#but too many times the consent conversation is a guarantee that the course of the relationship will be predictable.

[oraclekleo]

[18+] Pick-A-Pile: If you could have your personal harem of lovers, how would it look like

Disclaimer:

Do not engage in this tarot reading if you are a minor or feel uncomfortable with sexual themed content

Tarot isn’t an exact science, I can never guarantee any of this

This tarot reading is for entertainment purposes only

It’s a timeless general PAC reading, take what resonates and dismiss the rest

Never base your life decisions on what cards say, you have your common sense to guide you and you have your destiny in your hands, you have freedom of choice

Hello and welcome to another Pick-A-Pile tarot reading from Kleo.

Personally, I have my imaginary harem in my mind and so I thought it would be fun to describe in detail how anyone’s harem could look if it was possible to create it in real life. Obviously, this reading is a pure fantasy and completely hypothetical. Please, do not try to create your own harem, unless all parties have clearly consented to such a thing. You can create an imaginary one in your mind but be careful to stay sane in the process. Lol. Okay!

If any of you feel uncomfortable with this idea, please, simply ignore this post, do not read any further and stay happily oblivious of the coming content.

For those of you, who find the idea fun and exciting, follow the usual routine. You see three cards representing three piles down below. Focus on the prompt for this reading, take a deep breath and choose the card you feel most drawn to. Then expand the post and scroll to your reading. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Pile 01

Cards: 5 Flights of Fancy (Oracle of Visions), King of Cups, 5 of Swords, Queen of Cups (Dark Wood Tarot), 7 of Wands, Ace of Swords, 7 of Cups (Erotic Fantasy Tarot), III The Empress, 3 of Pentacles, Knight of Cups (Tarot of Sexual Magic), Perthro (Rune), 1 Aries (Starcodes Astro Oracle), 23 Circe (Deep, Dark & Dangerous Oracle), Dragonfly, Scorpio, Frog (The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Oracle)

Many of the cards speak of individuality and rulership. You are the good and just monarch and ruler of your harem, Pile 1. You are likely to listen to your lovers but the final decision is always yours and yours only. You are quite nurturing towards those close to your heart and you have a hard time to pick your bias in your harem because you simply love them all for their specific qualities.

You are a rather mindful and intelligent type of ruler, you probably value the intellectual qualities of your lovers over their looks. Your harem isn’t only a playground for you, it’s your think tank as well and you like to have deep and meaningful conversations with its members.

That doesn’t mean you treat your harem in a platonic way, of course. While you like to spark the ideas up, you are likely pretty sensual and passionate about the harem members as well. Big brains and ideas are the best aphrodisiacs for you and heated discussions are likely to escalate into even hotter and more physical orgies with your lovers. You’re democratic when it comes to affection and you make sure all your lovers are satisfied and happy in the end. Your energy is nearly bottomless and you can make good use of it.

While you are mostly impossible to tire, you need to charge and rejuvenate, too. Your healing element is water and it’s very likely your harem includes a bath house or private spa where you and your lovers can play in water. Just imagine all those fine bodies getting all moist, glistering and slick. You probably truly enjoy being pampered and spoiled while bathing and on dry land you always make sure the lubricant is at hand. You’re nor a big fan of rough traction.

While you are usually the caring and kind hearted ruler of your harem, everyone hides from your sight when you have a bad day. Your ability to discuss and talk with your lovers about anything and everything gives you a powerful weapon against them when they cross you. You spot and remember weak spots easily and when your lover does something you disapprove of, they are likely to spend a lot of time licking their emotional wounds caused by you. You can truly turn a cold shoulder to someone you’re no longer interested in and you’re likely to heavily ignore them until they get the signal it’s time for them to leave. You’re not really the type to openly fire a member of your harem but you create such unpleasant conditions for them, they will leave just to save their soul.

The cards suggest no specific gender when it comes to your harem which means it can be a male, female, mixed, non-binary harem, you name it. You are likely to pick your lovers carefully, maybe you even have forms and charts and pros and cons lists about every candidate for your harem. Or you follow your intuition diligently and only accept lovers who give you a good gut feeling.

You’re not super strict with the rules in your harem, you take each of your lovers as an individuality and you manage to navigate through any quarrels easily and with diplomacy. You are the best at kissing it better and smoothing rough edges. Your touch is warm, soft and nearly healing and your lovers are likely to seek opportunities for as much skinship as possible with you. You enjoy sensual physical contact, an easily flowing and slowly building up heat is more your thing. You especially love long foreplays with your lovers and you might have a thing for drinking games with them. Wetting their clothes, making them see through and sticking to their skin is also a fun activity with your lovers. You love kissing and making out with them, hickies and bites are inevitable. You like to suck on their necks, especially on the spot with the vein where you can clearly sense their pulse getting faster. If your harem includes males, you are likely to enjoy giving blowjobs to them and teasing them with your tongue, lips and teeth, making them hiss and moan and call your name. If your harem includes females, you are likely to feast on your lovers, eating them out with delight.

I think I have channelled all that the cards wanted to say to you, Pile 1. I hope you enjoyed this little fantasy.

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Pile 02

Cards: 40 Time (Oracle of Visions), 4 of Swords, 5 of Pentacles, 3 of Pentacles (Dark Wood Tarot), King of Pentacles, Queen of Wands, XV The Devil (Erotic Fantasy Tarot), X The Wheel of Fortune, IV The Emperor, Page of Wands (Tarot of Sexual Magic), Berkano (Rune), 29 Ceres (Starcodes Astro Oracle), 19 Nyx (Deep, Dark & Dangerous Oracle), Panther, Sea Serpent, Cosmic Egg (The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Oracle)

Dear Pile 2, your hypothetical harem is not only created for some spicy fun but it’s a base for a whole community for you. You treat each and every member as a dear and loved family member. You might incline towards poly relationships in real life, too. Your harem of lovers isn’t just an adult playground for you, they are the people you trust and can rely on. You build strong and meaningful relationships with them and the bond is really strong. You are pretty nurturing towards all members of your harem, you’re nearly motherly and you should be careful not to smother some of your lovers with too much of your care. They are adults after all.

You and your harem are likely to form one happy family. You support each other, you work together towards goals, you make sure everyone feels valued. While you are pretty democratic and you are able to listen to your lovers and hear their opinions out, you still make sure you are the top authority and that there’s a clear hierarchy in your harem so nobody is in doubt where they stand. You’re fair and you distribute your affection among all but you also have clear rules and a system of rewarding.

I have mentioned it before, that your harem is like one happy family. The cards suggest that if that is something you want from life, the children are also likely to be born in your life. Obviously your children are not going to be part of your hypothetical harem but they are likely to be the fruits of it. You are likely to make sure they are well treated and pampered by all members of your harem, no matter who the biological parents are. Maybe you even make sure the biological origin is half unknown just to secure fairness. You are likely to be a real mother type and including your harem as a part of a family-like community is more likely.

Your harem, Pile 2, is a place of calm and rest for you. You come to your lovers to recharge your batteries, to escape the rush and chaos of the world outside. You are likely to prefer some more vanilla and romantic types of interactions with your lovers. Sharing thoughts and talking about your feelings, soft and gentle touches, subtle flirting and sweet makeouts are more likely your things. You are likely a bright and naturally charming person, Pile 2, and you can chat and laugh with your lovers easily, you dissolve any kind of tension that could possibly build up.

The dark side of your strong relationship with your harem and your chosen family is your very strong attachment to them. You might become a bit too clingy and hold fast on your loved ones when they need a little more space. You might have tendencies to overprotect them and smother them with your love and affection. You need to learn that even your lovers need a certain freedom. Maybe they are going to make some mistakes you could prevent them from doing but those mistakes are going to help them to grow. And if it means they decide to leave your loving embrace, eventually, it’s better to let them go. You might also sometimes feel jealous or possessive and you need to learn to control these urges or they could poison the beautiful family you have built up. Your emotional waters are deep and you need to learn how to navigate when a storm hits you. Count to ten and take a deep breath before you say something you will regret later.

Last but not least, the sexy part of your reading, Pile 2. When it comes to your favourite activities with your lovers, you might be on the more traditional and sweet side of the spectrum. You’re not exactly a wild experimenter or a BDSM enthusiast, though you might have a soft spot for some aspects of the dynamics. You might like your lovers to treat you with chivalry and bring you flowers or court you in a way. I get the notion from cards that some of you, Pile 2 people, might enjoy calling your lover daddy or mommy when it comes to it. If that’s not really your thing, you might like non-sexual but still affectionate actions from your lovers like when they hold your hand or cover you with a blanket when they think you might be cold. You are likely to enjoy missionary position more but you might also have a mirror kink and you might find it really hot to get wild out in nature with your lovers. Picnic going sexy is one of the options.

I can’t really make much more from the cards so I hope you enjoyed this little fantasy.

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Pile 03

Cards: 45 Control (Oracle of Visions), XII The Hanged Man, VI The Lovers, Page of Pentacles (Dark Wood Tarot), 10 of Wands, VI The Lovers, XI Justice (Erotic Fantasy Tarot), 4 of Swords, 10 of Cups, 8 of Pentacles (Tarot of Sexual Magic), Tiwaz (Rune), 37 Descendant (Starcodes Astro Oracle), 29 Werewolf (Deep, Dark & Dangerous Oracle), Earthworm, Snake, Hyena (The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Oracle)

While Pile 1 and Pile 2 were pretty wholesome when it comes to their hypothetical harem, you, Pile 3, treat your harem as a playground and your lovers are your toys. You’re the master puppeteer, you pull the strings, control, manipulate, play games and tricks on your lovers and keep them running after you with their tongues rolled out and drooling all over the ground just to feel even the slightest shiver from your affection. And you’re not the one to give it easily for sure. Your lovers have to earn your love and attention, they have to bring sacrifices in order to be invited into your harem. Your rules and boundaries are clearly set and you take no shit or messing around from those who are here to follow your orders.

You’re a charmer and you can make anyone fall for you deep and hard and up to their necks, to the level they feel like they will suffocate without you and your permission to breathe. You can play multiple roles at once, you can be witty and bright, you are the dominatrix, the teacher, the ultimate monarch of your harem. You, my dear Pile 3, truly enjoy the benefits of harem dynamics to the fullest. Your lovers come and submit to you like crazy and you don’t need to lift a finger to push them. One glance of your eyes, one mysterious smile of your lips, a slight nod and they are on their knees in front of you.

Your harem is your private playground and you never allow it to interfere with other aspects of your life. The line between fun and everything else is clear for you and if any of the members of your harem wishes to cross that line, you have no mercy with them and kick them out into the cold and dark world where you ignore them as hard as nutrition labels on groceries.

You are likely to invite inexperienced lovers into your harem as you like to play the teacher and master role and shape them to your likings from scratch. You like to guide them and show them all the secrets of love and sex and you like to see them in awe and with their eyes wide with curiosity.

While you like to command and teach, you’re not likely to limit your harem to only those who learn from you and give nothing back. Your harem is likely to include some experts as well so you can experiment and expand your knowledge and experience with those who are not afraid to push the limits and take risks. 

Your harem is a place where you become a different person. In your regular life, you might be a completely ordinary person with an ordinary and dull job. Once you enter your private harem, you become a dazzling and charismatic seducer, a player and you go wild. You like the whole contrast of change, the Jakyll and Hyde sides of yours.

You are not likely to form extremely strong bonds with your lovers as you don’t really care that much about them apart from the physical aspect. You like your lovers to be fun and in some way intriguing. They don’t have to be overly handsome or pretty but they should have a spark and be willing to play games with you.

The negative side is that you have tendencies to use your lovers and consider them as expansion of yourself and disregard them as individualities. You need to work on this if you want them to stay longer in your harem, otherwise you’ll notice a significant rotation rate among your lovers. On the other hand you have a thing for novelty so maybe you don’t even mind them coming and going like the seasons change.

From all the above you probably know by now that you are pretty much up for any kink and any practice in the book. To mention just some of your most favourite things of yours, I would definitely state threesoms or even better group orgies. You like to be the centre of attention and pampered and spoiled by your lovers while giving them only as much release as needed for them to stay contented but still kinda horny 24/7. You like to play with their minds and you love toys. You might even tease your harem by keeping them at distance while you pleasure yourself on your own using your large collection of toys. You know… making them suffer and drool and horny. With your apprentice type of lovers you enjoy the corruption kink and with your expert lovers you are likely to discipline them and whip them until they give their best performance…the whip is a metaphor… in some cases.

I think we can call it a day here. I hope you enjoyed this little fantasy.

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Please, remember that this tarot reading is purely for fun. Thank you.

I have some more ideas for pile readings in my mind now so you might see more coming soon. Feel free to drop suggestions in my inbox, though I can't promise I will follow them. I go with my gut feeling. 😊

P.S. Before even knowing the cards, I have picked Pile 03 🤫🤭 Those who know me well, are not surprised. 🤣

[globofhoney]

Hellsing Alucard x Fem! Elf! Mage! Dragonborn! Reader HC

How it all began

- You are a mage, and your experiment gone wrong so here you are trapped in who knows what plane of oblivion you are in.

- A sudden change of culture and environment makes you a little stress, don't even get me started! No matter what race you are you CANNOT SPEAK ENGLISH! you are basically a gibberish speaker in Hellsing Universe, shame that they don't know Tamriellic language, oh well...who can blame them?

- You tried to live in peace, until your power started to show.

(oh! You have no money? No problem, let's fet h some wooden sticks and turn it into gold! That alone would get a lot of attention)

- And ho~ boi, no people gonna let you live in peace. Iscariot wants you on their side, Millennium wants a piece of you for experimentation, and Hellsing...they do not trust you. After all....lore wise dragonborn can crack the world if they are strong enough.

- Being a powerful mage that you are...you lived in a forest far away from people. With magic concealed you from outer world while you try to figure out how to get back.

- Magic barriers, ancient seals. You can do it all, oh bitch please! You mastered all school of magic way too long ago in your long elven lifespan anyway, and you are still young and inexperienced compared to other master wizard back on Tamriel.

- That is until the prominent factions decided to hunt you...

- Alucard found you first, and he basically retrieve you like a potato sack, and you of course fight tooth and nail in order to stay at your humble little cottage.

- In the end, you have to go back with him anyway. Not that you were willing to. But after sir Integra wants to offer you a job <or another powerful pet?> You stay, not that you have a choice anyway, and oh! You gotta live nicely in a grand estate! Why wouldn't you stay?

- You have to learn how to speak English properly, and you are a fast learner.

- eventually, you are decent enough to work and communicate in a short length of time.

Relationship with Alucard

- The very nature of your existence intrigued him. A person who has power of natural disaster at their beck and call is someone who he would like to fight with.

- He won't stop bothering you until you show him more powers you can do

"I am a mage! Not a magic trick performer!"

"Right you are, little mouse~"

- You sleep with sun burst rune spell place around your bed. Of course he found this amusing.

- Alucard is a huge tease! You want to just fus ro dah him out the manor sometimes.

- You do not trust him, but do not mind him either. Worry not, if you can't stand him, Integra got you covered.

- Everything happened so fast and it becomes your routine to the point that you used to it.

- Until he decided that one night, he would like yo invite you on a moonlit stroll outside. And by Dibella's tits! he won't take no for an answer.

- You are now his beloved little mage, the consent is already off the window.

- the success rate of extermination mission is guaranteed if you two are on the hunt together. Absolute power couple. Hellsing's most prized units.

- He loves to touch your elven ears, the nerve of this undead human is too damn high.

- You better expected to be touched and hugs from behind.

- Unlike vampire on Tamriel, he is kind of cute in his own weird way.

- So many late night strolls and conversation. The concept of romance is completely up to Alucard's mood.

"Do you know? A vampire dust in my world have a property of invisibility"

"Oh~ really? What about, human heart~?

"Poisons, lots of em"

"For your people perhaps, but not for me, i want to taste yours~"

- He is obsessed, and quite possessive. Always observed you in the shadows. Not that he doesn't trust you, he just doesn't trust the others.

- You won't be alone for a long time, he will come back to talk to you more eventually.

- Do not mentioned about your plan to go back to your world, He will make sure you stay, or...he would make sure that you stay long enough after Sir Integra die of old age and there's no more Hellsing to serves. He will take a chance to go with you. But seriously...do not mention this, it will make him stick to you more.

[jangmi-latte]

May i request headcanons for all dorm leaders reacting to a drunk s/o. Thank you!

❞ 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬𝐲? 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤? 𝐎𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝?  ❝

➻ content: four doughnuts!

➻ warnings: slightly nsfw on leona’s part!! mentions of alcohol!

➻ comments: since i haven’t tweaked my rules *wink* just yet, i’ve made coco use the cafe’s wheel to pick four dorm leaders for this request! hope you don’t mind! also, i don’t and haven’t drunk alcohol — ma'am this is a cafe —, therefore i did as much research (also known as making my waiters drunk) as i can when it comes to being drunk. cough also from seeing my relatives and friends go drunk cough.

Ⅰ.

༄ kalim is from a wealthy family so it’s no surprise he’s exposed to alcohol, mostly wine but kalim – being as he is still under age – doesn’t really like drinking.

༄ what he didn’t expect was for someone to sneak alcohol into one of his banquets unnoticed. even jamil didn’t notice due to his hectic schedule.

༄ sam, what have you been selling in your shop–

༄ it was a clear liquid. having nearly the same viscosity as water, you were unaware of how much you were drinking. let’s say you’re unaware of what alcohol tastes like. sure, it tastes weird but oh boy, the heat that spread out through your neck and body was quite addictive. the way it tickles your tongue makes you giggle at times.

༄ this is some odd kind of water huh, just what else does the land of hot sands have?

༄ as it was your first time drinking, it wasn’t a surprise to see you get drunk after three glasses. apparently, it was white wine. is kalim familiar with this kind of alcohol? yes. but he doesn’t know it was being served.

༄  kalim started to notice your sudden change in demeanour when you started to giggle a lot. you would suddenly cling on his arm or nuzzle your nose against his neck. 

༄  kalim's delighted by your affection, oblivious to the fact you're drunk as fuck and will continue to giggle out of nowhere.

༄ if jamil pointed out your sudden change of attitude, kalim would go “oooohhh” and just laugh along with you.

༄ now jamil would question if kalim’s drunk too.

༄ if your laughing would go out of control, ah, our little sunshine would try to stop you and drag you away. you’re light and you’re not struggling so he could easily drag you away from the banquet and into a spare room that’s next to his.

༄ if you woke up with a hangover the next day, kalim is immediately by your side while also asking help from jamil to tend to you. 

༄ you can not get away from his stories and it would make you extremely embarrassed that you suddenly turned into a maniac during one of his parties. did anyone take a video? who knows. 

༄ you now hereby made a mental note not to drink alcohol ever again. just wait till you go to kalim’s hometown where there’s A LOT of alcohol to drink. you can’t avoid it but hey at least you know how you act when you’re drunk.

༄ kalim won’t be talkative about what happened but can you guarantee it won’t slip from his lips every now and then every time a banquet is brought up to a conversation?

Ⅱ.

༄ okay, let’s give more attention to leona’s homeland, yeah?

༄ so there’s a party. it’s not dedicated to anyone, perhaps it’s an event or an occasion for the land. the royal household mostly consists of adults, it’s pretty self-explanatory that there will be alcohol.

༄ leona is used to the taste of alcohol. he isn’t exactly an active drinker but his tolerance is high. it would take him how many glasses before he’s drunk. there are different types of alcohols on the table. ranging from beer to whiskey. heck, there’s even absinthe.

༄ he chose to drink the safest alcohol served and that was a martini. since leona doesn’t want to interact with anyone – his brother is loud and catching most of the attention anyways – he just sat at the sides. he couldn’t really sleep with how loud his home was.

༄ what caught his emerald eyes was you. Oh man, was he surprised. you were easily drinking shots and shots of vodka without any trouble. sure he has seen you drink before but seeing you be this energetic and even rather frisky was….quite a turn on.

༄ though he is quite worried, he would love to see what happens when you get drunk. he thought you would just drop and fall asleep on the table.

༄ hell no.

༄ the moment you spotted him with half-lidded eyes, you sauntered over to him with a shot in had and sat on his lap. was he bothered? not in the slightest but he would glare at some men who would stare at you being all wanton on him.

༄ his first instinct? protect you. sure, you’re tipsy or drunk but that doesn’t mean leona would take this as an advantage and just have sex with you despite your seductive advances. he doesn’t mind you being all sexy on him but you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s his turn to pull the responsible card in the relationship.

༄ your consent is very important to him and drunk isn’t consenting.

༄ another thing, he wants you to just put a show for him ONLY, not in public. he’s possessive but your body is for his eyes only. 

༄, when you pressed your lips against his, leona would kiss you back for a brief second before pulling away once he noticed your sultry touches. you’re whining but this is leona’s chance to carry you to his room. both your drinks left downstairs while he just cuddles you to bed. 

༄ he’ll stop any of your persuasive actions since he could see you’re eyes drooping. he can make love to you some other time. sober you is better. if you won’t stop, ah leona would just passionately kiss you ‘til you eventually passed out.

༄ but that wouldn’t stop any future teasing from him. he’s not gonna lie, it was sexy to see you try and dominate him but again, be sober. 

Ⅲ.

༄ like leona, vil is not an exception to the haven’t-encountered-or-drank-alcohol-ever gang. being a  popular influencer/model/artist means being invited to gatherings or after production dinners.

༄ he had a couple drinks here and there but vil doesn’t like getting drunk or even intoxicating himself too much. he knows what a drunk mind can do and he has an image to hold to even let something as getting drunk slip his mind. 

༄ in short, vil hasn’t experienced getting drunk and avoids doing so.

༄ he’s also picky with what alcohol he consumes. he prefers those that have a small alcohol percentage, those that don’t leave a smell, and those that aren’t strong to taste. he’s strict with his beauty regimen.

༄ so, let’s say you were invited to one of vil’s productions and had an after-production dinner. it wasn’t exactly a formal dinner, just a casual one held by the director in a private restaurant.

༄ there was wine and brandy. our dear model picked wine, of course, and you somehow got curious with the taste of brandy. he wouldn’t stop you, he simply warned you to keep the amount stable and not drink too much. he’ll keep an eye on you just in case you might get carried away. better safe than sorry.

༄ vil took only one glass and was drinking it slowly while you looked like you were going to puke. but it was somehow addicting so you took another shot. he was occupied by conversing with other artists/staff that he would simply look at you from the corner of his eye at all times.

༄ up until he noticed you leaning on your hand propped up by your elbow and just staring at the glass did he finally approach you and immediately asked how many shots did you take.

༄ “four....?” you slurred before pulling him to sit next to you and leaning on his shoulder while hugging his arm. 

༄ you were quiet, thank goodness you weren’t really that drunk, but you’re intoxicated alright.

༄ “vil…?” “yes?” “what is rook doing over there?”

༄ okay, now you’re hallucinating. you were pointing at a staff member who nearly had the same haircut as rook. it was his cue to bring you back to pomefiore. Once he was able to excuse himself, he helped you stand up.

༄ sadly, you couldn’t really walk properly without tripping and all that so let’s be thankful that vil does weights. he isn’t keen to the idea of carrying you back and calling a cab to head back since it isn’t really a sight to see.

༄ so, he called rook and made him open the mirror while he carried you bridal-style back to the dorm.

༄ epel is jealous after he found out you were able to have alcohol.

Ⅳ.

༄ we’re going to add our king of hearts to the haven’t-encountered-or-drank-alcohol-ever gang.

༄ okay, maybe just the never-drank-alcohol-gang.

༄ riddle has a strict regimen on himself too. he considers alcohol as a junk food so it’s a big no to him. it’s also going to be a taboo for his mother. 

༄ along with kalim, he’s still a minor. alcohol is not that really discussed with anything involved in a conversation with him. academics and schools are top priority, alcohol has no space in his brain nor diet.

༄ he’s not dumb with what alcohol looks like though, so when he saw you drinking beer when he visited ramshackle, he was beyond confused and surprised. his antennas shot up too.

༄  he would scold and question on why you’re drinking something that can harm your liver and you just calmed him down by saying you barely even drink these and that you needed relief from school requirements. you also reassured it was only one bottle and you would drink it slowly. you won’t get drunk.

༄ our king of hearts is confused. since when was alcohol a mood reliever?

༄ he would huff and keep an eye on you despite being all cranky. you would just giggle it off and begin doing your homework again while he tutors you. both of you wouldn’t even notice the increasing bottles of beer that’s popping up beside you as you subconsciously drank more.

༄ don’t ask where the beers are coming from.

༄ when you started to huff and get irritated at riddle did he notice your sudden mood change. 

༄ his eyes grew wide when he saw four bottles of beer beside you. poor boy doesn’t know what to do. should he bring you to bed? feed you something? wait, are you even drunk?

༄ you were getting all cranky, you were ‘tsk’ing and growling at certain things. you would rant and pull on your hair when you would get a mistake. it was so unlike you that riddle doesn’t know if he’s getting mad himself or concerned.

༄ he eventually needed to call trey for help. when the vice dorm leader arrived, trey quickly calmed you down and sent you to bed where you quickly passed out. 

༄ poor riddle received a thorough explanation from trey about what happened and that, as your boyfriend, he should be more aware.

༄ riddle just removed all alcohols of any kind from your existence the end.

[lordeasriel]

ATTWN: A Look at Miss Brent

I keep circling around the idea of writing And Then There Were None meta, like a full, proper analysis of the novel, but I just can't settle down on how to do it, cause I do have many thoughts, but I can't seem to organise them in a way it will make sense. But-

I was thinking about Miss Brent today, and she's not exactly a character I have that many thoughts compared to Vera or Armstrong, but she certainly has my interest. What strikes me stronger about her is her complacency, in a way.

Let's look at the novel first: here's this sixty-something woman, a spinster who takes on girls from local charities/orphanages to train them into proper maids or whatever. It's not an unusual thing for that time based on the rest of Christie's novels, it seemed like a common occurrence for the period. At any rate, she's very righteous, uptight, her belief is almost borderline fanatical, she never hesitates over her "innocence" in front of the accusations, and the thing is: she doesn't deny shunning the girl away.

Unlike the others, who remain resilient on their innocence (Lombard the exception cause he literally confessed right away), Miss Brent never denies that she did refuse to help Beatrice. In her own mind, she didn't do anything wrong - and if we're going there, in its fucked up way, she technically didn't do anything wrong. She had no familial attachment to the girl, she didn't have to do anything for her legally speaking; morally, of course, she should have but we don't arrest people for being morally corrupt lmao Let alone death sentence them. *coughs*

But what gets me it's her complacency. You know, I'm blaming this on the windy day, but thinking about her, sitting by herself almost all the time (including when she died), she never does anything. Unlike the others, Vera included considering how Christie often writes the women isolated, Miss Brent never gets involved in either investigating or helping them to find a way out; she just sits and knits and eventually bosses Vera around or say some mean stuff to someone. She doesn't act, which is odd for us as a reader; I mean, if I was in her spot I would have already made a signal for help, even with the bad weather lmao This book heavily traumatised me anyway--

Miss Brent doesn't act, that's my main point. In her head, I suppose she expects some sort of divine intervention, in its way; not a miracle, but you know, she expected her righteousness guaranteed her safety. She sees the other deaths as punishment, she thinks them all guilty, perhaps not the General or Wargrave, but I've no doubt she considers the rest of them wicked and deserving of the punishment, but never herself. She didn't do anything wrong, she has got nothing to feel sorry for. There is a whole section, where Vera asks Miss Brent if she is not afraid or if she simply doesn't mind dying. To which she reacts exactly like I said before, like she was above them all, like death wouldn't come for her.

Now, I will just vaguely go over the show because I think their choice of handling her was an interesting one. I like most of the choices made by show, except the ending which I'll save for another day of ranting, but Miss Brent in the show behaves similarly, but her background gets deeper. For one there was two key things - I say two because I've seen two different interpretations of this - and they were 1) repressed lesbian and 2) predator. Now, these two could coexist with each other, she could have been taking in girls to take advantage of them, but I don't know, I think it would be hard for her to do that always, so I like to think if repressed lesbian was it, then it makes more sense for her crime and her reaction. It would be related to a feeling of betrayal - "I've given you a home, a job, affection and you still went behind my back to be a whore" - and it's something Miss Brent would probably not acknowledge. She was always too religious, too righteous, so Beatrice probably haunted her more in death than she did in life: no one would believe this ragged girl over any accusations - even if there was consent on her part. But that's just beside the point.

What I mean for the show is, they go in a different direction. Miss Brent's reactions over the murders are a little more in line with her religious dynamic for the show: when Tony dies, she makes a little prayer, she worries about Mrs. Rogers state when she sees her passed out (despite the fact she humiliated her earlier over being meek and weak and so on), she has a judgemental attitude towards Vera, but even that comes from a place of almost understanding? She still judges them harshly, but she is a lot less harsh to the ones she consider less harmful (aka she is absolutely distasteful about Lombard, whose crime is easily the worst crime in the show and she thinks so).

Of course, all of her views and beliefs and behaviours are based on her own lifestyle, so she is a bit blind and biased - when Lombard points out about the missionaries crimes in Africa, after she calls him out; or when she states she couldn't imagine crossing paths with a man like him, despite the fact she knows well enough they're all there because they're guilty - so she is bound to hypocrisy every now and again. But her fanaticism from the book is turned into a proper, religious attitude; she does abide by the Bible, she condemns very little her other companions (I mean, she still judges Vera over her youth and her inertia, she judges Armstrong's lack of calm, she judges Lombard because well, because of his Existence™ lmao) She is, of course, judgmental and vain and arrogant, but this is less cartoony and more realistic. More importantly, because her beliefs are much more ingrained in her life, she is afraid. She is genuinely afraid and that is an important, key change that I genuinely like.

Miss Brent has faith, at first, that they will leave the Island, so she stills acts very coldly at first and of course, she still denies her guilt, she still claims she did the right thing and Beatrice caused her own undoing. But, the show pursues the idea that Miss Brent, upon being reminded of the event, starts to feel guilt: when she is praying she hallucinates Beatrice (hallucionation was a choice they did to convey these feelings, but you could just claim that's a memory in her head); and more importantly, before her death - which happens the day after she hallucinates - her demeanor changes entirely. She goes from trying to stay calm and resolute before the tide, to feeling weary. That's important because unlike Book! Emily, she is fully aware she has committed a sin, and now whether that is her neglect of Beatrice's pleas or her own feelings for her, that's beside the point. The point is this woman realises she is very close to meet her maker and the burden of having sinned wears her down.

Miss Brent also adds "It's only wool" when Vera is pouring her coffee (which I had to crop cause Gif size), which is her redirecting her distress to something mundane (in another scene later, Vera mentions how doing the dishes is a mundane task, which she finds soothing. In fact, seeking a sense of normalcy is a recurring theme for the show, but also for the book) and ordinary. Vera, of course, notices her distress over being hunted; she shares the feeling, and I don't want to focus too much on Vera because I'll talk about her eventually later, but this shows how Miss Brent changes drastically.

On their first conversation after the dinner, Vera's impression of Miss Brent is of an uptight, self-righteous, straight-up cruel woman and she avoids her if she can help it, and truth be told, Miss Brent does act very badly and says bad things, Vera is not being touchy about it. So when Vera lays the coffee tray, she is ready to walk away before Miss Brent addresses her (she even makes a dry remark on "There is no milk, I'm afraid", which is meant to spite Miss Brent's earlier attitude over asking for perfect eggs after Mrs Rogers died and so on), and Miss Brent talks so unlike herself, a weariness that makes Vera reconsider and come back, to pour her coffee. She feels sorry for Miss Brent, because she finally cracked like the others; Miss Brent knows now that no amount of faith might defend her from this killer, because this killer has got nothing to do with a justice kill.

She stays seated, knitting again, but when she reaches for the coffee she hesitates. She realises Vera could have poisoned it (before entering the room, since she watches Vera pouring the coffee), and then she puts it down. There is a sense of danger in her, and she has no desire to die, unlike in the book where she so casually just stays behind, unafraid in her own attitude of superiority. I like this change a lot; I think showing her fear before her God enhances her religious mania a lot more, because she truly fears Divine Judgement, because she understands, deep down, that she did a bad thing; maybe not murder - I mean, it wasn't murder after all - but she still did a morally bad thing. If there is a Heaven, it won't be for her.

[ironmandeficiency]

visions

pairing: plo koon / reader / wolffe

word count: 3291

summary: there’s a game you and plo will play sometimes during briefings that tend to alleviate some of the monotony. neither of you knew that your commander was force-sensitive and knew everything about the past-time until you and your husband offered him a place in your bed.

a/n: force sensitive!wolffe just kinda happened and was not even on the list of ideas for this fic, but i’m so happy i thought of it. it gets real wild real quick and only gets crazier from there. also, i accidentally wrote plo/wolffe in this so if it isn’t your cup of tea, i’m warning you now

warnings: inappropriate use of the force might as well be the title, implied masturbation (m), implied dick riding (f & m), ummmm implied threesomes

“could this be any more tedious? my patience is wearing thin.”

“they most certainly can get more tedious when you say things like that, dear.”

“oh, pardon me for wanting to reward my favorite general for his bravery on our previous mission.”

“a reward, hmm? maybe you could describe this reward to me to pass the time.”

wolffe hadn’t been more grateful to have his helmet since he lost his eye. four months ago the wolfpack was assigned a second jedi general and ever since you arrived on base, general plo has been happier than any of the men had seen him. at first wolffe thought it was because he was finally able to have the same camaraderie with one of his own that the men shared with each other. it was a simple explanation, one that made sense.

then he attended briefings with the both of you and quickly learned there was something much stronger than camaraderie between the two of you. he could hear the playful flirting, the endearing i-love-you’s, the scandalous dirty talk that had wolffe itching to remove his codpiece and slip a hand between the waistband of his blacks. he heard everything through the force, felt it vibrating through his veins all the same. it was that day he thought of the jedi with something more than professionalism for the first time.

weeks have passed since the two generals had enough opportunity to physically show their love and the tension between them was driving wolffe up a wall. it wasn’t enough that his brain had to work doubletime to hide his impure thoughts of his general’s riduur when the nights were lonely, but neither of them bothered to mask their sexual tension through the force because they simply saw no need.

he was losing his kriffing mind.

subliminal images of you riding the kel dor as if he were a racehorse flooded his head mid-sentence, the commander having to obnoxiously cough to cover up the moan that nearly escaped at the sight. your chest was heaving with every bounce and head thrown back in ecstasy, a slick sheen of sweat making you glisten. this was a new image for wolffe and it would be thoroughly enjoyed for months to come.

some days it astounded him as to the ability the two of you had to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary was happening through your bond with each other. from what he’d seen, he was the only clone in the 104th that was force sensitive, judging at the way none of them visibly reacted when the generals were having telepathic sex. he had no other names for the sensation and there would be no way for him to ask either of you without raising red flags.

if you or plo found out that he knew about the conversations, wolffe knew there would be consequences. he didn’t know what they would be or whether they would carry over to his duty or to his brothers, but he decided long ago to carry this secret on his own. there was nothing to validate needlessly risking his brothers’ safety all because wolffe couldn’t keep his mouth shut. so keeping his mouth shut was what he did until he got to his private bunk and let himself imagine that it was him you were losing yourself to.

“wolffe, are you okay?” your voice was smooth like honey when you said his name, the concern permeating through the force.

he forced his voice to return to its normal cadence. “i’m perfectly fine, general. little bit of dust just got through the filters is all.” there was no suspicion from either you or plo at the blatant lie, which he was grateful for. this briefing was not the time to reveal his secrets like blacks hanging out to dry after laundry day.

the meeting continued as protocol for a few moments before the dirty talk picked back up, to wolffe’s both detriment and pleasure.

“what a shame our dear commander was losing breath to the dust instead of-”

“not here, dear one. leave our wolffe from our thoughts when he hasn’t consented to be there.”

“he can’t consent if the question is never posed, plo.”

consent? consent to what? wolffe was plenty concerned about what you two could possibly be implying and had to work extra hard to maintain his shields to keep from alerting the jedi to his worry.

“when we’re back on coruscant. he needs to rest before hearing what we have to say.”

“thank you, my love.”

at least wolffe had a timeline for when his fate would be sealed. with that last little bit of security to cling to, he continued with the briefing as if fear wasn’t burrowing into his chest the more time passed between now and arrival to the triple zero.

the arrival into coruscanti airspace thrummed with anticipation, the stale recycled air seeming to know how pivotal the next few hours would be. you had long been teetering on the edge of impatience when it came to the idea of being shared between your loving husband and dutiful commander. it was absolutely unreal how many times you and plo would be just about to bring it up and be immediately silenced by shit luck.

that wasn’t going to happen again, you weren’t going to let it. your patience has been tested for far too long in regards to this matter and even plo would get ruffled when the conversation was stalled yet again. you typically refrained from using the force to guarantee privacy (plo was better at it anyways) but today you were going to pour everything you could into ensuring that the nagging proposition would finally be given.

several hours passed before you and plo were able to free yourselves from the responsibilities thrust upon you both as members of the council. the ‘pack had long since been starting to unwind, many of them wandering to 79’s or to another battalion’s sector of the base to mingle. you looked to your husband, silently asking him to check his bond with wolffe to gauge his location. hopefully he hadn’t slipped to 79’s yet or else the evening’s plans would be tabled for yet another unknown period of time.

plo confirmed that wolffe was in his temporary quarters, thank the force. “is it time?”

“i think we’ve waited long enough.”

wolffe couldn’t believe his ears. he was stunned, his brain running on overdrive to even comprehend the severity of what he was just told.

he already knew that his generals were something more than comrades in arms and that they were secretly married against the confines of their order that they were leaders of. of course he didn’t tell him that he knew already, little gods no, there would be no explaining his way out of that one. there were intimate details about their relationship that he didn’t intend to know, that were just shoved through his mind; even though his shields were some of the most fortified of any clone, he had force bonds with the both of you that apparently ran deeper than he thought they did.

see, a normal force bond between a force-sensitive and a null were as such: a force-sensitive would only be able to project such vivid imagery with someone who was also force-sensitive, the null partner being able to only pick up the feelings behind the image rather than the image itself. when you two were having telepathy sex (and sometimes actual sex), you both took great care to make sure the feelings of the images didn’t leak into your other bonds. but wolffe? he could see the images clear as day and came to his own feelings about them. since you nor plo knew that he could see said images, you both thought you were getting away with something.

these were all things that wolffe knew, knowledge that he could confirm quite easily, information that didn’t betray him.

what had caused wolffe to short-circuit as if he were a measly droid was the way you expressed desire for both your husband and him. your words were beginning to meld together in his ears, none of it making sense. and how was general plo okay with this? he was listening to his wife talk about how she wanted to have sex with another man, a clone no less! most nat-borns would bristle and lash out at even the idea.

he had to get out for a moment, make sure this isn’t some strange and elaborate dream or advanced form of seppie torture. this couldn’t be real. it couldn’t be. so he made his way into his ‘fresher and splashed water on his face, pinched his arms, his cheeks, even nicked himself with the small razor he used to keep his face neatly groomed. every experiment led to the same conclusion: this was real and he was just invited to your bed.

a third in the bed of not just one, but two jedi generals. he, commander wolffe of the one-oh-fourth battalion in the grand army of the republic, was offered the opportunity to sleep with two jedi at once. two jedi that apparently loved him how they loved each other.

he could sense plo approaching him where he stood in the ‘fresher, the mirror being an extra giveaway to his presence that wasn’t particularly needed. “did we make you uncomfortable?” plo was very concerned over wolffe’s wellbeing and the way the normally composed soldier was losing the cool exterior he kept in front of nearly everyone he knew. it was a sight that unnerved the jedi when in the escape pod and when he lost his eye to ventress, and it had the same effect on him right now.

you moved from your seat on the corner of wolffe’s bunk and joined the men in front of the ‘fresher sink. “if this isn’t something you’re okay with, we can pretend this never happened and-”

“no,” wolffe’s voice was louder than he intended for it to be and quickly schooled his emotions before continuing. “you didn’t make me uncomfortable, i just-” a deep breath in through the nose and out through his mouth. maybe he should tell them here that he knows about all of the erotic conversations and images flashed through the bonds, but something stops him.

he decides to give you a small twist of the truth to hide his force sensitivity. “i’ve thought about doing things to you, things that only lovers do, and now that you’re here offering the chance, i don’t know what to say or where to start.” it isn’t like he was completely lying, he had plenty of thoughts of you when not in briefings that counted toward his half-truth. you just didn’t know where or when the thoughts first began.

plo approached wolffe slowly, resting a taloned hand on his shoulder. your husband’s tone washed waves of comfort over wolffe as he spoke, the kel dor’s low timbre having the desired effect. “we can help you with that, wolffe.”

“how?”

“let’s start with simple questions. do you want us to leave?”

“no,” wolffe gripped the feelings of calm sent his way in a vice grip to keep from erupting once more. “ not at all, ge-.”

the honorific being used in such a raw moment set plo off, the jedi’s hand gripping wolffe’s shoulder tighter in warning as he admonished the use of his senate-given title.“you will not address us by rank here in your private space. use our names just as we use yours.”

this was a side to plo that wolffe had never seen in person, this authoritative and borderline furious (and lustful? was his hearing okay?) dimension being unfamiliar territory. it stirred something in wolffe that was achingly familiar yet obscenely foreign; the feelings were similar to those he felt for you, but they ran deeper into a part of himself he didn’t acknowledge much.

it reminded him of the ache in his lungs as the droids began to take apart the escape pod, the unrelated catch in his throat at the way his general was so willing to do whatever it took to save his brothers. when wolffe was a cadet he bristled at the idea of belonging to someone he didn’t know, someone that didn't understand who he was or who his brothers were.

those apprehensions melted away as plo left the relative safety of the pod to defend him and the last two surviving members of their battalion. in that moment he was proud to say he belonged to plo, not just as his commander but as someone who had softened his edges.

this bond only grew the longer wolffe served under plo, and then wolffe met you and it seemed that his heart was capable of being shared between two people. two people that loved each other as deeply as the galaxy was wide. two people that would never hesitate to lay themselves down to protect their lover or their battalion, that treated every living thing with a reverence wolffe didn’t know someone could show.

those very same people were now at his sides, offering him a place of his own with them, space in their bed. and he was yearning for them both.

wolffe was sure of what he wanted. figuring out how he wanted to proceed was the easy part compared to articulating said want. inhaling deeply, he tried to form the words, construct sentences to flow freely from now parted lips. he spent moments trying to calculate the best way to convey the thoughts that led him to his decision but nothing sounded right in his head. he didn’t want to ruin the moment with poorly-chosen words or stumbling over his thoughts as if he were a bumbling drunk.

then a gentle nudge in his brain reminded him of a way to communicate with his jedi that didn’t need words. just his feelings, that’s all he needed right then. so he reached into the force and gripped those feelings like a cadet would a favorite older vod’s leg, and sent them towards the two people in this galaxy that he would do anything for.

wolffe’s silence was both relief and nervous impatience because there was no way for you to know what he was thinking. he had nearly impeccable shields that you had attributed to both his status as a commander as well as your husband’s fierce protection over him, having been the one to fortify them into something so formidable. it was a fortress you weren’t going to penetrate without either permission from wolffe himself or intentionally tearing at his protection, the latter something you’d rather die than even ponder.

he was taking his time with his thoughts, trying his best to not let his confusion turn to frustration and anger. you studied his form and debated whether taking his hand in yours was a good idea before noticing the way he was white-knuckling the sink, taking it upon yourself to save the fixture. the slightest whisper of his hand tightening around yours relaxed you marginally; at least he was acknowledging you despite his deep and almost painful-seeming concentration.

then you’re suddenly hit by something in the force you don’t recognize. they’re emotions, wild ones, and despite their barely-tamed nature they’re safety and devotion and trepidation and love, a love directed towards you that wasn’t from plo. his love for you felt different in the force, much more calm and peaceful after years spent together. this was from someone else entirely, someone who was new and inexperienced in these matters yet determined in expressing them, someone-

wolffe.

how was he projecting like that? only force-sensitives had the ability to transmit emotions like that directly through bonds, but yet it came close to knocking your feet out from under you with the strength. your eyes went to plo and you could sense his own surprise and confusion.

wolffe could feel the way his jedi were shaken by the torrent of his emotions washing over them and the guilt was instant. he turned away from the sink and began to apologize profusely but you silenced him before they could be heard.

his lips were supple and his skin flushed from the sudden closeness. it took the blink of an eye for him to reciprocate the kiss, the hand holding yours lacing your fingers together. you could feel his emotions double in strength through the kiss and the intensity would have taken you to the ground if it weren’t for plo moving to stand beside you.

there were many questions swirling madly through your mind but the most prevalent was “why didn’t you tell us?”

wolffe’s eyes shot to his feet, ashamed of keeping such a big secret from the two of you. “i… i see your thoughts during briefings,” he paused to gauge your reactions, whether he should shut up or explain himself, but he didn’t know which would be better. he felt waves of embarrassment from plo and… wait, you thought it was funny?!

apparently so, seeing as you were now laughing at the current situation, of all the reactions you could have had this was not expected.

if you didn’t laugh at wolffe seeing every dirty thought you’d sent your husband’s way during briefings there’s a good chance you would have cried. how long had he been having to pretend like he was okay during briefings?

you tilted the commander’s chin up and locked your eyes with his, slowly starting to let your feelings seep through your bond. “wolffe, just how much do you know about the relationship between plo and i?”

only a fool wouldn’t be able to sense the lust slowly creeping its way through the bond. plo clearly was beginning to feel it, if the taloned hand creeping along your waist was any indication. it filled wolffe with a confidence he hasn’t felt in hours, since the two of you mentioned him in your thoughts.

he decides to go with it. you and plo both have told him that he was wanted, so it wasn’t like anything bad was going to happen after he does what he’s about to do. wolffe leans in close to you, hot breath fanning along your neck as he begins to speak in a velvet husk. “i’ve seen enough to know how much you enjoy it when he drags his talons down your back, to know how eager you are to please him night after night,” a hot, wet kiss is placed below your ear and the hand holding his grips hard.

plo enjoyed the sight in front of him, watching you slowly starting to submit yourself to wolffe. but that wasn’t tonight’s goal; tonight was about the two of you showing wolffe how much he was appreciated, how deeply he was loved by the two of you. “you are right, she is always eager to please. but tonight is about you, wolffe. let us take care of you the way you deserve to be.” the kel dor glides a talon along wolffe’s jawline and enjoys the lust permeating the latter’s force signature.

your husband’s voice snapped you out of the trance wolffe had you under. he was right, this was about wolffe. so you took the hand he still held and guided him to his bunk, plo close behind. the next several hours were spent worshiping wolffe in all his glory, letting him learn the two of you just as you learned his body. it was the first of many nights spent holding your men as close as you could, knowing that duties would take them away come morning light.

[ceescedasticity]

Jin Guangyao’s hoarding problem, version 2, part 2

This isn’t so much “not a fic” as a “tell-don’t-show” fic. Not sure there’s a word for that.

(This next section starts out very dark, but just remember: in a more canon timeline, every one of these add-ins died in agony!)

Tingshan He (per novel canon) is a minor sect; its leader He Su speaks against Jin Guangshan's appointment as Chief Cultivator, and for some reason the appropriate response to this is considered to be arresting the entire sixty- or seventy-person on fabricated charges of conspiring to kill Jin Guangshan and giving them to Xue Yang to be turned into animated corpses. (What the hell.) He Su tries to negotiate for mercy for the elders and children; when none is forthcoming, he calls Jin Guangyao That One Insult, and then Xue Yang cuts his tongue out and throws him in a cage of corpses in front of his screaming family. Jin Guangyao in canon is like "…I'll leave you to it," and goes back to one of his innumerable other tasks. May or may not be the same tongue Xue Yang serves later.

(Also, novel-verse, and I am still not over this, this is before Xue Yang wipes out Yueyang Chang. He's still the person who was willing to kill dozens of people over a finger, but we'll never know if he would have actually done it without this example of 'respond to insult by eradicating sect'. Anyway. This is drama-verse Xue Yang, who found his influences and made his choices a long time ago.)

Here, Jin Guangyao goes to put up some silencing talismans between this outer part of the Dizang and the inner part where his high-value prisoners are. He doesn't want to subject Wen Qing to listening to all that — he might someday, if he needs to prove a point, but that's all the more reason not to do it randomly. Besides, Wei Wuxian can't even sit up but he might still come up with something stupid to do if he heard too much screaming, since apparently he's so very concerned about random collateral damage.

He has a thought. He comes back. He tells Xue Yang to hold off on killing any of them for a bit, he wants to do a finer check.

Jin Guangyao picks out a few members of Tingshan He.

He Lei is a cousin of He Su's, and currently the youngest surviving disciple at ten. Hasn't spoken since her parents died in front of her.

He Jian is her older sister. She is twelve. Has a Jin brand on her cheek; missed her parents' deaths while passed out.

He Zhi is their older brother. He is fourteen. He doesn't have a functional tongue anymore. Was technically present when his parents died, but very distracted; also got his face clawed up a bit.

He Gangfen is in his sixties, and has been responsible for training Tingshan He's beginner disciples almost since there has been a Tingshan He. He sees almost all of them killed horribly before Jin Guangyao makes him an offer.

He can save these last three disciples. All he has to do is — voluntarily — give up his golden core. —And convince Wen Qing to do the surgery.

Wei Wuxian's agreement isn't necessary, obviously.

It's not a pleasant conversation.

He Gangfen is so far past caring about Wens or the Yiling Laozu it doesn't even come up. Wen Qing points out there is absolutely nothing guaranteeing Jin Guangyao will keep the kids alive past the surgery — that "saving" them might even mean killing them quickly. He Gangfen says there's everything guaranteeing they'll die horribly now if he refuses, so please. Please.

Wei Wuxian, who has been staring at the ceiling trying to pretend this conversation isn't happening across the room, has a moment of insight and blurts out his conclusion. There is something — not a guarantee, but there is a benefit for Jin Guangyao in letting the children live.

Because what's he going to do as is, if Wei Wuxian or Wen Qing start outright defying him? Kill them? Oh no. Terrible. Hurt Jiang Yanli and deal with Jiang Cheng's reaction? Maybe threaten to do experiments on Wen Ning oh wait. The children would be accessible, disposable hostages.

Which is better than what He Gangfen was hoping for honestly, that might even be long-term, so please.

Being in this situation with accessible, disposable hostages is not remotely appealing, but. But.

Wei Wuxian tells Wen Qing he won't ask her to do this but if she wants his consent she has it.

The surgery is a success.

(Jin Guangyao is polite enough to remove He Gangfen from Wen Qing's workroom before administering the coup de grace. He Gangfen thanks Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian first.)

The kids… well. Jin Guangyao had more criteria than just age — that was important, but he wouldn't have gone through with the idea if they hadn't met other requirements.

Not too proud to beg.

Not already trying to swear revenge.

Naive enough not to be instantly suspicious when he asked them if they'd like a chance to save their little/big brother/sister. (They don't know about He Gangfen, much less about their broader purpose as hostages. They think he couldn't come up with any easier way of obtaining menial servants for the Dizang.)

Not more scared of Wen Ning than Xue Yang. (You have to be an idiot to be more scared of Wen Ning than Xue Yang, but a number of people still manage it. Shocking.)

It doesn't hurt that the oldest one, the boy, can't talk.

The older two for sure should be able to remember Sunshot, and all of them should know the blood-curdling stories of the Yiling Laozu (they had better, Jin Sect spent money making sure those stories grew), but exposure to Xue Yang makes even that less frightening. They're cautious, and Wen Qing in particular is trying not to let them close, but — connection is happening.

All according to plan.

(There is something Jin Guangyao has not planned for: Do you know who's not very scary at all even without Xue Yang for comparison? Who is also a prisoner of the inner Dizang, inasmuch as he's hardly ever allowed to leave, at least? Who is also doing a lot of menial chores, and who might end up providing guidance for someone else doing them? Who never had much power to act with cruelty or kindess, before, and who's seen a lot more cruelty than kindness, but who lately has spent a lot of time listening to Wen Qing and Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian? Who certainly wouldn't say no to a boy almost his age respecting him and wanting to spend time in his company?)

(Mo Xuanyu, that's who.)

Wei Wuxian meanwhile is experiencing mixed feelings about his new previously-owned golden core. He feels better. He feels much better. He can tell he'll feel better yet when he's healed more, which is happening, now. He also— Well, he's hoping even more that Jiang Cheng never finds out about the transfer, now, and he wouldn't have thought that was possible. It feels less strange and more his every day, but when he thinks about it— Well. It's upsetting.

So he hopes Jiang Cheng never finds out. He hopes Jiang Cheng can forget him, now. Maybe Jiang Cheng can be happy now. He knows that last one's a long shot, but he can hope.

(Jiang Cheng is… well, he'd not worse off than the usual universe, exactly. Jiang Yanli is alive! Just — he had to face her, with everyone saying he's the one who killed Wei Wuxian and he sort of was, and with his having left her lying there when she wasn't actually dead, and she didn't say anything that sounds like a recrimination but what must she be thinking. She must be so disappointed in him, she's just too kind to say anything. And he doesn't have the distraction of obsessing over Jin Ling, since Jin Ling is still with his mother.)

(As for Jiang Yanli… Jin Guangyao is not, in fact, trying to ensure she's seen as fragile and mad with grief, and not taken seriously, and that she's afraid to push back too much because they might take Jin Ling away, or Jiang Cheng might overreach trying to back her up. She's not on Jin Guangyao's agenda at all at the moment. It's just that very few people in Jinlintai have ever taken her very seriously, least of all the Sect Leader, and 'mad with grief' seems like a reasonable explanation for her turning up in Nightless City so most people are believing it with no extra effort necessary, and Madam Jin thinks she's terribly fragile and wants to protect her, and of course Jin Ling's welfare is everyone's highest priority so if it would be better for him to be elsewhere, well, that's an option. And Jiang Cheng would back her up in a heartbeat, of course he would, but Jiang Cheng is… well, Jiang Yanli thinks he's at least as mad with grief as she is, and she's not sure he'd be careful enough, if it came to any kind of confrontation.)

(Jin Guangyao is, really and genuinely, uninvolved with the incident wherein a Jin disciple attempts to treat Jiang Yanli's 'madness' with musical cultivation and succeeds only in causing heart palpitations. Well, he's involved inasmuch as the disciple's musical cultivation was based almost entirely on spying on Jin Guangyao, but he's unaware of that until the situation blows up. Happily everything is blamed on the disciple's lack of skill and hubris for attempting such a delicate feat as musical cultivation with no proper training. Since it's not like even the adulterated music is supposed to cause heart palpitations, it probably was lack of skill. And it's very embarrassing for Madam Jin, who decided to let an amateur try rather than ask Jin Guangyao, who would have been happy to help.)

(The most important consequence of that incident is how the cultivation world spends a while gossiping about the complexity and difficulty and potential dangers of musical cultivation, so a few months later, when Jin Guangyao proposes Nie Huaisang could play a little of the Song of Clarity, and Nie Huaisang says he's flattered by San-ge's confidence but he's much too poor a student for that. The trip to the Blade Hall doesn't go smoothly by any stretch of the imagination, but as many disciples come back as don't and they do get the sealing done, so… as well as could be expected, maybe.)

(It doesn't make much of a difference in the timeline of Nie Mingjue's decline. It makes a bigger difference in Nie Huaisang's emotional stability and interpersonal support network.)

(Back to the Dizang.)

As anticipated, as soon as Wei Wuxian is well enough to move around/work, he's ordered to work on reconstructing the Stygian Tiger Seal. As a safety precaution, any time Wei Wuxian has his hands on the half-Seal, at least one the Hes will be moved to some unknown location — usually He Lei, as He Jian and He Zhi both have enough facial scarring that people would be likely to take note of them, but He Lei doesn't even talk so Jin Guangyao can just leave her with the scullery drudges for a day or so, or even send her to Moling. So, using the half-Seal to immediately blast out isn't an option. Refusing isn't an option.

But that's okay, though. Wei Wuxian has a plan. He is going to reconstruct the Seal — with safety features this time. No one said not to do that. The whole process is so intuitive and hard to pin down not even Xue Yang can really tell what he's doing. And he is still depressed and mad about the whole situation so that shouldn't give anything away.

(Xue Yang suspects he's up to something of the sort… but telling Jin Guangyao would spoil the game. And CQL-verse he doesn't have any pressing revenge to get to at this point; might as well do some fun adversarial collaboration! In between sneaking out and making trouble just to keep anyone from getting complacent.)

Wen Qing doesn't have anything much to do at the moment. She decides to see if she can get Wen Ning a little more movement back in his facial muscles. If he can move all his fingers, there's no reason he shouldn't be able to move his face.

Mo Xuanyu sneaks a bunch of bamboo slips out of the supplies of the disciples guarding the outer Dizang so He Zhi has something to write notes on.

Jin Guangyao is only getting busier, really.

***

(Up next are Nie Mingjue’s last breakdown and JGY’s marriage, but I still can’t decide on the order.)

[financialmix]

What Is Financial Mix

Despite the fact that it's hard for people to handle a wide scope of factors immediately, luckily, we've constructed machines that can do that for us – PCs and computerized reasoning. Additionally, a crypto exchanging bot depends on its calculation to distinguish openings where explicit cryptographic forms of money can be bought at a lower cost and sold at a greater cost later on. The following is our extensive survey of one such robot,Financial Mix. Remarkable development in Bitcoin exchanging prompted the making of Financial Mix. It is accounted for to have been made to engage everybody with digital currency exchanging capacity, particularly the individuals who needed to track down an extra type of revenue through exchanging yet didn't think about the business. Today, it is said to permit both expert and novice brokers to complete large number of exchanges every day.

Who Created Financial Mix?

It is accounted for online that Financial Mix Signup  was brought into the world after a gathering of cryptographic money specialists, and programming designers met at a main money meeting. Their conversation before long prompted the acknowledgment that they all face comparable limitations and disappointments with regards to crypto exchanging. That is evidently when they chose to unite and foster a mechanized exchanging bot that would help them rule the Bitcoin exchanging space. Every maker is said to have gigantic experience working with various organizations in a few businesses. Throughout the long term,Financial Mix has gotten down to business to get perhaps the most compelling and instinctive computerized exchanging bots that carry advantageous productivity to everybody, as per the tributes of its clients. These additionally express that the bot makers keep the application refreshed and advance it for stunningly better exactness and execution.

Joining with Financial Mix is a straightforward cycle as all you need for personality confirmation is your first and last names, telephone number, email address, and nation of home. To begin exchanging, you need to set aside a base installment of $250, which functions as your functioning capital. In any case, you don't need to risk all that cash, and you can begin exchanging with just $25.   Whenever you have gone through the enlistment and least store stage, you can begin exchanging. Before you go for live digital currency exchanging, we encourage you in any case the Demo mode to acquaint yourself with the site.

One of the extraordinary highlights is that enlistment is free. Furthermore, the stage doesn't take a cut from your capital or benefits. It's totally free with no secret charges. Practice With Demo Account Before you start genuine exchanging, you can get familiar with the exchanging framework and UI with the demo account. You can likewise test and assess the presentation of various exchanging methodologies before you execute them in genuine exchanging. Basic Registration Process Financial Mix  doesn't expect you to fill any protracted structures and doesn't drag you through complex cycles to finish the enlistment. It's fast and direct and doesn't require over 20 minutes of your time. Pull out Your Money With Ease Installment modes incorporate Visas, including Visa, Express, Discovery, and MasterCard and online installment passages like Neteller.

Throughout the long term, the group behind this exchanging stage has apparently improved its high level crypto exchanging calculation to hold a high achievement rate. Backing for Multiple Currencies This exchanging robot is viable with numerous digital forms of money, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. You additionally have the alternative to exchange standard fiat monetary forms like USD, CHF, and EUR. Open Customer Care In the event that you are confronting any issues or have a few worries that you'd prefer to be tended to, you can generally contact their client assistance, who are eager to assist and respond to your inquiries. The help is accessible 24 hours all week long.

The exchanging bot supposedly consents to the business' prescribed procedures to forestall information penetrates and keeps your own data and assets free from any and all harm against noxious components like programmers.

Is Financial Mix Legit?

Given the quantity of cryptographic money tricks and phony ICOs that plague the online world, it's simply sensible to be suspicious of a stage that professes to offer fast returns. Be that as it may, in our examination, we tried to see whether Financial Mix was a real exchanging bot.

We discovered a ton of client tributes who guarantee that the product has procured them great benefit in the course of the most recent couple of years while client care is consistently available, responsive, and inviting. Indeed, you can discover positive surveys on a few sites that clarify how the stage assisted them with procuring monetary security. The exchanging bot is supposed to be propelled by present day macroeconomic exchanging models that permit foreseeing the event of thin freedoms dependent on monetary information and verifiable conduct. This purportedly helps the bot in recognizing the best chances to open and close the exchange for most extreme benefit.

Many exchanging bots and stages charge commissions or have some secret expenses. That is not the situation withFinancial Mix as you can utilize every one of the highlights of the exchanging totally free. Enlisted Brand Financial Mix  is an enlisted organization that conforms to guidelines and has the approval to direct digital money exchanging for its clients' sake. High Trade Success Accuracy Near 90% of the exchanges result a benefit, making it perhaps the most productive digital money exchanging bots. Engineers are continually refreshing the calculation for a superior achievement rate.

The crypto exchanging administration is available in 150 nations, which means individuals can utilize everything over the world without going through any issues or managing uphill difficulties. With Financial Mix, you just need to present the withdrawal structure, and your installment is prepared inside a window of 24 hours. You have distinctive installment techniques accessible also. What's the Best Way to UseFinancial Mix?

Follow the pointers beneath to take advantage of a cryptographic money exchanging bot. These will assist you with limiting your danger while acquiring predictable benefits. If it's not too much trouble, start with the demo mode to make yourself mindful of how the bot functions, test different exchanging methodologies and think about their outcomes Tune in to the master crypto brokers and notice their exchanging propensities and examples. Stay aware of the most recent digital currency news and improvements. Utilize the stop misfortune and take benefit limit alternative to your profit and limit your danger while exchanging. Try not to go into manual exchanging until you've taken in the intricate details of the crypto exchanging and have total trust in the thing you're doing.

Has Financial Mix Ever Appeared On TV?

At the point when you have a help that is as broadly referred to and utilized as Financial Mix, there are in every case a few bits of hearsay that get related with it. The stage has been reputed to be essential for speculation TV shows in the United States and the United Kingdom. We burrowed profound to confirm these accounts. Mythical beasts' Den is the top speculation show in the UK and has been a beneficiary of numerous imaginative innovation thoughts, some of which were identified with bitcoin exchanging. Our thorough exploration, in any case, neglected to track down any unmistakable proof that focuses towards Financial Mix being pitched on Dragons' Den. It's not piece of a scene of any season. Shark Tank is fundamentally the Dragons' Den of America, and it includes huge names like Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec and Kevin O'Leary. Like its UK partner, Shark Tank has likewise been a beneficiary of numerous innovation thoughts, however none of them had highlighted this exchanging stage.

Has Financial Mix Ever Been Endorsed by a Celebrity?

Very much like the TV appearance reports,Financial Mix has additionally been related with numerous superstars. These accounts flowing the web guarantee that specific big names have either put resources into the thought or embraced it. We checked these cases to check whether they are right.   There were reports that the observed Australian TV moderator had prescribed it to his fans for exchanging and procuring benefit. However, from our complete exploration, we didn't discover any proof of this.   The sequential business visionary, very rich person, and originator of Tesla is known around the world for his adoration for innovation. Is anything but an unexpected that he backs bitcoin and cryptographic forms of money as a rule. That being said, there is by all accounts no proof to prove that he embraced Financial Mix expressly.   There were tales that Enrique Razon, a Filipino extremely rich person, and money manager, has contributed utilizing this exchanging robot. Indeed, there have all the earmarks of being no connections between the very rich person and the exchanging bot's makers.

For over 10 years, Bitcoin has been the main coin in the cryptographic money area. Right now, it is the most popular digital currency on the planet. Be that as it may, to exchange it effectively, merchants need a ton of information and exchanging experience, which is hard for newbies to acquire.

This is the reason mechanized exchanging robots like Financial Mixexist so they could furnish anybody with a chance to exchange very quickly with a low starting venture, and make the most of the arising open doors in the developing crypto market. Financial Mix Review  is an exchanging framework that permits individuals the chance to bring in cash while exchanging digital currencies. Its product is controlled by an AI calculation that gathers the information from the open business sectors, examinations them, and afterward hypothesizes about the value development. Whenever potential freedoms arise, the robot enters a situation for the client's sake to bring in cash for them.

The application offers a few significant highlights that are compulsory for this sort of programming. Some of them can be somewhat valuable for the clients' wellbeing and smooth client experience. The main highlights of the application are as per the following:  App's payout framework is profoundly cutting-edge, and it apparently works with no issues, issues, or mistakes. This is urging to hear, as the payout framework is a significant factor for any crypto exchanging robot.

The framework is enacted naturally after the live exchanging meeting is closed. The robot's site further cases that it is feasible for clients to make very high payouts once they begin making more productive exchanges, and possibly decide to reinvest a portion of their benefits. Nonetheless, for the underlying time frame, it is suggested that clients start little, whether or not they are new or experienced, at any rate until they are certain that they see how the robot functions. To begin exchanging, you should initially make a record, which just requires your first name, last name, email and telephone number. The organization doesn't specify the requirement for clients to check their character.

The record creation framework is speedy and bother free. New clients don't need to invest a great deal of energy on onboarding and can begin exchanging rapidly after they join the application's client base. The withdrawal cycle is likewise purportedly truly dependable and direct. Clients are permitted to pull out cash whenever they need. Clients are encouraged to pull out the sum they initially contributed when the benefits begin coming in.

This is a decent technique for clients to deal with the danger as they would have effectively returned the cash they began with, and that all exchanging that will follow will just draw assets from the pool of benefit created by the robot. This gives clients significant serenity and urges them to exchange further, just as to rapidly get the their rewards for all the hard work.

Clients can rapidly pull out assets to their crypto wallet or financial balance, and afterward use it as they see fit, or basically hold it to be utilized later down the line.

Financial Mix seems to deal with expenses fairly well, as it has no secret charges of any sort, the extent that we figured out how to discover. It doesn't need a permit expense, implying that you can utilize it totally for nothing. While it is conceivable that this may change later on, because of expanded interest for the stage and comparable robots, until further notice, the organization doesn't charge a premium. Notwithstanding, it forces a 2% commission on all benefits that are made by utilizing the robot.

Purportedly, there are no store or withdrawal expenses, or even latency charges.

Client Testimonials

We were keen on perceiving how the application's clients are reacting to the exchanging robot, so we investigated client tributes. Shockingly, there are not very a considerable lot of them on the web, which isn't that astounding, given that the robot is still generally new. It was just dispatched in 2019, and it probably took some time for the word to spread.

Tributes that we found have been genuinely sure, with the clients calling the robot 'helpful,' and an 'amazing and speedy stage'. There is a likelihood that new clients could in any case have negative encounters with the stage, yet up until this point, none such encounters were accounted for.

However, as referenced, you ought to consistently be prepared for issues, regardless of whether they were not revealed at this point

Financial Mix appears to have a generally excellent and devoted client assistance, which is accessible nonstop. Great client support is likewise a significant factor while choosing a mechanized exchanging robot, as it can respond to every one of your inquiries, and even tackle expected issues in the event that you experience any.

We are not saying that it has any known issues, yet potential hiccups can arise whenever, as no product out there is perfect. Things will in general get particularly intriguing with regards to the crypto business, which is itself actually viewed as new and advancing, so having a capable client support to depend on is essential, particularly when your own cash is included.

Partnered Brokers

Financial Mix is apparently associated with a few controlled intermediaries who offer great arrangements, however there is additionally talk that the improvement group is contained agents who are engaged with Bitcoin. This would not be astonishing assuming valid, however for the present, it stays just gossip.

Is Financial Mix Legitimate?

Up until this point, we couldn't discover proof that there is anything amiss with BitQH App, or that it is a trick. There are just sure client tributes, and the site guarantees that numerous individuals were effective with regards to bringing in rather nice measures of cash from the site.

In light of online audits and client tributes, the application has all the earmarks of being genuine and practical, when utilized effectively. We actually exhort moving toward it with alert and not gambling more cash than you can deal with losing, yet that is only a wellbeing safety measure that ought to be applied at whatever point you exchange computerized monetary forms or different resources.

One incredible motivation to utilize Financial Mix is the way that the application offers a demo account. This is an uncommon kind of record where you don't join the genuine, live market, but instead a reenacted one. You are allowed counterfeit cash with which you will work on exchanging.

On the off chance that you experience misfortunes, those are not genuine misfortunes, and the equivalent is valid about any increases. Generally, it is a decent spot to rehearse your way to deal with crypto exchanging and test various systems.

Many exchanging robots expect you to store a sizeable measure of cash before you can begin exchanging, which can go up to $1,000, and at times much more. BitQH App, then again, just expects you to store $250. You at that point utilize that cash to enter the live exchange mode, where you purchase and offer coins to benefit from their value shift.

Since most dealers can almost certainly store this sum, it is by and large viewed as that robots are entirely available and a decent path for new clients to enter the crypto business.

It can participate in quick exchanging

Perhaps the greatest blemish of human dealers is our powerlessness to assemble and handle information rapidly. We need to peruse the news, examine diagrams, and physically use devices to decide Bitcoin's value activity, which eases back us down, and the cost would already be able to begin changing horribly when we respond.

Financial Mix does everything in a flicker of an eye, and thusly, it can profit by every one of the arising openings. Putting resources into BTC when it is at $18k just to watch it flood to $42k is an enormous chance that comes once at regular intervals. Be that as it may, more modest ones are considerably more hard for people to misuse, while an application can do it easily

As well as handling information and responding quicker, it is likewise worth calling attention to that the broker does everything all alone. You should simply give it guidelines, like when to enter and when to leave, what hazard measures to apply and how much cash to utilize per exchange.

With these and comparative boundaries set up, you can leave it and approach your day, while the broker will continue entering and leaving positions and finishing exchanges completely all Financial Mix

https://www.financialmix.net/ https://www.instagram.com/financialmixapp/ https://twitter.com/FinancialMix https://www.pinterest.com/financialmixapp/ https://www.facebook.com/financialmix

[puddygeeks]

Wᴇ Cᴏᴍᴇ Rᴜɴɴɪɴɢ - Tʜᴇ 100 Bᴇʟʟᴀᴍʏ x OC - Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 20: Cʜᴀᴏs Iɴ Cᴀᴍᴘ

Masterlist

Episode: Day Trip

Rating: Mature

Summary: During her time in the Skybox, Indigo formed a precious friendship with fellow outcast Octavia Blake, the girl under the floor. At first they thought their departure from the oppression of the Ark was a blessing, but quickly came to rely on Indigo's keen survival instincts. The 100 struggle to meet the challenges of Earth whilst Bellamy strives to lead the wavering teenagers and his irresponsible attitude fuels constant conflict with Indigo. Their only shared interest is in protecting Octavia and Indigo beings to suspect that there is a deeper cause to Bellamy's seemingly irrational choices. As the consequences of his actions mount up around him, he finally begins to confide in her and she discovers more than she ever bargained for. 

Fandom: CW’s The 100

Pairing: OC x Bellamy Blake

LONG TERM ONGOING PROJECT :)

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

Warnings: Mature content. Non-consent, language, sex, self harm, suicide, anxiety, helplessness, torture, captivity/confinement, alcohol/drug use.

Chapter Twenty

Although it was crowded and the atmosphere was still tense from the storm, I was pleased to return to a solid structure for the night. Octavia and I bundled up some supplies in a corner and after some persuasion, she agreed to stop obsessively guarding the grounder and to actually try to get some sleep. It was hard for either of us to relax, especially when I saw Bellamy head up the ladder for his turn watching our prisoner as Octavia dozed on my shoulder. I was starting to feel the strain of worrying about the Blake siblings; any time I was busy with one of them I could almost guarantee that the other was getting into trouble. I barely managed a few brief cat naps throughout the night despite my exhaustion. Instead, I was one of the first up and about in camp working on repairs in the morning. 

In my time here I’d already become quite efficient at sewing and so I was quickly assigned to repairing the damaged tents. I had a brief cheeky visit from Jasper and Monty on their way back from their successful foraging adventure to offer me some nuts that they’d found. I declined the food, feeling too stressed to eat and I promised to join them for a proper meal later on. I settled into a quiet corner near the edge of camp to work and enjoyed the peace of the alone time. After spending time on the Ark living isolated in a cell, I realised that it was a challenge for me to adjust to the constant presence of so many people. I keep my mind from wandering over what trouble Bellamy and Octavia could have gotten into by now and instead reassured myself that both of them tend to make a big enough scene for me to notice. I spent a couple of relaxing hours sewing and watching the bustling activity of the camp as people woke and were assigned to various tasks. We’d managed to assemble a food line with people organising portions into neatly packed rations so that we could keep track of our supply levels.

I noticed several people heading over to the area where we’d been keeping prisoners and I watched their activity with interest. I assessed that they carried enough supplies to indicate that repairs needed to be done to the makeshift cells we’d created and I wondered where they would put the two attackers whilst they rebuilt. I continued sewing as I waited anxiously for someone to escort the two men past, but no such movement happened. After a while, more assistants arrived with shovels and two large sheets filled with a human shape were carried past me to the gate. I overheard the people who hauled them out discussing how glad they were that the storm had only killed the rapists of camp and I was relieved to hear that no one else had been hurt. I was conflicted on whether it was appropriate to feel no sadness at the death of two members of our camp, as I knew in my gut that I would have argued against killing them for their crimes. I decided to allow myself to feel relieved that the decision on what to do with them had been taken out of our hands and I tried not to feel guilty about it. Once I’d accumulated a pile of repairs, I made my way back into the fray and took them to add to the pile of fixed items that were waiting to be set back up in camp. As I organised the pile, Clarke approached me with a nervous manner and I struggled not to roll my eyes. 

“Hey Indigo, I couldn’t find you earlier. I don’t know if anyone’s told you yet but we’ve got video contact up and running with the Ark. They’re sending all the families in for a chat so if you’ve got anyone to contact-”

“Nope, my only family is down here.” I cut her off abruptly, not wanting to engage in personal conversation. I was honestly still frustrated with her for getting swept up in the torture last night, but I was too exhausted to confront her for her part in it right now. “Anyway, I’ll go back to the orphan corner. The Ark’s quite good at creating us, I’m sure it’ll be crowded in no time.” I spat coldly as I stormed away from her.

I returned to my sewing and tried not to be bitter as I watched people being called to the tent one by one for time with their families. I struggled not to picture my mother and when I failed, I imagined what she would look like now. My mind filled with images of her, the warm tone of her short auburn hair, her fair skin always a fawn white coated in hundreds of tiny amber freckles. It was one of the most beautiful, fascinating things about her to me, the little sporadic pattern on her skin that sadly never passed to me. I remembered the blue lagoon of her eyes, glistening with a multitude of hypnotising shades and if you paid enough attention, a miniscule ring of hazel right around the pupil. I saw them every time I looked in the mirror and it was still haunting for me even years later. It was only worsened by the fact that my eyes never sparkled like hers had in her happier years, in the memories of her that I cherished most desperately. Instead, mine were dulled and depthless, the same way hers looked after years of pain and suffering endured at the hands of the guard who destroyed both of our lives. The eyes that I inherited from my mother were a constant reminder of the state that she had been in the last time I ever saw her and I suspected it was a large cause of the self loathing I felt whenever I dared to look into a mirror. I was relieved to be pulled from my thoughts by the sound of footsteps nearby and I glanced up to see Clarke and Bellamy making their way out of camp. I casually approached them, trying not to show my concern and Bellamy seemed relieved as he saw me. 

“Hey, you heading out?” I asked with an interested look as I noticed the supplies they both carried.

“Yeah, the Ark mentioned some supplies nearby so we’re going to scout it out.” Clarke replied, whilst Bellamy watched me with a tense air about him that seemed to come from nowhere.

“Oh, well that’s promising. You sure you’re okay with just the two of you? I can back you up if needed?” I offered earnestly, but as Clarke opened her mouth to answer Bellamy abruptly cut her off.

“No I need you here.” He spoke firmly and I stared at him in confusion. He glanced over to Clarke reluctantly, then took my arm and walked me slightly further from her, lowering his voice. “Look, I appreciate you coming after me last night and I’ve been thinking about what you said. I will try to trust Octavia more, you have my word on that. But for now, I trust you. Can you keep an eye on her for me?” His expression was deeply serious, more so than the situation warranted and I felt like there was something more to his request that he wasn’t sharing with me.

“Of course I can.” I answered, considering him suspiciously. “Is there something else going on Bellamy?” I asked in a vain attempt to encourage him to be honest with me.

“No, I just…” He trailed off unconvincingly and I raised a brow at him. “I’m on edge with that grounder in camp. I’m trying to trust her not to do anything stupid, but if I’m honest, I’m expecting it. Just...tell me that you’ll keep her safe for me?” His eyes were strangely intense and he still gripped me tightly as he spoke.

“You know that I will.” I breathed with a confused tone, feeling nerves settling in my stomach as I assessed him. “So you just make sure that you come back safe, deal?” I replied, compelled to reassure myself that he would be coming back as I embraced the feeling that something was wrong. He didn’t answer me, turning to walk away without even a nod of acknowledgement. I grabbed his arm firmly to stop him from leaving. “Bellamy, I mean it. Be careful out there, please?” I added, my words quickly fading from assertive to pleading. He nodded reluctantly but it did nothing to relieve my fear. I watched him and Clarke make their way out of camp with a knot in my stomach and I had to force myself to return to the dropship instead of staying there to wait for their return.

As I entered the ship and searched around for Octavia, I wasn’t at all surprised to find her anxiously waiting on the second floor, under the hatch where the grounder was being held. I was walking toward her when Connor pushed past to bang on the hatch and yell up. 

“Hey Miller, Roma’s parents are waiting for you on the radio.” He called before turning on his heel to walk straight out without waiting to see if he had been heard.

My stomach lurched at the mention of her name but I tried to concentrate on the task at hand. From Connor’s words, it sounded like they were about to leave the grounder unguarded and I could already feel Octavia desperately staring at me. I diverted my path to avoid looking suspicious and fiddled with some supplies in an attempt to look busy. Fortunately Octavia understood my strange move and she quickly did the same on the other side of the space as we tried to look casual whilst Miller made his way down the ladder and stomped outside. Octavia immediately dashed to the ladder and I ran over to meet her. 

“Hey, Bellamy’s out of camp so I’ll try to keep the goons out of your hair. I’ll give you as long as I can but please don’t do anything reckless. I know you trust him and I’m on your side that this whole thing is wrong but you still need to be careful. Don’t let your guard down. Now go.” I rambled in a hurry, before practically pushing her up the ladder to speed her up. I knew in my gut that Bellamy would be furious with me if he knew what I’d just done, but our methods of protecting Octavia were different and I found that allowing her to make her own decisions and mistakes was working well for me so far. She was growing, which she needed to do in an environment like this and I maintained her trust. In my mind, it was most important that she always continued to trust me with her problems so that I could help when she got herself into trouble, instead of sneaking around behind my back like she did with Bellamy. I waited nervously on the spot whilst Octavia was upstairs and I expected to run into trouble at any moment. It wasn’t long at all until it came. Miller approached the ladder with a furious expression and I steeled myself for a conflict. 

“Miller, how were Roma’s parents? I can’t imagine that as an easy conversation to have. If it helps I can speak to them? I was with her when…” I trailed off, unsure of what else to say. I wasn’t even sure if what I’d offered would be of any help at all, and felt guilty for even trying to use it as a distraction.

“No Indigo, that wouldn’t help at all. Now get out of my way, I need to get back to guarding the piece of shit whose friends are killing us.” He spat, pushing past me. I jumped back in front of him to try to block him and he looked up at the hatch in frustration. “Oh goddammit, Octavia is up there again isn’t she? Will you two ever give it a fucking rest with getting in the way?” He growled and I shifted awkwardly. I was disappointed that I hadn’t been able to think of a better distraction and instead had to resort to reasoning with him.

“Come on Miller, she’s not doing any harm and Bellamy isn’t even here. She’s just treating him like a human being.” I answered in an attempt to diffuse the situation and I already felt in my gut that I was wasting my time as he viewed me with disgust.

“What about our people, the ones they killed? You think they treated them like fucking human beings?” He spat as he continued to try to get to the ladder, but I remained in front of him to block it.

“We don’t even know if he had anything to do with that. We don’t know anything about Earth, we didn’t even expect there to be people here! We can’t hold one man responsible.” I argued, trying to reason with him despite his growing anger. I couldn’t tell which of us would lose our temper first as he looked down on me and I felt my stomach turning in frustration.

“Get out of my fucking way Sloan! Bellamy isn’t here to shield you today, don’t fucking test me!” He growled, attempting to pull me out from the ladder but instead I instinctively pushed him away from me and held my ground.

In an explosion of anger he swung at me; his fist collided with my jaw and caused me to stumble back. True to my assurance to Bellamy that I could protect myself, I rammed into Miller, tackling him at his waist and splayed him out on the floor. I pulled my arm back to punch him but before I could complete the movement I was interrupted by frantic yelling as Jasper stumbled into the space. 

“Octavia! Indigo! Octavia!” His tone of blind panic caused me to let go of Miller and instead of continuing my assault, I jumped to my feet. As I did this, the hatch opened and Octavia frantically started climbing down.

“Jasper, what’s wrong?” I asked worriedly and as his gaze fell on me, he rushed over to my side. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see that Miller was back on his feet and that he was in the process of reaching up to violently pull Octavia from the ladder. I felt my temper combust inside my chest and I turned on my heel, throwing all of my weight behind the punch that met his face like a bulldozer. Miller collapsed onto the ground unconscious and I shook my hand with a grimace.

“Fuck, Indigo, that was extreme!” Octavia breathed as she viewed me with a hint of amusement and I shrugged back. “Jasper, are you alright?” She asked as she gently placed a comforting hand on him in concern.

“I...I think I’m going crazy.” He spat as he reached out with a desperate grip on her shoulders. “Or the grounders are here, or I’m going crazy!” His voice was frantic and terrified and I raised my brows in surprise. Octavia gently released herself from his grip and she began to lead him to the entrance to the dropship. 

“Okay, just slow down.” She breathed, encouraging him to match her relaxed pace. “Just tell me what you saw.” As they reached the entrance and gained a view of the camp, Jasper seemed to hyperfixate on one point with wide, horrified eyes. I approached them, standing at his other side from Octavia and I watched him closely. 

“Him!” He whispered, his voice trembling as he pointed to an empty spot. Although it was obvious to us that he was pointing at nothing, the conviction in which he stared out and pointed insistently caused me to become concerned.

“Jasper, there’s no one there.” Octavia replied firmly as she tried to take control of the situation. 

“He’s right there!” Jasper yelled wildly back, finally losing control of his panic and I jumped at the sudden change in his demeanor. “We have to run, we have to run, why isn’t anyone doing anything-” He grabbed Octavia and tried to pull her but she dug her heels into the ground in resistance. I grabbed his arm to keep him with us and he stared at me in shock.

“Jasper! Are you on something?” Octavia asked and was unable to keep the annoyance from her tone any longer.

“Stay calm with him Tavi. He might be having a trauma flashback.” I spoke softly and slowly, as Jasper watched me with an expression that showed that he wasn’t really seeing me. He turned back to face Octavia with a slightly calmer manner, but instead I could sense a hint of slurring in his words.

“I love you.” He stated, causing us both to raise our brows in surprise. “And I just want you to know that we’re all gonna die soon, okay? I love you.” He rushed his words but also tried to cram food into his mouth at the same time. Octavia grabbed his hand midway to his mouth and revealed the nuts that he and Monty had offered me earlier. 

“Is this all you’ve eaten today?” She questioned, fixing him with a serious expression as I watched with a feeling of dread as I recognised them.

“It is but who the hell cares now?” He breathed, waving his arms around in a dramatic fashion and I had to stifle a snigger at his out of character behaviour.

“You’re totally bombed.” She sighed, glancing over at me for assistance and I looked back at her with concern as I shook off my amusement.

“Him and Monty offered those to me this morning when they found them.” I clarified as I met her eyes and she looked back at me with relief. “How many other people in camp did they give them to?” I asked, glancing around with a knot in my gut and her eyes widened as she realised the implications.

“I don’t know but we need to find out, fast. For now we need to deal with him before he causes a panic.” Octavia whispered, indicating to Jasper who was now hyperventilating and causing quite a scene. She stepped outside by just a few steps and I had to grip his arm to keep him from following her. She picked up a fallen branch and returned just inside the ship to hand it to him purposefully. “Here buddy, take this.” She breathed and I sensed a hint of sarcasm in her voice despite her best efforts to conceal it.

“It’s a stick?” He questioned as he took it and stared at her in bewilderment.

“No, this is an anti grounder stick.” She argued in a forced tone and I struggled not to snort at her prosperous plan. “So as long as you hold this and you sit right here, grounders won't be able to see you. See?” She spoke softly and encouraged him to take a seat inside the dropship.

“Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll just stay right here.” Jasper nodded, settling into his seat and accepting her lie far easier than I’d anticipated. Octavia looked at me and rolled her eyes, and I had to stifle a giggle. I was sympathetic for Jasper; he’d been through so much since we got here that I thought he was doing incredibly well to still even be functioning.

“I’m gonna do the rounds of camp and just check no one else is freaking out.” I stated as I glanced out at the seemingly calm space anxiously and Octavia nodded in agreement.

“Good idea. You take one side, I’ll take the other and we’ll meet back here.” She answered and I smiled at her responsibility.

I stuck my head into multiple tents and everyone on my side seemed to still be their normal selves. From what I could tell, people were still efficiently working on their duties. After checking most of my side, I decided to find Monty and I hoped that he’d be in a better state than Jasper had gotten himself into. When I entered their tent, I found Monty laid flat out in a pile of sleeping bags and staring up at the ceiling of the tent with a fascinated expression. 

“Hey Monty, are you good in here?” I asked gently as I stepped properly into the space and surveyed him. He turned to face me with a dosy smile and widely dilated eyes. 

“Hey, it’s the pretty girl!” He answered cheerfully and I chuckled under my breath at his strange demeanour.

“So, I’ve just been chatting with Jasper and he was telling me about the nuts you found in the forest this morning.” I approached slowly and sat beside him. I was careful not to startle him after Jasper’s earlier panicky behaviour and worried that I could inadvertently spiral him into a similar state.

“Oh the nuts! Yeah, they’re super good, they’re so tasty, I think they might be the best thing I’ve eaten since I got here.” He raved, smiling widely at me. “You should make sure you get some.” He added and I knew that baiting him would be easier than I had anticipated.

“You know, I really want to try them, they sound amazing. But everyone liked them so much that no one will share with me.” I said coyly, and his face fell into a profoundly sad expression as he considered my words. I struggled not to snigger at his dramatic reactions.

“What?! That’s so greedy! I’ll share with you pretty girl.” He smiled, pulling a small supply of the nuts from his pocket and handing them to me without any resistance. “It’s not much, but those are all I have left.” He admitted and I was warmed by his kindness.

“Thanks Monty, you’re the best.” I replied, forcing a wide smile back at him in an attempt to not be suspicious. The effects of the nuts seemed to be different on Monty, maybe because he hadn’t endured quite as much trauma as Jasper, or maybe he was usually a chilled, happy drunk. I reflected on what he’d been arrested for, and decided I wouldn’t be surprised if the latter was the case. 

“Oh you’re welcome Indie! I’ll always share with you. You’re nice, and cool, and pretty. So pretty. Did you know that? Bellamy doesn’t deserve you.” He rambled quickly in a slurred fashion.I struggled not to laugh now, wrinkling up my nose as I smiled at him. 

“Well it’s a good thing that Bellamy doesn’t have me then, isn’t it.” I replied earnestly as I appreciated his kind words, even if they were caused by blatant intoxication. “You know what Monty, you’ve done so well today gathering these delicious treats that I think you’ve earned a break. Why don’t you take a nap?” I suggested encouragingly as I got to my feet.

“Yeah, a nap sounds great. I love naps.” He smiled as he shuffled himself into a comfortable position and quickly dozed off. I smiled at his peaceful form resting in a self hugging pose before I crept out of the tent. I made my way back to the dropship and found Octavia waiting for me. 

“Hey, just so you know Miller’s back up and being a dick as usual.” She groaned in annoyance and I rolled my eyes. “He went straight back up there to guard Lincoln-I mean the grounder.” She added before dropping her gaze to her feet.

“Please tell me you haven’t named him? He’s not a puppy and no you can’t keep him.” I stated firmly, with only a small hint of playfulness. I hoped for a laugh but instead she stared back at me in an awkward manner.

“No, that’s his name. He told me.” She lowered her voice to a whisper to divulge this information and I froze to the spot in shock. 

“You said he didn’t speak English?” I asked in a hiss as I felt unnerved by this revelation.

“I didn’t think he could, but turns out he can.” She replied casually and I got the impression that she didn’t understand the gravity of this discovery. I stared back at her in horror, as I remembered how much of the conversation between Bellamy and I had been in front of the prisoner. I desperately struggled to think whether I had said anything that could endanger Bellamy if it were to get out and felt my heart hammering as I considered it. 

“Jesus, Octavia, did you tell him anything?” I grilled her with more aggression than intended and she seemed to be confused as she stared back at me.

“No, of course not, he didn’t want to know anything. I just told him I was sorry about what happened.” She explained and I could tell that she was insulted in the way that she spoke. “How was your side of camp anyway? Any more freak outs?” She asked in a crude attempt at changing the topic. I sighed but allowed her to guide me, as the nuts situation was a more pressing issue.

“No, everyone’s pretty normal, except for Monty who’s totally baked. But I took what he has left so at least he’ll start coming down.” I answered in a matter of fact manner. “Your side?” I questioned nervously.

“No weirdness at all, maybe Jasper and Monty just ate too many?” She thought aloud and I shrugged back at her. I was hopeful that she was right, as I couldn’t imagine the chaos we’d be met with if these had made their way around camp.  “Raven and Finn haven’t come out of their little love den so they should be fine.” She added with a hint of bitterness and I fixed her with a scrutinising look. 

“Did you check them?” I asked, eying her suspiciously. She avoided my gaze, shifting awkwardly and I sighed deeply in disappointment. I understood why she didn’t want to be around Raven, but I trusted her to be more mature considering the circumstances. “Fine, I’ll deal with Raven. Don’t do anything whilst I’m gone.” I added as I stepped away from her. She cleared her throat and I paused to turn to face her again. “Unless...you already did something?” I asked hesitantly. She looked incredibly guilty now and was barely even facing my direction any longer. “Octavia, what did you do?” I hissed in annoyance. I knew her too well for her act to fool me and I could tell from her face that there was something she was trying to hide.

“Nothing!” She exclaimed defensively. I raised a brow at her and she quickly crumbled. “Nothing undeserved.” She added with a coy smile and I felt my stomach lurch at her wording. “I may have had a part in ensuring that Miller got his rations.” She smiled and I groaned loudly as I understood that she had drugged him with the nuts. “Look, I’m just saying, if the guards were too high to keep an eye on him then it would be easy for him to just accidentally escape.” She explained her logic and I stared at her in disbelief. 

“I just...what?” I stuttered weakly as I processed her words. “I know I agreed with you that he should never have been brought here, or tortured, and I have absolutely no intention of allowing anyone to execute him, but we can’t seriously be talking about letting him go?! That’s a huge risk Octavia, you don’t know him, what are you going to do if he comes back with an army?” I ranted as I felt the nerves brewing in my stomach. As I was in the middle of glaring at her, I realised that she was looking over my shoulder and I turned to see a commotion growing in the camp. It seemed that the effect of the nuts had simply taken a while to kick in as people were now starting to behave strangely all over the camp. “Shit, we’ve got bigger problems right now, I can’t talk to you about this just yet. I know you have drama with Raven and I get it, but Finn is injured and still very early in his recovery, so I need to make sure he’s not high as a kite and busting open his stitches because you dumped your responsibilities over a grudge. Stay here, and don’t do anything reckless whilst I deal with this, and we’ll talk about it when I get back.” I spoke quickly, allowing my tone to convey my stress before I rushed to Raven and Finn’s tent.

It was a struggle to even make it through the chaos of the camp. I was stopped several times by random people in varying states of confusion and panic. I struggled to part from each of them as I worried over reaching the person who I felt was most vulnerable. When the tent finally came into view, I could hear raised voices from inside. I quickened my pace to deal with the conflict and saw Monty stumbling out of the residence.

“Monty, what are you doing? I thought you were having a nap?” I asked frustratedly as I caught sight of him. I couldn’t believe that the one person I thought I’d dealt with was already back out and causing trouble. He turned to face me with an overly cheesy smile and I scrutinised him with an unimpressed manner. 

“Oh hey Indie! Well I was trying to have a nap but the tides kept interrupting me so I need to find the moon so that I can change the tide.” He explained in a manner that was so articulate that it was almost believable. I stifled a laugh as I assessed that even whilst drunk Monty was trying to solve problems and studying things in his scientific mind. I smiled at him fondly as I formed a plan to get him out of the way without having to scold him. 

“Oh, the moon?” I replied in a fascinated tone. “You know I just saw it heading into your tent, but if you go in there you’ll have to close your eyes so you don’t get blinded by it. So maybe lie down with your eyes closed whilst you talk to it.” I made up whatever I could think of on the spot and waited anxiously to see if Monty believed me. Although he was intoxicated, I doubted that he had become any less intelligent and I worried that he would see through me.

“You’re a genius!” He smiled eagerly and I let out a breath that I didn’t even realise I was holding. He gave me an exaggerated high five before running excitedly in the direction of his tent. Raven stepped out of her tent, pulling on her jacket and looked around. 

“What the hell is going on?” She asked as she surveyed the chaos that surrounded us with confusion.

“Monty and Jasper found some nuts earlier that seem to be hallucinogens. Everyone's losing their shit.” I explained, watching closely for any strange behaviour from her. “Did either of you eat any?” I asked to confirm that she wasn’t going to fool me as the rest of camp had.

“No, thank god.” She breathed, widening her eyes as someone ran past bare chested and waving their shirt in the air like a flag. “I was with Finn so didn’t collect any rations.” She replied, rubbing her head in a stressed manner. “Does the pressure ever stop here?” She groaned as she met my eyes with an exhausted face. I was surprised to find that her tone was the same as it had been before she brutally tortured the grounder and then tried to fight me.

“No, welcome to Earth, the bullshit is constant.” I spoke coldly, no longer able to bond with her as I had over Finn’s unconscious state. I couldn’t pretend that last night hadn’t happened and I didn’t have the time to deal with the aftermath just yet. “Now, we’ve got around 90 dellusional teenagers to keep alive, so we’re gonna need every set of hands we can get.” I requested and Raven sighed deeply, sticking her head back into the tent.

 “Scratch that, get out here.” She spoke into the tent before straightening back up. 

“Thank you. If you could start gathering any stragglers at the edge of the camp and bring them back in that would be great. Octavia and I will gather the ones near the dropship.” I instructed and Raven immediately nodded in agreement.

As I approached the dropship I witnessed Octavia creeping back in with supplies bundled in her arms. I broke into a jog to catch her up and I could tell that she hadn’t spotted me nearing her. I cleared my throat just before I fell into step beside her and she jumped in response.

“What are you doing?” I spoke firmly and she turned to face me like a deer caught in headlights. I studied the items that she was carrying and easily identified some clothes and rations. I surveyed her with a mixture of disappointment and disbelief. I’d barely been gone for ten minutes and I couldn’t believe that she’d made such a dramatic decision in that time. “I said we’d talk about this. Are you really sneaking around to do this behind my back?” I asked with a hurt tone as I met her eyes. For a moment, she looked genuinely remorseful, but she quickly flipped to defensive behaviour. 

“Oh right, of course.” She breathed, squinting at me with annoyance. “You say we’ll talk about it and you expect me to just sit and wait whilst our best chance of getting him out of here is passing us by?! We’re not going to have a better opportunity than this, ever!” She spat and I was surprised to find her pressuring me at such an impossible time.

“Yes, it’s our best chance to free him, but how do we know that freeing him is the right thing?” I asked and she rolled her eyes. I dropped to a scolding tone to try encourage her to realise the seriousness of the conversation and I felt more like I was parenting a bratty child than discussing something with my best friend. “It’s a risk Octavia, what will we do if he comes back with an army of grounders? Will you still feel so justified in your decision when they are killing us in front of you?” I pressed back, in an effort to make her understand the gravity of the decision we needed to make.

“That’s not going to happen! He saved my life!” She argued and I half expected her to stomp her feet as she spoke in an indignant tone.

“Don’t be fucking naive! You don’t know him!” I yelled back as I lost my temper with her ridiculous behaviour. “He may have saved you, but then he chained you to a wall like a fucking pet.” I jabbed and I saw the flicker of offence crossing her face.

“If I’m wrong and he has an army of grounders, they are going to come looking for him! If we let him go, maybe he’ll show us mercy in return.” She suggested and I scoffed at her. “You need to ask yourself this: when Bellamy comes back and we have to make a decision about what to do, how are you going to feel watching him get executed, knowing that you could have saved his life?” She reasoned and I paced around in an attempt to manage the stress that she was piling on me. I knew that we had little time to make a decision one way or another, but I couldn’t judge which option was the most sensible. After all of my time preaching about survival skills and being tactical, I didn't know the answer. “Indigo, sometimes you have to take a chance and have faith in people. I have faith in Lincoln, I can feel in my gut that this is the right thing to do. Now I’m just asking you to trust me.” I stared at her in uncertainty, and my recent words to Bellamy repeated in my mind, much to my frustration. If there was one thing I never wanted to be, it was a hypocrite.

“Fine, fine!” I spat as I snapped under the stress. “But this is on you, this is your choice. Don’t make me regret this!” I added as I jabbed a finger at her and she nodded back thankfully. “You get him out, I’ll keep the few sober people distracted.” I instructed as I tried to form a plan within the limited time constraints. “Come and find me when he’s gone.” I sighed, furious at her for putting me in this position. 

[tsarisfanfiction]

Costras del Corazón

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Teen Genre: Angst/Family Character: Law

What do you do when you find out something about a man who died thirteen years ago - something that might change everything you thought you knew about him - while trying to sort out what to do next with your life because you hadn't planned past the point you expected to die?

Law was happy to be back on the Polar Tang. While he was admittedly not free from his bizarre allies with approximately half of them now travelling as his guests, there were certain perks to the situation.

First off, he was in charge. The more sensible Straw Hats had looked to him for leadership when without their captain in Dressrosa (by which he means Nico Robin at least had the grace not to abandon him to the whims of Cavendish until he gave her the okay), but there was something satisfying about knowing that when he issued an order, it would be followed. There was no more fear of being overridden in his planning by something as simple as his fellow captain's hunger; while his crew were not afraid to voice their own opinions (he still remembered the dispute over their delay in entering the Grand Line, and let's not even start on convincing them to leave him alone on Punk Hazard with no back up), they at least still did whatever he ordered.

Secondly, and right now most importantly, he had his own room. It was a blissful paradise he had never quite managed to fully appreciate before his weeks travelling first on the Thousand Sunny and then, although not as torturous, on the Luffy-Senpai-Go (that was still a ridiculous name and he couldn't even begin to fathom how Mugiwara-ya had been able to stand that level of fanaticism aimed at him).

His own room. His own bed.

As much as he had planned to stick to the deck to keep watch on Caesar, the Straw Hats had had other ideas. Even if you excluded the obvious – their captain literally catapulting him into the men's quarters and onto a bunk – several other members of the crew had their own creative methods. It wasn't worth paying the extortionate fee that Nami-ya imposed for refusal and Nico-ya… well, he had been later informed by a tearfully sympathetic Robo-ya that he was not the first male to be on the receiving end of her inventive uses of her devil fruit when she wasn't immediately obeyed. At least Tony-ya's ridiculously cute kicked-reindeer face was only with the intention of persuading him to rest in the infirmary bed, away from the cacophony the sleeping male Straw Hats caused in their sleep.

Those were the only ones he could actively name, but Bone-ya had more than once played a lullaby that sent him to sleep without his consent. He could never prove it was intentional (even though it clearly was). That would not have been disastrous, except for the fact he always fell asleep on deck, and woke in some bunk or other in the men's cabin. This was where the act of conspiracies between the Straw Hats became clear, as if it hadn't already. For all that he was a walking medical miracle (and Law felt he was justified in his expertise on that particular subject), Bone-ya had no muscular mass to give him the strength to carry the tall individual that Law was. His bones were unsupported, and expectedly fragile, so it was clear that while a vital part of the plan, it was not him carrying the sleeping Law away from his guard post. That left Zoro-ya, Kuroashi-ya and Robo-ya as viable candidates. He dismissed Nose-ya for the terror the sniper clearly held for him. Tony-ya and Mugiwara-ya were not impossible, but he believed that Tony-ya would take him to the infirmary, and he liked to believe he would not be able to sleep through Mugiwara-ya's usual mode of transportation across the ship.

The point was, he was back on his own submarine, in his own room, in blissful silence. Three facts he swore never to take for granted again.

Especially with a guaranteed reunion with Mugiwara-ya on the horizon. He wasn't idealistic, but the fact was that somehow the insane teenage captain always seemed to beat the odds, especially as he had half his crew to return to (how could he possibly forget Marineford and the latent fallout from that?). Mugiwara-ya would return eventually, whatever Big Mom thought.

Still, for now he was going to take advantage of this blessed silence. His crew had orders not to disturb him unless in an emergency (by which he meant, and expressed, Kaido or any of his senior crew. Anything less could be dealt with by either Shachi, Penguin, Bepo or Jean Bart, depending on the situation).

Making sure his door was well and truly locked, he gently set Kikoku down on her stand before flopping with none of his usual elegance backwards onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. It was dark blue, matching the feathered jumper he owned. While the external panels of the Polar Tang were bright yellow, as well as some of the interior metal panelling, everything with insulation was either white (the infirmary and the infirmary only – Law had had enough of that particular colour) or some shade of blue. Blue worked nicely with the yellow, and more importantly had no immediately negative connotations. He didn't need his own ship triggering the residual PTSD he was more than aware he possessed.

He supposed it was a good a time as any to think about what had happened on Dressrosa. If nothing else, he needed to get a handle on his own mental state now that Doflamingo was out of the way, hopefully for good. At the time he'd been gunning for the bastard's death, but in retrospect, he was glad Mugiwara-ya hadn't dealt a fatal blow. His unexpected conversation with Sengoku had forcibly thrown new light on his situation.

Which was one of the things he needed to sort out.

Don't try and find a reason for someone's love. In retrospect, it was obvious. Love was instinctive – while he had to forcibly pull back his mental armour to admit it, he had never needed a reason to love his parents, or Lami. If he was brutally honest with himself, 'he's actually trying to save my life' was no reason to love Cora-san like he did, either.

If he had no reasons for his own love (and while he was at it, this seemed like a good time to remind himself that he loved his crew too, even if he wasn't as obvious about it as, say, Mugiwara-ya), then he should be able to accept that Cora-san had had no reason either. It wasn't exactly as if Law had given him many. He'd tried to kill him, then blackmailed him, and then spent the next six months of travelling being the most ungrateful brat it was possible to be. No, Cora-san had no reason to love him. But according to his memories, and Sengoku, he had.

It sounded so easy, when he laid it out in his head like that. Logical. If only his heart could accept what his brain was telling him. That Cora-san really could have loved the broken boy he was for no reason (while he was at it, this extended to his crew – what, exactly, had he done to earn their unshakable loyalty to the extent that not one of them had left while at Zou, despite the opportunity and everything he'd done).

He rolled over onto his front with a groan, burying his face in his pillow, and taking a moment to appreciate that it was his pillow, after so long. Law had not been one to feel pathetic notions like home-sickness since the first, and only, sleepover his classmates had organised and dragged him to when he was eight (he attributed that particular blip to the fact that Lami had come down with a cold that very day and his big brother instincts were screaming that he should be there with her, not awkwardly bundled in a sleeping bag in the corner of some classmate's bedroom watching the rest play games as he flicked through a medical journal two levels above what he was supposed to be reading at the time), but there was no denying that Kikoku, while an amazing weapon, was not such a brilliant pillow, and aside from the Straw Hat interventions she had been his only pillow since he'd disembarked on Punk Hazard all those months ago.

He almost hadn't come back to his pillow, his bed, his room. Let alone his ship or his crew, and there was more than a little guilt that came with that revelation. He didn't regret his actions on both Punk Hazard and Dressrosa, but the idea that his crew would have waited for him forever, if they had to, was sobering, and another revelation to add to the growing list.

Another revelation he should have realised years ago, but his obsession with defeating Doflamingo had overridden that sort of common sense.

And Doflamingo had nearly won. Had outsmarted Law at his own game because of the one ridiculous fact that no-one could have predicted, but Law still kicked himself for not anticipating it, if only because it fit so well.

Donquixote Doflamingo was a tenryubito. A fallen one, admittedly, but still one with enough sway he could get the newspapers to lie just to take down Law. He still didn't know how many members of the Family had known that particular tidbit. At the very least, it had not been openly discussed during the years he had been with them, and Baby 5 and Buffalo hadn't known then. They could never keep secrets from him (for him was a different matter entirely; he'd learnt the art of manipulation young).

Trebol had known. Vergo, too – hell, Vergo had even warned him, in his own twisted way. To that end, it was safe to assume Pica and Diamante were also aware, as his top executives. Law wondered if Cora-san had known. As the original Corazón, it was likel-

Law's blood ran cold.

Of course Cora-san had known. It would have been impossible for him not to have known that about his brother. Mainly because they were brothers and if Doflamingo was a former tenryubito, then that meant Cora-san was too.

He hadn't made the connection immediately. He should have done, fixated as he had been on the fact that Doflamingo had killed his own younger brother in cold blood. He'd told Mugiwara-ya, and probably several other people besides. His pitiful condition through much of Dressrosa had dulled his awareness more than he'd admitted, so who knew who else had overheard.

And yet, despite that, and despite being plainly told by Doflamingo what he was, he hadn't made the link.

He wasn't sure he was glad to have made it at all.

The tenryubito were cruel. He'd seen it on Saboady, at the auction house and even walking the streets. Never mind the fact that one of his own crew mates was a former tenryubito slave, although like the Sun Pirates in the past, he'd since had the brand covered by a creative and otherwise-unnecessarily extravagant tattoo of the Heart Pirates jolly roger. It had had to be as extravagant as it was to hide the hoof completely. Law's flag was not made for covering things up, unlike the Sun Pirates'.

Doflamingo had been a perfect example of a tenryubito. Cold, uncaring, and unbearably superior. He treated everyone outside of his Family as scum not even fit to dirty his unnecessarily pointy shoes, and even his own crew he was willing to cast aside if it came to it. If Law had to make a comparison, he'd say that they were the manservants. Of more use than trash, especially once trained, but inferior none the less. It was the attitude that made Law kick himself for not considering the possibility at all, despite its impossibility – he had sailed the Grand Line for three years now, he should know the impossible was simply par for the course on this sea.

Was Cora-san once like that? Law's stomach rolled uncomfortably, and he had to physically still himself while he regained enough control over his bodily functions not to vomit at the idea. The idea that Cora-san could be anything other than kind and loving to a fault was foreign and extremely unwelcome.

He pushed away his early memories of Cora-san with a scowl. Just because the klutz had acted cruel towards him, and the other children, didn't mean there was anything genuine behind the frown. He'd probably learnt those faces, that attitude, from his life in Marejois, but there was no way he'd ever done that for real.

Law decided it was best for his sanity if he stopped that train of thought right there before he started thinking the worst of Cora-san. The past didn't matter. Cora-san had saved his life, had taken him from hospital to hospital despite it being an exercise in futility-

Had spoken to the doctors in a manner that demanded obedience regardless of their personal feelings, and burnt down hospitals when he'd been disobeyed.

Law had found that touching, once. A sign of how far Cora-san was willing to go for him. A show of how much love the kind-hearted man held.

With his new revelation, it drew uncomfortable parallels to what he knew of tenryubito behaviour. An order, and excessive punishment if denied, just because they could.

You didn't need love to reach that level of indignity. Besides, he was certain the ability to love had been bred out of the tenryubito generations ago.

No. He refused to follow that line of thinking. If there was one thing he must not – could not – doubt, it was that Cora-san loved him. If he lost that conviction, then his crew would stand for nothing. Heart Pirates. His grinning jolly roger. Doflamingo had not been incorrect about the influence.

He shifted slightly, and froze as the movement brought his attention to the fact that his pillow – his beloved, never to be taken for granted again pillow – was damp.

It had not been damp when he had initially faceplanted it.

Plausible deniability could only get Law so far, so a single tattooed finger ran along the prominent bags below his eyes. The salty tear it picked up was unsurprising, but unwelcome.

He hadn't cried since Minion Island (tears of raw frustration and pain in Dressrosa did not count). Not since Cora-san had died (before that had been Cora-san saying all those things when he thought he was asleep, and then it was getting back to Flevance territory and that was still too raw so Law cut off his mental recollection then and there).

That now, thirteen years later, Cora-san was once again responsible for his tears did not escape him. It was always the ones you loved that hurt you the most, one way or another. Law was particularly aware of this (it was why he'd sent his crew away, to the elusive Zou and far far away from Doflamingo and his influences. If he lost the ones he loved a third time, he didn't think there'd be enough of him to even attempt to reassemble).

He had to trust in Cora-san. He had his memories, and while he could now see some aspects that had potentially stemmed from his social beginnings, Cora-san was too open, too klutzy, for it all to be an act.

He ruthlessly silenced the part of his brain – part that sounded a little too much like Doflamingo for comfort – that pointed out he'd been a successful Marine spy for at least as long as he'd known him.

He couldn't doubt Cora-san's motives. Not now.

Not ever.

It wasn't a watertight fix to his psyche. There were gaping holes that he'd only badly patched with worn tarpaulin and fraying ropes, but it would do for now. Cora-san had been a tenryubito. Cora-san had been an exception – kind and caring while his peers, his own brother, had continued their legacy of tyranny.

It didn't matter in the end. Cora-san was Cora-san and one day Law would have to truly analyse what that meant, what his saviour must have gone through and why it hadn't affected him in the same way as Doflamingo despite the fact that they probably went through it together.

One day was not now. He had other things to sort out.

Like the scabs Doflamingo had torn off with something as simple as lead bullets. Like the revelation that his revenge was over and he was still alive.

At least, his revenge should be over. Doflamingo was gone, defeated, and Cora-san was avenged (but not in a way that should unduly upset him, thanks to them not dealing a final, fatal blow). Law had focused on this revenge for so long – thirteen years, half his life and the entirety of the lifespan he'd never dared believe he'd have – that he felt he should still be at a loss.

Perhaps he would be, if he hadn't had his little revelation. If he hadn't let himself dwell on the edge of painful memories that had been supressed by his rage against Doflamingo.

But the rage was gone and the scabs had been torn off. Law had lived his life fuelled by revenge far too long to stop now. There was still the matter – the main matter – that he had involved himself with Doflamingo to achieve in the first place.

Flevance, the nobles that had fled, and the World Government that had used his home town for their own gain, and obliterated it once they could no longer profit.

The One Piece was a tempting target, sure. If he was honest, without his alliance with the Straw Hats – with Mugiwara-ya – he might have truly set his sights on it. The sole survivor of Flevance, becoming the Pirate King in a massive middle finger aimed at the World Government. There was definitely some appeal there, and there was no way he was letting that idiot Eustass-ya get his hands on it.

He might still head for it, just to make sure the red-headed menace didn't get it. But Law was no fool. There was only room for one Pirate King per generation, and it wouldn't be him. Somewhere along the line – he couldn't pinpoint the exact moment, but he was willing to bet the first time he truly felt the full force of Mugiwara-ya's haki that time on Dressrosa, when a single sandaled foot was the only thing between his face and Doflamingo was probably at least part of the lynchpin – he had fallen into Mugiwara-ya's pace.

He believed in Mugiwara-ya. Believed in him in a way he'd never been able to believe in anyone since Flevance burnt to the ground. Cora-san had come close, but there had always been the unspoken elephants in the room – a spy, a Marine, worked for the organisation that threw Law's life into chaos that first time, lies about health – that a young hurting Law couldn't quite push past.

There was nothing like that with Mugiwara-ya. He was straightforward and honest. Laughably so, for a pirate. He had no interest in planning, to the point that he would ignore anything that wasn't 'punch the problem repeatedly until it goes away' but in all his unpredictableness, he was predictable.

At least, there seemed to be a trick to it. Law hadn't worked out all the nuances yet – the other pirate had no right being so complex when he seemed so simple – but he was confident he had the main points identified. Loyalty. Trust. Empathy. Protectiveness.

He rubbed his right arm, over the stitches that held it in place while it finished healing (perhaps he should put it in a sling for a while, to reduce the stress, although that would worry his crew). Feigning death didn't mean he had been oblivious to Mugiwara-ya's reaction to its absence, let alone his presumed death.

It had taken more effort that he'd anticipated to stay limp and immobile while his observational haki picked up so many broiling emotions from his ally. At some point, perhaps as early as Punk Hazard itself, Mugiwara-ya had adopted him into his group of nakama. Nose-ya had confided in him, quietly after they'd set sail for Wano, that to be Mugiwara-ya's nakama did not mean you were part of his crew. Apparently they had other nakama, situated on many islands in both East Blue and the Grand Line, who Mugiwara-ya would do anything for.

It was said in the exact same tone Nose-ya had used when informing him of Mugiwara-ya's unusual definition of 'alliance', and Law found he didn't doubt him at all. Somehow, it was easier to accept his unwilling induction into Mugiwara-ya's nakama with this knowledge. Perhaps because he no longer had to fear he'd be dragged from his own crew by a rubbery limb and a too-large grin.

In retrospect, it had been irrational. Freedom was the most important thing in the world to Mugiwara-ya. He would never strip anyone of it, much less his own nakama.

On the topic of Mugiwara-ya, as well as his original topic of what he would do now, with the memories of Flevance surfacing in a way he hadn't allowed for years, a small recollection made itself known.

Mugiwara-ya had declared war on the World Government.

It wasn't as though he'd forgotten that little fact – that was not something one casually forgot, after all – but his attention had been aimed solely on the takedown of Doflamingo for the last two years, and much of the preceding ones.

Memories of a burning city had surfaced back when he'd first read that news, but he had ruthlessly quashed them, not needing the distraction when he was busy dealing with his other revenge.

But now that was over, and Flevance would no longer be compartmentalised into a neat locked chest in the corner of his mind. Lami, his parents, his classmates and the rest had gone unavenged for far too long.

Perhaps Mugiwara-ya's insistence that they were allies for far longer than just defeating Kaido wasn't such a bad thing after all. Together, they could bring the World Government to its knees.

Law's pillow had dried, and he smoothed out the wrinkles the moisture had left with the grin of a satisfied predator on his face.

Yes, that sounded like a plan.

[kinda-iconic]

I’m sorry I hurt you

Summary: A couple of days after the argument that caused Amy to leave, Adrian heads over to her old apartment with the hope that he can reconcile with her. After Lily gives in and allows him to enter, Adrian and Amy decide that, if they are to work out their differences, then they need to be honest with one another.

Pairing: Adrian Raines x MC

Author’s Note: I’m very sorry that this has taken so long for me to write; I’ve had quite a bit of part I and II written for some time, but due to personal reasons, I haven’t been able to work on this as often as I have wanted to. However, it’s finally finished - I cannot describe how grateful I am for your patience and guidance during this process; you’ve all been so kind and supportive.

Taglist: @nk-writes @queerchoicesblog @begging-for-kamilah @shelley-parah @bhavf @galaxyside-0 @galaxy-of-rosess @flyawayboo @octobereighth @katyagrayce @mangoruby @desiree-0816 @dr-brianna-casey-valentine @lovemychoices @hhiggs @flowerpowell @theclanless @iplaydrake @choicesfannatalie​ @adrianadmirer​ @krishu213​ @perriewinklenerdie​ @timmagicktoad​ @femmeshep​ @drakesensworld​ @mfackenthal​ @the-soot-sprite​ @whenyourheartskipsabeat​ @luckyferrero​ @emceesynonymroll​ @adrianrainesworld​ @omgjasminesimone​ @dadrianraines​ @msuhailey 

If you are new to this series, it might make it easier for you to follow the story if you start from the beginning. 

You are my Home (part I) (part II)

Guilt isn’t always a rational thing (part I) (part II)

Truth doesn’t always set you free 

Some things are best kept secret

Adrian stands outside the apartment door, his eyes never straying from his shoes as he prepares himself for the grueling ridicule that awaits him, his stomach twisting with nerves and anxiousness. This was not a new feeling for Adrian, for there had been many times that he had had to apologize for a wrongdoing on his part, but with Amy, this felt like a new experience entirely. He takes a deep breath, reaching up to adjust the lapels of his jacket before knocking on the door, holding his fist hesitantly in the air as he waits for any sign of movement on the other side.

He remains there for a minute, doing everything he can to avert his gaze from the entryway before a chirpy voice emanates from within the apartment, its volume growing louder as the figure draws closer to the door.

‘I won’t be a moment...hold on...’

Within seconds, he is greeted by a familiar face; the young woman glances at him, her brows narrowing in confusion and bewilderment as she rests her head against the lintel, eyeing him with intrigue.

‘Adrian?’ She looks past him, peering down the corridor to ensure that no one is privy to their conversation, ‘what are you doing here?’

‘Good evening, Lily; is...is Amy in?’ 

‘Amy?’ She pauses for a moment, a defeated sigh escaping her, ‘look, I know that you’re here to talk to her but...’ she lowers her gaze to the floor, ‘she doesn’t want to see you; not right now, anyway.’

‘Lily I... I just need to know that she’s alright.’

‘Well you could have just called for that!’ She exclaims, folding her arms across her chest, ‘she’s okay Adrian; a bit more exhausted than usual, but she’s otherwise alright.’

‘Exhausted?’ He pinches the bridge of his nose, exhaling with frustration, ‘you should have called for me...’

‘And how was I supposed to do that?’ She queries, glancing back over her shoulder before fixing him with a stern glare, ‘Amy specifically asked me to refrain from contacting you if it was about her...’ 

‘Forgive me for being intrusive Lily, but this is no longer just about her...’ he hesitates briefly, choosing his next few words with caution, ‘if she is experiencing complications with her health and well-being now then -’

‘The child is okay, Adrian; I called for the doctor today, and she said that Amy’s exhaustion was most likely caused by stress and...’ she watches him for a moment, soon taking note of his remorseful expression, ‘and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I really do, but...that stress was ultimately caused by you.’

‘I know...’

‘Then you understand why I can’t let you in,’ she lowers her gaze once more, a conflicted expression resting on her face, ‘listen I’m... I’m sorry, Adrian, but you know as well as anyone that my loyalty lies with her.’ 

‘Lily please...’

‘I can’t betray her trust like that, Adrian,’ she pauses for a moment, the conflict evident in her eyes, ‘I won’t do that to her...I’m sorry...’

‘Lily...’ his hand remains firmly on the wood, his foot embedded in the doorway, ‘please just...let me in to talk to her.’ 

‘She’s asleep; I don’t want to wake her unless absolutely necessary.’

‘Then I’ll wait until she’s awake,’ he speaks with determination, his eyes never leaving hers, ‘please Lily; you know as well as I that this matter needs to be settled before it escalates into something that neither Amy nor I desire.’

‘And what if it ends badly?’ She qualms, ‘what if she decides that she wants to call time on your relationship?’ 

‘Then I’ll respect her decision,’ he utters, his voice shaky yet confident, ‘but I would still do anything for her or the child.’

‘Of course you would; you love her,’ she remains silent for a minute, watching him with intrigue before making her mind up about something. ‘She’s probably not going to talk to me for a while if I do this, but...’ she opens the door completely, standing to the side as she gestures for him to enter, ‘come on in, I guess...’

Within seconds, Adrian is in the apartment, his eyes darting to the four corners of the room as he takes in his surroundings; the open-plan space is tidier than usual, and Adrian is able to pick up on a soft smell of honey and lemon carrying through the air from the living room, its sweet aroma causing Adrian to reminisce about the times that he had spent here with Amy. 

‘I really do appreciate this, Lily,’ he meets her with a grateful smile, ‘this means more than you know.’

‘Don’t thank me yet, Raines; I can’t exactly guarantee that this is going to go the way you want it to.’

‘I know,’ he nods in agreement, ‘but I truly am thankful that you opened the door; you went against your own judgment, and I won’t forget that.’

She waves her hand dismissively, shutting the door behind him.

‘Yeah… well, don’t make me regret it.’

He makes his way into the living room, following the scent back to its source; a lone candle stands in the middle of the coffee table, the wick just minutes away from burning out. He picks up the candle, running his fingers across the smooth wax before turning his attention back to her. ‘I can remember the day that Amy made these...’

‘I can too,’ she walks over to the cabinet, removing a bottle of red wine and two glasses from the rack, ‘for a hobby that usually consists of runny wax and a whole load of mess, she always manages to keep the place clean.’ She begins to pour the wine, a despondent sigh escaping her, ‘though I’d be lying if I didn’t find the process of candle-making rather interesting.’ 

‘I have to agree,’ he places the candle back on the table, ‘it’s been a while since she has dabbled with it.’

‘It has...’ she passes Adrian a glass, ‘but we both know that Amy’s current lack of interest in her hobbies isn’t exactly what you’re here for.’

‘I really am sorry for putting you in this situation.’

She shakes her head.

‘Don’t worry about it. I was bound to get involved somehow, and it’s not like I’m being the messenger for either of you.’

‘You would never have needed to if I hadn’t said something stupid.’

‘It was going to happen at some point; I’m just surprised that it took this long if I’m honest.’

He sighs defeatedly, taking a generous sip of his wine. ‘Now you sound like Kamilah...’

‘And what did she say about all of this?’

‘The same thing as you,’ he utters under his breath, ‘she said that she knew I was going to mess things up between Amy and I, as well as how I had been an idiot and lashed out at her over nothing.’ 

‘Well she did have a point...’ 

‘Thank you for the vote of confidence,’ he takes another sip, his eyes trained on the rim of his glass, ‘no, you’re right; I knew that I had it in me to be an idiot but... I never thought that I would be with Amy.’

‘She means a lot to you, huh?’

He chuckles slightly, ‘she means everything to me...’ he pauses for a moment, glancing in the direction of her old room, ‘more than anything in the world.’

‘Then you need to tell her that, and it needs to be sooner rather than later.’ 

‘She won’t talk to me, you said so yourself.’

She ponders over to him, placing her glass on the counter-top before taking a seat on the armrest of the chair beside him. She watches him curiously, crossing her arms over her chest.

‘She will, but not if you just stroll into her room like you own the place.’

‘You know I’d never be like that with her... but I’d be lying if I told you that I knew the best way to go about this.’

Lily nods her head, bringing her knees slowly to her chest. ‘I can go and speak to her if you’d like. I know it’s probably not what you initially had planned, but it might help if I told her what was going on; I’d also be giving her a choice as to whether or not she wanted to speak to you, rather than allowing you to walk in without her consent.’

‘You’d do that for me?’

‘Yes,’ she nudges him slightly, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder, ‘she may be my best mate, but you’re my friend too! I’d do anything to ensure her happiness, and she has found that happiness with you.’

‘I…’ he appears taken aback for a moment, ‘that was a very nice thing for you to say, Lily; thank you.’

‘Well I am known for being wise beyond my years.’

They sit in silence for a moment before Lily stands, turning her attention briefly back to Adrian.

‘I’m going to go and let her know that you’re here; I shouldn’t be long, maybe a minute or two,’ she pauses slightly, ‘but I need you to remember that I can’t force her to let you in, okay? If she doesn’t want to speak to you, then I have to respect her wishes.’

‘Of course; I understand.’

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

Lily makes her way down the corridor, her footsteps light and subtle. She arrives at Amy’s door, knocking softly before entering the room; the room is mostly dark, though the bed is illuminated by a dim light on the nightstand, its orange hue casting a golden glow on Amy’s figure as she sleeps, unaware of Lily’s presence. Knowing that she has failed to wake her, Lily clears her throat, the sound of her voice causing Amy to stir from her slumber.

‘Lily?’ She lifts her head slightly, her voice laden with sleepiness, ‘is…is that you?’

‘Hi sweetie,’ the door closes behind her with a soft click, ‘how are you feeling?’

She responds with a tired smile, burying her cheek into the pillows. ‘I’m alright…’ she blinks slowly, her smile faltering as she lifts herself upright, ‘I’ve slept through my alarm again, haven’t I?’

Lily shakes her head. She takes a seat on the bed beside her, tucking a strand of hair behind Amy’s ear.

‘You haven’t, no; Adrian gave you the week off, remember?’

Amy’s brows narrow as she tries to recall the memory of that conversation. ‘Y…yeah he did,’ she runs a timid hand through her hair, ‘of course he did… how could I forget?’ She gazes down at her stomach, her arms wrapping protectively around the bump. ‘Sorry I’m just…’ she smiles down at her abdomen, a soft chuckle escaping her, ‘I guess I have a bit of baby brain.’

Lily exhales giddily.

‘I’m sure I’ll get used to it. In fact, if I’m being honest, I haven’t really noticed any difference… besides the cravings, hormones and the swollen tummy.’

‘So the usual signs of pregnancy, then?’

Lily chuckles slightly.

‘Yeah I guess.’

Amy smiles warmly at her, reaching forward to adjust her blanket. She remains like that for a moment before continuing, her words spoken with a curious tone.

‘Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah! Yes everything’s…it’s great, really.’

Amy raises an eyebrow. ‘Lily,’ she pauses, straightening the creases in the duvet, ‘you’d tell me if something was wrong, right?’

‘Of course! You’re my best friend – I’d tell you anything and everything.’

‘Really?’

She meets Amy with a small smile and a brief nod, but her sincerity doesn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘You know I would, Amy…’

‘I’m sorry, Lily, but I… I don’t believe you.’

Lily looks at her for a moment, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. ‘I…’ she hesitates, ‘okay the…there is something that I’m keeping from you; it’s not that I don’t want to tell you but, at the same time it… it kinda is and I… I don’t know how to – ‘

‘Hey,’ Amy interjects her, taking a hold of her hand, ‘whatever it is, you can tell me. I’m not going to freak out or get angry at you; but if it’s something that I need to know, I’d appreciate it a lot more if you were honest with me.’

‘Okay…’ she mutters, ‘promise you won’t get mad?’

She nods.

‘Adrian’s urm…he’s here to speak to you.’

‘What? Lily I… I told you that I wasn’t ready to speak to him!’

‘I know that!’ She exclaims defensively, ‘It’s not like I contacted him behind your back; he just turned up and asked to see you. Listen I…I know it’s not my place to get involved, but he seems lost; he misses you and… and he wants you to come home.’

‘I don’t think I’m ready to talk to him. Not yet, anyway.’

‘It’s been nearly 5 days, Amy; if you’re not ready to face him after nearly a week, when will you be?’

She bites her lip slightly, glancing down at her hands as she struggles to find the words to say.

‘How is he?’

‘He’s hurting,’ she smiles sadly at her, ‘he really misses you.’

‘What did he say?’

‘That he had been an idiot, and that he feels awful about what happened.’

Amy sighs, bringing her knees a little closer to her belly as Lily drapes a comforting arm around her. She leans into Lily’s touch, nestling her face into her jumper. They remain like that for a moment, wrapped up in silence before Amy starts to speak, her voice soft and quiet.

‘Where is he now?’

‘He’s in the living room; he said that he understands if you’re not ready to talk to him, but he really wants to see you.’

‘Mmm...’ she nods, closing her eyes as she focuses on the sound of her heartbeat.

‘So?’ Lily looks down at her, ‘do you want me to let him in… or do I kick him out?’

Amy chuckles.

‘I’m going to have to talk to him at some point, so I guess I may as well start now.’

‘Atta girl!’ She claps her on the shoulder, ‘but are you certain that’s what you want to do?’

‘If he’s here, it makes sense to see him,’ Amy sighs, ‘otherwise he’s wasted his time.’

‘Okay… firstly, Adrian is a 200-year-old vampire, so he’s got an abundance of time… and secondly, I don’t think he’d see this as wasting his time; you mean a great deal to him.’

‘266.’

‘Huh?’

‘Adrian was born in 1753, so that’d make him 266, not 200.’

Amy smiles mischievously at her; Lily laughs, her arm constricting around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

‘Trust you to focus on the facts, eh?’ She squeezes her tightly before removing herself from the bed, ‘I’ll let him know that he can come in.’

‘Thank you.’

Lily pauses by the door, her hand hovering over the handle.

‘Do you want me to stay in the room? I don’t mind either way…’

‘I’ll be okay,’ her smile softens, ‘I think that this is something that I have to do alone…but thank you for offering; I really don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes.’

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

After conversing with Amy, Lily returns to the living room. Adrian sits pensively on the edge of the sofa, his hands cupped tightly beneath his chin as he stares blankly at the candle. At first, he doesn’t respond to her presence, but as she takes another step towards him, he is shaken from his trance-like state. He rises to his feet, nervously tucking his hands into his pockets.

‘What did she say?’ He takes a step towards her, ‘d…does she want to see me?’

She nods.

‘She said it’s okay for you to go in,’ she pauses, ‘I’m not going to lie, she wasn’t exactly thrilled that you had come over without letting either of us know beforehand…’

‘I understand,’ he removes his hands from his jacket, reaching down to adjust his cuff-links, ‘I know that I should have given you a warning, or even asked before I came over..’ he takes a deep breath before continuing, ‘but it’s been really hard, Lily; she hasn’t answered any of my calls or responded to my messages. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since she left; I’ve just been so worried about her and the baby, that I…’ he shakes his head, ‘I just couldn’t stay away any longer. I needed to see her for myself, if that makes sense.’

‘It does; Amy and the baby mean the world to you, so it’s understandable that you were concerned.’

‘I just feel as though I could have done more,’ he clenches his fist, his knuckles whitening, ‘if I hadn’t been so stupid and inconsiderate, I -’

‘You can’t keep wallowing in the past, Adrian,’ she interjects, ‘you’re here now, in this apartment. Amy is less than 100 feet away from you. Yes, it may be hard for you to forgive yourself for what happened, but doesn’t the fact that you’re here to see her prove to you that you’ve done as much as you could?’

He smiles sadly at her.

‘I guess there’s some truth to that.’

‘Some?’ She questions him with a surprised tone, ‘you’re here to apologize, aren’t you? That takes a lot of guts…’

‘You’re right,’ he relaxes slightly, ‘of course you are.’

‘I’m always right, Adrian; you should know that by now.’

He chuckles softly, glancing in the direction of Amy’s bedroom.

‘I better go in there before she starts to wonder where I am.’ He looks back at her, his eyes blanketed by emotion. ‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this, Lily. I am forever in your debt.’

‘Well you did save my life, so I think this makes us even,’ she pats him on the back of the shoulder, pushing him forward. ‘Now go and talk to her.’

He grants her a bashful smile before making his way down the corridor; his hands are shaking, and it isn’t long before he finds himself adjacent to Amy’s room. Within moments, he has opened the door. He stands in the doorway, his gaze falling upon the figure in the bed; Amy sits between the sheets, her brown doe-like eyes looking up at him as he slowly approaches her, her balayage hair cascading down her back and along her shoulders. 

He kneels beside her, placing a gentle hand on her forearm.

‘A…Amy?’

[lettucetacoboatsix]

Eating Ass: Yay! or nay

Anonymous asked:

It's me again: the kinky one. I want my partner to eat my ass. How do I tell him it's not gross?

Hello, my kinky friend!

Thanks for reaching out again! I am more than happy to respond to this message and provide an educational view on this topic, but I want to start with a brief conversation about consent. I am not saying you’ve done anything wrong, but there is a difference between educating someone and trying to convince someone to do something you want. If this is a hard limit for your partner, you must respect that. If your partner seems unsure and wants information and wants to make sure that their safety is guaranteed, please do what you can to make sure that they know they have every right to say no at any point. Be willing to hear “no” and understand that consent can only be given without any sort of coercion and ought to be given enthusiastically. It really is more fun that way. Bodies are weird and gross, and a lot of people consider this specific part of the body to be particularly taboo. Tabooty, if you will.

The technical term for “eating ass” is “analingus” (see also “rimming” and the colorfully named “tossing salad”).   Before anyone reading this says, “Ewwww! Gross!” I encourage you to keep an open mind. It absolutely may not be your thing, and that’s 100% okay. Then  again, if you’re comfortable with the idea and experimental, you might  find a new trick to add to your sexual repertoire. If the thought  makes you squirm in your seat, and not in a good way, then go ahead and click away—but if you’re even a little bit curious about bucal anal contact,   then stick around.  We’ll make that journey together. Can you imagine your current sex life  without any form of oral stimulation? Blowjobs are the subject of many  cringe-worthy 90s teen comedies. We have a song flooding our airwaves  right now that tells you to swipe your nose like a credit card. While we like to pretend that sexual liberation is a linear progression, that is far from the case. Oral sex of any kind used to be a “no-no” in polite society (especially from around the turn of the century until the 1960s), although it certainly still happened when that was the case. There was a time when it was   outlawed in most states, and it was considered a perversion. In fact, there are still sodomy laws on the books  in Florida, Georgia, Idaho,   Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,   North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina.  Some of these still include statutes regarding oral sex of any variety regardless of a participants genitalia or outward expression of gender. While it is rare that these laws are enforced, they still can be, especially for gay men. But if you go back far enough, like to Ancient Egypt, you might see that wearing lipstick was a sign that you were open to oral sex. Sexual practice is as varied as the human experience. It always has been.

Analingus is one of those sex acts that still remains in the  sexual dark ages, but it does seem to be coming back into the mainstream (see previously mentioned song about swiping your nose like a credit card). While we can probably credit “the gays” with this rimming Renaissance, the actual practice is documented in Middle English literature (see ”The Miller’s Tale” from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales) and while I can’t cite an example off the top of my head, I’m sure I could find a reference in Ancient Greek poetry or Roman graffiti. The point is it’s nothing new. People have been eating ass as long as it has felt good, and since our biology has remained relatively the same for 200,000 years or so, the cultural misgivings are far more recent. It’s time we brought that dark, forbidden kiss into the light (for those who  want to venture into that arena). While shame is necessary for the development of our internal moral compass, there should not be any  shame associated with any sexual act among any number of consenting adults—rimming included. Still, feeling some hesitation and even a little embarrassment about  rimming is normal, for that very reason—the anus is one  part of our body that we have internalized a great deal of shame about  in our culture. The prevailing cultural means to overcome that shame isn’t really fitting. Reading Everybody Poops to your partner is a very specific type of foreplay that will probably be counterproductive if you’re bringing this desire up for the first time.   It takes overcoming some of that to even entertain the  idea, let alone actually attempt it. You might want to try some other forms of anal play first—fingers or   toys—before you introduce the idea of anal oral contact. Since you’re asking, I’m guessing you have that experience, but your partner may not. Likewise, dear readers, if you’re actually curious about it, and not just reading this out of some morbid curiosity like someone slowing down at the scene of an accident,  you probably have already been involved in some sort of anal play. Sometimes people fall into this experience through a delightful  mishap—someone is going down on you, and—oops! The tongue slips down lower  than either of you expected, and you jump and moan and you both look  at each other like: “WTF! What was that?!” Things happen in the dark. If it feels good, and you’re partner’s okay with it, then make your inner Bob Ross proud with your happy accident. I want to reiterate here, If you’re interested in it, but your partner isn’t, let it go. One sex  act shouldn’t ever come between you, and who can enjoy something if they  know the other person isn’t enjoying themselves, too? But if you’re  both curious and interested, just not sure how to proceed, then talk  about it. Who wants to give? Who wants to receive? Sometimes it’s both  of you, sometimes it’s just one of you. Make sure to tell your partner why you enjoy it and what you get from the experience. If there are concerns about   hygiene, then read on, because I’m about to assuage them. The biggest fear with oral/anal contact is fecal matter and bacteria. That’s certainly understandable. A lot of people won’t put food that’s fallen on the floor in their mouths, so it makes sense. If you can get  past the psychological aspect of it, though, the reality is that with proper hygiene, there is very little danger of coming in contact with any sort of fecal matter.  A bit of a biology lesson: fecal matter is actually store above the rectum in the colon. It only moves into the rectum and out through the sphincter when you are defecating, or when you are ready to. There are only trace amounts that remain in the rectum or on the anus,  which can easily be washed away, and if you are looking for actual oral penetration of the anus, not even Gene Simmons’s tongue could make it to the colon. If you are really concerned, there are also things like enemas or anal douching that can help give that extra feeling of cleanliness, but do not overdo it. If you do choose to go this route, use clean water at a safe temperature. Over-douching can lead to a tear in the rectal lining. Infection is the real concern, here—the possibility of introducing bacteria  into our digestive tract from oral-anal contact. The dangerous bacteria  are e. coli, salmonella, intestinal parasites like giardia, and of  course viruses like Herpes and HIV. The good news is you can seriously minimize your risks. If  you are practicing safer sex and you know that  neither of you is HIV positive, has any STIs, and are free of parasites,   careful washing should be sufficient. You can shower together, which is always fun foreplay, anyway. One  technique I’ve learned is to fill the tub halfway, squat down, and engage in some manual stimulation. If you do feel like it’s necessary to use soap, use a mild soap like Dove. You don’t want to upset your microbiome. Press the pad of your finger gently against the tissue of the finger and move in gentle circular motions until you feel it begin to relax and welcome penetration. Turn your finger around a few  times, so the water washes away any residue in and around the  area. If you or your partner are still hesitant, you can use a dental dam (think of it like a condom for the mouth). You can  also approximate one of these using unlubricated condoms (don’t use any  lubricated ones or any with spermicide!) Now, on to the fun part—actually doing the thing. It helps to get relaxed. A  sensual massage from the giver to the receiver can only be helpful.  Whatever you can do to relax each other, do it. Find a position that is comfortable and allows access to the area in question. Popular positions include being on all fours, or standing and leaning over the bed/counter/arm of the couch for two reasons: it provides maximum exposure but still  allows for genital play, and it is the most vulnerable.  One of the turn-ons of rimming can be the surrender in it. You are  opening up parts of yourself to a lover that are generally not touched—not  only that, they have been culturally shunned and rejected. Many of our  associations with the anus are negative: that it is a “bad” part of the body. This is a way to give yourself wholly  and completely to your partner, and for your partner to accept you that  way as well. These positions also allow the receiver to hide their face in a  pillow at first to deal with any shame that comes up.

With any new sexual experience, I would encourage a session of after care. Check in with your partner. Tell them what feels good both in the moment, and afterward. Ask your partner how they are feeling now that they have shared that experience with you. Show them your appreciation through words of affirmation or gentle physical contact.

So, yeah, in general our meat suits are a little gross, but this is no more gross or shameful than anything else you can do with your body, but there are appropriate ways to have that conversation with your partner and maybe share a new experience together.

I hope this helps, friend!

[seven-oomen]

Hi, Ben!  Hope you had a good day, and are finally getting some rest!  So, did you know there are sites that let you design your own ugly Christmas sweaters?  May I present the one that Peter’s husbands get him for a party?  Except then the jokes on them because he won’t stop wearing it EVERYWHERE (at least I hope the image shows?  It saved in a different format on the site I used for this.)  Also, if you were ever to actually make a shirt of it, I would suggest an image from the reaction GIF you used for the alignment/meta anon.  Because, my god, that smirk.  XD  (Also, they are totally right.  And it is hilarious to me that the two officers of the law are firmly [and accurately] on the neutral side of that axis.  XD )

And I’m still screaming over that latest preview.  He just wants cuddles and ear scritches, Noah!  The saliva will dry, he’s just showing his appreciation for your support.  XD  And oh, yeah I knew he would eventually get better, it was more me trying to decide how quickly I was hoping for it to happen.  My “I want it asap because I hate seeing them in pain” side was warring with my “but nightmare creature cuddles would be adorbs, tho?” side (and they are).  :D  Also, terrible thought brought on by working at my job too long: since I don’t think that form has a tail like a wolf (I don’t really remember noticing one, at least?), do you think that since he can’t wag, he starts doing the wiggle-butt thing like boxers and pits tend to do?  (sorry, the thought occurred to me and I couldn’t make it stop.  XD )

Also, how dare you put the image of Noah and Chris cuddling in the window seat watching the snow fall while the listen to Peter singing ‘Hallelujah’ as he finishes the dishes, in my head?  Or them sitting at the table having coffee and joining him for the choruses?  Or Chris singing along with Tony Bennett or Harry Connick Jr on the local Christmas station?  Or Noah singing along with Chris Cornell’s version of Ave Maria (or doing a damn good impression at least [song is available on Spotify, btw, if you’ve not heard it])?  My body was not meant to hold this level of feral screaming, dude.  XD

For the undecided alignment (that don’t involve spoilers), I would vote LN for Danny and CG for John.  No specific reasons, that’s just what feels right at the moment.  And I’m curious if Noah and the kids have been in the vault at all, because Malia would be able to access it.

And, yes, I am all for mutual body positivity support among the boys.  I remember watching some BTS thing a few years back, and Linden said something about how everyone was “running around without their shirts on, and I just feel kinda old and jiggly”, and my very first thought was “Oh, please.  You may not be I’ve-had-nothing-but-chicken-for-a-week-and-haven’t-had-liquids-in-three-days ripped like the other guys, but in no way will you ever convince me you are actually out of shape in the slightest."  Also, I’m just picturing a scene where Noah accidentally(/on purpose…?) looms over Chris, who just has this moment of "oh, yeah, that’s right, you’re tall now” immediately followed by “well, I am learning a number of new things about myself right now"  XD  On a related note, how do you think he feels about dip kisses after realizing this?  Although, I do hope Noah does not sweep Chris off his feet in quite the same way Chris keeps doing to him.  XD

On an unrelated note, that post about Artoo and Luke about killed me dead.  XD  Artoo’s propensity for shenanigans and Luke’s pervading issues with impulse control is just a complete recipe for hilarious disaster and total ride-or-die besties.  It also reminded me of the post about how Rogue One leads into New Hope and Leia straight up lying right to her dad’s face.  Which, while hysterical, also makes me think about how many posts I see about how Leia is very much her father’s daughter, but almost never see any that point out how much Luke is his mother’s son.  I just have a LOT OF FEELINGS about this, okay?  But I will contain that rant.  XD  (Star Wars has been an on-again-off-again love for me since I was 9.  It’s pretty much a guaranteed way to get an emotional response out of me.  XD )

And I’m glad Mo doesn’t bother the tree or anything, though the box thing is pretty funny.  But he does seem to have that very cat-like tendency to want to completely block you from accessing the keyboard or pin you in place because he’s laying on you and you don’t want to disturb him, so I think he’s catting just fine.  XD  I mean, I have some friends who one of their cats is immune to scruffing (the downside of this is that he’s also almost completely feral still [he was a stray that stayed], and at one point he got a UTI and needed antibiotics.  I’m pretty sure my friend had to get like a falconing glove or something to get his pills in him.  XD )

That America being huge vs Europe being old thing also made me laugh because there was the section about the "long bus ride” that was like two hours, and all I could think about was how often we drove four hours both ways to visit my grandparents, and how in high school we took a trip to Canada, and I don’t remember the exact length of the bus ride up, but I know it was between twenty-three and twenty-eight hours.

And I hope you’re enjoying the Spiderman game, or will when you get to it!  As best I recall, everyone I know who has played it has had nothing but good things to say about it.  And wow, I’m rambling again.  Oh well.  Anyway, hope you’re doing well, and sending lots of good energy for finishing the chapter to your satisfaction (I know the readers certainly don’t mind the longer chapters.  :D )  Take care!  *Hugs!*

Oh my god I am absolutely in love with that sweater. Why is this not a thing XD 

And yeah, they definitely gift Peter a sweater like that, lbr. No other way about it. It definitely backfires when Peter wears it every single year and to everywhere. Including PT meetings and the parent/school board meetings? I forgot the American word for it, in Dutch we call it ouderraad. I know we talked about them before where Peter starts a war with the ‘Karen’ and completely wrecks her. And how all the other moms fall in love with the three DILFS.

But yeah, wears it everywhere and every year XD. 

Noah’s deputies, including Jordan, have definitely snapped pictures and post them on every computer desktop in the station. Including pictures of Noah’s reaction faces of that sweater.

Because you cannot convince me, that a bunch of cops, would not be dicks about this.

Chris is infinitely grateful that he does not have coworkers like that.

And god that is rather good smirk to go with that line XD. And yeah I guess it is funny. But it’s also true and that’s wow... XD 

I did a character alignment test for Peter and came out on CN so that is what I’m going to stick with in any itteration for him. 

As for the wiggle butt thing, he does not have a tail and I already had a very lengthy inner discussion with myself before getting this ask and I can tell you, he does wiggle butt like a boxer in this form. Imagine a fucking beast like that just wiggle butting with happiness. The image is so bizarre that I had to include it in the full moon chapter.

Chris is definitely learning a number of things about himself when he figures out Noah can now loom over him and press him against walls. Also Chris has a thing for being bound or pressed against objects and when Noah figures that one out, well, let’s say Peter certainly doesn’t mind watching those moments.

There’s also a revelation when Chris says; I can easily get out of these handcuffs and Noah translates it too; Good, that means that as long as you don’t try to, you’re consenting to whatever I’m doing to you. Deal? To which Chris, enthusiastically agrees. It’s a very fun game. Peter disagrees because they tend to lock him out during the games with some ash, although he is invited back in after they’re done and then the attention of two Omegas is fully on him. So I suppose he doesn’t mind too much.

Something that is both funny and sweet though is that through Ben, Noah discovers how much he misses having little kids running around. And he has a few moments of; oh god I want another kid realizations in this chapter.

Of course, considering their situation this isn’t the time and Noah more than realizes that. But it gets conversations about the future going for all three of them.

Oh and to answer your question, Malia has not been to the vault, but she and her siblings will get to see it. If that’s with dad or with Derek I haven’t decided yet. But they will end up at the vault in this story. Gotta get Peter’s necklace back.

So far I’ve had a bit of a rough day but by answering this and focusing on headcanons, and that freaking sweater!!!!, I feel a bit better. So thank you my friend, this helped me a lot <3. 

And I agree, Leia is just like her father but Luke is all Padme and people don’t talk about that enough. <3

Lots of Love from me and Mo!

[wadeillinois]

-- Event #2, 

“Shitty day for a funeral,” Red Johnson remarks to his eldest daughter, looking out onto the glistening grass of the empty field across from Wade United Methodist Church. Church services for Josie have just ended. It’s been raining most of the morning; the clouds have cleared for now, but the sky remains an ominous shade of grey, like any second the clouds could part, and a flood would come down from the heavens. Part of Red wishes it would; to him, it would be apropos. 

Of course, any day is a shitty day to bury your wife of forty-something years. Red can’t exactly remember how many years they were married; Josie was the memory between the two of them. Now, he’s got to remember things for himself… He’s lucky she’d been so meticulous about writing names, phone numbers, and addresses in her tiny little blue book, or he’d have had to put up posters to invite people to this goddamn travesty of an event. Part of him is still hoping no one will come. Then again, he knows very well Josie was well-adored in the town, and the majority of its residents will probably stop through to offer their condolences. Shouldn’t that be comforting? Maybe if she’d died of natural causes, but not with a murderer on the loose.

Next stop is Kane Funeral home. A bright white colonial with black shutters, and a red door. It’s picturesque, too well kept to be natural. It’s almost sad that some little family doesn’t call it home. No, it’s just another stop on the road of the dead-- the last one before they meet their final resting place. Josie’s body has sat, rotting as slowly as science can ensure, at the Allen County Coroner office for the last month after an extensive series of testing, podding, and poking. Every couple days they’d move her body from cold storage to the sterile, stainless steel examination table, and take another stab (quite literally) at figuring out exactly what happened to her. They’ve come up mostly empty-handed. At this point, no more information can come from Josie’s corpse, and if they do need it again, they can always exhume it. The Johnson family needs to lay her to rest. 

It’s an open-casket event; after all, Josie’s body was in nearly perfect condition when it was found, save for the gash that was hiding on the back of her head. Her body has been dressed, her most precious jewelry put on, and healthy smattering of the strongest makeup known to man has been applied with a delicate hand. When the mortician left her, she looked peaceful. Hands crossed, eyes closed firmly… as if she was just sleeping. And she is sleeping. Eternally. 

The casket is rolled carefully into the viewing room, and the flowers are arranged ahead of time. Josie’s body is left alone in the room for exactly forty-six minutes before the guests even begin to file in to say their final goodbyes to her. 

Naturally, Red, and his two daughters are the first to enter the viewing room. People have already begun showing up, gathering in the lobby of the funeral home, and preparing themselves for a whirlwind of emotion. 

No one expected this, though. 

Red, tears already pouring down his face (so much for a stiff upper lip), makes his way to the casket, truly prepared to see his wife for the last time. But when he reaches his final destination, all he sees is white silk. An empty casket. 

Shock sets in, and shock for Red Johnson means silence. He stumbles back slightly, towards his daughters, who are confused, immediately asking questions, almost afraid to go look for themselves. Red can only point to the casket, wondering if there’s been some type of mistake. They’re there at the right time, right? This is the right room, right? Where is she?

His eldest daughter musters up the courage to peek into the casket, and just as quickly as she's heading straight to find someone who can help them. Josie’s disappearing act part three. Jesus Christ. She pushes her way through the townspeople waiting in the lobby to get to the back office. Fred Kane, third generation funeral home director has seen some shit, but this? This is unbelievable. He’d been in that room exactly… fifty minutes ago now, and the body was just lying there just as it should have been. 

“Is this some kind of sick joke, Kane?” Red has moved past shock, and has gone straight into anger… as per usual. But wouldn’t you be angry, too? How could something like this happen? Was it negligence? A cruel prank? Something else?

There is no surveillance equipment in the funeral home. Can you imagine if there were? Cameras in every room watching people grieve? That’s a sick joke in itself. There’s no way to know exactly where Josie’s body has gone. Kane doesn’t have any answers. The mortician (only a woman of thirty years, or so) doesn’t have any answers. 

As per usual in Wade NO ONE has any answers. The waiting room just steps outside of the viewing room is slowly filling up with mourning Wadians, almost to the point where there’s no breathing room for anyone. Fred Kane has to come out of his office, and urge people to please wait outside on the lawn for the time being while last minute details are worked out. 

Everyone can sense there’s something strange going on, even for Wade. 

You, like everyone else, are now standing on the sprawling lawn of the Kane funeral home wondering what the hell is going on, and when you’re going to be able to go in, and say goodbye to Josie. 

After about twenty minutes of chatter, Fred Kane is standing in the doorway of the funeral home, practically just a shadow. He speaks from his perch, “Everyone should go home.”

Leave it to Josie to have a fucked up funeral. 

Event Prompts: 

WE WANT ANSWERS: Characters may consider trying to enter into the funeral home to figure out what’s going on (perhaps once it’s gotten dark). As stated previously, the Kane Funeral Home is a converted home; there are other entrances/windows towards the back of the house that may be accessed. There’s no guarantee any characters will discover anything but it’s the hunt that counts! Just try not to get caught by any workers, or members of the Kane family. 

The main blog may be able to interfere with threads of this nature. If you receive a message from the main blog regarding your thread, you will have to cease what you were doing, and abide by the main blog’s instructions. 

This could include: simply being kicked out by the Kane family, the Wade Police Department becoming involved, allowing your characters to uncover a clue, etc. 

Threads may continue after moderator intervention, but must keep in line with what the moderator has determined to happen. 

No real punishment/harm will come to your character without your consent. This is just a fun way to make the game a little more interactive. 

DRINKING OUR SORROWS AWAY: Some townspeople will choose wisely, and leave the Kane Funeral Home with their unanswered questions in tow. A good option for those still wearing black is to drown their sorrows at the Conifer Lounge. It’s Karaoke Saturday, and given the circumstances Fucking Hipster Bullshit has elected to begin the festivities early. Dollar drafts are also a thing. So go get drunk. Sing one for Josie. 

MEET ME AT THE PARK: Other Wadians may ban together, and move their conversation over to the Wade Recreation Center. Even though it’s likely raining again (not to mention that it’s probably getting dark), some suspicious individuals may elect to converse about all of the oddities that have been taking place in Wade as of late at the park. Rumors of the Mayor’s Letter may spread during conversations that take place here. Henry Gregory may also be brought up. Citizens are encouraged to start thinking deeper. Sure, there’s a dead old lady to worry about, but is there something deeper happening, too? 

Characters are not limited to these three prompts, and may do whatever they’d like in the advent of Josie’s funeral being cancelled (postponed?), these are simply suggestions to get the ball rolling. 

Have fun, attempt to interact with those you have not, and happy writing! Threads for this event may commence immediately, and should be wrapped up in about five days (04/30). 

Other threads should continue as normal, and all interactions do not need to revolve around the event at all!

[iphoenixrising]

Where have you gone?? Please do one of these for me babe. 1. Continuing with mer Tim. 2. More alpha Tim. 3. Jealous omega Tim when Dick shows another omega too much affection.

ears.

BUT.

On to other things than my terrible obsession.

So, number 2 might be in the works for later on and Number 3 kind of doesn’t appeal to me, so maybe a last little drab from that mer au thing, yeah? I’ll pick it up from here. But you may want to read this one (NSFW) and this one.

NOTE: It can be a little squick with a bit of dub-con in the previous installments, so be warned.

Waking up on Tam’s couch wasn’t really that out of place in his life because he’s crashed here more than once, during research projects in grad school, during late night Uno frenzies, during gallon of Häagen Dazs nights when the blind dates were awful and they lamented how old they were getting.

It was familiar to open his eyes to her quaint coffee table and curtains, her flat-screen off to the side with his old N64 hooked up to one of the channels.

It was familiar to have the soft throw from the back of the couch cocooning him because blanket burritos were seriously the way to go.

The real crux of it all is feeling the shift in his abdomen, something soft, something so real, that he comes awake fast and furious, fumbling to get his arms out of the burrito.

“Shh, shh. S’ okay. Yer okay, baby.”

The voice from behind him, jarring since he’s dazed from a drugged sleep, disoriented because he knows that voice–

“Wh-what?! How–how?!” Is about all he’s got when the full-body jerk made him lose his balance and promptly fall off the couch, flailing hands and a sore ass to boot.

The one with green flecks in his eyes moves around the couch to where he’s trying to get free of the blanket and get the fuck out of here.

“S’ all right, pretty baby, yeah?” There’s a hand out, not reaching for him (yet), and when the former merman takes a small step forward, Tim is scrambling back until he hits the living room wall, one arm protectively around Minnow in his belly.

“Get-get back! How the hell are you even here? Where’s your tail?! Are you seriously telling me you speak English?!”

Jay blinks slowly at him, like he’s translating in his head while those eyes take in every detail of their beautiful mate. After several weeks in Gotham learning about land-walkers and their mate’s culture, he’s been bordering on desperate for this male, their male. When they should have been caring for him, seeing to his every need, massaging him when the young started weighing on him, holding him close and cuddling him, all the things good mates should do for their carrier.

Seeing him being…touched by another, a rival, brought out all the protective instincts in both him and Dickie in the worst way. The fact their mate, their Tim, is shrinking away from him, wide-eyed and terrified, is the only thing stopping him from filling his arms, burying his face, palming the young in that perfect belly like he wants, needs to.

“Wh-where’s Tam? Tell me you didn’t do anything to Tam?!”

Tim’s legs are weak but he braces a hand against the wall and wobbly-legs it for a second before he’s standing.

“Heyheyhey, pretty,” because Jay sees the panic, the gasping breath, their mate’s face white as a sheet, his legs trembling, threatening to spill him back onto the floor, “gotcha calm down, you feel me, honey? Yer safe. Yer Tam is safe, she’s making Dickie more coffee ‘cause he figured out how much he likes it.”

“C-coffee?” Tim breathes out desperately, needing to latch on to something here.

“You know you only get decaf! And you, Fish Face, step it the hell back. Right. Now.”

Tam has no problem shoving the merman back with an impatient hand and has a glorious mug of decaf coffee. It’s in no way a substitute for the real thing, but it still smells similar enough that he’s going to thank all the Gods out there for this.

“We also brought food for you!” The other merman, the one he remembers so vividly speaking in a sing-song language, laughter like tinkling bells echoing in the underwater cove where they kept him, is right over Tam’s shoulder, carrying a tray with some fruit on it and–

raw fish?

He’s sensing a whole lot of nope here, but finds it strange he’s not getting nauseous from the smell alone.

Tam steers him back to the couch, bracing him while she glares at Jay and Dick when the mermen can’t help but reach out to touch, to brace his elbows to help ease him down.

Tam places the warm mug between his cold hands, rubbing his forearms while her glare of doom makes the two pout but agreeably move to the other side of the couch further away, giving him at least the illusion of space. Their eyes never leave him, are soft and fond one second, then intense the next when he absently rubs his little baby bump during Tam’s rendition of the events.

She flails when she describes slamming on the brakes the second her headlights hit the three of them and smirks triumphantly when she describes the look on Ra’s al Ghul’s face when the police took him away in the back of a squad car.

Through it, the two mermen ease slyly closer, moving like water, even without the tails, easy and flowing until they’re sitting on Tam’s coffee table, barely two feet from him, chins in hand, watching him with dreamy expressions.

(The same ones from when they spoke softly, cooing at him before the next round...)

His mug is empty and he feels a little more lucid even if it’s decaf.

Tam holds his free hand supportively when they both can deal with the fairytales sitting across from him–

(when did the coffee table get that close?)

“And, I’ve been talking to your literal baby daddies here. About a lot of things. Like, the importance of consent.”

He has to roll his lips so he doesn’t smile because if he could have been not drugged during that conversation, it would have been incredible to see Tam read these two the riot act.

Still, it’s nice to see the them look contrite.

“We went to our clan,” Dick explains gently, tentatively reaching out to hold one of his hands in both bigger, warmer palms, “and told them…we’d lost you. That we needed to find you as soon as possible.”

“Needed ta be by yer side, Sweets. Take care a’ ya, n’ provide. We ain’t some shitty mates what gonna breed ya up n’ just leave ya. That ain’t our way, you feel me, baby?”

“So…our clan gave us a sprinkle of magic we needed to walk with you on land, be with you like we are meant to be. When we mated you, Tim, we mated you no matter what, even if you needed to come back to the surface.”

Jay’s eyes are warm, “knew it might come down ta followin’ ya up here. S’okay. Knew what we were gettin’ inta.”

Dick nods gently, smiling at him, the same smile Tim remembers from the cove, something fond and sweet right before gentle kisses as the front of a slick, slithering body pressed wetly against Tim’s back, molded to him.

“We took us some time gettin’ ta know how ya land walkers live while’s we were on yer trail,” and Jay gently lays a hand on his knees, a thrill running up his leg, his body remembering those hands, too. “Wanted ta know s’ much about ya as we could.”

“We understand more about your culture now, Tim,” Dick squeezes his hand and grimaces, “and we get why you-you left. We mated you without asking and getting your permission–”

“I had a tail, and I’m–I’m pregnant! Of course I freaked out. Human men can't get pregnant!”

“For our people, we all feel the pull of the mating season. We did not know humans do not go through the same kind of heat. Everything we observed from you indicated you were feeling the mating frenzy, but we were wrong, we were very wrong, and we are sorry.”

“We want ta do whatever ya need ta make it right, Timmy,” Jay squeezes his hand. “Now that we know land walkers don’t carry young like we do, yer gonna need us when it’s time ta birth th’ young.”

“And we…we don’t want to leave you alone. We want to be with you if you will allow it.”

And Tim’s at a loss, looking helplessly from one merman to another, his brain working on how, if, there was any way he could believe in this, if there was any way his insane life could get even more crazy.

“S’been a fucked up night fer ya, baby, so’s ya ain’t gotta answer us now, you feel me? Ya need ta rest n’ eat, need ta be safe.”

And Tim sees how those eyes roll down to his swollen belly, has a moment when his breath catches at it, that soft, gentle look.

“But, we aren’t just going to leave. I promise. Now that we’ve found you, we’re going to protect you and the young. We won’t have to intrude on your life to protect you…if that’s what you decide you want.” The hands holding his squeeze gently, encouragingly. “Now that we understand your culture, we can understand why you might not.”

“But,” and the taller of the two leans forward a little, thumb rubbing soothing circles on Tim’s knee, “we wanna ask ya ta at least hear us out. Think ‘bout just giving us a chance. Let us prove ourselves ta ya, Timmy. Please.”

“Please,” the other merman echoes, also leaning forward, sounding just as desperate, just as needy.

His eyes wide and heart pounding, the little flutters against his belly, Tam holds one hand tight while the merman holds the other. His thoughts are racing, one into another, wondering if this could be real after all, if his solitary life with the ocean could have turned into these legendary creatures choosing him as their…mate?

He’s helplessly torn between running for the hills, somewhere they’ll never find him, somewhere far away from open water, and…and giving them the chance they’re asking for.

No promises or guarantees, maybe just long enough for them to help him through the birth if he’s being realistic, but–but forever?

Tim glances over at Tam’s neutral expression, his conflict in his eyes, in every line of his body. He looks back to the two mermen-turned-human and the absolutely hopeful faces begging him for so many things, so many things he doesn’t know if he can give.

“I…I don’t know,” is as honest as he can be, “I mean…I don’t even know your names, how can you even ask me to trust you?”

“M’ name translates ta Jason, baby. Ya can call me Jay if ya like it.” The taller of the two, the one with green flecks in his blue eyes, gives him a crooked smile that’s unfairly attractive, reminds him of being held against this merman’s bare chest between rounds, of that same smile while a hand cards oh so gently through his hair. The soft, whispered words in the same deep baritone making him shiver and this merman, Jay, holding him closer as a natural reaction.

Tim’s mouth goes a little dry with those soft moments, of fondness and care, of them not trying to hurt him, of them…taking care of him in their own way.

(Pomacanthus paru mate for life, defend their offspring and territories…)

“I’m Richard, but some land-walkers called me Dick instead,” the hands still holding his are rubbing gently, absently at his wrist, instinctively making the stiff muscles in his back ease just a little, so he can slump and take his other hand back from Tam to rub his trembling belly. “And your wonderful friend, Tam, told us you are Tim. Timothy Jackson Drake.”

“Yes…yes I. Well, I mean, I’m a Doctor of Oceanic Studies at the University, so I spent a lot of time close to where you found me. Not-not for much longer because I’ve accepted a research grant, but…I–I,” and he stutters on it, makes himself think of this pragmatically, “I’m going to move. If you’re serious about following, then…then you’ll have to go to California, make sure I don’t get taken by any other semivir marinus, I guess.”

To his credit, Tam actually snorts, and the two–

(Jay and Dick and it’s absolutely insane how giving them names makes it that much more real, how it’s getting clearer, the last four weeks spent with them…)

–perk up.

“You won’t regret this,” Dick says hurriedly, “I promise, you will not, Timmy.” Without letting go of his hand, the merman effortlessly slides off the coffee table, kneels right by Tim’s leg, looking up at him with the most beautiful smile.

(So, so unfair. Too late, Dick, he’s already regretting this.)

Jay follows suit, spreading his knees to accommodate Tim’s feet, pressing very impressively sculpted abs against his legs.

“Gonna prove it ta ya, baby. Gonna be whatever ya need, yeah?” And it’s gentle, slow, Jay giving him plenty of time to bat away the palm easing on top of his, spanning some of his big belly, their fingers overlapping. Jay makes a soft gasp when the tips of his longer fingers touch the subtle shifting of the baby moving.

“We have learned so much about your world, and we will learn more so we can properly take care of you,” Dick croons gently, absently freeing one hand to pull the plate of fruit and fish from the coffee table behind him, hold it so Jay can take a ripe strawberry and bring it up to Tim’s mouth.

He sighs, looking down at those adoring eyes. Tim gives up the ghost–

–and opens his mouth.

**

Epilogue

San Diego is wonderful this time of year.

He’s leading a small research team at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, just a few grad students at Giddings Lab. His next book is set to come out this March and the research article from this study is already hitting Oceanographic next month. The lab life was fine up to hide the very noticeable baby bump. Soon after the birth, he was back out on schooners again, playing at wearing diving gear, gathering more data sets.

It’s exactly the change he needed.

Dick has four shows a day at Sea World San Diego, and Jay loves being a trainer. The two of them put on the best shows the amusement park has ever had; they draw record-breaking crowds and have the time of their lives.

In the evenings, after they eat and have the usual necessary cuddle pile (because those two still stay close to him, dote on him, can’t help but run fingers through his hair, and steal chaste kisses whenever they possibly can get away with it– even five years after they followed him to California), they take Hallie and Zarya down to the secluded Coves below their bungalow to swim. When the magic shells glow for them, give them their tails, the small family swims out in the deep, deep waters, playing tag in the waves, and talking to different species.

Hallie has green flecks in her blue eyes, and Zarya is a cuddle-machine. They’re pre-school playmates love them both, and the shenanigans their little minnows get into is nothing short of hilarious.

Tam is resolutely their favorite auntie, and spoils them with day trips out to have a “spa day” whenever she can nab them away from their fathers.

She always has their back with the girls when the next season starts and all three of them feel the pull to mate.

(This time, he has a plan and very smartly modified birth control…you know, for legendary creatures and shit.)

They live. They love, and if anyone who knew all the secrets would ask Tim Drake whether or not he would take it all back, not go out into Gotham Harbor that fateful day–

The doctor would look at his beautiful girls, his grinning mates, would look at all the pictures on their walls and down their hallway, would shake his head at rumpled beds, and nostalgically touch the remnants of the mermaid-themed crib sets. He would remember holding two wiggling babies in his arms after hours of labor, both his mates by his side coaching him, holding his hands, praying for him to their sea gods. He would remember the blossom in his chest, the pure and adulterated love for these little, helpless babies blinking blind eyes up at him in their first few moments of life.

He would remember Jay and Dick weeping, clutching him in their arms, helping him support their daughters, kissing his hair and his face, thanking him for giving them these beautiful miracles.

He would remember five years of arguments and explanations, of negotiations and understanding, of making a life together.

On land and in the sea.

And would he give all this up to go back to his lonely existence, worshipping at the altar of coffee and science, living his work more than his life?

Nope.

This fairytale? Is worth every moment.

[thenuancedmillennial]

“Independence” Day

       Today, on “Independence Day” of the year 2020, the United States is in dire need of a time of reflection more than a time of mostly misunderstood celebration. What does the United States celebrate on this day? Yes, it is “Independence Day” in a manor of speaking. Today marks the anniversary of the day the (then 13) United States declared their independence from the rule of Great Britain by having the representatives of the 13 States sign the Declaration of Independence. There were several reasons for this separation, and many of them were listed in the celebrated document itself. I wonder how many people who are out grilling with their loved ones have read the document. I say this humbly, as I realized before writing this that I haven’t read it since I was in school and remembered very little of it until now. I think all citizens of this country should read the documents on which it was founded, but for the purpose of this writing, I will include pieces of the document that are particularly poignant to the events we are experiencing today. I should also state for the record that I am not a historian, or an expert on political matters in any way. I do, however, care greatly about people and want very badly to have faith in the country in which I was born and raised. I want to believe that this is truly the land of opportunity and great equality that I was always told it was. I seek knowledge and wisdom of the past for my own sake, and I am sharing it with whomever may consider it valuable. May the facts always reveal themselves from inside the truths of many.

      “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

      This passage could be and has been interpreted several ways to serve different ends. To me, it only states that the rights of people cannot be given and taken away by a government because they are granted by nature and god. This prefaces the list of reasons for declaring independence by stating that it is their right to do so with or without the permission of the current king. It is almost as if the founders are forcing the king to recognize that their life matters regardless of the fact that they aren’t being respected in such a way. This interpretation is bolstered by the following sentence – the first half of which, most Americans can proudly quote.

     “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

     I can forgive the founders for the use of the word “men” here which distinctly leaves women out of the conversation. I can personally accept that the cultural biases of the time blinded them to the hypocrisy of that statement, but I cannot accept that 244 years later, women are still not guaranteed equal rights under the constitution. Even more egregious is the fact that black slaves apparently weren’t included in this either, regardless of gender. Were these men not also created by the same (purposefully vague) creator? Once again, I fully understand the cultural context of the time, but to write down a statement in such stark contrast to the morals of the nation you are forming is too much to accept even in rose colored hindsight. Considering that the primary author of this document was a slave owner himself and that without the slave-built southern colonies’ support, the unification of the new nation would never have been feasible, I will once again forgive the oversight. If I could say with a clear conscience that black and other minority citizens today were treated as having the same inalienable rights as their white counterparts, then the racism of the past would not be nearly as poignant.

     If peoples’ rights are inherent, then where does the power of a government come from and why do we need it? After all, the colonies weren’t declaring independence to pursue anarchy. They are forming a government that will have new powers and responsibilities.

     “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”

     This statement may “hit differently” with people of today because we don’t recall consenting to this government. Maybe we voted in the last election, but that’s not really consenting to the whole system as much as just trying to make it the most tolerable version of the options on the menu. The last question I will pose today is this: if the government derives its power from the consent of its people, and this group of citizens have not personally consented to this government, why does it still govern our daily lives? With that, I will also leave you with a final passage from the Declaration of Independence to think about while trying to answer that question.

     “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

[emma-nation]

In My Veins - KamilahxMC Fanfiction (Chapter 3)

Summary: Inspired by Lovestruck’s “Havenfall is For Lovers” (Antonio). Amy is a regular, small-town girl looking for her first job in New York City. When she gets kidnapped by the powerful CEO, Kamilah Sayeed, she’ll have to discover her true goals… before it’s too late.

Genre: Romance

Rating: T

Notes:

- As promised, I’ll keep updating this fic - English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes - This fanfic is slightly inspired by Lovestruck’s story Havenfall Is For Lovers - Antonio, but I intend to make it more interesting and steamier too :P

- I hope you enjoy it, your likes and reviews are always appreciated.

“This one looks perfect, Ms. Parker!”

“I know,” Amy smirked ironically.

Of course the dress looked perfect. It was the most expensive Ella, Kamilah’s personal stylist, had presented so far. The vampire CEO wouldn’t keep Amy imprisoned, and force her to go to this event, without losing some thousand dollars.

In only a few days, she made Kamilah buy her new clothes, perfumes, a video game console and all the food she was carving for. It didn’t seem to bother her.

Then, Amy found out Kamilah was obsessed with organization and silence, so leaving her clothes spread everywhere and listening to loud music became a routine. She also broke a rare artifact and drank a expensive bottle of wine. Kamilah wasn’t happy, obviously, but it still wasn’t enough for her to kick Amy out of the house.

“Ms. Sayeed,” Ella announced. “We’ve found the perfect dress.”

“Let me see it,” the vampire CEO emerged from her office to the living room.

In silence she examined Amy’s dress. It almost seemed like she was impressed. Her deep gaze met Amy’s, penetrating through her soul and giving her butterflies in the stomach.

“Indeed,” she finally said. “It looks fine. We’re buying it.”

“Uhhh did you see this price tag?” Amy showed, accidentally removing the tag. “Ops!”

Kamilah shrugged, inviting the stylist to her office to pay for the dress.

Amy couldn’t stop admiring herself in the mirror in front of her. She felt like she was living a dream, except for the fact Kamilah was only waiting for the right moment to kill her. Through the mirror, she noticed Kamilah discreetly peeking from her office. Amy felt her cheeks burning.

Hours later, she was ready for the event. Right in time. Her plans of making them late were frustrated when Kamilah decided to help with her hair and make-up, as if she could read her mind.

It was 7:30 PM when the bell started to ring. Kamilah was still getting dressed in her bedroom. Amy decided to answer the door and torture her a little bit. When she opened, a handsome man in a suit waited outside.

“Oh,” he looked surprised to see someone else, other than Kamilah. “Hello. I’m Adrian Raines. Kamilah’s friend.”

“I’m Amy Parker,” she shook his hand. “Kamilah’s…”

Hostage, she’d say. But Kamilah appeared behind her, touching her firmly on the shoulder.

“New assistant,” she finished.

Her lie infuriated Amy. Without thinking, she responded almost immediately.

“Girlfriend.”

“What?!” Adrian opened his mouth in shock.

When Kamilah looked at her again, her eyes seemed bottomless. Her face had no expression. But Amy new she had finally hit a nerve. She was angry, really angry.

“It’s about time to make it public,” she continued, “right Kami?”

For a few seconds, she enlaced her fingers on Kamilah’s. Discreetly, she pulled away.

“I had no idea…” Adrian was still surprised, indicating Kamilah probably hadn’t had partners for a while. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because…” Kamilah didn’t know what to say. Her face was completely red in a mix of hate and embarrassment. “It’s too soon. We don’t even know if it’s going to last.”

“Oh,” Adrian scratched his head, noticing the awkwardness of the situation. “So, are you guys ready to go?”

“Yes,” Kamilah told. “But before, I need to speak to Amy. In private.”

“Of course, I’ll be waiting in the car.”

As soon as Adrian closed the door behind him, Kamilah lunged to her direction and in a blink of an eye she pinned Amy against the wall, holding both of her wrists.

“Listen, mortal and listen well,” she snarled. “I’m getting tired of your little games. You ruin this night for me and I’ll ruin your life!”

“I have nothing to lose,” Amy provoked. “You’re going to kill me anyways. Won’t you?”

Kamilah didn’t answer. Instead, she kept looking intensely inside Amy’s eyes. Then, those feelings returned. Electric pulses sparked all through Amy’s body, making her shiver. Even though she tried to resist, she liked it.

“Not again,” she thought. “You’re being compelled, Amy. Fight against it.”

She turned her look back to Kamilah’s face. For a second, she felt some insecurity, a vulnerability, on the woman in front or her. Those fangs suddenly didn’t seem so dangerous. She felt the impulse of touching them, if her arms weren’t restrained.

“I won’t cause you trouble,” Amy guaranteed. “I promise.”

“You better keep your word.”

During the target to the event, Amy found many things about Adrian Raines. He was the millionaire CEO of Raines Corporation and Kamilah’s best friend.

“So I assume you’re also a…”

“Vampire? Yes. Did you told her already, Kamilah?”

“It’s hard to keep things from Amy. She kinda found out, by herself.”

“She seems to be a smart girl,” he complimented.

Amy sighed. Adrian was the perfect type of man. He was gentle, kind, humorous, he did things in benefit of the others… How could he even be Kamilah’s friend? She was the opposite. Amy wondered if being a vampire, he was capable of the same things, like kidnapping and murdering an innocent person.

They arrived at the event. A charity event, in benefit of the environment and wildlife. Why did Kamilah even get invited? She only cared about her own benefits. She definitely wasn’t the kind that had fluffy panda videos on her browser history.

“It’s a disguise,” Amy thought. “Behind this, she must feed from cute forest animals, like some fictional vampires.”

For her surprise, Kamilah showed some preference over the Vegan dinner that was served. She wasn’t a big fan of meat, she mentioned. Only eating it occasionally.

“Okay… Apparently the murder part only apply to human beings,” Amy told herself, before paying attention on Kamilah’s conversation with Adrian.

“Any news on the investigation about the attacks?” She asked.

“Not really,” Adrian sighed. “I had a meeting with Priya, but she didn’t take it serious.”

“As always,” Kamilah rolled her eyes.

“Now I need to face The Baron. This last feral worked as bartender on his club.”

“This is quite dangerous, why don’t you send somebody else in your place?”

“Yeah, I was thinking about sending Nicole.”

Unable to hold herself any longer, Amy finally spoke.

“So Priya, The Baron… Are they vam-”

“Shhhh!” Kamilah frowned.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize we were the only supernatural table at the event.”

“They are clan leaders,” Adrian answered her question. “Like me and Kamilah.”

Great. The she devil had a clan. Even if Amy managed to escape a horde of vampires still could be coming after her, like the battle scene from Twilight.

“And how many members do you guys have in your clans?”

“Thirty,” Kamilah replied. “In each of the six clans.”

“180 vampires, only in New York?” Amy gulped.

“Plus the Clanless,” Adrian added.

Adrian told Amy about the Clanless and explained the Ferals situation.

“So you don’t kill humans at all? The Ferals are responsible for the recent attacks?”

“No, it’s a violation of the Pact. We only feed from consenting humans.”

“Oh,” she glanced at Kamilah, who looked away.

“I thought Kamilah had told you everything?”

“Not really, she didn’t have time.”

“I’ll get another drink,” Kamilah stood up, clearly uncomfortable.

In her absence, Adrian was curious to know details about their relationship.

“How long have you been dating Kamilah, Amy?”

“Only a couple of months.”

“And how did you guys meet? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re different from what I’d imagine as Kamilah’s type.”

Amy invented a story about meeting Kamilah at her company, during a job interview. She wondered why she just couldn’t reveal Adrian the truth. He’d never agree with Kamilah’s plans.

“Well Amy,” he smiled. “I can tell something has changed in Kamilah already. I’m glad she has found you, she… She was through a lot in the past.”

Before Amy could explore further this last part, Kamilah returned, clearing her throat. Amy changed the subject, learning about Adrian’s company and its commitment to the planet and the wildlife. He also told the other charity projects he was part, along with Kamilah.

“I don’t understand anything anymore,” Amy told herself. “If she has such a good heart under those ice walls… Why the hell is she planning to murder me? She’ll need to give me a very good explanation!”

Moments later, a photographer went to their table, asking to take pictures of the group before Adrian and Kamilah were called to the stage for a special thanks for their donations to the cause.

For Kamilah’s dismay, Amy told the photographer they were dating. Giving enough information for the tabloids to speculate over the next few weeks.

Later that night, Amy was lying in her bed reminiscing about every part of the night. Now she was finally getting to know Kamilah’s true nature, maybe it was time to change her strategy. She’d be nice and cooperative, giving Kamilah exactly what she wanted. If she really had a good heart, at some point she’d feel guilty enough to give up on her plan.

She knocked Kamilah’s office door, the vampire CEO invited her in.

“So this is why you need me to sign your contract,” Amy concluded. “You’ll need proof that I consented with your plan when you face The Council.”

“Exactly. You learn fast, Amy.”

“I’ve decided. I’m signing it.”

“Will you?!”

“Yes, I’ve learned a lot about you tonight. You’re a good person, Kamilah. Even if you don’t let it show. You care about the others, about nature and wildlife… So there must be a really good reason you want to use my blood. If this is for such a noble cause, I consent.”

Her face acquired an expression Amy had never seen so far. She was surprised, in shock. While Amy signed the papers, she only watched, unable to say a word.

Before she left, Kamilah softly touched her arm, stopping her.

“Amy, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“For tonight, I mean… Though you dared to defy me in the beginning, I appreciate you kept our secret from Adrian. I’ll tell him, at the right time.”

“You don’t owe me any explanations. I did what I thought that was right. Good night, Kamilah.”

“Good night, Amy.”

Something in the look Kamilah gave her as she left, made Amy truly believe her new strategy was just starting to work.

Next Chapter: When Amy gets sick, Kamilah needs to decide between sticking to her plan or taking her to a hospital. Coming Soon!