#cellar shit I guess?

[imaginepostingonmain]

i simply think every horror podcast should have a cast starring me: a lameass teenage boy with 0 relevance to the plot whatsoever. wait that's literally just what sonas are for isn't it. damn. outclassed by fandom once more.

[bookwormsbutterfly]

Bugtopia creeps closer and closer to its debut as a Webtoon Original, so I thought I'd share one oc my favorite scenes from canvas:

If you like bugs, non-nuclear families, lgbt rep, wholesome stuff, funny stuff, or specifically anthropomorphic bugs, keep an eye out for this one.

[brain-rot-central]

The Cellar

A/N: I feel like I hit my quota in the smut mines, for this weekend. I left this open so I could eventually make a part two, if it so suits me, heh.

Words: 3.1k CW: 18+, dry humping, Virgin!Tav, masturbation, fingering, dubcon (?? not really sure but I'm gonna put it), sexual themes, pining, Astarion being a little shit Pairing: Astarion x Female!Tav (the reader is Tav) Summary: You and Astarion were looting a particular cellar within the Blighted Village when you happened to brush hands. As brief as the exchange was, it quickly escalated to something more. You can't stop thinking about it, and neither can Astarion. What portal into the Hells have you opened for yourself?

“Hello, my sweet.”

Astarion sought you out from the opposite side of camp, the flap of your tent closing behind him as he entered.

“Oh, Astarion! Hello,” you greet him. You're sitting on the floor of your abode, wiping various kinds of blood and grime from your armor. Thank the Gods you wear a metal breastplate; you couldn't imagine how tough it must be to remove blood once it's soaked into leather.

“You do know that Gale called everyone for dinner not long ago, right?” He tilts his head slightly back toward the direction of the campfire, a clenched fist raising above his shoulders. The thumb of his hand echoes his head, also pointed toward the middle of camp.

You place the armor and handkerchief off to your side, standing up. “Oh, yes, I did happen to hear him.” You cast your eyes to the floor and let out a brief chuckle, patting your hands over your lap to brush off some dirt. “I guess I just got carried away!” Your eyes move from the floor and up to Astarion's face, and you can see it immediately spelled out on his expression.

You're bullshiting him, and he knows it.

With his head still tilted to the side, he furrows his brows together. His eyes draw into narrow slits, and the corner of his mouth turns upward into a smile.

Truth be told, you were thinking about him.

You'd removed most of the blood on your breastplate hours ago. Though, your mind drifted to thoughts about your vampiric companion. 

His fingers have brushed up against yours a few times on your adventure, mostly when you were both looting an old residence you'd come upon. You'd place your hand on a particular item, only to feel Astarion's hand covering your own from the opposite side of the shelf. You mindlessly began scrubbing every nook and cranny on your armor as you imagined his long, lithe fingers ghosting over your own.

~~~

A chill shoots down your spine at the sensation and you instinctively pull your hand back, a small startled yelp leaving your mouth.

“My apologies, darling. Didn't see you there!” Astarion calls from behind the shelf. He steps around the corner of the shelf, quickly enough to see you shaking off your hand.

“I-It’s quite alright, Astarion,” you stammer. An unsettling warmth radiates over your body, and you realize that his eyes are fixated on you.

But, something is different about this look.

He looks… hungry.

His eyelids have dropped and he's stepping closer, closer, until his cologne tickles the underside of your nose.

“Are you sure?” he asks, his voice dripping with honey. “You look rather distressed.”

You briefly scan the room around you, only to realize that yourself and Astarion are the only occupants. Your breath catches in your throat as he clasps a hand over one of yours, bringing your hand to his mouth.

His eyes drift closed and he kisses the inside of your hand, interlocking his fingers between your own. He begins trailing kisses down your palm and to the inside of your wrist.

“Astarion, wha-” you manage to choke out before he cuts you off.

“I know you think of me, Tavaria.” Astarion's voice is a growl, low and throaty. He steps before you, his chest mere centimeters from yours.

“I see it in the way you stare.” He takes both of your arms, fingers skating gently over your forearms before sinking into the skin, and guides them to wrap around his neck. “Oh, so eagerly.”

~~~

“Of course, I'm sure you did,” Astarion says, his voice cutting you free from your thoughts. He's still smiling, as if he knew exactly where your mind had just been.

“Anyhow,” he continues, “I'll be out there mingling amongst the others. Do be sure to eat while it's still warm, hmm?”

With a wave of a hand, Astarion turns on his heels and walks out of your tent. 

You release a sigh you didn't know you were holding as the flap to your dwelling draws closed again.

You haven’t yet told him you were a virgin. The chance hasn't come up naturally yet, though it almost did that night in the cellar.

Again, your mind drifts.

~~~

You gasp as his hands come to hold each side of your waist. He grinds his pelvis into yours, and you feel it through the layers of your clothing, nudging against your mound. 

That's him. 

The pressure of the lewd contact against your front sends a delicious wave of electricity down to your core. Your cunt throbs with each rut of his hips into yours and your mouth falls open in a silent cry. Your hands fall to grasp his biceps, needing something, anything, to help ground you in this moment.

Astarion drops his head to your ear, nipping softly at your earlobe. “Does our ‘illustrious leader’ touch herself while alone in her tent, as she thinks of me?”

You groan and collapse slightly into his grasp, wetness gathering at the apex of your thighs. This fucking bastard. How did he know? Did he overhear you at night?

…Did he stay up just to listen?

~~~

The thought sends your mind reeling all over again. You shake your head vigorously, hoping to rid yourself of the memory and the newly-formed blush across your cheeks.

He would have fucked you, right then and there. Would have happily taken you on the dirt floor of some musty old cellar. Probably would have shoved your face down into the dirt as he mercilessly plowed into you from behind, stuffing your cunt to the brim with his seed as he roared through his climax.

He would have never known that was your first time.

The thought excites you more than you'd ever care to admit.

Whatever you lacked in experience, you made up for in knowledge. You knew what you liked, and what lines you were hard pressed to cross. You were learned in the topic sex, knew of erogenous zones for humans and elves alike. You weren't quite sure if your hand felt as good as Astarion's cock would, but you made due. It was a worthy substitute, for now.

Your mind did indeed travel often to visions of the pale elf. You dreamed of your lips interlocked in a slow, tender kiss. You envisioned his hands traveling up and down the expanse of your back, coming to settle on the swell of your ass.

But mostly… you think of the cellar.

~~~

You groan through clenched teeth as his fingers pump languidly into your core. You can hear how wet you are, how much of a mess he has made of your body. You've never been touched like this before; it's better than anything you could have imagined.

Astarion's fingers curl into a “come hither” motion within you and you careen, back arching and your mouth falling open in a ragged scream. The palm of his hand grinds against your clit, and you swear you're going to die.

You swear he's trying to kill you, swear he's doing this so he can drink every last drop of your blood without consequence.

He begins to move his fingers in earnest and it's too much, too much too soon, your body has never known pleasure like this.

“Astarion-!” you call his name, your voice a panicked whisper. Suddenly, you shatter. Your vision bleeds into solid white as tremors overtake your body. Your hands seek purchase on his forearms, your nails digging deep enough to pierce his skin.

“That's it, little girl,” he coos into your ear. “You’re doing so well for me.” His fingers continue their assault against that particular spot inside you and you whine, dropping your head onto his shoulder. It's too much, you're too sensitive.

Your chest heaves, sucking in deep breaths as Astarion finally removes his fingers from your aching hole. A pitiful sob escapes you at the lost sensation of being filled. He chuckles darkly and takes his hand, the one that had just brought you to the peak of pleasure, and shoves it down the front of his trousers to adjust and squeeze his straining cock into a better position. Astarion lets out a soft groan as his length rests up against his abdomen, pulling his hand free from his leathers.

You finally find strength enough to lift yourself straight into a standing position, bracing your hands on his shoulders for leverage. You look up and do your best to focus on his face, watching as he sucks the two fingers he just had in your cunt, and on his cock, into his mouth. They're sure to have tasted of you and him, at this point.

“Absolutely exquisite, my darling. Truly the nectar of the most forbidden fruit,” he states with a sultry tone. 

Half-lidded eyes were transfixed on yours and you suck in a shaky breath. You follow his tongue as it weaves around and between each of his digits, cleaning them diligently.

~~~

You raise both hands to your face, digging the heels of your palms into your eyeballs.

This fucking bastard.

He knew what he was doing. And by the Gods, did he do it well.

“It's all a bit of fun, my dear,” he told you after your encounter. Just two, beautiful people staring down the end of their lives together. Why not go out with a bang?

Your nose catches a faint waft of Astarion’s signature cologne, reminding you he had been in your tent mere moments ago. 

“Probably best I go and grab supper,” you say to yourself. Not that you'd mind Astarion returning to your tent again, but you weren't necessarily prepared for the possibility of things… escalating.

You draw in a deep breath and cross the threshold of your tent. You're greeted by sounds of laughter coming from around the campfire. Wyll seems to be telling an entertaining story, based on Karlach wiping tears of joy from her eyes. Shadowheart watches as she sips from her goblet, Gale looking attentively at Wyll as he speaks.

Lae’zel has taken her dinner back to her tent, taking small bites in between the sharpening of her blade on the grindstone. Some might call it unsettling, but you feel a sense of calm and safety knowing she is always prepared to strike within a moment's notice.

Astarion is seated on the end of the wooden bench, a tome in hand as he laughs in response to Wyll’s story. You see a purple aura emanating from Astarion's lap, and you recognize the book he's holding to be the very one you found that same day in the cellar. 

The Necromancy of Thay.

You'd taken down a Spider Queen and her clutch in order to obtain the purple oval gemstone placed in mouth on the book’s cover. It pulsed a brilliant violet light in Astarion's lap, his fingers slowly tracing each line of text within the pages of the tome.

You weren't quite sure why Astarion was interested in this book, but you let him have it. “That looks awfully heavy,” he had told you. “Why don't you let me carry it for you?”

You didn't know much about Astarion yet, but you knew that he was never quite pleased with the hand life had dealt him. Perhaps he was seeking answers to cure his vampirism, or hoping to find a weakness to exploit against his old master, Cazador. Whatever his motivation was, his eyes were glued to each page of the book, making sure to absorb each shred of information it had to offer.

“Good evening, everyone,” you say, picking up a bowl from around the edge of the campfire. You ladle some stew into your bowl, pleased to see that it's boar meat this time as opposed to rabbit.

Your companions nod and wave in your direction in acknowledgement of your presence. You hear slight murmurs as they resume their prior conversation.

“I figured I'd bring back a fresh kill for you all to enjoy,” Astarion spoke up, lifting his eyes momentarily from his book. “Why waste perfectly good meat?”

Gale clears his throat. “An excellent contribution to our feast, Astarion. We're most pleased by your generosity,” Gale says as he shovels his last spoonful of stew into his mouth. 

“I’ll admit, it was the most flavorful boar I've had in a while,” Shadowheart adds, taking another small sip of wine, “though I'm unsure if it's due to hunger, or the meat being fully exsanguinated prior to butchering.”

Astarion rolls his eyes in response, settling them back onto the pages in his lap. “Remind me never to be nice again,” he retorts.

Wyll chuckles. “Oh come now, Astarion. We truly appreciate you sharing with us. You could have left the carcass to rot, but no! You were thoughtful enough to consider your fellow companions.” Wyll clenches a fist and brings it over his heart, dipping his head to the floor. “We thank you for your generosity.”

Astarion scoffs audibly as he turns a page, his face scrunching up in disgust.

“It was merely a matter of convenience that Astarion brought the boar back to camp,” Lae’zel suggests, coming to drop her bowl in the wash bin next to the fire. “Had Astarion not required blood, we'd be feasting once more on the lean, pathetic meat of a field rabbit.”

Astarion’s head lifts up from the book in his lap, his arm extending toward Lae’zel’s direction. “Finally, someone who truly understands!” he exclaims, voice jovial. “Thank you, Lae’zel. I always knew you were smarter than you looked.”

Lae’zel groans in response and returns to her tent, grabbing a cloth to polish her armor. A brief moment of silence spreads over the camp, the firewood crackling and hissing into the night air.

Karlach places her bowl on the floor between her feet and looks toward Astarion. “Hey, Fangs,” she says, “what's the book you got there?”

Astarion softly closes the book on his lap and holds it up with both hands, as if displaying it for the others to view. “Oh, this old thing? Just something Tav and I found while looting a residence in the Blighted Village.”

You watch as his eyes dip low, settling on you. “It was located in a cellar, along with some other most delightful trinkets.”

You swallow thickly around the innuendo, somewhat startled, nearly choking on a chunk of boar. You audibly clear your throat, casting your eyes downward at the bowl resting on your thighs. You feel your cheeks begin to burn and you dare not return Astarion's gaze. You mindlessly begin spooning your stew.

You'd read of vampires having the ability to charm their victims, particularly those who are of the young, innocent, female variety. Astarion had told you he was simply a spawn, lacking the powers and abilities of a vampire lord. Though, you didn't believe it. How else could he have lured so many people back to Cazador? They'd surely fallen under his thrall… to some degree.

Astarion is a portrait frozen in time, turned at the peak of his physical maturity. He has hard, chiseled muscle covering the entire expanse of his body. His face is cut sharply, as if carved out of diamonds. His cheekbones sit high and his nose is strong and prominent, the slightest bump seen right below the bridge. His jawline is well defined, drawing together into the soft cleft of his chin. Soft silver curls envelope his face in a halo, and he truly looks god-like when the evening sun shines over him just right.

A forever young, devastatingly handsome vampire, destined to walk Faerûn for all of eternity.

“Huh,” Karlach spoke up, breaking your mind free from the confines of your latest rabbit hole. “Well, what's it about?” Her questions were innocent enough, bless her Hellfire engine of a heart.

“It's a book of the dead,” Astarion explains. “I'm hoping to gain some particular knowledge from it.”

Both Gale and Wyll chime in together, almost in unison. “I don't think that's a good idea,” they say in near synchronicity.

Astarion's face scrunches into a scowl as he rises from his seat on the log. “Well, good thing it isn't either of you reading this tome.” He gestures toward you as you spoon another mouthful of stew past your lips. “Tav was gracious enough to share it with me. I think you all should have a bit more faith in our exalted leader.” His voice is positively saturated in sarcasm.

Shadowheart scoffs, crossing her legs. “You always somehow manage to deflect everything onto another, don't you, Astarion?”

With a wave of his hand, Astarion begins to turn on his heels and walk back toward the direction of his tent. “This conversation has outgrown its purpose,” he replies. “And for that reason, I shall retire for the evening.”

He suddenly turns back around, eyes again meeting your own. “But before I go,” he states, raising his free arm above his side. He dips his head in a gentle bow, crossing that same arm over his chest. “Please, let me know if you'd care for a detailed report of all I've learned, thus far.”

Your eyes widen and heat creeps up your neck once more. The bastard is really doing this in the middle of camp? In front of everyone?

“Goodnight, my dear,” he says in a hushed tone. You catch his mouth turning upward into a devious smile, and he once again turns his back to you and continues his path toward his tent.

“Go-goodnight, Astarion,” you manage to choke out. “Thank you a-again for the boar.” He waves a hand in acknowledgement before retreating into the safety of his tent.

“So, Astarion is trying to teach himself the secrets of Necromancy, is he?” Gale says, hand rubbing over the tip of his chin. “Out of all the magicks of the Weave, Necromancy is one that is strictly forbidden.”

The conversation drifts into Gale giving an explanation of Mystra rejecting the practice of Necromancy for her followers. The rest of camp seems drawn to his story, though your eyes are fixated on the red fabric of Astarion's tent across camp.

Was he giving you an invitation to join him later tonight?

A shiver passes over you at the thought, and you deposit your bowl into the wash bin near the edge of the campfire. You stand and nod gently toward your companions, ushering well wishes of good sleep and pleasant dreams to each. They return the favor, and you begin to walk back toward the direction of your own tent.

Perhaps you'd pay Astarion a visit later, after everyone has settled in for the night. It seems as though he’s awfully eager to show you something.

Yes, you think you will pay him a visit. You just have to wait until the camp quells for the night… which you hope doesn't take much longer.

[shakirawastaken]

dsmp if... you were a romance trope

i got inspiration (sapnap, dream, george, karl, quackiy, wilbur) 

sapnap (hockey x figure skater): - im in the middle of heartbreaker rn and SHUT UP - i LOVE THIS TROPE - IM NOT EVEN A FIGURE SKATER I DO TAEKWONDO BUT I STILL FROTH OVER THIS SHIT - and then in addition to that one tommyinnit is a figure skater and everyone else is on a hockey team “ice these hurts” or smt h like that - i love this trope. - anyway i think that this trope comes hand in hand with enemies to lovers - his hockey team and ur figure skating group are at the same winter sports competiton - and you have to share a rink - booooo - so everyday you end practice with the sight of a bunch of hockey buffs roughhousing in the stands, waiting for you to finish - and everyday a certain brunette one sneers and smirks at you as you walk off the ice - “had a nice practice ice queen/king?” he asks you teasingly - “shut up, yeti” you mutter back gratingly as you bump your shoulder into his build as you pass him - and he comes up with a new one everyday - and you quip right back at him, unphased - one day, he comes into practice early just to spite you - what he wasn’t expecting is to see how good you actually were on the ice - he sat there like “ :O” and just watche dyou glide across the ice with what seemed like barely any effort - and he watched how passionate you were in your craft and the dance - and bro was whipped right then and there - so that day as you were leaving he said “you were amazing out there” and it took u jumpscared - you were like “no insult today?” - and he was like “dang, didnt know u liked them that much ;) but not today, not for something as beautiful as that” - and i think you can guess where it went from there... :)

 dream (ceo and employee romance):  - AKAIAKAKAHAKH TELL ME YOU SEE THE VISION - i mean hes a ceo alr so its like one step in the door you know - anyway hes a ceo - bro wears those fancy ass suits everyday and has like a wine cellar mini fridge shit thing in his office  - any way you pull up to his headquarters one day for like an interview and you were so fucking nervous  - you ran into him in the elevator (and no clue who he was) - and you basically vented to him for the 30 second elevator ride before scurrying off to your interview - bro didnt even get dreams name or anything - he kinda just smiled and wished you well as you ran away  - he thought you were so cute  - and you thought dude was hot as fuck  - anyway you got the JOB!! LETS GOO - the next day, your supervisor is like taking u around showing u the works - ....and you meet the ceo - its dream - and youre like :0 and he’s like ��*smirk wink* ;) “hey” - and youre like “well fuck hes the ceo i cant be in love with him” - and you avoid him - but he makes it his life’s mission to get on ur radar - in the break room, in ur cubicle, in the cafeteria, in the parking lot man is ON YOU LIKE A MOTH TO A LIGHT - eventually he convinces you to go to fancy dinner - and WOW hes paying?? so that shit was FIREEEE - fancy wagyu steak and 102379182 year old wine i mean cmon - it was good ok - he asks you out after dinner and assures u ur job wont be at risk and everything - ba da bing ba da boom  - now youre dating happily and he spoils the FUCK outta you  - lmk if you want this one as a big fic with dialogue

george (neighbors): - tell me why whenever i have my delulu daydreams with george he’s always a neighbor - very much boy next door vibes - omg HES YOUR COLLEGE ROOMMATE NEXT DOOR - stoppppp - on move in day he pulls up with his family and u with urs and youre like - “hi ! nice to meet you im so exicted to move in!” and bros like “same!” - sometimes hes loud bc hes talking to his friends but you dont mind - hes a cs major and ur  whatever u want major - one day you decided to start singing  rlly loud while cleaning - ur singing taylor swift - and then george could hear you from the room next door to yours - so he writes up a little post it note that was like “loved the concert! when’s the next one?” and stuck in on your door - you found it and started mad blushign - you had a crush on him since day one awwww - anyways you two started communicating via post it notes and songs played loudly through the walls <3 - till one day you hear boyfriend by big time rush - and then you play girlfriend by avril lavigne back - and then he slips you a post it note under the door and you open the door before you could read it  - and its an unspoken like thing that you start dating - its so romantic how you can saw you guys starting dating because of taylor swift !!

quackity (academic rivals): - DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THIS TROPE IT BRINGS ME LIFE ALRIGHT - alright - two law school students FIGHTING IT OUT ACADEMICALLY - you guys met in ur freshman year english class or some shit - clashed together in a discussion group - and its been game on since then - your texts with each other are flaunting texts - “hey alex, guess who got a 97 on the last midterm?” - “guess who got a 99 ;)” - over time, the texts started getting more and more hostile - people started to thing you two actually hated one another’s guts  - but in reality it was more for the thrill - but this continued throughout your law school careers - and you both become successful lawyers in the end!! - and when the headmaster calls you both into his office and says - “youre both valedictorian! congrats! you have to give a speech together” - well its like all the hatred faded away - you grinned and cheezed at each other before giving each other the biggest hug ever - so you both wrote a speech together - and soon the day of graduation came - and q goes at the end “i wouldn’t be here without the person who motivated me through it all, so thank you (y/n)” and youre like “hey man *sob* wtf *sob” - and you kiss him on the cheek and cheer to all the graduates  - after the ceremony he catches up to you in the parking lot, grabbing your wrist before you could go off with ur family - and blurts out word soup - and ur like what - and hes like “i really like you, and law school wouldn’t have been the same without you. can we be more than friends?” - and youre like “duhhh” and kiss him right there karl (best friends to lovers): - YOU ARE IN LOVE BY TAYLOR SWIFT  - that is the song for this SCENARIO - you two met when you were little kids in like first grade - your friends werent there on that day so you hung out with each other - hooked to the other since then and there - it was always “karl and you” and “you and karl” - you came as a packaged deal - through ups and downs you were there together - you graduated high school together and were going to the same college together now - while karl barely got into any romantic relationships, you seemed to be going through a few of them  - you were desperate for a love connection and honestly i aint blaming u - one day after a horrible date he came over to your dorm and u had an impromptu sleepover - you were in karls old shirt and some pajama pants and he was in his pajamas - and you two were just watching a movie together - before he turns to you abruptly, and you turn to look at him - and he’s like “you’re my best friend”  - and you saw a switch flip in him - since then, the dynamic between you two changed (for the better) - you became more flirty more touchy  - you started to act like you were a couple more and more - one day you saw him open his wallet to pull out his card  - and u saw that he has a picture of the two of you in his wallet - and then you knew that he was it for you - you ask him out that night - and hes so happy hes picking you up and spinning you around - <3 wilbur (musician x fan trope): - okay this is inspired by those tik toks that are like “did you see the way he looked at me” and its harry styles staring and eyeing down a fan in the audience like YES - and he’s a musician so it fits! - imagine lovejoy is like a HUGE HUGE Band so maybe this is in the future - anyways you and ur friend go to a lovejoy concert - for the sake of the story, youre not that big a fan of lovejoy just familiar with hits like sex sells and one day - the whole time ur friend is like “theyre so good hes so good its all so good” - you two end up a few rows from barricade  - and you and ur friend start screaming it up as you should - youre not oblivious to the way the lead singer keeps looking over in your direction, winking and smiling - imagine a sweaty, singing wilbur glancing over at you during sex sells and giving you a smile as he rasps out “you know sex sells i know that” - brb ascending to heaven - anyway a time comes when he stops to speak to the audience - he wastes no time - he struts over to your side of the stage and points at you  - “what’s your name?” - and you scream it at him - “what a lovely name!” - the crowd cheers - “ahre you single?” he asks with a grin on his face - the grin grows when u nod at him - “give me ur number!?” he asks and you nod at him as ur friend is dying next to you - he gestures u and ur friend to the front of the stage by the barricade  - and he passes you a marker and make syou WRITE YOUR NUMBER ON HIS GUITAR OR HIS SHIRT OR SOMETHING - oh yeahh go you go you thank yoU! let me know if you want any of these to become a bigger story/imagine and LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT A PART 2 WITH OTHER PEOPLE :D reblogs appreciated

[hiemaldesirae]

thinking of a witch/fae radiostatic au after rereading some of my guilty pleasure fandom fics hhhhhnneuhg

basically the gist of it is, unseelie king alastor gets kidnapped by witch vox's village and now vox needs to figure out how to keep alastor from dying because his death means the rest of the court coming for blood while also trying to make sure the fae king doesnt try and fucking eat him or something. oh also they knew each other before.

Vox's mother always used to say, there's comfort in routine.

Perhaps that's why Vox finds himself redoing the same three-card spread over and over, despite always managing to get the same results. He chews on his fingernails as he frowns harder, reshuffling once more.

"Whatcha doing?" Angel Dust, the only other witch in the village, pops up behind him, startling Vox, who sighs and relaxes once he realizes who's behind him. "I thought you were busy helping the healers, man. Are you just doing tarot readings while we're working ourselves ta' the bone?"

Vox frowns, pressing his lips together.

He doesn't have anything against Angel, really, it's just difficult talking to people who aren't Vel or Val. And maybe it's more difficult talking to Angel because of his relationship with Val, but that isn't something he's willing to admit in front of his best friend's boyfriend. "Well, I got basically put on house arrest today because apparently, the fae they brought back was so strong they didn't trust me not to get too interested in them and throw the whole plan off."

"Couldn't they've least stationed ya with the healers? You can serve that house arrest after we make sure no one's dead," Angel groans. "I mean, didya see the state everyone came back in?"

He had. Vox had watched with white knuckles as they'd brought Velvette and Valentino's unconscious forms across to the healers lodge and tents, doing and redoing protection spells around their home and the village wards. He had wanted to help as soon as he'd seen them, but the village chief had ordered for him specifically to stay home.

So he'd busied himself with tarot cards. But it seemed even that wasn't working out for him, because...

"Oh, shit. This is... a pretty fuckin' bad spread, ain't it?"

"You tell me," Vox grouses. He shuffles the cards again and tries another time, only for those same three cards to appear again as if mocking him. Three of Swords. The Tower. And of course, Death.

Now, of the three, death was probably the most positive card of the spread. All it meant was change- not necessarily as dark as its name. But the tower and three of swords... well. Those only spelt out foreboding fates.

"What didya even ask?"

"It's about the fae they brought in." Vox taps his hand against the counter before starting to reorganize his cards. No sense in leaving them out now, after all: their message had been clear and simple. This was a mistake. You're all fucked. "Apparently, they're on par with royalty. Which as you can probably guess, isn't very well known for their kind tempers. So I was doing readings to try and see what might happen from keeping them here, and..."

Angel grimaces. "So... you're saying that we're fucked, basically?"

"You can do your own reading if you want," Vox says cryptically as he stands up, stretching his limbs. "Anyway, I'm going to go and strengthen the protection shield on the village wards. Not much else to do while I'm stuck here, anyway."

"Right... well, guess I'll see ya round then."

"Mm, see you."

When Angel leaves, Vox breathes a sigh of relief. He unclenches his hand to regard the skeleton key he'd stolen from the chief hours earlier on complete autopilot, hardly even realizing he'd taken the damn thing til he'd gotten back home and started performing frantic readings.

It was the key to the village cellar, a place located on the edge of town. Vox, Val and Vel lived closest to it- which worked out well, considering of the three of them, two were part of the village's elite fae hunting brigade and the last was one of the villages only two witches, and the more experienced one at that. He supposed, given the circumstances, that the fae who'd beaten his friends to a pulp was probably down there. And, well... Vox was nothing if deathly curious.

So that night, on a half moon, Vox quietly exits the house, being sure not to accidentally trip an alarm on the way. He makes his way to the outdoors cellar and unlocks the door, making his way downstairs into a damp and cramped room. His eyes are immediately drawn to the large iron cage hanging in the dead centre of the room, sucking in a breath as he takes a small step back. The cage is impressive, but what's inside of it...

A mass of shadows writhe and twist around a restrained figure, dispersing slightly around where the fae's eyes must be. Vox flinches back when a ghostly grey-black hand reaches out for him, its dark tipped claws so sharp he's sure the fae could have sliced him to ribbons had they not been restrained by their shackles and prison.

It serves its purpose: Vox is immediately and incredibly intimidated. Having said that, he came here for a reason, and he's not so much of a fucking coward that he'd simply flee with his tail between his legs at the first sight of an adverse reaction from the captured faerie.

"Hey, uh... I know you probably don't believe me- and you probably shouldn't, honestly, but- er, I'm here to help you. As much as I can, anyway." Vox raises his hands up in the air as he moves slowly toward the cage, keenly aware of the fae's fixed gaze on him all the while.

He reaches out and slowly, cautiously, places a small, dead rabbit on the precipice of the cage's platform. It was one he'd caught with a trap that afternoon, under the excuse of storing away fresh meat for Velvette and Valentino when they returned- but, well, there were other animals he'd caught, too. They wouldn't miss one tiny rabbit.

The shadow cloaked faerie regards the mound of fresh meat for only a second before jerking forwards and swallowing it whole.

Vox watches with rapt attention, mesmerized by the faeries brutality. He almost doesn't notice when the fae turns to address him, voice raw and scratchy and deeper than the ocean. "What did you do that for?"

"Cause..." Vox worries at his lip.

He doesn't really want to lie to the fae- he's not dumb, alright, that'd be a practical death wish, even if he was lying with good intent- but he's also not so sure how it will react to being told he only did it out of curiosity. Because he wanted to see just what it was that his reading deemed so dangerous to their little town. "I guess... I wanted to see what was so strong that they took down half the village guard."

The fae startles at this. The shadows surrounding their cage shrinks back a little, finally unveiling enough of their appearance for Vox to put a face to a... well, for Vox to get a good look at them.

Dark reddish brown hair with black streaks at the edges sharpen into pointed deer ears, with two short buck antlers growing from the fae's head. They have deep crimson eyes, tinged with flecks of bright green- it pairs well with their skin, a deep, rich brown that reminds Vox of rich autumn soil at the harvest. He's... pretty sure this fae is a man, but appearances can be deceiving, and he's not quite keen on being cursed for assuming blindly.

"Hm. Well, you weren't among the host that came to attack me, were you now?" The faerie's eyes narrow as Vox stutters out a faint no, babbling out excuses to lead them away from the conclusion of him being a witch (and thus always placed under pseudo-house arrest when time comes for a fae hunt). "Then, you don't realize what a mistake your village has made, do you, dear?"

Vox pauses. "What do you mean, mistake?"

The room's temperature drops almost the moment the question falls from his lips, and Vox pulls his cloak closer to himself as he distances himself from the cage, willing his arms to stop trembling as he watches. The shadows around the fae pull close again and coalesce into a cape of sorts, rising above the faerie as they entwine themselves around the fae's head, almost like- almost like-

A crown.

"Oh, shit."

The Unseelie Fae King gives Vox a tight lipped smile. "So, do you see now?"

Well. At least that answered what the tarot cards were trying to tell him.

[copperbadge]

Hello! I live in Chicago but didn’t grow up in the Midwest. The tornado sirens recently really freaked me out, but it seems most Chicagoans were just going about their business. Is there a way for me to know when stuff is about to get serious and I should actually run and hide? I was scared and checking the news, but with everyone else acting normal it felt like overkill. Any advice appreciated!! Thank you!!!!

I actually didn't grow up here either! But I have been in Chicago for about fifteen years now, so I guess I can speak with reasonable authority.

The sirens are for tornadoes, though they have also been set off for high winds, bad storms, etc. They are tested at ten in the morning on the first Tuesday of each month, so a lot of us are conditioned to hear them and think "Must be ten am". I've only ever heard them "for real" a handful of times but I've always paid attention. Probably what you were witnessing was people just...incorrectly not giving a shit.

So, first off: if you hear a siren, get inside. Don't worry about what anyone else is doing. Most people will look around and go "nobody else is freaking out so I guess I don't need to" and that's how you end up dead of Insufficiently Freaking Out. The trick is proportionate freaking out. You want to get inside to safety -- a store, the lobby of an office building or hotel, the nearest El stop, even a car or bus is better than being out on foot. If you can get there safely, go home, that's best, but if you can't get home, get indoors. Once you're in safe shelter you can pretty much stop freaking out unless a storm is actively hitting the building. Take the time to check your phone, figure out how to get home if you aren't, check weather apps to see how long it'll last, etc.

It's not impossible that a tornado would make its way into Chicago, but most of the time when weathermen say "Chicago" they mean "the suburbs". The city itself is so built up, and the lake has such an impact on that kind of thing, that it's unlikely, at least currently. If you are not in a suburb or on the outskirts, the odds of an actual facts tornado are pretty slim. That said, Chicago is subject to high winds at times and the sirens can be set off for that, and high winds in Chicago are no joke.

So for me, the siren is a "stay indoors" warning; the one time I heard it while outside, I didn't freak out, but I did stop what I was doing, turn around, and go home. If you're indoors then you can turn your worry down low, though it doesn't hurt to have the weather on the TV. Just as a matter of course, living in the world, you should have a battery-powered lantern or flashlight and know where it is, make sure your phone is charged or start charging it, and keep an eye on the TV.

If you DO need to get to heavy shelter because a genuine disaster is happening on top of you, it's good to know where to go. You don't generally need to hang out in the shelter pre-emptively unless the weather reporter says to, but it helps a lot to know your options. Most high-rise buildings, office and residential, you want to go to the stairwell; they're reinforced and ventilated. If you're in a house that doesn't have a storm cellar or an apartment like my old one, that was just "top floor of a three-floor walkup", go to an interior room without windows, preferably the bathroom, and get into the empty bathtub.

It's tough to strike a balance between necessary caution and anxious overreaction, and I say that as an anxious over-reactor. But the longer you live here the better your sense will be of what is a genuine emergency. I think it took me about two winters here to get a sense of proportion. Occasional murderous heat waves aside, most of our truly dangerous weather happens December-March, so that's good training in when to wig out.

But yeah -- if you're out in the world and you hear a siren, or you see smoke, or you get a bad vibe somewhere, it is okay, encouraged even, to hit the bricks. Don't wait to see what other people do, don't tell anyone else what to do, just be the person everyone else sees and thinks "Hey, maybe I should be concerned about this."

I once walked onto the northbound platform of the Grand Red Line station when it was actively on fire. I looked around at the smoke and the people casually standing in the smoke waiting for their train, went "Fuck all this noise, I'm not dying for a Red Line train," and went right back out again. Roughly half of the stand-arounds saw me heading purposefully for the stairs and started following me; I had just reached street level again when we heard the evacuation order over the loudspeakers. People make dumb choices until they see someone making a smart one.

ANYWAY IDK how long you've been in Chicago but if you're relatively new, welcome, that kind of shit doesn't happen very often I swear, and if you've been here for a while, sorry for overexplaining. :D I am just very into the idea everyone staying safe and paying attention to the sirens. :D

[apomaro-mellow]

3 though idk how much it will help but I love drama😅

oh my god you instigator LOL I also tacked on @goodolefashionedloverboi's request too

First part

He should've known that telling Eddie to shut the hell up would yield the opposite result. The phone calls were so constant, that Steve stopped picking up. When he saw him coming down the sidewalk, he walked the other way. Eddie had even started to try and send messages via the kids and wasn't that pathetic?

What was more pathetic was how hard it was for Steve to do all of this. He wanted more than anything to hear Eddie out, to find out that maybe his feelings were real all along. But there was no such chance.

There was a panicked moment when Eddie came to his work and he saw him talking to Robin outside. But Robin, steadfast and loyal and just as bitchy as him, told him to step off.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around", Steve said he pushed a mail cart around.

Robin dug her hand in and handed it off to the white collars of Hawkins in the office building they worked at now. "I felt like a bouncer at a club."

Steve thought he was doing a good job on the break up mend. He hadn't spoken to Eddie in days, he hadn't rebounded on some poor soul, and he only cried late at night when he was all alone with his thoughts.

The moment he thought he was up though, was of course, when the universe brought him back down. He knew Dustin's house was a danger zone, what with the odds of Eddie being there. But Dustin had invoked a Code Red on the walkie and Steve came barreling down the road, nail bat at the ready.

Once again, Dustin pointed him in the direction of his cellar. Steve vividly remembered what Dustin had been keeping down here before. He went down the stairs, heard a familiar voice cry out "No! Wait!" before the door shut above him.

Steve held his bat defensively. He was down here with someone. He was about to swing when a lightbulb turned on and he was face to face with Eddie. Honestly, Eddie might've been safer from his bat if he was a stray demodog.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't know", Eddie held his hands up in surrender. "But if I had to guess...I think Henderson wants us to talk."

"Did you put him up to this?!"

"Eddie didn't put me up to anything!", Dustin shouted from above. "You two need to get your shit together. I'll be back in an hour. Don't have make up sex in my cellar."

Steve tried opening it up but they were sealed shut until Dustin, or perhaps Mrs. Henderson let them out.

"The nerve of that kid", Eddie huffed.

"Right? Where the hell does he get it from?"

"Not from me. Us Munsons are humble. He must've gotten it from your side of the family."

Steve smiled as a traitorous breath of laughter came from him and he clamped it down immediately. It wasn't fair. Eddie couldn't do this. He glared at him, ready to blame the whole situation on him even though he was probably tricked as well.

"Don't look at me like that", Eddie said, his voice soft.

"I'd rather not look at you at all." Steve turned his back on him, hoping he could ignore him until they were let out. He came face to face with the mended part of the wall that Dart had dug out years ago. Such and odd series of events that led him here, that led him to Eddie. Just for it to end like this.

"Steve-"

“I fucking hate you.”

“No you don’t. Take that back right now.”

"I won't."

"Then look me in the eye and tell me."

Steve turned and he wished he hadn't. All he saw in Eddie's eyes was heartbreak. He knew because it mirrored the look in his own eyes. But it couldn't be real. It just couldn't.

"You should be in the movies, you know that? Give Hollywood a run for its money."

"Steve just listen to me! I'm sorry for playing with your feelings. I really am! But I wasn't lying when I said I want to be with you. Steve I l-"

"Don't you fucking dare." Steve's grip on his bat tightened. "Don't say that if you don't mean it or I swear..."

"Steve..." Eddie took a breath and stepped closer to him, incredibly aware of the weapon in his hand. "I love you."

Steve dropped the bat and Eddie pulled him into his arms. Steve wanted to beg for so many things. For Eddie to always love him, to treat him gently, to make him believe that he wanted him forever. It all came out in the form of tears.

"If this is another joke-"

"The only joke here if that I had you and fucked it up like an idiot."

"You really want me?", Steve sniffled.

"Baby, baby, baby", Eddie cradled his face and wiped some of his tears away. “I’m not even gonna lie, I’m just so fucking obsessed with you.” He wondered how many of his messages got through to Steve in the end. "Did you listen to any of my voicemails?"

Steve allowed a small smile through. "I think if I did, I would've caved in too fast. I'm obsessed with you too. I love you, Eddie. Too much probably."

"I'll be the judge of what's too much. And you, Steven Malcolm Harrington, are not too much."

Eddie kissed him and Steve felt whole again. Then Eddie kissed him again and Steve felt more than whole. In between the kisses, Steve started to laugh.

"I can't believe we're making out where Dustin kept his pet demodog."

Eddie jumped up into his arms. "His pet WHAT!?!"

Send me a dialogue prompt

[leiawritesstories]

Who Gave My Wife Liquor?

Rowaelin Month 2023, Day 20: Drunken Antics

y'all know i cannot resist this prompt 🤭🤭 so enjoy some fun drunken shenanigans involving the whole court of Terrasen plus Fenrys, Dorian, and some potentially bad decisions (but no angst i promise). fair warning: it's total crack, i honestly don't think it makes any sense, but it's (maybe) fun

also based off a prompt sent to @rowaelinprompts: "drunk and clingy Aelin" ;))

Word count: 1.5k

Warnings: swearing, alcohol, intoxication, silly goofy times

Enjoy!!!

@rowaelinscourt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aelin was absolutely beaming as she descended the stairs and headed into the well-lit great room of the castle's private wing, where a fire was blazing merrily in the hearth and laughter spilled from the wide-open doors. Her heart was full twice over at the sound of her friends' laughter--they had all been through so much in the last ten years, and the fact that they could still laugh was a miracle in and of itself.

"You're late!" Dorian called, catching her arm and leading her into the informal party. "And about three drinks behind, Your Majesty." Grinning, his sapphire eyes just beginning to glaze over, he grabbed the nearest flask and poured her a cup, tapping his drink to hers. "Cheers!"

"And you have shit tolerance, Your Majesty," she teased, downing the short glass of wine in one go. Dorian rolled his eyes, and she laughed. "Lighten up, Dor. Not all of us have your youthful ability to recover." Dorian, as a human, had less tolerance than the Fae and the shifter and Elide, who could drink Lorcan under the table, but he also recovered rapidly from his hangovers.

"Again with the you're an old man jokes?" Lorcan clicked his tongue, smirking. "Wasn't it you who kept telling me to get creative?"

"That would be your wife, actually." Aelin raised her refilled cup to the hulking, dark-haired male, whose face flushed bright scarlet at her innuendo.

"Galathynius," he grunted, tipping the contents of his glass down his throat.

"Don't be so put off, darling," Elide soothed her husband. "Aelin's just grumpy because you made me scream so loud last night we woke the whole castle up."

"And I'll do it again tonight," he winked.

Fenrys spewed wine all over himself. "Fucking gods!" he shrieked, pretending to be mortified. "You lot and your insatiable se--"

"You're just as bad, Fenny," Aelin smirked. "Or should I say, good boy?"

The normally roguish blonde blushed bright crimson and said nothing, choosing to grab the nearest ounce glass of liquor and tip it down his throat. "How?!" he demanded, both mortified and genuinely curious to discover how Aelin had heard that little pet name.

She beamed innocently and threw back a shot of her own. "That's for me to know and you--and your pretty boy--to find out."

"Pretty boy?" Lysandra wheezed, slinging her arm around Aelin's shoulders. "Holy rutting gods, Fen, I knew you weren't particular in bed, but I never would have guessed you'd want to be the one taking orders."

Dorian was conspicuously silent.

Observant as ever, Aelin turned towards the young king, a smile so friendly and approachable that it was truly terrifying slipping across her face. "Dor, darling."

"Oh fuck," he muttered.

"Have you been satisfied with Lord Moonbeam's visits to your kingdom?" The enquiry was perfectly polite, even diplomatic, but the smirk on Aelin's lips added a twist to the innocent words.

Dorian picked up the closest flask and drained it.

Fenrys snickered. "Don't be shy, Majesty. We won't--ah!" His teasing was abruptly cut off with a soft yelp. Dorian flicked the blonde Fae a look heated enough to boil water.

Aelin had a very good idea just what (phantom) hands had silenced Fenrys before he could make an incredibly ribald remark. "I see."

"For a queen so revered, Ae, you have no propriety," Aedion fake-sighed, reaching across his cousin to grab the glass bottle of whiskey that had definitely come from the back of the cellar.

"Says the one who cavorted his merry way through the mountains," she retorted, passing her glass to be filled. "Say, how is Kyllian doing these days?"

"He's fine," Aedion said, too quickly.

Lysandra grinned and curled herself close to Aedion's side, whispering something into his ear that made him choke on his mouthful of whiskey and splutter the aged liquor all over his shirt.

She cackled, tears of merriment spilling out of her bright green eyes. "There's no need to worry, Aed. We're all friends here, no?"

"How sweet," Elide crooned. She pinched her husband's cheek. "See, Lor? We're all friends."

"Lorcan doesn't have friends," Rowan said, completely deadpan. He'd been lounging in a comfortable armchair, admiring his wife and sipping on his glass of liquor like the civilized old male he was.

Lorcan snorted. "Fuck you."

"Let's keep the past in the past, shall we?" Rowan smirked over the rim of his glass.

For the second time that night, Lorcan's tan face flushed violently red, and the room exploded into laughter.

"I knew it!" Aelin cried triumphantly, pointing at Lorcan. "I knew you and my buzzard were lovers!"

"Best he's ever had," Lorcan mumbled, barely audible.

Elide gasped for breath through her peals of laughter, clutching at her chest and clinging to Lorcan's broad shoulder for support. "We need to get you drunk more often, love," she wheezed.

"The hell you do," he grumbled. "That sounds like a terrible idea."

"I have a GREAT idea!" Fenrys announced, rising unsteadily to his feet and brandishing his bottle of wine.

"You absolutely do not," absolutely everyone else chorused.

"First of all, that'sh' fuckin' rude!" He pretended to pout. "An' shecon'ly, it's a great idea!" He took a long drink from the bottle and pointed right at Lorcan. "Lorky, I dare you."

"You dare me to what, Moonie?" Lorcan shot the younger male an insolent smirk.

Fenrys beamed, which was both hilarious and terrifying. "Clothes off, an' pose as a sh-sht-stashue for three minutes."

"Fine." Lorcan drained the rest of his drink, stood up, shucked his clothes except for his undershorts, and strolled out into the hall. The others followed him, laughing and playfully ogling.

Elide wolf-whistled. "Don't be shy, Lor, pose like one of the ancient sculptures." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Most of us have seen you naked, you know."

Lorcan sighed, and Aelin swore she heard him mutter something about so much for keeping secrets under his breath. "I'm not drunk enough for that, Li."

"Pity," Aelin snickered. "You'd make such a well-endowed sculpture."

"Careful, Rowan," Lorcan drawled. "Your wife's objectifying other males again."

"Who gave my wife liquor?" Rowan called, laughing. "She only does that when she's drunk."

"You're mean," Aelin teased, frowning theatrically at her grumpy buzzard.

"Thought you liked me mean," he murmured, the words a wicked promise that set her blood alight. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and laid his hand against the curve of her ass, squeezing just enough to make her inhale.

"No!" Aedion yelped, throwing his hands over his face. "Shit, I'm standing right here!"

Lysandra doubled over with laughter, throwing a wink over at Aelin. "Look what you've done to your poor innocent little cousin," she giggled, unable to get all the words out without losing her grip on her merriment.

Aelin snorted. "Lys, if Aedy is innocent, then I'm a virgin priestess."

Lys wiped tears from her eyes. "All right, you--is Fenrys naked?"

Yes. Yes he was.

Completely undressed, Fenrys sprinted down the hall and back, grinning like a schoolboy when he reached the others again. "I didn't fall over!" he crowed, exuberant.

"Didn't stand up, either," Aelin muttered, half to herself.

Rowan coughed, a deep laugh billowing out of his chest. "Give him some slack, Fireheart," he laughed. "Moonie here is a little too drunk to perform as quickly as he usually does."

Fenrys shrieked in protest. "I perform longly!"

"Tha'sh'not a word, Fen," Dorian drawled, his words slurring together.

"Neither is anything the two of you are about to say to each other," Rowan whispered into Aelin's ear.

She around and pressed her face into his chest to stifle the fit of laughter that made her whole body shake. "You and your godsdamn impeccable timing," she gasped once she'd regained her breath.

Her husband winked. "I try."

Slowly, their dear friends began to disperse, first Fenrys and Dorian, the two leaning on each other for support but still staggering, then Elide and Lorcan, and finally Aedion and Lysandra. Aelin looked around the room at the empty glasses and bottles and flasks left on tables and couches. "Should we--"

"Later." Without blinking, Rowan swept her up into his arms. "Right now, you need to go to bed."

"Is that a promise, buzzard?" She looped her arms effortlessly around his neck, lowered her lashes, and smiled lazily up at him, sending a hazy image of slick skin and dancing flames into his mind.

He inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring. "Don't tease me, princess." His voice dropped to a thick rumble, the way it always did when she'd pushed just the right buttons. In a blur of Fae speed, he whisked them upstairs to their rooms, kicked the door shut, and laid her gently on the bed.

And she promptly fell asleep.

Chuckling softly, Rowan slipped Aelin's shoes off, changed into his nightclothes, splashed some water on his face, and slipped into bed, curling himself around her. She sighed and went boneless against him, her breaths deep and rhythmic. In moments, he was asleep as well, following his queen into dreams as he did every night.

~~~

TAGS: please lmk if you want to be added/removed :)

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@morganofthewildfire

@backtobl4ck

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@chronicchthonic14

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

[kiestrokes]

Keeping the Cadence | NSFW

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x GN!Reader/You/Yn Rating: NSFW! Mature (18+) Minors DNI. Word Count: 999 (cutting it close) Genre: porn without plot, military au, smut, drabble. Warnings: military setting, abrupt ending, inspired by this Hobi.

Sexually Explicit Content: penis in whatever hole you desire, use of gender-neutral terms for the receiver of Hobi's penis, subtle nipple play and hair pulling, Hoseok has a big dick (obvi), rough sex, quickie, slight pain kink displayed, mutual orgasms, latex condoms used.

Summary: Drill Assistant Jung Hoseok just can't help keeping the rhythm, even while fucking you.

🗝️ Note: I blame @xjoonchildx 🫥 I wrote this in under an hour, has not been beta read! Don't expect too much, it's been awhile and I'm still rusty.

Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction; I do not own any of the idols depicted below. 

The heavy metal door groans shut behind you, effectively sealing you in the dimness of the basement storage room.

“Hurry we only have ten minutes before we have to be back to post” Hobi instructs from behind you. The click of his belt and zipper filled the void of your silence while you worked on sending your pants and panties to a crumpled puddle around your ankles.

“Condom?” You looked over your shoulder just as Hoseok ripped one open with his teeth giving a nod of his eyebrows. You braced yourself over the metal laundry table that was typically used for folding towels, ready for Hoseok.

Not ready enough, you feel his body heat against your back and are jolted when he kicks the inside of your boots with his, effectively spreading your legs as far as the personal shackles of your pants will allow.

“Spit” Hoseok commands, one slender-fingered hand cupping over your mouth as his other hand bends you forward. Following his other demand, Hobi rubs your saliva over your clenched hole exposing it to the cool air of the cellar.

“Ahhh,” you moan as his fingertips toy with the sensitive rim before roughly shoving two fingers inside “Fuck!” Your spine straightens, half from arousal and the other half in delectable pain at the sudden stretch.

“Sorry we don’t have time to stretch you out slowly, I’m kind of-”

“Big.” You finish for him, turning your cheek to graze his nose and fluttering your lashes at his shocked face.

“So, you’ve been looking” He laughs shortly, not the full musical laugh you’ve become accustomed to, this one is laced with carnality. Hoseok’s own eyes lid as he presses himself into you, replacing his fingers with the tip of his cock. His lips part as he slowly works his way into you, with small but firm thrusts.

“Hobi” You moan as he makes it halfway into you.

His hand tucks under your shirt, fingers splaying across your abdomen as he bows over your shoulder for a kiss. Grunting your name into your mouth, as you fervently nibble away at his heart-shaped lips. He stills only once, a lengthy groan rumbling from his chest as he bottoms out. You let out a sharp cry when you feel his hips roll up, his pelvis essentially cupping your ass, rubbing his fat head against the deepest and most sensitive part inside you.

“Shit Hobi,” your body shudders in response but the moment is over as quickly as it came.

Hoseok’s hands glide to fist your waist, drilling your hip bones into the metal of the table as he works himself in and out of your walls. His huffs and grunts and curse words are panted into the collar of your shirt from where he’s pressed across your back.

“Hobi” You whine as he keeps up the insistent pace, drilling in to press into that glorious spot, followed by a thick drag out. You realize he’s fucking you in cadence, and you don’t know why you’re surprised, he is the assistant drill instructor. “Are you fucking me to the marching beat?”

Hoseok’s wild eyes meet yours and he stutters a laugh, “Sorry guess I am, it’s working, isn’t it?” You moan in unison as your insides clench, threatening to suck Hoseok’s massive dick back inside.

“Harder” You gasp as his thrusts sharpen, causing your hands to skate across the smooth surface of the table. Causing Hoseok to fall into you, his hands grasping at the edge to brace himself beside your hips. 

You cry out as his wide base stretches your entrance more, Hoseok sucks air between his teeth as you spasm around his cock. He picks up his rhythm again, angling himself under your ass and thrusting up. Each roll in bruising your hips against the table, you recline back on his chest as he grinds you between the metal and his brutal cock.

“How does it feel? Are you close?” Hoseok’s ear caresses your cheek, his voice a paradox of sunshine compared to the hellish way he is fucking you. You look up to find his brown gaze less hawkeyed than earlier, softened just for you. 

“So good Hoseok, I’m close” You stutter out the last part, feeling his hand under your shirt, gliding across your sternum in search of a nipple that he finds and pinches. Causing you to bow forward and Hoseok lays you flat on the cool table, his other hand on the nape of your neck fingers tugging at the hair there as he snaps his hips into your ass.

“God, you take me so well,” Hoseok lets out a guttural moan as your body tightens under him.

You recite his name in chant as your hands claw against the slick surface. Your undoing is when Hoseok thrusts deep, swirling his hips into the one particular spot as his fingers pinch the nipple he’s still holding onto, and the other tugs are the roots of your hair. You orgasm hard, release spilling down your legs. 

Hoseok gasps out a throaty version of your name as his cock glides you through your climax, your walls squeezing his length so tight you have no idea how he manages to make his way back inside until you feel it. His thighs stiffened against yours, and his release spilled into the latex of the condom. Hoseok’s hands are ripped from your body, and he slams them into the table, pressing himself as deeply inside of you as he can get. 

The room is filled with shuddering breaths as the two of you slowly descend back into your bodies. Hoseok withdraws, groaning as you clench at his retreat. 

“Two minutes,” You heave yourself upright after glancing at your watch and begin to shakily redress. While Hoseok trashes the condom and mirrors your movements, in an unfazed fashion.

His sharp eyes are back as his gaze washes over your appearance, giving it a quick nod of approval, he slips out the door.

© COPYRIGHT 2023 by kiestrokes All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced without written permission from the author. This includes translations. 

[clare-875]

Until the End (Levi x Reader)- Chapter 18

[On the Run]

_____ A/N: Posted on Wattpad (@CLARE_875) but also decided to post here :)

Summary:

"You can push me away, but I will still fight by you, and I will still follow you… until the end."

The ever-so-stoic Levi Ackerman has only ever known the terrors that living in a cruel world could bring. This all changed one fateful day when he encountered [y/n]; a girl renowned for her looks and abnormal speed. As they escape the confines of the Underground together, they soon discover that freedom doesn't come easy in a world full of Titans. As they rise through the ranks, [y/n] becomes known as "Humanity's Angel", a beacon of hope to humanity as she melts the walls Levi had built around his heart. However, she has her secrets too, and a dark past that might just threaten to pull them apart.

The storyline and characters of Attack on Titan do NOT belong to me, but all to Hajime Isayama; however, I do own this story, and all that occurs disparate to that storyline.

[Series Masterlist] [Chapter Seventeen] <--> [Chapter Nineteen]

_____

Warnings: Canonical Violence, Descriptions of Torture, Injuries 

You sit in a darkened room, changing out of your torn shirt before replacing it with a new one, glad to see that the cut on your arm was only shallow and had already healed into a scar. The scratch along your cheek had faded the same way as you grabbed some alcohol and a cloth, gently dabbing away at the remaining blood. We were now in a hideout in the woods, a bit away from Trost. In the aftermath of Eren and Historia getting abducted, we interrogated Dimo Reeves, a merchant who led the Reeves Company. He was the man who had captured Jean and Armin, mistaking them for Eren and Historia.

In the integration, we learned that he was forced to help the Military Police as his life and his son's life were put on the line. Levi has used this as leverage, with the proposal that in exchange for their support, we would provide protection and help in the rebuilding of Trost. He had agreed. Dimo and his son Flegel had gone and retrieved two Interior Military Police, Ralph and Sannes, who were primarily responsible for the torture and death of Pastor Nick. They had lured them here in the guise that he knew of Levi's location. Now, they were each locked in a cellar in the basement.

You sigh, stretching above your head in exhaustion; it was going to be another long night. Just as you go to the door of the room, however, it opens, and Levi walks in. He looks up in surprise, not thinking you would be present. You examined his face, and you were glad to see the cut on his forehead was clean and had stopped bleeding. "Hey, there you are [y/n]," he says as his sharp eyes skim your face, landing on the healing scar on your cheek. "Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting, Levi," you say, walking towards him, not missing the brief flash of conflict that lies deep in his eyes. "Are you okay?" you ask, concerned. If someone else had looked at him, he would have seemed like he had the same bored look he had always had. But after knowing him for so long, you could notice the slight change in expression no matter how much he tried to act nonchalant.

He looked up at you, eyes stormy and tense before he sighed. "Nothing," he muttered before his face soured. "Just seeing the old man again..." you nodded, seeing the hatred burning in his eyes. You reached up to touch his face, causing him to look up. "That piece of shit, saying all those damn things about you," Levi gritted his teeth at the memory. You smile at him, shaking your head, "I don't mind, Levi. It doesn't faze me-" Levi cut you off, "I mind," he said, frowning. You look up to see his sharp eyes and the dull light of the moon reflecting off of them. You sigh, "I don't blame you, Levi," you continue when you see the conflict in his eyes. "I was just surprised he actually knew who I was. I guess when he left the Underground, he didn't leave for good." You remember Kenny's words that he had visited; it made you shiver, thinking he was unknowingly watching the both of you in the Underground.

You let your hands fall to his hands as you squeeze them tightly. "I'm going to have to start torturing the damn Military Police soon," Levi mutters as you remember back to the two men captured beneath us. You let out an emotionless laugh at his words and hum back in reply. "You don't have to watch, you know," he says, eyes darkening, no doubt thinking of the men in the basement too. You smile before moving forward and capturing his lips briefly, his stare now soft. "I know."

.....

You lean against the wall as you see Levi tugging at his pair of gloves, ready to continue torturing the man, Sannes, in front of you; he had been at it for ages. Suddenly, you heard a door slam, and you turned, startled, only to see it was Hange who had barged their way in. "Sorry, I'm late! You're still going at it?" Levi turns, looking at Hange with a bored look in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm pretty new to this." Hange steps forward towards the man confined to his chair, "Sannes! You should know I'm also a novice at human torture, so please bear with me!" You sigh at their disturbing words, knowing that despite Levi's constant annoyance at Hange, they complimented each other in a horrifying way. Hange reaches for some tools that were laid out before getting ready.

"Wait! What do you even want!? Who the hell tortures without asking questions?!" Levi looks up at that. "Oh, right... We do have some questions for you." You tense at the tone of his words. "Where are Eren and Historia? Why are you after Historia? What's the Reiss Family?" Hange doesn't even give him a second to answer as they scream out, "Too slow! Can't you see that we're in a hurry!?" They then yank down with a metal tool and grab a fingernail on his left hand before peeling it off. You don't know what to feel as you see them continue to torture Sannes and hear him wail. Just remind me never to get on Hange's bad side...

Hange continues to rip fingernails off until all five on his hand are gone. You resist the urge to wince as you continue to observe. "Sorry, I can't peel nails as well as you," Hange muttered to Sannes. "Just how many did you peel to get so good?" You can hear the darkness in their voice. "Too many to count," the man replies. "Within these cramped walls, do you know why war has never broken out? It's because the First Interior Squad dirtied our hands to protect the peace." Sannes looks up, face bloodied and eyes haunted. "A teacher too smart for their own good... A stupid couple who tried to fly... A whore from some ranch in the sticks... Humanity has only made it this far because we erased them!" He shouts out, tears brimming in one eye as the other remains closed thanks to the bruise from Levi's fist.

"You should be thanking us! I've never seen anyone get more pleasure out of torture than you guys! You're monsters! But I'm not even afraid. I... I have... I have the King, I... I believe in the King and peace in the walls. That all the things we've done were justified... But... To think it hurts this much... Go on and torture me to death already. That's all I ever did with this blood-stained life of mine." You grip your arms tightly at his words and silence envelops us. "Time for a break," Levi mutters tiredly as you walk to his side and out the door. "That's troubling... I'm beginning to feel sorry for him." Hange says from behind. You close the door but open a small gap once they are through.

You look up to see Levi and Hange walk with Ralph, the other man we captured. A knife pushed to his side. "You're pathetic. It only took one nail to make you talk." Levi tells the man, "Sannes has no nails left. You're nothing like him." The man then speaks as he follows a script that Hange shows him, hidden by their bodies. "Like you care? That was his decision. The guy never shuts up about peace and the King. The rest of us hate him. Do us a favour and kill him already." Levi answers him abruptly, "We're not letting it happen until he verifies your story." Hange points to Ralph's lines as he speaks up once again, "You already got what you wanted out of me. Gimme a break. Will I be getting a bed in my cell, or what?" You then see Levi and Hange pull him up the stairs and away. When you open the door as Levi and Hange return to your side, Sannes shouts his next words out defeatedly, as you know he overheard the coerced conversation with Ralph.

"Reiss is the true royal family."

…..

You think back to a few days ago when Historia told us her story. She was born on a small farm in the northern region of Wall Rose on land owned by the noble family of Reiss. Her mother had always read books, whilst Historia had helped with the farm, and every night, a wagon would take her mother away to the city adorned in fancy clothes. But when Historia learned to write and read, she tried to imitate her mother and read her books of stories where parents loved their child; so different to her own experience.

When once she had tried to hug her mother, she had pushed her away, speaking of wanting to have the courage to kill her and then had left. And then five years ago, just days after Wall Maria fell, she had met her father. Rod Reiss. Her mother was also present but frightened. However, they had been surrounded when Rod Reiss led Historia out of her home. Rod Reiss then told the men surrounding them that neither Historia nor her mother had anything to do with him. Her mother had been killed, screaming and wishing Historia had never been born. But before Historia was to die, her father had made a proposal. They could spare her if she lived a quiet life and changed her name to Christa Lenz.

Your eyes widened in realisation as Sannes went on to explain the truth to us. The true royal successor is Historia, and she and Eren are likely captured wherever Rod Reiss is. What's worse is that we later learn that Eren is to be eaten, deduced from the letter he had given Hange of the conversation between Betholdt and Ymir. Apparently, the Titans we had come to fear, the Armoured Titan, Colossal Titan, and Eren's Titan, each held a special ability, along with being able to transform back into humans. Ymir had likely been an ordinary Titan, roaming outside the walls until she had eaten one of their comrades with a Titan ability. That explained why Eren had been sought after by Reiner: to seize his Titan, which can control other Titans with its scream. Eren was a vessel bound to be replaced; if the government had a Titan of their own, he would likely be fed to it, giving them the power: The power to control the Titans.

.....

You sat against a tree next to Levi, now out in the woods, a bit away from Trost. The entire squad had been informed of the situation, and we were on our way to the land owned by Rod Reiss. Hange and Moblit had gone their separate ways as they left to meet with Erwin to consult him about the Reiss family. "Captains! We brought the supplies!" You look up to see that Jean, Armin, and Mikasa had come back from the city, bags of necessities in hand. Armin then walked up to us, giving Levi a piece of paper. "The military Police were handing these out." He says as you lean over Levi's shoulder and take a look.

Your eyes widened; the paper had accused the Scout regiment of murdering a civilian; it was Dimo Reeves. "If this is true, the Scouts will be disbanded. I heard they'll be hunting for us tonight. They're also putting guards on all the vital roads, and it's impossible to get through without a pass. Captains, what now?" Armin asked as he finished informing us of what was happening throughout the walls. "If we don't hurry, Eren..." Mikasa starts to speak before Levi cuts her off as you sense growing tension, "Calm down." You nod, looking at the two who crouched in front of you. "They're using a wagon. It'll take at least a day to reach Reiss' territory. We'll use that time to come up with a plan." The squad seemed to relax at your words before we heard Sasha speak up. "Captains, I hear footsteps. They are coming towards us."

.....

You look down from the trees seeing Armin by the river and acting as a decoy. As planned, two members of the Military approach, guns drawn at the blond boy as he puts his hands up. You nod at Levi, who stands on a tree opposite. You flash down, unsheathing your sword, as you restrain the woman, Levi restraining the man. "That's right... Hand over your guns to the one in front." Levi mutters lowly as the two soldiers are startled in our grasp as they hand their weapons over to Armin. "Not a sound," you add under your breath as the rest of the squad approaches, and Mikasa and Armin restrain the two military soldiers in our hold. You and Levi wander off a bit to the side, assessing the situation.

"Any ideas?" You ask as you look over to Levi. A brief silence takes over before he speaks, "Disguise as Military Police to get by the guards... Then, figure out where Eren was taken by snooping around. To think we'd have no better option..." You frown at him, knowing he is right. "I know it's not ideal, but we don't have time. We have to do it, or it will be a matter of time before we die," You say, looking towards the squad. You squeeze Levi’s shoulder gently in comfort before you see Jean approach, handing Levi a piece of parchment. We stand and walk towards the two Military Police who now sit, hands tied behind their back.

"Stohess District Military Police. Private Marlo Freudenberg. Same assignment. Private Hitch Dreyse." The two soldiers turn stiff at Levi's low words. "As for how we'll dispose of you..." Hitch and Marlo's faces turn into one of shock at his proclamation. "Because of you guys, over 100 people from Stohess District were killed!" Hitch suddenly yells out, causing Levi's eyes to turn to her sharply. "Huh?" But she remains stern as she continues, "You people... You might think you're all heroes of justice, but the victims and their families were dropped straight into hell!" Levi doesn't flinch, "Yeah, I know."

"You there..." Hitch now turns to Mikasa, "You're from the Southern Cadet Corps, yeah? Just like Annie Leonhart. Were you friends of hers?" Silence descends over us before Hitch seems to calm slightly, now looking to the floor as her voice starts to shake. "No... I doubt she had any friends being as gloomy and aloof as she was. It's like she was a kid afraid of other people. I never got the chance to know anything about her. And the reason they still haven't found her... is because she was pulverized by a Titan into a puddle of jelly!" Hitch turns furiously as she faces Levi and you, eyes wide with rage. You can't help but pity her ignorance; she tried not to show it, but she missed a friend who was really the enemy. "No..." you say softly, looking at her form as her eyes flashed to you for the first time, "It's because the Titan in hiding was... Annie Leonhart herself."

Now Marlo turns as well, shock evident on their faces as Hitch takes a sharp intake of breath. "Goddammit, it makes me sick," Levi says, looking to his side. "Nobody knows a damn thing about this world... Not us or anyone else. Except for those bastards at the centre of it all." You see his eyes darken momentarily as he looks back down at the two soldiers before us. "We'll release you both as soon as we get out of here." Hitch looks to the ground, still in disbelief, but you see Marlo turn to us, eyes determined. "Captain [y/n]! Captain Levi! Please let me help you! I don't think what you guys are doing is wrong! If I can help correct this world's injustice, I'll do whatever it takes!" Levi turned sharply towards the man, "What's with this guy?"

"I beg of you, Captains!" Silence descends onto us as Levi turns to you, but you see the same thoughts that cross your mind in his eyes. "We can't," you say, "We don't know how prepared you are about making an enemy of the government." You walk past him with Levi as he speaks to our squad. "Let's go. Sasha, tie them up somewhere nearby." As we walk through to the treeline, Jean speaks up. "Captains! Please let me do it." His face is unyielding, and his eyes are hard; you can't tell what he's thinking. "Knock yourself out," Levi mutters as we continue along.

However, moments later Jean had returned claiming he had tested the loyalties of Hitch and Marlo, and they had been an asset to seeking a path through a checkpoint, the least manned by the Military Police; you were grateful at the very least.

.....

Night fell as you watched Levi beat up a man in front of you. We had successfully fought through the checkpoints and kidnapped one of the men who was with the interior police. "Where are Eren and Christa?" Levi asks the man, but he merely smirks from where blood adorns his face. "Oh, you're so brave. That checkpoint back there was just recruits who could barely wipe their own ass. You think you're some sort of hero, beating them down?" Levi gets up with a bored expression on his face. "What an atrocious thing we've done. But what's more atrocious is this mouth of yours. I recommend you start talking while you're still able to use it." Levi shoves his boot into the mouth of the man, who squirms under the weight of it. "Where are Eren and Christa."

"It's no use," the man says when Levi removes his foot. "All that's left for you now is to run and hide inside these walls, covered in mud and shit! If you don't turn yourselves in, every last Scout we capture will get the noose! Starting with the one most guilty of all, Erwin Smith." At that, you step forward from Levi's side and kick him across the face before keeping your foot firmly planted on his head as he falls to the floor. Levi's eyes flicker slightly in surprise before you mutter lowly, "Answer the damn question. Where are Eren and Christa." The man starts to cry in fear as he looks between you and Levi. "I-I don't know! I'm not allowed to know! Kenny Ackerman is a very cautious man."

You freeze, seeing Levi do the same as you meet his wide eyes. You release the man from under your foot, to which he grasps at his head, still crying. "Ackerman?" Levi asks, his dark eyes turning sharp as we both look at Mikasa, who displays a similar expression. "I know Kenny... Is that his last name?" Levi's eyes continued to sharpen as the man nodded yes to his words. "It's true, there's a lot of things he doesn't divulge... especially the important stuff." you hear Levi mutter before you see him compose himself, needing answers and not the surprising new detail he had just found out. He steps forward past you and towards the man, ready to torture him again, and the man screams out in fear, but we pause at the sound of Sasha's voice. "Someone's coming from that way! More than one!" You and Levi see Sasha pointing towards the open fields. You quickly take shelter behind a tree as Levi forces the man to the floor.

"I told you, Captains, it's no use. One way or another, the Scouts will soon turn to an end!" You hear the man mutter as you grit your teeth at his words. As you look out into the fields, you see two soldiers, covered with hoods, coming towards us with guns in hand. However, as you took a closer look, you froze, seeing Levi do the same. It was Hange and Moblit. They greet us with a wave as you let yourself release a sigh of relief. Hange, however, wastes no time handing Levi a piece of paper. You and the other Scouts quickly surround him to see what's been written. "And there you have it. The coup d'etat was successful. Premier Zachary has control of the capital and administrative district. For the time being, the nobility hasn't rebelled."

Erwin's gamble worked. The gamble that when Erwin was to be sentenced to death for his crimes in concealing Eren, there would be a fake report of Wall Rose being breached; how the "King" and his officials would react determined whether Erwin should live or die. Evidently, the "King" had chosen to act in a way that would've harmed humanity, not saved it. Darius Zachery, along with Commander Pixis, had then risen up, overthrowing the fake King and his subordinates. Of course, had he reacted in a way that had helped humanity, Erwin would have been dead, but it was evident that the gamble had been worth taking.

"What about the Boss Reeves incident?" You hear Armin ask from behind you. "We got a confession that proved the charges unfounded," Hange replies with a smile on their face. "His son Flegel pulled through big time. Just like it's written right there, it shows the charges were bogus, they abused their power, and that King Fritz was a total fake. All our actions were justified in self-defence. In other words, we're free people now." You see the Scouts around you yell and cheer in happiness. They start to run around, spinning and laughing. You join in, a wide grin reaching your features as you pull your arms around Levi in glee. He pauses briefly in surprise at your actions but decides to let you be since the rest of the squad is too caught up in their joy to notice. You see his stare soften as he, meets your shining eyes; it had been a long time since he had seen you so happy.

"By the way, you may have a clue on where Eren and Historia are," Hange says, causing you to break contact with Levi as your smiling face turns into a questioning glance. You see the other Scouts also turn before coming back to our side. Hange holds out a book to Levi, "Let's get there and put an end to this battle."

.....

You sit on a wagon with Levi and Mikasa whilst Hange finishes telling us the story of the incident that happened on Reiss' territory five years ago after Wall Maria had been breached: Before the fall, Rod Reiss wasn't seen as at all bad as the lord of his territory. He had five children; Frieda was the eldest, the most down to earth; even peasants adored her. But five years ago, disaster had stuck. Bandits, using the fall of Wall Maria as a distraction, raided and set fire to the only chapel around. In misfortune, the entire Reiss family had been inside praying together. That night, all but Rod Reiss was massacred by the bandits. The incident only occurred a few days before Historia's mother was killed by the Interior Police. In other words, immediately after losing his family, Rod Reiss sought out Historia.

"There must be a reason he and his lackeys are after Historia," Hange continues as we contemplate her words. "The same bloodline? Is there some secret to their blood?" Levi asks, turning sharply to Hange. "I don't know for sure yet. But what really makes me curious is that some of the Chapel is completely wrecked. The chapel itself is stone. It would take tons of time and effort to destroy it. Bandits would take what they could and quickly get away. Plus, the only one who saw those bandits was Rod Reiss himself. Soon after, he used his own fortune to rebuild the chapel. But why?" The silence hung long before Hange continued with her next words.

"If you think about it, it's actually stranger that there were no traces of Titans. Even if I'm jumping to conclusions, something this suspicious deserves us checking it out." We agree silently as we continue on our path to the location of the church. After a long stretch of silence passes, Levi suddenly speaks up, causing the other Scouts and you to turn to him. Your eyes widen in surprise as he talks to the squad openly about the very man who raised him. "He's Kenny the Ripper. If he's there, he'll be our biggest obstacle. In terms of how much of a threat he is, equate him to you as the enemy. No... with those weapons of his, he's deadlier than me." You tense slightly at the words. Even against you and your speed, Levi would easily dominate with his strength and skill. If we were facing a man more dangerous than that and an Ackerman at that...

"Then he's unbeatable, at least for us..." Sasha mutters from her horse. "If we could meet up with the troops-" Connie starts but is quickly cut off by Mikasa, who swiftly disapproves of that idea, focusing entirely on rescuing Eren... again. "Though, if what the Captain said is true, it's not like he has no weak points," Armin says as you look up to the boy who held onto the reins of the horses that pulled us along. "I'm sure he's trained plenty, but having combat experience is something else." You frowned. It was true, but it was a stretch. "I wonder, though, how is it that you lived with Kenny the Ripper but know nothing about him, Levi?" Hange asks the man, who looks up at them with sharp eyes. "Sorry, but I only found out his full name not too long ago. Apparently, it's Kenny Ackerman. He some relative of yours?" Levi asks Mikasa, who responds after a while.

"I heard from my parents when they were alive that my dad's side, the Ackermans, were persecuted in the cities. My mother's side was oriental, so being a different race meant they didn't fit in anywhere. Both were people chased deep in the mountains near the edge of the walls. So that's how they met and got married. But I never found out why the Ackermans were persecuted. My dad didn't seem like a different race like my mom was." You think back to Levi's words to you a few days ago. The Ackermans and the [l/n] clan were once close to the crown before we were persecuted out of fear... Levi catches your eyes, and you can tell he knows your thoughts, but he decides not to share that information with Mikasa as he asks a completely unrelated question.

"Has there ever been a moment where it felt like power suddenly awakened inside you?" Mikasa looks up as you see her eyes flicker, "There has." There is a pause and a haunting silence before Levi speaks up again. "Kenny Ackerman had a moment like that, too. One time, out of nowhere, he felt an absurd amount of strength surging within him, and he knew exactly what to do." Levi stares darkly at Mikasa as he continues, "I've felt moments like that, too." 

[rileyslibrary]

Living With Ghosts: 4. Pretty Broken

His body stands straight, but his mind betrays him. He still wears his gun around his left shoulder. It looks too heavy for him now, just like his conscience.

Relationship: Simon “Ghost” Riley x F!Reader

Word Count: 1,150

Notes:

Warnings: Mentions of blood and war

As much as I like Ghost’s demeanor throughout the game, I cannot help but wonder what he would be like suffering the aftereffects of war.

Entire work on AO3

Table of Contents

———————————————————————

It’s been days since you last talked to him.

His inattentiveness, however, was not the outcome of your petty little brawl—not the direct consequence, at least. If you had to venture a guess, it’s because he was busy with other matters at the moment—far more important ones.

The Russian Mafia appears to have increased its presence in the region over the past week, raising suspicions of a potential terrorist attack. As a result, the CIA has requested high readiness from the Special Forces operators deployed in the area.

That’s where he is, you fool. It doesn’t matter how abandoned, lonely, or insecure you feel, for he had a job to do. He was right there, at the front line, risking his life for the nation’s—and probably the world’s—safety. You were the last thing on his mind right now; if you ever were anything to him but a mild inconvenience.

Let’s not forget that you also had a part to play in this operation; to actively scan land, air, and sea for irregular traffic and report to the CIA.

Well, not actively, per se—the safe house has a well-equipped wine cellar for that specific purpose.

“Surveillance Control Center,” they call it—SCC for short.

What was once used to store ruby-red Chianti Classico Riserva bottles can now be confused with the cockpit of a spaceship. The CIA engineers have outdone themselves with this one—you give them that.

The SCC is part of a computer network connecting every CIA safe house in the Mediterranean. It incorporates CCTV monitors, cameras, radars, and motion sensors designed to detect unusual movements in the region. Live-streaming feeds are processed using highly sophisticated software, which, upon catching unusual traffic, alerts the SCC’s terminal. The wine cellar also houses an arsenal of weapons and ammunition, just in case the shit hits the fan.

Your job, for now, is to oversee the SCC’s flawless operation and inform Laswell of any findings.

Boring; that’s what your job was. Boring.

“Christmas is coming,” Laswell’s voice sounded over the telephone, “You guys should do something to celebrate.”

“Do what, exactly, Kate? Go from house to house and sing carols on behalf of the CIA?” You reply, leaning forward as if you were trying to physically get your point across.

“If you’d stop being a sarcastic shit, then perhaps you could think a little better.” Her irritation rasped in her voice. “Do something together; think of it as a team-building event.”

He said he’d fix that attitude of yours; when was that team-building event going to take place?

She was right, though—as much as you’d hate to admit it. Christmas does bring people together.

You begin to reminisce about the good times back home when your family used to celebrate every year. You used to cook together, sing along to festive songs, watch Mr. Bean on television, and exchange gifts.

You remember your mother, who refrained from buying ornaments from the shops. She used to bake them instead—yes, bake them. She used to roll out the dough, give shape to it with cookie cutters and bake the ornaments so you would all decorate the Christmas tree with them. The entire house smelled divine with these four little ingredients she used in her recipe—cinnamon, salt, flour, and water.

Ingredients you already had in your pantry.

“Laswell, when’s my shift ending?” you asked in anticipation.

“It ended thirty-seven minutes ago. Tired of me?”

“I thought of something.” You announce, sitting on the edge of your seat.

“Wha-”

“I have to go. Over and out.” You report as you close the comms and head upstairs to the infamous pantry.

Cinnamon, salt, flour, and water.

You were determined to make it work, right here, in this safe house—with or without Ghost.

You hurried outside, scanning the area for the tree branches he trimmed a few weeks ago. If you tie them together, you could create something resembling a Christmas tree.

When was the last time he felt the Christmas spirit? Does he have a Christmas tree at his house? A family to sing together next to the fireplace? A warm, festive meal?

You moved frantically—part Christmas elf rolling out dough and baking ornaments, part Frankenstein trying to assemble a Christmas tree monstrosity.

Time flew by; hours passed like minutes as you worked hard, your creativity unleashed, putting forth your best effort to create something out of nothing.

To create festive decor out of raw ingredients.

To construct a tree out of stray branches.

To form a connection out of two peoples’ broken pieces.

“What’s that smell?”

You were so focused that you didn’t notice him standing behind you.

You turn around to see a wreck, the fragments of a man who has probably seen terrible things and done far worse.

“I—is everything all right?” You hesitate.

“Out of trouble, for now.” He replies.

His body stands straight, but his mind betrays him. He still wears his gun around his left shoulder. It looks too heavy for him now, just like his conscience.

“Yes, I know. I spoke with Laswell. I mean, are you all right?”

“Been better.”

His uniform is dusty, and his boots are covered in mud. There is a slight rip on his balaclava, teasing you with a subtle view of his jawline, like a Geisha exposing her nape.

“It’s over, for now.” you try to comfort him.

There’s blood on his left sleeve—a lot of blood. He just became aware of it as well.

“Not mine.” He announces and hides it behind his back. “What’s that smell?” He repeats, trying to avoid the conversation.

“Cinnamon.”

“Ya bakin’?” He seems shocked.

“Sort of; They’re ornaments for the Christmas tree,” you say, pointing in the direction of your most recent creation.

“A Christmas tree.” He stutters, glazed eyes darting left and right, assessing the new environment.

You want to tell him that there are no booby traps here, nothing dangerous to be careful of. You want to console him that there is no need to be alerted for an ambush here, for this is a safe space. No more killing, no more death, for now. Just you two, a hideous Christmas tree, and badly shaped cinnamon-baked ornaments.

“Do you like them?” You ask reluctantly, trying to divert his attention from this week’s horrors. “I couldn’t find any cookie cutters, so I shaped them with a knife instead. I tried to make them look pretty, but some came out broken.”

“Aren’t we all?” he mumbles as he walks towards the Christmas tree.

“Aren’t we all exactly what, lieutenant—pretty or broken?” you ask, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Pretty broken, kid,” he whispers as he picks up a shattered ornament. “Pretty damn broken.”

———————————————————————

Next ->

[daemon-in-my-head]

As requested by @theannoyingurge let's take a detour from our regular schedule and talk food preservation in medival settings / before everybody had a refrigerator so you can write the bg3 fic of ur dreams and be realistic even with details that keep getting in ur way:

Underground cellars/basements. No rly. They can be incredible cool even in summer or even if they're not too deep, and they've been used to ripen and store food such as wine or cheese or meat since ages. Cooling and freezing has been no new invention, we've been refrigerating food (where possible aka northern regions and those with real winters) since forever. The only difference is that it's more convenient nowadays.

Your food can't spoil if you let it rot deliberately aka fermenting. Whether it's fruits and vegetables, honey and grape wines, beer, cheese, or soy sauce. People have been using fermentation since ancient times to preserve foods. Remember Surströmming? The canned fish that smells incredibly bad? Yeah that's just fermented fish.

My personal fav: The burial method. Foods would be burried in dry soil (the deeper u go the cooler it gets) to protect from, well, the sun, but also and very importantly, pests and that stuff. Sometimes the food would also be tightly packed in salts or some marinades to infuse some flavour and to dry it out even better, it's a method still used today for food such as Graved Lachs (lit. buried salmon) a 'delicacy' and yeah shit tastes awesome actually I highly recommend trying it.

Can't have fermenting without pickling. Even ancient Romans loved pickles. Everyone knows that wine can turn into vinegar, and guess what they took advantage of. Also you can pickle pretty much everything. Fish, meat, fruits, veggies. It's edible? You can pickle it. And apparently people will.

Boiling stuff with sugar or honey, aka, making jams and jellies. Sugar can preserve food, and while they didn't have those cute lil glasses we do, they still very much enjoyed their jam. Ofc this was used primarily for sweeter foods. Strawberry jam has been used as a treat for God knows how long. You wouldn't believe how old some cake recipes really are.

Curing and smoking: a method we still very much use to this day to make sausages and prepare other sorts of meat and fish. People have ever since loved the smoke flavour and dangerous amounts of salt. Jerky is certainly no new invention.

Drying: yep. Grain, nuts, fruits, veggies. Lots of shit lasts nearly forever if its purposefully dried. Just make sure you don't screw it up and treat the not yet so dry produces carefully. Garlic ropes may keep out vampires but the biggest advantage is that it'll keep it from spoiling so fast.

And most importantly; the take only what you need approach. You need only 2 tomatoes? Only pluck 2 off the vine. You need meat 3 days from now? Well, only get it on the day you'll need it. You need bread today? Bake it today. People we're very conscious about their foods and what they needed. Doesn't hurt to leave the apple on the tree for one more day if it's not close to overripe already.

Now for the fun part, the random trivia regarding food;

Originally it was a woman's job to brew the beer

Beer can be used as food and it often was used as a cheap tavern food or in times of need

Island nations and coastal regions love to eat fresh, raw fish. A lot of culture from this region somehow includes raw fish in their cuisine for a plethora of reasons. Coastal people love their raw fish. Also algae. They do love algae too

Not a single hair on an animal was wasted. Hair = brushes, fat = soaps and cosmetics, blood = can be cooked and eaten. Blood sausages and all that stuff. Lamb's intestines were famously used as condoms. I meant it when I said everything.

The 'trash' meat aka scraps and very non tasty looking stuff was mixed with grain and fried in times where food was rare. Great source of protein and very filling.

Meat was expensive, so it was rare to come by and very much valued.

Normal middle/lower class people would often only eat the "good stuff" once a week or on special occasions.

During outbreaks of the pest and other illnesses even kids drank beer. Water was too dirty and contaminated.

In fact the primary drinks were wines, beers, ales all that stuff. Water had to be boiled first.

Pretty much everything that wasn't poisonous would be eaten by people. Wasting food really didn't happen a lot outside of the upper class.

Religion was heavily influenced by food. Meat will spoil very quickly in the deserts heat, a sober soldier fights better than a drunk one, fish is rare outside of coastal towns so it's expensive and rare, cows are much more useful if they're alive rather than dead, you took a life to feed yourself so be responsible about it, that kinda shit. Food influences religion. Has always done that.

Hope this helps or this is what u were looking for. I somehow crave Graved Lachs now so I shall hunt some in the supermarket or smth.

[stromuprisahat]

Siege and Storm- Chapter 7 (Leigh Bardugo)

These stories are so strongly biased, I can't possibly take those people seriously. Do they even realize, how ~lucky~ they've been?

One had an aunt who had spirited him away rather than let him be turned over to the Darkling.

Of course a child raised by her (assuming she didn't just dump them ~somewhere~) would see her as heroic, not questioning possible dangers she exposed them to. The phrasing shows an immature individual, who haven't grown up from his uncritical adoration. The way he puts it makes the Darkling into a semi-mythical, evil, child-snatching bogeyman, completely ignoring the moment said Grisha's powers manifested, he became the King's property. The Darkling's merely a figurehead to shit on.

Another had deserted the Second Army.

I'd be much more sympathetic towards him, if it was framed as escaping servitude instead of the terrible Second Army, that gave him food in a starving country, roof over his head and training to be able to defend himself. But no, he's a hero for abandoning his comrades, instead of defying the system that's been taking advantage of his people for centuries...

Another had been hidden in a root cellar ...

This is such a beautiul example of possible harm done by well-meaning do-gooders. I guess the Tidemaker was lucky enough to live in an accepting village. Lucky enough to be far enough from borders, never seen summoning by someone less Grisha-friendly. Lucky enough to be able to learn to control her own power well by herself.

“The neighbors cut my hair and passed me off as their dead otkazat’sya son until I was old enough to leave.”

... and go where?! The whole wide world wants to kill you or worse?! There's more luck hidden here- lucky enough to be so strong she is able to defend herself. Lucky enough not to encounter hatred or betrayal great enough to do them harm yet.

[doomzday-zone]

waitrr sorry kind of william ask I guess but I need to know more about also vanessa and the scary nightmare bunker What r they doing🙏🙏🙏

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE 😈 *rubs my little paws together evilly*

this specific bit takes insp from a few places but the main one being Amnesia: The Bunker, for the obviously reasons(bunker) but also !!!!! THERES A GIANT PREDATORY RABBIT THERE HUNTING THEM BOTH💖💖💖💖 ill get to what this and other shit means from a thematic n whatever standpoint later but just know its awesome and immm insane<33

also side note i say bunker but its not even The scary bunker its more like a basement/cellar-ish thing connected to a shed he has somewhere in the woods. nawt to be confused w the actual Evil Bunker dw abt it 😁

ANYWAYS, initially william takes vanessa there to, dispose of her so to speak slash keep her there until he can find a good use for her or until he decides to straight up kill her. heart<3 smth smth vanessa ended up seeing smth she wasnt supposed to LOL(you can imagine) anyways while hes throwing her down there one thing leads to another and they both end up getting trapped in there, at the beginning theres this like slow creeping dread when they both notice smth is not.... right..... here. like the place is WAYYY larger than its supposed to be and theres strange holes in the walls n shit (😳) which eventually turns into full on monster horror once they realize theyre both being Hunted 😈 and theyre in what is basically a maze of rabbit tunnels and burrows, HERE IS WHERE THE INTO THE PIT AND IN THE FLESH INSPS COME INNNNN<333333 obv the maze is a kinda reference to the game in the in the flesh story, and the time loop/warping is a reference to both in the flesh and in the pit<33 speaking of which is a really important element, neither of them can die Down There and yes they both die at least once and not just at the dreaded claws of The Rabbit😏 once they both die tho the loop officially 'resets' and they end up in the middle of the burrow again, their main goal is to obv get Out lol. the ending of which is kinda sad and takes insp from fazbears frights in general w a classic cliffhanger conclusion, they eventually find the exit but william isnt just gonna let vanessa leave even after all that ..... he closes and locks the door w vanessa still down there</3 the last scene being her crying and sobbing for him to let her out as faint sounds of scratching and growling is heard from behind.............

OKAYYYYY HEEHEE now onto the MEANINGS and THEMES<3333333 The Bunker and Rabbit kind of represent the same things as The Rabbit and The Pit do in into a pit, its a representation of all of wills sins n shit festering and creating smth monstrous. that darkness only growing and further rooting itself further into william and others around him, being shown here in the form of a huge predatory rabbit digging maze-like tunnels seemingly endlessly. all this eventually coming back to (literally) bite William in the ass lmao, and vanessa...... ouuuuuu vanessa😫 williams obv in here as a form of punishment (even if he does eventually get off scott free AS USUAL smh) but so is vanessa in a way</3 she didnt physically KILL anyone but like he does with michael(albeit in a different way) he forces 'the gloves' so to speak onto them (think about in sister loctaion how the animatronics think mike is william, onv in universe theyd probably look fairly similar but thematically speaking... you know</3 the fct ues down there because his dad told him too😭) so while vanessa didnt do anything herself her hands are bloodied by proxy...... :((((( SOBS /

anyways..... i thunk thats it yea. explodes**

Edit: OH ALSO . SMTH I DIDNT MENTION BEFORE BUT IS ALSO IMPORTANT IS THAT IT LIKE. THE ENVIRONMENT IS A MIX BETWEEN DIRT RABBIT TUNNELS N BURROWS AND FREDDYS THEMED HALLWAYS N ROOMS N SHIT <33 SO LIKE THEYLL BE IM A DURT TUNNEL AND END UP IN A FREDDYS ROOM N WHATEVER Y GET IT. GRINS 😁😁😁😁

and and im this case by 'forcing the gloves' onto vanessa i mean he . william literally forced her to help dispose of a Body 💔💔💔

[travellingwiththedead]

Ok, thoughts on my second watch of iwtv s2e8 behind read more (because spoilers and shit):

so sad that the season is already over but also so looking forward to next season ^.^

Does Lestat know Nicki had a grave in the cellar of the theatre? Also Nicki was only 27? Hm.

Not them paning over the bookshelves before they drop it all on Daniel later xD

I think the whole pebbles in his Achilles tendons thing Louis is pulling is the most emo shit he's said so far. Like how the heck would you even wear shoes, my man?

"or maybe he has (removed them) and he's been lying to you all these years for effect." Daniel, you got those two old men down perfectly. I bet that's exactly it. There never were any rocks and Louis is just trying to make Armand extra miserable.

Louis playing "what if" games and always getting to the same result. You're just too down bad for that frenchman, my dear, there was never any other way for this to play out.

Armand, how much are you lying right now, my dear? I doubt they'd leave you in charge of the place where they're keeping your lover in a box in the wall....

I want Daniel's powers of multitasking xD Look at him have a whole conversation with heckin Raglan while still taking apart those old vampires and not getting caught. (Also Daniel's name on the chat xD Pulitzerootwo)

Louis in his manic Blade era, gods Jacob Anderson, the actor you are.

I kinda wish they had spent longer on him taking down the theatre but I get that they only had so much screen time and a lot of stuff to cover.

At least we got him taking down Santiago with that machete, A+

"If I'm not with him, I'm nothing" oh Armand, dear, we need to get you some self-respect. See also him staying with Louis for 70 years knowing exactly that Louis is only doing it to get back at his ex.

I guess they finally remembered VC vampires are literally dead to the world by day.

But if they were sleeping shouldn't it be daytime outside? And it clearly is still night when Louis walks out.

Louis goading Santiago into acting unwise is so good. (Also the glee Ben Daniels talked about the fake head with was so cute, I love it.)

Real Rashid, you're great. Glad they didn't eat you.

Oh Lestat, you're so unwell, quoting Magnus' words back at yourself. Also the heckin shackles on the wall and the alleged bruises that might have been on his wrists at the trial....

"Does it take a lot out of you, destroying everything in your wake?" Ooooh, the way we can't really tell if he's talking to Louis or Armand because Armand is standing behind Louis. "Well, almost everything". So it can be Louis destroying everything but Armand or Armand destroying everything but Louis.

Shut up Armand, how dare you say he came home. Rude, so rude.

And again I wonder if I made it up that they said "You can't burn Lestat twice" because they didn't even burn him once.

I guess Louis being a petty bitch and saying "Your punishment is that I'll be with someone else" is a kind of burn, tho? xD

Ok, boys, you can stop trying to sell your big romance now, no one is buying it any longer xD

And then Daniel drops his bombs, gotta love this old man. Also he really is a good reporter, that's the thing. He's good at his job and also an arsehole about it xD

I wonder if the telepathy with the tractor sales man fumble was planned or if they actually just wrote Daniel bringing this up because the fans caught them in a mistake LOL

Still don't really get where they're going with the whole "Vampire Sam survived the burning at the theatre and is working with the Talamasca" thing. Except for it being a way to actually have all these documents even after the theatre burned down.

Oh the panic in Armand's face when he realises that Daniel has a script with his notes on it.

If Lestat saved Louis on stage I'm guessing Armand had a different contingency in place for later? Because I really, really doubt he'd have let Louis burn on that stage.

Daniel is having way too much fun antagonizing these vampires xD I thought you wanted to make it out alive, my dear? Poking the bears is not how you do that, usually LOL

Daniel you smug little shit xD

Also why does it take Raglan heckin James telling you to get out of there to think of maybe getting out of there? Idiot with no self-preservation instincts xD

Ghost tour guy talking about murder night is so funny. "Sebastian Melmoth", "Lesander Lioncourt", "A 'so called' frenchman", and Louis' little grin xD awwww

"a local creole hustler and his little child bride, they were running a voodoo cult in the back rooms" Louis face at this also hilarious

Lestat in his depression episode in his little moss house with the ipad and the fake piano.

Oh the acting from Sam and Jacob in this scene, so good.

Lestat remembering the date and exact time Armand contacted him in the 70s. He's literally been suffering since then, hasn't he? Not knowing what Louis did to himself and if he was dead or alive.

Ok but what happened then? Did Louis just leave him in his little moss house with the hurricane tearing it down? It's what he did in the book. Guess we'll find out in s3.

So how much time passed between Dubai and this tv show interview? Are we in 2024 now? Or is it 2023? I guess it would not still be 2022 because publishing a book takes time?

The second I saw him wearing those tinted sunglasses I knew Eric finally got to play a vampire xD good for him, he deserves to have some fun with this next season, too. Also they better show us all the things between Daniel and Armand leading up to this. All. The. Things.

Love Daniel going off at the news guy because he doesn't give any more of a shit now that he's a vampire than he did when he was a mortal LOL

Finally some colour on Louis and in his penthouse again!

"No editors next book, I promise" xD

Why do Daniel's eyes change from blue to orange like that, tho, when he takes off the glasses?

Vampire!Daniel sounds way more like his 70s self than his 2022 self and I love it. He's so far definitely having fun

Louis, you big dolt, don't tell the angry vampires to come and get you. That's Lestat's thing and he's idiot enough for the both of you LOL (EDIT: Also he got rid of Armand's tree xD)

I think, as final episodes go, this was not bad. But e5 remains my fav from this season. It was just so good.

Now bring on s3 asap, AMC

[vamptits]

most mortifying part of being bilingual is names. like why are names different in other languages....... im EMBARRASSING myself in front of all my friends because i've apparently just been guessing at what sisyphus (sisyphe) and plato (platon) are called. actually it's words in general i accidentally said "plato's allegory of the cellar" the other day how do you walk that shit back?? is it my fault that the french for cellar is a false friend for the english word cave?? must i suffer eternally? must EVERY word i speak be preceded by the agony of not being entirely certain whether or not this will become an anecdote?