped by Marinette’s side of the table and waited with a smile, with drink in hand. Alya pursed her lips in amusement, hiding her laughter by taking a sip of coffee. The designer’s desperate look of ‘oh god why me, help!’ was missed by the stranger as his name was called for the rest of his order.

“One scone and croissant roll for Luka, who had the order for the blue caps!”

“Ah, that’s me,” He smiled at the dazed woman, setting the drink down. “I hope you enjoy the drink. It’s a favorite of mine and Joel makes it the best if you want to order it again. Have a good day ladies.”

“Alya!”

“Mm, very nice cappuccino.”

“Alya, no! You just can’t leave me like that!”

“Babe,” Alya looked around and lifted her feet to look under them, “where exactly did I go?”

“You know what I mean!” Marinette groaned and hid her face behind her hands. “I totally had no response and I was not expecting that at all. He must think I’m lame.”

“There’s always the next cappuccino or you can always reorder the blueberry.” The reporter relished in the drawn out groan from her best friend, finishing off her scone.

The pair ran into Mr. Blueberry Cappuccino a few more times over their next several outings to scope out possible dates or let Marinette vent about her failed ones. The Brew was becoming a second home and the employees were starting to remember the woman and their orders. Today they even had their favorites prepared only to find out it all had been paid for.

"What?"

"Already paid for honey, someone must think you're cute." Joel winked in a flirty way, making Marinette laugh as his boyfriend smacked his shoulder on the way by.

"Uh-huh, what makes you say that exactly?"

"Well honey, not just any man buys a pretty lady a drink. And not just any man continues to do so when his lady of interest is missing a very big clue." Joel smiled and waved to an elderly couple as they left, turning to grab some muffins for the table of six for the kids. "He's not being very subtle and I feel like you don't know when someone is into you versus just likes what he sees. So, pay attention to your drink this time and please make or break his heart."

"Whatever you say Joel, whatever you say." The designer finally took her drink back to the table where Alya was already working.

"Sorry girl, I have to edit these and figure out the order by tomorrow. Any good drinks lately?"

"Bunch of water, glad to finally get a taste of my cappuccino again. Can you believe they won't let us have anything but water? Like I get it around the fabric and materials but not even in the break room." Marinette ranted waving her hands slightly until she knocked over her cup. "Oh! Geez I am such a klutz."

"Girl, when are you going to find a good luck charm to counter all that bad luck?"

"You know that's not it!" She hurried to clean up her mess, a barista dropped a rag on the table as they passed by with a tray full of muffins. Carefully she cleaned up her minor spill and waited off her cup only to notice there was a blue smudge on the outside. Taking a closer look, it seems like smeared numbers. A ten digit number. "I think it's good luck disguised as bad luck because I need to be more creative and get out of my own head. I'll be right back!"

"What? Marinette, what the heck?" The reporter watched in concern as her best friend went up to the counter and waved Joel down to ask him a question. Said barista laughed loudly and patted a disappointed Marinette on the head and gave her a refill.

"Someone has been trying to get my attention but since you always buy my drink per our agreement, he can't pay for it so he asks Joel to leave his number on the cup. Which I've been throwing away without noticing. And he won't tell me who it is!"

"Oh? Mysterious admirer vying for your attention using the thing you love the most in this world? Well do go on." The tanner of the duo teased, smiling at the half hearted smack to her arm.

"This just means I need to come here as much as I can and catch him. Or make Joel tell me."

"Marinette?" The new voice caused her to turn around to see Juleka whom she was partnering with for her latest project.

"Hey Juleka, did everything fit okay?"

"Yeah, just like always. I thought your coffee addiction was only an early morning thing?"

"Oh no, this girl could drink twice her weight in coffee and still accept another cup." Alya butted in, laughing as Marinette turned a bright shade of red.

"Why don't you go get us refills, you're not working on your project anyway."

"Fine." The reporter sighed playfully before heading to the counter.

"Sorry, best friends are always crazy."

"No worries… So what's your favorite drink so far?"

"Blueberry cappuccino, haven't really given it a fair try though since I only got a couple loo- sips before I had to leave."

"Uh-huh, a tall blueberry cappuccino huh?" Juleka glanced towards the counter where her brother was ordering, his stupid hat covering his signature hair and shot a quick text to change their order. "Ever going to try again?"

"Maybe? I seem to have attached an admirer, Joel has been writing his number on my coffee cups."

"Yeah he likes to play cupid. Kind of like how he helped me find my strawberry frappe." The dawning look of surprise turned to embarrassment very quickly. "Also, if he doesn't man up and give you his number directly, ask me and I'll straighten him out."

"Okay?" Marinette squeaked out but she was very confused as the up and coming model sashayed to the counter. A tall man moved to let her reach for a couple cups and left him with a stern glare.

"So any idea on how you're going to grill Joel as to who your mystery guy is?" Alya inquired, resting her hip against the table.

"I have no idea. I guess il just wait until my tall blueberry cappuccino shows up again." With a sigh, Marinette began packing up her papers only to be stopped by a cup sitting directly in the middle of her papers. A large drink, the blue swirls and aroma of their dark roast cappuccino tickled her senses.

"Hey so Joel told me I should uh man up so to speak and introduce myself." The designer's gaze followed the cup to the hand holding the cup, up an arm and right into the mystery guy's eyes. Who happened to be her tall cappuccino. "I uh must confess I knew about the whole code thing from the first day and I tried to have Joel help me out by putting my number on your cups but since I never got a text or call, I figured either you weren't interested or hadn't realized."

"Do you know how small he writes? It's impossible to read tiny alien chicken scratch."

"Yeah he did that on purpose. Sorry about that but I'd still like to get to know you, if you're still interested in a certain tall blueberry cappuccino?"

"Cappuccino is my favorite."

"Well Luka is your top favorite then."

"Good, Marinette is yours."

[1800dojaejung]

Love Sick | JHS

♡ Summary: When you’re sick on your favorite holiday, Hoseok just wants to make you feel better. ♡ Pairing: Hoseok x Gender Neutral!Reader ♡ Genre: Fluff, established relationship ♡ Rating: G ♡ Warnings: None ♡ Word Count: 1.8k ♡ A/N: For @btsholidaybingo​. Halloween may be over on the calendar, but it still lives on in my heart and through my Halloween wips that I’m still working through. Bingo Square: Horror Movies

Jiminie: Hyung is freaking out because you're not answering his calls or texts

You sigh when your phone vibrates for what seems like the hundredth time and finally look at it.

Y/n: Sorry, I've been asleep all day

That isn’t a lie. You had slept most of the early morning away. The rest of the day was spent watching bad Netflix horror movies and throwing up what was left of your tainted dinner from the previous night. Of all the days your body decides it’s time to be ill, being sick on your favorite holiday was truly a betrayal.

Jiminie: All day? It's nearly four, and it’s Halloween. What's wrong?

Y/n: Nothing! I’m pretty sure I just have food poisoning. 

Y/n: DON'T TELL HOSEOK. I don't want him worrying about me. You know how he is when I’m sick.

You should've known not to trust Jimin to keep your secret. Out of all of the members, you’re closest to Jimin and trust him most. Even so, you know this little tidbit of information is going to slip through his friend filter and that he’s going to tell Hoseok out of worry for you.

Not even half an hour after you’ve sent him the text and he replies with an 'okay,’ you hear your front door open. You bury yourself further under the covers and groan, making a mental note to exact revenge on Jimin when you feel better.

"Y/n!?"

As annoyed as you are with Jimin, you can’t help but smile at the sound of Hoseok's voice. It’s one of your favorite sounds.

"In my room!" You manage to croak out, throat feeling raw. You listen to his footsteps rushing down the hall and the crinkling of a paper bag. You smile at the sight of your boyfriend, looking at you with eyes full of concern

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick!?" Hoseok sets the bag on your bedside table and gingerly climbs into bed next to you.

"I didn't want to worry you. Plus, you guys have that huge Halloween party going down at Big Hit tonight. I wanted you to enjoy your day."

Hoseok smiles warmly at you before pulling the comforter back to see more of your face. "Baby, you should already know that I would give up any and every party to spend my day with you. I always enjoy being with you, sickness that you neglect to tell me about, and all." He reaches over to cup your face and frowns.”You’re so clammy, Y/n.”

You shrug. “I’ve been trapped in the bathroom for most of the day. I’ve probably thrown up all my fluids.”

“When’s the last time you drank some water?”

Good question. “Uh…”

Hoseok clicks his tongue in disapproval before grabbing the bag he brought with him. "Well, before I came over, I stopped at the store for medicine. I brought candy, popcorn, and tea, but meds come first because I know you haven’t taken any.” He gives you a look. He wasn’t wrong. “I wasn't sure what symptoms you had, so I got one that covers all kinds of food poisoning symptoms. This one is for nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea, stomach cramps, bloating, and indigestion. Do you have all of these?"

"Unfortunately.”

"Good, now open up." Hoseok insists on feeding you the medicine himself, and after a lot of whining on your part, you eventually take it, complaining about how gross it is the entire time while Hoseok just laughs. Thankfully, he lets you handle the task of drinking a glass of water yourself.

"Thank you, Hobi. You don't have to stick around anymore if you-"

"Hey, I already said I’m spending my time with you. I’m here to celebrate Halloween with you. Now keep drinking your water and stay here. I'm going to go make you some tea and soup."

"But-"

"No, buts! I'm making you something to eat, and that's that." Hoseok offers you a smile and leans down to place a small kiss on your forehead before leaving the room.

You sigh and continue to sip your water in silence. He’s being his usual selfless and considerate self, but this is the main reason you hadn’t wanted him to find out. Hoseok had a habit of babying you any way he could when you were sick. It was sweet, but also tiring.

Twenty minutes or so later, Hoseok comes back into the room with a small tray. It has a steaming bowl of soup in the middle and a cup of tea on it. You also notice a few small packs of crackers around the bowl. "I know you like saltines with your soup, so I brought some too."

"And the tea?"

"Four sugars, honey, and a splash of creamer. I even put a little extra honey, so it'll ease your throat." You smile at your boyfriend as he takes a seat on the bed next to you. Your prop yourself up against your pillows and situate the tray on your lap. Before you can pick up your spoon, Hoseok has it in his hands. He brings it up to your lips after blowing on the hot food.

"Hoseok, I can feed myself, you know."

"I know, but I just want to help you." He breaks into his bright, heart-melting smile, leaving you no room to object. You let out a groan before opening your mouth and letting him feed you.

Once you’re done eating and have your tea, which he made sure to blow on to cool it down for you, he draws you a warm bath, explaining that it'll help with your stomach cramps. “Here, let help you.” He reaches to lift your shirt, but you bat his hands away.

“I got it, Hobi.”

“Well, I can wash you up. You’re probably still feeling tired.”

“No, that’s okay, babe.” 

“I can at least stay in here to make sure you’re safe. In case you get too hot and-”

“I can do it myself!” You snap at him, pushing him out of the bathroom. As flattered as you are by how much he’s willing to help, it was starting to annoy you.

When you emerge from the bathroom half an hour later, you do have to admit that you’re feeling better. Hoseok is sitting on your bed, scrolling through his phone and he jumps up when you enter. He makes a move to leave, but you stop him.

"It's okay. You can stay." You send him a smile before making your way over to your dresser. 

"Y/n, I uh, I’m sorry that I made you so mad. I promise I only want to help you. I didn’t mean to upset you."

Once you are in a fresh pair of pajamas, you crawl into bed, tugging his hand to bring him with you. Hoseok situates himself in bed and pulls you to lie against him. 

"First of all, I'm not mad," you begin. "I know you mean well. It's just the fact that you always tend to hover over me when I’m sick and do things you don't need to do. I just have a stomach bug. I’m not paralyzed or dying. I can take off my own clothes and eat my own soup. I'm grateful to have you here to take care of me, but you're worrying too much."

Hoseok sighs and begins rubbing your arm. "I'm sorry. I care about you too much to not want to dote on you, you know. I love you."

"I love you too, and thank you for your concern. I actually feel way better than I did this morning." You glance up at him, seeing that wonderful grin on his face.

"See, I knew the bath would help! Is there anything else you need or want? Something Halloween-y, perhaps?"

You think for a few seconds before lacing your fingers through his. "Watch horror movies with me?" Knowing how stressed scary movies make him, you assume he’ll suggest something else, but to your surprise, he nods, albeit visibly reluctant.

"Anything for you,” he chirps, voice a little too high pitched. Hoseok leans down to lightly kiss the top of your head before getting out of bed. “Pick whatever you want. I’m going to make some popcorn. I think you’ve earned it since you’re feeling a little better.”

You scroll through Netflix looking for a movie as you wait for him, deciding on one of your favorites, The Conjuring. When he gets back, he’s balancing a big bowl of popcorn in one hand and a few mini Milky Ways and Twix bars in the other.

After getting situated, he pulls you into his chest again, and you can hear how fast his heart is beating. 

“Hobi, are you sure this is a good idea? You know how you get with horror stuff. We can do something else.”

“Y/n, please, I’ll be fine because I’m with you.” He does his best to reassure you as he turns the lamp on the bedside table off.

An hour into the movie and he is most certainly not doing fine. He’s already screamed four times and nearly knocked over the popcorn. At some point, he’d taken your comforter and cocooned himself into it to hide in the fabric.

The movie is more than halfway through when a particular spook has Hoseok falling off the bed in shock. You fish the remote from underneath a pillow and stop the movie, exiting out of Netflix altogether. Out of all the times he’s attempted to watch horror movies with you, this is the longest he’s lasted through a movie, so you decide to give him a break today.

“Babe, what are you doing?” He asks from the mound of fluff on the floor.

“I’m changing the movie, Hobi.”

“Yeah, but-“

“Too late, the movie is already off. I appreciate that you want to spend time doing something I want, but I have other Halloween movies I like that will be kinder to you.”

Hoseok seems to recognize the opening of Hocus Pocus, springing up from the floor as the movie starts. He climbs back onto the bed to cuddle with you again.

“You know I love you, right Y/n?” His sudden question surprises you, and you look up at him only to see him staring right back at you.

“Of course. And you know I love you.” He beams at you, kissing you tenderly and pulling away before you can get lost in his lips.

“Good, because I’ll need you to hold me when Billy comes on screen. He’s entirely too creepy for a Disney movie.”  You can’t help the laugh that bubbles out as you snuggle closer to Hoseok. This year’s Halloween is turning out not to be the worst, after all, thanks to Hoseok and his love for you that you can practically feel radiating off of him, making you feel much better.

[hellofeanor]

WIP Snippet Game

I was tagged by @avi17 to post a lil snippet of a current WIP. And since I just started on a new chapter of my main fic and have very little to show, here's something from an office AU I've been picking at off and on forever. Loki from HR. I work on this whenever something particularly idiotic happens at work and I need to inflict my frustrations on Business Loki. 🙃🙃🙃

-

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” says Loki, “but this meeting is purely work-related. I needed to vent about work, and you seemed like an appropriate recipient. On account of how you would never dream of telling anybody anything I told you.”

“I wouldn’t?”

“Of course not. Because you don’t want me to have to file a sexual harassment claim for all those things you said to me during our meeting on Tuesday morning, do you?”

“Wait, are you blackmailing me?” Tony asks.

“God, no,” Loki sighs. “I’m merely giving you a friendly warning about how easy it would be to blackmail you, should the need arise. Which I’m assuming it won’t.”

“Uh-huh,” says Tony, taking another sip of his coffee. “You’re a real fuckwad, you know that?”

“I’m aware, yes.”

“This is why everybody hates HR. Nobody likes HR. If there were a Venn diagram illustrating who likes HR, the circle labelled ‘people who like HR’ would be fully enclosed within another circle labelled ‘people who are in HR’.”

“Me being a fuckwad has nothing to do with HR as a profession, Tony.”

“Okay, yeah, true. I just wanted to say that because I thought of it the other day and Rhodey thought it was funny. Anyway. You’re still an awful person.”

-

Tagging @alcoholicberry, @securitybreach, @melkors-4th-silmaril, @littlethingwithfeathers, @mythwine, and anybody else who might want to participate.

[shintorikhazumi]

Romero and Julie (Act I: Truths and Lies)

A/N: Thought of it while I was looking up K-on’s romeo and juliet episode and accidentally typed “Romero”.

...I know i have so many wips, but this will most likely be a 2-shot or a 3. It’s not going to drag on that long. I think... I believe...

... I think...

...5 chaps at most?

Also, this story is as sloppily written as that search prompt, so I apologize. (I keep writing romeo as romero for some reason.) I don’t know how to write anymore, it seems. Also, I didn’t reread this for checks. Sorry again. I just... yeeted this out as soon as the last word was in place. Anyway,

Enjoy?

~Shintori Khazumi

Two households, both alike in dignity,

   In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

   Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

   A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows

   Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,

   And the continuance of their parents' rage,

Which but their children's end naught could remove,

   Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;

The which, if you with patient ears attend,

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to me-

“I can’t believe the utter bullshit I’ve just read.”

“Lady Claudine!” Mahiru gasped, unable to believe the words she’d just heard coming from the noble lady sat across her.

“Oh, come now, Mahiru. You can’t tell me you actually like this piece of work?” Claudine sighed, shutting the book and placing it on the table. She stared at the cover a few minutes more before pushing it away from her in disgust.

“Hmm? I don’t get it. It is a piece? And it is a work?” Mahiru’s escort cocked her head to the side in confusion, giving Claudine a look that requested clarification.

“Dame Karen.” Claudine sighed, resting her elbows on the table and propping her head up in her hands.  She ignored Mahiru’s wide eyes at her ill-mannered display and went on with her exchange with the female knight. “I’m saying it’s a terrible piece of work. Terribly inaccurate.”

“Ohhhhh. I get it.” Karen nodded, eyes wide, expression enlightened before it settled into a smile. “I think so too.”

“Right?!” Claudine thought her voice was a bit too enthusiastic there. Clearing her throat, she calmly reiterated. “Right? I actually had high expectations for this as many of the noble ladies I’ve come across recently have been flaunting their copies of the script. They even dubbed it as the ‘New Romance Bible of High Society’.” Claudine rolled her eyes. She would have made a gagging motion, but she was certain Mahiru would cry blood at that.

“Besides, I can’t believe they’d try to make a reference to my family name for such a piece, and even claim to have modeled the heroine after me when clearly, she is nothing like me.” Claudine continued to criticize. “Therefore, I have fair reason to dislike such a novel.”

“It’s not all that bad, is it?” Mahiru tried. “I managed to read up to half of it, and I believe it was alright.”

Claudine stared at her blankly. “I decided to give Junna the benefit of the doubt here, as she has been my long-time tutor and friend. I believe in her recommendations.” Claudine pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. “So, I’ve read the book cover to cover.”

“Oh?”

“It was the worst decision I’ve ever made.” Claudine lamented. “Nana should have stopped her from picking up such a horrific title. I can’t believe she actually liked it enough to recommend it to me.”

“Maybe she thought it would be a nice read since it was about you?” Karen offered her opinion.

“Who would want to read about themselves in such a sad excuse of a tale?” Claudine played with her tea, swirling it in the cup. “Maybe if it was written more tastefully... Anyway, I can’t stand the book so maybe I’ll just give it away or use it for fire.”

“Madame Junna will feel sad to hear that, you know?” Mahiru sighed, taking a bite of her cake. “She might even cry.”

“No, she won’t.” Claudine chuckled with a wave of her hand, but then Junna’s face flashed a brief moment in her mind, and it made her pause in thought. “...right?” She wasn’t so sure all of a sudden.

“Lady Claudine... she sulked for three days when she’d heard you laughed during one of the most tragic plays of our generation.” Mahiru deadpanned.

Claudine’s brows furrowed, unable to recall the events that Mahiru was referencing.

“Que?”

“Remember? We went to Brighton theatre the other day?”

“...”

“Brighton?”

“Karen! You were with us too, you know!”

“Ah-”

Mahiru looked to Claudine excitedly. It seemed as though she’d finally remembered.

“That comedy skit Junna recommended?”

“Again, it was tragedy!”

“The one where the main character got shot after being stupid enough to not take a shield after he was advised to? The ‘A sword is mightier than a pen, but the sword is my...’ my...” Claudine thought hard, struggling to find the right words in her memory. “Something or other.” She gave up.

“Kuro-chan!”

Claudine grinned at the nickname, pleased that she was able to rile Mahiru up another day.

“Okay, okay. Enough teasing, I know.” She laughed, patting her friend on the head and gaining a blooming blush in return. “You were just too lovely, I couldn’t help myself.” She flashed a charming smile that made Mahiru burn even hotter, and made Karen pout.

“This is why you’re so... and nobles keep... hrmmrrgghh...” She grumbled. “And yet you complain about being crowded and you....”

“What was that, Dame Karen?” Claudine chuckled, eyeing her friend with an amused look.

“Oh, nothing really, Duchess Claudine.” Karen fired back.

“Hey now, don’t go spreading lies, my dear knight.” Claudine frowned.

“I speak no lies, milady. Everyone knows that you are the one who has been handling estate affairs as of late.” Karen spoke seriously all of a sudden, irking Claudine secretly.

She didn’t want to think of those things right now.

Before Claudine’s mood sunk further, Karen- with a quick flip of a switch- had returned to pouting. “And I’m not your dear knight.”

Oh, Karen could be so perceptive, sometimes. Claudine gladly accepted the bail.

“I know.” Claudine smiled, half-grateful, half-teasing. “You are Mahiru’s, right?” Claudine wiggled her brows suggestively. Karen flushed hot red, and Claudine thoroughly drank in her new target’s vexation in enjoyment.

“Kuro-chan!!”

Claudine admired the twin tomatoes in front of her. Life had been a drag lately, but time with her friends always seemed to offset all of those.

“Oh right. And Hikari’s too.”

Claudine broke into hysterics at the display of flailing arms and incoherent half-yells of denial at the mention of her knight’s name. She swore she could physically see the steam coming off of the pair in front of her. Was it from anger, embarrassment, or both? Probably both, Claudine supposed.

“Kuro-chan, you are seriously so mean.” Karen whined, fanning her face uselessly as the heat showed no signs of subsiding.

Claudine wiped a tear from her eyes. She’d laughed so much her sides were beginning to hurt.

“I’m terrible, aren’t I?” She smiled.

“That you are, Milady.” A stoic voice suddenly inserted itself into their conversation.

Claudine found herself jolting in her seat at its proximity from behind her. Whipping her head around, she sighed in relief at the sight of her escort.

“Hikari! At least alert us sooner if you’ve arrived!” Claudine complained. Her heart beat strongly against the palm she’d rested against her chest in an attempt to calm herself.

“I have arrived, Milady.”

“No, like I said. Say that sooner!” Claudine huffed, settling back into her seat, leaning her head on her palm once more. Claudine spared a glance at Karen and Mahiru who were looking rather bashful, eyes averted from the newest arrival.

She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the growing smile on her face as her knight stared at the pair across them. Claudine patiently awaited the usual awkward interaction between her friends that she knew would play out soon. She counted the seconds off in her head, knowing exactly when the first move would be made.

3... 2... 1-

Like clockwork, Hikari faced Mahiru and Karen head-on, straightened her posture, and bent into a deep bow of greeting. “Lady Tsuyuzaki.”

“Dame Kagura. It’s a pleasure to see you once more” Mahiru responded calmly.

However, Claudine caught the way Mahiru’s brow twitched. Her displeasure was skillfully hidden behind that gentle smile she’s known for forever, but Claudine would like to believe she’s adept enough at deciphering the true meaning behind Mahiru’s masks called grace.

She internally shook her head, hoping Mahiru could soon find the freedom to be free from the expectations laid on the lady known as ‘High Society’s Saintess’, and be able to express emotions outside of simple joy, kindness, or sympathy.

Turning to the other knight, Claudine waited for what Karen’s reaction for today would be. She had a variety for different days. Sometimes it was openly voicing her disappointment, and other times it was a response just as curt and detached as Hikari’s.

“Dame Ai-”

“Karen!” The owner of the name interrupted. “Just Karen. Karen is fine... H-Hikari...”

Oh? Today was a little more bold, Claudine noted. Usually Karen would only politely request the other knight to refer to her by her given name, even if it bore her title. This was a fresh attempt. Now, how would her dear knight react?

“Dame Karen.” Hikari stated blankly, completely unfazed by the hiccup in her usual greeting routine.

Claudine lightly slapped Hikari’s arm-earning her a confused yelp- before throwing Karen and Mahiru a consoling smile; one that told them there was always a next time to attempt to woo her clueless knight.

She watched Karen’s shoulders drop in a sigh, and Mahiru cover her relenting smile with her fan. She should talk to Hikari about this sometime again. For now, however...

“So? What goes on back at the manor?” Claudine took a sip of her tea that had now gone cold after she’d ignored it a while. With a minute flick of her finger, it grew warm in her hands and she smiled, hoping her friends hadn’t noticed.

She heard her knight groan from behind her. Quite a rare happening, to be frank. Hikari was usually very careful with her actions and reactions, so Claudine braced herself for some unpleasant news.

“Master Cyrille has finally arrived.” She reported dutifully.

Claudine somehow heard the frosty bite in her tone. It was understandable. Cyrille was her elder brother of four years, and the heir apparent to their household.

-Or that was how it was supposed to be.

He and Hikari never really got along after- ehem- certain incidents had taken place a few years ago. Those incidents also happened to be part of the reason why his successorship was being reconsidered at present.

“How did Pa- Father react?” Claudine caught herself before her small childish habit would be revealed.

Hikari scratched her cheek, another nervous habit of hers that Claudine had learned about after years of being together. “They had the usual debate. Right as he arrived.”

That was expected. Claudine knew something like that would happen. So why was Hikari so bothered.

“The young master came onto the premises yelling right away from the gate about being the rightful heir or something along those lines.”

This too was within Claudine’s foresight.

“I can’t believe he’s making a fuss on foreign land. We’re not here to start a war, we’re here as representatives of a peace treaty.” Claudine shook her head in disappointment.

Her family, the Capulets, had hailed from the Western empire and had been residing for a few months on Eastern lands. After hundreds of years of warring with the east, they had experienced the first fifty years of a truce. Finally, the two empires had decided to build friendly relations to completely cease all the needless battles between them. After fifty years of an ambiguous standstill, the emperors had finally decided to send forth representatives to celebrate the golden year of peace between them and cement the alliance of the nations.

As the grand ducal household located at the border of the empires, their family had naturally been selected. This was also the West’s acclaimed ‘reward for service in battle’ to their family who had always fought to protect the precious border.

Yes, all that struggle in history, and her brother might just be the one to render it all useless in one fell swoop.

Not that it would have been the first time.

“Anything else, Hikari?” Claudine could feel her headache coming on.

“They argued in the study.”

“I figured.”

Hikari still radiated nervous energy, and Claudine just had to wonder why. “What are you not telling me yet, Hikari?”

“... Master Cyrille kept pressing that he was the rightful hair to the Dukedom... then Your Grace was angered and said that... that...”

“Hikari?”

“You’re not going to like it.” The knight warned.

“Obviously not.” Claudine replied flatly. “From how you are at this moment, I’ve already figured that out.”

“The Grand Duke said he’d rather make you the heir... instead of Young Master Cyrille... so he wishes to speak with you back at the estate.”

Claudine’s eyes widened. She knew there was a possibility that this outcome would arise. She just didn’t think it was that possible. She had already voiced her stance on this in the past to her father. She was not willing to take over their family as head. She had other plans in life. Plans of freedom and of adventure; she had other desires that were probably not suited for a woman carrying royal blood.

Yet she longed for that particular life. Thus, she could not be the Duke’s successor. She’d suggested that her father give the title to their youngest sibling instead who was seven years her junior.

He might not be ready now, but he could still be groomed to be the perfect candidate in the future. She was sure Gabriel could do it, irresponsible as she may sound at that moment, pushing it all onto the child.

“Kuro-chan?”

Mahiru’s tender voice reminded Claudine that her friends were still there, quite worried that she’d suddenly froze on the spot.

“My apologies, Mahiru.” She got up, bowing deeply. “I know you’ve gone out of your way to prepare all of this for me, but-”

“Hey.” Claudine felt a warm hand on her cheek, guiding her to stand back up. Mahiru’s gaze was kind as it always was, full of tender empathy. “Go. A few tea and biscuits aren’t going to go to waste just because you’re not around.”

Claudine managed a small smile, taking Mahiru’s hand into her own two.

“You have Karen anyway.”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm? What about me?”

The two young ladies laughed at their inside joke for a few moments before embracing one another goodbye.

Karen had offered one to Claudine as well, and she gladly accepted.

After being sent off with the best of regards and well-wishing, Claudine tried to not think on her dread the entire carriage ride home.

She just knew it was going to be a messy affair.

//-//-//-//-//

“Claudine.”

“Your Grace.”

The Grand Duke heaved a sigh, gesturing for his daughter to take a seat across from him. “I take it you’ve already heard from Hikari?” At the nod of Claudine’s head, he sighed once more. “I’m really sorry about that. I am aware that you do not wish to get involved in such dealings. However, I didn’t have much else to say. I could not think of any other argument at that moment.”

Claudine could see the exhaustion built up in her father. She felt bad for being so insistent on her own wants that she’d possibly pushed him up against a wall. However, she could not deny that this was the only path she was willing to take.

Taking her father’s hands and planting a kiss on them, she reassured him. “I understand, papa.”

“Claudine...”

“I am also at fault, anyway. I know you’re being pressured by the Royal family into a succession ceremony soon, and yet... I’m adding onto your troubles.”

“I just- I don’t understand why they are so adamant on it... yet at the same time I know why.” Duke Capulet’s expression turned stern. “I suspect this is the first prince’s doing.”

“Paris?”

The duke nodded, clearly unhappy at the mention of the name. “I don’t understand why your brother went against my guidance to not associate with him. The second prince would make a far better friend, as well as future ruler.” His frown deepened. “And yet, that imbecile, Cyrille...”

Duke Capulet brought Claudine’s hands to his forehead, bowing before his daughter.

“After all that fool, Paris, had done to you...”

Claudine shuddered at the memory of her days at the academy and the forceful ‘courtship methods’ of the first prince. Had her father been a different man, she feared she would have been long-engaged to such a twisted brat who hid behind a cunning smile and the power of the crown.

He was sure never to push too far, or too dangerously, but Claudine knew he was bordering terrible, terrible deeds. She was just glad she was far away from him now.

“Claudine.”

Her father lifted his head up, eyes saddened, but commanding in a sense as they stared into Claudine’s own. Claudine immediately knew that his next words would be incredibly important, that they would be of the utmost value to her and her life, as well as their entire household’s. She just knew that their weight would be something she would have to endeavor to bear for everyone’s sake.

She knew because he rarely ever asked her of anything that she did not desire. She knew that something must have happened to allow the Grand Duke to tremble in this way, before his nineteen-year-old daughter, with a gaze that was begging her to comply.

“You have to get married.”

//-//-//-//-//

Claudine swung her sword, ridding the area of the final beast and collecting its glowing core off the puddled ground. Handing the gem-like item to Hikari for safe-keeping, she slumped against a tree, sinking to the ground that dirtied her pants with mud that had formed from the night’s rain.

“Are you hurt, milady?” Hikari inquired, already rushing forward to do a thorough body-check for any injuries on Claudine.

“Nothing of the sort. Also, I told you not to address me that way while we’re out adventuring. What if someone found us out?” Claudine ran a hand through her damp bangs, grimacing at the repulsive feel and smell of blood and grime in her hair.

“My apologies.”

Times like these, Claudine wished she hadn’t focused too much on learning combat spells back then. She should have taken the foundational classes with Nana more seriously, and looked into metamorphosis magic sooner. She wouldn’t have to worry about issues such as being discovered then.

Better to start late then never, she supposed. She could only manage to change her hair and eye color, as well as clothes for a small amount of time for now, but she was working on changing her entire appearance for extended periods soon. Then she and Hikari could go off on any journey or mission without being recognized.

“Claudine?”

The soft calling made her smile. It was rare for her knight to address her so casually, and even rarer was the tenderness she allowed to escape in her voice. Claudine placed a hand on Hikari’s head, petting it lightly.

“Yes, Hikari?”

“Do you not want to get married, Claudine?”

The question wasn’t what she had expected. She hadn’t even told Hikari about her current situation yet. She must have listened in on the conversation secretly.

“If my dad had caught you...” Claudine laughed at the realization, shaking her head.

Hikari remained silent.

Claudine scratched her cheek, looking away from the knight’s expectant gaze. “It’s not as though I don’t want to.” She admitted. “I just...”

“Just?”

“I haven’t found a person I’d like to share that kind of joy with yet.” Claudine spoke with a loneliness to her tone that they both weren’t quite familiar with. “I haven’t gotten to know anyone who makes me want to experience that kind of relationship.”

Hikari didn’t seem to understand fully, but she nodded nonetheless. “Okay.” She decided not to push further, noticing her master’s discomfort. Instead, she held out a hand to aid her up on her feet.

“Thank you, Hikari.” For the assistance and for listening, Claudine said in her heart. “Shall we head back to the guild now? Wouldn’t want Cyrille to barge into my room first thing tomorrow morning and find it empty.” Claudine half-joked.

If Claudine knew her brother, which she did, she knew he’d have searched for her at the dinner table tonight already, but her father had likely made an excuse to keep him out of her hair ‘til morning. She already knew that he would want to speak to her on matters regarding the prince, or succession, or whatever it was he did that was likely no good.

If he ever got into Claudine’s room without supervision, she was afraid he’d stumble upon things he wasn’t supposed to, and would likely use it against her.

Her conversation with her father resurfaced in her mind. His words on finding a suitable partner, a suitor, and the reasons behind it were invasive, consuming her every thought.

Cyrille was trying to set her up with Prince Paris for some reason. He was willing to pull all stops to do so. It seemed that he had went ahead and made a proposal to the royal family under the authority of ‘Heir-apparent’ to the Capulet Dukedom. He’d sworn that once he was made Duke, she’d be married off into the imperial household as a way to strengthen the standing and influence of the emperor.

Whatever he had been promised to make him act so selfishly and vilely, Claudine didn’t even want to know.

As of now, he held no real power over her father. Neither did the first prince, in reality. Deep down, however, both Claudine and the Grand Duke knew there was more to this arrangement than two boys and their greedy egos being fed. He feared for the future.

With all they had already gotten away with in the past, Duke Capulet was suspecting that someone else held the strings to the puppets dancing to a tune. They had yet to know what gears were turning in a suspected grand scheme, but it must not come to pass. This was what their family feared the most, and why Claudine must not get involved with Paris.

In order to have a valid reason to reject such a candidate, she needed a better one. That was the part she had to play.

There was just one small problem-

“You there!”

A voice echoed through the shadow and mist of the forest, horse hooves stomping rapidly against the wet ground. Quickly, Claudine brandished her sword, pointing it in the direction from whence it came. “Hikari! Get behind me!” She commanded, left hand twitching in anticipation.

“Now see here, Milady. I’m the protector suppo-”

“Don’t move! Stay where you are and drop your weapons.” The voice commanded, a silhouette beginning to form in the distance.

“Like hell we’ll listen.” Claudine grumbled, sword still at the ready with a glow that traveled from its hilt to its blade.

“I’m warning you!” The voice echoed once more. “State your name and your business here. And don’t even think of trying to fight or escape.”

Claudine fixed her glare on the figure coming into the light of the clearing they were at, magic barely finishing its work of turning her hair black as Hikari’s shifted into a shorter cut. It was the best she could do at such short notice. Hopefully the night would be kind enough to be their mask and they wouldn’t be recognized afterwards should they escape successfully.

“Again, I order you to state your names and your business here, strangers. Are you not aware that these grounds belong to the imperial family?” The powerful stomping halted right in front of the women, a sharp huff from the steed sending them reeling back in disgust.

Finally, underneath the gaze of the moon, a figure cast in stardust light appeared before them, hooded cloak hiding the identity of the horseman.

“Who are you.”

Claudine continued to glower at the newcomer, unrelenting as she kept her lips tightly shut. Who was this person? Why had they suddenly been approached? This place was supposedly a mission ground for adventurers and hunters hoping to earn their keep by clearing out the ghouls and demons that infested this uninhabited land.

“Who. Are. You-”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Claudine spoke levelly through grit teeth, ready to slash at any given time should the newcomer move in a threatening pattern. “We’re only here on quest. Adventurers if you will.”

The cloaked man dismounted and walked up to Claudine, staring a few inches down at her. “Is that so?”

Claudine hated that he was even trying to intimidate her. Placing a firm hand on his chest, she pushed him away somewhat gently, not really wanting to potentially aggravate the already-tense situation. “Yes. That is so.” She confirmed, scowling. “For us at least. But what about you?”

Claudine eyed the man, watching for any suspicious movements. He returned the gaze, looking her up and down, searching her expression for signs of dishonesty. He seemed to have found nothing as his aura of hostility calmed drastically, and he sighed.

“I’m an imperial guard, patrolling.” As he said that, a sword was raised, still sheathed. Claudine was shown the imperial seal on the scabbard and she relaxed somewhat as the guard backed off with a small bow. “As I’ve mentioned before, these grounds are under the jurisdiction of the imperial household.”

“Apologies, sir. However, we were unaware of this fact as this place has been a known hotspot for adventurers for many years- or so we’ve heard.” Claudine explained, now sheathing her own sword.

“I understand.” The guard nodded. “I also apologize. While your statement held truth in the past, as of recent, this forest has been deemed more unsafe than it used to be. It’s not just magical beasts or ghouls that lurk these shadows now. Reports of spies, terrorists, and bandits trying to enter the capital via a newly discovered route through the woods have been reported, so we are at high alert.”

Claudine hummed, taking in their current situation. “I see.” Claudine nodded, agreeing to his words. She had expected these kinds of threats to arise as the peace treaty ceremony approached and more nobles from both empires flocked to the main city. It was an opportune moment to spark disaster, and even a civil war.

Good on the west to take quick measures.

“As such, I must ask for your identities to ensure the safety of all.”

Not so good for Claudine.

“I, er-”

“As you are adventurers- and I, of course, believe in your words, I would just like to see your identifications and know your names. It’s a quick process then I can let you go. That is... if you have nothing to be suspected of.”

Truthfully, she shouldn’t be as nervous as she suddenly was at the moment. However, there were a few issues with that request. For one, no one but Hikari, the Grand Duke, and the Head Guild Master of the Eastern Empire knew of her being an adventurer. She had been registered under special circumstances that had been agreed upon, and her issued permit in order to accept quests in the west was also an unorthodox arrangement, and very much a secret one.

When she’d first arrived at the guild hall, she was given an identification badge that also served as her permit like the rest of the adventurers. However, this did not contain her name at all. Instead, it only contained her registration code and where she had come from.

As a law-abiding citizen for the most part, she hadn’t ever needed to do much besides flashing the shiny trinket from a distance at other guards in passing.

This time, however, was different. She was certain that it would be scrutinized and most definitely questioned.

“You sure are taking an awful lot of time to simply identify yourself.” The stranger’s tone of voice was still calm, but his aura had shifted noticeably. “Is anything the matter?”

“No, not at all.” Claudine responded, proud that she’d managed to keep her voice steady. Reaching into her polo, she pulled out the chain that held her badge, presenting it to the imperial guard, praying that he wouldn’t check it as thoroughly as she’d feared.

“Um, excuse me. Why isn’t your name imprinted on it?”

‘Damn it.’

“Allow me to come clean.” Claudine spoke, instantly regretting her choice of words. It made her sound like she actually was someone to be wary of. She should conjure some believable alibi at least.

“Milady-” Hikari stepped forward, but was blocked with that same imperial-branded sword from earlier.

“It’s alright.” Claudine reassured before her knight could retaliate. One wrong move and they could actually be in jeopardy. Not only them, but the entire event of a peace treaty could lay to waste if they were not careful and would get found out.

“Go on.” Was the command.

“I’m actually...” Claudine licked her suddenly dry lips, thinking of how to say it. “I’m a daughter of a noble, and I’m operating under...  rather private conditions.”  

Okay, she hadn’t meant to be that truthful. If at all.

“How can I believe such a tall claim?” The cloaked man stepped closer to Claudine, now incredibly suspicious. “To which family do you belong?

Claudine had no time to secure a valid name, speaking the first that came to mind. “Sa-Saijou.” Another truth that would surely deepen her dug grave.

“Saijou? As in the Marquess Saijou?” She could almost shrink under that examining gaze. “I’ve never heard of or seen you before though.”

“I- I’m not his child, no. I’m a niece and I’ve been staying with relatives in the west. It was an arrangement made when I was very young, and I have only since been allowed to return here.”

‘Damn me and my inability to lie.’

“I’m sorry, as much as I’d like to believe you, I’ll have to take you with me for some questioning.”

No, no, no. This was not good. Claudine couldn’t risk more people prying into her identity. Also, she could feel the strain of her magic that was about to undo itself. She couldn’t keep up appearances- quite literally- for much longer.

“If you would come quietly.”

They had to bail.

“I’m sorry, but we-”

Suddenly, an arrow flew right by her head, barely grazing her cheek as sounds of multiple hooves and wolf-like growls filled the forest.

“Tsk.”

“Milady!”

“Stand back, you two.” The guard moved in front of them, sword drawn and aimed towards the origin of the arrow and sounds. Quickly, those same sounds began to shift and spread, as if circling them.

Claudine and Hikari quickly drew out their own swords, as the former launched a quick area check spell discreetly.

‘Twenty? No, thirty. Thirty men on horseback... at least ten hunting wolves.’

As Claudine weighed their situation, a harsh gust of wind came hurtling towards them, the hood on the imperial guards cloak coming off, revealing long brunette locks tied up in a ponytail.

The sight of such smooth strands on which the moon’s beams bounced off so gently almost made Claudine forget the gravity of their situation, eyes bewitched- captured- by stunning violet gems that she couldn’t believe she’d failed to take notice of before.

“It seems they have a mage in their midst.” The knight, now fully facing Claudine, addressed them. “I’m sorry to ask this of you after having suspected you; and while I still doubt your credibility, I would like to shamelessly enlist your assistance as of the moment.”

There was something in his gaze, in his entire beautiful expression, that compelled Claudine to know more, to say yes, to help him.

“Truly, you are quite shameless.” She grinned, head held high. “I would have done so without you asking.”

The smile she was rewarded with sent her heart into a frenzy. It wasn’t a handsome grin, no. Claudine took note that under the moonlit night, this man oozed a dignified beauty that was quickly distracting her from her mission at hand.

“You have my gratitude.”

Claudine nodded, willing herself to not stare for longer than necessary as she and Hikari took stance.

With their backs to each other, they stood in wait, counting down the seconds to their adversaries’ arrival. Claudine sighed ruefully as she felt her transformation spell fade, this instance confirmed as she glanced over at a now long-haired Hikari. She could just feel questioning eyes burning their gaze into her golden hair.

She was not looking forward to having to explain this too.

“What.” She spat, meeting the stare of her temporary ally, hoping no questions would come right now.

“Oh nothing. Just wanted to tell you something.”

“And that is?”

As she said that, gruff looking men arrived in the clearing, their disgusting smirks clearly indicated that they were looking down on the small group they’d surrounded.

Claudine was beginning to feel irritated. She hated being underestimated.

She barely caught the grin thrown her way as the guard launched himself at the group. She did, however, receive every single insulting word of challenge.

“Don’t hold me back now, Little Miss.”

Oh it was on,

“Insufferable asshole.”

//-//-//-//-//

Claudine did not frequent pubs. They weren’t her type of hangout spots. And while she wasn’t one for leisure cafe dates or tea parties with the other noble ladies, she did love the peace of libraries and the refreshing mountain creeks.

Needless to say, this place intimidated her more than any imperial guard could hope to.

“Not a good drinker?”

It wasn’t that. It really wasn’t.

If anything, both Claudine and Hikari were strong drinkers. Just not... public drinkers, she supposed.

“No.” Claudine sighed, taking a seat across the pretty man- damn, he was beautiful. Claudine would have almost mistaken him for a woman. He was tall, but not much taller than Claudine, and his voice wasn’t all too deep, so maybe she wasn’t wrong. Maybe.

“Then what has you so down, milady?” His tone of voice was playful, and Claudine knew she was being teased. He probably still didn’t believe in her whole ‘secret-noble-adventurer’ story.

“I’m just tired.”

“Hoh? Already? From that little excursion?”

Claudine growled, pounding the table with her fist. “Well, if someone would have just stayed out of my way while we were fighting earlier then-”

“Now, now. Don’t go blaming someone else for these kind of things, Young Miss. How are you ever going to survive as an adventurer if you blame others for your mistakes? Being able to take responsibility for one’s self is one of the most important traits in the field.”

Claudine clicked her tongue. She knew she was purposely being toyed with. “Shut up.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Miss.”

“And why the hell not?” Claudine’s glare went ignored as the man waved over a server to place an order.

Turning to her with that same smug smile that was equal parts gorgeous and incredibly annoying, the guard spoke. “Because I want to get to know you better.”

Claudine scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Starting with your names.” He clasped his hands together, resting his chin atop them. “I at least believe you are of some noble descent. If the silence of your companion, and her respect towards any of your earlier actions and decisions hold any significant hint to that.”

“Glad you’re at least that sharp.” Claudine huffed, putting up a mask to hide her inner thoughts that were struggling to come up with some alias for both her and Hikari.

“So. Names.”

Anything. Anything.

“J-Julie!”

Curse that damn book and the sudden memory of it!

Claudine inwardly cried as she gave away that piece of false information, even screwing up the actual name she was supposed to use.

“Julie... Saijou.” The brunette looked at her skeptically, but nodded. Somehow accepting it for now. “And your companion is?”

“She’s-”

“Kagura Hikari.”

“Hikari?!” Claudine whipped her head about in shock. So much for discretion! Just what was this girl thinking?!

“I’m sorry, Milady. But I think it is in our best interests to be as honest as possible.” Hikari bowed apologetically to Claudine before turning to her fellow knight, face blank and giving nothing away. “I am uncertain if you’ve heard of such details, but the Saijou’s have long since had ties with the Capulet family of the Western empire.”

Claudine covered her face with her hands, now groaning into her palms. She could only hope this wouldn’t ruin her already fragile freedom and put their positions at risk.

“They are the relatives milady has mentioned before. Her aunt married into the family, you see.”

Ah, so that was how Hikari was going to play it.

Well, maybe it wasn’t a bad excuse. Claudine believed the knight was considering any future encounters with the imperial guard since they would be attending palace events soon.

She spared the guard a glance, and was surprised to see that he actually looked to be convinced of those words. Not that they were much of a lie in the first place.

“I see! I understand. My apologies then.”

Claudine held back her sigh of relief, not wanting to give even the slightest thing away anymore.

“Yes, that’s it.” She said, trying to add onto their story. “And about the identification badge... well... you wouldn’t really expect any noble children, much less ladies, join an adventurer guild and all that.”

“I suppose so.” The guard chuckled.

Soon, their drinks had arrived, and Claudine found herself staring into the golden liquid the man across from her was downing to keep her eyes of his too pretty face, a question nagging on her mind.

“And you?”

“Hmm?” Placing his glass down, he gave her a curious, yet smug smile. “What about me?”

Somehow, Claudine wanted to wipe it off his stupid face.

“We gave you our names and background. It’s only common courtesy to introduce yourself properly in return, is it not?”

His growing grin was really pissing her off.

“Right, of course. Excuse me for my rudeness since earlier.”

“No kidding.” Claudine complained, waiting rather impatiently for his information. Not that she’d ever remember it, much less use the knowledge for any future plans. No. Not at all.

Not even for that.

“Hmm, well you could call me Romero.”

Romero.

Really, now. Romero?

Again, that damn book was really trying to force its way into Claudine’s thoughts. She internally cringed at the association.

“Romero. Of course that’s your name.” She rolled her eyes, not believing it for even one second. “You certainly look like a ‘Romero’.” She stated sarcastically. ‘Romero’ here looked as eastern as eastern gets.

“You wound me, Lady Julie. Can’t a man adapt a name of different culture simply because it suits him this much?”

“I didn’t say anything against it.” Claudine waved, taking a sip from her drink. It was cold, a little bitter. She liked it.

“Your expression says all there needs to be said.”

Claudine smirked, leaning across the table. “Oh? I’m glad it does then. Sir Romero.”

The man’s eyes glinted in amusement as he leaned forward as well. Claudine huffed. So this is how they were going to play it.

“So, Lady Julie. I said I’d like to get to know you.”

Claudine nodded. “Know all you want, then.”

“You say that so easily, but are you sure?” Really, this man unnerved her like no one else. His gaze was piercing, yet dull. It was clear, but betrayed no thoughts nor intentions of his.

Claudine nodded again, but a little less confident now.

“Then, if I may be so bold as to ask,” Romero began. “What business do you have here in the capital? Besides the whole peace treaty, I suppose. If I recall correctly, it is not a requirement for all nobles to attend, and I know the property of both the Saijou’s and Capulet’s are a ways away from here.”

Claudine swallowed a lump in her throat, wondering what she should say. “Isn’t it the greatest honor for any noble to be able to claim that they stood as personal witness to the changing of times?”

What a generic answer.

Bless Junna’s etiquette lessons that were coming to fruition.

“Ehh, how boring~”

Somewhat.

“Be that as it may, it’s the truth.” Claudine raised her glass back up to her lips, taking in more of that golden liquid.

“Is that so? Just that? Nothing else?” Romero pressed.

“That’s all I’m willing to divulge, Sir Romero.” Claudine said sternly, eyes ordering him to back down. Even for an imperial knight, wasn’t this a little too impudent?

“Fair, fair.” Romero responded, hands up in the air in surrender. “I must have overstepped my boundaries. My apologies.”

Claudine downed her drink, ignoring him for a moment.

“I’m simply curious. And to think, for the sole purpose of this event, you went out of your way to get an adventuring permit for quests from the main guild when you might only be staying a short while.” Romero continued to seek her gaze, peskily grinning in wait. “As an imperial guard, I’m just concerned, milady. It’s part of the job.”

Claudine gave him a blank look. Romero seemed unfazed.

“I just need a few more details for my report, that’s all. Something to make your story believable enough to not be sought out by other guards who aren’t as kind and considerate as me.” He winked to accentuate his statement, and Claudine threw him a disgusted look.

“If you were the least bit as considerate as you claim to be, you’d have been quiet for the last hour.”

“Harsh words, Milady. I only want to kno-”

“Milady is here to get married.” Hikari slammed her mug on the table, pinning her gaze on the troublesome man. “Now that you know, stop bothering my master.”

“Hikari!” Claudine didn’t know whether she should be touched at the intervention, or frustrated at the reveal.

“What a loyal guardian.” Romero complimented with a grin. “You’re the kind of escort the imperial palace would love to have.”

It was almost as if he were holding out bait for Hikari to take. Claudine didn’t like it.

“Excuse me, but Hikari is-”

“I belong solely to my Master. I serve no one else but her.  My loyalty has been sworn. Your words are kind, but they are not right. Not for me. I’m sorry.”

“Hikari...”

Romero and Hikari’s gazes remained locked in a contest, waiting for one or the other to crack first. Claudine watched on with concern. She hoped they wouldn’t get into any serious quarrel.

To her fortune, Romero finally broke. Broke into a fit of laughter, tears of amusement spilling that he quickly wiped away.

Claudine allowed herself to sigh in relief as she finally relaxed in her seat for the first time that night.

Romero finally calmed enough to begin talking again, much to Claudine’s chagrin. “Married. I see. Married, huh?”

Claudine narrowed her eyes at the amused man, scowl deep. “And what of it? Do you think I’m too unfit for such a maiden’s dream?” If he said yes, Claudine might just be tempted to chop a ball off or too. Tempting beauty of this man be damned. He should try to see if he could snag any lady after tonight.

“No, no. Nothing of that sword, Milady.” He smiled, settling down and emptying the remaining contents of his cup. “Just... Who is the lucky fellow to have caught such a strong-hearted beauty such as yourself?”

Claudine actually blushed at his words this time. Though she did curse her heart for being swayed so easily like that, and by this insufferable man, no less.

“There is... no man... or anyone at all.” She managed to say through grit teeth, slightly embarrassed at that truth that she had about zero suitors coming for her.

She was surprised to see that Romero looked genuinely surprised. It wasn’t some faux, mocking expression. He seemed sincerely shocked at the reveal that Claudine was as single as the lonesome sun in the daytime.

“No one?”

“Not one.”

“For someone as charming as you?” He blinked those big, violet eyes, honest and innocent-looking for once.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, good sir.” Claudine chuckled, actually finding Romero more endearing than annoying at that moment. A shocker for herself.

“I just can’t believe that no one would approach you or ask you. You.” He gestured towards her. “You’re appearance is definitely a win, but more-so is your personality.” He openly praised Claudine. “You are a lovely being. I’m not saying this shallowly. I truly mean every word, Milady.”

Claudine felt her heart warm a little at that.

True, she’s heard those words before from close friends and family. Said in a particular way that she just knew was honest. However, they knew her. They knew Claudine and how she really was. As for the other noble men and women she’d met, they had always seemed to presume things about her based on rumor and first impressions, never attempting to truly know Claudine enough to say compliments that Claudine could think to consider as truthful.

Empty laud, frivolous words, backstabbing comments.

A beautiful face, they said. A cunning mind. A brash personality, an unladylike disposition.

Claudine never claimed they were false, but they weren’t exactly accurate.

Just like that dumb book.

Why did Claudine feel so moved all of a sudden. It wasn’t as though Romero had said much more than others, now that she thought about it. She’d probably have already heard those utterances before. So why?

Was it his tone? The way he looked straight into her eyes with an unguarded sincerity?

Before Claudine could find the answers to her internal queries, the door to the pub burst open, a group of men tossing over tables, and harassing the nearest bar patrons, in search of something or someone.

Romero got up from the table, as did Hikari and Claudine, hands already on their swords, ready to swing.

Claudine’s eyes met with one of the men in front, and something seemed to click in the air.

A finger was raised and pointed right at her.

“Them.”

And they charged.

“Hikari!”

“Yes, Milady.”

The knight moved swiftly, positioning herself in front of Claudine to ward off those who targeted her master, buying Claudine time as she tried to infuse as much magic as she could into her sword and limbs. She didn’t have enough mana for an entire body enhancement as she’d used a fair amount up during the earlier hunts, disguise, and fights. She knew she had barely enough to spare. Just enough to hopefully end this.

She prayed it was enough.

Romero seemed busy as well, sword clashing against spear and blades, shields and armor.

He should be fine. Claudine couldn’t spare him much worry if she had to worry about herself first.

Other patrons had also joined in the fray, but it was clear that there was a difference in the power the intruders held.

With her amplifications complete, Claudine readied herself, and in one motion, swooped past a flurry of enemies, knocking them to the ground before a new wave could approach her.

Were these also among those that Romero had mentioned? Terrorists who had actually managed to enter the city? This wasn’t good. They needed to subdue them before more damage could be done.

Where were the other imperial guards anyway? Why was Romero even patrolling alone with such a dangerous agenda at hand?

She didn’t have time to entertain any of those questions, she decided. Claudine knew she had to focus on what was happening right now. Those could be saved for later.

Focus.

Focus.

Foc-

“Julie.” Romero called.

Claudine almost forgot that that was her name at the moment, barely managing to send him a confirming nod. “I’m a little busy, but what is it?” She responded, knocking someone over on the head.

“I just thought of something.”

Was it a plan on how to defeat all these men for efficiently? An easier way to protect all the innocent people from these terrorists? If so, Claudine was all ears. “Speak.”

“What about me? What about us?”

‘Huh?’

Claudine managed to throw him an incredulous look as Hikari kicked an attacker away just in time before he could touch Claudine.

“What about you- or us?” She asked, restraining another man with a single binding spell before taking away his consciousness.

“What if you...” Romero dodged a slash, countering with his own. Another masked man made a grab for him, but he easily turned the situation around, ending up on top of him, standing atop a few other bodies.

“I?”

“What if you married me?”

Claudine managed to smash a man’s skull against the wall just as she stared dumbfounded at the imperial knight who looked amazingly serious, and undeterred by all that was occurring around him.

Really?

“...Are we really having this conversation here? Right now?” Claudine questioned, movements fluid as she added to the pile of bodies behind her that were slowly being tied up and secured by a few free bar patrons.

“Yes? Why?” Romero replied nonchalantly, repelling a blow with his sword.

Claudine could not believe the audacity of this man. “Couldn’t it, oh I don’t know, wait until things have settled down?!”

“Couldn’t what wait?” Romero said clueless, stepping back from the force of one particular strike, approaching Claudine’s space.

“This talk!” She answered back, vexed.

“I’ll have you know I’m a hundred percent serious on this proposal. Despite its untimeliness.”

“And I can’t be serious thinking about it because there are so many things I have to consider. One of those being why I must reject your ‘serious proposal’.” Claudine growled as someone managed to hit her leg hard enough to cause her to go off balance.

Romero had caught her just in time, righting her and going back to his own fight. Claudine felt a little annoyed that he had so easily switched gears and was able to handle both his enemy and ally.

“Why ever not? It’s not like anyone else has made an offer?” Romero sounded disappointed.

Claudine really couldn’t explain it right now. Not in this situation, and certainly not as other people listened in.

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Just because!” Claudine yelled, sending one man up into the ceiling in uncontrolled temper.

“I need a concrete reason, milady. Else I’m unwilling to step down from this.” Romero laughed, continuing on with his battle as he and Claudine fought back-to-back.

“And I’m telling you we can talk about it later.”

“Just trying to tell you that I’m a very good candidate, Lady Julie.”

“No thank you, Sir Romero.” Claudine rolled her eyes, tossing another enemy away to the side.

“And that is because?”

Claudine noticed a quick shift out of the corner of her eye. The refraction of light off a blade gave her all the information she needed to calculate a countermeasure. With her feet firmly planted, she twisted her torso, channeling enough energy to deliver a speedy lethal blow into the attacker’s ribcage-

...and apparently also Romero’s who had decided to jump in front of her in a chivalrous attempt at saving her.

A wrong decision, clearly.

Both he and their foe dropped to the ground, on the obvious brink of consciousness.

Claudine’s mind flew into panicked disarray as she quickly knelt over her comrade, trying to think of how to help him.

“Romero! I’m sorry!!! But you’re an idiot!” She began to spout words out so quickly. “You should know that I’m a trained fighter. And why did you do that! You clearly saw what I was doing! This is why you shouldn’t interfere with my battles! Also what was with that sudden proposal in the middle of it all huh?! Are you trying to get us killed?!”

“Milady-” Hikari was at her side, trying to calm her as the fighting had finally subsided. Claudine’s vision however, was unexpectedly tunneled, worry apparent on her face as she desperately tried to aid the fallen knight.

“There’s a time and place for everything, Romero!” Claudine continued to scold, hands already taking on a healing glow. “You ought to be more mindful. And you claim you’re an imperial knight?!”

“Master Clau-”

“I fear for the empire if all the knights are like you. What, did you think you were saving me by placing yourself in front of me?”

“Stupid Romero. Now you’ve gotten hurt. You weren’t focusing at all, were you? And all for a silly proposal?!”

“Milady, I think he’s losing consciousness-”

“And you wouldn’t even let me explain why I clearly have to reject your proposal! I have very specific conditions, mind you. So don’t go mocking me once you hear them.

“Milady!”

“You see, I can’t accept your proposal because...” Claudine finally took a deep breath, a pause for once.  

Hikari tried to tell her that Romero had long since been knocked out, but Claudine couldn’t seem to hear her. At this point, she’d realized it would be better to give up and allow Claudine to settle down on her own.

Hikari only hoped her Master wouldn’t break down at the realization and the embarrassing memories to come.

“-I like women.”

“...”

“...”

Hikari sighed, finally seeing the truth sink in for Claudine as her eyes widened and her hands trembled in an emotion that was no longer just concern.

“... he heard nothing, did he?”

She was in for a long day tomorrow.

“Milady...”

A/N: Uh. I think I did my best atm. Yey. If you’re wondering why Claudine has eastern friends, and supposedly they go way back, as well as why her knight is also from the east, well... see you next ep! Or I think next next chap? Ma- er, Romero needs a turn.

Also, before ppl complain to me about genderbending or making this mlw, I’m not one to mis-tag something. Just saying.

I apologize for OOC-ness

Also I’m just... really tired. I wanted to amuse myself by writing something silly or like... unusual-ish. Idk.

Meh.

~Shintori Khazumi

[blkmxrvel]

All Grown Up (PT. 1)

Pairing: Brie Larson x CollegeStudent!Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2k

Request: -

Summary: You’re In college, You’re dating Brie. Yeah there are some people who are gonna talk shit, but everything’s going to be alright as long as you have her… right?

Warnings: Fans being assholes, Angst, break ups, Heart break. Not edited. 

A/N: So, I’ve had this in my drafts for almost a year. Haven’t even looked at my docs since the last fic I uploaded. I wanna get back into writing since my life has calmed down quite a bit since October, so I just decided to post the furthest along fic in my WIPs. I may write part two, and finish the concept but I’m not too sure. And I may finish the requests in my inbox, but I’m not too sure about that either. For now, I just hope you enjoy this :)

You were walking hand in hand with Brie, your head down as to avoid the blinding lights being flashed in your face. Your body was up against hers and you pushed through the crowd, the loud yells of the paparazzi flooding your ears.

Brie! Do you have any response to the people who have called you a pedophile?! Any comments? 

Do you think this relationship is going to work? 

Why are you dating a gold digger!? I mean she’s practically a prostitute!

Brie usually could keep her cool when it was her getting the heat, but that made her lose it. She drew the line at you.

 She snapped her head around towards the man, eyes wide and furious. “What the fuck did you just say?” You pressed your hand on to Brie’s chest pushing her to keep walking. 

“Let’s go, Brie. Don’t pay them any mind, they don’t know anything.” She listened, albeit reluctantly, and made her way into the building. 

From the moment you and Brie had started dating, people couldn’t stop having an opinion on it. You were in college, finishing up your degree when you had first met her. She was 13 years your senior but that didn’t really matter to either of you. There was something about one that pulled the other toward them, besides you were more attracted to older women anyway.

You had done your best to ignore all of the comments being said about you both. The only people who really knew what was going on between you and Brie were….you and Brie. And you figured that it should stay that way. There is no need to justify or explain yourself to people who were just onlookers. At the end of the day, you and Brie were the only two people that mattered. 

None of your close friends and family made any comments or passed judgement either, they were completely fine and loved the two of you together. The only ones who said anything were even impactful on your life, so it shouldn’t matter at all. 

You walked past the theater doors, smiling at all of the familiar faces. It was the Avenger: Endgame movie premiere, and of course you were Brie’s plus 1. 

Brie barely even had a chance to breathe before an interviewer was flagging her down. 

“Brie and Y/N! Hollywood’s best couple, beautiful as always! Are you excited for the movie?" 

Brie was the first one to speak up. ”Super excited! I’ve never seen anything pieced together, just the individual scenes, I can’t wait to see what the whole thing looks like.“ 

"You’re not the only one! What about you, Y/N?” The interviewer held the microphone to your face, smiling encouragingly at you. 

“No, yeah. I’m stoked too! I’ve always been a fan of Marvel, comic books and the films and it’s a bit overwhelming to be at an actual premiere.” Brie’s hand came to rub over your hip, smiling down at you. “I’m supposed to be at home studying for an exam, but this is easily more important in my book.”

Laughs rang out as the reporter agreed. “I second that. Well I hope you too have a great time watching it! Congratulations, Brie on all of your hard work! You were amazing in Captain Marvel and I’m sure you’ll be just as great in this, if not more." 

"Hey!” You squinted playfully at the reporter. “She’s taken!” You placed your body in front of Brie’s, failing to hold in the laugh that was expelled from your body. 

The interviewer had left eventually, and you and Brie continued your walk down the red carpet. Pictures were taken of Brie by herself, with you, and some with her castmates. 

As you walked towards the main auditorium with your girlfriend, you began to feel eyes on you and hear hushed whispers. Looking around, you saw fans more than likely whispering things about you and Brie. It was pretty obvious, they were giggling slightly and rolling their eyes when you looked that way.

Just because you were dating someone who was so used to the limelight, didn’t mean that you were automatically comfortable with it too. You were 21 for god sakes, there were so many things that you didn’t like about yourself. You hated how people could judge and make assumptions on someone they didn’t even know, you ignored the comments, yes. But that didn’t mean the pressure didn’t eat away at yourself esteem.

“Baby, you alright?” Brie had stopped while walking inside, popcorn in one hand your face in the other. “You’re doing that thing again.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “What thing?”

“The thing where you go silent and press your body into me when we’re walking. Plus your hands are clammy and your eyes keep darting everywhere.”

You secretly hated how Brie knew you so well, but after a year and a half of dating, what could you really expect?

“What’s wrong?” She asked again, her lips coming to kiss your forehead. 

“I can feel people staring, and then when I look up their whispering and giggling. They don’t do anything to cover it up!” You leaned into Brie more at the confession.

“Who was it?” Brie’s body pulled away from yours as she searched then hallway with squinted eyes. “I will fuck them up." 

You giggled, pulling Brie back toward you, resuming your walking until you got into the theater and sat down in your seat. 

"I just…I’m trying not to imagine what they’re saying. The things they say out loud are bad enough.” Brie frowned before pulling you from your seat into her lap. 

She kissed your cheek, then your nose, then your ear. “Don’t think about that, baby. Whatever they’re saying is incorrect. They don’t know you.” She wrapped her arms around your middle and pulled you down so that your head was on her shoulder. “They don’t know how hard you work, how smart you are, how brave and resilient you are. How much I love you. They don’t matter because they aren’t here. Just try your hardest to block it out okay?" 

You nodded, lifting your head up. Your eyes worked a little hard to find Brie’s eyes in the darkness. The movie hadn’t started yet, it was only the trailers. 

You found her eyes, holding contact as you smiling a toothless smiles. "I love you. So so so much, Brie.” You leaned in and sealed your words, your girlfriend kissing you back eagerly.

“I love you way more, baby.” She said when you pulled away. “Forever and Always.”

—-

Finals were a complete bitch, you’d decided. Whoever came up with the concept of a huge exam on everything you’ve learned and making it a big portion of your final grade could suck your ass. 

It wasn’t like you could slack on this one either, no. This was your first final of the first semester of your last year of college. You were graduating early and you couldn’t mess this up. You had no choice to but to do well. 

You sighed as a rattle of keys came from the outside of your apartment. Brie was home. You were excited, but so fucking stressed that you didn’t pay any mind to Brie. 

“Hey Y/N!” That was weird, she never called you by your name usually, oh well. You chalked it up to a one time thing and focused on your work. 

“Hey, how was your day?” You flipped the page, eyes glancing up to your girlfriend briefly.

“Pretty good actually, the scenes went really well.” Walked over to the couch, plopping down as she sipped her drink. She smiled down at you. You were still in your pajamas, a t-shirt two sizes too big and your hair unruly. 

“Well I’m glad at least one of us had a good day." 

"How long have you been studying?” You shrugged going over the flashcards in your head. “What time is it?”

Brie glanced at her watch, taking a minute to read the time. “Quarter till 10.”

“Then like 12 hours almost, I started a little bit after you left.” At that Brie’s eyes were as wide as saucers. 

“12 hours!? Y/F/N, that is way too much. And knowing you, you haven’t taken a break besides to pee, which means you haven’t eaten in 12 hours." 

"Hey, everything as a price- hey! Stop! What are you doing? Give it back!” You got up onto your knees and tried to snatch your book back from Brie, who held it way above your head.

“Brie, come on! I need to study!” You pouted as you stood in front of her. 

“You’ve studied enough, baby. You need to eat and rest. A rested brain is a passing brain.” You hugged again, reaching to grab your book again, failing when you fell right into Brie’s lap.

“I’m never gonna walk if I don’t pass this class. I need to graduate at the end of the year.” Brie pushed you back up and held your face. Her reys started right into yours and her furrowed her eyebrows. 

“I know, and you’re gonna pass. You’re going to ace all of your exams and finals and graduate with the Magna Cum Laude.” She kissed your cheeks, smiling brightly. “You’re going to walk across the stage, grab your diploma and your certificate, and you’re going to walk off a graduate, my little graduate.” She kissed your lips this time, allowing you to melt all of your worries away. 

“I know I’m too hard on myself,” you began when you pulled away. “But there’s just so much at stake. Graduating 2 years early is already a risk but doing so when you’re in the public eye and everybody hates you? It’s a different breed." 

Brie nodded in understanding. "I know, baby. But you gotta give yourself more credit. You’re going to graduate and you’re going to hear my loud ass cheering for you the whole time.”

Your eyes lit up at that. You hadn’t expected that. “You’re going? I thought you were going to be filming the day of the graduation?" 

Brie shook her head, hands coming to rest on your thighs. "I was, but I convinced them to give me a week off to see my girl graduate.” Brie smiled widely at you and you wiggled in your seat. You were giddy because Brie getting to be at your graduation, cheering you on and letting everyone know that she was proud of you, was worth all the stress you were putting yourself through. 

“You promise?” You held your pinky up, heart racing racing when Brie interlocked hers with yours and kissed the back of her hand. 

“I promise, princess." 

—-

"We need to break up.” You had almost dropped your glass. Your heart fell into your stomach and it felt like the wind was knocked out of you. 

“What?” Your voice was shaky at your addressed your….girlfriend? 

“I’m sorry, I just. I can’t do this anymore.” Your heart began beating faster as tears sprung to your eyes. 

“Brie, you’ve got to be joking. Please tell me you’re joking.” You let the tears fall, your fingers in a vice grip against the counter. 

“I’m not, and I’m so sorry I led you on like this, Y/N. So sorry that I let it get this far. The age gap is just too much. You need someone your age. We both do. We’re just…. Two people with two different experiences.” 

You sink to the floor, no longer caring about what you looked like. Your worst nightmare was finally coming true. You tried your hardest to tell yourself that the age gap between you and Brie didn’t matter. She tried her hardest to help you rid yourself of that fear. And here she was, breaking up with you over that exact reason. Was it all a lie? 

There was no point in arguing, Y/N concluded. No point in trying to convince Brie to stay with her, maybe change her mind and snap her out of it. No matter how bad it hurt, how bad she wanted Brie to stay, it was never going to work out. They were never going to have a real love. 

“Okay.” Y/N nodded, wiping the tears from under her eyes. Her heart hardened immediately. She stood up on shaky legs and a broken heart. She couldn’t let Brie see her care too much.  

“I’ll leave. I’ll probably send Scarlett or Chris to come and get my things. If you could just put them all in a box for me that’d be great.” She grabbed her book bag and her books, making her way to the door. “Just things that I bought, nothing you bought me. Please.” 

Brie felt her heart shatter at her broken ex-girlfriend. This was hurting her too, but it had to be done. She was crazy to go after a girl so much younger than her and think that they would actually last. Y/N deserved better. 

“Okay,” Brie wiped a tear from her eye and clenched her hands when she saw Y/N reach for the knob. “We can still be friends, you know. This is the end of the relationship, but it doesn’t have to be the end of our friendship. We were friends first.” 

A chill ran down Brie’s spine at the bitter chuckled that left Y/N’s lips. Her free hand came to run through her hair while the door squeezed the knob. “Well we ruined that friendship when we started dating. And besides, I can’t be just friends with someone I wanted to spend my life with.”

Brie pouted, and Y/N almost smiled, almost. “Don’t say that. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life with me, that’s all in your head. You’ll find someone else. I’m sure.” 

Y/N nodded her head once, a nod of hurt, acceptance and realization. “Yeah, whatever you say, Brie. Have a nice life.” Y/N opened the door as just like that she was gone. 

Brie felt the wind being knocked out of her. She immediately fell to the ground, sobs and desperate breaths wracking through her body. She had done it, she let Y/N go. And it hurt, it hurt so bad. 

 What had she just done? 

–

Neither Y/N nor Brie had gotten much time to grieve and heal, because once word got out about the break-up. Everyone was asking about it. Y/N would get stopped by everyone on campus asking why they broke up; if it was because Brie realized what a gold digger you were, or if she was only in it for the Sex and companionship. None of the questions were positive, or in the slightest bit respectful. Y/N didn’t know what she expected, everyone hated her and Brie together. If they didn’t like and respect her then, why would they do it now? Y/N just stuck herself. School, work and home was all she focused on. Without Brie, it was all she had. 

Most of her nights were filled with what went wrong, and what the absolute hell was wrong with her. Y/N blamed herself. If was maybe a little bit older, or maybe not in school or carried herself better. Maybe then Brie would’ve liked her enough to stay. If she acted older maybe then age wouldn’t matter. She didn’t really know, and it was killing her. But she had to live with it, live with the self-sabotaging demons in her head. 

Brie wasn’t doing much better either. She was in the public eye constantly. Everyone was asking her about the break-up: in interviews or at parties, award shows and meet and greets. It was exhausting, heartbreaking. Brie doesn’t even know why she broke up with Y/N. She thought it was for the best, that it would be better than way. But all it did was cause her more pain. 

She regrets it, regrets it all. She just feels so stupid that she let the thoughts and opinions of other get into her head. She hates how she allowed their words to fuel her insecurities and sent her down the wrong path. She could only blame herself though. She had the choice to tell everyone to shut up, to make the announcement that her and Y/N’s was just that: her and Y/N. And that everyone else should just shut the fuck up and go somewhere. But no. She allowed herself to be consumed in all of that and it led to her losing the love of her life. She had to do something.  

[peachpety]

Hullo!! Just saw your WIP game post and I'm super intrigued by "Roses" 🥀🥀 So please, bestow me with a snippet or info I wanna knoww!!! You already know how much I love your works! Hope you are having a great day! 💚💚💚

hi sweetness! ❤️you are so lovely, i can’t even!! BIG LOVE ALL THE LOVE. thank you!! 

ok. so this one, well i only have bulleted notes...(and a working title “you never promised me” like the song...”a rose garden”) BUT it’s inspired by @faevorite-main-blog’s art (i can only find it on her patreon, of which i am a patron of hers! i just love her stuff!) BUT it’s the image of Draco cursed to be covered in rose tattoos. several others have already written works inspired by this art. so i’m kinda like, should i?? i don’t want to presume. 

ANYWAY, it’s Harry POV...and i’ve notes for a black family curse, a wicked hot, confident dragon tamer!draco returned to the wizarding world years after the war, and harry losing his shit. lol. definitely explicit. yea. 

so. imma give you a glimpse behind the curtain, m’dear. my drafting/idea plotting/stream of consciousness style of writing. it is unorthodox. it is DEFINITELY why chaptered things petrify me. lol. and i draft in all caps and out of sequence, non-linear. BUT here’s a little scene i bulleted out. 

this is like draft 0.0 lol, pre-draft! no sequencing yet...

(MAYBE START HERE - OPENING SCENE) AT COFFEE SHOP. 

AS IF KNEW BEING WATCHED, D TURNED CAUGHT HARRY STARING. GAWKING REALLY, BC CUP STALLED HALFWAY TO HIS MOUTH. D LIFTS CORNER OF MOUTH, FULL LIPS, ROSEBUD PINK…? HARRY SPILLS COFFEE…? 

D ORDERS AND APPROACHES. 

WANT HIM A LITTLE ROUGH. RUMORS TRUE. SITS IN A CHAIR...NOT SHELL OF A KID, BUT MAN.

RUGGEDNESS ABOUT HIM. CONFIDENCE. 

H: HEARD, WRANGLING DRAGONS WITH CHARLIE WEASLEY

D: YEA. BRILLIANT WITH A RIDGEBACK. FUCKING AMAZING. TRAVELED ALL OVER EGYPT AND ALASKA. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?

H: ER, NOTHING. [MONTAGE], REALLY HADN’T DONE ANYTHING. NOTHING AS BRILLIANT AS DRAGONS.

D: ID HAVE THOUGHT YOU’D BE MARRIED WITH KIDS 2.5 KIDS. GOLDEN FAMILY. SHRUGS UP SHOULDER.

LEANING BACK, LEGS OUTSTRETCHED? FEET FIRMLY PLANTED, HEAVY BOOTS, ONE BIG SLICE ON TOE. LEGS PARTED. [TOM HIDDLESTON]...DRAWS THE EYE TO CROTCH. BACK UP. 

D BITING BACK A SMILE. SIPS COFFEE. STANDS. SEE YOU AROUND. POTTER.

HARRY RELEASES BREATH DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS HOLDING. 

this was nice to revisit the notes on this one. yes, indeed. thank you for that, m’dear 😜

[iamnightduchess]

WIP: Until Dawn Pt. 2 (18+)

Snippet#1

The small, wrapped up figure lying on the makeshift pull cart began to stir in his sleep. The vigil brown-haired woman who was resting against a nearby tree and keeping watch, scooted over to the pull cart.

“Hey Levi,” asked Hange, concern vivid in her visible eye. “Are you parched? Need something to eat?”

The raven-haired man’s one good, visible eye opened and he responded slowly, “Hange...what was the commotion about earlier?” He awoke in his sleep, when he’d heard the sound of a scuffle from the group. Shaking his drowsiness away, he began to reach out to the bowl in Hange’s hands, but the other woman pulled it away, insisting that she’d helped him instead.

“That? Just a bunch of kids duking it out over centuries old history and dead best friends,” offered Hange, as she continued her recap of the earlier incident. “Jean kicked the shit out of Braun for killing one of the cadets in Trost. Remember that day when the whole unit’s gone outside the walls for an excursion?”

Hange scooped a small sum of the meaty, starchy stew, having been slightly cool off in the cauldron, and pushed it into Levi’s slightly opened jaw. “Take it slowly.” In normal circumstances, Levi would not be caught dead having to be fed by someone else yet it’s now already a regular occurrence between them since the past few days. Hange found it rather therapeutic and in a sense, calming when she saw Levi slowly regaining his strength from an almost vegetative state several days earlier. “How are you feeling?”

Humanity’s Strongest nodded slowly as he took in another spoonful of stew. “Better. All thanks to you, Hange.”

Hange beamed when she saw the only visible end of Levi’s lips curved upwards. A tiny bit. “Is that a smile I see, Levi?”

“Hmm…” Levi grunted, feigning an annoyance towards his longtime comrade’s words. “Anyone died while I was asleep?”

“Levi….” Hange shook her head, yet she couldn’t force back the grin on her face. As she continued to feed him, occasionally alternating with small sips of water from the steel canister, Hange eventually let out a long drawl of sigh, oblivious with the way Levi’s watchful gaze lingered over her face. 

“Something on your mind?”

“Nothing...just, I hope that we can work all of this out. I should’ve seen what Eren was planning, should’ve tried harder to foresee this happening.”

“Stop blaming yourself for that brat’s selfishness.”

“What do you think Erwin would have done?”

There was a flash of reminiscence in Levi's eye when their previous Commander’s name was mentioned. He took a long time to respond to her question. To be honest, it’s a question that has crossed his mind once in a while when he’s faced with a decision-making that requires the priority of one over another, or others.

“He would have prioritized humanity above else. Just like you do.”

Hange nodded, although she was very well aware she wouldn’t be able to fill in Erwin’s position that he left behind, but she would never cease to uphold all the values their former Commander had inspired inside all of those who bear the insignia of the Wings of Freedom. It was rather unfortunate that Erwin’s values had somewhat been violated by the Jeagerists - who twisted their definition of freedom by enabling Eren’s orchestration of the world’s destruction.

Erwin would have fought for the world’s humanity to the death.

Levi’s grunt could be heard as he eventually caught sight of the Female Titan holder, sitting on the other side of the clearing with Armin next to her. Both of the former 104th cadets could be seen conversing, more strained than a cordial manner. His jaw clenched tightly, as memories of his old squad resurfaced at the back of his mind. Eld, Gunther, Auruo and Petra. He could still taste the overwhelming rage that coursed through his blades in the Forest of Giant Trees on that day.

It hasn’t been easy for him to accept working with their enemies was even an option at all, but to face a mutual threat, you’d have to push aside your personal anger and vendetta for the greater good. He made a promise in martial court years ago that he’d be the one who personally keeps Eren in check if he so much stepped out of line. That brat was beyond redemption. If talking to Eren isn’t working, then there’s only one thing left to do.

It would be hard on his only kin, but if it needs to be done, then so be it. Even if it means it would be hurting her the most.

Snippet#2 *contains (some) sexual innuendos somewhere-ish

“Mikasa, you’re burning up. Are you sure you’re not running a fever?,” asked their Commander, as all eyes were now drawn towards her and she truly felt like her silent indecency was forcefully placed on display.

Reiner stopped mid-chew, offering his suggestion, “It could be the start of a heatstroke. Have you drank anything since we got onboard?” Unbeknownst to him that HE was actually the true reasoning behind the sudden spike of her body temperature.

Mikasa shook her head, clearing her parched throat. Yet she unhurriedly reached out to a pitcher of water, to which Armin had already poured into a cup for her. “Thank you,” she said coolly, somewhat relieved that things have been in a way, amicable between them. She downed the whole cup quickly.

Hange-san voiced out her concern. “Mikasa, I want you to take a rest inside one of the bunk rooms available in the upper deck. You’ve done really well today.”

She nodded slowly in return, adhering to her Commander’s order. “Yes, Hange-san.”

There was no concealing the older woman’s maternal concern over the younger recruit who had been the closest thing to a daughter in her life. She observed as Mikasa stood up from her seat and walked towards the main door of the room.

“Wait,” Jean called out to her, “Mikasa, I’ll walk you to the room.”

Reiner, Hange and Armin exchanged odd glances between them. Jean certainly had no idea how wrongful of an implication his suggestion sounded like to most of them. Pieck could be seen shaking her head at the taller man’s naivete.

“I’m fine on my own,” came the monotonous reply from the other woman as she turned her head back towards Jean’s direction. Mikasa’s yearning eyes that were brimming with a telltale sign of a dawning urge, Pieck noticed, were not even gazing at Jean but at another person inside that room.

It was aimed for her direction-- no, she turned to her right hand side and realized that Mikasa’s words were meant for Jean but the longing in her eyes; it was for Reiner. Or, could the words be meant for Mikasa, herself?

Maybe the Hizurian girl is burning with a fever after all. The fever from an old unkindled flame. Zeke’s briefing wasn’t the first time she had heard of Mikasa’s name in Marley. It was from Reiner. He had spoken it out of fear but Pieck knew very well, one does not scream a hated enemy’s name in their sleep and found themselves waking up to an unconscious secretion of some rather privy bodily fluids. Porco, Reiner’s bunkmate in their past years’ missions, had blabbed about it to her once to get a good laugh out of her but she felt only sympathy for their Vice Commander’s predicament and Pieck had made sure Porco swore to take that secret with him to his death.

Porco…. She felt an immediate pang of guilt from within.

“She shouldn’t be alone,” persisted Jean as he pushed his chair back and Pieck decided that someone should remind him that the other woman’s wishes should be respected. “I’m very sure Mikasa said she wanted to be by herself.” Pieck reiterated the female Ackerman’s earlier words. Also, Jean had been grating on her nerves since last night.

“You don’t know her like I do.”

She rebutted, “Knowing someone and actually respecting them are two different things, Jean.”

The other man raised his eyebrow, irritated. The sarcasm within the Marleyan woman's words were not missed by everyone inside that room. “What the hell is wrong with you? Since last night, you’ve been nothing but a bitch to me!”

“JEAN! You’re stepping out of line.” Hange sternly reprimanded her subordinate of his indiscretion, while Armin and Connie were already exchanging nervous glances between them at the unexpected fracas taking place out of nowhere.

Pieck sent him a chilling glare from across the table and goaded, “Commander Hange, I don’t mind if he wants to TRY punching my face like he did with Reiner. He obviously has some anger slash ego issues he needs to sort out.”

Reiner sighed and stepped his foot down. “Pieck, at ease. You and I would need to talk. Now.”

“Sorry, Sir.” Pieck looked down in shame at her own temporary lapse of judgment and offered another apology to the Survey Corps Commander. “I apologize, Commander. My words and action are uncouth and unnecessary. I’m sorry.”

Jean stormed off the room, needing to vent out his frustration somewhere more private (yet again) and Connie shook his head in disbelief, chugging his fifth glass of red wine for the day, much to Armin’s chagrin. Hange gazed down calmly at the papers in her slightly shaking hand, it seemed that the heat and existing tension were getting to everyone when flaring tempers and disgruntled frustrations should be the least of their concerns.

----- 

Until Dawn by NightDuchess

[themusicplayedherlife]

WIP: The Maid and the Heir

this story can go in many directions, but I’m currently debating on two, one can be all about bruce wayne x reader and the other dick grayson x reader (both have different plots that ive basically mapped out already). batman wouldn’t exist in this world and its more of an AU. if you guys are interested in this story, lemme know what main pairing you’d want to read in this story.

Finding a job in Gotham has never been easy, especially for someone without a college degree like you. You’d think at least a restaurant or a fast food place would be interested in hiring you, but none are willing to welcome you aboard—not when there are younger, more impressionable candidates they could exploit.

Your roommates pity you, and they’re trying to help you in your search, but it’s not working out. And you have a feeling that they’ll soon be posting a “wanted roommate” post online. You don’t blame them. Rent in Gotham isn’t exactly the cheapest or most forgiving. If you’re even a day late on your rent, your landlord starts threatening a storm, and they’ll want to avoid that.

Sighing, you glance out the window as harsh droplets fall onto the crowded streets of Gotham, cruel and beautiful Gotham. Maybe you should’ve left the city when your aunt did. Or maybe you should’ve taken up her offer in sending you off to design school, like you always wanted. But you couldn't accept that, not when she’s already given you so much.

“Here,” your best-friend places your warm drink in front of you, and you thank her with a small smile as she sits across from you.

You blow on your drink through the sip hole before taking a tentative sip. “Thanks, Jay.”

“Another dud?”

You nod, briefly glancing up at her to meet warm brown eyes full of compassion and sincerity. What would you do without her? “Someone a lot younger than me—16, maybe, walked in after me. They probably got the job.”

She sighs, exasperated, but gentle. She understands the struggle you’re going through. She was in your shoes years ago, but she’s found stability in her job as a security guard at GMCA and her fiancé, who she met through work. “Jerks. All of them. But the biggest jerk of all is your dumbass of an ex-boss who lost his business gambling.”

You crack a smile at her heated glare that she directs in the direction of where your old workplace was—a small auto company just on the outskirts of Gotham. It was a pain to get to work thanks to traffic, but it was stable enough, with a good enough pay to keep you afloat. “Can’t do anything about that.”

”Unfortunately.” She leans back into her chair and takes a sip of her own drink. “Have you checked in with Ruby’s workplace?”

Ruby being one of your roommates. You and Janine have known Ruby since your days in high school. You weren’t exactly close, but still called one another friends since you spoke occasionally and invited the other out for fun. When you were in search of a place, Ruby dragged you into her lease and soon enough you were living with her and two other girls. “They said they weren’t hiring.���

“Of course they weren’t,” she says, disgruntled and not at all surprised. She purses her lips, eyes glazing over for a moment as they drift towards the main building of the museum across the street. “I wasn’t sure I should mention this… but my mom told me about some rich family looking for a housekeeper right now.” Her eyes refocus on you and she watches you as you lean forward eagerly. “It’s really competitive, apparently. And the chances of getting this job—let alone an interview—is slim to none since they do thorough background checks. If they see one thing they don’t like, they’ll chuck out your application.”

You swallow harshly, the thought of working for some uppity family in Gotham sounded like torture, but if the pay is good… not only will you be able to pay your rent, but you’ll probably be able to actually save money in your saving’s account. You probably won’t even get the job, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? “Tell me everything you know.”