#in a perfect world everything would align in a way that would let me buy it when i’m older and have my own family there

[steviescrystals]

there is no feeling worse in the world than missing your grandma :/

[cochineal-leviat]

Sweet Dreams, Stardust

Okay, so I have a lot of feelings about In Stars and Time. But let me say first, wow, this game irreversibly changed my brain network. For anyone who is considering buying this game, please do. I don't think I've had a story touch my heart and mind like this for a long time. And that goes without mentioning the stunning visuals and entertaining battle system. (Be careful, though, because this game handles heavy topics regarding mental health)

If you're still hung up on buying it but are curious, there is a free demo on Steam if you like to try.

Thank you, @insertdisc5, for this gem of a game. I will be turning it around in my head like a microwaveable gourmet meal for months to come.

Technically the illustration has no spoilers (unless you count Siffrin having a good nap as a spoiler). But I will be going into heavy spoiler territory under the keep reading since I need to get my thoughts on this game off my chest.

And a monochrome version because you know me, I can't help myself. Even in black and white art pieces, I will put in some colour.

And a very tiny Loop

Initially, I was going to do a piece with a theatre stage and the cast (Siffrin, Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile, Bonnie and the head house maiden) taking a bow and finally leaving the spectacle to a life not controlled by a script and Wish Craft. But it was more fitting to put my feelings into creating a peaceful scene. Like, oof, I needed this very badly. I used sepia to make the painting warmer and added some more details like headcanons. The stars/colours might be remnants of Siffrin's transformation. Or maybe they were always there, but he never paid attention to it. Who knows.

I'm going to keep this brief. Otherwise, this post will take way too long.

I adore Siff's character. It's perfect for a game and narrative such as this. I saw a post not long ago on Tumblr going into depth about how their role as the rogue and not the hero works so well, so I won't linger on it for long. But how they would rather listen and fade into the background perfectly aligns with the player's experience of being the silent observer. (And the nodding off that changes into zoning out. It took me way too long to realise that small but essential narrative change) Oh, and the portrait change! It flew over my head until I was staring at the game menu. I was so confident Siffrin had a mischievous grin and not a frown. I always feel slightly surprised when the party asks for Siff's opinion or mentions that they have been too quiet. I felt Siffrin's excitement like my own when he got excited at finding clues to end the nightmare they were in. So I knew it would end up falling on their face because they were too excited. I just had this bad gut feeling the whole time during Act 4.

And oh boy, speaking off acts. I thought it would have been the standard 3. Boy, I was wrong. Whenever I felt I was nearing the end, I was thrown back at the start with more mysteries than answers. It made exploring the game intriguing since there is almost no information about it online (at the time of writing this post). There is the Discord, but I didn't know about it until I finished it.

This game has a lot of secrets, and I had a lot of fun uncovering them. The looping mechanic works so well in discovering little details and further leads. (even though my stubborn arse kept trying to do everything in the least amount of loops as possible. I thought the ending would be different if I exceeded a 100. My final number is 59. I am still not sure if I should be mad about it not being a rounded number like 60 or that I went over the 50 threshold)

However, it is a good thing that only some mysteries were solved. Like, what's up with colours in this world? Everyone sees in black and white, and the idea of shades and colours is only spoken of in scientific studies. They do exist and are not a part of the disaster that happened to Siffrin and their land. But there is definitely something mysterious about it. I adore how the dialogue reflects this, as the characters do not speak of shades or colours. Isabeau expresses surprise to see a streak of red colouring the sky in Act 6. It makes you think about how colour is perceived and how you describe it. (The lore inside this game is immaculate. I eat this shit up)

We never find out the name of the country north of Vanguard or what it was like. We can only infer that the beaches had black sand, with shells that shine like stars, high-reaching mountains, forests and plains. Which is vague and yet intriguing enough to make you wonder. It connected me to Siff and King because I also wanted to know. I was desperate to know. I needed to know. But in the end, we never will know because that is not the story's point. Siffrin even says in the game, that King should let go because he is hurting everyone and everything, including himself, in his desperation to preserve Vanguard. This is all the more ironic when Siff accidentally does the same with his family and the loops. I might gush more about what the country might be like and their technology in another post. This game makes me want to theorise. This is the first time I've wanted to write and post theories. ISAT fucked me up good.

Which, by the way, was genius. Siffrin and King are mirrors of each other. Siff does not have King's disastrous ambition, but their love/obsession will be the downfall of both of them. They have more than being each other's countrymen in common, and I imagine Siff despises that.

I love the fact King's question to Siffrin before the showdown was/could never be answered. Usually, in a game such as this, you must figure out how to solve everything, especially for the big bad. But that was never the goal. King is a delusional monster who will not stop before achieving his dream. He will raze everything to the ground and hurt many people because he must succeed. It is what he desires. Nay, the universe wills it. What a witless excuse that can easily be made into someone's truth. Especially to somebody who is driven mad with grief.

How King's character's done is so excellent. Because, at first, I wasn't scared of him at all. He was just the big bad, and I felt nothing much but the glory of victory when Siffrin outsmarted him by looping and making sure Mirabelle learned the shield spell that would protect the party from freezing in time. But each time you fight him, you get more frustrated until Siff figures that talking to him might be fruitful. It does, but unfortunately, you and Siffrin leave yourself emotionally and mentally vulnerable. King stops being a one-dimensional villain and changes into an actual person. Someone you can sympathise with and possibly mend peace with without fighting. You and Siffrin opened his heart for a kindred spirit and got hurt.

King stopped being a monster and became human. And while monsters are wretched, humans have intent behind their cruelty. I felt so betrayed, so angry, but most of all - terrified. I felt it when Siffrin spiralled when fighting King again after their actions caused such a catastrophic turn of events for Bonnie. Every time after that, the fight with King felt tense and nerve-wracking in a dreadful way. Because even victory could not soothe the dread I felt. (The track 'It's finally over" will forever haunt me. I already feel anxious whenever it cycles to that when I listen to the playlist)

He was not, however, the final villain, even though everything that happened was King's fault. You were always your greatest enemy (or Siffrin in this case, since you are supposed to be Siffrin). I never could have guessed that the whole reason why Siffrin could not escape the loops was because Siff accidentally wished to never let go of their friends. This reminds me of Modaka Magica, where (spoilers for the OG anime) Homura goes back in time so much that the universe ties itself around Modoka, making her a waiting egg whose wish and magic will be massive when she becomes a magical girl. The one thing Homura was trying to prevent.

(Siffrin and Homura are identical in that sense. Shy characters who are loyal to a fault but are rendered into something cold, bitter and cutting by their traumatic experiences. Only Siff has people who care about them and would do anything to save him, too, whereas Homura never lets go, making the world a worse place to live in. Yes, I did go into doomed Yuri. That anime lived in my mind rent-free in my mind for years)

The Head House-maiden not being the villain was also a great touch. I am used to the apparent antagonist turning out not to be the big bad and the trusted, friendly character ending up being the evil one. Twist villains no longer work when everyone expects them to be villains.

That was my biggest theory as I played. The second biggest being that Loop is someone who enjoys Siffrin's suffering. I am so glad that was also not the case. They are apathetic but not cruel. Never intentionally, anyway. They were like the player, urging Siffrin to go deeper into the mystery to solve it. Ultimately, I chose and made cold and cruel decisions simply because I wanted to see what would happen. So yeah, I warmed up to this cosmic star thing as the game went on and even started trusting them. Act 5 really is a punch in the gut. I am so sorry, Loop. Thank you for coming through in the end.

Oh man, this is so long, and I haven't even gone into the main cast. I will leave that for another post. They are such great characters, as are the people of Dormant and the House. (Don't think I don't see the wordplay in this game. Very clever)

Going into this game completely blind was the best experience I could have had. I felt anxious, happy and scared so severely that my neurons were rearranged. I don't know if there are more endings (aside from the obvious action of attacking Odile in the True(?) ending of the game), but I am taking a break from it to make art and write for this game before I dive back into despair-o-land.

Anywho, thank you for coming this far and reading my ramblings. Have a fantastic day or evening further! o(*'▽`*)ブ

[shxnigxmi]

[𝐒𝐎𝐀𝐏!𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒] [ᴍᴀsᴄ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]

What I imagine it’s like being married to Soap—

ᴄ/ᴡ: soft relationship hc’s, a few slutty ones, wee bit of smut and nsfw themes, testosterone shots, mentions of dysphoria, written with both in mind cause sergeant soap is such a cutie pie but captain mactavish is so fucking sexy like— sir?? EXCUSE ME SIR!🧍🏽

🔞 MINORS/FEM!ALIGNED DNI 🔞

－

Hubby!Soap who would do anything and everything you asked him to without question or hesitation, literally so eager to please you that he’d commit war crimes if you told him to (obviously you wouldn’t but he’s just that down bad for you) (also he’s already got plenty of war crimes staining his record, don’t put any more on there)

Hubby!Soap who’d do anything for you if you let him abuse your thighs, he’s a thigh man, and he’d burn the world to the ground if it meant you’d let him go wild on your deliciously thick thighs, man’s folds immediately if you let him rest his head on your thighs (you may will definitely get bitten so beware)

Hubby!Soap who loves absolutely everything about you, your personality, your attitude, your body.. literally he could not tell anybody a flaw about you if they were to ever ask— he thinks of you as perfection, a divine gift the gods graciously bestowed upon him

Hubby!Soap who shamelessly ogles you anytime and anywhere, if he’s not groping you inappropriately (consensual of course, with you smacking his chest after the yelp you let out when he snuck up on you to pinch your ass) then he’s undressing you with his eyes

Hubby!Soap who will absolutely tie your shoes without you telling him to, he’d drop to his knees in front of you any day of the week, and you blush hard every time he ties up your shoes or undoes the laces and takes them off at the end of a long day

Hubby!Soap who is the definition of chivalry, he adores and treasures you so much, he won’t let you open a door for yourself, treats you to dinner often, buys your large bouquets of flowers and expensive chocolates

Hubby!Soap who melts whenever you treat him with as much adoration as he shows you, whenever you just love on him he’s instantly putty in your hands

Hubby!Soap who’s favorite spot (besides laying on your thighs or having his head between them) is your chest, he loves when you cradle him close and comb your fingers through his mohawk or scratch your nails over the buzzed sides, he loves listening to your heart against his ear, and he loves the goosebumps that erupt all over your skin when he pressed gentle kisses to the scars beneath your pecs, if you haven’t had top surgery yet he’d kiss your stomach and garner the same reaction

Hubby!Soap who loves it when you ride his face, locking you against his mouth with thick forearms over your thighs to prevent you from pulling up in overstimulation— in which he’s made you cum so much you saw stars, he uses a technique he knows you loves because it makes his facial hair scratch again the sensitive skin of your inner thighs

Hubby!Soap who worships the very ground you walk upon, and who worships and praises you in bed all the time “so perfect for me” and “you’re absolutely divine bonnie” or “i’d do absolutely anything for you” and “you’re everything to me and so fuckin’ perfect”

Hubby!Soap who loves kissing your neck because it makes you giggle and he adores that adorable sound of yours, folds every time he hears it so he kisses your neck to draw it out of you

Hubby!Soap who gives you his undivided attention after coming home from an extensive assignment that kept him away from you for a longer period of time, taking care of you and holding you in his arms

Hubby!Soap who goes weak and willingly submits to your whims if you sit on his cock and ride him like there’s not tomorrow, he loves it when you seat yourself all the way down and grind on him, the feel of your heavenly walls fluttering and clenching around him makes him believe in a god— because he swear he sees the motherfucker every time you do that

Hubby!Soap who loves waking up in your arms, cuddles closer to you in the early hours of the dawn and relished in the warmth of your body against his

Hubby!Soap who gets jealous easily, who can and will teach you a lesson on who you belong to if you decide to make the unwise choice of fanning that jealousy by flirting with other men or openly expressing “interest” in guys at the bar (you were finessing free drinks out of creeps who spoke to you first and wouldn’t take no as an answer, jealous husband is just a bonus)

Hubby!Soap who facetimes you and calls you whenever he can if he’s on assignment, he’d always find time no matter what because he just loves you so much

Hubby!Soap who’s possessive and will never go out in public without touching you in some way, his hand in the back pocket of your pants, his arms around your waist holding your hip, or wrapped around his shoulders as you walk beside him, your hand reaching up to the one around your shoulders to lock your fingers together

Hubby!Soap who your whole family is fond of, your mama loves him, your dad respects him and your younger siblings adore him (if you’re not in contact with your family then it’s close friends who wholeheartedly approve of him)

Hubby!Soap who loves being domestic with you, going with you to the grocery store, cooking dinner, cleaning the apartment you share, anything that involves spending time with you he loves

Hubby!Soap who would absolutely adopt a shelter cat with you, she’s a tortie and she adores him (she loves you too, just loves him a whole lot more)

Hubby!Soap who would play Animal Crossing or Minecraft with you, both of you laid out on the couch in cozy pajamas and all cuddled up together as you built villages together (he’d burn your house to the ground because he’s an asshole, but he wouldn’t even consider doing it unless he knew for sure you’d also find it funny)

Hubby!Soap who loves holding you in his arms just as much as he loves being in yours, he knows you find immense comfort being held lovingly by him so he loves cradling you close

Hubby!Soap who will take such good care of you if you ever have a dysphoric episode, where you feel absolutely god awful and just want to hide away from everything and everyone, he’ll start a bath for you with scented candles, bath salts and your favorite bubble bath, he’ll cook you dinner and he’ll hold you as long you need him to, anything he can do to make you feel better he’ll do it without hesitation

Hubby!Soap who would help you take your testosterone if you struggled, who’d help you monitor how long your binder was on if you haven’t had top surgery, and he’d love on your scars if you have

Hubby!Soap who loves the idea of starting a family with you, will listen attentively and input his opinions during a heartfelt and serious conversation regarding the topic, if you want to carry he’ll be there every step of the way, if you want to adopt he’d take time off to hold your hand throughout the process, if you want a surrogate he’ll follow your lead in choosing one that you both can trust with this

Hubby!Soap who would also respect your choice if a family isn’t something you wanted, he’d still love you all the same and just as passionately, because maybe kids just aren’t for you or maybe you just want a life with him and him only for as long as it lasts, either way he’d be respectful of your decision and still adore you to the ends of the Earth

Hubby!Soap who sometimes will need you more than you need him, who will sometimes get into these headspaces in which he doesn’t think he’s good enough, not for you, not for the military, not for anything, and you’re always always there to reassure him and support him, cuddling him close or massaging his tense muscles, whispering praises and promised of love and adoration to him as he cuddles you close

Hubby!Soap who you love stealing hoodies from, because of how much bigger they are on you and because of how much they smell like him

Hubby!Soap who just loves and adores you so much

—

a/n: want this man so fucking bad it ain’t even funny

[macnevercries]

You're Mine

Warnings- stalker/yandere tendencies, somnophilia, fingering, male masturbation, penetration, dubcon/noncon, squirting, breeding kink, etc

WC- ~1.7k

This is for @ultimate-astridwriting ‘s  Watch It Creep collab!! (thank you for letting me participate ily)

Dabi had never been one for shopping, going out in public just to have people gawk and point at him was never very appealing. He didn’t need new clothes, there was no one he wanted to impress. Except you. When you went shopping, he couldn't help but love it.

Your constant late night trips became his favorite time of the week. Every time you get new clothes you would blast your music and try on all different outfits with the new pieces you had just bought. Dancing and singing in the mirror, feeling yourself up. Watching you strip and pull clothes snug over your curves over and over never failed to get his dick hard.

On goes a pink tank top and low rise skinny jeans. You take off your bra and brush your nipples over the shirt, looking in the mirror to see them peek through the thin fabric covering your chest. Off goes that outfit, your flawless tits on display, perked by the touch of your own hands. You bend over to pick up a dress to try on, the black thong you wear riding up your ass and giving Dabi an ideal view.

He has a chair pulled up right in front of his window, the perfect view down to your apartment, directly across and down one floor from his. The buildings in your area are packed tight, no more than 10 or 20 feet between the both of you. He takes a seat, spreading his legs and unbuttoning his jeans as he hears your music blast even louder through the thin walls and small expanse of grass that separates your buildings.

He wishes he had a teleportation quirk, that he could hold you in his arms instead of desperately attaching himself to your vulnerable moments. So innocent, you never pull your blinds closed. He often wonders how an angel like you could exist so close to him, in his neighborhood, in his world.

His cock slaps against his stomach, coming to life when he glances up, seeing you peeling off a tight dress. If only it were his hands, his everything pressed up against you, guiding you in your dance while you grind back onto him, hips rolling against his. His rough and scarred hands pump up and down his cock, spreading the minimal precum, the pain of the dry tug spurring him on.

When he glances up from his lap you're putting your pajamas back on, leaving your room to go get ready for bed. Not to worry, he has more material to get off to. His eyes search his room, looking over the various photographs of you hanging on his walls. He’s taken many over time, mostly just normal pictures of you in your apartment or around the neighborhood. But even the most average photos of you entranced him. How could they not, you were just so beautiful.

His eyes run over the photo taped to his wall on the right. He has it placed right next to his window so he can see it when you walk into a different room in the middle of your “session”. The photo depicts you licking dripping ice cream off of your glowing skin on a hot day. Your face is a mix of innocent and erotic, your arms squished together slightly, pushing your breasts up through your low cut shirt. To Dabi this photo is not only perfect because it was captured at the right moment, it’s perfect because it's you.

He tugs harder at his cock, spitting on it roughly and imagining you on your knees for him. How you would wrap your hand around it, cup his balls, swirl your tongue on the tip paying special attention to his piercings all while keeping your eyes glued on him. How he would grab a fistful of your hair and shove your nose to his hips, feeling the contractions of your gagging throat hugging him just right. He’s panting in seconds, making eye contact with the photo one more time before spilling into his hand. He gives a few more pumps, milking himself. He leans over to his desk, wiping his hand off on the matted washcloth that lies there just for this, the one that hasn't been washed in weeks.

When he stands, he sees you walk back into your room with only a small towel wrapped around your body and a face mask, relaxingly flopping onto your bed with your phone. The sight is almost enough to get him going again but he restrains himself, after all he would see you later tonight.

--

Your door creaks, swinging open into your dark apartment. Dabi gets his lock picker from the door handle and shoves it in the pocket of his pants. He slips silently into your living room, he never stumbles, he knows your apartment like the back of his hand. How could he not when you're so obviously begging for him to come over? He has to listen to his baby’s needs.

Your room is down the hallway to the left, right across the bathroom and 14.6ft from your couch. Your room’s door is open, like always. He sits on the edge of your bed, the dip of his weight on the mattress making you roll slightly towards him. He reaches for your face, your skin so soft against his burnt hand. You stir slightly when he tucks your hair behind your ear and wipes the drool from your lip, but he knows you won't wake up, you never do.

Your blankets only cover one of your legs, you must have been too hot. But this is better for both of you because it gives Dabi a nice view of your night attire. Your legs bare, all the way up to your hips. Your unblemished skin begging to be marked by him. You always wear an oversized t-shirt, probably stolen from one of your many ex boyfriends. And only some nights do you wear panties. Dabi counts his luck as he slowly moves your sheets off of you, his breath taken away when he realizes tonight you aren't wearing any.

Your pussy glistens in the moonlight that filters in through your open window, you could never be bothered to buy curtains. Dabi can't resist the need to touch it, to touch you, to claim you. You were his, you just didn't know it yet.

His slender fingers slide through your folds, slightly pinching your clit to watch your pretty little hole twitch and clench at his touch. He slips one finger inside of you, it goes in easily with all of the slick that's gathered and begun to drip down to your thighs. You let out a small mewl when his finger curves to your g-spot, and he adds another for good measure. You never wake up though, you've always been a heavy sleeper.

But he needs you now, he wants you awake. So he kisses you gently, his mouth molding against yours with a softness he didn't know he was capable of. But soon need and lust take over. His soft kisses turn rough, teeth clashing and blood being drawn from your lip. You begin to wake up, he's causing too much commotion for you to stay asleep.

Your eyes blink open to meet his bright blue ones, panic beginning to set in your mind. You take a deep breath, preparing to scream for help but his hand is covering your mouth in an instant before you can even open it. He leans down to whisper in your ear with a gravelly tone.

“If you scream or make any noise, I’ll make sure you can never talk again”

His hand heats up just enough for you to know he’s not bluffing. All throughout his threats, his fingers never stop thrusting into you. Your tired mind is conflicted between fear and lust, you don't know which one to give in to. Your eyes widen and you nod, choosing to comply with him.

You let out a small moan, bucking your hips back against his hand. This causes the nastiest grin to spread across his face, his evil intent sparkling in his eyes.

“You're gonna be a good girl for me, yeah?”

You nod feverishly, your brain not thinking straight. Dabi lets out a low groan at your eagerness, palming himself through his jeans. He begins to unzip them, undressing both himself and you until your bare skin presses against his. The piercings on his cock sting your skin, so cold against your sex.

He kisses your neck, down to your chest and across your torso. “I'm gonna make you feel so good”

He aligns his cock with you, shoving in his entire length in one go. The wind gets knocked out of you, you're breathless as he begins to fuck you at an ungodly pace, never waiting for you to adjust. He murmurs sweet nothings into your ears, kissing you sweetly as if you were in love. Tears begin to fall down your cheek but he licks them away, he knows you want him.

He fucks you harder, curling his hips into yours. The piercings lining his cock drag against your walls so nicely, the previously cold metal beginning to warm up from your shared heat.

“I bet you like that, don't you slut? Prancing around in front of your window every day for me to see. You know what you do to me. Thats why we are where we are right now; me fucking your tight hole and you taking it like the good little bitch you are.”

You moan at his words, his cock bruising your cervix so nicely. His hand reaches down to your clit, rubbing fast and hard circles against your sensitive nub. Your entire body shakes, clear liquid squirting out of you all over him. You grip him like a vice, milking him with your orgasm. He moans loudly, spilling thick white ropes and fucking them into your womb.

“Yeah, you fucking take it, youre mine”

He slows down after a minute, pulling out only to shove his fingers back into your abused hole, keeping his cum safe inside of you.

“You better hold that, I’ll be back”

[thewitchandtheassassin]

Darling (Diana Prince x Reader)

Summary: Day Two - First Kiss

Words: 1037

Warnings: None other than a kind of douchy dude and a few cuss words.

A/N: So I’m like genuinely trying to play catch up because my old version of Word screwed up some of the files I had saved for these prompts and I’m still kinda irked but also not because someone helped me get a better copy and I really adore her for that so yeah. I know I’m behind.

Taglist: @natasharomanoffswife​ @natasha-danvers​ @aaron-despair​ @username23345​ @xjiasx​ @nowthisisliving27​ @higherfurther-romanova​ @summergeezburr​ @marvels-writings​  (I feel like I’m missing people in my taglist and if I am, let me know! I try to keep track of everyone but I’m not perfect lol), @captain-josslett​

-X-

Nervous hands wrung together as you wandered the halls of the museum. It’d been so nice of Diana to invite you – and buy your ticket – to the latest show she’d helped scrape together but you couldn’t help feeling terribly overwhelmed and completely underdressed as you studied the suited men sipping champagne and their dazzling partners.

Even if you had someone you could’ve brought, you probably both would’ve stood out like sore thumbs.

You sighed softly, accepting a flute as a man with a tray brushed past you. You had hoped to see Diana for more than a few passing moments yet clearly the world was not on your side. She had waved and smiled when you’d caught her eye but that was all. Nothing more.

It was stupid having a crush on her, anyways. Being Barry’s adopted sibling, you were well aware of who she was – who they all were – but that hadn’t deterred your feelings for Diana. You blamed the allure of her heroism and the fact she was a literal goddess even though you knew there was more to it than just her status. It was who she was as a person that dragged you in. Her sweet demeanor despite everything she’d been through, the way she hugged you whenever Barry could bring you to one of their meetings…

Diana was more than just a goddess. She was perfect.

Taking a drink from the flute, your eyes traveled along the expanse of art before you. Bold colors popping out and bright, it was an attractive piece, you must admit.

“Ah, good eye,” a deep voice broke your thoughts, bringing your attention away from the work you lingered on. “Composition X. A lovely slap of colors if I do say so myself.”

Glancing at your sudden companion, you smiled faintly at the newcomer. “You seem to know a bit about it?”

“It was created by Wassily Kandinsky. We had to study it in my art courses at Cambridge,” the man explained with a tilt of his head. “I was quite surprised when it was announced it was coming here. Miss Prince must be spectacular at her job.”

“She’s definitely something,” you murmured, attention falling back upon the art.

You could practically feel the man’s pause. “You know her?” The incredulous inflection nearly made you flinch. Like it was so unbelievable you could know Diana.

Nodding thoughtfully, you hummed. “She’s a friend of my brother’s. She actually got me my ticket for tonight.”

“Impressive. I had heard Miss Prince was known to be charitable.”

The slight dig forced a dry swallow. It was obvious he thought you didn’t belong here either. In the best outfit you could afford, the world still saw you as out of place.

“Well, I am to assume you’ll be taking advantage of the free food provided for the opening tonight then? It’s probably nicer food than you’ll ever be accustomed to,” he inquired, his casual tone not enough to offset such a question.

Gritting your teeth, you drank a healthy swallow of champagne. “Actually –”

“There you are,” Diana cut you off suddenly, her scent enveloping you as she pressed her chest against your back. You hadn’t noticed her approaching but neither did the unwelcome conversationalist. A tiny part of you wondered if she used some of that goddess power to appear so quickly but you didn’t linger on that thought for long. “It took far too long to escape Mister Klarek, darling. I do apologize.”

Darling?

“Darling?” the man sputtered, gaze flickering between you and the woman glaring at him.

“Apologies for interrupting your chat with (Y/N), Mister White, but I have been missing my girlfriend terribly since I was dragged away,” Diana replied, an undercurrent of steel tightening her words as she completely ignored his unspoken question.

It took everything within not to react, choosing to accept her warmth and school your features. You’d never complain about being linked with Diana, even if you didn’t understand why she was claiming you in such a manner. Maybe it was her way of politely telling him to fuck off.

“N-no worries. I don’t blame you for missing such charming company,” he coughed, scratching the short hair he surely called a ‘distinguishable’ beard. “I shall not feel so bad leaving this lovely woman when she’s in good hands.” With a tight smile, he spun on his heel and stalked off.

Your eyes never strayed from his form until he disappeared into the crowd, enjoying Diana’s presence. You could hear soft muttering but the words sounded alien so you simply ignored them.

“How miserable. Are you alright?” Diana finally murmured into your ear, breath hot against the shell.

“Y-yeah,” you whispered, fighting the urge to let your eyes close. “He was an…”

“Ass,” Diana finished, clicking her tongue in displeasure. “I should speak with his boss before he leaves tonight. Let him know the type of man he has hired.”

Slowly twisting out of her embrace, you smiled bashfully at Diana. “Thank you for doing that.” Your brows furrowed worriedly. “I just hope he doesn’t spread that rumor. I’d hate for you to get stuck with that.”

Diana laughed sweetly, snagging the flute in your hand and taking a drink. “I am not worried, (Y/N). It would be an honor to be tied in such a way with you.”

Giggling in disbelief, you shook your head. “I’m pretty sure I’d have to be the honored one in that situation, Diana. I mean, you’re a goddess!” You could see color blooming faintly in her cheeks and a swell of confidence urged you to step forward. “But if it’s such an honor, I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to taking you to dinner.”

Tension thick with anticipation, your eyes flickered to Diana’s lips for a second too long, watching the tip of her tongue wet them. A flash of movement and the sudden impact of a mouth against yours startled you, though you weren’t entirely sure why. Maybe this moment was predetermined, simply waiting for the stars to align just perfectly.

Diana inched back slightly, breath fanning across your face. “I would like that very much, darling.”

Oh. You were going to enjoy that word. A lot.

[yaneyanedaze]

Our Goddess In Love and War

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Yandere! Royal! Pillarmen x Reader

Summary: Reader-Darling is a girl that lives in a village close to the kingdom ruled by the three kings: Esidisi, Whamuu and Kars. She doesn’t see what everyone else sees in them, and keeps away, but one day, she’ll catch their eyes, and they won’t ever leave her.

Warnings: smut later on in this chapter, yandere behavior, obsession, possessiveness, death, mentions of torture, jealously, Kars puts his foot down with disrespectful maids, reader-chan tries to leave because of threats.

A/n: I apologize for how long this took, But i’m glad to be back writing my big series! I hope you guys enjoy this long awaited chapter update!

(Unrelated but i was listening to Montero by Lil Nas X while writing this, and It was giving me Mad Kars vibes lol but I’m gonna put my playlist for this story at the bottom)

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I sighed and plopped down onto my comfy bed and slipped out of the dress and heels, I didn’t care about my hair, I’d just get up and wash in the morning. I snuggled into my pillow, at first I didn’t want to do any of this, but now I can’t help but feel  some type of attraction to the male. I mean he’s going to officially be my husband in a few days, but I still couldn’t shake this feeling that something was wrong..

….And something bad was gonna happen….

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(First Pov)

I was nervous.

I was dressed in a wonderful purple dress, a slit along the side, matching golden heels on my feet. Several maids were running around my room, preparing everything for me. My hair was styled and had many pieces of golden jewelry dangling off my body, I smiled at myself in the mirror. 

“I can’t believe this is happening…” 

A few giggles were heard around me, one maid with blonde hair and baby blue eyes smiled at me. Her name is Liza, she was the maid in charge of making sure that I was perfect for events like this. She was the only other person in charge of my dress besides Stella. Liza speaks up as she places the finishing touches on me,

“Oh Believe it My Queen, We can tell how much his majesty loves you, so we are happy!” She says, giving me a twirl as the other maids clapped. I nod smiling along with the women before a rapid knock was heard at the door. All of us turned towards the door and let out a sigh as it was only Stella at the door. Stella gives a sheepish smile as she walks in.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but his majesty is asking for his Queen.” She says. Liza and the other maids nod, picking up the end of my dress, I began walking out the door with the girls following close behind me.

As we walked down the hallways, they were decorated with (f/c) flowers, gold and various other precious metals aligned the hall we walked down. I could hear the hustle and bustle of the people outside, nervousness creeping right back up on me. I took a deep breath as two guards opened the door revealing me to the outside world. 

Many cheers were heard, so many people were screaming and yelling. I winced at the bright light, a deep chuckle came from behind me, arms wrapping around my waist. I tensed up a bit, only earning a laugh. “My love there is no need to be afraid, it is just me..” 

I sigh and relax a bit, Kars felt strangely warm and comfortable, i felt his hands move down to my hips as he moves us both forward.

We stood on top of the stairs, both of us waving to the crowd, I giggle at some of the kids that I met in the village yelling to me and holding up signs that said. ‘We are best friends with the Queen’. Kars stepped away from me slightly, and I let out a soft whine before I knew it, I blushed, quite embarrassed but Kars just chuckled again.

“Save your whines for tonight my love, Because I’ll have you saying and thinking nothing but my name.” He whispered in my ear before stepping away to get the crown.

My face went completely red as I tried to regain my composure, I walked down the stairs to greet some of the townspeople. Smiling as a group of kids handed me a pretty bouquet of flowers, “Why thank you all.”

 “Your welcome Miss (y/n)!”  “Will we be able to visit you in the castle?” “Is the king nice?” “Are you gonna have kids of your own?” I laughed at the many questions they asked before getting taken away and scolded lightly by their parents.

“(y/n)!!” “Oh my baby you look wonderful!”

I looked up and had a half smile, My mother and sister walked up to me, both of them with tears in their eyes. I rolled my eyes but took both of them into my arms, allowing some tears down my face. Though I still held some anger towards my mom for just giving me up, but I couldn’t help myself, I was glad to have her in my arms.

“My love, Please come up here, It is time.”

I stand up and turn to walk back up, seeing Kars with the same beautiful crown that I saw when I first arrives, the jewel dangling beautifully from it. A smile graced my lips as I stood right infront Kars, I felt a feeling of Joy in my body, the fear that I had when I first came was slowly going away. Kars returned the look as he turned to face the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, We are gathered here today to celebrate the arrival of my Beautiful, Wonderful and Lovely Queen.” Kars started, I nod along, watching his every movement, He was beautiful, an absolute masterpiece. I still wondered what he would want with a half baked potato like me. I was pulled out of my trance by a weight on my head, realizing he had placed the crown on top of my head. He looked down at me with a look that I’ve never seen before on him, Care, Love, like he genuinely loved me. He then turned back to the crowd pulling me close to him.

“I do hope that you all will continue to watch over us, and grow alongside us.” He spoke before placing a hand underneath my chin. He lifts it slightly before leaning down to capture my lips in a soft, loving kiss, I was shocked, but only for a bit. I soon wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in to deepen the kiss. This must’ve surprised him because he pulled away slightly and whispered. “Oh you little minx~ Just wait until we get behind closed doors..” He placed another quick kiss on my lips before backing away and waving to the cheering crowd. He placed a hand on my lower back as I raised my hand to wave as well, seeing many of the crowd was moved to tears.

I guess seeing one of their own go from literally rags to riches is enough to get anyone crying.

Kars led me back inside, humming to himself softly, his hand firmly placed on my hip. “Kars..may I ask a question?” I ask, making the male let out a soft laugh. “My love, You just did.. But go ahead” He teased, making me puff out my cheeks in tiny annoyance. I sighed and went ahead with asking my question. “Um..Is it okay if my Mom and Sister come and live with us?”

Kars stopped walking, I thought it was because of what I said, but sighed with relief when he was just opening his room, well our room door. He ushered me inside and closed the door behind him. “Of course they can, My Darling…” He started, locking the door, pulling it to make sure it was secured. “But that’s not what I’m worried about right now.” He purrs, a sultry undertone in his voice. I could feel another blush coming on, I went to sit on the bed and just flopped on my back. I let out a groan of satisfaction as to how soft his bed was, making Kars let out a low growl, one that sent shivers down my spine.

“You do not know how hard it was for me to not take you where we stood.”

I let out a squeak as the male was now on top of me, I didn’t notice that he had moved from his place by the door. He placed his face in the crook of my neck as he kept me pinned down, strong hands holding mine against the bed. He let out another low growl as he continued. “It took everything in me to not take you in front of the crowd, Letting them all know that you belong to me now.” He finished, placing kisses on the side of my neck. I could only let out a sigh of content as his kisses moved lower. I watched as he hovered over my chest, which was still covered by the fabric of the dress. He sat up and smirked, I looked at him confused before in one movement he ripped the dress. Going up from the slit until it reached my chest, he then removed the torn fabric from my body, chuckling at my reaction to the coldness of the room.

“I’ll buy you another one, my love, but right now, I need you more than ever.” He said, he then lifted my legs up onto his shoulder, earning another noise of shock from me. He let out another groan of annoyance before ripping my panties from my body. I shuddered at the new cold, but before I could comment, I let out a loud moan. Kars smirked before giving another long teasing lick “Don’t worry about me tonight. It’s all about you Darling, but after tonight, I will not hold back.” He says before he started to tongue fuck me. A completely new feeling that already having me seeing stars and it did not help that Kars was unrelenting either.

He pulled back a bit licking the slick that was left on his lips off before rubbing two fingers against my folds. He looked at me as if asking for permission, and when I gave him a soft nod he smirked once more, slowly pushing two of his fingers into me. He groaned at the sounds that I was making, he picked up the pace quickly, barely giving me anytime to adjust.

“K-kars..” I moaned out, my hands gripping the smooth silk sheets below me. He hummed in response, glancing back over to me. “Hmm? What is it, my love?” He asked teasingly as he increased the speed of his digits, I squirmed underneath him as I struggled to find the words to say. “D-don’t..” I managed to moan, feeling a knot building up, I was close and he seemed to know it. “Say it my love, I know you are enjoying this so much, the way you are clenching around just my fingers. It makes me wonder how you’ll take my cock~” My body automatically reacted to his teasing words, my hips bucking against his fingers, his pace brutal now. “D-don’t hold back..” I couldn’t even believe what I was saying just now. I’ve only had sex once before and it was clumsly to say the least, so for me to practically beg the King not to hold back was surprising.

He must’ve been surprised too because began chuckling before full on laughing, he removed his fingers causing me to let out a whine. 

“My Darling woman, are you sure?” He asked as he stood up off of the bed. I nodded, my head cloudy, still whining from feeling empty. Kars quietly removed his bottoms, kicking them somewhere off to the side of the room, he pull me by my legs to the end of the bed.

I looked at his face, and a different expression was there. Lust. Eyes clouded over as he looked over my body. He teasingly pressed himself up against my folds and I gasped. Looking down this man was probably 9.5 inches with about a 1.5 girth, ‘How in the hell is that supposed to fit in me?!’ I thought.

Kars chuckled at the expression on my face. “I know, i know my love, I’m going to take my time so you can get adjusted.” He says, slowly guiding himself inside me. Just from his head, I already felt like he wouldn’t fit, but as he slowly inched more and more inside, he stretched me out wonderfully. Once he was fully inside of me, he gave a slow experimental thrust, pulling almost all the way out before snapping his hips back. I cried out in pain and pleasure, he set a slow pace, everytime, he snapped his hips in just the right way to hit that spot. The pain was fading fast, and I wanted more than this slow pace he had.

“Kars..Please just fuck me…”

My words must’ve made him snap, soon after those words left my lips he began thrusting at a more violent and fast pace, making me cry out in pleasure. His name was falling off my lips like a mantra, He was hitting just the right spot everytime. I managed to look up at him, his eyes were half open, jaw locked as he let some groans and grunts. One thrust had me seeing stars, I did not care how loud i was being at this point and I’m pretty sure any servant that walked by could hear.

One of Kars hands slowly snaked its was up to my neck and gave it a slight squeeze. “Tell me who’s fucking you this good, Tell me darling.” He growled out. I moaned out his name loud, practically screaming it at this point. He smirked “Louder. I want them to know who you belong to (y/n)”

“You Kars!”

 “Louder!”

 “KARS!” 

I cried out feeling that familiar knot unraveling, I could feel myself clenching around his cock, making him curse and growl.

 “That’s it..That’s it..You’re mine, No one else's..”

 He moans out, feeling his thrust start to get sloppy until that came to a complete halt and he was spilling his seed into me. He stayed in place until he finished before slowly pulling out. He moved to lay beside me and pull me into his chest. I turned to give him a kiss but he just held me in place. “Shh..My Love, You’re tired..Let's just rest, Tomorrow you can relax all day and I’ll have someone come check in on you.” He mumbled, running his hand through my hair, I hummed in response, feeling sleep starting to creep up on me.

“I love you Kars..” I mutter, feeling my eyes getting heavy, I hear him chuckle and place a kiss on my forehead. 

“I love you too My Darling~...”

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When I awoke,it was still dark outside.

I was dressed in a nightgown and Kars was gone, I yawned softly and got up out of bed. I nearly fell because the feeling in my legs was barely there, I blushed remembering the activities. I slowly made my way to the door only to have someone else open the door. 

“Ah Good Hello Stell-”

“Don’t you Hello me you whore.”

I was taken back by her words and angry expression. “Excuse me?” I was confused. She let out a yell of frustration. “It’s your fault! You are the reason I am not Queen! A common bitch like you!” She barked. I was hurt, I thought of Stella as a nice woman, but now she’s showing a totally different side of herself. I moved to push past her and head out the door but her words made me stop.

“Hell You’re just gonna be like the other girl before you!”

I stopped and turned to face her. “Say what?” She laughed at me before crossing her arms. “You thought you were picked out because they thought you were interesting? No, It’s because you look like Kar’s previous wife. He killed her. He only wants someone who is powerful enough to use the stone thats on the crown.” She saunters her way over to my crown and holds it in her hands. “You’re just going to be another dead body.”

I stood horrified, Mom told me that the previous Queen had died of illness, not that she was killed by Kars. “No..No He wouldn’t do that to me. He loves me.” Stella lets out another loud laugh before looking at me with a deadpan look. “He told me that too. He told me he loves me and that I’m special. I was going to be queen if it wasn’t for you.” She growled, marching forward, “So why don’t you do me a favor and run away. Run far from here..So that My King, no my Husband would have to dirty his hand with more blood” She said.

 I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and I ran out of the room, hearing her evil cackles from the room.

I went up to several maids and butlers to ask where Kars and the other kings were, but even they would not talk to me. I could feel even more tears run down my face as I ran through the halls, I burst open a door feeling the coldness of the outside and run down the stairs.

 At the bottom of the stairs stood Kars himself talking to a guard. I turned to take another way around the castle, an exit that I saw earlier when I first arrived. It was cold,I was freezing, but I couldn’t not bring myself to look Kars in the face anymore. What if I was just another body? What if he’ll ditch me and get another woman? Hell, if Stella said was true, was he just using me?

So many thoughts were running through my head, I didn’t even notice that I had bumped into someone. “I’m s-sorry..”

“My Queen, what are you doing out?” It was Esidisi, I gasped and began crying even more as I dropped to my knees. “He doesn’t love me Esi! He..He is..Just using me..” I cried out, my cries loud and echoing off the outside walls. Multiple footsteps could be heard running up to us.”My Darling?” I hear Kars call out, I continue to cry, I should have known that royalty like him wouldn’t love a commoner like me. I might as well give up the crown and just go home.

I could feel someone pick me up and hold me bridal style in their arms. “Esidisi. What is she doing out here?” “I don’t know, She ran into me crying about how you do not truly love her and you are using her.” I heard Kars suck in breath and hold me even tighter. “Who said this to you?” He asked me. I shook my head and kept crying, he shushed me and carried me back inside.

He holds me in his arms continuously telling me how much he loved me and to not listen to those rumors. When he entered the main ballroom where most maids were cleaning. “Excuse me. Who in the world told my Queen that I don’t love her?” he barked. I wiped my eyes, watching as each and everyone of the servants who gave me the cold shoulder. Kars sucked his teeth before moving to carry me like i was a child so he could have a free hand. He gripped one maid by her hair, making her let out an ear piercing scream. “I said tell me.”

“AH One of the Head maids your majesty!! She started spreading rumors, but Stella tried to stop her but she kept going.” I rolled my eyes knowing this fully to be a lie. Kars threw her across the room with his brute strength. “Oh you’ll receive a proper punishment soon. But now I have to deal with my Queen.” He said coldly, moving back to holding me with two arms. I lay my head comfortable on Kars shoulder, my cheeks stained with tears as I ended up falling back asleep in his arms.

“My Queen, don’t you worry..I will find out who did this to you..who lied on my name and made you feel unworthy of my love.”

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To say he was pissed was an understatement. Kars had laid (y/n) back in their shared bed, he then charged in the servant quarters scaring all of them.

Those servants wished that they would have spoken up, or comforted the queen in that moment, they suffered severe beatings, threats and some of them were even sent to the dungeon. 

All while Stella Listened and laughed.

“One step closer...Just one step closer.”

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 

My playlist for this entire story is 

Montero By Lil Nas X

Alejandro and Bad Romance by Lady Gaga

Streets By Doja Cat

Paparazzi: Kim Dracula

What songs does this story make you think of?

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[shinidamachu]

What are some of your favorite InuYasha fanfiction stories? 😙

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE THE VERY FIRST PERSON TO ASK ME THIS QUESTION! PLEASE, CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE:

Light Me a Lantern by @inuyashasforest: a lot of feelings for this one. It was the first Inukag multichapter fanfic I have ever read and boy am I glad I did. It’s a must read. I don’t know how Hanyo no Yashahime will fall into the Inuyasha universe, but if it turns out to be garbage, I’m more than happy to accept Light Me a Lantern as canon instead. Send tweet.

Little by Little by @little-known-artist: cutest post-canon fanfic in all land! It will make you smile. It will make you laugh. It will make you a little horny. That being said, it will also make you cry, but trust me: you’re gonna be grateful for it.

You Rescued Me by @keichanz: this fic it’s a party and I’m the piñata, there’s no other way to put it. Heather is a storytelling master, like... she could post her grocery shopping list and I’d be reading the hell out of it!

The Captain and the Hanyo by @goshinote: I love the whole premise of this fic and how much effort Jane puts in every detail. It’s like I’m living in it and I wish I was. It’s the story I’m currently reading and it’s so, so sweet and exciting!

Cruel Summer by @akitokihojo: you know shit is about to go down when Angie drops a Taylor Swift song titled fic. Now that Folklore is out I’m honestly scared for my life.

Pennies and Dimes by @witchygirl99:  SOMEONE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TURN THIS INTO A MOVIE PLEASE AND THANK YOU! (part one)

Delicate by @akitokihojo: SOMEONE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TURN THIS INTO A MOVIE PLEASE AND THANK YOU! (part two)

A Night to Remember by @angelhartsblog: I want you to close your eyes. Now I want you to think about the perfect Inukag first time. Open your eyes. Did you think about A Night To Remember? No? That’s because you haven’t read it yet, pal. What are you waiting for?

The Gorgon and the Dog Demon by @cstormsinukagblog​: I’m in too deep HELP!

Mating Fever by @clearwillow: let’s face it, this one is a classic already! The concept of this story was executed so well. Nothing was held back. You can tell Carra had as much fun writing it as we had reading it.

Pretending To Pretend by splendentgoddess: IF BOTH THE LAST HARD COPY OF THIS FIC AND MY COUSIN WERE ON FIRE... I’d still save my cousin but only because I reread Pretending to Pretend so many times I could probably write it down again myself, word for word. Also, my mom would never let me hear the end of it. But, like... it’s still a close one.

Bakin’ Cakes/Patty-Cake by @artistefish​: if I had two lives to give to Bloodhound and Kitten then two lives I’d give them.

Risks by @stoatsandweasels: THE CHARACTERIZATION, THE DIALOGUES, THE SMUT... Definition of *chef’s kiss*. The stars really aligned for this one, let me tell ya. Good. Fucking. Food.

Cam You See Me? by @keichanz​: Smut Queen at her best. LONG LIVE!

Inuyasha: Prince of Thieves by @starlingchildgazingatthestars: I feel like this fic should be written on a very big, very old, hard covered book. And someone should read it to me every night before I go to sleep. Every new chapter deepens the plot and the character so much. I’m hooked.

Belief/Resist by @dangerouspompadour​: my first thought on it was “man, I wish I could leave a thousand kudos” because it’s one of my favorite tropes ever and the story was told with such delicacy and honesty. Nailed their personalities to their cores.

Freak Attraction/Freak Attraction: Seven-Man Circus by @artistefish: this fic is the epitome of galaxy brain. How do someone eve come up with something so incredible? The world building is so fucking good, are you kidding me?

Oblivion by @meggz0rz: this one needs no comments... But I’m gonna comment anyway: talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spetacular, never-the-same, totally unique.

Beautiful Stranger by splendentgoddess: WHAT A RIDE, MY FRIENDS! BUCKLE THE FUCK UP!

Missing by @ajoy3fanfics: it’s called ‘missing’ because after you finish the whole thing you just miss it so fucking much! I remember how obsessed with it I became, refreshing the page for updates. I was a woman possessed. I spent about 80% of my time talking about this fic, and the other 20% of the time, I was praying for someone else to bring it up so I could talk about it more.

The Delinquent Boyfriend by @artistefish: book one of Inukag Holy Bible.

Out Of The Woods by @dyaz-stories: okay so there are only two chapters so far but the plot it’s captivating as hell! And the writing it’s flawless. If you haven’t read it yet, please do and tell Dya I sent you and I miss her ass.

Guardian by @ruddcatha​: my nerdy ass feels seen and represented.

Knit and Lace by @doginabirdcage: if you’re part of the Inukag fandom you’re legally obligated to read this fanfic. This is not even a joke. Do you know someone who hasn’t read it? No! And you shouldn’t because it’s fucking awesome.

Call You Mine by @lavendertwilight89​: every word on this is a drop of dopamine I swear.

Enchanted by @akitokihojo: I was in the middle of studying for one of the most important tests of my life when Enchanted came around. Was it insane of me to drop everything to read it? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes.

The Half Breed’s Wife by @gypsin: I’m gonna be honest here, this better update before I die otherwise I’m simply not going. RIP to everyone who will pass away without knowing how The Half Breed’s Wife ends but I’m different.

The It Couple by @meggz0rz: OH, YEAH,THE COOL KID OF FANFICS! *Vogue by Madonna starts playing*

It's About Time by @akitokihojo: first fic by Angie I have ever read! Flashback to two-years-ago me picking her chin off the floor. I still can believe I could read this for free? It feels wrong that I could, but also, like: thank God!

The Maid and the Bodyguard by @dyaz-stories: this is the fic you want to take home to your mama. You’d get on one knee for this fic. You’d buy it a diamond ring. You’d profess my undying love for it and you’d spend the rest of your life trying to prove to this fic I’m worthy of it.

Something Real by Angelica Pierce: so this is one of the best oneshots I have ever read in my entire life. It is also the one and only work signed by this author known to mankind. Which I take as a personal offense. To me. Personally.

Mars and Venus by @doginabirdcage: have you ever read something so clever you’re mad about it? Like HOW DARE YOU BE SO SMART? Genius, really. I read it so long ago and it blows me away to this day.

I Knew You Before I Met You by @keichanz: book two of Inukag Holy Bible.

House Mates by honeybee31: “and they were roommates.” “OH MY GOD, THEY WERE ROOMMATES!” Domestic Inukag? In my fic rec? It’s more likely than you think.

The Language He Speaks by @akitokihojo​: if I was half as beautiful as this fic... I’d be kissing so many mouths... The possibilities...

Fingertips by @shinjiteflorana: this is the level of writing I aspire to achieve someday.

PS: I could never, in a billion years, rank these fanfiction, so please keep in mind they are in no way ordered by personal preference. I just love them all. Also, I’m messy.

PS²: believe it or not, I really tried to narrow this down. If I were to tag every Inuyasha fanfiction I love ever, it would get insane huge. This is a not exhaustive, very humble list of my favorites as requested above and I had to draw the line somewhere, otherwise I’d just keep going forever.

PS³: I’ll never get tired of saying that this fandom is crazy talented! Making this fic rec was so hard because there are so many awesome creators out there putting out new content for us every single day. I would like you to know that, even if I had to leave some works out, I appreciate and support each one of them. Thank you so much for keeping the Inuyasha fandom alive!

PS⁴: if you’re reading this, feel free to recommend or tag me in Inuyasha fanfics. Add some of your favorites to this post. Give the authors some love!

[hanjizung]

𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕥𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕣  𝕕𝕒𝕪   𝟛𝟘: 𝕄𝕚𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕩.

Felix x Reader.

Word count: 1.7k

♡ Warnings ♡: Smut, secret relationship, orgasm denial (kinda), semi public, mirror sex.

【ｐｒｅｖｉｏｕｓ　ｄａｙ　||　ｎｅｘｔ　ｄａｙ】

【Ｋｉｎｋｔｏｂｅｒ　ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ】

You loved when Felix invited you to the practice room to watch him dance. He seemed so immersed in his movements, his expression serious as he concentrated on feeling the music and allowing his body to move to the rhythm. 

He was a passionate dancer, always had been. He even offered to show you the moves you liked the most on his routines. 

He was a good teacher, always patient with you when you struggled to get a move right. He always sat with you, made you breathe in and out before continuing where your mistake was. He managed to make you a graceful dancer, you would be forever thankful to him for that. 

Right now, he invites you over to help him, Hyunjin and Minho to choose what moves would be best for the newest song. 

Sure, you weren't a dancer, but you were public and since you weren't a professional, your reaction and opinion could help them improve and modify the parts that needed the readjustment. All of that, and they also liked to have you around. 

Ever since you and Felix started dating in secret, some of the members teased you and him when you were together. Little did they know that you confessed to him and he actually felt the same way for you. It was fun to act like nothing happened when you and him were alone and flirting back with each other in front of the guys. 

Hyunjin's beanie fell off his head again, flying in your direction and bringing you back to reality. You shook your head and looked at the object in front of you. Picking it up, you walked over to where Minho and him were standing. 

"Hey, Y/N, are you okay?" Hyunjin asked you when you handed him his beanie. It was a strange question, you thought. 

"I'm fine, why are you asking?" he and Minho exchanged a look when you answered them.

"Hmm, I don't know… I guess you just seem a little off today" Minho shrugged. 

Yeah, you weren't fine at all.

Three nights ago, Felix and you were making out in his bed when Jisung opened the door, making you and your secret boyfriend separate from each other in record time. 

Then, two nights ago you were in the tranquility of your home riding Felix, you were just about to reach your orgasm when Chan called Felix over for an emergency at the dorms and demanded his presence there immediately, leaving you hanging. 

And lastly, when you were cuddling watching a movie with him at the dorms, he started fingering you when the rest of the boys decided to join and he chickened out, meaning that you could get caught more easily. 

Felix didn't like risks, unlike you. He wasn't a man of adventure, preferring to stick to the things he knew and was familiar with, meanwhile you liked experimenting with everything, because life was short. 

You thought that was why your relationship worked so well. He kept your feet on the ground and you convinced him to try new things with you. 

"She's just tired. We kept sending each other tiktoks until late at night, it's my fault" Felix answered Minho's question for you, walking over to where you were standing next to the other boys. 

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired. I bet you guys are more tired than me, you're all sweaty and stinky" you wrinkled your nose, staring at the stains of sweat on their shirts making them laugh at your exaggerated expression. 

You weren't tired, you were frustrated because you hadn't been able to cum in the last few days. It was annoying, especially because Felix revealed that he jerked off to the thought of you that morning when he was in the shower. He whispered that to you when you were in the elevator with the guys, making you laugh in nervousness. 

"If you're tired someone can walk you home. It's late and we've been practicing for a while now" Minho said, looking at himself in the mirror and fixing his clothes. Hyunjin was accommodating his beanie as well. 

"I'll walk her home, just let me practice the choreography one last time and then we'll leave" Felix said, resting his arm on your shoulder when he was close enough to all of you. 

"That's good with us. We're going to buy something to eat, I owe Binnie his favorite food" Hyunjin said, looking at Minho and then walking to the door. The oldest followed him, looking at you two suspiciously before closing the door. You swallowed, he definitely knew something. 

Felix left your side, checking the outsides of the practice room and then locking the door. You smiled, you kind of had an idea of why Felix wanted to be alone with you, and him locking the door meant that you were absolutely right. 

Your boyfriend walked to you, wrapping his arms around you and burying his face in the crook where your neck connected to your shoulder. You patted his hair, laughing because he was all sweaty and sticky, his body pressed against your own making you feel the dampness on his shirt, product of all his hard work. 

"Guess what, baby?" he grabbed your attention, whispering close to your ear in that deep raspy voice that you loved and drove you crazy. 

"W-what, Felix?" your voice trembled. You weren't looking at him, but you knew he smirked when he noticed the neediness in your voice. He had only said one thing and you were ready to succumb to him instantly. He loved it. 

"I'm going to make you cum so hard the whole building will hear you" he said, his hands pulling at your shirt to take it off and when you did what he wanted you to, he kissed you fiercely, your head spinning when you were missing air in your lungs and gasping when he finally let go, a trail of saliva still connecting your lips. 

"Take your pants off" Felix ordered, separating his body from yours and started to undress himself lazily as well. Your eyes flew to his hardened cock, he stroked his dick and your mouth watered, between your legs a uncomfortable sensation of wetness increasing. 

Felix took you by the arm and pushed you against the mirrored wall. You put your hands in front of you to protect you from the impact of your body against the mirror, it felt cold but it was a nice contrast to the fire of his touch in your body. 

Placing his hands on your hips, he pulled them backward to expose your dripping hole to him. He passed his fingers through your slit, collecting your juices and rubbing your clit. You moaned, the feeling of him taking care of your neediness making you content. 

"God, you're dripping wet, Y/N. I bet you can take my cock so well without having to stretch you first" you nodded, head against the mirror at his words. You needed him in that moment almost as much as you needed oxygen, your pussy throbbed, aching to feel him inside you for good. 

"I need you to fuck me, Felix. Please, I need your cock" you cried out, looking at him through the mirror. He smiled evilly, standing up and aligning his cock at your entrance. You sighed, pleased that he would follow your words and fuck you numb just like you needed to be fucked. 

"I'm going to, baby. But I have a rule you need to follow if you want to cum" you looked at him expectantly, your lust controlled brain making you nod incontable times even without hearing what he wanted you to do. 

"I want you to watch how good I'm fucking you, baby. You're not allowed to look at anything but yourself in the mirror, you understand?" again, you nodded. 

"Good. If you look away I won't make you cum, so be a good girl for me and look at the mirror only" Felix kissed your shoulder, entering you slowly and moaning when your warm walls stretched with his cock. 

You gasped in delight when he entered completely into you, trying not to close your eyes and look at your satisfied expression. 

Felix's grip on your hips was so strong that you knew he would leave mark there for a few days, but you didn't care. All you could think about was how good he was fucking you, making your legs shake as your orgasm approached. 

One of the hands supporting you from hitting the mirror left its place to go and rub your clit, you were feeling so good that it was getting almost impossible to keep your eyes open and watch yourself be fucked by the perfect man behind you. You had to admit it was kind of hot watching yourself be ruined, that plus Felix's moans with yours filling the room in the practice room… 

A particularly loud moan warned Felix that you were close to your release, your fingers rubbing your sensitive clit faster and Felix finally hitting that sweet spot that melted your brain. It took him a few more thrust to finally have you crying out in pleasure, him still penetrating you through your orgasm and following you, reaching his own high as well. 

He pulled out of you, trying to regain his normal breathing pace. Your legs couldn't support your body for much, and he noticed. He carried you to the lonely couch and placed you gently, looking for something to help you clean the mess between your thighs. 

"Felix? That was… fucking hot" you exhaled, spreading your legs to help him clean you. 

"I know, baby. You clenching around my cock, crying out for me when you orgasm is the hottest thing in the world. I'm happy you think so as well" he smiled, collecting the discarded clothing and dressing himself before helping you get decent again. 

"Felix… I think we should do this again" you said quietly, but not that much because he heard you and looked at you with a smile. 

"There's no doubting it, baby. We'll do it again, that's for sure."

[bluecatstory]

The fortunate one - Chapter 2

The continuation & end to this. Thank you for reading! 

Boy met a tea kettle genie. Unfortunately, this wish-granting genie did not get to grant a single wish. This is an AU 100% based on Neil Gaiman’s The October Tale. Also, the main pairing here is GoYuu (Gojo Satoru/Itadori Yuuji), so please click back if you don’t like it. 

---

It was a lovely day for a stroll through the town. The weather was cool but fair, and green leaves flurried on the trees as the gentle breeze blew by.  

People were out and about, scurrying with their life. But if you pay attention to the crowd, you would see a strange pair. A pink-haired boy was walking together with a tall, lanky man. The handsome man was still young, maybe in his 20s, but his hair was white from the roots. His outfit even made it stick out more, all black with sunglasses. 

They were having a somewhat lively conversation. 

“So tell me more about yourself, Yuuji. I want to get to know you more.” 

“What do you want to know?”

“Your likes, dislikes, dreams, family, just anything!” Gojo grinned playfully. His current master of the tea kettle, by far, was the most intriguing. He wanted to know what kind of person was Yuuji Itadori, who claimed to be perfectly content with his life. 

And Yuuji, like the honest boy he was, told Gojo of his family: his parents passed away in a car accident when he was just a toddler, how his gramps raised him by himself, and he also passed away recently, having left him the house. Yuuji told him about his job: how he was a kindergarten teacher who had gained his reputation among the school for cat drawings. He told him he also taught basic drawing at the local community once a week. 

“Ah, but have you ever wished to be more than that? With your physique, you would make a great athlete. Or model! I mean, look at those legs.”

Red crept up his face. Yuuji smiled sheepishly. 

“Thanks… I guess. But you know, I admit there were tough times. Imagine one accidentally smuggled candies in the class, and the whole 20 would go bonkers. And the parents would just scream at you for everything. But I’m making a difference in the kids’ life. Witnessing them discovering things and eagerly telling you about them. It’s rewarding, and I feel happy every day going to work. “

Yuuji’s smile was so beaming that Gojo felt blinded by it. Ok, so scratch work. He might need to dig into other areas. 

“Now it’s your turn, Mr. Cryptic genie. Tell me more about yourself.” 

“Hmm, you only need to know that I’m the strongest genie that can make your wish come true. Hey, we’re here! Can we buy some cheesecake? I’ll carry the groceries for you.” Gojo pointed to the cakes on the shelves and dashed away, leaving Yuuji standing confused at the door. 

Yuuji snickered at the childlike man. 

--- 

“How about friends? Lovers? You have one?”

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m talking to a police officer who’s doing a yearly census, not a 1000-year-old genie with a desperate need to please people.” Yuuji sighed as he unpacked his grocers in the fridge. 

“Excuse me, I’m only 966. And I ask because it’s my job. Kids these days…” The genie wiped the invisible tears from his eyes. 

“Ok, ok. Don’t cry.” Yuuji lightly patted his head. Being with the genie for a while, he realized Gojo had a dramatic side to him that sought attention. 

He told Gojo that no, he was not dating anyone now. His best friends were Megumi and Nobara. That they had stood with him since high school, through good and bad times. That Megumi was a grumpy yet caring dog whisperer with 2 adorable, fluffy, smart dogs. That Nobara was a strong-willed woman working her way through the modeling world. And they always made time to catch up on the weekend despite a hectic schedule. 

“Hmm, I see.” Gojo said thoughtfully. There were really no holes in Yuuji’s life to be fulfilled by wishes. Except one. 

“You know, I can see that your life is good. But you are missing someone to share that life with you. Wish, and you’ll get the perfect woman. Or man.“

“No need. I’m good.”

“Are you?” 

“Yes. I’ve got everything I need.” Yuuji patted the genie’s head lightly as an assurance. 

“So what do I do now?” 

Yuuji thought for a moment. Then he pointed to the garden. 

“Can you help me tend the plants?”

“Sure! Is it your wish?” Gojo said excitedly. 

“Nah. Something you can help while I make dinner.”

So Gojo tended the plants. Then, after dinner, he helped Yuuji wash the dishes. The list of things Gojo helped Yuuji gradually grew. He ran errands for him, picking up sweets and office supplies for the school. He helped Yuuji planned surprises for his class, joining his local art class as an assistant. And sometimes, when Yuuji was tired, he gave him an excellent massage with his big, strong hands. 

It was not that Yuuji wanted help. But he let Gojo help. 

As time passed, Gojo moved out of the spare bedroom and ended up in Yuuji’s bed. 

---

They were lying on the bed, hands holding each other. Gojo silently watched Yuuji as the sunlight crept on his youthful face, aligning his parted lips. As Gojo was gently brushing a strain of hair away, his lover opened his eyes, and he smiled at him. 

“Mhh…morning.”

“Morning to you, too.” The genie smiled back, lovingly. 

Yuuji stared at him just as he was in a trance. 

“Your eyes… so pretty.” His bright smile struck Gojo, time and time again. Yes, this was the sight he wanted to see every day. His beloved Yuuji wrapped up in his arms, smiling and looking at him and him only. 

“Is this why you always wear blindfolds or sunglasses?”

“Well, a genie would say that because his magical eyes can see everything, so covering them up is a way for him to not know too much. But I would say that those baby blues are only reserved for you.” 

The pink-haired boy’s laugh got muffled by Gojo’s sudden kiss. 

“Hey, I’m wondering… What if it was you who were granted 3 wishes? What would you wish for?” 

Gojo thought for a moment.

“Nah, I’m good.” He told Yuuji. “I’ve got everything I need.” 

---

Gojo was perplexed when he met Yuuji. The boy was weird in every aspect, genetically pink haired with tiger markings, refusing his granted 3 wishes, and insisting his life was enough. For almost 1000 years as a genie, he knew people would always want something. 

Gojo was not a benevolent being. As he appeared before the boy, the genie thought he would just grant him 3 wishes and take his life in return, just like his predecessors. Those greedy, low-life scums would just scream and beg him to spare them. But what was done was done. Oh, how he reveled in their blood and shrieking soul. That was why he got sealed in the fucking tea kettle. Killing too much, the gods said. 

The genie chuckled. 

But Yuuji, his beloved, his eternal sunshine, was different from them. From wanting to know more about him, he started to fall for the boy. His fluffy hair that never seemed to be tamed, his bright, bright smile that made Gojo’s chest hurt, his well-built body that he could not stop planting more kisses on every inch of it, and how he did everything with much passion. 

Gojo loved everything about Yuuji. And now, with him in his arms, he would not let him go. No matter what.

End.

[in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather]

RICK MEETING YOUR FAMILY, the man is gone so much they probably think he’s a figment of your imagination!

❤️❤️❤️

Omg,I laughed out loud at that, that’s so true! 😂

Thank you so much for the lovely ask  ❤️ ❤️

*

Rick was starting to sound like a girlfriend from Canada.

Oh, he was supposed to be at the wedding, but his trip to Malaysia ran long.

I was gonna throw a dinner party so you could meet, but Rick caught a bug on his latest trip.

Best you could do was buy a magazine and show them where’s been and what he’s been doing, which was tantamount to pointing out an underwear model and saying he was your husband.

So when your sister’s birthday came around, you made no promises and didn’t hold your breath for Rick to be there. However, the stars aligned, and Rick was there, no bugs, no bruises, free as a bird, in his pretty little jeans, the ones you always said looked really good on him, high and tight, shirt tucked in, accentuating those coltish legs, dark hair shining in the sun. Fuck. Me. He was stupidly attractive. So much so you felt the need to go change and put on some different makeup, or something, just to balance out the attractiveness levels.

Rick was instant hit at the party. For one, everyone looked at him slack-jawed, firstly, because he was real, and secondly, because he was breathtaking in person. But he was charming and talkative, somehow entirely unassuming about having the coolest job in the world, far more interested in the spat your great-aunt got into with her neighbor, or your cousin’s hip surgery than telling people about sleeping in the rainforest or seeing the Northern Lights.

While you were saying hi to friends and family, thinking Rick was standing somewhere awkwardly in tow, like all boyfriends do the first time they meet the family, you heard the kinds of laughs and saw the kinds of stars in people’s eyes, looking somewhere behind you, that only appear when Rick is working his magic.

Turning, you found him running around like a gazelle, the kids chasing him fruitlessly, but then piling on him when he let them catch up. It was difficult to count how many barnacles were hanging off him, his broad back and long arms were covered in limbs and heads and butts, sticking out any which way.

“Did you hire this guy or is he real?” – a cousin came up to you, her second drink almost done, sort of kidding, but not completely buying that the Rick they heard so much about could be everything you said and more.

“Honestly, I’m not sure anymore.” – you responded, eyes glued to him and that wonderful energy he was exuding. He really was too amazing to be real sometimes. – “Lemme go check.”

You walked up to him and the kids mostly dispersed, giggling about the grody boyfriend girlfriend stuff you would no doubt engage in, while some of the more curious ones stayed behind, watching you with wide eyes and open mouths. – “Hey, people are asking if I hired you to play the handsomest boyfriend and perfect human being. Remind me. Did I?” – you frowned, readjusting his collar after the kids pulled on it and pushing his glasses up his nose.

Rick smiled almost shyly, glad that he was making a good impression after all those times he flaked. – “If you did, I think you’ve been overstepping some lines. I don’t think any contract covers what you did at that disco.” – he teased quietly, pulling you closer, but still trying to keep it decent for the family.

“Oh. And what about what you did in the back of that pickup?” – you reminded and his eyebrows shot up that you would even hint at such an act with your family around.

“Okay, so we both habitually go too far. I guess the only logical answer is we’re dating and disgustingly in love.” – he shrugged, kissing your temple, feeling many eyes on you and looking forward to getting you alone, so he could overstep any remaining lines.

[athenasbloodyspear]

Say Something to Stop Me: Chapter 7

Writing Master List | Say Something to Stop Me Master List

Please note: This fic describes depression, anxiety, panic attacks, past/referenced non con and domestic violence. Please read at your own discretion.

Explicit Sexual Content. 18+ 

For the second time since Bucky had entered your room, time stood still. The world around you seemed suspended in space.

For the second time, you fell into the endless whirlpools of Bucky’s eyes. The shades of blue spinning and spinning until you felt hypnotized.

The world held its breath as you both stared at each other. Sound had been ripped away. The only thing you could hear was the thudding of your heart in your chest. The only thing you could feel was Bucky’s arms where they wrapped around your shoulders and the warmth of his legs underneath you.

There was nothing else outside of this spot where you were tangled together on the floor. The only thing that existed was blue eyes, strong arms and shallow breaths.

Neither of you moved for a very long moment. It felt fragile somehow, like if all of the fibers of the universe didn’t align in the correct way, you would both cease to exist in this moment.

When Bucky finally moved to cup both sides of your face in his hands, it happened in slow motion. Like both of you were moving through molasses towards each other.

When his palms connected with your skin time came whipping back in full force.

He slammed his lips to yours.

Your entire body burst into flames.

Every single cell in your body was alight.

The kiss seared your senses from head to toe.

He stole every molecule of oxygen from your lungs, but this time it felt so delicious to be suffocating.

A pleading moan was ripped from your lungs as you shifted on his lap to straddle him, your hands reaching around his shoulders to pull him closer to you. You wanted every inch of him against every inch of you.

He answered with a groan of his own as he slipped a hand around the back of your neck and slid it up to the hair at the nape of your neck and grabbed on, like he was worried you’d slip away from him. His other metal hand slid down to wrap around your lower back, yanking you against him.

You tangled one of your hands in the ends of his hair where it laid against his shoulders while the other grappled for purchase against his shoulder. You needed something to hold on to or you’d float away.

You were moaning into his mouth involuntarily as every movement of his hands against your neck and back caused shivers to run down your spine. He slipped his tongue between your lips to open your mouth for him.

You needed more.

More more more.

You reached down to grab the hem of his shirt, ready to tear it up and off his shoulders. Maybe you’d just tear it in general. You’d buy him a new one.

Suddenly, Bucky grabbed your wrists to halt your hands where they were, tangled in the hem of his shirt. His mouth still seared to yours, he bit your bottom lip and sucked softly before pulling back and releasing your lip with a soft pop.

You whined, desperate to feel the soft skin of his chest and to feel his lips on yours again. He let out a low groan and rested his forehead against yours, panting. “You’re killing me sweetheart.”

You didn’t respond, you just grappled a bit with his hands, trying to release his grip so you could snag his shirt again.

“Stop babydoll. You have to stop.”

You just pushed your bottom lip into a pout. “Why?”

“Because,” His breath was ghosting across your collarbones, causing you to shiver. “I refuse to go there with you on a day ruined by that son of a bitch.”

Your only response was to grind your hips against his, where you could feel exactly how much he wanted this.

“Ah, fuck princess.” He growled. Without releasing your hands, Bucky tugged you forward to seal his lips over yours again.

You both tumbled into it for a few more moments, your hands fighting his grip as you tried to release his hold. You needed to card your fingers through his silky hair, or tangle them in his shirt or rub them along the groves of his muscles. You needed to touch him.

You rolled your hips against his again, hoping to distract him long enough to loosen his grip.

Without warning, Bucky quickly stood up, hauling you up with him. He set you on your feet before tearing his lips from yours and taking a step back.

You both stood in the center of your bedroom, staring at each other, panting.

“Bucky…” you whimpered. Already you felt cold in all the places his body had been pressed against yours.

“No. Not like this.” Bucky breathed, his eyes flashing as he looked over every inch of you. Your thighs were trembling where you stood, your body flashing with heat. “I want it to be perfect.” Bucky murmured, stepping toward you to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear.

“No pressure.” You muttered.

Bucky chuckled. “It’ll be perfect in our own way.” He grabbed both sides of your face before placing a chaste kiss against your forehead. “You need sleep.”

“I need you .” You whispered softly. Bucky groaned again, a pained sound from the back of his throat.

“Soon.” He whispered, kissing the tip of your nose then. He backed away from you toward the door, only turning once he’d reached the frame. He began closing the door, looking you over from head to toe one more time before whispering “Goodnight.” And closing the door behind him.

You stood in the center of your room, trying to calm your racing heart and cool your body temperature down.

You saw Bucky’s shadow hover for a long moment outside your door before he finally stepped away.  

Goodnight indeed.

~0~

The next two weeks passed you in a blur of activity. Bucky was called away the next morning to survey a few buildings in Europe with Sam.

Before he left, he’d found you in the halls of the compound. He’d been fully suited up, with all his weapons strapped to his back when he cornered and kissed you so thoroughly that you completely forgot where you’d been heading in the first place.

He’d lingered for a moment, staring at your face, scanning over your features and looking back and forth between your eyes.

You suddenly realized you were in his arms, your legs wrapped around his waist.

When did that happen?

You heard Sam’s voice down the hall, telling Bucky to hurry his ass up or he’d take off without him.

Bucky had slowly lowered you to the ground, given you one last lingering kiss before whispering “I won’t be gone long” and disappearing as silent as smoke.

That had been 12 days, 15 hours and 26 minutes ago. Not that you were counting or anything.

They’d been snowed in at their safe house, somewhere in the Alps. Whenever Bucky got service in the storm he’d call you, even if the line could only stay connected for a few minutes.

You’d talked about everything and nothing.

You’d finally shared everything you’d shared with Bucky, and more, with your therapist.

“I know now that he was controlling me and who I saw because he was cheating on me and projected that on me. I know it’s not my fault that he was a bastard who manipulated me because he knew he could. But that doesn’t stop me from hating myself for letting it happen. I mean… cmon Bucky I’ve been through a million trainings on hostage situations and surviving torture and all of those things. I’m a goddamn super soldier and I let that worthless piece of shit chew me up and spit me out. It’s not what he did to me that’s fucked me up so much, it’s that I fucking let. It. happen.” You’d spewed out on the phone to him one night after a particularly eye opening session with your therapist.

“I know.” His voice was crackly coming through the earpiece of the satellite phone. “But you are strong. It’s not going to fix itself overnight sweetheart.”

“I know.” You sighed.

“I’m going to be there every step of the way, got it?” Bucky said. The line was getting more and more staticy as he talked.

“I know.” You repeated.

“Hey, Y/N?” Bucky started. He sounded almost nervous.

“Yeah?”

“I uh…” he heaved a huge sigh on the other line. “I guess I probably shouldn’t say this over the phone…” He muttered, like he was talking to himself and not to you.

“Say what?” You whispered.

“I…”

Just then the line disconnected. You laid in your bed, staring at the screen of the satellite phone, wishing it had stayed connected for just ten more seconds. You wondered what he was thinking, what had he wanted to say?

~0~

The next day he’d called again and you’d chatted about the mission and how annoying Sam was getting after a few days locked in a tiny safe house with him.

Bucky opened up to you about how being snowed in like this was bringing back memories of Siberia that he would prefer to forget about. He said he was having a hard time sleeping again.

You’d stayed on the line as long as you could after you heard his breath evening out, hoping that just having you on the phone would help him sleep for a bit longer. You stayed until the line cut out again.

~0~

So now here you sat. On the couch in the family living room, staring at the satellite phone.

It was about 2 am in New York, which you estimated meant it was somewhere around 8 or 9 am wherever they were in the Alps. You’d hoped he might try to call when he woke up that morning.

You were physically exhausted due to a few hard days of training with Natasha. You were trying to work on your flexibility and agility and Nat was running you into the ground.

Despite that, you felt like you were finally swimming out of this huge ocean of grief and pain toward shore. You were healing, however slowly. You were focused on breathing and feeling the sun and tasting the wind.

You had your friends again, your family. You had Bucky. They would all help you keep your head above water when you couldn’t anymore.

So you sat on the couch, and waited for Bucky to call. You didn’t know if he would, he might think you were asleep.

Suddenly, you heard a low rumble coming from the direction of the landing pad outside.

Could they have finally made it through all the snow?

You ran, your feet carrying you through the halls, down the stairs and out the door like the wind.

As soon as you pushed the door, you saw him.

He was walking down the ramp of the quinjet. When he saw you, his face lit up and he smiled.

It felt like your heart might explode.

You squealed. You couldn’t help it. You had missed him more than you would care to admit out loud at the moment and you felt pure joy bubble up in your chest as you ran headlong toward him.

You were both laughing as you flung yourself into his arms, wrapping your arms and legs tightly around him. You buried your nose in his neck and took a huge inhale. The smell of Bucky instantly mellowing you out. It smelled like home.  

“Hey gorgeous.” Bucky whispered into your neck.

“What the hell?” Sam called from behind Bucky. You lifted your head from his neck to see Sam standing at the top of the ramp with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Optimus Prime here gets a gorgeous girl wrapped around him after days of freezing his ass off in those mountains and I don’t even get a hello?”

You blushed a bit. You’d never really covered with Bucky what was really going on between the two of you, or if he wanted anyone else to know about it.

“It’s my reward for not killing you in that cabin and leaving your body there, Wilson.”

Sam rolled his eyes.

“Hi Sam.” You said, giving him a little wave over Bucky’s shoulder.

“If you ever get bored with metal-man gorgeous, you know where to find me.” Sam smirked at you.

“I can still kill you right here, Sam.” Bucky called over his shoulder as he started to walk toward the compound.

Sam cackled before calling “You wouldn’t! It would require you to let go of your girl!”

You felt Bucky’s chest rumble with laughter against yours.

~0~

Bucky never put you down as you walked through the compound. He occasionally peppered kisses over your face as he walked, only pulling away to grab door handles or press elevator buttons.

When the elevator opened on the residential level, Bucky smirked at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes before murmuring. “Your place or mine?”

You blushed from head to toe, your whole body going to molten against his. Bucky huffed a small laugh before rubbing his nose against the tip of yours and whispering. “Yours then. It’s closer.”

He sealed his lips to yours as he walked you backwards and into your bedroom. Your hands were in his hair as you kissed him, you pulled his bottom lip into your mouth and bit down gently. He groaned softly as he kicked the door shut behind him.

Suddenly you were falling. He dropped you on the mattress and you bounced twice, staring back up at him where he stood at the end of the bed.

“I missed you.” He said softly. His eyes were scanning your whole body, head to toe, and you felt your flush deepen as your body temperature continued to climb. A pulse of heat started deep in your abdomen as you stared at him.

You bit your lip and batted your eyelashes at him before whispering “I missed you too.”

He groaned and let his head drop back to stare at the ceiling.

“What?” You asked, propping yourself up on your elbows. Was he okay?

“You look like a dream.” He said before dropping his eyes back to you. “I just can’t believe I’m standing here.”

“I can’t believe you’re still just standing there.” You murmured. You stretched your arms above your head, knowing it would give him a peek of the band on the Calvin Klein underwear you’d thrown on under your sweats as well as lift your t-shirt up to reveal your stomach.

“Is that a challenge?” Bucky smirked at you. He wrapped both hands around each of your ankles and yanked. Your body slid down the center of the mattress a few inches toward him and you let out a giggle.

“Maybe.” You murmured, biting your lip again. “I’ve been getting very impatient. It’s not very polite to leave a woman wanting.”

“Did you think about me while I was gone?” Bucky murmured as he placed a knee between your knees, leaning down to place a hand on either side of your head. His gold chain sliding out from under his shirt to dangle down from his neck.

You reached a hand up to trace the length of the chain where it ran along his neck and down to where it dangled above you, hooking your finger in it and tugging gently. “Every night.”

Bucky let out a soft laugh that morphed into a moan as he leaned down over you and kissed you deeply. The cool length of his chain pooled between your collarbones.

The only places he was touching you besides your lips was the soft brush of his chain on your chest and the tickling of the ends of his hair where it framed your face. You wanted more.

You whined his name as you lifted your hands up to tangle in his hair.

“What do you want sweetheart?” He murmured against your lips.

What did you want?

You wanted him inside you immediately.

But you also wanted him to do this every night. You wanted to wake up like this every morning, with him above you and his smell all around you. You wanted to spend more days in Brooklyn together, without unwelcome interruptions. You wanted to spend your life fighting at his back, protecting him. You wanted it all. You didn’t care if the road was rough, you wanted to experience it all instead of keeping your head under the water like you had for the last year.

“I want to feel everything with you.” You whispered.

You weren’t sure if he would understand what you meant. That you wanted to keep swimming toward the shore. That you wanted to not lose another moment with him to the panic. You wanted to feel every brush of his fingers on your skin. You wanted to feel the wind whipping through your hair while wrapped around him on his bike.

You should have known he would understand how deeply you meant that. He pulled back from you slightly then, to look you in the eyes. He gave you a small smile, but one that held volumes. You felt the impact all the way down to your toes.

He knew you and understood you in a way you had never felt before.

“Tell me to stop if I’m doing something you don’t like.” He whispered, placing his warm hand in the center of your chest softly. His fingertips brushing along your collarbone.

“Okay.” You whispered back.

He slowly dragged his fingertips down the center of your chest to your sternum before moving them softly over to your left breast. His fingers drawing slow circles.

Your breath caught in your throat. He was still holding his body above yours, so his slow moving fingers were the only point of contact on your body, but you still felt like you were burning alive.

You started to reach your hands up to wrap around his neck and pull him down to you when he snagged your wrists in one hand. “Just let me touch you.” He breathed. “Please.”

How could you deny him anything when he said please like that?

He took your hands and gently extended them so they rested just above the crown of your head. “Leave those there for now babygirl.” He murmured softly, before pulling his hand away to resume the path it had been traveling in circles on your chest.

You are powerless now, completely at the mercy of his fingers as he trails them slowly down your chest to the hem of your t-shirt, pushing it up until your breasts are exposed to the cool air of the room and the heat of his gaze.

Bucky let a low moan escape him as he took in your chest. His hand sliding back down your chest to cup the weight of your left breast softly. “God you’re incredible.” Bucky groaned, leaning down to place open mouthed kisses along the bottom of your other breast.

“Please Bucky.” You whimpered. You squeezed your thighs together only to remember he still had one knee between your legs. You arched your back, trying to gain some friction against his muscled thigh. He chuckled darkly and lowered his hand down to your left hip. He wrapped his hand around your hip bone and pushed it into the mattress, halting the movement of your hips. “So impatient.”

“Too patient.” You whined back at him.

He chuckled before sliding a thumb under the band of your underwear, tracing the line of your hip bone slowly. You roll your hips in time with the sweep of his thumb. The molten ache between your thighs ratchets up in intensity and you have to fight with every muscle in your body not to move your arms from where they’re positioned above your head.

Bucky leans down and places an open mouth kiss right against the point of your hip bone. You suck in a breath at the feeling of his mouth on your body. So close to where you need him but still too far away.

You yelp as Bucky sinks his teeth into the skin around your hip bone, not enough to draw blood, but enough that you know you’ll likely have a bruise in the shape of his mouth tomorrow. The thought of him marking you causes every muscle in your abdomen to squeeze, but there’s nothing for you to hold on to. Not with your thighs or your hands. You’re completely at his mercy.

Bucky drags his tongue from your hip bone across your lower abdomen to right below your belly button. He places soft kisses on the swell of your belly as his hands grip either side of your waistband and tug, sliding your sweats and underwear slowly down your thighs and shins until he’s finally shuking them off.

He leans back again, and stands at the end of the mattress, taking you in.

Your hips rest about six inches from the edge of the mattress, your feet rest on the edge, allowing your thighs to bare yourself totally to his baby blues. Your shirt is pushed up above your chest and your hands are still exactly where he placed them.

You heave breaths in and out of you as you watch him survey you. His eyes tracking from your hands above your head all the way down to the apex of your thighs on display for him. You feel like you’re burning alive in your own skin.

He stands at the end of your bed and looks like Adonis himself. The lamp on your nightstand casts golden light across the planes of his stomach and his jawline. His blue eyes flicker like the very tips of a flame as he licks his lips. He reaches behind him to grab the top of his t-shirt at the nape of his neck and pulls it up and off his chest before flinging it to the side. The only moment his eyes leave your core is when the fabric covers his line of sight.

He looks predatory, like he’s been tracking an enemy for weeks and finally has them in his crosshairs. Your inner muscles coil at the dark look in his eyes.

He sinks slowly to his knees in front of you before wrapping both hands under your thighs and giving you another quick tug so your hips lie closer to the edge of the mattress. The cool touch of his metal hand on one thigh and the warmth of the other sends a thrill up your spine.

“Fucking please. ” You whine again. It’s desperate this time but you don’t care. You’ll do anything to get him to put his mouth on you right now.

Bucky’s tongue draws a line along your inner thigh, running from your knee along the sensitive flesh and stops about an inch from your core. “You’re fucking beautiful when you beg for me sweetheart.” He growls.

And then his mouth is on you.

He licks a stripe straight up the center of you until his lips wrap around the tiny bundle of nerves that make up your clit. You cry out at the sensation. You feel like you might combust right then and there. Every part of you is a living flame as he sucks and licks against you. So painfully slowly you nearly scream.

He pulls his warm hand away from your thigh and slowly inserts one finger as he continues to slowly swirl his tongue around your clit. “So wet for me babygirl.” He murmurs against you.

The vibrations have you clenching down around his finger and he hums against your clit. “Good girl.”

He inserts a second finger then and pumps you slowly for a few moments, his tongue never leaving your clit.

He pulls away from you to stand again and you groan. You will actually lose your mind if he doesn’t keep touching you.

Bucky reaches for the clasp of his pants as he scans up your body and meets your eyes again.  

He looks wrecked, like Thor just beat the shit out of him at the gym. His face is flushed and there’s a soft glisten on his chin where his face was buried in you. His blue eyes are alight with awe as he takes in your body spread before him. He looks more beautiful than you could ever dream.

“I’ll take my time with that later.” He whispers.

“Not so patient after all.” You whisper back.

Once he’s freed himself of his combat pants he leans down and grabs the front of your t-shirt where it’s bundled against your chest and tears it straight down the middle and off your chest. “I’ll give you one of mine.” He whispers.

He kisses you again then, the taste of him mixing with the taste of you and you arch up against him. He places the elbow of his metal arm down next to your head, and cups the back of your head with his palm. His warm hand snags your chin and forces your eyes to meet his. “Keep your eyes on me, Doll.” He whispers. “I’ve got you.”

Then he’s reaching between you and lining himself up with you, you let your thighs relax a bit so you are even more open for him. Your whole body is aching with need and you swallow a whine as you try to hold his eyes.

The moment he enters you feels like magic. Like every moment in your life and every choice lined up in a row so you could make it here. To be underneath him and completely at his mercy.

You’d do it all again for this moment.

When he bottoms out in you, he lets his head drop to the crook of your shoulder and releases a moan that comes from deep in his chest. His right hand comes back up to brace himself next to your head. It almost sounds like he’s in pain he is so unleashed and uncontrolled.

You can’t stand it anymore, you release your hands from their position and slide your fingers into the hair on the back of his head and grab onto him. Your chests are melded together and your hearts beat in time together.

You both take a moment to breathe and adjust to each other. He lifts his head to lock eyes with you again. His right hand comes up to brush a few strands of hair off your face before he tucks them behind your ear. The backs of his fingers brush along the line of your jaw.

He rubs the pad of his thumb over your bottom lip and you nip at his fingertip, earning you a chuckle from Bucky.

“I don’t deserve you.” He whispers, pulling his hips from you until he’s nearly all the way out of you.

“That’s my line.” You murmur back.

He smiles at you then.

It’s exactly like you had always dreamed. His face above yours, bathed in golden light, with the most beautiful and heart shattering smile on his face.

You simply must have died and gone to heaven.

He rolls his hips into you again, hitting a spot that you had no idea even existed, pulling a long keening sound from your throat. You throw your head back against the pillow, arching into him. His warm hand snakes up your chest, drawing a line between your breasts and comes to rest softly around your throat. He doesn’t apply any pressure, but just the feeling of his hand resting around your neck makes you squeeze around him.

He drops his head to the crook of your neck again and grunts, his hips pulling out and snapping back into you almost involuntarily.

“You have no idea.” He murmurs into your neck, punctuating the words with open mouthed kisses against your pulse, right by his thumb. “No fucking idea how many nights I’ve laid awake, dreaming of getting you underneath me like this.”

He puntuates that thought with another quick thrust of his hips, his thumb pushes softly against your chin, forcing your neck to elongate for him. He pulls his head back up so he can look at you, slowing down to an even roll of his hips. He groans when he bottoms out again. “Fuck” he chokes out “No matter how vivid my imagination, I never knew how fucking perfect you’d look.”

“How long?” You gasp. He knows immediately what you mean.

“Since that first night in Budapest. You drove me fucking insane.” His grip tightens around your throat slightly to force your eyes to meet his. “I’ve been slowly going mad ever since.” He shudders and groans as he pushes into you again, the pleasure was so acute you actually whimpered, it felt like you might cry.

You remember that night. Had dragged him to a bar around the corner from your safe house, saying that you wanted to celebrate being on ‘vacation’ together. He had just let you call the shots, pulling him along as you skipped into the dingy bar.

It was right after that blow out fight with Elijah. The beginning of the end.

You’d been melancholy the whole trip over. As soon as you had started wandering the streets Bucky had found a way to make you laugh, and you’d decided right then and there that you were just going to forget about Elijah for a month, and figure out what to do when you got back.

So you’d lugged Bucky down the street to a bar, gotten yourself good and drunk, and then jumped up on the bar. Someone had put “I Ran” by Flock of Seagulls on the radio and you had just decided that you needed to dance. Immediately.

So, you’d hopped up there and started shaking your ass. A few other ladies in the bar had joined you and soon enough you had the whole crowd singing and dancing. You were dancing and grinding and genuinely just letting loose when you had glanced over to where Bucky still sat, nursing his vodka on the rocks in a corner booth.

You hadn’t recognized it then, but you knew now the dark look on his face matched the one he was wearing now.

“I wanted to pick you up off that bar, throw you over my shoulder, walk back to our apartment and fuck you into the floor.” Bucky rasped, snapping his hips against you again. He was still holding your chin so you couldn’t move your eyes away from him. You closed them, the pleasure was so much you couldn’t take it.

“Look at me.”

You opened your eyes. His eyes were so clear and so blue looking down at you. It sent a sharp zing of pleasure up your spine. His gold chain dangled down from his neck, brushing along your collarbones and causing your whole chest to break out in goosebumps. Your hips rolled on their own, desperate to feel him hit that spot deep inside you. He growled.

“And then we had that mission in Croatia.” He groaned, moving both of his hands to either side of your head so he could piston his hips into you a little bit faster. “And you looked so goddamn good in your suit, beating the shit out of those guys.”

A giggle bubbled up out of your chest. You remembered the way you had caught him staring in the conference room that morning.

He was panting now as he thrust into you a little harder. It was becoming nearly impossible for you to keep your eyes open. “When you wrapped your thighs around that guy's head to tackle him...god I’ve never wanted to be someone else more than I did in that moment.” He accented that statement with an extra hard thrust of his hips. You were so close now. You whined.

“Oh fuck Bucky, I’m so close.”

He wrapped his warm hand around your throat once more and applied just the tiniest bit of pressure to the veins on both sides of your neck. You felt like you were going to explode.

“I know baby, you’re being such a good girl.” He growled. That was it. You could feel every muscle in your abdomen start tightening as you teetered on the edge of orgasm. “Look at me when you come, I wanna see you.”

Your body felt like a supernova.

You forced your eyes to meet his as your whole body seized in pleasure around him. His hand on your neck released and he snagged a handful of hair at the nape of your neck as he continued to work you through your orgasm. It was so strong, and so liberating to finally feel this.

You felt tears come to your eyes.

Bucky’s hips kept pounding into you, his eyes locked with yours, the biggest smile you’d ever seen on his face. A small drop of sweat rolled down his temple and across his jaw. He was whispering. “I got you. I got you. I’m right here. You did so good for me baby.” Over and over.

You let out a small choked sob as emotions overwhelmed you.

You loved him. So much it was physically painful. You felt like every nerve in your body was firing at the same time. Every thrust against you made your brain repeat “I love him. I love him. I love him.” You had to press your lips together to keep it from bursting out of your mouth.

You were whining underneath him, the bliss of your orgasm running longer than you’d ever experienced as he increased his pace inside you. He buried his head in the crook of your neck.You squeezed your eyes shut against the onslaught of sensations and emotions.

Suddenly, Bucky thrust hard and you felt him pulse as he orgasmed. He let out a groan from deep within his chest.

He stilled above you, his chest finally collapsing against yours. Both of your heartbeats thudded against your ribcage like the organs wanted to rip out of your skin to be closer to each other.

There were still tears streaming down your face and you were holding a sob in your chest. You were so unbelievably happy, you didn’t want him to get the wrong impression that you were upset. You were the farthest thing from upset you could possibly be.

He lifted his head off your neck and propped his other elbows behind your head, shifting a bit to his left side so he could use his warm right hand to stroke your face.

“Hey. Shhh. It’s okay. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He said between breaths, “You’re perfect, sweetheart. That was everything I could have ever dreamed of and more. I’m never letting you go, okay?”

You sobbed then. You couldn’t help it. It was heart wrenching to hear him say those things to you. You wanted that more than anything, you didn’t even know if you could express it to him. You wanted to crack open his ribcage and crawl inside so you never could be separated.

“Oh sweetheart.” He whispered and buried his head in your neck again. “You’re okay. It’s okay. Let it out babygirl.”

“I’m sorry.” You whispered. “I’m not upset, I’m so fucking happy I don’t know why I’m crying.” You chuckled a bit. You felt insane.

“Well, you did just come so hard you nearly went cross eyed. I assume that’s a pretty emotional experience.” Bucky grinned, lifting his head back up so he could look at you.

“I went cross eyed?” You shrieked, covering your face with your hands. Oh my god you were never going to look at him again.

You felt his chest rumble against yours. “No, princess. Stop. Don’t hide from me.” He hummed while he used his right hand to peel your fingers away from your face. “It was the single hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

You revealed your eyes to him, but kept your hands on your cheeks to try to hide the blush. You didn’t really know why. You were, in fact, fully naked underneath him and he was still inside you for god's sake.  

He just kept smiling at you as he leaned down to kiss the tip of your nose. He took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s get cleaned up and then go to sleep. Sound good?”

“Um…” You mumbled. “I honestly don’t know if I can walk.” Your legs felt like jello and there was still a resounding pulse echoing between your thighs in time with your heartbeat.

Bucky dropped his head back and laughed. You shoved a bit at his chest. “Don’t go getting a big head now.”

“Oh I’m never going to ever forget that you said that. I want that engraved on my tombstone. Or tattooed across my chest.” He said, leaning down to kiss you on the forehead. He pulled out of you slowly, you flinched a bit at the feeling of him pulling out. You really wished you could just sleep like this, him flattening you into the mattress like the warmest and nicest smelling weighted blanket on the market.

He scooped you up and carried you into your bathroom before plopping you down on the toilet. You giggled. “What are you doing?”

“You have to pee. I don’t want to be the reason you get a UTI.”

“How the hell do you know about UTI’s? I’m assuming that wasn’t part of sex ed in the forties.”

“Let’s just say I brushed up on my education recently. Wishful thinking.” Bucky winked at you. “Now pee. I’ll come grab you in sec.”

He snuck out the door and closed it behind him, leaving you in privacy to use the bathroom.

You placed your face in your hands and just giggled to yourself. You were so giddy. He was just… perfect. It was perfect. Everything you had always wanted.

How sweet that he carried you to the bathroom?

After you finished, you stood up to wash your hands, genuinely shocked at how wobbly your legs were. You felt like a newborn calf with knobby knees. Bucky ducked back into the bathroom when he heard the sink turn on. He had put his boxers back on.

He came up behind you and snaked his arms around your waist. He placed a soft kiss on your shoulder before resting his chin in the same spot. He looked up in the mirror. You lifted your eyes to meet his in the mirror.

There you were. Fully naked in the bathroom, with an almost equally naked Bucky wrapped around you. It felt so surreal to see the image in the mirror. It was confirmation that you weren’t dreaming. It was really happening.

He was really here.

Normally you would have avoided looking at your body, but you couldn’t help but look at where his arms wrapped around your waist. You noted that there was indeed the beginnings of a purple mark on your left hip bone in the shape of his mouth.

You lifted your arms to wrap over his, and leaned back into his chest. You felt his voice rumble against your back as he spoke. “You’re perfect. I still feel like at any moment I’m going to wake up alone in my bed across the hall.”

“I’m here Bucky. I’m right here.” You said as you squeezed his hands.

“I know.” He whispered. You closed your eyes, taking in a deep breath and trying to memorize the way his body felt against yours. The way his heart beat against your back. The way he smelled. The sounds of his breathing. The feeling of his breath ghosting over your shoulder and across your collarbone.

Suddenly he scooped you up again, earning him a little squeal from you. When he reached the edge of the bed he let you go and you bounced against the mattress, giggling.

“Be right back.” He grinned.

Before turning he combed his fingers twice through your hair, from your scalp all the way to the ends, before going back for his turn in the bathroom.

You rolled over onto your side, letting your heavy eyelids close.

As you drifted off to sleep, you felt his arms wrap around you again, his metal arm instantly soaking in the heat of your skin. His ankles tangled with yours.

You fell asleep to the sound of his breaths.

[morimakesfanart]

Sindria's Prophet Ch07

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

**stream of consciousness

**partial nudity

~POV shift~

The sun rose. It was the an important day for Balbadd. As exhausted and injured as everyone was from fighting, they couldn't put off making the new government.

With the crisis over, they had all been able to sleep comfortably, and eat better. Waking up to breakfast at the grand hotel was more than a welcome change after having to eat scraps with the fog troop. Of course there's nothing wrong with eating within one's means, but King Sinbad had developed his palette to be used to more refined things and he wanted to share.

The King had a variable feast of a breakfast be made. It would be thanks for everyone's hard work, and would help prepare them for all of the work they still had left to do. The hotel staff were instructed to tell everyone.

Calm waves announced the arrival of his comrades as they joined him for breakfast. Relief was on all of them. It was nice to see everyone relaxed.

Best of all was seeing Aladdin up and about again. He enjoyed the food as he shared in boisterous conversation with his friends.

They talked of the day's plans. Most of them were going to the palace to help with making the new government. Morgiana understood her limitations in that respect so would be helping give supplies to people in need.

Everyone ate their full, and headed out.

All of this should have been encouraging, but King Sinbad couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. His Beautiful Prophet was missing.

"Ja'far, have you heard anything from Mori this morning?"

His General turned to him, "I guess I forgot to tell you. Lady Mori sent word that she wouldn't be able to join us. So I had some food sent to her room."

The King hummed at that. It was worrying, but she had said that they'd have plenty of time to talk soon.

If what Mori had said was true then she had been removed from her home by Fate. She must have been very confused. Mori had shown that she was able to push her own problems to the side in order to help with the Balbadd crisis. She would become a strong ally.

Now that she could actually take a break, she was most likely mourning the loss of her home. She said herself that she'd never be able to go back. If Mori didn't have a home or family then King Sinbad would fill that void for her just like he had for many others. He wanted to comfort her, but if the Prophet needed space then it was time for the head of the Seven Seas Alliance to do what he could for Balbadd.

---

The magi, and prophet had came to Sinbad as if gifts from Fate, but it was up to him to convince them to stay with him.

Aladdin was currently focused on Alibaba so as long as Sinbad kept them both happy, he could prove his worth to the Magi. Helping Balbadd reestablish itself was 3 birds with one stone since he could also secure another dungeon capturer to his side, and honor his mentor as well.

And yet, even though he had already won her over, he found that he couldn't shake Mori from his thoughts on the walk to the palace.

Sinbad had felt the waves around her the first time they met, and they were only getting stronger. Mori had an amazing influence over the course of Fate. With her knowledge she could figure out exactly how to shift things in her favor and she could even feel the waves to get the perfect timing. He could feel the shift in the greater flow of the waves with every change. It was amazing. She was amazing.

Mori had agreed to become his prophet, but it clearly wasn't enough. Why else would he still be so focused on her? Sinbad would need to gain her true loyalty. She could help him reach his dream or sabotage him, and he might not even realize she had done it. There was no way Mori would do the later -he could feel it- but it wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

It was sad that she was ripped from her home, but it was obvious in the waves why Fate had moved her. She was here for him. Why else would he find her as soon as she arrived? Why else would there be no way for her to return home? She may not have given details yet, but Sinbad was certain that in order to prevent the 2 catastrophes she had mentioned, Mori would need his help. Fate was directing her right to him, and him right back at her.

Even without her prophecies, being able to read the waves of Fate was an amazing ability. One that only Sinbad had until now, so he knew better than anyone the potential that ability gave it's owner. Mori could also use magoi manipulation, and was clearly hiding other amazing secrets.

---

Being a King, Sinbad was given a room in the palace all to himself to work. It was a privilege he was grateful for; his thoughts kept wandering. It wouldn't look good to the other's if they caught him spacing out. He had plenty of practice disguising it from Ja'far's watchful eye.

He was stuck on something he had thought earlier. He'd referred to those two as gifts. It wasn't right for him to view them that way, but how else was he supposed to view Mori other than a gift from Fate? He could feel in the waves that she was going to live out the rest of her days in Sindria with him.

The prophet was clearly the type of woman that responded to him, so it shouldn't take much more to bring her fully to his side. It might be underhanded to flirt with Mori to gain her loyalty, but the King of Sindria would do whatever he needed for the future of his country and his dream. Even if he didn't want her -and he did- her knowledge was something he couldn't afford to let slip between his fingers.

Besides, Mori's reactions were very cute. She got embarrassed easily even when putting on a strong front, so he couldn't help but tease her -it was almost an obligation. He'd be doing the world a disservice if he didn't do everything in his power to make her as endearing as possible.

The way she had responded when their waves aligned was also endearing. She might not have said anything directly, but every time their waves flowed together she acted confidently and flirted back.

Never had he imagined he'd meet someone else who could read the waves of Fate. Mori was someone who could understand his experience -someone who he could talk to about the waves and Fate. It made him want her.

After her wonderful display in the lobby, he had wanted to try out that 'zipper' with his own hands. And when she finally agreed to be his Prophet in such a flirty way, Sinbad had gone for it even though the waves weren't on his side in that aspect. Mori may have turned him down, but she'd be in his bed some day. They had an obvious chemistry; it was only a matter of time.

He'd have plenty of opportunities in the future. Mori, herself, said they'd have more time to talk starting that afternoon.

For now he would focus on helping build this new Republic of Balbadd. He was already working on making the proper arrangements for the new Republic to officially become a part of the Seven Seas Alliance. That would help when he'd visit the Kou Empire as promised.

He couldn't help but wonder how that trip would go. Would he really be able to convince the Kou Emperor to back down? He could always ask his Beautiful Prophet later.

But Mori had avoided the first good breakfast he had been able to provide for her. He had wanted to see her expression when she finally got to eat delicious food. Why had she chosen to eat alone? Would she really be available to talk later like she promised?

She couldn't be avoiding him. He'd only made one pass at her to join him in his room. She didn't seem offended by it either. Surely, she was just resting.

She had gotten worried on his behalf so this current problem was only a hiccup. There was no way she was avoiding him. It wasn't like him to worry about such things -especially not when the waves were on his side- and he had other things he should be focused on.

The King adjusted his posture before pulling out the next document. Thinking about her all morning was distracting him from the work he could actually get done. He'd have time to solve that problem after he finished.

"Excuse me, sir." One of the palace guards was in the doorway talking to Ja'far. "There's a girl asking for an audience with King Sinbad. She said her name was 'Mori?'"

Looks like his thoughts weren't without reason after all. He was being guided by Fate.

The guard was told to bring her.

Then the General turned to his King, "Sin, I know you've been flirting with Mori to win her over, but don't push it. She only just agreed to become your vassal. She's read Fate. She might be able to see right throu-"

Sinbad laughed it off. "It'll be fine. You know you can trust me."

It took a few minutes for the guard to retrieve Mori. Sinbad heard her thank her guide before he actually saw her.

When Mori walked in she was wearing an outfit that Sinbad had never seen before; she was even wearing her hair differently. She wasn't showing off her legs which was a real shame. On the other hand, that neckline was very alluring. Seeing her in clothes he was more familiar with was a good feeling. He wondered what she would look like dressed in the fashion of his own country. King Sinbad made a mental note to buy his Prophet a new wardrobe as a welcome gift -she was going to be living the rest of her life in Sindria after all.

Sinbad stood to greet her but before he could make a move she asked, "So when are we leaving?" Mori had an air of excitement but was still a little nervous. The waves were swirling around her.

She looked cute so full of energy, but Sinbad had no idea what she was talking about. He started to cross the room from the desk while giving her the smile that won him hearts across the seven seas. "Good morning, MY Beautiful Prophet." Her blush was the best reward for his efforts. When he got close enough he reached for her hand. "It's a shame you weren't able to eat with-"

Ja'far raised his arm to separate them.

"Huh?"

"Sin, what did we just talk about?"

Ja'far was scolding him, but all Sinbad noticed was the look Mori was giving his General -like he was her hero. That wasn't right.

Mori touched Ja'far's arm tenderly. "I'm okay, Ja'far. I know exactly what type of man King Sinbad is since I've read Fate. I'd never take his flirting seriously." She said it with a smile, but her words stabbed at Sinbad's heart for some reason.

Ja'far lowered his arm and reconnected his hands in front of himself in his normal pose. "Then does that mean...?" Ja'far's obviously relief was growing.

Mori nodded, "I'm not some naïve teenager who would fall for a known womanizer."

How could she say that when she responded to his flirting in such adorable ways?

She placed one hand over her heart. "And I promise, if he does ever cross the line and upset me, I won't hold it against his citizens. The sins of a King are his own."

Ja'far looked on the verge of tears, "My lady, you are too generous."

Wasn't Ja'far against Mori yesterday morning? What was causing the sudden change? It was nice to see them finally getting along, but..

Sinbad tried to pulled her attention and change the subject. "Mori, you said something about leaving. For where exactly?"

"Sindria." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It was great that she was so enthusiastic to go, but there was so much yet to do in Balbadd. How could she think they'd be leaving already? Was this something in the fate she read?

She looked between them confused. "I know I told you the other day. Don't tell me you forgot??”

Ja'far asked for both of them, "What are you talking about?"

Mori's tone turned serious. "Two days ago I told you that a Kou fleet would be coming today."

She had said that. The hair on Sinbad's arms raised. With everything that had happened the day prior he had forgotten.

"With Balbadd in it's current state, you know this will be dangerous for any members of the old regime."

She was right.

There was shouting down the hall.

Mori sighed, "Looks like I took too long getting ready." She suddenly looked very tired.

---

They all stood at the port watching the fleet on the horizon.

"Why would they do this?" Alibaba was still too naïve.

King Sinbad explained, "They must have had their fleet dispatched here from the beginning. They wanted to take advantage of the uprising by forcing us into submission." Even without Mori's prophecy he should have been able to predict this after seeing how involved the Kou Empire was in Balbadd's down fall.

He could feel Mori watching. Her focus shifted to each person before they started talking. Was she reading the waves, or was this a part of the fate she read directly?

Alibaba turned to him, "Yeah but, the uprising was suppressed."

"Even so, it's not as if there's a new government yet." Ja'far stepped closer as he joined the conversation. "And if they insisted that Balbadd is currently without one, you couldn't disagree."

Mori was watching from behind the General. Her expression was blank. She glanced at Alibaba and then focused on Sinbad.

The young ex prince clenched his teeth in frustration.

"Alibaba." King Sinbad took it upon himself to help him. "You must make preparations to leave this country as soon as possible. The first thing the Kou are likely to do is take the entire Royal Family into custody." He continued to explain how the Kou Empire was most likely going to kill Alibaba and others as symbols or just take over completely.

It was a hard truth.

"No way... You're saying I should run away?? Abandoning this country and all it's citizens??"

One that Alibaba was clearly not ready to accept.

"That's right."

Alibaba starting ranting about his goals and dreams -everything he wanted for his home country. King Sinbad could understand him. He had wanted the same for Parthevia when he was young.

"I'm not running away." Alibaba reached for his broken metal vessel. "If they try to force me, then I'll just fight!" He drew that now useless knife and pointed it at the fleet.

Talking with him was going nowhere, and it was clear that it would take too long to get Alibaba to see reason. The best thing King Sinbad could do to keep him safe was to knock him out. He stepped forward and raised

his hand behind the teen.

But Alibaba was missing from his strike.

Mori had yanked Alibaba out of the way. The quick glance of eye contact made it clear that she knew exactly what King Sinbad was going to do. This was the moment she was watching for. She had to have read this as a part of Fate.

And then all of Mori's attention was on Alibaba. "Do you know who's leading that fleet? Because I do. It's Ren Kouen, master of three Djinn.” Her voice was strong and clear.

Sinbad couldn't see Alibaba's expression, but he could see him tense up. If it really was Ren Kouen that would mean trouble. Why had she stopped him? If he had knocked the boy out they'd be able to guarantee his safety. She wasn't acting against him, was she?

"I said I'll fight!” Alibaba restated his position.

"You haven't achieved full body Djinn Equip once and your metal vessel is broken!! How do you expect to fight him??"

Sinbad could see what she was trying to do, but how could she think she would succeed where he failed?

Alibaba went quiet and then started to turn towards Sinbad.

Mori continued before he could say anything. "Don't you dare ask King Sinbad for help in this. Do you want to start a war between Sindria and the Kou Empire? I thought you wanted to avoid meaningless blood shed."

Alibaba froze. She was forcing him to accept his actual abilities. If a person can't accept where they are then they will struggle to grow.

"You can't protect anyone if you're dead. I've read a future where you are able to help protect Balbadd and the world, but you have to leave now if you want a chance of realizing that future."

Alibaba was quiet, and after a few moments sheathed his sword. "Damnit!"

Mori stepped back and let Alibaba leave.

Aladdin followed after his friend. "Let's go tell Morg!”

"Yeah. Then I'll need to go pack everything." Alibaba sounded frustrated but he had accepted the situation.

Mori had gotten Alibaba to accept it. She hadn't gone against Sinbad; she filled the gap in his ability to solve this without violence.

The Prophet sighed, and turned to her King. "I knew you were going to try to knock him out, but I really hoped that you would try talking to him more instead." Mori bemoaned while massaging her temples. "Please learn that you don't have a right to bypass other people's consent."

Sinbad was definitely not ready to suddenly have his behavior critiqued.

Mori continued, "Whenever something doesn't work out the way you want, you always turn to violence or seduction. If you weren't so charismatic, powerful and lucky, you wouldn't have made it this far."

Ja'far piped up in agreement. "His rash behavior has caused countless headaches!”

"When is he going to start acting more like a king?" Mori responded back. It was almost word for word something Ja'far had said the day all of his metal vessels were stolen. Had she read that and mimicked Ja'far on purpose?

"That's it exactly!" Ja'far agreed with the Prophet.

It really was nice that they were getting along. But the way Mori smiled at Ja'far just didn't sit right with King Sinbad.

"Well, Mori," Sinbad tried to cut in nonchalantly, "with your help I'm sure I'll be able to avoid such situations in the future."

Both looked at him as if he had three heads. It was like they were saying with their eyes than nothing could 'cure' his behavior.

At least Mori was looking at him again.

There had to be something he could say to bring the mood back up. "Oh!" Sinbad realized what she had meant the previous day. "When you said we'd have plenty of time to talk, you meant while on the ship to Sindria."

She blinked and then realized what he was referencing. "Yes, that's exactly what I was saying!" Her smile was more than encouraging.

"So," she put one hand the strap of her bag, "when are we leaving?" and quoted herself from her entrance.

A normal person might have found it unsettling how Mori responded to things that hadn't happened yet. Sinbad wasn't normal; he was special. These moments where it was undeniable the that she could read the waves and fate were his favorites. They were encouraging that he had someone he could rely on to fill the gaps in his judgments, so he could make his dream a reality.

((I wish I had this done in time for Sinbad's bday (April 2) but I'll have to settle for having it out for mine (April 7).

I headcannon Sinbad as demi-aro or aro-flux So I doubt he'd be able to understand romantic feelings if he had them. This is basically an entire chapter of Sinbad attempting to use logic and Fate to excuse his feelings.))

[enviedear]

the last great american dynasty → draco malfoy

DESCRIPTION ⌙ in which y/n l/n buys an old home and quickly becomes the talk of the town

PAIRING ⌙ draco x fem!reader

WORD COUNT ⌙ 2.7k

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

pls enjoy this fic as i write my other four... its proving most difficult to keep up with all of them but i’m trying. and of course this is based off the song the last great american dynasty by taylor :)))

also here is the house i’m going to be referencing :)

when you moved to england your first task was to do as your parents suggested, stay with your distant relative, aurora sinistra. 

and you followed their advice. you tracked down her home. she just happened to be away. she had left a note saying something about how she couldn’t miss some sort of planetary alignment and would be in germany for the next week.

you had decided to explore the new territory and after an hour of walking around the town you met your soulmate, a home. and not just any home, a beautiful large piece of art made of stone. 

the huge house enticed you to climb up the large hill it was sat on. 

up closer you saw the vines and wisteria climbing up the exterior. then more details like the broad windows in need of cleaning, an old oak door, and doric columns that made you feel like you stumbled into a princess story. 

you forgot your normal manners and had entered the home without a knock, pacing slowly through the entryway, studying the decor.

“excuse me?” a voiced called.

you had turned to find a tall brunette woman holding a toddler.

“i’m so sorry! i didn’t mean to just walk up into your home. its just, very beautiful, and i saw a for sale sign by the mailbox.” you had sputtered out.

the woman seemed even more surprised after you had spoken, “are you american?”

“yes?” you had replied, confused.

“it’s just, no one comes here and now i know why you did,” she laughs a little and adjusts the little boy on her hip. “this is a family home of a dark wizard, not many people want to visit a house that has such negative connotations. but i’d love to give you tour if you’re still interested in it?” she asks.

you smile, “i’d love to. i’m y/n by the way.”

andromeda tonks had quickly taken a liking to you and offered you the home. she explained that absolutely no one else would buy it given the fact it used to belong to her sister, who had fought alongside voldemort. 

you didn’t mind the weird history that came along with the home, it was too beautiful to pass up. plus, it wasn’t unlike to you to cause a stir. you took pride in doing things out of the ordinary.

that’s how you came into the possession of the lestrange family home, or as you call it, wisteria house, after the flowers that inhabited the residence.

now, almost a year later, you’re the talk of the town. most of your pureblood neighbors found you too new. you were new money, you were apart of an american half-blood family, and you hosted parties they deemed too loud. however you knew they were tasteful.

you couldn’t care any less about what they thought of you. your home was your everything and you wouldn’t change yourself for some stuck up old families. you found it marvelous ruining everything they deemed sacred.

one of your neighbors in particular, a man named lucius malfoy, had annoyed you to no end. he hated everything about you. andromeda told you several times by now that he proclaimed you a mad woman to anyone who brought you or wisteria house up.

so today, on the fifth of june two thousand and three, you were determined to win this feud.

lucius’ home, malfoy manor was hosting a party tonight, and you were set on ruining everything.

as you entered the mansion, you absentmindedly smoothed out your tight fit gown. it hung off your shoulders and had a tasteful slit on the left side, exposing your leg.

“y/n, come sit with teddy and i!” andromeda calls from a nearby table.

you smile at the woman and take your seat beside her, giving teddy a kiss on the forehead. he in return, makes his hair your favorite color and smiles up at you.

“i didn’t think you’d actually come dear. i know how rude lucius has been to you, but i’m glad you’re being pleasant and showing off your best face.” andromeda says sarcastically, bringing her wine glass to her pointed lips.

you smirk, “lucius deserves to experience my full presence.”

the party kicks off and andromeda introduces you to many people, like harry potter, who you feel very awkward around. you can’t help it, you don’t know how to talk to someone who saved the world.

she also introduces you to lucius, who is carrying around a small poodle like it’s a handbag. he doesn’t say much to you and you don’t mind, his voice annoys you.

you decide to sneak away from andromeda’s conversation with lucius and make your way to a balcony. to the right, you spot your home. you smile to yourself and begin studying the malfoy garden. 

after a little time passes you decide it best to find andromeda again, but before you can take a step lucius’ dog is licking your exposed leg.

“well how did you get here?” you jokingly ask the animal, crouching down to pet it.

the dog leans into your touch and that’s when you have an idea.

when you attended ilvermorny you learned a spell for dyeing flags so that the opposing houses couldn’t change it. it proved a big hit given the thunderbird house liked to turn flags into theirs as a joke during quadpot games.

you could dye the dogs fur so that lucius would have a conniption. the dye was completely safe as well, and you were sure the party guests would love to see lucius attempt to change to dogs fur back.

so you dyed the dog a key-lime green, and let it run back off to its owner.

“i suppose my father was right, you are mad.” a voice says from the hall.

you furrow your brows and step further into the hallway so you can get a look at who’s speaking.

leaning against the wall is a tall, pale, blonde boy. draco. andromeda told you about him. apparently he doesn’t like his father much and to spite him, takes teddy on walks in his garden every saturday and thursday morning.

“you know, people have been saying that my home is cursed to make any woman who lives in it insane. and i must admit after finding your aunt bellatrix’s journal i might have to believe them. her sanity did begin slipping after moving into that home.” you say, raising your eyebrows.

“bella was always mad. but if you keep tormenting my father i think it’ll be him to go insane. not that i don’t enjoy your little pranks on him.” he gushes, letting a small smile creep onto his face.

“i can’t just end your dad an i’s little feud here, draco. it would make me look cowardly,” you tease, biting your lip. “i really don’t even know why he invited me to this party. come to think of it, i don’t even know what we’re celebrating.”

“i invited you. it’s my birthday party.” he replies.

“why thank you for your invitation. may i ask how old you are?” you ask.

“twenty-three at 11:37,” he looks at his pocket watch, “ten more minutes.”

you study him before saying, “you know there’s a wall at my house that shows you the way the stars look. would you like to see how the universe aligns the stars for your birthday?” 

draco runs a hand through his hair, “i’d love to. and i’ve been meaning to see what you’ve done with bella’s old house.”

the two of you quietly sneak out of malfoy manor and into wisteria house. you lead him upstairs and into the sky room. the room had an enormously tall glass ceiling, and was decorated with things aurora had given you.

on the wall furtherest from the door was a live depiction of the stars above. tonight the wall showed a vibrant blue galaxy spotted with deep orange and bright white stars.

“you’re lucky, this is one of the best ones i’ve seen this whole year. the stars must like you.” you sigh, happily.

draco laughs a bit and looks at you, “despite being the town nuisance, i find you rather enjoyable.”

“despite that compliment being backhanded, i find you rather enjoyable as well.” you tease.

draco laughs, “did you know that the sacred twenty eight pureblood families have a nickname for you?”

you shake your head asking him to explain.

“they call you the last great american dynasty because you bought this big house and have money they can’t trace.” he says.

“i cant deny, i kind of like it.” you giggle.

draco looks down to his watch, “one minute and then i’m officially twenty three,” he pauses to smirk a little, “you know this is the age my parents got married, and i suppose my mother will expect the same of me now.”

“i’ve always said the best age to get hitched is twenty three. the brain isn’t fully developed so you can still love like a teenager but have the responsibilities of an adult. i suppose by that logic, i too should be getting married this year.” you joke.

draco smiles before looking at you quizzically.

you furrow your eyebrows, “what is it?” 

“i think i have the perfect way to win your little feud with my father.” 

“and what is that?” you ask.

“let’s get engaged.” he says simply.

“draco, i’m honored but,” you pause, thinking.

what would be the harm in accepting. you could spend however long you wanted mulling over the actual wedding. lucius would have to respect you a little more. and draco seemed to be a nice person.

“you know what, this mad woman wouldn’t mind being engaged to you. so long as you don’t rush me to marry you, and we stay here, at wisteria.” you bargain.

“you’re sure? you haven’t been drinking have you? i’d hate to propose to a woman who won’t remember this in the morning.” he jokes.

“i haven’t had anything other than pumpkin juice tonight. although i can say this is extremely impulsive, i am almost certain i’d like to marry you. i mean i just saw the ways the stars looked on your birthday. that’s the most intimate thing i’ve ever done with someone.” you smile.

“that’s the most intimate-” you cut the boy off with a simple, “of course not, silly.”

the two of you talk through the rest of the night and into the early morning before draco escorts himself home.

the following months were bliss, aside from lucius’ annoyance about you and his sons engagement. draco took you all over britian. you bought some of the best ice cream you’ve ever had from a shop in diagon alley, you visited aurora at hogwarts and met the lovely headmistress named minerva who gleamed at draco every time he spoke, you took draco to meet your parents in november to celebrate thanksgiving, and the two of you did a lot of landscaping for wisteria house.

“guess what tomorrow is.” you instruct your fiancee who is tending to the small wiggentree.

draco wipes the dirt from his forehead and purses his lips in thought, “ah, it’s our engagement party.”

you wink at him and wrap your cloak around yourself more trying to get warm, “precisely. i was thinking we announce the wedding day.”

he chuckles, “why y/n, we won’t be getting married for a while. plus i’d hate to toy with mother by giving her a date she’ll have to wait anxiously for. you know that woman is practically dying to have a wedding. though, i would have thought potters’ would have quenched her thirst.”

you roll your eyes, “we’re announcing the day. march the fourth two thousand and five.”

draco’s eyes widen, “and you’re sure?”

you nod and draco barrels toward you with a hug. it knocks you back a bit but you smile and hold the boy tight against you. 

it didn’t take you long to become enraptured in everything that was draco malfoy. he loved you with a firey passion you longed to never go out.

the wedding day came quickly, but not quick enough for you and your fiancee.

“you know, i must say, this crowd has to be bigger than harry’s on his wedding day.” you say to andromeda, narcissa, and your mom.

“it’s because half of these people are a little too invested in your life. i love you but having your wedding at a former deatheater’s home isn’t exactly normal. i mean i know it’s not bella’s house anymore but the history remains. i can’t say anyone likes a home of a deatheater. no offense sissy.” andromeda says, looking out the window at the large crowd in the garden.

narcissa rolls her eyes and continues weaving the wisteria into your h/c hair. 

“i wish i was better at braiding honey, but narcissa is doing better than i ever could. you were right to have me just doing your makeup.” your mom says, eyeing your mother-in-laws’ handiwork.

“i just can’t believe the day is finally here. my little boy is getting married. i always knew he’d marry a woman who could keep up with him.” narcissa smiles.

after you and your bridesmaids (who consisted of your best friend, andromeda, and your cousin aurora) were ready, narcissa and your mother escort you all down to the venue.

the two mothers smile at you before taking their seats. 

“next time we talk you’ll be a married woman.” your best friend says, nudging your shoulder.

“isn’t it crazy?” you laugh, clutching your flowers.

she gives you a confident look before walking onto the aisle.

soon enough its your turn to walk. the long train of your white dress trails gracefully behind you and your off the shoulder long sleeves keep your arms warm.

the grey eyes at the end of the aisle look at you with such adoration you can’t help but to let out a stray tear.

draco looks regal in his light grey tux. his blonde hair is styled just like it was in a picture you found of him from his sixth year at hogwarts, and his rosy cheeks allude to his nerves.

when you reach him he holds a hand out for you and wipes the tears from your eyes.

your father is officiating the wedding and gives you a smile that only a father can give before starting his speech.

soon enough it’s time for draco to say his vows.

your lover sniffles a bit before speaking, “y/n l/n, for years this house has sat quietly on this hill, free of women with madness and bad habits until two years ago when it was bought by you. y/n, the most brilliant woman i’ve ever met. you ruined all the negativities that came with this home. your nature is unlike anyone else. you always see the best in people and things. you make a friendly competition out of anything and it never fails to amaze me at the way you push yourself. before we met i was out walking with a few old friends from school and you were outside wisteria planting lilac. i remember one of my friends referred to you as loudest woman this town has ever seen. i have to agree, your aura is impossible to escape. but i would never want to escape your madness. everything you do fills me with light. who knows if you never showed up what could have been. i’ve had a marvelous time ruining everything this home used to stand for with you, and i’d be honored to continue doing just that for the rest of my life. i adore you, y/n.” 

your heart begged to reach out and hug him.

“i love you draco malfoy.” you profess.

“i know pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride.” your father beams.

draco leans into you and gives you a kiss full of love. all the best things in the universe couldn’t compare to this moment right now. in the end you had two soulmates, one, a home that you poured all your work into and two, a man who you poured your whole being into.

when the two of you break away you smile at your husband, knowing that this is everything you’ve ever wanted.

and the town whispered the same thing years into your marriage, “there goes the last great american dynasty.”

[selfilluminatingkyu]

Dancing with the Devil(s): Chapter III

Previous|Current|Next 

You don’t go searching for bones in a Lion’s Den. You just hope you don’t become a part of the pile. 

F!Reader x Adult Trio; this takes place during the same timeline as Season 3 of HxH but the events with Kuropika and the crew are just shifted a little. Things will align back up within the next couple of chapters. 

Warnings: Swearing; mentions of conditioning of a child (reader); 

Word Count: 4.8K

After…whatever it was that had taken place with the members of the Troupe, Chrollo had placed you back into his study as he gave further instructions to the rest of the team, who you had been introduced to formally. You would have liked to say that the introduction had cooled your nerves a bit but that would have been a lie. If anything, it made you more anxious. The more you knew, the more susceptible you were to be considered a “loose end” and the likelihood of your impending death became that much more stark to you. Should you prove to be of no use to Chrollo or the rest of the Spiders, as you learned they were frequently called, your time would be clicking down on a timer. 

You still weren’t entirely sure what had happened and what you had done that had proven to be so amazing that had the lot in such a tizzy. You’d spent at least an hour playing a continuous game of “hide and seek” as Nobunaga had dubbed it. Although, you weren’t entirely sure who was exactly supposed to be hiding, seeing you felt their presences the entire time. The only time you had been a little unsure was towards the end. Hisoka’s presence had wavered momentarily, as if he’d suddenly disappeared, but you’d taken in a deep breath and focused yourself only for him to pop back up again, like an object on a radar. Chrollo’s had also been faint at one moment towards the end but his aura had never truly gone away, not that you thought it was possible anyway. Not with how dark and menacing his was. 

“I’m sorry for the delay, but it seems that there’s a new bounty on our heads and we didn’t collect all of the items for auction. There’s also some other matters to attend to.” You looked over your shoulder to Chrollo as he stepped back into the room. The information made you pause…you were certain that everything had been accounted for, for the first round. 

His hair was messy in comparison to the slicked back style it had been earlier, and you mused that it made him look even younger and it suited him more. Looking at him you wondered how many people he’d disarmed and made comfortable with his looks and charm. In another life, he had to have been the eldest son to a very, very wealthy and powerful man. 

Making a noise of agreement, you turned to look back outside. It was getting dark now. The brightest stars starting to pop up in the purple and pink hazed sky. It reminded you of all of the times you and your family went to the country side, away from the city and the light pollution, where you could look at the stars till your heart was content. More than once, you’d fallen asleep outside, wondering what other worlds were out there, what sort of people there were…if any of them ever felt like you did or were raised like you. In your head, there were other girls like you, who’d been raised the same and by some chance, you all ended up together, united and made sure it could never happen to another soul. 

You were people, not property. 

But that was a fantasy and this was reality and in this reality, you didn’t know when your time was up and so you’d decided that you would do whatever was necessary to be reunited with those you’d lost. You’d see your siblings again. You’d save them for your parents. You’d give them a better life, and all the unconditional love they deserved. No fear of being sold to the highest bidder in an effort for your parents to obtain something that was unlikely to act quench their thirst for more power, more money, just more. 

“I don’t believe I ever actually asked you name…or how exactly it was you came to be among the items set for auction.” You jumped, so lost in thought that you hadn’t even register Chrollo. It wasn’t his voice that startled you, but the proximity of his mouth to your ear. He stood behind you, towering over you and making you feel smaller than you already did in his shadow. 

“No, you didn’t. Not that anyone else did, to be frank. But it’s y/n. And I believe I briefly told you earlier how I came to be there. I’m the eldest of four and since a young age, my parents have always been complimented on how beautiful I was. I’m pretty sure from the moment I was born, they were told that they’d been blessed with a precious gem. They took it a little too seriously and decided that what other purpose was there for a gem than to buy them a bigger one? So…my parents figured to obtain more wealth, more power, more notoriety, they’d marry me off to the man or family that checked all of those boxes the most. So, they groomed me to be the perfect wife for a man of that caliber. I got all of the etiquette classes a lady of that birth ranking would get, along with ones that would place me outside of the pack. I had tutors for all of my studies and learned several languages. I was put under pressure and polished to perfection.

“At one point they were in discussions with a family, I was going to be married to their eldest son. I never met him, but I snuck into my father’s office one night and saw a photo of him and his family. While he seemed handsome enough, there was something peculiar about him that had me anxious before I’d even met him. But, while they had the money and power and notoriety…it wasn’t in the form my parents wanted. They wanted to be among those in high society, in the light where people on the street would whisper about them…not among the shadows like that family apparently was. So, my parents started again, except…no one was meeting their standards and the original family seemed to be the best offer they had…till there was someone else. I don’t know how the Don who bought me had heard of me, or how one of the others had, but he did and he was certain that he could tick all of the boxes my parents were trying to fill. So, they made a deal and suddenly I was being brought here to the auction.

“I was in a different room originally, by myself, in a suite. But the Don’s right hand man who’d been watching me prior to the auction came in flustered, talking about something going on and they moved me…which is where I was when…whatever sucked me and the rest of the items into a void happened and then I was backstage where the rest of the Troupe found me. And that’s it.” You turn to look at him and find that the look on his face has you turning around completely. 

The man looks a mixture of furious rage and melancholy heartbreak…and it has you absolutely stumped as to why a man who has killed for sheer joy and amusement—as you’d realized after hearing their names and remembering the scarlet eyes—would look so pained over the story of a young woman being sold as a wife. It didn’t align with the character chart you had started creating in your head for him. No, it was just as peculiar as Hisoka looking concerned when Chrollo had ushered you away from the rest of the group, away from him. 

Regardless, you stood and waited, waited for him to do or say anything so that you could gage how you were meant to react to him when suddenly he was looking at you and cupping your cheeks in his hands. 

“You do not have to worry about being sold to anyone. I’m not in the business of human trafficking.” The sincerity in his words should have calmed you, but it didn’t. You’d heard promises from other men before. Promises to run away with you; promises to marry you and give your parents what they so desired and to save you and your siblings. 

But promises were made to be broken and you weren’t going to hold your breath that this man, lawless as he was, was any different than the rest. 

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” You said stepping out of his grasp and moving out of arms reach. The moment felt far too intimate for someone you had just met, for someone who was essentially holding you captive as he’d made no mention of letting you go. 

Chrollo dropped his arms and looked at you carefully, you could feel his eyes rove over you, and you wondered if he was appraising you as a woman or as a ward, either way it made your skin crawl and feel like a filly up for auction all over again. 

“I don’t blame you for not trusting me. I’m sure there were people in your past who promised you things and never saw them through. Left you feeling more vulnerable and alone than you had prior to. I understand that, I have been there and been in the same place. The only family, the only true family I had was one I created by bringing together a bunch of misfits who sought to burn the world to the ground for the atrocities that we shared. We are bound by a common goal of watching the world, and the people who prosper from the neglect and despair of others, burn. While I have not been in your exact position, I can still understand where you are coming from.” You turn to look at him, eying him carefully as he continues on with his little speech. “I’ll give you two options. You can leave, right here, right now. I’ll take you wherever it is you want to go and that’ll be the end of it. If we see each other, or if you see any of the other members, we’ll act as if we have no idea who you are. However, I think there are things you want to accomplish, people you want to keep with you and as you are now, you won’t be able to accomplish those things.” 

“So…what exactly are you suggesting?” 

“Stay with us. Let me and the other members train you, tap into the clear raw ability you have. Earlier, the members were using a technique called zestsu. When highly capable Nen users are using this technique, their presence is nearly untraceable. However, when myself or other members of the Troupe do it, along with other high skilled hunters, we should completely disappear.” He says and the way his eyes light up as he describes this has you both intrigued but also unnerved. “You, who has no nen abilities or true knowledge, should not have been able to detect Feitain, Machi, Phink, Shalnark, or Nobunaga when you walked into the room. However, there wasn’t a single presence hidden from you. That’s not something even elite nen users can do, let alone you. And yet…you did and with seemingly no effort at all.” 

You looked him over, knowing this offer was too good to be true, and what was it that he got in return out of this deal? The warning bells in your head were going off, telling you that while this deal seems to benefit you the most…you just knew that there was no way, shape, or form in which a man like him would allow any deal to benefit anyone other than himself. 

So, you did the only thing you could do, ask. 

“How do you benefit from this? It seems burdensome to take on a complete stranger who may have a disposition for high potential. But there’s no guarantee that my nen ability is anything other than this.” 

Clearly, the man wasn’t used to his authority being question—although it wasn’t in your intention to do as such, you could see how it could be construed that way—and seemed to regard you in a new way. He was obviously amused by your honesty and total lack of trust in him and his intention. You didn’t see how he could blame you though. No honor among thieves was a saying for a reason and you very much doubted that him and his ragtag group of thieves, professionals and highly regarded in the underworld be damned, were just going to pull a 180 and do something out of the kindness of their hearts. At the end of the day, a thief was a thief and their word usually meant little. That was something you father had taught you early on. You had been too trusting as a child, wanting to see the good in everything, regardless of the bad. 

“But papa, that doesn’t mean they’re all bad.” A much younger you had said innocently enough as you father had dragged you away from the group of older girls who had been trying to exploit your generosity. 

“No, it doesn’t but you also need to realize that the majority of people do not have good intentions.” Crouching down in front of you, he’d grabbed on your shoulders and made you look directly into his eyes. “And those who never do, never will. Do you understand? You need to understand that you are very valuable, and to the wrong people could be a great bartering chip to be used against others. Make sure you can’t be.” 

You honestly hadn’t understood exactly what he meant, but the message had stuck and several years later, you had known what he meant by it. People who proved themselves worthy of your trust could have it…but you always needed to keep it in your head that there were those who, despite proving themselves as friends, could be masked foes and you needed to have a plan in place should that occur. More often than not, you wondered if you were actually the wolf in sheep’s clothing simply masquerading as docile and inept, when really…you were probably the most calculating and tactile in the room. 

“And what’s to say that you won’t use what I teach you against me, against us?” He asks, and you know he means it rhetorically, but you can’t help your biting response. 

“You wouldn’t ever give me the opportunity.” Your response is lightening fast, coming out before he truly has even finished his question and you know you have truly piqued his interest now, again making you wonder how people truly viewed you. “I told you, I was raised for the sole purpose of being a formidable opponent to anyone who tried to harm by future husband…my mother was not lenient in her pursuits.” 

“Indeed…that certainly is becoming clearer now.” 

You’d come to an agreement with Chrollo. He, and the rest of the Troupe who wished to partake in your training, would do as such. He had already told you that his methods did not truly align with the “generally approved instruction” of other masters, but then again…when did anything he did? 

But as of now, he told you to relax. Take a shower, get some food, sleep, he or one of the other members would come and find you once they’d returned back from the mission he’d sent them on. As for him, he had other things to attend to. His offer still stood, he’d said before he’d walked out the door, that should you choose that you did not want his help or that of the Troupe, he would respect it, but advised you to be gone before anyone got back or the training began. Because after that point, leaving was going to require you going through the front door and would more than likely be a battle with whomever was blocking it. Whether that be him or a different member, he didn’t specify, and you didn’t ask. 

You were currently sitting in the tub; in the room he’d showed you as your own. It reminded you a lot of the room you had at the home your parents owned in the country. It overlooked a beautiful garden in the back and had windows that faced the east, so when the sun rose, you would too. There was an en-suite attached that was larger than you had ever seen before. Shower, tub, separate toil area, two sink vanity, and walk in closet to boot. You knew they had money, despite his comment that “money, power, and fame were not” what drove them to do what they did, it was clear that their endeavors were clearly not fruitless…no, not at all. 

The moment you realized you were alone, you’d crawled into the tub, clothing and all and cranked the water to as warm as it would go and just sat there as the water rose. While you had a thousand thoughts zipping through your head…you couldn’t seem to latch onto one in particular, just staring at the water blankly. 

You thought back to the comment he’d made when you’d walked back into the study after his little experiment. Apparently we didn’t get all of the auction items. While yes, that was true, they hadn’t gotten all of them as there were different rounds and the items showed up in waves so they wouldn’t be vulnerable to a heist—or so Yuuto had explained when you’d asked—the items for the first round had all be within the lot of goods the others had brought back. And you didn’t take Chrollo for wanting silly things like rare videos games…although it was a high ticket item. 

So, all you could deduce from that was that this was a trap. A poorly set one, and one you were certain he’d already figured out but still, the members he’d sent, unless aware were walking into a trap and the Ten Dons had an artillery of their own, with weapons you were led to believe could even take on the Phantom Troupe. 

Regardless of all of this information though…you couldn’t say you cared, nor did you care if you were questioned later as to whether or not there had been more items because while you didn’t think there were any, you couldn’t be certain, and it wouldn’t surprise you if there had been more. Someone didn’t become that powerful by being lax in their paranoia. 

Maybe you could learn and thing or two from that mentality.

You don’t know how long you sat in the tub for. At some point the water became cold and your clothes began to rub you the wrong way. Thus, you took them off, throwing them away from your body, drained the water and stared the process over again. 

Your skin was not only a pretty shade of pink and red, just about all over, but the pruning of it was beginning to feel uncomfortable not that it bothered you. It was a distraction, one you desperately needed. But it also made you think. 

Made you evaluate your circumstances and try to figure out what exactly your plan of attack was going to be; what you could anticipate being Chrollo’s and the rest of the troupes’ motives and actions from here on out…and how you could use all of those pieces to your advantage. You need to uncover their weaknesses and find a way to exploit them. Maybe there was someone who knew them and you could mutually benefit each other? 

“Think too hard and you might hurt yourself little dove.” Were you not as exhausted as you were, you might have jumped out of the tub when you heard Hisoka. No, instead you turned to look at him, leaning against the doorjamb leading into your room, idly shuffling through his deck of cards. 

He looked at you through his lashes, coy smirk growing on his lips as he sauntered forward and again, it struck you that had you not been so exhausted, mentally, emotionally…physically, you probably would’ve jumped up or screamed at him to leave. But you simply did not have any reserved energy left to consider your modesty a priority. 

You also doubted it would do you any good anyway. Hisoka didn’t strike you as the type to listen to a request like that anyway. He seemed to enjoy toying with people’s discomforts. 

“I wouldn’t call what I’m doing thinking.” You mutter, turning away from him and sinking further into the water, nearly causing it splash out of the sides. 

“Oh? Then what would you call it? Planning? Devising?” 

“I’d call it a jumbled ball of messy thoughts that benefit me in no way.” 

He hums at this, coming to sit on the floor beside the tub and you suddenly realize just how tall he is. The tub has to be at least two feet off the ground if not more, yet when he sits down, and slouches even, he’s still considerably taller than you. You would, under normal circumstances, have curled in on yourself in order to preserve your modesty. It was one thing for him to be standing in the doorway, your back to him and the hazy from the steam distorting your image in the mirror. 

However, with him right here, next to you, there is nothing distorting your nakedness from his peering eyes. A nakedness that no man, outside a physician for the Dons’, has seen. But for the fact that you are too exhausted to care, you do not move to cover yourself more than your arms already had. You hadn’t realized that at some point, you’d curled back in on yourself again…maybe your subconscious was more conscious than you realized. 

Despite all of this though, Hisoka turn himself so his back was towards you and in that moment you were struck by something. Most probably would’ve viewed this as trust, but you knew better. You hadn’t known this man for more than a moment. It wasn’t trust at all. 

It was a silent assertion of just how weak he viewed you. How weak they all probably viewed you. For some reason this pissed you off. Rage flared low in your stomach and raced through you veins and clawed at your throat, questing to lash out at the closest target. However, your mind was quick to act and quell those feelings almost as quickly as they appeared. He was right, you were weak and lashing out at someone that much more powerful than you was not only reckless, but just plain stupid. You’d accomplish nothing on your best day as it was, not even including the fact that you were currently exhausted. 

No, getting pissed off was misplaced in this situation…but it was a tangible force that could push you do work hard, to become a formidable opponent. 

One in which Hisoka would never turn his back on. 

As you both continued to sit there in silence, you couldn’t help but wonder if Chrollo had called him back to watch you. You thought it odd but not outlandish. You hadn’t taken Chrollo as a liar though and the offer to leave, while not something you were going to take him up on, seemed to vanish the moment Hisoka walked into the house or within a vicinity to spot you in your endeavors to vacate the premises before anyone got back. 

But then you thought about what Chrollo had said. Leaving before anyone got back and scoffed, shaking your head, wondering how you could be so thoughtless. 

“Something amusing little dove?” Hisoka poses, throwing another playing card towards the vanity. What he’s trying to hit, you’re not sure. 

“Just realizing how inept my critical thinking skills have been lately.” His hesitation in throwing the next card relays to you his peaked curiosity, although he says nothing. “Chrollo told me I could leave should I chose to, but I had to do as such before anyone got back or prove that I was worthy of walking through the front door. At the time I thought nothing of it, assuming when he suggested I shower and sleep, that I’d have time to do those things. When you walked in, I wondered if he’d been lying but thought that odd because…I didn’t sense him lying.” 

You pause and chuckle again. “No, he wasn’t lying…he just also wasn’t being entirely truthful either. He just left out the fact that you and whomever else returned with you wouldn’t be long after he left. Had I been paying attention, been thinking I would’ve caught that. I’m not entirely sure at what point I either reached such a level of exhaustion…or decided you lot were trustworthy enough to not care.” 

The revelation had you looking up from your hands and the man sitting beside you. It also had you wondering what his purpose was for coming into the bathroom. You knew, now, that Chrollo hadn’t ordered him back; hadn’t given him instruction to watch you. No, Hisoka had come here of his own volition and you the question as to why was picking at your brain…and paranoia. Why would he come here? There was a piece to this puzzle that you were missing, and you couldn’t decide if it was because you just didn’t have the information or if it was again to your own obtuseness. 

The thought niggled at the back of your head, running through scenario after scenario. Did he have a connection to someone you knew? Someone you had known? Was he a double agent working for the Dons and was keeping your close so that he could return you to them? No, that didn’t seem likely…but not the double agent part. You didn’t take him to follow orders from anyone; he didn’t seem like the type to play to play well with others for long. 

“I’m starting to wonder if the steam is coming from the hot water or from in between your eyes little dove.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“What is it you don’t understand?” He questioned, throwing another card and this time putting some force behind it as it cut into the vanity and stuck. 

You were certain it was an intimidation tactic to indicate to you to tread lightly. 

“Why you’re in here. I know Chrollo didn’t order you to be here, there’s no reason to place a guard on me. I’m sure he texted everyone telling them I wasn’t going anywhere, regardless of whether I’d come to that conclusion myself prior to or after he’d sent it. And I don’t take it anyone would just…wander in unwelcome. I’m sure there’s something, some presence around meant to keep those who don’t know better away…and those who do, a warning of fleeting life. And I’m not interesting enough to truly pique your interest. Maybe after I’ve spent some time learning nen and training. But as it stands, right not I’m of no consequence to you and so I don’t understand why you’re here.” 

Taking in a deep breath, you realize that he’s completely stopped throwing the cards, and not because he’s out. No, he’s caused four more cards to stick to the vanity. The King of Spades, the King of Aces, the King of Diamonds, and then the Queen of Hearts are all standing up and a feeling goes through you that you can’t place. It warms you, and yet makes your blood run cold all at the same time and leaves you feeling a little lightheaded and dizzy. Maybe you’ve been in the bath for too long. 

“You’re very perceptive little dove, more perceptive than anyone has realized…certainly far more intelligent than you’ve been given credit.” He stands and plucks the random card from the vanity, along with all those he scattered haphazardly on the floor but leaves the Kings and Queen. “I look forward to seeing how you ripen little dove. I’m certain that you will become…especially sweet when this is all said and done.” He chuckles lowly and in the back of his throat, the effect making you shudder, and not in a pleasant way, as he begins to leave before pausing and turning to look at you over his shoulder. 

“I do have a question for you little dove.” He says and you hum, indicating that you’re listening. “What do you know of Illumi Zoldyck?” 

[sapphire374]

When Stars Align

“Is this the second time we’ve both gotten stuck in the same elevator?” 

Wattpad Link

I would like to give a special thanks to @silver-inked for helping me when I went through writers block with this idea. I was able to figure out an idea cause of your help so thank you. :)

Background: The gang are at a Roller Skating competition. It’s sort of an AU that would take place in season three but there are no spoilers or mention of anything that correlates to season three. A character does mention Mitchel but nothing specifically about him is said. Ships included are Lutteo (with angst)  and Simbar. 

Luna and Matteo both entered inside the elevator to head upstairs since it was their turn next to compete. They stole glances from each other and it was just pure silence in the air. They both couldn’t help but stay angry at each other for their own reasons. 

“C’mon Emilia hurry up,” Ámbar demanded outside of the elevator.

“Can’t you see I’m trying!” Emilia replied. Emilia was frantically unscrewing the latch that contained all of the buttons of the elevator outside. She pulled out her scissors from her back pocket and snipped at one of the cords. The elevator stopped.

“It stopped..” Matteo noticed.

“Chico Fresa, what do you mean it stopped? Can’t you just press another button to go up.”

“None of them work. The elevator is stuck,” Matteo stuttered whilst frantically pressing all the buttons at once.

Luna covered her face in astonishment. Out of all the days and all the times it had to be now, right before it was their turn to perform and nonetheless with Matteo. The one person she didn’t even want to look at right now or even be with. Luna pulled out her phone. 

“Ugh there’s no service. What are we going to do?” Luna anxiously asked. 

“It’s ok, calm down Chica Delivery. Someone is bound to notice and try to use the elevator. They will let us go and we’ll be fine.”

“Clearly you’re forgetting one very important event. We were up next to skate and now we won’t be able to make it on time! Plus how are you able to stay so calm? You must not care so much about this, only your album is all you worry about.”

Matteo rapidly turned towards her. “Of course I care, it’s just in matters like these it’s important to stay calm. Plus you’re not so perfect either Luna. You haven’t stopped holding a grudge on me for what happened with the album and Bruno. You know I’m not like that anymore and I already apologized countless times,” Matteo rebutted.

“Ok maybe I went a little too far there but lately you’ve been just so distant from me and the gang. Whenever we talk about competitions you lose interest and the closer I try to get to you, the farther you move away.” Matteo stayed silent at her response. 

Luna broke the silence and said, “Well I’m going to try to call for help.”

“How?” Matteo questioned.

Luna yelled whilst banging at the door with her hand as a fist “HELP HELP! WE’RE TRAPPED IN HERE! HELP!” Matteo decided to do the same thing. 

“Aww hear that Emilia, they’re trapped. Poor things, well I guess they have to figure it out all on their own.” Ámbar and Emilia cackled together. Emilia picked up all of her tools and placed it in her backpack after screwing back the elevator button latch so there will be no evidence that it was them. 

“C’mon let’s get out of here so no one thinks it’s us.” Emilia ran out the hallway and so did Ámbar till she bumped into someone. Her black, fringe shoulder bag falling to the floor alongside her phone. “Watch where you’re goi- oh Simón! Uh what are you doing here?” Her mood and tone of voice quickly shifts when she notices it’s Simón.

Simón bends over to pick up Ámbar’s stuff like the gentleman he is. Ambar always loved it when he was nice to her but now wasn’t a good time. She had to hurry quick before the others suspect it was her. “I’ve been searching for Luna and Matteo. They’re needed now at the rink, they’re up next to skate. Have you seen them?”

Ámbar rapidly shakes her head, “No no I haven’t, sorry. Don’t worry too much about it though, they're bound to be found soon. In fact, they’re probably at the rink tying up their shoes, you know they’re never late to a performance.”

Simón scratches his head. “Yeah I guess you’re right. Hey, what are you doing here?”

Ámbar quickly makes up an excuse. “I was just… looking for the vending machine! I wanted to eat something before I prepared skates.”

“Oh say no more.” Simón stuffs his hands in his pockets scavenging for something. He pulls out two granola bars and smiles. “Here you go. You can have it. It’s not much but it’s something you can eat and not have to buy or waste your money.”

 Ámbar couldn’t help but smile at this sweet gesture Simón made. He always helps her, without thinking. Ámbar couldn’t help but wonder maybe there is somebody in this world who cares about her, could it be Simón? Would life be better if she just let her guard down to him, for him.

“HELP! HELP!” The staring contest between Ámbar and Simón spontaneously ended. “Do you hear that?” Simón asked Ámbar. “No no. Must be some kids playing outside.”

Simón immediately ran to the dressing room hallway. Ámbar changed her mentality on a “what if she did change” cause she feels at the end of the day he will always prefer Luna and the others. “Stupid Lunita always ruining everything. Plus, what’s the point of changing if he’s alway going to care for those losers and ignore me or leave me at the sidelines. I’m tired of being thrown to the side,” Ámbar wondered. 

Emilia dashed to Ámbar. “I came back. I thought you were right behind me running. If we stay any longer they will figure out it was us.”

“I know we have to hurry but our plan sort of backfired. Simón was able to hear these two idiots yelling from the elevator.”

Emilia puts her hand over her head. “No it can’t be. Well, fixing that elevator shouldn’t be easy and it's their turn now meaning they’ll miss it. We’re just going to have to hope that the judges don’t give them a second chance.”

Ámbar and Emilia escape the scene. Simón runs into the hallway. He notices the closer he approaches the elevator, the louder he hears the screaming for help. “Guys are you ok? Who is this in the elevator and what happened?”

“Simón! Simón! It’s us, Luna and Matteo! The elevator randomly stopped and there’s no service. Ever since then we’ve been trapped in here,” Luna announces.

“Oh I’ll go get Juliana now! Don’t go anywhere ok?”

���Guitarrista, where would we go, we’re trapped,” Matteo answered. 

“Oh yeah that’s right. Whoops.” Simón replied.

Simón runs off to go let the team know. Now it’s just Luna and Matteo…. alone. Luna sits down, bends her knees and lays her head on top with a gloomy expression plastered on her face. Matteo can’t help but stare at the way Luna feels depressed. He hates seeing her the opposite of her usual happy, cheery self. “Cheer up Chica Delivery, they’re coming soon to fix the elevator. We’ll be out of here in no time.”

“But Matteo, we missed our turn to skate and what if the judges don’t give us another opportunity. What if, cause of us, our whole team misses out on performing as well. We don’t know how severe the elevator issue is nor how long it will take and -”

Matteo cuts Luna off and tries to comfort her. “And everything will be okay. Look if those things do end up happening then we’ll have another opportunity in a future competition. Some things are just out of our hands, like this elevator incident in this case.”

“You’re right but we worked so hard for this competition.”

“And we'll work even harder for the next one,” Matteo being optimistic, hoping this would make her feel better. 

“Yeah you’re right.” Luna sighs.

The elevator turned to silence again. They couldn’t help but steal glances from one another. Oh how it was so hard to just speak to the other, they’re constantly overthinking and worried to put their heart out on the line. “Why do we always end up in arguments with each other,” they wondered. Matteo inhaled a large gulp of hair, tried to put his nerves on the sidelines and his courage to the test. 

“I’m sorry for avoiding you these past days.”

Luna’s head shifted towards Matteo now. All her attention is now on him.

“It’s just I didn’t know how to react when seeing you constantly with Michel and I was worried there is something more between the two of you. I thought there was and tried to give you space, you deserve someone who truly loves you and cares about you. I didn’t want to get in the way of that but at the same time it hurt seeing you with him so I always tried to leave. Sorry if I ended up hurting you in any way from doing that. I would never want to hurt you or cause you any pain.”

Luna's lips slowly curved into a little smile. “Chico Fresa, thank you for being honest with me. Me and Michel are just friends, I can guarantee that. I also would like to say I’m sorry for being harsh and upset. Your  music deal was very important to you and I shouldn’t always prioritize these competitions, I should’ve been there to comfort you when Bruno cancelled it at the time. You were my boyfriend and I really did care about you, and still do. I think it was just I didn’t want to see you lose sight of yourself and care solely about your album and your success. Life is much more than that but I should’ve expressed myself better. I did notice though you have changed ever since you apologized. You now make more of an effort to get along with Simon and are even friends, which is so cute! I know it has been tough for you ever since Gaston left as well. Just know I will always be here for you, whenever you need me.”

Matteo smiled widely now. Luna’s words couldn’t have been any more comforting. He hates arguing with her but he loves these intimate moments, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all to get trapped in this elevator. Maybe it was meant to be, maybe it was their time for the stars to align.

Matteo and Luna both got up. Juliana and the gang were outside with an electrician fixing the buttons to the elevator. Luna and Matteo were so wrapped up in their conversation they barely even noticed. “Let’s make a deal Matteo. I will try to focus some more time in helping you out with your music if you will do the same with these competitions and actually get excited for them, and train with me.”

Matteo chuckled. He was beaming with joy and anyone who knew him could tell. “It’s a deal.” Luna took out her hand and Matteo shook it. Right after, while holding her hand shaking it, he pulled her in closer. They were only centimeters apart now. The air felt like it escaped their lungs and Matteo knew exactly what he was doing when he did it. “So Chica Delivery, is it true what you said about me? You still care about me?”

Luna looked up. Their faces were so close to each other, their noses touched. “Chico Fresa, you still have doubts, on me?!” Luna joked.

“Do you still have feelings for me too?” The sparks were reignited again and floating in the air. Luna tried to breath and her nerves couldn’t stop from taking over her. Great, now she forgot how to breath. Matteo caressed her cheek and now her skin feels like it’s on fire. Her heart couldn’t stop racing. She wanted to answer but she already knew he knew the answer as they kept leaning closer...and closer… and…

BING

The automatic doors have opened

Everyone stared at Luna and Matteo’s almost kiss. Luna and Matteo frantically moved their faces and stared in shock. They were not expecting the elevator to get fixed so fast. Jazmin had her tablet in hand and exclaimed, “YES I GOT IT ALL ON TAPE! Ja- Jazmin fans you all are in for a real treat this week!” Luna face palmed herself and couldn’t believe Matteo was laughing, even if he was trying to hide it.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Small Isles Interview: Filmless Music

Photo by Dustin Aksland

BY JORDAN MAINZER

It’s rare that you find a record with a genesis as specific as The Valley, The Mountains, The Sea, the debut album from Small Isles. The new project of guitarist Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy, former Modest Mouse) and songwriter/composer Jacob Snider has its basis in film scoring. The catch? The films don’t exist. The Valley, The Mountains, The Sea is presented as an imaginary score to an imagined sequel to Ang Lee’s 1997 familial drama The Ice Storm, itself based on Rick Moody’s 1994 novel. And the band’s upcoming, unfinished EP, with strings arranged by Snider and recorded by collaborator Sienna Peck, is, according to the band, a distillation of the concept of the band, one that consciously combines film scoring motifs with traditional songwriting. In a way, you could say that Small Isles is music about film scoring as much as scores itself.

Fairchild and Snider hold the belief that film scores should hold their own as a piece of music independent of visuals, and on The Valley, The Mountains, The Sea, they announce themselves convincingly. Opening track “The Concept”--essentially the prototype for the band--combines vaguely harmonic deep bass sounds with pristine, echoing string plucks, and wordless vocals, building up like an Explosions in the Sky tune. Other tracks, too, juxtapose the ambient with recognizable structures. “Fort Wayne” shimmers atop a drum machine, while the vocal samples of “Maybe We Will” cut in and out among the beats and arpeggios. Each track also has a pristine sense of place, as much of the album was written while Fairchild was on tour with Modest Mouse, tracks like “Fort Wayne” and the washy, atonal “Lake Superior” started in those locations.

I spoke with Fairchild (calling from his home in Ojai, California” and Snider (calling from near Philadelphia) last week, a few days prior to the release of the album via AKP Recordings. (The album comes out on vinyl next month). Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity, about the band’s artistic process, The Ice Storm, adapting the songs live, and what Small Isles has in common with Olivia Rodrigo���s Sour.

Since I Left You: You’ve called this record an imaginary score to an imaginary film. Did you think of the sequencing of the record in a narrative arc?

Jim Fairchild: Kind of, but honestly, there’s a sequence that originally existed, and I don’t remember what it was, and it would have been more aligned with what I pictured from the movie, but it didn’t work as well as a comprehensive piece of music. The last song on here, “The Plot to Take Clover”, that was earlier before. “Life at One”, the first single, really kicked off me and Jacob’s partnership. It was designed that way; it’s not the way the record plays out. I wrote all of the principle themes, the underpinnings of all the compositions, as an imagined score to some sort of a sequel to The Ice Storm. I don’t know exactly how it would play out with Rick Moody. The first one was really successful. I have this idea for a similar type of movie that takes place in contemporary California and all these cues I can use as a mood board. Like, let’s sit down and figure out what this palate is. Let’s write a movie around it. That’s what I was thinking.

SILY: You wrote a lot of this while on tour. Had you conceived of the idea before then and wrote while on tour because of your downtime, or was the downtime the launching point for the idea?

JF: I was totally inspired by the idea. I started some of the themes that popped up, but once the actual Ice Storm Ang Lee idea came to mind, it was really generative. It’s how a lot of this stuff works with me. It kind of floats around for a while, reaching out this way or that. Once the real kernel appears, it’s like, “That’s it!” It all happens pretty quickly. That was definitely the case with this. It was the real fine-tuning that’s the most time consuming. That’s what Jacob and I have experienced. The EP that we’re releasing later this year, basically how it’s worked so far is I send him a sequence of chords and basic rhythm, which happens pretty quickly. Then--and we’ve only done it on Zoom with the new EP, though it was the same with “Life at One”--there was this theme. Jacob came in, we were gonna write some other stuff. He came in with a mic and sang some stacked harmonies. Then it’s carving out all the other elements around that to make it. 

These are unconventional compositions. They’re meant to accompany visual ideas. With that in mind, cues and scoring music doesn’t always work in recorded music, traditionally speaking. There’s all these lengths, sometimes time signatures shift, a melody might exist in an unconventional way to fit what’s happening visually. I really wanted to embrace that. With “Life at One”, Jacob did all this stuff, and there’s this really interesting sound I don’t know how to describe. He asked, “What are those over there?” [My partner Natasha Wheat] had made these ceramic bells for me, and that’s the most fun part about working with Jacob. A lot of the people who are trained as Jacob is--and I say this with great admiration for his abilities--are stuck in certain modalities. This is a perfect example. He looked at the bells and said, “Let’s do that.” He grabbed a drumstick and played the edge of these bells and processed them. That was a big feature in the composition of “Life at One”. This all happens very thematically and reflexively, but to then carve it up and get it to have purpose, meaning, ebb, and flow and make it work visually--that’s where the dirty shit happens. [laughs] I also look forward to when Jacob and I can be in person more. We’ve made a lot happen over the past 7 months, but it’s hard when you’re not in the same room. Plus, I’d like to show off. If he’s sitting right next to me, play some fast guitar...[laughs]

SILY: The title of the record refers to various aspects of topography, and there are song titles that refer to specific places, like “Fort Wayne” and “Lake Superior”. Do these aspects exist within the narrative of the film?

JF: “Lake Superior” and “Fort Wayne” were just started in those places, literally. I picture the Ang Lee movie--the new Ang Lee movie that is inevitably gonna take form because he’s gonna hear me and Jacob’s music and think, “You’re right, we gotta do this,”--in this zone a little bit east of Berkeley. It’s the West Coast equivalent of the Connecticut zone where The Ice Storm exists. It’s this affluent, green place. But the reason I chose to keep the others as titles is like, Fort Wayne, that’s pretty grand and has Batman implications. And Lake Superior, what a fucking great name for a lake, you know? I like the power of those, and if I were sitting down and writing a movie, those titles could be at least generative of a conversation.

SILY: What about the other song titles? What inspired them?

JF: “The Concept” is literally the concept for our band. The concept has expanded since then, but out of the ordinary--no sounds are out of the ordinary in modern production--but in the film scoring landscape, out of the ordinary, ambient, or textural sounds. But then big, beautiful melodies. Jacob’s voice. All that stuff. Synthesizing our two strengths. Jacob’s also a songwriter and makes amazing songs, but my background’s in bands, and so I treat our relationship as if it’s a band. Taking our two strengths. Jacob’s more conventionally trained, schooled, and knowledgeable than I am. He has a richer depth of knowledge in theory and orchestration. I can arrange that way, but he knows what’s going on. Mine is more reflexive--I don’t want to say auto-didactic because that’s kind of an arrogant term--but learning through mistakes. I think Jacob’s made fewer mistakes than I have.

SILY: What were all the instruments used on the record?

JF: There’s a lot of found stuff. 12-string guitar. I was writing it using this Rosewood Fender Stratocaster that Fender made for me. The 12-string is prominent on “Life At One”. There’s a piano Jacob played. There’s a lot of me coming up with drum beats. A lot of the initial stuff was in the box. I’d roll in my portable studio backstage, I’d have a guitar, Universal Audio space, whatever drums and synths I had.

SILY: What is your background in film scoring?

JF: I don’t have a specific background. From a very early age, I’ve been into film scores. I’d buy them starting when I was 15 or 16. CDs. Pretty obvious releases, but things like Danny Elfman’s Batman score, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Sort of getting into Jerry Goldsmith. Elfman, Morricone. I like some of the Bernard Hermann stuff. I started studying it from the way I study everything: figuring out chord sequences, the way the melodies work, to the degree I was able. In the early 2010s, I was making a lot of music that was getting licensed for TV. Once Modest Mouse really started touring [2015 album] Strangers to Ourselves, I let a lot of those pursuits wither a little bit. But I’d always longed for a collaboration. A lot of that stuff was done in a solitary way, so I felt very fortunate when Jacob and I met. He was into that idiom but has a range of skills I don’t have. We also really work well together. All the reflexive stuff that happens, the melodies, it’s easy for us to go back and forth and see what we’re into and where to keep going. Neither of us get upset when the other person isn’t feeling whatever the direction is.

As I get older, I realize the value of stimulating multiple senses. I look forward to Jacob and I doing more of this stuff in collaboration with people. The Riley Thompson video for “Life At One” was him responding to a finished track, but in an ideal world, filmmakers would come to us and, in the way Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross work with David Fincher, where he says, “This is the concept for the new film,” and Jacob and I come back and say, “This is the sonic and melodic landscape we’re thinking of, and here are some character cues. Let’s take it from there.” I love being in conversation with people collaboratively and am attracted to the idea of it across media.

SILY: Do you think the idea that the music might not be responding to a finished film would make the score stand on its own more as a piece of music?

JF: The scores that I like totally stand on their own as music. When Morricone passed away, I read that John Zorn had a quote when they were hanging out in the late 80′s or early 90′s, Zorn said, “Don’t do it unless you’re thinking about what the soundtrack record is gonna be like.” The music needs to be cool enough to just be music.

SILY: Tell me about the album art.

JF: Natasha and I sold our place in Los Angeles last year and moved to Ojai. We thought it was a temporary transition, and now it’s somewhat permanent, because we bought a place here. We’ve been in this guesthouse next door since November. I like taking pictures at night with whatever ambient light [there is], so I took that picture from our place. I wanted there to be contrast with this technicolor paint and silver border on the upper and lower parts of the image. Homes are very interesting to me, and there’s a lot of that in The Ice Storm. There’s that shelf people look at from the outside and think, “It could be dilapidated, it could be beautiful.” People think of it as a thing. But there’s this whole other world that only exists inside of there. It’s always fascinating to me when walking by the place. Stories in the shell. I like the idea of a structure having implications. I don’t have an agenda for what those implications might be, but I like the idea that there could be implications there.

SILY: Jacob, when Jim came to you with this idea, how aware were you of The Ice Storm?

Jacob Snider: I had seen it. I don’t know if in our first meeting, it came up that specifically and clearly that this is where the music was going. In fact, it started more as a casual meeting of creative types. When I came over to Jim’s studio, he just showed me the latest thing he was working on without any huge idea behind it expressed to me in that moment. Jim might have been thinking it in that moment, but that day was more, “Alright, I’m working on something, what do you hear and is there something you think you could contribute to it?” It was really organic. Like Jim mentioned before, the best thing you can do when making something is show it to somebody else, because they’re gonna hear it in a different way or they might suggest something if you’re open to it. People can make amazing solitary music, but it will always be just their thing. You bring in someone else, there’s a different energy, a different perspective. 

As it stands, I do love that film. It’s really haunting. Jim and I talked before that it’s not a movie you can watch every week. It’s heavy, and the themes are deep: family, loss, grief, betrayal. It’s a great one. I think it’s a movie that’s cinematic but also has a lot of depth. I think that’s what we’re going for with Small Isles. It has shades of film music but also shades of rock and roll and romantic string writing from the orchestral traditions. I think we’re trying to combine a few things at once, and we’re really curious how it starts to strike people and how some filmmakers respond to it.

SILY: Are you both generally Ang Lee fans?

JF: I haven’t devoured all of his work. There’s plenty I like. But I’m so in love with [The Ice Storm]. I was in love with the book before the movie came out. He treated it so beautifully. As high in the sky as it is for two nascent film composers to say, “I want to work with Ang Lee,” it’s very important to know where you want to go. It may take a long time to get there, but [it’s important] to have a place where you’re headed. That was definitely the case in the early Grandaddy days, and having watched [Modest Mouse lead singer] Isaac [Brock] for as long as I did, I think it was the case there, too. It may not be as specific knowing that I’m traveling in this direction, but that direction can totally change. There can be diversions that knock you off your course positively or negatively, but thinking about how beautifully he treated that material, that’s where I want to go.

SILY: How are you adapting Small Isles to a live performance?

JF: We’re gonna play at least some of this, maybe all of this live. I’m really looking forward to it. Jacob’s only on half this record, and the 5-song EP we’re releasing later this year, he’s on all of. That’s a straight-up 50/50 collaboration. I’m looking forward to the stuff Jacob didn’t contribute to on the record, hearing what he does with strings. We’re still figuring out how we’re gonna approach it. Jacob will be on keys and vocals, and I might sing a little bit. I’ll be on guitar. Our friend Sienna who Jacob went to school with, who’s doing the strings, we’re talking about having her lead a double string quartet. I would like to have a drummer doing some electronic drums and maybe a kit as well. I definitely don’t imagine we’ll totally nail it on night 1. There’s a lot of stuff we have to work out. There aren’t many antecedents in this zone, but something like Explosions in the Sky mixed with Johann Johannsson. I saw [the latter] in 2010 in San Francisco; there was a little bit of strings, various electronics, and he was on piano. That was a very striking performance. So the explosiveness of a big arena rock show with lots of subtleties and nuance that can come from strings and orchestral.

SILY: What else is next for Small Isles?

JF: We wanna finish this EP. I also really love the way a lot of rap and hip-hop people have gotten it right over the years. Using current listening habits and technology to get out as much music as possible. I definitely have the seeds for at least another EP behind this. Once we get this EP done--there’s just a little bit of tinkering to be done over the next month before going into the mixing stage--I want to make as much music as possible and release it. With the spirits of the world willing, I want to get off the ground live and collaborate with filmmakers, dancers, artists, people in the visual medium. I just love making music with Jacob and this type of music. I’d like to have a few releases a year. EP length [or] album length. I have a number of concepts written down. The seeds that Jacob and I have been playing with to make the EP. I was thinking about The Last Black Man in San Francisco when making this EP, and I’d love to collaborate with those filmmakers. Even just being in person, to tell Jacob, “What do you think of this sequence?” and have him respond without dealing with latency issues and dodgy DSL.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading lately that’s caught your attention?

Jacob Snider: I’ve been listening to a lot of pop. I’ve been listening to the Olivia Rodrigo record [Sour]. I think there’s great writing on there, great production. Watching, I’ll just piggyback on The Last Black Man in San Francisco. It took me a while to finally see it, but I had a filmmaker friend tell me I had to, and I loved it. Also the other film Emile Mosseri did the score for, Kajillionaire, the Miranda July film. Reading-wise, I’m about to jump back into Louise Erdrich’s The Round House.

JF: I’ve been digging the Olivia record, too.

JS: There’s some cool strings on there too from the guy who does a lot of the strings for Portugal. The Man, [Paul Cartwright]. They created a string orchestra sound with just one guy layering violin and viola, which is really cool, and that’s what we’re doing with our collaborator Sienna Peck. There’s totally room for that now, the way the world has been so remote. We can’t put 16 players in a room right now due to public health restrictions, so let’s get one person. It’s really hard to do--you can be a great violinist and not be able to layer yourself in a way that makes it sound like a string orchestra. You have to change your position in the room, the way you’re playing slightly, pretend to be three different people sharing a stand. That’s what you’ll hear on the next record.

JF: I just got into How to Change Your Mind, the Michael Pollan book about psychedelics, which I really loved. I just started a book called The Magic Years, which is about child development. I have a three-and-a-half-year-old son, and I’m very fascinated by what’s going on in his brain and what makes him make the decisions he makes. Just how to be a better dad. I am always a religious reader of The New Yorker, every week it comes out. Natasha and I watched The Kids, a documentary [about the making of Larry Clark’s Kids]. When that movie came out, Grandaddy were skateboarders, so it was important to us. But even as a young kid, I felt that it was really exploitative, and the documentary verifies it. It’s heartbreaking. Larry Clark is a really derelict dude. Truly lecherous. But [The Kids] is a beautiful movie. We’ve been watching Los Espookys. I’m really excited about Vince Staples’ upcoming record. My friend Nik Freitas put out a new song. My musical diet’s gotten really regressive in a way because my son is very into the Super Furry Animals record Radiator. It’s all he wants to listen to in the car.