#LIGHT THE BEACONS LET ALL TUMBLR KNOW

[vivinens]

a lover's game !

characters: neuvillette, wriothesley & navia.

summary: little things they notice about you.

warning, minor fontaine story spoilers. gender neutral reader. here's a few short drabbles, hello tumblr!

Neuvillette, while famously intrigued by human behavior, often finds himself completely fascinated with you in particular.

For all his objective understanding of worldly matters, he is still confused as to why he specifically craves your attention. It's utterly strange, really, how his eyes seem to trail after your movements and expressions with more care than he would show to others.

You smile differently, when speaking to him. He's picked up on this after numerous conversations involving you two and a third party. When speaking to Monsieur Neuvillette (he often wonders about the soft way you say his name), your tone is easy and your smile is—for lack of a more appropriate word—entrancing. But, the moment your attention turns to the third party, that smile is dimmed.

At first, he simply chalks it up to you wanting to get in his good graces. After all, he's had no shortage of humans attempting to get close to him in order to satisfy their own desires. However, even with his lackluster social skills, he can see how your behavior is different from the people trying to appeal to them for their own merit. Your flustered sentences and bright eyes were not the same as others using flattery to gain status among the court staff.

...Perhaps he should ask Navia about it. Not for the first time, he curses his own lack of social understanding.

Wriothesley is not usually the kind of man who finds himself hung up on trivial details. He spends too much time working and worrying as it is; so why should he make life more complicated for himself?

There were some things he can't help but notice when it comes to you, though. It's midday when he overhears you mumbling to yourself about a new treat from Café Lucerne you'd like to try—as well as something about you having already spent all your "fun mora" for the week. You had sighed to yourself at your own respective desk all afternoon, and the sheer longing he could sense made his eye twitch.

You arrived to your work desk the next morning to see a wrapped gift box atop it. You had gasped when you opened it to reveal the outrageously expensive cake you had been craving all week. Wriothesley couldn't stay to further see your reaction, as to not raise suspicion, but he was content nonetheless.

It was when he arrived at work the next day that he realized—after seeing a steaming hot cup of coffee set on his desk beside a signed thank you note—that you're more observant than you let on. After all, he had taken great care in not letting it be known he was the one who gifted you the cake.

He takes a sip of the coffee. It was the way he likes it. Yes, you were very observant, indeed.

Navia has always had a soft spot for her underlings. She remembers their birthdays, their favorite songs, and those who they would prefer to work alongside. She claims it's her duty as their boss to know such things—although, in the opinion of many, she often goes above and beyond.

However, if you were to ask any of Navia's other subordinates, they would probably say she tries to understand you best of all. You have known one another for a long time, and this friendship was something she held very dearly—especially after the passing of her father. You were a beacon of light in those times, when the world seemed against her and her father's memory.

In some ways, she wondered if she was... taking advantage. You worked hard to support her and Spina di Rosula, and earned hardly nothing in return. Pay was rocky and sometimes even scarce. What if your talents could be better used elsewhere? What if you truly did want to leave? What if—

"You're overthinking again, Navia," you sigh, and before she can even think to respond, your hand is reaching to feel her forehead. You're sat beside one another on a bench, taking a small reprieve after a day spent out and about Vasari Passage. "Hm, I'm surprised you don't have a fever. You've been acting strange all day," you say, tilting your head. "You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?"

The genuine worry in your voice makes Navia's heart flutter. "No, no, nothing at all!" She exclaims with more confidence than she feels. She seems to be doing that a lot lately. "But... thank you, for worrying about me. You shouldn't have to."

You frown. "I care for you—perhaps more than you understand, Navia. You don't have to speak about it now, but if something is troubling you, I will always lend you an ear."

Sometimes, Navia finds you truly are too understanding of her emotions. Instead of responding, she nods wordlessly, lest the things she wants to say so desperately clog her throat, and reaches to rest her hand against yours. You don't pull away, and the loud hammering of Navia's heart continues in her chest. It does not stop for a long while.

[feelmyskinonyourskin]

Who We Are and Who We Want to Be [Enemies to Lovers Trope]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Female Reader

Trope de Sept Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Enemies to Lovers dynamic 1. Two characters overcome their differences/misconceptions about each other, realising they are actually in love. Often with phrases like 'I didn't know where else to go.' and 'I don't hate you, I never hated you.' "After leaving your abusive boyfriend, you end up in the one place you never thought you would - the home of your arch nemesis in both law school and the courtroom, Matt Murdock."

Warnings: No use of Y/N. Female Reader. Mentions of physical abuse to reader (not by Matt. No details of the incident are described, just the aftermath is mentioned.)

WC: 4,350

*I never give permission for my fics, manips, or any other original creation I post on this site to be copied, posted elsewhere, translated, or fed into any AI program. The only platform I currently post anything on is Tumblr. Thanks!*

The rain was falling even harder than when you had left your apartment. Every hit of the heavy drops did nothing to help the pain swelling in your left cheek. 

You weren’t exactly sure where you were going, you just knew you needed to leave where you had been. 

Sure, he’d shown signs of some anger issues before, but tonight he crossed a line. You knew how the statistics ended and you didn’t want to be one of them.

You couldn’t see more than a foot in front of you. The chill in the air clung to your skin through your soaked clothing. With a shiver, you paused for a moment, seeking refuge under an awning to take a moment and finally assess your next move.

The gold letters of the sign in front of you jumped out at you like a beacon of light in the dark, rainy night.

Nelson, Murdock, and Page

Attorneys at Law

Goddamnit. 

Of course cruel fate would lead you here. Sure, let the universe make your boyfriend go full-abusive asshole and land you right in front of the office of the guy who had been your nemesis since law school, all in one night. What higher power did you piss off to deserve this?

There was no indication the rain would let up soon, so you made your decision with a shake of your head and turned the handle of the door in front of you.

ONE DAY EARLIER

Hate was a strong word to describe the relationship that you and Matt Murdock had with each other. Your time together at law school had always been tumultuous, to say the least. Each of you tried to outdo each other in both academic success and extra curriculars and were constantly at each other's throats both in and outside of class. Things had cooled off a bit in the years since, only interacting with each other when you’d occasionally face off in the courtroom, though he still found ways to drive you absolutely bonkers given the opportunity. Anyone who knew the two of you could feel the tension anytime you’d have to be in the same room together.

The tap tap tap of his cane against the marble floors alerted you he was walking towards you, giving you plenty of time to compose yourself and not make a dramatic scene in a public place where the kind of outburst you wanted to have towards him would get you either fired, disbarred, or arrested. 

Court had been dismissed for the weekend. The judge determined the trial needed to carry into next week for even more evidence presentation before the jury would be allowed to deliberate.

“You know, not presenting all evidence to the defense during the gathering phase is technically illegal. That little stunt you pulled while my client was on the stand was cute, but if I report it, it could get you a mistrial.” 

As Matt spoke to you in the hallway just outside the courtroom, you tried not to notice how his cologne was the perfect blend of spiciness and lumber. You also tried not to notice how his suits fit better and better every time you see him, unlike how gangly and awkward he looked in second-hand sports jackets in law school. Curse his suave attractiveness, always winning over juries and influencing judges.

“I did give you all the evidence we had at the time. It’s not my firm’s fault the DA’s office is slower than molasses and got us these files after the evidence gathering stage. We submitted it as additional evidence as soon as we got our hands on it. You also have the capability to pull public records, Matthew. So don’t pretend my firm has some sneaky, unfair advantage in this case.”

“I’m sorry that I use my Columbia education to actually help people. Nice to know not everyone from our graduating class was immune to the appeal of taking big law firm money to make sure corporations can take advantage of as many people as possible.”

A dry laugh escaped your lips. You tried not to raise your voice, as judges and reporters walked by, all rushing to leave work and begin their weekend plans.

“Is that really so bad, Matt? I’m just doing my job, trying to use the law to help my client. Same as you are.”

An exasperated sigh left his lips as he tilted his head skyward, also trying to put aside past tension between the two of you for the sake of professionalism. 

“Have a good weekend.” he said, before turning and walking away

“I… I didn’t know where else to go.” was the first thing you stuttered out as the low light cast him in a harsh glow in the dim office.

Head cocked, listening in to figure out exactly who was in his office at this late hour, Matt crossed the room in three steps to stand in front of you. The water dripping off of you hit the musty carpet with a splat. He continued to not speak, only listen, as you breathed heavily in front of him. Even though you knew he couldn’t see you, you’d still never felt so exposed in front of someone.

He ran a hand with feather-like softness over your face, ghosting his touch against the bruise forming there.

“You’re hurt.” he finally spoke

“I… how can you tell?”

“My dad was a boxer. I patched him up after matches a lot. I know what a bruise feels like, especially a fresh one. What happened?”

“My boyfriend… he um…” but the words died on your lips 

“I couldn’t stay. I just left and ran and the rain and…” you rambled “I ended up here.”

“Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?” he asked

“No.”

“Then you’ll stay with me. For tonight at least, until we can figure something out for you.”

“Matt, I can’t ask that of you.”

“You're not asking, I’m offering. Besides, Foggy and I work on domestic violence cases all the time. We know a lot of people and can get you in touch with a lot of resources.”

You were warry. Matt and you hadn’t exactly gotten along in the past and now he was the opposing counsel in the biggest case of your career. Why was he suddenly so keen to be kind to you? But you truly had nowhere else to go tonight.

“But in the morning.” he continued “It’s late. There’s an Ethiopian place on my block. I could even order some sambusas for you. I know you like them with spiced chicken.”

“How do you know that?”

“Our second year of law school. Professor Hardwick made us pair up on the debate team together. When we’d all be in the library late, it was what you always ordered.”

“I can’t believe you remembered that. Matt, that was so long ago.”

2010

The floorboards of the old building creaked as you stepped, making your way down the hallway to your very first lecture of law school. You couldn’t contain your excitement. Finally done with undergrad, finally at your dream school, finally taking the first steps towards your dream career.

A few students had trickled in already and you took a seat next to a young man wearing sunglasses. He was chatting to his sandy-haired friend, both giving you a smile as you took your seat and removed a few essentials from your backpack.

“What did you think of the readings?” the dark-haired, blind student turned to you

“The readings? Shit! I didn’t know we had any!” you lamented

“It’s okay. I’m sure a lot of people forgot or didn’t know.”

“What were they on?” you asked

“First amendment. Mostly just covered a few cases relevant to section 9.2. I think the cases were Blair v. USA, USA v. Madden and Turner Broadcasting, and Zurcher v. Stanford Daily. We’ve got 15 minutes until class starts, I bet you could give them a quick read through.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re a life saver! Thank you!” you responded, flipping open your textbook and frantically searching for the case summaries.

“I’m Matt, by the way. Matt Murdock.”

You introduced yourself hurriedly just as you found the first reading and he returned to whatever he and his friend with the bad goatee were discussing.

Sure enough, the professor arrived 15 minutes later and began class. It was a rather standard first day - syllabus review, absentee policies, essay submission rules. 

Then he asked “Can anyone summarize one of the cases assigned in your readings?”

You raised your hand eagerly and were selected.

“USA v. Madden and Turner Broadcasting established clearer defined rules for who is considered a journalist and who is able to keep sources confidential in a court of law.”

The professor paused, staring you down.

“That’s true. But the assigned readings were on section 10.2 of the First Amendment. Doctrine on Freedoms of Assembly and Petition… You know close and thorough reading comprehension are essential skills for a lawyer.” 

You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks at the professor’s lambastation. Another student was called on, and the professor began the lecture, but it was all drowned out in a mental spiral of embarrassment and shame. 

“That was incredibly cruel Matt!” you whispered to your neighbor “Giving me the wrong readings just so I’d embarrass myself!”

“I didn’t! I did the wrong ones too!” he rasped back

“Uhuh, sure you did!”

“Is there a problem?” the professor spoke up, causing the whole lecture hall to turn and look at you and Matt, embarrassing you for the second time

You shook your head no, stared at your notebook, and tried to focus as the professor returned to his lecture once more.

All you knew after that day was Matt Murdock was not to be trusted if you wanted to find success for the next three years at Columbia.

Matt’s apartment was cozy. Full of textures, though you supposed if you couldn’t see the place you lived, that’d be the thing to do to make it feel like home. 

You weren’t surprised, then, to find that everything else there was too – the loofa in his shower, the plush towels you used to dry your now steam-warmed body, and the gray sweatpants and navy Columbia law shirt he handed you afterwards.

“Why is a brilliant lawyer like you putting up with a guy like that?” he asked over half-devoured takeout containers

“You think I’m a brilliant lawyer?”

“I always have. But that wasn’t the question.”

“Okay, counselor.” you jested back

You didn’t want to get into it tonight, to relive all the failings of your love life and how you ended up here. But you did; afterall what else did you have to exchange for his kindness except your vulnerability?

After you finished, the story concluding in the present moment, there was silence. It hung between the two of you as Matt chewed on your words.

“Do you remember our law dissertation class in our third year?” he finally spoke

“Yeah.”

“You gave a closing statement about the case we presented, 

‘Legislative judgements of the court serve as constant reminders that, in the view of all-male decision-making bodies, life should be arranged in a way only they see fit for the rest of us. We must constantly use the law to dismantle their notions, in order to create a society that is legally inclusive for all it applies to.’

“Yeah I remember that. What about it?

“I have it typed up in braille, on this little frame on my desk, back at the office. I read it over sometimes. Helps me remember just exactly who the law should be for. For everyone, not just the powerful. I would think the person who said that wouldn’t put up with a jerk of a boyfriend.”

Laughter erupted throughout your body and you felt yourself smile, a real genuine smile for the first time that evening.

“Matt. I didn’t say that. I mean I did but it was… I was quoting Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It seemed relevant to pull a statement on the matter from one of our supreme court justices at the time. It was like in a letter she wrote to Scalia about one of their favorite operas or something. Wait, you thought I thought of that?”

“I actually did, yeah. It was such a strong closing statement, I figured only someone as smart as you could have come up with it.”

“Smart? I’m sorry Matt, did you just compliment me?”

“I did.” he said with a chuckle “But don’t get used to it.”

“And for the past, what like, 12 years you've had that sitting on your desk, thinking of me every time you read it?”

“Yeah,” he sighed “Go ahead, make fun of me.”

“You know what, I will spare you just this one time from my mockery. Only because I think it’s sweet. I can't believe you remembered something I said in law school. You hated me then.”

“I never hated you. Admired you for sure. Jealous at times, absolutely. But I never hated you.”

“Huh, I always just thought you did.”

2013

“Matthew Michael Murdock! Open this door right now!” you screamed as you banged on the door of Matt and Foggy’s dorm

Matt opened it cautiously, already knowing the reason you were about to chew him out.

You stepped up, nearly nose to nose with him.

“How could you? This is low, even for you Murdock.”

“Please, just let me explain…”

“No. I don’t need your shitty explanation. I know we haven’t gotten along since day one, but even so – you know I’m an excellent student, you know I’m gonna be a good lawyer, and yet… Why did you tell Jeremy Landman I wouldn’t be a good fit for the internship?”

“Because you wouldn’t be.” Matt responded, coldly

“Are you fucking serious? I would be an amazing fit at that firm! I work twice as hard as you two chucklefucks in every single class,” you indicated to Foggy, who was sitting listening intently on the bed behind Matt. “You’ve been interns there the whole year, I just wanted a summer internship while I study for the bar! I got the rejection call this morning. And they said it was your fault. Because you told your boss I wasn’t a good fit.”

“Listen. I’m sorry. I know that internship was important to you, but I was being honest. You wouldn’t be the right fit there.”

The tears started flowing down your face as Matt remained emotionless before you.

“Don’t you dare ever speak to me again, Matthew. I want nothing to do with you!” you shouted, turning on your heel and rushing back down the hall, determined not to clue Matt into just how hard you were crying.

Matt closed the door with a sigh.

“Jesus Matt, she’s right. That was really shitty of you.” Foggy said

“Look… I had a good reason.”

“Was the reason because you hate her, because if that’s what it is, I’m gonna come over there and hit you, Murdock.”

“No. The reason I told them not to pick her for the internship, Jeremey Landman is… look, he’s been a great mentor this year but he doesn’t necessarily treat the female interns and employees with as much… respect.” Matt explained

“Okay, so why haven’t you said anything? To HR. To her?”

“I didn’t want to stir the pot, you know, mess things up for us. I was worried if I said anything, they’d just fire me and I worried you’d get thrown in the mix too.”

“Okay, but at least tell her…” Foggy indicated toward the door

“No. She’ll find something better. She’s right, she’s gonna be a good lawyer. She’ll find an even better internship at an even better firm.”

Matt’s sheets were luxurious to say the least. Cool and calming against your skin as you slumbered under the glow of the billboard and the sounds of the heavy rain still beating down hours later. 

You didn’t notice the shadow sneaking out of the apartment through the roof access door, nor did you notice when it returned a few hours later. You slept peacefully as the blood from his fists ran down the drain, as the rain-soaked crimson suit was tucked back into the worn trunk, and as the exhausted lawyer crept back through the living room and tucked himself into the worn leather sofa.

The ring of your phone happened far too early for your liking, an unfamiliar number popping up on your screen as you rubbed your bleary eyes.

Matt tried not to eavesdrop, a difficult task with his precise hearing and the echoing ceilings of his loft.

The words “Nearly comatose” and “Mysterious circumstances” shouldn’t have caused the grin that spread across his face, but they did.

“I’m sorry, but he and I actually broke up. I’ve been staying with a friend, so I have no idea what happened. Please remove me as his emergency contact and reach out to someone else.” 

And then you hung up the phone.

You clued Matt in over a cup of coffee as the sun rose in streaking beams across the brick walls of his home. He listened with concern, trying not to let on to the fact he knew why you’d received that phone call or that he had been the cause of it.

“Don’t act like he didn’t deserve it.”

“Wow, how very Catholic of you, Matthew.”

“So you’re staying with a friend huh?”

An arrogant smile spread across his annoyingly handsome face. How typical of him. He heard your phone conversation and still let you ramble on for at least ten minutes and had the nerve to throw your own phrasing back in your face.

Still, he had been nothing but kind and gentle to you the past 12 hours, so you owed it to him to at least try and not be annoyed with him. You took a deep breath.

“I mean, you let me stay with you last night. And you heavily implied you and Foggy are going to get me some resources to help me. That’s something a friend would do.

“It’s nice. Being your friend. It’s a good change.”

“Yeah I guess it is. Look, Matt… I know I’ve been kind of harsh on you. Sometimes.” you said, extending a metaphorical olive branch

Matt chuckled and shook his head, holding out an open palm to stop you.

“Water under the bridge.”

“But really. Thank you.” 

“Can I ask you something?” he inquired

“Yeah”

“When we were in law school… why did you never give me a chance?” 

“Matt, you had a new girlfriend like, every month. I don’t think there was ever an opportunity for me to even try!”

“I… that wasn’t at all what I was asking. I just meant why you seemed to hate me from the get go. Wait, did you want to… you know, give me a chance in that way?” he asked

“No. I mean, maybe at one time. Like when I first met you, I thought you were cute. But then I got to know what a jerk you were…”

“I was a jerk? What about you?! You literally rented the one braille book on Civil Procedure from the library a week before finals just so I wouldn’t be able to study!”

“That wasn’t why I rented it!” you argued back

“Why else would you?!”

“Because I was trying to learn braille!”

“With a law book?!”

“I was trying to help you! You’d missed so many classes that semester and then your girlfriend broke up with you and it just seemed like you were really struggling and I actually felt bad for you for a change and thought maybe I could help you study.” 

“By renting the one book I needed?”

“My thought process was that it might be easier to study if we could read from the same book but since you can’t see, I wanted to learn braille so I could help you better… then I caught that awful flu that was going around and I couldn’t get it back to the library before finals.”

His pink lips parted, tongue darting out as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. 

You thought about how he looked almost like the Matt you knew back then. So used to seeing him in sharp suits in court rooms these days, his morning ensemble of sweatpants and a simple black t-shirt reminded you more of the heartbroken Matt you knew from late nights in the library and off-campus parties. Even then, you rarely got to admire how the light reflected in his hazel eyes, usually covered by glasses. How unlike him, you thought, to not wear his glasses in front of you. It’s almost as if he was trying to match your current state of vulnerability.

“I had no clue you had a thing for me back then.” he said

You nearly spit your coffee across his countertop.

“I’m sorry, I did not say I had a thing for you. I said you were pitiful enough to make me want to do something nice. That is not a ‘thing’ Matthew.”

“But when I asked why you didn’t give me a chance, that’s where your brain went. You said I was cute.”

You rolled your eyes, knowing he couldn’t see the gesture of annoyance. 

“Then Matt. I said you were cute back then.”

Matt smirked, hearing the wavering of your heartbeat to know it was a lie. You thought he was cute now. Using that information to push his luck, he continued

“You know I sort of had a thing for you too.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am! You were smart and so stubborn. You smelled nice. And your laugh… It’s always the one thing I can pick out of a crowded lecture hall or busy courthouse.”

“Wait, Matt are you saying you had a crush on me?”

“Yeah.” he confirmed

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I thought you hated me.”

“I never hated you.”

“Oh come on, you absolutely did.” he argued

“No. I didn’t. You were just always so arrogant. You still are. In law school, you got any girl you wanted and you usually did. You charmed all the professors into liking you, meanwhile I worked my ass off and barely got noticed.”

You picked up your coffee cup and took a giant swig, black liquid fueling your rambling.

“And it’s the same these days with judges and juries. It’s not like you aren’t a good lawyer, I know you are. I just get so jealous sometimes that the blind thing seems to get you sympathy and special perks from the get go, plus all the suave personality that I don’t have usually gets people on your side even without all the solid evidence against my prosecution you usually gather.”

“So, you’re jealous?” 

“I guess. But Matt, I promise, I don’t hate you.”

“Well you might, for what I’m about to say.”

“Okay. What could you possibly say that could make me actually hate you?”

He rested his forearms on the kitchen counter, leaning in as if he was about to share a secret, even though it was just the two of you in his apartment.

“Give the case you’re working on to someone else.” he spoke, low voice rumbling in his chest as the seriousness of his request hung in the air.

“What?!”

“You’re in no state to show up in court tomorrow.”

You hadn’t yet dared to look in a mirror to see if there was physical evidence from what happened with your boyfriend last night. But you knew Matt wasn’t just talking about that, it was the emotional component too.

“Are you serious?! You’re telling me to drop the biggest case of my life because my boyfriend was an ass? All in some weird ploy so that you can win?”

“Really? You think I give a shit about beating you in court? This isn’t about that. It’s about making sure you’re okay!”

“You liar! You just want to win this case!” you shouted back

“Are you ever not the most stubborn person on this planet?”

“I am when I don’t have to deal with you.”

He rounded the kitchen counter to stand in front of you, all caution thrown to the wind as he cupped your jaw and pulled you close to him.

“Just shut up.” he murmured before his mouth was on yours, soft and tender and full of years of pent up desire.

You didn’t resist, leaning into his warm, plush lips as they opened up to you, deepening the kiss.

You weren’t sure who pulled apart first, but neither of you dared to separate much, staying close enough that you could feel his labored, warm breath on your face.

“If I promise to give the case to Foggy, will you promise to give your side to someone else at your firm? Then we can spend this week getting you a new place and a restraining order.”

You nodded, not sure what else to say. 

He kissed you once more, a seal on the agreement the two of you just made.

You just got out of possibly the worst relationship of your life and now the last man you thought you’d ever go out with was offering you a new beginning. What did you possibly have to lose by taking this leap?

“Maybe…” you finally spoke up “you can take me to dinner. To celebrate if we get all of that done.”

“Okay.” he agreed

Maybe one day, he’ll tell you what really happened that night after you fell asleep in his bed. Reveal to you what he does in the dark, why he started this double life, intent on protecting people just like you. But for now, he’s content to just share a warm cup of coffee and a kiss in the morning, and the promise of more mornings like this on the horizon.

[v4lsang3l]

I hope Zerum has tumblr and sees this.

You and Zeal making Sebastian mean to the player just because people are mischaracterizing him is so fuckin stupid, cuz like, why the hell does it matter?? Yeah, I get that he doesn't like the player, but people liked the silly voicelines, and you got his VA BECAUSE HE WAS CUTE.

It doesnt fucking matter if people mischaracterize him imo, because like.. that happens no matter what. I've seen people say that pandemonium is babygirl. Wouldn't that be mischaracterizing as well??

At this rate, if you keep making Sebastian a bitch, people will eventually stop playing. Yes, it's a good game, but if, for example, people get annoyed or frustrated because they're dying so much, the silly voicelines might boost their mood, but by making Sebastian mean and shit, it makes people not want to even interact with him. Yeah, it's fun to use the flash beacon on him, but when he kills you out of the blue, it just doesn't make sense to me. We are paying customers, and yes, I understand that he hates the lights, but instead of having him kill the player and ruin a run, just make him smash the beacon or something. I know he does it already if you flash him once, but you know what I mean.

And with him being cAnNoNiCaLlY married to you, that's just fucking stupid. You say you're against selfshipping, yet you're doing that very thing! If you wanted him to be married to you so bad, you should've added yourself in his shop. Don't get mad because people like a character and want to ship themselves with him. He is a fictional character. Selfshipping happens all the time with fictional characters. You can't control that. And banning people from the discord server just because you don't like them doing that is just rude. Just delete their message and tell them, "Hey, please don't send selfshipping art here" or something. And with you posting that very same art with you and him just because you're married to him is hypocritical and petty.

My point is, give us back the silly voicelines (even if its just some of them), stop being a little bitch about selfshippers, and let people think what they want about Sebastian.

AND you being married to him doesn't make sense either, since he was pronounced dead for 10-13ish years, I do believe. You would've moved on by then.

[rinwritingcorner]

I have a really big issue with finding a name for my protagonist. she's from the ocean-like world where there's shore and ocean with sea creatures. please, if you have any suggestions on what names I can name her. please let me know. Also thank you for the tutorial on reedsy post!

Hello! It's totally understandable how you feel. It's always hard for me to think of good names that fit. Here are some names I found online while researching. Here are some of the best meanings associated with the names, along with their origins (hopefully accurate). Let me know if there's anything else I can assist with.

Thank you so much for your kind words about my tutorial for Reedsy book editor!

Mariana (Latin origin) - meaning "of the sea." This name is perfect for a protagonist who has a deep connection to the ocean, perhaps with a mysterious or profound nature.

Nerissa (Greek origin) - meaning "sea nymph." This name is fitting for a graceful and enchanting protagonist who embodies the beauty and allure of the sea.

Calypso (Greek origin) - meaning "she who hides." In Greek mythology, Calypso was a nymph who lived on an island. This name is suitable for a protagonist who is enigmatic, living in seclusion or hiding her true nature.

Oceana (Greek origin) - meaning "ocean." This name is ideal for a protagonist who represents the vastness, power, and depth of the ocean itself.

Neria (Hebrew origin) - meaning "candle" or "light." This name could symbolize a protagonist who brings light or hope, like a beacon guiding others through the darkness of the ocean. (Such a pretty name!)

Coralia (Greek origin) - meaning "coral." This name suits a protagonist with a vibrant and colorful personality or a strong connection to the underwater world of coral reefs.

Seldra (Old Norse origin) - meaning "sea queen." This name is appropriate for a protagonist who is a strong leader, ruling over a maritime kingdom or possessing a regal bearing.

Amphitrite (Greek origin) - meaning "third one who encircles the sea." In Greek mythology, Amphitrite was the wife of Poseidon. This name is fitting for a protagonist who is a powerful figure in the ocean realm.

Kairina (Hawaiian origin) - meaning "sea." This name is suitable for a protagonist with a strong connection to the ocean, possibly with a peaceful or calming presence.

Syrena (Latin origin) - meaning "mermaid." This name is perfect for a protagonist who embodies the grace, beauty, and mystery of mermaids. (Personal favorite!)

Thalassa (Greek origin) - meaning "sea." In Greek mythology, Thalassa was the primeval goddess of the sea. This name suits a protagonist who is ancient, wise, or all-encompassing like the sea itself.

Delphine (Greek origin) - meaning "dolphin." This name is fitting for a protagonist who is playful, intelligent, and swift like a dolphin.

Merillian (English origin) - a combination of "mer" (sea) and "lillian" (lily). This name represents a protagonist who is a delicate and beautiful flower thriving in the ocean. (Kind of made this up.)

Navissi (Latin origin) - meaning "ship." This name could represent a protagonist who is a skilled navigator or sailor, guiding others through the challenges of the ocean.

Brinamara (Celtic origin) - a combination of "brin" (sea) and "mara" (bitter). This name suits a protagonist with a complex personality, possibly with a tough exterior but a deep, emotional connection to the sea.

Hopefully these help!!!! 💜🟣^_^

-Rin T.

Hey fellow writers! I'm super excited to share that I've launched a Tumblr community. I'm inviting all of you to join my community. All you have to do is fill out this Google form, and I'll personally send you an invitation to join the Write Right Society on Tumblr! Can't wait to see your posts!

[forcebookish]

thanks for tagging me, @boozles! this is an interesting tag meme 🤔

Rules: choose 5 of your favorite characters from 5 pieces of media as options and let your tumblr pals decide which one suits your vibe.

ok i do have favorite characters who i think i'm a lot like (buffy, nick miller, chandler, etc.), but i went by characters i talk about the most on here. i personally don't think i'm that much like any of these characters, although there's some connective tissue like loneliness and anger lol

(pip did ten, but i wanted to stick to five because honestly ten would be too hard to narrow down and just clog up the results.)

you might not know all the characters so here's some propaganda:

rukia: lonely. caring. takes her work very seriously. tempestuous. willing to die for perfect strangers and loved ones alike. easily frustrated, especially when the people she loves don't believe in themselves. traumatized. adorable. beacon of light to everyone who knows her.

gun: lonely. not afraid to be happy or of what other people think; but afraid of abandonment and failure. harsh. playful. stressed the fuck out. cuddly. grumpy. romantic. scary.

cordelia: bitchy. loving. self-centered. sunshine incarnate. sweet. spoiled. brave. quippy. fun. believes in the greater good and protecting the weak. loyal. honest and blunt. determined.

top: arrogant. doesn't take people's shit and will read you for filth. traumatized. snuggly and nuzzly. helpful. self-centered (but not selfish). fun. neat and precise. caring. artistic. affectionate. thoughtful. friendly. service top lol

bucky: complicated. doesn't hold back. sarcastic. swaggery. traumatized. good at what he does. prepared. focused. confident. sly. a leader. flirtatious. caring.

i like character development and dark backstories! idk!

tagging @komari-maxx @itscassi @charles-edwin @monwillica @djeterg19 and anyone else who wants to do it (tag me, i wanna vote!)

[yanderes-galore]

Yandere Dead by daylight Yandere general HCs on the Oni vs Steve please with a new Survivor reader who cracks jokes a lot

Tumblr thought it would be funny to crash on me with this one too so... here's what I got. Interesting pair, lol ^^

Yandere! Oni vs Steve Harrington

Jokester! Survivor! Darling

Pairing: Romantic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Murder mention, Blood, Death, Violence, Jealousy, Overprotective behavior, Possessive behavior, Swearing, Steve wants nothing to do with this.

A survivor and killer rivalry is rather one-sided and dangerous.

There's The Oni, a being full of rage.

He's killed many to become the monster he is.

The only thing that soothes him, even if just for a little while, is you.

Steve doesn't hold a candle to the demonic samurai.

He's a nice guy who just wants to step up and help his team.

Although... he is willing to defend those he loves.

They'd both act differently towards a darling of this type obviously.

Let's start with Steve.

Steve greets you, the new survivor with open arms.

Honestly, he knows how scary a realm like this can be.

He used to be a bit of an asshole back at home... but encountering Demogorgons and arriving here changed him.

Steve is the type to fall hopelessly in love with his darling.

He greets you with a smile and by just personality alone you manage to make his face hot.

He feels despite the circumstances you two will get along fine.

He can't believe he likes you already.

Then you start cracking jokes.

Despite the pain you're caused... or the situation you're in... you make humor.

If anything that causes Steve to like you more.

You're like a beacon of light to him.

If he's scared of what a trial brings then he searches for you.

He loves to hear your jokes.

In a place like this sometimes humor is all you need to feel a little bit better.

You'll catch Steve laughing along at your jokes even when he shouldn't.

He's genuinely a good guy deep down.

Steve doesn't want this realm to smother your light...

So, despite his disadvantages, he vows to himself that he'll protect you.

Then, there's The Oni....

That's how his obsession begins.

He wants to be there for you, no one else.

His love life is not the best... yet you may change that.

Kazan has felt nothing but rage for what feels like forever.

These trials only encourage his bloodlust.

He bathes in the blood of his enemies.

He charges like a bull... wishing to crush all who oppose him.

Then he meets you on one of your first trials.

He hears your jokes... he hears your laughter...

Kazan falters for just a moment in his rage.

When he sees you... his rage subsides for a mere moment.

The trial continues and even after your sacrifice, Kazan thinks back to you.

Trial after trial, Kazan grows closer to you.

You're spared more often in what you can only assume is respect.

The Oni does listen to your jokes but doesn't laugh.

You see the beast snarl, tilting his head at how you still manage to be in a good mood despite blood caking your body.

He respects your resilience.

Maybe you even cool the rage in his heart?

That's roughly how the beast of rage is tamed by you.

Then the two meet in a trial....

It goes about as well as you imagine.

Steve gets nervous about you, only to sigh when another joke falls from your lips.

Just when he's about to relax he hears the monstrous roar of The Oni.

When the beast rushes over, eyes glowing a bloody red, Steve yanks on your arm.

The Oni notices you and falters like usual...

Until he sees Steve with an arm around you.

Rage once again fuels the monster with a cry.

That's when it's decided Steve is a threat.

The Oni, or Kazan, feels Steve isn't deserving of your praise.

He is no samurai.

He is a coward.

Barely even strong enough to be called a rival.

Steve... doesn't really view The Oni as a rival?

He doesn't care how the beast feels about you or him.

He doesn't want you to die.

Even if death means nothing here, Steve wants you to be happy.

More death would harm that joking spark of yours!

Steve is overprotective and caring, jealous towards other survivors.

But a killer?

He's less jealous and more just concerned for your safety.

Steve could die many times for you.

But he won't let that beast hurt you.

The Oni is the possessive one.

He'd kill thousands, their blood fueling him...

Just to have you in his gaze.

Rivalry is hard to say.

It's more like The Oni wants to have you while Steve is trying to play keep away.

Trials have become harder with this new factor...

In the end you'll have to be with one of them, as death won't keep you apart.

[strawhatsoraya]

hi sunshine! how are you? hope everything’s good and you’re doing fine! sorry if I might sound too cheesy but I absolutely adore the way you write, everything you post I eat it up immediately and the fact that you do this for free? you’re a gift, so I was wondering if you’d like to write this scenario (exclusively if you’re comfortable and interested in doing so) it’s NSFW for shanks with a F!reader (there is just something about him that is so damn attractive) and it’s about her being maybe part of the crew or another pirate (your choice), we know his crew and him are not particularly interested in treasures and money, and I would think the one they have are obtained similarly to what the strawhats do and not by raiding cities, and I would imagine shanks to not be interested in jewelry so he lets his crew take what they want for themselves with the only exception that he always calls dibs on the most gorgeous necklace he can find, the crew knows this and it’s cause he absolutely LOVES to adorn her simply cause he adores her and gift giving is one of his love languages, what they don’t know it’s that what he loves even more is fucking her while she’s wearing nothing but that necklace. that’s it, oh bonus point if you make him like madly, deeply viscerally in love cause I think that man would be the kindest of partners.

Have a wonderful day and do not feel pressured to write this if you simply don’t enjoy it <3

I'm not even going to attempt an apology because there is no apology that could justify me letting this be in my inbox for 7 months. LMAO. I simply just have not been writing as much as I was. I'm hoping to correct that. Please know that it wasn't that I didn't like this idea. I was and am obsessed with it. I'm just mentally unwell~~ lmao.

ANYWAY. HERE IT IS. idk if you're still on tumblr, or long gone, but either way I had fun writing this. Thank you for sending this great idea months and months ago.

SHANKS X FEM READER / NSFW word count: 6.5k (i know i know, but what can I say, it's shanks) content warnings: nudity (duh lol), vaginal penetration, biting, scratching, there's some shower shenanigans, unprotected sex (they are pirates and live dangerously), pretty straightforward, have at it. A SUMMARY: nope.

The truth was, he should have let you go a long time ago. Let you fall to the bottom of the ocean along with all the ships he had sunk, with all the drowned men he had no sympathy for. He should let you go, but you are like the ghost of his arm. On hot humid nights, he wakes up with an itch on a forearm he can’t scratch so he tosses in bed, dreams of you–of the hand he can’t touch you with.

Shanks never cared about treasure, not even in his early youth. He was happier watching his men divvy the spoils among themselves. He’d take their laughter as reward, watch the joy in their faces and know that he had conquered more than just another pirate, more than just another adventure. He had conquered life itself. 

Yet, he thought derisively, he could not conquer you.

But he knew what swayed you. He knew the light in your eyes that’d shine like beacons at the sight of jewels. How broadly you smiled while counting gold coins. He adored that undeniable air of superiority that’d keep your shoulders high when he’d slip ornate gaudy rings over each of your long tapered fingers. Shanks loved the sight of your delicate neck draped in gold chains, although he thought nothing beat the sight of his own fingers wrapped around it.

He hid his obsessions behind his smile. Some that he wasn’t proud of, but then, there was you, sitting on the edge of your bed, smooth legs crossed neatly over each other; his pride hanging by a thread on the curve of your cheek.

Not that he’d ever tell you.

The din outside the bedroom is loud, as it’s bound to be. Two pirate crews getting together, one being mostly composed of men while the other women, was surely to have interesting results. You ignore the shouting, and the cussing, the laughter and the start of badly played music accompanied by badly sung party songs. After all, it wasn’t often you were honored by Shank’s presence. You needed to make sure to take it all in.

Your dark eyes size him up, from the top of his flaming red hair, to the bottom of his feet–sandal clad and characteristic of his blase persona. His size alone was enough to intimidate most but you had him moaning in your ear too many times to count to let the broadness of his shoulders deter you. 

“Fancy seeing you in these waters,” you find the words to speak. They are heavy on your tongue, and sound annoyingly childish to your ears. You hide the urge to grimace by widening your smile. Shanks had the power to make you feel like a schoolgirl; unsure, and giggly and absolutely stir crazy about him. You shake your leg repeatedly, as you toss your hair over your shoulder, your curls suddenly feel suffocating around your heated neck. 

“Did you miss me so much you had to go out of your way?” Your voice is strained and high pitched. You hate it. You want to claw your throat out, but he smiles at you knowingly–as if he could read every stupid thought in your head and suddenly, you want to claw his face out instead. “You shouldn’t have.”

You try to sound light and airy, teasing–maybe even condescending, but your voice is still off. It brings heat to your face. You try to hide your embarrassment by laughing, and turning your head. You cover the lower half of your mouth, and glare at the nearest clothing rack. On it are the latest additions to your wardrobe, expensive silks and slinky low cut attire; everything you could think of that he’d like and never seen on you.

“Is it so hard to believe?” he asks you, his tone friendly and warm. You swallow thickly, unspoken confessions sticking dangerously to the walls of your throat. You think you’re choking. You think you’ll die then, and he stabs the wooden stake right through your heart when he speaks next: “We’re friends after all. Of course I’d miss you.”

That word bleeds into you. It spreads like ice, like venom throughout your being. Friends, because that was the only option among pirates. Friends, because the other choice was enemies–and could two enemies ever fuck like you and him? You suck your teeth and cross and uncross your legs. You adjust your seated position on the bed, while the crowd outside your bedroom continues to get louder. Although you’re avoiding his gaze, you feel it skim over your skin. You feel fire over the slope of your exposed shoulders, feel it over the swell of your breasts. 

Friends did not look at each other the way he did. 

“Well,” you interrupt his thoughts. Shanks blinks as he watches you uncross your legs again. He is mesmerized by the size of your plush thighs. His fingers twitch as he reigns in the impulse to reach out, to grasp one of them tightly. You stand up abruptly. “You have shitty timing, as usual.”

Shanks blinks, before he laughs with a soft shake of his head. “Really?” he asks and points his thumb behind him at the door. “With the party going outside I thought this was as good a time as ever.” 

He approaches you, and you immediately stiffen. Shanks tries not to laugh. In place, he snorts quietly through his nose. His hand reaches for one of your hips. His strong fingers dig into flesh as he brings you flush against him. 

“Come on, Doll,” he murmurs against your cheek. His breath is scalding against your brown skin. It’s like being kissed by the sun. You smell sake in his breath, almost taste the sweetness of it. “I sailed a long way to see you. Don’t you think our reunion should be a little sweeter?”

The slap against his chest is enough to stagger him backwards. You slip out of his space, trying to find your dignity along with your breath. Inside your chest, your heart runs at a neck-breaking pace. 

“Estúpido,” you hiss at him, hands immediately going to your heated cheeks. “I’m not candy. You expect too much,” you tell him, turning your face to raise a brow. You try to read his expression over your shoulder. His hand slips into the pocket of his trousers. “Especially when you come back empty handed.”

“You think so lowly of me,” he complains although he smiles. His hand rummages in his pockets. You hear the clinking of a metal, and your body turns around completely before you can help it. “When have I ever come back empty handed?” As his last words reach you, he pulls out a gold necklace from his pocket. You immediately count eight amethysts beads in various sizes. Wrapped around the necklace is a fine woven chain with gold spears that dangle from the base. 

You approach him, and reach gently with one hand. As you hold a golden spear on your fingers you see the sconce light of your bedroom catch on the tiny little diamonds embedded within. Shanks grins down at you. He sees that light in your eyes and feels a fire in his belly. It breathes life into him. 

“You should have started with that,” you quip, your plush lips pursed together. He is sorely tempted to grab your face and kiss you. He almost puts up a fight. His hand grips your cheeks together, and he lands a noisy peck on your mouth. You resist, so he comes back for seconds and thirds. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” he laughs as you slip away from his grasp, taking the necklace with you. You make a big show of wiping your mouth on the back of your hand. “Oh, see?” he gestures at you, with his brows scrunched up together. “Now you’re just trying to hurt me.”

“You’re a brute,” you snap, tossing your head again, finding your frizzed out curls currently insufferable. It was hair wash day, and Shanks was getting in the way. “Have you even showered?”

At the interrogation, Shank’s gaze shifts from your face to your body. It lingers momentarily on your breasts, before he drags them slowly back up, leaving you breathless. You hiccup. 

“I–” you start, and your bottom lip quivers. Heat pushes you down to the ground, tethering you to the fire in Shanks’ eyes–one that is threatening to quickly consume you. “I was going to shower when you got here. That’s what I meant–”

Shanks steals your thoughts, and your common sense. He invades your space, his hand easily finding the comfort of the small of your back. He rests it there on the top of your ample backside. Sneakily, or at least he thinks so, he squeezes the top of one ass cheek. 

“Is this your way of asking me for help?” He leans forward to press his forehead against yours. “Let me help you. I’m very good at it.” You think, it should humble you, the way he’s lowered himself enough to reach your height. You think, surely, this should be enough, mean enough. That you should not crave what he cannot give; false forevers and promises written in fool’s gold. 

But you’d be a shit pirate if you didn’t dream at least every now and then.

You turn away wordlessly, and he follows quietly behind you. Inside the bathroom, he shadows your movements, his hand placed lightly over yours as you remove your clothing, and you drop the necklace over the pile of clothes. There’s a feral hunger lurking inside you, wanting you to tear his clothes off but you push past it and into the shower. You can’t see him, but you feel him grinning behind you, feel his predatory gaze sizing up your naked body. You close your eyes under the warm water coming out of the shower head, letting it soak your hair and body while you hear Shank’s clothing drop to the floor behind you.

Cleansing your body becomes a complicated task when Shanks is involved. He swears he’s helping as he slips a soapy hand between your legs. You bite your lip as his callouses brush against the sensitive skin of one inner thigh. 

“I have two hands,” you hiss as you swat his hand away. You hear a sharp inhale behind you, and his breathy laughter hot against the back of your neck. 

“All you do is try to hurt me,” he murmurs dramatically. His mouth grazes against your skin, the prickle of his facial hair against the sensitive spot behind one ear is enough to elicit goosebumps all over your body. “Are you showing off that you have two and I only have one?”

You stammer despite yourself. If you could take it all back you could. You hope the steam rising in the shower is enough to hide the color blooming on your cheeks. You turn around and fall into his embrace. Water ripples down the grooves of his chest muscles. They skimper along every ridge of his abdomen. Your hands slither smoothly over them, taking in every inch, and memorizing them until you could see it clearly behind your eyelids. 

“No,” you admit at last. Your hands are on his neck, as you pull him down gently towards your face. “I know you do enough damage with one hand as it is.”

You press your lips against his hoping this would be enough to shut him up. His hand feels like fire on your lower back. He brings you closer to him, pressing you against his pelvis. You feel his cock stir and grow harder against the softness of your lower belly. If there is any doubt left in you, Shanks takes care of it by slipping his tongue inside your mouth. The kiss is feverish, and messy. A slippery sense that is only heightened by the hot water sliding down your face and his. You bury your fingers in his flame colored hair, pulling him even closer against you.

Kissing you like this was clouding his senses. Being a captain of his own crew, placed him in the position of making most of the decisions. Something about the way you touched him, kissed him, looked at him–always made him want to relinquish control.  Still, he preferred to have you in bed, where he could have you at his mercy. Your mouth was hot against his neck, as you lowered your hands over his body. Shanks bites down on his lower lip, as your fingers wrap themselves around the girth of his cock. 

His hand shoots out to grab a handful of your wet curls. 

“Now who’s the one doing damage?” he asks in a whispered growl. 

You look up as he tugs on your hair, and almost wish you hadn't. His swollen lips, the ones you had passionately kissed as if you’d never get to taste him again, made him look disheveled and broken. That paired with the clouded look in his eyes, the heaviness on his eyelids, the slight flush on his cheeks was making your heart ache.

You press your lips together tightly, seeking control.

Your stroke is treacherously slow. You squeeze tightly, enjoying the feel of his thickness inside your hands. His lashes flutter close, and you watch him tilt his face up, watch the water drops slide down the expanse of his thick neck. You continue to stroke the thickness of his shaft, every now and then twisting your hand around the tip of his flushed cock just to hear his breathing hitch–to pretend you have some semblance of control. 

“Feels so good,” a mumbled confession tumbles off his lips. You feel it swim around your head, blurring your vision. It slithers around you, touches you where no man has touched you before. “Keep going. Don’t stop.”

The heat between your legs becomes increasingly hard to ignore. You feel your heart pulsing at the center of you, as an undeniable wetness covers your folds. You reach out with one hand to cup his balls gently. When he murmurs your name, lips parted in silent ecstasy, you know you have to walk away first. 

You remove your hands, but not before dropping a kiss on the middle of his hard and muscular chest. 

“Wait–” he protests, trying to catch you. His large hand touches your cheek but you still turn away.

Water drips to the floor as you leave the shower. You ignore the towels nearby. Instead, you bend over well aware that Shanks was watching your every move. He watches the roundness of your ass intently as you bend over, and he gets a peek of that luscious center of you–that pussy he just can’t get enough of. When you stand up, the necklace is dangling from your slender fingers. He moves towards you, water dripping from his hair and his body to the floor. He reaches out for the necklace but you move quickly away from him.

“You’re being so difficult today,” he observes with amusement. “Not that you’ve ever been easy.”

He has to admit, you were very skilled at putting on jewelry all on your own. Still, he wished he had the privilege this time. Shanks would just have to get his reward in another form. Your naked silhouette walking away from him was surely close to divinity, in his opinion. The way your hips swayed with each step towards the bed was making him dizzy. He watches you even as you climb on the bed, slowly, naked ass in the air drawing him closer. 

He gives in to temptation. As he is prone to do with your companionship. When you turn around, dropping on the bed on your back, you inhale sharply at the look in his eyes; two burning fires determined to consume you.

Shanks moves with purpose. You had always admired the way he’d move so quickly in such a large body, barely making a sound before he would strike. There’s a sense of urgency that touches you gingerly at the base of your neck. Once again, you feel goosebumps scatter across your body.

“I think I’m very easy to deal with, actually,” you counter belatedly. “The picture of angelic behavior. How dare you.” He was making you nervous as he just waited there–kneeling at the edge of the bed. You tried to regulate your breathing as you laid your head on the ample amount of pillows you insisted on having on your bed. Shanks taught it a nuisance so you continued. You’d do anything to get under his skin–and stay there.

Shanks laughs at you as he starts to move. He slithers towards you like a large predatory feline, dark eyes and flaming mane of hair. The muscles of his shoulders ripple with his movements, and you feel your mouth water at the sight. You lick your lips, and swallow loudly. He must have heard you, you think with embarrassment, as a smirk stretches his lips.

“I dare,” he drawls, dragging out his syllables. He slides next to you, sliding his hand over the softness of your belly. “Because I’m the only one who would. You should be grateful,” he continues. You bite down on your lip, careful not to make a sound but your body is a traitor and shivers under the roughness of his hand. “That I’m such a devoted friend.”

There was that damn word again. There is a lump in your throat, bitter, and difficult to swallow. It almost chokes you to death as you push it down.

“Go to hell, Shanks. I don’t need friends like you.”

His laughter wounds you more than it should. You should expect this behavior from him. It was always the same. You parried his honeyed words with sharp remarks. A frail attempt at defending yourself and pretending you had no feelings for this Emperor of the Sea. He acted as if nothing you could say could hurt him, stop him, change his mind.

“Is that right?” he murmurs, his hand drawing slow large circles over your belly. Your legs move on their own. Your brows draw together as they slide apart, knees bending as you wiggle on the silk of your bedsheets. 

“Mmhmm,” you reply. Your response is weak, you know, but your breathing was becoming more ragged the more he touched you. Your heart speeds up when he leans over to drag his mouth against the skin under your belly. You grit your teeth when he bites that same space of flesh gently. “That’s right. I don’t need you, Red-Haired Shanks,” you hiss through clenched teeth. Your hand is in his hair, fingers tangling in crimson locks. “I don’t–” You gasp, thoughts interrupted as Shanks journey moves lower to your pelvis. He kisses one hip, and then the other.

“You were saying?” he asks, a low chuckle dying on the crook of your inner thigh. You close your eyes tightly as the feeling of his hot tongue dips closer towards the center of you. 

He pulls away, grabbing your wrist to untangle your fingers from his hair, as he sits next to you on the edge of the bed. This position makes you feel vulnerable–naked and laying on your back, as he sits up, looking down on you with your wrist still in his hand, both his feet on the floor; grounded.

Yet you couldn’t bring yourself to stop floating up in the sky. The sight of him above you, smirking down at  you victorious made you crave him all the more. 

“I don’t need you to need me either,” Shanks says as he brings your wrist to his lips. He kisses the inside of your wrist gently; once, twice. “As long as you want me. That’s good enough for me.” He pauses to drag his tongue over the inside of your palm. Shanks eyes look down at you, away from where he is pressing your fingers against his mouth. They linger momentarily on your neck, and on the necklace, on your exposed breasts. “The way I want you,” he confesses in a low voice, before dragging his wide tongue up your index finger and plopping it into his mouth.

He sucks on it noisily, and slowly, holding eye contact. You feel close to combusting. Fury, or lust, you’re not sure. All you know is heat, all consuming, scorching, blinding heat. You force your hand out of his grasp, and use it to squeeze his face between your fingers. 

“Shanks!” you hiss, breathing barely regulated. He watches you quietly, eyes dipping occasionally to your heaving chest. He loved the way the necklace looked over your breasts, the way the gold caught the light; how beautiful your skin shone underneath. A smirk begins to form, so you tighten your grip. “How much longer are you going to drag this out?”

There’s a touch of remorse in the back of his mouth; barely sour enough to make him grimace. He looks away from your pleading eyes to your neck, adorned lavishly in the necklace he had brought you. You looked so beautiful and vulnerable. He supposed it was time he did something about that.

“I thought you liked this game,” he mumbles with squished cheeks. Shanks holds your wrist again and pulls until you let him go. His fingers tangle with yours, and he lowers it against the  bed by your head. Your fingers twitch, unfamiliar with this form of intimacy from him. Shanks' face draws closer to yours. You smell his sweet breath, and try not to count every freckle and sun spot on his cheeks like some kind of sentimental idiot. 

“Enough,” you say. Your voice is whiny. You loathe it. “I’ve had enough. You brute. You insensitive–” Shanks cuts you off with a searing kiss. His mouth is forceful against yours. You mumble protests, unwilling to give up control entirely. His hand squeezes yours tighter as he pushes back, nipping at your bottom lip. 

His tongue runs along your bottom lip, your back arches and you finally give in. You wrap your free arm around his shoulders to hold him close to you, savoring in the feel of his tongue inside your mouth. He brushes his tongue against yours, saliva coating both your lips until shiny. He moves to drop light kisses along the shape of your jaw. His next route of conquest is your neck, and you wince at his greediness–the way he’s sucking without a care in the world, as if he wants nothing more than to mar your skin for everyone to see what he has done.

He moves quickly, releasing your hand. You gasp when Shanks adjusts himself behind you in bed, face immediately burying itself on the side of your neck.

“Stay still, Doll,” he mumbles against your ear. Another shiver takes over your body when he takes your earlobe in his mouth. “I’m just trying to get a good feel for you. It’s been so long, after all.” He murmurs all of this against your ear, his breath hot and moist making you hyper aware of all his movements; the way his chest pushes against your back, how he lets go of the breast he was kneading to allow his thick fingers to traverse lightly over the side of your torso.

He continues until he is over your hip. He moves against your ass, pressing his erection against you. You hum lightly, enjoying the feeling of him–how thick and large he seems. There’s a ridiculous sense of pride swelling inside you for being the reason for his arousal; you, of all the seas he has traveled and conquered, it is you at this moment and no one else. His hand hovers over one ass cheek before he’s gripping it, gently massaging and spreading you open.

A brow rises high on your forehead. Before you can question him, Shanks makes a decisive move. He slides his cock between your ass cheeks, thrusting his hips gently to stroke himself between them. His breath comes out in puffs against the back of your neck with every slow thrust. You feel his precum smearing itself on your crack. It is a strange sensation, and you are ashamed to acknowledge how aroused you are at feeling him in a place he’s never explored before.

“Shanks,” you breathe out shakily. “Is this enough for you?”

He doesn’t answer you immediately, caught up in the lewd sight of his cock sandwiched in your voluminous and juicy ass. His breathing is ragged, chest burning from repressed lust. Seeing you–being with you–was not a common occurrence. The last thing he wanted to do was rush through this and forget to touch you, kiss you, in a spot he had planned–in a way he had fantasized about over and over.

“For now,” he grunts against your shoulder, biting and licking soon after. “Just give me a moment. I’ll take care of you too.”

You press your head back against him, exposing your neck to him. Shanks takes the invitation wordlessly, kissing and biting up your neck as he continues to slide his cock between your cheeks. His moans are soft, barely audible, but you feel the rumbling in his chest against your back every time he does. It makes you hotter, wetter. You sigh, desperate to feel him towards the center of you. You bring his hand around to your waist, slowly sliding his hand up your belly until it reaches the bottom of one breast. 

Shanks smiles against your shoulder, where he bites down once more, eliciting a moan from you. “I know, Doll,” he mumbles, reaching for your breast as you had wordlessly requested. “You need more, don’t you? Always so needy. Always needing more,” his breath is hotter than your skin at the moment. It bounces off of it, as he twists your nipple between calloused fingers. You bite back another moan. “You’re never satisfied, but what can I say?” He pulls at your nipple harshly, making you cry out. “That’s what I like about you.”

He slips out from between your cheeks. You start to protest when he releases your breast. Shanks sucks his teeth, trying to silence you. 

“I said I’d take care of you, sweetheart,” he mumbles against your ear, using his hand to lift one of your thick thighs. “You need to trust me more.” You help him without thinking, keeping your legs open while he slips his cock between them. His hardness is pressed against your soaking pussy. Your folds are slippery against his length. You hear him grunt softly against your ear, his breathing irregular as he stays very still. You chuckle, aware that he’s stalling–buying himself time.

Shanks loved a long game. He hated to cut things short.

Yet, like you, sometimes he was impatient. He moves shortly after, thrusting between your legs. It starts slow enough, his breath coming in short puffs hot against your ear. You reach behind you to grasp his hip. He rocks into you as you gasp, enjoying how thick he felt against your pussy, how the tip of his cock–mushroom tipped and meaty–would rub against your clit just right at certain angles. You reach further back, twisting your body, to grab a handful of his hard ass.

“Come on,” you goad him, finding it hard to think much less speak. “Touch me where it feels good.” Shanks laughs against your shoulder, and bites down over a blooming bruise. Your moan is high pitched as you try to reign it back. Although the party seems to continue outside the room, you don’t want to run the risk of your own crew hearing you moan. 

“Don’t hold back,” he tells you, licking the teeth marks he left behind on your brown skin. “I’ve come a long way, you know. The least you can do is let me hear you fall apart.”

You grit your teeth, as heat wraps itself around your head. Your eyes sting from embarrassment, and what’s worse, is that you feel yourself dripping all over his cock, coating it in your arousal. You’re well aware he feels it too. It can be the only reason he picks up the speed, a throaty laugh echoing in the room. 

In an effort to even out the playing field, you reach between your legs and grab the tip of his cock. You hear him gasp next to your ear as you guide his tip to your clit.

“I said here,” you repeat, rocking your hips so you can rub your clit against the tip of his cock. “This is where I want to feel you.” Your toes curl at the sensation, at how pleasure seeps deep into you, tightening with intensity at every rock of your hips. Shanks stills his movements, and presses his pelvis tightly against your ass. Your whines drive him to the brink of madness. He feels them inside him, tightening around him, pulling at his navel filling him with pleasure. His eyes shut close as he lets you take control–or lose it, he’s not sure. You seem delirious as you chase your orgasm, rocking on his cock as if your life depended on it.

Your juices coat his shaft, and he feels them slip lower, trickling down his balls. He pulls you even closer with his arm wrapped tightly around your waist.

“Go on, Doll,” he encourages you, his voice low and seductive as it breaks through your higher pitched moans. “Take it if you think it belongs to you. Take what you think is yours.”

You gasp as your ecstasy builds, your back arching as your hips stutter. You lose rhythm but it doesn’t matter, your orgasm swallows you whole. You reach out behind you blindly, your nails digging into his hair, scratching his scalp. You hear Shanks hiss as you cry out. He bites the top of your ear, and follows it down to your earlobe, to lose himself inside the crook of your neck, nuzzling your skin past the necklace. There’s plenty of reminders there–ones he had carefully left behind, but he figures a few more could never hurt. After all, you’re apart so often, he fears you’d soon forget how it feels to be desired and consumed by his affections.

You’re panting, barely coming down from your orgasm when you feel Shanks moving between your legs. His fingers rifle through your folds, enjoying the silky sensation of your cum around his fingers. You mumble something he can’t quite grasp as he tentatively inserts a finger inside you.

“Shanks!” you cry out, panting, eyes barely focused. “Hang on. Gimme a second.” He chuckles next to your ear, curving his finger slightly; searching. You bite your lip to keep from whimpering.

“I gave you plenty of seconds,” he says softly, playfully–as if he was singing. “You had your fun. I want to have some too.” You tremble in his embrace as he inserts another finger, and starts scissoring them inside you. You know he’d be annoyed, as you stay as quiet as possible, but you want to hear the way his fingers squelch when they go in and out of you. You want to hear him panting, the little soft moans that puff past his swollen lips. You want to feel him digging into your ass with his hips, feel his leaky cock on your skin.

“You’re doing it again,” he chastises as he pulls his fingers out. You gasp at the empty feeling, immediately craving him as soon as he’s gone. “I guess my fingers aren’t enough, huh?”

You swallow thickly, and move your hips testily, wiggling your ass against his erection. The look you give him over your shoulder is seductive enough to threaten to blow his head wide open. 

“If you know that then why don’t you hurry up and put it in?” you mumble breathlessly. You’re breathing so loudly, Shanks swears he can hear you panting inside his head; over and over. “Or do I need to help you with that too?”

Shanks resists the urge to laugh. He scoffs instead, a tinge of embarrassment weighing heavily on his face. He didn’t need your help period when it came down to pleasing you. Your assumption was daring, and insulting. Perhaps he should teach you a lesson–a good one–before he leaves again. Shanks uses his free hand to guide his cock towards your entrance. He swirls the tip around your opening, watching gleefully as you wiggle your hips, trying to get him to slip inside you.

“Impatient as usual,” he remarks, a broad grin as he avoids your entrance again, choosing to slide his tip up and down between your folds instead. “Good things come to those who wait. Ever heard of it?”

“Your English sayings mean nothing to me,” you mumble, despite understanding fully well what he was saying. You turn your head, trying to glare at him over your shoulder as best as you could while he was still busy teasing you with his cock. You shiver as you speak: “What about ‘el que tiene tienda que la atienda’? Ever heard of that one?”

Shanks chuckles again, kissing your ear, and your temple. He lets his mouth linger there as he presses his tip against your entrance. You breathe in a gasp, full to the brim with expectation.

“You’re right, never heard of it,” he mumbles against your skin as he pushes forward, sinking into you slowly. You moan softly, it rumbles at the bottom of your throat, and drops into the pit of your belly where it starts a fire. “You should teach me more. What does it mean?”

Your brain can barely comprehend his words. All you can think of, all you feel, is Shanks cock moving inside you, you feel his body behind yours, his strong arm wrapping around your waist. All you can smell is his breath on your skin, all you can feel is the heat his kisses leave behind.

“So?” he asks you again, moving his hips slowly as he lets you adjust around his girth. “You won’t tell me?” Your gasp is ragged, little jitters shaking your body with pleasure. Shanks was no small man, and this was not even close to your first time with him, but he always took you by surprise. Not that you’d ever back down and admit defeat.

“Gimme a sec,” you spit through clenched teeth. He begins thrusting into you, picking up the pace without another word. His pelvis slaps into your ass, making a loud sound as skin hits skin. His balls feel heavy against your swollen pussy. “I said–gimme a damn…” You moan loudly, and press your head against his chest. Shanks smiles and cranes his neck to kiss your cheek. 

“Take your time,” he grunts in between thrusts. You shut your eyes tightly, trying to keep from crying out but as usual, he reaches deep inside you, to the spongy spot that makes you fall apart. You gasp loudly, pants becoming closer and closer together. Shanks slides his hand from your belly to your breast. He grips it tightly, kneading, as he sucks on your neck, his fingers expertly finding your perky nipples.

They were already sore and sensitive from his earlier teasing, now, you could barely resist him.

You cry out, feeling control slip right past your fingers. 

“W-wait!” you beg, kicking your legs impulsively. Shanks lets go of your breast to pin it down, as he continues fucking you from behind. He squeezes your legs together, creating an even tighter sensation as he thrusts in and out of you. You whimper, and shake, eyes unfocused as pleasure pools at the center of you. Your pussy throbs and aches. Shanks can’t help but grin at the way your pussy squelches every time he moves. You’re dripping so much he feels your sweet juices down to his balls. 

“I’ve been waiting,” he says through gritted teeth but you don’t respond. He looks over at your face quickly, and realizes with glee that you won’t be telling him anything soon. Your hair still wet, is disheveled and tangled, partially sticking to your flushed face. Your cheeks glow under the scone lights, brown and warm and enticing. Your eyes are blown wide, lips glossy and swollen from all the kissing. On your neck and chest he can see bruises blooming already, only made all the prettier by the necklace hanging from your neck and over your breasts.

You look devoured, glorified and an absolute mess. Just the way he likes you. 

“Are you gonna cum for me?” he asks you, his breath scalding against your cheek. His hand is clamped tightly on your thigh, keeping your legs tightly together. “You’ll cum for me, right, Doll? After all, I came all the way here to see your pretty face. To give you one of the necklaces you love so much. To give you all of this,” he says with a violent thrust. “Because I know how much you love it.”

You reach behind you blindly, savagely, your arm grasping his upper arm. You scratch his skin with your nails as you continuously cry out, the tip of his cock hitting your cervix almost painfully. You reach out again, his hip, his ass, a part of his shoulder. You know you’re not being kind, your nails digging deep to leave your mark, but you have lost your grip on reason.

You cry out his name when you cum, twisting, and shivering under his embrace. Shanks holds you tightly, not stopping his hips. He continues to fuck into you, grunting louder and louder. He moans your name against your neck, as you feel him stiffen. His hips stutter, as he spills into you, losing sense of rhythm. Your body is too sore, and your mind too fuzzy for you to care about him cumming inside you. 

Normally, you’d chew him out for it, but you had lost your fight the moment he shoved his cock in your pussy.

“Hey,” he drawls, licking the shell of your ear. You shudder, eyes fluttering close as your body feels heavier and heavier. You could fall asleep right there, if you really wanted to, covered in his scent, full of his cum and so spent. “You haven’t told me yet what it means.”

You somehow find the strength to laugh lightly. 

“It means if you’re not here to fuck me, somebody else will be,” you reply, looking up over your shoulder at him with heavy lidded eyes. Shanks gasps dramatically and drops a gentle kiss on the tip of your nose.

“See? All you try to do is hurt me,” he whispers with a crooked smile. You reach up with one hand to cup his cheek and bring him closer to your mouth. You rest your lips just over his.

“And you like it too,” you tell him before kissing him once more.

[13agota]

Here's a tiny little ficlet because I have nothing better to do with my Sunday except ignore research PowerPoints and precharting. It didn't fit in any other longer form stories, but I still like the idea, so it's landing on Tumblr. SFW (for once)!

-

Kaz leans his back against the dirty brick wall. They've stopped next to a light fixture and it's brighter than he's comfortable with. He turns his head so the brim of his hat will shade his face.

Inej's hood shields her features from the eyes of the few passerbys as she notes the crags in the alley walls. She confirms she'll be able to climb them for a job later this week.

When Inej turns back to him, the light clearly illuminates her face as it emerges from the cave of her hood. Her eyes are gleaming. Two glossy shards of amber that twinkle in the light of the streetlamp's flame.

Kaz knows that look. She wants to try.

A tilt of his head is all the permission she needs, and her lips meet his.

It's both a small thing and it's not. They've worked up to this point for months. These days they can manage a kiss in the street as if it's never left then shaking on opposite ends of a room. It feels like nothing short of a miracle, though Kaz acknowledges he has no business being involved with anything of the sort.

Inej leans into it, and Kaz squeezes the crow head of his cane to keep from touching her waist.

It's not smart to do this in public. Two people canoodling against a wall at this hour hardly earns the batting of an eyelash, but if they're recognized, it's too much risk. The night is about as deep as it gets and people are starting to get sloppy, but he doesn't need anyone spotting the two of them in what is technically Razorgull territory. Even as his lips part for her, he tracks a reveler as he stumbles over the cobblestones.

Inej pulls back. "Distracted?" she says, though there's still mirth in her eyes.

"This streetlamp is bright. I'd hate for any familiar faces to find us in this neighborhood," he says as he peers around the corner behind him. The light cuts a shadow, obscuring the alleyway to their side in a wedge of blackness. He can't make out any movement there, and it's completely silent. Probably fine.

"You'd prefer somewhere less visible?" She asks.

"I'd prefer somewhere where only your Saints can see us."

"I could request a shady corner for us," she says, fitting her hips against his. "Should be easy enough in a place like Ketterdam for my Saints to arrange."

His gloved hand flutters instinctively to the curve of her back. He still isn't sure why she lets him to touch her like this. In dreams he leaves a black, tar-like substance on her skin, marring her shine. He wonders when she'll finally come to her senses and put an end to the way he stains her. On the days when the guilt gets strong enough, he hopes it's before his black heart swallows her whole.

"I suspect they wouldn't approve of Dirtyhands smothering their most treasured beacon of righteousness in the dark," he says.

A smirk tugs her pretty mouth. She side-eyes him, like he's missing something he should really know better by now.

"I'm the Wraith, remember?" she says. "The dark is my home. It belongs to me." And then she presses her lips to his again. Tugging on his waistcoat, she pulls him into the alley, over the shadowy threshold and into the dark.

[princessfbi]

Tumblr Fandom: A Year in Review 2023

Tagged by @mistmarauder and @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels which is both thrilling and terrifying...

Top Five Blorbos: Evan Buckley, Eddie Diaz, Maddie Buckley, Clint Barton, and Carter Bennett

Top Five Fandoms: 9-1-1, RWRB, A Discovery of Witches, does hockey count? idk it's been a strike year, and Green Creek Series

Top Five OTPs: Buddie, WinterHawk, Matthew/Diana, Grantaire/Enjolras, FirstPrince

Shoutout to Some New Friends: @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels sorry you're stuck with me now. I'm going to shower you in so much love and support and affection and there's nothing you can do to stop me BROHAHAHAHAHA. @skyhighrollins911 you're so talented it's ridiculous. @mistmarauder I feel like we've past the new friends stage but I also feel like we've gotten so much closer this year and I'm forever grateful for it. You're brighten my day every time I hear from you even when you're bullying me. Also I hate to break it to you but you do so much for this fandom it's insane.

Shoutout to Some Old Friends: @homerforsure and @mellaithwen you guys have picked me up so many times. I don't know where I'd be without you. @buddie-buddie you are my ride or die. I'm sorry to say this but not even a divorce attorney could get rid of me now. @lovebuck you were one of my first friends in this whole crazy internet world I found and look at us! @bigfootsmom you are a beacon of joy every message I get from you. Thanks for letting me talk kinky with you 😜 @like-the-rest-of-la I'm obsessed with you. I'm sorry I don't make the rules. @djdangerlove you are the light of my life you ridiculous person. You bring so much joy and laughter to every corner you grace with your presence and I'm gonna move into your apartment one day when you're at work and you won't be able to get rid of me. Sorry not sorry.

Favorite Creation You Posted This Year: Ohhhhhh maybe my fic I wrote for @buddie-buddie's birthday. Also Kink Club AU because it's one of my most nuanced pieces and Traded for being a new type of fic for me with the multimedia parts.

Favorite Creation Posted by Someone Else This Year: @like-the-rest-of-la amazes me every day as does @mistmarauder and while I have your attention have you gotten a chance to see/listen to the podfic they collaborated together to bring you [Podfic] If I Risk It All (Could You Break My Fall?) because not a day goes by that I don't listen to it/look at the cover. Also @skyhighrollins911 destroys me with all their new edits. we will find a way (through the dark) by @buddie-buddie nearly drove me insane and had me running out to the yard to scream like a banshee.

People Who Brightened Your Year: @buddie-buddie and @homerforsure know exactly how to make me smile when I need it. I still fangirl about @mistmarauder but the fact that she picked my fic to podfic? With @like-the-rest-of-la who I still cannot believe just casually drew Spiderman!Eddie kissing Hawkeye!Buck? Fainted. I fainted. @djdangerlove you are ridiculous and I love you. @mandzuking17 and @thebestbooksaround and @fleurdebeton thank you for sending me so many wonderful asks. @firemedicdiaz thank you for getting me through that rough patch I had this spring and constantly being so supportive! @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels thank you for putting up with me being such a goof. @barbiediaz Thank you for agreeing with me that we have the most correct opinions.

Anyone Else You'd Like to Mention: Thank you to everyone who comes to my inbox with their love and enthusiasm! Thank you to all my readers! Thank you everyone who has welcomed me and embraced me and supported me as I work myself into knots while trying to do something I love (write).

Five of Your Favorite Authors This Year: @buddie-buddie @homerforsure @devirnis @bigfootsmom @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels @mellaithwen @barbiediaz

Five of Your Favorite Artists/Gifmakers/Podficcers/Etc. This Year: @mistmarauder @like-the-rest-of-la @bucksketch @djdangerlove @skyhighrollins911 @ronordmann @bilosan @housewifebuck @captain-hen @baneme-art @kaciart @iinryer @paxdracona @bigfootsmom @starbuckley @mellaithwen

Three Things You're Looking Forward to in 2024: Season 7 of 911!!!!! Jean's book from AFTG! Anddddd.... getting back in the querying trenches.

I'm going to tag everyone I've mentioned above who hasn't done it yet!

[samwinchestersbf]

{ The Ghost of Beacon }

Chapter 1. "Do you really believe in ghosts?"

A RWBY x reader

warnings: small language, maybe ooc?

small authors note: I just created this idea on a whim, I am open to criticism. The gender neutral reader will be using they/them so anyone is welcomed to read. I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors in advance, I also have a small concept on how tumblr works beware! Please enjoy :) More chapters to come. (This takes place along with the original storyline with a few tweaks. I might toss in some romance when the time comes but who knows.)

Short Summary: The ghost of Beacon was thought to be a legend however with the recent spikes of activity, the school has grown unsure. The students with no idea of the story behind it all have determination to find out...

Reblogs are appreciated!!<3

WHY IS IT KINDA LONG OML SORRY 🙏

At first it was...difficult to come to terms with your death in the first couple of years. It's not like anyone noticed anyways, with all the speculation and lies.

Your days passed by very quick to say the least, you grew bored of it all. You craved to have fun if you were going to be a ghost trapped forever, right? Especially with new fresh students coming in.

Now here you were, amongst them all without their knowledge. These new students definitely piqued your interest, as did the last ones but there was something about them. You couldn't put your finger on it, perhaps it was just their behavior so you brushed it off.

You were too stuck in your thoughts to hear the headmaster's speech, along with his colleague. "Are there any questions?" He asked smoothly before taking another sip from his mug.

"Yeah...uhm sir?" You turned your attention to the timid blonde boy before he was cut off. "Good! Now take your positions." You let out a simple laugh and observed the group of teens ready themselves, the boy not aware of what was about to happen. "Uh sir...I've got a question" He still raised his hand.

Students were being flung into the air and he was still on rambling with his question as Professor Ozpin answered calmly. You walked over to him, "Good luck" You whispered into his ear before he was being launched at full force.

"My bets are on the energetic redhead" You tried to joke before realizing again no one can hear your remarks. You watched the collective group in the air, giggling a bit to yourself.

Professor Oz and Glynda pulling out their scrolls to watch on the surveillance system. "Hey! Let me get a peek" You tried to watch over Glynda's shoulder, she let out a little shiver. "Sorry, just let me see real quick" You attempted to take it before the tablet swung out of her grasp, her eyes widening.

You were able to see the students landing strategies before she scoffed, picking up the tablet from the ground. "Slippery fingers I see." Ozpin let out his own remark. "Oh shush, I don't even know how that happened." Her tone a little irritated. She walked off to go somewhere more private to observe.

You were a little shocked to say the least from your power. You didn't know you could do that? You decided to try again on the headmaster, you swatted at his mug, yet nothing happened. "Maybe if I- aha!" You hit the mug as he was about to take a sip, a majority of the drink spilling on him, before the mug took a tumble to the ground.

Glynda looked over her shoulder as she was walking away, "Now you've got slippery fingers" She mocked him, he seemed amused with his furrowed eyebrows. He glanced down at the mess, "Ignore that please." You bursted out in a laughing fit, feeling satisfied you now have the power over objects.

You recovered from your prank, thinking about it more now. If you were a stereotypical ghost, you could do much more than that. You could possibly try light tricks or even talking to someone finally. You yearned for conversation, sure you loved to be alone but you wished deep down for someone to hear your opinions and jokes.

You just wanted someone to know you were there, you wanted to be noticed.

You stood there, ruminating to yourself. It's not like Ozpin could see you, if anything he thought he was alone.

Soon enough Glynda spoke up again after quite some time, walking up to him. "Our last pair has been formed sir," She continued on swiping the scroll to a different perspective. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren...poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along." You peered over her shoulder watching Nora be quite silly.

"They seem alright to me." You muttered, Glynda turned to Ozpin. "What did you say?" He looked up from his scroll, a look of confusion on his face. "I didn't say anything." He cocked an eyebrow before Glynda returned back to watching with a small eye roll following. So you could talk to people, if you really tried of course.

"But still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos." Ozpin replied with a small hum. "I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat."

You wondered for a bit, it was possible to forge your way into any academy. You've seen it happen before besides no school is perfect.

Glynda put away her scroll, "I guess we'll find out soon enough" which in this case meant they were going to be finishing soon, you did want to test tricks on the new students. It'll maybe finally give you your own entertainment instead of listening and watching.

The collected woman walked off yet again, "At their current pace they should reach the temple just in a few minutes." She turned a little, she was truly a professional woman. As if you always knew that's who she's always been.

"Speaking of which; what did you use as relics this year?" She turned her full attention to him and called out his name again. He seemed too focused on his scroll, watching the kids from earlier have an argument. You believe he heard her because all he let out was another responsive hum.

He always did this, his little hums. Anyone was lucky if they had a full conversation with him.

All of a sudden you started to feel an intense pain in your stomach and throat, if ghosts could even feel a phantom kind of pain. You fell to your knees, trying to scream for help except not a single word came out. You coughed into your hand, pulling away to see your transparent hand stained with blood.

Get up. Get up. Get up

You blacked out and went dormant before waking up in a new scenery. You were in the academy now? You were still on the ground and quickly returning on your feet. An overwhelming confusion as you finally calmed down, realizing the pain beforehand was completely gone.

You woke up in that secluded spot you would go to clear your mind, a special place to your heart. It was dark outside and you could hear a faint commotion of people down the corridor.

You walked down there, walking through the door as you saw a sea of people surrounding the stage with four new students and Professor Ozpin. Everything must be over now, he's giving the new teams publicly.

"Oh shit, I missed all the fun." You sighed in defeat, still trying to figure out how that could've happened. You listened to Ozpin, making your way through the people to hop on stage.

"Looks like things are shaping out to be an...interesting year" He turned around, walking right through you. "Ow! You know that hurts right?" You hissed holding your stomach but he didn't notice.

He entered off stage as the girls and crowd cheered. You were obviously quick to follow right behind him.

He exited the room, Glynda waiting outside for him to talk to him. "I want to talk about what happened earlier today." He stopped in his tracks, and looked down at her. "Earlier?" He questioned before she took a breath in, "Earlier today, what happened wasn't ordinary. Stuff just doesn't come flying out of our hands and there wasn't any wind if I recall."

He raised an eyebrow before clicking his tounge to speak. "Yes that was quite odd but-" he was going to dismiss it all before a couple of students came to talk to him, surrounding him and Glynda. He politely answered some of their questions.

You saw the new team RWBY come out of the room, they seem to be having fun so you decided to follow them. They were chatting and walking to their brand new dorm.

After a while they finally made it there and you decided it was time to do what you originally wanted to do. Everyone was about to head to bed anyways so it was perfect for you.

The students said their goodnights to each other and were fast to fall asleep, now was the time to strike.

You went to team JNPR's dorm, knocking on their door and frantically shaking the door handle. "I'm coming..." Jaune's tired voice croaked before opening the door to absolutely nothing.

"Oh?" He looked down the halls with no sign of people whatsoever.

You decided to do it again every random hour of the night and you would follow him all day tomorrow to torment him.

The next morning he came off as very tired, explaining what happened and how no one has that much dedication to a joke like that. He believed it was a ghost, he was practically accusing you without knowing your name.

"Jaune cmon, maybe you were just restless all night from homesickness" Nora commented, she definitely had a heavy sleep effortlessly. Her friend Lie Ren was meditating on his bed.

He snapped his eyes open and whipped his head, drawing his teammates attention. He glared down where you were standing specifically, he must be able to tell you're there. He stopped before realizing he couldn't see you and apologized to them, "I thought I could sense something.."

Nora tilted her head and questioned the situation to the two boys "Do you really believe in ghosts?"

Jaune nodded desperately, "If it wasn't a ghost then it was most likely a student" Pyrrha suggested. "No it wasn't, I would've caught them!" Jaune rubbed his eyes, you did feel a little sorry.

"Then you should talk to Professor Ozpin about it later today" Ren replied, he was back to his calm meditation. The rest of the team agreed before you all heard team RWBY speeding out of their dormitory.

The four kids peeked out, falling onto the ground and catching up with the other team.

Hopefully this year would be interesting.

[iamembarrased]

I. Trapped in Amber

Introductions

Tags: Hazbin Hotel, original female character, Mute oc, minor violence

Notes: soon to be AlastorxOC, posting this so hopefully I can focus on writing my actual book and not fanfic 😅 not used to posting on tumblr, let me know if I need to add certain tags!

【1st Chapter】 【2nd Chapter】 【3rd Chapter】

【★】

The Hazbin Hotel stood out like a sore thumb in the outskirts of Pentagram City, no one usually paid any mind to it as it belonged to the delusional princess and her strange idea of a rehab center for sinners. Anyone who dared to threaten her could face the wrath of the King himself Lucifer, so as a precaution, no one ever bothered her.

One particular soul looked to the hotel as if it were a beacon, a symbol of hope, an escape from the city, somewhere she could take refuge, and her last resort.

The bat demon couched under a tarp, hidden atop a pawn shop in Pentagram City. The light of the hotel shone through a hole in the tarp and cast a glow over her large amber colored eyes.

After a few moments of staring and listening, the bat demon quickly darted from under the tarp, spread her wings, and leaped off the roof down to the dark and grungy alley below. Just before reaching the pavement, she tossed her watch and phone, landing directly on the devices with her heels.

For good measure, she stomped on both multiple times. When she was satisfied, she scooped up the remnants and scattered the parts in the nearest dumpster, dusting her hands of it easily.

Spreading her wings again the bat demon took off with one destination in mind, she couldn’t believe she was going to grovel to a princess who preaches and sings about redemption, but she had no other options. She can play nice if it meant she can hide under the protection of royalty, she wondered why no one else had thought of this yet aside from Valentino’s porn star and the snake demon that was supposed to be a spy.

All she had to do was smile and nod.

Smile and nod.

When she reached the front doors, she wondered if she was supposed to knock. It is a hotel. No one knocks at a hotel, but this feels different. Her watch before she crushed it said it was 6PM. What time did their lobby close?

The princess’s song on the news didn’t give any instruction.

The bat demon quickly ran her hand through her long pale white hair, readjusted the amber colored feather quill she had tucked behind her large bat ears, and dusted her long red dress, ensuring she was as presentable as a sinner could be.

With a deep breath she raised a hand and knocked.

And waitied.

Just as she was about to open the door she was face to face with the porn star, Angel Dust. Well, face to sternum as Angel towered over her.

”Who’re you?”

The bat demon blinked. She didn’t know why she expected something different, like a butler or bellboy, to take her coat and usher her inside. Of what she’s heard, Angel isn’t their bellboy.

”You, uh, gonna say somthin’?”

The bat demon grabbed the sides of her dress and dipped into a polite curtsey. She should have come prepared for this, though thinking back she didn’t have a lot of time to do anything, this was very much a last-minute decision, a now or never situation.

”Okay…” Angel Dust glanced inside and shrugged. “Uh, so, are you here to see Charlie, or…”

”Wait!” A cheery voice echoed from deeper inside. The sounds of rapid footsteps followed her voice. “Someone for me? Is it a newcomer?”

Angel Dust was promptly pushed to the side as the Princess of Hell herself bulldozed right through him to beam at the bat demon. One could say there were stars in her eyes.

”Oh my gosh, is this - are you - are you-” The princess couldn’t keep her excitement together. She took a deep breath. ”Are-you-here-to-be-a-part-of-my-hotel?” The princess blurted the words so quick her words almost became a jumble of syllables.

The bat demon smiled wide and nodded. As she dipped to another curtsey, she found her feet had left the ground, the princess had grabbed her arm and whisked her inside without a moment's notice. Angel groaned and shut the door behind them.

”Everyone! Everyone!” The princess nearly screamed, placing the newcomer in the center of the empty foyer. “We did it! It worked! We have our first guest at the hotel!”

The bat demon thought the princess was going to hyperventilate. She looked around briefly, noting the smell of dust and the echo the princesses voice made across the empty hotel.

“Wait, are you serious?” A voice called out.

”Fresh meat!” Said a small, high pitched voice.

”Wait, wait, wait. First guest?” Angel Dust scoffed. “What am I, chopped liver?”

”You could be!” The small voice chimed in again.

”Firssst?” Another voice called. “You sssaid I wasss the firssst!”

“You both know what I mean! Plus, Ser Pentious, you only came here to spy on us at first. But her! Our first guest that isn’t a spy!”

The bat demon raised an eyebrow, wondering if the princess seriously ruled her out as being a spy in the first minute of seeing her. How did she grow up in Hell and come out like this?

”Woah woah woah.” Another person approached the princess, a shorter, pale haired young woman. “Slow down there, hon. We don’t even know her name.”

”Ohmygosh, you’re right! How rude of me I can’t believe I haven’t asked yet!” The princess finally looked at the bat demon instead of looking at the prospect of a new guest. “I’m Charlie, Princess of Hell and the owner of the Hazbin Hotel!” Charlie opened her arms wide as if to gloat about the ‘wonderful’ hotel around her. The bat demon couldn’t help but notice the place looked a little run down. “So, what’s your name?”

The bat demon reached in to her coat pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment paper.

”Uh, did you forget, or…” Angel Dust mumbled.

The demon pulled the feather quill from her hair and wrote on the paper with glittering gold ink, her penmanship remarkable with serifs, spirals, and not one crooked or misplaced letter. Once she was done writing, she displayed the parchment for all to see.

“Ambergris, Amber for short.” Charlie read the note out loud, she hummed. “So… I appreciate the formality but you can talk, I’m not that kind of royalty.”

Amber’s smile lowered a bit and she shook her head.

”No?”

The one with the pale hair hummed. “Are you not able to talk?”

Amber nodded.

”That’s okay, we can learn sign language as a group!” Charlie smiled wide. “Inclusion means to care for others and will lead everyone down the path to redemption!”

Amber already started to regret coming here. She had hoped the preaching would have waited for at least ten more minutes. She doesn’t even know sign language, only a few select words.

”But first! This is my girlfriend Vaggie-“ Charlie gestured to the one with the pale hair, Vaggie waved casually. “This is Angel Dust-“ She pointed to where he was only to find he had wandered to the bar. “That’s our bartender, Husker!”

The bartender had his head firmly planted on the bar. He didn’t respond to his name being called.

"That's Ser Pentious, our first- um, second guest."

Ser Pentious kept his distance, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously from a distance.

”That’s Niffty, our maid!”

Although Charlie pointed across the room the small demon raced up to them with intense speed, she climbed up Charlie’s leg and stood on her shoulder, her one eye scanning Amber rapidly. “Isn’t Ambergris whale poop? You don’t look like whale poop.”

Angel Dust’s laughs echoed across the hall. Husker didn't react or move to his sudden laughter.

”You kinda look like a bug. Are you?” Without giving her a chance to answer, Niffty pulled out a needle that looked half her size. “ARE YOU?”

Amber felt a presence behind her. The pressure in the air changed, and she felt internally that something extremely dangerous had manifested. The presence almost sounded like… static.

Amber gathered all her strength to not flinch or react to whoever or whatever manifested just inches behind her.

”Oh, Niffty!” A new voice called. This one sounded like it had an old radio filter applied over it. The voice came from directly behind Amber from the dangerous presence she sensed. “We can’t go around stabbing our guests. What would the papers say? Let’s leave the stabbing for the roaches, dear.”

Niffty giggled. “You got it, sir!” And without another word, Niffty sprinted away with lightning speed, maniacally giggling as she left.

”I do apologize for being late, how rude of me! I almost missed welcoming our new guest!”

Amber turned around to face the demon behind her. She had to step back and look up to meet his red eyes and yellow toothed smile. She grabbed the edges of her dress and curtseyed again.

”This is Ambergris, Amber for short.” Charlie said. “She’s our newest guest! Can you believe it? A new guest! Here!”

As Charlie continued rambling the tall red demon bowed. “Charmed to meet you, how do you do?”

Amber smiled wide and nodded once.

The tall red demon cocked his head unnaturally at a ninety-degree angle. ”How quaint. Not much of a talker, are you?”

”She’s mute, I think.” Vaggie responded, her attention quickly brought to Charlie as she had now started pacing in circles and naming all the lesson plans she’ll have to change and create now that they have someone that can not talk.

“Well that’s fine, we have enough chatterboxes in this hotel anyway.” The demon shrugged. He straightened his neck and extended a hand. “I’m Alastor, the facility manager of the hotel. Perhaps you may have heard of me from my radio broadcasts?”

Amber’s blood ran cold. Charlie never mentioned the Radio Demon was working here when she was singing on the news.

It had been seven years since he’s been seen around hell. It has also been eight years since a particular scream joined his broadcasts. Amber took pleasure in listening for those wails amongst all the others, spending many afternoons just listening to the channel that hosted the screams. She has him to thank for taking down the cruel overlord that owned her soul back then.

Amber nodded with an excited smile. She extended her hand.

”Oh, how delightful!” Alastor shook her hand roughly, excitement in his eyes as he got his recognition. “You have no idea how uncultured demons are these days, always focusing on those clunky picture boxes, melting their brains and wasting away their attention span.”

“OKAY!” Charlie had finished panicking about her dilemma and returned her attention to Amber. “How about Alastor and I give you a tour!”

“What a splendid idea!” Alastor procured his microphone staff and gestured deeper into the hotel with it. “Shall we?”

During the tour Alastor kept a gentle pace, not once slowing down or speeding up to match pace with Charlie’s erratic behavior. Amber had been shown the important parts like where her room will be, access to the main balcony, and access to the pirate ship- which no explanation was given for.

She had also been shown the not-important parts of the hotel, like various stains on the ceiling, paintings on the walls, curtains on the windows, and scratch marks on the floor.

As they walked, Amber and Alastor made small talk, mostly Alastor talking about himself. Amber communicated through her parchment, as the parchment would fill with letters, she would simply flick her quill, and the previous text would vanish, leaving no trace of ink behind.

“I do have to say, you have quite the talent in penmanship. It’s quite striking!”

Amber smirked and wrote, “Thank you! Calligraphy has always been my second best talent.”

”Oh?” Alastor glanced at her curiously. “And what is your first best talent, if you don’t mind me asking?”

She smiled and wrote, “Well, a lady has to have some secrets.” She paused as Charlie continued to ramble, oblivious that they weren’t paying attention. ”Do I have to sign anything to stay here?”

“No, my dear, you are not contractually obligated to do anything here! If a wayward sinner wishes to stay here, they can simply walk through the doors! You don’t even have to pay.”

“Yes, but-“ Charlie stopped rambling about the painting they were passing to join the conversation. “We do have some rules.”

Amber nodded, shocked they didn’t charge a fee. Though she was thankful as she didn’t have many funds to her name at the moment.

”While you’re here we really want to see you make an effort, but we understand everyone changes at their own pace, just- do remember the next extermination is…”

”Five months away.”

”Yeah, that… Um, no drugs, we will confiscate and destroy any that we find. No running unapproved businesses in the hotel. Most importantly, no violence, and no manufacturing weapons. Everyone under this roof is under my protection- though, Alastor is usually the one to take care of threats.”

”And it is my pleasure to do so!” Alastor chuckled.

“We also have daily morning exercises! After breakfast, we get together and start your journey to redemption!”

“One failed lesson at a time!”

Charlie deflated. “Not all of my lessons fail! Sometimes it just… takes time for the lessons to come in to effect.” She crossed her arms. “Anyway, do those rules sound doable?”

Amber nodded, she quickly wrote on her parchment, “No drugs, no violence, pay attention, and be good!” She displayed her note with a charming smile.

Charlie quickly bounced back to being excited, the quick acceptance of the rules brought hope in Charlie’s eyes. The prospect brought a pep in her step as she continued the tour.

As they continued Alastor stroked his chin, deep in thought for a moment. “Do you mind if I have a closer look at that parchment of yours? I find it rather interesting.”

Amber handed the parchment quickly and easily, tucking her quill behind her ear hoping it would hide it from view.

As Alastor looked over the parchment his eyes lit up, recognizing the feeling of true vellum in his fingers. Calf skin professionally stretched, scraped, and dried. The small sheet she carried would cost a pretty penny, he wondered how much it cost her.

“My, my, what peculiar tastes. Did you skin this yourself?”

Amber steeled herself, preventing her from outwardly reacting. She shook her head, hiding the truth.

“What a shame, I’ve always wanted to pick my victim to make parchment with, I’ve just never had the time!” He brought the sheet closer to his face, inspecting the glittering ink on the page. ”And may I ask what ink you use?”

For a moment Amber’s heart dropped, she had hoped he would have dropped the subject once he felt the vellum, it was quite the conversation piece but he nearly skipped right over it. She tapped her quill as she removed it from her hair, the ink on the page dissolved.

As she held out her hand to ask for the parchment back, Alastor handed it over with a large toothy smile, his sharp yellow teeth gleamed in the dim light of the hallway.

Amber didn't dare hand him the quill. Instead, she wrote, “I am a lady of MANY secrets.”

Alastor broke out in a hearty laugh, Charlie turned and realized the two weren’t listening to her again.

”My dear, you’re absolutely delightful! If there were more sinners like you around here, I may just change my opinions on this place.” Alastor looked over to Charlie. “Please, may we continue the tour?”

The tour ended back at the foyer. As they neared the parlor, they could hear something playing on the TV. Angel and Vaggie had turned on a movie and were lounging, both focused more on their phones than on the movie. Sir Pentious, Niffty, and Husker were nowhere to be seen.

Charlie turned her attention to Amber. “Sooo, what do you think?”

Amber wrote on her parchment, “Wonderful! I'll enjoy my stay here.”

Charlie squealed in excitement and wrapped her arms around Amber, uncaring for personal space. “I'm so glad to hear that!”

“Splendid! Another to add to the list, at this rate, the hotel will be full with hopeless sinners before the next extermination!”

Charlie was both excited and discouraged by his statement. “Anyway, we don’t have a curfew, so you’re welcome to do whatever you usually do when you’re not here. All we ask is your participation in the morning.” She smiled. “Do you have any bags?”

Amber shook her head, her only possession being her quill, parchment, dress, and cash.

”That’s okay, we can help you pack and get your stuff in the morning! It will be a good activity for everyone to show their support and build trust!”

Amber shook her head again, this time pulling out her parchment to write, “I don’t have other belongings, just what I have on me now.”

”Oh.” Charlie blinked. “Not even clothes?”

“Hm, are you a fresh soul? Perhaps you believe you were sent to the wrong place?” Alastor laughed. “Such naivety.”

Amber wrote, “I am not new to Hell, I recently lost possession of all my belongings.” She frowned. “I apologize, are there any clothes I can borrow until I am able to place an order?”

Charlie hummed. “I might-“

”It is done.” Alastor tapped his cane on the floor. “When you return to your room, your wardrobe will be full to the brim! I hope my tastes suit you well.”

Amber smiled up at him, writing, “Thank you, Alastor. I will return the clothes as soon as I am able.”

”No need! Consider it a favor.”

Her smile faltered, she has been in Hell far too long to fall for that trick. “I would rather not.” She wrote. “Unless it is an act of kindness, I do not accept, though I appreciate the offer.”

“Alastor…” Charlie frowned and crossed her arms at him.

”What? I was just testing her!” His smile only grew wider as he shrugged. No one believed him. “The clothes are a welcome gift, then. Can’t have our guests walking around naked, can we?”

”Why not?” Angel chimed in, not looking away from his phone.

”Anyways!” Charlie quickly cut in before Angel or Alastor could continue. “We will discuss more in the morning. We’re watching movies tonight if you’d like to join.”

Amber, with nothing better to do, joined in on the movie night.

Charlie sat in the middle of the couch, snuggling up with Vaggie and getting uncomfortably close to Angel. Amber could have taken the armchair, though she was much more interested in the lit fireplace.

She eyed the TV carefully and held her breath as she passed. When she got closer she let go of her breath upon seeing it wasn’t VoxTech brand.

She sat on the ground in front of the fireplace and propped her elbows on the raised hearth, she basked in the warmth of the fire on her face.

Alastor gladly took the armchair. He procured a newspaper from the cushion and paid no mind to the movie. Though he tried to read the paper, his eyes would trail to Amber, something about the way the fire light reflected from her eyes was attracting his attention.

Amber also paid no mind to the movie, choosing to stare deep into the fire. Her large bat ears perked and she listened as Angel and Charlie would make comments throughout. Even as they were whispering, Amber still heard them and would smile at their comments.

At some point, Amber had the feeling she was being watched. No doubt everyone was keeping an eye on the stranger, but it felt as if someone was staring at her. She casually raised her arms and stretched, using it as an excuse to twist her body to see who was staring at her.

She made eye contact with him, and he looked at her with distrust and suspicion in his eyes.

Angel Dust.

Amber pretended not to notice, facing fully toward the fire in case Angel felt he recognized her from somewhere. She even pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide her face more.

Once the movie ended Charlie and Vaggie left to go to bed, leaving Angel Dust who stayed lounging on the couch with his face buried in his phone, and Alastor who didn’t seem to notice the movie had ended and still stared at his paper.

She felt like it was a game of chicken between the three. Who would leave first?

When the fire began to die out and there were no more logs left Amber had to go, even though she could see in the dark she knew it was still weird to be the only one just staring into space.

When she moved to get up, she caught a glimpse of Angel watching her and quickly returning his attention to his phone. Before walking away, she curtseyed as a way to say goodnight to the men still in the parlor.

”Ah, goodnight, my dear, get plenty of sleep - we have a big day tomorrow!”

Amber was dreading tomorrow but kept the smile plastered on her face.

When she was alone she could still feel eyes on her. There weren’t any security cameras that were obvious but she felt like the shadows were watching.

When she reached her bedroom door the spy made themselves obvious.

”Hey.” Angel Dust walked out in the open and quickly rushed up to her side. He bridged the distance with quick long strides. "Can we talk?"

Angel didn’t give Amber an option as he pushed her against her door. She quickly scanned his hands for weapons and readied herself for an attack. He held one pair of hands against the wall to entrap her, and the other pair rested on his hips.

“Look, don’t play dumb.” His voice had lowered almost to a growl, his face only inches from hers. “You don’t think I wouldn’t recognize Vox’s mute bitch?”

Amber could feel her heart beating out of her chest, she honestly thought he wouldn’t remember her. They rarely crossed paths and Vox usually had her running errands away from the tower, if Angel wasn’t plastered on billboards she probably would have forgotten him.

”Did Val send you here? Are you here to spy on me?”

Amber frowned and shoved him back with one arm, she raised her wings in an instinctual need to make herself feel larger. She knew he could hold himself in a fight and prepared herself for one in case he tried.

Angel didn't make a move as he was shoved back. “What the fuck are you here for?”

Amber very slowly removed her quill from behind her ear, instead of reaching for her parchment she pointed the quill toward Angel, ink spilled from the metal tip yet the golden ink stayed stationary in the air.

In between her and Angel, she wrote, “I am not here on Vox’s orders.”

Angel wasn’t shocked at the words that appeared between them, when he read the message he scoffed, not fully convinced. “Look, I need you to promise.”

Amber shook her head.

”Not a deal, not like either of us have shit to give anyway. Just… promise me you’re not here to spy on me- or anyone here.”

Amber hummed. She flicked her quill to clear the text in between them and bridged the gap with a pinky finger extended.

“A fuckin’ pinky promise? I’m not… y’know what- fuck it.” Angel sighed and wrapped his pinky finger around hers. “I’ll keep an eye on you-“ He pulled his hand close to his chest, forcing Amber to take a single step toward him. He towered over her. “Don’t fuck this up for me.”

Amber glared up at him, not threatened in the slightest by his display. She let go of his finger and quickly wrote, “Likewise.”

Angel grumbled as he walked away, ”G’night, ho.” After he entered his room he slammed his bedroom door behind him.

Amber slowly entered her room and leaned against the door. She sighed loudly, grumbled, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

She’s fucked.

Amber was hoping Valentino’s favorite porn star would have been too drugged and dazed to recognize her, if he tells Valentino she’s here or she gets caught in the background of a selfie- she’s caught. Her escape from Vox would turn into a short lived vacation.

Would this count as a vacation? Of the residents, one could be counted as a coworker that could rat her out, one is a naive and lonely princess trying to start a cult, a bug demon - those are never normal, and one is her bosses’ mortal enemy- another powerful overlord. At least the snake, Vaggie, and the bartender didn’t post much of a threat.

Fuck, she will have to keep on her toes to survive here.

She has one thing going for her.

There’s nothing on her contract about redemption.

【☆】

[darlingshane]

Aiming in the Dark

Shane Walsh x OFC (Read at AO3) 

Rating: 18+ (Explicit)

Word Count: 150k+

Chapters: 36/? (WIP)

Warnings/Content: Angst, Smut, Fluff, Romance, Crack, Hurt/Comfort, Violence, Blood, Gore, Scars, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Implied Sexual Assault, Weapons, Military Inaccuracies, Medical Inaccuracies, Light bondage, Dom/Sub Undertones.

Summary: A very resourceful woman ends up alone after the outbreak. On her way to Atlanta, she meets the group and joins them in their search for Sophia. She goes unnoticed for most of them, except for Shane, who quickly sees her as an asset to have and maybe something else.

— You can read only at AO3 (LINK)*

—  Excerpt from Chapter 32: Stowaway

Olivia is his home, that’s a fact.

Some days, it feels like a lifetime has passed since he laid eyes on her for the first time. In reality, it’s been roughly a year and a half. When his eyes close, he only sees her. His best friend, partner, and wife. She's been the brightness beacon and his true compass, giving him direction in this messed up world. Kind and passionate, she quiets his mind and eases his ache without even trying. She’s tough as nails and sharp as a tack. A raw beauty with a marshmallow core; tragically vulnerable and stubborn at times. She can be too damn cocky for her own good and can straight up kill you with a stare if you even cross her. He wouldn't have her any other way. Good and bad, he cherishes it all.

*A/N: I posted a couple of chapters on tumblr: here and here, that can be read as stand-alone stories. I can post the rest here individually. If anyone is interested, let me know.

[camaro-and-smokes]

Harringrove Fics Masterpost

Masterpost for all my Harringrove fics (both on tumblr and AO3) below the cut. Unfinished fics marked unoriginally as unfinished.

UPDATE 31 Jan, 2024: I changed my blogname, so most of the links on my tumblr fic posts are now broken. Links below are fixed to work and you can always read all my fics on AO3, AO3 links work and everything is available there also without logging in. I hope you like to read these despite the trouble.

My Metalsandwich & Mungrove fics masterpost >>

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Way It Should've Been -series (AO3 >>)

Steve meets Billy. They fall in love. This series follows them through the most important events of their lives.

Part 1: The Love of My Life 1/10 >> / AO3 >>

Part 2: Is She for Real? 1/16 >> / AO3 >>

Part 3: Little Bird Starts Nesting 1/? >> / AO3 >> (unfinished)

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August 1/8 / AO3 >>

After his first year in college Steve comes back to Hawkins for the summer he hears there's a new king in town. It could be another easy summer fling and he'd be in charge, but little does he know what he gets himself into… (Title from Taylor Swift song)

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Dream a Little Dream of Me 1/21 / AO3 >>

Steve works as VP of marketing in a Fortune500 firm. He starts to have a recurring dream of a relationship where he feels content in a way he'd never felt before. "It's just another dream" he tries to tell himself. It's not like you can dream someone perfect alive, can you?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Pretty (wo)man 1/12 / AO3 >>

This was the first night Steve had dared to actually stop by the red light district at all. He'd driven by maybe ten times the past week and spotted the blonde in the corner four times. He knew that he would actually have to talk to him at some point. But even the thought of being close to him always made him so anxious that he just couldn't stop the car. But as the vision of having the blonde in his bed haunted his mind stubbornly, he had decided that tonight would be the night when it would happen.

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Get Out Of My Dreams, Get Into My Car 1/? / AO3 >> (unfinished)

1992 in San Diego, where Steve recently moved because of his new job, he runs into Billy - literally. Billy isn't exactly what he used to be when Steve had last seen him, but it isn't a bad thing. At all. By chance, they end up as roommates and, well…

or OMG they were roommates!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Family Values Program 1/? / AO3 >> (unfinished)

Co-written with Aggressiveviking

When society started to decline, morals deteriorate and disease wiped almost one fourth of the population in the United States, The Family Values Program (TFV) was launched—the last beacon of hope for the betterment of the American people.

Steve had thought he wouldn't need to join TFV thanks to his dad's riches, whereas Billy had done all he could to ensure he would be one of the few accepted to it, for his father's sake—hoping desperately to turn twenty-five before being matched and thus age out of the program.

So, when they got the message from the Matchmaking Service of a successful match, neither of them knew what to expect—and how badly wrong it had gone.

To Steve, finding out that he was matched with a man by mistake was just one problem. The more pressing one was his upcoming twenty-fifth birthday a week from now, effectively aging him out of the program. If their match was revoked, Steve would be cast out of the TFV zone, with a promise from his father for no financial support. Steve couldn't let that happen.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A Shot for Life 1/? / AO3 >> (unfinished)

Billy Hargrove, a 24-year-old model with striking looks and undeniable talent, is on the brink of superstardom after landing his biggest gig yet as the face of Givenchy. The opportunity of a lifetime brings him to a three-day-long photoshoot in the Bahamas, where he meets the legendary photographer Steve Harrington, a 46-year-old icon in the fashion world.

What begins as professional tension quickly evolves into an undeniable connection, as Billy and Steve find themselves drawn to one another in ways neither expected. But with an age gap that invites scrutiny and careers that thrive on image, their relationship stirs up gossip and reveals old secrets, risking everything they’ve worked so hard to build.

Will they be able to rise above the lies or will the unforgiving spotlight of fame drive them apart forever?

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Oneshots

Standalones, either my own or prompted from fandom events. Latest is always the last on the list. Enjoy :)

Surprise >> / AO3 >> Pure fluff, genderfluid Billy

Sugar >> / AO3 >> Pure fluff

The Smear >> / AO3 >> Domestic fluff, genderfluid Billy

King Size (only on AO3) >> Lemons

A Fair Deal >> / AO3 >> Fluff, the party

Cat in Heat >> / AO3 >> Lemons

Princess >> / AO3 >> Fluff, lemons

May I feel? >> / AO3 >> Pure fluff

Menace, My Beloved >> / AO3 >> Mild hurt/comfort

(I'm in Orbit) Stars Exploding >> / AO3 >> Fluff, feelings realizations, not really character death, happy ending

The Letter >> / AO3 >> Angst, unhappy ending, permanent character death

Wounded Deer >> / AO3 >> Angst, hurt/comfort

Oh Baby >> / AO3 >> Lemons, hurt/comfort

Snow on the Beach >> / AO3 >> / Podfic on AO3 >> Pure fluff

Take it off (drive me crazy) >> / AO3 >> Lemons

Little Siren >> / AO3 >> Merman AU, fairy tale

Screwdriver >> / AO3 >> Fluff, meet cute, innuendos

Snowfall on the Sahara >> / AO3 >> Fluff

Like a Virgin (only on AO3) >> Roommates, lemons with feelings

Something memorable >> / AO3 >> Kinda fluff I guess :D

Sunlight on his face >> / AO3 >> Fluff

It started with an ice cream cone >> / AO3 >> Lemons

Hello >> / AO3 >> Pining and fluff

Morning wood >> / AO3 >> Written for Tease Mates, lemons and pining

Even better than... >> / AO3 >> Lemons and fluff

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[dangertoozmanykids101]

This is a MUST LISTEN!

I promise you. You're going to love this story! You think our little collaborative challenges are fun within the writing groups here on Tumblr? Well the story of Naked Came The Stranger is going to have you in stitches. You must listen to it. About 20min.

You will never even believe the trail of tangents that brought me to this story tonight so I won't even try to explain, but I am giddy with what a whopper of a tale I stumbled on.

In 1969 a number of reporters at the Newsday Headquarters collaborated to write the worst bestselling erotic novel that they could muster under the pseudonym of Penelope Ashe.

AND THEY DID IT! SUCCESS!

Trust me, you need to listen to this story. It has voice clips of a bunch of the people originally involved and their memories of this caper. It is such a fun listen. I PROMISE!! While you're driving to the grocery store or doing the dishes or driving to work, this is a fun listen. The producers rated this PG because there's nothing really untoward in it, but still probably NSFW, as a woman quotes a couple lines from the book in a breathy sultry voice like: "Together like garden snakes, they contorted, moaned, gasped, clenched and throbbed." Or how the man says something like "who knew there was more to think about on Saturdays than mowing the lawn." Or a line in a similar vein. I laughed so hard!

The tone of voice in those clips is more what would be NSFW, but there are just a few instances when they quote from the book. There's nothing else to really worry about.

Twenty-four reporters submitted chapters. Some submittals were too good! Some chapters had to be dumbed down and made more trashy, less eloquent - the talent had to be carefully extracted from the writing. The guys admitted that it took a lot of work to truly write something that was honestly badly written.

They didn't want 'good.' You can't submit that.

Give it a listen and let me know what you think. And don't miss - further down the page is a bonus audio of 1 min and 23 secs where the guys comment about the movie that was made of the book.

"Sex in suburbia... It isn't all it seems to be."

My favorite part of the story was about "Penelope Ashe, the demure Long Island housewife". A first time writer, she even went around the country promoting her first break-out novel. Radio and TV interviews.

"Attractive, smart (as in fashionable and intelligent) upper middle class housewife Penelope Ashe became a literary sensation in 1969 with the publication of her adult novel Naked Came the Stranger. Ashe was the perfect person to become a pop culture sensation – a wholesome, pretty brunette suburbanite wife, possessing a mind spinning with hot, sexy, forbidden fantasies. The prior year Glenn Campbell had the hit “The Dreams of the Everyday Housewife”, elaborating on the pathetic notion that once a woman gives up her freedom to become a housewife she has nothing left in life but to fantasize about what might have been;..."

"Virginity is like a Tiffany Lamp."

Omg, this is my new favorite quote! I'm going to use it all the time from now on - I'll slip it into everything I write!!!

“And what does that mean?” they will wonder.

“Well, if you don't know then you obviously haven't read my book.”

Oooo!!! I'll name my first story in the series Beckoned By Tiffany's Beacon. Set in a phallic shaped lighthouse where she lures sailors like a siren! GASP! Filled with heaps of cream colored cable knit sweaters!!!

No. No. Maybe Sex In The Lamp Light With Tiffany. Or An Illuminating Breakfast At Tiffany's. Or Tiffany Takes the Torch. Or “Light the Tapers,” said Tiffany.

Okay now I'm just getting silly and plain stupid - dead on loopy!!

There's no way we can allow this story to just sit here without going wild with inspiration, right? My mind is reeling with ideas, and I'm dying to research everything from that time period now. Or about that time period.

Did any of y'all watch the series Minx?

It was a great show! I hope someone else picks it up for season two. I want to watch it again now, as well as rewatch Boogie Nights. AND I want to rewatch Frost Nixon!!

Did you catch that they went on the David Frost Show??? "Would you now meet the authoress of Naked Came The Stranger, Penelope Ashe". and out walks ..... Damn it. I can't find the recording of the actual episode yet.

I will close to this post with one last nugget to hopefully tickle your fancy, or at least tickle your funny bone, and I pray it will kickstart some mojo for y'all. This is a delightful song written and performed by one of my all-time favorites, Tom Lehrer called Smut during a live performance in 1967. So this is only two years before the 1969 fiasco of Naked Came The Stranger. Very appropriate, don't you think? :-) He presents his song by first saying:

"Now I would like to say something about pornography or as we call it in the United States 'smut'. Wonderful word, yes. There have been many cases in the American courts recently about this very problem. The United States Supreme Court, for example, has decided that a book or a film can be banned if it arouses the prurient interests of the average person. Prurient now - and I look that up - it means having itching morbid or lewd and lascivious desires. Now surely that describes all of us here tonight. But I disagree with this principle because I really enjoy having my prurient interests aroused. And in fact there's only one thing I enjoy more than having them aroused and that is having them gratified. So, as I say, I'm opposed to this. But we have marches now for peace and marches for civil rights. So I thought I would have a march for smut."

Here's a handful of friends I think might get a kick out of this. Actually I think all of you might!! So pass it on!!! Because this is a fun one!

@messy-insomniac-bookgirl (remember how you were JUST talking about the crazy places rabbit holes can spit you out???)

@ladyoftheteaandblood @caffiend-queen @nildespirandum @emeraldrosequartz @latent-thoughts @just-the-hiddles @kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay @maiden-of-asgard @tilltheendwilliwrite @jtargaryen18 @myoxisbroken @imanuglywombat @redfoxwritesstuff @alexakeyloveloki @talklokitome @wolfsmom1 @nonsensicalobsessions @mastreworld @mooncat163 @shiningloki @gigglingtigger @lokisgoodgirl @xorpsbane @deceitfuldevout @boredbrooder @lokilickedme @texmexdarling @pedeka @searchforanotherway @peaches1958 @holymultiplefandomsbatman @christhickevans @sidepartskinnyjeans @spectre-posts @villainousshakespeare @fictive-sl0th @what-is-your-plan-today @ghotifishreads @saiyanprincessswanie @punemy-spotted @cockslutpadalecki @springdandelixn

[yours-whereyoucanalwaysfindme]

Introductory Post:

Hi! My name is Sky and I am 23 years old. I don’t believe divulging personal details on the internet is a generally good practice and do not like the trend of strangers demanding personal things about you becoming the new normal, so Sky is not my real name. However, I will say, I really am 23 years old (because I think people deserve to know if they’re interacting with a minor or not) and any pronouns work for me (although I slightly prefer they/them).

I’ve never really done anything like this before. Let me know if you need me to tag any trigger warnings or anything else.

I’ve been on Tumblr since 2012, but I never made any original posts or content on my main blog and kept focus off of fandom for fear of alienating followers and other various reasons.

I watched NBC’s Hannibal in March of 2023 for the first time and just fell head over heels in love with it - rewatching it again and again, forcing it on friends and family members, buying books about it, spending hours scrolling on Tumblr in the tags, and reading Hannigram fanfic like it was the only water in a desert and I was dying of dehydration.

Like I said in the first paragraph, I don’t want to divulge many personal details but the last fourteen years have not been kind to me and have been getting increasingly more difficult for me as I get sicker and sicker. NBC’s Hannibal and the Tumblr community surrounding the show and the ship Hannigram has been a really profound and meaningful beacon of light in what’s been a very bleak and dark year. I am so grateful for it and have been spending so much time in this wonderful place and story.

Finally, I got tired of just liking stuff on Tumblr without commenting or reblogging on adding to or preserving it and decided to make this blog. On my main blog I was following around 160 Hannibal blogs already so you may have seen me in your notifs as @theproblemswiththesky. I hope to collect more blogs and meet more awesome people. If anybody has any fic or blog or Hannibal content recommendations please let me know.

The blog title was intended to be “I’m not fortune’s fool, I’m yours” - “I want you to know exactly where I am and where you can always find me” because they represent significant lines to me in the series where Will and Hannibal proclaim love for one another but I got limited by Tumblr’s character limit.

Bear with me for a little bit while I fill this blog with all the Hannibal content I had liked on my main blog and seek out new content. I can’t draw and my writing is personal but the thing I used to do last time I was in a fandom was sort of have a big place to collect/archive just stuff related to the main ship and contribute very long, extra, over detailed fic recs which I will probably do here as well.

Thanks for stopping by and always feel free to say hi or anything else that might be on your mind.

Hope everything is going well for you and you are safe - Sky!

[musette22]

Hi Minnie!

Almost a month ago I asked you anonymously how I can filter out blogs without blocking them. Thank you for your solution! I never got to thank you for it.

Unfortunately that didn't help so I opened up a new blog. I'm writing this ask anonymously from there.

To be honest, I don't think a new blog is helping either 😅 I think I need to leave Tumblr permanently or semi-permanently. My experience on this platform hasn't been the same since the pandemic began and a large part of it is my fault probably. I can't look away from the negatives and there's no fun in participating in fandom activities in the moment. I'm failing at curating my fandom experience and breaking away from it is probably the bestest option.

I'll delete this blog but I want to know, is there some way to preserve my old blog without deleting it? Like I know I could manually unfollow everyone and then block followers but is there some other way to make it disappear but only preserve the contents of my blog. Kind of like how you can operate a Facebook profile with absolute privacy by setting all contents in your profile to "only me" option. Google wasn't very helpful so I thought maybe you or one of your followers could help me out please?😅

Thank you again for helping me out previously but also thank you for beacon of light in the fandom, it's always lovely to see your posts and read your tags ❤️

Hi darling! I'm sorry to hear you'll be leaving us 💔 But if you believe that's what's best for you, then I absolutely support that decision of course 💗

I'm afraid I have no idea if there's any way to preserve an old, inactive blog. I've never deleted a blog or looked into how to do that since I have no plans to go anywhere, so I couldn't tell you, I'm sorry! Maybe someone else reading this does know? Let's hope so!

Wishing you all the best darling, and I hope you'll be able to enjoy fandom the way it's meant to be enjoyed again someday! I'm glsd my blog has brought you some joy during your time on tumblr. Sending you lots of love ❤️ ❤️