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#missing person increase significantly
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Final Talk
If you are dealing with a Missing Persons Investigation in Brisbane, seeking help and support from the appropriate authorities and organizations is essential. With these resources, you can increase your chances of locating your missing loved one and receiving the support you need during this challenging time.
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Idk what you’d call it but maladaptive daydreaming or whatever takes up so much of my time and it’s so hard to get myself to sit down and read/watch something even if I really really like it :(
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wearenotjustnumbers2 · 7 months
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On this year women's day, all we could think about are Palestinian women in Gaza.
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Nearly 9,000 women have been killed in Israeli attacks in five months. Another 2,100 are missing and presumed dead, while 23,000 have been wounded and over half a million are displaced.
“Palestinian women, especially in the Gaza Strip, are exposed to the worst humanitarian catastrophe,” Ashraf al-Qudra, the health ministry’s spokesperson, said on Thursday.
Dozens of women and girls have also been detained and face harsh conditions in Israeli custody, including sexual abuse.
Women in Gaza also struggle to find menstruation products and access the necessary pregnancy and post-natal care. The consequences on reproductive health, including a rise in stress-induced miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births, have increased significantly.
Women in labour are undergoing caesarean procedures without anaesthetics, and a shortage of post-operative care such as medication, antibiotics and pain relief further exacerbates the situation.
According to the health ministry, 5,000 women give birth monthly in Gaza under “harsh, unsafe and unhealthy” conditions caused by Israeli bombing and displacement.
There are 60,000 pregnant women in Gaza suffering from “malnutrition, dehydration and lack of medical care.
There have also been repeated cases of Israeli soldiers mocking Palestinian women by posting videos and pictures of themselves rummaging through personal belongings in Gaza homes, making derogatory comments and posing with women’s underwear.
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girlgenius1111 · 5 months
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hallmarks of sisterhood
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putellas!reader. r mediates a fight between her sisters. they don't realize they're tearing her apart in the process. at least, not until they ruin an important night for her. can they make it up to her? fluff & angst.
-------
Being significantly younger than your sisters, you were the true baby of the family, and were treated as such. You were already a pretty sensitive person, and the overprotective tendencies of the entire family only increased this. You were quite different from both your sisters. Alba was an extrovert, always talking, always laughing, never thinking too hard about anything. Alexia was quieter in public, but always loud at home in an attempt to match Alba’s energy. The competitive gene only seemed to skip you, and you hated conflict. Any type of it. You didn’t like yelling, you didn’t like arguments, and you couldn’t stand when people were mad at you. 
It made sense then, that you’d always been the mitigator between your sisters. They were always fighting growing up, and it took a very small you to break up the fights that the teenage versions of them would get into, often shoving your small body in between theirs and singing a song so loudly they had no choice but to stop arguing. If the singing didn’t work, then you’d cry, and that always worked. 
As you got older, your role changed slightly. You were still the mitigator, but more because you were logical and smart and both of them could normally trust you to be objective. You didn’t really enjoy it, but you hated it more when they weren’t speaking to each other, so you did what you could to resolve their fights easily. 
All of this considered, you were not surprised to catch yourself in an argument between them yet again. This one wasn’t super similar to the others, though, in that it was much more emotionally charged. Both Alexia and Alba seemed angrier at each other than normal, and you didn’t know why. Still, you tried to fix it, as best you could. 
-------
“I cannot believe you, Alba.” Alexia sighed, shaking her head at her other sister. 
“Don’t try to guilt trip me, Ale, this isn’t my fault. I told you before there was a chance I’d have to go to this conference.” Alba shot back.
“You don’t have to go, you are choosing to go. So you can hook up with that coworker you're seeing.” 
Alba flushed red with anger. 
“Let’s calm down, guys,” you began, shifting uncomfortably in your seat in the corner of the sectional. Neither girl paid you any mind. 
“I am going for work, Alexia, I wouldn’t sleep with anyone at a work conference.”
“Oh, yes of course, you’re so above that. You are notorious for not hooking up with people in inappropriate situations Alba, how could I forget. It was only 4 of my teammates you slept with? And how many of my other friends?” 
“You are such a-”
“Stop.” You cut in. “Alexia, that was mean. Alba, she’s just disappointed because she was looking forward to spending time with everyone.” You cut in, trying to cool the rising temperature of the room. 
“No, I am disappointed because we made a commitment to do this for Mami and now she’s backing out. Like always.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Alba scoffed. 
“The last trip to Ibiza. Mother’s day last year. My 25th birthday,” Alexia began to list, counting the events off on her fingers rather condescending. 
“Guys, please calm down.” You attempted. 
“Will you ever get over me missing your 25th birthday? Or are you going to have it engraved on your tombstone? ‘My sister missed my birthday once and I never shut up about it.’” Alba yelled, getting to her feet and walking closer to where Alexia was sitting at the kitchen counter. 
When Alexia rose to meet her, you stood nervously, too, moving a bit closer. “Why don’t we all stay seated?” You tried. 
Both of them continued to ignore you, as if you weren’t even there. “That is not the point, Alba.” 
“No, Ale, the point is that only your career is important. Everyone has to drop everything for football, but what I do doesn’t matter, and I have to bend over backwards to make things work with your insane schedule. The world doesn’t revolve around you, Alexia.”
“Oh my god, Alba. You are such a bitch.” Alexia sighed, rolling her eyes in a way she knew would make the younger girl furious.  
“You are the bitch, Alexia. A selfish, bossy, mean bitch,” Alba yelled, crossing her arms and taking a step closer to the older girl. 
“Alba, I swear to god,” Alexia threw back, the volume of her voice making you flinch. You stepped in between them, forcing them to both back up a bit. 
“Please stop shouting.” You pleaded, looking between them. Both of them turned to you, annoyed.
“Go somewhere else if it’s bothering you, pequeña! Adults argue. Grow up.” Alexia yelled, sending a glare your way. You stopped back, blinking away tears, looking incredibly hurt. Alexia sighed. “Sorry, nena, I didn’t mean-” 
It was too late, though, you were pushing past her towards the door of her house. “No, whatever. I’ll go. Solve your argument by yourselves for once.” You snapped. 
“Nice job, Ale, you made the el bebe cry.” Alba said mockingly. 
“Shut your mouth, Alba. Pequeña, come back,” Alexia called, but the door was already slamming shut behind you. 
You wiped at your eyes furiously, getting into your car. You’d always hated how sensitive you were, how anyone raising their voice at you made you cry. You couldn’t argue, couldn’t disagree without dissolving into tears. Normally, angry tears. You’d always been like this, and your sisters often made fun of it, but were aware of the fact that you hated yelling, and tried to avoid doing so. Even when they were fighting with each other. Today got too out of control, though, both of them taking this specific issue very seriously. 
They’d have to figure it out themselves, this time. You were done with this. They knew how you felt about conflict, and yet they always put you in the middle. It was exhausting and hurtful being caught in between them. They were adults, they could solve this argument. 
You and Eli didn’t live far from Alexia, and you reached home before you were really ready to. You needed to erase all evidence of your tears from your face before heading inside, because Eli could not know about this. You and your sisters did not tell on each other, for one thing. For another, there was a possibility the trip in question could be rescheduled and you didn’t want to ruin the surprise. 
You checked your face in the mirror, took a deep breath, denied Alexia’s phone call, and headed inside, prepared to pretend that nothing was wrong. 
------
You got past your mother with very few questions asked, as she was distracted reading over Alexia’s new Nike contracts. Your sister still had Eli read all her contracts, a habit you and Alba teased her about often. 
Eli did come knocking, though, only a few hours later, while you were in your room getting some homework done. “Nena?” She called from the hallway, not hearing a response to her knock. 
Still, you didn’t say anything, so she pushed the door open, only to find you asleep at your desk, your head resting on a pile of photographs, your computer opened up to photoshop. A black and white photo of your sister at training was pulled up, and Eli quickly averted her eyes, knowing very well she wasn’t supposed to see this particular assignment until you were done.
“Mija,” Eli said, covering her eyes as she heard you stir. “Go to bed, it’s late, and you are exhausted.” 
“Do not look, Mami!” You cried, sitting up completely and quickly flipping everything over and shutting your computer. 
“I’m not!” Eli replied, laughing at how secretive you were about these photos. 
“Okay, everything is away.” You said, standing to give your mother a hug before getting into bed. She squeezed you tight, as she always did, kissing your cheek before letting go. 
“Goodnight,” she said, giving you a kind smile. 
“Goodnight mami,” you replied, knowing she was smiling because she knew you were about to get back on your computer as soon as she left the room. 
“Oh, do you know why your sister’s are fighting? I texted the groupchat with them, and they both replied to me separately.” Eli asked with an eye roll, quite used to your sisters’ antics. 
“Something dumb, probably.” You said with an unconvincing laugh. Your mother gave you a weird look, like she didn't believe you, but didn’t push it. 
As soon as she was out of the room, you were, in fact, back on your computer, finishing up the final touches on a photo of Alexia. You were really too excited to be preoccupied with your sisters at the moment. You were in school studying photography, and after a recent exhibition at your school, a gallery in Barcelona had reached out and asked you to shoot a series for them to display. They’d given you full creative control, which was an insane amount of trust to put into a 20 year old, and you were determined not to mess it up. 
If that meant staying up late making sure every photo was perfect in the next couple days, so be it. You were proud of this work, and that wasn’t really a common feeling for you. You’d grown up in the shadow of your two sisters. Alexia was the best female footballer in the world, and Alba was… Alba. Everyone loved her. Nothing you ever did seemed to really make anyone pay attention, except for your Mami. Eli had always been careful to celebrate your and Alba’s accomplishments, like she celebrated Alexia’s, even if they weren’t of the same magnitude. Your sisters were a bit better than the rest of your family and friends, paying attention to what you did, but it always felt a bit like your mother was making them do so. 
This was your chance to do something impressive of your own. Something that everyone could understand, everyone could be impressed by. It was an opportunity you were not about to waste. You didn’t realize the potential that other people had, though, to ruin it for you. 
------
The next few days were busy. When you weren’t working on your photos, making sure they were perfectly edited and printed properly, you were worrying about what people would think about them. Or you were trying to pick the perfect outfit for Saturday evening, the opening of the gallery. There wasn’t a ton of time for you to respond to Alexia’s repetitive apologies, or to Alba’s pleading for you to be on her side. It was annoying, really, that during such an important and stressful week, they couldn’t leave you out of their argument. 
You finally had enough on Friday, pulling up the groupchat with both of them in it, and sending a rather harsh message. It wasn’t like you to be harsh and snap at them, and you were hoping they would get the message that they’d upset you, and you wanted to be left out of this. 
If one of you texts me one more time about this idiotic fight, I am going to tell Mami that it was you two who dented her car, not the neighbor backing into it. I am so tired of being pulled into the middle of this. Both of you apologize to each other for being mean, and get over it. 
You hoped that would be the end of it. When your phone buzzed a few minutes later, though, you knew that had been a naive hope. 
Alexia had responded first. 
It should not be hard to pick a side when I am right, nena.
Alba responded after that. 
You always let Alexia get away with things you’d yell at me about. You can both apologize to me when you are ready.
You weren’t really sure how Alba had decided that you’d sided with Alexia, but you certainly were not going to be apologizing to her anytime soon. You left them both on read, figuring they’d make up before the gallery opening tomorrow night.
-------
You were up pretty much the entire night before the gallery. This time, not because anything needed to get done, but because you were nervous. You were thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong. By the time morning rolled around, you slept for maybe a couple hours, and created a decisive list of every bad thing that could happen today. 
You actually hadn’t thought of everything, but you wouldn’t know that until later. 
You’d passed out just as the sun had started to rise, and Eli came in to wake you up only a few hours later. 
“Nena, despierta,” she said softly, setting down a mug of coffee on your nightstand and shaking your shoulder. 
You bolted upright in bed, and looked around frantically, startling your mother. “Am I late?!” You gasped, moving to get out of your bed as fast as possible. 
“No, no, you aren’t late. It is only 11. Relax, mija, everything is okay.” Eli soothed, gently pushing you back down onto the bed. 
You let out a relieved sigh, rubbing at your face with your hands. “Sorry.” 
“Did you sleep at all?” Eli asked with a disapproving look. 
“Not much. I tried, I swear, I just couldn’t turn my brain off.” 
Your mother patted your cheek reassuringly. “You’re almost done, nena. It’s all going to go perfectly.” 
You nodded, trying to believe her words. You just had this weird, nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong. There wasn’t time to focus  on this feeling, though, no matter how much you wanted to. There was simply too much to be done. Accepting the hug your mother offered, you got up, ready to prepare yourself for the long day ahead.
-------
You didn’t really think anything of it when you didn’t see either of your sisters right away. You were busy greeting other people, family and friends. Some of Alexia’s teammates had made it, and you spent some time taking in the awestruck expression on Mapi’s face when she saw the singular photo of her included. 
That was the best part of the whole thing, you decided. Getting to see everyone’s reactions to seeing themselves up on the wall. 
The theme was people you loved, in their happy place. The project was joyful and fun, radiating happiness. Looking at the photos made you smile, and you were glad to see that everyone seemed to have the same reaction as they took their time looking at each image. 
You had Mapi giggling at something Ingrid had said, a candid taken after a Barça game. Ingrid was smiling back at her, like making her girlfriend laugh was the only thing she wanted to do for the rest of her life. 
You had your Mami, sitting in the stands of one of Alexia’s games, looking on with pride all over her face. You had her pinching Alba’s cheek, a fond smile on her face as your sister said something that was, no doubt, ridiculous. 
You had your aunts and your uncles around the dinner table, all laughing hysterically. 
You had your friends at the beach, all lounging and staring out into the ocean, looking peaceful. 
You had your best friend sitting in the driver's seat of her car, singing along passionately to her favorite song. 
More than anyone else, though, you had your sisters. 
Alexia preparing to take a penalty, determined. Celebrating with her teammates after a goal. Cheekily blowing a kiss to Olga in the stands. Smiling proudly at Vicki after an impressive goal. Proudly wearing the captain’s armband in front of a completely sold out stadium. Leaned against Olga on the couch after a movie night, out cold. She was completely peaceful, with Olga looking down at her adoringly. 
You had Alba at the school where she taught. Candids of her face, when one of her students got the answer right, or made her laugh. With her dog, holding him up at the aquarium, eye level with one of the dolphins. You had her watching Alexia play, too, a grin on her face that you were sure she was unaware of. Your favorite of Alba was a photo you’d taken in your Mami’s kitchen, while she’d been baking. Alba was sneaking a taste of the cake batter, and you’d captured her mid-wink, giving the camera a smile while Eli’s back was turned to her. 
They hadn’t seen any of these photos; you’d almost gone crazy not showing them, and not giving in to them when they begged to see.
 You’d finally managed to break away from a crowd of your friends, having a moment to yourself, when you realized that you still hadn’t seen your sisters yet. Ale’s teammates were here. Some of Alba’s friends were here. The whole family was here. You checked your watch, a frown on your face, seeing that they were both already over a half hour late, which was unlike both of them. It was only when you saw Olga looking up at one of the photos she was pictured in, all by herself, that you really got a sinking feeling in your stomach. She was talking to Irene when you walked over and interrupted, gently pulling Olga away from the conversation. 
“Where is Ale? Is she coming late?” You asked, confused by the sad look on Olga’s face. 
“No, nena, I’m sorry. She didn’t want to see Alba, so she decided not to come. I tried to convince her to, but she didn’t listen.” Olga said delicately. You looked like you’d been hit across the face, honestly, and Olga wanted nothing more than to march home and drag Alexia over here, but she knew better to try to convince the blonde to do something she had decided she wouldn’t. “She said she texted you?” 
You pulled your phone out, taking a deep breath when you saw almost identical texts from both of your sisters. 
Can’t make it tonight. I’ll come see it another time. Good luck! 
Sorry, hermanita, I can’t come tonight. Love you.
You had been so excited for them to see their pictures. There was a little note up on the wall, too, a statement thanking everyone for coming. In it, you mentioned being excited to allow your sisters to finally see the photos, as they’d been begging to for a while now. And they hadn’t come. 
A wave of embarrassment washed over you, your cheeks flushing red. You were angry, too, but you blinked your tears back, looking up at Olga and trying to look more put together than you felt. 
“No Alba either.” You said, your voice cracking slightly. 
“Oh, nena, I am so sorry.” Olga whispered, pulling you into a tight hug. It was too soft, and too comforting. You pulled away rapidly, shaking your head. 
“It’s fine. I don’t care.” You said, cutting the brunette off before she could say anything else. “I have to go talk to someone, thank you for coming, Olga.” 
You rushed away from your sister’s girlfriend, focusing on taking deep breaths. You couldn’t be sad, not right now. So many people had come here to celebrate you and your work, and you weren’t going to ruin it. You could be upset later. It was almost excruciating, pretending that you weren’t upset that your sisters hadn't come, but you managed it. You kept up a pretty good façade for the rest of the evening, even when you saw Olga speaking in hushed voices to Irene and Mapi, even when everyone kept asking where Ale and Alba were. You held it together. Because you, unlike them, could pretend that nothing was wrong for the sake of others. 
-------
Your mother knew you better than anyone. You should have been thrilled, ecstatic. Everything had gone so well. Your photos had been a hit, the owners of the gallery had been thrilled. She realized neither of her other daughters had shown up, but she assumed they had talked that through with you. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with you, but when you declined going out with some of your friends as the night came to an end, Eli knew something wasn’t right. 
She had every intention of letting you come to her, but you weren’t talking. As everyone began to file out of the gallery, saying their final goodbyes, Eli overheard you tell your friends you were going to go home because you were tired. You didn't say a single word to her aside from telling her that you’d see her at home, before you practically fled the building, heading for your car. She didn’t couldn’t imagine what was wrong, never expecting her daughters to have done what they did. Eli didn’t even think of them being a possible reason as to why you were upset. Mapi pulled her aside, though, before she could go after you, an infuriated look on her face. 
“Do you know what your daughters have done?” She asked quietly. 
Eli frowned. “No. What have they done?” 
Mapi shook her head. “They both bailed on tonight over text to pequeña. They are in some stupid fight that they’ve put her in the middle of, and they didn’t want to see each other, so they didn’t come.” 
Suddenly, Eli was quite furious at her eldest daughters. There would be hell to pay, she’d make sure of it. How could they be so selfish, and ruin your night like this? You’d been almost beside yourself for weeks about this night, and she knew the people you wanted to impress most were your sisters. And they hadn’t come. Before she yelled at them, though, she needed to go home to you, because she was very sure that you weren’t okay. Your odd behavior made sense, now, and Eli’s heart ached at the thought of you driving all by yourself while you were so upset. 
“I will deal with them.” Eli said quietly. “Thank you for telling me, María, and for coming. It meant a lot to her.” 
Mapi smiled sympathetically. “Of course. Let me know if you need help kicking some Putellas ass.” 
Eli chuckled. “I will.” 
She set off to her car after that, ignoring Alexia’s numerous phone calls. Likely, Olga had arrived home and laid into her for not coming, and Alexia was looking to be let off the hook from her Mami that she hadn’t messed up that badly. Eli wouldn’t be doing that. 
-------
You didn’t make it far into the house. In your new dress, one that was reminiscent of the dress Alexia had worn to win her first balon d’or, you’d collapsed onto the couch, harsh sobs ripping their way out of your chest. You cried until your makeup ran and your chest hurt. Until your Mami arrived home, rushing through the door, her heart breaking when she saw the state you were in. Eli was by your side instantly, pulling you into her arms. It was rare that a hug from your mother didn’t make you feel better, but this was the case today. You weren’t really sure that anything would help, but you still buried yourself into your Mami’s arms, wishing more than anything that she could fix this for you. 
“They didn’t come, Mami,” you sobbed. 
“I know, mija, I am so sorry.” 
“Am I not more important than their stupid fight?” You asked, looking up at your mother with a devastated expression on your face. “I was so excited for them to see, I just wanted them to be proud of me.” 
Eli felt anger fill her at a level she’d never quite felt before. “I am proud of you, cariño, so proud of you. It’s all going to be okay, I promise. Everything is going to be fine.” She soothed, running her hand through your hair, shushing you softly. Her fury would have to wait, until you stopped crying. Eli would always put you first when you needed it, even if your sisters didn’t. 
-------
It was late by the time you’d stopped crying and headed up to bed. With a soft goodnight to your Mami, you’d slumped upstairs, barely changing into your pajamas before you collapsed into your bed, absolutely exhausted. Being disappointed was tiring, apparently. And you were more disappointed than you’d ever been in your life. 
Downstairs, Eli waited until she heard your door shut before she pulled her phone out, returning one of the 15 missed calls from her eldest daughter. Alexia picked up quickly, her voice dripping with guilt.
“Mami, I-”
“No. Do not try to explain yourself. You and Alba have done a terrible thing, Alexia. I am not sure how you will make it up to your sister, but you will. You will figure out how to fix it, you will apologize, you will mean it.” 
“Sí, Mami.” Alexia said, her voice small like when she used to get scolded for kicking the football in the house or holding the tv remote high out of her sisters’ reach. 
“I am so disappointed, Alexia. In you and Alba both.”
“I know, Mami.” Alexia replied, blinking hard to fight off her tears. “I’ll fix it, Al and I will fix it.” 
“You will. Goodnight, Alexia. I love you.” Eli was furious, but she’d always say it, always make sure her daughters knew how loved they were. 
“I love you too Mami,” the blonde choked out, feeling worse about this than she’d ever felt about anything in her entire life. 
Eli called Alba next, who was significantly more clueless about the situation. Neither had known the other wasn’t going, but it was beyond your mother how either of her daughters could have underestimated how important to you this night was. Alba was in tears, like Alexia, by the end of the call, also promising her mother she’d fix it. 
Eli knew the level of guilt Alexia and Alba must have been feeling at the moment, considering how protective they were of you. They never wanted you to be hurt, but you were. And they were the reason why. As she checked on you, ensuring you were asleep, she knew that her older daughters would go to the ends of the earth to make this up to you. 
--------
Alba was sitting on her couch, willing herself to be the bigger person and pick up the phone to call Alexia, when she heard a knock at the door. The brunette knew who was there before she pulled it open, not flinching when her older sister was standing on her front porch. 
Alexia had a drink carrier in one hand, and two bags in the other, giving Alba an unreadable look. “Can I come in?” 
Alba nodded, stepping aside to let her sister in. The blonde headed for the living room, setting the coffees down, and grabbing hers out of the holder. Alba grabbed the other, noting that it was her favorite coffee, and her favorite breakfast pastry, from her favorite bakery. A bakery Alexia didn’t particularly like, but had clearly stopped at just for Alba. 
It was a peace offering. One that Alba took, grabbing the coffee and the pastry, sitting on the couch next to her sister in a much less tense silence. They made up in the way only sister’s could, with no words necessary for either of them to know that the other was sorry for what had been said. 
“We fucked up.” Alexia said after a minute, glancing at her sister. 
“We really did.” Alba replied. 
“We have to fix it.” Alexia declared. 
“We really do.” Alba agreed. 
“Are you going to keep agreeing with me, or are you going to come up with a solution here?” 
“As the one who started the fight that led to us letting our sister down, I think it should be you who solves the problem, Alexia.” Alba retorted, a smirk on her face. 
Her sister shook her head, shoving the brunette’s shoulder lightly. “You are supposed to be the smart one, hermana. Get thinking.” 
“New car?” 
“New house?”
“Can we buy her a country?”
They broke into laughter, the tension completely gone from the room, before they really got brainstorming. They were a good team when they weren’t fighting, and it wasn’t long before they’d come up with something that they hoped would make up for their horrible behavior. 
-------
The minute you saw Alexia’s car pull into the driveway from your spot on the couch, you were standing up, prepared to flee the room. You’d known this would happen at some point today, but you weren’t ready to see them. You felt so humiliated and so neglected, you were sure that seeing them would have you in tears, and you didn’t really want to show that emotion in front of them. Not now, not when they were the reason you were so upset. 
You knew how important family was to your mother, though, and you knew that if she told you to stay and talk to them, you would. Looking at her cautiously, you took in the wary expression on her face. 
“Do you want to hear them out, mija?” Eli asked gently. 
“No. I don’t want to see them right now. Please don’t make me.” You begged. 
“I won’t make you do anything. Go upstairs, I’ll tell you when they’re gone.” Eli sighed, and with her permission, you practically sprinted up the stairs to your room, closing and locking the door behind you. 
Your older sisters walked through the doors to the house like they were afraid of what awaited them inside, and it seems that they should have been. Eli stood from her chair, walking over to them, looking unimpressed at the large present in Alexia’s hands. 
“Hola Mami,” Alba greeted softly. They both wanted to make this up to you, of course, but they also hated when their mother was mad at them. 
“I do not think that buying her a present is going to fix this.” Eli said pointedly. Alexia and Alba exchanged nervous glances, relaxing slightly when Eli allowed them further into the house. “What is it?” 
“It’s the new camera. The brand new canon model that she wanted, with all the extra lenses and storage and stuff.” Alexia said, feeling less and less confident about how she and Alba had chosen to go about this. 
“And you think that is enough?” Eli asked bluntly. 
“It’s a start.” Alba said, a bit defensively. “We know we messed up, Mami, and we missed the opening night but we can go see it today. Are you not being a little dramatic about this?” 
Alexia shot her younger sister a look, knowing exactly how hurt you were, because Olga had returned home from the gallery and told her. 
“You did not see her last night. When she realized you weren’t coming? She completely shut down. She talked to everyone she needed to, but I did not see her smile the rest of the night. She rushed out of the building just as the evening ended, and by the time I got home, she was sitting on the couch, sobbing. It was supposed to be her night, and you ruined it.” Eli snapped. 
Alexia and Alba both looked appropriately ashamed, their heads dropping, gazes pointed at the floor in an almost identical fashion. They felt guilty, obviously, but Eli wasn’t quite sure they understood that it wasn’t just about them missing your event. It was so much more than that. 
“She asked me why she is not more important to both of you than an argument. I do not want to spoil the gallery, but I do not think you understand how embarrassing it was for her to have countless photos of you two up on the wall, when you did not even come.” 
Both her daughters’ heads snapped up at this. “Of us?” Alba asked. “The project was of us?” 
“It was about her loved ones. You two were featured more than anyone else. She was so excited to see your reactions to the photos.” Eli continued, only making them feel worse. 
“Please, Mami, I cannot hear anymore.” Alexia said softly, her heart aching at the thought of how upset you must be at the moment. Every detail that her mother added made it worse. She wasn’t sure she’d ever done anything like this to you before, and the thought that you might not forgive her was filling her with anxiety. 
“No, you will hear all of it.” Eli said, shaking her head. “She said to me, ‘I was so excited for them to see, I just wanted them to be proud of me.’” 
“We are proud of her, she has to know that.” Alba cut in desperately. Her mother just shook her head. 
“She does not. Nothing she ever does feels very important to either of you, because it is always something you have done before. This was something that was her own, and she just wanted to share it with you. Everything your sister does is so that you two will be proud of her, and pay attention to her.” 
At this, Alexia stood up from the couch, walking over to the window and putting her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook with silent cries, and neither her mother or her sister were very surprised at the emotional outburst. Alexia was always emotional when it came to you; she remembered the day you’d been born, every milestone in your life. You were your very tough sister’s soft spot. 
“Do you think we can fix it?” Alba asked quietly, terrified of her mother’s answer. 
With a deep sigh, Eli nodded her head. Alexia turned around hopefully, hanging on to Eli’s every word. “Your baby sister has always been more forgiving than both of you. She is hurt, but she will forgive you. She loves you both too much not to.” 
Every word Eli said felt like a bullet to the chest to both of your sisters, something your mother was well aware of. She wasn’t going to sugar coat this. It was silent in the room for several minutes, every member of the family lost in thought. Alexia looked furious with herself, Alba looked like she was close to tears, and Eli just looked disappointed. She’d always trusted your sisters to take care of you when she couldn’t, but she wasn’t so sure she had that confidence in them anymore. 
“I have an idea.” Alexia said finally, looking between her mother and her sister hesitantly. They both agreed to what she proposed, though, and it wasn’t long before Eli had pulled out some paper and pens for her daughters. They both sat on the floor around the coffee table and got writing. It was reminiscent of when they’d do their homework in the same spot years ago, sitting on the floor so they could play with you while they finished their assignments. 
Now, though, you were painfully absent from the scene in front of your mother, and Eli could only hope that this would work. 
-------
Alexia and Alba agreed that only one of them would go upstairs, give you the two pieces of paper, and let you be for the evening. Alexia was desperate to see you, while Alba wasn’t sure she could do so without crying, and she didn’t particularly want to put that on you at the moment. You hated seeing your sisters upset, and she didn’t want to inadvertently guilt you into forgiving her before you were ready. So, Alexia made her way upstairs, agreeing to Eli’s warnings to leave you alone if you wouldn’t let her in. 
Her knock on your door was uncharacteristically gentle, and her voice was almost shaky as she announced herself. 
“Nena? Can I come in for a minute?” 
Taking a deep breath, you opened the door, feeling rather satisfied to see the guilt all over her face. 
Alexia stepped into the room, looking so nervous and so unlike herself. She was fidgeting with two pieces of paper in her hands, barely able to bring herself to look you in the eye. “I am so sorry, hermanita. More sorry than I can put into words.” She didn't seem to know what else to say, and you rolled your eyes. 
“Do you think that is enough?” You asked. 
Alexia shook her head rapidly. “No, I know it isn’t. Alba and I are going to fix this, nena, I promise. Whatever we have to do, whatever it takes. We will make this up to you. There is nothing more important to us than you.” 
Your eldest sister could tell you didn’t believe her, the way you looked away from her was a dead giveaway. 
“I know you are upset, and that is okay. I just… can I give you a hug, nena? You can still be mad at me and everything. I’d just really like an hermanita hug.” Alexia said vulnerably, tears clouding her vision. She had underestimated how painful it would be to see you so upset with her, but her chest truly ached as she took in the betrayal and disappointment on your face. A few tears fell from her eyes, and it was this bit of emotion that had you nodding your head, stepping forward as Alexia wrapped her arms around you almost painfully tight. 
It made you feel better, even though it probably shouldn’t have. Your sister’s hugs always felt warm and safe, and today was no exception. Even though she’d hurt you. It was still Alexia, and she was a hard person to stay mad at. Still, you pulled away before you wanted to, and the blonde cleared her throat, holding out the pieces of paper for you. 
“From me and Alba. We will be downstairs, if you want to talk.” Your sister opened and closed her mouth a few times, before shaking her head, mustering a weak smile, and leaving the room. She shut the door behind her, something she never did, always insisting on leaving it open just to bother you. 
You opened your sisters’ letters, not quite sure what you would be reading. You weren’t quite angry anymore, just sad. You were never one to hold a grudge, but you weren’t sure how they were going to be able to make this stop hurting. 
You underestimate, however, how well your sisters knew you, and combined with the information they had from Eli, they knew just what to say. You read both the letters a few times, tears streaming down your face for what felt like the 12th time that day. This time, though, they were good tears. 
Both letters were similar, but very… specific to each of your sisters. 
Alexia’s was practically a bullet pointed list, in her messy, big handwriting. There was a mark on the page that looked suspiciously like a teardrop, and Alexia talked about her emotions in the letter the way she always did in real life; saying as little as possible, while still somehow saying a whole lot. 
Alba’s was a real letter, paragraph after paragraph of neat writing, beautifully articulating what she wanted to say to you. It was always a bit surprising to remember how perceptive Alba was. She was a forgetful person, but not when it came to the things that mattered. This was clear in the letter, as she listed small details out that you hadn’t thought she’d noticed. 
Both of the letters were an apology. An apology, and a deep dive into how proud of you Alexia and Alba were. They apologized for not making it clear, before going back to when you were a baby, and they watched you walk for the first time. Through the years, they had overlapping and different memories of things you’d done that made them swell with pride. There were things you remembered, and things you didn’t, but they made you feel special all the same. Alexia and Alba did pay attention, that much was clear. Even if they weren’t always the best at showing it, they paid attention to you. 
It did more than a verbal apology could have ever done. It was something tangible, kind, warm and loving. It made you feel loved, and seen. It made you feel like you mattered. You weren’t Alexia, and you weren’t Alba, but you were you, and they felt that to be something much more special. 
You tried to hold out a bit longer, you really did, but you were putting the letters down and rushing downstairs before you could really stop yourself. 
You passed the kitchen on the way to the living room, where your Mami was preparing dinner, a small, relieved smile on her face. Wishing you had something funny and unbothered to say, you walked into the room, seeing your sisters sitting on the couch, looking pathetically distraught. 
“Hola.” You said softly, feeling indescribably happy when both of their faces lit up at the sight of you, and you quickly crossed the room, wedging yourself in between them. They made room for you, as they always did, allowing you to fit easily into your spot squished with Alexia on one side, and Alba on the other. 
They each wrapped an arm around you, and both tried to pull you in opposite directions. It was ironic, the way they used you to play a silly game of tug of war. This time, however, they stopped pulling when they realized neither of them would win. Instead, they both wrapped you into a very awkward and suffocating hug, arms wrapped around you from seemingly every direction. 
“I love you, nena.” Alexia whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. 
Alba did the same to your cheek. “I am so sorry, hermanita, and I love you so much,” she whispered. 
“I know.” You said softly. “I forgive you.”  
And if it had been either of them in your position, it would have taken a lot more. You were the forgiving sister, though, and you’d really just needed proof that your sisters thought that you were as important as you felt them to be. 
When Eli came in the room a few minutes later, it was to see the three of you in a rather familiar position; you in the middle, each of your sisters holding on to as much of you as they could, completely content. They’d always like to hold you like that, starting when you were a baby. Alexia would carefully put you on the couch in between them, and put a movie on. They would take turns telling you all the important details your brain was far too small to comprehend, but you didn’t squirm, and you didn’t fuss. You would stay plopped right in between them, one of each of their fingers gripped tight in your hands. 
It was a lot different now, because you were all bigger. It looked like an uncomfortable pile of limbs on the couch, but Eli knew you were all as comfortable as you’d ever get. 
-------
Neither of your sisters seemed very willing to let you out of their sight anytime soon, which you were sure would grow annoying very fast. For now, though, you enjoyed the attention, especially when Alexia pushed the wrapped box that had been sitting on the table into your hands. 
And, you’d already forgiven them before you’d seen the camera they’d bought you, one that you’d been desperately wanting for a while. If you hadn’t forgiven them, though, you would have now. You could be bought, and your sisters were well aware of it. As was your Mami. She rolled her eyes as you stared in awe at the camera, as Alexia and Alba looked on proudly, sharing a discreet fist bump. Personally, Eli thought you’d let them off kind of easy, but she shouldn’t have underestimated you. You were a youngest child, and you knew how to get what you wanted. 
“Can we go see your photos after dinner?” Alba asked, not even getting a glance from you, your attention completely zeroed in on the camera in your hands. 
“Nope.” You replied. Alexia and Alba looked uneasily at each other, and then at their Mami for guidance, before you spoke again. “Alexia, you are going to clean my room. And Alba, you are going to make me those cookies I like. We can go see the gallery tomorrow.” 
Your face was smug, and your mother stifled a laugh as your sisters looked disgruntled at each other. Begrudgingly, though, they both nodded. 
“Anything for the princess.” Alexia mumbled, and Alba snickered quietly. 
“What was that?” You asked, turning your attention to your sisters. They looked at you in defiance, smirks on both of their faces, not willing to let you completely walk all over them, even if they deserved it. 
“You heard me.” Alexia teased. “The baby princess always gets her way.” 
“Really, Ale?” You asked calmly, before turning to Eli, your new camera briefly forgotten on the table in front of you. “Mami, do you have any plans in two weekends? I was thinking we could take a trip just the two of-” 
Alexia cut you off by rather aggressively throwing herself at you, covering your mouth with her hand. “NO HERMANITA!” The blonde shouted. “Oh, gross, nena, really?” She groaned, pulling her hand away when you licked it. You smiled triumphantly, managing to push away from her a bit. 
“You are not a princess, nena. Just a little baby.” Alba chimed in, reaching over from her chair to pinch your cheek in one hand. “Now keep quiet before you ruin the surprise and give Ale a stroke.” 
Your mother shook her head, taking pity on her eldest daughter, who looked prepared to explode at the thought of the surprise being ruined. “Do you think I do not know you were planning a trip for the four of us, Alexia? Honey, you asked me several times if I was free that weekend, and reminded me not to make any plans then either. You also asked me for hotel recommendations, and pretended it was for you and Olga. You are a bad liar, mija. I have known for weeks.” Eli laughed. 
Alexia frowned, shoving you and Alba both away from her as you both collapsed into giggles, despite the fact that this was entirely her fault, and you and Alba were blameless. She knew there was teasing coming her way, but the smile on your face was well worth it. Order had been restored, and both of your sisters had made promises to themselves, and to each other, to not let their arguments hurt you anymore. You were just happy to have them both there, at home. All four of you together, how it was supposed to be. 
-------
it will really always be funny to me that my sister and i do not say the words "i'm sorry" to each other. like we'd both rather die than apologize. she could hit me with her car and i wouldn't want her to apologize because... ew. anyway sometimes having a sister is cool and sometimes its not but i love mine.
everyone applaud me for not splitting this into two parts. seriously i am astounded at myself right now.
hope you all like it :) give me all your thoughts.
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Text
Alastor - [DEVOTION…. Pt. 2]
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[ NSFW ] + [ MDNI ] + [ SLIGHT AGE GAP ] + [ ARRANGED MARRIAGE ] + [ BREEDING KINK ] + [ MENTIONS OF BLOOD & GORE ]
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Beautiful days weren't uncommon in New Orleans.
They frequently occurred -even more so during the late summer months in the swamped countryside- where you now found yourself traveling through alongside your husband.
Alastor had decided it was high time both of you visited your recently conjoined families. His mother constantly asked to see you again, calling twice a week like clockwork to check on her darling son and his ever-so-sweet wife, and you appreciated her sincere affection.
You missed visiting her in person, learning things from her, and observing how much adoration she had for Alastor..
In a sense, she'd raised you like her own daughter, taking the place of your mother, who'd passed before you'd even taken your first steps. Your father was adamant a 'fever' took her, but Alastor's mother always hinted at a force greater than unfortunate health having to do with it.
You'd never thought to ask what she meant, trusting her wise and kind words wholeheartedly since Alastor was your only friend, but curiosity did plague your thoughts from time to time.
Her passing was a tragedy you could barely remember….
However, it was in the past, your mother was gone with your childhood, and you were now in the present -married to a man you never wished to part from…
Even more so now that he'd revealed how truly devoted he was to you and you alone…
“….I feel much more than love for you, my dear. Devotion is a better term…obsession at times…”
Those words of his rang loud and clear in your head for days on end, making your heart flutter ten times harder than it usually did when he was near and coaxing a particular passion for making him happy out of you at every opportunity given.
Your infatuation had grown into undeterred loyalty and in your opinion he deserved every bit of it.
Alastor worked tirelessly to further his career. Reaping the benefits of such hard work through copious amounts of money and awards from various admirers.
He'd perfected so many things to reach that point, hiding his natural down home drawl with a perfect transatlantic accent -you found both charming but preferred the first. Although, you understood why he’d mastered the ladder accent, and never insisted upon him disregarding it.
It was what made his character, brought the masses running back for more each time he was on air, and what kind of wife would you be if you asked him to refute all the admiration for simple and selfish reasons?..
He wasn’t home often enough to have such conversations in the first place…
Alastor was no stranger to working late into the evening, writing script after script past midnight at the station, and only returning home when he was sure his manuscripts were crystal clear.
That’s what you were made to believe he was doing anyway.
Alastor made sure of that.
In your eyes he was perfect, hardworking, and utterly perfect…
Not the merciless, flesh hungry, murder that’d been stalking the streets of New Orleans for almost six consecutive months…
To your knowledge Alastor had no flaws, no deep, dark secrets you felt the need to uncover, and certainly not a man with a tainted sense of morality you couldn't fully trust.
He ensured your view of him remained spotless, devoid of bloodthirst or cruelty.
You were too innocent for it, too pure to know what he'd done and continued to do for the sake of self-satisfaction, but there is always a time for truths to come to light…
Nevertheless, Alastor strived to make sure that time never came…
So, when the city became on edge, being put under a curfew by law enforcement in hopes of slowing the occurrence of his murders, and the number of police patrols significantly increased, Alastor decided a nice…long…relaxing vacation to the countryside would be an excellent idea.
Nothing suspicious about the idea at all…
You were ecstatic about the trip, rushing to pack things for the both of you the very evening he mentioned it, and Alastor was genuinely pleased to see you so excited.
You were painfully unaware of his true motives…so willing to spend time with him and leave the fear-induced city behind…
Oh, how he loved it…you and your gentle, naive nature…
Truly, a warm-hearted belle safe and sound in his bloodstained grasp.
He almost felt guilty, looking at you now, taking your first bare footsteps into the dewy summer grass surrounding his mother's home. Your eyes lit up like the high noon sun shining down on you both, soft lips pulled into a satisfied smile as you reacquainted yourself with fresh summer air, "God, I missed this.." you whispered to yourself as the comforting wind blew through your hair.
Alastor laughed softly, smile ever present as you did a twirl in the grass before looking at him over your shoulder, "Well, aren't you gonna join me, Al? Or am I gonna have to get a hug from your mother first?"
He narrowed his eyes, smile softening at the mention of her, "First? My dear, are you askin' for a race?"
You grinned, giggling as you shrugged playfully while walking backward towards the pathway leading to his mother's home, "Only if you're agreeing to one, honey.." you respond cheekily.
Your husband could never resist a challenge.
Ever.
You’d realized that very early on in your time with him, using it to your advantage more often than he realized.
Getting your way with Alastor was a special skill unique to you and not a soul else…
A smirk tugged at your lips as Alastor pushed off from leaning against the car, rolling his sleeves up as he strode towards you, "Daring, little thing, aren't you?" He teased, having to yell as you spun on your heel and took off without warning.
You let out a laugh, hearing him give chase, only a meter behind you in less than three seconds, and his subtle chiding at your attempt at cheating urging you to beat him.
"Looks like I'll beat you, dearest!" He boasts, drawing nearer to you within seconds, but hesitating to pass you by as he took in the sight of your white cotton dress riding higher up your thighs as you ran.
A delectable view for him in more ways than one…
Alastor couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen such a carefree and angelic sight. Nor, did he want to when you were right in front of him.
You scoffed at his teasing, oblivious to Alastor’s longing stare as you hiked up the front hem of your dress to hop over a fallen tree branch, but when you landed, he was at your side -a smirk already sneaking its way onto his face as you shot him a surprised glance.
When had he gotten so fast?…
You weren't sure, but Alastor had always been more physically fit than most, so you merely tried to keep up with him as the end of the path approached.
He beat you by five feet at least, but you were in too much of a giggle fit to notice. "You cheated!" You chirped, faking a pout as he leaned against one of the dark timber poles that upheld the wrap-around porch. "I was only beating you at your own game, ma chère… fair is fair." Alastor flashed you a grin, pushing his glasses to rest on top of his head before raising a hand to swipe the specks of dust that'd landed on his cheek during your short race.
You smiled at the rare, docile, boyish action. Alastor was never one to altogether drop his guard, so when moments like this occurred, you'd relish in it for as long as possible.
"Here, let me…" you spoke softly, still a little breathless after running but eager to help your husband. Alastor dropped his hand from his face, leaning down to make your reach for him less strenuous, and you smiled at the tiny habit.
He'd always considered your height difference, and your tummy fluttered at each implication of it.
Using the back of your dress sleeve, you carefully wiped at his cheek as he stared at you, allowing you to gingerly guide his face from side to side with your small hand cupping his jaw. "There, much better, monsieur.." you compliment him with a flirtatious drawl, admiring his dust free skin in the sunlight as a few strands of his wavy brown hair shifts over his eyes from the wind.
Alastor returns your admiration, gaze lowering to your lips when you speak and slowly rising again as you place the round glasses back on his face. "Thank you,'ma chère," he sighs gratefully, natural southern drawl shining through as he speaks, finding himself out of breathless as you stare up at him lovingly.
In all his life Alastor could count on one hand how many times an inkling of ‘love’ had trickled its way into his heart. You seemed to be a factor in at least half of those memories.
He deemed that fact more than enough reason to kill for you if fate ever dictated harm your way…
What man wouldn't spill a bit of blood for a woman that looks at him the way you are looking at him now..?
A lesser one, surely.
Alastor considered himself far from the definition of a lesser man..
“It’s my pleasure,” you mutter in response, shifting to step around him and knock on the door, but Alastor stops you by wrapping an arm around your waist, bringing you in close to gently kiss your nose, then your lips, and you return the intimate gesture on instinct.
He hums deep within his chest as your soft lips melt into his, grip tightening on your waist as he unconsciously glides his tongue along yours, and you successfully stifle a moan at the unexpected intrusion.
Was that….blood you tasted on him?…
You weren't given much time to register the iron residue mixed with the hints of black coffee you'd made for him that morning since the sound of a door swinging open startled you half to death before any connection could be made.
"Oh, well, would you get a look at you two!" Angelique Hartifelt beamed as she registered who was on her doorstep. Alastor immediately let you go, smiling wide as his mother tugged him into an airtight hug, and you blushed at the heartwarming sight.
"Hello, mother," Alastor mumbled into her dark curls, swaying her in his arms as she took him in, "My, you've grown baby…real successful too, I hear.." She laughed as he nodded, both clearly happy to see each other after so long, but she eventually pulled away from Alastor to turn her attention to you.
"Sweet girl… c'mere! God, you're just as pretty as a magnolia in May!" You had no time to reply as she hugged you tight, kissing your cheek while you giggled and greeted her politely, "You're too kind, Mrs. Hartifelt … It's nice to see you again! I've missed you dearly!"
She stepped back, grinning as wide as her son as she spun you around, "Don't be silly, honey! Married life becomes you! I missed seeing your lovely self, too. Maybe if Al stopped working so much, you'd have more time to stop by.." She gave him a playful glare, to which he flashed an apologetic smile.
"I'll try to remember that, Mother.." he tipped his head in understanding, and she swatted his arm lightly. "Oh, you know I'm only poking fun, baby. Come on inside, I wanna hear about the two of you…"
She paused, ushering you in the door first with a knowing smile, "…and if I have any grandchildren on the way." Her jest made you turn bright red, but her lighthearted laughter that followed eased your nerves.
However, Alastor's face fell for a moment as she said it, the two of you sharing a strange stare as Angelique closed the behind her and whisked past you both to lead the way into the kitchen.
It was only for a split second, but you could've sworn Alastor looked…
Hopeful…?
Or rather, genuinely affected by the mention of having a child with you…
The complex expression vanished from his face just as quickly as it appeared, his gaze shifting from you to his mother as she set a pitcher of sweet tea and a plate full of cookies out, and you instantly focused on the dish of sweets as the sugary smell invaded your nose.
You were here to enjoy her company, get away from the world and its burdensome worries, and overthinking Alastor’s every reaction wouldn’t be a good start to that….
Besides, her sweets were always your favorite; she'd shown you how to bake, and you attributed most of your cooking skills to her teaching. Alastor had also picked up a great deal of culinary tricks from her, and it became another hobby you two bonded over during childhood.
"Those look amazing, Mrs. Hartifelt," you flashed her a smile, humming as you pretended to swoon over them, and she laughed at your slight dramatics. "I suspected you'd stop by, so I made your favorite, honey. Come on, sit!"
"Don't mind if I do," you chirped and sat next to her at the modestly round dining table; she poured you both a glass of sweet tea before looking over at Alastor expectantly. "That means you too," she gently scolded his standoff-ish behavior, watching as he took a seat on her unoccupied side and patting his cheek in gratitude as he did.
Alastor leaned into her touch, mumbling an apology for not accompanying her sooner, "I got lost in thought, is all…" he clarified in a soft chuckle, and she nodded in understanding.
"Mmm, really, what about?"
His gaze shifted to you again, and your body momentarily froze as he stared while answering his mother, "How much I love you…that’s all.”
Whether he meant to direct the phrase towards you or his mother was unclear, but your chest tightened, and your head filled with fog nonetheless.
How could he still manage to make you so unsteady within the simplest efforts and gestures?…
Alastor held your gaze for a minute longer, forgetting where he was presently, but his self induced trance vanished as his mother spoke again.
"I see you still haven’t lost your charm to the big city. That radio show must keep you on your toes, then.."
He nodded, laughing gently at his mother's teasing, "I wouldn’t dream of it, and my audience expects the best, so I must deliver."
She nods, humming as her chocolate eyes drift towards you, "And how is my lovely son treating you, sweetheart? Well, I presume?"
You could hear the hint of curiosity in her tone, light but underlying seriousness in her question. It was no secret to her that Alastor had…certain tendencies, but those were reserved for people who deserved it, and you'd never been deemed deserving.
She hoped it remained that way…
To her inner relief, you answered her with the broadest smile and happiest tone, "Oh, of course! I couldn't have asked for a better husband! You raised him well..a true gentleman, Mrs. Hartifelt."
Alastor smirked, reveling in your praise, unbothered by his mother eyeing him carefully before she gave you a pleasant response, "I'm glad to hear that. You're still sweet on him too…just like when you were little."
You blushed, taking a ginger bite of one cookie while nodding, "Mhm.."
Why you became nervous when your childlike crush on Alastor was brought up was a mystery, but you couldn't help it since both of your families saw your subtle pining for him day in and day out.
"Speaking of 'little'…" his mother sat straight, arms crossed over her chest as she glanced at the both of you, "When are you two gonna give me a grandbaby to look after. I'm not getting any younger, Al.."
That look crossed his face again, but his smile remained.
You, however, nearly choked on your sweet treat, but luckily managed not to make an utter fool of yourself. A minor cough and a quick sip from your glass eased your mishap.
Angelique patted your back gently, laughing softly at your reaction, "Honey, I'm only kidding… there's no rush." Her reassurance was genuine, but unbeknownst to her, Alastor had breached the subject already.
Albeit in the heat of a very intense and lust-driven moment.
"Ma chère," Alastor rose from his chair, slight concern on his face as he came to kneel by your chair, "…are you alright?"
You nodded slowly, smiling softly at him before huffing out, "M' fine…no need to worry.." he nodded in return, standing to his feet to address her implications.
"We'll see what the future holds, Mother, but as of now, are we welcome to your hospitality for a few days?"
He knew she'd say 'yes' but made it a habit to ask.
Alastor maintained impeccable manners, just as she'd taught him to have, and it brought a proud glint to Angelique’s eyes.
"Now, Al, why would I ever say no to that. You two stay as long as you want!"
You tipped your head in gratitude, "Thank you, Mrs. Hartifelt.."
She scoffed, placing her hand over one of yours before leaning in close as if to tell you a secret Alastor shouldn’t hear.
"Even after all these years and being married to my boy, you're still so polite, Y/n. The world won't burn to a crisp if you call me 'mother' sweetheart."
She kissed your temple, and your heart melted at the tender gesture, "We are family, after all."
That was true…
"I suppose you're right, Mrs- I mean mother." You tripped over the words, so used to being formal but enjoying the new arrangement.
It felt natural enough.
"Look how easy that was!" Angelique patted your hand assuredly, stood from her seat, and began to clear the table.
There was no doubt in your mind that Alastor got his charm from her….
Your revelation was cut short as she absentmindedly spoke to you again, "Pay your father a visit before you settle in. I'm sure he'd like to see you…he comes by often asking about you two a lot these days.."
You stiffened at the mention of your father, recalling the last time you'd seen him.
Exactly a year ago.
The day you married Alastor…
After that, you'd barely spoken to him, not because you wished for distance but because he'd established it.
Your father may have agreed to your marriage with Alastor, but he only partially warmed up to your husband. He'd looked upon him with a hidden distaste from the very beginning of your friendship.
"Something's off about that boy…" he’d say.
Then proceed to warn you of a danger that never existed in your opinion. "You be careful around him…real careful.."
When he realized your attraction to Alastor his nagging only worsened, "He's a charmer…those are never good for anything. You remember that."
For years, his assumptions of Alastor irked you to no end; it perplexed you why he even married you off to him, but whenever you'd search for answers, he'd give the same vague answer.
"That boy isn't what he seems. Never has been and never will be.."
Frustrating as he was, you could never bring yourself to hate him for it, but the thought of having to endure his morbid company wasn’t comforting at all.
Alastor recognized the distress in your gentle features, your bright eyes narrowing at the tabletop, and your hands wringing around each other nervously.
All because of him.
Mr. L/n...
The one man who seemed to get a clue as to who and what Alastor was without anything other than a so-called ‘gut feeling’.
Alastor had tried for years to mask his true nature from him, but your father saw right through him at every encounter.
He had been and still was Alastor’s worst agitation…
Such a bothersome fool…
Your husband averted his oncoming glare to the nearest wall before wiping the disdain off his face, and reaching a hand out to caress your back. You relaxed under his firm touch, looking up to him as his thumb rubbed soothing circles into your spine, "It'll only be a short visit, my dear. We'll have the whole weekend after that…"
His smile eased your fretting, leading you to nod and smile back. "Alright… y-you'll come with me, yes?"
Absolutely not-
Alastor inwardly hushed his shadow demon, tipping his head in warning to the spectrum and forcing it to hold its tongue before it overrode his consciousness.
His smile widened, the hand on your back sliding up to cup your cheek, "Of course, mon chere. I wouldn't dream of letting you go alone.."
We should-
His shadow attempted to cut in again, but Alastor withheld its advance with a simple command.
Hush up. Now…
Fortunately, it ceased all communication, and his focus on you went unhindered.
You stood from your chair, rising on your tiptoes to peck his lips with your own, whispering against them before you pulled away.
"Thank you… Sometimes I dont know what I'd do without you…"
Alastor cursed the sharp pang that penetrated his heart as you said those words, an eerie sense of Deja vu hitting him in waves, but the uneasy feeling never showed on his face -not until you thanked his mother one last time before flurrying upstairs to freshen up.
Angelique felt her son’s mood shift, intuition leading her to ask him what was on his mind, "Something wrong?.."she mumbles calmly without ceasing in her task of cleaning.
Alastor remained silent for a long moment, watching as his mother moved on to pulling out ingredients to cook for dinner, and when she turned to face him entirely, he found the sense to speak.
"It's gettin' worse…" he confessed through a tight-lipped smile, leaning back against a wall to keep his composure, and she needed no other clues to figure out his cause for distress.
"The killing' or the magic?" She inquires, back to him, and but her voice laced with evident care.
"Both. It's getting to me..bad…more frequently.." he confesses.
Angelique hums in understanding, "Have you been hunting at all these past few weeks?.."
Alastor took his glasses off, breath coming out strained as his eyes shifted from their usual whiskey color to a redder hue.
"No. Not since…" he falters, gritting his teeth as his unruly spectral companion cut into his train of thought.
Not since you fucked her-
"I said shut the hell up…" Alastor seethed out loud, eyes screwing shut as his shadow danced onto the wall, yet his mother remained unphased by the sudden outburst.
She merely peered at the taunting shadow, causing it to cower back in her son's tall frame, "Go hunting while you're here. That'll take the edge off, but get that spirit in check before you do, or it won't end well. You hear me?"
Alastor nodded, rolling his neck to alleviate the tension in his body before recapturing his shadow and flashing his mother an understanding smile.
Her advice was final, a direct warning to him, and it garnered a welcomed sense of control over his frazzled behavior.
His smile lost its crazed edge, drawing into a polite smirk as he peered at her expectantly.
"Do you happen to have my old hunting gear lying around?.."
She turned towards the stove, not affected by his sudden personality switch by any means, and simply motioned a hand upstairs before answering him, "In your father's old study. Right where you left it, behind the bookshelf…."
Alastor perked up, grinning wide as the memory of his last hunting spree crossed his mind, "Merci, mother." He thanked her, walking over to kiss her cheek before exiting the homely kitchen while humming a new tune as he strode up the steps with newfound confidence.
Tonight, he'd look for prey…
How he'd satiate his shadow's pesky intrusions was a matter he'd have to solve later.
Although, if the way it constantly became hyperactive at the mere mention or sight of you had anything to do with it Alastor was certain you were the solution to the problem.
+++++
The visit with your father went as you expected it to go.
He welcomed you with open arms and a tender smile, but when he saw Alastor climbing the marble steps of your family’s estate, his cordial behavior waned.
“I see you’ve brought him along…” he made no effort to hide the distaste in his tone as Alastor reached your side.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again as well Mr, L/n…” Your husband remained polite as always, masking his hatred for the man with a practiced facade of kindness.
Alastor became more affectionate towards you in his presence, going so far as to kiss the top of your head and wrapping an arm around your waist protectively, making every effort to keep you close throughout the tense reunion.
Your father clearly did not take a liking to his indirect aggravations it at all…
Yet, he said nothing on the matter, cutting your visit short with the tired excuse of having an 'important engagement' he needed to attend to.
So, in under an hour of resisting your childhood home, you found yourself walking back through the secret trail you and Alastor had paved years ago to commute across, and with each step, you felt more at ease.
You weren't quick to anger, but your father's jabs towards Alastor never ceased to ruin your mood. Thankfully, your husband seemed more eclectic than when you'd arrived in the countryside, and that, in turn, brightened your previously somber spirits.
Alastor held your arm under his as the two of you trekked along the path, going over small hills, thin creeks, and finally through a line of forestry bordering his mother's home.
The sun was beginning to set as you entered the forest end of your journey. The warm summer wind becoming a bit chilly as it whipped through the large willow and evergreen trees. Alastor kept you close, better acquainted with the woods than you were, but not because he'd memorized the path from childhood.
No, his memory of it stemmed from the many bloody escapades he'd enjoyed there and intended to continue sooner rather than later…
All for a rush, for the flesh, for the undisputed thrill.
Even now he couldn't stop grinning, thinking about it, failing to dampen his excitement as he led you both through the darkening woods.
You glanced up at him, happy to see Alastor so content despite your awful encounter with your father, "I apologize for him… he's…" you paused, trying to find the right words to describe your father's behavior, but he beat you to it with a gentle laugh.
"A cynical old man who believes that I'm no good for you?"
His voice held an edge, but you took the comment as playful heat and not as a harmful insult the way Alastor intended it to sound.
You couldn’t blame him for feeling spiteful about the whole ordeal…
He had every right to be unnerved…
A tender sigh slipped past your lips, and you nodded in agreement as he glanced down at you, "A spot-on depiction…not a pretty one either.." Alastor chuckled, shaking his head dismissively as he reassured you he took no offense to your father's dislike of him.
Though it was somewhat justified.
"Don't you worry yourself about him, my dear. I have you, and he can do nothing about it…"
Not a fucking thing…
You peered up at Alastor, noting the unwavering smile on his face as he spoke, but the glare in his eyes said he felt anything but indifference about the situation.
That worried you…scared you a little…
"Al…" you whispered, halting in your tracks and causing him to do the same. Your brows furrowed as he lowered his head, his breaths becoming heavy as his hold on your arm grew harder, but not enough to harm you.
His smile only grew as you muttered again, "Alastor, …look at me…" your words as tender as ever as you turned on your heel to face him head-on.
Alastor's eyes twitched as you came close, flashing red when you cupped his face with both hands and dipped your head to gain proper eye contact with him.
Concern was written all over you face…
You tried to decipher Alastor’s expression, ignoring the chill running down your spine as his gaze hardened while the air around you grew stiffer by the second.
Was he angry?
It felt as if he were but something in his unwavering stare told you this emotion surpassed that, and you couldn't deny how intensely it radiated off him as he slowly tilted his head at you.
Possessiveness.
Pure, unbridled need for dominance.
Whether it was over you or his state of mind remained unclear as he took a step forward. You made no effort to back away, letting Alastor tower over you, and not once breaking eye contact with him.
“Alastor…you can tell me-“
The comforting words died on your tongue when he jerked you into his chest, large hands finding your wrists as the heated kiss he initiated silenced the surprised yelp that left your lips as they melded with his.
You eyes drifted shut as he deepened the exchange, gradually relenting your body control over to him as he guided your arms to wrap around his neck. Alastor shifted his hold on your wrists to trace down your sides, the ghost like touch sending a shock through you immediately.
He smiled at your skittish reaction, oddly calmer than he was a moment before as he dared to pull similar responses from you. His skilled tongue delved into you mouth, inviting yours to play along while he leveraged his larger frame against your smaller one. You obediently stepped back as he pressed forward, subtly flinching as your backside hit the bark of the nearest tree, yet the scratch of wood on your covered skin failed to bother you as the kiss became feverish.
Desperate…
Alastor was desperate for something…
For what you weren’t certain, unable to think straight when he had you pinned against a decaying evergreen, stealing your breath away with ease, only pulling away from your lips to catch his own breath.
You quietly panted for air as well, blood rushing to your head from the sound of his have breathing mixing with the distant chirps of crickets harmonizing alongside buzzing cicadas.
The wind seemed to lose its chill as it passed between the nonexistent space separating you both.
Alastor held you still in that moment, one hand at the back of your neck to keep your head raised towards his, and the other resting under your chin. His thumb traced over your now spit slick lips, brown eyes following the slight tremble in them as you continued to pant for air.
Oh, how he adored your eagerness to please him. Always so desperate for more of him and never quite aware of your own greediness for his undivided affection.
“What is there for me to tell you, ma chère…?” The words thundered in his chest, almost a low hum in the midst of the surrounding wilderness, but you heard him clear enough.
“How you truly feel….whats behind that smile you fight so hard to maintain.” You gulp down the anxiety trying to creep its way into your tone, inhaling sharply as he pushed a knee between your thighs, and your train of thought came to a halt feeling him put pressure on your thinly covered cunt.
You knew the gesture was a from of distraction on his part, an attempt to avert your attention from the uneasy shift in his mood, and though you wanted to push him back and demand he take your concerns seriously…
The building heat in your core advised otherwise, overriding your urge to coax an explanation from Alastor with the need to be filled by him instead, and the growing amount of stars in your eyes as he continued to toy with your body made it all the more obvious to him.
“I assure you I’m quite alright, darling“ Alastor remained true to his previous claim, smiling softly as your eyes lidded over while your hips tentatively began to rock over his thigh at a sluggish pace, and your hands unraveling from his neck to trail down his chest. The linen fabric of his shirt cooled your burning fingertips, keeping your focus clear enough for another hushed whisper to leave your lips, “Tellin’ me not lie to you but then turning around and doing it yourself…”
You paused, holding his gaze as your tongue darted out to lick at his thumb teasingly, “How is that fair, Alastor, hm?…” your voice remains quiet, the taste of his skin lingering on the tip of your tongue as the questions hangs in the air around you, and it seems to hit a nerve in him.
A flash of red illuminates his irises, smile stretching wide across his face at your seductive actions and reprimanding remarks, “Fair? Is that what you want from me, mon chere? A fair bit of truth?”
His shadow itched to enlarge, wanting nothing more than to show itself to you, and intake the delirious reaction you’d surely have to seeing its monstrous form.
Although, Alastor kept it at bay, settling with trailing the hand on your neck to tangle through your hair, tugging it just rough enough to earn a soft gasp from you, and that action alone hard your inside twisting with anticipation.
You knew he’d never harm you, never lift a finger to imply harsh treatment, but the thrill of finally experiencing a hidden side of your husbands persona had your heart racing and your cunt throbbing.
“Yes…” you whimper compliantly, hands fisting the collar of his dress shirt to tug him closer, and Alastor growled at the aggressive action.
“Careful what you ask for, sweet girl…” he warns you through gritted teeth, tempted to kiss you again as an airy giggle leaps from your mouth, “And what if I refuse to be?”
Fuck, I need her…we need her…
His shadow twitched, writhing in the waning light of the sun at your taunting, and embodying every ounce of excitement the man before you struggled to contain as the heat of your cunt gliding over his thigh persisted with every gentle buck of your hips against him.
Alastor felt his blood run hot as you pried at his self control, the corner of your lips pulling up into a knowing smile as he stared at you hungrily, and not a single drop of apprehension present in your gaze as he lowered his head to whisper in your ear.
“Then I suppose I’m left with no other choice than to remind you what happens to curious little cats, my dear…”
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxx
Idk if I hate or love this chapter…like I’m so used to writing smut that writing angst or fluff feels so dreadful to me. Plus, you guys liked the first part so much I didn’t want to fuck this up…I promise the next part is pure smut and gore lol. This was essentially a filler part (I’m sorry)… ❤️ also did you guys catch the Princess and the Frog reference I threw in?!? If you did then I freakin adore you hehehe ❤️
[ BONUS CONTENT + ]
I’d cry, scream, fucking beg for this man…it’s fucking ridiculous how much I love him tbhhhh ❤️ credit to creator
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justwinginglife · 1 month
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Love your fics so much!!! And your writings!! Can you do one where dense reader thinks she’s getting sick and checks herself into a hospital as she mistakes falling in love symptoms an illness and accidentally confesses to soshiro she’s in love with him “you doofus it sounds like your in love with me” 😍
Ahh thanks so much! I appreciate your support. Also this is the cutest prompt EVER. I love it. Thanks for sending!
A Case Of The Butterflies
You'd been sick many times before, but never in your life had you ever had such a ridiculous, confusing, selective fever. Your heart rate would spike, your temperature would increase, your sweat would drip, your lungs would ache, but only at certain times. Only in certain moments around a certain person. You started to wonder if maybe Soshiro Hoshina was sick as well.
It seemed that every time he was around you, you had a flare-up and you just knew you had to be catching whatever he had.
At first, you tried avoiding him, which relieved your original symptoms but caused a new one to surface- your chest would start hurting if he wasn't nearby. You figured it was heartburn. A severe case. You wondered if it was some sort of lotion or cologne that he was wearing that soothed the throbbing in your chest, so you kept asking him what it was that he wore. He was thoroughly amused and gladly procured a list for you, saying he was excited for you to smell like him. After you tried every single product and had no results to show for it, you decided to just stay by his side. You weren't sure what about him soothed the pain inside you, but it worked so you clung to him like you were his shadow.
When you started wearing a mask around him -it was your poor attempt at resisting whatever sickness he had passed onto you- it further entertained him to no end. He thought you looked cute with it on. Though he did miss your pretty face, as he frequently told you. In the end, you gave up on the mask, your symptoms just as intense with them as they were without them. Whatever condition the two of you shared, it was strong, and it penetrated any barriers.
You wondered if you should just give in to your ailment. If it was hopeless. If you should just let the sickness seep into your bones, take hold of your muscles, infect your bloodstream, fill every inch of your lungs. And then, you wondered if it was possible for you to build up a resistance to this disease.
Thus began a long series of ridiculous experiments aimed at building a better understanding of your condition.
Hoshina got quite the laugh out of watching you slowly inch towards him, your eyes trained on your smart watch, monitoring just how high your heart rate jumped and at what length from him it did so. It turned out your heart rate was always abnormally high when he was in the same room as you, but any form of contact with him was what sent it into a frenzy. Even if that contact was just his breath on your skin from a few inches away, or his gaze penetrating yours. He didn't have to be literally touching you, his presence did enough damage.
This puzzled you further and so your experiments continued.
Next, you paced around him with a thermometer in your mouth to deduce how his proximity affected your temperature. Just like with your heart rate, the closer you got to him, the more feverish you were. You hurriedly jotted your results down in your notebook, which resulted in a smirk from him, but he allowed you to continue anyway. He was very easygoing and didn't mind the random trials you put him through, but more than that, he just loved an excuse to spend time with you. So he encouraged your experiments, told you that you couldn't rest until you got to the bottom of this. He had no idea what you were trying to get to the bottom of, but he supported it fully.
Then one day, completely by accident, you stumbled upon the interesting discovery that you slept better when he was nearby and even your dreams were significantly more pleasant when you had interacted with him right before you dozed off. You had been studying beside him in the library, searching for more evidence to backup your research, when your exhaustion took hold of you rather suddenly. He smiled at you and gently rubbed your arm, telling you to take a nap and he'd wake you up when the library closed. You had the most wonderful dreams of your entire life after that.
How could one man be so disease-inducing and yet his very presence soothed you to no end?
You wondered what the prognosis was for such a severe condition. Would you be stuck with this feeling for the rest of your life? Or would you be dead tomorrow, your heart overloaded from the sheer intensity of it all.
It was that train of thought that led you through the hospital doors, anxious to get yourself checked in posthaste. You rattled off your symptoms, leaving out one very important detail (that it was only around Hoshina that you experienced these things). The amount of symptoms you were experiencing, the severity of them, and the frequency in which you were experiencing them concerned the hospital staff and you were rushed in with some urgency.
The nurses performed all sorts of extensive testing on you and you patiently waited for the results.
Suddenly you got a text on your phone.
It was Hoshina. Again. Ever since he got your number, he'd been abusing the privilege, eagerly messaging you any chance he got. At this point, if he didn't spam you, you were concerned.
What you up to and can I join?
Your heart pounded rapidly in your chest and you wondered if maybe he didn't need to be near you after all to transfer his sickness.
Just in the hospital. You sent the text as if it was no big deal.
I'm sorry, WHAT?
Hospital. Can't you read?
No, I got that. Why? What's going on? Never mind, I'm coming to find you.
You texted him back repeatedly, telling him you were fine, just a little under the weather, and he didn't need to worry. He didn't care. Within a few minutes, he came crashing through the door to your room.
He collapsed on the ground, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He must've run here.
You bent down to get a good look at him and, feeling your presence, he gazed up at you, a shaky smile spreading across his face as sweat dripped from his forehead. He definitely ran here. What an idiot. What a sweet, sweet idiot.
"Are..." He panted, "Are you o-okay?"
You laughed. "Are you okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."
He chuckled, wiping the sweat from his brow. "And so what if I did? You said you were in the hospital- I was worried."
You shrugged. "I think I've just got some weird cold or something."
He raised an eyebrow at you. "Some cold. And that's why you're in the hospital? Are you dying??"
You flushed, suddenly self-conscious. You didn't know if you should tell him. But he was one of your closest friends. And you knew he'd be as supportive as he could be about your condition; he did just run the whole way here. It's not like he'd laugh at you.
So you told him everything.
He did laugh. He laughed so hard he rolled around on the floor, holding his sides.
You rolled your eyes at him. "What's so funny?"
"Darling, I love you."
You choked. "S-sorry, w-what?"
“The heart palpitations. Feeling sick to your stomach but also feeling even worse when we’re not near each other. Difficulty breathing. Feeling warm, too warm, like you’ve swallowed the sun. I feel all that too. Because I’m in love with you. And, I think, you’re in love with me too- you doofus.”
You blinked. Then, as his words sank in, your face turned a bright shade of red and you buried yourself underneath the sheets.
He tugged at the blanket. “Oh come now, you can’t hide from me. Let me love you, let me love all your troubles away.”
You clenched the fabric tight in your trembling hands. “Could you maybe love me a little quieter? I’m busy being embarrassed.”
He laughed and yanked the blanket down all the way so he could fully take in the sight of your flushed cheeks. “And why would I ever do that? I plan to love you as loud as I possibly can, especially now that I know you love me back. So what do you say, be my girlfriend?”
You bit your lip but you couldn’t hold back your smile. “Only if you get me out of here before I have to confess my shame and humiliation to the doctor.”
He grinned. “It would be my honor to break you out, my darling girlfriend.” He kissed your hand, kissed up your arm, up your neck, and then finally pressed a kiss to your lips.
Then he scooped you up in his arms and took off with you.
Years later, even after countless romantic dates and wonderful adventures together, Hoshina still counts your first date as him smuggling you out of the hospital, stealing a couple things of jello on the way out, and splitting them with you in the getaway car.
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cepheustarot · 6 months
Text
Warning from the Universe for you
Attention! This reading is for entertainment purposes only. This tarot reading does not give a 100% guarantee that all the described situations will occur or being ultimate truth. You build your own life and destiny and only you know yourself best.
Paid readings
Pick a pile. Choose one or more pictures. Trust your intuition.
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Pile 1: For those who work, you may have difficulties in terms of work. Some of you are waiting for a career promotion or an increase in your income in the near future but force majeure may occur and this will happen due to the fault of one of your colleagues, as there is a possibility that he may frame you and get your place. There may also be problems with competitors and if you were ahead before, now this will change and competitors will go ahead, because of this business may fail or a deal and profits may drop significantly, you may be cut at work. You can also make a deal with a not very honest person and, accordingly, you can be cheated for money so be careful!  As for those who study, your academic work can be stolen, plagiarized and passed off as their own. It will be very difficult to prove his guilt here, since the person will have competent counterarguments and it may turn out that you will end up guilty. In addition, there may have been mutual hostility between you and this person for a long time, you may hate each other for certain reasons.
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Pile 2: Here you can have a strong relationship with someone, for example, with someone from your family, you can have a best friend with whom you have been communicating for a long time and trust each other 100%, you can have a loved one with whom you are in a strong and stable relationship. And here everything is fine between you for quite a long time but at some point a situation will suddenly arise when a person can bully you, speak rudely and you will quarrel because of this. You will have a very heated argument, you will both be angry for a long time and not admit your guilt because of this you will be visited by thoughts about ending your relationship, ending communication, you will want to distance yourself from this person as much as possible. But here the cards say that it is better to make a decision not under emotions, here it is necessary to find a way out of this situation, to make the best decision first of all for yourself. Third-party interference is also possible here so be careful! Make decisions based on your feelings, not the words of others.
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Pile 3: Here the universe warns you that you may miss the best chance to realize your desires, your plans, as you may succumb to pressure from a person who is an authority figure for you, an example to follow. It can be either someone from your family, or your mentor and teacher, who has his own views on your work and you may not find support from him, you may be criticized. This may also apply to people who exhibit their work publicly, you may be criticized or negatively commented on, but this should not stop you from continuing to do what you like, what you sincerely want to do in life. The emphasis here is precisely that you must defend your opinion, position and do as you want, however you see fit — then other doors will open for you, you will have more opportunities for implementation, you will banally increase your self-confidence.
Thank you for reading! I will be glad of any feedback 🖤
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myfictionaldreams · 1 year
Text
Everyone Is Breakable // Mafia!Stucky x Fem!Reader
Summary: Steve and Bucky were invincible in your eyes. They'd never been injured or in a situation where you thought they weren't the ones in control. That is until one day Bucky doesn't return from meeting with a client.
Tags: 18+ readers only, smut, polyamory, threesome (F/M/M), angst, fluff, anxiety, death scare, Bucky goes missing, feelings realised, kissing, oral (F & M receiving), handjob, gay sex, vagina sex, fingering, multiple orgasms, size difference, sir kink, creampie, begging, edging, everyone has sex together (finally), not beta read
Words: 7.2k
my masterlist 📚 AO3 Link 
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Steve Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes were invincible.
Well, they were in your opinion anyway.
For the years that you’d been dating the two of them, they had done feats that were seen to be impossible to the normal person. But then again, they weren’t exactly normal.
There were secrets and rumours throughout Brooklyn that helped to create notorious reputations for the Rogers Mafia’s boss and Deputy that left people scared and yet curious at the same time. The main rumour that was derived from the truth was that Steve and Bucky had been involved in barbaric and ruthless experiments that altered their DNA’s to become the ultimate weapons. Stronger, faster, agility and stamina were all affected and had the enemies running in fear with the inhuman feats that could be achieved. Whenever the two of them were confronted and questioned, the men simply shrug their broad shoulders and smirked arrogantly at the opposer.
The rumours and intimidation only increased with the looming fear of Bucky’s unique metal arm that was made from the world’s strongest metal and liked to be his first weapon used where threats were involved. The enemies were quick to retreat when his leather glove was removed and his fingers clenched into a fist.
Their reputation was not the only reason why you believed them to be invincible but also because as of yet, there had never been a reason to be remotely frightened for their safety. Aside from the swaggering confidence they lived and breathed on a daily basis, other than the busted knuckles from the punishments delivered to the people who deserved it, they had never been injured, not even a black eye or busted nose. Nothing.
They were both so highly trained from their time in the military that they were able to hold their own more significantly than the other people in the same line of work as them.
In the past, there had been injuries and near-death experiences by both Steve and Bucky, before, during and after the military and enough to leave daunting silver scars from stab wounds, gunshots or injuries from other weapons. Especially Bucky and losing his arm during his capture within Hydra, the thick scars that encompassed the area between his shoulder and metal joining, he could hardly even discuss the brutal events that led to his arm injury, not without falling into a headspace that left him worried for everyone's wellbeing but again, that was because of Hydra and the fucked up experiments they performed on him.
Regardless of this, the rest of the events of near-death experiences would have left any normal person to lose their life, but not Steve and Bucky. They always bounced back, leaving you and your relationship feeling secure, safe and never-ending. 
One day, one of them was not safe, and life was threatened so you didn’t know if they were alive or dead.
It was supposed to be a simple visit for Bucky, so simple in fact that he had decided to go by himself, leaving his bodyguard Natasha behind to look after Steve as he remained behind at the office. This was where you also remained with your guard Sam, sitting at the oak table, large enough to sit 10 people and usually reserved for important meetings but today had papers and laptops lazily scattered across as orders were processed. Unphased and unbothered, Bucky left with a quick wave and kiss on the cheek for you as he visited a client unaffectionately nicknamed Ross the Coward, for some undelivered money.
From your right, Steve watched Bucky closely as he left, fingers drumming on the surface of the table as he contemplated letting Bucky go by himself but the second in command was all smiles and confidence as he left to the meeting point. As soon as the office door closed, you were swift with unlocking your phone and clicking on the ‘find my friends’ app, watching the blue dot that represented Bucky’s location closely, a habit that everyone within the gang seemed to do to follow each other's locations and last whereabouts if anything were to go wrong.
From the corner of your eye, Steve also monitored the screen as well whilst continuing with the monotonous choirs of running a mafia gang by responding to queries and emails. It had been a long day for all of you, the type of boring work that had your eyelids heavy and body drained without so much as lifting a finger. Bucky had been almost bouncing off of the walls with boredom and when the opportunity to meet with Ross was discussed, he almost ran from the room in eagerness.
“He’s arrived”, you audibly confirmed to the group as Bucky’s dot slowed to a halt in a back alley somewhere in Brooklyn. Steve physically shuffled closer, his chair creaking under his heavy muscles as his arm slide around your back and rested against your hip, so he could move closer and watch the phone for a couple of minutes over your shoulder but soon became preoccupied by the bare skin exposed in front of him. You knew he was trying to distract you from obsessively watching Bucky’s dot as his lips danced across your sensitive skin, the fine hairs on your arms standing on end as a shiver brushed over your body as he reached behind your ear.
Your eyes closed to concentrate on the delicate touches of his full lips and the light scratch of his stubble but the pleasured moan that was teasing to escape on the tip of your tongue was soon replaced by a frustrated groan as Steve’s phone began to vibrate. The blonde gave an apologetic peck on your shoulder before returning his body to the work he was doing and your eyes continued to momentarily glance at Bucky’s location.
Half an hour passed and Bucky’s location hadn’t shifted, even by a single step the entire time. An unsettled heaviness rested in your stomach, but you tried to shake it off, Bucky was fine, it was only 30 minutes. However, those minutes ticked by and turned into an hour, by which point you were anxiously chewing on the skin surrounding your thumbnail which caught the eye of Steve.
Hanging up the phone, he turned his chair back towards you, knees knocking into yours as he wrapped his fingers around your wrist to ease the thumb from your mouth, “what is it?”
Nodding your head towards your phone you explained, “Bucky’s dot hasn’t moved in over an hour”.
Steve’s crystal blue eyes snapped to the phone at a sickening speed, the grip on your hand tightening by the slightest amount of force, not enough to hurt but enough to show his worries. “Are you sure?” he asked, voice low as leaned closer to the phone, studying the location.
“Yes, I’m sure”, you confirmed, trying to ignore the way your throat felt as if it was closing as you noticed Sam and Natasha now taking note of the situation as well. “It’s not moved at all, not even to show him pacing, I’ve used the app enough to know that it moves as you’re walking”.
Steve’s jaw clenched beneath his beard as lines formed between his eyebrows as they furrowed trying to decide the next steps. Releasing your hands, he turned towards Natasha, opening his mouth to order her to go to the location and see what was happening but the red-haired woman was already standing from her chair, shrugging on his leather jacket and confidently strutting towards the door, “Already on it, Boss”.
Steve tried to remain calm, for your sake anyway but you could tell but the ever so slight twitch of his hand that now rested on your exposed thigh, that he was unnerved by the situation. Sam had also tried to help your nerve by distracting you by making you laugh which worked for a whole minute before you returned to wringing your fingers in your lap, a movement that you usually did when nervous. “It’ll be ok Boss Lady, Bucky’s a big boy, he’ll be ok”.
Even with the heavy weight of Steve’s hand, your leg couldn’t keep still as you had the overwhelming urge to bounce your knee up and down to try and release some pent-up energy. Watching the phone closely, the dot that represented Natasha approached Bucky’s location and only then did his dot begins to move before Steve’s phone rang with Natasha's face and name appearing on the screen.
“He’s not here, his phone was in a trash can”, Natasha informed as Steve placed the phone on speaker so you could all hear.
You were out of your seat before either Steve or Sam. However, just as swiftly as you’d made it to your feet, a rough hand was just as quick to grasp your wrist in a gentle but firm hold, halting your plan to rush to the door. Frowning with a glare, you turned to look at Steve as he stood, not releasing your wrist. The expression on his face had your glare faltering as he looked at you in the way that you liked to call ‘Work Steve’. Jaw clenched and set, lines etched around his eyes with sternness and lips thinned into a tight line.
“You’re staying here”, Steve demanded without leaving any time to argue. No laughter or love in his voice like he usually reserved for when he spoke to you. There was only a strict command that was not meant to be argued against but you were simply not in the mood to sit around waiting for news, feeling unhelpful.
“Absolutely not, I’m coming with you”, your tone attempted to sound as stern as his but your voice wavered with the increasingly nauseating sensation blooming in your stomach.
Steve finally dropped your wrist but that was only because he had forced his chair back and was walking over to his desk at the furthest away point in the room, shoulders broad and muscles straining beneath the tight white shirt as he began to strap his guns to multiple locations across his body. As you watched Steve dismiss you without a single word, your hands began to shake with the adrenaline pounding through your body, and taking lesson than a second to decide between dealing with his wrath or continuing with your plan to help find where Bucky had gone.
You were halfway across the room before Steve suddenly shouted, “Sam!”, without even looking over his shoulders, his enhanced hearing meaning that he heard your footsteps rushing across the room. Your friend and bodyguard stepped into your line of sight at Steve’s command, his hands raised, palms facing you in an apologetic stance.
“Come on Sweetheart, let’s go back to our seat, I’ll get you a coffee or something-”. Without waiting for him to finish the sentence, you efficiently ducked under his arm and continued on your journey.
“I’m not waiting here, neither of you can stop me”. This was very much untrue as Sam’s arm circled your waist and easily trapped your arms to your side in the process as he overpowered you easily. “Sam, get off me!”
“I’m sorry, but orders are orders”, Sam to his credit, did sound apologetic as he held you firmly to his chest. This didn’t stop you from trying to wiggle your way out of his arms, even when it began to hurt with the amount of force you were putting into it, especially as Steve walked in front of you, now wearing his jacket to hide the multiple weapons he had strapped to his shirt.
“Steve please don’t go without me, I want to help! I need to help find him, please let me come with you!”
Your boyfriend had the decency to at least soften his eyes as he gripped your jaw firmly to keep you from moving and hold your attention. His voice was low and steady as he addressed you, his head dipped to try and hold your eye contact. “You will stay here, safe with Sam. I will go and find Bucky and I’m taking everyone with me to search for him and if we find-”. Steve’s confidence faltered enough that he had to shake his head to try and compose himself, returning to the same stern expression. “We will find him, I promise”. With that, he lowered his lips down to gently kiss your temple, breathing in the comforting scents of shampoo, before turning away.
A thousand thoughts were spirling through your mind as Steve turned away from you. Bucky was missing and without his phone. He could be hurt… or worse than hurt and now you had to stand there and watch as Steve went to the same location, leaving you behind to do nothing.
You began to fight harder against Sam’s hold, not caring that it might bruise your arms as you thrashed and twisted your body in an attempt to get free, needing to be there, hating the thought of waiting around helplessly. “Steve!” you shouted enough that it echoed around the room, please don’t leave me here!”
Your boyfriend didn’t acknowledge your pleas as he continued towards the door, shoulders hunched and heavy with worry and the need for vengeance seething through his boiling blood. Lifting his hand to turn the door handle, he was shocked as it twisted before he could even touch it, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun clasped to the holster on his belt as the door opened with a burst.
A dishevelled Bucky rushed into the room having heard your shouts from the end of the corridor, his chest rising and falling with hurried breaths, his jacked was ripped revealing his crisp white shirt to be stained with deep red blood that also crusted over the knuckles on both of his hands. “What’s going on?” he demanded, eyes darting wide and vividly blue as he took in the scene before him of Sam holding you back as tears had begun to flow down your cheeks.
“Bucky!” you screamed in relief, heavily tugging yourself out of Sam’s hold which loosened enough that you fell forward, stumbling slightly before brushing past Steve and into the arms of Bucky who was still confused as to what was going on. Your trembling hands wrapped around your boyfriend's neck as you cried into his shoulders, heart thumping hard in your chest as you felt his arms hug you close.” You’re ok! Thank god you’re ok”.
“What’s wrong? What is it? What the fuck is happening in here?” Bucky frantically asked in confusion, attempting to pull back from the bone-crushing hug so that he could inspect your face but you continued to hold onto him tight, scared that if you let go, he might disappear. When you didn’t answer, his eyes wandered to Steve and then Sam before looking back to his boss and best friend who finally stepped closer.
The mafia boss's eyes were unblinking as he did his own visual assessment, searching Bucky from head to toe and back up again and lingering on the red patches of his shirt. “Are you ok? Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance? Where have you been?” Steve asked, one worst stumbling into another as placed a trembling hand on Bucky’s shoulder, just to touch him and make sure that he was here and real.
Bucky continued to look confused between Steve and the top of your head from where you still clung to his chest. “Ye-yeah, I’m fine, what’s happened?” Bucky answered more firmly this time.
Taking a deep breath and smelling Bucky to try and ground yourself, noting the way the iron scent overwhelmed his expensive cologne. Trying to compose yourself, you quickly stepped back, releasing your hold on his neck to wipe the wetness on your cheeks from the tears that slowly came to a stop as you truly realised he was ok. As you backed up, you bumped into Steve’s chest and instinctively reached behind for his other hand that was hanging at his side and squeezed it, a silent conversation that was needed between the two as his thumb brushed against the back of your hand.
His other hand remained on Bucky’s shoulder, you could see that he was gripping the man firmly, not wanting to let go as he explained what had happened. “We thought you were missing, I mean - you were missing. The location of your phone hadn’t moved for an hour and when Natasha went to investigate she found it in a trash can. We thought something had happened to you”.
Bucky nodded slowly, processing the information as his eyes flicked between you and Steve. “A trash can? Those assholes…” Bucky muttered under his breath before he clarified what had happened. “Ross the Coward lives up to his nickname as he hired a team of security. They thought they had me cornered at one point but it was easy work to dispose of them but one of the little pricks stole my phone. Probably to stop me from calling for back up but I don’t need backup”, he shrugged confidently. “It’s sorted, their bodies won’t be found it just took some time to clean up the mess before I drove straight here”.
Steve’s chest relaxed against your back as he released a sigh, the tension easing from his body as he needed to clarify one more thing. “So the blood… it’s not yours?” he asked, nodding to the specks of blood on his shirt.
Bucky gave an arrogant, deadpan look. “Come on, do you have such little faith in me?” he pinched the shirt to emphasise, “all their blood, no injuries except a couple of split knuckles but even they are mostly healed”. Lifting his warm hand he wiggled his fingers and proved that there were no lingering cuts, only pink lines left breath all of the dried blood.
When neither you nor Steve responded as you processed the news and that he was ok and not dead in some hidden alleyway, Bucky had his own questions. “So what was all the shouting about? Why did Doll look like she was about to beat up ol’ Sammy boy over there?”
“Steve tried to be heroic and make me stay behind whilst he searched for you, even though it would have been better to have more people searching for you. I wasn’t going to just sit here and wait for everyone to come back”, you explained whilst still squeezing Steve’s hand.
Bucky’s eyes widen slightly before he tried to compose himself by straightening his spine, shoulders rolling back as he addressed Steve. “Oh? So you were going to come and save me? My wonderful knight in shining armour”, Bucky teased with a smirk, taking a towering step closer as you moved gently out of the way, sensing that the two men needed a moment.
Steve’s face was stoic and serious as he simply whispered, “Yes, you know I would”.
Bucky hummed, head tilting to look at you, contemplating for a second, opening his mouth with the plan to continue the flirtatious teasing but the words were lost in thought as Steve’s hand that you’d been holding lifted to cup Bucky’s cheek. He forced Bucky to look at him, his thumb pad stroking across the stubble covering his cheek, in an intimate way that had a warm feeling spreading through your heart.
Steve’s eyes were darting between Bucky’s, then continued on their own journey across the rest of his face, lingering for a second too long on his friend's plump lips as he needed to clarify one more time, “Are you sure you’re ok Buck?”
“Yeah, I’m fine Stevie”, Bucky confirmed, his voice barely audible with how softly he responded, no longer teasing or sarcastic.
“Good”, Steve trailed off for a moment, eyes watching his thumbs exploration across Bucky’s cheek. Your heart was pounding as you watched the interaction, the sincerity on the mafia boss’ face as he struggled with his emotions. “I thought you were hurt, I thought-”, he wasn’t able to finish his sentence as he took the final step closer, using the hand on Bucky’s face to pull him closer so that he could kiss his forehead tenderly and wrapping his arm around his shoulders in a tight hug, releasing a deep breath.
Your cheeks ached with how widely you smiled, your hands grasping together as you rocked on your feet, finding the moment endearing and intimate and clearly needed between the two of them. Over Steve’s shoulder, you caught Sam’s eye as he gave you a little wave before making a swift and quiet exit through the door, giving the three of you some much-needed time alone and so that he could call Natasha and give her an update.
Returning your eyes to Steve and Bucky, they were just relaxing their holds on one another but only so that they could gaze into each other's eyes one more. Steve finally took closed those last inches, making a decision he’d wanted to do for a while but was frightened of the dynamics shifting between them but those minutes of thinking Bucky was hurt, he wouldn’t waste another minute again.
Both seemed to relax and feel whole all at once as Steve tilted his head and kiss Bucky’s lips. Gently, their lips caressed together, taking a second just to taste one another, feel another pair of lips that weren’t yours, both thinking it would feel strange to kiss their best friend but it felt right like they were meant to be.
Biting your lip to hold back the gleeful gasp, you watched in wonder as your boyfriends became more heated, heads tilting and hands grasping onto each other's shirts, crinkling the material as their desperation increased to try and feel more of one another. You watched with increasing fascination and a powerful wave of arousal in your core that had your cunt pulsing with need but this wasn’t about you, it was about Steve and Bucky. The two had been more intimate over the last couple of months but neither made any move to take that step, even with your meddling and interfering so it was a relief to finally see them snap and be together.
Steve pulled back first but only as he grasped Bucky’s bottom lip between his lip, tugging on it until it snapped back to place with a pop. The two men rested their foreheads together, still sharing breaths with how close their faces were. “Don’t ever do something to scare me like that again, Buck”, Steve demanded softly under his breath.
“Yes, Boss”, Bucky quipped before leaning in again for a calmer, softer kiss.
For a moment, you contemplated leaving them to explore one another and have the alone time they both desperately needed but Steve seemed to sense your step towards the door as he released his grip on Bucky’s jaw to point towards you and then crooking his index finger in a ‘come here’ gesture. When he couldn’t hear you make your approach, he pulled away from the brunette with glassy eyes and puffy lips from the kissing as he tilted his head in your direction. “Room for one more, Baby”.
You shifted your weight from one foot to the other, not making any effort to join the two, “are you sure? You two look like you need some alone time and having enough time without me-”.
“Oh get over here already”, Bucky joked, with his signature chirpy smile on his handsome face, his dimples deepening as he reached over to you, taking your hand and pulling you closer.
The smile on your own face only stretched as you were pulled flush again Bucky’s chest as Steve moved around the man to his back, looking at you over Bucky’s shoulder with a flirty eyebrow raised before he was continuing his exploration of Bucky by kissing along his neck.
Grasping onto Bucky’s ripped jacket, you reached up on your tip toes and your lips finally stroked against Bucky’s. The two of you moaned, you even more so at tasting the hints of Steve on your boyfriend's lips, your tongue instantly easing out to taste more of him which Bucky was more than happy to open his mouth and accept the invasion.
Your fingers shook slightly with how firmly you were holding onto Bucky, the relief hitting you all over again that he was ok and really safe between you and Steve. You wanted to taste all of Bucky, needed to feel all of his body and even though you were used to being the centre of attention concerning the intimate moments between the three of you, at that moment, you and Steve needed Bucky to be looked after and praised.
So as Steve continued to tease Bucky’s throat, nipping and sucking on the sensitive flesh just below his ear, your hands loosened their grip but only so that the material could be pushed over his shoulders and allowed to be dropped to the floor. Your nibble fingers rushed to start unbuttoning his bloodied shirts but due to the emotions and adrenaline, it was a difficult and slow job so Steve took a handful of either side of the shirt and pulled, ripping the buttons easily and the material opening so that it too could be pushed over his shoulders and onto the floor, the buttons dropping and scattering all over the floor.
Not a single word was said at the action, other than a deep groan from Bucky as your nails scratched down his torso, feeling the bare, hot flesh beneath, the muscles tensing under your touch. Pulling back from the kiss, you desperately sucked in the air but only for a second as you left open-mouth kisses down his chest, feeling the light sprinkling of dark brunette hair that covered his chest, covering the previously mentioned scars from past injuries.
With his lips now free, Bucky had the freedom to tip his head back and to the side, giving Steve more room to tease and suck purple marks between his throat and shoulder, earning more desperate moans from the man.
Reaching around Bucky, you grasped onto Steve’s hands and pulled them around his front, helping the man to know where to touch the other, knowing that even though they had seen you fuck both of them, it was different having to do it themselves. Steve pulled back from dominating Bucky’s neck to cast his lust-filled eyes on you, smirking as he followed your lead as you moved Steve’s hands over Bucky’s abs and lower still until they landed on top of his belt.
Just before undoing it, Steve moved his lips to Bucky’s ear lobe, nipping with his sharp teeth before asking, “What do you say Bucky? Do you want this?”
Steve needed to hear him say it, that he wanted both yours and his touch. He was thankfully answered with a deep, aroused groan as Bucky huskily grunted, “fuck yes, don’t you dare stop”.
You and Steve shared an equally relieved grin before you dropped to your knees as the mafia boss continued to skillfully undo Bucky’s belt, clasp and zipper. This was where you took over, pushing the material over his firm arse until his trousers rested midthigh and you were eye level with his boxers-covered cock that was straining beneath the material.
“My favourite sight”, Bucky complimented, looking down at you and resting his hand on the back of your head as you smiled deviously up at him with wide eyes. With your hands resting on his toned, hairy thighs, you left the next step to Steve who thankfully continued undressing Bucky as he pulled the waistband of his boxers down, letting them join his trousers.
Now you were staring at the beautiful sight of Bucky’s thick, red cock that was already leaking beads of precum causing the tip to glisten. Glancing back up at Steve over Bucky’s shoulder, you raised an eyebrow to notify them that he should have the first touch.
With one large hand resting on Bucky’s abs, Steve’s other hand lowered and wrapped around the middle of Bucky’s cock. Bucky’s hips instantly thrust forward at the touch, his mouth dropping open as he looked at where he was being touched by his best friend, feeling the difference between having your smaller, softer hand and Steve’s big rough hand, deciding then and there that both were perfect.
SteveBucky'sd Bucky's cock a few times, spreading the precum and just trying to get used to touching another man's cock, noting the pressure he enjoyed and areas to give every attention to. Then, Steve held the base of it so that he stayed still and proud standing for you to inch forward and lick the tip.
“Fuck, both of you feel so good”. Bucky praised as he watched you as took more of his cock into your mouth Steve continued to hold it for you to suck as he subtly thrust his own clothed cock into Bucky’s back.
You thoroughly worshipped Bucky, loving the feeling for that moment of being in control with Steve, having Bucky between the two of you, moaning and losing his cool as you both pleasured him. His cock was salty and perfect as it lay heavy against your tongue as you attempted to take more of it into your mouth until it stroked the back of your throat, causing your eyes to water slightly.
You were so thoroughly aroused by the sight of Bucky rosy-cheeked and looking at you in awe with Steve still teasing him over his shoulder. Your thighs clenched closed, needing to feel some relief but nothing was what you needed so pulling off the tip of the cock with an audible pop, you nuzzled into his thigh with wide, hopeful eyes as you asked, “Please may I touch myself, sir?”
Bucky’s hand cradled against your cheek, thumb playing with your bottom lip that was already puffy from the blowjob you were giving. “Oh darlin’, you can do whatever you want when you’re looking so pretty like that for me”.
You grinned in relief up at him, turning to kiss his palm before straightening your stance on your knees once more but spread your legs, giving yourself room to drop a hand from his thigh to beneath your dress, pulling up the material until it bunched at your waist. You sighed in relief as you began to pleasure Bucky with your mouth once more but now your fingers could circle your clit over your soaked underwear.
“Doesn’t our girl look good for us, on her knees like that”, Steve joined the praises for you as he began to tweak one of Bucky’s nipples, causing the man to thrust deeper into your throat.
Bucky turned his head to make out with Steve over his shoulder, the two of them groaning as their tongues brushed together, tasting one another as you tasted Bucky’s cock. However, eventually, as Bucky’s cock began to throb harder in your mouth, did he ease your face away from him with a curse under his breath. “Shit, if you keep that up I’m going to cum already and I think… I think I want more, need to feel more”, he stated with a sense of uncertainty in his eyes with what it was exactly that he was asking.
You tried to decipher what it was that Bucky was asking as you asked him, “What do you say, Buckaroo? Think you can take Steve’s fingers better than I can? Is that what you want?” The throaty groan that Bucky released as he closed his eyes and cock visibly throbbed with more precum dripping from the end was answer enough before he nodded his head.
“Why don’t you take off the rest of your clothes Buck and help baby girl onto the table”. Bucky’s eyes lit up as he caught onto Steve’s idea but you weren’t sure why you needed to be on the table for Bucky to be fingers but either way, you accepted Bucky's helping hand to stand.
Bucky kicked off his shoes and remaining clothes, leaving him beautiful and naked. Then he helped you over to the edge of the table, hands resting on your hips to lift you up and onto it, making sure your dress was still clumped around your waist. With a simple snap of his metal fingers, the flimsy material of your lace underwear was destroyed and floating to the floor as he bent over, licking his lips with hunger devouring his eyes as witnessed your soaked pussy.
Without wasting another second his tongue was stroking between your pussy lips, sucking and licking your juices before circling your throbbing clit in slow, calculated circles. All you could do was cry out, using one hand to hold the back of his hair and the other to rest against the table behind you to keep you upright. Bucky didn’t stop with his pleasure, even as he lifted one of your legs and eased it over his shoulder, giving him more room to ease two fingers into your desperately clenching hole.
As you succumbed to the pleasure, you half noticed Steve walking over to his main desk across the room, rifling through his draws before returning with the emergency bottle of lube that was usually saved for you. But now, as you watched over Bucky’s shoulder, you finally realised what their plan was.
With the height of the table, Bucky had to bend over to attach his mouth to your cunt, leaving his ass bare and ready for whatever Steve had planned. The blonde muscular man admired the view for a moment, grasping the globes of Bucky's firm cheeks and spreading them slightly and biting his lip as he saw his target.
Steve liberally coated his fingers in lube, thoroughly spreading the gel everywhere and then also squirting some onto the hole directly. During the experimental times during hundreds of sexual encounters between the three of you, you’d been able to see just what Steve and Bucky liked being done to them. Bucky, much to his surprise, absolutely loved to have his prostate milked as you sucked him off and even though the last few times and contemplated using something bigger as sometimes your fingers just weren’t big enough however never got to the point of something bigger as he’d usually cum by the time Steve had found a reasonable size dildo for him to use.
Steve had been just as reluctant but seeing the way Bucky responded to your fingers had wanted to try it as well had found that he liked a rimjob and a couple of fingers to stroke his prostate and had thought about asking Bucky to fuck him multiple times but once again, never made the move to do so with the fear of the relationships changing. Now however, there was no stopping him from asking but that would be for a later date, today was just about Bucky’s pleasure and giving him exactly what he wanted.
“We are still using the traffic light system, Buck, if you need to stop or pause it's yellow or red, understand?” Steve stated in as serious of a tone as he could muster as he watched Bucky continue to eat you out.
“Mmm, understood”, Bucky agreed, nodding his head which only stimulated your clit further as he mumbled around it.
Steve nodded and began to press his thick, rough and thoroughly lubed finger against Bucky’s hole, being careful to rock it in and stretch the muscle, not wanting to hurt him but Bucky wasn’t having any of the teasing today. With a throaty grunt, he pushed his hips back and took the entire length of Steve’s index finger, loving the hinting of the stretching burn.
He fully removed his face from your cunt to praise Steve, “fuck that feels so good, please Stevie, give me more, I need more”. Then he was right back on you again, fingers curling right against your spot and lips sealed around your clit, sucking it into his mouth. Your moans of pleasure were driving him insane and his cock was continuously leaking drips of precum, he didn’t have much longer before he came and wanted to still make it long enough to soak your pussy with his seed.
Steve gawked at the sight of his finger disappearing inside his best friend's asshole. His own cock was painfully hard and het to feel any relief but he didn’t care, needing to see just how far Bucky could go before even beginning to think about himself. Feeling the muscle beginning to relax and adjust to the side of his finger, he began to inch it in and out, ignoring Bucky’s pleas for more, and instead going deciding for himself when Bucky felt relaxed enough.
Steve finally added another finger, spending some time working the hole wide and teasing his prostate within, feeling Bucky shivering and gasping with how good it felt. Even having to stop on occasions as Bucky frantically tried to calm himself down and not cum yet.
You, on the other hand, had already came twice on Bucky’s mouth and fingers. You were so sensitive and so thoroughly aroused by Bucky's skilful body but hearing and seeing just how much Steve’s fingers were making him feel and especially knowing that Bucky was practically edging himself just sot hat he could cum in your pussy.
You were trying to catch your breath from the last orgasm, your back flush against the table as your arm couldn't hold your weight up anymore with your limbs now feeling like jelly. Bucky on the other hand was teasing and nipping your thighs, giving your sensitive pussy a moment to rest before he planned to fuck you.
Glancing over his shoulder, Bucky’s pupils were blown so wide that his eye colour looked black, your juices soaking his chin as he demanded, “Steve if you don’t fuck me right now, I can promise you right now that when we get home, I won’t suck your dick like I’ve been planning too since you ripped open my shirt”.
Steve’s eyes darkened just as much as Bucky's as he pulled his fingers out of Bucky’s slightly gaping hole and began to undo his belt and zipper, reaching into trousers and boxers and easing out his aching cock. He didn’t bother with removing any other article of clothing as he helped Bucky to stand up, the two of them shuffling forward so that Bucky could line himself up at your dripping cunt.
You lazily opened your eyes, grinning at the sight of Bucky preparing to fuck you with Steve over his shoulder. Both of their cheeks were flushed pink and their bodies trembling with the anticipation of the fucking that was about to take place.
Bucky rested a hand next to your head, leaning down for a second to delicately kiss your lips, “colour?” he asked, noting how cock drunk you already looked.
“Very, very green”, you responded, lifting your hands to cup his cheeks, pulling him into one more kiss before you felt the tip of his cock at your entrance, He slowly entered you, your pussy stretching and pulsing around him as you tried to take his full size, thighs trembling with the exertion until the two of you were full fitted together.
Bucky kissed your exposed shoulder as he spread his stance slightly, making it easier for Steve to slide behind him and rock his cock between his arse cheeks, smearing the excessive amounts of extra lube over his shaft.
“I need to hear your colour too, Buck”, Steve demanded, one hand on the base of his cock and the other wrapped around the form of Bucky to grip his jaw, tilting his head so that his mouth was next to his ear.
“Very, very green”, he repeated your words back with a content smirk and you could feel his cock throb inside of you as Steve kissed his jaw.
All three of you seemed to hold your breath as Steve carefully slid his thick cock into Bucky's hole. A wonderful chorus of moans and groans filled the air. Steve couldn’t believe how good it felt to be inside of Bucky, finally doing something he had wished to do for so long. You were almost close to your third orgasm just from watching your boys fit together, and you could also feel just how much it was affecting Bucky with how hard his member was inside of your cunt.
Then there was Bucky, who had next felt such overwhelming pleasure before in his life. For his hole to be the most stretched and full he’d ever experienced, his prostrate being heavily jabbed by Steve’s cock and for Bucky’s own cock to be in his favourite place in the world: your warm, tight, wet pussy. He was in heaven. You all were.
Steve did most of the thrusting for all three of you. With a heavy hand resting on Bucky’s shoulder blades, he pushed the man forward and began to rock his hips back and forth. The momentum shifted Bucky's hips to them move in and out of you until all three of you were moving together.
Bucky was trembling with how much he was trying to hold back his orgasm, a constant stream of filthy moans floating from his mouth as he tried to get you to your third orgasm. However, because you were already so sensitive and overwhelmed with emotions, all it took was a couple of heavy-handed circles of Bucky metal fingers against your clit and you were arching your back, pussy fluttering and tightening in bursts around your boyfriend's cock.
“Holy fucking shit, Doll, feel so good, I - I think I’m going to cum already, fuck Steve don’t stop”. Bucky's gasps and pleas were just as desperate as his expression as he tried not to cum, tried his best to hold back his orgasm but it was no use.
Especially as you cupped his cheek and begged for him to find his own relief, “Please Bucky, want your cum in me so bad, need to feel you filling me up, cum for me”.
“Shit- Ah!”, he grunted, eyes clenching closed as he purposefully still his hips against Steve’s fucking, his mouth gaping open in a deep moan that you would remember for the rest of your life as one of the most beautiful sights you’d ever seen.
You could feel him, the pulsing of his cock, the thick load soaking your walls. Steve could too as Bucky’s hole clenched so hard his cock was suffocated and Steve joined the two of you in your erotic orgasms, his hips stuttering to a stop as his hot seed pumped into Bucky until finally he collapsed against Bucky’s back.
Bucky was half laying over your body against the table so you could easily run your fingers over the back of his head and also through Steve’s as you all tried to process what had just occurred and the relationship that had changed, and all for the better.
“So… how does it feel to be railed by Steve?” you asked innocently to Bucky. The man chuckled deeply, his chest vibrating against yours.
“Probably as good as it felt to be railing you”, he joked, causing you and Steve to laugh. Life was going to be very interesting between the three of you.
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phi4mars · 10 months
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hi! i was wondering if you could do a velvet x fem reader where the reader is a solo artist and is number one and her and velvet are super competitive with eachother? if possible could you also have the reader and velvet be exes that had a pretty nasty breakup and they flirt a lot and is obvious that they still have feelings for eachother? if not that's ok thank you so much !!
yess ofc omg, sorry guys if i reply to requests awhile after you send them in, i blame this on time zones 😒.
this is probably going to be so bad so i warn, i will get better hopefully i just need to learn how to get back into my fanfic roots.
anyways thankyou for your request!! i really appreciate it!!
misunderstood
꧁………….꧂
a few months ago every social network exclaimed the news of y/n becoming the top artist by passing velvet and veneer. the media suspected this would affect the relationship between y/n and the female artist velvet. and oh boy it did.
after this event the rivalry between the two increased significantly, leading velvet to suspect y/n of using her for fame and thinking their whole relationship was a plan for her to become number 1. an argument broke out which led the two artists to go their separate ways. this wasn’t a thing y/n or velvet wanted even though it seemed like it. emotions lead their actions.
now in the present time y/n and velvet would still get questioned in their interviews about each other, some questions are about the breakup and some are just personal questions like “was she a good kisser”. when these questions get asked both of them turn into a flustered mess. it was obvious feelings were still there.
it was now the night where y/n would get her award for being top artist. velvet and veneer would be attending which made y/n a bit anxious.
“what if she hates me and won’t talk to me?” y/n asked her assistant as they were backstage in the dressing room getting ready.
“y/n i’m sure if you talk to her and explain that this wasn’t to hurt her and it was all so unexpected she will understand” her assistant replied shooting her a smile.
“ugh this is so hard, i just want her to still like me” y/n whined as her assistant made the final adjustments to her outfit.
“go out there and be a star” was the last thing y/n heard before being pushed on stage.
the audience roared as y/n walked out, her eyes landed on the person who was meant to give her the award. velvet. her heart skipped a beat as she stood next to her ex. the pair locked eyes awkwardly. velvet then carefully put the award in y/n’s hands not breaking eye contact. the tension between them was unsettling. they both were stiff but red faced.
“thankyou” y/n mouthed to velvet who returned an eye roll.
“thankyou so much, i couldn’t have done it without all you guys and i am so grateful for everyone who has led me here tonight.” y/n exclaimed smiling. velvet eyed her then left the stage.
after y/n left the stage a party was being held. y/n was making her way to the bar then suddenly felt a cold hand grab her wrist.
“oh hi again” she awkwardly said as she looked at velvet.
“congratulations” velvet said sharply while looking intensely at the girl.
“thank you” y/n replied as she pushed back a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
velvet turned to leave but y/n quickly stopped her.
“velvet, look i know you hate me but i’m really sorry i didn’t know this would happen and i feel so bad and please forgive me i never-“ she got interrupted with and two hands grabbing her face and pulling her in, the kiss lasted a few seconds then velvet pulled away.
“i should be the one that’s sorry, i took everything so personally, i miss you so much and i regret everything” she told y/n.
“i miss you too” y/n replied as they intertwined their hands and walked to the bar together. the famous couple had made up and probably made out after.
꧁………….꧂
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otomehonyaku · 4 months
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Diabolik Lovers Lost Eden Stellaworth Tokuten Short Stories スペシャル特典小冊子 ☽ Shuu ver.
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This short story booklet was part of the Stellaworth set for Lost Eden! Keep reading below the cut for Shuu’s version.
S ☽ [Ayato’s version by @kyouxa] [Laito’s version by @kyouxa] [Shuu’s version] [Reiji’s version] [Kanato’s version] [Subaru’s version]
M ☽ [Ruki’s version] [Yuma's version] [Kou’s version] [Azusa's version]
TK ☽ [Carla’s version] [Shin’s version] [Kino’s version]
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
As always, special thanks to @karleksmumskladdkaka for providing the scans ♡⸜(˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ Please do not reuse or post my translations elsewhere or translate my work into other languages without my permission.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
The familiar I sent off disappeared into the forest in the blink of an eye. I had entrusted it with a letter of gratitude to the Vibora. Ever since we established peace with them, the relations between Vampires and the Vibora have improved significantly. I had just come back from a diplomatic visit to the Vibora’s castle.
It would be a stretch to say that the Demon World had returned to a perfect state of law and order, but there was at least a reasonable balance between the different Species now.
In the midst of these events, I had assumed the throne. It’s not like the responsibility that came with being the Vampire King had naturally occurred to me, but to succumb to the whims of my mentally disturbed father had been even less than ideal. I had no intention of letting him destroy the world so easily.
I closed the window and returned to my chair, exhaling in relief. That letter should have been the last one I had to write for now… As I sat lost in thought for a moment, I sensed a presence outside of the room. However, whoever it was did not knock on the door. With a sigh, I called out.
“What are you doing over there?”
The person outside the door seemed surprised that I had called out so suddenly. After a brief moment of hesitation, the door was opened with reluctance. As expected, it was her who poked her head into the room.
“You’re really perceptive…”
“You just give yourself away too easily. Why were you just standing there, anyway? You might as well barge in.”
“Well… I figured you’d be busy…”
I sighed again. Even though we had been living together like this for a while, she was still trying to be courteous. I’d already told her she didn’t have to do that for me, but she had a nasty habit of doing it anyway.
The official duties I had to carry out had been piling up recently, and I felt like the extent of her worrying about me had increased along with it. Knowing her, she would likely be afraid to be in the Vampire King’s way. However…
“I’m not particularly busy. I’ve done my work for the day. Did you need me for something?”
“Nothing specific. I just…”
“Just…?”
She kept silent.
“What? Are you still that reserved around me?”
“No, but…”
I stood up from my chair and walked over to her.
“Then why won’t you just be honest and tell me that you came in here just because you missed me?”
With one hand, I pulled her close to me and kissed her more roughly than I usually did. I pushed her body up against the wall, taking my sweet time to taste her lips again. Somehow, the act made me feel a little nostalgic.
“It’s been a while since I did this, hasn’t it?”
“Huh? But you…”
It seemed she’d been about to say it herself—I could tell by the way her face flushed. Actually, I’d kissed her earlier this morning, so it hadn’t even been that long. If anything, what she’d been trying to say was…
“It feels like it’s been much longer because I was so busy, right? But, since I’ve taken care of things for today, I can finally spend some time with you. Since you’re already here, humour me for a bit. I need a break.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off by pressing my lips to hers again. I could feel the strength leaving her body. I took the opportunity to plant a kiss on the pale skin peeking out from under her shirt collar, causing her to whimper. It was easy to push her down onto the bed in this state.
”Sorry, you can’t behave that way and expect me to hold back. This is your own fault, you know?”
She stared at me, bewildered.
“You’re probably trying to be thoughtful by avoiding me, but I go a little crazy if I don’t see you for a while… and you know what happens to this world when the Vampire King loses his composure, don’t you? So stay close to me. We’ll all be in trouble if you don’t.”
She nodded in understanding.
I smiled as I leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Don’t just nod for the sake of it, but keep your promise, will you? I don’t feel like letting you go for today, so be a good girl and keep my company until I’m satisfied.”
With that, I wrapped my arms around her delicate body a little tighter.
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jingwei · 3 months
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Class A Event Cafe Business Model
Analyzing Gakushu's school festival business plan from a comprehensive finance and psychological perspective reveals several key strengths and potential risks. I'll delve into the intricacies of the revenue model, cost structure, operational efficiency, and psychological tactics for a nuanced understanding of his business strategy and its implications. (This may get wordy.)
The event cafe's primary revenue source is the 500 yen entrance fee, which provides attendees with free food, drinks, and access to performances. This model banks on repeat visits, assuming high engagement levels. The psychological underpinning here is the ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO), as events are scheduled at one-hour intervals, creating urgency and encouraging multiple payments.
Examining the cost structure, Gakushu’s reliance on free performances by pop stars pals and comedian buddies significantly cuts entertainment expenses. This cost-saving measure, however, hinges on personal relationships, posing sustainability risks. If these relationships wane or if performers seek compensation in the future, it could disrupt the cost structure. Since this is a fictional case scenario, I'm going with the possibility that Gakushu's network can be relied on.
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The endorsement deal with Suzume Izakaya food services provides substantial financial support and in-kind contributions. This sponsorship not only reduces operational costs but also enhances the festival’s credibility, as Suzume Izakaya’s brand reputation can attract more visitors who trust the quality of the food and beverages.
Offering free food and drinks is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it is an attractive feature that can draw a large number of attendees, enhancing perceived value and satisfaction. On the other hand, it presents a significant cost burden. Effective inventory management and supplier negotiations are crucial to balance cost and supply. There is also a risk of overconsumption, which must be managed to avoid resource depletion.
Operational efficiency is another critical component of Gakushu's plan. Organizing events at one-hour intervals on different stages maximizes space and time utilization, keeping the audience engaged and minimizing downtime. This continuous engagement strategy ensures that attendees are constantly entertained, increasing the likelihood of repeat entrance fee payments. The immediate start of subsequent events also helps maintain a steady flow of visitors, reducing congestion and enhancing the overall customer experience.
Psychologically, the one-hour event intervals create a sense of urgency and scarcity, compelling attendees to make quick decisions to attend multiple events. This tactic leverages the psychological principle that limited availability increases perceived value, driving higher engagement and repeat visits.
The use of celebrity performances taps into social proof and authority. Featuring well-known pop stars and comedians draws their fan bases and generates buzz, enhancing the festival’s attractiveness. This social influence can significantly boost attendance, as people tend to follow the actions of those they admire. The endorsement by Suzume Izakaya also adds an element of authority and trust, reassuring attendees about the quality and safety of the festival’s offerings.
The all-inclusive 500 yen entrance fee creates a high perceived value, making attendees feel they are getting a good deal. This pricing strategy increases their willingness to pay, especially when considering the continuous entertainment and free provisions. The plan also aims to foster customer loyalty by ensuring a captivating experience that encourages repeat visits.
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Quoting what the Virtuosos said, such a complex and multifaceted plan is particularly challenging for a third-year junior high student. The management skills required to coordinate performances, manage resources, negotiate partnerships, and ensure operational efficiency are significant. Gakushu’s ability to pull off this plan and win the school festival showcases exceptional organizational and leadership skills. This ability to leverage personal networks and psychological principles to drive engagement and revenue are commendable. Successfully managing such a demanding project at 15 could be foreshadowing of his future as an executive when he started a business in Silicon Valley after receiving an MBA at MIT.
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swannieluv · 10 months
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。゚・The Bold Mendacity - 2. To trust and to care
✦⸼࣪⸳ Getting used to new things can be har sometimes, and letting go of the past is even worse. Maybe with time, those bruises will heal.
✦⸼࣪⸳ 𝐆.𝐈 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 (𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜) 𝐱 𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 <3
✦⸼࣪⸳ 𝐖𝐜: 1,4k
✦⸼࣪⸳ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆!!: Mentions of child abuse (?) and death.
✦⸼࣪⸳𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨: ♡
✦⸼࣪⸳ A/N: Writing little Clorinde is fun! Hope you all enjoy this chapter. ^^
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Bruises are difficult to heal. Even more if they weren't physical wounds. That was something you learned during the three years since waking up in this new body.
You have been trying to reason why you were reincarnated. Weren't you unworthy of divine intervention? That was one of the reasons that led to your execution after all.
Looking through the calendars around the temple you were living in, the dates all happened to be indicating five years after when you were accused.
What happened in those two years your soul was bodiless? This question has also been plaguing your thoughts since when you first opened your eyes.
“Nothing…” You whispered to yourself while closing an old book. The temple was quiet during the afternoon. Most people come to pray in the morning, so it was easy to sneak in and out of the library.
Most of the books in this place were dedicated to the Hydro Archon, which was already discouraging. Even so, you pushed yourself to try to find any kind of answer through those thick pages.
“What did that person mean with those words?”
The face of that stranger gave you a familiar feeling. Yet you couldn't remember anything except for a blur, as if they intended to not reveal themselves to you.
“Too many questions and no answers.” You sighed and put the book on the shelf again. For the rest you were still illiterate, since you decided to just start acting like a child your age would. Not wanting to attract any attention to yourself.
Maybe if you didn't, the chance of being able to leave the temple at the age of 18 and live a peaceful life away from Fontaine would increase significantly. Somewhere no one would be able to find you.
Mondstadt or Liyue. Those are the best places for someone who wants a quiet lifetime.
After removing some dust from your clothes, you decided to leave the library. It would bring worse consequences to you if anyone found you there. Maybe you would get grounded by Sister Dora or receive a scolding from the elder librarian you were hiding from.
You were hoping for sister Dora to not notice your little escape. She had always been worried about you running around the buildings, like any sane person would when a three-year-old wants to run away like this.
'I wonder why she treats me so well. It's kind of suspicious. We're not even blood related, and there are some orphanages nearby.' You got on your tiptoes to reach the door's handle. Being able to walk around was relieving, but at the same time tiring with those small legs.
Making your way out of the room, your footsteps were the only thing audible through the marble corridor. Yet, a feeling of uneasiness made you walk a bit faster.
'I feel like there's someone following me…' Your legs were accelerating with each passing second.
“Where do you think you're going?”
You froze up, stopping on your tracks and turning around. The now ten-year-old Clorinde had her arms crossed over her chest. She was in a casual outfit, something you rarely saw her use.
'Crap–'
Taking a deep breath, now was time to use the tactics you had been training for so long.
“I wanted to play!” You put on a cheerful face and started running to her. Your little arms embraced her legs as you trapped her in a hug.
“You have been missing for five hours. Sister Dora has been worried sick.” Clorinde sighed and patted your hair.
“Really?” You blinked twice. Looking through a window, you swore it had been only an hour.
'I lost track of time again–'
Your thinking was interrupted when Clorinde suddenly took you from the ground and started carrying you like a bag of potatoes. The sudden action made your face go pale.
“Clorinde!” You kicked your feet to try to get out of her grasp, but stopped when you felt yourself losing balance. It was obvious that she didn't have any kind of training on how to carry a child, since she was a child herself.
“You should stop sneaking out like this, okay?” She continued walking through the corridors. “If you don’t run away from Sister Dora this week, I'll give you my desserts.”
Your eyes sparkled at the thought. Eating more pudding after dinner would be so good and…
'I can't be so childish like that!'
It seemed like being reborn really messed up with your mind. You were reliving everything you already passed through again. Your mind was in conflict, since you were a child but at the same time mentally a teenager.
“I… I won't go… but you have to give me your dessert.” Your face flushed with embarrassment, you really let yourself be deceived by sweets.
“Good.”
Clorinde knew that being trapped inside for a long time was tiring after some point. And as a young child, you must be feeling rather trapped.
“I'll take you to the south garden, most people have gone home already.” She quickened her steps “But you can't tell anyone, okay?”
You lifted your hand and gave her a thumbs up.
She took you through places you had never seen in all those three years. Passing through small gardens with statues, most of them from the Hydro Archon.
One of those areas was a beautiful camp. In the center of it was a statue of the seven, a beautiful representation of the goddess of justice.
That was when you noticed the size of this place. You didn't think it was as giant as the one you had been brought up as the Child of the Prophecy, but it sure was big.
“We're here.”
She put you on the ground. In front of you, a flower camp with hundreds of different plants. The wind blew some petals in your direction.
That was a sight you never happened to see in your past life. Most flowers in your room were artificial ones, made so they wouldn't die. They were fake.
“Oh.”
“Nanny, can I go see the flowers with you?” A young past you in your memories was clinging to their nanny’s dress. “I have never seen them.”
“Miss [Past Name], you can't go out. Those are orders.”
The woman took your hands out of your dress and kneeled to be your height. It was your past nanny, the only one to defend you. Yet she died because of it.
“Not even once?”
You pleaded with puppy eyes. But you knew she was most likely going to say that the outside was dangerous for someone so important like you.
“I'm sorry, but no. You can't go outside.”
“Why? The other children go, I see from the window.” She patted your head
“Because you're the child loved by our goddess.”
How strange, you didn't remember it before. It was like this memory just popped out from nowhere in your head.
“–me]...”
“[Name]!”
You were snapped out of your thoughts by Clorinde. She had a worried face, which this time wasn't hidden behind her usual cold demeanor.
“Are you okay?” She crouched beside you and put her hand on your shoulder. 'She's doing that again…'
Clorinde put a strand of your hair behind your ear.
“I am…”
You tried to put on a smile for her. It took a while for her to fall for it, but she did.
Both of you sat on the ground, in a place which wouldn't damage the flowers.
Then you realized what you had done, you had deceived her with your smile. Even if innocently, you still did it. Maybe they weren't that wrong in executing you and you were really fooling people, maybe it was–
“Here.”
A flower crown made of lumidouce bells was placed over your head. The one who made it had a relaxed smile on her face. Her eyes were never full of life like other children's. Even so, they were warm when staring at you.
You adjusted it. The crown was slightly bigger than your head, making it slip sometimes.
'She's nice to me. But how long will things last like this?' You looked at the flower crown you were making. One of the flowers had thorns on it and you hadn't even noticed.
Maybe, one day, Clorinde would hurt you just like those thorns just did. And it was something you should start preparing yourself for.
Because kindness never comes for free.
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wavyinterludee · 1 year
Text
Better Than Me
ex-wife!dina woodward x fem!reader
summary: your date goes to shit, and you can only think of one person to call. content/warnings: r and dina are newly divorced and have a daughter (sorry jj ily), she lives with reader primarily, r is kinda mean maybe? (not really) dina is a sweetheart, they still love each other a whole lot, fluffy ending. word count: ± 1700 a/n: idk man. gif not mine, all credits to original creator.
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You never would've expected your life to turn out the way it did, but you wouldn't change a thing about it. You had a nice house in a good neighborhood and an income steady enough for both you and your daughter to live comfortably. Speaking of; your daughter was without a doubt the biggest blessing in your life, even if she was constantly keeping you on your toes.
When people would talk about their toddlers being mouthy or hyperactive, you'd always just assume they were being a bit dramatic, but after experiencing the wrath of a once three-year-old yourself, you could confidently say that they were in fact not being dramatic at all.
Yes, she was a handful, but you loved her more than anything. Your house reflected that easily; every corner and wall littered with photos of her in every stage in her life. Recently, a few extras were hung to replace the wedding photos that were once also proudly on display.
Looking back, it might've been a bit petty of you, but you were hurting at the time, and it wasn't like Dina had photos of you hanging around in her apartment. Not that you knew of, anyway. You've made it a point to distance yourself from her and her life, only really interacting with her when it came to your daughter. You haven't seen the inside of her apartment— only getting as far as the view of her living area when she'd open the door when you dropped Maya off for the weekend.
Like tonight, as you stood in front of Dina's apartment with Maya in hand while the other held onto her bag stuffed with clothes and various toys. Dina opened the door, clothed in an old t-shirt she always slept in and a pair of cotton shorts. Somehow, she still managed to look as pretty as ever, but you quickly shook that thought from your brain as you handed Dina the heavy bag.
"Her medication is packed in the front with her toys. She's got a bit of a cold," you said tapping the front of the bag to show her where they were. She nodded, giving you a small smile which you returned before kneeling down to Maya's level. "I'm gonna miss you sooo much," you said wrapping your arms around her small body before planting a few kisses on her cheeks, each one sticky with the last traces of lip-gloss you had applied before leaving the house. "You gonna be good for momma, right?" you asked, and she gave you a nod. You stood back to your height, smoothing down her wild hair.
"Are you gonna eat dinner with us?" Maya's small voice asked, looking up at you with a pout she knew you could never resist. "I made enough food for one more," Dina added with a smile. You sighed softly before looking down at your daughter. "Maybe next time, baby. I have somewhere to be tonight," you answered. You hated the pout on her face, which only seemed to worsen at your answer.
"Why don't you go take out your toys, I'll be there soon then we can play a bit before dinner," Dina interjected. At the prospect of playtime, Maya's mood increased significantly and soon she disappeared into the apartment with her bag. Now it was just you and Dina standing in the poorly lit hallway of the complex. "Y'look beautiful," she said breaking the silence before it had time to become awkward. You looked down at your outfit, the shiny material of your dress sparkling in the faint light and the heels that were already starting to hurt your feet. "Thank you. I have a date tonight," you said shyly. You didn't know why you felt the need to tell her that, but for some reason it also didn't feel right to not tell her, even if the two of you weren't together.
Her eyebrows raised a bit at your words, but she tried her best to not show how surprised she really was. "Yeah?" she said, sparing you another small smile. "That's nice, bubs. I hope you have fun," she added. You nodded, looking down at your feet as they shifted your weight from one foot to the other. "Thanks, D. I'll see you soon, okay?" you said before making your way down the hall, turning around once again before you got very far. "And if anything's wrong—"
"I'll call you. I promise," she finished for you. You gave her a smile before you were off to your date with a newfound confidence. It was your first date in a while, after all.
˚๑ˎ˚。⋆
You were just about to give up and cancel the call completely, when Dina's voice broke through the monotone ringing. "Hello?" she asked, voice raspy from sleep. You hadn't even realized how late it was. "I'm sorry, were you already asleep?" you asked, even though you knew the answer. "Yeah, but that doesn't matter. Are you okay?" she asked. "Yeah," you lied, "what about Maya? She okay?"
"Yeah, she's asleep right next to me," she whispered, staring down at Maya's sleeping form as she clung to one of her favorite stuffies; the one Dina had gotten her last Christmas. "Are you sure you're okay? You sound like you've been crying," she added after a short pause. You sighed tiredly, rubbing at your sore eyes. "I got stood up," you said with a humorless laugh, "I waited for 2 hours, Dina. God, I feel so embarrassed."
Before you could even stop them, the tears were once again falling down your cheeks. You rubbed at your eyes for what felt like the hundredth time tonight, trying to stop the unnecessary tears. You felt so stupid crying over someone you barely knew, and now crying about it to your ex-wife of all people. "I'm so sorry, bubs," Dina said softly. You wanted to rip your hair out at how genuinely sad she sounded. You've basically treated her like a stranger these last few months and she still managed to be so sweet to you? You felt like an asshole. "Where are you now? Have you been drinking?" she asked.
"No," you answered with a sniff, "I'm at home, got here a while ago." "Okay," she answered with a relieved sigh, "Can you come over?"
˚๑ˎ˚。⋆
"Oh, bubs, I'm so sorry."
You wanted to crawl under a rock and hide there forever. There you stood at Dina's door, in a pair of old seats with eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying and rubbing at them.
When Dina saw the state you were in, she wasted no time wrapping her arms around you tightly, engulfing you in her warmth. Your first thought had been to deny her affection, but everything about it just felt so right. You couldn't help but melt into her warm embrace. You hadn't even noticed how much you've missed this; everything about her. From her laugh to her warmth and the feeling of being in her arms. Even her scent—the same scent that used to stick to her pillows and clothes and the same scent you now savored as your head lay on her shoulder.
If Dina noticed the way your grip on her shirt tightened, she didn't say anything.
Soon the two of you were sitting on her small living room couch, each with a cup of tea in hand as her TV played softly, filling the silence. "I'm sorry for calling so late," you said quietly, looking down into the still-steaming cup of tea. "It's okay," her voice spoke softly, before the room once again fell into a calm silence. "Can I tell you something?" Dina asked after a short while, and you nodded. "This'll probably sound bad, but I was hoping you didn't go on that date and stay for dinner with us."
"Dina..."
"I know, I shouldn't be saying something like that, but I," she scoffed lightly before continuing. "I really miss you. I miss us, what we had," she said with a sad smile. You couldn't help the smile that stretched across your face as well. You missed her too. Of course you did, you had shared so many special memories with her, you've built a life with her for goodness sake.
"How hypocritical would it be if I told you I missed you too?" you asked with a small laugh. Dina laughed too, and soon the two of you were giggling like a bunch schoolgirls. The whole thing seemed so absurd actually, but right now you couldn't find it in you to care. Not when you were where you've wanted to be all along, with Dina and your daughter, all together. Not when you were once again hearing her laugh after what felt like a lifetime. Not when you were happier than you've been this past year.
"Mommy?" The small voice caused the both of you to turn around to the dark hallway, where Maya stood rubbing the sleep from her eyes while the other still held onto her stuffie. She made her way to where the two of you sat, wiggling her way between the two of you on the small couch. You placed your cup of tea by your feet before giving her a big hug, which she eagerly returned. "Did we wake you, sweetheart?" you asked softly. She shook her head, before turning towards Dina, who was smoothing down her bedhead, and then back to you.
"Are you gonna stay for breakfast tomorrow? Please?" she asked after a few moments. You looked at Dina, who only shrugged from behind her, giving you a look that said only if you want to. "I'd love to," you said. Maya squealed with joy, wrapping her arms around you once again and causing her stuffie to fall from the couch, which Dina picked up quietly and placed in her lap. You gave her a look over Maya's shoulder, only to find her already looking at you. She looked at the two of you like you hung the stars yourselves, and you had no doubt that the look you were giving her was conveying the same message.
You hadn't expected the night to turn out the way it did, but you definitely wouldn't change a thing.
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ukrfeminism · 6 months
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Women in the UK are waiting almost nine years for an endometriosis diagnosis, according to research that found many women are "dismissed, ignored and belittled".
The study by the charity Endometriosis UK found waiting times for the condition to be formally identified have significantly deteriorated since the pandemic, increasing to an average of eight years and 10 months - up 10 months since 2020.
The report, which surveyed 4,371 women, also found that almost half of respondents had visited their GP 10 or more times with symptoms before receiving a diagnosis.
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
It impacts around one in 10 women and symptoms can vary from person to person.
"My periods are… painful to the point where I'm bedbound," said Sanchia Alasia, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2010, after 15 years of symptoms.
As a former mayor of a London borough, she has led a busy and productive life - but pain and discomfort were never far away.
"I've missed so many engagements," she said.
"I remember missing my nephew's funeral. I've missed dinners, day trips. I wouldn't even count the amount of money I've lost over things that I've booked and not been able to attend.
"It can be incredibly frustrating," she added.
Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK, said the problems with diagnoses persist because symptoms are often misunderstood.
"Day to day, without a diagnosis, some people have real issues both physical and mental health, because they'll be in severe pain," Ms Cox said.
If left undiagnosed and untreated, endometriosis can lead to worsening physical symptoms and even permanent organ damage.
The charity's research showed that, while women in England and Scotland wait an average of eight years and 10 months for a diagnosis, those in Northern Ireland wait nine years and five months, and those in Wales wait nine years and 11 months.
It also found that 52% of respondents had visited A&E at least once due to symptoms of endometriosis.
Ms Cox said: "We want this to be a real wake-up call for governments and the NHS.
"What we'd like to see is a commitment from the NHS and governments in each nation in the UK, to have a target of an average diagnosis time, by a year or less by 2030.
"We believe that's doable," she added.
Minister for the Women's Health Strategy, Maria Caulfield, admitted more needs to be done to improve women's experiences of the healthcare system.
"From getting an initial diagnosis to getting the right care and treatment, we must learn from this report," she said.
"We launched our Women's Health Strategy to do just this - listen to women. Endometriosis is a priority area within our strategy, so expect to see more in this space.
"Through the strategy, we are working to turn 'dismissed, ignored and belittled' into 'listened to, understood and empowered'."
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pandemic-info · 1 year
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Long-Term Long Covid - by Eric Topol
Unfortunately, what was seen at 6 months largely continues out to 2 years. 
... [New paper at] Nature Medicine addresses what happened 2 years later to nearly 140,000 people who had Covid, compared with almost 6 million people non-infected controls.
... in the non-hospitalized group a substantial proportion— about 30%— of the 80 sequelae, including GI and neurologic, remained significantly elevated. 
... I’d like to point out the data analyzed in this study was enormous, as I tried to capture with one of the supplemental tables below, representative of many others. The authors took on many advanced analytic approaches with weighting, conditional modeling, and sensitivity analyses that I’m not going to review here.
... While this is the first comprehensive and systematic study of Covid at 2 years, it unfortunately is within a highly skewed population. The demographics of nearly 90% men, with a mean age 61 years, is far different than the prototypic person with Long Covid who is more apt to be female and age 30-39 years. Furthermore, to get 2 year follow-up it meant studying a population who had Covid early in the pandemic, before vaccines or the marked evolution of the virus with new variants, including Delta, which was more virulent that the ancestral or Alpha strains that preceded it. So please keep this in mind—the results are important but they may well not be representative of the real world, broader population, of Covid and Long Covid. That’s already a major hole in our knowledge base since there is no other report yet to systematically address a more representative population.
...
Summary
At two years after Covid, there’s a persistent and considerable burden of symptoms and multi-system organ involvement in an important subgroup of people. It’s also unpredictable who will be afflicted with protracted symptoms and new medical diagnoses. While there still is no validated treatment (the Big Miss, as recently reviewed), Long Covid marches on, not just over time for most of those already suffering, but also among newly infected or re-infected individuals — like we are seeing now with increase in cases in the United States and many other countries. The main emphasis here, beyond the enduring and very concerning symptoms and organ dysfunction, is that we are still in the dark. It will take many years to fully know the sequelae of Covid, be it from unforeseen, delayed adverse outcomes like what occurred many years after influenza or polio, or the secondary outcomes of organ systems that are clearly affected, or via promotion of autoimmune conditions or pro-inflammatory pathways, potentially exacerbating risk of atherosclerosis. We’re going to need many more years of careful follow-up to fully understand the ways and extent Covid has hurt us. Meanwhile, beyond the known strategies for prevention of infection, we must consider finding effective ways to treat people who suffer from Long Covid as an urgent and foremost priority.
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fanby-fckry · 20 days
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Throwing this in the queue, because I don’t want it to look like I’m vagueing (technically I am, but this is also a general vent and psa).
I genuinely hate it when people say “delulu.” I think it dilutes the meaning of the word (both the butchered spelling and the way it trivializes delusions), and as someone with psychosis + delusions, it irks me to no end.
I’ve seen it used both in wildly inappropriate ways (e.g. people calling themselves delusional/delulu for shipping non-canon ships) and in technically correct ways that are just… Off. Ways that make me suspect the person using the word doesn’t actually understand what delusions are, and are pop psych-ing their blorbos with no research or lived experience.
For the record, I’m not knocking people who project their symptoms onto fictional characters or who reclaim ableist/saneist language, and because I cannot definitively tell who is projecting/reclaiming, and who is talking out of their ass, I would never call out anyone in particular.
I don’t support gatekeeping, censorship, or callout posts, which is why I’m posting like this rather than naming names or pettily reporting people for ableism/hate-speech when it’s likely they just don’t know any better, or that I’m the one missing context. And I know that trying to forcefully censor anything regarding marginalized groups is likely to come back around to bite the same group in the ass.
That being said, I am begging non-delusional people to please put some thought into the words that you use and the way you portray/talk about delusions in fiction and in daily life.
Content Warning: unreality/talk of specific delusions; if you suffer from delusions and find your symptoms worsen when hearing details of others’ delusions, I recommend scrolling.
I’ve struggled with delusions regarding “mind readers” for about as long as I can remember, often becoming extremely distressed by the idea that someone in the room could be reading my thoughts, to the point of creating mental mantras to distract/overwhelm potential mind readers and repeating them over and over again in my head, screaming them with my inner voice.
It’s gotten a lot better with time and therapy, but there was a time where I had persistent thoughts of, “what if somebody can hear this?” and spent 30+ minutes straight addressing potential mind readers via thoughts.
I took “thought crime” to the extreme. I genuinely believed that at any time, there could be someone who might hear my thoughts and judge/punish me for them.
I have a similar delusion that still plagues me to this fucking day, where I believe that anything I say out loud can be heard, even if I’m alone. Who hears it? That’s not specified. It’s some nebulous ‘someone,’ but for some reason, they terrify me. There are times where I physically cannot bring myself to speak because I’m afraid that the ‘someone’ will hear.
Being a crackshipper who understands that your ship will never be canon but likes to play pretend is in no way comparable to experiencing delusions. Trust me, I’ve got both!
I’d also like to talk about using “delulu” to refer to delusions of grandeur in fandom.
Disclaimer: I don’t have a whole lot of personal experience with delusions of grandeur (I experience some fleeting instances of grandiosity, but not really to the point that it significantly affects my life), so if I say anything inaccurate or insensitive, please, please feel free to correct me.
It feels like delusions of grandeur are highly misunderstood and trivialized even moreso than other types of delusions.
Having a skewed sense of self can cause major problems in a person’s social/interpersonal life, cause an increase in risk-taking behavior which can but their health and their life in danger, and is often the result of trauma. Yes, this includes delusions of grandeur!
If you’re calling your blorbo “delulu” for having a grandiose view of themselves, please take a moment to ask yourself how this trait affects them, and how your description of it might sound to the real life people reading it, especially if this isn’t your experience.
Again, I cannot stop you. Not without potentially hampering the ability of delusional people to talk about our symptoms, scaring off questioning and self-diagnosed folks, and inciting infighting. And even then, I don’t think it’d truly scrub every use of the word.
But at least think about what I’ve said here. Pretty please?
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