#which are already in a precarious position

[anniedreamwilldo]

hey so ai shouldn’t be used in creative spaces (including and especially creative fan spaces) not just because of all the normal ethical problems with ai but because creating art is something so intrinsically human that ai simply cannot replicate it

and if you think it should be used then sorry but ur literally so cooked??

[leadmeastraylittlefairy]

.

[nylqnder]

BUTTERFINGERS WILL SMITH

pairing: fem!reader x will smith

summary: will's quiet protectiveness over you begins to make you feel as though he's more than a friend.

warnings: will getting injured, friends to lovers, reader being a butterfingers/clumsy, bit of language

wc: 2.89k

notes: i can't get over will just automatically protecting you from things and just knowing you're going to bump your head or drop something.

Will had silently taken on the role of guardian against your own clumsiness.

As he got to know you, Will observed your accident-prone habits — the way you would unknowingly leave cabinet doors open at forehead level, how your phone always seemed to be on the verge of slipping from your grasp, and the countless times you misjudged the distance between your toe and the corner of the coffee table. He adapted in subtle, almost imperceptible ways, weaving his quiet vigilance into the rhythm of daily life.

At first, it was little things. He’d casually nudge a cup away from the table’s edge when you weren’t looking or intercept your phone mid-fall with reflexes so swift it seemed like a coincidence. If you were carrying too many things at once, he’d wordlessly take the heavier items from your hands before you had the chance to protest — or inevitably drop something.

Over time, his protective instincts became second nature. He walked slightly ahead of you when you were distracted, steering you gently away from uneven pavement or sudden steps. He started keeping a steadying hand near your back when you climbed stairs, ready to catch you if your balance faltered. Whenever you cooked, he subtly repositioned knives and hot pans out of your unknowing danger zone, and if you reached for something on a high shelf, he was already there, retrieving it before you had the chance to teeter on your tiptoes precariously

Even his speech patterns adjusted. A soft “watch your step” would precede any tricky curb, and a quiet “careful” would slip from his lips whenever you absentmindedly swung your arms too close to a fragile object. He never made a big deal out of it, never teased or sighed in exasperation. He simply adapted — anticipating, adjusting, protecting.

And perhaps the most telling thing of all was how effortless it became for him. As if watching over you wasn’t a responsibility, but rather something as natural as breathing.

At first, you didn’t think much of it. Will was observant by nature, careful in a way that contrasted your absentminded chaos, so his small interventions felt like an extension of who he was rather than something particular to you. But then, you began to notice — really notice.

Like the way he always positioned himself between you and the street when you walked together, his body a quiet barrier against the rush of passing cars. Or the way he would always get the door for you, seeing as you always get it wrong — pulling it when it’s a push, or pushing it when it’s a pull, which always resulted in you smacking into the door.

It wasn’t just his actions, but the way they made you feel. Safe. Not in the dramatic, swept-off-your-feet kind of way, but in the quiet, steady assurance that came with knowing someone was looking out for you — not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

And that was the thing about Will. He never laughed when you tripped over nothing or sighed when you dropped your phone for the millionth time, resulting in a new crack on your screen. He didn’t roll his eyes when you forgot where you put your keys for the third time in a day. Instead, he’d hand them to you with a soft “found them,” and a small, knowing smile that never held an ounce of exasperation.

The realization crept in slowly, unfurling in the space between his gestures and your awareness of them. You started looking forward to the little moments — the quiet steadiness of his presence, the way he never made you feel like a burden, never made your clumsiness into a punchline.

And then, one evening, it hit you.

Will and Macklin were set to go to a Warriors game, but last minute the younger Shark bailed on him in favour of a date. Will, not wanting to skip the game, asked you if you wanted to come. Basketball was never your chosen sport of interest, but you knew how badly Will wanted to go, so you agreed.

You were sitting in front of your vanity, curling wand in hand, rushing to finish your hair. Will was standing next to you, arms crossed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he huffed dramatically. “How long does it take to curl hair? I mean, we’re gonna miss tip-off at this rate.”

“Relax, we have plenty of time,” you said distractedly. For Will, it was like it happened in slow motion. He watched as your hand went to grab the curling iron, only to be reaching for the barrel instead of the handle. His hand darted in before yours, grabbing the barrel and pulling it out of your grasp.

Will only realized what he had done when it was too late, the burning sensation seeping into his skin. His face contorted in pain as he pulled his hand back sharply, letting out a sharp, involuntary scream. You turned in alarm, dropping the curling wand onto the vanity as you watched him clutch his hand, the raw redness already starting to form across his palm.

“What the hell, Will?” you shouted, the surprise and panic evident in your voice. You stood up, your hands trembling as you instinctively reached for his hand, wanting to help but not sure how. “Why the fuck did you grab my curling wand?”

He grimaced, his teeth gritted, but he managed a strained chuckle, his voice laced with guilt. “You were about to burn yourself,” he said simply as if that explained everything.

You blinked, momentarily stunned. You hadn’t even realized what had happened until he had grabbed the hot barrel. You’d been so caught up in finishing your hair, your mind swirling with thoughts of getting to the game, that you hadn’t even noticed your near mishap.

“You saw that?” you asked, your voice softer now, the edge of anger replaced with surprise. “You noticed I was about to—?”

He winced, clearly trying to mask the pain, but there was a hint of warmth in his eyes. “Of course I did,” he said quietly. “You do that a lot. Always rushing, not paying attention.” He gave a small shake of his head, looking almost apologetic. “I don’t know. It just… it’s instinct, I guess.”

You stared at him, trying to process his words. Will had always been observant, but this was something else entirely — a silent, steady vigilance that you’d never fully understood. He’d always been there, quietly anticipating your missteps, but you hadn’t realized just how much of it was rooted in a kind of protective instinct.

Your heart skipped a beat as you took in his expression, the way he held his injured hand close to his body, still trying to hide his discomfort for your sake.

You guided him carefully toward the kitchen, your heart pounding with a mixture of concern and confusion. He let you lead him, his steps slow as he held his injured hand away from his body like it was too fragile to touch anything. Once you reached the sink, you turned on the cold water, the rush of it filling the air.

Will stood beside you, watching you with a calmness that made your chest tighten with guilt. You helped him ease his hand under the water, the cold liquid hissing as it met the burn. He flinched for just a second, but then the chill seemed to soothe him, and he let out a soft breath, his eyes closing for a brief moment.

You reached over to gently hold his wrist, guiding it more carefully into the stream of water. The contact was subtle but felt significant—your fingers wrapping around his, steadying him as the water washed away the heat. There was an odd intimacy to the moment, something quietly tender in the way you were taking care of him, something that made your heart thud louder than it had any right to.

“How did you know?” you asked, your voice quieter than usual as you glanced at him, your eyes searching for answers. “How did you know I was going to grab the barrel?”

Will didn’t immediately respond, his gaze still focused on his hand, the water dripping off his fingers. He shrugged, his lips twitching into a faint, almost apologetic smile. “I just saw it coming,” he said, his voice low. “You were distracted, reaching for something hot. I… I could just tell.”

His gaze flickered toward you then, catching your eyes for the briefest of moments. “You’ve got a tendency to forget, y’know,” he added.

You couldn’t help but shake your head, a laugh escaping you that was both incredulous and full of affection. “You always seem to notice these things. It’s like you’re�� watching me.”

Will’s expression shifted, something unspoken flashing in his eyes. He didn’t say anything at first, just staring down at his hand under the water. He didn’t seem to want to elaborate, but you could feel the weight of his silence. It wasn’t just concern you were sensing now; it was something deeper, something that made your heart flutter uncertainly in your chest.

“Why do you always notice?” you pressed gently, not quite sure where the question was leading but needing to understand. “It’s like you’re always one step ahead, always catching things before I do.”

Will’s shoulders shifted under the weight of your question, and he let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. “I don’t know,” he said after a beat, his words almost too soft to catch. “I guess… I guess I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

There it was. The reason behind the actions that had always seemed so natural to him, so effortless. Will was watching, not just because he could, but because he cared. It wasn’t just observation — it was protection. He had quietly, unknowingly taken on the role of your guardian in a way that you had never even noticed.

He cared.

The weight of that simple, unspoken confession made your stomach flip, but before you could fully process it, something impulsive and raw surged up inside you. You closed the distance between you and Will, your heart racing with an intensity that felt as though it could pull you apart. In an instant, before either of you could think it through, you kissed him.

The shock hit both of you at the same time — his breath catching in his throat as your lips met his, both of you stilling for a moment, like the world had suddenly paused. The soft warmth of his mouth against yours was everything you didn’t expect but everything you needed. And just as quickly, the fear of what you’d just done flooded in.

You pulled away, wide-eyed, the breath between you ragged. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry—what the hell was that?” you stammered, a forced chuckle leaving your lips. Your face heated up as you scrambled to explain. “I—I don’t know what came over me. You just… I don’t know. I just—” You trailed off, unable to form the words to explain how his quiet care had wrapped itself around you, how you felt like the luckiest person alive just to be near him, to have him protect you without ever making you feel like a burden.

“I—I was just so touched, Will. By everything you’ve done, the way you look out for me. You’re—” Your voice faltered, the words feeling clumsy as you tried to express what you were feeling. “You’re one of the only people who doesn’t make fun of me for being so… clumsy. For being me.”

You stared down at your hands, suddenly embarrassed by the vulnerability of the confession.

For a long moment, there was nothing but the soft sound of your breathing, mingled with the sound of the water still running. Then, before you could continue apologizing or retreating into a wave of mortification, Will cut you off.

He leaned forward, dipping his head down so his lips could brush against yours again. The kiss was gentle, tentative at first, but quickly deepened, and all the awkwardness from before melted away. His hand found its way to your cheek, his fingers warm and sure as they cupped your face, the gesture filled with a softness that made your chest ache.

You both pulled away again, your breath mingling together in the small gap of space that remained between you two. The air was thick, not with tension, but with the words that had yet to be said.

His voice was low and slightly rough as he spoke, the words a whisper that seemed to settle between the two of you, making everything feel incredibly intimate. “I don’t know why I do it,” he said, his thumb tracing the edge of your cheek as if he were trying to memorize the feeling of you. “But every time I see you about to get hurt — whether it's something big or small — there’s this… this urge to protect you. To make sure you’re okay. It’s just… instinct, I guess, like you said.” He paused, his eyes flickering over your face, searching, before his gaze softened. “But it’s more than that. It’s not just about keeping you safe. It’s about… caring.”

Your heart thundered in your chest at his confession, and for a moment, you were speechless. You had always known there was something different about the way Will looked after you, but hearing it from him, in his own words, made it all the more real.

“Will…” you started, your voice trembling just slightly, unsure if your own feelings could measure up to the tenderness he was offering. You took a deep breath before continuing. “I—I care about you too. More than I’ve ever let myself admit.” Your hands found their way to his shirt, the fabric beneath your fingers grounding you in the present. “The way you protect me, it’s not just that you’re looking out for me. It’s that… it’s that you make me feel seen. You make me feel like I’m not… a nuisance. Like you actually want to be here. I’ve never felt that way with anyone else.”

There was a pause, just long enough for your words to hang in the air between you. Will’s gaze softened, his uninjured hand leaving your cheek to rest over yours, gently prying your fingers away from his shirt only to intertwine them with his own.

“You’re not a nuisance,” he said, his voice steady, but his eyes held something deeper, something more raw. “I want to be here, with you. Not just for your clumsiness, not just to catch you when you fall. But because…” He swallowed, the words suddenly feeling heavier on his tongue. “Because I’ve been falling for you too. And I don’t want to stop.”

Your breath caught in your throat, and your chest tightened with a mix of relief and disbelief. All of the moments — the small gestures, the quiet care — suddenly made sense. Will had been there, not just as your protector, but as someone who had quietly, unknowingly, built a foundation for something more.

“I didn’t think you’d feel the same,” you whispered, your voice vulnerable. “I thought maybe I was just… someone you looked after. But I want this too, Will. I want… us. If you’re still okay with that.”

Will’s smile was soft and sincere, and there was a warmth in his eyes that made your heart flutter. He gently cupped your face again, pulling you closer as he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead before speaking again.

“I’m more than okay with that,” he said, his voice steady, now filled with a quiet confidence.

You looked up at him, leaning in to connect your lips once again. But just as the kiss deepened, Will’s hand moved instinctively, like it had so many times before, to cup your face. Only this time, something was different. The faint sting of his burn flared as his fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of your cheek, and he pulled back with a sharp inhale, wincing slightly.

“Fuck, that still hurts.” he hissed, his hand withdrawing from your face. Will shook his hand as if that would make the pain magically fall away.

“Who’s the clumsy one now?” you said, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of your lips, trying to break any remaining tension between you two.

Will chuckled, though the pain in his hand still lingered. His eyes softened, a quiet amusement flickering across his features as he met your gaze. “Guess it’s me,” he said, his voice light, yet full of affection.

You couldn’t help but smile back, the warmth between you both settling into something easy and comfortable. The air that had once been thick with unspoken words now felt clear and open. The kiss, the confessions — everything was still fresh, but it was right, in a way that neither of you could deny.

“I think we should get to that game before either of us ends up more injured than we already are,” you teased, a playful spark in your eyes.

Will grinned, his usual protective instinct settling back in as he offered you his good hand. “Let's go,” he said, squeezing your hand.

And as you both walked out the door together, the world felt a little less dangerous.

[konigslittleliebling]

König and reader stoned breeding!! But like (if you have the time ofc) sitting on his lap and sharing a blunt, while his hands slowly get more and more touchy all over your soft sensitive body! Or taking edibles beforehand and them hitting when he enters you!!

Accidentally he mentions breeding you and you lock your legs around him in instinct! Which only gets him going more!

(Am I 🍃 at the time of writing? Maybe)

mdni. cannabis, edibles, high sex, raw sex, breeding.

you pass the joint to him, allowing him to finish the rest as you puff out a cloud of the herbal drug. your boyfriend chuckles, fingers that are so much longer and thicker grazing yours when he takes it, positioning it between a pair of slightly chapped lips. (parched from the acidic juices of your pussy where he’s spent most of the night thus far.)

“mein lieb, i think we have a problem.” he inhales from what remains of the roll-up, potent and dizzying. an intoxicating fog fills the room, a haze settling over the bed. you’ve been fucking and smoking all night — you’re both so drunk on sex and cannabis that you couldn’t walk in a straight line if you tried. you can’t walk anyway, he was a bit too rough :((

he taps the burnt-down butt into the ceramic ashtray that had once sat precariously on the bed — three used filters already in it, surrounded by ash. it’s already fallen off the bed thanks to the number y’all did on the bed frame, ash stains and a fourth stub on the floor beside it. “it’s chipped.” you pout, fingertip coasting over the crack in the ashtray. “i made this myself.” you wince when the sharp corner pierces your skin and könig chuckles, lifting it to his mouth to suck it clean. “i was wondering why it has a hand-drawn penis on it, schatz. it is not very big, nein?”

“i did it before i met you.” you chuckle, shuffling onto his lap between beefy, outstretched legs. you pull your slender digit from his mouth, before licking your tongue in its place, tasting the metallic tang of your blood on his. “i’ll make a new one and draw yours on it.” he laughs at that, deep and hearty. “the ashtray will have to be much bigger then, little liebling.” you nod in agreement, smirking against his lips.

you sit up on your knees, straddling his mighty thighs. “baby… i wanna try something. just say no if it’s too much.” his blue eyes narrow at you, fair-haired brows knitting together. “please, lieb. not a strap-on. i do the fucking.” you gasp at the crude assumption, slapping his chest playfully. “oh my god, no! i’m steering clear of your ass, mister.” he hmphs with relief. “gut. so what is it?”

you smile, teetering over to open the drawer of your bedside table. his hands glue themselves to your bent hips, covering the red handprints and fingertip-shaped bruises that already mark them. you swallow a moan when he starts to grind your sticky cunt over his semi, one of its veins massaging your sore clit. bastard hasn’t been flaccid since he first pinned you to the mattress however many hours ago.

when you lean back up, you’ve got two powdery small cubes in your palm — one pink and the other yellow. könig frowns, slowing his movements of manually rocking your hips against his length. “candy?” he presumes, voice unimpressed and dare you say disappointed. you’ve got a devilish look on your face, lips tugging upward as if by invisible string. “sorta.” you say, ghosting your tongue over his bottom lip — tracing the raised skin of a scar that stretches to his jaw. “they’re pebbibles!” your excitement confuses him and his eyes dip to the sweets in your hand.

he takes the yellow one, examining it between his thumb and forefinger. “these are not circular. pebbles are round.” you roll your eyes at his pedantic approach. “it’s a play on words.” your hand — so small in comparison — takes gentle hold of his wrist. your fingers are too short to wrap around it entirely. “they’re boiled gummies.” you tell him, eyes widening when he shrugs and pops it onto his tongue. you stop him, hooking your finger into his mouth like a mother fishing a plastic, choke-hazardous toy from her infant. “which contain canna-oil.”

he just stares at you dumbly, probably offended that you’d snatched the sweet from his watering mouth. you’re hungry too, these munchies are hitting pretty hard, but you need him to know what he’s getting into. he’s never consumed the drug like this before — only ever smoked it. you knew someone once who reacted badly to an edible. “like, cannabis oil, babe.” his eyes light up with understanding then, and he plucks the gummy back. “ah, i see. so why did you do that?”

“i need you to know the risks—” but he pops it into his mouth, chewing it just once before gulping it down. you sit there dumbfounded, mouth agape with your own edible still in the cup of your hand. könig smiles, dangerous. you know that look; you see it every time he fucks his cock into your tight hole. he takes it from your fingers and lifts his hand to place the crystallised cube on your tongue, then gently closes your limp jaw. “go on, my little sonnenschein. let’s have fun, ja?”

you huff out a giggle, surprised. you weren’t expecting him to be so into trying something new. it took you a while to convince him to try a blunt; you thought dust would collect on your shelves by the time you got him to test an eddy. “you’re so sexy.” you snort, chuckling away like a tipsy teenager. he grins lazily and lopsided, eyes half-shut and reddened. “on your back, bärchen.”

you roll off him, legs spreading instinctively so he can position himself between them. you’re so wet from his dick already, a little looser thanks to the impossible stretch of his width. immediately, his mouth is on yours, pulling your lips apart with his teeth before curling his tongue with yours. you can taste the fruitiness of the edibles when your saliva mixes, lips smacking and nipping in a slobbery clash of teeth and groans.

you feel his purplish cockhead pushing at your entrance and he doesn’t even have to try because with a small twitch of his hips, he’s halfway inside, sliding in with lewd ease. for once you’re thankful for his previous force, he’s opened your cunt up so well already, the dregs of your combined cum acting as lubricant. you garble around his tongue as it fucks your mouth, muffling your moans. your high intensifies significantly as soon as he’s balls-deep, the candies choosing the perfect time to manipulate the inebriated senses of your neural waves.

he doesn’t waste time, thrusting his mushroom-tip against the spongy entrance to your cervix without pulling out. your mouth falls open, gaping at the sensation of him fucking into you without retracting a single inch and you glance between your sweaty bodies, your vision slightly doubled as you watch the base of him hammer against your hole over and over. his slick bush of curls brushes against your swollen, exhausted clit every time and you swoon, head thudding against the pillows. “könig~! s’good, fuck-” you’re a mess, babbling like a teething baby whilst the mountainous man above you drills his cock into the silky roof of your cunt.

“Scheiße.” he croaks, overstimulated and strangely sensitive already. “those were not aphrodisiacs, nein? i cannot keep going much— much longer.” you shake your head, nails clawing at his back and toes curling as he continues to pump you full of his dick. “no, just— stronger than what you’re used to.. ah!” your legs lock around his middle, feet unable to touch behind the large stature of his back. könig starts to shake, hips stuttering and muscles spasming.

“mein gott.” he stutters, balls slapping against the underside of your arse cheeks and he feels an abnormal tingling in said region. he feels alien, almost. “lieb, you’ll have to… mmf- let go now.” he knows he can’t hold back, his cock screaming at him to release his hot cum into your eager uterus. you’re not ready for a family, not yet. but you cling tighter, fingers biting into his skin. “no, baby.” you whisper, broken and choked. “give me a baby. please, könig. y’know you wanna.”

oh god, he’s so close. eyes scrunched up and teeth gritted.

“feels so good, könig. please, please please.” you’re pleading with him and lord knows how much he loves it when you beg for it. he falters, hips snapping wildly into yours. your room is humid, thick with the smell of sex and skin-on-skin. he crumples on top of you, a heap of mass as he breeds you thoroughly. his cum is so warm as it shoots through your cervix, painting your insides and claiming you completely.

you can smell it drooling from you — sweet and rich. you’re still milking him, drenching his cock with your climax as he still rolls against you slowly and clumsily. your hands glide up to stroke his hair and the short ones that grow down his neck — damp and sparse. “jesus.” you breathe, chest heaving and legs trembling. his tired laughter rumbles, vibrating against you. “we mustn’t say a word, meine liebe.” he lifts his head to gaze down at you and you hold his face in your hands, looking up at him quizzically. “about what to who?”

“to our child about how they were conceived.”

[hivemuthur]

Okay okay okay,

Viktor x Reader emotional smut/hurt comfort

Viktor spends all night in his lab and he forgets you guys planned a dinner because you had a fight because he missed dinner for working in his lab just a week prior. So you’re all dressed up waiting for him to walk through the door to go to dinner and he just… never shows. You wait as long as you can until you give up and go to bed, leaving your shoes and outfit you were wearing crumpled on the floor. He comes home and he sees the outfit and he’s like ah… shit.

Then it’s angry fight over not feeling like he cares enough, feeling second to his work, not feeling enough for him etc all the insecurities coming out.

And then smut eventually when he comforts reader

Pls 🧎🏽‍♀️

Hi Anon! I have to say, this scene gave me a lot more trouble than I thought it would, but I hope the fight is believable.

Once more, we have been blessed with my smut fairy's benediction (who has already helped me flesh out the scenes in What was that? that are yet to come) - @rennethen has written a beautiful skeleton for a sex scene in this fic, that we edited together AND she also did a thorough research around position that we used here AND recommends for you to put on Start a Fire by Ryan Star. So everyone say thank you! I love writing with you, thank you so much! ♡ Here we go:

Lover, You Should've Come Over

viktorxfemale!reader explicit! angst/comfort/smut

word count: 3,7K

—

His eyelids felt gritty, like there was painful sand beneath them, while the clock announced another passing hour. Viktor sighed and felt that his frown would not loosen on its own, so he pressed a hand to his forehead in an attempt to iron it out. The relief was brief, fleeting, and another sigh followed.

He glanced at the notes scattered across his desk—unfinished sketches and equations scrawled hastily in chalk, bits of which flaked off the blackboard like flour. Blinking a few times, he turned his gaze to the window. Dawn was approaching. For a moment, he considered collapsing onto the tiny, worn-out couch in the corner of the lab, a relic from late nights and lost time shared with Jayce. It had been set up precisely for moments like this, when the concept of time slipped through their fingers.

But the thought of crawling into a warm bed next to you tugged at him, finally winning the battle against exhaustion.

Slowly, he rose, his joints cracking audibly in protest. The sound echoed around the empty lab, a dry reminder of how long he’d been hunched over the desk. He considered tidying up but quickly abandoned the idea, his fatigue winning over perfectionism. Instead, he stacked the notes into a precarious tower on his desk and shoved a handful of loose papers into his bag haphazardly.

He was used to this feeling— an odd drunkenness of the body that didn’t see a drop of alcohol, fuel running out after more than twenty hours without sleep. His limbs felt stiff, his muscles sluggish and uncooperative, resulting in a wobbly trot and a certain alienation from one’s own hands. Dry throat, dry eyes, sensation of faint nausea lingering somewhere below his larynx, everything easily meltable in a cup of tea and the embrace of a properly soft mattress.

In some strange way, this was his favourite part of the day. The academy was silent, the streets of Piltover almost deserted, save for a few early risers starting their work at dawn. He stopped by the bakery to pick up fresh bread and pastries for breakfast, savouring the slow, solitary stroll home. Soon enough, he would wrap himself around you, breathing in the comforting scent of your hair as he drifted into a few blissful hours of sleep.

Quietly, he slipped his key into the lock and turned it, careful not to make a sound. He hesitated before setting the keys in the bowl by the door, opting instead to hold onto them to avoid clatter.

He stepped further into the apartment, orange morning sun already breaching the curtains, as motes of dust danced around, suspended in the still air. The scent of freshly baked bread mingled with the lingering warmth. He slipped off his shoes, careful not to make noise, and padded towards the bedroom with a soft groan.

It was then he saw them—your clothes and shoes discarded on the floor, right in the hallway. The sight made him pause. The shoes were still upright, as if you’d stepped out of them, resigned. The dress, crumpled, was draped across the chair near the door. Slowly, his tired mind pulled the pieces from the deep well of memory.

Dinner. He’d forgotten. Zatraceně.

His face crunched itself painfully at the thought of what awaited him. Fully deserved, yet, far away from pleasant. He swallowed it down and pushed the bedroom door open with a soft creak.

“Lásko,” he murmured, his voice low and hesitant, guilt clinging to the edges of the pet name. “Are you asleep?”

A long, unhappy sigh came from the bed. “No.” Silence, for a moment. “Now that I know you’re alive—” you croaked quietly, your voice muffled by the pillow. “Where have you been?”

If it hadn’t been clear until then, the sound of your voice betrayed just how much crying you had done in the last few hours. It was raw and hoarse, thick with exhaustion, a sniffle caught at the back of your throat.

“I—” Viktor started, faltering before quickly trying to correct himself. “I forgot. I am so, so sorry.”

Nothing, just a stare, as you lifted yourself up from the pillows and crossed your arms on your chest. Eyebrows pinched together in a fake pity.

“Work. I swear, it completely slipped my mind, and I am so, so sorry,” Viktor pleaded, making a few wobbly steps toward the bed, only to stop at your scoff.

“That’s… good to know. Well, if you ever decide I am worthy of your time, you know where to find me,” you retorted and slumped back into the pillow, stubborn tears already pushing themselves past your eyelids.

“Please don’t be like that, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Few more steps, unsure, as Viktor leaned heavily on his cane. His voice exasperated, as he had absolutely no energy to fight now. He would do anything for forgiveness and a place in bed, his muscles screaming for rest.

“Viktor I frankly don’t care what you’ve meant or didn’t mean to do, it is what it is,” you said sharply, narrowing the space for discussion. “For someone who fights so fiercely to not be forgotten, you sure forget about others easily.”

“Was that necessary?” A hot feeling washed over him, not yet anger, but irritation that glued his feet to the floor and made him adjust his stance. “Do you really want to fight at 4 a.am.?”

“Yes, that is my deepest desire to have a fight with you at dawn. What do you think? Is it my fault that we are having this conversation?” You rose again, facing him from the stronghold of your shared bed, Viktor dangerously close to losing his residence rights.

“No, it’s my fault, as you’ve made it very clear. And I am sorry, and it will never happen again. I don’t know what else I can say, really.” Seeing your deadly glare, he added, “And I don’t forget you. I just forgot about dinner. I’m sorry.” The last apology weaker than the others, as he run out of options.

“I somehow fail to see the difference between forgetting me and forgetting dinner—twice— as the result of both is identical,” you huffed dangerously, kicking the duvet off yourself. Anger surging through you, mixing with disbelief at his complete lack of willingness to own his sins.

“Lásko, please. I am so infinitely tired, please let’s not do this now,” Viktor pleaded again, his voice straining, the undercurrent of upset making your skin crawl. He spread his hands apart, making another step toward the bed to find himself stood at the edge of it. And it was too close.

You swung your legs over the mattress, tears of anger burning your cheeks. “As you wish. Bed’s all yours.” Another spit and you stood up, ready to run away and press yourself into the couch to muffle your sobs, when Viktor’s hand stopped you.

“Please don’t go. Please. This is the last thing I want.” This time his voice more sincere. Sadness in his eyes. A real lingering guilt. But if you were to give in, nothing would change.

“No, Viktor. Should’ve thought about this before you decided to marry yourself to work.”

“And what do you mean by this?” he asked in a confused tone, his hand leaving your arm. 

“I mean… I don’t know what I mean, I’m tired. And what I also mean, maybe you should reconsider if there is truly a space for someone else in your life. Or maybe you need someone more memorable, I really don’t know,” you mumbled, all your insecurities gnawing at you simultaneously. All the times when Viktor forgot about something you had asked for, all the times he was late or didn’t show up at all, all the times when you had to ignore young assistants giggling around him, when you would finally decide to pick him up from work.

“Please, you cannot be serious right now.” Viktor felt his ribs clenching around his heart, a very unpleasant kind of tightness settling in his chest. Or maybe just his heart swelled up in his chest, pumped with anger and disbelief. Either way, it ached. “How dare you throw such an accusation at me.”

“How dare I? Have you, I don’t know, tried to take a walk in my shoes? You can take a stroll, they are in the corridor, ready for the dinner.” This very finite, very spiteful remark made you momentarily proud of yourself, until you saw the shift in Viktor’s eyes.

“I haven’t. I didn’t think I should. Because I trust you, when you say you love me, and I was hoping you trusted me as well, despite the slip ups,” he said quietly, his gaze low. “You knew who I was before we stepped into this, I’ve told you that I am not good at this kind of maintenance.”

“Maintenance?” You were fuming. Absolutely, completely furious. Courtship and basic human decency to not leave someone hanging for hours reduced to such a soulless, technical term. “You cannot wipe your face with the excuse of being broken every time you fuck something up, Viktor.”

And that was it. It was enough. Enough to rip through Viktor’s chest with a cold blade. He took a sharp inhale, but before anything could fall out from his mouth you realised what you had just said. Stumbling over your own words, you retreated quickly, “Viktor, I’m so sorry, I—”

“No. No,” he whispered, his tone icy as he shrugged your hand off his arm. “It is you who doesn’t get the right to wipe your face with something I have bared in front of you in trust.” And you saw his eyes welling up and you felt your own heart swelling in fear. Your hand shot back where it was rejected, again, and Viktor pushed it off, again.

“Please, Viktor, I didn’t mean to say it.”

“Yes, you did. And what is worse—I haven’t ignored you on purpose. I forgot. Which is in its definition an unintentional act. Whereas, you have gone for the kill. Intentionally.” His tone measured, calculated, walls raising up as he turned his face away from you.

You stood there, struck. Looking blankly into space, regretting not taking Viktor up on that ‘let’s not fight now’ option from a few moments ago. After a few very loud, very echoey breaths your resolve finally broke and a long suppressed sob pushed itself out of you with full force. 

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled, falling back into the mattress. “I just… miss you—” An undignified hick escaped you. “I miss you so much Viktor, I really didn’t mean to say it, I’m so sorry…” After that, an incomprehensive wave of words mixed with gasps and cries followed.

Viktor stood there for a minute, chewing at the inside of his cheek, clearly still wounded, he just didn’t know what wounded him more. The fact that his love called him broken in a spiteful retort, or the fact that she was now crying at the crack of dawn, because of him.

Tentatively, he shifted closer to you, a featherlight touch of his hands to your shoulder startling you. You felt the mattress dip next to you and your head being pulled to his chest, which made you fall apart completely.

Viktor hugged you tightly, your tears dampening his jumper, his own throat working very hard to suppress emotion bubbling to the surface. “Please forgive me,” he whispered softly between soothing sounds he was humming to you. “Please, I can’t bear it.”

“I don’t work myself to the bone, lose sleep, lose time, because I want to be far from you. I am doing this for something greater, for a chance to fix what I can. To… to matter. And I… miss you as well,” he said calmly, holding you close to his chest.

“Do you?” you quipped sheepishly, trying to muster whatever composure was left within you. Cradled in Viktor’s arms, you found yourself at a loss of other words. The argument suddenly dissolved into something softer as you began tracing your fingers idly along the beauty marks on his neck.

Viktor nodded a few times too many and placed his hand on your neck. “I will be more mindful,” he said simply. “And you can visit me at work more often and pull me out of there by the ear. How does that sound?”

It was your turn to nod, spreading dampness across your face. You swung your legs over his lap and nuzzled your face into his hair. Viktor shifted slightly, his hand brushing a stray strand of hair from your cheek.

“Will you let me make it all up to you?” he asked softly, his voice low and reverent. His thumb lingered on your skin, tracing the faintest curve of your cheekbone.

You swallowed, your skin getting warmer under a blush. “Well, what do you have in mind?” you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Something you might like,” Viktor replied, leaning closer, his forehead resting against yours. “Let me show you how much I’ve missed you.”

You didn’t respond right away, your breath catching as his fingers grazed your jaw, sliding down to cradle your chin. His touch was featherlight, almost hesitant, but his gaze never wavered, holding you captive.

“Okay,” you breathed, the word escaping before you could stop it.

His lips quivered into the faintest smile—playful, yet soft. He shifted again, his hands trailing down your arms until he caught your hands in his, threading his fingers through yours. He brought them to his lips, pressing a kiss to your knuckles, slow and deliberate.

“Děkuji,” he murmured, the gratitude in his voice making your heart ache.

His movements were careful as he guided you to lay down and took a moment to unclip his leg brace. He then scrambled up beside you, your knees touching, each move soft and lazy, giving away how tired his body was after another sleepless night. You let him pull you closer, his arms wrapping securely around you, his touch steady and grounding.

You took a long, audible inhale, as your fingertips traced the lines of his face. The faint circles beneath his eyes, the curve of his jaw, the slight harshness of stubble that rasped under your touch. Viktor closed his eyes briefly, a soft sigh escaping him as if your touch alone was enough to undo him.

“You’re so tired,” you said softly, your thumb brushing over the shadow on his cheek.

“We can take this slow,” he murmured, his lips quivering into a smile. His hand found your waist, his touch firm yet gentle. “I like taking my time with you.”

He dipped his head, his lips grazing the side of your neck. The warmth of his breath sent a shiver down your spine as he whispered, “I am really sorry, lásko. I hope you believe me.”

Your breath hitched as his words bounced off your skin. “I do. And I am sorry too,” you whispered back, trying to will the blush away from your cheeks.

He gave you a tentative kiss, barely a press of his lips to yours. For a moment, lips were just touching, mouths slightly open as you both breathed each other in. He smelled of ink and chalk, a powdery scent lingering in your nose. His hands pressed firmer on your sides as he pulled you closer, your stomachs pressed together. 

One of his legs snaked in between yours and he pressed his knee to your core, warmth already pooling in your lower belly. Your kissing deepened, tongues got involved and you could feel your teeth clacking against each other. Noses pressed together, as your hands travelled under the layers of his clothing to ghost over his stomach and his hips bucked into yours, making you gasp. 

“Tickles,” he chuckled into your mouth, his breath growing heavier and quiet moans escaped him with each kiss. You let your hands wander, finding an easy rhythm as you glided your touch onto his hips and thighs.

Feeling him grow harder beneath you, you palmed his length through the trousers and ground your hand on it. Viktor gasped at the sudden attention to his cock, the fabric adding a delicious friction to the movement.

He reciprocated easily with the knee between your legs. Lazily, he moved it back and forth, testing the pressure to see where it made you squirm. One of his hands traversed the plane of your back downwards to your ass to fondle it gently, his fingers dancing on it, tracing words before allowing himself a leisurely squeeze.

Your kissing grew hungrier and you added some pressure to your hand to finally grip his now fully hard cock through the cloth. Viktor’s body wordlessly asked for more, bucking needily into your touch, his brows pinched together, his panting breaths fanning your face.

He retreated his knee from between yours and before you could whine, his cock and your cunt met in a long, sloppy drag of your bodies against each other. He ground himself against you with a desperate want, as if his brain suddenly remembered what was missing when spent long hours at work.

The material of his pants became unbearably tight against the almost nonexistent layer of your knickers. His hand abandoned your ass in favour of snaking under your soft, frilly nightdress to cup your bare breast, while the other cradled your cheek. He tilted your head to nip at your neck and you whined at the sudden attention to all the sensitive spots on your body—his hand groping your chest, thumb brushing against your nipple, his cock against you, the feeling of his teeth on your neck, followed by soothing kisses, love marks already blooming on your skin.

“You are doing so well, lásko,” he murmured into your neck, the honeyed sound melting something inside you. “You have no idea how you make me feel.” A low whisper followed by the feeling of his hands shifting you onto your stomach, as he pulled himself up to sit. He grabbed a pillow to stabilize his knee and pulled your skirts up to your shoulder blades.

He took a moment to take in the view, tracing your skin with his fingertips, to finally press his face to your ass cheek, his lips leaving a trail of kisses up your spine, his hands gently beckoning your hips up. He guided your left knee to bend, mirroring his own, when he caged himself on top of you, his chest splayed flat against your back. 

His left arm cradled around your chest, palm cupping your cheek as you intertwined your fingers with his. You could feel his length ghosting between your legs, but even the sharp press of your hips against him wasn’t enough. “Viktor, please,” you let out an undignified huff and Viktor chuckled into the nape of your neck, snaking his free hand between your front and the mattress.

He cupped your cunt, material sticky against his fingers and you could feel his mouth blooming into a smug smile as he teased, “Missed me so much, have you?”

His clothed cock poked at the wet membrane of your knickers as his fingers began their precise work on your clit, the friction of the fabric becoming unbearable and you couldn’t help another mewl, “Viktor, please, I can’t—”

You got cut off by your own sob, when Viktor murmured into your ear, “Oh, but I like you so much like this.” He placed an infuriatingly sloppy kiss on your pulse point, your hips bucking against your will. You didn’t know which was worse, the teasing or the absence of his fingers, because the whine that escaped you when he retreated his hand made your breath catch in your throat.

He freed his cock from the confinement of the fly, not bothering with the rest. Then, he slid the gusset of your underwear to the side and dragged his fingers along your seam, coating them with your slick, before inserting one inside. Gently adding another, he hummed appreciatively, your clit mercilessly teased with his thumb.

When you were ready, he wrapped himself back around you, took his cock to wet it at your entrance and sunk into you slowly, drawing a long, breathy moan from your lips. Once fully sheathed, he pulled his hips back to give you a snappy thrust, before finding a rhythm. His free hand wandered back to your clit, his attention unwavering, as he worked you in small, steady circles.

Your breathing grew heavier, and Viktor slid the fingers of his other hand from your cheek into your mouth, teasing your tongue. Completely trapped underneath him, you were at the mercy of his hips and his fingers, as he murmured sweet nothings into your ear.

Sinking deeper and deeper into you he hit a spot that drew a wail from the bottom of your throat, your hips bucked in the tight space between him and the bed, his fingers unwavering between your legs and you could feel yourself tightening, your core tied into a knot close to a release.

His movements grew more sloppy and needy, his mouth close to your ear, murmuring, “You are doing so well, I love you so much,” in a hushed tone between kisses pressed to your temple and the back of your neck. With your walls tightening around him, he came with a loud groan, flexing on top of you, bringing you with him with a couple precise flicks of his fingers. You came as he was spilling inside you, the feeling of damp warmth spreading around your underbelly.

He drew a couple of hot breaths, still splayed on your back, before rolling to the side and dragging you close with your back to his chest. He combed your hair away from your neck and placed a lingering kiss on the spot where it met your shoulders.

You took his hand into yours and brought it to your lips to press a kiss to his knuckles. He chuckled warmly and asked, “Am I forgiven?”

“The judge and the jury agree the atonement was sufficient,” you teased, though your voice was barely there. You shifted around to face him and nuzzled your face into his neck. “I now would like to prove a theory that this would be equally enjoyable if provided upon a shorter hiatus.”

“Oh you know me,” he murmured into your hair. “I would do anything for science.”

[yesimwriting]

A Matter of Timing

Midway part 2!! read part one here: Midway

Summary: Despite the hardships of your marriage to Aegon, the two of you reach a new understanding during the aftermath of his accident.

Warnings/info: forced marriage turned to awkward, subtle pining masquerading as friendship, descriptions of (chronic) pain, aegon's recovery being sped up slightly through a small time skip for the sake of plot, slight aemond slander, canon compliant incest (reader is rhaenyra's daughter)

----

The light spilling in through the window is a beacon, the warmth of it offering the king's apartments something beyond the somber sterility that followed his father throughout his final years.

At times, if Aegon allows his mind to dwell on the similarities between his situation and Viserys's the ache of his body morphs into something else, an all consuming beast that nearly makes him wish Sunfyre's wing had never cradled his broken body. It'd be a simple thing to spend the rest of his days being constantly mended within the safe confines of this room.

Someone else would rule in his place--like his mother and grandsire had done for his father--likely the same man, the same brother that betrayed him, and Aegon's role as a vestigial only ever visited out of obligation would be cemented into reality.

"I'm sure you're tired of novels..." The voice is not much different than the sun's light, a thing of warmth. His father did not have anything similar to you. "But I do not have much to speak of."

Aegon believes it. His authority was one of the few things holding you to your position. Now, with him here, he imagines your existence within the Red Keep has only grown more precarious. His mother had been petitioning to separate you from the monarchy since before the incident. He can't imagine anyone of significance telling you anything.

"Your small council meets often, which seems to be occupying a great deal of your mother's time." Your summary is blank, straightforward as you search your thoughts for information he might be interested in. "Aemond's recently been named regent, though I'm sure someone must have told you that already."

Aemond. The confirmation of his suspicions jabs at him, the assuring nature of your voice briefly losing its hold on him. He begs his body, his mind to cry out...All he can manage is a rasp that's almost a name and twitch of his fingers.

The seat you've pulled next to his bed side creaks as you shift. You've always been encouraging of his movements, invested in each sign of the life still clinging to him in a way that implies a devotion someone like you could never feel for him. "Aegon?" He tries again, another ragged distortion of his brother's name. "Are you--Do you want him?"

No. You are the only one that seems to be on his side entirely. You may detest his family, you may desire your mother's rule, but his recovery matters to you. Even with your care, he has no way to express what he needs to.

He squints his eyes open, a task that takes more from him than he'd ever admit. His sight is weak, the side of his face that took the worst of Vhagar's flames agitated by the effort. You're close enough for him to make out your features, your expression. With your eyebrows pinched together like that, you look a little younger, like the girl that used to pretend to understand the crude jokes made by her brothers and uncles.

You shift closer, your hand finding a place on his bed. With trembling fingers, Aegon manages to place his hand over yours. Your gaze dips downwards, briefly landing on where your fingers meet before finding his features again. You study him with a focus that'd be unnerving coming from anyone else.

Your lips part before you're ready to speak. "You don't want Aemond here." It's not a question.

Your understanding reaches something deep inside of him. The relief offers him the strength needed to tilt his chin downwards, an approximation of a nod. You let out a breath, a question clearly waiting on the tip of your tongue.

The sound of assured footsteps stops you from asking it. You press your lips together, attention shifting towards the room's entrance. The door groans as it's pulled open, the footsteps continue, clearer now. Aegon's eyes flit towards the doorway in time to see his brother.

Instead of looking at the results of his betrayal, Aemond's eye settles on something just past Aegon. You. "Your grace."

Dread coils itself inside Aegon's stomach. His fingers bend as much as he can will them to, his hold on you attempting to convey anything that might get you to stay away from Aemond.

Overnight, Aemond has been consumed by a monster that's fed off his loyalty, leaving nothing in its wake but a shell of who his brother used to be. That beast has no place near you.

Your eyes don't leave Aemond, but your fingers do press into his, a subtle confirmation of something. "My lord."

Aemond steps forward, his hands politely held behind his back. "How is my brother?" Another step towards his bed, towards you. Aegon's body aches with the desire to move, to place an even greater wedge between you and Aemond. "You are by his side more than ever these days."

Your lips press together, a tight lipped smile that doesn't reach your eyes. "It seems someone should be." The lack of subtlety in your comment seems to hit you a moment too late. In an attempt to remedy your mistake, you tack on something polite, "With you all understandably concentrating on the war efforts and ruling over your people. You more than most, prince regent."

Your shift to docility paired with the reminder of Aemond's new position seems to work. The corner of Aemond's mouth pulls itself upwards, a predator's smile. "So you've heard."

"Your mother told me this morning," you pause, "She often comes by during the mornings when Aegon's bandages are replaced to oversee his recovery." Aemond moves even closer, his knees practically against the side of Aegon's mattress. "It feels odd to congratulate you considering the circumstances, but I am sure it is still a great honor to serve your realm."

Aemond's single eye focuses on your expression. Aegon feels the inflation of his lungs stall. "Thank you, my queen." His brother's gaze does not leave you. "You seem to have taken to your own service." Aegon's stare does not leave you. "Mornings, evenings, sometimes through supper...you stay by your husband's side." He lets out a low breath. "Though noble, I do worry that you are not making enough time for your own rest."

The concern in Aemond's voice ignites something in Aegon's blood. It is not enough to disfigure him and steal his throne, now Aemond needs his wife as well. This is another aspect of Aemond's greed that Aegon should have long ago suspected.

Despite your questionable parentage and the circumstances surrounding your union, your beauty has never been deniable. Of course Aemond had seen it as well. Your way of being is another factor that made being forced into this marriage tolerable, even when you hated him most, your arguments and protests had never been cruel, they had only been vexing in the most intriguing way possible. Aegon should have known that, too, would not go unnoticed by his brother.

Aegon's fingers tighten around yours. "Though appreciated, your concern is unnecessary." Your voice is even, words measured. "I often rest in my own apartments, as they are connected to my husband's, which means that I do not have to worry about him needing something and no one being around to hear him."

"Your loyalties to the king are admirable." Aemond moves even closer to Aegon's bed, his knees pressing into the bed's side. "And they have been noticed. We are both aware of the skepticism some hold towards you because of your mother, but no one can deny that you are a good queen. You are poised, intelligent, and beloved by the small folk."

Aemond extends an arm over Aegon's form, his fingers gently brushing against the edge of your hairline, pushing a stray strand of hair back into place. "And I plan to look after you in the ways your husband cannot, as my brother would have wanted."

If Aegon were capable of full movement, he'd take his brother's remaining eye. As if sensing his unease, or perhaps even feeling some of your own, your hand squeezes his. "That is very kind of you, my lord. Thank you."

He nods, straightening fully. "Of course. I must now leave you both, the small council is waiting for me. I was only given a moment to check on the king's health."

"Yes, attend to the king's small council, your brother is well looked after."

Aemond presses his lips together, his expression uncertain. "I am sure."

With that, Aemond turns around. His footsteps are even, unhurried as he moves towards the room's entrance. You're quiet as he leaves, attention focused on the doorway.

After a long moment, once you are certain that Aemond is no longer within the confines of Aegon's apartments, you scoff. "I wouldn't want him involved in my recovery, either."

Your thumb drags against his knuckles, the contact so soft it borders on overwhelming. "But you--the two of you were close, weren't you?" Your eyebrows pinch together curiously. "At least, relatively so. You defended him after..." You blink, eyes glossier than they were a moment ago. "After Luke."

Aegon should have known then that Aemond was never meant to be an integral part of his reign. That type of instability, that connection to rage...loyal as a hound. The only thing his brother feels a sense of duty towards is his own ambition.

If he had punished his brother for Lucerys's death, exiled him, he wouldn't be here. You'd also--it would have been an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to his wife.

"I--" His throat burns around the syllable. You blink, the grief melting away from you as you focus on his words. "Things are different now." The energy it takes to form the words is not worth the cost. He cannot even decide what to focus on. You--comforting you, or attempting to explain Aemond's betrayal.

You squeeze his hand. "Even when it hurt, a part of me always understood why you sided so adamantly with Aemond. That is not to say that I was not angry..." He remembers your rage, the threats you had made again and again before breaking down. Aegon said nothing as you cried, but he did smooth circles against your back until you fell asleep. "I would have done anything for my brother."

You let out a low breath, the grief behind your eyes melting into something more present. "You are speaking more more these days." There's a warmth to the phrasing that soaks into his skin. "It is...assuring." Your fingers press into his. "If you do not mind me asking, why do you not wish to see Aemond?"

Aegon watches you openly, taking in your features and the softness behind your eyes. After everything that happened between the two of you, the circumstances of your marriage, you found it in you to tend to him as he struggled to not lose his hold on life. How could he repay your kindness by telling you the truth?

You're quicker to action when it comes to defending others, he had seen it in the way you spoke of Lucerys. As of now, Aemond seems to like you, or at the very least, want you. And though the thought makes his skin crawl, that is a much safer position for you than knowing what Aemond is. At the very least, until Aegon recovers enough to be in a position to defend you.

"He saw me go after Meleys after--he told me not to." The lie leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He squeezes your hand, reminding himself what he's doing this for. "And--and he is ruling now, he should--he should remain focused."

You watch him for a moment, eyebrows pinched together uncertainly. He lets out a breath, slowly moving his arm. Aegon ignores his pain as he lifts your hand to his lips. What the gesture takes from him is returned by your smile.

----

Evenings are usually his respite, the time between the late afternoon and true nightfall.

These fleeting hours provide him something much needed. A way of pretending that he is no patient, no burden. With no one around to hover and spare him pitiful glances, Aegon can almost imagine that his life has gone unchanged.

Especially during the evenings in which you join him. The solitude softens you, allowing you to speak freely and sometimes even jest about some of the happenings of his court. You’re rarely able to update him on any significant political changes, but he finds the gossip you can offer him distracting enough—or, at the very least, your delivery of the rumors is.

Tonight, however, there have been no stories recounting a supposed affair between Ser Criston Cole and some unknown woman or of the changes in the small folk’s attitudes. There has only been silence and the flickering of candlelight.

He glances towards the seat to left of his bed, one of your books abandoned in your place. The cane one of the maesters had encouraged him to begin practicing with is propped up against the wall behind the chair. Perhaps you are starting to realize that what drew you to Aegon was not some newfound appreciation of your connection, but your goodness, your desire to repair him the way you would a wounded animal.

Though still healing, Aegon has made it a few paces away from death's doorstep. He's been instructed to practice moving as much as he can bear to, to get used to strain of his limbs and the protests of his body. However, Aemond and the small council have made a point of suggesting Aegon does all he can to keep his recovery process away from prying eyes for the sake of morale.

The soft sound of footsteps echoes from beyond one of the walls that keep him from the outside world.

"I appreciate you taking the time to escort me to my husband's apartments, my lord."

Aegon's fingers dig into his sheets, his body incapable of giving him the force needed to exhaust any real frustration. That's another thing that seems to have changed in these last few days. With the crown on his head, Aemond has pivoted towards a new goal--you.

"These are uneasy times, my queen, I am glad to be assured of your safety."

His queen. Aemond has done all he can to protect your position within the Red Keep. He continues to promote you, partly out of a way of placating the small folk that support you and mainly as some kind of ploy to draw you in.

"Thank you, again," you say, "I won't keep you any longer, your time is valuable."

Without another word from his brother, the door to his apartments creeks open. Less than a minute later, the final door dividing the two of you is pushed open slowly. The hinges still creek, but you're still more careful than you need to be as you continue forward.

You turn to face him before the door can fall shut. "You're sitting." The words are said with such warmth, Aegon's frustrations are nearly banished from his mind.

"You've seen me sit."

His flatness does not quell your joy. "I know, but you're not with the maester...and it--it's later than you'd usually sit." You continue forward, stopping at the foot of his bed. You allow yourself to watch him openly. "And your skin is losing its yellow undertones." You place a hand on the foot of his bed, eyes shifting away from him. "Watching you recover...it has brought me a great deal of peace."

There's a hint of vulnerability in the way you stare at his bedding. Aegon lets out a breath. You are not the conniving type, and you have no way of knowing what Aemond really is. "Well, you deserve a great deal of credit." The words are enough to get you to begin walking again. "I do not know where I'd be without you."

You smile, stalling at the other side of his bed. "I am wonderful, I know." You place your hand against the bedding, but not yet pulling them back. "In reality, I wish there was something I could to ease your pain. You are the one that is still recovering from Meleys's flames."

He turns his head enough to look at you. "You deserve a great deal of credit for that as well."

You smile again, this time the look a much more genuine thing. "Can I stay in here tonight?"

The question is one of the few formalities that you still cling onto. You sleep in his bed more often than your own these days. "I'd never ask you to leave my bed."

You roll your eyes as you push back his sheets. You push off your shoes before crawling into his bed. He enjoys your proximity more than he'd ever be able to tell you.

You settle close enough for him to be able to feel the warmth radiating off of your skin. "I missed you tonight."

"Then perhaps you should have taken your supper with me."

You let out a low breath. "I wanted to, but Aemond asked me about how often I have supper here, and I couldn't think of what to say."

Aegon cannot help his scoff. "And when Aemond calls..."

You turn to face him, your body shifting even closer. "He is acting as the king, he is your regent--"

"My regent, my throne, my wife." The embittered words come out before he can stop them.

"What?" You're staring at him with wide, bewildered eyes. "You cannot possibly think that I, of all people, have been disloyal to you."

Regret immediately jabs at his chest. His anger, his fear, none of it has anything to do with you. "No, I did not mean it in that way."

"I am here when you go to bed, I am here when you rise, I am here more than I am anywhere else. In what moment would I have had time to be unfaithful?" You push your weight onto your knees, hurt pooling in your eyes. "Perhaps while eating with your family, or--or sitting with the ladies of a court that loathes me?"

The yellow glow of the candlelight highlights the shininess of your eyes. "I tolerate my brother's murderer because we are married, because I am left no other option. Do not ever accuse me of betraying you or Luke like that ever again."

The words are sharp, tears brimming in your eyes as you force them out. Guilt ensnares some vital force in his chest, the pain of his body amplified by reget.

He whispers your name, the sound raspy and pathetic. "It is not you, it is the fucking traitor that is determined to take everything of value from my life."

You blink, the self righteous anger and offense briefly leaving you. "Traitor?" The mistake leaves his face warm. "What--" Your eyes flit towards the door. "Aegon, I am going to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me. If these last weeks have meant anything to you, I want you to be honest with me."

He swallows. You reach for his hand. "Your injuries--are they from Meleys's flames?"

Aegon squeezes your palm to his with a force that leaves pain pulsing up his arm. Beneath the weight of your stare, your silent pleading, he breaks. Aegon shakes his head.

You exhale, an odd sort of tranquility coloring your features. "Okay." Carefully, you bring his hand to your lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. The serenity of your movements throws him. "Thank you for your honesty."

Aegon watches as you set his hand down gently. You begin to shift back, forcing Aegon to straighten his spine even further. "Where--where are you going?"

"To tell the guards that their prince regent, the same man that removed his own mother from the small council, the same man that killed my--" Your voice cracks at the last syllable. "My brother, has now attempted to kill--" The words waver before breaking off entirely. "To kill the king."

Aegon reaches for you, his fingers finding their way around your wrist. He latches onto you as if you might disappear if he allows you to. "We cannot say anything."

The sentence pushes you away, sending you to that distant place that took you after your brother's passing. Aegon ignores the way his side protests as he sits up even further, his hand coming to rest against your spine.

"Guards know no loyalty beyond orders and their wages, Aemond is in a position of immense power. You are beloved by the people, but hold little standing in your own court." He runs his knuckles against your lower back. "Look at me. Any number of incidents resulting in my death could be deemed an accident. I can't--I can't protect myself, let alone you."

It takes you a moment to return. "He killed my brother." Tears begin to run down your face. "He almost killed you." You're crying openly now. "We need--we--"

"I know," he whispers, "But as of now, we have nothing except things to lose." Aegon moves his hand, allowing it to settle against your waist. "He likes you now, and that--that is a safe thing."

You inhale sharply, the sound a little more than a sniffle. "I don't care."

"I do." This is one area that he is unwilling to compromise in. "I won't risk you." He releases your side in favor of reaching for your face, his thumb wiping at already spilled tears. "Promise me that you will not do anything. Please."

"We cannot let him get away with this."

"We won't," Aegon vows, "Because we will wait until the right time. I will heal further. He will make a mistake, and if I do not hear of it, you will." He drags his thumb against your cheek again, his fingers settling beneath your jaw. "Promise me."

After a moment, you nod. "I promise." The words are shallow and uncertain, but Aegon does not fear them. You mean your promises. "What if he hurts you again?"

"As long as I am feeble and making no attempts to regain control or expose him, he has no need to." You look up at him, expression unconvinced. "And he will not do anything in front of you."

You dip your chin downwards, a halfhearted nod. "I will not leave you." There's an earnestness there that rattles something inside of him. Your unflinching resolve to promise that you're there for him, that this is not his battle alone.

Aegon shifts forward, his body begging him to resume neutrality as he begins to pull you towards him. You're quick to respond, leaning into his touch. Aegon presses his lips against yours.

He's kissed you before--at your wedding, a few times during your handful of attempts at producing a child, and even less times during the day when particularly enjoying your company. But this is something else, something more desperate and meaningful. His lips drag against yours with less ease than he'd like, a dull ache nearly taking him out of the moment.

You pull back first, your breaths ragged as you look at him. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

It was not simple, but far from agonizing enough to make it unworthwhile. "Do not apologize for that." You nod without looking him in the eye. Aegon moves back, allowing his back to rest against cushioning. "Go have your ladies help change you into your night gown, and come back."

It's early for you to get ready for bed, but no one would find it strange. The two of you are married, which means you are welcome to spend as much time together as you'd like. Besides, Aegon likes the thought of you leaving now and not needing to go anywhere until morning.

You agree without question, moving away from him with a subtle nod. "I'll return in a moment."

You leave out of the door that connects his apartments to yours. Before he knows it, you're knocking on the door once before entering his space again. You seem a little lighter, hair brushed and face washed. You return to bed wordlessly, covering yourself with his sheets before resting your head against his shoulder.

Aegon's hand settles against your knee. "I walked a little longer with the maester today."

"That's wonderful," he can hear the smile in your voice. "I'd like to see that. Tomorrow I'll be here instead of sitting with the ladies."

The thought is easing. "I'll put on a good show for you."

"I'm sure you will." You place your hand over his. "I know that you said not to say anything, and it's a timing issue...but there has to be something we can do."

He turns over his hand, his fingers intertwining themselves with yours. "It would help weaken Aemond's claim if I were to have another, more evident heir."

The implications of the statement take you a moment to understand. Once you do, you squeeze his hand a little tighter. "Oh."

The few times the two of you had attempted to create an heir had been far from unenjoyable, just a little uncertain. After Lucerys's death, you were clearly and understandably not in the mood to be looked at a moment too long let alone touched. Aegon obliged you, and would be willing to keep leaving you to yourself if that's what you want.

"We could go back to trying to produce an heir," you mumble, body becoming a little more rigid against him.

He runs his thumb along your knuckles. "Really?"

"I mean, once you're healed enough to feel physically ready," you pause, a little unsure of yourself, "It seems a fitting course of action, and we are married."

He smiles to himself, lifting your hand to his lips. "We are."

----

a/n i'm leaving for my birthday trip tonight so if u liked this u should def send me aegon asks to come back to 🙏💗

Taglist: @dracaryxzs @callsignwidow @vulgarfuckinvirgo77 @kazupop @hikaerys @froggyfrip @theargoblog @targaryenswhxre @woodlandwrites @familyshow-orisit @dinomecanico @forevercountingstars @bibli0thecary @magictrump @tempo-rary-fix @mrs-starkgaryen

[lvmimis]

cw: light smut. minors dni. oral!f. receiving.

Your nose crinkles for a moment as the en suite bathroom door closes behind you and you’re faced with the purported love of your life, grinning widely at you from the center of a rounded marble tub.

“The water’s warm enough for you!” Luffy waves you over excitedly, and you know if you don’t start moving quickly, he’ll probably let his arms extend long enough to scoop you from that end of the room and bring you over himself. Letting your loose bathrobe slip to the ground from your shoulders, you step carefully towards him, careful for splashed water given how sloppy he can be, but you make it over there in one piece. Once at the edge of the tub, you pause as your leg swings over, then tentatively glance at him. He’s stopped grinning by now, but his eyes are still on you, lips parted slightly as he scans over your naked body, fully distracted but positively so.

Your cheeks warm.

“Hey, maybe you should let the water run first and refill it before I get in, I don’t know where you’ve been,” you tease to keep from being flustered, but just across from your view is the shower, and you remember distinctly being pressed up against the screen by the same person staring unabashedly at your chest right now, hot water and soap suds running down the length of both of your bodies as he fucked you thoroughly.

You know exactly where he’s been.

Luffy mercifully does not remind you - instead he’s finally snapped out of his trance and gets grabby, pulling you into the water with him, arms wrapping the length of your body twice then three times as he holds you close to him. You shriek in surprise and the water sloshes precariously out of the tub with the action, but he has you safe, just as he always does, pressing his cheek against yours as if you’re still somehow not close enough. 

“If you don’t know where I’ve been, maybe we haven’t been spending enough time together on this cruise,” he suggests.

The very idea of a pirate - technically, two now - on a luxury cruise ship is laughable, but here the two of you are, the remainder of the Straw Hats spending time in the neighboring city to recharge in their own ways. You had some reservations about getting on this ship with such a large bounty on Luffy’s head, but between Usopp and Nami’s craftiness, you’ve gotten a practically perfect arrangement in a large private suite, the view of the East Blue replenishing you from early morning to late evening.

And of course, Luffy reminds you that you are loved every waking moment, which is nourishment for your soul as well. 

“I think you’ve been stuck to me like glue, just like right now,” you reply. Despite this, you kiss his forehead, repositioning yourself in his slightly loosened but still present embrace so that you’re straddling him. Unsatisfied with just that alone, he kisses your collarbone, dipping downwards until he’s got a nipple in his mouth, sucking gently. You let yourself whimper a little and he looks up at you first, reading the pleasure in your expression, then lets go with a pop. His arms release, then he cups your face and kisses you.

“Do you not like it?” he asks. His voice is uncharacteristically breathy, his voice soft and sincere enough that you practically feel awful for feigning being anything more than completely enamored with him. 

“No, I-”

Having heard enough, he kisses you again, letting his fingers gently trail down the nape of your neck, careful not to disturb your hair pulled up into a bun. He kisses you again and again and again, each one lasting a little longer, the breaks in between a little shorter, and he pulls back finally, taking you in practically beaming, a faint blush on his cheeks.

“Wash first or eat first?” he asks.

You blink. 

“We’re already in the bath, Luffy.”

He chuckles to himself, then his fingers slip suddenly between your legs.

“Eating this.”

A finger pads gently at your clit and you bite your lip, nodding. He takes your lead, helping you lay your body back but keeping your lower half propped up close to his face so he doesn’t drown in water but your pussy instead.

Soft, slow kitten licks to appetize himself and yourself, then more voraciously, the desire for more tactile sensation and stimulation satisfied by a free hand squeezing and caressing your ass in between dips of the tongue and swallows.

Generous enough to make sure he satisfies you first, making sure you cum on his face so that he can suck the salty sweetness down further, he lets you rest against his chest for a moment before you’re back to the actual washing portion of this bath, rubbing soap suds all over each other, a process that is half love and worship, half playful, and 100% you.

…

Moments later, after you’ve toweled off and Luffy’s ordered a concerning amount of room service which you know will only last him about an hour until he starts prowling around for the buffet, you’re staring out at the sea and thinking about your hometown.

You never thought you’d fall in love with the sea the way you are now, but there are a lot of things you didn’t expect for yourself at this point in time.

“___, if you don’t come here and have something, I’m gonna eat all of it and you’re going to be mad.”

He’s not wrong, and you return to him on the bed, crossing your legs as you reach over for a bite. He’s eating with both hands, quickly as though he was storing for the winter, but he slows once you’ve rested your head on his shoulder and let out a sigh. 

“Everything okay?”

He puts down a wing to rest his hand on your knee, leaning his head atop yours on his shoulder.

“Perfect even.”

“Mm.”

He continues eating, at some point pushing a bread roll into your mouth that practically has you sputter, but you swallow it down and kiss him.

“I love you,” you say first.

And he grins. “I know.”

Knocking your forehead gently against the side of his head, you grumble. “Well?”

“Of course, I love you too. More probably.”

Your mouth opens and closes as he continues to chew nonchalantly.

“Not more,” you insist.

His dark eyes are bright as he grins widely and assures you, “More than you could ever know.”

[mesetacadre]

Something I'd consider to be a big step in any communist's theoretical and practical development is the true adoption of class politics, as the main vehicle of your discourse. There is no shame in not having done this, and I'd wager almost any communist had a period of time between consciously adopting marxist politics and this "true adoption" I'm referring to. Some never take this step as well.

Especially if you were already into politics, rejecting the political discourse of bourgeois democracy and substituting it for class politics is something that takes conscious effort. Take immigration as an example, this is a relevant subject of debate in the EU. The two main positions in normal (read: bourgeois) debate is to either make legal immigration harder and murder more migrants, or to relax controls and allow easier legal integration into whichever country they're in. Your intuition as a newer communist is probably to side with the second position, and that's understandable. But a consistently class conscious position is to first understand that those two broad sets of policies (hardening or relaxing the borders) both serve different factions of the same capitalist class at the same time:

Immigration, particularly from global south countries sacked by Europe, serves to increase the reserve army of labor that exerts a downwards pressure on wages, especially from these immigrants whose precarious situations force them to take the harshest jobs for miserable pay. So these two alternating policies of opening or closing up the border (but never closing it) serve to control the size of this reserve army when it's convenient, and once they're in Europe, to utilize this mass of low-wage workers. This is what is at the crux of the bourgeois debate over immigration in Europe, it's just coated in different paints, one nationalistic and one more "humanitarian". And this is what informs the actually marxist position in this particular debate; the rejection of any and all instrumentilzation of our fellow workers for the benefit of the capitalist class. There is no immigration policy within a capitalist framework that does not utilize the cheap labor brought by immigration.

If our goal as communists is to guide the working class to power, then we should be consequent in this and not lose ourselves in debates about which policy the managers of capitalism should adopt, it's to educate workers in our actual positions and utilize these debates as a jumping off point. This is what differentiates communists and opportunists who use workerist rethoric

[tojisun]

sex w simon on his bike??👀

i didn’t understand the vision until it hit me!! TWICE [heart eyes]

!! public sex (p in v and oral); THIS IS NASTY HHHHH; female reader // biker!simon mlist

જ thinking about simon fucking you against his bike, with your elbows resting on the padded seat, your back arched to present your ass to him which he greedily squeezes and pulls at, all the while groaning and rumbling in ecstatic amazement.

murmured pleas slip through your kiss-swollen lips, begging the universe or whatever’s out there that: 1) simon’s bike won’t topple to the side at the press of your weight against it, and 2) no one would see the two of you.

you stifle a squeak at feeling your skirt flipped up to the small of your back before a loud ri—ip sound echoes in the empty lot, the cold air hitting your bare skin instantly now that simon’s ripped your stockings open.

“god, baby,” simon rumbles, his voice hissed out in a barely contained snarl. “you and y’r fuckin’ perfect ass, i swear.”

“couldn’t you have waited ‘till we’re home?” you snark, feeling your cheeks flood with warmth when simon’s hand travels further down, greedy as it tugs at your flesh.

“‘course not,” simon replies, pulling away and leaving you trembling at the onslaught of cool air.

the sound of simon unbuckling his belt makes you freeze, your jaw dropping open for a quiet gasp, your own protest flying from your mind as nothing else pulses within you but your own desire. one that calls for simon.

simon slots himself against your back with ease, one of his arms circling your waist to tug you up, positioning you so that your ass presses against his chub perfectly. it makes you giddy—simon’s display of his strength; him manhandling you. but also, simon covering you with his bulk. simon towering over you.

fuck.

your eyes flutter close at feeling him kiss the back of your head, then he’s sliding in. in, in, in.

you pant at the continuous press, your jaw slack in pleasure as every inch of simon’s long cock breaches past your slick walls. you don’t realize you’re crying, the hiccuped rasps of your breath ringing loudly in the empty lot.

god, you’re so full. so fucking full.

“s’fucking wet,” simon moans, bumping his forehead between the valleys of your shoulder blades. “s’fucking good.”

you keen, pussy fluttering at the thick stretch of his cock—at how deep it is—feeling your legs quickly turning to mush.

you know you won’t last long again. you never stood a chance at holding back when simon just knows how to fuck you good, after all.

you don’t even snark at simon’s giggle at hearing your dreamy sigh.

-

જ thinking about giving simon head while he rests against his bike, the thing precariously propped up with nothing but the damn leg stand.

it doesn’t stop you from getting down to your knees anyway, jeans scratching against gravel as you scoot towards simon’s pelvis, nuzzling against his thigh, ignoring the rough fabric of his cargo pants.

simon croons, his big hands falling to hold the sides of your head. you hum, eyes fluttering when simon repositions you so your lips are hovering just above his chub.

“may i?” you ask, not breaking eye contact with him.

simon’s lips wobble and you don’t know how you must look but you can guess—desperate and a mess as you pant for your love’s cock. you can guess because however it is that you may look, it makes the pupils of simon’s eyes expand as it devours the dark browns of his irises.

he can’t hold back just like you.

“f’course,” simon murmurs, his voice grave and deep, almost akin to his morning rasp that always makes you burn with desire.

there is a heartbeat, a moment of building tension, before it peaks, tipping, and then you are fumbling with his pants, your trembling fingers reaching for his zipper before you’re tugging it down and pulling his cock out.

it’s already so hard, flushed at the tip with pre- beading on the head like a pretty pearl, and your mouth falls open, tongue lolling out to catch the drop before it drips down the length of his cock.

that first touch, first taste, is all you needed before you begin lapping at it with passion, drool building atop your tongue and pooling where his cock is pressed. you map the webs of his veins, taking note of the shiver that racks his body, and you hum when simon’s hold on your head tightens before loosening again.

“jesus, baby,” he gasps. “y’r so fuckin’ greedy with it, yeah? so greedy of me?”

you nod despite the difficulty of it, your teary eyes flicking up to meet his again. simon’s so flushed, and you think of how pretty he is as he stands before you like this.

you suckle on the head, mewling as more of his pre- dribbles into your tongue, flooding you with his taste.

more. you want more.

simon’s hips buck into you, thrusting his cock past the inside of your cheeks to meet the back of your throat, and you choke, pooled tears finally slipping past your furrowed eyes. even then, the sudden breach of his cock doesn’t deter you, instead, it makes you squirm, your panties gathering slick as your cunt weeps for his cock, almost like it’s jealous of your own mouth.

“you’re so…” simon’s voice trails off, and when you blink your eyes open again to meet his gaze you see the awed look shadowing his face, almost like he couldn’t fathom just why, exactly, are you so full of passion.

but it’s simon.

do you really need anything else more than that to stoke the flames of desire sitting in the pit of your stomach?

simon’s eyes crinkle, his smile wide. “wow, baby.”

a kick of a giggle makes your throat vibrate and simon moans, drawn out and loud, his head falling back to expose the column of his throat.

see? he is so beautiful bathed in his pleasure.

pleasure he is receiving from you.

hhshshehrhrh this is me fr. me rn! this is also me!! AHHHHHHH i want him bad :((

[bunni-v1]

So I've seen this idea of Jamil taking his lover's last name as a way to legally escape his enslavement to the Vipers. What do you think and also would you be willing to write some headcanons about it?

I like this idea, but it seems very complex and hard to handle with care. It doesn't seem like a very Jamil thing to do. From my understanding of him, which is a little foggy, so do give me some grace, he does not want to escape his family or his name. He just wants out of his servitude, not just him, but his whole family.

While Jamil is an incredibly selfish person, he does care for his family and wants them to be free with him. His younger sister Najma especially deserves to live a better life than he and his parents have, and while she already knows his struggle, he wants to alleviate as much of that as he can. So, the idea of him taking his lover's last name would almost feel like abandonment to him. While he is selfish, he is incredibly duty-bound, and if he feels a kind of commitment he won't be giving up on that.

On the other hand though, if he were to marry you, he wouldn't want you taking his last name. It would put you in a precarious position where you would have a loyalty to the Asim family. While Kalim likely wouldn't enforce anything on you, his family would, and Jamil is 100% aware of that fact. So he has this internal conflict of how he should go about this. He wants to share a last name with you, more than anything in the world, but he doesn't want to tie you down with his. Nor does he want to just take your last name and abandon his own family.

Jamil is crafty, though, and I think in the end he would take your last name. It does not free him of his loyalty to the Asim family, but it does relieve you and any future children of loyalty. It also gives him a better chance at getting himself and his family out of their situation. While there's no promise that he could get his family out of servitude, he could at least find a way to sustain them outside of their work for the Asim family.

Without the last name Viper wearing down on him he has infinitely more freedom in the job market. He can make his own money independent of the Asim family and save up to get his family out of there.

I don't think it's something that should be romanticized though. It's a very selfish decision he makes, and it's not really done with any romantic intentions. He needs your last name and you're willing to give it, so of course he'll take it from you. He's in a bad spot, and I think he would be willing to take this out if it meant he could make a better life for himself and his family.

[mossyswritingcorner]

Hi hi! So, to preface this, yes I am working on a ViriPV pt 2(which btw, thank you guys so much for all the love on that!!! I did not expect it to do so well on here haha), this is just a side project in the meantime. I’m a little less sure of how Sage of Truth Shadow Milk would act, but I’ve always pictured Sage being a clever witted guy who has some lighthearted, teasing sass to him in contrast to Shadow Milk’s biting cynicism and inclination to see everything as a game he’s the player of. For clarity, this is not pre-corruption Shadow Milk(Fount of Knowledge), this is based on the AU costume Sage of Truth from CRK where PV(Truthless Recluse) is the beast and Sage of Truth is the ancient. This one is a bit of a slower burn, if I do continue it, I’d say it’ll be roughly two more parts, this is just kinda intro and creating a fun dynamic between reader and Sage(also I’ll have him get called by his name instead of Sage next chapter, reader just genuinely doesn’t know it yet)

Let me know if you’d like to see more of this one, and also leave any writing requests in the ask box if you have any! Just keep in mind I won’t do nsfw(maybe down the line I’ll make a separate blog for it once I get more comfortable writing it, but that might be a while from now) or any proshipping.

Anyways, without further ado, enjoy Archivist!Reader x Professor!Sage of Truth

Pt 2

The Sage of Truth was an odd cookie, that’s quite certain.

You’d heard all the praises and prose dedicated to the ancient cookie, with many speaking of his unconventional genius and eternal thirst for knowledge for the good of all cookiekind; perhaps even grown to admire the Sage through your passive readings of his published works.

Some of his findings and theories even helped to propel your own research at the college further, with your shifts in the campus library being spent pouring over ancient texts concerning cookie philosophy and biology in between helping stray students.

However, you never would have imagined he would be coming HERE, to your own academy, to teach a semester’s worth of classes to the next generation.

You’d been a prestigious graduate from the Parfaedia Institute just a few years back, and promptly took up the role as one of the institute’s many archivists so you could continue your research using academy resources. However, your days as a student sitting through lectures were long since gone when there was finally a professor you would kill to hear from, and your higher ups at the academy would surely frown on you attending the classes in earnest when you had already achieved your degree.

So, when the day of the sage’s arrival finally came, and the hour of his first lecture ticked idly by, you just so happened to take your lunch break 3 hours early and coincidentally lingered by the door where his class was set to be.

The barrier between you and a substantial academic inspiration of yours was breached only by the sliver of light slipping out of the crack in the closed door and the muffled sounds of the Sage’s speech.

And listening to his lecture was like a dream! All of his musings were insightful and enriching, with his spoken word being just as powerful as the perfected papers he’d pushed out into Earthbread, and he seemed to carry a teasing levity that broke up the complex concepts into something understandable for the young cookie minds waiting to be melded just inside. You yourself couldn’t help a few giggles escaping you at the Sage’s jests, before quickly remembering your precarious position and silencing yourself.

As the Sage uttered his final regards to the class, you scurried off back to your desk in the archives before the doors could be pushed open, completely oblivious to the intrigued quirk of his iced brow at the frantic, fading footsteps just outside in the room.

You continue this routine for the next few days, sneaking out during your breaks to listen to his lectures, with these secret excursions only pushing you further into your own research, the Sage’s words serving as a muse to your yearnings for knowledge.

Yet, there seemed to be…subtle changes in the routine that most likely meant nothing, but you couldn’t help but take note of them regardless. It started simple, with the Sage seeming to project his voice a bit louder than usual, but you weren’t about to complain when it made it all the easier for you to overhear the lecture. Then, he began to leave copies of his lecture notes outside the door, free for the taking; which was most likely just for the cookies who were absent from the class and needed to acquire the notes they missed. Until finally, one day he just started leaving the doors to the lecture hall propped open, which you could only guess as to the reason why for that - though you mourned the ease which you eavesdropped on the Sage’s classes, since now he’d surely spot you listening in if you weren’t careful.

Yet, you didn’t let that deter you as you clung to the shadows, staying out of the sight line the doorway afforded those inside as the Sage delved into the workings of philosophy, “You see, all cookies hold their unique idea of truth, their ideals which shape their outwards actions. Some cookies value standing out above all else, and thus seek opportunities to prove themselves and draw the eyes of others, while others value being unobtrusive and subtle, so they lurk out of sight to listen.” He explains simply, and you swear you hear the smirk in his voice as your dough pales.

What did he mean by that? Was that just a random example? Pure coincidence? Or did he know you’d been listening in on his classes?

“Yet, it is always important to note that neither one of these concepts of living are better than the other, they instead coexist as simultaneous truths that shape our variations - that make our world all the more intiguing. It is in these intersections of truth for which we nuance, and the unmistakable desire to understand those which we don’t know. Every truth has a mystery to unravel, a grand play to unfold on stage, a narrative to divulge into, and I myself have taken the greatest joy in seeking answers in the unusual, in taking my part in this grand back and forth between the unknown and us. Furthermore…”

As the Sage of Truth continues on with his lecture, you’re only half-listening as you internally question whether the cookie was aware of your presence the entire time, and if all the small shifts in routine were actually purposeful.

But that’s crazy, isn’t it? Why would such an important cookie care in the slightest about someone watching him lecture? You were just being paranoid…right?

In fact, you’re so focused on your own thoughts you entirely miss the Sage trailing off into a conclusion, his voice growing closer and closer as he makes his way over to the doors, “Anywho, class dismissed! Until next time, my pupils!” He suddenly announced from what sounded like a yard away, successfully snapping you out of your thoughts and leaving you to hurry down the hallway with far less time than you’re usually afforded, leaving the Sage of Truth himself to steal a glimpse of you right before you turned out of sight.

An archivist, huh? Well, that makes things a lot more interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~

You retreat back into your office, letting out a sigh as you slump against your desk. That was too close.

You really should stop here, you were almost caught! Not to mention how humiliating a position it was for you to be hiding away just to listen to some cookie you’ve never even met personally lecture. Cookies were catching onto you, so you had to stop this now!

…but his next lecture was going to be directly related to your research, and his insights would be really helpful in shaping your argument better. You were already getting imposter syndrome regarding the thesis and fifteen page packet you’d concocted over the last few weeks, a very rough draft of the inevitable theory proposal you’d publish, so maybe this one last lecture was the push that you’d need to finish it up?

Besides…what could be the harm in just one final sequence of “pure coincidence” when you still held plausible deniability? You just stopped by his classroom to look at the posters nearby, or you were looking for another professor and thought they might be there, or some other excuse you could surely concoct. Just one more. One last lecture.

So, you kept to your usual routine of sneaking off during your early lunch, only to find the classroom entirely empty once you arrived, with a note attached to the door in frilly, cursive lettering, “Lecture cancelled for meeting, free period”.

You can’t help the disappointment that overcomes you, cancelled because of a meeting? You didn’t hear about any upcoming faculty meetings, but maybe this was for the best. “One last lecture” turned out to be none at all, and this might be your cue from the universe to accept that - to quit while you’re ahead. So, you dejectedly walk all the way back to the library and enter your office without even looking up, tossing your bag down onto the floor and letting out a sigh, “…witches…it’s back to just me and my stupid, shoddy thesis…” You grumble under your breath.

“I actually think it’s quite insightful.”

You jolt at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice, the voice you’d been listening to from the shadows for weeks, immediately twisting your head around to see the Sage of Truth himself standing over your desk - which you left carelessly littered with your notes and enthused writings about your theories, which the cookie seemed all too enthused about reading over.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, my secret pupil.” He grins.

Witches.

[sugurusfavemonkey]

HIGH ACHIEVER - ONE: HOW TO BE A TEAM PLAYER

summary: You've always prided yourself on your grades but when Suguru enters the scene, competing for the top spot in your major becomes more than just a matter of honor. What happens when you're forced to work together on a long project (and so what if he happens to be just your type)? pairing: Geto Suguru x reader word count: 2k content: college AU; academic rivals to lovers; short series; mutual hatred attraction; afab!reader; angst/comfort; reader is described as being shorter than Suguru (but then again, the man is about 6'3' so who isn't?); smut (in future chapters - MDNI) ♪playlist♪ +more Jujutsu Tech College AU

Suguru Geto was the very apex of campus. 

Not only was he a big name in the basketball courts, but Geto was also the most skillful martial artist and exceeded in every single class he took, being among the top students in the academy. He was cocky but never unkind. In fact, Geto's amiability was a matter of admiration throughout the grounds. As if that hadn't been enough, he was beautiful. With his tall frame, broad shoulders, silky black hair, perfect complexion, kind caramel eyes, nihilistic smile… He was also the utter and absolute bane of your existence. 

It seemed to give him the utmost joy to counter every single point you brought up in the classes you shared or to find and point out inconsistencies in your arguments. In other words: he lived to antagonize you.

You didn't even care about being valedictorian; it was nothing but a title - who were you kidding? Gojo would be getting that anyway, the boy simply didn't know how to lose. Not even Geto could surpass his GPA and ranking position combined - but you did pride yourself on your grades and learning. It's why you even attended college to begin with: it's the goal, isn't it?

The problem began when Suguru decided to make it his business always to show you up. If you were happy about your 98% on a test, he just had to point out his 99. If you accurately responded to a question made by the professor, he felt obligated to mention details you had "seemingly forgotten".

It was frankly maddening.

"Sometimes the best solutions come from intuition and an understanding of the specific circumstances of the case - it requires flexibility." you spoke when asked about evidence-based practices in class. Mr. Yaga nodded complacently and took a breath as if preparing to launch into another rhetoric when there was a loud sneer.

You knew that sound well enough it immediately caused your spine to stiffen. You didn't even have to turn on your seat to find its source.

"Anything you'd like to share, Mr. Geto?" the professor promptly asked, arms crossing in front of his chest as one of his dark eyebrows shot up above the black sunglasses that were usually covering his stern eyes.

Of course he had. Geto always had. You rolled your eyes, already anticipating his antithesis. Countering your arguments were his favorite pastime after all.

"Yes, actually," you felt his eyes burning on the back of your head, but you refused to turn and give him the satisfaction. "Relying on gut feeling when people’s lives and well-being are at stake is… precarious. Evidence-based practice relies on proven methods, which is exactly what we need: tested and effective approaches." You could almost hear the arrogant smugness in the tone of his voice and your anger bubbled over to the point of spilling.

"So you'd prefer to overlook important nuances? People are individuals, not statistics. Using averages when each case is different is inadequate at best." You retorted as you twisted in your seat, your indignant eyes meeting his cool ones.

"Mrs-" The professor tried to stop the argument before it picked up, but it was already too late the moment you decided to counter Geto. He knew exactly what the result usually was. Every member of the docent body was aware of the rivalry between you.

"All that sounds lovely, very idyllic. But we should remain grounded in measurable outcomes, not guesswork, sweetheart." Geto spoke in his usual smooth cadency, but the disdainful undertone was not lost on you. He had this complacent closed-lip smile that grated your nerves on.

You scoffed at the belittling term of endearment he used, "A more creative, personalized approach builds trust and leads to success."

"And how do you plan to measure this success?"

"Success cannot be measured by research."

"And you suggest not relying on research? That is irresponsible."

"That is not what I-"

"Enough!" Mr. Yaga bellowed, clearly having had enough of the back and forth between the two of you. You clamped your mouth shut, embarrassment making your skin warm. "As much as all of your points are valid and very pertinent to our subject matter, you're letting your nerves get the best of you. I wish to continue my lecture now though." He paused gaze moving from you to Geto, "unless that would inconvenience either of you, of course."

You let your body slide down on your chair so as to avoid the attention still feeling Geto's gaze lingering on you. You hated that you let yourself be moved by his obvious bait, that you coulddn't help but rise to the occasion whenever he so much as breathed in your general vicinity. You wished you could say you had better self-control but you simply did not. It's a pain and a chore really.

The lecture picked back up after your humiliating schtick without further incidents… mostly because you decided not to chime in anymore. And, of course, without you to counterattack, Geto felt it would be pointless to partake in the discussion. Asshole.

You sighed in relief when the professor dismissed the class, quickly throwing your laptop and water bottle inside your bag and making a beeline to the door when he called your name followed by Geto's.

"I'd like to speak to both of you for a moment."

"I have to get to my next class-" you started to protest, hands tightening on the strap of your bag when he interrupted you:

"It'll only take a minute, Mrs."

You sighed and timidly moved closer to his desk, fingers still fidgeting. You could feel Geto's presence right beside you, but refused to even glance his way.

"This feuding between you is getting out of hand. I'd like to ask you to take it easy on the altercations from now on. You both make valid points most of the time, you should learn to compromise every now and then. Being this intransigent will get you nowhere in life." Mr. Yaga glare had you cowering slightly, shoulders hunching in. "You two are my best students in this subject so I decided to pair you up for a special semester-long project. That should teach you a little bit about accommodating the other's needs."

"What?!" you nearly choked on your spit.

"I want you to write a paper evaluating the impact of local outreach programs. It'll be worth 25% of your final grades. I'll email you the details. You're dismissed."

"Profes-" once more you tried to object but Yaga gave you no chance to even finish your thought:

"I said you're dismissed." He stood his ground, not bothering to even look at you as he started stacking the papers on his desk.

You huffed in annoyance and marched out of the auditorium. You heard Geto's steps and tried to walk ahead of him, avoiding the consequential conversation after receiving such horrid news but he easily caught up to you with his stupid long legs.

"Give me your phone." his velvety voice demanded. You stopped in the middle of the corridor and he did the same, turning his body to you, proudly crowding in on you and towering over your form, mindless of the other people walking past form both directions.

"What? No," you scoffed indignantly. Geto sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly regretting this exchange as much as you.

"I'm just gonna add my number to your contacts. As much as I'm dreading this, it is not the kind of project we can just work on separately and then put it all together. It should be seamless."

That made you pause. You really couldn't argue with that sentiment. Still, you were so used to it that you couldn't help but affronting Geto: "Huh. I didn't think you had it in you to be reasonable."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." He deadpanned. You did hand over your phone after unlocking it and opening the contact info page after a second of hesitation when you found no hidden agenda behind his demeanor.

"Just type in your number so we can get this over with. I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible. My daily quota of you is already blown over." You said as you crossed your arms in front of your chest.

Your words had the opposite of the expected reaction though as you saw the moment his smile turned predatory. You steeled yourself for his upcoming retort but none came.

Your eyes instantaneously flitted to the strand of hair that fell off his half-up hairdo and covered his left eye as he lowered his head to type on your phone. You hated that if anyone ever critiqued a man bun that's because they had never seen Suguru Geto's. That man sure knew how to pull off one of the most controversial hairstyles to ever exist. You couldn't imagine there was something he wouldn't be able to pull off, to be honest… what a shame he had to be an insufferable asshole.

"That implies you need at least a small amount of me in your day." you were so enraptured in your analysis of his hair that you almost missed his jab.

"No, I-" you scowled in disgust, nearly ripping the unoffending device from his offering hand once he turned it back your way. "In your dreams, Geto."

He only hummed in response, that stupid smirk on his face. Again.

"Fuck you, Geto," you threw over your shoulder as you turned on your heel, not wasting any more time before heading for your next class.

"I'll text you, sweetheart!" He called after you, the sound of his laughter following.

You ground your teeth together in anger, your face feeling uncharacteristically warm. You only let yourself check your phone after you turned a corner so you were absolutely certain you were no longer in his field of vision. You stared in perplexity at the name he saved his number under.

"I can't believe this pretentious douchebag had the audacity… most brilliant colleague my ass!"

You were switching up his name in your contacts to 'arrogant prick n2' instead when you heard your friend's voice calling you over.

"Where were you? The class starts in less than a minute and you know how Gakuganji gets with laggers," her short dyed blonde hair swayed as she glanced from your approaching form to the open double doors to the lecture hall by her right.

You rushed towards Akari with a quick apology and a "what are you doing out here then?"

"It's not as if his lectures are ever full." She shrugged easily flitting her arm to yours so you could enter together.

"Noted."

The two of you easily found and occupied a couple of seats by the back right before Gakuganji launched into a dull monologue on the psychological effects of music on the brain, which could have been an interesting subject if it wasn't taught by someone closer to a mummy than a human with the most boring cadency to his voice.

"Did Yaga hold over the class?" Akari mumbled the question as she set up her laptop.

"Held me over, you mean," you murmured back. You felt her questioning gaze settle on you, so you decided to further explain, "he wants me to work on some big project about local outreach programs."

"That sounds like a lot of work, why only you?"

"Not only me. Something about learning to concede or some shit like that."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, apparently I have been too intransigent with Geto and now we gotta learn to work together."

She let out a loud sound, a mix between laughter and a snort which immediately had Gakuganji dark eyes turning your way.

"Sorry!" Akari winced, "I, uhn, chocked.

The professor huffed and you waited for some sort of reprimand, but he only got right back into his spiel.

"You're joking? You mean to say you have to work with Suguru Geto?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, say goodbye to Jujutsu Tech, because the two of you are about to wreck this whole school."

She wasn't wrong.

next >>

Jujutsu Tech College AU taglist: @indiewritesxoxo @nanasukii28

©sugurusfavemonkey 2025┃all rights reserved. do not copy, repost, translate or otherwise modify this work

[stars-obsession-pit]

Batson, The Bat’s Son, and Familial Misunderstandings.

Ignore how the timeline probably doesn’t make any sense at all

Recently, Damian has heard discussion among some other League of Assassins members about their newest prisoner of interest, the kidnapped Batson boy.

Additionally, Damian knows that he is the Son of the Bat.

The conclusion is obvious.

Their new captive clearly must be his brother (or, well, at least his half brother).

So he goes to see him, and that assumption is only reinforced. Their appearances are remarkably similar, and the other boy had already demonstrated his competence by escaping his cell on his own.

Which he guessed means he’s obligated to help the other boy (his brother!) escape.

…

Billy has no idea what to make of his new… ally? When he’d first crossed paths with the other boy, Billy had internally swore about his bad luck. The assassin boy was going to raise the alarm, and he’d be forced to improvise and quite possibly risk reveal his Captain Marvel powers just to make it out alive.

But then the other boy—Damian, he’d introduced himself as—had shattered those explanations by declaring that he knew they were brothers because they were both sons of Batman, and that it was his brotherly duty to help him escape.

And while the connection thing is just entirely false on Billy’s side of things (“Batson” is just his last name, not an epithet!), he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. For the time being, he’ll play along and make use of the help his “brother” offered.

Hopefully that lie won’t come back to bite him later. Or if it does, that it’ll be when he’s in a slightly less precarious position.

[i23kazu]

JUST GO TO SLEEP ALREADY!

characters. neuvillette & wriothesley x gn!reader genre. romantic fluff. an. preparing for my new school term............ thoughts n prayers peace n love | please reblog!! im getting back into writing and reblogs with tags and comments will make me want to write more :D

neuvillette, who watches you almost work yourself to the brink of tears because of your exams...

he doesn't... exactly know how to react. should he leave you alone? should he ask you to go to bed? was this even normal, in the first place?

after watching the circles under your eyes get more and more defined, he makes up his mind.

"my dear, please, for your own health's sake... go to sleep. i promise that things will be better for you when you wake up refreshed."

but this won't do! your paper needs to be turned in tomorrow night, and you've barely written the first 1000 words. it's not alright.

you want to cry.

neuvillette notices it, though. he sits down next to you, not saying a word.

"i'm stressed, neuvillette." you mumble, looking down at your laptop.

"i know that. but i can assure you that you're not going to get anything done when you're in such a state. i hate to see your sunshine get dulled, my dove – i promise, that when we wake up, i'll work with you." he smiles so sweetly, you want to burst into tears right then and there.

okay, maybe you did burst into tears right then and there.

he gathers you in his arms, wiping your tears away with his thumb. his voice is sweet and compassionate, his words contrasting his being – "i don't know what to say." turns into something that was exactly what you needed.

for a person who doesn't understand the complexity of human emotions and how they work ... neuvillette cares for you in a way that's wonderful.

"alright, alright, i'll go to bed. you promise you'll work with me tomorrow?" you sleepily whine, rubbing the remnants of your tears away from your eyes and closing your laptop.

"i promise, my dear."

wriothesley, who stares at you staring at your laptop. he's convinced that you haven't moved from that position in... maybe an hour?

were you even alive at this point?

no

"can you please just stop working and get to bed already?" wriothesley sighs.

"but i can't! it's due tomorrow. and i'm literally, like, about halfway through." you rub your eyes.

wriothesley wants to roll his eyes goodnaturedly at you. but he doesn't. he loves you too much for that, especially when you're too exhausted to comprehend anything else.

"alright, fine. but i'll stay here with you. would you like tea?" he runs his fingers through his hair, getting up from his position.

wriothesley doesn't wait for you to say anything – he knows what you want. he breaks out the selection of teas he kept in his office, going through each one to see which had caffeine and which doesn't.

he eventually returns to your working area, a pot of tea in one hand and two cups precariously stacked on top of one another. it's steaming hot, and he sets it down gently.

it's quiet and peaceful. there's nothing but the low hum of wriothesley humming a calming tune, and the sound of you typing away.

the tea doesn't seem to be working, though? your eyes grow heavier and your head seems to find its place on his shoulder. you swear, there's a soft hint of a smile on wriothesley's face.

his smile seems almost like a smirk.

and then it clicks.

"you planned this all along." you pout, rubbing your eyes tiredly. the tea that was chosen wasn't caffeinated, and his sweet humming... it was the perfect mix to lull you to sleep.

"of course i did. go to sleep, (y/n)." he chuckles, saving your essay and closing your laptop for you.

okay, maybe sleep did sound good ... especially if he carried you back to bed later.

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reblogs w/ tags & comments help me lots !!! if you liked this, please consider dropping me a follow as well :-) they all go a long way!

[marvelstoriesepic]

Flufftober (day 9)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 1k

Prompt: “Don’t do that!” - “But…”

Warnings: Alcohol consumption; drunk!Reader

Flufftober Masterlist

Really, your drunken mind does its best to shut your mouth, stopping those giggles from slipping past your lips; but it doesn’t stand a chance. Darcy, your equally inebriated roommate, seems to have the same problem.

She is teetering precariously beside you in a squat, slightly swaying just as you are, huddled before the couch where Bucky passed out on almost an hour earlier.

The rest of your little party group left mere minutes ago, all taking a taxi to get home safely. Steve and Sam, Bucky’s roommates, have both assured you they would come pick up your friend in the morning, so he could get some sleep on your couch.

However, Darcy and you, still high on cocktails and tequila shots, decided you could have some fun with that.

Now, here you are, half-balanced in a crouch next to Bucky’s sprawled out form on the soft cushions of your couch still fast asleep, stifling more giggles as you do your best to unscrew the bottle of bubblegum pink nail polish, you took from your room moments before.

You pass the bottle to Darcy after loading the brush with enough polish, gingerly reaching for his hand which is dangling off the edge of the couch.

Your fingers graze his a little hesitantly, ignoring the electric buzz that pulses through your fingertips, up to your arms and chest at the single touch alone. You only giggle some more as you position his hand.

“Shhh,” Darcy tries to whisper but it comes out far too loud and trails off into a laugh that causes her composure to falter. Her already unsteady position, hovering above the floor, gets wobblier by the second. But she still tries to stay on the balls of her feet.

You bite your lip, trying to give it your all as you line up the brush to the nail of his pinky finger but Darcy’s crackling is contagious and your current state isn’t able to fathom how loud you two are.

“Don’t do that!”

The groggy voice of your friend interrupts your drunken shenanigans. His voice is rough from sleep but he managed to put a hint of a warning edge in his tone.

Wide eyes look up at him, the surprise to see him awake all over your face, as if it wasn’t absolutely logical he would wake up at the noise. Giggles freeze in your throat and Darcy beside you loses her balance entirely, toppling backward onto the floor with a soft thud and a grunted laugh.

You blink at Bucky. He blinks back, raising his eyebrows in amusement, a question in his gaze as to what your intentions here are, or rather your nerve, since it’s entirely self explanatory what exactly you two are planning.

“But…” you half whine, half beg; exaggerating your disappointment and leaning in a little with an unfocused gaze to give him your best pout and puppy dog eyes. You stumble slightly, but your hand is still holding his.

Your subconscious can only hope you won’t remember this embarrassing display tomorrow.

“Doll,” Bucky warns again, subtly looking down at your joint hands, though his focus is on the way his hand is linked with yours, rather than the brightly pink colored brush hovering over his nail. His voice is soft and playful, and there is a warmth in his tone, the same warmth that shines in his eyes as he looks back at you. Amusement curls at the edges of his lips at the way you try to focus your slightly blurred vision on him.

The alcohol that had knocked him out earlier, seems to have worn off, his gaze holding yours with a steadiness you hadn’t seen all night. Clear eyes so intensely fixed on you, just as intoxicating - actually even more - as the alcohol you have downed the past hours.

His hand is still resting in yours and he makes no move at all to change that fact or move away from you in any way. He just lies there, stretched out before you, gazing at you with an expression and a twinkle in his eyes, your influenced mind can’t quite place, nor can it comprehend that flutter in your belly that seems to ignite in response.

“Buck,” you offer sweetly, dragging the word out in a slur and glancing up at him innocently, hand with the brush still held in position.

A wide smile stretches on Bucky’s face, and he laughs heartedly, his deep chuckle reaching your ears and a giggle bubbles up all on its own.

“God, you- fine, do whatever you gotta do,” he concedes, voice light with hints of remaining amusement as he shakes his head fondly. He slowly stretches his fingers, still in your grasp, making it easier for you to continue your little project.

Darcy and you let out a happy sound of excitement, faces lighting up and Bucky laughs again.

You immediately go to work, pulling his hand closer to which Bucky doesn’t object, hunching over it, blurry focus completely dedicated to painting his nails the perfect shade of pink.

You’ve still got enough self-awareness to know that you’re a bit more wobbly than usual, so you bite your lip in concentration, doing your best to keep your hand as steady as possible, to not ruin his perfect nails.

You’re so engrossed in your task, that you miss the way he watches you. His eyes never stray from your face, following the way your brows softly knit together in the way they always do when you give all your attention to a certain chore, put all your dedication towards it. And it’s only to color his nails.

You only hum away at your self-appointed mission, ignoring Darcy’s watchful gaze over your shoulder, while you miss the tender way Bucky studies you, the way his heart swells in his chest, the way he loves to be the subject of your drunken pampering.

🍁 October Writing Challenges Masterlist 🍁

[city-of-ladies]

A complex figure, Irene of Athens (c.750/755 - 803) was the first woman to rule the Byzantine Empire in her own name. For over two decades, she dominated imperial politics with a rare blend of resilience, cunning, and charisma. She also stood out for her philanthropic initiatives and enduring cultural legacy.

Empress consort

Irene was born in Athens between 750 and 755, into the Sarantapechos family—a locally influential clan of unclear standing, likely outside the upper echelons of the aristocracy. Her marriage to the young Emperor Leo IV in 769 was likely arranged to bind Greece more closely to Constantinople’s authority. Irene arrived in the capital that November and was crowned empress shortly after.

Her father-in-law, Constantine V, was a staunch iconoclast, while Irene already showed signs of favoring the veneration of religious images—a theological rift that may have created tension with her husband.

In 771, Irene gave birth to her only child, Constantine VI. When Leo IV died suddenly in 780, she was left to protect both her son’s inheritance and her own position.

Irene in power

Irene swiftly seized control of the government, and she and her son were proclaimed co-rulers. But her authority was soon challenged. Leo’s half-brothers, each holding the title of Caesar, conspired to overthrow her and install the eldest, Nikephoros, as emperor.

Irene dealt with them decisively. She punished their supporters and forced the princes into clerical life, effectively neutralizing their claim. Symbolically, she had them serve at the Great Church during Christmas Mass and restored a crown that her husband had removed from the Hagia Sophia—an act rich in political and religious significance.

She soon appeared alongside her son on imperial coinage and took a leading role in foreign affairs. In 781, she arranged his betrothal to Rotrude, daughter of Charlemagne.

Aware of her precarious position, Irene surrounded herself with loyal servants, notably eunuchs, whom she promoted to high office. Though often capable, their presence in military leadership roles drew resentment from the army. As a woman unable to lead troops herself, Irene depended on these trusted men—and the strategy was not without consequences, for some of her allies later proved treacherous and corrupt.

In 781, she dispatched an expedition suppress a rebellion in Sicily, which successfully restored Byzantine control over the island. Yet in the East, her policy faltered: a general defected during a campaign against the Arabs—perhaps out of hatred for the eunuch Staurakios, or due to Irene’s purge of Constantine V’s loyalists. The fallout forced her to pay a massive tribute to secure peace.

Pacifying Thrace

On the northern frontier, however, Irene scored lasting victories. In 784, she sent Staurakios to campaign against Slavic tribes in Thrace and Greece. His triumph brought back booty and captives, and Irene celebrated his return with honors.

In May of that year, she embarked on a public tour of Thrace with her son—a gesture that left a powerful impression. She fortified and renamed Beroia as Eirenoupolis (“City of Irene”), symbolizing renewal and imperial authority. Her efforts stabilized Northern Thrace that had largely escaped imperial control for two centuries. She cemented these gains by founding a new theme (the military-administrative division): Macedonia.

Champion of icons

A devout patron and builder, Irene founded the Convent of the Mother of God on Prinkipo and played a crucial role in resolving the iconoclasm controversy.

In 787, after carefully neutralizing potential military opposition, she summoned the Second Council of Nicaea. There, she overturned her father-in-law’s policies and restored the veneration of icons, marking a monumental shift in Byzantine religious life and reviving iconophile art.

Constantine VI attempts to rule alone

By 788, Irene’s name began to precede that of Constantine VI in official proclamations. She dominated his life and eventually broke off his engagement to Rotrude, arranging a new marriage with Maria of Amnia. She opposed Charlemagne’s growing influence in southern Italy and launched a military expedition that ended disastrously.

Frustrated, Constantine sought to assert his authority. In 790, provincial troops acclaimed him as sole emperor. He had Irene’s eunuchs punished and exiled, and confined her to the Palace of Eleutherios.

Yet his reign floundered. After a series of military defeats, including a humiliating loss to the Bulgars in 792, Constantine reinstated his mother as co-ruler. Their uneasy joint rule descended into chaos. As the chronicler Michael Psellos wrote:

“They went for each other, hit and hit back in turn, and now Irene exercised absolute power, now Constantine took possession of the palace alone, again the mother, again the son, until their conflict resulted in a disaster for both.”

Constantine further alienated the court by divorcing his wife and remarrying—an act that scandalized the clergy and nobility alike.

Sole Ruler of the Empire

By 796, Irene had outmaneuvered her son. She won over the army and her household through persuasion and bribes. In August 797, Constantine attempted to flee the capital but was captured by Irene's allies. Irene had him blinded in the porphyra, the chamber where she had once given birth to him.

Blinding, though brutal, was seen as a merciful alternative to execution. Whether he survived is uncertain; some sources suggest he lived until 805.

Now ruling alone, Irene struck coins bearing only her image. She used the masculine form basileus on some of her legal documents and used the masculine title autokrator, asserting full sovereignty.

Her rule wasn’t, at first, met with much opposition. Irene had carefully prepared her ascension.

Imperial philanthropy

Irene’s reign was marked by a deep commitment to philanthropy. Her concern for the poor seemed genuine, not merely political. She abolished taxes levied on soldiers’ widows and exempted orphanages, hospitals, and religious institutions from hearth taxes— a relief her successor would later revoke.

A prolific builder, she was interested in developing the capital. She funded public works, established soup kitchens, retirement homes, and free graveyards for foreigners and the poor. She reduced taxes and, in 799, distributed coins to the people during a ceremony.

The last years

Irene’s later years were fraught with challenge. In 798, she sent envoys to both the Arabs and the Franks, striving to keep military conflict at bay, but failed to secure peace with the Arabs.

She extended imperial administration into the Balkans and possibly created new provincial units in Greece. Her treasury remained strong, with substantial reserves at her disposal.

She fell ill in 799 and the crowning of Charlemagne as “Emperor of the Romans” by the Pope in 800 seriously undermined her legitimacy. The Byzantines considered themselves the true heirs of Rome, and the coronation was a major blow to Irene’s prestige.

She seems to have proposed marriage to Charlemagne, possibly to unite the eastern and western empires and ensure peaceful cooperation. Frankish ambassadors arrived in Constantinople, but the plan came to nothing.

By 802, dissatisfaction at court had reached a tipping point. Irene’s failure to designate a successor led to her downfall. Her finance minister, Nikephoros, staged a coup and was proclaimed emperor. Deserted by her allies, Irene was exiled—first to Prinkipo, then to Lesbos where she was closely guarded, most likely because she had plotted against her successor.

She died on August 9, 803. Her remains were later returned to the convent she had founded. That she managed to hold power for so long—despite lacking support and governing in a deeply patriarchal society—testifies to her extraordinary political acumen.

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Further reading: 

Garland Lynda, Byzantine Empresses - Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204

Herrin Judith, Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium