#I could keep going but I'll leave it here

[multiversefanfics]

Girl Of My Dreams

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader Warning: nothing but fluff Summary: You work at a small diner down the street from the compound which Bucky visits often, so often that you remembered his order.

It was another boring night shift at a small diner you work at, outside of town, you leaned against the counter waiting for anyone to show up. It was a slow night and you hoped for any type of human interaction even someone asking for directions, you tapped your fingers on the counter groaning as the cars outside continued to pass by “Hey, Y/N if no one comes, in the next 20 minutes we’re going to close up.” Normally the diner was open 24 hours but on nights like this one, you give some time and then close if no one comes in. You nodded your head and started wiping down tables, you knew no one was coming in so you might as well stay busy for the next 20 minutes. Just as you were wiping down the last table you looked at your watch and saw that there were only 5 minutes left and then you could close. Soon the bell rang above the door you internally groaned but when you turned around you came face to face with a very gorgeous and mysterious man, you smiled over at him and grabbed a menu asking him to follow you to the table. "Can I start you off with something to drink?" He looked at the menu for a bit then asked for coffee you nodded "I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menu and I'll be back with your coffee." You smiled sweetly at him and turned to walk away; you watched as he intently looked at the menu trying to decide what he wanted to eat, slowly and gently biting his bottom lip you couldn't help but stare at him, he was gorgeous. You were snapped out of your thoughts by the sound of his voice "I think I'm ready." You strolled over notepad and pen ready he told you his order along with a glass of water. You smiled once more and nodded "Of course, I'll be right back." You walked over to the window and told the cook to make pancakes with eggs and bacon on the side. You took him his coffee and some cream and sugar just in case he wanted it which he didn't use it. Soon his food was done, and you decided to make a cute smiley face with strawberries and blueberries on top of the pancakes and take it over to him. "Enjoy, if you need anything I'll be right over there." He couldn't keep his eyes off of you but still nodded so you knew he understood, you walked over to the bar and sat down, and your manager came over and handed you the keys to the diner "When the last customer leaves lock up for me." You nodded and patiently waited for the man to eat his food you kept looking over periodically not because you were impatient, but because you felt his eyes on you, and you couldn't shake it. You went over to check on him one last time and noticed he only ate half of his food "Do you need a to-go box for the rest of your food?" He nodded and took a sip from his coffee "I'm sorry for staring, you are just really gorgeous." You felt your cheeks heat up, and you couldn't help but smile "I'm sorry was that creepy?" You shook your head "No, it was very sweet." You smiled once more before turning around to get him a box and his receipt. Just then the bell above the door rang you looked behind you and saw a muscly blonde guy along with another muscly dark-haired man "I'm sorry but we're closed." The dark-haired one came up to you holding his hand out “Hi, I’m Sam, we’re just here to get our friend we’ve been looking for him for a while now.” You looked at Sam and it hit you “Wait a minute, are you?” You looked between Sam and the blonde one “Are you the Avengers?” They nodded “It is amazing what you guys do, so you must be Steve Rogers?” His smile was so perfect you could literally see it sparkle “Yes and this is Bucky, I'm sure he was too shy to tell you, his name." You made eye contact with Bucky; it was an odd name, but you liked it for some reason your gaze went back to Steve "Do you guys want some food to go, on the house?" Bucky raised an eyebrow "Didn't the cook leave already?" You nodded and shrugged "I know how to cook." They all shared a look "Actually, we have food at home, maybe next time." You handed Bucky his to-go box and receipt. "Have a good night, guys." They all waved, and you locked the door behind them.

The next couple of nights, Bucky came in at the same time and ordered the same thing each night, to the point where you would have it ready for him when he came in the next night. Tonight, he came in with Sam and Steve and you didn't want to embarrass him, so you pretended not to know his order. "What can I get you guys?" Bucky furrowed his eyebrows but then kind of got upset, did you forget about him already? Did you not like him anymore? Which was far from the truth, you were head over heels for him, but you didn't know if he felt the same way, so you ignored all of your feelings and stuck to doing your job. After you collected their orders, you went over to the window to place them. Bucky watched your every move and once it looked like you weren't busy, he got up from the booth and walked over to you. "Y/N what was that about?" You looked up at him and raised an eyebrow "What are you talking about?" He tilted his head at you "Not knowing my order" Your shoulders slumped, and you stood up straight "I didn't know if me knowing your order would embarrass you in front of them and that's the last thing I want to do." Bucky smiled slightly trying not to seem so happy "I like it, don't worry about embarrassing me I do that enough on my own." He winked at you and returned to the table. You brought over their order and went back to where you were sitting waiting until they were done since they were your only customers, when they were done you took the check over and did something really bold in your opinion, you wrote your phone number down on it with a winky face. You sat with your back to them so they wouldn't see the embarrassment on your face if you got rejected. All of a sudden you hear the guys 'oohing' like teenagers, and you can't help but feel a bit embarrassed, but soon you feel a hand on your lower back, you look over and it's Bucky "I'm not really a phone guy, but for you I will try." He patted your back and went on his way. For the past couple of days Bucky has been texting you nonstop, asking how your day was going, if you were hungry, and making sure no one was messing with you. You stopped texting him for a couple hours because you got busy at the diner, just as you were about to text him back and apologize, he walks in the diner looking for you a huge smile spreads across his face when he sees you “I’m sorry to just pop in, I got a little worried when you didn’t text back.” You smiled and poured him a cup of coffee “It’s okay, it got a little crazy in here and I couldn’t text back, but my shift is almost over you wanna do something?” He nodded taking another sip from his coffee “What did you have in mind?” You shrugged and thought for a minute “How about you come back to the compound with me and we can watch movies and talk” You scrunched up your face “Movies and talking don’t really mix” He chuckled slightly and leaned his cheek on his hand “What I meant was, we talk and get to know each other while there’s a movie playing in the background that we are not paying attention to.” You smiled and nodded “Sounds like a plan.”

You finish up your shift and of course, Bucky is there waiting for you. It made you feel safe, and you liked it. You got in your car and Bucky got in his, he was driving in front of you toward the compound since you didn't know where it was. Finally, you two got there, got some snacks, and sat on the couch, you turned toward him "So... tell me about yourself." You start to list things that happened in your life knowing it doesn't even come close to what he had to deal with, the two of you sat there talking and laughing for hours. "Oh, is this your new girlfriend, Bucky?" Her voice laced with sarcasm and hatred even though she doesn't know you. "What is this one, number 75? Don't get too comfortable you won't last long." By now your fists are balled and your teeth are clenched, how dare she say that shit to you "Enough, Sharon." Bucky gritted through his teeth; you picked up your bag and put it over your shoulder. "This was fun, but I think I should go." And just like that you turned and walked out the door and got into your car, you don't remember your drive home but all you know is you got home, and Bucky has been calling and texting non-stop asking if you're okay, instead of responding you just turn your phone off and go to sleep.

Tags: @megamindsecretlair @kandis-mom

Divided Credit: @firefly-graphics

AN: I hope you guys like it, at first there wasn't going to be a part 2 but I tend to ramble so now there's gonna be a part two

Main Masterlist - Bucky Barnes Masterlist

[justlemmeadoreyou]

hii babesss could you write something about harry fucking yn to ease her nerves/relax because she got home from work stressed and tired and needed a distraction? Love uu

summary: harry helps y/n relax after a stressful day.

words: 1.5k

warnings: SMUT! kissing, oral (f receiving), fingering, praise.

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Yn dragged herself through the front door, feeling completely drained after a long, arduous day at the office. Her briefcase slipped from her hand as she leaned back against the door, letting out an exhausted sigh.

"Rough day, love?" came Harry's concerned voice from the living room.

He appeared in the hallway, his warm green eyes instantly taking in her disheveled state. Without a word, he crossed over and enveloped her in a tender hug. Yn melted into his embrace, the tension already starting to leave her body.

"The worst," she mumbled into his chest. "I'm just so tired, Harry."

"I know, sweetheart," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "But you're home now. Let me take care of you."

He took her hand and led her to the couch, guiding her to sit down. Yn watched as he busied himself lighting some scented candles and dimming the lights.

"There, nice and relaxing," he said with a soft smile. "Why don't you put your feet up?"

Yn did as instructed, curling up on the couch as Harry grabbed a thick blanket from the ottoman.

"This ought to keep you cozy," he said, draping it over her legs. He sat down beside her and began to gently rub her shoulders. "Tell me about your day?"

As Yn recounted the never-ending meetings, the rude clients, the looming deadlines, she could feel the stress slowly melting away under Harry's soothing touch.

"You poor thing," he tsked sympathetically. "No wonder you're so tense. Let me run you a hot bath, that'll really help you unwind."

"Harry, you don't have to-" Yn started, but he cut her off with a fingers against her lips.

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all," he said firmly. "You just rest here, I'll be back in a tick."

True to his word, Harry returned a few minutes later. "All ready for you, my dear," he declared. "I even put in those bath salts you like."

He helped Yn to her feet and into the bathroom, where the tub was filled with steaming water and fragrant bubbles. Candlelight flickered all around, casting a warm, calming glow.

"Harry…this is wonderful," Yn said, touched by his thoughtfulness. "Thank you."

"Of course, anything for you," he replied warmly. "I'll leave you to relax, but shout if you need anything, alright?"

Alone in the bathroom, Yn slowly undressed and sank into the luxurious heat of the water with a blissful sigh. She closed her eyes and just…breathed, allowing the fragrant steam and soothing warmth to cocoon her utterly.

***

Some time later, Yn emerged from the bathroom, skin tingling and pink from the hot water. She felt worlds better, relaxed yet rejuvenated at the same time. Harry looked up from where he was reclining on the couch, a bright smile breaking over his face.

"There she is! Feeling better, my love?"

"Much better," Yn assured him, crossing over to join him on the couch and nestling into his side. "Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"Always," he said simply, dropping a kiss on her damp hair. "I just hate seeing you so stressed and tense. You work too hard, you know."

"I know," Yn said ruefully. "But I have to admit, after that bath and some quality time with my favorite person, I'm feeling infinitely more relaxed."

She tilted her face up toward his, eyes sparkling. "In fact, I think I could go for a bit more…relaxation," she added with a coy smile.

Harry grinned and pulled her closer. "Why, Mrs. Styles, are you flirting with me?"

"Mmm, maybe a little," Yn giggled, looping her arms around his neck. "Is that okay?"

"More than okay," he murmured huskily, capturing her lips in a slow, heated kiss.

As Harry deepened the kiss, Yn melted against him with a contented hum. This was what she had been wanting all day. To be in the arms of her loving husband, while he held her and kissed her like she deserved.

Harry's hands travelled underneath the oversized t-shirt, feeling the soft flesh of her chest against his fingers, caressing her nipples and swiping his fingers over the hardening bud.

Yn moaned into his mouth, and as soon as her mouth parted open, his tongue swiped against her plush lips, sliding in and licking her tongue. He trailed his hands down, feather-light touches on her stomach till he reached the waistband of the loose shorts, and pulled it loose.

Using the back as leverage, he used one hand against it to move himself on top of her, their lips never parting.

Only when Harry's hand slipped further down, inside her panties to feel her wetness oozing out, did she whimper into his mouth, and he broke the kiss to take a look at his beautiful, pretty and perfect wife, her hooded and lust-blown eyes telling him all he needed to know.

"What do you want, Yn?" he asked, keeping the eye contact as his fingers slipped between her pussy lips, feeling her soft, spongey but puffy clit and giving it a gentle roll between his fingers. She gasped, her lips swollen with their kisses just moments ago.

"I-I need-" she gasped once again, his hand circling around her tight hole, pushing just the tip of his finger in, teasing her.

"You need, hm?" he asked, and the next gasp she released was stolen with another kiss.

"Yes-Har-Harry, I-I need you"

She managed to sputter out, and as soon as she did, he slipped his wet finger in. Her walls clenched around him instantly, her thighs threatening to shut closed if it wasn't for Harry's thick ones between them. He pushed another in, swirling them around and curling them upwards just right to find her sweet g-spot.

"Oh fuck-yes-god yes, harry-" she pleaded, and Harry began kissing down her neck, her collarbones, the top of her breasts. He began fucking her with his fingers, two digits pistoning in and out of her in a pace that made her toes curl against the couch. She held onto his biceps, digging her nails in as he slid down the couch, getting on his knees in front of her.

Before she could protest, (not that she was going to), he darted out his tongue, and flicked it expertly aginst her clit, drawing out a moan from her. She used her other hand to grab his soft curls, and pulled at them softl.y

"Like that, baby?" he asked, and she nodded, biting her upper lip.

"So good, Har-don't stop"

Not that he was going to. He started to flick his tongue faster against her clit, his cold rings brushing against it each time he thrust his fingers fully in. He had kept them on on purpose, and he knew just how much the wet and cold sensation drove her wild.

His lips licked hers, before licking up her labia and sucking on her clit. Her grip on his hair tightened, and she whimpered once again, her back arching off the couch. Her legs couldn't stop themselves either, wrapping around his neck and pulling him impossibly closer to her core.

She felt the familiar sensation in her stomach, and she threw her head back. Harry licked, sucked and fucked with more frevor, using every ounce of strength in him to make his girl feel good.

Her breathing increased, her legs wrapping around him tighter as she gave his curls one final rough tug, before falling over the sweet edge, with Harry fucking her faster than ever, milking every ounce of orgasm from his pretty girl.

"Give it to me, yeah-that's it, good girl-"

He praised her, her orgasm riding out in the best way possible. Her breathing began going back to normal, her hold around his neck as well as in her hair loosening.

It was once she had fully relaxed around his fingers, that he pulled them out, licking them and cleaning them up like the sick bastard that he was. He wiped his dirty hands on his sweatpants, falling back on the couch beside her, his jaw aching from the work he had put in, but it was all worth it when he got to see her glow like that.

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[oreolemur]

Yandere Short Story- Satoru Gojo

Playing a game of hide and seek, you tried your best to not let Satoru find you. "Remember darling...if you win you get to go home", he said. You hid underneath the kitchen sink, cramping yourself in the small space. You heard Gojo count, getting ready to seek. "Ready or not! Here I come!" Giggling like a fool, he made his way to the kitchen. You held your breath, trying not to make a sound. Through the crack in the door, you could see him looking for you. Luckily he walked away, searching other places. He searched every possible place, getting frustrated to not find you. "Hmm, I guess my darling got lucky and is smarter to not hide in an obvious place." He kept on searching with his hands behind his back. "Darling, come out now. I want cuddles." He said softly, trying to coax you out of your hiding spot.

Sweat dripped from your brow as you continued to keep quiet. "Maybe this time I'll win", you hoped. Gojo continued to look around, searching the rooms meticulously, growing more and more frustrated at not finding you. "Honey, come out and play with me. If not, I might have to give my darling punishments tonight." He said, giggling menacingly. As there were 5 minutes left in the game, Satoru grew more anxious and impatient, frustrated that you're such a good hider. "Ugh! This is so annoying," he muttered to himself, growing more restless as time went by. Only 3 minutes left, and he hasn't found you which made him even more frustrated. He clenched his fists and his foot started to tap impatiently. "Darling, please come out now," he said, almost pleading. 

As he went back into the kitchen, Gojo sat on the counter, thinking intensely on where his darling could possibly be hiding. Just then, his eyes lit up after remembering a place he hadn't searched yet: under the kitchen sink. With a smirk on his face, he decided to check just in case his lover was there. He kneeled down and looked under the sink. Gojo let out a triumphant laugh after seeing his darling hiding underneath. "I found you!" He said, his eyes gleaming in sadistic delight at your frightened expression. The man grinned at you as he pulled you out of your hiding spot. "Yes, I found you! Now, remember what happens when I win?" He said, a mischievous grin on his face. You kicked your legs in the air, trying to fight back. Gojo chuckled as you tried to resist. 

He grabbed your legs, preventing you from kicking. "Tsk, tsk, remember darling. You lose, I win. Now it's time to receive your punishment." He said, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure. Satoru forced you onto the couch, sitting beside you. He wrapped his arms around yours, preventing you from escaping. "What punishment should you get for hiding from me so well?" He asked, running his fingers through your hair. You sat next to him, crying. "Please let me go home", you begged. Your captor’s expression changed to a mixture of amusement and condescension. He chuckled at your tears and pleas, relishing in your hopeless state. "Oh, how cute. You actually think I'll let you go home? You're mine, and you'll learn to enjoy my company." He said, tightening his hold around you. 

The sorcerer forcefully kissed your lips, his tongue pushing past your reluctant lips and forcing its way into your mouth. He held your face in place, refusing to let you escape his passionate kiss. He deepened it, showing his dominance over you as his fingers tangled in your hair. You tried to push him away. Gojo smirked at your weak attempt, his strength overpowering your efforts. He pulled you closer, wrapping his other arm around your waist. Satoru eventually let go of the kiss, leaving you breathless and gasping for air. He chuckled at your bewildered expression. "You're so cute when you're helpless like this." He said, caressing your cheek with his thumb. You smacked his hand away from your face. "I hate you", you cried 

He sighed and shook his head, feigning disappointment. He reached out and held your chin, forcing you to look into his eyes. "Darling, you may hate me now, but you'll learn to love me eventually. And when that happens, I'll make sure to take good care of you." the man said, his grip on your chin tightening slightly. Getting upset, you spat in his face. "Asshole". Gojo's expression darkened at your words as you spat in his face. "How rude," he said, wiping the saliva off with his hand. "Darling, you should know that actions have consequences. You're really pushing me, and I don't think you'll like it if I lose my temper." His tone was cold and menacing. He pushed you down onto the couch, pinning you down with his weight. 

Satoru looked down at you with a cold expression. "You're a disobedient little brat, aren't you? I think you need a punishment to teach you a lesson." He said. Pulling a taser from his pocket, he suddenly zapped you on the side with it. The painful sting made you convulse and squirm. Gojo's eyes sparkled sadistically as he saw your suffering. You screamed out in pain as he held it against your body for a few seconds. "That hurt, didn't it? But it's good for you, darling. It'll teach you some obedience," he said. You begged him to stop. "St-stop! Please”. He smirked at your plea, enjoying the sound of your begging. "Why should I stop, darling? You need to learn your lesson and learn that disobedience will not be tolerated." He answered, increasing the intensity of the taser.

Gojo only stopped when he saw you on the verge of passing out, breathing heavily. He smirked at your weakened state, satisfied with his punishment. He put the taser away and leaned back, looking down at you with a condescending look. "I hope you've learned your lesson. But we're not done yet," he said. He took off his shirt, exposing his toned body. “You know how to turn me on so well”, he chuckled. He slid both of his hands under your shirt, groping your tits. He squeezed the fat, playfully pulling and pinching your nipples. “Soft and plumpy”, he bit his lip. 

The man lifted up your shirt, proceeding to lean into your chest. His mouth latched on your breast, sucking the plumpy side of it. He dug his teeth into your sensitive skin, marking the flesh. You tried to move, but the damage from the taser made you immobile. “I should use the taser more often when you misbehave”, he smiled. His hands traveled down to your pants, slipping them off along with your panties. The man spat on your pussy, rubbing his fingers against your clit. A small moan left your lips as he added pressure to your sensitive bud. Your cheeks became flushed with red as he made you feel good. Satoru’s cock hardened, growing  a tent inside his pants. “Cum for daddy”, he whispered, leaning into your ear. He licked the side of your face, wettening your cheek. 

Your legs began to shake, feeling your orgasm coming. He rubbed you harder and faster. “Be a good pet and cum for me”, he smiled. He rested his forehead on yours, staring into your eyes as he saw them beginning to tear up. “Don’t cry, baby”, he said. “You know you want this”. With him adding more pressure, you came in seconds, squirting all over his hand. “Good girl”, he praised you. Gojo licked his fingers, savoring your sweet juices. He unbuckled his belt, his dick popping out. You watched him stroke it slowly. “Like what you see?”, he teased. He placed it near your wet folds, sliding it up your cunt. He rubbed himself against you, blushing. By now, the effects from the taser wore off. You placed your palms on his chest, trying to push him off. “So weak”, he giggled, grabbing your wrists with one hand as he pinned them against the couch’s armrest. 

He played with your pussy some more, before thrusting into you. Satoru stretched you open, making you wince. “Fuck, I forgot how tight you are”, he seethed. He grabbed hold of your waist, putting all his length into you. The man started off slow, giving you gentle thrusts. He wanted to make sure you adjusted to his cock. Your walls clenched around him, making him even harder. He groaned, digging his nails into your skin. He fucked you at a quicker pace. You whined as he used your cunt as a toy. Gojo pulled out, flipping you onto your stomach. He forced you to arch, slapping your fat ass. “Mmm”, he moaned, penetrating your cunt again. “Please stop”, you begged, drooling into the couch. Satoru ignored you as he felt his orgasm coming. He focused all his energy into your tight cunt, slamming himself into you hard. 

With a few more thrusts, he moaned loud, cumming. You felt his warm liquid ooze into your pussy. “You make me so happy”, he whispered. Gojo pulled out, leaving a trail of cum to leak out of you. He sat next to you, catching his breath. “Did you have fun?”, he asked, slapping your ass that was still arched. You were stuck there, frozen, on the verge of crying. He heard you sniffle, wondering why you were sad. “If it makes you that upset…”, he paused. “Then why don’t we play another round of hide and seek?”. He pulled your legs, making you lay flat as he climbed on top of you. He leaned into your ear, whispering. “If you lose…you’re stuck with me forever”. With that being said, you felt his cock harden again. 

[likedovesinthewindd]

advantage, me; part six of sore loser ⋆ masterlist

summary: you're looking forward to a good match | content/warning: explicit language, light angst (more like tension) | tags: @midwestprincesss | a/n: this is lowk my least favorite chapter ngl

"Ignore it," Patrick huffed as his mouth continued its attack on your poor neck. You hummed in agreement, doing just that as you felt his left hand running its course over your skin, the right one next to your head to keep most of his weight off of you.

It wasn't even five seconds before the knocking started again, causing a unanimous grunt from both you and Patrick. "Wait, maybe it's my roommate," you said, lightly pushing at Patrick's shoulders.

He rolled off of you with a huff, landing on his back as he placed his arms behind his head. You gave his chest a playful slap, getting up and smoothing out your dress as you made your way to the door, opening it with little haste.

"Hey, can we talk?"

You've never wanted to punch someone more. You narrowed your eyes at him, taking a breath before giving him a "No."

"Please, I just want to apologize," Art said, and you strongly fought the urge to roll your eyes at him. "You can apologize tomorrow, okay?" you smiled, moving the close the door, but he stopped you. "Art, it's late," you sighed. "I couldn't sleep," he said softly. "Now you're making that my problem?" "Please?" he tried again.

"You alright?"

Could you punch two people at the same time?

Patrick came to the door, growing curious at why you had been gone for so long. When he saw Art at the door, he was a little surprised, the cigarette he had lit in the meantime hanging from his lips.

"You can't do that in here," you said, annoyance laced in your words as you waved the cloud of smoke away from your face. He muttered a half-assed apology, moving back inside your dorm to dispose of the cigarette. You watched as he walked back inside and into the bathroom.

You turned back to Art, an expression on his face that so clearly read what is he doing here?

"What are you doing here, man?" Patrick asked as he rejoined the two of you. The tension was definitely there, something unspoken hanging in the air, even if none of you would admit it. "I could ask you the same thing," Art said with a humorless laugh. Patrick scratched the back of his neck.

"I think that's obvious," he smirked, and you wanted to smack that stupid smirk on his face. Something about his smugness regarding the situation rubbed you the wrong way. "Besides," he added, "It's like twelve AM."

"I just wanted to talk to her."

"At twelve AM?"

"I think you should leave." Both boys turned to look at you, the silent showdown stopped right in its tracks. "Look, Art—"

"Both of you," you clarified, already moving further inside the dorm. You had all but gently pushed Patrick outside, moving to close the door. You had truly imagined and hoped the night would end much differently, but they both had managed to piss you off.

"I'll see you Saturday, okay?" you smiled at him – that same smile you had been sporting all night – and for a second, he forgot you were literally kicking him out. Neither of them got another word in before the door was pushed closed, followed by the sound of the lock turning.

Patrick looked back at his friend, the same confused expression on his face. He landed a slap to the back of Art's head, successfully waking him from whatever trance he had been in. "Nice going, man," Patrick muttered, already down the hall and on his way outside, resulting in Art having to run after him.

𖦹 ⊹ ˚.

The unforgiving sun sat idle in the sky, shining directly over the pavillion and covering it a heat blanket that was something akin to being smothered. You waved the little paper fan dutifully, eyes focused on the boys as they stood across from each other.

Your eyes momentarily met Art's, his face pinched in concentration as his hand bounced the ball like muscle memory. You shifted your attention over to Patrick, his eyes stuck on Art as he waited for his opponent's next move.

You had watched Art play a few times before, but this would be the first time you watched Patrick. Art alone was a pretty good player, and from what you've heard, they made a mean doubles team. But watching them play against each other? There was nothing like it; they seemed to understand each other on a very deep level. It was intense, intimate almost.

The sound of a punched out grunt takes you from your daydream, realizing Art had already served and that the game was already in full swing. You watched attentively, head going back and forth between the two.

The match had ended with a win for Patrick, his face smug and cocky as he looked up at you, giving you a wink. You had managed to find both of them after the tournament, both extra exhausted from the heat. "That was a very good game," you told both of them as you handed each a bottle of water, which they accepted gratefully.

"I think we should celebrate. All three of us," you suggested, eyeing the boys' reaction. They wordlessly brought the bottles from the mouths, urging you to continue. "What do you guys think?" you asked. A jumbled answer of yes of course and yeah that's sounds good was given before Patrick excused himself to go and take a shower and change. You waited for Art to join him, but he stayed behind, waiting until Patrick was out of earshot.

"Does this mean—"

"I'm not mad at you anymore, Art," you reassured him with a smile. "And I'd like for you to join tonight. I miss hanging out with you," you added, raising your eyebrows expectantly, before being on your way.

𖦹 ⊹ ˚.

[penelopepine]

Don't be a stranger! Pt. 8

Part 7 Part 8

Simon "Ghost" Riley x FemReader

Content: Neighbors AU, fluff, developing relationship, non-con drug use, light angst

Simon instantly felt his heart drop, “What do you mean she’s gone?” His voice was cold as he spoke. If Johnny is saying what he thinks he’s saying then someone is going to die today, that Simon can guarantee. 

Before Soap can respond though a gunshot rings out. "Soap, where are you? What's happening?" 

"We're at the small grocery store in town! Things here went from zero to hundred real quick; Beads is nowhere in sight." 

Right away Simon is moving; he has to get to you. "What the hell were you two doing off base?" 

"Just- I'll explain when-," Soap suddenly pauses , "Price?!" 

"Soap, go 4 aisles down; Gaz is there with Beads." Price's voice suddenly cuts through the phone. 

Price? Gaz? What were they doing there? An immediate uneasy feeling rises in his chest. This whole thing wasn’t making sense to him. 

He could vaguely hear Soap speaking to Price. The only thing he could make out was the clear anger and confusion in his voice. Moments later Price’s voice comes through clear as day, he can only assume that Price took Johnny’s phone. 

“Ghost, stay where you are.” 

“Price what the fuck is happening?” Simon growled. 

“Ghost.” Price took a deep breath before continuing, “It was all a set up. We planned for the possibility of Beads being targeted and taken once stepping off base. They did exactly what we thought they would do.” 

He couldn’t fucking believe what he was hearing, “You used her as bait! Did you keep her in the dark too, or was I the only one that wasn’t given the truth?” 

“You, Beads, and Soap weren’t told anything. The situation here is under control though now, and once we're back we can discuss more. Laswell is already waiting for you in the main meeting room; she’ll explain everything a bit more to you.” 

Simon hung up. He didn’t want to hear anything more from him. If you’re hurt in any way there will be hell to pay. This whole plan shouldn’t have happened; much less with him not being told about it. 

He almost wants to disobey Price, and go find you right now. The only thing stopping him is also wanting answers for what is happening. As much as he wants to be with you he knows that you're mostly likely on your way to him right now. So he turns and storms his way to Laswell. 

Once reaching the meeting room he gives a sharp knock, but doesn't wait for an answer before opening the door anyway. Laswell is sitting already with a serious look on her face. "Ghost, sit down. Let's talk about everything calmly." 

Calm was the last thing he was feeling right now. All he wanted to do was yell; yell at everyone involved with making this plan. "Explain then." Simon sneered before sitting right across from her. 

"On Monday Soap and Beads approached Price about leaving base to go to the grocery store. Beads apparently wanted to make a special meal for you, and Soap said that he would gladly accompany her." 

"A Russian terror group broke into both of our flats. They know that she is connected to me. Leaving base shouldn't have even been considered." Simon argued back. 

"She's been here for almost a month, Ghost. There has also been no other signs of them attempting to get to you." 

Anger filled Simon's veins, "Of course there hasn't been any signs! They've been waiting for us to mess up, and this, sending her out there, was what they were waiting for." 

Laswell doesn't react much to his anger; only giving him an unimpressed look, "We had no way of knowing that though, and we couldn't have kept her on base forever. Which is why when Price asked about what I thought about letting her leave I agreed, but not without planning for the possibility that they would attack her." 

"Why wasn't I informed then?" 

"We knew that you wouldn't have agreed to it. You would have gone with her in full gear; which would have only brought more attention to yourselves." 

"And the reason for not telling Johnny then; the one who would have been right by her side if he had known?" 

"Soap is amazing at what he does, but he is not an actor." That Simon could agree with; which is why he would have much rathered Johnny to be obviously lying to you, then him not there to protect you. “We had a small team following them the entire time. Price and Gaz were watching her the entire time.” He knew Laswell was trying to calm his nerves as much as she could right now. Simon knew though that the only thing that could calm him was seeing you; making sure that you’re alright. 

“So Gaz training recruits and yours and Price’s meeting was a lie to keep me unassuming then?” He lets out an almost defeated sigh, “At least tell me she's alright.” 

Laswell for the first time doesn’t answer him immediately. She seems to be taking a few moments to assess his emotions before answering, “Price called me before you arrived. She is safe, whole, alive, but she did end up getting hurt. One of the men grabbed her before injecting some kind of sleeping drug into her-.” 

It was sudden ding from Laswell’s phone that stopped her from continuing. She took a few minutes to write them a message back before finally turning her attention back to him.

"She's here."  

Simon didn't wait to see if she had anything else to say before he was standing and walking out of the room to the med bay area. He feels guilty; he knows that he had no way of helping you avoid this since he wasn't told of the plan. You had been there though because of him; you had apparently wanted to do something special for him. 

If he could he'd go back and tell you that just being around him is all he needs because you are special to him. 

He's vaguely aware that Laswell is following him. Simon isn't interested in speaking to her anymore though. The only thing that matters is making sure you're ok with his own eyes; everything else can wait. 

Which is why he immediately goes to just walk past Price who was clearly waiting for him in front of the med bay doors. 

"Ghost." Price puts his hand on Simon's shoulder stopping him from entering. 

Simon knows that he could break Price's hold and continue on his way; he stops though, willing to give him one chance to explain his piece. "Price." 

“I know you’re upset, Ghost, and you honestly should be. Believe me though when I say that we were watching her the entire time. She got hurt, yes, but there was no way I was going to allow them to leave that building with her.” 

He trusts Price, trusts him with his life. Simon also knows that Price wouldn’t lie straight to his face about something like this, “I want to be included from this point forward. I don’t care if you think I’ll disagree. I need to be involved when it comes to her.” 

“I promise.” Price says with sincerity, “Now would you like to see her? She’s being taken care of right now; we can go to her room if you want to.” 

Simon doesn’t say anything else, only nods his head. The sooner he can see you the sooner he can finally breathe again.

Laswell during all of this had been silently typing away on her phone. "John, Ghost, I'll leave  you two here. The men from the grocery store are ready for questioning. I'll call on either of you if needed. Hopefully this can end the whole situation," she pointedly looks towards Simon now, "You and your friend will be able to walk freely if so." She then turns and walks down the hall away from them. 

Placing a hand on Simon's shoulder, Price directs them back to the doors, "Let's go." 

Price led them inside down the white sterile halls of the med bay till they reached your room. “Are you ready to go inside?” 

Without answering he pushes past and into the room. Then there you were, lying down asleep in a standard hospital bed. A doctor was also there standing next to you writing some things down on her clipboard. 

“Ghost, this is Dr. Withers, she has been the one taking care of her.” 

The doctor gives them both a nod, “She’s doing well. We’ve already done a blood test, and nothing except the obvious seems wrong.” Looking down at her clipboard she flips through a couple pages, "It seems they weren't able to inject very much of the drug; she'll be in and out for a few hours, but she should be waking up soon." With that she leaves them alone with you. 

In the silence that follows Simon makes his way to your side, sitting down next to you, placing his hand near yours. Price stands at the end of your bed, but his attention is solely focused on Simon. "You really care about this girl don't you?" 

"…I love her." He whispered to himself, but it was clear as day for everyone in the room to hear. 

Simon couldn't believe that he actually said it. He's been fighting with himself about what he was going to do about it, debating ignoring the feeling all together. In the end though this wasn't something he could run from. He loved you. 

“You love me…?” Your gravelly voice calls out. 

Note: Ahhhh I finally getting this chapter out! Thank you for reading this far. I also hope you have enjoyed the series as much as I have. The next chapter will most likely be the last update on this.

Also a special thank you to @nexthyperfix for beta reading this chapter for me!

Taglist: @nexthyperfix @yourdaydreamerfan @tf141gloryhole @just-pure-trash @definitelynotaclown

@141tfsan @arminarlertssword @openup-yourmind @evie-119 @v1x3n

@whos-fran @trcyyyyy @azkza @kaoyamamegami @yyiikes

@leryg0 @pansexualhailstorm @trulovekay @kdidgg @ane-sthesie

@zhongtar @shinebright2000 @blackhawkfanatic @cmbghost @prozacprinc3ss

@shizukunora

[teslaluvszombies]

IMMUNE

carl gets bit and y/n refuses to let him go out alone, she wants him to wait until after he turns to kill him and he reluctantly agrees only to find out he was immune.

(intended lowercase)

warnings : death, slight implication of suicide.

“please leave, I don't want you to see this.”

you shook your head at his plea, you couldn't leave him in there alone knowing what he was planning to do. rick and michonne had tried to get you to leave but it was no matter because you refused to leave him, refused to let him go out alone.

“i’m not leaving you in here so you can kill yourself!” you couldn't contain the sobs that came with your words, you'd done everything to keep yourself calm but it was futile. you sat by his side hunched over in tears, not being able to look at his face for the first time since you met him. when he had arrived at alexandria you could've sworn he was the prettiest boy you'd ever seen, you hadn't been able to keep your eyes off of him, even after he lost his eye and begged you to look away. now, here you sit, unable to look at his face, drained of color, eyes void of light.

“I need to do this.” he insisted, despite knowing it wouldn't deter you in the slightest; you always had been stubborn.

you searched your brain for something to say, something to prolong the inevitable moment, “i’ll do it.”

“y/n—”

“the second you turn I'll shoot you, I swear. just let me have these last couple moments with you, please.”

you hear him sigh before he lifts his hand off of the gun it'd been resting on, instead resting on top of your shaking hand. “okay. I trust you.”

for a moment you feel the weight on your chest lessen, sudden relief at the thought of more time with him even if your time with him will be cut short regardless, any time is better than no time.

“look at me.” his voice is gentle and plainly weak, but had a factor of desperation in it that was undeniable. for the first time since you had found out you allowed your gaze to meet his, his eyelid was droopy and he wore a soft smile, his expression alone telling you that he didn't have much time left. he began to rub circles on the back of your hand, his eye examining your face like he was trying to make sure you were permanently engraved in his brain, even in the afterlife. “promise me something?”

“anything.”

he chuckles at your quick response before continuing his statement, “promise me you'll keep going. I know you, I know how you are, I can see it on your face— you have to keep going, have to keep living. judith,” a quiet sob escapes him at the mention of his younger sister, “she needs you. dad and michonne are great and all, but she's gonna need someone to show her how we do things, someone like you.”

it took everything in you to not remind him it was him that she needed, not you, but you were sure it was known. “I don't know what I'm gonna do without you.” you say, silently agreeing to his request.

“you’ll figure it out.” he reached his hand up to cup your cheek, his thumb swiping over a stray tear. you hear him groan in response to propping his body up on his elbow, “come here.” a shaky exhale passes your lips as you lean into him, your head resting in the crook of his neck and your arms wrapped around him just as you had done just a few days prior in the safety of his room. part of you knew that this was it, you could tell this was goodbye by the way he held you — it was different compared to any embrace the two of you had shared in the past, more permanent, like there wouldn't be a next time.

“I love you.”

your nails dug into his back, a choked sob sounding out in the nearly vacant building, “I love you,” you weep, “more than anything.”

you wish there was a way to trade places with him, to not be forced to live without him, but it was too late for wishes, wasn't it?

he pulls back, his lips finding their way to yours in a gentle kiss. it was slow and soft, just like it had been the first time, though this time it was laced with more urgency and desperation, like the other might disappear into thin air. he pulls away, his forehead resting against yours, 

“thank you, y/n, for everything.” he says, pressing a kiss to the bridge of your nose, his hand moving to push the gun underneath your fingertips, his way of telling you it was over.

you feel him fall limp against you, his eye falling shut.

you contemplate sitting there until he turns, letting him turn you too, but you made a promise and you can't break it, not so soon.

you push him back against the hardwood, your entire body visibly trembling as you do so, loud sobs echoing through the building. you grab the gun and make sure it's loaded and ready, scooting back from his body a bit. you knew it was a mistake to promise to do this but it was worth it for the time you got.

your eyes lock on his body, watching as his chest continues to rise and fall even if it's weaker and more delayed than usual. you had never seen someone turn, you'd only heard the stories, so you weren't sure how much longer he would continue to lay there before he did fall victim to the virus, but you did know you refused to shoot him until then.

it had been hours since then and his chest was still rising and falling at the same pace, it was torture, a game of waiting. you thought back to the stories you'd heard, it had never taken this long, but maybe this was your punishment for all the wrong you did during the end of the world and maybe even before. no one was perfect so why would you be subjected to such hell? there were plenty of worse people out there, you were sure you were just the tip of the iceberg.

“y/n?”

you'd been so lost in thought that you nearly shot the wall in your shock. your eyes immediately fell onto the boy in front of you, your mouth agape at the sight, “carl?” you were sure you were seeing things, maybe you had fallen asleep or succumbed to the same hallucinations rick had been faced with after losing lori. “your—?”

“alive? yeah.” he said, sounding just as confused as you were.

“but you got bit! how is that even possible?” your hands raised to your hair, the gun you had been holding falling to the floor.

“I don't know.”

the two of you stared at each other in disbelief, seemingly searching each other’s faces for a sign this wasn't real, not that either of you were hoping it wasn't.

it wasn't long before the tears started again, mostly from confusion and relief, “you're alive, oh my god, you're alive.” you couldn't resist throwing yourself in his arms, him happily reciprocating. his arms held you close to his chest, his head resting on top of yours as you sobbed in relief, his heartbeat echoing in your ears.

neither of you were sure how it was possible that carl was still alive, how he hadn't turned, but it didn't matter too much in the moment — he was alive.

your face left his chest to look at him, scanning his face once more to assure he was real before you collided your lips with his. the kiss was messy unlike the one you had shared before he supposedly passed, there were noses bumping together and teeth hitting each other, but it was the best kiss you had ever experienced.

“you think this means i’m immune?” he pulled away to ask, a geeky smile across his face at the reality of being alive and being with you.

“I don't know but let's not find out.”

[nobody-nexus]

Finally... It's Here...

After being silent for a bit, I've got enough art to properly show off this AU that I've been DEEPLY working on...

I give you... The Amazing Digital Dance Rush AU.

Or- just Dance Rush for short

Dance Rush is an AU where the TADC cast is thrusted into a rhythm game instead of a sandbox game- this game making humans step into the shoes of performing idols, all working both against and with one another in order to get to the VERY top. Pomni is the newest idol for the game, and she now is determined to drop the whole pyramid of overworked misery while trying to figure out how the inner mechanisms of this place work, even if the truth is more horrid then one might believe....

================================================

This AU uses a lineless style as a way to make it feel almost cell shaded in a sense, but also as a new way to keep this AU fresh. The setting is neon Vocaliod and sci-fi esc in nature, giving off a feeling of futuristic but simple all the same

Now let's-

MEET THE IDOLS!

Pomni is our protagonist and the last to join the game. Inspired by DDR, her performances are based on dancing choreography by using her flexibility and quickness to adapt to her advantage

Ragatha is one of the six idols that Pomni meets as she tries to get more used to the world. Inspired by Project Diva, Rags is all about audience participation- her lovely optimism and charm making chants, encores, and singing along a breeze

Jax is the 'top' of the leaderboard, and another idol for Pomni to meet. Inspired by Just Dance, Jax's main this is... well... thirst trapping. He uses his body, dance moves, and other various body motions to make the crowd to wild

Gangle is one of the more unhinged members of the idol life. Inspired by Crypt of the Necrodancer, Gangle uses music to tell her stories. Her fans adore every moment (with her comedy mask of course)

Zooble is another idol, and the one that came before Pomni. Inspired by Beat Saber of all things, they're most known for their transitions and transformations, leaving their fans amazed by the grungier singing voice mixed with the eye catching transitions

Kinger is the idol who has been here the longest yet is the second to last on the leaderboard. Inspired by oddly enough Rhythm Heaven, he has the best singing voice out of the cast. This results in his medium fanbase adoring him

Caine. The real top of the leaderboard, and the most powerful idol in the game. Inspired by OSU- his perception of how performances should feel and hear is truly unmatched. How could one compare?

================================================

Because I love this AU so much to the point where I have FAR too much information on it, I made myself an askblog ALL about this AU in perticular, and one I'll be reblogging every answer for

The askblog is @theamazingdigitaldancerush and I hope you go ask your questions for it there instead of in my main blog as to not clog up TOO many things

I hope the wait was worth it cause lineless is difficult to do all together. Plus I haven't even touched the NPCs yet- however that's a post for another day

I can't wait for you to see what I do next ^^

[mandaplease10]

A Polin Take Nobody Asked For #1

Here I'll be yapping about different things I've noticed from Polin's Story in the Bridgerton Series. Don't know how many parts this will be, but here goes the first!

Colin's Fake Persona

Most of us (with media literacy) realize that the Colin when see in the beginning of season 3 is not the real Colin. He has traveled and returned to the Ton with this new personality to try and fit into society and the other men.

Many have stated that this is because he acts this way (flirting, brothel visits, etc) because he is simply mimicking the actions of the other gentleman and his own brothers. This all makes sense and it is a very good take, but then I took a deep dive and came up with this.

What if the reasoning behind this new Colin is actually because of Pen and what happened last season.

Let me explain:

We learn from Colin that Pen didn't respond to his letters while he was away despite him constantly writing to her. It is never really mentioned or inferred that he stopped writing to her due to her non replies, so it seems like he had hope that she would respond one day.

Now, we know that Pen and Colin have always remained in touch whenever he was gone away based on previous seasons, which meant that he always had Pen to rely on to share his adventures with through his letters and still had a piece of home with him by reading her letters.

Fast forward to him returning this year and despite this new personality he still seeks out Pen. When he greets his family, he instantly looks around for Pen because she has always been there with his family when he returned in the past. Once he realizes she's not there, he glances over towards her house, as a reflex.

Then at the debutante event he seeks her out again and when he finds her can't wait to see and talk to her. In his mind, he thinks everything is okay and they'll jump right back into their old friendship.

But then she keeps their conversation short and he realizes that something is different with Pen. At this point he thinks it is from whatever is going on between Pen and Eloise, which could also not be helping the case, but isn't really the main reason.

Then we see their next interaction at the ball and once again, Colin seeks her out. He notices her when she walks in and even looks towards her direction once more even after everyone else has moved on. He again, notices that she leaves and is upset, despite being surrounded by the Fife and his friends and trying to keep up with the persona, he has to check on Penelope.

It's in this moment he finds out about why Pen is upset with him and as soon as he realizes this, that previous act, falters and he wishes to make things right, but Pen won't have it and walks away.

It's looking back at his words in this moment mixed with what we learn from his journal entry and just the overall arc of his character in these four episodes that got me thinking.

We hear from Colin that he missed Pen because she never responded to his letter. He missed their connection, their friendship, their conversation, his feeling of home, etc. So, while on his travels, he decided to seek out such a connection in the only way he knew how and that was by taking on the rake persona because that's the only gentlemen experience he knew.

I mean think about it, he was very young when his father died and we don't really know if Edmund had his own rakish days since he and Violet fell in love so young, so he only has his brothers to look up to as well as the rest of the rake bros in the ton.

Yet, we also know despite him taking on this new personality and action, he never did find that connection or fill the longing he was feeling from missing Penelope. The only reason why he keeps up with this act for so long is because he finally was feeling accepted by everyone, even his own family, so he felt like this was who he was supposed to be.

But when he realizes that what he feels for Penelope isn't just platonic love or feelings, he slowly starts to take off the mask and become the person he really is because Penelope accepts him.

Honestly, there is more I could say about this one topic, but this is already long enough. Ha

P.S. I will add that I really would love a prequel about Violet and Edmund. I know that Julia Quinn doesn't want to write it because of Edmund dying, but I still think Shonda and Netflix could do a similar spin off like Queen Charlotte where it's not their whole story, just the beginning. I definitely think Colin is similar to Edmund and it would be lovely to see any parallels between Edmund/Violet and Colin and Penelope 's love story.

[yanderes-galore]

IM HERE AGAIN!! Anyways, can you do Yuji with your prompts 23 and 37 with a reader who keeps trying to escape?

I can try, sure! Doing an AU where you knew each other in Jujutsu High but once you graduated and grew older you went on to become advanced Sorcerers. It's unknown if Yuji still has Sukuna or not. Sorry if the plot isn't to your liking, I didn't have a lot to work with since Yuji is so tame on his own.

Yandere! Yuji Itadori Prompts 23 + 37

"You're crying... come a little closer, I'll make it all go away."

"We should get married! It's been long enough, hasn't it?"

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Kidnapping, Delusional behavior, Manipulation, Stalking, Isolation, Talks of marriage, Toxic themes, Clingy behavior, Slight starvation (You're choosing not to eat a lot), Implied mind break, Yuji is delusional yet a little lucid, Consensual turned forced relationship.

Yuji Itadori has been your boyfriend since graduation. He had been hopelessly in love with you ever since you two started to dedicate yourselves more to your field and each other. Life's been good in your eyes, especially since Yuji has only ever been getting better when handling himself.

So how did things get so bad?

Nowadays instead of being a happy couple, you're trapped in your apartment. Yuji was adamant when you both graduated to move in together. You both shared the rent and took care of one another.

You didn't mind that...

Until Yuji kept trying to keep you in the apartment.

You wonder what went wrong. Yuji always seemed like such a kind and innocent boyfriend. Always easily excited and clingy with you. It was cute.

You wonder if things began to go wrong when Yuji had brought up marriage.

You still remember when he first brought up the question. You had been dating for around five years when he bounded up to you with a grin on his face. Before you could even ask him what he was so eager about, he held both of your hands tightly.

"We should get married! It's been long enough, hasn't it?"

It was cute how excited he sounded when he brought it up. In fact, if you were ready for it you might've even considered it. He looked so happy.

However, as a new graduate, you were too focused on improving as a Sorcerer to consider marriage with your high school sweetheart. Curses still ran rampant even after graduation. So at the time, you were focused on your career.

"I'm sorry, baby..." You had said, your heart nearly breaking at the look of betrayal on your boyfriend's face. "It just doesn't seem safe right now... we both have a career to keep up with."

"R-Right... I understand!" Yuji has responded with a saddened smile, embracing you tightly.

Back then... you thought that was that.

You wanted to consider marriage in the future. You two had been together for a long time now. Although... you just wanted to focus on more important things right now.

However... now six years in... you begin to wonder if you should've just... accepted or called off the relationship entirely.

"Baby..." Yuji frowns softly, looking at you on the bed. In only a year you looked so much different than the graduate you once were. You looked tired and much thinner now. Yuji had been feeding you, but you just... didn't want any food from him.

"Baby, please look at me..." Yuji tries again, inching closer to sit on the bed. He feels guilt creep into him when he sees you curled in on yourself. Part of him knew this was his fault... but hated the idea of acknowledging it.

Recently you've been escaping the apartment a lot. It had started with arguments, you wanting to continue being a Sorcerer while Yuji wanted you to stay at home so he could protect you. But... every couple has their quarrels, no?

That is until Yuji felt he should be more strict. He begged you not to leave, that he was worried about you and wanted you to stay home. At first, you complied and stayed home a few days to soothe your boyfriend's worries.

Then he stopped letting you out.

Each time you left the apartment by sabotaging locks or playing nice, Yuji would chase you down again. For months you kept trying to leave, both the relationship and apartment. Yet Yuji never relented.

In his eyes you are meant to be together...

Delusional just enough to ignore how you feel about the situation.

Right up until you were curled up in your room, refusing to leave because, well, why bother?

Yuji perks up when he sees your body shudder. A breathy noise akin to a sob leaves your mouth, making Yuji's heart clench. He acts fast, throwing himself on the bed and holding out his arms.

"You're crying... come a little closer, I'll make it all go away." Yuji's words are comforting, as though you're both still loving partners. His embrace feels hot and cagey against your skin. However, you lean in reluctantly.

Did you love him even now?

Yuji is careful to be caring despite all that's happened. He kisses the top of your head lovingly as you sob against him. Hearing you sad makes his grip tighten... a glare thrown towards the wall as he thinks to himself.

He hopes you get better, he really does. He wants to make you his cute little spouse that he can take care of. Although, Yuji is willing to wait until you're feeling... better before bringing it up again.

"Love you so much it hurts...." Yuji murmurs, squeezing you affectionately as he nuzzles into your hair. You say nothing, which is expected, you did recently go against his house rules again.

But... that's okay! Yuji is aware of how determined you are. He just... needs to be patient and protect you like he always has been.

You may be upset now... yet he knows that will change. With a little more waiting... you two can be happy again! When another sob rocks your body, Yuji just holds you tighter... oblivious to how crushing his embrace is.

Partners must stick by one another, right?

He'll stick by you until you're better... then you two can go back to normal and maybe even get engaged!

He's already picked out the ring....

[steves-sub]

Time for Action

Dark!Team Cap (Steve, Bucky, Sam, Natasha, Wanda) x innocent!female reader

Summary: The team's plan is finally going into action.

warning: Non-con drugging, hypnosis, deceiving people

A/N: I couldn't leave you hanging, so I'm back to finish the series. A lot has changed for me since I started this journey. I'm in a much better place now – happier, healthier, and pursuing my passion for special education. I also found love, which has greatly impacted my life. I may not be writing again anytime soon, but I'll always be grateful for the support of this community. These stories kept me going when things were tough, and I hope they bring you as much joy as you've brought me.

tags: @rihannabale @sideeve @apollosouls-blog @luvfromdixiedoll @chemtrails-club

The long-awaited day had finally come. After carefully applying your makeup and smoothing out your dress, you couldn't contain your excitement about spending time with Steve and his friends. To mark the occasion, you even wore a new dress - a lovely white sundress adorned with sunflowers, a charming nod to Steve's nickname.

As I heard a "ding" from my cell phone, I walked over to check it. To my surprise, it was a message from Steve saying, "Be there in 5 minutes." Despite my insistence on biking, Steve was determined to drive me. "You are a princess; you should be treated like one," he said with a smile. This level of care and consideration from a friend was something I had never experienced before.

As the sound of the car pulling up reached your ears, you gracefully descended the stairs, your luscious curls bouncing with each step. The scent of Steve's potent cologne wafted through the air as you closed the door behind you. Glancing back, you caught sight of him emerging from his car, clad in a crisp white button-down and navy pants. It seemed impossible, but your attraction to him intensified in that moment. As Steve made his way towards you, you could have sworn you heard a low growl escape him. "Wow, y/n, you truly are a sunflower. You look absolutely stunning, my darling," his words caused a rush of warmth to flood your cheeks."

“Thank you, Steve! I chose this dress specifically for this occasion. I hoped to leave a lasting impression on your friends." Steve enveloped you in a warm embrace, and as he did, you thought you felt his hand subtly moving towards your lower back, but before you could dwell on it, he gently pulled away. "Don't worry too much; I'm sure they will adore you, just like I do," he assured you with a playful touch on your nose, causing you to let out a spontaneous giggle. Steve gracefully circled around you and gallantly opened the door of his sleek black car, a vehicle worth more than your annual salary. "Step in, my princess. Your carriage awaits," he declared as he entered the vehicle himself and closed the door behind you.

As he settled into the driver's seat, he reached behind him and retrieved a water bottle. "The drive might take a while, so I brought you a water bottle," he said with a warm smile. You accepted the bottle, returning his smile, and twisted off the cap. The water had an unusual taste, but you didn't want to cause any inconvenience. Keeping your thoughts to yourself, you continued on your journey.

After half an hour of casual conversation with Steve, he steered onto a narrow dirt road. "It's just a short drive down this road, and then we'll be there," he reassured, gently taking your hand. "Don't worry, sunflower. I promise they will adore you," he repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time. Throughout the journey, Steve did his best to ease your nerves, chatting with you and offering you sips of that peculiar water. While you did start to feel more at ease, the anticipation still made you jittery. Finally, he pulled up to an exquisite house. "Wow," you marveled as you gazed out the window, "you guys live here?" You had little knowledge about Steve and never would have guessed that he was well-off. "Yeah," he chuckled, "my friends and I have been renovating this house for a while. It's our retirement plan." 

I turned to look at Steve, my face twisted in confusion. "Retirement plan? You're not even 40!" Steve chuckled once again at my comment. "Well, we all needed a break, so we decided to come up here for a bit," he spoke as he expertly parked the car in the circle driveway. "Are you ready?" he asked, extending his hand towards me. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it, replying, "Ready." He smiled back at me as he exited the car to open the door for me.

As the two of you approached the door, Steve reached out and turned the handle, allowing the door to swing open. "Hey guys, we're here!" he called out, his voice echoing through the seemingly empty house. Suddenly, the distinct sound of clicking heels filled the air, and a young redhead in a vibrant red coat appeared before you. "Oh my gosh, you're here!" she exclaimed, enveloping you in a warm, enthusiastic hug. "Steve has not stopped talking about you. You’re Y/n, right? I'm Wanda," she said with a smile. "It's so nice to meet you too! I wish I could say the same about you," you teased, playfully nudging Steve's arm. "Oh, that's just Steve. He's a pretty reserved person. Come in, come in, everyone’s in the kitchen," Wanda said, taking the lead as she ushered you inside. Following her lead, you kicked off your sandals and made your way into the inviting warmth of the kitchen. "See, not so bad," Steve remarked quietly. "Yeah, Wanda seems super nice," you agreed. "And we're only just getting started," Steve added, gently holding your hand as you both stepped into the bustling kitchen. 

The two of us walked into the kitchen and spotted the rest of the group. A striking redhead in a sleek black dress perched on the counter, enjoying a glass of wine. A confident black man was busy setting up the table, while another man with a metallic arm was hard at work in the kitchen. Wanda caught their attention and introduced me with a warm smile, prompting the others to follow suit. The redhead, Natasha, strolled over to me and greeted me affectionately. "I'm Natasha. Your dress is stunning; I can see why Steve calls you sunflower," she remarked with a smirk, casting a glance at Steve as she embraced me. "Thank you, yours is gorgeous as well," I replied.

The man who was setting the table made his way over to us. "So, this is the famous Y/N Steve can't stop talking about? I can see why," he said with a warm smile as he confidently walked over. "Sam Wilson, nice to meet you," he said as he extended his hand. I couldn't help but giggle as I looked at his hand. "Thank you; you are all super kind to me," I replied with a smile. "Well, Steve said you were a special friend, so you deserve to feel special," the last man said as he extended his hand for a handshake. "Bucky Barnes, we are so happy you are here," he said warmly. I couldn't help but feel grateful for the kindness of these people and how lucky Steve must be to have such thoughtful friends. "Told you they would love you, sunflower," Steve said as he brought me in for a side hug.

As I made my way towards the counter where Natasha was, Bucky informed me that dinner would be ready in a few minutes. He listed the menu as salad, pasta, chicken, brussels sprouts, and homemade mini cakes courtesy of Wanda. Natasha then offered me a glass of wine. I accepted and requested a Pinot Grigio, and as she went to the fridge, she discreetly took a small vial of clear liquid from the refrigerator before leaving the kitchen with Steve following her.

Once they reached the wine cellar, Natasha's eyes sparkled with excitement as she deftly grabbed the bottle she sought. "Everything ready?" Steve inquired, wrapping his arms around her waist. Their relationship had evolved into one of friends with benefits since they had been on the run, but now they no longer needed to rely on such arrangements. "As long as she drank the water you gave her, then we will be set," Natasha confirmed, setting the wine glass on the counter and retrieving the vial. "She doesn't feel anything right now; she's just relaxed. This, however, will make her more open to our suggestions and make her easier to seduce. We will have her in our hands in no time." Natasha finished pouring the wine and closed the bottle with a sense of determination. "I wanted to have her right then and there when I saw her in that sundress. She has no idea what she is doing to me," Steve confessed. "Soon, Steve, soon," Natasha called out to Steve as she returned to the party, him following closely behind.

Natasha and Steve glided into the room, Natasha holding a delicate glass of wine. "Here you go, angel," Natasha said as she gracefully handed the glass to the recipient. "Perfect timing, the food is ready," Bucky exclaimed. "Do you need help with anything?" you kindly asked the cooks. "Nonsense, you are our guest. Go have a seat; we will be over shortly," Wanda said as she expertly opened the oven. The rest of the group approached the table, which Sam meticulously set. You found yourself seated between Steve and Natasha, with Sam, Bucky, and Wanda on the other side.

Steve rose from his chair with a beer in hand as the delicious food was placed on the table, and everyone took their seats. "I would like to propose a toast to Y/N," he announced, causing a flutter in your stomach as everyone smiled at you. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence tonight. I feel that this evening will be etched in our memories forever. Cheers!" he exclaimed, raising his glass as everyone followed suit. It was clear that tonight was going to be truly extraordinary.  

After an hour had passed, not a morsel of food remained, and the plates sparkled clean. It had been quite some time since you felt so carefree and relaxed, and the feeling was beautiful. As Wanda and Bucky shared a hilarious story, you found yourself laughing along with them while the others tidied up after dinner. Natasha approached you with another glass of wine, but you declined, explaining to her with a tinge of sadness that you and Steve would have to leave soon. The evening had been so enjoyable that you wished it wouldn't end. "Don't worry, sweetie. You're more than welcome to spend the night if you'd like," Steve called out from the kitchen. "But I don't have anything with me for an overnight stay," you quickly pointed out.

"We have a spare bedroom, and you can borrow some sweats. Seriously, don't sweat about it," Wanda said with a warm smile. "Are you sure about that?" you questioned Wanda, feeling grateful for her hospitality. "We are positive," Natasha responded reassuringly as she once again handed the glass to you, her eyes reflecting genuine concern. "Okay, okay. But this is the last glass; I'm starting to feel the effects of drinking," you commented, letting out a light-hearted laugh. Unbeknownst to you, the group exchanged knowing glances, anticipation for their plan evident in their eyes. 

As Steve suggested heading to the living room to wrap up the evening, he approached you and gently massaged your shoulders. You yawned, feeling the wine's effects, and quickly apologized for your drowsiness. "Sorry, I just got sleepy. This wine might be stronger than I thought," you chuckled. As you stood up and headed to the living room, you noticed your vision becoming blurry, causing you to lose your balance.

"Are you feeling okay, honey?" Bucky asked, his concerned gaze fixed on you. "I just feel a bit dizzy. Do you mind if I go to bed early?" you inquired, steadying yourself against the back of the couch. "Why don't you lie down next to me? It might help," suggested Steve as he came over to you. You hoped that his suggestion would bring some relief as Steve gently guided you to the plush couch. He positioned you in the center, and everyone respectfully kept their distance, allowing you some space.

You heard a gentle buzzing sound beginning and looked around to locate its source. "What's that noise?" you asked as you attempted to sit up, but the throbbing in your head persisted. "Oh, it's just some soft music. It's meant to help you relax," Wanda reassured you as you felt Steve gently guide your head back onto his shoulder where it had been resting. In front of you, the TV displayed a captivating screen saver. It consisted of black and white squares merging into each other. Strangely, it was pretty soothing and difficult to look away from.

As you commented on the intriguing screen, you noticed your speech slowing down unintentionally. In response, Sam softly remarked, "Yeah, I know. It came with the TV. We tried to change it but couldn't figure it out." Unbeknownst to you, Wanda had silently approached from behind. Her hand emitted a crimson magical energy that flowed into your head, inducing a sudden and profound relaxation.

"It's not too bad; it can be quite relaxing to look at. Don't you think it's relaxing?" Wanda asked, her words echoing in your mind whenever she mentioned "relaxing." "Relaxing?" you mumbled sleepily. "Yes, darling, relaxing," Steve whispered into your ear as he gently brushed some hair away from your face, ensuring your gaze remained fixed on the screen before you. Despite your efforts to look away, it was difficult to resist.

As your eyelids grew heavier, it became increasingly difficult to keep them open. "Are you getting sleepy over there, my lovely sunflower?" Steve softly chuckled. You attempted to shake your head, but the effort was futile. "It's okay to relax and sleep, darling. Just close your eyes and let go," Bucky's voice whispered. "I don't want to," you replied in the faintest of whispers.

Natasha's soothing voice filled the room as she said, "Why not? It's okay to relax and sleep. To close those heavy eyes and sleep." Her gentle hand massaged my shoulders, lulling me into an even deeper state of relaxation. "Sleep?" I questioned. Steve let out a chuckle and reassured me, "That's right, honey, just sleep for me. I'll keep you safe. Just close those heavy, heavy eyes and sleep for me." Each word from Steve felt like a gentle command, and I found myself unable to resist as I followed his instructions, succumbing to the irresistible urge to close my heavy eyelids.

[sissylittlefeather]

Suspicious Minds: Part 2

A/N: Here it is! The long-awaited part 2 of my Modern Spy!Elvis fic! Bad news, though. It's gonna need a part 3 😬. There's just so much story to tell!!! Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Y'all know I live for your comments.

Need to read part 1? Click here.

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, gun violence, espionage, kissing, cussing, fingering, oral sex (both receiving), 69, p in v penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie, mentions of scars and knife violence

Word count: ~5.4k

"Ah, Agent Presley. You're awake."

******

Elvis breathes a sigh of relief.

"Agent West, you scared the shit out of me." He turns and pushes the door open for you. "You can come out. It's one of the good guys."

You walk tentatively from the room. The agent that sits on the couch is young and chiseled and looks hard, just the opposite of Elvis. Elvis is strong and masculine, but there's a softness to him that makes you feel at home. This man seems dangerous, but Elvis trusts him, so you suppose you should too.

"I see you've acted on your reputation, Presley." He looks between you and Elvis with a sly expression. You blush and look at the floor. Reputation?

"No, this is... it doesn't matter. What do you want, West?"

"The boss sent me to bring you both in. Apparently, you have a new assignment."

"I do?"

"You both do. She's working for us now." He gestures to you offhandedly and you can't help but scoff.

"I am not a spy."

"No, but you're an asset. They'll explain it all back at Headquarters. We need to go." Elvis turns to you and looks at you sadly. You can tell he was looking forward to spending more time in the safe house with you, but it doesn't look like that'll be happening.

"Go pack your things. Don't forget the extra special item." You blush again thinking about the flash drive tucked away in your vibrator. Nodding, you walk back into the room to collect your things. Elvis turns to the other agent.

"I need a shower. Can you watch her? I'll be quick."

"I'll bet you do. Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her." You listen as Elvis walks to the bathroom and closes the door. Once you're packed, you carry your small bag back into the living room where Agent West is sitting in the middle of the couch. You'd have to practically sit on his lap to sit down, so you walk to one of the dining room chairs and sit there instead. He smiles at you, but it's not comforting at all.

"So you fell for his tricks?" You look up at him suddenly, not really interested in discussing what happened between you and Elvis with this man.

"I wouldn't say that he used any. I just like him."

"Mhmm. That's what they all say." He snickers coldly and you could swear he's jealous. Still, something about what he says digs at you. Is this just something Elvis does? Do you really mean nothing to him? It certainly didn't feel that way when he made love to you last night. If you didn't know any better you'd think he was about to tell you that he loved you, as ridiculous as that would be after knowing him for all of 72 hours. Still, it certainly didn't feel like he was just trying to hook up with you. You're about to ask Agent West about Elvis's reputation when he walks out of the bathroom with his hair wet and a towel around his waist.

"I left my clothes in my bag." He walks to a duffel bag that you didn't even know was there and fetches some clothing. You can't take your eyes off of him as he stands there, naked and wet. The other agent watches you and laughs.

"She's hoping you'll drop your towel." Elvis looks at you with hunger in his eyes and you can tell he wishes the other agent wasn't there. West sighs loudly. "Alright, lovebirds, we really need to get out of here."

Elvis finishes dressing and the three of you make your way to Agent West's car. At first, Elvis protests leaving his Stutz behind, but West is insistent that you both ride with him. You slide into the backseat of the SUV with Elvis, but West cuts in.

"Nope. No sex in my backseat. You sit up here with me, girl."

"She has a name."

"It's not important to me." You roll your eyes and move up to the front seat. West pats your knee. "There, isn't this cozy."

You can feel Elvis bristle in the backseat when he touches you. Your whole body shivers and not in a good way. West backs out of the driveway and the three of you make your way to the undisclosed location that is Headquarters.

You're shocked when it's an old antebellum-style plantation home in the country with a crooked sign on the gate that reads "Graceland". It looks old and broken down, but there's a retina scanner at the door that both West and Elvis use. The door pops open and you walk inside a lavishly decorated living room. The two men head for a closet and you look at them suspiciously before stepping in with them.

It's an elevator. And it goes down deep into the earth before the doors slide open to a bustling office that's all white and silver and fluorescent lights. Your mouth pops open but you follow Elvis and West when they get off the elevator and head for an office in the corner. Inside is a very tall woman with fiery red hair cropped close to her head. She has on thick-framed black glasses and a charcoal grey suit that's obviously been tailored to fit her perfectly. She smiles when she sees you behind the two men.

"Hello. I'm Nine. Have a seat." She gestures for you to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Elvis sits in the other chair and she dismisses West, who grumbles and leaves the room. "That man needs to get laid."

Elvis smiles and you follow suit. You're not sure if she was joking, though.

"Can I get you a drink?" She asks, casually walking to a bar area on the side of her office.

"Oh, no, I'm fine."

"Presley?"

"You have my water?" She nods and picks up a green bottle, pouring some water into a glass and handing it to him. Then, she fixes herself some kind of brown liquor and sits behind her desk.

"I'm sure Agent West has informed you that you have a new assignment?" You both nod. "For an agent, he's shockingly bad at keeping his mouth shut."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. But I don't work for you. I'm confused about how I have an assignment?" Without thinking, Elvis reaches out and takes your hand. You can't tell if it's a chastisement or him offering you support.

"It's okay, Presley. It's a valid question. The second you downloaded that information, you joined this conflict. We're assuming you want to be on our side."

"Oh, well, yeah, I guess so. I think?"

"Decide now. We have a jail cell waiting for you if you choose to work against us." Elvis squeezes your hand.

"I mean, yeah. I'll work with you." You nod fervently, hoping they really are the good guys.

"I'm sorry to be harsh, but this is a matter of national security. The company who contracted you works for an enemy government. I'm assuming you'd like to keep America secure."

"Of course."

"Then you work for us. Welcome to Guardian."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Agent Presley, take her and get her properly outfitted. Her code name will be Angel. The Colonel will have your assignment." She gestures for you both to leave her office. Elvis finishes his water and then puts his hand on the small of your back to usher you out of the room. His touch is electric and you long to be back in the safe house with him. This all feels too overwhelming.

He escorts you down again in the elevator to what feels like an armory. A short, fat man in glasses sits at a computer in the middle of the room. Elvis calls to him, resisting the urge to wrap his arm around your waist as he talks.

"Colonel! This is Angel. You have an assignment for us?"

"I do indeed, my boy. Come." You and Elvis make your way over to him. "You are going to take down the company that hired you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you already know their tech. And you're one of the foremost hackers on the planet. He will be your guard, an escort of sorts, but you will do the heavy lifting to get to the main computer that has access to their database and network. Once there, you will implement this." He holds up a small device. "This wireless transmitter will allow me to infect their system with a virus that will destroy it. Then, you'll come back here and be celebrated as heroes."

"That's it?" You whip your head around to Elvis.

"That's it?! Do you have any idea what it's going to take for us to get to that computer?"

"Honey, I've managed so much worse. This'll be nothing. I've got you." He's desperate to take you in his arms and really comfort you, but he knows he can't while he's in this building. He settles for a hand on your cheek. "I promise. I won't let anything happen to you."

You nod and try not to cry. You're dying to snuggle into Elvis's chest and let him hold you, but you get the feeling that you shouldn't while you're here.

"Ahhhh, my boy, do you have the flash drive?" The Colonel interrupts before you give in to your impulses.

"We do." He takes the bag off of your shoulder and digs in it to retrieve your vibrator. Twisting it open, he slides the flash drive out. The Colonel laughs.

"Thats certainly a creative hiding place. Give it to me. I'll put it in the appropriate place." For the slightest second, Elvis hesitates. He trusts the Colonel, but something about his eager expression is off-putting. Still, he drops the flash drive into his hand and puts the pink vibrator back in your bag. "Now, you said she needs outfitting?"

"Yes! She needs clothes and weapons."

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Honey, nothin', but where will you hide your gun?" You look down at your simple t-shirt and leggings. He's right. There's nowhere to tuck a firearm. Not that that's a thought you've ever had before.

"What am I going to do with a gun?! I don't even know how to shoot one."

"Well, I know where we're headed next. Colonel, can you help her out?"

"I'm on it, my boy." He disappears into the wall for a while and then returns with an outfit for you, complete with tall boots. He hands you the stack and sends you into the wall to change. When you come out, Elvis's mouth drops. Up until now, he's seen you in pajamas and your slummy jeans or leggings and baggy tee. Now, you have on tall black boots, tight black jeans, a low-cut black thermal that's basically painted on and a grey quilted vest. You've pulled your hair into a high ponytail to get it out of your face.

"I feel ridiculous."

"Why? You don't look ridiculous." You take your vest off to reveal a shoulder holster with two handguns and unzip your boot to show him the knife that's tucked there.

"What am I supposed to do with all this?" He walks over to you and tips your chin up to look into his face.

"You protect yourself, honey. On the off chance that I can't, you'll have to. You can do it. I'll show you." You nod and will him to kiss you. You can tell he wants to, but he doesn't.

The Colonel finishes outfitting you with tech and weaponry and you start to wonder if this is how you'll die. Either way, you have no choice, so you follow Elvis out of the dungeon-like room, armed to the teeth.

The next place he takes you is a firing range. There's space for a good number of people to practice at once, but for some reason, you're the only ones in there. He walks you to a booth in the center and then turns towards you. You think he's going to run his arms around your waist, but instead, he reaches into your vest and pulls out the two handguns nestled there on either side of your breasts. His thumbs graze your soft flesh and you both shiver. But, he's all business.

"Come here, baby." He puts one gun on the counter and holds the other one up to you. "Hold it like this. Three fingers down here and your trigger finger up on the side like this. This is the safety. It's on now, but before you shoot it you'll need to turn it off."

He puts the gun in your hand and moves your fingers into the right position. The feeling of his fingers on yours makes you tingle.

"It's already loaded, so you just need to cock it before you pull the trigger. Like this." He puts his hand around yours again and shows you how to use your non-dominant hand to pull the slide back. "Alright, now..."

He presses up behind you and runs his hands down your arms while you hold the gun. You gasp a little when you feel his rock hard erection pushing against your ass.

"Ignore that."

"Oh, okay." You moan softly and lean your head back against his chest. He kisses your cheek and whispers in your ear. "Honey, I'm tryin' to work here, but you're drivin' me crazy."

"I'm driving you crazy?! What's that in your pocket, Agent Presley?" He laughs softly and then kisses your cheek again.

"I'm sorry; we really need to focus, though. You need to know this." You sigh deeply and try to hone in on the gun in your hands.

"Okay."

"Keep both eyes open and look at your target. Pull the trigger." You do and are shocked by how much the gun kicks back and how loud it is.

"Holy fuck!"

"Good. Okay, let's try it again." You tremble a little when it hits you that at some point you might be expected to fire this gun at someone. He has his hands on your hips keeping you steady. When you hold the gun up again, your knuckles are white and your shoulders are up by your ears. "Baby, no, you're too tense. You gotta relax."

"I can't! What if I have to shoot someone? I can't do that. This was a bad idea. I can't-"

"Just breathe, baby."

"I literally cannot relax. I'm so scared, Elvis, I-"

"Shhhh..." He moves his right hand down to your core and starts to make slow circles on your clit over your pants.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm relaxing you."

"Mmmm..." You moan softly as he lifts your shirt and slides his hand under your pants and panties. As tight as they are, he manages to find your clit and drag his finger over and around it. He runs his left hand up under the front of your shirt and bra and squeezes your breast lightly.

"I thought you said we had to work." You whisper.

"I am working. Are you feeling more relaxed, baby?" You nod and whimper. He pushes his middle finger into you and pumps it in and out before he goes back to making circles on your clit. You set the gun down on the counter and brace yourself as he continues to flick over and around your sensitive button.

"Fuck." You moan through gritted teeth as you feel the coil of your orgasm tighten in your hips.

"Come on, baby. Let go. Cum for me." He whispers in your ear as he works you with his hand. He nibbles your earlobe and swirls his tongue on your neck just below your ear.

"Oh, god, Elvis." His name drips off of your tongue as your climax slams into you, washing over and through you with the strength of a rip current. You tremble and pulse as he massages you through your high.

"You feel better, baby?" He whispers in your ear. You turn to face him and pull him into a deep and passionate kiss, tongues moving wildly, as your hands go immediately to his zipper. You've almost got his throbbing cock out of his pants when you hear the door open. "FUCK."

He zips his pants frantically and jumps back away from you. To your dismay, Agent West walks towards you slowly, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt again. Nine wants the two of you to adjourn to sleeping quarters. You leave for the mission at 0400." He winks and it makes your skin crawl. "Separate sleeping quarters."

You roll your eyes and he turns to walk away. Elvis looks at you and you can tell he plans to pick up where you left off as soon as West is gone. But just before he gets to the door he turns back to you.

"She wants you to come now." Elvis grumbles and gathers your guns, making sure the safeties are on and sliding them back into your shoulder holster. You follow West out of the shooting range and back to the elevator.

******

Later that night, you find yourself tucked under a quilt in one of the bedrooms of the mansion that sits on top of Guardian Headquarters. You know Elvis is in a bedroom somewhere in the house too and the knowledge that he's so close by is killing you. Not only are you desperate to pick up where you left off in the shooting range, but you've gotten used to sleeping in a bed with Elvis. Lying in this big bed by yourself feels lonely.

What you don't know is that Elvis is sitting on the side of his bed missing you desperately too. He gets up and walks to the door, but stops with his hand on the knob. Giving in now would be a significant violation of his duty to the agency. It was one thing when you were locked together in the safe house with nothing else to do. Here, he has responsibilities to uphold and he needs to let you rest up for the mission. Still, he opens the door and walks into the hallway. It seems like he's not in control of his body as he walks to the door of the room he knows you're in.

He stands outside the door with his hand posed to knock for a minute. Then, he turns abruptly and heads back towards his room. He opens the door and then turns back to the hallway. Before he knows it, he's back at your door.

"No." He shakes his head and paces up and down the hallway a few more times.

Inside your room, you sit up on the edge of the bed and consider trying to find him. You stand up and walk to the door, but you don't open it. Instead, you stand there and think hard about what you're about to do. You know you shouldn't, you can't really, this isn't the time or the place. Still, everything inside you longs to feel him pressed against you.

He paces the hallway, back and forth in front of your door trying to decide what to do. Walking over to your door, he leans with a hand on each side of the frame, head down staring at the floor. You finally decide that you should find him. It's not like you're going to get any sleep without him anyway. So, you open the door slowly.

"Hey, baby." He smiles softly down at you from where he stands in the doorframe.

"I missed you-" You barely get the sentence out before he wraps himself around you, lifting your feet off of the ground and slamming the door shut behind him.

"God, honey, I missed you too." He presses his lips to yours and kisses you passionately. His arms hold you tightly to him. There's a level desperation in the way he kisses you that surprises you, but you love it. His hands roam over your body and he moans into your mouth when he realizes you aren't wearing a bra. He squeezes your breast gently and then slides his hand up under your sweatshirt, letting his thumb drag over your nipple. You walk backwards to the bed, pulling him with you, both of you shedding clothing as you walk. He slides your panties down just as you make it to the edge of the bed, already naked himself. You pump him with your hand and he whimpers softly. As you go to get on your knees, you bump into him trying to do the same thing. You both laugh a little.

"There's a way to do this at the same time. C'mere, baby." He sits on the floor and leans back against the low bed. "Put your legs on either side of my head and then lean forward."

You nod, visualizing what he's describing and climb onto his face. You lean forward with your hands on the floor and he hooks his arms around your thighs to hold you in place. He buries his face in your pussy and starts to move his tongue on your clit. You shudder a bit and then take his cock into your mouth, moving up and down slowly. Trembling with pleasure, you try to focus on licking up and down his shaft, pulling him into your throat deeply and then moving back and forth.

"Goddamn, baby, that's so good." He moans into your clit as he licks over and around it. You groan as you continue to slide his dick in and out of your mouth, your orgasm fast approaching. He whispers again. "Cum baby. Let go and cum."

He licks you furiously with his whole mouth, sucking lightly on your sensitive button and then tightening his tongue to lick over it, hard. You have to stop what you're doing as your climax hits you, rushing from your fingertips to the ends of your toes and back again like a lightning bolt. He continues to tongue you through your release until your legs shake and you fear you might fall over off of him. Instead, he guides you into his lap, facing away from him as you straddle his cock. You sink down onto him, letting him fill you inch by inch. He holds your hips and lets you bounce on him fervently.

"Honey, this view... don't stop." He watches your ass as you slide up and down on him.

"Do you like it, baby?" You coo from your position on his lap.

"Goddamn, yes I do. But I wanna kiss you." You back off of him and turn around to face him. He pulls you into a deep kiss, exploring your mouth with his tongue as he guides you back down onto his lap. You push his dick up into you and begin to grind on him, forcing him deeper and deeper. He groans loudly and leans his head back against the bed. You lean forward and kiss his neck and he grunts. "You sure know how to drive a man crazy, honey."

"Just you, baby." You mumble into his neck.

He wraps his arms around your waist as you move on him, leaning forward to pull your nipple into his mouth. He grunts again and you feel him tense underneath you.

"Come on, baby. Cum for me." You whisper in his ear and he groans as you nibble his earlobe.

"Fuck, I'm gonna-" His hips buck up into you as he explodes and you feel his warm release fill you up. He shudders and pumps into you weakly a couple more times, his head on your shoulder. Finally, he pulls back and cups your face in his hand. "You're incredible. Absolutely amazing. And I- well, I-I..."

You look up at him expectantly.

"You...?"

"Nothing. It's not important." You nod and lean your head on his shoulder.

"I'm so tired. It's been a wild few days."

"I'm sure it has. Come on." He moves from the floor to the center of the bed. "Lemme hold you? Please?"

You crawl into his arms and relax against him, your fingers playing in his chest hair.

"Will you stay here with me tonight?"

"I shouldn't." He looks away from you and loosens his arms around you. You start to pull away.

"I understand-"

"To hell with it." He cuddles closely against you again, letting your skin touch in a way that's both intimate and comforting. You drift off to sleep in this position, finally able to rest in his arms.

******

You've only been asleep for a few hours when the alarm on his watch goes off to tell you to get up and get ready. There's a bathroom in your room, so you make your way towards the shower. To your surprise, Elvis follows you.

"What are you doing?" You smile slyly up at him. You're both still naked from your late night activities.

"Figured we'd save some water and time and just shower together." He leans down and kisses your shoulder.

"It'll save water, but I'm not sure how much time." He laughs.

"Really, we don't have time for anything. I just want to stay with you as much as possible." He doesn't say it, but he knows the end of the mission will mean the end of his time with you and he's not ready for it. The way he feels about you is unlike anything he's ever felt for any woman he's ever encountered before. He's in love with you. There's no other way to describe it.

Your heart swells with his words and you turn and nuzzle into his neck, wrapping your arms around him as he starts the shower. You don't have sex, but pressing your bodies together as the warm water runs over you is as intimate as anything else you've done. And he kisses you all over: on your shoulders, your fingertips, your forehead, your lips, everywhere. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was trying to memorize you with his mouth. You run your hands up and down his body and feel the scars on his skin. Every time you reach a new one, he whispers the injury.

"Knife fight in Beirut. Knife fight in Ukraine. Gunshot in Afghanistan. Stabbing in Mali. Gunshot in Iraq."

"So much hurt." You whisper, kissing the last scar on his shoulder.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." He looks down into your eyes and his blue ones are soft and filled with something that makes your heart pound. It's only been a few days, yes, but you love him more than you've ever loved any man. Could it be that he loves you too?

He leans in and kisses you deeply and there's a pounding on your door.

"Ten minutes, you two." It's West again. You're getting very tired of hearing his voice. Elvis groans and turns the shower off. Once you're out, you get ready quickly, pulling on the outfit the Colonel gave you yesterday and braiding your hair tightly to keep it out of your face. Elvis has on a similar all-black outfit with weapons tucked in various places. The last thing he does is slide on some sunglasses and pull you into a kiss. He's never nervous before missions, but this time he is. He has too much to lose.

******

Before you know it, you have an earpiece with the Colonel's and Agent West's voices in it, telling how to execute the mission and you're being dropped on the roof of a building from a helicopter in the dark. Elvis skillfully guides you through the process and you find a hiding place to sit in while security comes to check out why there was a helicopter. As they file onto the roof, Elvis grabs the door and the two of you head into the building unseen.

"You need to go down two floors to the main computer." West is your navigator through the building and you are infinitely annoyed at his voice in your ear. Elvis nods to you. He has the same earpiece.

"Two floors, Angel, we can do this." You're not sure if he's using your code name or an endearment, but either way you follow him.

He gives you cover as you make your way through the building. Several times, you're stopped by security in the hallway, but Elvis puts them down with his hands or a single silenced gunshot. You hate to admit it, but you're getting used to watching people die.

Eventually, you find the room with the computer you've been looking for. There's not much to it and you're surprised that it just seems to be someone's office. Elvis stands at the door with his gun drawn.

"Do your thing, honey." You nod and walk to the computer. You begin the process of hacking into the system to access the mainframe and be able to plant the Colonel's virus. At one point you get stuck and ask the Colonel a question. He answers smoothly and something inside you sends up a red flag. How does he know the answer? It must be from research about their system. Still, it doesn't sit well with you. That should've confused him too. You look up at Elvis and he raises his eyebrows.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just... nothing." You go back to working on the computer. He hears West's voice in his ear.

"Agent Presley. We've cut off Angel's earpiece. New information has come to us about your partner. She's not working for us. She's a sleeper agent for the enemy. As soon as she gets to the mainframe, she will turn and kill you. You need to put her down first and then plant the virus." His heart stops and his blood runs cold. He turns to the door and whispers.

"What?! That doesn't make any sense! Why would she help us?"

"She's a spy, Elvis. Her mission was to infiltrate Guardian, which she has successfully done. She will pretend to plant the virus, turn and kill you, and then make up some excuse. She's probably already signaled security so that you'll be killed in a crossfire."

"She wouldn't. She's not... we..."

"You think any of that was real? She's been playing on your vulnerability since the beginning. Listen. Do you hear security coming?" He listens and hears boots outside the door. He looks up at you with a mixture of shock, betrayal, and pain. It can't be true. He thinks of that first night in your apartment, how you almost fainted at the sight of blood. But then you didn't. The crying at the safe house to get him to come to you. Was it a ploy to make yourself seem innocent? And in the shower when you touched yourself. That would be an effective seduction tactic. All of a sudden every moment you've had together is tinged with suspicion.

Has it all been part of your mission?

His hand shakes as he raises his gun to point at you. You're engrossed in what you're doing and don't even notice. He could kill you easily.

"Put her down, Agent Presley." He cocks the gun and the sound gets your attention.

"Elvis! What the fuck are you doing?" Your voice is frantic and you raise your hands. Has he been one of the bad guys all along? No, he's killed so many of them, there's no way. But maybe he's been trying to get you to this point the whole time: seducing you, making you trust him, making you love him, all for this moment. The tears slide down your face at the thought that it's all been a lie.

He sees you cry and his heart breaks. Surely, you can't be the enemy. But this could be a tactic too. He steadies his shaking hands and moves the gun to pointing at your forehead.

"Pull the trigger, Presley." It's West again.

"It's the only way, my boy. If you want to live." Now the Colonel is telling him to kill you and he trusts that man far more than Agent West.

"Elvis, please!" Your crying is becoming hysterical as you realize how cold he seems pointing the gun at your head.

"Do it. Now."

Elvis takes a deep breath and moves his finger to the trigger. He's never disobeyed an order before. You scream one last time as he takes a step towards you.

"Elvis!"

**bang**

******

Until Part 3!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @tacozebra051 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @louisejoy86 @rjmartin11 @from-memphis-with-love @deltafalax @atleastpleasetelephone @cinnamoroll-things @burnthheparaphilia @jhoneybees @cattcb

[dragon-kazansky]

Heart of the Dreaming

Morpheus x Female Reader

Soulmate AU

You are the daughter of Rodrick Burgess. You find out about the "demon" in the basement and decide you want to see it. Things take an unexpected turn when your soulmate connection is made with the man you find down there. You are the one he has been waiting for, and you're being taken away from. Not for long. Dream will protect his soulmate.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Chapter Thirteen - Make it count

☆☆☆

When you next awoke, you felt well rested. Without Dream, you were certain you would have seen the Corianthian again. You were worried about what he wanted, and what he was capable of doing.

You rose from your bed and got changed into some comfortable clothes. As you opened your door to leave, Dream was standing there with his hand raised to knock. You both looked as startled as the other.

"How did you sleep?" He asked instantly, lowering his hand.

"Good. Thank you."

His lips break out into a small smile. "You're welcome. Always."

"I, uh, I was coming to see you."

"As was I coming to see you," he chuckles softly. The sound sends a tingle down your spine. He has a very pleasant chuckle.

"Well, I was thinking..."

"Yes?"

You sigh and try to find the words you want to use. Would he be upset with you? "Well, I was thinking, maybe, I could be used as bait for the Corianthian. See, it's this power he's after, and even though it's not your full power, he clearly thinks it's enough to use against you, and, well, if I go and pretend I'm on his side or whatever, we can lure him out and capture him."

Dream was taken back by your idea.

"No."

"What?"

"No. I cannot risk anything happening to you." He is absolute with his words. He won't risk losing you.

"You have to let me help."

"No. I was coming here and to tell you I'm going after him alone. You will be safe here. Should anything happen to me, I've taken precautions to keep you safe."

"I didn't ask you to do that." You frown at him.

"No. You didn't. I did it anyway."

You want to tell at him for being foolish, but you can't bring yourself to do it. He's trying to keep you safe.

"You need me," you say softly.

"I'll manage."

You hate that. You hate that he's going to out there without you. If you're there, he isn't at full strength. He can't possibly expect to do anything.

"Please," you beg.

"I can't let you."

There was something about the tone of his voice that hit you. He wasn't doing this to displease you. He was asking in his own way for you to stay safe.

"Okay..."

You back down. For now.

Dream hesitates to reach out and touch you. You can see his fingers twitch at his side. You do the only thing you can think to do and reach out, taking his hand. You bring it to your face and let him touch you softly.

Dream looks at you in awe. His thumb brushes along your cheek in a light touch. You feel warm.

"If I return, may we discuss our future?" He asks hopefully.

"When you return. Yes."

He smiles softly. Perhaps he can win you over after all. He caresses your cheek for a little while before dropping his hand. He looks at you, committing you to memory. He wants your face to be the only thing he thinks about.

He then leaves.

You watch him disappear down the hall and round the corner. You sigh softly. You then wait several minutes. Then you go. Down the hall, round the corner, and into the library.

Lucienne looks up when you enter and seems surprised to see you. She stands up and bows her head slightly. You feel strange being bowed to. You're not Dream. You're not a ruler.

"My lady."

You feel strange hearing that, too.

"Tell me how to get to where Dream has gone."

Lucienne hesitates. She swore to watch over you while he was gone. "I don't think that a good idea."

"Please."

The librarian can see the desperation in your eyes and hear the plead in your tone. You're worried about him. She's worried about him. If dealing with the Corianthian wasn't so dangerous, she would possibly find this endeavor almost romantic.

"There's a gateway you could use..."

"Show me."

Lucienne adjusts her glasses and then looks up at the bookshelf where Matthew is perched. He understands immediately and flies down to the table in front of you.

"Follow me." He caws.

You look at Lucienne. "Thank you."

"Stay safe," she replies.

You follow Matthew out the library and down a couple of halls. He brings you to a lone door in the middle of one hall, and you go inside. There's a tall mirror standing on its own in this room. Matthew lands on top of it.

"You can pass through here, but it's kind of a one-way thing. You'll need Dream in order to come back here," Matthew explains.

"Thank you, Matthew. I intend to return with him. He needs me."

Matthew caws. "Yeah, we know."

You chuckle softly and look at the mirror. It looks unsuspecting. Just a mirror. Your reflection looks quite ordinary, but when you reach out and touch the glass, your hand passes through. Your reflection begins to ripple. You walk slowly through the mirror.

☆☆☆

Dream walks with his hands in his coat pockets. His eyes are focused straight ahead. His mind is full of thoughts of you.

The Corianthian will not get away a third time. Dream will end this today, even if it destroys him.

He knew he needed to catch the Corianthian at some point, but him appearing in your dreams was the final straw. Dream can't let him roam any further.

He walks towar this destination. A hotel. Many mortals are gathering here. Dream looks around as he stands in the parking lot. Something felt very wrong about this place.

He enters the building.

In the trees opposite the hotel, Matthew lands on a branch and looks down, seeing Dream enter the building. Lucienne had asked him to come and keep an eye on things and to return to her if things turned sour. Matthew turns his head toward the entrance of the parking lot and waits for you to appear.

Dream walks through the lobby of the hotel and sees people queuing at the desk. He walks right past them. There's an outside area and then hall down to the left. It seems people need a pass to get down there.

He waits. Two people approach the table and sign in. Dream stands behind them a few steps, and as they turn to go down the hall, he simply slips past beside them. The man at the table is too occupied with other guests to notice him.

He walks down the long hall and passes several conference rooms. Each room is labelled differently. Dream comes to stand in the doorway of one. The people at the table have strange nicknames and they're saying strange things.

It clicks in his mind.

These people are some of the worst of the worst. These people kill others. The murdering. The slaughtering. The disgusting "art" they think they're providing.

The Corianthian was definitely here.

At the end of the hallway is a large assembly room. Much bigger than the others. A podium is set up at the front of the room, and many chairs have been set up to face it.

Voice and footsteps flood the hall outside the room, and Dream tucks himself up against the wall as people start to flood in. He watches as they walk past him, talking and laughing. Each of them finds a seat in this vast hall.

Dream watches from the back.

The first ten minutes of whatever this is just talking from the organisers of the event. Dream doesn't care for specifics. He knows who these people are, what they do, what they Dream about.

It's when they mention a special guest that Dream perks back up. From a side door enters the Corianthian, and Dream watches him closely. The Corianthian walks up on stage, shakes hands, and then takes the podium.

He talks about dreams. Their dreams. Their potential. It makes Morpheus sick to think about his gift being abused by one of his own creations. At least you're safe and away from here.

The Corianthian spots Dream lingering in the back and grins.

"Tell you what, all of you close your eyes. Think of what makes you happiest. Focus on that, and soon, you will find it feels so real."

Dream walks down the aisle of chairs and slowly joins the Corianthian up on the stage.

"It's not you I wanted," the Nightmare states.

"She's safe."

"Is she?" He chuckles. "You're here to stop me?"

"Yes."

There's something about the Corianthian's smile that doesn't feel right. Dream should know you're stubborn.

And just like that, Morpheus is afraid.

☆☆☆

You reach the hotel and look up at the tall building. This is where they are? It didn't matter, you supposed. You walk inside. The lobby seems really quiet apart from a few guests and the staff. You walk past the reception desk and wander further into the hotel, going down the hall at the end.

It was quiet. Well, almost. The room at the end seemed to have something going on. You could hear what sounded like a voice. Perhaps some kind of presentation.

You didn't know where else to look and decided to take a peek. You walk over to the door and push it open.

Inside is not what you were expecting, and there was no one insight. You swore you heard a voice earlier, but there was no one here.

This room appeared to be some kind of... basement, perhaps? A bare room with a table in the middle of it. The kind of table you might find in a hospital.

"Well, what do we have here?"

You turn and find yourself facing the Corianthian. Yet there was no sign of Dream. What was going on?

"I knew you would come. Especially if he came after me. You wouldn't let him come alone." He chuckles.

"You hoped this would happen..."

"That's right." He grins.

"Where are we?" You ask, looking around again. Now, there is someone else in the room. A person you don't recognise. She is standing over a body on the table. In her hand is a scalpel.

"Oh, we're in the Dreaming again. These people are dreaming. You're bringing them all here." He chuckles. "All their dreams cam come true."

"I don't understand..."

"You alone were not enough to bring them all here into one dream. I knew I'd need Dream. I knew he would protect you if I was a threat. Now, don't worry. You don't have anything to worry about. We're currently feeding from his power. Soon, you'll be the master of the dream realm."

"What...?"

"I'm using this place to feed his power into you. You can do as you please with the Dreaming once we're rid of him."

"No! Stop it!" You yell.

A couple more people have appeared in the room. They're also doing horrific things with bodies. You're afraid. He's using you to destroy Dream and make these people stronger in their dreams.

"Please stop!"

"No can do, sweetheart." He clicks his tongue casually.

You feel your heart sinking and your breathing becoming rapid. You need to stop him somehow. You need Dream.

You need him here.

"Don't listen to him."

You gasp and turn around quickly. Dream is standing in the doorway nearby, but he looks a little fuzzy. He's not here, but he's projecting an image of himself here. It's probably all he can manage right now.

"Dream?"

"Don't listen to him."

"What do I do?" You ask softly.

The Corianthian stands in front of you both. "Enough of that." Just like that, Dream fades from view. It takes everything in you not to call out for him, but it would be no use.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

☆☆☆

Dream watched the Corianthian enter the Dreaming where he knew you were. You must have followed him to the hote, and the Corianthian had known. He was using what little power you possessed to cypher his own power, weakening him.

You weren't even doing it on purpose. From the waking world, Morpheus could feel your heart breaking. He needed to get through to you. He focused and tried to project himself into the Dreaming.

"Don't listen to him."

He can almost see you. You look afraid. He wants to reach out to comfort you, but he can't. The Corianthian severs his connection to the Dreaming, and you're gone.

His scar begins to throb. Hus rubs it.

He has an idea.

☆☆☆

The Corianthian is manipulating the room around you. He's using your power. He's controlling it. No longer are you in that horrible little room with those horrible people, but now you're outside. The grass is green, and the trees are tall.

It's beautiful.

"This is Fiddler's Green. It's considered the most beautiful spot in all the Dreaming. We're going to draw all that power here." The Corianthian smiles. "Let me show you what we can do."

He takes your hand and waves it gently through the air. A woman appears in front of you. She looks around, confused, startled. She's tall, has dark hair, and is wearing comfortable clothes. She must have been at home.

"What is this? Who are you?" She asks.

"This is lady here is Lyta Hall." The Corianthian chuckles. "Her husband died some time ago. Why don't we bring him back?"

Another wave of your hand, and there's a man standing beside her. You're confused. What is this? What is this power he's using?

The man and woman look at each other.

"Hector?"

"Lyta..."

Lyta reaches out as if to check if he's real. Her palm makes contact with his cheek, and she begins to sob. They wrap their arms around each other and hold each other.

"Lyta's dream was to have a family." The Corianthian tells you. "So let's make that dream come true."

He waves your hands again, and Lyta puls away from Hector to look down. Suddenly, she has a baby bump. You yank your hand away from the Corianthian and put some distance between you both.

"Stop it! Stop all of it!"

Your scar starts to throb. You rub it gently. You're not sure if it's because of him or not that it's doing that. You take a few deep breaths.

"I've had enough. I don't want this. I don't want Dream's power. I just want him here. I want him here with me..." You speak softly. You miss him.

You close your eyes and think about him. Everything he's done for you so far. Everything he's been through. Sure, you didn't want this bond at first. Everything was too much for you to cope with, but now... now you wanted him. You wanted to see his face again. You wanted to hear his voice again.

You wanted him.

A hand reaches out and places itself on your arm. You almost scream as you scurry away. You turn to find the Corianthian hadn't moved from his previous spot. No. You find yourself looking up into familiar blue eyes.

With shake breath, you lunge at Dream and wrap your arms around him. He lets you, wrapping his arms around you. However, he trains his eyes on the Corianthian, watching him carefully.

You cling to his coat. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

Dream tilts his head down and brings lifts you lr face up with his hand gently. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

You look up at him. You're trying not to cry. His thumb brushes your chin gently as he looks at you. You're safe. You're here in his arms.

"This isn't over." The Corianthian says. Once again, he's holding a knife.

"It is." Dream states. He turns to Lyta and Hector, who are holding onto each other and watching everything with confusion and fear. Dream waves his hand in their direction. Hector fades into dust in Lyta's arms. "The dead belong with the dead.'

"You bastard..." Lyta glares at him, tears threatening to fall. Dream does not care. He waves his hand again and Lyta wakes up.

Now it's just the three of you.

"I need to undo him," Dream says. "But I'll need your help to do it."

You look up at him softly. There's only one thing you can think to do. You grab him by the coat and pull him down, kissing him suddenly.

Dream is startled by your actions, but does not attempt to push you away.

You pull away and look up at him.

"Make it count."

Dream realises what you've done. You've given him your portion of the power back through a kiss. He can feel it in his veins. He stares at you in awe.

He raises his gaze to the Corianthian and gestures for you to get behind him. However, you don't let go of his hand. You watch the two.

"You can't stop me this time." Dream tells him. He lifts his hand up toward the Nightmare.

The Corianthian seems emotional. "I am what you made me."

"I didn't make you for this."

"No?"

Dream doesn't respond. He focuses his power on undoing the Corianthian. He had thought the Corianthian had been made perfectly, but it seemed he was full of flaws. Dream would not make that mistake again.

You watch the Corianthian become nothing more than sand and a skull. Dream walks over to the sand pile and picks up the tiny skull, looking at it.

"Next time, I shall do better. I shall not make something so petty." He tucks the skull into his pocket and turns to you again. "Come here."

You look at him and walk over to him slowly. He does not falter his gaze from you. You come to a stop in front of him. Dream slowly reaches out and takes your hand. With a gentle tug he pulls you into his chest.

"You kissed me."

"I did..."

"Do it again."

You state at him in surprise. Was he serious? When you continue to just stare at him, he chuckles and makes the move himself. He brings his lips to yours and kisses you softly.

You feel like you're walking on air.

It's over relatively quickly, but he gently presses his forehead against yours and smiles.

"Let go home."

You smile. "Yeah."

☆☆☆

@deniixlovezelda - @missdreamofendless - @kpopgirlbtssvt - @meganlpie - @thoughtsfromlayla - @ladyjbrekker

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@permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 - @hopshusushi - @sloppyzengarden - @thecraziestcrayon -

[wobblesthecowgirl]

Could you do Arthur with a rich reader?

Lady and The Tramp

Arthur x fem Rich Reader

Thank you for the request, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! I'm loving getting requests and I'll try and get through them best I can!

⋆｡‧˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚‧｡⋆

The way you met was definitely an odd one.

Dutch had sent Arthur to a massive mansion in the outskirts of Saint Denis that belonged to a famous lawyer. The idea was to watch the house until he knew who was there, and sneak in when they left for their often business trips.

Trelawny had informed him before he left that the place consisted of a man, woman, and a son. Easy enough, Arthur thought as he made his way to the place in the dead of night. The lights were off and Arthur watched the family of three leave for the night in a hush, to not alert people like him.

He snuck to the back of the building and looked for any type of opening, before he spotted a slightly cracked open window on the second floor. He grinned at how stupid these rich people were, before using a pipe to scale the wall. He then pulled the window open some more and squeezed himself inside with a grunt.

He got up and closed the window again, but as he did so, he heard a gun cocking and froze.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds to climb back out of that window, or I'm shooting you in the head, you disgusting outlaw." The voice was silky and upper-class sounding, but there was a sharp aggression to it too. Arthur raised his hands up in defence and slowly turned around to get a better look.

She was gorgeous.

The moonlight lit up her face, that was clean and looked after. Her eyes were narrowed at him, her neat eyebrows furrowed. Her hair had in little rollers, and she wore a night dress. Arthur would be lying if he didn't find her the most attractive woman he had ever seen.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't think anyone was in."

This only made the woman point the gun to his chest further as she spat, "so? You're trying to rob my sister. You better get out of here right now."

He nodded understandingly, trying his best not to get shot, and he reached for the window handle and opened it wide, slowly climbing out. Before he climbed down the pipe, he looked at her - who was still pointing the gun at him - and apologised, "I'm sorry about this. I was just following orders. You ain't gotta worry about me coming back."

And with that, he took off, leaving the riches behind, much to Dutch's dismay, and leaving the woman behind, much to his dismay.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

You had spotted him around Saint Denis multiple times after that, without him realising. When you first saw him walking into the barbers shop, your heart dropped and you began to panic. But then he was just, getting his hair done, and trotting along with his horse back out the city. Sometimes he would come in with friends, going to the saloon, going to the tailors, just being a normal person. Despite him looking out of place with his clothes and demeanor, he wasn't acting like a criminal. But he did try to rob my family.

Then, your sister was murdered. You didn't know who did it, but the reason was clear: you had money, and they wanted it. You reported it to the law and they found out it was another rich man getting rid of the competition, but they refused to do anything about it. This man had a lot of money, he could pay off the law so easily. You had no justice. Then, an idea popped into your head: you could ask him.

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Arthur was surprised when you tapped him on the shoulder. You were in a beautiful dress, expensive earrings , and your hair neatly put up to frame your face nicely. He worried you was about to rat him out to the law or something, but he saw your eyes were filled with pleading worry.

"Hello. Please don't worry, I'm not here to threaten you again," She began, "but I need your help, Mister."

"You're askin' me?" He asked in surprise, looking around; they were stood in the middle of a busy street. She nodded her head and invited him to go back to hers, where she could explain the situation.

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He sat on her comfortable chair, a cup of coffee she had made for him in his large hands. She sat across from him, and even her posture was perfect, the way she drank her coffee was proper. He felt like a filthy animal next to her.

"Let's start with your name." She stated, as he nodded his head.

"Arthur Morgan." He didn't know what else to say.

"I'm Y/n L/n. I'm sorry for the weird circumstance, but I truly need help and I feel you are best fitted for the job. I will pay you if you help." She insisted. That's when Arthur realised he was about to agree to help her before she even offered money, he didn't even think about what he usually does. That's when she began to explain the situation.

"Don't you worry yourself, Princess. I'll make sure he pays for what he did to your family."

And that he did. The man who killed your sister was found dead less than twenty four hours after you had asked Arthur, and the law couldn't find who did it. You had payed him a lot, and you assumed that would've been the end of it. He wrote down how you could write to him in case you needed anything else, and you told him you was always at the market on Thursdays.

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Arthur was purposefully bumping into you every Thursday, and you could tell it was on purpose but you still let him act like he didn't mean to. He was bashful, a constant rosy blush on his cheeks, scratching his neck, and looking down at the ground. It was cute, and he was handsome. You both would talk in the market, then it became horse riding together, then drawing together in the meadows. You slowly became his favourite company.

It felt wrong to him. A real princess wanted to be friends with him. He was putting her in danger and he knew it.

"Y/n, I worry that our friendship is putting you in danger." He opened up one day as the two of you was sat ontop of a cliff watching the sun set. You titled your head to the side and asked, "why?"

"Well, I'm a criminal. You said it the day we first met. If other outlaws knew I was close with a rich lady, you'd be their first target to get to me."

The two of you went silent for a moment before you muttered quietly, "what if I was no longer just some rich lady?" It was his turn to question what you meant.

"I mean," you started, "what if I left this life behind. Joined you and your family of outlaws."

His eyes widened as he shook his head rapidly.

"No! Why on earth would you do that, Princess? You have a wonderful life ahead of you, you have the money, the rich suitors, a comfortable happy life. Don't throw that all away for me. I ain't worth that."

"But you are!" You blurted out, embarrassed by how improper you sounded. It didn't stop you though, "you mean so much to me, Arthur! And I don't care of your status, none of that has ever mattered to me! Just because I'm rich doesn't mean I'm free. It's not my money, it's the man of the household! I just sit and look pretty, being told who to marry, what to say, how to please people." Tears were forming in your eyes and you hung your head down.

"You're the only man in my life that accepts me for me. You look past the money, past the fancy clothes. You see me." You could feel his hand rubbing circles on your back, and instantly relaxed under his touch.

"If that's what you wanna do. I won't stop you."

You snapped your head up to see him smiling gently at you.

"I worry about you sure. But I won't pass up an opportunity to see your beautiful face every day."

There it was, another compliment. Another helping hand. Another gentle smile. You didn't realise you were looking at his lips, or that he was inching closer to you. It was only when your lips connected did you feel more awake. It was like an electric shock, his lips locked perfectly into yours like a missing puzzle piece. When he pulled away, his cheeks were flushed and you could only imagine yours were too.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me-" He stuttered an apology but was cut off when you pulled him back in.

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After that, Arthur had asked you to be his. You didn't even let him finish when you said yes. You went back home, packed your stuff and a lot of money, before sneaking off with Arthur to his camp. You donated the majority of the money to camp, so Dutch instantly liked your presence, and the rest of them welcomed you with opened arms.

Despite you having the money before, Arthur would spoil you with new clothes and little trinkets. You both would cuddle together next to the fire and he even taught you how to fish and shoot a gun. He would never admit it in front of others, but he would kiss the ground you walk on. He loved you, and kept you safe forever.

[danieyells]

hi there,

thank you so much for all the voicelines you post !! if it’s okay, can i request subaru’s ?

thank you again !

You're welcome! At some point I might go back and put in the ones I leave out because they don't appeal to me as much lol but since i always end up posting 99% of them anyway I think it's enough for most people hahaha.

I WAS GONNA OMIT ONE OR TWO BECAUSE OF SPOILERS but eh i'll just warm for like. extra spoilers. since after doing more code peeking it wasn't the spoiler i thought it was. SUBARU IS A SWEETIE THOUGH. I also read Subaru's chats which were put in the code recently and. Man this guy needs anxiety meds. I have a small guess as to what his stigma is, but we'll learn in a few days anyway.

You've Got Mail:

"It looks like there's a notice for you. I'd be happy to go pick it up for you if you've got your hands full. Oh, forgive me if I'm overstepping."

oh no he's anxious about helping--

Default(no affinity):

"I really am so lucky to be surrounded by so many kind people like you."

"I never thought I'd get the chance to enjoy the lifestyle of a student until I came to Darkwick. Every day truly is fulfilling here."

it feels like subaru is like. . .the only one who actually enjoys school life here. . .or who really enjoys being here period lmao. . . .

"You think I'm always smiling? Ha ha, I hear that a lot. It just happens when I'm around all of you."

"I may be the captain, but it's just in name. I think Haku is much better suited for the job than me."

"I've been working since I was four, so people often said I was mature for my age. But the truth is, I've still got a lot to learn."

that makes two characters whose parents have essentially been keeping them from normal life and normal childhood for work reasons since they were four year olds. . . .

Affinity 1:

"I tend to just have hot water for breakfast. I know it would be better for me to eat a proper meal, but it's just so much effort."

DO WE REALLY HAVE TO START WITH "I NEED THE GHOULS TO EAT PROPER FUCKIN MEALS". . . .

Affinity 2:

"I'm sorry I'm so late. The campus is so crowded I can never manage to walk in a straight line, so it always takes me longer than I think. Silly, isn't it?"

baby you're hardly the first person i've met with anxiety about crowds. you're fine.

Affinity 3:

"What would I do without Haku's help? Hotarubi would be a mess without him."

Affinity 6:

"Ever since I was a child, the performing arts were my only focus. Maybe that's why people always say my mannerisms are so peculiar. It bothers you too, doesn't it?"

poor boy doesn't know how to act if he isn't acting. . .he doesn't know how to exist off-script. . .no wonder he made a deal with a demon. it's probably the first thing he's ever done for himself.

Affinity 7:

"I'd like to go to the cafeteria, but the line is always so long. I feel bad taking time to choose while people are waiting behind me. The bar of entry feels a little high."

i am once again suggesting subaru get anxiety meds. hell go to sinnostra and get some weed, i bet they sell that. i hear it can help.

Affinity 8:

"I'm just about to go and meet a friend. I hate to inconvenience you like this, but if it's something urgent, could you speak to Haku about it instead?"

Affinity 9:

"What am I going to do? We're supposed to be meeting up in an hour... If I cancel now, they'll hate me..."

Affinity 10:

"Whew... I'll walk you back to your house, FirstName. Oh, it's no problem at all, I assure you! I wanted some fresh air anyway."

Affinity 11:

"I have an Anomalous Ecology test coming up. It's such a fascinating subject, I couldn't help but stay up all night studying. Now I'm a little sleep-deprived."

Affinity 12:

"I'm going to stretch my legs a little. I might not have a show to practice for right now, but I need to keep putting myself through my paces. I'll get rusty otherwise."

Affinity 13:

"I'm sorry my phone's been making so much noise. I recently downloaded an app by mistake, and it won't stop sending me notifications..."

awww he's also technologically incompetent. . .poor guy was probably raised with such a heavy focus on his career he just. never needed a smartphone. anyone he needed to contact or who needed to contact him was probably always very close by. it sounds like he didn't even properly go to school before going to Darkwick. Somebody please take this boy on a walk. like anywhere. take him to a library. buy him a churro. can sho make churros? this is somebody who's never had any sort of normal social experience and sees how different he is and wishes it weren't the case, unlike Ritsu who assumes everyone else is like him, i think he'd like to have some more Experiences.

Affinity 14:

"... ...Oh! Hello, FirstName—I didn't even notice you there. My mind was somewhere else."

Affinity 15:

"Good morning! Sorry? My hair's messy? You're right, it's sticking right up at the front... That's embarrassing. I'll fix it right away."

Affinity 16:

"I usually have lunch in the dormitory. I do eat on the terrace with Lyca every now and then, but he seems so busy these days..."

Lyca is one of the members of Obscuary, btw! Seems like he and Subaru are friends.

Affinity 17:

"I didn't take you for a night owl, FirstName. Since you're here, I suppose I'll stay up a little longer. You're sure you're okay? You're not sleepy?"

Affinity 18:

"Do you visit Sinostra very often, {PC}? I see... Oh, no reason. I was just making conversation. Ha ha."

why do you ask that. . .a certain mafioso captain wouldn't happen to be suspicious of you would he. . .or maybe you owe them money. . .or maybe you used to be part of Sinostra and moved to Hotarubi. . . .

Affinity 20:

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to come all the way to my room to wake me up—I'd feel terrible. I do very much appreciate the thought, though."

it's okay buddy jin already makes them do it, one more pit stop won't hurt.

Affinity 22:

"Lyca has seen my message, so why hasn't he responded to it? I hope nothing bad has happened to him..."

Affinity 23:

"Lyca will adapt well to human society, I'm sure of it. I'm so relieved that Darkwick chose to trust him. I can't thank you enough for your help."

he really likes Lyca huh? that is his dog.

Affinity 24:

"You can't sleep? Then let me tell you some stories. Legend has it that evil spirits appear once you've told a hundred. Now, what number was I up to..."

BOY IS TRYNA GET YOUR ASS HAUNTED.

Affinity 25(max):

"I don't want to seem like I'm testing you, I just... I get really anxious sometimes... I'm sorry. I'm being weird, aren't I?"

he's the type to ask 'are you sure you love me? are you sure you wanna be with me?' after you get married and move in together and own a house and have two kids with another on the way. he's the hyper anxious 'i'm sorry we disagreed about our favorite colors do you hate me?' friend(affectionate)

Spring:

"There is no time like spring. Everyone seems more relaxed this time of year. It's reassuring to see."

"They have no control over whether they bloom, and yet they get made a spectacle of nonetheless... Oh, sorry—I was talking about the cherry blossoms."

"There are many different flowers growing in Hotarubi, but I think the wisteria are my favorites. This is the best time to see them, so you should take a walk around."

Summer:

"Hot today, isn't it? It's always raining in Hotarubi, so it does provide a little escape from the blazing summer sun, but... Ha ha. It is very humid, isn't it?"

"Summer makes me think of the ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan. The scene where Oiwa becomes hysterical, having realized her her face has been disfigured— incredible."

Yotsuya Kaidan is one of the best known japanese ghost stories! It's extremely violent, so read the summary at your discretion. The scene in question has Oiwa shown her reflection by her sister's boss to see that the cream she was given by a woman who was in love with her husband was actually some sort of poison that instantly scarred her face. She grabs a sword and goes to kill her, only for her to accidentally slit her own throat.

"Hotarubi House holds regular festivals during the summer months. If you need a yukata to wear, I'd be happy to pick one out for you."

"I don't mind scary stories, but when that biwa in the tea room started playing by itself, it did make me jump a little..."

slight spoiler, although you can probably figure it out from this but. . .Zenji is a ghost. Subaru currently can't actually see him or hear his voice. . .only Haku, the pc, and, perhaps not so oddly, Towa can afair. All of his youtube content doesn't have him or his voice in it because he can't be recorded by cameras. So Subaru doesn't realize that the biwa playing on its own is actually Zenji playing the biwa.

Autumn:

"The air has gotten crisper, and the leaves are changing color. I know it's only natural for the seasons to shift, so why does it make my heart ache so much?"

"Oh, these? They're some chestnuts I found. I know—I should give them to Sho. I'm sure he'll be able to make something delicious with them."

"That's another kuchikiri tea ceremony under my belt. It's an annual tradition where one cuts open a tea jar to reveal the tea that was preserved from the first harvest."

Winter:

"...Oh, FirstName. Good morning... I had a hard time getting up today. It must be the cold... Ha ha. Not very captain-like, is it?"

"Today, I'm going to order ingredients from one of my favorite stores so we can all make negima—tuna and scallion—hot pot together. Please, do join us."

"People say winter makes you want to snuggle up with someone, but I find that a good blanket does a much better job."

i agree that blankets are much easier to manage than people lol. probably warmer too.

His birthday:

"A present? For me? Thank you... I didn't expect you to do anything for my birthday, so I'm a little caught off guard. I really appreciate it."

New Years:

"Happy New Year. I hope I can depend on your guidance and support again this year."

Valentine's Day:

"Chocolate? Oh, It's Valentine's Day, isn't it? Does that mean these are for me...?"

nah i just wanted you to look at them. YES THEY ARE FOR YOU BBY. why would you be showing him chocolate if it wasn't for him! On any day, not just valentine's day!!

White Day:

"These are for you, FirstName. I put in a special order for monaka from my favorite confectioner in Ginza. They're wafers filled with bean jam—I hope you like them."

April Fool's Day:

"Earlier, Haku told me he was switching houses. It gave me a real shock— I'm very relieved that it wasn't true..."

i bet subaru made the most scared kicked puppy face and started apologizing for being such an awful captain and blamed himself for that haku would go to a different house and haku had to quickly explain it was just a prank for fear that subaru might burst into tears.

Halloween:

"Happy Halloween. I know it's nothing special, but I've prepared some treats for the occasion. Oh... But you're more than welcome to play a trick instead."

please don't trick him. april fool's day was hard enough for him.

Christmas:

"Merry Christmas. We already have our New Year decorations up in Hotarubi, so it has a real east-meets-west atmosphere now. I hope everyone is okay with it..."

Idle:

"Everyone seems busy at the moment. Maybe I should use this opportunity to tidy the garden..."

"{PC}? Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just worried because you were so quiet..."

Absent:

"You're back... I'm so relieved. I was worried I'd done something to make you feel uncomfortable..."

this man shakes like a chihuahua 24/7. like you can taste the anxiety coming off of him. i love him. he's so pathetic(affectionate). i wanna squeeze his hand reassuringly and tell him everything's gonna be okay. i wanna hug him and pat his head. i wanna take him places so he learns more about the world outside of working. i wanna watch him do schoolwork excitedly because he's never really gone to school before and it's a new and exciting experience. i want him to experience the most mundane aspects of life with wonder.

good boy. yeah. get him anxiety meds /nodnod

[babybells123]

Regarding the original outline + some thoughts on Jon & Sansa… 

This is a long one. Buckle up.

If there is one thing I have picked up on in the ASOIAF fandom, it’s the knee-jerk negative reaction towards any theory/parallel/connection between Jon and Sansa. This was exacerbated by the show, of course but even now - five years later, there is an insane amount of vitriol that my brain is unable to comprehend. And here’s the rub; the infamous 1993 outline is the irony of it all. 

In a fandom that is a-okay with *certain* incest ships (r.e D@enerys x Jon, D@emon x Rh@enyra, Jon x Aria), as well as blatantly pedophilic ships (Sansa x S@ndor, Sansa x Littlefinger, Sansa x Tyrio*), how is Jon x Sansa the worst of them all? I’m going to pin it down to audience engagement with the show, particularly around the later seasons when Jon + Sansa reunite and people began to ‘ship’ them. So many believe that is how the ship took off, and thus it is mere crack - but there are posts tracking back to 2012/2013 theorising the possibility of Jon x Sansa. Was it spurred by the show? Certainly! But it does not take away from the fact that people were making valid arguments and essays before the general fandom was even comprehending a Jon and Sansa reunion on screen. And people were open to discussing/debating it with general civility (a far cry from today). 

I’m 90% certain people weren’t criticising those who began to believe in Jon x Aria when the outline was leaked…(though there were most definitely shippers before). But we never see the same level of vitriol towards Jon x Aria shippers, which is strange. 

In any case, let’s talk about said outline, some of the key points - and how I believe GRRM made the switch from Jon x Aria to Jon x Sansa. I’ll be drawing from GRRM’s past works, interviews, art, and his personal life - as well as other potential literary influences. I'll be linking metas along the way, but without further ado - let's go.

In October 1993, GRRM wrote a pitch outline for a publishing company. It was three pages long and conveyed alongside the first thirteen chapters of AGOT (170 pages). The three paged letter was leaked on twitter in February 2014, though there were multiple aspects parts blacked out. Keep in mind though, this may not be the *only* outline that exists. There are multiple outlines that have never been publicly released (and will likely remain that way). 

But let’s just focus on the 1993 outline, since we’re privy to the details. The thirteen chapters attached to the outline did *not* yet have a Sansa POV, and that’s because in this outline, she wasn’t listed as a key character.

The key characters were; Bran, Jon, Tyrion, D@enerys, and Aria.  

The first thirteen chapters were; Prologue; Bran I, Catelyn I, D@enerys I, Eddard I, Jon I, Catelyn II, Aria I, Bran II, Tyrion I, Jon II, D@enerys II, Eddard II, Tyrion II. 

I’ve seen people claim that Sansa isn’t an important character since she wasn’t listed as a key character, but they conveniently leave out the fact that a) her chapters were not yet written, b)she was given an entirely different more passive storyline in this outline, c) she dies, d) this was far far before GRRM fleshed out his characters entirely - Sansa took on a life of her own and she became her own solid complex character with an arc in 4 out of 5 of the books; 25 chapters. 

In fact, since the books have been published GRRM has regarded Sansa and the Starks as a main character as well;

Collider: In creating this world, did you start out with one family and then branch off into the rest of the world?

GRRM: Well, the Starks are certainly the centre of the story, when it begins. It all begins at Winterfell, with occasional cuts to Daenerys across the ocean, because there was no way I could get her into Winterfell. But, we bring all the characters together at Winterfell, and they’re all there for a while before they start to go their separate ways ... .But, the Starks are the centre of the book and, to a lesser extent, the Lannisters. They are still the major players. 

Collider: When you went into this, did you intentionally take the children, put them in an adult setting and force them to be in very adult and complex situations?

GRRM: Yeah, the children were always at the heart of this. The Stark children, in particular, were always very central. Bran is the first viewpoint character that we meet, and then we meet Jon and Sansa and Arya and the rest of them. It was always my intention to do that.” 

Collider report.

May 2016 - Balticon. 

(…) George said he was “pissed” that the outline was posted in the office building and that someone took photos and shared them. He said it was a letter for him and the publisher only. He was very firm when telling this and it showed on his face.

He then said that he is not good with writing outlines, making book deadlines, and that often in outlines he was “making shit up”, and “characters changed along the way”.

He went straight from talking about the references in the actual books, to the “differences” in the outline from then to now. He did say that he still knows who sits the iron throne and the end game of the main 5, but also included Sansa, but did not give any details (for obvious reasons).

[question if he is still going with the 1991 ending]

“Yes, I mean, I did partly joke when I said I don’t know where I was going. I know the broad strokes, and I’ve known the broad strokes since 1991. I know who’s going to be on the Iron Throne. I know who’s gonna win some of the battles, I know the major characters, who’s gonna die and how they’re gonna die, and who’s gonna get married and all that. The major characters. 

….

“So a lot of the minor characters I’m still discovering along the way. But the mains-”

[question if he knows Arya’s and Jon’s fates]

“Tyrion, Arya, Jon, Sansa, you know, all of the Stark kids, and the major Lannisters, yeah.”

Balticon report:

“Ah, how innocent I was… little did that guy in the picture imagine that he would be spending most of the next two decades in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros with Tyrion, Daenerys, Arya, Sansa, Jon Snow, Bran, and all the rest.”

GRRM's live journal:

So Sansa has clearly developed into an important character from GRRM’s words, and the key-characters argument can cease, because It’s very tiring to dispel that when the characters and story took on a life of its own. (I mean, Jaime was meant to remain a villain, but he was clearly given somewhat of a redemption arc in the main series).

I paraphrased what was written here for this whole section, so go check out the longer post!

The Aria in the original outline: 

*NOTE: I am blacking out her actual names in case the wrong people find this post. None of this anti her, please keep that in mind.*

Five central characters will make it through all three volumes, [...] The five key players are Tyrion Lannister, D@enerys Targaryen, and three of the children of Winterfell, Aria, Bran, and the bastard Jon Snow. 

Joffrey will not be sympathetic and Ned [what appears to say] will be accused of treason, but before he is taken he will help his wife and his daughter Aria escape back to Winterfell.

Tyrion Lannister, meanwhile, will befriend both Sansa and her sister Aria, while growing more and more disenchanted with his own family.

When Winterfell burns, Catelyn Stark will be forced to flee north with her son Bran and her daughter Aria. Wounded by Lannister riders, they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night's Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon's anguish. It will lead to a bitter estrangement between Jon and Bran. 

Aria will be more forgiving ... until she realises, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night's Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Aria throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.

Abandoned by the Night's Watch, Catelyn and her children will find their only hope of safety lies even further north, beyond the Wall, where they fall into the hands of Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall, and get a dreadful glimpse of the inhuman others as they attack the wilding encampment. Bran's magic, Aria's sword Needle, and the savagery of their direwolves will help them survive, but their mother Catelyn will die at the hands of the others.

Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Aria Stark while he's at it. His passion is, alas, unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow

Observations:

Exactly how old is Aria? Is she a warrior princess who cries at songs like her aunt? Does she enjoy/yearn for romance? Is she a stunningly beautiful maiden rivalling that of Cersei? How close were she and Jon? Did they have a good sibling relationship? Or were they distant? Does she look physically different to Jon? Does she have red hair? 

The Sansa of the Original Outline:

‘Each of the contending families will learn it has a member of dubious loyalty in its midst. Sansa Stark, wed to Joffrey Baratheon, will bear him a son, the heir to the throne, and when the crunch comes she will choose her husband and child over her parents and siblings, a choice she will later bitterly rue.’ 

Tyrion Lannister, meanwhile, will befriend both Sansa and her sister Aria, while growing more and more disenchanted with his own family.

Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders. 

More observations:

How old is Sansa? Is she 16? 17? She’s conveyed as a less important character in this outline - why? Queen of the Seven Kingdoms? She dies? Jaime kills her? What is her relationship with Aria like? Are/were they close? Or was Sansa initially meant to be a two-tone villain who betrayed her family? Is she overwhelmingly beautiful? Or is she the plainer sister? 

It’s quite clear that both ASOIAF Aria and ASOIAF Sansa are entirely different characters to their outlined counterparts. 

In the outline, Tyrion sacks and burns Winterfell. In ASOIAF, It’s Theon and later Ramsay who does this. In the outline, it’s Bran, Aria, and Catelyn who go beyond the Wall. In ASOIAF, it’s Bran, Meera, and Jojen (and Hodor). There are a couple of other changes made here, but there seems a pattern where certain acts *still* occur in the main series, they’re just given to different characters (which makes sense, as GRRM grows organically with his characters.)

So, when we take into account the fact of ASOIAF Sansa being considered a main/key character, her marriage to Tyrion, and the possibility of her being the first to reunite with Jon - perhaps GRRM did keep a Stark x Snow romance - but gave it to a different sister. 

In the 2016 Balticon report, GRRM stated he wished that ‘some past things didn’t have such strong foreshadowing and that newer things had stronger foreshadowing.’ You can make a case for J0nrya foreshadowing in the first book, but I’d argue that ACOK/ASOS is where the Jon/Sansa clues and foreshadowing is rife. (and there are certainly Jon/Sansa clues in the first book as well.) 

Now to circle back. The Aria of this outline doesn’t have a personality - none of the characters do, really. We don’t know how old she is. Is she a teenager? Is she close in age to Jon? We know she has her needle, so can infer she is a fighter and spirited, but is there a soft romantic side to her? Does she cry at songs like her aunt Lyanna? Does she yearn for love? Is she immensely beautiful? For a narrative like this? It'd be likely if Jon and Tyrion are fighting to the death over her, sort of like gallant knights fighting each other to win the heart of a fair maiden (very romantic and idealistic, mirroring the songs and the stories).

(This is how I am certainly inferring such a scene would have gone).

The ASOIAF Aria we know and love took on a life of her own. She’s described as plain looking (some envision her to be more beautiful than characters like D@ny, Cersei, and Sansa though). - But just quickly on that matter, Aria is indeed compared to Lyanna in looks and spirit, though Lyanna’s beauty was described as wild and implied as non-conventional; different perspectives have different opinions on her. For example, Cersei, Jaime, Devan, the Maester who wrote the WOIAF don’t consider her anything special. Whereas Ned, Robert, and Rhaegar do. So it’s one of those instances where you aren’t exactly sure. In any case, Aria's looks aren't a driving factor in her arc, and I don’t see ASOIAF Tyrion (as creepy as he is) suddenly falling in love with her due to mere attraction because presently, Aria is all knobbly knees and elbows, stick thin, a child, not a maiden, who will still be a pre-teen at the end of the series, if there is no massive time jump.

SHE'S JUST A BABY.

But then, Tyrion did lust after Sansa, so there’s that… however ….

Sansa’s beauty is a driving force in her narrative arc. She is objectified for her beauty. Preyed upon because of her beauty; in many ways it causes her to suffer. It’s largely why LF is grossly infatuated with her - she’s beautiful like Catelyn. Tyrion is attracted to Sansa and wishes to bed her, the H0und intends to rape her during the Blackwater battle, he also comments on her breasts growing, Joffrey sexually humiliates her in court, Ser Dontos has a pervy infatuation with her, Cersei despises Sansa because she is younger, more beautiful etc which she views as a threat.

So, beauty is pertinent to Sansa’s narrative, and it isn’t vain or shallow to say so because it’s a large part as to why she suffers. And her physical beauty is meant to compliment her indulgence in romantic idealism; knights, chivalry, courtly love, beautiful appearances thus equating to good people. It also contributes to perceptions of Sansa; nothing more than a pretty, stupid girl with naive dreams. 

So back to ASOIAF Aria: Her arc largely surrounds nature & nature, mercy, war trauma and survival, friendship, belonging, and family. For the majority of the story, she is a traumatised 10 year old travelling through a war torn country, witness to awful horrors, forced to assume multiple identities, until she goes to Braavos and begins her faceless man arc. But this is obviously not her endgame - she is going to go home eventually, that is quite clear.

You can argue she had a little crush on Gendry (as a 10 year old would) (and perhaps something may happen with him when she is older, I think GRRM has played with it.) But other than that, romance is not a central part of Aria's arc insofar. For outline Aria it was, but current ASOIAF Aria is on a completely different tangent all together.

(and that poor poor child is suffering immensely while this is all occurring).  Currently, she has no time for/interest in it. She hasn’t been involved in betrothals/marriages, or had men lusting after her (save ‘Mercy’ and people men making brutalising sexual comments towards her). She disguises herself as a boy for a good chunk of the story as it is safer to travel.

No, I’m not trying to reduce any sexual trauma/objectification she suffers, she’s a little girl for heaven’s sake - I’m merely stating that what she is going through is in some ways similar and different to what Sansa is going through. (Who currently is in a in a very Lolita type situation with LF and men sexually intimidating/abusing her has been a key part of her arc - as I said, she suffers significantly due to her beauty. She is something to possess, she isn't real or tangible, she is a beautiful maid with a vast claim to the North.)

Anyway, ASOIAF Aria finds songs and romance ‘stupid.’ 

“Sansa would have shed a tear for true love, but Arya just thought it was stupid.” (Arya VIII ASOS) 

 (but that doesn’t mean she won’t encounter it later in life, it just means that at this point of the story, she isn’t interested/likely won't encounter some epic grand romance that outline Aria was likely destined for. (And she’s 11 for god’s sake!).

‘But Sansa was dreaming of love at that age!’

Sansa has been a romantic idealistic dreamer since she was a little girl. She adored those stories and is the literal embodiment of the mediaeval pre-raphaelite maiden depicted in art. It’s central to her story arc, to her qualities, and how she functions/copes with things around her. “Life is not a song.” Is so fundamental to that.

So to reiterate ASOIAF Aria is a completely different character to outline Aria- for all we know OG Aria was 15 years old, very beautiful to the point of men duelling over her, (just as depicted in art above) likely a romantic heroine, had consistent memory lapses that would cause her to “realise in terror, she had fallen for Jon,” and based off of GRRM’s past works - was probably a redhead. 

“But OG Aria has a sword named needle!”

Indeed, but as I stated, we don’t know anything else about her beyond that. Many have theorised that D@ny and Jon are the epic romance of the series, but it’s clear from this particular outline that GRRM intended for it to be Aria and Jon as the epic major romance of the series. That would mean Aria would have to be a somewhat romantically-inclined character, for this development to appear natural and not forced. Based on her current ASOIAF arc, it doesn’t track for her character to make a sudden 180. Her softness and vulnerable moments come from thinking of her family and home. Insofar, this isn’t equated to yearning for love, romance, children, as Sansa has done from the beginning of the series.

Now, we know GRRM is a self-proclaimed romantic, and ASOIAF Sansa exists very much as a deconstruction of romanticism. 

“He said he is a romantic, in the classical sense. He said the trouble with being a romantic is that from a very early age you keep having your face smashed into the harshness of reality. That things aren’t always fair, bad things happen to good people, etc. he said it’s a realistic world, so romantics are burned quite often. This theme of romantic idealism conflicting with harsh reality is something he finds very dramatic and compelling, and he weaves it into his work.” (2005 interview).

Sansa is arguably, the embodiment of this dismantling. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that love isn’t real, or that it doesn’t deserve to exist in a gritty world such as Westeros. There were many couples who had good, happy marriages, even after war and loss and trauma. For example, apart from the Jon Snow situation, Ned and Catelyn had a remarkably healthy relationship. So it is possible - the takeaway from the series is not that hoping is meaningless, dreams are meaningless, love is meaningless. More so that it is complicated, and it must coexist alongside all the chaos in order to achieve a sort of

equilibrium. A literal ‘Dream of Spring’ a hope for happiness, rather than happiness itself. It tracks with the bittersweet conclusion to the series ; it is a grimdark story, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be a grimdark ending where everyone good and noble dies and wishes/dreams/innate desires remain unfulfilled. 

In fact, I argue that a lot of them will come true - but at what cost? It’ll be at the cost of loss and grief, of suffering upon suffering, but what’s inherently more powerful, what’s more subversive is having those characters persist and rebuild, regenerate, create a new world where love and chaos undoubtedly exist alongside each other, but just because there is chaos, that does not mean the love is miniscule or cancels out entirely. 

Because if all these characters have the most unsatisfying, awful conclusions known to man, well - what was the point of everything? What was the point of their journeys? This isn’t a nihilistic story, and it won’t have a nihilistic ending like everyone assumes. It’s far more difficult for an author to craft such an ending, balancing things out whilst acknowledging all the loss and still holding out hope for a better future to come. That brighter days will arrive. That winter will end, and spring will be on the horizon.

“We may lose our heads, it’s true. But what if we prevail?” (Davos I ADWD). 

And that right there, sums it up perfectly. 

So you need characters like Sansa, characters like Brienne, D@ny, (you know what let’s just add all the Stark children of the series to the list, because every single character arc is about remaining resilient and prevailing in some way or another). 

But it’s Sansa who exists as the meta character that embodies/indulges in all those romantic ideals that GRRM is intent on exploring - it thus makes perfect sense for it to be her that experiences the romance arc. Many people think she’ll end up with the H0und, or Harry the douchebag, because it’s a part of her growing up, maturing, learning from her negative biases etc etc but she shouldn’t have to be with abusive or douchy men to learn that. She’s already learned and suffered enough. 

“It is my claim they want. No one will ever marry me for love.”

And how utterly heartbreaking that she has resigned to think this, with her arc only mid-way. But importantly, just a few chapters later she enters the garden of undisputed beauty and equates the snow landing on her face with romantic kisses, she dreams of innocence and winterfell, despite lamenting how she doesn’t belong in such a pure world, she steps out into it all the same. And she builds her home in the snow, content and for once - she’s the child she is, the child she is yearning to be.

So Sansa falling in love with Jon makes sense on a characteristic level. It’s something she never would have considered as a sheltered child, not just because he’s her bastard half brother but because he just didn’t exist in her idea of how the world works. He didn’t fit in with her idea of knights, and courtly love and chivalry. He wasn’t a gallant golden prince, he was dark, sulky and brooding. He existed on the parameters of her life, and she was comfortable with that distant association - but she still loved him, and he her. 

Falling in love with Jon would equate to a dismantling of these previous prejudices  she held; he’s utterly unconventional, the opposite of what she has shown attraction to (despite her first ‘love’ being Waymar Royce, who resembles Jon strikingly). The man she never really considered beyond courtesy and some scarce, fond memories - to be the one who restores her faith in men, in love, in dreams. 

“Realising with terror that she has fallen in love with Jon… their passion will continue to torment them.” 

tracks with Sansa’s characterisation particularly, her memory lapses, her clouded judgement, and inability to interpret things correctly (and something as confusing as this would certainly cause her to have some cognitive dissonance going on).

Not to mention caution around well… men. Because who would ever marry her for love? Who would ever take her for true? Love her without expectations and judgement? It’s Jon. Who has been there since the very beginning, who has been a silent unconscious hero, the answer to her prayers, who embodies all those romantic and knightly ideals she has so desperately wanted - despite her being unaware. Who has advocated for her claim - above everyone else.

“No one will ever marry me for love.” And that infamous Jon chapter follows. Jon who is never quite far from Sansa’s suitors. Jon, who has a similar dream of rebuilding Winterfell, of having children named after lost siblings, who wants to woo a girl by giving her a rose and loving beneath the heart tree - the heart of Winterfell. Who would undeniably want to have that beautiful soul-nourishing love he never received as a child, that he believes is perpetually unavailable to him. 

Above all,  they just fit together. It fits with GRRM’s William Faulkner-esque “the human heart in conflict with itself".” And this is a perfectly subversive way of  encapsulating that Jon confusing brotherly love and affection with romance, struggling with the shame of it all - especially post-resurrection, the religious disillusionment that would occur, the notion of Jon being loved by the kind of girl he believed he never had the right to, who his deeply romantic heart is yearned for. (There is a reason GRRM let us know how badly Jon yearns for domesticity, Winterfell love, children, and a wife. He associates his love for Ygritte with her singing, her hair, her smile. He dreams of her tending to him with gentle hands) The simple yet meaningful things that have been denied to him because of his bastardry. And god, what better way to torment these two than by having them fall for each other - realising they fit each other so perfectly, yet tormented by their familial relation. Until, as the outline puts, the parentage is revealed. 

Do I believe they will act on their feelings pre-parentage reveal? No. It’ll likely exist in the subtext, in private thoughts and actions. Angst, guilt. Again, the stuff that GRRM loves - the human heart is in conflict with itself. 

Much like Lord Byron’s ‘The Bride of Abydos.” Where half-siblings fall in love with each other until they realise they are actually cousins. Lord Byron, who was famously in love with his half sister Augusta, who was a stranger to him for a good portion of his life until they properly got to know each other and fell in love. (Who does that sound like?’)

And if you’re wondering how Jon and Sansa could possibly connect to Lord Byron, well there is a ‘Byron the Beautiful’ in Alayne II AFFC, and Alayne I TWOW. GRRM has further instilled characters by the name of “Manfred” which is in reference to Lord Byron’s infamous work of the same name. (I urge you to check out all of Cappy's Byron metas, they are fantastic.

And, Jon has been called a “Brooding, Byronic, romantic heroine whom all the girls love.” GRRM knows what Byronic is inferring - he isn’t daft, he’s a writer - he reads other works and takes influence and sprinkles in so many things. 

A Byronic character involves:

. . romantic melancholy, guilt for secret sin, pride, defiance, restlessness, alienation, revenge, remorse, moodiness, and such noble virtues as honor, altruism, courage, and pure love for a gentle woman. (Poetry Foundation, Lord Byron)

“GRRM: I was always intensely Romantic, even when I was too young to understand what that meant. But Romanticism has its dark side, as any Romantic soon discovers… which is where the melancholy comes in, I suppose. I don’t know if this is a matter of artistic influences so much as it is of temperament. But there’s always been something in the twilight that moves me, and a sunset speaks to me in a way that no sunrise ever has.”

Infinity plus:

And isn’t that exactly what he would be exploring with Jon and Sansa? It isn’t a conventional romance by any means. It could never exist normally until Jon’s parentage is revealed. And that is the tormented nature of it, that is the “bittersweetness” of it - it is rooted in realism, yes - and that to me, is Sansa receiving her true love, countering that no one would ever marry her for love. The gods will grant it to her, - but it’s wrapped up in this darker, morally ambiguous thing that is confusing for her, even though Jon would be her dream come true - he isn’t this neat little courtly golden package, but he embodies all those ideals more than any man she’s actually met. 

It’s subversive to what both the characters and the readers expect, and it’s just a brilliant plot twist that screams unpredictability whilst fitting together like a perfect puzzle. It creates internal conflict and evokes those themes that GRRM loves to explore. By giving the ‘heroes’ of the series a motif such as incest is extremely bold; because it challenges the reader greatly. Some people don’t want Jon to end up with Sansa because it contradicts the image that they have of him in his head - the heroic male who will save the world with his heroic counterpart and together they shall rule the seven kingdoms. To embrace his father’s family, claim a dragon, fulfil the prophecy, be the third head of the dragon, reject his stark-ness. Very predictable. Done to death a thousand times over, and yet - it is what the general audience wants/expects. It’s what the dudebros who call him the ‘GOAT’ want, it’s what the Targ stans want, it’s what the show watchers wanted - but what does Jon want? 

“Yet he could not let the wildlings breach the Wall, to threaten Winterfell and the north, the barrowlands and the Rills, White Harbor and the Stony Shore, even the Neck. For eight thousand years the men of House Stark had lived and died to protect their people against such ravagers and reavers . . . and bastard-born or no, the same blood ran in his veins. Bran and Rickon are still at Winterfell besides. Maester Luwin, Ser Rodrik, Old Nan, Farlen the kennelmaster, Mikken at his forge and Gage by his ovens . . . everyone I ever knew, everyone I ever loved.” (Jon II ASOS). 

“I would need to steal her if I wanted her love, but she might give me children. I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms. A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the Wall. I could name him Robb. Val would want to keep her sister's son, but we could foster him at Winterfell, and Gilly's boy as well. Sam would never need to tell his lie. We'd find a place for Gilly too, and Sam could come visit her once a year or so. Mance's son and Craster's would grow up brothers, as I once did with Robb.

"He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade.” (Jon XII ASOS). 

“Red eyes, Jon realised, but not like Melisandre's. He had a weirwood's eyes. Red eyes, red mouth, white fur. Blood and bone, like a heart tree. He belongs to the old gods, this one. And he alone of all the direwolves was white. Six pups they'd found in the late summer snows, him and Robb; five that were grey and black and brown, for the five Starks, and one white, as white as Snow.”

He had his answer then." (Jon XII ASOS)

“He was the blood of Winterfell, a man of the Night's Watch. I will not father a bastard, he told her. I will not. I will not. "You know nothing, Jon Snow," she whispered.” (Jon VI ASOS)

“Ygritte answered for him. "His name is Jon Snow. He is Eddard Stark's blood, of Winterfell." (Jon VIII ACOK)

"Then you must do what needs be done," Qhorin Halfhand said. "You are the blood of Winterfell and a man of the Night's Watch." (Jon VI ASOS). 

“You can't be the Lord of Winterfell, you're bastard-born, he heard Robb say again. And the stone kings were growling at him with granite tongues. You do not belong here. This is not your place. When Jon closed his eyes he saw the heart tree, with its pale limbs, red leaves, and solemn face. The weirwood was the heart of Winterfell, Lord Eddard always said . . . but to save the castle Jon would have to tear that heart up by its ancient roots, and feed it to the red woman's hungry fire god. I have no right, he thought. Winterfell belongs to the old gods.” (Jon XII ASOS) 

“He sat on the bench and buried his head in his hands. Why am I so angry? he asked himself, but it was a stupid question. Lord of Winterfell. I could be the Lord of Winterfell. My father's heir.” (Jon XII ASOS).

“If I could show her Winterfell . . . give her a flower from the glass gardens, feast her in the Great Hall, and show her the stone kings on their thrones. We could bathe in the hot pools, and love beneath the heart tree while the old gods watched over us.” (Jon V ASOS). 

“If he must perish, let it be with a sword in his hand, fighting his father's killers. He was no true Stark, had never been one … but he could die like one. Let them say that Eddard Stark had fathered four sons, not three.” (Jon IX AGOT).

Look, at the end of the day - we don't know how the story will go, but based off of Jon’s character arc? His thoughts? His actions? His relationships with his siblings? The fact that he has warged into a magical beast directly associated with Starks? The North? The Old Gods? The weir wood trees? I think that instead of GRRM having Jon go down the conventional disadvantaged male hero finding out he is a secret prince and thus becoming King and a proper Targ, GRRM will subvert expectations (much to audience displeasure) and do the opposite.

Learning of his true identity will just cause more angst and a major identity crisis. The one thing Jon finds real and solid, that no one can take from him - is that he is Ned Stark’s son. He raised him. Perhaps they don’t share a direct blood link. But that doesn’t matter, what matters is that he was raised by him, loved by him. So instead of choosing his father’s family; embracing the secret prince persona and fighting for the throne - he’ll choose his mother’s family. And I think that is beautifully conclusive.

But back to Jon and Sansa. GRRM is given the opportunity to explore the sort of impact this incest motif has on fundamentally good people. And I think this is what he originally intended to do with Jon and Aria.

Yes, we have Jaime and Cersei, but this is real sibling incest and rife with toxic narcissism, possession etc. We have the T@rgaryens, which are messy beyond belief and practice it due to blood purity. 

But Jon and Sansa clearly differ from the rest, and that is because they exist partly as foils as to what we previously have seen. Similar to Jonnel x Sansa. By intentionally refraining from the development of a properly-close sibling relationship, making Jon and Sansa fundamental opposites visually, and associating them with entirely different cultures (yet writing their core personas as the same, their dreams compatible, their thought process and idealism similar).

GRRM manages to pave the way into such a romance that comes as a shock to the characters, the narrative, and readers themselves. Because no one, absolutely no one would see it coming, and the people who have been privy to the theory - immediately dismiss it - and become quite angry when it is brought up. Like I said earlier, a knee-jerk reaction. 

To quote this brilliant meta right here:

‘Whether Jon and Sansa fall in love is up to the author and his intended exploration of literary/mythic themes that his predecessors have deployed. He is not writing from (or for) the moral values of show watchers and book readers, or their anecdotal hopes for how things “should be.” He’s writing a narrative that breaks away from conventional storytelling and what we expect from such characters.’

…

‘ I don’t believe the author is giving up completely on the romantic dream. He has made Sansa more cautious, converted her dreams into mere prayers, and has forced her to examine her assumptions, but he’s not turning her into the H0und, who is too pessimistic and fatalistic as a suitor. Sandor’s assertion that all knights are killers makes fantasy so small, it’s eliminated. I think he is setting Sansa on a path where her dreams do die, and her life becomes about as romantic as that smokestack in Cleveland - until they start to come alive again when she travels North to the Wall.’

'That cold, hard reality is still present in the fact that they are brother and sister, but once Jon’s parentage is revealed, this will change. Like an inverted Cinderella (clock striking 12), the reality will become fantasy again. But it’s still inladen with this bitter reality of their relations. So taking this into account, I believe Jon and Sansa could happen because there is no other couple in the series with which GRRM can explore his fascination with fantasy becoming “smaller,” but not completely shrinking altogether. There are no two better characters who represent these ideas, who have the same quietly domestic desires - who do not (at the moment) actively lust for power and cause it to blind them.'

So in essence, Jon and Sansa exist as the subversion of romance. In a twisted, loving sort of way that is morally conflicting to the characters and audiences (for a time). That has existed between the lines, subtly and implicitly. That the audience gives absolutely no thought, because why would they? And if they do, they are abhorred by it - but I’d argue this is the entire point. But not for the reasons you think, not because of the incest - or J0nerys would disgust them.

From the moment he started the series, GRRM has employed incest as a major motif that impacts both the narrative and the characters - the causes the war, that contributes to T@rgaryen values, legacy etc, that propels aspects of narcissism and vitriol for characters like Cersei. It’s really really interesting stuff, as uncomfortable as it is - there are no other works that explore it so messily and beautifully with such nuance. 

I believe people seriously underestimate GRRM’s use of omission and subtext. Seriously, just because something is not explicitly stated, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Unfortunately fans have such a surface level reading of the text, that they are unable to peel back the layers and get to its core. They don’t consider literary influences, or art, or the Romantic movement or anything. They claim they want a complex story that is subversive, yet they cheer for the three-headed dragon theory and all the most predictable plot points that have been absolutely done to death. But then they turn up their noses at anything that goes against the grain, or insinuates otherwise.  

R + L = J is a great example of existence within the subtext, yet nobody denies that it is there. No one is called crazy or delusional for it. Ned never thinks of Jon’s true parentage despite harbouring that secret for years, because it is buried deep in his subconscious.

And much to the audience’s surprise (and dismay I'm sure) that is how Jon and Sansa will manifest. This is the human heart in conflict with Jon and Sansa, but not just them - the readers as well. It’s pointing to us, asking us how we’ll possibly handle it. We’re meant to feel this conflict of emotions - anguish and torment and yet hope for something ineffable - just like the characters.

To be able to evoke that as a writer is one of the most impressive feats I can think of - and for the majority of it to exist at this point, in a subconscious limbo?  How utterly complex and painful and raw and intelligent but oh so very brilliant. Perhaps one of the most compelling things to come out of this entire series, if only the general audience was open to such discussions. But alas, we must contend with the community we have, and hope for a dream of spring to come upon us. 

[wawawawawawawawawawawawawa]

the amount of times i Do This must be a joke at this point but here i am. doing it once more. izaya's highschool videogame SCREAMS "i just found out i have aspd and i am NOT taking it well." and i shall explain how

a preface: wrt "how did he know in high school, don't you have to be 18?" you do.... with the dsm guidelines. japan, iirc, uses a conbination of the dsm and icd to diagnose mental illnesses, and the age stipulation isn't in the icd. also, shinra could have told him, and lbr shinra wouldnt care about strictly adhering to the age thing

anyway i went thru and highlighted different parts of the videogame's text, so i can easier explain which part means what. i'll primarily be focusing on the chronic boredom associated with aspd- since izaya's game deals with patience, most musings in it will be related to that boredom. but the boredom, especially izaya's, IS important, as its the boredom that drives him to do what he does. to be what he is.

(shoutout to miyukiwinter for the scan)

so... the red bit. this relates to izaya's worldview of the need to keep evolving to escape the mundane, and it not mattering if you aim high or low. now at this point, izaya was solidly in some shady shit and clearly on the path of the low aim. but the thing is, about aspd... the boredom is all consuming. you'll do ANYTHING to not be bored. i've seen people say they developed substance abuse problems to escape the boredom, and i confess... i've done it too. it truly is THAT bad

i say all this because... izaya will never be able to stop going lower, and lower, and lower. he's fated to fall forever. maybe he wouldve been able to brush his behavior off as teenage craziness, but with a diagnosis like aspd it becomes increadingly obvious that there is no "oh, i'll mellow out once i reach my 20s." it's not going to happen, at least, not without great effort. and lets be real, nobody has any faith in aspd's recovery rates, less so in the early 2010s, so izaya upon diagnosis would see NO FUTURE for himself. no escape from the cycle. he's trapped.

the blue bits are a bit more vauge, but the undertainty turning to loss evokes the next stage after the initial shock of diagnosis: grief. and make no mistake, there IS a grieving process with mental health diagnoses. you go from being shocked and scared, to being depressed and numb.

but there's... another layer to this, with aspd. you see it with cluster b disorders in general, but aspd is HUGE in the pop culture zeitgeist

the layer is, the idea that People Like That don't feel emotions. that any emotional display is false and an explicit ploy to mainpulate someone

and when this inevitably ends up untrue, you might start to feel... odd... about feeling those emotions people say you can't feel. and one of the biggest emotions aspd gets that with, is fear and by extension, anxiety.

some aspd people genuinely do feel reduced fear! but it's far from being a diagnostic criteria, and aspd can actually be comorbid with anxiety disorders. but scientific facts and wider culture rarely match up, so the idea persists

so izaya might have started to think.... was he ever truly anxious? or worried? was he really more rotten than people thought; was he just mainpulating people the whole time? does he really not feel anxiety? was his nervousness over things like shinra leaving him or hell, this diagnosis, rendered null and void?

and then we reach the teal portion.... despair

(just a sidenote, tumblr has no teal color option so it'll just be blue)

in this sense, "the hole" refers to the endless downward spiral, and his diagnosis- but not just having it. no, "the hole" most likely refers to the moment izaya developed it in the first place.

who are you, if you thought you were in control your whole life, but you found out that the reason you do the things you do were because of foeces beyond your control? who are you now, having a label you know will cause everyone to see you as nothing but a stereotype?

why was he still alive, suffering like this? what point is it to be alive, controlled by something you can't fight, forced to make your life worse and worse and worse, until you die young?

so now what? who did this to him?

in the game, the hatred is towards "the player." and honestly this could have multiple different meanings when applied to izaya's own life

does he hate god? was he raised religious, his father being a christian, and was this what made him lose faith? what loving god would condemn someone to suffer like this?

does he hate his parents? after all, it was their genetics that passed this down, their upbringing that nurtured it, their neglect that made him the way he was. is it their fault?

or... does he hate himself, for being the way that he is? for having it in the first place, for not being able to overcome it, for having such a bad reaction to it?

for being too cowardly to kill himself?

which brings us to the final segment. awareness.

he says outright, the game is depicting the player's life. in the game itself, this ties into his mockery of players, but in a meta sense, it could be a hidden admission that it's depicting his life

especially the talk of meaningless games- fooling around with nakura creating small gangs, betting pools, and his eventual adult pastimes of messing with people. is his life enriched? no, it's merely occupied, and he knows it. he might have repressed it as an adult, but here, in high school, at this moment, he knows.

and if he can never truly alleviate his boredom, never truly be fufilled, then he can act like he's in control all he wants, but he's no better than a man falling in a hole.