#I know this is kind a cheery take in the darkness this world has become but can you blame me for wanting to choose love?

[xxxcertifiednerdxxx]

Are u really/still LDS? Saw ur tags about himbo not being a gendered word, am very curious to hear more about ur experience as a member of LDS who also cares about trans rights/trans people.

Hi! Welcome!

i will put my answer under a cut bc it’s long and rambly, but hopefully it makes sense!

I am indeed still an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I will hopefully be serving a mission soon.

First of all, every true Christian knows the two great commandments: to love God with all thy heart and might, and to love thy neighbor as thyself. (which you can’t do if you hate yourself, but that’s a discussion for another time.)

There is also the commandment that goes something like: don’t comment on the more in thy brother’s eye when thou hast not plucked the beam out of your own eye, which means don’t go policing other people about what you say is right and wrong when you have your own faults to overcome.

I am literally just some guy. I’m not perfect, and I’m definitely not God. But i am a child of God, and so is everyone else.

I don’t know what anyone except for me is really going through, and i honestly try not to think too much about myself or else I will break (it’s a problem I’m trying to overcome).

Basically, it all boils down to i think everyone deserves kindness and respect and safety, and I think offering those is a much more effective way to share the Light of Christ than preaching at people who don’t really want to hear all that.

Something people unfortunately don’t talk about enough about my church is our belief of the importance of agency. I don’t know how other religions explain the existence of Satan, but we believe one of the reasons he was cast out of Heaven was he wanted to force us to do what it takes to return to heaven. We wouldn’t have free will. We wouldn’t have agency. This is one of our foundational beliefs.

Obviously, some things do have consequences, like murder. Murder shouldn’t go unchecked. But even then, I don’t know why so-and-so killed another guy. So I’ll leaving the judgement to God and focus on being a good person myself.

I wouldn’t barge into the house of someone who is catholic or Muslim or Jewish or Buddhist or anything and tell them their beliefs are wrong and they need to adopt my beliefs; why would I do that to someone trans?

I’m not going to say my church’s beliefs are wrong bc I believe my church is true, but I heard someone say perception is reality, which I really like. What I believe is true to me, and what you believe is true to you. Hopefully we will all find truth, and we will love each other along the way.

[ghostboneswrites2]

I really resonated with Daryl x abused reader could you maybe do one where the reader doesn’t let their past define them and shows little signs of abuse like they’re super cheery and happy and doesn’t let their past get them down and but maybe reader has a ptsd attack by Daryl after he confronts her about being so happy especially in an apocalypse and they just realize they relate to each other even if they’re personalities are so drastically and Daryl just comforts reader 🫂

The Painted Bunting

Era: Greene Farm

Summary: Daryl is paired with you on the search for Sophia and snaps at you after growing tiresome of your seemingly endless kindness.

Note: No more laptop for now since the cord broke so I hope you’ll all forgive the lack of my usual post formatting :(

Warnings: profanity, mentions of past abuse, grumpy sassy asshole Daryl (the man we originally fell in love with)

Banner credits on this post

        Shining hair in the rays of the sun, an infectious laugh, a beaming grin that never seemed to dissipate. A glowing beacon in the dark. That was what you were. And, admittedly, it got under his skin a little, so Daryl tended to avoid you. You weren’t oblivious to it, but you accepted it for what it was. After all, you couldn’t win them all, right? 

        You had always been that way; soft, gentle, graceful, kind. If you had never let the past change that for you, you certainly wouldn’t let present day events change it, either. Maybe the world had become a nightmare, but that didn’t mean you had to be one too. 

        Daryl thought that what really gritted his teeth about you was that through everything that had happened, you never changed a single bit. Not like the others had; not like he had. 

        After the world fell, after the camp by the quarry was overrun, after the CDC, after Sophia had gone missing, you remained exactly the same. For all of the afore mentioned, Daryl found you to be one of the most vexing people he ever had the displeasure of interacting with, second only to Shane, who could have easily been traded off for his own brother, Merle.

        Needless to say, he was peeved at the idea that you were sent on search duty with him after he hurt himself in the ravine. Rick decided a buddy system would be beneficial to all of the search party participants, and you volunteered to tag along, because of course you did.

        You weren’t so much looking forward to spending so much one on one time with the man, yourself. You didn’t necessarily have an issue with him, but you were all too aware of the issue he seemed to have with you. Really, you couldn’t relate to him at all. Not everyone around camp was perky and sweet, and rightfully so, but Daryl was such a brooding presence and you just couldn’t put yourself in that frame of mind.

        The two of you had set out just after dawn and the hours ticked by as you made friendly conversation and Daryl occasionally offered you a measly grunt in response. 

        “Do you think we’ll find anyone out here?” You asked. “I mean, aside from Sophia. I know we’ll find her.”

        “Pro’ly better if we don’t find nobody else.” Was his first verbal response all day. You shrugged. 

        “I don’t know. Could be good. I’m sure there are people who could really use some help.”

        “Ain’t our problem.” He argued. “Gotta look out for our own. The hell you worried about helpin’ strangers for when we ain’t even found the little girl we’re after?” 

        “Oh, no.” You chuckled nervously. “It’s not that I was just —“ You cut yourself off, sensing an oncoming ramble. “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

        “Mm.” He hummed, pausing his footsteps to take a breath and scan his surroundings. After a moment, he continued forward, and you followed without question . Admittedly, you had no clue how to track, so if anything you were there in case he got hurt.

        “So, if someone needed your help… You wouldn’t help?” You asked innocently.

        He whipped around to face you, the aggression behind his motion drawing you to a dead stop.

        “The hell’s your problem, huh?” He snapped. You blinked. “It’s the end of the goddamn world and you’re askin’ me about some hypothetical moral dilemma? Let me tell you somethin’, girl; ain’t no damn morals in the apocalypse. Ain’t no more law and order! It’s just us,” he paused, sending an arrow through the skull of a walker that had crept up behind you. You flinched and turned to watch its carcass thud on the forest floor. “And them.” He concluded. 

        “I—I was just making conversation.” You mumbled timidly. 

        “Why? It’s not a social call! We’re out here to find that little girl. This is why I didn’t need no damn babysitter.” He complained.

        “I was just trying to be nice.” You defended.

        “Nice?” He scoffed. That simple word seemed to trigger something in him as his eyes lit up with aggravation. “Don’t you get it? It ain’t about bein’ nice anymore. It’s about survival. Got dead people standin’ up and eatin’ people and you’re worried about bein’ nice. Walkin’ around passin’ out water and food and gigglin’ with everybody like we ain’t got a bunch o’ dead bodies stumblin’ around us just waitin’ to take a bite out.” 

        Maybe it was the way he raised his voice, or the way his eyes shot flaming daggers of fury right through your chest, or the way he threw his arms down and spat words at you like you were some puny, wretched little thing. You didn’t know what it was, but somewhere in the whirlwind of heated exchange, his voice slowly blended together with the other voice — the one that still lived in the back of your mind and ate away at you every day.

        The voice that belonged to your own father, the one person who struck true, genuine fear in you. Before you knew it, that old sensation of real terror, the one you’d buried somewhere deep inside you and covered with cement, was breaking free and engulfing you. 

        You were frozen, like a fawn under the scrutinizing gaze of a predator. The humid air felt like a thick paste as you struggled to gulp it down and catch a breath. At first, Daryl felt inclined to criticize your tears as a show of weakness, fragility, inability to handle a little raise of the voice. He quickly noticed, however, that this was no simple burst of reactionary emotions. No, this was something much deeper and it was rattling you to the core. There was a distant look in your wide eyes, one that he came to recognize, even if it took him a minute. 

       He shifted on his feet, scanning you, unsure how to intervene. 

        “Hey.” He eventually called out, but it was clear his voice wasn’t reaching you. This was the final piece of confirmation he needed. You were having an episode, the kind he experienced a few times when he first got out of his father’s abusive home. 

        He sighed and grabbed your trembling shoulders. You jumped but you didn’t flee or strike out. His touch seemed to dry you out and shrivel you up like a raisin. You shrank into yourself, hyperventilating. 

        “C’mon.” He said softly, ushering you done to your knees. “Hey. Ya gotta breathe.” 

        Your breathe only became more shallow and forced. Tears poured down your cheeks as your chest got tighter. 

        “Just breathe. That’s the only way it’s gonna stop.” He urged. He went to grab your wrists but you panicked, snatching your arms away and falling down on your back. 

        “No! Get away! You can’t do this anymore! I’m not a little kid!” You cried out.

        You were making quite a bit of noise by this point, between the gasps for air and the sobs. He crouched over you and grabbed your shoulders. 

        “(Y/N), ya ain’t there anymore. Wherever it is, it’s gone. In the past. It’s just you and me right now, and we ain’t there. We’re here.” He soothed, hoping his voice could find you somewhere in the abyss. “Just listen. Ya hear that? It’s a Painted Bunting. Look,” he pointed up into a tree at a bright multicolored bird, similar in its beauty to a parrot, only much smaller. “It’s right up there. Ya see it?” 

        Your breathing had started to slow down now, those shallow inhales finally reaching a little deeper within. Your eyes lazily followed his finger to the bright little bird singing a flute-like melody. 

        “Ya see it?” He asked again. You managed to nod once, still holding your arms tightly to your chest as you laid flat on the bed of leaves and twigs. He took a moment to see you, to really take you in, and he realized you were beautiful. Not just in the way a pretty girl with a nice personality was beautiful, but in a way that left so much of who you really were unsaid.

        “Just watch it.” He whispered, glancing back up at the feathered creature, hoping it would stick around long enough to bring you back down to earth. “They take two years to look that pretty. Did ya know that?” He asked, glancing back down at you. Your eyes were still on the bird, but you shook your head no. “Yeah. Only the males, too.” He added. “Otherwise, they’re just kinda greenish and yellowish.” 

        Once your chest was rising and falling with a steady rhythm, you finally looked over at him. Humiliation began to set in. You quickly sat yourself up and brushed the dead foliage away from your clothes and hair. 

        “I’m sorry.” You mumbled. “That hasn’t happened in a long time.” 

        “‘S okay.” He shrugged, standing himself back up as well. “Happens.”

        “Yeah, we’ll, it shouldn’t. Not nowadays.” 

        “Can’t help it when it does.” He assured you. “I get it.”

        “Maybe I should head back.” You suggested.

        “We both can. If ya wanna. It’ll be dark soon anyways.”  

        “I don’t wanna make you lose your trail or.. Ya know.” You fidgeted with the hem of your shirt.

        “Nah. Ain’t no use after dark, anyways. We’d just be stumbling in circles and bumpin’ into each other.” He insisted, contrastingly soft in comparison to before your episode. 

        “Oh. Right.” You nodded. Just as you got ready to turn back toward the farm, he cleared his throat.

        “Ya wanna talk about it?”

        “About what?” You turned back to him. He shifted his weight anxiously, chewing at the inside of his cheek. Offering an ear to listen was at least ten yards outside the perimeter of his comfort zone. “About that?” You asked. “That was nothing. Just something stupid that happens sometimes. That’s all.”

        While his tone was much kinder and warmer than before, yours was cold, dull, and tired. Those episodes could take a lot out of a person, and he was no stranger to that fact. 

        “Sometimes it helps.” He said. “Talkin’ about it. Makes it a little less…” He trailed off, searching for the word he wanted. “Less, uh… Consuming.”

        “It never gets less consuming.” You argued.

        “It does.” He insisted. 

         “And how would you know?” You asked, impatience lacing your words.

        “I used to get ‘em too.” He admitted. “Been awhile but… I just get it. That’s all.”

        You studied him. In all the weeks you’d spent around the man, you’d never seen him so genuine, or really so open. He never seemed to look at you like another person. You were always just another load on his shoulders. 

        “My dad.” You finally spoke. He nodded.

        “Me too.” 

        “I’m sorry.” You sympathized.

        “Me too.” He agreed. 

        “We should go.” You sighed, turning away again. 

        This time you didn’t wait for him, you just started walking, until he called out behind you; “‘M sorry.” You stood still, but you didn’t look back. He knew he had your attention, though, and he knew he had to say something else. “I know I did it this time. I shouldn’t’ve yelled at ya like that.”

        “It’s okay. Maybe you were right.” 

        “Nah.” He shook his head, taking slow steps to catch up to you. “I wasn’t. It’s good. Ya didn’t let none of that shit make ya bitter. Keep it that way. Else you’ll end up a grumpy redneck.” He joked. You suppressed the small smile that tugged at the corner of your lips.

        “Maybe the grumpy rednecks of the world got it figured out.” You said, walking again once you felt him catch up. 

        “Nah. I don’t know shit about shit.” He admitted, eliciting a small laugh from you. You shook your head.

        “I don’t think anyone does.” You reasoned.

        On the hike back to the Greene farm, you two shared some light banter, some stories of the past, some laughs and extended looks. He grew finder of you that day. The critical glares he’d send you from a distance were replaced with admiration and respectful nods. You’d often catch him looking and flash him a big smile, waving at him before you attention was drawn elsewhere. 

       You both learned that maybe the two of you were differently colored fruit, but you grew from the same tree, and you weren’t so different after all. And, that sentiment was never lost or forgotten. It carried with you for as long as you two knew each other. 

Taglist || Masterlist

tags: @kissmeunicornbaobei @thesadcatt0 @clairealeehelsing @duckybird101 @tmntfixationxreader @ryoujoking @blackvelveteen1339 @yondus-girl @ladylincoln @sunshinebug9 @saylum559 @yoowhatthefuck @duffmckagansbandana @celtic-crossbow @virginsexgod69 @dazzling-roaring-20s @l0kilaufeys0n7 @uhnanix

[azurlily]

i saw that request for resident lover is open soo... may i ask for some cassandra smut? i NEED this woman her way with me

Yall are down bad, but I am too so no worries. I fully intend to write smut for Alcina and Miranda later. If anyone would like to request a special kind of smut with them, I'd be more than happy to write it. - L and W

I also have a dark one-shot(maybe more) for Cassandra's BAD end. I'm so down bad for scary Cass, and I think her turning to the dark side, but still loving you is perfect. - L

THIS HAS NOT BEEN SPELL CHECKED! Made by Lune and Wora.

"Cassie, I know you said you had some big birthday gift for me, but considering we're not in the theater and instead in your room, I'm slightly worried..."

You heard rustling around the room, and you hear a loud and pretentious scoff. You smirk, knowing you've offended your girlfriend in some way.

"I'll have you know that my entire life doesn't revolve around theater. It revolves around you; you're my world. As for your gift, if you don't like this, I don't know what you'll like!"

You can hear the cheery happiness in her tone; she's more excited about this than you were.

Previously, Cassandra had told you she was doing something a bit different for your birthday. All you had to do was stand in the bedroom and wait. With your eyes closed of course!

You make a snarky remark back and based upon the fact that Cassandra doesn't answer you assume she's ignoring you. You continue to hear rustling and even some groaning on her part. What could she possibly be doing?

"Alright, you're allowed to look!"

You smile and open your eyes only to see something that's absolutely engraved into your mind and while stay there until the say you die.

Cassandra is wearing a lacy red and black lingerie set. The base itself is black, while the design is a crimson red, adorning Cassie's skin elegantly. Cassandra can make just about anything look good, and she's proving that right now. Cassie has her arms behind her back and the most lovestruck and mischievous look on her face.

She looks like she's going to eat you, and you would let her. In the state you're in right now, you'd let that woman do anything to you. And you'd thank her for all of it.

You stare so hard that Cassandra begins to blush bashfully. You haven't spoken a word, and at first, Cassandra worried that you didn't like it. That was until she saw the awestruck look in your eyes. You're mentally preparing yourself.

"Are you just going to sit there, my star? If so, I just might have to take care of myself if you won't... And to think I was going to let you top tonight, what a shame."

That snapped you out of it quickly, you look up at her like a love sick puppy and shake your head.

"No, no, no, I-I want to take care of you Cassie. I want to-"

You're cut off with a finger to your lips. Cassandra pulls her finger away and leans down, she gently kisses you on the lips. It felt amazing, you two had kissed many times, but this? This was different in some way, some way you couldn't properly explain. Nor did you want to.

Explaining would mean you'd have to start thinking, and you didn't want to do that. You wanted to become a girl shaped pile of mush that let Cassandra do whatever she pleased to her.

The taste of Cassandra's lips were intoxicating; espresso and chocolate. They melded so well together, and being able to taste them on your girlfriends lips made them taste even better together.

Cassandra pulls from you with a devious look on her face.

"I guess you can try to top me next year, star. After seeing the look on your face-"

Cassandra's voice gets lower, her eyes darken and she shifts your chin so your looking her in the eyes.

"-I fully intend to take good care of you and your body. Now l hope those clothes aren't important because I will be ripping them off."

Cassandra quickly mumbles something about buying you more later before grabbing your shirt and making good on her words. She rips your shirt in two. She almost did the same to your shorts, but you talked her into letting you strip.

Of course, Cassandra being the impatient person she is, once you were down to just your bra, she grabbed you and pulled you onto the bed. The look in her eyes made you wonder if you were going to survive the night.

"Hands on the headboard, you know the deal."

Her voice change sent shivers down your spine. The usually velvety smooth voice has gotten dark, rough. Cassandra not only looked at you like she was going to eat you, she sounded like she was too.

Cassandra's hands begin to explore, one on your stomach kneading and pressing her hand into it. The other playing with your chest, she runs her fingers over your nipples softly before giving them a hard pinch.

You yelp and she laughs melodiously, it sounds so sweet. You'd revel in the sound of her voice more, but what her hands are doing is far more important.

The hand that was previously on your stomach has found it's way into your underwear. Cassandra has a finger pressed against your puffy clit, and the rest of her fingers are cupping your pussy.

Feeling her touch your bundle of nerves, you buck into her hand. That results in a harsh slap to your thigh. You whimper, but otherwise keep quiet.

You know what you want, she knows what you want. You hoped that it was only a matter if time before you got it, but that was for her to decide.

Cassandra pulls rips your panties off of you and spreads your legs. She wants you on full display, she wants to see the embarrassment on your face knowing she got herself all dolled up for you.

But you don't get to touch her, meanwhile she can rip your clothes off and treat you how you deserve to be treated. Cassandra looks at your face, you look absolutely debauched.

"Mercy is a wonderful thing, my star."

Cassandra dips her head down between your thighs, she uses two fingers to spread your folds apart and begins sucking on your clit.

You whine loudly and squirm, you begin moving too much for Cassandra's liking so she grabs you by your thighs and all but presses you into her.

Cassandra mounts both your legs onto her shoulders. The look in her eyes isn't one of love, it's pure lust.

Cassandra moves one of her hands down onto your cunt, she presses two fingers into you. You're already so fucking wet, these will surely fit. And she's right, they practically slide in, god you wanted this.

Cassandra enjoys it for a moment, getting onto a rythm of sucking on your clit and pumping two fingers inside you at the same time.

Meanwhile you whined, at first you were begging- for what you did not know, but now you're spouting unintelligible words that you aren't sure go together.

Cassandra's tounge always brings you to the edge the fastest, and paired with her fingers and the lingerie. You were bound to have quite the fun night. Because you've learned the hard way that Cassandra enjoys forcing one orgasm after the other.

She enjoys seeing the dumb and fuck out look on your face when shes done. The tear stained cheeks and the bite marks and throbbing hickeys all turn her on in a way she doesn't understand.

Cassandra can feel you tightening around her fingers. She stops sucking on your clit and begins sucking your tits. Meanwhile, the other hand holds onto your thigh. Cassandra lets go and presses against your stomach, gently applying pressure.

Cassandra breaks away from your tits, deciding to stake her claim elsewhere. She moves to your neck and begins sucking small hickeys before getting impatient and biting down.

"C-Cassie! A-ah, oh fuck-"

"You can pull your hands down, and I won't make you beg to cum. Although that is one of my favorite activities..."

You wrap your arms around her back and dig your nails into her skin. Your body is melting; it has to be. This is too much all at once, and yet you just want more and more.

"Ah-fuck... my star. That's it press against me as much you n-need."

Cassandra talks you through your orgasm and you whimper and whine the entire time. It's just so much, and as good as this feels you know this isn't even close to the end.

As you ride out the last of your orgasmic bliss, you feel Cassandra pull her hands away. When you open your eyes you see shes moved off the bed and is standing there with a dark red strap.

"You're choice star, either you sit on my face and I eat you until you see stars...or I rail you over the bed. Both will be happening, but you get to choose which one first!"

Cassandra had that charismatic look in her eyes, the one that held darkness and need. A need you could fill so very easily.

"So what will it be, little star?"

I regret being a co-writer to this monstrosity. - W

Anyway we hope yall like this to some extent. Also of course if you haven't played Resident Lover(a free sapphic game based off of Resident Evil: Village) you definitely should. The people that made such an amazing game are @resident-lover .

[blues824]

Hello! So have another request and apologize if you’ve not been able to complete my first one due to many others. This is a long request so bare with me! But I was wondering if you could do one where characters such as Diasomnia + Scarabia react to a reader whose like Mikey from Tokyo Revengers.

Like the characters can’t help but smile and chuckle/giggle at their darling, who has Mikey’s happy and carefree behavior. They couldn’t help but start dating as their darling is just too cute.

Although most of them becomes very protective of her cause they think she’s so innocent to the world. But what if one day they are in a surprise upon seeing their darling’s serious side coming out? Especially their dark impulses. (They end up seeing it where let’s say a random dorm member (from any dorms) start talking bad about the love interests or trying to harm them. And let’s just say their darling won’t take any of it. As she shocks everyone when she delivers a harsh kick to their head as her dark impulses come out like how Mikey did to Hanma) And after their darling reveals her deepest secret. She becomes upset that they saw it and thought they didn’t want to be with her anymore. But gets shocked when they don’t care and will continue to love her no matter what. It’s your choice rather or not you’d want to do this!

Ooh, a Yandere story. I do not condone this behavior in real life. This is a fictional work.

Kalim Al-Asim

He loved how you could be so bright and cheery even with everything that has happened with you. You were in a strange world, after all. He was very happy that he was one of the first people that you warmed up to (totally not slightly jealous that Ace, Deuce, and Grim were the first).

He remembers one time where some dorm members were talking horribly behind his back because of his training for the dorm, and you weren’t going to let that stand. No, you kicked them in the face, and Kalim saw all of it. The happy look that was always on your face was gone and one void of emotion was present.

The Housewarden rushed over and gave you a big hug, making you mortified that he saw this supposed-to-be-secret part of you. However, he showered your face in kisses as soft as the rain that results from his unique magic. He never knew you felt the same way about him that he felt about you! 

Oh, yeah. He might not be the one to attack others who try to harm you or try to get too close, but his dormitory is very loyal to him after your display. He will gladly send others after the person who he thinks did him wrong. And you don’t suspect anything because he’s your sweet, naïve Kalim.

Jamil Viper

He was definitely jealous whenever he saw you hanging out with Ace and Deuce. He could excuse Grim because you were tasked with making sure he didn’t get in trouble. He wants all of your love and affection all to himself. He wants to be the cause of your smile forever.

He remembers the time where Ace was kind of gossiping about him to you and Deuce and he was about to use his snake charm on them when you kicked Ace in the jaw. Your eyes showed no chance of mercy, and no feelings of regret or pity. You emitted an aura of pure authority.

You turned, and your face dropped when you saw that he witnessed your quick act of violence. However, he just went over and placed a kiss on your cheek, silently thanking you. You felt like liquid, melting into him and resting your face into his shoulder.

What you would never know is that he has done the exact same thing multiple times to people who have even thought about getting with you in a romantic way. You were meant to be his, and he will keep it that way for as long as you don’t find out about it. Even then, he would still do it anyway.

Malleus Draconia

As a dragon, he is a very possessive person. When he sees you laughing at whatever Ace said, he can’t help but feel the green envy crawl up his neck. The young prince always had to fight the urge to just carry you away and lock you up in a tower where he was the only one that would see you… although it did sound like absolute Heaven to him.

One time, Lilia had invited you to a training day within Diasomnia, but Malleus did not want you to go up against his knights because he thought they would overpower you and hurt you. However, when you went up against Sebek, one kick from you flung the first year back several meters. The look in your eyes was one of power.

Then you realized what had happened and started shaking, panicking that Malleus would not like you anymore because you just beat up his knight. However, that’s not what he was thinking. No, he went over and held you in his arms, surprised that you were capable of doing that.

That’s when he realized that kidnapping you might pose a bit more of a challenge than he originally thought. He was originally going to send Silver and Sebek, since they are bound to him by their oath of knighthood, but it looks like either he or Lilia would have to do it instead.

Lilia Vanrouge

I don’t think he would get very jealous. No, but he would have the desire and longing for your love and attention. If he sees you hanging out with the ADeuce duo, then he won’t sit there plotting their demise. He would just be a bit pouty after and try to gaslight you.

Since you felt bad, you offered to accompany him to training with the Diasomnia dorm members. It was there that you single handedly (or footedly, in this case) kicked Sebek and Silver to the ground, knocking the wind right out of them. Lilia was amused, since the first year was actually very confident in his abilities as a knight.

When you snapped back to reality (oh, there goes gravity), you realized what you had done and that the old fae had witnessed you take them down in the matter of a few seconds. All the fear slipped away when Lilia let out a loud laugh and softly patted you on the back as a good job.

If only you knew that this was a test to see where you were at with physical combat because he was fully intent on kidnapping you eventually and marrying you, with or without your consent. Now that he knew, he would have to use his knowledge as a general for the job.

Silver

Good luck even trying to get away from him. Usually, he has you in his arms as he naps, and he has a vice-like grip on you so that you wouldn’t get away. If he sees that you are paying too much attention to the ADeuce duo, then he will just grab you by the arm and drag you away so he can use you as a pillow.

There was one time where you were hanging out with Ace and Deuce (involuntarily), and Silver was just about to come drag you away when he heard the former saying There’s Silver, coming to drag away Y/N. You weren’t going to let that go, so you kicked him in the face.

Silver was definitely surprised and now wide-awake, and you were panicking because your boyfriend just saw a darker side of you. However, he thought it was incredibly attractive that you would go to such lengths to protect his reputation. It told his delusional mind that you were in love with him as he was with you.

Since he has always been surrounded by fae’s for his entire life, and fae’s are possessive creatures as stated before, his idea of love is a twisted one. He wants you to be his and only his, and he will use his abilities as a knight to fight any suitors of your love. He wants to be the one on the right of the aisle, joining you in holy matrimony… except death could never part you.

Sebek Zigvolt

He curses himself when he wakes up each morning and finds that he is still in love with you. Surely you must have cast a spell or a curse upon him because there was no way he would have been so smitten with a mere human. But he sees you laughing at Ace and he has his arm around your shoulder, and he is livid.

So, he proposes a duel with the other first year for your hand in courtship. The latter decided to point out how archaic this was and that he wasn’t even interested in you, when you kicked him in the stomach and told Sebek that he didn’t need to fight because your heart already belonged to him. This made the half-fae’s chest swell up with pride.

Now, he was definitely surprised when you kicked Ace because it made him land on the ground a few feet away. As he let out a groan of pain, you panicked because it looked like you really did a number on him, but Sebek was still very amused. Maybe you weren’t just a normal human.

He often uses his parents as an example of what love looks like because it’s a being that doesn’t discriminate between anyone, often inflicting itself upon everyone. However, now that he has won your heart, he will fight to keep it to himself… even if it ends up with someone’s death.

[nyoomfruits]

Hei! Could you do prompt 25 of the sharing a bed list? Thank you

pairing: max verstappen/charles leclerc word count: 1,5k a/n: hi!!! i'm sorry this took me so long, but i was planning this out and it just kept getting longer and longer and uuuuh, now i have a full 5+1 fic planned for this prompt so whoops?

anyway, this is the first part, because i didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, but the rest will be up hopefully somewhere at the end of the week! prompt: “We should do this more often.” “No fucking way, once is enough.” (They do it often after that.)

1.

Max’s vision is swimming a little as he makes his way through Daniel’s living room, trying not to fall over as people keep bumping into him. Someone spills their drink on his pants, but he doesn’t stop to hear their apologies, simply keeps going, desperate for some air.

He finds it in the upstairs bedroom, leaning against the sink and taking a few deep, steading breaths. There’s noises coming from downstairs, the laughter of party guests and the cheery notes of some kind of ABBA song, but it doesn’t feel as suffocating anymore.

Max leans over the sink and splashes some water in his face, just as the door to the bathroom swings open, the noises from downstairs becoming louder again.

“Maxy! Are you okay? I saw you wander upstairs, you seemed a little shaky.” It’s Daniel himself, leaning on the doorframe holding a beer bottle loosely in one hand.

“I’m fine,” Max says, turning to face Daniel, leaning against the sink again. “Few of those shots from earlier just aren’t sitting well with me.” It’s seems easier to explain than sometimes the weight of the world just crashes onto me and I feel like I can’t breathe.

Daniel nods sympathetically. “You want to lie down for a bit? I have a million guest rooms that hardly ever get used. You can just pick one. You can sleep over too, if you want.”

Max thinks about it for a second, the choice between dragging himself home now while feeling like shit and the possibility of crawling into a nice cozy bed and sleep off that heavy feeling in his chest first. It’s really not that hard of a choice. “Yeah, thanks mate. Appreciate it.”

Daniel nods, raises his beer at Max in lieu of a cheers, and then disappears down the stairs to rejoin his party with a “let me know if you need anything!” thrown over his shoulder.

Max mumbles a ‘thanks’ that Daniel definitely doesn’t hear, and then turns back to the sink, pulling a face when he catches his own reflection in the mirror. He looks like absolute shit. At least he’s stopped feeling like the ground is going to give way and swallow him whole. He sighs, runs a hand through his hair – a gesture that makes him look even more disheveled – and heads out of the bathroom to the nearest guest room.

He closes the door behind him, but doesn’t turn on the light, simply letting his eyes get used to the comfort of the dark. He pulls off his sweater, and his pants, and goes to crawl into bed when-

“What the fuck,” voices a lump on the bed, scaring Max so badly he flies back and nearly falls on the floor, only just managing to catch himself. He scrambles over to the light switch, turning it on and squinting in the bright light as the scene in front of him slowly becomes clearer.

Charles is sprawled on the bed, looking disgruntled and sleepy and very, very annoyed. “What are you doing here?” He asks, leaning up on his elbows and frowning at Max.

“What are you doing here?” Max counters, defensively, wrapping his arms across his chest, feeling weirdly vulnerable in just a t-shirt and his boxers.

Charles sends him an incredulous look. “Sleeping, obviously.”

“Well, then guess what I was going to do,” Max says, a little snarky. Charles has clearly been sleeping for a while, judging by the way his eyes are small an puffy and his hair is sticking in every which direction. Max desperately ignores the voice in his head telling him it’s kind of cute.

“Then literally pick any other bedroom. And maybe turn on the lights first, before you scare the shit out of other unsuspecting sleepers.” Charles bites back, before flopping back down on the bed and resolutely closing his eyes.

“Fine,” Max says, pulling his jeans back on.

“Fine,” Charles says, because of course he has to have the last word.

Max flips him off, even though he full well knows Charles can’t see it, and trudges back out of the bedroom, turning the light of as he goes. Fucking asshole, he thinks, as he opens the door of the next guest bedroom.

--

Ten minutes later, Max is back in the guestroom occupied by Charles. “Why,” Charles says, once again squinting into the harsh bedroom light.

“Everywhere else is taken,” Max says, once again removing his pants. “Scoot over, we can share.” He turns the lights back off as he goes.

“What? No,” Charles says, but Max is already crawling into bed and Charles has to scoot over to avoid Max from sprawling all over him. “You’re the worst,” Charles informs him, and Max just hums.

“Trust me, this isn’t my ideal scenario either,” Max mumbles. “But I need to fucking sleep or I’m going to scream.”

Charles turns to him and Max can just make out his face in the dark, an unreadable expression on his face. He must see something, must understand, because he eventually sighs and says, “If you cuddle me I’m physically kicking you out.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Max says, smiling slightly.

“God, Ricciardo’s party must be boring as shit if everyone’s fucking sleeping,” Charles says, turning so he’s lying on his back again.

“Oh, yeah, no, no one else was sleeping,” Max says, wriggling around to try and get more comfortable.

Charles frowns. “But you said all the other roo- oh,” Charles says, realization suddenly dawning on them. “Oh my god.”

“Yup,” Max says, “And I walked in. On all of them.”

Charles laughs loudly. “Oh god, they must all hate you so much,” he turns his face towards Max, expression full of glee. “Anyone we know?”

“Didn’t really stay around to check,” Max says, “Was traumatizing enough as it was.”

“Fair,” Charles says, before another silence falls over them.

“Why are you in here, then?” Max eventually asks.

Charles sighs. “Something similar to you, I think. Sometimes everything just becomes so much and the idea of having to go home just seems like a ridiculously momentous task, you know what I mean? I don’t know, Daniel offered, so I was like why not, maybe I’ll feel better after a nap.”

It surprises Max, always, how similar him and Charles are sometimes. Both feeling like they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Red Bull’s Golden Boy and Il Predestinato, two sides of the same coin. He doesn’t voice this, however, feels too heavy in the almost intimate quiet of Daniel guest bedroom. Instead, Max smiles, a little cheekily, and asks. “So how’s that going for you?”

“I don’t know,” Charles says, eyes sparkling with the same mirth. “Haven’t really gotten the chance to actually nap, have I?”

Max snorts. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. I will no longer keep you from your precious sleep.”

“Thank you,” Charles says, and then, after a beat, “Night, Max.”

“Goodnight, Charles.”

--

When Max eventually wakes up, the sun is already high in the sky and he’s feeling incredibly well rested. He sits up and stretches. Next to him, Charles groans and buries his face into his pillow. “Time is it?” He mumbles, almost inaudible due to the fabric currently covering his face.

Max grabs his phone of the night stand. “Eleven,” he says, thumbing at his missed messages for a few seconds before turning off his phone and getting up to retrieve his pants.

Charles makes an unhappy sounding noise. “Fuck me, I have a meeting in like an hour,” he says, finally picking his head up from the pillow.

“Well, then you better get up,” Max says, and Charles groans and flops back onto the pillow. Max has successfully retrieved and pulled on his pants at this point, and is standing at the door, a little uncertain. “Thanks,”  he eventually says. “For letting me crash.”

“Yeah, yeah, we should definitely do this again sometimes,”  Charles says sarcastically, seeming to finally have woken up enough to actually get out of bed.

“No fucking way, once is enough,” Max says, because it sounds a lot better than ‘this is the best I’ve slept in ages and I think it might’ve been because you were next to me’. “Besides. You snore.”

Charles gasps and looks at Max. “I do not.”

He doesn’t. But the complete outrage on Charles’s face is too good to tell him the truth. “Oh, yeah, like a goddamn sawmill. Thought you were going to wake up the whole house.” Max says, and then laughs when Charles lets out an indignant squawk and launches a pillow at his face.

Max ducks, pulling open the door of the guest room in the process and almost running out, laughing all the way. “Bye Charles!” He yells.

“Fuck you, Max!” Charles hollers back. Max chuckles to himself all the way down the stairs.

--

(Daniel is in the kitchen when Max comes downstairs, holding a bowl of cereal and raising his eyebrow when he spots Max. “Good morning Maxy. Slept well?” It’s an innocent enough question, but from the twinkle in his eyes Max can tell Daniel knows exactly who else was in the bed with him.

“Fuck you,” he says, eloquently, and throws an apple from the fruit bowl and Daniel’s head. Daniel just laughs loudly as Max retrieves his car keys and makes his way out of the house as fast as he can.)

[agentravensong]

i watched a theory video a little while back that i wanted to bring to y’all’s attention. here’s the link. long story short, it proposes that ralsei, rather than being the darkner equivalent of a specific item, is the darkner equivalent of hometown itself. the spirit of hometown, you could say.

now obviously this is out there. we have no proof that such a darkner could even exist based on our current understanding of this world’s rules. it’s not like i’m convinced that this is the case, or even the most likely scenario.

but if we run with it for a bit, it does lead to some intriguing trains of thought. so let’s do that.

firstly, i want to highlight some of the stuff the video brings up that is evidence for / potentially explained by ralsei being the spirit of hometown:

- his higher than normal level of knowledge of the light world (knowing kris and susie’s names, knowing the classroom to the east = card kingdom, knowing what kris’s room looks like)

- his ability to travel between dark worlds, when all the darkners we’ve seen so far get turned into items when brought out of a dark world into the light; if ralsei isn’t based on one particular item, then that might not be a problem for him

- him taking on asriel’s form, when asriel is the town golden boy and all anyone seems up to talk about; asriel is, in some ways, the heart of hometown (note: if we go by the idea that ralsei’s form pre-chapter 1 wasn’t fully solidified, then kris’s presence and bonding with him over the course of chapter 1 likely also played a part in this)

now for some of my own additions:

- you know how that one primary titan from the roaring legend has those eyes on it that look like the eyes found in the early bits of the closet dark world? and how some people have theorized that titan is, in some way, the closet dark world? if we’re willing to entertain that notion, then we could argue ralsei is of a similar nature.

- ralsei’s overly nice and coddling personality, particularly in chapter 1, has felt fake to many people. similarly, many have expressed that the cheeriness and simplicity of hometown, where bad things seem to get swept under the rug, feels fake. whether or not either is fake or genuine, it’s an interesting parallel imo.

- king and some other darkners group ralsei in with the lightners when speaking to them. this could just be because ralsei is on the lightners’ side, but if he’s also the embodiment of a light world location, it kind of makes sense in another way for him to be grouped in with them.

- on the other hand, queen’s and cyber world in general’s ambivalence to ralsei could arguably be justified because the internet is kind of separate to hometown and allows a connection to the wider world, so the cyber world’s inhabitants have less interest in hometown in particular (though queen has a few specific lightners she’s invested in (noelle))

if you’ve followed along so far, i’ll warn you now, here’s where we get into the craziest shit. first, some questions to get ya thinking:

- is there a potential parallel here to gaster as, in some ways, the spirit of deltarune itself? maybe even the red soul as the spirit of undertale itself?

- if a neo dark fountain gets opened in a dark world, will we see a darkner who’s suspiciously ralsei-like (not in appearance or even necessarily personality, but in terms of their role in the narrative and that same level of mysteriousness and out-of-place-ness), as the spirit of the dark world this fountain was made in?

and, lastly...

i made a post back on ut day (link here) postulating that there's a cycle going on in dr's world where a town forms around the current "grand fountain" and eventually becomes so real that it becomes the new light world hub. which is to say that hometown used to be like castle town, but now has become real (or, at least, more real relatively speaking), and the castle town we have now, which is becoming more developed as we bring more darkners to it, will eventually upgrade to be the new hometown.

now, if we combine that with the idea that ralsei is the spirit of hometown... well, i'd love to be able to put those implications into words, but i can't right now (which is why this post has been languishing in my drafts for a month or so). just. think about it. maybe i'll come back to this.

again, i'm not 100% convinced by this theory or anything, but it is, to use the cliche line, very, very interesting, if only as a fun hypothetical. i'd love to hear what you guys think of it!

[fairiesfields]

SSM 2022 Day 01

Prompt: Passports

Summary: Newlyweds Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Sakura are on their way to spend their honeymoon in the most romantic place (according to Yamanaka Ino), Maldives.

Rated: T

A/N: hello! happy sasusaku month!

The humid July air kissed Sakura's exposed skin of her arms, grasping the strap of her cream colored canvas bag on her right shoulder. Radiant warmth peeking shyly through the thick clouds, Sakura's face breaks in a small and contented smile, inhaling the fresh scent of newly cut grass until her lungs are filled with it. It has been three days since she and her first love tied the knots, and she knew that nothing would go wrong with her and her husband's vacation plan.

After all, they are both busy with their careers and vacations rarely presents itself in front of them.

Speaking of her husband, she casts a glance behind her and lets out a giggle. Sasuke in all his scowl and glower glory, is wearing a floral polo partnered with khaki shorts. She could tell how he wasn't impressed by it all but can he really say no to his wife's wishes and big hopeful jade eyes? As he nears her, his glower becomes prominent, it quickly fades when he looks at her smiling face.

She gingerly brushes her fingertips on his fringe, casting it aside. Sakura takes her time admiring her husband's aristocratic features, his onyx eyes bores in her, the eyes she couldn't help but get lost in. His chiseled cheeks are dusted with pink blush, his strong jaw sharp and taut. The permanent crease of his brow will ever so slightly deepen and Sakura pulls him down towards her to plant a soft kiss on his thin but plumpy lips.

"Anata, can you give me a smile please?" she asked, pouting at him to add more leverage. He grunts his response and walks towards their waiting car. Sakura giggles, her husband really is something else.

He may look like he doesn't have any care in the world, he may be one of the most influential CEOs in the world, he may be a part of the infamous Uchiha clan, yet behind those seemingly unreachable titles, he's her Sasuke. The sweetest and most caring person she knew, he's her Sasuke, the unbelievably kind man who loves his family and her very deeply, also his best friend though he might never admit it.

And now, this unbelievably kind man, her first love and best friend, is her husband.

He takes her hand with his big ones, instinctively intertwining their fingers together like they have a mind of their own. She basked on his warmth, scooting closer to his side.

When they reached their car, the windows in the driver's seat slowly revealed the face of their best friend, Naruto. Grinning mischievously at them, his wild blonde hair is sitting on his head. Great. She looks at her side and as expected, Sasuke's glowering at the goofy blonde man who's still smiling like he just won a lottery.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" she asked, incredulous.

"I'll be your designated driver for today! I told your driver, Mr. Nakamura to take the day off because ya know he deserves it" he said in his usual cheery voice that could light everyone's dark days. Sakura beamed at him, clasping her hands on her chest. Leave it to Naruto, he will do everything that he wants as long as he knows it will make his friends happy. Sasuke's happy too! He may not show it.

"Come on, Anata!" she exclaimed happily, tugging his arms to the already opened back seats. Once they settled on their seats, Naruto pulled out from the driveway, glancing at them in the rearview mirror. He snickered and gave his unsolicited comment on her husband's outfit that promptly earned him a kick on his seat from Sasuke.

Sakura laughs watching the exchange between her best friends, nothing has changed, they are still like the Sasuke and Naruto she knew back in childhood. Ever since that one fateful day they've become inseparable. Her two boys - now fine and kind men - have permanently become part of her life.

The ride to the airport is relatively quiet, save for Naruto's welcomed antics. Every now and then she will steal a glance at her husband and will suck in a breath if he already has his eyes staring at her. Their hands are still intertwined, his thumb drew circles on her skin between her thumb and index finger. The memory of their night together prior to this day flashes behind her eyes.

Sweaty bodies under the moonlit room entwined in each other's limbs, their breaths mingled in whispered promises and wanton cries. Eyes are clouded in lust and adoration, she will often think how can he manage to do that every time they share a bed. His grunts and strangled moan filled her ears until he reached his ecstasy. Gripping her flesh to leave his angry red imprint on her soft skin.

The mere thought of their night together starting from now on makes her squirm in her seat. She pressed her legs together in a failed attempt at calming her pulsating desire. Digging her teeth on the soft flesh of her bottom lip, she looks at Sasuke sideways and oh how he wishes she hadn't. Her husband is smirking down at her, she can see mirth dancing behind his charcoal eyes. "What are you thinking?" he asked with his low baritone voice and she squeaked when she felt his lips brush on the shell of her ear. Blood quickly creeps on her face as she glances at Naruto who suspiciously whistles in nonchalance.

"N-nothing!" she huffed.

They didn't say anything after that, mostly from her side because Sasuke's naturally not much of a talker. Though, his finger's still drawing circles on her skin. It was a familiar silence, just them breathing in their same space with his radiating and welcoming heat surrounding her.

They arrive at the airport, Sasuke's arm wrapped around her small waist as they wave their hands in goodbye to Naruto. Sasuke reminded him to take care of the car and if he leaves a small scratch on it, he will make his life a living hell. Sakura had to put a tight smile on that. Sometimes Sasuke can be too dramatic.

The newlyweds walked inside, Sasuke's arm is still snaked around her figure in a protective manner. Her heart thrums inside her in unmasked jubilation. Smiling to herself she leans into his embrace. Failing to notice the flashes of cellphone cameras aimed at them.

An airport attendant greeted and ushered them to a secluded and more private waiting area. Few people were already occupying the room, some were celebrities and others she recognized in countless magazines about the business world. Sakura shivered in the cold - she didn't know if it was because of the room or the cold aura coming from the occupants - she would never get used to this kind of lifestyle, she mused. They all looked so cold and intimidating, unlike her hospital life. Working in the hospital requires a friendly attitude and atmosphere.

Sasuke's grip on her hand tightened and it woke her from her silent musings, she glanced up at him, flashing a reassuring smile.

While they are on their seats, Sasuke handed her an envelope with his clan's insignia printed on the back. She wondered what it was, she peered on what was inside and saw two passports neatly stacked along with other documents. Sakura fished the passports first, flipping one of them open; a picture of her husband's apathetic expression is what greeted her. She stifled a laugh bringing the document closer to her face for a closer inspection. Her giggling stopped when Sasuke snatched it back like it offended him.

She pouted and thumbed the other passport.

Uchiha Sakura

Oh.

Sakura gaped at him, she thought she'd be using her old one, and… "Sasuke-kun, how? It has only been three days–" her husband silenced her by pressing his lips on her. "Let's just say that I have a lot of connections".

Oh, of course her husband has that, one pull of his string comes a scrambling employee to fulfill his demand.

Butterflies bloomed inside her while looking at her name imprinted on the small glossy paper. Sakura's jade oculars well up in tears. If someone would tell her 5 year old self that she'd marry her silly little scowling crush someday she sure as hell would faint. A giggle bubbled up from her throat and she looked at her husband's face, searching for his charcoal windows whose soft as ever, a small tilt of his lips can be seen.

This little step is the start of their journey together, the start of a new chapter opened for endless possibilities, the start of their forevermore.

And Sakura is more than willing to have this unbelievably kind man beside her until their dying breaths.

[redemptioninterlude]

@moonsmultimusings - rantaro gets a starter !

Oh! Was it time for night? Alice hangs from the edge of the railing at the rooms they've all been sequestered to, her lips humming a far more CHEERY TUNE than this place might suggest to them. There's something terribly wrong about the so-called school with which they are attending. In fact! The idea of murder as an extracurricular seems so wholly outside of what they ought to be doing! Girlhood demands something far more dreamy, but Alice, oh, she craves the adventure that this hints at. Suggests. It's a siren's call that promises something outside of what she's ever known, which itself was a full life... wasn't it? Alice the Explorer! Alice the Curious. Alice, who misses her Wonderland, even now.

And only ONE PERSON really understood this kind of longing. Even if he seems more a gentle thing than reckless, adventuring requires a certain willingness of the heart! And when you recognise that, deeply, it only becomes clearer that they were meant to clash, legs hooking to the railing to hang from its edge, letting herself sway with that same, same tune hummed, until she opened her eyes to blink with a ready smile aimed, and ready to fire, at the boy who stood before her now, nonplussed despite how her frothy blue and white lacy skirts hang in exposure, if not for the shorts that she wore underneath. Letting her legs loosen from their hold and then, fall, palms pressing to the floor to help her spring, right-side up, in gymnasts form.

Blue eyes open, impossibly curious in their wondering as they pin to a rather sleepy looking boy with a sloping curve within his shoulders. As if he has seen and burdened himself with the worries of the world. Well, wasn't that all of them now that they'd been asked to take to the murder and cover up of said murder with their classmates? It wouldn't be alone to overcome SOCIETALLY TAUGHT DISGUST for the act. There'd be so much more! Alice can tell from the way that there's an unspoken loose thread that attaches itself to the monokubs and their promises, her humming a quiet thing, knees bending to examine him beneath the slit-eyed skepticism of her stare.

"You're looking for answers too, aren't you?" what a pleasant little grin comes to fruition! Because what was a new path to carve without a companion? "Want to go looking around with me now that it's after dark? As long as we're careful~ we won't get caught. Besides, won't we COVER MORE GROUND if there's two of us rather than one? And you've such a clever little mind! I'd love to know what you think. Sometimes I can't quite process all of it, nor trust myself. All that madness, you see. It warps from the inside! Like a rot or a poison. But it doesn't dampen the desire to know, all the same!" Standing up, higher, higher! Onto the tips of shiny Oxford shoes. "Shall we?"

- @moonsmultimusings

[icequeenlila]

"Gojo knows it's his fault that Geto left."

When I first entered the fandom I grew really tired, really quick of this statement. Bc it's just wrong.

Gojo may THINK that he is at fault for Geto leaving, but it's simply not true. They both fucked up big time communication wise. Still, I think the way things went between them was really realistic and could have happened just like that in real life.

I'm gonna ramble now, so either buckle up or scroll.

The obvious point where their relationship started to fall apart was defenitely Riko's assassination. Let's start from here. I'm gonna switch between Gojo and Geto, I hope I can word my thoughts correctly.

So, our boys both responded differently to the incident.

Let's take a look at Gojo first.

We see him get stabbed from behind by Toji and he doesn't even flinch. He just smiles at Suguru and tells him to get away. This moment alone shows how strong the mask Gojo puts on is, and for me, it really doesn't come as a suprise that he later seems unaffected by the events of the day.

He locks it away. He doesn't show anything. Gojo is the Strongest and not allowed to show any kind of weaknes.

That's basically what he was taught his whole life from society and probably his own family/clan too. So, he acts accordingly, bc he actually believes he has to. He smiles through the pain.

Now to Geto.

I started to sum up what happened to him during the incident, but let's be honest we all know what went down and don't need it. So, I'm gonna sum up.

Humans clapping applause over the death of an innocent girl. His best friend holding said girl, a numb expression on his face that Suguru had never seen on him before.

"Satoru, is that you?"

His whole view of the world basically tips and shatters.

Humans, in his eyes, are no longer worth protecting. His best friend's hands are tied by the fucked up Jujutsu Society, forced to keep fighting and fixing until one day he can't do it anymore.

His whole world basically turns upside down, nothing is like it was before. And what is even more frustrating, Suguru doesn't have the power to change it.

Satoru has. But Satoru won't. He acts like nothing happened. Satoru just moved on. (He thinks.)

But Suguru can't do that. This sense of injustice eats him up inside and he can't fight it.

Sooo, now that we got that established, let's look at the miscommunication!

Geto is depressed. Obviously.

He keeps his thoughts to himself, bc he doesn't want to burden his friends. And also (I think) bc it's hard to pin down what he is actually feeling in the beginning. He doesn't quite get it himself, so what is he supposed to tell them?

He isolates himself, allowing his spiraling thoughts to grow and take over his mind.

It's typical depressive behavior. Closing yourself off and marinating in your own misery until those dark thoughts blow up and become all consuming and suffocating.

You can't tell a depressed person to talk, to 'just open up'. The automatic response is to become defensive and close up even more. You can only offer a helping hand. The person has to take it theirself.

"Suguru, did you lose weight?"

Satoru tries. He offeres Geto a hearing ear. Agreed, not in the best way there is, his voice too cheery, smile still on his face, downplaying the situation.

He simply doesn't know how to deal with this new version of his best friend. He doesn't know how to pull him out of it. For that Gojo would need to open up himself, show that he is struggleing too, but that's against everything he's ever been taught. He doesn't know how, and he probably is hella scared of his own feelings, hiding them even from himself.

"It's just the heat stress."

Suguru pushes him away, locks him out, bc there is already enough pressure on Satoru's shoulders. At least so he thinks.

And mayyyybe Suguru even has some subconscious repulsion against him. Gojo has all the power to chnage something, but he doesn’t. Geto has the vision to change something, but he can't. He's not strong enough.

They are both helpless. They don't know how to reach out to each other.

Another point: We only get Geto's pov. of the aftermath. We only get to see him deal with the fallout.

So we as the viewer know that he isn't doing well, that he is spiraling and in desperate need of help. It's easy to point fingers and say "Look at the shadows beneath his eyes. How didn't Gojo notice?"

Gojo did notice. He just didn't know how to reach out. He never had to deal with something like that before.

And now what bothers me the most: Who was there to look after Gojo? Who did offer him any help? If people point fingers at him, why not also at Suguru?

Yes, it was more obvious with Geto, he didn't have the same mask in place. But what friend wouldn't at least ask if things were okay, after their best friend literally got sliced in half and just barely escaped death?

I'm not trying to blame either of them. They simply were both too caught up inside their own minds. They were dealing with their stuff on their own and failed to see the other struggle just as much.

This isn't a one way thing. If anything, they both failed each other.

"Gojo knows it is his fault that Geto left."

No. Just no.

Bc really, in the end it's nobodies fault but Geto's. Yes, he struggled. Yes, he was traumatized. I get his character, I really do and I understand why things ended this way. But I just hate to see all of his flaws getting looked over and pushed onto Gojo.

Like a hug would have fixed things.

It doesn't work like that. Suguru's decisions were solely his own. He decided to push Satoru away. He decided to isolate himself. (Again, typical behavior of a depressed person and likeley to happen subconsciously). He decided to wipe out an entire village of 'innocent' humans.

Don't get me wrong, I love our Monkey Anti, but I'm not going to defend him. He fucked up. He had his reasons, but still.

Like Gojo said later on: "You can only safe someone who is already waiting to be saved."

Geto did not want to be saved. Or at least he didn't give Satoru a chance to save him.

So no, it's not Gojo's fault, even if he himself thinks so. Of course things could have ended differently, but for that both of them would have needed to open up.

Their falling apart was really well executed in the story. They didn't know how to deal with the situation, so they kept silent until it was too late. It's really human of both of them.

(Honestly, if you wanna blame anyone for anything, blame Toji. We wouldn't even have this mess if it wasn't for him.)

Phew... I still feel like I have so much more to say. I hope I brought my thoughts across.

I just think it's really sad that Satoru's pain and struggle get's overlooked so much, just bc we didn't see it on screen. But then again that's really fitting for his character. "The strongest doesn't struggle."

Cleverly written Gege. It breaks my heart every time I think about it.

+

These are my thoughts on the topic. If yours differ that's totally fine. So, our brains don't work the same. No biggie. Pls don't come at me.🤍🖤

[marveltaughtmetoread]

I think part of the reason why antiheroes and villains appeal to a lot of people is that they are the characters allowed to have "bad" emotions and be complex

Like I love a good hero but frequently what separates the heroes from the villains isn't just their actions it's their emotions, heroes are the happy go lucky, sunshine, always cheery and villains are the dark brooding, my life sucks and I am aware of it

And yeah you do get tragic heroes, with backgrounds that should make them emotionally complex, but they're still frequently pigeonholed into being happy, or they are allowed to be depressed but they're not allowed to be morally complex

Like I hate to be the bearer of bad news but good people in real aren't always paragons of virtue, like I would be described as kind by the people who know me, but I've struggled with anger issues, I've struggled with what the right thing is, and that's not something reflected in heroes, frequently if I want a character who has any degree of moral complexity, I need an antihero

And I also think that antiheroes and villains offer emotional catharsis, in the real world I am not gonna go around and get revenge on the people who wronged me, I might hate them, but getting revenge is not really something that's gonna happen because it takes too much effort and skill to plan, and the real world consequences of it are off putting, like I can't get revenge on my childhood bullies because they aren't a part of my life anymore, I am probably never gonna see them again and tracking them down to get revenge would take a lot of effort and make me the bad guy, I can't get revenge on my sister because she may suck but our parents don't, our family don't, ruining my sister would hurt the people I care about

But in a story I can enjoy it with relatively little qualms on my part, this is gonna be a great revenge, there's gonna be little in terms of collateral (cause we don't engage with the characters caught in the crossfire so they don't matter), it's something that can actually be carried out (cause the world has less moving parts, it's a small bubble containing the characters we've been introduced to and little else even when it's meant to be a world spanning story), and I don't have to wrecked by it because characters are a lot easier to dislike than people (people are tied to you by complicated social bonds, they are tangible and you can see the pain you caused them, they can be both a person you care about and a person who wrecked you, characters get to be uncomplicated in their detectability)

Antiheroes become a vector to process emotional and moral complexity which you wouldn't otherwise see in stories, they are the characters who acknowledge that the world isn't black and white, and they allow us to reflect on that, to go yeah this sucks and it's okay that it does

Whilst heroes only offer moral virtue and making the right choice, antiheroes and villains allow us to engage with moral complexity making the wrong choice for the wrong reasons, hurting others because they hurt you, getting revenge, all whilst not actually compromising our morals, because the story doesn't affect the real world

Thus people are drawn to them

[ithinkilikeit-reactions]

Siren Song (Song Mingi)

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A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINGI!!!!! I hope he has an amazing day

I wrote this being incredibly inspired and I quite like how it turned out so please let me know what you think

Tags: Pirate au! Mingi x Fem siren! Reader, death, nudity, alcohol

Smut tags: Quite soft, explorative, Mingi is curious, oral (reader receiving), passionate sex, body worship, a lot of kissing, cumming inside

Word count: 6177

Sirens, they were a beautiful myth. A story that sailors told to convince themselves they weren’t going mad at sea. A legend... if that’s what you believed in. 

But they weren’t a legend, they were very real. Some pirates and sailors would tell you that, tell you their stories. That they had heard their beautiful songs at sea and were almost lured in. Although not many, if any believed them. Being a pirate or at sea for a long period of time makes a man lose his credibility. However sirens, were very very real. 

Mingi was new to the boat, a fresh faced, wide eyed, young man who was ready to see the world. Becoming a pirate wasn’t something he had planned, it’s not something anyone truly plans. But society had failed him, because of his status. Being accused of something he didn’t do and found guilty, he didn’t have a choice but to run. Mingi feared nothing more than death, if he was caught he’d surely be hanged. 

No, becoming a pirate was never what he had planned. After running, he stowed away on a goods ship and somehow found himself in a pirate hotspot. Surrounded by pillagers, murderers and some things even possibly worse, he was terrified. Until a cheery man approached him named Kim Hongjoong, had a proposition for him, an offer to get Mingi out of there and give him a family. A man in his position could hardly say no. 

Now he was here, staring over the rails of the ship as they sailed slowly over misty water. He hadn’t been on waters like this in his entire life. They were filled with mystery, so much so it gave Mingi the feeling of fear in the pit of his stomach. 

“Carefull, lean over too far and you might fall in.” Yunho joked as he placed some crates on the deck. “I could’ve sworn I saw-” “You saw something in the water? Not uncommon in these parts.” Yunho told the younger, watching his expression shift. Mingi was a bit paranoid, you had to be when you’re life took a turn the way his did. 

“It’s common here?” Mingi asked, feeling a wave of security flow over him. He was just relieved to know he wasn’t the only one seeing things. “Very common. Don’t scare him Yunho, you were just as scared as him the first time you came here.” Captain Hongjoong’s voice startled the both of them, making them whip their heads around. “Sorry captain, I couldn’t help myself.” Yunho apologized and the captain shook his head with a smile. “Go bring those crates down to storage, Yeosang is waiting on them.” Yunho wasn’t one to disobey orders, so he grabbed them and left. 

“Don’t let them make you crazy. Or this part of the sea. I’ve known plenty of men who’ve gone crazy in these parts. I like you Mingi, don’t let yourself become one of them.” Hongjoong placed his hand on the younger’s back and watched as he smiled at him. “I won’t, Captain.” Mingi laughed slightly, feeling more at ease by the second. Hongjoong smiled at him in return before going to walk away, only to turn back at the last moment. “If you hear the sweet song of a woman, ignore it.” 

All that ease Mingi felt suddenly disappeared at those words, because well he didn’t quite understand what he meant. Siren’s weren’t common knowledge or a local myth in the town he grew up in. 

Scared, the man backed away from the railing and carried on with his tasks. Ignoring any sound that came from anywhere other than the ship. He was so immensly paranoid now , but there was also something in the back of his mind that his crew mates were just messing with him.

That evening, he found himself drinking with Wooyoung and San, admittedly his first mistake. He didn’t know how it was possible but with those two, he found himself drinking way more than he normally would. At least he was a happy drunk, cheery as ever this way and almost forgetting the reason he was there in the first place. The crew felt like real friends however, similar to one’s he had before running away so he didn’t quite have the right to complain. 

Mingi placed his bottle down on the deck and swayed over to the side of the boat. He felt like he was going to be sick, not that Wooyoung and San would’ve noticed. No they had long fallen asleep like the rest of the crew

Leaning over the deck, he looked at the black water. It was terrifying to him because of how deep it was. He couldn’t see anything, just a sea of black surrounding him. If he wasn’t nauseous before, he most definitely was now. 

When he looked back at the water, he wasn’t expecting to see eyes looking back at him. Let alone warm eyes, full of life, blinking at him from the water. It was a woman seemingly bobbing along and just watching him. He could only see her face and he wasn’t even sure he was actually seeing it. 

“It’s the alcohol.” He mumbled to himself, blinking and rubbing his eyes. But she didn’t disappear from sight. As a matter of fact, it seemed like she had swam closer. “Are you a pirate?” Her voice was smooth, warm in contrast to the brisk air and it made her all the more real. Mingi was frozen, just staring back at her with wide eyes and taking in the details. 

It seemed like she was surrounded by light, it reflected off of her damp skin as she raised her head and body more. Now exposing her bare shoulders, he realised she wasn’t wearing any clothing and averted his eyes, but only for a moment. He had caught something out of the corner of his eye, something silver that reflected the moon light. 

It was a shiny, silver tail that practically glowed. The closer he looked, the more he noticed that it was attached to her and well the more his fear rose. Though he wasn’t sure what the fear stemmed from, if it was not knowing what this creature was, or that he thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

“What are you?” He asked, staring at her with an intrigued expression. Mingi couldn’t help but get goosebumps as she laughed, throwing her head back and expelling the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. “That’s not a very kind question... though in hind sight I asked you the same thing.” She said, lifting her hands to move her long wet hair from her face. This left her body even more exposed to him, as she bobbed along the water. Though she didn’t seem fazed by it one bit. 

“How about this, you answer my question and I’ll answer yours?” She rebutted and Mingi stood with his mouth agape. “Alright.” He barely choked out and watched as she disappeared under the water, only to appear closer to the ship again. Now that she was closer, he could see her face better and he felt himself get nervous. She was beautiful, an ethereal being. 

“Are you a pirate?” She asked again, a curious smile on her face as she looked up at him. “I am.” Mingi responded, watching as she clapped her hands in joy. “Oh I do so much like pirates. So much more interesting than fishermen.” Her eyes sparkled as she spoke and Mingi was lost, as if she had cast spell. “Their stories are so much more interesting.” She added on before locking eyes with him once more. 

“Your turn.” She smiled at him and Mingi dried his hands on his pants, the situation had caused a cold sweat to form. “What are you?” His question was simple, yet still made the woman laugh again. “Surely a pirate knows a siren when he sees one, though if that was the case you probably would’ve tried to kill me.” She rambled as her tail splashed the dark water lightly. “A siren?” Mingi asked, not quite having heard the word before. “A siren... surely you’ve heard of them. You must be quite new to sea.” She said softly, the young pirate intrigued her. 

“Tell me your name, handsome pirate.” She asked softly and Mingi felt himself doubt whether he should tell her. She somehow managed to see right through him, however she called him handsome and that made a feeling bubble in the pit of his stomach. “Mingi.” He said it softly, merely a whisper, one he didn’t think she could hear. “Mingi.” She repeated much to his surprise. “Mingi... I like the way that feels to say.” She added on and he leaned down a bit more, trying to get closer to her. 

“Mingi, make sure to ask your crew about sirens.” She giggled before disappearing underwater, only to appear further away. Mingi’s heart sank, not wanting her to go, not yet. “Wait! Wait! At least tell me your name!” He called out to her, watching as she halted once more. She turned to look at him and with small laugh, she told him. “Y/N, my name is Y/N.” 

Mingi couldn’t find sleep, not at all after that. There was question in his mind whether all that he saw that night really happened. He had drank a lot and he had been at sea longer than ever before. It must’ve been a dream, a vision even. You were a dream, a vision. 

“Did you drink that much last night?” Captain Hongjoong asked, staring at his younger crew mate. He was gazing off into the distance, eyes small due to lack of sleep and hands restless. “No, I just couldn’t sleep.” Mingi admitted, not quite wanting to ask anyone about what he had seen. But if anyone would tell him seriously, it would be the captain. 

“What’s bothering you?” The man could tell when something was bothering his crew and it was incredibly obvious that something was bothering him. “It’s just something San and Wooyoung said yesterday...” “I told you not to listen to their stories.” The captain laughed and Mingi shook his head. “No, I just- what are sirens?” Mingi choked out the question, the thing that had been on his mind all night. Hongjoong wasn’t expecting the question to lead here, he thought the man knew.

“You don’t know? I thought you did when I made my comments yesterday.” He watched as the younger shook his head. “Well, many think they’re legend. I suppose I understand why, the brain refuses to believe what it can’t see. But they are very much real.” He paused and Mingi was starting to become scared. Maybe it was his captain’s tone of voice, or maybe it was the validation that you weren’t a figment of his imagination. 

“They’re beautiful beings, more beautiful than any of the other evil things put on this earth. Top half of a beautiful woman and the bottom half a tail. Not to mention their voices, they lure sailor men in with their song and beauty. Only to drag them to bottom of the ocean and drown them. Most sailors fall for it, they just want a kiss from the beautiful thing so that when they go back home they have a story to tell. Fools, can’t blame the creatures for doing it.” Mingi was mortified at his captain’s words. To think he found you to be the most beautiful thing in the world. The prettiest things were the deadliest, that was what Mingi was starting to learn. 

Mingi took the words as warning, if you appeared again he wasn’t going to give you the time of day. At least that’s what he told himself. Despite the tale, he wanted to see you again. So badly, he found himself dreaming about you. His eyes deceived him as stared out at the sea, he could have sworn he saw the sunlight reflect off of your silver tail.

But he had to push the to the side, there was an island incomming. It was nothing more than a small island, no living thing in sight. Nothing but beaches and trees, good enough to hunt and good enough to make sure the men didn’t go crazy on board. Which meant everyone around was scrambling around and preparing to drop the anchor. 

His eyes were glued on the water as they rowed to shore. Mingi was entirely sure he would never see you again, they had travelled quite far in the last 2 days and well it’s not like you had a reason to stick around. He was sure of it, but he didn’t want to be right. 

The plan was to stay on the island over night, sleep in the tree line and then go back in the morning once they had gathered enough and hunted enough. Simple enough.

Well, night rolled around quickly and the crew was sound asleep. Everyone except Mingi, no he had hardly slept a wink since you visited him. He simply laid in his hammock and counted the stars through the tree tops. That was until he heard a song. An absolutely heavenly voice coming from the shore. 

Mingi knew he shouldn’t have gotten up, he knew it. But there was a chance that it was you and he just couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see you again, despite what his captain had told him. 

The sand crunched beneath his boots as he slowly walked over to the shore line, scanning the beach and looking for the source of the voice. Looking over, he could see a group of rocks and on top of the largest one, he spotted it. That familiar glow of your tail in the moonlight and the way you looked up at the sky and sang. 

Waling slowly, he listened to your song and your beautiful voice as you stared at the night sky. The closer he got, the more he found his chest aching. He couldn’t tell if it was with fear or desire and that line got more blurred the closer he got. 

“Mingi!” Your voice was cheery when you noticed him approaching you and it was accompanied with an enthousiastic wave. “Surely Y/N isn’t as malicious as Hongjoong told me.” He thought to himself as he stood in front of the rock. You were as beautiful as ever, sitting in front of him. 

“I was hoping you’d be the one to come and find me.” She teased, a soft smirk on her lips as Mingi tried not to gawk at you. “You’re even more handsome up close.” She added on and he felt himself get nervous. “You told me to ask my crew what a siren was. I did.” Mingi told you, playing with his hands so he had something else to look at. “Hmm and what did they tell you?” You were staring at him, truly wanting him to look at you again. 

When Mingi finally brought his eyes back to you, he noticed that your tale was gone, now showing a pair of legs and a very, very bare body. “How?-” He stuttered and you laughed, loving the surprise on his face. “They apparently didn’t tell you everything. if we’re dry and on land, we have legs.” You explained, watching as his eyes trailed over your body. 

“Are you going to kill me?” Mingi asked, finding it better to be straightforward from this point on. It’s better to have feigned confidence than nothing at all. “No. You fascinate me. I don’t kill the things that fascinate me.” You were so blunt about it, raking your hands through your hair. “Come here, pirate and tell me your story. It’s not every day a pirate doesn’t know the legend of a siren. Whether they believe it or not.” Mingi was caught off guard, not sure what to do. The sea was far enough away, which comforted him because he knew you couldn’t drown him on this rock. 

He moved to sit across from you on the rock and tried to avoid staring at your bare body, averting his eyes before shrugging off his vest and handing it to you. “I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time concentrating.” Mingi stuttered, you smiled at him though and an odd feeling shot through your chest. “Most sailors would simply enjoy.” You said and slipped the clothing over your shoulders. Mingi shook his head, a small smile now forming over his own lips. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy it.” He clarified and looked at you wearing his clothes. You were beautiful. 

“You’re a different type of man, Mingi.” Why his name sounded so good coming from your lips, he had no idea. But it was absolutely addicting. 

“How did you end up out here?” You asked, stretching your legs and leaning back. You loved a good story, where as your sisters didn’t quite like talking but preferred a siren’s typical methods. 

“This wasn’t how my life was supposed to be, I wasn’t supposed to end up here.” Mingi had te delve deep for a moment. Sure some of the crew knew his story, but it wasn’t something he told just anyone. 

“I lived in a town that was quite progressive, I worked under and iron smith as an apprentice. I did good, I was a good man and i just tried to make it by like anyone else.” You watched as he spoke, taking in his details and tone. He was sad. “I never tried to hurt anyone and if I did it wasn’t on deliberate. But my master, he wasn’t good. He actively tried hurting people, especially ones he hated and he didn’t hate anyone more than his own daughter. I never understood why, she was pretty, kind and well liked among the town but he hated her.” Mingi had to pause, remembering that time, remembering the sweet girl that was always so nice to him when he worked. 

“I came into the shop one day and found her, dead on the ground, strangled. Her father did it and pinned it on me. Claiming that I ‘always watched her when she was around’ and that I was ‘just wait for a chance to be alone with her’. I-” Mingi was cut off when a tear dropped from his eyes. You had placed your hand on his chin, wiping it away with your thumb. “You never touched her.” You said softly, scanning his face. “I never did, They were going to hang me for something I didn’t do. I had to run.” You continued to wipe the tears from his face, moving onto your knees to get closer to him. 

“And that’s how you ended up here.” You had heard many sad stories in your life, but none of the men had seemed nearly as regretful as Mingi did in this moment. Your hand moved from his chin to his cheek, taking in his handsome features. Even when he was upset, he was handsome. Sharp jawline coupled with a sharp nose and pillowy lips. Definitely one of the more handsome men at sea. 

“You know in your heart that you didn’t do it.” You said softly, moving your fingers to thread through his hair. Mingi found himself staring at your face, taking note of your sympathetic face. Surely you weren’t the murderous creature he was told you were. 

“My sisters aren’t fond of men, they kill them for sport. But I like hearing the stories, it takes a lot to drive a man out to sea.” You explained and gently pulled his face closer to yours. Mingi felt himself sink into your touch, allowing you to guide him into laying down with his face settled in the crook of your neck. Your skin was soft under his touch and his hands found your waist to hold onto as he relaxed. Your nails scraped over his scalp lightly, making him hum. 

“You have a pure soul.” You said softly, enjoying his touch. Mingi didn’t know what had gotten into him, he had went from being scared of you to being held by you and well he was enjoying it. Your touch was comforting. 

Your legs tangled with his, fingers still running through his hair. “Go to sleep Mingi. Dawn is almost upon us.” You whispered, kissing his forehead and allowing him to lul to sleep. Mingi had let his guard down fully for you and as ridiculous as it sounded, he was falling in love. 

The hours in your arms, were the best hours he had ever slept. Being in such a deep dream that he didn’t think even an earthquake could wake him. He dreamt that he was underwater and absolutely weightless. Just floating under the surface of chrystal clear water. You were swimming circles around him, silver tail catching the rays of light from the sun as you did so. He felt as if he was one with the ocean. 

It wasn’t until the feeling of something pushing him (quite roughly) woke him up and brought him back to reality. “Jesus Christ Mingi, we thought you’d be killed by something. What are you doing all the way out here?” Wooyoung’s voice was shrill as he yelled to wake Mingi up. “Huh?” He shot up from his position on the rock, looking around frantically for you. But you were nowhere to be found and well, neither was his vest. 

“What are you doing out here?” Wooyoung asked again and Mingi shook his head, needing to come up with a response and fast. “I uhh couldn’t sleep last night, went for a walk and then sat down here. Guess I fell asleep.” He cleared his throat and blinked at his friend. “You’ve been acting strange Mingi. Are you alright?” He asked, voice full of concern. Mingi never acted this odd, Wooyoung was worried. 

“I’m fine, just haven’t been sleeping properly.” He admitted and ran his fingers through his hair. Your touch was still lingering on his skin, he could feel you everywhere. 

“Captain wants to stay here one more night, founds some caves and a lake he wants to check out.” Wooyoung explained and Mingi nodded. “Alright, I’ll be around in a bit.” Mingi said softly, needing a moment to process some things. Where had you gone?

He had managed to pull himself together, rejoining the crew in exploring the island. Traipsing through the trees, he looked around the area and took it in. One thing he could admit was that he never would have seen half of the beautiful things he had if he had stayed in his village, you included. He couldn’t take that for granted, especially not as he was standing in front of a small waterfall that fell into a small crystal clear lake. 

“Wow.” He said quietly, feeling Hongjoong clap his hand onto his back. “Not something you see everyday.” His captain said, a big smile on his face. Mingi couldn’t help but crack a smile himself, shaking his head. “Definitely not something you see everyday.” He laughed, looking over to the waterfall and laughing. The bad feeling he had had about you was gone, the bad feeling in his gut was gone. Airing his worries out to you made him feel better, things were looking up in his opinion. Maybe he would sleep properly from now on too. 

The pirates made camp near the water and Mingi found himself once more staring into water. It was so clear but you couldn’t see the bottom. It was deceptively deep, someone could easily make the mistake of swimming too deep and not make it back up for air. It looked like the water from his dream.  

The feeling of gentle fingertips gliding over his cheek woke him up that night. He knew his crew wouldn’t spare him the same gentle touch, it had to be you. “Wake up handsome.” Your fingertips moved from his cheek to his chin, stroking it gently as you took in features. Truly handsome. 

“Where’d you go this morning?” Mingi asked, eyes opening slowly to see your face. He watched as your lips curled into smile and your eyes sparkled. “Come on.” You said softly, taking his hand into yours. Pulling Mingi from his bed, he didn’t even question it. He had decided that this island was his paradise. 

“You stole my vest.” Mingi commented once they were further away from the rest of the crew. He watched you let out a hearty laugh and turn around to look at him. “I found myself quite liking it. I think i could get used to this clothing thing.” You smiled, before tugging him closer to you. 

He felt his breath hitch for a moment as your chest met his, it was a natural reaction. The only thing keeping his body from yours was his vest, naturally he was flustered. Mingi pressed his chest against you, the weight of his body making you step backwards until your back hit a boulder. 

“You keep calling me handsome.” Mingi remarked, his hand coming up to rest on your bare hip. It was the first time a man’s touch had made goosebumps form over your skin. “You keep calling me handsome and I don’t think I’ve told you how beautiful I think you are.” His words made you almost shiver. Of course you had heard them all before, he wasn’t your first pirate or sailor. But surely they had a different effect on you than most. 

You grabbed his chin again, this time with more force than any of the other times. Mingi flinched slightly only to find your lips not inches apart from his and he took the risk. He was going to kiss a siren. 

He didn’t intend to kiss you so roughly, but need took over as he pressed his lips to yours. You moved your hands to his hair and gently scratched over his scalp as he kissed you. Deepening the kiss as you did so, you could feel him hum against your lips. His hand moved up, from your hip to your waist underneath vest and his grip tightened slightly. 

Mingi moved his hands down to your thighs, lifting you off the ground to lay you down on your back. The vest had shifted, being useless in covering you up at this point, so you simply took it off. He sat on his heels as you wrapped your legs around his waist, not wanting his body to leave yours. You simply looked up at him as he looked over your body, his regularly soft expression having turned dark and intense. It made heat pool inbetween your legs. 

Reaching up, you undid the ties on his shirt and tugged it off of him. The action made him laugh before he leaned down and pressed his bare chest to yours. His hands moving your hair out of your face before kissing you again. This kiss was so much more intense, teeth clashing and hips rolling into yours. Not to mention the feeling of his bare skin on yours, you were infatuated with him. 

His pants didn’t do much for hiding how much he enjoyed you, bulge pressing directly into your bare core. You let out a gasp at the pressure, making him nip at your lips before trailing the kisses down your jaw. He wasn’t horribly experienced but he knew enough and well he seemed to be doing just fine. That gave him a confidence boost, not to mention every little sound coming out of your mouth, boosted his confidence even more. 

“Mingi-” You hummed, feeling his lips over your neck. The kisses were gentle, soft praises being whispered inbetween them. “So beautiful.” He said softly and groaned as you tugged harshly on his hair. Mingi looked you in the eyes and flashed a smile in your direction. “Where did you learn how to kiss like that?” You asked, your fingers tracing over his lips. “I had a life before this.” He chuckled before turning his face back to your skin. 

His hands moved to massage your breasts, thumbs swiping over your nipples before latching his lips over one. Sucking at your skin and sending a wave of pleasure through your body and making your arch your back. 

Mingi was absolutely straining in his pants now, your body was perfect to him as if you were made for him. Your soft skin, your precious lips and your gentle hands, you were everything he had always wanted. 

Your fingers threading through his hair got a bit harsher the more he flicked his tongue of your nipple, you already felt like you were on fire. He moved his lips down over your stomach before stopping at before your core. This was something he had never done, but something he had always wanted to do. 

Spreading your thighs a little further, he settled between your legs and wrapped his arms around them. “What are yo- Oh.” You moaned, feeling the light kiss on your core. It almost made you feel lightheaded and dizzy, as his tongue delved deeper. Licking up your juices, he couldn’t help but moan. Perhaps it was because of what you were, or maybe you truly were built for him, but you tasted sweet and addictive. He wanted more of you. 

You raised your hips, guiding your core over his tongue and moaning out. “Mingi please don’t stop.” You moaned out, needing to feel that sweet sweet release. it was the way you moaned out his name, repeatedly like you were saying a prayer, he wasn’t going to stop until you came. He pulled you closer to his face, harshly and showed you that he truly wasn’t planning on stopping. 

The coil in your stomach quickly burst, making your hips buck as you tried to pull away from him. The whines coming out of your mouth were music to his ears as he continued to lick over your core, lapping up every bit of your juices that he could and finally pulling away. 

You looked at him as he sat on his heels again, lower part of his face glistening with your juices and breathing heavily. “Did that also get taught to you from your life before this?” You asked, sitting up to undo his pants. His arms hung at his sides and he simply let you do it for him. “Actually, I’ve never done that before.” Mingi admitted, making your actions halt. It felt entirely too good for it to have been his first time. You raised an eyebrow at him before pushing him back, making him lay on the ground. 

“I feel like you’re lying to me.” You said, tugging his pants down and watching his cock spring up. “I don’t lie.” He said and you shook your head. You straddled him, your core right over his and you braced your hands on his chest. “All men lie.” You whispered, leaning down and placing a quick kiss on his lips. His hands moved to your ass and helped you sink down onto him. “I like to think I’m not like all men. Especially not what you’re used too” He groaned, finally being enveloped in you. You took a moment to let your body adjust to his, breathing through the stretch and feeling a warmth in your chest as his fingers laced with yours. It was a comforting action, to distract you from the discomfort however slight it was. Maybe Mingi wasn’t like all men. 

You raised his hands over his head, pinning them there with your own as you started raising your hips. Allowing yourself to bounce on him, you felt so incredibly full. Filling you up completely and making your legs shake slightly but you put that to the side. It felt too good to stop. 

Mingi was even more convinced than before that you were made for him with the way you squeezed him. You released his hands and placed yours back on his chest, needing more support as you continued to ride him. He was hitting that sweet spot inside of you with every little bit he raised his hips to meet your thrusts. 

“You feel so good.” Mingi moaned out, hands pulling your chest flush against his. he planted his feet on the ground, fucking up into you and taking over. He was chasing his own high, needing a harsher pace and leaving you stuttering. 

You watched his face, from his shut eyes to his clenched jaw. That alone was almost enough to make you orgasm again. You kissed his lips to hide your moans as you felt them getting louder, his crew still being only a small distance away. He kissed you in return as his own stomach filled with warmth. He was so close to release and just needed that little bit to send you both over the edge. Your hand found his hair once more, tugging it in response to a harsh thrust and that did it. His hips stuttered and deep groans left his lips as he planted himself deep inside of you. Orgasm coating your walls and sending you over the edge with him. 

You lay there ontop of him, feeling incredibly full as he stroked your hair. “You are different from most men.” You mumbled softly, feeling a wave guilt come through you. “Most men don’t care the way you do.” Your words shrunk in volume even more, guilt and shame taking over you. Maybe it was guilt over your past actions, the men you had dragged to the bottom of the ocean, maybe it was about what you were going to do. 

Mingi helped you get off of him, watching you lay down next to him. You rested your head on his chest and he stroked your hair. The few times he had been with someone this way, yes they had been special. But nothing quite like this, Mingi was overwhelmed with love. 

“Y/N?” His tone sounded questioning, almost as unsure as the first night he had met you. “I think I might be in love with you.” He confessed, the feeling in his chest no longer being contained. He really couldn’t help himself, the last few days had been filled with you. Not just physically, but you were in his heart. You were speechless at his words, the guilt now eating you alive. 

“Come with me.” You said, pushing yourself off of the ground. Mingi couldn’t care anymore, not if you were completely bare or if he was. No, he only knew he would follow you anywhere. 

“Where are we going?” He asked, as you lead him towards the lake. “I feel sticky, I want to go for a swim.” You told him, hardly being able to look him in the eyes anymore. “Join me.” You added on, holding his hand gently, you stood before the water together.

 “Hey.” Mingi said softly, bringing his hands up to cup your cheeks and make you look at him. You hadn’t even realised it, but tears were falling over your cheeks. “What’s wrong?” He asked, those beautiful brown eyes boring holes into your own. You had never felt this guilty before. “Nothing’s wrong...” Your voice trailed off and looked to his lips once more. You started walking forward, making him walk backwards towards the water. 

He stepped in slowly, leaning forward to kiss you as he did so. “Mingi... I love you too.” You admitted, deciding that that was where the guilt stemmed from. Mingi felt his chest get warm once more, not being used to this at all but wondering how your life together could be from this point on. 

He kissed you, harshly and you sighed into it before diving forward. You both fell into the water, lips still locked and you gripped his wrist. You needed to get rid of your guilt and now was better than any other time. 

Mingi wasn’t entirely aware of how far down into the lake you had pulled him. Your hand wrapped around his wrist as your silver tail brought you both down towards the bottom quickly. 

It wasn’t until it was already too late that Mingi realised that this was his dream. Down at the bottom of a lake, the moonlight shining down through the surface as Mingi felt absolutely weightless. You let him go and swam around him, watching him blink under the water as he watched you.

He started feeling himself go lightheaded, dizzy as his lungs started to burn. He was starting to realise that his dream wasn’t a dream, it was a warning and it was now too late. Feeling his vision go dark, the last thing he saw was that silver glimmer of your tail in the moonlight and your beautiful face. 

Despite being the thing that killed him, he still thought you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

A/N: Again please let me know what you think! This is quite different from what I normally write. There will most definitely be typos but please,ignore those lmao

[sepublic]

The Golden Guard: Eda’s Dark Parallel?

           Does anyone else think that the Golden Guard actually reminds Lilith a LOT of Eda, specifically Eda as a kid, during the good old days before she got cursed?

           Think about it… They’re both sassy, hot-headed teen prodigies with an owl motif and yellow attire. And the way Lilith angrily talks about the Golden Guard, it seems her feelings of resentment mirror how she felt towards Eda back when they were kids? Lilith, who was by-the-book and traditional, worked so hard… And then there’s this younger person with an Owl motif who just swoops in out of nowhere and through talent, completely outclasses her!

           If you go with the idea that Lilith wanted Gwendolyn’s approval and had to compete with Eda over that… Then for all we know, maybe Lilith lowkey wanted Belos’ approval as well, but felt like she was being cheated out of that with the Golden Guard, who kept stealing the spotlight from her! 

          Like she was afraid he’d take her spot as head of the Emperor’s Coven, the way Lilith feared that Eda would win the initiation duel back when they were kids… And lo and behold, the Golden Guard DID take that! Granted Lilith left an obvious vacancy from her own betrayal of Belos so of course he took that spot, but still; It’s quite a sore spot.

           In some ways, perhaps Lilith is aware of this, deep-down or not; She might see the Golden Guard as just Young Eda, but without any of the emotional connection, nor any redeeming qualities; If he does have them, again, it’s not like Lilith knows the Golden Guard well enough to know these traits, much less take them into account.

           LOTS of text and speculation and analyses below!!!

           The Golden Guard is even sixteen years old… Which, is very likely EDA’s age, back when her and Lilith competed for the Emperor’s Coven! That can take on a whole new, dark meaning for her… 

          Perhaps Lilith is low-key disturbed by the Golden Guard’s existence, because he reminds her too much of Young Eda? Eda, before she was cursed- So it’s like the memory of her is coming back to haunt Lilith, in the form of someone who has no concern for Lilith whatsoever to hold him back, unlike the actual Eda.

           And in a way, it’s a horrible reminder that some things never change, that some things stay the same and Lilith can’t get past them, she can’t outgrow it like she thought she did; Because even now, even as head of the Emperor’s Coven, there’s still a 16-year-old prodigy with an owl motif and yellow attire, who is sassy and playful and mischievous, who threatens to upstage Lilith’s self-esteem and sense of power. Somebody Lilith is afraid of; Thirty years later, and she STILL has to deal with this kind of person in her life, but it’s worse because she’s actually older and should be better, yet somehow isn’t…

           Who knows? Maybe Lilith even recognized the similarities to Eda, enough to actually be sympathetic to the Golden Guard at first? Perhaps she, on some level, saw the Golden Guard as a way to vicariously redo her past with Eda, but without the mistakes… Maybe she tried to be nice to the Golden Guard, but then he quickly turned out to be a snob, he’s not REALLY Eda; So Lilith settled on never cursing him like she did Eda, but then otherwise decided that she didn’t owe him any love and could just quietly loathe his guts.

          Lilith failed Eda in part because she was an older sister who abandoned her in a time of need, but there’s not really that expectation with the Golden Guard, so why bother? She’s got enough on her plate as is, and an ACTUAL Eda to worry about, to look after, to be concerned for and patch things up with.

           I’ve even seen people make the very good point that in a lot of ways… The Golden Guard is like a Dark Eda? In the sense that, he’s Eda, had she joined the Emperor’s Coven as a kid. He’s a look at Young Eda, if she didn’t reject the Coven System, and joined Belos- Reveling in her own talent and power as granting her ‘special treatment’ over the rest, so any downsides to the coven system weren’t HER problem anyway!

           Again, this adds another layer to the Golden Guard being very reminiscent of Young Eda, and even current Eda as well… Except, he never lost his magic and was never cursed. Maybe that’s another thing he unknowingly haunts Lilith over; He’s lowkey a reminder of what Eda could’ve been, had Lilith not been selfish and a coward, or had she communicated better. Yet at the same time, he’s frustrating- Because the Golden Guard is like the worst parts of Eda, the parts that Lilith hated and made her resentful…

           And this constant reminder of the past, of her own issues with Eda back then that culminated in the curse- It could’ve made it a LOT harder for Lilith to really resolve things with Eda, because this kid keeps reminding her why she was so angry, and it’s impossible for her to move on because the Golden Guard isn’t some distant memory, but an actual person who continues to threaten her, the way Eda had…

          And of course, the Golden Guard reminds Lilith of the Eda she lost; The happy, carefree Eda who wasn’t cursed, the Eda she could’ve had in a sense. The Eda that Lilith in some ways wanted, yet is forced to confront and acknowledge is a very obnoxious and terrible person that makes her unhappy…

          And this kind of rude reminder that the Eda that Lilith wanted would’ve continued to make her miserable, if not moreso, is not something she appreciates shattering her dreams and low-key denial, of a world where things had just been a little different.

          The person you’re trying to get, maybe get BACK, wasn’t so great after all- So you just have to move on, and be glad for the Eda who IS happier with her life and more mature, despite being older and more cursed. You gotta move past your guilt Lilith, and realize that Eda is in a better place- Not that she ever needed the curse, but she doesn’t quite need saving from the parts of her life she actually chose for herself, in part to be kind to Lilith no less! Because I bet Lilith believes that deep down, she didn’t deserve Eda’s kindness, so she wishes to reverse that compassionate decision of Eda’s that only resulted in Eda suffering because of how terrible Lily secretly is.

           But, back to the subject; There’s more similarities to Eda and the Golden Guard, especially at the end of Separate Tides; How he makes an ominous warning before casually, happily yelling “BYYEEEE!!!”, just like Eda when she warns Luz about trying to have a Moonlight Conjuring in Hooty’s Moving Hassle, before heading off to the Night Market. His widow’s peak even bears a decent resemblance to Eda’s, doesn’t it? Which…

           Combined with all of the talk about bird motifs being a Clawthorne thing, it DOES raise many questions about the Golden Guard’s potential connection to Eda. Is he some long-lost son? A third child that Gwendolyn had later in life, because witch biology might allow them to do that? Some homunculus, crafted from bits of DNA from Eda, and maybe even Belos? Belos does seem weirdly fond and trusting of him, the two are placed together in the Season 2 outro when nobody else, not even Kikimora, is there; And of course, the Golden Guard wields a staff, red magic, and fleshy creations, VERY similar to Belos…

           I can’t say for sure- But the idea of the Golden Guard as an alternate Eda is fascinating. An Eda who became completely arrogant, and didn’t stop to care about others; Her cockiness and mischief becoming cruel and obnoxious, essentially the worst parts of Eda, down the path she’d always dreaded. A look into another life, a different choice in such a pivotal part of her past… Personally, I LOVE this kind of dark parallel of a character, so I’m hoping these similarities are commented upon in-universe, assuming they’re not outright literal!

           In a way, the Golden Guard could haunt Eda, because he reminds her of herself… Of her carefree youth, but what she could’ve had… But also, the terrible things she’d done. And obviously Eda despises the coven system too much to really change her mind, and it’s safe to say that the Golden Guard is not at all what she wanted to ever become… But still, it’s a neat bit of character writing and parallelism. If Belos is like a Dark Luz, what Luz could’ve been had she not grown… And the same could apply between King and Kikimora;

           Then who knows? The Golden Guard could be a Dark Eda, who got by talent and continued to take things for granted. An Eda who swore loyalty to Belos and was embraced by the emperor for her skill and ability. Jovial and cheery, but without any of the actual compassion that makes this genuine with Eda. An immature brat who never grew up (granted he’s only sixteen and hasn’t gotten the chance), unlike Eda. And if the Golden Guard is an alternate Eda;

           It’s fascinating how his roles are reversed with his alternate Luz… The Eda parallel is younger than the Luz parallel, learning from them, and taking after their motifs as well! But I guess it’s not all too surprising, with how Eda and Luz both learn from one another, though I suspect Belos and the Golden Guard aren’t as mutual, but who knows? 

          It does make you wonder about Kikimora and King as potential mediators between these duos, whose placement remains consistent… How does Kikimora, the King parallel, interact with her Luz and Eda? Did she become close friends with HER Luz, while, as Dana’s art suggests, she seems somewhat irritated by and resentful of her own Eda? So it’s like Eda and King never grew to be friends and conquer differences… As well as if King never grew to respect Luz and saw her as just a “f*cking nerd”?

           With how Luz is taking after Eda, and possibly getting a Cardinal palisman to complete the Clawthorne motif as a new member of the family… Who knows? The Golden Guard could be an intriguing character for her to bounce off of narratively, maybe as someone Luz might have, in another universe, learned to look up to and admire? How well Luz’s relationship be with the Golden Guard, if they are a Dark Eda? And how can this indirectly show us about how Luz and Young Eda would’ve interacted, what Young Eda was like, what Lilith went through as a kid…

           And, for all we know- The Golden Guard’s owl motif doesn’t hint at a pre-existing connection to the Clawthornes, but rather a future one… Maybe he’ll end up being adopted by Eda, the way Luz was? I’d love to see the Golden Guard become an evil older sibling who’s protective of Luz… 

          I ADORE that trope to death; Evil older brother with bright, younger sister, whom he cares about, and the sister cares for him too, even if it’s complicated because the sister believes in the brother to be better, while the brother doesn’t want to be better, or is at least reluctant about having to change…

           I’d love to see another Hugo and Kipo dynamic, and actually… If the Golden Guard parallels Eda, then who’s his Lilith? Could it be Luz herself? I’ve talked before the similarities between Luz and Lilith, as kids who were bullied and struggled with a lack of talent, but made up for it with hard work and ingenuity; They’ll give you a lot of trouble for doing the right thing, but then happily leap at the opportunity if they think someone is improving.

           And, as Separate Tides has also shown us; They both grapple with guilt over making Eda suffer, unintentionally to varying degrees. Luz and Lilith both learn that they’re not a burden and that it’s okay to ask for help, and come to terms with their guilt with Eda… If Belos and the Golden Guard are Luz and Eda reversed, then could Luz and the Golden Guard also be Lilith and Luz, reversed?

          With the Eda parallel being the older sibling in this scenario… An alternate timeline where Eda and Lilith were the same people, but switched places in birth, and it was EDA who ended up being the cruel and toxic sibling who left the younger feeling demeaned and worthless. I imagine if that were the case, the Golden Guard’s toxicity would occur largely in the beginning, as he acts adversarial to Luz and mocks her, taunts her over Eda’s loss of magic, and her own glyphs no doubt; The Golden Guard doesn’t seem to acknowledge glyphs as a valid form of magic himself.

           But then, if he were to get a redemption, the Golden Guard’s tune might change as he matures and learns to treat Luz more kindly… In a way mimicking how Eda really grew to care for Luz, but also the way Eda has begun to reconnect with Lilith, except with the Golden Guard as the one with the baggage and guilt.

           And, a redemption might not be too implausible, because… He is literally only sixteen, the same age as Emira and Edric, and likely the same age as Eda when SHE was cursed. Younger than Lilith, when she made the worst mistake of her life, because she didn’t understand the coven system for what it truly was –and who could blame her?- and was grappling with a likely terrible mother in Gwendolyn… The Golden Guard is literally a minor, and possibly an overworked teen prodigy.

           After all, the first glimpse of his personality Dana gave us, way back in 2020, was of the Golden Guard admitting that he was tired; And despite his usually cheery personality, all of our glimpses at his face behind the mask (symbolism!) have had him look likely serious and glum… But then again, we don’t see the lower half of his face, so who knows? 

          Perhaps the Golden Guard is abused and overworked by Belos, kind of like Amity with her parents… The Golden Guard is a child dealing with a very toxic influence, and a huge burden of responsibility no less. And with all the potential connections to Belos as maybe even a literal father, or at least a parental figure, it’s not hard to see why the Golden Guard would turn out so messed up. And the Golden Guard being ‘tired’ could be a connection to how Eda is left exhausted from her curse, too.

           So, who knows? Because of his age, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect, or at least hope, for a redemption for this kiddo. But a recent sister show to The Owl House has taught me anything, kids aren’t free from death, and Infinity Train made it clear that you can humanize and sympathize and mourn someone who deserved better, yet ultimately dug their grave and was condemned to a sudden death because of that; All because they didn’t know any better, and really couldn’t have.

           And on another note- Maybe the Golden Guard has owl motifs like Eda… Because in a lot of ways, he actually admires her? He admires the Owl Lady, or at least the certain ‘past’ version that others such as Lilith may have brought up… Maybe the Golden Guard seeks to supplant Eda the Owl Lady as The Most Powerful Witch in the Boiling Isles. Maybe he sees himself as Eda, but better, and this rebellious, hot-headed kid feels the need to prove himself by defeating someone he sees himself in.

           Maybe the Golden Guard is like Lilith, as someone who wishes Eda could’ve joined the coven system, and he’s disappointed in how all her talent was ‘wasted’ on other things. Maybe the Golden Guard was disappointed in Eda losing her magic, losing further respect for his ‘problematic idol’, and/or he felt some validation and vindication in being a successor to Eda. 

          Does he hold some grudge? Did the Owl Lady’s power excite him, give the Golden Guard a goal to recklessly challenge and defeat, so he can experience the thrill of victory and add to this feeling of invincibility that teenagers, especially the talented ones, have?

           Eda as a kid, and even now, has always been fond of spiting what others say she can’t do, or setting new precedents and accomplishments to prove herself. Maybe the Golden Guard is like that, and hopes to take on the onus of outdoing the Owl Lady; Perhaps he admires Eda, and wishes she could’ve joined a coven like him. As an outside admirer, he mourns Eda’s ‘potential’ in a way similar to Lilith, but different; Because he’s a kid who looks up to her, and not an older sibling that has an actual childhood with Eda. If so, then that’s another dark parallel to Luz;

           After all, Luz got frustrated by Eda in Adventures in the Elements. So maybe the Golden Guard is someone who grew resentful of Eda for not living up to the legend he hoped, the image he wanted, sort of like Lilith! I’ll go out on a limb and even suggest him as a past apprentice, who unlike Luz, never learned to be patient and appreciate Eda’s teachings, so he turned to the coven system and Belos for easy gratification. He didn’t want to be challenged… And in that way, the Golden Guard could parallel my speculation on Belos, as also a Dark Luz.

          So of course, it makes sense that Belos would recognize this same dilemma in the Golden Guard, and perhaps be sympathetic and take him under his wing for it. Eda might not recognize the Golden Guard because he’s changed a bit himself, is hiding his own identity –Lilith doesn’t seem to know much about the witch beneath the mask either, just the public image and façade- and Eda’s been having memory issues. Maybe this will add to the Golden Guard’s resentment, who knows? He really might just be a rebellious teen who Eda failed, unlike with Luz… And that could add to more envy, perhaps.

           At the very least; Dana’s fondness for the Golden Guard takes on a whole new meaning… What with how Eda is pretty much one of, if not THE most favorite character of hers, the one who really jumpstarted this entire show and world to begin with… Having this other character she likes essentially be a canon AU version of that beloved creation, would certainly make a lot of sense! Dana likes Eda, she likes to show us about Young Eda; So a character who IS Young Eda, just on a different path, would likely appeal to her. We’ll see…

           I think it’s worth noting that in her art of the Golden Guard, it depicts him as essentially a normal, lazy teenager who’s asking someone else to do his chore for him, while he lounges around to do something else. I could see a young Eda as occasionally fulfilling that role and asking her older sister Lily for a favor- And maybe this could allude to the Golden Guard being frequently exhausted from being overworked himself, hence “I’m tired” and wanting to extend his breaks as much as possible. We’ll just have to wait and see…

[demonlamb666]

How would yandere Kirishima react to the reader crying because of the movie she’s seeing? Not because of the cheesy cliché romance scenes and stuff, but because of the all the violence and dark stuff. I just saw a movie like that and yes, I’ll admit it, I cried like a baby TvT So could really do with some fluff right about now if that’s okay

Reader crying because of violent movie (yandere Eijiro Kirishima)

It’s more than ok this was really fun to write

Warnings: yandere themes, overprotectiveness, non graphic mentions of violence and disturbing content (in a film), crying reader,

•Chances are Kiri really didn’t want you to watch this film, you’re so soft and fragile and that film looked way too violent and disturbing. As a pro hero he knows how that kind of stuff can impact a person and he feels like he wouldn’t be protecting you if he let you watch it. But he can’t say no to your pleading face and pouty lips so he begrudgingly says yes and agrees to let you watch it. Eijiro is definitely watching it with you though, so don’t even think about trying to convince him to let you watch it alone, if you keep pushing it he might decide it’s too dangerous after all and change his mind.

•He’s got you close to him for the whole film and is watching you carefully to make sure you are okay and every time he sees you flinch or scrunch your face up he has to resist the urge to turn off the film. So the only way he’s not going to notice you’re crying immediately is if he’s getting a snack. Seeing you cry is one of the worst things in the world for Kirishima, the only thing worse is seeing you hurt or in pain, so the second he sees he’s grabbing the romote and turning off the movie.

•He feels guilty about letting you see something like that and will put all his energy into comforting you. Pulling you into his arms and burying your face in the crook of his neck, rubbing your back with his large warm palms. Don’t even think about telling him you want to finish the film because he will not have it. Depending on how disturbing the film was and how upset you are he’s going to pick you up and carry you into your bedroom, placing you gently onto the sheets. If he considers it late enough for you to go to bed he will insist you two go to sleep (fair warning it has to be pretty early for him to think you shouldn’t go to bed.) If it’s not late enough to sleep he’ll cater for you for the rest of the day (even more than usual.) He rushes around the house to fulfil even the smallest of requests you might give him and coddles you like you’re incapable of taking care of yourself.

•He feels like he failed you, you’re his angel, the person he loves and he couldn’t protect you. What kind of hero is he? Will probably be extra clingy and a little depressed afterwards. Heaven forbid you have nightmares or new phobias because of it. He’s going to feel like the biggest failure because of it, to makeup for it he’s going to get rid of everything that scares you and learn how to properly comfort you after having a nightmare. The best way to make him feel better and get him back to his normal cheery self is to kiss his cheek and and thank him for protecting you, just anything to reassure him that he can keep you safe.

•He’s going to force himself to become more strict with you after this. As hard as it is for him to say no to your adorable little face he knows that for your own protection he needs to able to stop you from doing things that will hurt you. His overprotectiveness as well as clingyness also gets worse, the idea that he let something hurt you keeps him up at night and he’s determined to never let it happen again. This incident only proved to him more that he has to protect you from everything, including yourself.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

A collection of fics I’ve read (/reread) and thoroughly enjoyed in the past week-ish from all kinds of fandoms and genres.

ATLA

(Never) Forget Who You Are by mindbending

“Hello, my name is Joo Lee,” says a young man in cheery spring green, his smile stretched to the point of pain. “I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se.”

“Zuko?!”

The Witcher

Dear by Potrix (+podfic)

The Witcher has pitched his tent in the farthest corner of the camp, barely even inside the clearing they’d decided to use as a resting spot for the night anymore. Mother says it’s because Witchers are protectors, that it’s in their nature to put themselves between the monsters of the world and everyone else.

Romriel isn’t convinced.

Or; 5 times seeing the good in Geralt makes someone change their mind about Witchers + 1 the time the wrong people mistake Geralt's human side for a weakness.

Ballad of the Heart by cpt_winniethepooh (+ podfic)

When Ivolde's town is attacked by harpies, they ask the Witcher for help. Little do they know that he comes with a singing, bubbly attachement in the form of a bard, and they trust neither of them - until they learn to.

SVSSS

Puppy Love by TheLegendOfChel

Twelve-year-old Shen Yuan is ecstatic to finally meet his familiar, Luo Binghe. Binghe may not be the most intimidating demon, sure, but he IS adorable! That tiny, fluffy body! Those cute button eyes! Toe beans!! Who cares about being powerful when your partner is the best cuddle buddy of all time?

Binghe, please stay cute and fluffy forever!

...Binghe? Binghe?!?!?!

Star Wars/Clone Wars

Hot for Teacher by shadowmaat

Based off a silly trope mashup wherein Obi-Wan never became a Knight but instead wound up going into the Teacher Corp and becoming a Creche Master. All he wants to do is take his kids to the museum, but the Council orders him to take along some clone troopers, namely Commander Cody and members of Ghost Squadron. Cody and Obi-Wan are mutually fascinated with each other, but Obi-Wan seems oblivious to Cody's attempts to flirt. And then, of course, just because Obi-Wan isn't a full Jedi doesn't mean he's any less of a trouble magnet.

center stage by deniigiq

They arrive as a pack.

(Outsider POV. Anakin gives his first presentation at an academic conference, and Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and the troopers show up to cheer him on.)

What came after by galateaGalvanized

“Are you all the Council sent, then?” Bo-Katan asks, swinging one leg over the speeder’s seat. Her voice is raspy, and Cody wonders if it’s from smoke inhalation. “Considering they wouldn’t help with the first Sith, I guess I should be glad for any help at all with the second.”

It's the first time he's heard someone use that word to describe Kenobi, and he bristles.

“We’re not here on behalf of the Council, Miss Kryze. We're here for our general.”

Or: Everyone has a breaking point. That includes Obi-Wan.

That includes Cody.

Challenge of the Dark by midget_boss

Several members of Ghost Company end up trapped in a cave system. The experience is a little different for each of them.

sun child by Ro29

“Oh, dear one, how bad is it?”

Anakin whines and a star sizzles out, a glass in the room cracks and shudders.

(or; sometimes being so tied to the Force causes problems, Obi-Wan helps his Padawan as best he can)

[bluewhale52]

The House by the River

Summary: You, your husband and his brothers are back in the In The Soop house. But what happens when you forget the one thing you have to do during the pandemic?

Pairing: Yoongi x OC

Genre: idol!au, established relationship, fluff

Rating: R - there’s a bit of a talk about sex but nothing NSFW

WC: 2.3k

Warning: setting during the pandemic, a breach of safety protocol, Yoongi and OC sleep naked, talk of sex, pregnancy talk ~Part of the Domestic Yoongi Series~

It is a great idea, you have to admit. When your husband found out that he had two straight days of no schedules and no work, he immediately suggested going back to the house by the river, where he and his brothers had gone to for work and also for a time of healing and relaxation. 

You were so excited at the getaway idea, and although his six brothers invited themselves for the trip, you did not mind. Your daughter adores them, moreover you would have six very eager babysitters at your disposal. 

So that’s how you find yourself, on a beautiful autumn day, on a hammock and reading a book Namjoon has lent you. You hear Jimin and Taehyung back at the ping pong table, and Hoseok screaming gleefully at his toy aeroplane he has built himself. Sweet musical notes drift from the house; Namjoon and Jungkook must have gotten inspiration in nature and are creating a song together.

You hear the familiar giggles coming from the dock, and you close your book. Leaving the hammock, you head to the boathouse to meet the owners of those giggles.

Your little girl is smiling ear to ear, and shrieking in delight at Seokjin, who is carrying a bucket and two fishing rods- well, one fishing rod and a toy one. He has been regaling your daughter with stories of fishing, it was not difficult at all to get her all excited to be his fishing buddy.

“Hey baby,” you kneel as your daughter barel into your arms. “Did you catch a lot of fish?”

“Four!” She happily exclaims, wriggling out of your arms to pull Seokjin closer to you. “Look, Eomma!”

“She’s my good luck charm. Not Yoongi, not my painting, Min Soojin was all I needed to show these fish who’s boss!” He ruffles her hair. She beams at him proudly.

“Wow! Are we having sashimi tonight?” You turn to find Hoseok right behind you, peering into the bucket. He turns to your daughter, innocently asking her, “you’re going to help Uncle Jin and Uncle Kook cut the fish?”

Soojin’s face immediately turns serious, her smile all gone. “Cut? Eomma?” She turns to you. “We cut fishies?”

“Well, that’s how we get sashimi, baby.”

Her face crumples at your answer, tears start pooling in her eyes. “No, I don’t want to hurt fishies.”

The two men immediately bend down and soothe her. “No, no, we won’t cut the fishies. Uncle Hoseok is just joking, right?” Seokjin gives Hoseok a stare.

“Yes, I was only joking, Soojin-ah.” Hoseok cuddles her. “Hey, do you want to see the plane I made?”

Soojin shakes her head. “No, I want to take fishies home so you don’t cut her.”

Hoseok resigns to his fate. He knows now your four year old daughter will see him as an evil villain, out to cut all the fish in the world.

“Baby,” you coo at Soojin. “Why don’t you, Uncle Jin and Uncle Hobi return the fish to the river?”

Seokjin glares at you. You know how challenging it was for him to catch even a single fish on his last trip here, and on the day he caught FOUR, he can’t even enjoy one as a sashimi.

Hoseok on the other hand, jumps at his chance of redemption. “Yes, that’s a great idea! Let’s do that, Soojin. Let’s free the fish!”

Soojin looks at Hoseok doubtfully. He grabs the bucket from Seokjin and offers his hand to your daughter. She gingerly puts her hand in his, and her other hand reaches for Seokjin’s.

Over your daughter’s head, Seokjin whispers sharply at Hoseok. “YOU put the fish back.”

You watch them squat by the dock, laughing along with Seokjin and Soojin as Hoseok squeals in disgust as he picks a fish out of the bucket and throws it inelegantly into the river. After the fourth fish is back in the water, Soojin is satisfied and her mood is back to her cheery self.

You look at your watch. 5pm. It’s time to get your husband out of his makeshift studio. “Soojin, want to see Appa?” You call out.

“No! Plane!” She points at Hoseok who is winding his toy plane again.

“Go get Yoongi. We’ll look after her.” Seokjin offers, and you give him a grateful smile. It IS nice to have your husband’s band mates around.

You walk up towards the campervan by the upper house. Your husband specifically made the request for the van to be there. You knock on the door, and you open it only after you hear his gruff response from inside.

“Hey babe,” you greet him from the door. “It’s just past five.”

Yoongi stretches behind the laptop and all his equipments. Rubbing his face, he mumbles, “Already?”

You open the door wider, letting more sun inside the dark campervan. “Did you manage to get all your work done?”

Yoongi gestures for you to come inside. You step in, and sit next to him. “Wanna hear?” He offers.

“Of course.” You take the headphones from his hands. You love how he always shares his rough drafts with you, even before he shares them with his members. It doesn’t matter that you know zilch about music, he loves watching you reacting to his creations.

He presses play, and your eyes widen at the sounds filling your ears. You turn to smile at him, pride on your face. He returns your smile with his own gummy one.

You love this kind of moment with Yoongi. You don’t need dates at fancy restaurants or expensive gifts like big diamond necklaces. Just time with him, alone like this, is enough. He watches you bopping along to his music, and burst out laughing in embarrassment as you scrunch your face at his attempt at a high note.

When the song ends, you take off the headphone and kiss him. “Well, Min PD-nim, I think you have another hit there.”

“You say that to all my songs.” He brushes away your compliment as he starts packing up his things.

“Well, it’s true. I’m not just saying that because you’re my husband.” You stand and move to the door to give him more space in the cramped sitting area of the campervan. You report to him about Soojin’s fishing experience earlier while Yoongi is putting his equipments in the bags.

“So Hobi actually held the fish?” Yoongi chuckles.

You nod. “I regret not capturing it on video. It was so funny.” You open the door and you both walk towards the upper house. “OH MY GOD!”

You exclaim as you see the state of the kitchen. Yoongi curses next to you.

All the foods you have bought for the stay are scattered all over the counter and the floor. Packages ripped open, vegetables and fruits half eaten.

“Oh no, did an animal- or a pack of them- get in?” You lift a bag of bitten and nibbled onions. “They like onions it seems.”

Your husband sighs. “Guess we’ll have to go out for dinner then. There’s no way we can salvage any of this.”

You agree with him and start cleaning up. Shortly after, the kitchen is clean and free of scraps, and you both return to the main house to break the news. The members don’t seem to mind going out, Taehyung even suggests going to the burger joint he visited with Hoseok before. Seokjin and Yoongi decide they could stop by a supermarket on the way back to get enough food for breakfast and lunch for the next day.

And so off the nine of you go to the town for a burger dinner. Arriving at the small restaurant, you are shocked at how crowded it is. “Wow, the burgers here must be really good.” You comment to Taehyung.

He nods, licking his lips. “One of the best, Noona. You’ll love it.”

You smile at his enthusiasm, and also when he picks up Soojin to show her the menu board.

Then you realize something.

Your heart drops when you realise that no one, not a single person is wearing a mask. The staff, the patrons, and even you, your husband and his brothers, and your daughter, none of you is masked up.

You start to panic. Reaching for Yoongi, you tug his hand. “Babe, we’re not wearing our masks!”

“Relax, baby, we’re fine. No one recognizes us here.”

“No! Yoongi, not to hide your faces. The pandemic isn’t over yet and we’re not wearing masks!” You shout at him.

To your shock, no one seems to hear you, or even care that everyone in this burger joint is ignoring the most important safety protocol. You panic even further, and while making your way to Taehyung to take Soojin back, you feel something tugging the back for your cardigan.

You turn to chide Yoongi, thinking it is him who is pulling your clothes. You gasp when you find no one behind you. Not Yoongi, not Namjoon, not anyone you came to the place with. In fact, the whole place has become empty, but for a little boy standing in front of you.

He has feline eyes, much like Yoongi’s, and his complexion is as milky white as your husband’s too. He looks up at you with such innocence, and you kneel down to meet him at eye level.

“Hi,” you greet him. “Are you okay? Where are your parents?”

The boy continues to look at you silently, then he fishes something out of his packet. It is a folded K94 mask. He offers it to you.

“For you, Eomma.” He says shyly.

=======

You sit up, gasping out loud. You immediately reach for your face, feeling for a mask around your mouth and nose. Your fingers touch bare skin directly, which sends you into a panic.

You start to look around for a mask frantically, only to find yourself... in your bedroom in Seoul? And your husband is stirring awake next to you. You reach for the baby monitor, and relief floods over you as you see on the screen that your daughter Soojin is sleeping peacefully in her room.

“Babe,” Yoongi sits up next to you, voice still thick with sleep. “You okay?”

You place a hand on your bare chest. Your heart is still beating fast. “I just had the craziest dream.”

Yoongi reaches for you and pull you down to lie with him. Rubbing your back, he asks you to tell him your dream.

“We were back in the house, that In the Soop house,” you begin. “We were having such a good time, Soojin was laughing, the boys were all there too.”

You try to focus but bits and pieces of the dream are already forgotten in your mind. “And somehow we all went out for dinner, and no one was wearing masks, Yoongs, including us and I panicked I think?”

Your husbands hands are soothing you. “And that’s when you woke up?”

“No...There’s something else.” You struggle to remember. “There’s a boy I think, and I thought he was lost, but he gave me a face mask.”

Yoongi stops rubbing you. “The boy gave you a mask?” He sounds tickled.

“It’s a dream, it doesn’t have to make sense.” You playfully swat his chest.

He nuzzles your hair. “You dream of the weirdest things.”

You giggle in his embrace. Your naked bodies pressed closer as sleepiness starts to disappear, slowly replaced by something more carnal.

You suddenly remember something. “Oh my god, Yoons!” You push Yoongi away. He leans back, confused.

“What if that was a conception dream? The boy called me Eomma.”

Your husband looks at you as if you have grown two heads. “A conception dream?”

“Well, we may have conceived a child tonight, considering... you know, how many times you came in me.”

“Only twice but thanks for the ego boost.”

“I’m serious!” You give him a stern look. “What if we conceived a baby tonight, and that was my conception dream? Oh my god, how could my conception dream be of a boy giving me a K94 mask?”

Yoongi starts laughing. “And what do you think that would mean? We’re gonna have a son who’d become a doctor? That wouldn’t be so bad, right?”

You pout. “Now you’re just teasing me.”

He cradles you back in his arms. You have talked with your husband before about giving Soojin a sibling. Your hand unconsciously moves down to your tummy. You and Yoongi have foregone all birth controls tonight, and you hope one of his swimmers has made it.

Yoongi strokes your hair gently. “You know, since you have the conception dream already, why don’t we make sure it doesn’t go to waste?”

His hands are moving down your body, sending sparks all over.

“I agree, Min Yoongi. You better give me a baby tonight. Just in case the first two times weren’t quite successful.”

Laughing, he rolls over to be on top of you, determined to get you all nice and pregnant by the time morning comes.

A/N: I actually had the dream OC had - minus the boy with the K94 mask. The fact that Miss Rona actually invaded my dream, that was just so crazy I had to write it down! And eventually it became this little piece of a fic 😄 Please remember to wear your mask, social distance and stay safe! 💜

Published 08022021

[beyondspaceandstars]

While You Sleep

Chapter 9

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: N/A, just fluff this time! Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.

(a/n: yes i really used some cliche scenes expected from a bucky fic but come on you have to, right?)

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

If you thought you were scared before your first encounter with Bucky, your feelings as you got ready for this date were unbelievable. 

The pressure really felt on this time. 

In the anxiety of nervousness and self-doubt, you had bought a whole new outfit for this date. You stood in the mirror, checking yourself over as you adorned a lovely knee-length, flowy dress. It had little flowers decorated all over it. The fabric was soft and comfortable, easing worries just a bit more - if you felt good, all would go good, right? The entire thing was complimented by a new pair of flats. You even spent more time on your make-up, making sure everything was just right and accentuating all your features pleasantly. 

The more you did, the better you felt, until you realized there was no more to do. Once your hair was laid gently over your shoulder in a cascading braid, you had to face the fact that it was almost game time. Glancing over, your clock told you Bucky would be here any minute.

Still, back at the mirror, you couldn’t help yourself from fidgeting. You tweaked your braid, fixed the invisible wrinkles on your dress, even reconsidered your lipstick color choice… But then it happened. Your phone’s ringtone sang throughout your room, giving you a jumpscare. You had to take a deep breath before crossing the space and answering the call. Bucky’s name flashed on the screen.

“Hi, Bucky,” you said.

“Hi, doll,” Bucky responded, a little sing-songy tone in his voice. His cheeriness was practically contagious through the phone. Your heart fluttered. “I’m outside whenever you’re ready.”

“O-Okay,” you sputtered out, letting out a cough to cover it but it didn’t work well as Bucky let out a light chuckle at your nerves. You chose to ignore it and continued, “I’ll be down in a second.”

“Alright,” he said. “See you soon.” The line disconnected. You sighed, gripping your phone probably too tightly. Closing your eyes, you inhaled then exhaled, centering yourself, letting your pounding heart come down. 

One last look in the mirror and you realized that it was game time. There were no more preparations you could make. Your soulmate was waiting downstairs and off you went to get swept away.

Bucky wasn’t the only thing that greeted you when you exited the apartment building. He was standing by a taxi, one arm leaning against it like it was the world's most romantic chariot. A smile broke out on your lips as you approached him. 

“Good evening.”

Bucky gave a nod, “Good evening.”

He kept staring at you, taking you in fully and shamelessly. You blushed under his focused eyes and quickly looked away. Motioning towards the taxi, you said, “Is this our ride for the night?”

Now he was smiling as well. “Just to get us there.”

You hummed, interested. “Where is ‘there?’”

“Gotta get in the taxi and find out, sweetheart,” Bucky said with a proud smirk as he opened the door. He extended his arm out dramatically, motioning for you to slide in. You mumbled a shy thank you, still feeling your blushing was out of control and got comfy in the cab. 

Once Bucky was also settled in, he leaned in very close to the driver and whispered the destination. You pretended not to notice but had to admit, he sure was sticking to the whole surprise thing. It made you feel quite giddy inside knowing he was going through all this just to surprise you. To give you a (hopefully) nice date. 

Once the taxi driver understood the address, Bucky leaned back and the drive began. You stared out the window, watching your neighborhood pass by, as you tried to ignore Bucky still staring at you. It was like he was really focused on you like he was searching for something. It made you feel all kinds of warmth under your dress. 

“You look beautiful,” Bucky finally said, breaking the backseat silence. Your heart that was once pounding suddenly was going a million miles an hour. Uncontrollably, you whipped your head to look at Bucky. You met his eyes which were looking at you with such wonder and longing. Oh yeah, it was getting warm in this taxi, you thought.

“Thank you,” you said, shyly. You still didn’t understand where this nervous, antsy of you was coming from. You had been around him plenty of times, even had a bit of a fight that night in your fucking apartment, but now this was what you were scared of? A date? You had to shake your head to literally shake off the nerves, something that was becoming a habit of you now. 

Eventually, you forced yourself to add on to the conversation, “You look great, as well.” And that certainly was the truth. Bucky had cleaned up nicely. His hair was slicked back casually. He wore a soft sweater and black slacks. The outfit was paired with dress shoes. The entire look just felt… Classic but in the best way. In a way that was Bucky at heart. 

You two fell into silence again but it was more comfortable, like Bucky’s words had hidden messages telling you to calm down. This was just another date, as couples do, and you two had been through crazy stuff - cough, cough… the fucking apartment showdown. Well, maybe that was a bit dramatic, you thought, but it sure felt hostile in the moment.

Moments later, the taxi stopped outside some… dance hall? You peered up at the sign, quizzically. You had no idea these places even existed anymore. This was already turning out to be the most unique you had ever been on but it wasn’t like you had been on many. 

You were about to get out when Bucky stopped you. Confused, you watched him run around the front of the taxi and stop at your door. He opened it for you, as any gentleman would. He offered you his hand and helped you out. After paying for the cab, he came back to join you, offering his arm for you to take.

“Dancing?” You asked as you two walked towards the entrance. “You’re taking me dancing?”

There was a faint blush creeping up on Bucky’s neck. “I am,” he said. “Back in the day, when I wanted to woo a girl I took her dancing. I hope that’s okay with you.”

You giggled, “Yeah, it’s...” Your words abruptly stopped as you were suddenly hit with the realization: you didn’t fucking know how to dance. Even in your own time period, you couldn’t be thrown out anywhere expecting to bust some moves. Your feet stopped moving before you could enter the hall.

Bucky turned to you, concerned. “Everything okay, sweetheart?” 

You wouldn’t look at him and instead looked past him, through the clear doors of the dance hall, watching the couples spin and twirl about. “I don’t know how to dance.”

Bucky waved a hand in dismissal and continued walking. “There’s no need to worry, doll,” he said as he opened the door for you. “You can follow my lead and you’ll be just fine, okay? I’ve got you.”

Your heart skipped a beat as Bucky placed a hand on your lower back, leading you around the hall. The music was loud, more on the big band side, though. You saw up-close now as the couples flung each other around, laughing in awe at one another. There was a bar off at one end where patrons moved around it with beverages. The place was fairly crowded as well, something you didn’t really peg Bucky for being enthusiastic about, but his face lit the second you two walked in. There was something like a sense of familiarity in his eyes.

You didn’t comment on it, though, and instead took his arm again, letting him guide you to the bar first. You were silently thankful, hoping a nice drink would loosen you up - at least, enough to actually get you on the dance floor. 

Bucky ordered for you two which you actually appreciated. Part of you enjoyed seeing him take charge like this. Plan the date, open your door, order a drink you might like… The care of it all made your heart sing. 

Retrieving the drinks, he handed you one. You thanked him as you took the drink and looked it over. The drink was something dark poured over ice. An orange peel and cherry bobbed in the liquid, next to the ice. You sipped it, letting the taste of whiskey and orange essence hit your tastebuds. 

“It’s lovely,” you said and took another sip. For as nice as it was, you weren’t exactly well versed in cocktails. “What is it?”

“An old fashioned,” Bucky answered as he took his own sip of the drink, letting himself lean in closer to you as you two stood at the bar. He still watched you with a curious intensity that made your skin all kinds of heated. “I-I’m glad you like it.”

A silence fell over you two once more as you sipped your drink and let your gaze wander back to the dancing pairs. They moved so majestically and vibrantly across the hardwood floor. Engrossed with one another, trusting as they spun about. You had to admit, it did look quite fun. 

“Up for a bit of a dance after this, doll?” Bucky drawled, a hint at what sounded like a little Brooklyn accent peaked out, making you grin. He must’ve been absolutely transported back in time and you were so thankful you could be there with him. 

You took a drink, probably more than you should’ve in one gulp, and said, “Maybe if this drink kicks in soon I’ll let you show me a few moves.” You smiled to yourself. “That is, assuming you still have moves.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows at you as he stared at you above his glass. “Excuse me?”

You giggled, “Well, you’ve got a few years in you. Just want to make sure you can show a gal a good time.”

Bucky scoffed and then, without any other warning, he grabbed your drink from your hands. Slamming both the glasses on the bar counter, he gripped your hand in his and dragged you out to the floor. You shuffled to keep up, giggling loudly at the fire you had sparked within him. It was amazing what a little banter could do to him. Once he picked an area, the band began playing a new song and Bucky fell into the rhythm quickly. 

You stared, a bit stunned watching him move. But Bucky wouldn’t let you just stand there for long. Getting into the beat, he grabbed both your hands and began instructing you on the steps. Thankfully, it wasn’t as serious as you thought it would be. This was just a dance hall, after all. Everyone was too caught up in their own lovers to pay attention to others. You watched his feet intensely, as you kicked and stomped, feeling a bit clunky but Bucky, you glanced at him every now and then, was watching you with a hint of pride in his eyes. 

Suddenly, he decided to get daring and spun you out, quickly pulling you back into his arms. You let out a laugh, enjoying the spontaneous move of it all and reveling in the feeling of his arms around you. Following that, you fell back into the rhythm. As you got more confident, you could actually look at Bucky better and saw he looked just as pleased and excited as you were. You felt you two had melted into the crowd well despite you feeling like a sore thumb. 

The twirling was probably your favorite and you were very pleased with your dress choice. As he moved you, it would flare just slightly around your thighs, making you feel like fabric just drifting in the wind. Bucky seemed to like it as well as his hands felt like they made a point to never leave your body, always prying and begging for you close. 

Eventually, after a couple of upbeat songs, the music turned down, now on the more slow side. Bucky, however, seemed very prepared for this as he pulled you into his body without a second thought. His hand landed on your lower waist, your front pressed to him securely. His metal hand was entangled with yours, lifted away from your bodies, as you two moved in a small circle. 

You and Bucky finally really locked eyes for what felt like really the first time in the entire dancing sequence. His eyes looked at you so softly, so in total awe. Maybe there was even a hint of admiration just lurking, you noted. You felt yourself blushing intensely, but then again, when weren’t you like that around Bucky?

Bucky eventually spoke. “You were a natural, sweetheart.”

You shrugged, a small smile on your lips. “I think I just had a really awesome teacher.”

“Oh, yeah?” He grinned. “He must’ve been great. Taught you some nice moves.”

“Mhm,” you nodded, “he’s the absolute best. Really good-looking as well. That’s a nice bonus.”

“You’re making me blush, doll.”

“Good. That’s how I get all the time around you. It’s time you had a taste of your own medicine.”

Bucky threw his head back, letting out a loud laugh. “Really, honey?” His eyes met yours again. You jumped at the new pet name. It felt so much more...domestic. “I make you blush? Make you feel a bit warm?” His tone got lower as it was just above a whisper. A shiver ran up your spine. 

You bit your lip, contemplating how far this was going to go. “You make me feel many things, Bucky. Good things.”

His grin had turned to a full teasing smile now. He didn’t respond, though, just nodded with a mischievous expression now coming across his features. You were going to ask what he was thinking about when the music stopped and the band announced they would be taking a break. It sounded like Bucky let out a sigh of relief as he promptly took your hand and began leading you off the dance floor.

“You hungry, doll?” He asked, stopping next to the exit, hands in his pocket now, looking all casual. But the casualness was a nice cover, you thought, as his expression held everything but unsuspecting. 

You hummed. “I could go for something.”

He nodded, still smiling. “I planned to cook you dinner. Is that alright?”

You gasped, “I get to go to your apartment now?”

He laughed as he took your hand again, now leading you out of the dance hall. You two began making your way down the street, hands gripped tightly together. 

“You will get to see my apartment but fair warning, it’s nothing special.”

You scoffed. “Yeah, like mine was a real looker.”

“At least yours looks lived in.”

You looked up at Bucky quickly, mouth open now as if you wanted to say something but you didn’t really know what. He wouldn’t look back at you now and instead just kept leading you to presumably his apartment building. You turned your sights back on the sidewalk, watching the cars and people rush around in the nighttime landscape of the city, as you let Bucky guide you. 

It was a fairly nice area he lived in, an estimated taxi ride away from you. The area was really bustling with people now and there were shops and eateries galore to browse. You glanced in the windows as you passed, watching others mingle about and eat their dinners. 

Eventually, Bucky stopped in front of a building and pulled open the door. He let you in first, still ever so the gentlemen despite you not knowing where the hell you were going. Neither of you dwelled on this though as Bucky took your hand again and led you to his apartment. You felt yourself getting antsy the closer you got but you didn’t understand why. As much as you wanted your flirting to get you a little bit somewhere, this was dinner. A nice lovely dinner with your soulmate. One that he planned to cook. (Could he actually cook, though? You debated this as you went.)

Bucky unlocked the door and let you in. Sadly, he wasn’t too far off from the comment about it not looking lived in. There wasn’t… much of anything. There were the essentials - kitchen, couch, stools, television - but nothing that screamed Bucky. Or that he even actually stepped foot in here. 

But you weren't about to say any of this. You lingered by the kitchen counter. “It’s cozy.”

Bucky chuckled, “Thanks for trying, doll.”

You frowned. “I-I mean it. It’s nice. Clean and… and formal.” Well, you thought, what could you expect from a former soldier?

Bucky raised his eyebrows, though, not buying it. 

“Alright,” you sighed, “it could use maybe some personal touches but your space is your space. Who am I to judge when mine looks like it's falling apart?”

“Yours has personality,” Bucky shrugged as he slowly took steps towards you. You were leaning against the counter now, arms crossed watching him approach. 

“That means it's a trainwreck.”

He smirked, “It means it fits you and I like you, so, naturally, I’m going to like your apartment.”

Your heart pounded in your chest. “You like me?” You asked and winced at your words. Apparently, you were having a hard time growing out of this silly schoolgirl crushing phase. 

Bucky nodded, now pretty close, staring you down. One hand came to rest on the counter beside you, slightly trapping you in. “I do like you.”

You couldn’t get over how close he was now. Even during your slow dance, you don’t think he was like… this. Towering, confident. Your eyes flicked to his inviting lips quickly before returning back to his eyes. They held amusement and… Was that a hint of amorousness in them? Your pulse was racing.

“Enough to make me dinner?” You let out a breathy chuckle, trying your hand at humor to figure out what was going on here. You didn’t mean to be practically dismissing these advancements but you also couldn’t believe they were happening. You thought it was just some sweet back and forth in the dance hall, a possible side effect of the adrenaline from dancing getting to you two. But, no. This fact was simple. Bucky wanted you. 

“You know,” he sighed, “I don’t think I’m really hungry.”

“Oh?”

“At least not for dinner.”

You were barely able to let out a gasp at his confirmation before Bucky’s lips were on yours, hot and heavy.