#Spring Black Bear Hunt

[dept-of-monster-affairs]

The Hum

Tentacles x f!reader

Word Count: 3138

Contains: tentacle sex, ovipositor/egg laying, hypnosis/mind control, outdoor sex, religious language/imagery

While you are deep in the woods, you come across a strange phallic rock formation. Deciding to camp there, you are inducted into a new religion by the tentacle god itself and given the mission to spread its holy message.

Quarantine in Effect

Effective immediately, the Department of Monster Affairs has quarantined a ten-mile radius around the town of Holtston due to a tentacle demon infestation. All travel planned through the area should be rerouted until further notice. Anyone attempting to breach the quarantine zone will be charged to the fullest extent of the law. 

Living beings in the area are being examined for eggs, seeds, and other signs of propagation with the tentacle demon. Those infected with corruption will remain under examination. Those clean of corruption will be released outside of the quarantine zone. 

If you know anyone who has traveled to the Holtston area within the past month and is acting strangely, please contact the Department of Monster Affairs immediately, as they may be infected with tentacle demon spawn or otherwise corrupted.

The quarantine will be in effect until 30 days after all signs of the tentacle demon are eradicated.

Please visit the Department of Monster Affairs website or call our hotline for more information on quarantine zones, corruption, and tentacle beasts.

Two months prior…

Your muscles ached pleasantly as you hiked along the path following your GPS.

“Alright, there are the two bears,” you said to yourself as you came across an old sign of Smokey the Bear warning about fire safety and a more modern wood carving of a black bear with a request to report any sightings of them in the area. Park rangers were trying to track their numbers as the demons had found them fun sport during the Great Incursion, severely reducing their numbers in the region. And that was why you were here.

A hiker out geocaching had claimed to see a black bear near the cache he was after. Of course, it was one of those unmarked caches that was more of a treasure hunt with clues than a “fun day in the woods with your GPS,” so you didn’t have exact coordinates. The hiker had told the preserve the approximate location but the black bear had been seen at some distance past the geocache using binoculars. So, it was up to you to go out and search the area. 

You only hoped it was a bear and not anything else.

Ever since the Great Incursion, humans learned that many of the monsters their myths had been based upon were real. Many old myths and legends were inaccurate and distorted by time, but there were some that still rang true - who knew what was living in these tall mountains now? Maybe Bigfoot really was real. And you knew the old Native myths about creatures far more dangerous than a tall, hairy fellow.

Traveling for another mile, enjoying the spring air and blossoming forest around you. Eventually, you went off the trail as per the instructions. You used biodegradable flags to mark your path and easily find your way back. A couple of miles into the woods with a few more twists and turns, and you arrived at the spot of the geocache. Looking around, you spotted the water-tight steel box sitting within a crevice of exposed rock face. Perfect.

You took out your binoculars, checked your notes, and compared them to the landscape. “Okay, he was facing west and noticed the movement on the right-hand side. The black shape was walking between the trees toward the boulders that looked like a dick and balls…oh, yeah, nope, that’s an accurate description.”

Sitting on the side of the mountain were two large, fairly round boulders and a tall pillar of stone with a surprisingly round top. Usually, this sort of landform would be found in ancient river beds where the running water carved stone, but these rocks must have gotten lucky in a landslide. The spot wasn’t that far away, maybe an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how easy a path down you found. The issue was finding signs of the bear after that. It was already after two, so even if you found evidence immediately, it was safer to spend the night than risk the sun setting before you returned to your Jeep.

Luckily, you had planned for that. Your pack contained a hammock, sleeping bag, and enough food for a couple of days—just in case the search took longer than a single day.

Knowing you were losing daylight, you set off down the mountainside to reach rock-cock…or was rock-and-balls a better name? As you hiked, you mused about what to call the rock feature that could become a hidden secret of the park.

An hour and ten minutes later, you arrived at the relatively flat area where the unusual rock feature sat. Those rocks were an excellent marker to center your search around. You approached the cock-rocks and realized that they were far less natural than you believed. The rocks had seemed rather smooth from up on the ridge, but you had thought that was the distance. Now that you were closer, you realized they seemed purposively carved.

Approaching a bit closer, you saw tool marks on the rock, or what were probably tool marks you weren’t an expert. The stone wasn’t polished, but…something was strange about it. As you stood before it, the hairs on the back of your neck rose. It felt like you were being watched.

You took out the magical device in your bag to check for a Rift to the other world nearby. The color of the enchanted compass was a milky blue, the color of this dimension. No Rifts nearby. This was probably a prank or some weird art someone made then. Neat and still useful as a hidden landmark for the park. 

“The Mysterious Cock Rock, that has a ring to it.” With a chuckle, you began your search for any sign of a black bear.

Your search circled Cock Rock using the unusual feature as a starting and ending point. You looked for natural animal paths through the foliage and broken branches at hip height; there were several but only a few deer and coyote tracks. A small stream at the base of the mountain yielded nothing besides more tracks. You did not realize that all the tracks were pointing away from the phallic stone you started from.

You came across a patch of blackberries. The bottom ones had all been eaten, but the ones at the top, which black bears could reach by pulling the branches, were still there. That did it for you. There was no black bear around here. A black bear coming out of hibernation wouldn’t miss the chance to munch on one of their primary food sources.

“Gods damn it,” you swore. But this was a prime area for a black bear to find food and shelter. You would set up some trail cams in the area, and even if there wasn’t a black bear around, it would be good to know what animals were in the area. You’d also put one near Cock Rock. If it was a prankster or artist, there was a chance they weren’t done with the project yet. With a trail cam, you could catch them in the act.

By the time you finished your search and set up the trail cams, it was dinner time. You decided to set up your hammock in the clearing with Cock Rock. If nothing else came of this excursion, you would be able to tell your friends you slept with the biggest cock you’d ever seen.

The camp was pretty simple to set up. You made a small fire for warmth and to heat up some water for tea. Munching on a few blackberries you had picked and your rations, you smiled; even if there was no black bear, it was a good trip. You loved the National Parks. The sun disappeared behind you, leaving you to stare into the vast starry sky. The moon was full tonight, providing plenty of light for you to see.

The wind picked up. Through the mountains, a low hum began to resonate. It wasn’t common, but sometimes, they made music when the wind hit the cliffs just right. The hum continued a sonorous tone that wavered in frequency just enough to have a rhythm. It reminded you of that special hertz music you used for meditation.

It was just so relaxing…

You felt the tension in your shoulders release. You could feel yourself sinking into that mindless, meditative state.

Yet, a thought crossed your mind. Maybe this rock formation wasn’t recent. It was art, yes—ancient art.

You rocked back and forth on your feet before the pillar of stone. You didn’t remember moving at all.

The breeze caressed your skin. Your breath was shallow. Breathing in and out with the shift of the hum. Your hands moved without your intent yet without your resistance. You unbuckled your belt and slowly unbuttoned your khaki uniform top. Undressing. Baring yourself to the phallic monument.

You knew something was wrong, but you could not stop.

The hum grew louder. Drowning all worries. You sank to your knees, sitting on your heels, your legs in a V, torso still rocking back and forth with the droning hum.

The hum grew louder again. It resonated in your body. Your nipples tingled, half hardening. Your body was flushed with heat. The fluid of arousal from your swollen nethers dripped onto the ground.

The hum was tangible in the air. You could taste it as you moaned in the same pitch. It was moving forward towards your body, displayed in offering to the stone. The hum was not caused by the wind. From in between the two round boulders, from a hidden cave that you had not seen, the darkness moved.

The darkness slithered forward in slick tendrils. The hum ceased as it reached out towards you, yet the tone still rang in your mind. It had filled your brain like static, white noise that erased everything else. There was merely you, a supplicant, a waiting vessel. And the beautiful darkness of possibility before you.

Out of the crevice, the divine creature arose. It was beautiful.

Your hand rose as you longed to touch the magnificence before you, reaching for a perfection that you could never achieve. Yet, you were not worthy to make that choice. It had to accept you. One of the thick tendrils rose and slid into your hand. Like Adam being touched by Yahweh in the Sistine Chapel, you were filled with life, created anew to serve your god's will. 

“Master,” you moaned with awe.

The tendril spiraled down your arm, pulling it off to the side. Another wrapped around your other arm and pulled it out as well. Your chest was forced out, presenting your breasts and hardened nipples to your god. Even in its hold, your body still swayed to the hum in your head.

Its many unblinking eyes stared down at you like a multitude of pearlescent moons cast within the sparkling ink of night that was its body. It was examining you. Determining if you were truly worthy to serve.

“Please, use me as you will.” To be rejected by it now would break you.

Like a stray radio signal through the static, a thought, no, an impression of intent crossed your mind. Accepted.

That alone caused your body to shudder with pleasure. More of your dripping arousal fell upon the ground, soaking into the earth.

A third tendril stretched out, thicker than the others but with a rounder head shining wet in the moonlight. It dipped between your open legs, pressing against your slickened folds. You gasped with pleasure, but the rhythm of your swaying body continued. It rubbed against you in time with your swaying before easily slipping into your aching hole.

“Master,” you sighed with pleasure. The tentacle held still, but your body rocked upon it. Slow and steady. Constant pleasure. 

Your god’s blessed slime soaked into your inner walls, molding them to its will. Inside, you were stretching. Opening up. Changing to what you need to be to serve it. 

The tentacle sunk into you deeper and deeper. Your hips rolled in rhythm. Its blunt head pressed against that perfect spot inside of you. Again and again, as you fucked yourself upon your master. Then, your walls twitched around it as pleasure overcame you.

The rhythm broke. While that hum still filled your mind, it was enough to start raising your awareness. Wait. This creature. This was wrong. This was…

Another blip in the hum, so much louder than your thoughts, drowning them out. Submission. Pleasure.

Pleasure. You wanted pleasure. This was pleasure. This divine creature, this god, would bring you untold pleasure. All you had to do was submit. Fall back into the warm cloud of static and let it rewrite you. The little bit of your instinctual mortal fight for independence that had clawed its way to the surface let go, sinking back into the all-encompassing hum.

“Forgive me, Master,” you pleaded with a sigh. A tendril dripping with slime rose; it hovered before your face. Leaning forward, you placed a reverent kiss on the end of its head. Absolution was granted as the tendril anointed your face with a spurt of holy slime.

With your full submission, your Master used your body as it willed. Other tentacles moved forward now. Some were like the tendrils holding your arms, and they wrapped around your legs, lifting you into the air. Some tentacles had broad textured pads at the ends, others suction cups, and others split open, revealing tongue-like appendages or even smaller and more dexterous tentacles. The tentacles descended upon you.

A mouth-like tentacle pressed against your lips in a profane kiss. It split open at the end, revealing a long tongue that swirled around your mouth, slowly inching down your throat. You moaned around the tongue as two of the padded tentacles engulfed your breasts, the cilia-like tentacles stimulating every inch of skin they covered, making them tingle.

Another thick tentacle pressed against your ass, filling you up but staying still. You could feel it gushing slime, coating your insides, your walls eagerly soaking up the blessing. A small suction cup placed itself over your clit, starting a rhythmic sucking in time with the hum. The tentacle in your pussy held still, letting your inner walls clench around it - gradually falling into rhythm with the hum.

The tongue in your throat was starting to cut off your air. Your vision started to fade to black as your body jerked, trying to breathe. Thick slime formed on the tongue, pouring down your throat and filling your lungs. If it were not for the hum, you would have panicked while you drowned. Yet, like a child in the womb, you were sustained, breathing in your god.

From deep within your pussy you felt a pressure. The tentacle that had been sitting inside of you finally moved. It pressed upwards, shrinking and squeezing to pass through your cervix opened up to it by the corruptive slime. 

Your eyes rolled back in your head from the pleasure of your god entering you so completely. An orgasm washed over your body. Through the ecstasy, there was another blip of contact. This time, it was more than an emotion. A vision was granted to you. 

An ancient past where the people of this region had properly worshiped your god for the fertility and unity that all experienced under its thrall. Then, the Division. Magic ripped away from this world. Your god torn from its people. It waited in hibernation under its phallic altar until the Great Incursion. It could sense the people miles away but was too weak to call out until you. You had come to it. You had laid next to its altar in offering. You resonated with its call and accepted it into your mind and body. 

The vision transformed into a prophecy.

You would take it to others, spread its teachings of unity and pleasure, and bring others into the chorus of the hum—you as a saint, you as a brood mother. It would put itself into you so you could bring it into town. Then you would give birth to it anew just as you had been reborn in it. Piece by piece, your god would be bestowed upon those worthy of the pleasure.

You could not speak around its tentacle. Yet, if there was any final resistance to your god’s will, you released it. Yes. You would accept this task. You would bring unity and pleasure to your fellows. Build a new cult to your god just as it deserves.

Its eyes pearlescent eyes shifted. Not eyes, you realized, but eggs. They traveled down the tentacles that rested inside of your body. You felt the first egg stretch your pussy lips. It pushed inside of you and pressed against your cervix. Your body waited on the edge as the pressure increased, waiting…waiting…then it slipped into your womb.

The sensation of your god placing itself inside of you sent you into another orgasm. The eggs were coming rapidly now. Eggs of all shapes and sizes. Small eggs, covered in protective gel, like frogspawn, poured down your throat, filling your stomach. The tentacle in your ass lined your insides with eggs, sticking to your innards like octopus eggs to a rock. And most precious of all, the large eggs gently laid in your womb that held the majority of its divine essence.

It was unending. Your mortal body eventually was overwhelmed. Eggs still being pumped into you, you passed out.

You awoke to the chirping birds of dawn. Your nose was cold. Slowly opening your eyes, you saw the canopy of trees above you. You had slept so well. Sleeping in your hammock was better than the ground, but it was never as comfortable as bed. Usually, you had a couple of knots you’d have to stretch out. Yet, as you sat up and gingerly put your feet on the ground, you felt no soreness. Though you did feel oddly bloated, and your uniform felt tight around your breasts and stomach.

Looking around the campsite, you furrowed your brow. You didn’t remember going to bed. Yet, everything was packed away, and the fire was properly doused. Strange. Maybe you had been so tired that you did everything on autopilot before crawling into the hammock. Well, no matter, it was time to report back to the station that there was no evidence of black bears.

As you packed up camp, you hummed. Not happy little do-dos but a long, sonorous frequency that moved up and down in a relaxing rhythm. Something about the tone wasn’t quite right. Humming it alone felt wrong. Your friend should be at the ranger station today. Maybe you could share the hum with her.

Comments and reblogs are appreciated. Trying to think of a name for the tentacle religion and the god itself - thinking Ch'thon/Chthon kinda basic but it works...

There will be more to this, but I thought this was a good ending point for part 1 of an ongoing series.

Find more stories in my Masterlist

[joelsprettyprincess]

Run, Rabbit, Run

Pairing: low honor!Arthur Morgan x f!virgin!reader Summary: Arthur Morgan has done countless things for you. He decides that you owe him a big, fat favor. Tags: dub-con smut (reader is coaxed into sex), age gap (early 20s/mid-thirties), slight manipulation, oral sex, unprotected piv, dirty talk, pet names, slight daddy kink, corruption kink, loss of virginity, aftercare Wordcount: 4.2k A/N: I know I'm supposed to be working on my stalker Joel fic but I just had to get this out, Arthur is such a cutie pie I couldn't resist. All constructive criticism is appreciated and once again MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! Also @thoughts-of-bear I know you wanted to be tagged so here you go 🩷

"C'mere, baby. You see it?"

Arthur beckoned you closer to him. The two of you were hunched in the grass, hunting a particularly nimble deer. 

You crawled over to his broad, muscular form. He was pointing to where the deer was loitering and looking around. 

You and Arthur had been trailing this deer for a while now; it was healthy and big, and would make good food for the gang. But every time one of you got too close, it skittered away.

Hunting this deer was important to you. Ever since the Van Der Linde gang had taken you in, 6 months ago, you were desperate to prove your worth.

Arthur Morgan had saved your life on that fateful day. A couple of crazed thieves had ambushed you and your father on the way to a town near your run-down cottage. They'd demanded all your goods and your father refused, instead drawing his gun. A shootout occurred, leading to your father being killed– struck in the chest with a bullet.

The only reason you escaped with your life was because Arthur and Micah had happened to be in the same area. Hearing your screams for help, they'd ridden down the hill and saw the thieves handling you roughly, stripping you of your belongings as your father bled out just a few feet away.

Two more shots rang out, one from each of your saviors, and the men went down quickly.

"You alright, miss?" Arthur asked, though of course at the time you didn't know his name.

"I- no, my- please," you blubbered incoherently, gesturing at your father.

They went over to him, but he was already gone. The bullet had killed him instantly.

Micah and Arthur stayed in town for several days. They helped you report his body so he could get a proper funeral and possibly justice by the law. After the service, Arthur took you back to the bare cottage you had called home since your childhood.

You stood on the porch, profusely thanking him for everything he had done. "I really can't thank you enough," you said. "If it weren't for y'all, I'd be a goner..."

"'S no trouble," Arthur assured you. He put his black hat back on his head. "Anything else you need? Food, drink?"

"No, you've done so much already," you sighed. "Thank you. I really mean it."

He nodded. "I'm glad we could help. But if you don't need anythin' else, I'll be on my way."

"Alright. Thank you, Mr. Morgan!"

You watched him walk towards his horse, then turned back to your doorstep.

You put your hand on the doorknob, and immediately jerked it away. The knob felt cold to the touch, despite it being late spring. 

You discovered that you couldn't open the door. Not that it was locked— you physically couldn't open it. Your hand wouldn't turn.

Looking back, you saw Arthur loading his horse's satchel.

A lump formed in your throat. You swallowed it away, and tried to will yourself to open the door, to no avail.

You stood there for a second, then made a split decision.

Turning around, you ran back onto the road where Arthur was just starting to leave.

"Arthur!" you called, running as fast as you could in your dress. "Mr. Morgan, wait!"

Arthur looked back and saw you clutching your skirts. He slowed his horse and turned around, trotting back.

"Need somethin'?" he asked.

You hesitated, then nodded. "I...I want to come with you."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"To your...group. I want to join...if that's okay with you?"

Arthur got a funny look on his face. "I...uh– look, darlin'," he began awkwardly. "That's not a good idea. I haven't been completely honest with you. Our group is more like a gang."

"A gang?" you asked confusedly. All he had told you was that he and Micah were part of a group that traveled all around the country.

He scratched his neck. "We do things that are...not quite legal."

What? "Wait, so you're...a criminal?"

He nodded.

You stood there, thinking. "So have you...never mind. Um...I still want to join."

This time both his brows shot up. "Really? Do you understand what you're askin', young lady?"

"Please, Mr. Morgan. I can't go back there...I can't go live in that house if my father isn't there with me. I don't have anything left 'cept my horse. Please let me come with you."

He sat on his saddle, thinking. Finally he muttered, "Fine. But it's not up to me. I'll take you up to the camp and you can ask Dutch."

You smiled and almost giggled when he said that. The prospect of experiencing a totally different life appealed to you as a way to heal from what had happened. 

Arthur sighed. "Alright. Get on your horse, darlin'."

And the rest was history. Dutch allowed you to stay, with Arthur as your unofficial guardian. 

He had to teach you almost everything. You'd worked as a bargirl since you became an adult, so the only thing you were really skilled at was putting drunkards out on their asses.

Well, that, and gardening. You loved to forage for herbs to use in recipes and medicine.

But everyone had to contribute. Arthur taught you how to shoot a gun first. You'd only ever shot your father's pistol a few times. He felt it wasn't appropriate for a lady to own a firearm, so you had never learned.

You and Arthur spent days just shooting at random things, working on your aim and grip. It had been a learning curve but eventually you mastered the basics.

He also showed you the ways of the gang. Most of the women took part in thievery and spying, not actual fighting. So you learned that, with Tilly serving as your guide.

And of course you were learning to hunt. Setting a trap was something you already knew, but it was slow and not as reliable as a proper weapon.

That was why the two of you had been trailing this particular deer for so long. You were determined to bring something to Pearson.

"We may have to try an' hit it from here," Arthur whispered. "Seems like it senses us from so far away."

You nodded and very slowly unsheathed your bow and arrow. This was your preferred weapon; it was whisper quiet and smooth.

Lining up the shot, you pointed the arrow straight at the deer's chest, breathing lightly.

"Easy," Arthur whispered. He was beside you, his breath ghosting over your ear. "Take your time."

You waited a second, then released the arrow. It sailed through the air, going straight towards the deer. It looked up at the last second, and by then it was too late. The arrow struck and the deer fell.

You gasped. "I did it! Finally!"

Both of you stood up. You skipped through the grassy turf to observe your kill, ecstatic at finally landing a clear shot.

It was a really good one. The arrow had struck almost dead center, ensuring the deer suffered for no more than a few seconds.

"You did good, sweetheart," Arthur praised you. "I'm proud."

You smiled and blushed at his approval. "Thanks," you said. "It was really you. If you hadn't taught me I would still be shit with a bow." 

He chuckled. "I'm flattered, but that was all you, baby. You've learned so much." He paused. "But you know what, I have been a big help, haven't I? You owe me a few favors, don't you?" He laughed loudly.

You laughed as well. "Probably, but I dunno how I'd pay you back. There's nothing you can't do for yourself."

He shrugged, grinning. "I can think of a couple things. I'll figure somethin' out."

You chuckled again, assuming he was joking. 

The two of you stowed the deer onto the back of Arthur's horse. 

"Listen, sweetheart," Arthur started, leaning against his horse. "It's getting a bit later in the day and the camp is quite a ride from here. Whaddya say we set up camp right here and set out in the mornin'?"

You looked up. The sun was well past its peak by now, and there were golden orange and pink hues in the horizon.

"Plus you'll get a break from all the jabberin' from everyone," he added, chuckling.

"That sounds great," you agreed. You had camped with Arthur a few times before. He was a good partner to have.

"Shit's settled then," he grunted. "Let's ride down to that creek to wash up, then we can start a fire somewhere." Arthur helped you onto your horse and patted your leg before getting on his own.

You spurred your horse, Desdemona, into action, and she set off behind Arthur's horse.

There was a deep creek (or maybe it was a shallow river?) a few minutes away, where you and Arthur scrubbed the blood and dirt off your arms while the horses drank.

You glanced at Arthur and saw that he was looking at your arms. "What?" you asked.

He shook his head. "Nothin'. Yer hands, they're just so...delicate."

You had never noticed before, but now you could see that compared to Arthur's large grizzled hands, you were really soft– not just physically but mentally.

"It's 'cause I'm useless," you joked. "Just like Pearson said."

He looked sharply. "Pearson said what?"

"Oh– nothing, just...well, it's nothing," you muttered.

"Tell me what he said," Arthur said firmly.

You hesitated, not wanting to be a snitch. "Well, he just said that I don't really contribute much...but I mean, he's right! I don't do much. That's why I wanted to hunt today."

Arthur didn't say anything for a bit, then he said in a low voice, "I'll have a talk with him."

You felt bad. "You don't have to."

He didn't answer, and instead stood up. "You ready?" 

You stood as well, finishing drying your hands on your cloth. "Yup."

Arthur got back on his horse and continued down the trail, with you following closely behind. Within a few minutes, he located a bit of flat dry land on which to set up camp.

The horses were hitched to a nearby tree and given their supper. You worked on lighting a fire while Arthur refilled your water containers.

Both of you had lunches packed, fortunately. Arthur said he wanted to leave the deer untouched until you got back to camp.

You sat on the grass and ate your sandwich. Arthur shared some of his jerky with you. He also offered you a sip of alcohol, which you accepted and almost immediately spit out.

The two of you spent some time at the fire, eating and looking at the slowly advancing sunset.

Without looking at you, Arthur took your hand in his and gently rubbed your knuckles.

You didn't think too much of it. He'd held your hand before and said it didn't mean anything, it was just a sign of your companionship.

Arthur was strange sometimes, you thought. Here he was appreciating a sunset, when just last week he'd stumbled into camp covered in blood– and only some of it was his.

You knew the reality of life in the Van Der Linde gang. The men made no attempt to hide their actions from you, least of all Arthur. In fact, you sometimes wondered if he sought out violence on purpose. The looks he gave you when came back from a long day of lawbreaking were...interesting, to say the least. Like a wolf observing a clueless rabbit.

But on the other hand, he was a man of hidden beauty. You'd found his journal soon after you arrived, and in the 10 seconds before he snatched it away, you read the words written in neat cursive and surprisingly good sketches.

He also sometimes went foraging with you, and seemed just as interested in the herbs as you were.

As for the handholding, you didn't know how to feel about it. He only did it when the others weren't around, and you knew it usually had romantic notions. But you knew it could have friendly notions as well.

Arthur Morgan was complicated, that was for sure. He made your thoughts jumble and your face heat up as you tried to piece together his psyche. He was handsome for sure, way more good-looking than anyone else in camp.

Still, though, you didn't think it was appropriate to explore those feelings. It was...weird. He was quite a bit older than you, after all, and your relationship was more of a teacher-student one.

Well, whatever your feelings were, you were certain he knew not to encourage them.

Deep down, he was a good man.

-

You had been watching the sunset for a few minutes when Arthur spoke in a low voice.

"Sweetheart, I've been thinkin'."

"Mhm?" you asked.

"About how you can repay me."

"Oh? I thought you were joking," you giggled.

He chuckled, then cleared his throat. "Well, I've done so much for you, I feel like you should do somethin' for me, yeah?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," you replied. "What do you want? Money?"

"Not quite." Arthur took your hand, still encased in his, and placed it between his thighs.

You felt something stiff but pliable pressing against your palm. "O-Oh," you said, heart pounding. 

"It's the least you could do," he said. "Are you...have you done this before?"

"...Yes," you whispered. "Twice. But...I don't..."

Arthur used his other hand to unbuckle his pants and pull them down a bit. He moved your hand to rest on his boxers.

"Arthur, I–"

"You owe me," he said. "All the times I covered your ass. Not to mention I saved your life."

Your pulse was quickening rapidly. You were getting a bit scared at his change of tone. "I don't think this is...appropriate," you spoke carefully. 

"Why not? We're both adults," he said flippantly.

"I just–"

"You can't do this one little thing for me, babydoll?" he asked. "It's not a big deal."

You stayed silent and thought about what to do. The only sound was the trees rustling.

Arthur slipped your fingers underneath his boxers. Your fingertips pressed against his groin.

You gasped and inadvertently jerked. 

Immediately, he was calming you. "Shh, s'okay, don't panic, baby. Just let it happen..."

You remained still as Arthur pulled down his boxers and let his half-hard cock spring out.

Your breath quickened. You weren't that experienced, but even you could tell he was big. It was just a bit longer than your hand length, and the girth looked almost scary.

Arthur could tell you were nervous. "Hey, it's okay, babydoll. Look at me."

You met his gaze. His normally bluish-green eyes had darkened.

"Is...is this...normal?" you asked confusedly. "I thought..." You trailed off uncertainly.

"Thought what, darlin'?" he prompted.

"I dunno. It feels weird..." You couldn't explain it.

"This is very normal, I promise you. Yer daddy tell you about what married folks do?"

"Not really," you admitted. "But I know some things. And...I did a little."

"Well then, you know how good it feels. 'S nothing to be afraid of. I'll be gentle, I promise. We don't even have to go all the way."

He placed your hand on his fat shaft and left it here. "Just use your hand, baby. Up and down."

You started off uncertain at first, giving tiny strokes, then Arthur intervened and showed you just how he liked it: a nice, fast stroke.

"Don't be shy, now," he said. 

After he removed his hand you tried to match the speed. This felt really weird. Although you did find Arthur attractive, you kind of had relegated it to a silly fantasy. A pipe dream. 

This was all just happening so fast.

He sighed and shifted closer to you, so your legs were pressed together. Then he said in a husky voice: "Put some spit on there, darlin'."

You hesitated and paused. "S..spit?"

He nodded. "Use yer mouth. You never did that before?"

"Just once... but is this okay? Will Dutch get mad?"

He laughed. "Dutch? He ain't got nothing to do with this. This is somethin' special just for the two of us. "

Arthur grasped your neck and pushed your face towards his stiff tip. When your mouth was inches away from it, he said, "Now just relax your mouth, don't use your teeth. Just use your tongue."

He pushed further until your lips were against his shaft. You parted them and allowed him to enter your mouth.

Arthur inhaled sharply and sighed. "That's right. Good girl...g'on and suck it..."

Only a few inches were in your mouth, but you already felt full. You struggled to swipe your tongue over it, and tried to suck it as best as you could. Horribly lewd noises came out of your mouth, and you were embarrassed.

Arthur roughly grasped your hair and pushed down, forcing more of his thick cock down your throat.

You made a noise and pulled away, gasping for breath. Arthur allowed you to breathe for a second before coaxing your mouth back onto his cock.

By this time it was early evening and the sun had almost completely disappeared. The first stars were appearing.

"Suck it good, just like that," Arthur moaned while you struggled to fit him in. You found it most comfortable to just suck the tip, but he clearly wanted more than that. After a minute, he was pushing your head down again.

You tried to lift your head but Arthur didn't let you. He rubbed your back. "Shh, s'okay, you're doing great," he whispered. "Just relax. Relax, babydoll."

You kept sucking and slurping with your tongue. It still felt weird, but it did feel good. Arthur smelled like the outdoors, which wasn't that bad.

"Keep using yer hand too," he reminded you.

The length that wasn't in your mouth was encased by your fingers. You moved them as much as you could.

You had this sudden need to please him. Actually, it wasn't sudden at all. You lived for Arthur's praise. Whenever he taught you something new, you tripped over your feet to prove yourself. It made your day when he said "good girl", or "I'm proud of you." 

It was the same here. Though you were still a bit apprehensive about this, your need to satisfy him overruled it. 

And he wasn't shy with the praise. Dirty words from his lips, his chest heaving in and out as you attacked his fat cock with your tongue.

Arthur started pushing and pulling your head, using you almost like an object. Your lips slid up and down his throbbing shaft and the speed of it made it difficult for you to focus on breathing.

He pushed and pushed until your mouth was almost pressed against the hair at the base. Holding it there, he muttered, "That's right. Choke on daddy's cock." 

You choked, and desperately tapped his leg and made noises before he finally let go.

You shot up off his cock, coughing and blinking. Drool ran out of your mouth.

"Ah...haah," you breathed, wiping off your lips. Did he really just call himself...?

"Good," he praised. "You're doin' so well for me, sweet girl."

Arthur stared at you, transfixed by the spit smeared around your lips and the bewildered look in your eye. 

He needed more.

Arthur gently maneuvered your body to lay on the blanket under you, then pulled up your skirts.

"Wh-what?!" you gasped. "I thought you weren't-"

He put a finger to your lips. "Shh, it's okay, baby, I promise. Just lay still."

You lay there as he pulled off your shoes and bloomers.

Arthur traced the outline of your cunt and you shuddered. 

"You ever been touched here before?" he asked.

You wordlessly shook your head.

He whistled lowly. "Good."

Arthur took his pants off completely and lay down on you– but his head was between your legs. He pulled your underwear off– the last layer. You shivered a little as the cool evening air hit your bareness. 

Using his hands, Arthur kept your legs spread and started using his tongue. You were completely shaken by the sudden pleasure blooming and cried out.

"Arthur–!" Your hands found his hair and grasped it, needing some sort of grounding.

He continued eating you out, sparing no pleasure. Your legs squeezed around him but his arms kept them spread.

You tried to moan quietly, but it felt too good. Your hips rocked against his face and grinded your cunt on his lips.

He added a finger, and it was like you'd died and ascended. You were seeing stars.

"Arthur, Arthur, please," you gasped, not even knowing what you were begging for. It was sinfully good.

"That's my good girl," he whispered, replacing his tongue with another finger. "Damn, you're a tight squeeze. Fuckin' creamin' all over daddy's fingers, ain't you?"

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you thought it was strange how he kept calling himself that, but you were too overwhelmed to care. Maybe you even kind of liked it.

"Yes...yes," you whined.

After just a couple more minutes, the pressure that had been building in your stomach was very quickly released, in the form of you reaching your peak and soaking his fingers and the blanket, crying out in ecstasy the whole time. Your own fingers shot down, encouraging your cunt to ride out the full orgasm.

After what felt like an hour, you finally opened your eyes to see Arthur smiling at you. 

"Never seen nothin' like that before, baby," he said huskily. "You sure you're a virgin?"

You giggled nervously. "I am."

"Hard time believing that," he remarked, wiping off his mouth. Then he shifted positions, so he was on his knees in front of your cunt, towering over you. His cock stood at the ready, still just as hard and leaking precum.

"You ready?" he asked.

"What- we're not done? There's more?" you gasped.

"Course there's more. I gotta get off too, don't I?" Arthur laughed. He tapped his tip against your still throbbing cunt.

You got scared again. "W-wait, Arthur, I don't think it's gonna fit- Ah!" 

Ignoring your words completely, Arthur pushed his cock into your soaked hole. You cried out at the stretch and the warmth. He was fucking big, much thicker than his fingers.

He coaxed in about half of it before pausing to breathe. Your eyes were tightly shut and you were gripping the blanket, breathing heavily. 

Arthur leaned down and gently kissed your lips.  He put his hands on your shoulders and slowly started thrusting in and out, enjoying the loud, creamy noises that were being produced.

If getting fingered was the pinnacle of pleasure, this was completely supernatural. You had no idea a person could feel like this.

It did hurt a bit, even with Arthur prepping you beforehand. He went slow enough at first, but he was impatient. Soon he was speeding up, desperate to feel every inch of your tight, warm hole.

Very quickly his cock was coated in your juices, allowing him to more easily fuck you. And this was definitely fucking, not making love. He growled lowly in your ear, nibbling on the lobe. 

The force of his thrusts made your breasts bounce up and down. One of his hands went down the front of your dress and fondled your breast.

"Good girl," he mumbled. "Good fuckin' girl. Gripping me so nice. So sweet...my special girl. Fuck...I never wanna leave this pussy. You're daddy's special cocksleeve, yeah? You want that?"

You whined desperately, arms scratching his broad back. Lucky he still had his shirt on, or he'd have scratches all over.

"Please, Arthur," you gasped, eyes rolling from pleasure. "I-I- mm–"

Another orgasm washed over you. You gripped his cock tight, milking it, barely letting him thrust in and out.

He chuckled. "Gripping me like that, you're fuckin' begging for me to fill you up. You want that, princess?" He slapped your face. "Dirty slut."

His sudden change of tone surprised you, but you couldn't say it didn't totally turn you on. But he'd reminded you of something.

Between moans you gasped, "What– about a, a baby?"

Arthur didn't answer, bent on reaching his climax.

"Arthur!" you cried, getting nervous.

"I'm close," he muttered. "Lay still, babygirl, lay still."

You were scared he was going to finish inside you. "Arthur, please! Please–"

"Fuck,"  he growled, pulling out at the last possible second. He was just barely able to scramble upwards before his cock twitched and he came, letting out thick spurts on your breasts.

Arthur grabbed your hand and you jerked him off together, both of your hands quickly stroking him. He let out a couple more thick ropes, which landed on your face.

Once he had let out the last of his cum, Arthur let your hand go and breathed heavily.

"You're so beautiful," he breathed. He grabbed a nearby cloth and used it to wipe your face off, then kissed you deeply.

You kissed him back, stroking his hair.

-

The two of you wiped down everything as best as you could, using damp cloths. 

You shared the tent that night, bodies pressed together.

"I love you," Arthur mumbled. "My special doll."

His hand found yours and squeezed it.

[welostheplot]

── 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 ᨒ↟☾.࿔*:･ 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐢 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: vampire!ellie williams / werewolf!abby anderson / reader

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: spring has finally begun to thaw jackson’s cold edges but, now, you’re haunted by cryptic dreams. when trouble finds you in the dark, luckily, ellie does too.

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓: it's getting a little angsty! public intoxication, harassment, use of slurs (d*ke), homophobia.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 3.0k

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: this chapter came soooo easy to me, i literally wrote it all in one day (then picked it apart and tweaked a bunch of stuff for like two days straight after). i think i see, now, why some authors love writing angst; toxic!ellie, you were a joy to bring to life.

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 | 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐄 𝐈 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄: "we shouldn't be friends"

YOU WERE RUNNING.

the air burned in your lungs. your legs ached. branches clawed at your arms, snagging on your sleeves as you pushed through the woods.

something was behind you. hunting you. you couldn't see what it was, but you felt it.

then came a roar, so loud and horrifying, it made you stumble. your head whipped around as you sprinted, a desperate attempt at gaining your bearings.

you stumbled again.

and fell.

and then you—

—woke up.

your chest heaving, you sat upright in bed, disoriented. it was pitch black. the room was quiet.

and then you saw her.

a figure, hovering and still, but unmistakably her, standing in the corner of your room. you squeaked and froze, petrified.

you fumbled for the cord of your lamp on your nightstand, hands clammy.

click.

the room was bathed in warm light and decidedly empty.

no ellie. just your cluttered desk, the heap of laundry bursting from your hamper, and the sound of the wind whistling outside.

you stared at the spot where you swore she had just been standing.

she had been right there.

hadn't she?

you pressed a hand to your sweaty forehead, a shiver wracking your body. peeled your duvet back and swung your legs over the side of the bed. padded over to the window to look out onto an empty street.

you stood there, hot breath fogging the chilled window pane, then whispered to yourself:

"...what the actual fuck."

eventually, you turned the lamp off and crawled back into bed. but you didn't fall asleep. not for a long, long time.

YOUR LOCKER WAS JAMMED.

you'd been pulling at the handle for over a minute now, tongue caught between your teeth in concentration and composure already stretched thin with the horrible sleep you'd gotten last night.

you were mid frustrated slam to the cold, dented metal of the door when nat showed up, practically vibrating with an energy you were positive you didn't have the patience for at the moment.

"hey!" she said, a touch too loudly, bouncing slightly on her heels. "you, uh... got a sec?"

you glanced at your locker, still stubbornly locked shut (and now adorning a fresh new dent in the center), then back at her. "uh. yeah? i guess."

"cool! cool. okay. so.." she ran a hand through her hair and immediately regretted it, judging by the wrinkle that formed on her forehead when her fingers got tangled and she was forced to yank at the blonde strands to free herself. "prom's coming up. obviously. i mean, like, everyone's talking about it."

you nodded, actively willing yourself not to grimace in anticipation of her next words.

"...and i was thinking, like, maybe you'd wanna go? with me?"

fuck.

nat smiled, half-nervous, half-hopeful.

"i just— i don’t think i’m gonna do prom. probably,” you said, then immediately winced. “i mean, not that it wouldn’t be fun. with you. probably. i just. i think cassie might… be more your speed? she—she really likes your… eyebrows.”

double fuck.

nat blinked. "cassie likes my... eyebrows?"

"yeah," you lied. "loves them, actually."

there was a long stretch of silence where neither of you said anything, and then nat laughed, thankfully not sounding too dejected.

"got it. worth a shot." she gave you a sheepish little salute, turned on her heel, and vanished into the crowded hallway.

you let out a breath you didn't even realize you were holding.

and then turned around and nearly jumped out of your skin.

ellie was standing there.

leaning against the lockers, arms crossed and sharp eyes trained directly on you.

"how long were you standing there?"

she ignored the question. "'she likes your eyebrows?' seriously?"

you groaned, slapping a hand over your face, mortified. "spare me, i had a long night."

"her hair's so light you can barely even see the things."

"ellie," you hissed. "she caught me off guard, okay? i panicked. my brain was like, 'say a noun' and apparently that noun was eyebrows."

ellie chuckled, but there was a tightness to it. "so you're not going? to prom?"

you shrugged, "i dunno. probably not."

"even though she asked you?"

"i didn't say yes."

"but you didn't say no."

you tilted to your head, laughing in disbelief. "are you seriously trying to give me shit over nat? why do you even care?"

"i don't," she said cooly. "but you don't need to lead people on just because you like the attention."

your laugh died in your throat.

"excuse me?"

she blinked, as if surprised by her own words, but she didn’t take them back.

your cheeks went hot with embarrassment and anger. "you don't get to say shit like that to me. you're the one playing games."

"i'm not playing anything," she snapped. it was like a switch had flipped, any warmth from earlier in the conversation gone.

you stared at each other in tense silence, students moving around you that neither of you paid any mind.

“whatever,” you muttered, turning away and walking off without another word.

she didn’t follow.

ELLIE WAS APPARENTLY BACK TO HER OLD SELF AGAIN.

she didn't wave 'hi' to you in the parking lot like she normally did.

didn't look at you during lunch.

didn't speak to you in bio.

it wasn't until the final bell of the day rung that you received your first interaction with her in the past 24 hours.

you were walking toward your locker to grab your stuff and leave when you saw her, standing beside it with her hands jammed into her jacket pockets. waiting.

you paused. looked behind you, like maybe she was there for someone else conveniently right next to your locker. but no—her eyes met yours and stayed locked with them.

you walked over, slowly, like you were approaching a skittish animal.

"what, are you haunting my locker or something?"

she didn't smile.

"we shouldn't be friends," she said.

just like that. no preamble or explanation.

"sorry, what?"

she looked away, jaw tight. "you and me. it's not a good idea."

you stared at her, dumbfounded. "so you're just deciding that for the both of us?"

"i'm doing you a favor."

you laughed—sharp and humorless. "by what? giving me emotional fucking whiplash? really kind of you, thanks."

ellie didn't flinch at the bite in your voice. "this was a mistake."

"right. got it. and saving my life? total mistake too. you should've just let marcus's car crush me. then we wouldn't have even had to have this little conversation."

she looked at you, hard. "you don't know what the fuck you're even talking about."

"then tell me," you snapped, throwing your arms up in defeat. "make it make sense. explain it all. why you keep putting up these walls. why you won't tell me the truth—"

"i can't," she said, cutting you off and grasping your arms, stopping your wild, frustrated gesticulations. her hands were ice cold. "you don't get it. i can't."

and then—like divine comedic fucking timing—dina's voice rang out from somewhere behind ellie.

"there you are, ellie! if you didn't already get the memo, the school day's over? can you hurry up?"

ellie stepped back so fast it was like she'd been burned. you stared at her, waiting.

but she just shook her head, and turned around to catch up with dina who raised an eyebrow at you, but said nothing.

THE WEATHER WAS SLOWLY SHIFTING.

the snow and ice didn't melt all at once—jackson wasn't built for that kind of mercy—but your porch steps were no longer a danger to your livelihood and kids had started ditching their jackets even though it was objectively still cold.

cassie was squinting as she talked, the bright sunlight filtering in from the large windows lining the hallway shining directly onto her face.

"i'm just saying," she said, popping her gum. "i don't think the millers should be allowed to just disappear whenever the weather's nice."

you perked up at the mention of the name. "what, do they just ditch?"

"nah. joel yanks them out for, like, hiking and camping and stuff. they're soooo lucky. my parents would never."

"same. but, also, what kind of politician encourages his own kids to skip school to frolic in the woods?" leah snickered, cassie joining in.

"i guess when you're a dilf like him you can get away with a lot."

leah gasped, "dude! i would not fuck joel miller. he's like... old."

cassie cackled at that. "your loss, my gain!"

when the three of you stepped outside, the sun was out and bright enough to make you untuck the scarf you had bundled around your neck to shield you from the chilly air.

it was friday, finally the weekend, and abby had asked you if you'd be up for the drive after school to see her.

nothing formal. she'd just mentioned she'd be working on her bike if you wanted to hang out. you weren't sure if it was a date. you were also too shy to ask.

the wlf settlement was a couple miles off, tucked into the dense woods. driving in, you'd noted how the whole thing looked like an adult summer camp—hiking trails, veggie gardens, and literal log cabins with solar panel lined rooftops.

you found abby by a large garage building, crouched beside a beat-up motorcycle. she was humming something low and offkey as she worked on the bike, a grease stain on her left cheek.

"is that thing even salvageable?" you asked, approaching.

abby looked up and grinned. "i got your old chevy up and running so, honestly, i wouldn't doubt me."

you laughed, moving to sit on a nearby stool. abby clicked on a tiny flashlight and held it out to you. "hold the light?"

"i thought i was just hanging out. didn't realize i was also the mechanic's assistant."

"welcome to the pit crew."

your 'assistance' wasn't exactly the most useful, but coupled with your company it was apparently enough. she worked, her hands sure and practiced, while you handed her tools, chatting easily.

every so often, in the lulls of conversation, you'd catch her muttering to herself or swearing softly under her breath whenever she dropped a bolt. it was cute.

“so,” you said, after a comfortable silence, “that story you told me at colter bay."

her movements faltered, just a little. you wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't been captivated by the shift of her back muscles under the tight long-sleeved shirt she was wearing.

"what about it? dumb little folktale keeping you up at night or somethin'?"

you tilted your head. "you didn't make it sound dumb when you told it."

she wiped her hands and leaned back on her heels, glaring at the bike like it'd be able to provide the information you were clearly fishing for.

"you ever ridden on a motorcycle?" she asked instead.

you shook your head, "seems fun though. the adrenaline and all that."

“come with me sometime,” she said, casual. “once it’s running.”

you blinked. “really?”

"yeah," she seemed almost shy now. "the adrenaline rush is nice. and i know some roads on the cliffs with the best views."

you looked down, suddenly too warm. "yeah. okay."

the moment hung there—quiet and tender. then she cleared her throat and grabbed a wrench, handing it to you and nodding toward the bike. "wanna actually do something useful now?"

you took it. "wow, i'm offended. you said i was being helpful earlier!"

abby grinned lopsidedly. "yeah, well... that was because i wanted to see that pretty smile again."

you ducked your head and nudged her with your shoulder bashfully, biting back your own matching grin.

"yuuuup, there's the one."

and while you two tinkered away at the bike well into the evening, side by side, the world felt uncomplicated and your mind was far, far away from any thoughts of the girl who hadn't shown up at school again all week.

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN TOWN STAYED OPEN LATER ON WEDNESDAYS.

you hadn't known until that afternoon, when you decided to pay a visit.

you’d spent most of the school day chewing on abby’s weird dismissal from the weekend. something about the way she shut it down—it hadn't felt like she was annoyed.

it felt like she was scared.

and when you got home after an evening of motor oil, shared smiles, and stolen glances, you took to google, searching for anything that might explain the growing sense of dread you were experiencing.

wlf folk legends. jackson forest creatures. fireflies ancient cult.

the results were frustrating: vague blog posts. sketchy message boards. dead ends.

so you went back to basics.

took the long way downtown and ended up at the library.

it was mostly empty—just a couple of older folks on computers and a student napping over a textbook. you liked the quiet. nobody breathing over your shoulder or asking too many questions.

you weren’t even sure what you were looking for, exactly. you started in folklore. drifted into local history. you pulled anything that mentioned the region, flipping through pages, scanning for words like disappearances, sightings, wildlife patterns.

there were old records of wolves—none documented in jackson for decades. a few vague reports of strange animal attacks, all with inconclusive investigations. one article—yellowed and torn at the edges—mentioned animalistic figures moving unnaturally fast through the tree line.

you didn't even notice the time until the lights dimmed slightly overhead, pulling your focus from the faded text of the dusty book your head was currently buried in.

you blinked up at the clock on the nearby wall.

9:43 p.m.

shit.

you stacked the books you had collected neatly (though you were tempted to smuggle three of them home—you had yet to acquire a library card) and ducked out into the cool night.

the street was mostly dead. your truck sat half a block down under a flickering streetlamp.

as you walked, you passed a bar. listened to the creak of saloon doors, laughter and shouts, the clink of bottles, then silence again as the doors swung shut.

then: footsteps. dragging. uneven.

you didn’t look back until one of them slurred, “heeeey. where you headed, sweetheart?”

your stomach sank. you kept walking, pace picking up.

the group—three of them— caught up to you easily. of course they did.

you slowed to a stop. forced a smile. “just on my way home.”

"you don't gotta rush," one of them said, swaying slightly. "you're cute. come hang out with us for a sec."

“i’m good, thanks.” you took a step back.

“oh come on. don’t be like that.”

“i said no.” you tried to sound firm, but your voice shook.

another one laughed. “what, we not good enough for you? what’s the issue, pretty?”

you lifted your chin. “i already told you, i’m good. i don’t want you.”

the third one, closest to you, sneered. “oh i get it. she’s one of those man-hating lesbians. that it? you that kind of bitch?”

you froze.

then something in you snapped.

“yeah,” you said, voice hardening. “actually, i am.”

you saw it immediately— the sudden, ugly twist in their expressions. their slurred teasing dropped. became something colder, meaner.

"oh, you think that's cute?"

“maybe someone needs to put her in her place. that kind of attitude? loudmouth dyke just needs a good fuck to knock it out of her—”

your breath caught. you turned to run.

but then—

headlights flared.

a black SUV screeched around the corner and slammed to a stop between you and them.

the driver door flew open.

"the fuck did you just say?" ellie's voice snarled, low and ragged.

your heart skipped. and then:

"get in the car," she barked at you.

you didn’t hesitate.

you bolted toward the passenger seat, flung the door open, and climbed in.

THE CAR BEGAN TO PEEL OFF BEFORE YOUR DOOR WAS EVEN FULLY CLOSED.

ellie didn't say anything at first. just gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white, jaw clenched tight.

finally, you asked, voice quiet: "how did you know i was there?"

her hands tightened on the wheel. "...i was keeping an eye on you."

your stomach flipped. "you were following me?"

"no," she said quickly, then sighed. "sort of. i—” she glanced at you, her eyes heavy with something unsaid. "i feel very... protective of you."

your breath caught.

her gaze snapped back to the road. there was a beat of silence as she seemed to get lost in her own thoughts, her anger building with every second and the car's speed picking up as she unconsciously stepped harder on the gas.

“i should go back there and kill those fuckers."

you blinked at her, startled by the animosity. "uhh, no. you really shouldn't."

"you don't know what they were thinking," she muttered.

"and you do?"

she didn't answer.

the car swerved hard around a slower vehicle, and you caught yourself with a hand on the dash. “jesus,” you breathed out. “you know, you should probably put your seatbelt on.”

ellie looked over at you like you were a maniac, laughing incredulously.

"you should put your seatbelt on."

you couldn't exactly argue. you clicked it into place without another word and clutched the assist handle as she weaved through traffic.

it was quiet, and then she broke the silence, again.

"i heard them."

you turned to look at her. "you heard them?"

“i could hear what they were thinking,” she said stiffly. “what they were going to do to you. and i couldn’t—fuck, i couldn’t just sit there.”

you stared at her profile in disbelief, the muscles in her forearms still twitching like she was actively fighting the urge to turn the car around and go back.

"you can... read minds?"

"yeah."

"all the time?"

"pretty much."

"everyone's?"

she grimaced. "not yours."

again, the car fell silent.

"you're the only person i've ever met whose mind is just... quiet," she said, almost to herself. "and it's driving me crazy."

you looked out the window, watching the blur of the world outside streak past, turning the information over in your head.

then, softer:

"i don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore."

your heart didn’t slow the entire ride back.

this work is mine. please don’t repost, copy, or publish elsewhere without permission. thank you!

[petermorwood]

How to say "I didn't read the book"...

...in one image.

Boy and wolves, yes.

Boy and bear, yes.

Boy and black panther, yes.

Boy and python, yes. (For that, forget about Disney and read "Kaa's Hunting", "The King's Ankus", "Red Dog" and "The Spring Running".)

But boy and tiger?

No and never.

*****

Here are Gutenberg links to "The Jungle Book" and "The Second Jungle Book".

Advance warning to the sensitive - the "Second" link is to a facsimile of the 1895 / 1905 edition, and there's A Certain Symbol as Kipling's cartouche. It was an innocent symbol of good luck back then. Treat it as such.

If you find the room gets dusty near the end of the final story, I won't be at all surprised.

*****

I don't think there'll ever be a Proper Jungle Book movie.

As happened with Kipling's lucky-symbol cartouche, Disney's clammy hand has corrupted it, and besides, screenwriters invariably think they can do better than using prose, plot, story and speech that have stood the test of well over a century.

*****

For a good example of how to do this properly, track down the Charlton Heston / Oliver Reed / Christopher Lee / Christian Bale version of "Treasure Island". It's excellent and in @dduane's and my opinion, the best so far. Soundtrack music by The Chieftains does it No Harm At All.

*****

Here's what I posted about 10 years ago when the last Mouse-House Jungle Book was imminent. The thing was box-office successful, though we didn't contribute to that, waiting - not very long - until it appeared on TV since despite the way it was talked up in advance, the end result was no more than a "live-action" reworking of the cartoon.

(How is something "live-action" when every character except Mowgli is mo-cap CGI?)

The current "Snow White" nonsense and everything associated with it suggests that nothing's been learned since then.

Good Hunting!

[the-monkeies-girl]

Instead of annoying Koba like you always do … you ignore him for an entire day … I already can see his reaction:😡🤬😤

bark bark

Title: Ignoring Is Bliss. Fandom: ( Dawn of the ) Planet of the Apes. Rating: T ( Mentions of aggression, some minor injury. ) Pairing: Implied! Koba x Human!Reader. Words: 2.8K+ Summary: Koba told you he did not want to speak to you anymore in the phase of a heated argument. You're only giving him what he wanted.

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It was a crisp day and you were intent on enjoying it to the best of your ability. Even though you were well aware you were being intensely scrutinized with every move you made, every word that was spoken, every breath you took --- Even down to the minute details like the breeze and how it would shuffle your hair, how you would draw a deeper breath in with that breeze. All watched either in entertainment or unabashed hatred, it was hard to tell at times.

Tilting your head to the side at the Baby Apes scattered around your feet, you twisted your body in a display of power to the eyes watching you and brought the draw cord of your jacket forward to show what it did to the children. There were scatterings of brown fur, orange black and even some red as the crowd you were entertaining before the afternoon lesson, before Maurice arrived, began. Chimps, Bonobo, Orangutan and Gorilla eyes all lit up the same as you smiled at them, bringing the cord to stretch out and then releasing it to spring back in. They all hoo’ed in amazement as you tilted your head to the side in thought as they bunched around your waist in closeness, wanting to touch the item. The only reason why you were being watched like a hawk at the moment wasn’t even your fault! It was remarkable to you how Apes were just as grudge holding as Humans were, if not more as your eyes slid coyly towards the Bonobo whose one good eye was boring a deep and intense hole into your skull, it was hard to ignore with the glower he was sending your way from the topped perch they too council meetings on. The meeting broke over thirty minutes ago, but he was still there, opting to not follow Caesar, Rocket and Blue Eyes to continue more personal conversations that didn't center around the Colony itself. 

“Do NOT talk to KOBA ABOUT ANYTHING.” He roared in such a fashion as tears hit the back of your eyes as if you actually had any sentimental feelings towards the relationship that teetered on the tightrope between blatant hatred and aggressive toleration. In his own words, he was telling you to back off and to leave him alone, your shoulders drawing in on themselves as he had lunged only a few feet forward, but the movement itself was brute and lashed with irritation. 

The shine of his long canines that displayed themselves were enough to drench your entire body in a cold sweat as you swallowed, cowering back a bit until your back hit the wooden wall of the hut you two were standing in. He could pin you to it and rip your throat out. You wished your mind hadn’t thought of that as you were now preoccupied imagining if it would be a swift death or if he would make you suffer.

You had only made a passing comment that maybe his hunting skills needed some improvement after you had gotten some strenuous details out of him about the hunting trip, about how he managed to kill a bear and save Caesar and Blue Eyes. Not true in the slightest, but you made jokes about each other to filter out the otherwise tedious and smothering tension that was brought to light once Caesar granted you permission to stay. 

You left that night, not a word to be said but the moment you were out of view of the Bonobo, you let yourself shudder a sob out at the aspect that even if you considered him an acquaintance, you were nothing more than an ant to him and he’ll snap your neck the moment he had the chance, without recourse. 

That’s how it worked. You pestered each other. Well, more or less. You found it more enjoyable and you had the feeling that Koba only dealt with it because if he chose to lash at you, hurt you in any way, Caesar was going to have to put his fist down on one of his closest advisors. Koba had intense hatred for Humanity, but he also had great respect for the Ape King. 

Maybe even the milky white eye as well was setting your skin on fire, you chuckled to yourself and readjusted your crouched body just enough that he was unable to get any delectations from your face and only was able to see the scape of your back, the curve of your body dipping into a deep crouch, your feet arched accordingly as the baby Apes continued their inspection of your jacket.

You glimmered with happiness as you looked down at the young Apes, all too entranced by the draw band on your jacket as you pulled it out again, proceeding to let it snap back in again with a small ‘thwup’. Pride bubbled in your chest at the fact that the Koba was still staring right at you, your movements all too intentional and all too vile for him to really look away from, as was usually the case. 

He wanted to see your face, you knew from his disposition as you caught his movements out of your periphery. He'd moved alongside with you to now sit on the rock adjacent to him, a smile forming on your face from that but you were able to blame it on the young gorilla who snatched the draw-band right out of your hand and placed it curiously into their mouth. "Nooo," You laughed gently, letting your eyes peer up only for a second as your fingers fished the item out of the young's mouth with a mild, playful scold, "Not food. Plastic. Gross."

Maurice, a gentle grace himself, arrived only a few seconds later, sitting himself in his usual spot as he chittered for the young to come join him. With forlorn eyes, you watched each of them say goodbye to you in their own ways before bouncing towards him, ready for the afternoon lesson that followed the mid-day meal. You were not a teacher by any means, you could only keep their attention by showing them something they had never seen before, you were not well thought out, not in the way that Maurice was, but it was nice to help when you knew that your other favorite activity to do was scolded and disallowed the night before.

With carefully placed feet as you knew the rock got incredibly slick during the wetter months, you trailed downwards towards the bonfire, snuggly warm and ablaze with large frames in the middle of the Colony. The flames stretched into the sky and despite that small trinkle of rain that caught the wind and brought it downwards, the fire refused its relentless pace and was quite literally a warm welcome against the chill of your cheeks as you drew nearer.

You'd consider your mission of the day a complete success after the last biting words that you had gotten from Bonobo himself the night before, you thought to yourself and admired the blaze for only a minute, letting the heat soak into the pores of your skin in a delicious way that left your retinas feeling hot and without moisture. You replayed the topic Koba spat at you last night, all the implications there that he didn't want anything to do with you any more.  That he never wanted to talk to you again.

Deep down, you knew it to be a farce, he enjoyed arguing with you too much to really draw a close to the pastime but you were simply giving him what he wanted by ignoring him the entire day, trying your best to ignore the looks you got at breakfast as you chowed down with Lake and River, the absolutely abysmal stare that you got when you waved them goodbye afterwards, Lake off to tend to her business, River off to go fishing with Blue Eyes and Ash. You were invited, but declined when you decided that the mud and the weather weren’t up your alley.

So, instead you lingered around, looking for things to do. Not much, you had to admit. But, just enough to keep the set of eyes on you entertained. If he wanted you to ignore him, surely you could do that, but you’d make a show out of it.

 Ignorance was always bliss. Unless you were Koba. Then ignorance was a waste and he needed immediate satisfaction in situations to feel good about himself. 

You had skipped lunch in favor of playing with the babies, a well deserved skip as there was nothing quite like having the attention of so many on you at once. Plus, the eyes of another really big baby, if you thought about it that way. Your hungry gaze scanned over a few wicker baskets that had been set out to be grazed upon. Curiously, you reached for a blueberry, the color all too alluring but before it made its way into your mouth, it was viciously slapped, rolling onto the ground below.

Following it, you traced the movements downwards, the rock slightly slanted under foot until it got caught in a crack. Blinking, you recognized that hand - the calloused and ridged fingers that performed the action. Mouth ajar, you looked over, eyes ample, the expression clearly that of surprise as you hadn't even noticed Koba leaving the perch, much less making his way all the way down here to perform such a petty action. And you thought that only Humans did that, at least in Koba's mind. "What the hell?" "You have..." He huffed, "Been ignoring Koba?”

"No?" You feigned innocence and rolled your eyes, bringing your hand down to grasp at another berry. Cautiously this time, you knew he was watching you and you were sure to make the allure of your curved body all the more interesting to him. "What makes you say that?" Silence. You grabbed a handful of berries to take on the road, but they were scattered onto the dirty ground below, probably to be squashed into oblivion by other Apes who traversed the area. A small whine left your lips, your body reactant as you went to pick them up,"That was my lun----" You were being dragged. Picked up into a standing position and dashed to the right.Harder and faster than you were really able to keep up with, your eyes widening on the back of the Bonobo's head, from the proximity, rare with him in the first place, you could spot the sprinkling of gray against his blackened fur. A minute detail you found amusing until you were torn to shreds back into reality.  Your mind went straight to panic.

He was going to take you into the woods and kill you for playing a stupid petty human game, you swallowed hard as he rounded the fish hut, contemplating grasping at the pillar and holding on for dear life but argued against that as Koba could snap your arm off in one intended stroke of his hand. "Koba, I-I was just kidding!" You tried to get your feet skirted into the ground to potentially stop him but to no avail. The sleek rock underfoot gave no traction and your action only caused you to skirt along like you were gliding on ice.

 "S-Seriously, if you kill me, wouldn't it rather be over something that was actually worth it? So-Something you could justify to Caesar?" That gave him pause and you watched as the cogs turned in his head at the idea. Taking the second of non-movement as a blessing, you looked at the grasp he had on your wrist and felt a mild twinge of swelling start to encase the very fragile appendage from the aggression he put forth to get you to move along with him. Bad choice of phrasing, you muttered inside of your mind as he turned his face.

Your eyes entranced against the scarring aspects that everyone always saw first before you catered to your own delectation and swept your gaze along the deeply ingrained wrinkles that surrounded his nose, the slack of his jaw that was morbidly appealing to you, so animalistic that you’d let him touch you with his mouth if he so chose, just to see yourself and riddle away the idea that it was just as mean as the rest of him. You wanted to touch him, but the one time you had tried, he almost bit your fingers off and you were never tempted again. "Would…" Koba’s voice was hard than usual, maybe a bit joking if you wanted to be more optimistic. Which, you weren’t. He was about to murder you and then hang your skin up on a flag pole as a victory for Ape Kind. "Kill you for just being... human. Need no reason." He continued his movements, the gasp that rocketed through your entire body sent a hardened shaft of shock down your entire spine to rest very tediously in the small of your back, near your tailbone. You were in an area of the Colony you had never been one to venture into. Storage huts that were exclusively left alone unless an Ape really needed something there. Mainly, weapons. Your eyes widened at that. He was taking you to a storage hut and he was going to use a spear and---

You were released suddenly, but the momentum you had from his pulling left you flat on the ground, your face smashing into the rock below as you had no time to brace your hands down. You grunted loudly, feeling heat eradicating at your rib bones. It didn't feel like anything was broken, a small trickle of blood hitting your nose and running down your lips and off your chin from the sheer impact, but hey. It was better than being beaten to death by a Bonobo with a grudge against all Humans. “What the hell, Koba?!” The shrill of your voice dulled out the fact that you had actually called him by name, something rare as he had told you time and time again that you weren’t worthy of saying it.

The hackles along his shoulders frilled up, even more so than you had seen with a Chimpanzee like Caesar. It was mesmerizing to an extent, his fur so dark that it appeared viciously white as you scrambled onto your hands and knees, wiping your nose with another grunt before getting your feet to flatten on the ground below. You were swaying, but balance would come back you were sure as you hadn’t actually hit your head that hard. It dawned upon you as you took in the surroundings that Koba brought you here for privacy. No Ape interruptions, no Caesar sitting high above and watching, making a coy comment towards Koba about his relationship with you. If it were even a relationship. It was… You tilted your head minutely. A Tolerationship. 

“Why… Ignore Koba?” You groaned. 

“WHY?!”

“You told me to, you dumb Bonobo!”

You let your temper flare, and without remorse, your back was pinned to the thick wooden branches that made up the hut that was to your left, your shoulders unable to move as Koba had pushed back. Enough force to keep you pinned, but not enough to break anything. You had no time to react, even to breath as you felt your throat close up, Koba’s face coming in just to enjoy the scent of fear that was rising out of you, he fluttered with satisfaction at that, his good eye narrowing on your expression as you had balled up your face, scrunching it so disgustingly that Koba felt a draw to try to pry your eyes open so you were forced to look at him. Looking at the blood from your nose, Koba’s mouth salivated at that and he wanted to take pleasure to know what it tasted like but that thought was severely undercut the moment it took a glance at blossoming. 

“Not dumb,” The grasp he had on your shoulders tightened and you winced slightly, “Dumb Human for listening to Koba.”

Your mouth flew open. “W-What?”

He released you without another word, watching as you slumped against the wood and staggered to keep your balance. Content to leave it as is, Koba knew you were going to go into antagonistically introspection at the words he had just said and as much as he enjoyed thinking about causing you physical ailments, mental were just as fruitful and easier to come by under the gaze of Caesar. Swearing that he smiled at you, he turned away, hunching onto all fours and began walking upwards. Quickly, you placed your hands onto the wood behind you and propelled yourself forward. “What do you mean?” Koba stayed silent intentionally.

“What do you mean?” Silence. Suffocating.

“Tell me!”

Silence, and that's how remained.

[gaysindistress]

Devil’s Hunt

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif

pairings: Karlach x f!reader

Word count: 2.1k

Bg3 masterlist

“I hope you have your fire going,” Shadowheart shouts as she stomps up to the lone cabin. The door swings open and lets in a cold cone of winter air.

I tip back my chair, letting it stand on two legs to see Shadowheart clamoring inside. The Sharran turned Selunite stomps in, shaking the striking mist from her coat as she curses the weather of my home. From under her thick furs, her usually stunning tan face is red and dull from the cold. A sheen of mist coats the thick lashes that surround her hazel eyes. She scowls at me as she rips off her gloves and rubs harshly at the offending effects of her journey.

“Move,” she orders while shooing me out of my chair in front of the fire. She’s quick to shed her coat and barely worn black boots, leaving her in the thin outfit meant for the Gate’s usual mild weather rather than the harsh temperatures of Frozenfar. She lets out a long and dramatic sigh as soon as the warmth hits her outstretched hands and feet.

“How can you survive out here? My bones are frozen and probably won’t unthaw until next spring at this rate. How is such a thing even possible?” she exclaims, darting a delicate hand up to grip my wrist and prove her point.

With a small shriek, I yank my arm away and jump back once much to her pleasure. “By the gods, Shadoweart, did you forget how to dress yourself properly? You know damn well that it’s cold here.”

She sighs again and shuffles closer to the fire, “no, I didn’t. I just chose not to dress ‘properly’ because then I couldn’t steal one of your sweaters.”

“And here I thought you had outgrown your old ways.” I scoff at her and shake my head.

She shrugs her shoulders, causing her white braid to fall off her shoulder and swing back behind her. I can’t help myself when I come to stand behind her and brush the stray hairs from her face. Tipping her head back to bask in the warmth of my hands, her eyes flutter shut and her smile eases into a content expression. I cradle her head in my hands, warming her cold pointed ears and drop a chaste kiss to her nose before moving to drag another chair towards the fire.

“Is it just yourself or did you bring anyone else?”

Shadowheart lolls her head again to look at me with a pout of her full lips, “You should already know the answer to that.”

“I do but forgive me for my need to be thorough.”

She never did bring any of the others but the fear of being found still lives deep within me.

“It’s just me,” she assures me and eyes me for a moment.

“Something the matter?” I ask her wearily with a half smile.

She continues to look me up and down in my usual attire; a thick dark green sweater tucked into a pair of similarly colored tartan trousers. They’re a criss-cross pattern of greens and blues, high-waisted and tapered at the leg, with a pair of cream knitted socks that disappear into worn brown leather boots.

“There’s something different about you,” Shadowheart finally says, narrowing those bright eyes at me.

“Care to share what ya have found?”

The fire light catches on her white hair, painting the strands that have escaped her low braid as they fall around her face.

“Your hair,” she states, tilting her chin and reaching out to touch my braid that’s been wound into a bun and held in place with the gold pins she gifted me the last time she visited. Because she’s unable to do anything without a flare of dramatics, they’re in the shape of long swords with needle sharp tips.

“And what about it?”

Her eyes scan my face before trailing over the thin gold hoops that line my pointed ears and are decorated with various small gems. Wavellite, azurites, emeralds, and amethyst stones reflect back in her brown eyes as she counts each hoop like she would when we were young and full of hope.

She blinks and whatever she had been looking for is gone as she smiles wildly before saying, “I come bearing gifts.”

“Oh?”

She waves a hand towards the door, “I left them outside. Be gentle with them.”

“I don’t know why you’re telling me that,” I shoot back and lean back into my chair with arms crossed over my chest.

Shadowheart had never been a dramatic person nor fond of shiny things although her time as a reformed Selunite (and perhaps spent with Isobel) had led her to change her ways. We may not have known each other as children but I imagine this version of her is the Jenvelle she was meant to be.

We met, of course, on the nautiloid and grew closer than either of us had expected on our journey to defeat the Absolute. The many nights we spent in her tent recounting her memories as she regained them revealed to me a scared and heartbroken female that yearned for the love she would never have. Once I thought that I would’ve provided that love for her but another found their way into my heart and before I knew it, I became that heartbroken girl. While our bond mirrored that of sisters, she knew what it was that my heart yearned for and tried to convince me to go after it.

She encouraged me to pursue the hot hearted tiefling that fought tirelessly at our side but yet something always kept me back. Well an infernal engine and its shelf life are what held me back. For weeks I had tried to convince myself that her feelings for me were not tied to her impending doom and for longer I’m sure she did as well. As the heat within her chest grew hotter and the dread of what was to come grew heavier, I felt Karlach begin to slip between my fingers.

By the time it was all said and done, she would barely look at me. She hardly said goodbye as she and Wyll left for Avernus. Shadowheart tried to convince me to stay with her but I couldn’t stay in a place so closely tied to the woman I had loved and lost so I chose to guard my own heart and left for my cabin at the edge of the Frozenfar.

Instead of begging me to forget the Hellion, Shadowheart chose to visit me and left the past at the entrance of my hobbled cabin I called home. We’d be free to live our lives without too much complication. Sometimes it hurt more than others when she came back to visit with stories of Karlach but I suspect it was her way of telling me that she was still alive and kicking.

Shadowheart stares at me, her Hazel eyes twinkling with something I can’t quite name.

“I’ve missed you,” she finally settles on and turns back to the fire.

“I’ve missed you too.”

“She asks about you, you know. Every time she comes back with Wyll, she asks about you.”

My fingers twitch against my chair’s arms.

“I hope you remember what Shar taught you and don't say a word about me,” I mutter more to myself than anything.

“I haven’t told her where you are but please, come back to the gate with me. Just for a few days that’s all. I hate knowing you’re out here all by yourself.”

“Well I’m not now, am I?” Right on cue, two of my beloved hounds emerge from the bedroom. The massive dogs both yawn and stretch as they shake the sleep from their bones. Hazel, the larger of the two, drops her head onto my lap and blinks up at me with golden eyes, begging for me to pet her. I obey, rubbing her floppy ears and scratching at the rough wiry brown fur that covers her body as well as under her chin at her beard. The other, Bran, takes his place beside Shadowheart and rolls over onto his back so she can scratch his belly.

“The hounds don’t count.”

I shake my head even though she can’t see me as she’s focused on Bran. I’m beginning to think her visit has an ulterior motive.

“I might have to send Astarion out here if you keep refusing me.”

“That would be a sight,” I mumble. Pushing off my chair, I walk outside to a neatly wrapped blue box on the railing. I pick it up, halting before I return to Shadowheart as a breeze sends an all too familiar scent towards me. It’s gone in a moment and I concede to let my other hounds that are patrolling to find the source of this scent.

Shadowheart has made herself comfortable by wrapping herself in several blankets on my bed. A part of me wants to be annoyed that she’s also taken my journal filled with drawings and notes about the flora in the Frozenfar but it would be pointless. She flips to the most recent drawing and reads over the notes that I’ve jotted down about the mushroom I found the other day. Smiling, she puts the journal down and glances around the one roomed cabin. Her nose wrinkles, her tell when she sees something she doesn’t like, but she keeps her opinions to herself.

She makes a small squeal as she sees the box in my hand. I glance up at her and she eagerly nods her head at me to open it. I pull at the neat bow and slowly open the lid with a gasp. Sitting inside of it is a gold ring with an abalone pearl in the center surrounded by gold coils. I gently take it out and stare at it between my thumb and index finger. “Do you like it?”

My wide eyes meet hers, “I…I…yes I do. Where did you get this?”

Her hazel eyes tear away from mine and settle on the ring, “I think that’s a question better left unanswered.”

“What do you mean?”

“She asked me to give it to you,” she mutters in a low voice as her face falls into a statue-like state.

“What have you told her?” I settle on as I put the ring back and slowly look over at her.

“Enough. She misses you and asks about you constantly. Just…please meet with her.”

I pull her into a tight hug. She stiffens at first and then clings to me as tightly as I do her.

“Next time I promise.”

She only nods in response.

We stay in our tight embrace for a few moments longer before she pulls away. Tears shine in her eyes as she pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear and takes a good look at me. She slides her hand to the back of my neck and leans my head down to touch our foreheads together. Nose to nose, forehead to forehead, we both close our eyes.

It’s something my people had done for centuries; an action born of love so profound that it manifested into a sign of affection. I’m thankful she chose to do it now and in the process quelled the storm of tears that wanted to unleash themselves within me.

“I promise,” I mutter again and she mutters back “I’ll hold you to that, Y/N.”

Y/N.

Not the Hero of Baldur’s Gate as most know me by but the name that my mother gave me before she died.

Y/N.

We pull apart with gentle smiles when Milish, my largest hound lets out a howl from the distance. Shadowheart looks confused as I break away completely to check on the hound that is racing down the path towards me. Milish skids to a halt before me and I know instantly that there has been a breach in the perimeter.

“Shadowheart,” I say over my shoulder and turn to see her waiting by the door, “It’s time for you to leave.”

She nods her understanding and races towards her horse. I turn back to Milish and nod to her, giving her the command to flush out whoever is brave enough to trespass. As she takes off in a sprint back towards the forest, I hear the sound of a portal opening and closing. Glancing over my shoulder, I see that my beloved cleric is gone.

Milish howls in front of me, telling the seven other hounds their command as well. Hazel and Bran bound out of the house with my bow and quiver in their mouths.

The scent from earlier, an infernal engine working in overdrive tinged with blood, wafts towards me again.

“Fucking Shadowheart,” I mutter under my breath as I realize that she lied to me and led the Hellion right to me.

[coupsoficecream]

2WORLD

About:

You were a carat and at the same time, working as doctor in the trauma unit. Soon, your life began to fell apart and it was too much to bear. Until one day, you gave up and ended your life—only to be reborn as someone else in another world. Infact, you find your new life as Jayeon are related with each of your idols. Can you, Kim y/n be Park Jayeon ?

Pairing:

ot13 x reader

Warning:

¡18!, heavy angst, death, blood, weapon, rape

Genre:

Romance, Historical Kdrama

Song:

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it felt like spring, until the petals turned to flame.

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Your life represents an oil with the water that will never mix, no matter how hard you shake them. It will never on your side.

It feels like the whole upsidedown world were againsts you.

The world has already rejected you ever since you were born. Everything you do makes no sense to them, yet here you are, trying your best, fighting for your life.

A famous K-pop group called Seventeen seems to lighten your life more than you ever thought it would. They helped you more than anyone had.

It was depressing.

Yet you're known as the brilliant doctor - young and gifted, hidden behind the little mask you're wearing over a years.

Expectations crush you daily. Family want nothing but for her to the be the perfect daughter.

Friends? Gone. Dreams? Forgotten.

One night, after a surgery goes wrong, you breaks down and falls asleep in the hospital hallway.

But when you open your eyes.. you're no longer in scrubs and infact, you're wearing a hanbok.

That's how it happen. Suddenly, everyone calls you "Park Jayeon" - the bubbly, carefree daughter of a noble physician in Joseon, Park Seohan.

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THE CHARACTERS

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you as y/n and park jayeon

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choi seungcheol as the moonshadow general

A war tactician who only fights at night. His soldiers say he’s part man, part ghost.

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yoon jeonghan as the scarlet fox

A charming trickster with a devilish smile; many followed him, none returned.

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joshua hong as the legend eye

A blind man with one golden eye said to see both the past and the future.

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wen junhui as the crimson blade

A swordsman draped in red, his blade only unsheathed under the blood moon.

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kwon soonyoung as the silent tiger

A man who never speaks — yet with every strike, his enemies fall like hunted prey.

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jeon wonwoo as the phantom scholar

A once-renowned scholar who vanished without a trace… yet his writings keep appearing in royal chambers.

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lee jihoon as the frost monk

A wandering monk with eyes like ice, who brings winter wherever he walks.

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xu minghao as the nameless man

No one knows his name, only his legend. He appears in silence and disappears before dawn.

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kim mingyu as the wounded wolf

Covered in scars, feared by many. They say no blade can kill him — not even his own.

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lee seokmin as the black lantern

Wherever he walks, his lantern glows — yet only darkness follows in his path.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

boo seungkwan as the iron blossom

Beautiful as spring, deadly as steel — a man whose strength contradicts his elegance.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

chwe hansol as the whispering hawk

A spy whose presence is marked only by the soft rustle of feathers in the wind.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

lee chan as the raven prince

A forgotten royal, raised among crows. He speaks the language of shadows and birds.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

love grew quietly… until it devoured you.

[free-queer-books]

Romance Bookworms Stuff Your Kindle Day - June 20th, 2025

An enormous one-day book blast of 1600+ romance books! The link above goes directly to their list of books with LGBTQ protagonists.

The ist of the books sorted by representation is below the read-more, as this is a very long list - 277 books with LGBTQ protagonists by my count! Given the length, I'm listing only the identites that were mentioned on the event page unless I happen to know more about a specific book.

Asexual and acespec characters

One Touch by Linden Rowe - ace representation (Amazon)

Deceiving the Cursed Beast by Jen Lynning - demisexual female character (AmazonJ)

Scars of the Sun by Noelle Upton - demisexual female character

Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny by K. Sterling - demisexual character

An Epic Construct by D.C. Emerson - asexual best friend (Amazon)

Bear characters

More Reason to Stay by Ryder O'Malley (Amazon)

Bisexual and pansexual characters

Double Dare by Jeanne St. James - bisexual (multiple stores)

Upside Down by Liz Gavin - bisexual (multiple stores)

Of Boys and Games by Mona Black - bisexual (multiple stores)

Kiss Me If You Can by Cheryl Terra - bisexual (multiple stores)

Rescuing Krampus by Robin Jo Margaret - bisexual (multiple stores)

Tainted Evidence by Rachel Grant - bisexual (multiple stores)

Her Elysium by Emmy Engberts - bi/pan awakening (multiple stores)

Taking Out the Trash by Zoey Indiana - bisexual (multiple stores)

The Scottish Play by Phoebe Alexander - bisexual heroine (Amazon)

For Keeps by K.C. Everly - bi awakening (Amazon)

Knight of the Hunted by Elizabeth Dunlap - bi awakening (Amazon)

A Match Made in Evan by Anna Sparrows - bi awakening (Amazon)

Oblivion's River by Shoshana Rain - bi4bi (Amazon)

Mazikeen: Hands of Fate by M Pettengill - bisexual character (Amazon)

Unscripted by J.R. Gray - bisexual awakening (Amazon)

Step Daddy by Morticia Knight - bisexual awakening (Amazon)

Sweat Connection by Katherine McIntyre - disaster bi character (Amazon)

Something to Someone by Grace Turner (Amazon)

Becoming a Bi-con by Sarah Zane (Amazon)

The Krakan's Castaway by Cassandra Medcalf - bisexual character (Amazon)

Scars of the Sun by Noelle Upton - pansexual male character (Amazon)

The Heartbreak Show by Jesikah Sundlin - bisexual male character (Amazon)

Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny by K. Sterling - bi rep (Amazon)

Adora by A.D. Ellis - bi awakening (Amazon)

Tastes of Honey by Frances M. Thompson - bisexual character (Amazon)

Like Cracks in the Sidewalk by Sadie Jay - bi romance (Amazon)

Blood on the Ice by Cassandra Featherstone - bisexual characters (Amazon)

Freedom: What are you willing to sacrifice for love? by Cassidy Langue - bisexual (Amazon)

All the Oceans by Polly Emorie - bisexual (Amazon)

Wrapped Up In You by Melody Claire - bisexual (Amazon)

The Bully's Dare by Adora Crooks - bisexual romance (Amazon)

The Arcana Ignited by Anya Clara - bi awakening (Amazon)

The B-Side by B. Harmony - bisexual (Amazon)

Used by Shanon Elliot - bisexual female character, pansexual male character (Amazon)

Play By Heart by Ariella Zoelle - bisexual awakening (Amazon)

Hot Summer's Prey by Latrexa Nova - bisexuals (Amazon)

We Own the Stars by D.J. Russo - bisexual (Amazon)

SoloPlay by Amanda Usen - bisexual female character (Amazon)

Hunting For a Home Base by Adriana Golden - bisexual awakening (Amazon)

A Polar Expedition by Cass O'Shire - bisexual (Amazon)

Misfit Betrayal by Daria Binx - bi awakening (Amazon)

F/F books

Femme Like Her by Fiona Zedde (multiple stores)

Caught With Zeus by Arizona Tape (mulitple stores)

Reign of Secret by L.L. Hunter (multiple stores)

Alchemiya by Katey Hawthorne (multiple stores)

Mer Made by S.T. Lynn (multiple stores)

Her Purrfect Familiar by Pepper McGraw (multiple stores)

Her Elysium by Emmy Engberts (multiple stores)

A Blooming Spring Love by Emily Engberts (multiple stores)

Cursed Slumber by Luna Lockhardt (multiple stores)

Unthaw My Heart by Harmony Noble (Amazon)

Murder by Multiples by Rachel Ford (Amazon)

Level or Live by Miya Kressin (Amazon)

Their Search for Ms. Right by Janet Lee Smith (Amazon)

Becoming a Bi-con by Sarah Zane (Amazon)

Summer Love by Gemma Addison Dove (Amazon)

A Taste of Red by Stephanie Lee (Amazon)

Claimed by Her Bear by Ariel Marie (Amazon)

Infatuations by Barbara Winkes (Amazon)

Little Miss Santa Claws by Beka Westrup (Amazon)

The Paradox of Survival by Anna Lynn Hammar (Amazon)

Her Mortal Champion by Luna Lawson (Amazon)

Freedom: What are you willing to sacrifice for love? by Cassidy Langue (Amazon)

All the Oceans by Polly Emorie (Amazon)

Bitter Winds by Marina Tempest (Amazon)

Off with Her Head by Dana LeeAnn (Amazon)

Maiden Over by Renee Dahlia (Amazon)

My Carmilla by Anita Zara (Amazon)

Tangled Encounters by Madison Nicole (Amazon)

Bean There, Found You by Cameron Tate (Amazon)

Keeping Alessa by Jenna Kent (Amazon)

Mainely Books Club Collection: Books 1-4 by Chelsea M. Cameron (Amazon)

Cursed By Malignant Magic by Jenesis St. Clare (Amazon)

Truly, Madly, Deeply by Claire Dugmore (Amazon)

Lesbian Boss by Kitty Jones (Amazon)

Sigrid & Elyn by Edale Lane (Amazon)

My Valentine's Deception by Giselle Nyte (Amazon)

Candid Camera by HA Blackwood (Amazon)

Virtue by Ida Brady - contains FF, FM, and FMF scenes (Amazon)

Queen of Love by Cynthia Dane & Hildren Billings (Amazon)

The Honeymoon Mix-up by Frankie Fyre (Amazon)

F/M books

Kiss Me If You Can by Cheryl Terra (multiple stores)

Rescuing Krampus by Robin Jo Margaret (multiple stores)

Tainted Evidence by Rachel Grant (multiple stores)

Oblivion's River by Shoshana Rain (Amazon)

Deceiving the Cursed Beast by Jen Lynning (Amazon)

Something to Someone by Grace Turner (Amazon)

The Sneaky Lass by Kennedy Sutton (Amazon)

The Kraken's Castaway by Cassandra Medcalf (Amazon)

Scars of the Sun by Noelle Upton (Amazon)

The Heartbreak Show by Jesikah Sundlin (Amazon)

Diamond Heat by Jess Washoe (Amazon)

Used by Shannon Elliot (Amazon)

Hot Summer's Prey by Latrexa Nova (Amazon)

We Own the Stars by D.J. Russo (Amazon)

SoloPlay by Amanda Usen (Amazon)

A Polar Expedition by Cass O'Shire (Amazon)

Oath Keepers MC: Hybrid Collection by Sapphire Knight - MF, MMF, and MFM stores (Amazon)

Virtue by Ida Brady - contains FF, FM, and FMF scenes (Amazon)

F/NB books

Of Melodies and Maledictions by Maddox Grey (multiple stores)

A Lady's Finder by Edie Cay (multiple stores)

Femme characters

Femme Like Her by Fiona Zedde (multiple stores)

Gay characters

His Coffee Shop Crush by Elle Waters (multiple stores)

A Daddy for Christmas: Brighton by TL Travis (multiple stores)

Blood in the Water by Tami Veldura (multiple stores)

The Dragon Heir's Omega by London Kemaker (multiple stores)

My Omega's Return by Rosa Swann (multiple stores)

One Touch by Linden Rowe - gay awakening (Amazon)

More Reason to Stay by Ryder O'Malley (Amazon)

Wish We Were There by Lionel Hart (Amazon)

Hammering Hearts by Alex Danvers (Amazon)

His Fatal Love by Leighton Greene (Amazon)

Winter and the Wolves by Kinkaid Knight (Amazon)

Prince and Assassin by Tavia Lark (Amazon)

Maximus by Stella Rainbow (Amazon)

Hunted by the Omega by S. Rodman (Amazon)

Rust and Stardust by Atreus Rosewood (Amazon)

Valor on the Move by Keira Andrews (Amazon)

Friendly Skies by Marie Sinclair (Amazon)

Nova's Training by A.D. Young (Amazon)

Throwing Hearts by N.R. Walker (Amazon)

Twisted Villain by Bella Slash (Amazon)

Hollywood Slide by Cyd Sidney (Amazon)

Slapshot To The Heart by Lina George (Amazon)

Mage of the Dragon Prince by Zarina Aston (Amazon)

What You Need by Avril Ashton (Amazon)

Chasing Seth by J.R. Loveless (Amazon)

Vespertine by Leta Blake & Indra Vaughn (Amazon)

Lesbian characters

Her Elysium by Emmy Engberts (multiple stores)

A Blooming Spring Romance by Emily Engberts (multiple stores)

Murder by Multiples by Rachel Ford (Amazon)

Claimed by Her Bear by Ariel Marie (Amazon)

Infatuations by Barbara Winkes (Amazon)

Her Mortal Champion by Luna Lawson (Amazon)

Tastes of Honey by Frances M. Thompson (Amazon)

Freedom: What are you willing to sacrifice for love? by Cassidy Langue (Amazon)

All the Oceans by Polly Emorie (Amazon)

Bitter Winds by Marina Tempest (Amazon)

Keeping Alessa by Jenna Kent (Amazon)

Lesbian Boss by Kitty Jones (Amazon)

My Valentine's Deception by Giselle Nyte (Amazon)

Queen of Love by Cynthia Dane & Hildred Billings (Amazon)

The Honeymoon Mix-up by Frankie Fyre (Amazon)

M/M books

Honey Mead Murder by Dalia Donovan (multiple stores)

Solstice Surprise by Gabbi Grey (multiple stores)

His Coffee Shop Crush by Elle Waters (multiple stores)

Icarus and the Devil by Layla Reyne (multiple stores)

Surrender Love by Kayelle Allen (multiple stores)

Shift Work by TA Moore (multiple stores)

A Daddy for Christmas: Brighton by TL Travis (multiple stores)

Road to a Cowboy by Amy Aislin (multiple stores)

Tough Cute Omega by Eva Lyra (multiple stores)

What Would You Do? by PT Long (multiple stores)

Blood in the Water by Tami Veldura (multiple stores)

The Gentleman and the Spy by Neil S. Placky (multiple stores)

Dante by Stella Shaw (multiple stores)

My Omega's Return by Rosa Swann (multiple stores)

Timeslip by Clare London (multiple stores)

A Knight to Remember by Jackie Keswick (multiple stores)

Detour by Talia Carmichael (multiple stores)

Love by Chance by Blake Allwood (multiple stores)

Storm Warning by Rae Simmons (Amazon)

What He Needs by E.M. Denning (Amazon)

The Sinner's Penance by K.C. Carmine (Amazon)

His Hunter by MM Farmer (Amazon)

Not Strictly Ballroom by Jem Wendell (Amazon)

Unspoken Rules by Penny Fox (Amazon)

A Match Made in Evan by Anna Sparrows (Amazon)

Defending Freedom by T.S. Ankney (Amazon)

Waiting for Daddy by A.W. Scott (Amazon)

Alpha Island by Tia Fielding (Amazon)

Mistaken by Charity Parkerson (Amazon)

Seeking Daddy by Joe Satoria (Amazon)

One Touch by Linden Rowe (Amazon)

You Started It by Hinsel Meyer (Amazon)

Fauxmance in the Falls by J.E. Birk (Amazon)

An Alpha forr Osvaldo by Allie W. Scott (Amazon)

Sunshine and the Vamp by Bailey Grayson (Amazon)

Chasing Magic by Toby Wise (Amazon)

Doc by Abrianna Denae (Amazon)

Saving Ziggy by Alex J. Adams (Amazon)

Model Citizen by Lissa Kasey (Amazon)

More Reason to Stay by Ryder O'Malley (Amazon)

Blu, My Protector by RS McKenzie (Amazon)

Mocha Lattes & Candy Hearts by Peyton Holmes (Amazon)

His Mate by Vengeance by Mel Aitchess (Amazon)

Wrong Number, Right Bear by Lorelei M Heart and Colbie Dunbar (Amazon)

Mad World by Laura Ciociola (Amazon)

Wish We Were There by Lionel Hart (Amazon)

A Daddy for the Chubby Omega by Anna Winehart (Amazon)

Body Count by L Eveland (Amazon)

Weaker Than Instinct by Becca Seymour (Amazon)

Hammering Hearts by Alex Danvers (Amazon)

Unscripted by J.R. Gray (Amazon)

Pumpkin Patch Cutie by Lacey Daize (Amazon)

The Bear's Brave Omega by A.J. Cane (Amazon)

His Fatal Love by Leighton Greene (Amazon)

Step Daddy by Morticia Knight (Amazon)

Sweat Connection by Katherine McIntyre (Amazon)

Breakaway by E.M. Lindsey (Amazon)

The Last Grift by Elle Keaton (Amazon)

Forbidden by Phoenix Black (Amazon)

Pain in the Ice by Arden Stelle (Amazon)

Ancient History by A.J. Truman (Amazon)

Man Crush by Isobel Starling (Amazon)

Redraw Your Hand by CD Rachels (Amazon)

Prince and Assassin by Tavia Lark (Amazon)

A Swan for Christmas by M.M. Wilde (Amazon)

Maximus by Stella Rainbow (Amazon)

The Soldier's Familiar by TJ Nichols (Amazon)

Deviant Legacy by Sophie Dyer (Amazon)

Asher by Louisa Masters (Amazon)

Tooth Fairy Lies by Emma Jaye (Amazon)

Inside the Sandcastle by Megan Linden (Amazon)

Paint Our Song by Maia Kinley (Amazon)

Hunted by the Omega by S. Rodman (Amazon)

Something Unintended by Rory Maxwell (Amazon)

The Incubus's First Real Meal by Riley Rivers (Amazon)

Beyond Reason by Lee McCormick (Amazon)

Praise You by Ashley Rayne (Amazon)

Rust and Stardust by Atreus Rosewood (Amazon)

Wild Heart by Spencer Spears (Amazon)

Taming the Tackle by Rye Cox (Amazon)

Giles Ashby Needs a Nanny by K. Sterling (Amazon)

Life Lessons by Kaje Harper (Amazon)

The Tenor's Shadow by J.B. Warrick (Amazon)

Valor on the Move by Keira Andrews (Amazon)

Adora by A.D. Ellis (Amazon)

Magic Marco by Argentina Ryder (Amazon)

Quill Me Now by Jordan Castillo Price (Amazon)

Like Cracks in the Sidewalk by Sadie Jay (Amazon)

Blood on the Ice by Cassandra Featherstone - tagged as MM, but I think this doesn't involve the POV character (Amazon)

Friendly Skies by Marie Sinclair (Amazon)

Wrapped Up In You by Melody Claire (Amazon)

Faded Dreams by BL Maxwell (Amazon)

Bad Joey by Rhys Everly (Amazon)

Throwing Hearts by N. R. Walker (Amazon)

Room for Love by Quinn Ward (Amazon)

Twisted Villains by Bella Slash (Amazon)

Bring Me Home by Annabeth Albert (Amazon)

Moon by Wendy Rathbone (Amazon)

Summer of You by Joelle Lynne (Amazon)

Hollywood Slide by Cyd Sidney (Amazon)

Slapshot To The Heart by Lina George (Amazon)

The Answer by Piper Scott (Amazon)

Room 405 by Trisha Linde (Amazon)

The Shadows Beyond by TJ Rose (Amazon)

The B-Side by B. Harmony (Amazon)

The Angel's Kiss by Nicholas Bella (Amazon)

Two Thousand Dreams by Jocelynn Drake (Amazon)

Shroom for Improvement by Jemma Croft (Amazon)

Play By Heart by Ariella Zoelle (Amazon)

Mage of the Dragon Prince by Zarina Aston (Amazon)

Lost and Found by Lucy Lennox & Sloane Kennedy (Amazon)

What You Need by Avril Ashton (Amazon)

The Only Way to Live by M.A. Innes (Amazon)

Reborn by Richard Amos (Amazon)

Fated to the Dragon Prince by Silvana Falcon (Amazon)

Omega Shadow by Quin Michaels (Amazon)

The Beauty Within by H.L. Day (Amazon)

Chasing Seth by J.R. Loveless (Amazon)

Once Upon a Dance Club Wish by Jessica E. Subject (Amazon)

Forbidden Devotion by Lee Colgin (Amazon)

Hunting For a Home Base by Adriana Golden (Amazon)

Just A Little Love by Kerry Kilpatrick (Amazon)

Unhinged Titan by E.V. Olsen (Amazon)

Red Hot Fate by Dylan Reece (Amazon)

Lust by Sienna Moreau (Amazon)

Stealing the Silver Fox by Daniel May (Amazon)

Vespertine by Leta Blake & Indra Vaughn (Amazon)

Pitcher Perfect by Lee Blair (Amazon)

The Mobster's Mate by Kiki Clark (Amazon)

Polyamory books

Double Dare by Jeanne St. James - MMF (multiple stores)

Found by Jayne Rylon - MMF (multiple stores)

Valkyrie Condemned by Nixie Jade - why choose (multiple stores)

Upside Down by Liz Gavin - MFF (multiple stores)

Don't Fight It by Samantha Cole - MMF (multiple stores)

Game On by L.E. Eldridge - tagged as M/NBI/F, but I think it's only MF in this novella (multiple stores)

Parisian Ghosts by Janna Ruth - FMM (multiple stores)

Of Boys and Games by Mona Black - reverse harem (multiple stores)

Kiss Me If You Can by Cheryl Terra - polyamory (multiple stores)

Dirge by Lesli Richardson - MMF with MM (multiple stores)

The Dragon Heir's Omega by London Kemaker - MMM (multiple stores)

Stolen Omega by Layal Heart - MMMMFF with MMF and FFM (multiple stores)

Her Escape by Skylar Heart - MMMFM with MM (multiple stores)

Taking Out the Trash by Zoey Indiana - MMMMFFMM (multiple stores)

The Heiress Auction by Evie Croft - why choose (Amazon)

Jordan by Michelle Dare - MMM (Amazon)

Poor Rich Boys by Ally Vance & Yolanda Olson (Amazon)

The Scottish Play by Phoebe Alexander - FFM (Amazon)

A Touch of Royalty by Anita Primrose - poly (Amazon)

For Keeps by K.C. Everly - MMF (Amazon)

Dark Cravings by Darcy Hayes - FFM (Amazon)

Knight of the Hunted by Elizabeth Dunlap - reverse harem (Amazon)

Rise of the Witch by C. Rochelle - why choose with MM (Amazon)

Absentia Mori by M. Violet - heroine ends up with multiple love interests per blurb (Amazon)

A Sanguine Solstice by Alex Le Bruyere - FFM (Amazon)

Doc by Abrianna Denae - M/M with consensual non-monogamy (Amazon)

Chasing Their Bride by Loryn Fox - MMMF with MM (Amazon)

Be My Sinner by A.L. Maruga - MMFM with MM (Amazon)

To Catch a Rook by Cora Flynn - MMMF with MM (Amazon)

Hunter's Moon by Gwyneira Blythe - reverse harem with MM (Amazon)

Hardwick Hall by Jess Savage - MFF (Amazon)

On Death's Door by Miranda May - reverse harem with MM (Amazon)

Our Pretty Little Cupid by Casie Fairbanks - why choose (Amazon)

Winter and the Wolves by Kinkaid Knight - MMM (Amazon)

The Heroes and the Heiress by Kaylee Pike - MMF with MM (Amazon)

Why Not Both? by Kristin Lance - MMF with MM (Amazon)

Comfort of Lies by N. Slater - MMF with MM (Amazon)

Nest of Lies by Tea Ravne - why choose with MM (Amazon)

Rudimentary Distortion by Mila Crawford - MMF (Amazon)

And Omega Makes Four by Aria Grace - MMMM, reverse harem (Amazon)

All the Rage We've Ever Lived by Carlotta Page - likely eventual MMF (Amazon)

Ruined by Teal Rose - FFMMM (Amazon)

Absolved In Death by M. Bonnet - why choose with MM (Amazon)

Orange Lake by Aly Tatum - MMMF with MM (Amazon)

Fortune Fae Academy: Book 1 by J.R. Thorn - why choose with MM (Amazon)

Queenie & the Krakens by Aleera Anaya Ceres - reverse harem with MM (Amazon)

Drown the Sea by Elisha Kemp - reverse harem with MM (Amazon)

Feral Alphas by Sierra Knoxly - MMMMMFM (Amazon)

Tastes of Honey by Fances M. Thompson - FFX (Amazon)

Roommates: A Queer Why Choose Romance - FFFM with FF (Amazon)

The Jekyll and Her Hydes by Sierra Rowan - reverse harem (Amazon)

Pi by Thia Mackin - MMF with MM (Amazon)

Her Fairy Court by Sicara J. Weaver - MMF (Amazon)

Nowhere to hide by Jaye Pratt - likely reverse harem from book blurb (Amazon)

The Truth of Our Secrets by Heather Leighson - MMF (Amazon)

Captured: The Alien Clutch Prequel by D. Dove - MMM (Amazon)

The Bully's Dare by Adora Crooks - MMF (Amazon)

The Arcana Ignited by Anya Clara - likely eventual MMF (Amazon)

Only Orlando by Charlie Novak - MMM (Amazon)

Red is for Roxy by Meg Stratton - MMFFMM (Amazon)

Loving Ladybug, Part One by Jane Handler - MMF (Amazon)

Love on the Ice by Bre Rose - why choose with MM (Amazon)

Packed: Book One: Kol by Aiden Frost - MMMFMM (Amazon)

Son of Sin by M.M. Riott - polyamory (Amazon)

Gambler's Conceit by Adara Wolf & R. Phoenix - MMMM (Amazon)

Carnal Nights by Pinky Cockburn - MMF (Amazon)

Young, Wild, & Three by Amity Malcom - MMF (Amazon)

Final Straw by Cassie Lein - why choose (Amazon)

Trio by Kimber Delaney - MMF (Amazon)

Dirty Little Secrets by KG. Reuss - why choose with MM (Amazon)

Omega Domain by A. Purr - reverse harem with MM (Amazon)

Day of Judgement by Aurora Crane - MMM (Amazon)

Misfit Betrayal by Daria Binx - MMFM (Amazon)

The Midnight Manor by Morgan Blackwell - MMFF (Amazon)

Gemini Kings by Laura Navarre - Reverse harem with MM (Amazon)

Oath Keepers MC: Hybrid Collection by Sapphire Knight - MMF, MFM' and MF (Amazon)

Virtue by Ida Brady - contains FF, FM, and FMF scenes (Amazon)

Sapphic books

Femme Like Her by Fiona Zedde (multiple stores)

Caught With Zeus by Arizona Tape (multiple stores)

A Lady's Finder by Edie Cay (multiple stores)

Reign of Secret by L.L. Hunter (multiple stores)

Alchemiya by Katey Hawthorne (multiple stores)

Her Purrfect Familiar by Pepper McGraw (multiple stores)

Her Elysium by Emmy Engberts (multiple stores)

A Blooming Spring Love by Emily Engberts (multiple stores)

Cursed Slumber by Luna Lockhardt (multiple stores)

Murder by Multiples by Rachel Ford (Amazon)

A Sanguine Solstice by Alex Le Bruyere (Amazon)

Becoming a Bi-Con by Sarah Zane (Amazon)

Summer Love by Gemma Addison Dove (Amazon)

A Taste of Red by Stephanie Lee (Amazon)

Claimed by Her Bear by Ariel Marie (Amazon)

Infatuations by Barbara Winkes (Amazon)

Little Miss Santa Claws by Beka Westrup (Amazon)

Her Mortal Champion by Luna Lawson (Amazon)

Tastes of Honey by Frances M. Thompson (Amazon)

Freedom: What are you willing to sacrifice for love? by Cassidy Langue (Amazon)

All the Oceans by Polly Emorie (Amazon)

Bitter Winds by Marina Tempest (Amazon)

Off with Her Head by Dana LeeAnn (Amazon)

Maiden Over by Renee Dahlia (Amazon)

My Carmilla by Anita Zara (Amazon)

Tangled Encounters by Madison Nicole (Amazon)

Bean There, Found You by Cameron Tate (Amazon)

Mainely Books Club Collection: Books 1-4 by Chelsea M. Cameron (Amazon)

Cursed By Malignant Magic by Jenesis St. Clare (Amazon)

My Valentine's Deception by Giselle Nyte (Amazon)

Queen of Love by Cynthia Dane & Hildred Billings (Amazon)

The Honeymoon Mix-up by Frankie Fyre (Amazon)

Trans, nonbinary, and gender-diverse characters

Of Melodies and Maledictions by Maddox Grey - nonbinary love interest (multiple stores)

A Lady's Finder by Edie Cay - nonbinary/sapphic romance (multiple stores)

Game On by L.E. Eldridge - tagged as M/NBI/F. The sequel novella, Game Over, has a nonbinary beta, but I don't think that character is introduced in this novella (multiple stores)

Alchemiya by Katey Hawthorne - Woman crossdressing as a man and presenting as a man in society, but unsure if crossdressing is willing (multiple stores)

Mer Made by S.T Lynn - trans woman character (multiple stores)

Her Escape by Skylar Heart - trans man (multiple stores)

Unthaw My Heart by Harmony Noble - trans woman (Amazon)

Murder by Multiples by Rachel Ford - butch-like character passing as a man (Amazon)

Model Citizen by Lissa Kasey - m/m gender fluid romantic mystery (Amazon)

The Sneaky Lass by Kennedy Sutton - woman crossdressing as a man, but unsure how willing (Amazon)

The Heartbreak Show by Jesikah Sundin - gender non-conforming male character (Amazon)

Diamond Heat by Alex Washoe - trans woman character (Amazon)

Tastes of Honey by Frances M. Thompson - nonbinary character (Amazon)

Roommates: A Queer Why Choose Romance by April Gaisford - nonbinary character in book blurb (Amazon)

An Epic Construct by D.C. Emerson - nonbinary gender realization, genderfluidity representation (Amazon)

What You Need by Avril Ashton - trans man character (Amazon)

Other books tagged with LGBTQ protagonists

Power Play by Amelia Wilde (multiple stores)

Dragon's Instinct by Elva Birch (Amazon)

Bewitched Blooms: A Fundraiser Anthology for Zoë - collection of short stories, some with queer characters (Amazon)

Stalking the Mafia Man by Tierney Storer - has LGBTQ characters (Amazon)

Savannah's Temptation by Ellie Sandoval (Amazon)

Drunk for Revenge by Chrissy Nicole (Amazon)

A Cruel Game of Fate by Jessica Lane (Amazon)

Songbird by Sarah Williams (Amazon)

Amethysts & Alchemy by Rachel Rener (Amazon)

Locked by L.R. Douglas (Amazon)

Our Unexpected Beginning by Lenore Danvers (Amazon)

Aphotic Born by Elizabeth Myrva (Amazon)

Fake Flowers, Real Feelings by Domina Easton (Amazon)

[justatypicalwizard]

Weave your own web, my prince

BNHA royal au x reader ❥⋰ Another marital season bears down Katsuki's shoulders. His mother tortures him with a new guard - one that will follow each and every step the prince takes. Soon Katsuki decides, it's time to act on his responsibilities and decides his target will be the guard. Tons of royals flush the corridors of the Bakugo castle, among others Shoto - the Todoroki prince on the make. What will come out of their rivalry? Will Katsuki be able to break out of his mothers web of plans and schemes? Will he be able to claim what he desires or will it run through his fingers? ❥⋰ Reader is referred to as Cat. Word count: 16k ❥⋰ I just want to say I had so much fun writing this piece. I really tried to elevate my language and make something fun. I hope you find it entertaining!

Katsuki hated Spring with all of his heart. He loved the new life peeking out of every corner, he loved the birds that came from far lands with new stories to croak about, he loved the fresh air saturated with the scent of juicy grass and wildflowers. Katsuki hated Spring because Spring meant courting season, the awful marital hunt.

The young, and only, son of queen Mitsuki and king Masaru attained a position on the grand bachelor and maiden list as soon as his 15th Spring approached and has been on it since. Despite the weight of the crown bearing hard on the prince’s temples he refused to find a wife each and every year. The queen was on the verge of forcing someone on him. On March nights Mitsuki cursed at her son’s undeniable masculinity. It would be easier if he was a girl.

The martial aspect of Spring pricked at his side like a thorn but there were other nuisances. It was a time when not only did you have to stand up to your enemies, you also had to let them into your home. Trains of carriages and caravans climb up the steep hill road leading into the Bakugo lands. The castle swole with lace, silk, gossip and scheme. It was full of two-faced ministers, greedy lords, gasping matrons and pale princesses.

Katsuki wondered whether he preferred to travel abroad for courting or let that multitude inside his own stone and gem walls. At least the army was here, some units preparing as if for war. Units like his mothers personal guards.

Day and night, Summer or Winter these soldiers run at top speed, and at top secrecy. They were always in the corner, lingering to the queen like a shadow, flat and easy to miss. Katsuki was supposed to build his own unit such as this, pull it together, brick by brick from desperate, lonely and crazy, ones that would sacrifice their life in the name of loyalty and gratitude. Ones that would sparkle at his side like gems in his crown. Ones that would slice throats without even a blink at his single word. That was, of course, a massive exaggeration but the queen made sure to give him this lecture every time a new rumour could be heard about the assassin known as Denki flirting with a cook or when the archiver and historian girl Mina messed up a few very important dates in the chronicle of Katsuki’s life. At least Kirishima was reliable.

Katsuki stomped towards his mother’s writing room in her open-for-guests chambers. The guests took off and it was once more high time to try to persuade him. Names and oil paintings were hung up in the representative corridors leading to the ballroom. Small noses, corseted waists and absent eyes that gazed up into the sky peeking out through the grand windows. All of these seasons maidens presented like cattle on a Sunday village market. Soon bachelors would accompany the lonely girls on the other side of the hallway.

The angry boy slowed down, his boots finally giving the echo of the corridor a break. Slick black hair pulled into a tight ponytail. Diamonds scattering the crown of her head, packed onto a delicate silver web, signalling her worth but also painfully reminding of the lack of a real queens’ crown. At least it matched her eyes.

Yaoyorozu was one of the candidates for Katsuki. Despite her mathematical calmness and chin raised to touch the sky, she fumed every time she saw him. The Yaoyorozu family lacked a crow but swam in wealth. Their banks held and operated on the riches of the neighbourhood kingdom making them important players on the royal courts.

Lord Yaoyorozu tried his luck with the family of his own king but with poor results. Many princes adorned the king’s right hand but none of them would marry with someone of a lower status. At least that’s what they officially said. Next on the list was Katsuki who also refused to take Momo Yaoyorozu. The girl was beautiful, smart and wealthy, but it all meant nothing as her father’s ambitions were too high for her crystal-heel-clad feet.

Another portrait that stung Katsuki’s eyes was yet to be hung. He huffed, a short pathetic laugh. What an irony that the cheeky round face that poked through the messily scattered cloth lay beneath Momo. Someone should quickly gather this portrait or else whatever commoner left this will be punished for offence to a highborn.

Uraraka, a princess well known for Katsuki, smiled cheekily from the frame. Another candidate, this time a real princess. Such a pity her royal family had less funds than the Yaoyorozu. A pity for her, a blessing for Katsuki. She was being held as an option courtesy of friendship rather than position.

Leaving the lifeless faces Katsuki wondered which girl had it worse, which was scattered around more. The wealthy but unprivileged lady or the poor but accepted princess. One thing he knew, he would pick none of them.

Three knocks were enough to be welcomed by his mother. She seemed to be alone in the room. Bookshelves that once were mighty oaks bent under the weight of thousands of books, chronicles and registers. Rugs secured the stone floor giving the room a warmer touch, just as Mitsuki liked. Despite a rather early hour candle flames glistered and twitched around the desk, trapped in glass lanterns. Little daylight was allowed through the narrow windows, always leaving the room in a state of half-shadow.

Katsuki knew that in these elaborately planned out shadows figures lingered in defence of his mother. The prince felt the presence right now but he knew better than to comment on it. Those ears will hear everything but speak of nothing.

“So glad you made it that quick.” The queen turned slightly in her rich chair to face him. The old and well-used wood cracked slightly, though the quiet of the room made it seem like thunder.

“Stop tip-toeing around it and tell me what you have to, old hag.” Katsuki knew what this conversation would be about, he guessed what the bulky volumes in front of his mother were - genealogical trees of high families. It was the same every year.

“Fine. I command you to pick a wife this season. You know the old candidates but there are a few new ones worth taking a look at.” She proceeded to open the book but her son’s harsh voice left her only grazing the cover.

“You can command your little chess pieces of soldiers around, not me. I will not take any of these fake, trained pushovers.” His resistance was hardy.

“You know your responsibilities as a male, and only, heir to the throne. It gets more dangerous each year.” Always the same. Katsuki had enough of it.

“You and dad don’t look like you’re gonna drop dead any moment, which is a pity.” He snarled at his mother like a kid throwing a tantrum - which in fact he was. “I will secure the family line just-” The fierceness of his voice lost its momentum. “Just when I find the right person.”

Did he just admit to his mother that he believed in love? Did he believe in love? He thought about it every Spring, what was it that he was looking for. The princesses were obviously not a match for him because they were all a lifeless mass of similar faces, similar gowns, similar smiles. They were taught to be interested in you, to abide by every need and want, to not ask questions but at the same time to demand the best, tastiest, wealthiest and most luxurious. Katsuki did not wish to play this game. Was he really looking for someone who will make his heart skip a beat? Might as well try.

“Anything else?” He walked around the room grabbing objects and examining them, anything to look away from the disappointed mother in the centre. She sighed.

“Yes. Because of the situation at Todoroki’s I decided to have two of my personal guards watching over you. They have a schedule and will follow your steps for the next months, as long as this farce will take.” Now this, this was new.

Mother was letting two of her dogs off leash. Both excited and annoyed, Katsuki gave her a questioning look. He moved towards her desk, and pushing his abdomen hard into the edge he looked down on his mother. Or so he thought.

“Don’t try to order them around, they already know what to do and they will not abide by a single need of yours.” Though sitting lower she was still looming over him, her shadow longer than his, extended by two additional people.

Finally, he got why she decided such a thing. It was not to keep him safe, it was to make him miserable, push him to his limit and make him succumb to her wants. Who knows what these people will do or how much they will foist themselves on him. Katsuki felt a hand creep up on his throat and ball into a vice grip, suffocating him. He also knew that he will peel those fingers off one by one.

“Meet your daytime guard. Then leave.” Mitsuki gestured to a woman who grew out of the shadow behind her chair.

Katsuki looked the intruder in the eye and let out a short huff, turning on his heel and leaving the writing room in a sour mood.

A few mornings and evenings later Katsuki figured out a bit more about the strange duo following him around. The woman was there during the day while the bulky man with dark wavy hair and a scar on his face guarded his person at nightime. They changed in the evening and morning without much talk.

Those past days the young prince tried to ignore the presence but it became overwhelming, always hearing additional steps behind you. This and the preparation for hosting the ass clapping festival as Katsuki liked to title it.

The castle changed into a busy anthill with servants-ants running back and forth, carrying anything from bouquets to wooden tables all around the place. The prince was needed here and there for very important business such as fitting fancy costumes, giving his opinion on a flower arrangement or signing fifty greeting letters that will be left on the nightstands of the guests’ beds. In simple words, Katsuki had enough.

“Your highness, you are needed in the fitting room.” Shall the white, laced blouses be damned.

Maids jumped around his partially undressed form as they tried to baste a rich red robe around his torso. The loose scraps of material and pins scratched at his skin leaving red marks and giving Katsuki a scowl. The air in the room was stiff and seemed to lack oxygen. The blonde was getting dizzy with all the heavy perfume and powder dancing around in the light of the candles.

“Give me more pins, I need to tighten it here.” One of the seamstresses squeaked.

“Take them yourself, I can’t move right now.” The other one argued

His head slumped down and a deep sigh escaped his lips. How much longer will this take?

“Excuse me. The prince is needed for his evening duties.” A new voice made an interruption.

“We were promised the price will be available today. This fitting was due for a few days.” One of the working women bickered while resting hands on her hips.

“Well, your time has passed.”

The half finished robe was pulled down Katsuki’s arms and shoved into a terrified maid's hands. The prince felt a small hand on the back of his arm. The fingers were so tiny, yet they quickly clasped down in a vice grip, pulling him out of the stuffy fitting room and out into the cold corridor.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do now?” He did not even mind who forced him outside. The preparations, the long days of doing absolute shit, the constant feeling of being watched even in his sleep, Katsuki was too fed up to care.

“Nothing. Or maybe a walk outside would be refreshing if you ask me.”

The prince finally looked up at his companion. It was no one other than the guard woman following him around. She was propped up the corridor wall, arms crossed on her chest, looking out of the window on the ground below.

“Is there something wrong, your highness? Do you wish to go back to the fitting room? You looked rather displeased there and the seamstresses did take their time, didn’t they?” The girl asked with a raised brow.

“Did you really just pull me out of there and lie to them?”

“Are you unhappy with that?”

“Not even a bit. Let’s go outside.”

The evening breeze was refreshing, like a cold shower after a good workout. Katsuki and the guard strolled the park outside of the castle. It was a maze of high hedges, fancy bushes and ponds. The long path led to the grand lake far at the back. The further they got from the castle, the easier it was to mistake the small lights in the windows with stars in the sky. It was peaceful here, sleepy.

“If you wish to know, the name is Cat, my prince.” The guard, Cat, opened her mouth without warning, breaking the melodic tune of night critters.

“Cat is your real name?” He questioned with a brow raised over a scowl. His companion only laughed softly, speaking up no more. Of course it isn’t her name. Of course he would never learn it.

Moonlight shone down on the rich overseas rug giving the warm colours a cold tune. Gold thread twisted and turned forming seemingly endless patterns. Katsuki also twisted in his fur bed sheets, unable to fall asleep. Sweat clung to his overheated body like a second skin. He has to ask for summer sheets, thin like his patience with the restless night.

Pouring himself a goblet of lukewarm water he cursed, exhaustion weighing his shoulders down. Nonetheless, he slipped a soft cotton shirt over his head, pulled on the trousers he left forgotten in the corner and took off in search of some peace in the sleeping castle. The nightguard stalking his every step.

Not finding any relief in his own chambers, Katsuki turned his steps towards his mother’s private rooms and squares. The crushing difference between what was Katsuki’s and what Mitsuki owned was a demonstration of power. Everywhere she could, the queen reminded her son that he was her property. Everywhere he was able to, Katsuki pushed back.

Right now his strategy for enraging the woman was strolling through her chambers at times he shouldn’t. He should be asleep, redying himself for a day packed to the brim with responsibilities. Instead, he opted for passing the scarce guards in silence, looking for a place that would put his nerves at ease.

Far off in the quiet wing of the castle he fished out a familiar figure.

“The fuck you doing there, sneaking around?” He calls out, his voice too loud, cutting through the quiet night like thunder.

There’s a shuffle and Cat turns around to face him fully just as Katsuki enters the square. The smell of flowers is heavy in the air, the queen’s private fruit garden oversaturated with the sweetness of spring life. Katsuki thinks, just for a second, that there’s a glimmer of panic in the guards eye, but her usual polite-jaded expression overtakes her face instantly.

“I am enjoying free time, my prince.” She bows slightly upon his arrival.

“Free time.” The blonde weighs the word on his tongue like a caramel drop. “Sounds exotic.”

“Is there anything you need, my prince?” No response, just blind civility. Noone in this castle, in this world, talked with Katsuki. They obeyed, listened and answered by not one person ever held a conversation with him. Maybe not counting the deliberately selected group of idiots that he called his party. But they are gone now, always seemingly busy during spring. The queen just wanted them away from him, so as not to give him any ideas. Friends were forbidden for a prince.

I need you to shut the fuck up and stop rubbing your free-will into my face. He wanted to shout but the memory of the fitting room, how she freed him of the constricting hands of seamstresses brought Katsuki to a halt. She had more freedom than him, she could do as she pleased when her duty hours were off. Maybe he could use it.

“I need you to speak to me as equals.” He stated, taking a step closer, entering the moonlight square.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, my prince.”

“I don’t want you to suddenly call me by my name, I just want - just talk to me for fuck’s sake.” This is embarrassing. Katsuki cursed the moon’s silver dick for shining so finely today. The pink tinting his cheeks must have been in plain sight. Something shifted in Cat’s expression, relaxation passed over her features, mingling with the usual disinterest.

“Fine.” Her steps were silent as she proceeded to a bench carved out in marble. “I’m listening then.”

“I promise this will stay between us.” The prince dropped down bluntly next to her, swinging his arm over the cool backrest of the uncomfortable bench, his other playing with the loose strings of his cotton shirt, untied, letting his chest breathe fresh night air.

“There is no such thing as a promise here, on court.”

His head whipped her way only to be met with a small smirk. So the woman could speak her mind when she wanted to.

A rich, plump flower sat next to Cat’s head. More of them scattered around the bush leaning on the marble. The one that seemed to nearly graze her cheek was big and flashy, oozing with juices that threatened to spill if you touched it ever so slightly. Katsuki found it repulsive, his mind suddenly drifting off to the thought of wetness.

He looked back, straight ahead to free himself from the shameless flower. His mother tortured him with bees and flower analogies, how he would have to find his flower someday to bear a fruit. It was one of these bushes she made him observe to understand his duty.

Katsuki shook off the nasty feeling.

“So, what do you usually do in your free time?”

“I sleep.”

From the corner of his eye the blonde followed Cat’s movement. She was interested in the flower, poking at it only to get her fingers sticky. Her displeased expression amused him.

“You’re not sleeping now.”

“That’s true.” She stood up and wandered the little maze of flowerbeds and dwarfed trees to find the fountain in the centre. Katsuki following her steps.

A figure appeared in the shadow, leaning on a pillar, watching his every move. The beast of a man, his night time guard, too loud for his own good. A string of curses left Katsuki’s lips. He wasn’t allowed any privacy.

“Cat.” She focused on him, shaking her palm, droplets of water flying in the air. “Switch with the other guy for the night. I want you to guard me.”

It took her a few blinks to think through his order. “And what would I have from it? I would have to be up all night.”

“The next day off. He will take your shift.” The blonde shrugged, as if it was nothing, a mere proposition of business partners too wealthy to mind a single thing. “Besides, if you really care about your rest you would be sleeping right now.” A chuckle left Cat’s lips and Katsuki felt like smiling himself. He did not succumb to the temptation.

“Well, I could use a day off. Have business to take care of.” She came closer and the prince once again thought about the flower. “Did you hear Hound? What do you think about it?”

Hound, the man with messy hair and a messy beard, messy uniform and a crystal clear, sharp look to his eyes stepped onto the square. To Katsuki, he seemed to utterly despise his position, impatience and anger dripping from his face.

“Fine by me.”

“Goodnight then.” Hound huffed at the politeness, turning his back to Katsuki after a short and forced bow, disappearing into the darkness.

“Don’t mind him, my prince, he doesn’t like anyone beside the queen.” Despite Hound’s posture the queen was the real beast here, making a person so blindly loyal.

At once Katsuki felt at ease, alone. He looked up into the sky speckled with stars so very prominent in the moon’s silvery hue. His body felt dry, the sweat of his restless tossing evaporated into the quiet night. He felt fresh and lulled, as if he could fall asleep on the uncomfortable marble bench, his guard sitting on the other side, gazing at the obnoxious flower. He would feel like a still life that hung in the dining room, unmoving and eternal. His life would be still for once, peaceful and silent.

All of it a dream that would never come true.

“What business do you have for tomorrow?” He asked as he sat on the flat surface of the fountain. Every time the light breeze flew by it scooped loose droplets from the fountain, lifting them into the air, letting them dance in the moonlight. It was one of Katsuki’s favourite places to sit as a child, the drops of water hitting his back on hot summer days.

“If I can speak to you as equal for the time being then my business is none of yours, my prince.” Harsh, he thought. He didn’t mind.

“Keep your secrets then.” He scoffed, letting one of his hands dip into the water. It was cool and for a second Katsuki craved nothing more but to tear off his clothes and sink, letting his ears fill up, muffling the sounds of the unbearable world around him. But instead he said. “Just wait until you ask me for something.”

“I would never.” Annoyance forced a scrunch on the bridge of his nose, his pretty face going all ugly. Why didn’t she want to lean on him? He was her ruler. “I would never put more burden on your shoulders, my prince.”

My prince, he was hers but she was not his. She didn’t abide by his needs because she was told to refuse. She was a soldier, a sword in his mothers long-reaching hands that would never be held by him. Her presence reminded Katsuki that he is watched, controlled. Her sharp edge was just underneath his neck, forcing him to hold his chin high, like a prince, and to always look forward, like a future king.

“Why do you have more freedom than I do, huh?” The ugliness never left his face.

“Because I'm nobody.”

“You don’t seem sad about being nobody.”

“Because I’m not.”

Anger bubbled in Katsuki’s veins, promising a night robbed of sleep, one spent twirling in his sheets, gritting his teeth together. Why was this lowborn, this nobody so very free. Why was a capitan, a special guard whose whole existence was dedicated to one painfully narrow task so full of life, so nonchalant. Why did she get to take deep breaths while he was bound to huffs and silent screams. She would never be genuine with him, she did not hold the conversation, she did not answer the questions. She did not talk to him like he wanted, needed. This was a mistake, no longer did he care if it was Hound or Cat at his door tonight. He returned to square one. 

Without another word, Katsuki stood up and left for his chambers. This time the steps following him were silent. The exotic flower leaked its juice onto the marble bench, the sweet stickiness running down to pool at the stone path. It cried silently.

Salty water kissed the shore, although it was running away. The sea wanted to override from the adorned tents and sparkish servants littering the beach. Katsuki’s brows were arched in a nasty frown as he gazed into the endless green and blue and foam, sympathising with it. He would also rather be somewhere else.

While in the castle, the whole party seemed quite peaceful, reserved, safe for a few shallow friendships that were now being brought back to life. The closer they got to the shore, the louder the multitude got. Further away from hawk-like eyes of chaperones and scrutinising queens, the youthful spirit flourished.

Looking to the right Katsuki fished out Ochaco’s round face. She was seemingly discussing some matter with a well known klutz. Oh, how Katsuki despised Midoriya. As much as Ochaco’s dusty wardrobe reminded of her rather pitiful standing in regards to wealth, Midoriya was the embodiment of her kingdom’s woes. The greenish boy was a historian, respected astronomer, mathematician was he also? Katsuki was not interested in what he was seemingly good at. His wandering eyes, never bold enough to look anyone in the face, shaking hands that drop anything they hold, stuttering voice that can’t produce one legible sentence. All that Midoriya was Katsuki hated. If not for the fact that Ochaco’s outright crush on her kingdom’s scholar kept her far from him, maybe he would even mock them.

“If you consider princess Ochaco a valuable cover for your marital affairs, my prince, I’d suggest you tell her not to touch her dear servant’s hand that often.” Capitan cat did not budge a muscle, gazing straight into the sea.

“Half of these people already know. They don’t mind ‘cause she’s not a real player anyway.” Katsuki answered, also keeping his gaze steady. He felt as if they were two predators, wild cats still in tall grass, awaiting prey on the horizon.

At the back of the tent Yaoyorozu burned holes in the back of Katsuki’s head. She sat straight like a stick. No need to hold that head up so high, no one's gonna put a crown on it either way. After a few nasty fights Katsuki knew better than to start with the queen-wannabe. It was enough that he called her princess in front of everyone.

To Momo’s right, drinking the same tea from a finely painted porcelain, sat Jiro. Katsuki pitied the dark haired girl. If not for being Momo’s personal maid, she would be a nice companion. Unfortunately, she had to listen to her lady’s venomous whispering, while also sending Katsuki glances, hers apologetic.

“The Yaoyorozu ladies must have received your letter, my prince.” Cat stated disinterested.

“Glad to hear that.” Katsuki made sure to welcome Momo with a letter clarifying that she is not on his personal list of candidates. This way he saved both of them unnecessary troubles.

Wind blew salt from over the sea, slapping the blonde’s pale cheeks. A gasp and commotion could be heard at the back of the party. A maid of honour slipped on a lace and fell face-flat onto the sand. Despite no harm caused she needed fanning, a chair and at least three people ensuring her safety.

At that moment Katsuki agreed with his mother. This didn’t happen a lot but as he looked his companion up and down he did admit, through gritted teeth, that his mother at least had taste. Cat was dressed in black. Her boots reached her lower thigh, she must have at least a few knives up there. Simple trousers with horse ride edging in the inside on her legs. A jacket, not too official, nothing that would catch unwanted attention. Under the fine, black material a white sheer blouse peaked out.

Katsuki caught her gaze, she was looking at him from the corner of her vigilant eye.

“Is everything alright, my prince.” Her stance was fine, elegant even, with knees together, head high and hands behind a straight back. She did not look like she sported a stick in her butt like Momo, but rather, like she was born to look down on others, despite being shorter than him.

Suddenly, Katsuki wanted to see her in that white blouse. The delicate material would surely dance in the breeze, as if someone draped bed sheets over a statue. Would she look less sharp without the black jacket widening her shoulders.

“Aren’t you hot in that?” It was indeed a hot, spring day.

“I am.” Cat answered with a lazy blink.

“Then take it off, the jacket.”

And she did, and Katsuki, for a moment, felt as excited, as if she was stripping naked in front of him. He was wrong and right. The material was indeed soft and loose around her, dancing in the light breeze, catching salt to scrub out later. Yet, she did not look even a slight bit softer. Her strange pupils were still in the corner of her eyes.

“Thank you, my prince, this does feel better.”

In comparison to all of the clownish servants and maids behind her back, Cat looked like an empress inspecting the sea as if it washed the shore only for her.

“Oh, Captain!” Giggles erupted behind Katsuki and the corner of his red eyes caught an intruder.

In between colourful dresses another gem in the Todoroki’s crown entertained the maids with cheap tricks. Their restless feet tiptoed to see him better. They couldn’t decide whether to look at his handsome face or glamorous crimson wings. The hybrid, the mutant, the eyes and ears of Todoroki, Capitan Hawks. Katsuki wondered how many of those drooling maids with hungry eyes knew what the man really did for a living. Behind the adorned misfit a shadow of a man, a certain Shinso.

“I’ve never seen this… maid with you before.” If not for the proximity of the man, his voice would die out in the salty wind. The Todoroki prince grew out of thin air in front of Katsuki.

Of course Shoto wouldn’t bother with a greeting, how could the ethereal prince mind something as mundane. Right now the blonde didn’t know whether he’d rather look at Hawk’s stupid tricks or at Shoto’s stoic face. Neither, if he could choose. Those two rarely came in pairs.

“Cat’s not a maid, she’s a guard.” Although he would rather sit quietly through the fact that for the last weeks he moved around with a babysitter, Katsuki felt that his captain’s rank should be highlighted in front of the Todoroki prince. If he had to move around with a her he’d at least show her off, make it seem as if she was a precious and deadly decoration, a blade fastened to his hip.

“Oh yes, my brother’s emerging a few months ago has everyone alert.” Shoto sighed as if he was talking about an unfavourable score in a knight tournament, not about a serial killer stalking the highbourns. A serial killer who came from his own royal family. “Nothing I can do about it right now.” The half and half prince looked into the sea.

You could evaporate from the world and that would surely make that psycho of a brother happy. Katsuki thought but couldn’t really say anything, shouldn’t. Talking about the missing brother in broad daylight was taboo. Cat also seemed to know that.

“Beautiful day for some recreation on the beach, your highness.” Her strange pupils, now more round and relaxed, locked on Shoto. “Are you feeling well, is there anything you would fancy?” Suddenly, Katsuki felt as if Cat was a bit too hospitable.

“Hm, I do maybe feel a little bit bored.” If that was true, Shoto’s plain face hid all of his emotions.

“Is there anything we can do to change that, your highness?” We? Of course, Katsuki should be the one asking that and walking around entertaining the guests. “Maybe a horse ride?” The stoic prince perked up for a moment, nodding his head lightly. “Very well, I will send for steed.”

Soon three sizable horses were brought over, stablemen with bowed heads passing the reins into royal hands. Before they took off Shoto gestured for his captain to come over. Nestled in the saddle, he spoke in a disinterested tone. “We’re going off for a ride, I will be in the Bakugo captain’s care.”

“Do you wish for me to fly over you, your highness?” Katsuki swore he heard a few gasps upon the word fly. It was not an everyday view to see the captain use his wings for something else than showing off. Katsuki was certain the blonde mutant was a creature of the night.

“No need Hawks.” Without another word Shoto dug the heels of his boots into the horse’s side.

It wasn’t long before Katsuki felt left out. He rode slowly behind his two companions, comparing their stances and words. They both seemed rather stiff. Cat’s hips swayed with the horse’s movement, similar to his, but her shoulders were tense, hands gripping the rein with a strange focus to it. Shoto looked like he mounted a horse for the first time. Sure, he kept in the saddle but his body lacked the natural movement. Katsuki was sure his ass would hurt in the evening.

Despite their weird riding, the two managed to uphold a shallow conversation. The blonde deemed the words that left their mouth absolute rubbish, but at the same time he couldn’t find a moment to butt in. Cat and Shoto created an awkward but sturdy combination.

“I find it a day too beautiful to talk about my work.” Cat’s voice was soft, as if she was talking to a child.

“You simply can’t talk about it.” Shoto learned no new boundaries since they saw each other last time, still speaking whatever came to his mind.

“I’m content you understand, your highness.” There was no sense for Katsuki to feel threatened by Shoto’s shallow discovery. Everyone on the court had their secrets and no person yielding a sword was without sins. Every guard, especially the one designated to a prince, was there for a reason no ears should ever catch. The same went for Hawks, who was left far behind in the avalanche of satin and lace, Katsuki knew the man did some shady business but what kind exactly, no clue.

“But the day indeed is beautiful.” Shoto was a poor rider and the fact was painfully visible. The Todoroki prince wasn’t looking ahead of him and if not for the slow pace of their ride, he would surely divert off the route. His eyes were locked on Cat who guided the small group.

Katsuki wanted her to put on the coat once again and shield her chest chiselled in stone. The white blouse, swept by the wind, seemed too vague, to see-through for her. Shoto was looking at his mighty guard and she presented herself in a blouse suitable for a lady in distress, who wandered off too far in her nightgown. Cat’s high-waisted trousers hugged her form accentuating the movement of her hips and Shoto was looking.

“Yes, the weather is warm, very warm in fact.” The prince breathed out and let the rein loose. His horse started to turn the moment it felt a lack of a humans’ hand but Cat was quick to bend down and put it in its track.

“Your highness, you shouldn’t let it loose. The Bakugo horses are known for being feisty.” She scolded him softly.

“Oh, sorry, I just got a bit hot.” Shoto answered, no emotions lacing his tone, as he shrugged off his rich coat. How can he feel at ease after just being scolded by a guard. He tucked the garment around his saddle and kept on with his poor ride, taking back the rein from Cat. Now, both of them were only in white, cotton blouses and Katsuki felt it was too intimate for his liking. Kicking his horse, he jammed between the two.

“I was fucking bored back at the picnic but now it’s even worse.” The blonde brute eyed Shoto who looked back at him with a slightly shocked expression. The fuck you staring at.

“What would make you feel better, my prince?” Cat still looked ahead of herself, disregarding the disruption to her conversation.

“Some action.” He grunted in response. “Like a race.”

Oh, how his blood started to rush in his veins at the thought of challenging his guard. What if he could make her sweat and gasp? Would she fight for her breath, biting her lips while trying to win? Was she even competitive?

“To the southern beach gate.” Katsuki grinned, snaring her into a battle. He also wished to get rid of Shoto, leaving him behind in his poor attempts to catch up.

“Okay.” Cat answered, looking at him from the corner of her eye, unfazed.

Digging his heels hard into the horse’s sides the blonde rushed forward, forcing a canter. He lay low, nearly hugging the massive neck of his steed, gripping the rein hard enough to leave marks on his palms. The horse cut through the sweeping shore line, water splashing from under its hooves. Without looking behind, Katsuki pulled the rein, forcing the animal to turn, guiding it towards a more grassy ground. As soon as his steed felt soil instead of sand it rushed forward with confidence, making Katsuki’s golden hair dishelve in the wind.

The prince reached the gate in master time. He raced the beach since he was six or seven. Gasping, he turned the horse around, combing his now unkempt hair back with his hand. Neither Cat nor Shoto showed up from behind the tall cliffs that hugged the beach from one side. Katsuki relaxed in the saddle, unclipping his own coat and taking it off to feel the breeze hit his softly clothed skin. The prince couldn’t wait to see the look of defeat on Cat’s face.

Soon the two figures turned and came in view, but despite starting with two horses they only came back with one. They neared him and Katsuki felt as if he lost, despite winning the short race. Shoto sat behind his captain, due to the slow pace at the finishing line he wasn’t hugging her tightly, rather his hands sat loosely in her tights. He was flushed tightly against her back, the saddle too small for two people to feel comfortable. As Cat guided the horse close to him, she made it stand side-to-side so that they all could look at each other. Katsuki had a perfect view of how Shoto’s crotch pushed into Cat’s butt, the saddle still too small despite Katsuki’s displeased look.

“Congratulations, my prince, you won.” Cat said without a hint of discomfort.

“Why the fuck are you on one horse? This idiot has his own.” The blonde spoke but his gaze was locked onto where their bodies connected.

“It would be an utmost disrespect of my if I left prince Todoroki alone, my highness, as price Todoroki cannot race.” Katsuki felt a dissonance. With the delicate highborn strapped onto her back, she looked like Todoroki's guard rather than Bakugo’s and such sharing did not fit into his mind. Now, the blonde wished for Hawks who could assist his damned useless prince, to set his Cat free. “The third horse should follow us.” But of course, the damn thing didn’t.

After a while they decided to head back, Cat and Shoto even closer than before. Katsuki didn’t know if he preferred to ride behind them to keep watch over Shoto’s hands or rather in front to save himself the sight of their phantom hugging. As soon as they wandered back to the multitude, which didn’t ignore Shoto’s position, Katsuki jumped off the horse shooting the two a hateful glare. Cat slid off of the horse first and lent a hand to Shoto who gracefully accepted it. They looked like a lady and knight but reversed. The blonde scoffed and threw Cat’s jacket into her hands after grabbing it from her saddle. He draped his coat back over his shoulders and his captain followed, without a word.

“My prince.” Hawks seemed to catch interest in the strange situation. Shoto stood there, between the massive horses in his cotton undershirt only, like a lost child. Of course he forgot his coat as it stayed on the steed that wandered off. “What happened?”

“We raced.” The half and half answered his concerned guard. “Cat offered to take me on her horse to ensure my safety.” He began picking at the hem of his sleeves, as if only now realising his attire.

“Captain.” Hawks bowed his head slightly to Cat in a silent ‘thank you’ which she seemed to ignore. “Did you like it, my prince?”

Shoto looked up slightly. The sky reflected in one of his eyes. “No.” He breathed out after a second of silence.

“Gather yourself, we’re heading inside.” Katsuki scoffed having heard enough of this nonsense. Few heads turned his way, displeased frowns springing on their faces.

He felt immense anger burning in his inside and bubbling up in his veins. The blonde was helpless despite his raging. Nothing he did, no action he undertook today went out as planned. Everywhere he went, the captain’s attitude reminded him that he did not rule over her, every move she made screamed of his mother’s doing. She was perfect in every ounce. Steady, royal and polite. Reserved but at the same time sweet and somehow caring for the ones she had to be, to the tip of her fingers that grazed Shoto’s as he slid off of the horse. Katsuki had enough of this court coded, pompous bullshit. Cat still had plenty of hours of her duty, following his steps wherever he went, entering every room he went into in spite of his curses. So he will head back into the castle, back into his chambers. He will close the door behind them and show her that even though she is under his mothers rule, he will be the one holding her lead. She is stuck with him just as much as he is stuck with her and he will prove to her that there is not one person in this kingdom that doesn’t do as he pleases.

One thing that day went as he planned so far as tiny raindrops fell from the sky bringing the picnic to an end.

“I want you to guard me tonight.”

“As you wish, my prince.”

Katsuki’s attitude was visible in plain sight, his boot clad feet stomping angrily on the paved floor of the castle grounds. A pair of silent steps following his every turn. The rain was hammering down by the time the whole multitude reached safety under a roof and it swept up the dust in corridors, barging in through arched doorways. As he passed down his mother’s fruit garden, Katsuki spotted the obnoxiously rich flowers being tossed around, their soft and fleshy petals torn off clean, revealing a juicy weeping core.

Serves them right, die. He thought as a chill crept up his spine. The flowers and bees will haunt him till the end of his days.

Laundry girls and guards jumped off of his route, as the angry prince stormed through corridors. Just a second longer, a few passageways and he will be safe and sound in his chambers, by the fireplace devouring on its warmth. And then… then what?

“Stop right there, brat.” A voice, harsh like the upcoming thunder, made him halt. Not her, not at this moment! “In, now.” She looked down on him, a frown passing through her features, a hand rich in golden rings holding the door open for him. “Alone.” She spat, looking at the guard behind his back.

With a heart full of hate and stomach bursting with anger Katsuki entered one of the endless rooms of the queen’s. Half-shadow seemed to stick to her butt, the places she spent her time in never lit properly. Was it her preference, safety precautions, or was it simply her ruthlessness oozing out, never letting her taste brightness.

Rulers pay high prices for their power. She used to say, Katsuki barely old enough to reach her knee, as he gripped the silky fabric of her dress, the two of them strolling through parks.

Did it backlash, mother? All the years you spent moulding me in the shape you wanted hitting you back with twice the strength. Katsuki will never be the same as her, he will not let her rule over this kingdom, through his hands, after she closes her eyes for the last time.

“What is it this time, you old hag?” The prince didn’t even bother stepping inside the room, opting for standing in the doorway, his back pressing into the oak.

“I’ve heard you’re overusing one of the guards.” So she took an interest in his little nightly escapades with Cat. Look how caring she could be when it came to her own pawns, merely the second night and she already went into action. “I don’t care how many kitchen girls, maids of honour of even stable boys you fuck, but listen to me carefully here.” The queen’s accusation finger darted his way. “Don’t you dare touch that guard, she has her own duties to fulfil.”

A few painfully long seconds passed by as Katsuki mulled over her words. He had no such intentions in the first place. Sure, a foggy image of putting the stubborn and nonchalant capitan in her place played on repeat in his brain, but he never even thought it through. There was no plan, no certainty in his actions, just plain and primal instincts telling him to assess his superiority. God, did her lessons get to me finally?

And then it clicked. What better place for the one who held her chin so high, the one who shone like a finely polished blade in his mother’s secret box of knives, the one that treated him with so little respect, what better place than under him? Your own games will eat you up, mother. He thought, as a grin crept up his poorly lit face. Once again he reached for the scarce reserves of self-discipline and fought off the smile.

“If you’re really interested in my bedding so much then remember this: I’m not a whore.” He spat, turning to grab the handle, nearly shaking with excitement.

“She’s to be conferred a title of nobility. Don’t you dare destroy it!” But he was no longer listening, the heavy doors swinging open to reveal the disinterested capitan.

Mitsuki was left in silence and darkness, free to contemplate and place the conversation deep within her web. He may not listen, that idiot, but she surely will. Out of all, this outcome was one she didn’t think about earlier, but all is not lost. An easy way out of this mess popped up in her head and let her back rest deep within the cushions of her seating. If he does something stupid, she strikes. If he reflects on his actions and takes the right path, she may see it as a small parenting victory. Plans inside plan, Katsuki. You still know so little.

Inside his chambers, Katsuki sat in front of the fireplace. Patting the place next to his, he gestured for Cat to sit. With curiosity written all over her face, she entered the dimly lit room and sat, legs crossed.

“Speak with me, Cat.” He said, no doubt she knew what he wanted. In the fruit garden, Katsuki felt the need to have her be true to him. Now, it was only a game. He didn’t care whether she was forcing, lying or spitting facts about herself, all he needed was for her to feel safe. Could he fool her, lure her like a moth to light, or will he just have to take her by force?

He slowly got why they called her Cat. The captain was agile and quick, silent and with a certain liquid-like laziness to her. Cats’ had claws, sure, but they would not stand a chance in front of a lion.

“So, you’re gonna become a nobility? How generous of my mother.” The blonde nearly laughed. So very generous to me.

“My task requires me to attain that title, yes.” She was looking around the room, from the fur draped bed in the far back, through the windows now obliterated with heavy covers, to the fireplace that cast a warm hue on her features.

“If I was you, I’d rather stay a nobody.” A slight scrunch to her nose and Katsuki knew she wanted to say something but her lips remained a straight line. “Not spilling your secrets, huh?”

“You’re not spilling yours, my prince.” Her turn of tables was sudden, she seemed a master at guiding a conversation away from herself.

“What secrets do I have? There is no such thing as privacy for a prince.” His eyes wandered to her crossed legs, just for a second, not to draw unwanted attention from the vigilant, strange eyes. Will she fight? Will she tear her claws into his back or will she succumb, like a cute little kitten?

“Everyone has secrets.”

“And my mother has the most.”

Cat let out a small, genuine laugh. It was like a warm breeze from over the beach on a spring day that you don’t expect, one that has you thinking about the beauty of summer, glistering water and hot days. One that puts a smile on your face. For a second Katsuki thought that making her hate him could hurt. But then, she rested her hands on the floor behind her, her chest stretching, the adorned buttons reflecting the light of the fireplace, the crest of his royal family. His thought was gone, like a single strand of silk that snaps. It was replaced with the need to tear those buttons, one by one, showing her how deep in his ass he had her duty.

“When will you get the title?”

“In a month.” Her eyes never really landed on him since she entered the room.

“So simultaneously with the first engagements.” He stated, matter-of-factly.

There was a shuffle and one of the covers moved as if a strong wind smacked the side of the castle. In an instant Cat went from relaxed and lazy to high alert. It made Katsuki second guess his strength over her.

“Stay put, my prince, I will check this.” With a knife steady in her hand, the captain crept up to the window, her steps silent as ever. After peaking out her head slowly she let her shoulders slump back. “It’s just a fat owl.”

Cat took her place back beside him, hiding the knife away. Just how many did she hold?

“Speaking of engagements.” Something shifted in the way she was looking at him, from under her lashes, her pupils strangely small. Suddenly, Katsuki felt like a prey. “How is your wife hunt going?”

So he wasn’t the only one titling the whole farce a hunt. Nonetheless, the question took him off guard and the blonde promised himself to punish her for each and every time she’d done that so far.

“Like each year. I’m sending hateful letters and pretending not to see Ochaco’s tries to get pregnant with that useless scholar of hers.” He had to take it slow, getting closer inch by inch.

Cat hummed in response, seemingly falling in deep thought. Turning, she lay down, her cheeks facing the fireplace to catch more of the delicious warmth. “Your mother seems to be displeased with your doings, my prince.”

“Nothing I do ever pleases her.” He scoffed, drinking in her vulnerable position, with hands under her head, one leg propped up.

“That’s because you’re acting like a pawn, not like a player.” The punishment of hers will be severe. “Instead of breaking her rules, challenge them. Make your own plans and put them into action, let them collide with hers to see who can weave a better web.” Cat looked him straight in the eye and what Katsuki saw was some kind of amusement, as if the woman was a spectator in a theatre, watching the play unfold before her.

Once again Katsuki felt like he realised something too late.

“Do you want to be a nobility?” He asked, his voice shaky with excitement and unease.

“I’ve already told you, I was fine as a nobody but my task requires me to be elevated.” Her voice was utterly disinterested, as if she was talking about someone else.

She was forced into things just as much as he was. She was a pawn and how could she not be exasperated with his doings. He was indeed acting like the little chess piece in his mothers arms, able to move only one square each side on his own. All the while he had the potential to become a player. Don’t worry my dear, I will answer your silent prayer. With the way she spoke to him, to the best of her ability given her position, the way she moved, the way she looked at him. It was all a quiet ask for him to use the given situation.

Katsuki didn’t know the details of this supposed mission of hers, why she had to become a nobility, but what he knew, finally caught, was that she looked for a way to wiggle out of it. He was the way.

On all fours, the prince crept up to his capitan. She was just about to question what is it that you need, my prince but he silenced her ask with his lips.

His hands roamed the thick black jacket, tearing the upper buttons just as he wished to, lips clasped tightly around hers, tongue exploring the bratty, nonchalant mouth. As he tore down the jacket and blouse from one of her shoulders, revealing her soft skin and one of her breasts, he spotted little scars scattered every now and then. Without second thought he began marking the uneven skin from the crook of her neck to the soft mound. Katsuki felt the need to grind on her tight, his excitement growing at the taste of her cleavage and then he received a hard kick to his abdomen.

He felt the heat of her body slip from under him as he fell forward, cheek hitting the place where she was just a second ago, the prickly rug damaging the side of his face. A weight on his back forced him down, a dull pain spreading from under one of his shoulder blades. The prince wanted to gasp but there was no air in his lungs, his throat constricted by a tiny hand with nails way too sharp.

“What is it that you’re doing, my prince?” Her voice was venomous, like she wanted to spit on him. Her hand grabbed his fair hair, letting him take in a shaky breath. He was forced to look at her from the corner of his eye, his scalp burning with the way she tugged his strands.

Her jacket and blouse were still undone, now both of her breasts spilling out, revealing a set of marks twin to the one he just gave her. Katsuki started to laugh.

“So you’re allowed to sleep around with others but I’m not good enough for you, huh?” The blonde didn’t know what hurt more, the grip on his hair, the knee in his shoulder blade or the rejection and lack of willpower to throw her off.

“You’re my prince, I could not possibly sleep with you.” She spat.

“Prince this, prince that. Fuck you.” He bared his teeth at her, but all that it gave him was dust in his mouth. “I’m too much of a price to get to dick you down but not prince enough to not treat me like a peasant thief! Let go of me, posing danger to your crown is punished by death.”

“I’m not posing any danger to you, my prince. Just keeping you on the right track. My ass is not beside it.”

“Everyone gets to tell me what to do. Get the hell off of me and fuck off, you and everyone!” His trashing built up. The prince tried to surpass the pain in his back but the more he moved, the harder she pushed. Her knee slid dangerously to his spine and dug in, earning a cry from him.

“Then stop fucking around and start acting. Stop pushing your nose in other peoples’ games and start playing your own, my prince.” With that she let go.

As soon as he felt relief in his back, Katsuki jumped to his knees with a hiss, the bruised muscles burning. He swung around drawing a knife of his own but the captain was already at the door. She pulled the loose material of her blouse making her breasts jiggle and fall back into their constricts. Katsuki wished to grab them as hard as her throat to choke all of her curses right out, fuck her until she couldn’t think of any more.

A look of disgust, one of hatred, fear or at least hurt, anything would be better than the expression she held. Her eyes were focused, crazed, corners of her lips turned upwards in a grin, the overall look apologetic. She traced the hickeys on her neck with a finger before letting her arm loose.

Cat pushed the door open and disappeared into the night. Mere seconds after the knife dug into the wood just where her forehead was. Katsuki stood alone in the dimly lit room unable to throw the look of her face out of his head. Once again he felt like his actions were not his own, like he was a puppet with millions of strings pulled by everyone.

The golden prince asking for a private audience with the queen was nearly as rare as getting struck by lightning twice, or shitting out a diamond. Yet, here he was, opening the door to her sombre writing room, the lowlife soldiers and gardeners whispering behind his back.

Yesterday night had him thinking hard, hard enough to cause a persistent headache. He didn’t give a shit about Cat’s rejection. Truth be told, he did not need overflowing affection to force her into a relationship, which is what he demanded right now.

Katsuki has been beaten in training, thousands of bruises littering his skin after every match with Kirishima. The prince was berated for his attitude by scholars and other hotshots of this kingdom. He was feared and despised by damsels who faked their interest, performing the never ending ritual of fluttering their eyelashes and sparing him glances appropriate for virgins. Katsuki was many things and beard even more every day on the court, but never has he felt as used as he does now.

Stop pushing your nose in other peoples’ games and start playing your own, my prince.

He wished never to play any games, he desired nothing more but a truthful life and even more clear ruling. He promised himself that he would never be like his mother. He was supposed to be a lion, a dragon, not a spider sitting in the dark, weaving never ending strings of lies and deception. Katsuki will achieve what he wants, and he will force the woman that used him so badly last night to finally see with her own eyes that a crystal clear world is possible, under his watchful eye.

She will watch and she will gape in awe. Then, she will thank me.

Was it a simple demonstration of power that he wanted? Did he feel the need to snatch one of his mother’s toys for his own use to anger her? Did he want Cat to sob, kneeling and clutching his cloak, thanking him for breaking her out from the web. Did he want to break her out? Was he seeing a reflection of himself in her so very strange eyes, what he could have been if he let his mother toss him around? Or maybe he simply wanted to silence her, show her that at the end of the day he’s the one dealing the cards of their fate.

Katsuki was not sure what his intentions were. What he did plan though, all night long, was his next step.

“Listen closely ‘cause I’ll only say it once.” The blonde shut the heavy door, leaving all of the whispers and commotion outside. The smell of parchment and ink was heavy in the dusty air.

“What do you want from me today, brat?” Mitsuki sighed.

“I decided on my bride. I want -”

The queen started silencing him, waving a ring-heavy hand in front of her face. This indeed was a strange day because Katsuki listened.

“Let me savour this moment, son.” Son. The word left her lips so rarely it sounded exotic. The queen stood up, shoving the dark adorned chair and straightening her dress. She circled the desk, reached for two goblets and poured wine for both of them, blood red wine. “So, who’s the unlucky one?”.

“Cat, in a month. When she will become a nobility.” The vessel felt odd in his hand. Katsuki never really drank with his mother on other occasions than representative ones. This intimate moment, the two of them sharing good wine, discussing the future, and coming to an agreement, Katsuki could almost get fooled. Almost.

“Not a chance.” She threw disinterested, not interrupting her savouring of the wine.

“One scandal is all I need to make the girl utterly worthless, the only option she - the both of you will have is either give her away to me or have her disgraced for life.” The bloody liquid shook in his golden goblet.

“As if you would be able to corner her.” The queen laughed, a venomous, derogatory snicker. “Don’t even get started. I already know about everything from yesterday.”

Katsuki scoffed. So she did run back to her torturer and spill out everything, just as she promised she wouldn’t.

There is no such thing as a promise here, on court.

Of course, she never even promised anything in the first place.

“And here I was, thinking you got smarter over the night.” The queen sat down by the desk, getting back to her initial position and attitude, cold, closed, and angry.

“What is your problem? Why can’t I get her? She’s strong and seems rather clever, knows a lot about the court and will be free of any family baggage.” Katsuki put the wine on his mother’s desk, restraining himself from dousing her mocking face in it.

“The girl has other duties.” Dipping a long quill in ink, she began to write, not sparing her son even a glance.

“Ones that she doesn’t want.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“No. But-”

“Then that is not true.” When Mitsuki finally turned towards Katsuki, her gaze was stern and utterly disappointed. A grimace twisted her face, one that often blemished his. They were so similar. “Make a smart choice, take Ochaco. Her family is too poor to pose any political danger to us and they will gladly agree to whatever we say. If you despise her that much you can beget a son with any whore in this kingdom and we will simply make Ochoco pretend it’s hers. From what it looks like the princess already has a sweetheart so as long as you let her keep that boy in her chambers, you won’t have to even look at her a second time.”

Katsuki gritted his teeth until his jaw cried out in pain.

“Is this the life you want for me?” He asked with unconcealed anger oozing out of every pore in his body.

“That’s a life I don’t want for anyone.” She shoved the quill down the long inkpot and looked at her prince. “But you’re a future king, you don’t get the courtesy of doing what you like or want. You do what’s best for the nation, for all of your people.”

Thousands of thoughts spiralled in Katsuki’s aching head, none of which showed him a route to victory in this war. Either way he will lose something. Now, he has to pick how much damage he will inflict on himself in order to please everybody else, to secure the nation, to become a king.

“And what if I give you a compromise, mother.” Without a doubt the name took her by surprise. For a second she saw her little boy, the fair haired ball of anger, clinging to the hem of her dress, shouting and cursing into the air. Mitsuki knew that time was long gone. If she kept treating him like a child, like a son, she would lose her priorities, their shared priorities - the lineage, the court, the kingdom.

“What compromise would it be?”

“I take Ochaco and you give me Cat as a mother of my children. Ochaco will pretend it’s hers in front of the whole damn world. Inside my chambers I get to savour my real family.”

There was a long while of utter silence. No scolding, snickering or curses left the queen’s lips, much to Katsuki’s surprise. Fear and excitement started to sink into his bones, fear for rejection, excitement for the time glimmer of hope that the silence lit.

“I will think about it. That is-” A long sigh, biting her lower lip and looking at the narrow window. “That’s not the best option but it also ain’t the worst one.”

Their gaze met for the last time this day. Her eyes were distant, calculating something in her head, weighing the options and fitting them into her web.

“I will think about it. For now, Cat is withdrawn from your side due to your abuse. The last outbreak of the Todoroki eldest forces me to strengthen their garda with my own forces. I do not wish to put more of my soldiers into broad daylight than I have to, therefore Cat will be appointed as another guard for Todoroki. Kirishima, who I will bring back, and Hound will guard your side in the daytime. For the night, a new guard will be appointed but do care to keep him out of the picture as much as you can.”

“Did you know that our families would already be connected if not for my sister's holy order?”

“Everyone has their duties.”

The lukewarm conversation between Shoto and his newly appointed babysitter made Katsuki nauseous. They were discussing everything and nothing at the same time. How the weather was nice, who would likely get engaged this year, what tea is the most refreshing for the upcoming summer, how buffed sleeves are going into fashion.

“That’s true, but it would be nice to have Katsuki and my sister married.” Saying this the half and half prince looked at his blonde companion. Biting his tongue, Katsuki forced himself to look away. The Todoroki princess was not needed in this conversation. ���We did not suppose that Queen Bakugo would only bear one child. That’s a pity but we are still looking for a way to connect our bloodlines.”

We. Shoto was speaking as if he had a say in his fathers plans. The thought of the ethereal prince having more power in his kingdom than Katsuki had in his angered him further. Kirishima huffed quietly as he always did when his golden bastard of a prince became moody. Hound seemed to be sleeping in the back of the open sun terrace where a small social gathering was being held. Supposedly courtesy of Katsuki, truthly his mother's.

“Creating an alliance between the two neighbourhood kingdoms would be a powerful move, your highness.”

“It would. Do you want to try?” Despite a few wide-eyed stares, Shoto grabbed a golden plate with rich chocolate pralines and offered it to Cat.

“I must refuse, your highness.” With a polite face and a tiny smile, the capitan shook her head.

“Such a pity. You don’t like sweets?”

“I do. I just simply don’t have the appetite right now.” Of course she couldn’t scold him by telling the prince that offering what should be for the royals to a mere guard is a faux pas. Katsuki snickered, catching Cat’s gaze, savouring it as long as she spared it.

“Hawks also likse sweets, don’t you?” The centre of all female attention of the room (maybe beside Ochaco) nodded his head. “You two have something in common. That and the fact that you’re both called with animal names.”

The two guards looked at each other. Hawks flashed his signature grin while Cat answered with lack of interest, looking up into the sky .The warm breeze made loose strands of her hair dance. Katsuki wished to comb his fingers in them and grip tight.

“That’s funny. Birds and cats don’t usually go together.” Shoto laughed and a few other people decided it would be a good idea to accompany, even if the joke was lame.

“It’s just a pseudonym, your highness.”

“Oh, so you do have a name? Hawks also has one.” A few interested heads turned their way. “But sadly I don’t know it. And even if I would, I couldn't really tell you.”

“Likewise, your highness.”

Never in his life has Katsuki experienced such a talkative Shoto. The blonde honestly thought that the lack of expression on the stone-like face of the half and half prince connected with his utter silence was the bane of his existence. A chirping Shoto came out to be even worse.

“Now that you’re in my party-” Katsuki hated the sound of those words. “I should have Hawks take you for a flight. The sea looks magnificent from that height.”

Cat clicked her tongue but shut her mouth, opting for a smile only.

“It would be an honour.” The winged man butted in. “Unless you’re scared of heights.”

“I am not, thank you very much.” The civil smile that Cat graced Shoto with turned ironic when she faced Hawks. Katsuki guessed cats and birds indeed don’t go well together, as the two seemed to hold some kind of grudge.

“You should try now! I want to see Hawks fly. The terrace is a perfect spot to take off.” Shoto pointed at the dead drop that fanned out on the other side of the railing. “Believe me it’s fun.”

Without an appropriate option to say no, Cat was left nearing the edge of the sun terrace, looking over into the ground down below. Every head was turned her way, some glances jealous as the winged capitan’s hands snaked around her waist. She twisted in his grab, placing her arms around his neck.

“Should you feel scared, don’t hesitate to use your legs as well.” A grin sprung on his handsome face and a maid sitting behind Katsuki started to fan herself. Katsuki wished for nothing more than to rip the sticky hands of the capitan away from Cat but any outburst could blow his cover. Shoto looked as pleased as punch.

“Thank you, I’ll see how it goes.” At least Cat’s face made Katsuki less angry as she held a slightly disgusted grimace, looking over her shoulder at the drop. Maybe it could be fun, hearing her bloody scream as they take off.

Nothing like that happened. One second Hawks was standing on the railing, with the captain in his hands, the next they were gone. He fell face-forward into the air and a couple of loud flirts later they were both far away, heading for the sea.

Few girls ran to the edge of the terrace, squinting their eyes in the sun, trying to make out the shrinking figures. Hound puffed out air through his nose, standing up from his sitting point, taking the place of the now gone guards beside Shoto’s back.

“Katsuki.”

“Young prince.”

Young prince. The adjective must have tasted like a well aged wine on the tongue of King Todoroki. He savoured every second of diminishing Katsuki. This, the aggression, dominance, and ruthlessness was a game the golden prince knew how to play, and he was more than happy to compete.

“You are not needed in this conversation.” His mother graced him with a pale cheek and a side eyed look. There was no need for her to go to the extent of turning to face him fully, for he was barely a prince.

“Why so? As a future king he may want to bear witness to changes.” Spite as sweet as sun kissed strawberries.

The Queen sent a dirty look towards King Todoroki, but abided by his unusual invitation. As Katsuki took a step inside the darkened room his gaze met Shoto. Changes? What changes were they talking about?

Suddenly Katsuki was back to his youth. Mitsuki dragged him by the shoulder that stretched painfully with every insistent tug. They nearly ran, passing monumental columns and soaring windows. The small, maybe ten years old Katsuki was thrown into a room, the doors shutting behind them as darkness enveloped his boyish figure.

“You are not to play a king when you are not one!”

She yelled, gritting her teeth. All the young prince did was slam through the door to a council meeting, shouting his ideas to the thousand-year-old ministers, just like his mother did every time she felt the need to be heard.

Was he being stuffed in a costume, with a fake crown and staff just now? Were they going to burst in laughter straight to his face? Were they, once again, leaving him behind, deciding what’s the best for him without bothering to ask the object’s opinion? Was this even going to be about him? With two Todoroki members present nothing was certain.

“What are you discussing?” Katsuki knew better than to allow them such games.

“The possibility of connecting our bloodlines.” The Todoroki King outran Mitsuki in his explanation.

“Have you kept a daughter in hiding all these years?” Katsuki snickered, spreading out in the richly padded chair, the soft cushions embracing his tired back.

“It shall not be a true blood connection but one that will be politically accurate.” His mother swished yet another blood red wine around a crystal glass. Some wondered whether she ever drank them or simply held them as decoration.

“And one that will please Shoto.” Since when did the King care for his childrens’ pleasure?

The ethereal prince kept his cool, the porcelain mask that he seemed to have been born with secured his face, declining Katsuki any chance at guessing what hid under the facade. If anything lay there at all.

Weave your own web.

He will not, Katsuki will stand up to any fight thrown his way. He will clash, head straight, with anything that stands in his way. If he is to become the king he wishes to be, he needs to target the right opponent, one that will one day bear the twin seat of kingship.

“So are you finally getting some bitches, half n’ half?”

“I would certainly not call her that.” Shoto looked down to the floor. He seemed to be tracing the hewed lines of the stone, peaking out of the opulent rugs, as if he longed for their cold in this castle burning with hatred.

“Then what would you?”

“I would like to know if she finally decided to give out her name.”

That sickly sweet, hazy gaze, his ring heavy fingers rubbing mindless circles into the chair’s armrest, the lightness of his shoulders. Shoto, despite being the least persistent, the most insular, the quietest and the most delicate looked like a captor in this very moment. He didn’t even spare Katsuki a glance. Why would he? Shoto already got what Katsuki couldn’t have.

There was always the possibility of a misunderstanding. It couldn’t be the enigmatic Cat he was talking about. As much as the golden prince fought with the idea, his instincts told him otherwise. What other nameless woman caught Shoto’s scarce interest? Who else was soon to bear a political position.

The Queen gazed upon a window, a small one embedded into the sloping ceiling, where the moon showed its palace cheek. It was shamelessly bright this might, no clouds obscuring the view. Katsuki wondered whether his mother was a werewolf or a witch, looking so intensely into the silvery disc, not sparing her son even one glance.

Later that night, away in his chambers Katsuki sought the centre of this labyrinth. He was forcefully removed from the small meeting held between the monarchs, as he started an argument that is and would always be out of his power, his mother’s words.

Was it all planned? Was Cat meant for Shoto from the very beginning? It that why she was getting the title? Was she supposed to get closer to the half and half prince by Katsuki’s means?

That would be pointless. She could just be admitted to the Todoroki prince from the beginning. Katsuki’s involvement in this operation didn’t make sense. He was an additional piece that didn’t fit anywhere. And his mother never used to be futile in her resources.

Ever since Katsuki was fifteen, he was forced into every marital council meeting. They were held in a rather grand room, seating kings and queens, their ministers and right-hands. Servants run round with bowed heads pouring wine to goblets that never seemed to be resting on the table, rather the content was being poured down thirsty throats. The chatter was loud, the whole room buzzing like a bees nest. Or more like hornets with how sharp these peoples’ claws were.

The golden prince paced around the castle looking for such a meeting. Sure as hell he should hear them from one of many open doors, he should smell the rich appetisers resting on the long table, he should get a damned invitation to take part! Just as he got one every year, one that was laced with his mother’s threats. If you don’t come I will kill you. Not this year.

As much as the guards and servants tried to dodge his questions, running away in the halls, hiding in chambers, pretending to be busy, all it took was one, too squeaky, cook’s helper. Katsuki learned the meeting was already being held. His mother sure as hell tried to keep him out of this one.

As he stormed the hallways towards the grand room with the painfully long table he gathered his thoughts. Of course he would burst with his decision - he will be with Cat. Katsuki never before wanted any particular wife, he was never interested in any woman like that. Suddenly, in a matter of a few months, one has given him several reasons to claim her.

Of course it would never be love that would be the thing, the force that pushed him towards someone. Katsuki was not sure whether he even knew what love tasted like. But the thought of taking away one of his mother’s swords excited him as if he was a young boy on his first horse ride. The prince would take the guard, a person so very intimate to his mother, and show her how much better he is. Without the web, the schemes, the grand plans and dirty business, without all this gruesome fakeness she will have the opportunity to be free. And he will savour her freedom as if it was his own. He will hold the decision of her title, he will make her stay a nobody - a sweet, safe and secured nobody.

Together the two of them will rub what best they hold on one another. Her confidence, high held chin and perfect stance, will be the best decoration for his crown, one that she will be in his private chambers - a queen worth her place. Then, Katsuki will grace her with all the time, resources and freedom she will want. Of course as long as she fulfils her duties in the keeping of the lineage, but that is a price she will surely be able to pay. That woman is not stupid.

The golden prince, the golden king will make her pleased and he will spread out a new and better world in front of her - one ruled by lions and cats, not by spiders.

Katsuki will beat Shoto in this game. He will never let the ethereal, thin as air and nonexistent in his own way, take away such a precious gem, one pulsing with life that will surely die out in the cold hands of the Todoroki. He will not let her be taken away from the kingdom she is accustomed to.

Cat will be sharp and nonchalant, lazy and harsh, smiling and teasing all for Katsuki, never for Shoto nor for anyone else.

Was it a pathetic feeling of, once in his life, being phantom close to someone? Was his conqueror nature building up in his veins, ready to overflow any given second? Was it resistance or maybe simply a caprice? With all due respect, Katsuki did not care which he chose to side with, the only thing he was certain as he pushed the door to the meeting room was that he would walk out of here with Cat in hand.

To his utter surprise there were no servants moving around in a mismatched pattern around the room. Wine was scarce as everyone, bunched around the far end of the long table, preferred to keep a sober mind. All the heads darted his way as Katsuki strolled closer to them, hiding his shock at the unusual scene.

“I honestly thought younge prince would be absent today.” King Todoroki laughed shortly, propping both of his elbows on the table, observing Katsuki like a predator.

“How could I miss the council meeting where I announce my bride.”

Despite the king being decision making here, the blonde spoke his words to Shoto. They held a short and intense stare - Katsuki fierce, Shoto not seemingly comprehending.

“And who would that be?” Lord Yaoyorozu peaked from behind the King, his gaze held hope, or rather despair.

“That will be…” For a split second Katsuki looked at his mother. He screamed inside, his ego trashing in the golden cage it was kept hostage. Why from all moments did he have to instinctively look at her? It was his decision, his statement, his milestone and step to take. Why did his gaze wander to her face, and more importantly, why was she nodding? “That will be princess Ochaco.”

Murmurs spread through the small gathering. Someone seemed to pat king Uraraka for he perked up suddenly, whispering prayers.

“That girl is disgraced!” Yaoyorozu seemed too enraged with his defeat, spitting venom on the poor princess. “I want her dignity checked!”

“First of all, her ass is no business of yours, Lord.” As much as he hated himself for this, Katsuki mimicked the manner in which King Todoroki diminished him, piercing the red-faced man with undeniable truth - difference in positions. “Second, I’ve known her for the longest time. That green-haired idiot does not interest me, she can keep him or kill him for all I care. I just want you all off my back and my heir on the way.”

Once again Katsuki mindlessly strayed towards his mother’s gaze. She was eying him intensely, her palms gripping the armrests of her throne. A smirk grazed her sharp features. She threw a quick order at the Yaoyorozu Lord sitting next to her and soon the whole row changed seats, allowing for Katsuki to take place by her side.

“We will play this out just as you wanted.” She whispered when he came close to her and a shiver went up his spine. We, as you wanted. She accepted his compromise. Katsuki came out with a proposition and she heard him, thought it through and let it pass. They were playing on the same side. The prince didn’t know what thrilled him more, the idea of his plan working out or the feeling of having one of the most powerful people next to him, with him for once.

“Very well. Now let’s get back to the matter we were discussing before someone decided it was his turn to speak.” Katsuki remembered, it was the Todoroki King who laughed at his mother hard enough, at the counsil meeting, to make her punish her own son so hard. He started to understand Shoto a bit more - if he had a father like this he would also detach himself from reality.

“Shoto.”

“I ask for the hand of a lady from your kingdom, your highness.” The prince, delicate as a flower, bowed his head slightly, but it quickly sprung up towards the Bakugo Queen. He looked like a kid waiting for a response, whether he can go play outside or not.

“With all due respect, I must decline your offer for now.”

It was the second time this day when the small gathering went rampage with whispers. The men in the room looked around each other in disbelief. The show certainly didn’t go along with the script.

With a hard tug of his father’s hand, Shoto was pushed back into the seat from his standing position. The now disorientated prince looked around the room, at the Queen’s face and finally at Katsuki who was now grinning wide. Something flicked behind his glassy eyes, something like understanding.

“And why is that, your highness?” King Todoroki seemed to send the deadliest looks of them all. At first they were directed at the Queen but soon, he caught Katsuki’s unpleasant smile. “So that’s how you’re playing it out.”

He must have caught the act quickly. The night of Katsuki’s bursting in during the small gathering the four of them held, it gave him out. But it didn’t matter, it had already been decided and no amount of the King’s trashing could override his mother’s words. After all, Cat was a property of the Bakugo’s.

“Bring the girl here.” The King demanded.

“There’s no need for that.”

“If we are to decide on an agreement tonight, the girl will come here. I find it obvious that you suddenly decide to gatekeep a thing that, one way or another, was supposed to connect our kingdoms. I want to, at least, hear the girl say it. I want her to pick!” This time it was the King speaking to Katsuki and not his mother. His nails would surely leave bloody marks with how hard the young prince was digging them into his own palms - all out of excitement. “I want her to come here, look at you, and tell us all she picks you.”

Cold sweat seemed to grow on Katsuki’s skin. One look at his mother and she knew he didn’t talk to the very girl. Yet, he was sure she would pick him over Shoto.

“What is going on, who are you talking about?” King Uraraka seemed as lost as the rest of the people, save for the Bakugos and Todorokis. “Weren’t you just talking about marrying Ochaco, prince?”

“And I will. I will make her my wife and then both of us can go back to our own… picks.”

Finally, the Uraraka king seemed to understand. His gaze lowered slightly as his back plopped against the chair. Despite the rather pitiful look of a man who knew his worthlessness, he did not oppose a single word. Maybe he knew what Katsuki was offering was honestly the best option for his daughter. Even though their royal family would most likely be a mixture of green, blonde and god knows what else.

“Fine. Go get the girl.”

A few long minutes passed in silence. The only sound in the room was the cracking of wood in the big fireplace. The air seemed to buzz with anticipation and unease. No one dared to look at each other. No one except for Katsuki drilling holes in Shoto’s mismatched head.

When the doors opened to reveal Cat all faced her way. She stood by the large, wooden wings.

“Come.” The Queen ordered.

Cat looked into the hallway she just came through as if someone would be there. After a second she came closer, with a few long strides, and was now standing with her hands behind a straight back, waiting for more orders. Despite her confident face she was looking upwards.

“Due to a misunderstanding we wish to ask you something.” The Queen turned directly to her guard and Katsuki followed her gaze. Cat was standing just behind his shoulder. If he reached out his hand he could grab her, touch her, signal to her to give the damn right answer to the upcoming question. But she was looking upwards, avoiding even his mother’s gaze, like a good soldier. “Do you wish to attain a title of nobility and be honoured with the possibility of connecting the Bakugos to the Todorokis in a political agreement, or do you wish to stay lowborned and help to elongate the Bakugo lineage.”

Silence fell upon the room as all awaited for an answer, one that could change the political stability of millions of square kilometres. Some feared, some sought possibilities, others clenched their jaws or bore their eyes into the guard, standing alone like a single strand of grass in a thunderstorm.

Cat took in a sharp breath and for the first time, she looked down on the Queen. At that moment Katsuki knew his world was about to fall apart once again. She never would and never will talk to him, with him, as he needs it.

Slowly, the woman went lower and lower, bending her knees, her back, her neck. She dropped onto the floor silently which made her voice contrast even more. She spoke with reserve and power.

“If I may beg you, your highnesses, I wish to finish the original plan.” I pick Shoto, I wish to be a nobility, I hate you. Katsuki braced himself for one of these, what other reason would she have for not looking at him as she made her decision? Cat picked her head up from next to her knee and looked straight at the Queen. “I missed four breaks in my service.”

The Queen gasped. It was short and unexpected, only for Katsuki and Cat to see. She blinked a few times as if trying to get rid of the shock from her features before she faced the other way, back to the awaiting group.

“Enji, I think we might have overdone ourselves this time.” Both Todorokis turned abruptly towards the Queen. Shoto was shell shocked from hearing his fathers name fall out of the queen's lips. The King looked stunned as his son.

“The original plan.” He muttered.

“What the fuck is the original plan? What break in service?” Katsuki cried out like a madman for truthly, he felt mad. Plans in plans in plans.

“Everyone out!” The Queen rising to her feet was all that it took for the rest of the men to usher out of the room. All they did was look back behind the shoulders and whisper. Weak.

It was only the five of them left and the room felt like a gruesome overkill. Without much comprehension Katsuki switched between looking at his mother and Cat, both of whom didn't spare him a single glance since the enigmatic words. King Todoroki was still seated in his original place, with his face in his palms, calculating something meticulously in his head. Shoto looked as disorientated as he was at the beginning, failing to grasp even a strand of understanding in this strange situation. Now, he opted to look at his father’s cheek, awaiting an explanation.

“What is the original plan?” Katsuki hated the need to repeat himself.

“The original plan can come in, I think.” The Queen sighed, gulping down wine that she greedily clawed at the moment she sat back in her spacious throne. Soon, she repeated the same but this time she was shouting.

The doors began to open slowly, as if someone was testing the waters before jumping into the whirlpool before him. A crimson wing was first to enter, then a halo of golden hair and strange marked eyes that quickly fished out his target in the group. Hawks came to a stop just behind his king, mimicking the way in which Cat was holding herself.

“Did the two of you… proceed with the plan?” Enji Todoroki broke the silence first.

“Yes, my king.” Hawks answered for them both.

“When?”

“First thing when we came here, around four months ago.” Hawks looked somewhere far, into a memory maybe, one that was not brought back to life, wrestled out of the nooks and crannies of his privacy. “We did not expect… such obstacles.”

“Because there shouldn’t have been any obstacles in the first place.” The Queen was looking down, on the table, her eyes darkened. “We got caught up in our sons’ stupid games, Enji.” The king's name felt oddly at home on her tongue. The third person she used, how she removed both of the princes from the conversation. Thai was not meant for their ears, they were only unlocking this secret because someone, by mistake, pushed the keys into their hands in a hurry. They stood in the right place at the right time.

“Then we shall proceed with the plan.” The Todoroki King finally looked up and turned towards Hawks. His ever-scolding gaze felt light right now, like he was testing something, looking for a sign on his guard's face.

“I will ask for the last time…” Katsuki desperately tried to earn some attention, to finally know what the whole farce was about.

“What you will do is shut up and listen, for I will only tell it once.” His mother’s words were sharp but her gaze was apologising when she looked at him. As if she was silently trying to tell him, I’m sorry. And Katsuki will understand her, because in the end even she was stripped down from the possibility of choosing who really dealt the cards.

“The original plan, one that has been going on for years now, was to breed, create two strong people - a man and a woman. Many were tested, many like the ones that consist of my or the King’s personal guards.” Katsuki knew who she meant, not the regular soldiers but the ones like Cat and Hound. “When we found two that would perfectly match each other we were supposed to title them nobility and marry them together to produce even better offspring. Children that would join the two kingdoms with a tie so strong that no one would have the guts to attack and expose oneself to the power.”

“And these people are…” Shoto finally mustered the strength to mutter.

“At this point there is no denying that the plan will succeed. There is no chance Shoto will have Cat and neither can Katsuki. Both of you could ruin the royal lineage if your supposed firstborn came out with red wings.”

From the very beginning, from the moment Katsuki wandered his mother’s garden at night and found Cat shuffling around the bush, she already weaved her web. They already weaved their web. The business she had to take care of at free days, the hickeys he found under her collar, around her breast, maybe even further. The fat owl who sat that night on the windowsill. It was him, him all along, everywhere behind her, inside her, with her.

Her strange pupils that now, finally, found a place in Katsuki’s mind. A cat, elongated and extremely sensitive to light and relaxation. Maybe she didn’t have such grand evidence of her animal nature like Hawks but sure as hell she acted on her instincts.

“We need to arrange the wedding quickly or else you will miraculously bear a child in three months.” The Queen sighed.

“Best to do it next week, as an opening of the season.” The King answered.

Katsuki lacked the willpower to fight anymore. How could he win her over when he already lost at the beginning. Soon, he will have a seat in the first row to see Cat take the hand of a different man. In a matter of months he will be able to look at the fruit of their… what was it between them? Nature, instincts, orders, loyalty or love? Maybe he would ask her. Maybe she will tell him what’s it like?

As Katsuki looked at Cat, she was already gazing into him, through him. For the first time since he met her she looked taken aback. Her plan worked and all that will have to settle into her brain. Apart from the trouble on her face there was also regret, her eyes spoke a silent apology. Not for Shoto, not for the Queen but for him. She used everyone she could. From the moment she realised Katsuki was after her, she led him to inappropriate actions and ran off to Shoto. Then, the half and half also started to pose as an obstacle, like he always does. But somehow, in this enormous whirlwind of schemes and lies, they found the way to each other.

What else could push people to do things that crazy if not love? And when she could finally face him, face Hawks, Katsuki saw one of the most beautiful smiles he would ever experience in his life. And as the two could finally close into an embrace, Hawks ever so attentive of her abdomen, and seal their feelings with a kiss, Katsuki couldn't look away, no matter how hard he tried.

Thank you so much for reading! I'm thinking about a small continuation of how Katsuki's and everyone's life is after the wedding, but that's a matter for another day.

[stalkerofthegods]

Lady Artemis Straight to the point info 

Lady Artemis who is the light, and the arrow in the bow, and the bullet in a hunting gun, and the same string In a lyre and a bow. May we all praise the wise huntress, Who is gentle to young girls and the bringer of Swift death from her golden bow.

Herbs • Artemisia, plants that bloom under the moonlight, Cypress, Chamomile, thyme, Lavender, Mugwort (poisonous if used in large amounts and can irritate skin), Birch, Juniper (poisonous if used in large amounts and can irritate skin), Mint, Pine (poisonous if used in large amounts and can irritate skin), Sage, Thistle (poisonous if used in large amounts and can irritate skin), Yarrow (poisonous if used in large amounts and can irritate skin), Angelica (poisonous if used in large amounts and can irritate skin), Bay Laurel (poisonous if used in large amounts and can irritate skin), Coriander, Dill, amaranth, cannabis, cedar, cypress, daisy, date palm, hazel, mugwort, myrtle, ox-eye daisy, silver fir, willow, laurel trees, fir trees, Various nuts or nut trees, Asphodel, Wormwood, wild flowers, Tarragon

Animals• deer/stags, geese, wild dogs, fish, goats, bees, hounds, all animals (she is the creator of all Animals in some discriptons), Calydonian boar, partridges, guineafowls, lions or leopards, bees, bears especially, bulls 

Zodiac • Cancer, Sagittarius, and Scorpio 

Colors • Silver, green, blood red, moonlight silver, Yellow

Crystal• moonstone, Black jasper, Clear quarts, Opal, White or black pearls, Amethyst, Black tourmaline.

Symbols• quiver, hunting spears, a torch, and a lyre, deer 

Jewelry you can wear in their honor• You can veil, and wear a maternity outfit in her honor while giving birth. 

Diety of • Unmarried Girls, Girl Childhood, hunting, chastity, menstruation, fast and easy death in childbirth, nature, childbirth, wildlife, healing, sudden death, animals, lakes, springs, virginity, young women, archery, and the moon

Patron of • childbirth, and fertility (Virgin means unmarried when she got the title before the meaning of it today, she helped Apollo be born, which accords to fertility), lesbians, unmarried women, hunt, chastity, archery, and the wilds, she protects girls and women during childbirth, menstruation, the moon, Nursing infants, Maiden dances, Maiden song, nurses/doctors who help with childbirth

Offerings•  •Bows and arrows, Images of Artemis, Game meat, Amphiphontes (round cakes topped with tiny torches, These are likely a reference to the full moon. White-frosted cupcakes with white or silver candles may be a suitable substitute), Cakes, cookies, pastries shaped like animals (ex-particularly deer), Red wine, Red grape, popomegranate, cranberry juice, Honey, Luxurious clothing, Wildflowers, almonds, goats, Honey, Hunting tools, javelins, nets, traps, masks, flowers, animal bones, tusks, taxidermy, tusks, animal hides, clothing (your favorite clothing or a garment you bought specifically for her), Owl and quail feathers, your hair 

Devotional• Donate to childbirth charities, donate to young girl charities and programs,   Dancing, Herbalism, Donating woman and girl clothes, taking nature walks, enjoying nature, give her offerings at midnight, make arrows, devote your hunting (invoke her before and thank her after), have a feast of her favorite food in her honor

Ephithets & titles • ACRAEA/Akraia - given to various goddesses and gods whose temples were situated upon hills, AEGINAEA/Aiginaia - when she was worshipped at Sparta, AETO′LE/Aitôlê - when she was worshipped at Naupactus, AGORAEA/AGORAEUS/Agoraia/Agoraios - protectors of the assemblies of the people in the agora, AGRO′TERA/Agrotera - the huntress, ALPHAEA/ALPHEAEA/ALPHEIU′SA/Alphaia/Alpheaia/Alpheiousa - derived from the river god Alpheius, who loved her, AMARYNTHUS/Amarunthos - a hunter of Artemis, A′NGELOS/Angelos - when she was worshipped at Syracuse, APANCHO′MENE/Apanchomenê - the strangled goddess, ARICI′NA/Arikinê -from the town of Aricia in Latium, ARISTO/Aristô - the best, ASTRATEIA/Astrateia - she was believed to have stopped the progress of the Amazons, BRAURO′NIA/Braurônia - from the demos of Brauron in Attica, CALLISTE/Kallistê - when she was worshipped at Athens and Tegea, CARYA′TIS/Karuatis - from the town of Caryae in Laconia, CHITO′NE/Chitônê - represented as a huntress with her chiton girt up, CHRYSAOR/Chrusaôr - The god with the golden sword or arms, CNA′GIA/Knagia - derived from Cnageus, COLAENIS/Kolainis - from the Attic demos of Myrrhinus, CORDACA/Kordaka - derived from an indecent dance called kordac, performed in honour of the goddess after a victory,  CORYPHAEA/Koruphaia - the goddess who inhabits the summit of the mountain, CORYTHA′LLIA/Koruthallia - from Sparta, at whose festival of the Tithenidia, CRANAEA/Kranaia - derived from a temple on a hill near Elateia in Phocis, Kunthia and Kunthios - surnames respectively of Artemis and Apollo,  DAPHNAEA and DAPHNAEUS/Daphnaia and Daphnaios - surnames of Artemis and Apollo, DE′LIA and DE′LIUS/Dêlios and Dêlia or Dêlias - surnames of Apollo and Artemis, DELPHI′NIA/Delphinia -Artemis at Athens, DERRHIA′TIS/Derriatis -  derived from the town of Derrhion, 

EURY′NOME/Eurunomê - from Phiglea in Arcadia, GAME′LII/Gamêlioi theoi - the divinities protecting and presiding over marriage, GENETYLLIS/Genetullis - the protectress of births, HECAERGE/Hekaergê - a daughter of Boreas, who were believed to have introduced the worship of Artemis in Delos, HEGE′MONE/Hêgemonê - leader or ruler, HEMERE′SIA/Hêmerêsia - soothing goddess, HEURIPPE/Heurippa -  finder of horses, HY′MNIA/Humnia - when she was worshipped throughout Arcadia, IMBRA′IA/Imbrasia - surname of Artemi, ISSO′RIA/Issôria - derived from Mount Issorion, LA′PHRIA/Laphraia - surname of Artemis among the Calydonians, LEUCOPHRYNE/Leukophrunê - derived from the town of Leucophrys in Phrygia, LIME′NIA/LIMENI′TES/LIMENI′TIS, and LIMENO′SCOPUS/Limenia/Limenitês/Limenitis/Limenodkopos - the protector or superintendent of the harbour, LIMNAEA/LIMNE′TES/LIMNE′GENES/Limnaia/Limnêtês/Limnêgenês - inhabiting or born in a lake or marsh, LOCHEIA/Locheia - the protectress of women in childbed, LYCEIA/Lukeia - a surname of Artemis, LYCOA′TIS/Lukoatis - surname of Artemis, LYGODESMA/Lugodesma - surname of Artemis whose statue had been found by the brothers Astrabacus and Alopecus under a bush of willows, LYSIZO′NA/Lusizônê - the goddess who loosens the girdle, MELISSA/Melissa - alleviates the suffering of women in childbed, MUNY′CHIA/Mounuchia - derived from the Attic port-town of Munyhia, OENOA′TIS/Oinôatis - surname of Artemis, O′RTHIA/Orthia/Orthias/Orthôsia - regarded as the goddess of the moon, ORT′YGIA/Ortugia - derived from the island of Ortygia, PARTHE′NIA/Parthenia - the maiden, PHERAEA/Pheraia - surname of Artemis at Pherae in Thessaly, PHOEBE/Phoibê - regarded as the female Phoebus or sun, PHO′SPHORUS/Phôsphoros - occurs as a surname of several goddesses of light, PITANA′TIS/Pitanatis - derived from the little town of Pitana in Laconia, where she had a temple, SARO′NIS/Sarônis - surname of Artemis at Troezene, SARPEDO′NIA/Sarpêdonia - derived from cape Sarpedon in Cilicia, SOTEIRA/Sôteira - the saving goddess, TAU′RICA/DEA/hê Taurikê - the Taurian goddess, TAURIO′NE/TAURO/TAURO′POLOS/TAURO′POS/Tauriônê, Taurô/Tauropolo/Taurôpos - originally a designation of the Tauran goddess, 

THOANTEA - a surname of the Taurian Artemis, UPIS/Oupis - assisting women in child-birth, Αγροτερη/Agrotera - Of the Hunt, Δικτυνναια/Dictynnaea - Of the Hunting Nets, Φεραια/Pheraea - Of the Beasts, Ελαφιαια/Pheraea - Of the Deer, Δαφναιη/Daphnaiê - Of the Laurel-Tree, Κεδρεατις/Kedreatis - Of the Cedar-Tree, Καρυαι/Karyai - Of the Walnut-Tree, Καρυατις/Karyatis - Of the Walnut-Tree, Λιμναιη/Limnaiê - Of the Lake, Λιμνατις/Limnatis - Of the Lake, Ἑλεια/Hêleia - Of the Marshes, Ευρυνωμη/Eurynômê - Of Broad Pastures, Λυκειη/Lykeiê - Of the Wolves, Λευκοφρυηνη/Leukophruênê - Of the White-(Bird?), Παιδοτροφος/Paidotrophos - Nurse of Children, Φιλομειραξ/Philomeirax - Friend of Young Girls, Ορσιλοχια/Orsilokhia - Helper of Childbirth, Σελασφορος/Selasphoros - Light-Bringer, Φωσφορος/Phôsphoros - Light-Bringer, Σωτειρα/Sôteira - Saviour, Ἡμερασια/Hêmerasia - She who Soothes, Ὑμνιη/Hymniê - Of the Hymns, Ἡγεμονη/Hêgemonê - Leader (of Dance, Choir), Κορδαξ/Kordax - Of Cordax Dance, Αριστη/Aristê - Best and Excellent, Ευκλεια/Eukleia - Of Good Repute, Καλλιστη/Kallistê - Very Beautiful, Πατρωια/Patrôia - Of the Fathers or Ancestral, Βασιλεις/Basileis - Princess/Royal, Ἱερεια/Hiereia - Priestess, Πρωτοθρονιη/Prôtothroniê - Of the First Throne, Μουνυχια/Mounykhia - Of Munychia (Attica), Βραυρωνια/Braurônia - Of Brauron (Attica), Κορυφαια/Koryphaia - Of Mt Coryphus (Argos), Αιγιναιη/Aiginaiê - Of Aegina, Δερεατις/Dereatis - Of Dereum (Laconia), Αλφειαια/Alpheiaiai - Of Alpheus R. (Elis), Αλφειωσια/Alpheiôsia - Of Alpheus R. (Elis), Αλφειουση/Alpheiousê - Of Alpheus R. (Elis), Λυκοη/Lykoê - Of Lycoa (Arcadia), Σκιατις/Stymphalia - Of Scias (Arcadia), Στυμφαλια/Skiatis - Of Stymphalus (Arcadia), Κνακαλησια/Knakalêsia - Of Mt Cnacalus (Arcadia), Αιτωλη/Aitôlê - Of Aetolia, Αμαρυσιη/Amarysiê - Of Amarynthus (Euboea), Αμαρυνθια/Amarynthia - Of Amarynthus (Euboea), Φεραια/Pheraia - Of Pherae (Thessaly), Ροκκαια/Rhokkaia - Of Rhocca (Crete), Μυσια/Mysia - Of Mysia, Αστυρηνη/Astyrênê - Of Astyra (Troad), Κολοηνης/Koloênês - Of Coloe (Lydia), Εφεσια/Ephesia - Of Ephesus (Caria), Κινδυας/Kindyas - Of Cindya (Caria), Περγαια/Pergaia - Of Perge (Pamphylia), Σκυθια/Skythia - Of Scythia, Ταυρια/Tauria - Of Tauric Chersonese, Ταυροπολος/Tauropolos - Of Taurus-City (Scythia), Ιφιγενεια/Iphigeneia - Of Iphigenia (heroine), Σαρωνις/Sarônis - Of Saron (hero Argos), Κναγια/Knagia - Of Cnageus (hero Sparta), Ελαφιαια/Elaphiaia - Of Elaphius (hero Elis), Καλλιστω/Kallistô - Of Callisto (heroine Arcadia), Λαφρια/Laphria - Of Laphrus (hero Phocis), Σαρπεδωνια/Sarpedônia - Of Sarpedon (hero Lycia?), Προπυλαιη/Propylaiê - Of the Gate, Ορθια/Orthia - Of the Steep, Αγοραια/Agoraia - Of the Market-Place, Απανχομενη/Apankhomenê - Strangled Lady, Λυγοδεσμη/Lygodesmê - Willow-Bound, Αστρατεια/Astrateia - Stayed the Advance, Ἑυριππα/Heurippa - Horse-Finder, Πειθω/Peithô - Persuasive, Πυρωνια/Pyrônia - Of the Fire, Κολαινις/Kolainis - Hornless,

Docked (Animal), Κονδυλεατις/Kondyleatis - Of Knuckles? (kondylos), Λευκοφρυνη/Leukophrynê - White-Toad?, -Bird?, Κοκκωκη/Kokkôkê - Of Berry-Seed? (kokkos), Κνακεατις/Knakeatis - Of Wolves? (knêkias, knakias), Αναιιτις/Anaiitis - (Lydian Goddess?), Ισσωρια/Issôria - unkown, Νεμυδια/Nemydia - unkown, Πωτνια Θερων/Pôtnia Therôn - Queen of Beasts, Ποτνα Θεα/Potna Thea - Goddess Queen, Λητωις/Lêtôis - Daughter of Leto, Λατωια/Latôia - Daughter of Leto, Λητωιας/Lêtôias - Daughter of Leto, Ἑκατη/Hekatê - Far-Shooting, Ἑκατηβολος/Hekatêbolos - Far-Shooting,Ἑκαεργε/Hekaerge - Worker from Afar, Ιοχεαιρα/Iokheaira - Of Showering Arrows, Χρυσηλακατος/Khrysêlakatos - Of the Golden Distaff, Χρυσαλακατος/Khrysalakatos - With Shafts of Gold, Αγροτερα/Agrotera - Of the Hunt, Θηροσκοπος/Thêroskopos - Hunter of Wild Beasts, Ελαφηβολος/Elaphêbolos - Deer-Shooting, Χρυσηνιος/Khrysênios - Of the Golden Reins, Χρυσοθρονος/Khrysothronos - Of the Golden Throne, Ευστεφανος/Eustephanos - Well-Girdled/Sweet-Garlanded, Κελαδεινος/Keladeinos - Strong-Voiced, Κελαδεινη/Keladeinê - Lady of Clamours, Ἁγνη/Hagnê - Chaste/Pure, Παρθενος/Parthenos - Virgin/Maiden, Αιδοιος παρθενος/Aidoios Parthenos - Revered Virgin, Προστατηρια/Prostatêria - Standing Before/Guardian, Αρτεμισιον/Artemision - Temple of Artemis, Ταυροπολιον/Tauropolion - Temple of Taurian Artemis, Εφεσιον/Ephesion - Temple of Ephesian Artemis

Attedees• OKEANIDES Cloud-Nymphai (only 60 of the 3000), NAIADES Fresh-water Nymphai (only some), BRITOMARTIS Goddess of Nets, Apotheosed girl-companions (ex- Phylonoe, Polyboia, Iphigeneia, Oupis), Mortal hunting companions (ex- Kallisto, Hippolytos)

Equivalents (alike but not the same)• Diana (Roman), Selene (Greek), Artume (Etruscan), Flidais (Celtic), Skadi (Norse), Bendis (Thracian goddess), Bastet (Egyptian goddess), Perasia (Cappadocian goddess), Tauria (Taurian goddess)

Signs their reaching out• Sudden pull to research her, to hunt, suddenly meeting people hunting, being a girl group all of sudden, focusing on yourself and not sexuality. 

Vows/omans• being a sacred Virgin/unmarried forever 

Number• 6 

Morals• Morally dark.

Personality• Introverted and independent temperament, practical, adventurous, athletic, and prefers solitude, she loves hunting, she is focused. 

Home• Mount Olympus but does spend a lot of time in the forest. 

Mortal or immortal • Immortal

Facts• Artemis was both a hunter of wild animals and their protector, she helped Leto birth to Apollo (suggesting that she was already mentally developed in the wound.)

Curses• miscarriage, Stunted growth, Illness & disease, Sudden death, plague 

Blessings• Success in hunting, fishing, and fowling, Successful delivery, good health

Roots• She was first mentioned on 700 BC, by Hesiod, In the Theogony she was born on the island of Delos.

Parentage• Zeus and Leto 

Siblings• Apollo (twin brother and full sibling), Aeacus, Angelos, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses and the Moirai.

Pet• Deers/Doe, they pull her chariot 

Appearance in astral or gen• usually depicted as a girl or young maiden with a hunting bow and quiver of arrows

Festivals • Mounukhia, Artemisia (6th June, Modern festival of Artemis where anything goes, celebrating freedom and modern inspiration),  Elaphebolia (6 Elaphebolion, March-April, Festival of Artemis the deer hunter), Kharisteria (6 Boedromion September-October, Festival of thanks to Artemis for Athen’s survival of the Persian assault at Marathon), Mounykhia (16 Mounykhion April-May, Festival of Artemis the light bringer), Philokhoria (Modern observance – Summer Solstice, A joint festival of Artemis and Apollo), Sixth (6th each month, Sacred to Artemis), Thargelia (6-7 Thargelion May-June, Birthday of Apollon and Artemis, first fruit offerings and purification festival)

Season • April and March

Day • Monday 

Secred places• Ephesus/Turkey, Island Delos, Aitolia in Greece, Greek Island Lykia in Anatolia

Status• Greek goddess, in the theoi.

Planet• Moon, (some also believe Venus.)

Her Tarot cards• the high priestess, the temperance card, and the page of wands

Scents/Inscene • Jasmine and lemon, mrryth, frankincense

Prayers• 

Prayer 1

Welcome beloved Artemis, our keen-eyed queen, I beg you hear me now. I pray you guide me that I might find the way. I pray you strengthen me that I might persevere along it. Make my discernment as yours that I might find worthy aims. Make my instinct as yours that I might seize worthy opportunities. Welcome sister of Apollo, golden huntress, we honor and thank you.

Prayer 2

Fleet-footed Artemis, keen-eyed daughter of Zeus and gentle Leto, sister of bright Apollo, we see your shadow in the woods, the curve of your bow, the flex of your arm, we hear the wind whisper as your arrows seek their mark–deadly your art, flawless your aim. Huntress you are, O Artemis, slayer of the stag and the boar, slayer of men and of women, death by your hand is death unforeseen. Maiden are you, goddess, and friend of maidens; ever-youthful one, your favor falls on the young, watching over young girls as they brave the world’s wonders, comforting the mother in the throes of her labor, keeping in your care the newborn babe. Artemis, shining maid of the wilderness, who takes pleasure in games, in contest and in merriment, who leads the nymphs in their carefree dance, whose clear voice we hear in the songs of young women and the hunter’s cry. Artemis, strong and tall, I praise and honor you.

3rd Prayer 

I praise bright Artemis, fair as the budding branch, fair as the spotted fawn, brave as the young bear. From crafty Hephaistos you took the artful bow, the sharp-barbed shafts; from father Zeus you claimed your calling. Far-shooting Artemis, through the thick of the darkened wood you make your way, trailing boar and hare, swiftly and silently, your aim ever flawless, ever kind.

Prayer 4

Artemis, light-bringer, mountain-dweller, graceful one who runs through thorn and thistle with never a scratch, goddess unparalleled, friend of mothers in their travels, friend of maidens, friend of the pretty nymphs, in old Arcadia you roamed the wilderness, in Tauris you took the blood of men, in Ephesus you wore the mural crown. The fire of youth is in you, goddess, the bold and valiant spirit that marks a child as yours. Free-hearted Artemis, worthy daughter of Leto, I honor you always.

5th Prayer

I praise you, Artemis, free-hearted child of Zeus and blessed Leto, courageous goddess who roams the wildwoods with silver bow at hand. Artemis of many names, Artemis of many lands, your temples stood shining and tall, in cities and in villages. In the long days of summer the maidens dance in your honor; in Brauron were the little she-bears under your care. Artemis, the mountains are yours to wander, fleet-footed and firm of step; the wilds of the world are dear to you, O guardian of wood and of beast. Goddess who takes joy in dance and song, companion of the laughing nymphs in all their play, of all young maids you are the swiftest and the strongest, the fairest and the first, in skill and grace the greatest.

Websites/sources in comments.

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Artemis who is the light, and the arrow in the bow, and the bullet in a hunting gun, and the same string In a lyre and a bow. May we all praise the wise huntress, Who is gentle to young girls and the bringer of Swift death from her golden bow.

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Payment to my friend Bri https://www.tumblr.com/briislame

I use resources, I do not own the info, and most deep dives have UPG (that I use in my work.) And I only take some information from sources. I am 14, this is my hobby, I am learning but I spent many hours and days on this, and I am always open to criticism. I have been doing worship for 5 years. Please know you can use the info, I do not sue, but I will take action if this work is used without permission and not put as a resource if used in any work. without permisson and not put as a resource if used in any work, for the public.

[vilevenom]

I come bearing fic! Arthurlot, to be exact. I wanted to post this closer to valentine's day, but life happened, y'know?

I Would Glady Be the Icarus to Your Certainty

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog (video games - Sonic and the Black Knight)

Pairing: Arthur/Lancelot (Sonic/Shadow)

Summary: Illness (or the approximation thereof) was a wicked thing that could strike when one least expected.

NOTES: This fic contains A/B/O dynamics, is my first foray into A/B/O, so I apologize in advance if anything seems...clunky or weird.

WARNINGS: Explicit sexual acts. Characters are depicted as ADULTS

P.S - If you want a full list of tags, I’ll be posting this on AO3 shortly

It had been far too long since Arthur had last been able to spend any proper quality time with his most loyal and beloved knight. As much as it pained the king to see Lancelot stricken down with illness just before his annual hunting trip, Arthur was not about to look this most fortuitous gift horse in the mouth. As such, he planned to take full advantage of the opportunity to dote on Lancelot; as much as the other alpha would allow, at the very least.

"My lord?"

Arthur paused in his stroll down the hallway, tilting his head in a curious fashion as he turned towards the voice that had called out to him. A slow smile curled his lips as his gaze fell upon on Galahad, while he clutched a soup tureen held aloft in his hands closer to his person.

"My good Sir Galahad," Arthur chirped happily, turning his full attention to the youngest of the round table, "Please let it be known that I am always more than happy to help with whatever you may require. But, please, I am duty bound at the moment, so whatever it may be, I pray that it is quick."

Galahad hummed thoughtfully as he came to a stop in front of his king, while pushing the visor of his well shined helmet up onto his head. "That is precisely why I stopped you, your majesty," he stated, with a slight scrunch to his muzzle as his eyes flicked briefly to the tureen in Arthur's hands, "Not to be presumptuous, or question my king, but…surely you were informed that Lancelot requested solitude while he has taken ill?"

"I was," Arthur nodded, smile never faltering, "However, you and I both well know that Lancelot is poor at self care on the best of days. I can only imagine the state he must be in while indisposed. Surely you cannot disagree that a hearty meal and some good company would do him good? Especially on this most glorious of spring days? It must fill him with woe to be cooped up in his chambers on such a day as today."

The young knight chewed on his lip, the furrow of his brow alluding to thoughts he was having trouble articulating; or those he was not meant to share with the king. Either way, he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion after a moment, though not one he was particularly pleased with, if the long, slow breath he let out while frowning was anything to go by. "Although I have no doubt that my good kings words are well and true," he began slowly, as though choosing each word with purpose, "Please have consideration for Sir Lancelot's own concerns. He will likely not want you to dwell in rooms of sickness, for fear of causing you to become poorly, yourself. Certainly you would agree that he would feel all the worse should you become indisposed, as well."

Arthur chuffed a quiet laugh, but nodded his acquiescence. "That is fair and true. Your concern is dually noted, and I shan't stay longer than strictly necessary, unless Sir Lancelot asks it of me. Does that sound agreeable to you, Sir Knight?"

Galahad dithered for another moment, his shoulders drooping as if he knew that any further warnings given to the king would fall on deaf ears. "I suppose so, your highness," he sighed, his armor clanking as he shifted his stance, "However, should anything go…amiss, please do bear in mind that you were given ample warning."

"Ominous," Arthur teased, but nodded as he also turned to leave, "However, I will keep your words in mind. Good day, Galahad!" With that, the king strode away, unaware of the concerned twist of Galahad's expression, or the way his fingers tapped with nerves against the faulds of his armor. Instead, Arthurs spirits remained high as he hummed quietly to himself for the rest of his short jaunt to Lancelot's chambers, shifting the tureen in his hands so he could knock on the thick wooden door to signal his arrival. He waited a beat, listening for a greeting, but when none were forthcoming he idly wondered if the knight was, perhaps, asleep. In which case he would simply have to leave the soup on Lance's desk for when he awoke, with a note of well wishes. True, it would be a shame if the knight did not get to enjoy the soup while it was warm, but it would still suffice as a decent meal regardless of temperature.

"Please excuse my intrusion," Arthur called quietly as he pushed the door open, only to frown lightly at finding the bed clothes rumpled, but otherwise unoccupied. He clicked his tongue as he gently kicking the door shut with his heel, before trotting further into the room to set the tureen on the desk as intended. He glanced around curiously for his knight, finding the windows thrown wide open, and the bathing room door slightly ajar. Odd. "Lance?" he called, meandering towards the open door, "Are you in there?" He stopped short, his frown deepening as the sound of splashing water could suddenly be heard, along with the audible squeak of wet fur against treated wood, before the wet slap of paws against stone came towards the door.

"My lord!" Lance's face appeared in the doorway as he stuck his head out, cheeks ruddy and quills dripping, "I was not expecting you!"

"I wouldn't imagine so," Arthur said with a slightly crooked smile, "You reported to Percival that you were ill. I just wanted to bring you some soup and see if you would enjoy some company?" His muzzle scrunched slightly as the faint smell of something sickly sweet hit his nose, which seemed to emanate from the room beyond. He tilted his head as he took a deeper breath, trying to pinpoint exactly what the smell might be. It wasn't like any medicine or poultice he'd been subjected to, but it was an oddly familiar scent. "What is that smell, by the way? I feel as though I have smelled it somewhere before, but can't place it."

"Oh," Lance looked somewhat alarmed, if Arthur had to pinpoint his expression, shuffling to close the door further while his head remained in the archway, "It's, ah- soap! A gift from Percival. And, thank you for the soup, I am most appreciative! However, I do not believe it would be wise for me to keep company at this time."

"Soap?" the king scoffed quietly, taking a short step closer to Lancelot, "That doesn't smell quite like any soap I'm familiar with. I'll have to ask Percival where she purchased it."

"I don't believe the maker is in business anymore, your majesty," Lancelot stated quickly, shrinking away as Arthur moved closer.

"That's a shame," Arthur sighed, nose in the air, "It's incredibly enticing…" He froze, tilting his head slightly as he took another deep whiff, tiny details adding up in his mind as Lancelot continued to shrink behind the door, his face now partially hidden by the wood. "Wait. No," he murmured, suddenly taking a swift step forward, his knight letting out a rather undignified sound while nearly shutting the door in his kings face, "That's not soap." Although it hurt his heart to think it, he always knew it would one day be inevitable - to watch his beloved Lancelot find a pretty little omega to wed. He'd long ago come to realize that even if he wished with all of his heart and soul to claim Lancelot as his own, it was unheard of for two alphas to mate. Especially not a king who was expected to fulfill particular…obligations. "You have an omega in there, don't you?" he hissed, a painfully forced grin on his face, "And one that's in heat, no less! You dog."

"What? No! Your majesty-"

"Oh, psh," Arthur waved a hand at his knight, moving back away from the door, "Fret not. I shan't let the others know of your dalliance. Your secret is safe with me. No one will know that you'll be indisposed for the foreseeable future for reasons other than illness." He let out a forced laugh, turning on his heel to take his leave. "My apologies for interrupting! I'll let you get back to it." The king fully intended to walk out the door, heart aching with loss in his chest, but froze as a wet hand unexpectedly wrapped around his wrist and tugged him back. He turned wide eyes on Lancelot, finding the knight in a state of nature, while dripping a puddle onto the cool flag stone floor. "…Lance?"

The knight blinked, almost seeming to be in a daze, as though not having realized he'd even moved, his gaze tracking down to where he held the king fast. He gasped and wrenched his hand away, clutching it to his chest, eyes wide and panicked. "My apologies! I don't- That was uncalled for."

"It's quite alright. No harm done," Arthur reassured, reaching out with intent to touch Lancelot's shoulder - a friendly gesture he'd practiced without thought many times over the years he'd known the other. So, it was of great surprise when Lance stumbled back as though Arthur were going to hit him. The two froze, staring at each other with side eyes, until finally Arthur broke their staring contest to look back towards the bathing room, where the door was cast wide open. The room beyond was empty, save for a half filled tub of water and a trail of shallow puddles leading to his knight.

"Your majesty," Lancelot's quiet voice broke the king from his momentary stupor, emerald eyes flicking back to his knight, who looked to have shrunk in on himself while Arthur had been lost in thought, adding up many more details than he had before.

"You don't have an omega…you are an omega, aren't you?" Arthur breathed, watching as Lancelot's ears flattened down against his head while his gaze slipped down to the floor. "Lance…for all the years I've known you, why have you never said anything?"

"Because you would look at me like this," Lance breathed, wrapping his arms around himself with a frown.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm some fragile thing," Lancelot hissed, "Omegas are not allowed to be knighted, my lord. Nor are they allowed to hold more than the most cursory and useless of positions in court. If anyone knew, I would lose my standing. It is why I have made practice of leaving the castle this time every year. I venture to see the lady of the lake, and take refuge at Dozmary Pool. But this year," he growled low in his throat, "My accursed heat came early."

"Accursed?!" Arthur scoffed, "Lance, omega's are a gift! Inside you is the ability to bring forth life. To be able to bear children is the highest honor one can be afforded. It is why omegas are given the positions they have - to keep them safe from harm."

"Exactly!" Lancelot snapped, lifting his face to shoot a sharp glare at Arthur, "I am not a glass bauble to be kept on a shelf and ogled at! You have seen me in combat, and have called me your strongest knight on more than one occasion. I have proven myself during training and at festivals many times over. I will not allow myself to be defined by the fact that I have a womb!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Arthur held his hands up in a defensive manner, a light frown on his face, "I believe we've both jumped an exceptional distance in this conversation, without having a full understanding of everything." He took a deep breath, incredibly glad that Lance had opened his windows, as it was allowing him to keep somewhat of a steady head on his shoulders and not be overwhelmed by his knights scent as he spoke. "I would never take away your position or standing in the court, simply because of your secondary sex. You have earned your place at the round table, that is not up for dispute or debate. Although, I can see why you might think that I would think such a thing, with my somewhat thoughtless words just now. I apologize for not taking into consideration the circumstances you would have had to overcome to find yourself where you are today."

"Oh," Lancelot's glare softened as he sucked his lower lip into his mouth to chew on it for a brief moment. "I…I should have known that my most righteous and generous king would not be so petty or quick to judge." He dipped his head in a short bow, "I beg your forgiveness, my lord."

"Lance," Arthur chuckled, striding forward, "You need never beg of anything with me. You always have my forgiveness. And you know you don't need to be so formal with me in private. I would like to think we're well past that. Especially now, with how long you've been stood naked in front of me." He snorted, grinning easily as Lancelot flushed at his tease, his tail curling under himself as he hunched his shoulders. The king let out a short breath after a moment, tapping his toe on the floor. "I swear not to tell anyone else of your situation, if you don't wish it. Though, please, for curiosity's sake…how did you plan on taking care of yourself during your heat? I can only imagine that anything you would normally use would be with the good lady. Do you wish for me to bring you anything that could help?"

Lance demurred for a moment, before finally shaking his head. "Galahad is aware of my position, and is a beta, so he will be unaffected as my scent grows…headier. He has already offered to bring me food and water, so you needn't put yourself out on my account."

"Put myself out? Lance," Arthur sighed, taking another short step forward with a roll of his eyes, very nearly entirely in the knights personal space, "You must know that I could never find any wish you could ever imagine to ask of me to be a burden. Besides, is it not an alpha's place to care for any omega that may need it? I am at your beck and call, my dearest knight."

"Ah, there, you see?" Lance teased in a rare show of humor, tilting his head as Arthur subconsciously leaned into his space, "You are looking at me differently."

"Only in so much that I," Arthur lifted a hand to tentatively brush along Lancelot's damp quills, "Am now keenly aware that my hearts deepest wish may just be within my grasp."

"Your hearts deepest wish? Do pray tell," Lancelot breathed, his hands slipping from where they'd been defensively wrapped around himself, gaze growing hazy as the king all but crowded against him, the open windows doing little to dampen their scents from each other at their close proximity.

"Why, Lancelot," Arthur chuckled, lifting his other hand to gently cup his knights face in his palms, "It's you. It has been you since the day I first laid eyes upon you."

"Truly?"

"My only reservation has been the thought that you were an alpha. But now…"

"Now…?"

Arthur blinked and sucked in a breath as a hearty breeze carrying the scent of freshly bloomed flowers blew through the room, drawing his attention and bringing him to his senses. He shook his head and took a sharp step back, regretful as Lance stumbled when he pulled his hands away. "You're in heat!" he gasped rubbing at his face and pacing away swiftly, hand over his muzzle to try and block out his knights enchanting scent. It was then that he realized that the puddle slowly growing on the floor was not just water dripping from Lancelot's fur, but a combination of slick that was slowly dribbling down his thighs, and precum that was weeping from his freshly exposed cock. His heat was obviously developing quickly, and Arthur was risking losing control if he stayed for much longer, while also likely being the reason Lancelot's condition was worsening so rapidly in the first place. "I can't do this," he groaned, turning away from the wounded look on Lance's face at his kings apparent rejection.

"Arthur!"

The king stopped in his tracks once again at the pleading call of his name, glancing back to find that Lancelot's knees had given out, his precious knight now sat pathetically in a puddle on the floor. He looked like he might begin to cry, teeth grit against the obvious pain raking through his body. The king let out a low whine, quills bristling at the thought of leaving an omega, let alone Lancelot, in such a state. But he could never take advantage like that, it appalled him to even think it. "I'm so sorry, Lance," he murmured, "But I will not do that to you." He turned to leave once more, pressing the heel of his palm into his traitorous arousal as he moved.

"Look in my diary!" A frantic, desperate sounding plea.

"What?" Arthur gave pause yet again, turning with curiosity.

"My-my diary," Lance gestured towards his desk, obviously now having trouble keeping himself upright as he leaning forward on a hand, breath beginning to come short, "The green one."

With a deep set frown Arthur dashed across the room to fetch the little green book, his instincts beginning to scream at him to help the omega in obvious distress, while his right mind was yelling at him to leave while he still had his wits about him. "What am I looking for?" The king held the book aloft, flipping through pages upon pages of Lance's hand writing, ear twitching in agitation.

"The last entry," the knight breathed out, his hand finally sliding out from under him, letting out a low whimper as he hit stone and curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his traitorous abdomen his heat began to truly take its toll on him.

Arthur bit his lip and did his best to ignore the quivering mess of wet quills on the floor while he flipped to the last entry of the book as he was asked. His eyes quickly scanned over the page, finding little of note, until the last few sentences. There, in Lance's distinct, tidy handwriting, were words that had him nearly tossing the book aside in order to scramble over to the omega on the floor. His omega.

'...I can tell that my heat approaches, more rapidly than years prior. Perhaps it is due to the proximity I find myself more recently to my king. My dearest Arthur. What I would not give to present myself to him as a suitor. Or even just an option to carry his heirs, as I know my position is not what the court would want for our kings consort. Lady Nimue has told me not to fret, and to have faith that everything will work out as it should, however I cannot help myself but to worry. To reveal the truth would risk the loss of everything I hold dear. Though, I suppose…he is what I hold the most dear. And as long as I would not lose him, nothing else would truly matter.'

Carefully, Arthur lifted Lance from the floor, cradling the damp knight to his chest as he brought him to the bed.

"Did…did his majesty read it?" the knight asked between short gasps of air, hands pressed tight to his cramping abdomen.

"I did," Arthur murmured, burying his nose in Lance's quills and breathing deep, a low rumble of a purr starting up in the depth of his chest as he gingerly set his precious cargo amongst the pillows piled on the bed.

"And…?"

"And no other suitor would ever hold a candle to you," Arthur growled out, stripping himself quickly of his tunic and pants, "None would ever be as beautiful, or ferocious. None would be able to make their enemy quiver with a single word, while still able to reassure a frightened child in the same breath. You are my sun and my moon, and I would never take another over you. I would be most honored to call you mine, if you would do the same of me."

"My lord," Lance breathed, reaching out to his king with clutching fingers, a quiet purr to answer Arthurs slowly growing in his own chest.

"You are all I have ever wanted, and all I ever will want," Arthur groaned, climbing onto the bed to settle himself between Lance's knees, leaning in and allowing his length to slide tantalizingly along his knights, while black clawed fingers dug into blue quills, tugging him ever closer, "The courts opinion be damned. Once this week is over, none will be able to refute you as both commanding knight of the round table, and my most beloved prince consort." He nudged his nose against Lancelot's, a hairs breadth from pressing their lips together. "I will claim you as mine."

"Please. Oh, please," Lancelot nearly wept, digging an ankle into the back of one of his king's calves, while rutting his dick against Arthur's stomach. "I am yours, Arthur. I have always been yours."

"Good," Arthur growled out, before claiming Lance's lips with his own, pressing his tongue past teeth to take his first proper taste of the trembling knight. He groaned as Lancelot met him in kind, pressing his own tongue forward in a brief battle of dominance that he was certain no other omega would dare try to initiate. They broke apart with a gasp, a glistening string of saliva connecting the two briefly as they panted for air.

"Arthur," Lance whimpered, rolling his hips up, a soft gasp escaping him as their cocks slid together, "Please…I'm so empty, and it hurts." He tugged at blue quills, teeth grit against pain as he arched his back with a whine, his body obviously trying to find relief any way it could, though it was momentarily fruitless.

"I know, my love," Arthur cooed, dusting Lance's muzzle with a small handful of kisses, "But, do you think you can roll over for me? I believe it will be easier for our first time."

Lance groaned heartily but did as he was bode, even if it did appear to be a struggle with the way he kept pausing to pant for air. Finally, though, he was on his belly, legs akimbo as he tugged a pillow to his face. With a sympathetic click of his tongue, Arthur took pity on his knight and carefully manhandled him so he had his knees under him, his tail high in the air as slick dripped from his entrance onto the blankets below.

"That's it," Arthur murmured, carefully petting one hand down over the back of Lancelot's thighs. He bit his lip as he swept some of Lance's slick up onto his fingers, feeling filthy but caring little as he used his knights fluids as lubrication on himself. His purr grew in volume as he stroked himself to full hardness, brushing a reassuring hand over Lancelot's backside as the knight whimpered and rocked his hips back, obviously growing impatient with his kings dallying. "My apologies," Arthur chuckled, letting go of himself to instead press his fingers against Lance's drenched opening, tentatively pressing one digit inside, "Is that better?"

"You monstrous tease," Lancelot growled out, turning his head just enough to shoot a half hearted glare over his shoulder, "you know full well that it's not."

"So demanding," Arthur chuckled, draping himself over Lancelot's back, pleased to find all of his quills soft and flat in submission. He pressed a second finger in alongside the first, moaning at the thought that the tight, wet warmth he was feeling would soon be wrapped around his cock. "How is that?" he breathed against the knight's ear, grinning as it twitched in irritation, "That must be better?"

"Arthur," Lancelot nearly wailed, tears gathering in his eyes as he pressed his hips back into the king, "Please! Stop teasing. I need more."

"I know, I know," Arthur cooed, pressing a third finger in while rocking his hips so his dick slid tantalizingly through the slick on Lance's inner thigh, "I'm sorry. But I need to prepare you first. I don't want to hurt you if I can help it."

"Then hurry up," Lance ground out, rocking against Arthurs fingers, "I am already hurt, and I need more. Give me more!"

"Alright, alright. So demanding," Arthur murmured, pressing a brief kiss to Lancelot's shoulder as he pulled his fingers free and lined himself up. "Are you ready?" He barely had a moment to think before Lancelot was shoving himself back, forcing the head of Arthur's cock inside himself with a low, pleased groan. His tail wagged against Arthur's stomach as he shot a lopsided, self-satisfied grin over his shoulder, his momentum only stopping due to the kings sudden and tight grasp on his hips. "You-!"

"Yes, my king?" Lancelot heaved a breath, relaxing into his pillow now that he had what he wanted, with Arthur's dick half buried in his ass. "What is it?"

"Childish, churlish brat," Arthur seethed, before slamming his hips forward to the hilt without a thought, relishing in the surprised squawk that the rough action pulled from Lancelot. This was most certainly not what Arthur had envisioned on the nights he allowed himself to dream of what his first time with Lancelot might be. "There, are you quite pleased with yourself now? Got what you wanted?"

A quiet hiccup left Lance, a moment of worry crawling up Arthur's spine at the sound, until the knight tossed another loopy grin over his shoulder at his king, ruby eyes hazy in pleasure. "Yes."

"Never have you ever been so forthright with me," Arthur grumbled, petting his hands over Lance's sides before leaning back to get a proper eye full of his most precious knight impaled upon his cock. He licked his lips as an idea popped into his head and a feral little grin crawled its way across his face. "Shall I punish you for being so impertinent?"

Lance's eyes grew wide at the threat, suddenly pushing himself up onto unsteady hands, his muscles clenching tightly around Arthur's length. "No! No, please" he whined, as his arms near immediately gave back out, his face ending up half squashed into his pillow, "Please don't leave. I'm sorry."

"Lance, no," Arthur cooed, leaning over his knight to gently brush his fingers through quivering quills, "I won't leave, fret not. I told you, I have every intention of claiming you as mine. However, I do think you deserve punishment for being impish."

Lance's brow furrowed, obvious confusion on his face. "What sort of punishment, then…?"

"One like this," Arthur hummed, slowly sliding his length free of Lance at a snails pace, grin wide on his face as Lancelot whined petulantly below him at his leisurely pace, finally coming to a stop with only the head of his dick resting inside the omega. He squeezed the knights hips when Lance tried to rock back onto him, holding him fast. "Ah, ah," he chided, pressing his thumbs in hard enough they would likely leave bruises on a softer omega, "Not until I feel like you deserve it."

"No," Lancelot hiccupped, scratching at the bedclothes and leaving great tears with his claws, "Please! Please, please, this-! I need you inside me."

"Not yet," Arthur hummed, rather enjoying the view of his knight squirming below him, speared on the head his cock and desperately begging for more.

"I'm sorry! Arthur- my king, please," Lance gasped, arching his back in such a fashion that the kings dick very nearly popped free of its place.

"Ah! Hey now," Arthur scolded gently, pressing Lance back down with a hand before slamming his hips forward, chuckling as the knight lurched forward on the bed with a startled gasp, scrambling for purchase as his face was plowed into his pillow. "Is that what you wanted, my dear knight?"

"Yes," Lance breathed as he pulled his face free from his pillow, tipping his head back with a groan, "Thank you, my lord."

"Good," the king hummed, ever so slowly sliding out once more, only to slam back inside just as hard, enjoying the sounds of surprise that leapt from Lancelot's mouth as he repeated the action over, and over again. He stopped only as his knights head very nearly came into contact with the wall, shifting back to pull his omega away from impending injury. "Now," he hummed as he ground his hips into the trembling knight, chuckling at the small puddle of drool that had begun to accumulate on Lance's pillow, "What do we say again, Lance?"

"Th-thank you, my liege," the knight breathed, only to gasp and let out a heart wrenching whimper as Arthur pulled himself free of Lance's addictive heat.

"Hush now," the king soothed, unceremoniously flipping Lancelot onto his back while stuffing a wayward pillow beneath his hips. He then quickly and easily slid his length back inside the knights twitching hole, smirking at the euphoric cry Lance let out as he ground his slowly swelling knot against the knights entrance with a groan. "I want to see your pretty face when I fill you with seed for the first time. Do you want that, as well? To show me the pride in your face as your belly swells with my pleasure?"

"Yes," Lancelot breathed, taking the opportunity to clutch at Arthur once again, holding fast to his shoulders, "Please. Please give me everything! Arthur." With that he pulled the king down into a ferocious, biting kiss, nipping at Arthur's lips hard enough to draw blood as they parted. He grinned as he licked red stained lips, sliding his fingers into blue quills once more. "Claim me, Alpha."

"Your wish is my command, Omega," Arthur growled out, before he began to piston his hips rapidly into Lancelot, shifting to bury his face in his knights shoulder, while his arms wrapped around him to hold him close, nearly enveloping the other entirely with his body. He reveled in the litany of cries and moans that poured from Lancelot's mouth, resonating beautifully alongside the wet squelch of their bodies coming together over and over, as he fucked into his knight hard and fast. A ferocious snarl rumbled up his throat as his knot began to catch at the rim of Lancelot's entrance, pulling yet louder sounds from the knight.

Just as Arthur felt his knot begin to truly breach the omega, he was startled into a dead stop by a sudden thumping at the chamber door. It jarred the both of them from their little bubble of pleasure, Arthur's quills bristling into sharp, defensive points as Lancelot shouted in protest beneath him at being even temporarily denied his alpha's knot. "Who goes there?!" the king barked at the door, slipping his hand down to stroke at Lancelot's neglected cock to try calm the agitated omega.

"It is Sir Galahad, my lord," the young knight called through the wood, at least having the presence of mind to not barge in, "Sir Lancelot asked me to check on him should there be any…distressing sounds coming from his chambers."

"Does this truly sound distressed to you?" Arthur snarled out, pulling his hips back and thrusting into Lancelot with force, the knight wailing in pleasure at the motion.

"N-no, your majesty," Galahad called back through the door.

"Then why are you still here?!"

"Lancelot asked me to ensure he was not taken advantage of, my lord," the young knight replied, audibly clearing his throat, "And while I have no doubt as to my kings morals and virtue, I simply need to keep my word and fulfill my duty to my fellow knight."

Arthur let out a long suffering breath, his inner alpha roaring at him to chase off the concerned beta at the door, while his right mind warred with it with common sense. Galahad was simply doing as he was asked, even if it was at the most inopportune and inappropriate moment. "I assure you, Galahad," the king struggled to keep a growl out of his voice as Lancelot began to squirm and rock his hips impatiently beneath him, "Lancelot is in good hands and is not being taken advantage of."

"…Are you planning to keep him, my lord?"

"Keep…? Ah," he glanced down at Lancelot, ruby eyes unfocused and hazy in heated pleasure, but still staring right back up at him with unspoken layers of gratitude, loyalty, and dare he even say…love. It made Arthurs heart give a wild, aching lurch in his chest as a tender smile settled on his face. He brushed the fingers of his free hand over his knights cheek, purr redoubling in his chest as the omega tilted his face happily into his palm, while absently licking at his fingers. "Lancelot is to be my betrothed," Arthur called back to the door, though his eyes remained steadfast on his knight, "Is that enough for you, Galahad?"

"Yes! Of course, my liege."

"Good. Now, begone, unless you wish to listen to your commander being bred," Arthur growled out, snorting at the sound of armor rapidly retreating from the door. "Now," he sighed, allowing his inner alpha to take command over his actions as his hips began to take up their previous rhythm, fucking little whines and moans out of Lancelot, "Where were we?" He tucked his hands under each of Lancelot's knees, grinning as the omega mewled at his legs being lifted up and spread wide, giving Arthur the perfect view to watch his beloved knight as he writhed on his dick. "I do believe I was just about to put pups in you, wasn't I, Omega?"

"Yes! Please, please, Alpha," Lancelot cried, arms thrown over his head and claws dug deep into his pillow as he arched his back, seemingly uncaring of his own cock weeping onto his belly, "Knot me! Fill me up!"

"Only because you begged so prettily," Arthur rumbled, before barring his teeth and slamming his hips forward with intent, grunting with each push, his knot catching at Lancelot's rim with each thrust.

"Ar-arthur," Lancelot gasped, digging his head back into his pillow and pressing himself down on his kings cock as much as his position would allow, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, "please."

"Your wish-!" Arthur growled out, giving one last, harsh thrust, forcing his knot into the omega's tight entrance. He let out a loud, uncharacteristic howl that resonated with his knights responding cry as he ground himself into Lancelot, gnashing his teeth as his knot caught and his cock throbbed, pumping pulse after pulse of thick cum into the pliant omega beneath him, all while Lance's own cock spurted ropes of white across his dark fur. A light chuckle escaped him between panting breaths as he watched Lancelot's belly swell from its usual flat state as it filled with all of the love he had to give his beloved. "Is my command," he finally finished with a lopsided smile, allowing Lance's legs to slip from his hands and wrap around his waist, so he could pet eagerly at the knights lightly bulging stomach. "Look at you," he cooed, "After this week, you will most certainly be carrying my heir inside you."

"If that is your wish," Lancelot hummed, finally somewhat lucid as the first wave of his heat was momentarily satiated, his hands sliding down from clutching at his pillow to rest gently over Arthurs, "Then I hope that is the case."

Arthur glanced up with a hint of a frown. "Is that not what you wish?"

Lancelot seemed to dither on the thought for a moment, puffing out a short breath. "I do not wish to give up my position as a knight to rear a child," he admitted slowly, thumbs sweeping back and forth over his kings hands, "But, as you should well know, I would give up absolutely everything if it meant I got to have you, and make you happy. And if that means giving you an heir, then so be it."

"As I already told you, my dearest Lancelot," Arthur sighed, sliding his hands up to cup his knights face, "You will have to give up nothing. You will remain a knight, and should you become heavy with child, we will rear it together. Certainly, you may have to be reduced to basic duties should you become especially round, but I swear to you that the only things that will need to change are what you would like." A breath, "I do wish I could convince you of the potential gift you have." He sighed quietly as he leaned in to press a tender kiss to Lancelot's lips, nudging their noses together as they parted. "Besides," he added, "Isn't it a thrilling thought? A tiny creature, who is a perfect mixture of the two of us? Imagine how brilliant they would be!"

"You mean a creature of chaos and mayhem?" Lancelot chuckled, sliding his hands up Arthur's arms to rest gently against his shoulders, "I have heard stories of how you were as a child."

"Ah, but they would also be half of you," the king purred with a smile, "So, hopefully that would temper their more…mischievous tendencies."

"And whose to say that I wasn't also a monstrous little beast as a child?" Lance easily teased back, "I very much doubt you've spoken to Lady Nimue about my childhood."

"Oh! Are there stories I should be made aware of?" Arthur's ears perked forward in interest while his tail began to slowly wag at the thought he may be bringing Lancelot around to the idea of having children. Having his children.

"Many, I'm sure," the knight hummed with a smile, "But none I am willing to divulge at this time."

"Tease," Arthur's tail drooped as he pouted, his lower lip sticking out petulantly.

Lancelot snorted, his hips shifting as Arthur's knot began to soften, rivulets of cum slowly beginning to leak from his entrance. "Well, I could either regale you with stories of childhood, or," the knight murmured, eyelids drooping in a sultry manner as he smirked up at his king, "You could replace what is dripping free of me and redouble your effort to put a pup in my womb."

"Truly?!" Arthur perked up once again, his movements causing more cum to leak from the omega.

"What can I say?" Lancelot hummed, "You may be on your way to selling me on the idea. Besides which, Alpha," he tilted his head, bringing a hand up to trace over his unmarred shoulder, "You have yet to properly claim me, as you said you would."

Arthur let out a low growl, unceremoniously pulling his softening knot free of Lancelot, earning a startled yelp from the knight as fluids freely gushed from his entrance. "That is true, isn't it, Omega?" He shifted back enough to flip Lancelot back onto his belly, yanking the knights hips up so his ass was high in the air. "I shan't let that stand for long." Lancelot cried out in surprise as Arthur thrust back into him without preamble, his knot soft, but his cock hard. "Are you ready for another, my love?"

"Always, my lord," Lance slurred into his pillow, back arched low as he eagerly pushed back against his king, the haze of heat yet again making his mind fuzzy with lust.

"Good boy," Arthur groaned, smoothly fucking into Lancelot, the sheer mess of cum and slick between them making it almost too easy. Their next orgasms came quickly, overstimulated as they already were from their last bout, especially as Arthur wrapped his hand around Lancelot's cock and stroked him rapidly to completion, causing the omega to clench in a tantalizing manner around the alpha's length. This time, however, it was only Lance's scream that rang through the room when Arthur's knot popped inside as they reached completion, while sinking his fangs into the omega's shoulder, irrevocably claiming him as the kings property. They collapsed as one onto the bed as Arthur's cock pumped yet more cum into Lancelot, the omega whining as he became overstuffed, and the pressure of the alpha atop him began to force the kings ejaculate from him, even with his knot sealing them together.

"Arthur," the knight whimpered, squirming halfheartedly until the alpha rolled them both onto their sides, while tenderly licking at the deep, bleeding wound on his omega's shoulder. Arthur had no doubt that it would leave a mark, but once he'd sunk his teeth in a few more times over the next week, he was certain it would leave a nice scar for the world to see.

"There now," the king sighed once the bleeding had slowed to a sluggish pace, his hand absently petting at Lancelot's rounded belly, "A pretty claiming mark for the prettiest omega in all the land."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Lancelot snorted quietly, eyes slipping shut as a quiet purr rumbled from his chest.

"I beg to differ, but we can argue that another time," Arthur hummed, wrapping his arms snuggly around this dozing knight, "For now, you should sleep. It promises to be a long week."

"It won't be so long, while I'm with you," Lance murmured, a yawn escaping him as he spoke.

"No…I imagine that this week will feel like it has gone by in the blink of an eye, once it is over," Arthur agreed, reaching around to the nearest blanket on the bed and tossing it over the both of them, "but for now, sleep. We can revel in each other again once we've rested."

"I look forward to it," was Lancelot's barely audible, slightly slurred response as he drifted off into slumber, pressing himself as close to his alpha as he could as he did so, settling comfortably with Arthur's length still buried deep within him.

"As do I, my love," the king agreed, closing his eyes with a contented sigh, "As do I…"

[osiiiris]

Terzo Emeritus: Turin.

Primo | Secondo | Terzo.

We know Terzo spent some time as a Cardinal in Poland (I'm going to do some research on Krakow too, just for fun), but if I had to locate him somewhere in Italy, I know where to place him. For Terzo, the most mystical and mysterious of the Papas, I have thought of the most evil and contrasting city in Italy: Turin. Turin is, literally, the Italian City of the Devil, and it is divided into two sides, one evil (black) and one good (white). Let's see what may have influenced the rebellious Terzo Emeritus.  This will be a long one.

1 - Life and death, good and evil, black and white… 

Turin is geographically divided into two sides: the good side to the east, where the sun rises, and the evil side to the west, where the sun sets, divided by the gates of the Royal Palace. Both sides feature monuments and buildings reflecting their predominant energy, and each side counterbalances the magical influence of the other. Turin, with its duality, is both a point of the Black Magic triangle (Turin, London, San Francisco) and one of the White Magic triangle (Turin, Lyon, and Prague).

On the west side, the dark one, the ancient Romans had built the necropolis and the gallows where condemned prisoners were executed. There was nothing but death and darkness.

On the east side, the bright one, the Mole Antonelliana acts as an antenna that gathers white energy from the ground and projects it onto the city through its tip. (Additionally, there is the Sacra Sindone, the cloth with the image of Jesus supposedly printed with his sweat and blood.)

The combination of the two forces creates a coniunctio oppositorum.

Given that Meliora is based on the concept of a city overpowered by dark forces, I believe a whole city where contrasting forces are so strong that they have shaped its aesthetic would have been fitting for him.

2 - Mysterious spectre wrestles power supplies from oligarchs.

The negative fame of Turin seems to stem from the hard rivalry between the Savoy family and the Vatican, especially during the Risorgimento, when Turin was labeled as "diabolical" due to its strongly anti-clerical positions. Turin (and Savoy family) became the anti-Vatican, basically, and we know how controversial Terzo was considered in the Ministry.

So the Savoy family erected five buildings in five different points of the city to form a pentacle: the hunting reserve of Stupinigi, the Moncalieri Castle, the Rivoli Castle, the Venaria Reggia, and the Basilica of Superga. (I have tried tracing the pentacle lines myself, as you can see in the image. Yep, that’s true.) Additionally, the cremation practice was strongly pushed by Turin, in opposition to the traditional burial.

And you are here to stay and burn with me, right?

3 - Lucifer’s statue.

Piazza dello Statuto coincides with the apex of the black magic triangle and the place where prisoners were executed, and it is right here that the presumed statue of Lucifer stands, above a necropolis that is called both la Vallis Occidanum, “West valley” or "where the sun sets" and Vallis Occisorum "Valley of the murdered". The statue is actually a fountain, built in memory of the victims of the Frejus tunnel accident... but looking at it, it's easy to understand that there is something more. The angel placed on the top of the fountain bears an upside-down five-pointed star on its head, and its gaze is not directed towards the Frejus, as one would expect, but towards the white part of the city. Towards the light.

I don’t know you, but to me, He is.

4 - The Masonic headquarters.

Terzo was known to have included many references to the Freemasons, especially in Square Hammer, where many see in the lyrics the tale of a Freemasonry initiation ritual.

In Piazza Solferino, we find the Fountain of the Four Seasons, where the four seasons are represented by four statues: spring and summer by two female figures, while autumn and winter by two male figures. Those male figures are identified with the giants Boaz and Joaquin, supporters of the pillars of Hercules which, in Masonic symbolism, would represent the first step of the initiate in their Masonic journey. Furthermore, it is said that the water of that fountain it’s a source of knowledge.

Continuing on the Masonic path, on via Lascaris, there is now a bank, but in the past, it was the headquarters of a Masonic lodge (curious that in a former Masonic lodge, there is now a bank... Mummy Dust-curious). On the sidewalks of the street, you can notice cracks in the shape of evil eyes. The gaze of the devil.

5 - The first lightning rod in Italy.

Terzo is often depicted surrounded by lightning, so he must have felt at home in Turin. In 1752, in fact, Gianni Battista Beccaria successfully repeated Benjamin Franklin's experiment by installing a lightning rod above his apartment. He created the first lightning rod ever seen in Italy, but since then Beccaria was accused of wizardry for his ability in manipulating electrical energy.

I know that I set a maximum of 5 points, but Turin is so full of occultism that I had to add a bonus point. 👇🏻

6 - the Devil’s door.

This door could have a post on its own for how much there is to say about it, but I’ll cut it short.

Legend has it that it was built in one night by the devil himself to punish a man who had invoked him in vain, and since its installation, terrifying episodes have occurred inside the building, such as the disappearance of a soldier or the murder of a dancer stabbed during a dance that lasted three days and three nights.

The decorations on the door are rich in esoteric symbolism (There is also a little rat…) and in the center, the clapper is literally the face of the devil with two snakes, while in the central column there is a monster holding the world in its claws.

Today, this building also houses a bank… my Mummy Dust.

[alwritey-aphrodite]

19. Wildflowers and Clover with Sirius Black

2025 Summer Blurbs

One of the best things about summer was the way plants seem to just sprout up anywhere. In gardens, on pathways, between the cracks of the sidewalk, everything was bursting with life and there was greenery and bright flowers no matter where you looked. You had a tendency to romanticize things like this, to turn the mundane into something unnecessarily special, but how could you not, when a flower peeking through the cement was the most beautifully lovely thing you’ve ever seen.

Sirius always humored you, even when it meant stopping every few seconds on your walk to take pictures of nature, of the sunlight streaming through the trees or the brightly colored flowers in your neighbor’s garden. Today, the two of you had found your way to a wide open field, nothing but the sky and the grass as far as the eye could see.

“One of these days, I’m gonna find one,” you mutter as your hand lazily pushes through the grass, Sirius sprawled out on the ground with his head resting on your lap. Selfishly, he wishes you would comb your fingers through his hair like that, but he contents himself just to watch whatever it is you’re trying to do.

“Find one of what?” He asks, after hearing you sigh in frustration one too many times and feeling his heart tick up with the desire to make everything better for you.

“A four leaf clover,” you explain, pausing your hunt to lean back on your hands for support, turning your face to the sky as if they would appear once you stopped looking for them, “I’ve never seen one in real life, I’m not even sure if they exist.”

“We’ll find one for you,” he springs up into action, even though he was incredibly comfortable where he was and you’d already stopped looking. Sirius had never seen a four leaf clover before either, but he was determined to find one, just to make you smile.

Eventually, your hands return to the ground, this time gently plucking the long stems of the white clovers, collecting them in your lap until you had a mountain of them. Sirius strays further and further away, practically crawling on all fours with his nose to the ground, still hunting for your four leaf clover. Once you’re satisfied with your pile of flowers, you began to gently tie them together, careful to pull the knots tight enough to stop them from falling out, but not too tight where the stem breaks.

With a long string of flowers, you tie the first and last stem together, making a ring that you place on top of your head before beginning your work again.

“Sirius!” You shout out, marveling at how far he’d gone to try and make your silly little dream come true. He practically runs back to you, panting slightly as he drops back to his position on the ground.

“I couldn’t find any,” he says, frowning as he picks at the grass, unwilling to see the disappointed look on your face. He can’t bear to let you down, no matter how small or silly his believed failings may be.

“That’s ok,” you tell him as you set the second crown on his head. He tilts his head back up, and you’re beaming down at him, a crown of clovers atop your own head. Sirius feels a rush of affection for you, and he just can’t handle it, so he gives your waist a gentle tug until you’re sprawled out on the ground with him. It’s just the two of you, laughing under the bright blue sky, matching crowns of clover on your heads.

[pculrstate]

of the intestate earth.

Their end of things was a white church on a mountain and down the trail a cabin still standing older than any living person on earth twice over. Once these had been places for tourists to visit and take pictures and shake their sunburned heads at the primitive ways of life which at the time had seemed to them unfathomable, untenable.

For long weeks they’d wandered aimless speaking hardly at all, silent agreement that they’d know it when they found it, wherever and whatever. This was not easy. They were strangers to living without purpose or plan or destination. Often, huddled shoulder to shoulder around a small smokeless fire off the main road, one or the other would lose the strength to go on. Full up of lament and self-pity and he into the unforgiving night would say we tried so hard and for nothing and for now what? They never allowed themselves to be weak at the same time. That was death, that was something they’d learned forever ago and so the other would lean in hard and say for us which was its own fortification against despair.

It was a beautiful place of high green trees and flowing water, a pocket miraculously unstained by the end of things. They walked the land and didn’t find it occupied but for deer and prancing rabbits and turkey and mountain lions and black bears and squirrels and owls. Long accustomed to the clumsy tromp of men through their wood and when they came through cutting away with machetes the animals regarded them, disinterested, and went back to eating, to sleeping, to hunting.

Along Cades Cove Loop Road they found Elijah Oliver Place, so named by a placard on the doorframe, log and stone, dogtrot cabin with a breezeway and a spring for water. For a long time they stood and stared and breathed in sweet quiet air and when they went at last inside they set down their load and looked at each other eyes brimmed with tears.

***

A few mornings a week Sam trekked down to the church in the pre-dawn whisper and he sat in the pews holding a hymnal open to his chest. Leftover from centuries, pages oiled thin. The sanctuary wood and windows to let in light and there were bibles too which he left alone. He sat and let the silence seep into him and sometimes when that was too much he read the ancient poems out loud. When I look down from lof­ty mount­ain gran­deur, and hear the brook and feel the gen­tle breeze. The words rang through, leftover from centuries, balm to even those who weren’t looking. Behind the church a small cemetery whose stones Sam came to learn. He walked slowly past each one and pressed fingers to the names and he said thank you, thank you.

***

Plentiful fish in the river and they hunted for game and used the book for plants good to eat. The water from the spring clear and clean. They sat together nights in the glow of an oil lamp and they didn’t talk about what had been. They read to each other or made up stories or else just laved in presence. Warm, familiar. Hand finding hand and they’d move to the wooden frame bed set up with their sleeping bags and blankets and they would hold so close there was never room left for breathing. Forehead to forehead. They’d remember the waste of years they hadn’t allowed themselves this. Afraid, how afraid. How foolish, they’d think. You were always right there and I too and us both blind to it. Well. None of it mattered anymore. We found each other at the end of things.

***

Dean took to fishing like he’d once taken to the belly guts of a car. Fling of the line, whir against his palm. Rivers to choose from. He sang out where there was no one to hear him. Zeppelin and Aerosmith and Bon Jovi, songs that had carried him through. Although sometimes there was someone to hear him, sometimes he’d reel in and head for the bank and Sam would be sitting with his pants rolled and knees up and eyes closed and his face a wonder of peace. More he’d say. Many an afternoon run out like that and nothing they were missing beyond. Ease on to dark, the stars above more numerous than he’d known. He thought at the night sky us too, us too, we’re not so different. Continuing despite.

***

How long, do you think?

How long what?

Can this last.

Forever. What do you mean? Forever.

Others might come. All the land. There’s food, clean water.

Don’t talk like that.

It’s all I can think about some days.

Look at me. We’re safe. You and me. Hear? It’s never been any other way.

I guess. I know.

Say it.

You and me.

***

They made friends with a wounded elk that limped to the edge of the Elijah Oliver property one day and collapsed forward onto its front leg. A moan that reverberated through the trees. Bleeding from the shoulder. Sam hurried out to the porch, Dean behind and they froze before the animal still somehow regal in its pain. It looked at them beseeching, antlers pointed ever toward the sky. Towels, Sam said, first-aid kit on the table. Unwise perhaps to waste their materials this way. The elk let them do what they needed to do and after it didn’t get up but stayed there on the ground with them and nudged its snout against Dean’s leg.

It’s thanking you.

It’s a wild animal.

Then it was back, early morning and again at dusk. It stood and watched the door until they spied it through the front window and came out. If they had food to spare but they didn’t and they knew it was used to fending for itself anyway. Two more days. It seemed the elk wasn’t after anything except a bit of benevolent attendance at the end of things. They could give it that.

It’s a wild animal Dean said and Sam said are we now so different?

***

Days they put twenty miles on the boot. Every trail they could find, everything theirs. They’d come upon crumbling signs dividing the wild from the tamed and they’d forge ahead, pioneers of the new ancient world. Dean would ask Sam about the first settlers to this place and Sam would tell him how they had fought and taken what wasn’t theirs. Is that what we’re doing? he asked and Sam said it’s not like that anymore and it was easy to believe that was true. They’d swim naked in the river, silt on their skin and they would laugh and laugh and examine every inch of their bodies glistening wet in the light. They were boys they’d once been and boys they’d never gotten to be. Everything and nothing theirs.

***

Cold months. All their energy spent gathering wood and chopping wood and tending a fire determined to snuff. It snowed and snowed, ground under hard as cement and icicles hanging from the rafters sharp like teeth. Almost overnight the game disappeared. Hungry months. Hard to see through. Finally they said I wonder about the rest of the world because it was getting on that they couldn’t help it anymore, thinking about what was out there beyond their mountain. What they had caused. The darkness and the burning and everything after so quickly gone. We did this. Because of? Because of what. For what. Back then every motivation had been sharp and well-set: we did this for us, for you and me. Cold and hungry months and their minds closing in on them. So with what reserves left them at the end of the day they pressed hard and slow into each other and cried their names and felt the beating of their hearts under tongue and after they lay warmth to warmth and said we did this for us, for you and me.

***

They asked the question: Was that reason enough?

***

At the church Dean went to his knees though what he was after he couldn’t have said. He lifted his palms up. Bite of the wood. He welcomed the hurt. He tried to feel the people who’d once been here or he tried to think of them and what they had believed in. If at their end it had made a difference. He said out loud into the silent empty space and into the silent empty mountain I don’t know if I have ever done the right thing. He walked back afraid and alone, wind kicking around his feet. The brush rustled with animals unseen. Sam had water boiling over the fire and after that a squirrel which they ate quickly and pleasurelessly and then went to bed and Sam didn’t ask.

***

Gathering wood when he saw it, tiny blade of green thinner than ribbon. Another one next to it. He dropped the wood into the snow and he ran inside and he said Sam, Sam and they crouched down around it like children. The wood on the ground now damp and useless but they couldn’t make themselves care. For at last the push of spring.

***

I need you to understand something.

There’s nothing to understand.

Yes there is. There is. I was afraid. My head was so screwed up.

I know.

Stop. You don’t. Don’t excuse me, okay, not now. In that moment I couldn’t see anything beyond. Not the consequences, nothing. Not the world. It was just what was right there in front of me and what was in front of me was you. My little boy, okay? Just my little boy. How was I—

It wasn’t just you there. I was a part of it, don’t excuse me either.

You say that.

Because it’s true.

Sam.

You could’ve done anything. Asked me for anything and I would’ve let you. My whole life.

Sammy.

Are you sorry?

Don’t ask me that. Please.

***

Sunrise pink above the trees and the first tentative calls of the Carolina wren echoing through. They hiked up to the top of a ridge and stood and looked out over the purple layers of mountain. It was their end of things or else always it had been their beginning. They stood and looked and put their hands to each other’s necks and held there. Silent steady tears for the morning.

I never used to cry this much. Shit. At everything.

Goin’ soft.

You too.

Yeah. Guess so.

They felt the changedness of the world and they felt too that it was not much changed. If it kept on turning and the stars above still shone and if the water flowed fast and free below. Not all ruin. Their brother beside. Was that reason enough? And they answered yes, yes.

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

Mmm, Naga Risotto (I have a bad case of Risotto on the brain)

He would have you wrapped around his coils in a tight hug to sap your warmth using you as his own personal heater for the colder season instead of his meal (He made sure to eat a lot of live prey for the following winter months so he doesn’t have to hunt)

Risotto would smother you between his Titties to sap your warmth as he wraps his arms tightly around your waist and sleep (You become his teddy bear)

He would love it especially when your chubby because there’s more to love and cuddle (Don’t mind him as he feeds you so you can stay healthy and have some extra energy for when mating season happens in spring)

He’s an Apex Predator so you should no doubt feel honored he chose you as his mate (He uses his animal instincts for logic) and isn’t against threats to devour your loved ones if it means you stay by his side

So stay with him in his cottage in the middle of the woods (He devoured the residents who lived there for the territory) as he breeds you nice and full with his eggs 😭

This has been on my mind for so long. Nagas make the brain go burr

Hibernation pt1

(Yandere Naga Risotto Nero X Female Reader)

There was always the issue of losing livestock as a farmer, however the losses your family's farm was experiencing was suspicious. It seemed like every night something was taken. At this point you'd taken to doing night watch to try and catch what or whoever was taking your livestock.

You regret not bringing a jacket with you tonight, the chilling breeze was a taste of what the approaching winter would bring. You were patrolling the fence with a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other when you heard the chickens start crowing. You ran as fast as you could to the coop and threw open the door to see them all running around. You quickly looked around the surrounding area before your attention landed on the chickens once more.

“one, two, three, four, five…” you began trying to count them under your breath. Then suddenly someone grabbed you and you felt something sharp pierce your shoulder. You screamed into the hand of your attacker and dropped your flashlight and pistol.

“You don't know how long I've waited for this,” the person behind you spoke. You wanted desperately to try and fight off your assailant but every kick felt like you were fighting against the pressure of water. You were extremely weak all of a sudden.

“All you need to do is come with me, well… not that you have a choice” he spoke, a chuckle resonating from his chest. You bit his hand and he pulled it away.

“What do you want from me?!” You screamed, unsure you could wake up your family from this distance.

“I've been watching you for some time now…” they spoke. Your attention drifting to the floor, you noticed what seemed like a black and white snake tail illuminated by the flashlight. Your eyes followed it to behind you. It grew quite large from the tip, much bigger than any snake you'd seen before. It slowly wiggle from side to side, like it was anticipating something.

“You're not human” you muttered in a shaken voice.

“You're a smart girl, warm too” he praised

“I'm sure you can be reasoned with” he continued 

“You want to eat me?” You questioned.

“Well that was the plan initially, but you'll serve a better purpose alive” he admitted.you dreaded whatever he meant by that. At this point your limbs were helplessly dangling. You hadn’t even realized how much taller this creature was til your neck refused to support your head, your eyes staring down at your feet dangled about a foot off the ground.

“Why can't I move?” You muttered.

“My venom, luckily for humans it only causes temporary paralysis ” he told you. You could felt something thin and wet flicker over your ear making you exclaim in disgust.

“What do you want from me if you're not going to eat me?” You asked him again. Your breathing was now loud and labored.

“I'm claiming you as my mate” he told you, if you could feel a thing you'd have goosebumps. Oh God this creature wanted you as a mate, you didn't know whether to feel disgust or fear.

“And what if I was to refuse?” You asked. His free hand lifted your head from under your chin and turned it to face your house. None of the lights were on, so you assumed everyone was still asleep.

“Hmm… I wonder if I'd have enough room to eat them all, maybe I'll start with the large ones and make my way down” he snickered.

“No! Leave them alone” you almost screamed out if it weren't for the current state you were in.

“Oh I will, if you cooperate” he told you. You didn't have much of a choice, your weapon was on the ground and you were paralyzed.

“So, we have a deal?” He asked. You remained silent, this monster could do anything right now and you wouldn't be able to defend yourself.

“Silent refusal?” He asked, pushing a response from you.

“Yes, I'll cooperate…” you sighed in defeat. He threw you over his shoulder and you could somewhat see your assailant now. That tail was definitely his and it trailed a lot further then you had initially theorized.

It took for what seemed like hours before he brought you inside a house in the middle of the thick forest. It seemed like another human hadn't lived inside in years by how unkempt it was.

It was a fairly large house, the old wallpaper was peeling off, the windows were covered in a thick layer of dust and the floorboards creaked under any pressure.

In the living room a small fire was burning. Several mattresses were pushed together in the center of the room with blankets sprawled across them. The couch had been turned around to face away from the fire and surrounding the mattresses.

He laid you down on the mattresses before making his way to the fireplace and putting on some more wood. He returned to the mattresses and curled you up in his long tail before laying his upper body on the couch.

You cringed at the feeling of his scale against your skin. You wanted to desperately escape but his venom still had a hold on you. It'd been several hours now and still you couldn't so much as curl a finger.

🐍🐍🐍

You woke up the next morning dazed. It took you a while before you realized the monster had your face smothered between his pecs, you tried to get off of him but he had his hands strongly wrapped around you.

You looked around to see he was now sleeping on the opposite side he was last night. Then he groaned and a hand made its way to his face. For a while you both silently stare at one another.

“This'll take some time to get used to” the monster muttered to himself.

“I can tell you it certainly won't” you hissed but he shook your comment off before rolling you off of him and getting up. You sat up and watched him now that you could get a better look. He had the upper body of a human with fair skin, white hair and haunting red and black eyes. While having the lower body of a snake that seemed to trail on for what you roughly assumed was 8 to 9 feet long.

He made his way outside and you waited, he seemed to have gone somewhere. Seeing an opportunity you made your way to the kitchen and looked around before your eyes landed on a knife. You picked it up, maybe now you had a chance of killing him. So you waited by the door where he wouldn't see you as he came back in.

And when the door creaked open you struck him but he swiftly grabbed the arm you were holding the knife in and twisted it to the point you were forced to drop it.

“Remember, we have a deal” he warned you as he let go of you. You darted back, holding your sore arm.

“And despite that I want to keep you in one piece I won't hesitate to cut something off if it  causes me issues” he continued and you cowered away more. He only slithered closer to you.

“but you don't need to worry your pretty little head about that if you behave, right?” he cooed as he lifted your chin. You were a shaking mess as he was pressed up against you. God you were screwed. His intentions were clear, he was going to keep you trapped here and any attempt to kill him or escape could lead to your family's deaths.

🐍🐍🐍

Shortly after he had left again and you sat waiting. When he returned he presented you with the entire leg of a cow.

“Eat” he told you, but there was no way you were eating it in that state. It was still raw and covered in its hide.

“No…” you responded shakely.

“Why?” He asked, he seemed to take offense to your refusal as he his tail coiled up like a snake ready to strike.

“I can't eat it raw… I'd get sick, also it still has its hide” you explained and his coils loosened.

“you humans are strange… you deprive yourselves of nutrients by charring your food” he spoke before taking the meat to the kitchen bench and using the same knife you'd attacked him with earlier to cut the meat and pull off the skin before presenting it to you once more. He practically threw it into your arms and you nearly fell over before he took it back.

“Worse than I thought” he thought out loud.

“And what do you mean by that?” You asked him, cringing at the slimy feeling the meat left on you.

“You're weak, need to bulk up” he explained.

“You'll set up the fire and find something to cook it on” he instructed as he held the leg. So you entered the kitchen to find a rack that could possibly fit. Luckily the previous owners had a big stove. You took one of the racks and made your way to the fireplace and managed to fit it between the bricks perfectly.

Then you wondered how on earth you were going to set up a proper fire, you'd relied on gas cookers and lighters your whole life. You grabbed some of the torn paper in the center before piling some small sticks onto.

“um, you have any matchsticks?” You asked.

“What are those?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Oh yeah a monster like him wouldn't have ever used them.

“do you not know how to even start a fire?” He asked.

“well… we had tools for this sort of thing” you explained. He placed the leg on the rack and it surprisingly remained sturdy.

“all those tools have really made humans so weak” he muttered before grabbing a stick and a log that had been cut in half, the center had seemed to be worn through to the end and a piece of paper beneath.

He placed the log on your lap and the stick in your hand and you just looked back at him with confusion.

“Rub the stick up and down the groove” he instructed and you followed.

“Faster” he told you and you compiled.

Your hands hurt after so long, you were going to quit before you saw a spark in the pile of shavings that formed on the paper.

“Now blow on it” he said and you hesitantly did, not wanting to blow it away. Soon a flame emerged, took the paper and carefully shifted the shavings to the paper in the fireplace.

“There, now you know how to start a fire properly” he said, seemingly satisfied by your work. Still it'd take a while for the meat to be cooked and now you felt sweaty and covered in meat juice. You doubted anything worked here with how long it'd probably been abandoned for.

“Is there water nearby?” You asked him.

“There's a water pump outside that works” he told you but that wasn't really what you wanted. He leaned over you and added a bigger piece of wood to the fire.

“Is there maybe something else, I'd like to bathe” you explained. 

“There is a river a little further that way” he pointed just beyond one of the windows where the glow of the sunset could be seen.

“We can go there after you've eaten” he continued. A groan passed your lips, you knew the water would be far too cold by then.

And so you waited for an hour or so. The monster had turned the meat to cook on the other side and then brought it to the table to carve for you before coming back with a mixing bowl piled with the beef. Some parts still horribly undercooked for your liking.

You hesitantly took the bowl and picked through to find the more cooked pieces and eat those. When you felt like you'd had your fill you'd put the bowl down. He looked at the bowl, that you'd barely managed to eat through a third of it before looking back at you.

“You need more,” he told you sternly.

“No I'm fine, I couldn't possibly eat anymore” you told him but refused to listen. He picked up a particularly rare piece and held it to your lips. You shuffled back but he swiftly caught you up in his tail.

“No wonder you're weak, you expect your body to run on such miniscule portions” he said before once again putting the meat to your lips but you didn't budge.

“Eat” he demanded as his tail constricted around you. You gave up and opened your mouth, cringing at the feeling of barely cooked beef in your mouth. It was hard to chew and the feeling of swallowing it nearly made you gag.

Then he held up another piece. You whined before eating that piece too, much to your displeasure.

“This is for your own good, I don't want to accidentally snap you in half when spring comes,” he said, which alarmed you.

“Why…?” You croaked, knowing full well you were not going to like his answer.

“Because the start of spring is when my kind mate, and at your current rate I wouldn't be surprised if you perished”  he explained.with a chuckle. The involuntary groan that came out of your mouth was tame in comparison to the scream you were holding back. You wanted to claw at your own face at the thought. Of course this already horrible situation got a whole lot worse. You didn't even want to imagine the intricacies of that ordeal.

He'd probably gotten you to eat up to half of that bowl before he stopped, probably seeing the lethargic look on your face. You couldn't eat anymore or you'd be sick. He didn't seem pleased about your lack of an appetite but he hoped he could gradually get you to eat more.

He ended up eating what remained, not enjoying the cooked meat that was dry in comparison to the raw and even still living flesh he had partaken in.

[brimo5]

Mercury, passionate suitor of Proserpina?

related post: Mercury, son of Proserpina and Liber?

Another strange story tells of Mercury's unusual love for Proserpina. It may originate from the cult traditions of Phlya in Attica, a certain aged man and a mysterious woman are identified in late texts as Mercury/Hermes and Proserpina/Persephone/Hecate, as suggested by M. David Litwa in Phikola, a Mysterious Goddess at Phlya. The following unmarked passages are quoted from his work.

There is, however, a portico in this (city)[Phlium of Attica], and on the portico is inscribed a representation, (visible) up to the present day, of all the words which are spoken (on such occasions). Many, then, of the words inscribed upon that portico are those respecting which Plutarch institutes discussions in his ten books against Empedocles. And in the greater number of these books is also drawn the representation of a certain aged man, grey-haired, winged, having his pudendum erectum, pursuing a retreating woman of azure color [or: depicted like a dog/a dogfaced woman]. And over the aged man is the inscription phaos ruentes(Φάος ῥυέντης/Φικόλα),  and over the woman pereeµphicola(περεηφϊκόλα).  (Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, 5.15)

Other sources:

Cicero (106 BC -43 BC) Some copies without this line

One Mercury has the Sky for father and the Day for mother; he is represented in a state of sexual excitation traditionally  said to be due to passion inspired by the sight of Proserpine. (Cicero, Nature of the Gods, 3.55)

2. Propertius (50 BC-15 BC)

How can this face remain mortal, on earth? Jupiter, I'll let your early dalliances slide. Her hair is blond, her hands slender, her whole body's perfect. When she walks, she's a worthy sister for Jove, or when Pallas strolls to the Dulichian altars, covering her breast in the hair of the snake-bearing Gorgon. She's just like Ischomache, heroine of Lapith stock, who reveled in the pillage when Centaurs were taken mid-glass, or Brimo, the one they say lay her virgin body with Mercury by the waves of Lake Boebeis. (Propertius, Elegies, 2.29c)

3. Maurus Servius Honoratus (4th CE)

non nulli tamen quattuor Mercurios tradunt, unum Caeli et Diei filium, amatorem Proserpinae, alterum Liberi patris et Proserpinae filium, tertium Iovis et Maiae, quartum Cyllenii filium, cuius mater non proditur, a quo Argus clam occisus est, qui hoc metu in Aegyptum profugit et ibi invenisse primum disciplinam litterarum et numerorum dicitur: qui lingua Aegyptiorum ΘΕΥΘ appellatur, de cuius nomine etiam mensis dictus est.(Servius, Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid, 4.577ff)

4. Arnobius (4th CE)

Again, the first Mercury, who is said to have lusted after Proserpina, is son of Coelus, who is above all.  (Arnobius, Against the Heathen, 4.14)

5. Tzetzes (12th CE) There is a english copy in Topos, but it is translated by GPT

cf. Tzetzes, Scholia to Lycophron's Alexandra, 679, 698 & 1176

Tzetzes' scholium to Lykophron 679 indicates that Hermes had three daughters from Hekate (ἐπεισελθὼν τῇ Ἑκάτῃ τρεῖς ἔσχεν ἐξ αὐτῆς θυγατέρας).

In his scholia on Lykophron, Alexandra 698, John Tzetzes (ca. 1110-1180 CE) gives another version of our story from ancient tradition: 'Hermes attempted to force her [Obrimo/Persephone] while hunting. She growled (ἐνεβριμήσατο), making him stop his attempt.'

* The lines by Lycophron(4th BC) and the identity of Obrimo is unclear.

And passing the tomb of Baius, his steersman, and the dwellings of the Cimmerians and the Acherusian waters swelling with heaving surge and Ossa and the cattle-path built by the lion and the grove of Obrimo, the Maiden who dwells beneath the earth, and the Fiery Stream, where the difficult Polydegmon hill stretches its head to the sky; from which hill's depths draw all streams and all springs throughout the Ausonian land; and leaving the high slope of Lethaeon and the lake Aornus rounded with a noose and the waters of Cocytus wild and dark, stream of black Styx, where Termieus made the seat of oath-swearing for the immortals, drawing the water in golden basins of libation, when he was about to go against the Giants and Titans – he shall offer up a gift to Daeira and her consort, fastening his helmet to the head of a pillar.(Lycophron, Alexandra, 698ff)

6. Etymologicum Magnum (12th CE)

cf.Etymologicum Magnum s.v. Βριμώ

The Persephone/Brimo referred to in the story of attempted rape was widely identified with Hekate. In the Etymologicum (magnum) genuinum 263 (s.v. Βριμώ), we read that Brimo is Persephone who is 'also called Hekate.'34 In the same text, we hear another version of our story: 'It is said that Hermes, who fell in love with her as she came out to hunt, wanted to have sex withher by force. But she growled at him (ἐνεβριμήσατο). Terrified, he turned away. Hence she is called 'Brimo.'