#also finally get to tag the legend herself

[anto-pops]

The Serpent's Paramour CH 15 - Sebastian Sallow x Female!Reader

Summary: While some people might say the truth will set you free, you were convinced that those people had never been faced with truths like this. Your long awaited discussion with Sebastian finally transpires, and to say it goes poorly would be putting it... mildly.

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings: 18+, aged up characters, explicit language, miscommunications, lots of angsty feelings, dialogue heavy

New early update is also live on Ao3

The inn, for all its less desirable qualities, did in fact have running water. It wasn’t particularly hot, but a quick swish of your wand had fixed that problem before you had time to dwell on it. You’d conjured up a rag and a bar of soap, then stepped into the warm, soothing water and got to work without a sound. The tub had been emptied and refilled twice, and you’d scrubbed your skin raw about four separate times, but once the soapy water ran clear, you decided you had stalled for long enough. 

The clothes you had magicked up for yourself weren’t pajamas. The pants were snug, thick, and the interior was lined with wool. You’d slipped a grey shirtwaist on, the top button reaching just below your clavicle, and the long dress coat you had conjured up was lined with fur and pearly buttons. It was currently hung up in the chifforobe for later, along with a pair of laced leather boots. 

Maybe it was overkill, but you weren’t about to be caught dead out in the cold in such thin clothing a second time. If you were lucky, you would go the rest of your life without seeing snow ever again. 

Your hair was slightly damp still, but there wasn’t much you could do about that presently. At the very least, you had been able to detangle it with an ivory comb instead of your fingers. Gathering it off the nape of your neck, you sighed and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. The hot bath had helped with the lingering soreness radiating from your bruises, but what you really wanted was another vial of Wiggenweld. One or two more would do the trick, and then the evidence of what had transpired in the castle would be a distant memory. 

At least, you hoped it would be. 

Soft voices filtered through the crack beneath the door, and you knew Sebastian was likely still waiting for you to call him inside. You needed to talk to him– to get the discussion over with before you lost your nerve and ran off into the sunset. Where you would go, you didn’t know, but you were in self-preservation mode to the nth degree, and sticking around to run into Victor Rookwood was the last thing you wanted. 

Everything was such a fucking mess. 

You stayed on the bed for a few extra minutes, inhaling deeply through your nose and exhaling slowly through your mouth. It was one conversation. You could have one conversation with him, and if you didn’t like what you heard, you could leave. Curing Anne was a valiant goal, but it seemed secondary to keeping yourself safe, especially considering Ominis had been dutifully taking care of the younger twin this entire time. 

The mere thought of going back on your promise to Sebastian made you bristle, though. 

Lifting up your wand, you cast Lumos and stared at the pulsating orb for a couple seconds, then flicked it towards the door. The ball of light broke away from the tip of your wand, rising and falling listlessly as it took itself to where you willed it to go. It plunged down towards the thick gap beneath the entrance, slipping under and disappearing into the lobby of the inn. You knew it had reached Sebastian when the orb zinged back into your room, reattaching itself to your wand before the glow steadily faded, then vanished entirely. 

On cue, there was a soft knock of arrival. Sebastian’s head poked through the doorway, his eyes scanning the dim room in search of you before spying you atop the bed. He flashed you a small smile as he let himself in, but it was tight, stiff, and  obviously forced. 

“Feeling better?” he asked as he strode across the room, his usual swagger absent from his gait. 

You nodded as he sat down on the edge of the bed, your hackles rising against your will at the close proximity. You knew he wouldn’t hurt you, but that didn’t make any of this easier. “I’m surprised this place has any functioning plumbing. It’s decrepit.” 

Sebastian huffed out a dry laugh, turning to look at the missing strips of wallpaper above the bathroom door. “Yeah, it’s not exactly fit for a king. We’re still in France– in some backwater village. Colmar, I think. It was the best place we could wait while Ominis went to get you. It’s been mostly abandoned for a long time since the whole town is still recovering economically from some muggle war.” 

Well. That explained the lack of people, at the very least. 

“And Anne? Is she really here?” Sebastian looked back at you, nodding once as the corners of his lips pulled down into a grimace. “Have the two of you seen one another since you escaped?” 

“Only from afar, and it was always a one sided affair. I never wanted her to know I was around. Hanging out near St. Mungo’s didn’t seem wise, which is why Devlin and I put a few implants at the hospital. They keep an eye on Anne and update me with any news of her.” 

“That must have made for an awkward reunion then,” you muttered, training your gaze down at your hands. Your palm was sweaty where it was curled around your wand, but you refused to put it down. Truthfully speaking, you’d had your fingers coiled around the thin handle from the moment Devlin had handed it to you. 

Sebastian watched you for a moment, his eyes roving over all of you in a nano-second. “You didn’t call me in here to talk about my sister, though. What’s happening in that pretty little head of yours, princess?” 

The way your heart fluttered and your resolve weakened in response to the nickname wasn’t ideal. This was serious, and you couldn’t let yourself be distracted by his suave one-liners or that playful glimmer in his eyes. Sighing, you rolled your shoulders back and lifted your chin to stare at him head on, and when he caught sight of your resolute expression, his half-smile vanished. “Henri made a comment while I was with him. I don’t think he expected for me to hear it since I was– well, I shouldn’t have been able to pick up on it, but I did. He mentioned something about you.” 

“About me?” Sebastian cocked his head to the side, “I suppose I should be flattered that I have fans talking about me all the way out in bumfuck nowhere.” 

You furrowed your brows and frowned, “This is serious, Sebastian.” 

“Obviously. You’re kind of scaring me here. Just tell me what he said.” 

“That’s just it,” you admonished with a groan. “I can tell you what he said, but I don’t think you’ll be able to tell me if there’s any truth to it.” 

Sebastian’s expression turned grave, and he pivoted so he was facing you fully before scooting forward slightly. “You can talk to me about anything, princess. Yes, there are some topics I can’t go into graphic detail about, but I wouldn’t be outright deceitful. You can trust me on that.” 

“I know. But you told me before that you couldn’t say much about your escape from Azkaban because of an Unbreakable Vow. What Henri said… I’m sure it has to do with that.”

It was barely perceivable– just a slight narrowing of his eyes at the same time his lip twitched– but you still caught the movements. He was nervous. “Tell me. If I can’t answer, then you’ll know you’re right.”

Fair enough. You anxiously ran your fingers along the wood of your wand, your eyes boring into Sebastian’s as you gathered the nerve to say what had been eating you alive for days now. “Henri said you’re Victor Rookwood’s protegee. Are you?”

Sebastian visibly paled, and his lips pressed firmly together. His eyes skirted away from yours to widen at the wall, and then there was silence. Loud, deafening silence as his answer, and your chest tightened uncomfortably. 

It was true. 

“Why? What the fuck, Sebastian?” Your voice was tight and cracked when you said his name, which only served to make him close his eyes entirely. “There’s no way. I killed Rookwood– he’s been dead for five years.” 

He shook his head before letting it sag between his shoulders, leaning away from you completely since that was apparently easier than looking at your crestfallen expression. “He’s… well, he’s not exactly at his peak anymore.” 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

“I–” he swore under his breath, sitting up to rake his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what I can tell you. I’m not able to be as transparent as you might like, but believe me when I say I wish I could tell you everything.” 

“Well that’s reassuring,” you snapped, bitter sarcasm dripping from every word as your hands trembled with anger. “That makes all of this so much better. You want to tell me, but you can’t, but you wish you could. Real sound arguments there, Sebastian.” 

“For Merlin’s sake– what do you want me to say?!” Standing up quickly, Sebastian took to pacing along the length of the bed, his body coiled tighter than a spring. “You know I’m sworn to silence. Everything about my arrangement with Rookwood pretty much falls into the ‘do not mention’ category. The hows and the whys– I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, princess.”

He was right, but that didn’t make you any less resentful. Scowling, you crossed your arms over your chest, watching ruefully as Sebastian threaded his fingers together behind his neck. “Well, is there anyone who can tell me what I want to know? Or are all of your lackeys under the same gag order?” 

He shot you a biting look in response to the petulant way you spat the word, but you saw the gears in his head turning all the while. His hesitation confirmed that there was absolutely someone else you could talk to. Around a heavy sigh, Sebastian finally said, “Devlin can fill you in. I’m the only one stuck with the unique circumstances. But I need to be there for the discussion.” 

The words had barely left his mouth before you were standing, already storming over to the bedroom door with purpose driving your every step. You heard him say something along the lines of ‘hold on’, but you were done waiting. You wanted the truth, and you wanted it now. 

Devlin was still seated at the long table in the middle of the lobby. He had moved so he was closer to the firepit, his head bowed over a strip of parchment, but it snapped up at the sound of your thundering footsteps closing in on him. His brows furrowed when he caught sight of Sebastian jogging to keep up with you, and the question he had aimed at his boss was cut off by your harsh bark of, “You. Talk.” 

“Come again?” Devlin scooted his chair out and braced his hand on the back as though he were about to stand and make himself scarce. Apprehension was visible on his face, and you didn’t doubt you looked to be ten different kinds of pissed off. 

Sebastian sighed behind you as you yanked on the chair across from Devlin, the legs scraping against the floorboards as you aggressively threw yourself into it. The older man’s eyes jumped from Sebastian to you, then back to Sebastian as he hesitantly turned around to settle into his seat once again. “I’m a little worried here, Sallow.” 

“I would be too,” Sebastian muttered, and you didn’t bother looking at him as you made a particularly vulgar gesture at him from over your shoulder. 

“Talk,” you repeated. “Tell me about Rookwood. Tell me everything.” 

Devlin’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth falling open as he turned his full attention to Sebastian. “How did you– what the hell did you tell her?” 

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Sebastian hissed. “Henri and his fat, French mouth did, though.” 

“Well. Shit.” 

You were seconds away from lobbing chairs at both men. “If I have to ask again, I might start breaking things.” 

A long, drawn out groan came from Sebastian, and he moved to sit down in the seat next to you. You tensed uncomfortably but otherwise said nothing. Now wasn’t the time to get pissy about his close proximity to you. Devlin, for all intents and purposes, looked to be on the verge of soiling himself, and it wasn’t until Sebastian gave him a stiff nod of confirmation that the elder Ashwinder looked back at you. “What do you want to know?” 

Thank the gods. “How about you start with how he’s alive? He wasn’t exactly in great shape when I saw him last. I honestly thought I’d killed him.” 

Devlin looked puzzled at your words for a moment before something dawned on him, and then the confusion was swiftly replaced with surprise. “You’re the one who messed him up five years ago?” 

“If by ‘messed him up’ you mean I broke damn near every bone in his body and left him for dead in a field, then yes. How do you know about that?” 

Sitting back in his seat, Devlin chanced a look at Sebastian, who still looked incredibly put off by the circumstances. “Everyone knows about that. Victor was as close to dead as they come after that whole ordeal. Medics tried healing spells and potions, but they could only do so much to help. The damage was too severe– everyone was stumped by the magic that had done it because it ran deep enough to scar his soul or something. I’m no doctor, but I can tell you that no one expected him to live. To this day, he’s what you might call a shell of the man he once was.” 

Perfect. So you hadn’t actually killed Rookwood– you’d just crippled him for life. For some reason, that didn’t make you feel any better. “I should have thrown him around harder, then. How does Sebastian factor into this? Why is he working for Rookwood?” 

The almost casual way you spoke about murder made Devlin gape at you, but he recovered fairly quickly, rubbing his temples as he got to work dredging up the past. “Right… well, the short version of the long story is this: it took a long time for Victor to recover from his fight with you. By the time he was functional– or, uh, somewhat functional– he knew he needed a replacement. Someone to take up the mantle and act on his orders. He might have been weaker physically, but he didn’t want to relinquish control of his position entirely. He had heard about Sebastian ending up in Azkaban and decided that he had potential, so he orchestrated the whole breakout from the sidelines.” 

That made next to no sense to you. Glancing at Sebastian, you saw that his spine was ramrod straight. It looked like he wanted to say something, but it wasn’t like he could insert his own opinions on the matter. At least, not without keeling over and dying at the hands of that damn Vow he’d foolishly made. Idiot. 

“Why Sebastian?” you asked, turning to look back at Devlin. “Why not a dark wizard he was already familiar with? You’re telling me he went out of his way to break a teenager out of Azkaban instead of just passing the reins to someone closer?” 

Shrugging, Devlin began toying with the corners of the parchment in front of him. “I honestly don’t know. Plenty of people objected to the decision, but he was dead set on getting Sebastian for some reason.” 

“Even immobile, old men can’t resist my wit and charm,” Sebastian deadpanned beside you. The joke fell flat, however. 

“Rookwood saw Sebastian with me in Hogsmeade years ago,” you recalled cautiously, the memory of that day vivid and clear as though it had happened yesterday. “In The Three Broomsticks– he cornered both of us with Harlow. He already knew the two of us were friends… could that be why he wanted him?”

Devlin’s puzzled expression told you that he didn’t seem convinced by your logic, which only served to frustrate you further. “Maybe, but I doubt it. You were both totally unassuming kids at that time. It’s more believable that Victor didn’t even recognize Sebastian after getting him out of Azkaban.” 

Your scowl deepened at the same time your nails began to dig into the table. It was too big of a coincidence for you to overlook. Devlin didn’t understand– he hadn’t been there to witness Rookwood’s desperation as he’d stared you both down in the middle of the pub. He had to have known that you and Sebastian had history. Why else would he have gone to such extreme lengths to break a random man out of prison, just to sic him on your trail?

It was too convenient. Too perfect.

“Anyway, Sebastian has been running the show in Victor’s stead ever since. It was agreed that he would take over in exchange for help curing his sister. It was Rookwood who suggested using the relic to do it, and it was his idea to track you down to get it open.” 

Oh. 

Oh.

If you’d been reeling before, now you were spiraling. It was as if a rug had just been yanked out from under your feet. Your heart fell into your stomach, and your head suddenly felt fuzzy. The repository’s magic buzzed to life beneath your skin, reacting to your emotions and making your hair stand on end as it charged the air around you. Sebastian heard your strangled intake of breath and side-eyed you warily, obviously feeling the dark power rolling off of you. Devlin looked like he wanted to be anywhere other than here. 

Sebastian had lied. He had looked you right in the eyes and lied about everything. 

It had never been his idea to come find you. The map you’d found in his office littered with dates and ancient magic sites was a direct result of Rookwood sending him after you, because of course he would. There wasn’t a single doubt in your mind that Victor wanted vengeance for what you’d done to him. Since he knew you and Sebastian had been friends, he must have figured that using him would make it infinitely easier to accomplish that feat. Maybe Sebastian was just a tool for Rookwood to utilize, and maybe he really was none the wiser to his mentor’s true motives, but he had still played you. 

He had fooled you. He’d cozied up to you and gotten you to lower your guard. He had kissed you and wooed you and made you feel things you had never experienced before, all while fibbing through his teeth. His silver tongue had simultaneously crafted the finest of flattery alongside the most convincing of lies, and you’d gone and believed all of it. The betrayal you felt in that moment cut sharper than any blade, and you truly didn’t think you’d ever been so hurt in your entire life.  

Sebastian said your name, pulling you out of the suffocating pit of aggrieved thoughts you found yourself drowning in. Slowly, you twisted your head to the side to stare at him. There was nothing but vast emptiness in your gaze– an impassive coldness that brought a crestfallen expression to Sebastian’s face. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his brows pinching together as he reached out to take your hand in his, but you yanked the limb away before he could touch you. He winced as though he’d been burned, then let his arm fall back to the table. “I would have told you if I could. But none of this changes the fact that I need your help.” 

He couldn’t possibly be serious. You scoffed harshly, curling your hands into tight fists. The power rippling through the room intensified in that moment, and you could have sworn you heard Devlin gag. 

“It changes everything! I’m not nearly as stupid as you think– Rookwood sent you after me because he hates me. He probably wants to kill me himself when the time comes, and he knew that you would be the perfect little delivery boy. Breaking you out of Azkaban, sending you after me, then promising to help you with Anne– it makes no sense! That loathsome cockroach could have probably cured her himself if he really wanted to! But no! This?” You gestured wildly at the room, broadly referring to everything about the situation. “All of this is about him getting revenge. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Devlin sat forward, holding his arms up and fixing you with a stern look that left little room for argument. “I know you’re worried, but Rookwood couldn’t cast a simple charm if you paid him to do it. His magic isn’t what it used to be. He’s more like a squib now than ever before, and he’s definitely not a threat–” 

“What do you mean he could have cured Anne?” Sebastian interrupted. You and Devlin both turned to look at him, and you pursed your lips as you took in the frantic gleam in his dark eyes. The flickering light from the firepit cast a foreboding shadow all across his face, and his voice wavered as he asked, “What makes you think he would have any ability to fix her curse?” 

“…You don’t know? Ominis never told you?” Some of your righteous anger evaporated as you realized what you had thought in your cell was correct; Sebastian wasn’t aware of Victor’s role in Anne’s suffering. 

His jaw hardened, and the paranoid glint in his eyes amplified. “No one has told me a damn thing. What the hell are you on about?” 

“Victor is the one who cursed Anne,” you murmured firmly, taking care not to sound boastful about the whole thing. It wasn't Sebastan’s fault he’d been fooled by his apparent mentor. It was kind of tragic, really. 

It was also incredibly predictable. 

He was up and out of his seat in a heartbeat, his fingers buried in his hair as he planted himself directly in front of the firepit. Between your dark magic filling the lobby and Sebastian’s palpable fury joining it, the inn suddenly seemed five times smaller than before. With his back to you, the tension in his posture was visible, and you and Devlin both cast warning glances at one another. The modicum of disbelief on the older man’s face told you he hadn’t known that tidbit of information either. “When did he tell you?” 

You stammered for a moment, “He didn’t exactly admit it outright, but–” 

“What did he say?” 

Shit. That was the voice of a man on the brink of erupting. Despite your justified anger at him and the situation as a whole, you willed your body to calm down, swallowing thickly as you stared at his back and psyched yourself up to break the gut-wrenching news to him. 

“Before he brought me to that field, he tried convincing me to work with him. When I refused, he got angry and started yelling about how he should have known better than to try reasoning with a child. He…” Your hands shook as you momentarily relived the terror you had felt in that moment. Outside of that wand shop in Hogsmeade was where you’d realized that Victor Rookwood was capable of evil, demented things like cursing a child just for crossing his path, and you had genuinely believed that he would do the same to you. Not your bravest moment, certainly. “He told me, ‘I’ve always said children should be seen and not heard’.” 

The silence that followed your statement was the anxiety-inducing kind. No one moved. Devlin looked confused, but understood enough of what was happening that he kept his mouth shut. Your eyes were glued to Sebastian’s back. He was eerily still– enough so that you couldn’t be sure if he was even breathing. Tiny tremors danced down his arms, which had fallen away from his hair to curl into iron-tight fists at his sides. You’d never been one to invade other people’s privacy, but in that moment, you wanted nothing more than to listen in on his thoughts. What was he thinking? 

“I’m going to kill him.” 

Ah. He was voicing his thoughts. That helped. 

“Hold on,” Devlin chimed in, ignoring the six foot tall mass of vibrating wrath behind him. “You’re telling me that Victor was responsible for this whole mess? The curse he promised to help break was his own doing?” 

“It would appear so,” Sebastian growled. The rough timbre to his voice promised violence, and you weren’t sure if you found it worrisome or reassuring. 

Devlin sighed, sitting back in his seat and pinching the bridge of his nose. You wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up completely gray by the time the conversation was over. “So… what then? He’s been using Sebastian this entire time?” 

“To get to me,” you surmised quickly. 

“No offense, kid, but not everything is about you and your special magic.” 

You were about to send a bolt of said special magic right at Devlin’s exasperated face. “That’s rich, coming from the Metamorphmagus. Do you have any other bright ideas?” 

“Well no, but yours is just insane!” Devlin threw his hands up, “You’re saying that Victor spent the last five years orchestrating this whole plan to get a relic for Sebastian to cure his sister– the very sister he cursed himself– all for the sake of getting you in front of him so he could, what? Kill you? Get one final lick in before he kicks the bucket? I wasn’t kidding when I said the man can barely hold a wand anymore, much less cast with one.” 

“How should I know what that demented loon has planned? You’re the ones working for him. I’m just telling you what I know,” you scowled, the urge to scream and shout leaving you abruptly. This discussion… it hadn’t gone at all like how you’d anticipated. “Rookwood always wanted the repository for himself. He always planned on crossing Ranrok to get it, but obviously I beat them both to the punch. Maybe whatever prompted him to send his people after me has to do with that, or maybe it really is as simple as revenge.” 

“He’s not getting a fucking thing from any of us.” Sebastian turned away from the roaring flames of the firepit, backlit and the very definition of menacing. From where you sat, he looked massive. His stiff, broad shoulders cast a shadow across the table, and his eyes glimmered with deadly rage. “This whole thing is over. I’m done. Three years of my life spent answering to the man who cursed Anne– Victor isn’t getting another fucking second from me.” 

Devlin started to turn in his seat, looking incredibly neurotic in the face of Sebastian’s ominous glowering. “Look, we can still cure your sister–” 

“How? By playing right into Victor’s hands? Who knows if the relic will even do what he said it would. I won’t take that chance, not with Anne, and certainly not with you.” 

Realizing he was speaking to you then, you looked at him anxiously, surprised to find fierce determination etched across his dark features. The stubborn tilt of his chin left you reeling, and you couldn’t help but shift uneasily in your chair. “I don’t need you to protect me. I can take care of myself.” 

“Tell that to the bruises you were wearing earlier,” he snapped, and you audibly gasped at the same time Devlin swore under his breath. The way Sebastian recoiled immediately after told you that he regretted the words as soon as they’d left him. He pinched his eyes shut as he deflated, “I didn’t mean– fuck. I’m sorry.” 

Oh, hell no. He wasn’t going to weasel his way out of a remark like that with a pitiful apology. You braced your hands on the table and stood, the legs of your chair scraping loudly against the floor and nearly toppling over from the force of the movement. “Let me make one thing abundantly clear; if I ever see Henri again, I will kill him. Not you, not Devlin, me. I’ll do to him what I did to Victor, but this time, I’ll swing harder. I will make sure he’s as dead as can be before I set his corpse on fire, and then I will dance on the ashes. Then I’ll find whoever told him I was responsible for freeing his dragons, and I’ll do the same to them.” 

Sebastian held your stare, and you saw Devlin scrub his hands down his cheeks in your peripheral vision. “Gods, kid… that’s…” 

Ignoring the fear in the Ashwinder’s voice, you tsk’d in annoyance. Sebastian, on the other hand, actually smirked. “The princess has made her decree, Dev. You better be glad your daughter is in the clear.” 

That actually made you raise your brows, your surprise showing plainly on your face before you could school it. “Nora didn’t sell me out?” 

“Why the hell do both of you think she’s capable of something like that?” Devlin spat, standing from his seat to better defend his daughter’s innocence. “I get that she’s difficult to be around sometimes, but honestly this is just insulting to hear.” 

“In my defense,” Sebastian cast his second in command a sidelong look, “she did suggest I tell Henri. Numerous times.”

“I kind of buried the hatchet with her before everything happened. I didn’t want to believe she was the reason he knew, but I still wondered,” you admitted softly, and Devlin sighed, his frustration simmering down some. “This is hardly important, though. What are we going to do about Victor?” 

Everyone fell silent at that, and the three of you glanced at each other uncertainly. No one knew what to say. Where did you go from here? Curing Anne had been the only reason you’d stuck around at first, but now knowing that Victor had likely planned all of this for the express purpose of killing you, staying didn’t seem wise. You didn’t even know what Sebastian was going to do since he was acting on Rookwood’s behalf. Even though he had said he was done, something told you that parting from this life he’d created for himself wouldn’t be so simple. 

The triangular huddle in the middle of the lobby persisted for another minute. Sebastian looked at you, you looked at Sebastian, and Devlin just looked at the floor. All of you were at a loss, and you couldn’t believe that the last month and some change had amounted to this. Here you were, standing in an abandoned inn on the outskirts of France, having just been held captive by an insane Poacher for a week straight, only to be rescued by Ominis of all people. Your life was a fucking disaster. 

“Even with all those books you love to read, you can still be so thick sometimes, Sebastian.” 

The soft, lilting, feminine voice came from the back of the inn, and you turned to spot the source at the same time Sebastian and Devlin did. They were obviously less surprised to see her standing there, seeing as they had been aware of her presence for a while. For you, though, it was your first time setting your sights on the owner of the voice in almost five years. Despite being told that she was here, seeing was definitely believing, and your jaw dropped at the same time your eyes widened.

There was an easy smile playing on her lips and a teasing twinkle in her brown eyes, the shade identical to Sebastian’s. 

Anne Sallow stood in the doorway of her bedroom, gazing at her brother with a fondness that confused you and made your head spin.

[mrgoldmc26]

Yuna goes to School Part 1

Tags: Different sexual partners, blowjob, anal, creampie, lots of dirty talk, spanking, school sex, cum swallowing, facial, daddy kink and more...

Word Count: 7.9k

A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait for another chapter. I hope you guys like this one. Decided to try something new, not only in terms on kinks, but also writing style. Wanted to make some words stand out (in terms of their meaning), so I made them bold just add that little extra umpf to it.

Also, no way near as many pics as in my other chapters, because I wanted to keep the theme of this chapter.

The following is a Fan Fiction and should be treated as such.

"Ten more days in this shithole, and I'm free forever." Yuna thought to herself.

Life as an idol wasn't easy, especially if you were still in school. There wasn't a single spot inside the school where Yuna could go without feeling someone looking at her. Because she had debuted with Itzy at such a young age, almost 3 years ago, it meant she was by far the most popular girl in the school, and with that came great responsibilities.

There was a lot of pressure on her at all times. She couldn't get caught lacking. Yuna had to look flawless at every moment. She also had to be extremely careful with what she said and did, or else all it took was one video out of context and her career would be over, just like that. But perhaps most importantly, just like any other student, her grades had to be top-notch. Netizens would destroy Yuna online if they found out she was just as dumb as the average BTS fan...

Unfortunately for Yuna, balancing idol life with school studies was starting to get increasingly more difficult, and with the final exam just around the corner, she knew she needed help.

Knowing this, Yuna decided to head over to the school library, where she luckily found the smartest student in the whole school. He was one of those prodigy kids...a black guy that came to Korea through one of those exchange student programs. Not only was he the smartest guy in the school, but he was also in her class, which meant that if there was anyone who could help her, it was him.

"Hey...do you mind if I sit here, next to you?"

The boy was very shy, and why wouldn't he be? Hottest girl in the school wanting to sit right next to you...a celebrity, an idol, a legend in the making, and a future icon of the business...it was perfectly normal for him to feel this way towards her, especially when she wanted to be right next to him.

He nodded very quietly, and Yuna sat down next to him.

"Can you help me study for the test? I really need it." She asked, giving him the eyes.

"Uhhmm, y-yeah...of course..."

Yuna almost burst out laughing with how much the poor boy was shaking, but she managed to hold it, and instead she just smiled at him.

The two started going over the potential exercises that could show up in the test, and it was going nicely for the first couple of minutes until Yuna decided to rest her hand on his thigh, and that's when she felt a large bulge in his pants. The guy was rock hard, just from being next to Yuna, and he shifted in his seat as soon as he felt her hand touch his boner.

"Uhmmm, sorry." Yuna said, immediately removing her hand.

The guy gulped down hard, hoping that she didn't feel how hard he was for her, but Yuna knew...Yuna knew and she wanted it...badly.

It was Yuna's biggest weakness...cocks. The bigger, the better. The more, the merrier. She couldn't help herself. Not ever since Ryujin opened her doors to this side of the universe, shortly after she turned 18, almost two months ago. Ever since the day that Ryujin invited a fan backstage after a show for a special "Meet & Greet" with both of them, Yuna couldn't think of anything else other than cocks. During classes, all she could think about was which guy she should pick to bring over to the bathroom and blow him during the intervals.

Yuna never would've guessed that this shy smart boy had a big cock, but she should've, given he was black.

As for him, he lost all composure once he felt her hand on his pants. After that, he could no longer help Yuna with studies...hell...he could barely string a sentence together...

"Do you want me to take care of that?"

"Huh?...what?!"

"C'mon, I know you want it."

"B-but...we are in the library."

"Chill, look around...there is barely anyone here, plus we are like in the most hidden corner of the library. We are not gonna get caught." Yuna said, getting off her chair and sliding to her knees.

She immediately started working on his pants, unbuttoning them and pulling them down to his ankles alongside his boxers.

"Yuna, are you sure? This is cra..fuckkkkkk"

His sentence died in his mouth as soon as Yuna took his whole length down her throat. She deepthroated his enormous black cock a few times before pulling back, and she already had multiple strings of spit dripping down her chin.

"Fuck, I love sucking big black cocks." She said, giving his shaft a few strokes before sliding her lips past his dick and taking him into her mouth once again.

The guy was in utter disbelief of how he managed to get into this situation in the first place, but he didn't care. He very well knew this was his only chance of fucking a K-Pop idol, and he wasn't going to waste it. He no longer cared if he got caught, and neither did Yuna.

He remained seated on the chair and let Yuna do all the work. The 18-year-old idol happily bobbed her head up and down on his big black cock and kept slurping away. The guy threw his head back as Yuna constantly choked herself on his dick.

"Yuna...I'm not going to last much longer."

Yuna smiled with his cock in her mouth and kept sucking his dick for a couple more seconds before releasing him with a loud pop in the practically empty school library.

"Good...then don't. Stand up, fuck my face, and cum down my throat." She said, holding his massive black cock with both of her hands and rapidly stroking it whilst sliding her tongue across his sensitive tip.

Every word that came out of the mouth of Itzy's maknae fueled his lust for her, and his shy barrier was rapidly cracking. He was eager to fulfill Yuna's request, and so he stood up, put his hands on each side of her face, and started smashing his cock into the back of Yuna's throat. Yuna proudly gagged around his black cock like the naughty student that she was and took it all the way down. Her school uniform was covered in drool in just a matter of seconds, but that didn't stop him from thrusting his hips and giving Yuna all of his cock.

Seeing Yuna on her knees with her mouth stuffed full of his brown cock only made him grow in confidence, and he decided to show her this by slapping the left cheek of her face with his right hand a few times, until it became red. Yuna was loving every single second of it, and she made sure to tell him by removing his hard dick from her mouth and slapping her face with it for a couple of seconds.

Yuna's efforts on his cock sent him to a point of no return, and he quickly grabbed hold of her hair and shoved his dick right back into her mouth. Yuna's eyes were wide open as she got caught by surprise, but she didn't mind it. She loved it, actually. Loved feeling his hard cock slide past her lips each time he went in and out of her mouth. Loved feeling his heavy balls hit her chin with each thrust. And she fucking loved when he eventually blew his load inside her mouth, sending multiple ropes to the back of Yuna's throat, filling it entirely.

She tried to swallow everything, but it was too much cum, even for someone like Yuna, and she had no other option but to spit half of his seed onto her uniform. It created a large stain that would be pretty difficult to hide, but that was the last thing on Yuna's mind right now...

"Fuck, I didn't know you had so much cum."

"Yeah, well...black men always cum a lot, you should know."

"True, but I don't think the cum I've sucked out of black dicks so far compares to yours."

"Didn't you turn 18 like a month ago or something?"

"I did, but I've got some experience already...Ryujin unnie is teaching me the ropes."

Yuna's reply made his cock twitch, and it only got harder when Yuna stood up and turned around. She gave him a brief smile over her shoulder before bending over and sliding down her soaked panties.

She shook her butt a little bit, as if she was begging him to slide his dick inside her.

"Yuna, what the fuck...I...I can't. It's still sensitive."

"But it's hard, and I want it. Don't you wanna fuck my tight pussy with that big cock?"

"You are crazy..."

"Crazy for cock, yes. Now shut up and fuck me. And don't you dare pull out. I want you to cum inside me."

There was no chance in hell that he was going to give up on this offer, and so he placed his hands on Yuna's waist and started teasing her by rubbing his hard dick between her pussy lips.

"Don't tease me, please. Put that dick inside me and fuck me hard."

"I need that huge cock inside me right now."

Cock was what she craved, and cock was what she got when the guy slowly slid his entire length into Yuna's cunt. Yuna was extremely tight, which was always going to be the case given how young she was, however, luckily for him, she was indeed very wet, and with the blowjob from earlier, it made his cock slip in and out of her Korean pussy not as difficult of a task as one might think.

He pumped her at a steady pace, not slow or fast. All he wanted was to feel her walls and the way they hugged big black cock perfectly, as if Yuna was born to take such a huge dick (which she definitely was).

The longer he fucked her, the more Yuna begged him to go harder, and once he did, she started moaning loudly. His reactions were insanely fast, and he quickly put his right hand over her mouth, preventing Yuna from revealing their location to the one or two people still inside the school library at that time.

"Are you fucking crazy? Do you wanna get caught?" He asked, removing his hand so she could answer.

"Sorry...Fuckkk, I can't help it. It's too good. Your cock is just so fucking perfect...It's much bigger than any other black cock I've taken so far."

"And no...I don't wanna get caught. All I want is your cum, so please...give it to me."

"Pull my hair and pump me full of cum. I wannabe your BBC slut."

With his hand back over her mouth and now a grip on her hair, he began fucking Yuna hard and rough. Her moans might've been muffled, but anyone who would come close to their proximity, could 100% hear the sound of Yuna's cheeks getting absolutely clapped and pounded with immense force...he did not hold back, whatsoever.

At that time, the library was nothing more than Yuna's sex chamber...a place for her to be fucked and ruined by a fellow classmate that had a ridiculously huge black cock.

Yuna took his cock like a pro and let him use her as his personal toy. A few seconds of rubbing her clit after putting her hand between her legs was all it took to make her cum on his cock, and once she did, her legs almost gave up. In fact, if not for him or the table that she was currently being bent over, Yuna would've collapsed to the ground. Instead, she was able to just remain there and take his big black cock over and over and over again, with her pussy being stretched to the absolute limit.

With fear that someone else might hear him, he didn't tell Yuna that he was close and instead kept hammering away at her pussy. He fucked her balls deep, and after a couple of more minutes of using Yuna as his personal cumslut, he unloaded inside her just like she asked.

"Oh my god, fuckkkk. It's so warm...I can feel your cock throbbing inside my pussy."

"I can't believe I just fucked a K-Pop idol inside the school..."

"It definitely won't be the last time. I can guarantee you that." Yuna replied, as the guy pulled out his cock and watched as his cum slowly leaked out of Yuna's pussy and ran down her thighs before falling onto the floor.

And she was right...it wasn't the last time. For the entirety of the next week leading up to the final exam, Yuna and him fucked her all over the school, in the most hidden of spaces. She took his cock everywhere...in her mouth, in her pussy and she even let him have her ass. Yuna let him use her as his personal cumdispenser. All that Yuna could think about was him and his huge black cock, that it actually caused a huge problem for her...she didn't study. She actually didn't study...not one bit. Yuna was fucked, and not in the good way.

The final exam was a disaster for Yuna. For the next two days after the exam, she prayed that it was enough to pass. When the day of receiving her grade arrived, her professor waited for the very last minute of the class to hand out the results. He had the exams on a stack on top of his table and told everyone to grab theirs and leave his classroom. Yuna was the very last one to grab hers because she feared the worst, and her professor confirmed her fears before Yuna even had the chance to pick up her exam and look at her grade.

"Shin Yuna...what happened?"

"Professor...I don't know..."

"It pains me to do this to you...to end your career, just because of a test..."

"Please, don't do this...this can't get out...I need a passing grade, or else it's all over...my dream of becoming an idol will end." She said, walking over to his side of the desk with the most pleading face she could pull.

"Yuna...I can't do anything for you. My hands are tied. I'm sorry."

"You can't, but...maybe I can do something for you..." Yuna said, slowly reaching over to his crotch with her hand.

"Yuna, what are you doing? I can't do this."

"Your dick says otherwise." She replied, feeling his cock already getting hard.

"I can't do this...I can't risk my job."

"Nobody is going to find out. Everyone has already left."

"It's just me, you, and your big cock." She added, felling him getting harder and harder with each rub.

"Yuna...fuckkkk."

"No...fuck...shit...I can't do it. I'm married."

"Oh, come on...I see the way you look at me when I'm in class. I know you want to fuck me." She said, as she stopped working on his pants and moved behind him to give him a massage on his shoulders.

"I see the way you arrive every day...stressed. Is your wife not doing the job, Mr. Professor?"

"Is she not draining those balls properly?" She doubled down, whispering in his ear.

"Don't you wanna fuck a hot, popular K-Pop idol?"

"Yuna, please don't do this...I can't cheat on my wife. We've been married for over 30 years."

"We met in this exact school. We are high-school sweethearts. She's the only woman I have ever been with."

"Well, time to add another one to the list, then..." Yuna said, lifting her school uniform and briefly flashing him her tits.

"Yuna, what the fuck!"

"C'mon, touch them. I know you want to."

Her teacher was unable to take his eyes off her small breasts, but he remained professional, and didn't reach out for them. In the end, it didn't really matter, because Yuna reached out to grab his right arm and placed his hand directly on her tits, forcing him to feel them.

"Yuna!!!"

"Shhhhhhhhhh." She said, by pressing her finger to his lips, forcing him to stay quiet.

"Here is what's going to happen..."

"You are going to pull out your cock, and I'm gonna suck it like the good little slut that I am."

"Afterwards, I'm going to let you use me as your anal slut and you're going to pound the shit out of my asshole until you paint my insides."

"And in return for giving you the best sex you will ever have, I want you to change my grade to A+."

"Do we have a deal...daddy?"

A hard cock in his pants combined with a handful of her tits plus the dirty talk...Yuna knew she had him on the palm of his hands, and he knew that too. It was physically impossible for him to resist Yuna and the chance to fuck one of the hottest K-Pop idols of all time, even though she was still only 18 years of age.

After a brief moment of silence and consideration, only three words left his mouth.

"Lock the door."

"Victory." Yuna thought to herself.

With a smile on her face, she turned around and did what she was told. After locking the door, she walked over back to him. She tried to lean in and kiss him, but he had other plans.

He spun Yuna around and pushed her against his desk, bending her over at a 90º angle. Her head was pressed sideways against the cold steel table, and despite wanting and needing this to happen, this wasn't in her bingo card.

"What are you doing, daddy?"

"I'm going to teach you a lesson."

"A lesson of what happens when cute little girls like you decide to behave like naughty dirty sluts." He added.

"Hmmm, well, you are my teacher, so...teach me. Teach me what happens to dirty sluts like me."

"You wanna know what happens, Yuna? They get punished, and that is what I'm going to do to you...I'm going to punish you for being a dirty slut."

"Hmmmm, okay...I like the sound of that. How are you going to do that?"

Her question went unanswered, with the professor opting to remain silent and let his actions speak for themselves. He grabbed her mini skirt and pulled it down slowly, watching her supple and round butt appear from under it, only made bigger and more inviting by her perfect wide hips.

"Pfffff...of course you're not wearing any panties...fucking slut..."

Yuna just smiled and waited for her punishment. In that position, Yuna thought she was in for a nice hard spanking coming from her professor, and her thoughts were confirmed when she saw him reach for a large wooden ruler on his desk, right next to where she was bent over.

With the 18-year-old folded in half over his table and her bare butt sticking out, he raised his right arm and started giving her some nice hard slaps across her buttcheeks, as a nice warm-up for what was about to go down.

"Slap me harder, daddy. I've been such a naughty student."

"Yeah...you have. Why did you stop studding? Your grades have fallen off a cliff this past couple of weeks." He responded, not only with his words, but also with a hard smack across her ass, leaving his handprint on her cheek.

"Fuckkk...I was too busy sucking cocks left, right, and center."

"You will not make it in this industry, Yuna. One day, people will find out how much of a slut you really are, and your career will be over."

"I don't care about the future...I care about the present...the now."

"I love being a naughty, dirty, slutty, cock hungry bitch. I love sucking cocks and getting fucked by guys with big dicks."

"And right now...I want that. I want you to punish me until you deem me worthy of your huge cock, daddy."

Lust had taken over Yuna's mind, and for her, this was no longer about her grades or her future. The only thing Yuna cared about was getting fucked and used by her teacher. Yuna wanted him to dominate her, and that is what he did. He grabbed her arms and put them behind her back before taking a few steps back and admiring his work. Yuna...the 18-year-old K-Pop idol...Itzy's maknae...bent over his desk wearing nothing but the school uniform, with her holes exposed for him and him only. The grin on his face said it all, and he was ready to put Yuna in her place.

He put the ruler in his hands and gave her a swift but not too hard slap. Yuna let out a soft moan once she felt the large wooden object hit her skin, and she smiled every time he spanked her with the ruler.

"Hit me harder, c'mon. Make me your slut." She said, shaking her butt from side to side.

Her teasing only made his cock throb against his pants even more, and if Yuna wanted it harder, she was going to get it. The professor pulled his arm further than before and began hitting her with his ruler. Yuna's cheeks shook with each spank and she bit her lip hard. She was enjoying the constant stinging sensation on her buttcheeks, and the handprint that was previously on her ass had been replaced by numerous red marks. However, unsurprisingly, she wanted more.

For a horny slut like Yuna, being butt naked and bent over a table whilst getting spanked in a classroom inside the fucking school was just simply wasn't enough for her. As for her professor, it was dreamland. He had easily the hottest girl in the school, half naked in front of him. That alone in any other scenario would be enough to send any man into a euphoric state, but Yuna wasn't any other girl...

She was an 'It Girl' of the K-Pop industry. Yuna was already so famous that it was practically impossible to step foot outside without seeing her face on a big ass billboard. To have someone that famous...that talented...that rich, right in front of you and at your mercy...it's something capable of turning any man into a lust-frenzied animal, and in this case it was no different.

Her teacher kept unleashing a barrage of spanks on her ass, and those were always met with the same word.

"Harder!"

Yuna was a complete masochist, and he fucking loved that. At the start, he was a bit afraid of hitting her hard, but now he wasn't holding back anymore. With each slap, the ruler left a nasty red mark, and the sounds of it hitting her ass echoed inside the classroom.

"HARDER!"

Yuna wasn't the only one taking a beating, as all this spanking was absolutely draining his energy, and Yuna could feel that because of the longer time between each hit. He took a step back for a little bit of a breather and admired the damage that he had done. Yuna's cheeks were so red that it was as if she had decided to tan only that part of her body.

"Do you want to spank me some more, or do you want to put your hard dick inside my mouth and make me choke on it?"

"S-Shut up...shut up and spread that asshole for me, slut." He said in between heavy breaths.

Yuna didn't waste any time and put her fingers between her asscheeks. As soon as her fingertips made contact with her skin, she felt just how much pain she was really in. It was going to be a long time before she could sit her sweet ass on any surface...

She was still eager to comply, so she grabbed her asscheeks once again and spread them wide, to give him the perfect view of her tight little hole.

"Take a good look, daddy."

"That's what you will be pounding in just a few minutes."

"I can't wait to feel that hard cock filling me up and stretching me out."

"I bet your wife doesn't even take it up the ass, now does she?"

The bare mention of his wife turned all that lust into pure rage. He didn't want to be in this situation to begin with, but Yuna gave him no other option, with how naughty she behaved and talked. Without saying a single word, he grabbed her hands and put them on the table before taking a few steps back.

Yuna was completely unaware of what her teacher was going to do. Her head was pressed sideways against the table, and all she could do was wait in anticipation. The professor held the wooden ruler with both of his hands, as if he was holding a baseball bat or a katana and lifted it above his head before smashing it against her right cheek with all his strength.

"FUCK, OH MY FUCKING GOD, FUCKKKKKKK!!!!!" She cried out.

He used so much power that the ruler broke in half once it made contact with Yuna's ass. Even he was in shock once he saw one piece of the ruler flying across the room and the other one still in his hands. Yuna was in complete pain, and she definitely bit off more than she could chew. It was safe to say that she learned her lesson. She had spent so many moments inside that classroom over the years, and yet, despite all the pain she was in, this was still by far her favourite moment of being there.

A short moment of silence settled in the classroom, with them realizing that they had both crossed the line in their lust for each other. Yuna slowly turned around and looked him in the eyes, with a painful look on her face. As for him, he had mixed feelings all over the place. He had just smashed a wooden ruler against his student's ass so hard that it broke in half!!! And it wasn't just any student, no...it was Yuna. Someone who could easily buy his whole house. Someone who made more money in two years than him in his entire career as a teacher. And to add to that, he had his wife in the back of his mind. Technically, he wasn't cheating on her...he still hadn't had sex with Yuna. He could stop right here and walk away, but his cock had a mind of its own, and he knew he couldn't resist Itzy's maknae any longer.

"Are...are you ready for your reward?"

"Yes, daddy. I've never been more ready for cock in my whole life. I'm so wet for you."

"I'm going to suck your cock so good, that you won't be able to think of anyone else." She added.

Yuna was treading through dangerous waters. She made sure to avoid his trigger word, but he knew very well what she meant by that. He shot her an unpleasant look, before moving on.

"Good. Then get down on your knees and open your fucking mouth."

Despite his order, there was no chance in hell Yuna could sit with how sore her ass was, so instead she just squatted and unbuckled his pants before pulling them down. A wide smile appeared on her face once she was finally had his big cock in front of her.

Her hands immediately latched onto it, but swatted them away, which brought out Yuna's puppy eyes. It was if someone had just taken away her favourite toy.

She wasn't left sad for too long though, as he placed his hand on the top of her head and started slapping her face with his big dick. Yuna stuck her tongue out after the first couple of slaps and happily let him use her face for his pleasure.

Yuna loved feeling his ridiculously hard cock hitting her face and tongue, and he knew it. And despite knowing how much she was enjoying herself, he knew what she really wanted, and he decided to make her beg for it.

"Tell me what you want, Yuna. Say it."

"Please, daddy...push your cock down my throat."

"That's not good enough!" He replied, slamming his fist on the table.

"Put that big dick in my mouth and make me take it like the slut that I am. I know I can give head way better than your lame, ugly wife."

"Oh, shut the fuck up and take my cock, you fucking slut." He said, grabbing her hair and forcing his cock down Yuna's throat.

Yuna knew exactly how to trigger him, and she got what she wanted from him...his cock right into the back of her throat. No going slow...no time to adjust...none of that bullshit. Just straight up intense facefuck from the very start.

The professor held her head and kept pounding away at her face, fucking her throat without any mercy. Yuna's jaw was forced wide open, and she couldn't help but gag around his length each time it went down her throat.

Her mouth was filled with cock and she had drool all over her chin. Spit was constantly leaking out of the corners of Yuna's mouth, despite her having her lips wrapped tightly around his cock.

The only thing that could be heard inside the classroom was the sound of his balls slapping her chin and Yuna's gagging. Her throat was being demolished by her teacher's dick, and yet, she didn't want to have it any other way. He kept on using her as his personal fleshlight for a while longer, until he decided to stop his thrusts into the back of her throat. However, instead of pulling out, he remained balls deep inside her throat, taking on the view that he knew he would surely only see once in his life...

He admired the bulge of his cock in her neck and how pretty she looked with his dick stuffed down her throat.

"You look so beautiful with my dick in your mouth, you know that?"

Yuna smiled around his length, which made a lot of saliva escape her mouth and drip down her chin before it landed on her school uniform.

"So this is why you failed in the final exam, huh? Turned 18 and discovered your true passion...acting like a slut, sucking dicks, getting fucked and draining big cocks, huh?" He asked, letting his cock slip out of her mouth.

Before Yuna could even answer, he started slapping her a few times with his cock, just to make a complete mess of her face. Yuna smiled and let him rub is dick all over her lips as much as he wanted, before finally coming to a stop and letting Itzy's starlet answer his question. "I can't lie...my music career is no longer my number one priority."

"All I really want these days is a nice fat cock to play with and drain as much as I want." She said, opening her mouth for him to stick his shaft back inside.

He was slow this time, just enjoying the way her lips felt every time he slid his dick past them. Yuna hummed around his length and made sure to match his movements by slowly bobbing her head back and forth on his cock.

"You love that, don't you?"

"Yes, daddy. I love having dick in my mouth. I love sucking huge cocks like yours." She said, releasing him from her mouth.

"Then prove it. Show me how much you love this dick, Yuna."

His words had barely left his mouth, and Yuna already taking his cock inside hers. She started to bob her head up and down his cock rapidly, making loud slurping noises each time his dick went past her lips.

Yuna made sure not to leave an inch of his cock untouched. She ran her tongue all over his balls, coating them in her spit before popping them in her mouth and sucking on them, all whilst rapidly stroking his wet cock. She then licked the underside of his shaft all the way to the tip before pushing his cock back inside her mouth, where she immediately deepthroated his entire length over and over again, gagging and coughing all over it.

She kept was choking herself on his dick and her eyes became watery, but not once did she think about stopping or pulling away. Yuna's face was turning red with each passing second, but that wasn't going to stop her.

What did end up stopping Yuna was her insatiable thirst for having his cock deep inside her holes, and after a couple more deepthroats, she released him from her mouth with a loud pop before standing up and turning around.

"Are you ready to pound my asshole, daddy?" She asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Is that what you want, Yuna? To get fucked by your teacher?"

"Yes, I need it so badly! I want to be your naughty, slutty student, bent over your desk, waiting for her teacher's dick."

"I'm going to make you scream on my fucking cock." He whispered at her ear, before pushing her back down on the table, with her head against the cold steel surface.

Instead of going straight into the action, he decided to tease her just a little bit by running his finger up and down the length of her pussy lips. Yuna's juices were starting to drip down her legs, and her teacher used it to lube her asshole up, rubbing his fingers against her tight hole.

He then spat on his fingers and shoved three inside her asshole, basically giving her a signal that he wasn't here to play nice...Yuna was going to get it and she was going to get it hard.

Yuna let out a couple of moans once she felt his fingers enter her tight little bumhole. Her professor began pumping them in and out, stretching her as much as possible to prepare her for his big fat cock.

"You don't need to waste any time stretching me, daddy. I want your cock right now."

"I want you to break me in half, fill my tight little hole with your hot cum and claim my asshole for yourself."

Yuna's request was loud and obvious, and he was eager to give her what she wanted. He grabbed his cock and pressed it against her hole before slowly pushing his hips forward until his entire length was buried inside her tight butt.

"Oh god...fuckkkkk. That's just what I needed."

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head once she felt his whole shaft inside her, and once he slowly pulled back, Yuna knew it was about to go down.

The teacher thrust his hips inside her and began fucking her asshole. Not slow, not fast. Just the perfect pace, giving her the perfect amount of pain and pleasure without blowing his load so soon.

Her moans became slightly louder with each thrust, and they echoed inside the room. Yuna's breasts were pressed against the table, and her asscheeks jiggled every time his hips met hers.

It was practically heaven for Yuna, especially when she felt his balls slapping her pussy. The longer they went at it, the better and louder it got.

"Give me that cock. Just fuck me as hard as you can. I can take it, daddy."

"Who's a good slut for daddy's cock?" He asked, grabbing her hair with one hand and slapping her sore asscheeks with the other.

"I am, daddy! I'm your anal slut."

"I am nothing but a K-Pop idol that loves taking huge dicks up her ass!" She cried out, closing her eyes as he kept on pounding her tight hole.

Just like she had said it, Yuna was indeed his anal slut, and he loved it. Yuna's walls were squeezing him for all his worth, and he could feel the pressure building up. It was time to dump his thick load inside her asshole.

He held her hips tightly and increased his speed. If when he was spanking her earlier on, he made sure Yuna couldn't sit for a week, now he was making sure Yuna wouldn't be able to walk for a week. Yuna was being treated like an absolute fuckdoll, and she was moaning every step of the way. She curled her toes as she felt his cock splitting her open and stretching her butt, and it was becoming too much for her to handle, even for a total cumslut like Yuna.

"Oh, Yuna...I'm so fucking close."

"Fill my ass with cum, please."

His dick was going in and out of her ass as fast as he could, and with a young moaning mess like Yuna bent over in front of him, begging for cum, it was too much for him to handle and he ended up unloading a huge amount of cum inside the 18-year-old.

Almost immediately he slumped backwards, balancing himself on a student's table, and watched as Yuna remained in position, unable to move due to the pain.

"Ahhhhh, fuckkkk...daddy. So much fucking cum for me." She said, reaching for her ass and feeling the cum leak out from her butt.

She put a finger inside and collected some of his seed before bringing it to her mouth, where she unsurprisingly poured it on her tongue to taste it.

"Hmmmm...so warm and tasty. I could drink this all day long."

Tired and drained from this extracurricular activity, her teacher stood up and quickly picked up a pen before changing Yuna's exam grade.

"There, done. You got what you wanted. Now, please....leave my classroom."

"Oh, we are not done yet. I'm not leaving until I get my pussy fucked and my face covered in cum."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"I'm not. Plus, I can see that your toy is still hard for me." Yuna said, making her teacher roll his eyes into the back of his head and sigh in disbelief.

"Don't you see how wet I am for you?" She added, grabbing his hand and making him touch her wet folds.

"You are fucking crazy, Yuna..."

Her teacher caved in and began voluntarily dipping his fingers inside Yuna's pussy as the two started making out with one another. The young starlet hummed into his mouth, and the older man explored the maknae's cunt. This lasted for a couple of minutes before Yuna's thirst for cock got the better of her.

"Your cock. My pussy. Now!"

"Is that what my cumslut princess wants?" He said, putting his thumb inside her mouth and making her suck on it.

Yuna shook her head up and down and slowly swirled her tongue around his finger. Her teacher smiled and told her to turn around and place her hands on the edge of his desk. The idol patiently awaited for his next move, and after a few seconds, she felt a pair of hands on her ass. It was still sore due to all the slapping that it had endured earlier on, and she let out a soft cry because of it.

Her whimper became a moan when the professor introduced his tongue inside her cunt and started lapping at her folds.

"Oh fuck, daddyyy, hmmm. Keep eating my pussy...just like that."

He feasted on Yuna's pussy like it was a goddamn buffet, constantly swirling his tongue inside it and tasting her juices before spitting in it. The deeper he shoved his tongue in Yuna's cunt, the louder she moaned. She shut her eyes and her mouth fell open as he kept working her over. The way he was going at it, it was only a matter of time before Yuna came, and she had zero intentions of letting that happen...the only way she was going to cum today, was with his cock buried in her young fertile pussy.

"I'm going to cum if you keep that up, daddy."

"And that's a bad thing because...?"

"I want you to do it with your cock, please."

"Fuck, you are such a greedy little cock slut." He said, standing up and slapping her ass one more time just for good measure.

Having sex with Yuna had drained so much energy from him, that he had to take a moment to grab a water bottle from his bag and take a sip, or else he might've had passed out inside her, not that Yuna would complain...she probably would've ridden his cock until he woke up a few hours later...

After several seconds, he made his way back to Yuna and grabbed her leg, putting it on top of the table. He had seen way too many fancams of her, so he knew she was flexible and could easily take his big white cock in this position. He grabbed his thick shaft and rubbed it all over her pussy lips, sliding it back and forth across her folds and coating it in her wetness, much to Yuna's annoyance, as she just wanted to get fucked hard and nothing else.

"What are you waiting for, daddy? Put it in and start fucking the shit out of me."

If it wasn't for Yuna begging for his cock like the absolute slut that she was, he swore that he could've spent hours just looking at Yuna in that position...a leg on the floor and another one on top of the desk, creating the most perfect 90º angle he had ever seen. Her holes were out and in full display, with some cum still dripping down her leg...she was impossible to resist.

Most people thought that Yuna was like the forbidden fruit...nobody could have her. Except, that very much wasn't the case. Any guy half decent looking and with a big cock could have a crack at her and her tight holes, and thankfully for her teacher, he was him.

After slapping her asscheeks with his hard shaft a couple more times, he pushed his cockhead past her cunt, and he watched how her tight teen pussy swallowed the entire length. Thankfully for him, it was no way near as tight as her ass, but even then, her pussy wasn't very far behind.

Yuna couldn't help but bite her lower lip as her teacher's cock stretched her walls out. She looked over her shoulder and watched him as he slowly began to pump his dick in and out of her tight pussy.

The face Yuna was making as she was getting her pussy pounded hard was so insanely sexy that he couldn't help but grab her hair and pull her in for a kiss. Yuna moaned into his mouth as he kept thrusting in and she couldn't wait for his second load of the day.

"Your pussy feels so good wrapped around my cock, Yuna."

He stopped kissing her and put a hand on the side of her neck to be able to watch her dead in the eyes. Yuna's mouth was wide open and her forehead was touching his. The two were so close to each other that the teacher could feel the heat irradiating from her body, but he wanted more. His hands moved to the bottom of her school uniform and he pulled it over her head, leaving Yuna only with her boots on.

Almost immediately, her breasts became the center of attention, as her professor couldn't keep his hands off them whilst he continued hammering away at Yuna's pussy. Her back was completely arched, and the position she found herself in was a testament to how insane her flexibility was. Yuna was made to be fucked...simple as that.

Everything about her was pornographic. Her gorgeous face, her insane body and her tight holes. She was perfect, from top to bottom, and she very much was a bottom. Yuna loved being a submissive slut for guys with big cocks, and with the constant pleasure of getting her pussy railed hard and fast by her teacher, combined with having his hands pinching her nipples, she couldn't hold any longer and came on his cock.

Her orgasm hit her so hard, that if it wasn't for him holding her in his arms, she would've fallen face first into his desk. Thankfully that didn't happen, and instead he kept fucking Yuna like there was no tomorrow, feeling his own orgasm approaching.

"You are such a fucking whore, you know that, right? Cumming on my cock like that."

"I know, daddy. I'm such a whore for big dicks. I love spreading my legs and letting guys use me however they like."

Her dirty talk was the final nail in the coffin, and he quickly pulled out and dragged Yuna onto her knees, where he started stroking his big dick and aiming it right at her face. Yuna wasted no time in sticking her tongue out whilst she rubbed her pussy like the good little slut that she was proud to be.

"Beg for it, Yuna. Tell me how much of a slut you are."

"I want your cum, daddy."

"I need you to cover my face with it and turn me into your personal cumdumpster."

He grinned from ear to ear and held her face close with one hand whilst he kept jerking off with the other until he finally shot his load all over Yuna's face, with some spurts going directly into her mouth. He took a few steps back and looked at the complete mess that he had done. Yuna's entire face was coated with his cum. Her cheeks, forehead, eyelids, nose, lips and even hair all had cum blasted on them.

Yuna giggled upon feeling so many warm spurts land on her face, and once she stopped feeling that pleasant sensation, she took his dick into her mouth to completely milk him dry out of every last drop.

Some of the cum on her face had started to drip down her chin and drop onto her tits when she released his girthy cock from her lips, and she wasted no time in collecting that same cum and pouring it in her mouth.

"Hmmm...just as tasty as the first time."

"Thank you so much, daddy."

"I love draining cocks dry, especially when they are massive like yours."

"The pleasure was all mine, Yuna...trust me."

Yuna smiled before standing up and picking up a tissue from her bag to clean up her face and try to be as presentable as one can be after being completely fucked for the past hour. As for her teacher, he put his clothes back on and watched the young starlet as she was fixing herself. Even though he looked at a naked Yuna dressing up, all he could think about was how on earth he had managed to have sex with an insanely hot and famous K-Pop idol, who practically threw herself at him.

"I should probably go." She said, grabbing her stuff.

"Hey, don't forget your exam...you deserve it, after...you know..."

"Thanks. I hope you had fun, daddy. And just remember...if you need your cock drained, or want me to be your little slutty student again, I'm all yours."

"My...my wife is out of town for the weekend, actually...if y-..."

"Say no more. I'm in!"

"Actually...I'm in as long as you promise me you'll fuck me where your wife sleeps."

"You fucking little slut....."

End of part 1

[artificialroux]

MAISIE & MISTY QUIGLEY 🐁🦜

— a sister is both your mirror and your opposite

maisie quigley is part of the journalism club and yearbook staff, one of their most passionate members. she's eighteen, a full year older than misty. she grew up close to misty — their bond was intense, weird, and totally sincere. they performed skits, plays, and spooky “shows” at family gatherings — everything from haunted house tours to over-the-top reenactments of ghost stories. while misty idolized her, maisie was often quietly worried about misty's intensity and her hunger for approval.

she joined the journalism club mostly as a way to stay busy and snoop on people (“everyone wants to be remembered — they just don't know how ugly it looks.”) she ended up on the fateful plane trip because she was assigned to help document the soccer team’s championship journey. her and misty call each other “maze” and “missy” affectionately, they are close as sisters can be, maybe a bit codependent.

maisie is eccentric but in a different flavor from misty — she's outwardly charming and socially a little better at hiding her “offness,” but once you talk to her for more than a few minutes, it’s clear she’s just as weird. she has a strange sense of humor — loves macabre jokes, weird trivia, and “fun facts” that aren't actually fun. she's overly theatrical; she’s that girl who treats regular conversations like performance art. she is a little bit vain; she likes attention and thinks of herself as a misunderstood genius.

she gets most of her clothing from the thrift store, like misty, her aesthetic is vaguely 80s mixed with 90s schoolgirl looks: lots of thrifted cardigans, clunky shoes, odd jewelry (e.g., mood rings, lockets with nothing inside), lacy socks, mismatched nail polish. misty definitely copied some of her vibe — the chunky shoes, the colorful socks, the earnest but awkward way of presenting herself. maisie carries around a disposable camera everywhere for yearbook and journalism club, she even says she’s documenting “the end of an era” in a totally dramatic way.

being apart of yearbook / journalism club, she is the unofficial “historian” of the school. she is definitely over-involved in weird extracurriculars (debate team, tried to start a “macabre literature” club that nobody joins, besides misty.) she knew about the soccer team mostly through yearbook coverage — wasn't supposed to go to nationals but she tags along to “capture the moment.” post crash, she takes a lot of photos early on — documenting the crash site, their food rations, early cabin life.

her relationship with misty is deeply codependent, even if they fight sometimes. misty worships her a little — everything about misty's attempts to connect with people later partly comes from trying to recreate the weird little world she and maisie had together. they definitely did musical performances at family gatherings (like showtunes, or weirder stuff like reciting edgar allan poe together.)

while misty loves birds, maisie adores rodents! she also dyes her hair brown, which makes her curls pretty bleach damaged so they're more frizzy and unkempt than her sisters, especially since she teases them and brushes them out dry. while misty serves as a medic and later a cook in the wilderness, maisie is something of a scribe, a keeper, a historian. she keeps detailed records: writes down major events, food supplies, weather patterns, and (later) the group's evolving myths, rituals, and “legends.” she maintains a survival calendar: noting how long they've been stranded, seasonal changes, and tracking who is alive/missing. finally she acts as the memory-keeper for the group: the one who remembers when someone made a sacrifice, when someone broke a rule, when a tragedy happened.

tags ;; @dippindotties @logansdogmotif @chshiresgrin @antlrrqueen @orangecatsmissingbraincell @rippedpatches @soapysbouquet @ohno-people

[the-anonmaton]

Over the Edge, or Not

Relationships : Sevika x Reader Characters : Sevika, Original Female Character Rating : Explicit Tags : Smut, Oral Sex, Cunnilingus, Vaginal Fingering, Strap-Ons, Rough Sex, Top Sevika (Arcane: League of Legends), Light Dom/sub, Dom Sevika (Arcane: League of Legends), bottom reader, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Orgasm Delay, Overstimulation, Edging, Safewords, Soft Sevika (Arcane: League of Legends), Sadism Words : 4,847 Summary:

What about Sevika not letting you come?

**********

You are lying sprawled on the bed, hands gripping the sheets, knuckles turning white, back arching every few seconds, trying to keep your head up to look but always ending up falling back on the pillow, legs open, occasionally wildly thrashing on the mattress, thighs shaking. The cause of it all, the woman lying down between your legs, the Brute of Zaun, Sevika.

She’s been licking and sucking and eating your pussy for only the Gods know how long. For you it feels like hours have passed. She has her hands on your thighs, gripping them hard and forcing them open, so she can have you as open as she can, only for herself. Her tongue is everywhere, dipping inside you, collecting the evidence of your arousal, licking your pussy lips, flattening against them and spreading them, circling your clit, forcing it out of its hood and sucking it. Hard. You are once again at the end of your rope, feeling your orgasm approaching, but you know what’s coming. Every time it seems like she’s going to let you finally come, she’s slowing down. Your grunts of frustration only making her chuckle, kiss your thigh and get to work once more like nothing had happened.

"That's my good girl."

"Please…"

You're not coming… yet.

**********

It’s been a while since she added her fingers to her play. She now has her metal arm under your thigh and over your stomach, putting force with her cold palm just below your navel, holding you down. Her warm hand is at the point of her attention, two fingers knuckle deep inside you. She's mostly favoring gentle strokes, putting light pressure on your front wall, but every so often she will push harder against you, dig deeper inside you, accompanying her move with a hard suck on your clit, trying to bury herself in you.

So when it happens again you can only gasp at the sudden move, still your arched back, grip the sheets tighter and hope that she gives you your release. But she knows your body perfectly by now and she is able to keep you just at the edge, avoiding pushing you over it. You whimper when she stops, again. She stills her fingers and takes her time licking and biting your thighs with closed eyes as she's waiting for you to come down, hearing your deep breaths, feeling your thigh shake on her lips, and your walls flutter around her fingers. She waits just so she can begin her onslaught once more. She also thinks spending the time taunting you is a good idea.

"I love you like this."

"I could hear the sounds you make all day."

"Do you want to go all day, sweetheart? I sure can."

"Hmm… You take my fingers so well."

"You're so wet, I don't think two are enough right now."

"How about another one, baby?"

"Please… Let me come…" Your only response.

You think your whispered pleas have been answered as she adds another finger, starting to build you up again with her gentle movements. But you know...

You're not coming… yet.

**********

And once again she pulls back and you gasp, whimper, grunt and swear. You don't know how much more overstimulation you can take and she's going to be the death of you. What a way to go though.

"Fuck!"

"What was that?"

You shiver, heart racing, and you close your eyes so you can focus on steadying your breathing.

"Please, baby, make me come."

"But you're so beautiful like this. Besides, I don't want you coming on my fingers and mouth. I'd much rather looking at your pretty face."

Suddenly, you feel her moving from her position between your legs and off the bed. You lift your head to see her walking to the other side of the bedroom where your double dresser is. Her words are just now registering in your brain. Fuck. You know what she's about to do and you can't help the excitement, and also the dread, that are cursing through your body. Judging by how the night's been going, you are in for one hell of a ride.

You watch her mesmerized, still in her bra and boxers, as she pulls a black harness from the first drawer and starts putting it on, making sure all the leather straps are hugging her tightly. She also pulls her dark jade strap-on out of the drawer without any thought. Looks like she had a lot of time to think about which strap she wanted to use on you while she was eating you out. You watch her secure it onto the harness and turn to you with a smirk on her face and lust in her eyes. She's walking towards you and you can only think about how a hungry predator would circle its prey in the wilderness.

"I know I made you really wet, but how about we be sure, huh? We still have a lot of work."

The first part of her sentence leaves you confused for a second, until you watch her squeeze a hefty amount of lube on her palm and start applying it to the length of the strap. For all her rough handling and serious demeanor she sure as hell makes sure you always feel comfortable. A warm feeling settles in your heart and you forget about your exhaustion and overstimulation, willing to let her take anything she wants from you.

Then the second part of her sentence hits you and your eyes widen, just in time to see her reach the bed and crawl towards you and over you, the smirk never leaving her face. She's caging you, your head is trapped between her arms and your legs are forced open to accommodate her body between them. She's slowly leaning down to steal a kiss, which you happily offer. You open your mouth to allow her entrance and you feel her tongue immediately dominating yours, the taste of your arousal still on her. Your arms come up to her sides to pull her down, to feel her skin against yours.

Her bra is a nuisance though, and throughout your kissing you try to slowly glide your hands over her back with the goal of reaching the clasp so you can unfasten it. Suddenly, you feel her snatching your hands and pinning them above your head. She watches your dumbfounded expression with an infuriating smile as she brings her hips down and grinds the strap against your sensitive pussy. You gasp, arch your back and jerk your hips from the sudden stimulation.

"Must you be this cruel?" You ask breathlessly.

"Hmm, I think I must."

She accompanies her words with a squeeze of her hands that hold your wrists, with her nose tracing your cheeks and jaw, with another grind of her strap, this time pushing harder on your clit, and you can't help but close your eyes, moan and shudder. The next moment, she stills her movements and you feel her breath tickling your ear as she's whispering to you.

"You know what to say to make all of this stop, but my guess is that you want this. You want this so bad because you know how good it will feel. Am I right, baby? What do you say?"

It's true. You know the word. It's your safeword. You can say it now and you'll be coming in the next minute. It is almost tempting. But you'd be a fool not to let her have her way with you, because she's right and she knows what she's doing. You're longing for the pleasure she can give you. She's done it before and those were the hardest orgasms of your life. You only have to lie down like a good girl and let her take you in whatever way she pleases. You'd be lying if you said that her holding you down and forcing your legs apart while fucking you didn't turn you on. So you open your eyes, look up at her and see her patiently waiting for your answer, a knowing smile on her face as you swallow hard.

"Please, take me."

"Good girl."

She tightens her grip on your wrists and her hips come down again to grind on you. She keeps moving and pushing against you while watching you squirm underneath her body with a hungry expression on her face.

But you're not coming… yet.

**********

"Please…."

The friction she's providing is not enough, and she knows that. It only makes you gasp and jerk at the stimulation she's causing on your abused clit. Your legs are unable to close and you'd be a fool to think you could escape her grip on your hands.

"What was that, love?"

"Fuck me, please."

"Am I not?"

"Please, inside…"

Unexpectedly, the weight on your wrists disappears, the pressure on your clit ceases and her shadow over you vanishes. You miss her immediately, even though the air around you is a lot clearer and you feel you could breathe a little better. After a few deep breaths you open your eyes.

She's sitting on her knees between your legs, her hands stoking and spreading your thighs and coming down to your pussy, where her eyes are focusing. She opens you up with a warm thumb, purposely dipping it inside you and guiding it back up to your clit. You jerk and you make to close your legs, but she puts her metal hand on them, stopping you. After you settled down again she inches closer, the hand that was torturing your clit now gripping her strap. You shallow hard as your eyes meet.

"How about we get this party started, huh? I think you're ready for me now."

You close your eyes as she leads the strap to your clit and slides it down to your entrance. For a second you think that she's going to push inside and you moan at the prospect, but she only slides it back up to your clit. She repeats the motion a few times, toying with the pressure of each slide, making your head spin. Even though she released your arms you kept them up, holding the bars of the headboard, needing something solid to hold on, to ground yourself, lest your frustration gets the better of you.

In your haze, you only have a moment to react when you feel her finally sliding inside you. She's moving agonizingly slow, making you grip the bars harder, squeeze your eyes tighter and hold your breath. You try to push back at her, to make her bury the strap faster, but her strong hands cease your movements and you whimper.

"Please! Sevika, please, faster!"

"Patience, love. Don't be bad. Now I've got to start over. Try not to interrupt me this time."

She pulls out of you and you whimper at her punishment as she starts once again sliding the strap up and down your soaked pussy and over your clit. You're at her mercy, forced to lie down and let her take her sweet time. After a few excruciating minutes that feel like hours, she finally positions the strap at your entrance and begins pushing inside you once again. You grunt, trying not to move and only begging her to go faster. Unfortunately for you, she is literally and figuratively a rock.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll get you there."

It feels like she's mocking you. She will get you near your orgasm only to take it away from you. Maybe it's not even yours. Maybe they are her orgasms to give to you whenever she wants. If she wants. Her words swirl in your head, and you lie down patiently enduring her torture, until you feel the strap fully buried inside you. With a hum you open your eyes only to meet hers above you, smirk gone, concern evident on her face.

"You okay, baby?"

Another check-in, Gods, you love her so much. You leave the bars to bring your hands to her face, tuck her hair behind her ears and bring her down for a gentle kiss and a whisper.

"Please, fuck me, love."

You punctuate your response with your legs coming to encircle her waist and push her against you. Her smirk is back as she gives you another sweet kiss. She pulls back, settles once more on her knees between your legs, grips your thighs to keep them open and starts slowly and gently moving her hips causing the strap to slip in and out of you. You moan at the much needed friction and grip the sheets.

"You're taking me so well, baby."

But you're not coming… yet.

**********

Sevika's still fucking you at the same rhythm she started with, not once losing her momentum. You are either lucky or cursed to have a girlfriend with a stamina like hers, you still can't decide. You feel her torturous slow movements bring you closer to your much needed orgasm. You decide to open your eyes and the sight before you makes you tighten around her strap. She has her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes are glued to the point of your connection watching the strap burying in your pussy and her muscles contract with the effort she's putting into slowly fucking you senseless. You let your head fall back as your whole body shivers.

"Baby, please, faster..."

You feel one of her hands leave your thigh and the next moment pressure is applied on your clit. You gasp again, your thighs shake at the pressure and you loudly moan as you feel your pussy squeezing harder on the strap that's still slowly fucking you, never faltering. You're not surprised that she has the strength to keep going at same pace, pushing through the resistance of your walls. Maybe you're lucky after all, you still can't decide.

"Please, don't stop..."

She's not stopping, the pressure is still there and you feel yourself ready to crash.

"Please, please…."

You can only gasp out your pleas.

"I love it when you beg so well, sweetheart."

You arch your back, your grip on the sheets tightens.

"I'm gonna…"

Your leg not held down by her metal hand is thrashing on the mattress.

"Such a good girl for me."

And the pressure is no longer there.

"N-no, no…"

And your walls clench around nothing.

"P-please…"

A shiver is washing over your body and you're on the verge of tears.

"No more, please…"

"But you're doing so well, baby."

You don't dare to open your eyes. You know you'll see her smug face.

"P-please, I want to…"

A cold hand is stroking your inner thigh, a warm one your hip.

"I think this strap is not enough to make you come, how about I bring something bigger for you, huh?"

She's off the bed again and you're left lying down and panting, trying to control your breathing. Maybe you're cursed. You're inclined to make your decision right now, but something's holding you back.

You aren't coming… yet?

**********

"You know, I didn't give your tits the attention they deserve, don't you think?"

She's tracing your left nipple with the tip of her tongue, before she goes in to suck it gently in her mouth. She alternates between hard and gentle sucks, nips and licks all over your breast before moving over to pay her due diligence to its twin, while bringing her right hand to play with the one she leaves behind. You know your chest will be a canvas of bruises and teeth marks the next time you look in the mirror.

She's already buried inside you with a larger strap, the light blue this time, and she's letting you adjust to it by taking her sweet time ravishing and marking your neglected breasts. You have one hand on her shoulder feeling her strong back, and the other is threaded in her hair following the motions of her head as she's having her fun on your chest. Every now and then the strap would move, drawing a gasp out of you and causing you to jerk your hips.

"Please, Sevika, move."

"You think you're ready for me?"

"Hmm, I'm so wet for you, baby… Please…"

She chuckles as she pulls back from your chest to hold her weight up with her hands next to each of your shoulders and your arms fall to your sides from where they were holding her. She drags the strap slowly out of you and gives an experimental thrust. Your legs come up to lock behind her lower back and your hands fly to her harness to pull her deeper. You're definitely feeling the bigger size of the strap stretching you to accommodate her.

"Ahh, y-yes…"

She keeps a slow pace for a while, and then you begin to feel her picking up speed. She hasn't been like this since the start of this hellish night, when she was using her fingers and pushing roughly against you. You only dare to hope that she's leading up to giving you your much needed orgasm and you beg for good measure.

"Please, keep going, please…"

She keeps going, gradually increasing her speed and you can hear her panting over your heavy breaths. You jerk against her when she hits a particular spot on your walls and you close your eyes as a shiver runs through your spine.

"The-there…"

She hits is again, harder this time. You shout and your hands fly to grip at her triceps.

"Fuck!"

Her speed picks up again and you hear her chuckle. It's not her fastest, but you can only hope. The delicious friction she provides and the hits she's delivering on that one spot make your head spin and your eyes roll back behind your eyelids. You can hear the grunts of her effort and the sounds your wet pussy makes as she fucks you.

"So wet for me…" You swear her raspy voice just made you wetter.

Her speed picks up again and your hands are back to her sides, nails digging to pull her closer. You feel a warm hand on your breast, fingers pushing down on a sensitive bite mark, right before pinching your nipple. You moan, arch your back and push against her hand.

"So needy for my fingers…" You hear her words between her pants.

Her speed picks up again, the pressure on your nipple disappears and she shocks you by moving it on your clit. The overstimulation gets to you and you jerk your hips causing the strap to hit you in a new delicious angle and you huff out her name. You unlock your legs from behind her back and move them so you can push down on the mattress with your heels and lift yourself up in search of that angle, all the while pleading for her to give you more.

"So greedy with my cock…" You hear her words between her grunts.

"P-please, I ne-…"

Her speed picks up again and the words die at your lips. You can only howl at her brutal pace as the plunges inside your worn out pussy and at the rapid motion of her fingers on your overused bundle of nerves. You feel a knot forming in your lower stomach. She's getting you there and you think your heart is about to explode with all the exercise she's putting you through. You're panting, and moaning, and huffing, and humming, and thrashing, and gasping, and arching, and dripping, and clenching, and you're…

"H-uhh…"

She stills. Again.

"P-pl…"

You're not coming… yet.

**********

Two seconds have passed since she stopped. Through the fog that clouds your mind you register the strap still buried deep inside you, her bent body over yours, her face hidden below your chin, her lips kissing the point at your neck that's pulsing like crazy.

"What is it, baby?"

"I… Plea-" You pant as your chest is moving rapidly up and down.

"Take a breath, doll." She murmurs against your neck.

You squeeze your eyes tighter, your mouth a thin line as you swallow hard and a trembling exhale leaves your clenched teeth.

"Please… let me… please…"

You push down with your heels again but she's not budging an inch as she keeps kissing the same spot on your neck and you whimper, feeling tears gathering behind your eyelids.

"Please, baby, I need… Please…"

"What do you need?" She says before she licks your wild pulse point.

"I can't… hold… any longer."

"I think you can." Another kiss on the same spot and you feel like she's trying to burn a hole through you.

"Let me come, please…" You dig your nails harder on her back, but she only moves her mouth to kiss at your throat.

"Oh, you want to come?"

"Y-yes, please."

"How bad you wanna come, baby?" She is a fucking sadist.

"Really bad, please…"

"Really bad, huh? I wouldn't have guessed." Her tongue is gliding agonizingly slow over the length of your throat.

"Please, I'll do anything, please, move!"

"That's sounds promising. What would you do for me, honey?" She's murmuring against your collarbone now and you swallow again, your breathing only now starting to calm down.

"Whatever you tell me."

"Hmm… I don't think you understand how dangerous your offer is, baby." She licks another path with her tongue over the collarbone she's worshiping.

"P-please… Anything… Take it…" She chuckles as you try to arch your back, but a hand on your waist denies your movement and you whine.

"How about I use the spreader bar the next time?" You feel her teeth gently graze your heated skin.

"O-okay."

"And maybe bend you over, head down and ass up for me?" A kiss on your collarbone.

"Yeah, okay…"

She's moving to your other collarbone, licking and kissing wherever she can reach.

"How about tying you up, too? I don't want you moving all over the place, like tonight. What do you say, baby?"

"Y-yes, to all."

"And maybe I'll use the hexstrap, it's been a while."

"Mhhmm."

"And this time you'll be begging for me to stop."

"I will…"

"But I won't."

The thought alone makes your walls flutter. She hasn't made you cum yet and she's already thinking and planning about your next time.

"Yes, okay, p-please…"

"And you'll let me take everything from you. Isn't that right, baby?" And now she's staring at you hungrily, her face a few inches over yours, and you can feel her breath over your lips.

"Yes, everything…" You swallow hard, unable to look away.

If she was the devil you would already have sold your soul to her.

"That's my good girl."

In a blink of an eye she straightens between your legs, holds you firmly by your waist and pulls you towards her as she pushes hard against you. The strap buries deeper inside you and you gasp at the unexpected move. The repeats the motion a few times, each thrust harder than the previous one, just so she can hear the guttural sounds you make.

This time she doesn't need to pick up her speed. She's already pistoning her hips with a punishing speed, forcing you, without a warning, out of the calm state she brought you with her sweet kisses. You scream at her sudden onslaught and lift your bent legs from the bed to bring your knees towards your sides and hold them against your body with your hands. The position gives Sevika more room and you howl as she sinks herself impossibly deeper.

She's fucking you deep, hard and fast and you walk that fine line between pain and pleasure. You feel once again the knot in your stomach and your toes curl as she hits all the right spots.

"I-"

"Take what you need, baby."

And that sweet pressure is back again on your clit. She forces it out of its hood, pushes down hard on the bundle of nerves and you feel a fire engulfing your whole body. You're shaking and trying your best to keep breathing through all the moans, grunts and cries that are leaving your body. She knows what she's doing. Her rhythm doesn't falter and her movements don't show any intention of stopping.

Your senses are overloading. You feel her metal hand gripping your waist harder, her strap sinking mercilessly inside your wet heat, her fingers ruthlessly moving on your clit, your walls clenching even harder around her, and you can only pull your knees further apart with your hands and offer yourself to her. And she delivers, like she promised, like she's done all the other times.

It happened without a warning. You were feeling yourself getting closer to the edge, but it took you by surprise when she finally pushed you over it.

And you crash. Your head falls back and push hard against the pillow. Your eyes roll back behind your eyelids. Your breathing stops for what feels like an eternity. Your mouth opens in a silent scream before you inhale with a loud gasp. Your whole body shudders and spasms. Your hands move to sink your nails to the backs of your thighs, before your thrashing forces them to fall back on the bed. Pleasure consumes you from head to toe, a haze clouds your brain and you try to squeeze your breaths in between your gasps as she brings you down from your high with a steady rhythm of her hips.

"So beautiful… How about another one, huh?"

You hear her as if you are underwater. Your senses catch up to you just in time to open your eyes and see her determined face and her wild smile as she's looking down at the point of your connection.

"Wha-"

But before you can ask her what she said, she once again cuts you off with a hard thrust and you gasp.

"I thought you wanted to come, baby."

"I'm…"

Your walls are sensitive, your clit overstimulated and your exhaustion evident.

"So, how about another one?"

She repeats herself, now that she has your attention while stroking your trembling thighs, the strap still as she waits for your answer. You're trying to come down from your first orgasm, still feeling your walls fluttering around her strap and you can't but give her anything she wants. So you close your eyes, inhale through your nose, bite your bottom lip between your teeth and nod.

"That's my good girl."

She smirks, and then she moves, and then you scream again. She immediately starts pounding against you with the same speed as seconds before your first orgasm. You bring your hands back to the bars of the headboard, trying to pull and bring yourself away from her, but you're too weak and she's too strong.

"Don't."

She growls her warning and you shudder, feeling yourself getting wetter and you whimper as you're once again at her mercy, and you wouldn't have it any other way. Fueled by your disobedience she stops momentarily, so she can leave your waist, bring your thighs up and force them down towards your face, folding you in half, knees touching your chest. She keeps you there, trapped, with no way to escape and continues to fuck you as if not even a second had passed.

It doesn't take long for you to feel your second orgasm approaching and when it hits you you're coming harder than your first. You try to arch your back, move your hips and thrash your legs, but she's a mountain above you and you can only clench harder at her cock and scream. She doesn't stop her movements so she can prolong your pleasure for as long as you can take.

You grunt and moan at the shivers that are coming over you in waves. All your muscles and nerves scream at the overstimulation and you reach a hand towards her to tap at her knee.

"I got you, beautiful."

In an instant your legs are guided gently to the bed and the strap is out of you, somehow without causing any more stimulation. You hear the sounds of the harness and then a thud when it hits the floor. You feel the bed dip beside you and you half open your eyes. You see Sevika's face, eyes full of adoration, leaning towards you to give you a kiss on the forehead, her warm hand coming to gently stroke your cheek and wipe away an errand tear. You hum at the gesture, thinking that this moment was worth the night she put you through.

"Hey, baby. Are you with me?"

"Hmm… love you…"

"I love you, too, sweetheart. How about a bath?"

"Hold me first."

"Anything for you, love."

You might let her take everything from you, but you know you can have anything that is hers. So you steal her hugs and kisses until your breathing and heart rate calm down, so she can lead you to a nice bath and pamper you for the rest of the night and the following day.

**********

taglist : @opropheticsoul @archangeldyke-all

Thanks for reading! :)

[asdfghjklmals]

FAIRYTALES✩༶‧˚

GENRE + T/W: sfw, fluff. WORD COUNT: 1.1k words. TAGS: satoru gojo x fem!oc. boyfriend!gojo. adoptedkiddo! tsumiki.

SYNOPSIS: tsumiki thinks oc gojo girlfriend and satoru's love story is based off of a fairytale. AUTHOR'S NOTE: i kid you not, beauty and the beast came up on shuffle while i was showering and this is how this fic was born. REMINDER: if you want to imagine yourself in oc gojo girlfriend's character descriptions instead, please do!

“(y/n)! gojo-sensei!” tsumiki frantically yelled for her guardians from her bedroom. you and satoru dropped everything you were doing in a blink of an eye and ran to her room.

“tsumiki, are you okay?” you breathlessly asked, worried that she was hurt.

“(y/n)!” tsumiki excitedly screamed your name. you and satoru sat on the floor at the foot of her bed, tsumiki with her book in her hand.

“what’s going on?” satoru asked, “talk to us, sweetheart.”

“gojo-sensei! i just finished reading beauty and the beast! and it’s about you and (y/n)!” tsumiki said with enthusiasm to her white haired guardian.

you and satoru looked at each other with puzzled blue and green eyes. you both started laughing. what in the world was going on in that imagination of hers?

“haven’t you heard the song for beauty and the beast?!” tsumiki looked at you and satoru with hopeful eyes. satoru rested his elbow on tsumiki's bed and perched his cheek in the palm of his hand. he was very interested in what she had to say.

you laughed and asked your 7 year old to tell you and satoru what was going on in that pretty little brunette head of hers. “how about you entertain us, baby girl?”

“look at the song words!” tsumiki pointed at her book, getting a little agitated that you and satoru weren’t understanding her. you and satoru looked over at the page she was referring to.

‘tale as old as time, true as it can be.’

“grandpa genkei said that you and gojo-sensei are part of an old love story. something like 400 years old! that’s the ‘tale as old as time’ part!” tsumiki said with bright eyes. you looked over at satoru and started chuckling. tsumiki was referring to the legend of the water user and the six eyes from 400 years ago. your grandfather must have really entertained the kids during your last visit back to osaka.

‘barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly.’

“then!” tsumiki started babbling again, “you and gojo-sensei didn’t like each other when you first met, right?”

“right.” you insistently nodded. satoru rolled his eyes at you and pushed your shoulder playfully, shooting you a toothy grin.

satoru then added with a sly smile, “—but (y/n) finally gave up and started liking me.”

“you’re such a liar.” you laughed, smacking his arm with the back of your hand. you turned back to tsumiki, “your gojo-sensei was the ‘somebody who bends unexpectedly’.”

‘just a little change, small to say the least.’

“okay, what about this next line?” you pointed at the page in the book. you were curious at how she would connect these lyrics in that 7 year old brain of hers.

tsumiki thought to herself for a moment, “i think this is about when you and gojo-sensei adopted me and megumi!”

“adopting you two was a little change, huh?” satoru scoffed, knowing that adopting the two fushiguros changed both his and your lives drastically.

‘both a little scared, neither one prepared.’

“this is also for when you and gojo-sensei adopted me and megumi!” tsumiki added, “—but mainly for gojo-sensei because he doesn’t know how to really take care of kids.”

you thought back on the time not too long ago where satoru had to learn how to do tsumiki's hair when you weren't able to in the mornings. he practiced how to braid and tie ponytails on your hair for a solid two weeks before he attempted to do tsumiki's hair. now, he was an expert at up-dos, all types of braids, and ponytails. he always bought cute hair clips and accessories for tsumiki because of it.

“you know... your gojo-sensei tries really hard to be a good guardian,” you pinched satoru’s cheek as he pouted with slight embarrassment in his face, his arms were crossed on tsumiki’s bed, cradling his head as he watched tsumiki. “—and he definitely wasn’t prepared to be a guardian, but we made it work when you two came into our lives.” you smiled at the both of them. you wouldn't have it any other way.

‘beauty and the beast.’

“okay, i have a question,” satoru began to ask once he saw the last line, “who’s the beauty and who’s the beast, tsumiki?”

tsumiki put her hand on her chin and thought very carefully about her answer. “(y/n) is the beast and gojo-sensei is the beauty!”

satoru bursted out laughing, holding his stomach as he rolled around the floor, tears in his eyes from how funny he thought tsumiki’s answer was. your jaw dropped, you looked at tsumiki in despair.

“are you sure, baby girl?” you asked, hoping she’d change her mind, satoru still laughing in the background. you surely thought satoru was the beast and you'd be the beauty. “why do you think that?”

“because! gojo-sensei is the beauty because he’s pretty! and the main character belle is pretty, all the boys like her just like the girls like gojo-sensei!” she continued to ramble, “then! you’re always scary when me and megumi get in trouble, but then you go back to being so pretty and nice after, just like the beast does!”

you bit your tongue, how could anyone be mad at that reasoning? you and satoru laughed alongside your very creative and wildly imaginative adopted daughter. you wished that she could stay young and innocent forever, just like the young and innocent love you and satoru shared.

EXTRA:

“kids and their imaginations, huh?” satoru whispered to you as you both snuck out of tsumiki’s room, quietly shutting the door behind him after she fell asleep for the night. you giggled, grabbing his hand to retreat to your bedroom across the apartment. (click here to see the apartment layout)

you playfully bumped your hip into his, “well, prince charming. aren’t you gonna sweep me off my feet?”

“i’d love nothing more, princess.” satoru grinned with satisfaction. he liked what he was hearing. your white haired, blue eyed prince charming swiftly lifted you into his arms. you planted a sweet kiss on his cheek as you held his face in the palm of your hands.

“i love you, mr. beauty.” you giggled, sneaking another kiss.

satoru admired you and your cheeky smile before bantering back, “i love you too, my little beast.”

© 2023 ASDFGHJKLMALS — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PLEASE DO NOT COPY, TRANSLATE, OR REPOST MY WORK.

DIVIDERS PROVIDED BY @/ANLIAN-AISHANG

[28rainbowsnakes]

Truly Home Chapter One: Missing

AO3 Link

FanFiction.Net Link

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A/N: Hello all! I've finally decided to start posting my Legends Arceus fic. And I'm VERY EXCITED about it! I've actually been working on this story since 2023 lol. This is going to be a short story that will have six chapters total.

Also, want to give a quick warning that some content within this story may be triggering for certain viewers. (I have some of the specifics tagged on AO3 if you wish to know them).

And huge shout-out to my friends @saltnpepperbunny and @thetruegge for beta reading this project! Their works have been a massive inspiration for me and I am more than honored to have had them contribute to this story. Please go check them out on DA, Comic Fury, Tumblr, etc. Their comics are AMAZING!

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy! :D

“Mesa! I need your help! Reach your head up to where that Shinx is!” 

Akari’s shiny Steelix stretched her long rocky body upright in front of the pine tree, raising her head level to the distressed Shinx near the top. Akari had been surveying a group of Cascoon in Floaro Gardens when she heard the Pokémon’s cries for help, and had raced to the tree it clung to. She was still stumped as to how it managed to get up such a tall tree.

“Rwahh rawh raawh rawh?”

Mesa was looking down at Akari, concerned. She cast a shadow over where Akari was. 

“Is it not coming down?” Akari called up. Mesa lightly nodded. “Alright, hang on!” Akari looked around at her other five Pokemon with her for this quest. The team included a Luxray, Hisuian Typhlosion, Floatzel, shiny Skuntank, and shiny Bronzong. “Make sure to protect Mesa, okay, guys?” The five Pokemon all nodded unanimously.

Akari grabbed onto the jagged barbs of Mesa’s golden rocks and climbed her like a ladder. She pulled herself up onto the top of Mesa’s head, then flopped onto her stomach. She looked up at the top of the tree where the Shinx was stuck, arms and legs wrapped around a branch.

“Hey,” Akari said softly, reaching her hand toward the Shinx. He curled his eyebrows inward and scooted himself a few steps back, his tail hitting the tapering trunk of the tree. “It’s okay, I’m here to help you get down!” Akari spoke, slowly balancing herself up on her knees. 

The Shinx’s body visibly tensed up as it looked down in horror. Akari looked down to see the many layers of swaying branches leading down to the ground below. She looked back at the Shinx, sparks of electricity coming out of his fur.

“It's okay to be scared. It’s part of your instincts, after all. But you’ll need to come to me if you want me to help get you down,” said Akari, opening her arms out. The Shinx seemed to hesitate as he looked down again. He then looked back at Akari to see her warm smile. He slowly reached a paw out and dug his claws into a section of the branch. The Shinx then began to carefully climb his way toward Akari, who waited patiently. “That’s it! You’ve got this!” The branch started to lean as the Shinx got closer to Akari. “Keep going! You’re almost there!”

Suddenly, a gust of wind shook the branch, throwing off the Shinx’s center of gravity. Akari was quick to respond, reaching her hands out to catch the Pokemon as he slipped. She looked at the Shinx, who slowly opened his eyes. 

“You did it!” Akari cheered, holding up the little Pokemon. The Shinx looked down at his rescuer and smiled. “Alright, Mesa! You can bring us back down now!”

“Rawr!”

Akari sat with the little Shinx in her arms as Mesa slowly turned and placed her head on the ground. Akari slid off Mesa's head expecting to see the rest of her team clapping in delight. Instead, she saw her Floatzel sitting on the ground, her Typhlosion and Bronzong by its side. Upon getting closer, Akari noticed electricity radiating around her fur, making her tremble.    

“Nixie, are you okay?” Akari dug into her satchel and pulled out a potion and Cheri Berry, then knelt down to hand them to Nixie. “What happened? How did you get paralyzed?”

Nixie pointed her finger forward as she began to consume the items. Akari turned around to see the backs of her Luxray and Skuntank in the distance, appearing to be in a fighting stance. 

“Oh,” said Akari. She looked at her Typhlosion and Bronzong. “Solaris, Jolly Dime, stay here while Nixie recovers, okay?” Solaris and Jolly Dime both nodded.

Still holding the shaking Shinx, Akari jogged up to her other Pokemon. The two Pokemon appeared to be hyper focused on something in front of them. Akari then saw two wild Luxray squaring up against the duo. 

“Electra? Strawberry? Can you guys both move aside a bit?” Akari asked. Electra and Strawberry both glanced back at Akari with a look of hesitation. “Don’t worry, I know what they’re here for!”

The Luxray and shiny Skuntank took a few small steps to clear a path for Akari, giving her a clearer view of the wild Pokemon. A look of shock momentarily appeared on the two Luxray’s faces upon seeing what Akari was carrying. 

“Grrrrrrrr!” The two Luxray puffed their manes, extended their claws, and bared their sharp teeth. Akari cautiously approached them. “Hisssssssss!”

“It’s okay!” Akari said, gently placing the Shinx on the ground. She quickly trotted backward. 

Once she was at a safe distance, Akari watched the Luxray and Shinx. The two Luxray studied the Shinx, sniffed it, then relaxed their tense bodies, retracting their claws and teeth. 

“Mroooww!”

Both of the Luxray smiled, then happily embraced the Shinx, bunting heads and purring. Another Shinx ran around from behind the Luxrays and playfully headbutted one of them. One of the Luxray scooped up the Shinx with its paw and licked his ear. 

Akari smiled as she watched the heartwarming scene. But suddenly, something spiked inside of her. A smacking gut feeling made her organs bounce, reminding her of that shameful moment when she forgot to restock on potions before heading out on an expedition, nearly resulting in a dire situation for her. But Akari knew for a fact she had all her items this time; she had just used them for Nixie after all. She had no idea why she felt a hole whirling inside her stomach this time.

“Mrrow!” 

Akari looked down to see the family of Pokemon smiling at her. The Shinx trotted back to rub his head against her feet before happily running back to his family. The Luxray looked at Akari one last time before scampering away into the woods, the nearby gracideas flourishing as they passed. Akari smiled again, but the black hole in her stomach only continued to expand. Frustration began to combat the warm glow from Akari’s charitable act. 

“Rawr?”

Akari looked back at Mesa, who was now sitting next to Electa. 

“Good job, Mesa!” said Akari, patting her on the head. Akari looked around at her other Pokemon. “Great work, everyone! We managed to help a Pokemon in need!”

Akari took her notebook out of her satchel and jotted down a few things on the Shinx page. She found herself doodling a quick sketch of the Shinx with its family. Akari then felt the shade of the trees casting a breeze of cool air over her. The glow of the setting sun gave the color of her surroundings a warm filter of orange. 

“Alright everyone, we should start heading back,” Akari announced. She walked back over to where Nixie, Solaris, and Jolly Dime were. “Feeling better, Nixie?” 

“Bui!” the Floatzel answered, hopping onto her feet.

“Think you have enough energy to walk with us or do want me to return you to your—”

“Bui bui!” Nixie suddenly sprints far ahead of Akari, enthusiastically jumping as passed the other Pokemon. Akari chuckled.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” 

The group of seven began to make their way toward Aspiration Hill, which was where they had set up camp that day. It was a scenic walk through the forest and plains. The sounds of awakening Kricketot became louder and louder as the sunlight continued to fade. The fresh scent of pine trees and flowers made the air all the more soothing.

Akari tried to take in the setting, but the feeling in her stomach kept taking over. It was a weird combination of adrenaline and anxiety. She could feel her heart racing against her chest. Akari attempted to resist, but it seemed to have the upperhand. Everything had gone well that day; there was absolutely nothing that warranted Akari being worried, right? Akari tried to shift her focus over to a wild Starly, who was flying into the branches of an oran tree. But when she saw the Starly land by a nest full of eggs and brush against another Starly, the mystery feeling only grew stronger. Akari looked back at her notebook to review her notes from the day. But seeing the sketch of the Shinx and Luxray only made her feel worse.

Akari looked around at the Pokemon walking by her side. Nixie was way ahead of her, playfully dashing on all fours. Jolly Dime wasn’t too far behind, catching up to her as they hovered through the air. Akari looked to her right to see Solaris smiling and stretching his arms out as he soaked up the evening sun, exactly what Akari wanted to be doing at that moment. Looking to her left, Akari could see Strawberry stopping to sniff a patch of flowers. That was when Electra suddenly collided with the Skuntank, seeming to have pounced at a nearby leaf. Mesa looked down at the two Pokemon with concern. Strawberry pushed Electra’s face away with a smirk. Electra, Strawberry, and Mesa all laughed. Akari chuckled at the scene, feeling a slight relief from the pressure inside her.

Akari approached the top of Aspiration Hill. Professor Laventon, a man wearing a white lab coat and purple winter hat, was standing by the campsite. Akari’s three other Pokemon, her Beautifly, female Hippowdon, and alpha Hisuian Goodra, were sitting nearby to accompany him. Laventon turned his head toward Akari at the sound of her approaching footsteps. 

“Akari! There you are, my girl! We were just about to start looking for you!” said Laventon, jogging over to her. 

“Sorry I’m late! My Pokemon and I were just saving a wild Shinx from a tree,” said Akari. She opened her notebook to the Shinx’s page and handed it to the professor. 

 “Oho! It’s all jolly good, Akari!” said Laventon, looking through her notes. “And I see that you reunited it with its family. Well done, my girl!”  

“Thanks! It was a cute thing to witness,” said Akari. Her eyes moved to the ground as she felt that feeling grabbing onto her again. She quickly looked back up at Laventon as she tried to shift out of it. “I’m quite happy with how my research has been lately. I really love working with my Pokemon!”

Laventon smiled. “Glad to hear that! Who would have thought that a teenager who fell from the sky would be so much help to us!” The memory of waking up on a beach with no recollection of who she was or how she got there somehow hit Akari harder than usual. Laying on the ground confused, starving, and covered in scratches was not something Akari wished to experience again. 

“You did, apparently. You were the one who took me in after I fell, remember?” she replied, trying to keep her smile in place.

“Of course I do! How could I not help a child in such need?” said Laventon.

More memories avalanched through Akari’s mind,  knocking her smile into a bitter frown.

“If you thought I was the one tearing the sky like everyone else in the village did…”  she moaned. Chants of the angry villagers started echoing through her head, flashing back to when the sky turned red. 

Laventon gently placed a hand on Akari’s shoulder. “Hey, what matters is that they were wrong and everything is okay now.” He sighed as Akari looked up at him. “Sorry to bring that up. I just hope you understand that you did not deserve to be treated that way, my dear.”

Akari smiled as Electra lovingly nuzzled her in the leg. Something behind her suddenly yanked her off her feet. Akari squealed as her Hisuian Goodra had ambushed her into a tight and slimy hug. 

“Nautilus!” Akari giggled. Laventon and the Pokemon laughed as the Goodra continued to constrict her. “You guys!”

“See Akari? We’re all here for you! Now let's head on back to the village. I bet Rei is waiting for us as we speak,” Laventon said as Nautilus put Akari down. “Think you can guess what we’re having for dinner tonight?” 

“Oh Laventon, why do you have to ask me such a difficult question?” chuckled Akari. “Hmmm, I’m probably wrong, but are we by any chance having potato mochi?”

“Oh Akari! You know me too well, my girl!” laughed Laventon.

The group departed the campsite as they headed out of the Obsidian Fieldlands. Akari took a breath of relief as the flashbacks faded away. But as she walked, something else buoyed back to the surface of her mind.  That nagging feeling that something was off. Akari still didn’t know what it was, but it was growing stronger.

***

The group entered through the east gate of Jubilife Village as the sun continued to set.  The village was a compact place mostly consisting of small houses and shops. Most of the facilities, including the Galaxy Team headquarters where Akari, Laventon, and other members of the research team worked, were all along the path straight ahead.  The path south to the gate led to the village homes and Pokemon pastures, crossing the river that cut through the village.  It was all normally comforting for Akari to see; especially after long expeditions out in the wilderness. Yet she still couldn’t shake off the uneasiness inside of her. 

Akari looked over at all of her Pokemon. “Do you guys want to go play in the pasture? I bet Marie has prepared some delicious food for you!” she asked. The Pokemon all nodded before enthusiastically running for the pastures. Akari and Laventon continued on the path straight ahead of them, passing the clothier, hairdresser, and general store. They then reached The Wallflower, the local restaurant right across from the Galaxy HQ. Sure enough, Rei was already sitting at their usual table right outside the restaurant, his Raichu sitting right next to him. There were three plates of Potato Mochi on the table as well as an empty plate that the Raichu was licking.

“There you guys are! I thought you would never make it!” Rei said as Akari and Laventon took their seats across from him.

“Oho! I see our food is already here!” exclaimed Laventon. 

“Well I needed to get the order in before the place shut down,” stated Rei, looking at Laventon before taking another bite.

“Oh come on. You don’t need to remind me every time, my boy. Why don’t you cut your elders some slack?” responded Laventon. 

“Late is late,” said Rei .

“Hey, better late than never is what I always say. Now let's enjoy our food,” said Laventon, grabbing a piece of potato off his plate.

Akari looked down at her plate of mochi. The thought of eating somehow made her feel nauseous. It was like a giant sack had already filled all the space inside her stomach. The crisp, smell, and soft texture of potato mochi was normally one of Akari’s favorite things in the whole world. Yet it was not something she wanted to be near at that very moment. Akari glanced over at the others chowing down, picked up a piece off her plate, then took a small bite.

Rei’s Raichu dropped his clean plate onto the table, licking his lips. He then nudged his wielder on the shoulder, looking up at him with big sparkling pupils.

“Really, Chu? You’re still hungry?” Rei muffled while chewing a piece of mochi. 

“Chu chu!” The Raichu clapped his little brown paws together. 

“No Chu, I just fed you. I’m not gonna give you my food just because you’re so…” Rei’s eyebrows loosened as his eyes met with Chu’s. “...Cute…” 

“Chu!” 

 Slowly nibbling at the food on her plate, Akari envied the amount of appetite her friend and his Pokemon had. It was like someone had stolen all of the hunger sensation out of her body and given it to those two.  

“He can have some of mine,” said Akari, handing an entire chunk of potato to Rei.

“No need to do that, Akari. I can handle Chu’s cuteness and not give in to his…”

“Chu!” Chu’s eyes sparkled brightly.

“Please…” sighed Rei, putting his hand on his forehead. 

“It’s okay, Rei! I’m not that hungry right now,” said Akari, putting the potato slice on Rei’s end of the table. 

  “Are you sure? You’re always starving at this time,” said Rei, raising an eyebrow.

“I, uhh, snacked on a little too much of that trail mix today,” said Akari. She couldn’t explain the real reason for her lack of appetite. Not even she knew why her insides felt clogged up. Like a bunch of wet paper had gotten stuck in her stomach.

“Well, in that case…” Rei picked up the piece of potato and looked at his Raichu, who was looking very excited. “Only this one time, got that?!” 

“Chu!” 

Laventon smiled as he watched the Raichu happily chow down on the potato.

“It does seem that evolution can make a Pokemon extra hungry,” the Professor commented, observing the Pokemon. “As would make sense. After all, evolving does appear to use up quite a lot of a Pokemon’s energy. I imagine that a Pokemon would need to be quite healthy in order to undergo such a process.”

“Seems to make sense,” chuckled Rei, watching his Raichu lick his paws. “Looks like I’ve taken good care of him.”

“You’ve done a jolly good job taking care of him indeed, my boy!” exclaimed Laventon. “I know you wanted to keep him a Pikachu, but his feelings said otherwise. You respected your Pokemon’s wishes and got him that Thunderstone even if that wasn’t what you were hoping to do. That, in my eyes, is what makes a true Pokemon wielder.”

“Awww thanks,” said Rei, lightly blushing. “I may not be able to comfortably carry him on my shoulders anymore, but he’s still my little Chu!” He patted Chu on the head before squeezing him in a tight hug.

“Rei!”

Akari turned around to see a familiar couple approaching the table. Both were slumped yet were smiling, eyebags almost as dark as their messy navy hair.  

“Oh hey Mom! Hey Dad!” said Rei, standing up from his seat. Akari’s stomach began to whirl again.

“Hey kiddo!” the dad said, giving Rei a hug. “We’re finally done with work today.”

 “Ah Lumia! Taiyo! How have you two been?” Laventon asked, waving at the parents.

 “We’re managing…” answered Lumia, wiping sweat off her forehead. “Long day as usual. But we’re more interested in hearing how you’re doing,” she said, looking at Rei.

“I’m doing great!” responded Rei. “Had a nice trek in Cobalt Coastlands today. I saw some Spheal were clapping on the beach. It was adorable!”

“We’re so glad to hear that!” said Taiyo, hugging Rei tighter.  

“How about you two?” asked Lumia, looking at Laventon and Akari.

 “Jolly good, my dear!” replied Laventon.

 “Oh, I’m fine,” said Akari, her leg rapidly bouncing under the table. She clenched her jaw as she could hear herself shaking.

 “Professor, I know we’ve said this before, but we really appreciate you looking out for our Rei,” said Lumia.

“We really can’t thank you enough, Professor!” exclaimed Taiyo.

“No need to mention it, it is my pleasure!” said Laventon, blushing with a warm smile. “I know you two are always working tirelessly day after day just to keep yourselves afloat, so it only makes sense that you’d have another pair of eyes looking after your dear son!”

“You know how nervous we were about letting Rei join the survey corps. We still worry from time to time, but you’ve really helped ease that for us! Our little boy has been so much happier these days!” said Lumia.

“I really wish we could repay you more,” sighed Taiyo.

“There’s no need to stress over it! I’m always happy to help! If anything ever happens to you two, I’d take care of Rei as if he were my own son!” exclaimed Laventon, his elbow on the table with his head resting against his hand.

Lumia let out a yawn as she stepped back, seeming to catch herself from falling. “Well, I think it’s about time that we hit the hay.” 

“Working long hours really does something to your body,” said Taiyo, grabbing his back.

 “Alright,” said Rei. He turned back to Akari and Laventon. “See you guys tomorrow!”

“Bye Rei!” said Akari, feeling her arms tremble against the table.

 “Goodnight my boy! Rest well!” said Laventon.

 Akari watched as the family walked away from the table. She was hunched over the table, gripping tightly to the edge of a plank. Her breath was heavy and her face was wrinkled. She watched as the three got further and further until they made a turn into the village neighborhood and left her line of sight. Something about them seemed familiar somehow. Something that caused Akari’s muscles to tense. A realization suddenly hit, widening her eyes and knocking out a loud gasp.

“Akari?” 

She jerked her head toward Laventon, realizing that she had done a terrible job hiding all of this. 

“Are you alright, my girl?”

Akari tightened her grasp on the table, soaking the wood with her sweaty palms. She  took a few breaths before opening her mouth. “Laventon…” 

“If there’s something you want to talk about, I’m all ears,” said Laventon, smiling.

“Do you… think I have a family? “ she asked. Her feet were digging into the dirt below. “Or… will have, since I’m from the future?” She stared at the splintering wood of the table, her fingers wanting to peel the bits away. “You know, in the world where I came from?” 

Laventon paused, his mouth slightly open. His fingers tapped against the table a couple times.

“Well… probably.” Laventon smiled as he gently placed a hand on Akari’s shoulder. “And I’ll bet that they’d be jolly proud of you for what you have accomplished here. You’ve managed to help me discover every species of Pokemon living in Hisui! And how many other teens can say they stopped a rift in reality, my brave girl?” 

“Then… why am I still here?” Akari sighed. She could feel the world’s gravity weighing down on her. “Why hasn’t Arceus sent me back yet?”  

“I…I’m afraid I can’t answer that question for you, Akari,” sighed Laventon, eyebrows curled inward.  “But if I had to make a hypothesis, I’d say that they wanted to wait until you were ready.”

“Ready to go back?” asked Akari. Laventon nodded. 

“They probably sensed the happiness you have with your life here in Hisui and didn’t want to take that away from you.” 

It was true that Akari was happy here. She loved her Pokemon and the people of Hisui. And she found her job of surveying Pokemon to be surprisingly fun. She always had a blast hiking through forests, wading shallow swamps, riding Basculegion down rivers, climbing mountains with the help of Sneasler, and the most thrilling of all, gliding over the whole region on Braviary, sometimes attempting precarious maneuvers. Akari really felt that she was living her life to the fullest. But she still couldn’t help but wonder what she had left behind. Who she had known before she was suddenly sent back in time to Hisui by the Pokemon incarnate of the whole universe. And most importantly, how they were all doing now (even if it wasn’t literally now). Without any memories of her past, all Akari could do was speculate. 

“Do you… think I should go back?” Akari asked, looking away from Laventon.

“Oh, my dear Akari…” cried Laventon. “Is… is that what you want to do?” 

“I…I don’t know,” sighed Akari, looking down at the table. She was paralyzed, shaking like she got hit by Thunderwave. Her vision blurred to tiny sparks dancing in dark swirls. The blood in her head spun, making her dizzy. Somewhere she thought she could hear a very faint scream. A muffled shout tearing through trees. A yelp from far away, further than the most remote point in Hisui. Akari wanted to reach for it, yet some strong force seemed to be working against her. Something to prevent her and the voice from meeting. 

“I see…”

Akari blinked out of her frozen state, feeling the wood of the table once again. She looked back up at the Professor, who appeared to be taking heedful notice of her motions.

“Well there’s no need to rush such a big decision,” Laventon assured, gently placing a hand over Akari’s back.  “I imagine there are many factors you’ll need to consider, whichever way you go…” The Professor glanced down at the table for a brief second before focusing back on Akari. “But just know, as much as I would love to always have you around here, I’ll support you in whichever choice you make!” He was smiling, yet there was also a clear drop of sadness in his eyes. 

“I’ll… have to think about it…” sighed Akari, sparks of uncertainty surrounding her.

“Well, feel free to talk to me about it anytime if it continues to bother you. I’ll always be available to chat with you, my girl,” said Laventon. Akari smiled, feeling a small weight slip off her back.

***

Akari had a hard time falling asleep that night. Her brain couldn’t help but stay awake to allow all of Akari’s thoughts to race through her head. Should she go back to her own world? Could she? Would she? If so, why didn’t Arceus even mention anything about that when she met them in the Hall of Origin? They could have at least told her that she didn’t have to leave Hisui until she was ready, as Laventon theorized. What if she couldn’t go back even if she wanted to? Perhaps that could explain why she lost her memory. Why she couldn’t recall a single moment before waking up on that beach, no matter how hard she tried.  

Akari rolled around on her sleeping mat as all the countless questions spun around her head. Electra, who was lying nearby, perked up at her wielder’s jittery movements. The Luxray climbed onto Akari’s legs before curling up into a warm breathing fluffball. 

Now stuck in one place, Akari peered up at the window in her room to get an obscured view of the stars. She could barely see Mt. Coronet peeking from a distance. The rift she fell from was gone, but Akari could still reach Arceus by playing the Azure Flute on the summit of the mountain. She could easily ask them to return her to her original home. And even if they couldn’t, Akari could at least get an explanation for why not.

Akari thought harder about the situation. What if she had a family that was frantically searching for her? She pictured a pair of distraught parents desperately running from town to town hoping to find their missing daughter. They would ask every resident in their sight, put up signs with her picture, check every nook and cranny of the entire world. But no matter how hard they searched, they would never find her. Because she no longer existed in their time period. And there was no way they could possibly get to her. The idea injected guilt into Akari’s body. Every minute Akari spent in Hisui could be another minute of growing misery for her family. 

Akari’s whole body trembled. What if she was causing her family and friends more and more pain by staying in Hisui? What if she was supposed to show Arceus her desire to go home after completing their mission? What if she was being selfish by living a fun life in Hisui while who knows how many people had no idea whether or not she was even alive? Akari’s stomach began to squeeze itself as her anxiety worsened. She breathed heavily as a faint feeling of nausea formed in her throat. 

“Ahhhh!” Akari’s whole body shook.

“Mrrow?” Electra trilled. 

The Luxray shifted herself up so she could lay on top of Akari. She purred as she rested her chin on Akari’s chest, putting a gentle vibration against Akari’s pulsing heartbeat. She clung to Electra as her breathing slowed down, soon becoming in perfect sync with Electra’s breathing. She let out a loud exhale as she clutched onto Electra. Akari could feel her muscles relaxing as the nausea began to fade.

“Thank you,” Akari whispered. Her beloved Pokémon by her side, she was finally able to get some sleep.

[thecoffeelorian]

Everyone's Got Secrets... (House Husband AU)

A/N: When I first saw Pedro Pascal’s character rushing into battle at the start of this movie, my very first thought of him was this:

He moved in for the kill, just like a wolf.

What does that have to do with fanfiction, you might ask…? Simple. When you add to this the legend that a wolf helped create the city of Rome, my love of the 'Way Of The House Husband' show, and a chat with @braveincafleet , then you may figure out that this is how my little House Husband AU came to be.

Anyway...I hope you enjoy this just as much as I do, and if so, be sure to give it some love before you go back to your scrolling. Thanks! <3

Story Premise: This is a little intro/infodumped backstory for a modern/ex-Mafia version of General Acacius, as that seems to be a writing style I've consistently had over multiple fandoms. It's also a version where he's (obviously) retired and settled down with the modern version of Lucilla Verus, though there are still glimpses of what he used to be like here and there if one is looking hard enough.

Story Word Count: 779 words.

Special Notes: So...maybe I'll turn this into a series someday, maybe I won't. Until then, I'll try and poke around to find more Lucilla x Marcus fics as soon as I possibly can.

No Pressure Tags:

@sweetperfectioncloud @letsgobarbs @rav3n-pascal22 @lilac-boo @iseefire16

@ultra-nina-bella @lunnaisjustvibing @blueheisenbergtragedy @vichons @mysticalgalaxysalad

@hicanivent @marvelforever352 @thischarmingmandalorian and anyone else who would like to read more stories about our favorite General. ;)

Justin Acacius was, according to the neighbors of Imperator Street, a fairly cultured man who wouldn’t dare break the laws of their fair city. Indeed, all outward appearances have never given them reason to think otherwise, for any red flag moments have not yet presented themselves.

For example, by day, he keeps the household of their esteemed Head Curator, Lucilla Gherardi, in perfect working order. This includes making sure that Lucilla herself never leaves the house without a homemade lunch in her possession, because there isn’t much work that a person can accomplish on an empty stomach. During the rare moments that she does, however, it’s not long before he’s on the nearest available bicycle to catch up with her, sometimes even breaking local traffic laws just to get there in time.

(Thank goodness the nearby law enforcement have learned to let him off easy by now.)

Second, there’s what this couple’s closest neighbors have come to label as “Piero Watch”, the daily sighting of the family dog on its walk around 9:15 am every day, most often with Mr. Acacius getting somewhat pulled along behind them. After all, sometimes dogs will go exactly where you don’t want them to go.

Third, whereas some neighbors are occasionally guilty of noise pollution, there's no such disturbance from Signor Acacius' side of the street. Sometimes he brings a friend or two over for short visits, sometimes he goes out for last minute groceries like the supplies needed to make homemade pasta--oh, but never will any strange women be seen going into that house beside him.

He's married, obviously, so he's not about to throw away a good life on one foolish act.

And speaking of foolish acts…neither will anyone notice this gentleman plotting any violence behind Lucilla’s back while she’s out of the house. That’s a vice best left for lesser men, for instead of any shady dealings, he’s much more likely to get into surprise “Cutest Dog” duels with passersby like Mr. Macrinus, as there’s quite the following for groups like these over social media these days.

As Macrinus himself may tell you, these sorts of “battles” will leave no fatal wounds behind them, and all parties involved will go home satisfied.

And finally, by the time that night falls, there’s not much of a change other than the occasional smoke break, if not also the even rarer trip outdoors for a few last minute groceries. In other words, though he might be a slightly imposing figure at times…there’s absolutely nothing to fear where Mr. Acacius is concerned.

At least, not if you’re the average, well-to-do citizen…because for those who wear their sunglasses a bit darker, their skin a bit more tattooed, and keep one eye over their shoulder, it’s a slightly different story.

Should any members of this crowd pass Mr. Acacius in the streets, the title “Il Lupo” is the name they speak. Sometimes they say it with a voice full of fear, sometimes with awe, but all, regardless of their age, status, or sometimes even gender, as this is the 21st Milennia, don’t dare stick around too long.

For the individuals in charge of such groups, be they The Twins in the center to The Emperor a bit further north, they will on occasion ask Acacius’ advice on what seem like trivial matters, such as the right temperature to roast a head of garlic or what is the best detergent to wash out a bloodstain or several—oh, but always from clumsy kitchen accidents rather than any violent executions.

In case you haven’t heard, these modern people don’t do that sort of thing any more.

That’s as far as the mystery reaches, of course, for as the dead can’t reveal any secrets and the living wish to keep their honor, nobody’s ever going to consider speaking up instead. It’s highly doubtful any average person will ever know the truth about Mr. Acacius, either, as there are no known books or magazines ever published that might otherwise hint about his true identity.

If someone were to happen upon the oldest man on the same street where Mr. Acacius lives, however—specifically, the one with a faded SPQR tattoo upon one arm and no photographs of grandchildren in plain sight—maybe they’ll one day hear the story of how the one known as Il Lupo, the one who looks suspiciously like Justin, narrowly escaped life in an Italian prison. Maybe they’ll also hear all about how he became a married man not long afterward, and curiously moved to the very same street address where Mr. Acacius now lives.

But then again…a story’s just a story, wouldn’t you agree?

[dudewheresmynug]

OC Character Inspiration

I was tagged by @rooks-dagger and @dancing--lights. Thank you so much for the tag!! <3

I'll be honest, I really only drew from two characters for Lydia, but I'll try my best to see who else she reminds me of!!

Louise Belcher (Bob's Burgers): Louise is the first of my two largest inspirations behind Lydia. I originally wanted to make a silly and tiny character who had a lot more power, intelligence, and capability behind her unassuming personality. I was even going to name Lydia "Louise!" I ended up dropping the idea once I realized I couldn't make Rook's voice high-pitched. Literally, as I was making Lydia in the character creator, I was imagining her with Kristen Schaal's voice 😂. While I didn't keep so much of Lydia's personality by way of silliness and tininess, I think that her solemn, sweet, and nervous demeanor gives way to her power, resilience, and frankly, stubbornness, in a way that always takes people off guard.

Violet Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events): Violet is my all-time favorite character from ANYTHING. I read the books in middle school, and, fun fact, they were my initial inspiration for going into my career!! Lydia would have Violet's focused and inventive spirit. While Lydia herself isn't inventing any gadgets anytime soon, she's very resourceful and quick on her feet. She's also a great collaborator, which is a key characteristic of Violet's.

Asami Sato (The Legend of Korra): Asami is smart, patient, and unassuming. I actually sat for a while and considered whether Lydia would be more like Korra or Asami. Korra is more of a "punch first and ask questions later" type of person (until later, of course), but Asami always looks to figure the problem out, first. She takes her time, she calculates and reasons, and she usually comes out with a good result. Also, she has an electric glove, which is dope. Lydia would want to get her hands on that, for sure, and would not take "but you're already a lightning mage" for an answer.

Amy Santiago (Brooklyn 99): Amy is the second of my largest inspirations behind Lydia. Amy is driven, competitive, and most of all, she's a HUGE dork and a teacher's pet. While she was never much of a teacher's pet, Lydia absolutely dreamed about it. She's a serious people pleaser, and, in the past, she has been desperate for the approval of others, especially those in charge. She is also a huge reader and, while she isn't quite as organized as Amy is, she has her methods and her systems, and gets very upset when someone doesn't respect them. She will also absolutely talk your ear off about her interests or her research, especially once she's warmed up to you, and has a lot of strange knowledge that is helpful at the most unusual times.

Eva Surana (Dragon Age: Origins): Anyone who knew my blog in The Before Times knows that Eva was my pfp forEVER. Eva is my canon HOF and, in my headcanon, is the inspiration behind Lydia's decision to join the Grey Wardens. Lydia was only 5, and was in the circle for a few weeks when Eva was sent away with Duncan to join the Wardens. While she didn't quite understand why Eva was sent away (as they obviously had very limited interactions), she vividly remembers Eva and her companions coming to the circle's rescue when it was overrun with demons. There might have been another very limited interaction, like Eva making eye contact with her and smiling, or just watching her pass by, that made Lydia go full heart eyes. Unfortunately, with limited knowledge about the Order, Lydia's infatuation was highly delusional, and she romanticized them to a fault. When she finally joined the Wardens, she had a delusion about getting to meet the great Hero of Ferelden, but she never did. And, the Order was nothing like she had built up in her head for 17 years. This, unfortunately, led to serious depression. While she knew very little about Eva aside from what she's seen and stories she's heard, she tried to model herself after her. Of course, Lydia ends up being her own Warden, but it takes a lot of time!! I'm sure Eva would encourage her to be herself and would probably bonk her on the head for joining the Wardens because of her.

Kimmy Schmidt (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt): While I love Kimmy, I'll admit that I included her so I could reach the six-character requirement for this game!! There are definitely similarities between her and Lydia, though. The biggest thing I can think of is, both Kimmy and Lydia are two women who spent most of their childhoods locked away, and spend much of their time on the other side of this trauma trying to regain themselves and some sense of normalcy. Like Kimmy, Lydia tries to be lighthearted and upbeat, but deep down, she is more solemn and struggles to overcome the reality of her past. There's a line from the show where Kimmy expresses that she needs to accept what happened to her, rather than try to imagine a different life for herself, because she'd otherwise go crazy. I feel like Lydia would carry a similar sentiment.

I didn't follow the template, but if you want to, here it is

Tagging @trashwithvariety, @hellomehlo, and @gayspacepiratesss for this! No pressure, and thank you for bearing with the millions of tags you're receiving from me today, haha.

[canadachildvol2]

Wish rewrite ✨ pt.1

Everyone and their grandma has done a rewrite of "Wish," but I couldn't help myself. I've seen the concept art and have watched an array of video essays dissecting what went wrong with the final product and my imagination went wild (as it often does with movies that had so much potential yet failed to deliver).

Full disclosure: I'm not a songwriter nor am I an expert on music theory, so when it comes to the songs in this rewrite, I'm just gonna give a general idea of what they're about and what happens.

With that out of the way, let's get into part 1 of my own "Wish" rewrite! And I'm in no way proclaiming this to be the superior version; I'm just sharing what I came up with like a lot of you have. I've also included a visual of my Asha redesign, which I hope you like. <3

(Also tagging @annymation :) )

-

First and foremost, I'm torn between this version either being completely 2D-animated or just Star (specifically in his normal magical form) and his magic being the only things 2D-animated. You can envision it however you like.

Book prologue: Like the movie, this opens with a storybook. However, it's in live-action. A narrator (perhaps a Disney Legend, like Mary Costa, Kathryn Beaumont, etc.) tells the backstory of how Rosas became a literal magical place:

“Once upon a time, there was a small island kingdom called Rosas. Surrounded by crystal waters and nestled beneath an endless sky. One day, the king gathered his subjects to make an important announcement: through magic, he had found a way to grant wishes! And since then, the people looked to their magnificent king to make their deepest desires come true.

This magic was passed down to the royals that followed, and in this time, the people continued their undying devotion to their extraordinary leaders.

Over the years, boats came from far and wide, carrying those who wanted to see this magic up close, as well as those who sought to live in Rosas. And our story begins with the docking of one of these boats…”

Introduction to Asha/Rosas; “Welcome to Rosas”: A group of newcomers excitedly wait to enter Rosas and this is where we meet Asha. "One... two... three," she mumbles - as if preparing for a performance - before stepping out in front of the group. Bubbly and all smiles, she introduces herself as their tour guide and ushers them into the kingdom. This version of “Welcome to Rosas” not only explains the rules of the kingdom regarding wishes (giving wishes at age 18 [it's mandatory], how the wishing ceremony plays out, only one wish is granted each month due to the large amount of magic needed, etc.) but it also highlights how hardworking and dutiful the citizens are. Additionally, it mentions that Rosas was once a land in disarray, but the magic of wish-granting led them to prosperity. While there’s an upbeat tone to the song, there is an almost sinister undertone that’s lost on the newcomers (and to us, the audience, if we don’t pay too much attention). I should quickly point out that people don't forget their wishes after giving them to Magnifico like they do in the movie. They just no longer have the motivation to pursue their wishes themselves.

Design note: Asha is the only person in Rosas wearing orange, thereby making her stand out from the largely blue, purple, and grey colour palette (much like how Belle is the only person in her village wearing blue). click the image to see more outfit details

Meeting Dahlia and other townspeople: After Asha leaves the group to let them enjoy the sights, her bubbly persona immediately disappears and her true nature is revealed. Levelheaded, composed, a touch cynical. A realist. This personality is shown as she interacts with some of the townsfolk (moreover, this scene alludes to what some of them have wished for). She takes a bag of fruit to Dahlia, her best friend and a talented baker. She’s cheerful, idealistic, and tends to stumble over her words when excited or stressed (a nod to Doc from “Snow White” along with her character design). Like the rest of Rosas, she thinks highly of the king and queen. In exchange for the fruit, Dahlia presents Asha with a birthday cake for her grandfather. This scene showcases Dahlia’s desire to become the castle baker someday and that she thinks her work needs to be perfect to get that position (even though her work is already amazing). We are also introduced to Simon, who comes by to pick up an order for delivery. He’s a few years older than Asha and Dahlia and is already showing the same level of exhaustion as most of the other adults. He wants his wish granted so badly that he’s willing to work hard and impress the king and queen no matter what. He's secretive about what his wish is.

"Welcome to Rosas (reprise)": As Asha walks home with the cake in a box, she looks at the citizens around her. This time, we’re seeing life in Rosas through her eyes rather than those of the awestruck newcomers. “Welcome to Rosas (reprise)” brings to the forefront how exhausting, unfair, and almost cult-like (i.e. the people’s intense adoration of the king and queen) everything is, while also insinuating the crux of Asha’s personal journey: she doesn’t have hope.

Meeting Sakina and Sabino: Asha arrives home to find Sabino asleep in a chair by the window. She smiles at him; a big, loving smile. Up until now, her smiles have either been small, fake (for her job), or just smirks. She gently wakes him up and he tells her he was dreaming about one of his artworks coming to life. “In a few hours, it may actually happen,” he says with a hopeful grin. She bites her tongue so as not to bring his cheerful mood down with a "Let's be realistic" comment. Soon after, Sakina enters the house carrying a basket of fresh fruit and looking tired. Asha takes the basket from her, fussing over how exhausted she looks. ("Mama, you shouldn't be doing all this work by yourself!") Sakina says that she’s fine, but Asha’s worries aren’t placated. Eventually, the trio sit down to enjoy the cake. Sakina laments the absence of Asha’s father, which prompts Asha to fiddle with her silver bracelet.

Wishing ceremony: We finally see King Magnifico and Queen Amaya in all their glory. They are regal, stunning, and tower over the people of Rosas in more ways than one. Still, when 18-year-olds and new residents approach the king on stage to give their wishes to him, he presents himself as an affable man. The cultish vibes that have so far been subtle are made much more apparent in this scene, complete with chanting, cheering, and bowing in a way that demonstrates complete submission. Sabino and Sakina wait with bated breath to see whose wish will be granted, while Asha remains less optimistic. She holds her grandfather’s hand reassuringly when the announcement is made. It’s not him. While not nearly as surprised or devastated as Sabino is, his disappointed reaction still breaks Asha’s heart. So much so that it encourages her to do something drastic.

Asha learns the truth: Sakina and Sabino head home while Asha makes her way to the castle entrance. She overhears the guards tell other people that the king and queen aren’t seeing anyone right now and reinforcing a specific rule: “commoners aren’t allowed in the palace.” Not to be deterred, Asha finds another way in. She’s distracted from her objective of ambushing the king and queen by the sight of the castle’s interior. It’s beautiful; unlike anything she’s ever seen. It's as if it were made of crystals, like the waters surrounding their island. Reflective surfaces are adorned on almost every section of the walls. Curiousity gets the better of her and she ascends the staircase to the highest room in the building. After brief hesitation, she enters and finds that it’s the room that houses the wishes (the general look of this room is about the same as how it is in the movie). Her wonderment is interrupted by the sound of Magnifico and Amaya outside. Thinking quickly, she hides in the balcony running along the upper part of the room. It’s here that she witnesses something horrifying: Magnifico taking a couple of the wishes in his hands and crushing them. This is how he gets his powers. He and Amaya laugh at how these people will be waiting forever for their wishes to be granted. ("They will work themselves to death, never knowing that their wishes, their dreams, will never come true.") Furthermore, Asha learns that Magnifico is already very powerful and doesn't need a whole month to garner enough energy to grant a single wish. After the couple leave, Asha sneaks back out.

Warning Sakina and Sabino: Asha rushes home and tells Sakina and Sabino about what she saw. Obviously they don’t believe her and an argument ensues. They can’t understand why she’d speak ill of the king and queen, and she’s trying so hard to plead her case. At one point, she accidentally hurts Sabino’s feelings by saying that realistically speaking, the odds of his wish being granted are slim to none. She feels awful about what she said and she tries one last time to convince them. Sakina gently but firmly tells her to stop and “When you’re older, you’ll understand.” Asha is left stunned and alone as Sakina tends to a tired and upset Sabino. Overwhelmed, she leaves the house and runs into the woods. She's trying so hard not to break down.

“This Wish”: This version of the song, much like in the movie, sees Asha wish for a way to help Rosas. However, it also conveys her internal struggle of letting herself feel some semblance of hope for the first time in a long time. She initially pulls back and scoffs at the idea of wishing on a star or even believing that things in Rosas will change, but as the song goes on, she caves into what her heart is telling her as opposed to what her head is telling her. It’s worth noting that each time she considers wishing on a star, it’s instigated by her looking at her bracelet. Akin to “Part of Your World,” after so much build-up, the song ends on a soft but powerful note where Asha finally wishes on a star (she still has serious doubts, but there's a sliver of cautious optimism shining through).

pt.2 / pt.3 / pt.4 / pt.5

[snowball-doie]

pre kids cutesy dynamics/moments between sooah and dreamies maknae line?

the first time the three of them get together-- just the three of them-- jisung is shaking like a wet dog, and chenle's laughing about it while sooah tries her best to comfort him by holding him and kissing him gently until he's so worked up that his eyes cross.

honestly, jisung is just so so so incredibly whipped for sooah that he follows her around everywhere. renjun's like that too, but sooah's also the type to look for renjun and just cuddle with him- meanwhile jisung is literally like "omg sooah's finally home" and will SPRINT to the front door to give her a kiss and then stand there, waiting to see what she does. she wants a drink from the fridge? okay, he'll go with her. he'll just stand there and watch as she pours the water for herself- he learned the hard way that she doesn't like it when he does everythingggg for her, so he just patiently stands by. she wants to go outside and read her book in the backyard? he'll bring his nintendo switch to play some games next to her. she wants to crawl out of bed to go to the bathroom? he'll tag along! she thinks it's all very cute (except for him trying to get in the bathroom when she locks the door. he really is more clingy than their actual pets lol). she loves to pat him on the head and give him all the praise in the world because his face scrunches up as he tries to stop himself from smiling because he's so embarrassed, and his ears get red.

one of chenle's favorite date nights with the polycule is when they get to go play basketball together. he was honestly surprised that sooah would be down for it the first time he pitched the idea of going with the boys one night and sooah asked if she could tag along. now he's alwaysss begging to have all of them go back to the court. he loves plugging his phone into the speakers, and they play with playground rules-- shirts vs. no shirts ofc haha-- and he locks in so hard, breaking poor renjun's ankles when he's trying his best to keep up but can't figure out which way chenle's gonna go lmao. he's in his element when he's on the court. and he loves seeing how competitive sooah gets. it's no wonder she gets along with the boys so well, they're all incredibly competitive and active, and she can keep up with them 110%, and she will guard renjun with her life lmao. if jeno tries to use his height to block renjun, sooah doesn't give a fuck, she's body checking jeno. "there's no refs!" she argues when jaemin tries to give her a penalty warning. so next time they drag chenle's coach to their date night to be their ref. "that's no fair!" sooah complains. "tell that to the bruise on jeno's hip," mark replies. sooah leans over and speaks directly to jeno's hip: "it's not fair!" jeno rolls his eyes and pushes sooah away from him. after their basketball date nights, chenle is GLOWING because he's so happy, and sooah just can't help but smother him with love, even though he's all sweaty and smells gross. at least it's a good excuse to shower together. ofc those showers take forever because they both get.... distracted.........

the maknae line is fr just a pair of ipad kids. whenever they're too hyper and sooah just doesn't have the time or energy to wrangle them, she just sets up their ipad with a basketball game or an lck match and suddenly they're silently sitting in sooah's room as she gets some work done. sooah didn't know much about league of legends before dating haechan, but he and the rest of the boys slowly got her into it, so even though the lck matches are supposed to keep the boysssss distracted, sooah ends up getting invested in the lck matches too. the three of them will huddle around the ipad and sit sooooooo close to the screen as they watch their fav team just shit on the enemy team. mark brings them popcorn and drinks since they won't move an inch during the match because they're too invested. sooah'll hold the popcorn bowl and just hold her mouth open so chenle can feed her kernels every so often without even glancing in her direction.

not so cutesy lol: sooah likes to watch them. she isn't sure why...... maybe because of her corruption kink when it comes to jisung and chenle's willingness to try anything but also to initiate whatever sooah wants out of him. she'll just sit next to them on the couch as chenle grabs the back of jisung's neck then pulls him in for a passionate kiss. she'll bite her lip to suppress her moans as she watches chenle lay on top of jisung and she'll start to touch herself whenever they start touching each other.

chenle loves to drive sooah around at night. when the roads are quieter than usual, they'll stop by a convenience store to pick up snacks, then they'll spend the night driving, talking, listening to music, all while one hand is on the wheel and the other is on her thigh so that she can play with his rings. his heart beats a mile a minute whenever he thinks about putitng a ring on her finger one day.

those nights when jisung gets home late and he goes to lay with sooah, he finds that every bit of anxiety he had during the day is washed away the second she adjusts to hold him and play with his hair while they both fall asleep. he feels so safe and warm in her arms. the way she knows the perfect ways to gently scratch his scalp and brush his hair with her fingers. whenever he has a headache, she'll do that too just to get him relaxed and stop the throbbing in his skull. (Ik you said pre-kids, but even after they have Yuna, Sooah will still do this for Jisung to reward him for doing so well with yuna when sooah's been too tired to keep up.)

[justakidicarus]

A little ficlet based on the recent Zelda reveal

I was suddenly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom game trailer. While this probably can't be considered spoilers on accounts of the game and its story not actually being out, viewer discretion is advised. This is likely not canon to the actual events of the game and is just my initial lore prediction. I was heavily inspired by the trailer and it got words flowing.

Assumptions:

Set in the Downfall timeline post Link's Awakening due to similar art styles and the presence of Deku scrubs.

Characterisations are unique

Also, I know nothing about the Downfall timeline besides vague hints from Linked Universe content as I haven't played any of their games. Creative liberties have been taken.

Fic under the break. Tags of ficlet contain spoilers. Also additional notes for the fic are under the fic itself, including explanations of concepts and background for the scene not included in the Assumptions.

---///---

Zelda threw herself to the ground as the Void Rift finally stopped eating at her steps, the halls of Ganon's new lair shrouded in shadows that Tri could barely pierce with their gleam. She groaned, hand still gripping the Tri-staff with a white-knuckled grip, as she refused to let go of her one saving grace in her journey for her kingdom. She didn't know how Link made each of his quests look so effortless. If the kingdom itself wasn't resting on her shoulders she didn't think she could have made it half as far as she has.

"Well, well, well. I didn't expect to see you in the Lord's Lair so soon. Quite far from the light aren't you, Princess?"

Zelda scrambled to her feet, Tri flying to her side to steady her hasty rise as she brandished her staff before her, summoning an echo torch before her to light the room.

The torch lasted mere moments before it was snuffed out, seemingly consumed by the ravenous Darkness surrounding her. If it wasn't for Tri and her staff, the wayward Princess wouldn't have been able to see the ground at all.

Tri zipped beside her ear to whisper advice, likely wary of whatever was in the room. The sheer fact that Tri didn't already know was worrying in and of itself. "Zelda this isn't normal Darkness, whatever is in here is dangerous, maybe even Ganon's most dangerous creation yet! This Darkness feels relentless." her companion murmured, their button-like eyes creased with barely concealed fear. Zelda felt her own heart jump. Tri couldn't even tell what was hidden in the shadows?

Zelda lifted a hand for her fairy to rest on as she replied with an equally as quiet "We can't turn back, not with the rift in the way. We'll make it through together," Before looking back into the Darkness for even a hint of movement. "Show yourself, servant of the Demon King!" She shouted, swinging her staff forward as an entire swath of torches was lit, fans behind them pushing the fire forward to clear out a path through the Darkness.

With a loud snarl more befitting of its master, the Darkness surged forward and attacked the fans directly, shattering the echoes before consuming the flames in turn. The hidden monster's voice had a loud echo as it spoke. Whatever room they were in must be big. "Do you think you can beat my Master? Your oh-so-pathetic knight couldn't, what makes you think you stand a chance?" it taunted, voice moving lazily across the room, uncaring of the impact of its words.

"Where is he? Answer me you monster!" Zelda cried out into the moving shadows surrounding her, twisting as she tried to track the monster, refusing to let it get behind her.

"Oh Princess, didn't you see those cursed souls outside?" it seemed to whisper, voice dripping with mocking pity as her heart clenched. The cursed souls, the Hylians that Ganon had kidnapped through the Dark Rifts doomed to serve their captor as slaves to the monsters. Only the Tri-staff's power could free them from Ganon's thrall, and return them home. Link would never succumb to the Darkness; he was too strong for that, but even the thought of him befalling such a fate sent a spike of fear through her bones.

"He would never have succumbed to your Master and his powers. Link is far too strong to ever fall," she hissed at the voice's general direction.

"I'll admit, he put up a fight. Not even a thousand monsters could weaken his resolve and put out that fool's damned faith." Despite the way the voice spat insults at her hero as if the words were poisoned, she almost felt relief at its words. Of course, Link would fight an entire army of monsters to reach her again, it was such a Link thing to do.

"but there's more than one way to snuff out a light," it chuckled, the voice whispering into her ear as her heart lept to her throat. She swung around and summoned an echoed lizalfos in front of her, but it barely lasted a second before the Darkness surrounded it and she could hear its death throes. Tri hovered over her shoulder, shaking with the weight of Zelda's fear for her knight. What are these monsters doing to him?!

"What have you done to my knight!" She screamed out, equal parts fury, mania, and fear giving her power enough of a boost that the Tri-staff glowed brighter, reacting to her will. The voice only laughed at her, its horrid amusement staining the air as the shadows pooled lazily at the edges of her light, unconcerned with her strengthened power.

"Where there is light, there must always be Darkness. Darkness is the natural state of the world, a state my Master will return it to once he rips that little triangle from your hand. From Darkness everything has come from-" it spoke with a madness that outshone its master's own, the monster's manic tone betraying barely a depth of its own insanity. Zelda's foot almost slipped into the Void Rift before she pulled herself back from the edge. Whatever creature Ganon had in this room, it was unlike anything she had ever faced before. It terrified her.

"-and to Darkness I have returned," it purred as torches of Dark fire lit upon the walls, bringing vision through the room while the space remained covered in its darkness. The ceiling was high and decorated with Ganon propaganda, images of the boar-faced brute staring down from all angles. The walls were leaking more of that Darkness, pooling down into grooves on the floor as they made their way to the circle of the cylindrical room. At its centre were multiple sets of shackles, prepared as if to contain a single person despite the sheer number of chains. Standing in the centre of the room was the source of the voice, the servant of Ganon whose darkness was so absolute that it didn't care at all for the power of the Tri-staff.

Distantly, Zelda could feel Tri slam into her chest, trembling so violently with both horror and fear that the little fairy could barely breathe. She could hear blood roaring in her ears as silently, desperately, she begged her eyes to be lying. This couldn't be real. Yet even as her free hand's nails dug hard enough into her palm to leave red marks on her skin, nothing in the room changed. The Hylian in front of her didn't morph into something else, or disappear as a trick of the shadows. This was real. This was real and she didn't know how to handle it as her world was shattered and laid to rest at the feet of the one she had journeyed so far to save.

"You've been searching my Master's kingdom for your hero? Well, here I am Princess." Link grinned at her, not an ounce of kindness in his eyes as he stared at her as if she were nothing but a Bokoblin he needed to kill.

---///---

Notes!

So to start there are two kinds of Rifts. Dark rifts lead to Ganon's evil Realm and Void Rifts, lead from Ganon's Realm into the Void. Nothing survives a Void rift.

Darkness is the main evil force in this. It's sort of an omnipresent force as a vapour in Ganon's realm but also exists as both a liquid and a solid. it is essentially evil given tangible form.

And to get to the meat of the concept Link has been corrupted by Darkness!

Dark Link's appearance isn't brought up, but you can assume it's evil-looking and menacing, perhaps even the classic Dark Link fit (Black skin, Red eyes, Silver hair, Black hero outfit). Just make his eyes red.

The room is indeed a boss room, but Zelda will escape due to Tri-staff BS without finishing the fight with Link because I need to get at least two encounters out of this guy.

Ganon also stole Link's part of the Triforce when he captured him the first time. Yes, Link has escaped Ganon, but the only way in and out of the realm without Ganon's power is the Tri-staff. Link does not have the Tri-staff

The chains in the room + Ganon's Propaganda might not have been entirely obvious but this is also where Ganon imprisoned Link to corrupt him. I could write another ficlet for it but he was essentially chained down and smothered with darkness completely, with nothing but pure evil and propaganda for company. This would have been going on for at least two weeks to a month before Link was fully corrupted.

Zelda will eventually purge him of the Darkness don't worry, but first, the Tri-staff and her own power will need a serious upgrade. The Darkness infesting Link is supercharged, coming directly and purposefully from Ganon himself and is also attracted to him as the past holder of the Triforce of Courage. At her current strength, Zelda would be hard-pressed to beat him in combat, let alone purge hm of his Darkness.

I have a few ideas on how to build off of this idea, including the aforementioned Link's corruption ficlet, but also one where Zelda seeks aid, a Dark Link POV ficlet, and even Link's Purging. Feel free to suggest more ideas if you've got them, I wanna see where this idea could go!

[kmomof4]

A Scoundrel... Or a Gentleman? Ch. 4

We are back with a new chapter, and this one's a bit of a doozy... but not anything I have to apologize for. I think y'all will like this one! Thank you so much for coming along on this journey with me! I really can't put into words what it means to me 🥹

Thank you again to @jrob64 @hollyethecurious and @winterbaby89 for their advice and being my sounding boards as I worked on this. And also to @snowbellewells and @motherkatereloyshipper for the artwork they did for the fic!!! I STILL can't get over either one!!! 😍

Ch. Summary: Ruth's birthday has arrived and Emma and Killian both come to some realizations.

Words: 8550 of approx 59,5k

Rating: M (smut in later chs)

Tags: Regency Romance, Inspired by Francesca Bridgerton's Story, Smut in Later Chapters.

On ao3 From Beginning / Current Chapter

On Tumblr Prologue Ch2 Ch3

Tagging the usuals. Please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed.

@jrob64 @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @the-darkdragonfly @jennjenn615 @donteattheappleshook @undercaffinatednightmare @pirateherokillian @cocohook38 @qualitycoffeethings @booksteaandtoomuchtv @superchocovian @motherkatereloyshipper @snowbellewells @pirateprincessofpizza @djlbg @lfh1226-linda @xarandomdreamx @tiganasummertree @bluewildcatfanatic @anmylica @laianely @resident-of-storybrooke @exhaustedpirate @gingerchangeling @caught-in-the-filter @ultraluckycatnd @stahlop @darkshadow7 @fleurdepetite @captainswan-kellie @soniccat @beckettj @teamhook @whimsicallyenchantedrose @thisonesatellite @jonesfandomfanatic @elfiola @zaharadessert @ilovemesomekillianjones @mie779 @kymbersmith-90 @suwya

Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

“Is he here?”

“He is not.”

“Are you quite sure?”

It was all Emma could do to keep from rolling her eyes in irritation. “He hadn’t yet left Kilmartin House when I did, and I haven’t seen him since, so yes. I’m as sure as I can be that he hasn’t arrived.”

“But he is coming?”

“Yes. He is coming.”

“Oh.” Mrs. Fisher was quiet for a moment, looking around the Nolan ballroom. “There’s Ariel. I must go see to her. Lovely to see you again, Emma.” With that, the woman - one of the most notorious gossips of the ton - left her alone to interrupt her daughter, who was speaking most animatedly with a handsome, but sadly, untitled gentleman on the other side of the room.

The conversation with the society matron would have been amusing if it hadn’t been the seventh, no, the eighth - one mustn’t forget the conversation with her own mother - she’d had to endure since she arrived. And since Ruth had announced that Killian would be in attendance at her birthday soiree, she didn’t think there was any possible way to avoid the interrogation of the unattached females, and their mamas, of the ton. All trying to find out tidbits about him that might smooth the way for them to charm the dashing earl, as he was now known.

“Lady Kilmartin!” She turned to see Lady Lucas making her way toward her. She was a stern older woman that many in the ton feared, but Emma rather liked her. Not afraid of anything or anyone, she wasn’t hesitant about making her thoughts and opinions known. She was a legend around town and Emma counted herself fortunate to be consistently in the countess’ good graces. The crowd between them parted like the Red Sea, the partygoers removing themselves from Lady Lucas’ line of sight.

“Lovely to see you, Lady Lucas,” Emma greeted the old woman, when she was finally close enough that Emma wouldn’t need to shout to be heard over the din of the party.

“Hmphh,” the old woman replied. “Don’t lie to me. We’re both well aware that no one thinks it’s lovely to see me coming.”

Emma couldn’t hold back a snort of amusement at her bluntness, even if she didn’t fully agree with her. “Are you enjoying yourself?” she asked instead.

“I’d enjoy myself better if someone would tell me how old your mother is.”

Emma gasped in shock. “I wouldn’t dare.”

“And why not?” Lady Lucas asked, indignant. “It’s not as if she’s as old as I am!”

Emma smiled slyly before speaking. “And just how old are you, Lady Lucas?”

The countess shot her an impressed look tinged with a knowing gleam in her eye. “Heh, heh, heh,” she chuckled. “You’re a clever one. But don’t think I’m going to fall for your tricks. You’ll never find out how old I am.”

“Then you must allow the same consideration for my mother.”

“Perhaps,” she conceded. “But what’s the point of a birthday party if we don’t know what we are celebrating?”

“The miracle of life and longevity?” Emma asked, pertly.

Lady Lucas snorted at that. “Where’s that new earl of yours?”

Emma tried not to choke on her drink. “He’s not mine,” she asserted.

Lady Lucas raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re still the countess, are you not?”

“Yes, of course,” she replied. Her heart thundered in her chest and she prayed the woman next to her was unaware of it.

“And he is the earl.” The eyebrow went even higher. “Is he not?”

“Yes, of course he is.”

“That makes him yours,” she insisted with a sharp nod. “And besides, I thought you were friends.”

“W-we are,” she stammered. That much was definitely true, but Emma couldn’t countenance the underlying message the countess seemed determined to get across. “He is my brother-in-law. That is all.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Lady Lucas looked around the crowded room before speaking again. “I do believe you deserve a reprieve. From me,” she continued, in case her meaning had not been abundantly clear. 

“You are my reprieve,” Emma mumbled under her breath. But Lady Lucas gave no indication that she’d heard her, no matter that her hearing was positively wolf-like, able to hone in on anything of interest within a fifteen foot radius.

“I believe I’ll go pester your brother. Isn’t he newly arrived from Cyprus?”

Emma spied August some twenty feet away on the other side of the ballroom, surrounded by his own group of admirers, no doubt hanging on every word of his adventures.

“Why, yes, he is,” Emma acknowledged, a sly grin on her face. August was terrified of Lady Lucas and Emma would rather enjoy watching him try to avoid the countess once she set her eyes on him.

“Mr. Nolan,” she barked. Emma giggled behind her hand to see the terror flash in her brother’s eyes while he tried to pretend he hadn’t heard her. As Lady Lucas moved toward her latest target, Emma realized that she had been a very effective deterrent to the many matrimonial minded mamas who saw her as their only link to Killian. Good heavens, three of them were already heading her way.

It was time to escape. Now. She turned on her heel and marched right over to where her sister Ruby stood conversing with their sister-in-law Mary Margaret, and their brother Will’s intended, Belle French. Ruby was easy to spot in the crush of partygoers, wearing a beautiful red gown. Emma would have rather left the party completely, but if she was serious about finding herself a husband this season, she was going to have to stay visible and let it be known. Not that anyone would take any notice until Killian arrived. She could announce that she planned to move to the dark continent of Africa and take up cannibalism and the only response she’d be likely to garner would be if the earl was going to accompany her.

“Good evening,” Emma said, joining the small group.

“Oh, hello, Emma,” Ruby greeted her. “Where’s…”

“Don’t you start,” Emma growled. “If one more person asks me where Killian is, my head will explode.”

“That would certainly change the tenor of the evening,” Mary Margaret remarked mildly, taking a sip of her lemonade.

“As well as the cleaning duties of the staff,” Belle added.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Well? Where is he?” Ruby demanded.

Emma sighed. “I don’t know. He said he’d be here.”

“If he’s smart, he’s probably hiding in the hall,” Belle observed.

“Goodness gracious, you’re probably right.” Emma could just see him bypassing the ballroom completely to socialize in the smoking room. In other words, away from all the females. “I wish he would get here so people would stop asking me about him.”

Ruby laughed loudly. “Oh my poor delusional Emma,” she guffawed. “Once he arrives, the questions will double and simply change from where is he to tell us more.”

“I fear she is right,” Mary Margaret said, with Belle nodding in agreement.

“Oh, dear,” Emma breathed, realizing that was exactly what would happen.

“You’re wearing blue!” Mary Margaret exclaimed.

Emma looked down, almost surprised. She’d nearly forgotten. The shade was really quite lovely, a soft sky blue. The comparison to Killian’s eyes couldn’t possibly be avoided.

“Yes, yes I am,” Emma replied, raising her chin just a touch. 

“You’re out of mourning, then?” Belle asked gently.

Emma couldn’t meet her eyes and lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Well, I’ve been out of mourning for quite some time.”

“Does this mean you’re wanting to remarry?” Trust Ruby to get straight to the point.

“It has been four years after all,” Mary Margaret added.

Emma couldn’t hide her wince. But there was no use denying it.

“Yes.” 

For a moment, there was silence from the ladies. Then they all spoke at once offering their congratulations and bits of advice that she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to hear.

“We shall have to spread the news, of course,” Mary Margaret said, excitedly.

Emma gasped. “You can’t be serious!”

“Of course I am! The blue dress is an excellent signal of your intentions, but the only ones astute enough to notice are fellow females. The men of our acquaintance are simply too obtuse. Don’t worry,” she continued, laying her hand on Emma’s arm, who was feeling rather ill at the prospect. “We will be the very model of discretion and tact.”

“Trust us,” Ruby interjected, the smirk on her face inspiring the very opposite. “Oh, look. There’s Killian.”

And so he was. The ladies all looked toward the entrance to the ballroom to see Killian already surrounded by a gaggle of women. Not that Emma was surprised in the least.

“My goodness,” Mary Margaret breathed, “I forgot how handsome he is.” Emma’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“He’s very tanned,” Belle added.

“He was in India for four years. Of course he’s tanned,” Emma snapped.

Ruby’s head jerked toward her. “You’re of rather a short temper tonight, Emma,” she observed.

Emma tried to school her features into a more neutral mask. “I’m just weary of being asked about him all the time. There are so many other more interesting topics of conversation.”

“Did you two have a falling out or something?”

Emma’s breath caught as she realized she’d left the wrong impression. “No, of course not,” she assured her sister. “But he’s been literally the only thing I’ve talked about all evening. At this point, I’d be delighted to comment on the weather.”

“Hmmm.”

“Of course.”

“Yes.”

Emma had no idea who said what as they were all once again staring at Killian and his crowd of admirers - about half pursuing him for marriage, either for themselves or their daughters, while the other half were young and already married, obviously pursuing him for another reason entirely.

“He is very handsome,” Belle commented. “All that black hair.”

“Belle!” Emma exclaimed.

“What?” she replied. “It’s true!”

“You’re to be married!”

“Well, I’m not yet!” she exclaimed. “And even then, I’m not blind!”

“Does that mean that Emma and I are the only ones allowed to comment on how handsome he is? Spinster that I am and unattached as she is…” Ruby asked.

“Killian is the last man you’d want to marry, Ruby,” Emma said.

“And why is that?” she asked. The words had been out of Emma’s mouth before she’d even had a chance to think, and now all three of them had their full attention fixed on her, awaiting her answer.

“‘W- well,” she stammered, her eyes widening as she cast about for something to say. “He’s just a terrible rake, is all. And you know his reputation. He could never remain faithful to one woman.” As she watched him charm the masses, her heart squeezed at her flippant words. He may have been a rake and a scoundrel, with no real responsibility, but the way he’d dutifully stepped into the role of the earl since being restored to health had been unexpected to say the least. She had a feeling that the change she’d sensed in him since their reunion a month ago, may very well extend to matters of the heart, as well. Or, maybe not necessarily matters of the heart - it was still very difficult to imagine Killian falling in love - but matters of duty to crown and country. The duty to marry and produce an heir. And Killian’s heart of honor would likely not allow him to break his marriage vows.

“Rake or not,” Ruby mused. “He’s terribly handsome. No wonder he attracts so much attention.”

“He’s always attracted female attention, but not from the marriage minded,” Emma said. “The fact that he’s an earl is the only reason he’s the catch of the season.” 

“You should go greet him,” Mary Margaret said, nudging Emma with her elbow.

“Why on earth should I do that?”

“Because he’s here.”

Emma gestured around the room as she spoke. “So are a hundred other men,” she replied. “All of which I’d rather marry.”

Ruby turned her shrewd gaze on Emma for a moment, making her want to squirm. “Mmhmmm,” she hummed. “Don’t know why,” she continued, now rolling her eyes. “Killian is far more handsome than any of them.” Emma turned her head sharply at her sister. Of all the Nolan siblings, Emma and Ruby were the closest in age, exactly one year apart. And while, of course, she’d give her life for her sister, more often than not, she felt like strangling her. Like now. Especially right now. “There’s only three here that I’d even consider obeying. And I’m not even sure about them…”

“Be that as it may,” Emma replied, desperate to redirect Ruby’s thoughts, “spending time with Killian will not help my prospects in finding a husband.”

“And I thought we were here to celebrate Mother’s birthday,” her sister quipped with a smirk. Emma glared.

“But Mary Margaret is right,” Belle said. “You should go over and greet Killian. It’s only polite and will signal to the ton that you fully accept him as the earl and that there is no rift between you. Which everyone will think, if you don’t.”

Emma sighed. Belle was right. Killian deserved a proper and formal welcome to London society and if she didn’t do it, it would be gossip fodder for weeks. And that kind of speculation at the moment would not help her. Not when she was trying to find a husband.

She’d always found Killian’s reputation to be amusing. Probably because she was rather removed from it all. What did his reputation matter to her as a happily married woman? But she was no longer a married woman. She was in the market for a new husband and to see Killian flirt and charm so effortlessly irked her for some reason that she didn’t want to look at too closely.  

“I will go greet Killian,” she promised. “Just as soon as I see to myself.” If she was going to fight her way through all the ladies surrounding Killian, she’d rather do it without having to hop from foot to foot.   

As she passed Ruby, she could have sworn her sister whispered coward under her breath. Emma inhaled sharply and walked faster instead of turning and lobbing back a scathing retort. Because Ruby just might be right, and that was terrifying to consider.

~*~*~

He was aware of her from the moment he entered the room. Emma stood on the other side of the ballroom conversing with her sister and sisters-in-law; or nearly, in the case of Belle French, Will’s betrothed. He couldn’t hide the small smile that touched his lips when he saw what she wore. Light blue silk glowed under the light of all the candles, and while she was too far away for him to experience the full effect, he still had to catch his breath at the picture that formed in his mind's eye.

Even four years away from her hadn’t changed that one whit. And he didn’t suppose it ever would. At least in India, she wasn’t around for him to be aware of her. But now that he was back, it was as clear to him as it ever was. He’d never be free of her. And she’d never be his. His heart clenched at the thought.

Within seconds of entering the room, he was surrounded by no less than half a dozen debutantes, and their mamas as well. As he suffered through each introduction, and re-introduction of the ladies, he blessed his ability - gift, really - to charm and appear wholly focussed on those seeking his attention, even if that attention was truly elsewhere. Emma suddenly left her family and was making her way toward the side entrance, no doubt seeking the ladies retiring room. Once she was gone, he announced his intention to locate his hostess to offer his thanks and best wishes, and excused himself.

When Emma arrived back in the ballroom, he hadn’t yet spoken with his hostess, being waylaid by Lady Lucas and Emma’s family. Not that he minded the Nolan ladies, since Ruby was the only one among them unattached, and she was as much a sister to him as anything. Killian immediately changed direction and caught his breath yet again, as the full realization hit him of exactly what it meant for her to be dressed in blue at a social event, even if it was her mother’s birthday fête.

She was out of mourning. Officially. She would flirt. And dance. And laugh. And find herself a husband. And it would probably happen within the space of a month. Because once her intention became clear, she would be flooded with suitors. After all, who wouldn’t want to marry her? She was beautiful, vivacious, witty, and had an air of maturity the younger debutantes didn’t have. And as her highest ranking male relative, he’d have a front row seat.

A soft, knowing smirk adorned her face as she approached him. He responded in kind as he met her halfway.

“Lady Kilmartin,” he murmured with a bow, taking the hand she offered him and brushing his lips across the knuckles.

“Welcome back to London, my lord,” she replied, curtseying properly. The moment they were both upright again, giggles and a full bodied laugh burst from them. The utter ridiculousness of the formality of their greeting was not lost on either of them.

Killian held his arm out for her. “May I have this dance?” She took his arm, the knowing smirk back on her face as he led her to the dance floor. He took her in his arms, his necessary mask when in her presence firmly in place, and began to lead her in a waltz. “You look lovely this evening, Emma. The color looks splendid on you.” 

Her cheeks flushed prettily and she demurely looked down. “Thank you. I see you did make time to see the tailor. You look quite handsome as well.”

They continued the waltz for a few moments before he spoke again. “So, are you enjoying yourself?” he asked.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Ruby, Mary Margaret, and Belle all said I should greet you properly, since this is your formal entry to society. Can’t let the ton think there’s any issue between us.” Killian swallowed hard, as he spun her and then drew her close again. “No matter that we’ve been living in the same house for weeks.”

“What issue could they possibly think may be between us?” he asked, honestly puzzled.

“I haven’t a clue,” she replied, “but that’s never stopped them from wagging their collective tongues, speculating about a non-existent scandal.”

“This is true.” Even in the few minutes he’d been the center of attention, he could plainly see the essence of the ton was unchanged since he’d left four years ago. He wasn’t sure if it was amusing or hell. Amusing, at the moment, he decided. Next week, it’d likely be hell.

“And what about you? Are you enjoying yourself, Killian?”

“Of course.”

“Of course?” She raised her eyebrow as if she didn’t believe him. “Even dancing with me, instead of being surrounded by a whole host of giggling young ladies hanging on your every word?”

“Why, Emma,” he said, waggling his brows, “Is that a note of jealousy I hear in your voice?”

Emma blanched and her eyes widened. He’d only been teasing her, but her response, quite honestly, startled him.

“O-of course not!” she exclaimed, her cheeks flaming again. “Why would you think I was jealous? I’ve never been jealous of your admirers before. Why would you think I am now?”

“Calm down, Emma,” he cajoled. “I was only teasing. I know you’re not jealous.” Even if the most fervent desire of his heart was for her to love him as he loved her, he couldn’t wish the torment of jealousy upon her, not when he himself had lived with it day in and day out for so many years.

She was still flustered and wouldn’t meet his eyes, and Killian couldn’t help the way his heart leapt with hope. “You must be careful though. These ladies are not your usual ladies.”

Killian’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I wasn’t aware I had a usual.”

Emma finally looked at him, though the color was still high on her cheeks. “Oh, come now, Killian. You know what I’m talking about. Four years ago you had standards. You didn’t seduce anyone who’d be irreparably harmed by your actions.”

“And what makes you think I’m going to start now?” The hope that filled his heart moments ago, plummeted. He brought them to a halt in the middle of the dance floor and led her to the edge of the ballroom and out onto the blessedly deserted terrace. He knew exactly what she was saying and he really shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d been very conscious and purposeful to flirt and seduce where either Emma could see it or she’d hear about it later, all so she’d never know the truth that lay buried in his heart. And now his reputation as a rogue and scoundrel diminished him in her eyes. And that was the last thing he wanted. Bitterness and resentment rose up within him as he turned back to her, and he couldn’t keep their bite out of his words. “Tell me, Emma. Just who do you think I am? Do you really think me so dimwitted or careless that I might accidentally ruin some young lady?”

He didn’t think he’d ever seen her pale so quickly and he immediately regretted what he’d said. “O- of course not,” she stammered. “I’m just afraid…”

“Afraid of what?”

Her chin trembled slightly. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to count the number of hearts you’ll break this spring.”

His voice was quiet but hard. “And why are you so concerned about that? It’s not your job to count them.”

“I know.” Her voice was nearly a whisper and he had to strain to hear her. “But I won’t be able to help myself.”

He had nothing to say to her. Her words and posture had his mind spinning. Why would she concern herself with how many hearts he might break? He certainly didn’t set out to do so. But the fact that she expected it of him hurt. 

“You should dance,” she burst out.

“We just finished a dance,” he informed her, testily.

“I meant with someone eligi…” She cut herself off before finishing the word, and Killian couldn’t help but wonder why. There was no possible way she might have guessed that he’d consider her eligible. He’d kept his feelings too well hidden for that. “Someone you might marry.” 

Someone he might marry, he thought irritably. To her mind, anyone but her.

“As a signal to society that you are looking for a countess.” He made no comment, but he could feel the muscle in his jaw twitching in his agitation. “You are… looking for a countess… are you not?”

He shrugged, flippantly. “If you say so.” 

“Someone who won’t fall in love with you.”

He turned sharply toward her and raised an eyebrow sardonically. “Heaven forbid I fall in love.”

She turned her head more fully toward him, her mouth open in a soft O of surprise. “Is that what you want? To fall in love?” 

The joy and delight on her face was too much. Surely there was no more perfect irony in the universe. God must be sitting on His throne having a good laugh at how tied up in knots he was.

“Killian?” she asked when he didn’t answer right away.

She wanted him to find love. She wanted him to be happy. And all he wanted to do was scream.

“If you will excuse me,” he said, his voice cold and formal, “I must go find someone with whom to dance. Someone I might marry. But someone who will absolutely not fall in love with me.”

“Killian, please,” she said in a whisper. “Don’t be like this. I didn’t mean…”

“Oh, I understand exactly what you mean, Emma,” he stated. “We must preserve the delicate and pure hearts of the ladies of the ton, since my heart is far too black to be helped.” 

With those words, he turned back toward the ballroom and left the terrace.

~*~*~

The next morning, Emma felt perfectly wretched. She couldn’t shake the guilt that clung to her like a blanket, even though Killian was the one who was so cold and heartless the evening before. 

What had she done or said to provoke such an unkind response from him? He’d never been interested in love and marriage before, and while she knew he’d eventually fulfill his duty to marry and beget an heir, when he’d said what he did about falling in love, her heart had beat double time. She wanted that happiness for him, but his cold and callous words towards her, and then his actions the rest of the evening, showed her plainly that his words about love were just that. Words.

When she went back into the ballroom from the terrace, she’d been inundated with dance requests and spent the rest of the evening dancing with this gentleman, or that viscount, and even a marquess. But Killian still commanded her attention. And she was painfully aware of how he charmed every single female in attendance. It got to where she was quite disgusted with herself for not being able to put him out of her mind. 

Every once in a while, his eyes would meet hers and they would turn hard and cold, but with an edge of mocking as he moved on to the next conquest. It was obvious to her that he knew exactly what he was doing. After her whispered confession about counting his broken hearts, he rose to the challenge with alacrity. She still wasn’t sure why she’d said that. Or even what exactly she meant. The words were past her lips before she could really think about it.

But they were true nonetheless. She had counted. But why? What did it matter? She’d never cared before! And it was only going to get worse. The women of the ton were mad for Killian. If the rules of courtship were reversed, the drawing room of Kilmartin house would be overflowing with flowers of every description. All addressed to the Dashing Earl.

But it was still going to be dreadful. She expected numerous female callers today, all hoping that Killian would walk through the drawing room. But even if he didn’t, she’d still have to answer numerous questions about him…

“Good heavens!” she exclaimed, looking into the drawing room. “What’s this?” 

Flowers. Flowers everywhere. Flowers of every description on every available surface.

It was her nightmare come to life! Had someone changed the rules of society and failed to tell her?

Lilies, orchids, tulips, violets. Roses. Roses everywhere. In every color. The scent was overwhelming and nearly sent her running.

“Tom!” she called the butler. She heard a loud sneeze and then he appeared in the doorway of the room holding a vase of daisies, his nose red and eyes watering terribly.

“Oh, Tom! I’m so sorry! All these flowers must be terrible for your allergies! But where did they all come from?”

“They are…” sneeze “for you…” louder sneeze “milady.” three sneezes in remarkably quick succession.

Emma blinked.

“For me?” She couldn’t fathom it. She was a widow. Men didn’t send flowers to widows. Did they?

Tom sniffed loudly and blew his red nose on his ever-present handkerchief. “I left the cards…” sneeze “on each arrangement…” sniff “so you would be able to identify each sender.” More sneezing.

“Here,” she said apologetically, “let me take those and you go take care of yourself.”

He handed the vase over and hurried off, no doubt thankful to be away from all the flora in the room.

Emma walked slowly into the room, and set the vase of daisies down on the nearest empty surface, too overcome by the lavish display. She came to an arrangement of tulips in the brightest of colors. Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady the card read. It was signed Viscount Trevalstam. He’d lost his wife two years ago. Everyone knew he was looking for a new bride to give him an heir. 

A delicate purple orchid was the next vase she came to. From Baron Whale.

“Who could these be from?” she mused, approaching an arrangement of yellow roses. She couldn’t keep the giddiness inside of her hidden as a wide and delighted grin spread across her lips. A Shakespearian sonnet, if she wasn’t mistaken and signed by Earl Stone. They’d only been introduced the evening before and shared a single dance. He was quite handsome, but since she had a full dance card, she hadn’t had the opportunity to converse with him after their turn on the floor. 

“Good heavens!”

Emma turned to see Alice in the doorway. Her mouth hung open slightly, much as hers had been upon discovering the floral display. 

“What is all this?”

“I believe those were my exact words when I came in,” Emma laughed. Alice approached and Emma handed her the cards she’d already read. She watched her mother-in-law carefully. She’d lost her firstborn son when Liam died. How would she react to Emma being pursued by other men?

Alice’s eyes were soft as they rose to meet hers after reading the cards.

“Oh, my,” she breathed. “You seem to be the season’s Incomparable.”

Emma felt her cheeks heat. “Oh, don’t be silly,” she protested. “I’m far too old for that.”

“Apparently not,” Alice replied. “Have you looked at all of the cards?”

“Not yet,” Emma said. “But I imagine…”

“They’re more of the same?” 

Emma met Alice’s gaze and slowly nodded. “Does that bother you?”

Alice’s smile was sad, but her eyes were kind and wise. “Do I wish that you were still married to my son?” she asked. “Of course, I do.” She laid the cards down on the table and took Emma’s hands in her own. “Do I wish for you to remain married to his memory? Of course not. You are my daughter, Emma, and I want you to be happy.”

Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “I would like to have a child,” she said, feeling the need to explain to Alice that she wanted to be a mother, not necessarily a wife. 

Alice nodded and dabbed at her own eyes before turning toward another arrangement, a delicate and lovely arrangement of grape hyacinths and stephanotis. “We must read the rest of these cards. And then prepare ourselves for a flood of afternoon callers,” she said, her tone brisk, clearly communicating her wish to move on from the heavily charged moment.

“I rather think the callers will be women,” she murmured, “inquiring after Killian.”

“You may be right,” she agreed. She held up the card. “May I?”

Emma nodded and Alice opened the card. Her mouth dropped open slightly as she read the words.

“What is it?” Emma asked, almost dreading her response.

“Cheshire.”

Emma gasped. “As in the Duke of?”

“The very one.”

Emma raised a hand to her heart. “The Duke of Cheshire,” she breathed. “Oh, my…”

“Oh my, indeed,” Alice agreed. “You, my dear, are clearly the catch of the season.”

“But…”

“What the devil is all this?” Both ladies turned to see Killian standing in the doorway of the drawing room, looking exceedingly cross.

“Good morning, Killian,” Alice said cheerfully.

He nodded in response then looked at Emma. “You look like you’re about to faint,” he said, waving his hand around aimlessly. Emma dropped her hand back to her side, having forgotten completely she still held it over her heart. He came further into the room and raised his eyebrow. “Are we opening a flower shop, then?”

“We clearly could,” Alice answered him. “They’re for Emma.”

“Of course they’re for Emma,” he replied. “Who else would they be for? But good God, how many roses are there? And who would be idiot enough to send them?”

“I like roses,” Emma protested.

“Everyone sends roses,” Killian groused. “They’re trite and old and… who sent these?” he asked, motioning to a display of white roses she hadn’t yet read the card for.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I haven’t seen the card yet.”

He plucked the card from the arrangement and opened it. “Lord Gaston,” he read.

“You will under no circumstances marry him. He hasn’t two shillings to rub together.”

Emma’s mouth dropped open in shock. “And how do you know that?”

He fixed her with an unamused look. “I’ve been to my club.”

“That may be true, but it’s hardly his fault.” She may not have seriously considered marrying him, but she did feel compelled to defend him since everyone knew the young Lord had spent the last year trying to repair the damage his father had done to the family finances.

“You’re not marrying him, and that’s final,” Killian announced.

She should have been annoyed by his arrogance, but in truth, she was only amused.

“Very well,” she replied, a smirk on her lips. “I’ll choose someone else.”

“Good,” he grunted.

“She has many to choose from,” Alice supplied, helpfully.

“Indeed,” he said caustically.

“May I take these daisies to my room?” Alice asked suddenly. “They are my favorite flower.”

“Of course,” Emma agreed quickly. Alice picked up the arrangement and left them alone. It was only a moment later that Killian let out a violent sneeze. As soon as he recovered, he glared at the display of gladiolas next to him that prompted it.

“We shall have to open a window,” he groused.

“And freeze?” Emma asked.

“I’ll put on a coat,” he ground out.

“Are you jealous?” she asked coyly. He snapped his head toward her so fast, she quickly backtracked. “Not over me,” she clarified, mortified to feel her cheeks heat. “Heavens, no. Not that.”

“Over what then?” he asked, his voice quiet and clipped.

“Well… just…” she stammered, gesturing aimlessly toward the ostentatious display around them, “I mean, we’re both after the same goal this season, aren't we?” 

He stared at her blankly.

“Marriage?” Good heavens but he was obtuse this morning.

“What of it?”

She let out an impatient breath. “I don’t know if you’d thought of it or not, but I rather assumed you would be the one to be relentlessly pursued. Not me. I never dreamed that I would…”

“Emerge as a prize to be won?” He lifted his eyebrow at her knowingly.

“Well, yes… I guess.” It wasn’t the nicest way to put it, but she couldn’t argue the point.

For a moment, he was silent. His clear blue eyes never wavering from hers. “Any man who doesn’t want to marry you is a fool.”

Emma’s jaw dropped. “Oh… well…” She was quite at a loss for words. “I believe that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Emma,” he sighed. Emma couldn’t look away from him. He looked tired, and sad, and something else. Regretful, maybe? No, Killian didn’t regret anything.

“I would never begrudge you this, Emma. You…” he cleared his throat, “deserve to be happy.”

She had no idea how to reply. Especially after their words last night.

“We both deserve happiness, Killian. Your turn will come.”

He turned questioning eyes upon her.

“It already has really,” she continued. “Last night. I was besieged by far more of your admirers than my own.”

Killian smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He didn’t look angry, just… hollow, almost. And it struck her how odd an observation that was.

“Speaking of…” he began, reaching up and scratching behind his ear, “Last night. I must apologize for my behavior. I hurt you, and I’m sorry.”

“Everything is fine,” she assured him.

“Nonetheless,” he said gruffly, “I’m sorry.”

She watched him intently. His face was so dear to her and she knew every last detail of it. But something was different about him now. And she wasn’t sure what. And she wasn’t sure how it’d come about. She was also quite sure there was more he wanted to tell her, but couldn’t find the words.

“Everything is fine, Killian,” she repeated. “We’re fine.”

He nodded sharply, turned on his heel, and left the room.

~*~*~

Later, Killian sat in his club, a tumbler of rum in his hand. He grit his teeth, the muscle in his jaw twitching as he reflected on Ruth’s birthday party. He didn’t enjoy acting like an ass, but he truly had, and the guilt ate at him. He couldn’t really blame Emma. She’d always wanted to see him happily married. As happy as she’d been with his brother. But when he’d uttered the L word the previous evening, the joy on her face at the prospect of him finding love was just too much and he’d snapped. At least he’d apologized, and she’d forgiven him, but the maelstrom of the feelings he held for his sister-in-law almost guaranteed that it would happen again.

Once she was married and out of the house, and he wasn’t sitting across from her for every meal, he’d be better. They’d remain friends, of course. Emma wouldn’t allow anything else, but her new husband would certainly not allow her to spend so much time in his presence, brother-in-law or no.

“Jones,” a voice called, before Killian heard a clearing of a throat. “Er, Kilmartin, rather. So sorry.”

Killian looked up to see Baron Victor Whale, an acquaintance from Cambridge. “Think nothing of it,” he said, motioning to the chair across from him.

“Splendid to see you back in London,” Victor said, taking his seat. “I trust your journey home was uneventful.”

“It was,” Killian replied. “Thank you.” 

They exchanged the most basic of pleasantries until Victor got to the point. “I understand Lady Kilmartin is in the market for a husband.”

It was a very good thing Killian was so well versed in keeping his true feelings hidden, because the baron’s words and the gleam in his eyes made the alcohol in his stomach sour, and he had to fight to keep his countenance even. No matter that he thought of little else in the last few days, hearing others speak of it was the very last thing he wanted to hear.

“Er, yes,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink. “I believe she is.”

“Splendid.” The smile on Victor’s face grew and Killian steeled himself for his next words. “Will you dower her?”

Killian’s eyebrows jumped on his head in surprise. “What?” It hadn’t even occurred to him. Good God, he’d probably have to give her away at the wedding.

“Will you dower her?” he repeated.

“Of course,” he bit out, holding on to his temper by the most tenuous of threads.

“Her brother said the same.” Killian feared for his teeth if he ground them any harder. If Victor thought he had any chance of gaining Emma’s hand and her apparently double dowry, he had another thing coming. He’d been a frequent visitor to the track back in their university days, and he doubted that had changed appreciatively since then. He was very likely impoverished and looking for an heiress to save him from ruin.

“The Jones’ will care for her,” Killian replied through grit teeth.

Victor shrugged. “Apparently, the Nolan’s will as well. Well, good seeing you again, Kilmartin,” he said, standing. “I must be off to tell Cheshire the news. Not that I want the competition, but this won’t stay under wraps for long. Might as well be the one to start its spread.” He laughed and Killian glared as he walked away.

Killian looked down at the empty glass in his hand. Damn, he’d already drunk it all. He signaled for another and then heard his name again. He did his best to hide his irritation, but this time wasn’t entirely sure he succeeded.

“Good evening, Kilmartin.” The voice belonged to Earl Arthur Stone. The man was familiar to him, of course, enough that a friendly conversation in the club wouldn’t draw undue attention, but he often reminded Killian of a strutting peacock, and after his floral delivery this morning, there was little doubt why he was seeking Killian out this evening.

“Stone,” he greeted, motioning to the chair Whale had recently vacated. He was only a bit more circumspect than Whale had been, engaging him in pleasantries for a full five minutes before bringing up his true purpose.

“I called upon Lady Kilmartin this afternoon,” he informed Killian.

“Did you?” he replied, nonplussed. He may not have been in the house when Stone called, wanting to spare himself the parade of suitors that seemed inevitable after the floral display that morning, but he wasn’t a fool.

“She’s lovely,” Arthur continued, when it became clear Killian had nothing else to say in light of his revelation.

“She is indeed.” Killian swirled his fresh drink and brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving the man across from him. 

Stone cleared his throat and spoke again. “I intend to court her, you know.”

Killian pierced him with a stare and was gratified to see just a slight bit of discomfort at his scrutiny. 

“Well, if I didn’t, I certainly do now.”

Stone pulled at his cravat. “I wasn’t sure whether to inform you or her brother.”

Killian had no doubt David Nolan, the viscount and Emma’s eldest brother, would have no trouble determining the worth of potential suitors. But as her higher ranking relative, it’d be customary for him to be informed first by those same suitors.

“I am sufficient.”

“Excellent.” He took a sip of his drink and cleared his throat, a bit nervously in Killian’s opinion.

“Stone!” a rather jovial voice called. “And Kilmartin, too! What a surprise to see you!” It was Lord Cassidy. And if he wasn’t drunk yet, he was close to it.

Killian refrained from rolling his eyes at the man’s statement, as he took a seat between himself and Arthur. 

“When did you get back to London?” Cassidy asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“I’ve been back about a month,” Killian replied. He realized his glass was empty again and signaled for another. He was going to need it.

Cassidy nodded several times in quick succession. “And Lady Kilmartin, as well, I see,” he continued. “Finally out of mourning, yes? She wore blue last night,” he said, answering his own question. 

“She looked quite lovely,” Stone added.

“Indeed, indeed,” Cassidy nodded again. “A fine woman. Why, I’d go after her myself if I wasn’t already shackled to Lady Cassidy.”

Small favors, Killian thought, barely able to keep himself from rolling his eyes in annoyance. He couldn’t imagine being faced with a potential suit from the buffoon in front of him.

“How long did she mourn the old earl?” he asked and Killian bristled.

“Four years,” he bit out. “My brother died four years ago.”

“Whatever,” Cassidy replied, blatantly ignoring Killian’s emphasis on his relationship to the old earl. “It was a bloody long time.” He shrugged. “All the same to us though. She wasn’t looking for a husband until now.”

“No,” Killian said. If only because Cassidy had actually stopped to take a breath.

“The men are going to be after her like bees to flowers.” He drew out the s so that it sounded like a long zzzzz. “Beezzzz to honey, I say. And there hasn’t been a hint of scandal about her in all that time.”

“Of course not!” Stone sounded shocked and Killian ground his teeth wondering where Cassidy was going with this.

“Not like some of the widows out and about, eh?” he continued, elbowing Killian and shooting him a significant look. “If you know what I mean.”

Killian looked him square in the face and speared him with a stare that would have sent his underlings back in India scurrying, but which he was afraid Lord Cassidy was a bit too obtuse, or a bit too drunk to notice.

“What, exactly, do you mean, Cassidy?” he asked, a hard edge to his voice.

“It’s like…” He leaned in conspiratorially and his grin turned salacious. “It’s like…”

“Oh, for God’s sake, man. Spit it out,” Killian growled.

“I’ll tell you what it’s like,” he repeated, his grin turning into a leer. “It’s like you’re getting a virgin who knows what to do.”

“What did you say?” Killian’s voice was deadly quiet.

“I said…”

“I would take care to not repeat what you just said, if I were you, Cassidy,” Stone tried to warn him.

“Eh? It’s no insult, I assure you,” Cassidy continued before finishing off his drink. “I mean, she’s been married, so you know she’s not untouched, but she hasn’t gone off and…”

“Stop now,” Killian ground out.

“What? Why? Everyone is saying it.” 

“Not to me, they’re not.” If Cassidy was too dense to take the warning, then Killian was just going to have to cut his tongue out of his head. Or strangle him. “Not if they value their head.”

“Well, it’s better than saying she ain’t like a virgin,” Cassidy chortled, “If you know what I mean.”

Killian lunged.

“Good God, man,” Cassidy choked out, his back on the floor. Killian didn’t know how his hands came to be around the bastard’s neck, but he found he rather liked the way they looked there. “What… the hell… is wrong with you?”

“You will never,” he hissed, his face inches from Cassidy’s, “speak her name again. Do you understand me?” Cassidy tried to nod, but it only cut off his air supply more.

Killian released him and stood, wiping his hands on his pant legs as if wiping away something foul. “I will not tolerate Lady Kilmartin being spoken of in such disrespectful terms. Is that clear?”

Cassidy nodded and so did several onlookers.

“Good.” Killian decided now was a good time to vacate the premises, and so strode out of the room. Once in the hallway, he heard his name yet again and wondered who’d be so idiotic as to approach him when he was this angry. Will Nolan. Emma’s older brother. Damn.

“Kilmartin,” Will said, his customary knowing smirk firmly planted on his face.

“Nolan,” Killian greeted.

“I was having a quiet drink when I heard the commotion,” he said, motioning to the room Killian had just left. “Come join me.”

Killian may have wanted nothing more than to leave, but Will was Emma’s brother, so they were relations of a sort and he couldn’t get away with snubbing his invitation. Will had always unnerved him. They shared the same sort of reputation, that of the devil-may-care-rogue, but where Will was always cooed over by the society mamas because of his charm and wit, Killian had always been treated much more suspect. At least until he came into the title.

But Killian knew the man was sharp as a whip, and he had long suspected there was quite a bit of substance underneath Will’s always jovial exterior. If there was anyone in Emma’s family who might accurately guess Killian’s true feelings for Emma, it was Will.

Killian intended to share one drink with the man and leave.

“Fine evening, don’t you think?” Will asked, motioning for their drinks once Killian was settled in his seat, pretending to be comfortable. “Aside from Cassidy, obviously. He’s nothing but an ass.”

Of course, Killian agreed with the sentiment, but with Will watching him so carefully - even under the guise of friendly conversation - he could manage no more than a terse nod. Will cocked his head to the side just a bit and narrowed his eyes slightly. Almost as if to get a deeper look into his soul. Killian fought the urge to squirm.

“Thank you for defending Emma’s honor,” Will said quietly.

Killian didn’t know what he expected Will to say to him, but it certainly wasn’t that. It was his place to defend her honor, just as it would have been if any of the Nolan brothers had heard Cassidy’s despicable words.

“Emma deserves respect,” Killian replied, equally as quietly as their drinks arrived. Killian gave a nod of appreciation and took a sip. “I will not countenance anything less. From anyone.”

There was silence for a moment between the two men as they sipped their drinks.

“You could marry her, you know,” Will said easily. Killian nearly choked.

“I beg your pardon?” Killian was sputtering. Killian never sputtered.

“Marry her,” he repeated, moving forward just a bit, his gaze intense. 

Killian realized it was too much to hope that Will was referring to anyone else except Emma, but he had to try.

“And who am I supposed to marry?”

The look on Will’s face was condescending in the extreme, mixed with a fair amount of pity as well. “Do we really need to play this game?”

“I can’t marry Emma!” he exclaimed.

“And why not?” He looked honestly puzzled and Killian felt his jaw opening and closing, not a word coming out of it. 

“Because…” he trailed away, completely at a loss. Because that one simple statement made Killian realize that he could marry Emma. There was nothing illegal about it. There was only his own damn conscience. The conscience that maintained there was everything immoral about it. 

She’d been married to his brother. The brother whose death gave him money, power, prestige, and a title. And if he compounded the utter betrayal of his brother - loving his wife - by then stealing her for his own, didn’t that mean he had somehow wished for Liam’s death? 

And how could he possibly live with himself then?

Will sat back in his chair, his dark eyes still on Killian, watching and cataloging every muscle twitch, every eye movement, every emotion Killian was too shocked to keep hidden that worked their way across his face.

Will waved his hand dismissively, but without looking away. “I can see it’s a moot point anyway.” 

That brought Killian’s swirling thoughts to an abrupt halt. There was something in the tone of his voice. Something biting and provoking. He met Will’s stare with his own, searching for clues as to the other man’s agenda. “And why is that?” he bit out.

Will took his time answering. He toyed with his glass, took a small sip, and continued to scrutinize Killian. 

“Why is it a moot point?” Will finally repeated, his eyebrow raising in intrigue, just like Emma’s sometimes did. “Because you’re so clearly not interested in marrying her.”

Killian’s mouth opened for a quick, biting retort, but he shut it just as quickly when he realized he’d been about to say, Of course, I am.

He’d very nearly confessed the deepest desire of his heart to the brother of his beloved. And as he searched Will’s face, he knew that the man had somehow seen into the depths of his heart and mind and knew precisely how Killian felt about his sister.

“I must be going,” Killian blurted out, finishing his drink and rising to his feet.

“Of course,” Will said, affably. As if their conversation had been about nothing more important than the weather. “Think about what I said,” he murmured, as Killian strode purposefully toward the door.

As if he’d be able to think about anything else. For the rest of his life.

~*~*~

Thank you for reading and sharing! New ch will be up Wednesday!

[argowrites]

Love and Legacy, Chapter 21!

“Topsiders really don’t haggle, do they?” Silco said, pulling an elegant pen from his pocket.

“I do not think it is in their nature. Also I…I told them about the gemstone. They wish to avoid war,” Viktor replied.

“Smart,” Silco muttered, going back to read it more carefully. Viktor winced as his eyes narrowed and let out a harsh breath through his nose. “What is this? About Jinx.”

“They will pardon her,” Viktor said quickly and something in Silco loosened. “But she will be sent straight to Stillwater if she…steps out of line.”

“That is–”

“You understand why, yes? This is to be a time of peace. Jinx…Jinx cannot continue as she has. It is only reasonable.”

Silco made a face. Viktor waited. He knew if anything could ruin the treaty, this was it. He watched as Silco weighed his options, hoping he’d soon be on his way Topside with the treaty and the gemstone safely tucked into his pocket.

“She is fully pardoned?” Silco asked.

“Yes. And will remain so, for all her past crimes at least,” Viktor replied.

“I can keep her on a leash,” Silco muttered, almost to himself and signed.

There was a moment of pure elation. He thought of Arlo, how happy he’d be when he heard the news. Of Ekko and the new world he’d find himself in. And finally of his own legacy. He doubted Piltover would remember his hand in this. Jayce would get the glory as usual, but Zaun might remember him. Perhaps they’d remember him for everything else and perhaps that could be enough to leave behind.

“They will want to meet with you in the morning. Trade deals and finer points, I think,” Viktor said, taking the treaty and tucking it safely in the inside pocket of his vest.

“Fine. I’ll clear my schedule. For now, a drink to celebr—”

Silco was interrupted by a thud that made them both jump. Jinx sat in the middle of the room. Her eyes were strange and manic, still a violent shade of purple. She held the largest gun Viktor had ever seen, silver and fish shaped. In any other circumstances, he would have asked to examine it. Even from a small distance and even with half of it obscured by Jinx herself, he could tell it was a marvel of engineering. But the look on her face made any such request die in his throat. 

“Hello, Jinx,” Silco said smoothly. “I was wondering when you’d join us.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54837829/chapters/148341067#workskin

Act IV of my Viktor Quartet

Fandom: Arcane: League of Legends

Rating: Mature

Chapters: 15/?

Characters: Viktor, Singed, Silco, Jinx, Ekko, Jayce, Mel, Heimerdinger, Caitlyn, Vi

Relationships: Jayce/Viktor, Jayce/Mel, Jayce/Mel/Viktor, Singed & Viktor, Silco & Viktor, Jinx & Viktor, Ekko & Viktor, Jayce & Caitlyn, Silco & Jinx, Minor Cait/Vi

Additional Tags: Angst, Viktor-centric, Author knows a little about League lore, Divorce Era (but short)

Next Time: Viktor and Jayce attempt to have a conversation!

[teriwrites]

about me: a writeblr re-re-re-introduction

Hello! My old pinned post is officially over a year old and makes me cringe whenever I'm on my blog, so it's time to freshen things up again!

me

I'm Teri, I'm smack dab in the middle of my 20s and figuring out life. My writing is pretty exclusively original stuff, a lot of novels and a lot of fantasy, but I play around with various genres in short stories. Sort of a jack-of-all-trades in regards to hobbies - aside from writing, there's anything from baking to drawing with my ancient art tablet to cross-stitch to playing music to rambling around the patch of woods near my house to watching long-form D&D let's plays.

my goals

I recognize that every time I post something like this, it's with the intention of finally becoming as active on writeblr as I was during the pandemic. I also recognize I've never quite managed that.

So here are some more general goals to get me through 2024:

Finish my 2nd draft of Beyond Alder Creek

Write as cringey and brutally honest as I never allowed myself to as a teenager.

Speaking of, a large reading/writing goal of mine is to go back through every NaNo draft I've ever written (I've participated since 2011). So aside from just reading that and likely turning it into a whole spectacle on here for people's amusement, generally just survive reading through the writing from 8th grade. Stay tuned for more on that in the coming weeks lol

Finally, I have a general goal every year of reaching 100K words, between writing and editing and the like, but I'd happily be a little looser with that goal if it meant getting through others.

And now, without further ado:

my writing

Before I get specifically into WIPs, a general overview of the kind of writing you can expect from me:

As I said, I'm a fantasy nerd. I love worldbuilding, both on a large scale (nations and cultures and political relationships) and a small scale (a magic shop in an otherwise contemporary setting).

There's not a lot of romance in my writing, but there Are a lot of transformational relationships and codependency. Friendships, siblings, guardians, general ride-or-dies.

Thought experiments. I've been trying to catch and indulge more in my 'wait, what if?' ideas. Sometimes, that's fun little snippets of silly ideas, sometimes it's a majorly emotionally heavy scene for a story I'll never write. Sometimes, it's coming up with ideas to 'combine genres'. It's all about expanding the range.

wips*

Beyond Alder Creek /// draft 2 /// tag: bac

Winnie Pewitt has never believed in the fae. That is, until her little brother disappears, and she stumbles upon a faerie ring on the edge of town. Inside, a man seemingly carved from gold suggests that he knows who took the boy. With everyone else around their hometown accepting her brother's fate as certainty, Winnie takes it upon herself to craft the perfect deal and enter the realm of the fae with her new companion in tow.

The Lies in the Legend /// draft 1 /// tag: litl

The fictional autobiography of an elven noblewoman who rose rapidly in station and influence from an unremarkable youth to a diplomatic powerhouse. Spanning centuries during the prime of her life, Lady Ghislaine Agassi charts the course of her career and reputation, and highlights the dangers of making myths out of our idols.

*Though these are my primary WIPs, I have a page that covers various other WIPs and projects that I've brought up over the past few years.

I think that about covers everything! As always, I can't make any promises about how the year will wind up and where it takes us. But I will say, I've actually been writing recently, and yk I'm just gonna ride that high.

And for fun, here's some random facts about me:

fun facts

I have degrees in psychology and music!

I've lived across three continents, but currently live in upstate New York for whatever reason lol

The animals I've ridden on the back of include: horse, pony, elephant, and ostrich. The horse was my least favorite. By far.

I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a couple months after Covid landed stateside (in May 2020) and am Always ready to talk someone's ear off about it.

The first story I ever wrote was on PowerPoint and was about war breaking out between humans and aliens that had taken refuge on Earth after their planet was destroyed. I was 8. There was a Lot of Clipart involved.

I've never been published, but I once secretly planned out, wrote, edited, and self-printed a couple copies of a novel about my best friends and our college apartment. They received it for Christmas last year and loved it (or at least were kind enough to tell me they did)!

[vicstwashington]

BREAKING: ‘EVOLUTION’ 2 has officially been announced for Sunday July 13th, 2025, in Atlanta, GA.

I'm soooo excited!!! Finally, they announce this. We knew it was coming... But now we finally have a date.

I've already seen some people put up matches they would like to see. I'm gonna make a list of what I want to see.

I want WWE legends. But this pains me to say... I don't want to see Trish or Lita. I have a pain in my chest just writing that. But give us Michelle McCool, Layla, Eve, Victoria, Maryse, Ivory, Jackie, Melina, Beth, Mickie. WWE is waiting too long for a lot of these women and it's just going to be too late.

I want to see at least 7 to 8 matches. I want to see all the titles defended on the PPV. Including NXT. So total is 7 Championship. 7 matches right here alone. Matches below I didn't add Bianca, Naomi, or Jade. Cause we have 2 more spots on for MITB. I want to see if any of they take the last 2 spots.

WWE Women's Championship - Current Champion is Tiffany Stratton. I feel like WWE is setting up Tiffany vs. Nia part 2. But Jade has made it clear she wants a chance at tiffany. Maybe whoever wins MITB can add herself to this feud.

Women's World Championship - Current Champion is Iyo Sky. Personally, for me I want Auska vs Iyo. I also, would mind seeing Kairi stuck in the middle of the feud. Hell, maybe even put in the match. However, WWE isn't going to let Rhea sit sideline... So, it most likely will be her vs Iyo.

WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship - Current Champion Lyra Valkyria. For me it's Lyra vs. Roxxane Perez and I want Perez walking out as champion. Lyra has done a job what they've given her... But not it's time to crown a new champion.

WWE Women's United States Championship - Current champion Zelina Vega. This one I wouldn't mind seeing some type of six pack challenge. Zelina going up against Chelsea Green, Michin, B-fab, and adding Piper and Alba. Both can pretend to help Chelsea but also try to win.

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship - Current champions are Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Not really any other teams here sadly. But Natayla and Maxxine Dupri. This is where you can add LayCool and try to convince brie to tag with Nikki. I don't really know... WWE got rid of teams in NXT as well.

NXT Women's Championship - Current champion Stephanie Vaquer. I made this list before Sunday's Battleground. But I just don't see Stephanie dropping it to Jordynne... Although she would be a good champ as well. If you've watch NXT recently. Lola Vice say's Shes next. So, there is the match. Lol

NXT Women's North American Championship - Current champion is Sol Ruca. I know she just won it, but Zaria absolutely needs to turn on her and challenge her for the NA championship.

Finally match for me would be a battle royal including RAW, Smackdown, and NXT women. I would also include WWE legends. But winner of this match will get a title match. Winner can choose any championship (Doesn't matter if they're not on that brand).

Time will tell. Hope WWE gives us a good PLE.

[snotsloth]

10 Characters/10 Fandoms/10 Tags

Tagged by @icehearts

Tagging, but don't feel pressured! (Also you do not have to make pretty pictures. Graphic Designer brain just took over and this happened.) @physicalvocalist, @sarenraegalpaladin, @vorpalbun, @captainqster, @leagor-majere, @sundered-souls, @ardberts, @hinganskies, @lilbittymonster, @janzoo

1. Harrowhark Nonagesimus - The Locked Tomb Trilogy

Harrow has true scrungly wet cat energy. I want to put her in one of those little backpacks with a window and carry her around in it for her enrichment. She's an absolute bitch. She is a pathetic little meow meow. She lobotomized herself to save the soul of the woman she refuses to admit she's in love with. She tried to kill a saint with soup made from her own bone marrow. She is a war crime. I like her so much!

2. Magneto - X-Men

He is the platonic ideal of my favorite trope, "Does all the wrong things for all the right reasons." Magneto has gone through the polar opposite of villain decay. The longer he exists, the longer the universe has to prove him increasingly correct on most things. All I can really say is, "Magneto was right."

3. Wei Wuxian - Mo Dao Zu Shi

Truly the most blorbo of all time. Are you also an ADHD burned out gifted and talented submissive brat with a praise kink? Boy howdy, do I have a character that you are going to imprint on like a baby goose! Wei Wuxian also has a hearty dose of, "Does all the wrong things for all the right reasons." Also like who multiclasses in wizard (specifically necromancer) and bard? This fucking guy apparently.

4. Hythlodaeus - Final Fantasy 14

I am so normal about Hythlodaeus, I made an entire AU around him. That is a reasonable thing to do about a character that you like a normal amount, right? The idealized lost love, trapped in amber, untouchable but also incorruptible by the sands of time that keep eroding the edges of your soul. And then they gave him lavender dead anime mom hair!

5. Varric Tethras - Dragon Age

I literally have a semi-viral post about how much this character has consumed my thoughts. Rule Number 1 of Dragon Age: Varric lies. He's a charming scoundrel. He's loyal to a fault. He knows everything worth knowing about Kirkwall. And he's a dirty fucking liar. The only reason Varric isn't romanceable in DA2 is that no other romantic interest would get any attention if Varric was on the table. I desire him carnally.

6. Temeraire - Temeraire

My most precious and smartest boy! I adore Temeraire so much. Swear to god, I did not read the Temeraire books before creating Orion as a character, but the parallels are so strong, you would think I had! He's a bookworm, a little awkward but full of opinions, and he has an unwavering moral compass. Temeraire will forever be one of my favorite dragon characters.

7. Jaina Solo - Star Wars Legends

I will never forget what Disney took from me. As a weird, nerdy girl who was also kind of a guy growing up, Jaina meant so much to me. She was an active participant in the stories she was in. She was an ace pilot, a skilled mechanic, and a Jedi to boot. She had her dad's sense of humor and her mom's moral certainty. I thought she was the coolest. Still do.

8. Ansur - Baldur's Gate 3

Ansur! My beloved! If you had told me that the character I would be most obsessed with from BG3 would be an undead bronze dragon who you don't even know about until the third act -- actually, no that checks out. He was so in love, and so loyal, and so bitter at Balduron for embracing his corruption! And that reveal! All the build-up, only to find his bones and then wham! the entire narrative of the Emperor gets turned on its head. I still get chills. Also, they were absolutely fucking.

9. Viktor - Arcane

Listen, as a disabled, obsessive nerd with too much to do and not enough time to do it all in, Viktor is my gender. I love just about everything about Arcane, but Viktor's storyline is my favorite part. I, for one, am very excited to watch his fall from grace and further corruption. I have already forgiven all of his atrocities. I do not care. He's babygirl.

10. Clark Kent - DC

You thought I was going to say Jason or Dick for a DC character didn't you? (Or even Roy!) Those would all have been very reasonable expectations. I am pretty obsessed with all of them. However, Clark Kent is a very special character to me, and yes I specifically am focusing on the Clark persona and not the Supes persona. Yeah, they are ultimately the same guy, but I much prefer Superman stories grounded in his Clark Kent identity. Superman is at his best when he is attached to the mundane world by things like his job, his family, and his love for Lois. (Lois/Clark is the ultimate het ship. I will not be taking questions on this. It just is.) Clark is essentially a demigod, and yet he chooses to spend his time loving people and living as one of them, and I think that's really fucking cool.