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#i don’t think a piece of animation has ever captivated me in the way this did tonight
miiroren · 11 months
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todays episode was literally a cinematic work of ART
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art · 6 months
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Creator Spotlight: @chaaistheanswer
Hi everyone! I am Clara, but you can also call me chaa! I am a digital artist based in Auckland, New Zealand, with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Media Production. After graduating from uni, I moved out to pursue my art career and I’ve been a freelance digital artist ever since. I love concept art, especially character design! Creating characters influenced by my love for fantasy is what I live for. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my art! And thank you, Tumblr, for this opportunity!
Check out our interview with Clara below!
Did you originally have a background in art? If not, how did you start?
I specialized in art in high school and have a bachelor’s degree in Creative Media Production from Massey University with an animation pathway. For our thesis film, which I worked on with several of my classmates, I took on the role of producer, art director, and concept artist. Our short film was featured in the Wellington Film Festival Terror-Fi in 2020. After graduating, I went on to become a freelance artist, but my goal is to work for the gaming industry as a character concept artist. Ever since I first picked up a pencil, I knew I wanted to become an artist!
Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?
Art block is quite common among artists, and unfortunately, I too have fallen prey to the affliction. I have several ways of overcoming art block: watching movies, playing games, reading, or going out for a drive with my sister. These are just a few things I love to do to help keep my creative juices flowing!
What is one habit you find yourself doing a lot as an artist?
I tend to obsessively research about completely unrelated topics while I draw. I find learning new things helps improve my concept designs, especially in creating backgrounds for my characters.
Over the years as an artist, what were your biggest inspirations behind your creativity?
Video games and anime were my biggest inspirations! Anything with a captivating story that’ll send me to the edge of my seat, and loveable characters. I’m particularly drawn to high and dark fantasy.
How has technology changed the way you approach your work?
Technology has made a huge impact on us artists over the last few years. I used to draw a lot on paper, but since getting a tablet, I find myself searching for the undo and redo buttons and even trying to zoom constantly while I draw on paper. I used to only draw for myself as well, but after posting my art online, I now have an audience to whom I can share my art. Because of this, I am able to earn a living doing what I love by creating illustrations for clients.
What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?
I am very proud of this recent commission I’ve done for a client! Fortunately, the piece turned out exactly how I wanted it to look, and my client was very happy with the result. I am also in the process of working on a Webtoon, which is going as smoothly as I hoped it would be before its re-release!
What advice would you give to younger you about making art that's personal or truthful to your own experiences?
The best advice I would give my younger self is to never hold back! Try not to think about the negatives of creating and sharing art that you believe in. Embrace vulnerability, and don’t be afraid to dig deep into your own emotions and experiences. Always explore, and don’t limit yourself to your own bubble. And most important of all, stay true to yourself! Stay true to your values and beliefs, and never compromise your own authenticity for the sake of pleasing others. Your art is a reflection of you as a person.
Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?
@yuumei-art has been an inspiration to me since my early Deviantart days. I admire how she uses her skills to focus on environmentalism and cyber activism. @nipuni is another inspiration of mine. I found her when I was in the process of recovering from Dragon Age Solavellan hell. I admire how she manages to capture faces well while also sticking to her style. Her paintings are so beautiful and very pleasing to my eyes!
Thanks for stopping by, Clara! If you haven't seen her Meet the Artist piece, be sure to check it out here. For more of Clara's work, follow her Tumblr, @chaaistheanswer!
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scribeoffate · 2 years
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For the scottuary fics, could I ask Dreams + AU + Scott/Brett/Isaac pls?
So this switched to Dreams+scott+anger because au had been taken. And from scott/brett/isaac to scisaac because i can't read, apparently <3 hopefully you still enjoy it!
“So, not good news?”
Scott’s fists are clenched, resting on the table surrounded by shredded white pieces of paper, stark against their dark wood table.
“Dear Mr. McCall,” Scott growls, “we regret to inform you…”
Isaac leans against the wall with his arms crossed. “That sucks.”
Scott stares across the room, eyes glazed over. “This was the last school.”
Isaac shifts his weight from one foot to the other. He has no idea what to say. It isn’t fair. But life never really is.
“It’s so unfair,” Scott spits, echoing his thoughts. “I’ve worked just as hard as anyone. But every letter is some variation of 'we don’t think a werewolf is a good fit for vet school.'"
“You do have that missing semester.”
Scott slams a fist against the table. The wood cracks down the middle. Scott winces and pulls his hand away.
“I was being held captive by Monroe. That semester was supposed to…” Scott traces a finger along the crack in the table, visibly deflating. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t know why I ever thought it did.”
“Hey…” Isaac uncrosses his arms. The anger made more sense. Anger is easier than whatever this is. “It’s just a table.”
The table takes that moment to finish breaking, splitting down the crack, each piece crashing to the floor. The shredded envelope paper floats to the ground in slow motion as Isaac steps closer to Scott.
Scott drops his head into his hands. “I’m sorry.”
Isaac suppresses the urge to growl. He kneels next to the chair Scott still sits in, the remains of the table and later surrounding them. He lifts a hand to cup Scott’s chin and tilt his face toward himself.
“You matter. You matter so much to me.”
Isaac wants to kick himself for how cheesy that sounds.
Then Scott smiles softly at him. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes. And it’s not Isaac’s favorite goofy grin, but it’s something. It’s progress.
Scott moves one of his hands and runs it through Isaac’s hair.
They sit like that for an eternity that can never last long enough, breathing quietly. Issac presses their lips together in a brief kiss before rising and offering Scott a hand.
For a minute, he thinks Scott won’t take it.
Scott does, his palm warm against Isaac’s skin. “I really am sorry, about the table.”
“We can get a new one.”
“I suppose we’ll save a lot of money, since I won’t be going to school.”
He tries to say it lightly, but Isaac hears the way it sticks in his throat.
“It’s okay, you know?”
Scott sighs, glancing at the table.
“Being angry,” Isaac clarifies. “It’s really not fair and you’ve given so much to protect people. And being a vet is… it’s what you’ve always wanted. Since that day you showed me how to take pain, I’ve known it was your dream to help animals. So. It’s okay, you know?”
Scott’s smile is a little less strained. “Thank you.”
Isaac shrugs. “I’m not really good at motivational speeches.”
Scott leans in and kisses him, a brief brush of lips. His grin is just a little goofy as he pulls away.
“Sounded pretty good to me.”
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emeraldiis · 3 years
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Falling for a God
A/N: Forgot to properly post/format this fic, so here ya go ya filthy animals (ok but i wrote it so I’m filthier)
AO3 Link
Pairing: Loki x Reader
Word Count: 7.1k
Rating: Explicit (18+)
Summary: “Tell me, does being touched by a god make you nervous? I can feel you quivering, are you afraid?” Loki pauses, then leans down until his lips are almost touching your ear. “Or is that arousal I sense?”You have a huge crush on Loki, there's lots of sexual tension, y'all fuck. That's the plot.
“Nat,” you whine. “I feel like you’re not even listening.” You prance to the front of her, spinning around to walk backwards.
Natasha rolls her eyes. “Wow, are you sure you aren’t pyschic?” She keeps up her brisk pace, and you nearly trip over yourself trying to keep up.
“That’s so rude!” You exclaim, but can’t hold back a giggle. Despite her cold demeanor, you know that Nat is just messing with you. Shooting a quick glance backwards, you decide that your path is clear, and return your gaze to your friend. “You’ll tell me if I’m about to run into something, right?”
With a wry grin, Natasha gives you a thumbs up. You beam at her. “Anyway,”  you continue. “I started watching this new TV show last night, and it is so, totally awesome. There’s this guy, and he has these badass powers, and he’s fighting this girl, and she has-”
Thump.
A small oof escapes from your mouth as your back collides with something solid. You pitch forward in surprise, and yelp as you try to stabilize yourself before you fall. Large, warm hands grab your waist, tightening around you to keep you from toppling over. You sigh in relief as your frantic heart slows to a normal rhythm. “Wow, thanks,” you say, and spin around to reveal the identity of your saviour.
Piercing blue eyes meet yours, and your breath catches in your throat. “Careful, pet,” Loki murmurs softly, a sly grin spreading across his lips. His hands slide off of your waist, making contact with the sliver of skin between your shorts and your top on the way. An involuntary shiver creeps up your spine, and you bite your lip.
The reaction doesn’t go unnoticed by the ever-perceptive trickster, and his eyes flash with surprise. “Are my hands really that cold?” Loki teases. “Perhaps you could help me warm them up.” His tone is playful, but there’s something deeper underneath his banter that makes you think he’s actually flirting.
You can tell that your cheeks are red, and you choose not to respond to Loki’s question in fear of making an even bigger fool of yourself. A stammered apology tumbles from your lips, and you look back towards Natasha with a look of betrayal. She grins and shrugs. “I forgot to warn you. Oops.” Your mouth drops open. That scheming little devil. She knows about your crush on Loki, and she still allows you to make a fool out of yourself?
Your interactions with Loki were sparse, to say the least. Aside from a few casual conversations in a group, you had barely even talked to him. Still, he captivated you from the very first day he arrived at the compound. He was exactly your type; tall, dark, and brooding. Aside from Thor, most everyone gave Loki a wide berth, hesitant to forget the battle for New York. You, however, didn’t see a villain. You saw pain behind those blue eyes, and could empathize with Loki’s behavior. You knew all too well that it hurt to live in someone’s shadow, and sometimes acting out was a cry for help. Granted, Loki’s outbursts were far more drastic than yours had ever been, but it was more or less the same on a base level. And, the fact that he constantly had a witty remark on the tip of his tongue never ceased to entertain you. The man liked to hear himself talk, and damn, so did you.
It takes you a second to realize that you’ve been staring. You clear your throat awkwardly and look to the floor, eager to hide your discomfort. “Um, thank you for catching me,” you manage. When you look back up, Loki is wearing an odd expression. His pretty eyes are narrowed, searching your face. The scrutiny only embarasses you further. “Well, see you around!” WIth that, you dart around Loki and scurry off. Natasha follows you, snickering softly.
When you reach the common area, you plop yourself down on the couch and groan, throwing an arm over your face. Natasha sits down beside you. “Smooth,” she says, drawing out the word obnoxiously.
You remove your arm from over your eyes and give Natasha a withering look. “So not funny.”
Nat positively cackles at that. “Oh, come on,” she says. “He’d be an idiot to not at least have a thing for you, I mean, you’re smoking! ” She looks you up and down. “Nice rack, too.”
A giggle bursts from your lips. “Nat. Oh, my god. Stop objectifying me.”
Shaking her head, Natasha replies, “Me, objectify? I would never.”
That earns her an eye roll from you. “Sure. Anyway, can we please change the subject? I’m sick of talking about my embarrassing Loki crush.”
“What does ‘crush’ mean?”
You freeze. Now that was a distinct voice. “Thor,” you choke out. “When did you get here?”
Thor walks up behind the couch and swings himself over the back, making the poor piece of furniture creak in protest. He settles next to you, effectively sandwiching you between him and Natasha. “Just long enough to hear you discussing my brother. Now, will you please enlighten me on this strange Midgardian term?”
Before you can shut him down, Nat pipes up from the other end of the sofa. “It means she likes him. Romantically. Sexually. ”
The temptation to throw yourself onto the floor wailing is high. Instead, you opt to beg for your life. Still embarrassing, but slightly more productive than throwing a tantrum. “Nat!” You screech. You turn to Thor with pleading eyes. “Please, don’t say anything to him.”
Thor furrows his eyebrows. “What an odd expression. You’d think that the word “crush’ would be associated with something negative.” He places a big hand on your thigh. “If what Lady Natahsa says is true, then why would you not tell my brother? He is quite vain, you know. I’m sure he would be delighted to know that a beautiful woman is attracted to him!”
You groan and bury your face in your hands. These Asgardians will be the death of you. “It’s not that simple, Thor. What if he rejects me? I’d never be able to show my face around him again!”
There’s a pause, and then Thor asks you in a much gentler tone, “It seems as though you care for Loki a great deal more than you are letting on. Are you really afraid of embarrassment, or is it the heartbreak you fear?”
You’re glad that your hands are covering your face, because the way the color drains out of it at Thor’s question would have given you away. “No,” you mumble through your fingers. But he’s right, you do care for Loki more than you’d ever admit. His image ran through your head at night when you were trying to sleep, and his voice was what came to mind when your fingers were between your legs and you were pretending they were-
You rub at your eyes, then look up at Thor in desperation. “Please, if you really care about me as a friend, you’ll keep this secret.” You shoot a look at Natasha. “You, too. I may not be able to take Thor in a fight, but I could kick your ass.” You know you sound like a pathetic teenager, but you’re past the point of caring. You were perfectly happy admiring Loki from afar, and didn’t want to get your hopes up just to be met with shame.
Natasha scoffs. “As if.” Before she can continue. Thor holds up his hand.
“Lady Natasha, I believe we should stay out of this. I have done a great deal of meddling in my brother’s life, and I’ve learned that even the best intentions can cause disaster when Loki is involved.
“Thank you, Thor,” you say gratefully, relief evident in your voice. With a tired sigh, you hoist yourself up from the couch and turn to face your friends. “Well, I think I’ve had enough excitement for today. I’m going to hibernate, see you next spring.”
Natasha giggles and blows you a kiss goodbye while Thor scrunches up his face in confusion at your joke. Oh, well. Maybe he’d understand Midgardian humor one day.
*
Thunder rages outside your window while you toss and turn. You roll over to glance at your clock, and scowl when it flashes “3AM.” Giving up on the prospect of sleep, you opt for creeping to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Your bare feet pad down the carpet, and you shiver slightly at the cold air of the hall. Goosebumps rise on your bare legs and you start to regret your decision not to put on pants.
To get to the kitchen, you have to walk through the common area, and for a moment you linger just outside the entryway. There’s a soft glow coming from the corner of the room, and you mentally groan, hoping it’s one of the female inhabitants of the compound. You weren’t too excited at the idea of walking past one of the guys in just a sleep shirt and underwear. Still, your mission for food is not one you’re willing to give up on. Taking a deep breath, you step out of the hallway and into the room. And nearly pass out.
Across the room, perched in one of the loveseats, is Loki. He’s sitting with his legs curled underneath him, thumbing through a book. You consider darting back into the safety of the hall, but you’re too late. Loki has already noticed you, and is now staring far too intently for your liking. Suddenly feeling very exposed, you tug on the hem of your shirt, trying to pull it further down your legs. “Sorry to disturb you,” you whisper, afraid to break the deafening silence. Loki raises an eyebrow at you, then turns back to his book. You aren’t sure if you’re relieved or disappointed when his gaze leaves you.
Not wanting to linger in the entryway any longer, you make your way across the room, keeping your eyes down. As you pass Loki, a loud clap of thunder booms outside, and already being on edge, you yelp. Startled from the deafening sound in an otherwise quiet room, you stagger, falling backwards onto the loveseat. Right next to Loki. The sofa is small, and in your splayed out position, you’re almost half on top of the god.
Loki flinches away, and you immediately begin to apologize. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what happened, I guess I just lost my footing. Did I hurt you?” As you talk, you push yourself off of Loki and cower into the other side of the loveseat. Some more rational part of your brain urges you to get up, give him some more space, but you don’t listen. As embarrassed as you are, you’re not quite ready to give up this closeness to the object of your affection.
With a huff, Loki straightens himself and gives you a cool look. “You did not hurt me, mortal. I was simply surprised.” Then, having composed himself, he smirks and sets his book on the end table beside him. “I suppose it is only natural to have weak knees in the presence of a god.”
The comment lightens the mood, and you find yourself relaxing next to him. “You’re right, Thor’s thunder does make me a tad unsteady.”
At that, Loki stiffens, obviously having not expected you to return his teasing. For a brief moment, you feel proud. Then, something changes in his expression, and he scoots closer to you. His hand finds your bare thigh, and the contact sends butterflies through your stomach. Loki senses your restlessness and gives you a predatory grin. “Is that so? Are you telling me that this,” he squeezes your thigh, and you gasp. “Doesn’t make you feel...faint?” His voice is low, and he almost purrs the last few words.
You fight hard to keep your breathing even, not wanting to give away just how flustered you are. The heavy weight of his hand feels heavenly, and you can feel your panties grow damp. God, you hope he can’t smell it.
This predatory tone is so much different than the playful teasing that you usually receive from Loki. You’ve never seen his blue eyes so dark, and the unfamiliarity of it all tightens your stomach.
Taking your silence as a challenge, Loki presses himself even closer to you. His fingers creep up your leg, closer to your underwear. “Tell me, does being touched by a god make you nervous? I can feel you quivering, are you afraid?” Loki pauses, then leans down until his lips are almost touching your ear. “Or is that arousal I sense?”
Fuck. A full body shiver skates across your skin, and despite your best efforts, a small moan breaks free from your throat. Loki’s hand feels like a brand on your thigh, sending waves of heat up your body. The warmth pools between your legs, and you can’t help but shift a bit. Knowing that your panties are the only barrier between your soaking heat and the sofa, you arch your hips ever so slightly to keep from soiling the cushion.
Of course, your small movements don’t go unnoticed. Loki’s eyes are hooded as they rake across your bare legs, and you can hear his breathing get a bit heavier. He looks up at you, pupils dilated. “Oh, pet, look at you. Barely even touched, and already-”
He’s cut off by the sound of footsteps echoing through the hall, headed in your direction. Loki curses softly and reluctantly draws his hand away, then moves as far away as the small sofa allows. Your skin aches at the loss of contact.
The interrupting stranger’s footsteps approach the entrance to the common room, then carry on past. You let out the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding, thankful that you wouldn’t have to explain anything. Something tells you that, while there’s nothing going on now, sitting with Loki in the middle of the night might raise a few eyebrows.
You and Loki are alone again, but the moment has passed. Whatever spell that had overcome the two of you is gone, and all that’s left is a quiet room and a dim light. “I apologize, I believe I have overstepped,” Loki says, and for the first time, he sounds...unsure. His voice has lost that arrogant confidence that it normally carries, and he sounds like a child that has just been caught stealing cookies from the jar.
You bite your lip and risk a glance at Loki. He’s still pressed against the opposite arm of the loveseat, and is avoiding your eyes. Without the atmosphere of desire from before, now you just feel...awkward. Sighing softly, you rise to your feet and make your way to the hallway. You pause briefly in the entryway, and breathe out a “goodnight, Loki.” You don’t wait for a response, instead turning and trudging back towards your room.
As you flop back down in bed, you replay the night’s events over in your mind. It almost feels like a dream, and you’re having trouble believing that Loki, the God of Mischief, had actually come on to you. It didn’t seem plausible. You’re just a plain mortal, nothing special, no powers. Sure, your combat skills could rival Natasha’s, but besides that, you can’t find anything about yourself that would attract a god.
Eventually, you decide that maybe Loki was just horny, and you were in the right place at the right time. You did walk out without pants on, after all. No matter the reasoning, you know not to expect a repeat occurrence, given how regretful he had seemed afterwards. Tears brim in your eyes as the reality of the situation hits you; Loki regrets touching you. It seems that your crush was one-sided, and even though you weren’t surprised, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
*
Things are tense around the compound. You creep around corners, terrified of accidentally finding yourself in the same room as Loki. And it seems that Loki is taking the same precautions, because you haven’t even seen a glimpse of him since that night. The ache in your heart from his rejection still keeps you up at night, and you still find yourself pining over him like a lovesick idiot.
Ever the observer, Natasha catches on quickly. “Are you really still embarrassed about bumping into Loki?” She asks after cornering you in the kitchen. “You’re not acting like yourself, and it is beyond obvious something is bothering you.”
You groan at her around a mouthful of a granola bar. “Are you really still thinking about it?” You counter.
Nat rolls her eyes. “Please, it’s hard to pretend it didn’t happen when you’re playing this stupid cat and mouse game. I see you check every room for him, I can’t believe you even care that much. He barely even touched you!”
A piece of your snack shoots down your throat with your gasp. You double over, wheezing and coughing. Natasha slaps a hand on your back, sighing. When you finally catch your breath, you glare at Nat. “Yeah, maybe that’s the issue.”
You immediately regret your words as a fire lights itself in Natasha’s eyes. “Want me to help?”
“Nat, hold on. No thanks-”
“Shush, trust me!” To your dismay, Natasha is already on her way out of the kitchen when she finishes hushing you. You whimper out a half-baked protest, but your friend is long gone by the time the words leave your mouth. Fuck, you’re so screwed.
LIfe  was very quickly becoming a stressful game of hide and seek. You’d resorted to spending most of the day in your room, hoping to avoid Loki, and more importantly, Natasha. You’re not sure what she has planned, but it can’t be anything good. As weeks pass by with no incident, however, you begin to drop your guard. Maybe she’s taking pity on you.
It’s around noon when you get the text. It’s an all caps message from Nat, pleading with you to at least hear her out before saying no.
That’s a terrifying text. I’m listening.
Nat: I may have bragged my way into a drinking contest with Thor, and I need a teammate to make it fair.
You want to try and outdrink Thor????
Nat: I want US to outdrink him. I convinced him that it’d be more balanced if it was 2 to 1.
You owe me.
Nat: :)
It was a terrible idea, but maybe a nice night of getting hammered is just what you need to break you out of your funk. Despite your initial reluctance, you find yourself getting excited. You hadn’t really relaxed in ages, this would be a good thing.
As the hours pass, you start to get nervous. It’s been so long since you’ve gotten properly drunk, and you seriously doubt you’ll be able to keep up with even Natasha. Still, a promise is a promise, and you have far too much pride to chicken out now.
The clock reaches nine o’clock, and you sigh. Showtime. Before leaving your suite, you set several glasses of water and a bottle of Advil on your nightstand. If you’re going to fuck over your future self, you might as well try to ease her pain. You take a deep breath and spare a glance over at the mirror against your bedroom wall. You had opted for something comfy, but cute; an emerald green dress that stopped just above your mid-thigh, and fell off of one shoulder effortlessly.
Okay, so maybe you had wanted to get a tiny bit dressed up. You’re sure Nat will tease you for it, but sometimes a girl just wants to feel pretty.
A bit breathless from those pre-competition nerves--yes, a drinking contest was that serious--you make your way to the kitchen. As you round the corner, you stop dead in your tracks. Sitting at the bar Tony had insisted on installing, is Nat and Thor, of course. But next to them, perched delicately on one of the stools, is Loki. He wears a look of disdain, as if this entire competition is beneath him. You hope he can’t tell how badly you want to be beneath him.
Natasha gives you a wicked grin as Thor waves you over, his smile far more innocent-looking than Nat’s, though you’re sure he had a part in this. Cursing your terrible friends under your breath, and yourself for falling for it, you trudge over. Naturally, the only stool left is the one on the end, directly next to Loki. You gingerly hoist yourself up and slide onto the seat.
You stubbornly keep your eyes on the counter, not daring to even glance up at Loki. It’s obvious from the way he’s angling himself away from you and towards his brother that he’s regretting that night, and doesn’t want to be near you. You don’t blame him, humans must seem like animals compared to gods. The reality is that you were a mistake to him, and you just needed to accept that and move past.
Breaking the awkward silence, Thor produces a jug of what looks like beer from god knows where. He grins and gestures to it grandly. As he opens his mouth to speak, you cut him off. “Hold up! I thought this was two against one? Loki being here makes it unfair.”
Natasha rolls her eyes at you. “Yeah, I may have bent the truth to get you to come out. It’s teams of two, but we have a handicap. Our drinks and shots count as twice the actual amount, and they’ll be drinking Asgardian mead. So,” She smirks. “No more complaints, let’s do this shit.”
You swallow nervously at the mention of shots. You could hold your liquor fairly well, but you and shots had...history. Nat knew how touchy you got when you were drunk, and how much of an oversharer you tended to be. Though you have to admit that her plan is almost flawless, you’re still unimpressed with her shenanigans. She’s pretty much set you up to embarrass yourself.
You twiddle your thumbs in your seat as Natasha grabs a bottle of Svedka from behind the bar and begins to pour the beginning drinks. Following her lead, Thor pops open his jug and splits it between two large glasses, then passes one to Loki, who sighs in apparent boredom. He shoots you an unreadable look, then grabs one of the shot glasses that Natasha filled and slides it your way.
With a mumbled “thanks,’ you gingerly take the glass, and look at Nat and Thor. Thor raises his glass. “May the better warriors win!” He announces, then tips back his glass. You roll your eyes at the word choice, but bring the shot glass to your lips and throw your head back. The liquor goes down rough, but you manage to keep your poker face and grit your teeth against any retches.
“The lady can drink!” Thor bellows, wiping at his face.
You shrug, wanting the spotlight off of you. “Um, I went to college?”
Before Thor can question you, Natasha cuts in. “Hello? I took it just as well, where’s my applause?”
“Natasha, you are not a lady,” Loki deadpans. Nat glares and pours herself another shot in response, throwing back the second one just as easily as she had the first. She then points at you. You can’t help the laugh that bubbles up. Despite everything, Loki was still Loki, and he still had your heart. It seems that the tension between you and Loki dissolves after you laugh at his quip, and he relaxes his stiff posture.
You sigh in relief and reach for the bottle to refill your own glass. This time, it goes down easier. That is, until the burns travels past your stomach, right down to between your legs. You squirm in place at the unexpected burst of arousal. Still, you should have been ready for it. Alcohol has always gotten you a little worked up. It was your mistake to believe you could fight it.
Despite the setback, you keep up with your teammate as the night goes on. Shot after shot, broken up by the easy conversation that emerges as the liquor continues to flow.
You’re not sure when the competition was forgotten, but you soon find yourself splayed on the couch next to Loki, laughing hysterically at some story he’s just finished telling about Thor in his youth. You look over at him, hazily trying to center your double vision to properly admire the god. His cheeks are flushed red from the alcohol, and he looks more relaxed than you’ve ever seen him.
Loki glances over, catching you staring, but you’re far too intoxicated to be embarrassed. Instead, you hold your gaze, waiting for a reaction. Loki smirks, then eyes his brother with annoyance.
“Brother,” he says, voice a lazy drawl. “I believe we’ve won this contest, wouldn’t you say?”
Thor cocks his head, then widens his eyes in understanding. “Oh, certainly! In fact, I think it would be necessary for me to walk you back to your quarters, Natasha.”
Natasha begins to protest, but it dies on her lips as her gaze flickers between you and Loki. “What a gentleman,” she purrs, only swaying slightly when she rises from her seat. “Lead the way.” Taking his outstretched hand, Natasha stumbles down the hall with Thor, giggling excitedly.
Now that it’s just the two of you, you expect things to get awkward, but find that you’re still just as comfortable. “Well, I guess I have to bow to the drinking champ,” you slur, sitting up to give a half hearted bow.
Loki throws his head back and laughs. “You,” he manages between snorts, “are far more fun to be around than most others on this planet.”
You scoff and wave your hand dismissively. “You’re only saying that ‘cause I bowed to you.” Chewing on your lip, you let your eyes drift back over to Loki. In your drunken haze, he just looks so...comfy. Before you realize what you’re doing, you slide over to lean up against him. Loki’s surprisingly warm, and you sigh contentedly, letting your mind wander back to how his hand felt running up your thigh.
The arousal from earlier that you had forgotten about rears its head, turning your sigh into a shaky exhale that is not at all subtle. The air feels thick, just like it had on that one stormy night, and you press yourself closer to Loki, unable to resist how good his body feels against yours.
Loki freezes for a moment, then seems to force himself to relax into you. His arm snakes around you until he’s holding you comfortably against his side. For one brief moment, you start to wonder if this is a good idea, given how things had ended in the past, but the intoxicated part of your brain tells the sober part to go fuck herself, and then you’re speaking without thinking. “Do you want to walk me to bed?”
Oh, shit. You can’t believe that just came out of your mouth. A wave of sobering panic hits you, and you untangle yourself from Loki and shoot up from the couch. Before you can flee, however, a pale hand grabs hold of your arm, stopping you in place.
Loki gets up, then moves his grip from your wrist to your hand. “I think that is a lovely idea. Allow me?” With the hand that isn’t holding yours, he gestures toward the hall. Well, that was unexpected. You try not to giggle in child-like excitement, and instead nod hurriedly.
Your heart speeds up at the feel of his hand in yours, and you start off down the hall, letting Loki pull you towards your suite. Caught up in trying to navigate the titling floor, you don’t notice that you’re being led the wrong way until the two of you come to a stop at a door that definitely does not belong to you. You look up at Loki in confusion. “This isn’t my room.”
“I know,” Loki growls, then opens the door and whirls you both inside. When you’ve recovered from the swift movement, you manage to pull away from Loki’s grip.
“What-what’s going on?” You say, attempting to sound stern. Loki stalks towards you. Instinctively, you back up, until you’re pressed against the wall with Loki boxing you in.
Loki presses his hands to the wall on either side of your head and sneers at you. “What’s going on?” He mocks. “I’ve craved your body under mine since long before our little nighttime meeting, and I have run out of patience for games.” He leans in and presses a kiss to your neck, grazing you with his teeth. Just like before, his playfulness has given way to a domineering aura, but you’re not complaining one bit.
You barely suppress a full body shiver. “But,” you protest weakly. “I, I thought you regretted it. I mean, you never said anything about it, so I figured...oh…” you trail off into a soft moan as Loki roughly licks up the side of your neck, growling.
“And when would I have gotten the chance?” Loki pulls away from his assault on your skin to look you in the eyes. “You have been avoiding me for nearly a month.” Those blue eyes are staring daggers at you, and you realize that there’s hurt behind all that frustration.
Your mouth goes dry. He’s right, but the eye contact from his smoldering stare is making you forget how to speak. Fumbling with your words, you cast your gaze downwards. “Yeah, I guess I have. But with what you said after we were interrupted....I thought you were uncomfortable with what happened.”
A dark chuckle spills from Loki’s lips. “The only discomfort you have caused me is the nights I have spent spilling over my own hand because I could not have you. ”
You gasp softly as Loki’s words send a wave of heat through your overheated body. Loki takes that as encouragement, and presses himself closer until his lips are grazing yours. “Tell me you don’t want this and I’ll leave,” he mumbles, eyes hooded.
Your response is to surge forward, hands flying to the back of his head as you roughly pull him in to kiss you. You both groan at the contact. The kiss is anything but gentle; your fingers are tangled in Loki’s hair, tugging harshly, and you can feel his teeth nipping at your bottom lip. It was far better than you could have imagined, and the dizzying pleasure of it all has you feeling drunker and more sober at the same time.
Before long, the room spins as Loki lifts you and hoists your legs around his waist. He kisses you breathless as he walks slowly down the hall towards what you can only assume is his bedroom. There’s a giddy part inside of you that squeals with excitement at being carried like that, but it’s quickly overshadowed by lust as you and Loki reach his bedroom. He tosses you onto his king sized bed like a doll, then kneels on the floor and yanks your ankles until your bottom is almost hanging off the bed.
Loki slides your dress up and nuzzles the inside of your thigh. “I could smell your arousal the entire night,” he says, nearly purring. “May I taste?”
You sit up on your elbows and stare down at him, face flushed with mild embarrassment at his face so close to your soaked panties. Dumbly, you nod, words failing you. Loki growls his appreciation and hikes up your dress, taking a brief moment to admire the soft fabric. “You look absolutely ravishing in green, I’ve wanted to tear this off of you since the moment I laid eyes on it.” And then he’s sliding your panties down your legs and plunging his tongue into your heat.
A ragged gasp tears its way from your throat and you throw your head back. You feel the grin form on Loki’s lips against your skin, and a fresh gush of arousal flows down your thighs. Loki eats pussy like it’s an art form he’s been perfecting for ages. His lips tug at your pussy, worshipping every fold like it’s the last meal he’ll ever have. You open your mouth to make some joke about his silvertongue, but all that comes out is a pathetic whimper as Loki drags his teeth lightly across your clit.
It isn’t long before the pleasure reaches its peak.You fight hard to keep your legs from clamping around Loki’s head, but you can’t help it when you crest over the edge of orgasm. Your muscles lock up, your back arches, and you scream. White hot euphoria explodes from your core, spreading through your body like venom. Loki’s tongue works you through it, slowing to wide, long strokes as you begin to come down.
You’ve barely recovered when Loki rises from his knees and crawls up your body, coming to a stop when his face is inches from yours. His eyes are hooded, and his glistening lips are parted to allow frantic, heated pants to escape. “Pet,” he hisses, leaning down to nuzzle into your shoulder. “You taste sweeter than the fruits of Asgard.” He bites at your collarbone, making you shudder in your post-orgasmic haze.
Still out of it, you sluggishly fumble at Loki’s belt. “Wanna make you feel good, too,” you mumble and lick your lips. Loki bats your hand away, shushing you.
“Darling, there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I need to feel you.” He grabs your shoulders and drags you up to the pillows, so that you’re lying comfortably on your back with him hovering above you.
Your heart skips a beat at the mention of ‘later.’ So this wasn’t just a one-night stand? You don’t have time to process that, however, as Loki barely gives you a moment to breathe. He sits back on his knees, straddling your waist, and with a wave of his hand, you’re both stark naked. Your hands twitch, wanting to cover yourself. Being naked in front of an attractive man has always intimidated you, but the fact that Loki was a god made it worse. As if sensing your sudden shyness, Loki leans in to kiss at lick at your breasts, and brings his hands up to pin your wrists to the bed. You sigh in pleasure, insecurity fading with every hot swipe of his tongue, not even wanting to struggle against his hold.
Loki lowers himself to grind against you. His hard cock slides against your dripping folds as his narrow hips press into yours. Both of you shiver, and you arch your hips to bring him closer. Loki growls against your skin and sits up. He lets go of your wrists, roughly grabs your waist and angles it to meet his. “Ready, pet? I can’t wait, I need to have you.” he breathes, eyes locked on yours.
Like a deer in the headlights, you’re frozen, anticipation coiling tightly under your skin. Slowly, you nod. Loki wastes no time. He smirks, then slides himself into you, the stretch burning in the loveliest way. Your heated groan mingles with his, and when Loki’s hips come to rest against yours, he falls against your chest, panting. You appreciate the time he gives you to adjust; Loki’s cock is thick, and longer than anything you’ve ever taken, and you can feel it throbbing desperately within you. Now that he’s released your hands, you bring them up to thread through his soft, black hair. He closes his eyes and leans into your touch, nearly purring.
“Tell me when, love,” Loki grits out, fighting to keep his voice steady. The shakiness in his usually smooth tone is arousing to no end, and you can feel yourself clench around him in approval. Loki’s hips twitch at the fluttering of your walls, and though you’re more than ready, you decide to torture him a bit longer.
You bring your legs up to wrap around Loki’s  waist, pulling him closer. He shivers, but keeps his composure, remaining almost statue still. His concern for your comfort makes your heart swell, but you want to see him lose control. “You’re so big,” you whimper out, the alcohol in your system quelling the embarrassment you’d usually feel when talking dirty. You press your face into Loki’s neck, grazing your teeth along the pale skin there.
With a deep growl of barely kept composure, Loki rises up to rest on his elbows, desperate eyes searching yours. It seems that being the God of Lies gave Loki the ability to see through your cruel game, and his expression turns dark, though the neediness is still blatant. You shift nervously as he stares you down, already regretting your mischievousness. “Feeling playful, are we?” Loki asks.
Your mouth goes dry at being caught and your core tightens around him again, earning you a flutter of his eyelids. “I…” you trail off, eyes drifting to Loki’s parted lips. Watching you gaze, Loki grins at you.
“Oh, pet. I think you may be confused. You are mine to toy with, not the other way around.” With that, Loki leans down to crush his lips into yours. His tongue forces its way into your mouth and you whine around it. While his tongue’s distracting you, Loki takes his chance to begin pounding into you at a ruthless pace, and you break away from the kiss to throw your head back and shriek out a moan.
You feel utterly wrecked, stomach clenching and nerves alight with pleasure as Loki continues his assault on your body. Your eyes are squeezed shut, so his teeth nipping at your jaw come as a surprise, sending a whole new shockwave of sensation down your neck.
“You feel so fucking good, pet,” Loki moans, his voice quickly losing its characteristic steadyness. He sighs out something that sounds suspiciously like a whimper, and brings one of his hands down to toy with your clit. Your legs tighten around him involuntarily. “A-ah, fuck,” Loki grits out, increasing his pace.
The pleasure is overwhelming, and the unhuman speed at which Loki’s pounding into you leaves you no time to catch your breath. Moans and whines erupt from your mouth in a constant stream, and Loki keeps his mouth hovering above yours to drink them in. “I wanna cum,” you whimper as Loki’s assault on your senses continues.
“Then cum, pet,” Loki groans, hips stuttering. “ Cum for your god.”
You keen, writhing and chasing your high. As you climb up to your orgasm, you are met with a startling realization that Loki has already ruined you for anyone else. No human man could match the fire that he’s set upon your nerves, the blinding pleasure that mounts with every thrust and kiss. With that settling into your mind, you finally reach your second peak of the night.
Your eyes try to flutter shut, tears brimming at the corners as you wail Loki’s name again and again. Through the haze of your climax, you notice Loki’s muscles begin to tense as he nears his orgasm as well, and you force your eyes to stay open in order to watch him come apart.
Watching Loki cum is almost like a second climax. He speeds up impossibly, mouth hanging open and eyes barely able to stay focused on you. “You’re mine,” he growls out. Choked moans fall from his lips as he nears the edge, and you rake your nails down his back to encourage him.
“Cum in me, please, I need it, make me yours” you ramble breathlessly.
“Oh, fuck, I-I’m so close,” Loki manages, voice breaking. You continue to coo pleas and encouragements at him, and the way his eyes roll back at your wrecked voice gives you an intoxicating rush of pride. Finally, with a whimpering moan, Loki stills, cock pulsing within you and hips twitching as he pumps you full of his cum.
Loki slumps against you, still moving in aborted little thrusts, as if he can’t quite stop fucking you just yet. The weight of him on top of you is heavy, but not unwelcome, and you take the time to bask in the euphoria of having just slept with the god you’d pined after for so long.
“That was…” you start, words failing you.
“Divine,” Loki finishes for you. He slides his cock out of your pussy, and with it comes a gush of warm cum that you’re sure will stain the sheets. He rolls off of you, then guides you onto your side so that he can pull you up against him.
You weren’t expecting Loki to be the ‘cuddling after sex,’ type, so having him spoon you was surprising, to say the least. He nuzzles his nose into your hair, and you find yourself wanting to fall asleep like that; comfortable in his bed and safe in his strong arms.
Still, there’s a nagging question that won’t let you fully relax. Not wanting to expect too much, you brace yourself for the worst and open your mouth to speak. “Loki...what does this mean for us?”
Loki tenses behind you, and your heart breaks at the assumed rejection as he begins to pull away. “Are you...are you not mine? I thought this was-I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood. Forgive me.”
This time, your heart breaks for a different reason. Loki sounds so hurt, so unsure of everything, and you can hear a scared little boy behind that velvet voice. “No!” You nearly shout, turning around to pull him back to you. “I want to be yours, I promise,” you say as you tug Loki back into your arms, running a soothing hand down his back. “I just wasn’t sure if that’s what you wanted.”
The relief in Loki is visible as he relaxes into you. “Love, I am yours as much as you are mine, do not doubt that.”
The pet name brings a smile to your lips. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” you reply happily. Heart full, you roll back over so that Loki can snuggle into you again, and finally let your drowsiness overtake you. You catch a faint, ‘I love you,’ just before you drift off to sleep, and though it could just be your mind playing tricks on you, you know that you love him, too.
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beelsnack · 3 years
Text
I Put A Spell On You - Obey Me Boys and A Witch MC
I may have mentioned it in an ask or something before, but I'm actually a practicing witch. (Sorry, Mammon.) So, in honor of spooky season, I bring you witch MC!
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Lucifer: "Can I ask you something?"
Lucifer looked up from the report he had been working on. In the House of Lamentation, hearing that question was very rarely followed by anything but disaster. He bit back the urge to sigh and turned to look at the human. "You may."
"Have you ever been summoned by a witch?" the human set down their pen. They had taken refuge in Lucifer's room in an attempt to actually get their homework done, and had been working diligently up until this point. "Like, successfully."
He raised an eyebrow. "No, I haven't. I doubt any mortal witch would have the power to actually summon me."
"That's what I thought," they leaned back in their chair, stretching.
"What brought this on?"
"A witch I know up in the Human Realm swore up and down that he had, quote unquote, ‘summoned Lucifer himself.’ No one believed him anyway, but I figured I would ask just to confirm my suspicions.”
“No, it is highly unlikely that a mortal witch would have the magical power to summon me,” Lucifer chuckled darkly. “Although many have tried.”
“What happens to them when they do?” they asked, completely abandoning their work at this point. Part of Lucifer wanted to reprimand them for getting distracted, but he couldn’t deny that he liked having their attention on him. “Do you curse them or something?”
“I do nothing,” he smirked as they got up to lean against his desk. Perhaps he could stand to take a break as well. “The minor demons they actually summon, however, often have their fun with those foolish enough to try.”
“Oh, I’ll bet the Little Ds have a blast with them, huh?” the human grinned.
“Ask Number Two about the time he possessed a ouija board and convinced a human they would die if they ever wore the color blue again.”
Laughing, the human moved to return to their spot at his coffee table where they had spread out all of their study materials. Lucifer, however, had different plans.
“Oof!”
In one quick, fluid motion, he had grasped the human around the waist and tugged them into his lap. The movement had mussed up their hair, and he affectionately moved a few strands out of their face to see their adorable pout.
“You know, my dear, you are the only human witch able to summon me. You should wear that fact like a badge of honor.”
Mammon: “Now that’s just playin’ dirty!”
The human had to make a concentrated effort not to laugh at Mammon. “Yeah, they really didn’t have to go that far. They already have you by the balls.”
“They do not!” Mammon growled, crossing his arms. “Nobody has control over The Great Mammon!”
“Except for the multitude of humans who you made pacts with because they promised you a few bucks.”
“Wow, okay.”
Shaking their head, they gently plucked the doll out of Mammon’s palm. It was a standard poppet, made out of cloth. “Why don’t you just have Lucifer or Satan undo the curses?”
“Because,” Mammon huffed. “Human magic is different from demon magic. None of us know the first thing about it.”
“You just don’t want to admit to anyone that the witches pulled one over on you again.”
“Can you fix it or not?”
Smothering another laugh, they brought the poppet closer to examine it. Aside from the basic filling, it felt like there were some stones in there, and they thought they smelled some herbs.
“So, basically all you need to do is remove whatever link they used to bind the doll to you,” they muttered, more to themself than anything. “Usually it’s hair, nail, a drop of blood if they’re feeling particularly nasty…”
“That’s what they were doin’?”
The human looked up, tilting their head. “What?”
“One of the witches was bein’ real nice to me,” Mammon sighed. “Patting me on the head when I dropped off some money for them. Shoulda known she was trying something fishy!”
“Okay, that answers that.” they made their way over to their desk, plopping down in the chair. “So she probably pulled out some of your hair and put it inside the doll. So all we have to do it get it out, this thing becomes a regular old doll, and voila, curse broken.”
“How do we do that?” Mammon asked, peering over their shoulder as they reached into their drawer. His blue eyes widened when they pulled out a pair of scissors. “Whaddaya plan on doin’ with those?”
“Mammon, this is going to hurt like a bitch.”
“Wha - ack!”
Mammon doubled over in pain at the same time the human cut open a slice on the doll’s belly. There, right in the center of the stuffing and stones - and there were herbs in there, they had been right! - was a little bundle of white hair, tied with a piece of twine.
“Ah-ha!” they plucked the bunch out of the doll, and Mammon just barely managed to catch himself on the corner of the desk before he went crashing to the floor.
“Holy shit, human, I’m gonna fuckin’ hurl.”
“Do it somewhere that isn’t my room, please.”
Leviathan: “Levi, I don’t know how to tell you this, but ‘witch’ and ‘magical girl’ aren’t the same thing.”
Ever since they let it slip that they practiced witchcraft, Levi had obsessively forced them to watch every magical girl anime he could think of. It was his way of relating to them, they were sure, but it was starting to get a little out of hand. There were only so many variations of the magical girl trope in existence.
Levi frowned at them. “It’s not?”
“Well, for one, I don’t own a super cute lolita dress.”
“Do you want me to make you one?”
The human laughed. “Somehow I don’t think showing up to a coven meeting wearing a pink loli dress will make the others take me very seriously.”
“What about blue?”
“Leviathan.”
“Fine, fine,” he huffed. “So if it’s not like in the anime, what is human magic like?”
“A lot more boring than demon magic, honestly.” the human shrugged, turning back to the monitor. Since they had put their foot down against watching Madoka, the two of them were rewatching Sailor Moon. “A lot of using herbs and crystals and energy. Really symbolic.”
“That is boring,” Levi scowled. “You don’t even get a transformation sequence.”
“I’m just as mad about it as you are, dude.”
Satan: “Holy shit, Satan, that is a ton of books.”
THe demon had no reason to look as proud as he did as he sat the stack of books on the table in front of him. “This isn’t even all of them. Some of them are cursed, so I let them be for now.”
“That’s...both impressive and concerning.” the human picked up a book off the top of the pile. “Whoa, it’s even handwritten!”
“I’ve collected my fair share of grimoires over the millennia.” Satan took a seat across from them, watching as they turned each page with reverence. “I believe that one is from a Scottish witch from the 16th century.”
“Should I be wearing gloves or something?” they cradled the book like it was made of glass. “This is historic, Satan.”
“I’ve cast the appropriate spells on them to prevent them from decaying, don’t worry.” Satan laughed. “Although your concern is appreciated.”
“I could learn so much about the craft from these,” their voice was barely above a whisper, eyes wide as they scanned each page like it contained the secret to eternal life. “This is...wow…”
The look of utter rapture that the human had on their face was endearing, and Satan couldn’t help but smile softly at them. “Feel free to peruse them whenever you like. They deserve to be appreciated.”
“You mean it?” they looked up with hope sparkling in their eyes. “Thank you so much, Satan!”
“Of course,” he reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind their ear. “That look on your face is worth any price.”
Asmodeus: “I have a gift for you!”
Asmo poked his head up from where he had buried it in his D.D.D. The human stood next to the couch, arms clasped behind their back and a giddy smile stretching across their face. Asmo could practically feel them vibrating from excitement.
“Ooh, for me? Darling, you shouldn’t have!” He pocketed his phone and gave them his full attention. “What is it?”
They held out their hands, revealing the treasure they had been hiding. “Ta-da!”
Asmo carefully picked up the chain from their palms. Dangling from the end of it was a small bottle, wrapped carefully in wire and turned into a pendant. Tiny, translucent pink stones sat inside, nestled in a layer of salt and herbs. The magic surrounding it was faint, as most human witchery was, but it was so uniquely them that Asmo could just about cry.
“Oh, darling, you made me a love charm!” he exclaimed, immediately slipping the necklace on. “It’s so cute! I love it, thank you so much!”
The human smiled. “I’m glad! I wasn’t sure what to do with the rose quartz, but I knew you would love them, so I figured I would make you something! Not that I really think a love charm would work on you, but I figured you would appreciate the aesthetic.”
Asmo laughed, reaching forward to cup the side of their face gently. “You don’t need to use a love charm on me, darling. I’m already captivated by you.” His other hand came up to touch the pendent resting against his collarbone. “This will just serve as a reminder of how spellbound you’ve made me.”
Beelzebub: When they had first described themself as a “kitchen witch,” Beel had thought that they meant they were a really good cook.
And while that was true, they also were literally a kitchen witch.
“Basil for protection...oregano to ward off negative magic...there, that should do it.”
To Beel, it just looked like they were making pasta. Which was never a bad thing. But they chose which herbs to season it with such intention and purpose, Beel knew it was more than that.
“Do herbs really have magic?” he asked, leaning on the counter next to the stove while the human worked on magic dinner. “I’ve never thought of them as particularly magical.”
“It’s more of a human thing,” they said, sprinkling the last of the oregano over the pot of sauce. “We don’t get the flashy sparks and all that, so we had to develop our own magic.”
“Hm…” Beel regarded the pot with curiosity. “Is that why your cooking is so good?”
“Sure, we’ll go with that.” they laughed, swatting at his hand as he slowly approached the pot. “You aren’t sneaky, Beel.”
“Can I just have a taste?”
“Your ‘taste’ is drinking the whole pot like it’s soup.” they rolled their eyes. “I haven’t even started cooking it yet! It’s cold!”
Beel pouted, looking every bit the kicked puppy. “But I want to taste your magic.”
“You can taste my magic when dinner’s ready.”
Belphegor: On nights when he couldn’t sleep, Belphie usually ended up with the human.
Sometimes it was just him wiggling his way into their bed and cuddling with them until he felt sleepy. But tonight, it looks like they were sharing a case of insomnia.
So that was how he ended up sitting on the human’s floor with his hand in their lap as they studied it like it was a textbook.
“So? What do the squiggly lines of destiny tell you about me?”
“That you’re a little bitch.” they shot back, running their thumb over the center of his palm. “You have a lot of crosses on your heart line.”
“Which means?”
“You’re emotionally fucked up.”
Belphie snorted. “I could have told you that one.”
“You’re the one who came in here and wanted to see some human magic, I don’t want to hear any complaining.” they let go of his hand. “The only reason I’m breaking out the salt and candles is to banish your demonic ass from my room.”
“You know that only works on lesser demons.”
“Anything will work as banishment if I throw it hard enough.”
Diavolo: This...felt kind of pointless, honestly.
They knew it was mainly because of Diavolo’s obsession with human culture. But doing a Tarot reading for the Crown Prince of Hell seemed like a waste of everyone’s time.
Well, regardless, a summons from Diavolo was not to be ignored, so they had dutifully gathered up their cards and made their way to the Demon Lord’s Castle.
“You know,” they began hesitantly. “If you want to know the future, you have a time-manipulating butler right there.”
Barbatos, ever watchfully, chuckled and inclined his head. “My Lord is fascinated by human methods of divination.”
“It’s true,” Diavolo nodded. “Tarot especially has always piqued my interest, but very rarely do I have time to indulge with the other witches who visit the Devildom.”
....Oh, they really couldn’t say no to the hopeful gleam in his eye. A man that large had no right to look that cute.
“Alright,” they handed him the deck of cards. It looked hilariously small in his hands. “Go ahead and shuffle them.”
“Oh, I get to do it?”
“If you want,” they shrugged. “I usually have whoever is being read for do the shuffling, so the deck can get a feel for their energy. Unless you don’t want to, of course.”
“No, this is exciting!” He really did look like he was having fun. “How many should I draw?”
“Just one, and we can go from there.”
With a focus that might have been a bit too intense, Diavolo began shuffling. He handled the deck carefully, which made them happy. So many people were rough with the cards, and they were always worried they were going to get ruined.
“Alright.” Diavolo laid a card face down on the table between them. “Would you like to do the honors?”
He was being dramatic, but they couldn’t help but play along. What was the harm in a little bit of fun? They flipped the card face up and let out a startled chuckle.
The Devil.
“Did you do that on purpose?” they asked, laughter dripping from their voice.
“No, honest!” Diavolo was laughing too. “What does the Devil card mean?”
“It means my deck has a sense of humor.”
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after-witch · 4 years
Text
You Can Run [Yandere Sesshoumaru x Reader]
Title: You Can Run [Yandere Sesshoumaru x Reader]
Synopsis: For request “Could you maybe do something with Sesshomaru? Maybe his ‘darling’ trying to escape not knowing that it would literally be impossible?”
Word count: 1700ish
notes: yandere, kidnapping
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Planning an escape when you are constantly being watched, constantly surrounded, is not the easiest of tasks. You know this, because you have been planning an escape from the demon lord Sesshoumaru for many days now. It wasn’t an easy decision. He once threatened to kill you if you ever tried to leave, and you don’t know if he means it--but he doesn’t seem the type to make idle threats, imposing and stoic as he is, which is all the more why your plans simply cannot fail.
You have to leave. You have to get home to your family. You have to regain your freedom and your normal life. And since he has no intention of letting you go, escape is the only way you can take back control of your fate.
So you planned, and planned, and bit by bit prepared yourself to leave. Every few days, you snuck a provision or two into a bag you’ve tucked into your clothing--nothing big, nothing Rin or Jaken or (if he deigned to deal with those everyday tasks, which he doesn’t) Sesshoumaru would ever notice. Dried meat here, a fire stone there, extra cloth, a needle for repairs. Little things, but important, if you were ever to make it home in one piece.
Of course, you’re no hardy traveler, no world-weary merchant or soldier who is used to life on the road, but the seemingly endless days and nights you’ve spent captive in his presence have hardened you a bit. Your feet are used to walking (and walking, and walking); you know how to make a fire more readily than you ever did in your village, where your parents or elder brother were only too happy to step in when you fumbled with the tools; and you’ve learned to be more aware of sounds in the forest, how to find clean water, where to fish and how to keep yourself warm when the darkness brings chilly air.
I can do this, you think, every time you feel your mind begin to falter. Every time you catch him staring at you, as if he can read your thoughts, as if he knows what you’re planning and he’s waiting for you to take that first step away from camp to grab you and snap your neck or worse.
I can do this, every time you take advantage of Jaken’s distraction to grab something you’ll need. The knife was your biggest feat, the last thing on your mental list; and you swear you can feel it burning against your skin, a warning that it was too risky and he’ll notice and you’ll be caught and--no, no, no, you think.
I can do this.
**
Your heart is hammering so violently that you’re briefly afraid that it will wake someone up. It won’t, you know--but that doesn’t make your nerves any less shaky or make you feel any safer. Your eyes do another sweep of the campsite as you slip off your footwear and tuck them into your bag, now full and slung over your shoulder.
Rin is sleeping peacefully, and your heart felt a pang of guilt when you’d slowly removed her arm from around your stomach--cuddled close, as she’d started doing recently. You do care for her, poor thing that she is, but you have to care for your freedom more. Jaken is sleeping… well, like Jaken--snoring and occasionally mumbling and clawing at the air. But the biggest obstacle to your potential escape is what worries you the most: Sesshoumaru. He’s leaning against the nearby tree, eyes closed, body passive and prone. Is he sleeping? Resting? The thoughts come in rapid flickers, terrified bursts that tempt you to lay your head back down and forget you ever began plotting to run.
But the temptation is overcome by the slow, dreaded visions of the future. Were you to be his unwilling travel companion forever? He would never say why, exactly, he’d taken you--would never tell you what he was going to do with you or when (if ever, if never) this would reach an end.
So you took the chance. And took a wary step. No movement from the demon lord. You took another step. Still, nothing--no, a breath, an easy one, careless. He must be sleeping. He must be sleeping. You take another step and another until you’re away from the flickering fire and instead in the woods, dark and loud with the sound of insects and animals. You slip on your shoes to protect your feet and pull out the pilfered knife, just in case. The moon above is round and glorious and you silently thank it for lighting your way. You needed to be able to see, to get as far away as possible, particularly during the first few nights of your barely-tangible freedom.
It’s thrilling. It’s terrifying. You could die out here, well before you make it home. You’re well-aware, now more than ever, of the potential dangers in the forest--of the potential dangers in the world. Yet you can’t help but think, as you push aside brush and ignore the itching of insect bites, would it not be better to be killed by a wolf or drown crossing a river than to be forced under the will of a demon lord?
You forge ahead, each step filling you with a shaky confidence. You’d done it. You’d gotten away. When the moon disappears and the sky turns its beautiful colorful shades to prepare for the rising sun, you feel something akin to happiness wash over you. Surely you’d gotten far enough that they couldn’t catch up right away, surely so--and you decide to take a rest in a natural clearing.
You sit against a rock and finally pay attention to the rumbling of your stomach. You had barely eaten the night before, too nervous to keep anything down. You don’t want to start a fire--you’re not that far away, you remind yourself--so you pull out a piece of cold, dried meat and take a bite. Maybe you can find a river soon to quench your thirst. Maybe you’ll even be able to catch a fish or two, though cooking them would have to wait.
And then, a branch snaps. Hard. You tense. A wolf? A bear? Your hands slowly reach for the knife you’d set on the ground. Could you fight off an animal with such a small weapon? Or would your theory about it being better to die at the hands of an animal be haunting you so quickly?
No, no, no. Your vision begins to blur in panic as the familiar visage of Sesshoumaru steps out of the trees. White--and red. And angry.
You manage to stand, legs quaking, the knife falling from hands that you can’t control, and you turn to run when you see that the white of his eyes have become a terrible blood-red. He’s going to kill you. The thought rushes through you--Is it better to die by the hands of the demon lord than to be his unwilling captive?
Your body moves of its own accord but it doesn’t matter, because you don’t take but a half-step when you feel him harshly yank you backwards by your hair. You tumble to the ground with a cry and he swoops down, pinning you to the forest floor with his claws.
His breath is hot and he practically spits as the words tear out of his throat, low and violent: “What did you think you were doing, human?”
His eyes are even more horrible up close, and your mind tries to think of chants, of prayers. His claws tighten at your wrists and you know you have to say something, though nothing will spare you from the death that you know is coming. Your body is trembling so wildly that your teeth knock together when you answer.
“I was going home. I was getting away from you. You--you can’t keep me.” You’re going to die, so you may as well be honest. At least you’ll die with a pure mind.
“Of course I can,” he hisses. “I will keep you, and you will listen, and you will stop being such a damned annoyance.” And just like that, his tirade over, his red eyes fade, returning to their impassive coolness. The air feels less heavy and you can breathe. But he doesn’t let you up right away, and stays uncomfortably close to you as you lay prone on the ground.
“The sooner you stop being foolish, the better.”
You don’t know what to say. He gets up, then, and stares down at you.
“Get up. We’re going back. I will think of a punishment later.”
He’s not going to kill you. You don’t know why. He’s going to keep you. And you don’t know why.
The will to live overpowers anything else, though, and your force your shaky body to get up off the ground. You glance at your bag, at the knife you’d dropped earlier, and Sesshoumaru merely stares as you gather up your supplies. Waste not, want not, you suppose.
He begins walking away from the clearing, back into the forest, and you have no choice but to follow. Your newfound freedom is already gone. You feel deflated. You feel more helpless than ever. What went wrong? Was he awake when you ran? Did you leave tracks, unknowingly, perhaps with your shoes? You have to know.
"Lord Sesshoumaru?”
He doesn’t answer, and you stare at the back of his head as he walks with an ease through the forest you’d taken much longer to navigate.
“How did you find me so quickly?”
He stops for a moment, just a second, before continuing on.
“I tracked your scent,” he says, without bothering to look back. “ I marked you a long time ago. I’ll always find you, no matter where you go. Remember that, human. ”
Ah, you think.
I can’t run.
484 notes · View notes
backtobackbakubabe · 3 years
Text
Speak Easy Part 3
Bakugo x Reader
Words: 4892
Masterlist
Reader has a siren quirk and has spent the past several years of her life as a captive being experimented on by “heroes” Now that she’s out she needs protection and safe place to heal. Who will be the one to put her pieces back together?
Words with 'this' is dialogue written in her journal rather than said out loud and and words with ~this~ is dialogue said in sign language rather than out loud.
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Dabi had laid you down gently in the back seat of his car, taking off his jacket to lay over you. You wanted to fall asleep you really did. But the consistent pain coming from your hip was enough to keep you awake, but not enough for you to pass out. You hugged the jacket around you that smelled like smoke and coffee.
You don’t know much time passed but eventually you were being pulled from the backseat. He picked you up bridal style and made his way to the house, “Look at you. We’re not even married, and you already have me carrying you over the threshold.”
When you didn’t react to his little joke he sighed, “Wow tough crowd, okay.”
He walked straight to the couch and put you down before immediately jogging to the kitchen to grab some first aid supplies… amongst other things.
He came back and sat on the table that was in front on the couch and maneuvered you so your injured hip was accessible to him. “Okay this is going to sting for a little bit, but I’m going to need you to stay still until I’m done.” Without any more warning then that he poured what smelled like vodka on the wound.
It stung like a bitch, causing you to dig your nails into the cushion of the couch and grit your teeth so hard you were surprised they didn’t crack.
He started to wipe it down with some kind of cloth. Cleaning all the dried blood and sweat from you. You were practically panting now trying to breathe through the sharp pain. “That’s it. Keep breathing. Good girl. I’m almost done.” He taped a bandage over it before pulling your hoodie back down. “There. Good as new.”
He helped you sit up a little so he could give you a glass of water, which you were incredibly thankful for. “Alright… so I have all the good stuff. Anything you could want really.” He pulled out several bottles of pills.
You didn’t know what was in those bottles, but you knew you didn’t want any. You’ve had enough drugged out days to last a lifetime. So as much as you knew it’d help with the pain, you didn’t want it. You just met Dabi less than twelve hours ago. You didn’t know what kind of bullshit he’d pull once you went under.
You shook your head no and pointed to the bottle of vodka. You may not want pills, but a shot wouldn’t kill you.
He chuckled, “Okay tough guy. Whatever you say.” He walked back to the kitchen and returned with two of the biggest shot glasses you had ever seen. “Let’s get this party started huh?” He poured two shots and handed one to you. “To life off the grid.”
You both threw your shots back. He with no reaction, you however immediately started coughing.
His hand rubbed a circle on your back, “Look at you. Took it like a champ. Didn’t even need a chaser.” He poured another shot for himself and brought it up to his lips but stopped when he saw you looking at him. “What? You didn’t think I’d give you more than one, did you? Oh no, no, no. With how tiny you are? Not to mention your tolerance has probably gone to shit. I think one is plenty for now.”
Well jokes on him. Just because you seem weak doesn’t mean you are. He’s not going to tell you how much you can and can’t drink. You scooted to the edge of the couch, wincing a little as you did. You scooped up the bottle of vodka and took a swig straight from the bottle.
You saw something flash behind his eyes, but he immediately hid it behind a playful smirk, “I don’t know if you’re a badass or a brat. Only time will tell. But I’ll have you know that in my house… My word is law. I’m just trying to help you after all.” He tore the bottle from your hands before securing the lid, giving it an extra hard squeeze to keep you from opening it again. “But because this is your first night here, and you’re hurt, and I really am a nice guy. I’ll let it slide this once…. So? You still want some ice cream?”
You nodded as you reached for your notebook but was alarmed when you couldn’t find it. You could already feel the light feeling of a buzz taking over, but you refused to let Dabi know he was right about your tolerance.
“What’s up? What are you looking for?” You made a gesture with your hands as if you were writing something down. “Ah, right. The handy dandy notebook. It’s probably in the car. I’ll go grab it.” He took a few steps away before coming back to grab the bottle of vodka, mumbling something about how he refuses to clean up your puke.
You took this time while he was away to get a better look at the place. It was very minimalistic. Lots of greys, whites, and blacks. The couch felt just as expensive as the giant tv on the wall looked. From what you could see of the kitchen, it looked nice. The shiny appliances were either kept impeccably clean, or never used. Was this his house? It hardly looked lived in.
“Alright got the notebook. How about you pick something to watch while I scoop some ice cream. What do you want? One for Vanilla, two for chocolate, three for cookies and cream.”
You held up three fingers. You were amazed at how well he was adjusting to communicating with you already. He had just accepted that you weren’t talking and went with it.
“Cookies and cream huh? I thought you’d be more of a fan of vanilla.” He chuckled. “The remot is on the side table next to you. The TV is rigged so you can basically watch whatever you want. Just type it into the search bar.”
You picked up the remote and quickly started scanning through channels. Your finger accidentally brushed the microphone button and you froze at the loud beeping noise that signaled it was listening.
Dabi had made his way over with two bowls both with cookies and cream. He saw the face you made at the remote before taking it from you and replacing it with a bowl of ice cream. “Hey none of that pouty shit. It’s not cute. This is temporary, you’ll be talking again in no time.”
He looked at the screen, “Okay one for anime, two for live action.” You held up one finger. “Okay, One for thriller, two for action, three for comedy. Four for romance.” You held up two fingers. “Oh, thank god I really thought you were going to pick romance. Okay I’m going to scroll through them, just tap my shoulder when you want me to stop.”
He scrolled for a while before you stopped him at Naruto. “Ah a classic. Good pick. Now get comfy. I have a feeling you’re gonna pass out before the first episode is even over.”
Sure enough, soon after finishing your bowl of ice cream you felt your eye lids drooping. A part of you was still nervous to fall asleep. But seeing as you just had a wild 24 hours… there was no way in hell you were fighting sleep for long.
“You ready for bed yet?” You sleepily nodded your head and started to slide down so you could lay down on the couch. “Oh no you don’t.” He scooped you up and headed down a hallway. He entered a rather large room with a bathroom attached and tossed you onto the bed causing the wound in your hip to throb. “Okay welcome to you room, this your bed, that is your bathroom. I will be right across the hall. I’d say yell if you need something but… well you know. So… try to not need me. Have a good night.”
You grabbed his wrist before he could get far, “What don’t tell me you’re like afraid of the dark or something.” He turned around to see your blushing face as you pointed to the bathroom and then to yourself. “Ooooooh, okay. Right. So, is this like a you need to pee situation? Or did you like… want to shower? Not that I’m against helping you take a shower…” He smirked at you.
You rolled your eyes and held up one finger. “Okay, okay, but you will eventually have to shower. But I guess we can figure that out tomorrow.” There was a wicked gleam in his eye that could only be compared to a child who was plotting on how to steal a cookie from the cookie jar.
He had been pretty patient while waiting for you to finish going to the bathroom, but he was still just as rough as he tossed you back onto the bed. “Alright, so, to reiterate, I’m right across the hall. Try to not need me. Good night.”
You sank into the bed the second the door closed behind him. You were alone. You were free and you were alone. Twenty-four hours ago, you had been strapped to a bed with shock collar on. You curled into a ball and cried. You wanted this to be the last time you felt sorry for yourself, so you wanted to get it all out now. Tomorrow was the first day of your new life and you didn’t plan on wasting a single second of it.
It didn’t take long for you to cry yourself to sleep considering how exhausted you were. What would have surprised you however was the fact that Dabi was sitting just outside the door listening to you muffled sobs, clenching his fists in rage.
It wasn’t until he heard you screaming that he realized he had fallen asleep there. On his feet in seconds he ran into your room. What he saw shook him a little bit. You had kicked all of the blankets off the bed. Soaked in sweat and tears. Your body was jerking around so hard it looked painful. You were having a nightmare, likely due to PTSD.
Shit what did he do? He’s no stranger to bad dreams, but he also knows he could make it worse if he doesn’t do this right. “Hey y/n. Y/N! I need you to wake up honey. It’s just a dream. You’re safe. Y/n. Y/N! Come on now follow my voice. Wake up for me yeah? You’re okay, I promise.” He reached out and as lightly as he possibly could touched your cheek.
You were burning up. He cursed as he tried to peel your soaked hoodie off of you. He started to shake your shoulder a little harder. But all that did was make you panic and thrash around. So he grabbed you and held you to him. “God Damnit Y/n. Wake up!”
He felt the tension leave your body only for a moment before you started to try and push him off of you.
He immediately dropped his arms and pushed away from you. “Hey you’re okay. It’s just me. Remember your hero pals saved you yesterday and now we’re roomies.” He could see the confusion in your eyes start to fade as you woke up. “Believe me I understand. I’d be scared too if I woke up in a weird place with my ugly mug lookin at you.”
He reached for your journal and tried to hand it to you. “You want to talk about it?”
You shook your head and hugged your knees to your chest. He nodded and put the journal back on the nightstand. “That’s okay. You don’t have to…” He wasn’t very good at this part. Talking about emotions and shit. “Yeah so uh… I can get you a different shirt.” He could see the goosebumps already raising on your arms. Now that the panic and adrenaline had subsided you were damp and cold. “And I can get a warm bath going if you want? He looked at the clock. It’s 5:30, which in ungodly early for me, but if you’re up I guess we can go ahead and start the day… How does that sound?”
You refused to look him in the eye and settled for a shrug of your shoulders, letting your knees drop from your chest. He could see straight through your tank top and was pleasantly surprised to find that under that baggie hoodie you had some nice tits.
He liked his lips and lucky for him, you were too busy avoiding eye contact that you didn’t even notice. “Alright well I tried being nice in giving you an option so now I’m telling you. You’re taking a bath.” He picked you up and walked towards the bathroom. “I’ll get the water going. Do you think you can manage making it from the toilet to the tub without me?”
Again, you shrugged which was quickly becoming one of his biggest pet peeves. He groaned, “One for yes, two for no. No more fucking shrugging.”
You nodded and held up one finger. “Alright, that wasn’t that hard was it?”
Without waiting for an answer he knew he wasn’t going to get he started the water and left you to it.
He went out to the car to grab the backpack the mini might kid had packed for you. Then into his room to grab you a clean shirt. He was going to leave the items outside the bathroom door until he heard a thump followed by a groan.
“Y/n? Did you fall down?” A very long pause later and you hit the side of the tub once. “Okay do you need help getting up?” Another long pause before you hit the side twice. “Are you sure?” He desperately wanted you to say no. Not to sound like a perv, but he’d love to get a quick peek at you.
Two hits on the tub sounded. “Okay, I’m coming in.” He opened the door almost too quickly. There you were sitting on the floor, back against the tub, completely naked. He had expected you to try and hide yourself from view, but was shocked when you practically reached for him, baring your entire chest for him to drink in.
He stopped for a moment before picking you up. “I’m not going to pick you up like I usually do. Instead I’m going to help you stand, and hold you while you try to get in yourself. We gotta start working on those legs.” You looked nervous but nodded anyways.
He hooked his hands under your armpits and pulled against him in standing position. His pinkies barley brushing the outside of your breasts and even that little bit drove him crazy. But he contained himself. The last thing he needed was you randomly activating your quirk and figuring out what a horn dog he is.
You weakly attempted to raise your right leg high enough to get into the tub. You were almost there, you almost had it. “That’s it, you’re doing so well. Just a little more, come on you can do it.” Whether you knew it or not, your ass was pushing back into Dabi’s crotch and he wasn’t going to make it much longer. So he lifted you a little higher making it easier for you to step in. “OKAY, I think one leg is good enough progress for now.” He sat the rest of you in gently before quickly turning away calling over his shoulder, “Alright, I’ll be back in… ten minutes to help you back out.”
You waited until he was gone to let a small giggle out. It honestly took you by surprise. It was the first time you had made a noise that wasn’t out of pain in a while. But just remembering the blush of his cheeks when you reached for him was enough to have you smile to yourself.
Before all of this happened to you were no stranger to being naked. In fact, you loved it. Maybe it was some weird side effect of your quirk. But you loved being naked, being intimate, having sex. To you there was no better bliss. You craved it. Your quirk allowed you all the control you could ever want, but there was something so intoxicating about giving that control over completely to someone else. To be praised, to be worshipped, to be adored.
Well at least that was the way you were before. Before you weren’t allowed to touch anyone, or look at them, or… speak to them. What if you were different now? What if being controlled for so long, being forced to do things against your will… what if it changed you?
The thought made you sad. You briefly considered testing the waters with Dabi, but quickly shook that from your head. And it wasn’t even the fact he was a villain, as much as you hate to admit it, you’d slept with villains before. But could you even consider him a villain anymore. You could see what Todoroki had meant by saying he was neither hero nor villain.
No, the biggest reason you needed to keep your hands off Dabi is because he was nice enough to take you in. You don’t need to jeopardize your safety just to curb your cravings.
You quickly scrubbed your body clean and did your best to wash your hair, but it was a nightmare. Your hair was crazy long now and the knots and tangles were just impossible to get through. You wined in frustration as your fingers yet again got stuck.
“You know I could always shave your head, I’m sure you could pull it off.” You stuck your tongue out at him as he handed you a brush. “Better watch who you’re sticking that tongue out at.” He hesitated, “Arms up, time to get out.”
You felt like a child, but you obeyed without protest. Earning you a “good girl” that sent shivers down your spine. “Hm? Do you like it when I praise you?”
You shrugged and avoided eye contact and you could feel the growl rip through is chest. “What did I say about fucking shrugging?”
You bit your lip and pulled yourself closer to him so he couldn’t see your blushing face.
Like a sack of potatoes, you were tossed onto to the bed. He tossed you a pair of clean underwear and one of his shirts that would easily come down to your knees. Once you were dressed, he roughly pulled you to the edge of the bed and sat between your legs.
Your heart rate spiked, and you let out an excited gasp. His hand smoothed up your thigh, “Relax, I’m just putting a new bandage on your hip. Don’t get so excited.” He examined the shallow wound and you winced. It took everything in him not to place a kiss right over your wound. He’d made that mark on you. It would definitely scar and as twisted as it sounded… he liked that.
He started to tape the new bandage down. One of his hands rubbed the inside of your thigh, while the other made sure the bandage was secure. God he just wanted to bite into the soft flesh in front of him. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but he was absolutely not prepared for… was you winding your fingers through his white locks.
“Y/n… what?” Your fingers tightened causing him to groan and let lose. He started to kiss the meaty part of your thigh, biting ever few kisses drawing sweet sounds from your lips that made him wonder what your voice sounded like. He made his way up to your hip and kissed right above the bandage before licking up from you belly button and up your sternum, pushing your shirt… well his shirt up as he went. He grabbed one of your tits in one hand while he sucked on the other nipple. Your hips bucked up as his hand traveled south. As soon as his hand started to sneak past your underwear something in you snapped.
You couldn’t do this. Not now. Something wasn’t right. You felt trapped under his body weight, you couldn’t breathe. Too much, you weren’t ready.
You pushed at his hand and whined until finally he got the message. He stopped and looked at your confused eyes, “Shit… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I-I guess I misread that one.” He pulled your shirt back down and knelt in front on you on the bed. “I guess we should set some rules huh?”
Rules… rules… follow the rules.
You yanked your gaze down to stare at your hands that you had folded in your lap. Don’t look, don’t talk, don’t touch.
He reached for one of your hands, but you yanked it back shaking your head. “Hey look at me.” You continued to stare into your lap. He swore under his breath, “Please… look at me. I need to know what I did or said that freaked you out so bad. This is what I mean when I said we need rules-“ You flinched. “Oh is the word rules?”
You started to shrug before you remembered he wouldn’t like that. You lifted a shaky hand and picked up your journal and handed it to him open to the first page. You snuck a glance at his expression as he read over them. His face was expressionless as he read over your list of rules. “Hm… sounds kinky.”
He looked around for something to write with before coming to sit next to you, making sure to give you plenty of space. “Okay so how about instead we have laws?” You gave a quick shrug before nodding in agreement. He narrowed his eyes at you, “And law number one. No fucking shrugging.”
He handed the pen to you, “You’re turn. Write something down.” You gave him a questioning look, “Don’t worry about it, if I don’t like it, I’ll just draw a line through it. We’re brainstorming here.”
You wrote down “No drugs.” You heard him groan but he nodded anyways.
“Okay fine but then you have to make eye contact when talking to me. Doesn’t matter if it’s verbal or not.”
You went on like that for a while until you had a new set of “laws”
You had agreed to workouts in the pool to get your strength back up and he agreed to try and learn sign language with you.
The last law he added however was “I will not initiate the sexy time without written or verbal consent.”
You rolled your eyes and went to push him away but he dodged you easily enough. He quickly stood up throwing you over his shoulder. “Alright enough of that. We have a long day ahead of us.”
You helped him make breakfast while he explained that this house was one of many that he owned under different aliases. This one was the most secluded and had the best security system.
You were still picking at your pancakes when he sat next to you at the kitchen island bringing a laptop with him. “I’m not helping you down from here until you eat every last bite. Law number 7- Eat three full meals a day. Need to put some meet on those bones.”
He pulled up a website that had a video queued up that said introduction to sign language. “Okay before we get going 1 for tea, 2 for coffee.”
Your eyes lit up as you held up 2 fingers and scurried to grab your journal. ‘Can you put some milk in it?’ It had been so long since you had coffee and the thought had you bouncing with excitement.
He read it and gave you a thumbs up. “Go ahead and start the video, I’m just over here.”
And that’s how you set into your routine. Every day you’d sleep in until you decided to get up. Eat a big breakfast. Work on sign language. Eat Lunch. Do some kind of workout in the pool. Relax and watch TV. Eat dinner. Take a bath. Go to bed.
You did this every day for the past two weeks and you could already tell a difference. You and Dabi had learned a few basics in sign. Only a few words, but it was a start. But Dabi’s favorite part was helping you walk.
Not that he didn’t like carrying you, but this was just as much fun. He’d hold you under the armpits from behind and he’d let you stand on his feet like a child. You still couldn’t walk on your own, but you were so close. Every day you felt stronger and you knew it was only a matter of time.
Today marks sixteen days that you had been here. You watched as Dabi cleaned up the rest of breakfast. You frowned as you thought about how much he did for you and how little you gave in return. You hadn’t noticed him walk over to you until his hand was lifting your chin to look at him. “Pool time?”
You nodded and signed back ~Pool time~. You reached your arms up to be picked up and he easily complied, no worse than a trained dog.
“You’ve gained weight. I can tell.”
You looked horrified as you slapped his shoulder. ~rude~
He chuckled, “Hey don’t get all huffy about it. It’s a good thing. You were way too skinny before. You looked like a strong breeze would blow you over and break all of your bones.” He stopped at the edge of the pool giving you a wicked look. “Now you’re starting to look healthy again. Healthy enough for me to do this and not feel bad about it.”
He tossed you into the pool, clothes and all. You sputtered to the surface but didn’t have to struggle long before he was behind you leading you to the shallow end. “You’re fine. Almost there, don’t be so dramatic.”
He led you to the wall you usually hold on to for your exercises and let you go. You growled as you flipped him off. Idiot doesn’t need to know sign language to understand that one.
You pulled your wet shirt off and tossed it over to one of the lounge chairs. Leaving you in just a bra and underwear, which is how you normally did these exercises. Dabi had requested the heroes send a bathing suit in the next care package, but it hadn’t arrived yet.
He reached around your middle section and pulled you away from the wall after you had done a couple sets of squats and leg kicks. “Okay now lets see how you do without the wall.” He turned you around to face him and slowly backed away only holding your elbows now. “Okay now lets take a lap around the shallow end shall we?”
At first your steps were more like tiny shuffles. “It’s gonna take us all damn day if you don’t start taking bigger steps. Come on you can do it. Pick those feet up!”
You gave him a harsh glare. He knew you couldn’t fight back right now because your hands were too busy gripping his arms for support.
You started taking larger steps and then larger ones and then eventually you had made it almost all the way around. Dabi stepped back and completely. “Okay just a few more steps. I think you can do them on you own. Come on baby girl. Just a few steps. You can do it.”
You nodded enthusiastically, of course you could. It was just a few steps. You could do this. You reached your hands out to the side and took your first step by yourself. Your eyes lit up at the feeling. Sure, it was only in the pool, but that was progress! “That’s it! Good girl, keep going!” You reached for him as you took another step, followed by another and another and then suddenly he was picking you up. “Hell yeah! Atta girl! Good job. I think that earned you some kind of reward.” He gave the top of your head a quick kiss as he started to carry you out of the pool.
Your head was singing with his praises, and your body was buzzing with adrenaline after crossing such a huge milestone. He carried you to his room where he pulled out another shirt for you to wear. “Okay so about that rewar-“
He was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. His eyes went dark. No one was supposed to know where this place was. He quickly picked you up and sprinted to the office. There was a secret false wall panel that led to a saferoom. He had told you of its existence in case he ever needed to hide you, but you hadn’t actually seen it. He was in the process of opening up the wall when a familiar flash of blonde hair showed on the security monitor. You pinched his shoulder and pointed.
He looked at what you were pointing at and groaned. “What the fuck is he doing here?”
***************************
tags: @falling4fandoms @wifunozomi @here-in-never-land @whore-for-anime @klecksstorys @aurorahoneybuns @theunknownrandom @insane-without-delirium @frenchsfryys @officiallydarkgeek @neofixcs
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laequiem · 3 years
Text
kiss you off my lips - folktober day 5
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Jurdannet Folktober 2021- Day 05. She who pulls the strings @jurdannet @jurdannetrevels
Fandom: The Folk of the Air
Pairing: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar but seen through Nicasia/Cardan Greenbriar? lol
Rating: mature
Word count: 2,532
The Puppet King, my subjects call me. Allegedly, the Living Council pulls the strings, controlling me from behind the scenes. They think themselves subtle, but I hear their whispers. Their words, however, slide off my armor like rain. After all, I have heard them countless times, from other’s lips or from my own mind. I was my mother’s puppet, then Balekin, and now I am Jude’s.
read on ao3
Masterlist • She kills my self-control masterpost
The Puppet King, my subjects call me. Allegedly, the Living Council pulls the strings, controlling me from behind the scenes. They think themselves subtle, but I hear their whispers. Their words, however, slide off my armor like rain. After all, I have heard them countless times, from other’s lips or from my own mind. I was my mother’s puppet, then Balekin, and now I am Jude’s.
Most days—more than a King, more than a marionette—I feel like a courtesan. Dabbling in steamy displays with courtiers I am barely interested in, all to keep the façade of the immoral king. I pretend at power, desperate for a nod of approval from my seneschal, while she does all the work. Of course, she had never asked me to whore myself out.
Until today.
I do not know who started our tumbling. Maybe I did, my anger blinding me to the foolishness of what we were about to do, in that small room behind the dais. Forgetting that touching Jude again would remind me of everything I have tried to forget since that day she rode me in her rooms. When I kissed her, that anger melted away, replaced immediately with the desire I have been helplessly fighting against for years.
Or maybe this was Jude’s plan all along. She is more faerie than she seems, at least in the way she schemes and bargains. I will charm Nicasia and get her the info she wants. In exchange, she gave me what I want: her.
Her tart taste lingers in my mouth. I did not kneel for her this time, but licking her taste off my fingers made me regret not indulging that particular thirst.
I find Nicasia easily, splendid in a pearl white gown, talking to Randalin. The small sprite does not stand a chance against her. His goat eyes shift towards me, then he bows deeply. Nicasia turns to me, unable to hide her surprise and delight that I have come to her.
“Cardan,” she croons.
Randalin chokes on nothing, animal eyes going wide. I raise a brow at Nicasia and cross my arms.
“Your Majesty,” she corrects herself, a purplish tint blossoming on her cheeks. I will never tire of this.
“Princess Nicasia.” I take her hand and kiss her knuckles. “Would you accompany me on a walk? For old time’s sake.”
“It would be my pleasure,” she beams up at me.
We make boring small talk as we walk, her arm looped around my elbow. The path leads us away from the Palace, towards the beach separating the Shifting Isles. Jude seemed to think Nicasia still liked me, and I suppose I can see it. She looks up at me with clear interest, though the conversation is as weary as can be. I work my charm up even more. A small hibiscus shrub blossoms as we walk past and I pluck a flower, tucking it in her hair with a calculated graze of my knuckles against her cheek.
The sea does not rise to greet us as we set foot on the sand.
“The sea is unnaturally calm,” I say.
I chuck off my shoes and Nicasia’s eyes dart straight to my bare feet. I hope Jude does not ask me if she was right that Nicasia still holds feelings for me, I fear I would not be able to lie.
“It is,” she says, turning back towards the sea.
I slowly uncuff my shirt for the second time today. I chase away the memories of Jude’s curious fingers on me. The way she explored and grabbed at me like she needed to figure me out, to plan out how to efficiently unravel me next time.
Next time.
I hope there is a next time.
“I must admit I am surprised,” I tell her nonchalantly, "I thought the Undersea always made true on their threats.”
I will the nearest tree to stretch out a branch towards me. I unbutton my shirt and remove it, then hang it on the branch.
“What do you mean?” Nicasia asks.
She turns to me. The way she devours me with her eyes takes me back to a time of shared wickedness and complicity. A time when it was us against the world, a time when she chose me over my siblings.
Until she chose Locke over me.
Now do you believe me that she wants you? Jude had asked. I suppose I do.
At one point, this look on Nicasia’s face would have set all my nerves on fire. Now, I feel the same as when strangers ogle me.
“Cleave together lest you face the rising tide,” I singsong, reciting the words from Queen Orlagh’s minion at the Hunter’s Moon revel in the same melody they used. “Yet the sea stays quiet. I take it your kind has another plan.”
I reach for the lace holding together my breeches and pull at the knot. Nicasia looks down at her hands, suddenly captivated by her nails.
“Perhaps,” she says too quickly. “Or perhaps we hope you will come to your senses.”
“We all hope so.”
Including me. Just not about this particular issue. My issue is of the mortal kind, the kind who deals in secrets and knives.
I hang my pants next to my shirt. Nicasia is still fully dressed, standing with her back straight and her lips tightly shut. I stop in front of her and trail a finger up her arm before slipping it under one of the straps of her dress.
“Will you not join me, Princess?”
My tail brushes up her spine and she arches towards me. I don’t wait for her to answer, though. I run into the sea.
The water is cold, unwelcoming. Before becoming High King, the salt water would not have bothered me as much. With only minor magic, only ingesting salt would have hurt me. Now, it grates at my skin like sandpaper, as if eating away my skin to get to the magic within. My magic recoils from any part of me in contact with the water. It’s heinous. I would rather take a dip in the Lake of Masks.
On the shore, Nicasia strips off her dress, hose, heels, tiara, everything. Then, she runs towards the water in a wave of blue-tinged skin and blue hair. She dives under, agile and more in her element than I could ever be.
She resurfaces next to me, a smile on her painted lips.
“Like old times,” she says.
“Like old times, but so much more complicated.” I sigh, then cast my line. “It used to be so easy.”
She takes a step towards me, biting the bait. “What was?”
And I reel it in.
“Everything,” I say with a frown. I take a step towards her, and put my hand on her cheek. “Us.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” she says softly.
“It does.” I sigh again. “Do you realize how hard it is to please everyone? The Living Council is always on my case. And my seneschal—”
She groans. “Why do you even keep her around?”
Because she commands me. Because she is the true ruler of Elfhame. Because I love her.
“I have to.”
Nicasia puts her hand over mine. Her fingers are webbed now, I notice. No gills, however. I suppose she knows I have no desire to ever follow her under again. Now that I am High King, I don’t have to—unlike when I was no more than the lover of the Future Queen of the Undersea.
I wonder if Nicasia notices the way I look at Jude. I wonder if I used to look at her like that, or if it was something else. I did love Nicasia, once, but it was never as labyrinthine.
I try to emulate that look just now, I try to look at her like I used to. Nicasia is still the same beautiful creature she always was: a perfectly symmetrical face composed of sharp angles and large, deep eyes. She is beautiful in the way a painting is, a piece of art to be admired. Just like art, she can make you feel things—but it’s nothing as primordial as what I feel for Jude. Like she is the beating heart I am tethered to.
“There are things I can choose for myself.”
I stroke her cheek with my thumb. She leans into my touch, angling her head towards my hand.
“… things?” Nicasia asks.
“Lovers. Consorts.” I lean in towards her ear and whisper, “A Queen.”
The words sound so wrong, they claw at my throat as they come out. I am surprised I can even say them, but they are not lies. I simply have no desire to make Nicasia any of these things.
“Ca—Your Majesty,” she gasps.
“We’re in private. Cardan is fine.”
I kiss the soft spot under her ear, then pull at the lobe with my teeth. Her skin tastes salty. Like seawater, of course, not the salty tang of sweat drying on skin after an exhausting training session. The point of her ear is unsettling, sharp like a blade.
“Cardan.” She slides a hand behind my neck, toying with my hair the way she knows I like. “Why refuse me so often then?”
I pull back to look at her, my hands roaming down to settle on her small waist.
“My subjects think me… young. Foolish.” I look towards the Palace, the grassy hill looming over the trees. “They already say I am a puppet.”
“They are the fools,” she spits.
I shake my head. “I am a fool. Regardless, if I were to marry so early after being crowned, they would think you the mother of puppets. The one who pulls my strings.”
“Especially given my mother’s insistence,” she says and I nod.
I pull her to me, her hips pressing against mine. Bone against bone. Wildly different from the soft but strong body I was exploring hours earlier.
“Politics, you know.” I sigh. “Tedious.”
I think I am overdoing it on the sighs, but what can I say? I am quite dramatic, even when I am not acting.
“Still,” I lean in, barely a hair’s breadth away from her face, “I have a say in whom I woo.”
Our lips crash together like waves on rocks. Hers are cold, which is fitting seeing how unaffected I am by this. It’s the kind of lustful kiss I give my partners, no feelings other than desire. My body is not fooled, however—kissing Nicasia has about the same effect on me as listening to Fala’s ramblings. I tip her head backward and she complies, malleable and utterly bewitched. My other hand slides from her hip to her buttox. I squeeze a barely-there cheek and she giggles against my mouth.
One of her hands is tangled in my hair while the other one slips from my shoulder down my back. As she has always done, she avoids my scars like they are made of iron. When we were together, I thought it was for my own sake that she never acknowledged them. That she was being kind, in her own way. When I had fresh wounds and I refused to take off my clothes, she understood. But when I ended it and my mind stormed to figure out what went wrong and led her astray, it started to feel more intentional. Like she sees my scars as weakness and she fears that touching them would contaminate her.
“I miss us,” she whispers against my lips.
I only hum an agreement, pulling away to kiss at her throat. Her hand continues its careful trek down my back, until she gets at the base on my spine. A dreadful shiver goes up my spine as I anticipate what she is about to do. Sure enough, her fingers circle the base of my tail. She strokes it, letting it slip between her fingers for the whole length of it. I jerk away, take a step back. As if to spite me, the sea places a slimy rock right under my foot and I slip, falling backwards into the water with the grace of a drunken redcap.
I spit out no less than a gallon of water as I resurface, choking on the salt that is sure to take days to leave my system. Nicasia’s mouth is twisted up in remnants of a smile, her eyes glinting with amusement.
“What happened?” she asks as I stand.
“Something… touched me,” I grumble, a faerie truth if nothing else.
She reaches out, moving a wet strand of hair away from my face. “The High King is afraid of a little fishie?”
I scowl, then splash her with water. “I am not afraid.”
Nicasia chuckles. I shrug her off, starting towards the beach.
“Leaving already?” she teases.
“My guards will start looking for me soon enough, if my seneschal isn’t already on her way.”
Nicasia grunts, probably rolling her eyes dramatically as she follows behind me. “That mortal has too much power.”
I stop in front of the branch I left my clothes on. I still feel the salt on my skin, drying there as the water drips away. I grab my tail and wring water from the tuft at the end of it.
“Does she?” I ask, bored.
“Yes!” Nicasia steps around and puts herself between me and the branch. “What will our world become if mortals do not learn their place? As their power grows, we ought to unite. The Land. The Sea.”
“Nicasia—” I start, but she interrupts me.
“The sea is growing impatient, Cardan,” Nicasia continues, a hint of irritation hidden under the usually pleasant lilt of her voice. “My mother thinks the Land is weak, she might act any moment.”
I inspect my nails, picking a grain of salt from under one of them. “If the Crown is so weak, why try to unite with us at all?”
“I want us to be united,” she spreads her hands, palm up.
“And I want to bathe. Your regnal birthright is quite cold.”
I step around her and start dressing up. Behind me, I hear her stop, then the rustling of fabric.
“Do not jest,” she scolds. “What she’s planning—you should take it seriously.”
“I do. And I will think it over, once I am warmed up.” I finish cuffing my shirt, then hold my arm out for her. “Will you accompany me?”
Arm in arm, we return to the Palace. Even without their High King, the Folk still partake in their traditional merriment. Unheeding of my vague promises and empty words, Nicasia spends the rest of the night at my side. We trade kisses and caresses for everyone to see. Later, we move to the rooms assigned to her to do more of the same, to bathe and exchange soft whispers. When I leave Nicasia’s chambers, she hands me notes regarding her mother’s plans to attack during Taryn Duarte’s wedding.
As I collapse on my bed, finally alone, I curse Jude’s name for being right. Still, her name is the last thing on my mind as I drift asleep.
-
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writingsfromhome · 4 years
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Nuclear Family I
A/N: As requested (accidentally deleted the ask soz) a Dad!Harry where you visit him with your daughter and you live together as a family even though the reality is far from it. But for the sake of your kid you put up with it. The next part gets better promise!
Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V
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“Charlie don’t get too far,” I call out to my three year old. She gives me a disappointed look but I return one of my own and she drags her feet back to me.
Sometimes it felt like it had always been just me and Charlotte and other times it was hard to believe it would be almost four years since I’d had her. The moment she was born-two weeks early-on a rainy August day, I knew I made the right choice to keep her.
“When are we getting on the airplane?” my daughter pouts. She reminded me so much of her father with her bold eyes framed by her lowered brows. I remember when I held her for the first time in my arms and she blinked up at me, her big eyes were a dewy field reflecting her father. It was then that it hit me that no matter where he and I were on earth-we were still somehow connected. And since I was still in love with him then, it hurt. But I learned soon to pour my love into Charlotte and focus on raising her the best I could.
“We’ll be boarding soon." I pick her up and hold her on my knees to keep her from running off again. This was my first time travelling with her-her father generally came down to LA a few times a year to visit her so we never had the need to make the trip. This time, for her fourth birthday, we’d decided to go to London and stay there for the month. And since I was my own boss, I could take my work anywhere.
“I want to see daddy,” Charlie whines.
"We will babe,” I try to soothe her.
“Daddy” was Harry Styles, the Harry Styles. We met through a friend over six years ago when he was in LA. Up until meeting him, it felt like I was living a grey version of my life. Our chemistry was explosive and our connection instant--colouring my world a vibrant hue. We were in love-so in love I moved to London a few months later to be with him and it was going perfectly until I got pregnant. We agreed to keep the baby-it was a no brainer, but as the months went by and the reality sunk in, our relationship took a hit. Suddenly we were arguing about insignificant things, Harry stayed out late with friends or in the studio and wasn’t as supportive as he should have been, and I wasn’t happy. When I brought up the separation Harry looked almost relieved-which hurt. When I brought up moving back to LA he was enraged, but after a few days he agreed. Now, our Charlie saw him a few times a year when he lived in LA and she would stay with him. Our interactions were limited to picking her up and as I’d heard it Harry had a steady girlfriend for the past year. Despite all that, I still loved him. What we had was unlike anything I’d felt, seen, or read about before. I knew he'd felt it too, the music he released spoke the words he never said. But the ugliness of the last few months of our relationship always kept me from remaining wistful. Harry didn’t want commitement. He only had room in his heart for our daughter and I was fine with that.
We were staying around the corner from Harry’s at an air bnb for convenience. Ever since having Charlotte, I hadn’t been outside of the US so this was exciting yet daunting. The idea of seeing London again, all my old friends, and Harry gave me a rush of mixed emotions.
The landing and locating of our luggage had a few bumps and a minor tantrum but our taxi takes us to the flat where we are met with the hostess.
“There’s been a terrible mistake,” she wrings her hands as we stand in the heat of the summer afternoon.
“What kind of mistake?” My heart drops and there’s a tugging on my dress. Charlotte demands to be picked up.
“We accidentally booked another couple to the flat.” The woman responds.
“What?” If I wasn’t this tired, I would be shouting. “How can you make a mistake like that? I booked this well in advance!”
“I understand,” the woman says. “Your booking must have been accidentally cancelled and I-the couple is fine with sharing the flat-”
“I have a small child with me as you can see,” I cut her off not going into detail why our privacy was extremely important. “I’m not living with two strangers when I secured the place for all of August. This is bullshit,” I spit out, forgetting Charlie could hear me. This trip was not going how it should be. “I’m contacting air bnb and-”
My rant is cut short when my phone vibrates. Harry.
“Hi,” I answer.
“Daddy!” Charlotte yells into my ear. I hush her with a glance and try to listen to what Harry was saying.
“-landed? I was trying to reach you where are you?”
I sigh and give the woman a dirty look. “We’ve just arrived at the bnb and apparently there’s been a ‘mistake’ and it’s double booked so now I don’t know where-”
“Shit, stay with me,” comes Harry's steady voice.
“I couldn’t,” comes my own, slightly less steady voice. Staying with Harry would be bad for me. It would only stir old emotions back up and make it harder to leave once again. I just knew it.
“I’m right around the corner Y/N. Just stay until you find another place at least.”
I couldn’t argue with that. I agree and order an Uber, giving the woman a piece of my mind before I go.
Charlotte had fallen asleep on my shoulder in the midst of all of it so I struggle with the child, our luggage, and my phone when I reach Harry's.
“I’ll be right down,” he says. My stomach is suddenly doing sommersaults and I can barely feel my legs. I saw Harry near Christmas! Why was I suddenly so nervous?
“Hey,” Harry enters the lobby in a black shirt and jeans and his glasses sit atop his mess of hair. “You look lovely Y/N, but that’s nothing new.”
Harry's grin is like a crack in the ice surrounding us and I give him a quick hug hello.
“Let me get that.” He grabs the luggage and we wait for the elevator again.
“She fell asleep,” Harry brushes our daughter’s hands and she shifts on my shoulder.
“She’s been doing that since the ride,” I say. “I think jet lag is already doing her in.”
Harry smiles at her and the tenderness in his gaze holds me captive. It was a while since I saw Harry look like that.
Harry gets the luggage onto the lift and I follow him in. The mirrored interior reflects the glimpses he takes of me but I stay staring forward, not wanting to give in.
“Won’t your girlfriend mind?” I ask Harry when we enter his flat. “That we’re staying with you.”
“About that,” Harry scratches his nose. “I’m sure she’ll understand. We should talk though…about the trip.”
“Of course, let me just put Charlotte to bed.” Harry points out the spare room and I can tell Charlie will like it here with the amount of stuffed animals Harry's decorated the bed with. She was spoiled.
“So you can stay as long as you want here,” Harry begins. “Or if you want to find someplace else I understand. Whatever you feel comfortable with.”
He holds my gaze as he talks and I nod along. It was all very proper and polite, almost as if we’d never had anything more than a friendly relationship.
“What’s your schedule like?” I ask. “I know we already figured things out but if I’m staying for a few days here will I be in the way of anything?”
“I’m filming in a few days, I took a lot of time off the next couple weeks for Charlie but that’s it. Then I'm in the studio after that." Harry scratches the back of his head. “Just make yourself at home don’t worry what I’ve got to do.”
“I don’t want to get in the way. I know we didn’t plan for this,” I flush. Harry reaches over and squeezes my shoulder.
“I want you to feel comfortable, love...”
I’m suddenly 21 and Harry and I are on one of our first dates at a bar. He holds onto my hand and tells me he really likes me. He asks me if we wanted to take our relationship past the dating stage. I’m giddy and drunk on love and kiss him yes.
“Mom?” A small voice calls out.
“Yes!” I jump up and shake the memories off, rushing to the spare room. Charlotte sits up in bed with a frown on her grumpy face. “I’m right here babe.” I scoop her up and she holds onto me, already holding a stuffed koala in the other hand.
“So you’ve met Mr. Blake.” Harry walks into the room and points to the koala.
And just like that Charlotte is jumping into her dad’s arms and bubbling with laughter, explaining how his real name is Oreo. My heart squeezes watching the two interact. Charlie is more awake than before the plane ride as she continues with her endless chatter. Harey is wide-eyed and drinking in everything she says. She says something funny and he throws his head back laughing, kissing the side of her head while she giggles. Seeing them two made my heart full.
“Momma I’m hungry,” Charlie says abruptly.
“You must be,” I look at the time. “It’s been a while since we ate.”
“Let’s have an early dinner out,” Harry suggests.
“That’s not necessary-” I try to say but Charlie cuts me off with a big cheer and soon Harry joins in and he’s off with her riding his back with her hands clasped tightly around his neck. I would never win with those two together so I find my wallet and join them.
“I didn’t realise how much I needed this,” Harry says on our walk to the restaurant. It was a ten minute walk Harry wanted to take, reassuring me that we wouldn't be bothered. Charlotte holds her dad’s hand and stares in wonder at the new city around her. “I can’t believe you-she-Charlie hasn’t ever been down here.”
“She was so excited to finally see where her Dad lives,” I laugh at the image of her bouncing off the walls in happiness.
“I think the weirdest thing for me is that my baby has an American accent,” Harry comments.
“I never thought about that!” I laugh. “At least she won’t be saying things like crisps and the loo!”
“Oi that’s offensive,” Harry jokes. “My english is just as good as yours mate!”
“Now you sound Australian!” I tease.
Harry laughs and bumps his shoulder into mine.
“Australia has kangaroos,” Charlotte comments randomly.
“We’ve got a clever one,” Harry winks at me. “They’ve got massive spiders too.” Harry says to our daughter but little does he know she actively picked up spiders.
Charlie starts jumping like a kangaroo and soon Harry picks her up and sits her on his shoulder where she shouts to anybody who listens that she was on top of the world.
“I always tell people she’s got that energy from her dad,” I tell Harry quietly. There a shine to his eyes as he looks to Charlie and she looks down at him and shouts it louder.
“My mum and dad were thinking of coming around this weekend to see her,” Hadry suddenly says.
“That would be nice for her. To see her family,” I say.
“I mean you’d be there too?” Harry says.
“Oh, right.” My mouth dries at the thought of having to see his family. They were a great bunch but the way Harry and I ended things so abruptly was an uncomfortable reminder. “I’ll try to make it.”
“Charlie can have some sort of a normal family dinner,” Harry jokes.
“Both parents and grandparents? That would make her trip actually.” I say with a little bit of sadness. Charlotte wouldn’t grow up with both parents like Harry and I had the privlege of and that hurt me thinking about it.
“I wish she could have that all the time,” Harry sighs. He glances over at me as he says it and there’s something unspoken. But Charlie grabs a fistful of his hair and he has to get her down in her drunken power.
The restaurant is cozy and Charlie talks a mile a minute with the attention of both her parents. Every so often when she says something ridiculous or something related to an old inside joke from years past, Harry will glance over at me with a smile. It’s a secret language between us, and I swear I even feel his hand brush my own but I chalk it up to accidents. Harry had a girlfriend, he had no business doing that with me.
It gets more confusing later that night. Harry had plans to go out at 8 and Charlie falls asleep by half past 7. Being in LA time, I stay snuggled in the couch, watching a random movie Harry recommended. My eyes drift shut halfway but I’m awoken by a bang. My eyes squint in the dark as my hand feels for my phone. 1:47AM the bright display reads.
“Sorry,” comes a voice. The lights flick on and Harry stands dishevelled in the clothes he went out in. “I was trying to keep quiet I di'know you were sleeping!”
He was drunk-whispering which meant his voice was only slightly lower than normal. He stumbles towards me and falls onto the sofa, yanking his shoes off with a great deal of effort.
“Were you sleeping?” He asks me up close.
“I guess so,” I respond. “Did you have a good time?”
A part of me feels awash with sadness, the dull and familiar ache settling into my chest. Another part of me is angry at myself for still being in love with a man who could not love me the same way.
“It would have been nice if you came,” Harry reaches out and twists a strand of my hair. “Are you naturally a brunette?”
“I am,” I say gently. “You should drink water before bed.”
“No-no don’t start taking care of me!” Harry puts a pillow on his lap. “I’m supposed to be taking care of my girls. But I’m doing a shite job I guess.”
He stifles his laugh. I try to stifle the pang in my chest when he says 'my girls’ because it meant nothing more than just words. I couldn’t afford to read into these things. But when Harry switches the pillow to my lap and lays his head down, all self-control gets chucked out he door.
“It’s been so long since we talked,” Harry tries to whisper again. He reaches out to touch my hair again, his fingers lingering on my face before lowering to his side again.
“You came to LA a lot,” in my statement is also an accusation. He never came in to my apartment or asked me to go out.
“You never invited me in,” Harry says quietly.
“Surely I did?” I tell him.
“No,” his reply is almost a sigh. I realise maybe I didn’t make it so explicit.
“My mistake,” I admit. “But you know you were always welcomes.” I trace the bridge of his nose.
“I know,” Harry says with a boyish smile. “I was slightly nervous when we were on your terf. I didn’t ask either-you’re right.”
Involuntarily I brush my fingers through Harry's hair. Instantly, his body relaxes with a sigh as he closes his eyes. So I remove my hand immediately and nudge him.
“I should go to bed,” I wait for him to clumsily get up. We walk to the stairs together where Harry wishes me goodnight. He leans foward and misses my forehead by an inch, kissing my eyebrow instead.
“Night,” I back away into the spare where Charlotte sleeps, rubbing my eyebrow. In bed, I try to sort through my feelings. My eyes land on the sleeping body next to me and I pull her into me. She was all I needed, I try to remind myself. I was only here for her. Harry and I were never getting together again.
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haikyuuthots · 3 years
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Can you write fluff with Hinata? I want to feel soft 😭 thank you, I love you’re work
With your initial on it. - Shoyo Hinata
Pairing: S. Hinata x Reader
Word count: 1.3K
Warnings: none
Synopsis: your boyfriend is full of endless surprises that make your heart flutter.
A/n: thank u so much for requesting, I’m sorry I’ve been gone for so long, I hope it’s not too late and you find time to enjoy this! Appreciate all the love! ❤️
———————————————————————-
“I miss you.” You hear on the other end of the phone as you’re laying down on your bed, with your favorite stuffed animal wrapped under you. It’s the one Shoyo gave you on your first date, it smelled like him. As you listen to his words you can’t help but squeeze it, trying to feel his warmth without him actually being there.
“I miss you too.” You haven’t seen him in over a week, and although you talked to him every day, you still felt incomplete without him by your side.
“But 2 days from now, I’ll finally see you again.” You smile to yourself, happy at the fact you’d be seeing him soon
You can hear Hinata let out a small laugh, warming your heart.
“I don’t think I could wait another day.” He responds, his voice is calming, barely above a whisper
Your heart flutters, “awwww I feel that way too.”
“No seriously, I can’t wait.”
“So what? You’re gonna catch a flight and head over here?” You ask in a teasing tone,
But there’s no response form his end, just subtle silence. Which catches you off guard, usually he’d go along with the joke and tease you back.
“Shoyo.... you there?” You furrow you eyebrows
“I’m here.” He responds,
You let out a small laugh “you sound so serious all of a sudden, it’s kinda weird.”
Again he doesn’t respond, but before you can say anything, you hear a knock coming from your front door.
“Oh wait Sho, there’s someone at the door, I’ll be right back.”
He responds with a small “okay” before you put your phone down and start making your way to the door
“Who is it?” You briefly shout but no one responds from the other end. You weren’t expecting any visitors today, but you figured it was probably the mailman, you did frequently shop online.
You open you door, and you heart drops at the sight in front of you.
Your boyfriend was standing there, with a giant smile on his face. His hair is a little messy, and he’s in a basic white tee, and grey sweats. Although he looked a little tired, his face was beaming with happiness.
“Shoyo” you shout as you rapidly head over to embrace him. Jumping on him, you wrap your body against his and he doesn’t hesitate to grab you and reciprocate the giant hug.
With no words said, he quickly smashes his lips against yours. The kiss was rough, and passionate. He missed you very much , and you could tell he did, by the way he was kissing you now.
After a few minutes of embracing each other, you finally pull away as he sets you down on the ground, you can’t help but feel complete happiness overtake your body. Still holding you tight, you both start making your way into your apartment
“I can’t believe you’re here right now, I thought you weren’t coming until Sunday.”
He smiles down staring at you with complete love “I wanted to be with you, 2 more days was way too long.”
You laugh at his response, as you go for another hug “I’m glad you did, because I missed you.”
You let out a small gasp as you remembered something, pushing him away briefly you speak again “oh my god Shoyo the plans all ruined.”
Hinata furrows his eyebrows, “plan?”
“Yeah I planned an amazing date for when you got home.” You respond
He can’t help but smile “you did?”
“Yes I wanted to treat you, for working so hard. What time is it??? Maybe we can still do something.” You try to scramble to look for your phone but you’re stopped by Hinata, grabbing onto your arm.
Looking down at you with a smile he talks again, “don’t worry about it, being here with you is enough. Let’s just hang out here.”
You smile up at him, your cheeks hot from how flustered you felt. Hinatas smile had that effect on you, you absolutely adored it.
“Ok.” You happily agree
So that’s what you did, you ordered pizza and picked a movie to watch with your boyfriend. Spending the night cuddled in his arms, you were happy to hear how his training went, and all the new tricks and tips he learned. You always loved how passionate he was, his admiration for volleyball always impressed you, so you had no problem listening to him.
The movie you were watching was coming to an end, you were really invested, clutching the blankets form how stressed you were form the scene before you.
Hinata sat there, and instead of watching the screen he was watching you. His heart felt warm as he saw you there, he knew there was no one in the world he’d rather be with. You were amazing, your beauty was captivating and your personality was out of this world. He was in love with you, and he felt like the luckiest boy in the world because you were in love with him too.
“Y/n.”
You look over to your boyfriend “yeah?”
“I almost forgot, I got you something.”
Your lips start forming into a smile, “you got me something?”
He reached to pause the tv. “Yeah, wait I’ll bring in to you.”
You can’t help but let out a small laugh, excited to see what your boyfriend got you.
He returns with a small box, tied with a pink ribbon. Your heart was pounding, as you stare at the small box in your hands.
“Open it.” He says excitedly
You smile up at him one more time before you begin opening the small box.
Inside was a small gold necklace, with an “S” initial pendant.
You look down at it in awe, as you remove it form the box to admire it a bit more
“I don’t know if you like it, but I thought it’d look really pretty on you.” Hinata begins speaking, his hand is rubbing the back of his head, and he tries his best not to look at you, you can tell he’s completely flustered
“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t li-“
“I love it.” You cut him off, as you continue to admire the beautiful necklace.
“I’ll wear it and never take it off.” You look at him and smile
And he shoots you a big smile of his own, “you will?”
“Of course I will.”
“You don’t know how happy I am to hear that.”
“Will you put it on me please?”
He grabs the necklace form your hands and gently places it around your neck. After he’s done he sits back a bit, admiring you in the piece of jewelry he bought.
“And look...” he continues pulling something out from his pocket
“I got one for me too, it’s the same but it has your initial on it, I wanted to wear it as soon as I bought it, but I wanted to make sure you’d like them first”
You can’t help but look at him in complete awe, you felt like crying, overjoyed with the amount of love you were feeling right now.
“Can you put it on me please?”
“Of course”
You take the necklace from his hands and wrap it around his neck. You two sit there, admiring you matching necklaces with each others initial on them.
“I love you Shoyo, thank you.” You quickly wrap your arms around him, holding him tightly, and he reciprocates right away squeezing you, he responds
“I love you more than you can imagine.”
Slightly pulling away, he holds your face as he admires your face for a minute before he leans down to connect his lips against yours.
You felt butterflies in your stomach as you sayt there and kissed him. You were utterly in love with this boy, you had no idea what you ever did to deserve him, but you were grateful you were with him, in the comfort of you own home, eating your favorite food, watching a good movie, with his initial around your neck and yours around his.
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mintvender · 3 years
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UTOPIA [ 7 ]
Pairing: BTS x Y/N
Synopsis: Y/N L/N, the name of the current monarch of Corea. They became the ruler after successfully ending the previous king along with the dynasty as well. In their harem, countless men are present to help balance the court’s power. However, is this truly their intentions? The palace was always a place that needs to be proceeded with caution but as time goes by, recklessness would most likely outweigh it. You found yourself unable to prosper the kingdom without being too connected to it.
HaremAu!
Warning : Suggestive Content
Word Count: 9.8k
A/n: Finally finished this chapter. This chapter marks the end of the first era where the main ensemble finally unite. However, this is also the start of something else. Tell me what you think, 🌿.
Masterlist
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Humming a quiet melody, you felt the air around you stirred. Closing your eyes, you focus on the sensation of the flow around you, patiently waiting for a response. Expectedly, your question was not answered.
Nevertheless, you knew better than to give up your standing and continue to participate in this wordless battle. After all, as a member of the Crimson branch, it would hurt your pride to lose to such a miscellaneous game.
Slowly but surely, the air around you both began to constrict, seemingly trapping you in its borders. However, instead of surrendering to either of your guys’ unmoving selves, none made a move in anything close to failure and instead, waited.
Such a manipulator.
Seconds steadily merge into minutes, and before you know it, you are left with a quarter of an hour before having to head back. Looking at the entrance of the alley, it had seemed that the sun was already setting. Turning around to meet Raven’s eyes, you let out a smirk before pushing yourself off the walls.
“ If you don’t have anything to say then I guess there is no other purpose being here,” you taunted, heading towards the bustling street.
Purposely exaggerating your steps to enhance the sound of your shoes colliding with the floor, you confidently walk the opposite way, not glancing back. However, before you can bathe under the colourful lanterns, an arm slid around yours, pulling you back into the darkness.
Quick to hide your growing smirk, you let yourself be dragged back deep within the alley. Turning around, you look down at the piercing eyes, staring menacingly into your own.
“ Stop joking around,” Raven warned.
“ Answer my question then,” you insisted, “ Why have you called me?”
Even with the mask, you could tell that she was rolling her eyes at your ridiculous question. Reaching into her long sleeve, Raven took out a thin envelope and shoved it into your arms.
“ The Master wanted to give this to you.”
Looking at her knowingly, you flick the tab open, reaching in to get the paper. Pulling the paper out, you motioned her to bring the lantern closer. You both peered through the content of the letter, processing the intentions that have been conveyed. Looking into each others’ eyes, silently having a conversation.
After a while, you both synchronously nodded, agreeing on the best solution.
Standing straight up, you carefully tuck the letter into your inner sleeve. You patted the spot a few times to test its stability as you mindlessly listened to Raven’s plan.
“ You do know that it is better to do it now than later right?”
Stopping what you were doing, you clench your hands repeatedly while staring at the ground. Letting out a tired sigh, you tussled through your hair in frustration, making obvious attempts to ignore her question.
“ You kno—“
“ I know!” You growled, biting your inner cheeks. “ I… need time to adapt to this current life. After that… I will tell them.”
Without looking at her, you could already define her expression of knowingness. Even so, you ignored it, too caught up with your thoughts and forceful emotions.
Letting out a loud sigh, “ Mind joining me for a drink?”
Looking into Raven’s eyes, you could almost spot specks of whites and yellows swirling into her magnificent midnight black orbs. Despite how gorgeous they were, you knew that they held nothing more than pity and sympathy; ones that aimed at you— your decisions specifically.
Once again, you both held eye contact for however long before Raven broke it with a gentle shake of her head. She nodded, quietly accepting your invitation, stepping away from you.
Following her lead, you nodded, tightening your grasp on your own mask, in which you had taken off unconsciously during the discussion.
Fingers running through the surface, you admire each stroke that has been carved into the wood. Unlike Raven’s who was smothered in shades of black and grey, yours was painted in a variety of red and gold. In another way, it showcases the difference between your animal and hers.
Each member of the clan is subjected to form their alias based on their branch and their ones that resonate with them.
For example, your branch— the crimson branch is categorized as a physical branch, people who focus on close combat. As a result, all the members within the branch are named after predators of all kinds, except birds. Raven, who belonged to the Gold branch, specializing in long-distance attacks, are thus named after various avians. With that, the Azures are categorized to different strategic pieces and theories, while the Veridian branch are varieties of poisons, and the Titanium branch, are all the raw materials used for craftsmanship.
Bringing the mask to your face, you quickly fasten it, lifting your hair to hide the knot under it. You started heading out of the alley, Raven following right after you and into the clusters of light.
As you both walked through the noisy crowd, you glanced around at the assorted shades of lanterns that are hanged throughout the district, most in deep, bright shades of red, confirming that you were indeed in the epicentre of the red district.
The red district was a very interesting place that attracts a wide audience— for the many different reasons that are available. Some people come here to do business— both legal and illegally, while some search for companions—for the reasons you won’t go into. Anyways, in your guys’ case, it was the former. Now for whether it’s legal or illegal? You didn’t exactly know.
Along the way, you randomly chose a cozy-looking winery in the depth of the district, one that wasn’t filled with too many lustful people.
This particular winery was unlike many others. Instead of drenching in the odour of alcohol, the winery quickly filled your senses with a delicate and flowery scent. Curiosity hitting you like a brick wall, you glanced around to try and find where the scent was coming from.
“ Welcome, precious guests,” a velvety voice greeted.
Perking your head up at the voice, your head naturally followed the direction. Immediately after looking up, you were faced with a figure adorned in pieces of red. Unexpectedly, the voice owner’s face was beyond any noble ladies in the capital, with a sharp yet captivating gaze, and perfect proportions. To say the least, she was flawless.
Seeing your guys’ silence, the lady let out a smile.
“ Please, follow me,” she said, leading you into a quiet corner, invisible to most people.
You nodded in gratitude, taking a seat on one of the wooden chairs.
“ What would you like?”
Looking contemplated, Raven asked, “ What do you specialize in?”
Eyes sparkling in excitement at Raven’s word, the lady clasped her hand together before clearing her throat, “ Finally! The Silvering Winery specializes in mixed drinks.”
Raising your eyebrow, curious of the reason for her being so excited, you asked, “ Don’t people come here for that since it’s your specialty?”
Reacting to your question, the lady huffed out a sigh, her eyebrows crunching up in frustration. “ Of course not! All we have coming are old, drunken men who know nothing more than jugs of those tasteless alcohol! With our location, even if so hidden, people still manage to find it. No one ever asks for mixed drinks… until now at least.”
You smiled, taking interest in her talk, “ Any recommendations you have?”
Tapping her chin carefully, the lady took her time to think as she scanned over the both of you. “ Mhmm, how about this? I’ll create drinks based on what I get from each of you.”
Raven hummed in agreement while you nodded in interest,“ Please… Mmm...Is there perhaps a name we could possibly address you?”
Plushed lips curling up to a smile, she answered, “ Please call me… Lisa.”
“ Sounds foreign.”
Lisa nodded, “ I’m from the west.”
Smiling at her words, you introduced, “ Please call me Phoenix.”
“ Raven.”
“ Then we’ll be in your care, Lisa.”
Turning around, Lisa headed off to what seemed to be the kitchen, “ Don’t worry, I never disappoint my customers.”
You waited for the retrieving figure to enter the kitchen before setting your eyes back to the decor of the place. The whole venue was covered in wood, planks attached to the floor while chunkier pieces are used to form tables. Smaller pieces of wood are spotted splattered across the walls and the tops of the very many seats. On your guys’ table, a tray sat there, holding a plate of sweets accompanied by two wooden cups, filled to the brim with scorching hot herbal tea.
Reaching over to grab yours, Raven following right after, you both enjoyed the taste of the herbs in silence. Letting the bitter taste coat your skin, you hummed in satisfaction as the warmth spread through your body, seeping into your core.
Unlike your usual mask where it covers your entire face, this one only covered half of it, thus making it much more convenient to use during these situations.
“ It’s been a while since we’ve had a normal conversation.”
Humming in interest, Raven continued to sip her tea.
“ How have you been?”
“ ...I’ve been good. Just the usual stuff, nothing new.”
Nodding in acknowledgement, you reach over to grab a piece of sweet.
“ How have you been?”
Biting into the dessert, you munch on it while thinking over the question. “ It’s been hectic. This year has been a little … overwhelming.”
By the perked-up eyebrows, you could tell that she was interested in your wording but seeing how she had no intentions of mentioning it, you also dismissed the minor detail.
“ The Master had given you such a significant mission, it’s no wonder it would be so tiring.”
Tightening your lip to form a small smile, you nodded in agreement, your head bouncing with the force. “ In the beginning, I often wondered why the Master has assigned me to be leading this mission when there are clearly more suitable people than me.”
“ Who?”
Looking down to your own cup, you stared into the reflection of yourself painted on the layer of liquid. “ … For starters, you.”
Chuckling at your response, Raven eyed your slightly sunken form. “ Me? I have no interest in this type of mission. In fact, I’m quite glad that you were assigned to it. This way, at least, I have some reassurance that the mission is more likely to succeed.”
Refusing to look at her, you smiled in acknowledgement, the happiness unable to reach your eyes.
Seeing your sullen state, Raven reached out her hand to grasp yours, comfortably stroking over your knuckles.
“ You will do fine. In fact, you’ve done so much more than what that bastard has ever achieved in his entire life.”
Wincing at Raven’s profanity, you cracked out a smile.
“ You’re lucky he’s dead, if not…” you spaced out, slicing your finger across your neck to continue your sentence.
Raven smiled at your joke. “ You’re part of the Crimson branch, Y/n, a predator that stands out among the rest,” Raven reminded you, “ I know that this is weighing a great deal of pressure on you but know that we are always here to assist you.”
“ ...You’re really bittersweet, Raven.”
Blinking calmly at your comment, Raven replied, “ Of course.”
Feeling the conversation fade away, you both followed the flow, quietly minding each other’s interest.
“ What’s with the atmosphere here?” Lisa announced, entering the scene, carrying the beverages on a tray. “ Now, now. Don’t be too sullen. Let me cheer you up with these drinks,” she proudly proclaimed.
Looking at the drinks that she had placed in front of you, your eyes glimmered in interest. Picking the cup up, you brought it closer to you, inspecting the contents within the cup.
“ What is this?” You asked, sniffing the aroma that was escaping.
Resting her arms on her hips, she explained, “ With Raven’s, I decided to go with a simple drink. A combination of our winery’s signature wine and rice wine have been added to highlight a clean yet edgy taste. Swan Knife”
Raven nodded, lips curling up in satisfaction. Picking up her cup, she slowly bring it to her lips, taking small gulps to savor the taste. “ Swan Knife? Mhmm, it fits.”
“ Of course.”
“ What about mine?”
Clapping her hand in excitement, Lisa giddily answered, “ Yours was a combination of the winery’s freshest batch and an old brandy imported from the west. I topped the drink off with a little citrusy tang to highlight the harmony of the senses. Overall, you will experience the sharp, bitter, and tangy sensation in one mouthful. Bittersweet Kiss.”
Taking in a deep breath, you mentally cringed at the name while Raven openly smirked at the coincidence. “ Sounds like a roller coaster,” you hummed, taking your gulp.
Closing your eyes, you let the taste of the alcohol cover every crevice of your mouth, confirming what Lisa said to be true.
“ Interesting,” you said, “ Definitely worth your praise.”
Preening at your praise, she happily thanked you.
Using the tea to cleanse your palate, you repeatedly go back and force between the two beverages.
“ Why don’t you join us, Lisa?” Raven offered.
Shaking her head, she gave out a sad expression, “ I’m afraid that won’t be possible. My other customers are waiting.”
Taking a quick look around, you couldn’t spot any other customer except for yourself and Raven. However, as if on cue, the door was slammed open, revealing a bunch of drunken men, toppling over each other to try and enter the space.
“ LISA! Give me the usual!”
Rolling her eyes at the male, she quickly covered it with a smile, bowing in greeting at you before heading over to the other customers.
“ She seemed like an interesting fellow,” you noted before going back to your drink.
“... Has the Master been demanding?”
Stopping yourself at the question, you bite your lip in confliction. “ In some aspects, yes, he is. But I still don’t understand what we are getting out from these missions.”
Raven swirl her drink in a circular motion. “ The Master is planning something big.”
You snorted, “ Of course he is. He wouldn't assign me this mission for some petty excuses. You...you know something right?”
Confirming your theory at her refusal to look you in the eye, you nodded in understanding. “ You don’t need to tell me. I understand.”
“ No, it’s not because I don’t want to tell you but it’s … complicated. But what I can definitely guarantee you is that the Master is planning something that you will never expect.”
Staring at her features, you slowly studied the face that you’ve known for years. Suddenly, you came up with a surprise connection, one you didn’t expect to come nor become real.
“ If I look at you now, you hold some resemblance with someone I know,” you nonchalantly commented.
Stiffening at your sudden observation, Raven fidget with the cup in her hand as you stared her down, trying to identify who it was.
“ Who?” She meekly asked.
“... H— No i think I’ve mistaken you with someone else,” you covered up.
There’s no way that this is a coincidence. I’m just overthinking it.
Subtly shutting her eyes at your response, it was obvious that Raven didn’t wholeheartedly believe your words but ignored it either way.
“ I heard that you started adopting consorts, and changed the initial plan.”
“ … I did unconsciously recruit a few more consorts aside from Taehyung, and did manage to alter some part of the plan. However, I promised that it’s nothing major. The plan is progressing relatively smoothly.”
Chuckling at yoru panicked voice, she assured you, “ It’s fine. There’s no need to panic, I was just asking… Are they good people?”
Unconsciously smiling at the thought, you hesitantly nodded. “ They’re interesting people. Certainly unique in their own little ways.”
“ You know that you attract many people to your ways, right?”
Snorting at her response, you cheekily grinned. “ Good or bad, I wonder.”
Raven looked at you knowingly, before smugly looking at the decor around you, not wanting to give out a verbal response. Raising your eyebrows at her antiques, you also took your stride in looking around.
On instinct, you looked over at the opened doors to be met with a background of the dark sky, illuminated by lanterns. Hastily standing up, you bided Raven goodbye, “ Looks like it’s my time to go now. When you have the time, make sure to stop at my place.”
Going to the door, you almost couldn’t catch Raven’s greetings. Feeling a small smile adorned your face, you quickly exited the winery and back into the streets.
Looking at your previous spot, Raven mindlessly sipped her drink.
“ They’re certainly an interesting one, aren’t they?” Lisa pipped in.
Raven smiled, “ Definitely.”
☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️
Once again in the crowds of the festival, you hurriedly dodge through the drunkens, careful to not hit the vulnerables. Smiling every so often to showcase your politeness, your feet quickly carried you to the opposite end and eventually to a left turn.
Letting out a deep sigh, you were thankful for getting out of the mess in one piece. Just being in the place gets you to have flashbacks about previous experiences.
You slowed down your pace, making sure to not look any stranger than what already meets the eyes. . Unlike the previous district who was filled with energy, this place is quite tranquil considering it is a more major district of the capital.
Eyes constantly scanning the area, you felt yourself stopped at a particular parlour. Approaching the stall, you took your time admiring the items that were put on for sale.
Grazing over the various accessories, you smiled at how detailed the carvings are. Feeling your finger twitch at a certain ornament, you brought it closer for inspection. Hooking the look around your finger, you twirl it around to test its stability.
Not bad.
“ Owner, are there any other colors or designs for this?”
Clasping her hand in excitement, the owner hurriedly displayed the other designs available.
Eyes sparkling in interest, you inspect ones that caught your sight but couldn’t decide on which one to buy. Seeing your uncertainty, the owner said, “ If you don’t mind me asking but who is it you plan on giving it to?”
Looking up to look at her eyes that had started to droop from old age, you politely smiled. “ I am planning to buy it for a… a friend.”
Raising her eyebrows at your reply, the owner took a moment to look over at the collection, “ Is there anything in particular that stands out about them?”
“ … sunshine.”
Looking back and forth between you and the collection before she boldly handed you an ornament. Graciously accepting the ornament, you take a second to inspect the item.
“ This norigae* is sewn from one of the most popular materials this year. Even though the threads are sewn together, similar to a rope, it is very soft yet also extremely steady. The customer had said that your friend holds similarity to the sun so I thought that the golden color would suit them.”
Nodding at her observance, you happily accepted her advice. “ Thank you. I will take this one.”
Returning the ornament back to her, you looked down again at the accessories before spotting a few that had caught your eyes.
“ Owner, please also pack these up for me,” you said, pointing at a few items, “ Here is the money. Keep the change.”
Bowing at her in gratitude, you accepted the wooden box containing your goods before heading to the tea house. On the way, you once again tuck the box in your sleeves in case of any ill intentions roaming around.
Resuming your previous pace, you continue to scavenge around the district while on your way back to the tea house. Amidst the way, you noticed an inconsistent pattern of people that were accumulating in front of a store nearby, coincidentally blocking your path.
I must be aligned with crowds today, you sighed.
After standing in the same spot for a few moments, you begrudgingly put on a brave face and courageously walk toward the crowd, hoping to not be pulled to pieces.
Taking a deep breath at a particular hard jab, you desperately sucked in the warm, moist air around you, trying to not groan too loudly. Tightening your stomach in an attempt to make yourself seem smaller, you try your best to push through the crowd of people.
Hissing at a young lady that had bumped into you, stepping on your toe in the process, you suddenly found yourself stuck in the center, with no available escape route.
Sighing at your unfortunate situation, regretting your decision, you were suddenly aware of the admiring gazes that wee being pulled. Looking around in curiosity, you wondered why everyone was looking so intrigued … until you heard the strings of the gayageum* being plucked.
Ears on alert at the melody that was being played, you turned your head in the direction, your feet unconsciously headed towards the music until you were just behind a few other bypassers.
Once you had registered what was happening, your eyes widened in surprise at the main highlight of the performance.
Hoseok.
There he was, your Noble Consort, was at the center, seemingly carrying all the major parts of the piece, giving no care to the crowd that had surrounded him. Eyes closed, Hoseok let himself go and simply followed the flow of the music, in a complete trance where the only thing that existed was himself and the melody.
Robes fluttering along with his movement, Hoseok continue to move with th music, seemingly becoming one with the melody.
Speechless at the scene that is happening in front of you, you stared at his dancing figure in complete silence, completely forgetting where you are, too focus on Hoseok, himself. It also seemed that you were too involved in the performance that you, also gave no care to your surroundings.
Eyes staring at Hoseok, at his every movement— twirls, turns, and jumps, you engulfed yourself to enjoy the performance, deciding to put away your questions for later.
Slowly, one song after another ended yet Hoseok still kept dancing while you kept your eyes glued on him. No matter how many times you were pushed around, or the constant change in neighbours, you still remained in your spot only snapping out of your daze at a particular hard push.
Eyes glaring at the intruding figure, you shake your head to clear up your mind. Noticing at the slow change in melody indicating that the song was about to end, you looked at Hoseok one last time before turning around and returning to your tracks, this time making sure to not go off it.
At least I know I’m not the only one who’s late.
As you calmly walk through the street, the scene that had unfolded in front of your eyes kept coming back. Hoseok’s smooth yet sharp moves, soft yet powerful gestures, and how he managed to control the air around him made you more curious about him.
Who exactly are you?
Silently entering the tea house, you were too deep into your thought that you had even dismissed the greetings of the servants and instead just followed their lead to your previous spot.
“ Give me a serving of the sweets to go,” you mindless order.
Leaning back against the chair, you glanced down the window, searching for Hoseok’s incoming figure. However, you soon find out that he wasn’t going to come anytime soon. Even after receiving your sweets, Hoseok still did not come.
Placing the money down on the table, you grabbed the sweets and left the establishment and instead settled for the outside stairs to wait for him. Feeling your skin itch in agitation, you feel your anxiety increase as the minute goes by.
Where is he?
Feeling your mood getting increasingly worse, you accidentally growled at a man that accidentally touched you. Apologizing was a hazy memory when you were in this current state yet you still find yourself waiting, somehow not finding the need to go and find him yourself. However, in all of foolishness, Hoseok is bound to get at least a few of your lectures.
Finally, after the moon was halfway on its route, a familiar figure finally appeared. Letting out a breath that you didn’t know existed, you ruffled your hair in both relief and frustration; both emotions aiming at him.
“ Where have you been?”
Flinching at your cold tone, Hoseok couldn’t bring himself to look at you. Instead, he opted to look down at the floor, in shame.
“ Did you realize what time it is?” You asked, “ When did we agree to meet?”
Once again, you were met with absolute silence. At this time, most of the stores and parlours had closed with only a few lanterns available to illuminate the street.
However, unlike the calm and tranquil the cool night should bring you, you felt a wave of frustration engulf you. In the back of your mind, you thanked your abilities to heal the wounds in time. Because without it, the wound would have already reopened with how hard you were clenching your arm.
Aside from your blazing eyes and your tense grasp on your sword, Hoseok couldn’t find any other evidence of your anger. However, even without any evidence, he knew that you were letting out anything but positive energy.
“ Whatever, we’ll talk about this at a later date,” you said, drawing a shaky sigh before presenting your arm, “ Let’s go.”
Looking at your arm, Hoseok hesitantly holds onto it before letting himself be dragged by you.
The silence presented during your guys’ walk was what Hoseok had expected when he accepted your invitation. However, he also understood the reason for why such a tense sensation was presented and was not naturally there.
As you approached the palace gates, you let go of Hoseok’s hand, reaching into your sleeve to take out your hopae*. When the guard spotted your tag, he immediately opened the gate, letting you both in. Before going in, you reached over to Hoseok to entangle your hand with his, not saying anything at his surprised expression. Thankfully, Hoseok also followed the flow and didn’t comment on your actions.
During the way to the Noble Consort’s courtyard, an eunuch had run over, offering to help guide you but was answered by a denial. Instead, you took the lantern from his hands and dismissed him.
Once you both were finally in front of Hoseok’s courtyard, you finally let go of his hand. Hoseok, who was about to bow to you, stopped when he saw you reach into your sleeve, seemingly looking for something.
Unlatching the rope that had secured the box, you quickly took out the norigae that you previously brought. Throwing it over to Hoseok’s direction, you turned around and began to walk to your courtyard, not looking at his reaction.
“ A souvenir from me. If it’s not to your fancy, throw it away.”
Hastily catching the item that you had disposed into his hands, he confusingly looked at it before realizing what it was. Grazing over the norigae fondly, Hoseok carefully untangled the knots. Grasping the ornament tightly, he felt his lips turn upward at your gestures. Bringing it close to his chest, he looked at your disappearing figure, attentively.
☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️
Within the next month of the announcement, news of the arrival of the new consorts began to enter the palace, and eventually, reaching the court. The ministers and officials were overjoyed at the news, happy that they were still sending over the candidates despite your announcement.
Unlike others who were happy about the consorts’ arrival, Taehyung was still soured over the news, as well as your choice.
Despite Taehyung’s obvious disapproval, it was customary for you to at least spend a night with each consort in the first week, especially if they were from a different country.
On your first night of the three, you met your first choice from the piles of possible candidates.
Sato Chungho, was a righteous man who had an outstanding record and an ambition in politics. He was so intrigued by it that you had spent the entire night talking about the subject.
“ Politics, you say?” You asked curiously as you propped your chin on your hand.
Chungho enthusiastically nodded, eyes trained on your every movement. “ Yes, your majesty.”
You hummed, “ Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
Looking down at his hands, Chungho fidgets with the fabric of his attire. “ I had heard that your majesty is well versed in this field. Since I have met you, I … I knew that love would never be able to blossom between the two of u—”
“ Why would you say that?” You interrupted, eyes peering down at him in interest.
“ You might not know this, your majesty but you have been a very popular topic in Shihoma. Previously, we all had known about how terrible the Corea’s monarch was but since your arrival, everyone couldn’t help but be intrigued by how you managed to take him down. More importantly, the way you handled this Consort Selection both showcases your dominance and how you’re not afraid to flaunt it. Many would have to think twice about doing this, especially for a country that has yet to establish a good reputation.”
“ Then wouldn’t my actions be considered to be reckless. If you think about it, won’t it be easy for other countries to fight ours since it’s so vulnerable right now?”
Chungho shakes his head, “ It would be unlikely because most people know that most of the soldiers had gone to your side before and during the rebellion. You didn’t lose that many soldiers so attacking you is not a minor matter.”
Raising your eyebrows at his answer, you nodded your head. “ Then what would you like?”
“ I would like…” Chungho gulped, “ to learn more about politics under you.”
A potential.
Cracking a smile at his uncertainty, you stand up from your seat. Waving your hands to signal him to come over, you invited, “ Come. Play a game of go with me.”
With that, Chungho giddily accepted your invitation and both of you found yourself spending the entire night indulged in all the games you had available.
On the second night, things turned out to be more interesting with the second consort.
“ Chin-Hae means the truth and a vast ocean, correct?” You had asked.
“ Yes, your majesty.”
“ And you’re a son of a merchant?”
“ Yes, your majesty.”
Scanning at him from top to the bottom, and bottom to top, you couldn’t decipher the unsettled feeling that is blooming within your chest. You have been caught up in many situations where there is a sense of familiarity despite being strangers. And this is one of those situations.
“ You look familiar.”
“ I am afraid that we have never meet until today,” he said, “ However, you might have find my demeanour similar to some of the envoys that are currently residing in the palace.”
“ … you’re from Xin May yet you behave like the Ecenyths, you must have travelled quite a bit.”
“ As a merchant’s child, I have started travelling since I could even remember. However, I did spent a reasonable amount of time in Ecenyth.”
You hummed in acknowledgement. “ Tell me the stories of the land you have visited.��
“ Where would you like to hear first, your majesty?”
“ … Xin May,” you decided, “ Tell me the culture, people, myths, legends. Anything of interest to your home country.”
Chin-Hae smiled, “ Yes, your majesty.”
As a result, you spent the entire night listening to the various stories from Chin-Hae; from the land’s culture to personal experiences and connection, Chin-Hae had told it in such an interesting manner that it captivated you every step of the way. He truly is a merchant.
I wonder if Seokjin is also good at storytelling.
On the third and final night, you were beyond exhausted with being deprived of sleep for two days straight and the constant piles that were presented on your desk. Thus, you didn’t have as much energy as usual and hoped that today will be like the other two.
Turns out, the third time was really the charm since it was completely different from the rest.
Entering your bedroom, you wanted nothing more than to fall onto the bed and travel to dreamland. Feet dragging your slouched body to the familiarity of your bed, you were suddenly hit with the realization of the slight change in the room’s placement.
Sobering up at the thought of an intrusion, you glared at every change in your normally simple chamber, feeling the irritation in you double. Aside from the difference in decor, the usual scent of lavender that would caress your skin was replaced with an overpowering scent of perfume. Feeling a headache reappearing, you sluggishly walked towards your bed only to be met with a big clump covered by a thin, transparent fabric.
The person must have noticed your speechless demeanour when they let out soft, high-pitched giggles. Normally, you would have define the noise as angelic but with your non-sobered state, fondness was not on top of the list.
Harshly grabbing the fabric, you forcefully tugged it off the figure and threw it to the floor. Looking into the bright yet hazy black orbs, you find yourself not knowing what to do.
“ Greetings to your majesty.”
Squinting your eyes in an attempt to find familiarity in the person in front to you but unable to do so, you find yourself speechless of what to say nor do. Suddenly, you realized that he was the one who you have chosen randomly, a person that you didn’t even bother knowing the name of.
Turning the other way, guiltily, you refused to look into the person’s eye, ashamed as what you did that day. However, the person seated on your bed took your action as an attempt to distance yourself away from him. As a result, he sneakily reach out his hand to touch your clenched ones.
Shivering at the chilling skin that had enveloped into your warmer ones, you looked at him, waiting to see what he would do.
As if knowing what you were hinting, the person took the opportunity to pull you to him, successfully setting you seated next to him.
Taking a deep breath, you could define the different fragrances that he was using.
Rose, with a light note of chamomile, citrus, lavender? No, what is it?    
Confused at what you were smelling, you didn’t notice the roaming hands that were venturing your body until it travelled to your thigh. In a moment of panic, you pushed him away from you, shocking him in the process.
“ You… what’s your name?”
Yet to recover from the sudden shove, the male hastily replied, “ P-park Jimin, your majesty.”
Awkwardly nodding at his answer, you make sure to raise your hands, signalling that you meant no harm. “ I apologize, Jimin-ssi. There was so much work that I seemed to forget your name,” you said, shuffling away.
You knew that lying was bad in this situation but you also knew that saying that he was chosen in a matter of luck was worse. In other terms, he was lucky to be picked and wasn’t picked based on his capabilities unlike the other two.
There’s no way that I’ll tell him that.
Once again, using the opening of you drifting off, Jimin approached you, hands delicately running up your legs, eyes glimmering with mischief and flirtatiousness.
Speechless at what he was doing, you could only stare as he continued to venture across the span of your skin. Gently prying his hands off you, you push Jimin away. This time, on alert for any of his upcoming initiatives.
“ So tell me about yourself,” you said, brushing off what had just happened.
Staring at you confusingly, Jimin’s finger twitches in agitation. “ Why are you doing this?”
“ What do you mean?” You asked, scrunching up your nose.
“ Why are you asking these questions when you already know the answer?” He asked, eyes hiding behind his bangs.
“ I apologize, it seems that I have offended you. These past few days have been so busy that I haven't had the time to go over your profile yet.”
“ You didn’t even have the time to look into me?” He murmured, eyes locked on the velvet sheets.
You waved your hand in a hurry, protesting. “ Of course not. I sincerely apologize. I truly didn’t have the time to do so.”
Part of it was true while the other wasn’t being told. Yes, you have been extremely busy that you didn’t have any spare time and would go to sleep straight away after you return to your courtyard. However, you also did pick Jimin randomly, thus not having the fresh opportunity to look at his portrait.
You were really regretting your decisions of following the ministers’ miscellaneous plans.
Picking his head up, you propped them on top of your hand, directly looking into his own. Seeing his stunned expression because of your initiatives was something unexpectedly amusing; plushed lips puckered out to form a pout, a crimson shade that is spreading along the span of his cheeks, and eyes widen in such a manner that you almost couldn’t stop yourself from cooing about his cuteness.
Regretting at not seeing his painted portrait, you wonder if the artist managed to capture his beauty.
Smiling gently at your gestures, Jimin blinks continuously to try and seduce you.
Smirking at his antiques, you followed whatever he was luring you into before trapping him under your body. Arms placed on either side of him, Jimin bravely looked at you, eyebrows raised in a suggestive manner.
Lowering yourself until you were barely above him, you whispered into his ear, “ What do you think you’re doing.”
Feeling an unfamiliar sensation blooming within his core, Jimin unhurriedly replied, “ Whatever your majesty wants to do, I will follow.”
Smirking at his response, you continue to tease him by grazing your finger lightly across his skin, similar to what he had done to you. Seeing him squirm at the feeling was definitely a sight to see; amidst your teasing, you could even see a slight change in demeanour for a moment before it was covered by the previous thin layer of lust.
How interesting.
“ Oh really?”
Shivering at the moisture of your breath, Jimin couldn’t help but anticipate what was about to happen. However, his fantasize was cut short when he was no longer pinned down, the previous pressure dissipating into the air.
Pulling away from Jimin, you turned around, starting to take off your robe. “ You may stay here if you wish. We can talk about whatever but nothing related to what we just did.”
“ … So you just wanted to tease me?”
Clenching your fist at his question, you shakily replied, “ I apologize. I… I wanted to find out something.”
Jimin bit his lip, eyes glaring at your back. “ And that gives you the need to tease me? You may be my master, your majesty. But I am still a human who has feelings.”
“ … I apologize.”
“ Apologies, apologies,” Jimin huffed out, “ If you don’t want me here then I will leave.”
Standing up, Jimin takes the fabric, previously thrown to the floor and wrapped it around himself. Walking past you, Jimin didn’t look at you and instead focused on the door. Pushing the doors open, Jimin was about to leave but was suddenly pulled back.
Gasping at the pulling force, Jimin staggered backwards into your chest. “ I did say that I would let you leave but I didn’t agree to you leaving while in such a foul mood.”
Now, against your chest, you and Jimin were at the same height, none towering over the other but within your presence, Jimin found himself cowering under your watchful eyes.
“ W-what do you want now?”
“ I want to apologize to you,” you said, “ What do you want me to do?”
Turning around to look into your eyes, Jimin undoubtedly could sense your genuinity. Still trapped in your embrace, Jimin took his time to think and weigh the possible outcomes.  
“ You would do whatever I say?”
“ If it’s reasonable, yes. I would do anything.”
Taking into consideration of your words, Jimin giddily thought up of various options. “ Then… give me jewelry as compensation.”
“ Jewelry? What do you want specifically?”
“ Anything that shows your favour in me. Things that would make people envy my position by your side.”
You nodded, agreeing with his terms. “ I will have something prepared for you by tomorrow and sent to your courtyard. For now…”
Looking over at your drawers, eyes sparkling up at the idea. Unlatching your arms around Jimin, you walked up to your drawers. Pulling a small drawer, you gingerly searched around before pulling a certain item out.
Returning to where you previously were, you gestured for him to turn around. You carefully placed the accessories against his skin, encasing the knot to secure the necklace in place. “ Keep this as a promise that I will fulfill my role.”
Grasping the pendant, Jimin looked over the design in awe before cracking a smile.
Seeing his smile, you commented, “ I see that you ar—“
“ Acceptable,” Jimin arrogantly said.
“ I’m glad,” you said, walking towards the table, pouring yourself a cup of tea, “ Let’s have a proper conversation now, shall we?”
Rolling his eyes at your comment, Jimin clenched the fabric wrapped around him before heading towards the table, taking a seat opposite of you.
“ Now, what can I know about you, Jimin-ssi.”
“ You don’t need to be that formal. Please call me Jimin.”
You smiled, “ Gladly.”
☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️
“ Now tell me about the Scavenge Disaster.”
Hastily going through the notes that he had memorized yesterday, Jungkook clumsily replied, “ The Scavenged Disaster was a breakout of droughts in the southern regions forcing many to go get refuge in other places?”
“ Continue.”
“ Mhmm.. the Sca—”
“ Say it with more confidence,” Taehyung interrupted.
Shooting him a glare, you scrunched up your eyebrows in frustration. Opening your mouth, you were about to say something when Taehyung continued to interrupt you.
“ How can you not remember the basics?” He degraded once he saw the hesitation that still lingered in Jungkook’s eyes.
Eyes widening at his words, you shouted, “ Royal Consort! Be careful with your words!”
Rolling his eyes at your word, Taehyung leaned back against his seat and focused on Jungkook, waving his hand for him to continue.
Shaking your head, you roughly slumped down into your seat, ignoring the stare that Jungkook was giving you.
Swallowing all the tension down, Jungkook went back to what he has been doing, now, even more agitated.
From the start of today’s lesson, the intensity of the air in the room was at an abnormal level. You all have noticed the change but no one put in the effort to address it.
“ When did this occur?”
“ Ten years before the previous dynasty ended.”
“ How old were you then?”
“ I was… ten at that time.”
“ I heard that you were constantly out of the palace,” you said, “ Must have been hard for you.” Nonchalantly looking down at the papers on the table, you didn’t caught Taehyung’s soured gaze.
“ Ten? You’re barely an adult now. Must have been a little brat,” Taehyung commented.
Sighing, you tiredly looked over at him, “ Brat? Look at you right now. You’re the brattiest yet.”
Taehyung scowled at your comment, “ Whatever. What has this lesson turned into? A personal bonding time for the two of you? Forget it, we’re done for today. I’m not in the mood for it.”
“ Jungkook you may go,” you dismissed him, letting out an exhausted sigh, and rubbed your tensed eyebrows. Seeing Taehyung also standing up, you were quick to confront him, “ You, dear Royal Consort, is staying until I tell you otherwise.”
Turning around, Taehyung looked at you with raised eyebrows, challenging you. “ You can’t control me.”
“ As long as I have the crown, there is nothing I can’t get my hands onto, including you.”
Huffing at your comment, Taehyung slumped down into his seat, not looking at you.
“ Why are you like this?” You asked, frustrated.
“ Why are you asking me? Ask yourself!” He yelled out, disbelief clearly adorned on his face.
“ What did I do?”
“ You took in three other consorts!”
“ I was forced to!”
“ You’re the owner of this land, no one can control you.” He said, using your comment as payback.
You chewed on your cheek at your words getting backfired. “ It's a minor problem, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“ Minor problem? Sure it is. So incredibly small that it caused chaos in the imperial court, agitating all the ministers.”
“ If you’re worried about them interrupting ou—”
“ I don’t care about the plan. What if they fancy you!” He retorted, pouting at his own words.
Eyebrows raised at Taehyung’s tantrum, you unconsciously lean back to enjoy the show.
“ You’re worried that they will gain power if they have my favour?”
“ That too,” Taehyung muttered.
“ Don’t worry. Chung-ho and Chin-Hae aren’t in the mindset of settling down,” you reassured, “ Chung-ho is too busy with his interest in politics while Chin-Hae will be travelling.”
During your guys’ little talk, you had personally promised to give Chin-Hae the privilege to exit the palace at will in return for little souvenirs that he will bring back. This may sound immature but you have plans for those items.
“ You guys are on first-name-basis now? Whatever, whatever, whatever... Then what about the third one?” He asked.
You tilted your head confusingly, not able to hear what he just said. “ What did you say?”
Taehyung looked at you, eyes piercing into your own. “ I asked about the third one. Jimin was it?”
“ Jimin?” You pulled out, chewing on your head as you remember what had happened on your guys’ first meeting. “ I don’t know.”
Taehyung pouted, “ Then there is still a possibility!”
“ If you don’t trust my words then go see for yourself.”
At your words, Taehyung turned around and walked out. “ I will.”
I will see for myself what you all have.
☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️
A week later, Taehyung upholds his promise by arranging an informal afternoon tea meetup with the rest of the harem. He definitely needed to see how these consorts are faring.
Seated in the middle of the round table where every person that comes and goes is in his vision field, Taehyung patiently waited for all the guests to arrive.
Slowly, the Blue Pearl garden started to get crowded by people, surrounding the table situated under the gazebo.
On his left, seated the Imperial Consort, the only consort that he, the Royal Consort has to show some face to.
It is best said that the relationship between the Imperial Consort and himself is not the best but it’s also not the worst.
We just don’t align, is what he would like to say.
Maybe in another situation, he and the Imperial Consort can find a common ground but in a harem, he is barely able to keep it under his control without the interference of another party. As a result, if’s they can’t be acquaintances then being neutrals would do.
Naturally, the farther they are to the host, the inferior their status is, meaning that when those new consorts arrive, they will be on the opposite side of him. More specifically, facing him directly on this round table.
On his right, there sat the eldest Noble Consort, who was all too busy with looking at the surrounding to spare him no mind.
I must agree to what Y/N had said. Childlike yet witty.
Perking up at another incoming group, Taehyung smiled in greeting. “ Ah, Consort Sato, welcome. Take a seat next to Noble Consort Jung.”
Bowing down in greetings, Chungho smiled at Taehyung’s words. “ Greetings to the Royal Consort, Imperial Consort Min, and Noble Consort Jung,” he said before heading towards the seat next to Hoseok’s
At least this kid knows manners.
Taehyung smiled in satisfaction, “ Good. I like you.”
“ I’m honoured to be in your favour.”
“ The Consort Yang has arrived!” The eunuch outside announced.
Turning his attention towards the entrance, Taehyung gently nodded in greetings, already not liking the person with a tacky smile.
Unlike Chungho, who was dressed in the imperial hanbok, expected of a concubine’s status; and behaved in a way much like so. Chin-Hae, instead wore the clothes of his homeland, and put on a disgustingly confident smile.
Normally, Taehyung would have overlooked this as he is also interested in ways one can express themselves through fashion but when that person is his rival, he simply can’t overlook it.
Like understanding what he was trying to convey, a maid by his side stood up. “ Consort Wang sure is unique.”
Instead of being offended, Chin-Hae beamed at her words.
Seeing his expression, Taehyung also smiled in amusement. “ Take a seat, Consort Yang.”
Interesting.
“ I heard that Xin May is a really energetic country.”
“ The epicenter for festivals and entertainment,” Taehyung piped in, casually.
“ It really is. I would say that I am forced to attend at least a dozen festivals every year. And that doesn’t even account to the ones specific to each region.”
Eyes widening in surprise, Hoseok leaned forward in curiosity. “ That must really be eventful.”
“ Sounds like you were busy.”
“ I really wasn’t. Besides, I would trade time for the smallest chance of getting to attend. Unfortunately, my father is trying to train me to inherit the business. Days fill with work and politics is too much for me to cope, however...” Chin-Hae denied, sighing at the thought of the constant work piles.
Blinking at his words, Hoseok commented, “ Right, I heard that Consort Sato is interested in politics from your majesty. Is it true?”
Looking up from his hands, Consort Sato bashfully nodded. “ I have been interested in politics since childhood but was never allowed to have any information on it.”
“ You enjoy politics? Such a unique hobby.”
Taehyung opened his mouth, preparing to say something when he was suddenly interrupted with an announcement.
“ Consort Park has arrived!”
Raising his eyebrows at the incoming figure, Taehyung propped his head on top of his hand.
Now, this is a sight to see.
Compared to the rest, Jimin’s attire was overly done. From the expensive materials that were used, to the intricate designs that were sew onto the fabric, one could definitely tell that he was born noble.
With every step, the bells of his bracelet could be heard jingling as Jimin draws closer to the gazebo. Putting on a confident smile, Jimin did a slight bow in greetings, hands clasped over his chest.
“ Consort Park certainly is prepared,” Chin-Hae commented, astonished at his attire.
“ I thank the Consort Yang for the compliment.”
Taehyung bitterly smiled at the act, feeling his slowly adrenaline rise.
“ Please take a seat, Consort Park. The sun is already in its third quarter and the event has yet to start. Without any further interrupti—”
“ Apologies, apologies, Royal Consort. I had to do some work and forgot the time. I didn’t miss out on anything major, did I?” A booming voice exclaimed, racing from the entrance to where they were.
Taehyung scowled at the familiar voice, eyes glaring at the rushed figure.
“ Merchant of the South,” Hoseok greeted.
Like who Hoseok had said, the steps of Seokjin grew closer to the gazebo, face brightened up at the sight in front of him. Stopping meters away from the entrance, Seokjin bent down to a bow in greeting. “ Greetings to the Consorts.”
“ I was not aware that you were invited.”
“ Apologies, I immediately rushed over the moment I heard that you were holding tea time.”
You knew that you were not invited and yet…, Taehyung rolled mentally rolled his eyes before looking to the side, silently motioning for the arrangements to be done.
Nodding at his signal, the person focused on the preparations, no longer caring at the stares he was receiving.
“ Seems like you knew that you were not invited,” Yoongi straightforwardly pointed out, “ Why are you here then?”
Motioning the maid to go get another chair, Hoseok added, “ Are you here to greet the new consorts?”
“ Partially. I was getting curious at the uprising of the new trio and wanted to go see for myself.”
Unlike others, Jimin reacted at the comment by clenching his jaded fist. Staring like I’m an animal, how daring.
Looking around, Jimin noticed how no one was fazed by Seokjin’s words, secretly stunned at how nonchalantly all of them are until his eyes met with Yoongi’s. Flusteredly looking away, Jimin made a move to smooth out his attire, fidgeting with the fabric along the way.
“ Apologies, only those who have been given permission to attend can do so,” Taehyung's eyes narrowed Seokjin’s figure, “ Besides, I believe the envoy has much better things to attend to than some measly tea event.”
The merchant shook his head in disapproval, “ Attending this event is also part of my duties. The emperor has specifically ordered me to visit the consorts frequently to build a better relationship with them… Also, it had seemed that I was not the only one that came without being invited.” After that, Seokjin’s eyes automatically set its attention on the person behind the table of herbs.
The host smiled, grabbing his wooden fan on the table before flicking it open, gently oscillating it, “ Hmm?... Ah, care to answer that by yourself?”
Setting down the equipment, Namjoon unhurriedly waited for all the boiled water to drain from the pot before gently placing it on the tray. Motioning the maids to bring it, Namjoon made his way to the centre table, smiling all the way. Stopping a couple of steps behind Taehyung, Namjoon clasped his left hand over his right and bowed, “ I apologize for not greeting you, Consorts… Envoy of Ecenyth. Thanks to the Royal Consort, I have the honour of concocting all the drinks that will be served.”
Scanning up and down, Jimin observed Namjoon’s manners, picking up the Royal Consort’s obvious favour towards him. So he is on his side, or maybe… Jimin smiled at the thought which skillfully got hidden by a tea cup placed in front of him.
“ Concocting? Sounds like this will have many benefits.”
“ Of course, Noble Consort Jung. It wouldn’t be right of me to not prepare a nutritious drink,” Namjoon explained.
Hoseok only smiled but made no attempt to reach out for the cup. “ Please sit down, envoy. Why not have a cup of tea while you are here?” He offered once he realized Seokjin was still standing.
Smiling gratefully, Seokjin quietly slipped on to the seat that was just delivered.
Scanning around, Taehyung noted how not a single person had consumed the tea. “ Why aren’t you tasting it? This variety is quite fragrant and won’t be as nutritious if taken cold,” Taehyung commented, letting out a teasing smile, “ Perhaps you all are afraid that it is poisoned?”
Feeling the people around him tensed at his blunt words, Taehyung picked up his own cup before taking a sip from it, flipping it over to show he had finished it. “ See? Now, drink up.”
Sighing at Taehyung’s words, Yoongi deadpanned at how appetizing and easy it was to step into his trap. How annoying, he thought, glancing at Namjoon before staring into his own. Yoongi gracefully lifted the cup to his nasal, taking in a whiff of its scent. Placing the porcelain edge against his lips, Yoongi carefully took a sip. “ Not poisoned.”
Making eye contact with Hoseok, Yoongi subtly nodded, confirming what he previously said was true. Relying on his words, Hoseok also took a sip and smiled at the pleasant taste. “ Such a smooth taste.”
Taehyung smiled, at least we work considerably well together.
“ I’m glad that this tea has satisfied you.”
“ Move on to the next course,” Taehyung ordered, “ I hope you all haven’t ate anything today.”
At his command, the surrounding servants were put to work. Skilfully replacing the dishes placed on the tables with new ones, one can see the obvious change in style.
“ The decorations have changed,” Chin-Hae commented, looking at the sight in front of him in amazement.
Giggling at his comment, Taehyung nodded. “ Of course. Now that we are waiting on the next course, allow me to explain today's concept,” taehyung started, picking up the previous course’s cup, “ With each change in course, a new course will be bestowed based on a designated season. The previous was spring, this time will be summer, eventually becoming autumn and winter.”
Eyes sparkling at Taehyung’s voice, Jimin couldn’t help but clasp an exaggerated gesture over his petite face in awe. “ Such consideration the Royal Consort has put in.”
Taehyung nodded his head in gratitude, continuing to swing his fan back and forth.
“ Unlike spring, summer is considerably heavier so the Royal Consort has highlighted the use of fruits?” Hoseok asked.
“ Correct. Do you know the reason why?”
“ Because summer has the largest spectrum in terms of fruits.”
Snorting at his words, Taehyung said, “ Of course, envoy. However, aside from the taste, there is another factor to why I have put it here.”
“ Why?” Chungho asked, curious.
“ It’s because fresh fruits symbolises vitality, youth, abundance… and fertility,” Taehyung smiled. “Either way, isn’t it the perfect description of the Nurturing Solstice?”
Blushing at the Royal Consort’s indications, Jimin couldn't help but wonder what his life will now be like.
☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️
“ They were talking about the Nurturing Solstice?” You asked, “ Taehyung must have had a fun time.”
Compared to the past, the current Nurturing solstice is quite watered down. Previously, the Nurturing Solstice did not only mark the start of a new harvest season but also the start of something more humanly— something more mature.
“ Yes, the new consorts were blushing at the Royal Consort’s openness.”
“ Let him have his fun. Cooping up in the palace isn’t good for anyone,” you said, “ Right, make sure to keep an eye on the new consorts, especially Chin-Hae.”
Clenching his hands, Chin-Hwa clumsily bowed at you tonal command, “ yes, your majesty.”
Glancing at his posture from your spot, you observed how uncomposed he became. Sighing, you leaned against the window frame, gazing out of the window. “ The sky is darkening.”
“ Yes, you majesty. It is estimated that the storm will go on for at least three days.”
You hummed at his reply, “ As expected… an abrupt change is about to occur.”
Tilting his head at your sudden comment, Chin-Hwa shot you a confused glance.
Dismissing his stare, you continue to stare at the sky.
It’s just that I don’t know how though.
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~MintVender ( 19/05/21 )
Definitions:
Norigae - a traditional korean accessory that is usually hung at the waist at a person. It acts as a fashion item as well as a good-luck charm to bring youth and wealth to the person.
Gayageum -  a Korean board zieuter, with 12 silk strings, and 12 movable bridges. Made from paulownia wood, he zither is about 160cm(62 inches) long and 30cm(12 inches) wide.
Hopae - an identification tag that carries the bearer’s name, place of birth, status, residence during the Joseon dynasty.
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kalee60 · 4 years
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I wish you would write a fic where stucky are mad at each other for some reason but get forced into the same tiny escape pod and spend a very interesting hour pressed so tight together on their way back to the surface...
Not going to lie Bec - when I first saw this prompt, my mind immediately went one way, and one way only - and I'm pretty sure you just played me like a fiddle with this idea of yours and knew exactly what I'd write.
So please take this humble offering, you are literally my greatest support and I would not be here without you gorgeous ❤️ my adoration for you is endless for our unique and special bond x
The fic is just over 4k and also on ao3 here (with all tags necessary) if you prefer to read there instead, it'll be part of my stucky bingo fills - Truth or Dare and rated M for mild sexual content 😉
If you'd like a fic - here's the post - I wish you'd write a fic... (It might take me a little bit to write - but I will get there!)
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"Are you freaking kidding me right now Rogers?" Bucky shouted as he tried to wrest control of the tiny submarine, or whatever the fucking contraption Stark had purpose built for underwater expeditions, from his meathead best friend who never had a plan. "What the hell was that?"
Steve glared over at Bucky, who scowled back. "I had it under control."
"Under control, my ass. You ran us into a goddamn rock, a rock so sharp we now have a leak - and guess what? We just happen to be about three miles under the sea!"
"I - " Steve started to say then stopped abruptly to slam at the controls before him in the dim lighting, trying to unwedge the small vessel off the rock.
"Don't! Fuck Steve, leave it, don't get us off the rock - we'll tear apart if you do." The sharp edge of panic amidst his anger was clear.
"I know what I'm doing, Buck." Steve ground out.
The panic immediately disappeared leaving only ire behind, "I highly doubt that by looking at the trouble you got us into. I thought partnering up with Sam was a pain in the ass for those few months, but I'd somehow forgotten what you were like."
Bucky heard Steve grinding his teeth, and satisfaction filled him that Steve was at least angry at their hopeless situation, one he was solely to blame for.
They’d been tasked to go to the Raft - one of the inmates had managed to escape - Namor, and although Bucky thought it was way out of their scope of skills to be chasing a literal being that came from the ocean, who had super strength and a huge advantage by, well, being able to breathe underwater, the Avengers assembled and it was left to Cap, no, Nomad and Bucky to sort it out.
At first, the mission was fine and on track, they were given the craft from Stark, Steve assuring both Bucky and the cocky self-appointed head Avenger, that he'd used it many times over on missions, and away they went. Bucky had realised after an hour at sea as they dove deeper and deeper, Bucky wide-eyed at all the sealife and fish that swam into the lights from the craft, that Steve looked a little peaky, a little sweaty. Apparently, after some hard prodding, Steve admitted he'd only taken it out for a few runs in the East River and had never been in the ocean with it.
Bucky was fuming.
He became even angrier when they found Namor, and Steve without any hesitation hit a button that harpooned a weapon from the undercarriage, missing the man completely and hitching it on a nearby rock, careening them towards it. Bucky was certain he saw a smirk and a laugh from their quarry as he swam off - uncaptured. Free.
It was, in fact - quite humiliating for two usually competent supersoldiers.
So now they were fixed tightly onto a jutting rock bed, water leaking slowly into the vessel and Steve was acting like a massive stubborn child about their situation. Especially when they realised they couldn’t call for assistance - they were too deep for a signal.
As a starfish floated by and suckered itself to the window, making a home there, Bucky was starting to wonder if they'd get out of the situation in one piece. They may have the serum running through their veins, but he was certain drowning was still on the scope of things that could kill them. He glanced at Steve who was still pressing buttons - that and along with an irate best friend who had a penchant for knives.
The urge to strangle Steve and his handsomely stubborn face rose with each and every breath, and he couldn't fathom why he was in love with such an imbecile. Bucky, glad that Steve wasn’t aware of where his feelings lay, not wanting to openly tell such an idiot he loved him; though Bucky hadn’t really had an opportunity to approach Steve about it, unsure if he ever would find the courage to bring it up.
Plus right then... right in that moment as they floated and bobbed in the undercurrent while beady eyed fish approached them curiously, Bucky was livid and was certain that even if Steve turned to him to profess his undying love - Bucky would punch him in the face.
“What do you propose we do then smarty pants?”
Bucky’s mouth formed a tight line at the old taunt.
“I suggest we get into the escape pod and head for the surface.”
“What? And give up?”
“Give up Steve? Of course we give up. What the fuck do you think we can do?” Bucky exclaimed, as Steve grumbled into the small space. “For a brilliant strategist you sure are an absolute ninny sometimes.”
“A ninny?” Steve burst out in horrified disbelief.
Bucky felt his lip twitch and almost laughed at Steve’s expression and the absurdity of their situation that by calling Steve a ninny, is what pissed him off the most.
“The only way we can do anything of any use now, is if Namor comes back and surrenders. And I don’t think he’s about to do that, considering he sped off laughing when you marooned us on this damn rock. One I might add that has more strength and the ability to stay calm and think more rationally than you.”
“Are you seriously comparing me to a rock?”
“If the Cap fits.”
“Really?” Steve deadpanned at Bucky’s admittedly terrible attempt at humour.
And before Bucky could say anything further, potentially offer a simple truce, a large shadow loomed above them and Bucky was instantly caught in the beauty and grace of the huge marine animal swimming overhead, close enough Bucky could reach out and touch if there wasn’t glass between them. It looked to be a shark of some type and Bucky was captivated by the smooth skin, the sheer mass and the tail that flicked; until that same large tail hit the vessel on one of it’s sweeps, dislodging it from the rock.
With a triumphant yell, Steve pushed on the accelerator as Bucky yelled at him to stop, and suddenly the whole craft shook and groaned, creaking as the very structure started to unhinge.
“Jesus fuck, Steve. Get in the escape pod now!”
Steve for the first time since they entered the vessel listened to Bucky, and they both jumped up and scrambled for the pods that were situated behind their seats, opening the escape hatches - only to find one empty, and the other thankfully still in place.
“Shit, Tony.” Bucky swore. “Don’t you know about the Titanic? Always have enough damn life rafts. Fuck.”
“We can fit.” Steve said matter of fact and opened the hatch door, just as the thick glass from the front of the craft splintered, water spurting through and a loud cracking filled the space. Bucky’s heart thumped hard and fast at the danger they were in, his Soldier training all but useless in the face of this new terror.
Bucky pushed Steve, who yelped at being manhandled into the small space, and Bucky jumped right in, landing on top of Steve, their faces only inches apart - and that face did not look happy.
They had just enough room for Steve to hit the big red button that closed the pod, and an automated voice immediately filled the area.
“Releasing in three, two - one.” 
The voice went silent as the capsule whooshed out of the craft, and Bucky was on the correct side to see through the glass over Steve’s shoulder, the lights of the vessel flickering as it tore apart from the pressure of the water. Bucky let out a shaky breath that they’d escaped in time.
“Calculating your trajectory and location,” the voice began, then went silent for a few seconds, “you will breach the surface in just under two hours.”
“Two hours.” Bucky griped and wiggled, Steve hissing for him to ‘quit it’. The voice continued on in its modulated voice.
“Due to your depth, the emergency pod has been slowed to ensure you rise at the correct rate so you do not suffer any complications.”
“Complications,” Bucky said under his breath, knowing with the serum it was unlikely they’d get sick. “I’ve got a big bearded one right in front of me. I think that’s complicated enough - just get us to the surface quickly.”
The voice droned on about protocols and safety features for a few minutes and mentioned when it came into range it would send a distress call to FRIDAY for assistance. Finally some good news, because all Bucky could think about was the fact the enormous shark was not in sight. He hoped it was long gone.
“Can you move your damn leg?" Steve hissed, shaking Bucky from his contemplation of why he insisted on watching Jaws a few weeks earlier.
But it was the tone Steve used that irked Bucky further, and ever helpful, he moved his leg back and forth like a petulant kid. “That enough movement for you?”
“Buck, your damn knife is digging into my thigh. Actually why in the hell are you wearing it on an underwater mission in the first place?”
“Why did you bring your shield?” Bucky countered, not wanting to tell Steve about the other seven knives in his pants.
“That’s not really comparable.”
“It is.” Bucky replied sullenly, knowing it wasn’t at all. 
Steve sighed heavily, and they spent a good fifteen minutes without conversing, not even daring to look at the other in the soft green-tinged light from the control panel where Bucky could read their glacially paced progress as they headed for the surface. They were still so far down.
“Truth or dare? Steve suddenly asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“Are you for real? Now?” Bucky asked incredulously. “Look, I know that game worked when we were kids - but read the damn room, well, pod.”
Steve didn’t respond as the charged air between them rose in silent intensity.
“Truth.” Bucky finally bit out after a long minute.
“Why did you bring knives on an underwater mission?”
“Jesus Christ, you don’t let up, do you? Why am I even surprised, it’s Steven Grant Rogers asking. Because Steve, I take them everywhere. You know this. I might have had to stab some seaweed for being rude to your delicate sensibilities or something. And don't you dare try and say they haven’t gotten us out of tough spots before.”
Steve harrumphed, “I’m hardly delicate.”
“Sure thing.”
They fell silent again, until Bucky gave in and sighed heavily. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Why did you lie and say you knew how to drive the boat?”
“Bucky, you don’t drive a boat.”
“Yeah, well you proved that without a doubt.”
Steve tensed up, Bucky experiencing Steve’s muscles bunching together against his body from being so close, he swallowed heavily. 
“I thought I had it handled. How difficult could it be?”
“Steve…” Bucky started, stopped then sighed, “Steve, you need to actually be truthful with me, to the Avengers, especially if you need help. You don’t have to prove that you have it together all the time, every time. That’s what I’m for.”
“So you’re saying you could have piloted the boat?”
“Is piloted correct? But in answer - no, I couldn’t have. So we would have found a better way.” 
“Buck, he’s an underwater being, what else were we going to do but try and follow him down here?”
Bucky remained quiet thinking over the options. When the call went out, only Steve and he were available for the mission, so in a way Steve was correct, but he wasn’t going to admit that.
Steve moved suddenly in an unintentional grind, and a spark flew down Bucky’s spine, shit, they were close, really close, and through his initial fear and anger, Bucky hadn’t really thought about the situation he’d inadvertently put himself in. Pressed up against Steve’s body in a way he’d never been before.
Oh shit…
“Truth or dare,” Steve asked, breaking Bucky’s thoughts on the bulge he could feel just slightly higher than his own.
“Truth,” Bucky gritted out, looking over Steve’s shoulder at the murky water surrounding them. “It’s not like we can do any dares down here.”
Steve paused for a moment, looking directly at Bucky, and Bucky finally gave in and glanced his way, holding Steve’s gaze, and knew immediately that he shouldn't have. Steve’s eyes had taken on a greenish-blue tinge, making them pop and they softened at the edges once Bucky was in their snare. Bucky let out a long exhale. He hated when they fought - but he was still annoyed that Steve hadn't listened or been truthful.
“Are you dating anyone?”
Bucky jerked in surprise, wincing straight away, as rubbing up against Steve wasn’t going to help him remain impassive. “What kind of question is that?”
“A simple one I would have thought,” Steve replied curtly, and Bucky saw the slight tick in Steve’s cheek, and he caught his breath. For some reason Steve was invested in his answer, but why? Could it mean..?
“We live together Steve. You know I’m not.”
“Not even Darcy,” Steve countered.
Unable to stop it from bubbling up, Bucky started to laugh loud and heartily before realising that the motion was doing nothing to stop the friction between them, and Bucky started to worry that the knives on his person weren't the only hard thing Steve could feel pressed up against him.
When he’d composed himself, he saw that Steve had tilted his chin up proudly, and Bucky knew he’d hurt his feelings.
“Uh, that’s a negative. Darcy and I are not dating, she’s like Becca. You know - a little sister, an annoying one too, and yeah I love her, but not in the way you think. To be honest I’d like to date…”
Bucky trailed off, realising he was about to give too much away.
“You’d like to date?” Steve coaxed, eyes riveted on Bucky as he looked slightly down at him, and Bucky wasn't sure he'd ever really get used to the change in Steve's physique. Having to look up to his once small friend, shoulders wide enough he was a literal tank.
“Tall, blonde people,” he admitted, face immediately heating; not meaning to let that particular parcel of words out.
“Oh.” Steve replied, face slack and wondering as he stared at him, the gravity in his eyes not letting Bucky look elsewhere. So Bucky shut his eyes to escape, berating himself for being an obvious fool.
“Dare,” Steve husked.
Bucky snapped his eyes open to find Steve unblinking, attention directly on him, and there was something lurking behind his gaze, something dark and delicious, Bucky uncertain if what he saw was real or not. So he thought about his response carefully before answering.
“Okay, Stevie,” and Steve inhaled sharply through his nose at the nickname, Bucky pleased at the response. “I bet you can’t get your hands to the control panel to turn on the exterior floodlight so we can see the fishes.”
Steve narrowed his eyes. “You want to see the fishes?”
Bucky nodded slowly, having a gut feel Steve already saw through his game, considering where Steve’s hands were positioned in the first place. Between their bodies.
Steve wriggled his fingers, and a live wire burned through the very structure of Bucky’s cells, remaking them into something different, something primal as Steve continued to move and pushed his hand between them towards the panel, inadvertently pressing hard up against the front of Bucky’s pants, right over his dick in the process. A dick that was suddenly much more interested in their predicament. 
Bucky might have made an error in judgement as he slipped out a strangled gasp.
Steve’s face lit up in a grin at Bucky’s unintentional response, deliberately mimicking the same movement again.
Bucky’s eyes fluttered shut, enjoying the touch through his tac pants, wishing for no obstructions between them, and before he could lose himself completely in the sensations, Steve's hand pulled free to touch the control panel, light suddenly flooding outwards. Tufts of seaweed and darting fish fled past the glass as they continued to slowly climb for the surface. 
And before he knew what he was saying, Bucky was pressing his hips the scant inch forward into Steve's body and whispered, "I dare you to do that again."
The ragged and shaky exhale from Steve was gratifying in its sheer emotion, and the 'Buck' that tore from his throat made Bucky look up. The moment his eyes met Steve's he was gone.
"Can I?" Steve asked, and Bucky could do no more than nod as Steve's lips came crashing down on his.
It was the kiss Bucky had been waiting a lifetime for, and he couldn't believe as Steve's tongue slipped in between his lips, a low deep growl erupting unbidden in his throat, that the catalyst was a failed mission where they were stuck together angry in a cylindrical tube in the middle of the ocean.
Steve's hand forced itself back between their bodies, and Bucky moaned as Steve made the best of the small space, rubbing over and over until Bucky grew thick and hard in his pants, all while Steve kissed the very breath from his body. Bucky was stunned that Steve was an exceptional kisser, partly impressed and partly jealous at the realisation that he'd had experience, more than Bucky first thought.
"Jesus Buck, you taste so good."
"Yeah?" Bucky husked back, leaning up as far as he was able, capturing Steve's lips again. What started as chaste, soon became hungry and insistent and Bucky tried to move his hands, but there was no room for two sets between them, Steve’s all that could fit; so Bucky let Steve take control, do what he wanted. And somehow, without even speaking about it, Steve gave Bucky exactly what he needed, what he craved. And if Steve wanted, Bucky would spend his lifetime taking care of Steve in return.
"Your fucking knife," Steve husked into his cheek as he pulled away, lips wet and thoroughly kissed. It was a spaced out look Bucky wanted to see more often.
"That's not a knife," Bucky sassed back.
"Well unless you're extraordinary and have two dicks, then yes, I think the one pressing just above my knee is a knife."
Bucky tried to adjust his stance to lessen the pressure from the weapon, and at Steve's wince, he knew he'd not managed to do it.
"Well to be fair, I wasn't expecting to end up in this predicament."
"Predicament?" Steve asked as his fingers pressed against Bucky's groin again, pushing and sliding to create extra friction.
"Oh shit," Bucky breathed, hating and loving the knowing smirk on Steve's face. "Maybe I've been wanting this for over a hundred years and you know, since nothing has ever happened before, how was I to know that being trapped in an escape pod, while seething in anger would do it for you?"
Steve looked blankly at Bucky, mouth open, shock clearly written over his face. "Over a hundred years?"
Bucky realised he had no filter when Steve had a hand on his dick, and flushed at the long kept secret, now a confession, but kept going, confirming it. He was all in by that stage.
"Give or take a year."
"Buck, why the hell didn't you say anything? I've been waiting since…"
Steve trailed off and Bucky couldn't help it.
"Since..?"
"I was sixteen."
"Fuck," Bucky surged forward, kissing the breath from Steve, and Steve's hand movements became more insistant. Suddenly Bucky felt the zip of his pants loosen and he couldn’t stop the wanton moan from escaping and he wriggled his hips in anticipation. Between one breath and the next Steve had somehow, miraculously snaked his hand into Bucky's pants, and now, now, there was only a layer of thin underwear between them.
Why the hell hadn't he gone commando?
"God, Buck, you feel amazing - knew you would.” Steve said as he looked into Bucky’s eyes while stroking him, and the sheer power behind his gaze pushed all of Bucky’s buttons. “Want to get my mouth on you."
Bucky gasped, vibrating at the imagery and Steve chuckled, nipping at Bucky's lips, kissing him again and again and it hit Bucky that Steve was able to feel every single quiver and sharp intake of breath he made. He was no longer able to hide his reactions, even if his face gave nothing away - Steve was so close that all of Bucky's tells were like a neon sign emblazoned above his head. Steve had him at his mercy.
And Bucky loved it.
"I want that," Bucky whispered back, "want your mouth everywhere. Want my mouth all over you too pal, I can't wait to get you naked."
"You're too much," Steve ground out and suddenly Bucky was being kissed deeply, thoroughly and he lost all concept of time and space. Steve's fingers gripped his dick, squeezing and making short jerky motions, it wasn't the greatest angle, and Steve didn't have full motion - but it was perfect. Bucky was so turned on, his dick weeping into his underwear, and he knew that if Steve kept going, kept kissing him, touching him, he was going to come in his pants like he'd done too many times when they’d slept next to each other before the war.
"Oh fuck Steve, keep doing that."
"You like that?" Steve husked, complying when Bucky nodded his head limply, rubbing in tight circles, fingers tangling in Bucky's underwear as he tried his best to get Bucky off. And Bucky, well he wasn't easy, it usually took him a while to get in the right headspace to feel comfortable enough to let go, to let himself be free in the moment, but with Steve he knew he could be. He trusted Steve, wanted him by his side always, and he knew he'd catch Bucky, protect him as he fell. Steve would never let go again.
"Gonna make you come on my dick," Steve rasped into Bucky's mouth, making Bucky forget everything sweet and hopeful in their future to concentrate on how filthy Steve’s lust driven words were, "going to fill you up, and I'm never letting you out of my bed again Buck. You're mine - you hear that?"
"I… yes… yours," Bucky said as his knees buckled, and Steve had him, gripped him tight, pinching his dick in a way that made Bucky white out and he came apart. Bucky spurted into his pants, underwear soaking up his release and he jerked and whimpered as Steve held him through it, mouth hovering over his, whispering words of want and desire. 
"You're gorgeous Buck, the prettiest fella I ever saw."
"Jesus Steve," Bucky breathed as he came down from his orgasm, legs still twitching. "You're going all Brooklyn and sappy on me."
Steve kissed the corner of Bucky's mouth delicately, as if he hadn't just got him off in the tightests of spots, and removed his hand from Bucky's pants. "Always felt sappy with you Punk."
Bucky grinned back, sated, happy and languid - until he felt it.
"Have you got a fucking bludgeon in your pocket?" he exclaimed when Steve shifted, and awed, Bucky realised exactly what Steve was packing in his plain navy shorts that were often tangled with his black briefs in the dryer at home. Steve's cheeks tinged pink and Bucky was gone, so gone on this man who was sweet and commanding all at once.
"Oh shit Steve, am I going to have fun with you."
"Yeah?" Steve grinned back, suddenly a little shy, a little hopeful and Bucky smiled.
"For the rest of our lives if you want."
Steve sucked in a breath, "I'd like that."
"The surface is less than twenty metres away, a rescue shuttle has been dispatched and will meet you on the surface."
The automated voice fell away, and Bucky and Steve looked over each other's shoulders at the lightened water, having completely ignored the sea of fish and marine animals around them. It was stunning, there was so much life just under the surface.
And before he knew it, they were blinded by sunlight as the pod popped up on the surface, Bucky finding Steve on top of him, all of his weight pressing him down as the cylinder floated in the ocean on its side. The sheer bulk of Steve was phenomenal, a portent of things to come.
"Far out, you're heavy." Bucky commented with a grin.
"Sorry, the serum… well you know."
"No, I like it." He said as Steve kissed him again, leaning down to take Bucky's mouth under his in a passionate but short taste. "But you're still an ass for getting us into that position in the first place."
"How did you know I didn't plan it this way?"
Bucky laughed just as the lid opened and he squinted into the bright light, the quinjet hovering over them, finding himself staring directly up into Clint's grinning face.
"Looking cozy there boys, need a hand?"
"I think we have that handled," Steve replied with a smirk, staring at Bucky, and Bucky could only gaze up into the brightest blue he'd ever seen, the eyes of his best friend, his soon to be lover and hopefully so much more.
It took some maneuvering to get Steve off him without toppling them into the ocean, but soon they were inside waiting as Bruce and Clint secured the pod to take back to Tony's lab.
Bucky made his way to the front of the jet as Steve called in their failure to Fury, and greeted Natasha who was in the pilots seat, stretching his arms up and over his head, popping his muscles from having been cramped up too long. 
She looked him dead in the eye in the unnerving way only Nat could, and remarked, "your fly's undone."
Red faced, Bucky looked over at Steve who'd heard Nat and was silently laughing, telling Fury that 'no, he didn't think losing Namor was amusing', before hanging up and motioning Bucky over.
"You really are a jerk." Bucky hissed as he pulled up his fly, finally realising how wet and uncomfortable he was. He needed a shower. Preferably with company.
"But I'm your jerk though."
"Gee, aren’t I the luckiest guy in Brooklyn," Bucky snarked back at Steve's playful wink, and for the entire trip home, neither of them could keep the grins off their faces.
A day later - Natasha brought Namor in.
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Text
The Jewelry Box: Amber’s Beginning pt. 3
Okay, so it is going to be at least four parts because Sapphire doesn’t know how to shut up. I’m also working on several other pieces, but I’m trying to get these first parts out before posting any of those!
Taglist: @newbornwhumperfly @unicornscotty @itsleighlove @whump-scribbles @getyourwhumphere @skunkandgrenade @penny-for-your-whump @lektric-whump @just-a-whump-lover @thelazywitchphotographer @restrainthenmaime @angstyachesplus @lilbitwhumpy @leaderofthebeanarmy @aquard-skaii @whumprincess @thatgaysnail @bluewhalewaffles @finaldreams1106 @reveriedeludesme let me know if you want to be added/removed!
CW: intimate whumper, creepy whumper, collared, multiple whumpees, lady whump/whumpees, referenced death, referenced brainwashing, long-term captivity, dehumanization, slight victim blaming, panic attack, referenced branding, cursing because Amber and Sapphire, let me know if I missed anything!
Masterlist
---
Jess banged lightly on the glass wall-door thing. “Hey!” they called. “You asshole! Come back!”
They groaned softly, resting their head against the glass as the world spun around them. They did their best to quell the panic threatening to overwhelm them. They didn’t know when the Jeweler would be back or who any of these other people were.
“Didn’t take the pill?” A low, kind voice asked.
Jess glanced up in surprise. “What?” they said, not registering the question or who spoke. 
The large dark kind man in one of the cells diagonal from them smiled. “When he offered you the pill earlier, you didn’t take it, did you?” he repeated, sympathetic.
Jess made a noise of disgust. “Hell no,” they snapped. “Who knows what that was. I’m not taking a shady ass pill from a guy who, who fucking abducted me!”
In the cell next to theirs, the angry blue one from earlier laughed. “So we finally got someone with a brain, huh?” he said, voice dripping sarcasm. “Well, not smart enough to avoid getting kidnapped.”
Jess craned their head and met the guy’s steely gaze. “Says you,” they bit back. “How long have you been here?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Seven years. How long do you think you’re going to last? I doubt you’ll even get to see your one year anniversary.” He sneered. “A pretty thing like you will get sold in no time. That’s if the Jeweler doesn’t kill you first.”
“Sapphire,” the kind one warned.
Jess had met Sapphire’s type before and expected him to ignore the other one, but to their surprise, he backed off. “Fine,” he muttered, taking a couple steps back, out of Jess’ sight. 
The purple haired woman in the cell across from Jess’ sighed dramatically. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re still crying over your little friend,” she mocked in a surprisingly high voice. 
Jess jumped as Sapphire surged forward and banged on the glass so hard it rattled. “Shut the fuck up!” he snarled. “I will fucking kill you if you even mention him again!” Jess felt a cold sliver of fear curl up in their stomach at the pure murder in Sapphire’s tone.
The woman was about to snap back when the red head a couple cells down from Jess pleaded in a sweet, low voice, “Guys, come on. Can we please not do this again?”
The green-eyed and -haired one smiled appreciatively at her. “Ruby’s right. It’s hard enough without you two at each other’s throats. Plus we have someone new.” He looked back at Jess. “What’s your name?”
Jess scowled. “Like I told crazy before, it’s-”
“No,” Sapphire quickly cut them off. “Not your real name. What’s the name the Jeweler gave you?”
Jess glared at him. “I don’t- uh, Amber, I think. But my name is-”
“-irrelevant,” Sapphire interjected once again. “That name isn’t going to help you here. You have to learn to play the game, you understand? Forget your old name, bury your memories so far down the Jeweler can’t find them. Those just, they just make it harder.”
Jess huffed out a breath. “Well, I don’t exactly plan on staying here for very long.”
Sapphire laughed coldly. “None of us do.” He pointed at each of the other Jewels. “Ruby and Amethyst have been here for four years, Emerald’s been here for eight, and I’ve been here for seven. You think any of us just woke up one day and decided ‘hey, let’s get abducted by some rando and completely lose our old life?’ No, we didn’t.”
Jess glanced at the one he hadn’t mentioned, the pale one who had smiled earlier. “What about them?” they asked with a point of their chin. 
Sapphire didn’t blink. “Diamond’s been here longer than any of us, nearly eleven years. But they’re different.” Sapphire’s scowl caused Jess to swallow hard. “They like it.” Enough contempt filled their voice that Jess didn’t pry further.
They glanced around at the others. “And none of you have, what? Ever tried to escape? Come on, you can’t just be okay with this.”
“Of course we aren’t,” the dark one, Emerald, said. “But we’ve all been here long enough to know that it’s better to fight silently than constantly try to go head to head with the Jeweler.” He tilted his head, amending, “Well, except for Sapphire, but the Jeweler likes for him to fight back.”
Jess shivered, feeling panic creeping in. “No, this is- this is crazy. This cannot possibly be happening right now. You all- you’re insane. You’ve been brainwashed into- into believing this shitfest.”
Sapphire snorted. “Of course we have. You don’t go years in captivity without a little brainwashing.” He smirked, eyeing Jess. “Don’t worry, it’ll happen to you, soon enough. Then this gets a hell of a lot easier.”
“Sapphire,” Emerald said, a warning in his voice.
Sapphire glanced at him. “What? It’s not like they won’t know soon. The Jeweler will be back for them any minute.”
Jess tried to remember how to breathe. “Wait, what’s about to happen? What the hell is going on?”
Sapphire turned his gaze back to Jess. “Just this,” he said, ignoring Emerald’s sigh and  flashing the inside of his wrist towards Jess. 
Jess leaned forwards, horror filling them. “Oh my god,” they breathed. “What is that?”
The skin on the  inside of Sapphire’s wrist was red and scarred. It was in the shape of a gemstone, with the letters JB inside of it. It looked years old and yet still very painful. Jess rubbed the inside of their wrist and, as they glanced around at the others, they saw similar - no, identical - wounds marking them all.
“They’re brands,” the purple one, Amethyst said, voice flat. “It’s how the Jeweler marks us as his property. As property of the Jewelry Box.”
“God,” Jess mumbled, backing up. They stumbled into the edge of the bed and nearly fell over it. “This- this can’t be happening. Oh god what did I have last night? This, this has got to be the craziest dream, or, or trip that I’ve ever had.” Their breaths sped up and they clutched their stomach, feeling nauseous. 
Sapphire snorted from beyond their sight. “Good luck, kid.”
“Sapphire,” Emerald said reproachfully. “You shouldn’t have told them. I know you’re still grieving, trust me, we all are, but you know it doesn’t help for them to know ahead of time.”
“You know nothing about how I’m feeling!” Sapphire snapped back, voice distorted, as if it was coming from a long ways away.
Jess moved away from the glass until their back hit the cold wall. Then, they slowly slid down, hands clutching their head. “This can’t be happening,” they whispered, squeezing their eyes shut. “This-this isn’t real.” 
It was as if there was some heavy weight on their chest, making it impossible for them to fill their lungs. Their fingers pulled at their hair until tears of pain welled up in their eyes. They bit down on their lip, trying to stay silent as their face quickly became wet. They gasped for air, fingers tightening on their scalp as they rocked slightly. 
They knew they were going to get in trouble one day, Jules had always told them that. Everyone had always told them that. But they hadn’t expected it to get this fucked up. They hadn’t expected to end up in the clutches of a psychotic murderer. This was the sort of stuff people made horror movies about, not stuff that happened in real life.
Jess didn’t know how long they stayed like that, taking one short, shallow breath after another, feeling their head spinning as they tried to make themself as small as possible, but they were suddenly aware of the silence that had fallen over the room. Where Sapphire, Emerald, and Amethyst had been arguing, now there was only the faint blowing of the air conditioning.
“Amber,” a too-gentle, too-familiar voice called softly, causing them to look up.
They saw the Jeweler standing in front of their cell, key in hand. He smiled when their eyes met. 
“It’s time for the rest of your initiation, dear,” he said, unlocking the glass door and sliding it open. Jess rose shakily to their feet, roughly scrubbing at their cheeks and scowling, all too conscious of the others staring at them. They shuffled their feet, not going any closer to the Jeweler. 
“No,” they said in a low, hoarse voice. 
The Jeweler’s smile widened. “What was that?”
“No,” Jess repeated, voice stronger. “I- I’m not going with you.”
The Jeweler tilted his head slightly. “And why is that?” 
Jess shifted on their feet. “I- I know what you’re going to do to me. And I don’t want to, to be branded like some sort of animal!” They glared at the Jeweler, who just sighed and turned his gaze towards Sapphire.
“Really?” he asked. “You know telling them beforehand always makes it worse.”
Sapphire replied in a deadpan voice, “Oops.”
The Jeweler turned his attention back to Jess, smiling again. “Now, my dear, you’re going to be coming out of that cell sooner or later. I’d much rather make this as pleasant as possible for the both of us, but I’m not afraid to make this uncomfortable for you.”
Jess just scowled. “Make me,” they bit back.
The Jeweler shrugged, fiddling with something in his hand. Then, all of a sudden, there was lightning bolting down Jess’ spine, fracturing along every nerve. It felt as if they were on fire, every inch lighting up with pain.
Then it was all over, and they were panting, palms stinging slightly from where they had fallen to their hands and knees on the ground, and the Jeweler was standing over them, that smile still on his face.
“You bastard,” Jess growled, still breathless, unable to fight back as the Jeweler attached a pair of cuffs to Jess’ wrists and ankles. “Is- is this some sort of shock collar?” Their voice was incredulous as they couldn’t believe it.
The Jeweler just patted their head, pulling them to their feet and steering them out of the cell. “I wouldn’t have had to do that if you had just cooperated in the first place,” he said cheerfully.
Jess shrunk down, head pounding and legs shaking underneath their weight, as they glanced at the others, but nobody seemed particularly surprised or inclined to step in. Emerald gave them an encouraging smile, but Sapphire shrugged like ‘I told you so.’
“Now, then,” the Jeweler said, pushing them onward. “Let’s get going, shall we?”
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zkfanworkweek · 4 years
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ZFAW Fan Content Creator Interviews: HayleyNFoster
Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!
For the second interview in this cycle, we have our best propaganda creator and this fandom’s hottest new artist/undisputed queen of the animatic, @hayleynfoster!
1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?
When I was around 14 or 15 and caught Avatar: The Last Airbender on television, I was drawn in by the art style, the humor, and the wonderful characters. I caught the episodes out of order, and the first one I saw and wasn’t prepared to be sucked in by was The Waterbending Scroll. It intrigued me at that age, and the line “I’ll save you from the pirates” combined with the tension between Katara and Zuko in that whole scene was electrifying. I remember my teenage self thinking these two have so much chemistry! And when I saw a commercial on Nickelodeon that featured fanart submitted by fellow Avatar fans, I realized that I could do that to! So I set about making Zutara fanart for myself. I stumbled onto Youtube, practically in its infancy, and discovered that people set clips of Zuko and Katara set to music (And this was still in season 1 days… so people who made these amvs were the real mvps because they were able to make compelling narratives in their amvs with like practically nothing to work with!). The AMVs really spurred my interest in this couple, I remember distinctly one Zutara AMV using the Dido song White Flag utterly capturing my imagination. I found fandom shortly after, getting into deviantart and forums. But the ship really began to mean something to me when, as I was working on my drawings in the computer lab at school, a buoyant presence hovered over my shoulder noticing my Zutara art on the computer screen. The girl was someone I had never really talked to and had only seen from afar but she immediately started excitedly saying she shipped Zuko and Katara too! In this simple shared obsession, I made one of the best friends I’ve ever had and we’re still friends to this day. We would theorize and fangirl over Avatar like it was nobody’s business; we poured over bootleg San Diego Comic Con footage that showed spoilers for season 2 before it aired; we lost our freaking minds when we finally saw The Crossroads of Destiny. We had watch parties every week as Season 3 of A:TLA aired, and comforted each other when the show ended as it did (much ranting was shared). Those are some of my happiest memories from high school… all because this one pairing from this wonderful show. Even though Zutara didn’t happen, we still chat every now and then about it. Zutara will probably be a lifelong obsession, always bubbling under the surface. And without it, I would have never realized that animation was a viable career path. It really did inspire everything including the work I’m doing to this day in the animation industry. I owe a lot to this ship and to Avatar: the Last Airbender.
2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?
The resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender this year really helped sort of spark that dormant love I had for Zutara. The show’s ending still disappointed me on the rewatch, but Zuko and Katara’s relationship arc was as captivating as ever, so I turned to some fanfiction and looking at people’s pretty Zutara art and AMVs to just revel in fanon instead of getting to hung up on the actual ending of the show. But then I realized, with quarantine and my work load being pretty light, I had time to actually make all new Zutara art for myself, art I was never fully capable of making as a kid, but now could do with my 7 years of industry experience and just… life experience. And I was inspired to do some corrective animatics to satisfy my own desire for a different ending. I just really like exploring these two characters, doing different and interesting things with them, and frankly I’m inspired to make cute, fluffy, romantic art simply by virtue of living in a really sad and depressing world. Things are so crazy right now, creating art about two characters I love being in love, is comforting. And it helps to have inspiring music and amazing Zutara amvs to just sort of stir up my emotions and imagery in my head to make into animatics and art.
3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?
Ohhhh… Well, It’s always nice to have people write fanfiction that puts words to my animatics. I am not that great at coming up with dialog myself, so I’ve just chosen to indulge in visuals and emotions for my boards. But when I read things like RideBoldlyRide’s take on my Reunion Animatic, it makes me pretty giddy. (They finally have voices!) :) And this is the MOST selfish thing I could request, but I’m not shy about saying how much I love well done amvs, so I will literally kill for someone to make Zutara AMVs to songs I like… Like, most of AURORA’s songs but especially Exist for Love, Sunseeker by The Naked and Famous, Promises or Take Me by Aly & AJ, Adore You by Harry Styles, Human Enough by ONR, Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine, and/or Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier just… I can see the AMVs so clearly to any of these songs in my head, but I don’t have the tools or skill set at my disposal to make a compelling fan video. When I was in high school, I originally thought I wanted to go into video editing simply because I loved making very crappy AMVs (they were so bad you guys), but I figured out being a storyboard artist was more in my wheelhouse. haha
4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?
If you’re new to the Zutara fandom, just have a good time! Don’t waste too much time arguing with people over your shipping preferences. I wasted so much of my teen years having pointless shipping wars with people on DeviantArt, and I’m just so much happier nowadays because I’m just making Zutara art in my little corner of the internet, and honestly, in the politest of ways, I don’t give a shit if people don’t like my art or Zutara. haha I think that’s sort of a key thing for people thinking of posting creative works here in the fandom, just make art for yourself, satisfy your own desires for the pairing, get your creative sparks flying, and create just for the joy of creating. It’s always nice to get comments and such, but simply making the art should be what spurs you on, not the external validation. And have a good time, don’t worry too much - I say as someone who worries about EVERYTHING. But honestly, making art for A:TLA is some of the most relaxed I’ve been because I make it just for me. I’m lucky others seem to like it too!
5. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven't gotten around to making?
I have an idea for a second generation storyline with my Zutara kids that involves Kya (the eldest firebending daughter) falling in love with an airbender boy (tentatively named Gora in my headcanon who’s a bit of a rabble rouser and one of Aang’s kids he had with a Kyoshi Warrior), and then they start a socialist revolution in the Fire Nation in order to dismantle all of the hierarchical societies across the Avatar world… Together Kya and Gora Fan the Flames of revolution… ehhhhh... Get it?? Oh! Oh, and then Katara, who had put in legit liberal reforms in her time as Fire Lady listens to her daughter after resisting in the first part of the story, but then realizes she can actually play a part in the dissolution of the royalty and is also active in the revolution realizing that moderate liberal reforms are no substitute for a society free of serving royalty (which she had always been uncomfortable with but had rationalized with herself that she was doing good in her capacity as Fire Lady.) I just feel like there’s a lot of cool potential for discussing these ideas and also having some aspirational change in the Avatar world. lol For aesthetics and just happy fluffy times, I can indulge in Fire Lady and Fire Lord Zuko stuff, but really at the end of the day, I take issue with the structures in a society that have to exist for monarchies to exist. Soooo, I kind of want to do my own corrective story for that… if I ever have the time or guts. On a less ambitious note, I would love to do a Zutara sparring animatic to practice doing action, but I need a good story; I am not good at doing fights just for fighting’s sake. Those are just some things I have rattling around in my head.  
6. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so want to give us a hint as to your plans?
Yes! The most I can say is I have one animatic almost finished and one that’s still being thumbnailed. The rest are probably going to be comics or emotive single pieces based on the fanfics I really like right now. :)
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asscandles · 4 years
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Hey thanks for clarifying before now can I have some friendship(maybe secret crush)headcanons for Fuyuhiko, Peko, and Toko with a friend(reader) thats llike your generic dumbass but they are just like a soft dumbass, they are just too cute to get mad at no matter how stupid they are. So basically a giant cuddly dumbass that just radiate baby energy. Like they(reader)just run up to them saying they want to show them something cool and its just a pretty rock but they look so happy. gender neutral.
ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ʟᴏɴɢ, ꜱᴏ ɪ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜᴛ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴜɴ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ, ꜱᴏ ɪ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ɪᴛ! ʙᴜᴛ, ɪꜰ ɪᴛ ɪꜱɴ’ᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ, ɪ’ᴍ ꜱᴏʀʀʏ!
ɪ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀᴛ 3:26 ᴀᴍ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋꜱ ʟᴀᴛᴇ, ɪ’ᴍ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ꜱᴏʀʀʏ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜱᴋᴀʟꜰꜰᴅᴊᴋꜰᴀʟ
ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ
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Peko Pekoyama
“I--What are you doing?”
You stand on the counter, arms extended straight out at your sides. You continue staring ahead with an expressionless face. “I see no god up here… other than me!”
Peko sighs, and you immediately look down at her with round eyes. “Oh, but you’ll always be my queen, Peko! I want you by my side forever!”
Since Peko is always wielding/cleaning her sword, you carry around pastel-colored bandaids and a small first-aid kit in your backpack.
You’re usually by her side, so your absence is always noticed quickly, if not immediately.
You once fell asleep somewhere you shouldn’t have, leaving Peko to ravage the island, searching every nook and cranny until she finally found you curled up in a corner of the airport. All she could do was sigh and crack a tiny, relieved smile. She transfers her sword to her hands before easing you onto her back. Her heart swells when you mumble something and wrap your arms around her neck. All the way back to your cottage, she chides you quietly.
“It’s not safe to be so vulnerable out here. If you’re going to fall asleep out here, do it while I’m with you. Then, you can sleep as soundly as you want.”
M A T C H I N G  B R A C E L E T S
You excitedly gave Peko a card to celebrate the anniversary of your friendship. Peko snorted upon seeing that all of the drawings inside were either stick figures or poorly colored. But you just looked so happy… she couldn’t even bring herself to tease you about it.
You both refuse to speak of this, but one night, Peko woke up to the flickering of a faint light and feverish whispering. She had switched into attack mode in a fraction of a second, only to stop dead in her tracks. You had been standing in the middle of the room, doing the renegade by the light of your phone. You froze upon her reaction. Both of you sat there, staring at each other for a solid twelve seconds. You then proceeded to finish the dance, looking her dead in the eye. Peko may have be tired, but she’d be damned if she let you do it alone. So, she does it while standing on her bed, but clearly lacking energy and motivation.
Ambushing Peko with affection is not uncommon for you. It happens rather often, you clinging to her waist and pleading with her, “Hey, tell me that story again! You know, the one where Fuyuhiko was being held captive and you swooped in with your sword and saved the day!”
When you found out that Peko loved fluffy things, you were ecstatic. You bundled her into your cottage immediately, showing off a small collection of stuffed animals that you had managed to cram into your backpack before your arrival at the island.
Peko selects a white cat plushie as her favorite. From that point on, it is your child. No arguments.
You tend to get lost, so Peko sarcastically suggested tying a balloon to your wrist so that you would be easier to find. But, you totally caught her off guard when your eyes began to sparkle and you shouted, “Can I pick the color?” When she doesn’t answer immediately, you grab her hands and hold them close to your own chest endearingly. “Pretty please? With marshmallows and cookie crumble and whipped cream and sprinkles on top?” Peko obliges. When the balloon is finally secured around your wrist, you are absolutely fascinated by it.
You often fawn over Peko’s skills; but when you do, you use interjections and sound effects because you aren’t able to convey your excitement with just words.
Okay, but she’s actually worried about you lmao
“You have… a lot of mosquito bites. What happened?”
“What? They’re not bites! They were giving me kisses, silly!”
You’ve tried multiple times to surprise her with tickle attacks, but they never work. The only time it went according to plan, you managed to get your hands on her for exactly 0.7 seconds before she turned the tables on you.
Platonic dates? Platonic dates.
You’ve 100% made her flower crowns whose petals match the color of her eyes. 
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Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu
“So… I saw some sour candy in the supermarket. If you lend me the money, I’ll give you half of the rocks I found.” :)
“Considering the fact that you get an adrenaline rush from successfully flipping a pancake, a single piece would kill you immediately.”
Everyone who discovers you two are friends is immediately suspicious. When I say suspicious, I mean, “(Reader), whatever blackmail he’s holding over your head, you don’t have to be scared. We can take care of this together.”
But after witnessing a few of your interactions, they learn of one irrefutable fact.
The embodiment of rage and vulgarity bottled up in human skin does indeed have a weakness.
And that weakness is you.
It didn’t take long for Fuyuhiko to become aware of your appreciation for stickers and your tender heart. That being said, when you’re upset, he won’t object too severely when you request to smooth stickers all over him. He would prefer to keep this interaction private, but if someone does happen to catch him with giraffe stickers on his cheeks and rainbows on his jacket, then he’s going to wear them proudly, goddamnit.
And if anyone has anything rude to say about it, then I hope they can speak sign language, because all they’ll be seeing is hands.
You’re aware of his insecurities, and you can understand why he feels the way that he does. But that’s where you come in. You always seem to approach him at the right moments. 
By now, you’ve figured out that he doesn’t always need words to reassure him. It’s enough if you’re just there, ready with open arms and a glass of water. Fuyuhiko doesn’t cry often. But when he does, he ends up dehydrated more often than not.
Let’s be honest. After Fuyuhiko lost his eye, his depth perception was most likely shit. You were always at his side, one hand on his arm as you gently guided him from room to room. You watched over him.
Accidentally knocking over a drink? You were ready to wipe it up. Searching for something he lost? You were there, helping him look. Tripping or bumping into things? You were there with a first aid kit to patch him up.
You try to match his level of sass, but you’re highkey too nervous to swear and you usually stutter the last word of whatever witty comeback you manage to come up with. Fuyuhiko secretly thinks it’s adorable, and he doesn’t want you to lose that part of yourself. That’s why he always defends you when it comes to verbal beatdowns.
You once drew a face on an egg, and when Fuyuhiko questioned you about it, the only thing you could offer was a deadpan “our son.”
“What the hell--that’s an egg.”
“No! His name is Linguini and he’s our child!”
Fuyuhiko is exhausted bro.
You’ve approached him countless times, eyes glowing with awe and insisting that you need to show him something really cool. It’s usually just a rock or a piece of glass, though. He always has the urge to poke fun at you for it, but it fizzles away when he sees how utterly bewitched you are with your find.
One time, he had walked into the room to see you standing on the arms of an office swivel chair, knees bent and arms extended as you fought to maintain your balance. You seemed to be fairly steady.
Still, that didn’t prevent him from nearly falling into cardiac arrest on the spot.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
It had startled you, and the chair rolled out from underneath you. Fuyuhiko rushed to catch you. You both tumbled to the floor in a knot of limbs, lying there in varying degrees of pain. You were laughing. Fuyuhiko was absolutely most fucking not.
“Thanks for breaking my fall!” You had chirped, gesturing to the arm lodged under the small of your back to protect it.
“You little--” Fuyuhiko’s voice had been strained, but his tight-lipped grimace dissolved into a sigh at the sight of your smile. He disentangled himself from you and pressed the pad of his index finger into your forehead. Your lips formed a small “o” shape, your eyes crossing to try to keep track of his finger. “You need to be more careful from now on. I won’t always be here to catch you.”
“But, you’ll still patch me up afterward, right?” You poked his forehead back.
He huffed and pulled away from you. “To the best of my ability. But don’t push it.”
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Toko Fukawa
Initially, the only reason that Toko set aside her natural distrust and suspicion of people in order to befriend you was because she thought that you were simply too innocent and simple-minded to ever think badly of a friend.
She thought that having such a sweetheart glued to her side would disperse her dubious reputation and make her seem less suspicious during class trials.
Yep… That’s the only reason she keeps you around...
Not because of the way her heart feels all fuzzy when you embrace her… Or because of how your eyes sparkle whenever she offers to let you read one of her new works… Or because of how relaxed she feels when you weave her hair into intricate braids…
Not at all…
Hahahashutuphahaha…
She often scolds you for being such a pushover when people disrespect you, but she means well. You insist that it doesn’t bother you, but she’s an expert on human emotion. She is a writer, after all. She knows that it haunts your thoughts for a while afterward, and she hates seeing you like that.
You’ve noticed that Toko bites her nails when she’s stressed, so you’ve decided to combat her habit by applying nail polish to her nails. That way, you figure, the taste of the nail polish will deter her from tearing at them with her teeth. She also has the option of picking off the nail polish, which is probably less harmful than chewing on them.
You also kinda sorta... believe that video game cheat codes work in real life, so you’re often moving around and jumping, shouting the combinations as you go.
“Right! Right! Left! Up! Left! Down! Right! X! Y! Now, confess your sins!” You command during a class trial, pointing vaguely toward the accused. Toko just quietly shushes you, dark circles rimming her eyes as she pats your head.
You’ve adopted the habit of narrating the things you do, like whispering “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle” when sliding your feet into your shoes and “shimmy, shimmy, shimmy” when slipping your charm bracelet past your hand onto your wrist. Coincidentally, Toko has also subconsciously started doing the same thing, and she cannot think of anything more irritating.
She once jokingly told you to stop being so dependent on her. You promptly flushed scarlet and snatched the box she had been carrying out of her hands, insisting that you were more than capable of taking it to storage yourself. You had marched indignantly out of the room and headed left, only for Toko to call out, “Uh, storage is the other way.”
You reappeared a moment later, now stomping in the opposite direction. “I knew that!” You huffed.
You’re aware of Genocide Jack, but you aren’t afraid. You whole-heartedly trust that your friendship is enough to outmatch Genocide Jack’s bloodlust, as naive as it may be. Your only response to Toko’s confession of having a split personality is to gift her a cherry-flavored lip balm with a bright smile. At first, Toko is confused. You explain that whenever Genocide Jack makes an appearance, their tongue is always lolling out of their mouth. You’re concerned that their lips will get dried out, and you want to do your best to prevent it.
Did Toko’s heart just burst? Maybe.
Toko shares her romance novels with you, but only the ones without sexual interactions. She believes that you’re far too pure for those. Plus, she would really not rather answer your questions about anything of that nature.
Toko is determined to preserve your purity. She’s very protective whenever someone shows the slightest bit of sexual or romantic interest in you, and has even referred to you as her baby before.
Whenever Toko gets insecure or anxious and covers her face with her hands, you gently remove them from her face with a soft giggle of “Peekaboo!” Toko doesn’t fight you as you carefully pull her into your arms and rest her head against your chest. In fact, she finds herself surprisingly close to tears when you inquire, “Hey, you want to hear a lullaby? I can’t remember who sang it to me first, but it always helps me calm down. So, I want to share it with you!”
There will be times when Toko is too busy writing stories to pay you any attention. But no matter! After a moment of consideration, you have an idea. You gather blankets and pillows and settle onto the floor beside Toko’s seat. Your arms loop themselves around her leg, and your head finds its way onto her thigh. It isn’t long before you doze off, Toko watching you in silent shock, face rosy with bashfulness and eyes wide.
Toko is very adamant about covering up her legs due to both the tally marks scored across her skin and the quote-on-quote “sturdiness” of her thighs. You, however, have an entirely different outlook. You reason, “the bigger your thighs, the more snacks you can hide under them!” 
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13. Trust
It’s not fun to be put into a situation where the only person you can count on is the person who wants to kill you, nor is it fun to have to be put in a situation where you have to trust the person that you really want to kill, but Henry and Malice don’t really get a choice in the matter. (Set in an AU Where Allison and Tom capture both Henry and Malice alive.)
When Malice came charging at Henry, she was stopped by being tackled into unconsciousness by an almost identical angel.
His assumed savior hoisted her body up with ease, while the Boris with the mechanical arm had glared at both of them.
Henry tried to explain the situation to the newcomers, but the angry looking wolf simply ignored him as he walked up to the man and whacked him out with the pipe.
Both the angel and the Animator woke up in a cramped, tiny, makeshift prison while one of their kidnappers was singing and painting on the wall.
It was very tense and awkward when that happened.
Malice was clearly pissed off about sharing her cell with Henry (the man had similar opinions on the arrangement as he was rightfully upset about what she did to his Buddy Boris), but the animator could tell that she also seemed scared, outright terrified, of their captor.
While he wasn’t her biggest cheerleader, he did see some flickers of Susie still in there, there were still glimpses of a woman who poured her heart and soul into her role, and loved every minute of it until her betrayal broke her. Seeing the fallen angel so scared, and dare he say, helpless in this instance, reminded him of that tape in the Angel side room.
“Everything feels like it’s coming apart…”
His own heart broke when he first heard that tape, while he had never seen Susie get her role as Alice, he did see her voice some of those talking chairs, dancing chickens, and other minor roles. She always seemed to have fun with them and if Sammy didn’t pick her for Alice first, then he would’ve asked her himself.
The animator reached out, then hesitated, wondering if it was better to try to comfort her or to give her space.
The one who broke the silence between the three was the free angel who noticed that Henry was up when he moved.
“I know her, but who are you? Why are you here?”
“I was invited by an old friend, and now I can’t leave.”
Malice rolled her eye and muttered something under her breath.
“Then you know more than we do. One minute we don’t even exist… just… thoughts. And the next minute, this place.”
“Henry.” Malice whispered in his ear as she grabbed his hand. “I know I’m the last person you’d listen to, but don’t fall for her act! I know her, and I know she’s no better than Joey...”
Henry nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to the captor angel.
 “Are you gonna let us out of here?”
“She’s dangerous and down here, strangers aren’t good things. How can we trust you?”
“If we’re so dangerous, then why lock us up instead of killing us when you had the chance to?” Malice spoke through gritted teeth. “Why bother with the cage at all?”
The other angel stayed silent as she did not have an answer, leaving the other two in silence as well.
-----
It’s only for a few hours. No need to worry, I won’t go far… Only up to level six. Just stay here. Keep an eye on them, okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”
The Boris menacingly slapped the axe against his palm while watching over the pair, Malice refused to look him in the eye as he did so.
-----
“You’re drawing him again?” His cellmate asked curiously.
“Yeah, it’s just… I miss him. He was one of the only good things about this studio.”
While he was focused on his work, he did notice the twinge of guilt cross her features before her face fell into thought.
“...If it makes you feel any better, he’s not truly gone. The ink probably spat him back out a while ago and he’s probably wandering the studio looking for you.”
Henry raised an eyebrow.
“What makes you think that?”
“He disintegrated when you defeated him. Have you ever noticed that when you die, you come up somewhere else and you don’t find a corpse of yourself laying around the spot you were killed?”
“Come to think of it… I have noticed that.”
“When the Ink’s done with people, it leaves their bodies alone. When it’s not done with them, then if they die, it disintegrates their bodies and spits them out of the puddles somewhere else.”
“I have a feeling you know this from a lot of experience…”
“How very observant of you.” She deadpanned.
“Thanks, it’s a strong suit of mine.” He also deadpanned.
-----
“Henry? Susie?”
Malice shot the ‘clueless’ angel a glare as she set two bowls of bacon soup on the edge.
“Here, you two must be hungry.” She sheepishly looked down at the bowls. “Sorry, it’s all we have.”
The free angel turned and walked away while the Boris put his arms around the bowls, turned to glare at them, knocked the bowls onto the floor, and made a threatening gesture before leaving himself.
“They never planned on giving us the soup anyway.” Malice whispered to Henry. “It’s just their ‘good cop bad cop’ routine; “miss goody-two shoes” is the good cop who generously gives us dangerous monsters some of her and her guard dog’s limited portions of endless soup, while the “Mean wolf” is the bad cop who knocks over the soup and threatens us, out of her sight, but not out of her earshot.”
“Huh, ...Did they lock you up before?”
“No, I just know what they’re like; the happy little Bonnie and Clyde couple…”
------
“I know you’re watching me, it’s just... a little creepy.”
“It’s not like we have anything else to do.” Malice muttered under her breath.
The animator would’ve stayed silent, but as he watched his vocal captor write on the walls, he noticed how similar her own handwriting was to the messages on the other walls.
“You’re the one who writes on the walls!”
“Everyone does that.”
“-We all do.” The captor angel interjected as if she did not hear her prisoner. “For some poor souls down here, it’s the only way they can be heard. But you don’t want to touch the ink for too long! It can claim you… ...pull you back. That’s how I met Tom. I was messing with things I shouldn’t have been and he... ...he was there.”
“Why do you call him ‘Tom’?”
“He just seems to respond to it.”
“Well I don’t think he’s very fond of either of us.”
“Let me show you something...” She approached the cage. “A while back, I was mapping out one of the upper levels… ...when I noticed something reflecting off a piece of glass. I held up the glass, looked through, and on the wall behind me was a hidden message! Right there! In plain sight! So I kept looking, and found more and more messages everywhere in the studio! But you can’t see them with your eyes. Only through this! Take a look!”
Malice scoffed dismissively as the freed angel handed Henry the seeing eye tool.
‘SHE WILL LEAVE YOU FOR DEAD.’
“I don’t know who’s leaving them, but I think they know how to get out of here.”
“Where does it all lead to?”
“Nowhere.” she sighed. “I followed them for a long time... just leads me in circles. I don’t think I’m meant to leave this place Henry, but maybe… you are.” 
“And yet, you keep him locked up like a little bird…” Malice muttered.
“Alice, please let us out of here.”
“...Tom thinks you’re both dangerous.”
“Of course.”
“And what do you think?”
“I… I think… ...you’re the hope I’ve been waiting for. Go to sleep, maybe tomorrow will be better.”
-----
“I Hope you’re not taking everything she says at face value.”
“She seems harmless enough...”
“That’s what she’s trying to do- Look, I know you don’t trust me, and I can’t say I blame you for that. I don’t expect you, or WANT you to trust me. But Listen to me when I say this: I ended up as what you see me as BECAUSE I trusted her. Don’t make the same mistake I did, Henry, if you really want to get involved with her and make it out unscathed, then keep your guard up.”
Henry gestured for Malice to come closer and held the seeing glass up to show her the ‘SHE WILL LEAVE YOU FOR DEAD’ message.
“...Did you write this?”
“Yes Henry.” She sarcastically droned. “While I was working to achieve my perfection and setting up Bendy land’s obstacles, I went down to the secret lair of my worst enemy aside from the Ink Demon, both risking my life in the process and putting my goals into jeopardy, and wrote that message in invisible ink, just on the off chance that if she’d capture both of us alive instead of killing me.”
“I see.”
-----
“That was really stupid Tom! You shouldn’t have gone out there! Now that he’s seen you... it’s only a matter of time…” She grunted through adjusting his arm. “before he finds us here.”
She then waved at her captives, something that Tom noticed and began threateningly slapping the axe against his hand again.
-----
“We can’t just leave them! Not with the Ink Demon right outside the door!”
“What’s going on?”
“He’s coming. We have to move on.” A loud rumble echoed above them as Malice curled up in a corner praying for her safety. “Tom! We have to let them out!”
She pulled on the boards, Tom shook his head.
“...I’m Sorry.”
“No you’re NOT! DON’T LIE TO ME!” Malice Snapped. “YOU HAVE A SWORD! HE HAS AN AXE! IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT EITHER OF US EVEN THE TINIEST BIT, YOU’D CUT THE SHIT AND CUT DOWN THE BOARDS!”
Alice hesitated, but ran anyway, with Tom close behind her. Leaving them to their doom.
Malice fell to the ground and started to cry, she was shaking violently and saying things that Henry couldn’t make out because she was bawling so hard, but he could definitely make out the words ‘Ink Demon’ and ‘We’re going to die’ here and there.
“Alice?” He put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “Alice, we’re not going to die here.”
“How…” She sniffled. “How do you know that?”
“Well, I think you’re going to have to trust me on this, but...” He held up the seeing eye tool, showing her the messages in their cell itself. “I think whoever’s leaving these is trying to help.”
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