#no wait bc this says the lines 'i can be manipulated only so many times before even i love you starts to feel like a lie'

[kurthorton-moving]

sitting here reading my demi lovato cd insert lyric booklet learning that i had been hearing a song ive adored for over a decade wrong

[some-thrilling-heroics]

i'm workshopping halsin's past in terms of relationships

considering that halsin was very likely bullied as a kid (thaniel was his only friend) and how he is a prime target for an abusive relationship (you can say all kinds of nasty things to him and he will just look sad but not break up with you or draw any kind of line that next time it's over or anything - and sure player chara lifts the curse so it's all magic on a pedestal and heart eyes but still…)

the way i see it time-wise: he's 350 now and i don't see him having any relationships like that since the shadow curse / taking over as archdruid, so that takes us down to him at 250 - his slavery 3 years were in his youth so im gonna assume that's closer to him either below or just around 100 so let's say ages 20-80/100 he might have had some relationships, then underdark happened at some point and then ages 80/100-250 again he is out and might be in relationships

so with that in mind, i'm trying to picture his past relationships and how they ended, what could be some common threats in most / many of them and were the breakups amicable or not

maybe besides duty and power imbalance and lack of peers / actual friends the reason he didn't have any relationship in the time as archdruid would also be that he was at that point aware enough that when he gets involved with sb he is easily manipulated by them, even if a relationship starts all sunshine and roses it always devolves when the other party(-ies) pick up on that and - not even to keep himself safe from that but to keep the grove safe from the potential dangers of that - he stayed single? that would also fit with him expecting the ship with tav to end even if it's going well and they are living in the commune, he's still waiting for that other shoe to drop, like all the other times

would his past lovers have issue with his relationship with his bear shape? they'd know he's a druid but he's not exactly standard in his approach, whether you go with werebear approach or not. would that have been a point of conflict in some relationships? would he have ended things if it was?

would some of them - either intentionally or through ignorance - hear him say openly he's polyamorous and take it as an open invitation to cheat on him or to involve third parties without properly discussing it with halsin and just assuming he'd be up for anything and with anybody? (i get wood elves are culturally polyamorous so this point might not necessarily apply to them, but clearly halsin doesn't limit himself to just dating wood elves)

on the flipside i don't want him to only have bad relationships, or only ones that in time turn abusive, but what would happen there? imo the simplest would be 'we're just having fun and want different things long term from life' or duty calls and the like that would necessitate a breakup. i would hate the idea that tav is the only / first good happy steady relationship in his long life and thus somehow special - outside of the special aspect being around the curse breaking bc can't argue with that.

thoughts? anybody?

[justagirlwhowritesss]

Lost in Time- A Kenji Kishimoto series

Summary: Kenji Kishimoto and Leyla Demir, a time-manupilator, are accidentally transported decades into the past during a mission gone wrong. As they navigate a pre-Reestablishment world, their growing bond is challenged by the decision to alter history or return to their own time, facing the risks of changing the future.

A/n: Had this idea for a while and decided to just write it out bcs I couldn’t stop thinking abt it. But idk if I should make it into a whole series tho. Anywaysss, Hope you enioy and do leave comments if you wish to write your thoughts on this:)

"Absolutely not."

"But Warner-"

"I said 'no', Castle and I won't be risking Juliette's life for it either."

Castle let out a frustrated sigh as he shook his head, leaning forward on the table "You are clearly not hearing me! I am telling you that this is a life or death matter Warner-"

"I don't care-"

"What the hell is happening here?" Kenji came strolling into the small room with an annoyed expression on his face.

He heard Warner mutter something along the lines of "Great, another imbecile." but decided to ignore it and looked at Castle for an explanation.

The older man sighed and stood up from the small chair and crossed his arms. Warner too, got up, saying "It is none of your business."

Kenji just rolled his eyes and pointed to the exit hissing "None of my business? Excusez-moi but your whole little 'argument' can be heard on every part of the base which is why Nouria even SENT me to come check on you guys."

Warner stared indifferently at Kenji. "Well you can go back and tell her that everything is fine-"

"Nothing's fine, Warner, and you know it. The mission-"

"Is not happening." The boy snapped as he glared back at Castle before continuing "I have had enough with this pointless conversation. I am not risking my and Juliette's happiness by doing that right after we got married and while we are all repairing a broken world."

Kenji furrowed his brows as he looked between the two men. "Uhhh....what exactly are you guys talking about? What is Warner going to do?"

Castle shook his head slightly as he said, "I got intel that the Nexus Device is still out there which is why I called upon Warner to inform him on the matter."

"And try to send me on that mission of yours to get it back. Over a meaningless rumor." Warner finished for him.

Kenji just put up his hands, feeling more confused than ever. "Wait a second, what the hell is a Nex-blabla device?"

Aaron sighed out frustratedly as Castle crossed his arms "A Nexus Device. And what it is, is an important relic that was kept very well hidden within the Reestablishment. It is rumoured to have the power to manipulate time which is why, we need to retrieve it before someone else gets to it-"

"You said it yourself, Castle, it is a rumor and I won't be risking my wife's or my life to go on a mission over a something that is only a rumor, a lie."

Castle glared back at the blond boy as he said, "That doesn't mean anything, Warner. You should know better than anyone else that during a war, all possibilities must be taken into account-"

"This isn't war. Therefore, we do not have to take all possibilities, all cases into account-"

"IT IS A WAR!"

Castles angry shout seemingly shocked not only Kenji but also Warner as his eyes slightly widened before becoming cold once more.

Castle gave neither of them a chance to talk as he opened his mouth once again. "Do you know how many people are still out there, still angry with us for taking out the old supreme leaders of The Reestablishment? Do you know how many of them are out there planning coups, assasination attempts and so on, on your, Juliette's and the rest of our lives? Just because we took out the big guys doesn't mean everything's over."

Kenji saw how Warner was clearly about to retort with something cruel so quickly intercepted their argument. " Maybe- maybe you could send me? I mean Warner and Juliette are busy with being leaders and all that shit, everyone else is also busy with the whole aftershocks of a war and I....well, I wouldn't mind doing something exciting."

Aaron slowly turned his head sideways to look at him as he deadpanned, "Exciting? You call this pointless, imbecile plan to go after something that may not even exist....exciting? Of course I should have expected to hear something like this from you, Kishimoto."

Kenji shrugged his shoulders. "Well sorry mr. 'I find everything and everyone except my wife boring and have no joy in life' but some of us want to go on missions and do something EVEN those that may or may not be real."

"Your not even fit for it."

Kenji's eyes widened before he scoffed "I'm sorry? You are telling me that I am not fit for the mission?"

Warner stood fully straight, scanned Kenji from head to toe, looked back at him, letting his emotionless eyes convey the message.

Kenji balled his hands into fists. "You-"

"Actually Kenji, you are right. You may be even more suited for this mission than Warner or Juliette."

They both turned to look back at Castle who has been analyzing them both this whole time.

Warner replied with a "You have gone mad." at the same time as Kenji said "Hell yeah, I am."

Castle sat back down, still seemingly assesing Kenji. "Why not? I didn't realize it when I called you here, Warner, but your and Kenji's skills are incomparable. I think you would be easily caught. Kenji, however, has been trained like a true soldier. I believe he would be able to move, attack and do the job sharply, stealthily, and to the point. Of course his invisibility power is a whole other advantage. Look how well he did when I sent him to take Juliette out of the jail Warner built the first time around."

Kenji smirked and nudged Warner who roughly pushed him away. But then his smirk fell as confusion overtook his features. "Wait, doesn't Warner also have the ability to be invisible."

Warner rolled his eyes. "I do, but I can only do it if someone else does it near me and I take in their power. Do you really think that there is someone in The Reestablishment with powers? Really?"

"Ohhhh right, right. Totally forgot about your whole copying people-"

"It is not copying, it is just mirroring. You idiot."

"Same thing-"

Castles stern voice stopped them both from another argument as he said, "Alright that will be enough you two. Warner, you may leave. Kenji, stay."

Warner looked at him and then at Kenji before heading towards the door "Can't wait to tell Juliette about your death, Kishimoto."

Kenji just laughed and sat down on the creaky stool opposite of Castles desk. "Love you too, bro."

Castles got up and took two steps to reach the small, wooden cabinet near the window. He took out some papers before coming to sit back down, putting the papers on the table and spreading them out.

Kenji took one and began eyeing it. "This is a map."

Castle nodded as he said "Yes, a map of both the insides and the outsides of the whole area where some supporters of the old Reestablishment have taken refuge. Thanks to Sam, I was able to locate this place and get a proper detailed map on their residence. You will be breaking in here."

Kenji looked back at his friend "Quick question, how does this...whatever device look like?"

Castle sighed, "Nexus Device, Kenji. From what I know, It is supposed to look like a small, sleek and advanced piece of technology, almost like a wristwatch or a handheld gadget. You'll know it when you see it."

Kenji looked suspiciously at him "Aha....so just look for small things while also trying not to be killed or discovered, putting the whole resistance in jeopardy."

Castle smiles knowingly. "That is where you're wrong. You won't be going on this mission alone."

Kenji's rolled his eyes. "Please don't send me with anyone from here, God, especially not with Adam."

That caused his friend to chuckle before he regained his composure. "Actually, you have not met her. None of you have. You could say that she is a....good friend of mine."

Kenji's eyes widened. "Wait, what? You have friends?"

Castle gave him a stern look but that didn't stop him from slipping op and smiling slightly as he watched his close friend chuckle.

But then, as if realizing, Kenji's smile dropped as his eyes widened in horror. "Wait wait wait- A she? And none of us know her or ever met her? And you're sending her with me? Who the hell is she?"

"Leyla Demir, she is Turkish and the best trained killer I know with the most unique power. Time-manipulation."

Kenji leaned back with crossed arms, a confused expression overtaking his face. "Time-manipulation? You mean, she can stop time or some shit?"

"Language."

"Sorry, yeah, I mean- she can stop time or stuff?"

Castle smiled while slightly shaking his head. "It means, she can do anything that is time-related. Stop it, blink in to the future, the past, and even reverse it."

Kenji's eyes widened, mouth hanging wide open. "Jesus Christ. How can someone have such kind of power?"

Castle leaned back in his seat and regarded him with a knowing look. "You'll just have to see her for yourself. But do be careful, she is usually deathly quite and her answers are often short, straight to the point and cold. You won't be making much conversation with her but I believe that is what makes her so great at her job. She just comes, does what she is assigned to do, and then leaves."

Kenji scoffed, stood up and took the papers. "Oh I'll make her talk, alright. No one can ever resist the Kenji Kishimoto, after all."

He turned around, intending to head for the door before Castle stopped him. "Don't you want to know when you'll be heading out?"

He turned around with a sheepish smile. "Right, yeah. Uhh when do I need to leave?"

"This night, at eleven sharp. That is usually the time twenty-five minutes before the guards do their shift change which leaves the area unguarded for exactly three whole minutes."

Kenji nodded and turned around to leave but stopped once more when he heard Castle get up and look at him, worry slightly evident in his tone as he said, "Be careful, Kenji. I trust you and your skills very much but-"

Kenji smiled softly before saying, "I'll try my best not to die and if I do, tell Warner I will be coming back to haunt the shi- stuff out of him."

***********

It had been a while since Kenji felt this amount of excitement. Before it was all about them fighting and figuring out how to bring down The Reestablishment and then, once they did that, they had a broken world to deal with. And while it was tiring but great how they were restoring and creating a better, more brighter world, Kenji admittedly felt very useless.

These past few months it was almost always "Do this Kenji" or "Don't do this Kenji" or "Maybe you shouldn't do that" or "Just go ask Juliette" or "I don't know, Kenji, you kinda mess things up. Just stick to easy day to day work."

So what he destroyed a building that had Juliette's wedding dress inside? So what if his attempts at organizing things ended in chaos? So what if he accidentally threw away a stash of documents Haider sent? It was all accidental, okay? Atleast he was trying his best.

"Useless, you're useless." Kenji scoffed to himself as he put on his weapons, attempting to cheer himself up with the mission ahead. Finally, some action. Something to distract himself from.

He has been analyzing and constantly checking the maps for the past couple of hours, planning the area from which he would sneak in, which room the Nexus device could be in. Honestly? The place doesn't even look big at all. Well, he will see it soon for himself anyway. Kenji looked at the electronic clock,

10:58 pm

Time to leave on a little suicide mission.

With a final look in the mirror at himself, his black tactical gear, and all his weapons, visible and not-visible, Kenii left the house.

Twenty minutes later, he had managed to arrive at the location, turning off his invisibility and immediately hiding behind a large bush. Where is this Leyla? They only have four minutes left before the shift change. Whatever, if she doesn't show up, he is going in alone. He doesn't need a nanny to track along with him-

A sound came from behind him.

Kenji quickly took the small knife hidden in his boot and turned around, intending to land a shot at whoever or whatever is behind him but stopped when he saw the person.

He couldn't see her properly at all because it quite dark and she is wearing dark gear similar to his but from what he can see, atleast due to the faint light coming from the broken tall lamp beside them, if this woman is Leyla.....she is absolutely gorgeous.

An elegant yet strong build, warm, slightly tanned complexion, seemingly dark hair but what stood out the most....those otherworldly emerald eyes that could hypnotize you and look absolutely lethal as they stare back at him.

Kenji's trance came to a stop when she said with a slight hint of an accent, "I guess you're the idiot Castle told me about."

He didn't have the chance to reply as she wordlessly crouched beside him and looked through a small opening at the base.

Kenji collected himself and looked at her, asking "I-I am Kenji, this is the first time we meet."

She looked down at her watch, muttering a "One minute left."

He scoffed looking at the guards "Rude."

She still ignored him.

"Um anyways, how did you get to know Castle? I mean, we are like this close with him so I thought I would know about yo-"

She silenced him with a hiss.

"We have nearly twenty seconds before the shift change and I would very much appreciate it if you could just shut the hell up so we can get this over with and then go our separate ways."

He furrowed his brows in frustration. "What's wrong with you? I was just trying to be civil but I guess you wouldn't understand that since you are acting like a cranky old bit-"

She clearly either heard him and chose to ignore him or was too focused on the time because she quickly cut his rant off "It's time. Get up."

Kenji scoffed but got up, refocusing his attention back on the main goal. Get the device and get the hell out. It can't fall into the wrong hands. It can't.

He held his hand out for her to take, causing her to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you expect to get in there? Just walk in? I can make us turn invisible, just hold my hand."

She clearly didn't want to but looked at the base and then back at him before sighing and taking ahold of his wrist instead of his hand. He found it weird but just kept his mouth shut as they both turned invisible.

Kenji felt her hold on his wrist tighten as she adjusted into the feeling. He whispered silently as they began to walk, "Are you ok-"

"Shhh, guards."

Kenji didn't need any more explanation as he saw three guards in the distance seemingly talking with one another. Seems like an awful lot of guards for a small area. That could only mean that they do have something important to protect.

They began silently heading towards an open back door when a woman dressed in a black shirt and loose pants stepped out, standing right in front of the entryway with her head bowed down, looking at a....notepad?

Shit. How the hell are they supposed to move past her and get inside? It's not like they can just walk through her. Kenji felt Leyla's body stand closer to him as they both stopped and just stared at the woman.

Please, for the love of God, can she just-

"Mrs.Pierson, we have a report."

The woman lifted her head to look back at a bulky man who came from behind her.

"I don't have the time, Michael. Tell them if they are going to try and once again just prolong the matter-"

"No, mrs.Pierson trust me, we made it very clear to them that we don't have the patience for their games no more. And by very clear I mean....we used other methods to make them understand."

The woman--mrs.Pierson, apparently--smiled and said a simple "Good" and moved past the man.

What were they talking about? It sure as hell seemed quite crucial. Kenji really felt like he needed to follow them and it seemed like Leyla was thinking the same because she just gripped his wrist tighter with her gloved hand, and made him follow her as she took the lead, entering through the door and following the two strangers.

The hallway was extremely narrow and the walls looked like they are about to crumble down any second now. Kenji barely managed to not trip over something or make noise as he followed Leyla through the tight hallway. Honestly, it seems like she doesn't even have a problem with this. Not once has Leyla made a sound, moving so quietly making Kenji think that if she weren't holding his wrist right now, he wouldn't even be sure if she is still there.

Has she done this before? Of course she has, you idiot. Has she seen worse? What could possible be worse than the war they had? He wonders what she did during that time.

Stop it. Idiot. Why the hell do you care? Why do you even wonder?

Finally, they reached a small opening with only an open door in the center. The wallpaper's here were piss yellow and almost fully ripped off the walls. God, it's not like Kenji is currently staying in a luxury plaza but...what the hell is this shithole? And who the hell are these people?

They quietly came to stand in the entryway as they both took in the room and the people inside it. The woman and the man from earlier were here as well as two more people whom Kenji didn't know about. They were holding what looked like a medium sized, black, shiny box.

He felt Leyla about to step inside the room so he pulled her back immediately, getting the point across that they can stand here and listen. Surprisingly, Leyla listened as he felt her body freeze in one place.

Kenji and Leyla pressed against the wall, their breaths shallow as they listened to the muffled conversation inside the room. The two unknown figures were standing beside a table, the black box placed in the center. The woman—Mrs. Pierson—was now engaged in a conversation with a very short and fidgety man.

"We've had issues with the security systems," Mrs. Pierson was saying, her tone clipped. "Do you have the new codes?"

The man nodded, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small, metal key. He placed it on the table next to the box. "This is the key to the main vault. It’s the last piece we need to complete the upgrades."

Mrs. Pierson’s eyes narrowed as she examined the key. "Good. The Nexus Device must be secured before the operation begins."

Kenji’s eyes widened slightly. The mention of the Nexus Device caught his attention. So it is something important. Hah! Kenji couldn't wait to see the look on Warner's face when he tells him that he was wrong.

The second man, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. "The vault's security is tight, but if we can get this device out, it will be worth the risk. The information we’ve received suggests it's an invaluable asset."

Mrs. Pierson nodded, a grim smile on her face. "Indeed. Make sure it's kept in a secure location until the time is right. We wouldn’t want anyone else discovering it."

Kenji felt Leyla’s grip tighten on his wrist. She was clearly assessing the situation, trying to plan their next move. He could sense her tension; she was used to dealing with high-stakes situations, and this one seemed to be no different.

As the conversation continued, Kenji’s attention shifted to the black box. It seemed to be the central focus of their discussion, and if it contained the Nexus Device, they were very close to their objective.

Leyla and Kenji slipped into the room, moving with the practiced stealth that Leyla had demonstrated earlier. Kenji's heart raced, but he kept his focus on the black box, which now lay tantalizingly close. Leyla quickly assessed the room, noting the positions of the two men and the security measures in place.

As they approached the black box, their movements were swift but not without tension. He quickly but carefully as to not touch anything and cause alert, dragged Leyla towards a corner of the room, far from the four people and the three guards currently discussing something in low tones.

"Let's go through the left side of the table, no one is standing there." He whispered so quietly, he thought maybe she hadn't even heard him. But Leyla's confirming squeeze to his wrist told him that she agreed.

Kenji crept closer to the box, his heart racing with anticipation. As he reached for it, he felt a sudden jolt in his power, a flicker of instability.

In that instant, Kenji’s invisibility wavered. He was momentarily visible—a ghostly outline against the darkness—before he could re-stabilize his power. It was enough. Mrs. Pierson’s eyes snapped to his position, her expression shifting from confusion to alarm.

“There’s someone there!” Mrs. Pierson shouted, her voice echoing through the room.

The men turned sharply, their eyes scanning the space. Kenji and Leyla’s invisibility wavered again as they scrambled to adjust their powers. Kenji’s face was now partially visible, caught in the beam of a flickering overhead light. The guards’ alarms were triggered.

“Get them!” one of the men yelled, rushing toward Kenji and Leyla.

The room erupted into chaos. Leyla moved quickly, drawing her weapons and engaging the guards with precise, fluid motions. Kenji, trying to regain full control of his invisibility, grabbed the box and fumbled with it, struggling to keep his powers stable.

Mrs. Pierson lunged for the box, trying to reclaim it from Kenji. He fought back, his movements erratic as he fought to maintain his invisibility. The struggle was fierce, and the room became a whirlwind of combat.

Leyla managed to fend off the attacking guards, her movements a blur of skill and precision. She glanced over at Kenji, who was wrestling with Mrs. Pierson and another man for control of the box.

“Kenji, let’s go!” Leyla shouted, urgency in her voice.

Gunshots were heard everywhere as Kenji managed to regain control over his body and become invisible, quickly runing and appearing behind one of the guards and snapping his neck, then moving on to the man named Michael and using one of the knives strapped to his body to stab his back, causing the man to crumble on the floor with a cry.

Leyla seemingly swiftly took care of the other two guards, her swift and fluid motions knocking out mrs.Pierson in the process. She wanted to kill her but the shouts from the outside confirmed Kenji's thoughts that there are more guards coming and they needed to get the hell out....like right now. He quickly grabbed Leyla and ran.

With the box secured, Kenji and Leyla made a break for the back door, their path now clear thanks to Leyla’s skilled combat. They dashed down the narrow hallway, the sounds of pursuit growing louder behind them.

Outside, they sprinted through the darkness, Kenji still trying to stabilize his powers. As they reached a corner of the building, Kenji glanced back to see guards pouring out, their shouts growing fainter.

Leyla skidded to a halt, pulling Kenji into a shadowed alcove. “We need to get out of here before they catch up.”

Kenji nodded, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “I think... I think I’m losing my powers.”

"No you are not. I think its the effects of being this close to the device that are affecting our powers. It's too strong! Even I feel my own powers waning."

Leyla, her breath steadying, glanced at the device. “We need to figure out what this thing actually does. There might be a way to use it to our advantage.”

Kenji nodded, looking equally determined and exhausted. “Alright, let’s see what we’ve got.”

They moved to a small, dusty and broken chair in the alcove. Kenji placed the box on it, and Leyla began to carefully pry it open. Tension was high, and they both felt the urgency of their situation.

As Leyla worked on the box, Kenji’s impatience got the better of him. He reached over to help, but his movements were rushed and clumsy. “Come on, hurry up! We don’t have all night.”

Leyla shot him a sharp look. “Slow down, Kenji. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

Kenji’s frustration boiled over. “I know! But we need to get out of here before—”

He accidentally knocked the box off the table with a jolt. The device tumbled to the ground, and the lid popped open. A strange, pulsating glow emanated from within, filling the room with a blinding light.

“What did you do?” Leyla shouted as she tried to grab the device, but the light grew intense, enveloping them both.

Kenji reached for the device, but it slipped from his grasp. As he tried to stabilize it, he and Leyla were both caught in the expanding radiance. The light grew brighter and brighter until everything around them was engulfed in a blinding flash.

When the light finally faded, Kenji and Leyla found themselves in an entirely different setting. The warehouse was gone, replaced by a landscape that was completely unfamiliar. They were surrounded by a complete and vast greenery, the sun was high and shining brightly, there were cows and sheep on the grass, large trees covering the area.

“What the hell just happened?” Kenji asked, his voice tinged with panic.

Leyla was looking around, her face pale with horror.

"Where- where the hell are we?!"

"In the past....or the future, I don't even know."

Kenji came closer to Leyla, eyes wide with shock and frustration.

"What the hell did you do, Leyla? This wasn't a part of the plan!"

The moment Leyla turned around to look at him, Kenji felt the air get knocked out of his lungs. He was wrong, her hair wasn't dark at all. The sunlight casted it's soft glows over them, allowing him to see her clearly. Her hair was a very light brown, seemingly slightly curly, her eyes were even more breathtaking under the light, and that face...her soft face that currently held an ice cold expression on it as she stared daggers at him.

".....so you are the one to blame, not me! don't you dare blame me!" Kenji realized then, that she had been shouting at him for the past minute but he completely drowned her words out as his eyes admired every inch of her uncovered body, which wasn't much really, just her face. But it was more than enough because....dear God he had never seen anyone look so beautifully innocent and yet be so cold and hurtful.

"What?" Kenji said with a soft smile, his eyes never leaving her face as his mind was still in his own world. She pinched his ear with her gloved hand, causing him to finally come back to reality as he hissed an "Ow! Why the hell did you do that?!"

She crossed her arms. "Listen, Kishimoto, we need to know the date for us to even know where the hell we ended up in. Time travel, anything having to do with time in general, isn't simple at all. One wrong move and you could end up in a place where you can't even get out of."

"Kishimoto, huh? So we are absolutely formal now?"

She sighed and looked skywards. "Out of all the things I said, this is what you are stuck on? And we were never informal to begin with."

Kenji smirked. "We could be informal too, if you only say the word--"

"Hey! What the hell are you doing on my lawn?"

They both turned around to see a man, presumably in his fifties, striding towards them.

Kenji pushed Leyla behind him as a serious expression overtook his face, readying to strike at any sign of danger. Leyla just scoffed and moved past him coming to stand beside him when the man reached them. Kenji was about to say something but she intercepted quickly.

"What is todays date, old man?"

The man looked at her and threw his arms in the air. "Old man? Old man?! I am only 58! And who the hell d'you think you are, heh? Coming into my lawn, my goddamn property unnanounced-"

Kenji heard Leyla's voice turn even icier, if it was possible, as she asked- no, stated in a threatening voice, "What date is it."

The man too, clearly got the memo as he quickly stopped rambling and looked between them, his hands fidgeting.

The moment he said the date, Kenji wanted to tear his hair off. They were in the fucking past! With no way out! or...

That's right, Leyla had her time powers! she could get them out, right?....right?

Leyla seemingly also understood what timeline they were in as she quickly dragged him away without saying another word to the old man, who was still muttering something under his breath but was too scared of Leyla to shoo them away. Once they were in the other side of the lawn, behind a large farmhouse, Kenji looked at her wide eyed, "We are in the past! Are you kidding me?! Is this actually happening?! What the-"

"Will you shut the hell up, Kishimoto? Yes, we are in the past, but....this past is different."

"How different?"

Leyla's eyes drifted behind him, seemingly lost in thought. "This is thirty years before the Reestablishment took over. I have been in thousands of timelines but never this, never this one."

Kenji's eyes widened as his mouth hanged open. He whisper-shouted "What?! So, you mean to tell me that there is no Reestablishment?1 No wonder this place is so vibrant and alive. Why didn't you ever come to this timeline?"

Leyla crossed her arms, her expression becoming indifferent once more. "That is none of your business."

Kenji sighed. She wasn't an easy one, that much was clear about her. "Whatever, now can you please use your little time traveling powers to get us back to our rightful timeline?"

"No, I can't."

Kenji felt the hope drain out of him. "No? What the hell do you mean, no?! Aren't you supposed to have these time-manipulating powers or whatever-"

"I do, alright? I do. It's just that they are absolutely depleted at the moment. The Nexus Device- it seemingly affected me more than anyone else because we both have the power of time. Like calls to like, it seems. We drained each others powers. I need a couple of days to recharge even half of what that stupid device took from me."

This was madness. Absolute madness. Kenji prayed that maybe this was some sort of a nightmare that he was in, that he would wake up soon and go about his day. But, alas, it was all very much real.

Kenji leaned against the wall, his eyes wide in horror and realization.

"Holy shit."

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

[adelaidedrubman]

59. “You want to come?” “Y-yes, I— please—” “Hm, but do you really deserve to?” and/or 113. “What did I just say?” + for Jestiny x John 👀

[rushing in on literally the last hour of pride month to get the bifails posted and answer a three month old prompt] OMG HIIII CAYMAN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING AND I’M SORRY AND I DID BOTH

notes: seriously not joking i am scrambling to get this timely posted so it’s really long and sloppy even by my standards and the ending is both rushed and meandering and if you catch me fixing this in a few days with a complete rehaul no you didn’t. anyways also installment three in the failstrap series but this one is the least fail, ig. (by extension, set vaguely in hook, line, and sinker verse)  wordcount: 5k (yeah) warnings: NSFW. nsfw while fishing. outdoor/semipublic (not really bc her fishing spots are secret). pegging. uh. strapwarming? edging. overstimulation. dom/sub type dynamic with implied lack of negotiation. emotional manipulation. there’s a brief joke about strap vs. dick that uses some “real thing” language that could read with uncomfortable implications. (technically it’s about softbait lures vs. worms and bioessentialist language isn’t used for the former comparison but since the double entendre gets us there i wanted to flag.) oh, and egregious fishing sex puns in general. like, that’s most of the fic. really bad

John had the uncanny sense that he was reaching a revelation he’d reached many, many times before, but always failed to internalize. A lesson that had been taught in abundance, without ever once being properly learned. 

Because the sting of tears trickling down cheeks burned bright red from hours of baking beneath the unforgiving midday sun brought with it an unmistakable feeling of déjà vu that told John he’d discovered before the exact undeniable truth he was arriving at now — that any time Jestiny Rook gave him something he wanted without a fight, it meant she was going to find a way to give it to him that would make him regret ever asking. 

“I — I can’t — Can I —” Another broken sob overtook him as a shiver ran through his body — fuck how was he ever supposed to do this when he was shaking like a leaf and unable to even form words? “I can’t fucking take this — Can I — Can I please fucking move, already?”

And he should have realized it had all gone too smoothly, had been far too simple. That it went too perfectly according to plan from the very start. 

From the second Jessie had first called for him to be a good boy and fetch her tackle box as she shuffled out the door. In that fateful, infinitesimal sliver of time the idea first sparked to life to not only pack the box she filled with fishing hooks, bright feathered lures, and glittery plastic worms, but also the more intimate one in which she kept an assortment of expired condoms she’d never once actually offered to use, lube bottles of varying age and brand all uniform in having a slow pouring capful left at most, and an entirely different collection of multicolor, long, rubbery polymer attachments. 

An odd quirk of hers — keeping every sex product she owned in a beaten-up tackle box rather than a discrete designated drawer the way any normal person did. But one he thought he might use to his advantage, for once.

It had seemed easy enough to do so — wait until they were far enough out on the water, give her a feigned apology about how he hadn’t been able to remember which tackle box was which and dared not violate her privacy by opening either. But then, oh, since it was here, perhaps he could try his luck distracting her from fishing with the lure of using the equipment in the other tackle box. 

“Sure you can, baby,” she answered in hot, ragged breaths kissed into his back, the dark laugh she hummed into his skin sending a fresh quiver through every worn raw nerve of his spine. Her hands slid down to grip his hips tight to hold him firmly in place atop her lap as she added in a husky whisper, “As soon as you earn it.”

He should have known not much of anything could truly and completely distract Jestiny from fishing. 

“B-But Jessie —” he gasped out, placing a free hand atop hers in hopes to coax it from its place pinning his hips down. “I-It’s been hours, it’s — it’s too much. I need it, I —” 

“What did I just say?” her tone grew colder and firmer as she cut him off. “You’re the one who decided to pull this little stunt. And you knew what the deal was for me to go along with it,” she chided. “You get it inside you now, but you’re not gonna actually get fucked with it until you manage to reel in something with enough inches it’s legal to keep. Until then, you’re gonna sit nice and still in my lap and keep casting.” 

Another mistake — he hadn’t really thought the proposition through past needing it inside of him, feeling an arrogant certainty she wouldn’t really be able to withhold from him once they were that far.

“I mean, how am I ever gonna make a proper fisherman out of you if I reward you for not catching anything?” She wrapped an arm around his waist, reaching up to tuck a lock of displaced hair behind his ear. “You give a man the strap, he wastes a full day of perfect fishing weather. You teach a man he’s gotta earn the strap by reeling one in…” She brushed a thumb back and forth along his lower lip then pushed past to slip into his mouth. “He never goes hungry again.” 

“But God, Jessie, I can’t —” He paused, allowing his words to fade into a mumble around her thumb as he leaned forward to swallow deeper and give it a hard suck, as if he could gain something from the sensation of suction hollowing his cheeks alone — anything anything anything, what he wouldn’t give at this point just to get his throat fucked, to feel firm silicone thrusting into him somehow, even just to choke on it. “There’s — oh, any chance there ever was of me catching a fish h-has to be gone now. There’s no way — not when I’m on the edge like this. You can’t really expect me to…” 

What had he been thinking? He could barely even do it to her standards when he wasn’t compromised by hours of teasing from her strap resting deep but frustratingly still inside him. 

“I do,” she said firmly. She leaned forward, pressing against his back, breath hot against his neck as she guided his hand towards the cup holder on the left in which a styrofoam cup filled with worms rested. (A cup of bait in one cup holder and a bottle of lube in the other — what kind of person lived like this?) “C’mon. Only one way to start.” She did the faux kindness of handing him a hook with fishing line threaded through it. “Bait your hook.” 

And why the hell had he agreed to handle fishing hooks with his fully exposed cock and balls out?

He did his best to still his trembling fingers as he pinched the eye of the hook between them, other hand dropping all but one of the dirt covered worms he grabbed (— his poor natural teak flooring, too —) to bring it to the hook. 

“Fuck!” he cursed, metal barb piercing through the worm to prick his finger as unsteady hands guided it to slide down the hook. 

He tried to focus on the clarity the pain brought and not the quickening of the drumming of his heart against his ribcage. He raised his arm, thumb readied at the rod’s release button as he swung back and —

“O-Oh,” he whimpered against his will as a shudder ripped through his body, the flexing of his hips to push himself backwards also making the strap inside him press at just the right angle to make that diffuse thrum of pleasure swell to something almost solid, a sudden enough spike to make satisfaction seem more that just a distant dream — and to cause the fishing line he cast to fall impotently into the water just a few feet in front of their boat. 

Sending out a signal to his hands to begin reeling the line in was so far back in his brain’s queue of necessary actions it might as well not have been there, every ounce of his strength and willpower instead directed towards ordering his hips not to begin rocking as his thighs squeezed together to increase that sweet, solid pressure of silicone against his aching insides. 

God, he could cum just like that, he thought — tensing enough to drive himself to a peak from the tightening grip alone, the only means of more more more he could chase. It would take so little to push him over the edge, at this point. 

He thought he would, if he wasn’t so certain any finish he found would be so underwhelming and unsatisfying after all the teasing build up at the promise of being properly fucked. A weak dribble as pleasure overflowed by barely a single drop to leak from his overstimulated body, insides contracting with such a feeble rhythm it could be as easily ignored as a lazy tap-tap of a tambourine drowned out in a symphony. Like expecting to reel in a sturgeon and pulling up a measly bluegill, Jessie might say. 

When did he begin thinking in fishing metaphors? 

“Try again,” Jessie’s whisper found his ear to chase the thought away, placing her hands over his to guide him in reeling the line back in, reeling his awareness back into his body as she did. “You still got your worm on the line and everything,” she said encouragingly as she finished winding the line inward so that the hook dangled just short of the pole. “So just get right back at it. And remember — getting distance is about steadiness, not force. Not so hard, keep it smooth.” 

It didn’t help that she used that same patient coaching voice she did when talking him through his finish; instructed him how to cast his line with the same breathy tone and cadence she would use to tell him where to touch himself and how and when to ‘let go, baby.’

Her forearm adhered itself to the underside of his upper arm, hand cradling his elbow to steady him as he cocked the arm back, hot breath falling against his ear as she whispered, “Let go, baby.”

His thumb jammed against the button obediently, a mechanical fwshhh of the line unwinding and soaring through the air following.

He did his best to blink away the newest film of tears blurring his vision and focus on the candy apple red nestled in bright white bullseye of the bobber — it had landed a respectable distance, far enough he had to squint to see it floating amongst the reeds. 

Maybe there was some hope for him yet, he thought, placing his hand atop the crank to turn, trying to remember to do so slowly, teasingly so as to entice the fish, and not in the jerky, clumsy rush his body wanted to move in. 

It only took a few turns before the low whir of the line spooling around the reel was interrupted with an abrupt click of the crank locking into place and refusing to move. 

 John looked up to see the line pulled tight ( — tight, so fucking tight — ) and the bobber vanished beneath the murky water ( — not exactly the thrill of watching plastic disappear he had in mind, but —) then gave an experimental tug ( — oh, what he wouldn’t give — ) to the line, watching as the pole ( — too easy — ) arced downward with a force matching his. 

“I-I — I have something!” he announced, a wave of cautious hope washing over him as he tested the line with more force, finding it matched by a weight heavier than he could have hoped. “And it feels like a big one, this time!”

He ignored a snickered out ‘that’s what he said’ and tensed his muscles — untensed, rediscovering the way squeezing around silicone thwarted the mission by making him melt, then tried tensing again, this time only from the waist up, and yanking. 

Shit. Steadiness, not force, he lectured himself with Jessie’s previous advice as he found the line refusing to budge, arms flexing at the strength of the fish opposing him, planting his feet just like she’d taught him.  A pleasant burn sank into the muscles of his arms as he tugged, and then — oh —

Then he threw himself back, and a molten gold sun glitter matching the caps of the water erupted upward from the base of his spine to sizzle up to his neck, cheeks flushing fresh with its heat as he tossed his head back to rest atop Jessie’s shoulders. 

“It’s — I almost —” Every single vertebrae seemed to shudder as Jessie ran fingertips along the arch of his back. And the damn line hadn’t even seemed to budge — how much harder did he need to pull? “I’m close, I know it’s —”

He shot trembling eyes to the spider web silken strand of fishing line, pulled taut as could be — how was it even possible, how could it withstand that much tension without finally — 

Snap — the sound cut through the air, followed by a swish-click-click-click of the reel reversing. John lifted his head just in time to make sense of the glint of a knife pressing against the milky transparent glisten of fishing line stretched across the pad of Jessie’s thumb, barely having time to mourn the suggestiveness of the sight before it vanished as she severed the thread. 

“Not to a catch, you weren’t,” she shushed, craning forward to press her lips to the corner of his mouth and kiss away the choked noise of devastation. “You always manage to — heh, to snag the bottom.”

John pouted. 

He blatantly, unabashedly pouted. He pouted with such untamed, untempered impudence he mentally told himself ‘stop acting like a brat, John,’ before Jessie could utter it aloud, and then huffed to the Jessie in his mind that she couldn’t tell him what to do, when she was being so unfair. 

He stuck out his lower lip, he crossed his arms over his chest, he tossed his head to the side. He pouted, and he was determined to keep pouting. 

Her lips tickled from the nape of his neck to the dip beneath his ear with featherlight breaths, and his complaining huffs faded back into needy moans. 

“Jessie, please…” How did she reel him back in to flounder with such shameless deference as soon as he’d made up his mind to sulk? Did he really have so little dignity left? 

“C’mon, you think begging is gonna get you anywhere?” she taunted with a light suck of the skin she teased. 

No, he didn’t. Not when she was in one of these moods. But — 

But, he thought with the sudden clarity of a man with nothing left to lose, there was always one reliable way to bait her. 

No, allowing his own ego to be crushed never got him much of anywhere. But stroking hers, on the other hand… 

“But please, Jessie,” he repeated, raising a clenched fist to his mouth to bite down on knuckles then looking over his shoulder to bat eyelashes dewed with tears at her. “Can you show me again — that special knot you use to tie the line? I can only ever remember a basic overhand — especially now, I can’t even think straight. It is —” He removed the hand from his mouth, sinking teeth into his lower lip as he reached towards the tackle box meant for literal tackle, fingers hesitating and hovering above the rows. “It is hook before bobber, isn’t it?” 

“Well, look at that. Reckon you have almost managed to learn something, after all,” she replied, giving him the cruel reward of a quick flick to his nipple before knocking his hand from the tackle box to retrieve a hook herself.

“Hook first is right,” she cooed as she unspooled a generous length of fishing line. “But don’t worry your pretty little head with any of the too fancy ones yet. We’ll start off with upgrading you to a basic clinch knot, for now,” she hummed with a kiss to his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll go reeaaal slow so you can keep up.”

Even appeasing, she was distinctly cruel. He absolutely couldn’t take slow right now. 

He especially couldn’t take it watching those deft, dexterous fingers working their magic slipping through every tight loop she wound, curling and prodding with a careful force that made him envy fishing line, of all things. 

“You think you can be a big boy and bait it all by yourself?” she teased, her lips finding their place at the base of his skull again as she held out a hook woven into plastic thread. 

He prayed his ploy would work, because God knew he hadn’t been paying enough attention to the actual technique. 

“Oh, I’ll try.” He reached towards the cup of bait, paused, then reached once again towards her tackle box. “But perhaps…” He trailed his fingers along the lengths of soft baits piled in one of the center trays. “I could borrow one of your lures? Since the fish don’t seem too tempted by the worms alone.”

He forced out a small huff of laughter in spite of his complete lack of amusement at his situation. 

“After all…” He threw his head back and turned, nuzzling against the underside of her sculpted jaw. “Many find plastic even better than the real thing.” 

John was not quite certain he was among said many. At least not at the moment. Not then and there and acutely aware of how much it might even the playing field if only the phallus inside him were the kind with flesh and blood nerve endings. 

As it were, his partner answered with the cold, unfeeling scoff of someone unphased by how long they’d had someone sitting on their lap and taking them without moving. 

And had he been less devastatingly sensitive to every slight shift, he might not have noticed the way she stiffened beneath him — spine straightening and shoulders squaring with a proud bluster that betrayed the veneer of indifference. 

“Sure, baby,” she answered with a laugh equally choked with artificial irreverence. “Pick yourself out something pretty.” 

John flashed a grateful smile, drumming fingers against tin and pretending to consider for as long as he could stand to let anything hang in limbo, then reaching with purpose for his always intended prize — a chunky blue and black striped minnow body with the distinct sheen of newness coating its deep ridges. 

He caught before she could hide it with another nonchalant laugh the reflexive gulp buried in her throat, and for the first time in hours he felt a sense of victory as he stuck the hook deep into the soft gel of plastic. He’d wagered correctly, it seemed — it was a new and valued lure, one she was looking forward to using herself, and wouldn’t want to lose. Hopefully, she would want to avoid losing it enough she would see to it herself that he would be reeling it back in successfully. 

“It’s —” He lifted the rod in the air, over his head. “Steadiness, not force,” he chanted to himself as a mantra with a particularly choppy cocking back of his casting arm. “Steadiness, not force. Steadiness, not force, steadiness, not —”

“That’s right, baby,” she coughed, drained of usual smugness as she gripped his elbow to pull it back down to a proper casting position. 

“Could you —” Her arm had already moved to cradle his before he could even stick out his lip and finish the question. “Could you help to steady me again? You’re so much better at it than I am.” 

“God, you’re so helpless and needy,” she chided as she covered his hands with hers. “Can’t believe I let myself keep spoiling you like this…” 

Spoiling him. Ha! 

What a rich thing to say when she’d spent hours more or less torturing him. 

The pit of his stomach fluttered, lurched upward so that the devastating ache that had been along the base of his spine now settled in his chest, and it occurred to him as she swung her arm forward with his in tow that this might be what being in love felt like. 

Or perhaps it was just what she’d always promised him fishing felt like, he considered, as she splayed fingers between his to begin turning the crank without hesitation, and he felt the satisfaction of knowing he had his catch on the line. 

“That feels…” He gasped at the sudden, thrilling sensation of a tug of his line, the firm pressure of smaller hand tightening in response even more satisfying as he looked back with eager deference. “It’s a real one on the line this time, isn’t it?” 

As if he had to ask, as if any deficit in fishing instincts impaired his keen ability to read every little movement of hers well enough to know from the twitch of her fingers alone. 

“Maybe you should reel it and find out,” she teased — as if her chin weren’t already resting on his shoulder to gaze at the water in anticipation, as if her fingers didn’t press against his to show him just how to turn and turn and turn. “You’re doing so good, John.” 

Fuck, that — 

Okay, okay. 

God, he needed to fucking finish — he needed to steady his trembling hand so that he could reel so that he could finish. He needed to at least keep up the pretense he was doing this himself well enough that she wouldn’t withdraw.

He needed to remember how the fuck to unhook a fish, because the splash of the water just over a rod’s length away from the hull revealed he definitely had a real one this time. 

Jessie’s breath hitched, a tickle against his neck, and he knew it was time to pull, to hoist his catch up — struggling, nearly faltering as their shifting forward in unison sent a shiver through his entire body that made the weight of the (?)trout(?) feel tremendous enough to break him. It would have, if only Jessie’s sturdy arms hadn’t been there to catch, hold him and support him. 

Which made him want to melt all the more, but somehow he managed to do it — managed to pull it to flop down atop the gunwale, use the last of his strength to hold it down. 

“Is it…” He dug teeth into his lip, looked back with begging eyes. “Please say it’s big enough.” 

“You tell me,” she rasped, uncapping her knife again — this time offering it to him, tapping against the ruler etched into its side. 

He blinked, focusing on the ticks of the inches and praying he was correct about that being a trout. 

“E-Eight inches,” he announced through heavy panting. “Big enough to keep!” 

She tsked. “Barely.” 

She loved exaggerating. 

“But we will,” she said, slipping out her precious bait and dropping the fish into the cooler with expert speed. 

“Does that mean I —” Hot, sweltering summer air stung the insides of his lungs and still left him breathless as he gasped like a fish out of water, falling forward in collapse to grip the side of the boat until his knuckles grew so blanched white from the pressure the black ink atop them looked pale gray. God, he was too close to the finish line to let it all fall apart now, to let it all be for naught. “Do I get to — Can I —” 

Firm hands gripped his hips, a deep laugh vibrating down his spine as finished for him, “You want to come?” 

Even the pressure of her fingertips was becoming too much at this point, sparks dancing across his vision from the touch. “Y-yes, I — please —” 

“Hm, but do you really deserve to?” she nuzzled lightly against his shoulder blade before burying her face beneath the base of his neck, as if they were doing nothing more than chaste spooning. “I mean, it feels like I did most of the actual angling…” 

No no no no. His throat somehow grew even drier. 

“I like when you do all the work,” he hurried out, hoarse beyond hoarse. “Don’t you?” 

Nothing but a noncommittal grunt from her, as the warmth of her skin pressed against his back vanished, hands on his hips staying in place. 

“I know you do,” she deflected, flashing him a smug smirk from her place leaned back in white leather swivel seat. “Mm, I bet you wouldn’t bother to move for yourself even if I did let you.” 

Fighting a fish was a very, very precise artform, indeed. A careful balancing act. It required strength, it required intelligence, it required endurance, it required a touch both delicate and forceful, a perfect combination of brains and brawn.

“W-Would I really have to, Jessie?” he whined, knitting his brow. “You won’t — Don’t you want to fuck me? Don’t you —” 

“I want what I’ve been wanting,” she interrupted, stroking fingers along the ridge of his hip before allowing them to retreat. “For you to earn it.” Fingertips traced back towards his spine, stroking down down down to his tailbone. “You can move.” 

“Fuck —” He pushed himself up tentatively, unsure that wobbly legs wouldn’t give out beneath him, forced to move at the same molasses slow paced she’d subjected him to. 

Still, his tolerance for feeling empty reached its limit before his weakened muscles did, and exhaled and lowered himself even more slowly, stuck between savoring the deeper and deeper stretch and rushing himself for more. 

“Fuck, you do look pretty doing that,” she whistled behind him. “Could lure a girl in.” 

“O-Oh,” he sighed, bobbing up and down at a more deliberate pace now, meeting with rocking of the gentle waves lapping against the boat, each amplifying the other. “Tell me again, won’t you?” he requested, resigning himself to find his finish on his own as he released his grip from the boat and reached to stroke himself. “Tell me I —” 

A low rumble of a growl from behind them, a sudden snap of the fragile push and pull — his arm jerked and pinned to his back before it could reach its destination, finding himself shoved forward as Jessie rose to stand herself, the supportive arm that wrapped around his waist all that kept him from falling from the force.

He’d barely managed to process his new position bent over the side of the boat before silicone was buried to the hilt, its rounded end swiftly hammering just where it needed to, with such an unexpected force and precision he felt the world fade and spin around him as low waves of pleasure began to kick and whip into an all consuming whirlpool, eyes rolling to the back of his head. 

“Look at me,” she ordered in a tone so authoritative, cool, flat, compared to the frantic whimpers he let out as he rocked back to meet every thrust, receive every sensation at full force now that he finally had it. 

He obeyed, eyes he would have thought it nearly impossible to pry to squint shooting wide open in reflex at her mere suggestion, every detail of her face coming into crisp, vivid detail — that firm, sculpted jawline hanging with a surprising lack of tension, plush rosy lips not scrunched into the angry line he might have expected, but rather parted with a gentle bow to pull in quick breaths, auburn brow lax over half-lidded but unblinking eyes. 

“Come for me,” she said, eyes widening with molten gold flare that burned straight through him. 

This time his hand didn’t have time to begin to reach to touch himself — he didn’t even have time to think about the possibility, as one final thrust reverberated through every nerve in his body, making those gentle waves of pleasure finally rise steep enough to bend with a curl as steep as his hunched spine, then finally break, crashing against itself to white-cap in choppy pulses. 

He let out a choked sob of surrender, feeling so lost and thrown about in its tow he was capsizing, spilling over with blazing heat blown away into a cool rush as quickly as it rose, as if struck down by a frigid, stormy breeze. His insides flipped and eddied about with such ferocity, his sense of balance so thoroughly obliterated it felt as if he really was falling, suspended in air and tumbling over himself to a crash at a distance he couldn’t predict, a force he —

John realized with an abrupt splat and a stinging smack of water against his cheek that he had literally been falling, had tumbled straight overboard to belly flop against the surface of the lake and plunge beneath it. 

“Shit!” He heard the shout muffled through pressurized whoosh of water and the blub-blub of bubbles rising from the breath knocked from him. 

He blinked his eyes open in effort to see through murky water what direction the bubbles rose, will sore and aching muscles to kick him towards the surface they foretold — only to be pushed down by another splash as quickly as he started. 

This time he opened his eyes to find bright amber cutting through the murky greenish brown, set in ruddy alabaster framed by warm copper halo. 

And once again, that supportive arm wrapped around his waist, and he was jetting upwards to a breath of air so fresh and relieving it felt like the first he’d ever taken. 

“I got you!” His redheaded savior called through her own hungry gasp for air, keeping him held tight to her as she flailed on a rough path towards the stern of the boat. “Just hang onto me.” 

“I —” He reached a palm towards the boat’s side to brace himself as the other tread through the water, legs joining to bring them to a more stable float with their weights equally supported. “I can swim, Jessie.” 

Her mouth closed tight, nostrils flaring outward with a huffy exhale as she kicked towards him to propel herself gliding backwards towards the ladder, holding to its bar and wedging a foot against its rung. “Well I didn’t fuckin’ know that, now, did I?” 

“No,” he rumbled softly, paddling towards her and grabbing onto the opposite bar, his other hand reaching up to cup her cheek, feeling a dimple sink into his round as she tensed. “You didn’t.” 

With that he craned his neck upwards as he gently pulled her towards him to press their lips together, not caring a bit about the fishy taste of lakewater clinging to them as he savored the delicate warmth so few would ever know, sighing at the subtle tilt of her head to lean into the kiss, allow his hand to stroke along the underside of her jaw. 

He felt the gentle tickle of her eyelids fluttering open before he heard the gruff clearing of her throat, followed by her pulling warmth leaving him in chilly waters as she parted and pulled away. 

“Now can we get back on the boat?” she complained, ascending the ladder midway then turning down to cast a scornful glare at him, then nodding down towards sleek black silicone protruding from her crotch. “This thing isn’t a flotation device, y’know.” 

He gave a breath laugh as he watched her finish her climb, envying every tiny droplet of water that got to trail its way down the curves of toned legs. “Next time we’ll be sure to strap-in to our life jackets as well, hm?” 

“Next time you’re gonna have to reel one in yourself if you want there to be a strap,” she barked back, fidgeting to quickly loosen her harness. “I sure hope you fucking managed to learn something about fishing!” 

He forced his laughter to fade, shaking his head as he climbed to join her. Such sudden fight in her, as if she hadn’t just shown him how deeply his hooks were buried. 

He thought he’d learned quite a lot about fishing, all things considered.

[cheemken]

Foaming and frothing at the mouth. I am also so normal about them. Currently feeling like:

The image of Iris wearing Lance’s cape and Hau wearing Diantha’s necklace is just so CXHNHCXH. You know? God I would pay you real money to have those drawings of them wearing the cape and necklace

Anyways, I bet at first Iris and Hau never kept the items on them. They wanted to throw them out or destroy them, something to get rid of that connection they have to the older champions. To say that they aren’t the same as them, they protect the people of their regions not kill them for speaking out of line. That they aren’t going to carry the torch just because it got passed to them. But something is stopping them from extinguishing that flame for good, no matter how many times Iris is prepared to have Hydreigon burn the cape to ash or Hau ready to get Alakazam to teleport the keystone far away from him, they can never bring themselves to do it. So the torch sits there, unlit, waiting for the next move

Only years later, after much, much more mockery, distain, and hate from the public, does the cape and necklace feel somewhat safe to wear, and they don’t feel as heavy from sin like before. And the torch that has been sitting for years finally produces a small flame, and it will slowly grow to its original blaze of fire

ICBMDHCKDHCMDHCMCBDMCBMDNCMD GOING FUCKING INSANE‼️‼️‼️‼️

I've been thinking abt Hau w Diantha's necklace since yesterday man it actually haunted me in my sleep😭😭

I might actually draw this tho I'm in too deep I haven't stopped thinking abt this concept cjdmchmdndjd

BUT OUGGHHH CNMXNCMXND

You get it omfs

Like cndmjfmd can you fucking imagine Lance and Diantha looking at them w such a pride that Iris and Hau felt even more okay w wearing the cape/necklace bcmdndnd

And I have this lil concept in mind yknow, this one haunted me last night, like,,, another conference in Kalos, and Hau and Calem met bc yeah they're gonna battle each other

And Calem just has this feeling abt him, that there's really smth off, the way he smiles, the way he talks, the way he'd tell them anything they want to hear, everything about it is so so familiar to him. And suddenly, in the battlefield, standing opposites of each other, he could see Hau smile at him, the same lazy smile people were used to seeing w the Alola Champion, but his eyes.. his eyes were glowing, a bright emerald amidst the dust. Hanging from his neck was a Key Stone Calem knew all too well who it originally belonged to. As he prepares to call out his Chesnaught, Hau spoke to him, laughing, "show me how bright you shine, Calem!" And when he called out that Alakazam, Calem finally realized why it's all so familiar.

JUST CJMDNFMDND

Ough™

The kids finally becoming the Champions they were meant to be jcmdnd how they also became more violent and more manipulative, how they could get away w a lot of things bc ofc, they're Champions, the strongest trainers in their region, in the world, how could anyone ever beat them

[notallwonder]

Alright. We are here. At the end(ish). CM 16x10 "Dead End".

Spoilers and whatever my addled brain wants to express under the cut. This may be a long one.

I don't know why this show makes me so happy despite its many deficiencies. tbh I think it's bc I am job hunting and this at least gives me a lil shot of dopamine or seratonin or whatever the fuck. Also Paget Brewster.

The things I want out of this season finale: Prentiss. I hope she gets to smile and smirk and not just be mad/sad/worried. I wanna see some good moments for Luke, though I'm less hopeful on that front. I want to see something good for Tara. What that could be...dunno. As for the rest - I don't think I even care that much? I suspect it will end in some sort of cliffhanger.

Okay, now that I have unwisely embarked on this journey in the wee hours of the night...

I wonder who will get to wear the Brown Jacket this episode?

oh boo the black & white flashbacks are still here...I hate that choice.

it's a pleasure to see Krystall again tho. I always liked her.

laying on the ol' "FBI behavioral analysis heroes stop real monsters" schtick real thick there guys. it's funny of me to get annoyed about this on this, the "FBI are real heroes" show. but I do.

good onya Dave, found the mood lighting. LOL at the oxygen meter. LMAO even MORE at Dave finding the wifi router.

it's still so stupid that Will is there lol

this is the first time I have truly hated Elias Voit. who would rather speak to Bailey when Emily Prentiss is right there on the phone? only a stupid little man apparently. although - Bailey would be way easier to manipulate so maybe not so stupid.

omg incredible forehead moment there. ma'am your eyebrows (what have i become)

love the implication that Dave just recites quotes to himself. kinda tracks

this situation with Bailey makes me go *grimace emoji*

has Bailey been a gold star lesbian this whole time?

t's so stupid that Will gets lines and Luke still gets shafted. I don't hate Will, but...really?

god now JJ says "wheels up"? sorry, hate it

WOW okay. So Gold Star is a secret program of some kind. And now we're talking "legal" and "extralegal" options with the AG. boy. whew. god why did I get attached to this fucking show.

though - AG slaying in that black suit/purple blouse situation.

"they would see through it, the BAU" - because the BAU are the good guys, not involved in (implied unethical?) secret shit? what the ever loving shit is this.

Adam Rodriguez just doing the most with his beautiful face and voice. thank you sir

bummer that I have to watch most of Joe Mantegna's acting from a weird vantage point and on a phone screen on a TV screen.

oh wait now we get a Badass Marine Rossi Montage

absolutely incredible, the bizarre combinations of ads I get when I watch this show. After Rossi's explosive moment, I just got served an ad about a disease that causes curvature of the erection due to scar tissue. what the fuck paramount plus

is it just me or did the audio get weird now that we're back in Emily's office

"politics" there that is again

Ghost of Krystall Past! Welcome to the shitshow! you look fabulous

"we were just getting started" I wish they did this echo thing with lines that actually were interesting

I do love Emily being constantly like "WHAT tHE Frickle FRACKLE" but I worry for her blood pressure. can she ride along. I want her in every scene, not just stuck at the BAU on Chicken Roaster time

Elias please tell your wife you want to wear the Moose dog collar and that's why you saved it. whoops missed opportunity babe

Emily. ma'am. you are beautiful, gorgeous, smokin'. etc.

what are you Bailey, a vampire

I mean...I am intrigued about what the fuck this is all about. they've got me on the hook. can they reel me in?

the implication here is that Voit has knowledge/dirt that they want kept secret. So he's a little bit in kind of a Snowden position?

OH SHIT BAILEY DEAD

WILL BEEN SHOT (saw that one coming, why else would he be there). dont worry he's fine guys. no stakes

YAS Tara. There's that steel. I missed that steel.

JJ and Sydney. Classic mom to mom interview, right?

LOL they're begging Sydney to help them find David Rossi, that annoying old dude that accosted her in the cereal aisle.

in my opinion this episode has a weird denouement energy. like...it didn't feel climactic even in the shootout scene. maybe on rewatch

it's really too bad that me and the CME showrunner(s) have such a disagreement on what parts of this show/world are worth expanding upon. the emotional beats/storyline with Elias and family are fine. They are kind of interesting even. More interesting to me than plenty of the 300 some previous unsubs. but...a simple 2 minutes scene of Emily Prentiss in her own home? I would dine on that for weeks, months, years. it's all about priorities. I get it. I've been thinking about that - about the fact that I have not been watching the same show they've been making. I mean...literally I have. But that's how art works in some sense. someone creates a thing, and I encounter that thing, engage with it. I bring whatever I bring to the encounter, and walk away having had an experience that the original creator *might* have intended in and might not, depending on how you define that. maybe we're ships passing in the night. i'm sure i'm not articulating this very well. it's almost 3 a.m. here.

good news for the Tyler dislikers out there

Rossi now that you're back at the BAU the first thing you better be doing is groveling at Emily Prentiss's feet and apologizing for your behavior sir.

oh, BIG HUG! *heart eyes*

oh my GOD I am just CACKLING WITH LAUGHTER. Emily Prentiss big embrace to Mr. JJ, Will Lamontagne Jr. INCREDIBLE. IN-CRED-IBLE!!!!!!! this kind of comedy is...I don't have words for it. it's like...a teeny tiny version of what I imagine that Supernatural Nov 5 Emotion was like. I witnessed but did not feel that feel. but this might be a related feel.

aw Bailey. you join the dead agents wall. aw Emily - big sigh. sweet sad face. couldn't love you more.

yesssss, I have collected yet another line spoken between JJ and Emily that is not case-related!! (I think I am up to 2? 3?). "your eulogy was beautiful". classic jemily right there!

Prentiss cogs still turning

LOL calling Bailey a "comrade-in-arms" sorry it's just funny that this is supposed to have real emotional weight. I get it that it has weight for the team; but the audience...we barely knew ye Doug Noodle.

not lost on me that we're winding down on the "couples" here. Pen & Luke; Will & JJ; Tara & Emily lol

JJ's line to Will "I have a confession to make...I liked it a lot better when I didn't have to see you in the line of fire." Wow, groundbreaking confession there. I mean...we already know this. Not only is that, like, a very normal sentiment regarding someone you love, but also remember Hit/Run? I do really enjoy JJ insulting her husband. "yeah, well next time don't get shot [idiot]" I like that as part of their dynamic. it feels authentic to JJ in some way. she does that sarcastic thing.

GOD I wanted SO HARD to see Voit's shoes, which I assume were government issued dirty orange Crocs

y'all, so help me, I liked this season. I like that it's given me more raw material to work with, I guess. I LOVE that it gave me silver fox Prentiss. The ham-handedness and bad writing and pacing issues and all of that are clear weaknesses that are also pretty clear carry overs from the original run. No shock or surprise there, and I am (too) forgiving, especially because they have genuinely tried to do something new-ish. Did they succeed? I mean. yeah. Did they succeed *well*? Not really.

As for the ending...they set themselves up for the new season, enough intrigue to get me to keep watching (I would have anyway because i somewhat embarrassingly have ONE priority). It feels like some secret spy shit, which I can only hope means *something* in terms of call backs to Emily's secret spy shit days (it won't since this isn't the Emily Prentiss show, which I will always be sad about).

I cannot bring myself to be mad about various choices like Garcia's characterization, the JJ and Emily situation such as it isn't, even Rebecca. I think the door is still open for Rebecca to be part of the story moving forward. The Garcia character assassination is...well it is jarring and still feels oddly simplistic to me, though I think they are aiming for complexity. I am still waiting on some real consequences / real accountability for her and I'm not sure I'll ever be satisfied in that arena. She admitted in the finale that she fell back into old patterns, and Luke joked that if people didn't do that they'd be out of a job, with the hilarious implication that PG's bad relationship habits are comparable to...serial killer shit. Adam Rodriguez stays giving a really enjoyable performance as a man who loves this woman honestly more than seems wise - he is getting his heart stepped on but won't abandon her. And I don't know that he's necessarily pining, so much as he is committed to being her friend despite her carelessness. I am mad that Luke didn't get much of anything of his own this season.

I hope the folks creating CME take some time to do a critical post-mortem. I hope they're not just patting themselves on the back. I generally appreciate what they're trying to do, but I want them to figure out how to do it better.

[dykeyote]

what if for the character thing i said elijah volkov for the funnies (PLEASE DON'T BLOW ME UP PLEASE DON'T BLOW ME UP PL)

i wont blow u up with my mind ..... TODAY ....... but i will do this bc i actually do have lots of thoughts on him hehe >:) many of those are just filled with hate

fav thing about him: oh hes an AMAZING villain hes so well written . he really gets under my skin like people talk about how his pet names are hot but i just could never relate to that because his pet names are so saccharine sweet it makes me shiver its like . his obsessive yet adoring affection is written in such a perfect way that makes you simultaneously get lovebombed by his kindness alongside sydney while Also feeling so creeped out and uncomfortable and i think thats Brilliant writing

least favorite thing about him: that hes a stupid idiot motherfucker dumbass stupid idiot who i hate and whos stupid and awufl and gross and disgusting and i literally hate him so much that listening to the clock of meantime when he started talking i got so angry i started violently shaking and had to stop listening to the episode . i want to kill him . serious answer is obviously that hes a predator but thats obvious so more specifically the fact that he kissed sydneys stuffed animal creeps me otu SO bad every time thinking about it makes me gen sick . idk why it just freaks me out so bad

favorite line: "Don’t you think you deserve better than what he gives you? Don’t you deserve his utmost appreciation? Devotion? Love?...He should worship you!...Worship is everywhere, dear. It’s the deepest, truest form of love. It’s the kind of love that gives a lover purpose. Life worships you!" i just think its such a brilliantly written subtle example of manipulation and lovebombing and drawing sydney away from jedidiah . like it starts with the Genuine point that sydney deserves better and deserves more love than hes getting from jeddie and then transitions to warming sydney up to the idea of being Worshipped and then after doing so transitions to the idea of worshipping being the Only true real good love (with the implication being that elijah is the one who can Provide that love and jedidiah cannot) . it just really stood out to me when i listened to that ep i thought it was so well done and such a subtle form of manipulation

fav friendship: i hope he never has any friends ever for the rest of his days

fav relationship: if we're saying "what i think the best possible option is" elijadam is inoffensive to me . i hate elijah too much and i dont really think he deserves a relationship at all but like idk i understand the appeal i get why people like it i wont side eye u for liking elijadam the way i would for like . any other elijah ship lmao . if we're talking "ships i actually Like instead of just thinking theyre fine" then elijah x getting his head chopped off

least fav relationship: i hope everyone who ships him w sydney dies and goes to hell no matter what /ref

random headcanon: i headcanon that hes a loser idiot- omg wait thats canon

unpopular opinion: trying to think of a niche unpopular opiniont hats not just "i think ur kinda weird if u constantly post about how sexy he is" . hmmmm. i feel the same way about willy stampler actually but it applies to elijah also i think a lot of people just refer to him as "manipulative" instead of "predatory" to soften what he did a bit and i find it odd

song i associate w him: aphrodite your electric sexiness

[lifeaftertheabuse]

I’m told I need to stop putting you on a pedestal. I need to come to the reality of what the relationship really was. I was just another supply for you. Another person you could manipulate into believing you loved. Manipulation is your favorite thing. I know this now. So this post is my post to you so open your ears and listen really well because I’m not saying it anymore after this. This is going to be the last I speak of this bc I need to let go. I’m ready to let go.

Dear ******

I can still remember the first time I met you. Your smile. Your personality. You stand out wherever you are because you love to be the center of attention. The loudest one in the room. That’s for sure and you definitely stood out that night. I know now that you talk to everyone the way you talked to me. I didn’t know that then. I remember seeing you and I felt something I never felt before. I maybe used to call it fate, but not anymore. I know now your traits all line up with a narcissist but I didn’t even know what a narcissist was 5 years ago so I never would have been able to tell. But you sure fooled me well. You fooled me for months. I remember we used to sit in your car for hours and hours just talking. I loved those moments. Those were the moments i always missed. You were sweet back then. Kind to me. Listened to me. Didn’t make me feel like shit for having opinions different than yours. I know now you were love bombing me and you love bombed me so hard. I was vulnerable to you. I told you the things my daughters father did to me and years later you didn’t even remember because you weren’t really listening. Because unless it’s benefiting you or something that interests you then you don’t really listen. Those moments that were so special to me didn’t mean shit to you. When we broke up you told me I was sucking your dick in the car a week after we met. That never happened. You only see what you want to see. I never even sucked your dick those nights we were getting to know each other. we didn’t even do anything for like 2 months. I remember that of course but you don’t. I remember the first time we had sex.. I bet you don’t. I remember the first time you said you love me.. I bet you don’t. For fucks sake you didn’t even remember our anniversary every year, I had to remind you, how sad it is to have to remind their partner “our anniversary is coming up” and I’d wait to see if you got me anything or did anything and you never did. I think you got me a card once and a big bouquet of flowers. That’s all I wanted. Just little things to show you care. Wanna know something I loved the most about you? When we were laying in bed and you were sleeping you would always pull me close to you and squeeze me and say “you’re the best ever I love you so much.” That never happened when you were awake though.. only when you were sleeping. I used to tell myself that it meant you really did truly love me. What a joke now looking back.

You really just hurt me so bad and I hate you so much for it. I know I’m not suppose to hate you. I’m suppose to forgive and move on and blah blah blah. But fuck that. I’m allowed to hate you if I want. I don’t care what anyone says. Do I forgive you? I don’t know. Maybe not yet but I’m getting there. But why do I have to forgive you? You don’t want my forgiveness! You don’t think you need to be forgiven for anything! You’ve never said “wow I was awful to you I’m so sorry” so basically I have to forgive you for myself. For my own healing. And I just don’t want too bc you don’t deserve it. Do I wish you the best? I sure don’t. I hope you get what you deserve. I hope you someday feel the pain and hurt you’ve caused me and so many others to feel. I have to let this pain go though and I’m ready to move on from it. I am ready to not think about you anymore. It kills me that you let me walk away. That you didn’t fight harder. That you didn’t do whatever you could to make us work. I’m thankful now you didn’t because I 100% would have stayed with you but it still doesn’t make it hurt any less. Instead of putting effort into us you just replaced me with someone else. You focused your effort into that relationship instead of working on the one you already had. I’m glad you did though. I’m glad you got her pregnant. I’m glad she gets to deal with you now and I know she’s hurting too. Just wait until the baby comes and she’s up night after night alone with no help… I’m glad your not my problem anymore. I’m glad I get to be happy now. I’m glad I get to lay on the couch if I want too. I’m glad I don’t have to agree with every single thing you say anymore. I AM SO GLAD IM FREE. I am free. I am free. I am free and you will forever be a prisoner to your mind and body. This is my goodbye letter to you because I no longer want to allow you to take up anymore space in my mind and in my heart. I hope this works.

Goodbye ******

P.s

Fuck you 😁

[yesimwriting]

hiii, this might seem weird but do u have any head cannons for when the reader is pregnant and how the Darkling would react?

a/n love this concept,, it's not weird at all!! i feel like there's so much here!! also i leave for college this month and im lowkey starting to freak out so ive been watching star wars movies for comfort 😭and now i have half a mind to write for them, especially the prequels (cough, cough,, anakin) 😭 😭 that should tell you where i am mentally

anyways lets get into the headcanons:))

--

- okay so like most of my headcanons, this is probably going to be all over the place bc i feel like so many different things could change how he would react. Like if the darkling x reader have been trying to get pregnant, or an unplanned pregnancy with someone he really likes, i also think whether or not the reader is a grisha affects his reaction too

- in general though, i think he'd lowkey have a breeding kink he'd def find something about the thought of you having his child really attractive bc for one thing, he wouldn't have to worry about being left alone and now he has an excuse to be a real 'protector'.

- also if youve read my other headcanons i am 100000% convinced that he has this thing where if he really likes someone he needs them to need him (let's all remember the whole 'i will strip you of everything you know and love speech until I'm your only shelter' speech he gave to Alina)

- also i kinda want to write a fic or blurb series or something that's just the darkling being super toxic in super thoughtful ways LMAO if that makes sense, like he's being super sweet but it's to make sure the reader is dependent on him

- and he def wants to be the protector to give himself some sense of assurance bc he's so desperate to not be alone anymore and bc the reader is the only person he has/loves, he wants to feel in control and like he's the less attached one

- okay,, let's get back to the pregnancy thing, anyways, your pregnancy is most definitely activating all of those senses and this was meant to be a sub plot but it kind of became it's own thing lol

- so lets get to the actual pregnancy reaction

if you two have been trying to get pregnant:

- when you tell him, he kind of like, pauses bc it's not every day that he gets surprised so it takes him a moment to register that he's experiencing shock lol, so he tenses and goes islent

- and then after he realizes that he's surprised and that it's bc of a good thing, he manages to relax

- meanwhile you're kind of freaking out bc he got so quiet?? you start to wonder if he's regretting ever wanting a child with you? and you're like two seconds away from a downspiral and then he...

- he touches your cheek and looks at you in a way you've never seen him look at anyone,, not even you

- the look is so warm and strong and full of fierce admiration that you feel foolish for ever thinking he didn't want this. And then he says something about how you're carrying his child and how he didn't realize he could adore you more and then he kisses you and it's all :)) warm:)

- he doesn't want anyone to know that he's expecting a child as long as possible bc of how many enemies he has and how he has to worry about you enough when people just know that you're his 'lover' (a title you never really liked, but one he tells you is necessary to make sure no one realizes the extent of his attachment)

- if you really want to tell your mother or someone of that relation, he won't be mad about it, but he just needs to know

- Genya is the only exception bc the darkling basically instructs her to look out for you,, but when you tell her she's like oh?? you guys just found out?

- miss girl most definitely noticed like a day and a half ago after you cried bc she couldn't find you ice cream the other night 😭and she just assumed you knew but weren't ready to tell anyone

- okay so this what i think is his most problematic expecting father trait would be. So i just ranted about how important secrecy would be to him but he's also the most overprotective person in the entire world,, like he was bad before but once he knows your with child?? yeah, if a man asks you about the weather, he's done for

- he's next to you in a second, ordering either you or the man to do some asinine task

- if you get mad about this (rightfully so) or even just point out how nothing is wrong and you having a casual conversation with a man who isn't even looking at you sexually won't hurt you or the baby, he'll lose rationality

- it depends on how much you push, but it'd be super easy to make him super possessive bc like i said, being bonded by a child has made him so much more intense (and he was pretty intense before)

- and if you push too much he'll lowkey forget about how cautious he's trying to be with you and pin you against the nearest wall and say something along the lines of 'are you already forgetting you're mine? that i own you, body and soul--is my child growing in you not enough of a reminder? because i'll give you another one if you need it.' (AH--i want to write a whole fic based on this line)

- also if the reader is grisha, especially if she's a sun summoner/special grisha like him, he def talks about the power that they've created and how proud he already is and how he can't wait to train together and be the most powerful family in the world

- not everything is perfectly happy though, bc now he feels more pressure to complete his plan and establish the world he wants his child to be born into

- so sometimes when he's working extra hard or is extra aggressive for no reason, you have to work at calming him down and reminding him that the best thing he can do for his child is be there for them (and the child's mother,, lol)

- sometimes he'll respond by actually listening to you and trying to make up for his absence or his aggression by being extra soft until you finally forgive him

- you never last that long, it's hard to be mad at him when he's coddling you and whispering such sweet things about he's so happy to have you and your future child

- overall, his first reaction is to swell with emotion, which he isn't used to, and so he becomes super protective but also extra lovey and you know that his overreactions are just him trying to show that he cares about you and your future child more than anything

If the pregnancy was unplanned:

- the initial reaction is pretty similar, only his state of shock lasts longer

- like i said at the beginning, he's not used to being surprised and an accidental pregnancy is so much more surprising than a planned pregnancy

- this really sucks for you bc he's not exactly known for his patience so you just kinda sit there and genuinely wonder if you're going to be a single mom or if you're going to want to deletus the fetus or something

- but then he takes a step towards you and you see how he's looking at you and you just know that that fierceness has to mean something good

- and at this point you're scared and nervous and feel so alone so tears are pricking at your eyes,, so he wipes his thumb across your cheek to wipe away tears you won't let spill

- he then whispers something really sweet about how you two are now together forever, as you should be

- it's really relieving bc you felt so alone and uncertain and he's such a smooth speaker that by the end of the night, you feel like this is a good thing

- if youre still hesitant/weighing your options, he's not above trying to (gently) manipulate you into thinking that what he wants may be the only way

- by that,, i don't mean outright tricking you bc he means everything he says, but he def is pushing the keeping the baby agenda,, especially if you're a grisha,, and even more so if you're a grisha with similar power levels to him

- he won't get angry at first bc he's not so out of touch that he's unaware of how shocking a pregnancy is to a woman who wasn't planning one,, but his patience is limited and if you fight it too much he will get mad and yell

- but unless you really don't want to have a child, it won't get to that bc he makes the idea of having a baby with him sound so perfect?? like you genuinely don't understand how he did that

- he chases away all of your worries and assures you that youre not alone and that even though it isn't planned he wouldn't rather anyone else carry his child

- the initial conversation would probably end in you two sleeping together again bc he finds the fact that you're carrying his child so attractive and bc being aware of the pregnancy makes him more possessive

- it's also a good way to fight any of your doubts

- speaking of being possessive though,, i feel like he could be a little more possessive/protective of a reader who didn't plan on getting pregnant bc your relationship has been less established

- no one sees you as anything to him and he doesn't want to start rumors now bc it's important to him that his enemies don't find out about you or his future child so he doesn't want that to change

- but he almost forgets about all of those reasons each time he sees a man get a little too close,, especially if that guy is flirty

- it takes all of his will power to not just go 'she's mine and if i wasn't worried about the stress that witnessing something violent would cause our unborn child, you'd be dead already, but if you're not gone by the time i turn around, i'll forget about caution'

- lots of close calls ngl!! at one point youre like 'if it bothers you so much, maybe you should tell someone??' and he's like 'no,, maybe,, shut up' and then you raise one eyebrow and he just closes his mouth and is like 'i mean,, i'll kiss you to shut you up, haha--dont be mad'

- youre the one that's pregnant but sometimes you think he might be the one experiencing the mood swings i swear 😭

- so your little theory gets tested,, he's not the type to gossip with his besties and be like 'guess who's officially my girlfriend, i knocked her up but it's not like it sounds--'

- so he's like ig you can tell genya

- once again genya is like ?? yall thought you were keeping that secret? couldn't be me

- but having it a little out in the open helps ease him just enough that youre actually capable of consoling him when he becomes jealous

- still though,, he's quick to go into possessive/pregnancy kink sex

- youre most def not mad about it,, unless pregnancy has you particularly sore

- he's normally pretty understanding about that and def doesn't mind pulling his weight in the bedroom when he needs

- honestly he'd be really good at being a source of calmness at the beginning, but as time goes on he becomes more and more worried about finishing his plans bc he didn't expect to have a child right now

- so he'd be more adamant about working/becoming more tense and would be more difficult to console if it was an accidental pregnancy

- when you call him out on it--or on anything while your pregnant--it's frustrating for you both bc the number one thing everyone knows is stress is bad for baby, so he's trying to keep you calm without backing down

- these argument always end with one of you clinging to the other,, and then the more angrier of the two just like shuts up, rolls their eyes, and lets go of the argument...at least for now

- the main difference between an accidental and intentional pregnancy would probably be how you perceive him,, bc an intentional pregnancy means youve talked about things but since you havent talked about anything your shocked about how soft he becomes ??

[sailorhyunjinz]

Do you write yandere? If so, can I request skz yandere headcanons on how they would react when S/O rejects them because she doesn't wanna deal with whole drama that would come with dating an idol?

i mean kinda?? i have a seungmin yandere fic in my drafts sooo BUT YEAH

oh also, requests are not open but im just gonna do this one cause headcanons are kinda fun BUT REQUESTS ARE CLOSED <33

also why is the felix one so short-

Warnings; yandere!skz, rejection, k-dnapping, slight gaslightning or like manipulation, restraints, threats, aggression, mentions of masturbation, stockholm syndrome

Chan

nobody rejects him. nobody.

you two were friends from school and you were sooo happy when chan made it as an idol, finally persuing the dream he had been yapping on about for years. 

but in the midst of that he realized that he had feelings for you, he missed you all the time, just wanting to hang out with you and maybe explore the things he had on his mind. so,, he decided to confess when you guys were at a cafe.

“look y/n,,, there’s something I wanna tell you” he started to which you tilted your head

“nooo,,, are you guys going on a tour again,,, i wil miss you sooo much channie” you said with a pout but the boy shook his head.

“i like you y/n” 

your mouth stood agape, this was not what you expected and truthfully,,, not what you wanted. 

“chan,,, y-you know thats not possible” you said with a frown, looking at him straight ahead.

“of course it is,,, why wouldn’t it be? w-what are you trying to say y/n?!” his voice started growing louder, you looking around in order to see that people werent turning their heads towards your table. 

Minho

you have made a big big mistake my friend- 

wont even hesitate to keep you hostage in his basement LIKE IM NOT JOKING-

might just tie you up and like,,, not even do anything to you, just talk to you and admire you, maybe tracing your facial features and cuddle closer on the cold floor

just wants to keep you as a pet or smth and you are scared out of your mind cause you cant move cause of the restraints, you cant speak because you have silvertape across your lips that he only removes to feed you but if you start screaming you wont get any so you deicde to just stay calm and quiet before someone saves you and play along. 

i mean you do,,, kinda fall for him but you know you cant,, but you cant help but to fall for him and miss him whenever he’s out on schedule things

he always returns to you and you get so happy when you see the little crevice of light from outside when he opened the basement door

whenever he lies next to you, you put your head against his shoulder and take in his scent the best you can

he told you everyday that he would let you go if you agreed to date him but you shook your head,, maybe cause you liked being his prey. 

Changbin

he’s more of the threatening type of yandere,,, like,, not that he’s violent but if you try to block his number he will create new ones and keep on sending you messages about how you have betrayed him and how he wished that you loved him back and all that,,,,

you guys often meet because you go to the same college and are students in the same department sooo,,,, avoiding him is pretty impossible 

he stares a lot at you,,, you guys have a couple of classes together and he just stares the entire time, his eyes are just filled with revenge, he somehow wants you make you his, own you but he doesnt know how yet, for now he can just look.

watch this fucking message conversation just be this;

[why did you talk to him during class?]

[you could have just asked me]

[nobody loves you like i do. no one y/n]

you are never getting rid of him basically,,

he’s gonna get to you first ;))

Hyunjin

i feel like he goes more to the stalking route than the kidnapping and drugging and whatnot- 

ok,,, you rejected him,,, but that doesnt mean you’re getting rid of him.

ohmygod what if he turns into a peeping tom- cause he obviously knows where you live. 

like yall were not even that close?? he just saw you backstage at one of the concerts and thought you looked good so he decided to go up to, you werent an idol so no problem he thought.

but he gets a bit too,, hasty with his decisions and often falls for people randomly and so when he politely greeted you and gave you his number you simply shook your head, explaining that this wouldn’t be possible since you worked in the same industry and you needed to stay clear out of any scandals in order to keep your job. 

no was not answer in Hyunjins mind. 

luckily he managed to catch your full name by flickering through some papers in an office and also saw your full adress there, knowing exactly what he was going to do on his free time. 

Jisung

if im being completely honest,,, i have no idea-

like,,, he gives me kinda pervy yandere vibes,,,

what if youre like his ex before he became an idol and now he wants to get back together with you-

oh,,, he masturbates to your pictures-

i feel like he always thinks about you, wondering what you like and wants to write songs about you but he doesnt do much-

but when he finds out that you have been hired by the same company as him to work as a like,,, economics accountant thingy he is all of a sudden vEEERY interested-

always asking the manager of when the group will have meetings with the accounting team,,, although they had nothing to do with them-

he just wanted to be in a conference room with you (and think pervy things about you in your tight office skirt and white blouse)

you went to the toilet on day and you saw him lurking around the same floor,,, WHICH ONCE AGAIN WAS NOT CONNECTED TO THE GROUP AT ALL- 

and idk,,, probably sneaks in with you and locks the door before you even react that theres someone else in the toilet- 

i feel like he’s pretty mild,,, but when he’s alone with you he is aggressive broooo

probably pins you to the wall and threatens you or smth along those lines,,,,,

(writing this is what my life has become to-)

Felix

“what do you think you’re doing?”

you turn around again, you had just thought of just leaving with a vague answer to his question but he was not having it. 

“answer.” 

his words sounded cold, his dark voice making an entrace, the exact one you’ve heard on many of the songs you listened to.

“felix,,, you have to understand,,, u-um,, if we date theres gonna be some issues” you said but he just stared at you with cocky eyebrows and a dark gaze, running his tongue on the inside of his cheek.

“do you think i care? would i ask you if i cared?” he said to which you shook your head automatically, what more could you do?

“you get until tomorrow to think and if i don’t get the answer i want well,,, we’ll see what i’ll do to you.”

Seungmin

he plots shit behind your back yk?

he’s more of the sneaky type of yanderes (oop spoiler to a fic heh)

like he makes this like fucking year long plan where the objective of the mission is to make you obssessed with him-

he starts kinda subtely,,, first its going to the same gym as you and like,,, knowing where you placed your stuff

and then he starts putting small notes like under your waterbottle when you went to grab something that say like “i think youre cute, call me” and then his number

you obviously dont react,,, because why the fuck would you contact a stranger at the gym 

BUT THEN you realize that its him, its mf kim seungmin. yo,,,, u didnt know he went to this gym,,, that was not,,, the best-

of course you got a bit interested,,, you wanted to know how he was off camera,,, like just in his everyday life and i meeean,,, he was attractive but obviously you should stay away bc,,, he’s a celebrity but seungmin didnt want to stay away

he notes somehow started to get more aggressive,,, suddenly being like “why are you ignoring me?” and such,,,

and one night you were left alone in the gym with him,,, it was sooo quiet, only the sounds of your strained breaths as you lifted a dumbell

here where the plan came to play ;))

Jeongin

he’s obsessed with you and you are not going anywhere, even if you rejected him. 

he’s more clingy?? LIKE HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU

ok sure,, he falls more into the stalking category too,,, 

also veeeery much a obssessed kinda yandere,,, like his mind is not thinking about how to like capture you,,, more about how to make you soooo comfortable and fool you into loving him despite the circumstances?

i just imagine that you work in a cafe and jeongin often meets you there when he buys coffee and you are already in awe when you see fucking yang jeongin enter the coffee shop on your shift but you were even more excited when he leaves his phone number on a napkin and slides it over the counter before leaving. 

you thought about it,,, contemplating multiple times but,,, you decided it would be best not to since well,,, safety purposes 

but he would visit you and every day his face got more and more perplexed cause he wondered why you didnt call

mf would not leave you alone, he would even wait outside the coffee shop until you finished your shift and walk you home,,, so now he knew where you lived- 

and then do the same thing over and over again until you talked to him.

does. not. give. up. 

[yslkook]

good years (1)

mind of mine masterlist

summary: you arrive at hobi’s birthday party, along with some of your other friends. pairing: “badboy” jk x “shy/reserved” oc warnings: alcohol, cursing, excessive use of pet names...bc its me

Being late to events, especially events in honor of your friends, was your least favorite thing. Punctuality was one of your top three favorite things about yourself, and yet here you were- nearly sprinting through the streets in heels because you were an idiot and had gotten the name of the bar wrong.

Instead of the Silver Spoon, you’d ended up at the Silver Tongue. That’s what happens when you don’t check your text messages for confirmation and operate on autopilot. So now, you were about an hour and a half late (as if the absence of the birthday boy and his merry band of friends at the Silver Spoon didn’t tell you enough).

Oh well. 

By the time you arrive about twelve blocks away to the Silver Spoon, you quickly make sure that not a hair is out of place before walking into the bar to try to blend in, as if you’d been there the whole time.

“Hobi!” You chirp, finding your friend in the middle of all of the chaos, “Happy birthday, Hobi-”

Hobi turns to greet you, a big (drunk) smile plastered across his face. “You’re late! Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“Well, I-uh, this is gonna sound dumb, but-”

You’re interrupted by a few of the guys walking into the bar, causing a ruckus and nearly screeching Hobi’s name. At least you’re not the only one who’s late. And you quickly see Sora in your line of sight, entering in behind the guys.

Sora, your best friend of several years since college. She’s been with you since the beginning, taking you under her wing when you were both young and in college. She had brought you out of your shell a bit, inviting you to parties and inviting you to have dinner with her in the dining hall. The slow convenience of college had blossomed into something real, something that could stand the test of time- also known as the test of post-graduate life.

Her friendship was an adventure to say the least.

“Hey,” You beam at her with drinks for both of you in your hands, “Fancy seeing you here-”

“Hey,” She grins, pulling you in for a hug, “Work was so shitty, like, I had to stay late today. Of all days! I can’t wait to have a fuckin’ drink.”

“Yeah, here’s something funny-” But your words are cut off yet again, by the arrival of more friends. It looks like Sora had invited some of her own friends, friends that you weren’t quite sure liked you very much.

But you don’t dwell on that, instead sipping on your drink and settling on people watching. Settings like this unnerve you- being in a place where you’re not quite friendly with everyone in attendance makes you feel self-conscious. It’s easier to just stay in the background, blend into the walls, so as to not upset yourself-

“Hey, you,” Comes a familiar voice to your right. It’s Yoongi, one of your fellow people watcher enthusiasts. He stands next to you, shoulder brushing against yours.

“Hey, you,” You repeat, flashing him a smile and a playful shove to his shoulder, “How have you been? It’s been a while, Yoongi.”

“You’re the one who’s been hiding,” Yoongi teases, “All cooped up at home.”

“So have you! In your studio,” You protest, poking his shoulder.

“I guess I can’t argue there.”

“No, you really can’t,” You say, “So tell me then, what’s new? What’s coming out of the studio these days?”

You enjoy hearing him speak, the way his passion for his craft pouring through his words. He invites you (again) to stop by the studio if you ever want to. You promise to stop by soon, with his favorite snacks. You usually try to stop by his studio at least once a month to catch up with him. He’s also one of your oldest friends, along with Hobi.

“Hey,” Comes another voice to your left this time. It’s a voice you definitely recognize, a voice that makes you tense up immediately.

Jeon Jungkook has always had a way of making you stammer over your words, ever since Yoongi and Hobi had introduced you to him years ago. He’s tall, nearly always dressed in all black, tattoos and piercings coloring his frame, and something sweet and sinful swirls in his dark eyes.

You don’t know if it’s a look that is reserved for you or if he looks at everyone like this, but honestly, your brain short circuits every time he glances your way.

“H-hi,” You mumble, taking a sip of your drink to ease your jumpy nerves. Jungkook only grins at you, his bunny smile a stark contrast to the rest of his aura.

“Been a while, huh?” Jungkook says, voice smooth and sweet like molasses. 

“Y-yeah, been busy,” You mutter. You watch in mild panic as Yoongi walks away, being called away by Namjoon and Taehyung.

“Missed you, baby,” Jungkook winks at you. Somehow, he always gravitates to you at these types of events. Not that you’ll particularly complain- his attention makes you feel warm, even if it’s all for jokes and fun.

As Sora repeatedly has told you.

According to her, he’s the worst- a player, a fuckboy (when he was apparently too old to be one, her words not yours) and this is how he treats any pretty girl. So you don’t take it too seriously, only indulging him a bit and keeping him out of your periphery.

But you won’t deny that his recent use of the pet name might make you swoon a little bit.

“Oh, stop,” You wave him off with heat rising in your cheeks. And he knows it, too, from the self-assured smirk he throws you.

“How’s work been? They got you crunching numbers and all that?” Jungkook asks, ordering himself a beer and a drink for you.

“That’s literally my job, but right now, we just got access to a new database so I’m excited to see what kinds of visualizations and insights we can bring forward. We’re moving forward to proactive analysis, but you know, we’re still a ways away from that, we still react to problems so reactively. Like we’re just putting out fires all the time, it’s kinda tiring but I’m excited-” You cut yourself off at your rambling, sheepishly laughing, “Oh, you should’ve stopped me. I know it’s boring.”

“It’s not boring, not if it’s important to you,” Jungkook shrugs, “Besides, I like hearing you talk.”

“Really? You really wanna hear about the latest and greatest happening in the data world?”

“I wanna hear about anything you have to say, baby,” Jungkook says easily. You squeeze your drink in your hand tightly to ground yourself.

This is why he intimidates you- his affections have only increased in the last few months. It’s like he’s playing a game with you, trying to see how long it takes for you to crack. You don’t know how sincere he is when he turns the charm on- is this how he talks to everyone, or is it just you? 

You like to think it’s just you (because you at least dare to call him a friend of yours), but he could get anyone he sets his eyes on. Rather than spiralling down that train of thought, you bask in his flirtations, his gentle affections hidden under his very many layers of black.

Before you can reply to ask him about the tattoo parlor and about his newly purchased motorcycle, Sora interrupts you both. You’re oblivious to the deadly glare that Jungkook shoots her, and the glare that she shoots right back at him.

She whisks you away, an arm tight around your shoulders. You turn your head and look back at Jungkook apologetically.

This is how it always is, especially for the last few months. As soon as Sora sees Jungkook and you speaking, she’ll immediately do anything to intervene. It’s fucking annoying and Jungkook is beginning to dislike Sora more and more each time he has the misfortune of coming in contact with her. He doesn’t really care about whatever personal vendetta your best friend has for him.

He’s always thought Sora was a conniving woman, full of manipulation and tricks up her sleeve. Ever since Yoongi and Hobi had introduced you to their friend group (and you had brought Sora along as well). His instincts are hardly ever wrong, but he hates to see you spiral with her.

But he’s powerless to stop you from walking away from him. Yet again.

tags: @kookdbean​

[stardusted-bookworm]

Came from the blumenshadow fic, stayed for everything else <3 ok but seriously that blumenshadow fic is probably one of my favorite fics like, of all time. I go back and read basically every time I open tumblr lol. If you were ever interesting in writing a sequel or just more in general, I would absolutely love to read it!! I just, have so many questions!!! How did Essek and the three become involved? What timeline are we on? One were Caleb never broke after killing his parents? Then why is he called Caleb when that's a fake name? Just, ahhhhhh I love your fic so much!! Can't wait for anything else you end up writting!

Omg hi! I'm so glad you liked it. That's really sweet! Now, I would love to write a sequel but, unfortunately, I feel a burnout heading in my direction. So! We're gonna do this ✨️headcanon style✨️

Headcanons

First question that I feel needs to be answered immediately!

Why Caleb is using 'Caleb' as his name 🤔

Yes, this is essentially a time-line in which he never broke after killing his family but did get really depressed

And I'll be honest... the reason I, the author, did it is because I prefer the name Caleb Widogast to Bren Aldric Ermendrud... (is that horrible lol 😅)

So in the au we'll just say it's because when Caleb got really depressed, he didn't want to associate with the name his "traitorous" parents used to call him

(This is also the time-line where they don't realize they were manipulated until much much later, perhaps even only after they begin dating Essek who can recognize mind control magic immediately...)

NOW! As for how they first meet!

Honestly, in my head it goes one of two ways

Either a) the Blumentrio were tasked by Ikithon to torture and murder the up-and-coming Shadowhand who deals in the Dynasty's secrets, but Essek proved to be far too powerful for them to combat (that Dark Star is a bitch man).

However, instead of getting very frustrated and trying again, the three, on various levels of attraction with Caleb being the most attracted (bc the man is sapiosexual), became enamored with the Shadowhand.

Instead of trying to woo him like normal people, they just kept coming back to fight him and kept getting their asses handed to them.

Eventually (it took a while) but eventually Essek grew wise to their antics, due to how easy it is to see them blush/the furious attempts at compliments, and found it highly amusing

So Essek started dressing nicer, showing off a little more, just generally teasing the three until one of the Blumentrio just snapped and kissed him (I’ll let you guess which one ;)) and was more than a little surprised to find the Shadowhand kissing back.

Or b) they meet in the Blumentrio’s favorite dance hall in Rexxentrum bc Essek is there on a diplomatic mission to speak with the Cerberus Assembly on behalf of the Bright Queen and wants to see a little bit of the Empire’s night life for a bit before he has to go back the crushing structure of the Shadowhand’s mantle.

He’s obviously wearing a disguise (it looks exactly like him with just deep brown skin instead of the purple) bc 1) he’s an important official and 2) the Kryn are not super welcome in the Empire.

At this esteemed dance hall, he meets three very gorgeous and very fascinating individuals who seem VERY interested in him.

They spend half the night dancing together (Essek is definitely tipsy to allow it to happen) and spend the rest of the night doing a different kind of dancing, if you know what I’m saying 😏😏 

(I know this goes against Essek’s canonical demisexuality, and I’m so sorry, but it makes this next part really funny)

Essek falls asleep with them but teleports away after his trance is complete, mostly out of sheer panic, but also bc he needs to review his talking points for the morning (or that’s what he tells himself)

When he gets to the area where he and the Assembly are meeting, naturally, Ikithon (🤢) and his three prized Scourgers are there.

Essek is more than a little mortified to see them there bc the people he has to work with are... oh no...

Ofc, he shows none of this on his face bc he is well versed in the art of the poker face thanks to years and years of court training

Thankfully, they don’t seem to recognize him with the purple skin so everything should be fine... right...?

And it is... until he opens his mouth and speaks.

As one, the three Scourgers, who are not as well trained in poker faces as he is, whip their heads toward him, equal parts horror and shock crawling over their faces.

Essek wants so bad to melt into the floor, but he can’t risk ruining his reputation to indulge in childish wants, so Essek keeps going with his presentation, the cool façade of the Shadowhand remaining fixed in place until the end of the meeting.

After the meeting, Creepy Bitch-ithon wants something awful probably, but Essek dodges and weaves out of that one (for now...) and decides to walk back to his current place of stay in Rexxentrum.

Walk bc he can sense that the three Scourgers are following him and he needs to have a conversation with them anyway.

They “corner” him and apologize for overstepping, he says ‘for what? we are all consenting adults are we not?’ and then after a brief moment of very intense awkwardness, they discuss the new boundaries of their relationship.

After that, they all kiss like shy school children in their first relationship (it’s all really cute honestly).

And that's all the headcanons I have for you, op! I hope I answered all your questions, but if you have any more, feel free to shoot them my way. If you want to check out more of my writing it's all under the "my writing" tag. I also have a Blumentrio fic in the works so stay tuned for that 👀👀

Have a lovely day, op!

[angelicmichael]

If you get inspired I’d love to see what you do with “wrestling your enemy to the ground when they threaten you, holding a knife to their throat ''touch me if you dare.'' ''is that a challenge?''”

A/N: thank you for requesting this!! 🥺💖 I hope you like it!! I decided to make this ‘Michael Langdon x reader’ and I also made this with witch! reader. This is also from an enemies to lovers prompt list. this is kinda rlly long for a req bc I got carried away ngl 😭 sorry lmao I can write about enemies to lovers forever I swear lol. Also I made this kinda dark bc it’s close to Halloween 👉🏻👈🏻 so happy Halloween lmao.

Warnings: enemies to lovers, major conflict/fighting, kindaaaa a dark fic, threats, intimidation, reader tries to lowkey kill Michael SO- I think that says enough lol, mentions of death and dead bodies, witch! reader, kinda? Slowburn, blood, neck wound inflicted by a knife, manipulation, taunting, first kiss, sexual tension, reader is a simp lmao, kinda pain play?? Y’all this fic kinda gets weird- fair warning lmao

Your fingers, wrapped around the handle of the dagger was all you could currently focus on. Your grip grew tighter and nearly painful as you finally dared to make eye contact with him.

Michael Langdon.

You tried your best to keep the weapon hidden from his view.. or you hoped it was out of his line of vision, anyway. After all; you only stood a few feet away from him and by the way he was looking at you - it was hard to believe that any part of your appearance was going unnoticed but you still had to try.

You weren’t going down without a fight.. that’s for fucking sure.

Michaels eyes scanned you, but they rather stared at you almost blankly. It was almost as if he wasn’t looking at you but.. rather through you. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling, and you knew better than to wait for Michael to make the first move.

Letting him have control in any way was far too dangerous.. that was something you had to learn the hard way too many times.

It barely took any conscious thought at all in order for you to orchestrate your next move.. You knew you had to take Michael down before he chose to do something you couldn’t predict - and you suppose you decided to take your own advice too literally.

As soon as you took the first step; your entire perspective changed and turned red.

Before you had moved and were.. in a state of waiting.. you felt a sense of tranquility and pure calmness. but now that you had actually started moving and life was done being put on temporary pause - you were able to feel every emotion that you were stupidly and unconsciously suppressing - you felt it full force.

Michael really had no fucking chance now.

After coming back to Robichaux’s after choosing to run a random errand in town - finding your entire coven massacred had automatically sent your brain into a state of panic.. but so did seeing the assailant. And actually happening to fucking recognize said assailant did even more of a number on you.

How could he?

Most importantly.. Why would he?

You didn’t really care now.. it was irrelevant now because it was already done.

Blood was already decorated against the otherwise pristine white walls like it was fucking décor; like it was meant to be there. The heavy iron scent absolutely reeked, and probably would’ve driven you to run outside to puke if you suddenly hadn’t gained a certain motivation to.. end tonight on a good note.

“Careful. I wouldn’t want to do anything I might be tempted to regret later,” Michael taunted. His previous blank expression now filled with amusement - his blue eyes sparked with life and his lips shy of a smile.

That’s all it took.

It wasn’t hard to pin Michael to the floor.

Your hands effortlessly gained purchase on his wrists, your nails scrapping into his skin and gently sinking into his arm - the slight pain urging him to submit to you and your actions. However, once he was on the ground, you swiftly raised the knife you previously had, to his throat. Not daring to break skin but just enough for him to feel the cold steel against his throat..

You held the knife right at his pulse point; your other hand pinning his hands poorly above his head. Trembling at the proximity this forced you and Michael into. You pressed the knife just a hair harder into his skin, still not enough to draw blood but just enough so that you knew you had a decent grip and Michael wouldn’t be able to knock the knife out of your hand. Meanwhile; your legs (which were sort of folded since you were currently straddling him) pressed down into the soft skin of his thighs..

Your heavy breathing and loud heartbeat that seemed to ache throughout your entire body, pulsing painfully loud was far more distracting than the blood, the bodies or really anything else.

You couldn’t help but to selfishly hate yourself for even thinking this way right now.

What was happening?

How the fuck were you supposed to devote any of your attention to Michael or even keep him down when you were.. like this? So fucking breathless from basically doing nothing..

Something you knew that Michael could easily do without breaking a sweat.

It was pathetic.. but most importantly; it showed weakness.

You didn’t realize the exact proximity of you and Michael until you felt something hot brush up against your face.. hot breath… rapid and fast.

He was breathing heavy just like you were.

Michaels breathing still happened to be louder than yours; it actually held some volume.. if it weren’t for the fact that he had murdered your entire coven and everyone you ever loved, it would’ve been easy to mistake his breathing for moans but.. no.

You knew better. Especially now.

You let go of Michaels wrists that were previously pinned above his head - that were pressed into the hardwood floors (which you knew was bound to leave a bruise later.. or it would if he had a normal fucking body) and watched as he flexed his fingers.. most likely trying to heal himself or conserve energy but.. you watched as the small wounds from your nails on his arm still left small, angry, red marks. Most importantly; you noticed how he didn’t make a single fucking move to get you off of him.. it was completely dumbfounding but also- boring.

“Touch me if you dare,” you found yourself saying. You huffed out the words.. still breathless but Michael seemed to hear you loud and clear.

“Is that a challenge?” He responded back. His voice was deep and gravely, most likely a result from the previous events that had happened.

You smiled, but didn’t dare to let yourself to make any noise out loud that resembled a laugh or giggle. Instead you nodded.. just now bothering to actually make proper eye contact and look into his eyes.

The emotions you read in them weren’t what you were expecting..

It’s not as if you were necessarily expecting Michael to take your threats seriously, even the knife you held near his carotid really had no serious threat to Michael, which was both fun but really fucking frustrating.

Even though his warm and soft skin felt heavenly under yours - and you wanted nothing more than to let the knife fall to the floor and to succumb to these stupid new feelings you felt; you didn’t.

You didn’t see fear in his eyes.

You didn’t see surprise or anything close to that specific range of emotions. Instead you saw something else, you felt something else.

Looking directly into Michaels light blue eyes made you completely miss seeing his hands slip from your grasp and slowly sink down away from the top of his head.. and out of your view.

“Do it. Do it and then maybe I’ll touch you,” Michael said with almost a sneer. Undoubtedly referring to the knife you still held against his neck.. or that’s what you currently thought, anyway.

“Maybe? What exactly do you want me to do, Michael?” You asked, your teeth clenched.

“What you don’t have the balls to do.” Michael said without missing a beat.

Your eyebrows furrowed at first as you tried to understand what you clearly didn’t at first.. but then..

Oh.

“D’ you mean this?”

You pressed down the knife on his neck.. just enough to see dark crimson gather around the very edge of the blade before immediately letting up once you realized what exactly this fucker had manipulated you into doing.

Michaels immortality was obvious given that the entire coven was now slaughtered.. so why were you giving him what he wanted? It didn’t necessarily matter that it was pain.. The idea of giving Michael what he wanted in general was beyond revolting.

“No. Not that,” you heard him softly reply as you leaned back down closer to him.

You tried your hardest to keep eye contact but watching his fresh wound on his neck heal itself so.. quickly.. was something you couldn’t tear your attention away from. Not until you felt something suddenly on your back.

His hands.

So that’s where they went.

You let yourself be pushed farther down into Michael; bracing yourself to suddenly face Michaels wrath and for him to stop humoring you.

Only about 2 seconds passed that consisted of you waiting to feel the cool blade on your neck but instead you felt something else make contact with your skin first.. more specifically, your lips.

Something soft.. and wet.

His lips moved against yours at first slowly.. and as much as you wanted to kiss him back; at first you didn’t reciprocate his actions at all. Your body entirely tensed up and the wind felt as if it had temporarily been knocked out of you. You felt breathless.. bewildered and.. completely dumbfounded that Michael was still kissing you.

Surprisingly; it was your hands that first eased into his touch..

It felt natural to touch Michael now. To touch him in a way that wasn’t meant to inflict pain or to intimidate.. but rather to atleast try to actually enjoy the moment.

You first, carelessly, let the dagger fall from its previous position of being cradled in your fingers before doing something you hope Michael wouldn’t make you regret.

You finally kissed him back.. and finally dared to try to get closer to him than you already were. If that was even possible.

Maybe it was because the rush of blood still played loud in your ears from the current situation you were in (as well as the one that awaited you when you opened your eyes.. after all, Robichaux's was still a blood bath), but you swore you heard another noise from Michael.

It took almost everything in you to not laugh at the pure irony of the situation.

So is this what he wanted??

Thinking back, you wouldn’t be surprised if it really was.. after all, even now when Michael was pinned under you - it was still something he chose. Something he tolerated.

You didn’t trust it.

After letting Michael kiss you one last time, you pulled away. Not too far but just enough to catch your breath and to actually talk to the fucker.

“So, what’s the plan? You seduce me and then kill me off.. like the others?” You asked boldly.

You tried to look into Michaels eyes as you spoke to assert some kind of confidence but.. you simply couldn’t. Not when the rest of Michaels features looked as beautiful as they currently did.

Michael looked nothing but short of divine.. breathless from kissing. Red, swollen lips and flushed cheeks with dilated pupils. It was a view that you could get used too.. well, that you could.

“No. What makes you think your worthy of that?” He remarked with a snicker.

wait.. what?

“Worthy? You want to talk about being worthy?” You mocked back.

Half expecting for him to finally push you off and have enough of.. whatever this was but, instead you felt his hands on your back again. Gently pulling you back down onto him, just for your lips to meet his once more. Quickly forgetting about the blood, about who he really was and even why you were so upset in the first place.

After all, why did any of that matter now?

Thinking of things that were actually practical would only make you upset.. and that could always wait until Michael decided he had enough of you.

You hoped that time would never come.

Taglist: @michaellangdonstanaccount @langdonsexual @jimmason @blakescoven @dark-mei-rose @9layerdevilfoodcake @prophecy-is-inevitable @matildaofoz @beautyiswithinchaos @frenchlangdon @instinctsxbaby @melodylangdon @littledemondani @celestialrequiem @sojournmichael @ritualmichael @twilightzone24 @glamourouslife99

Let me know if u wanna be added or removed to the taglist <3

[bokutoslittlebird]

UHMMM EXCUSE ME BUT BOKUTO X ONEE-SAN IS JUST 😳🥵. I'm a different anon from the last one but omg, is it okay to ask more??? Maybe an MSBY Bokuto now or idk what if his onee-san finally gets pregnant (if you're okay with that). Thank yoy so much!

I got like four fics where the reader ends up pregnant I’m definitely fine with writing pregnancy lmao I’ve looked it up so many times I have a notebook of pregnancy symptoms and baby delivery. I do need to start writing down baby names tho bc my computer keeps asking me when I’m expecting

Mission : Corrupting Onee-san ; Bokuto, part 3

Kōtarō was a bit upset a week after the.. incident. You weren’t showing any common signs of pregnancy.

He researched it at least six different times, expecting to match something in your behavior to one of them. Each time he realized you weren’t pregnant, it was hard on you. Well, he was hard on you. Forcing his cock into you while you thrashed and tried to get him off, only to be met with the brick wall that is your little brother. He hardly even noticed you, often off in his own delusions until after he spilled his load into you. Even then, your fucked out face and overstimulated hole always had him raring to go again, this time with his focus on how good you made him feel.

With it being a month into his stay at your house, you wondered if your family would get suspicious about it. When he told you he’d be trying out for the MSBY Black Jackals, it fell into place. That’s why he was staying at your house, with the added bonus of being there if you needed anything. From someone else’s perspective, it would seem like he was a golden child with a heart of gold. In your eyes, you just saw a monster with a goal and determination to see the goal through. Kōtarō never shied from any questions your son had, either. Answering every question quickly and maturely, as if he knew the kid would ask it. He’s able to manipulate you and your son but you can’t do anything to stop him, not when he holds power over you.

Kazuki loves his uncle, his Oji-san a lot. You know he does. He’s always enjoyed visiting your parents’ house to see Kōtarō who would tell him stories, but you find he often lets his adoration for Kōtarō blind him. In his eyes, Kōtarō is a perfect human being and can do no wrong.

“Oji-san?” Kazuki’s little head pops up from under the table. You jump at his sudden appearance, especially if he came from under the table. With Kōtarō having you firmly placed on his lap, you wonder how your son would see the situation.

“Yeah, squirt?” He still smiled at Kazuki, not seeing anything wrong with the situation. Not seeing anything wrong with the way he has a steel grip on your hips and keeps rubbing his hardening cock into your clothed pussy.

“When you both go to bed, why does mommy scream?” Your eyes widen at his question, panicking. How do you answer that? He’s so young—

“Oh! Mommy has some bad nightmares, but it’s okay! I’m there to take care of her!” Kōtarō wraps his arms around your middle, warm hands sliding along your stomach. “Isn’t that right, mommy?”

“Yes, Kōtarō, it—“ your words were interrupted with a shriek, feeling Kōtarō pinch the skin on your hips.

“Mommy, are you okay?!”

“Yes, dear. I’m fine. Uh, daddy just startled me, that’s all.” With the new situation and lack of anyone else, Kōtarō wanted to fully move into the ideal family life. Including his title. Kazuki didn’t bat an eyelash, just nodding and eagerly going to play with his toys. A present from Kōtarō.

“We talked about that, nee-san,” Kōtarō’s breath tickled your ear, a warm tongue licking the shell of it. A shiver went down your spine, feeling his bulge get harder underneath you. “Kazuki needs to see me as a father figure now. Especially since he’ll have a baby brother soon,”

“What makes you so sure it’ll be a boy?���

“I have faith. Need strong boys to protect mommy while daddy’s busy at work,” the talk of you having his offspring has him raring to go, a dark cloud covering his eyes as he ruts up against you. You find yourself face down on the dinner table while Kōtarō eagerly strips off your panties and your jeans. It’s nothing for him to pull his cock out of his sweats, eagerly rubbing the mushroom tip against your folds. Even if your mind and heart don’t want it, that doesn’t stop the slick from pooling into your panties and coating your folds. Your hole is nice and wet for him, ready for his fat cock to split you open.

“Kō, we- we can’t! Zuki-“

“If you keep quiet, he won’t know,” he hisses in your ear, his hand digging into the fat of your ass. It’s a warning to be quiet. Kōtarō usually enjoys your voice, how you scream and beg when he’s filled you to the brim, but now he needs you to be quiet since you’re on the table.

Pushing his cock into you is something he’ll never get tired of. He loves the warm feeling of your cunt and how tight your walls are around him, you’re all sticky and wet, allowing him to slide right in. He doesn’t stop, not for a moment, feeling you holding back your moans as he bottoms out. Even with your hesitance, your body knows he makes you feel good. It has him slapping his hips to your ass while he cages you to the table, pressing you down with his chest. Your nails scratch the table, trying to find something to hold on to when his hands snake up under them, squeezing while he rams into you. It’s enough to squeeze his hands while he brings you to an orgasm, his balls slapping against your clit while your walls squeeze around him, sucking him in.

“K-Kō-chan, I-“

“I’m almost there, hold on, baby,” he whispers, his mouth right next to your ear. You don’t know whether he’s talking to you or the possibility of a child resulting in this, but you find his hips stuttering, a low groan as he stills inside you. Your walls milk him dry, another orgasm as you coat him in your own release. He doesn’t pull out, keeping still inside you while you both come down your high.

“It’s Kazuki’s bedtime. I need to tuck him in,” You break the silence, squirming as the feeling of Kōtarō’s cock in you, and his cum, has become awkward.

“I’ll do it,” he presses a kiss to your hair, removing himself from you. He’s quick to pull your panties and jeans back up, keeping his cum from mostly coming out. “After all, I gotta be a good dad, don’t I?”

With Kōtarō constantly leaving the house for practice with the Black Jackals, he leaves you alone. Taking care of Kazuki was your only chore, really. With Kōtarō earning plenty of money and you having the insurance money from your recently deceased husband and daughter, you were not financially unstable. Most of your money had gone to special pills to prevent pregnancy, making sure you had one each time after Kōtarō spilled inside you. Labeled as vitamins, you easily took them all the time in front of Kōtarō as he didn’t bat an eye. They seemed to work, suspending the pregnancy as each day you turned out and took the test, only one line popping up.

You thought you were safe.

When your vitamins went missing, you didn’t know where to turn. After the table sex and the bedtime routine, you needed those pills. Looking through each cabinet, you couldn’t find it. When you asked Kazuki, he seemed innocent enough. The only possibility was that Kōtarō had found out and taken them out. You had to wait until he returned from practice before you could confront him.

When he finally popped through the door, Kazuki went to go hug him. “Oji-san!”

“Hey, hey, hey! We talked about that, squirt,” a darkness looms in his eyes, but his smile is bright and blinding.

“Sorry, daddy. I’m not used to it,” he looks downright guilty, as if he did something wrong. Kōtarō’s big hand plops on top of Kazuki’s head.

“It’s alright. You’ll get used to it eventually, especially once you have a little brother,”

“I’m gonna have a little brother?!” Bouncing on his feet, Kazuki turned to you. The smile you sported was more of a cringe, but you nodded.

“That’s the plan. Daddy, can we talk?” Kōtarō eagerly follows you, handing a new toy to Kazuki as if he doesn’t have over 20 new toys. Kōtarō doesn’t stop in front of you, rather hugging you close to him as you feel his hardened cock rubbing against your leg. “Kōtarō we need to talk. About serious stuff.”

“If it’s about those Plan B pills, I flushed them down the toilet,”

“Wha- flushed? Those were my vitamins!”

“You aren’t taking anything that risks serious health problems if you don’t take it. Not only that, you’re not under any prescription medications. From now on,” he says, voice low and commanding. Pulling from you, you look into his eyes to see something sinister in them, as if his delusion is becoming tangible. “You’ll be taking what I give to you. No more caffeine, no more wine before bed, yes I know you drink a glass while getting ready, and no more vitamins without my permission. After all, our future is dependent on this.”

With his declaration of claiming you, officially deciding to prevent anything that could stand in his way, you felt sick as you took another test, the single line being joined by a matching one. You couldn’t hide it, you couldn’t throw it away, he’d know the truth regardless. You always showed him negative results, so the test going missing would mean he knew it was positive. Kōtarō waits on your bed — his, too, now — as you weigh your options. With shaky hands, you open the bathroom door as he perks up, his face smiling as if he knew the answer already. With his hair down and still damp from the bath, you see how attractive he is, his muscles flexing as he gets up to see the result. Showing him the plastic piece, he can’t hide his excitement.

“I’m gonna be a dad! You’re gonna be a mommy! Well, we are, but this time for reals!” He’s so excited, it’s easy to find yourself smiling with him, caught up in the excitement. When he puts you down, it’s on the bed and he’s quickly crawling to cage you in. “I say this is cause for a celebration.”

“Kōtarō, what about mom? And dad? And our sisters? They’ll find out eventually, won’t they? We’ll be disowned,” your panicked voice stops him, straddling you as his hand goes to his chin. As if he’s thinking.

“Well, lets just cut ties with them. I’m a member of one of Japan’s Division 1 volleyball teams. I make enough money for us to be stable comfortably, not to mention the money you have from insurance. That way,” he licks his lips, leaning over you again, “I can have you all to myself,”

[faeryarchives]

i have. so many manhwa tabs open. am i planning to read half of them? mmmmm. maybe. will i keep them open anyways? absolutely.

anyways a couple manhwa recs rq

The solider's ex-girlfiend (i'm pretty sure it was called that)

girl dies nd takes the body of fl of a shitty romance book. breaks up with the crappy ml and goes .+* live life *+. Constantly pestered to go on dates and shit, because prettiest girl in the village is free now!

Goes on date with one guy, decides to become bros (not romantic relationship because mc isn't into that rn). But dundunDUN!! Dude (to no ones suprise) is the demon dude in the cover, but is hiding this from fl.

Ngl there are so many red flags popping up left and right and fl is completely colorblind. but anyways proceed the manipulation.

And that's the start of the story, i quite like it since the relationship between the two leads is really fucking fluffy and although there are a fuck ton of plot twists leading to the end of the story everything gets tied up neatly. also shit gets cleared up with fl and ml, thank fuck.

even that one girl who was into the original novel's ml get's a decent end (except for the princess though. where is the swamp monster x princess content??? hello?????)

Is it the BEST ever?? fuck no. but definitely was an enjoyable read for me. solid 7/10.

Pathfinder

Girl gets into fight with parents, cue "man i wish i could go to another world" line, magical door opens and girl goes through it. bam boo, welcome to ur new life btw ur home world may or may not be frozen in time with all human life being completely wiped and the only way to get it back is to collect shiny things but TALKING ANIMAL!!!

other important thing to state she can go back to her homeworld and steal shit from stores and sell them in the other world for a shit ton because "wtf this doesn't need magic to activate??? cool i'll pay 50 gold."

she's. just kinda a pussy. but honestly realistic asf no one would immediately be adjusted to losing the world they've known all their life and being forced to survive in a new one.

this manhwa focuses i think a bit more on the fl's emotions and shit, rather than being more relationship oriented.

this one is still ongoing so i can't say exactly how satisfying the ending would be but right now it's got quite the riveting story line.

8/10 deffo on the better side of manhwas like these, but we'll have to wait and see where the story'll go.

(also, if i ever come back on anon, i'll tag myself as the 📚 anon.)

HI OMG NEW ANON ofc sure you can be 📚 anon and i haven't heard about these manhwas at all so thank you for recommending it i'll try to read it during vacation 🙏

and every time i read a manhwa and the fl is just like literally blind to the red flags i dont even feel disappointed at all instead i just laugh bc of frustration like miss girl do you need glasses i can buy one for you just don't be stupid pls u are a smart person u deserve a green flag😭

[mallowstep]

(Reed anon again)

Just--wtf did Riverclan do with Reedpaw when everyone was rescued? Even in Canon? Like, poor fucking Mistyfoot--two of her kits are with her, but her third and final kit is still in enemy territory, still underneath Tigerstar's paw, Blackfoot is still his mentor. If even a *hint* of Reedpaw's true parentage got out, he'd be fucked. He and Leopardstar would both probably be dead, Leopard carrying Tiger's legacy or not. Tbh I wouldn't doubt Tigerstar'd be petty enough just to kill all of Riverclan itself. Like...Greystripe, you fucking LIVED in Riverclan for a few fucking MOONS. How do you forget or at least NOT recognize/remember the queen that nursed your kits' own kits? You told Firestar you visited them every chance you had. Like...Grey, I get you were worried for you daughter, but dude...you left a child who you saw as a baby to a toddler (thereabouts) under a war criminal. Someone you KNOW had a subordinate who was not against poisoning kits with deathberries. Someone who tried to kill his OWN apprentice. Then, in the Leopard AU, this kid is stuck in the apprentices den during the rescue. Leopardstar and Mudfur cannot get him out without alerting Shadowclan Apprentices. They chose Mistyfoot and Featherpaw's heath and safety (which, at this point it's better than nothing.) And Misty has to choose Feather when Mudfur leads them out of their prison. He then gets to see the absolute horror of his LEADER, murdered, loose a life, to this Monster, see her go through what his mother did, only that IT'S far, far, worse than anything that'd been done at this point. He sees his clan's medicine cat turn against their leader, verbally agreeing and harassing her...just... this poor boy.. In Canon, Misty Au, Leopard AU it all sucks. Dark AU, not so much--still horrific, but Blackfoot is Reed's father in that one, so as his mentor Reed's safety is somewhat assured had Tigerstar not realized Reedpaw was Misty's kit, and that Misty's kits had not all died.

oh my god anon why r u so Damn Good at making me feel things

okay okay okay hm. i'm just gonna -- yeah i'm just gonna put the whole thing under a cut bc i'm a lil too tired to do the thing where i start with the pg-13 and below stuff and then do a cut.

cw: sexual assault, parent being involved in sexual assault of child

heck if i know. i'm like. 100% sure mistyfoot's kits were forgotten about. they were nameless characters for a Long time. reedpaw isn't in any of the allegiances for riverclan in tpb. i...like. i've read tpb how many times? and i honestly didn't know mistyfoot had kits until i checked out the warriors wiki and was like. oh. she had kits? with blackclaw? what the fuck?

i wouldn't put money on it, but i have a feeling the scene involving mistyfoot and her kits could be read as riverclan kits in general. again, wouldn't put money on that, it's just a hunch.

anyway, i kind of just. mistyfoot could have had another litter in the year between tpb and tnp, or during po3, or literally any other time and then we wouldn't have the reedpaw problem (tm).

WAIT

WAIT WAIT WAIT I WAS LOOKING AT THE WARRIORS WIKI AND

HE'S AN APPRENTICE IN TNP

what the FUCK

he's fucking like. several YEARS old. he's 2 and a half years old and he's a fucking apprentice oh my god just give mistyfoot a second litter it is not that hard.

actually. since mistyfoot's litter isn't named...new hc that reedwhisker is a different litter? hm. anyway.

my tangent on the reedpaw problem aside;

oh yeah, he's so fucking dead. imo prob not him and leopardstar -- riverclan would Riot if their leader was killed, and tbh, so would part of shadowclan -- but him and blackclaw. damn.

and yeah? idk? god. i don't know. tbf he's not in prison i don't even know. altho. actually, to give greystripe some credit -- the fact that mistyfoot doesn't ask to go back for him and how risky the riverclan rescue is, i think "not going back" is actually a reasonable choice.

honestly do we have an erin statement that reedwhisker is part of the same litter as prim and co. it's not on the wiki. i want to know. because i think everyone just assumed he was and -- maybe there is a statement but i want to see it.

because mistyfoot is not the type to abandon her kit. like. what? no. mistyfoot? mistyfoot? my brother just died but i am fucking fine get me the hell out of here mistyfoot? no i know i'm starving but like hell you can apprentice featherpaw to someone else mistyfoot? you're telling me SHE would leave a kit behind without so much as a word about him? fat fucking chance.

in conclusion, unless someone can provide evidence an erin said reedwhisker was part of mistyfoot's first litter, i'm going to assume the intention was that he was a second litter.

and back to the actual topic, now that i'm done for real hopefully.

yeeep. he can't be rescued. and -- mistyfoot has very few choices here. featherpaw is dying, reedpaw is safe for the moment, she won't get another chance. she's not happy about it -- she misses him so terribly much -- but she doesn't. yeah. god. that angst. i hope like. someone somehow just Tries to let reedpaw know it wasn't voluntary.

(i'm not Much One for "you left me you didn't love me" angst if you Can't tell. a pinch of it for flavour, but not as a main plot line, y'know? nothing wrong with it it's very good i just don't like writing it.)

god -- god. in my mind tigerstar takes the life from leopardstar privately bc riverclan would fucking riot but just. reedpaw realizes what's happening. so he follows bc of course he does. he's not the reason tigerstar knows what's going on, but he thinks he is.

and he's there hiding and he sees tigerstar kill leopardstar and hears him tell mudfur what's going to happen and he's sitting there in a bush or something just trying not to so much as twitch because he's so dead if tigerstar finds him. he's so fucking dead.

so he just sits there until long after tigerstar and leopardstar and mudfur have left and when he gets back to camp everyone wonders where he went and he can't explain.

and it feels terrible but he realizes tigerstar is still gloating over everything because as pissed as he is that he lost mistyfoot -- now he's truly taken out every thread of riverclan's leadership.

(frankly no i still think tigerstar's most effective control method for riverclan would be to tell stonefur that if he messes up, he'll kill the apprentices and/or mistyfoot and/or rape mistyfoot, and do leopard au on leopardstar, therefore getting all 3 riverclan leaders in blind obedience to him. he'd have to be much more discrete about leopardstar, maybe convince the clans it's a political thing, i'm not sure. the point is, nothing would Visibly be wrong, all three leaders are just going for this, and so of course riverclan would go along with it. but tigerstar's too much of a prideful asshole to appreciate another culture in enough depth to manipulate them effectively.)

anyway. so reedpaw realizes like -- ah yes. i'm escaping punishment because tigerstar is distracted. and -- god. yeah. oh my god.

and at first like -- he doesn't like. witness anything. tigerstar has some sense of subtly. not a ton -- but enough. direct evidence would be a problem. so no, reedpaw is just sitting with this knowledge in his head. mistyfoot escaped and she was carrying tigerstar's kits (was she? he hadn't seen her he misses her so much he hopes prays she's safe), so now leopardstar is going to.

and the thing about letting things sit like that is that the brain is very, very powerful.

(He called my mother a whore, Reedpaw thinks, and he wants to throw up when he remembers it.

Tigerstar and Leopardstar and Mudfur are having a conversation again and Reedpaw thinks of how Tigerstar would wrap his tail around Mistyfoot, like they were mates, and he wonders what Tigerstar would say if he didn't have to pretend.)

so. you know. yeah. good angst oh my god.

and now mudclaw has flipped from -- one of his best protectors to a great enemy. see, here's the thing. tigerstar only tells mudfur he's going to make him watch. leopardstar ain't dead that long. so reedpaw doesn't know what shadepelt knows and shadepelt would tell him but if shadepelt tries to talk to reedpaw...bad for the both of them.

and reedpaw is around blackfoot and blackfoot is a good guard and how long until -- reedpaw is asked to tell blackfoot something while blackfoot is on guard and he hears mudfur say, "You're a slut like your mother" and he -- can't. maybe he freezes, can't remember what he was supposed to tell blackfoot.

("Spit it out," Blackfoot says, but Reedpaw can't remember why he's even here.

"Even your own father thinks you're just a useless whore," Tigerstar says. He's not speaking loud -- Reedpaw would have to strain to hear the words if his entire world hadn't narrowed down to them.

"Reedpaw," Blackfoot growls. "Spit it out.")

hm. yes. god. bad. good. damn.

and yes the dark au seems like. once again "the angst is very different so i don't know how to rank its magnitude because emotions don't work like that" but. on one hand -- his dad. protection. safety. good. on the other -- his dad really did let two of his siblings die and his mom get raped, huh.

hm. good stuff.