#She held out past Lunar New Year

[gollancz]

I might not be at Gollanczfest, but I am mitigating my FOMO with baby cuddles and DAMSEL. Been waiting for this since the book came out last year, and it's just a beautiful as the novel. Loving the production design!

[castellankurze]

ok but for real FF14 fans we gotta talk about the next 20 years in Eorzea cause it's gonna be wild

*There's gonna be some general Shadowbringers & Endwalker spoilers in this post.*

I'm making this now because something in 6.5 reminded me of this idea - no spoilers for 6.5 in particular though.

------------------------------------

So first, quick refresher: the FF14 setting has a pretty standard for the genre afterlife wherein souls of the dead merge with the planet's lifestream, they beat about for awhile, maybe ruminate on their past life, and then they can either merge with the greater whole or be reborn as new people. This got outlined all the way back in the 2.x patch series and became a major part of the plot for the Shadowbringers expansion, wherein the Warrior of Light is revealed to be a reincarnation of the ancient soul of Azem, or how the character Gaia is also a reincarnation of one of the Ascians.

Also a major part of the Shadowbringers plot are the revelations about the secret history of the world. How in forgotten ancient times, civilization threatened by a calamity called the Final Days offered up hundreds or possibly thousands of souls to create the god that would be known as Zodiark who would preserve the world, and how in time the goddess Hydaelyn would be created as an opposition to Zodiark's power. And that she ultimately sundered him into 14 pieces - and because Zodiark's nature was fundamentally tied into the essence of the world, when he was broken so too was the very planet and every living soul upon it, divided into the singular 'Source' and thirteen 'shards.' As part of Shadowbringers' plot, the character of Ardbert is revealed to be the First-shard part of the soul of the Warrior of Light, reuniting near the end of 5.0, and to villain Emet-Selch, these sundered souls are a pitiful shadow of the powerful, vibrant beings they once were in ancient times, unworthy of life.

Now here's where things get interesting.

During the course of our Endwalker adventures, we reach the lunar prison where the body of Zodiark is held captive. Due to some villainous machinations, the ancient god's bonds have been partially broken and his essence is leaking out, taking the form of ancient shades wandering about. One in particular we speak to is named Hythlodaeus. We had previously met this character - sort of, in the form of a memory conjured by Emet-Selch. This is the true Hythlodaeus, an ancient soul sacrificed to bring Zodiark into being. Despite joining the multitude of souls and the long slumber in imprisonment, he's coherent and holds a conversation.

Unsurprisingly, as the main character of a Final Fantasy title we go on to kill our setting's oldest god, and in so doing get a good look at the effect of the sundering on Zodiark: namely that in his case it was pretty literal, splitting off pieces of his body. However the interesting part of the Endwalker's implications is that while Zodiark was sundered, the individual souls that made up his being were not - after this confrontation we see and speak to our old new friend Hythlodaeus again, and again, both in a journey to the distant past and as we call up his soul for aid at the climax of the story...and he's the same person every time.

This...strongly hints that the myriad of ancient, unsundered souls which made up the bulk of Zodiark's essence have returned to the lifestream, and while major characters like Hythlodaeus, Emet-Selch and Venat seem content to leave the cycle of reincarnation for good and pass the world on to us modern folk...is that going to be true for everyone?

Are there, in fact, dozens - hundreds - thousands of Ancient, unsundered souls milling about in the aetherial sea, contemplating a return to the living world? Will the world of Etheirys over the next few years see a sudden wave of children with incredible power as these souls start to be reborn? Will the Warrior of Light, a soul merely eight times rejoined, be eclipsed in sheer strength by the might of a new generation?

The story will probably never go to such a place - after all it would essentially undo the themes of its two biggest expansions, and besides which, the story of FF14 as a whole will probably not venture so many years down the timeline to explore such a possibility.

But still. They say everything old is someday new again.

[lunarcovehq]

If I die young, bury me in satin Lay me down on a bed of roses Sink me in the river at dawn Send me away with the words of a love song

IN THE ARMS OF AN ANGEL - PLOT DROP

It only takes one instant for life to dramatically change and, that instant, for Mason Mahir occurred when they were stumbling home from the Reed Twin's Birthday Bash. They hadn't had much to drink, or at least they couldn't remember if they had, and yet the previous day and a half all seemed rather fuzzy to them. They remembered showing up at Jamie Bennett's house for the party with Rangi Hira as their plus one. They remembered doing a canon ball into the pool. They remembered giving Poppy and Linden their birthday gifts. They remembered nabbing the penne alla vodka Jamie had made and making a run for it around the premises, but everything before that and everything after? Blank.

They stepped out into the cool summer night air, massaging their temples and clutching their side. They could feel a sharp pain along their lower abdomen, but chalked it up to how hard they must have gone back at the party, kicking off on their skateboard to head home. They made it down the street and around the corner. But, as they were skating past the stop sign over on Park Street, they were hit by an oncoming car. The impact was defying. The screaming wails of the banshees that broke out merely second before only made the collision of metal against skin seem ten times worse.

The party was over. Some fled over the fence of Jamie's backyard, while others ran out into the street to see what happened only to find Elena Gomez-Alvaro in tears as she clutched Mason Mahir's frail frame.

"Somebody call 911!"

But, it was too late. The light faded out of Mason's eyes before the ambulance could even show up. Time of death 12:23a. Elena Gomez-Alvaro has now officially triggered her werewolf curse. She will turn by the next full moon. While the rest of the town that was out and about that night watched in horror as another life was taken from them. Rangi Hira clung to one of Mason's hands while Song Seo-Joon held the other and, there was nothing anyone could do, but watch.

Please say goodbye to Mason. Pace will be posting one final self-para. Unfollow to come.

REMINDERS

Surprise Lunar Covians! It is time to say goodbye to one of our longstanding characters in this group. Mason Mahir has been a character here since March of last year and, as heartbreaking as it is, it is time for his story to come to an end.

The plot drop is completely optional for you to react to IC, so if you'd like your character to react to the above, you are more than welcome to, but please don't feel obligated to.

While, Mason is no longer here, the character is still Pace's, so please plot with Pace still if you decide to have your character say goodbye to Mason in their last few moments.

For the Werewolves: For the werewolves, you have a new werewolf who will be joining your ranks. Elena Gomez-Alvaro has now triggered their werewolf curse, so feel free to react accordingly.

For the Witches: You have just lost one of your own. Mason will not be coming back at this time, so you're welcome to have your characters react accordingly to that as well.

For everyone: There will be a funeral, held for Mason at a later date. Please keep an eye out for another plot drop to come. Also, for the Council, more information will come as well, so we will be having Council HC's at a later date, but hang tight on that for a few days.

Last, but not least, we typically say have fun with these things, but this time around, we will leave the plot drop off on- if you're mad that Mason is dead, blame Pace ;)

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

Hello there! You've been visited by the random question fairy! ~ ☆

What is your character's living situation like? Do they enjoy where they live? Would they change anything about their living situation?

oh! I've been blessed with the presence of the question fairy!

Not sure which characters this refers to, so I'm gonna go with both my ocs and my witch au cuz I wanna ramble more about those!

Alright, so Loup Doop and Bloo share an empty broom closet close to Loup Doop's station. It's...not terrible. They're not really held as highly as any of the Glamrocks or even the Daycare Attendant, so they try to just be happy they aren't bunched with the staffbots or the endos. They tried decorating it with some stuff: Bloo has a collection of Daycare souvenirs he stores behind some of the boxes, plus some old plushies and fun looking toys he managed to scrounge up at the Lost and Found. Loop Doup doesn't really own much, and most of her stuff is just extra parts or small scraps of paper and drawings the DA made for her. She has a small shelf she set up for her borrowed books and little projects. Were it up to them, they would have definitely changed their living space, moved out of the Pizzaplex and never looked back, but they know they're stuck here, so they try to make the best of it. They've tried staying the night in the Daycare, but even if they could override Sun's protocols, the security guard always manages to drag them out. Pulsar doesn't really live anywhere; it just hangs around its designated stations for the night.

For the Witch Au:

Sun and Moon live off the edge of town, a good twenty miles out. Moon set up a defense system to keep people from noticing a random cottage in the middle of nowhere. Though Sun isn't always home, it's all they've had for years, and neither of them would trade it for anything else.

Earth lives across the woods, so fairly far from the boys' cottage and extremely far from town. She estimates having been there for perhaps 6 or 7 years. The cottage seems older than her, though, and she quickly gets to work on personalizing it and making it her own. It's her pride and joy, along with the garden. After the mishap with the woods, she doesn't really leave much, so she's never known any other home. Anything she wants to change, she can, so she doesn't see a reason to leave or go out to see the world. She has everything she wants, and though she does sometimes find herself wanting more, she's never really taken that step. (A merchant stops by one day and sets out to change that...so does another, far more dangerous entity...)

Eclipse lives in the original cottage. Unlike Moon, he never left home when KC disappeared, a decision he almost regrets. He absolutely loathes the place; it reeks of old memories and rancid emotions and broken promises, all the things he would rather forget piled neatly in one place. The first thought on his mind after acquiring the amulet was finding a new place to live, somewhere far away from the past and truly fit for him. In spite of all his hatred towards it, however, he's never actually made any attempts to change anything; everything is in it's place, just as KC left it. Though all of his belongings are scattered and discarded half-hazardly throughout the place, everything else is left untouched, save for some dutiful vacuuming and dusting. The door to the old room upstairs remains closed and locked. Lunar asks him why thick layers of dust only seem to coat certain objects. Eclipse refuses to explain himself. He hates trying to explain the meaning behind it, and he refuses to acknowledge how sentimental he is.

The Blood Twins live in the woods between the boys' and Earth's cottage, the woods that Earth accidentally grew that one time. They hate it with a passion, not because of the place itself, but because they remain trapped there. Due to the nature of the field surrounding the woods that Sun set up for Earth, they are bound to that plane and cannot leave unless summoned, and while they hate summonings, anything is better than the rotting wood and dying green. Fortunately and unfortunately, this latest summoning has given them many new liberties that they are quick to indulge in...

[dxy-drxxm]

SYNOPSIS: The lunar year is upon Oletus Manor, and yet the embalmer couldn't ask the novelist for one thing and one thing only.

CW/s: angst, ferrylady is a bit of a dumbass, abstract, drabble focused (less dialogue, more narrative), kinda bitter of an ending

NOTE: Reference for the season essence with Entomologist, its event, and Lady 13 in the past seasons, coming from the prompt/challenge by @i23kazu. I also did a small experiment since I felt unmotivated to write more stuff than usual. Hope this will suffice orz (IDV AU)

It wasn't strange to have a few festivals being hosted in the manor. For the residents, they felt that it was the only way to 'bring life' to their everyday schedule: get matched up, win or lose, go back... And repeat.

And for the duo, the lunar festival is one they both like and prepare. The reason behind it? It differs between them.

For the embalmer, it was her way of getting back to her original occupation: a ferrylady. She often spoke about doing her job for once, and to be hired in that occasion felt nice. It could be because, in some way, she was reminded of her home.

It was a place she's forgotten for so long, and for a good reason. After all, her job was tied into death; that in itself deserves some form of scrutiny.

Although, what is ironic is that she is in charge of the festival. And especially when she saw who else will be participating to help make the festival a success.

Being donned in new outfits, the ferrylady looked over at her own. Not as flashy, but comfortable and closely tied to her memories of home... Yes, that's what she wants. And clearly, they held no qualms in having her wear it, too.

Looking at the others, the director had a sleek appearance. Black coat, gold embroidery, and even a veil that covers half of his face from the nose down. The design behind his coat was of a long dragon, it's scales and color of it mix of gold and amber.

The one that's speaking (read: bothering) him is the undertaker, Hu Tao. Although she wasn't dressed as conservatively nor elegant as Zhongli, she was still stylish. Her hat has been replaced with that of her occupation, and instead of her trusty 'ghost repeller' (her words, not of the ferrylady), she had to wield a big and long brush.

Comically speaking, it reminded her of what a witch would have. Alas, she had to bite the comment back if she didn't want to be bothered.

And lastly, her eyes drifted towards the novelist. Unlike the two, the novelist was given a different attire to wear: one that is fitting for the more... Lively aspects of the lunar festival. Red and white adorned them as they adjusted the fur hanging on their shoulders, the slim dress doing no good for anyone who would look.

She had expected them to be happy for this, but they looked a bit displeased. They even asked the shopkeeper if they can change, but they couldn't. They are the ones taking care of the teashop, so they need to 'look the part'.

How annoying.

Still, the ferrylady had nothing to say. It wasn't because of how nice they looked, but it was simply due to the fact that the Gods weren't so kind.

Lunar Festivals are no joke. And for her, she had a lot to deal with.

At the start of the festival, the four were busy. Sure, there were mishaps, but the lady was able to deal with them. Zhongli and Hu Tao made quite a pair, and even the novelist has managed to deal with most of the workload.

It's when the time came for the main attraction that she was informed of something... Surprising.

"Lantern making?"

"Yes. It's says that sending wish up on the sky makes them come true. Why don't you give it a try?"

...

Wishmaking...?

It was a foreign concept, though she didn't disagree and sought out for the novelist. Although, the irony is that... Well, she couldn't find them.

It was almost surprising at how long she took in searching for the novelist. Some said it was easy to find them, but others attest that they are a massive feat to look for.

It wasn't long until she had to stop searching, and the night ended without any incidents. Though, she still felt bitter with how she couldn't find that elusive novelist.

Maybe they're busy, she thought, but it was almost like she was trying to reassure herself.

Maybe, just maybe, she should've asked them sooner than later.

And just like that, the Lunar Festival ended in a bitter note.

@.dxy-drxxm | do not republish, repost, or copy my works anywhere | 2024

[aeoki]

Blackjack - Epilogue 2

Location: Yumenosaki Student Council Room Characters: Shinobu & Mayoi Season: Winter

TL Note:

In Japan, the new year is a period of time where people go back to their hometowns/where they grew up to visit their family/relatives.

Obon is a holiday (usually held on August 15 but changes depending on the lunar calendar) held to honour one’s own ancestors and their spirits.

Mayoi: Hitsugi-kyun mentioned that he had an “uncle” who protected him. He mentioned him several times.

But if that “uncle” was Mr. “Gatekeeper” who protected Hitsugi-kyun from “Priest”.

Then that means Hitsugi-kyun and Mr. “Gatekeeper” were working together. It seems Mr. “Gatekeeper” is “Priest’s” enemy, after all.

If Mr. “Gatekeeper” and Hitsugi-kyun worked together to come up with a plan to defeat “Priest”, their common enemy…

Then maybe, just maybe…

If Hitsugi-kyun used gadgets common in theatre, such as a fake gun or blood, when he was shot on that “Star Fest” stage….

Shinobu: He pretended to bleed after being shot by “Gatekeeper-dono’s” fake gun on purpose…?

Mayoi: Yes. If that’s the case, then he could have easily pretended to be dead. Afterwards, Mr. “Gatekeeper” can just threaten the doctor or buy-out the hospital where he was taken to…

Or maybe he had one of his subordinates pretend to be a doctor there.

We wouldn’t have a reason to doubt that doctor. We would have thought that Hitsugi-kyun was dead. Naturally, that goes the same for his enemy – “Priest”.

And Mr. “Gatekeeper” would then push the crime onto “Priest” and say that it was he who shot Hitsugi-kyun.

Shinobu: Of course, the only one who had a reason to shoot Kurone-dono in that situation would be “Priest”, who had been after him for a long time.

We all thought the culprit was one of “Priest’s” subordinates.

Mayoi: Yes. Mr. “Gatekeeper” now had a reason to put the blame on “Priest” as he had committed an insane crime.

He is a despicable criminal who committed a murder and ruined an enjoyable Christmas Eve performance.

“Priest” thinks he has it all covered up, but he grew careless and exposed an opening. He was supposed to be completely concealed in the darkness but he showed his tail.

Take hold of that tail, bring it close and finish him.

Maybe that was their plan.

Shinobu: Was it their plan to crumble “Priest’s” organisation and to defeat him?

Mayoi: At the same time, Hitsugi-kyun became free after being “killed”. No one will go after the dead. Normally, if you die, that’s the end of it.

Hitsugi-kyun is skilled in disguises so he can simply become someone else and live a new life.

I’m sure Mr. “Gatekeeper” can easily provide him with the necessary family registry.

After all, that can be prepared for people like me.

Mr. “Gatekeeper” lives outside the law, so it should be very easy for him to create all the things he needs to live in this society.

Mr. “Gatekeeper” now has a reason to defeat his enemy, “Priest”, while also bringing the Kurone siblings he needs to protect to a safe place – giving them a new life.

It’s quite an amazing Christmas gift.

Shinobu: S–So that means Kurone-dono and NEGI-dono really tricked us well, huh.

Mayoi: Perhaps they’re currently still in the midst of doing so. Ninjas might find it embarrassing to be the ones being tricked, though.

Shinobu: Uuu… Does that mean Anzu-dono also had the same thoughts and is searching for the person Kurone-dono is disguising himself as?

Rummaging through the past documents, trying to find traces of Kurone-dono.

She’s trying to find the location of her friend. No, she’s probably trying to find evidence that her friend is living well somewhere.

Mayoi: Naturally, it’s possible that everything I’ve just said is a misunderstanding on my part – a wild idea.

Perhaps the tragedy truly did unfold and their short lives pitifully ended that very day.

But anyone would want to have a happy dream instead of facing a sad reality, right?

Dreams can come true if you continue believing in it and working hard. Simple visions can turn into reality at times.

I, too, was able to be the idol I had always dreamed of thanks to you all. I can live in the outside world with you all with a smile on my face.

Shinobu: Me too. I was able to be the person I always wanted to be thanks to everyone.

That’s why we, the Ninja Association, can't deny the dream you have, Anzu-dono.

No. In order to turn that dream into reality, please let us help you.

Mayoi: I’ll lend a hand as well, of course, Chief.

Shinobu: Right. Thank you, Mayoi-dono.

Mayoi: There is no need to thank me.

Shinobu: That reminds me, Mayoi-dono, what are you doing here?

Mayoi: Huh? You’ll deny my entire existence right here and right now!? It’s very clever of you to bring me up then bring me down like that! It gives me the thrills, learning about new sides to you, Chieeeeef!

Shinobu: No, it was just a normal question ~de gozaru. Like I mentioned before, I couldn’t sleep and came here on a walk but why are you here, Mayoi-dono?

Everyone should be exhausted since “SS” just finished and they should be back home since it’s the new year[1]...

Mayoi: Well, I am home. The underground right beneath Yumenosaki is my home.

I was enjoying the new year with my family when a New Year’s greeting card arrived.

Shinobu: That’s a rather surprisingly normal way of spending the new year ~de gozaru.

Mayoi: We’re surprisingly just normal people.

But there was a greeting card that wasn’t for me mixed in. It was for Anzu-san.

Shinobu: Why would something like that get sent to your place?

Mayoi: Who knows…? I don’t think it was sent there by accident. There is no way a letter from a normal person would get sent to my home.

But it doesn’t sit right with me to be holding onto someone else’s greeting card, so I’m here to deliver it to Anzu-san.

By the way, we’re always overhearing what goes on within the school, so I was able to tell that Anzu-san was in the student council room right away.

Shinobu: Do you have cameras set up everywhere?

Mayoi: It’s something a bit more magical than that but it’s more or less something similar.

Shinobu: Hmm… It looks like there’s still more to your background, Mayoi-dono.

Mayoi: My background, huh.

…Anyway, umm, this is the New Year greeting card that’s addressed to you, Anzu-san.

I haven’t read its contents so please rest assured.

I’m aware I’m more or less a deviant but I do know when to respect the privacy of others.

Wait, oh? Anzu-san, why are you crying…?

Um, was I that disgusting? You didn’t want me touching your New Year’s greeting card? I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!

No, that’s not it? Err… may I see the greeting card? I’ll understand once I read it?

Shinobu: Hmm… Ohh, what beautiful penmanship. There’s this year’s zodiac animal and the standard “Happy New Year” greeting.

And… ahh, I see.

Mayoi: Yes. Ahaha, of course this would make Anzu-san cry.

…This isn’t the right time to cry, though. It’s not Obon[2] but the New Year, Hitsugi-kyun.

Shinobu: “Don’t search for me.”

Mayoi: “I’ll come see you.”

Mayoi & Shinobu: “Sincerely, your friend who loves you.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Nikki: Star Sea

Designer’s Reflection: Star Sea

Obtained: lifetime suit #2

Rarity: UR

Attribute: Purple/Sexy

Awakened: Star Dream

Story - transcripts from Designer’s Reflection

Chapter 1 - Starry Night Legends

Chapter 2 - Eclipse Miracle

Chapter 3 - Star Origins

Chapter 4 - Lost Treasure

Chapter 5 - Return of Star Sea

Story - summarized

For years, historians and professors have pondered over the existence of the Star Sea dress. One historian is determined to uncover the truth behind it. He had heard legends about it when he was a child, of a goddess appearing during a lunar eclipse and wearing a spectacular dress that shone like the night sky.

Rumors spread that she was a princess who sacrificed herself to become a goddess and save her kingdom. Others thought she was just an actress dancing on the tower that night.

No one could find the girl, and no one knew where the dress came from. Professors analyzed the material and concluded that it was made outside of Miraland. But no one knows where or by who.

When war broke out, soldiers fought each other and ransacked homes searching for the legendary dress. It was no longer held in the care of Designers Association, but instead with one of the elderly professors. They threatened to hurt him and destroyed all his research. Finally, he gave in and said he hid the dress at the nearby church.

However, when the soldiers arrived at the church, all they found was a note. “You’re too late,” it said, and it was signed by the Thief Family.

Around 600 years later, the dress reappeared in the performance “Candy Witch and the Star Sea.” The lead actress, Sophia, wore the authentic dress. The historian had been watching the play when the dress reemerged, and it sparked a new round of research.

He poured through old books and analyses of the dress. To this day, he can’t tell if the legends around a Goddess of the Starry Night are true, or if this is just a once in a lifetime suit.

Connections

-Star Sea is the only suit to be in both Love Nikki and Shining Nikki. It connects the past and future. The play in Love Nikki the suit premiers in is called “Candy Witch and the Star Sea,” but there is no confirmation this is the same suit that Yexiao designed.

-In Love Nikki, Sophia said she was from the Thief Family, but wanted to give it up and be an actress instead. It’s not confirmed yet, but it’s possible the Thief Family started with Sorika, the Thief Queen.

-The Candy Witch is a suit designed by Yexiao, and she performs as the leading role. This role inspired the character in the new play.

-When you play through the Star Sea events in Time Corridor, you learn that Nikki is the girl dancing on top of the tower.

-The professor said the dress was made of material “not of this world.” Nikki was still jumping through time and across the Sea of Stars, and it’s possible that the dress was created from the magic of the Ocean of Memories or the Ark.

Fun Facts

-The Lifetime suits started in Love Nikki.

-From what I know, Love Nikki only got the Star Sea recolor when the suit debuted in Shining Nikki.

[0bscureart]

RAHHH SPIDERSONA!! Infodump below the cut xoxo

Lian Galiano was bitten by a radioactive dolomedes spider AKA a fishing spider. She has the standard webslinging, super strength and agility, spidey sense, etc, plus a few water powers like being able to walk on it like it's the ground, and breathing underwater for periods of time. She designed projectile discs that release water and she can launch multiple of them to use the water like a staircase or a pathway. When he's not Spider-Lily, he's a marine biology student at a university. He's male-female bigender, and hispasian, more specifically Chinese and Puerto Rican– (YES this is just my gender and ethnicity, that's what comes with being a spiderSONA)– but he purposely keeps Spider-Lily ambiguous. He has attended multiple parades as Spider-Lily, including but not limited to Pride, The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Lunar New Year, and the Puerto Rican parade. He started a goggles brand as Spider-Lily to help pay for college tuition. In his universe and city, there is another Spiderperson called Spider-Mantis who is my boyfriend's Spidersona and very predicatbly they are in gay love with each other <3

I also decided to write the introduction she would say if he was in the movie teehee:

[comic flips from back to front to reveal the cover] "Alright, let's do this one last time. My name is Lian Galiano. I was bitten by a radioactive dolomedes fishing spider, and for the past year I've been this city's one and only Spider-Lily. Maybe you know the rest: I can walk on water, I can kind of breathe underwater too; cut all my hair off, didn't like it; grew my hair out, didn't like it; accidentally got an undercut in a fight with a komodo dragon man and liked it a lot; recently woke up one day and discovered that I have multiple eyes coming in but I try not to worry about it too much; attended multiple parades in uniform; started a goggles brand to help pay for my college tuition; somehow still have managed to never confirm whether I'm a man or a woman to the press mostly for further anonymity but also because I think it's fun; met another spider person and fell in love; saved a bridge from collapsing; held a few babies; had my own booth signing at Comic Con!! And I beat up bad guys, lots and lots of bad guys."

[the-present-is-a-gift-au]

Chapter 19: In Which Cresselia Breaks Some Bad News

Twig didn’t know quite what to think of leaving Darkrai at the foot of the mountain. It was weirdly emotional, for one thing, but she could easily blame that on her being exhausted and therefore weirdly emotional just in general. But it was strange as well to get away from the heavy atmosphere that followed him everywhere he went. She had gotten used to it, almost like she had adapted to a deeper pressure of water while diving. Coming away from that left her feeling oddly achy and weak. Again, it was simple to blame that on various things— she was constantly on guard, wasn’t she? If she was always waiting for the moment Darkrai would turn on her, she was sure to have sore muscles and a headache from the tension she always held herself in. Dusknoir had mentioned a strange sort of sickness after getting away from Dialga for the first time in years, though, so maybe this was some kind of “mortal absconding from a Legend who radiates bad vibes” sort of deal. 

The trip up the mountainside was chilly. Thankfully there weren’t any mystery dungeons to travel through, so it was a smooth journey, albeit bitingly, bitterly cold. Twig wished for the nth time that she was a true charmeleon instead of a human in a charmeleon’s skin. She’d give anything to be warm right now.

At least she wasn’t trekking through snow. The areas she and Kip had gone through during expeditions where it was full of snow and hail were by far her least favorite to work in. It honestly felt like she suffered more at the hands of the weather than any hostile pokemon they encountered.

Cresselia should be at the peak of the mountain. She just had to make it there, make it down, and then she could trek home and sleep for a week straight.

Twig finally scaled to the point of the mountain and found a shrine at its head— one sequestered away in a cave with torches that burned a warm fire that alternated between pure white, deep blue, and warm gold. The shrine was decorated with crescents carved into the rock and a wooden arch that made up its entry. It gave off an atmosphere of serenity and calm. Twig stared up at the shrine in awe.

Yep. This seemed like the kind of place a Legend would like to hang out. She stepped inside.

Cresselia was deep within the shrine, past numerous carvings in the stone walls depicting ancient events that Twig had a feeling were long gone from written memory. She hung in the air as though pinned in place, radiating gentle light that made the torches keeping the area lit seem dull and dark in comparison. Her back was to Twig, head bowed in deep meditation— or maybe sleep, but Twig might just be projecting.

“Hey, Cresselia? I—”

The Legend whirled around, feathers bristling at the interruption as she rose further off the ground. Her voice seemed to take on a chorus of echoes as she boomed, “Who dares intrude upon this sacred ground? You should know better than to enter unwelcome, foolish—”

She paused as she took in Twig’s cowering form.

“Oh! Twig! It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it? How have the years treated you?”

She cleared her throat and straightened up, encouraged by Cresselia’s sudden shift in friendliness. “I’ve been pretty normal. Could I have a lunar feather? And, uh, maybe ask you to fix my head?”

Cresselia tilted her head, eyes turning sorrowful. “I thought I sensed nightmares clinging to you. You came to the right Legend. But why ask if I could fix your head? Have you suffered some sort of injury?”

“Oh, um—” She paused, embarrassment warming her face. “I just. Uh. I heard through the grapevine that you can heal emotional wounds, and…” Thanks, Chatot! The one time you didn’t peer review your gossip…

The Legend bowed her head in sorrow. “No, I cannot heal such things. Only ailments, physical wounds, and their scars. Are you well, Twig? For what reason have you sought me to heal a thing I cannot?”

I’m so stupid. Oh gosh, I’m so stupid. I’m stuck like this forever. I’m stuck remembering things I don’t want to, I’m stuck freaking out about stuff that doesn’t matter, I’m stuck as a burden that nobody should have to keep around, I’m—

“… Would you like me to heal the scar on your arm, at the very least?”

Twig was jolted out of her mental spiral by that. “Huh?”

“The scar on your arm. Shall I heal it? You came to me for healing as well as a feather. I would hate to send you away with only one half of your purposes fulfilled.”

Hesitantly, she put out her arm for Cresselia to take. The Legend’s paws were warm as she accepted her arm and rested one over the offending scar. The air went taut with a sudden energy as Cresselia murmured some kind of incantation that Twig couldn’t discern the words of, but which felt like a lullaby older than bones. Light erupted about them, and the energy buzzed through her hand, approaching the pesky scar…

… And fizzled out, the scar itself unchanged. 

Cresselia furrowed her brow, and tried again— murmuring the incantation and gleaming brightly, but the energy once again dispersed without any hint of the scar lightening. “Impossible,” she breathed.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I hardly notice the thing these days,” Twig said, taking away her arm and flexing her fingers. They tingled with the leftover energy still flitting about her nerves. “Besides, it’s not even that bad. I’ve had way worse scars as a charmander. Those things were ugly—” 

“Have you ever gone through an illness of extreme severity, Twig?” Cresselia suddenly asked, voice grave and solemn. “Or perhaps suffered an injury that just wouldn’t heal properly?”

“What are you…? Why are you so curious all of a sudden?”

“Answer me.”

“I mean, I guess? At one point I was really sick and started getting these awful bruises all along my middle. Couldn’t eat or drink for days because of the pain. And then my arm broke out in this weird burn that eventually turned into this thing—” She indicated the scar on her arm. “—Once it got super infected. Apparently I got blood poisoning from it. Honestly, I don’t remember the order of events that well, I was in a coma for most of it. Why do you want to know?”

Cresselia stared at Twig as though she was witnessing a living corpse shambling about before her. “You shouldn’t be alive.”

She frowned. “What?”

“Do you know of curses, Twig?”

“What, like the ghost-type move?”

“No, these are entirely distinct from that, though the mortal move was developed in a deliberate imitation.” She pulled Twig’s arm into gentle paws once more, examining the scar above her wrist. “A curse is a blow that can only be inflicted by a Legend. It is an attack so base that it enlists the assistance of the universe that we govern in dealing a fate most painful and instantaneous. You should not be alive, because the workings of the world around you were instructed to kill you. If your heart did not seize, your lungs should have failed to draw breath, or your blood cease to flow.” She looked up at her, kind features turning steely. “Is the most obvious suspect the one I can assume who tried to kill you in such a manner?”

(In Dark Crater, Kip was knocked asife by a heavy blow from an illusory pokemon. Darkrai saw the opportunity to strike, and shot forward to finish the job. Twig sent a wave of fire up in his path to buy herself time and launched herself before where Kip was collapsed and bleeding to shield him. Darkrai reared back as flames kicked up before him and used the shadows they cast to his advantage, disappearing and remanifesting at her side, knocking her to the ground with a swift blow to the stomach. He turned to Kip once more, and Twig caught the shadowy train at his back and threw him to the ground as well. He caught her arm as he righted himself, crushing it in a vicious grip and throwing her across the chamber. Cresselia cried out, cornered in her own unfair fight and unable to assist. Nobody was coming to save her, so Twig pushed past the agony tearing through her veins and stood, struggling to get her feet under herself and resume the fight. She had to save Kip. She had to reach him.

(She was so focused on getting to her partner that she didn’t notice Darkrai’s shock when she rose up after being grabbed.)

Twig didn’t answer, staring down at the scar as she yanked her arm out of Cresselia’s ginger hold.

“The distortion associated with you likely saved your life. A being crucial to the function of the universe demanded that it kill you instantly, yet you were such a point of confusion for it that you not only went days without suffering the ill-effects of a curse, you ultimately survived.”

“… Darkrai is back.”

Cresselia leaned in. “Pardon?”

“He’s back.” Twig cleared her throat, struggling to speak above a whisper. “Darkrai is back. He’s alive. He’s got amnesia, but he’s alive, and he’s living with me. He’s at the base of the mountain right now.”

“I was aware of his survival and his memory loss, but… Pardon?”

Twig relayed the details of how she encountered Darkrai in Mount Travail— her fears of his memories returning as her own had before, her willingness to do anything to keep her loved ones safe— and Cresselia listened in shocked silence.

“Funny, isn’t it,” she murmured after a long silence, “that it is a mortal who assumes my role of his minder after all this time.”

“What?”

Cresselia shook herself, motes of light drifting off of her form. “It was a long time ago, Twig, but Darkrai was not always so vile of a being— he was even kinder and gentler than I. Yet times changed, and he changed for the worse.”

“I… I don’t get it.” She furrowed her brow, frowning. “What do you mean? What are you trying to say? I get that he’s different now. That’s pretty obvious. He’s not exactly throwing kids into endless nightmares anymore, you know.”

“I have a story to tell you, Twig. One of nightmares and dreams, and longing and betrayal.” Cresselia turned to the carvings in the shrine walls, misty-eyed and sorrowful. “It was many years ago, when the moon’s phases were new to worship…”

[sparkywrites25]

Happy New Year

Summary: It's a New Year's party for two in Levi's office

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Petra Ral | Rivetra

Taglist: @lunar-rainclouds @captain-natey @wholeheartedly-alex

Petra leaned her cheek against the cool window pane, her eyes sweeping over the snow-covered woodland around the castle. More flakes fell slow and thick over the grounds. The perfect picture of winter, she mused. She welcomed the cold against her right side, a small contrast to the heat swimming around the office right now, hugging her left. Wrapping her arms around herself further, her fingers played with the green jumper Levi had bought her for Christmas. She stroked the soft material, smiling. 

She glanced towards the clock that sat in the centre of the mantlepiece, marking twenty minutes left of the old year. She tapped her foot out of restless energy. 

Levi had taken their tea things to be washed, assuring her that he would be back to see in the New Year with her. Petra turned her back to the window and embraced the full warmth of the room as her smile deepened. It should be enough that they were both here at base. What did a few minutes matter if he got delayed past midnight? Not all that much in the grand scheme of things but it would still be disappointing. New Year was one of her favourite holidays. She loved watching everyone bring the New Year in. 

Petra lowered her eyes to the ring that caught the firelight in its small (but in Petra’s view) perfect emerald. She held up her fingers and a rush of love shot through her as she thought about how much she loved the choice. Diamonds were beautiful but emeralds were her favourite. She adored the earthy associations with the colour and it just seemed so much fuller of life than the colour white. White was purity and innocence and Petra wouldn’t associate herself with either of those things. She ran the pad of her index finger over the gem affectionately. The ring was a perfect reminder of how well Levi knew her. How well they’d taken their time and how much they knew each other.

The click of the opening door had her lowering her hand and she pushed herself away from the window as Levi closed it behind him. Dressed in a smart grey shirt and trousers, Petra couldn’t help a smile at how formal Levi’s idea of “casual” could be sometimes. Although New Year was also a special occasion so maybe he had made a little more effort for that. Ironically despite her love for the holiday, Petra had opted for a more casual look of a peach blouse and grey. figure-hugging pants.

She was drawn out of her observations by the lock of the office door and she took that cue to approach her lover, sliding her arms around his shoulders upon reaching him. His arms moved around her waist, his hands finding her back and pressing her against his firm chest. Petra touched her lips to his before he could speak and her lover’s eyes closed as he returned the kiss, a cautious movement of lips that quickly turned encouraging and steady as he held her tightly. 

“Wasn’t gone that long,” he whispered, breath tickling her face. 

Petra shrugged and grazed her lips against his cheek, her hands moving to untie his cravat. “Don’t care,” she mumbled, her fingers tugging on the cloth insistently. 

“Needy, hm?” Levi asked, his hand guiding her head back to his so he could reclaim her mouth. “Such a clingy subordinate,” he added just as their lips met again. 

Petra hummed in agreement. One of her hands slid into his hair to play with it while her other rubbed over his chest. As their kiss deepened, she moaned quietly into his lap. His hands squeezed her back and her arms hugged his shoulders. They lost themselves in the pillowy warmth of lips and bodies pressed together. Petra felt cradled and secure as his arms held her even closer to him. Their breaths washing over each other’s faces between their long, sensual kisses. Warmth and arousal swam around her body before sinking between her legs and building an urge within her that coaxed her into more enthusiastic kisses. 

Breaking away to breath, Petra began planting briefer kisses and Levi returned them, sometimes letting his own wander down her jaw to her neck, making her shiver. She would return the favour, letting her tongue slide down his skin, flicking at the spot on his neck that always triggered his pleasure particularly well. She enjoyed the soft groans that came from him as she sucked on the spot. His fingers on her head tangled into her hair and pulled it enough to invite some of her own arousal to surge up. 

“Mmm,” Petra murmured after a particularly lingering kiss. Her hand on his chest began to toy with his shirt buttons, her eyes lifting to his to watch his response. 

“What are you waiting for?” Levi teased, nose brushing her cheek as his lips hovered over her cheekbone. “A written invitation?”

Her cheeks warmed at once and she turned her lips to his. Her hands made quick work of the cravat, tossing it on the couch. Levi grunted against her mouth as her fingers dived down his shirt, unbuttoning it and sliding across the warm muscles beneath. Levi shrugged the shirt off before his fingers began to undo Petra’s blouse. 

“Fucking gorgeous.” he breathed as he slid it off her shoulders. His hands moved to cup her breasts, thumbs rubbing over the cups of her bra. “Let me see them,” he told her, his hands taking her hips and pulling them into his. “Take it off for me.”

A whimper of desire slipped out of Petra as she unbuckled her bra and let the material tumble to the floor. She bit back another noise as she watched Levi’s hungry gaze devour the sight of her breasts, heaving under exhilaration and impatience. His hands touched her shoulders then slid over her chest, his fingers stroking her soft, supple skin before cupping her breasts and giving them a squeeze. 

“Mmmm Captain…” she purred, her hand returning to his hair to pull his head a little closer. 

“My needy girl likes me to play with these doesn’t she?” Levi’s lips tugged into a smirk as he fondled her tits. “Fuck they feel good in my hands, Petra.”

“All of me feels good in your hands,” Petra replied, arching her back and leaning her chest into his hands. 

His smirk deepens. “Cheeky girl. Is that a hint?” One hand moves down between her thighs, rubbing the material against her womanhood. 

Petra bucked into his hand. “Mmm it is. Want you, sir.” Cupping his face, she pulled him into another heated kiss, rubbing her body against his. Desire flowed through her nerves, the sensation tingling beneath her skin and stealing her breath. “Want you so much.”

Levi’s fingers stroked her clothed pussy with teasing tenderness. “I can feel it. So wet already.” He teased between kisses, his fingers pressing harder and harder after each kiss. His other arm encircled her waist as his hand cupped her womanhood fully. “I wonder if you deserve this,” he continues huskily. “Have you been good for me?”

“I have sir,” Petra breathed against his mouth, her words swallowed up in another kiss. “Been so good for you.”

“Mmm think you have,” Levi mused, pulling back from Petra’s swollen lips. He gazed at her flushed body, her half-closed eyes and hardened nipples pressing into his chest. Petra was sure that he could feel how wet she was just as his erection was making itself very much known between her legs. 

She looked towards the clock once more. Six minutes to midnight. 

Levi’s mouth found hers again and she wrapped herself around him again. His kiss turned rougher, tongues battling as his hands roamed over her back, hips and shoulders. Finally they landed on her ass and lifted her. Her legs hooked around his waist and she smiled when he grunted into her mouth.  

He carried her only a handful of strides and she felt herself being placed on his desk. They both broke the kiss to breathe and Levi’s hands immediately went to work on his trousers. Petra’s hands fumbled with her own, shoving them and her underwear down her legs until they all dropped onto the floor. 

The waves of heat from the fire greeted her body and she leaned back on her hands with a contented sigh, letting her gaze roam over Levi’s lean, pale physique in the firelight. He looked angelic, bathed in a golden aura. Petra’s eyes followed his trousers and underwear as they fell away from him. His dick reached for her, fully erect and Petra reached out to cup the tip in her small fingers. Levi’s hand found the back of her head and brought her in for a kiss. She swallowed up his moan as she squeezed him.

It was Levi who looked at the clock next. “Three minutes,” he murmured into another kiss. “Think that pussy can wait a few minutes for me to fuck it?”

Petra dragged her finger down her body, between her legs where she began to swirl the arousal gathering there. She enjoyed the way Levi’s eyes fixed on her fingers, his breathing shifting as he watched her play with herself. “Oh of course…” Petra teased before bringing her soaked finger up to his lips, pushing it past them. He began to suck her juices immediately, his body relaxing into the taste of her. He moaned around the digit quietly. Petra bit back a giggle. “But can you?”

His eyes snapped open and in the next second, his lips were crashing against his. He wrapped her torso in his arms, holding her against him in the passionate kiss. His cock nudged at her entrance but he made no move to push himself in, instead growling his lust down Petra’s throat. She poured her own moans into his and her fingers tugged and tangled his hair. 

Each time they paused for breath, they did so with shorter gasps, their mouths hungrily chasing each other again, bodies rubbing up together in heat and friction. Every inch of Petra’s insides quivered with racing, nervous pleasure. It was addicting. It was dizzying. It spurred her on with her kisses.

“Keep an eye on the clock,” Levi mumbled against her shoulder and kissed and suckled her there. She whined into his ear, her legs still hooked around his waist. 

“Half a minute,” Petra breathed and Levi raised his gaze. He planted a softer kiss on her lips and his hands took her thighs, moving them apart so he could stand between them, his cockhead sliding against her folds. “I love you,” she told him against his mouth. “I love you so much.”

“I love you,” Levi whispered back, kissing her once again. Petra held him into it, her lips drawing his in again. As the seconds rolled by, they disappeared into each other.

The chorus of distant cries of “Happy New Year!” diverted them from the kiss. They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. 

Petra cupped Levi’s face in her hands, her body trembling with love and desire. “Happy New Year,” she breathed. 

“Happy New Year,” Levi murmured, his gaze dropping to her lips at once. 

The spell, holding them in their pause broke with the first blast of the fireworks. Their lips met again and Levi’s hands took Petra’s hips. 

With one thrust, he sheathed himself in her heat, swallowing up her moan. Behind them, fireworks painted the sky with colour. All of which was lost to the couple as Petra’s legs encircled Levi’s waist even tighter, her fingers diving into his hair and the captain’s hands moved to her tits as his hips began to rock against hers. Levi set a quick pace, his hips driving into Petra’s hard as he devoured her lips with his. The deck rocked beneath the force of their movements. Petra’s hands tugged at inky black strands before lowering to cup his cheeks, her thumbs following his jawline.

Levi withdrew from her lips, just enough to breathe, and so Petra tilted her head back, euphoria tumbling from her vocal chords. “L-Levi— Captain—Mmmm!” she cried out between his thrusts, her last cry smothered by his mouth on hers again. She lifted her chest to press into him. His arms wrapped around her, holding her bare body as close to his as possible.

Petra slid her feet over the plump shape of his ass and Levi shivered in her arms. She broke up their kiss and planted softer, smaller kisses against his mouth instead. Between each kiss, a little moan or squeak fell out of her and Levi groaned as he pounded into her harder. 

“Enjoying yourself there?” he taunted between kisses, reaching up to toy with one of her nipples. 

“Ha… oh mmmm….” Petra hummed as he played with her. “I’m enjoying you.”

“Hmmm, is that so?” Levi’s hands moved to her thighs, spreading them apart and pushing into her deeper. 

“So good,” Petra panted into his ear. “God you feel so good…” She reached down between them to touch him as he pushed in and out of her. He jerked at her touch and his hand caught hers, moving it away while his mouth lavished kisses all over her chest. 

“Such a naughty subordinate. What am I going to do with you?”

“Plenty.”

Levi kissed her hard but the groan he released into her mouth was still audible. He began to fuck her faster, reveling in the sweet noises she released as she clung to him. Their bodies, hot and sweating rapidly slapped against each other in sinful erotic noises that only made Petra fly higher towards her own peak. 

“Captain… not gonna last like this…” she panted. 

“Good,” he growled against her mouth. “Don’t want you to.” He pinched and rolled her breasts in his hand. “Wanna see this pussy cum.”

“You’re -ah mmmm yes - not gonna have -oh god - hmmm - a long wait,” Petra was stumbling over her words but this just spurred Levi’s hips to move even faster. Petra clung to him now, burying her face in his shoulder. “Ah-ah, Levi I’m almost -oh!” Her peak crashed into her and his arms kept her upright as she slumped backwards. A fog of absolute pleasure enveloped her, lifting her into a haze of lilac, sparkling clouds and twinkling stars. Her eyes slowly shut as bliss soared through her. 

Levi’s pace didn’t slow at once as he pounded into her. “Good girl. You look so fucking beautiful like this, don’t you?” One of his hands wandered to her pussy and he slid a finger into her as she gushed. 

“Holy shit!” Petra half-yelped, half-moaned, her eyes snapping open again. She bucked into Levi’s hand as she cried out. “O-oh f-fuck Captain, f-fuck!”

“I’m already fucking you.”

She could practically hear his smirk. She planted her hands on the desk behind her to hold herself up as she fought for breath. “S-shut up…” her words were quickly overtaken by her orgasmic cries and breathlessness. 

Levi’s hands remained on her back, continuing to support her regardless of her own efforts. His lips lowered to her left breast, taking a great deal of it in his mouth, swirling his tongue around her nipple in particular. Petra’s gasps turned to whimpers at the over-stimulation  which only pushed him to continue. He played with the bud, making rumbling sounds to tingle her breast even more. 

“C-Captain, please!”

“Please what?” Levi questioned, his mouth moving to her other breast. “Tell me what you want.”

“More!” Petra’s greedy gasp was laced with desperation as she watched Levi attend to her other breast. “Want you to cum too. Oh… oh!” she cried out when he shoved himself harder into her. “Ah-ah-are-are you close….?” she panted. “Want you to cum. Cum inside me.”

“Oh I plan to,” Levi promised her, his mouth abandoning her breasts to lean up to hers again. “After you cum again for me,” he spoke against her lips before claiming them in an intense kiss.  

His thrusts were becoming shakier and he grunted into their kiss. He forced himself away from her, his hands slamming onto the desk and in one fluid motion, he pulled himself out of her. Petra felt the absence of him with a complaining cry. For a few seconds her body felt abandoned and adrift. She reached out for him in confusion. 

“What was that?” she spluttered, hands reaching for her hips to try and pull him back to her. 

Levi’s hands gripped the desk tightly. He stared down between them where strings of her cum still connected to his dripping cock. He gathered up some of her slick and began to stroke his dick with it. Petra couldn’t take her eyes off his hands, her breaths quivering along with the aftershocks of her earlier orgasm.

“Can I take you from behind?” he grunted, his breathing giving away his own approach to the edge. 

Petra’s pussy ached at the thought of it. “Yes.” she told him without hesitation, climbing off the desk until they were pressed up against each other. She ran her hands over his chest. “Take me,” she purred, pulling him into a kiss that he returned. His hands squeezed her ass and she bucked against his straining erection. 

He took her arm and guided her into following him to his chair. Once he was sat down, he turned her around so she was facing away from him. “Sit,” he beckoned her, his hands rubbing at her sides. They both groaned quietly as she inched herself down onto his cock until he was fully stretching her out. His hands lifted her beneath her thighs so that she leaned back into his chest, her feet propped up on the desk.

“Captain!” she squeaked as her hands shot out for balance. 

Levi became still. “You okay?” His hands gripped her thighs. 

She nodded, cheeks pink. “Y-yeah I’m fine.” She adjusted herself and tested her balance with some uncertainty.

His hands slid across her inner thighs. “I’ve got you,” her lover promised and Petra melted back into his arms as Levi’s hips began to thrust upward into her. Her head rolled back onto his shoulder and pleasure streamed from her mouth in wordless cries as his fingers slid to her folds and caressed them, thumbs holding them open while his fingers rubbed circles over them. 

“Levi, yes!” Petra whimpered, her hands holding onto his wrists. Her body trembled from the contrast of his dick pounding inside her and the gentle caresses of his hands. Heat soared through her, setting her nerves alight as it did. She felt like her body was waking up from a hazy daze and was being pumped full of raw sensations. It felt primal. It felt simple. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to be touched by this man. 

“Such a model subordinate.” Levi taunted against her ear, “squeezing me so well, taking me so deep,” and his fingers rubbed at her clit, “and getting so wet for me.”

Petra reached one hand back to hold his head close to hers. “R-really not gonna last, Levi. You feel so good.”

He grunted down her ear. “Neither ‘m I. Your fucking heat…” His hips picked up speed and Petra bounced harder in his lap from the strength of his movements. 

“Ah Captain please!” she cried out as she felt her pleasure rising. The dizzying rush was already approaching her mind, teasing her with tickling euphoria already. 

“Petra,” Levi’s teeth nipped at her earlobe while two of his fingers buried themselves inside her folds. 

She cried out again, her hand latching onto his hair for dear life, the other gripping his wrist so hard that she might actually leave a bruise tomorrow. “Oh god!” she gasped as his fingers scissored inside her. “Fuck… fuck… L-Levi…” She was hurtling now towards that bliss, every breath was sucked out of her with each stroke in her womanhood, with each pump in her ass. Her body was full of Levi and she loved it.

Words abandoned her, fled them both and the air filled with the sounds of them both chasing their orgasms, lost in the pleasure that was shared between them.

The double penetration sent Petra flying into ecstasy first and her scream of euphoria tugged Levi in immediately after. A string of filthy curses flew down Petra’s eardrums as she felt the explosion of his orgasm take over him. Cum flooded into her just as quickly as hers poured out. His fingers, soaked by her bliss, continued to pump inside her, drawing out her high., His hips still, moving, had slowed somewhat as his own pleasure shook him up. 

He slowed to a stop and Petra’s legs dropped from the desk, body hanging limply over him as exhaustion reigned supreme. His swirling fingers finally pulled out of her and lifted her by the hips, off his cock and back onto his thigh. 

“Oh Walls…” Petra breathed, leaning her head into the crook of his neck. “That was… I think we just met our personal best.”

A faint chuckle rumbled beneath her. “Yeah.” Levi’s arms wrapped around her shoulders and his lips pressed to her temple. “That was certainly something.”

As the noises of the world began to creep back to them, Petra turned her head to look out of the window and then smiled at Levi as the fireworks continued, their coloured lights illuminating her eyes as she spoke. “Happy New Year, Levi.”

“Happy New Year, Petra,” he replied, drawing her in close.  

[natehackett]

joe keery he/him/cis man “ watch out , NATHAN 'NATE' HACKETT has crash-landed into roswell !! they look thirty years old and celebrate their birthday on march fifteenth. they are from reno, nevada, reside in the GREYSTONE COMPLEX and are currently working as an attendant at the lunar laundromat. one thing you should know about them is back in reno, his parents’ garage has his collection of comics and fan memorabilia – combined, they’re worth over $500,000. ” ( guppy, mst, she/her, 21 )

PINTEREST // SPOTIFY HEY, EVERYONE ! my name is guppy (or leila, but you can call me either) and i am twenty-one. i am about to study abroad in australia, but for the current time being i am in mst (mountain standard timezone). i will be playing nate hackett, who is a lover of all things comic books and punk/grunge music. keep reading for a bit more about him and his past!

–* THE PAST / PRESENT

nate is the second youngest of five children (two older brothers – brian & james, one older sister – heather, and a younger sister – beth) and was born/raised in reno, nevada. his dad has retired but owned his own appliance repair business. nate's mother was an emergency room nurse, but she has also retired. his parents now both live in a retirement community in north carolina so they can visit the beaches in the summer season. his eldest sibling inherited the hackett home back in reno, where nate's comic and fan memorabilia collection is stored.

since there were five kids in the hackett house, it was always kind of a whirlwind. there were always birthdays happening, friends tromping through the house, holidays with extended family, and fights over room/toy/clothes sharing. the one thing that nate had to himself was his love of all things geeky.

none of his other siblings shared his interest in various comic books, card/tabletop games, and movies. he was free to explore those interests all on his own.

every week, nate would use his lunch money to buy new issues of comics being serialized. he would draw, at first, by tracing the panels in comics that he found the most intriguing. he branched off to drawing his own heroes and villains, writing storylines for them, and stapling together stacks of printer paper he had turning them into "comics."

the same store where he bought his comics in reno also held various tabletop gaming nights where nate met many friends who shared his interests.

nate got his first job as a sophomore in high school at the comic shop, it was where he spent most of his time anyways so he might as well get paid to be there.

when it came time to decide on after high school plans, nate's dad was urging him to take on the family trade of appliance repair. already, nate's two eldest siblings were working on the family business. one had gone to technical school to become an electrician and the other had done training in general appliance repair while apprenticing with nate's dad.

his third eldest sibling had disappointed nate's mom and dad by leaving nevada and going out of state to study communications. they wanted to be a journalist, not work for the family's appliance repair business.

nate was about to disappoint them just as much, he applied not only for technical schools but out-of-state colleges as well. the university of new mexico gave him a hefty scholarship, and the opportunity to study visual art, but to appease his parents he chose instead to go to central new mexico community college to study heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR).

he loved new mexico so much, though, that he made the decision not to return home after completing his associates. his parents were upset at his decision, but were still proud of the fact that he had chosen to pursue the family's trade with appliance repair. he made the move to roswell after living in albuquerque from the time he was 18 to the time he was 24. while in albuquerque he was working as an appliance repairman but he honestly hated having to constantly zip around from house to house everyday just to do his job. he made the decision that he wanted to work somewhere stable.

when he saw the lunar laundromat in roswell was hiring, he thought it was the perfect fit. he had the skills to fix the washers and dryers when they went down, but he was also could sit at the counter and read comic books during the downtime he had. he could also work on drawing his own comic.

currently his paycheck goes to four things: rent/bills, groceries, comics, and art supplies.

he still does some freelance repair work for extra cash on the side. but, you'll mainly find him at either the lunar landromat, forbidden planet, or at home.

personality wise: nate is real geeky, he appreciates a good pun and rarely takes anything seriously. he will gladly ramble on and on about anything and everything that is related to his favorite subjects (art, comics, magic: the gathering, pokemon cards, the star wars franchise, the warner bros monsterverse, and other weird old movies)

his favorite color is a red-orange, he frequently wears his red-orange windbreaker and a las vegas 51s baseball cap. he prefers dc to marvel, especially because his favorite series is swamp thing. he is most proud of the fact he owns swamp thing #1 with a 9.6 certified guaranty company (cgc) rating. this means it is in near mint condition and alone is worth approx. $1k. he also has a personalized autograph from len wein (the original writer of the series).

he frequently drives to comic cons in the western states (primarily CO, NM, AZ, NV, and CA). for his 18th birthday, his parents bought him VIP passes for san diego comic con which was like his dream come true.

–* POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

since i know it can be difficult to find some connections off the bat here are some possible suggestions to get ideas flowing. i am also a fan of just starting threads and seeing where muse's chemistry goes.

D&D PARTY MEMBERS / we already know what a huge nerd nate is, but if your muse is also a nerd i am sure nate would love some party members for a d&d group in roswell. rather than an actual dining table, nate's apartment has a board game table. he just eats on his couch instead and uses the board game table for get togethers with the party. this doesn't have to be exclusive to D&D, but could extend to MTG and/or pokemon

FREQUENT FREELANCE CLIENT / is your muse prone to accidents? constantly blaming mercury in retrograde for their fridge breaking or their AC unit leaking? nate is happy to help, for a small price or a gift card to the forbidden planet so he can buy the latest issue of that one comic he's reading.

LAUNDROMAT PALS / since it takes at least forty-five minutes to get a small load of laundry washed and dried, nate is happy to entertain and talk to customers as they wait for their clothes to finish up. if you're real nice to him, he may even give you a detergent pod for free so you don't have to risk a couple of quarters at the janky dispenser.

EMERGENCY CONTACT / since nate's family is all out of state, it could be useful to have a ride-or-die who he can call at any time for anything. he definitely has broken a couple of fingers or slipped while jamming out too hard to the chats while in the shower. who you gonna call? nate's emergency contact!

[mybullshitsensesaretingling]

A Vulcan Smile Part Three

[Part one] [Part two]

A/N: Lunar eclipses are ever 2.5 years on Earth. I just want y’all to know that

“How is it? Is it bad?” Joanna asked, peeping over the computer at you. “How bad is it?” 

“It’s not bad. It’s really good,” you told her. “Now go away and let me finish.”

With one last worried look, she went back to the sofa and you went back to reading her paper, but before you could make it through even a paragraph another McCoy interrupted you. 

“Is she gonna get an A?” Leonard put a hand on the desk and leaned over you to see the computer screen. “She better get an A.” 

“Leonard, I know that you don’t get to be here very often,” you turned your head slightly so that you could see his face, “but the whole helicopter dad thing you got going on is starting to drive me a little nuts?” 

“I’m the helicopter?” He met your gaze. “How many teachers make home visits?” 

“This is a big assignment.” 

“You’ve been here three days this week,’ he pointed out. 

“If you’re just going to complain, could you do it somewhere else so I can focus?” 

He looked back at the screen. “I’m not complaining.” 

You raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t say anything, choosing instead to return to reading. The two of you read in silence for a moment, before a line caught your eye. 

“Looks like your snarkiness rubbed off on her,” you smiled, pointing out the line. “She’s pretty witty.” 

He looked down at you. “That was almost a compliment.” 

You ignored his comment, but the smile didn’t leave your face as you finished the paper. 

“She’s gonna get an A.” 

“She will once I fix the spelling. Move over.” He nudged the chair. “Apparently the dyslexia really is a family trait.” 

You leaned back in the desk chair. “You knew Spock had dyslexia but you didn’t know he had a sister?” 

“The details that man finds important enough to share astounds me too.” He motioned for you to get out of the chair so he could sit. “Do me a favor and tell Joanna to get ready for bed.” 

“Sure.” You got up and headed to the living room. “I do all the other parenting for you.” 

“I heard that.” 

“You were meant to,” you called back as you took a seat next to Joanna. “I’ve got good news and bad news, but I think there’s wiggly room on the bad news.” 

“Good news first,” she requested. 

“Good news is your paper is great and I’m super proud.” You held up your hand for her to high five. “Bad news is your dad wants you to go to bed soon.” 

She started to groan in complaint when she remembered your earlier comment. “You said there was wiggle room?” 

“There’s a lunar eclipse tonight. I think we convince him that staying up past your bedtime would be beneficial to your education.” 

She grinned at your suggestion. 

“That’s not gonna happen,” the doctor said as he crossed the room. 

“An appreciation and understanding of the universe is important to a young girl's development,” you told him. 

“So is sleep.” 

“She can sleep any night. She can only see a lunar eclipse every three years,” you argued.

His eyebrows lowered as his counterargument took shape in his mind. Joanna looked up at you with wide, insistent eyes and you gave her a small nod to let her know you had a handle on the situation. 

You looked back to Leonard and continued your argument before he had time to finish his, “You’ve already deprived her of the opportunity to live among the stars and learn all there is to learn about the universe while being raised by her father. Are you really going to deprive her of this too?” 

His eyebrows managed to lower further. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it once more. “I am not depriving her of anything. I am protecting her from the dangers of living on a starship.” 

Joanna rolled her eyes. 

“And now you’ve been provided the opportunity to show her the wonders of the stars safely from the ground. Don’t miss it.” 

“The wonders,” he scoffed under his breath. 

“Don’t let her grow up to be as cynical as you. Not yet.” You put your hands on Joanna’s shoulders as she did her best to look young and sweet. “Protect and foster her joy and innocence while she still has it.” 

His glare was flattering at the power of her puppy dog eyes and finally he sighed, “Fine.” 

Joanna cheered and sprinted out the front door. 

He crossed his arms. “You know she’s not gonna make it until the moon is even half in shadow.” 

“Maybe not,” you smiled, “but she’ll always remember that you let her try.” 

His expression softened further as he watched you follow his daughter outside. 

As usual, he was only half right. Joanna had stayed up to see the planet’s shadow move halfway across the moon, but had fallen asleep soon after. Her legs were draped over her father’s and her head resting in your lap as she snored softly. Your fingers weaved small braids into her hair while she slept. Quietly, you named the stars. You had started for Joanna’s benefit, teaching her the stars she could see from Earth when she was small. But you found yourself continuing long after her eyes had closed. You were barely aware of the words you were saying anymore and you were sure Leonard wasn’t paying attention. 

When you dropped your gaze from the moon you found him staring at you. Finally, the stream of star facts came to a stop. 

“Sorry,” your voice dropped an octave. “Didn’t realize how much I was infodumping.” 

“You do tend to babble,” he smiled softly to let you know he was joking. Or maybe he was letting you know that he didn’t mind. “You’re a good teacher.”  

You chuckled lightly, “Thanks.”

“But why are you here?” You raised an eyebrow at his question and he quickly explained, “If you like space so much why aren’t you working up there? They’re always looking for teachers on space stations.” 

You shuttered at the idea. “Can’t stand those death traps. They’re nothing but a testament to the federation’s hubris.” You looked back at the sky but not before you caught his smile widening ever so slightly. “I don’t know how much of this is a genuine interest anymore and how much is just affection for Spock.” 

“How’s that?”

You sighed deeply trying to figure out how to explain your complicated emotions around the subject. “Spock and I aren’t close. You may have noticed that we don’t have a lot in common.” 

“Yeah, I picked up on that.”

“Well, the one thing we did have in common were the stars. Interest in the sciences was always encouraged in our home so we could go out at night to watch the stars without being questioned. And if Sarek was gone we were allowed to just be. No pressure to hide and suppress every emotion, to stifle every human instinct.” You finished the braid you had been working on and picked up another lock of hair. “We watched every astronomical event together. Even when Spock had run away, if there was a meteor shower I could walk outside at one in the morning and find him waiting for me, like nothing had happened.” 

“Now it’s all we have left. We don’t have a shared home or parents to bring us together anymore. I haven’t even seen him in five years. But every time there’s an upcoming astronomical event, I get a subspace message detailing the event in flawless academic writing.” You chuckled. “I guess it’s Spock's way of saying he loves me.” 

“That’s unexpectedly beautiful,” Leonard told you. “I didn’t think Spock had it in him.”

[writerpeach]

Hot & Cold

LOOΠΔ Kim Lip x Male Reader

9836 words

---

Read on AFF

Read on AO3

masterlist

The stars shined bright as you wandered through the downtown streets aimlessly, taking in the cool crisp air of the nighttime sky. Music filled the streets and your ears as you passed through a variety of stores, each one with its best wares on display to tempt you.

You were searching for a gift for Choi Yerim’s upcoming birthday, clueless on where to even start looking for ideas. It had been several weeks since you had been introduced to her, and while you knew a little about what her likes and dislikes were, buying the perfect gift that would make her special day seemed a daunting challenge.

The three of you were inseparable lately, spending most of your time outside of work at your favorite lunar themed cafe and the cutest barista that worked there who always threw in free drinks. Lately though, Hyejoo had spent more time than usual preoccupied with her new job until the late hours of the night, leaving you without her help and on your own for your quest.

There were the obvious choices of flowers and candy, and while you had to start somewhere those were boring choices. You wanted your gift to be special and worthy of the girl who you had spent so much time with lately, a girl who brought nothing but happiness and positivity into your life.

Walking past dozens of places, you waited for a store to catch your attention as most failed to offer anything substantial. One in particular caught your eye. Maybe it was the mannequins in the window wearing cute dresses that you easily pictured Yerim wearing, but this place spoke to you.

There wasn’t anything special or out of the ordinary as you walked in, a small looking boutique with high ceilings and bright lights, shelves filled with meticulously folded shirts and pants in diverse sets of colors, while plentiful dresses and accessories lined the walls.

You carefully looked around, not wanting to knock anything out of place as you browsed, unsure where to even begin. There didn’t seem to be anyone else in the store, which wasn’t surprising given it was rather late in the evening, approaching nearer to closing time than you expected.

“Oh, hello, sir! Welcome to Lippington’s Exquisite Clothing,” you heard a soft husky voice call out in the distance, breaking the silence as you craned your head to see a slim blonde heading in your direction.

The clack of high heels on the wooden floor grew louder with each step as she approached, her hips swaying as she sauntered through the clothing store to close the distance, forming a small smile on her lips.

When the blonde woman stepped into frame you were met with her beauty at point-blank range. It was fairly unmistakable that her golden locks weren’t natural, not that it made her any less beautiful, not a hair out of place and there must have been a lot of effort put into maintaining such a wondrous shade. You didn’t know a thing about fashion, but the black sequin dress she had on sparkled in the light, doing her small body wonders and fitting perfectly.

It seemed a little risque for a place of employment, showing off bare shoulders and barely covering up her upper chest, but you weren’t one to judge, especially when she pulled it off flawlessly. It wasn’t too tight nor was it or too short, leaving part of her body to the imagination and above else it looked expensive. You’re pretty sure it wasn’t something that could have been picked up off one of the many racks.

Her fingernails were painted dark black, something you always loved on a woman as the color matched her dress, topping it all off with a light shade of red lipstick that made her small lips pop out.

You had to snap out of your haze as you caught yourself staring, frantically darting your eyes around the store in an attempt to not appear rude.

“My name is Jungeun, can I help you find anything?”

“Ah, actually, yes. I’m looking for a present for a woman. She’s young, about your age.”

“Of course, I’d be happy to help. Is she your girlfriend?”

“Uh, not exactly. She’s a good friend of mine,” you said, stumbling over your words as true as they were. You still hadn’t formed any type of relationship with Yerim, and hearing those words out loud brought out several feelings.

The beautiful woman sensed your hesitation in answering her simple question but was eagerly happy to help anyways.

“We have several sections for women to choose from. Is there a style that you think she would be interested in?”

You found yourself caught unprepared by all her questions, even though they were just to help out. Now, whereas Hyejoo was often a sweatpants and t-shirt type of girl, Yerim loved to put in effort into her outfits, even if it was a simple trip to a convenience store.

“She wears dresses a lot. Mostly cute ones.”

“I see. Let me show you some dresses that I can help you pick out that you think she would like.”

The woman led the way as you followed, trying not to focus your attention on her backside as much as you would have liked, stopping at the front of the store in a section with several racks of dresses surrounding a giant mirror.

“Do you know what size your...friend is?” she asked, and you’re pretty sure she was teasing you. You definitely didn’t know Yerim’s size. Hell, you didn’t even know how dress sizes worked.

“No, I don’t,” you said, having a brief moment of panic. You could have asked Hyejoo, but calling her at work was an option if you could have gotten ahold of her.

“I could show you a picture of her, would that help?”

“It’s a start,” she coldly said. You grabbed your phone and looked through several pictures trying to find a suitable one that showed her body off the best, making sure to not accidentally click on the folder of private pictures Yerim had sent for your eyes only.

You came across one of your favorite pictures of Yerim, wearing a cute white flowery dress standing in front of the mirror, looking adorable as usual. You handed Jungeun your phone who stared at it intently for several moments as if she had just seen a ghost.

“Yerim…” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh, do you know her?”

“Yes,” she simply stated, handing you back her phone. “We met at Girl Front Academy and studied together for three years until we went our separate ways. I haven’t talked to her since then, but it seems she’s still sickeningly cute,” Jungeun said, and you couldn’t tell if her reaction was of annoyance or not.

“Her body isn’t too far from mine, but she’s much curvier than I am. She always had better thighs than me,” she said, and this time you could definitely tell she was annoyed as if she were lacking in the body department.

“I’ll show you a few things that should fit her.”

The smile faded from her lips as she went through several clothing racks, picking out a dress from each one that stood out in a completely different look.

“Some of these may not be her style. This one is a little frilly, and this one is maybe a little too revealing,” Jungeun said, letting you see them all. They all had their appeal, and while you could have just gone overboard and bought them all, you didn’t want to seem desperate. You needed to find the perfect dress and had confidence that this woman would help you do just that.

“I like these two,” you said, choosing one that was casual and one that was formal. Jungeun was right, one was too skimpy, too gaudy, and one was too...you couldn’t find the words but there were much better choices. They all looked nice, but the dresses left behind didn't really didn’t match Yerim’s style.

“Both excellent choices,” Jungeun said, holding them up side by side. To her left was a simple purple cocktail dress with a wide neckline and thin straps, which seemed to be about knee-length, ruffled and slightly see-thru at the base. You selfishly wanted it to be much shorter, knowing her luscious thighs being covered up was a crime but remembered this was a gift for her and not you.

The other dress Jungeun held was colorful to say the least. Lace with black at the top, dark red at the end and woven colorful fabric in the middle, equipped with a multitude of gemstones. The dress was much longer than the previous one, given Yerim’s height it would practically be touching the floor, but also had a more elegant touch to it.

To say you had trouble deciding between the two would be an understatement. Given your ignorance, you would have picked the dress on your left based on color alone.

It was a good thing you had someone who seemed to be rather informed on the subject of clothing given that it was her job as she sensed your indecisiveness as your eyes wandered back and forth.

“This one would be good for any occasion, it's thin and comfortable without being too skimpy,” Jungeun said as she held it up higher than the other.

“Now, this one is better suited to dinner parties, weddings, ceremonies, that type of thing. It’ll flatter her body more but she’ll look out of place at a cafe obviously.���

“You have a knack for this, Jungeun.”

“Ah, well, thank you,” she shyly said. “You don’t own your own store for several years without knowing a little something about fashion.”

“You own this place?”

“I do. This’ll be the third year running this place. It’s been a little dead lately, but it’ll kick back up when spring comes.”

Jungeun let out another small smile, and you’re pretty sure her arms were getting tired from holding both dresses up.

“They’re both really nice dresses, but if you still can’t decide I could help out and try them on. I may not have the body that Yerim does, but it’ll look better on me than on a mannequin.”

“You’d do that? That seems like a lot of trouble, you really don’t have to, I’m sure you have plenty of other things to do.”

“It’s not that much trouble, there’s not much else to do as you can see. Might just close up early tonight if nobody else shows up.”

“Thank you, that would be appreciated.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll be back in a bit,” she said, heading towards the fitting room in the corner, taking both dresses with her. You waited just outside the door, taking a seat on the bench not unlike the same way you had for both Hyejoo and Yerim the dozens of times you were dragged away shopping with them.

She didn’t take that long to change into the first dress, walking out of the dressing room looking ready to take the runaway.

“What do you think?” she asked, as she spun around, letting you see every aspect of her in the casual dress.

“It’ll hug her body better, but it fits me nicely. It’ll look nicer with heels of course,” she said, taking note of the fact that she was barefoot. She did look rather nice in it, the dark color offset the brightness of her blonde hair, giving a glimpse at her luscious long legs as she modeled it for you.

“I like it.”

“Don’t choose until you see the other one. I’ll be right back.”

You gave a gentle nod as she disappeared back into the dressing room, and you eagerly waited for her return wanting to see a more close up look of the other dress. You had all but chosen this dress already, the formal dress had its work cut out for it and had some stiff competition.

More time passed than was expected while you waited for her to try on the other dress, not that you felt the need to complain. Maybe she was doing something different with the second dress that required more time as you sat there patiently, wasting time on your phone.

“Hey, uh. I could use some help,” you heard her call through the dressing room stall. You got out of your seat and headed over to her direction to check it out.

“What do you need?” you asked through the other side of the door.

The woman took a second of hesitation to respond. “I think the zipper’s stuck. It won’t budge. It’s unlocked, you can come in. I won’t bite.”

You’re not sure why she added that last part, but you opened the door and stepped inside to see her back to you, the zipper caught at the top of the dress. You grabbed it carefully and inspected it, pulling it down several times to no avail as it refused to work with you, unable to move like when you woke up in the mornings. Nothing worked, and you didn’t want to be too forceful with it.

“It’s not moving.”

Jungeun sighed loudly. “I should have designed this one better.”

“You designed this dress?”

“Yes, most of the clothing in this store is my own design. Anything that’s not is from other designers I know or collaborations.”

“That’s impressive.”

“It’s nothing really, I’ve been doing this my whole life,” she said nonchalantly. “Now, if it’s not going to unstuck itself you’re just going to rip it open.”

“You want me to rip it? There has to be something here we can fix it with.”

“It’ll take too long. Just be suck it up and rip it, I can fix it later.”

“If you insist,” you said, holding on to both sides of the dress you tugged hard on it, tearing the zipper down the middle as the sounds of fabric being torn filled the room as the dress became collateral damage.

“Impressive,” Jungeun said as your attention was on the now ruined dress, the zipper all the way down and dangling off to expose her back.

“Thanks, now let’s hope this other dress doesn’t give us the same type of trouble.”

“I’ll step out,” you said, heading towards the door when Jungeun’s eyes stopped you.

”What, have you’ve never seen a woman undress before?”

“Of course I have, but-”

“But what? It’s not a big deal, but if you’d prefer to wait outside, be my guest. I won’t be long.”

Well, you couldn’t let this opportunity pass you by now.

“I’ll stay then.”

“Good. Enjoy the show.”

With your back flat against the wall Jungeun began undressing, pulling the purple thin straps down her shoulders and hesitating, teasing you for a moment as your eyes met. Taking her time, she slipped her arms out of the purple cocktail dress and slowly peeling it down her body just past her waist, exposing her tight toned midriff.

Jungeun never kept her eyes off you, inching the rest of the dress off her body and wiggling her hips until gravity did the rest. The discarded garment draped around her ankles, leaving her in an alluring pair of simple white underwear, sheer in enough places that still let your imagination run wild. It was quite an unexpected sight.

“Fuck,” you muttered under your breath, trying your best to keep your mouth closed as you let out an audible deep exhale at such a gorgeous woman. Her complexion was beautiful, her skin fair and immaculate and you desperately wanted to reach out and touch her body.

“Judging by the way you can’t stop drooling over me, I’m going to guess you like what you see?”

If seeing her tight body on display wasn’t enough, she had positioned herself (perhaps even strategically so), in front of the mirror, giving you the perfect view of the white thong nestled in between her firm buttcheeks.

“Your turn,” Jungeun said, snapping you out of your trance as she placed her hands on her hips.

“What?”

“It’s not very fair for me to be the only one who’s undressed is it? Come on, I wanna see what you’re packing,” she said, her lips curling into a smirk as she crossed her arms.

Things had certainly escalated. When you walked into this store you hadn’t expected to be seeing the owner in her bra and panties, and you certainly didn’t expect you were about to match her level of nudity.

If you needed any further encouragement, her round dark eyes let you know that she wasn’t joking, and when a woman in her underwear tells you to do something you didn’t dare disappoint.

Taking a deep breath you began unbuttoning your shirt, removing each button until you had stripped it off and tossed it on the ground. Jungeun eyed your bare chest like you were a piece of meat, not unlike the way you had gawked over her earlier.

“Keep going,” she urged, and bit her lip deeply, showing her approval as you unbuckled your belt and unzipped your pants, not wasting time in yanking them off and kicked them away. It was difficult to process. There you were, standing across from a beautiful woman that owned the clothing store you had spontaneously picked, obviously ogling your mostly naked body while you were doing the same in return.

The whole series of events had gotten you so aroused that you hadn’t realized that your shaft had become full mast, sporting an unavoidable bulge through your boxers.

“Do you usually get this hard just by seeing a woman in her underwear?” she teased, as you looked down in embarrassment as your package dying to poke through, your cheeks instantly reddening.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed, it’s perfectly natural,” Jungeun said as she approached your side of the small changing room, closing the distance and cupped your crotch, causing your body to tense up.

“I’d be a little disappointed if you weren’t getting excited,” she said, continuing to squeeze your crotch through your boxers.

"How would you like it if I took everything off?" Jungeun asked, using her free hand to run her hands through her golden locks, ruffling her perfectly styled hair seductively.

“I’m not that easy, you’ll have to at least buy me a drink to get my panties off. But I’ll give you a little something to hold you over,” she said as she slowly dropped to her knees on the stack of clothes that had piled up in the middle of the floor.

Jungeun wanted one thing as she grabbed your boxers and swiftly yanked them down to your ankles, your hard cock throbbing as it was released from its frustrating restraints. Her eyes lit up in excitement as she grabbed your cock and squeezed it with a gentle pressure, delivering slow pleasurable strokes as her thumb rubbed your sensitive swollen tip, making you leak over her slim fingers.

“It’s been so long since I’ve had some good cock. Too long,” Jungeun said as she flattened her tongue against the base of your shaft, slowly drawing upward and taking her time. You let out a soft moan as her pink tongue reached your swollen cockhead, swirling around and planting a wet kiss on your tip that made you shiver in delight.

“You’re so fucking hard,” she said as her wet tongue explored every inch, lapping up every drop that escaped from your leaking slit. Her lips pressed deeply against your throbbing shaft, moving from base to tip and not letting a spot go without a wet kiss that sent tingles up your spine.

“You did this to me,” you replied, and Jungeun answered not with words but with actions as her pouty lips parted with your shaft as it entered her warm mouth, her soft lips squeezing tight around your throbbing flesh as her cheeks hollowed.

“F-fuck, that’s good,” you moaned, leaning back into the dressing room’s wooden wall, as you watched Jungeun work your cock, bobbing her head up and down as her tongue followed, playing with your sensitive underside.

Jungeun’s mouth felt heavenly, her soft cherry lips wrapped tightly around your cock as she pleasured you, focusing on the first few inches of your flesh as she enveloped it with warm and wet sensations that overwhelmed you.

“That feels amazing, d-don’t stop,” you said, as the blonde woman who was practically still a stranger never ceased her oral assault on your cock. Her warm lips left a trail of warm saliva as you felt more of her throat, watching the deep lust in her eyes as she slowly sucked you off.

Shortly after you felt Jungeun’s mouth pushing deeper, her full lips sliding down your wet shaft with ease, distracting you and making you forget everything else. Jungeun wasn’t kidding as she seemed to be deprived of the taste of cock as she hungrily slurped on your shaft, voicing her satisfaction in giving you such a wonderful blowjob.

You couldn’t just stand there and watch the action unfold as you ran your fingers through Jungeun’s pretty blonde hair, guiding her movements as you placed a hand on the back of her head. She took the hint in stride, taking more of you down her throat as she gave your shaft deep satisfying strokes from base to tip, sticking her tongue out to please every inch of you she could.

“Jungeun…fuck,” you moaned, unable to control yourself any longer and grabbed a handful of hair, forming a tight fist around a makeshift ponytail as you used it to assist her into a faster rhythm that she didn’t seem to mind.

You kept Jungeun’s mouth busy, using her ponytail as your personal set of reins to force her mouth to the very end of your base repeatedly, using her mouth without mercy. She gave no sounds of discomfort, if anything she voiced the opposite as she slobbered all over your needy shaft, covering it with her messy drool as her throat was kept filled.

You kept this up for as long as you could, savoring Jungeun’s wet and hot mouth and occasionally gave glances towards the mirror to distract you with her delicious backside as the sounds of her slurping on your cock filled the room that caused you to moan even louder.

“F-fuck, Jungeun, I’m about to cum,” you said, releasing the tight grip you held on her hair as it fell back onto her beautiful shoulders.

“I wonder what you’ll taste like,” Jungeun said as she withdrew your cock from her wet mouth with a loud pop, using her tongue to frantically trace around your swollen tip, pushing you even more over the edge.

Jungeun could sense your climax wasn’t backing down as she took control of your cock, furiously stroking it as she opened her mouth and stuck her pink tongue out as she prepared to finish what she started.

You were almost there as your breathing shallowed, every long stroke from base to tip Jungeun gave your shaft made your balls tighten even more, her tongue flicking against your dripping slit to expedite your impending orgasm.

“J-Jungeun, I’m cumming!” you cried out as her grip tightened, her eyes laser-focused onto you as your throbbing cock shot cum directly onto her wet tongue and into the back of her mouth as she emptied you.

Multiple thick spurts of cum fired from your tip that caused you to moan with need, each feeling better than the last as a milky white pool collected on Jungeun's wet tongue as she worked your shaft, making sure to drain your balls thoroughly.

Jungeun made sure she squeezed out every drop as she kept her mouth open, making a show of swirling your fresh load, sloshing it around before she closed her mouth. You watched the beautiful sight of Jungeun's throat gulping as she swallowed it all.

“Not bad, I guess,” she said, displaying her now empty pink tongue and licked her lips, sucking the sensitive tip of your depleted shaft to make sure there were no more remnants left, forcing a reaction that made your entire body shake.

Jungeun stood back up and gave your cock a few final strokes, making sure she kept a tight grip with every twist that drove you crazy.

"Okay, get out,” she abruptly said, as you leaned back against the wall in exhaustion.

“W-what?” you replied, trying to catch your breath as you picked out which clothes were yours from the discarded pile.

���I have to close this place up, it’s late and there are a lot of things that have to get done. You can leave after you get dressed.”

“What about the dress? I still need to buy Yerim something.”

“You can pick it up tomorrow, I'll hold it for you. You wanted this one didn’t you?”

“Y-yes, it’ll look good on her.”

“No, it’ll look great on her. We close at ten, show up anytime before that.”

“Can I at least get your number?”

“Ugh, fine I guess,” she said as you dug your phone out of your pants that you hadn’t bothered to put back on.

“Hope you enjoyed that. I don’t do that often, I just felt bad,” she said as she keyed in her number into your phone.

“You felt bad? That must be why I can see that wet spot on the front of your panties, Jungeun,” you said, and she quickly broke eye contact, embarrassed by her obvious enjoyment.

“You can let yourself out.”

Jungeun grabbed her clothes and left without another word, giving you one last glance at her perfect rear as she left the dressing room. You got dressed in a rush, not wanting to stay any longer and excited the clothing store, still feeling the fatigue setting in.

✦✦

Work kept you at the office longer than you had planned to be, which always seemed to always be the case, something that couldn’t be helped. After finishing tedious paperwork and last minute preparations for the next day you didn’t step out of the building until roughly after nine p.m and headed straight towards Jungeun’s clothing store, not bothering to change your clothes.

You made your entrance as quiet as possible, which wasn’t that difficult given she was finishing ringing up a customer as patiently waited for their transaction to finish up, casually browsing the clothing selection in the meantime.

“Didn’t think you were going to show up,” you heard, the unmistakable husky voice of Jungeun as she approached your area of the store. Her outfit was a little less flashy today, wearing a tight white top that showed off the outline of her breasts and very short jean shorts that showed off her amazingly long legs.

“Had a lot of work to finish before I could come here.”

“I know that feeling,” she said as she grabbed the purple dress you had decided on from behind the register.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t the same dress from yesterday, that one has been repurposed. This size should fit her, but if it doesn’t feel free to return it.”

“I’m sure it’ll fit her just fine. You know what you’re doing,” you said.

“I’d like to think so. You can go ahead and swipe your card now.”

“It’s cheaper than the price tag was yesterday,” you said as you inserted your card back into your wallet, putting in your pin number and completing the transaction.

“I threw in a discount. Think of it as a present from me to Yerim,” she said, batting her eyelashes as her lips formed a sweet smile.

“Thank you, Jungeun. That was very generous of you.”

“It’s not what you think. I’m just doing this as a favor, I don’t like you or anything,” Jungeun said as she bagged your gift for Yerim and handed it to you.

“I’m sure she’ll love it. Have a good night, Jungeun.”

You took your next step but before you could even finish placing your foot down Jungeun grabbed your wrist, keeping you in place.

“Aren’t you going to buy me that drink?” she asked, gently squeezing your arm with her small hand as you looked down at her pretty fingernails.

You didn’t typically drink on a Thursday night, but you also didn’t typically get a blowjob in a dressing room from a beautiful woman. It’s not like you couldn’t use it either, work continued to pile up and you hadn’t even had a chance to depressurize from it all.

“Okay, I’d like to buy you a drink, Jungeun.”

“Good, because I could certainly use one. Maybe even two.”

“I know the perfect place.”

“I’ll need to finish up here, looks like nobody else is showing up so I can get started on closing. Send me the address, I’ll meet you there in an hour.”

✦✦

Just a little over an hour later you pulled up a chair in a familiar place, taking a seat at the counter in your favorite dive bar you had been to dozens of times - both yourself and with the company of Yerim and Hyejoo. Taking a look around there was both familiarity and a lack thereof to the place.

New paintings had been hung, the walls painted with a fresh coat paint that made the place pop, and the rickety wooden stools had been replaced with fancier black ones, adding a hint of sophistication to the joint. It still needed tons of work but it was a start.

“Hey stranger. Haven’t seen you in a while,” you heard a distinctive deep voice speak out, one that could only belong to your favorite bartender Heejin. Your eyes met as she flashed a beautiful smile as she wiped down the counter.

“Work has kept me away from this place,” you said, as Heejin’s lips formed a deep out on her features. It was difficult to see in the dim lights, but her hair had been dyed a lighter shade of brown, making her more beautiful than the last time you came here.

“You here alone? I’m used to seeing you with those two cute girls,” she said, putting up bottles of alcohol and restocking clear straws on the counter.

“I’m waiting for someone. Met her yesterday.”

“Ooh, how exciting. Tell me all about her,” Heejin said as she leaned forward, capturing your attention.

“I don’t know that much about her yet other than she’s a fashion designer. She owns her own clothing store downtown by the pier.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. I’m sure she’s lovely. Can I get you started on anything while you wait?”

“I’ll just take a beer for now.”

“Coming right up!”

No more than a few seconds later Heejin placed down an ice cold mug directly in front of you filled to the brim with just a touch of foam. You slipped a few dollars in her stuffed tip jar, earning an ear to ear grin as she excused herself.

Moments later the seat next to you became occupied, the familiar perfume wafting through your nostrils that could be one person, Jungeun.

“Sorry I’m late, I had some last minute customers I had to deal with,” she said, placing her large purse on the bar counter in front of her.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you could make it,” you said, taking your first sip of beer and wiping the foam from your lips.

“This place is a bit of a dump, isn’t it?” Jungeun bluntly said, not mincing her words.

“I don’t come here for the atmosphere.”

“Why do you come here then?” she asked, as Heejin came back and bent over to grab something off of the lower shelf, her tight pants doing her body justice as she flashed a smile as she rose up.

“Oh I see why,” she said, letting out a loud chuckle as she covered her mouth with her hand.

“That’s not it,” you insisted. “I like the drinks here. It’s not as bad as it used to be.”

“Well, I’d hate to see how bad it looked before,” she said, rolling her eyes as she signaled Heejin over.

“Hi there! What can I get you?”

“A glass of red wine please.”

Heejin was nothing but diligent and before you could blink Jungeun was inspecting her half-filled glass of dark red wine, determined to find something wrong with it before indulging. For some reason she didn’t seem like a wine girl to you, but to be fair you didn’t know much about her other than she gave a spectacular blowjob.

“You’ve slept with her, haven’t you?” Jungeun said out of the blue, swirling her glass around before taking her first taste.

“What?” you said, nearly choking on your malty beverage.

“The cute girl with the brown hair. The way she looks at you makes me think she’s done more than serve you a drink,” Jungeun teased, crossing her legs.

You sighed loudly. “What are you a mind reader? Yes, I may have seen her naked on an occasion...or three.”

“No, it just seemed rather obvious. Who you sleep with isn’t my business though,” Jungeun said, and you swore there was a hint of jealousy in her tone as she swirled her drink in the dim light and watched the red liquid sloshing around.

Jungeun looked around, unsatisfied at what she saw. Clearly she was used to a higher stand of establishment. Her wine glass was already half-finished, she quickly threw her head back and poured the rest down her mouth, and you can’t say you ever saw someone drink wine like that.

“I’m tired of this place. Let’s get out of here.”

“We just got here-”

“And I know a better place we can go that doesn’t have bad music. ”

“Where exactly would that be?”

“My apartment,” Jungeun replied, flashing seductive bedroom eyes.

“If you were that eager we could have just skipped this part.”

“What, and miss out on a free drink? That’s the only reason I showed up.”

“Oh, and here I was thinking it was because you enjoyed my company.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I-It’s not like I wanted you to fuck me,” Jungeun said, making a show out of fixing her hair as she left her chair and grabbed her purse.

“I’ll meet you outside, thanks for the drink.”

Jungeun became harder to read with every minute you knew her. One minute she was batting her eyes and flirting with you and touching your shoulder, the next she barely seemed interested in you. It didn’t matter too much as you just had a personal invitation to her place and that was your golden ticket. You had barely touched your drink but that didn’t seem as important anymore as you paid your tab and left Heejin a generous tip as always.

“Guess someones getting lucky tonight,” Heejin teased as she waved goodbye, and you weren’t quick sure what you were getting yourself into.

A short ten minute taxi ride and you were following Jungeun up a set of stairs and waiting for her to unlock her apartment door.

“It’s not much, but it’s cozy,” she said as she bent down to remove her heels as you slipped your own shoes off and gently placed them carefully on the ground.

“I’ll give you a quick tour,” she said, gesturing for you to follow her as you took a quick look around. The living room was small but decorated with various paintings and a white leather couch big enough for multiple people, with small black throw pillows on either end. Underneath the glass coffee table was a huge blue rug and a pink makeup pouch left behind.

“Here’s the kitchen. I don’t cook much,” she said as her bare feet walked through black marble tile floors that looked spotless. It wasn’t the fanciest kitchen, but you would have loved to make a meal here sometime. In the center was a small kitchen island and a few stools, the counter wiped clean and a bowl of delicious looking fruit that you couldn’t tell was fake or not.

Jungeun led you past the kitchen as you looked at the various appliances she had gathered, a high-end blender caught your eye that rivaled those you had seen at cafes.

“Here's the bathroom,” she said, a huge assortment of various types of makeup lined the counter, once again perfectly clean as if she was expecting a visitor. Her shower was quite spacious, it was definitely the first time you’d seen one large enough to have two showerheads. The wall was patterned with black tile that contrasted nicely with the rest of the white bathroom.

“Last stop,” Jungeun said as she took several steps ahead of you, giving you the chance to take in her body as her hips swayed and you watched her long legs.

“And this is where you’ll be fucking me,” Jungeun bluntly said as she stopped at her bedroom.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Miss Jungeun.”

“And why’s that?” Jungeun asked as she took a step towards you, closing the distance as she placed her hands on your shoulder.

“Who says I’m going to fuck you here? You’ve got a nice kitchen, a living room…”

Jungeun leaned in and planted a deep kiss on your lips, the taste of her lingering as she pulled back and you could see the lust in her eyes.

“You’re convincing me.”

“Then let me convince you a little more,” she said as she spun around on her heels and walked away from you, disappearing into the bathroom and shutting the door, leaving her out of sight. She didn’t spend much time inside, dramatically opening the door and came out in a luxurious white bathrobe as she appeared back in view.

“You should have a seat for this,” Jungeun said with a mischievous smile on her features as you did as instructed, taking a seat on her bed and feeling her silk sheets as you leaned back.

Jungeun made sure she had your full attention as she slowly began to untie the cotton belt around her waist, opening up as she draped it off her broad shoulders as it fell to the carpet underneath her.

The sight displayed in front of you was nothing but breathtaking, causing your jaw to drop as Jungeun’s perfect tight body was dressed in the sexiest pair of lacy red lingerie that left very little to the imagination.

“Red looks amazing on you.”

“It happens to be my favorite color,” Jungeun said, as your eyes feasted on her stunning body, unable, nothing could lose your focus. The dark red color contrasted perfectly with her milky skin. Her breasts were pushed up nicely, showing off her wide hips and delicious legs that never seemed to end.

“Are you just going to sit there and stare, or are you going to come touch me?”

That was the only invitation as you lifted your body off the mattress as your hands were practically magnetized to her body. You started at her thighs, feeling how soft they felt against your palms as you moved to her deadly hips, nothing but satisfied at how good they felt to grip.

You couldn’t help yourself one bit as you snaked around her waist and squeezed her ass with both hands, pulling her towards you and grabbing as much as you could, thankful for the fact that Jungeun loved to wear skimpy thongs. Your palms were full of her soft flesh as you kneaded them, giving her beautiful backside a loud slap that echoed and made her gasp.

“F-fuck,” Jungeun said, her words light and airy as you moved to the front of her body, up her toned midriff and up to her chest, squeezing her perky breasts through the annoying piece of fabric keeping you from them.

“Jungeun,” you said with a lowered voice as you tempted her with the idea of kiss, tilting your head as you licked her neck and whispered in her ear.

“I’m dying to fuck you.”

“P-please. You’re making me so wet,” she whimpered desperately as you buried yourself in the crook of her neck, sucking on the soft skin there with no intention to stop. Jungeun was giving herself to you in no time, letting out soft erotic moans as you nibbled on her beautiful neck.

“God, you’re so gorgeous.”

“T-thank you,” Jungeun replied as her cheeks blushed a shade of faded red as she anticipated what was next.

“Can I take this off?” you asked as you slipped a finger underneath one of her bra straps, as it practically screamed to be let loose.

“Y-yes, please take everything off me. I want you to see every inch of me.”

Her voice was just the ticket you needed as you found the clasp of her bra and unhooked it, keeping eye contact with Jungeun as you slipped the thin straps off her shoulders and tossed it out of view.

Your pants tightened as you saw Jungeun’s exposed breasts for the first time, small yet powerfully perky, not unlike Yerim. You gave several teasing licks on her nipples, causing a series of whiny moans to leave her lips as you focused on one breast, pinching the other as your lips slurped and nibbled freely.

“G-god, just fuck me already,” Jungeun begged, and it seemed she didn’t share your patience in wanting to take your time with her.

“You need it that bad?”

“Y-yes. I want you to ruin me,” she said as she looked at you doe-eyed, lips quivering as she wanted to give herself to you fully.

“I’ll be happy to then,” you said as you tilted her chin up and gave her lips one deep tender embrace, rubbing your hand across her soft cheek.

“Hold on, one more thing,” Jungeun said as scurred into her huge walk-in closet and disappeared inside it. She emerged after a few moments with something unseen in her hands as she came back into view.

Jungeun grabbed your wrist and flipped it around, dropping a bundle of red braided rope onto your palm as she shyly smiled.

“What do you expect me to do with this?” you asked, playing dumb as you felt the soft fabric of the rope.

“I want to be tied up and fucked. What else would you do with it?” she asked, biting her lip in anticipation.

“Only if you want to of course,” she added.

“I want to,” you said. You definitely wanted to. You had Heejin to mostly blame for unlocking this side out of you.

You stared into her eyes intently for one intense moment before abruptly grabbing her hips and spinning her around, admiring her naked back and her barely covered asscheeks. Jungeun’s breath hitched as you grabbed her delicate wrists and pulled them behind her back, wrapping them both in beautiful red rope as you bound them together tightly,

“Too tight?” you asked, resting a hand against her toned back and caressing her skin.

“Not at all,” she replied as you spun her back around as your eyes met, and you couldn’t help but smile that Jungeun was now at your mercy. You took advantage of this right away and roamed her body with your hands, squeezing her breasts and moving downward as you brought two fingers against her clothed heat, confirming the wetness of her cunt that was soaking through her panties.

“Safe word?” you asked as pressed two fingers against her clothed core as her legs twitched.

“Eclipse.”

“Good, then let’s get started,” you said as you helped her lower to her knees as she pressed into the carpet as you began undressing, scattering clothes around Jungeun’s body until you were left in your boxers. Your bulge poked through the material desperate to be freed, a stark reminder of the previous day

“Look what you did, Jungeun,” you said with a smirk on your lips, admiring her half-naked body as she was at your whims. Her skin grew warmer as she knelt patiently as you removed your underwear, slick dripping down her thighs and making the only piece of clothing left on even wetter.

Jungeun admired your cock with a hunger like no other as you grabbed it and slapped her pretty face with it, letting her suck your swollen tip for several seconds before removing it, causing a cute pout to form on her features.

“Don’t be greedy,” you said, caressing the side of her cheek and watching the need in her eyes.

You couldn’t help admire how pretty Jungeun was as you rubbed her soft lips with one finger, and without asking she instinctively sucked on your fingers sensually. She had a wanton need for anything inside her mouth as her lips and tongue wrapped around your fingers with the same amount of desire she had given to your cock.

Jungeun slurped hungrily on your fingers as you pushed them in deeper, moving past both knuckles and creating a slow rhythm as she gagged but her eyes begged for more as you felt her warm messy saliva seeping everywhere, making a mess everywhere.

You waited just a little longer, letting Jungeun continuously suckle on your fingers until you felt she had enough, wiping her leftover saliva down her neck and chest as you gave her stiffened rosy nipples one more pinch.

“That’s all you get for now,” you said as you helped her stand upright and lifted her frame onto the bed. Jungeun did what she could to assist as you positioned her on her knees with her ass raised as her face plopped down on the sheets, resting her chin on the mattress.

You took your position behind Jungeun’s bent over body, the thin piece of fabric nestled between her ass being the only barrier between you and nirvana. The flimsy piece of underwear was almost as dark as blood but did little to hide the wet spot soaking through, and it was hard to focus your eyes on a single part of her tight body, or the way her hands were tied behind her back.

Your hands explored Jungeun’s backside, her skimpy thong was a poor excuse to cover up any skin as you fondled her cheeks. You almost didn’t want to remove such a daring garment from her body, it looked too good on her. The thought occurred to push it to the side, giving you the best of both worlds but your animalistic urges took over instead as you grabbed the thin piece of fabric and tore it right off her body.

Jungeun gasped loudly as you tossed the ruined pair of underwear away, every inch of her body now exposed for you and all it took was one look down at her beautiful pink pussy to make your erection even stronger than you thought was possible.

Taking one more look down, Jungeun had already spread her legs for you as you grabbed your shaft and lined it with her entrance, rubbing her pink pussy lips with your swollen tip as you felt her wetness collecting on it.

“P-please, just fuck me, already. Use me!” Jungeun begged, which only motivated you to keep up the teasing, slipping yourself dangerously close to entering her and withdrawing at the last moment just to hear her whimpering moans.

“F-fuck, please!” Jungeun continued to plead, and you felt a hint of pity for her desperation and nudged yourself against her pussy, the heat radiating off her body begging you to enter her.

Just a few more seconds of teasing was all you could take - you needed her just as bad, and in one perfectly smooth movement you popped your hips and entered her, both of you overwhelmed by a hundred different sensations.

“Oh god,” Jungeun said as you moaned simultaneously, watching your tip being swallowed up by her suffocatingly tight pussy. You took a moment to let it all sink in before moving, the initial warmth and wetness surrounding your cock taking your breath away.

You didn’t remember how long you took, it could have been just a few seconds or several minutes to get used to the intense sensations as you started thrusting inside Jungeun, her silky warm flesh clinging tight as you grabbed her hips and found a rhythm, picking up speed gradually.

“F-fuck, your cock feels so good, stretch my pussy out, p-please ruin me!” Jungeun begged, her naked body at your mercy. There wasn’t much point in taking your time when both of you wanted the opposite, Jungeun’s intoxicating warmth enticing you to not keep your sluggish pace for long.

With a bruising grip on her satisfying hips, you no longer felt the need to be gentle with her and intensified your pace with every stroke, bottoming her out every time as her delicious cunt squeezed your throbbing shaft, keeping her pussy plenty filled.

The rhythm grew and grew as did the lust and desire in the room as your hips hurled against Jungeun’s ass, leaving the harsh sounds of flesh smacking against flesh that was music to your ears.

“P-pound me, f-fucking pound my pussy,” Jungeun said, her words now muffled into her pillows as your pistoning hips gave powerful thrusts as deep as you could fit your cock.

“I need to hear you, Jungeun. You’re so wet, you like being fucked like this?” you asked, grabbing a rough handful of golden hair and tangling it around your fingers, tugging back on it harshly to free her head from the comfort of her pillows.

“F-fuck yes, please keep using me!”

Her lustful words washed away any worries you were being too rough with her as you gripped a fistful of hair tighter, keeping her head upright as her pussy clenched in approval. Jungeun moaned even louder as your vigorous thrusts continued, her juices spilling out of her cunt so freely as the arousal was heavy in the air.

Jungeun’s moans turned into loud husky screams as you kept a handful of pretty hair clenched, pounding into her hole carelessly as you glanced down at her bound wrists and releasing one of your hands from her hips and without warning slapped her tight ass.

Her flesh rippled hypnotically, encouraging another slap to her behind on the other side as her walls pulsated in response.

“Harder, make it hurt,” Jungeun said, a mixture of demanding and begging and you weren’t going to back down as you winded back your arm and swung hard against her cheeks, the delicious echo of your palm striking her cheeks until the color began to match the restraints around her tied wrist.

Jungeun let out deep satisfied moans after each smack against her now tender flesh, the clench of her cunt matching the rhythm of your forceful strikes of her backside. The color of her cheeks grew darker and tears formed in her eyes from such pleasurable pain. WIth every few slaps you gave her sensitive red flesh a squeeze, rubbing out the sting until you upped the impact of flesh on flesh.

Your only regret was you were unable to see the satisfaction in Jungeun’s gorgeous eyes, but if the way her pussy was dripping all over your cock you knew she was loving every second of it.

Giving Jungeun’s bright red cheeks a break, you used your hands to explore what skin you had access to, running your hands up and down her back, feeling the sweat dripping off it as you fucked her mercilessly, the hard smack of the headboard slamming into the wall with every thrust.

“Does that feel good, Jungeun? Do you like being fucked like a little slut?”

“Y-yes, I love when you fuck me like a toy, please don’t stop,” Jungeun said with strangled words, too lost in the pleasure to think of anything else.

You released the grip on her hair, letting strands fall to her shoulders that stuck to her sweaty back as you prepared for your next step, grabbing her hips and pushing her down until she was flat on her stomach and her knees pressed into the sheets.

Your thrusts came fast and loose as your legs were spread onto either side of Jungeun's body as you fucked her senseless in this position, able to achieve a deeper sense of penetration that drove you crazy.

It didn't take long to become unhinged, your pace wild and reckless as you held on to the sides of her ass for leverage, slamming repeatedly without any concern as the room filled up with her needy moans.

"Oh my god, you're so deep! Fuck me just like this, please fuck me just this, oh fuck, oh fuck!"

Jungeun's cries threw gasoline on the flames of passion as you used more power in your hips, and you were content to make sure she couldn't walk for a week as you railed her into the mattress.

You swore the bed was about to give out, and you didn't give a damn and only focused on the hot dripping flesh you were spearing yourself into.

"You fuck me so well, holy shit! I'm so close!"

“Good, cum for me you greedy slut. Cum all over this fucking cock,” you said, as sweat drenched your forehead, the air in the room growing harder to take in. Jungeun could barely remember where she was, her mouth constantly agape as drool spilled out of her lips, moaning breathlessly as the fire in her abdomen grew and grew.

“Ah! I-I’m cumming!” Jungeun said, barely able to form words at this point, powerless to do anything else. Her pussy pulsated uncontrollably around your shaft as you kept the same relentless pace as she creamed all over you, the warm flood of juices spilling onto your crotch as she came hard, toes curling behind you and her thighs visibly shaking.

Jungeun let out a slew of profanities as her orgasm hit her like a train, and you didn’t let up one second and fucked her through every intense second, the loss of her limbs to grab hold of anything drove her insane as her labored breathing filled your eardrums, every moment of pleasure almost causing her to black out.

“H-holy shit,” Jungeun managed to say as her high gradually faded, the aftershocks in her body firing off every so often that she could hardly catch a breath, her thighs flushed and stained with slick, overflowing on her silk sheets underneath your sweaty bodies.

Jungeun’s wonderful orgasm came to a close, and now it was your turn as you grabbed her bound wrists and held them tight, steering yourself towards your much needed bliss as you gave it your all. Her pussy was so deliciously wet after her climax, lubricating your harsh movements inside her thoroughly fucked cunt and sending spikes of pleasure everywhere throughout your body.

You gave her the final pounding she deserved, her pussy stuffed with every inch of hard flesh as you moved furiously inside her, wringing out all the pleasure out of her body that you could take until you felt that familiar and welcome tightness in your core that signaled the end.

“Jungeun, I’m about to fucking cum,” you growled, endlessly fucking into her warm hole to coerce your orgasm on a path to pleasure with no brakes.

“Cum wherever, on me or in me, please just cum for me,” Jungeun said, and you took no time to figure out just where you wanted to do that.

Savoring the final moments, you gave a few more hammering thrusts into Jungeun’s body before you withdrew from her warmth, pulling her up and helping her off to the side of the bed as she took position on her knees, her arms still tied behind her as she anxiously awaited the finale.

You had Jungeun just where you wanted her as she had the biggest grin on her features as you stroked your cock from base to tip, and she knew just where your load was going and licked her lips.

“Are you going to paint my face?” she asked, already knowing the answer as you stroked furiously in response, planning on using her as your canvas.

“Give me your cum, please cum on my face, please. Cover me in your thick load, please please please, cum all over my face, I need it so fucking bad,” Jungeun desperately begged, her needy words being the one last thing that set you off.

It took less than a few strokes for you to erupt as you unloaded all over Jungeun’s gorgeous face. You let out loud satisfied groans and fired your first thick shot of cum that landed on her forehead, ending up in her disheveled hair.

You emptied your balls all over her cheeks, her full lips, her cute nose and chin as you squeezed out every last drop, not letting anything go to waste as her face was covered in pearly white, the look of satisfaction in her eyes as you were drained.

Jungeun licked what she could, frustrated with her hands still tied up and out of commission as the mess you had just deposited on her stunning face began to drip down slowly, spilling off her chin and onto her chest as you collected yourself and tried to regain your breath.

She had never looked more beautiful.

Jungeun leaned forward as you guided your cock one more time into her mouth as she cleaned you off, gently sucking your sensitive tip dry with your load staining her face. You took one more moment to admire your handiwork before untying her wrists.

“You okay?” you asked as she regained the use of her hands, the first thing she did with them was to stroke your softening cock, giving one more wet kiss.

“I’m great now,” she said, heavily breathing as you exchanged tired smiles.

“You really covered me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a huge load,” Jungeun giggled as you sat on the edge of the bed, nearly collapsing on it.

“I only have you to blame for that,” you said.

“I’ll go get cleaned up. You can join me if you want, or you can rest here. Either way you better be ready for another round,” she said, slow to stand upright as she turned into her now ever familiar pose, her hands on her hips with a stern look in her eyes.

“You’re insatiable, Jungeun,” you said, still struggling to find your breath again.

“N-no, I’m not. It’s not like I enjoyed your cock inside me,” she scoffed, spinning on her heels as she disappeared into her bathroom.

You still felt the tingles of your intense climax as you looked around the room, sinking into the sheets and wondered what else she Jungeun wanted, or rather what she wanted you to do to her.

You’d just have to be patient and find out.

[lunarcovehq]

Jacob Sullivan is a witch that currently resides in Sunny Harbor and has been a Lunar Cove resident for off and on his whole life, but now he's back and building a new life for himself.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Male, He/Him

DATE OF BIRTH: November 11, 1989

OCCUPATION: Architect 

FACECLAIM: Casey Deidrick

AS WE KNOW IT, AND I FEEL FINE

SPECIES: Witch

INHERENT ABILITIES: Aura Reading, Healing, Teleportation

COVEN POSITION: Advisor

COVEN ABILITY: Electrokinesis

WELCOME TO LUNAR COVE, JACOB SULLIVAN

Trigger Warnings: Adoption, Teen Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Car Accident, Death, Child Death, Mental Health Struggles, Drug Use, Alcoholism, Rehab, Cancer

On November 11th, 1989 Jacob Bennett was born to an unwed mother, the secretary of a wall street tycoon, legally renamed Jacob Sullivan two years after his birth when his mother returned to her hometown of Lunar Cove and married his stepfather; Phil Sullivan. Shortly after remarrying, Jake’s mother had three more children and he became a big brother to three little sisters. Phil adopted Jacob before his first sister was born and treated him just like his own child, though Jacob would continue to have a tumultuous relationship with his birth father.

Growing up, Jake was a rambunctious child. Sensitive and impulsive but deeply loved by his family. He was 10 years old when he came into his first power; Aura Reading. Then came the ability to heal, and in highschool Jake discovered he possessed the power of teleportation.

Senior year, Jacob got his highschool girlfriend pregnant and forewent attending college out of state to stay behind with her and raise their child. He began school at the University of Rhode Island in the fall of 2008.

A few months before her due date, Jacob’s girlfriend was hit by a drunk driver and died upon impact alongside their unborn child. Grief came like a tidal wave, drowning Jacob beneath its weight. A loss that forever changed him, but in the wake of the tragedy his family and coven surrounded him. There was no question after that, Jacob would join Lunar Cove’s coven and came into his fourth and final power; electrokinesis.

Devoted to his family and to the coven, yet still an avid wanderer; Jacob took every opportunity to travel. He used his gift of teleportation to explore the world during holidays from school. Which is what convinced him to leave his hometown when given the chance.

In 2012, Jacob graduated from the University of Rhode Island and accepted an offer from NYU to obtain his masters in architecture. An avid lover of the arts his whole life, Jake was excited to marry his passion and profession. It wasn’t his first time living in the city, either. Growing up, he often spent summers in New York, visiting his father.

During the three year program, Jacob gave himself permission to indulge in life. He eased his long held grief in the beds of women and men alike, drowning his remaining sorrows at the bottom of drink and pill bottles.

A wake up call came the night he and an ex overindulged themselves. He should’ve known better than to let his former partner  behind the wheel in the state they were in. No stranger to the deadly implications of driving under the influence, yet thoughtless to the ramifications of their actions until they collided with a light pole.  In a better state than his once boyfriend, Jake couldn’t watch him die and broke the rules to heal him, promising them both he’d get his head back on straight.

After a stint in self admitted rehab, Jake made peace with his past and became committed to sober living. He graduated with his masters in architecture and was set to take a job out in California when he was called home for an impromptu “family meeting”.

Gathered around his childhood’s kitchen table, his mother broke the news to Jake and his siblings that she had cancer. He didn’t hesitate to move home, turning down his job offer to take one in Lunar Cove.

It was hard for Jake to be back home. Every street corner held memories of his youth, of all that he had lost. He traveled as often as he could to keep his mind busy, using his gifts of teleportation once more to put distance between himself and what hurt. Always coming home after a few weeks, though, remaining a constant support in his family’s lives. During this time, Jake constructed his dream home in Sunny Harbor. A three story craftsman he spared no detail in designing. From an attic with no door, not a problem to a witch with the power of teleportation, where he practiced spells, to a backyard with a pool of his childhood dreams.

In 2022, his mother lost her battle to cancer and Jacob returned to a dark place again. Once more, drowning his grief in bottles and traveling. He spent more time away than before, but came home for good at the start of 2024 when the oldest of his three, little sisters had her first baby. Jake’s first niece, named after their mother, little Emma drowned out all the dark.

As madness descends across Lunar Cove, wreaking havoc in Jake’s once safe haven, he has committed himself to staying put and protecting those he loves. The years of Peter Pan have passed. No longer a lost boy, but a man who must resist the call of Never Never land or risk losing the only real home he’s ever known.

[cielrouge]

YA SFF Books by Asian Authors

Ash by Malinda Lo: In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.

Along the Indigo by Elsie Chapman: Marsden yearns to take her sister and escape Glory, a town famous for seedy businesses, but her friendship with Jude yields secrets that may chain them to the Indigo River forever.

Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard:  In this sci-fi retelling of Ramayana, Sera is a Hindu goddess incarnate and must battle between her good and evil sides in order to save the world from becoming hell on earth.

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her 17-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel, Raffe. 

The Archer at Dawn (The Tiger at Midnight #2) by Swati Teerdhala: Set in an Indian & Hindu-inspired world, long-held secrets will force Kunal and Esha to reconsider their loyalties—to their country and to each other.

The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif: After being fired from the Athena Protocol, an organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice, Jessie Archer investigates a human trafficking case in Belgrade, while her former teammates have been tasked with bringing her down.

Blood of a Thousand Stars (Empress of a Thousand Skies #2) by Rhoda Belleza: Rhee risks her crown to negotiate peace terms with villainous media star Nero, while framed assassin Aly plots revenge and Kara seeks technology that will erase her royal past.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco: Tea’s gift for death magic means that she is a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community, but when an older bone witch trains her to become an asha - one who can wield elemental magic - Tea will have to overcome her obstacles and make a powerful choice in the face of danger as dark forces approach.

The Bronzed Beasts (The Gilded Wolves #3) by Roshani Chokshi: With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs, and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself, but at a price they may not be willing to pay.

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi: An epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save.

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh: In 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight, half-Asian Celine Rosseau, a dressmaker from Paris, becomes embroiled in a murder mystery, connected to the glamorous supernatural cohort, known as the Court of Lions, and catching the eye of their mysterious, charismatic leader, Sèbastien Saint Germain.

Broken Web (Shamanborn #2) by Lori M. Lee: With Queen Meilyr bent on destroying the magical kingdoms, Sirscha becomes caught between a war in the east and the Soulless in the west.

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: Set in the city of Noor, along the Silk Road which has become a refuge for those of all faiths, Fatima becomes embroiled in a war between two clans of powerful djinn who threaten to destroy her peace in different ways, forcing her to make unlikely alliances to survive.

Caster by Elsie Chapman: In this Chinese-inspired, magical Fight Club, Earth is already at the brink of environmental disaster due to the magic overuse. And 16-year-old spell caster Aza Wu must navigate through an illegal, underground battle magic tournament, while evading local gangs and police scouts to save her family from ruin.

Catalyst by Lydia Kang: Zelia Benten has lost her father, the love of her life, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of illegal genetic outcasts they’ve come to call their family are forced to run when the safety of their foster home is compromised.

A Clash of Steel (A Treasure Island Remix) by C.B. Lee: Set in 1820s China, Xiah joins Anh and her motley crew in pursuit of the hidden treasure of the legendary Dragon Fleet.

Chainbreaker (Timekeeper #2) by Tara Sim: In 1876, someone is destroying the clock towers that control India’s time. Teenage mechanics Danny Hart and half-white, half-Indian Daphne Richards as they travel to Agra to investigate a series of clock tower bombings.

The Chariot at Dusk (Tiger at Midnight #3) by Swati Teerdhala: In the final book of this epic fantasy trilogy, the lands’ fate, their people’s livelihoods, and the bond that sustains their world all depend on what Kunal and Esha can offer—to the gods and to each other.

Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu: June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic--and each other--and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic's border cities.

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye: Love, spies, and adventure abound as apprentice warriors Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart forever.

Control by Lydia Kang: In 2150, when genetic manipulation has been outlawed, seventeen-year-old Zelia must rescue her kidnapped sister with the help of a band of outcasts with mutated genes.

Court of Lions (Mirage #2) by Somaiya Daud: After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess Maram’s body double, is desperate to continue helping the rebellion But can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram's fiancé, Idris? 

Cross Fire (Exo #2) by Fonda Lee: When the peaceful alien-run government withdraws from Earth, it seems that the terrorist group Sapience is going to get the "free" Earth it wanted; but Donovan Reyes, member of the security forces, and once a prisoner of Sapience, realizes that freedom comes with a price. 

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia. The Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death. 

The Crown’s Fate (The Crown’s Game #2) by Evelyn Skye: Vika struggles with dangers in her new role as the Imperial Enchanter while Pasha faces disputes about his legitimacy and Nikolai considers how far he is willing to go to return to the world.

A Crown of Wishes (Star-Touched Queen #2) by Roshani Chokshi:  Gauri, princess of Bharata, has been captured by her kingdom's enemies and faces a future of exile and scorn--she has nothing left to lose. But Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land, promises her freedom in exchange for her partnership on his team to win the Tournament of Wishes.

The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renée Ahdieh: Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The price of loving Celine Rousseau was costly. But as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

Dark Goddess (Alpha Goddess #2) by Amalie Howard:  In this Indian-inspired fantasy, a girl who is the avatar of the goddess Lakshmi must work to prevent the apocalypse at the hands of demons. 

Dark Goddess (Templar Chronicles #2) by Sarwat Chadda: Billi SanGreal, a teenaged member of the Knights Templar, must prevent a young girl, who is being hunted by werewolves because of the dangerous powers she possesses, from falling into the hands of the ancient Russian witch, Baba Yaga.

Daughter of Dusk (Midnight Thief #2) by Livia Blackburne: After learning the truth about her bloodlines, Kyra can’t help but feel like a monster. As tensions rise within Forge’s Council, and a vicious Demon Rider attacks continue in surrounding villages, Kyra knows she must do something to save her city. 

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: In this Chinese-inspired fantasy, Princess Hesina of Yan is thrust into power when her beloved father is murdered, and she’s determined to find his killer–whatever the cost.

The Devil’s Kiss (Templar Chronicles #1) by Sarwat Chadda: 15-year-old Billi SanGreal has grown up knowing that being a member of the Knights Templar puts her in danger, but if she is to save London from catastrophe she must make sacrifices greater than she imagined.

The Devil’s Thief (The Last Magician #2) by Lisa Maxwell: Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Divided (Dualed #2) by Elsie Chapman:  When the Board goes after West Grayer for refusing to kill her next target, West must uncover the truth of the past to survive.

Dove Arising by Karen Bao: On a lunar colony, 15-old Phaet Theta does the unthinkable and joins the Militia when her mother is imprisoned by the Moon's oppressive government. 

Dove Exiled (Dove Chronicles #2) by Karen Bao: Phaet’s past catches up with her when the Lunar Bases attack the community and reveal that Phaet is a fugitive. She’s torn between staying on Earth with Wes—whom she’s just discovered her feelings for—and stowing away on a Moon-bound ship to rescue her siblings.

Dove Alight (Dove Chronicles #3) by Karen Bao: Shy, introverted Phaet Theta has gone from being a top student to an interplanetary fugitive to the reluctant but fierce leader of a revolution. But as the death tolls rise, the cost of the war weighs heavily on Phaet. Phaet started this war because she lost someone she loved. Will she have to lose another to end it?

Eclipse the Stars by Maura Milan: Criminal mastermind and unrivaled pilot Ia Ccha and her allies make unpredictable choices as they fight to keep darkness from eclipsing the skies.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan, Laia, fighting for her family and a soldier, Elias, fighting for his freedom.

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean: During a once-in-a-generation competition to find the new empress, Mari, who hides a terrible secret, Taro, the prince who would denounce the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human outcast, will decide the fate of Honoku.

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza: Two sisters, Rhee and Kara—sole survivors of a murdered royal lineage - must reunite from opposite ends of the galaxy to salvage what’s left of their family dynasty and save the universe from a greater threat.

End of Days (Penryn & The End of Days #3) by Susan Ee: After a daring escape, Penryn and Raffe are on the run, but a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all. When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee: 15-year-old Genie Lo wonders if she’s qualified enough to gain admission to an Ivy League school, then becomes powerful enough to break through the gates of Heaven with her fists.

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa: Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allison Sekemoto will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever--and possibly end human and vampire existence.

The Ever Cruel Kingdom (The Never Tilting World #2) by Rin Chupeco: To break the cycle of sacrifice, twins Haidee and Odessa need answers that lie beyond the seven gates of the underworld, within the Cruel Kingdom itself. The shadows of the underworld may hunger to tear them apart, but these two sisters are determined to heal their world—together.

Exo by Fonda Lee: For a century now, Earth has been a peaceful colony of an alien race, and Donovan Reyes is a loyal member of the security forces, while his father is the Prime Liaison–but when a routine search and seizure goes bad Donovan finds himself a captive of the human revolutionary group, Sapience, terrorists who seem to prefer war to alien rule, and killing Donovan just might be the incident they are looking for.

Fair Coin by E.C. Myers: When evil versions of himself and best friend Nate appear one day, teenaged Ephraim embarks on a dangerous odyssey through parallel worlds to make things right.

Firestarter (Timekeeper #3) by Tara Sim: Colton, Daphne, and the others must choose between those striving to take down the world’s clock towers so that time can run freely, and terrorists trying to bring back the lost god of time.

Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake: In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.

Flame in the Mist by Renee Adhieh: The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by the Black Clan. Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of this gang. But she’s quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru. 

For A Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig: 16-year-old shadow puppeteer Jetta Chantray performs with her family’s traveling troupe, the Ros Nai. But as rebellion seethes and as Jetta meets a young smuggler, she will face truths and decisions that she never imagined—and safety will never seem so far away.

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee: Sirscha Ashwyn, while training to become the queen’s next royal spy, discovers she’s a rare and powerful lightwender and is summoned to the realm of the Spider King, where her newly awakened abilities are needed to cull the bloodthirsty Dead Wood.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao: A reimagining of the evil queen from Snow White based on Asian mythology in which 18-year-old Xifeng must unleash a jealous god on the world and set free the viciousness of her own soul in order to become Empress.

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa: Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren. But Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions as his trail leads straight to the one place they must protect at any cost -- the last vampire-free zone on Earth.

Fury of the Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #2) by Cindy Pon: When Ai Ling leaves her home and family to accompany Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, haunted by the ancient evil she thought she had banished to the underworld, she must use her growing supernatural powers to save Chen Yong from the curses that follow her.

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee: A teenage girl must keep her ability to manipulate the threads of time a secret, but when her brother goes missing, she risks getting caught up in a revolution in order to save him.

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta: Eris Shindanai and Sona Steelcrest, two girls on opposite sides of a war fought with Windups, giant mechanizes weapons, discover they’re fighting for a common purpose–and falling for each other.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi: Paris, 1889: Treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie gets the chance of a lifetime when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help in exchange for a priceless treasure: his true inheritance.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: From modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend, 16-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end.

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco: Okiku has wandered the world for centuries, but when she meets Tark she knows the moody teen with the series of intricate tattoos is not a monster and needs to be freed from the demonic malevolence that clings to him.

The Girl King by Mimi Yu: Sisters Lu and Min become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust: As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Princess Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan: When Lei, seventeen, is stolen from her home to become one of nine Paper Girls, the Demon King's concubines, she proves to be more fire than paper.

Girls of Storm and Shadow (Girls of Paper and Fire #2) by Natasha Ngan: After escaping the Hidden Palace, Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans.

Girls of Fate and Fury (Girls of Paper and Fire #3) by Natasha Ngan: The last Lei saw of the girl she loved, Wren, was fighting an army of soldiers in a furious battle to the death. With the two girls torn apart and each in terrorizing peril, will they find each other again or have their destinies diverged forever.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh: A feminist retelling of the Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong, set in a town where every year a girl is sacrificed to the sea to stop torrential rains, but when a brave teen girl dives in herself to protect a loved one, she discovers a spirit kingdom in need of saving.

The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond: set in alt-history, 1960s America where WWI & WII were fought with giant mechs, biracial Chinese American teen Jo Linden is Team USA’s most unlikely pick in the annual Pax Games, an Olympic-style competition that pits mecha pilots against each other.

The Heartforger (Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco: With a thirst for vengeance, a band of terrifying daeva at her command, and her resurrected lover Kalen by her side, dark asha Tea is ready to face her adversaries.

A House of Rage and Sorrow (Celestial Trilogy #2) by Sangu Mandanna: As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. The House of Rey is at war. And the entire galaxy will bleed before the end.

Huntress by Malinda Lo: 17-year-olds Kaede and Taisin are called to go on a dangerous and unprecedented journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen, in an effort to restore the balance of nature in the human world.

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan: When outlaw Ia Ccha is captured by the Olympus Commonwealth and revealed to be a 16-year-old girl, they force her to serve them by joining the Commonwealth's military academy where new acquaintances cause Ia to question her own alliances.

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa: Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city, until she too becomes an immortal vampire. Forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls, she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend -- a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

Inferno (Talon #5) by Julie Kagawa: Ember Hill has learned a shocking truth about herself: she is the blood of the Elder Wyrm, the ancient dragon who leads Talon and who is on the verge of world domination. With the stakes rising and the Elder Wyrm declaring war, time is running out for the rogues and any dragon not allied with Talon. The final battle approaches. And if Talon is victorious, the world will burn.

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman: Japanese American teen Nami Miyamoto finds herself in a limitless world where the human consciousness goes after death, where she battles an AI entity posing as a queen that has hacked its way into the afterlife.

Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier: Mysterious maps from opposite ends of the sea cast doubt on the whereabouts of two princes, presumed dead.

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan: A debut fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology, in which peasant girl Anh, cursed with the power to steal souls enters a tenuous alliance with exiled prince Altan, bent on taking back the dragon throne, and save the empire from a cult of dangerous priests.

Journey to the Heart of the Abyss (Light in the Abyss #2) by London Shah: Leyla McQueen has finally reunited with her father after breaking him out of Broadmoor, the illegal government prison—but his freedom comes at a terrible cost. As Leyla celebrates his return, she must grapple with the pain of losing Ari. Now labeled the nation’s number one enemy, Leyla must risk illegal travel through unchartered waters for the truth behind her father’s arrest.

Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena: Set in a world inspired by medieval India, the story tells of a girl, Gul, with a star-shaped birthmark who is prophesied to be the downfall of a tyrant king, the warrior women who come to her aid, and the boy she falls in love with.

The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker: set in 1890s Japan, half-British reaper, half-Japanese Shinigami Ren Scarborough flees London and enters the Japanese underworld under the service of Izanami, the goddess of death.

King (Dragon King Chronicles #3) by Ellen Oh: Girl warrior, demon slayer, Tiger spirit of the Yellow Eyes - Kira is ready for her final quest! She must save her cousin, the boy fated to be the future king, uncover the third lost treasure, and face innumerable enemies in order to fulfill the famed prophecy.

A Kingdom for the Stage (For A Muse of Fire #2) by Heidi Heilig: The rebels are eager to use Le Trépas’s and necromancer Jetta’s combined magic against the invading colonists. Soon Jetta will face the choice between saving all of Chakrana or becoming like her father, and she isn’t sure which she’ll choose.

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress #2) by Julie C. Dao: Princess Jade has grown up in exile while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules Feng Lu. Ready to reclaim her place, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all.

Legend by Marie Lu: In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, 15-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Legion (Talon #4) by Julie Kagawa: The legions are about to be unleashed, and no human, rogue dragon or former dragon slayer can stand against the coming horde in book 4 out of the Talon series.

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana: Amrita must unravel the mysteries of her past to save her kingdom, but in doing so, she herself might come unraveled.

The Light At the Bottom of the World by London Shah: Set in a future where the Earth is underwater, Leyla McQueen must navigate the treacherous abyss to find her missing father, but discovers a world drowning in lies.

Live in Infamy by Caroline Tung Richmond: 80 years since the Axis won World War II, and America was divided between the victors: the Nazis in the East and Imperial Japan in the West; but now resistance is growing in the Eastern territories and 16-year-old Chinese American Ren Cabot finds himself drawn into a resistance group. 

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna: 15-year-old Eva is the clone of a girl living far, far away on another continent--and when this 'other' dies, Eva must step in and take over her life.

The Infinite (Gates of Thread and Stone #2) by Lori M. Lee: Kai always believed the only danger to the city came from within. Now, with a rebel force threatening the fragile government, the walls have become more of a prison than ever. To make matters worse, as Avan explores his new identity as an Infinite, Kai struggles to remind him what it means to be human. 

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao: blending Chinese history and mecha science, Wu Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. Features a poly F/M/M main romance.

The Iron Will of Genie Lo (Epic Crush of Genie Lo #2) by F.C. Yee: Along with a few other contenders for the throne,  heaven-appointed guardian Genie and her friends embark on a Heavenly quest to an in-between world.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: An intergenerational story of a mother and son struggling to relate to each other—the mother an immigrant to America who wants to make a home for her family in an unfamiliar country; the son Tiế  trying to figure out the best way to come out to his parents. Through telling each other fairy tales, they’re able to find common ground.

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas: When her ailing father is conscripted to fight invaders from the north, Mulan dresses as a man to take his place in the army, but an old enemy and an attraction for her troop's commander complicate her mission.

The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan: Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London’s black market. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London’s most famous criminal prosecutor. 

The Memory Key by Liana Liu: In the not-so-distant future, everyone is implanted with a memory key to stave off a virulent form of Alzeimer's. Lora Mint fears her memories of her deceased mother are fading, but when her memory key is damaged she has perfect recall--of everything-- which brings her mother's memory vividly back--but may also drive Lora mad. 

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall: A desperate orphan turned pirate, Flora, and a rebellious imperial daughter, Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, find a connection on the high seas abroad the Dove, in a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic.

The Midnight Star (Young Elites #3) by Marie Lu:  Adelina is forced to revisit old wounds when a new danger appears, putting not only Adelina at risk, but every Elite. In order to save herself and preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

The Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne: Kyra, a highly skilled 17-year-old thief, joins a guild of assassins with questionable motives. Tristam, a young knight, fights against the vicious Demon Riders that are ravaging the city. 

Mirage by Somaiya Daud: In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, 18-year-old Amani is forced to work as a body double for the princess who is hated by her conquered people.

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco: In  a world ruled by goddesses that has been split in two—one half existing in perpetual scorching Day, the other in freezing Night—twins separated at birth Odessa and Haidee embark on a quest across the great divide and rule a reunited world.

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu & Suzanne Walker: Teen witch Nova Huang runs into her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. 

Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering warrior Balsa is hired to protect Prince Chagum from both a mysterious monster and the prince's father, the Mikado.

Moribito II, Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering female bodyguard Balsa returns to her native country of Kanbal, where she uncovers a conspiracy to frame her mentor and herself.

Night of the Dragon (Shadow of the Fox #3) by Julie Kagawa: As darkness rises and chaos reigns,  fierce kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko and her shadowy protector Kage Tatsumi, will face down the greatest evil of all.

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee: Resigned to a life without superpowers in a world full of them, Jess takes a paid internship where she helps a heinous supervillain and works with her longtime crush Abby, but stumbles on a massive plot.

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by C.B. Lee: After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, shapeshifter Bells Broussard and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance.

Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee (Sidekick Squad #3): As the Resistance moves to challenge the corrupt League of Heroes, Emma Robledo realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.

On This Unworthy Scaffold (Shadow Players #3) by Heidi Heilig: Jetta’s home is spiraling into civil war.Le Trépas—the deadly necromancer—has used his blood magic to wrest control of the country. Meanwhile, Jetta’s love interest, brother, and friend are intent on infiltrating the palace to stop the Boy King and find Le Trépas to put an end to the unleashed chaos.

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond: After 70 years since Hitler's armies won the war, 16-year-old Zara St. James lives in the Shenandoah hills, part of the Eastern American Territories, under the rule of the Nazis--but a resistance movement is growing. 

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He: In a near future when life is harsh outside of Earth’s last unpolluted place, Cee tries to leave an abandoned island while her sister, STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara, seeks escape from the science and home she once trusted.

One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake: Preparing for the queens' sixteenth birthday celebration and navigating the fallout of the Quickening, sisters Arsinoe, Katharine, and Mirabella reassess their strategic paths to the throne using new understandings of their powers and destinies.

Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong: In 1927, Shanghai tethers on the edge of revolution. After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and while secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat.

Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu: June and Day make their way to Las Vegas where they join the rebel Patriot group and become involved in an assassination plot against the Elector in hopes of saving the Republic.

Quantum Coin (Fair Coin #2) by E.C. Myers: Ephraim, Jena, and Zoe embark on a mission across multiple worlds to learn what's going wrong and how to stop it. They will have to draw on every resource available and trust in alternate versions of themselves and their friends, before it's too late for all of them.

Ravage the Dark (Scavenge the Stars #2) by Tara Sim: After escaping the city of Moray, Amaya and Cayo head to the port city of Baleine to find the mysterious Benefactor and put a stop to the counterfeit currency that is spreading Ash Fever throughout the kingdoms.

The Reader by Traci Chee:  Set in a world where reading is unheard-of, Sefia makes use of a mysterious object to track down who kidnapped her aunt Nin and what really happened the night her father was murdered.

A Reaper At the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir: Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger as the Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, Laia of Serra, and Elias Veturius all face increasing dangers.

Rebel (Legend #4) by Marie Lu: Brothers Eden and Daniel Wing struggle to accept who they’ve each become since their time in the Republic, but a new danger creeps into the distance that’s grown between them. Eden soon finds himself drawn so far into Ross City’s dark side, even his legendary brother can’t save him. At least not on his own.

Rebelwing by Andrea Tang: At a prestigious prep school, scholastic student Prudence Wu, who smuggles censored media in a futuristic North America divided by culture wars and becomes an unlikely revolutionary, after being imprinted by Rebelwing, a sentient cybernetic dragon.

Renegade Flight (Rebelwing #2) by Andrea Tang: Pilot-in-training Viola Park, a probationary student at GAN Academy, enters a mech combat tournament that becomes a fight for the future of Peacekeepers everywhere.

Rising Like a Storm (The Wrath of Ambar #2) by Tanaz Bhathena: Gul and Cavas must unite their magical forces―and hold onto their growing romance―to save their kingdom from tyranny.

The Righteous (The Beautiful #3) by Renée Ahdieh: Pippa Montrose is tired of losing everything she loves. When her best friend Celine disappears under mysterious circumstances, Pippa resolves to find her, even if the journey takes her into the dangerous world of the fae, where she might find more than she bargained for in the charismatic Arjun Desai.

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee: The never-before-told backstory of Avatar Kyoshi, from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar.

Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa: Unable to forget the human boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, Ember is determined to save him from execution with the help of rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues.

Rogue Heart (Rebel Seoul #2) by Axie Oh: Two years after the Battle of Neo Seoul, telepath Ama must use her telepathic abilities to infiltrate the base of the Alliance’s new war commander, Alex Kim, her first love who betrayed her.

The Rose and the Dagger (Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renee Adhieh: Unsure who to trust, Shahrzad takes matters into her own hands to try and break the curse and reunite with her one true love.

The Rose Society (Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu: Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis.

Ruse (Want #2) by Cindy Pon: In near-future Shanghai where society is divided between the fabulously wealthy business elite and the masses they exploit, Jason Zhou must play a dangerous cat and mouse game with the ruthless CEO of an all powerful corporation which has an ever-growing choke hold on the polluted metropolis.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim: In the city-state of Moray, Amaya, orphaned by a powerful merchant’s greed and condemned to seven years aboard a debtor’s ship, returns to seek revenge only to encounter the merchant’s son in this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Serpentine by Cindy Pon: Although 16-year-old Skybright feels lucky to be the handmaid and companion to the daughter of a wealthy family, she is hiding a secret that threatens to destroy her position and her closest relationships.

Sacrifice (Serpertine #2) by Cindy Pon: When Zhen Ni discovers that her new husband, the strange and brutish Master Hou, may not be all he seems, Skybright and Stone must travel through the terrifying underworld to save her.

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda & Valynne Maetani: Set in contemporary Japan, Shinto temple priestess Kira Fujikawa, must seek the aid of seven ruthless shinigami, in order to protect Kyoto from an ancient evil.

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren, desperate to save her kidnapped girlfriend Kaia, plans to steal one of the emperor’s dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold, but her success depends on becoming an apprentice to the mysterious dragon trainer, which proves to be a dangerous venture.

Talon by Julie Kagawa: In a world in which near-extinct dragons pass as humans to grow their numbers secretly, siblings Ember and Dante Hill prepare for destined positions in the world of Talon only to be hunted by a dragon-slaying soldier.

The Ship Beyond Time (Girl From Everywhere #2) by Heidi Heilig: Nix has escaped her past, but when the person she loves most is at risk, even the daughter of a time traveler may not be able to outrun her fate—no matter where she goes.

The Shadow Mission (The Athena Protocol #2) by Shamim Sharif: Jessie Archer faced down death to prove her dedication to Athena, the elite organization of female spies she works for. Now she’s back on the team, in time to head to Pakistan to take down the man whose actions spurred Athena’s founders to create the secretive squad. 

The Shadow of Kyoshi (Kyoshi #2) by F.C. Yee: Kyoshi’s place as the true Avatar has finally been cemented. With her mentors gone, Kyoshi voyages across the Four Nations, struggling to keep the peace. But while her reputation grows, a mysterious threat emerges from the Spirit World. To stop it, Kyoshi, Rangi, and their reluctant allies must join forces.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa: Demons have burned the temple Yumeko was raised in to the ground, killing everyone within, including the master who trained her to both use and hide her kitsune shapeshifting powers. Yumeko escapes with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. Fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Yumeko knows he seeks what she has…and is under orders to kill anything and anyone who stands between him and the scroll.

Shadow Girl by Liana Liu: When Mei arrives at the beautiful home on Arrow Island, she can't help feeling relieved. She's happy to spend the summer tutoring a rich man's daughter if it means a break from her normal life. Yet she can't shake her fear that there is danger lurking in the shadows of this beautiful house, a darkness that could destroy the family inside and out...and Mei along with them. 

Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones: Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. But when troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be.

Smoke in the Sun (A Flame in the Mist #2) by Renee Ahdieh: After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice—to rescue him, she tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will. But each secret Mariko unfurls gives way to the next, ensnaring her and Okami in a political scheme that threatens their honor, their love and very the safety of the empire.

Sisters of the Snake by Sasha & Sarena Nanua: an Indian-inspired fantasy where twins separated at birth—one now a princess, the other a street thief— must switch places in a bid to stop a catastrophic war that threatens to tear their kingdom apart.

Silver Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #1) by Cindy Pon: With her father long overdue from his journey and a lecherous merchant blackmailing her into marriage, 17-year-old Ai Ling becomes aware of a strange power within her as she goes in search of her parent.

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi: Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but at a terrible cost. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God. Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim: The Wild Swans meets East Asian fantasy where an exiled princess, Shiori, must unweave the curse that turned her brothers into cranes, assisted by her spurned betrothed, a mercurial dragon, and a paper bird brought to life by her own magic.

A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia of Serra is now allied with the Blood Shrike, Helen Aquilla. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory–or to an unimaginable doom.

Skyhunter by Marie Lu: Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in Mara. When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. 

The Shadow Glass (Bone Witch #3) by Rin Chupeco: Bone witch Tea’s dark magic eats away at her, but she must save the one she loves most, even while her life—and the kingdoms—are on the brink of destruction.

Song of the Abyss (Towers of Wind #2) by Makiia Lucier: When menacing raiders attack her ship, navigator Reyna must use every resource at her disposal, including placing her trust in a handsome prince from a rival kingdom.

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao: After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician’s apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman’s daughter, regrets her actions. After learning that Bao’s soul has been trapped inside a flute by a witch, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) by Julie Kagawa: As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos.

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna: In this sci-fi retelling of the  Mahabrahata, Esmae learns that the King of Wychstar is offering the unbeatable warship Titania to the winner of his competition and she sees her chance to return home and help her brother win back his kingdom.

The Speaker (Sea of Ink and Gold #2) by Traci Chee: Having barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim: 17-year-old Maia Tamarin poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor, and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars, with help from the mysterious court magician, Edan.

Spell Starter (Caster #2) by Elsie Chapman: Yes, Aza Wu now has magic back, but now she’s in the employ of the gang leader, St. Willow. Who soon decides that having Aza as a fighter is much more lucrative than as a fixer.

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar: Inspired by Hindu mythology, half-mortal, half-star Sheetal enters a celestial competition to save her human father’s life.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi:  Treated with scorn and fear in her father's kingdom because of a formidable horoscope, 16-year-old Maya commits herself to her education only to land in an arranged marriage that culminates in her sudden elevation to the throne, a situation that is threatened by dark secrets and Otherworldly magic.

Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Choski:Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Steelstriker (Skyhunter #2) by Marie Lu: After the fall of Mara, and with the fate of a broken world hanging in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to one another.

Storm the Earth (Shatter the Sky #2) by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren and her girlfriend Kaia set out to rescue Sev  in Zafed, and free the dragons from the corrupt emperor.

The Storyteller (Sea of Ink and Gold #3) by Traci Chee: Sefia is determined to keep Archer out of the Guard’s clutches and their plans for war between the Five Kingdoms. As Sefia and Archer watch Kelanna start to crumble to the Guard’s will, they will have to choose between their love and joining a war that just might tear them apart.

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan: In this steampunk fantasy set in Qing dynasty-inspired China, warrior girl Anlei teams up with a thief to save her village from shadow spirits, but after arriving at the Courts of Hell, a discovery challenges everything they know about who the real enemy is.

The Suffering (Girl From the Well #2) by Rin Chupeco: When an old friend disappears in Aokigahara, Japan's infamous 'suicide forest,' Tark and the ghostly Okiku must resolve their differences and return to find her. In a strange village inside Aokigahara, old ghosts and an ancient evil lie waiting. 

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong: In 1920s Shanghai, starcrossed heirs to rival gangs, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, must work together to face a monster that hunts the city streets before the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: A fantasy about triplet sisters separated at birth, where one of the sisters will grow up to be queen of their magical island, but in order to ascend to the throne she must hone her magic for a dark purpose: assassinating her other two sisters before they kill her first.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman: 15 bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

A Thousand Fires by Shannon Price: In modern-day San Francisco where three gangs rule the city streets, half-Filipina teen Valerie Simons enters the Red Bridge Wars to seek vengeance for her younger brother’s death, but soon finds herself torn between old love and new loyalty.

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala: In ancient India, soldier Kunal hunts the “Viper,” rebel girl Esha accused of killing his General, embarking on a dangerous cat and mouse game and where both must decide—loyalty to their old lives or to a love that’s made them dream of new ones.

Timekeeper by Tara Sim: set in an alternate Victorian era where clock towers control time, about a teen clock mechanic who is assigned to repair a damaged tower and finds himself falling in forbidden love with the boy he mistakes for his apprentice, but is actually the tower’s clock spirit, and whose life is threatened by a mysterious attacker planting bombs in clock towers across England.

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake: A victorious Katharine sits on the throne, Mirabella and Arsinoe are in hiding, and an unexpected renegade is about to wage a war of her own. The crown has been won, but these queens are far from done.

Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) by Elizabeth Lim: With a war brewing, master tailor Maia Tamarin will stop at nothing to find her love Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

Vicious Spirits (Gumiho #2) by Kat Cho: With the support of Somin and Junu, Miyoung and Jihoon might just have a shot at normalcy. But Miyoung is getting sicker by the day and her friends don’t know how to save her. With few options remaining, Junu has an idea but it might require the ultimate sacrifice and, let’s be honest, Junu isn’t known for his “generosity.”

Want by Cindy Pon: Set in a teeming, pollution choked Taipei which follows a group of teens living on the seedy fringes of a highly divided society that works only for the elite as they decide to risk everything to take down the powerful company which controls the city. 

Warcross by Marie Lu: When teenage coder Emika Chen hacks her way into the opening tournament of the Warcross Championships, she glitches herself into the game as well as a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire. 

Warrior (Dragon King Chronicles #2) by Ellen Oh: Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer of Hansong, continues her quest to find the lost treasures of the dragon king's prophecy, save her cousin, the prince, unite her kingdom, and defeat the demon lord

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal: In a world inspired by ancient Arabia, 17-year-old huntress Zafira must disguise herself as a man to seek a lost artifact that could return magic to her cursed world.

We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal: When Zafria, the Hunter, and Nasir, the Prince of Death both embark on a quest to uncover a lost magic artifact, they encounter an ancient evil long thought destroyed - and discover that the prize they seek may be even more dangerous this time.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles: Showgirl Kallia, haunted by a dark past, must compete in a magician’s competition in order to secure her ambition and freedom from the handsome, enigmatic keeper of the club, Jack, even as mysterious accidents seem to plague her every move, while crossing paths with another talented magician, Demarco.

When Night Breaks (Kingdom of Hearts #2) by Janella Angeles: The competition has come to a disastrous end, and Daron Demarco’s fall from grace is now front page news. But little matters to him beyond Kallia, the contestant he fell for. With time running out, Kallia must embrace her role in a darker destiny.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho: After 18-year-old Miyoung Gu, a nine-tailed fox surviving in modern-day Seoul by eating the souls of evil men, kills a murderous goblin to save Jihoon, she is forced to choose between her immortal life and his.

Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu: Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Knowing the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she is determined to put a stop to his plans. 

The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad: A a multi-perspective feminist narrative about a fierce band of magic-wielding girls—the Wild Ones—who have collectively survived unspeakable things, and together are determined to save other girls from the cruelties and tragedies they’ve had to endure in their own past lives.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones: After her sister is kidnapped by the Goblin King, Liesl journeys to the Underground and is faced with an impossible decision when she finds herself captivated by the strange world and its mysterious ruler.

Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco: A girl descended from Filipina mythological heroine Maria Makiling, finds herself caught up in a war between two fairy tale kingdoms, where the fate of Avalon is at stake.

Windborn by Mary Fan: With magicians hot on their trail, air nymph Kiri and magician’s apprentice Darien embark on a treacherous journey through dangerous lands to freedom.

World After (Penryn & The End of Days #2) by Susan Ee: Penryn's search for her kidnapped sister, Paige, leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, while Raffe must choose between reclaiming his wings--and his role as the angels' leader--or helping Penryn survive.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adhieh: In this reimagining of The Arabian Nights, Shahrzad plans to avenge the death of her dearest friend by volunteering to marry the murderous boy-king of Khorasan but discovers not all is as it seems within the palace.

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee: As 17-year-old Carr 'the Raptor' Luka rises to fame in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, he learns a devastating secret that jeopardizes not only his future in the sport, but interplanetary relations.

[confusedwitch]

Witch-Related Books to Grab off Amazon: Masterpost Part 1

First off, I'll be sectioning this into different parts based off of what type of witch you are/want to be/want more info on, or what practices you wanna add to your craft :)

Green Witch/Magick Herbalism (a classic):

The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock - $9.69 (Hardcover): This book had incredible reviews on amazon, and a lot of the written reviews said that the book wasn't specific to a religion and didn't try to push a religion on you, which is so wonderful because not everyone wants to be religious with their craft.

Plant Witchery by Juliet Diaz - $25.19 (Hardcover) $18.99 (Paperback): Again, stunning reviews, just a less popular book. This book isn't about general stuff, but instead it's more focused on mother nature and the useage of plants (non-herbal as well, so your houseplants might be mentioned too), which is great if you wanna center your practice around Gaia and the healing energies of the earth.

Herb Magick: An Introduction to Magickal Herbalism and Spells by Patti Wigington - $14.99 (Paperback): here's a review from a verified person- it explained this book WAY better than I ever could:

The focus of this book is on the folkloric and magical uses of herbs, rather than medicinal applications. It provides a few traditional uses of herbs, but the overall theme is knowledge of the plants and their associations, and incorporating them in your spiritual workings. This is an Introductory to Magical Herbalism.

The author's spiritual practice is rooted in traditional American and European Folk Magic. She is a licensed Pagan Clergy and is the founder of Clan Of The Stone Circle, a Celtic Pagan Tradition. (Funny, anything Celtic has been pulling my attention feelers lately, no wonder why I loved this book.) Her spells are derived/based upon the traditional folk magic practices of Western Europe and the British Isles, and the author's own experiences. They are positive spells for magical intentions of healing, love, prosperity, and protection. Baneful or negative workings with herbs are NOT used in this book.

The aesthetic of this book has my little, beginner herbalist heart gushing! The blue, green, and yellow earthy tones and hues used were perfect for the topic of herbs! The cover is GORGEOUS! It's so pretty and flowery, the illustrated pictures of the herbs were extremely helpful because I had never seen some of the plants before. This will make future identification much easier for me!

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham - $16.43 (Paperback): A couple reviews describe it as being in a cookbook format, and overall an amazing book, like most of Scott Cunningham's other works. Apparently the Amazon shipping was literal trash for a bunch of people and they essentially left the book loose inside the box to bang around and get all sorts of messed up :((

The Witch's Herbal Apothecary by Marysia Miernowska - $18.69 (Paperback): Described by reviewers as the PERFECT book for recipes and rituals, even one of Marysia's personal students spoke very highly of her, saying that she's the real deal. Other reviews state the book as being very beginner friendly, and beautifully written and illustrated :))

Blackthorn's Botanical Magic: The Green Witch's Guide to Essential Oils for Spellcraft, Ritual, and Healing by Amy Blackthorn - $15.79 (Paperback): again, phenomenal reviews, just a lesser-known book. Again, here's a review from someone who explained the book a bit better than I could:

This book is way more than I thought it would be. I thought it would be like a dictionary - you look up the essential oil and get the definition. It is that but it's also got a few introductory chapters about oils and products and rituals to give you a nice and concise overview of a lot of things you might need to know as a novice. I also like the way you can reference different oils in alpha order but also look up your purpose and find the oil you need.

From the looks of it, this book is specifically about Essential Oils. Is that still Green Witchery?? Lol I'm not sure, but i felt like it should go in this category.

Kitchen Witch (another classic):

Blackthorn's Botanical Brews by Amy Blackthorn - $14.49 (Hardcover): this is mainly a book of recipes for drinks and cocktails and stuff. There was one review complaining about how it didn't have correspondences, meanwhile the book is literally described as being a recipe book? It's an AMAZING book if you enjoy/want to start making homemade elixirs and cocktails :))

The Natural Witch's Cookbook: 100 Magickal, Healing Recipes, and Herbal Remedies to Nourish Body, Mind, and Spirit by Lisanna Wallace - $20.69 (hardcover): This is again just a book of recipes, and the reviews are really good. Here's one of them:

I wanted to write the review as soon as I got the book. I was not expecting this book to be so fantastic. The recipes are very nutritious and the names are very inventive, but I could see that before I tried the recipes. I held off on writing the review until I tasted a few of the recipes. Even my kids were very happy with the flavors of these recipes. They are mostly easy to make and they are very delicious. Be aware though that the food can only be as great as the quality of the ingredients that you get. These are not recipes that call for complicated or fancy ingredients, or even a lot of ingredients. As a result, you have to use the best that you can find/afford to get the best results you can. I did not use expensive ingredients, but everything I used was very fresh and it does make a difference on the outcome. Overall, the book have some great recipes, easy to follow and the end result does look like the ones on the picture.

The Book of Kitchen Witchery by Cerridwen Greenleaf - $12.89 (Paperback):

I am so pleased with this book. It’s so magical and warm. Sometimes the new age genre can be a little too technical or focus too much on religion or putting down particular religions... this was not like that. There are so many lovely tips and easy spells and recipes that are kept fairly light so you can make them your own. The book just makes me happy, it has an energy to it that goes right along with it’s artsy illustrations and at-a-glance format. This will be a great reference. Very grateful to everyone who made this book possible.

A former editor said that there were a few editing mistakes, but nothing too crazy. If that's one of your pet peeves, just beware when buying this book lol (btw the editor still have a 4 star review because they said the book is still very good)

Potions, Elixirs & Brews by Anaïs Alexandre - $12.79 (Hardcover): I just had to include both of these amazing reviews, since both said what the other review did not.

This book is so gorgeous and everything I have been looking for in regards to potions. I love her writing style and the way the book looks. Highly informative and I can feel her good intentions behind the book. She is very intelligent. I respect her and I am inspired by her! I found her by chance looking up books for potions, she also has Instagram! Very grateful, amazing book thank you:-) so happy to be the first comment:p excited to see what else amazing things come from Anais!

And

I adore this book. The art and setup is simplistic and beautiful. There is a system that tells you exactly how difficult each potion will be to make, whether or not it’s alcoholic, and what is the ideal season to make it in. The instructions are clear, the preliminary information is well done, and there’s even a section for brewing large batches which I LOVE. The weight of the book is nice and it feels of good quality. The papers are glossy and, I haven’t yet, but I feel like it won’t be a disaster If you get some of your creation on it. The book is separated into types of potions depending on your intent. This is a perfect book for anyone new to making potions or is interested in a magickal recipe book!

The Witches Feast: A Kitchen Grimoire by Melissa Madara - $35 (Hardcover): This book actually isn't out yet, but it'll be released on October 26th of this year (2021). It looks promising, which is why I put it on the list, and for that much money, it better be good lol

Lunar/Moon/Astrology Witch:

The Complete Guide to Astrology by Louise Edington - $9.49 (Paperback) $22.99 (Hardcover): There's amazing reviews on this book, and one of them said that she's been researching astrology for 23 years!! Here's the review in it's entirety:

I've been a student of Astrology for the past 23 years now, and have read most of the books on this subject that are considered foundational. Many guides to astrology that I page through in a bookstore are fine, but covering information I already know. What I so appreciated about Edington's new book is that she brings a new angle to even the basics of Astrology. Her book feels like a fresh update, more appropriate to our current time in terms of language and sensibility. There are no "evil" aspects or transits in Edington's view, no dark warnings of disaster; her evolutionary perspective encourages us to see the opportunity in even the most challenging times, what can be learned, what can be accomplished. As she says in her book, she doesn't look at the natal chart as something fixed, unchanging, rather a "blueprint rich in meaning and possibility."

I also admired Edington's extensive knowledge of the stories behind the names and symbology used in Astrology: sharing her interpretations of them, how they are useful, how they can be limiting. Concepts I thought I already understood have been unpacked in greater depth by the author, so that I see deeper layers.

This text is beautifully written, well-organized, offering a fresh update, as well as a deeper dive than many astrology texts. This book is an invaluable resource I'll be returning to, and consulting, with appreciation.

Moon Spells: How to Use the Phases of the Moon to Get What You Want by Diane Ahlquist - $11.35 (Paperback): This book is a bit older fashioned in the sense that it's VERY heteronormative, we're talking about love magick SPECIFICALLY for men and all about being a father, and a section of love magick SPECIFICALLY for women and being a mother. So if this gets on your nerves, then i wouldn't recommend this book. Other than that, the reviews are very good and they describe the book as being a must-have for lunar witches.

The Complete Book of Moon Spells by Michael Herkes - $13.49 (Paperback): Yes, this book was written by a man. If that's something that might make you not want to purchase, please look at this and also keep in mind that SO MANY of the most highly esteemed witches of the world ARE MEN. So if you wanna be closed off and refuse their help and their knowledge, go ahead sis, I'm not stopping you.

He's most definitely not just "some guy". Aside from that, this book has very good reviews. Some people called it "fluffy" and a bit less serious then they anticipated, but it's very good for beginner witches who are finally wanting to start doing spells. Here's a review.

In this book you explore ways to conjure the mysterious power of the moon to manifest your intentions to achieve abundance and balance in your life! Each chapter is devoted to one of the eight phases of the moon and includes various spells, tarot spreads, crystal grids and potions that reflect that phase of the moon!

This is an overall amazing book if you want to build a foundation of learning about the history of the moon, astrology, cycles & phases, ritual tools, crystals, herbs, and essential oils- as well as the moon spells and rituals.

This is one of my new favorite books! I feel so connected to the moon and this book is a great reference for learning the best rituals and spells to use for the different moon phases and energies surrounding them! It’s easy to follow and the lunar rituals, mystical spells and magical drinks are so vibrant, creative and helpful in my spiritual journey. I’d recommend this book to anyone that loves the moon like I do.

Moon Magic: A Handbooks of Lunar Cycles, Lore, and Mystical Energies by Aurora Kane - $19.99 (Hardcover, although there's only three left when I'm looking at it) $9.99 (Kindle):

One review said that the book much surpassed their expectations, and another review said this:

I absolutely adore this book.

If you're just a beginner and want to understand the different moon phases, this is the book to get.

The information inside was extremely helpful without being overly complicated.

Well worth the money spent.

Astrology: Using the Wisdom of the Stars in Your Everyday Life by DK - $14.59 (Hardcover):

I saw this in store and was immediately drawn to it's beautiful and shiny cover! But when I open it, the inside is just as beautiful! I love looking through the pages. I would say it is a very good basic astrology book, but I have another one that gives much more detail. I like this one for more of a quick reference kind of book. It's more of a bullet point style book, where it gives little tidbits instead of paragraphs going in depth. (Though some pages do have paragraphs) BUT, it covers just about everything including all the houses, moon signs, and ascending signs. It covers everything, but it just covers he tip of the iceberg. (In my opinion) I still absolutely recommend it!

Apparently this book is also available in Barnes and Noble, so if you have access to one, you might wanna look there for the book before purchasing off of Amazon :)

Misc Books (General):

The Spell Book for New Witches: Essential Spells to Change Your Life by Ambrosia Hawthorn - $10.19 (Paperback) $20.69 (Hardcover):

This book... It's a very good spell book, and is true in the spells it contains, but MY biggest problem with it is that it's V E R Y Wiccan, and seems almost preachy about the "Threefold Law" and what they like to call "karma". Choosing not to do dark magick is PERFECTLY FINE and being Wiccan is totally okay! But don't be like Christianity and rub it in people's faces, dude. The book talks about how you can ONLY practice "love and light". Other than that, this book is AMAZING and rated literally 5 stars with over 11K reviews. If you lean more Wiccan, by ALL means, buy this spellbook. It's the one for you.

Practical Magic for Beginners by Maggie Haseman - $13.49 (Paperback)

This book is fantastic for the witch who wants to learn more about her craft but doesn't know where to start. Each subject is broken down into easy to absorb bits of wisdom without being overwhelming. A great jumping off place to decide where to dive in deep next.

This book is very comprehensive, and is a great reference guide for beginner witches, or witches looking to add another book to their collection.

Candle Magic For Beginners by Mystic Dylan - $10.86 (Paperback) $21.99 (Spiral bound)

This book is a must have for anyone looking to deepen their connection with the magical element of fire, ritual, and spell work through candle magic! Dylan not only teaches you how to use candle magic for things such as protection, abundance, love, healing, and more, but takes you through the fascinating history of the power of fire & how to properly charge, cleanse, and consecrate your candles to begin manifesting your deepest desires!!! Overall, the book is beautifully written with gorgeous illustration and will hook you from the start!!!!!!!

This book is perfect for beginners to candle magick, or beginners to the craft in general. I personally LOVE candle magic because I've always been attracted to fire. I could void out and just stare at a flame for hours on end lol

Crystals for Beginners by Karen Frazier - $8.99 (Paperback) $20.95 (Spiral bound)

Absolutely love this book!! It’s so informative! I am a beginner and this book explains a lot. Everything a beginner would need to know about crystals is in this book. I am so pleased with it. Best purchase of the week! Definitely worth it. The author explains crystals, chakras and energy so enthusiastically and in a way that is easy to understand. At the end of the book, is a “resources” page with all the websites, books and apps that the Author recommends.

Again, very beginner friendly, but this time it's not spells, it's crystals and such. I've personally been wanting this book for AGES

The Crystal Bible Series by Judy Hall - $38.99 (Volume 1-3 shrink-wrapped set, paperback):

This is my first purchase of the three-part series by Judy Hall. Volume 1 covers over 200 crystals! I can already tell you I'll be purchasing volumes 2 and 3 (each of which cover 200+ MORE crystals/stones, not included in volume 1) I love how each crystal description includes photos to further help in identification. I also appreciate that rarity and sources were included. Information about the spiritual and physical impacts of crystals on the body is in there as well! This book is loaded with a lot of great information and is the perfect quick reference. It's also small and fits easily in my hand. I highly recommend it for beginners.

This is a review from just the first book, and it's from a verified hauler/buyer :)) these aren't exactly newbie friendly, and some people say they're a bit harder to understand.