#i sent a DM and tagged him in a post of the dog

[hyfaesyren]

i feel really silly now oh no 😕

[xoxiu]

twinkle - ot7 x reader

chapter 01 table of contents masterlist

summary: she had just wanted attention, that’s why she kept texting the strange number, updating him on everything in her life. little did she know how dangerous this relationship actually was. it had been jimin’s idea to kidnap the girl, but the ability to travel across the world to actually do it had been all hoseok’s doing. convenient how some things work, right? they knew that they were destined to have their baby with them, whether she wanted it or not.

tags/warnings: kidnapping, forced age regression, spanking, noncon, mafia au, drug use, stockholm syndrome, caregiver!bts, little!reader, nonsexual, diapers, panic attacks, fluff and angst, sickfic, referenced child abuse, unrequited love

a/n: i wrote this fic in 2018 on ao3 and wattpad, but im putting it here for archival reasons ♡

They had used a burner phone to talk to the girl, not wanting to risk her tracing the number back to one of them. It had been Jungkook's idea; he found the girl's Instagram page, where she frequently posted pictures of herself, her dogs, and her friends. A quick DM and an hour later, Jungkook got her phone number and the two were texting daily.

He found out so much about the girl: her name was Ophelia, she lived in a small town in America, her dogs were named Gengi and Jingob, she had a younger brother named Henry and a 6-month-old sister named Rose, her father was Korean and her mother was Israeli. She had naturally dark, curly hair, but she frequently bleached and straightened it (right now it was an adorable baby pink). When she was born, her mother wasn't together with her father, so she was named Ophelia Felicite Potter, but her father forced her mother to change her name to Ophelia Lynn Park once they had officially started dating three months later. Henry, her little brother, was in Junior High, and Ophelia always drove him to school, since their town was so small that their Middle School, High School, and Community College were all in one building. 

Eventually, the rest of the boys began talking to her. All seven of them were pretending to be one person, a 19-year-old named Ian. Of course, Ophelia believed everything 'Ian' said. She had told them that she never had a boyfriend before, and absolutely loved the attention she was receiving for the first time. Even though she was still young, naive, and too trusting, she was still smart- both academically and morally. Whenever 'Ian' asked for nudes, she refused, which both pissed off and pleased the boys.

It was important that Ophelia never found out who they truly were. At least, not yet. The boys were heirs of one of the biggest mafia rings in South Korea, and they all knew that if the girl found out, the fake number would be blocked immediately. Even though the seven of them weren't important members in the business- their fathers and older brothers were more active than them, they were more of the poster kids- they were still expected to keep certain things private in order to keep them safe and their fathers in power. 

They decided that Ophelia would be one of the things they kept private.

'i have a surprise for you in an hour!! :D'

God, the kid was so cute. Seokjin looked down at the phone as the text alert caused the coffee table to gently vibrate. He smiled as he sent his reply.

'Why can't I have the surprise now?'

A moment later Ophelia's reply pinged.

'i'm in class right now and im fairly certain you dont want calculus as your surprise'

'Alright, I'll wait. Do your schoolwork.'

'dont tell me what to do love u xxx'

Seokjin smiled again and put the phone in his pocket. It was currently three in the morning in Seoul, so two in the afternoon Ophelia's time. She gets out of school at 2:25, so it wouldn't be long before Jin received the 'surprise' Ophelia was talking about. 

Jin idly played on his own phone, waiting for another text from the girl, when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He turned his head towards the noise to find Namjoon approaching him.

"Hyung, what are you doing up?" Namjoon asked, voice deep and rough with sleep. In the back of his mind, he knew he was texting Ophelia, but if something important had happened he wanted to know. 

"Ophelia's getting out of school soon and she has a surprise for us." Namjoon hummed in response. He never was as obsessed with Ophelia as the other boys, but he had talked to her quite a few times. 

Jin grabbed Namjoon's hand and guided him to lay on the couch with him. Namjoon immediately curled into his boyfriend, breathing in the lingering scent of his cologne. One of Jin's hands began stroking the younger's hair while the other continued aimlessly scrolling through his emails. 

Namjoon quickly fell asleep again, and the burner phone pinged soon after that. Jin carefully took the phone out of his back pocket, trying not to wake his sleeping beauty, and became excited as he saw Ophelia had sent a picture message. He quickly opened the messaging app and cooed at what the girl had sent. 

She had sent a mirror picture of her in a dress. The dress was a flowing red ball gown with gold accents on the waist. Ophelia looked absolutely beautiful in it, and Jin quickly saved the picture to send to his real phone. 

'prom is in a month and i really wish i could go with you. what do you think of this dress? someone told me this shade of red suits me but idk'

Prom. Ophelia would be going to prom with someone other than Jin or one of the other boys. While one of them taking her was unrealistic and impossible, it still pained him to think that it wouldn't be him. 

'You look stunning. I wish I could see it in person.'

'<;3 :)'

Jin put the phone back on the table, smiled, and closed his eyes. He was absolutely whipped.

Once the rest of the boys woke up, the dress was the main discussion at breakfast.

"I think she looks adorable in it," Taehyung said, "Just look at her face in the picture- it's obvious she's in love with it, too."

"But its too mature for her! It shows off too much!" Jimin said, his voice distressed. 

"Jimin, she's not our baby yet. Once we have her then you can decide what is and isn't too big for her," said Namjoon. 

For the past month, they had been preparing a plan to bring Ophelia to Korea with them. They wanted her to be their Little, and them be her Daddies. Some of them were more excited than others (Jin and Jimin were both ecstatic about this), but all of them had warmed up to the idea. Hoseok, Jimin, and Taehyung had gone crazy over putting together a nursery and clothes shopping. It had been easy to find childlike clothes in Ophelia's size, including a car seat, since Ophelia was rather small for her age. 

They had decided what they would be called almost as soon as they got the idea of Ophelia being a Little. Namjoon and Jin would be the main caregivers, with Namjoon being Appa and Jin being Eomma. Yoongi and Jimin would also be her caretakers, Yoongi being Daddy and Jimin being Mommy. Hoseok, Taehyung, and Jungkook would be less of caretakers and more of playmates, but they still wanted to spend time with Ophelia. 

Luckily, they had a business meeting in America in two weeks, which would be relatively close to where Ophelia lives (thanks to careful mapping done by Jungkook), so they could take her and bring her home with them with ease. The boys knew Ophelia would have a much better life with them.

[fatguarddog]

Welcome 🐾🔞

Follows from @follow-fatguarddog (inactive old main but I gotta keep it to keep this blog)

Hey, I'm Hutch, 28/UK/M, icon by @droolfang

This is my side blog to explore a different side of my kinks, mainly weight gain and slightly more aggressive pet play I'm trans, only use he/him pronouns, but am very comfortable with words like tits and boycunt, but prefer tdick, tcock, etc. on this blog. I've had top surgery but enjoy fantasising about growing tits/moobs I like people of all genders, but do lean t4t ❤️

My boyfriend is @swollenframe ❤️

I love hearing other people's fantasies/ideas so ask is always open! I also currently allow asks with media if you want to send me belly pics, just let me know if you're looking for a bit of praise, teasing or degradation and I'll be happy to oblige ❤️

DMs are open, but please only message if you're 21+ I offer custom audio commissions, find out more HERE I have a Ko-fi HERE and tipping is also on if you ever wanna throw a dog a bone or treat me into something in particular 🦴

My Kinks

Like my main blog, I'll be tagging my posts in case you want to search for or block something in particular - original stuff will still be 'hutch posts,' but here you can also find 'hutch photos' for pics of me and 'hutch audios' for little fat fantasy recordings Also quick disclaimer that whilst this is a weight gain-centric blog, I'm not in a position to actually gain weight nor am I a feedee looking for a feeder, I just like fantasising about a world where I could be a lazy fat dog. Please don't send me asks about tips for gaining weight because I'm afraid I can't help you, I have always been roughly this fat and have no experience with consistent gaining

🐾 Fuck yes: queer feedism, weight gain (magical, slow, rapid, forced, etc.), ass/belly/breast expansion, general belly kink, monsterfucking, bondage, praise kink, intox kink (alcohol and weed), biting, pet play (think of me as a rough but loyal dog or a maybe pig boy)

🐾 Yes Please: breeding, cnc, some degradation, corruption kink, primal urges, hucow/lactation, inflation (favs are pumpkin, berry, milk and cum)

🚫 Hard Nos: detransition kink, slob stuff, death feedism, gore, piss/scat, ddlg type stuff, incest, birth, feet

Taken anon emojis/sign offs: 🪞, 🐮💓, 🫐🐈, 🐶❤️, 🐑🤍, storm anon, 😻, 🎃, 💋, 🐳, 🕹️, ghost anon, 🎃☕, 🎃🦣, 🥛, 🥓🐻, 🐉, 🍩🐶, 🍒🦝, 🐷 🤓, 💜, 🧊🐺, 🎤, 🐺, 💣💥, 🐊, ⚡️, 🐇, 🔵, 🐗, 🎀, seal anon, doughnon, 🍰, 🦌, 🍔🐱, 🥨, dogboy Emojis/sign offs help me know who I'm talking to if you've sent asks before, so feel free to add them! If you want to interact with me, please don't call me a puppy! Just dog/big dog/fat dog is fine, but puppy doesn't do it for me in referring to myself

BLOCK LIST

Under 18s or no age in your bios, you’re not welcome here

Same if you’re over 45

Misgendering and thinspo blogs, no thanks

Literally anyone who makes me uncomfortable at my discretion

Feedism jars filled out under the cut if you wanna know more

[jordie-gvf]

danny blurb #2

do you guys remember the video monistat posted to her instagram about men not being able to give good head, this is yn and danny proving her wrong 💟

warnings : suggestive, basically a sex tape

word count : 503

You, Danny, and Mackenzi had all been friends in high school. You and Mackenzi had a falling out, but you and Danny stayed close. 

When they broke up, you were over the moon. You had always liked Danny, Mackenzi knew you liked him, and dated him anyway.

Danny had invited you to tour the world with him, and you couldn't pass up the opportunity. When you were in Rome, Danny asked you to be his girlfriend, also couldn't pass up that opportunity. 

A few days after he asked you out, Mackenzi posted a video to her instagram story about boys not being able to give good head. You had unfollowed Mackenzi, so you didn't see it.

PRESENT DAY

Danny had just gotten home from the studio, a few last touches on the album. You were sitting on the couch with the dogs, waiting for him to come home.

When he got home, he came into the living room and sat next to you. “Can I ask you something?” he said.

You nodded and turned all of your attention to him. 

“Do I give good head?” he asked you.

You laughed and turned your head away. When you looked back at him, his stare was firm. “Oh, you're serious?” you questioned. He nodded and repeated the question. 

“Do I give good head? Yes or no.” he said.

“Yes Danny, your head is more than satisfactory.” you told him.

“You're not lying, right?” 

“No, I'm not lying. What happened.” you asked him.

“A few months ago, Kenzi posted an instagram story saying men aren't good at giving head.” he confessed to you. 

“Can I prove her wrong?” you asked him. He cocked his head to the side and had a confused look on his face. “I have more than enough videos of you giving me head. Let me post one and tag her.” you told him. 

“Do you really? Let me see.” he said. 

You showed him one of the videos and he said, “I love those sweet moans. Post it, but turn the sound off, no one gets to hear those noises but me. And look, your D anklet looks perfect, shiny.” 

You looked and saw your anklet shining, the flash was on.

You opened up Instagram and made a new story. You added the video and turned the sound off. You captioned the video, “for anyone wondering, he gives head just fine.” You tagged her and showed him, making sure it was exemplary. 

“Do it. I wish I could see the look on her face when she sees this. Can you send me a different video? If she texts me, I'm going to send it to her.” he said. You posted the video and sent him a different video. 

It had been about 3 hours since you posted the video and you had thousands of DM’s, all of them telling you that you were a G for posting that. You heard Danny call you from inside the bathroom, 

“Baby! Guess who texted me.” 

[isa-loves-you]

How you meet and realizing you like them | The group chat.| Pt.3

-Larry Croft-

Your day had started off pretty crappy when you woke up doing your dog chewing on your couch and got a call from your latest client saying she was canceling today's session which meant no money for today or the rest of the week since you had no other appointments. You were a photographer that had just moved to austin where your friend had convinced you that the natural light was always good but it was a big fat lie, the only thing about austin was that it was hot as hell. You were looking through your camera roll trying to see which picture you should try to promote on your story so hopefully you could get some new clients, maybe you could get some cool clients usually you get first time parents wanting pictures of their baby or highschool kids wanting insane grad pics that either they cant pay for or have really bad attitudes that you can't deal and end up stopping the shot.

You get a call from your friend Amanda asking if you want to go to an art light show? Whatever that means, you said yes because you need to get out of the house and you can get some cool pics, you grab your camera and your keys and meet your friend at the art light show. You see Amanda outside the door waiting for you “wow you actually came, i'm surprised” “well you did make it sound dumb over the phone but i need some pictures so i can make rent next month so you get to look pretty and i get money, it's a win win.” you open the door for her and you so you can just get this over with. You two looked at some of the stuff they had displayed but then stopped at this little part of the building that had white lights hanging down from the ceiling “oooo stand right there this is the best” you had directed Amanda what position to stay in. “make sure that when you post these you tag me in them so i can get the compliments' ' amanda said while fixing her hair for the picture, you had gone to take the picture but you noticed the three men acting like idiots in the background of the frame. You couldn't help but laugh at the gestures they were making towards each other, but the one that really caught your eye was the shorter one with longer black hair “will you please stop drooling over at that dude and take my picture”. You didn't realize that Amanda was standing next to you also looking at your camara “I'm not drooling at him I'm just simply admiring him, he's very photogenic” you could tell that Amanda was seeing through your lie by the look of her face. You were trying to move on from the conversation about the beautiful stranger by pretending you were fixing your camera settings, but you look up to see Amanda walking towards the three. “Hi im so sorry to bother you but my friend over there with the dumb look on their face is a photographer and was wondering if you would mind modeling for them?” all three of the men share a look at eachother “really us?, why us?” said the bigger guy with an arm tattoo. “Well they said you guys had a good sense of style, especially you. She said that you had a photogenic face,” Amanda said, pointing at the guy you were staring at. You just kept freaking out about what amanda was saying to them but started to freak out more when they all started walking towards you.

“hey your friend said that you wanted some pictures of us for your work, and were totally fine with it as long as we get sent the photos too” “oh yeah of course thanks for saying yes”. You had dragged the boys and Amanda through the art displayed, taking their pictures, and also striking conversations with them about what they did for a living; it surprised you once you found out that they were youtubers and how popular they were. It was great for your business. “Thank you guys again for helping me so much, and i will tag you guys in the post and dm you the picture.” All the boys said thank you as they got into their car “see i told you it would be a good day, you got some pics and met some cute dudes'' amanda said shanking your arm slightly while you smiled “also i kept seeing that larry guy stare at you and laughed at all your joke” “really? Because I didn't talk to him at all, I tried but he just nodded his head or smiled whenever I spoke to him”. Amanda just shrugged at what you said but had a smile on her face the whole walk to her car, you got to your car and drove home to see what your dog chewed up now. You woke up the next morning deciding to lay in bed and upload the picture you took last night to instagram; after tagging everyone and adding the link to your website you put your phone down while you made breakfast without thinking about what was going to happen. After you made something to eat and feed your dog you look back at your phone to see your post having thousands of likes and comments about your pictures being out of this world, you even got messages from other youtubers and semi popular clothing brands asking you if you would like to photograph their models. You couldn't believe you got all this attention from those goofy guys, you stopped jumping up and down to message Larry to say thank you for the popularity and to also see if he would actually talk to you this time.

Y/n: Hey this is y/n from yesterday. I just want to thank you and everyone else for the boost. It seems that everyone likes my pictures because of you guys. I also want to offer my services for whenever you need any more pictures taken!.

Larry Croft: hey y/n!. That would be awesome because I am actually doing a merch drop soon and need some pics, you seem to make me look pretty good. How about we meet up for lunch or something to talk more.

Wait, is he serious? He wants to have lunch with me. Your heart was racing, and you started to smile like an idiot, you texted Larry back saying that you would meet him anywhere at any time. That's it you just got a date with one of the hottest men you've ever seen,well not a date more like a work meeting. But you were still high on a cloud about seeing him again. Did you like him?.........maybe? but who cares he's a cutie.

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

I am so sorry that this is so damn long. I'll try to make my next ones short.

original word count: 4,762

[xplrvibes]

the photo colby posted on his story with m, was surely something to wake up to. obviously, whatever it is they have, i'm happy if he's happy...but what do you think?

I got a couple of asks like this too, but I'm just gonna answer this one so as not to be redundant. Covering a couple different topics here, so strap in.

Disclaimer: This is not directed at you, anon, or most of the other anons who sent me asks about this. When I say "you" in this, I am referring to anyone reading this who may be engaging, or thinking about engaging, in this behavior. I just want to make that clear. 99% of you on here are fine, and not running around doing this, I know that and respect that.

Judging by my inbox this morning, I feel like my opinion has been...misunderstod.

I want to make something clear: I have no dog in this particular fight, so to speak. If Colby is dating M, hooking up with M, currently in the Elvis wedding Chapel making her his wife...none of it really makes much of a difference to me. I don't have any feelings about M, aside to say she is objectively absolutely beautiful. If Colby's happy with whatever arrangement he has with her, then I'm happy with whatever arrangement he has with her.

My problem right now (and always) is how fans act about stuff like this. "You lied to us," and, "You owe us the truth," and, "You need to stop teasing fans and announce your relationship," on EVERY. SINGLE. POST. across EVERY. SINGLE. PLATFORM. Multiple times, by multiple people. People calling him a slut and saying he needs to take accountability and he lied and he's not who they thought he was.

For dating a woman?? At his big age??

Newsflash: he isn't stepping out on the fandom at large. He's not cheating on y'all. He also doesn't owe anyone ANYTHING.

EVER.

He can do what he wants, say what he wants, and interact with whoever he wants, and he can also decide to keep private whatever he wants and everyone needs to deal with that.

You buy his merch? Great. It's a t-shirt, not a contract to his fucking body, mind, and soul.

That's the shit that frustrates me. That's the shit that makes all of this not even fun or lighthearted after a while. You wanna come on here and go into mine or @golbrocklovely's inbox or go into dm's and speculate? Go for it. I don't see an issue with that. It can be fun to lightly gossip and speculate about stuff like this, that shouldn't actually really matter.

But the harassment and the demands directly tagging him and everyone involved, all across platforms you know he can see that stuff on, taking all this shit personally like he did something to you - STOP.

That's why I don't fuck with what's going on. That's why I say don't engage with the trolls or whatever. I don't care whether Colby did like a comment, or whether that person is lying. I care about the fact that anyone thinks behavior like that is acceptable to begin with. I care about that behavior being ignored, excused, justified or outright rewarded time and time and time again.

Anyway, all this to say: my opinion is that I hope he is having a fantastic time with Miss M, in whatever capacity he chooses to have it in, and I hope after 9 years of the internet actually driving this man into nervous breakdowns over his personal life not being to their liking, he finally knows some peace someday.

[kharmophron]

I don’t know too much about Hermes and would love to hear some things about him (both in a historical sense and your personal experience)

so! ill give a general idea but for more specific stuff / areas you can always send more asks or reply to any posts / dm me 🤠

okay! in a general sense, Hermes is the god of... A Lot Of Stuff.

"standard god", i'd say. [insert here that saying that Hermes is the god you should pray for if you don't know who to pray to, because if it isn't a part of his many, MANY domains, he'll know who actually presides over it]

just to make sure we know some of this "a lot", here's a small list:

- god of shepherds, herds and flocks

- god of travellers, roads and hospitality (as well as god of feasts and banquets)

- god protector of the home and god of guard dogs (as a god of boundaries!)

- god of merchants and trade

- god of thievery / thieves

- god heralds and diplomacy (as he is the Messenger of the Gods) (could be expanded into god of divine messages, and rustic divination)

- god of language (writing, speech and eloquence) (also aligned with the diplomacy thing)

- somewhat god of luck and joy

- psychopomp, guide of the dead

- god of sleep (bringer of sleep and dreams) and of dreams of omen (messages sent by the gods and the ghosts of the dead)

- god of contests and gymnasiums

- god of herds / flocks / animal husbandry ("including cattle-herding, shepherding, goat-herding and even the breeding of horses and mules", according to theoi.com)

im kind of sick so these are all the braincells i have at the moment! again, if you want to ask about anything else or if you want me to elaborate on a specific aspect, im always down! as well as for questions about my personal experiences ✨

i highly recommend that you look into his theoi.com page and his book from the gods and heroes of the ancient world series (i love how basically all the chapter titles have a trans- prefix, i feel very seen). i also have a post with some Hermes-related quotes from jennifer larson's "ancient greek cults: a guide" if you wanna check that out! and as always his tag is always filled with masterposts / various resources (i particularly love this one)

[racmune]

heyyyy im racmune, i use he/him pronouns. i draw a lot and write fic sometimes! im a weird n i post whatevers :P

my inbox is always open n im pretty friendly, if you wanna send in an ask u dont gotta be shy!

art commissions: OPEN

dni, excluding what should be obvious: support israel, te(rf), swerf, truscum, exclusionist, etc

i also block very liberally, if you dont fit this criteria n ive blocked you it aint personal

more about me

current hyperfixations: the scratched universe (STRAPS YOU TO A CHAIR AND FORCES YOU TO WATCH IT), scoutpauling, tf2, n web design :3333

likes include but not limited to: music, anime, fanfiction, video games, chattin w/ buds, sleeping, drawing, computers, ftm history n such :P

dislikes include but not limited to: rude people, intense unfamiliar tastes n textures ..... uhhhhhhhhhhhhh idk what else tbh

sideblogs

@last-seen-in-wonderland - pastel/cute aesthetic sideblog. for the art (somewhat inactive)

@gnu-metal - 90s-00s (some exceptions) internet/computers aesthetic. for the gender.. AND THE AUTISM.

tag list :P

blacklistable tags

#blood

#gore

#unsanitary

#body horror

#flashing lights

#eyestrain

#loud

#unreality

#liminal spaces

#fnaf movie - for spoilers

#spto - scott pilgrim anime spoilers

personal tags i guess?

#queue - my queue tag, mehh ill make it a pun at some point

#fave - fave posts tag

#favefavefave - super/ult fave posts tag

#andy rambles - my text post tag

#ask - ask tag

#anon - anon tag (non-anons are tagged by username but tooo many to list here)

#tagged/sent - posts sent to me via dm or that ive been tagged in :3

#racmune art - my art tag

#racmune fics - my fic tag

#commissions - art commissions ive done and posts relating to my commissions

#clips - tag for game clips

#scoutposting - my scout tag :3c

#mongusposting - mongus tag

#friend art - art made by friendsss

#trans scout - tag for scout being trans (i dont use this tag as much anymore)

#ftm stuff - tag for ftm related stuff :P history, art, etc

#rule 63 - genderbend tag

#art inspo - tag 4 my art inspiration

#later - tag 4 posts i want to come back to

#gif - gif tag

#gifset - tag 4 posts with more than one gif... this is not what a gifset is but its what ive been using this tag for oops

#stim - stim tag

#mecore - stuff that is genderful.... "MEEEEE"

#important - important posts (i dont use this as much anymore either)

#bangers - posts w over 100 notes :p

#1k - posts w over 1k notes

#2k - posts w over 2k notes

old dtiys

#racdtiys15

#racdtiys16

fandoms/stuff im into

#the scratched universe

#nope 2022

#emesis blue

#lil pootis

#uramichi oniisan

#danshi koukousei no nichijou

#cool doji danshi

#math

#poetry

#webweave

#john k samson

#mf doom

#re - resident evil

#aphmau

#mlb - miraculous ladybug

#tadc - the amazing digital circus

#paradigm game

#fnaf

#beetlejuice

#brokeback mountain

#i love you phillip morris

#dog day afternoon

#romeos 2011

#portal

#half life

#spiderverse

#the boondocks

#enstars

#hi-fi rush

#legend of zelda

#disco elysium

#scott pilgrim

#brba - breaking bad

#death note

#hbomberguy

#jerma

#rtvs - radio tv solutions

#eftf2 - escape from tf2

#bully game

#dungeon meshi

#sally face

#creepypasta

#emh - everymanhybrid

#thief and the cobbler

#ultrakill

#csm - chainsaw man

#gay shame

ship tags

#scoutpauling - scout x miss pauling

#heavymedic - heavy x medic

#freedom fries - soldier x spy

#boots n bombs - soldier x demoman

#scoutcest - scout x scout

#flash fire - scout x pyro

#hop scotch - scout x demoman

#heavyscout - heavy x scout

#pyrosoldier - pyro x soldier

#soldierheavy - soldier x heavy

#helmet party - soldier x engineer

#fruit scones - soldier x medic

#american aviators - soldier x sniper

#demopyro - demoman x pyro

#texas toast - engineer x pyro

#pyropauling - pyro x miss pauling

#burn ward - pyro x medic

#bushfire - sniper x pyro

#pyrospy - pyro x spy

#demoheavy - demoman x heavy

#demoengie - demoman x engineer

#jagerbombs - medic x demoman

#sword van - demoman x sniper

#bomb voyage - demoman x spy

#engieheavy - engineer x heavy

#spoovy - spy x heavy

#science party - medic x engineer

#sniperpauling - sniper x miss pauling

#trucks n vans - engineer x sniper

#bushmed - sniper x medic

#napoleon complex - engineer x spy

#medispy - medic x spy

#adminhale - administrator x saxton hale

#zhannascout - zhanna x scout

#soldierzhanna - soldier x zhanna

#scoutmaspy - scouts ma x spy

#zhannapauling - zhanna x miss pauling

#adminsniper - administrator x sniper

#zhannascoutpauling - zhanna x scout x miss pauling

#tf2 deep fried desire - scout x fried chicken lady

#tf2 lady and the tramp - miss pauling x fried chicken lady

#swing and a missfire - scout x miss pauling x pyro

#engiedemoheavy - engineer x demoman x heavy

#soldierdemozhanna - soldier x demoman x zhanna

#masked mechanic - fixer x jumpsuit (the scratched universe)

#fruit punch - foster x p.rick (the scratched universe)

#purplephone - purple guy x phone guy (fnaf)

#scollace - scott x wallace (scott pilgrim)

#toddallace - todd x wallace (scott pilgrim)

#kowalkins - pete kowalski x jimmy hopkins (bully / canis canem edit)

#gabv1el - gabriel x v1 (ultrakill)

^other tags 2 be added but tumblr doesnt let me add any more hyperlinks so sorry abt that 0_o

[silkendandelion]

Mirage In The Desert - Chapter 7

Summary: Back in the present, River becomes increasingly worried about Alabasta’s drought and suffering citizens, believing there is a larger force at work than a corrupt king. Meanwhile, the timer on his year with Baroque Works has run out.

AN: To clarify the timeline, Chapter 7 takes place approximately one month after the events of Chapter 2.

Rated Teen and Up Audiences for violence, mild sexual content, strong language. Ongoing, will cover the Alabasta Arc. Cross-posted to Ao3, same username. Send me a DM: yell at me, send flowers. Cheers.

~*~

A warlord and his mercenary. Almost a king, but not yet, and his left hand, sharper than steel.

Though they couldn’t be seen fighting together—even being recognized as an employee of a warlord was more complicated than Crocodile liked—here, in the desert dunes and between the cities they could let loose. Whether foolhardy wildlife or unlucky pirates, neither fare well against an admittedly sadistic ex-pirate and the man who needs to be praised by him.

River’s smaller stature and short swords require him to get close to his opponent, leaving him no choice but to be quick, deadly, and end fights fast to avoid being overpowered. Crocodile often times waits to be tagged in, smoking patiently even as he feeds him prey.

“Seems Mr. 2’s kenpo lessons are paying off,” Crocodile said with a smirk. The fight was beginning to feel too long, but it wasn’t often they got a pirate of bounty of over 100 million in Alabasta’s wilderness. “You look tired, Kingfisher.”

“Kingfisher?” River yelled over the sound of steel on steel.

“I was trying to remember the name of the bird you remind me of.”

The pirate was becoming frustrated with River’s haphazard attention. “Am I even here to you?!”

“It’s not an ugly bird is it?” He kicked his chest to embed him into a nearby rock face with a thunderous crack.

“That’s what you’re worried about? It’s a hunter.” Crocodile called back, and pointed to remind River to not take his eyes off his opponent.

Arms coated in haki came up to block the pirate’s sword, flinging it away easily and pinpointing the gap to fly forward and grab him around the throat. “You still didn’t answer me—” A fist to his face interrupted him.

“Focus,” Crocodile tried not to laugh as he re-lit his cigar.

The pirate forced him to the ground, grinding River’s back into the sand. “I came here to fight the warlord, not his air-headed dog—”

“And you might have if you were smarter. Why would I fight you on a dune where there’s no one to see it?” Crocodile said, and the blood drained from the pirate’s face. “River. Let’s head back now.”

With the bored tone of his voice their game was over, satisfied with River’s demonstration and irritated that their toy didn’t care to respect his opponent.

“Yes, Sir.” A haki-coated fist shot into the pirate’s diaphragm—crack—his body sent flying clean through the rock to an unseen place. Dust settled to leave the desert quiet, all wildlife within a mile unsure yet if they could emerge from their holes. He wondered if the man would survive, but recalled what Crocodile had said about him, and decided it wasn’t anybodies loss.

Crocodile watched him stand and dust himself off, the ficklest of remorse on his bruised lip when he smiled.

“I’m getting better,” he panted.

“You’re getting good.” Crocodile reached out to kiss him, mindful of the blood. “I would never allow someone so close who wasn’t at least exceptional.”

Could you kill me, I wonder? He pondered a situation where River knew the rest of his secrets, and decided to take revenge instead of bowing out. Have I failed you if it turns out you can’t?

And on a bright, sunny morning, they are out of time. ____ ___ __ _

“Send Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9, that will be their detail until further notice,” Crocodile said into his snail phone, his grinding molars the only tell that he was close to losing his temper.

Miss All Sunday hummed on the other line, careful to appear surprised by this decision to entrust Whiskey Peak’s threat of starvation to the gaudy pair. “Oh? Even if they’re currently being investigated?”

“Are you questioning my decision?”

“No, Sir. Consider it done.” She closed the line, and Crocodile gently replaced his own receiver.

How long had it been? 8, 9 months? And he was still dealing with the ghost of Miss Saturday, her vow to destroy him slowly, molecule by molecule, it seemed, either by his own paranoia or else. Miss Wednesday will be the end, I’m sure.

A slamming thunk woke River from a sound sleep, eyes bleary and hand seeking the other side of the bed to find it cold.

“Hm? Croc—dile?” He tried to say, voice too weak to call. It was definitely Crocodile’s voice down the hall, at least, and he gave a long stretch before searching for his house shoes. The ones by his side of the bed (his side whenever he borrowed it) were too large for his feet, but they would do.

Robe, robe, ah—robe. He found a dressing gown, again too large, and was looking for his cigarettes when Crocodile appeared in the doorway.

“Good mor… ning,” River stopped, seeing his lover’s jaw tight, sans cigar, and hair looking like his hands had been running through it. “Are you all right? You look almost sick.”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

He rounded the bed to make a show of checking him for injuries, smug when Crocodile leaned away from the palm that tried to take his temperature. “Well enough to be difficult.”

Crocodile picked the robe off one of his shoulders with two fingers. “You look ridiculous.”

“That’s no way to speak about your fashion choices.”

He huffed, as close to a chuckle as he could bear. “It’s not a morning for your quips.”

Nevertheless, he scooped him up, allowing River to move his hair out of the way before he laid him back on the duvet and kissed him, long and deep.

Mm. He hasn’t smoked yet, River smiled into the embrace, lapping the almost licorice taste of fennel toothpaste from soft lips. He yielded easily to Crocodile’s tasting of his own mouth, so tight he could barely breathe.

“You only kiss me like this when you’re going away.”

“Like how?” Crocodile said against his ear, savoring the smell of day-old perfume on unwashed, sleep-warm skin.

“Like if you let me go, I’ll turn into sea foam.”

A gull cries in the distance. “I thought you hated that book.” There he goes, deflecting again.

“So you admit something’s wrong,” River says and hushes Crocodile’s smart reply with his finger, the thumb that has a jewel on it the same color as his eyes. “You don’t have to tell me. Take from me what you need, all I have is yours.”

He’s quiet again, his hand dragging up River’s chest to part the robe, memorizing the pattern of his skin and the twitch in his diaphragm when he makes an inviting sound. But it can’t chase away the replaying of the phone call in his mind, the lingering investigation of his officers, and the new situation at Whiskey Peak. This pushed Operation Utopia back a whole 2—maybe 3 months. Not part of the plan, but he decided it didn’t matter. For this, he would be patient.

He would miss this, though. The Oasin’s contract was up, and he knew he would spend this unforeseen extension in solitude again. He supposed it must be a fitting dress rehearsal for the loneliness he would have found anyway; his poet was too kind to stand beside him at the top of the world.

Crocodile had his wings clipped even before he was the age River is now, and scavenged his flight back in molten metal, creating a deadly weapon that ensured he was never, ever vulnerable again. But he wanted more for River, and kept him safe while he grew his wings back as nature intended, as soft and vibrant as any bird of the Grand Line paradise. A fitting atonement, he believed, for his own self mutilation.

“There’s no time,” he said as he took back his hand and made to get up. “I need to be going.”

“I’ll see you when you get back.”

“You won’t, actually,” he says too casually.

River racks his brain to remember the calendar date when Crocodile kisses his cheek, dressed and ready.

“Don’t look so sad. It doesn’t have to be a loud, dramatic thing,” Crocodile says quietly beside his cheek. “Tomorrow is your last mission, and then you’ll see your mother again... It was fun, wasn’t it?”

You won’t even want to remember me, anyway, a few months from now.

“Don’t—don’t say things like that!” River shouted, startling the warlord to step away. He scrambled off the bed, the too-large dressing gown tangled around him—he really did look ridiculous if it wasn’t for the fire in his eyes, a conviction that made Crocodile’s chest tighten. He could imagine him as a prince or even a king at his side when he looked at him like that.

“Don’t say that, implying I might never see you again. Did you even think about asking me if I wanted to stay or go? Or… both, I can always visit and come back! I—” Suddenly overwhelmed, his emotions pricking behind his eyes, he catches his breath and steels his shoulders.

“If you want nothing more to do with me, tell me now. Otherwise... I’ll be giving you my answer when you get back, Sir Crocodile. Is that understood?”

The scowl as he lights his first cigar of the day makes the hair on River’s neck stand up. Smoke curls from his lips and up above their heads, the first brick in the wall between them. “Safe travels, River.”

“You stubborn—” A single finger silences him, and River hates how he relents without question, his instincts hammering at him to protest, be loud, be heard, and yet obey so maybe the warlord will want him to stay. Is that so wrong?

“Goodbye, River.”

Please don’t leave like this.

“… I love you!” River calls at his back.

His hand hovers over the doorknob for a fraction of a second, no tell in the smoke curling over his shoulder that he even heard him. He leaves before River can sniff out the crack in his mask, or worse, repeat himself.

Go home, River. I’m sorry. ____ ___ __ _

Downstairs and sometime later, River greeted Mila with a bottle of water and a treat.

“Oh! River, how thoughtful of you. But I couldn’t, I’m working—”

“Of course you can. I’ll even stand here while you sit down.” River posted himself beside the door, perfectly perky and ignoring the strange looks he got from tourists coming into the casino. “Good morning! Morning to all. Around the corner there, sir, yes you’ll have to talk to the man with the mustache.”

Mila stared up at him from where she sat with her snack. He looked silly directing guests back and forth in his tailored suit and flashy bobbles, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop him when he smiled down at her so happily. You think I can’t tell when you’re hurting, she thought.

She leaned against his leg, water gripped in her little paws, and he reached down to touch the top of her head. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

“You’re going to leave, aren’t you?” She spoke into her drink.

“What? Who told you that?” He bent down to sit next to her on the ledge, letting the guests go by as they pleased.

“Sir said I should say goodbye to you as he left this morning. Is your business here finished?”

He chewed on his lip before replying. “My contract is ending, yes. It’s been so long since I’ve been home—”

“Oasis?”

“Yes,” a tired grin washed over his face. “My island, it’s been a whole year. I need to at least visit, but I’m trying to decide what I will do next… If I will be welcomed back here.”

Mila placed her empty bottle on the ground beside them, her hands coming up to hold River’s larger ones. She had freckles on the back of her hands, he noticed, and her bitten nails avoided his polished jewelry like she was still thinking of them as separated by class, even now.

“I think Sir is very fond of you. He won’t turn you away.”

Even as she held his hand and he squeezed back, needing her to say she would miss him, he knew she was thinking of him as an extension of her boss, just a wealthy socialite (a fraud) with whirlwind emotions, homesick and too friendly for his own good.

Even in her arms (he thought them friends), he managed to be put into a box on a shelf, labeled by someone else and meant to smile as he’s cajoled. Not that he felt he could complain when he helped to build his prison, and neither did he sense anything but sincerity in the kind brown eyes of his almost friend.

“Thank you, Mila,” he said anyway, kissing the back of her hand.

“Well…” She blushed. “I should get back to work—” A pair of men arguing across the street interrupted their goodbyes.

“I told you, no exceptions.” The smaller one shouted, holding a broom to defend himself.

“You’re gonna fault us for what we can’t pay? Say it in front of everyone here that you’ll deny us food and water in this heat.” The second man gestured with his arms open to the people that stopped to stare. More people filed out of the restaurant, this time a woman with her little ones.

“Let’s go, Shin, please don’t make a scene.” She said, her children against her skirt. “We’re sorry to bother you, we’re just exhausted from traveling—”

“No, I’m not backing down! We offered what we have, and people need to know what’s happening in the rest of this country.”

Mila sighed, turning to River beside her, “It’s getting worse now, refugees are coming into Rainbase too—,” but he was gone.

“Huh? River? Wait!” She reached for him but he was already halfway across the street.

“Is this about money?” River asked, and the crowd turned to look at him. The angrier, larger man looked him up and down; did he even recognize him as Oasin in these clothes? Either way, he seemed unimpressed by River’s curiosity in his expensive silk and gemstones.

“This doesn’t concern you, prince. Or are you mad the downtrodden are spoiling your view?” His family looked away, and River thought the children were too young to be ashamed by what they couldn’t control.

“I can pay for your meal, if you like. We can spend the day buying what you need.” He met eyes with the children staring at him. “Yes? What about a pretty dress for you too?”

Their widening eyes, hopeful, were blocked by the father getting so tight into River’s space that he could see the dirt in his pores. “Don’t you speak to them. They’re my responsibility, and we won’t take charity from some foreign aristocrat like you. All safe in your alabaster temple on top of a lake until it suits you to come down and pity us—”

“Darling, stop!” The wife shouted, suddenly clutching her daughters close. They both looked down to see that River’s coat had moved and his swords were visible behind the small of his back.

No, don’t. Don’t look at me that way, he wanted to plead, snapping his coat closed to hide his shame.

“I’m sorry… So charity won’t help, what would help? I—I'll cook for you. I can build you a home, if I remember how. Let me get you a room for as long as you like—”

“Who are you?” The father said, with little more than pity.

I… I don’t know, he almost said out loud.

“Let’s go. We’ll figure something out.” The father said as he ushered his family away, leaving River to stand alone in the street. A camel nibbled on his shirt sleeve from where it stood tied to a post outside the restaurant.

“Stop that, you.” Mila scolded the animal, freeing River’s arm and trying to tug him back towards the resort. “The drought is hard on everyone, River. You did what you could.”

He took his arm back from her, noticing the button was gone, probably swallowed by the camel. “It hasn’t rained since I came here a year ago. Rob—Miss Manager said it hadn’t rained for years even then… I travel so much, I never paid much attention. When I’m not off the island, I’m here.”

Mila looked him up and down from the corner of her eye. “Well, this city is the last lush place in the country. We avoid a lot of the backlash from the drought, I mean, since the people here have enough money to demand comfort. And the tourists don’t care, I think. They only deal with the heat for the few days they’re here.”

River looked to see the family in rags wandering out of his sight down the road, surrounded by jewelry stores and restaurants with concierge. “What can be done?”

He had never seen her look at him that way, the way Crocodile did, calling him naive without words. “If you knew that, they’d make you king.” ____ ___ __ _

The nearest library was almost halfway to Yuba, the only place of interest in the outskirts of Rainbase, now neglected ever since the tourist industry blossomed. River almost never traveled by camel but he also hardly traveled alone. Funny how the appreciation of something with a mind of it’s own between your legs changes wildly upon context, with him awkwardly yanking the reigns this way and that to try to coax the animal into doing something even close to what he wanted.

What should have been a short and easy trip by hearty animal turned into a slog twice as long, a thorough inspection of each and every bush, shrub, and burrow.

“You’re not making this easy for me, and after I went to all the trouble to—leave my boots alone!” He snapped. His best efforts to throw a fit were moot, the camel content to stop whenever River moved too much, and the latter stopping his wiggling just to get moving again. At least he could see the town by now.

After about the thirteenth time, River flicked their ear with his finger.

“Oi. Are you training me to be still? I hate you… NO!” He yelled when they grabbed the ankle of his pant and tried to yank him off by force.

“Hold!” Someone barked at him to stop, the abrupt stop slamming his face into the back of the camels neck with a grunt.

“What’s your problem?!” He yelled at the blonde man, a soldier judging by the weapons all over him, though River didn’t recognize anything about his clothes, hardly a uniform. Not unusual, it had been years since he saw troops of the king’s army.

“Hold your camel. We’re passing through,” he said, stern and unwavering while River nursed his smarting nose.

“Are the king’s men always so rude?” River said, almost sticking his tongue out at him.

“We’re not the king’s men.”

He blinked, looking back at the men going by with a second eye. Sure, they had guns, but they didn’t look like soldiers anymore. Their clothes were plain, civilian, and what armor they wore was dirty and incomplete. Some of them even had identifying tattoos on full display, a stark ‘BW’ catching River’s eye.

These are the rebels. What are Baroque Works millions doing with them? He wondered if Crocodile had some monetary incentive to loan his foot soldiers to the militia, but his instincts screamed at him: “unlikely”.

“You’re free to go. Be careful.” The man released the camel’s reigns and adjusted his sunglasses as he finally noticed River’s eccentric appearance, and the fact his saddle was laced incorrectly. Out here, in a mostly abandoned city, alone, he must look insane. “You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea.”

“Bandits and pirates like to rest in deserted places like this. Don’t stop until you get to Yuba. Okay?”

“Thank you. Good luck to you, I guess,” River says while the man gets on a horse. Is my saddle on wrong? His look’s different.

“Keep your luck. I’m going to make my own.” The blonde said as he waved goodbye.

“Well, he was nice... Not really, actually,” River spoke to his camel while he looked for the library. “You’re being obedient.”

His victory of riding comfortably was short-lived, and the camel sat down hard on the ground to take his break when he pleased.

River struggled out of the saddle to stomp away, helpless to use his only clue to the library's location: a poorly drawn reference that the Raindinner’s bartender gave him on a discarded receipt. “It looks like there’s a, what word did he use? A life—”

“Library? I can think of one, but it’s been a few years. It’s the only one even close to us, but I don’t even know if it’s still open. It’s got a fountain out front, and there’s some likeness’ lined up beside the door.” The bartender had said, drawing River a crude map and sketch of the building with the pen from his pocket.

“Look, being fluent in the common language doesn’t mean you can just say whatever you want,” he says, squinting at the human-like sketches on the paper.

“Did he mean lifeless? Are these bodies? Not bodies, what’s the word—eeh?!” River yelped when he heard a crash beside him. Just some rotting wood, knocked over by an annoyed lizard.

He figured Crocodile would laugh if he could see him, jumping at strange sounds and talking to himself to fill the quiet. Would Robin? Definitely, but you wouldn’t hate it. Mr. 2 would threaten the ghosts back to whatever realm they came from, saying “Stay behind me, baby! I’ll give ‘em an ‘Un, deux, ORA!’” and they would be back in time for tea.

How can I leave them? They’re my friends, they—

They don’t know you. The voice inside his head reminded him. Their relationships were carefully constructed, meticulously monitored, and had only ever existed under a certain layer of anonymity, as long as Baroque Works tied them together. He wondered if their friendship would fail without the organization as their glue.

But how can I leave the only life I’ve known outside of my island? How can I stay? And live inside a box on a shelf, on display and existing as little more than art in a museum?

His cheeks flushed at the memory of that morning, of fennel toothpaste on his tongue and a fond kiss to his cheek.

But then the sounds of the desert left all at once, startled away and pricking at the edges of River’s hearing.

He waited a moment. Quiet? No, the world isn’t silent, it has clumsy lizards and the sound of horses in the distance. He stood still, pretending to look at the map when he heard a ‘click’ that could only be wood on wood.

The arrow that shot by face seemed to move slower than it actually traveled, but even as he leaned to dodge, the ramshackle fletching whizzed against him and left a scrape on his cheek.

He could track the arrow’s trajectory with a glance, seeing a nearby rooftop on the verge of collapse but probably strong enough to hold a single archer. Deciding to give chase instead of surveying for other assailants was definitely a mistake Crocodile wouldn’t tolerate, but he was lucky enough that the fleeing archer, hooded and cloaked even in the Alabastan sun, was actually alone.

“Wait! Stop!” River called out.

“Why would I stop—?”

They grunted when their path was caught off, crashing into River’s chest and bound to slam to the ground if they weren’t suddenly restrained. Pinning the smaller person was easy work with haki coated hands, after deciding their skinny body to be unsuited for a hand-to-hand fight.

“Get off me, you’re an animal!”

“I’M an animal? You nearly shot me in the face.” River tightened his grip until they stopped squirming. “Why did you try to kill me? Who are you?”

“Too many questions. And why should I tell you anything?!” They almost bit their tongue when River shook them to bring attention back to his demands. “Ow! Help me!”

“Stop your shouting.”

He released them, careful to snatch their bow as they staggered away. With the adrenaline coming down, his heart rate falling, he watched them pull back their cloak to adjust their clothes and try to dust themselves off. A boy, no more than 15, he guessed, with hair that would be dark if it wasn’t so dirty with sand, and a pale complexion that was sunburning around his cheeks and ears. His cloak clearly took the brunt of the weather, torn and sun-bleached, the same color as his hand-me-down boots with repaired soles.

“… You’re just a child.”

“Fuck you! Whoever you are, and give me back my bow!”

He held it out of their reach when they tried to run at him, a single forearm without haki able to keep the child away. “Why did you shoot me?”

“Because you’re a pirate! Or a spy for the King, who else walks around these ruins alone in broad daylight, looking for something, looking like that?”

“I’m a mercenary—and what does that mean?!”

River screamed when the kid pulled a knife from under their cloak and stuck him in the leg. Obviously the word “mercenary” didn’t clear anything up, and worse, he’d underestimated the scrawny sand cat. He yanked the puny knife out with a grunt, stomping it out of shape under his boot and giving chase to the child as he fled between the sagging buildings.

One well-aimed short sword, thrown like a knife, was enough to pin him by his clothes to a wall he failed to skirt around fast enough.

The child panted, squirming, trying and failing to rip his clothes free, yet he paused to study the shiny silver sword that trapped him. “… where’d you get this knife?”

“Huh? Bought her in Rainbase. Her name’s—”

“Amigo! I know!” Their shout stunned him to silence. “Do you have—”

“Amante? I do.” River showed him the sword’s twin. It looked like the child had stopped struggling, trapped but docile for the moment.

“… My dad made these swords.”

“What a small world,” River marveled, beginning to undo the holster that he wore threaded through his belt.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t you want them back? You can have them.”

“I don’t want them…” The child refused to meet his eyes, brow scrunched and bangs in his eyes. “Not after someone like you has used them... For who knows what.”

That doesn’t look like a face of disgust. But I’ll accept your answer. His belt clinked quietly as he fixed it back around his waist. “All right then. If I take Amigo back, are you going to talk to me?”

“I don’t talk to mercenary dogs like you.”

“We’ve been talking a little bit already. I just want to ask if you know where the library is. Was, I guess.”

“The hell do you want to know that for?”

“Is this you not talking to me? Ah—kidding, kidding.” River held up his hands when the child looked like they might chew through their own arm just to get free and take their revenge.

“Let me go and I’ll show you.”

“I’m ditsy, not dumb.”

He didn’t like that at all. “All this for the stupid fucking library?!”

“You tried to kill me,” River said calmly while they thrashed.

“Fine. Go down the road that way to where the old butcher used to be, make two lefts. And when you circle back around the inn, the one with the blue canopy, the library is on your right. Not the building with the sidewalk in front of it, the library faces the west so it always gets too much sand and you can’t see the path anymore. Got that, ditsy?”

They stared at each other with contempt, and River finally broke the silence. “I’m going to let you go. And you’ll show me where the library is.”

“Like I already suggested?”

“Keep being difficult and I’ll leave you here for the animals.”

“Takes one to know one—” River smacked the back of their head before pulling his sword from the wall.

Following him between the buildings, and along a notably less complicated route than what he had described, sat a building in front of a dried fountain. Statues of previous kings and queens lined the front wall, their regal detail out of place among the deprecate city they occupied.

Inside, broken windows had allowed frequent sandstorms to tear through the aisles, and whole piles of sand left some areas of the library inaccessible with anything less than an excavator. River and the child meandered along the path that was walk-able between the shelves, both of them covering their mouths to the gritty air.

“What are you even looking for, ditsy?” The kid coughed.

“… I don’t know,” he admitted.

“Are you kidding—?!”

“Hush,” River put his finger to his lips and swiped clean some sort of directory with his gloves. The sections on politics and psychology were all but buried, but a few shelves between “geography” and “law” were mostly clean.

“These books, they’re…” He searched for the word.

“Useless? A waste of time?”

“History books.” He climbed the shelf to grab one that intrigued him, his hand making a smear in the dust across the words ‘The Great Warlords of Alabasta’.

Not warlords in the definition created by the world government, these people were conquerors, some tyrants, a few liberators, all willing to raze and overthrow entire states for the sake of their ambitions. One name jumped off the page, dubbed “the Last Warlord of Alabasta” by modern historians, his moniker “Hunter of the Ennead” the only remaining piece of his identity.

“You showed me to the library. Aren’t you going to leave?” His voice startled the kid, having spoken without looking up from the book.

“Not a chance.” They visibly stiffened as River looked over. “You’re a mercenary and this is my turf. Grab what books you want and I’m going to make sure you leave in the direction I want you to.”

“Oh? How scary. Young boys always puff up too much when they have something to protect. I’ll only be a moment, and then I’m going home.”

A sketch of the warrior, who knew how accurate it was, colored the opposite page, depicted talking over piles of maps with his most trusted general. In contrast to his commander, the general was covered head to toe, the only feature allowed to show being his dark eyes, in frightening detail compared to the rest of the sketch.

The general wasn’t named by the book, but River knew. The Oasins called him Seth.

Inside his blouse, warmed by the sun and carrying a golden diamond, sat his worship talisman. The Oasins have always struggled to find faith in the gods of the Alabastans, choosing instead to worship their ancestors, the people whose life and love created them, their legacy preserved through centuries of gratitude.

“How long are you going to read?”

“Longer if you keep interrupting me,” River said.

Seth’s fight with the Hunter was legendary, changing the geography of the island and severing a lifelong relationship between them with lightning on the horizon, blood in the sea foam, and spires of shattered bedrock.

All so his people could live.

Consumed by the grief of killing his best friend and most trusted soldier, the Hunter could no longer draw his power, and would be beheaded by the Alabastans with no protest. Decades of power and a lifetime of attempting to unite the island’s warring states undone in a single day, meanwhile his promise to Seth lay shattered worse than the families they fragmented in their relentless campaign. Their history hadn’t been preserved by the mainland, but Seth’s descendants on Oasis carried his legacy of sacrifice.

“Thank you.”

“Who the fuck are you talking to?” The kid said around a mouthful of rations from his pocket.

River thought back to the rebel army that had marched through the ruins, presumably on their way to Yuba. How could he go home now? Another civil war crept onto their island, this time on a dust storm rather than a typhoon. He struggled to think of anything he could actually do from his little pedestal in the sky but, equally, he couldn’t go home to pretend war wasn’t coming.

“Kid.”

“What? Find anything interesting? You looked like you were gonna throw up.”

“I have a question. And answer me honestly; we’ve been doing well, you and I. Is your father still alive?”

“Yes.”

“And do you both live in Yuba?”

The boy’s cheeks colored when he realized he had been figured out. “Why do you want to know that?”

Not a lie. Good enough. “Do you want to take Amante and Amigo back to Yuba? I promise they aren’t sullied, unless you count being wielded by a ditsy fool.”

He stared at him for what felt like hours, the gears visibly turning across his honest face. River thought perhaps this is what Esai saw when he asked him a hard question.

“… No. He sold those swords to feed us. It would be too embarrassing for him if some dandy just gave them back.”

“Oh?”

“When this war is over, we’ll have our own workshop again.” He looked to where the sun was passing over fragmented windows. “And we’ll make a thousand more swords.”

River tried to keep his smile subdued, hoping to not anger the child when he was being so forthcoming. “Well, it’s settled then. My, what a manly answer.”

“Eat shit, ditsy!”

River just laughed, loud and bright. He figured the sand cat would have no trouble getting home even with the sun setting, and the two parted ways, the former with his fussy camel walking beside him, arms loaded with the books he needed to read.

He still had no idea how he was going to attempt to help their situation, but at least he had managed to begin understanding. Regardless of their individual inclinations, a country’s heart was it’s people.

He was one of them, after all. Even separated by miles of ocean, this was still his country, and would always be his home. ____ ___ __ _

On a nearby island, Crocodile pondered his watch beside the fireplace. “Any moment now,” he said, referring to River’s eventual departure with their partner, Mr. 2.

It was a fetch mission, simple and safe, a fitting end for his tenure. “And then he’ll be gone.”

For all River’s protests, he couldn’t accept coming home to anything other than an empty house. A sentimentality crept into his chest, warm, familiar and unwelcome as it seeped into to his face.

A piano for his first house, a watch for his first ship (first love), and a ring for River.

His thumb spun the ring on his first finger, an amethyst on a gold band. River had been given the same one, never told that Crocodile had it’s twin. He would keep it safe, too hesitant to move it to his third finger, but treasured nonetheless. Another prize, another piece of himself, polished and placed on a shelf just like everything important to him that he couldn’t manage to keep.

But not this time. Alabasta would be the difference, the time everything went right. Shame he wasn’t the kind of man anymore to make it a more noble venture. River too—his love, his shame.

You deserve better than what I’ve done to you.

Crocodile wanted to save him one last time, and send him away before the blood stained him too.

Goodbye, River. And fair weather. ____ ___ __ _

“Ah!” Esai cradled his thumb, the digit beginning to bleed from a shallow cut. No matter, it was a normal hazard from all the tinkering he did on his days off. Those precious days he didn’t go to market, or help the fishing party, or help the foragers, or find some problem to fix—

“Well.” He sighed, sucking the blood off briefly to go right back to the sawed-off bolt that betrayed his grip and cut him in the first place.

“Esai—”

“AH!” He shouted at the tiny woman in the doorway to his workshop. Ines dared to snicker at him, though she knew if she pointed out his embarrassed pout he wouldn’t speak to her for the rest of the day.

“Sorry… need something, Ima-ma?” He said, using the tongue-tied nickname a small Esai gave to her when he became frustrated at all the people who called his mama by ‘Mama Ines’.

She wiped dirt off his cheek with her clean sleeve, a gesture he shooed away to try to save her bright tangerine shirt from his messy hobby. “I made lunch. Fetch Claudia, will you?”

“Claudia? Sure,” he said while wiping off his hands. “You two doing something later?”

“You know how she is. Wouldn’t remember to eat if somebody didn’t pound on her door with a plate. She’s spent the entire week getting things ready for River to come home.”

Esai paused as he unplugged his power tools to look at her. “You really think River is coming back?”

“Claudia does. We won’t be the ones to ruin that for her,” she said, an edge to her voice that brokered no argument.

Esai nodded his agreement, telling his mother he needed to switch off the generator before he left to get her, and Ines scuttled back to their home.

“Claudia?” Esai called as he walked down her road, met with silence from the trees. “Claudia!”

Not foraging (she hates fishing, always made River do it), not in her garden, not at home.

“Where could you be?” He wandered away from her house, passed all the homes towards the center of the island and along a path beaten smooth by feet, the ground spotted by a rainbow of sea glass.

At the end, sheltered beneath wide palm leaves, were their ancestors. Or, what was left of them. Most of the statues were fragmented, harmed by storms and such, or weathered by the wind. These original creations, carved thousands of years ago, dwindled along with their memory, transformed by story into what their people hoped resembled the truth. Not many of them came down the path anymore, except the leaders (tasked with culture preservation), and a few that needed prayer.

Esai didn’t want to disturb her where she sat bowed, stepping quietly over fallen leaves to wait for her acknowledgment.

A large, sliced Ki-ki fruit sat beneath the feet of the youngest statue, it’s cerulean fruit bleeding purple over the lip of a plate and onto the sand. The stone man above Claudia stands with his strange eyes fixed to the horizon, one hand outstretched to his people, and the other beside his back, broken at the wrist, his weapon missing.

Seth is said to have been able to eat the Ki-ki fruit, and his people take pride they can at least drape themselves in linen dyed from it’s flesh.

“Lunch is ready,” he said when Claudia finally lifted her head.

She sighed, weight dropping from her shoulders. “Tomorrow, Esai. Tomorrow this will be all over.”

He stared at the ground. “I don’t—”

“I know. No one believes me that he’s coming home, but I feel it. A shift in the weather,” she breathed deep even as the sky darkened at the edge of their southern horizon.

“It’s not that we don’t believe you, Claudia… But a lot can happen in a year. And we haven’t even heard from him in months.”

“Don’t ruin this for me,” she said and, remembering his mother’s voice, Esai shut his mouth on his reply.

“Do you know who stopped to talk to me at the market yesterday?” She went on, barely heard, and Esai shook his head. “One of the rebels, a recruiter.”

“You never told me this,” he said, louder than he meant to.

“They want to know where we stand, with the people or with the king.”

Esai gestured to their island. “We have never stood with any king.”

“Yes, but we’ve existed so far apart from them—everyone, for so long. They don’t understand that while we are fortunate to not suffer the drought neither do we have anything to give that might help. This is going to turn to war, Esai, and our way of life might end.”

His hand came out to try to rub her back where it shook. “Let the leadership and I worry about that. You have to prepare for River coming home, right?”

“What if he doesn’t come back?!” She finally yelled, her voice cracking around tears. “I can’t leave him on that island; how can I just stand here and wait, and, and pray that he comes back? What if something’s happened to him, what if he’s being made to fight in this war? If he’s not home tomorrow, I’m going to get him.”

“No, you’re not.”

“You’re not going to stop me, that’s my son—”

“Claudia, STOP!” He shouted, causing birds to evacuate the canopy as Claudia was finally silent.

“Stop, please… Let’s see how tomorrow goes. Okay? Let’s talk to Ines and Ramon. Like we should have done a year ago.”

She nodded after a moment, relenting as reached down to help her up. Clouds were already rolling in, a sudden wind disturbing the offering that Claudia had left in the leaves at the statue’s feet.

[burningdarkfire]

yet another writing ask: 4, 8, 10, 19, 33, 36, and 39!

you have sent me an absolute feast, thank you!!

(send me another writing ask!)

4. Do you have any OCs? Do you have a story for them?

yes! they tend to be tied to games/worlds rather than specific storylines - for example, a bunch of my favourite OCs in the past few years have been NPCs that i've played as DM in my dnd campaigns. i have a handful of original worlds too :)

8. How slow is a slow burn?

as slow as one prefers, really, though i admit i prefer them pretty fast! i tend to like characters who know what they want and are willing to take the initiative, but there are also very specific flavours of yearning that i find delicious and when they're done well, they can really hit

10. Top three favourite fic tropes

i love a good hurt/comfort, i definitely think catharsis is something i'm always looking for in fic. i like pretty much any sort of situation that can lead to a "dubious consent" tag, because those are always interesting (and/or hot) to explore. and i absolutely adore vampire/werewolf AUs and i am not sorry about it

19. Share a snippet from a wip without giving any context for it.

"Has Wulf found the body?"

"No." Body, singular. Things were more dire than they thought. "How many got away?"

"None," Astrid said grimly. "But that is already enough."

Essek blinked. The room felt small. "When they do not report back, somebody will know you're alive."

She stared at him for a moment, as if suddenly seeing him again for the first time. "Why are you sitting here? He could have left a cat. A dozen cats."

"I'm sure he did." They had a habit of appearing out of the shadows. Essek put the book aside. "Will you call Eadwulf back?"

"He's not a dog," Astrid said, and she laid back down.

Essek could think of nothing else to say. After a few minutes, even to his carefully disinterested eye, Astrid seemed to be perfectly asleep.

33. Give your writing a compliment.

no one is as good as i am at writing the way i do! it's something i've been talking over a lot with a friend recently, and it's a driving philosophy behind my enjoyment of writing. it's so satisfying to make something and know that i was the only person who could have made it as such

36. How do you come up with fic titles? What’s the one you’re most proud of?

fic titles were one of my great projects of 2023 (and are still, if only i actually posted anything) because tbh my writing is cluttered with half-assed titles taken from songs and poems that i can't even differentiate myself. i've read a lot of poetry in the past year with the idea that it could help me; realistically, i just lie around for weeks after finishing a fic moaning about thinking of a title while everyone else is like "okay, yes, but we want to read it though"

honey melt might win the accolade because it's the only title i can think of that i actually like that isn't derivative 😭

39. Wildest AU scenario you have written?

i mean. listen. you know what it is. it's like 90k published words long (not all of which are mine anymore!) and i still barely understand why i did it. i don't write particularly wild AUs in the first place so its very existence is what makes it insane !!

[spoonlord7]

*Poke you* sorry i have been busy and I got +999 notes a day so your post and DM getting drowned if you ever sent them... I think you tag me once?

Love u bro

I don't believe I've tagged you very recently, I did reblog and nerd out about slugs though! Don't apologize for being busy I get it man, things happen. I've been dealing with my own mental stuff going on, my dog just passed yesterday and because of trying to get him the best care money is tight, I haven't really done much besides reblog a crap ton of stuff and working honestly lol

I really appreciate you thinking about me even though you're busy! I'll be your cheer squad if you need me to, love you bro :)

[toastedkiwi]

Finding A Lost Dodger

Pairing: Chris Evans x Model!Reader

You had found the dog in town.

You asked around and even paparazzis but nobody knows who the dog belongs to.

He’s got a collar but no tag on.

It’s clear that the dog had recently gotten a haircut so somebody cared for him.

You ended up coaxing the mutt into your car.

You take a picture and posted it to your Instagram stories.

You have a shoot to go to so you bring the dog along and he’s pretty content.

Thankfully, the photographer was understanding and one of the interns watched him while you got ready and did your job.

He got so much attention from everyone. He was fed some ham from some of the sandwiches and nice cold water to drink. He even ran in for some great shots.

Dodger was having the time of his life being around beautiful women in lingerie and bikinis.

Chris, however, is in a complete state of panic when he realized his pooch had run off.

He has to continually wipe away tears from his eyes.

When the shoot wraps up, you finally get to look at your phone.

You get multiple DMs from people. It varies from people telling you that it’s their dog and many others telling you that it’s Chris Evans’ dog named Dodger.

“Dodger, c’mere,” you called out.

The jumping dog happily rushed over. You started petting him.

“I think we found your dad, Dodger,” you said. “Now, c’mon.”

You got him into your car again and called your manager after finding out that Chris does not currently have Instagram.

“Hey, any chance you can get me Chris Evans’ phone number. I’m pretty sure I have his dog with me,” you explained.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

You call up some friends as well seeing if you possibly have some mutual friends.

You do. You know Sebastian Stan, he’s your neighbor in New York. He ended up calling you after seeing the picture after having a nap.

“Why do you have his dog? You didn’t kidnap the poor thing, right?”

“Why would I kidnap a dog that doesn’t belong to me?! And Dodger went willingly,” you exclaimed.

He texted Chris with your number and sent you Chris’s number. You immediately called Chris after hanging up with your neighbor.

He had just read Sebastian’s text when your call comes in.

“Hey— this is Chris, right?”

“Yes—.”

“Great! I have your dog. He’s been the time of his life hanging out with me for the past couple of hours. As lovable as he is, I know he’s got you all worried.”

“Yeah, he has. Had me all panicked and worried about his fluffy ass.”

“I’m so sorry! I’m currently in Malibu headed back to Calabasas with him. I can meet you somewhere.”

You ended up taking Dodger to his house.

When you get there, Chris is already there. You rolled Dodger’s window down and unlocked the doors. Chris opened the door and immediately picked Dodger up.

“You can’t run away. Got me all worried,” Chris told Dodger.

You couldn’t believe how he just picked him up like a baby or a small child.

“Thank you for finding him and taking care of him,” Chris said.

“Oh, it was nothing,” you said.

The two of you chat for a bit on how you found Dodger. You had to leave and get ready for an event much to Chris’s dismay.

The next morning you send Chris a few photos from the shoot that his dog completely photo bombed. And that’s when Chris realizes that you’re a model.

He totally googled you and saw the many articles being pushed out about the whole situation and saw the screenshots of your posts that you made about the dog you found. You gave an update and said they have been reunited.

Chris thanked you again and offered to take you out to dinner at a nice restaurant. You happily joined him and sneakily paid for the whole dinner. Chris couldn’t believe it. He’s usually paying for things.

“Can I see him again?” You asked.

Chris took you back to his place. You and Dodger couldn’t be more excited to reunite again. Chris had a feeling that you’d be sticking around for a long time.

[ficwriterwastakenalt]

Twitch Crush

"Hey chat, today's a chatting day, which means you can ask me questions and I'll answer them," Yn said as she sat in front of their pc. 'Who's your twitch crush?' said the stream's voice shortly after. 'I adore you and your streams as well!' "twitch crush...hmm who's that fluffy brown haired one with gorgeous grey eyes," Yn smiled, thinking.

"Karl Jacobs with a K he's definitely a cutie chat" The chat started spamming with his name and saying to clip it and post it on twitter...which they did and @'d the poor boy. "Calm down, chat," Yn whispered quietly, a blush still on their cheeks. 

After the stream, Yn shifted in her chair because a lot of the chat was about Karl, which made her feel embarrassed. What if Karl saw it? What if he dm'd Yn? Yn's phone rang with a notification.

She opened it and saw that it was from their twitch instagram, so she looked at it. 'Karl Jacobs has requested to message you,' it said. Yn's heart pounded against their chest as she read the message, 'hey you're y/u/m right, I saw your stream today!'  

'Oh my God, no!' Yn accepted it with trembling hands and typed out a reply: 'This is them, and oh you did?’ Yn didn't realise it, but his heart fluttered as soon as that message arrived at his end. He looked over to his friend Sapnap and gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes before whining, "Sap, help me tell me how do reply." 

His friend laughed before taking the taller's phone and typing out a message before throwing it back at Karl. 'yes, I did...do you really think im cute,' Karl smiled as he read it before turning to face Sapnap, who was now on the phone with Dream. Karl dashed inside his room, his fluffy hair bouncing with each step, slammed the door, and leapt into bed, staring at his phone, waiting for Yn's response.

'So you saw that and yeah yeah I do you're really adorable Mr. Jacobs,' he wiggled his shoulders as the message from Yn popped up. It was simple yet let his heart fly higher than any bird could. He moved onto his back and immediately typed another reply, 'you're cute too,' he said. He sent it, then jumped up, leaving his phone on his messy bed. As he stood in the corner, his phone dinged twice, compelling him to peek before hastily answering Quackity and opening Yn's message.

'But I'm faceless, unless *checks windows*.' 'It's cool, I'm under the bed /j for legal reasons,' he replied, Yn blushing and giggling 'hey Karl, weird question but you up for a call?' Karl looked at the time and thought he had enough time to call before he had to meet up with Jimmy and the crew. 

Yn quickly fixed their hair, pressed the call button, and sat just outside of view. "Hello?" the brown-haired boy asked "Hello Mr.Karl Jacobs!" Yn said as she stuck her head into the frame of their phone. "I was right," Karl whispered, not even realising it. "About what?" Yn questioned, their e/c eyes wide with wonder and confusion as they looked at the man. 

Karl reddened, and Yn felt the sudden impulse to screenshot it, so they did. "WAIT DID YOU JUST SCREENSHOT ME?" Karl's phone shook as if he was walking, and Yn shrugged "Sapnap tell Yn delete the screenshot they took of me," Yn chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Yn screenshotted your guys' dms?  I know you're terrible at talking to girls, but Karl, I didn't realise you were that bad."

"SAPNAP SHUT UP -hmpf we're on call moron," Karl yelled, stamping his foot and huffing to blow the bangs out of his eyes, which appeared to Sapnap to be a little brighter. "Right now?" Sapnap asked, his gaze falling on Karl's phone, which was pressed against his chest, making Karl nod. "Can they hear me?" Sapnap asked again Karl drew back and stared at the screen. Yn smiled and nodded at him. 

"Send it to me, Yn, and tweet it" On their monitor, Yn opened Twitter and posted the photo she had sent to both themselves and Sapnap, with the description 'Karl Jacobs is really a blushing simp'. Both Karl and Sapnap were tagged by Yn. '@KarlJacobs_ requested to follow you,' '@sapnap requested to follow you.'

--6 months later--

Yn sat for hours on the plane, but it was well worth it. Jimmy had sent her an instagram message not long ago, asking her to come down to surprise Karl for his birthday, and Yn couldn't stop their heart from racing as they gazed down at the gift box in their lap and the plane descending to the runway.

--ya yk what happens blah blah blah 

As he stops, Yn looked up at Chris and then at the house, which had balloons tied to the mailbox, making her laugh. She got out and Chris followed, and Yn smiled at him as a thank you before they made their way into Karl's house, where Jimmy stood by the door, opening it for them and hiding Yn in his room. Yn sat in his streaming chair, her facing to the monitor the gift sat in their lap.

Yn couldn't help but nod off after their lengthy flight. Yn awoke not long after to Jimmy talking just outside Karl's door "Karl, your gift is in there" "I told you guys not to get me anything" Yn could almost see the pout on his lips now Yn heard shuffling and turned the chair staring up at Karl

"Y-Yn?" Karl muttered as Yn nodded and stood up, leaving his gift on the chair. Karl scooped up Yn and twirled them around before being tossed onto his bed, where he jumped and hugged Yn with all his might, making them laugh at his actions. Jimmy and the rest of the crew left the room, but not before taking blackmail photos.

Before they both grew tired of talking, they both have been talking about everything. "Karl?" Yn asked as she noticed Karl leaning against Yn's shoulder and wrapping his arms around their waist. He responded with a gentle hum, as if to say, 'I'm listening, but he's also too tried to talk', "You're my favourite twitch crush."

[et-lesailes]

the instagram error

pairing: chris evans x reader

word count: 1208

summary: you and chris’ secret relationship is about to become public all because he has no idea how to use instagram...

themes: fluff, comedy

taglist: @evanstush​, @tanyam93​, @bval-1​, @wonderwinchester​, @patzammit​, @rohaintahquil​, @deidrashouseofpain​, @sammyslonglostshoe​, @jadedhillon​, @bohemian-barbie​, @whysparker​, @sebastian-i-stan​, @sebabestianstan101​, @lille-kattunge​, @teller258316​, @peach-acid​, @allsortsofinterests​, @xoxabs88xox​​, @heyiamthatbitch​​, @cptn-sgrogers​​​, @heyyouwiththeassbutt​, @bangtan-serendipity​, @troublermalik​​​, @beardburnsupersoldiers​​​, @bookish-shristi​​, @kind-sober-fullydressed​​,  @gingerninjaprincess16​​, @straightforwardly​​,  @denisemarieangelina​​,  @frencchfries​​, @xlanawriter​​, @littlemoistcarrot​​, @pottxrwolff​​, @arianatheangelworld​​, @ifuseekamyevans​​, @southerngracela​​, @nsfwsebbie​​, @rororo06​​, @savemesteeb​​, @raveviolet​​, @inactivewhore​​, @hurricanerinwrites​​, @captainamerica-is-bae​​, @shaddixlife​​, @tessa-bl​​, @marvelouspottering​​, @pppsssyyyccchhhiiiccc​​, @thegetawaywriter​​, @dwights-new-plague​​, @rynabarnesrogers​, @fckdeusername​​

notes: this one’s a little short, but it was just something fun i wanted to write since chris made his instagram! :) graphic creds to @thewritingdoll​

You smile in amusement as you rub lotion on your legs having just gotten out of the shower, watching your boyfriend tapping all over the screen of his phone in confusion. “Chris. It’s really not that complicated,” you remark with a laugh from your current seat at the edge of the bed, and he looks up from the device, scoffing playfully. “Look, I barely use this thing as it is unless it’s to occasionally tweet or take pictures of Dodger. Ya can’t blame me for having no idea how Instagram works.”

You giggle softly, standing up and coming over to his side, craning your neck trying to see what he’s posting. “You’re trying to do multiple pictures? Look, you tap on this first,” you explain, pressing on the icon on the right side of the screen, “then you select all the images you want in order.”

“Ohh.” Chris nods, grinning up at you. “Thanks, baby.” You chuckle softly as you go to the walk in closet, slipping out of your robe to change into pajamas. “Mmhm. Anytime.” He fiddles around with the phone for a few more minutes before finally locking it and setting it aside with a sigh. “Alright. That’s over with,” he exhales playfully as if exhausted, and you come back out of the closet dressed in a simple sleep tank with matching shorts. “What a hard life you lead,” you tease, crawling into the bed and yawning. “You ready for bed soon, babe?”

“Oh yes. I’m fucking exhausted.” Chris peels out of his clothing and you can’t help but stare, feeling incredibly thankful that the man sleeps in the nude every night. However, you soon look over to your nightstand, suddenly realizing your phone’s been going off like crazy. Blinking confused, you pick it up and look at the messages from your friends in your group chat.

“Giiiirl! That picture Chris just posted? SEXYYYYY!”

“Omg I thought you guys were still keeping the relationship on the dl?”

“Is this your way of telling the fans? Lmaoo”

“But why did he post it with a bunch of pictures of his dog….?”

Your eyes immediately widen as you stare at the flood of messages continuing to come in, now from other friends as well. “Chris,” you slowly murmur, “what the hell did you just post…?”

“Huh?” He looks at you in confusion as he’s getting into bed beside you. “Just some pictures of Dodger from our walk today, you know the really cute ones we took by the lake. Why?”

You take a deep breath and go to Instagram- you don’t even have to go to his profile because the photos pop up first on your feed. You swipe through- cute picture of Dodger, cute picture of Dodger, another cute picture of Dodger…

A mirror selfie of you in lingerie, a photo you had taken and sent to him one time just to tease when he was at work.

“Chris!!!” you practically scream, showing him the phone. When he sees it his blue eyes widen; he jolts up and grabs his phone. “Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!!” He goes to his Instagram frantically, tapping the screen flustered. “How do I delete this?! How do you delete a post?!” You practically tear the phone out of his hands, deleting the pictures yourself before tossing it to the other side of the bed as though it’s a bomb.

The two of you slowly look at each other, panicked, discombobulated, stressed… until both of you suddenly burst out in laughter, realizing just how ridiculous the situation is. “Holy fuck. Thank god it wasn’t a nude,” he practically cackles, and you squeal just thinking about it, giggling breathlessly. “Chris. I can’t believe this. We were doing such a good job keeping our relationship a secret,” you laugh, “and it gets leaked from you? From a goddamn Instagram post?” You clap your hands, practically gasping for breath now, your smile stretched wide across your face as your shoulders shake from laughter. “Only you, Chris, only you!”

“Instagram is confusing, okay! Besides, I was doing the fans a favor. Your body is smoking, baby girl.” He points out with a playful smirk, throwing his arms around you tightly. “Shit, both of us are probably getting flooded with comments and DMs right now. We should probably address this, shouldn’t we…?” You sigh, smiling amused as you lean into his hold, holding his arms around you. “I mean, ever since they saw us in Defending Jacob together, they were “shipping” us anyways. It can’t be too surprising, right?” You yawn softly, tilting your head up to kiss him gently. “We’ll make a more formal announcement tomorrow morning. Let’s go to sleep now though, hm?”

Chris looks somewhat thoughtful but nods, leaning over to turn off the light before lying down with you. “Goodnight, Y/N. Love you,” he murmurs, kissing your forehead, and you smile in content as you close your eyes. “Night, Chris. Love you.”

He doesn’t fall asleep just yet, though, despite the fact that you’re already drifting off beside him. Instead, he picks up his phone again, going to Instagram. This time when he makes a post, he’s very careful about selecting the photo he wants, practically triple checking that he hasn’t added anything else. He types up the caption and presses “Share” before settling down, soon falling asleep with his arms around you.

You wake up the next morning earlier than him, blinking sleepily. Picking up your phone to check it before letting yourself go back to sleep, you blink noticing a flood of messages once again.

“I just DIED at chris’ post. You are so lucky omg”

“CHRIS IS TOO SWEET!!!!! Pls stay together forever”

“I’m still crying rn omg he is so romantic”

You check your other notifications. Chris has tagged you in an Instagram post? You go to the picture and immediately widen your eyes in surprise.

It’s a selfie of you, Chris, and Dodger- Chris has his arms around you and his head on your shoulder, his blue eyes sparkling happily and his lips close to your cheek. Dodger is on your other side, his own mouth practically pulled back into a smile as his tongue hangs out. Your eyes drift to the caption. 

“Alright guys. Pretty sure almost all of you caught my little Instagram mess up, so it’s time to come clean. I don’t normally do stuff like this but I want to with this girl. This girl right here is the love of my life, AND the love of Dodger’s too. We met on the set of Defending Jacob and the rest is history. I’m so lucky to have her. She’s a little ball of love and energy, and she even manages to make this quarantine full of delight and excitement each and every day. I hope you guys can respect our relationship and show her the same love you show me.

And yes, she sends me some pretty sexy pictures. ;)” 

You giggle softly to yourself, glancing down at the sleeping man beside you. God, you love this man.

You set the phone aside and snuggle back into him, closing your eyes to fall back asleep, the soft smile remaining on your lips.

[yourfriendlyneighborhoodfanfics]

“The Real Life Mary Jane”

Tom Holland x y/n

Warnings: none, just a bunch of cute fluff. Might take this and run with it if you guys like it enough!

Tom was sitting on his laptop memorizing lines in his room when out of nowhere Harry came rushing in, seemingly out of breath. “Tom! Have you been on Instagram today?” Tom stared dumbfounded before his confusion escalated as Harrison came running in not long after. “Harry, did you show him?” Harry shook his head and jumped in front of Tom on the computer. As he began to protest, Harry shushed him, the urgency in his voice alarming Tom. “N-no, I haven’t been on Instagram, you know I try not to make a habit of it. What’s wrong?”

“Have you heard of Y/N L/N?” Harrison spoke up, grinning from ear to ear. Tom had heard of the up and coming pop star’s name, but he didn’t know anything about you. “Uh, yeah, I guess? Why?” Harry finished his search and stepped out of the way. It was one of your music videos. “What is this about mate, I need to be learning my lines-“

“Just shut up and watch it!” Harry shouted and the two boys huddled around Tom as he clicked the play button. The video started up, it was a catchy song and you looked super cute. He had never even seen you before, but you were more than he expected. However, he wasn’t really sure why he was watching it until Harry spoke up again. “Okay, now pay close attention…” in the video you were sitting on the floor wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt that was way too big for you, and nothing else. Tom smiled to himself, he thought you looked cute in it. “So, she likes Spider-Man?”

“That isn’t the half of it, hang on.” Harry reached over and clicked to another tab he already had pulled up with a different music video. In this one you were lighting your ‘exes’ car on fire, and as you danced around and sang, you grabbed a Spider-Man bumper sticker off the back and put it in your pocket to keep. Harry clicked another tab with another music video, one where you were singing a slower song and in it, you had multiple Amazing Spider-Man comics splayed out on your bed. One by one, Harry showed Tom video after video of you slowly expressing your love for Spider-Man. In some of the music videos it was less obvious, but in some it seemed to be the point. Either way, you had been able to sneak in something to do with Spider-Man into every single one of your videos. The last one Harry pulled up was one where you and a bunch of girls were making ice cream sundaes and you had a pink beanie on with the classic Mary Jane Spider-Man heart on the front.

Harrison kept lightly punching Tom’s shoulder in disbelief and Tom just stared forward. “The media is calling her the ‘real life Mary Jane’!” Harry nearly shouted, Tom switching between the tabs himself. “How have I never heard of her?”

“Well she just released the video with the t-shirt, and that seems to be what blew up overnight. The rest were subtle enough that nobody really put it together.” Harrison explained, grabbing Tom’s phone and looking up your Instagram handle. He handed it back to Tom, and sure enough there you were on the cover of Cosmo, wearing that same Spider-Man t-shirt and the same beanie, the headline reading “New Popstar is the Real Life Mary Jane” and you had a sucker hanging out of your mouth.

“What are you going to do?” Harry asked, expectantly. Tom stared at his phone, unsure of how to proceed. “I mean, do you think I should do something?” The boys stared at him, dumbfounded. “You have to, are you kidding me?” Harry shouted again, knocking Tom upside the head. Harrison added, “Mate she’s gorgeous, and she is being handed to you on a silver platter. This is a golden opportunity, you might as well, right?” Tom sat and thought for a moment before ushering the boys out. “I need a minute to think, okay?” He closed the door behind them and heard the two snickering from outside. “If he doesn’t do something, I will. I could be Peter Parker, right?” You heard Harry mumble and Tom just hollered, “Piss off!” And the two took off laughing.

Tom sat back down on his bed and pulled out his phone. He had been tagged by over 3,000 people to look at your post of the article cover. He must have been really distracted from his phone to not notice today, so he googled your name. As he was scrolling, he found a video of you dated a couple of months back, answering questions for an interview. “So, who would be your celebrity crush?” The interviewer asked. You paused and smiled at the floor before answering, “Well I guess I would have to say Tom Holland. He is about as close to Peter Parker as I will ever get!” You and the interviewer laughed, and he continued, “Yeah, you have said in the past that you are a fan of Spider-Man, when did that start?”

“Honestly, I have loved Spider-Man as long as I can remember. I grew up watching the movies, collecting the comics, tucked under the covers with a flashlight reading them every night.” You giggled again and the interviewer continued. “No kidding! So why not Tobey Maguire? Or Andrew Garfield?” Tom watched as you looked between the camera and the interviewer before landing on the camera. “Well, Tom was Stan Lee’s pick for Spider-Man so, I think that answers that!” The interviewer led the questions elsewhere, and you seemed to answer them all with ease. Tom did notice that you were blushed only when talking about him and that made him blush just as bright.

He pulled your Instagram back up and scrolled through your photos for a while. You seemed like a relatively normal girl, all your posts of new song releases or pictures of your dog. Finally, he clicked the follow button and opened his dms.

-

You were on set for your next music video release, busy getting your make up touched up when your phone kept buzzing in your pocket. You pulled it out, deciding that since you had a few minutes of spare time you would see what was going on. You tried not to spend too much time on your phone while you were on set, still trying to figure out the do’s and don’ts of the industry since you were so new. You glanced down as your phone screen lit up, and you almost dropped it. You tried to shout out to your best friend, but all the wind left your lungs and you just took off running. You called out to the director, “I am gonna need a five-minute break!” And kept running until you collided with your best friend, Grace. “Ow, y/n! What the hell?” You had no words, you just handed your phone to her and kept pinching yourself. “Holy shit. Holy shit!” Grace started shouting, seeing the notification.

Tom Holland (@tomholland2013) has started following you

You collapsed onto the couch and felt a shiver run down your spine. “Calm down! We figured this would happen eventually, right? You weren’t exactly being subtle, and with the new tabloids…” Grace sat next to you but fell silent after a moment. You figured she was just reading it again but after a minute of her not saying anything you looked up. “Well now what, Grace?” Her skin looked pale and she was trying to suppress a smile. “Now, you answer this.”

She handed your phone back to you and you read the dm, and then you read it again, and then you read it out loud because that had to make it real right?

“Do you prefer going by Y/N or Mary Jane?”

You couldn’t describe the feeling coursing through your body, and Grace held onto you to keep you stable. “What are you going to say, girl?” You shook your head for a moment before saying, “I have no idea.” And attempted to type out a response four different times, with feedback from your manager and Grace of course, before landing on, “Usually Y/N, but it’s never too late to pick up a new nickname. How are you?”

You felt like it wasn’t perfect, but it was the best you could come up with in the moment and you sent it. A few minutes passed of you erratically checking your phone before he responded, “I’m doing well, thanks. I was just reading up on this article I found today. Some very interesting things in there. I didn’t know I had such a huge fan.”

You smiled and answered, “I’m sure you have a million fans that love you, I just get to have a voice to talk about it!”

Several minutes passed without a response and you sighed. “Was that too flippant? I just didn’t want to seem like a crazy person or an over obsessed fan.” You asked Grace, who shook her head. “It was fine sweetie, I’m sure he just got caught up doing something.” You nodded, unsure of her reply as the director poked his head in, clearly pissed that you took off. “Can we please get back to filming?” You jumped up, apologizing profusely and followed him back to the set. After about an hour of filming dance scenes and close ups, you were done for the day. You thanked the director and apologized again for leaving him waiting before returning to your dressing room. There you found your phone unattended, and you opened it again to find two missed dms.

“You wouldn’t want to grab dinner sometime this week, would you?”

“Sorry, I hope that wasn’t too forward. If you aren’t interested, I totally understand.”

You could have thrown up right there. You probably would have if you weren’t wearing your new Spider-Man sneakers that you would avoid ever getting dirty. It gave you an idea.

-

Tom checked his phone repeatedly for the next hour, concerned he pushed it too far. “What if it’s a marketing scheme?” He asked his brother who shook his head. “It’s not, Tom. She is probably just busy-“ A notification going off on Tom’s phone brought them all back to reality as he pulled it out and read the message out loud.

“Sorry for the delay, I was caught up filming.” Followed by a picture of what appeared to be Spider-Man themed tennis shoes. A few seconds later another message popped up, “I would love to get dinner with you. How does Thursday sound?” Tom threw his fist in the air triumphantly before texting you back. He couldn’t wait to meet you, and you two spent the rest of the night planning your dinner. Harry stood up and patted Tom on the back saying, “I can just hear the tabloids now. ‘Extra! Extra! Read all about it!’” They both laughed and Tom shoved him playfully before he returned to his phone. Today turned out much different than either of you expected, but Tom felt like he had something really good on his hands. A notification popped on his phone from Jon Watts, the director of the Spider-Man movies.

“Hey kid, I need you to reach out to Y/N L/N. We want to get her to make a song for SM3.”

“No worries, way ahead of you.”

[khoicesbyk]

Dark Pleasure.

A/N: This AU is between my two all time favorite books Bloodbound and The Royal Romance! It is the crossover to end all crossovers.

A/N 2: Tristan Rys is a ruthless drug lord. Latisha Tucker is a reporter for The Washington Post. What could possibly go wrong when she falls into his dangerous world?

A/N 3: This fanfic will be dark! And sexy! And violent! And delicious! And will quickly become your guilty pleasure.

Rated: Mature. | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual from me. 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: Tristan Rys (LI) and Latisha Tucker (MC) x Adrian Raines and Tiana Reynolds-Raines | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 3,950 words. (more or less. I stop counting after editing and re-editing. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

Tag List: @shewillreadyou @rideordiechronicles @lababynina @storyflirting @chutchoices @twistedjaee @secretaryunpaid @aussieez @pixie88 @lucy-268 @txemrn @kingliam2019 @tessa-liam @prettyvintageafternoon @jerzwriter @choicesficwriterscreations

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

TW: drug use, violence, murder, mentions of torture, prostitution.

This series is rated Mature. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

S/O goes to my rock @shewillreadyou! She helped me untangle the thoughts and plot I had of this chapter. I love her more than she knows.

Chapter 9.) Into The Lion’s Den.

Tisha’s life has officially gotten interesting. After meeting with Adrian she had agreed to work with him. And that happened after she agreed to a second date with Tristan Rys. She officially was on the dark path down a long rabbit hole.

She was still in a daze after meeting him. While sitting on her bed she kept thinking about the intimacy of him biting her. The heat she felt of his body being close to hers. She felt his strength, his power, and his lust. And she wanted to feel it again. She wanted to feel the adrenaline again.

But for now, she had to shift her focus from Adrian to Tristan. She had a dinner date to think about. It was now Saturday morning and her date was that evening. She wondered if it would be like their first date. Would it flow as easily as the first? She had so many thoughts about the date. They would soon be interrupted by a text from Tristan himself.

After that exchange she had more questions about him than she had answers. But those questions would have to wait because there was a knock at her door.

“Now who could that be?” She thought as she walked to the front door. After silencing her dogs, she opened her to the last person she'd thought she'd see. Adrian.

“Senator Raines! What a surprise! What are you doing here on a Saturday morning?”

“Is this a bad time, Ms. Tucker?”

“No! Not at all!”

“May I?”

“Yes! Yes, come on in!”

She stepped aside to let him in before closing the door.

“Are you sure that I didn't catch you at a bad time?”

“No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting guests this early. Also, I thought vampires couldn't be in the sun.”

“If I was a younger vampire then yes I couldn't. But I'm nearly 400 years old. While it's not a pleasant experience for me, in VERY short instances I can stand it.”

“Gotcha. Well, what brings you by? Also, how did you know my address?”

Adrian smiled softly.

“The idiot told my wife and she told me.”

Tisha rolled her eyes.

“He doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut does he?”

“No. He doesn't.”

“Why don't you have a seat, Senator?”

Adrian sat down on her couch as she sent her dogs to her bedroom then closed the door. When she returned to the living room, Adrian noticed the cat tower in the corner.

“You have a cat?”

“Yup. Luca. He's friendly I promise.”

As if on command, Luca hopped up onto the couch. Adrian looked at him uneasily and Tisha noticed.

“You're not afraid of cats are you, Senator?”

“Worse. Allergic.”

Tisha snorted.

“And here I thought vampires were impervious to everything.”

Adrian chuckled before sneezing.

“Definitely not.”

“Here I'll take him in the room with the dogs. Then you and I can talk.”

“Sounds like a—”

Adrian sneezed again.

“Plan…”

Tisha snickered as she gathered Luca in her arms.

“Come on baby. You can go lay on the bed with the boys.”

After taking Luca into her room, she returned and sat beside Adrian.

“So let's chat, shall we?”

“That's why I'm here.”

“What brought you here Senator?”

“Adrian. And you call me curious about you.”

“After one meeting?”

Adrian shrugged.

“You left quite an impression, my dear.”

“I could say the same for you.”

Adrian smirked.

“That was the point. Pun intended.”

Tisha shook her head as she chuckled softly.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Off the record?”

Tisha rolled her eyes.

“Sure. Off the record. When did you and Nessa start sleeping together?”

“6 months ago. Which is 2 months after she first let me feed on her.”

“That was my next question.”

“And I thought I was the curious one.”

“I just find it strange that she would cheat on her boyfriend of 3 years. I know how much she loves him. Or at least I thought I did.”

Adrian shrugged.

“I remember she came into the office late one night, an absolute mess. Told me that they had gotten into an argument and she left. I invited her into my office for a drink to calm her nerves and one thing led to another and we wound up fucking on the couch in my office.”

“Woooooow!”

“We swore that it wouldn't happen again but that lasted all of maybe 2 weeks.”

“And you two have been hooking up ever since?”

“Every time she flew to New York. We'd meet at the hotel bar then go back to her room.”

Tisha let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

“Wow! I did not expect you to be so candid.”

Adrian smirked.

“You asked. I answered.”

“And you’re sure that Tiana knows?”

“Yes, my dear. She knows. She actually expected us to sleep together the day after I hired Jenessa.”

“Your wife. The Goddess Of All Vampires. Expected you to be a hoe? Can I quote you?”

“Off the record. Remember?”

“Damn!”

Adrian snickered.

“Besides, T has her own toys. Both human and vampire.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She is the only being in the universe that can feed off of both humans and vampires.”

“Whoa! So besides you and Tristan, who else is there?”

“Jax, Nikhil, a few former members of my old clan Kamilah and even Sam Dalton just to name a few.”

Tisha’s eyebrows shot up.

“Sam Dalton as the new CEO of Dalton-Russo?”

“The one and the same. She grew up with his first wife. She's his twin’s Godmother. She spoils those boys rotten.”

“Speaking of Tiana, can we talk about her or would you rather discuss something else?”

“We can talk about her. That's fine.”

“What was she like? As a human I mean.”

Adrian smiles fondly.

“She was fun. She was as beautiful then as she is now. She ALWAYS kept me on my toes. She captured my heart before either of us realized we were in love with each other.”

“Sounds highly romantic.”

“Yeah, it was. Which is why turning her remains the biggest regret of my life.”

“From what I heard, you didn't have a choice.”

“You're right. I didn't.”

“What was that like? For you, I mean.”

“As I said, I regret turning her. But I had no choice. She was dying in my arms. And all I could think was that I couldn't lose her.”

“What happened? If you don't mind my asking.”

Adrian cleared his throat.

“I held her close with the sword still buried to the hilt in her stomach and as I looked at her, I told Jax to pull the sword out. Kamilah wasn't sure that it would work but I couldn't help it or hear her. All I could think was that I had to save Tiana.”

“Whoa…”

“Not my finest moment but at that moment I knew that I couldn't live without her.”

“They say love makes you do crazy things.”

Adrian nodded.

“But the turning didn't take. Not at first.”

“What do you mean?”

“Normally, it takes 24 hours for a vampire to turn. But Tiana didn't. So we waited. And waited.”

“How long did you wait?”

“10 days. Mainly because I was too stubborn to believe she was truly dead.”

Tisha shuddered.

“And when we buried her, I lost it. I already lost one wife and child. And when Tiana died I went dark. Darker than I had ever been in my whole life.”

“I know. I have your autobiography.”

“Didn't know you were such a fan.”

Tisha shrugged.

“Let's just say that I found it very compelling.”

Adrian smiled faintly.

“Let me ask you this. How were her powers unlocked?”

“The same way Rheya’s powers were unlocked. The loss of someone she loved.”

“Who?”

“Her best friend, Lily. Like you and Jenessa, they had known each other since middle school.”

“Ohh…”

“Lily dying in her arms, changed Tiana in an instant. It turned her cold, heartless, unforgiving, and bloodthirsty. She wanted revenge.”

“Yikes.”

“That's putting it mildly. She finally understood what drove Rheya. What guided her. What made her despise humans.”

Tisha shuddered.

“It was a scary time in the opera house that night.”

“What happened?”

“According to Tiana, she heard the prophecy come true.”

“What prophecy?”

“When the sap of the tree rests in the golden chalice. The skies shall turn red, the earth shall be torn asunder. And The First shall walk again.”

“Well, that's not ominous at all.”

“I watched as she truly became the most powerful being in the universe. And I almost lost her in the process.”

“What do you mean?”

“She almost gave into the darkness. She was ready to murder everyone in the opera house that night in order to attain Godhood. She swore that would use it to bring Lily back to life but with the look in her eyes that wasn't going to happen. She was too far gone then. The darkness had started to consume the woman I loved. If I hadn't begged her to come back to me, we'd all be dead or her slaves.”

Tisha whistled low.

“Oof. That's a lot.”

“Sorry. Didn't mean to unload on you. It's just no one has ever asked me how I felt about the whole ordeal.”

“No no. It's fine. I do want to touch on something though. You mentioned that Rheya turned to the darkness after a profound loss, who did Rheya lose?”

“That's the thing. She didn't.”

“I don't understand.”

“Before Rheya became the Goddess Of Vampires. She was a married priestess with a daughter.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She initially wanted to make her home a place of peace and prosperity. But a group of humans called the Sons Of Ares saw her as an abomination that had to be put down. So they attacked Mydiea one night. According to what Tiana told me from a vision she saw, they killed her husband and when she found a burned child’s body, she changed. She became dark, bitter, vengeful, bloodthirsty and cold. Humans took the ones she loved, so she made it her mission to kill all humans. Except she was wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“Rheya thought that The Sons Of Ares had killed her daughter. But really, she's the one who killed her.”

“What?! How?”

“Iola, her daughter's name, wasn't dead as Rheya initially thought. She was kidnapped. And the Sons Of Ares  thought she was like her mother. But she was just human. And when Rheya, Gaius, and Xenocrates came to their village, Iola was killed by her mother.”

“Rheya killed her own daughter?”

“Rheya had already turned to the darkness within her and she didn't recognize Iola when she killed her.”

“Jesus Christ…”

“And when Tiana showed her the truth, Rheya couldn't handle it. And she begged T to kill her.”

“Sheesh.”

“After Rheya died, Tiana united the light with the dark.”

“What was that like?”

“Beautiful and terrifying at the same time.”

“I bet.”

“Tiana has raw unimaginable power. And a cold dark rage that is deadly to us all. And over the years she's learned to harness it. To control it. And if you piss her off. She unleashes it. Much like Gaius or Rheya. Only Tiana is a different and better breed than them both.”

“She sounds intense. And scary.”

Adrian chuckles.

“Everything but. Sure she knows how to get what she wants but I know her better than anyone. I knew the woman she was then and I know the woman she is now. She's a brilliant force to be reckoned with in both business and politics. That's one of the reasons why she has the imbecile wrapped around her finger.”

“Her power runs that deep?”

Adrian nodded.

“She has more than physical power. She has unmatched psychological power. She could topple the world and rebuild it in her image, should she ever choose to. And no one could stop her.”

“Wow. I'm starting to regret saying this conversation was off the record. This is great.”

Adrian snickered.

“Maybe I could let you talk to Tiana yourself, let her tell you her story.”

“No offense but no thank you. I think I'm safer staying right where I am.”

“And where is that?”

“Alive.”

Adrian chuckled softly.

“She wouldn't kill you, Latisha. She can't. On account of my Senatorial Agreement.”

“The one you signed that swore no vampire can kill a human?

“Unless in cases of extreme or near fatal harm? Yes, the one and the same.”

“While I'm thankful for that agreement if it's all the same.”

“How about I sweeten the deal with a little-known fact?”

“You are that determined to get me to meet her aren't you?”

“Indeed. So how about it? If I tell you this little tidbit of info, will you be willing to meet her?”

“Depends on how good the info is.”

“What if I told you that she slept with Dracula.”

Tisha chuckled dryly.

“Very funny.”

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

“Wait! You're serious?!”

“As a heart attack. She shared a bed with Vlad Tepes formerly known as Dracula.”

“You're joking.”

Adrian shook his head no.

“Dracula isn't real! He can't be!”

“So you're saying vampires aren't real?”

Tisha opened her mouth then closed it.

“Told you it was good.”

“How do I know that you’re telling me the truth?”

Adrian shrugged.

“You don't. So the only way to prove whether or not I'm lying to you is to…”

Tisha groaned.

“Okay! Fine! You win!”

Adrian snickered.

“You seemed curious.”

“How do you know that I'm curious?”

Adrian leaned in close to whisper as he wrapped a hand around her left wrist.

“I can hear your heartbeat.”

He turned her wrist over and kissed the sensitive skin on the underside.

“And your racing pulse.”

His touch was warm and sent the butterflies in her stomach fluttering.

“Are you alright, my dear?”

She tried to hide that she was very flustered.

“I'm fine.”

Adrian grinned devilishly.

“You're lying.”

Before she knew it, he had her pinned underneath him.

“I have been dying to taste you again.”

His whispered words raised goosebumps on her skin and sent chills down her spine.

“If I called you greedy, would you be angry?”

“Not in the least.”

Tisha swallowed hard.

“May I?”

Tisha nodded her head yes.

Adrian tucked her hair back behind her right ear, giving him clear access to the skin just above her artery. She closed her eyes and made a sound that was a mix of a gasp and a moan when his fangs pierced her flesh. He held her close as he fed on her. Her body was on fire. She felt hypnotized and turned on by him. She could feel the blood leaving her body. When he finished his feast, she felt dizzy and was ready to drag him back to her room just so he could finish her off.

“Thank you, my dear. Your blood is a rare type. Sweeter than any that I've ever tasted in a long time.”

“Better than Nessa?”

“By a smidge. Don't tell her I said that.”

“Your secret is safe with me Senator. I won't tell a soul.”

Adrian smiled down at her.

“I should go. I have some things to take care of and you have a date to prepare for.”

“Right…”

Adrian smirked.

“You forgot about the numbskull already, eh?”

Tisha snickered.

“No comment.”

“Smart girl.”

Once off the couch, Tisha walked Adrian to the door.

“Thank you for coming by, Senator.”

“It was my pleasure. I do hope you have fun tonight.”

“I'm sure that I will.”

“You’ll have to tell me what happens.”

“Don’t want to hear about it from Tristan?”

Adrian scoffed.

“All he'll talk about is the sex.”

“What makes you think that we'll sleep together?”

Adrian cocked his head to the side.

“Your heartbeat sped up when I mentioned it.”

Tisha opened her mouth to reply but closed it instead and crossed her arms. Causing Adrian to smirk at her.

“I’ll see you after your date Ms. Tucker.”

“Goodbye, Adrian.”

After closing her front door, Tisha ran a hand over the puncture wounds left by Adrian feeding off her. She shivered from the contact the pads of her fingers made with them. It was a subtle reminder that there was no backing out now. She was in too deep. As the day went on, her mind switched between preparing for her date and the heated intimacy she shared with Adrian.

She had just finished blow-drying her hair when there was a knock at the door. It was Jenessa.

“Babe?” Nessa called out from the living room.

“Bedroom!”

“I hope you don't mind me using my key to get in!”

“Not at all, love! Now get in here and help me finish!”

Nessa giggled as she made her way to Tisha’s bedroom.

“Operation: Wingwoman is in full effect! Whatcha need me to do?”

“Grab my outfit and shoes out the closet, and then hand me my jewelry box. While I do my hair and makeup.”

“Got it!”

Nessa disappeared into Tisha’s closet and grabbed her things then laid them and a matching lingerie set out on her bed.

“Ta-Da!”

Tisha rolled her eyes.

“You're so dramatic!”

“I'm sorry. Which one of us excelled at Drama in high school?”

Tisha groaned.

“Are you excited babe?”

Tisha shrugged.

“Kinda. All I know is he's sending a car and we're meeting at an undisclosed location.”

“What do you think you two will talk about?”

Tisha sighed.

“Hopefully about how he became a drug kingpin.”

“If anyone can peel back the layers of one Tristan Rys, it's my own Nancy Drew!”

Tisha snorted.

“In other news, I heard through the grapevine that you agreed to work with Adrian and Tristan. Congratulations, you did it!”

Tisha rolled her eyes as she started doing her hair in the mirror.

“Yeah! Yeah! Speaking of which, Adrian stopped by earlier.”

Nessa raised her eyebrows.

“How did he know where you live?”

“According to him, Tiana told him.”

“How did she find out?”

“Take a guess babe.”

“Ohhhh!”

“Yeah. Well that makes sense. So what did you talk about?”

“I asked him how long you and he have been sleeping together.”

“How do you know about that?”

“He told me when I agreed to work with him.”

“And what did he tell you earlier?”

“That the two of you have been sleeping together for months. But what I wanna know is why you didn't tell me.”

“It's not like we planned for it to happen, it just happened.”

“Bestie? YOU HAVE A MAN AT HOME!”

“Don't judge me!”

Tisha sighed before turning to her best friend.

“I'm not judging you. I just wanna understand how you wound up sleeping with a married Senator when you've been in a relationship for 3 years.”

Nessa shook her head with a heavy sigh.

“Hassan and I got into a big argument about his drinking. He didn't see why it was any of my business that he enjoys a drink at night. Except it wasn't just one drink at night. It was drinks at night.”

“Did he hit you?”

“No. I told him I was gonna go to the office so he could have time to cool and sober up. Adrian was there and he comforted me. In more ways than one.”

“Obviously.” Tisha muttered.

“I thought you said you weren't judging me.”

“I'm not!”

When Nessa looked at Tisha she noticed the bite marks on her neck.

“What is that?”

Tisha looked around confused.

“What is what?”

“Are those bite marks on your neck?!”

“Yes, they are.”

“You mean Adrian has fed off you?”

“Twice.”

“What do you mean twice?!”

“The first time was the other day when I agreed to work with him and when he was here earlier.”

“Are you fucking serious?!”

“I mean we're both consenting adults so yeah.”

“Oh no! Not happening! Never again!”

“What?!”

“Whatever you and Adrian think you’re about to have is NOT happening!”

“Nothing is going on! And even if it was, it's up to me and Adrian whether or not it stops or continues, not you.”

“How much do you wanna bet on that?”

“I don’t understand why you’re so upset, Nessa. You have Hassan.”

As soon as Tisha said that Nessa looked at her best friend shaking her head sadly.

“No, I don't.”

Tisha blinked in confusion.

“What do you mean you don’t?”

Nessa sat down on her bed with a sniffle.

“He's gone T. Hassan left me.”

“WHAT?!”

Tisha sat down next to her.

“What do you mean he left?!”

Nessa took a shuddering breath as she spoke.

“I came home from New York one weekend. And when I got to the apartment, something felt off. The apartment was empty except for the furniture. So after putting my bags down, I checked his closet and that's when I found it completely bare. He moved out while I was gone.”

When Nessa’s voice cracked Tisha threw her arms around her best friend.

“Baby! Why didn't you tell me?”

Nessa shrugged sadly.

“I don’t know. I was so in shock it didn't register with me to tell you or anyone.”

“Wait! You mean Adrian doesn't know?”

Nessa shook her head no.

“I haven't told him yet.”

“Nessa I'm so sorry! How long has he been gone?”

“4 months now. That's why I asked you to go to the fundraiser with me. I didn't want to go by myself.”

Tisha held her best friend as she cried.

“I had no idea. And I'm sorry.”

“There is one person who knew.”

“Who?”

“Aaron. He ran into Hassan at the bank he works at. And when Aaron asked him how we were doing, Hassan told him we weren't together anymore. And when I eventually ran into him, he asked me and I told him everything. He wanted to kick his ass but I begged him to keep it quiet.”

“I get it.”

“I wasn't trying to hide it from you. I just wasn't ready to tell anyone. But my hand was forced.”

Tisha was shocked hurt and angry.

“I'm gonna kill him! No one does that to you and gets away with it!”

Nessa chuckled softly.

“You should tell Adrian.”

“I've thought about it. I know he'd be pissed if he found out. But I don’t know. I don’t know that I'm ready.”

Tisha nodded.

“Now it all makes sense. Thank you for telling me.”

Nessa dried her eyes.

“I hope you don't think I was trying to hide it from you.”

“Of course I don't. Like you said baby, you weren't ready. I'm not mad. At least not at you.”

“And I'm sorry that I snapped at you. I just…”

Tisha waved away her apology.

“Don't worry about it.”

“It's just so much has happened.”

Tisha stood up.

“I'm canceling dinner with Tristan.”

“No T. Don't.”

“Baby you need me! You’re way more important to me than he is.”

“T, this is your chance! Take it! I'll be fine. I promise.”

As Nessa said that Luca crawled into her lap and made himself at home.

“Besides, Luca is giving me panther snuggles. I can't be sad. I also can't move.”

Tisha shook her head and smiled.

“If you’re sure babe.”

“I'm sure. Go have fun. I'll just order from the Chinese place around the corner.”

“Okay.”

Tisha finished her makeup then got dressed. Just as she had finished getting dressed, she got a text from Tristan.

“That's Tristan. The car is here.”

“Okay. Have fun babe!”

“Don't wait up.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

With that Tisha was out the door and headed to the waiting car.