#besides Oliver said himself that ‘everyone knows why he has it’

[watchyourbuck]

I was just forced to remember the fact that Buck has a ring cutter for other purposes and I’m going rabid inside the walls of my enclosure

[weirdowithaquill]

The Importance of Names in the Railway Series

It's been a hot minute since my last take on the world of Thomas & Friends - so here's one that has sort of been wandering about in the back of my mind for a while.

How important is a name to an engine? Cause we know the engines do put a lot of value into a name. Stepney and Edward say as such:

"[...] I think our Controller was right. All engines ought to have names." "Yes," agreed Edward, "it's most important."

And it's further reinforced by Bear later in the series:

"It's nicer than just having a number," he (Bear) says. "Having a name means that you really belong."

Donald and Douglas echo this by giving themselves names (partially to fool the Fat Controller) and the interesting thing is that Sir Charles actually uses their names almost exclusively from that moment on - unless referring to them by their new numbers.

Even BoCo gives himself a name! And it feels pretty on-the-spot too, seeing as he just goes "but you can call me BoCo".

But in contrast, every single rail-based 'villain' or 'antagonist' in the Railway Series only has a number, or is Diesel, who doesn't really have a name either. Check me! There's:

Diesel

The 'Big City Engine'

Class 40 (D261/D471)

D199

D40125

None of them have names - not even 'the Big City Engine'. They're given nicknames by the engines, but otherwise they are just numbers. And I think it runs a bit deeper than that. A little while back I did a post on the 'railway rulebook' - and something I said was that managers did everything in their power to both dehumanise the engines and make the engines loyal to them. What better way of doing that than only giving certain engines names? 'Flying Scotsman' gets a name because he's a prestigious express engine, but the engine who shunts his coaches? The goods engine who brought his coal? Why would management give them names - to do that is to undermine the class system they've built to keep the engines fighting amongst themselves. If the engines are on equal footing, then they'd want equal rights.

You know... this sounds a lot like the Communist Manifesto. I don't think the Rev. W. Awdry intended it that way, but it does.

But that's beside my point. Certain railways either don't want their engines to have names. In particular, I would point at the LMS and the LNER, which both had a massive roster of engines. Not only is recording all their names a pain, but it would also add a sense of individuality to them and muck up their spreadsheets. In most countries, people have an ID number for identification - and that's what these companies needed. Not names; numbers.

The GWR is a notable exception to this, and I think people have noticed that. Both Duck and Oliver arrive with names, and Sir Topham I was a Swindon-apprentice who would have grown up with GWR ideology. Edward got his name because he was built as an express engine, Henry and Gordon for the same reasons - and everyone else either gives themselves names or have names given to them.

Toby probably got his from his crew and the locals after decades of being in the same area - I mean, he literally runs into their town, of course they have a name for him. Percy is given his by Sir Topham, and we can infer Thomas and James got similar treatment. Donald and Douglas gave themselves names, and so did BoCo.

Another possibility is that a preservation society would give engines names, though that was more the engines on said heritage line - like in Stepney the Bluebell Engine, where Stepney refers to all his friends on the Bluebell by name, and says his controller gave out some names, like Bluebell and Primrose - but Adams and Cromford got their names from the other engines and they don't want the controller finding out. And again, Stepney and Edward both explicitly say that they believe engines ought to have names - and that they believe it really makes an engine feel like family.

This almost exclusively applies to engines in a steam-dominated society, and once again I have to return to my old nemesis: early British Railways. British Railways inherited a massive network that spanned a continent and had thousands of engines - not to mention the fact they were going to scrap all their steam engines and replace them with new diesel engines. Names were never ever going to be viable. But moreover, they were going to kill all the steam engines - if these engines were seen by the public to be very sentient and intelligent, then there would be an outcry. Dehumanising these engines was extremely important to their business model.

So almost every new engine built under BR got no name. And that includes steam and diesel engines. And this sort of environment, where engines referred to each other by number, became standard.

Names have a lot of meaning behind them. We give names to things we believe are very valuable to us, things we really bond with, like a teddy bear or a beloved family car. Names confer a level of love and care, as opposed to numbers, which have a level of 'repetitive factory conveyor belt' to them, for lack of a better term. These engines, referring to each other by number, didn't sound as human as those referring to each other by name.

For a good example, as mentioned above, the GWR gave all its engines names - and the GWR has the most engines from its company preserved. The fact that people knew these engines had names, and possibly by name, really contributed to how many were saved.

But what makes it even more interesting is the fact that often engines give each other names. Bear is given his name by the other engines, Duck is a nickname given to 'Montague' because he waddles. And I think the reason that none of these diesels have names is because no steam engine ever gave them a name, and company policy means no diesel has the mindset for giving out names either. Steam engines give each other names, but it becomes exclusive to them and friendly diesels, and thus dies out over the generations.

Engines today don't have names. They don't even really have a proper visible number. They have a serial number somewhere, but that's about it. And I think that says a lot about what happened to the tradition of names for engines.

To sum up a very long, winding ramble, I think names came from several places:

Themselves. Engines could name themselves, like Donald and Douglas - who got their names from (maybe) former drivers?

From crew and community. Toby most likely got his name from the people around him, being on an isolated tramway.

From their owners. Flying Scotsman, Mallard and Percy are good examples of this. It represents a level of importance and care for this engine, as well as in some cases reinforcing class.

From other engines. Duck and Bear are great examples of this, as they are given names by their friends that they like, as it makes them feel as if they fit in.

And these names were very common in the steam era as engines gave each other names and communities knew specific engines and gave them names. As everything became more commercial and bureaucratic, naming was lost. Numbers reinforced company identity and dehumanised the engines to make them less sympathetic to the public. Look at Donald and Douglas, who probably had their names for decades - given by their friends - but never learnt by management.

Wow, that took a bit of a dark turn. Thanks for reading, and as usual, none of the above pictures are mine.

[rhaegang]

for all the fluids in saltburn there are NO PISS FICS!!! WTF!!! i just know oliver has a piss kink i know it

Gonna talk about some saltboys and PISS under this cut.

I think piss gets a lot of Nopes because it’s a toileting activity / excretory.

But like — there are fewer bacteria in your piss than in your spit. It is sterile! Less grody than someone’s bath water.

If the piss isn’t happening anywhere near the toilet, it’s a pretty damn clean bodily function, all things considered.

Aside from that, there’s the sensory issues — smell & taste, mainly. It is absolutely not something most people consider pleasing for either of those senses.

Okay — BUT

Oliver is not most people. Oliver did fucking slurp that bath water. And why?? Because it was steeped in the essence of Felix. It had his sweat, his cum, his skin cells in it. To Oliver, that made it ambrosia.

Of fucking course he’d be down to drink Felix’s piss. It wouldn’t even need to be coming straight from the source. He’d drink it from a cup. He’d fucking do shots of it.

But if it was coming directly out of Felix? If Felix’s dick was right there, even just a peek of it through open jeans and an unbearably large hand, Oliver would be more than down.

And if the smell and the taste were terrible and made him feel sick, it wouldn’t even matter. Something disgusting becomes something devotional when done on one’s knees, he’d think. If he had to struggle to swallow, if he had to choke it down, he’d consider it even more of a victory when he did it. Mastering his own body like that so he could take Felix inside him in a way he’s sure no one else ever has — yeah. He’d be fucking crowing about it, to himself at least.

There’s everyone else, and they all love Felix. And then there’s Oliver, the one who loves Felix more than them.

So that’s all pretty focused on just ONE way to approach piss kink in this ship. We ain’t even started in on how it could play into degradation kink (Felix’s 😊) or D/s and denial.

Felix loves to feel like Oliver is all his. That’s obvious. And every so often, he needs Oliver to prove it. (Looking at you, Tennis Court Champagne.)

Imagine, if you will, the whole crew out at the pub the night after exams. They’re all still wearing their silly hats and boas and giant sunglasses etc. And they’re all getting just indescribably hammered.

And Oliver, squished into the booth, wall on one side and Felix on the other, elbows him a bit. Leans up to whisper shout in his ear that he’s gotta run to the loos. Of course he does! He’s had how many pints and liquor besides?

And Felix meets his eyes for just a moment, then gives the tiniest shrug — not my problem — before going back to his conversation like Oliver hadn’t said anything at all.

So Oliver tries again. But Felix won’t even acknowledge it.

And on and on, until finally, when the person sitting on Felix’s other side has just gotten up to go buy the next round, Felix looks at him.

And he says, “how about you just hold it, mate? last call’s in less than an hour. if you hold it, you can use the toilet in my room after.” (Of course he’s one of the privileged few with an en suite for his room.)

Oliver would be so unsure if he’d heard that right or not. What was Felix getting at, anyway? Why would he care if Oliver held it? Why would he think Oliver wanted to use *his* toilet?

So don’t you think he’d ask “but why not just let me up out the booth so I can go now?”

And don’t you think his eyes would be so, so wide, and go so, so dark, if Felix replied, “well, I’m not going to hold your dick for you in the pub toilets where just anyone could walk in, am I, Ollie?”

Yeah. I think that’s how it’d go. And I think Oliver would be white-knuckling the edge of that table in the pub, and crossing his big toes over the others inside his socks, and bouncing his knee, and dropping his head against that wall, suffering every second of the rest of that hour. And Felix, able to see all of it, would be fucking glowing.

Because Oliver is doing what Felix told him to do. And why would he do that? Because he is wholly Felix’s creature. No one else’s. No one else has that sort of hold on Oliver. No one else even knows just what Oliver is willing to do for him. How fucking devoted he is to Felix. It’s not the sort of shallow lip service Felix gets from most people. It’s something stranger, but realer.

And no. No, I don’t think Oliver manages to hold it all the way until they get to Felix’s room. I think, more likely, he grabs Felix’s arm when they’re nearly there, in a narrow walkway between buildings, and squeezes so hard Felix thinks it really truly may bruise.

And so Felix, already having been reassured of what he needed to know, says “take your cock out, Ollie,” (and damn, tequila makes for loose tongues, doesn’t it?), then spins him by the shoulder to face stone. He curls over Oliver’s shoulder so he can see what he’s doing, which is reaching around his hips to scoop Oliver’s soft dick up in his hand and give the head just the softest little squeeze with his thumb and forefinger.

Amazingly, despite how big his hand is, Oliver fills it much better than Felix expected. But Oliver’s just standing there, trembling. Missing the point, as usual.

So Felix has to remind him, “Isn’t there something you’ve been wanting?”

And Oliver, well. That’s a loaded fucking question, in his mind. But he grabs Felix’s forearm with both of his hands. He leans back into Felix’s chest. And enveloped there in a tiny world that’s fully defined by the shape of Felix, Oliver can let go. Can surrender to the neediest, messiest side of himself.

It would definitely be loud as fuck when Oliver’s piss hits the wall. And once he starts, he’d be so relieved, he’d have to moan.

Don’t you think so? Don’t you think that as Oliver’s inhaling the scent of cigarettes and cologne and tequila breath and his own concentrated piss, and above all the scent of Felix, he’s moaning like a highly paid whore? He’s pulling a stupid fucking face, and he hears Felix chuckle, but it just feels so, so, so good to let go.

Yeah. “Yeah, bet that feels so good, doesn’t it, mate?”

A little sob of agreement.

“And aren’t you terribly glad I didn’t let you out of that booth? It wouldn’t have felt nearly this nice, obviously.”

No response aside from a shudder and the sound of the stream slowing to a drip.

And since Felix is SUCH a good friend, he’s definitely going to give Oliver’s dick a shake or three (or six) before stuffing it back into Oliver’s boxers for him.

See???

There’s so, sooooo many opportunities for cattonquick & piss to work.

Anon — If you think this post might convince others to see the light, feel free to share it. 😇

[xlivr]

2. ʚ Mystery girl ɞ

As the sound of the bell went off, signalling for students to start getting into their assigned classes, Ajax clicked his tongue, putting his phone away as he grabbed his things. To think none of his friends had faith in him.. not even his best friend. Well.. at least he could understand why.

It's not exactly fun watching your friend go through relationships like they're nothing. One hour he's with somebody, the next hour he isn't, and the hour after that he is, and it just keeps going.

It's a chore to bare witness to, really.

With a huff, he started his trip down the hallway, dragging himself through the bustling crowd of students getting to their lockers or leaving one area to get to another. He didn't really ever look forward to much of his classes. Still, somehow, he managed decent enough grades to get by, so it's not like it really mattered anyway.

Ajax didn't know if it was because he wasn't paying attention or what, but he ended up colliding with someone else, making some of their things fall out of their arms as a few students respectfully stood back.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, watching as the student groaned and bent down, grumbling something under her breath. Okay.. not a morning person.

He cleared his throat, "Here, let me help you with that-"

"I've got it."

"Nonsense, it's the least I can do." He insisted, kneeling down to help her gather up her papers, before handing them back to her. "Here."

It was a weird silence as she worked to put her stuff back in order, and he just.. watched her. But, alas, Ajax was never one for awkward conversations.

So, with a charming smile and a tilt of his head, he said, "I'm Ajax, by the way."

To which she responded dryly. "Yeah, I know."

Oh? Well... He shouldn't be too surprised. He has quite the reputation, after all.

"Really now?" Ajax grinned, standing to his feet when she did. "Well.. since you know me, it's only fair that I get to know—"

Before he could finish, the student shoved past him, with a very much disinterested "Not interested." He stared at her back in shock as she walked over to a few other students, who were already crowding around her. He could at least recognize two of them—Yui and Alexis. Wait—

"Did that really happen just now?" Yui whispered to the student, dramatic shock plastered in their voice.

A girl, brunette, nodded beside them. "Yeah. It did. Tell him to be careful, though, I'll fight him for you—"

"Ari." Alexis warned.

The mystery student sighed. "It's whatever," she said, "I'm not interested anyway."

Yui narrowed their eyes. "C'monnn Oliver, really? Everyone's interested in him."

Oliver...

"Then why aren't you?"

"You know why."

Ari snorted. "Simp."

"You—"

"Girls," Alexis intervened, exasperated. "Class. Get to it. I don't want any tardies again." Before anyone could walk off, she pointed at Oliver. "We're talking about this at lunch."

Oliver rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything, only following her friends down the hall until they eventually departed, going into their own classrooms.

It seems like Kaeya just earned himself a lot of money..

╰⊃ A/N : AND SO IT BEGINS

╰⊃ Masterlist.

╰⊃ Prev. — Next.

[antisociallilbrat]

Losers Hc's

I have so many personal Loser Hc's that just live in my head and I just want to share them. I wanna put them somewhere so I'm putting them here. Some hints of Poly Losers

Ben

He has a peanut allergy, idk why, it's the vibes

Until he met Bev his wardrobe consisted of nerdy t-shirts with awful puns. You know what I'm talking about.

Secretly loves Twilight (him and Richie watch it together)

His favorite drink is lemonade, iykyk

Keeps fish! Like really big aquarium set ups and he actually designs some of the decor. Can't keep any aquarium plants alive tho

Mike

loves the smell of cashmere and just collects candles in general

I've mentioned picnics with him before (the ones he takes with Bev and Eddie) but he also likes to make little finger sandwiches and wears fancy sun hats on said picnics

hates the taste of olives, my man is anti olives

bringing this up again, but he had a stuff tigger as a kid and when he's an adult he keeps it in a shadow box

also he's a bit of a technophobe, he had a flip phone until the Losers literally made him upgrade, it was difficult for group texts

Eddie

red shorts this, red shorts that, consider him wearing overalls! He has a whole collection for every kind of weather and they're adorble

not much of a gamer but went through a really intense minecraft stage, the other losers refused to play with him

he loves traveling. Sonia never allowed him to go anywhere so as an adult he goes everywhere. Constantly taking trips and planning the next place to explore. Also he tries to travel with the Losers if they're going somewhere for work. Richie to L.A., Bill to London, Bev to Italy for fashion shows

secret huge ya novels nerd (don't tell Bill)

he's really into fancy coffee. Has an espresso machine in the kitchen and tries to make little designs in the foam and is constantly watching aesthetic coffee videos

Richie

pretends to like horror movies but is actually baby, he covers his eyes the whole time

He owned a ferret, his name was Todd. Eddie and Stan pretended to hate it but the creature grew on them

allergic to cats, cue the ferret, his skin will break out in hives if he's near one, but he doesn't care. He will pet that cat and the others Losers have to stop him

LOVES Futurama, he has a tattoo of Bender on his ass

Actually enjoys doing yard work. His mind is constantly going but when he's doing yard work, running the weed wacker or the lawn mowers, he can't hear himself think. Or if he's raking leaves or cutting bushes, his mind is too zeroed in on his task. It's strangely therapeutic for him

Bill

constantly has ink on his hands, from drawing or his typewriter, it's always there

had adult braces, IK I've said this before but I'm very passionate about 20 year old something Bill with a full set of braces. Yes I had adult braces too, why do you ask?

Sticks his tongue out when he's really focused on something and gets a wrinkle between his brows

he is dumbest smart person you will ever meet. He is an idiot. Everyone thinks he's supposed to be smart bc he's a best selling author but no, this man will try to pry something open with a knife with his face too close to said knife. He has no self preservation instincts, it's only bc of the Losers he's made it this far

has a weird obsession with Cherry Coke

Bev

again, i've said this before, but Bev always wanted a pet and she can't give the emotional care a cat, dog, rat, ect needs so she keeps reptiles. They're really cool and besides their basic care, they don't need anything else from Bev, they're perfectly content to be watched by her on the other side of the tank

speaking of that, her favorite reptile are geckos and she's actually based a couple her designs on their patterns

went through a phase where all she did was play the Sims. She was obsessed. The losers would go to bed while she was playing and wake up and she was still playing it. Yes this overlapped with Eddie's minecraft phase.

believes in Bigfoot. Like for real.

complete roller coaster fanatic, loves going to amusement parks to ride the most extreme roller coasters

Stan

has a deep passion for the Law & Order shows, they're his guilty pleasures

had a mental breakdown in his twenties and dyed his hair blue. The others losers where surprised and yes Stan regretted it. It was Impossible to get out and he basically just had to grow it out

believe it or not he is a horrible driver. He insists he's a great driver but the other losers refuse to ride with him. He doesn't get it. It's not like he's hit multiple curbs and gets massive road rage

he is constantly cold, over half the sweaters in the house belong to him and he's always under the blanket when watching tv. His cuddles are rare but during winter with no hesitation he will snuggle up under the human space heaters (Richie, Ben, and Mike)

he gardens! Has a rose garden out front with a bird bath and feeder. hates dirt though so when he's out there he has gloves and a little garden apron on

I have more too

[hahahmitski]

My 4th of July got cancelled because of rain so head cannons of fandoms I'm in.

Mphfpc

Everyone fainted because inflation price's. From Emma "$25 for a shirt! Nope Jacob what are these prices!" She then proceeded to burn down the store.

One time Olive overheard a future person rapping, and Olive wanted to show everyone something. Olive rapped about unicorns, drugs and how everyone was super cool. She sang her rap with swears and Miss Peregrine stopped it after she heard the 19th swear.

(kinda cannon) Bronwyn HATES clothing that are to soft on her skin.

Enorace and Fugh go on super secret double dates. Fugh caught them hugging and promised not to tell if they went on double dates.

Claire was really shy once she entered the loop. Miss Peregrine told the older kids she experienced stuff with starving and asked if one of them could help her. Fiona raised her hand without any hesitation. Fiona grew up with something like this. So Claire then warmed up to everyone. And besides Hugh Fiona whispers the Claire on occasion.

Enoch had 2 older brothers so he kinda treats Hugh and Millard as his older brothers from before.

Horace says "back in my day" when out in the present and a lot of people from the present stare at him or laugh at him.

Miss Peregrine misses her brothers deeply, but knows it's best to not to say anything about it.

Fiona and Hugh preformed "So Cold in Ireland" (Fiona on the electric guitar and Hugh singing). And Enoch was crying tears at trying to hold in tears. Once Fugh was done Enoch laughed so hard he fell to the ground and Hugh cried a lot not talking to Enoch for 2 months (The Bird forced him to talk to Enoch). Fiona simply glared at Enoch the first 5 times when they walked near each other.

Fiona was eyeing a guitar and told Hugh to ask Jacob why there was a funky looking guitar. Jacob told them it was an electric guitar. Fiona played the Guitar for her whole life. When Jacob heard that he bought the guitar for Fiona. Fiona hugged him really tight and gave him her favorite flowers as a gift.

Community (season 1 based sorry)

Abed has a secret obsession with Disney that only Troy knows (he accidently walked in on his Disney binge).

When some dude said that Annie and the play Annie are kind of the same Annie broke his nose.

Abed thinks of himself as Johnny from the Outsiders When comparing the group to the Outsiders (he is).

When someone brings up a topic Jeff doesn't like he has to RESIST the urge to cover his ears and go "lalalalalalalalalalalalala".

Grandpa will flex that he got like 20 dollars to a homeless person.

Shirley has bricks in her pockets (it fits don't ask why it just does) and hits anyone who hurt her family or friends.

Jeff will sit and cry in a corner if he doesn't have authority of the clan, again.

When someone said Chang was Jackie Chan, he was flattered and took a picture with them (they were drugs).

I think that the average The Cure listener is Abed. Abed introduced it to Troy. He claimed he didn't this genre of music, but listens to this type of music on the daily.

Britta has a shrine of Hello Kitty, but she would never give up her ego for anyone to know about her obsession.

Grandpa ate wood and it had bug it in. Grandpa got a few incurable diseases, but that didn't stop him. Yet.

Shirley kicked ass for Abed because this kid was calling picking a fight with him. Shirley ended up with a restraining order and ended up having to pay a lot of money to the kids grandma.

[thedevilinmybrain]

sunday snippet

I was tagged by the lovely @louisandtheaquarian​ @kingonafiftymetreroad @cursethedaylight i’ve been working really, really hard to find a way to write and i’ve managed to rig up a bit of a system so here is my snippet from my oli fic:

“Oi, what the fuck Oliver?” Louis snarls, head ducked down, motioning behind him. “Giving yourself a free show then?”

“I wasn’t-“ Oli shakes his head, quick and sharp. Why didn’t he just go out the front door? “I didn’t-“

“Didn’t what? Get an eyeful?” Louis waits half a second, not even enough for Oli to breathe, and he’s already starting in again. “Mate, you better fucking start talking or I swear to fucking god-”

“I didn’t watch you fuck your boyfriend! For Christ’s sake. You think I’m some sort of freak?” Oli shouts back, doesn’t even know he had it in him to, really. Doesn’t remember ever yelling at Louis.

“Say that again, yeah?” Louis, of course, takes it the wrong way, voice going deep, dangerous. But Oli has been so angry for so long, once he’s started he can’t seem to stop.

“I’ve done everything for you!” Oli lets it rip out of the center of his chest, festering and furious and an inferno that threatens to suffocate his own lungs. But he pushes forward, lets it out. “I’ve always done everything for you!

You’re going to stand there and question my fucking loyalty to you? I’ve been beside you every fucking step of the way, Louis. From fucking Donny to across the fucking world. I’ve given you my blood and my sweat and my fucking whole life. I’m always the first to stand up for you. I defend you. All the shit that everyone back home always said and I was the one who was getting my knuckles bruised telling them off.”

“No body asked you to do that!” Louis shouts back, chest heaving. He’s covered in goosebumps, barefoot and  mostly naked. There is still something sticky low on his stomach, the clear gel crusting a little in the wind.

“You didn’t have to! I love you!”

“Hey.” Harry is standing just inside, wrapped up in the sheets off the hotel bed, long curls hair mused like a queen having just woke up. Oli burns for a whole other reason.

“Oli-“ Louis rubs a hand down his jaw. He’s got the ghost of a beard going, looks so much more mature than he did at seventeen. He’s a man and he’s staring at Oli with wide, wild blue eyes. The same blue eyes that he’s had every year before, a whole life time of Oli knowing their color, their shape, the way they flicker when Louis is furious. Like now. A familiar glow that Oli never knew could be directed towards him.

“All you fucking care about is him now.” Oli’s voice cracks sharply, points his hand towards Harry who flinches, clutches the sheets tighter to himself. “Harry fucking Styles!”

“Watch your mouth.”  Louis snarls, spit on his lips. He’s got his shoulders rolled back, fists clenched at his sides. It’s all falling apart now, all the lines that they swore they never would cross, but Oli can’t seem to grab the rope to pull himself out of the hole he’s dug himself into.

“Why? It’s the truth. It’s him and the others.” Oli heard the sliding glass door behind him. He knows Zayn, Niall, and Liam are outside. He knows they can hear. “Everything about you is gone since you went to that fucking audition. You left the house and you never came back! Is this who you are now? Some fucking superstar asshole? Got yourself a whole new identity, didn’t you, Lewis?”

“It’s late. We shouldn’t-“ Harry again tries to interject, steps outside, hand reaching for Louis’ arm but it seems to catch in Oli’s chest then. That he’s standing in a battle that he’s already lost. That it won’t matter. So there are no consequences when he turns his attention to Harry then, feels it all the way through him, jealousy so thick it slurs his words into a mess of a Yorkshire snarl.

“Fuck you, Harry!”

tagging and whomever else wants to share: @polaroidlouis @twopoppies @indiaalphawhiskey @lovingstheantidote @beelou @momrryrights

[mvnvgedmischief]

unremarkable days: Sirius black is trying to be a good man, a good brother, a good person. Sirius has a steady job designing book covers for a publishing house, a flat he never leaves, and a traumatized brother who was just removed from the custody of his parents. All in all, it's wildly unremarkable.

archive tags: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Regulus Black & Sirius Black, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Regulus Black, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Modern Marauders (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), ok so this is mostly just sirius trying to take care of a traumatized regulus, Modern AU, Sirius trying to be a father figure, to his brother who was just removed from his home, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Artist Sirius Black, Writer Remus Lupin, Young Regulus Black, Past Child Abuse, Trauma, everyone is sad, Custody Battle, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Past Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Anorexia, Eating Disorders, Domestic Violence

words: 98,469 chapters: 26/?

this is kind of my baby in terms of fics i’ve written, i love it so much. it will probably end up around 30 chapters, but lord knows. artist!sirius x writer!remus in a modern take on a high society young adult recovering from his fall from grace while trying to hide his sexuality, take care of his brother, and fall in love. will his secret self destruction be the only thing that stands between him and the future he wants?

read it on ao3 here!

He shouldn’t have fallen asleep. Lord knows Sirius did not need more sleep. Restful sleep, yes, but fitful bouts of laying on the floor of his bedroom for fear of sinking into the mattress too deep and waking up sixteen again? Absolutely not. God, when did he start fearing his mother around every corner again? When did he begin to hallucinate the heaviness of his father’s footfalls? Why couldn’t he shake the fear that gripped his chest like a vice? He pressed his rough palms into his eyes, wiping away the restless crust that had developed.

“Please, Siri, just go away.” Regulus’s soft voice had called out after a light-footed Sirius had tiptoed his way into the younger brother’s room. The walk had sent shooting pains up his shin, but unfortunate casualties of being in his father’s way were all but uncommon. He was much more concerned about Regulus.

It was a night not dissimilar to any other. Regulus had gotten in trouble for trying to bring his stuffed bear to dinner, and was sent to bed without dinner. That was obviously followed by an unfortunate disciplinary screaming rant from his mother for embarrassing himself in front of Orion. 

This was not an abnormal experience in the Black household, and so Sirius followed his usual routine. He waited until his parents had retired to their room, and crept across the hall to hopefully find his baby brother half asleep and remind him that he was loved. He pulled Oliver, a soft brown teddy bear, from his perch on the shelf beside his door and strode over to the young boy.  

The six-year-old looked up, grey eyes wide with tears. “You’ll get in trouble,” he whimpered, “I don’t want you to get in trouble with Mummy.”

“Well I couldn’t exactly let you go to bed without Mister Oliver,” Sirius replied, taking a step closer to the young boy on the bed. It was no sooner than the bear was outstretched that Regulus was snatching it into his arms. “But mum said I wasn’t allowed to have him anymore.” 

“I nicked him earlier, after dinner. But you’ll have to keep him a secret from mum. She won’t think to check for him if she doesn’t see him around your room.” 

“But aren’t you scared?” Regulus whispered, pulling the bear tight to his chest, “I know Dad’s mad at you, I don’t want it to get worse...” 

“That’s for me to worry about, Reg,” Sirius replied, “you shouldn’t go to bed sad.” 

“Why not? I go to bed sad all the time.” That statement hurt his heart, it felt like a pang of guilt and shame. 

“When you go to bed sad, all of your tears dry up on your face, and then people will know when they see you. No one should get to know how you’re feeling unless you want them to.”

“Oh-” There was a silent understanding that both of them knew their parents seeing anything other than stoic apathy was something to be punished. But even wider than that, Sirius had always wanted to protect Regulus. This was just another instance of him trying to do that. 

Sirius blinked the thoughts of his childhood out of the forefront of his eyes and tried desperately to pull himself together. He did the only thing he could think to do, he walked to the spare closet, full of Regulus’s things that they had been able to recover while he was newly in Sirius’s care. He shuffled through the boxes until he found what he was looking for. He recognized the feeling of plush fur in his hands, before seeing the green ribbon tied around the bear’s neck, or the familiar seams of his face. Oliver. Maybe this could be the olive branch that helped reconnect them. 

There was no way Regulus was still out. He glanced down at the watch on his wrist, one of the last holdovers from his life of fuck off wealth, and read out the time. 21:46. There was no way he was still out from earlier. Not when his curfew was an hour ago, and Regulus wouldn’t be caught dead skipping his curfew. Not when he was so nervous that anything could get him sent away from Sirius. When everything was so up in the air, Regulus would buckle down. He would reinvest himself in routines, to keep himself from getting invested in something that would inevitably go wrong. Sirius had seen it several times over. He had seen it when Regulus was in the junior school when he had first moved in and through their childhood. Regulus was predictable. 

“Mon etoile,” Sirius called, knocking on the door softly. He could hear, if he strained his ears, just the slightest sniffling on the other side of the door. God, he felt guilty. Why couldn’t he make this easy on Regulus? What would make it easier? Being dead? Maybe. Being in control? Definitely. Clearly, this was a miscalculation, and Sirius wasn’t ready to face the consequences despite how much he wished he could be. 

“Come in,” Came the soft reply from the other side of the door. Sirius was prepared for anything, from Regulus being angry at him and wanting to scream and yell and fight, to being disappointed and upset with him. He could take it all because he was desperately trying to atone for his sins. Whatever punishment the teen deemed necessary was exactly what he would do. 

It was a tough sight for Sirius to take in. Regulus was huddled towards the corner of the bed, knees pulled into his chest. He looked so young. The soft yellow glow of his LED light strips lit the room just enough for Sirius to see just how exhausted Regulus looked. 

Sirius sat down towards the edge of the bed, holding Oliver outstretched like a prayer, begging for some level of forgiveness. “I thought this might help.” 

“What might help is not coming home to you passed out on the floor,” Regulus grumbled. He snatched up the bear nonetheless, his knuckles white with the intensity of his grip. He may have been upset, worried even, but he was pissed. 

“I wasn’t passed out, I was sleeping,” Sirius responded, but the fight wasn’t there. He didn’t have it in him to stand up for his behavior anymore. Not when he was constantly being faced with the reality that nothing he did would be enough. 

“Could’ve fooled me.” Slate grey eyes that matched his own glared daggers at Sirius. The resentment between them was palpable. Regulus was right back to square one when it came to their relationship. “I’d try the bed next time, mate. Might avoid this bullshit conversation in the future.” Sirius wondered when he would finally stop screwing up, so he could finally stop fucking apologizing. 

“Bed was too soft,” Sirius shrugged, trying to keep the hurt look off his face. He didn’t have the time to be upset or hurt, he was too busy being sorry. Severus had called him selfish for it, and maybe he was, but Sirius only saw one way out of the constant apologies and the overwhelming guilt. “Kept feeling like I was gonna wake up sixteen again.” 

“Oh, and that would be so bad, would it?” Regulus’s voice was rising, and once again Sirius was wracked with guilt. “Because god fucking forbid you have to spend time with me. WHY AM I EVEN HERE?” He was yelling again, and Sirius was biting back tears as hard as he could. “At least mum and dad love me! I never know where I fucking stand with you!” He shouted, eyes glassed over and voice cracking with his fear and frustration. It all made Sirius feel so BAD. 

“You only brought me here because you’re mad at them, and you’re only like this because starving yourself is the only way you can get out of it.” The bitterness in his words felt like a knife in Sirius’s chest. He wanted to desperately for Regulus to understand him. But he couldn’t, because Sirius was the adult here. He couldn’t just yell and scream and cry. He wasn’t a child anymore, which meant these were things he had to sort out on his own. Preferably in front of the bright red lights of the treadmill, hearing his trainers crashing into the belt at a swift rhythm. 

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for me being poorly adjusted Regulus!” Sirius bit back, trying his best not to yell and scream back at him. Desperation seeped into his voice, veiled thinly with bitterness. “Newsflash, my entire life doesn’t fucking revolve around you, mum, and dad!” He hadn’t called them that in years. Maybe he had referred to “my mum” or “my dad” but he had largely replaced called them those honorifics with their first names. This was just as much an argument between a 16-year-old Regulus and a 21-year-old Sirius as it was an argument between a 10-year-old Regulus and a 15-year-old Sirius. They had this fight many times in different circumstances, but maybe rehashing some old wounds was what the brothers needed to move forward. “I can’t keep apologizing to you for something I didn’t do. It’s not my fault we got fucked up. It’s not my fault they did this to you. It’s not my fucking fault they did this to me. You keep blaming me for bringing you here, but even if I didn’t want to there weren’t any other fucking options for you.” 

“Poor Sirius, always the fucking victim. Can’t you just own your shit once in your life? They never would have done this to me if you didn’t push them so far.” Regulus spat in response, eyes shining with tears of frustration just as much as sadness. 

Once those words were in between them, there was a look of horror on Regulus’s face. Sirius was hurt. He was absolutely hurt. But he always knew Regulus thought that. He just never thought Regulus would be brave enough to say it out loud. It was something Sirius often thought, and perhaps why he felt such a need to punish himself. But he couldn’t process that right now. He was too focused on the fallout of the cruelty on Regulus’s face. Maybe this was parenting. Putting your kid first even when it feels like they want to pull you apart, limb by limb. 

“I didn’t–” Regulus began, but Sirius shook his head in response. He didn’t want to hear it. 

“If you decide you don’t want to keep hating me, you know where to find me...” Sirius trailed off, trying not to stumble over his cracking voice. He needed to run away, he could feel it in his bones, but he couldn’t just let Regulus think that he was going to disappear. No matter how much he wanted to, he wasn’t going to give up on his teen brother. “But if you don’t– I understand– I just hope we can be civil.” His voice was strained, and in an instant, he was rushing out of the room. 

“You can’t keep running away from me!” Regulus called out from behind him, “All you ever do is run away from me!” Regulus’s voice was thick with hurt. Would this ever feel less unfair? 

That tugged at Sirius’s heartstrings and made his veins run cold. It wasn’t fair, really, but it was true. As far as Regulus was concerned, Sirius had always been running. That started long before the finality of him running away, or being kicked out if he were worrying about the semantics. He had been running from his fears with Regulus, he had been running from his fears with his parents, he had been running from himself when he was locked in the closet, he had always been running. He wanted to stop and rest, but he couldn’t. Not when his past constantly threatened to choke him on his shame. 

“Alright,” Sirius took a deep breath to steel himself against his frustration. Just get through it. You’ll be fine. “ If you really want to do this, we can do it. But I-” He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I am not going to be responsible for the consequences. I’m not going to feel bad for you when you don’t like how this feels.” He was full of shit. God, Sirius wanted to say that he was mad, that he was upset with Regulus, that he’d never forgive him; but this wasn’t like a fight they had when he was a child. Now he was the parent, and his brother was the shaking child begging to be loved. God, it was all so familiar. When would they stop doing the same song and dance? When would they be able to just relax? 

“I hate you.” Regulus spat, grey eyes blown wide with surprise at his own words, “ and I have hated you since the day you left me there. I’m trying so hard, but I don’t know how to stop hating you.” The bitterness between them is acrid and sour, with a cloying stench and a sharp sting. As if Sirius needed him to pour more salt into the wound. As if either of them needed to spend more time being angry at each other. “I wish you would just listen to me. I wish you would just care more about me than you do yourself. But you never will. Why is it so much better for you to kill yourself than to just be here with me? Why do you always want to leave?” It all came out like word vomit, and Sirius wasn’t sure what else to do. He had thought he did an alright job showing his baby brother that he was wanted, safe and loved here. Evidently, he couldn’t be further from the truth. 

“That’s not what this is...” Sirius mumbled, shame boiling over within him. The shame was like a snake, constricting around his throat and choking everything out of him. All he wanted was to be able to be the kind of older brother he wished he could have been for all those years. “Don’t you think you’d be better off without me?” He mumbled, trying hard to keep from drowning in his shame. It was hard when he felt like he was constantly being threatened by being pulled under, like the tide of his guilt wanted to pull him out to the sea of shame, to destroy him from the inside out. He felt like the ouroboros, constantly eating his own tail instead of being able to move forward. 

A bitter, angry chuckle passed through Regulus, and he could see just how offended his younger brother was based on the question. Fuck, when would Sirius stop doing things wrong? “No, I don’t think that. I’ve never thought that. I thought you were supposed to be the fucking adult.” Regulus rolled his eyes, and Sirius could swear that this fight wouldn’t have happened if he had just kept seeing his counselor. Too bad he was too interested in his downward spiral to make sense of all of this, to keep seeing her, to continue to prioritize his well-being. 

“I’m sorry,” Sirius was tired. Exhausted even. He wanted to go out to the balcony, to prostrate himself at the foot of the stars, to beg for forgiveness from any god who would listen. He had done something, said something, to make Regulus think his issues were the fault of the younger brother, and he never meant to. He didn’t want this to happen. He needed, desperately, to get some relief. Maybe someday, but now wasn’t the time, and today wasn’t the day. “I was broken long before you.” He could only see one way through this. He was going to have to put everything on the table. Even though everything in him was screaming not to, even though it made him want to retch until he was satisfied with the amount of bile that came up, even though he was so terrified of the consequences, he felt it was the only way for his kid brother to understand. 

“I have been like this since I was fifteen, Reg. I’ve been through psych evals, I’ve been on everything there is, I’ve been on multiple psych holds,” He’s pushing up his sleeves, as though the angry pink marks might help the teen understand. “I didn’t want to tell you– didn’t want to tell anyone...” He sighed, pushing a stray inky curl behind his ear, “I know it’s not fun for you to deal with me like this. I know it’s not fun for anyone,” a short pause, trying to steel himself against his tears, “It’s not about you. It’s not about anyone. I’m just trying to get through this.” 

“Siri– I didn’t–” Regulus sputtered, his grey eyes trained on the long, angry keloid scars on Sirius’s sinewy, thin forearms. It was like he never expected to see something like this like he thought Sirius was just doing this as a punishment to him, some weird manipulation tactic like the many their parents had pulled over the years.

“I know you didn’t, Reg. I paid off the Rosiers not to mention it, I did things I’m not proud of to keep you from knowing about things.” Sirius mumbled, “I didn’t want you to have to deal with adult problems. If you needed to hate me I wanted you to. If you need to hate me, I want you to. I don’t care, as long as you can have some peace.” A long, pregnant pause lingers between them like they were both trying to decide who needed to speak first. Sirius decides to break the silence since he was too afraid of what his brother would say. “I want things to be easy for you... I do, and I’m sorry I haven’t made them easy. I swear I’m doing my best,” his voice is tight with tears, and Regulus can’t seem to stop spilling his tears.

Would everything ever be okay between the Black brothers, or were they doomed to run in this circle for eternity? No sooner had Sirius thought it, than Reg was standing up, and sliding over to the other side of the couch. “I don’t actually hate you,” He mumbled, “I’m sorry I said that.” Sirius shrugged in response, eyes trained on the ground. If he kept staring at the gap in his hardwood floor, where the loose floorboard was, maybe he could pretend no white-hot tear tracks were running down his face, “It’s okay if you meant it, if that’s what you need to do.” He paused, “But I love you. I always have, and there’s always a place for you here.”

Regulus wished Sirius would look up at him, but his older brother’s eyes were still trained on the ground. He desperately wished he could take back the last twenty minutes of screaming at Sirius because looking at him now he finally felt like he had his older back, not some weird reflection of his mother’s manipulation. 

“If you want to go back to boarding, I understand,” Sirius mumbled, “Hell, it might even be a good idea. No once-a-month visits if you’re boarding.” 

“I want to be here with you.” 

“You do?” Sirius wished he hadn’t asked, because he didn’t want to give Regulus the option to change his mind. He really liked having his brother around the house. He got used to the way the flat sounded with someone else living in it. He liked that he wasn’t alone all of the time. He didn’t want to go back to being so lonely. Especially when he would have faced his fears of his home changing, turning into 12 Grimmauld Place before his eyes. He didn’t want to think about what their lives were like in Islington anymore than he had to. Not now, not ever. 

“I like living here. I like that we eat dinner together. I like that you always ask how my day was. I like that I’m never scared of you. I don’t want to go back. When I miss it you let me sleep at Felix’s dorm. I want to be here.” 

Sirius wasn’t going to argue with that. Sure, he could, but he wasn’t going to. Not when he wanted desperately to be able to be a part of his younger brother’s life. He wasn’t going to give this up again. He wanted to rebuild this connection so badly, there was no point in which he would protest. 

“What do we do now?” Regulus whispered, his voice tight with his tears. It was clear to Sirius he was being eaten alive by his own guilt, and Sirius had no desire to punish him further. This had been enough for him. Maybe he should just bore his brother with the details for once. 

“Erm,” He mumbled, “I guess I could tell you what my plan is?” 

“Yeah, that’d probably be nice...” Regulus mumbled, “I guess I could’ve waited for that before I went and had such a full-on thing about it .” 

When he said it, Sirius almost laughed. Regulus was becoming just like him, and he could see it more now than ever before. It was stupid if he was honest, but calling things that were objectively terrible “full-on things” was quite literally his MO. Maybe they were more similar than they’d ever thought. A humorless laugh passes his lips, and despite his watery eyes he was absolutely trying to smooth everything over. “You’re sixteen. It’d be kind of weird if you didn’t have a full-on thing with all of this pressure,” Sirius shrugged, “Fuck knows I did, and I didn’t have half the stress.” He was trying so hard to be understanding and kind, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t trying to convince himself that none of this was personal. After all, he had always taken everything personally, but he had been just as quick to anger and frustration at sixteen. 

“I spoke to a program called Orri today. They said they’d be willing to work with me for a program where I wouldn’t need to be shipped off anywhere. I’d be gone for the same hours that you’d be at school.” Sirius explained. It all sounded so clinical to his ears, but he couldn’t get emotionally invested right now. It was much easier to talk like this wasn’t happening to him. “They said they’d recommend I go to a hospital for a bit, but I told them about us, and they said they’d be willing to work with me if I didn’t. On Monday, I’m talking to Vincent Square, and I’ve been there before. The idea is that if I do need to go somewhere, they’d have a spot for me.” 

“So it’s not super likely you’re going to have to go somewhere?” 

“Not really. Like if they recommend it, James will probably be all over me about it, but I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to. I’m an adult, so no one can make me without taking me to court.” 

“So.... everything’s fine.” 

“For the most part.” 

“Why did everyone make it sound like everything is terrible?” 

“James is a drama queen, Remus doesn’t know any better, and Sev is in love with me,” Sirius responded with a light chuckle. He probably shouldn’t have said that while Regulus was taking a sip of the water that Sirius had gotten him before this fight, especially not if he didn’t want to be cleaning off the boy’s spit from his coffee table. 

“ Severus is WHAT?” He grinned, and it felt like the brothers had finally slotted back into normalcy. For that, Sirius was thankful. He chuckled again, looking at the shock on his younger brother’s face. 

“Yeah, I didn’t exactly know how to tell you that part either.” 

“I thought you hated each other?” Regulus asked, his storm grey eyes were no longer wide with the destruction of his tears, and instead mystified. 

“We haven’t actually hated each other in years,” Sirius explained, “I find him mildly annoying, and he is apparently deeply fucked up about me.” 

“Does he have a shot? I know you’re really into Remus....” Regulus asked, “How do you have so many men eating out of the palm of your hand? You came out like last month.” The teen chuckled, and Sirius could tell he was slowly feeling more and more secure in the normalcy of this conversation. 

“I know you guys are really close,” Sirius began, “But he knows how I feel about Remus,” He was blushing, despite himself, “I wouldn’t bring it up with him if I were you. He might get angry at me all over again.” 

“Wow,” Regulus started, looking at Sirius with shock, “So you guys talk a lot I guess.” 

“We talk enough,” Sirius replied, trying to settle into the normalcy of all of this, “I can’t say I’m shocked he never told you.” 

“I feel like there is a lot I don’t know. Between you, Sev...” He trailed off, “Do you talk to Andie?” 

“All the time,” Sirius smiles, “She’s waiting for this all to settle to have us come out to Glasgow to see her.” 

“I miss her.” 

“I know, mate. She misses you too.” Sirius smiled, eyes bright with his enthusiasm. All he wanted was to be normal. He was trying to bring a more normal feeling over the two of them, he wanted to make sure that they could be happy where possible. If talking about Andie was what that took, he was happy to do it. “I was talking to her about maybe coming for hols with us.” 

“She’s not invited to hols at mum an’ dads?” Regulus asked cautiously, confusion evident in his voice. 

“Neither am I.” Sirius shrugged, “Might be nice to have another ally on our side. Especially since Bella and Cissy are going to be there.” It wasn’t lost on Sirius that this was Reggie’s first Christmas on the outs from the family. He didn’t know how many allies they actually needed. Sirius knew he could rely on Severus to make sure that they were okay, to make sure that if Sirius fell apart everyone left him alone. He knew Evan and Felix were going to make sure Regulus had people in his corner. But it would probably be nice for Sirius to not have the only person he could comfortably talk to not be someone whom he had a sordid romantic history with. He and Evan had never been friends, and he didn’t know how to interact with him. Andie had always been his link to conversations. He would have just been a wallflower if she had never been there, and that was not acceptable for his parents back then. It wasn’t acceptable now either, when he needed to show himself as an even-keeled, stable guardian for Regulus. 

“Do you think it’s a good idea?” Regulus asked, eyebrow raised. 

“Depends,” Sirius smiled, “Do you mind if she crashes on our couch?” 

“Slumber party with Andie?” Regulus’s eyes sparkled at that. Because Andie and Sirius had grown up so close, Regulus had always been jealous of their sleepovers. Sirius remembered just how much he had always wanted to be a part of it, and he was thankful that he had. He was so glad the two of them could have moments like this, even if they had spent the last few hours at each other’s throats. 

Their relationship had a softness that Sirius was grateful for. He was so thankful to be able to share that kind of softness, and love with each other. He was thankful that he got to be a part of his younger brother’s life, he was thankful he got to be a part of these formative years. Even if he had screwed up so royally. Sure, it wasn’t like he was trying. Sure, it wasn’t like he was intending on screwing things up. He knew that it was an uncharitable way to view what was going on, he knew that it was unfair for him to view this as him ruining things when he was really just struggling. But it wasn’t like he was the only one. Everyone around him also viewed it that way. Severus said it, Regulus said it, James and Remus were too nice to admit to it, but he was sure they believed it just as well. But even still, he was glad that he could put that behind him, and just move forward with Regulus. “I’ll give her a ring tonight to see if she can come to the holidays with us. If she can’t we can always set something up for some other time.” Sirius grinned back, carding his hair behind his ear. 

Regulus smiled back at him brightly, and it was as though there was no fight. It was as though they had no problems. Luckily, Sirius thought, this didn’t have to be a big deal. He didn’t need to be upset or anxious, because clearly, they were moving forward. 

If James or Remus were here to see the inner workings of his mind, they might have reprimanded him. They might have told him that this was not his fault and that his struggle, while inconvenient for his current situation, was not a moral failing like he was making it out to be. It wasn’t his fault, it was his mental health failing, but not a moral failing. It was just another in a long list of problems he had, and in a year's time, it would be completely unremarkable.

[lennart11412]

 Luke 22 ►Mount of Olives / Betrayal

New King James Version

 Par ▾ 

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

3Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

From <https://biblehub.com/nkjv/luke/22.htm>

The Prayer in the Garden

39Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

41And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43[f]Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

45When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

From <https://biblehub.com/nkjv/luke/22.htm>

2 Samuel 15 ►Mount of Olives / Betrayal

New King James Version

 Par ▾ 

Absalom’s Treason

1After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit[a] came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” 3Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your [b]case is good and right; but there is no [c]deputy of the king to hear you.” 4Moreover Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” 5And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him. 6In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

7Now it came to pass after [d]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. 8For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”

9And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

10Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’ ” 11And with Absalom went two hundred men invited from Jerusalem, and they went along innocently and did not know anything. 12Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city—from Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

13Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are [e]with Absalom.”

14So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

15And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.” 16Then the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ten women, concubines, to keep the house. 17And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. 18Then all his servants passed [f]before him; and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king.

19Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. 20In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”

21But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”

22So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. 23And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness.

24There was Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. 

25Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place. 26But if He says thus: ‘I have no delight in you,’ here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.”

 27The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer?[g] Return to the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28See, I will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.

30So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went up. 

31Then someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

32Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God—there was Hushai the Archite coming to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. 33David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become a burden to me. 34But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. 35And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36Indeed they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.”

37So Hushai, David’s friend, went into the city. And Absalom came into Jerusalem.

From <https://biblehub.com/nkjv/2_samuel/15.htm>

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Amortentia- Oliver Wood x OC

Oliver Wood x Jessica Stix

Description: After making an Amortentia potion in class Jessica smells Oliver. When he reveals what he smelled, how do they move on from there? 

Word Count: 2.1k

“Once the potion has been set, add the pearl dust. Your Amortentia potion should be a pearl pink color by the time you finish,” Professor Snape droned on as he walked around the classroom. Jessica added the pearl dust while Corinne stirred the concoction. 

“Doesn’t it feel just a little bit inappropriate for a teacher to let his students make a love potion?” Jessica asked, glancing at her partner. Corinne only shrugged nonchalantly.

“Maybe, but the want to know what I’ll smell outweighs that thought,” she answered with a dreamy smile. Jessica rolled her eyes with a small smile.

“You’re such a romantic. Besides, I think we all know what you’ll smell.” She let out a giggle when her partner lightly shoved her shoulder. “Hey! Don’t spill the potion Rinne,” she added. Just a moment later, Professor Snape arrived at their desk. 

“With the amount of messing around, I assume you two have finished your potion?” He sneered. Jessica glanced at Corinne, who nodded minutely.

“As a matter of fact, we are, professor. Would you like to take a look?” She scooted back when Snape leaned over her to look into their cauldron. He hummed somehow in a monotone way and stood straight once more.

“Very good. Now, sit quietly and wait for everyone else to finish theirs. Being done before everyone else doesn’t give you permission to horseplay,” he reprimanded, walking off when they mumbled a ‘yes sir.’

“Overgrown bat,” Jessica muttered under her breath, causing Corinne to have to hold back laughter. Fred and George noticed their almost silent giggles and turned around. 

“And what are you two ladies laughing about?” Fred asked.

“And why aren’t we in on it?” George added

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Corinne teased, leaning forward a bit. George smirked a little and leaned against her desk in front of her.

“As a matter of fact I would, if you don’t mind,” he mumbled. Fred and Jessica fake gagged at the same time before laughing, making George roll his eyes. 

“Hey, it’s not our fault that I finally made a move. You’re still apologizing to hamster girl,” he pointed at Fred. “And you’re pining over someone who cares more about a sport than himself.” He pointed at Jessica. Fred flicked the side of his head while Jessica rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She glanced to a few tables away where Oliver Wood was sitting beside Lee Jordan, joking around now that they’d finished their potion. None of them could say anything else before Professor Snape walked to the front of the room once more. 

“Now that all of you have finished, take a sniff of it then put it in the bottles on the back counter. Be careful not to ingest or get any on yourselves lest you fall victim to it,” he instructed. Corinne practically bounced in her seat as she leaned over the cauldron, inhaling the potion deeply while the other three watched her.

“I smell fireworks, fresh cotton, and sweets,” she spoke. George smirked and leaned back in his seat.

“Guess you just can’t get enough of me, huh?” He asked conceitedly. Corinne rolled her eyes, telling him to see what he smells.

“Cinnamon rolls, Water Lilies, and fresh air.” Corinne blushed profusely, making Jessica laugh because she had been right.

“All I smell is Mallorie’s perfume,” Fred said before urging Jessica to take a whiff. She stared at him warily before leaning forward and smelling the potion. Broomstick wax, the leather of a brand new Quaffle and cinnamon gum. She froze when she realized where she recognized those scents from. Oliver. 

“Don’t be shy now, Jess,” George said, leaning against her and Corinne’s desk. “What’s it smell like?” She stared into the potion for a moment before sitting back down. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Oliver glance her way, but paid no mind to it.

“It smells….like none of your business.” She gave the three of them a pointed look as she stood. The three groaned and complained while she walked to the back counter. As she grabbed several bottles, she felt someone slide up next to her.

“So, love potions huh?” Oliver asked like the nerd he was, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Jessica laughed and blushed at their close proximity.

“I guess so,” she responded, grabbing a few bottles for Fred and George. 

“Can I ask what you smelled?” He finally looked at her. 

“You can ask, but I won’t answer,” she said, heading back to her table. The twins and Corinne continued to pester Jessica about what she smelled while she filled up the bottles. Eventually she set the cauldron down and stared at them frustratedly.

“Alright? You know what I smelled? Broomstick wax, new Quaffles, and cinnamon gum,” she spoke. “You want to know who that is? Oliver bloody Wood.” Her answer seemed to shock them. Not because of the answer itself, but because of how accidentally loud she said it. It was loud enough to gain Oliver’s attention. With one final look at Lee, Oliver stood once again and walked over to Jessica.

“Want to know what I smelled?” He asked, making her spin around so fast they thought the chair would break. “Carmel corn, vanilla sugar lotion and roses,” he answered without hesitation. Jessica blushed profusely, processing what that meant.

“Me?” Was all she could say. Oliver nodded, but just as he was about to answer, Professor Snape approached them.

“Mr. Wood, if you want to play at the quidditch game tomorrow, I highly suggest you get back to your seat and help Mr. Jordan finish with the bottles.” Oliver began to respond, but a glare from the teacher made him walk back to his seat, shooting a helpless look to Jessica. 

“Okay, what just happened? Did Oliver seriously just announce that he loved you?” Corinne asked, holding back her excitement. Jessica didn’t answer, too embarrassed to look anywhere but at the potions in front of her. 

Unfortunately, Jessica didn’t get a chance to talk to Oliver about what happened for the rest of that day. Classes got in the way as well as tutoring sessions with first years in between. After dinner she just went straight to bed, much to her and Oliver’s mutual disappointment.

She didn’t see him the next morning at breakfast either, but to be fair she didn’t see anyone on the Gryffindor quidditch team. They were practicing one last time before the game that day, and she understood that. But it also sucked because she couldn’t attend the game today, she promised to help Professor McGonagall set up for an upcoming exam for extra credit. She couldn’t just back out last minute, that wasn’t her style. So, she had to come to terms that she just probably wouldn’t be able to see Oliver yet another day. 

She couldn’t manage to finish before the game came to an end. She could faintly hear Lee yell that Gryffindor won yet again, causing her and Professor McGonagall to smile. The two congratulated each other and continued their work. It was half an hour later that they finally finished. She bid the professor a farewell, grabbed her bag and made her way out. As she stepped out of the classroom, she ran into Alicia Spinnet.

“Oh Jessica! Just the girl I was looking for,” Alicia exclaimed happily.

“Hello Alicia, congratulations on the win,” Jessica responded cheerfully. 

“Thanks, but that’s not why I came to find you. Oliver has requested your presence on the quidditch field, says it’s pretty important.” Jessica’s cheeks were painted a nice red color when she said that, so she thanked the girl and made her way to the quidditch field. Her stomach did front flips as she thought about what he wanted to say to her that was important enough that they had to be alone. 

Oliver was on his broom yet again, just riding around with no particular destination. She smiled at how carefree he looked up in the air like that. After watching him for a short while, she finally cupped her hands around her mouth.

“Hey superstar!” She called, waving when he gazed down at her. He waved in return then leaned forward on his broom to ride over to her. 

“Have you ever ridden a broom?” Oliver asked, still a few feet above her.

“Not since first year,” she said while shaking her head. “I never really took to it.” 

“Well that’s probably because you didn’t have a good teacher,” he laughed, holding out his hand for her. “Hop on.”

“Don’t let Madam Hooch hear you say that,” she joked in response, taking his hand. Oliver helped her onto his broom with ease and smiled when she wrapped her arms around his middle. He glanced back at her.

“Ready?” He asked, and Jessica was just about to ask what he meant when they suddenly shot into the air. She let out a shocked scream and tightened her grip.

“Oliver Wood you’re crazy!” She exclaimed shakily. He laughed and started flying around the field, increasing and decreasing height at times. 

“Crazy for you Jessica Stix!” He responded over the wind. Jessica’s face turned red and she hid her face in his back. She began to enjoy flying around, and laughed when they flew through the hoops. 

Oliver didn’t slow down until the sun started showing signs of setting. He flew over to the stands and helped her into it, though he still stayed on his broom in front of her. Jessica patted down her hair after the wind blew through it crazily and smiled coyly at him.

“Well?” He asked, making her laugh.

“I have to admit, it was a lot more flying with you than it was flying with Madam Hooch teaching me. I had a lot of fun.” Oliver smiled proudly and inched his broom closer to the stands. They were silent for a moment, just staring at each other with stupid smiles. 

“So, you love me?” He finally asked, looking as if he was almost scared of the answer being no. He practically sighed in relief when she nodded.

“I do, probably since second year when you-” she started, but he finished.

“When I punched Marcus Flint for trying to look up your skirt.” She nodded in response, then smiled wider.

“You love me?” She asked, making the tips of his ears turn pink. 

“Since second year when you helped me with Transfigurations.” Jessica was surprised at that. The memory seemed so mundane to her, but apparently it was everything to him.

“Merlin, all the time we wasted pining over each other,” she breathed out with a laugh. Oliver nodded, seemingly blown away at the realization. Jessica didn’t realize how close they were until his hand touched hers. She glanced down at his hand now on top of hers on the railing of the stands. When she looked up, she felt another pair of lips press against hers. It didn’t take long for her to return the kiss. Oliver’s free hand went to the back of her head then slid to cup her cheek. When they pulled away, they were breathless. Their lips were still just millimeters away. 

“Sorry, I probably should have asked for permission first,” he whispered, his eyes now half lidded. Jessica smiled and rested her free hand on the arm that cupped her cheek.

“I’ll forgive you if you kiss me again,” she mumbled in response. Oliver laughed a little.

“I think I can manage that,” he responded before kissing her again. When they pulled away again, they just stared into each other’s eyes. Jessica could now notice the specks of green and yellow hidden around his brown eyes. Finally, they separated and Jessica leaned against the railing with a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes. 

“Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?” Oliver asked gently.

“I would like nothing more,” she responded happily. “We should probably get to dinner, I know you probably haven’t eaten today.” She gave him a reprimanding look that made him look down and laugh. 

“I never eat before a game, you know that,” he stated while she made her way down the stands back onto the field. 

“And it’s a terrible habit to have,” she scolded as he reached her and hopped off his broom. He held his broom in one hand and wrapped his other arm around her shoulders.

“I’m just saying, I haven’t lost yet so it can’t be that bad.” Jessica rolled her eyes playfully.

“Yeah yeah,” she responded sarcastically as they walked off the field towards the Great Hall for a celebration.

[atopearth]

Piofiore: Episodio 1926 Part 1 - Gilbert Redford Route

I'M SO EXCITED!!! I like to follow recommended route orders so I'll go with Gilbert first which I honestly don't mind because I love his personality and his respectful relationship with Lili, so yeah he's one of my favourites haha. Orlok is really the only one I'm iffy about but I guess we'll see. Love how the route already starts with Lili and Gil having a lovers spat in the lounge and everyone is just like .... Even Luca was there haha. Lili wanting to learn accounting to help the family is very her, so cute. Lmao when Gil wanted to show his repentance towards her by kissing her. I didn't expect to hear Yang so soon, I miss him so much🥹🥹 I'm surprised Lili isn't living with Gil already tbh haha. I love how playful he is though, I miss that. Seems like there's new characters from the Liu Huang Hui (head organisation of Lao Shu?) who are here to kill Yang so that's amusing. Loll at Lili being repeatedly hit on, she is beautiful though so what can I say🥲 Is Eugene Gil's father? Didn't expect the guy to be selling drugs even though he looked dodgy😰 Luca wanting to learn how to read so that Gil can give him instructions without personally saying it to him every time is so cute. He's such a good boy. Something I completely forgot about is that the LIs like to call Liliana Lili and it feels so weird to hear my name hahaha.

I hope Sister Sofia isn't dead, that would be terrible. I was so relieved when Gil appeared. It just feels really reassuring to have him there even if it's after everything happened. Luca is the sweetest boy ever! I love how he came all the way to the church to check if she was okay, and he spent time with the children learning with them too, it made me so sad but happy when he was like is this what going to school feels like🥹🥹 Oliver being sincerely concerned for Lili's wellbeing was very sweet too. OMG THE CG! I LOVE IT. It was so unexpected that I had to exit the game because I was playing on the TV though lmao. But yesss, them sharing a bathtub is so hot. I loveee Gil's wet hair. Little Gil looks like Luca haha! Lili is quite bold now! She kissed Gil on the cheek to motivate him to go to work haha, that's so cute, especially since she wasn't embarrassed at all! Anyway, Yuan has a very different appearance from what I expected. He looks very elegant. Honestly, with how reckless Luca is, I get so scared that he'll get himself killed. Jack really would have killed them if Orlok didn't appear. I'm glad Oliver and them reprimanded him but made sure to convey to him that they were mainly concerned about his and Lili's safety. I'm so glad that Orlok told Lili and Gil about how Eugene was ready to sacrifice Lili and Luca to protect himself because she hasn't thought of Eugene negatively at all but really, he's a selfish ass and Lili needs to get away from him. It was so cute how the twins appreciated Gil standing up for them against Yuan when he said that they're his guests. This is the reason why I love Gil! Another reason why I love him is because of how reassuring and kind he is. Even though it's risky to take Lili out, he recognises that she can't stay cooped up inside forever. Every time he says that the safest place in Burlone for Lili to be is right next to him, I admit that I swoon because when he says it, I feel like I can really believe in his words and feel safe, so I'm sure Lili feels the same haha.

Elena is the sweetest girl ever! I love how she made Lili realise that they won't necessarily be together forever since it's possible that she could find a husband somewhere else too and leave. Nothing is permanent, but as long as they let each other know that even if apart, they will always love and care about you, then that's enough. I can't believe Yang got injured so badly by Yuan. Why did Yuan just leave though? Suspicious.. Anyway, I can't help but feel bad for Dante... It just doesn't feel right for Dante to not have Nicola beside him. In other news, I love Jack's design, he's hot. ls Jack Gil's brother? Is that why I think he's hot?😅😅 Yuan is such a nut, can't believe he bit Lili and licked her blood to taste it, what a guy. Wow, the ruthlessness of Yuan to sever people's limbs, I feel sorry for those people.. I forgot about how Gil's father used to hit Gil and his mother. It was obvious that Eugene is a terrible father but he's even worse than I thought. I feel bad for Gil and Jack that they have such a father who doesn't care about them at all. I feel so sad that Orlok sacrificed himself to help Dante and Gil escape. Well, the ending really wasn't very compelling. It felt pretty rushed that everyone had to basically leave with Gil going Chicago and Yang very easily accepting to just go Romania. I guess I kinda feel robbed by how emotional it should be for Lili to leave her home and everything to follow Gil to Chicago but they just kinda left and it was like whatever lol. I don't even feel like the thing with Eugene was resolved all that nicely because he basically just left as if he never came, it really didn't have much effect on Gil's character imo lol. Like yeah, he was a piece of shit to the end, which I liked, but it never really felt like Gil got over it all, which I guess can be understandable in real life but it's just not very satisfying? Lili telling Gil all her feelings of loneliness and how she wants to go with Gil to Chicago at the beach was really sweet, I wouldn't have expected this to be the tragic ending at all. Honestly, Yuan dying at the sacrifice of Lili getting a concussion and losing her memories is a pretty good deal LOL, obviously there's other problems but still haha. I think the ending was quite bittersweet to have Gil stay with Lili in Burlone.

Overall, Gil's route was okay. I don't think it had the same charm as the original but I did enjoy Lili being more comfortable with physical affection. I really enjoyed seeing Gil tease her and make her all embarrassed, and I also really liked seeing Luca have a better chance at life with the help of Gil and Oliver. I didn't mind Jack but I think his character was wasted by being the random background guy chasing after Eugene but never actually doing anything. As for Eugene, I was excited to see his clashes with Gil but I guess there wasn't much to expect from him because he was quite disappointing as a person and as the "problem" of this route. It just felt very boring with how he constantly tried to take advantage of the people around him with his dumb decisions, there's now closure for Gil but at the same time, since I thought his father was dead and non-existent, the writers just basically brought up a problem that no one really cared for imo. I think I would have enjoyed the route better if it was just fluffy romance as they thought about their future and whether Lili would go with Gil to America.

[omaticwriting]

Grand Anomaly: New Beginnings [Chapter 1- the anomaly]

Daniel and Alpine walked to the gathering area at a sluggish pace, wanting to take his time to enjoy the view around him. Noticing the number of kids, teens and adults overwhelmed Daniel, alpine gave a small comfort to all of this, bringing a small smile to the boy as he listened to the guide and camp counselor's speech.

The counselor was fairly tanned and well-kept physique and stature despite his age and his assistant was no different what set them apart aside from hats and the assistant has a much more moderate stature compared to the counselor himself. "Hello, campers I'm your camp counselor, you may call me chad" the counselor introduced, despite his looks, he sounded quite approachable "This is my assistant and great friend Derrick" he gestured to the (wo)man beside him "Now before we begin with the actual camping, I want you all to group up into teams of four, from there we'll discuss rules, schedule and locations we are allowed to go to" he announced, watching with delight as kids and teens grouped up with their friends, while the adults both staff of the camp and school alike stayed to the side, mingling while everyone grouped up.

Daniel watched as many formed groups and at a quick rate as well, giving him no time to find one he sighed in mild defeat knowing full well of his luck with making friends. "Hey!" He heard a voice, looking over he saw a group of three people, all of which were trying to gain his attention. While walking over to them another person ran to the group, now realizing that they were, gesturing to them instead of him but not all was lost.

Noticing a small group of people Daniel ran to them with glee, knowing full well this could be his team and possibly first-ever friends. "Alright." The counselor clapped his hands together, seeing everyone grouped up and in a good transition too "Now I believe it's time to talk about the rules, locations, and schedule" he announced before letting his assistant take care of the topic.

Daniel didn't listen to what was being said, being well aware of the topic ahead of time and one of his group mates was similar in that regard. The dark-skinned girl wore a blue headscarf, a blue hooded sweater, blue jeans, and sneakers with a backpack full of supplies, much more than a normal person needed but looking over at her friend made some sense. The redhead gal wore an olive green turtleneck sweater with a black long skirt and sneakers, much to his surprise the girl had a normal amount of luggage but how she packed was as if it was all in a hurry. 

The two talked while the rules were being said, giving Daniel the idea that they could be close friends, he stared at the two for a while as the announcement went on but something touching his shoulder broke his trance, looking at the person who did it.

The person looked a little older compared to the rest of the group, his clothes were earthen in tone and color, and his goggles blocked his eyes much like his clothes blocked any sun from shining onto his skin "Hi, I'm Nicolas'' his voice sounded hoarse despite his best attempts but regardless Daniel kept his cheerful tone "I'm Daniel it's nice meeting you Nicolas'' he shook his hand, hoping he and Nicolas could be good friends" is this your first time here?" He asked and not a second sooner Daniel gave a firm nod, confirming Nicolas's question before seeing Alpine next to him, not wanting to question why he has one with his he noticed Daniel giving him a look of curiosity "What's with him all the clothes?" He asked, he wondered why someone would wear so many clothes to the point of not exposing a single hair let alone skin but it would soon be answered with a blunt and simple world "protection" this made Daniel more curious -protection from what?- he wondered thoughtfully before his train of thought ended with a sigh from Nicolas. He knew he had some explaining to do, especially seeing Daniel who screamed curiosity incarnate but whether or not he would be offended by it he wouldn't know.

"My skin feels like it's burning when I'm exposed to sunlight, my sight is hyper-sensitive to light, much so my hearing" he explained giving a look of sympathy from Daniel "sorry I asked" he felt a small pang of guilt from asking, imagining how painful life could be with that but Nicolas reassured him despite his face being covered he could tell he was smiling "It's fine, just glad there's someone who cares" this brought a small grin to Daniel. "Excuse me?" The two looked at the two girls, both of which looked rather happy to see them as the girl in the hijab introduced "hi, I'm Selene and this is w-" she was cut off by her friend who gave a wild smirk "I'm Willa, glad to be part of the team!" She beamed with excitement only for a small cough did Willa quiet down making Daniel, Alpine, and Nicolas look at each other with bewilderment if they could see Nicolas's face that is.

"Sorry about that, my friend can be a bit impulsive sometimes" apologized to her friend, knowing full well Willa can be a lot to handle, especially for being hare-brained but despite that the two were good friends through and through "it's fine I'm Daniel, by the way, this is Nicolas and my dog Alpine" Daniel quickly spoke, gesturing to Nicolas who gave a silent wave while Alpine barked with delight, giving Willa a chance to pet the husky who seemed to enjoy it greatly "you got a nice dog here Daniel where'd you find the lad?" She asked, not stopping to give the dog a belly rub "oh my dad and I adopted him from the shelter, he didn't have any mom or dad" he answered, and seeing his dog enjoy himself made him happy.

"Seems everyone left to do their own thing already" Selene commented as announcements were done and all groups spread out to do their activity "so where do we set up camp?" Nicolas was the first to ask, knowing full well that finding a place for the four to set camp was very important. Daniel brought out his map of the places that they could go to in the camp but was rather surprised to see Selene do the same thing but with the inclusion of a compass "what? it's good to be prepared" she defended and put it out for the group to see.

Daniel hummed, seeing all the places they could set up camp "oh! How about we set camp here!" She pointed to a small shoreline near a lake to which Nicolas gave a deadpanned look behind all that clothing "here's fine" he pointed to the mountain valley all the while Selene grabbed a notebook from her bag, writing down possible locations they could set up "why not camp here?" Daniel pointed to the forest near a stream and looked somewhat close to the mountains with alpine barking in response, even Selene nodded in agreement as she saw some advantages compared to the other locations Nicolas and Willa offered "seems like a nice place, we can get food and clean water if we ever plan to forage" she commented, looking at the rest of the team they all held a vote, with the winner being Daniels locations.

Daniel gave a small grin to everyone, -it's nice having new friends this summer, I hope my other friends are doing alright- he thought to himself, seeing everyone made him feel comfortable, now knowing he wouldn't fully spend his summer camp alone "All alright everyone, let's go!" He announced as he began the trek with his dog and his newfound friends beside him. 

                      ...

Daniel took a deep breath of air, the trek to the campsite felt rather peaceful despite Willa's occasional groaning and complaining. The cool air, and the song of the birds make, made Daniel feel quite at peace with his surroundings. Even Alpine was enjoying it. watching him chase around small critters made Daniel smile.

looking over at his friends he noticed Selene write something down in a notebook. He wanted to ask but he'll ask much later when they begin to set up camp. When he looked over at Nicolas he seemed alright, though he noticed that he walked under the shade of trees more often than most of the rest of the group. Daniel wanted to ask why but quickly mentally punched himself for thinking about asking him again, knowing full well about his condition it made him wonder, however, does the shade help, more questions slowly filled his mind about his newfound friends, and he wanted to know. Luckily he got his answer when Willa groaned for the last and loudest time, causing everyone to stare at the redhead whether it was a worried look from Selene, a look of curiosity from Daniel and alpine, or a hidden look of annoyance from Nicolas gained everyone's attention.

"I'm bored! When are we going to get there?" Willa whined, trekking for about an hour without much to do seemed to irritate her a bit "It would feel a lot faster if you didn't complain now and again," Nicolas remarked, pressing the bridge of where his nose would be as all the complaining and groaning did a number on his already sensitive hearing. Before he could make another complaint Selene butted in, hoping to diffuse the situation "how about we get to know each other more, maybe that can help?"

She offered to the team hoping that it can diffuse tension and probably gain some teamwork and trust. Daniel, Nicolas, and Willa would give it some thought before nodding, looking at one another wondering who'll be the first to start it off with a question.

After what felt like an hour of silence Willa groaned, much to Nicolas's ears ''that's it I'm going first, what do you guys like?" She asked not caring if it was random or broad, just to get someone to talk and get the awkward silence gone and over with.

Nicolas began to ponder before being the first to speak "I like the moon and stars" he always liked the night, it was the only time that he can take off some of the amount clothing he has, giving him some sense of relief to a few of his already sensitive skin and eyes, the only problem being his ears. This caught Selene's interest, looking over to Nicolas with a cheerful expression "the moons and stars at night are nice, maybe you could join the astronomy club at school when summer's over " Nicolas gave Selene a blank stare or so she thought as Nicolas gave a quick answer to her offer.

"I'll think about it, mind telling me more about it?" Selene's smile grew ever wider though he noticed Daniel and Willa were planning on a different topic to talk about, it was nice seeing her friend make new friends "well in astronomy club you can-"

Moving to Daniel and Willa, Willa looked at Daniel with an impatient look however unlike before the noise from Nicolas and Selene talking eased her face quite a bit as she waited for what he had to say "I noticed you gave alpine a lot of belly rubs and he seems to like you" he commented on how much attention Willa gave him, bringing a smirk she responded "what can I say I like animals" she remarked, she looked at the husky in question made her wonder why he brought him in the first place "so, why bring the little guy?" She asked expecting Daniel to say something along the lines of someone who has psychiatric assistance dog but Daniel did not explain "Well, he's been my only friend as long as I can remember, and this is my first time talking and making friends" he explained which shocked Willa to a small extent but shrugged it off soon after as she looked to Selene who was still talking about astronomy.

Nicolas was very interested in how Selene described the astronomy club, it really made him wonder how much he missed out as the astronomy club seemed like a nice club to join, maybe he'll join it once summer ends but he kept listening to what Selene had to say "you know before school ended, the astronomy club teamed up with the cartography club to make a star chart" this brought Daniel into the conversation since he was part of said club and joined said team up but kept quiet on the matter.

Some time passed and Daniel checked his map "we should almost be there at our campsite" he announced, making Willa sigh in relief "finally we've been walking for ages!" She complained but not as loud as she would after learning about Nicolas's condition. "Do you guys wanna be friends and maybe hang out more after the summer?" Daniel blurted out but it was enough to understand as he finally worked up the courage to say it. Of course, they all responded with their way of saying "sure", "fine by me", and "yes!" Daniel gave a smile, hugging his newfound friends with alpine joining in tow, finally not being a loner anymore "Daniel, please let us go" Nicolas deadpanned as Selene didn't mind but felt uncomfortable while Willa moved every once of her body to free herself as they finally arrived at the campsite.

"Alright let's get organized" Selene announced, looking over everyone as she begins to tell what they all need to do "alright, I'll unpack everything from food, water, lights, and other important stuff we need, Nicolas you set up the tents, Willa you set up the fire pit while Daniel and alpine get wood for the fire" she announced, everyone looked at each other before nodding as everyone got to work.

Daniel and alpine wasted no time in gathering sticks for the fire but something caught Daniel's eye as a blue glow came from a bush, approaching only for him to be stopped by alpine who bit and pulled on his jeans to stop him "alpine it's okay, just stay here I'm just going check it out" he told alpine who only whined in response, walking closer to it he took a good look at what he found. It was blue and spherical and gave an ominous blue glow which began to slowly glow brighter by the second "what are you?" He asked as the light became brighter as suddenly the world became white, he felt weightless for a moment before hitting the ground hard, knocking him out in the process.

Some time passed, and Daniel felt his face being licked by an alpine which made him laugh "okay boy, I'm up, I'm up!" He patted his furry companion, noticing that he flew a distance from the bush, making him all the more curious as he ran to it, noticing the bush was empty more questions filled his mind but it quickly stopped when he saw massive disc-like birds flying overhead, even some of the trees looked different but noticed the sunset "we better head back" he looked to alpine and made the trek back with sticks in hand.

Daniel and alpine arrived and noticed camp set up and everyone looking at each other with worry, looking over to Daniel everyone ran to him each showing some sign of relief, Daniel showed a weirded outlook, especially to Willa now noticing floating a meter off the ground "Daniel thank goodness, are you alright?" Selene asked in a panic "I'm fine but guys?" He looked over at everyone with a worried expression before continuing "what happened?"

[avtrbee]

love game. ii

a/n: you guys were screaming about how angsty love game was so i grant you 1 (one) barely fluffy scene for 1 (one) moment only. gif is not mine :> also, from the love love game had received many of you had asked me to tag you and i have tried my best to tag everyone!! please message me/comment if i missed you. thank u and enjoyyyy 🫶🏽😋

“Oh what would I do to have Dream grovel in front of me?” called out a velvet voice lounging on your bed. “He won’t keep his promises,” it warns.

You stop at the sight of them before sighing in defeat.

“Couldn’t you at least knock?” You question. “Or, I don’t know, let me know before you stop by?”

“Mhm,” Desire replied, not bothering to answer your question. An Endless must ask another Endless permission to enter a their realm. You, however, were not an Endless. Desire has taken to your bed like it was a second home since they found the loophole, disregarding every protest. You warmed up to it eventually. It was nice to have someone to talk to sometimes.

Desire was laying on their stomach with their hands propped up to support their chin. They are wearing the cat outfit today- one of their favorites- with small cat black ears peaking through perfectly styled hair. There was a cunning smile plastered on their face and a tail that swirls around in circles and curves almost seductively. They were a perfect image of a cunning cheshire cat. 

“I meant what I said,” they murmur, golden eyes watching you as you plop to the space beside them. “I know my brother better than anyone. He is as cruel as he was before his capture, my Love.”

“He’s not cruel, just cold.” Your murmur in his defense, sinking into your bed. “He has never done anything bad, Dream is only…neglectful.”

The last word sparked your companions eye. Desire sinks in the bed with you and lays in their side. They reach an arm out to play with your hair lovingly. “And me? Have I ever been neglectful?”

You snort immediately and push their looming head away with a laugh. Many of your husband’s siblings and Dream himself raise an eyebrow to your strange…friendship. But the line between love and desire are thin and often crossed. “You’re fishing for compliments so badly today.” You accuse and Desire smiles. They do not deny it. 

There was a beat of silence before you spoke again. “I am not naïve,” you say slowly. “But he is finally being…” you rack your head for the right word. “…kind to me. I know it won’t last forever, but is it a sin to relish in it while it lasts?”

Sighing, Desire shifted to capture your palm. Soft kisses travel slowly over to the back of your hand until your temple, to where Desire kisses it last. “Is that what you desire? He does not deserve you.”

You heave a sigh before rolling off your bed. You do not deny Desire’s statement. I know, you want to say. But if you do then they will ask why are you giving their brother a chance and you cannot give any answer. You don’t know yourself either.

“I have to go,” you tell them, straightening yourself up. You feel a tingle inside your head and soon enough, your husband’s quiet voice slips into your thoughts telling you to come to him. “He’s calling for me.”

You were already slipped through the Dreaming, too late to seeDesire’s eye roll back in annoyance. 

-

“My lord, I-”

“Wife,” he greeted. “Love.” He amended quickly after. 

Morpheus gestures behind him and steps aside.  At his back stands a long wooden table fit to cater twelve people.There were all sorts of fruit, cheese, and varying plates from different cultures. From where you stand you could identify what you think may be a charcuterie board filled with cheese, toasted bread, olives and grapes. There was bowls of soup, the reddest apples you have ever seen in a bundle next to a basin of colorful berries. Candles that do not melt sprout tall from the food, while decorative flowers lay beside some dishes. The table ressembles a hungry man’s sweetest dreams.

The palace was in a much better shape than you saw it last. There weren’t any more fallen debris on the floor, no more weeds growing at its cracks. No dust hangs from any corner of the room and the floors were pristine like it was newly polished. It was almost shining.

“Dine with me.” Morpheus has seated at the head of the table, and you start to move opposite him to reach the other end- the farthest seat away from him. 

But before you can take a step Dream conjures a chair beside him from sand, on the right side of the table. You sense something strange about your husband…he seems stronger now. Not as weak as he was three days ago, nor was he as powerful as he was before he disappeared.

You could feel Morhpeus’s eyes stare at you as you move. You crane your face up to observe the room, a pathetic attempt to avoid meeting your husband’s sharp gaze as you walk to your seat.

The details in the room were intricate and clean, like how Dream created it to be. It was as if he was never missing for a century. But it was so quiet. Every step you take towards the table echoes across the room and every breath sounds as loud as thunder. The Dreaming was not meant to be so silent.

It does not help that you do not know how to talk to your husband, and neither does he know how to talk to his wife. It has been centuries since you last had a conversation with him that extends from commands or formalities. The clinks of your forks and knives were the only sounds emitting from the both of you as you ate in silence.

You have always prided yourself to be a good conversationalist having succeeded to have decent and polite conversations with your enemies when you need it, but this was something else. The silence makes you want to shrivel up into a ball and retreat back to your realm and cringe at this memory forever. How ironic is it that you get along better with the people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill you than your husband? You rack your brain for things to say, but your usual conversation starters have failed you. Have you ever been in love? Well, guess who I am! Yes, he has, Dream had lovers before you and you before him. Your husband is also well aware of who you are. At this point, you wouldn’t have minded melting into a puddle. 

As if reading your agony, it was Dream who spoke first. “I apologize if this feast overwhlems you. I did not know your favorite dishes.” He admits. 

“Yes, um,” You perk up immediately, eager to hold the conversation lest the silence takes over once again. “I…I like spicy dishes and…” you trail off your words as your eyes search the plates and bowls full of fruit. You reach towards a bowl to your right with a small smile on your face. “...and peaches. I love peaches.” 

From your preiphiral you see Morpheus’ forehead crinkle at the new information and in a second, the food on the table faded away to sand only to be recounjured as countless spicy dishes appeared and bowls and bowls of all kinds of peaches- yellow peaches, white peaches, and nectarines litter the table. Some were untouched and whole, while a small cup full of sliced peaches appeared on your plate. 

“And you?” You asked awkwardly, but not before raising a slice of peach in your mouth. You were touched, truly, but you can’t help to think that the table resembled a glitter-rabid kindergartener’s Valentines day card. Still, your heart flutters and skips a beat. The Dream Lord isn’t callous for no reason, he has priorities. It has just never been you which makes rare moments like these make you think that you could actually love him…until your anger comes back at the memory of neglect.

Morpheus looks at you then back to the table. “I have no preference.”

“You’ve gotten your pouch of sand back,” you realized, finally pinpointing what has changed. You recall how Morpheus conjured the chair you were sititng on with sand, how abundant the amount of food is and how easy he replaced them.

“I have,” Morpheus agrees. “It was with an occult detective who left it with her lover. I should have asked you to join me, you would have made it easer. I intend to travel to Hell next.”

“What business do you have with Lucifer Morningstar?” You ask slowly, frowning at the mention of Lucifer’s realm. Nobody has ever visited Hell unless they were desperate or insane, and an even lesser number has come out alive. You have had a few visits down to Lucifer’s realm but all visits were either summons from the fallen angel or as yourself serving as a representative of yourself, never of personal reasons. 

“One of the demons have my helm.”

“My lord,” you start, weighing your options. Does he intend you to accompany him? Is this his idea of being kind? You have not heard of any summons for Dream in Hell, so you suspect him to enter uninvited. Having you beside him on his way might give Lucifer an excuse to see your act as some form of war causing more chaos.  “Love is weak in Hell. I am willing to help, but I can only do so little to help you.”

“Fear not, Love,” he says, before helping himself to a peach slice. “I am not asking you to accompany me. This is something i must do alone.”

“Alone? You cannot survive Lucifer alone.”

“I must.”

“What- is this goodbye, then, Morpheus?” You gesture widely to the table and to its extravagant excess of spicy dishes and peaches. “Is this what this is?”

You glance at the table and push your plate away, finding yourself full and suddenly disgusted by the amount of food on the table. Deep inside you didn’t expect this supper to go anywhere, but a small part of you hoped. You would be lying if you said that the naive girl you have pushed away from your earlier years came back. 

Morpheus stays silent at your accusations you scoff. “What happened to your promises? I knew it was never going to last, but your promise had only lasted a mere week.”

“I intend to keep my promises, wife.” Morpheus reminds you gently, like he was talking to a cornered animal. “When I come back-“

“If you come back, my lord.” It isn’t lost to him how you drop back to your courtesies so easily, and how he reverts back to call you wife so quickly. “You and I know you will be walking into a trap.”

“I will come back.” Morpheus growls. Somehow you can always sense his annoyance from miles away. The slightest hint of it was always your cue to go, lest you infuriate him more. 

“Isn’t that what you told Lucienne before you disappeared for a century?” 

You somehow always make him angrier. You make him doubt himself, make him seem like he wasn’t worthy of you. Deep inside he knows its true- he had come back weaker than he was before and had treated you cruelly. You didn’t have to rub it in his face.

A fist bangs at the table making plates and you jump in surprise. “You forget yourself, wife.”

“I am used to it. You have always forgotten me.” You stand, pushing your chair back. You turn around to leave, no destination in mind, just eager to get away from the Dreaming, from Dream-

Morpheus stood unmoved, but his nose flared in anger. “Alright,” he relents, scarily calm. “Who would accompany me? You?”

You stop your tracks immediately. Your head twists slowly back to the table where your husband still sits. His gaze meets yours daringly. “Why do you talk to me like that? Like I am useless.”  You let out a small breath in wonder. Finally, it seems like the haze from your vision cleared, like you had just experienced epiphany. “I mean so little to you, don’t I? You see me as fragile, a weak-”

Morpheus runs a hand over his face exasperatedly. “No, no, that is not what I meant, wife-”

“What else could it mean?” Your voice was getting louder in every word, your voice bouncing off the pristine walls of the dining room. “You are Endless and I am just a goddess, but I am not weak! How dare you call me that.”

“I said no such thing.” Morpheus is shouting now, too. “If I take you to Hell with me and Lucifer bargains you for my helm, what then? I cannot lose you, Love.” He asks widely gesturing to you.

“Your concern over losing me is only a recent development.” You remind him, chest heaving from the deep breaths you take to calm yourself. You watch as Dream’s face softens only for a moment before hardening again. “But what of you?” You ask, forcing your voice to soften. “If you stay there, what then? What of the Dreaming? What of Corinthian who has wrecked further havoc in the waking world? Of loyal Lucienne?” Of me?

“You think I have not thought of that? I am not as wreckless as you think I am.”

“I just ask of you to be careful.” You finally plead, exhaustion finally taking a toll on your body. “I understand that what had happened to you is unfair, but every single choice you make impacts billions. I’ve already lost you once but you seem so eager to go so quickly.”

Morpheus face softens at your declaration. “I have no choice.” Blood boils in your veins. Your warnings go through his ear and comes out of the other so quickly. You feel a hand touch yours and your eyes snap to his to realize he is holding your hand to comfort you. “But I shall bring a someone with me,” he amends. “Matthew.”

As if on cue, his raven caws inside the room and looms up to the crystal chandeliers before landing gracefully on Morpheus’s shoulder. 

Your raven? You want to scream, I am right here! 

“Alright.” You reply instead. 

-

In every single place you would dare not to call anywhere home but your realm. It is here where you feel the most safest, able to let your guard down any time. There is no one more powerful than you here. There is only you and the endless sky stuck in an eternal sunset.

Today your bed is gone and is replaced by a huge mirror that you stand in front of. You have been staring at yourself for hours now wondering what had Morpheus seen in you that made him think of you as fragile. Then something shifts.

It was the feeling of lust that overwhelms you first, then you notice how thick the atmosphere has become making it a little hard to breathe. There is an empty hole in your chest that gape widely and you are flooded with the urge to fill it despite not knowing how.

A voice purrs behind you. “Hello, my love.”

You sigh and turn around to meet your old friend. Desire stands in all their glory in a pristine white suit and pants. 

“Desire, darling,” you greet tiredly, but ever so fondly. The memory of your fight with Morpheus brings a frown on your beautiful face. “Have you come to gloat?”

Desire gave an innocent shrug but their lips smugly curved. “Was I right?”

From the mirror you watch as Desire sashays to where you are, wrapping their arms around your shoulders. Their touch grounds you somehow and you find yourself squeezing your eyes shut for a moment then reaching up to hold their forearms. “Is it wrong to be worried?”

“You are truly astounding. My brother whispers a few good promises and he has you wrapped around his finger.” Desire plays with a stray strand of your hair, golden eyes looking at your locks then to your eyes through the mirror. 

“If it’s any consolation, you were right.” Desire drawls, looking at your eyes through your mirror. They turn their head until his lips are in front of your ears and whisper. “He might not come back.”

as always, if you like my work, please check out my masterlist! dont forget to tell me what you think, your comments make my day <33

taglist (love game)

@newromsntcs, @wt-fxck, @acdassenza, @archikina, @perhaps-just-june, @humongousgalaxycoffee, @tiens-letters, @blue-and-yellow-jjk-pjm, @winxchester, @ace-27749, @lunaleah, @thecrazytealady, @niname92, @notibotiswear, @thesadvampire, @dont-staple-waffles, @mavelfanatic, @lu123sworld, @uther-pendragon-is-an-ass, @asexualaromosafezone

[usertoxicyaoi]

not you posting about jealous vegas while i'm sitting here frothing at the mouth at the thought of kinn asking pete to do a honeypot mission to help out the main family post finale

hiiiii anon!!!!! chfbdjcjdbficbdic9 Oh GOD. OH GOD.

ok so. this would definitely take place way way way later on down the line.

so id like to think that, in the grand scheme of taking korn down, kinn and porsche would come to vegas and pete for help. and at first, vegaspete just refuse. outright point black REFUSE to help. why should they? why should they give up all their peace and progress and quiet life for this all?

but then kinn says to vegas that by doing this, it'd enable him to be the rightful head of the minor family again. that porsche cant do it. that its vegas' to have. that this is kinn humbling himself and saying to vegas that he in fact does need him and extending out an olive branch for vegas to accept. and even though vegas doesnt give a fuck about kinn and his status or position anymore, hearing kinn say this is him humbling himself in front of vegas and telling him he needs him .... it gives that rush to vegas, stroking his ego and pride. and also he has been thinking about the title of being the head again for some time now, with pete and macau. so vegaspete look at each other, and, well, they are each other's world, and they're right beside each other, always. if one steps forward, so does the other - thats an unspoken vow between them both.

so they agree.

until kinn tells them that pete will need to ..... ahem ..... go undercover and use his detective skills and tail a few big powerful people and stroke their pride and ego, since no one really knows pete and he's been away from the scene for a bit, he'll look like fresh innocent young blood, what with his round eyes and wide grin and boyish looks.

and vegas gets exactly what kinn is trying to allude to. "what, like you did with him when you sent him to do all that with me, huh? is that what you're suggesting?" and kinn mumbles under his breath, something about how he didn't list sex and falling in love being in the terms and conditions when he asked pete to tail vegas, that isnt really a mumble because everyone heard what he said.

and pete reaches out and begins stroking vegas' arm with his finger, his way of getting vegas to relax. they'll talk about this later on at night.

and when they do, pete tells vegas its strictly professional. that he knows vegas trusts him, and now's the time for him to put his words into action. and all vegas comes up with is "but what if-", "and if-" and "no one else has the right to touch you like that but me." and again, pete tells him that its strictly professional, that he'll come home to vegas and their bed every night.

and then. well. because pete is pete, and he can be a little menace, a piece of shit sometimes, he tells vegas its a bit like how he and porsche team up sometimes, how he once kissed porsche too, right? and how when vegas narrated all of this to him one night, he coined it as strictly professional, bc his dad ordered him to do it.

strictly professional, pete repeats again, with a smirk. and then he goes to have a shower and falls asleep, knowing that vegas can say Nothing in retaliation to that.

and pete knows vegas is jealous, and he likes that he is. its cute, endearing, it shows he cares, it shows that he's still as obsessed and as insane and as in love with pete as he is with vegas, as he is since their day one. it warms pete.

and so one day pete has to go on a mission to seduce to get some intel. and he's dressed extra fancy, vegas notices, and its not fucking fair. and vegas is extra handsy with pete this morning.

"i want you to only be thinking about me, okay? my hands on you and my mouth on you and me inside of you and how i fuck into you and how good i make you feel and how i make you lose it. just me." vegas begs pete.

cute, pete thinks. and if he could, he'd ask vegas to fuck him right now bc he's getting harder by the second, and vegas touching him everywhere so desperately and biting down on his neck to mark him up before he leaves isnt helping, and no one loosens and shakens pete's resolve like vegas.

but pete can turn on strictly professional like a pro. its why he was the ex-head bodyguard of the main family. and its why it takes everything within him to not give in and just kiss vegas when he steps away from him and to the door, and vegas looks like a kicked, wounded animal, in his black t shirt and checkered pyjama bottoms. and yet he still manages to look so sexy. and pete vows to himself that he's gonna make it up to vegas tonight, no matter how much he is enjoying seeing this jealous side of vegas that he's never really gotten to witness before.

and all day, vegas cant focus. he's snapping at macau, slamming the doors, can't focus on any damn thing. working out doesnt help, a cold shower doesnt help, jerking himself off doesnt help, grabbing pete's clothes and inhaling his scent doesnt help. he doesnt wanna eat and everything on tv is shit, and he's mentally throwing darts on kinn's face. he just wants pete. and he cant even contact him bc pete wont answer bc "strictly fucking professional". and vegas is trying not to think of worse case scenarios here, but he KNOWS how the underground scene works. how people use touch to intimidate and seduction to weaken and sex to negotiate. he's done this all himself. had this all happen to him. and he cant.

he cant stand thinking about anyone tainting pete like that. cant stand thinking about anyone else's hands that arent his touching pete and feeling pete and making pete breathless and getting pete moaning and whining out loud and fucking him and-

and the worse part, the part that hurts, is what if pete enjoys it. what if pete likes it. what if they treat pete in a way pete likes it. what if .....

and the seconds drag, the minutes drag, the hours drag. and its torture and vegas is losing his mind in these 4 walls of his bedroom, where he's heard pete scream his name in pleasure, where they've made love all night and kissed and kissed and kissed until sunrise. and. right there. vegas realises how pete must have felt when he saw vegas and porsche together near the temple that time, porsche leaning all over his back as vegas rode them both away on his bike, and even though vegas and pete knew then and know now that there's nothing going on there, it must have hurt.

and vegas looks at the clock on the wall and its fucking 10pm and pete is still not back. and vegas' hands are itching and shaking and he wants to rip his hair out and he doesnt know what to do bc pete should be back by now and he isnt. and then vegas' mind flips through the catalogue of every scenario possible: kidnap, drink being spiked, torture, hotel rooms, bedrooms, hospitals, murder, sex sex sex ..........

and then he hears the bedroom door creak open and its pete. and vegas' eyes immediately scan his entire body as pete closes the distance between them to check for any sign. and sign whatsoever.

and he looks fine. so far anyway. but then vegas can smell cologne. and its strong. and it isnt the cologne that he or pete use.

"he touched you, didnt he?"

"and all i thought about was your hands all over me this morning and how good they felt. how i knew you'd be waiting for me like this. tell me, have you even ate anything today?"

"i've no appetite for anything when you're not around."

"and i'm here now, aren't i? like i promised."

"what did he do to you?" and there's a hint of danger, a quiet rage, something stern, bubbling and simmering that pete can hear in vegas' voice. a threat to kill. he can smell it.

"he touched me. i said no to kissing. he saw the mark you left on my neck this morning-"

"good."

"-and called me a whore-"

"motherfucker."

"- and said he was going to show me what i'm missing out on ...", pete says as he wraps his arms around vegas' waist and pulls his body close, flush, against his. "yet all i was missing was you. this. us."

"did you get anything out of him?" vegas asks, and now his voice holds less of the smell of threat, more of intrigue.

"mmm, of course! i was sent to do a job, after all. i don't mix business with pleasure." pete replies, smiling, as he feels vegas' fingers make their way around his throat, wrapping around his neck.

"so what do you mix pleasure with then, baby boy?" vegas asks, all teeth as he smiles back, and his hands tighten around pete's neck.

"pain." pete barely gets out, just above a hoarse whisper, eyes a little shiny, a little glassy.

and vegas' eyes take in all of pete's face, the way he's breathing so ragged right now, and he can smell the lust and desire off of him, molecules of it vibrating and bouncing and seeping into the air. its like a hot summer night where the heat makes your restless and there's no breeze and its relentless.

"and what do you want, pete? pleasure or pain?"

"i just want you, vegas."

"not gonna whore around for anybody else?" vegas asks, leaving open mouthed kisses all across pete's cheek, his breath tanatalising on pete's ear.

"you can't bear the thought of it. look at the state of you, i can smell the jealousy." pete replies, biting down on vegas' shoulder, his fingers finding their way under his tshirt, stroking his stomach.

and vegas grabs a fistul of pete's hair and yanks his head back to look up at him. "do you blame me? when it's your fault? have you seen what you're wearing? anyone would want a piece of you."

and pete replies similarly, grabbing a fistful of vegas' tshirt and yanking him closer to his own chest. "go on, then. have all of me."

and as vegas bites down on pete's mouth and draws blood, and kisses his way into his mouth, as he tears into pete's clothes, as he makes himself bare, as his nails graze over pete's skin, leaving a trail of red and white, as he loves him down and works him open and pushes into him deeper and deeper and deeper, as he hears his name being chanted in pete's voice echo through the room, vegas does.

vegas has all of pete.

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Guardian Angel

Pietro Maximoff x Reader

Sequel to The Kiss of Life

Prompt: Would you do a part two to kiss of life where they’re relationship is developing and they go to a party and someone is flirting with her and pietro gets jealous?

Note: YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 1.5k

You weren’t really one for parties, but to celebrate the new facility, of course Tony decided to liven the place up a little by inviting all of his acquaintances to check it out. You were getting dressed, putting the finishing touches on your outfit when a certain someone sped into the room, leaving a flash of silver in his path.

“You. Look. Gorgeous.” He stated, walking up behind you and wrapping his arms around you. “I’m going to have to peel the competition off of you, my love.”

You turned around to face him, one of your hands rising to his cheek. He’d trimmed his beard, you noticed, admiring his handsome features. “There is no competition, Piet. You’re the only one I want.”

“What a relief.” He chuckled, taking a step closer and pulling you into his arms, his mouth resting beside your ear so he could whisper, “I love you, my guardian angel.”

“I love you, too.” You peppered his cheek in kisses before pressing a long, soft kiss to his lips.

As soon as your lips touched his, his hand rose to cradle the back of your head, keeping you close so he could deepen it. You couldn’t get enough of him. You knew it. You never wanted the moment to end, and yet, a few moments later, there was a knock on the doorframe, Steve clearing his throat.

You separated, your cheeks burning. The others knew about your relationship, of course. It wasn’t a secret, but as one of the younger Avengers, the others were still a bit protective of you, even though they knew you were fully capable of protecting yourself.

“Is everything starting?” You asked.

“Yeah, the food just got delivered.” Steve explained. “Tony got catering from some place called Olive Garden?”

“Oh hell yes.”

Pietro scooped you up in his strong arms and pressed a long kiss to your forehead before speeding off into the other room, where the others were, guests steadily filing in.

Wanda walked up to you immediately, smiling warmly. She was accompanied by Vision, who had materialized himself a formal suit just for the occasion. “You look beautiful, (Y/N),” she complimented, pulling you in for a hug.

“So do you! I love your earrings!”

“Thank you! They were a birthday gift from that one.” She tilted her head towards her twin. “And against all odds, he’s cleaned up nicely today.”

“You know me. Always dressing to impress.” He winked, straightening out his silver bowtie. “Shall I get us something to drink?” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to your cheek.

“Sure, thank you.”

“I will be right back.” He promised, punctuating it with a kiss to your forehead.

“His love language is touch, if you hadn’t noticed.” Wanda chuckled.

“Oh, I’ve noticed.” You laughed, nodding. “I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

“You make him really happy, you know.” She smiled softly, watching him at the bar. “It’s so nice to see him happy. It’s been such a long time.”

“I’m so glad you two came into our lives.” You told her.

“Me too.” She and Vision walked off to socialize with the influx of guests, leaving you alone for the moment until Pietro came back. Unfortunately, this left the window open for some random S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to walk up.

“Pretty little thing like you came here all alone? Shame. Seems like a missed opportunity.”

“Um, excuse me, who even are—”

“Name’s Agent Kiefer Valentine, but you can call me…anytime.”

“Do you know who I—?"

“How about you and I stick together for the night? Get to know each other.”

“No.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Oh, sorry, did you not hear me, how about FUCK NO! I have a boyfriend, you creep.”

“Oh yeah?” He challenged. “And where is he?”

“Right here.” It was Pietro’s voice now. He’d sped over at the first sign of trouble. “Darling, is he giving you any trouble?” Pietro asked, his face contorted in frustration at the obviously very low-ranking agent who somehow thought he had a shot with a fucking Avenger.

“And who’s this?” Kiefer asked, still not taking the hint. Maybe he hadn’t seen Pietro speed over. If he had, you were sure he would have cut his losses and went off to bother someone else.

“I’m her boyfriend.” He asserted, puffing his chest out a little. “And you have until the count of three to get lost before I—”

“I’ve got this, babe.” You told him, calming him with a hand to his chest. “Get lost or I’ll kick your ass.”

He crossed his arms and scoffed. “How? Everyone knows healing isn’t a real superpower.”

Pietro’s expression darkened. “What did you just say to her?”

The area surrounding the three of you went deathly quiet.

“No, I want to hear you say it again. What did you just say to her?” Pietro demanded, getting visibly upset.

“Agent Coulson, is this one of yours?” You asked, motioning him over.

He looked Kiefer up and down, nodding. “New recruit. Tad bit excitable I’m afraid. I’ll see that he’s decommissioned in the morning.” Coulson looked to Pietro. “You can escort him out, if you’d like.”

“My pleasure.” Pietro tilted his head to the side, handed you two glasses of wine and then sped off somewhere with Kiefer.

“I am so sorry about him, (Y/N).” Coulson apologized. “I thought I weeded out all of the assholes, but I guess some of them don’t always show their true colors right away.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you shook off his concern. “I didn’t want to have to beat him up only to heal him again right after.”

Pietro dashed back to your side, taking a moment to catch his breath. “The trash has been taken out.” He grinned and wrapped an arm around your waist, taking one of the wine glasses from you.

“Thank you.” You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Pietro, this is Agent Coulson.”

“Pleasure to meet you, sir.” Pietro offered his hand and shook Coulson’s.

“So this must be the Quicksilver I’ve heard so much about. Keeping (L/N) here out of trouble?”

“Of course,” Pietro said with a wink. He took a sip of his wine. “Someone has to.”

“I’ll see the two of you around.” Coulson walked away, leaving you and Pietro there in the center of the room. The tense moment had passed, but you sensed some of its energy remained. You still tried to enjoy the night, though.

There was some entertainment, so once you were finished with your drinks, Pietro whisked you out onto the dance floor. You could feel the eyes on the two of you. Everyone in that room knew how you and Pietro had met, and what you had done to save him. Every person there knew that Pietro, without your intervention, would be dead. And Pietro knew it too. He felt the weight of it every day, and yet, it only made him love you even more.

His guardian angel. His love. His everything.

The music slowed and Pietro’s hands found your waist, pulling you close to him. Your arms rested on his shoulders and you basked in his warmth. Your cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, or maybe due to the proximity, but there was nowhere in the entire world you’d rather be than right there in his arms.

***

Much later, when all of the people had gone home, you and Pietro retired to your rooms. He changed into his pajamas. You changed into yours. And once you walked out of your bathroom and back into your bedroom, you jumped when you saw Pietro waiting on the bed there for you.

“Hey, babe. What’s up?”

“Can I spend the night in here?”

“Yeah, of course.” You nodded, walking over. You climbed under the covers and invited him to do the same. Once the light was out, he crawled on top of you, resting his head on your chest. He guided one of your hands up to his hair and you began lightly scratching his scalp just the way he liked it.

“I can’t believe he said that to you, printsessa.” His voice was no more than a low murmur. “I didn’t hurt him for it, but I wanted to.”

“I know.” You nodded, stroking his head calmingly. “Thank you for not hurting him.”

“Mmhmm.” He hummed, thinking for a bit. “Do people say that to you…often?”

“Unfortunately.” You chuckled. “I don’t mind. I know the truth. It used to bother me, but it doesn’t anymore.”

“Why’s that?” He asked, looking up at you.

“Well, my powers gave me you.” You said simply. “And if that’s not a superpower, I don’t know what is.”

Pietro lifted himself from your chest, hovering above you. He looked at you for a long moment, brushing hair out of your face before leaning down to press a long, meaningful kiss to your lips.

“My angel.” He whispered. “My beautiful angel. I love you so much.”

“I love you too…”

[catxsnow]

FREE FALLING K.K.

Request: Okay some anons were simping over kon now I wanna simp~ y/n is an archer on the teen Titans , and she tends to be shy and on the reserved side, so when kon flirts she just dismisses him every time, until another guy ( superhero or civilian, you choose ) gets flirty and he gets made protective/jealous.

Warning: fluff 

A/N: I’m slowly running out of already written fics and my motivation has not come back yet. This hiatus may be lasting longer than I thought. 

Word Count: 2.3k

There was nothing wrong with a little bit of flirting within the team. It kept the bond of teammates close and always kept everyone on their toes. The dynamic on the Teen Titans was always one of ups and downs. There was such an entanglement of potential relationships that everyone got confused as to what was going on.

Most of that confusion stemmed from Conner Kent, Superboy as the team knew him as. His temporary relationship with Cassie had surprised everyone. He flirted with nearly everyone on the team, Tim, Kori, you. Kon's endless flirting began the day Oliver dropped you off at the Titans Tower and left you there for good.

Kon was frustrating in the sense that his flirtation with you was nonstop. From the moment you woke up to the moment you went back to sleep, it seemed that his only mission was to get you flustered. It didn't seem that he knew that you were bothered by his comments.

Tim always scolded Kon for his behaviour. After Cassie, it was clear that relationships among teammates was dangerous. Not to mention that it was pretty obvious of your blatant ignorance of his attempts. He continued to try nonetheless - one day you would crack for him, one day.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Kon was never an early riser. At the farm, he always got up early for chores, so at the tower he took every chance to sleep in. When he started to learn that you got up early, so did he. There was always the tired look in her eyes that he admired.

Kon found you down at the range. Though your skills were nowhere near Oliver, or even Roy, you put up a good fight just as much as everyone else on this team. The early hours were always dedicated to practice, and unfortunately, Kon figured that out pretty quickly.

You were so concentrated on the shot, you hadn't heard Kon's heavy footsteps join you. The shot went askew, completely missing the target. Your body tensed with frustration at him.

"Whoops, sorry babe. Didn't realize my good looks distracted you so much," Kon grinned. You refused to show him his words got you flustered. Instead, you grabbed another arrow. Babe. It slipped so smoothly off his tongue that it forced a chill down your spine.

"It's fine, Superboy," you assured him - though you were still angered at him for screwing around with your training once again. Kon leaned against the rack that held your bows. His arms rested on the top, head on his hands. His curls were still a mess from his sleep last night.

You felt your arm shake for a split second. His eyes watching your every move, waiting for you to make the perfect shot just as you always did. There was a lot of pressure on you with his gaze. You took a breath before releasing the arrow, watching as it hit dead center of the target. It was easy, hitting a non-moving target like this. Kon was the one making it difficult.

"Superboy?" He cocked an eyebrow. "We aren't on a mission babe, you can call me Kon you know. I'd prefer it." Of course he would, he loved the sound of his name passing your lips. It was almost angelic. "You know-"

"(Y/N), Conner," Tim's head popped into the training room before Kon could tell you what he wanted. His chest fell with a disappointed sigh. "Nightwing and Flash are here."

"Is there something wrong?" You asked. They rarely showed up out of the blue without there being a reason. Usually, that reason meant that people were in trouble and lives were at stake. Tim relieved your stress with a simple shake of his head. He gestured for the both of you to follow him. Kon stuck his hand out for you to hand over the bow so he could hang it up on the rack he leaned on.

A small smile cracked as your hand brushed against his. It was cheesy, ridiculously so, but his touch was so warm and inviting even if it was just for a brief second. Kon placed the bow down and followed you and Tim out of the room. Just as Robin said, his older brother and his friend were with the others in the meeting room.

Wally's presence always lightened the room. There was something about the smile that resided on him that managed to put everyone in a good mood. It always amplified whenever Dick was at his side. The two were a dynamic pair, and when they did stop by the tower without underlying business, it was always a good time.

There were a few times that you had been alone in the tower. Tim back to Gotham, Kon and Cassie to their own homes as well. It left you and Bart with no one but yourselves to keep each other company. In those times, Wally would sometimes make an appearance. The speedsters would train but by the end of the night you would all be piling high with snacks.

As you entered the room, Wally waved at you and that smile that everyone looked forward to was released. Before you could wave back, a heavy arm was thrown across your shoulder. Kon was at your side. It wasn't the first time he had completely invaded your bubble and it surely wouldn't be the last.

"Flash, Nightwing," he greeted. You could feel the heat crawling up your neck with Kon's side pressed against yours. Hopefully, he, nor any of your other teammates, noticed your state. It was beyond annoying that he could get you like this. "What's the visit for this time? Scolding us for saving the day again?"

He dropped his arm from your shoulders but remained close to you. Kryptonians must have ran warm because you could still feel the lingering heat of his body against you.

"JL wanted an update, figured we could stop in," Wally answered. He sped over to your side and placed a hand over your ear so no one else could hear. "And Boy Wonder over there is in trouble with the Bats." Clearly, Kon heard what the speedster had to say and let out a laugh. What could Tim have done to get himself in trouble?

"Doesn't explain why you came," you joked. Wally had mimicked Kon's arm-over-the-shoulder.

"Wanted to come see you, of course," Wally grinned. His arm suddenly locked around your neck and his knuckles rubbed into your head. You struggled to pull him off you. Finally, you had managed to hook his ankle and make him fall flat on his back. "Look at that, you're making me lose my breath."

The laughter among teammates emitted from everyone besides Kon. He had an annoyed look on his face from the interaction between you and Wally, though he said nothing about it. Wally sped back up, a slight tinge of pink to his cheeks after the interaction.

Kon watched in frustration as Wally dragged you into the kitchen, likely to find himself a snack or two. Your laughs always put a bit of joy in him, but now? Hearing you laugh because of Wally? Each sound was like a knife to the heart. Pure jealously ran through him - why was it that he could never make you laugh like that?

"Calm down, Kon," Tim stood by his side. It was clear to anyone, even when they weren't raised by the great Batman, that Kon was incredibly jealous of Wally. It was only Tim that decided to speak up. "There's nothing between them. No need to be jealous."

"I'm not," Kon snapped. His reaction was enough to prove that he was in fact jealous. He let out a huff of air before walking away from his best friend. Unfortunately, the further he got from Tim, the closer he got to you and Wally just to hear the sound of your laughter once more. His chest tightened with anger.

It wasn't at Wally, nor you. It was at himself for not being able to get you out of your comfort zone as the speedster could. Since joining this team it seemed he was the only one that you remained shy and nervous around. What was wrong with him to make you feel that way?

What was wrong with him that made you not want to spend time with him?

><

"There you are."

Kon disappeared shortly after you left with Wally (and eventually Bart who couldn't stay away at the smell of food). Tim was with Dick all afternoon and Cassie spent her time training with Kori. Kon was nowhere to be found, and you couldn't figure out why he felt the need to leave his friends.

You searched the whole building for him, starting down at the training grounds and working your way all the way up to the roof of the buildings. He was sitting on the edge, legs dangling as the last rays of the sun fell from the sky.

Kon folded into himself: shoulders hunched, head hung low. He perked up at the sound of your voice - even more so when he saw that you were alone. You sat next to him and matched his sitting position.

"Were you up here all day?" You asked. Kon nodded, though he remained silent. It wasn't like him to skip out on a pickup line or make some sort of comment. In fact, it wasn't like him to just disappear the whole day either. He looked upset about something. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Kon was a horrible liar. You raised your eyebrows at him, indicating that you knew he was lying through his teeth. He sighed, leaning back so his palms pressed into the rough roofing. The golden rays illuminated him, creating an aura around him that made him seem godly. You wanted to reach out to him, but contained yourself.

The sunset was beautiful enough as it was, but to add Kon's beauty on top of that? Your heart was beating so fast you were sure that Kon's super hearing had him concerned.

"You don't have to lie around me, you know," You nudged his side. Kon sighed once more. He didn't want to tell you the truth, but he felt terrible for lying and making you worry. You were quick to notice a pink tinge on his cheeks. It was a turn of events, usually you were the one flustered around him. The hue looked pleasant on him.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly apologized, "I... Well, I guess..." Kon fumbled over his words. The pink on his cheeks grew brighter, even as he tried to hide it from you. There was never a day you thought you would get to see the great Superboy flushed like this. He was always the confident one. "Fuck."

Kon's hand grasped your cheeks. His split moment of hesitance made you realize exactly what he was about to do. Whether it be frozen in fear or excitement, you didn't try to move. The closer he got the harder your heartbeat until the point as if it felt like you were going to burst. The moment Kon's lips were on yours it felt as if it stopped altogether.

His kiss was soft, hesitant - nothing like the facade he always had up. Kon was delicate with you, as if he was worried he was going to break you with just a touch. Your lips moved against his with far more confidence than you had ever shown him before. You didn't realize how badly you craved for his taste until the moment you had it.

He pulled away only for a second, waiting to see if you were wanting him to quit completely. With no sign of regret, Kon pulled you in for a rushed kiss. His lips needy against yours, making up for the lost time that he wasted months on. It was only when his lungs felt like they were going to combust did he give you space.

"I-" His palm remained against the curve of your neck and jaw, thumb swiping against your cheekbone. "I was jealous today, of Wally. I've never heard you laugh so hard when you're with him and I wanted that. I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to be sorry, Superboy," you assured him. He couldn't stop his feelings, just as you couldn't deny them anymore. "I-I'm sorry I was always so distant with you. I... I guess I was too scared to admit my feelings for you."

Kon was ready to spill his heart out to you. He knew that once he started gushing about how much he adored you, he wouldn't be able to stop. Instead, he leaned into you again, smiling into your kiss with pure excitement.

His legs that dangled off the edge pushed against the siding of the building and pulling you along with him. A strangled scream ripped from your throat as the two of you free fell in the darkening sky. Kon's arm wrapped around your waist and he held you flush against his body.

Your head was buried into the crook of his neck until realizing that you were no longer falling but floating. The grip on his shirt loosened and you looked up to appreciate the new view he gave you.

Kon brushed his lips against yours once more, just to grab your attention. "Don't worry babe, I've got you. There's no need to worry whenever you're with me."

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