#I wish I had that poll option already

[merigoldaround]

I feel tempted to start posting the fic I'm writing (the one I started this week) even though I've only written one chapter. It would be risky, but it might make me write it better. (Though I wouldn't be able to promise fast updates.)

[godsfavoritescientist]

I'm curious because it seems like The Book of Bill made his character sympathetic to a lot more people. Let's see if my theory is right!

[twilight-deviant]

People who have never watched Timeless, pick two characters to ship based on personal preference. Comment below.

If you have watched, point at two with your eyes closed or use a random number generator. 😂 Enjoy your new ship.

[coquelicoq]

counting to 5 on your fingers: a poll!

the options were kinda hard to describe within the character limit, so here are some pre-poll questions and examples to help you figure out which option to pick:

do you count by moving the 5 fingers on one hand (options 1-8) or by touching parts of one hand with the other (option 9)?

if you count by moving fingers, do you start with a fist for 0 and end with an open hand for 5 (options 1-5) or start with an open hand and end with a fist (options 6-8)?

if you count by moving fingers, does each number look the same as the previous number except one additional finger has changed position (options 1-4 and 6-7), or for some numbers do three or more fingers change position compared to the previous number (options 5 and 8)?

an example of option 5 would be american sign language, where 3 is index, middle, and thumb extended, but for 4 you extend two new fingers (ring and pinky) and draw the thumb back in.

an example of option 9 would be using your right index finger to touch the fingers on your left hand one at a time; e.g., touching the left thumb is 0, touching the left index is 1, touching the left pinky is 5, etc. the fingers on the left hand don't move.

if you're interested, i got some of the ideas from this bbc article. that link also has a video that demonstrates the options in case my descriptions are confusing!

[crystalflygeo]

Last of her kind Emperor!Alpha!Zhongli + Slave!Omega!Dragoness!Reader-

cw/tags: mentions of slavery and past sexual abuse on fem!reader, A/B/O dynamics, mating bites, fingering, scenting, pet names, zhongli has a knot and alpha fangs and is not afraid to use them lmao, some nip and clit stimulation ig?? emotional roller coaster ngl.

notes: So remember a loooong time ago when I held a poll and one of the options was "dragon" and it WON?? well actually it was this, (dragon READER heh) it just got WAY out of control. 5.6k words and now I wanna make it into a whole series //head in hands// anyway ye have this weird lil funky AU I poured my sweat blood and tears into (also my heart and soul) idk why I am just so attached I love it so much plsss I have ideas fot other scenes with them already aaaaaaaaa <3

Partially inspired by some of @silentmoths' fics holy shIT I LOVE DRAGON READER AND I LOVE OMEGAVERSE NOD IF YOU AGREE!!

Last but not least if y'all wanna be part of my pinglist uhh I'm making one now so :3c

Part 2 ->

Strange yellow leaves fall around you all over the courtyard…

“Fix your clothes, you have to look appealing… well, as appealing as a creature like you can be.” The voice of your Master calls out harshly, pulling and tugging at details in your outfit. It was a flimsy and silky thing, mostly see-through, rather elegant, but very revealing.

You’re used to it.

“And stop looking so miserable! You better smile and please this Alpha. He’s not just anyone, you know?”

You nod meekly, trying to hide the slight trembling on your body. This will be just another bonding attempt. Nothing else.

It will fail. Just like all the others before.

Silver chains clink and tug the collar at your neck, it shakes you back to the present as you stumble forward.

Master guides you through a maze of corridors, with sleek surfaces of dark wood, decorative lanterns and paper screens. They’re strange, covered in even stranger symbols that look nothing like the ones back in the desert. Your bare feet, used to rough hot sand, now walk along polished wood with your draconic tail dragging behind. Everything looks so lavish…

You’ve been brought all the way to Li- Liu-… Li-yue? A foreign country, to meet a potential client. Well, a client to your Master. You are just the merchandise: a dragonblood Omega. Rare, unique even, “exotic”.

But defective.

Your fists clench in nervousness. How rough will this Alpha be with you? You dread to find the answer. Alphas were cruel, ever since you remember you’ve been taught to please, be gentle, obedient and look pretty, but they were never any of those things. Alphas just took their pleasure and used your body as they wanted, usually until you were crying and screaming, begging for mercy. You just hope this Alpha would give you some pity and be quick… or give you time to rest in between attempts.

Though you had learned since long that your wishes don’t tend to come true.

What a disappointment. After I spent so much money and resources on you.

Such a waste of time, what use is there in an Omega that can’t bond?

Why do I even bother with you? You’re just good for the reproduction camp. Maybe that way you can produce another dragonblood.

This is your last chance, mutt. If you fail again, I won’t be bothering with you anymore.

You feel anxiety creeping on your chest, heart jumping to your throat as the dark thoughts invade your mind. Last chance… your last chance at bonding. At proving you’re not useless and stupid. At serving your purpose as Omega. What was happening to you was fair. You deserve to be punished and you should be grateful you have one last chance after all your failures.

You just want to… to…

Tears prickle at your eyes and you breathe in deeply, trying to contain your distress and hugging your own tail, rubbing your face on the fluffy tip.

Whatever happens today, your fate is going to be sealed.

The nest room is nice.

Like the rest of the place, it is rather elegant, dimly lit with neutral colors and wooden walls, filled with pillows and blankets that had a very subtle flowery aroma to them. Small cabinets to one side with some decorative objects on top and a full-length mirror on the other side. So much different from the barren cold stone walls and tents from the desert camps.

“Hm, pretty fancy.” Master says taking off your collar, your soft unblemished neck now on display, free from any claim. “Now…” He pulls at your hair and you wince, whining and lowering your ears on a submissive display. He wouldn’t hurt you right? You have to look pretty. “The emperor will be here shortly. Make sure to do anything and everything he wants. And you better smile, I told you.”

“E-Emperor?” You pale, eyes widening.

He scoffs and pushes you back, you stumble back into the mess of pillows. “That’s right. I don’t know why but he was very adamant to see you it seems. Perhaps he just wants the prestige of owning the last known dragonblood, hm? Another novelty for his collection, I’m sure. You should consider yourself really lucky. So…” He flashes his Alpha fangs at you with a growl and you whimper again, cowering. “I would suggest you do your best and don’t disappoint this time, he’ll pay a pretty penny for you.”

And with that he leaves, muttering something and almost slamming the strange sliding door.

And so, you’re alone.

Immediately your brain goes into overdrive. An emperor? You had been presented to various Alphas of high status before, wealthy merchants and high-ranking tribe members, but this… this was probably a whole other level.

An emperor had to have an empress, right? Someone of noble birth and high status such as himself, not a lowly sand lizard like you, with weird ears, scales, horns and a tail. Why would he want to see an Omega like you? Perhaps Master was right, he intended to keep you as a trophy in his collection, another pretty thing.

It was humiliating.

But anything was better than being doomed to the reproduction camp…

Maybe the emperor had a harem? You’ve heard of them before, some Alphas liked to boast having many Omegas bound to them. Living in this luxury, not having to worry about much anything except looking pretty and pleasing him once a while. Hell, maybe he wouldn’t even pay attention to you, you’d be just a glorified pet.

You could… do that.

Without noticing, your tail starts swaying after you, this could be a chance. Your chance. You just had to make him like you. Forget the bond. Don’t think about it. All you have to do is please him.

You start frantically arranging the sheets and pillows around, building the comfiest nest you ever had with all the extra material, scenting it with excited happy pheromones. You could do it, this was your chance.

You won’t fail this time. You’ll be pretty, obedient, submissive, the ideal Omega. You’ll let him use you to his heart’s content, sure you may be a little sore but it’ll be worth it if he chooses you. He won’t even care about the bond.

…Right?

You jolt when you hear the door slide slightly open again, your heart leaps to your throat as someone walks in.

Oh.

Is… he the emperor? … He’s handsome.

To be fully honest, you expected some fat pompous middle-aged man not this… perfect specimen of an Alpha.

Your tail sways a little with curiosity.

He looks only slightly older than you, tall, wearing elegant robes in brown and golden hues. His eyes are like a sunset: golden, warm, almost glowing. A red liner accentuating them. Long chocolate hair faded to amber at the tips. His scent was earthy and pleasant, subtle unlike most Alpha musk. Almost comforting and… familiar?

He seems to stare back at you with the same surprise, frozen for a moment, eyes slightly wide, he says something you can’t quite hear and it shakes you out of the spell. You suddenly feel a little self-conscious, curling your tail around you, ears down and resisting the urge to brush (hide) the scales at the corners of your eyes.

It occurs to you that you’ve been just staring like an idiot, you don’t know very well how to address him, nor know his foreign tongue. So, you simply lower your head in respect. “My Lord…”

You suddenly feel nervous. This is it.

You turn around, following the motions ingrained in your brain. Body splayed on the nest, arms tucked in, head down. Submissive, obedient. Your hands are shaking, you feel dizzy, heart thrumming in your chest, blood rushing in your ears.

You lift your butt just slightly, tail curling elegantly over your back, out of the way to expose the flimsy fabric covering your privates, properly presenting to the Alpha. You focus on trying to control your pheromones, letting out just whiffs of a needy sensual scent, worried of mixing in your anxiety and fear and displeasing the emperor.

You had to be pretty, enticing, compliant, and he would, h-he would…

A rather awkward cough has you tense. “There is… no need for that.”

You blink for a moment, taken aback at the rich deep baritone of his voice, so hypnotizing you almost don’t register his words. He speaks common tongue, but still, what does he mean? Isn’t this just… standard protocol for bonding? Isn’t he going to mount you?

You dare peek over your shoulder and see him sitting elegantly over his knees at the floor. He’s outside of the nest range.

He’s also slightly pink at the cheeks and pointedly avoiding looking at you.

Is this a trap? Is he testing you to see if you’ll misbehave? Your hands clench, nails digging at your palms, your breathing and heart increasing pace.

“I just want to talk, I promise.” He tries.

You hold the position.

He sighs, and then-

“Omega, relax.”

You almost squeak at the Alpha command. His voice, his will, seeps into your skin, your nerves, your very bones. You feel your muscles loosen up, tension leaving your body like a bowstring snapping and you lie on the sheets sideways.

Right right right, you’re tense, you have to be soft and pliant-

You look over at him and he’s… heading over to the little cabinets. He picks up a kettle of some kind and little cups that sit on the top, moving around calmly and elegantly as he seems to prepare something. Your head tilts and you gingerly sit up straight. Tail and ears down, curled up not unlike a wounded animal.

“Do you speak the common tongue?”

“Y-Yes!” You nod. “A little…”

“Good.”

The emperor seems… pleasant, he is calm and unguarded, so different from the cold intimidating Alphas you’ve met who like to show off, who immediately order you around. He even used an Alpha command on you but it felt… grounding. There is something equally eerie and entrancing about him and you feel yourself as much drawn to him as terrified of his imposing aura, and you couldn’t explain why. It’s a bit unsettling but also comforting at the same time.

He pours two cups and turns to you. You stiffen and he offers you one.

“Qixing tea is one of the most refined Liyue teas. It tends to be very bitter but this blend has a more pleasant taste, a little floral even. It is also said to help relax one’s mind.”

You carefully take the cup, not wanting to insult such gracious offer, though you’re utterly confused, shouldn’t you be the one serving him?

The cup is warm.

You stare at the golden liquid, small black dots sit at the bottom. This has no alcohol… right? It can’t be worse than snake wine at least.

You carefully take a sip, trying to imitate how the emperor is holding his.

It is… nice, a strong sharp taste but not bad, and very aromatic.

He’s looking at you expectantly and your tail and ears twitch. “I-It’s very good. Thank you, my Lord.”

He smiles and your heart skips a beat. “I am glad. Some say Qixing tea is for older people, but it’s frankly one of my favorites.” He stares at his cup with a somewhat nostalgic gaze, as if it brings him fond memories. “Ah, you can address me as Morax.”

You nod quietly and take another sip. Past the tea’s powerful flowery scent, you can now sense his Alpha pheromones, with him being so close and the air less tense. They’re strong but not overwhelmingly so, sharp and tantalizing, a refined foreign scent you can almost taste in the back of your throat. It stirs something in you, something warm and alluring.

“Do you know where were you born? Who are your parents?”

The question takes you by surprise for a moment as you shake out of your thoughts. Ah, he must be inquiring about your dragonblood. “I-I’m…. I’m not sure, my Lo- um… L-Lord Morax. As far as I know my mother worked at a-a heat house… no one knew who my father was and she passed away when I was very young.”

“I see… so you have no idea where you got your dragon traits from.” It was a sentence rather than a question and you shake your head meekly, taking another sip from the tea, ears lowering back.

“Apparently it could be due to recessive genes.” You once again repeat the same words you’ve heard all your life. You hate bringing attention to your dragon features, people either treat you like a rare exotic creature or a dangerous one. You didn’t know which was worse.

“Hmmm…” Lord Morax seems pensive for a moment, also drinking some of the tea. “Have you been with your caretaker for long?”

You look down. “Master has been in charge of me ever since I… p-presented as an Omega.”

“Does he treat you well?”

Your eyes widen, the question catching you completely by surprise. T-Treat you well? You are… treated like any other slave omega, if only being singled out by your draconic traits. He feeds you, he gives you clothing and education, he arranges the best matches he can for bonding, he even got you here in the first place. You owe him everything, you’re nothing without him.

So then… Why do you find yourself thinking back on all the harsh words, all the punishments, all the screaming and crying, all the… t-touches…

You gulp. “M-Master ensures I have the best living conditions and opportunities I can.” Is what you settle for.

He hums.

There is silence for a moment and lord Morax settles down his cup.

“I don’t think you’re aware of how special you are.”

Just when you thought he couldn’t surprise you anymore, he utters those words and makes your heart speed up.

Is this anxiety? Fear?

“Judging from what your Master has told me, you’re treated like quite the novelty, an exotic half-blood not unlike the Valuka Shuna or Kätzlein. Here in Liyue however those with traits like yours are called Xiānshòu.” The foreign word rolls off his tongue. His golden eyes fix on you and you freeze. “Also known as illuminated beasts. With immense power and longevity, even the half-bloods. They’re well respected and looked up to, why, some are even revered as deities...”

You? Such a fantastic creature? That can’t be…

“Seems to me like things are different in the deserts of Sumeru, however.” His eyes narrow and for the first time you notice his diamond pupils. They look like a snake’s. The same eerie glint he had a few minutes ago is back darkening the bright golden eyes. Yet, for some strange reason you don’t feel scared this time.

A shiver travels down your spine as you feel your instincts purr in delight. Protective… for some reason lord Morax is being protective of you. You don’t know why or how but you can feel it and it made your inner Omega preen inside. An Alpha wanted to protect you, care for you.

“Such a shame.” He adds, sounding almost disappointed but there is something darker underneath. Word simmering with… frustration? “You are such a lovely dragoness, worthy of every praise and prayer they’d sign in your name here.”

You’re very glad your cup rests at your lap, blushing furiously with trembling hands.

For the next few moments, he continued to ask some more questions. What you like or dislike, what you do in your free time, even something as innocuous as your favorite color. Time seemed to stretch into infinity as you grew a little more comfortable with your answers and the whole situation, as though you weren’t talking to an emperor, or even a potential master or Alpha but rather… someone who saw you for who you are.

You liked that. You liked him.

You wanted to stay with him.

You wished to-

“Alright, I think that’s enough. I will have a talk with your Master and we’ll settle things.” He stands up and dusts his attire a little.

Your breath stops.

He is leaving.

He is leaving.

Did you do something wrong? Didn’t he say he liked your appearance? Are you such a failed disgraceful omega? Your last chance at bonding. You didn’t even get to impress him. You want to call out to him, do something, anything. Panic rises in your chest, drowning you, freezing you. You can barely think, instincts screaming, begging, wailing in despair for him. This kind Alpha, this gentle, patient, imposing, majestic Alpha who’s too good for you and yet something deep inside you yearns for him…!

“I am very glad to have met you little xiānshòu.” A small smile tugs at his lips. Then, he turns and heads for the sliding doors.

So, you do the first thing that comes to your mind.

The empty cup falls from your hands, your footsteps thump loudly on the wooden floors, soft fabric clenches between your fingers.

As soft as the lips you crash yours onto.

…

It only lasts a few seconds but when you back just a little, ears low and tail curled up in apprehension, you realize what you did.

You’d kissed him, you’d kissed the emperor.

You’re shaking like a leaf, clinging to him for dear life. He stares at you with wide surprised eyes but you’d rather die right here for your insolence than live the rest of your days in regret.

His scent takes on an alluring hint to it and your inner Omega is overjoyed. Up so close it is almost irresistible. His face remains impassive, if a little tense, but you can see in his eyes something you identify very well… hunger, desire.

“Lord Morax… t-the nest… please.”

“Y-You don’t have to-”

“Please! Allow me to please you, allow me to show you…how…” You whisper against his lips, leaning in again as your eyes flutter close.

And suddenly his hands wrap around you and pull you close, cupping your face, curling at your waist, there’s something possessive in it and you feel slight vibrations as he growls deep from his chest against your mouth. But there is also something sweet, something delicate…

And for once, you want more. You want this.

How did you end up here? In the most beautiful nest you’d ever constructed, with the most handsome, kind, caring Alpha you’d ever met?

His kisses are deep and slow, completely unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. You lie on the soft sheets as he looms over you, exploring your mouth with an unhurried pace, hungry yet not forceful, letting you timidly do the same at your own pace.

This is nice…

His hands run along your body, caressing your skin through your flimsy attire. His touch curious but gentle.

“May I?” He asks, tugging at the fabric off your shoulder.

You shiver, at his voice, as the pure want in it, in his eyes, in his scent.

“Y-yes my lord…”

“Hmm…” His kisses trail down your jaw down to your neck as he starts pulling the garments off. Careful, instead of simply ripping them apart, your heart skips a beat. “If we’re going to do this, you can use my name and not just titles…”

Your top falls off and goosebumps litter your skin, nipples pebbled as one of his hands cups your breast.

“M-Morax…” You try, shakily, as if testing out the word alone on your lips.

“No, little one. Zhongli. That is my name.” He kisses down your shoulders, nipping at the skin.

“Ah!” Your tail flickers around and you purr.

You take the initiative to kiss him this time, and your hands start roaming his foreign clothes, fumbling with knots and pawing at the fabric. He chuckles at your frustrated whine. You want more, more of this feeling, more of him. To touch his skin, cover him in kisses, worship him.

(Show him what a good Omega you can be.)

No…

You want to make him feel good and please him.

Elegant fabric falls down discarded as he shakes off the layers of his top and you blink surprised. The fabric was bulky and covered up his figure. Lean but muscled, tantalizing like honey. You immediately latch onto him, nosing, scenting, nipping and kissing, feeling the faint outline of his abs and muscles twitch under your touch. He smells so good, he feels so good…

Your Omega instincts are starting to cloud your senses more and more.

Suddenly one of his hands gently squeezes a soft breast and you moan at the sudden touch “O-Oh!”

“You’re sensitive here, do you like this?” He asks, massaging your chest.

You whimper and nod frantically, tail wagging behind you. You had never been this responsive to having your chest played with, though then again, it was rare… but his sensual touches were quickly undoing you. Wetness pools at your gut and you rub your legs together.

Lord Mor- Zhongli… leans down then and something wet flicks over your nipple making you gasp, before warmth surrounds your nub. You cry out even louder. He sucks and laps at it and you instinctively tangle your hands on his hard dark hair, your legs wrapping around his waist.

You groan again, too many layers on the way.

“C-clothes… off, please!”

“As you wish, my dear dragoness.”

He continues squeezing, kissing, caressing and lapping at your skin, leaving a couple of hickeys along the way and teasing his Alpha fangs against you as his attention descends through your body once more, continuing his trail of kisses along your hip. His fingers dip down the waistband of your mesh pants and when you raise your hips to help, he pulls them down.

You’ve been naked in front of others more times than you’d like to count. But there’s something oddly intimate and special about this situation right now.

Your ears lower in apprehension, and your tail flicks by your side, resisting the urge to cover up. Lying down with your legs slightly spread around him. Already flushed, sweaty and panting.

“…You’re gorgeous.”

Huh?!

“I’m so lucky to have found you.” Zhongli nips at your hip. “So lucky that you want me too.” He kisses at your inner thigh.

Your breath hitches.

You’re the lucky one. Completely overjoyed that this Alpha likes you, desires you.

The first touch at your core has you mewling.

Zhongli strokes at your folds, still gentle, finding you soaked as your slick coats his fingers. Your body jolts and you moan “A-Ah!” He smirks against your thigh and nips there again as his fingers move in circles, teasing, testing, before moving to your clit. A finger pad stroking it just so, making your whole frame tremble, like every nerve in your body is being stimulated.

“Mngh- please!”

His fingers travel between your folds. First one sliding in rather easily, pumping steadily as you shudder in pleasure, and then two, making you writhe, bucking your hips against the touch, pushing them deeper, chasing that feeling.

Your body feels hot, too hot. Every sensation blocked except that warm wet feeling down there, in your new heaven. Your hands claw at the sheets, a pleasant fog setting in and you can feel yourself slipping into your most primal needs. But oh, oh, not like this.

You want him. Need him.

“You- y-you! please my lord!”

Something snaps in the Alpha’s eyes and Zhongli growls. Golden eyes dark, swallowed by lust and need and you whine when his fingers leave you. You vaguely hear rustling noises and before you can protest again, he pulls you up back on his lap and oh…

He’s big.

His erection stands proud between your bodies, rubbing against you and you shuffle impatiently, nuzzling against him.

Yes, yes…

Zhongli helps positioning you, gives himself a few strokes, and you feel his cockhead kiss at your entrance, you whine and stare at him rather confused. “L-Like this? B-But I have never- This is n-not how-”

He kisses your forehead, your nose, and pecks at your lips. “I can imagine this is very different from how they’ve taught you Alphas mount Omegas, but I my dear, intend to make love to you.” He whispers, hot breath fanning your cheeks as he nuzzles you, so close, so intimate. Your heart hammering wildly in your chest. “Like this you will have more control. I want you to relax, enjoy, my sweet dragoness.” He kisses at your cheek, down your jaw to your neck. “May I?”

You can feel your eyes water. No one had ever told you that. No Alpha had ever been this patient or even asked your permission before. Words die on your throat as you stare mesmerized at Zhongli. Grateful. Incredulous. Completely enamored.

You nod, and he guides you down.

It’s different like this. So much different.

You bite your lip and whine a little once you start to move, his hands hold your hips as you raise them and sink back down on his cock, inch by delicious inch. You feel… full, but warm, good. Your insides clench around him and he groans.

Oh… you could get used to this…

“Hah… ah! … m-my lord... I’m…” You feel dizzy but in a good way, your body tingles all over and it’s exhilarating, addicting.

He leans forward a bit, nosing at your collarbone, soft kisses tickle your skin and he… he’s almost purring in delight, inhaling your scent. “I told you, you can just call me by my name... Would you let me hear it?”

You buck languidly on his embrace, enjoying this…sensual experience, these new feelings and sensations. His tender closeness, his intoxicating pheromones, his deep baritone.

Him.

“Zhongli…”

His name comes out as a needy cry and he growls, Alpha pride clearly satisfied. His hands roam your body just enough to shift position and pull you even closer, hips rolling in tandem, picking up speed, his fangs grazing your shoulder.

Your head is swimming in pleasure, fuzzy like stuffed with cotton, small little “Ah… ah… ah!” moans punched out of you. You’re vaguely aware of your nails digging onto his skin but you can’t even stop yourself, you need to hold onto something, anything.  

Even your tail subconsciously curls around his ankle (and he doesn’t even seem to mind), like every cell of your body is screaming at you to hold onto him and never let go.

Zhongli’s own breathing comes out in harsh puffs and satisfied groans as he buries himself in you over and over, the sound of skin slapping on skin becomes more prominent.

And then, he hits a spot that has you seeing stars.

Your eyes snap open (when had you closed them?) Back arching as if struck by lightning and letting out a high-pitched moan. H-How did he do that?! What was that? You don’t remember ever feeling like this in previous bonding attempts.

“M-more?” You mewl in delight.

Zhongli looks at you with a satisfied smirk and it only fuels the fire in your belly.

“Gladly.”

That same wonderful feeling travels up and down your body again and again as your moans and whimpers rise in volume, calling his name over and over. Zhongli kisses you, deep and passionate. Whispers praises and sweet nothings on your flickering dragon ears. Touches you so soft and reverently. Your body feels so hot, your mind going blank, you can feel the base of his cock swelling with his knot and the familiar coil of pleasure tightening as you anticipate it, crave it, more intense and satisfying than ever before.

And just as you reach that high, his fangs sink into you.

You come with a squeal, body tensing, clinging onto him, clenching on him as he lets out a deep satisfied groan, knotting you. Wet stickiness coats your insides and thighs. And everything feels right, just right. Perfect even.

It takes a moment to come back to your senses, and it’s to Zhongli’s hands rubbing circles at your back comfortingly, while he laps and kisses at the bonding mark he left on you.

And then the high comes crashing down.

The bonding mark.

Tears well up in your eyes and start rolling down your cheeks, your tail uncoiling from him and curling around yourself protectively, ears down.

Please no… this can’t be…

Please stay…

Please.

Zhongli immediately notices your distress, in your actions and your scent, completely different altogether. His own instincts going wild at the lack of a happy sated mate scent. “Darling, what’s wrong? I’m sorry did it hurt that much? Did I… harm you in some way or did something wrong?” Oh, he sounds so genuinely concerned.

You shake your head desperately. Of course he hasn’t.

But you will.

Your body will. Betray you as always.

No bonding mark has stayed in your neck for longer than a few minutes. They all fade.

Just like the alphas that place them in you.

And then comes the anger, the guilt, the disappointment, the despair, the loneliness…

You can’t take it. Not this time.

“S-stay… please…” You sob.

Your voice sounds so broken, so weak and tiny, absolutely heart wrenching.

And Zhongli embraces you.

“I will, my dearest dragoness. I promise you.” He kisses one of your horns.

You want to believe him but you can only cry harder…

The room is dark as your eyes flutter open. It takes a few minutes to adjust and for your mind to catch up. Where are you…? You look around at the wooden walls, nestled in comfy sheets, you see some wooden cabinets and a tea set-

…!!!

You jolt awake, tumbling some pillows from your fancy nest. Your last chance at bonding. The emperor. He was leaving, and then…!

You slap a hand against the junction between neck and shoulder and feel something there, a bandage… you try to stare at it confused, though it’s impossible from the angle. And then fear consumes you. What if… it’s not there…?

Your body is still naked, though you have been covered with a thick fabric while sleeping, as it now pools at your lap, your Omega scent and that of an Alpha mixed together pleasantly, you turn around.

The Emperor. Lord Morax. Zhongli.

He sleeps peacefully by your side, on your nest, after having mated you.

He stayed.

You stare at his handsome features, fair skin, dark long hair, strong jaw, muscled arms. His lips slightly parted as he breathes evenly. So at ease.

You want to reach out and brush at his hair, touch his face, kiss him.

You want this moment to last forever.

Looking up slightly you see the large mirror, see yourself. A tiny thing, with freaky ears, horns and a tail.

It was… good, while it lasted. Almost like a dream.

Tears start falling down your cheeks again and you try to be as silent as possible as you pull and lift at the bandage in your shoulder. And there underneath it is… something?

Your fingers trace a mark, a wound, it stings and you hiss.

No way. There is no way.

Hope flutters in your chest, your stomach flips and you feel dizzy, nervous. A bonding mark? Is it real? Is it still there?

You shuffle out of the nest as fast and stealthily as you can, standing in front of the mirror. Hair a mess, eyes wide, pale in fear.

And there it is. The clear mark of an Alpha bite, still rather tender. A claim. A bond.

You start sobbing as you trace it, touch it, feel it. It must have been hours, there is no way…

It’s there, it’s there, for real. You want to laugh, to cry, you’re still nervous, scared, hopeful, happy, a million things at once.

But how? Why now?

“Hnng… darling? Are you crying again?” You stiffen as you hear the voice, deep and hoarse, laced with drowsiness. You turn and see him sit up and yawn carelessly like a rishboland tiger. Elegant and intimidating like one too with his bright golden eyes, Alpha fangs and muscled figure. Still naked as well, you note.

“T-the bonding mark… it’s still there!” You exclaim to him, gesturing to it.

“You should let it heal nicely.”

“Y-You don’t get it!” You huff. “My Lord… it’s still there! I’m bonded, I’m yours!”

He chuckles. “Rather, I would say we belong to each other, now.”

Belong to each other.

That sounds nice.

You turn back to the mirror, still staring at it, poking it with a finger softly, as if afraid it’ll disappear, as if it was an illusion, a dream.

But it’s there.

“For years… for years I thought I was doing s-something wrong, that there was something… wrong… with me…” You cry softly. “No Alpha had even bonded me…”

Suddenly you feel strong arms curl around your frame, a chin resting at your shoulder where it kisses your skin, and then brushes over the mark. It stings but you welcome it.

It means it’s real, all of this is.

Zhongli inhales, taking in your scent. “Well you see my dear, a dragonblood… a xiānshòu like you, can only be truly bonded by one of its own kind.”

The words take a moment to process, to sit on your brain, and you frown confused, staring at him from the mirror. And then your eyes widen.

Golden antlers crown his head, majestic and almost glowing, small scales appear under his striking amber eyes, the color of burnt ocher. A large tail, even bigger than yours in golden and brown hues, sways lazily behind him, before finding yours and intertwining with it, the feel is foreign but not unwelcome. Like holding hands.

You turn around so fast you almost trip if it weren’t for his hold. The dragonblood features are still there, in plain sight.

Your throat feels dry.

“You… you’re…”

He raises a finger to his lips and shushes you, then smiles. “I am yours my dear. Just as you are now mine.”

You cling to him and hide your face on his chest as you cry. Overwhelmed, relieved.

Yes, this is where you belong.

[pinknightsinmymind]

【 the late shift - abby anderson | NSFW 】

wife!doctor!abby anderson x fem!wife!reader

NSFW CONTENT BELOW CUT MDNI

wc: 6.1k

summary: it's your precious wife's birthday. what better way to celebrate than dinner and birthday sex?

content: modern!au, wife!doctor!abby, wife!reader, descriptions of cooking (bc i love food❤️), domesticity with abby (she helps you cook), switch!abby, switch!reader, dom&sub!reader, dom&sub!abby, top&bottom!reader, top&bottom!abby, hickies, oral sex (r!receiving & abby!receiving), use of toys (abby!receiving), face sitting, fingering (abby!receiving), strap-on usage (r!receiving), abby refers to the strap as her dick/cock, doggy position, nipple play, praise, slight degradation (like once), slight spit kink, body worship, slight dumbification, breeding kink, abby lowkey having a housewife kink, slight spanking (abby just loves slapping your ass), slight dacryphillia, mentions of wine, reader and abby a lil tipsy, use of pet names (baby, babe, love, pretty girl, honey, etc.), mentions of nudes

a/n: this is the filthiest thing i've ever written. this is also the fic that won the poll i posted, so pls enjoy!! also, even though the morning sex option lost on the poll, i'm still gonna post that fic soon, and i can't wait for yall to read it!! pls tell me what you think about this fic bc i'd love to hear!! in this fic i introduce to you my abby happy trail agenda :)) again i just wanna thank you for all your support and love on my fics i appreciate every ounce of it i love yall so much <333

Abby was running late from work today—of all days—like she said she wouldn’t. Despite the fact it was her birthday, she couldn’t take the day off since one of her coworkers was on vacation at the moment. So, with no one else to cover the shift, she begrudgingly went to work on the one day she wanted off more than anything. The entire time she wished she were home and not at the hospital, but on her lunch break she sent you a photo of the small cake her coworker and friend, Nora, brought her. Since work would drain her by the time she got home, all she wanted was a simple at-home celebration that included dinner with you. She said she would be too tired for anything more than that, but you still had a few surprises lined up for her. You had her gifts waiting for her in your bedroom, a cake in the fridge, and you also had a brand new lingerie set you were wearing underneath your clothes. One that you may or may not have sent photos of your body in to tease her while she was at work. But that was neither here nor there.

However, despite both of your best efforts, today just wasn’t playing out how either of you wanted. She had promised she’d be home tonight by five to celebrate her birthday, but it was already past seven. You had gotten texts from her earlier explaining that an emergency had come up with one of her patients and that she’d be running late. You understood that her work was important and, of course, weren’t mad at her for something out of her control. You also knew she cared a lot about her patients and took her work seriously. You were just a little sad that you couldn’t celebrate her birthday sooner and that you had to wait a little longer. While sitting on the couch, you got a text from Abby saying she was finally on her way home. You decided now would be the best time to start getting dinner ready, and headed to the kitchen to prepare everything. You cleaned up your big, granite counter so you’d have space for all your ingredients, and pulled out a cutting board. You had barely finished chopping the mushrooms and tomatoes when you heard the front door opening and closing. You heard Abby’s keys jingling as her steady footsteps sounded from the foyer all the way into the den.

“[Y/N]?” she called.

“In the kitchen!” you responded, leaning against the counter as you waited for her to emerge. She was still in her scrubs and had her backpack on, but as soon as she saw you she slipped it off and let it drop to the floor.

“Baby, I’m so sorry,” she said immediately. She walked up to you and pulled you into a hug. “One of my patients had an emergency that I needed to take care of. I had barely finished packing my things up when it happened. I didn’t even get the chance to clock out.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” you assured her. “I know these things happen.” Abby pulled away from the hug, her hands slipping from your shoulders down to your waist. She placed a kiss on your forehead.

“You sure? I know you wanted today to be special.”

“I mean, I’m a little sad you came home later than usual, but at least you’re here now,” you explained.

“I’m sorry, honey,” she said again. She craned her face down to your neck and began to place kisses along your collarbones and the side of your neck. “I really wanted to come home early like you wanted.”

“It’s okay. You texted me right on time, so at least I hadn’t started making dinner. It would’ve gone cold.”

“Now that would’ve made me even sadder,” Abby said, pulling her face out from the crook of your neck. She rubbed lazy circles on your back before picking you up without warning. She sat you down on the kitchen counter and made sure to stand in between your legs. She placed more kisses on your neck and jaw, her hands rubbing up and down your thighs. “You’re such an angel. Let me make it up to you, hm?”

“Abs,” you said quietly.

“Let me make you feel good.”

“But you’re still in your scrubs,” you said to her.

“And?” She bit the skin around your neck, then sucked on it a little before licking it. A small whine left your lips at the feeling as you grasped onto her big arms. “I thought you said they look good on me?”

“You’re a huge germaphobe. You know this,” you scolded her. Abby stopped what she was doing and sighed.

“Fine, you’re right. I’ll shower, but when I get out, it’s over for you,” she warned.

“Sure it is, ma’am,” you joked with her.

“Wanna bet?” she asked. She turned to look at you, raising one of her eyebrows as she gave your body a once over.

“Go take a shower, Abigail,” you said jokingly. She laughed as she turned around to walk to your bedroom.

“Using my full government name now? Wow,” she said with fake hurt before disappearing down the hall. You chuckled a little and rolled your eyes at her dramatics.

First order of business: sauce. You prepped the pan and poured in the tomato sauce that Abby liked and added the chopped up tomatoes and mushrooms to the mix. While the sauce was heating up, you began to prepare the pot to boil the pasta. You made fun of Abby for having bowties as her favorite pasta—you told her it was so cute for someone as tough-looking as her—but it was her favorite so of course you’d make it. You salted the water as you turned up the temperature of the oven. Now all that was left was to make the chicken. The chicken had been defrosting in the sink for a while, and you still had to set up the bowls of batter and crumbs. You decided to coat the chicken in panko bread crumbs for a more crunchy texture, the sound of the sizzling oil filling the air as you dropped the chicken in. The sauce you had made was already simmering on the stove, and you knew it would be finished by the time the chicken was. While you set the chicken to fry, you finally added the pasta into the now boiling water.

You were checking on the chicken when you felt a pair of hands slide across your stomach from behind you. You stifle a chuckle at the feeling as you hadn’t heard Abby approach you and because it made you flustered. Her hands roamed from your stomach to ghost over your ribcage, down to your lower abdomen, repeat. She knew just how to fluster you.

“Well, hello to you, too,” you said to her. You grabbed the tongs nearby and flipped the pieces of chicken over.

“You look so cute like this,” Abby whispered.

“Oh, yeah?” you asked. “What about me is cute to you right now?”

“The fact that you’re making me dinner.” One of her hands slid down from your stomach and past your thighs before she started to grope your ass.

“Abby!” you yelled. “Stop being so horny.” Although you were technically scolding her, you were laughing a little bit as you did. You wanted to pretend you didn’t like Abby’s antics, but you couldn’t. She was just so endearing, and you did love her touch.

“Alright, alright. I’ll keep my hands above your ass. Is that better?” she teased.

“Much better.” You took out two pieces of chicken that were done frying and placed them on the pan you set out to collect them after they were cooked. After you finished with the chicken you were planning on covering them in mozzarella to sit in the oven for a few minutes. You felt Abby’s hand move from your ass and back to caressing your stomach and your hips. “You’re touchy today.”

“And are you complaining?” she asked in a low voice. She nuzzled her face into your neck as she began to place kisses all over your skin. She was gingerly ghosting over that one spot that drove you crazy, barely leaving a trace of her warmth behind as her skin grazed past yours. Her lips would practically hover over as if she was going to kiss you before moving. What a tease.

“No, but aren’t you afraid of the oil splattering us?”

“I don’t know. I think it could be kind of sexy. Like wax play or something.”

“You are unbelievable,” you laughed. “If you want to be helpful, can you get the mozzarella out of the fridge? The packaging’s brand new.”

She placed a few more kisses on the back of your neck. “Yes, ma’am.” She pulled away from your body, but not before smacking your ass.

“Abigail Anderson,” you warned.

“[Y/N] Anderson,” she said as she walked to the fridge. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll even shred it for you,” she announced.

“Wow. You’re so kind,” you said sarcastically. You took out the two final pieces of chicken and turned the burner beneath the pan off. In the meantime, you could hear Abby pulling out the cheese grater and a bowl to get to work. You grabbed a nearby spoon and stirred the pasta a little bit to see how close it was to being ready.

“Here you go, love.” Abby suddenly appeared at your side with the shredded mozzarella in a bowl for you. She gave you a kiss on the cheek, one you quickly returned as you grabbed the bowl from her hands.

“Thank you, babe.”

“No problem. Let me drain the pasta for you, okay?” Abby said. You nodded as you turned off the sauce and got to work on the chicken. You drizzled an equal amount of cheese on each piece of chicken before sliding it into the oven. While you were busy with that, you could hear Abby digging around to find the strainer. It didn’t take her long, and before you knew it you could hear the water going down the sink’s drain. After you closed the oven, you leaned against the counter and let out a sigh. Only a few more minutes and dinner would be ready. You watched Abby as she transferred the pasta back to its pot before leaving the strainer by the kitchen sink. When Abby turned around, she gave you a sheepish smile as she waltzed to the stove. She put the pot on one of the empty burners before sauntering over to you. She pulled you by your hips closer to her.

“Can’t wait to eat this food,” she said. “You worked so hard on it.”

“Well, it’s your birthday!” you said excitedly. “I wanted it to be special.”

“And you achieved just that.” Abby leaned in, her lips touching yours so gently and with such passion. Her arms wrapped around you tightly as she pulled you closer. Your hands found their way to her hair as you got enraptured in the kiss. Her hair was down at the moment, and it was always such a sight to see. You loved the way it framed her face, how it seemed to make her features light up. She felt so good against you, and you could smell the coconut shampoo she used and the pine soap that made her smell so fresh and clean. God, she was so addicting, and as much as you loved kissing her, your eyes widened when you remembered the chicken inside the stove.

“Abby,” you said.

“What is it, baby?” she whispered, clearly thinking you were about to ask her something else.

“The chicken!” you said, and pulled away from her immediately. You yanked the stove open and pulled the food out. The delicious scent immediately wafted to your nose, and you could feel your stomach come to life with hunger.

“God, that looks delicious,” Abby said. “Yeah, I’m fucking you good tonight.” You wanted to make a joke about how vulgar her words were, but you already knew what she would say in response: “But you like it, don’t you?” The answer would be “yes,” and that’s why you let the words stay in your mouth.

After the successful dinner, you brought Abby’s gifts out from your bedroom to let her open them up. You bought her the gold bracelet she had been eyeing for a while, a special edition copy of her favorite book, and concert tickets for her favorite band. To say she was pleased was an understatement. After Abby opened her presents, she ran to your pantry to pull out the brand new bottle of wine she had hidden for this occasion. It was a surprise from her to you for such a great day so far. One and a half glasses of wine later, you and Abby were cuddling on the couch together. At least that’s what it had begun as. The two of you nursing your glasses of wine, sitting together underneath a blanket, a random show playing on the TV, until the drinks started to make you both a little frisky. Your glasses had both been abandoned on the coffee table in front of you, Abby’s lips on yours as she pulled you into her lap. Her hands were roaming all over your body. From your ass to your hips, your waist to beneath your bra. While on the outside she continued her movements without hesitation, on the inside she felt herself getting flustered. She had seen the photos you sent her while she was at work—she spent a good few minutes gawking at them—but she didn’t think you were still wearing the lingerie set. The bra you were wearing was lacy and thin, and was that a bow in the center? You would be the death of her. She just wanted all of you in this moment, and no matter how much she pulled you into her body, it wasn’t close enough. Her lips wandered from your jaw down to your neck, leaving scarlet marks there in her wake.

“I’ve wanted you so bad all day, baby,” she whispered. Her hands began fiddling with your nipples through your bra. The fabric was so thin it was like you weren’t wearing anything at all. “So bad. Especially after you teased me while I was at work.” Your lips found hers again, and to your surprise, Abby’s hands moved to your hips as she made you grind onto her. A small whimper left your mouth at the sudden friction, the noises you made immediately swallowed by her kiss.

“Abby,” you moaned. She smiled at the mention of her name, but her lips stayed on yours.

“What is it?” she asked between kisses.

“I need you.” She moved your hips into hers again, the ache in between your legs becoming too much. You just needed her to make it go away. “Let’s go to our room.” You could feel Abby perk up at the request, and she didn’t hesitate to push the blanket off both your bodies. She adjusted your legs so they were wrapped around her waist, strengthening her grip around your ass. She got up from the couch and began walking down the hall to your bedroom. She stopped kissing you to keep an eye on where she was headed, but you started to kiss her all over her neck. She gave your ass a particularly harsh squeeze before she pushed the door open to your room. She continued her march to your bed, setting you down onto the soft mattress before her. When she plopped down next to you in bed, your hands didn’t hesitate to wander towards the hem of her shirt, pulling it off her body desperately. To your delight, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Your lips found their way to her breasts, kissing all over them and her nipples. Before Abby knew it, you had your lips wrapped around her nipples, sucking and kissing them gently.

“Fuck, baby,” she groaned. “Treat me so good.”

“Wanna taste you,” you mumbled against her skin. “Let me eat you out.” Abby wasn’t going to object, because she wanted you to do as you asked just as bad as you did. “Say it,” you commanded.

“I want you to eat me out,” she whined. You kissed down from her breasts to her stomach, fingers ghosting over her pale, blonde happy trail. You pulled her sweatpants down and—No panties. You took her in like the beautiful sight she was.

“You’re not wearing anything underneath at all, Abs?” you teased. “Is that how bad you’ve needed me?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Lay down,” you ordered her. She did as you asked, laying on top of your well-made bed that would soon be messed up when you were done with her. You moved closer to her and grabbed ahold of her thighs, kissing them as you inched upwards towards her center. You could see how wet and needy she was for your touch. You didn’t hesitate to begin sucking at her clit, because you knew that was just the place she needed your attention from the most. You’d spare her some teasing. She moaned as soon as she felt the contact, squirming from the stimulation. You wrapped your arms around her thighs to hold her in place and pull her closer to you. You could feel her pubic hair scratching your face as you dug in, but it was never a sensation you hated. You enjoyed having all of her, every piece of her. You loved her taste on your tongue, the way she moaned and whimpered with every movement of it. You just loved making her feel good.

She kept squirming underneath you, every sound coming out of her either being a whine or a whimper. She always got desperate like this whenever she was receiving, and it was always such a sight. Abby liked to portray herself as this strong, dominant person, but that image of her always quickly dissipated as soon as your mouth was on her pussy. That version of Abby was nowhere to be found, not when you were taking care of her like this, giving her the space to let her guard down for once.

“Baby, you need to stop squirming,” you warned her. “You keep moving away from me. Feels that good, love?”

“So good,” she choked out. You stopped sucking on her clit, instead choosing to circle it with your thumb, only achingly slow. A pathetic whimper left her lips, and you knew she was feeling desperate. That was the point. You wanted to play with her, to make her beg. You kept moving your thumb slowly, no matter how much she whined. She’d have to ask you if she wanted more.

“What’s the matter?” you teased her. “You sound like you’re crying. What’s wrong? Tell me.”

“Need you,” she cried. “Please. I need more.”

“What do you need? Gotta tell me exactly what you want,” you explain.

“I need your mouth on me. Suck on my clit, please.” She was just so needy. How could you deny her? You returned your lips to her cunt, licking her through her folds, admiring how much wetter she had grown in the process. She tasted so sweet on your tongue as you lightly brushed it over her clit before taking it back into your mouth to suck on it again. You could feel her thighs tightening around you, and you let her do it. You knew this meant she was getting close, and you didn’t let up on your actions. You kept kissing and licking and sucking, wanting to do anything your wife may have needed. Her thighs were shaking by this point.

“Gonna cum,” she whimpered. Her hands were gripping onto the bed sheets, her head tilting as she let out rough moans. She was close, and a loud moan left her mouth suddenly. That’s how you knew she came, but you weren’t done. While she was still sensitive, you began to circle your thumb around her clit, little whimpers leaving her lips at the feeling. You reached into the bedside stand and pulled out the dildo you knew she kept there, licking it to get it wet.

“Can you take it, love?” you asked her. She nodded. “What did we talk about? Use your words, Abs,” you scolded her.

“I can take it. Please, put it inside me.” You did as she asked, slowly thrusting it inside her. You didn’t stop circling her clit as you did so, intent on making sure she felt good each step of the way. A groan left Abby’s lips as she felt the dildo slowly entering her inch by inch. The pleasure was overwhelming, and she couldn’t help any of the loud moans leaving her mouth when you were this good to her.

“Just like that, baby,” you encouraged her. “Just like that. Keep moaning for me.” You finally had the dildo to the hilt inside her, leaving it in for a moment to let her adjust. After you let her get comfortable, you pulled it out and let it sink back within her, solidifying a steady pace for her.

“It feels so good. God, it’s so good,” she moaned. You smiled at her reaction, making sure to continue giving her just what she needed. You continued at the pace you set, Abby growing increasingly desperate with each drag of the toy. “Harder. Please. Harder,” she begged. And who were you to deny what your love wanted? You did just as she asked, moving the dildo at the same speed, but with a greater intensity like she asked. There were tears brimming her eyes as she continued moaning. She felt so good, unable to fully put into words just how amazing you made her feel. All she knew is that she didn’t want this to end.

“Are you gonna cum for me, darling?” you asked her.

“Fuck,” she moaned. “Yes, yes, yes. I’m gonna cum.” You continued your actions as she asked, watching as she creamed all over the toy. Abby was catching her breath as you pulled the toy out of her and rushed to put it in the bathroom sink. When you came back, Abby was sitting up in bed with a new fire in your eyes. As soon as you got close enough to her, she grabbed your hand and pulled you back into the bed. She stood up from the bed and got down on her knees in front of you. She didn’t hesitate to pull your jeans down your legs, her eyes immediately landing on the pretty lingerie set underneath your pants. She pulled your legs apart, unable to stop herself from kissing your cunt through your panties, all pretty and lacy in your favorite color. She was so overwhelmed with love and lust, unsure what to do with herself and the rush of emotions filling her body. It didn’t help that you were both a little tipsy. She licked a stripe over the fabric, your hands automatically moving to grab her hair. After a few more teasing licks, she finally pulled your panties down, and she could see how wet you were. You were practically glistening, all pretty and ready just for her. She dug into you immediately, her tongue tasting and feeling every part of you.

“Taste so good, love,” she groaned. The moans leaving your lips were addictive. It was her favorite part of pleasuring you: hearing how good you felt. And when you’d finally cum on her face? That’s what made it all worth it. She continued sucking on your clit, moaning at the feeling of your growing wetness on her lips. Your grip kept tightening on her hair, and she loved it. She was on her knees before you, and she felt that was exactly where she belonged—worshiping you.

“You know what I want?” she suddenly spoke up. She trailed her lips away from your center and began kissing your thighs as she looked up at you. You could tell by the look in her eyes she had an idea. “Want you to sit on my face, love. Can you do that for me?” You couldn’t say no. Not when she was looking up at you like that.

“Yes,” you answered. The switch from your dominant personality from earlier to this submissive one was making Abby’s head spin.

“Good girl. Just what I wanted to hear.” Abby rose from her position on the ground and crawled onto the bed before laying down. “Come on, babe. I’m all ready for you.” You moved from where you were sitting on the edge of the bed towards her body. You straddled her hips and leaned down to kiss her, hoping to convey to her all the love and longing you were feeling. Abby’s hands moved from her sides to rub against your hips before promptly slapping your ass. You let out a yelp at the sensation, but it only made you wetter. “Come on. Stop teasing me. I need to taste you again. Need to show my sweet, little wife how much I love her.” You couldn’t help the moan that escaped your mouth when you felt her slap your ass again. “You made me a nice, home-cooked meal to celebrate my birthday, and I think that means I should be putting a baby in you by the end of the night. What do you think?”

“Please, Abs,” you whined. “I want you so bad.”

“Then sit on my face, pretty girl. You know that’s what I want.” You finally pulled your lips away from hers and removed yourself from her lap. You looked down at Abby one last time before sliding one of your legs to rest on the other side of her head until you were practically straddling her. You had yet to set yourself down on her face yet, but Abby waited, her hands already reaching up to start tracing the skin over your ass and hips. You slowly situated yourself against her mouth, something you’ve done countless times before, but the anticipation always consumed you.

The first thing you felt was the warmth of her lips, then the wetness of her tongue as she started to lick your folds. A whine left your lips at the feeling, so desperate for your wife like always. Abby’s grip on your ass was tight as she held you in place, ensuring that she’d be able to devour you just like she wanted. She rocked your hips as she licked your cunt and lapped up all your juices. The friction was making you see stars. She kept moving you, guiding your movements onto her tongue, never once stopping for a second. You felt her let out a small moan, the vibrations reverberating and amplifying your pleasure. Abby suddenly stilled the movements of your hips, but her grip tightened as you felt her start to suck your clit.

“Oh, Abby, just like that,” you moaned. You didn’t have to tell her twice, as her tongue was already swirling around your clit just how you liked it. You felt so good, the pleasure overwhelming your body from just how good Abby was treating you. She was definitely keeping her promise from earlier. You moaned at the feeling of her tongue working against you. You could feel the knot growing in your stomach, building faster and faster. The moans leaving your lips were desperate, but you couldn’t help it when this was how Abby made you feel. She made you feel alive, like your whole body was on fire.

“I’m close,” you moaned. “I’m so close.” Your hands gripped onto your thighs as Abby’s grip was too strong for you to move anywhere else. Instead, you steadily rocked your hips against her face, the tip of her nose knocking into your clit. The friction and combined with the way Abby was eating you out was intense, and within seconds you felt yourself cumming all over her face. Abby continued sucking on your clit to fuck you through your orgasm, but she wasn’t done with you yet. She tapped onto your thighs, a sign you recognized as her asking you to get off her. You did as she asked and removed yourself from her face to settle into the sheets. Abby sat up in bed, and she wasted no time in kissing you wildly. You could feel the wetness on her face and taste yourself on her tongue, completely lost in the feeling of her. You could do this with her for hours if she wanted. You felt her reach down to your t-shirt and raised it over your head as she immediately ogled at the pretty bra you had on. It matched your panties, and it looked so gorgeous on you. She kissed you hungrily, palming at your breasts. She reached behind you to unclip your bra and threw it somewhere randomly. She was back on you in an instant, clearly not satisfied.

“You want my cock in you, baby? Want me to fill you up?”

“God, yes, Abby,” you answered.

“I’ll go get it.” You watched as she retreated to your closet that held most of your toys, the main one being her strap. She returned to your bedside with both the flesh-colored dildo and harness in her hands. “Help me put it on, honey.” You did as she asked and moved towards the edge of the bed. Abby slipped her legs through the harness, but you helped her tighten the straps and adjust it on her hips. She stroked your cheeks and hair as you did so with a soft smile on her face.

“Okay, it’s ready, Abs,” you announced.

“Thank you, baby. Why don’t you turn around and get on your hands and knees for me, huh?” You didn’t hesitate to do as she asked, getting yourself comfortable in the position that was without a doubt Abby’s favorite. You felt Abby step closer to your body, the strap momentarily pressing against your skin. You heard Abby spitting, and before you knew it you felt something wet coating your cunt. She rubbed the strap through your folds, teasing your clit before bringing it back up to your hole. You were still so wet and ready for her; it made her feel lightheaded. Abby started teasing your entrance with her cock, and you let out a small whimper in response. She pushed it in a tiny bit, but just that small thrust had you whining. She pulled it out, then put it back in the same amount, then out again. She was teasing you, and she reveled in every moment of it. She did the same pattern again, this time pushing it in up to its head. She could hear the desperate whines leaving your mouth, but she was a bully when it came to teasing.

“Abby!” you whined. She let out a quiet chuckle.

“Is something wrong, baby?” she asked, pulling out yet again.

“Yes! You’re teas—” Before you could finish, she pushed it back into you again, nearly half-way now. It caught you off guard, a gasp leaving your lips at the sensation.

“What was that?” she asked.

“You’re teasing me,” you said. Abby pulled out of you again, and it left you feeling so empty. You just wanted her deep inside of you. “Please, Abby. I need you inside me. Please.”

“Fuck. I can’t tell you no, baby.” Without warning, you felt her shove the entire thing inside you this time. You moaned loudly at the sudden force. “Like that? Wanted me deep inside you like this?”

“Yes,” you answered. Abby grabbed onto your hips roughly, preparing herself as she slid her dick out of you a tiny bit before slamming it back in, then repeating. She was starting off slow and steady, but she was giving you what you needed. Your moans were already in full force, bouncing off the walls and filling her ears like sweet music. She got off on hearing you just as much as she did from seeing how you looked while she fucked you from behind. She started to pick up her pace a little bit, and she could see you reaching to grab at the bedsheets. She couldn’t help the smirk that appeared across her face.

“That’s it,” she encouraged. “Just like that. Got you going dumb on my cock already, huh?” She knew she wasn’t going to get an answer out of you since your face was buried in the mattress, but she was still going to ask. “Taking it so good, baby. Fuck, I love seeing you like this. All pretty and dumb on my cock. When I’m done with you, I’m gonna fill you all the way up. You’d like that?”

“Please. I need you to fill me up,” you cried out. Abby continued her pace, but when she heard your voice, she could tell that you were crying. It turned her on even more.

“Gonna let me cum inside and make you my pretty, little cumslut? Want me to get you fucking pregnant?” she asked.

“Yes!” you cried out. Abby was many things, but a composed woman at a time like this wasn’t one of them.

“Fuck,” she grunted. She loved the enthusiasm of your answer, speeding up the pace of her thrusts. She could feel the harness rubbing against her clit, and it was driving her wild. She kept fucking into you, pulling your hips into hers over and over again. Yeah, she was going to fuck you good, and she was going to make sure you were screaming the whole night. She could hear your skin slapping against hers as she continued her pace, and before she knew it her moans were joining in with yours. She just felt so amazing. Everything about this moment did.

“Abby! Fuck, Abby, you’re so deep. It’s so good.” You words were incoherent babbles, and that’s how Abby knew she was doing a good job for sure.

“I know, baby. I’m fucking you just right, huh? Just like you need.” She barely managed to get the words out, panting and grunting from her own pleasure. It just felt so good to take you in this position. You were having a hard time speaking yourself, your brain all fuzzy and fucked out. The feeling of Abby’s cock dragging inside your walls and that spot it was hitting were more than enough to fuck you dumb. It was all you ever needed. You could feel the tears that were drying on your cheeks as Abby continued to overstimulate you. You could feel yourself getting closer yet again, the feeling more than you could bear.

“Abby. Abby. I think I’m cumming,” you cried. “I’m gonna cum.” You were too out of it to speak, so caught up in the feeling of her inside you and her promises of breeding you. It all made you feel so good, the ideas of her cumming inside you upping your pleasure by a tenfold.

“Cum on my cock, baby. Know you can do it.” Abby didn’t let up her pace one bit, and you reached down to rub your clit as she fucked into you. Fuck. There was no one like Abby, and soon you found yourself cumming harder than ever. The moan that was ripped from your body sounded more like a scream as you continued to rub your clit while it washed over you. Abby was close, too, and hearing the sounds of your pleasure was enough to send her over the edge. Abby grunted loudly, feeling herself cum as the movement of her strap stilled inside you. You both stayed like that for a second to cool down, and after a moment Abby slowly pulled out of you. You moved out of the position you were in and collapsed on the bed. Abby pulled the harness and strap off her body, abandoning it on the bedside table. She’d leave cleaning it for later. She immediately dived into bed, fixing the covers for you both as she pulled you into her arms. She started kissing your forehead as she rubbed your back.

“You okay, love?”

“Yeah,” you answered. “Just tired.”

“Me, too. You did so good for me, baby.”

“Thanks, Abs. You were really good for me, too.”

“Yeah?” she asked.

“Yeah,” you said. “I love you. I’m so sleepy,” you whispered. Abby laughed at that.

“I love you, too. Now, let’s go to sleep, babe. I’m off tomorrow, remember?”

“Can we get coffee tomorrow?” you asked.

“Of course, baby. We’ll go shopping, too, if you want.”

“You’re so great, Abs. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she replied, watching how your eyes fluttered shut. What a sleepy thing, she thought, but she’d have you no other way. That’s what she promised in her vows.

[beatrixstonehill2]

" 'But you're too pretty to detrans!' 'You're gorgeous, why would you start testosterone?' 'Your boobs are perfect, why throw them away for a guy???' Oh well!" Ashley shrugged. "You guys can hate all you want, it won't stop me from detransitioning! I know, a lot of you guys think I'm 'goals' or whatever and I understand that I'm really privileged. I started socially transitioning in grade school, went on blockers at like ten, then by high school I was on the best hormones money can buy! My family openly encouraged me to explore my gender and this is no different! Quite honestly my boobs are fun, but they're way too big and make me insanely dysphoric. I've been wanting them chopped off for over a year now!

I think I'll look better as a flat-chested femboy. Or maybe I'll get super buff and try weight lifting. I wonder how hairy I'm supposed to be as a guy? Oooo, or maybe I'll wind up as a fat dude with a big beer belly! What do you think? What would suit me the best? I'll probably make a poll, just don't expect a 'stay a girl' option because I already started T a couple days ago! And yes, all of this started because of the guy I've been dating since last month. Big whoop? He asked me a lot of questions that got me questioning if I should detrans. He asked me if I wanted a bigger cock. I of course said yes, mine is only five inches. He told me if I want a really big dick I'm probably not a girl. I even admitted I'd never dream of having it or my balls removed. He asked me about my breasts, I bluntly told him they made me dysphoric even back when I was only a C-Cup or a D-Cup.

He asked so many questions I never thought about, dumb stuff like.... do I like gooning to porn? Of course, yeah I do. He looked at my search history and saw it was mostly straight porn, with pregnant girls with really big tits getting fucked at college parties, and femboy 'trans' porn with cute flat-chested female-passing femboys getting ass fucked. Mostly with femboys or 'trans girls' that have really big cocks. My bf basically convinced me I'm just a femboy and being a 'trans girl' is just me lying to myself, that no matter what I'm technically a boy and all these other things prove it. I had no answer. So he asked why I don't start T and prove him wrong. He said if I go through male puberty and hate it, and regret getting my boobs chopped off, maybe just maybe I'm really a trans girl. But he said real trans girls were very rare and most of us were just perverted boys living out our porno fantasies. I took him up on his offer and started T, I have to know for sure and see what I'll look like as a guy, even if it means retransitioning will be pretty much impossible. Oh well, no big deal. At least I'll finally get rid of these giant oversized boobs!

So now we'll have to wait and see what kind of guy I become. My bf is very supportive of my detransition and wants to see me masculinize myself as soon as possible to see how much I'll like it. So, I'm probably going to embrace a bit of everything.... go nuts. I might wear some cute kinky clothes, but also weight lift and try to build muscle, but I also think I'm gonna overeat and try out a really poor diet to see if I like being a fat guy as well. So, muscular, hairy (fingers crossed!), and very husky, with a big belly. I think that's my dream body, and my bf is eager to help me achieve it. Soon you'll never know I was ever living as a pretty girl with huge natural MM-Cup breasts! I can't wait for you all to see my transformation, wish me luck! ❤️"

[cafeinthemoon]

It's a Fire - Chapter I

Chapter 1

Wordcount 3,5k

Title Retired Hashira

Fandom Kimetsu no Yaiba / Demon Slayer

Symbols ⭕ ➕ 🖤

Warnings: arranged marriage; age gap; mentions of increasing in criminality and poverty; grieving; non diagnosed depression (the condition wasn't properly understood by the time this story is settled)

Tagging ? (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N.A.: So Kimetsu no Yaiba returned and I'm taking the opportunity to finally start posting this story that has been in my list of ideas for several months!

A while ago I made a poll where I included the option of writing a fic with the Rengoku family, and it was this one I was talking about. I know there are other stories I need to work on already, but let me tell you that this very fic just saved me from a creative block, which was caused by what I suspect to be the beginning of a burnout (I'm about to go on vacation and I just can't take it anymore, but I don't want to discuss this rn).

A few words about the ff itself: It's a slow burn, arranged marriage story between reader, who's 27/28 yo, which makes her closer to myself who's a bit older than this, and Shinjuro Rengoku, who's struggling with the same problems we see in canon, but somehow accepts her as his wife: she was the daughter of old acquaintances of his, so the marital contract is sealed to allegedly honor the friendship between the families. However, things are way more complicated in reality.

Of course, because of the things we see in the original media, such as violence, alcoholism and etc., I need to make it clear that my personal opinions on these subjects may diverge from what I'm putting in this story (due to personal family experiences), and each chapter will carry the necessary warnings. Also if you notice similarities with Beauty and the Beast, know that it isn't just a coincidence haha Finally, the title is a song by Portishead, which didn't influence my writing but its lyrics somehow fit this plot 🌹

I hope you have a good time reading this ❤

“You walk a lonely road 

Oh, how far you are from home” 

(Enya, May it Be) 

That fate didn’t care about your preferences and desires, you knew well. 

You wished you had your mother with you for long years, and that your relationship grew stronger as you spent your time together, dedicating yourselves to the art of the sword, but most of her time and energy were directed to her work as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, and it was like this until the day you received a messenger from Ubuyashiki-sama to inform you about her death: she didn’t fall to the Oni, but couldn’t resist the injuries from a battle against a group of them. 

You also wished your father, after losing the woman he claimed to love, stood up to his remaining family, that is, himself and you, and took reasonable measures to protect his territory and the people who lived in it, but he preferred to lock himself in his office and ignore the demands outside it, firing half of the house’s servants for the sake of saving money and willing to leave the property to the dust and the insects, not seeing this happening thanks to you, who took the task of maintaining everything by yourself, even doing some of the physical work. 

There were, in fact, many other things you wished for, but didn’t have the chance to see them coming true. One of those other things were continuing to live in the house you grew up in, and using your education to dedicate your life to a career of your choice, though your options seemed limited by your sex. But even this was taken from you when, on an ordinary day, you saw your father leaving his office in the company of a man you’ve never seen in your life. You wanted to question him about this strange visit, but you didn’t have to: your father came to your chambers later, and without measuring his tone or giving you time to process such news, explained the meeting’s main subject. 

– I’ve recently contacted an old acquaintance of mine, someone who was also known by your mother – he started – And explained our situation here. 

You knew what he was talking about: after your mother passed away, your lands’ protection has been neglected, and appearances of demons have been reported more often by your servants and the people who live in the villages near. No one dared leaving their houses at night, and the local economy were deeply affected by this, since part of the basic work used to be done in this period of the day; this led to an increase in poverty and criminality. You, on your part, weren’t immune to these difficulties despite growing up in a privileged family. 

Your father addressing this situation to you, however, was something new, and you exposed this impression to him. 

– Things are getting harder for everyone here, that’s true – you agreed – But why are you discussing this with me now? 

– Because I asked this acquaintance for help, and he answered me – he took slow steps toward your window, half opened by that time; he closed it with firm hands, but without making much noise – The thing is that, at the same time our lands are now dangerous to people, specially to young women like you, it’s time for you to take the next big step in your personal life, daughter. After all, you’re almost twenty-eight. 

You frowned. 

Next big step? What is he talking about?… 

Your father might have noticed your confusion, because he soon clarified his words… and you wished he never did it. 

– I’m talking about marriage, y/n – he spat – You declined the last two proposals, and I respect your reasons for that, but this time the circumstances aren’t in our favor. This man who visited me earlier is a messenger from the Rengoku House, and he brought me a positive answer from their head: I offered your hand and a good dowry in exchange for your protection, and in respect to your mother, who worked for the same cause as him, Shinjuro Rengoku accepted you as his wife. You’re leaving the house this week. 

You were speechless. You tried to stand up and show a sign of protest, but your legs didn’t obey you; you opened your mouth to say something, but no word left it. You knew your father have been struggling, but you could never suppose he was becoming insane – arranging a marriage for you without your consent? Other men used to do this to their daughters, but the man who married your mother would never… But, apparently, he was no longer this man. 

Maybe he was expecting some disagreement, but seeing your silence made him frown. 

– Don’t you have anything to say about this? 

You finally seemed to wake up. You gave him a dead glare, murmuring your response. 

– And what do you expect a woman to say after being sold and sent away from her own house out of nowhere? – you moved your head to the side, irony leaking from the gesture – Thank you? 

Your father clenched his jaw. 

– I certainly don’t expect your gratitude – his voice was lower now – I know this isn’t the future you wanted for yourself, and I didn’t want things to be like this either, but… 

– Why marriage, father? – your tongue was released, interrupting his thread of thoughts like a storm – I could stay temporarily with them, work for them, anything! But marrying someone I’ve never met?! Don’t you remember that I’ve declined the other proposals after at least seeing the faces of those men? 

– You’ll meet him on the wedding day, and you’ll have all the time of the world to know anything there is to know about him – his tone was louder again, as his patience was running low – Besides, Shinjuro is an old friend of mine. I give you my word that he’s a decent man, besides being a formidable warrior. He was married to a respectable woman once, and built a good family with her. I trust him, and so did your mother. No problems should be expected from his part, so the same must be expected from you. 

Shinjuro. It was only the second time you’ve heard that name from your father’s mouth, and you didn’t know what to think. In fact, you’ve learned from your mother that among the Demon Slayer Corps there was an elite group known as the Hashira, and one of them was Shinjuro, the Hashira of the Flames. He was the current head of the Rengoku family, but personal struggles – including the death of his wife – forced him to a retirement despite his capacity as a warrior, so that his eldest son, Kyojuro, took his place. However, you also heard that this young man was dead, so it was impossible to tell how things were going for his family members now. And that was the environment your father was willing to throw you into, even spending money in the process. 

You sighed. 

– Father, when was the last time you’ve met this man? I don’t remember you talking about him – you crossed your arms – I’m only familiar with his name thanks to mother, but now you’re telling me that he’s an old friend of yours. How old is he, exactly? 

– Not as old as me, of course – his reply came with a mixture of embarrassment and indignation – I can’t believe that, of all the things involved in this arrangement, this is what concerns you more! 

You scoffed. 

– I’m not that futile, but if he’s old enough to have a son capable of replacing him in the battlefield, I think I have the right to be concerned! – you took a step toward him – If I have no choice, I want to know exactly where I’m getting into. Can’t you even make such a small concession to me, father? 

No, he couldn’t, and you soon realized that. 

Your father decided the conversation was over. He returned to the room’s door and opened it. 

– It is decided, already – and, with a sort of sadness in his eyes – I’m doing what I think it’s best for my daughter. I only wanted her to trust me, at least for once. 

You swallowed the lump in your throat. 

– I wanted this too, father. But you’re making it too difficult for your daughter. 

He stared at you for a moment, then left without any word. 

*** 

Things really happened the way you feared, in the path your father stated they would follow. He said that, but until the end he kept acting like he had no control over the flow of events, in a frail attempt to soothe his own conscience that only served to unnerve you, and not even seeing the disappointment in his daughter’s eyes each time he looked at you was enough for him to leave this pretense aside. Had he no shame anymore? 

During that fateful week, you avoided his company, leaving the burden of communication to the remaining servants and only speaking to him when utterly necessary. What was left for you to talk about when, as he said, everything was decided, and when you had nothing but sadness for him — for him, the adversities he’s been through and for the way he chose to behave in face of them? It was useless to argue on this, and whether you liked it or not, you had little time to put everything in order and couldn’t have the luxury of wasting it: would it be worthy to cause a delay in the arrangements under the risk of leaving a bad impression in your future spouse, even when he was someone you’ve never saw before? 

You sighed at the thought. 

And, as if I hadn’t enough things to worry about, I still have to consider this. 

In fact, you didn’t want to take much stuff from that house with you at the same time you didn’t want to cause any difficulties to the servants, who have already seen their load increase the last months, so you were quick to select essential items and packing them with the help of a maid, from your clothes to the gifts brought by your mother, and instruct her about what to do with the other things: some of them you gave to her, knowing that she had a daughter who was younger than you and who’d appreciate your charity, and the others, such as the furniture, should be sent to the villagers, for you wanted your things to be with people who would make good use of them instead of letting them rot in a place to where you’d never come back. 

Among all of this, the last object you packed was the only thing you made a point about carrying by yourself, and the only thing you didn’t trust anyone to pack but yourself: the sword of your mother, which was sent to your house by Ubuyashiki-sama and now belonged to you. Your mother has been teaching you lessons since you were a teenager, but she hasn’t lived long enough to see if you were going to develop your own Breath; well, until that day you haven’t, but you’ve never stopped practicing even under your father’s disapproval. You didn’t know what you would find once you stepped into your husband’s house, but you wouldn’t want to depend on his protection on everything; besides, having a wife who knew how to wield a sword must be an advantage, right? 

The train of thoughts, feelings and concerns was such that you were robbed from sleep the night before the ceremony. You knew women who had their marriages arranged as well, but you never got to talk to them about it; you had no idea of how you were supposed to feel, or how you were supposed to see the whole thing. How one should feel when they saw themselves trapped in a situation from which they couldn’t get out? Without having answers, you just relied on the feeling that seemed reasonable to you, that is, utter fear. 

The next morning came silent and inexorable, just as the ones before it, and you saw yourself leaving your bed and taking care of your duties without putting your thoughts on them. It was only your body working by itself, saving your soul from the burden of being conscious, or perhaps you were just accepting your fate after a night of tears and rage. 

Having dismissed the maid’s help, you bathed and dressed alone, and left the house where the most important moments of your life took place without one last look. To be fair, your eyes were so sore and tired that they barely registered the appearance of the weather while you walked to the carriage, but you guessed it was a warm, sunny day, though not enough for you to get sweaty. Your father was already in the carriage’s interior; you took the seat beside him with no signs of acknowledging his presence. 

The coachman shook the reins and yelled something to the horse, and the crack of the wooden wheels was heard as the vehicle moved along the road. 

*** 

The ceremony took place in a building in the city of (…), near your father’s property, which served as the head office of a group of law professionals, including the man responsible for your marital contract. 

You wouldn’t call it a ceremony, really: it was more of a sequence of bureaucratic procedures than a social event with the purpose of uniting two families; a mere formality to allow you to move to a man’s house without ruining your reputation. It was quick, direct and cold like a financial operation, and the people involved seemed to make sure it looked like this. 

Your father led you to a sequence of stairs and then through a narrow corridor, until he stopped in front of a door and opened it, entering the room and inciting you to follow him. You did it, and found out you weren’t the first to arrive: the officiant was already in his position, behind a table upon which you saw an open book; at its right, there was a small inkwell and a feather; around him, two officers which function you couldn’t guess and couldn’t care about. And, finally, in front of the table and observing your arrival with a stern glare, the man who was about to become your husband. 

Whatever you were expecting to see, Shinjuro was nothing like you might have imagined, except for the fact that he was younger than you supposed – and, indeed, younger than your father – and stole the attentions among all those men despite the quiet, composed manners. Well, he would do it in any place he’d step in, for his appearance was extravagant, to say the least: on his severe face he carried a pair of orange eyes under two thick, black eyebrows, a wild trait that made you think of a lion; framing his expression and matching his eyes, he had thick, blond hair that decreased to red on its edges, spreading over his shoulders. And, as if his looks weren’t enough to draw the whole room’s attention, he was dressed in sober, dark clothing, more like someone attending a western funeral than a wedding. 

As you walked to the center of the room, led by your father, and took the spot beside Shinjuro, you felt your skin burning in discomfort under his merciless eyes. You breathed deep and, when he nodded to acknowledge you two, you made an effort to greet him, as well as the other men. 

I knew he wasn’t the same person my father claimed to know. He stated that he was good and trustful, but everything in this man screams danger. What kind of hell I’m getting into… 

The officiant announced the beginning of the ceremony, and you turned to him in silence. After a few, composed words to the new couple, he gave you both clear instructions on where to sign your names, and you did as he said, Shinjuro first, then you; you glanced at his hand offering you the feather and took it in a second, taking care your hand didn’t touch his. You tried not to think of your gestures as you wetted its tip on the ink, but a tremble reached your wrist the instant you approached the feather from the paper. 

So… That’s it. I write my name in a book and enter a path from where I can’t go back. 

The realization was too much to bear and time was passing, so you bit your inner cheek to prevent your mind to entertain the thought and scribbled your name at once. When you moved the feather away and put it back on the inkwell, your hand acted by itself, and your arm gone numb once you recoiled it to your side. 

Your mouth was dry, and a hole seemed to have taken the place of your heart. You barely noticed when the officiant and the other witnesses analyzed your signatures and approved them, bringing the ceremony to an end. You refused to believe all of that was real until the man announced you were free to go, and both Shinjuro and you turned away, preparing to leave. He didn’t bat an eye at you while doing so. 

The head of the Rengoku family stopped to exchange some words with your father. You were close enough to hear the conversation, but didn’t want to pay attention; you just wanted to leave this place, even though you weren’t going to a familiar one after it. 

You only understood their conversation was over when you heard your father’s voice calling your name. You turned to him and your stomach curled in disgust when you saw the pleading smile on his face, the only thing that reminded you of home and now a sign of everything you lost. You’ve never felt so alone. 

Later, you’d try to remember his exact words for you at that moment, but you’d find yourself unable to do it. Maybe it was a formal wish of good luck or something. The only thing you remembered was your reaction: you stared at him for a few seconds, then, without a word, you turned your face away, walking toward the door. You knew your husband was observing, but his approval was the least of your preoccupations now. 

*** 

Little was recalled by you from the travel to the Rengoku house, except that it was silent, even calm period. The only abnormality was caused by you: unlike your other belongings, who were sent in another vehicle ahead under the supervision of a servant, you decided you were going to carried your sword with you in the carriage, to everyone’s surprise and your father’s discontentment. 

That occasion was also when Shinjuro spoke to you for the first time. 

— Why are you doing this? 

The question, made when you were already in the carriage, was direct but not devoid of politeness, so you granted him an honest answer. 

— This sword once belonged to my mother, and now it is mine. If my father had his way, I’d never carry it with me, but I refuse to leave it behind — and, glancing at him, — I couldn’t risk him checking my things and subtracting it from them without my consent. 

Shinjuro only murmured an “I see” in response, and the conversation died there. 

You were beside the carriage’s window and might have slept to the warmth of the sun and the constant noise of the wheels in movement, but you weren’t sure if you did. As your body was now avoiding visible reactions, your spirit was suppressing the emotional rush for your own good, since no advantage would come from a breakdown in the middle of the road, right in front of your new spouse who, just like you, didn’t seem all pleased with the whole thing: sure, he didn’t show visible discontentment whether with your appearance or your manners, but you’ve been dealing with middle aged men for too long to sense when they were seeing something they didn’t find appropriate; and, in the present case, it was clear to you that Shinjuro already formed his opinion: to him, you were a stubborn, spoiled brat who didn’t have her way and was decided to make it everyone else’s problem. Yes, the idea of acting like that wandered through your mind for a while, but you thought you were better than this, and opted for a balance between bitterness and decency, not wearing plain clothing and displaying rude manners, but also not being extravagant in anything; still, you couldn’t convince the man of your good nature, and he let it clear with the inquiring about the sword, so now you completely gave up on seeking his favor. 

You were just waiting for the travel to end. 

Chapter 2

[anonpolls]

Thanks for the question, Anon!

-submit your poll!-

[juceynightmare]

dating 101 (18+) part 26 - cody rhodes x reader

my masterlist

dating 101 (18+) masterlist

pairing(s): cody rhodes x fem!reader, roman reigns x fem!reader, austin theory x fem!reader

warning(s): swearing, alcohol usage, *smash bros challenger approaching scene*

genre(s): college!au, slow burn, fluff, angst

|| previous part || next part ||

he had been there once before - the day that y/n moved into her dorm. in the time from move-in to now, austin could tell that the residents of the dorm building had truly made the place their new home. the lounges were bustling, full with post-it art on the windows and some even had a few friend groups mingling in there. he glanced at each whiteboard that was on each dorm door that he passed, even stopping to fill out a few polls that people had left on their boards. for a second, it made him wish he had gone to school instead of going straight to working after high school.

he thought over a poll that was on one of the whiteboards - one that was on cody and ted’s whiteboard. he only knew it was their room because of the nametags and multiple polaroids of the two men with y/n that was taped up on their door. he quickly counted the current count: 8 for ass, 12 for titties. truly a shocking turnout for austin - he assumed more people were ass guys nowadays. he giggled to himself as he wrote down a third option “personality” under the poll and added a tally mark… to the ass tallies.

he set the dry erase marker back in its spot just as the door opened, and austin was met face to face with a blonde man who looked like he was having the worse day possible. he feels bad for scaring the man, watching the way he jumped slightly at the sight of austin standing by his door. he figures this one is cody.

austin nodded in greeting, watching cody do the same before he turned on his heel and walked across the hall to y/n’s room, clutching the plastic bag in his hand. he could feel cody’s gaze on him, and he figured it was because he was wondering who he was and why he went straight across to y/n’s room. austin knocked on the door, feeling a shiver unpleasantly creep down his spine at cody’s stare.

y/n opened the door, and austin’s eyes widened at her tear-stained face. he shook off cody’s stare, taking a step in as soon as y/n stepped off to the side to let him in. “how long have you been crying?” he asked, quickly shutting the door behind him with the back of his foot as he leaned down to set the plastic bag down on the floor besides their feet. he shrugged off his backpack in the process, letting it drop to the floor with a thud.

he wrapped his arms around y/n’s frame, pulling her against him as he walked her over to the bed so he could sit her down. y/n wished she could cry - but she had already cried all the tears she had. she let austin sit her down on the bed, feeling his hands come to rest on her shoulders so that she wouldn’t be able to just lean forward and shy away from his gaze. “i don’t know. i don’t have any more tears now.” she mumbled.

austin let go of her shoulders and let her fall forward until her face was pressed against his lower stomach. he sighed softly, adjusting himself so that he was standing between her legs. austin wrapped his arms around her, keeping her pressed against him as he felt her arms wrap around his midsection.

“my little baby.” he cooed gently, gently patting down her hair as he stared down at the top of her head. austin rested his hand against the back of her neck, guiding her to pull her face away from his stomach so that she could look up at him. “i spent so many years loving you gently and making sure not a single tear would ever fall from these eyes.” he whispered, letting go of her neck so that he could cup her face in his hand. “now look at you, dove, crying over two silly little boys.”

“it’s my fault.” she replied, ignoring the way austin hushed her. “i should just have never gotten involved with anyone. cody and roman aren’t going to be friends now and it’s all because i couldn’t just go on dates with roman and not fuck cody. and if i wasn’t so one-dimensional, then maybe i’d realize that cody might end up catching feelings because he’s only human and-“

austin got her to quiet down by placing his hand over her mouth. he bent down until he was eye level with y/n, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “you’re only human, too. you’re allowed to make mistakes. you’re allowed to not be able to read another person or a situation properly. it’s not like you went into this with the goal to hurt them. you’re just a girl who is finally free from her dad’s stupid overprotective self who’s finally getting to explore herself and the outside world.” he reminded her, pulling his hand away from her mouth and resting both of his hands on her hips. austin watched as she thought over his words, eventually nodding her head in silence.

“it feels wrong, though. that everything about me is wrong. i feel like i’m so far behind everyone else. i just recently had my first kiss. i just recently lost my virginity. i still have never been in a relationship. meanwhile, everyone else is way ahead of me and it feels like i should just know exactly what i want by now but i don’t and people are getting caught in my crosshair.” she huffed out in frustration, her gaze boring into austin’s eyes. “all my friends are growing up faster than i am, and i can’t help but feel like my immaturity is hurting people because i don’t know what i’m doing”

“just because you haven’t experienced all those things up until now doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong about you, y/n.” austin mumbled, leaning forward until their foreheads were pressed together. he shut his eyes and sighed, “everyone gets hurt, dove. it’s just how life is - not because of whether or not you’re ‘grown up’ enough. you find someone, you try it out, and it either works or it doesn’t. and it doesn’t always mean officially being boyfriend-girlfriend whatever, sometimes you find someone and you’re the closest thing to dating but then it’s ripped apart.” he paused, pulling his forehead away from hers while keeping his eyes shut. it was as if austin had already known exactly how far he’d have to pull back and tilt his head up to press a kiss to the girl’s forehead. “you know that much already. it’s happened to us, hasn’t it?”

in another universe, y/n knows that the man in front of her would be her first everything. there was once a time when the two were just middle schoolers with silly little crushes on each other. everyone around them knew, especially their closest friends, but they’d never confess to each other. instead, they’d try and get the other to make the first move and confess through means of: secretly holding hands under the lunch table, austin letting y/n wear his hoodies whenever she was cold, and y/n cheering for austin at every basketball game with a large sign that she’d spend far too long making.

but this universe is cruel, and when y/n’s dad let her know that he began seeing someone else and that she had a son that was her age, y/n was ecstatic. until that faithful day that her dad invited his new girlfriend to dinner at their house and was told that her son would be joining them only to learn that her dad’s new girlfriend’s son was austin.

the two never spoke about it back then, but they knew that their crushes on each other weren’t enough for them to sabotage their parents’ relationship. from this, an odd dynamic was born between them: with austin growing ever so cocky as puberty began and y/n retracting far back into her shell. austin was the only one in their friend group to go to a different high school, simply because his mom wanted him to go to a charter school instead.

but y/n would still be the loudest person cheering for him in the bleachers. he’d still send her off to school with one of his hoodies to make sure she stayed warm. and they‘d play video games in austin’s room with their legs laid across one another. with the over-looming fact that they’d become step-siblings officially one day, austin had even taken it upon himself to joke about sleeping with y/n like those step-sibling porn videos.

but y/n wouldn’t tell him to stop and austin would only continue because he enjoyed making her flustered. but he also knew that if y/n had ever wanted to say “fuck it” and give them a shot, austin wouldn’t wait any longer.

it’d continue on until now, and although their feelings had faded away when austin began dating other girls and y/n started finding others attractive- they both knew that there’d always be something like love that’d be lying under the surface of their interactions. they didn’t need to tell each other because they already felt it long ago.

austin opened his eyes and pulled away from her completely, hearing the way her breath had hitched in her throat. “let’s drink. you’ve had a rough day.” he said, turning around and picking up the plastic bag he had dropped to the floor. he took out both bottles of hennessey and jack daniels, walking over to her desk so he could set it down. “got cups?” he asked her.

y/n pushed herself off the bed, thinking over austin’s words as she walked over to her fridge. she took out two plastic shot cups she had from the stack that sat in her basket, walking over to austin and setting the cups down on the desk.

“i feel like people are judging me because i’m a shit person for continuing on with my dance without realizing that i wouldn’t be able to not hurt one or the other.” she mumbled, feeling austin’s arm wrap around her waist so that he could pull her to his side after he had opened up the hennessey bottle.

“fuck what others think.” he hummed, pouring out the drink into the two shot cups while he rubbed circles into her side with his thumb. “they’re just as shit of a person as the next guy. no one’s perfect and as far as i’m concerned, they shouldn’t be judging you just because you’re not as experienced and you’re going into this whole thing blindly. i know you’re not the type of girl who romanticized everything and watched chick flicks so you’re actually learning from the very bottom. well, i guess besides the awkward flirting we did in middle school that sorta faded away into this whole step-sibling porn thing we got going on now.” austin pointed out, setting the bottle down and holding out a shot cup for her to take. once she grabbed it, austin grabbed his own and clanged their cups together.

“cheers.” y/n and austin mumbled before they both tossed their head backs and downed the shots.

they set down the cups fast on the table, y/n grimacing at the taste. “no chasers, baby. we’re big strong men in this household.” austin mumbled, watching in amusement as y/n’s face contorted.

“god, you’re fucking horrible. i don’t know how you expect me to take that without a chaser.” she coughed, leaning against austin as she felt his body shake with his laugh.

he pressed another kiss to the top of her head, turning so he could face her and properly pull her in for a hug. he smiled as he felt her wrap his arms around his waist and bury her face in his chest while he rested his chin atop her head. “alright, no more deep talk stuff, okay? let me get this straight to you. you started a fight between two friends who are certainly not going to be friends anymore because you lead the both of them on.“ he could feel her pull her head back to talk back at him, but he raised a hand to press against the back of her head and keep her face pressed against his chest. “but you’re only human. you make mistakes and that’s okay, you just have to learn from them. but tonight, let’s make a few more mistakes and get so drunk that you’ll have to skip classes.” he continued softly.

he didn’t get an immediate reply and austin knew that the girl was thinking over his words. he smoothed out her hair as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other to gently sway her.

“okay.” she mumbled against his chest, pushing back against his hand so that she could look up at him. “i missed you, austin.” she whispered softly, watching as a small smile crept up on austin’s face.

“i know.” he replied, unwrapping his arms from around her so that he could reach for their shot cups again. he handed y/n her cup before grabbing the open bottle, pouring another shot into both of their cups. “i missed you too, baby. now, let’s drink, turn on your laptop, and sing the entirety of the let it shine soundtrack.” he responded, watching the way y/n’s mood visibly lifted as they clanged their cups together before tossing their heads back and feeling the alcohol burn down their throats.

|| next part ||

taglist: @iluvthebloodline , @marissaboo-2015 , @vebner37 , @jeyusos-girl , @madqueenpartna, @alyyaanna @banksreigns @crossrhodez @goldenfoxe @bonehead-playz, @vyxio, @codyswhitebelt, @legit9thlunaticwarrior, @queencherryberry, @totired4this​

[sihtricfedaraaahvicius]

Workshop

warnings: quick mention of abusive past.

pairing: modern!Sihtric x you (f)

summary: you need a job, and there's only one option left.

word count: 3,8k

Note: I looked at the votes in my poll and most of you voted for wanting all kinds of fics. But looking at the other most voted options, it showed you wanted modern fics and smut. Well, congratulations, you got yourself a modern smut fic.

[part 2] [part 3]

About a month ago you had quit your previous job. You didn't like the way you got treated and the pay was even worse. You had enough and just took off, never to return again. Ever since, you'd been job hunting, without any luck. A lot of places needed staff, but you were turned down at each job because you didn't have a nice and fancy degree to show them. It was already late at night, and you were hopelessly scrolling through jobs again.

There was only one vacancy left, which you had scrolled past several times already. It simply said "welcome desk employee", and that was it. It was not really what you were looking for in the first place, and not having a more accurate description also really annoyed you, but it was the only one left you hadn't applied to. You made yourself a cup of tea and eventually emailed your CV, not knowing what kind of company you just reacted to, and you went to bed not much later.

The next morning you saw you had received an email, which looked like it came from the company you applied to. It said:

We wish to inform you that, after careful consideration, we'd like to invite you for an interview at our shop. We'd like to see you today at 2pm, if suitable for you. If not, please reply to this email, so we can schedule a new appointment. Below is the address, we hope to see you soon.

Kind regards,

Finan & Sihtric.

A shop? you thought. You also frowned at their names. They don't even give a phone number and their names sound ancient, they must be like 89 years old or something. You caught yourself thinking and felt it was unfair of you, and as you were a little curious now, you decided to go.

A few hours later you stood in front of the address you were given. You looked around and felt this must be a mistake. It was nearly in the middle of the city centre, but also… not. Within 10 minutes you'd walk to a pub, but if you'd walk 10 minutes into the other direction you'd end up in fields with cows and some sheep. The shop you were invited to was attached to empty buildings, which, from the looks of it, one used to be a butcher shop on the right, and a car repair store to the left. The outside of the building was painted black, which made it look very vintage. And unlike the empty shops it was attached to, this shop didn't have a window. Instead it was a big wall, which was made of dark wood that was decorated with big, black iron bars. And on the far right of the wall, there was a black door, which was also made of wood and had the same iron bars on it. It looked impressive, but you still had no idea what the place was. It could be a mechanic workshop or it could be a torture chamber, and you weren't very excited about either one. You let out a big sigh and walked to the black door, and you used the big iron door knocker to make your presence known.

The door opened after a few seconds and you were greeted by a friendly looking Irish man, who spoke with a thick accent and he introduced himself as Finan. He was not 89 years old, as you had expected, not at all. He was a good looking man and you expected him to be in his late thirties. He had short, dark hair, which was combed back, allowing you to see a big scar he had on his face. He had brown eyes and a thick, short, well kept beard with a matching moustache. He was wearing a black t-shirt, showing off his muscular arms, which also had quite some scars, and he was wearing grey cargo jeans, which looked old and worn.

He invited you in with a big, friendly smile and you accepted. When Finan closed the door behind you, you were greeted by a wave of hot air, the smell of fire and smoke, and by the sound of a hammer being smashed against metal.

'Oh, god,' you said as you looked around. The shop, which was not what you expected it to be, was actually a workshop. The place was quite dark, but spacious and almost cosy even. On your left there was a low table, accompanied by two dark red sofas, and a few paces further there was a long, black desk made of wood, which had to be the welcome desk. Behind the welcome desk was a small and somewhat messy kitchen, and right in front of you was a large window and a glass door, which gave view to the entire workplace itself. The left wall of the workplace mainly held tools. Against the middle wall, which was also the biggest wall, was a big fireplace, which you later learned was called a forge. And the right wall was covered by huge, open cabinets, which held all kinds of different metals.

In the middle of the workplace was a large workstation, at which one man was working. You watched him smash a hammer into recently heated metal, which caused sparks to fly with each blow. The man was wearing black cargo jeans, a white shirt which was not fully covered by his leather apron, causing it to be smudged with black stains, and on top of the dirty shirt he wore a red and black coloured flannel, which was unbuttoned and its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His face was covered by a black welding mask, which protected his face against the flying sparks, but you could see he had somewhat long, dark hair, for it was tied in a bun.

Your mouth had fallen slightly open, and you heard Finan chuckle next to you.

'Not what ye expected?' he asked.

You laughed, 'not really, no. But to be honest… I don't think I belong here.'

'Ah, don't be daft,' he said, 'you need no experience, really. Come, sit,' and pointed at the comfy looking sofas. 'Get comfy, do ye want a drink?'

'Some water, maybe,' you smiled as you sat down. 

'One water for the lady,' he said, and he walked to the small kitchen behind the service desk. He brought you a glass of water and walked to the glass door to open it.

'Sihtric!' he yelled, and you were surprised by the strength of his voice. It sounded like a battle cry. The man at the workstation, who you now knew was Sihtric, stopped mid swing and lifted his covered face up towards the window and then gestured that he would join you two shortly and started to untie his apron.

Finan sat across from you and studied you with a friendly yet amused face. You felt a little awkward, so you just smiled and nodded, and took a sip of your water. You took many sips of your water, actually, as you kept looking up to the walls and the ceiling, so you didn't have to lock eyes with Finan. Then you heard the glass door was being opened and you watched Sihtric walk in as he took off his welding mask, and as you now kinda had expected, he was also not looking like he was 89. He looked like he was in his early thirties, and you were struck by his handsome face, which you tried not to show. His face had some scars, as did his arms, and his eyes were two different colours. He had a tattoo on his neck, a strong jawline and a goatee, which was the same colour as his dark hair.

'Hi,' he smiled and held out his hand, 'I'm Sihtric,' he said.

You shook his hand and told him your name, to which he gave you a quick nod and a wink. You thought it was hot in there before, but now you were simply burning up.

The two men sat across from you, and you smiled politely.

'So,' Finan started, 'as ye can probably tell, we are blacksmiths. We run this company together an' we are also the only employees, as we only take on specific jobs.'

You smiled and nodded as he spoke.

'We started this business about 6 years ago,' he continued, 'and I know what ye think. How can this one here,' he cocked his head to Sihtric, 'possibly be related to the handsome beast that I am myself,' he joked, to which Sihtric rolled his eyes, 'well we are not related, lady. We are simply friends who share a love for this work.'

You chuckled lightly at them. 'So,' you said, 'why do you need a service desk employee if it's only the two of you?'

'Well, we just really need someone to answer the emails. Mainly, turn them down, actually,' Finan smiled, 'we get a lot of requests, but we are already loaded with work, an' as I said, we only take specific jobs. We only create weapons, actually.'

'Weapons?' you asked.

'Weapons,' Finan said as he smiled and nodded. 

You looked a little puzzled and slightly worried.

'We make swords, knives and axes which are used in the film industry,' Sihtric finally spoke in a soft voice, and he gave you a reassuring smile.

'Oh,' you said, 'that's pretty cool.'

'Yes, so, what we need,' Finan said, 'is someone who will keep up with our emails an', if possible, our administration too. It would give us more time to focus on designing an' creatin'. And it is not required, but do ye have any experience with that?'

'Eh, yes, actually. I was a service desk employee at my previous job,' you said and gave them a grimace, 'which I quit because I hated it.'

Sihtric burst out in a loud laughter after a moment of silence and Finan smiled and shook his head, and you couldn't help but laugh too.

'May we know why ye quit?' Finan asked after a pause.

'I was just not being appreciated at all. Worked overtime almost every day and they would actually not even pay me in time.'

'Yikes,' Finan said, as Sihtric made a sour face. 'We promise ye, lady, that we will appreciate ye and ye never have to work overtime. An' Sihtric here will pay ye in time too, I promise.' 

Sihtric rolled his eyes again and smiled at you, 'what he means is, we would love to have you try out a day here and see if you like the job.'

'An' if ye like us,' Finan said.

'Am I also expected to clean up that kitchen?' you asked and pointed towards the dishes.

'Oh, she's a feisty one,' Finan said and Sihtric chuckled.

You laughed and agreed you would like to see if this job is for you. They thanked you for your time and told you that you were welcome to start tomorrow morning, which you accepted.

Both men were already at the workshop when you arrived the next morning. They start work at 10am and you were asked to start at 1pm. Finan opened the door again with a warm smile. He then showed you where to find everything you needed on their laptop, and he said that if you simply had no email to answer or no administration to do, you could just keep yourself busy with whatever, but you were required to stay till closing time, which was 5pm. The workshop didn't really have any rules, except to treat each other with respect and to always be safe if you'd get near the forge, but Finan said you should stay away from it. He said it would be a shame if a pretty thing like you would get scarred and wounded, and he gave you a wink. You felt he was quite the flirt, and it wasn't bothering, but what he didn't know was that Sihtric had been on your mind ever since you saw his face. You thought he was mysterious. He was quiet and thoughtful, he almost seemed shy but when he spoke, he spoke with confidence. And his body language was confident too, and you felt an instant attraction towards him.

After a few hours of catching up with their emails, you took a little break and just sat back. You watched both men at work. Finan was drawing designs and Sihtric was creating them to life. You couldn't help but pout a little when you understood that Sihtric's face would be hidden behind the welding mask almost the whole day, but you took pleasure in watching him work regardless. Like Finan, he was also very muscular. And as his body was used to the working environment, he had his arms uncovered for most of the day and didn't even flinch if a spark would collide with his skin. 

Half an hour before closing time, both men decided to join you and discuss how this day went for you. You told them you were surprised by how smooth everything went and that you had quite enjoyed yourself. They were happy to hear this and so you ended up signing a job contract for 3 months. Finan promised you it was just a formality, and if you enjoyed the job and everything went well, you would simply get a permanent contract after those 3 months.

You understood and agreed to this.

'So,' Finan said, 'I think we got to celebrate this, don't ye?' 

'Celebrate? How?' you asked.

'Pub?' Finan shrugged.

'Oh,' you smiled, 'I am not really that much of a socialiser, actually.'

You didn't mind joining them, but you were afraid it could be seen as unprofessional. Or that this may be a test to see how quick one could get into your pants or something. You saw Finan looking a little impressed by your choice.

'Oh, fair, fair, aye,' Finan said, and he smiled, 'see ye tomorrow then?'

'Yeah, I'll be here tomorrow,' you smiled, 'thank you for today.'

Finan went to grab his coat and pack his bag while Sihtric walked out with you and you watched how he closed the door behind him. '

Look,' Sihtric suddenly said, with a warm voice, 'Finan is a bit of a prankster, and he flirts with everything that has a heartbeat. I hope you're not uncomfortable or intimidated, because to him it's all harmless.'

'Oh, no,' you chuckled, 'no, not at all. I saw right through him the first time already. I'm not bothered by it.'

'Okay, good,' Sihtric said, 'otherwise you have to tell me.' He brushed his hand quickly over your arm, reassuringly, as he gave you a soft smile. 'I'll see you tomorrow then,' he smiled and winked before he walked to his car.

You felt flustered, and quickly turned to walk home. As you were almost at the corner you heard Finan shout at you to have a good evening, to which you gave him a thumbs up and you both laughed.

You really couldn't get Sihtric out of your head, and later that evening you tried to look him up on social media, but you couldn't find him. Same with Finan. You guessed they were just too old school for it, but how you wished you could get a glimpse of Sihtric's life outside of work.

You continued working with them for the next few months, and as promised, you got a permanent contract. You got along with them very well and got quite close to them too. Mainly to Finan, as he was always looking for a way to interact with you. He really became like a big brother to you, and you knew that Finan felt the same. He looked out for you, which you appreciated.

Your bond with Sihtric was a little different. You and him got along very well too, and every day you would catch him staring at you from behind his workstation, at least once. And every time you'd catch him staring, he would give you a sly smirk before pulling his welding mask down to cover his face again, and go back to work. But he always remained a little closed off, and it only made you more interested in him.

Every few weeks they'd ask you to join them on a night out,and you finally gave in. You learned that they often went to an axe-throwing bar, which is where they took you to. You sucked at it, much to their delight, as they both didn't hesitate to help you out by getting close to you and showing you how to position your body and how to throw the axe. You felt weak whenever Sihtric got close, and you saw he was flirty too, but way more subtle than Finan.

One day when you had lunch with Finan, you asked him if Sihtric maybe had some issues with you, because some days he'd be pretty close to you, but there would always be a bit of a distance between the two of you the next day. And Finan told you that Sihtric is a lovely guy with a big heart, but just a little different than most and sometimes has trouble regulating his emotions. He told you that Sihtric grew up in Denmark and didn't have an easy time as a kid. His mother had passed away when he was young, rumour has it that his father had killed her. And to make it even worse, he told you that Sihtric used to be beaten by his father. Which made him a troubled boy growing up, and he'd often drink too much and get himself into fights, to deal with his anger and frustration. But Finan assured you that Sihtric was doing well now. He wasn't a heavy drinker anymore and he practised MMA and archery in his off time, as a healthy outlet. He said that Sihtric had gone through a lot of therapy to cope with his past and he was genuinely happy with his life now, he just always kept a little to himself, which he thinks is a way of keeping himself from getting hurt by the people he cares about. Finan said that you had nothing to worry about, and that Sihtric was very fond of you but he just doesn't know how to show it, so you just had to give him some time.

A few weeks later Finan went home early, as he felt a little under the weather. You and Sihtric stayed and worked the remaining hours together. It was a rather slow day anyway, as they had almost finished the project they had been working on for several months. You finished your work early and sat down on one of the comfy sofas. A few minutes before closing time Sihtric walked out of the workshop and joined you on the sofa. You looked up from your phone and gave him a smile, which he returned and as usual, his smile made you melt.

'So,' Sihtric said as he looked at you, 'you always walk home?'

'I do,' you said, and you looked into his eyes. You thought they were so beautiful, and he was just so handsome, you really had a hard time keeping yourself together. 'Why?' you asked.

'No reason, I just always notice it,' he said with a cheeky smile.

'Oh, you're watching me?' you teased.

'Hah!' he said and chuckled, 'you wish.'

'Is that so, mister?'

'Oh, I see you watching me from behind that desk, lady.'

'I would never,' you said, playfully offended, to which he laughed.

'I see what I see,' he said and he shrugged.

'Well,' you said, 'I see that you are staring at me every day too, care to explain that?'

Sihtric smiled, bit his lower lip, and he looked at you with mischievous eyes. 'Yeah, what if I am?' he said and he cocked his head to the side. He was playful, and you suddenly felt yourself become aroused as you looked at his exposed neck and his tattoo.

You cleared your throat and felt you started to blush, to which he smiled as if satisfied.

'You, Sihtric, just remain a mystery,' you said as you stood up to grab your coat.

'Come with me,' Sihtric said and he looked up at you with kind eyes.

'And go where?' you asked as you put on your coat.

'My house,' he said, 'have dinner with me. And I'll give you a ride home.'

You considered his offer in silence. You were dying to get to know him, but you felt so attracted to him and you didn't want to make things weird if he really only meant this in a platonic way.

Sihtric got up and opened the door for you, 'I actually insist.' He gave you a sweet smile and you were so whipped for him, you easily agreed to go home with him.

His car was an old, black pick up truck, which was well taken care of and ran smoothly. The drive to his house took about 15 minutes, and the whole drive you just had some small talk. He asked you a little about what you do in your time off and you returned the questions.

Then he suddenly asked if you were seeing someone. It caught you by surprise and you felt yourself blush.

'I am not, no,' you said, 'why?'

'Just wondering. I wouldn't want to bring you home later tonight, only to be greeted by an angry partner,' he smiled and he licked his lips as he turned the car into his street. You thought he looked so sexy when he was driving, well, you actually thought he looked sexy doing anything, and you chuckled softly to yourself.

'Are you?' you then asked, 'seeing someone?'

'Would I bring you home if I was?'

'I do not know, Sihtric, you wouldn't be the first to do so.'

He shook his head, 'no, no,' he said, 'I know it's easy to say, but I am really not like that.' And his answer made you smile, which he caught a glimpse of before he shut off the car engine. 

He leaned over you to open the door on your side, he said it was a bit of a tricky door which would lock itself sometimes. And as he managed to unlock it and open it slightly for you, he looked into your eyes and gave you a smile. His face was so close to yours, you could smell his peppermint breath, and it made your legs weak and your head dizzy.

'Sihtric,' you giggled and looked away.

'What?' he asked.

You smiled and shook your head, 'you might be worse than Finan.' You got out of the car and as you closed the door and looked back, you saw that Sihtric hadn't moved and looked at you with a smile. Then he quickly got out of the car and gestured to you to follow him and he walked you to his house.

[lucifers-horror-harem]

Cheering You Up Headcanons

Hey all! I decided to write some soft headcanons this time around! Plus, I added a new boy, Travis Hackett from The Quarry! I know hes not exactly the same as my usual roster of horror slashers and villains, but I love him and this is my blog soooooooo I don’t care lol Also thank you to the people who voted for the 3rd character, Otis! I really like using the poll option to see what people are interested in seeing, I might have to use it some more when I’m stuck between choices :)

Freddy Krueger:

As much of an asshole Freddy can be, he’s fully capable of toning himself down if you’re looking upset. But if he’s in a particularly antagonistic mood, the signs you’re upset will fly past him entirely until you go off on him, whether it’s crying or yelling at him for being such a dick. 

Freddy isn’t the kind to comfort you with his words, his love language tends to trend towards acts of service rather than sappy throw-away lines. He’ll never admit it, but ultimately he feels a smidge guilty for causing you more upset. So he’ll begin his scheming on a way to make it up to you.

Luckily for you, Freddy has his dream world, and he can make anything possible in your dreams. Freddy will hit you with just about everything he’s learned about you since knowing you. Do you like fancy romantic dinners? You’ve got the best seat in the house. Want to travel to places you wish you could afford? He’s got a first-class ticket to get you there. Just want a simple night in? He’s got you covered.

In all honesty, it would be a shock to see him put this much work in. Especially when half of the time you weren’t even sure he listened to what you were saying. Freddy not only listens to you, but he remembers everything. He just doesn’t like you knowing how much he truly cares. He thinks it makes him look too soft.

He’d get truly cocky as he soaks up the praise and affection you give him for such a sweet surprise. Freddy acts like it’s not a huge deal at all, and it wasn’t like he had to put much thought into it. You’re just so easy to please, he insists. But deep down even his cold black heart can feel a little something just from seeing your smile. As he lets you have your fun, he can’t help but smile to himself while watching you.

Travis Hackett:

While Travis might be awkward about expressing his emotions too freely, he’s more observant than he lets on. He’ll listen to everything you have to say, and figure out what you need based on that. He’ll let you rant and rave if you're venting until you finally let it out of your system, or he’ll hold you tightly if you’re an emotional wreck in need of comfort. And if it’s something he can take care of, well, he’s not above solving the issue himself.

Above all else, Travis makes sure you’re safe and comfortable. You mean more to him than he could ever put into words, and he’d do anything to see your smile. Even if he has a hard time expressing it, you can tell just how much he cares by the way he looks at you with adoration and softness you rarely see from him. He’s a brick wall to damn near everyone, but once you crack inside you’ll find he’s a bit of a sap. 

The next day, he’d tell you to cancel any plans you have for that night. If you ask, he’ll simply grunt and ask you if you trust him. Obviously, you do, so you let him continue his planning.

That evening, he’ll drive you to a secluded area of the Hackett property where no one will bother the two of you. When you get there, you’ll find he’s already set up camp, and you can’t help but feel a smile pull on your face. Don’t make too big a production out of it, or Travis might get too flustered. As it is he’ll keep fidgeting and rubbing the back of his neck as he insists it’s no big deal, that he uses this campsite so often that he just keeps these things here. Suuuuuure. 

He finds the outdoors peaceful and relaxing, much of his best memories took place in the vast expanse of wilderness that fell in the Hackett property, and he hopes that perhaps you’ll feel just as calm surrounded by nature. Maybe create some new memories too.

You’ll have a front-row seat to the sunset falling below the trees, reflecting over everything in sight and giving the forest a soft orange hue. And as night begins to fall, you sit by the campfire that Travis had kept up past dinner time, looking up at the stars as they shone more brightly here than anywhere else you had seen before. 

When the fire finally dies down, Travis will have you pulled to him on a blanket as you look up at the stars together and speak softly to each other as you begin to feel sleep pulling at you. Before you both fall asleep and get bit by all the mosquitos, Travis will make sure he carries you to the tent before finally settling down for the night, his arms wrapped protectively around you.

Otis Driftwood:

Otis isn't exactly the best choice if you're wanting a traditional cheering-up session. In fact, he might even complain if you pester him too much. "Can'tcha go bitch to Baby or something, I'm doing some important fucking shit here!" He'd probably shoo you along without so much as another glance your way.

After a while though, Otis will come around to the fact you need him. It's way easier for him to provide sexual affection, but genuine kindness is a bit out of his repertoire. But, after mulling it over for a while (as well as getting ripped a new one from Baby), Otis will try his best to be whatever you need.

He likes it best when all you need is for him to just exist in the same space, not needing him to provide a solution or answers. It's easy for him to just be a shoulder to cry on, that way he can't say all the wrong things like he tends to do. 

Otis also loves it when you need to have a good vent session. He'll hype you up, telling you that yeah, that guy was a motherfucker and maybe someone should do something about it. Maybe it's good if you don't let that get too far because Otis gets an itching for revenge at the drop of a hat just to make you happy. 

He also likes taking you on drives to calm you down. While he doesn't like to drive if he's too worked up because he's prone to road rage, he finds drives to be something that eases his mind when his thoughts are too scattered. And he's happy to share them with you, just so long as you don't become a backseat driver. Hell, if you ask nicely, he'll stop at whatever roadside spots you see. He’d even stop for ice cream if you’re being good.

[qiu-yan]

wei wuxian and the horribly overpowered boss monster

related question: if wei wuxian knew in advance how his decision to stand by the wen remnants would end, would he still make the same decisions?

i feel like i've failed to capture the core philosophical question i had in mind when i made this post, so i've decided to try making a similar (but not identical) scenario instead. and another similar poll on roughly the same question here. they're not exactly the same but hopefully the core question is similar enough.

suppose that one day, postcanon, there appears a stupidly overpowered monster that eats children. wei wuxian and friends engage the monster in battle 3 times; each time, they are completely routed, and barely escape alive.

now, a heavily injured wei wuxian has snuck out of first the gusu lan healing wing, and then the cloud recesses as a whole, in order to do his own investigations. he sees the monster from a distance. it has captured a child and is obviously about to eat the child.

wei wuxian has no time to call for help; if he wants to rescue the child, he must act immediately. however, based on his own state of heavy injury and how poorly he fared in battle against this monster in the recent past, wei wuxian estimates that his chances of saving the child are 0%. wei wuxian further estimates that, if he draws the monster's attention in any way, not only will it eat the child anyways, it will also certainly kill him. wei wuxian's own chances of surviving an encounter with this monster are also 0%.

wei wuxian thus has exactly 2 options:

attack the monster in a bid to save the child.

hide where he is and do nothing.

what does wei wuxian do?

follow-up questions:

in this scenario, what is the morally correct course of action?

in this scenario, what are the morally incorrect courses of action?

is this scenario significantly different from the one in this previous post? if so, how?

is this scenario significantly different from the version under the cut?

full scenario under the cut (because of length):

suppose that there is a stupidly overpowered monster called (for lack of better name) the child-eater. the child-eater can only be summoned into the world via a newly-invented, incredibly complex demonic ritual with an incredibly high chance of failure. upon being summoned, the child-eater will seek to consume exactly 99 children; upon consumption of the 99th child, the child-eater will automatically disappear from the world, and will remain gone until someone summons it again. eating children does not make the child-eater any stronger; its power level remains constant.

the child-eater preys upon children by first capturing them, then storing them in a (transparent) cavity in the center of its body, and then moving into the child-eater's own pocket dimension to kill and consume them at its own leisure. other beings can only enter this pocket dimension at the child-eater's deliberate invitation, so if one wishes to rescue a child from the child-eater, one must do so before the child-eater enters its pocket dimension.

the child-eater has healing and regeneration capabilities rivaling that of SCP-682, so it invariably fully heals in between battles.

postcanon, someone summons the child-eater.

so far, the child-eater has already eaten 98 children, a fact which is known and has been confirmed to be true by the cultivation sects. every cultivator who engaged the child-eater in battle has been killed almost immediately, with only four exceptions: wei wuxian, lan wangji, wen qionglin, and jiang wanyin have all escaped battle with the child-eater heavily injured but alive.

wei wuxian has fought the child-eater exactly three times. each time, due to the child-eater being stupidly overpowered, wei wuxian has gotten his ass kicked:

first battle: while performing rites for the deceased wen remnants in the burial mounds, wei wuxian and wen qionglin ran into the child-eater, which did not have an abducted child with it at the time. wei wuxian and wen qionglin attacked the child-eater. the child-eater retaliated with a single strike that broke wei wuxian's left femur, hip, and several rib bones, and tore off both of wen qionglin's legs. the child-eater then left to search for children to eat, giving the legless wen qionglin the opportunity to drag wei wuxian to safety. given that wei wuxian had cultivated a new golden core, wei wuxian was able to fully recover from his injuries in around three months, during which he reattached wen qionglin's legs to his body, restoring wen qionglin to full functionality.

second battle: wei wuxian, lan wangji, and a medium-sized contingent of lan cultivators ran into the child-eater on a routine night-hunt. since the child-eater has stored a child in the transparent cavity in its body for later eating, the lan cultivators attacked the child-eater with the objective of rescuing the child. in the ensuing battle, wei wuxian was incapacitated when the child-eater grabbed him and slammed his head against a tree, fracturing his skull; lan wangji was then incapacitated when he shielded wei wuxian's prone body with his own, tanking an attack that shattered most of the bones in both of his arms and most of his ribs as well. wen qionglin, who had been summoned by wei wuxian, was cut in half horizontally by the child-eater.

wei wuxian and lan wangji were saved by jiang wanyin, who had secretly tailed the night-hunt: while the child-eater was occupied killing the rest of the lan cultivators (and the jiang cultivators who had accompanied jiang wanyin), jiang wanyin dragged wei wuxian and lan wangji to safety. afterwards, wei wuxian and lan wangji recovered to full health in around half a year; during this time, the two halves of wen qionglin's body were recovered from the battle site and reattached by wei wuxian, restoring wen qionglin to full functionality. every other lan and jiang cultivator present at the battle perished. they were unable to save the child from the child-eater, either.

third battle: an army of around 500 cultivators, which included wei wuxian, lan wangji, wen qionglin, and jiang wanyin, tracked down and descended upon the child-eater, intent on destroying it. in retaliation, the child-eater immediately decimated the cultivator army, leaving less than ten people standing; when wei wuxian raised the newly killed as fierce corpses, the child-eater shrugged those off as well. in the ensuing battle, wen qionglin was once again cut in half, lan wangji's ribcage was shattered, both of jiang wanyin's femurs were broken (lol), and wei wuxian's right arm was torn off; when wei wuxian nonetheless continued to attack, the child-eater impaled him clean through the lower abdomen. ultimately, the above named four individuals only survived because the child-eater mistook them for dead and left the battlefield.

now, it is one month after the third battle. wei wuxian, lan wangji, and jiang wanyin are still in the early stages of recovery. the healers were also unable to reattach wei wuxian's right arm, so he only has a working left arm now. however, wei wuxian was able to reattach the two halves of wen qionglin's body, so at least wen qionglin is back to full functionality now.

in the wake of the disastrous third battle, the child-eater has been declared an existential threat by the cultivation clans; all efforts and resources are now going towards learning as much as possible about the child-eater and the spell that summoned it, finding a way to eliminate the child-eater, and ensuring that, once eliminated, the child-eater never returns. due to these efforts, the cultivation world has now learned all of the information i gave above regarding the child-eater (ie. that it was summoned by a newly-invented demonic ritual (whose creation wei wuxian had no hand in); that this ritual is incredibly difficult to perform and has a high chance of failure (in which case nothing happens); that the child-eater will seek to eat 99 children; everything about the child-eater's eating habits; and that, upon consumption of the 99th child, the child-eater will immediately disappear, until it is summoned again).

right now, it is (correctly) known to the cultivation world that the child-eater has already eaten 98 children; thus, after it consumes its next child, it will disappear. thus, amongst the cultivation clans, two opposing camps have emerged: a. people who think the child-eater should be tracked down and killed before it can eat its 99th child; and b. people who think the child-eater should be allowed to eat its 99th child.

due to wei wuxian being the foremost expert on demonic cultivation in the cultivation world, wei wuxian himself has been designated an essential person to the cultivation world's opposition of the child-eater. it is currently estimated that he out of everyone has the highest chances of disabling the child-eater-summoning ritual, and of figuring out who created this summoning ritual.

a restless wei wuxian, still recovering from his heavy injuries, sneaks out of the gusu lan healer's wing, and then out of the cloud recesses entirely, to go gather information on his own. very unfortunately for him, he runs into the child-eater.

more accurately, he sees the child-eater from a distance; it has not spotted him yet. it has a child in the transparent holding cavity in its body, and is clearly about to enter its pocket dimension in order to eat the child.

if wei wuxian wants to rescue the child, he must act immediately; otherwise, once the child-eater takes the child with it into its pocket dimension, nothing more can be done. however, given how poorly wei wuxian and all of his friends fared in past battles with the child-eater, as well as wei wuxian's own state of heavy injury at the moment, wei wuxian concludes that, if he were to attack the child-eater right now, his chances of rescuing the child would be 0%. furthermore, his chances of surviving the encounter with the child-eater would also be 0%. the only course of action through which wei wuxian survives is the one where he hides in his current location and does nothing, thus allowing the child-eater to eat its 99th child.

since, by wei wuxian's own estimation, he has zero chance of actually rescuing the child, no matter what wei wuxian chooses to do, the child-eater will end up eating its 99th child and disappearing.

what does wei wuxian do?

follow-up questions:

in this scenario, what is the morally correct course of action?

in this scenario, what are the morally incorrect courses of action?

is this scenario significantly different from the one in this previous post? if so, how?

is this scenario significantly different from the short version above the cut?

[fateinthestars]

Man, has it really been two months since I did any Character Review/Rambling posts for a specific story/story set?

Well, let's rectify that now!

I could go back to the poll I did, but I'm really surprised to find that I don't appear to have covered the Divine Trip for Two sets yet. They should probably have been an option on the poll!

So let's cover those today. A Divine Trip for Two: Wishes and A Divine Trip for Two: Punishments

The Wishes set contains stories for: Leon, Teorus, Huedhaut, Karno

The Punishments set contains stories for: Scorpio, Dui, Ichthys, Zyglavis

Spoilers under cut

Before we get to the two separate sets, let's briefly cover the prologue which is the same for both.

I don't know what is more amusing here, the king getting them to summon MC who is in her night clothes, the god's reaction to that, or how Partheno and Tauxolouve manage to get themselves (along with Krioff and Aigonorus) out of doing anything for this latest game of the king's. 😂

Hue's 'Well done, you certainly got out of this quickly.' to Tauxolouve - I can't quite make up my mind whether he's irritated at Lou for managing to excuse himself or begrudgingly impressed.

That said: Much as I'm grinning at that exchange, I probably would have preferred for them to make it 12 items rather than 8 and then everyone could have had a story. But it feels like there are very few sets that have all of them - at least this is a four from each side one rather than three.

And yes this is absolutely a game of the king's - not an emergency at all. And Hue seems rather distressed that His Highness has been listening to MC's thoughts again. Just how often does this actually happen??? (Quite a lot knowing the king, but poor Hue).

Oh goodness and then there's how the king gets the others to agree to this... but I'll leave that as a surprise. 😆

Right, before I get way too spoilery about even just the prologue, let's get into the stories themselves shall we?

A DIVINE TRIP FOR TWO: WISHES

Leon: A Treasure Hunt in Singapore

Pfft, Leon always seems like he finds his job a massive chore and yet in other stories it's clear that Karno thinks that Leon makes a better Chief Minister than he ever would have. I'm not sure whether that's Karno's admiration for Leon speaking or his self-doubt pushing him down, or both - but it's interesting how here Leon takes the wishes list with him to do that work as well: He says to MC he's dealing with two 'nusiances' at once, but I'm sure some of the others would have seen it as a chance to avoid work entirely for a bit. That said: granting wishes isn't paperwork. No doubt that's the kind of work he is still ignoring. xD

Also here we have Leon's reaction to the lion head/fish tail statue that is also in one of Ichthys' stories: Leon is totally not amused no matter which option you pick. Ichthys was just completely confused.

What I vaguely recalled of this one was that it seemed somewhat blander than the others in these two sets, but I think that may be more just because these two sets are so strong.

Whilst Leon is still putting the front of not caring about the notion of other people's love it's actually clear from how this goes that he's grown beyond that, and just like one of his Christmas stories I'm still not buying that he's really doing it only for MC's benefit. The fact it makes her happy might be motivation as to why he bothers, but he clearly wanted to make sure this love wish was granted - even if it was, as he said, a lot of effort to go to for a single wish.

I'm 100% sure the king knew exactly what he was doing when he gave Leon this one. This almost feels like it was a further test to make sure the Chief Minister of Wishes really did understand love now.

Teorus: A Treasure Hunt in Germany

Okay I'm sure several of you are already looking worriedly at me so let me allay your fears straight off: This is my second favourite Teorus story. The only Teorus story I rate higher than this is his 'Secret Blessings from the Gods' story.

This story doesn't focus on his jealousy, or his obliviousness at other women crowding him, or his somewhat immature reactions he can have at times. What this story does focus on is his dislike of children. But here it's done equally - in his '12 Loves Light up a Holy Night' story it felt more like his reaction was purely because the children MC was talking to were male and it also bought out his overzealous over-possessiveness that I absolutely hate, whereas here? Here we have a young brother and sister, making a noise at the place MC and Teorus are sightseeing and initially that puts them off.

But then the reason for said children being there is revealed, and both Teorus and MC willingly help them.

And you know... I've just realised something. The kids in this story were trying to do something nice for their mother...

Teo doesn't know his and his father is an ass and oh, now I think I see more why even MC thought he was acting more mature in this one. OUCH. 😭

The ending of this one is just so sweet, and Teo grows a lot here.

Huedhaut: A Treasure Hunt in France

Oh Hue, you just had to leap straight to the teasing didn't you? 😆 But at the same time he's always really sweet. If you get MC to get him to decide what she should wear what he does is give her exactly what kind of thing she was wishing for (the same applies for if you ask for one of the two other options but then MC has said out loud what she's thinking). Other clothing scenes we have in the series always seem more to either be what the god wants or what the god thinks will wind another god up.

What's also interesting here is Hue's remark about this quest not being his usual style - I guess normally he'd make sure he had far more information than the king was willing to divulge here. (A painting of a lady in France indeed, your highness. Sheesh).

I adore Hue and MC's back and forth in this one. MC trying her hardest to outmatch Hue but as per usual it's not really working, but they just seem so perfectly in sync here.

THAT SAID: Hue, look, not everyone is as intelligent as you. I know you admitted afterwards that you were rather nervous due to sensing what you did, but even if you were uncertain about what was going on, don't you think it would have been a good idea to tell MC what was on your mind? What your theory was? Then maybe she wouldn't have even briefly thought that something was affecting you. (Mind you, I'm being hypocritical here, I probably would have acted the same as Hue did... 😅 )

This one is fun, loving, and heart-warming. Pretty much all the option responses here are great too. (Although one seems somewhat incomplete - it doesn't seem to make any sense).

Karno: A Treasure Hunt in Spain

Karno's story here is one of my absolute favourites for him. From protecting the MC from getting hurt and showing his rather scarier side for once, to him and MC working together to work out what to do about a problem regarding someone on both lists, to the solution being related to Karno's divine ability that he is so self-conscious about...

This is just absolutely wonderful and I guess it also shows that they could have done more stuff that focussed directly on the departments' work if they'd wanted to.

Okay now for my re-read thoughts rather than me just blurting out random thoughts before even reloading this one:

In Leon's story he doesn't use his powers to let MC understand the language until it's clear she doesn't know what someone near them is saying, in Teo's MC has to ask what someone is saying for him to make her understand though he does at least explain what he's doing, and in Hue's it never comes up because the one person they speak to is Japanese anyway. Here though? It's nearly as soon as they arrive that Karno makes it so that MC can understand the language and even tells her in advance. Ever reliable, Karno.

Well... I just called him ever reliable, but... um... Karno... did you really just ask someone if they were a 'local human?' that sounds really bizarre! I'm going to presume you were still rather panicked about MC nearly catching fire and angry enough at someone deliberately causing said fire that you didn't think through your wording cos otherwise...

But it is interesting how here we do get to see Karno genuinely angry. He won't stand for things that could get innocent people hurt, especially not when it nearly happened to MC. And yet once they've heard more and MC has calmed him down, we're back into Karno feeling like he can't do anything about the situation despite having all these powers available to him.

As I was saying in my initial thoughts about this one I really like the set up here: someone on both lists (Karno accidentally has the punishments list) and working out what they can do to resolve this when he can't touch anything on the list for the other department. There is a problem with one of the suggestions you can get MC to initially say here though - and the only reason it is a problem is because of the prologue excusing some of the other gods. For Karno's response to work, he really would need to not know where any of the Punishments' Gods are. But that's the fault of the setup before we even get to this story, and in the end that isn't what they need anyway.

*sigh* Karno really doesn't think he's of use does he? Even here it's MC who points out how his divine power might be able to help - at least for the first part. Later it is Karno who uses it of his own volition.

But yeah, I'm trying my hardest not to spoil this story here. It really is a gem, and a very interesting idea.

A DIVINE TRIP FOR TWO: PUNISHMENTS

Scorpio: A Treasure Hunt in Shanghai

Pfft oh Scorpio you really care far more than your irritated forced persona implies. From claiming that you just think walking around would be better than sitting in a stuffy hotel room, to watching MC's reaction to the pandas instead of the pandas yourself... you're being so sweet here.

Actually this whole thing is really touching. Scorpio's even being nice about the Department of Wishes for once!

I may not be that aware of the real life Earth astrology stories but I still like it when they come up here, and I especially like how Scorpio keeps disillusioning MC about other more minor gods. 😂

Like Leon's, the actual issue here might be a little less interesting than Hue's and Karno's, but it is still something important, and thinking on it it was kinda nice that this one had a punishment's god in it and it appeared to be heading in one direction when it really was not that at all.

Dui: A Treasure Hunt In England

Oh Dui 😭 *hugs him tightly* . I swear MC gets into actual physical danger far more when she's with Dui than when she's with anyone else. And this time it only happens because of how much fun she and Dui were having earlier.

Dui's another who actually uses his powers immediately to let MC understand the language. It's clear some thought about that more than others.

As someone from the UK I have to say it's kinda nice seeing these backgrounds of London in SCM 😅 Though it probably helps that Dui is so excited here! His happiness is infectious.

Despite the real danger MC is in in this one I really do like how this one turned out, and Dui? It wasn't your fault, I feel more like your luck is as bad as Hue's! I mean what the king sent you to find here... I think even he was trying to give you a break for once and instead this mess happens. 😭

Ichthys: A Treasure Hunt in Hawaii

Ichthys does actually make MC understand the language pretty quickly here too - once he's stopped being distracted by the sea and sea creatures that is.

But aside from the little fun at the beach at the start of this, this story is utterly heart-wrenching. The parallels between Ichthys and who he and MC are there to help. OUCH.

I think I'm struggling to put anything into words here because I may well have said before how much I relate to Ichthys and this kind of story really isn't helping with that.

This story is great but if you know what Ichthys' main path is like, this is him helping someone who is hiding pain like he used to.

I... I just...

😭

Zyglavis: A Treasure Hunt in New York

Okay let's move on from Ichthys' story before I choke up further, and lets head to Zig's.

Geez, Zig, thanks a lot. I got MC to answer your question diplomatically and this is your reaction. 😂 I adore Zig's snarkiness though. In fact I realised a while back: I seem to like people being sarcastic at me. 😅

Oh but there's sweet Zig immediately afterwards too... a dessert shop where he initially doesn't want anything and then MC points out they have Chocolate Ganache and now he's grappling with himself about it. 😆

Pfft: This reminds me of one of the differences between Huedhaut and Zyglavis actually. Hue is the one getting one up on MC and her grumbling to herself that she can't win with him, with Zig it's the other way around. Even though he has cutting snark it's MC that takes advantage of the situations around them and it's often Zig who thinks she can't win with her. I'm pretty sure if this food scene was in Hue's we would have ended up somewhere where even if others weren't doing it, Hue would have insisted on feeding MC, but here MC tricks Zig into letting her feed him due to where they are, and he's just so flustered and sweet.

Also, Zyglavis is somewhat ignoring the king's mission without MC fully realising it until he brings it up, rather than being vocally upfront like Dui was. I suppose it does make sense that he would go that route here, because it's one of the few times where he hasn't got to think about a million other things to do with work and the departments and the other Zodiac Gods. He might have a fetch quest from the king that he's supposed to be doing, but he also knows they won't be interrupted here. Which is probably why we're getting a more relaxed Zyglavis, even whilst walking about outside.

THAT SAID: I know you thought to let her understand the language after she bought that concern up, and you left your shadow with her so she wouldn't worry about splitting up, but - did you really just rattle off directions in a place MC has never been before so rapidly and then disappear without giving her a chance to even ask you to repeat what you said if necessary?! I know your shadow showed her the way in the end but that initial abruptness must have terrified her. Or at least it did me! (At least he does realise about this, and is part of the resolution later).

Unlike Karno's they actually remember that there are some still working in the heavens in this one, and that's a nice moment in MC's mind. I hope this really was Lou and Aigo's doing.

Overall, this is like a less upsetting version of Dui's. It's a way to get Zyglavis and MC not only to relax but to elucidate their feelings a little more.

It's a very sweet little story.

Okay then... ranking time? Hmm... let's see:

Karno

Huedhaut

Teorus

Ichthys

Zyglavis

Dui

Scorpio

Leon

That was actually really hard to order. Those top four have a lot of interesting moments and could probably be re-ordered or listed as equal first. Then Zig and Dui's are very close and I'm still not sure whether I've put them the right way round. Scorpio and Leon's are great too, but I think for me that probably is where both of those fall.

[shapovalovvs]

personal stuff (i swear this time it’s actually really good news)

a couple of days ago i happened to think about my birthday again (it’s in a bunch of months) and j ‘s idea to celebrare it together (as her birthday is the day right after mine) with the uni friend group, which she suggested around a couple of months ago, but then hadn’t mentioned anymore for a bit. so i was scared that she was gonna drop the idea as my ex friends definitely would’ve done. let’s just say that this morning i received a 4 minute long voice memo from j in which she basically said “can i make the group chat for the birthday thing already?” :) and i was like hell yeah please. basically the idea is to spend a day either at my beloved lake or in a big city (which i was kinda against 1. because come on, i love that lake way too much and somehow i’ve still never spent a birthday there before, it’s probably like, my dream 2. i would 100% get lost in big city and i would get a little too paranoid about it). thankfully she proposed to make a poll in said groupchat and the lake option has taken all votes but one. there’s only one tiny little problem aka that lake has many towns (?) and i can’t get to my absolute favorite one by train, although i may have found an alternative option already which is good too.

either way, it’s incredible how last year i had to “celebrate” one of my absolute loneliest birthdays after having just been kicked out of my friend group and receiving happy birthday wishes from two guys only (aka the only people from my high school class that i feel like i could still talk to), while now there’s a chance i will spend the next one with a relatively large group of people in one of my favorite places ever. it does get better.

[darkangel1791]

Because many of you answered in the poll that I should keep the disclaimer with the fic for the sake of historical preservation, I thought you might like to see this. It's about when Anne Rice Fanfic was taken off off the net.

In 2000, when the cease and desist letters were sent out by Anne Rice's lawyers, we were ordered to remove all fanfiction based on her characters from the internet immediately or we would be sued. A lot of pretty terrible things had already happened to some fanfic authors, so we all took them down. Where our sites used to be, many of us put this image.

It linked to a site which said this-

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

WHERE CAN I READ FANFICTION BASED ON ANNE RICE'S BOOKS?

Nowhere. You can't. On April 7, 2000 Anne Rice had the following message to say on her webpage:

"I do not allow fan fiction.

The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan fiction with my characters. I advise my readers to write your own original stories with your own characters.

It is absolutely essential that you respect my wishes."

This statement was then followed up by attacks on Anne Rice fanfic authors. The attacks consisted of, amongst other things, e-mailed threats regarding not only the writing of fanfiction but any writing that any fanfic author attempted to engage in (regardless of who owned the copyright), attacks on businesses that the fanfic authors owned and weeks of harassing personal letters sent to fanfic author's e-mail addresses and guestbooks. Personal information about fanfic authors was also dug up by Anne Rice employees and used as part of the harassment. Suffice it to say, Anne Rice made her displeasure clear.

SO WHAT HAPPENED?

Unable to defend themselves against these attacks, the fanfic authors responded by going into hiding.

BUT DOESN'T ANNE RICE HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO TELL THEM TO STOP? WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST STOP WRITING AND LEAVE IT AT THAT?

Yes she does. However this was not an issue of Anne Rice asking the fanfic writers to stop. If that had been the case there would have been no problem. The problem was that she was not asking or even telling, she was using the excuse of fanfic to cyber-stalk and harass the fanfic authors, even after said authors removed the illegal fanfic from their sites. Not having the money or legal resources to defend themselves against this, hiding was the only option left.

COULDN'T THE FANFIC AUTHORS JUST TRY BEING NICE TO ANNE? MAYBE SHE WOULD HAVE AGREED IF THEY HAD ASKED POLITELY.

The fanfic authors were nice to Anne. When Anne Rice fanfiction started Anne's publisher was aware of it (even going so far as to link Anne's offical Random House website to many of the fanfic-oriented sites) and quietly let it be known that there was a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in effect regarding it - as long as the fanfic authors didn't shove the fanfic in Anne's face, The Powers That Be could pretend that it didn't exist. In addition to this the early fanfic authors spent months researching the legalities surrounding fanfic and asking questions of other fandoms to see how they respected copyright law in their fanfic writing. This knowledge was then used to create a disclaimer system to make sure it was understood that at no time did the fanfic authors intend to infringe upon Anne's legal rights.

This system of mutual respect lasted for approximately five years. After five years Anne Rice abruptly changed her mind and let the fanfic authors know it by way of her lawyers. Fanfiction is now considered unacceptable by Anne.

WHAT ABOUT DISCLAIMERS? DON'T THOSE WORK IN OTHER FANDOMS?

For years a disclaimer was used in front of all Anne Rice fanfics which mirrored the disclaimers successfully used by other fandoms, namely one which pointed out that the fanfic in question was a "non-profit, amateur effort not intended to infringe on the rights of Anne Rice or any other copyright holder." While this disclaimer has worked well in other fandoms, Anne Rice considers it unacceptable. According to Christine Cuddy, Anne's lawyer "Even when done on a non-profit and/or amateur basis, such use of [Anne's] characters without Ms. Rice's permission constitutes copyright infringement."

DID SOMEBODY TRY MAKING MONEY USING ANNE RICE FANFICTION? WAS THAT WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM?

No. At no time did any fanfic author make money using Anne Rice fanfiction in any way, non-profit or otherwise. The only times that money changed hands were when fanfic authors and fans bought Anne's own books.

WHAT IF I WANT TO WRITE ANNE RICE FANFICTION?

Are you sure? Know what you're getting into. The threat of personal harassment is very real. Anne Rice does not want you writing fanfiction and she has the money to make you stop. Do you really want to try this?

WHAT IF I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN A STORY AND WANT TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS?

Don't. Not if you truly want to obey Anne's wishes. That's really all that needs to be said there. However, if you absolutely have to write a fanfic story and have to show it to somebody else via the Internet (which is, again, a violation of Anne's wishes) then doing the following may be of help. Bear in mind that this is not being offered to you as a guarantee or as any kind of legal advice. You could do all of this and still get sued. These are simply suggestions which may help you avoid being harassed:

Do not put the story up on a webpage. Share the story with others in e-mail, such as on a private mailing list.

Do not attach your real name to the story. Use a pen name instead.

Do not use the e-mail address provided by your ISP when sending out the story. Instead create an anonymous account for yourself with Hotmail, Yahoo or any other web-based provider and do not include your actual name and address when filling out the forms for that account.

If you have to put the story up on a web page do not use the webpage that came with your ISP account. Get a webpage from a free server such as Geocities, NBCI or Angelfire.

If you have put the story on a webpage do not link to the story from elsewhere on your website.

If you have put the story on a webpage do not submit that webpage to any search engines, webrings, link exchanges or other public forum.

Do not attach any personal information to the story, your email or your website in any way. This includes your real name, the name of your ISP, your home address, where you go to school/work or anything else that could be used to trace the story back to you. Likewise do not include any information about whether or not you are or were in the ARVLFC, as it is possible for them to trace your personal information through there as well.

Obviously at no time should you show or send the story to Anne herself or anyone who works for her.

Again doing all of the above is a violation of Anne's wishes. If you are writing fanfiction based on Anne Rice's books then you are disobeying her orders. Period.

I'M NOT A FANFIC AUTHOR BUT I DO ENJOY READING IT. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO?

Given the sheer volume of Anne Rice fanfiction that has been written (and, as the above question shows, that people are perhaps continuing to write) it is obviously false to say that all Anne Rice based fanfic has disappeared off of the world wide web. Undoubtedly some of it still exists out there in some form or another. If you manage to find some there's nobody out there who can stop you from reading it and enjoying it. However at no time should you take what stories you find and put them up on your own webpage or even link to the webpages that you find without that author's permission. Making Anne Rice fanfiction available from your website via copying or linking to the story will get you into trouble - not just from Anne but from the author as well. Don't do it.

HOW DO I FIND THE STORIES THAT ARE STILL OUT THERE?

We don't know. And we certainly couldn't tell you if we did.

QUOTES OF NOTE

"I suppose the character is public ground. If you're willing to bring it into people's houses every week, the [fans] are entitled to certain liberties, where ever their imagination is carried by those characters."

--Paul Gross, aka Ben Fraser and Executive Producer of Due South, quoted in the Toronto Globe & Mail, Augst 8, 1998

"I am flattered and grateful for this outpouring of support, admiration and recognition. I am moved to tears actually at how my performance has moved so many others. The websites are magnificent. All the photos, artwork, chats, fiction and videos are really great. I honestly never thought I would create such a stir but I feel absolutely blessed that I have."

--Scott Cohen, aka "Wolf" from The 10th Kingdom in a letter to http://www.wolfpackclub.8m.com/letter.html. Spring 2000.

"I've read some of it... I find it very flattering that people love the characters that much."

- J.K. Rowling on Harry Potter fanfiction that can be found via the Internet. Fall 2000

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

I believe this was posted on October 4th, 2000, which is Louis' birthday, and also Anne's.

I believe I know who wrote it, but I am not positive, and even 23 years later, I am not going to expose them to any possible danger. It may be improbable, but never impossible.

So this is our history. This is what happened. And do please remember that J.K. Rowling was thought to be a perfectly decent person in the year 2000.

This isn't meant to spread any animosity now. It is just a look at history. I don't see how it belongs in AO3, but I want to put it somewhere before the Wayback Machine drops it.

ARVLFC = Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Fan Club

In 2012, Anne Rice kind of said fanfic of her characters was okay, but in 2014 she took it back.

With her death, I should think that only Christopher Rice would have the legal right, and possibly the money, to pursue this again, but so far he seems uninterested.

You may also want to read this article.

A Deep Dive into the Anne Rice Fanfiction Debacle by August T.