#and shes just a very light and very troubled sleeper to begin with

[rxttenfish]

definitely going to try to describe this scene as best as possible, but also i dont know if this specific fact is going to make it into caecilian, so im posting it here for my peace of mind.

miranda's above-water bedroom has a lot of natural stone in it and water features and generally looks startlingly naturalistic compared to the rest of her castle. her bed is also within one of those little special nooks that really big aquariums have sometimes where it's just a sitting area with the glass above you so it feels like you're underwater, like a shark tunnel. her bed itself is entirely dry but it looks really very much like a themed area in an aquarium for how much it focuses on trying to emulate the sense of being underwater.

the reason for this is because a lot of merfolk circadian rhythm isn't really tied to light per se, but rather has to do with small changes in currents and the water column to help them manage their sleep/wake cycles.

as you can imagine, miranda isn't getting any of these small changes on land. they only really exist in the ocean, and she has some pretty severe insomnia relating to how hard it is to get her brain to "turn off" when it's supposed to, ie, at night when she's supposed to sleep with the rest of the landfolk. this is compounded even further with the lack of any other natural "tells" for where she's lived her entire life and where she feels instinctively comfortable, so she even moreso ends up staying wide awake because she doesn't feel like she's in the right place to fall asleep or rest.

the merkingdom has two solutions to this. the first is a chain of what's basically fairy lights installed around her bed, which are designed to blink in a dull blue light in very specific patterns. it's only really specific to miranda because she's an abyssal, as these fairy lights are made to closely mimic the bioluminescence of other abyssal merfolk, blinking in the particular pattern for "this is a safe place, you are safe, you have someone watching over you, you can relax."

the second is trying to make the places where miranda sleeps above-water look as close to the ocean as possible and to try and trick miranda's subconscious into thinking she's underwater. it's a bit like the mental effect of sticking a human in a space shuttle - if there's just metal and plastic and no plants or sunlight around, human psychology tends to get a lot stir-crazy and have a hard time relaxing. if miranda feels like she's underwater, even when she's not, then her brain has an easier time relaxing and letting her go to sleep and lessens the prolonged psychological effects she gets from staying inland too long.

[hopepetal]

Part One | Part Two | Part Three (you are here!)

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Reblogs and comments are much appreciated! :)

@applestruda

Impulse had never really had any trouble getting to sleep.

Sure, it was a different story during the occasional “sleepover” with the rest of the knights, when they talked for hours and then passed out under the stars, but for the most part, Impulse was a good sleeper. A light one, but he had no trouble getting to sleep at all. Spending most of his day out and exercising consistently had its perks, after all. 

Over the past week or so, however, Impulse had been having a bit of trouble. Not with falling asleep, or even staying asleep as he sometimes did. He found himself falling asleep and waking up at the same times as he always did, but with one issue.

Impulse was exhausted. 

He would wake up from a long rest and feel as though he’d hardly slept a wink. The exhaustion would continue throughout the day, clouding his mind and pulling at his limbs like a lead weight. At first, he just chalked it up to overdoing it in his training, or maybe not going to sleep early enough. But as the days went by and the exhaustion got worse and worse, Impulse found that he was beginning to fray at the edges, breaking down bit by bit. 

Finally, after nearly falling asleep during lunch time, Impulse asked the rest of the knights for help. 

“I just…” He gestured helplessly at nothing in particular. “I don’t know what to do. Nothing seems to fix this.”

Pearl shared a concerned glance with Grian, who had actually woken up early for once. Not that he had been very happy about it, but nonetheless, here he was. “And you’ve tried going to bed earlier, yeah?” Pearl asked, to which Impulse nodded. “Hmm… this could be a real issue, mate. That’s not good.”

“Do you think it’s insomnia?” Grian asked, and Impulse shrugged.

“I’ve been falling asleep perfectly fine,” he explained, “and I’ve had no trouble at all staying asleep. It’s just… my sleep isn’t good.”

Scar leaned forward. “I was gonna go visit Cub today, if you’d like to come with me,” he offered, “he’ll probably know what’s going on, and have something for you.”

Impulse let out a shaky sigh, and nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good. Thank you, Scar.” It had been a while since he had seen Cub, as well. It would be nice to say hi, maybe catch up a little. “When were you thinking of heading out?”

Scar smiled. “Just after lunch! Not that we have to rush, of course, but I’d like to get there before the night falls,” he joked, “we all know that you and I would be defenseless– defenseless, I say!– against the big baddies of the night.”

Mumbo looked very concerned for a moment. “Don’t you have a bow, Scar?”

“Of course he does,” Grian piped up, “he’s just being silly.” 

Pearl sighed, though she was smiling. “I hope everything goes well, Impulse. Sleep is very important, y’know.”

“Well you would know that, wouldn’t you,” Grian muttered, squawking when Pearl smacked him with one of her wings. “Oh, you–!” 

Pearl jumped back from the table and took off into the air, Grian following close behind. Impulse watched them with raised eyebrows and a smile, before glancing over at Scar. “I think that’s our cue to head out.” 

Scar giggled, nodding in agreement. “Take her out, Grian!” he shouted up to the two, before Impulse decided now was probably a good time to drag him away before he got involved as well. 

They left Mumbo, who looked rather terrified to be in this whole situation, to keep watch over camp and make sure Grian and Pearl didn’t accidentally destroy everything. It probably wasn’t going to happen, but better safe than sorry.

The horses were unusually vocal as Impulse and Scar approached the stables, and Impulse’s horse even backed away from him before he was able to calm it down. 

“Maybe the storm last night got them spooked,” Scar pointed out, “or maybe there were mobs around last night.” He sounded a little more unconvinced on the second one, and Impulse didn’t blame him. Not only were the stables a well lit area, but Grian and Pearl seemed to have a secret sixth sense when it came to knowing when mobs were around. 

With that little setback out of the way, Impulse and Scar set off to Cub’s house. He wasn’t very far away from them– far enough to warrant needing a horse, especially when one was exhausted, but not far enough to make the trip unbearably long. Still, Impulse wasn’t exactly feeling the best, and his responses to Scar’s idle chatter weren’t very interesting.

Finally, they made it to their destination, and left their horses in the same place they always did. Scar didn’t even bother knocking, announcing his arrival by throwing the door open and calling out, “honey, I’m home!”

Impulse followed Scar in, making sure to carefully shut the door behind him. As soon as he walked into the small, cottage-esque type building, he was hit with the smell of drying herbs and greenery. It always managed to astound him how Cub lived in such a dry environment but kept his house and the area around it so lush and vibrant. 

Everything looked to be relatively the same to how it had been when Impulse had last visited Cub. The wall where he kept his dried herbs was plastered with even more recipes than the last time, with notes scribbled on the papers in unintelligible handwriting. The desks were just a little messy as always– Cub was never one to leave his work for long, so he really never saw the point in putting it away. The only area that was truly immaculate was the area where he made his potions, and the cozy spot he always kept available for patients, should the need arise.

Cub appeared from around the corner, holding some books. “Hello, Scar– oh, Impulse, too. What’s happening?” he asked almost immediately after, suspicious. 

Impulse laughed wearily. “Hi, Cub. Can’t a man say hello without needing anything?”

Cub sighed, placing down his books on the desk. “Mm, not when it comes to you knights.” His small smile told Impulse he was only teasing, and he leaned against the desk. “Also, you look terrible, man.” He looked Impulse up and down, his smile dropping slightly. There was something akin to concern in his eyes, but something deeper there as well.

“Thanks,” Impulse muttered, before glancing over at Scar. “Is it really that bad?”

Scar grimaced slightly. “Let’s just say you didn’t always have bags under your eyes.”

Cub hummed softly, already looking through some of the herbs on his wall and going through the recipes stuck on there. “You’ve been experiencing insomnia?” he asked, not even turning back to glance at Impulse.

“Not exactly,” Impulse clarified, “I’ve been getting sleep, but I always wake up feeling exhausted. It’s been happening every night for the past week or so, and I just… I don’t know what to do anymore. Scar suggested coming here for help, so…”

Cub nodded. “Mhm. Okay, I getcha, I getcha. There’s quite a few things that could cause this. High stress, not drinking enough water, a nutrient deficiency… the list goes on.” He began to gather some herbs, having clearly found the recipe he needed. “Say, Scar,” he said casually while placing ingredients into his brewing stand, “would you mind summoning Jellie? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

Scar grinned. “Of course, my good man! I’ll bet she’s been missing you, too. C’mere, Jellie!”

As soon as the blue furred familiar was summoned into existence, something in Impulse screamed “danger, danger, get out of there” with such ferocity that he sucked in a breath and stepped back. Clearly, the feeling was mutual for Jellie, because the minute she saw him, she hissed. Something that Impulse was almost certain she had only ever done to those she considered a “threat”.

Scar instantly scooped Jellie up into his arms, scolding her. “Bad girl! Bad Jellie! That is a friend! We don’t hiss at friends!”

Cub said nothing, but Impulse felt his gaze rest on him for a moment before he went back to making the potion. “I’m going to give you enough to last for a week. I want you to take some before you go to sleep every night. Come back after a week, or if things get worse.”

Impulse was still on edge, but hearing that did help to ease his nerves. “Thanks, Cub.” He glanced over at Scar and Jellie, who was still very displeased with his presence. “I’ve just been feeling so awful lately. I really hope this works.”

“Of course man, of course,” Cub responded absentmindedly, finishing up the potion. “Alright. Here it is.” He handed the potion to Impulse, who carefully stored it in his bag. “Scar, has everything been alright?”

“As well as it has been!” Scar answered cheerfully, still holding Jellie close. “I’m doing great, really. Mostly came here just to say hi and help out Impulse over here. And I missed you, of course.”

Cub just gave Scar a smile. “You could visit more often, man.”

“Very good point, very good point…”

Impulse excused himself to step outside while the two chatted, feeling much better once he was outside and away from… whatever had happened, inside that house. He could feel the demon lingering in his mind– it wasn’t speaking, but it was there, and Impulse wasn’t sure if that was something he liked. 

Eventually Scar did come back out of the house, Jellie nowhere in sight. Impulse assumed Scar had dismissed her, but didn’t bring it up. They said goodbye to Cub and then mounted up, beginning the ride home in silence.

“I’m sorry about that whole… Jellie thing,” Scar eventually said, “she’s never… I don’t know why she’s acting like that.”

Impulse shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, really. I promise I’m not taking any offense to it. Cats are finicky, you know.” But Jellie wasn’t a normal cat. Impulse tried to forget about that. “Thanks for coming out with me.”

“Of course!” Scar chirped, “glad to be of service!”

When they got back to camp, Impulse was glad to see that Grian and Pearl hadn’t destroyed anything– though Mumbo was looking a little more frazzled than usual. The sun was just beginning to set, and Impulse and Scar had their dinner together while they caught up on the day’s events with Grian.

Right before bed, as instructed, Impulse took a dose of the medicine Cub had made for him. The exhaustion that had been weighing him down all week came crashing back into focus, and Impulse was hardly able to keep his eyes open long enough for him to put away the bottle and lay down. 

That night, he dreamt of falling from a great height.

–

The medicine did not work.

At first, Impulse thought maybe he hadn’t taken enough. So he took more the next night. And the next. Until finally, the medicine that was supposed to last him a week was emptied in four days. 

It got to the point where he slept in later than Grian after falling asleep earlier than Pearl. When he woke up, feeling as though he hadn’t slept a wink, Impulse could barely stop tears of frustration from welling up in his eyes and spilling over, anxiety and anger sitting tight in his chest and making him gasp for air. 

He had lost the will and the energy to train, just barely able to pull himself out of bed and get something to eat. Not that he could even eat much anymore– food was unappetizing, and Impulse found himself eating less and less.

The other knights were more than a little concerned, particularly Pearl. She’d asked Impulse if he needed any help, or wanted to talk, or if there was anything she could do. Impulse had just shaken his head and told her it wasn’t anything she could help with.

On more than one occasion, Impulse considered going back to Cub. But something about that made every fiber of his being recoil in a mixture of fear and disgust. Impulse wasn’t sure if it was directed toward Cub, or toward himself for being so weak.

He was almost certain it was the latter.

–

Scar was definitely worried.

I mean, who wouldn’t be? His friend was clearly going through something really difficult, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. What he thought was going to work clearly wasn’t helping, and Impulse was just getting worse by the day.

…the fact that Jellie had hissed at Impulse was also cause for concern. She had never done that before– not at Impulse, or any of Scar’s friends. Only at those she deemed untrustworthy and dangerous. Honestly, Scar wouldn’t have been surprised had she hissed at him, even. He was dangerous! 

But still. The fact that Jellie had even hissed at Impulse at all wasn’t something Scar was going to take lightly. Especially not when Impulse had clearly not been himself for the past… however long it had been. Almost two weeks, maybe.

When things got a little too crazy, Scar usually ended up sitting on the ground and staring out at nothing, lost in his own thoughts. Sometimes he stood up, if he was feeling a little restless. Today was one of those days where he was too restless to sit, and decided that standing was a much better option. 

It was a nice day out. Warm, with a breeze coming from the south that promised rain later that day. Scar liked the rain, but knew Grian and Pearl weren’t all too pleased. Which, fair, wings getting wet was a nightmare, but it wasn’t like they were going to melt! Now that would be scary. 

Caught up in his thoughts, Scar was too busy thinking about whether it was possible for people to melt to pay attention to the world around him. That was, until a visceral feeling of panic shot through him, and Scar tensed up. He could feel the vex magic swirl around inside him, rising up in a reactive response to the pure bloodlust coming from someone, something. 

It was right behind him. He had to– had to run there was no running no running from this you can’t escape you can’t hide– had to fight impossible you stand no chance it’s hopeless you’ve lost the minute it’s seen you you’re dead–

“Hey, Scar?”

Scar whipped around, fear striking like lightning and setting his mind ablaze with panic. Vex magic roared in his ears like a war cry, and Scar felt himself start to shift…

…when he saw Impulse standing there, exhausted and confused and too human to be able to hurt him. 

Impulse frowned, gesturing at his hair. “Uh… are you okay…?” he asked, and Scar looked up to see that his hair had just begun to turn white, though it was slowly fading back to the normal brown. 

Scar carded his fingers through his hair, trying to pull it away from his face and cover the still white strands. “Uh, yeah. Sorry, I… don’t? Know? Why that happened? I guess I just got really spooked.” Liar. And not even a good one at that.

Impulse didn’t believe him. Who would? Scar could deceive and manipulate and swindle, but he crumbled in the face of his friends. “...yeah. Uh. I just– nevermind. I’m…” He took a few steps back. “I’m gonna go.” 

Scar watched Impulse walk away, and was left with the lingering feeling that he messed something up big time. 

Which is why he found himself back at Cub’s house, later that day, as storm clouds gathered over the sky as an omen of rain. 

“I just don’t know what it means,” he complained to Cub over a cup of tea. “I felt some weird awful feeling? But it was just Impulse, and Impulse is like… he’s Impulse!”

Cub hummed softly in thought. “I wouldn’t exactly…” He stood, walking over to his desk and picking up a book. “Do you remember the last time you were here?” he asked, sitting back down and opening the book, flipping through the pages. “I asked you to summon Jellie.”

Scar frowned, nodding. “Yeah. And she hissed at Impulse. I’ve been thinking about that, actually, and I don’t really know what it means.” 

Cub continued flipping through the pages, not looking up. “Can you summon her again?” he asked absentmindedly, “I’d like to see something.”

Scar summoned Jellie, and she curled up in his lap, purring happily. He looked up at Cub, who was staring at Jellie with a contemplative gaze. “She’s perfectly fine now,” he explained, “it’s just…”

“Just around Impulse? Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’ve been seeing.” Cub stopped flipping through the pages of the book, fixing his glasses on his nose before running his finger down the text. “Has Impulse been acting odd recently?” he asked. “How about animals? Have they been reacting poorly to his presence? Nervous, wary…?”

Scar thought back through the past two weeks. “...now that you mention it, yeah. It… the horses, they were pretty spooked when we tried to ride, and obviously Jellie…” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Oh! I don’t think we mentioned this, but we kinda figured out why Impulse was feeling so restless? Or, at least, we think something’s the reason?”

Cub’s eyebrows furrowed. “Mmhm?”

“Grian saw Impulse out sleepwalking, and we’re pretty sure this has happened more than once,” Scar explained, gesturing vaguely with his hand as he spoke. “I don’t… think… anyone has mentioned it… to Impulse himself…? Which, now that I’m thinking about it, that’s kinda weird.”

Cub leaned forward. “I see, I see. Perhaps you felt an instinctual push to stay away? Something that told you that there was danger nearby?”

Scar nodded. “Yeah, exactly that!” He paused. “Wait, do you know what’s going on?” 

“Not quite.” Cub closed the book. “But I have an idea. I want you to keep an eye on Impulse for me, alright? Make sure he doesn’t do anything to hurt himself. And be careful, alright? I don’t want to see you get hurt again, man.” Not when the scars from last time have just barely healed. 

“Will do, mister!” Scar gave Cub a mock salute. “I promise I will not die!” He paused. “...or let anyone else die!”

Cub laughed softly. “Alright, alright. I trust you. Best get back to camp before the storm sets in.”

Scar mounted up and rode home with the promise of rain lingering on his mind.

–

Impulse was upset. 

And not the kind of upset that came from a slight mishap, or something inconsequential like a match not lighting the first time it was struck against the rough side of the matchbox. It was the kind of upset that began with one thing going wrong, which led to another, which led to another, and became an infinite loop of things not being right.

And he was almost certain of who was to blame, too.

“What are you doing,” he practically spat out through grit teeth and barely held back tears, “why is this happening? You didn’t– I wasn’t told about this. You lied.” 

Impulse, please. Control yourself. I told you that the magic folk don’t mix too well. As I’ve grown stronger, so has my presence. It’s only natural they’d be able to sense me, even if I hadn’t done anything. 

“But you did do something,” Impulse pressed, “that’s the thing. You let them know you were there! You–!” He shuddered at the mental image of Scar, hair streaked with white and eyes glowing ever so slightly blue. “You hurt my friends.”

I did nothing. You decided to stick around them. 

“I…” Impulse trailed off, not knowing how to respond. Glancing around the tent, something caught his eye– the book, left unread and opened, thrown into the corner of the tent and forgotten. “Well, you’re clearly not giving me the answers I need,” he began slowly, “so I guess I have to find them on my own.” He reached for the book. 

Ahhhh. I’m afraid this is where I must draw the line. 

And Impulse

couldn’t

move.

With a voice that swelled loud enough to need to be silenced, the demon spoke. Forgive me, but I am afraid that I can’t let you read that book. 

Impulse could do nothing but watch as his body moved on its own, puppeted by an outside force he had so stupidly allowed inside. He picked up the book and stood, stepping outside and looking around to make sure no one was nearby. With a gait that was not his own, Impulse began walking towards the area where the knights had their occasional campfire.

He couldn’t move. He was completely helpless. There was nothing he could do except watch and he was so scared, he was so scared and he should’ve asked Scar for help he should’ve reached out he–

Impulse– no, this wasn’t him, this was the demon– finally made it to the campfire, and found the box of matches the knights used to light their fires in a small chest. “Perfect,” the demon murmured in his voice, and pulled out a pile of the old newspapers placed in the chest for kindling. 

The first few drops of rain began to fall, and Impulse bitterly thought of how poetic that was. Almost like the sky was crying for him, as if it even cared for him at all. Maybe it was a feeble attempt from the universe at an apology, for forgetting about him all these years.

The demon struck the match, failing to light it on the first strike. It burst into flame on the second attempt, and was tossed into the kindling. The flames took to the paper splendidly, and were soon licking up the wood. Wood that had been used in the past for the campfires all the knights sat around to chat and laugh and be happy.

Impulse could only watch as the demon used him to toss the book into the flames, which burned defiantly against the rain that began to fall more heavily.

And with that, the last of his hope burned away with it.

[ratasum]

Did this post over on Bsky so I'm sharing all of the important Rhenn facts here as well.

Rhenn was custom designed from the ground up, and he was intended to be "perfect" in every way, but the research was still new and his father missed some things. As a result, Rhenn is violently allergic to roses.

While he heals very quickly, the more injuries he takes, the more it wears him down as his metabolism fights to keep up. After serious fights, or several days of intense work, he's been known to sleep for a couple days straight.

His night vision is much better than most modern asura, but he has some light sensitivity and gets headaches if he's out in bright daylight too long. He tries hard not to let it show.

While Rhenn talks up his playboy nature, he honestly is kind of awkward when things get more serious than casual flirting. In the early days, after catching feelings for Kippa, he tripped over himself constantly trying to impress her. She at least found it endearing.

One of his few concrete memories of his mother Nixxe was of her coming into his father's lab with her hair down, and being just fascinated by how perfectly thick, straight, and glossy it was. It inspired him to keep his hair long as he got older, to hold onto that memory.

Rhenn can honestly sing pretty well, but it's one of the few things that embarrasses him. He once got caught singing cutesy progeny songs to Aurene when she was a hatchling and has denied it ever since.

Has, canonically, eaten all the weird crap the comm eats in story. The real kicker is that none of it really seems to affect him due to the resistances his dad built into him, and he always seems genuinely surprised when people are horrified he just ate swamp jerky.

While he can swim with float aids, he otherwise sinks like a brick if you put him in the water. Kippa's theorized it has to do with his muscle mass as a result of the genetic experimentation, but no one knows for sure why it happens. As such, one of his few canon mounts is a skimmer.

Rhenn is an incredibly light sleeper. Not because he doesn't need sleep; on the contrary, he often needs more of it because of how his metabolism works. If he's not basically out due to his body needing to recover, though, any little sound will wake him up.

His first instinct on being told Caladbolg had chosen him was to refuse the call, jamming the remains of the sword into the ground next to Trahearne's memorial. It refuses to be budged, seeming to have rooted itself in place until Rhenn decides to accept it.

Through most of the story, he refers to himself as "Rhenn of Prikk," since he didn't know most of his mother's accomplishments and regarded his father as a great genius. Post-S4, he begins referring to himself instead as "Rhenn of No One," refusing to connect himself to his past with the Inquest.

He has a lot of difficulty seeing Rhiia as a sister after he meets her, despite knowing full well they're actually blood related. He connects more with the family he's built around himself in those like Taimi, Braham, Iuno, and Kippa.

Rhenn got super into polymock during the events of PoF, as he used it to wind down whenever things got too rough and they had a brief break. Taimi even made him a miniature set he could use on the go as a birthday present.

His absolute favorite holiday is Super Adventure Box season. He's an absolute gremlin there once he gets going. It's a perfect way for him to let loose and get out excess energy without getting into TOO much trouble.

Up until he started traveling as the Commander, Rhenn had lived with an extremely strict diet. He didn't actually have sweets for the first time until his first Wintersday in Season 3, and discovered he has a massive sweet tooth. He really enjoys sampling sweets in every new location they travel to.

And speaking of Wintersday, yes, he had never actually been permitted to celebrate before. It never struck him as odd until he saw that it's a very big event in mainland Tyria, and his curiosity over it was a big factor in Kippa starting to celebrate again herself after the loss of her family.

He is habitually very clean. He doesn't like the feeling of dirt on his skin, and for a time carried dry soap to make sure his hands and face were at the very least clean if he couldn't access a lake, stream, or bathhouse.

Rhenn was genuinely surprised that Iuno decided to stick with him after he removed the mask and bracers his father had forced onto her, and it wasn't until later - once they'd become pretty fast friends - that he learned it was because she saw that he was a lot lonelier than he let on.

He's got an extremely high alcohol tolerance, but didn't realize it was that absurd until Braham jokingly challenged him to a drinking competition. Him going toe to toe with a norn, and drinking Braham himself under the table, surprised everyone. At least initially.

Rhenn actually doesn't really like Dragon Bash anymore. He enjoyed it very early on, but after Aurene came into his life, he started generally feeling disdain towards it. He rarely attends unless invited by Barend or Danica anymore, and even then it's just to go to a feast.

[stargayzerlily03]

A nightmare

Lily has a nightmare about the Master and mister Quinlan comforts her.

This is my first time writing anything about my The Strain self insert AU. English is not my first language so there might be some errors, but I hope you can enjoy reading this nonethless!

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

It was late in the night way past the midnight, and the full moon shone brightly from the windows, making every surface the light touched glow dimly blue. It was such a rare sight to see the Moon or the Sun from the clouds these days when the thick layers of clouds and ash buried everything beneath them. Quinlan was sitting on the ground and reading very keenly in the dim light of his lantern the most priced artefact, Occido Lumen, that his rag tag team of a resistance group had gotten into their posession and held all the secrets of the strigoi and how to defeat the Master once and for all. He had almost forgotten how much he loved the Moon and its faint blue light. To him the Moon was what the Sun was for humans. He could only tolerate the harsh, burning rays of the sunlight to an extent, but moonlight was fine for him. The Moon was the Sun of the strigoi. He was deep in his thoughts, reading the old pages full of small, squiggly letters written in beautiful cursive by the hand of a man nearly half a millenia ago, trying his very best to decode its meaning.

He was forced to snap out of his thoughts when he suddenly heard a silent whimper coming from the direction of the hallway in front of him. For a moment he heard nothing, but then the whimpering started again, followed by silent sounds of incoherent speech that sounded like pleading. It was clear to him that somebody was talking in their sleep and their sleep definitely wasn't peaceful. He felt sorry for the restless sleeper and decided that it would be for the best to wake them up from their troubled slumber. He shut the book and got up from his resting place and started walking towards the noice, his boots clacking on the ground as he walked in the hallway. In the middle of the hallway the sounds of incoherent speech and whimpering turned into helpless screams of terror and despair, and Quinlan quickened his pace into a run and went into the room where the noices were coming from. He slammed the door open and in the doorway he saw Lily laying on a dirty mattress, moving restlessly and screaming in her sleep. He quickly went to her side and took her by the shoulders and shook her gently, but firmly trying to shake her awake and save her from her dreams. It seemed to do the trick, because Lily jolted awake with a loud gasp, blinking rapidly and looking around with a completely bewildered face, until she realized Quinlan was there and let out a deep, relieved sigh and sunk into his arms. The relief didn't last long, because Quinlan could see how tears were beginning to run down her white cheeks and she started sobbing quietly. Lily curled into a ball and hugged her knees while sobbing. Instinctively Quinlan placed a hand on her back and began stroking it gently. The act reminded him slightly of how he had used to soothe his daughter, Sora, after she had had a bad dream and was crying. For a moment it was just silence, except for the sobs and the sniffles, but then Lily heard Quinlan's calm baritone voice in her head.

- "Are you alright? You were screaming quite loudly in your sleep."

Lily sniffled once and spoke

- "I saw the Master in my dreams and......I think he saw me too." She swallowed and then continued and Quinlan listened.

- "He demanded me to bring him Occido Lumen and to reveal our hiding place or he would make me watch as he kills every single person I've ever cared about in my life."

Then she broke down in tears, sobbing quietly in her hands while Quinlan continued to soothe her.

- "His voice sounded so horrible in my head, like the most loudest thunderstorm I've ever heard, breaking my eardrums and.....and....I was so afraid. Afraid that in my fear I would tell him everything."

- "It is alright. He is not here. He has no power over you and he cannot hurt you in this moment. Trust me." Quinlan stated calmly, wrapping his strong arms around Lily, bringing her head to rest against his chest while he gently stroked her hair.

Hearing him say that made Lily relax a bit more and she let out a tired yet relieved sigh, sinking more into Quinlan's embrace. Her crying had ceased for now leaving her sniffling her runny nose. Her cheeks were still wet and eyes red. She dried her eyes and nose on the sleeve of her pink hoodie and looked at Quinlan with her bright blue eyes trying to muster up a small smile. Then she pulled away from the hug looking away a bit embarrassed like she wanted something, but was too afraid to ask for it. After a moment she gathered up her courage and finally asked.

- "I don't think I'm going back to sleep again anytime soon. Quinlan.....um.....could you perhaps read me something? I know it sounds silly, but I think it would make me feel better" Then she raised her hands in front of her in a defensive gesture clearly not wanting to bother the man any more than necessary and added, "But of course only if you want to, I don't want to bother you."

A small, genuine smile curved into Quinlan's lips.

- "Of course I can read for you. What do you want me to read?" He asked, waiting for Lily's answer, but she had gone silent again, looking away, embarassed and avoidin Quinlan's gaze, fidgeting with her hands and pursing her lips.

- "I was hoping for that maybe you could read Occido Lumen for me, since I can't read it myself, because the whole thing is made of silver and it hurts me. But I understand completely if you don't want to do that. It's a sacred book afterall made for humans, not strigoi." She said looking down, ashmased of her own request.

For a moment Quinlan was silenty depating in his mind, his hand resting on his chin, whether or not he should read the book for her, but then he came to that conclusion that in a way Lily had the right to hear about the book, because afterall the book was made for the humans and she had been a human herself most of her life, before containing the disease and turning into a strigoi. Besides, she was far more human than the mindless slaves of the Master that were only mere shadows of humans they had once been, now having the body of a strigoi with no will of their own unlike her. Lily may be a strigoi, but her heart was still human's despite everything that has happened to her. Deep inside Quinlan had already decided that he would read the book for her if that would make her forget about the horrible nightmare she had seen about the Master. He placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke in her mind.

- "I can read the book for you. The book was made for the humans afterall, and despite everything that has happened to you, in my eyes you are still a human. So technically speaking, you have a right to hear about it"

Lily raised her head to look at him, first in confusion from the sudden agreement, but then her confusion turned into excitement and her face lit up into a wide smile showing her small, but sharp fangs.

- "Wait, really? Thank you so much for agreeing to read for me! I've been so curious about Occido Lumen this whole time and I can't wait to hear about its secrets! She said enthusiastically, flapping her hands.

Quinlan couldn't help, but grin at the short strigoi's radiant enthusiasm and her bright spirit.

- "Of course. What would you like me to read from Occido Lumen? Do you want to hear about the birth of the Ancients or perhaps the Master's tale?" He tilted his head to the side, ready to hear about the answer she would give to him.

- "Well, I would like to hear about those too, but I'd mostly want to hear about your kind, the half-strigoi, half-humans, the borns, if that's alright with you."

- "That is alright with me. Come, I left the book in the hallway, let's go read it there." He said while standing up and extending his hand for her to hold and after a moment of silence she nodded, accepting the born's gentlemanly gesture and Quinlan gently wrapped his clawed fingers around Lily's pale and delicate hand and together they walked in the hallway, their footsteps echoing in the walls, hand in hand

And so the two of them sat there side by side, Lily resting her head on Quinlan's shoulder while the moonlight illuminated their forms with its faint, blue light. They stayed there all night: Quinlan reading the magical book's silvery pages while Lily keenly listened his every word that echoed in her mind in that sweet baritone tune that was like music to her ears and heart. The horrors of the nightmare had vanished from her mind leaving only serenity and bliss afterwards.

[zhoras-bitch]

My Playchoices MCs #10

Elf girl with a bow? Groundbreaking, I know. Well, what can I say except I'm a Tolkien fangirl fist and a person second. Anyhow, meet my Blades MC Ray! Super happy to finally give her the roguish kind of outfit I always envisioned. And a bunch of other details too! It was a very fun edit to make. Notes below!

First | Previous | Next | All

Twilight elf is purely a headcanon thing. We don't know anything about elven ethnicities in the Blades universe, so I stole the idea of different elven ethnicities from DnD.

I wasn’t vibing with the canon name (Raine), but I wanted to keep the anagram with Aerin. Thus, Reina. She rarely ever uses her full name though, and most only know her by her nickname Ray.

She’s very sensitive, both in literally having keen senses as an elf and being a very empathetic person. She’s very intuitive as well, often making decisions based on what feels right, without being able to explain why.

At the beginning of the story, she's not a very good fighter, only ever using her bow for hunting. But she's observant and endlessly creative. So her fighting style is all about using her surroundings and coming up with ingeniously convoluted plans on the fly. And it somehow works!

She genuinely likes most people, and they respond in kind. Her ability to see the best in everyone is a blessing and a curse, because on the one hand, she has no trouble connecting with all sorts of folk (people, animals, weird fish monsters...), but on the other, she is always blind-sighted by the darker aspects of human (and non-human) nature.

Her playfulness and friendliness are often misconstrued as flirting, which is especially frustrating for her since Ray is on the aroace spectrum.

Started learning medicine to help Kade, and became quite good at it. She likes to help people in pain, be it physical or emotional. Before leaving Riverbend, gathering healing herbs and making remedies was her main source of income.

Being two years older than Kade, Ray's always felt the responsibility to take care of him. Kade rightfully suspects that Ray never left Riverbend because of him, and even though Ray herself would never hold it against him, it's an unspoken weight between the two.

Can never back away from a dare.

Every authority figure’s worst nightmare. 

Like Kade, loves songs and poetry. Kade is the better musician, but Ray has the better singing voice. When Kade was composing something new, she would often tune in, and they’d just start throwing rhymes at each other. Ray was always too restless to write her own poetry down, but she started doing it after Kade’s disappearance, so that she could share it after Kade comes back.

Doesn’t like thinking about the future. The understanding that she'll outlive everyone she’s ever known terrifies her.

Light sleeper. When she can’t sleep, Ray likes taking long walks, just absorbing the sounds and sights of the world around her. She likes how serene nature is at night.

[badfanficsforlyfe]

Wakingdeath Alchemist CH. 3 (FMA FF) (2012) (Age 13/14) [Posted to wattpad]

Chapter 3

"Alchemy, the science of understanding, the structure of manner breaking it down then reconstructing it as something else but Alchemy is science so it must follow the natural laws. To create, something of equal value must be lost. This is the principle if equivalent exchange. Leome Crome."

"Man gains nothing without sacrifice. To gain something an equivalent price must be paid. That is the Alchemy law of equivalent exchange. Shaskole Florent."

"Human kind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That's is Alchemy's law of Equivalent Exchange. Comet Glory."

This was the law of Alchemy put into scientists' own words. That was the very first thing my eyes went to in the beginning of the beginner book.

"Are you seriously reading a book right now?" whined Ferdinand who tossed in his bed. I was on my stomach with the Alchemy book in front of me while the moon lit up its text.

"Yes, I can't go to sleep without reading my favorite fairy tale. Do you mind?" I said in a serious but tired tone. Of course I was lying, and I was getting pretty good at it too which was kind of sad and made me worry about my future self. How bad of a person would I grow up to be?

"I guess not. Just hurry up. I'm a light sleeper. I'll wake up to paper crinkling. You hear?"

"Whatever." I mouthed to myself hearing him groan and toss in his bed again.

That night I dug deep into the book learning the basic ways to draw a circle and what you could get out of it. There were some examples and images of circles. Most of these written examples though were just making light substances into different shapes. There were some hard equations that kept me alive through the boring book. I ended up finishing the book in two hours because of my fast reading skills I get from my fathers side of the family.

I yawned and lied down stuffing the book under my pillow. I started to pet Kuagra who lied next to me to tire myself. She always put me to sleep when I was having trouble. She would even cause my nightmares to diminish. She really was a remarkable cat. There was no way we could be separated.

The morning snuck up on me making me realize the killer headache I had. I guess that's what I get for reading a whole informational book before I went to sleep. It was like a reading hangover.

I sat up feeling like I had gone through a train engine in the middle of a sandstorm. I held my head and groaned seeing Kuagra yawn like a little princess.

"Looks like you got it easy. I'm getting killed right now." I laughed rubbing my head but stopped once I remembered the reason why we were here. I killed two people to save my mother but in the end, I didn't get her. Why was I making jokes about it?

I hung my head and whimpered feeling tears dampen my face. "Kuagra, why couldn't it have been me? Why did she get taken away instead? I have nothing to live for but she could have become a hero. Mother was taken and for all I know Father could be dead.  I loved him very much but she couldn't stand him. Dad? Where are you? I need you." I cried but sort of yelled at the same time. She looked at me funny and started licking my knuckles because my hands were curled up in a ball and dug almost under the sheets.

I started crying more heavily and watched the sheets absorb my tears. "I know that I can't get anybody back at this moment because I'm weak. I might as well be nothing. No one will ever believe a small weak girl like me could get back her parents in a split." I wiped my eyes and stared at Kuagra. I slipped out of bed and picked my belt off the floor beside my bed. I strapped it on and grabbed my Alchemy book from under the pillow. I stuffed it in my satchel that used to be next to my belt and pushed it under my bed.

I walked over to the long wall mirror and brushed through my hair with my fingers leaving my bangs to hang over my left eye.

I was disgusted with myself. There was dirt on my face along with a scowl. The face of a murderer. I punched the mirror but not hard enough to break it and turned my head away from the mirror.

I turned to the door seeing Ms. Corosps (Lovey Dovey) burst in. "Time to get to work sleepy head! Many customers have dropped in! Ferdinand is picking up your slack! Let's go!" she exclaimed enthusiastically with a smile. "Okay." I replied with rubbing my eyes in a tired notion.

I followed her out of the room and down the hall towards the bread shop.

Her house was behind the shop which was smart because she could never be truly late to work.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Ferdinand slicing a loaf of bread with three others waiting. I slipped out a big bread knife from my belt and walked up to Ferdinand. "You're cutting it sloppily. Let me handle this." I said and pushed him aside so he could put more loaves in the oven. I sliced the rest of the loaf and the three others in about two minuets attracting Ms. Corosps attention.

"That's a strong hand you got there. I know nobody who can slice a loaf that quick and perfect. Have you had experience with things like this?" I just shrugged and gathered the bread crumbs left by Ferdinand.

"Since I have time, I'm going in the back to feed these to the birds. I'll be back in five minuets or whenever another loaf is done. Come get me when they're warm." I called as I walked towards the back door that would lead to the back yard.

I closed the door behind me and took a big whiff of the bread crumbs that completely filled my hand. That boy would need lessons from the master; I thought and crouched down so I was  close to the dirt.

With my other hand, I drew a designed circle in the dirt and poured the bread crumbs into the middle. I put both of my hands on the dirt outside of the circle and kept both my eyes on it. It glowed a deep purple at first which surprised me and made an electric noise. My mother's circles had always glowed a light blue and never a purple. Maybe that was what beginner circles looked like? Maybe it was the type of circle I used? I wasn't sure, but it was strange.

When it stopped glowing I had an orange. No horse shaped bread crumbs. No heart shapes, or triangles, or squares. An orange. Just an orange. I stared at it curiously and reached for it slowly wondering it if it was actually real. When my fingertips met the fruit made out of wheat, it felt really real. I grabbed it and turned it over in my hands wondering where this came from. This kind of Alchemy wasn't in the beginner book so how was I able to get an orange with the most basic circles I knew?

I threw it up and caught it as I stood up. I stepped on the circle smearing it in the dirt so no one would know that Alchemy was used.

I was just about to go back inside when I heard a man's voice scream; "Hey! Come back you rotten kids!"

I turned back around seeing two kids running away from a skinny tall man with an apron on. They were trying to get away with an orange. Just my luck, his luck, and the kids luck.

I ran out and stopped the kids. "Excuse me. What's going on here?" I asked staring at the kids before having my eyes trace the man. The kids looked frightened as a smile crept up on my face secretly. "If you don't see, they stole an orange from my fruit stand without paying!" he shouted and pointed at the poor looking kids. "Sorry about this Sir." I said snatching the orange from the older looking kid. I tossed the man his orange. "There, you have it, now run off." I said shooing him away. He thanked me and walked away.

"What did you do that for!? You're nothing but a small little girl! We can beat you up for that!" I smiled at them slyly but mostly to the older boy who looked about ten and the younger sister who looked like she had just turned six.

"Why didn't you stop me then?" I asked and they stopped talking. "Chill out kids," I continued. "I have another one you can have. Here take it." I held out the orange to the little girl who gawked at it.

"Why do you have that?" asked the boy and I sighed.

"Well, I had to make the man believe that he got his orange back and this was left over from uh...breakfast and I wanted to give it to somebody else. Just be happy it's a bigger orange than the one you stole." I dropped it in the girl's hand and walked away.

"Thank you!" they called and I heard their feet running in a different direction I was going in.

I walked into the kitchen and shouted "Done!" before realizing what situation they were in.

They were frozen stiff as two robbers pointed pistols at them while the third was trying to open the cash register.

One of the men pointed his gun at me instead of Ferdinand and Ms. Corosps hissed at me. "Stay still!" The man with his gun pointed at me laughed.

"Listen to your Mother kid."

"Mother?" I said. It must have been because we looked alike, but it just made me angry.

I put my hand on my belt as I saw the robber crack open the register. I snorted and found my machete case. I wrapped my hands around the handle and walked forward.

"Stay back little girl or I'll shoot you!" he shouted but I didn't stop. His stance seemed wobbly, and his expression weak.

"Shiomaki!" hissed Ms. Corosps but I didn't stop.

"Let's get something straight here buddy." I said the last word harsh before I went on. "For your information, my Mother was taken away from me. Don't you go assuming things just because you think you can do whatever you want. Well you can't, because I won't let you." The man laughed as I walked toward him.

"What could a little kid like you do to an older man like me?" I looked over to my left at Ferdinand and then to the pan to tell him without words to grab the handle

"This." I said before I slipped out my machete and pointed it at his neck. His breath trembled and ran down the large knife as the other guy pointed his gun at me. "Now!" I yelled and Ferdinand picked up the pan and smashed it the back of they guy's head who had the gun pointed at me. I kicked the guy's stomach and jumped onto the counter on my knees setting the knife against the guy's neck who was trying to break open the register.

"I suggest you back away slowly." I whispered in his ear. He gasped and choked an "Okay." before I pulled away.

"Not." he defied and elbowed me in the forehead knocking me off the counter. As I fell, the machete came down on his chest slicing it deeply but not enough to kill him.

My back crashed into the hard wood floor knocking the wind out of me. I gasped for air to get me back on my feet but by the time I did that, the people fled the shop.

When I stood up Ms Corosps asked me, "Was that negotiating?"

"No," I replied. "that was dejavu."

[gensokyogarden]

what's your muse bedtime habits? do they fall asleep right away? are they a light sleeper?

Hmmmm. Let me think who'd make a good set of muses to answer this with.

As a vengeful spirit Mizuchi has not had to sleep since she was a living being. The bodies that she possesses are another story. They do grow tired and fatigued. She hates to sleep and has no reason to worry about her host's health so, outside of the need to maintain long term cover, she just goes without sleep. Though, having been so long without feeling it, she can't handle exhaustion very well when possessing someone already barely awake. She may just fall right into sleep. When she is sleeping Mizuchi experiences horrific nightmares of the events that led to her becoming a vengeful spirit in the first place.

Elly does not spend much time sleeping at all. Her duties at Mugenkan are too important to spend must time resting. Thankfully, as a shinigami, she does not particularly need to sleep. This allows Elly to remain awake for years at a time. This does, however, have a negative effect on her. Every few decades she falls into a five year long slumber, during which time Kurumi has to cover her duties. Thankfully she schedules these to not conflict with Yuuka's torpor (see below)

How Eirin sleeps really catches people off guard. She basically collapses into bed and falls asleep instantly. An incredibly heavy sleeper too, nothing rouses her. Perhaps the immortality provided by the Hourai Elixir means she has no need to be troubled by any anxieties that may keep her up? Perhaps a being so old simply is always tired enough?

Nemuno always likes to stop and have sleepy time tea before getting ready for bed. She brews it herself from the herbs that grow on her part of the mountain. The only thing is that she is a pretty light sleeper. Most creatures do not get near her home, frightened by the hag, but any that should would surely rouse her from her slumber.

Jacket prefers to avoid sleeping as much as she can, since she regularly has nightmares about her past or about incidents from previous timeloops. When she wakes up the haunting thoughts that she experiences are clear on her face, as a result she always sleeps alone. Chronologically Jacket does sleep regularly but, due to her timelooping ability, from her perspective she sometimes goes months without sleep.

Yuuka is not just a heavy sleeper but at times she has trouble staying awake. Were she a human she may well be diagnosed with narcolepsy. She does sleep regularly but, in addition, every hundred years or so she'll fall into a 10-20 year long state of Torpor where she remains in her manor slumbering away. As she nears this point Yuuka begins to suffer from bouts of falling asleep at random. At least that means she knows it is coming.

[autumntouched]

Pt II, Phoenix's POV

The next time it happens, she's not alone

It’s still dark when Natasha wakes up. For a moment, she’s disoriented by the weight blanketing her until she realizes it’s Hangman. She sleeps hot, but he’s a furnace, and it was cool enough when they drifted off that she didn’t think to turn on the air conditioning.

She moves her arm first to see whether he’s a light sleeper. When his breathing doesn’t change, she ducks out of his hold as smoothly and quickly as she can and feels her way to the thermostat. The air kicks on, a little loud, but he doesn’t move. Phoenix creeps back to the bed and stops short when she finds him watching her through half lowered eyelids. 

“I thought you were sneaking out,” he mumbles. 

“I was burning up,” she whispers before she realizes that’s pointless now that he’s awake. Well, not entirely pointless. Her eyes have adjusted enough to the dark to see his smile, and it’s not his usual taunting or roguish grin. This one is soft, sweet, a little bit vulnerable, and she follows through on her temptation to kiss it when she crawls into the bed. Hangman’s sure fingertips delicately trace the line of her spine, bowing her toward him.  

When she’s pressed into his chest, his arms close around her, and he rolls her on top of him. The way he’s kissing her back, she suspects that he was awake longer than she thought. His growing erection nudges at her thigh, and the moan deep in his chest vibrates through her when she responds with the slightest pressure. 

Every touch, moan, and gasp confesses how long and hard they’ve each fought this. Natasha shivers from the quickly cooling air and Hangman’s hand sliding down the back of her leg to hook it along his side. He drags his lips from hers. 

“Here.” He maneuvers her farther up so he can free the sheet from between them and drape it over her shoulders. She’s left straddling him skin to skin, savoring how sturdy he feels beneath her and the slight strain in her thighs to accommodate the span of his torso. Natasha takes in the rise and fall of his chest, the pronounced curves of his pecs dotted with hardened nipples. Tentatively, she touches the pad of her finger to one. Encouraged by the way his abs hollow at the contact, she sucks two of her fingers then circles it more deliberately. He hisses, his hips lifting in response. 

Before she can follow through on the invitation, Hangman intercepts her. He levers himself up enough to take one of her nipples in his mouth, humming hungrily at the contact. Natasha drops her head at the strength of his grip on her hip while his fingers match the pressure and teasing of his lips, tongue, and teeth on her other nipple. Arousal lances through her, electrifying every nerve into its own consciousness so his touch is concentrated and everywhere all at once. She’s never done drugs, but she begins to understand what people mean by chasing a high. Any thought except wanting more of him, of this, seems so far out of reach. 

His moans compete with hers, their hands on one another learning to press different buttons than the jabs they’ve thrown at one another since training. 

The demanding, molten ache between her legs grows with the hardness of his dick against her ass. Hangman has the kind of bravado that takes the surprise out of his size, so Natasha didn’t have too much trouble disguising that she was nonetheless impressed. What did fully surprise her was that he didn’t fly on size alone. She’s learning there are plenty of ways she wants his mouth to drive her crazy, as it is now, and just the memory of the friction of his strokes and the way his hard climax dislodged something at her very core has her reaching back to take his dick in hand.

“Let me get a condom,” he offers, the words skittering over her breast and making her gasp. 

“Do you need it?” she checks. “Are you positive for anything?”

“No.” He uses the opportunity to move to her other nipple. The contrast between the fading heat of his mouth and the cold air are probably scrambling her judgment, but she doesn’t care. After he left her in the med bay, Natasha found a female nurse willing to check her birth control to make sure it was still in place after the mission. Just in case things ended up here. “Then I’m okay without it, if you are,” she promises. 

Hangman pauses, letting her breast fall from his mouth. Before she can protest, he kisses his way up to her collarbone, then slides a hand into her hair to pull her to him. “You sure, Natasha? You’re covered? Because I don’t mind…”

The way he says her name feels so intimate that it terrifies her how much she enjoys it. “You’re supposed to be fucking me right now, Hangman, not trying to make me fall in love with you.”

She wants to take back the joke before it’s out of her mouth because they haven’t exactly figured out what this is and what any of these feelings are. 

To her relief Hangman laughs. “I didn’t realize you were so easy, Natasha Trace.” 

“At least for tonight,” she goes along, still a little unsteady from so carelessly dropping the four letter word anywhere near Jake Seresin. “But thank you for double checking.” 

“I’m a man of my word,” he winks, “I don’t want to mess this up.” Natasha cups his face and kisses him so she doesn’t have to think about the flurry of butterflies the gesture sets off in her stomach. 

The thing about imagining how someone kisses is that it’s always an imitation of someone else’s kiss, a memory of something known and liked. But this? Actually kissing Hangman finally? It’s as exhilarating as doing her damndest to outfly him, when the only way to possibly win is to give way to her intuition. Natasha has been kissed well in her life but never like this. He puts his whole body into it, challenging her to meet his strength, daring her to let it overwhelm her, and cradling her until she trusts him enough to surrender. 

And he listens to her in a way she’s never known him to. Not only to what she says aloud but to every clue her body offers him. At a shift of her hips, he draws her closer. A tremor in response to his hand skating over her ribs slows his ascent until the weight of his touch is imprinted on her side. His mouth effortlessly matches the tempo of her kisses, their lips and tongues torquing the heat of their desire for each other. 

She reaches back to run light fingers along the seam of his balls. He jerks beneath her, knees knocking into the back of her arms. Natasha thrills at finding him so velvety hard, his tip dripping along her backside. Slipping the hold of his mouth, she kisses the jawline she’s spent as much time secretly ogling as she has avoiding the flashes of keen interest in his green eyes. Reaching the shell of his ear, she laughs softly, having noticed earlier that his abs tighten at the proximity of her voice. Sure enough, they clench beneath her palm. 

“Do you want me to blow you now or save that for your wake up call?” 

A strangled noise punches out of his chest. “What was that you said?” he pants. “You’re supposed to be fucking me right now, Phoenix, not trying to make me fall in love with you.” 

She nips playfully at his shoulder. “What did I say about Phoenix?” 

He groans her name in reply when she teases his weeping tip with the edge of her thumb, circling his precome over his head and along his shaft, her hand slicker and slicker with it. His mouth ravages her chest and neck, tripping the switch to her brain as the constellation of her thrumming nerves takes over, echoing every touch, squeeze, and nip through her whole being. 

Overwhelmed by the ache of wanting him inside her, she surges up and lowers herself onto his dick. Or at least its head. He’s large enough that she has to take the rest more slowly. She rocks her hips to ease him into her until the fullness is almost too much. Hangman’s head falls back. 

“Holy shit, Nat,” he says hoarsely, voice shot. And normally, she can’t stand that nickname but she likes that it’s something that she can leave here, a secret between them. She clenches around him, to see what it does, and both of them get more wet when he grunts and lifts into her. Flashes of blue spark behind her eyes. 

She wants to tell him how much she loves feeling so stretched and full when he’s inside her, but her brain checks in long enough to make her worry that it's too much, too soon. “You feel so good,” she breathes instead. 

He lays back so she can brace herself on his chest as she rides him, his dick hitting so deep that she can feel it in her chest. Natasha has to grit her teeth against the volume of the noises trying to escape her mouth. 

“Anyone ever tell you that you have the most perfect boobs,” he whispers loudly. 

Embarrassed by the gratification that comes from the observation, and the way he is staring and fondling them, Natasha laughs haphazardly. “Funny enough, yes. The woman who fitted me for my flight suit said the same thing.” 

“Always got jokes,” he pants, lifting her hair out of the way so he can pull her back down into a kiss. How is she supposed to roll her eyes at his mouth after this, when she knows what it’s capable of doing to her? 

His arm between them is muscled and sturdy, his fingers as assured working her clit as they are his plane. Some guys have made her feel too loud, too vocal, but Hangman basks in every sound that falls from her lips. 

As if sensing how close she is, he tangles his fingers in her hair and pulls her ear to his lips. “That’s it, Nat. That’s my girl,” he encourages. 

She can’t believe what those words do to her, turning her inside out. Her thighs and abs burn from the effort of riding him, but she doesn’t want to stop, submerging herself in a darkness entirely consumed by him. 

Natasha cries out when his hips and fingers force her over the edge. Her arms give way, and she collapses into him. He flips them, holding her under him as he thrusts through the shuddering waves of her orgasm to his own release. She loves the sounds of him coming undone, his choked gasps and cut off moans, his unself-conscious loss of rhythm and sense before the heat of his cum surges inside her and the hot friction and hard pulse of his dick tumble her into another climax. Her fingers dig into the hard muscle of his back against the force of this one to undo her as she shakes through its throes.

Hangman kisses her down, so gentle and tender that her heart has trouble catching its rhythm. The exertion has left them sticky, their panting breaths competing to be heard over the thunder of their pulses. He tries to shift some of his weight off of her, but she catches him and holds him in place. He noses through her hair while he softens inside her. 

“Hey,” he murmurs. 

“Yeah?” She touches his face in answer to the unexpected shyness in his voice. He kisses the inside of her wrist. 

“May I turn on the light? I need to see what I’m doing so I don’t mess up the bed.” 

Natasha stops drifting toward sleep as her brain slowly catches up to the moment. Right, she’d told him to go ahead without a condom. “Go for it.” 

Light flares over them, and Hangman does his best to shield her to make the transition less painful. While her eyes are still adjusting, he pulls out of her and moves efficiently to use his tank to clean them up. He comes back from the bathroom with a hot washcloth so she can wash up enough to get to the bathroom herself. 

He’s straightened out the sheets and covers and picked up the rest of their clothes from the floor by the time she gets back. 

“I think we have another hour and a half or two before we have to be up,” Hangman leads, uncharacteristically uncertain. “If you’d rather sleep in your own bed…” 

For a moment, she considers making her escape now rather than getting caught sneaking out later before the thought settles heavy weight in her stomach. “I don’t mind staying,” she says.

Relief washes over his face before he can hide it behind a roguish grin. She crawls back into the bed before he turns off the lights again and climbs in beside her. 

“Natasha?” he asks, reaching out for her in the dark. His hand finds her shoulder and slowly slides up to cradle her cheek. He leans in, his lips just missing hers and landing under the curve of her bottom lip. He kisses his way up to her mouth. This kiss is soft and slow, not intended to start anything. 

“Yeah?” she says when his lips still. 

“Good night,” he whispers against her mouth. 

Her heart hammers a warning that this may be going somewhere she isn’t prepared for it to go, and this time, she has to fight the urge to take her things and run. In the light of day, all the reasons this won’t work will be clear again. For now, maybe it’s okay to have just this. 

“Good night, Jake.”

Fic ask continuation of your Every Time It Comes Around 👀

Hannix first time 🌶️🌶️ (smut) on the carrier or back at base, Jake calling Nat his girl/his baby for the first time and unable to keep his hands off her 😍

Haha wow! This is my first non Hannix Football Rivalry ask 😂

Nat probably pretends to be annoyed the first time or two he calls her his girl/his baby—she doesn’t want him to get too comfortable too fast—but she secretly adores it

I have a little bit of a queue but the good news is, my project deadline is this Friday. I can’t wait to get back to writing 😊

[toxiccluvvv]

Strength;

Pairing: Muichiro, Genya, and Kanae

Content warning: mentions of being kidnapped

Word count: 905 words

Readers sex: female

This is a request for @ultravioletqueen!

Masterlist

Muichiro-

Muichiro squeezed your hand as the two of you walked down a path, you finally felt safe.. you have had such a troubling past, that it made it hard to trust, but you never gave up.

Muichiro would probably say that’s one of his favorite things about you; your Optimism. No matter how bad the situation is, you find a way to look at the good.

The two of you walked hand and hand in silence until you noticed a face that you knew you would never forget, your breath hitched as you stopped in your tracks.

The man smirked at you as he got closer, you tried to tug your boyfriend in the other direction, but it was too late. “What a coincidence see you here, it’s been what? 4 years doll? We’ve missed you.”

You just stared at the man, speechless. You felt hot tears fall down your face, as you stood there unable to speak or move. Muichiro looked at you then the man, “she’s fine; leave.” He spoke with anger laced in his voice.

“She can speak for herself.” The man spoke trying to get closer to you, Muichiro placed himself infront of you. “I know she can, but I’ll speak for her this one time. Get the fuck out of our face.” He spoke protectively.

The man just chuckled walking away, sure to caress your arm on his way out. You kept your composure till you knew he was gone, when he was gone you fell to the ground sobbing.

Muichiro pulled you into his chest, running his fingers through your hair whispering encouraging words in your ear. You sobbed into the man’s chest, gripping his shirt tightly.

-

Muichiro carried you hope as you sobbed in his chest, when the two of you got inside you ran into the room, sobbing under the sheets. You were usually so strong, this behavior was foreign to the man.

The man gathered some of your favorite snacks and drinks, carrying it in the room quietly. “Angel..?” He spoke gently, placing your stuff on the dresser.

You peaked out from under the covers slightly, looking at the man who had a soft smile on his face. “Wanna talk about it?” He asked as he got under the covers with you, pulling you against his chest.

“Maybe later babe.. right now, this is perfect.”

Genya-

Genya laid on his back, sleeping peacefully. He was a very light sleeper, so when he could sleep he enjoyed it. You were holding his hand dragging him toward a park that you had always wanted to go to, when he felt you tossing and turning beside him.

He opened an eye to see you panting heavily, sweating, while looking distressed in your sleep. This woke the man up instantly, he shook your body gently while trying to wake you, “babe?”

You whimpered while beginning to cry, “baby! Wake up!” You shot up with tears streaming down your face. You gripped the man’s shirt, looking at him with hot tears streaming down your face.

“I… I’m sorry… you can go back to bed now… I’ll be back!” You spoke anxiously, before throwing the covers off your body, running to the bathroom locking the door behind you.

Genya knocked lightly on the door, right behind you, “open up baby..” he spoke gently on the other side of the door.

You unlocked the door before sliding down the wall sobbing into your knees as you pulled them close to your chest. Genya sighed softly, devastated to see you in such a stage. “Come here princess.” He spoke pulling you into his lap. You choked as you tried to speak to the man with you face stuffed into his chest.

“We don’t have to talk about it now dear.. just rest..”

Kanae-

Kanae walked beside you and Shinobu with a soft smile, you admired the woman as you were starstruck at the girl you called yours.

She giggled squeezing your hand, “I’m not going anywhere dear, you don’t have to stare.” You looked away feeling your face heat up, she had caught you in the act.

The three of you began to walk on a beautiful bridge, you were so distracted that you didn’t notice what was happening until shinobu began to get angry at the man that had the young girl by a rope, you looked at the scene appalled.

“Give her to us!” You demanded getting in the man’s face, clutching your sword. “She’s not for sale!” The man yelled, you felt yourself beginning to see red, so could kanae. She threw money up, as you sliced the rope. Shinobu grabbed the girl running away with kanae and you.

You looked down feeling the rage still coursing through your veins, when the four of you arrived at the butterfly mansion, shinobu took the girl away. You went away from the trio, feeling like you needed to get away.

Kanae rushed behind you, grabbing your arm to turn you toward her. “Are you okay, love?” She asked looking at your angered state. You just nodded your head, not wanting to verbally respond.

“Whatever’s wrong, we can talk about it babe.” She spoke gently pulling you closer to her. “I just remember when I was in her position…” you whispered looking down feeling the tears roll down your face.

“Oh love.. let it out.. let’s go lay down and talk about it.”

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

Mornings with you (Leon Kennedy x Ada Wong)

Cross posted from my ao3 

warnings: fluff, domestic fluff, established relationship, smut, fluff and smut, morning sex, game resident evil 6, post resident evil 6, they’re both kinda switches, it gets very smutty

Word count: 3426

Summary: Just morning sex with Leon and Ada with a bit of longing fluff and also Leon just having morning wood.

Notes: resident evil 6 leon and ada are in mind when thinking about character designs/mannerisms etc. I tried to write it as in character as possible but that's hard lmao

I was reading about morning wood on something lmao probably reddit and was liek okay. so this happened. lol

//

Mornings were the purest moments. The proverbial slate cleaned and minds fresh and clear from any adversities. The clear crystal shade of nothingness as opposed to a complete day. A tired, stressful, exhausted and brutally beaten down from the world kind of day. As the sun rose each day, the mornings were unclouded from any adversities. The world untouched and untainted from anything. Their states of being; vulnerable and innocent. With their hearts cleared from any prior hesitancies or indiscretions.

Leon gently blinked his eyes open, noticing the sun filtering in from the cracked open window. A low yawn erupting from his body, his hearing tuning out and in before he could hear Ada’s gentle breathing next to him.

“You don’t have to leave yet, do you?” He would want to blurt out, almost reflexively and immediately as he would wake. A habit he would have a bit of trouble breaking.

Ada’s routine was exact every morning, down to the minute. She would always wake before him, sometimes gently and delicately caressing his face until he’d lazily rise from his slumber. Soft presses of her fingertips drew lines against his skin, tracing little constellations of his freckles and marks. Some scars still haven’t faded; soft and faintly coloured line against his cheek she’d press her lips against. On lucky days the scent of coffee made its way into the bedroom, his nostrils flaring at the aromatic smell that would lead him towards the kitchen. And finding Ada standing against the counter. A creamy colour mug with light speckles of colour, one handmade from one of those farmer’s markets in her hand. The matching pair on the counter with steamy coffee already in it. Ada’s gentle tilt of her head as she greeted him in the morning.

Often times in the beginning, he’d wake and she’d be gone already. A gentle linger of her sweet perfume and warmth still in the bed. His hands would inevitably feel the empty void next to him. Waking him with the question of where she was. The answer, a delicately hand written note left on the nightstand explaining her departure. And on the odd occasion, if he woke with her still tangled around him. Already awake as she laid, simply waiting for him to wake as well. A sigh of relief would escape from his lips, not needing to plead for her to stay.

Somehow she knew he’d be more affectionate that she was. Always wanting to be against her during the night. Touching or grasping onto a part of her as he slept, unconsciously needing a part of her. She would tease him sometimes, how heavy of a sleeper he could be sometimes, completely unaware of his attached he was. No matter how much he’d try to deny it, on occasion a flush formed on his cheeks at his unconscious yearning for affection.

But this morning she laid still tucked between the sheets, seemingly having fallen back asleep after her normal waking. Her face almost fragile and frail, the smallest amount of expression in between her brows as she slept. A large exhale of breath lowered Leon’s chest as he let out a quiet sigh. His arms felt loose and at ease from his peaceful slumber, a slight pop sound released from his shoulder as he circled it. Feeling Ada’s back still next to him, he raised onto his left arm to look over at her. His roughened fingertips were still gentle as he parted Ada’s short wisps of hair away from her cheek, revealing her soft skin. Ada was mostly a light sleeper, easily stirred and required sleep as a form of self preservation more than for anything else. It was rare for her to sleep in, albeit the inevitable reasons of a cold or ailment, to which Leon always profusely babied her for. He was quick to want to check her forehead, the back of his hand pressing against her neck to see if she were feverish, her temperature perhaps a bit more warm than usual. But it was the same, perhaps even a bit more on the chilled side as he leaned in to press a warm kiss against her temple. The soft fragrance of her shampoo filling his nose as he leaned in.

Still not stirred from her sleep, a soft smile grew on his lips as he admired her sleeping form. So rare to see, he couldn’t help but stare. Like a flower that only blooms once, he cherished these soft moments. Memorizing it and tucking it away. She was much more spared from any scars from the world than him, perhaps it was just her ability to always slip away that kept her more unscathed from the world they lived in. She was perfect to him, despite knowing that she was far from perfect from everyone else’s eyes. Her flaws he always seemed to overlook, found them to be endearing somehow. Guess that’s how love works.

Ada softly tensed in her sleep, her form mostly moving as if her body finally realized she was colder than she thought, her body scooting closer to him and his warmth. Shivers. An unexpected groan slipped from Leon’s lips as he felt her almost innocently rubbing up against him. To this day he could still feel his body flushing at the thought of her, his mind going painfully blank as his fingers stilled against her cheek, and then all his thoughts going in between his legs.

Great.

He let out another sigh and laid his head back down on his pillow, the soft feather down cushioning the blow. With his back flat against the bed he could feel the rush of cool morning air as it circulated around him. A slight shiver from Ada resonated from her side of the bed. With swift hands he grabbed the blanket to tuck her back in, shielding her back from the exposed air. The back of her head still showcasing her soft sleek black tresses. Her silhouette slowly rising and lowering with each of her soft breaths.

His soft blues stared at the ceiling of their shared bedroom. Not too long ago it was simply his own bedroom. The inevitability that is Ada slowly morphed into his life, and he could hardly tell when it happened. When it was just her. Another throb just at the thought of her, again. He tried to clear his throat quietly, one of his hands slipping underneath the sheets as he forced himself to relax. The noise that slipped from his throat was fairly quiet, a bit more pathetic sounding than he expected.

Two simple blinks and his stare was no longer at the ceiling and was back at her. Tracing over her form underneath the blanket. His warm hands making their way, slipping below her navel towards her warmth. His eyes imagining the soft sliver of her creamy skin in between her top and panties. He was sure she would wake at his point, his hands slowly roaming over her, moving the way that she always liked. Trailing and caressing over her curves, moving slowly but with intention. A gentle grasp surely would stir her, and yet only another simple exhale slipped from her. His hand still on her breasts as they heaved with her breath. Leon’s eyes narrowed, wondering at this point if she was simply feigning sleep. Pretending that she were in a deep slumber to see what he would do.

More forceful this time, he lowered his lips towards her thin neck, pressing a warm kiss before nipping at her skin. He knew she rarely liked it when he got too rough, only in the heat of the moment would she encourage him to continue. His breath ghosted along her lobe as he laid a multitude of kisses on her temple, cheek and neck. His hands moving in tandem as his hand grabbed and fondled at her breasts underneath the sheer camisole she wore. A creamy dark red that complimented her skin tone and with a v shaped cut that accented her feminine form. He was known only to Ada to be a bit possessive as he slept, grabbing at her in his sleep some nights, whispering little nothings before his body would go limp again. The brief thought that he could being doing this in his sleep already had his mind running again.

The peaks of her breasts pebbled against his touch and his sharp senses caught the flutter of her lashes. Her soft pink lips parting once his hand grabbed at both of her breasts in a single handful, spilling a bit from his grasp as he tried to manage them both. His toned chest pressed against her backside while his other hand slipped further down to the soft lace hemline of her panties. Tracing the lace against his finger towards her hips and lightly tickled her there. Now she must be sleeping if she wouldn’t wake from his tickles. A confident motion struck him as he grabbed at her ass, chuckling to himself a bit as he felt the handful and went back towards the lace of her panties. Back and forth. Back and forth a few more times. His eye twitched just a fraction, second guessing if she was still asleep or not. Wondering if he should continue, trying to think with his head instead of letting his body win.

His thumb pressed on her pubic bone and two fingers sank lower to her warm folds. Stickiness spread between his fingertips as he dragged his fingers up and down. A light smirk grew on his lips as he ghosted another press of his lips against her. Watching as the smallest flutter of her dark lashes caught his eye again, and the smallest upturn at the corner of her lips.

A soft noise rumbled from her throat, not missed by Leon as he worked his lips against the delicate parts of her neck. Feeling her pulsing heart beat all the way down to his fingertips as he worked her open. Swirling his thumb at a snail’s pace at her swollen bud, her warmth spreading throughout his palm. Coating him in her warm slippery slick. The way she felt was intoxicating to him sometimes, all rational thought leaving his body, replaced by only desire.

Ada tried her best to keep her smile at bay, flattening her expression almost too much at the feeling of the head of Leon’s cock pressing against her backside. His hips desperate to plunge inside, rutting against her as softly as he could as to ‘not wake her.’ She wasn’t sure when he had shed his clothing. Or if he had put any on from the night before. She couldn’t remember as her mind focused on the two of his thick fingers thrusting inside, curling upwards as his palm forced pressure against her. Making sure she could feel him scissoring his fingers deep within her. Her hand finally left the spot from the bed. No longer her fingers splayed apart delicately as if still asleep on their soft sheets. And was now gripped firmly around his wrist.

“You awake now?” His voice was gravelly yet still laced with honey, low and smooth with a hint of rasp at his question. She lightly shook her head, her lips now tightly sealed yet her smile couldn’t be ignored anymore.

“Alright,” he exhaled a laugh. His hand left from her breasts to wrap around her body, keeping her tightly against him and tangled her up on top of his chest as he positioned the both of them.

A more audible noise akin to a gasp sharply left her chest as she felt herself situated on top of him. His strength often reminding her of how much smaller she was compared to him. The blanket slipped from the frictionless surface of her camisole, exposing them both to the cold air. A tight hold kept her pinned on him, her thighs falling apart and spread while his coated fingers plunged back in. Slick sounds filled the room each time his fingers went back in, coated more each time with her arousal. Twisted angles of their head kept their lips close, playfully and desperately nipping at each other. Parting from his lips briefly to catch her breath, her gaze fell down towards her body. His muscled arm wrapped around her, her breasts exposed to the air, bouncing a bit as she lazily rocked her hips onto his fingers. Her camisole shamelessly pulled down to sit underneath her breasts, the thin straps lowered down her arms. And Leon’s hand buried in between her thighs. The image of it already flooding her core with more of her essence.

Her delicate fingers grabbed at his, pulling them upward towards her soft lips. A kitten lick from her tongue and her arousal was filling her taste buds as she cleaned up his fingers. Leon’s eyes darkened as he watched her, her head slightly tilted to finally catch his gaze now, her eyes half lidded. His mouth lowered to hers, capturing a warm desperate kiss. His hips almost instinctively thrusted upward at their kiss, the shaft of his cock positioned between her warm wet folds. Inviting him in while coating each other with their warm wetness.

Another rut of his hips, the head of his cock caught at her opening, the bulging tip easing into her and spreading her open. Ada’s lips parted against his kiss, a low whine and whisper of his name as he stretched her open. Ada would be lying if she didn’t think that morning sex was her favourite. He felt harder than normal, thicker even, as if she could feel every inch of him. A feverish warmth spread through her cheeks down towards her breasts and directly lower in between her legs. Morning sex was always primal, no other thoughts other than reaching climax. Pleasure being the only receptor being reached.

He loved whenever she was vulnerable like this, no front to put up. No distractions or facade to pick apart. Another throaty whine vibrated against his lips as he felt himself slowly plunging himself into her. Warmth enveloping his entire cock until he was finally firmed planted inside of her. The perfect feeling. Thrusted inside of her. Her ass pressed tightly flush on him. His hand against her torso lowered to feel himself at her pelvis, right above her sex as he gave a tentative thrust. Drawing back just enough to shove himself back in, groaning as he did so. The small tentative thrusts were mostly to tease her, but also for himself as he already felt himself being close.Teasing her was one of his strong suits, at least whenever she wasn’t mercilessly teasing him back.

Her hands grabbed at his arms, keeping her steady as they worked together. Hips moving in tandem as their lips chased each other for more kisses. Desperately panting for air as the finest bit of sweat formed on their bodies. Leon’s left arm slid closer back down to the bed as he positioned the both of them on their sides. Allowing her to rest more comfortably, her head propped back up on her pillow. Angled just enough to still place kisses on the underside of his jawline to which she did. With his arm wrapped around her, the other tightly gripping her hip, using that leverage he eased her back onto his cock. A grunt released from his throat, followed by a soft whiney whimper as he forced her all the way onto him again. His thighs already twitching with anticipation. Sliding her back and forth onto his cock, feeling her wet velvety walls hugging every inch of him. His thrusts grew more desperate for a moment before her tongue clicked, catching his attention before he slowed and pulled back. His hips almost stuttering as to hold himself steady.

“Please Ada,” he whined against her throat, his dirty blond fringe falling against his forehead and shielding his eyes as he buried himself into her again, unable to hold himself back for a second. Leon’s thighs tensed, each muscle flexing tightly. With the smallest bit of resolve he looked up at her, raising his head to catch her eyes. They were half lidded and filled with affection, simply gazing at him lovingly and she nodded softly. He jutted forward as much as he could, angling her head so they could kiss. A harsh one that was desperate and longing. Leon crying out for a quick breath as his hips thrust forward again. Regaining a faster pace that made Ada move a bit forward each pass. Her soft breaths turning into more desperate airy whimpers as his thrusts grew more powerful. His arm feeling her breasts moving against him, bouncing along with the bed as he forced himself into her at a furiously passionate pace.

His cock was heavy, dragging back and forth inside. Gruff groans released from him as he felt his entire length with each pass in between her legs as her thighs pressed together. Angling her hips, she nearly let out a loud trembly whimper once she felt him hitting that one spot inside of her. Over and over again. Leon was always an attentive lover, noticing the smallest changes and noticing each time she was desperate for more. Positioned exactly how she wanted him, his hand released her hip and dove back down to her pussy. Heat radiating off of it as his two fingers spread apart her engorged folds. His thumb returning to gently circle at her clit. He only wished he could see his glistening cock plunging in and out of her.

A soft mewl managed to release from Ada, more of a whining pur as she snapped her eyes shut. Her body tensing and relaxing in rapid succession at the ministrations of Leon’s fingers and cock. One of her hands grabbed at her breasts desperately clinging onto herself as her other hand grabbed at his arm. Keeping her stationary and rooted tightly to Leon. He knew he wasn’t going to last long at this rate, his cock throbbing and heavy, nearly ready to burst. His mind almost going blank and his vision blurring. Ada knew it too, and thankfully she wasn’t going to last long either. Her hips grew more forceful, causing his cock to hit inside her perfectly. His fingers stimulating her all too well, her legs twitching all the way down to her toes. Her body involuntarily curling inward as her back arched into him. Warning him of her the point of her climax. The rough force of her slamming onto his cock triggered his own orgasm. A breathy moan erupting from him as his cock twitched wildly inside, feeling himself spilling inside of her. Her warm walls quivering as they milked him of his cum. The warmth of his seed setting off her off as the sensation of heat bloomed inside and spread throughout her entire body. Losing just a bit of consciousness as her orgasm flooded over her. Seeing stars and hearing ringing and her own pounding heartbeat in her ears. Leon still panting for breath while his hips still moved forward into her as the rest of his cum filled her, spilling a bit as it oozed out. A heavy load filling her up entirely.

His normal instincts was to inevitably reach over to the nightstand. Pulling open drawer and grabbing one of the towels to clean up. Instead he remained inside of her, relishing in the soft twitches of her thighs and her little exhales of breath that filled the room. Bathing in the afterglow of pure perfect morning sex. Their bodies somehow more relaxed than they were before.

“You awake now?” He asked again, his voice staggered as he reached over to grasp the underside of her chin. Twisting her closely to him to place a kiss against her lips.

“Maybe," she hummed a low tone, her lips still lightly pressed against his. "You may have woken me from my sleep,” she finally said as her lips parted from his. Her entire face brightening up as her smile grew on her lips. His eyes softly blinked at her, keeping this image of her in his memory. Simply staring at her he felt his thigh twitch a bit, his hips instinctually giving her a teasing thrust as he stayed pinned inside of her.

Leon exhaled a short breath and hum, new vigor still in him, “Should I check? Make sure you’re awake?”

//

Notes:

he's such a dork i love him

and then they fucked all day long-

also it's canon that leon has a night stand with a little fuck drawer of towels and a bottle of water and mints and condoms and lube and shit. and in ada's drawer she has like the strap-

[prey-4-me]

Strange Preferences - Appendix: Courtship Contentions - PT XIV

Prey Predator x fem!reader

Tenahpu stumbles through courtship rituals to win your approval. Taabe reaches out again

Amishta - name, meaning fearless, limitless

Tenahpu - Comanche/nʉmʉ tekwapʉ  word for man

Pabi - Comanche/nʉmʉ tekwapʉ  word for elder brother

Tasiwóo - Comanche/nʉmʉ tekwapʉ  word for buffalo

A/N - part 1/3 of the Appendix. Be sure to read the translations in the upcoming chapters or you will miss some things! ♥️

***

Grandmother tried to calm you down. You had just buried Taabe and now Tenahpu was courting you? You were indignant. She purred to you soothingly, “I  told him, but you know Tenahpuuu…” You grumbled. Yes, you did. But still.

Tenahpu sat with Pabi under a tree, looking a bit dejected. Pabi was doing his best to cheer his younger brother. You sighed. Was his headlong approach to life endearing or annoying? But you knew the answer already: It was both.

Tamping down a smile, you turned to Grandmother. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Depends on your choose,” she watched you closely. She probably wanted you to say yes. He was her favorite after all.

You clicked thoughtfully with your tongue. You had picked up the habit of clicking when you were thinking from the Yautja. Grandmother cooed to you softly in response.

***

Amishta and Grandmother talked softly. Tenahpu sighed. Grandmother had been right; why hadn’t he listened? There was no need to rush. But he just wanted things to be settled. Now that he was Blooded, he was focused on nesting. He wanted his mate by his side. Amishta. There was no one else so special as her.

She stood suddenly. He clicked, nervous. Pabi jostled him, “Relax. Don’t be so impetuous.” With that he stood and left Tenahpu under the tree alone. Amishta sidled up to him. He extended his hand slowly, hopefully. She took it as she sat down, placing it in her lap.

“You are so… fast,” Amishta started. He grunted; that was one word for it. She continued, “Grandmother told me of the rites.” She paused, looking at him. He shifted nervously. His small gift was only the beginning, he knew, but how hard was she going to make it? It didn’t matter. He would persevere.

She smiled slightly, but also looked sad. He growled softly, “Why sad?”

“Taabe,” she replied. He nodded, “He was very much hunter.” He wished he could express more, but then again maybe it wouldn’t be wise. She sighed. Then she perked up a bit. “Now you hunt for me. I want… a fur like tasiwóo.” She was advancing the courtship ritual. He clacked happily, then stopped short. He should be taking this seriously. “Good,” he commented casually, trying to play it cool. She gave him a knowing look all the same.

He started flipping through planets in his mind’s eye, rubbing her hand with a thumb. Where could he get a fluffy hide like that? Suddenly he knew. It would be even softer than tasiwóo. And brightly colored. She would like that. He grunted, “I will get ready for hunt. You come too?” He stood, pulling Amishta up. She allowed him and went into the lodge with him.

Grandmother and Pabi clicked and whistled at each other, both having furtively watched the drama unfold. Somehow, he was pulling it off with Amishta.

***

You tossed and turned. Taabe was leading you through the plains. Dead skinned tasiwóo were scattered throughout. He turned to you, “We never take more than we need. But monsters do.”

Then he readied his bow, letting the arrow fly immediately. It flew straight and true.

***

You opened your eyes. Immediately troubled, you sat up. A light sleeper, Tenahpu chirped at you. “It’s… it’s fine,” you lied. Sarii snored next to you. Smiling at that, you tried to calm yourself and laid back down. Tenahpu rolled over and pulled you to himself. “Why sad?”

“No, I’m fine,” you insisted. He grumbled at you, unbelieving. This angered you an unreasonable degree. “I said I’m fine!” You shrugged him off, sitting up again. Huffing, you crawled over Sarii, accidentally waking her. You cursed. “You made me wake her up!” He grumbled sheepishly, “Sorry…”

You stomped off, Sarii whining after you, but staying put in the comfortable bedding.

***

You stomped all the way outside. To your surprise, you met Pabi. He was sitting cross legged in the moonlight.

“Why awake?” He turned his head to look over at you.

“Why you awake?” You countered.

“Worrying.” He closed his eyes again.

“Hmph,” you plopped next to him.

“You dreaming again?” His question surprised you.

“… yeah.”

“Hn.”

“What?” You grew huffy.

“Taabe?”

“…yes.” You lowered your head, looking at your hands.

“He tells you something new. What?”

“I’m not sure.” You shrugged. “I thought he would be at peace after… after… you know.”

Pabi clicked knowingly. After a moment, he commented, “Maybe he is. And now he wants you to be.”

You looked at him. “You really think so?” you whispered, starting to cry. He clacked his mandibles softly. “If he was good pabi, then yes. He would want. Trust me.” You looked at him pleadingly, wanting him to tell you everything would be alright. Instead, he sent you back to sleep, “Go to Tenahpu. You are very tired and sad with worry. Time for sleep.” Grumbling, but feeling lighter of heart, you left Pabi to his own worries.

*************

i am the Worst about tagging but thought u might like to be tagged… pls msg me to be removed :)

@eclecticpatrolroadlawyer @coolninjavoid @lainphotography

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

In Fire and Rain

https://www.patreon.com/empyreaniris?fan_landing=true

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/182501791735/master-post

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzEIdDAB4omdO2JcQVMObfrhLJ5kX4ONmSsLypM1ks0/edit?usp=sharing.\

Rain pattered against the moss of the thatched roof tapping out a rhythm to which her memories could dance. It had rained on and off all day, clouds casting a shroud of shadow over the fertile belt, left stunned and lethargic after the death of their guardian.

Thousands upon thousands of Drev, from hundreds of fertile belt clans, sat camped in the valley just beyond the sacred mountain. Even having seen it with her own eyes, Sunny had trouble believing that many Drev could coexist together without causing problems. All day, through the drizzle and the rain, the Drev clans had sat packed together under the same shrouded sky hardly moving, barely speaking, not a dueling circle in sight.

Naktan’s death had left an entire nation of warriors shellshocked.

And now, lying in the stillness, upon her borrowed bed of moss, Sunny tried not to think about Naktan’s body, resting quietly against a waiting slab of stone, waiting for his burial rights within the nearest temple’s main atrium. An honor guard would be posted at the doors for him: two Drev from two different clans. At first Sunny had protested, insisting that she should be the one to guard the body, but on Adam’s words she had grudgingly relented. At first she hadn’t liked the idea of two separate Drev clans working together to guard the body, worried that a fight might break out, but they had assured her in no uncertain terms that they would not dishonor his memory like that.

And she was forced to trust them.

Tomorrow they would begin the week-long burial ceremony, and she wasn’t sure what she would do.

There was no one to replace him.

And the sacred mountain was still burning.

She turned onto her side struggling to get comfortable against her bed of moss. Her back and hips ached furiously, but no matter which way she moved, she couldn’t seem to ease the pain.

At her side, Adam lay asleep and silent in the near darkness, lulled to sleep, like many humans before him, by the gentle sound of rain. His breath was soft, but if she concentrated, she could just hear the slow rush of air as it passed through his parted lips.

Her back continued to ache, and with a sigh of frustration she stood quietly leaving Adam curled  in the moss. Usually a light sleeper, Adam didn’t wake when she got to her feet, exhausted by a day of running interference for her. She felt bad for the way she had treated him, snappy and irritable all day, but he had gone forward without complaint, jumping at her every whim and lighting a fire under anyone who didn’t move fast enough for her liking.

She would let him sleep.

Unwilling to potentially wake him with her pacing, Sunny slipped out the door and into the gentle night time mist. Despite the rain, the night air wasn’t cold, and the air that filled her lungs was clear and clean, filled with the scent of moss and wet stone. 

Her legs and back continued to throb, the pain abating only somewhat as she tracked her way over pathways of flattened moss, and out towards the edge of the village. Dim firelight, hooded under small conical lids, flickered from the torches that lined the pathways and surrounded the village.

Overhead, the small cathedral loomed black against a cloudy sky, lit from behind by the faintest light from Anin’s two moons. Black stone shimmered with orange firelight, and sunny watched as a shadow passed over the stone: one of the guards making rounds about the cathedral.

She sighed and rested her hands against her back

The ache seemed to have deepened, concentrated in her lower back, and wrapping its way around either of her hips where it radiated into her thighs and knees. The rain that pattered against her carapace suddenly seemed very chill.

She shivered and contemplated returning to the warmth of the hut where Adam lay asleep, but before that thought could even become a real possibility, her eyes were drawn by the rolling blue flame that still shed itself from the sacred mountain. Even from here it seemed she could imagine the heat that must have radiated from the fire, and like a moth drawn to a light, she turned away from the warmth of the little hut to trapse her way out into darkness, her feet plodding over mossy stone.

Towards the edge of the village, she wasn’t surprised to find a standing guard posted sentinel in the darkness. Rain rattled gently against their armor, though the rivulets of rain didn’t seem to brother them even as it dripped from their faces.

Alert, one of the guards noticed her, turning to dwarf her in his shadow.

He seemed surprised to see her out at such an hour, though there was no doubt that he recognized her

He raised his spear to her in greeting “Eeda.”

She nodded to him.

He lowered his spear, “You’re out late. Is everything alright?”

Sunny nodded, “Everything is fine.” She turned her head towards the distant blue flame and the inexplicable pull that drew her forward, “Just…. Need some heat.” She didn’t know why she said it, and coming from her mouth the words seemed silly. Briefly she wondered if she was going mad, but upon hearing those words, the Drev guard gave her a knowing look, and stepped aside.

Sunny gave the guard a look of confusion, but he simply motioned her forward, and without another word she began her trek towards the fiery blue glow that promised her its warmth.

WIth every step, the ache in her back and hips only increased until, at some point she thought something might be terribly wrong. It wasn’t until the first twist of her stomach which seemed intent on throttling her insides, did she finally put two and two together. Three quarters of the way to the mountain, Sunny bent double in agony clutching at her middle as the muscles of her abdomen contracted violently.

She stood there, half curled in a ball for a long moment before the muscle spasm subsided, and she was able to straighten herself. Blue light washed over her body, providing her a distant heat.

She cursed.

Now was not the time!

She contemplated going back to the village, to call for help, to get krill.

But by now she knew it would be too late for that, and the heat of the fire was simply too tempting for her to ignore.

Sunny hurried forward over the damp moss, racing the next contraction that was already beginning to build inside her. Krill said that there could be complications, said that it might be likely. He had even predicted that the birth would come early, but… now???

It was hardly the time.

Another contraction had her bent double, clutching at her stomach, but gasping she made it back to her feet, and began the shallow climb up the shallow foothill. The air around her was already beginning to heat, the air muggy and humid.

Beyond the rise she could hear the roar of a lava flow and taste the sulfur in the air.

She was panting when she made it to the top of the hill, nearly brought to her knees by another contraction and an incredible wave of pain that left her panting hard. 

This was no sterile hospital room, and when she came over the next rise, her aching body was bathed in an incredible wave of heat as she looked down upon the burning blue river of lava cast down from the sacred mountain.

This time the pain did bring her to her knees, hips and back screaming with pain.

With all four hands she gripped fistfulls of moss and dirt slumping forward when another wave passed. Fire flared up beneath her, and condensation formed against her skin as it was pulled from the humid air.

It is the human tradition to be surrounded by people in a moment like this.

But for Drev, it was preferable to be alone.

And in that moment the idea of being in the presence of others was nothing but revolting.

She was glad to be alone.

Another sharp wave of pain washed through her and she tilted her head back towards the sky and screamed, bellowing Drev war cry competing with the roaring of the rolling lava flow, until the two sounds mixed and became one against a black sky, dissipating within the curtain of rain. 

Just another battle

And with that battle came attack after attack, each one constituting a new wave of pain.

Fire roared below her and she roared back. Her skin flared hot, her chest squeezed tight. Overhead the sky opened up and the drizzle turned to rain which sizzled and cast off steam, evaporating in great waves before it could even reach the lava flow.

And then her voice was joined by another, quivering and confused, pitched several octaves higher than her own.

Her hands did not tremble soaked in her own blood as they were and raised the tiny creature to the sky.

Small, incredibly small, its skin wet and glistening, warmed by the hat of the fire and washed by the tears of a distant sky. The nearly human baby cried long, and loud, its pale skin skin a livid red with heat and exertion, or what skin she could see, because though its body was mostly human, its chest, arms, and back were covered in a familiar pattern of Drev Carapace, pearly and white against the blue of the roaring flame. Its hair, for it did have hair was a mass of matted spikes, not quite hair and not quite carapace, perfectly white.

A girl.

But still it wasn't’ over.

Another wave of pain racked her body, and she bent double again.

The pain was amplified now, but at least this time it was quick.

Deep, shimmering purple, an almost whole Drev child, though the tiny thing was completely missing its second set of arms, and had five fingers on each hand, just like a human, and then Sunny noticed…

The tiny creature was missing the entirety of her left arm below the elbow…. And she wasn’t breathing.

“No no no.” Sunny muttered, still holding one crying kit in her lower set of arms, she reached up and desperately rubbed her hand against the second Kit’s chest. It wobbled lifelessly under her hands, its limbs wobbling and limp, its head flopped to one side.

“No…. no no no. Come on.” Sunny muttered, “Come on.” her begging became a demand, as she continued to rub its unmoving chest.

“Come on! Breathe!”

Her shout was lost under the roar of fire.

Rain poured down over all three of them, washing blood from their skin.

“BREATHE!”

Her anger battled with despair, and she was nearly overcome with a sudden wave of grief.

Grief until the moment, the tiny kit took a long, shuddering breath and began to cry. The relief she felt then could not have been measured, and she didn’t bother to quantify it, as she held the tiny creature’s good hand in hers. It cried long and hard, but Sunny laughed, “That's okay little one. “ her stunted little arm waved along with the rest of her, but sunny couldn’t have cared less. “That’s alright, your dad doesn’t have all his limbs either.”

She was tired.

Exhausted, and for a long while she lay with her newborns in the moss and the heat and the rain until the distant sky began to lighten, and the clouds broke overhead. 

Slowly, she clambered to her feet, washed by the rain, and slogged her way back towards the settlement. She kept the kits close to her chest, warming them with her own heat as she made her way away from the warmth of the fire, and for now, their cries were music rather than annoyance because at least they were alive.

A fine mist rolled in, but the distant settlement was still visible, and the Drev guards raised their spears as she approached hooting in triumph, not caring who they woke with their voices.

She lifted her head proudly as she carried her precious cargo through the village.

To where Adam waited outside the little hut, just like Any Drev father might have waited.

Unlike a Drev he looked practically green and sick with worry, and ran to her as soon as she appeared in sight. For a moment she thought he would scold her, but when he saw what she had brought whatever breath he might have used was robbed from him, his eyes widening in amazement.

She handed them gently over, and then stepped past him towards the hut.

He turned to look at her, “Wait, where-”

“To take a nap,” She opened the door leaving him stunned with his two arms full on the doorstep, “As is your right, name them well, but make sure it’s nothing too stupid.” and then she shut the door. 

***

Note: Now I have to come up with names. If you guys have any brilliant ideas, I would be willing to hear them :)

[riallasheng]

Hey my tripleace gurl!

Would you kindly do ☾ - sleep headcanon and ♡ - romantic headcanon

Heyo Mbali!!

Ooooo, fun ones!!! (also, I have GOT to replay bioshock sometime soon XD )

Let's see... under cut because long XD

…

Also ended up needing to break this into two parts because LONG, so the romance emoji will be a reblog to this.  I’d @ you, but I know you don’t have a tumblr so I’ll just dm you the link on discord XD 

...

Also this keeps glitchign out, so even THIS PART will be in a few parts in reblogs =_=

Fireball XL5

☾ -       Steve sleeps light but long. He can manage on 6 hours, but does best with 8, and he begins to drag fast if his sleep is interrupted / broken up. He tends not to move much when sleeping       Venus sleeps like a ROCK. She falls asleep fast, easily, and once she puts her head down she can (and has) slept through a space battle and crashlanding.       Matt tends to battle with insomnia, and when he does sleep it tends to be in 2 hour power naps and is a very ACTIVE sleeper, always getting tangled in his bedding and even sleep walking on occasion.

------

Lady Penelope

☾ -       Lady Penelope sleeps very lightly, and runs cold so whenever possible she'll have some form of heater in her bed... her bed at home has both a heated mattress and an electric blanket. She tends to be easily disturbed, switching between sleep and fully awake and aware almost instantly, and it can take her a long time to fall asleep again once she's awake. There are always weapons near (or on) her person when she's asleep. There is a knife and laser pistol under her pillow, and a heavy machine gun under her bed, on top of all the 'spy goodies' she's got stashed around her room and in her purse designed to look like normal items. She's also something of a cuddler, and has a body pillow that she loves, but will make due with a normal pillow or rolled up blanket (and she also ALWAYS ends up being an absolute cuddle monster to any bedfellows and it's impossible to escape her)       Parker is actually naturally a heavy sleeper, but has trained himself / been forced by life experience to be a light sleeper. Since he's come into Lady Penelope's employ, he's actually become a heavy sleeper again, and it he tends to be slow to wake and groggy for a fair while after he wakes.

------

Stingray

☾ -       Sam has an adaptive bed with railings on the side, and the bottom sheet is actually a very wide sheet that is attached to two mechanized rollers on either side of the bed that can essentially slide him from the edge of the bed to the middle or from the middle to the edge, which he often needs as he suffers from weakness in his left arm and thus has trouble pulling himself into / out of bed without it.  The bed can raise it’s head and foot like an adjustable bed.  Sam tends to run hot and thus prefers only a light cover, although as the winter months hit he’ll slowly increase the layers until he’s comfortable.  He’s a light sleeper, but tends not to move much while asleep.        Phones is a very light sleeper, and due to his time as a mercenary, he tends to wake quickly and sharply at any little thing.  It’s saved his life hundreds of times, but it does mean that he tends to only rarely get unbroken sleep, so he tends to take cat naps during the day.  He usually sleeps on his back with one arm tucked beneath his head / pillow (and generally resting on his knife there).  He tends to move little, if at all, while asleep.       Troy sleeps heavily / like the dead, but he wakes up quickly, easily – bright-eyed and bushy tailed, although it takes him a long time to fall asleep.  He tends not to move much when asleep, and usually sleeps on his stomach with his arms tucked under the pillow.  He likes a light cover to no sheets at all, and tends to sleep in shorts and nothing else if given a choice.       Atlanta tends to fall asleep fast, sleep light but long, and wakes quickly.  She’s trained herself to keep an ear out for her father having trouble, as Sam hates to impose on her or wake her and will do his best to get himself into and out of bed or deal with spikes of pain without waking her, and while he CAN manage for the most part, there are still tiems he needs help.  She tends to lay very still when sleeping, making few (if any) movements even during REM, but she does talk fairly extensively in her sleep.       Marina used to be a very heavy sleeper who tossed and turned and slept long and late.  However, her 9 months as Titan’s captive means that she now sleeps lightly, startling awake at any little sound or movement, and she often doesn’t get as deep a sleep as she needs, and sometimes doesn’t get any sleep at all.  She almost always sleeps curled up on her side, trying to make herself as small as possible.  She’s found that if she sleeps with someone else, she sleeps better, feeling protected and safe, and has – on bad nights – snuck into the rooms of most of her friends to curl up, and Atlanta, Phones and Fisher have gotten in the habit of poking their heads into her quarters before heading off to bed to see if she needs someone there.  She’s actually found most often snuggling up with Sam, Atlanta and Phones as they are light sleepers who don’t move much, which means she feels safe and guarded enough to sleep.  As time passes, and she begins to feel safe again, she’s starting to sleep heavier again, as well as starting to toss and turn a bit, and the number of times she needs to curl up with a friend are slowly dropping.       Fisher is a fairly active sleeper, tossing and turning a lot in his sleep, although he’ll settle quickly if he can snuggle or hug something, and as a result he has a body pillow that he’ll curl up around when he sleeps.

[elius-learns-to-write]

hi! omg i luv ur blog 💘 can i request/suggest (kinda angsty but then fluffy) where r has trouble sleeping and a lot of nightmares/anxiety & mother!nat is there to comfort her? 🥺 like the whole team is super understanding and comforting but especially nat (bc we love mom nat around here!) anyways thanks so much ily bestie!

Hey Bestie! thank you so much for being patient and for supporting my blog! I know this has been in my inbox for so long but still! here it is. Sending my love to you <3 i have just realised that there is not a lot of comfort in here oops.

warning: this does include details of death and blood so keep that in mind if you read this <3

It’s Okay

You had always gotten nervous in public spaces 

Or at night when you couldn’t sleep

Or when you didn’t know all of the details of a plan 

Or when it was 3am and you were too scared to sleep

The point is you always seemed to have 100 thoughts plaguing your mind 

“Y/n sweetie I’m gonna need you to concentrate on my voice okay?” Wanda's voice waded through the watery noise in your head. You knew she was right and that logically there was no reason to be so upset, but you just couldn’t help it. It had all started after the group had decided to not tell you about the meal they had planned at this fancy restaurant that Tony wanted to try and of course this had sent you into a spiral and you were now very very aware of every possible outcome. “Come on kid, you’re alright, breathe slowly” Tony tried, or was it Steve maybe it was Bruce. When you got like this, voices sounded the same and nothing felt real. You couldn’t breathe and that was your main worry.

The team had gotten used to it and always reassured you that it was okay 

They didn’t mind and would always be there

And no matter how much you appreciated all of the support there was 1 person the team always knew to call

Natasha

Crash, thud, bang. The noise coming from outside the room had woken you from the sleep you had allowed your brain to indulge in for once. Whenever you did this though your mind would be over run with the horrors of life and death. 

Peeling the covers off of you, you slowly crept from out of the bed. Where was the rest of the team? Had they woken up? You hadn’t heard anyone else get up but in your hazy state of mind shrugged it off as them just being deep sleepers. Something you would later regret telling yourself. 

As your hand pulled the handle of your room down to open it you heard another noise. Laughter? Hesitating you looked around in the hope of finding a clock but as your eyes frantically moved in an effort of finding one the floor seemed to start to sway beneath your feet. Soon the darkness engulfed you.

For the second time that night your body jolted forward and you gasped for air, the dryness of your mouth hitting you like a punch to the gut. When was the last time you had a drink? Where did the laughter go? Why had you passed out? So many questions and yet it felt like you were trapped in an endless game of hide and go run with a twist, you didn’t know who you were running from and how much time you had before they found you. 

Before you could even begin to think logically again the loud twang of metal hitting the ground sounded from down the hall. Slowly stepping outside the room you had woken up in which you had realised wasn’t your own, you guessed you had been in Steve’s bedroom which was odd given that he wasn’t in there. Maybe he was out helping Bucky with his nightmares? 

Bare feet slapping against the cold marble floor of the tower you tried to navigate your way through the dark to wherever the team had gone. The sounds of machines whirring stopped you, the lights must be getting turned on. Sure enough, bright white light blinded you, spreading through the faster Pietro could run. Blinking away the pain and blind spots from your eyes you were met with big red letters painted on the floor.

 ‘The crowds will come and flood your world, yet you will remain empty and incomplete’ the red bleeding off into a winding path that would probably lead to whoever had wormed their way here. Even with this in mind the words seemed to swim through your mind; you had always felt empty even when your life was full but you never told anyone but Natasha and she would never tell anyone your secrets she had promised. She wasn’t like that. Repeating that phrase like a prayer that would save you, you followed the red wet paint. 

Red can signify many things: energy, passion, lust and the one you should have paid more attention to. Danger. 

Instead of being faced with some psycho who broke in all you were greeted with was the horrifying image of your family dead on the floor. Blood trickled out of anything it could noses, ears, mouths. Eyes open with a stare of pure terror. A scream tore its way though your throat. The familiar metallic substance flooding your senses. 

Knees crashing to the ground as you sobbed and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. Because when you have nothing, when all you have is gone, what can you do but cry yourself a river and let your soul float away on the memories of simpler times? 

You knew your knees would bruise from the mpact but you didn’t care. You didn’t deserve to go through this painlessly after what they had gone through in their last moments. 

A creak made itself heard above the sound of your cries, head slowly lifting to see what it was, damaging your throat further when you saw the lifeless bodies of the avengers sitting up and staring back at you. Salty tears streaming even quicker as you tried to scramble away. Slipping on nothing. Suddenly the lights shut off again. You didn’t move. You didn’t scream. You didn’t even breathe. 

“Wake up y/n”. What?

It had been Nat that woke you up from the nightmare

Even though the whole team had been aware of what was happening all they could do was watch in horror as your body writhed in fear

After making your way to Nat’s room where you knew you would spend the night

Unable to brave it alone

You finally found it in yourself to talk

“You were all dead” you croaked from the cocoon of blankets the redhead had wrapped you in. sitting down next to you and wrapping her arms around your body, you found yourself desperate for the comfort of her hugs. “We don’t have to talk about it right now, just know that I will never ever abandon you. How could I leave my little sunflower to fend for themselves? You give me a reason to be better and I will never leave you. Nor will anyone on this team for that matter” she spoke softly, as if cooing a terrified animal out of their hiding spot. You had and always will have a family as long as you have Natasha. She would make sure of it. And soon you drifted off into a peaceful slumber to the sound of her sweet hums. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray, you’ll never know dear, how much I love you. So please don’t take my sunshine away”.

[mandoalorian]

Like Father, Like Daughter [Maxwell Lord x F!Reader]

Summary: A 4 a.m. fiasco in which your newborn daughter wakes up the entire Lord homestead.

Word Count: 2800>

Rating: PG

Warnings: none! Tooth rotting fluff. Just a newborn baby that won’t settle, a big brother who wants to protect his younger sibling at all costs, and pure familial love. ALSO LADY LORD THE CAT MAKES A RETURN… She's the real trouble maker of the family.

Author’s note: This is SO self indulgent. I cannot stress that enough. I was clearing out my ask inbox and one of the most common requests I get is a) more Lord family and b) more Soft!Max... so here we are.

Masterlist

-—-—-—♡—-—-—-

No matter what, she just didn’t settle. It was three in the morning and you’d put her back down to bed only twenty minutes ago. Just as you managed to close your eyes and feel yourself begin to fall back to sleep, her cries erupted once more and echoed throughout the house. You had no idea how Maxwell could sleep through it. He was a heavy sleeper, and although he made you promise to wake him when you needed him to take over with the newborn, you couldn’t bear to. He was so busy with work and his career, the last thing he needed was to be up all night with little Aurora.

In practically every way possible, Aurora Lorenzano was like her father. It was funny, really. She was only three weeks old but you could already see the same mannerisms in her, that you did Max. She made a habit of shaking her fists or pointing her little tiny finger at you when she wanted something. She was loud, always wanting to make her voice heard. Her big brown eyes sparkled like starlight and you always wondered how you managed to create something so beautiful. She was a product of you and Maxwell and you swore that you had never loved anything as much as you loved her.

You rolled over and groaned into your pillow as you heard her scream with anguish. You were exhausted, and completely at a loss. You’d held her, fed her, changed her diaper -- what more could she want? You couldn’t remember the last time you got more than an hours worth of sleep, and even then it was broken up into intervals. You looked over at Max who was sleeping next to you, his chest rising and falling with every soft breath he took. And you envied him. This was ridiculous. Just for once you wanted to sleep. Just once.

“Max,” you said, prodding your index finger into his bicep. He didn’t move an inch. “Max,” you said again, a little louder this time, but even Aurora’s wails were overpowering the sound of your voice. You said his name a few more times but he didn’t even stir.

You sighed, climbing on top of your boyfriend and straddling his hips. You leaned over him and clasped his cheeks, squeezing them together. “Maxwell Lord!” you shouted in his face, and watched as his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. His sudden movement knocked you backwards slightly but you couldn’t help but laugh at the way you had shocked him into waking up.

“What the hell are you doing?” He hissed, rubbing his tired eyes and shooting you a joking glare. “Why are you on top of me?” His gaze flicked from your face, down to your body, and his confused glance turning into something a little more sultry. He snaked his arms around your waist and gave your hip a playful squeeze. “You do know Aurora is crying, don’t you?” he quizzed, with an eyebrow quirked. You had to hold back from punching him.

“I know she’s crying, dumbass,” you spat back, rolling off Max and dramatically throwing the pillow over your face. “Please, please can you check on her? She’s fine. I know she’s fine. I’ve checked on her five times already tonight. But she just-- she won’t stop-- and I don’t--”

Sensing the way you were getting worked up, Max tore the pillow from your face and shushed you. He pressed a soft yet chaste kiss to your forehead. “Say no more, I’m on it.” he whispered, rolling out of bed.

You watched Max grab his robe and shuffle into his slippers as he padded out of your shared bedroom. Well, you were awake now. You sighed and closed your eyes, hoping that maybe, just maybe, you could earn a few more hours of deserved sleep.

Maxwell flicked on the amber night light in Aurora’s nursery, the dim embers burning bright enough to force Max adjust his eyesight in the darkness. “Hey hey baby girl,” he cooed, rubbing his tired eyes again and running a hand through his dark blonde hair. He peered over the side of the crib and his heart ached when he caught sight of his daughter, all snotty and teary eyed. “What are you crying for, huh? Why is my little princess crying?” he asked Aurora, using his thumb to wipe away some of her tears. She sniffled slightly, her eyes fixating on her father. “Tell daddy what’s wrong, and I promise you I’ll fix it. What do you need, hm?”

You could hear Maxwell talking to Aurora, ever so faintly. His voice always soothed you, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise to find it settling her as well. You smiled to yourself, counting your blessings. You had gotten so lucky with your little family.

Aurora made grabby fists and reached out to Maxwell, her big eyes glimmering with desire.

“Oh,” Maxwell hummed, catching her message almost immediately. He reached into the crib and picked up Aurora, nursing her in his warm arms. “You wanted to be held by daddy. Well, why didn’t you just say so?”

Aurora scowled and Max pinched her cheek. “Listen to me, my little princess. Your mommy does everything in her power to take care of you and protect you. We love you so much, but, you keep her awake all night. So let’s make a deal, okay Aurora? Let’s agree that from now on, you only wake up mommy once a night. If that. Can you do that for me?”

Aurora’s scowl deepened and she furrowed her eyebrows together.

“Don’t pull faces at me, young lady,” Maxwell chastised. Aurora’s face softened and she squeezed Max’s thumb. He couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, good. I knew you’d understand. See, me and you are on the same wavelength. We get each other.”

Aurora’s lips curled into a smile that matched her father’s, and Max continued to smooth out her hair. You had overheard that part of the conversation, and you wished that you could’ve only been there to witness the interaction. Maxwell made a habit of talking ‘business’ with Aurora. It was funny, but in a strange way, it was like she understood him.

Now that the crying had stopped, you figured you could at least try and fall asleep.

“Daddy?”

Maxwell crooked his head slightly and looked over at the nursery door, where his six year old son, Alistair was standing. “Hey buddy,” Maxwell said quietly, ushering Alistair to come over. “Why are you awake?”

“Aurora was crying,” Alistair mumbled, dragging his comfort blanket and one of his soft toys further into the nursery. “I brought her my comforter and my Ewok.”

“Your what--?” Maxwell asked, furrowing his eyebrows together.

“My Ewok.” Alistair repeated, offering no further explanation.

“Well Ali, that’s very thoughtful. Why don’t you put your… Ewok in her crib, and pass me your comforter. We can wrap her in it,” Maxwell instructed, and Alistair obliged. “Why don’t you wrap the blanket around her, hm? But be careful.”

Max lifted up Aurora ever so slightly so Alistair could fit the blanket around her tiny body. “I think she likes it.” Alistair grinned, completely chuffed with himself, and Max nodded his head in affirmation.

“She does,” he smiled, squeezing his son’s shoulder so he knew that his father was proud. “Now she knows her big brother will always look out for her.”

“I will daddy, I promise.”

The two boys spent a few minutes in comfortable silence, gushing and fussing over Aurora.

“Why was sissy crying? Is she alright?” Alistair pondered out loud, the concern clear in his voice.

“Yeah, of course, she’s fine. Look, sometimes we just need to be held. We just need to know that there’s someone out there watching over us. And that everything will be okay.” Max said softly, tracing his finger along Aurora’s delicate face. Alistair stayed quiet for a moment as he took in his father’s words. That feeling resonated with Alistair all too well. He knew what it felt like to yearn for the attention of a parent. And Maxwell understood it too. He had an awful relationship with his own father, which is why he swore to be the absolute best for his son and daughter. “Ali, could you do me a favour?” Max questioned, eventually breaking the silence.

“Yes.”

“Could you quietly go check on mommy and see if she’s sleeping?”

Alistair nodded and tip-toed out of the nursery and into your bedroom. Low and behold, you were finally sleeping. Alistair got a little too close to you, and pushed your hair out of your face so he could check to see if your eyes were closed. His brash movement (even though he’d tried his hardest to be gentle) woke you up. Alistair gasped when he saw what he’d done and smacked his hand over his mouth in disbelief.

“Oh no, were you asleep?” Alistair questioned, his dark eyes going wide. You yawned and nodded your head. “Did I wake you?”

You offered him a tired smile and pulled him into the bed so he could curl up next to you. “It’s okay Ali. Did Aurora wake you up too?”

“Yeah.” Alistair mumbled tiredly, nuzzling into your chest for comfort. He was immediately put at ease in your arms.

He’d never had a relationship like this with his biological mother, no matter how much he’d wished for it. But now he finally had you. You loved Alistair like he was your own blood and you treated him as your own since day one. You loved him unconditionally, just as much as you loved Aurora. Alistair was so thankful to have someone like you in his life and your bond with him was unbreakable. Maybe wishes could come true.

“She’s a little trouble maker.” you yawned and Alistair stifled a giggle.

“Like daddy.” he muttered and you grinned.

“Exactly. Just like daddy.”

After a few intimate moments alone with Aurora, Maxwell stood up. She’d settled down a lot and had even fallen asleep in his arms. Max didn’t want to put her down to bed though, at least, not yet.

Maybe he could bring her to bed. That would be nice.

Cradling Aurora, he carefully stood up from the oak wood rocking chair and padded out of the nursery, only to hear a series of thumping footsteps venture up the stairs.

Oh no.

The jingle of her pretty pink collar was unmistakable, as the fluffy white cat, Lady Lord, came bouncing up the staircase. She purred and circled around Max’s feet, rubbing her soft cheeks over his legs.

“What do you want?” Maxwell asked, glaring down at the kitty.

Lady just looked up at him and meow’ed, her blue eyes wide and awake. If she wanted anything, it was to be fed. She loved her biscuits.

“Lady, it’s almost four in the morning. You’ll have to wait until breakfast.”

She meow’ed again, this time louder, and followed Max by his heels as he walked along the corridor.

“I don’t care, Lady,” Max sighed. “We fed you before we went to bed and you’ll get something in a few hours. I’m not feeding you now.”

Maxwell swore this cat was like having a third child.

Lady wailed and raced past Maxwell once she sensed he was heading to his bedroom. Lady Lord jumped onto the bottom of the bed, by your feet, and curled up. She looked like a snowball.

You smiled to yourself as you heard Max approach. He tilted his head and frowned when he entered the bedroom and noticed you were still awake. His frown deepened when he saw that Alistair was laying next to you.

“I thought he’d gone to bed,” Max confessed, gently passing you Aurora so you could hold her while he discarded his slippers and robe. You smoothed out Alistair’s dark hair and watched him as he slept peacefully by your side. “And why are you still awake?” Max questioned.

“I was listening to the conversation you were having with your business associate-- I mean, your daughter.” you joked and Maxwell rolled his eyes, sliding under the covers. He took Aurora from your arms so he could nurse her again.

“She gets me.” Max assured you and you had to stifle back a laugh. You leaned your head on your boyfriend’s shoulder and looked down at the newborn.

“That’s great honey, but if her first words end up being ‘Life is good, but it can be better’, I’ll not be happy.” you quipped and Maxwell smirked.

In this precise moment, Maxwell swore that he had never been happier. He spent much of his life believing money and materials would satisfy him, but he was still left with an empty, gaping hole in his heart. He always wanted more, he wanted to try and somehow fill that void, but he just didn’t know what to look for. He was never searching for love, and yet you still found him. And you filled that hole in his heart. You completed him, and made him into a better man. He could never fault you for that, and he’d always be grateful for everything you did for him. Everyday that was spent with you and his growing family was a day well spent.

If he could change one thing, it would be that he realised this sooner. But you taught him that he shouldn’t regret anything. Yes, he had made mistakes, but so does everyone, and that doesn’t make him any less of a person. What inspired you the most about Max was that he consistently worked on himself and tried to better himself for his family. And you saw his progress every single day.

“Do you want me to take Ali to bed?” Max asked, kissing your shoulder softly.

“No, he’s fine here,” you replied quietly, feeling the utmost contentment with your family being by your side. “This bed can easily fit five people.” you acknowledged.

Maxwell’s eyes went comically wide at your comment. “Five?!” he wheezed, and you pointed your finger down towards the edge of the bed where Lady was sleeping. Max hadn't even noticed her joining. Clearly, it was a family event, at 4am in his bed. “She follows me everywhere!” Max exclaimed incredulously, shaking his head and scratching the back of his neck. Lady opened her eyes and glanced up at Max, recognising the mention of her.

“She loves you.” you cooed.

“She’s annoying.” Maxwell frowned, but you knew, deep down, he adored that cat. He had never been an animal person, and he wouldn’t have adopted Lady if it wasn’t for you, but he truly did love her. She was loyal and compassionate and despite the trail of cat hairs she left all over his three piece power suits, he wouldn’t trade her for the world.

“And you love her too.” you corrected him.

Max sighed and shook his head in defeat before returning to his previous statement. “You know, this bed might actually be able to fit more than five people. Maybe six. Or seven…” he trailed off, his free hand caressing your thigh as he sized up the double king-sized bed.

He wasn’t subtle. You could read him like an open book. You knew exactly what he was implying.

Your jaw dropped and you looked up at him with wide eyes. Max’s smirk only grew upon seeing your reaction. “Wait… are you saying we can get more cats?!”

And just like that, his smirk fell from his lips. “I--”

“Oh my gosh Maxie!” You squealed, wrapping your arms around him. Maxwell blinked as he tried to process what just happened.

“I didn’t mean--”

“How long had you been planning this?” Teasing Max Lord might have been one of your most favourite hobbies. If only you could snap a photo of his face at this very moment.

He said your name, slowly and looked slightly disconcerted.

You grinned and cupped his cheek. “I know,” you laughed. “I know what you meant.”

A brief silence filled the room.

“I do like cats…” Max told you eventually. You leaned over him and turned off his bedside lamp.

“Mhm…” you mumbled, rolling over so you were snuggling into him. He was still on his back, nursing Aurora.

“I’m just saying…” he trailed off, staring at the ceiling. “I think we’re pretty good at this parenting thing. And I like… having kids with you…”

You smiled in the darkness.

“Go to sleep Maxie.” you whispered.

“I just think--”

“Go to sleep.” you giggled, and you felt him press a kiss into your hair.

“Goodnight,” he uttered. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

-—-—-—♡—-—-—-

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[chewiedon]

SWIM IN GOLD | DOUMA

request: Reader is known to be the most beautiful woman in the village. Douma got intrigued by the word 'beautiful' from rumors that he tried to find the reader to see how beautiful she is and probably eat her soon. But when he saw how beautiful she really is. He hold off his hunger and kidnapped her. After that, Douma locked her in one of a special room for Queens (idk). The reader was upset and wanted to escape. As soon as she got the chance to, she run endlessly through the deep forest. A demon jumped out and attacked her, but before it could. Douma was there to kill it himself. The reader was threatened to be punished after that. But she doesn't care anymore. She knows she is safe with him from now on.

You woke up on the rough surface of the tatami mat with a thin comforter over your figure. Waking up with confusion plaguing your mind, you quickly raised your body and turned your head left and right trying to find something familiar in your strange surroundings. Immediately you tried to remember what you did the night previous, did you get drunk and accidentally sleep with someone? Did you end up being kidnapped?

The last thing you remember was laying down comfortably in your futon and going to sleep, not being able to recall the ingestion of any intoxication. The thought crossed your mind that someone might have drugged you asleep, that way you wouldn't have woken up. You weren't that heavy of a sleeper.

Morning rays of sun seeped through the cracks of the shoji doors, a body sized mirror in the corner or the small room reflected the little light it could catch. Standing up on your feet you got a better look at the room you were in, your gaze stopped at the sliding door which you immediately grabbed.

Sliding it open you were welcomed with long halls containing wooden floors, a man in a light colored kimono flinched when he saw you as he rushed to you.

"Madam, please wait in that room! The Lord is currently speaking to worshippers, I-" You cut the distressed man before he could continue.

"Where am I? I've never been here before," You were confused at the formality, sure men were usually formal to you but never like this.

"You're within the Lords' Chambers, if you're refusing to stay in there I'll have to lock you in there, madam!" You disliked his tone of voice with you, you were looking why and where you were and he was trying to lock you inside a room?

The rules of being a good guest flew out the window, you were in this strange house against your will and you don't want anything to do with it. You raised your voice, anger and frustration beginning to surface.

"I don't give a rat's ass about your "Lord" or whatever! Why am I here, I wish to leave!" You could feel the heat surface to your face as aggression rushed through your body, your foot stomping on the floor in frustration as if you were some child.

"Ma'am please!" The man pleaded.

"I had a feeling I heard a commotion~!" A masculine voice sang, a man dressed in colorful layers of kimonos with shining blonde hair.

He looked like he didn't long for this world, he was so colorful. A top his head he wore a crown as if he were some kind of God, in this case you could even say he was that. It explains his majestic appearance.

"Pardon the trouble, but please get back into the room, I'll be with you soon~!" You could hear the facade behind his tone, it was disgustingly obvious and he was disgustingly good at it.

The colorful man reached out to touch you, likely for some kind of comfort. You swatted his hand away, and took a step away. Your emotions were going haywire, who do these people think they are? Kidnapping you? Before you could even blink, a large hand had grabbed your jawline and pulled it forward.

"Keep this shit up and I'll punish you. I'll be with you soon," His tone turned cold, his smile wiped off his face- he looked like a different thing entirely.

Your stomach sank as fear had set in, this man standing in front of you was much bigger than you and clearly had power over people. There wasn't much hope for you, was there? You swallowed the lump in your throat and nodded with a small whimper, you could feel your forehead dampen with sweat.

He removed his hand slowly and put a friendly pat on top of your head, his cheery disposition had returned. He walked down the hallway, the same way he came from originally.

"I'm so happy my wife is so understanding~!" He sang, "Takeshi-san please take good care of her in my place!" He sang before disappearing around the corner, leaving you in shock.

The servant, now dubbed as Takeshi shouted back, "Y-yes Douma-sama right away!" Before nudging you back into the room.

Douma was a name that rang in your ear, your mother often talked about him with the other housewives in the village about his cult. Despite the warm demeanor that followed the Eternal Paradise religion, you'd stayed far away from it. Something felt always off.

And now that you were stuck inside this small room with no reason why you were in the first place. A rock had settled in your stomach, a very large and immovable rock. You sat on the rough tatami mats on the verge of tears, choking back sobs.

Minutes turned into hours, hours of a sore throat and quiet crying. You were stuck, and nobody would think to look for you in here.

"Crying? What's wrong?"

The voice you had dreaded resonated throughout the room, your gaze was fixated on your crossed knees. His hakama pants made way into your view as he stood right above you.

"My... You didn't even use any of the gifts I got for you. I was sure you would like them."

"Why am I here?" Your voice was cold, trying your best to keep yourself from shaking.

Something was wrong, so very wrong. A sinister edge came off of Douma, he almost reeked of impurity. Simply from the way he presented himself to you, his facade made the rock in your stomach only grow. Your evident helplessness only made your anxiety spike.

His hand was cold, he cupped your cheek. Douma's multicolored eyes seemed to leave you in a trance, they were beautiful. Before you could even process what was happening his lips were on yours.

You've never felt more disgusted by something than right now.

Douma didn't have any body heat, his skin held a chill to it.

Shivers danced up and down your spine, you didn't dare to break the connection. He broke off and kissed your forehead while you stood frozen.

His breath smelled like blood.

"Was that your first kiss? Well don't worry, when we get married I'll make sure to kiss you plenty~!" He sang out, a bright smile on his face and his cheeks red.

"Married?" you had started, "I can't get married, my mother says I must wait until I'm 18 until I choose a suitor!"

"Your mother, oh the nice older lady with (h/c), right? No worries, I ate her just last night when I took her!"

Ate? What the fuck?

Was he the leader of some sick cannibalistic cult? Worshippers of the devil? Your voice was caught in your throat, unable to properly process the words that had spilled from Douma's lips. Was it a metaphor for something?

Douma sat down, your gazes at a similar height as you sat up straight. His back was slouched to look you straight in the eye.

"I'm unable to stay long, I'll make sure to keep you lots of company tomorrow though! It's simply just bad timing, my master has requested a very impromptu meeting. I'll be back, darling~!" he skipped around the room and flung the shoji door open, revealing the engawa.

Taking a deep breath, allowing the night air to fill his lungs.

"The night is beautiful," Douma commented, "But you're even more beautiful."

In less than a blink of an eye he disappeared. As if he was never there in the first place.

Douma didn't lie to you, he did have to leave to see his higher ups. But it was a trap, a test. He had known you were jittery, and he could feel the rushing adrenaline from the moment the two of yours' lips had met. He knew you would try to run away, and as such he could provide protection. Humans' minds were simple and delicate, and he knew how exactly to get you on his side. You were such a delicacy, he's never felt drawn towards someone like he had with you.

It may have been the way other men had talked about you. Or the way you had presented yourself to others. Those meager humans didn't deserve you in his opinion. You presented yourself as some kind of goddess, an inhuman being and giving your attention to mere maggots.

Back inside the estate, you didn't even look to see if Douma had actually left. Some fucked up shit was happening here and you didn't want any part of it. Not even looking for your shoes you had dashed out of the house. Ignoring the stinging of pine needles and small rocks against the bottom of your feet, you forced your legs to carry you through the forest.

Even though you didn't get a good look at your surroundings, nothing looked familiar in the slightest. You didn't care if you were running to the middle of the forest, you just needed to get away from him. The loose kimono restricted your movement, you twisted the obi off and lazily knotted the string around your waist.

Eventually, your adrenaline and stamina had given out. Your burning muscles only got weaker until they eventually gave out and knocked you on your knees, your lungs on fire from running. You had no idea how far away you were from the house, you could still see the dim light over the array of bushes and trees.

The song of the crickets was loud in your ears, as well as the snapping twigs and the rustling of the life around you. You had tried your best to muffle your heavy breathing, not wanting to cause any abnormal disturbances that might hint to your disappearance. Putting one hand over your wheezing mouth and another over your chest in hope to help calm yourself down. You could feel the blood pulsating all over your body.

"Ohoh? A human?"

Your heart sank, everything in your body completely refused to move. Ruled by the exhaustion and terror. It wasn't Douma's voice, but the choking stench of death made your throat close up.

"A woman too, luck really is on my side tonight!"

The demon stood above you from the withered log you had been hiding against, he twisted his body downward inhumanly. Grabbing your shoulder and digging his claws into your flesh, the stinging pain invading all your senses as you tried to wiggle yourself out. You tugged desperately at the hand, screeching and crying until your vocals were sore.

"How troublesome."

Before you could even begin to process the bloody image in front of you, your body had slammed into the rough ground below you, almost knocking the wind out of you. Scurrying backwards, seeing the attacker now in bite sized pieces. Decorating the grass below him with his insides.

"You disobeyed me."

Douma stood on the log above you, moonlight highlighting his figure. Godlike. Just what was he?

"I'll have to punish you."

The shaking in your body ceased, as soon as he had stepped on the ground before you your arms were latched around him.

You didn't care how he'd punish or hold you captive, you knew you were safe.