#this may or may not be a ploy to talk to my mutuals..

[powderpuff-divines]

pick a pile: when love finds you again, how do you wish to be held by it?

what kind of love does your heart yearn for? pick a pile to find out! this is a general reading so not everything may apply to you. only take what resonates and leave the rest. please excuse any grammatical errors or typos. happy reading!!

pile 1 ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

(TW: mentions of bullying, please exercise your own discretion.) seven of wands, queen of swords rev, nine of swords

oh pile one, when love finds you, you'll hiss at its hand the way a stray cat does when someone finally shows it some kindness after experiencing years of living alone on the streets.

people have been cruel to you by way of words and there are still cuts on your soul from that. i'm hearing death by a thousand cuts by taylor swift in my head, more specifically the line 'papercut stings from my paper thin plans.' maybe you made plans with loved ones (friends, family, lovers), went out of your way to do nice things for them and truly treasured them, but then had the gut-wrenching realization that it was not mutual. they could have mocked you for being so sensitive and taking things too seriously. ("oh that? don't tell me you actually thought i was being serious?"). some of you may have been victims of bullying in the past.

so when true, unconditional and kind love finds you, you will not be able to stomach it.

there's a deep level of mistrust and anxiety towards words of sweetness coming from anyone. but when love finds you again, you want do still want its words to be honeyed but true; not a coating of sugar covering rancid intentions.

you could still be beating yourself up for being swayed by other people's words and charms very easily in the past. please stop that. you cannot bully yourself into being better and being stronger. you live and you learn. you cannot be cruel to yourself for falling prey people who were actively trying to mislead you/ cause harm.

when love finds you again, you want its words, true and honest, to wrap you up and hold you in its warmth. to not need to worry about whether it's a ploy to get your trust only to break it again. you want a love so kind that it erases the pain from your past.

pile 2 ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

five of pentacles, seven of wands, knight of pentacles

someone dear to you could have betrayed your trust when it comes to money/finances/assets. for some of you, you do not even wish to acknowledge it or talk about it. 'it happened, i lived. it was miserable but i lived, and i'll never let that happen to me again.' is the type of energy i get from this pile. you could think that there's no point crying over spilled milk.

but that betrayal cut deep. so when love finds you again, you want someone who'll stand right by your side, especially if you go through a tough period like that again (some of you could have even been homeless for a while.)

the people who chose this pile do not necessarily want a flashy kind of love, with dates at the trendiest of places or elaborate gifts/ trips every month. you really want is someone to rely on, a shoulder to lean and cry on and someone who doesn't stab you in the back.

the type of scenario i'm seeing is someone having a breakdown in their dining room trying to balance their checkbook, but your person comes without you even calling for them, squeezes your shoulder, sits down next to you and starts helping you with it.

i feel like there's an emphasis on helping you with it rather than just doing it for you. you could be a very independent person, or maybe you just don't trust someone else to handle things for you again. you want a partner in the literal sense of the word.

(some of you could be thinking 'even if it's someone who doesn't contribute to helping me get back to a good place, i just want someone who won't make it worse. otherwise, i might as well just be alone, right?' and i just want to tell you that please hope for more. you deserve to be loved and taken care of. someone not harming you is just the barest of bare minimum. expect more from your loved ones)

what you really what is someone who'll tell you to hold your head high, put their reassuring hand to your back and guide you. they'll do the scut work with you, they'll make it easier for you to go through the murky waters and not complain about it.

i have a feeling that if someone like that were to actually appear, you would just stare at them for a few moments-- shocked and emotional, but grateful that you get to experience a love like this.

when love finds you again, you wish for it to be steady and unwavering, to hold your hand tight and not let go even once even as it knows that difficult times are ahead. to silently hold an umbrella over your head as it begins raining. to be as comforting as hot cocoa on a cold day. to stay. you want love to be loyal, kind and to stay.

pile 3 ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

(TW: mentions of sexual content. please exercise your own discretion.) ten of cups, page of swords, ten of swords

you want to find the love you've been dreaming of, to get your happy ending, to find the one. you're sick of meeting people who aren't your forever person.

you, out of all three piles, dream of domestic bliss the most. a happy home, a happy family with pets and/or kids. but with the way things have been going, you've become mentally resistant to this dream after so many failed tries and ,if you're aware of it, you hate that. because you never wants to be the type of person who doesn't like love or runs away from love, not after you've spent so long yearning for it.

this could be the pile that daydreams about a soft and romantic love.

the type of love where you're in the kitchen, baking something, and your partner comes behind you, wraps their arms around your waist and kisses your neck as they mutter something that makes your heart skip a beat.

you want someone who won't shut down your ideas, and wants to do fun (and tbh chaotic) stuff with you. you want to go on adventures with this person. (like the way the old couple from Up did when they were young.)

and also really good sex where by the end of it, you're exhausted and completely sated; after which, you lie in your lover's embrace, mindlessly drawing patterns on their skin (they could also do the same for you) with some pillowtalk.

you could also really want to travel to other places with this person and make a lot of memories.

when love finds you again, you wish for it to be in the form of a person in whom you see home. a home for your love, for your joy and smiles. a home that will accept all of it, nurture it and multiply it tenfold. whether it be now, a year later or even decades down the line, you wish to be held in its loving embrace. one could even say you wish to be held by it throughout the ages. you want a love that will transmute the bad days into something easier; a love that will stay forever soft and young as you and your lover grow old and develop wrinkles on your faces (from laughing and having so much joy in your lives.)

i recently decided to join tumblr and was surprised when i discovered that there was a pac community here. it's been super fun going through all the readings here so i thought maybe it would be fun to dip my own toe into it. i had a ton of fun editing the images and this post!! tumblr's so cool. i hope the reading resonated at least a little bit and it was fun to read!

[theallianceofcelestials]

How would the Nightmare family and SCP family react to each other?

I'm going to assume by Nightmare family, you mean the Watchful Nightmare gang. If not so, feel free to correct me!

Well in Interdimensional Mishap we see how WN!KC, WN!Bloodmoon and WN!Eclipse react to SEA!Eclipse and he to them, so I'm not gonna talk more about that, cuz I that's the one most fleshed out in my brain.

I'm gonna go down the SEA character list for this:

Eclipse

WN Sun and Moon would probably be unsure of this adult Eclipse, especially at the current stage of their relationship with their own where the little guy is suspicious and kinda hostile to them and they're incredibly unsure and irritated by some of his behaviour. They wouldn't trust SEA Eclipse, and he'd have a hard time looking at these versions of his uncles being hostile to him. The most amicable thing they'd probably end up doing for a while is mutually avoiding each other.

WN Lunar, who's basically a toddler, would absolutely love this big Eclipse, because he looks like a mix of his favourite rayed people! Even if his colouration is a bit darker, he still looks like Clipsey! So he would want to nap on him. Meanwhile SEA Eclipse is desperately trying to get the tiny version of what he thinks is his baby brother off, because he does not want to be drooled on!

WN Earth would take one look at the guy and decide he needs a friend. She'd probably be cautious, because this whole other dimension could be a ploy to get close to the children to kill them, but WN KC seems so sure he's a good 'kid', so she's willing to see where this may go. Eclipse on the other hand would be grateful for her calm and collected behaviour, sticking the closest to her.

Killcode

SEA Killcode would melt at the sight of his children as so small and young. Especially because he could never experience raising his own Eclipse, even if that'd have looked different. He'd probably happily let them hang off of him constantly, happy to be used as a playground. If any monsters came near him, he'd murder those brutally. He may have troubles leaving them for long, his instincts insisting he shouldn't leave children this small alone.

WN Killcode and him would beef, no doubt about that. They'd also be dad buds, gossiping about their kids. No inbetween. They'd each have trouble with leaving the other's children alone, though WN KC would be weirded out by the whole being the youngest of triplets thing. He doesn't really consider Sun and Moon his family yet at the point we're in the story.

WN Sun would be terrified of him, however even shaking, he'd try being friendly. Killcode would appreciate it, and he'd be nice to him seeing as that's basically a different version of his brother.

WN Moon would be hostile at first, especially when they learn these aren't really animatronics. That wouldn't sit right with him in a world full of monsters. They probably wouldn't become buddy-buddy with each other, despite Killcode's best attempts, but they'd be amiceable.

WN Earth would be a surprise for SEA Killcode, but not an unwelcome one in the end. They'd trade recipes and would end up becoming fast friends. Especially when Earth gives him advice on how to approach Eclipse's issues.

Solar Flare

Solar Flare would still show great respect towards WN Killcode, despite him being unsure about this stranger that's supposedly the child of a version of him. However because it's respectful toward him, he's nice to it too. However they wouldn't get over basic politeness. At least that's what Solar Flare thinks.

WN Bloodmoon would use it as a chew toy. Solar Flare is not amused

WN Eclipse would be something it can't really handle, despite the kid being attracted by its calm demeanor and cool looks. Clipsey would attempt to draw it into an activity, and it'd just freeze. It doesn't know how Eclipse can handle seeing a kid version of himself so well, when it freezes up.

WN Lunar is clearly too small, and needs more food in him immediately. Something shouldn't be that small. Lunar is just confused by the weird looking guy.

WN Sun and Moon would be the most hostile to it, because of how weird it looks. It in turn wouldn't trust them. To mend their relationship, they'd need a lot of time spent together to chill out.

WN Earth is nice company because she's quiet. She's a bit unsure about the weird looking not-animatronic, but she trusts what everyone else says about it, so she'll give it a chance. She's not disappointed.

Bloodmoon

WN Bloodmoon and SEA Bloodmoon would be partners in chaos. Their eldest siblings turned middle children and baby siblings energies would combine in the most chaotic manner. Though SEA Bloodmoon would probably be pretty indulgent with their younger alternative selves. They'd also try to impart some of their hard earned wisdom, with little succes most likely.

WN Killcode could just call for his own Bloodmoon and they'd be there in a heartbeat too. It's too ingrained in them to listen to their father to recognise the difference between tones and whatnot until they're already standing before a confused KC. They'd feel mostly embarrassed because of this around him. He'd be greatly amused after a while by them mistaking him for their dad.

WN Eclipse would be a really sore spot for them, because that1s a child version of their brother! One they never got to have! They'd be jelaous on their brother's part, however they would be the nicest with that kid. They'd look after the tiny, angry, rayed creature to the best of their abilities. They'd find him sweet and he'd find them weird, because what do you mean there's a Bloodmoon who's technically older than their Eclipse? He'd try to big brother them same as with his baby siblings, and they'd indulge him.

Bloodmoon would be nice with WN Sun, who'd thus like them, and a gremlin with WN Moon, who's mostly just annoyed by them. Same as with their uncles. Only they have to be more careful with them, cuz they're fragile.

They wouldn't know what to do with Earth, unfamiliar as they are with their dimension's verison of her, so they'd be mistrustful. They wouldn't feel comfortable with her, and she'd respect their wishes. They'd eventually warm up to her, but not without a hefty amount of cookie bribes.

WN Lunar would immediately steal their heart, and they'd let the tiny kid nap in their nightcap. Lunar would just be happy to have this cool pillow that moves. Whenever he clambers on top of them, they freeze like how some people do when cats climb onto them.

Lunar

Lunar would find the toddler version of himself boring. Because this tiny thing can't even do anything! WN Lunar however would want to always climb onto the fluffy cape he wears. He'd be glued to him whenever he enters the room.

WN Eclipse, just like with his brothers, would be a punch in a place he didn't even realise hurt. He'd be filled with all sorts of potential scenarios of what sorts of mischief and trouble they could have gotten into, if they had Eclipse as the eldest. But like actually as the eldest. Just them being children together, growing up in the safety of their father and uncles' shadow. Clipsey wouldn't understand what this guy's problem is, and would leave him alone.

WN Earth and Lunar would get along like a house on fire. He's just mischiveous enough to reming her of the nicer parts of life, while he also carries a wiseness with him that comes from being an ancient SCP who got trapped in a prison. She in turn would help him to truly process just what happened with them. She'd also like hugging him because of the fluffy cape.

WN Bloodmoon and him would be troublemakers together too. He'd join the Bloodmoon quartet and just indulge the child with tricks and pranks.

WN Killcode would think he's a child at first, and thus offend him. He'd spend the rest of their time together trying to make ammends while also trying not to laugh. Lunar's just sulking.

WN Sun and Moon would be weirded out by an adult version of their charge, when all they have is the toddler version. Especially because they look so starkly different. He's greatly amused in turn by their shock. He'd milk all the amusement he can get out of that.

Moon

WN Moon and Moon would be on sight violence. They both hate themselves, they're both somewhat murderous and they both have anger issues. They'd hate each other.

WN Sun and him on the other hand would sometimes awkwardly slip into the sibling dynamic. He'd be especially protective over this version of Sunny, because he's so fragile. Sun would just feel embarrassed around him for calling him his brother.

WN Eclipse would judge him quite harshly, especially based on his own knowledge of their Moon, which'd hit hard for him. Because there's the kid version of his nephew, and he apparently hates him already. It'd take a while for him to realise the kid is just suspicious of him.

WN Bloodmoon and Lunar would remind him of all the parts he hates about children. They're loud, they need loads of attention and they're so unpredictable. He doesn't know why he seems to be such a magnet for the brats, especially when he threatens to toss them in the air quite a lot whenever they're near him. Them laughing and shrieking in joy when he delivers on the threat is just giving him a headache.

WN Earth and him would be awkward around each other, and they truly wouldn't move past general politeness. They talk if they're in the same room, but they're not each other's first choice of company.

WN Killcode would be annoyed by his big brotherly behaviour, and Moon would find it amusing. They'd be little shits to each other, and KC would be shocked to notice he's been adopted as a younger brother. Moon would be greatly amused when he realises.

Sun

WN Sun and Earth and SEA Sun would be besties who talk about cats and other cute animals together while they're sewing. They'd each be gossiping about their own family, which'd result in the lot sometimes giggling while looking at someone. He'd also feel the need to guide these two young animatronics, becoming something like a mentor.

WN Moon would be shocked by a Sun who has his shit as together as SEA Sun, but ultimately happen there's at least one world where his twin seems to get the room to grow into a confident and amusing person without all the anxiety coming with almost dying everyday. He wouldn't know what to do when SEA Sun begins acting brotherly towards him. Sun on his part is just worried about this overtly tired and withdrawn Moon.

WN Killcode still wouldn't appreciate being treated like a brother. But he can't stop it. Sun and Moon have found a different dimensional version of their baby brother, and he's just so precious! They must tease him!

WN Bloodmoon would look up to him, because this Sunman is cool! Sun would just be greatly amused by the kid before him. It's like his nephew being a child all over again. Only this one's tinier and now he can take pictures.

Lunar would melt his heart and they could be often found napping together. He'd cuddle that toddler whenever. It's unstoppable. Good thing WN Lunar thinks he's a great bed

WN Eclipse would be a bittersweet sight for him. He's all too aware, just like everyone else, how his nephew never had this for himself. And the part where one could argue he was a child was spent in probably horrible circumstances. Clipsey wouldn't understand why all these people are sad because of him, and would just generally avoid Sun. He doesn't like how they're all sad when they look at him.

Welp this took a while! Hope this is actually what you wanted and I didn't misunderstand you. Feel free to correct me if I did! Sorry it took this long to answer!

[anthurak]

Hi, I'm a completelly new to RWBY (half way through volume 5 now) and I'm enamored with your rosebirds posting . First because it adds so much more drama if it were true. Second because a reactor I watch asked a very interesting question " why would Yang's mom look like Ruby ?" for the volume 2 ending commentary.And last but not least it's just so tragicomic that Raven is a deadbeat mom twice, like whyyyy ?

If I got it right it goes : she has sex with Tai , Tai gets her pregnant, she carries it to term and leave, then she has sex with Summer , Summer gets her pregnant (?) And she just decides to carry it again and leave once more for reasons known only be her ?

The only question that it leaves me wondering is if Raven got envolved with two people of her team separatelly or if Summer and Tai were already a couple and she just decided to help them out ? To give them kids (???) Help me understand please, unless it's spoilers.

Hey, glad to hear you’re enjoying them XD And yeah, I think I’ve seen the reaction you’re talking about. It’s always fun to see more people likewise get curious why exactly Raven looks so much like Ruby :D

If you’re currently only partway through Volume 5, I’ll try to be vague on details that concern future volumes, but yeah what you said is mostly how I’m thinking things went down. Though with the one difference that I think it was Summer who got pregnant with Ruby. Mostly because I think that provides much better plausible deniability that Ruby could conceivably be Summer’s and Tai’s kid. For example, I imagine that Qrow having never told Ruby about this is because he doesn’t actually know, at least not for SURE. And Raven being the one who got pregnant or just Summer showing up with a kid despite not having been pregnant herself means that Qrow would DEFINITELY know for sure.

And more importantly, this all means that Raven gets to effectively be both a deadbeat mom AND a deadbeat dad! XD

To your actual question:

I actually don’t think Taiyang was EVER in any kind of serious relationship with Raven or Summer, at least not romantically. Yes, we do hear that Tai loved both Summer and Raven, but we likewise have really only heard HIS side of things. Notably we see in Volumes 4 and 5 that Raven clearly doesn’t think highly of Tai at all or shows any sign of past affection for him. As for Summer, well that falls under spoilers for future volumes. Some of my later posts on the RBP Masterlist, particularly the ones analyzing the Warrior in the Woods animated short go into detail on this. Though again, beware spoilers :)

Basically, I think any idea that Tai may have been seriously romantically involved with Summer or Raven (at least mutually) can be chocked up to a combination of rose-colored nostalgia-goggles on Tai’s part, long-held assumptions/headcanons of the fandom and RWBY’s general use of Unreliable Narrators.

Instead, I think the MAIN couple here, both for this theory and broader narrative developments in the story, was always Summer and Raven. At the very least, Summer was always Raven’s true love, and that Summer did reciprocate those feeling to one degree or another. In particular, I definitely think those two were partnered together at Beacon.

The hunch I have is that Yang was actually an unplanned pregnancy. The result of what should have been some drunken, one-night-stand between Raven and Tai. Maybe Tai was Raven’s rebound after a bad fight with Summer, but it accidentally resulted in Raven getting pregnant. Raven carries Yang to term (possibly at Summer’s prompting) but due to a number of personal issues ends up leaving not too long after Yang is born.

Then at some later date during some clandestine meeting, Summer and Raven conceive Ruby. This could have even been at Summer’s prompting specifically, as some misguided plan to convince Raven to come back to the team, and to her. Basically the classic ‘having a kid will save our relationship’ ploy. Which of course didn’t work out. Particularly after… well, whatever happened to Summer.

Hope that answers your questions! :D And that I didn’t inadvertently spoil anything for you lol

[moriartyluver]

FALSE LOVERS CHAPTER VII

EVENTUALLY THE PERFECT opportunity managed to befall both William and (name) in their ploy to catch Ashfordshire and have him brought to justice. Even if it was evil, it was a necessary evil. Who knew who else would be killed and stuffed like a doll after Mary?

A ball was to be hosted sooner or later to mark the beginning of the spring season which was soon to come. This was a nightmarish miracle to both William and (name) who had been waiting to meet Lord Ashfordshire for the past month that they had been planning his downfall together.

Their target was known to only occasionally appear in high society and as if by chance, Ashfordshire had decided on attending this particular ball and the two had been informed that this was because he held a mutual interest in (name), except for different reasons.

As of now, (name) had finished the lengthy procedure required to get ready for the ball, suffocating herself in petticoats and a whalebone corset, and was now finally at the ball, waiting by the side for either Ashfordshire or William to appear.

She wandered around the hall, looking for at least one familiar face in the sea of people she didn't really care to converse with at all. (Name) would shift from two states, looking for someone to talk to them stand by the side and swirl her wine around in her glass, which she had yet to drink.

As she continued to pace around the hall, waiting to spot Ashfordshire somewhere in the strange hall, she felt herself bump into someone. Immediately she shifted her irritated expression to one of a clumsy young lady.

"I'm terribly sorry, please forgive me if I have ruined-" she raised her head to see a familiar pair of green eyes looking down at her with a soft expression. "Lord Albert?"

"You need not apologise, Lady (name)," Albert smiled kindly "my clothes are perfectly intact and I have not been harmed. You on the other hand-"

He gestured to a small stain of wine on the front of her dress. Thankfully, it was white wine and didn't stain the dress too much but of course, it was still a stain.  Albert reached over to his breast pocket to pull out his handkerchief to hand to young woman but was beat to it by the appearance of his younger brother.

"Lady (name)," William smiled as he held out his embroidered handkerchief to her. Albert put his own away with a smirk at his brother's attitude. This would be something new to tease him for later.

(Name) took the napkin with a raised eyebrow then wiped down the front of her dress as William spoke.

"Im glad to see you've arrived as planned," he said, his implication of the situation clear. He leaned forwards to whisper into her ear, uncaring of any potentially scandalous behaviour he was exhibiting. "Unfortunately, he is later than we anticipated."

As (name) opened her mouth to speak, the music had suddenly changed and grew slower than the previous melody. Albert was taken away by a small group of noble ladies, all eager to dance with him. "I suppose I shall just wait then."

"Or, you could accept my request to dance whilst we wait?" William held out his hand, waiting for (name) to take it patiently, hoping she would accept his humble request to dance with such a fine noble lady

(Name) scoffed, then raised her gloved hand to her face as she laughed. "And why in God's name would I do such a thing?"

A smirk made its way onto William's pink lips "Why? Are you afraid I may be a better dancer than you?" He said, attempting to get a rise out of her, which proved to be successful.

The (hair colour)-ette placed her hand in his. "You have convinced me, my Lord. I accept but you must know that I am more likely the more experienced dancer, so as a result I will probably be better"

As the song played by the band towards the front of the hall began to grow louder, William guided (name) to dance the waltz with him amongst the other dance pairs. Out of the corner of his scarlet eyes, he could see Ashfordshire watching them by the side. He seemed to have arrived only moments before.

"Once you capture his interest, how do you plan on approaching him with the topic of an invitation?" William asked (name) in a hushed whisper whilst he held onto her waist.

(Name) moved along to rhythm of the harmonic instruments with her dance partner. "Ashfordshire, from what I've heard, is quite the foolish man. I wouldn't be surprised if he invited me to his manor immediately after meeting me. I may have to give the impression of having a romantic interest in him to make him reveal his true colours."

William's grip on (name)'s waist tightened as he pulled her closer to him "I see." He said in response. "But once you have him where you want him, you'd like me to send subordinates as backup just in case anything does not go to plan?"

"Correct," (name) smiled "Although I do doubt I will need them. You said they were good at combat, didn't you?"

The blond nodded "They are, but I still believe I should be there along with you, my darling (name)"

"If you really insist, but all I need is to get in that basement with him and create a diversion," (name) said as William twirled her around "and stop with the pet names, I do not belong to you nor am I dear to you."

"You would be perfect to join us, sweetheart," he said, completely ignoring her previous remark. "Would you not agree you'd be able to work well along side me, my lady?"

(Name) smirked as she 'accidentally' stepped on William's foot. "Oh, my apologies, my Lord!" She said with faux innocence

The male winced and paused for a moment then gave (name) a subtle glare before smiling and dancing with her once again. "It's no trouble, Lady (name)." His voice quieted to a hushed whisper "it appears all the men who you've danced with may have only been a figment of your imagination. I cant imagine you would be so clumsy with a mere waltz if you easily find yourself stepping on my feet."

(Name) chuckled darkly as she returned the malicious energy "I doubt you've had many female partners yourself, in both dancing and other aspects." She mocked

"Ah, you are right there, dear." William chuckled "but that doesn't mean I'm not as skilled in both dancing..and those other aspects you speak of."

As William twirled the lady around once more, (name) spotted Lord Edward Ashfordshire sipping wine alone by the side. Her eyes widened as she watched him. He wasn't as old or ugly as she expected but every time she looks at his visage closely, she could see his face melting into the devil's.

"Ashfordshire! He's here..!" (Name) whispered into William's ear as they continued dancing. "I need to speak to him whilst I have the chance-"

"Would it not be best for you to wait till the dance is over, Lady (name)? You may appear to desperate-" William was cut off by (name) escaping his grasp and walking over to Ashfordshire , leaving William to return to his brothers.

She felt nervous talking to a man she knew was capable of such disturbing acts as Josephine had described to her but as the sly woman she was, (name) covered up that fear with a friendly personality and spoke to Lord Ashforshire till the end of the ball in an attempt to befriend him so the plan would go through, and as if by strange miracle, by the end of the ball, Ashfordshire had told (name) he wished to see her again, and he invited her to dinner, much to her distaste but as she told herself, what must be done for Josephine's sake would be done.

The following week, (name) had arrived along with Josephine at the Moriarty manor to review the plan with William before she was to go to dinner with Ashfordshire. She had left the girl in the company of Louis, as if she were a mother dropping her daughter off at daycare, whilst she was introduced to William's subordinates.

As she entered, (name) saw two black haired males. A young boy, about Josephine's age, wearing a blue scarf around his neck and with a small frame. The other was a tall man, older than both William and (name), and likely older than Albert, with a black mess of hair on his head and a muscular physique. William was sat on a sofa chair, sipping a cup of tea.

"Lady (name), meet Colonel Sebastian Moran and Fred porlock," he said, gesturing to his subordinates. "You shall be working together for this mission. Please do sit down."

(Name) nodded and sat down beside him, nodding to the two with a polite smile. "Its a pleasure to meet you. I have heard of your skill from Lord William, I hope to be able to match that skill. I am in your care." She said, bowing her head then raising it once more to face.

The smaller boy remained silent but nodded in return while moran responded "Likewise" in a gruff voice.

"You do recall the entire plan, don't you? And you do remember the signal for potential danger, don't you?" William asked as (name) nodded. She had memorised the entire plan, word for word but what was even more skilled was that she had independently come up with a plan for any potential situation. Of course, planning was always important but any true schemer knew how important adaptability was.

"What do you take me for? Of course I do," she sipped on the her tea "if Ashfordshire tries anything, he'll die a quicker death than he deserves."

William narrowed his scarlet eyes then placed his cup down suddenly as he appeared to be deep in thought. (Name) looked at him curiously.

"Are you alri-"

"I'm coming with you," William said darkly. "You must not refuse. This isn't an offer, it's a command."

(Name) wanted to protest but couldn't bring herself to even return a "I don't take orders from you" to the man. She knew how high he held justice, he probably wanted Ashfordshire just as dead as she did, so who was she to deny that? She gave a simple nod.

It appears there had been a change of plan.

William and (name) both arrived together to Ashfordshire's  estate, which had this horrific aura surrounding it, where they were brought in by a young looking maid. If they weren't successful, chances are she would probably be another victim.

Once they entered the dining hall to have their meal with the Lord, it was evident to both of them that he was not expected William, and even more evident that he disliked the man instantly, however, the dark haired man  managed to keep a mildly gentlemanly facade up during the dinner.

"May I be excused to go powder my nose?" (name) eventually said. Instead of going to the bathroom though, this was the signal she had given to set the stage for the beginning of their plan.

Ashfordshire's amber eyes landed on the lady and nodded, telling one of the maids to give the woman directions.

(Name) was supposed to go to the west wing of the mansion to the nearest lavatory, but once the maid had left her alone, she quickly made her way to the opposite end of the estate, eventually finding the second entrance to the basement. She quickly picked the lock and managed to reach the trap door to give three knock, signaling she was there to Fred who was above the other side, ready to swoop in just in case (name) found herself in a difficult situation.

As soon as she had entered the basement however, her confident demeanour was washed away and replaced with fear. The large room was decorated by corpses, each of them dropping around like dolls. The stench of rotting flesh had penetrated (name)'s nostrils as she looked around further.

Meanwhile, Ashfordshire had excused himself from the awkward silence with William who had tried to attempt to engage in conversation despite feeling like he was about to hit the older man any minute. He had been overly chummy with (name) the entire hour she had been sat at the table with them and clearly ogling at her enough to make her uncomfortable. Even if they weren’t planning anything, he couldn’t blame her for leaving.

Phase two had begun.

A/N: I’m super sorry this was rushed but I was busy with my birthday celebration stuff and had to finish this quickly before getting my cake cut 😭 anyways enjoy bc next chapter we’re gonna get batshit crazy liam.

[multiplebirds]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers :D

I actually keep a list! It’s way more than 5 things but I can certainly narrow it down

Pretzels. They are great and remind me of Leverage

Small little things about my appearance, like the veins in my arms and how my nose looks from the side, and my facial structure when my undercut is properly shaved and my hair is pulled up

Walking in my heeled combat boots (make me feel powerful) and the sound of my footsteps on the floor of my cousin’s house while I’m wearing converse

Rain— the smell of it, the feel, the willingness to spin around in circles with my arms spread outward and face tiled toward the sky. 

Learning things from random spontaneous research (like the one I ranted about yesterday to @flannel-and-rainbows which I have since deemed the Octopus Epiphany)

Additional mention of my cat, who is laying by my head purring while I’m laying on the floor. It may be a ploy to steal my earbuds directly from my ears. He likes the blinking blue light and sound of podcast people talking

[hootylover2000]

This is kinda a rant but I just need to get this out. Scream it into the void if you will. FYI this is like a good 4 paragraphs long.

So basically I went New Year’s party in a library that a friend that I will call E invited me to it was chill it was a bunch of middle and high schools running around, talking to each other, and playing games and we only counted down to 10 instead of midnight so people could get home. Anyway I was talking to this one pretty socially awkward guy who I will call “guy”. A little later we started playing a game called murder in the dark which I just among us without tasks, throughout every round he followed me around and didn’t tell anyone that I was the murder one round. One thing you need to know about me is that I have a large personal bubble to the point I won’t sit next to anyone except my friend of 4 years and my direct family. Anyway he was kinda poking the bubble he eventually saw I was a tad bit uncomfortable and backed off a little. At some point he asked for my phone number I was chill with it and gave him my phone number. Something I probably should have mentioned was that through all our interactions he seemed like he may have been flirting with me or he may also have just been being nice. Either way I didn’t want a romantic relationship with anyone so the flirting would have only ever been one sided. 

Yesterday (January 1st) he apologized for being a little bit annoying and that if he was making me uncomfortable he apologized for that too. Anyway he asked he he could ask someone questions, I said yes and he sent me the following text “What are your pronouns? Sexual orientation? What you want for a profile picture? And anything else I should know about you? I just don't want to make an assumptions” I sent the answers. Then we just exchanged interests like our favorite interest and he wanted to play Minecraft with me and I just didn’t reply. Rude of me but I still had a sneaking suspicion that this dude was flirting with me and I didn’t know what to do. Anyway later that day I had invited over my friend E over to finish a show we were watching. Guy eventually texted me about how he hoped me and E were having fun hanging out which kinda confused me at the time but currently me thinks that when E was picking up her phone periodically it was to text guy. After E had left dude had sent me a text asking if he could ask more questions I said yes and here’s the questions “Are you actively interested in anyone? If yes who? I know people and might be able to help if you want” then followed it up with that he was not trying to flirt. I just said I wasn’t interested in anyone and don’t intend to be in a relationship anytime soon. He asked me if he could ask one more question and I said yes and he told me that we had a mutual friend who liked me that he wanted to help out and if I wanted to known who it is with their permission. At this point it all I knew was that it could be one of 2 people E or this other dude who I will call S (he will not be brought up for the rest of this story). After all this he asked if I knew how to minmax in dnd and I just knew this was not a ploy lol.

Today (January 2nd) first thing in the morning E asked me if she could ask a weird question and my heart dropped because I just knew that it she was gonna ask me out. She didn’t she asked me if I knew what aro or ace was and telling me that the was ace and told me that a different mutual friend had known what the terms were when she had told them because I had talked to them about it before. I told her yes and I knew the terms because some of my friends are aro ace and that I fell under the aro umbrella because I’m demiromantic. Anyway we joked about taking over Denmark. Then like and hour ago guy texted me saying that my “secret admirer” had another question. I said go ahead and he asked if I would consider being in a queer platonic relationship. I don’t actually fully understand the terms of one so if someone is reading this and have been in one can you please explain. I said I don’t know and that I would have to think about it and then he asked if I would like to be this person’s valentine and that any “date like activity” would not continue past Valentine’s Day unless both parties agreed. I said I would think about it.

That’s where everything leaves and I don’t know what to do I am 100% sure it is E now and I really don’t want to let them down but I also don’t really want to be in any kind of relationship till I fell ready and I don’t think I feel ready. So if you random internet people want to give me advice you can but yet again this is more to just yell these words some where.

[subjectively-objective]

Arcana 99 - Ch. 3

Third Place

What is this? Next

Of course, I had heard of the Grenfell-Maxwell Marathon. Its advertisements were certainly targeted towards people in desperate situations. In fact, the promised wish at the end was cited by most I saw signing up. Though it was obviously no more than a ploy to get gullible people in the gate.

Why bother with the ploy when the offered money is more than enough to draw people?

Even my fellow veterans that knew the wish was a lie desired nothing more than to win the grand amount of money at the end of it all. Most of my friends and family wanted nothing more than to win, but they either lacked the drive or the money to cross the Atlantic and try. 

Me? Well, I pride myself on being a little more tempered, a little more frugal, and a lot more patient than my peers, comes with the territory of being a sniper, but even I cannot deny a quick way to make lots of money. Combine that with my expecting wife? To not try would be the worst choice.  

I found a handful of other vets from the Continuation War and talked them all into coming with me, and we were soon on our way to the starting line. I had finished rechecking that we had everything packed in our jeep when I overheard my two teammates talking about their hopes for the race. I may have been the one to convince them to come, but they were far more ambitious than I. 

“If we can place first in five stages, that’s over half a million.” One said. 

“Yeah, but why stop there? If we make it to the end, we get that whole ‘wish’ thing.” Said the other. 

“Only if it’s true,” 

“And I can’t even begin to imagine what I would ask for if it were.” 

“I know that if I had it now, I’d only wish to be out of this damn heat.” 

They had a mutual laugh as I sat in the back of the vehicle, “You should have packed like I told you to,” The two people sat in front of me were Johannes Mannerheim, a soldier I had met during the Lapland War, and Aksel Oesch, a friend through Johannes and the person who stole this jeep from the Soviets. 

One of them waved their hands to dismiss my words, “Bah, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to buy clothes on our way to the other side of the world. By the way, are you still sure about leaving after the first stage?” 

I hesitated to answer. $1,000 was a good amount of money, and it would only grow larger if we placed higher and finished more stages, “I can’t. I promised that this would only take two months, and no amount of money is worth not seeing my child’s, well, any of it.” Johannes nodded. Though his children are adults now, he remembered how it felt. 

A minute of silence passed and it was only interrupted by the announcement of the beginning of the race. Our car sprang to life as the countless others around us followed suit. As I expected, we weren’t gaining on most of the competitors on the flats, but once we reached more rugged terrain, we would make up for it. I reached over and turned on the large radio placed next to me in the back row. I quickly scanned the stations and found the one announcing the race. 

A static-infused voice came out of the headphones and was barely audible over the screams of engines filling the air, “Laveau has broken ahead!”

“Have either of you heard of a Laveau?” I asked. 

They both shook their heads, “The only other racer I know is Dumont” 

Aksel groaned, “Can you not remind me about her, please? It kills the mood when I know this is just a race for second place.” 

"No," I said, "Someone else has already broken ahead. We're racing for third now."

“Only if there’s not another plane competing.” 

“No,” I said, “Only Dumont’s crazy enough to fly a plane when she doesn’t know where the finish line is.” Just as those words left my mouth the ground around us darkened. If I was eating anything, I would have spat it out right then. Above us was a twenty-year-old relic, a zeppelin. 

“Cool, now we’re gunning for fourth.” Johannes rubbed his hand against his head. 

I went to reassure him, but I was interrupted by the radio, “My God! Someone else has broken through the crowd and is gaining on Laveau! It’s competitor 200362, Nerio Pinkerton!” 

“Hey, Johannes the announcer just said that Nerio is here." 

“Nerio? Let me guess, he’s already far ahead of anyone else?” 

“Yeah, looks like we’re fighting for fifth.” 

“Nerio?”

“Oh, right, you’ve never met him. He was a mercenary we worked with during the Continuation War.” 

“Mercenary? I didn’t know we hired any mercenaries.” Johannes looked at me. I shook my head.

If he doesn’t know now. . .

“We are clearly off to a wonderful start to this race!” The announcer continued, “Those two appear to be leagues above the others, and what a spectacle it would be to watch them battle for victory. Wait, hold on. . . I have just received news that Mr. Pinkerton and Ms. Laveau are both members of the same team. This really does put pressure on the other competitors. Can anyone but Dumont’s plane and Kober's. . .” 

He’s on a team with that other person who sprung ahead? Fourth it is. Though, why would he waste himself on this race?

“Hey, Urho, stop daydreaming about him and look,” Johannes pointed to our left where a plane was easing above the crowd, “She must be braver than I thought, taking off in the middle of all this.” 

Something wasn’t right with Dumont trying to take off this early. She was clearly capable of it, but a collision with any vehicle would destroy her chances at victory. I grabbed my rifle’s scope and aimed it towards the plane. Through the scope, I could see black drops fly out from the right wing. 

I panned the scope until I could see the cockpit window. Inside, one person was sat behind the controls. While I couldn't see them clearly, I could tell they weren't Dumont for two reasons. Firstly, they were wearing a wide-brimmed hat inside the plane, a hat that would only make it more difficult to see where they were flying. Second, and most damning, their fashion sense was extremely poncho-centric, a direct offense to Dumont’s normal French chic. 

Well, third place it is. Disappointing, but I could use the $12,000.

I am Urho Häyhä, and this race is how I discovered what I needed most.

Next

[yugiohmutual-archive-blog]

yall reblog this with the most disappointing game u have ever played like the one that was either a sequel or overhyped and then turned out to be trash?? mine was bioshock infinite

[mansplainmanipulatemalewife]

I feel like what I call my mutuals in my head exists on some kind of scale but idk what it is

[bitchlessdino]

guilty pleasure pt.2

Pairing: Jihoon x f!reader x Mingyu

Genre: smut, some plot

Word count: 3.3k

Tags: mingyu and reader pov, siatuationship!mingyu awkward moments, producer!woozi, dumb banter, subby gyu, ma'am, choking (giving)

Summary: You know what’s shittier than liking someone taken? Liking someone taken by your best friend.

author note: im so tired yall, why does life get so busy like this? Anyways hello! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the series so fair. Im unsure how many chapters there will be but expect more as we move along w the plot. And sound off any thoughts you may have.

Chapter list

Mingyu couldn’t get enough of you. You hardly gave him the time of day the first time he laid his eyes on you, but the chase was absolutely worth it. Adorned with that tight outfit, hugging your body like a second skin, you were all he thought about that night. He was lucky enough to have met you through your mutual friend group, but unlike every other friendly face, you didn’t even show the slightest interest.

Mingyu got what he wanted most of the time and was well aware of the fact, so he was taken aback by your aloofness and failure to recognize the effect he had on every other man, woman, or nonbinary person that night. When he reaches over to graze your hand to retrieve his drink purposely, you pull away. When he tries to lean in close to talk to you over the loud music, you ask the friend next to you to translate. 

You really made it your life’s mission to ignore him at every given opportunity. He then realized his goal tonight was not to get you to sleep with him, but instead, he had hoped to achieve your respect.

“Hey.”

You glaze over him like you did every time he called out to you. “What’s up?”

“You like music? Like good music.”

You furrow your brows, “What’s good music to you?”

“None of this over-produced, over-remixed, club shit. Some good fucking music.”

Your interest was slightly piqued the first time that night, slipping the remaining contents of your watered-down drink. “I guess.”

“This probably might raise some interest for you then. I actually have an interesting collection back in my place–”

“Wow.” You exclaim in feigned disbelief. “That’s all you got? You think you can just win me over with some self-produced music that’s probably shit?”

“Yeah, but,” his lips slightly ghost over your ear, “aren’t you the slightest bit of interest in finding out if it’s actual shit like you think it is?”

You scoff. “No. Should I be?”

He shrugs, glad to finally get that smile’s first appearance. “The worst that could happen it sucks. And if it does, I’ll grant you access to kick me in the balls.”

You guffaw at his offer, almost spitting up your drink. You set it down at the high table, luckily finished, and turn to give Mingyu something that gave him a glimmer bit of hope. “You really can’t stop thinking about me, can you?��

A very flirty way to ask, ‘Are you really that desperate to get my pants?’ Things were heading in the right direction finally.

“Maybe I just know you’d appreciate some good music.”

Whatever he did seem to have worked enough to convince you to follow him back to his place. You sit back on the well-worn couch and wait for the man of the hour to come back with a laptop you assumed was his and a set of Bluetooth earbuds to share. You peer over at the screen as he handed you the right piece and you notice the unfamiliar name. 

“I thought your name was Mingyu. Who’s Woozi?”

The taller man chuckles, putting the left ear in and seats beside you. “Just about the most talented person I know.”

“Your friend? What are you, his publicist? You get girls to come back to your place and get them into his music as a marketing ploy?”

He laughs, “No, but that is a pretty ingenious method of getting people to listen. I’ll take that idea into consideration.”

He makes sure your earbud is in place, lingering in your personal bubble momentarily. He taps the space bar to play the track. When the studio plays out, you are immediately drawn in by the smooth and alluring introduction. A man’s voice plays in the background, somewhat soft yet powerful. It's addicting how he hit several notes effortlessly while singing about what you could only assume to be sex. It was actually listenable.

“Not bad, good even.” You turn to him with a grin, a corner of the lip slightly higher than the other. “Your balls are safe for tonight.”

He chuckles, drawing attention to the attractive canines that completed his smile. 

“Wasn’t even worried for a second.” So he says, one hand cupping over his crotch. 

You cover your mouth the suppress the little giggle from escaping you and then you lock contact with his pretty brown eyes. Perhaps it wa steh fact you were listening to music for with him and without notice for around 10 minutes or so, but time felt still and this “Mingyu” felt alright. 

You managed to avoid him all night under the concern of waking up in some random guy's bed, but maybe this time it wouldn't be so bad, at least not with him. He didn’t seem like such a bad guy, despite the fact he's been trying to get your attention all night. You could do worse.

When you first kiss that night, you made the first move against your better judgment, immediately melting in the plush feeling of his lips. When Mingyu pulls away, the sensation of his fleeting lips lingered against yours. You see how he places a finger on them and scoffs in disbelief. “I thought you weren’t the type to fall for this kind of stuff.”

“So you admit it was a way of picking me up,” you point out.

“…I have no smart response for that.”

“Then just follow through with your plan.”

You reunite with his lips, hand settling with his chest. Shifting more comfortably, his hands naturally found the shape of your waist. The music still plays in your ears, having you both making out to the beat of electric guitar. You feel his smile, his hair pushing a lose strand of yours away and his gripps get tighter as his lips moved loser.

Having sex to music wasn’t anything rare for you, but the intimacy of the two of you being the only ones able to listen to Woozi playing was admittedly arousing on a different level.

Mingyu with his gorgeously aesthetic body and limitless stamina fortunately did not disappoint you that night. His hands wrapped around your body felt like pure heat and animal instinct. He rocks himself into your core with no hesitation and you reciprocate with the reward of hearing his name from your lips. 

His growls resonate in your ears despite the music, embracing you from behind. His lips aggressive and hungry engorges the skin of your neck, hips thrusting deep and hard into your bottom. He feels right, he feels comfortable, and some reason pliable, like he’d do anything you would’ve wanted that night.

When both climaxes came, yours before his which was always a good sign, he offers you to stay the night. Reluctantly, you accept his offer, giving him a gracious smile, covering the bits and pieces of yourself for most of the rest of that night. Mingyu couldn’t help but smile, feeling beyond the sense of pride or relief that he usually got with the accompanionship of a stranger Tonight he couldn't help but feel something he couldn’t exactly put his finger on. Joy, perhaps.

“Would you want to do this again?” He asks, hope settling in the pit of his stomach.

“We literally met today,” You rest your head on a propped up arm, “Plus you don’t seem like the type to get into anything deeper than hookups.”

He sighs, slightly offended by your answer but decidedly responds in a way without revealing so, “We can just to get to know each other. Nothing serious. If that’s how you want things to be.”

You eyes daze over his naked body, glistening in his perspiration, chest heaving in anticipation, and that puppy dog look in his eyes that you couldn’t help but get momentarily lost it. You were always a dog person. You feel it for the first time in body, entrapped in the boyish charm that you missed out on initially.

“We’ll see in the morning, hmm? I can’t really think clearly right now,” you vulnerably confess.

A smile bridged his face, arms wrapping and tucking you inside his embrace. You take advantage of his advances and lay your head in his chest between his firm pectoral muscles, where it was admittedly homey and familiar. You could get used to this if you tried.

You were happy to drift off to sleep and wake up in those same arms the next morning. MIngyu seemed to sleep contently snuggling with you, but you worried whether the numbness appeared in those elephant trunk arms of his. You try gently prying him off, seeking refuge in that bathroom and finding yourself successful. Picking up whatever clothing you had on the ground and quickly covering yourself in it.

You escape the room with ease and turn into the common area where you lock eyes with a new character enjoying cereal by himself on the kitchen counter. He seemed quite solemn about your appearance and makes little to no effort to acknowledge you as you do to him initially since you beeline straight to the restroom. That couldn’t have been more awkward, you thought.

Having quickly freshen yourself up, you meet eyes with the stranger once again and instead of retreating to Mingyu’s room, you join him with a friendly smile. ”Hi…”

“Hey,” he greets still munching on what looks to be captain crunch, “Did you want some?”

“No, no. I’m good. I just thought it’d be rude to not say anything.”

“Cool.”

He’s not much of a talker, you realize, but end up taking the stool chair on the opposite end anyway, seeing as you’ve made it this far. “I’m guessing Mingyu’s done this a lot. You’re not surprised to see me.”

“Yeah…Your sex lives. I dont judge.”

You nod, grinning a smile that says, ‘well alright then.’

“Just in case I see you on the street or something, I’m Y/n.” God, please stop.

He nods. “Jihoon. His roommate.”

Your eyes grows twice his size. “Roommate, god that would’ve been some good information before i decided to stay over,”

He shrugs. “I’m used to it.”

“Well, if I can help it, I’ll try getting him out of the house or something.”

“You will?” He pauses.

“...Yeah. We’’re thinking of seeing each other.”

“...Hmm. Okay. That’s new.”

His tone comes off slightly dubious but not enough for it to come off offensive, you let the matter go. The tension breaks when the man of the hour leaves his bedroom in a lone pair of boxers, coming up to embrace you from behind. His lips nip at your ear and you can’t help but feel self-conscious of the other person there. His voices makes the hair on your shoulders stands as he whispers, “Morning gorgeous. Missed you in bed.”

“Thanks. Just ignore that I’m here, Gyu.”

Mingyu’s tone perks into something more peppy for his rather stoic roommate, grinning from ear to ear. “Jihoon! When did you come home?”

He didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by the possibility of giving his roommate a free show, and you feel just a bit pity for the man. 

“I don’t know. One, two am? Reminds me I need to buy some travel noise cancelling headphones.”

The man, noticeably shorter than Mingyu, trods off to his room and leaving you and your nightly partner alone. That day marks the first of many awkward small talks and empty silences with Jihoon, a man of what you find to be of many surprises. One of the next few times you woke up in Mingyu’s bed, you greeted his roommate once again, seeing as he’s working something on the designated ‘Woozi’ labeled computer you remember Mingyu using the first time you came over and bring it up to his attention.

“You aren’t perhaps, the Woozi, are you?”

“...I am? You heard of me?”

You smile at him, finally something to pique some of his interest. “Mingyu showed me some of your stuff the first time we met.”

“Oh. sorry.”

Your eyes blow open, “No, no. Your stuff is really good. Lucky too, MIngyu would’ve gotten his balls knocked back into him if it wasn’t.”

You try holding back most of your laughter but fail and Jihoon joins you, sporting quite the attractive smile. “Honestly, sucks to miss out on that. It’d be funny to see Mingyu struck out for once. Literally.”

“Wow, you’re mean,” You comment back laughing.

“You’re the one that wanted to go through with it,” he retorts, a grin wide and apparent.

“I didn’t think the music would actually be bad, and if it was, I still wouldn’t!”

“Right…”

You were both laughing about five minutes before Mingyu joined the both of you, wondering what he’s missed and eventually there was this natural interaction between the all of you. It almost became routine. Mingyu and you had sex as often as possible with the days and time you had available and that meant you saw Jihoon as often as expected. It was like clock work how your dynamic became how it is. And if you were bing honest, You were as comfortable with Jihoon as you were Mingyu, if not more.

“I’m starting to think you use our bed creaking or voices in your songs without our permission,” You instigate one day. 

Jihoon snorts. “In what god’s name makes you believe that?”

“I see you almost all the time. It’s like you’re always here. Not that I’d mind though.”

You’re sitting next to him this time in Mingyu’s obnoxiously big t-shirt, sharing a brew of coffee that Jihoon decided to make for the day while he’s writing in that music journal of his. He looks at you unpleasantly, playfully offended by the accusation pointed toward him. 

“...Well, I’m not. That’s be perverse. Not that I need to defend myself, but I’m not.”

“Okay, then,” you tease.

“It may be hard to believe, but I have a life outside the both of you, you know.”

“You’re right, I don’t believe you.” You knock into his shoulder, giggling, only to see him roll his eyes back at you.

Jihoon is silently for a short time, and that silence falls in the between the lines of awkward again once he fakes a random cough. You hum back at him, sipping your coffee and wait for him to give a response. Instead, he lingers a little too long into his thoughts before he settles into a simple, “Fine…Believe what you want to believe.”

He’s quiet for the rest of that time before Mingyu finally joins us and you start to miss talking to him. Since that day those interactions started to die out, and you’ve wondered why. His conversations with you are alot more cut and less detailed. It hurt to be honest. Jihoon was refreshing and gave you insight that MIngyu couldn’t provide. Then again, Mingyu wasn’t awful company.

“God, you’re so big…”

You ride MIngyu’s hips like you were aiming for the blue ribbon. That confident side smile stretches over his cheeks feeling you clench around him marvelously. His hands find home on your breasts, feeling their soft and perfect they were in his grasps. You’d moan against his jaw, pressing kisses over his skin, making him shudder. 

“Fuck yes.” His hands travel down to your hips, guiding you to which suit him best, and you feel the jerk of his cock pump into you. 

You mewl over his intiative and run your lip messily over his. He clutches your frame with much desperation and moans in your mouth as you suck on his tongue. Your hands run through his bed hair, whining to the clap of your butt cheeks when Mingyu decides to get ‘playful.’ That’s when you try out one of the things you’ve discussed in the past. Your index and thumb presses on either side of his neck, squeezing just slightly and Mingyu just lets out a single breath.

“Mm…” he only says.

You had came enough times tonight and finally it felt like it was MIngyu’s turn to get fucked stupid. You had no complaints for teh arrangement you had with him so far. You squeeze on the base of his neck a little tighter along with another set of something clenching around him. “Yeah? You like that?”

“Mmh, yes…”

Your hips buckle faster, mouth ajar anticpatingly, the voice that leaves you sounding domineering as possible, “Yes, what?”

With a smile laced was ecstasy on his face, he answers. “Yes ma’am…”

“What a good boy. Should I let you cum, baby?”

He nods, aching to get that bit of breath from the small opening you’re allowing oxygen through.

“What have I told you about talking…I want to hear you, Gyu. Tell me how much you want to cum.”

“Please,” he says without a beat in between, “I want to come so bad…please…ma’am.”

You audibly moan, feeling his hips fuck in you faster, only fueling you more. “Yes, baby. Cum for me. You can cum.”

Your hand still around his neck, his eyes rolls back, his neck giving out and falling to his bedframe as the heat of his load vilolent spurts into his latex encased cock, weakly jerking back into you. His hand catches the back of your head and hold against the crook of his neck. You chuckle in the skin of his neck, running your lips over it.

“You’re amazing,” he finally says when let go of the chokehold.

You kiss him as thanks, smiling at him with dopamine still running through your body. “I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

He nods, chastely kissing you back before letting you go. You hastily threw another shirt on, but don’t bother to get underwear. Leaving him a small smile, you close Mingyu’s door behind you and strut to the bathroom door where its starts opening on the other end. 

Startled, Jihoon faces parallel to you with wet strands of hair dripping down to his broad exposed shoulders. His tone arms were no surprise as you’ve seen (not stared) from the sleeveless muscle tees he occasionally sports. The tiny waist and sculpted torso, however, was more than enough to get that sex high to return.

Your eyes linger on each other for some time. His gaze scans you from top to bottom, your legs only being the thing to be apparent from your otherwise covered body, before he meets your eyes solemnly, lacking much of a reactive response. “Mind moving?”

“S-sorry, “ You step aside to take in his appearance. 

Only in a pair of gym shorts, Jihoon steps out of the bathroom, clutching a familiar article of clothing in his hand. “Isn’t that the shirt I borrowed?”

The tips of his ear turn noticeable pink, and a deafening silence resonates before he finally decides to respond. “Yeah, I took it with me thinking it was a clean shirt. I was gonna throw it in the wash.”

He clutches it harder in his grip for you to make out what looks like a dark wet stain. “Huh, okay. Thanks about that again by the way.”

“Yeah. bye.”

He trods off again but offers you a show without meaning to. With his incredibly delicious upper body down to the round thick ass to follow, you grew increasingly aware of the moisture between your legs. You were no better than any man.

You close the bathroom door discreetly behind you, images of Jihoon’s taken aback expression (which happened to be a normal amount of endearing) before showing off one of the godliest bodies you’ve ever seen on a human being. You swallow your own drool, hands creeping down to the arousal seeping out of your already lubed-up cunt, regretting not wearing that underwear now.

“What the fuck was that?”

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

To be clear when I say shut the fuck up about the Anon it's because it's not relevant to the conversation. I too have bitched about the Anon. You may bitch about the Anon. Me and some of the mutuals have a group chat where we bitch about people in fandom that piss us off and we've bitched about the Anon. The issue is when you bitch about the Anon to me on posts unrelated to the Anon. I've seriously had interactions that went like this on here:

Me: a take that wasn't even Izzy critical was literally just talking about the show (you know a show where Izzy's an antagonist and gets dunked on repeatedly so you might say something unflattering about him without it being a hate post) the post doesn't target anyone. I tag it Izzy Hands because that's who's in the motherfucking post

Somebody in my comments: how fucking dare you don't you know we're being harassed

Me: ok this post isn't harassing you tho

Them: but there's this anon you see

The Anon in question, in my inbox: you're a disgrace to trans men everywhere because you *checks notes* enjoy a character that can be accurately nicknamed Herpes Cowboy. Kill yourself you racist (citation needed)

Like you see how the bringing up of this anon is just a ploy to get me to shut up, right? You get how constantly attempting to guilt someone about a situation they have no control over in order to get them to stop making posts with no real relevance to the situation in question can also be considered harassment, dont you. I at least have the decency to vague post when I see a take I hate specifically because I don't want to bother anyone.

[procrastinatorproject]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Trek: Picard Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Agnes Jurati/Cristóbal Rios Characters: Agnes Jurati, Cristóbal Rios Additional Tags: Meta, Developing Relationship, my take on Agnes and Cris's relationship, and why i think it works, Minor Character Death (Mentioned), Psychological Trauma

Title Inspired by @regionalpancake‘s glorious Downtime Drabble “You’re Light On Me”

A while ago, a friend confessed to me that they didn’t really understand what Agnes Jurati and Cris Rios see in each other. They felt the relationship seemed unmotivated and forced, and they didn’t really see why other people thought it worked.

I’ve seen this sentiment a few times since the show came out, and I’m not here to tell anyone they have to agree with the show-writers’ choices or like a relationship if it doesn’t work for them. But I recently reread the little essay I sent that friend in reply (after making sure they’d want to read it ;9 ), and I really liked it, so I thought I’d share it here.

When people say that the kiss between Agnes Jurati and Cristobal Rios at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 1 blindsided them, I understand where they're coming from. I think the showrunners could have done more to make the developing relationship between these characters truly obvious, but for me, it didn't feel like the mutual attraction between Cris and Agnes came completely out of nowhere. Let me explain.

One of the big things about Rios’s character I find striking is that he wants to be stoic and cynical and misanthropic, but he just... can't do it. He tries! He's short, he hides behind his books, and he pretends he doesn't care about politeness. But the only people he ever swears at are Raffi, a very good friend, and the holos (which are a whole other matter, because there is all this self-loathing tied up in Cris's relationship with them). Over the course of season 1, it's pretty clear that Rios is rather good at reading people, and he wants to do right by them. He defers to Picard pretty much immediately and Soji looks at him pleadingly once and he decides to put his ship at risk for her.

Rios doesn't want to like people, he just can't help himself. He wants to be annoyed by Agnes interrupting his reading, but I think he finds her quirkiness disarming and charming. It's already visible in the way he looks at her on the bridge, when they talk about paper books. And then they go to the holodeck to discuss Picard's detour to Vashti. Since Agnes is the audience stand-in, she asks a bunch of questions, and instead of being annoyed or short, Cris patiently explains everything to her (after offering her a seat). Later, when Cris asks Agnes what she thinks about his outfit for the Stardust City caper and she says he's killing it, there's a beat there. He seems almost a little taken aback, either by her sincerity, or maybe by realizing he values her opinion. It's yet another thing they connect over it. (Also robot boxing. That scene is adorable)

With regards to Agnes… I think partially, she's leaning into her natural humour and quirkiness to appear non-threatening and not give herself away, but I also have another read on her behaviour. (This may partially be me projecting WAY TOO HARD, or, to put it more generously, applying some lived experience to what we see of Agnes's character, so your take on this might be very different. But this is what I see.)

When Agnes and Cris talk before they go off to have sex, Agnes is making jokes and smiling. To me, that doesn’t read as fake or a ploy to manipulate Rios, it seems real. And then when he asks, really asks, how she's feeling, suddenly there is this chasm of pain right under the surface. For me, the idea that Agnes has this intense psychological trauma and is dealing with it by finding joy in little things, like watering the plants, and reading papers, and flirting with the hot captain by completely wrong-footing him with a comment about her dad... it feels very authentic. And I can see how this guy, who pretends to be all uncaring and edgy but is actually a big softie not very far under the surface, and who smiles at her jokes and takes the time to explain stuff to her and listens to her babble, that's a nice distraction from the horrible things happening in her mind. Not in the sense that she's manipulatively using him, but in the sense that this kind of human connection gives her moments of light and gives her reasons to keep going, even through so much pain.

After Agnes kills Maddox, she is deeply, deeply conflicted over what she's done. To the point where when they’re leaving the Artefact, she basically says "I don't care if the world ends if I don't kill Soji. Let it all burn. I just can't do this anymore". And then here is this man, who's kind and caring and, yes, hot, and at first it's "I just want to feel something, anything, and he's here, he's half-naked, he's gorgeous". And Rios isn't necessarily opposed to a no-strings-attached fling. Because he keeps telling himself he doesn't get attached and he hates people and he's only ferrying them around because they're paying him. So it's a distraction with a woman who is quirky and witty and pretty, but it won't mean anything, and that's okay.

And then Agnes changes her mind, because she realizes having sex with Rios will make things more complicated. Or maybe because she thinks Rios deserves better. Or that she shouldn't have sex to distract herself from horrible emotional pain because that's kinda unhealthy.

So she pulls back.

And Rios, instead of being annoyed at missing out or feeling like she led him on, or any number of things, asks her how she's feeling. In a way that makes it clear (at least to me) that he really cares about the answer. And for a moment, Agnes lets him see the true darkness inside her. Because she can pretend it's about Maddox dying, she can pretend it's just about being a lonely nerd. She doesn't have to tell him how bad it really is, but she lets herself feel all of the bad emotions for just a moment.

And then she kisses him again, maybe to shut herself up or to distract herself, or because she needs the connection. And he doesn't have any illusion about what it is they're doing. He knows she's trying to feel better, he essentially tells her he knows it's a way for her to deal with her devastation, and he's okay with it. Maybe because he knows what it's like to feel hollow and terrified and need something, anything to cling to.

And at this point, I think they're both still telling themselves that they don't actually care about each other. Cris because he doesn't want to care about anyone ever again so he won't get hurt. (Which, again, he fails miserably at, but I think that's how he wants to see himself and why he treats his holos with so much disdain that Emil tells Picard "He doesn't get any nicer", even though we see Rios being kind to all the people on board.) And Agnes doesn't really have the brain space to allow herself to fall for anyone. She's just taking little moments of light and human connection where she can get them. And they both decide to have sex as a one-night-stand, just to make Agnes feel better for the night, just because they're both lonely and in pain. No deeper meaning behind it.

And then the whole tracker debacle happens. It takes three days to get to Nepenthe and by the time Agnes goes into a coma, they're still a couple days away at least. She doesn't wake up until Picard is back on board, which means she's out for a long time. Even though we don’t see much of the medical drama, we can assume she was very much at death's door. So, now Rios is faced with once again losing someone he feels somewhat responsible for. Someone he has actually gotten close to. And I think that moment and the fear it causes him might make him start to realize how much he actually cares about her.

And then when Picard and Soji are on board, they all sit down together and figure out the big mystery at the heart of season 1. And here is another thing Cris and Agnes find out they have in common: Both of their lives and minds got destroyed by Oh's machinations. Cris went against everything he believed in when he covered up what Vandermeer had done. He didn't actively kill anyone, but he feels like Vandermeer's death is his fault. His belief in the fundamental goodness of Starfleet was shattered when they threatened to blow up his ship. For Agnes, this kind of shattering of a truth she had clung to comes when she realizes she wasn't acting on the directive of the Head of Starfleet Security in a black-ops mission sanctioned by one of the most important institutions of the Federation. Instead, she was nothing but a pawn, used by Oh for nefarious purposes that had nothing to do with the greater good. The exact circumstances of their traumas are different, but they were both caught up in the same catastrophe and cover-up and it has marked them in similar ways.

I think this is one of the reasons Rios doesn't blame Agnes for killing Maddox. If anything, he gets more protective of her, e.g. by trying to stop Sutra from forcing another mind-meld on Agnes. You can see this in a more subtle scene, too: when Cris says goodbye to Agnes at Coppelius station, he reaches out to touch her face, but then he hesitates and proceeds with extreme gentleness and care. To me, that reads like someone very, very aware of the other person's trauma and possible triggers (forced mind-meld) and caring deeply about making sure she feels safe and has something good to counterbalance the horrible memories.

And finally, we clearly jump quite a bit in time at the very end of season 1. When our motley crew sets out from Coppelius, the Synth Ban has been lifted. Just imagine the bureaucracy that must have taken! That’s not something that can be overturned in a day. Also, Raffi and Seven have had time to connect, so I imagine in that time, Cris and Agnes, too, will have slowly figured out whether they're compatible and whether this relationship is something they might, very carefully and gently, endeavour together.

Because they have a compatible kind of humour, because they understand what it's like to feel deeply broken but to keep going regardless, because she's witty and quirky and he's caring and kind and they went through a very specific hell together, and they might be able to hold each other's hands as they slowly make their ways towards healing.

I’m going to do a metatextual thing here and quote an absolutely gorgeous drabble by @regionalpancake that, to me, encapsulates one very important aspect of the relationship between Cris and Agnes.

     Your Light On Me  

You’d forgotten just how it felt. To feel like you. A stranger, Last seen aboard the Ibn Majid. Proud, red trimmed shoulders, Bright pips, a polished combadge. You signed aboard, And found A different man signed off. You’re old enough to know, She cannot fix you. You wouldn’t want her to. That’s between Pops and you. That’s your work to do, Not hers. But Agnes? Preciosa. Something in her, Shines a light. Reminds you who you are. You have to find, Your own way home. But god, It’s nice, At last, To find, A gentle soul, To hold the lamp.

 Chapter 74 of Downtime

That. Right there. A gentle soul to hold the lamp. I think for me, that's what the relationship between Cris and Agnes boils down to.

They are broken people in a broken world, but by the end of season 1, they have found that they can hold each other while they try to put themselves back together. And what starts out as a fun, distracting flirtation, then turns into "meaningless" sex to stop feeling lonely and sad, finally becomes the beginning of a relationship built on shared trauma, but more importantly on kindness and charm.

I have no idea whether these two can make it work long-term, but I am very much on board for what we've seen so far, and I hope this can help a bit in explaining why.

NB: After I finished writing this a few weeks back, I remembered that there was a fic that came to very similar conclusions. Upon reread, I realized it essentially hits the exact same points I do here and does so absolutely beautifully. So if you want a truly touching in-universe perspective on this relationship, go and read Love Comes Softly by Be_Right_Back (@smhalltheurlsaretaken, or listen to the Podfic recorded by Thimblerig. I cannot recommend this fic highly enough!      

[pickledpascal]

There’s A She-Wolf in the Closet

Chapter Eight: Mistress Violet

Summary: Mrs. Hudson doesn't like to have an opportunity go to waste when revealing something in Jayden's past.

Warnings: Sexual themes

Word Count: 1.5k

TASWITC Masterlist

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

-----------

It was a quiet morning in Baker street, no urgent cases needed to be tended to, no unexpected explosions, and no shooting up the walls in boredom. So Mrs. Hudson decided to prepare some tea for Sherlock, as she usually did if she had the time. Setting everything on a tray, the landlady began to climb the stairs to 221b. As she pushed open the door, she could see Sherlock looking out the windows onto the bare streets. Mrs. Hudson was surprised he was even awake this early. But miracles do happen.

"Here to bring me my tea again, Mrs. Hudson?" He asked, a small smirk on his lips as he turned over to her. The woman rolled her eyes, setting the tray down on the table before she prepared it for him. 

—------------

Thankfully, this time, there were no major changes happening on the same day. John and Mary were married and he moved out. For Sherlock, no other changes needed to happen. He was content with the way things were.

Or so, he thought.

Jayden was still a big outlier in Sherlock's mind. Sure, he could deduce her but there was still so much left to talk about. For instance, the next step in their relationship. The detective may be a little out of place when it came to romantics but he could tell there was some sort of mutual attraction. He could tell Jay was attracted to him as well but they both didn't know what to do. She was so different from any woman he's met before. 

There was no explanation for it. Sherlock couldn't find one. Just that his brain was being his brain and his heart was being his heart. 

The same, yet different. 

Attraction. It was so foreign to Sherlock. He's never been attracted to anyone in his life. Maybe some but that was more platonic in his mind, he couldn't tell at this point since it was so long ago.

—--------------

"Well, someone has to or you'll be cranky for the day." Mrs. Hudson rolled her eyes as Sherlock grabbed his tea. Sometimes, the detective would be grumpy even with the tea. But it would sure as hell help.

Sherlock let out a small laugh as he took a sip. It was perfect, as always when Mrs. Hudson made him tea. It was also somewhat refreshing after downing the coffee Jayden made every time he went to her flat. He should probably teach Jay how to make tea…. He'd drink it even if it was horrible. Sherlock has put worse things in his mouth.

Mrs. Hudson hummed as she sat down on the plush chair across from Sherlock. "I'm surprised you haven't found a way to bother Jayden yet." She said smugly, a knowing look in her eyes. More than half the time she was in either Sherlock's or Jayden's flat, they were together. 

"Forget the biscuits again?" Sherlock tried to change the subject, knowing what Mrs. Hudson was insinuating. He was sure this would be a part of some ploy to force the two of them together.

But like John and Mary said, some relationships took time and were based on what one felt in the moment. And Sherlock wasn’t sure if he was ready yet.

"There's so many things Jayden hasn't told you, for good reason. She is the more sexually experienced out of the both of you." Mrs. Hudson shrugged, ignoring Sherlock's futile attempt at getting her to be quiet. "But I wouldn't want to ruin your image of her, now would I?" There was a small quirk of her lips.

Sherlock took a sip of his tea, taking a breath as he shifted his gaze up at Mrs. Hudson. "You wouldn't have brought that up unless you did." He said simply, "So spill." 

He doubted anything Mrs. Hudson said would ruin his image of the girl living above him. With the way the landlady was acting, it may even make him think better of her.

What was said, though, was unexpected.

"When I met her, years ago, Jayden was a porn star–"

"And she still is."

"And she also worked at a dominatrix club." Mrs. Hudson explained, looking into the distance as she remembered and pursed her lips. 

Sherlock blinked, almost choking on his tea. He had a type, huh? He didn't really like Irene in a romantic way but it was more of a mutual appreciation. She had almost bested him and he saved her life in return. Irene would probably be having the time of her life listening to this. Yet another installment of the detective and the dominatrix, just a different one.

But how could he not see it before? Jayden knew all these different kinds of ropes and methods for tying rope on people. Bondage was very common in the dominatrix community. It should've been obvious! Perhaps he was just blinded, a light blindfold on each time he looked at the woman. 

"From what I remember, she was one of the highest paid ones. She even had a special name." Mrs Hudson chuckled softly, "'Mistress Violet.' She even had purple hair at the time so maybe that's how she came up with it, I'm not completely sure." The woman shrugged, a light smile on her face as if she didn't just give Sherlock groundbreaking information.

Mistress Violet….. Saved. 

Before Sherlock could even register it, he stored that information in the back of his mind to save it for later. Whenever later would be.

"Great talk." Sherlock pursed his lips, sipping his tea before he set it down and stood up to guide Mrs. Hudson out of his flat. "Next time, I advise you not to give out information that is not yours to give." He said with a fake smile, closing the door before the older woman could respond. 

Turning back to his flat, Sherlock took a deep breath and shook his head a little. He wanted to delete everything Mrs. Hudson just said but…. Something was stopping him. 

Attraction strikes again in the face of logic. 

Though Sherlock could always just blame it on Mrs. Hudson, it wasn't like Jayden would be mad at her anyway. From what he could see, Jay thought of the landlady like an adopted mother. A meddling one, but still, not as horrible as her biological one.

The man sat back down in his seat, humming as he took a sip of his tea. He glanced up at the ceiling as he heard a thump from upstairs. 

Jayden fell. Mrs. Hudson was upstairs. Sherlock's eyes widened. 

And before he knew it, Jayden was in the doorframe to his flat. Her hair was a mess, her glasses were sitting squarely on her face and she wore a simple black band t-shirt and some soft shorts, her tattoos on full display. Jay looked adorable. 

Quite the opposite for what you would think a dominatrix should look like.

"Whatever Mrs. Hudson said is…." She took a deep breath, "First of all, right BUT she had no right to tell you." Jay breathed, running a hand through her hair. 

Sherlock let out a small laugh, nodding as he went up to Jay and took her hands to guide her to his chair so she could sit. "Yes, I know. Consider everything she said deleted." He hummed, going over to the kitchen to start some coffee for Jayden.

The young woman cocked her head as she watched Sherlock make some coffee for her. Though, Jay remembered, she shouldn't question it. Sherlock remembered everything. It shouldn't be a surprise that he knew how she took her coffee.

As Sherlock handed Jayden a mug and offered her some biscuits…. Or cookies as Jayden reminded him, she pursed her lips, "It's not ever going to be deleted, hm?" It was her turn to be smug. 

Jayden could tell that even if Sherlock deleted something, it wouldn't be lost forever but this…. There was something special between the two of them that even if the man tried, it could never escape his mind. Sherlock had a section in his mind palace devoted to everyone in life, the closer one was to him, the bigger the section. For instance, John's wing in his mind palace was huge…. Yet Jayden's was even bigger. Every little piece of information Sherlock could get from her was immediately stored away. How she took her coffee, the different ways she liked to style her hair, the most miniscule scars on her hands from playing the guitar, her favorite flavor of ice cream, the face she made when she tasted something she hated, the patterning of her eyes, things that people may not think were overly important. Sherlock kept those. 

“You know me too well, Miss Wayne." Sherlock smiled softly, nodding at her as he took his tea and sat in the loveseat across from Jayden. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." He admitted.

Jayden was similar to Sherlock in that aspect. She knew a lot about Sherlock as well but it wasn’t like she had a mind palace with rooms filled with information. She was just nice. Knowing simple things somehow meant so much. It’s how she acted with a lot of people she loved, the detective was no different. 

Well, maybe a little different. There was something special about him. Something Jay hasn’t ever had before. 

--------

Taglist open

@thewinterpoet2

[darling-i-read-it]

Shiizakana

2x09 

Hannibal Lecter x reader x Will Graham 

Hannibal Re-Write Series Masterlist

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: spoilers for hannibal, murder, dead bodies, manipulation 

Author’s Note: I don’t know? What’s going on? My fingers just go and then I reread it and I’m like ‘oh shit i did that’ and i love it sm

I used some direct quotes from the script so some things may seem familiar 

Official Episode Summary :A truck driver's body appears to have been torn apart by two different species of animals working in tandem; Will meets Hannibal's new patient; Hannibal sends Will a test to determine his true self.

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director 

Tag List (is always open!) : @llperfectsymmetryll​ @ericacactus​ @vlightning95​

(not my gif) 

You leaned back against the headboard of the bed. You had woken up and wasn’t able to go back to sleep so you decided just to sit up and stare into the darkness, thinking and hoping that your eyes would get droopy enough to sleep. You didn’t want to have another nightmare if you did go to sleep. You had at least stopped waking up screaming. Will sometimes didn’t even notice now and you would rather him get a good night sleep. He assured you thought you could wake him up whenever you needed to. 

You glanced down at his sleeping face and let out a small sigh. You at least knew that he was something you could trust. Even if he tried to kill your only mutual friend at this point or was sent to jail on murder charges that same friend set him up for. You knew you could trust him to not want to hurt you. 

He woke up with a start. It startled you how quickly he sat up because of how peacefully you thought he had been sleeping before. 

“You okay?” you asked groggily, voice raspy from sleep. He got his bearings and nodded slowly, sitting up beside you against the back of the bed.

“Nightmare,” he muttered.

“What about?” He thought hard and you weren’t sure where his mind had gone.

“Hannibal,” he muttered. “How with love we see potential and through love we allow the loved one to see the potential.” He shook his head. “It probably didn’t mean anything. I think a deer was there.” You laughed a bit and put your head gently against the back of the headboard.

“Dreams can be weird. But they can also be very insightful,” you pointed out. He nodded, mulling over the dream he had just had. He thought about the way Hannibal was tied up and shook the image out of his mind.

“Yeah, I guess.”

-

Will had just gotten out of therapy with Hannibal. It was odd, thinking about that. Will used to tell you every detail of the sessions that he remembered but now you feel odd asking for them. You knew he was trying to get a ploy out of something. You weren’t sure what but you knew it was something. 

“I’ll meet you out there,” you said as you got your papers together. Will nodded and left out of the door. Hannibal stepped outside the office and you glanced up at him. “How was the session? Did you try and manipulate him again?” Hannibal shook his head.

“Not today.” You nodded and put on your scarf, grabbing your bag of paperwork.

“Thank you. I would like to keep him in one piece if I can help anything.” He nodded.

“That I understand.” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Hannibal nodded and you waved at him as you walked out the front door. Margot Verger was outside, talking to Will. You walked up to her and gave her a small smile. 

“Hello Margot,” you said, standing beside Will. She gave you a kind smile.

“Miss. Secretary. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” 

“Y/N,” you said and shook her hand. Will put his hand on the small of your back and Margot gave you a suggestive smile.

“Miss. Secretary dating the guy who didn’t kill all those people. Quite a duo.” She gave you each a nod as you chuckled a bit in acknowledgement. “I’ll see you two around.” You nodded and she walked away, into the building. 

You glanced over at Will who was watching her go inside.

“What do you know about her?” he questioned.

“Nothing. I mean, Hannibal isn’t supposed to tell me anything,” you said which basically meant you knew a bit but weren’t allowed to share. Will nodded and you finished your walk to the car.

-

You sat in the house together. Hannibal let you go home just after Will’s appointment even though you were meant to stay longer and wrap things up. You sat together in front of the fireplace, on the floor surrounded by dogs. Every chance that you got you spent time with him after realizing the value of that time when he went to prison.

“Do you have any regrets?” Will asked. The same question he had asked Hannibal when therapy began that day. He had an arm over your back, leaning against you and the couch where you were both keeping yourselves up. 

“Yes. Doesn’t everyone?” Will looked into the fire that he had built to guard against the cold outside days. 

“I have so many regrets,” he whispered. 

“Regret comes with life.” 

“That’s what Hannibal said,” he whispered. You looked at him. His eyes seemed far away. “I regret what I did in the stables.” 

“You regretted pulling a gun or you regret letting Hannibal stop you from pulling the trigger?” Will let out a small sigh and his eyes finally met yours. 

“You were there,” he said. “You saw a part of me…” 

“That I knew was there,” you said honestly.

“What would you have done if I pulled the trigger? I wanted to. I still want to. Hannibal would have covered for me and I can’t tell what you have done.” You looked away from him. You hadn’t thought about it. You wanted him to kill the social worker. You thought that the man deserved it more than most. You knew how the justice system can fail. But still, would you have covered for Will after?

“I wouldn’t have let you go back to that hospital,” you said honestly. “I don’t know what I would have done to ensure it. Probably anything I needed to.” You looked back at his eyes and he nodded, pleased enough with that answer. 

“Are you out of hot cocoa?” he asked as he looked at your cup. You looked down at it and nodded.

“Yes sir I am.” He moved his hand away from behind you and took the cup out of your hands.

“I’ll put the cup in the sink. Do you want anything?” You shook your head.

“No, thank you. You’re very kind Mr. Graham.”

“Only for you.”

-

You walked beside Will from your car into the crime scene. You noticed Hannibal getting out of his car as well. You were all tucked in heavy coats from the weather. Will and you were both wearing beanies to hide your ears from the air. Hannibal was wearing a fun hat that you thought looked rather silly. 

“Hannibal, I love that hat,” you called as he met up with where you and Will were walking. 

“Thank you very much,” he said and you smiled. You stuck your hands in your pockets and approached where Jack stood. He turned to all three of you and seemed amazed that you were together. He stifled it quickly though.

“It snowed all night. There are no tracks. You sure it was an animal?” Will asked as he came to a halt.

“Severance of the jugular and carotids, esophagus destroyed. The bite almost severed his head,” Zeller said. 

“Evisceration was performed by large, non-retractable claws, so we’re looking at a wolf or a bear,” Price finished. 

“Whatever it was, it wasn’t afraid of humans. Not anymore.” You eye the corpse-icle on the cab of the truck.

“Don't wolves and bears drag away their kills? To eat?” you asked. 

“Unless it went mad. A rabid animal attacks its victims at random and doesn't’ eat any part of them,” Hannibal suggested. 

“There was no eating here. We found just about everything. Viscera was exposed, belly was laid open, but no sign of gnawing or rutting,” Zeller explained. The body's guts were sprayed everywhere but the cold had taken up most of the damage that you could see. Except the things that Price and Zeller hadn’t unearthed already.

“Found the same wound patterns on recent livestock mutilations in the area. Evisceration, dismemberment yet everything accounted for,” Price added.

“Since when does the FBI get involved in animal attacks, Jack?” Will asked the question you were all thinking. 

“When somebodys holding the leash of whatever’s doing the attacking.”

-

You and Will drove together to where they were holding Peter Bernardone. You got out of the car with him but leaned against it, looking over at him.

“I think this might be best handled with just you,” you muttered. Will looked over the front of the car at you.

“Why would you think that?” he questioned. You shrugged.

“You and Peter have the same problem. The same intention, for better or worse. He might open up to you more.” Will nodded and looked up at the large building. 

“Come inside anyway. Wait in the lobby for me.” You nodded.

“Sure, of course.” 

-

The next crime scene seemed just as gruesome than the last. Will was no longer convinced of the animal thing that was being pursued, he was wondering much more about the person behind the supposed animal.

You waited back beside Jack as Will did his thing. You glanced over at the man, surprised to find yourself here. Beside him, with Will in the situation you wanted him out of so much.

Will stepped out of it and turned around to you and Jack.

“It’s not an animal. It’s a man who wants to be an animal,” Will whispered. 

-

Will walked into the office as you sat at your desk. You had your feet up, drinking out of your water bottle.

“You don’t have an appointment,” you said. “What can I do for you?” He walked up to your desk.

“Is Hannibal busy?”

“No sir.” Will nodded and went to open the door before turning to you.

“I’m not here on an appointment. If you wanna come join.” You raised an eyebrow and pretended to think about it.

“Well if you insist handsome.” You got up out of your chair and Will opened the office door. You both walked inside. 

“What do I owe the pleasure to see both of you in my office?” Hannibal questioned.

“I work here,” you answered.

“And I am a patient.” 

“And we are dating,” you finished off. You sat on the desk while Will leaned against it beside you. 

“The murder recently, not a clean one,” Hannibal said. “No beat is more savage than man when possessed with power answerable to his own rage,” he muttered. 

“It’s not rage. Rage is an emotional response to being provoked. This is something else,” Will explained. 

“What is it?” Hannibal asked.

“Instinct. It’s the way he thinks.” 

“The way any animal thinks depends on limitations of the mind and body. If we learn our limitations too soon, we never learn our power,” Hannibal inquired. 

“He tore his victims apart didn’t he? I’d say he learned his power,” you said. 

“He claimed his power. Can you imagine tearing someone apart or would you prefer to use a gun?” 

“Is this a question to just me or also Y/N?” Will asked, a small sly smile on his face. 

“Both of you I suppose.” 

“Guns lack intimacy,” Will stated. 

“And it’s instant. Doesn’t allow to watch eyes drain,” you whispered.

“You set an event in motion with a gun. You don't’ complete it,” Hannibal said. You nodded, fingers wrapped around the desk. What an odd question that seemed so normalized in this room.

-

You were inside doing the dishes when you heard a car pull up. You looked at Will, who was sitting on the couch. He looked at you.

“Were you expecting company?” you questioned. He shook his head.

“I was not.” 

You put the dish down and dried out your hands, following Will to the door. You stepped outside together and the sight of Margot Verger came to your eye. You were surprised, very surprised. You had barely given the woman a second thought and now she was at your doorstep. 

“Sorry for the intrusion. We met outside of Dr. Lecter’s office,” Margot explained. 

“I remember,” you muttered.

“How did you find us?” Will questioned.

“Turns out, you are famous Will.” 

“You’re not exactly anonymous yourself, Margot,” Will said. So he had googled her mostly likely. You had as well.

“It’s cold. You have any whisky?” 

-

You, Margot and Will all held a glass. The two of them sat across from each other in the chairs while you leaned your back against the kitchen counter. 

“What’s the heir to the Verger meat packing dynasty doing at our door?” you asked her. She gave a small annoyed look, not at you but seemingly at existence.

“My brothers the heir, not me. I’ve got the wrong parts and wrong proclivity for parts,” she explained. Will liked her. She was frank, simple. You liked that about her too but you weren’t sure if you exactly liked her.

“Didn’t answer my question,” you retorted. 

“I’m here for a character reference. Patient to patient. To the secretary I suppose. What do you think of Dr. Lecter’s therapy?” That was a question you left entirely up to Will.

“Depends what you’re in therapy for,” he admitted. 

“I’m in therapy for all sorts of reasons. The Vergers slaughter eight-six thousand cattle a day and thirty-six thousand pigs, depending on the season. That’s just the public carnage.” She tapped her foot against the ground in time. 

“What’s your private carnage?” Will questioned. Margot glanced at you, like she had just been expecting Will to be here. Still, she spoke with courage. 

“I tried to murder my brother.” Will and you both studied her.

“I assume he had it coming,” Will suggested.

“Did he ever,” she scoffed. She paused a moment. “What’s your private carnage?” Will thought about answering. He glanced at you and you shrugged, taking a sip of your glass.

“I tried to murder Dr. Lecter.” 

“See now, that’s interesting.” Margot mulled over this. “Did he have it coming?” Will debates answering that and doesn’t.

“What do you think?” 

“I can't’ say that I know.” 

-

You sat patiently in your home. You were flipping through a book, wondering if you had the desire to put brain energy into reading it. You and Will were simply existing as you had been denied so long with the whole prison thing.

You had just decided to grab some food when your phone rang.

“Hello?” you asked, voice distracted as you walked to the kitchen. You walked over to Will and put your cheek against his shirt, kissing it lightly.

“Y/N?” Hannibal spoke. You pulled away from Will slowly but he noticed your hesitation for the phone call.

“Yes?” 

“I need you to do me a favor.” Will looked at you but you didn’t look at him.

“Yeah?” 

“I need you to come into the office and grab a very important thing I forgot. I would go myself but I have dinner boiling and I hate to ruin a good dish.” You nodded and glanced at Will. 

“Alright. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Text me the details.” You hung up the phone. “I have to get something for Hannibal and bring it to him,” you told Will.

“This late?” 

“He said it was important.” You slipped on your shoes. “You wanna come?” He shook his head and gestured to the dogs.

“I’ll hang out with the dogs.” You nodded and grabbed a jacket. 

“Be safe,” you said and he gave you a look. You walked out onto the porch and started toward the car when you stopped. You looked out at the darkness of the woods and came to a slow stop. 

Something was wrong. 

You weren't sure what but something was wrong. You got into the car and forced the feeling out of your mind. It was probably nothing. You pulled out of the driveway and started down the road.

You made it about two minutes before you felt an overwhelming urge of dread. You closed your eyes for just a second before turning around in the dead end street, going back to the house. You saw Will running back into the house as you pulled up, Buster in his hand and the rifle in the other. You parked quickly and ran inside after him. 

“Will?” you called. He met your eyes and you looked down at the Buster who seemed hurt. “What-” Will grabbed your arm and pulled you toward him before pushing him behind the counter.

The window broke.

-

You sat in a chair at the dinner table of Hannibal’s home. Will stood behind the chair of the head of the table. 

Hannibal opened the door and you both looked up at him. Hannibal's eyes landed on the dead body of the man who Will had killed this evening. The man that you had helped him kill. The man who had attacked you in your home.

“I send someone to kill you,” Will started. “You send someone to kill me.” 

The air was tense. You were tense. They were tense.

“Even steven.”

2x10

[zelenacat]

When We Were Young- An Obitine Story- Chapter 25

Master Secura was not pleased to hear about the wedding.

“It hasn’t been announced yet,” Satine stated, “and I have to talk it over with my advisors.”

“But you accepted.” Ahsoka pointed out.

“I had to, he,” Satine paused, “knows family secrets.”

Obi-Wan lowered his head.

“You have a child,” Aayla Secura realized, “and Count Dooku knows.”

The Duchess turned to Obi-Wan and placed a hand on his leg, he took it off, instead choosing to hold her hand on the table.

“We can help you protect them.”

“The Council won’t be pleased however,” Satine pointed out, “that’s why they were a secret.”

“They?”

“The Duke of Sundari,” Obi-Wan counted on his fingers, “Padawan Tyra, Tristan Wren, Mara Supreis, and the two new foundlings Jinn and Lyra.”

Master Secura’s eyes went wide, “That is many transgressions.”

“Twins three times.” Satine pointed out.

“That doesn’t matter,” Aayla sighed, “come, Master Kenobi, we must update the Council. Ahsoka, keep looking.”

The Padawan nodded and continued, Satine scanned the room.

“I can’t believe you’re actually engaged to him.” Ahsoka muttered, searching corners.

“Not officially,” the Duchess defended, opening drawers, “my advisors don’t know.”

“But-”

“We decided we were going to continue the courtship.” Satine confessed.

“Ew.”

When they found nothing, Satine returned to her personal parlor where her children were waiting.

“You’re all so quiet.” Satine observed.

“Marrying Count Dooku?” Mara questioned.

“Not officially,” Ahsoka jumped in, “your mother said they agreed to an extended courtship.”

“That’s still gross.” Tyra admitted.

“And that kiss?” Korkie asked, frowning.

“I know,” Tristan nodded, “and I literally carried his laundry for him.”

Ahsoka shivered.

“I’m sorry you had to find out like that, children,” Satine sighed, sinking into a chair, “but it really happened too quickly.”

“I’m sorry, Lady Mother,” Mara smiled sadly, “I know you don’t want to marry him.”

“I don’t.” the Duchess agreed.

The room grew silent.

“Come children,” Satine stood, “it’s bedtime.”

Tyra shoved Ahsoka’s shoulder, “That includes you too.”

In the hallway, the group ran into the Jedi Masters. Satine made note of Obi-Wan’s stiffness, he was tired and embarrassed.

“We leave in the morning, Ahsoka,” Master Secura announced, “Master Kenobi and Padawan Tyra will be returning to Coruscant.”

Tyra was clearly disappointed, Obi-Wan put a hand to his head.

“Get rest, children,” Satine turned to her children, “Especially you, Ahsoka, you have a long day ahead of you.”

Mara kissed her mother’s cheek, “Goodnight, Lady Mother.”

Tyra did the same and looped her arm through Mara’s.

“Goodnight, Master Jedis.”

The girls turned.

“Tyra?” Obi-Wan spoke up.

Tyra turned, swinging Mara around as well. A mutual understanding seemed to pass between the two.

“Goodnight, Father.”

“Goodnight, Father.”

Tristan kissed the Duchess’ cheek, then gave a bow to Master Secura, winking at his father as he came up.

“Go on now,” Obi-Wan gestured, “listen to your mother.”

Ahsoka told her Momdalore to sleep well, then moved towards Master Secura.

“Peaceful sleep be upon you, Duchess.” the Jedi stated.

Satine smiled tensely, she knew the Jedi Council would not be pleased.

“Dad,” Korkie stepped forward and held out his hand, “I’m glad you’re a part of our family.”

Obi-Wan’s face melted and he placed his hands on Korkie’s shoulders.

“May I hug you?”

“Of course, Father.”

Satine nearly cried at the sight.

“Sleep well, son of mine,” Obi-Wan ruffled Korkie’s hair, “now go, I must speak with your mother.”

Korkie kissed Satine’s cheek before leaving his parents. Then it was just Satine and Obi-Wan in the hallway.

“I know you’re ashamed,” the Duchess stepped forward, “your fellow council members must not be pleased.”

Obi-Wan sighed.

“Ben,” Satine placed a hand on her Jedi’s cheek, “you can stay with me.”

“I-”

“It’s not a crime, Ben,” Satine continued with a swallow, “Jedi need love too.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan sighed, “I suppose that’s true.”

Satine took her Jedi’s hands and led him to her room.

“This is Jaym and Gorg,” the Duchess gestured, “they know.”

Obi-Wan shook both their hands, “Thank you for keeping my Satine safe.”

“Of course, Master Jedi.” Jaym responded.

“The Duchess is a gift to us all.” Gorg agreed.

Obi-Wan fixed Satine with a warm gaze, “Yes, she is.”

The Duchess pulled Obi-Wan inside and shut the door.

“Will you help me with this, Ben?” Satine asked, trying to unbutton her dress.

The Jedi clicked his tongue when he saw the girdle Satine was wearing.

“This thing is monstrous.” he frowned.

The Duchess huffed, “Try wearing it.”

Satine sighed when the pressure released from her stomach, Obi-Wan rested a hand on the large shell.

“I still can’t believe we have two more.”

“It was hard,” Satine agreed, turning to face him, “but now everything is alright.”

“Why's that?”

The Duchess grinned, “You’re here.”

Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around Satine, who yawned and placed her head on his shoulder.

“Let’s get you some sleep.” Obi-Wan decided, pulling his Duchess towards the mattress.

Satine sat down while her Jedi removed her shoes and socks.

“My shining Jedi Knight.” she muttered.

Obi-Wan smiled sadly, ”Your feet are still swollen.”

“Hera says that will end soon.”

“Hera?”

“The nurse,” Satine smiled, “you’ll meet her tomorrow.”

“I’d like that.”

The Duchess swung her legs over and pulled up the covers.

“Your shift?” Obi-Wan asked.

“No,” Satine yawned, “tired.”

After a few seconds of rusting fabric, Obi-Wan joined Satine.

“This is all I ever wanted,” he mused, wrapping an arm around her.

“This is more than my happiest dreams.” Satine smiled, closing her eyes.

The morning was not as sweet. Obi-Wan was already up and meditating, so there was no morning cuddle time.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan paused, opening his eyes, “I’ll come back if you want.”

“Can all of you read thoughts?” Satine sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

“No, why?”

“Tyra and the Count can.”

Satine could feel Obi-Wan’s displeasure.

“Yes, he read my mind, if it wasn’t for Tyra, I would’ve kicked him out of the palace.”

Rolling over, Satine faced her Jedi.

“I don’t like you having to pretend that you’re marrying.”

Satine sighed, “He knows about the kids, and he read my mind when I was thinking of you.”

Obi-Wan frowned, “Mean.”

Satine sat up, then flinched.

“What?”

The Duchess actually smiled, “Give me a minute.”

Obi-Wan didn’t question her that much when she exited the fresher, only raising an eyebrow.

“Have you ever given birth, Ben?”

“Right, sorry.”

Satine laughed.

A knock bounced off the door, “Satine?”

“Yes, Khaami?”

“I’m here to help you dress.” Khaami announced.

“Well, come in.”

Khaami entered, eyes searching for Obi-Wan. When she saw him, she raised an eyebrow at her Duchess.

“No, Khaami,” Satine shook her head, “you won’t be attending any more births.”

The Jedi snorted. The lady smiled, relieved, and marched over to Satine’s closet. 

“I guess I should go.” Obi-Wan pouted.

Satine kissed her Jedi, “Poor Ben, tell our friends I say hello.”

“I will.”

After a moment, the Duchess added, “And make sure Tyra Satine doesn’t get up to any obscene antics.” 

Mirth glowed in Obi-Wan’s eyes, “That’ll be a challenge.”

Satine watched as her knight in shining armor left, Khaami had to call her name three times to get her attention.

“Yes?”

“Black.”

“Black? I hate black!”

Khaami sighed, “We want to give the council the impression that you’re sad about this engagement.”

Satine bid goodbye to the Jedi before heading into the Ruling Council Chamber, Aayla had winked at her, they’d shared a moment.

“Duchess Satine?”

She frowned, reality set back in.

Once everyone was gathered, Satine took a breath, “The Count and I have agreed we will marry eventually.” 

Silence, then outrage.

“Your Grace-”

“Duchess!”

“Please, Your Grace, reconsider-”

Satine raised her hand, the room grew quiet.

“It will be a long courtship,” the Duchess continued, “but there is more you should be aware of.”

If the Ruling Council had been dumbfounded before Satine explained the ties to the Sith the Ancient Mandalorians had, and their current plan with the Jedi, they were certainly shocked now.

“Your Grace,” Countess Bralor sighed, “This is quite the mess.”

“And are you sure your sister will assist in the capture of the Count?” asked Governor Eldar.

“Death Watch does not like the Count,” Satine assured, “and the Jedi will gladly take him.”

In the next week, Satine had met with the Jedi Council (who sometimes struggled to address her properly), made contact with Count Dooku for a second courtship visit, and informed Bo-Katan of their new situation. She was exhausted.

Count Dooku returned a month later, and after much consolation from Padme, Satine felt brave enough to face him again. The Count’s arrival was less grand, the majority of the court couldn’t make it for this visit, yet he still chose to drive through the airways of Sundari. 

“My popularity here is increasing,” he boasted to Satine on their walk, “it will be good when we announce the wedding.”

“I worry about the extremists though.” Satine admitted, setting a ploy.

“What, Death Watch?”

The Duchess nodded.

“I have friends who will deal with that.”

This was news to Satine, but she tried not to show it.

“More criminals I presume?” she asked.

The Count smirked, “Eager to know, are you?”

“They do want me dead.” Satine offered.

Dooku shook his head, “They won’t kill you.” 

The Duchess frowned, “How do you know?”

The Count placed Satine’s hand on his arm, “Because you’re under my protection.”

“That guarantees nothing.” the Duchess countered, slightly shocked.

Dooku raised an eyebrow, “We’re on our way to announce our engagement.”

“Ah, right,” Satine nodded, “they happen not to like you either.”

“I may have a spy in Death Watch.”

Despite herself, Satine grinned, “That’s useful information.”

The Duchess was still smiling when she and the Count stepped out onto the stage for their press conference. The whispers hushed as Dooku helped Satine into her seat. Soon after Satine’s ladies situated themselves behind her, and the Prime Minister took to the podium.

“The palace is happy to announce today, that the Duchess is engaged to Count Dooku, Head of the Seperatist Alliance and Speaker of the Most High Seperatist Senate.”

Silence. Then a burst of questions all at once.

“Your Grace-”

“Duchess-”

“Your Excellency-”

“Count Dooku-”

Satine raised her hand, but it still took a few seconds for the press to quiet down.

“The Count and I have made our decision with what is best for both our systems. If you have any questions, please ask them politely.”

Some of the questions were general, how they thought this would help both systems, did they have any plans for initiatives, would Mandalore officially join the war?

“Not directly or immediately,” Satine answered before Dooku could, “our peaceful way of life will require some integration of aggression before we are ready for war.”

The rest of the questions were all about wedding plans at Satine’s dress. 

“I will have to consult with my seamstresses,” Satine announced after much prodding, “but nothing shall be announced until the day of the ceremony.”

“When will the ceremony be?” a journalist shouted.

“There is still much planning that must be done,” Count Dooku jumped in, “but of course we shall be respectful of traditional holidays.”

Satine turned to the Count, she hadn’t been aware that he knew of Queen Mara’s birthday celebration coming up. Dooku gave her a small smile. A camera flashed.

“Thank you,” the Prime Minister announced, Satine blinked, “the palace press secretary will answer any other questions.”

The Count helped Satine up and led her from the room, her ladies behind her.

“We did well.”

“We did.” Satine agreed.

“I think I should take some time to tour Sundari and meet the local leaders.” Dooku suggested.

“That sounds beneficial,” the Duchess agreed, “I’ll speak with my advisors about that.”

At dinner that evening, Dooku sat on Satine’s left, Korkie on her right. They glanced att each other the entire night, but neither spoke to the other directly. It was exhausting just being around them. It had been decided that the Count would take a tour of Sundari in the morning, so he excused himself early.

“Ugh,” Korkie sighed when Dooku left the room, “I thought he’d never leave.”

“Korkie-”

“Walk with me, Lady Mother,” Korkie whispered, “after dinner, there’s news.”

So they did, sitting in the garden, the Duke showed something to Satine that made her shriek.

“What? How?”

“Lady Mother,” Korkie put a hand on Satine’s shoulder, “don't worry.”

“Fire, Korkyrach,” Satine shook, eyes wide, “you can make fire with your hands.”

“It’s called force fire,” Korkie explained, “Tyra and Mara have been helping me.”

Satine began to weep.

“It’s alright, Lady Mother,” the Duke hugged his mother, “it only happens sometimes, and I’m learning to control it.”

“Be careful around the Count,” Satine wiped her eyes on her son’s shoulder, “I worry so much for you all.”

“It’s alright,” Korkie stated, “Tyra’s with Father on Coruscant.”

“And Tristan?”

“He called me after the announcement,” Korkie admitted, “he was pissed, but I talked him down, he’s alright otherwise.”

“Mara?”

“Left for a Seperatist world a few days ago,” the Duke informed his mother, “they’re gathering information.”

Satine sighed.

“Let’s get you upstairs, Lady Mother.” Korkie decided.

“Yes.” the Duchess agreed.

Satine was about to crawl into bed when her comm went off. She grabbed it, turned down the volume, and hid under the covers before answering.

“Hi, Ben.”

“This scares me, Satine.” Obi-Wan admitted.

“Ben-”

“And the way you looked at him,” the Jedi spat, “what was that?

“What was what?” Satine asked.

Obi-Wan sent her a photo from the press conference.

“Ben-”

“You look like you care about him, Satine.”

The Duchess frowned, “No, I don’t.”

“But that's what it looks like,”the Jedi stressed.

“Obi-Wan,” Satine said sternly, “don’t get any premonitions in your head that I love someone else, I love you.”

Obi-Wan’s mouth hung open for a second, then he smiled.

“Ben, it’s been what,” the Duchess counted, “about two months since our last children were born?”

“They’re doing great, Satine,” Obi-Wan grinned, “they smiled at me today.”

“Tell me about it,” tears filled the Duchess’ eyes, “I’ve missed all my children’s first smiles.”

“They were beautiful,” the Jedi’s eyes fogged, “Jinn reached up at me and Lyra giggled.”

Satine let a little sob escape her.

“Darling-”

“I miss you,” Satine confessed, “and I miss them.”

“I know.” Obi-Wan sighed.

Satine went to bed late that night and woke up just before lunch, long after the Count had embarked on this tour.

“Why’d you let me sleep?” Satine mumbled.

“Because,” Khaami pulled up her lady, “news from the Jedi has come.”

“And Dooku can’t well know we’re in league with his enemies.” Parna added.

Satine sighed and rubbed her eyes.

“You can do this, Duchess.” Khaami assured.

After she was dressed, in her usual purple and navy ensemble, Satine went o a private conference room with her Prime Minister, who was just turning on the communication device. Soon, a collection of blue figures appeared before Satine.

“Duchess,” Master Windu frowned, clearly upset to see her, “how wonderful to see you.”

Satine smiled, “Thank you, Master Jedi, I hear there is news?”

“News, yes,” Master Yoda began, “bad news, it is.”

Satine’s eyebrows rose.

“There is a Sith Temple on Concordia,” Master Shaak Ti stated, “hidden below ground, our sources say that the Death Watch are aware of this as well.”

“The Count informed me that he has a spy in Death Watch.” Satine announced.

“Told you this, did he?” asked Master Yoda.

“Yes.”

“And you believe him?” questioned Master Ti.

Satine opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

“I made a joke that I would be dead before the wedding at Death Watch’s hands, he said I didn’t worry because of his spy.”

Master Yoda nodded, “Interesting, that is.” 

“How is your sister?” Master Mundi asked.

“Angry, but her wife feeds that fire.”

“Ah yes,” Master Windu frowned, “Asajj Ventress.”

Satine glanced quickly at Obi-Wan, his face was pensive.

“I suggest, Your Grace,” Master Mundi began, “that you destroy the Sith Temple on Concordia before the Count visits it.”

Satine nodded, “Thank you, Master Jedi.”

“A plan, you have?” Master Yoda smiled.

“Yes.”

“Wish you the best of luck, Duchess.” said Master Windu, frowning a slight smile.

“Thank you.”

When the comm ended, Prime Minister Djarin gave the Duchess the side eye.

“Your plan?”

“Recent developments have proved beneficial,” Satine grinned, “and I have some friends.”

  Satine met Tristan and Korkie for lunch that day, and as she sipped her tea and listened to her sons’ accomplishments, the plan took shape.

“Lady Mother,” Tristan sighed, “you have that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“You’re planning something,” Korkie agreed, sitting back, “and it involves us.”

Satine leaned forward.

“Tristan, what new skill have you learned?”

Her second son understood immediately, “Telekinesis, have you not noticed the floating wine bottles?”

Satine frowned, Tristan and Korkie burst out laughing.

The Duchess sighed, “Such immature pranks prove you aren’t ready for this mission.”

“A mission?” Korkie’s eyes lit up.

Satine rested her chin on her hands, “There’s an underground Sith Temple on Concordia, it needs to be destroyed.”

“Ooh.”

“Sweet.”

“I want you boys, Mara, and her Master to do the destroying.”

Tristan grinned.

“But how do we get around the Count?” Korkie asked.

“Secrecy.” Satine answered.

The boys then went back to school, knowing they’d be leaving on the weekend, and Satine returned to the palace, where the Count was waiting.

“How was lunch with your sons?” he whispered.

The Duchess hesitated.

“Teenage boys perplex me.”

Dooku actually laughed, “Perhaps a step-father is a beneficial addition to the family, then?”

Satine gave the Count a side eye, “You have quite the high opinion of yourself.”

“I most certainly do.”

“So tell me,” Satine began walking towards the gardens, “how did the public perceive you?”

“Well for the most part,” Dooku explained, “lots of stares and whispers.”

“May I suggest charity efforts?” the Duchess grinned.

“Charity,” the Count asked, “like helping the poor?”

“Yes, Dooku,” Satine grinned, “like helping the poor.”

A moment of silence leaked in and the Duchess turned to face her fiance.

“Call me Kal.”

“What?”

“My name is Kal,” the Count repeated, “as we’re engaged you should know my name.”

The Duchess repeated the name, it sounded strange in her mouth.

“Surprised, Satine?”

The Duchess winced, “Don’t call me that.”

“How about Tina, then?”

Satine frowned, “Even more revolting.”

“Then what should I call you?” the Count asked.

“Your Grace.” Satine decided firmly.

The Count bowed.

“If you would please excuse me, Your Grace, I must speak with my Master.”

The Duchess went cold and she hated how her voice quivered.

“You’re excused.”

Dooku turned and began to walk away.

“Kal?”

The Count froze, but he didn’t turn back to Satine.

“Who is your Master?”

The Duchess could hear the Count’s smile in his reply.

“You will never need to know that.”

Satine waited until Count Dooku was out of earshot, then ran to her room, bumping into Jaym and Parna on the way,

“Spy on the Count,” Satine ordered, “he’s talking to his Master.”

“Call Padme,” she whispered into her comm, “oh, please pick up.”

“Satine, I-”

“Did you know Dooku’s first name was Kal?”

A moment of silence, then the Senator excused herself from the room.

“What?”

“He told me to call him by his name, and I said that he couldn’t call me by mine.”

“Satine, are you okay?”

“No,” the Duchess whined, “we might actually have to marry!”

Padme sighed.

“What?”

“You should’ve been prepared for this.”

“I’m also sending my children to destroy an underground Sith Temple on Concordia that’s over a millenia old.”

“Satine,” Padme frowned, “you need to rest.”

“Dooku is calling his Master right now,” Satine pouted, “from my palace!”

The Senator’s jaw dropped.

Satine lowered her voice, “Of course, I have spies in action, Padme.”

“Dear God,” the Senator mumbled, “when did our lives get like this?”

“Master Windu did not seem pleased to know that Ben and I have children.” Satine confessed.

Padme snorted, “When he found out Anakin and I were married he just left the room.”

Satine giggled.

“Good luck with everything, call me if you need help.”

“I will, Padme, thank you.”

[cottoncandyjester]

Kinkmas day four-hatefucking with shouto todoroki

Todoroki will be very cold and harsh in this, slightly ooc but each kinkmas day is supposed to be more and more intense so yeah

Warning this story contains: arranged marriage, slight talk about breeding, degrading, noncon, hate fucking (duh)

"I hate you, I hate you so much"

Your bitter words made todoroki sigh as he watched you struggle against your restraints but you both knew you won't ever get free, you never do and you've been trying for three months.

"the feeling is quite mutual, honestly how long have we've been through this? You are being very difficult. How are we supposed to create a child when you keep fighting me?"

When todoroki walked towards you he grunted lowly at the feeling of you trying to kick him, he quickly gripped your leg before freezing it watching you wince and grit your teeth from the pain of frostbite.

"i don't want kids with you, why me? Just leave me the hell alone you creep!"

Todoroki scoffed lightly before yanking you close pressing his body against yours now forcing your legs around his waist as he placed his warm hand right against your cheek the warmness of his hand quickly turning into a light sting as he glared into your hate filled eyes

"when my father made a deal with yours for an arranged marriage, I felt nothing but utter disgust. But, that feeling changed once I met you. You were foul mouthed and quite brash"

Todoroki wrapped both his hands around your throat using his thumbs to harshly press against the center of your throat creating a painful choking feeling, you reached up clawing at his arms but it seems like he wasn't letting go.

"your behavior made me hate you more, I hate how you treat me as if loving me would be the worst option in the world. As if marrying me would be the worst thing ever let me tell you something, wife. I am a far greater option than most other men. If you were more sweeter and kinder you wouldn't be restricted to the basement, we would be able to truly be a family"

As he spoke his cold side started to create frostbite on your throat and your eyes widened as you tried to get him to stop, you couldn't use your quirk so you felt absolutely helpless.

"s-shouto-"

Todoroki scoffs as he pushed you back letting you harshly hit the wall before he simply started to unbutton his shirt slowly watching as you tried to scramble away but the chain leash attached to your collar only let you go but so far

"you see me as a monster, so if I show you what a monster looks like then you would be more thankful. So come now, wife. Let me show you how kind I've been"

With that todoroki picked up the thick chain on the ground before giving it a harsh yank now dragging you back to him while you reached for the air once again choking

"I've been so damn nice, I feed you. I let you take baths, I give you nice clothes, I even try to kiss you but no every nice thing I do you give me only hate. Well if hate is how you love then I suppose I have no choice but to show you my hate. I hate you. I hate your bratty behavior and I will make sure you become my obedient wife who loves her husband!"

Todoroki now being in a blinded rage simply gripped your shirt before tearing the soft fabric to shreds while ignoring your screams and protests. When you kicked at him he simply gripped your wrists now Starting to both burn and freeze you

"either let me do this or die right here."

The choice was chilling and you honestly didn't want to die, so you agreed. You agreed to let him be as rough as he wants with you

When you agreed the male flashed a gentle smile before reaching out and touching your cheek softly as if he wasn't just threatening you a moment earlier

"if only we had gotten to this point sooner, I wouldn't have to be so rough to you now. But hate is truly how you love"

Before you could make a bitter comment todoroki simply gropped your breasts with both hands now pulling at your nipples and watching you squirm under him with a shuddering sigh. He simply scoffs lightly before moving his hands down to grip your skirt now roughly pulling it off.

"I hate how you flinch at my touch, how you look at me like she looked at him"

Todoroki burned your panties off now having a rage swirling in his eyes as he did so. There was no foreplay or preparing for him, he simply unbuckled his pants and shoved himself inside watching you twitch and moan only for his eyes to sparkle for a split second at the sound of pleasure escaping you, so you did like this?

As todoroki moved his hips harshly thrusting he felt your nails claw him harshly causing him to wince lightly but he simply placed a cold hand around your throat and giving it a squeeze while he mercilessly fucked you giving little care about your body or if you were even enjoying it fully

"I hate when you say my name with such bitterness, you're so selfish. A dumb selfish brat who is drooling like a horny slut"

his tone was harsh and rough as he moved his hand from around your throat to your hair now jerking your head back exposing your neck for his sizzling hand to brand you.

The burning feeling made you scream and whine for him to stop but the male simply thrusted deep into you while the shape of todoroki's handprint burned into your neck leaving a visible and permanent mark

"you still hate me? Hmm? Still hate my guts?"

"a-ahhh! Todoroki, please"

Your plea made him scoff as he only became rougher on you slamming your hips deeper and deeper into you letting you scream as loud as you can knowing full well what you want

"you love me, you just don't want to admit such feelings. This hate game of yours is a ploy"

Todoroki watched you try and come up with some kind of argument but it all came out as loud whines and cries of utter bliss as the male felt his climax coming. He grunted before a chuckle escaped him

"you're tightening so good, do you wish to cum? Do it then. Cum all over this cock that you say you hate."

Todoroki watched as you cries for him cumming harder than you ever have before, your body shaking and twitching under the male

As you two simmered down todoroki simply latched onto you hugging you close into his arms almost crushing you, his face buried into your neck now kissing the fresh scar he created

"you can hate me all you want, but you will still be my obedient wife"

Taglist

@jennasquishy8

@may-machin