#i fear i've forgotten how to color

[djo]

PRIDE & PREJUDICE (2005) dir. Joe Wright

[luvwestwood]

❝ DOUBLE PENETRATED ❞ - Choso Kamo, Suguru Geto

— YOUR OLD HIGH-SCHOOL CLASSMATES DO YOUR NIPPLE PIERCINGS.

₊˚༊*·˚ warnings. nsfw(18+), piercer! choso/suguru, threesome, throat-fucking, resolved sexual tension, choso has a tongue piercing, suguru lip piercing, oral sex, orgasm denial, spitting, face slapping, dp (v/anal), creampies, cum eating, taking polaroids while fucking, filth, MENTIONS OF PIERCING PROCEDURES!

₊˚༊*·˚ notes. I fear that I may have gone crazy with the fucking. choso turned out to be the one with the tongue piercing, but dw.. sug has a lip piercing. cause I wanted to focus on suguru more, after some of you loved my previous piece about him! this is a repost, I experienced a few formatting issues. ty for 900! <3 s/o to my dear rya for coming up with this amazing title 😭

4,562 words (15m read)

Finally, it had come after all; the day you were to get your nipples pierced. Standing in front of the studio, you take a deep breath— half of you wanting to back out, but the other just screaming 'fuck it.'

As soon as you enter, a chime goes off above your head, the man behind the counter hauling his eyelids up to see who it was.

He seems familiar, you thought. Long, raven colored hair; and those piercings... "..Suguru?"

His head cocks forward; like some meerkat, "Is that.. who I think it is?" Suguru hops off the stool, stepping away from the counter. Bringing you in for a big warm hug, he pulls away; taking a good look at you as he does. A silver glint catching your eye; it seems that he had gotten a lip piercing done, a metal ring hugging the flesh.

"Damn, you look good. I haven't seen you since what, high school grad'?" he warmly smiles, his forearm still resting on your back. Both you and Suguru had left high school on a good note; he had tend to hang out with the more, known people in school— although he was someone you could tolerate.

Flustered, you divert your gaze; Suguru walking back around before you could speak. "..Yeah, I never knew that you worked here," moving closer towards the countertop, you rested against your two hands, leaning slightly.

"Mhm, you probably remember Choso? He works here too. I mean, he owns this place." Suguru's eyes busy scanning the bookings, you blink frantically, trying to remember who 'Choso' was. Choso Kamo, perhaps? He adds on, "..You coming in for an appointment? For what?"

"..Choso? That's not really ringing a bell. And uh, I'm here to get my.. nips done..." your voice trails off slightly, embarrassed that your old high school classmate sees you after years; but here, in the middle of getting your tits pierced.

He smiles slightly, alarm bells ringing at those two exact words coming out of your mouth. "Ah.. Choso's gonna be heartbroken for sure if he finds out that you've completely forgotten him." He marks your name off the list of bookings, standing up straight. "Being that you were so quiet back in high school, I never expected you to get your tits done."

Warmth rushing through your body, you nervously let out a laugh, "..People change, I guess.." You purse your lips, mentally slapping yourself at how awkward the conversation has turned.

"Well said, how 'bout you come along with me. Choso's gonna be helping you out today." He steps out of the counter once again, gesturing you to follow behind him.

You both walk through some curtains leading to the back of the studio, Suguru bringing you into a room with dark interior; a leather piercing bed taking up space in the middle of the room.

Another man was sitting on a wheeled stool beside a counter, his back turned to you. Seems like he's busy sterilising some equipment..

"Cho," Suguru calls out, the man glances behind his shoulder, fully spinning the stool around in surprise. "Look who I've got with me!"

Choso's eyes widen, mouth gaped after having not see you for a few years. He looks, so different. Too different. His hair a bit longer, but he decided to keep it down. It was no longer tied up in two pigtails like back in high school; both him and Suguru have turned into.. Good looking men; real men..

"..Choso?" you quietly call out , a type of tension lingering throughout the air— a room with two guys and one girl about to get her tits pierced by her old high school classmates, ones that she last expected to see.

Suguru slouches onto the sofa in the corner, hands holding a polaroid camera. "Our old classmate here has come today to get her tits done," He sticks one eye into the viewfinder, snapping a quick photo of his surroundings. "Also- If you don't mind, we tend to take polaroids of our customers after the finished piercing. Your face won't be caught in it, don't worry."

"Uh yeah, that's fine." You flashed a smile, before placing your coat and bag on the armrest beside Suguru, behind you could hear Choso finally speaking.

"..If you wanna just take a seat right here, and make yourself comfortable." He pats on the leather bed beside him, Choso stealing a quick stare down your body, noticing what has changed about you over these past few years. Pretty face like always, a fatter ass.. and..

"..Kay," hestitant, you scoot yourself onto the bed, leaning your head against the soft cushion. You breathe deeply, nervous about the fact that they were literally about to see your tits. But hey, it's their job, right? ..Why is Suguru still here though?

Choso takes note of your anxious demeanor, adjusting the lamp above you. He goes and slips on a pair of black latex gloves, before spinning back around; stumbling with his choice of words. You dart your eyes to the Choso making an array of strange noises, until he finally knows what to say.

"I'm gonna need you to uh, take that off." He points a finger at your shirt, his hand withdrawing immediately. You quickly understood what he meant, sitting yourself up on the bed.

"Right, yeah.." Your hands like frost from feeling timid, they graze against your skin as you took off your shirt; you had chosen not to wear a bra today, as it felt like it made sense. Your nipples instantly go erect from the cold touch of your fingers.

...And a nice pair of tits. That's the last thing Choso was meant to say. He swallows some spit, offering to take your shirt to keep it safely to the side, Suguru looking at you with the corner of his eye, grinning.

You lay back on the bed, the cold leather causing you to shiver all over again. Choso wheels the stool closer to you, his hand holding an antibacterial wipe. "..Alright, I think we'll go with a straight barbell. It's one of the safest options." Nodding in response, he goes on with the procedure.

He gives the surface of your tits a quick wipe, making them jiggle slightly— Choso tries his best to not let his mind trail off somewhere else. He's pierced multiple before but, something about you just had him whipped.. Especially after not seeing you for ages.

He looks at you for a moment before leaning in, trying not to smile at you all nervous underneath him; feeling your body tense under his touch as he firmly grabs your tits to leave markings with the pen.

"..Just relax yourself for me," he says, lowly, your feet stopping their kicking down the end of the bed. You study his face closely as he focuses on leaving perfect marks over your nipples to indicate where the piercing will go, his hot breath slightly fanning over your skin. You could hear Suguru in the background humming to the music on the radio, tapping away on his phone, and the same polaroid resting on his lap.

Choso pulls away allowing you to take a look at where he had drawn the markings. It took him a lot of strength to keep himself from latching his mouth onto your breasts then and there. "Approved?" He clicks the cap of the marker back on, tossing it to the side.

"..Approved," You give him a small, affirming smile as he gets the other tools ready. A clamp in his one hand, and a needle in the other, he holds them out.

"It's gonna hurt like a bitch for a few seconds, but it will be over before you know it." Reassuring you, you could only nod once more; licking your dried lips as you had ran out of words to say.

You try not to shut your eyes as you feel the cold clamp clutch onto your nipple, thinking that it would be bad etiquette if you did. Instead, you turn your head to the side, seeing Suguru still relaxed on the couch. He grins, but before you know it; the stinging of the needle hits you, a mewl coming out of your mouth.

"Good girl, just breathe," he coos, "I'm almost done with the other one." You bite down on your lip, certain that you had left a bruise behind. What felt like more than minutes, the stinging comes to a halt; numbing taking its place. You could feel Choso lay his gloved hands on your bare stomach, letting you know he had finished. "All done, you took that like a champ."

Turning your head back to it's original position, your eyes travel down to your chest, seeing the metal barbels inserted into both nipples. You smile, Suguru coming close to the bed with the polaroid.

"Oh, they look good." Suguru puts out, "I'm jealous of whoever gets to see these." His lips curl into a smirk as his eye goes near the viewfinder. You disregard his comment, busy looking at your freshly pierced tits.

"You happy with them?" Choso asks, wiping away at some equipment.

"I love them, thanks, Choso." You say, itching to poke at them but both men attempt to grab your wrist, causing you to look up; your eyes alternating between the two.

"Don't be touching them all the time," Suguru says sternly, meanwhile Choso on the other hand says something completely different.

"If.. you know, someone wants to, latch onto them- don't allow it," Choso continues, his blood curdling at the thought of someone else taking his own work for their pleasure. "..It needs to fully heal."

Cautiously, you nod, retracting your hand to lay it down on your side. Suguru switches up the topic, excited with the camera in his hand. "Ready to take a few pics? I'd say smile, but you aren't in them anyway."

"Of course," you sit up on the bed, perking your tits out as Suguru focused the lens on them. Choso bunches your hair up in his fist, bringing the strands behind your back so that the camera could get a clearer view of your chest. His grip delicate, but your stomach churns at how his long, slender fingers scratch off your nape.

You blink at the bright flash going off, the film peeking out of the slit at the top. Suguru takes it, flopping it around in the air for the picture to come through. He sets it down on the table nearby, with an intention to take more.

"Could you move yourself a little bit to the left?" Suguru's eye still stuck in the viewfinder, he orders you around with a gesture; his only sight of you being through the lens.

"..Like this?" you respond, after scooting slightly to the side; your hair still in Choso's grip, which accidentally feels like a harsh tug as soon as you move away— immediately, he lets go.

Choso mutters quietly under his breath, "Ah..- sorry."

Suguru brings the camera away from his face, his free hand suddenly grabbing onto the side of your waist; positioning you like a delicate doll. Your breath hitches, taken aback by his sudden movements.

He puts the viewfinder up to his eye again, snapping another valuable photo of you. The film comes out of the slit again, Suguru carrying out the same routine he had done with the previous picture.

Exhausted, you lay back down on the bed; though Suguru sees this as a perfect opportunity for another pic. "Hmm... Just- stay like that, yeah?" He says, the bright flash filling your vision with white.

You giggle, feeling as if you were a model taking boudoir, fully naked. You arch your back against the leather playfully, your chest protruding and extremely close to the lens, Suguru smiling and continuing to take more photos.

Choso remains silent as he slips the gloves off, a painful strain forming against his pants as he watched you pose so lewdly in front of him, you weren't the same girl as the one he knew back in high school.

Multiple photos scatter the table; Suguru having to go and fetch more film from the drawers.

Both of you had moved to the sofa in the corner, multiple pictures of you kneeling, biting your finger with your tits perked out to the camera; all pieces of film had covered parts of the floor. You were having a bit too much fun.

Choso, his tongue pokes the inside of his cheek. Refusing to be provoked, he stands up from the stool; making his way over to the sofa to take a seat beside you.

Suguru praises you, picking up a few of the photos that had finished processing. He remains anchored between your legs, towering over your body that was kneeled on the sofa. "They came out great, don't you think?" He holds one closely for you to see, your head tilting to take a peek.

"That one looks good," you point, Suguru approvingly nodding in response; although Choso makes a sudden comment, one that caught you by surprise.

Toying with the ends of your hair, Choso twirls them around his finger. The slight touch from his fingertips sending chills down your spine. "..So, who's gonna be lucky enough to see them?" he says, calmly; his voice not showing one bit of repentance. He was certain with his choice of words.

Confused, you turn to him, suppressing a titter. "..No one, I just really wanted this for myself.." you say, Choso nodding slowly; feeling slight relief at your answer.

“Probably can’t wait to show them off, huh?” Choso’s words sharp, digging into you like daggers; “..Just walking around, tits poking through your shirt, so everyone could see..”

All of a sudden, he yanks your hair back, and you let out a wail; your eyes meeting with Suguru’s above you. Seeing him grinning at you all helpless from the top, his hand reaches down to rest on your face; thumb caressing your cheekbone.

Looking at Choso— your eye moving to the side, his expression blank; but clearly, he was enjoying every bit of this.

“..I’d say we put her in her place,” Suguru says, his voice growing low; observing how easily you succumb to their touch. You could feel Choso’s grip let loose in your hair, and instead, his lips find their way to your neck; a hum crawling from his throat.

You whimper, Choso leaving a trail of wet kisses down the soft skin of your neck, softly gasping as he managed to move you around, laying you down against the edge of the sofa.

“W-wait, Choso..” you whispered, his lips moving from your chest down to your stomach, being careful to not meddle with your freshly done nipples, his hands roaming all over the gummy flesh on your waist.

You watch as he goes down on you, until a sudden grab at your chin lures you away, “Up here baby,” he purrs, your eyes misty— Suguru’s lips lock onto yours, tongues intertwining with each other as he groans into the kiss. You manage to swipe at his metal lip ring in the midst of it; the kiss so filthy and disgusting, nothing but neediness controlling it.

Choso on the other end pulling at your pants, allowing you to shimmy them off; leaving you in your underwear. Cock harder than ever, he licks against the material, the metal orb on his tongue poking through— he had a tongue piercing? He just couldn't wait to have you. A wet stain remains on the cotton, as he nibbles at the fabric before tearing it apart fully.

You let out a breathy moan into the kiss with Suguru, the ball on Choso’s tongue prodding at your clit, he alternates between licking and sucking. Occasionally, he plants kisses on the inside of your thighs; excessively groaning as he takes in all of you.

His large hands wrap around the plump of your legs, bringing you closer to his face; his grunts tickling you each time he slurped, eating you out as if you were his last meal.

Everything going on felt sinful; two men playing with you at the same time, but oh—did you want more.

Suguru pulls away, the camera placed on the ground; a long string of saliva connecting you two. Hands trembling as he reaches down for the buckle on his belt, undoing it swiftly— not fully pulling his pants down but instead grabbing for his cock; letting it hang freely from his boxers.

Your eyes frantically blinking at the size, so girthy, and long; you grab onto and tug at Choso’s strands as you felt him fuck into you with the tip of his tongue, your mouth gaping— Suguru seeing this as an advantage to stuff your mouth full of his cock.

A guttural sound crawling out of his throat, the warmth that your mouth enclosed over his cock doing his head in. His hips move back and forth, head falling back as he dug his fingers into your scalp, bobbing your head up and down his length. “Fuck.. just like that,” he groans, looking down at you taking him whole. “Good girl, how about we train this throat of yours..”

Suguru pushes into your throat as deep as he can go, your eyes brimming with tears; the tip of your nose tickled by his pubes— “Just breathe baby, breathe..” He says so easily with a devilish grin, enjoying the pure panic on your face.

He stills in your throat for a few seconds before completely pulling your mouth off his cock— spit running down your chin, his entire length glistening with it.

You let out a cry, your head crashing back into the sofa as you feel Choso stick two digits into you, his tongue relentlessly gliding over your clit as he does so, enjoying every single one of your desperate mewls.

Suguru rewards you with a slap on your cheek, a stinging mark stays behind. Lightly tapping on the side of your face, he compels you to open your mouth; dropping an orb of spit into the hole. “Swallow it,” and you obey, sticking out your tongue to prove it. “So obedient..”

You could feel yourself getting wetter and wetter by the second, before Choso hauls his head up from between your legs. Suguru’s hands clawed in your scalp; allowing him to move you around like a ragdoll— his strength making you stand up from the sofa.

Your head tilts to one side, Suguru leaning closely to your ear; “Go and give Cho' a ride, he’ll be upset if you leave him out.”

Trying to peer your eyes down to take a look at what Choso was up to, you see him struggling to undo the buttons on his pants, so eager to spend yet another minute with you.

As soon as he gets them off, he takes his thick cock in his grasp; giving it a small jerk, spitting into his hand before rubbing the slobber all over.

“..Go on, make him feel good,” Suguru whispers, pushing you closer towards Choso— you land in his lap, mind-fucked; you immediately grab his face, leaning in for yet another sloppy kiss, Choso melting into your touch.

His hands trying to position his tip at your entrance, he pulls away from the kiss for a moment; “Come on.. Sit on it,” his eyes look up into yours, almost as if he were begging.

You glance behind you, sinking down onto his cock without thinking twice. You clutch onto the fabric of his shirt, wrinkling it all together. Choso places a few kisses on your jaw, his eyes squeezing shut at the feeling of your tight walls closing in on him.

“Doing so good for me,” he whispers against your skin, “Start to move when you can, just be mindful of your piercings.”

You nod, furrowing your brows and lips parting, foreheads leaning against each other as you start to bounce up and down, his entire length filling you up and stretching your hole out, you endlessly chant his name like a prayer.

Choso’s cold hands running through your hair, trying moving loose strands away from your face. A snap goes off behind you, a familiar white flash blinding your sights— Suguru taking a photo of this pornographic moment, he takes the film and tosses it onto the ground before bringing his attention back to you.

A hand snakes onto your shoulder from behind, possibly Suguru. A pair of hands belonging to Choso resting on your hips as you moved up and down his cock, his head falling heavy into the sofa’s cushion in pure gratification.

The hand on your shoulder rushes to your mouth, covering it as you felt another cock enter your ass; a string of muffled moans trapped against the palm of Suguru’s hand.

Two cocks fucking into you at the same time, your eyes roll to the back of your head; feeling both tips in your guts, Suguru’s cock pounding into you harder than Choso’s.

You were just full of dick, and you loved it, Choso fighting the urge to hold onto your tits bouncing in his face; knowing it would be a bad idea to. He didn’t want to risk it, possibly infecting anything.

Your ass rippling against Suguru’s pelvis, you let out a long, laboured moan, your toes curling at the sensation. Suguru’s hand reaches under your chin, his voice almost mokcing you. The tips of his fingers tap against your jaw again, “You love being stuffed with our cocks, don’t you?”

You could only nod, your eyes closing as you indulged in the pleasure; mind completely blank— fear arousing in you from how feral Suguru has become; but it turns you on even more.

“Use your words, tell me you love it. Tell me.” Suguru firmly grips onto your face, moving it in all sorts of directions.

You hiccup, tears stained with hot tears. “I-I love your cocks so much, I.. I need more,” managing to choke out, he somewhat seems satisfied enough with your answer.

He peels away from you, and so does his cock, your asshole completely stretched out; your holes aching. You try to stamp your legs, squirming from all the different things coming at you .

Choso slides out of you too, his heavy cock slapping onto his abdomen. He didn't allow himself to cum. Nor did he let you. “You hear that Suguru? The slut said she wants more.” Fucked like a whore, you felt empty and lost without any cock inside of you.

Choso pushes you aside on the sofa, getting up and making his way towards the end— Suguru swapping positions with him; this time he aligned his tip with your hole, taking over as he fucked you from behind.

Suguru’s hand presses down on your back, forcing you into a more defined arch, his hips thrusting into you mercilessly, practically fucking you into the sofa. You cry into the cushions, pleading him to slow down; your hand reaching back. Suguru snapping a quick photo of his cock moving in and out of you— getting a perfect shot of you bent over in front of him.

The crisp sound of the film leaving the slit rings through your ears, before you could hear the photo falling onto the ground.

Choso guides your head back up, bringing you to eye level with his cock, forcing your mouth back down his length. He was on the verge of losing his mind too— did he want to keep you to himself forever, so he could fuck you every hour, day, week.

You were being stuffed both ends; gagging noises emitting from your throat as Choso fucked into your front like a flesh-light, Suguru on the other end drilling into you like a mad man. His leg props up onto the sofa for leverage, allowing himself to rut into you deeper than before.

You whimper all over Choso’s cock, buckets of spit spilling down his shaft, then to the ground as he used your mouth as he desired, your holes at both end not being shown any remorse.

A cacophony of moans and skin slapping echoes throughout the room, along with the faint melody coming from the radio.

“I-I’m gonna cum in this pussy,” Suguru whines, his nails digging into the skin on your hips, clutching onto the flesh trying to fucking you back onto his cock as he chased his orgasm.

A creamy ring forms at his shaft, his hands reaching down to your clit to lazily rub circles, urging you to cum as well. “Let it out baby, m-make a mess all over me.”

You grip onto the sofa’s arm rests, letting out a long groan over Choso’s cock again, your body spasming as your orgasms washed over you. Your legs shake and jitter, both feet kicking in overstimulation.

Choso pulls you by the hair off his cock, red tip slapping against your lips as he jerked himself off to his high, forcing his length back into your mouth— ropes of warm cum coated every inch of your throat.

He slides himself out for a second, the remaining spurts of his load decorating your face. “Pretty..” He breathes out, chest heaving. Choso leans in, nastily kissing you on the lips, getting a taste of his own cum off your tongue as he does.

The sight so lewd, both your saliva and remnants of his load trickling down your mouth. You try and swallow the rest, Choso smiling, so proud.

Suguru ends up bottoming into you, his hips rocking deeply in rhythm with each time his balls tighten; your brains fucked to the point that you could only think about cock.

He spills his own load into your womb, completely filling you up with his thick cum that was bound to leak out of you as soon as he pulls out; in fact, you were stuffed with cum on both ends.

Suguru strikes a spank on your ass, tenderly massaging the flesh afterwards, spreading your cheeks as he slowly slides out; cock heavily hanging as his eyes watched his cum drip out of your stretched hole.

He reaches for the camera, taking one last snapshot of your fucked up holes as a sentimental memory, grabbing the film and tossing the camera to the side.

Suguru bends down towards your pussy, licking up a bit of his cum out of you before mixing it with some saliva, spitting the ball back into your pussy, rubbing it everywhere with the help of his fingers.

Choso walks around, slouching back into the sofa; Suguru gently seating you down beside him, being mindful of your trembling legs.

All three of you remain seated, focused on trying to calm you down; the studio was littered with film everywhere, the room stinking of pure, filthy sex— bodies warm, sticky, and covered with sweat. Everyone trying to recollect themselves; faces blushed with red.

You could feel Choso’s hands run through your hair, remembering how hard they were both tugging on your scalp earlier. Suguru also rubbing your thigh up and down, soothing your nerves. Your body ached, completely fucked out of your skin.

“..I think we should have you in for a weekly dick appointment instead.”

⊹ ࣪ ˖ ⤳ © luvwestwood ‘24. all works are owned by me, and originally come from my own head. please do not re-post on a third party platform without my permission!

⊹ ࣪ ˖ ⤳ as always, thank you for the love on each and every one of my posts. 🎀🩷

[luvwestwood masterlist]

[7s3ven]

ATHENA'S GIRL. luke (pjo) - pt 3

trailer > part 1 > part 2 > part 3

( master list )

IN WHICH... Luke has to finally acknowledge his growing fondness for Y/N while she does the opposite and pushes her feelings down in order to fit her mother’s expectations.

"Have you forgotten to turn off your heart? This is not you. I see you changing from how I've designed you. Have you forgotten your purpose?"

Warnings : Y/N swears a lot

—

Y/N was the talk of the town after Athena oh-so dramatically claimed her. She didn’t even have to spend a single hour in the rowdy Hermes cabin.

The H/C-haired girl turned her head, looking around at her surroundings. Her heart almost did a leap of joy when her gaze landed in the rows of books that seemed to fill the cabin up to its capacity.

“Excuse me, which bed should I take- Oh. Okay. You’re walking away. Yeah, just act like you don’t hear me. It’s fine.” Y/N watched as the young girl brushed past her without a single word, ignoring her question. Judging by the state of some of the beds, Y/N assumed the neater mattresses were the ones available.

She set her things down on the squeaky floorboards, sighing. She didn’t have much with her; only a novel and some spare change as well as her school textbooks. It looked like she wouldn’t be needing this anymore.

Y/N sat in the edge of the mattress, pressing her lips into a thin line when she felt a spring break. “Man, I hate it here already.”

Y/N felt even lonelier at meals. None of her so-called siblings wanted to associate themselves with her. She could feel their envious stares on her as they constantly whispered how they could’ve easily solved a murder case. Finally, Y/N had enough.

She placed her silverware done, tensely smiling while clasping her hands together. “Are you guys familiar with Nabokov’s work?” She piped up, catching the attention of everybody at the rickety wooden table. They each turned to each other, confused.

“He’s like… a German poet, right?” A boy replied, furrowing his eyebrows together as if Y/N’s inquiry were stupid.

She shook her head. He was the stupid one. “I found a clue in one of his books. And the nationality of the writer helped quite a bit in unpacking it. But none of you seem to know Nabokov so I doubt you could’ve solved the mystery. I solved a crime in under an hour, slayed a dragon, and easily killed a happy. What have you guys done? Made friendship bracelets?”

One of the kids hid their untidily made bracelet, thickly gulping as if he was self-conscious.

Y/N was about to turn back to her food before someone else spoke up. “Vladimir Nabokov was a Russian author, best known for his work Lolita. Or rather, infamously known because it’s quite a controversial piece.”

Y/N’s eyes flickered to the kid with pretty brown eyes and long, braided hair. “Three movie adaptations were made, all of them equally hated to no one’s surprise.” The younger girl added, causing Y/N to smile.

She stabbed a string bean as she shrugged, “It’s always the Russians pulling some sort of weird crap.”

“Language.” Another teenager uttered. Y/N turned her head to stare at the boy, unimpressed. She raised her brows in an almost pocking sort of way.

“Fuck… off.” Y/N tauntingly smiled, causing Annabeth to lightly snort. “Don’t you guys fight monsters? I’m sure you can take a bit of swearing. Can't you?" She leaned forward, "Listen here, you little bitch. I dealt with Castellan's shit for months. You think I can't take you and your stupid ass now?"

"Colorful language you've got there, writer. As always. You gonna use it in your next global article?" Luke placed a heavy hand on Y/N's shoulder as he quietly chuckled. "Hey, Akut," The Hermes boy turned his attention to the teenage boy, "I wouldn't mess with this one. She's fierce. And she was best friends with Clarisse for a while."

A flash of fear crossed Akut's face at Clarisse’s name. “I was only teasing. Jeez.” He grumbled to himself, shrinking back. “She doesn’t have to be such a whiny bitch about it.”

Luke clicked his tongue, knowing exactly what was coming next.

“A whiny bitch? Oh, I’ll give you a whiny bitch, punk!” Y/N grabbed her plate that still had a decent amount of food on it and slammed it into Akut’s face. “How’s that, huh?!”

“She could be Ares’ kid with that anger.” Chris whispered to Luke.

“She’s probably still adjusting to camp… you know how it is.” Luke’s gaze stayed glued on Y/N as she whacked Akut across the place with a goblet. His eyebrows raised in partial surprise but he did nothing to stop her. Akut was asking for it anyway.

Luke felt Annabeth tug on his sleeve and he slightly leaned down to listen to her over all the shouting because some other Athena kids were trying to pull Y/N off Akut. “I like her.” Annabeth murmured, “She reminds me of Thalia… a little bit. Thalia never had such strong rage, though.”

Luke chuckled under his breath as he ruffled the young girl’s hair. “Guess it’s time to finally stop this before she ends up killing poor Akut.” Luke grasped the back of Y/N’s orange shirt, pulling her back. “Chiron and Mr D are gonna have a mean jab at you, writer.”

Y/N merely scoffed as she wiped away the blood smeared across her chin. Akut had blindly punched in her direction and landed a lucky shot. “He deserved it.” She muttered, eyes flickering to Akut’s bruised face.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get you cleaned up before Chiron whoops your ass. You, get Akut some nectar.” Luke sternly pointed at a nearby Ares kid before he dragged Y/N towards the infirmary. He had patched up Annabeth enough to know what he was doing.

Y/N was silent as Luke wiped her lip with a towel soaked in alcohol. She quietly winced but that was the only noise she made. Luke gently dabbed the cloth against her split skin, being mindful of how hard he pressed.

“What? Not gonna snap at me this time? I’m waiting for you to tell me that I’m holding the towel wrong.” Luke joked but Y/N simply shrugged and let him continue.

Luke’s gaze raked over her suddenly soft and deer-like features. In this moment, she almost seemed peaceful. He had seen many different versions of Y/N. The stressed one, the annoyed one, and the bloodied one. But never calm version until now. Without the biting remarks and sharp tongue, Luke couldn’t deny that she was beautiful.

He heard Y/N clear her throat. She raised her brows, as if questioning why his actions suddenly halted. “Y/N… you’re pretty. Did you know that?” He found himself accidentally whispering his thoughts but the look of shock swirling around in Y/N’s eyes made it worth it. Her eyes softened slightly before she looked away.

“Are you just gonna stand there like an idiot, Castellan?” She asked, glancing at him again.

“You’re just too good-looking, writer.” Luke teasingly uttered before going back to cleaning Y/N’s small injury. “You better behave yourself after this, though. Chiron will end up punishing you for attacking Akut, even if he started it with words.”

“He just got on my nerves. Everybody does. They all whisper and say they could easily do the stuff I did, knowing fully well they probably couldn’t.” Y/N’s lips curled into a scowl, “I just got ripped away from my life, from my school, and probably from my dream of attending Harvard. How did you think I’d react?”

“To be honest, I thought you’d be less violent. Must’ve been all your pent up rage.”

Y/N’s angry eyes turned to Luke and for a moment, he was scared she’d attack him. But they softened and suddenly, Luke was aware of how close they were. He could easily lean down and kiss her.

The duo were interrupted when Annabeth walked through the open door. She took in Luke’s wistful expression and Y/N’s slightly flushed cheeks but didn’t comment on it.

“I thought I’d come and introduce myself.” She uttered, “I’m Annabeth. You’re pretty good at fighting, did you know that?”

“The orphanage was run by a strange woman… she taught us how to fight and all sorts of crazy things.” Y/N clicked her tongue.

“Well, anyway, I think what you did was your quest was impressive. Rarely any newbies can say they slaughtered a monster, let alone two.”

Y/N lightly smiled at the young girl. “Thank you.”

Luke pouted, poking Y/N’s shoulder. “How come you aren’t this nice to me, writer?”

“Because you’re an idiot, Castellan. And you merely existing annoys me.” She sent Luke a pointed look while Annabeth muffled a snicker. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Y/N hopped off the bed, “I’m going to finish Akut or whatever his stupid, hideous name is.” She walked out of the infirmary before Luke could grab her.

“Are you going to stop her?” Annabeth questioned, raising her eyebrows.

“… Nah, I kind of what to see how this ends.”

It did not end good. Akut ended up needing stitches and Y/N was dragged into Chiron’s office while Mr D and a few Ares kids betted on who would win in a fight; Y/N or a random Aphrodite girl. The answer was obvious.

Y/N lay in her bed, half asleep yet half conscious. She rolled over, hitting her forehead on the wall next to her but she didn’t bother to open her eyes.

She wasn’t sure when she ended up in a temple made entirely out of white marble with pink veins running through the slabs of stone. Fluffy clouds floated around and Y/N waved them aside to see who the two figures standing in the distance were. She instantly recognised Athena but the short woman with beautiful locks of curly blond hair standing next her was unfamiliar.

“Mom?” Y/N carefully called out, causing Athena’s head to turn.

“Back so soon, my dear?” She asked in that calming, silky voice.

“Where are we?” Y/N questioned, furrowing her eyebrows. Athena didn’t get the chance to reply because her companion, whose blond hair was now brown and pale skin tanned, answered for her.

“You’re in my temple, of course!” She joyfully clasped her hands together while Athena kept her calm composure.

“It seems you are unfamiliar with the goddess of love, my dear.”

Everything seemed to click in Y/N’s mind. “Aphrodite.” She breathed.

“That’s why she’s your daughter and not mine, even with how pretty she is.” Aphrodite let out a giggle, gracefully grinning and showing off her pearly white teeth. In the beautiful goddess’ presence, Y/N felt inferior.

“Um… if it’s not crossing a boundary, I’d like to ask why I’m here.” Y/N piped up as she stepped closer to the deity duo. “Every time I fall asleep, I end up in different places.”

“Something seems to be troubling you. Oh, is it love problems? Because I can solve anything!” Aphrodite, as gleeful as ever, beckoned Y/N forward. “It’s that Hermes boy, isn’t it! Aw, I knew you two would end up in a thrilling and cute romance!” Aphrodite jumped around as she gushed over what Y/N and Luke could possibly become.

Y/N stole a small glance at her mother only to flinch at Athena’s furious facial expression. “Aphrodite, some privacy please.” Athena uttered, lifting a hand that seemed to hush the goddess of love.

“Oh…” Aphrodite seemed to hesitate before she nodded, “Of course.” Her body faded away into a mass of pink glitter and Y/N was left alone with her mother.

“So, you and this Hermes boy?” Athena quirked an eyebrow which made Y/N shrink back.

“We’re nothing, mother. I don’t even like him that much. To be honest, he’s annoying and he talks too much.”

Yet, Athena was not convinced. “I have created a clear pathway for you, my dear. Annabeth is a bright girl but I want you to be my star pupil. However, if you choose not to follow in my footsteps, then you will merely be only another disappointment.”

Y/N stiffened. Failure was her worst fear, whether it be within a school exam or being unable to meet someone’s expectations. She had never failed and she was not about to start now. With reluctance, she turned to Athena. “What do I have to do?”

Y/N quickly opened her eyes, quietly panting. She found herself back in the cabin and a sigh of relief slipped past her lips. She lay awake in her bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. She could hear light snores coming from her siblings and while the crackling sound of fire was supposed to calm her nerves, it didn’t. Eventually, Y/N rose.

She made an effort to keep quiet as she slipped past the cabin’s front door and into the chilly night air.

“Can’t sleep, huh?”

Y/N almost let out a loud shriek when she turned around only to almost crash into a certain Hermes boy. He had oh-so coincidentally been standing on the Athena’s cabin porch.

“What are you doing here?” She quietly hissed, on edge from both her dream and seeing the very boy her mother despised.

“I had a feeling you couldn’t sleep. The first few days are always the worst. You’re homesick and you’re also stuck with the realisation that you probably won’t ever go back.” Luke’s grin was visibly in the dim light coming from his lantern. “If I’m being honest, I was just on patrol duty and you happened to step out while I passed by.”

Y/N fidgeted with her fingers as she slowly sat down on the squeaky porch, wincing as it creaked. “What was the first night like for you?” She slowly questioned, staring up at Luke.

He shrugged. “Hard. I missed my mom and my friends and, well, Thalia.”

Y/N tilted her head to the side at the mentioning of Thalia’s name. “Who’s that?”

Luke paused before he glancing over at the lonesome tree on the hill. “This is going to sound stupid to you but she’s that tree. She was my friend while I was on the run from monsters. We then found Annabeth. Our satyr guide led us here but we were being chased by monsters. Thalia fought some of them off but there were too many… she would’ve died if it were for her father, Zeus, saving her.”

“He turned her into a fucking tree.” Y/N deadpanned.

Luke quietly groaned, “That’s the same ready Percy had as well. Why did the king of the gods turn his daughter into a tree of all things to save her life? I don’t know. I ain’t Zeus. Yeah, a tree is stupid but hey, at least she’s not dead.” Luke sarcastically smiled while Y/N remained unamused.

“I would rather die than become a tree.” She replied, “Imagine all your leaves falling during winter. You’re basically bald then.”

“If you were a tree, I’d cut you down.” Luke snapped back before he could still himself.

“So, Thalia. Tell me more about her.” Y/N abruptly switched topics.

“She was a little fiery and prideful but that’s expected of Zeus’ daughter. To be honest, she was a little bit like you. She seemed to have a soft spot for Annabeth. I think she preferred Annabeth over me.”

“Wow, what a shocker. I prefer Annabeth too.”

“I was young back then but I’m pretty sure I had a crush on Thalia. She could get me to do anything with one look.” Luke slowly trailed off while Y/N bit the inside of her cheek. Her heart felt unexpectedly heavy and for a moment, she thought she was sick.

“I should go to bed now. I’m feeling tired.” She stood up, stretching her stiff limbs. “See you later, Castellan.” Y/N walked back into her cabin before Luke could reply. He watched her disappear, leaving him standing alone in front of the porch.

He sighed. “Good night to you too, writer.”

Y/N was in the bathroom, washing her face tired face, when somebody else entered. They awkwardly stood behind her for a few moments before clearing their throat.

Y/N opened her eyes and wiped away the beads of water that dripped down her chin.

“You did some mean damage on Akut.”

In the mirror’s reflection, Y/N could see a pretty Ares girl with long, curled hair and a camp t-shirt a size too big. She was shorter than Y/N, not by much, but the H/C-nette still had to look down.

Clarisse had changed a lot but Y/N could still recognise that familiar glimmer in her old friend’s eyes.

“So this is where you disappeared off to?” Y/N questioned as Clarisse stepped closer. The brunette was now standing beside Y/N, leaning against the sink next to her with her arms folded over her chest.

“I never thought I’d see you again.” Clarisse uttered, her gaze looking Y/N up and down, “You’ve grown… a lot.”

“So have you, Clari. You look good.”

“You look better. You might turn me lesbian. It’s a shame you like Luke.”

Y/N paused and furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t like Luke.” She said, but it was mainly to reassure herself. She heard Clarisse laugh.

“He’s all you look at. For a daughter of Athena, you aren’t too smart on this topic.”

Y/N remained stone-faced as she calmly turned to look at Clarisse. “I don’t like him.” She repeated, this time firmer.

Clarisse hummed as if she wasn’t convinced. “He’s always looking at you, by the way. You being claimed means he sees you less and I think he misses you. But you shouldn’t care. You don’t like him.” She teasingly smiled as she applied a heavy layer of gloss onto her lips.

Y/N said nothing as she looked away, splashing another handful of cold water onto her face.

“You probably remind him of Thalia. Headstrong and stubborn.”

Y/N let Clarisse’s words sink in before she opened her mouth. “I’m not Thalia.” She quietly muttered. “I remind Luke of Thalia. I remind Annabeth of Thalia. But I’m not her. My identity is not tied to Zeus’ half-blood daughter.” Y/N clenched her hands into fists. “It was nice catching up, Clari. Next time we talk, we should tell each other about our lives after we parted.”

Y/N dabbed her face with a soft cotton towel as she walked back to the Athena cabin, almost groaning at the sight of Luke. “What are you doing here? Again?” She demanded, kicking his ankle.

“Woah! Hey, I’m waiting for Annabeth. I’m not here to annoy you. Yet.” Luke grinned as he leaned against a wall. Or he tried to, at least. He underestimated the distance and ended up falling.

“Smooth, Castellan.” Y/N sarcastically said as she towered over him.

“Thanks, writer. I try.” Luke coolly played his embarrassing mistake off while Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Luke, what are you doing?” Annabeth pushed open the door, arching an eyebrow at the boy who was sprawled across the floor.

“Y/N pushed me.”

Y/N scoffed, “I did not. You fell by yourself, Castellan. Like an idiot, might I add.” She brushed past Annabeth.

“You like her.” Annabeth blurted out as soon as Y/N was out of earshot. It was more of a harsh statement than anything else.

“I do not.”

“You do. What about Thalia? Why don’t you like her anymore?”

Luke furrowed his brows as he glanced at Thalia’s tree. “Thalia’s a tree, Annabeth. I have to move on at some point.”

Annabeth clenched her hands into fists as she glared at Luke. “I don’t want you to move on!”

Luke was confused as to why Annabeth was acting this way. He knew she missed Thalia but she had never burst into a fit. “Annabeth… I have to. You said you liked Y/N.”

“I do… but she’s not Thalia.”

Y/N woke up covered in a thin layer of sweat. She quietly panted. Her dreams were all the same now and depicted Athena ruthlessly lecturing her over and over again to the point where Y/N felt a little scared.

She heard someone shift in their bed. “Are you okay?” Y/N heard Annabeth whisper from across the room.

Y/N gave herself a moment to catch her breath before she sighed. “Yeah… just a bad dream, you know? I’m going outside for a bit.” Y/N kicked the covers off her body, shakily standing up.

“Thalia wouldn’t do that.” Annabeth muttered, “She doesn’t like going outside after nightmares.”

Y/N bit back an annoyed huff. “I’m not Thalia, Annabeth. I never will be her. You and Luke should let it go.” She walked out of the cabin, resisting the urge to slam the door.

“Oh, wow. This is just creepy. Are you sure you aren’t stalking me?” Luke grinned while Y/N sarcastically smiled. She sat down on the steps.

“Does Annabeth always go around and comparing people to Thalia?” She was straight forward and blunt. Luke clicked his tongue as he took the spot next to her.

“Not really… no.“

“Do you see me as Thalia?”

“I see Thalia in you but I know how to tell the difference between you too. Listen, Annabeth was attached to Thalia. And with new things coming to light, she’s on guard.”

Y/N turned to look at Luke, gazing at him in confusion. “New things?” She questioned.

“New… feelings.”

“… New feelings for Thalia the tree?”

Luke held his face in his hands as he groaned. “How are you a daughter of Athena? I’m giving you all the hints, writer.”

Y/N only raised her eyebrows. “I see no hints. All I see is your infatuation with a tree that was once a girl.”

“I like you.” Luke blurted out, unable to withstand any more of her obliviousness. “I don’t like Thalia. Maybe I did before but like I told Annabeth, I have to move on.”

Y/N was silent. She stared ahead while Luke awaited her reaction. Finally, Y/N said something. “You can’t like me… you don’t know me, Luke.”

“But I do! I know your favourite food and I know your favourite book. I know when people ask what your favourite colour is, you say it’s stupid to have one but your favourite colour is actually (insert)! I know you hate parties but you also want to feel like a normal teenager. And I know your favourite drink is (insert) yet the best one you’ve tried is in that cafe across from the school. I know things you didn’t know that I knew”- Luke cut himself off with a small sigh. “My point is I know you!”

“Did you mean you know things I didn’t know you knew about me?”

“Yes!” Luke quietly hissed, not wanting to be too loud in case he woke up the Athena kids. They wouldn’t be too happy about that. “And I know that you like correcting people’s grammar because the only paper you scored a B on was because you made grammar mistakes. You think you’re helping people but they think you’re a know-it-all. Though, when you explain your intentions, they realize you were only trying to help.”

Y/N stared at Luke with her lips parted. “Are you stalking me?” She murmured.

“No… yes? It was part of my quest, writer. I had to.”

“Well, that’s not creepy at all.”

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying? I just said I like you and you called me creepy.”

“You are for knowing all that information about me!”

“Okay, okay.” Luke held his hands up in surrender, “Truce. I really do like you, writer.”

“And here I thought you hated me. What was up with all our bickering then?”

“It was the only way to get your attention. And, I must admit, I did feel a little jealous of you. You were so good at everything… and I’m only good at swinging a sword around.” Luke’s gaze flickered to the ground. He thickly swallowed before lifting his head again. He quickly realized how close he was to Y/N, their foreheads almost butting against each other.

“Do you really like me, Cast-Luke?” Y/N quickly corrected herself. Luke could feel a grin stretch across his lips. Y/N had never called him by his first name before. It was always Castellan this, Castellan that.

“I do. I like you, Y/N. I really, really like you.”

“Okay.” Y/N whispered, slowly leaning forward. She was afraid of what her mother would say but when her lips met Luke’s, suddenly she didn’t care.

All that mattered were Luke’s hands trailing up to grab her waist and the smile that spread across his face like gleeful wildfire.

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[kkpaaw]

The more i think about this the more sad I get and yet happy as well

I feel like it's pretty obvious that Branch was meant for the spotlight. I mean he was In two bands and we have seen him sing. He got a thing for dramatics, and he thrives everytime he's on stage or in the spotlight when he's singing. He essentially demands eyes on him when he's singing and I find that intriguing.

I remember reading a post on twitter that said that Branch was "born to be an idol, forced to be a survivor" and when u look at the movies and moments when's he really happy it paints that picture. I mean the moment he got his colors back he's essentially been singing nonstop. Yea he has more self control than most trolls and knows when to and when not to sing, but that doesn't change the fact that he clearly loves singing and always has and to essentially hold that part of himself back due to his fear and trauma was prolls hurting him far more than we know.

.....

Well there was much more I wanted to say but I've forgotten what it was, so I GUESS I'm stopping here. Curse my shitty memory

I'm not saying this in a way that fully grasps how I feel about it which suuuucks but what can you do when ur terrible at explaining things.

Have a Branch thriving in the spotlight and Grumpy Grey Branch questioning his life choices

[antianakin]

I'm starting to see some very funny (and by funny I mean infuriating) takes on what Andor was actually ABOUT and the way it utilized its more adult narrative within the context of Star Wars. Andor as a show followed Lucas's themes BRILLIANTLY even while choosing to look at them a little differently.

One of the primary themes in Star Wars is that there really isn't much of a "middle ground" in life. You are either choosing to be selfless and compassionate, or you aren't. Trying to stay in the middle or run from making this choice inevitably ends up badly for the people who try. And one of the other primary themes of Star Wars is that being selfless and compassionate often requires LETTING GO, most often letting go of the people you love and accepting that change happens in life.

I've seen people argue that Andor is able to be a morally grey story because its characters aren't Jedi or Sith who tend to be more bound by these cosmic themes or good vs evil, but I'd argue that Andor actually represents that theme JUST FINE.

Despite many of its characters living in a "morally ambiguous" area, we still have to see them make the choice to be selfless and compassionate or selfish and greedy. One of the primary themes for the characters is how well they can LET GO or not. Cassian is constantly having to figure out how to let go of his plans for his future, let go of his mother, let go of his dreams of a normal life. Cassian is ruled by fear for much of the first season and it's only once he is pushed into a situation where there's no longer any way to run, he starts finally fighting back and refusing to bow to the oppressive force that wants nothing more than to see him discarded like so much refuse. The people of Ferrix have to let go of their desire to stick their heads in the sand and simply hope the Empire won't notice them.

And on the other end of the spectrum you have Syril Karn and Dedra Meero absolutely fixated on their respective goals to the point that they're willing to kill and betray innocent people to reach them. They've convinced themselves their goals are selfless, but their motivations are in fact actually SELFISH, they serve nobody but their own ambitions. And both of them end up paying for it.

So Andor ABSOLUTELY gets the central theme of Star Wars, it isn't actually trying to change that. What it DOES do is take that theme and just digs slightly deeper, looking at this theme from a slightly different angel even when it ultimately comes to the same conclusion. Andor asks if selflessness and compassion always looks like "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!" Or if maybe sometimes making the selfless choice means burning yourself to light a fire to lead someone else to safety. Are all people who make the selfless and compassionate choice considered heroes, or are some of them having to make those choices down in the dirt and destined to be forgotten by history? Andor asks how many variations of selflessness might exist and then explores them in its wide, colorful ensemble.

Andor also is looking at what selflessness might look like in characters who are forced into making a choice between standing back when they see evil happening and dirtying their hands just to make the smallest difference because forces of evil outside of their control are making the purer options impossible.

And that is the EXACT SAME THEME explored with the Prequels Jedi. The Jedi who want so badly to be selfless and compassionate, whose philosophies and ideologies lead them to use violence only as a last resort and love everyone and everything in the galaxy equally. The Jedi who are thrust into a war where there's no way to win because the Sith are running both sides of it and the Jedi can't just NOT FIGHT because that will get innocent people killed and will help no one but themselves, but they have to compromise their morals as a result. The Jedi who see a politician slowly amassing unreasonable amounts of power he's unwilling to let go of and a Senate too controlled by fear and greed to see the danger, so their only option is to commit treason to try to remove the corruption personally.

The Jedi LOOK the hero part a lot more than the characters in Andor do. They're strong, confident, powerful, and wield swords of light. They fight out in the open rather than from the shadows. Cassian, Luthen, Saw, Mon Mothma, Vel, and Cinta all manipulate things and threaten people and lie and cheat their way towards victory. Both Mon Mothma and Luthen fully admit to choosing to act like their enemy in order to defeat them. And it's not that the Jedi's way of fighting is any worse than the way the people of Andor have learned to fight. The people of Andor would LOVE to be able to fight like the Jedi used to do. But they can't. Palpatine has created a world in which being heroes that way is NO LONGER POSSIBLE. He started with the Jedi, by forcing the Jedi into a situation where fighting the way they once did was the wrong choice to make. There were no longer any right choices, just better choices. The only choice.

The Jedi stood as a bulwark between the darkness and the people of the galaxy. For years they chose to dirty their hands in order to fight the battles no one else WANTED to fight because it was the ONLY CHOICE TO MAKE. So what happens when the Jedi are gone?

The rest of the galaxy is now faced with the same choice. Do you stand by and let darkness grow? Or do you dirty your hands a little because it's the only choice you CAN make?

The people in Andor are picking up the torch that fell out of the Jedi's hands when they were murdered and persecuted by the Sith. Only the people who are left don't have magic powers or swords of light, so they use the resources they have at their disposal, which mostly amounts to manipulation and trickery and striking from shadows. The fight looks a little different now, but it's still the same fight the Jedi were fighting for years.

So Andor is taking those bigger cosmic themes from the Jedi/Sith conflicts that permeate the rest of the Skywalker saga and asks what those themes might look like when applied to the little people. What kind of choices might THEY make, what kind of things might they have to let go of in order to make those selfless choices? What kind of consequences might happen when they DON'T make the selfless choice? It's the exact same theme Lucas has ALWAYS had in his stories, just viewed from a different angle or through a different lens.

But the stories we've been getting recently that are trying to argue that being selfish is actually totally fine so long as you're doing it For Love, that the Jedi were in fact the source of everything that went wrong in the galaxy, that the Jedi were DESTINED to be destroyed, those all go completely against Lucas's themes. They're the direct OPPOSITE of his intended message. It is in fact entirely possible to write a more adult story with grittier content that STILL SENDS THE SAME FUCKING MESSAGE AND FOLLOWS THE SAME THEMES and doesn't try to get edgy in its interpretation of the source material.

[bookworm551]

Of Duty and Desire | Chapter 5 | Neteyam x Metkayina!reader

A/N: sorry this took so long!!!! I wish I had a good excuse but really it was just writers block. Anyways, I appreciate your patience, I love you all <33

Word Count: 6.8k words

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 6 Epilogue

When you woke up the next day, you had a few blissful seconds where everything felt normal. You stretched as the light reflected on your face, and you enjoyed the sounds of the village waking up for a moment. Then, the memories of the previous night hit you all at once, and all the guilt came rushing back.

Memories replayed in your head over and over again. His hungry lips trailing down your neck, your eager hands pulling him close, the sound of your heavy breathing echoing around you. It was like a dream that never should have come to life.

You ran your hands over your face. This was not good. You thought you could still be friends, that you could maintain some form of friendship with him, but last night was clear evidence that it wasn't possible. Being alone with him, seeing him with the blue-green cast of colors on his face, and hearing him say how much he wanted to be with you had all been too much for you to think and act rationally.

Now, you had to get up and go about your day pretending as if nothing had happened. And that's exactly what you did.

You threw yourself into your chores, doing everything in your power to distract yourself from the night before. You even asked Ronal for more work when you finished your chores in record time. It was terrible for you to look her in the eye knowing that if she found out about last night, she would unleash a flood of fury on you.

Everything was going relatively smoothly up until late in the afternoon when Aonung found you on the beach mid-errand. "I've been looking for you," he stated as he came up behind you. You looked up at him in alarm, your heart speeding up anxiously. "Oh?" you managed to reply quietly, trying to appear unfazed by his presence.

"I am about to leave with Rotxo and the others," he explained. "There is still time for you to join if you'd like." The anxious tension in your chest subsided somewhat at his question. You had forgotten that he and the others were planning on going hunting, even though they had talked about it just last night. You also remembered that Neteyam had also been invited to go as well.

Forcing a smile, you replied, "Thank you, but I think I will stay inside the sea wall today." Aonung shrugged casually. "Very well," he said. "We'll be back by eclipse." You nodded and watched him walk off, taking a breath to steady your heart.

You needed to figure out some way to reconcile what had happened between you and Neteyam, but you didn't know what to do. You knew how upset Aonung would be if you confessed what you had done with Neteyam and how you felt about him. You knew how upset Ronal would be if she knew that you were in love with someone other than her son. To stay silent would mean you would be eaten up by guilt, but to speak would surely mean severe consequences.

You wouldn't mind facing the repercussions of your actions. In fact, you felt that you should, but you hesitated out of fear of what would happen to Neteyam. If you were to be in trouble, you still had some level of protection through Ronal's connection with your mother, but with Neteyam, there was no doubt that your mentor would be angry enough with him to try something as drastic as excommunication. You would never be able to forgive yourself if he had to face punishment like that.

Shaking yourself from your thoughts, you headed back to the village. You returned to distracting yourself through work, braiding, weaving, and organizing anything you could find. You hadn't even realized the hours that had flown by until you stepped outside to go diving for sea grass.

You had initially planned on swimming out to the edge of the sea wall on your own, but now, you considered taking an ilu. Glancing at the sky, you figured you had less than an hour before eclipse. After deliberating for a moment, you decided that it was enough time for you to gather what you needed without one. As much as you enjoyed riding, swimming on your own was more relaxing.

Swimming out to the edge of the sea wall, you became distracted from your thoughts by the graceful creatures darting around you. Nothing cleared your mind from plaguing thoughts better than floating in the warm water while the glowing dots and stripes of the sea animals swirling around you.

You swam down to the sea floor where the sea grass swayed lazily with the movement of the water. You began pulling up the grass from its roots, tying each bundle tightly before placing it in your pouch. While you were gathering, you were blissfully unaware of a creature nestled in the grass around you.

Reaching for another handful of grass, you touched the fin of what you quickly learned was a viper ray. Defensive and vicious, viper rays typically avoided the reef and rarely came in past the sea wall. Though they were beautiful to watch, being so close to one was dangerous. Their venomous sting had been known to kill Na'vi in the past, and even if it wasn't fatal, it was definitely a very painful experience.

Your touch startled the hiding creature. Faster than you could process, the viper ray whipped around and slashed its thick tail at you, swiping across your ribs.

You immediately flinched and released much of the air you were holding. The pain was immediate, a deep burning sensation that outweighed any sort of injury you had ever experienced. The viper ray darted away back into the grass, leaving you clutching your side as you felt you air supply depleting. Desperately, you began kicking towards the surface as quickly as you could.

When you broke above the water, you gasped in pain. You instinctively clutched at your side, the sting burning like a fire across your body. You looked back at the village, a decently long swim even without being injured. You cursed at yourself for not bringing an ilu. Now, you had no idea how you would get back on your own.

Still, you began kicking towards the beach, your breathing too fast and frantic to dive back down again. From the corner of your eye, you saw movement. Turning your head, you made out several figures in the distance on skimwings leisurely heading back to the village. Blinking through the pain, you recognized the people passing by as the group of your friends who had gone hunting earlier. They must have just returned.

In the dying light, you could make out Neteyam and Aonung side-by-side on their skimwings. Pain was coursing through your side as your breathing came in shallow breaths. You finally managed to inhale enough to call out as loudly as you could, "Neteyam!"

He must have heard your voice because his head immediately whipped around to find you. After a moment, he spotted your bobbing form in the water and swiftly moved to where you were floating.

What took less than a minute for him to cross over to you felt like an eternity with the viper ray venom coursing through you. You were grimacing in pain, the salt water causing your sting to burn even worse. Already, you were feeling the fatigue that came with viper ray stings.

"What's wrong?" Neteyam asked in concern, noticing your face contorted in pain. Right behind him, Aonung came up to you on his skimwing. "I've been stung," you managed to gasp as you struggled to stay above the water. "Viper ray."

Neteyam's face shifted from concern to panicked realization. He had heard the stories of the infamous creature and knew the potentially fatal effects it had. Aonung, too, realized the severity of your injury. "She needs to go to my mother now," he told his friend urgently.

Both boys jumped off of their mounts to take you, and you reached a weak hand out to Neteyam. He took it and pulled you over to his skimwing. You wrapped your arms around his neck, squeezing your eyes shut and resting your head on his chest as he hoisted the two of you onto the back of his skimwing.

Your breathing came in sharp gasps as you took off towards the village. In your mind, your thoughts were growing hazy, and it became difficult for you to understand the reassuring words Neteyam was whispering in your ear. Everything was blurring, and the only thing that somewhat distracted you from the pain in your side was the comfort of Neteyam's arms holding you tightly.

You didn't realize it at the time, but the rest of the hunting party that Neteyam and Aonung were with had noticed the two of them speeding off toward the village and quickly followed suit. When you reached the beach, they all pooled around you to figure out what was happening.

"Find Ronal," Neteyam told the group of them as he carefully slid you off of his skimwing. They all hesitated for a moment, recognizing you curled up in pain in his arms.

"What happened to—,"

"Now," Neteyam snapped, his composure cracking over the panicked desperation he was fighting. The group of hunters scattered across the village, but Aonung remained behind in the water with the two of you.

"Let me take her," he told Neteyam, reaching for your form resting in his arms, but he didn't let you go. "I've got her," he said sharply, wading through the water quickly. Aonung was taken aback somewhat, but he didn't press it since he didn't want to waste precious time arguing.

It wasn't long before Ronal came rushing out to meet you all on the beach. She took a moment to assess you, feeling how your skin was growing unusually warm. "Come quickly," she told Neteyam urgently as she moved back to her pod.

Neteyam stepped after her towards the village. You were groaning in pain, your vision coming in and out of focus. You were still aware of the fact that you were in his arms, but your thoughts were becoming increasingly disorganized. You had felt his strong arms around you before, but when? You had been upset about him earlier, but why?

You tried to focus, but the pain radiating from your ribs made it impossible for you to think clearly. Still, in your cloudy mind, you had a lingering memory of something scandalous.

"What are you doing here?" You mumbled quietly to Neteyam, your speech slurring a little bit. He looked down at you for a second before replying, "You are hurt, and you need help." You groaned again as if to prove his point and turned your face into his chest. "It's okay," he soothed in a low voice, "I will take care of you."

When you had made it to Ronal's tent, Neteyam set you down carefully on the mat. He stayed by your side while Aonung crouched on your other side. Ronal quickly set to work, pouring water over your sting and wiping away the bleeding. You hissed in pain as she inspected the gash in your side.

Grabbing Neteyam's arm tightly, you cried out through clenched teeth, "It burns." He ran a soothing hand over your forehead. "I know it does," he replied, trying to keep his voice calm for you and failing miserably. "You'll be okay." Your breathing was labored as you looked up at his with glassy eyes. "Every day, it burns," you murmured. "How can I stop it, Neteyam?"

Neteyam's heart ached. You weren't just talking about your sting. Your words were echoing what you had said the previous night. It had been weighing on Neteyam the whole day. He had been unable to shake your words from his mind, and he replayed the memory of kissing you over and over again. He would never forget the blissful moment you shared, but he could never forget the look of horror and heartbreak on your face when you had realized what you had done. It burned, indeed.

"What is she saying?" Aonung asked sharply, staring at Neteyam's longing face with suspicion. He looked up at him, pulled from his thoughts, and said dismissively, "She's hallucinating."

"I don't want to stop it," you whispered in a breathy voice. "I wish it could be real." Neteyam tensed at your words and prayed that you would stop talking in front of Ronal and Aonung. Ronal didn't seem to heed your babbling as she worked, but Aonung was looking back and forth between your face and Neteyam's.

"What is she saying?" Aonung repeated in a hard voice. Neteyam's voice felt stuck, and his silence was only made worse when you reached out your hand up from Neteyam's arm to trace his cheek gently with your fingers. He brought his hand up to hold yours and closed his eyes in guilt. There was no way he could justify this.

Ronal's working hands stilled as she witnessed him grabbing your hand, her eyes flashing to Neteyam and then to her son. Neteyam kept his eyes on your face, but he could feel Aonung's burning glare.

He was putting the pieces together. He had known for a while that you were good friends with Neteyam ever since he first came to the reef, but Aonung had never felt any reason to suspect anything else. Recently, though, he had noticed a shift in his friend’s behavior. He had inexplicably started avoiding your friend group, and it didn’t escape his notice the way that Neteyam had been much more reserved recently.

All this, Aonung would have ignored, but now, he reconsidered everything. He had noted how you had called for Neteyam in the water. He saw how you had reached out for him and how you wrapped your arms around him tightly. He noticed the defensive way that Neteyam held onto you, refusing to let go. Now, hearing your mutterings and seeing you reach out for Neteyam, Aonung felt anger bubble in his chest.

"What did you do?" He seethed. Neteyam looked up at him and held up his free hand. "Aonung, please, I can expl—" Aonung shot up quickly and repeated in a harsh voice, "What did you do?!"

The tension was palpable in the silence. "Take this outside," Ronal ordered sharply, and Neteyam could feel the tsahik's anger in her voice. He got up slowly, dropping your hand. You whimpered as he pulled away from you. "No," you pleaded softly. "Stay." Neteyam could see that your words made Aonung even angrier, so he got up and darted out of the tent, closely followed by the other boy.

Outside, the young Metkayina warrior shoved Neteyam's shoulder. "What was that?" Aonung demanded, his chest heaving in anger. Neteyam held up his hands as a pacifying gesture. "Please, let's just—"

"Did you mate with her?" Aonung cut him off furiously. His forwardness caught Neteyam a little off-guard, and his denial seemed to be stuck in his throat. Just then, Kiri, Tsireya, and Lo'ak came around after hearing that you were injured, and Neteyam groaned internally. Having an audience would make this so much worse.

"Did you?" Aonung pressed, ignoring the others. Turning his focus away from his siblings, Neteyam replied, "No, I would never dishonor you like that." Tsireya looked questioningly between him and her brother. "What is going on?" She asked in confusion.

Aonung ignored his sister. "But you want to," he accused Neteyam. Already uncomfortable with having his family present, he stepped towards Aonung. "Let's talk about this alone," he said in a low voice. The other young warrior shoved him back. "Why?" He demanded. "Because it's true? You want her?"

Kiri took in a sharp breath, and Neteyam heard his brother curse loudly. Neteyam felt trapped. "My friend, please," he implored quietly. Aonung scoffed. "You are no friend of mine," he spat in a loud voice. "How long have you been sneaking around behind my back?"

As if things couldn't get any worse, Jake, Neytiri, and Tonowari came up behind their children, alarmed by the shouting. "What is the meaning of this?" The Olo'eyktan demanded to know. Pointing an accusatory finger at Neteyam, Aonung replied, "He has fallen in love with the woman intended for me."

There was a short, stunned silence, and Neteyam saw the look of disappointed frustration on his father's face. "Is this true?" Tonowari inquired severely. Neteyam hesitated for a moment, but he quickly realized he was in too deep to deny anything. "Yes," he admitted quietly.

Everyone present reacted differently. Aonung looked ready to kill Neteyam, Tsireya gasped softly, and Kiri put her face in her hand. Lo'ak looked half-impressed while Neytiri closed her eyes and began muttering under her breath either prayers or profanities. Tonowari and Jake exchanged uneasy glances and shifted uncomfortably.

"Do not blame her," Neteyam continued insistently. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have—," Jake raised his hand, cutting off his son. "Stop talking," he said harshly. Neteyam remained obediently silent while Jake ran a frustrated hand over his face. "Did you two...?"

Neteyam shook his head hastily. "No," he stated. "We are not bonded." A small sigh of relief came from both of his parents before Neytiri stepped forward toward her son. "I never expected this from you," she said in a low, harsh whisper. "You have brought shame upon yourself, upon this family."

Neteyam stood quietly as his mother began her rant. He knew this was coming, and it hurt just as much as he expected it to. Disappointing his parents was the worst feeling for him, and now he was getting the scolding of a lifetime in front of the rest of his family as well as the chief's.

Ronal stepped out of the tent just then, looking extremely displeased, and everybody turned to her expectantly. "She is asleep," the tsahik explained. "Her body will burn away the venom in time." Neteyam breathed a quick sigh of relief, but he was quickly filled with the apprehension of having to face Ronal's fury.

She pointed her glare at him. "Now, what is going on with you?" She asked in a displeased voice. Aonung stepped forward before Neteyam could respond and interjected, "He is in love with her." Ronal turned sharply to face Neteyam, and her scathing glare deepened. "We bring you into our home," she began in a slow, seething voice, "show you our ways, offer protection, and you return it by blatantly disrespecting us, my son, by trying to enamor his intended mate?"

Neteyam shook his head again. "No," he insisted, working hard to maintain a composed voice. "That was never my intention." Ronal look away from him and back at the healing tent. "And what about her?" She asked, gesturing to where you were sleeping. "Does she return your affections?"

Neteyam hesitated, not wanting to bring you into the mess of trouble he was already in. "I cannot speak for her," he said finally. Aonung scoffed at his words. "You heard what she was saying," he told his mother. "Of course she does."

Neteyam didn't say anything—there was no point. Jake stepped up to him, his face hardened in aggravation. "I told you to back off," he reminded harshly in English. "I said not to cause trouble." Neteyam nodded solemnly and muttered, "I know."

Jake huffed an exasperated sigh. "I'll take care of this," he muttered to Tonowari. Neteyam closed his eyes in shame. This was exactly the thing he was trying to avoid in leaving you alone. Now, he was in for a long night of listening to his parents berate him for hours.

Ronal scoffed. "We cannot allow this," she stated in outrage. "Your son has dishonored our son. He cannot go unpunished." Jake held up a reassuring hand. "Believe me, he will be dealt with," he told her earnestly.

"And how do you suppose he is to be punished?" She shot back. "He cannot be allowed anywhere near her again." Neytiri took a heated step towards Ronal. "You cannot exile my son," she asserted angrily. The tsahik glared at her. "Perhaps that would be the best solution," she countered in a haughty voice.

The two sets of parents all began arguing over each other. Neteyam watched in silent guilt. All of this fighting and contempt stemmed from him falling for you. He should have been more careful. He never should have taken you flying. He never should have danced with you. He knew better than that, but he couldn't help himself. He had wanted to thrill you, please you, any way he could, but now, his indiscretion had caused this dispute between his family and Aonung's.

While Neteyam was dwelling on his guilt, Aonung was glaring at him in resentment.

In the time that the Sullys had been in the reef, Aonung had gone from viewing Neteyam as a rival to seeing him as one of his closest friends. He had taught him the ways of the Metkayina. They had hunted together. They killed the akula together. And it was true that Aonung had no romantic feelings toward you, but he still held great respect for you and thought of you as his future tsahik with satisfaction.

Now, everything was changing. It was one thing for you not to feel anything romantically toward him, but it was something else entirely for you to be in love with someone else, especially when that someone else was in love with you. These bitter thoughts swirled in his mind until his voice finally called out above the bickering parents.

"I call for First Blood."

Everyone froze.

The Rite of First Blood was a dangerous and rarely used rite amongst the Na'vi that is only invoked in the most serious of disagreements. When someone called for First Blood with another, they fought in close combat until one of the participants drew blood from their opponent. The victor's conditions were binding and unimpeachable. What made it dangerous was that there were no stipulations other than requiring blood to be drawn, so the victor could go as far as mortally wounding their opponent if they so chose.

"Aonung, are you sure?" Ronal questioned after recovering from her stunned silence. Even she was startled by her son's call for such a serious matter. Aonung held a level glare at Neteyam as he replied firmly, "Yes."

Ronal shot her mate a reluctant look. "Very well," Tonowari conceded after a moment. "What are your conditions?" Everybody stared at Aonung, waiting expectantly to hear what he would demand if he was the victor. "If I win," he began slowly, staring at Neteyam. "You will leave the reef and never come back."

Immediate protestations arose from each of the Sullys except Neteyam, who silently held Aonung's glare with his own level gaze. "Silence!" Tonowari roared, cutting off the forest family sharply. Aonung continued as though he hadn't been cut off, "And I will be with the woman I am betrothed to."

All eyes were on Neteyam for his reaction, but he remained still, face impassive. "I accept," he responded evenly.

"Neteyam," Tonowari addressed. "What are your conditions?" He didn't respond for a second, thinking carefully about what to say, and Aonung scoffed. "We already know," he huffed. "If you win, she is yours."

"No," Neteyam replied resolutely.

Everybody blinked in surprise and exchanged uneasy glances. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "She has already had so many decisions made for her," he explained slowly, shooting a look at Ronal's scowling face. "She deserves to have a choice for once in her life."

He looked back over at Tonowari. "That is my condition," he said decidedly. "If I win, she chooses if she wants to be tsakarem. If so, then she will continue her duties without reprimand, but if not, then she can renounce her title honorably, without shame, and without fear of retribution."

Ronal hissed in anger, but Neteyam was waiting for Aonung's reaction expectantly. The young Metkayina warrior nodded slowly and stated, "I accept." Tonowari was not pleased in the slightest about the arrangement, but he nodded gravely. "The Rite of First Blood shall take place at high noon tomorrow," he confirmed before turning to Jake.

"I suggest you keep your son away from here until then," he muttered in a low voice to him, but Neteyam could still hear him. Jake was glaring at his son as he responded, "Believe me, he won't leave my sight." Neteyam's stomach sank at the reality of having to face his parents' wrath for the rest of the night until noon. All he wanted was to see you and make sure you were alright, but there was absolutely no way anybody was going to let that happen now.

The good thing was that you were actually alright. You slept for a few hours before you began to stir again. Strange dreams and voices in your head made your sleep turbulent, so it was a relief to open your eyes again. Through your hazy vision, you could see a person sitting next to you, wiping the sweat off of your forehead.

You tried to say something, but your voice felt stuck, and all that came out was a quiet groan. "It's okay," a soft voice whispered. "You are still fighting off the venom." You blinked several times before your sight focused, and you were able to see who it was.

Tsireya's face was full of concern as she gazed down at you sadly. You mumbled her name, and she ran her hand over your hair comfortingly. "What happened?" you asked, your voice rough as a result of a dry throat.

She didn't respond, instead reaching for a bowl of fresh water for you to drink. She held your head up as you took a few eager gulps of it before laying you back down gently. "What happened?" you repeated, sounding clearer now that you had slaked your thirst.

"What do you remember?" Tsireya asked instead, taking the bowl back from your hand. You thought back, the memory of the viper ray flashing in your mind. "I remember getting stung," you began slowly. "I remember finding Aonung and Neteyam." You paused as the memory of Neteyam's arms carrying you replayed in your head. "That's about it," you finished quietly.

Tsireya studied your face for a moment. "Neteyam brought you back here," she explained nervously. "But you started saying strange things." Your face scrunched in confusion. "What kind of things?" You asked. Tsireya hesitated. "I am not sure," she confessed. "But Aonung—," she hesitated for a moment. "Aonung thinks that you are in love with Neteyam."

You blanched. Your mouth opened and shut, but no words came out. You were entirely unprepared for this accusation and could not think of how to defend yourself.

"It is true, isn't it?" She asked quietly. Your mind was reeling, and you were trying to think of something to say, but there was no way for you to justify what you had done. Your heart started pounding, and you began taking uneasy breaths. "Breathe," she implored, taking your hand comfortingly. Her touch helped ground you, and you tried your best to regain your composure.

"Tsireya," you began, "I— I never meant for anything to happen. I never meant to betray your brother." You could see the sadness and sympathy she had for you on her face. "I do not blame you," she told you gently, but you could see that she was torn. "But Aonung is very angry, as is my mother."

You closed your eyes, feeling the bitter sting of knowing you've disappointed the very people you sought to impress. "What did they have to say?" You questioned, not sure you wanted to hear the answer. Tsireya hesitated a moment before answering.

"Aonung has called for the Rite of First Blood with Neteyam."

Your blood ran cold. You immediately propped yourself upright, but you still felt weak from the venom, and your arms buckled. "What?" You whispered, horrified. Tsireya pressed gently on your shoulders to get you to lie back down before she nodded reluctantly. "It has been set for noon tomorrow," she explained.

You stared up at her face, mortified by what she had said. "What are the conditions?" You managed to whisper finally. She took your hand again, and you braced yourself for whatever she was going to say.

"Aonung's conditions are that Neteyam must leave the reef forever," she stated quietly. Your stomach twisted at her words. You closed your eyes and squeezed her hand. This couldn't be happening. It was just yesterday that you had been wrapped in his arms. You had run away out of guilt, but now the very real possibility of never seeing him again made your chest tighten with fear.

"And Neteyam's?" You whispered, trying your best to remain calm. Tsireya sighed. "If Neteyam is the victor, then you are free to leave your duties as tsakarem if you so choose," she explained.

You blinked. "What?" You questioned, unable to process what she just said. "Neteyam said you should be able to choose whether you want to keep training to be tsahik or not," she repeated. "He also says that you will not face any repercussions for your choice, whatever it may be."

You stared up at Tsireya for a moment, completely stunned. Then, you felt your throat tighten as tears gathered in your eyes. It all hit you so suddenly, you couldn't help but let them fall.

He was fighting for you. And not only to be with you, but to give you the opportunity to decide for yourself what you wanted to do with your life. It was so selfless and considerate. Nobody had ever given you that before.

Tsireya ran her free hand over your forehead again, a look of distress on her face. "I did not know you were so unhappy," she said mournfully. "I wish you would have told me." You shook your head as you took ragged breaths to calm yourself. "I could not," you whispered in a hoarse voice. "Your mother is my mentor, and I am betrothed to your brother. To tell you would mean you would need to keep secrets from both."

She didn't say anything as you took another breath to calm yourself. What you had said made sense, but it didn't make her feel any better knowing that you had been hiding your misery from her.

"I need to speak to him," you said at last, moving to prop yourself up again. Tsireya's eyes widened, and she shook her head vigorously. "No," she replied quickly. "My mother would be furious." You sat upright, the sting on your ribs burning as you moved. She must have seen how you winced because she pushed you back down and said, "You need to stay and rest. You are not fit to move around."

You didn't fight her, but you weren't giving up. "Please, let me see him," you begged. "This is all my fault. I need to talk to him, and I won't be able to tomorrow." She sighed regretfully. "I can't let you do that," she said. "Even if you were well enough, Neteyam's parents will not let him leave their home. Lo'ak said that they are very upset with him as well."

You closed your eyes remorsefully. You hadn't even thought about what his parents would think about a situation like this. You remembered Lo'ak's words to you just a few days prior. If this gets out, Neteyam would be in more trouble than I've ever been in. How had it all gone wrong so quickly?

"The best thing you can do is try to get some rest," Tsireya told you gently. "Especially if you want to be there for the Rite tomorrow." With your eyes still closed, you let out a defeated sigh and nodded. You weren't going to win this argument with her, and since you were already in a heap of trouble as it was, you decided not to press the issue.

Still, sleep was the last thing on your mind. A torrent of thoughts whirled in your head. There were no way you could rest when the possibility of losing Neteyam was looming over you. If he lost, then not only would he have to leave, but you knew that the rest of his family would go with him. After all that they went through to acclimate to the reef, they would be forced to pack up their lives again.

With your thoughts, you were resolved to see Neteyam, consequences be damned. Tsireya had left after about an hour, and it was late enough that most people would be preparing to go to sleep right now.

You sat up slowly, trying not to irritate the sting in your ribs. Standing up, you felt a little dizzy, but it passed after a couple of seconds. Carefully, you stepped out of the tent. You checked that there was no one around before moving quietly down to the beach. You waded into waist deep water before softly calling out to an ilu.

You felt too weak to swim out on your own, so you decided that having an ilu to help was in your best interest. It would also allow you to keep your sting clean and dry. When one of the ilus answered your call, you attached your queue and slowly made your way to the Sullys.

As you came around to where the Sullys lived, you were relieved by the sight before you. Neteyam was sitting at the edge of his home out above the water, an arm resting on his knee while his other leg dangled over the water. He was staring up at the night sky. You had often seen him there, gazing up at the bright stars littering the sky, and you had hoped that he would be out there tonight as well.

With his gaze turned upwards, he didn't see you approaching slowly in the water. You glanced around to ensure nobody was nearby to see or hear you. You noticed that his pod was dark and quiet, indicating that everyone had gone to sleep, so you called his name out softly.

He must have heard you because his head snapped down and fixated on your form in the water. When he recognized you, he immediately turned to look behind him and check that none of his family had heard too. "What are you doing?" He whispered in alarm. "Why are you not resting?"

"I wanted to see you," you whispered back. "Can you come down?" He glanced back over his should for a moment before turning back to face you. "The beach," he said softly.

It was all he needed to say in order for you to understand. You nodded before turning your ilu in the water and swimming back toward the beach. As you stepped out onto the wet sand, he was walking stealthily across the suspended walkways toward you. Leaping down onto the sand, he quickly crossed over to you with a concerned face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly, bringing his hands up to hold your shoulders carefully. "You should be resting, healing." You shook your head as you looked up at him. "I could not rest after what Tsireya told me," you replied quickly.

Raising your own hands, you held his arms by the crook of his elbow. "Is it true? Has Aonung challenged you to First Blood?" You questioned, already knowing in your heart it was true. He let out a small sigh, looking down at you in regret.

"It is," he confirmed in a whisper. "We fight at noon." You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to calm yourself. "And the conditions?" You continued. "Tsireya said that if Aonung wins, you...," you trailed off, unable to speak anymore.

"I must leave the reef," he finished for you solemnly. You clenched your jaw in an effort to keep from tearing up. "But if I am the victor," he continued softly, "you will be free to choose the life you want. Whether you remain as the tsakarem or not, the choice will be yours with no consequences."

Your throat tightened at his words, and tears filled your eyes. Nobody had ever advocated for you to have a say in your own life. Ever since you could remember, things had always been arranged for you, and you had been too young to know what you actually wanted. Now, you had something that you wanted, and Neteyam was going to fight with everything in him for you to have it.

You shook your head sadly, looking down from his face. "You shouldn't have to do this," you sighed, squeezing his arms in concern. There was a small pause between you before his hands moved up from your shoulders to hold your face, making you look right up at him. His face softened, and his eyes moved back and forth between yours as he shook his head slowly.

"I would do anything for you."

Your breath faltered at his words, and you leaned into his touch with closed eyes. “I was so worried for you,” he continued softly. “I know what you said last night, but when I saw you in the water, I—,” he paused, his thumbs brushing against your cheeks.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he said finally, “but I can’t bear being away from you anymore. When I saw an opportunity to be with you, I couldn’t turn it aside.” The corner of his mouth turned upward before he added softly, “If you will have me, that is.”

His voice was so gentle and sincere, and he looked almost nervous waiting for your reply. You couldn't think of anything to say that fully encapsulated how you felt, so you stepped forward and pressed your lips against his.

Neteyam still held your face as he kissed you gently. You leaned into him, savoring the feeling of his soft lips against yours. He pulled away after what felt like too short a time, a faint smile on his face.

"I will have you," you whispered to him, the corners of your mouth tugging upward. You looked up at him, his face inches from yours. "But you better win.” His own smile widened in amusement. "I will," he promised, lowering his forehead to rest against yours. "I'm not going to stay away from you anymore."

You closed your eyes and relished the moment of peace between you. For a second, you were able to forget about the guilt and worry you were feeling about everything and imagined the life you could have with Neteyam, the life you wanted so bad, it hurt.

He pulled you back into another soft kiss. His hands left your face to wrap around your torso and wander up your back, exploring as much of your skin as possible. His touch left you breathless, and you eagerly pulled him as close to you as possible.

You could feel how much he wanted you, but he eventually pulled away from your lips, his eyes closed as he moved away. "I need to go," he whispered quietly, his forehead resting against yours. "My parents will know I've gone."

The reality of the situation returned, and you felt all the fear and anxiety of everything stirring in your chest. You sighed regretfully, not wanting to let him go. Neteyam must have sensed your apprehensions because his hands pulled you into a tight embrace, and he whispered in your ear, "It will be alright."

You buried your face in his neck and repeated the words in your mind, but it was difficult to believe when so much was on the line. It was cruel that this was only the first time you had let yourself hold him like this, and if Aonung won the next day, this may very well be the last time, too.

Gently, he pulled away from you. You let your arms slide off his shoulders, unable to meet his eyes. There was a moment of silence between you, neither of you wanting to leave the other. Finally, he sighed, raised a hand up to your head, and brought his lips against your forehead. You closed your eyes and tried to hold onto the moment while it lasted.

"It will be alright," he murmured against your skin. You nodded faintly. "It will be alright," you echoed. You looked up at him, and he had a small smile on his face. "I will see you tomorrow," he said at last as he began stepping backward toward his home. You could only nod as he moved away. Watching him go, you wrapped your arms around yourself and repeated his words over and over again in your mind.

It will be alright.

Chapter 6

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Taglist: @mashiromochi @eywas-heir @kafanizdakicokiyi @plzfeedmebread @afro-hispwriter @fanboyluvr @anm3mi @sadexact @peachinsomnia @fluroescentxadolescent @doulcha @crazy4books1 @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @thatonegirlwiththebeanie367 @alicetweven @sarasapen @sadexact

[yukidragon]

Sunny Day Jack - Songs to Listen to While Descending into Madness

Hey, remember when I found Ian's perfect theme song for Sunshine in Hell? Well, I found one that fits Joseph's descent into madness and embracing the personality of Jack. Maybe I should make a playlist specifically for Sunshine in Hell sometime...

Not only does it have this manic energy that switches to disturbing and somber, a lot of the lyrics really give me the vibe of the suffering Joseph went through as he tore away at his very identity to become someone and something else.

When did I become afraid of the dark? Are my eyeballs just yet to adjust to seeing the light? The room I'm in is still the same, the shadows have not rearranged it No, the only thing that's changed is how I see at night I fumble for the switch and strap on infrareds and wish For sunshine when the morning's somewhere else But I can't change what time it is or dilate my irises Only what I look at, and I'm looking at myself I am not the sunshine, I am not the moon at night Well, who else could I be when I can hardly see? I am not the sunshine, I am not the moon at night I'm no one if I'm nowhere in between When did I become afraid of the dark? Was it when I left the cave and swore I'd never go back? If we can't see each other, then there's no more use for hiding I've decided I'll abide it; why deny the color black? I'm not a flower, not a solar-powered calculator Damn my eyes for seeing what's not there I'll trade in vision for a practiced intuition 'Til my fears come to fruition, I'm not scared I am not the sunshine, I am not the moon at night Well, who else could I be when I can hardly see? I am not the sunshine, I am not the moon at night I'm no one if I'm nowhere in between The future must know where you've been The past predicts the state you're in The present did and will not last Is, isn't, was, have, hasn't, has All that I ask is, keep those empty frames If nobody's in them, then no one is to blame For your self-portraits, sign another name Well, who should I be then, if I'll never be the same? I will be my sunshine, I will be my moon at night Who else could I be, when I can't fucking see? I will be my sunshine, I will be my moon at night I'm nowhere now, here's no one now to be And if dreams can come true, what does that say about nightmares? I'll stay awake tonight

It really gives me vibes of the animatic Sauce made where Jack antagonizes Joseph, particularly that high energy of Jack strutting around, being cheerfully scary and threatening. It also reminds me this classic picture of a cheerful Jack and a traumatized dead(?) Joseph.

It even has a sketch updated version you can check out here!

Credit as always goes to the awesome Sauce for their awesome art, characters, and stories. They and the rest of the crew of SnaccPop Studios are a wealth of endless inspiration. Consider joining their patreon, won't you? Just remember - don't repost anything privately posted there!

There's so many lyrics that make me think of Jack's broken mind and the effects of hell had on him. I have to really break it down to show all the different feelings/images that it conjures up, since there is so much here virtually every line.

"When did I become afraid of the dark?" When you were trapped in hell, Joseph. His loneliness was bad while he was alive, but his death made it so, so, so much worse. He's terrified of being alone and forgotten. He can't stand the cold numbness only broken up by pain. It's a night he can never sleep through or wake up from.

"The room I'm in is still the same, the shadows have not rearranged it. No, the only thing that's changed is how I see at night." It didn't get better. Nothing changed in that hell. It just repeated his death and the delusions of his decaying mind. The only thing that changed was himself into someone else, someone who could better handle the madness.

"I fumble for the switch and strap on infrareds and wish, For sunshine when the morning's somewhere else." Joseph struggles desperately somehow, someway to find some sort of light, some hope in hell. Unfortunately, his sunshine Mary is somewhere else, reborn as Alice. All he can do is wish for a miracle.

His sunshine was always like a miracle to him. She found him twice. He prays she'll find him again.

"But I can't change what time it is or dilate my irises, Only what I look at, and I'm looking at myself." Joseph can't change his circumstances. He can't feel anything but cold and pain, no matter how much he struggles. He's helpless.

The only thing Joseph can do is relive his death and look inward into an ever growing abyss that stares back at him. That abyss, that hell is changing him because he can't do anything but stare inward.

Joseph only has himself in this hell, and the longer he stares at himself, the more he hates what he sees.

"I am not the sunshine, I am not the moon at night." Joseph isn't as good as his sunshine was, in his opinion. He's not even as good as a fraction of her, like the sunlight is reflected on the moon. He doesn't even have a glimmer of her light either.

"I'm no one if I'm nowhere in between." In a way, he is nowhere, trapped between life and death. Joseph/Jack was erased. He became no one.

"When did I become afraid of the dark? Was it when I left the cave and swore I'd never go back?" Jack swore never to go back into the tape, never to be Joseph ever again. He's terrified of being alone, and he refuses to ever be alone and forgotten ever again.

"I've decided I'll abide it; why deny the color black?" Joseph gives into his darker impulses, his madness, his yandere side. He'll do anything to be free of this hell, to have his sunshine back.

Even if that means staining his soul irreparably with sin by torturing and killing others to do it.

He'll be damned to hell either way. He knows that from experience.

"Damn my eyes for seeing what's not there." When someone is put through sensory deprivation, they hallucinate, make up alternate personas, and the like. Jack himself was confused at first when the tape was played, asking if MC/Alice really was real, that he wasn't just dreaming.

How many times did Jack imagine someone was really there to save him, only to be disappointed by a cruel reality that he was still trapped in hell?

"I'll trade in vision for a practiced intuition. 'Til my fears come to fruition, I'm not scared." These lines sum up the whole Jack persona. He'll bury himself in that cheerful façade in order to deny his own fears that he'll be trapped in hell forever. He'll lose himself in a dream of his own making since he can never sleep again.

The only way to avoid being scared of an eternity in hell is denial, denial, denial.

"Well, who else could I be when I can hardly see?" He's Jack. He can't see himself as Joseph anymore. His mind can't handle it. He's blinded himself to his real identity by burying memories of anything else.

"The future must know where you've been." This feels like the video tape. The few traces left of what happened in the incident of 1984.

"The past predicts the state you're in." All the mistakes Joseph made and the few things that made him happy with himself are the reasons why he became Jack.

"The present did and will not last." Time is cruel, constantly marching forward and erasing the past. Jack lost everything so many times. He lost his identity, his dreams, his sunshine, and his life. Everything was lost so easily... how can he not dread losing it all again?

"All that I ask is, keep those empty frames." If nothing else, Jack is desperate to be remembered. Even if the person in the picture isn't himself anymore, he's desperate for at least some trace of him is remembered, even if it's this caricature of the character he played.

"If nobody's in them, then no one is to blame." A reference to LambsWork Productions covering up the part they played in Jack's death or the scandal the 1984 incident created. They can't have their reputation ruined if no one remembers the SunnyTime Crew Show after all.

"For your self-portraits, sign another name." This makes me think of all the autographs Joseph had to sign as "Sunny Day Jack." The character had his face, his voice... but it was a different name. He couldn't break character, because the character was what people loved. It's another reason why he's Jack now instead of Joseph.

"Well, who should I be then, if I'll never be the same?" Joseph Cullman is missing. [Redacted] Haberdae is dead and erased. He can't go back to being either. Who should he be? What name or persona should he use that will give him peace?

"Who else could I be, when I can't fucking see?" What is left for him but to be Sunny Day Jack? He has nothing else but that persona in this hell.

"I'm nowhere now, here's no one now to be." This line sums up Jack's state in the tape. He's nowhere, and he doesn't know how to be himself anymore. He is nothing... so he'll be the character he played.

He doesn't know how to be Joseph anymore because he can no longer see the good qualities he had as Joseph. Everything good was attributed to Jack in his mind, even his sunshine's love.

"I will be my sunshine, I will be my moon at night." He will be Sunny Day Jack. He will be his own hope, his sunshine. Losing himself to this alternate persona was the only thing he had to cling to in that cold and lonely hell. He clung to it like a piece of driftwood until the splinters dug into his hands and made him bleed madness.

"And if dreams can come true, what does that say about nightmares?" Now this shift makes me think of after Jack is freed and the lingering trauma from being in the tape. It's fitting because it comes after a drastic shift in the song to something somber, slowly building into something almost... hopeful?

His dream of being saved came true... but the nightmare of that hell still haunts him.

What if he goes back?

Jack could, just as easily, be sent away if Alice doesn't want him there. He needs to make sure that never happens.

Can Jack really dare to cling to this hope that he's been given, that this actually is reality?

Was he really saved, or is this just another delusion?

So even though Jack finally can sleep, he's finally safe... his fears still haunt him. He can't truly rest until he's sure, absolutely sure, that he won't lose his sunshine ever again. It's the hope he's desperate to hold onto.

"I'll stay awake tonight." The hell of the tape robbed Jack of his ability to sleep, both in the past and in the present. His trauma and mental scars run deep.

No doubt there were many nights where Jack just laid in bed and watched Alice sleep. He focused on her warmth, her steady breathing. Her heartbeat, her soft skin, her smell...

Alice is real. This sunshine is real. Jack knows that. He knows that deep down in his soul, but...

What if?

Just one minute longer. One second more to reassure himself.

This beautiful person Jack holds close in his arms is his salvation. Alice chose to save him. She promised to never forget him. She promised him forever.

Jack feared that the tape would be his forever.

So even though he's tired, Jack just needs a little bit more, just that extra moment more to drink in Alice with all of his senses so that he can truly believe that she delivered him from damnation.

Joseph is dead. The good parts of him, the light and hope he found in himself as that redacted identity are gone from even his memory. Jack is the only one there now.

Alice is the only sunshine Jack can see now, and he'll do whatever it takes to make sure he never loses that light, his hope, his love ever again.

Of course, during these moments of insecurity, Alice would stir, just a little, and cling to Jack tighter. Sometimes she even murmurs his name softly. She can feel that he needs her love through their connected souls.

The thoughts and feelings flow both ways. Sometimes Alice can pick up what Jack is thinking too, especially when his soul cries out to be seen, heard, felt, and loved.

Even though Jack didn't say a word, Alice heard his thoughts, his deepest need, and answered in a sleepy mumble, "Don't worry... I've got you. 'm not going anywhere..."

The soft words, slurred by a haze of sleep, sent a jolt through Jack, and all the love and gratitude he felt for her washed over him. Even in her dreams she would reach out to him, reassure him that she won't let him go. Even when in moments when his fear made their connection feel so tenuous, so fragile, all it took was a soft squeeze of her delicate hand always holding so gently onto his to quiet his fears.

Alice won't remember what she said in the morning, or anything else she mutters in a half-asleep haze, but she'll always remember Jack. She'll remember this man, no matter what name he uses, no matter what the fractured picture of his sanity looks like now. Their love is forever.

Even if Jack can't find the light in the man he used to be, even if the light of the good parts of Joseph are dead, buried, and forgotten in his mind... Jack can always believe in Alice, his sunshine. As long as he has her, he doesn't have to fear the dark or that he'll be banished back to hell.

Jack has the light of hope. It's in his sunshine Alice, and in the persona he wears. Most of all, it's in their love that lived on even after death.

Fortunately, over time, Alice will help him see that the light was always there even when he went any other name. With her help, he'll be able to finally find true peace and rest his weary soul in the gentle sunshine of their love. He'll finally be able to heal and truly shine in spite of the darkness.

Yeah, I know the song ends on a more somber note, but I'm all about happy endings and fluffy vanilla goodness. I couldn't help but add on a bit of a sweet reprise of sorts, even if not in so many lyrics. Sunshine in Hell is all about these wounded soulmates helping each other heal after all.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[shiny-jr]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH I literally cannot put into words how much I loved the latest Damnation au chapter- I was literally seconds away from putting my phone down to get back to work but as soon as I saw a glimpse of the fic, I just couldn't help but put everything on hold

I was really impressed with how you included Epel into the story in a way that just about correlated to Epel in canon (like how he was actively opposed to hit position in the castle). Like taking into consideration of the time period and the possible reasons why Epel would be relevant there in the first place despite not being in the original tale- SO WELL DONE!! Not to mention Vil going out of his way to find potential successors really emphasizes his hatred for Neige (poor guy😭) Also the way you write about Rook??? I knew he'd be creepy but gyat damn your writing only increased the feeling of it ten-fold. Especially in that scene after he climbed through the window and interrupted MC and Vil- Literally foaming at the mouth i was like 'holy crap this is it, we're gonna get exposed' cause aint no way Rook WOULDN'T know. Everything about him was unnerving yet so charming?? I really don't know how you do it but the way you just write them is just so accurate👏

As a Vil simp, every scene with him in it had be giggling and kicking my feet✨ I was pleasantly surprised with his advances towards the MC though- like hubba hubba... I ain't complaining though! The tension in those scenes were just *chefs kiss* Every moment with him just oozed authority and power, like I'd be on the edge of my metaphorical seat just waiting for the moment he calls out the MC

Like holy crap you really know how to set your scenes- like legit every time I Rook or Vil were in a scene, it genuinely felt tense. Also props to MC for looking out for #1 (themselves) even at the expense of ruining someone else

Anyway excuse my rambling lmao i'm definitely gonna be re-reading it again ^^

Sounds like another happy reader. And yes, Epel's part was difficult. Mainly because, well, Epel is based off the poisoned apple, so how is he supposed to play that role? In my mind, the poisoned apple is a tool used by the Evil Queen. So, what is similar to a tool? A person to manipulate, which is how I came up with the idea of heir. Combined with the fact that Vil obviously takes a shine to Epel, as he spends time meticulously perfecting his habits and mannerisms in-game. Which fit the scenario I was to use, of a King claiming an heir and drilling instructions and behaviors in their mind to manipulate.

Rook and Vil were easy to place into roles, due to who they're based off of. But it was difficult coming up with scenes for them, since the Huntsman and Evil Queen don't have a lot in the movies. Especially the Huntsman.

For Rook, I actually considered writing a scene were MC followed him as he scoped out the meadow or the moment when Rook was to escort Neige to the meadow, but ultimately I decided against that as it would overcomplicate the plot and give more time to Neige instead of Rook. I needed a way to properly portray Rook's watchfulness and the unease it spawns, which I figured should fit the setting. A carefully worded conversation knit of lies and unsaid threats and fears is much more effective when the reader is picturing hollowed stone halls of a palace instead of a colorful meadow. At least, that was my thought process there, which is why most interactions with Rook are in settings such as those.

And finally, Vil, who I decided to write a few more interesting scenes for purely because I know a good amount of my followers love that pretty man. There were multiple concepts and scrapped ideas I've already forgotten by now, different things that never made it to my keyboard, like a tense dinner scene and back-and-forth bickering. But some of those just didn't fit the feeling I wanted, or was out of character for either the MC or others.

Anyways, now I'm rambling. Sorry. I hope the second read was just as enjoyable as the first!

[marinawolf]

Part 2- You're Mine (Supercorp)

by marinawolf

You guys wanted a part 2! So here it is. Be warned, it's pure smut. NSFW.

(part 1 here)

Kara stood outside Lena's apartment, her heart pounding with a potent mix of anger, confusion, and a hint of something else she couldn't quite define. How could Lena, her friend, just kiss her like that and then vanish into a meeting without a word? It was completely unacceptable, and Kara was determined to demand an explanation.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. Her knuckles rapped against the wood, each knock echoing in her ears like the resounding beats of her own unsettled heart. Seconds ticked by, stretching into an eternity, until finally, the door swung open, revealing Lena Luthor herself.

Kara's breath caught in her throat at the sight of her friend. Lena looked breathtakingly beautiful, her hair cascading in gentle waves down her shoulders, framing her face like a soft, dark halo. She wore a cozy, cream-colored sweater that hugged her figure in all the right places, emphasizing the curves that Kara had never been able to stop herself from noticing. Her blue-green eyes shimmered with a mix of emotions—regret, uncertainty, and something deeper, something that made Kara's pulse quicken.

Lena's lips curved into a smile as she looked at Kara, her eyes tracing over her friend's form. "Kara, hi," she greeted, her voice soft and tinged with a touch of nervousness.

Kara tried to speak, to demand answers, but her voice caught in her throat. The sight of Lena, looking so undeniably alluring, rendered her momentarily speechless. She found herself gazing at those lips, those lips that had pressed against her own so passionately earlier, igniting a fire within her that she had never expected.

Lena's lips were perfection, soft and inviting. Kara couldn't help but remember how they had felt against her own, the electric surge that had coursed through her body, leaving her breathless and craving more.

Shaking herself out of the reverie, Kara stepped forward into Lena's apartment, her determination returning as anger mingled with desire. She had to confront Lena about what had happened, about how she had dared to kiss her and then disappear without a trace.

"What the hell was that, Lena?" Kara finally managed to say, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and longing. "You can't just kiss me like that and then act as if nothing happened!"

Lena sighed, her gaze shifting from Kara to the floor. She closed the door behind them, creating an intimate space where their conversation could unfold. "I know, Kara. I know it was wrong of me, and I'm sorry. I should have explained myself before I acted impulsively. But please, let me explain now."

Kara crossed her arms, her anger still simmering beneath the surface, but her curiosity demanding answers. "Fine, Lena. Explain. I want to know why you thought it was appropriate to kiss me and then disappear into a meeting."

Lena took a deep breath. "Because I was jealous, Kara. Jealous of you and James, of the way you two were interacting at work. I couldn't bear the thought of someone else having your attention, of anyone else touching what's mine."

Kara's eyes widened in surprise, her anger momentarily forgotten as she absorbed Lena's words. "Yours?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lena took a step closer, her gaze intense. "I'm in love with you, Kara. I've been in love with you for a while now, but I couldn't bring myself to admit it. I tried to hide it from myself, but seeing you with James today… it made me realize that I can't hide it anymore. I can't pretend anymore."

Kara's heart skipped a beat, the weight of Lena's confession sinking in. She had spent countless nights grappling with her own feelings, pushing them aside for fear of ruining their friendship or being rejected. And now, standing there in Lena's apartment, with the truth finally laid bare, it was overwhelming.

A mix of shock, elation, and a flood of long-repressed emotions swirled within Kara. Her mind raced, struggling to process the magnitude of Lena's words. She had never allowed herself to imagine that Lena felt the same way, that they could be more than friends. But here she stood, confronted with the undeniable truth.

"You're in love with me?" Kara echoed, her voice trembling with disbelief and hope.

Lena's eyes searched Kara's face, her vulnerability laid bare. "Yes, Kara. I am. I've tried to deny it, to hide it even from myself, but I can't bear the thought of someone else having you. You're mine."

As Lena spoke those words, a surge of longing washed over Kara, erasing any lingering traces of anger. The unspoken tension between them crackled in the air, a palpable magnetism drawing them closer. Kara's resolve wavered as her own hidden desires surged to the surface, urging her to surrender to the inevitable.

Closing the distance between them, Kara reached out, her hand gently cupping Lena's cheek. Lena's eyes fluttered closed, her body instinctively leaning into Kara's touch, savoring the warmth and tenderness of the connection. Their gazes locked, their unspoken desires now tangible, their hearts beating in synchrony.

And then their lips met once more, but this time the kiss held the weight of their shared confession. It was a kiss filled with years of longing, unspoken words, and the promise of a love waiting to be fully explored. Their lips moved against each other with a newfound urgency, their tongues dancing in a passionate, intoxicating rhythm.

Lost in the depth of their kiss, Kara felt the curves of Lena's body pressed against her own, and it drove her crazy. Their hands roamed, memorizing the contours of each other's bodies, fueling the flame of desire that had been smoldering for far too long.

Between breathless kisses, Lena whispered, her voice a breathy plea, "You are mine, Kara. Say it. Say you're mine."

Kara's voice was husky with need as she responded, her words laced with a fervor she had kept hidden for far too long. "I'm yours, Lena. I've always been yours."

Lena's touch sent shivers down Kara's spine, and she couldn't help but lean into it, basking in the tenderness that emanated from every caress. She gazed into Lena's eyes, her heart swelling with a newfound certainty.

Their lips collided once again in a fervent clash, their tongues intertwining in a dance as old as time. Kara's hands instinctively tangled in Lena's hair, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss with a desperate hunger. The taste of Lena was intoxicating, a heady blend of sweetness and whiskey that consumed her senses. Lena's teeth grazed Kara's lower lip, teasing and inviting, eliciting a low moan from deep within Kara's throat. Their lips broke apart momentarily, leaving them both breathless and wanting, their foreheads resting against each other.

Kara's voice was husky with need as she whispered, "I love you, too," before crashing her lips against Lena's again.

Lena's hands instinctively found their way to Kara's waist, pulling her closer, their bodies pressing against each other with an undeniable magnetic force. Kara's hands roamed freely over Lena's back, her fingers tracing the curves and contours that had haunted her dreams for so long. Kara felt the heat of Lena's body pressed against her own, their closeness stirring a wildfire within her.

Lena's lips trailed a blazing path down Kara's neck, leaving a trail of heated kisses and nips, marking her as her own. Kara arched into the touch, her senses overwhelmed by the waves of pleasure that crashed through her body. She surrendered herself completely, her trust in Lena unyielding.

As they kissed, Kara's mind filled with vivid memories of every stolen glance, every lingering touch, and every moment that had led them to this precipice of desire. She could almost taste the bittersweetness of their missed opportunities and the longing that had simmered beneath the surface for far too long. But now, everything was different.

Lena guided her to the couch, and Kara tumbled onto the soft cushions, pulling Lena down on top of her, unwilling to let go. Kara's senses were on fire as she continued to explore Lena's lips with a searing intensity. Lena's hands roamed Kara's body with purpose, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Her fingertips traced the curves of Kara's back, the gentle dip of her waist, and the swell of her breasts, igniting sparks of electricity in their wake. Kara's body responded eagerly, arching into the touch, aching for more of Lena's caress. Suddenly, Kara felt Lena's fingers fumble with the buttons of her shirt, one by one until it was open, exposing Kara's bare skin. Lena's hand moved with a desperate urgency as she reached for the clasp of Kara's bra, and let the material fall away and Kara gasped as she felt Lena's hands on her waist, tracing the curves of her body with her fingertips.

Desperately, Kara tugged at Lena's sweater, and Lena relented. She sat up, knees on either side of Kara's legs, and pulled the garment over her head before discarding it on the floor. Kara suddenly forgot how to breathe, transfixed by the sight of Lena, her smooth skin glowing in the soft light. Her eyes traced the curves and contours of Lena's form, drinking in the raw beauty that seemed to radiate from her very core. Kara was enraptured by the elegant slope of Lena's collarbones, the subtle dip between them, leading to the the most mesmerising sight of Lena's breasts. The absence of a shirt allowed Kara to appreciate the natural grace of Lena's frame, each subtle muscle visible.

Lena's hands moved down to the waistband of Kara's pants and the touch jolted Kara from her reverie, her gaze shifting from Lena's alluring bareness to the connection they shared in that moment. She watched with desperate anticipation as Lena undid the button of her jeans, slowly pulling down the zipper. Kara moaned softly as Lena's fingers brushed against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.

Kara closed her eyes as Lena placed searing kisses on her neck, her collarbone and then on the swell of her breasts. The desire coursing through her was something she had never felt before, something entirely new and uninhibited. Lena grabbed Kara's wrists, placing them above her head and holding them there as she lowered her head to Kara's chest, capturing a pink bud between her lips, flicking her tongue over it. Kara gasped, and Lena switched to the other breast, softly licking and biting, causing fireworks to erupt behind Kara's eyelids. When she stopped after a few minutes, Kara almost whimpered, the slickness between her legs a testament to her desperation.

She was appeased when Lena brought her lips to her body body once again. Letting go of Kara's wrists, Lena's lips once again found their way to Kara's skin, kissing below Kara's breast, down her stomach. Her deft hands found Kara's waistband again and Kara instinctively raised her hips as Lena slowly her pants and underwear down her legs.

She felt Lena's breath on her most intimate parts and held her own breath, her pulse quickening. Kara's breath hitched as she looked down at Lena, captivated by the darkening intensity in Lena's blue-green eyes.

She let out a gasp the second Lena's mouth, hot and wet, pressed into her and moaned as Lena's tongue slid along the length of her centre. Her hands tangled in Lena's hair, gasping Lena's name in desperate, breathless whispers. Her tongue teased Kara's entrance, eliciting a soft moan from Kara. Lena swept her tongue upwards, across the bundle of nerves and Kara moaned, loudly this time.

Lena closed her lips around the bundle and mercilessly licked it, turning Kara into an incoherent mess, before swiftly letting go, moving up Kara's body to crash her lips against Kara's. Kara groaned as she tasted herself on Lena's lips, but she was desperate for Lena's touch.

Lena reached down, her fingers finding Kara's entrance, her other hand once again gripping Kara's wrists above her head. She paused, her molten gaze on Kara's face, as if waiting for permission that Kara had already given the moment Lena touched her. Kara whimpered softly, needing to feel Lena, her desperation overtaking every thought in her mind. In that moment, she belonged to Lena, mind, body and soul. Suddenly, Lena pressed her lips against Kara's once more and slid two fingers into Kara, thrusting hard and fast, setting an unforgiving pace. When Lena curled her fingers, Kara gasped, lost to all coherent thought. The only discernible word she uttered was Lena's name, which fell from her lips like a prayer.

"You're mine," Lena whispered in Kara's ear, her fingers keeping up an unrelenting pace, "Say it."

Kara couldn't help but wonder why Lena wanted her to say it again when it was so obvious. How could she ever belong to anyone else? How could her body ever respond like this to anyone else?

Every touch, every stroke, sent ripples of pleasure coursing through Kara's veins and so, she whispered, "I'm yours."

Lena responded by picking up her pace, placing fiery kisses on Kara's neck as her fingers continued their delicious assault. Kara moaned, unable to silence herself.

"Let go for me," Lena whispered against Kara's neck, biting down slightly, letting go of Kara's wrists.

Almost as if asceding to Lena's demands, Kara reached her highest point with a gasp. Her back arched and she clenched around Lena's fingers, coming undone in a way she never felt before. In that electrifying moment, she understood with absolute clarity that Lena had claimed her- heart, body, and soul.

She looked up at Lena, smiling tiredly,

"My turn," she whispered, before pulling Lena to her once more, capturing her lips in another searing kiss.

[ifoundyo-u]

Hi there! Can we please get a Geto Suguru one shot where, despite his hate for humans, ironically he falls in love with reader (fem human reader or gn, whatever it’s up to you). Like maybe you can describe the from hate to love path they go through^^.

Sorry if I didn’t explain myself clear, English isn’t my mother tongue 😅

Hi! Thank you so much for your request! I hope you’ll like it <3

Disclaimer : English is not my mother tongue so be nice 🙏

Words : 2100

Scenario : In which, despite his hate for non-sorcerer, Suguru Geto fall for one. From hate and fear to love and comfort.

TW : Mention of murder

GETO X F!READER

Falling in love with you

The neon lights of Tokyo's bustling cityscape cast an eerie glow on the quiet streets as you, a young waitress, made your way to your night shift at a cozy little cafe. Unknown to you, this night would change your life forever.

As you served some customers with a genuine smile, you couldn't help but overhear a conversation at a nearby table.

Sitting at the table on your left, was a tall man with long black hair tied back at the back of his head, and a strand falling down in front of his face. He had squinted eyes and large earlobes, each with a piercing. He was dressed in a yellow rakusu with green tiles over a black yukata and black pants. This particular-looking man was accompanied by a short, chubby, bald man, he was wearing a light-colored striped suit.

They were at a table for a good twenty minutes, you had seen one of your coworkers greeting them and taking their order earlier. You had immediately noticed the black haired man's coldness towards your colleague and secretly wished you didn't have to serve him. You're not one to judge people, there's always a good reason why people react the way they do, but tonight you really weren't fit enough to deal with a rude customer. Indeed, you'd had quite a headache for a week now, nothing seemed to make it go away and you were starting to get seriously exhausted from the pain. You'd been sleeping poorly ever since. Your focus go back to the two men, who seemed to have been arguing since their arrival in the café.

-"Geto-sama, I can assure you that I'll be able to resume monthly donations within the next month, just long enough for my company to get back on its feet."

-"Kanemori-san, I've been ignoring your lack of activity in the cult for months. If I don't receive anything or anyone by tonight…you know damn well what will happen."

Their conversation seemed strange to you. A cult? this guy Kanemori owed money to that Geto guy, that you clearly understood. The threats he made to the poor little man sent a chill down your spine, even though you weren't even involved.

You then accidently met this Geto's gaze. An even more intense shiver ran through your body, and you're sure you trembled under the pressure of his gaze. Suddenly, your coworker put his hand on your shoulder, startling you.

-"Y/N! here's for table 18!" he smiled sweetly, passing you two plates.

Wait, table 18? that's the two men's table. You swallow hard and try to return your coworker's smile.

-"Thanks, I'll bring it right away".

You took a deep breath before heading for table 18. You pushed the negative thoughts from your mind, you were nobody to judge these people, you keep repeating yourself. You approached them, a soft smile on your lips, and set their plates down in front of them.

-"Good evening Sirs, here are your food, if you need anything, don't hesitate!"

The two men glared at you, but you kept on smiling. Before leaving, you quickly noticed that Geto was staring at the top of your head, so you gave him a questioning look, but he said nothing, lowering his gaze to his food before muttering

-"Stupid monkey"

Excuse me?! Oh how you wanted to call him back and ask him to dare to repeat what he'd just said. But you quickly reconsidered, partly because of your headache, but also because you didn't want to lose your job. You hadn't forgotten the conversation you'd overheard, either; this man seemed powerful and threatening. You lived alone in the center of Tokyo, so it was best to avoid that kind of trouble.

As the night went on, you tried to keep up a smile despite the exhaustion and pain. Not to mention the rather uncomfortable stares Geto was throwing at you. What had you possibly done to him? He and his partner finally left after a solid hour. This was a small relief for you, as he really seemed to be putting a heavy strain on the café, which only you seemed to be experiencing.

Your shift ended around midnight. You greeted the few of your coworkers who were finishing cleaning up the café before stepping out into the dark streets of Tokyo. It was slightly cold, so you tucked in your jacket and hurried home. You only lived a 10-minute walk from the café, which was quite convenient, especially when you finished late. You'd never been particularly afraid of walking home alone at night, the neighborhood was well reputed and given the short distance you thought nothing could happen to you. However, that particular night, without being able to justify or explain it, you had the feeling of being particularly watched, but nobody seemed to be around, and you eventually made it home safely. Once you'd warmed up in your apartment and had a good shower, you took some medicine to hopefully ease your headache, then went straight to bed.

You woke up the next morning, you didn't have to work today so you took the time to prepare yourself a good breakfast and settle down in front of the TV. However, when you turned on the TV, you were immediately greeted by the regional news and its headline

Murder in central Tokyo

Your eyes widened as the front of the café you worked at appeared on the screen. Your stomach flipped as the victim's face finally showed up.

Kanemori

The man who accompanied last night's intimidating man, Geto. Your thoughts were going 100 miles an hour. Geto had threatened this Kanemori last night, you'd heard it, you'd witnessed it. Did he…? No, that's impossible. You refuse to believe that. Your whole being refused to believe it. You turned off the TV and took a deep breath. Everything was going to be all right.

You spent the whole day walking in endless circles, trying to forget about all this, but how could you? You busied yourself as best as you could for the rest of the day, knowing that the next day you'd have to go back to the café.

The next night, you were back at work, the atmosphere at the café was tense, and a cloud of unease hung over the staff and patrons alike. The recent murder weighed heavily on everyone's minds. You couldn't help but feel a creeping sense of dread as you went about your duties. Not many customers were there that night, probably because of all that had happened, but you couldn't blame them, you'd have avoided the area too if you had been able to.

As the night progressed, you couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, just like the previous night. It was an eerie sensation that sent shivers down your spine. The cafe's emptying tables only added to the eerie silence. Eventually, you found yourself at Table 18, the same table where Geto Suguru and Kanemori had sat the previous night. Your heart raced as you remembered the chilling encounter with Geto. You couldn't help but glance around nervously, half-expecting him to appear again. And that's when he walked into the café

--

Geto Suguru had been observing Y/N from a distance, his presence shrouded in the darkness that concealed him. He couldn't explain the strange fascination that had taken hold of him. He had always despised non-sorcerers, seeing them as insignificant in the grand scheme of his jujutsu sorcerer world. Yet, there was something about Y/N that drew him in, something he couldn't ignore.

He stepped into the café and immediately noticed the waitress stiffen. He sat down at table 18 without saying a word.

As he watched her serve the customers with a genuine smile, a feeling of unease settled in his chest. He had come to the cafe with a purpose yesterday, a sinister mission to collect a debt owed to his cult. Kanemori's life had been forfeit, and Geto had made sure of it. But Y/N had unwittingly become a part of this twisted web, and he couldn't stay away. Their brief interaction at the table only fueled his obsession. Her soft smile in the face of his hostility had left an indelible mark on him.

He couldn't understand why he felt this way, why he couldn't stop thinking about her. As the night wore on, Geto couldn't tear his gaze away from Y/N. He watched her as she moved around the cafe, serving the few remaining customers. Her exhaustion and pain were evident, but she soldiered on with determination. Only he could see it, the reason for her exhaustion, the curse hanging over the young waitress's head.

He found himself returning to the area around the cafe, unable to stay away. He knew he was treading on dangerous ground. His obsession with Y/N was a distraction he couldn't afford, especially with the cult's plans in motion. But he couldn't help himself. Night after night, sometimes he went into the café, and other times he stayed in the dark. His body would unconsciously bring him back here. He would watch from the shadows, waiting for Y/N to finish her shift and walk home alone. He couldn't explain why he did it, why he couldn't stay away from her. But as the days turned into weeks, Geto's obsession grew. He couldn't stop thinking about Y/N, even during his cult's meetings and sinister rituals. She had become a forbidden desire, a temptation he couldn't resist.

As he sat at table 18 again one night, Y/N approached, her nervousness palpable. The atmosphere in the cafe had become even more charged with his presence. He watched her closely, his gaze never leaving her. The tension between them was undeniable, a magnetic pull that defied reason.

-"Good evening, sir," Y/N greeted him, her voice trembling slightly. "What can I get for you tonight?"

Geto's eyes bore into hers, and for a moment, he was lost in the depths of her gaze.

-"I'll have the same as last time," he replied, his tone softer than before.

Y/N nodded and quickly went to fetch his order. Despite her fear and unease, she couldn't help but feel a strange connection to Geto. Thoughts of him had occupied her mind during her sleepless nights, and now, seeing him again, she couldn't deny the undeniable pull she felt toward him.

As Y/N returned with Geto's order, she tried to maintain a professional demeanor, but her heart raced. She couldn't understand why Geto's presence had such an effect on her. She had heard rumors about him and his involvement in the cult, but there was something more beneath the surface, something that drew her in despite her better judgment.

Geto took a bite of his food but continued to watch Y/N with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. He couldn't explain his own obsession either. It defied logic and reason, but he couldn't resist it.

Their eyes met again, and this time, something changed. Geto could see the discomfort in Y/N's eyes, and he realized that she was suffering. He couldn't let her continue to be burdened by whatever curse had been placed on her. Unable to contain his growing concern for Y/N, Geto decided to take matters into his own hands. He knew he had the power to exorcise the curse that plagued her, even if it meant revealing his jujutsu sorcerer abilities.

With a deliberate movement, Geto reached out and lightly tapped the top of Y/N's head with his index and middle fingers, almost like a gentle flick on the forehead. It was a jujutsu sorcerer's technique, a simple yet effective way to exorcise curses. Y/N gasped as a rush of energy surged through her body. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The headache that had plagued her for weeks disappeared in an instant, leaving her feeling lighter and more alive than she had in a long time.

Y/N couldn't believe what had just happened. The pain that had tormented her for so long had disappeared and she felt an immense relief. She looked at Geto in amazement.

-"You… How?" she stammered, her voice filled with gratitude and disbelief.

Geto's expression remained stoic, but there was a hint of something else in his eyes, something akin to compassion. He had allowed himself to be vulnerable, to reveal a little of his humanity, and this had created an unexpected bond between them. Geto simply handed her a card.

-"If the pain ever comes back, call me."

[wheels-of-despair]

Live A Little | A Worth It AU | Ralph Penbury x You | Masterlist

In This Edition: You and Ralph spend one last day on the Carpathia! Words: 2k

"Hey, kids?"

You slowly blink yourself awake and lift your head to see your aunt sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I've heard we're supposed to arrive in New York tonight. You should get up and move around a bit before then, remind those muscles what their job is."

You sigh and lie back down, on your back, to stare at the ceiling.

"If we get in tonight, it'll be late. We'll get a hotel room 'til morning, then try to find your mother and father. The wireless operators sent out a list of survivors for the papers, so I expect the place will be crawling with relatives and reporters. Ralph?"

"Yes, ma'am?" he answers.

"You're welcome to come with us."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"But you should find your sister and make sure she's alright, too. She's around here somewhere."

"Yes, ma'am."

"They're serving breakfast in the dining hall now. Take a right at the end of this hallway and keep walking, you can't miss it." She gets up and makes her way to the door. "I'll meet you back here before dinner?"

You nod in agreement, and she leaves. A moment of silence passes, and then you feel Ralph reach for your hand. You lace your fingers together and let out a collective sigh. He turns to face you with a twinkle in his eye.

"May I escort you to breakfast, Mrs. Penbury?"

You face splits into a grin, and you lean over to give your husband a kiss.

Half an hour later, you sit as close as the chairs in the dining hall allow, and eat your first meal as a married couple quietly.

You know your parents will eventually adjust. Aunt Molly will probably ask what took you so long when she finds out. Ralph's father is gone, and he expects his mother won't care. Neither of you gives a damn about Victoria's opinion on the matter.

"I suppose we ought to go find Victoria after breakfast," Ralph sighs, as if he can read your thoughts.

"What will you say to her?"

You haven't forgotten the way she treated him that night at the lifeboats. Or the games she'd played with him all his life. You haven't spent much time discussing her, but you suspect you've only scratched the surface of the awful things she's done to him.

"I don't know," he admits. "Do we tell her that we're married?"

"If you like," you smile. "Do you think she'll fling herself overboard in protest?"

He grins wickedly, drains the last of his tea, and you embark on your journey to find Victoria.

Ralph holds your hand as you walk the ship you'd been on for four days, seeing it for the first time. It feels different than exploring Titanic. There was an air of fun to it, then. This feels wrong somehow. Knowing that you and your loved ones had made it off of the other ship safely, while so many others were mourning for those they'd lost. You, who has just married the love of your life, and have a future together to look forward to. How many dreams had been sucked down into the depths with that ship?

Ralph seems to sense it too. He holds your hand tightly, and wastes no time scanning each room for his sister. He doesn't stop moving until you arrive in an open area with children playing.

"Is that Katie?" he asks, squinting.

"Who's Katie?"

"Victoria's maid."

He stares at a young woman on the other side of the room, showing a group of children how to make figures with their fingers and a loop of string. She laughs with them, but when she looks up to see Ralph, the color drains from her face.

She gives the string to one of the children and rises, walking toward Ralph like a prisoner to an execution.

"I'll be right back, love," he says quickly, going to meet her halfway. You watch their interaction with curiosity, and a bit of fear. How could anyone be afraid of Ralph? Is there a side to him that you haven't seen yet? Your doubts are short-lived, because Katie's fearful eyes crinkle in a smile after a few words from him. They talk for a moment more, laugh together, and part with what are clearly well-wishes.

"Katie's been hired as a nanny," Ralph says excitedly upon his return. "Victoria told her not to bother coming back until she'd reclaimed everything from the purser's office. It was closed, so Katie took that as a dismissal and boarded a lifeboat. She entertained the children through the night, and a nice American family has asked her to stay on with them. She already loves the children. I'm so happy for her!"

"So am I," you smile. Katie returns to the children, and a little boy runs to her and extends his arms. She picks him up in a hug and swings him around. One of the children on the floor tugs at her skirt, and she kneels to show them the string trick again. They watch in awe. "That looks way more fun than taking orders from Victoria," you wink.

"She's managed to avoid Victoria thus far, and has asked me not to tell her that she's here," Ralph explains. He takes one last look at Katie, a proud smile on his face, and leads you to the door.

"Would she care?" you ask.

"Only because she'd expect to be waited on," he says with a roll of his eyes as you proceed to the next room. "I feel terrible for not making sure that Katie was safe that night."

"Darling, I believe you were a tiny bit preoccupied that night. I seem to recall something about a frightened woman who wouldn't let go of your hand?"

He smiles and kisses your temple, and the search for Victoria continues.

You finally spot her in a lounge, surrounded by the girlfriends you'd spent the first part of your week trying to avoid.

"Victoria," Ralph says stiffly, when you approach from behind.

"Oh, there you are, Ralph," she says with a glance back at him. "Some old lady told me that you were here."

You bristle, at both her reaction to finding out that her brother was alive and her assessment of your aunt.

"I've been bored out of my skull," she whines. "There's nothing to do on this bloody boat." She hangs her head off the back of her chair, and her eyes land on you. She smirks. "No need to ask what you've been up to."

Ralph tenses. You glare.

"What will you do when we arrive in New York?" he asks.

"Find a bottle of decent champagne," she grins, still upside-down. "And get Uncle Albert to buy me a new wardrobe."

Ralph watches her for a moment, calculating. She rolls her eyes when she gets sick of the staring contest and sits up.

"Alright," he finally says. He squeezes your hand and turns, and you follow.

"Where are you going, baby brother?" she pouts.

"To enjoy the company of my wife," he calls over his shoulder, not slowing his pace. You grin, imagining the look of shock on her snobby face when she works out what he's said.

Deciding you'd had enough exercise for the day, you return to your room. You sit on the bed and ponder the what comes next. What will the weather be like when you arrive? Will there be a media frenzy? Will Ralph's uncle be there waiting? What about your parents? How will you find them? How long until you can go home?

Pain flashes across Ralph's face at the mention of home.

"What is it, Ralph?" you ask, scooting closer.

"I'll have to cross the Atlantic again to get home," he whimpers. "What if I never stop being afraid? What if I can never go home again?" Ralph lets out a sob, and covers his face with his hands.

"Then we'll make our own home." You pull him to you, and he buries his face in your neck. "It's a big continent, Ralph. We'll go exploring and find a perfect place, just for us. Anywhere you want. Because home is wherever we're together."

You rub soothing circles on his back until he sits up with a final sniffle. You reach out to dry his cheeks.

"I love you, Ralph."

"I love you, too," he mutters.

"We're going to be alright."

He nods. You hold out your hand, and he takes it with a shaky smile. You lace your fingers together and squeeze. Everything is going to be alright, as long as you have each other.

You decide to skip lunch, but join Molly for dinner. She's made lots of new friends these last few days, and invites you to sit at a table full of other survivors. Mostly women. You can feel their eyes on your Ralph. It unsettles you both. You eat quickly, speak only when spoken to, and retreat back to your room as soon as possible. You sit on the bed, because there are no chairs.

Aunt Molly comes in right behind you, before you can discuss the awkward dinner, and perches on the edge of her own bed.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes. "Most of their men didn't make it. The officers wouldn't let them in the boats."

Ralph turns red.

"There were no more women in line," you argue. "The officer told him to get in. There were a several men on our boat. In others, too!"

"I know, don't go jumping down my throat," she says, putting her hands up. "I'm just telling you why you're getting odd looks."

Ralph's face is on fire.

"I can't wait to get off this ship," you mutter, blinking away tears. You will not feel guilty for getting to keep your love, even if others weren't so fortunate.

"Should be there in a few hours," she says softly. "I'm going back to the lounge to wait for news. I'll come get you as soon as we get there."

She gets up and heads toward the door.

"Aunt Molly?" you call.

She turns back, hand on the doorknob.

"We got married last night."

She smiles. "That's exactly the kind of good news I needed to hear. Congratulations."

You both mutter a "thank you", and her eyes light up.

"Oh, your mother's head is going to explode," she says excitedly. "Your payment for the trip will be making sure I'm there when you tell her. I have to see this. This is going to be more fun than hand-delivering the invitation to my own wedding!"

You laugh, and Molly winks. "I'll see you kids in a few hours."

When the door closes, you look to Ralph and grin.

"You know, Mr. Penbury…" you say mischievously. "My aunt has stated her intention to be away for several hours. I do believe that gives us time to officially consummate our marriage."

"It does, doesn't it?" he grins, eyes darkening.

"Unless you have a better way to spend our last few hours here?"

"Absolutely not," he says, mouth crashing against yours.

You were officially consummated and back to presentable when your aunt returned to the cabin to fetch you that night.

You wait in the lounge with the other first class survivors for what feels like an eternity. When you finally start moving, things become a blur. You hold tightly to Ralph's hand and follow him blindly through the pouring rain and the slippery walkways. You keep your head down, only vaguely aware of a large crowd on the dock and a lot of flashing cameras.

"Ralph!" Victoria's unmistakable voice cuts through the chaos. "Uncle Albert is here!"

Ralph shouts for Aunt Molly ahead of him, and the three of you make your way over to Victoria and Uncle Albert. Quick introductions are made, and Ralph's uncle leads you to a motorcar. You end up sitting on Ralph's lap. Aunt Molly and Victoria sit side by side, and Ralph's uncle sits up front with his driver.

The cameras continue flashing. You're grateful when the car begins to move. You look down at Ralph and reach out to wipe the raindrops off of his face. You're all soaked and shivering. The ride passes slowly and in silence, even with Victoria present. Apparently all her girlfriends were on their own. Had she even said goodbye to them?

You watch the buildings of New York pass by through the window, thankful to be back on solid ground with the people you love.

(And Victoria.)

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

the way izzy was received by this fandom rlly is the worst combo of how fans responded to kylo ren and how fans responded to, like, tyler durden or walter white.

anything i could say comparing izzy fans and kylo fans was already said in this fucking incredible post by @chuplayswithfire. but basically: izzy is a huge cunt to everyone in this show but fans take him at his word when he talks about being hardworking and competent, they minimize and excuse his actions and act like he's an innocent traumatized baby, and they focus on him, a shitty white antagonist, instead of any of the other interesting characters of color they could be paying attention to

but imo the thing that rlly makes a difference between izzy and kylo, and the thing that makes me compare him to those other two white dudes i mentioned above, is that unlike the movies kylo ren is in, ofmd is actually well-written

the first movie in the star wars sequel trilogy was pitched, written, filmed, and literally released with no ending for the trilogy in mind. the writing for the next movies was adjusted based on fan reactions, and major plot points were decided by studio executives deciding which events would make the movie more profitable. i should not have to explain to you that this is a terrible way to write a movie series. or a television series. or literally any kind of fucking story in the world.

our flag means death, or what we have of it so far, is not that. there's fully developed characters with given realistic motivations, instead of one-dimensional props that are jerked around by a constant tug-of-war between writers, directors, and studio executives. there are narrative plot points that are woven expertly throughout the story, not hints of storylines that are completely forgotten about by the next franchise, or storylines that were finished that are getting dug up again. there's a central theme to ofmd, unlike the new star wars movies, where the theme seems to be "how can we milk this fucking franchise for all it's worth." there's no goddamn queerbaiting

i'll admit that i've never actually seen breaking bad, and everything i know about it i've learned via tumblr osmosis. but from what i can tell, it's actually a very well-written show, and the whole point of the show is that walter white is the epitome of entitled and abusive white man who thinks he's super tough and badass and that everyone should listen to him and do whatever he tells them to do (lmao, sound familiar?). he ruins his life and the lives of everyone around him and idk he might die in the end. anyway dont do drugs.

fight club i have seen, and i can confirm that this is a fantastic movie that features, you guessed it, an arrogant white guy who represents the classic violent male power fantasy. the narrator, deeply depressed because he's a beta male, watches jealously from the sidelines as tyler durden starts seeking violence, first from just meeting up with random guys for consensual beatdowns, but it escalates as more and more men start joining the fight club (wow! the title of the movie!) until the club morphs into a terrorist group. also if you haven't seen it there's a Big Plot Twist that i haven't mentioned and it's pretty good. love that movie.

anyway the point is that both of those men are very obviously. shitty fucking guys. classic macho men (even tho tyler durden's fashion sense is fantastically fruity, for some reason) who crave power over others and respect in the form of fear. the whole point of their fucking characters is that in any generic action movie, they would be the heroes

and so many fans just. completely fucking miss this. there are hoards of dudebro fan guys who relate to these characters and go "wow, he's just like me!" and absolutely do not get the point of the thing they're watching. it is fucking baffling to see

anyway that's izzy stans!! an truly groundbreaking combo of your classic female fans who woobify evil white men and classic male fans who miss the entire point of characters who are written to subvert the expectations of what kind of role a character like izzy hands, walter white, or tyler durden would be expected to play!!!!! izzy hands is written to be an antagonist and the personification of toxic masculinity that ed is trying to escape from, and yet people are acting like he's the show's third protagonist.

because izzy would be a protagonist, in a different and much shittier story. and even though we all watched the same show where he very clearly is not the protagonist, people are applying that role to izzy and not actually looking at what role he plays in this show.

[genshinemblem564]

Zelda x Genshin Headcanons

__________________________________________

• When Zelda and Ayaka first meet, it's as members of royal families. Neither of them would speak of their insecurities in fear of making a bad first impression. However, both Urbosa and Ayato notice their similarities, and after some intervening from those two, the two princesses became quick friends and often confide in each other when in the same area.

• Albedo draws each of the champions (surprise). He is practically enthralled by their elegant blue garbs. They look practically identical, minus the Divine Beasts and Master Sword design, and yet they seem to accentuate each champion's prominent trait, to the point that he can't imagine them wearing anything else.

• Tighnari and the rest of the Amurta darshan are fascinated by the Hyrulian races. While they are curious as to why Hylians have pointed ears, they are infintly more curious about the Gerudo's dominant feminine gene that causes only females to be born, and the Rito, Zora, and Gorons as a whole.(While a Gerudo's height is also an anomaly the feminine gene is what catches their attention.)

• Tartaglia is thrilled to meet Link, believing he found someone equal to him in skill and weapon mastery. While Link's marksmanship far outshines Childe's, the Hylian champion's spearmanship could use some polish. The eleventh Fatui harbinger promises to help Link train his use of a polearm if Link helps him train his archery.

• Faruzan has been on leave to study both the languages of Hyrule and its technology. With how many ruins this land has, she was greeted by many new, eager students from both Hyrule and Teyvat. While most of them were just there to learn how to read the other nations' texts, whether for business or exploration purposes, it still kept her busier than usual.

• Urbosa's trip to Sumeru's desert leads her to Aaru village, where she meets Candace and Dehya. She gains respect for the two vai for different reasons. Candace's sense of duty is admirable, but Urbosa echoes Dehya when she says the spearwoman needs to relax a little. Dehya is respected for her integrity, despite her job's description, her loyalty and justice keep her from taking certain jobs. However, Urbosa believes that Dehya should take the "Eremite" scams a bit more seriously. (I've only listened to Dehya's voicelines, so this might not be accurate.)

• Daruk and Mipha were popular with children back home, and that hasn't changed in Teyvat. Daruk can be seen with kids climbing his back like a cliff side while Mipha tells stories of her and Link, and the other champions as well, of course.

• Revali, stubborn as always, remains in Rito village, that doesn't stop him from getting visitors. He often has to "correct misinformation" spread by the other champions (It's not misinformation, but he wants to keep his cool and dignified appearance). He's just a massive introvert, in the sense that he only shows his true colors around children and those he trusts.

___________________________________________

Note: Sorry for neglecting this series. My adhd both requires and makes it impossible to write a full-length story, as my brain keeps skipping to the good stuff. In case you're wondering why I can't do an intermission like with FEH x Sagau, it's because there isn't a substantial gap in time. I haven't forgotten about this, I'm just still structuring chapter 2.

[two-white-butterflies]

Hi !

If you'd like too could you please write a Daemon Targaryen x Reader fic where she's his ex lover, she is highborn and she and Daemon used to sneak around but he was catching feelings for her and he was afraid she will start seeing the worst parts of him like everyone else so he broke up with her and she left, because she was very heartbroken by what he did because she was already in love with him. Maybe Daemon ends up not being able to sleep because he knows he has hurt her and misses her and he goes to her home some months later and tries to make it up to her but he gets another shock as he realizes that she's pregnant.

Thank you ! You don't have to write this if you don't want too. Have a nice day !😘

The Heaven I Can't Follow | Daemon Targaryen x Highborn!Reader

Daemon knew that the moment he reached heaven, there could only be one other direction — down. Daemon was afraid of the descent, hence he was the one that let go first. Leaving his beloved tumbling on the ground. It was an act of cowardice.

"Prince Daemon is engaged to Lady Laena Velaryon. Why must you continue sulking? He has clearly gotten over you." her brother remarked bitterly, finding great pain in his sister's heartbreak.

A sigh escapes from her honeyed lips as she continues sewing a gown. She came from a highborn family, and despite their wealth, her father was a stingy man, thus she's left to sew her own dresses.

"He is just an event that I've already forgotten," she lied not bothering to look up at her brother. Lies. Her mind told her, as she could still remember the taste of his tongue — and how he's taught her a secret language that she couldn't have with anyone else.

Daemon Targaryen had ruined her, simply by existing. She could hear her brother scoff and he sits beside her, allowing the bed to shift due to both of their weights. "We all know that you haven't." he pointed out as she sighs dramatically.

Why must everyone think that she's a lovesick fool?

"But I have. I rarely even think of him." she boasted with slight pride earning an eye-roll from the man. "Y/N, you are sewing a Targaryen sigil." he pointed out as she flipped the gown — hiding the intricate design. Perhaps he was right. She had been thinking of Daemon, every living minute.

"What kind of food did he give you? Why are you so enamored?" he jested as she throws the gown in the other side of the room. Daemon had done something to her. He had shown her colors, and left her in black and white.

She ignores him, and he stands up. Disappointment looming over the both of them. Her brother was the only one that knew about her endeavors with the Rogue Prince. There was a time where he was the one who encouraged the match. But as he sees his sister's pain, he could see that there was a grave mistake.

"Can you please stop worrying about it? Father is already trying to find a match for me." she pleaded and he hums in content. They had to forget about Daemon, one way or another. "And I'll make sure that your wedding will be better than his." he promises as he walks towards the door, gently twisting the knobs and walking away.

\

She couldn't believe what kind of match her father arranged. She was engaged to a Stark, whose eyes were as cold as snow. He even refuses to speak to her, he only spent his days wondering around their castle and eating their food.

"Lord Stark, is our castle to your liking?" she questioned trying to find an answer in his eyes. "Yes," he replies for the first time, letting her hear his bass voice. He was different — maybe, the same protectiveness as Daemon but his voice held no life. As if it was as barren as winter.

They continue walking, with only their footsteps as melody. "Surely, Winterfell is as beautiful." she inquired hoping that he'd calm her fears. "Winterfell is cold, my lady. Don't expect much from it." he said plainly, not attempting to comfort her.

She sighs softly, hoping that he wouldn't notice her discontent. Honestly, she wanted to get on the first ship to Pentos. Lord Stark was kind, but only because he refused to spend more than twenty-minutes with her.

"Well, surely the cold has its beauty." she tried to save herself again as he only bites back a dark chuckle. "Whatever delights you, my lady." he replied once more, not trying to start a fight.

She was used to this cold facade, her father had mastered it all his life. But Y/N didn't want this unfamiliarity with her own husband. She wanted to know him. She wanted to know how strong he liked his ale, or how sweet he liked his tea. She wanted real love. Not an alliance.

"But do you think that your home is beautiful?" she asked and he nods. Yes, it was beautiful, but only because of the people that made it be. "It is," he answered, his gaze already beginning to soften around her presence. "Amazing," she replied as she nods her head. If this was how their conversations would be. Then she'd rather gauge her eyes out.

\

Lord Stark paces around the Maester's office as the man checks his fiancee. She had been sick for the past few weeks. She always vomited in the morning, and her breasts were swollen more than usual. Sure, he sees her as a lady cut from the same cloth as the rest, but he was still worried about her.

"How is she?" he asks trying to hide his emotions, and Y/N offers him a kind smile. He was not the man that she wanted, but he was a good friend. The Maester moves around nervously, "It seems like her lady is with a child." he chuckled nervously as her hand clasps her mouth in shock.

Lord Stark's eyes widened at the sudden news. "Lord Stark—" her voice began to crack as her eyes brimmed with tears. This was a scandal. A kind of thing that her father would kill her for. He takes a step towards her, quickly shooing the Maester away from his own office, and sitting beside Lady Y/N.

"Hush," he says not trying to spend most of his words. He knew that this would stain the Lady's honor, and as a Stark it is the most important virtue of all. She leans her head in his shoulders as memories of Daemon are brought back to her.

His beautiful white-locks and silver-tongue. He would've been delighted at the news of her pregnancy, yet he's abandoned her in the quest for power. "I understand if you wish to call of our engagement." she breaths out and attempts to wipe her tears away. Maybe her father would send her to Oldtown and turn her into a Septa.

"No." he remarks quickly, as he continued rubbing circles on her back. "I'll marry you." he mumbles, hoping that it would restore her honor. "I cannot ask this of you, please." she cried as her grip around his tunic tightened. Her fiancee — reduced to a liar.

"I know who the father is." she cried out and he only gives her a bitter smile. "It's Daemon Targaryen — your house rebukes him. He has no honor. If this child comes out with pale hair and purple eyes, they'd all mock you." she breaths out and he only sighs.

"No one reaches winter. We can hide the child." he tried to reason but she continues shaking her head. "An honorful man like you, shouldn't reduce yourself to the likes of me." she bites her lip and he shakes his head.

He didn't love her. But he had to save her. "I will marry you." he finalized.

\

Daemon couldn't sleep at night. There was a gap in his bed that no pillow could take. He missed her, he craved her and needed her. But he didn't deserve her. She didn't deserve a Prince whose known nothing but treachery all his life. But without her, he was a smoldering fire — barely even combusting. He could hear Caraxes roar in the far distance.

He knew what he must do. He must claim what is his.

comment to get tagged in pt. 2

also can't reply to the comments for some reason 😭

[darchildre]

The Ides of March, part 1

Hey everybody, it's Raffles time! Here are thoughts and noodlings about the first Letter from Bunny.

(nb, this is a reread for me, I am going to talk about these stories like I've read them before, there may be spoilers for future events, so my random thoughts go behind a cut.)

Thing 1: I love the way Bunny remains stuck on the idea that he is in total disgrace and that everyone (including Raffles) will treat him that way the minute they know he's written a bad check, while Raffles absolutely does not care about Bunny writing him a bad check - he has skipped over that entirely and gone straight into problem-solving mode.

Thing 2: "You used to be a literary little cuss," he says, like he doesn't have bits of Bunny's terrible schoolboy poetry memorized, the complete and utter nerd.

Thing 3:

...had fear or horror flown to my companion's face, I shudder to think I might have died diabolically happy with that look for my last impious consolation. It was the look that came instead which held my hand. Neither fear nor horror were in it; only wonder, admiration, and such a measure of pleased expectancy as caused me after all to pocket my revolver with an oath. "You devil!" I said. "I believe you wanted me to do it!" "Not quite," was the reply, made with a little start, and a change of color that came too late. "To tell you the truth, though, I half thought you meant it, and I was never more fascinated in my life..."

Raffles over here all, "I have been (unconsciously) trying to kill myself by engaging in wildly reckless and dangerous behavior for years now and this little rabbit is just going to go all the way and shoot himself right now in front of me. Fucking wild. I must immediately adopt him and find out what other crazy stuff he's willing to do."

Thing 4: It says something about how overwhelmingly gay these stories are that I had forgotten that Raffles just casually puts his hand into Bunny's pocket in the very first scene of this story.

Thing 5: "What a boy it is for jumping to conclusions!" Genuinely Bunny's besetting sin.

Thing 6: I love the couple of little moments where Raffles is pacing and thinking and almost says something to Bunny but then stops himself - figuring out the proper approach on this newest shiny thing he's decided to steal for himself. (The proper approach is, obviously: 1) get Bunny drunk, 2) compliments and flattery, 3) outrageous boldfaced lying. Works every time.)

Thing 7:

"He must be a very intimate friend!" "Intimate's not the word. I have the run of his place and a latch-key all to myself." "You would knock him up at this hour of the night?" "If he's in bed."

Bunny thinks this is about a very different kind of crime, you know? Like, he absolutely thinks he's being invited to some sort of weird sex thing, right? (I mean, he's not entirely wrong...)

[caelanglang]

This is me outside your window begging you not to abandon Akai or in general ao3 out of fear of me—

I swear it is not all depressive as shit there’s ACTUALLY joy somewhere in there i am capable of writing joy I swear I swear

ito. dude. my brother in tumblr.

Allow me to walk you down my Akai journey. Sorry if it's gonna be a long read.

So. Months ago, after experiencing one of the most magical and adventurous Ao3 fic that is mvo, I saw your alta au sketch. I remember vibrating with so much excitement as I reblogged it. When you dropped the first chapter in Ao3, I ran—no, I sprinted. I've never opened a link with so much speed and excitement like that moment. Then i read the tags. Because last time I trusted an author (hi Ellie) with so much skill in storytelling and blindly jumped over the tags to read their skk fic, I was left with so much devastation and pain over how good it was (I missed the death tags) And I saw it.

"childhood friends to lovers to then enemies to lovers again, let's get this straight they both die okay?"

ITO. Do you understand the emotions I went through when I read those two tags??? I WAS SO HAPPY THEN SO SAD. ITO. I even messaged my friend about it. Which is in itself not a common thing for me to do.

ALAS. I DECIDED. OKAY I'LL READ IT. I KNOW WHAT'S COMING. I'M STRONG ENOUGH FOR THIS.

It was like mdzs all over again bro. Me, falling in love with the characters in the flashbacks. Me being devastated over shijie's death. no.

BUT THEN. You wrote them with so much life???? I could feel their blood running and pumping with so much vitality through the words—in the way you wrote them with so much color. That mattered so much to me. They were so young. The war felt so close yet so far. THEY WERE SO YOUNG. I knew what was coming. But with the way how you wrote them. I couldn't help but feel so attached. Just like the way how you wrote them being so captivated by each other. I was so captivated by them. Then the fear finally caught up. THEY'RE GONNA DIE. IN A WAR. And i'm telling you. ANGST IS OKAY WITH ME BUT WAR ANGST JUST HITS SO DIFFERENT. WAR ANGST WAS ALSO THE REASON I STOPPED READING TGCF. So yes. I froze time and stopped reading when they were young and as happy as they could possibly be in that damned war and timeline.

okay enough dramatics i'm sorry for making you read this much. I just wanted you to know I will inevitably fall in love with your words and storytelling. And i know i will be devastated. I'm not your strongest soldier.

but okay. i'll read it again. we rebuild homes in forgotten battlefields after all... i'll gather my guts again... orz thank you for writing such a wonderful fic (i will give thanks before i start screaming at you once i'm done)