#or i would be if i didn't keep falling in love with bottom up patterns

[bonyfish]

Pros of knitting a round yoke colorwork sweater from the top down:

Can try it on as you go and make sure it fits

No seams to sew

Small number of stitches to cast on initially

Cons:

Fucking none, it's a perfect sweater format

Pros of knitting a round yoke colorwork sweater from the bottom up:

Can use a sleeve as a swatch to double check your gauge and color harmonies, assuming there is colorwork on the sleeve cuffs

The yoke is often the most exciting part and leaving it for last is satisfying

Cons:

Had to use like 5 different needles to get the sleeve stitches off of waste yarn and join them to the body, playing a game of absolute musical chairs with interchangeable needle tips

Can't easily try it on as you go so you've just gotta hope you didn't screw up too bad and that it'll fit when you're done

Danger of running out of one or more colors of yarn at the yoke, which is arguably the most important part of the design

Gotta sew up the little underarm holes when you're done

I know I already pointed out that you can't try it on as you go but I will bring it up again as I believe it is the most salient point here

What if you bind off too tight and can't get the collar over your head? What then???

In conclusion why do my friends keep letting me knit sweaters from the bottom up

[hispg]

Between royalty and vows

Pairings: Prince! Leon x Fem! Reader

Summary: A forced marriage, a fate set in stone, nothing could change that.

In the world of royalty, there were no choices, only obligations to fulfill. What you didn't expect was to become engaged to a renowned prince, ready to succeed the lineage.

Until that moment, you still had some hope that everything would work out, maybe it wasn't so bad. But it would be a shame if your future husband had a mistress.

Wouldn't it?

Wc: 2.8k

Warnings: slow burn, angst, hurt/ comfort, cheating, arranged marriage, eventual smut, one-sided love, affairs, manipulative behavior from Leon, male chauvinism, misogyny (I'll put more once things start to progress).

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

Chapter 7: Unforgettable

The sun was only just coming up, but you had already been awake for a long time. You weren't even allowed to sleep properly that day, after all, the bride had to get up early to prepare for the big occasion. The wedding.

You were surrounded by the queen's ladies, several seamstresses and other maids, some of whom you had never seen set foot in this castle.

In this preparation, no part of you was forgotten, you were adorned from head to toe, from the veil that covered your head to the delicate satin shoes that embellished your feet. Not even if you looked for a strand of hair out of place would you find one. You were dressed like a queen, a beauty so stunning that it could make anyone fall at your feet.

Everyone but the one you wanted.

When your eyes caught sight of yourself in the mirror, you could see every detail of your dress with the utmost clarity. The delicate silk, the lace seams that made sophisticated patterns, just by looking at it you could tell it was too expensive.

The jewelry that Leon had given you a few days ago was now all on you, from necklaces to earrings, or the crown that was on your head, which he had also chosen for you.

You were the bride, but you felt like a stranger in your own wedding, as if it wasn't yours, the intruder was you, the bride herself.

"You look beautiful, Your Highness." One of the maids said, looking at you with admiration.

You then smiled, a forced but beautiful smile, and thanked her with a nod of your head. You made a few more adjustments to your dress yourself. Until then, without realizing the queen's presence at the door, the lady looked at you from top to bottom.

"You look perfect, dear." She said in a velvety voice, approaching you.

Since the last 'disagreement' with the queen, she had been a little distant from you, but apparently everything had passed and she was acting as if nothing had happened. Maybe she just wants to make up.

"You're the perfect suitor for my son, that's why I chose you." She says, as if proud of the fact.

"Thank you, Your Grace." You say in a soft voice, keeping your smile.

She paused, coming up behind you and putting her hands on your shoulders.

Of course you knew your obligation as a woman, but hearing her say that she chose you as if you were just a pretty product on the shelf, didn't seem right.

"I imagine it wasn't easy." You say, trying to get into the same frame of mind as her.

She then nodded, gently adjusting a few details of your veil.

"It's hard to find someone who's worthy of being a prince's wife, it's not easy, being a good wife is a hard chore." She says, letting her fingers trace your necklace.

You gave her a sidelong glance, gathering all your respect, holding your tongue so as not to say something you might regret.

"I'm sure I'll be adequate." You replied politely.

"I'm sure of it, I can already imagine that you'll be able to liven up this castle. Especially when you start giving me heirs." That word sent shivers down your spine, not in a good way.

You always thought that having children would come from an act of passionate love, from those tenuous moments that formed between a couple. But it didn't take long for you to realize that it was just an obligation, and that sooner or later you would be forced to fulfill it.

"Are you already thinking of heirs, Majesty?" You murmured, thinking out loud and not realizing that you had said it out loud.

In a quiet response, she let her hands rest on your abdomen, as if she were seeing the prospect of a child in there.

"That's one of your main purposes, dear. To give my son heirs." You tried your best not to feel disgusted by the tone used, but the idea that you were just an object, destined to fulfill a role at court, was disturbing.

"I also depend on your son's will." You say, gently and firmly removing her hands from your body.

You knew what she was getting at with this manipulation.

"My son will not disappoint." She retorts, watching you support yourself on your heels and head for the exit of your room.

"No of course he won't, he already has." You say without thinking, sharp, harsh words slipping out of your mouth.

You only saw the queen change her expression, which at this point was no longer friendly, but had turned into a gray, angry expression. As if sent from heaven, Chris was charged with taking you to the carriage, and to your surprise he was already waiting for you at the door.

"Your Highness." He said with the same cutting smile as always, expecting you to accompany him.

And you did so without much thought, walking alongside him, trying to disguise the nervous look on your face

"Leon is already waiting for you at the cathedral." He says politely, helping you down the stairs.

"Oh, then we should hurry." You say, lifting up your dress so you can walk more quickly.

"We'll be there in time, don't worry." He assures you, holding your hand as you descend.

Once you had reached the main hall, you heard buzzing here and there, but you couldn't quite make it out. Until you focused your attention on a subject that was of great interest to you.

"I hear that Princess Ashley is very ill! She won't even be able to attend the wedding!" One of the maids commented to Ausdret, who was listening attentively.

"Get back to your duties, there's a lot to do!" Ausdret retorted, giving no room for any gossip to continue.

Ashley sick, a severe cold? Or some more serious illness? In fact, she'd have to be very ill not to attend such an event, or perhaps it's an excuse?

Chris certainly sensed your uncertainty, and promptly muttered, "It'll be fine. You look gorgeous, and so will the wedding."

You felt a small sense of relief, but it was enough to make you put your head together and think about the day ahead.

"Yes, it'll be fine." You murmured back to Chris, sounding more like something to you than to him.

In a cozy silence, he took you to the carriage waiting outside, where they were already waiting for you.

"Good luck, Your Highness." Chris whispers just for you to hear, giving you a gentle smile.

You nod, trying to force your best smile. Despite the storm in your heart, you needed to keep everything in order. Once you got into the luxurious carriage, you knew there was no turning back. And you had chosen that, now all you had to do was wait for the road to end and you would be at the altar, sealing an illusory commitment.

Once you got out of the carriage, you heard the trumpets sounding to announce your arrival, and that's when you began to walk calmly, always keeping your smile and elegance, your head held high as you were the target of the party's prying eyes. Your father was already waiting for you at the entrance to the cathedral, ready to take you down the aisle.

On the way to the altar, you didn't know if it was harder to walk in a dress that size or if the weight of your heart was more significant than that. When the trumpets stopped, all you could hear was the faint applause, the low murmurs here and there, which were so low that you couldn't identify what they were about.

The cathedral was packed, so many people there and you didn't even know half of them, but if they were there, they were certainly important people.

In the distance you could see your family, who smiled proudly at you, your mother with her eyes watering almost to the point of tears, and of course for her everything was perfect, and even if it wasn't, your family and his would act as if everything was a beautiful fairy tale.

Your walk down the aisle was soon marked by the orchestra, playing the standard wedding tune, the sounds echoing through the room as you this time took your focus off your family, and managed to spot your groom, waiting impatiently for you at the altar.

Hate him all you want, but he was breathtaking. Leon found himself wearing a black suit, his eupalette shining when the sun reflected off them, his hair slicked back in a style you hadn't seen him wear before. When you saw him return your gaze, you felt butterflies blooming in your stomach, your breath catching in your throat, causing you to hold the flowers in your hands tighter. He looked so beautiful, you could gasp just looking at him.

Step by step you finally reached the altar, making a small courtesy, and your father gave you a small blessing, and you promptly positioned yourself next to the prince. You were so close, so far apart, almost tying the knot, but still far from finding each other.

Once silence prevailed, the priest cleared his throat and looked at everyone, but specifically at the two of you.

"I appreciate everyone's presence for the celebration of this union. I request that you all take your places so that we can begin the ceremony." The priest said, looking at everyone seriously, but with a certain joy in his eyes.

"We are here today to initiate the union between two kingdoms, between two young lovers." The older man says, his attention focused on the pieces of paper on the lectern.

Who in the whole kingdom wouldn't be happy about such a union?

Everyone sits down and stares at the two of you, the youngest couple about to be married.

"We are here to witness, before God and the whole kingdom, the conjuncture and union between two royals, a prince and a princess, who will soon be our next majesties." Once again the priest spoke, this was his moment to speak, and he would make the importance of this union even clearer.

And then he looks up at the two of you, speaking seriously once again, " Matrimony is a sacred union, not to be broken by anything. The only plausible explanation for breaking that holy and sacred union, is death."

These words sent a chill down your spine, and you couldn't help but swallow when you found yourself facing this situation. Only death could separate the two of you.

What could be a love story for any couple in love, for you, God forgive you, seemed to be more of a curse than anything else.

With a glance from the priest, you saw a girl approaching, carrying the rings on a small cushion. They were made of pure metal, shining so brightly that they were striking even from a distance. Yours had his name engraved on it, along with a diamond at the top.

Leon's ring, on the other hand, also had your name on it, but no stones or other adornments. This was the time to exchange vows, the moment when the two of you would make promises and promises of love.

Another girl came and gently took the bouquet of flowers from your hand, so that you could turn around and face Leon, and the two of you were staring at each other. And you didn't see a hint of love in Leon's eyes, maybe you found some emotion, and it was probably discontent.

Leon then took your hands in his, his warm, larger hands wrapped around yours, and you felt a sudden shiver at the small act.

"Do you promise, Leon Scott Kennedy, to take," he then spoke your name, "as your lawfully wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor her and guard her, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as long as you both shall live?"

The silence was deafening, everything was quiet except for the sound of your heart beating in your ears, and at the slightest gesture, you squeezed his hand even harder.

At the same moment, you saw him press his lips together tightly, his emotions screaming inside him, the pain between having to seal an incorrigible path, put everything he once wanted to the test, override the desire to follow his heart.

With a certain apprehension, he picked up the ring, removed your gloves, and then slid the ring onto your ring finger.

"Yes… I promise." He says, without any conviction, for the first time you saw his gaze empty, but at the same time you could see the melancholy present there.

"Do you promise," the priest began, clearly speaking your full name before continuing, "to take Leon Scott Kennedy as your lawful wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor him and guard him, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as long as you both shall live?"

His hesitation to answer was an answer as clear as a thousand words.

But now his oath had been made, all that was left was for you.

With your mind working a thousand miles a minute, all you did was look deep into Leon's eyes, as if you were searching for something there, perhaps something to calm your nerves. But he was looking for the same thing in you, so you were both looking for solace, when you wouldn't have any.

When you saw the people looking at you with a certain astonishment, seeing that you were slow to respond, you also reached for the wedding ring that sealed the marriage, taking Leon's hand in yours as you placed the jewel on his finger.

"Yes, I promise." You said in a whisper, just giving the priest and Leon a chance to hear.

You could already hear some murmurs forming in the cathedral, but you couldn't make out what they were about. A request for silence from the priest was enough to stop all sound, and silence took over once again.

A sound of the priest cleaning his throat, was enough for you to come back to reality and stop staring at Leon, paying attention to what the priest had to say.

"In the sight of God and of people, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May this unification be full of fruits and joys, may it bring to our country what we need. And may you both be happy and blessed by God." For the first time you see the priest give the two of you a slight smile and then mutter:

"You must seal the union with a kiss." The phrase gave you butterflies in your stomach, and it didn't take more than a few seconds for Leon to bring his face close to yours.

At that moment, all you could feel was the blush rising to your cheeks, and everything around it disappeared once he locked his lips onto yours, gently placing a hand on your cheek to hold you in place.

You closed your eyes and let yourself be carried away by the sensation, your lips on his as you moved in sync, in a gentle and sweet way.

If everything was as sweet as this moment was being, then you would feel complete. But life is not a bed of roses.

Once you parted, you leaned your foreheads together, and listened to the various cheers and whistles you saw from everyone watching.

"I promise you'll be happy." Leon whispered to you, and you didn't know if it was worse that he was lying in front of God, or that you believed it so easily.

"I hope so." You reply with a weak smile, looking at him deeply.

When the two of you turned your faces away a little, you were faced with a crowd of emotional people looking at you. Some smiled, some cried, but everyone seemed to be happy for the two of you.

You knew it was far from over, you still had the reception, the ball, and the tedious conversations that would go on for endless minutes.

But since all these real commitments would be over before nightfall, you would soon be going on honeymoon with Leon.

A thought that would almost certainly be a dream for couples in love. But you didn't know whether to be apprehensive or disappointed, perhaps even intrigued. You'd be lying if you said that the idea of sleeping with him didn't make your knees weak.

In any case, when the two of you went on your honeymoon, you would indeed play your part as his wife. Something about that was strangely excoriating.

And when that happened, you were his, officially his.

You were his.

Oh, you were his.

Taglist: @gollumsmygel, @quemmysworld, @loveoverdosing, @delulusimps, @d3jecteddoll, @kennedyleyy, @acriixys, @deredvv, @luminehallowss

[runa-falls]

the love bite - steven

pairing: steven grant x reader (what's new)

warnings: biting (lol), physical hurt/comfort, FLUFF, unhinged!reader, sub-ish!steven [I CAN'T HELP IT OK], small reference to the boys' past/their job, a bit suggestive but not explicit!

a/n: blaming @whatthefishh for this thot after the comment on the flowers fic about wanting to bite him i had to write. and @leoluved for encouraging me to write this instead of my wips -- hehe :3

prompt (by me): i wonder how steven would react to the reader just biting him out of love...

w/c: ~800

masterlist

---

With Steven, the initial chomp would happen during a normal hangout with each other. 

Like you'd both just be chilling, sprawled out on the couch, with the tv droning in the background:

You love these moments with Steven. The unspoken acknowledgment that you are both pretending to watch what's on when really you're just sinking into each other's touch, enjoying each other's company.

Soft, lazy days like this have become increasingly rare as Konshu has Marc sent out on missions in the States every few weeks. You don't blame them. You could never blame them. You just miss them.

Steven is snuggled right behind you, a sweater-clad arm securely wrapped over your shoulder to keep you close to his body. He sighs softly into your hair, wishing to just lay here, legs tangled with yours forever.

He doesn't notice or care that his oversized sleeve bunches at his elbow as he repositions himself behind you, but your eyes instantly catch onto his revealed forearm, tan and strong, but relaxed, resting right above your chest.

Sometimes you forget how strong your boyfriends are, how they can handle you with such care, touches as light as a feather when all they've known in their life is pain.

Steven settles closer to you, face nuzzled against your shoulder, subtly breathing you in with a soft sigh. His warmth soaks into your back, surrounding you with undeniable comfort. You look down at his arm with interest in your eyes, teeth gnawing at your bottom lip.

Suddenly you have this urge, this impulsive thought to just --

Steven chokes out a high-pitched yelp.

"HEY!" He’s barely able to process what happened as he swipes his arm away from your mouth. "W-what was that for?" He stares at you with furrowed brows while his other arm slips out from under you to rub at the fresh bite mark on his arm.

You sit up a little, eyes trained on the indents as his fingers gently swipe over them. Pretty. You didn't bite hard so they're quite faint, but you can still make out your bite pattern. 

You bite the inside of your cheek, "I dunno." 

It sounded dumb coming out of your mouth, but you really can't explain why you did it. You just needed to. Something about his softness and the pure affection you hold for him compelled you to bite him…and you kind of want to do it again.

Your hand darts out and you try to tug his arm closer, but he struggles against you, no longer trusting his limbs anywhere close to your mouth. He whimpers softly when you tug harder, trying to resist your eager grip.

“What d’you mean ‘I don’t know’?!” His arm is immovable, but you keep pulling at him. “You bit me!” 

When he pulls away from your body, attempting to push himself up to a seated position, you huff in frustration and yank him back. He falls back with a squeak and you hold him close, leaning in instead of pulling him in this time.

You brush your lips against his warm skin, hovering right over the last bite and he relaxes a bit, believing you’d soothe the bite with a kiss as an apology. But you don’t. 

It’s less aggressive this time around. Less of a bite and more of a nibble. 

He tenses at first, instinctively wanting to draw away from you, but as you gently suckle and lick at him, he starts to settle against you, seeing as you mean him no harm. 

“I-I still don’t get it.” He peers down at you as you leave soft marks along his arm, “What – Why are you doing this?” 

You sigh, “Steven…just let it happen.” 

“Um, ok.” 

—

Since that initial bite, your lips have made their way around his body, taking time to show every inch of him some love and affection. He’s littered with love bites and phantom kisses, but he still yearns for more. 

He shudders as you drag the edge of your teeth against the crook of his neck and eagerly leans into your touch, hungry for physical contact.

No matter how much he mewls and begs for you, you’ve taken it slow, drinking in each bated breath and soft cry. 

You breathe a whisper against his skin, “You like this, Steven?”

He doesn’t answer your question.

You place a gentle kiss on his sweet spot, but pull away when he starts to whine for more. 

“Please, darling.” 

He wants you to bite, but you stay put and watch him writhe for your touch. 

Your thumb swipes over a blotch of purple on his shoulder and he shivers at the sensation of pleasurable pain, “Why do you like it so much, sweetheart, hm?”

“I dunno,” He’s delirious, only able to think about you and your touch, “I just – please.”

“Ok, baby…”

[yandere-romanticaa]

.ೃ࿐ crazy in love.

❝ it's the way that you know what i thought i know, it's the beat that my heart skips when I'm with you, but i still don't understand, just how your love can do what no one else can. ❞

SONG: crazy in love by sofia karlberg.

yandere! al-haitham x gn! reader.

warning for mentions for past suggestive activities. this is a proper fic version of this thing here because I originally wanted it to be longer but was too tired to continue it... but you people still loved it.

Fun fact - this has been sitting in my drafts since 2022!

Chattering sailors went on and on as you stared emptily at the hustling and bustling city in front of you, the various lights and lanterns bringing Port Ormos into life as people happy walked on with each other, eager to either finish their duties and go home or they can finally unwind and relax with their friends and family, a promise of either good food, drinks or both waiting for them.

Biting on your lower lip you narrowed your eyes, bitter feelings taking over your entire feeling from top to bottom.

Oh, what you'd give to be in their shoes right now.

Pulling your arms closer towards your body you huddled yourself for some warmth as you tilted your head slightly to the side, the ocean view and the chilly wind being the only ones to greet you. The scent of salt dominated your senses as you closed your eyes and sighed, subconsciously relaxing just a little bit as you accidentally imagined his hand on your back. The memory of his warm knuckles brought you back down to earth as you shuddered, the memory etched in your mind as you desperately tried to shake your head, a pathetic attempt of trying to forget. Even while you weren't with him Al-Haitham still managed to dominate your mind, whether you wanted him there or not.

With a quiet yell only you could hear you plopped yourself back on your feet, your feet almost giving in and falling to the ground had the strong grip around your waist not been holding you in place. Pure shock was written on your face as you turned your head once more and was met with the person you least wanted to see right now.

Al-Haitham said nothing as he carefully brought you back up, your arms pressed firmly against his chest as he slightly lowered his head down to your level, his nose lightly touching your own. A furious blush dusted your cheeks as you retreated back from him, fiery rage burning deep in your heart as you turned your back and practically ran away from the man. Before you could get too far though Al-Haitham managed to catch up to you, his arms tightly gripping your wrists as he lead you to a dark alleyway, determination shining bright in his eyes.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

Hah, what a stupid question. You were tempted to just spit on him.

"Why am I avoiding you? The nerve you have..." you replied with a loud scoff, absolute venom coating your words. This attitude would usually be a little amusing to him but Al-Haitham was not in the mood to play games, not now at least. He needed a straight answer out of you and he planned to get it one way or another. With one hand he was now holding both of your wrists high above your head, back against the wall as the thumb from his other free hand traced tiny patterns across your lips.

"I have the right to ask you know. There used to be a time when you could hardly keep your hands to yourself and now you..."

He suddenly retreated his hand back, a barely visible inkling of shock visible in his eyes.

He didn't think you'd try and bite him. And clearly, you were out to make it painful.

You were downright growling at him now, screams of anger threatening to spill out of your mouth and second now as the two of you remained still in your places, the cover of darkness being your only companion for the time being. With the ounce of composure you had left you finally found the right words and said:

🍒 TAGS: @genshinarchives, @universal-rose, @juuuuuj101010, @mod-kisa-blog, @morigumy, @b10h4z4rd

"You, Al-Haitham, are infuriating. All you do is make me miserable and once you're done with me you just toss me away like the most worthless piece of garbage in the whole wide world and then have the nerve to be displeased with me whenever I leave? Tell me, tell me dear Al-Haitham, just where is the logic in that?"

Alhaitham stood back, which allowed some distance between the two of you. Despite the schooled expression on his face his jaw was a dead giveaway. The way it tensed up could cut diamonds but you didn't mind.

You took pleasure in making him as uncomfortable as you possibly could.

Despite the awkward tension in the air, he clearly wasn't planning on letting you go any time soon. Just what was he trying to achieve here? Whatever happened between you had vanished, the spark was gone. At the start you found Alhaitham attractive, very much so even. Having one too many glasses of wine gave you confidence you didn't even know you had which allowed you to make your feelings more... vocal.

Alhaitham made sure to pull out as many different sounds out of you that night, like a twisted symphony of wicked pleasure.

Ever since then, he has been hot on your trail. Constantly sending you gifts, letters, books, trinkets that you didn't even dream of affording - just how rich was he?!

Still, the harder you pushed, the more he came back running. Like a lost pup who was just waiting for his treat but you, the cruel master, was refusing to budge.

It was a tiresome song and dance that seemed to have no end in sight.

He wasn't going to leave you be, no matter how hard you tried to run away. That was your punishment for ever allowing yourself to get so close to him.

[roosterforme]

A Love You Don't Find Everyday Part 6 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: You and Bradley skip work to spend the day celebrating Goose's birthday. Bradley appreciates everything you do to make him a priority. 

Warnings: Fluff, swearing and smut

Length: 3400 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Check out my Masterlist!

Bradley was still pretty useless in the kitchen. Whenever he offered to help you cook, you always tried to give him some easy tasks to keep him busy. But for Nick Bradshaw's birthday dinner preparation, you let him be an active participant. 

"Here's how you clean the shrimp," you told him, showing him what to do. He caught on quickly, and you let him finish it for you while you moved on to the pasta and vegetables. "Nice job."

He responded by kissing your neck while you cut up some cherry tomatoes. 

"And then, for dessert," you said with a smirk, "we can finish the confetti cake. I'm sure it was probably your dad's favorite."

"I can guarantee it was not," Bradley replied with a laugh. "Apparently he loved strawberry shortcake."

You turned and looked at him. "Roo, why didn't you ever tell me that?!"

He smiled and shrugged. "Just remembered it just now. I don't think my mom liked it that much, but strawberry shortcake always made her smile. She told me he liked it."

You started rooting through the refrigerator, searching for some strawberries you hoped were still fresh. "Yes," you muttered, also grabbing everything you would need to make whipped cream. "Here, put your big, strong arms to good use, and whip these together."

You finished making shrimp with pasta and garlic sauce while Bradley made the whipped cream and cut up strawberries. He didn't even complain when you used the confetti cake as the bottom of the strawberry shortcake. 

Bradley pulled you into his lap at the table and rubbed slow, lazy patterns across your lower back as you both ate Goose's birthday dinner and spoke softly through the scant memories Bradley had of his father. 

"This cake is less disgusting with the strawberries and whipped cream," Bradley commented, shoveling the dessert into his mouth. "I think I actually kind of like it."

"We'll serve it like this then. At the wedding," you said between bites of berries and cake. "It is good." 

"Thanks, Goose," Bradley cheered. "Next stop, powder blue cumberbunds."

You were still cracking up as Bradley led you toward the piano, and you clumsily helped him play the birthday song with Tramp in your lap. 

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

Calling out of work was your best idea ever. Bradley felt close to you again after this weekend. Just in time for you to go to Annapolis, of course. But he could hardly make a fuss when he left you home alone for months at a time. 

"I like this one the best," you informed him after dinner, holding up a wedding photo of Nick Bradshaw with his arms wrapped around Carole. 

"I'm pretty sure my mom was already pregnant when they got married."

"Yeah? I was thinking the same thing, since they got married in November. I wonder if they knew or not?"

Bradley shrugged and shook his head. "I wish I could ask her now. But she was so smart and organized, she must have known." 

"Hmmm, my parents also got married in November. Too bad we don't have enough time to plan something for this November, but we could try for next year?" 

Bradley could feel his face fall. He didn't want to wait fourteen months! "Is that what you want?" he asked softly, but you just shrugged in response as some other photos caught your eye.

"Bradley! What is this?" you shrieked. You were holding up the worst photo of himself he had ever seen, and he groaned, trying to grab it from your hand. 

"My own worst nightmare, Sweetheart."

"Look at your braces!" you gasped, examining the photo.

"And my acne. And my hair that for some reason I insisted needed to be dyed blond." Bradley tried one more time to take the photo away from you, but you jumped to your feet and checked the date on the back.

"Wow, fourteen was not a good age for you, Roo," you teased. "But what a sinful looking morsel you turned out to be!"

Now Bradley was also on his feet, stalking you around the kitchen island as you laughed. You stopped with the island between you both and grinned at him. "I would have had a massive crush on you back then, too." 

"Don't lie to me," Bradley growled with narrowed eyes.

"I'm not! I was into the frosted tips," you said, holding up the photo and tapping his awful hairstyle. 

Bradley lunged around the island and managed to grab you before you could get away. "I have a great idea," he whispered in your ear while you squealed. "How about we follow in Goose and Carole's footsteps and get married with you knocked up?"

He scooped you up into his arms and buried his face into the side of your neck. "I'm actually the opposite of knocked up, Bradley. My period started this morning, and I'm crampy."

He kissed along your jaw and cheek, whispering, "I still want you. Please? Gonna miss you while you're away." 

You would be flying to Maryland on Saturday morning, a day earlier than everyone else you worked with, so you could spend the whole day on Sunday with your parents. 

He knew you weren't usually a big fan of sex at the start of your period. You always thought you looked bloated, but he couldn't care less. He wanted you every day of every month. 

But he held you in his arms, and you wrapped your legs around his waist, whispering, "Yes. How about in the shower?"

Bradley carried you in the direction of your bathroom, and he set you down gently on the vanity counter, kissing your cheek before he got the shower warmed up and ready. 

You watched him test the temperature, and then he unwrapped one of your peppermint aromatherapy pods and tossed it into the bottom of the shower. 

"You know, Roo, I am very spoiled."

He just turned and looked at you as he got some fresh towels out of the closet. "Don't you forget it, Baby Girl."

You smiled as he took his phone out and queued up the massively long playlist of love songs that he had made for you.

"Are your cramps really bad?" he asked, returning to the counter and starting to lift the hem of your shirt. He guided it up over your body and dropped it to the floor

"Not too terrible," you whispered when Bradley's big hands drifted to your back and unhooked your bra. He watched every inch of your breasts as they were exposed to him.

"Orgasms can help with cramps, Sweetheart," he told you in a very serious voice. "It's science." Bradley watched your head tip back as he ran his thumbs softly over your nipples. You spread your thighs for him to stand between your legs. 

"You say that every time we have period sex. I'm not so sure I believe you." When he dipped his head to taste your tits, you moaned and held onto the back of his head. "Roo."

"I love you," he whispered against your skin. He pulled you to your feet and undressed you down to your panties, but then you stepped out of his grasp.

"Give me a minute while you get undressed?" 

Bradley nodded while you used the toilet and then scampered under the warm spray of water. He removed his clothing, guiding his pants and underwear over his erection and stepping out of them. He watched you run your hands over your body through the glass doors as they started to haze over with steam. 

He was palming his cock, absentmindedly stroking himself and inhaling the minty air as you turned to look at him. The smirk on your face as you squeezed your tits had him pumping himself a little harder. Your eyes were half lidded and needy as your hands traveled lower on your body.

"You're so fucking gorgeous, Baby Girl," he growled. "Do you have any idea how much I wanted you from the first moment I saw you?"

"Roo," you whined, your soft voice echoing through the bathroom over the sound of the water. "Come here." You were opening the door and reaching for him, pulling him inside with your warm, wet hands.

You pulled him against you, your lips pressed to his and your hands around his neck. "I love you," you told him. "More than my job. More than anything."

Bradley pushed you back against the tile wall, using one big hand on your ass and one on your back to keep you from getting too cold. "That's all I need to hear." 

Your eyes drifted closed as he rubbed his mustache along your neck and kneaded his hands into your back. 

Bradley loved everything about your body. It felt and looked perfect to him. But it didn't even compare with the rest of you.

"Do you know what my favorite thing about you is?" he asked, still teasing his lips and mustache along your skin.

"Tell me," you whispered, combing your fingers through his wet hair.

"You tell it like it is. You don't sugarcoat anything. Not even for me."

You laughed, and the sound was muffled from the hot steam and the shower enclosure. "Especially not for you. That's how you can tell you are loved."

Bradley looked at the smile on your face as he pulled his right hand from behind your ass and let it travel to the soft skin below your belly button. 

"But physically? I love the way your cheeks look when you smile. This curve...right here," he whispered, running his nose along your cheek and kissing it. "And I love the sounds you make when I do this."

His fingers slipped down until he was teasing your clit, the water from the shower mixing with your arousal on his fingertips. He didn't care that you had your period. Honestly, he'd even love it if you were pregnant right now. But mostly, he wanted to know that you needed him in all of the ways that he needed you. 

"Mmm, Bradley," you moaned as he teased. "Please, Roo." You were panting softly, head tipped back against the tile. 

"Yeah... all those little sounds. Gonna think about them when I jerk off next week when you're away."

Bradley slid his fingers inside you, feeling your warmth and your extra wetness. 

"You think about me?" you asked, trying to focus on him with your half lidded eyes as you gasped. 

He fucked you harder with his fingers, his dick rubbing against your belly. "I think about you all the time, Baby Girl. I think about you when I'm flying, when I'm working out, and always when I'm getting myself off."

You were clinging onto his shoulders now, riding his hand. "I didn't know that," you whispered as your voice shook. 

"Don't play with me, Sweetheart. That's why you made me that calendar. That's why you send me dirty pictures. That's why you make videos with me. You make sure you're always on my mind. Fuck, Baby Girl!"

Bradley hoised your left leg over his hip and slid his length inside you. "You're proud of yourself, aren't you? Made it so I can only want you. Mission accomplished, Sweetheart."

You smirked at him, looking very smug as he eased himself deeper before withdrawing slowly. Bradley watched you nibble on your lip and nod. "Yeah, I'm proud of myself." 

He mashed his lips against yours and fucked you hard against the shower wall, lacing his fingers through yours, rubbing your engagement ring. 

You felt wet and warm and so good to him, gripping him tighter as you got close to your orgasm. 

Bradley was close, too. The peppermint scent and the hot steam added another layer of excitement for his senses. 

"You gonna cum for me?" he grunted, his face buried against your wet hair and neck as he held your bouncing tit and slammed into you. 

Your whining noises and your firm grip on his body were your only answer as he came, fucking his cum deeper into you. He promised he would take care of you as he stroked you with his thumb until you were crying out. 

Then Bradley washed your body and his, caressing you in all of the places where you were soft and feminine compared to him. He washed your hair, using all of the products in the correct order, earning him praise.

"I'm so used to you being with me, and knowing how you do things," he whispered. "Not sure what I would do if you weren't with me."

You kissed him softly as he rinsed you. "I'm with you, Roo."

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

Tuesday morning was hectic. You spent hours in your office working on your presentation. But you did manage to run to the cafeteria at noon and spend a solid twenty minutes eating with Bradley, Jake, Phoenix, and Fanboy. 

With an apology, you stood to leave, and you kissed Bradley solidly on the lips in front of all of them. "I love you. I'll call you if I'm going to be late tonight," you told him, stroking the corner of his mustache. 

Jake catcalled, "Get a room, Angel." You threw a plastic fork at him while Bradley blushed. 

"Bye, guys," you called, stealing the cookie off of Jake's tray and running away with it.

If they were still making fun of you and Bradley for kissing in front of them, they were going to die if they ever saw the wedding gift you planned to get while you were in Annapolis.

Of course you ran into your boss in the elevator while you were eating the cookie and wiping chocolate crumbs off of your uniform. 

"Sir," you mumbled, trying to finish swallowing your food, wishing you had grabbed a napkin.

"Lieutenant. I just emailed you the final itinerary for next week. Let me know if you see any discrepancies. There's a group dinner planned for Thursday evening after our presentation. But I also wanted to extend an invitation for you to join me on Friday evening for drinks and a late dinner with Captain Francis and Admirals Jennings and Prince. I know we have early flights home on Saturday morning, but I think you should come." 

Your eyes were bugging out. You just knew you must look ridiculous. Your heart was pounding, and you thought you were going to throw up. Admiral Jennings was the highest ranking woman in the Atlantic fleet. 

"You're taking me with you to eat a meal with Admiral Tasha Jennings?" 

Captain Bickel nodded as you both exited the elevator and headed toward the lab. "If you would like to come."

"Yeah!" you almost shouted. "Yes, sir. I would like that."

He must have been used to you by now, because he just nodded and agreed to send you the details. 

"Holy shit, holy shit," you muttered, tapping your fingers along the counter as you logged into your computer. 

You were so excited, you couldn't wait to tell Bradley. But now you were going to need to run to the mall to buy another dress suitable for dinner with some admirals. Admirals! More than one! 

Now you were thinking about Admirals. You sucked in a sharp breath and started laughing. Your mind had drifted to getting railed by Bradley on Admiral Simpson's hotel room desk. And then you could barely focus at all.

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

Bradley was sitting on the floor, playing tug of war with Tramp and waiting for you to get home. It was so late. Again. But he wasn't going to get upset. 

You had called him this time, and told him you had exciting news. He didn't know what you meant, because you sounded rushed, but you said you would bring dinner with you. 

"Bradley!" you shouted, bursting through the front door at nearly eight o'clock. 

He watched you drop a garment bag on the floor and rush toward him with a paper bag full of what looked to be takeout. 

"You okay?" he asked, but you set down the food and plopped down into his lap. 

"So good." You wrapped yourself around him, your insignia pins digging into his chest as you squeezed.

He chuckled. "You gonna tell me your news?"

You kissed his ear and squeaked with excitement, and Bradley would be lying if he said he wasn't instantly thinking about taking you to bed.

"Bickel invited me to have dinner with him and Admiral Jennings next Friday. Me, Roo. And her!"

You literally sounded like you were about to meet a celebrity. And Bradley supposed you kind of were. 

"Damn, Baby Girl. Get your uniform ready for your new pin."

You just melted across his lap and pulled Tramp in for a hug as well. "I'm more excited that I get to talk to her than anything, really. She's kind of an icon. I just spent $600 on a new dress for dinner."

"Try it on for me later?"

"As long as you promise not to rip it apart."

"I....can't guarantee that."

You just rolled your eyes with a smile, and unpacked the Thai food, dousing yours in extra hot sauce. You both sat on the floor, hip to hip, and ate while Tramp begged. 

Then you tried your dress on, and Bradley sat back on the bed. It wasn't actually sexy by any stretch of the imagination. Really, dark green wool shouldn't have been doing anything for him. But....of course it kind of was. 

"Looks good," he muttered, watching you spin around in front of the mirror. "Want me to help you start packing?"

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea. I need to wash our uniforms tomorrow night. But you can help me pack up my underwear and shoes." 

Bradley went to your drawer and pulled out your most basic bras and underwear. "No need to pack anything cute; I'm not going with you." 

But you reached past him and grabbed a few lacy items and set them on top of the pile he had made. When he gave you side eye, you gave him side eye right back. 

"What?" you asked innocently. "I might want to send you some pictures. Make sure you're thinking about me while you jerk it." 

Bradley groaned and added the red set to the pile. "I honestly love that for me."

You laughed and pulled some black heels out of the closet, along with your polished uniform boots. "Can you drop me off at the airport? Or should I leave my car there? I could ask Jake to pick me up next weekend if you can't."

Bradley scoffed. "First of all, there's nothing Jake can do that I can't, Baby Girl. I can drop you off and pick you up. Second, I probably need to take the Bronco in for a tuneup and inspection. Can I use your little shit-mobile for the week?" 

You gaped at him. "Of course you can. But I'm warning you, be nice to it," you scolded. "And don't forget, it sticks when you shift into reverse."

"Yeah, yeah. It'll be fine."

Bradley was shocked when you managed to get home at a decent hour on Friday, after being late Wednesday and Thursday. But things felt better now. On Friday, you hauled a bunch of your equipment inside with bubble wrap.

"You know what we should do for our wedding?" you asked offhandedly as you started wrapping things up and taping them. 

Bradley was like a predator, excited and ready to pounce on the conversation. "Tell me."

"Keep it small. Just simple, you know?" 

"Yes, simple. Let's do that," he instantly agreed. He would have been okay with inviting the entire Pacific fleet if you wanted to. But simple sounded perfect. "What else?" he asked, pressing his luck.

"Well....I had been thinking about the honeymoon earlier today."

Fuck. Bradley thought about that constantly. "Hawaii. At least ten days." 

You chuckled, lining the wrapped equipment up in a plastic bin and then taping that shut. "You wanna be in charge of planning it then?"

Bradley cocked his head, reaching out to run his fingers along your necklace chain. "Are you giving me permission?"

"As long as you stick to a budget."

Bradley smirked, because you hadn't put a price tag on the budget. "As soon as we have a wedding date, consider the honeymoon booked, Baby Girl." 

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

Um, super secret wedding gift will be revealed in the next chapter when she heads off to Annapolis....

PART 7

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[judesluvr]

having a wet dream about jude nd he wakes up to ur continuous whimpering and sees how ur face was contorting in pleasure as u rubbed ur thighs together in ur sleep 😵‍💫 u’d keep whimpering his name and u’re soo worked up and just need him to take care of u, so that’s what he does—waking u up with heavenly head and telling u he’s gonna take care of u so well and to just relax 🧎‍♀️

and all he wants to do is lie there and watch you, his hand already palming himself through his boxers at the noises you were making because there was no way he was just going to be able to turn over and fall back asleep. you'd be deep in slumber; fists grabbing at the duvet as he listened to the way you whimpered his name over and over, nose scrunching slightly at the tip. it was nothing short of erotic, the painful aching of his own cock making jude go slightly insane as he tried to string together a coherent thought pattern.

there'd be something so hot about the idea of you having a wet dream about him, the pulsation between your thighs even stronger than imagined as you'd toss and turn mercifully. his face would be mirroring yours, thumbs hooking round the waistband of his boxers as he'd pull them down just though to let his tip peak through the material; sore and leaking with pre-cum already.

he didn't want to wake you - at least not like this. pushing the covers back he'd be prying at your legs before you could utter another sleepy whine, mentally thanking you for falling asleep without anything covering your bottom half. and you'd be so worked up, whatever dream that was happening had clearly worked wonders as he spied the thin coating of your own excitement sticking to your inner thighs. his thumb would swipe a small bead, bringing it to his lips as he'd moan to himself; he could taste you for as long as you needed, he loved it, craved it even.

"just relax baby," his voice would be so low, so ushered as you'd finally start to stir as jude blew hot air against your exposed self. you'd be in and out of sleep, not entirely sure if you were still dreaming as you felt his head dip between your legs, mouth ready and waiting as his tongue would lick a stripe against you. your hands would tangle in his hair, unsure if your mind was playing tricks on you because was it just by chance that you'd the most mind-blowing sex dream and now it was minutes from becoming reality? and his mouth would be so warm against you, running his tongue along your clit as he'd suckle on it gently, fingers digging into the flesh of your thighs as he'd speak against you, "i can take care of you now baby, let me take care of you."

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Hello India hope you're well! I remember there was a discussion about how a gag order is set that doesn't allow olivia to talk about harry outside of professional context on social and print media (and that's why she didn't mention him in her Vogue article). Do you think this for some reason changed, since she does talk about their relationship in the new article?

Hi love, I hope you’re well too!

It’s very late where I am, and I’m still kind of reeling from the drama of the week, so I apologize in advance if my thoughts aren’t as well-expressed.

To answer quickly, I don’t think anything has changed per se. Though we aren’t 100% sure that there is a gag order in place, like I’ve said before, pattern-based reasoning shows it’s very likely. And I think that means there are two possibilities, if we look at how these articles are written and the phrasing:

It’s possible Olivia found a loophole. I say this because her phrasing is very specific in both RS and Variety: she speaks of a “relationship” and “deep love” though she still doesn’t label said relationship, or directly refer to him as “boyfriend/partner” (the journalists, who would not be subject to her gag order, do, though). To me, that very much reads as someone toying with semantics. Of course no one is actually going to read that kind of phrasing and think “she’s talking about a platonic friend” but if we think about how contracts are usually written and how specific the wording can get, it’s possible she’s getting away on a technicality.

OR

It’s possible this was an agreed upon stipulation of their contract. As someone pointed out in previous posts, Florence, Harry, and now Olivia are all doing magazine covers for DWD, and these (RS and Variety) could now fall within the realm of official professional movie promo, while her Vogue interview (considering the timing and the fact that it was largely a lifestyle piece on her, not the film) was technically not. It could be that promo under this category allows her certain leniencies in the gag order she did not have before. I say this again because of the consistent specificity of her phrasing over two different publications. Usually this kind of standard almost copy-paste response is an agreed upon communications reactive line: something that has been pre-approved by Harry’s team and she has been permitted to say in reaction to a line of questioning (but nothing more).

The bottom line I think is, during promo season, all bets are off and strategies shift. Think of this as the sprint to the finish line (professionally, but manifesting it also in terms of their stunt) because this is the peak of the ROI on their PR. Everything they’ve been seeding has been leading up to this, and they are going to do whatever they can to keep the drama high and their names in people’s mouths, and that’s likely how it was always planned from the beginning. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this strategy either — Harry famously called Camille his ex-girlfriend, confirming a relationship with his own mouth for the very first time (I think ever) on the Zane Lowe interview for Fine Line, in the lead up to its release.

So yeah, long story short, I think this is very much the plan.

[deepseavibez]

Nerve_30 [E] || KNJ

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Nerve [Namjoon x Reader]

Prompt - @casnextdoor

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Part 30 - Finale [V]

Part 30 - Finale [E]

Epilogue

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Genre - cheating; aftermath; husband au;

Summary - You would never expect it really. He’s doting. He’s sweet. He’s hardworking. But he’s forgotten his morals. Suspecting it is one thing, but when he confirms it, will you stay or walk away.

Warning - Cheating(Aftermath); Angst; Attempted Sexual Assault(Aftermath); Heavy Angst; Anger; Anxiety; Overwhelming Feelings; Memories tied to a traumatic event; Psychological Trauma.; PTSD; Sadness; Emotional Hurt; Comfort; Hopelessness; Guilt; Self-loathing; Self-hate;

Word Count - 7k

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‘I just wish you would have told me.’

You sighed for the twentieth time that night. 

‘I wanted to tell you the truth, Yu,’ you paused to gather the right words. ‘But I also didn’t want you to hate him. I didn't want to lose him.' Because hating him would hurt you.

'Regardless of what he thinks of me, he does love you and your sister. You both meant something to him.'

You heard Yuna snort over the phone. 'I don't know what to believe, honestly. For all we know, he could have been looking at Helen and I, in the same way, and we just… didn’t notice.'

'No.’ You disputed her claims immediately. 'It was a different love for you and Helen. He enjoyed taking care of you two–you were family. He took a lot of it in stride. Periods, permission slips, even boyfriend phases. He was very proud of the both of you. And he loved being that so-called father figure as well.' You bit your bottom lip before continuing. 'It was just me, that he… you know…'

You sat in silence, waiting for her to speak as you traced the purple whale pattern on the pillow in front of you.

‘You can’t imagine how unbelievably mad I am at you’

You closed your eyes and dropped your head back onto the nook by the windowsill, the pre-dawn sky keeping you company by the window, and Namjoon in bed across from you, one arm curled under his head as he played with his phone in the other. 

‘Considering the fact that it's barely after 5am, and we’re both on the phone…’

‘Don’t be a smartass with me right now.’ She scolded. 

Honestly, you wanted to feel bad that her wedding night was ruined in all her concern for you, but it’s not like your evening was any better.

‘You being mad at me, is making me mad, Yuna.’ You had to be brutally honest with her and feed into your denial. ‘I did not have to tell you.’

‘And that’s fair, y/n. Your pain is your pain.’ She didn’t miss a beat. ‘I mean, I know that you would need to come to terms with it on your own… but,’ you almost smiled, as you imagine her eyes going into slits, ‘Can you honestly tell me that I was not the reason you kept this to yourself. All this time.’

You couldn’t deny what she was saying. Not at all. Feeling annoyingly cornered, you looked at Namjoon, admiring his solid edges, and the frown that kept his tongue poking the inside of his cheek.

Namjoon had taken care of you all night. He came through with the oreos and coffee, like he promised, but you had no strength to go into the kitchen so he brought them to the room and you both sat on the floor.

It was not hard to make conversation with Namjoon. You could talk about work, about his work, about the reality of life and your dreams of the future, but mostly you vented about your past, your Dad, Kwang and his actions.

And Namjoon listened.

When you were finally settled, he brushed out your hair, and climbed into bed next to you, holding you as close to him as possible.

You were exhausted enough to fall asleep in mere minutes, but it didn’t last long. You had a nightmare that woke you up and pushed you over the edge into a panic, Namjoon brought you back to reality. You wanted to shower again, this time he sat on the lid of the toilet and took you back to bed when you were done. 

It was hard to get back to sleep, even harder to be present in the moment and feel the comfort that your husband's arms could usually provide.

So instead of tossing and turning you grabbed your Mono blanket and sat at the window nook. He stayed awake with you, not pushing or forcing you, just giving you space, but still making sure you knew that he wasn’t going anywhere.

That’s when Kenta called. 

Yuna wasn’t like you. She wore her emotions on her sleeve but she didn’t cry at the drop of a hat the way you did. She would rather fight, argue, use her anger as a shield before breaking down into hysterics. So when you heard her crying over the phone, Kenta apologizing for disturbing you so early in the morning, knowing she needed you, you instinctively placed her at the forefront of your priorities.

It took some time to get her to calm down, even utter a coherent sentence without the words ‘I’m sorry’ tagged at the end of it, but she was okay, and you felt better talking to her. You just weren’t a fan of the direction that conversation headed after. And you were tired, exhausted even – so being nice, being kind… you had no energy for any of it.

‘I won’t apologize, Yuna. I’d still rather you didn’t know.’ Honesty was the only choice when you were cornered as you were. You had made your choice to keep things under wraps a long time ago – you would make that same choice all over again if you had to. Protecting Yuna was a priority. ‘I’d rather you lived your life, happy, carefree, with at least some version of a family to turn to.’

‘Oh, that’s real cute, y/n.’ Sarcasm dripped from her tone. ‘A psychotic sister, and an uncle who’s a sexual offender, I hit the motherfucking jackpot.’

You weren’t irritated with the jibe, mostly because she sounded faraway. You were too tired to actually feel anything. You shook your head, trying to keep yourself present.

‘I didn’t want to take you away from your family.’ You brushed your fingers through your hair, gripping lightly in frustration. ‘I know you’ll always choose me. And I… I couldn't do that to you.’

‘Y/n, I wouldn’t choose you for the hell of it. I’d choose you because they were wrong. They are wrong. For different reasons.’

You made a face, not wanting to talk about this anymore. ‘Can we drop it? Please? I don’t like that you’re mad at me, but you have a right to be and that’s okay, but I need to deal with this on my own and I really don’t want to talk about it anymore.’

Anxiety got the better of you as you were met with silence on her end. Did you push her too far away?

‘I’m sorry, y/n.’

‘Stop it.’ You made a face. ‘Stop hurting.’ You brushed her off. 'There's nothing for you to be sorry about. None of it was your fault.' You turned your neck to the side and stretched a little. Your body was aching for some godforsaken reason. Maybe it was the fatigue. 'You can’t control his actions and you of all people should know that.’

‘Can you blame me? Would you be able to rest easy knowing you aided and abetted something so despicable?’

‘You didn’t know.’

‘Yeah, whose fault is that?’

‘For fucks, sake Yuna, what good has it done?’ You didn’t bother to hold back your frustration. ‘So now that you know you, what good does it do? You literally disowned him, the only parental figure you had left.’

‘I am not like you, y/n! You may keep your ties with your father, albeit at a distance, but I can’t keep ties with someone when all I’ve ever known about them was a complete load of bullshit! I burn bridges and I don’t regret it.’

You pulled your lips together in an effort to keep your mouth shut. Because Yuna was right. You tolerated way more from your father than you should have. 

‘Yes, I miss my parents. Yesterday, more than ever. But I know and love genuine people that I choose to consider my family. Kenta, Yoshi and Jinx, Taehyung, Hoseok… you, y/n. And I would never compromise on those relationships, especially not for something so wrong.’

You took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. 

You understood what she was saying, but you were not gonna budge. Internally you knew you would go back and make the same decision. To keep it from her. Because no one, absolutely no one deserves to know that they loved and cared, let alone respected, someone capable of sexual assault.

It was a mind boggling thing, that it was so ‘normal’ and there were so many stories of it, and so many women that had lived through it… but having it happen to you, or having actually known someone with those thoughts and the daring to follow through with them…

'I would have fully supported you if you decided that you wanted to file a formal report and put him behind bars. Hell, I’d go as far as throwing away the key without batting an eye! But now it’s pointless, because you let him go!’

You couldn't stay quiet this time. 'Back then maybe it would have given me something, even a sense of satisfaction! But not now. My father didn't do it when it mattered most, Yu. He didn't listen to me, he didn't file a report, and he didn't protect me. And I have lived my whole goddamn life just fine… whether Kwang was around or not.' You met Namjoon’s eye, his head tilted in your direction, watching over you and you let his strength fill you with pride. ' I did pretty damn well for myself. And I will be just fine for the rest of my life. Because I don't want to make this a big thing. I don't want the stress of paperwork and legal fees and reporters having a field day over my life. That's my choice. That's for me. And everyone who loves me… should be able to afford me that.'

You didn't know what she was going to say next, but you knew whatever it was you would have an answer for it, because you were so tired of explaining yourself, when you really didn't need to. 

 I can’t say I agree with that, y/n.’ Yuna admitted softly, causing your anger to quickly die down. ‘But I also don’t know what to do, how to feel, what to say to you to make this right for you… I can’t even imagine what you’re going through,’ she clicked her tongue, ‘or what you’ve gone through.’  

‘As long as you don’t start crying again, I think we’ll be fine.’

‘Yeah,’ her voice dropped like she turned away from the phone, ‘Kenta is standing by.’

You chuckled half-heartedly. ‘Give the man a break. ‘It’s only your first night of marriage and already Kenta had to call for back-up.’ You tried to tease her, but your efforts fell flat when she didn’t meet you halfway.

‘He’s worried about you too.’

‘I’m fi --,’ a dull waft of déjà vu overcame you. You used the same words on the same man the night before. You closed your eyes and pulled your knees up, to rest your chin against them. ‘I’ll be fine.’

It was actually so hard to keep reassuring her. There was never a need to save a conversation with Yuna before. To think of what to say, to try and change  the subject or make a joke.

It felt forced, and you were not in the mood. 

Actually, no. You wanted to tell her the truth, come clean about all the gory details and yell and scream and cry and just let it all bubble up so you wouldn’t have to mask your pain from her, or act in front of her, or hold your tongue like it was the seams of a corset that needed to be tied tight together. 

But Kwang Jae was still her family. And she was still reeling from the discovery of the reality of him. 

You couldn’t add to it. Not with her. You might never be able to talk about it with her, simply because of who she was to him… and to you.

‘When?’

The question had you blinking your eyes open. ‘Huh?’

‘When can we talk about it? No secrets. No filters. Everything.’

You inhaled shakily, as softly as you possibly could, because if you cried, she would hear it in your voice. It was stupid for such an honest question to rattle you, it was even more stupid for you to hold onto the pain, the secret, like it was only yours to keep, only yours to deal with. ‘I don’t know… if I ever can talk about it.’

‘I leave in three days, babe.’

You blew out a puff of air. ‘Maybe the distance will do us some good.’ You didn’t want to hurt her. But it’s not like she knew how to handle you either. You were a victim of her Uncle and though you had never considered her as such, she was still Kwang Jae’s niece.

‘I don’t want to leave like this. I don’t want us to have time apart and not talk and be awkward. We can’t have distance like this, y/n…this has happened to us before and I don’t want us to go through that again. Just the mere thought of it hurts already.’

Once again you were reminded of how selfish you were when you took over Arem, pushing Yuna so far away she had no choice but to live life without you for a while.

‘I can’t miss you, y/n… It hurts to miss you. Physically, I can deal… but emotionally…’ 

‘Of course you have to go.’ Your heart broke for her, but you had to be practical. ‘You were always going to go, Yu.’ You swiped away tears when they fell out of your eyes and you sniffed shortly. ‘We need some time to figure things out, that doesn’t mean we aren’t friends anymore. You are definitely not going to lose me.’

You could practically feel her panic when she said, ‘I can change plans easily.’

Your face twisted in annoyance, something miserable. You knew she was pulling at straws. Namjoon caught your eye and you nodded softly, reassuring him. ‘Tell you what, I’m coming with you to set up and when we’re over there, I’ll answer whatever you want me to answer, within reason. But for now, for today when we finalize packing and whatever else we need to… be normal. For me. For now. Please.’

‘Kinda hard for me to be normal, when you leave pastel pink lingerie in my en-suite bathroom – the material is exquisite  by the way.’

You swallowed hard in relief as she changed the subject. You wiped away stray tears before you answered. ‘Figured you’d want something pink.’ You looked at the clock, 5.30am. You rubbed your eyes.

‘You know, it still hasn’t hit me that I got married yesterday.’

‘Hmm,’ you smiled sadly. ‘Yuna Mei. A whole wife.’ You chuckled wetly. ‘I think it’s been a long time coming, Yu. You’ve done so much alone, been through so much pain with the wrong ones… we’ve always believed that the universe rewards accordingly.’

‘I really am lucky to have him.’ You could hear sadness in her voice.

‘What are you thinking?’ You prompted her, not willing to ignore any of her reservations, no matter what they were about.

‘I thought she would show up. At least, a small part of me hoped.’

You knew who she was talking about. You also knew how much strength it took her to admit to you of all people that she missed her sister immensely.

You would always rather Yuna tell you the truth, about all her feelings. She didn’t need to hold back on your behalf.

‘I’m sorry about Helen.’ You had the decency to be genuine about that statement. You would tolerate Helen any day for Yuna.

‘Yeah,’ she scoffed, ‘But I mean it was a long shot anyway. And let’s not forget that she wasn’t welcome.’ You heard the disappointment in her voice, but you couldn’t comfort her. Having Helen there would have been the cherry on the top. ‘God I can just imagine if she were there, what a fuck up it would have been. Yuna went silent for a minute then she snorted, ‘Fucking Neenah.’

‘What?’ Your eyebrows furrowed and you sat up, instantly alert. ‘What did you say?’

‘What?’ Yuna sounded confused. ‘Neenah?’

‘Yeah, who’s Neenah?’ You swung your legs over the nook, as Namjoon got out of the bed.

‘Neenah as in Helen.’  She offered as if it was common knowledge.

‘What do you mean Neenah as in Helen? Helen is Helen. Whose Neenah?’

‘Helen is Neenah! Y/n, why are you freaking out? What’s this about?’

Namjoon mouthed the word ‘speaker’ as he came down on his haunches next to you.

‘Because of the name Neenah, Yuna.’ You moved the phone away from your ear and tapped the speaker icon. ‘Since when is Helen, Neenah? She doesn’t have a second name.’

‘She doesn’t have a second name. It’s Neenah Jae. You know, as in Kwang Jae, so Neenah Jae. She practices under that name. Actually it’s her new name. Well, no, wait, it’s not actually new, because that’s the name she’s used ever since she started practicing law. Such a fucking waste of a gesture now that I know the truth.’

‘How have I not known this?’ You stared at the phone like it was a bug, not really understanding what she was droning on about. ‘And isn’t it illegal to have a different name.’

‘No. I mean there is this ethics thing that considers it ‘misleading’ if she uses two names.’ You could imagine her rolling her eyes at the word misleading. ‘But unless there’s improper motive or fraudulent activities tied to why she uses one name socially and another professionally, they can’t actually do anything to her. As for why you didn’t know, I mean it probably never came up. It’s not like we discuss her. She usually just leaves a bad taste behind.’

‘Why change it though?’ Namjoon mouthed to you and repeated the question. ‘Why did she change it?’

Yuna clicked her tongue. ‘Because she’s  Unc -- Kwang’s favorite.’ You didn’t miss the way she caught herself. ‘No, but seriously, I never needed to change my name. Mum and Dad gave it to me and I kept their last name, because I like the link to them, even if it's a painful connection. But Helen took Kwang’s last name and somehow it worked out because we showed appreciation for our parents and for Uncle Kwang for taking care of us. It was supposed to be a grand gesture of sorts.’ 

‘Neenah though?’ you questioned where it even came from.

‘Oh yeah, that’s what Unc, Fuck!’ She cursed and continued, 'Kwang used to call her when we were little and ran around in diapers. I was Nana and she was Neenah.’

You looked back at Namjoon, unable to follow her down memory lane. He placed his hand on your knee and added pressure that somehow eased the motions of your building anxiety. He mouthed ‘Gambit’.

‘Did she work at Gambit?’

You understood what he was doing. Namjoon was being logical, he was tying up every single loose end, because he knew how important this piece of information was.

‘Yep. Straight out of law school she started as an intern and did her articles and stuff for a small start-up part of the original firm. But you know Heli, she climbed on people, not ladders. Eventually she made her way to the main office at Gambit – the best of the best.’

‘Yu,’ you contemplated saying your next words, but went ahead anyway, ‘how much did Kenta tell you about what Huru found out about Maiya?’

‘Not, a lot. I mean I know the surface level bullshit. You know, her tragic backstory, blaming someone else, the mastermind being someone else.’ Yuna sounded regretful. ‘I’m sorry, y/n. I didn’t know how deep this went until recently. It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks.’

‘No, I understand. But like, Yu, this is… ‘ you looked at Namjoon for a little help and he was already so broody and angry and protective and this new piece of information was so unexpected, ‘I mean she’s Maiya’s lawyer Yuna.’

Yuna stayed silent on her end, so you continued.

‘When Huru met up with us at Arem, he had a bunch of information at his fingertips. One of them being that her lawyer was a Neenah Jae that worked in Gambit Associates.’

‘Fuck. Me. Do you think Heli –?’ 

‘No,’ you said too fast to shut down her theory, even if you knew how plausible it was. ‘She stopped taking Maiya’s cases for a while now. And when we visited Gambit, they said Neenah had left. She doesn’t work there anymore.’

‘You’re saying she left work? Why? She loved that job!’

You shot Namjoon a pained look. This was obviously a coincidence. One skirting a fine line.

‘I’m not sure.’ You pushed your hair back and held your head. ‘I’m sorry… for my reaction. I just, it’s just a little paranoia settling in. So Heli was Maiya’s lawyer and worked her brother’s cases pro bono. It’s work. And it’s a small world.’

‘Not that small,’ Namjoon muttered.

‘Wait, no, what if she’s involved?’

‘Come on, Heli is mean and rude and really really bitchy…’ you tried to comfort her, this would be too much of a blow for her, ‘but let’s not read too much into this. We have no proof. And honestly, right now, we don’t have to. Maiya is behind bars, and whoever else was a part of this has to find a new pawn before they get to us again.’

‘I hope you’re right.’ 

‘I am. Don’t let this bother you, Yuna. If Heli or Neenah’s reputation precedes her, she probably took a lot of cases pro bono, not just Maiya’s.’ You didn’t wait for her to reply, you needed to get off the phone, to talk with Namjoon, to make sense of things. ‘Now go, you gotta get back to Kenta. I’ll see you later.’

‘Wait, y/n, --,’

‘I’m fine, I promise. There’s nothing to worry about.’

‘No, wait, do you have my necklace? Can you bring it over later?’

You scrunch your eyebrows. ‘Yeah, hold on.’ 

‘That’s why Kenta and I turned back last night. I know it’s stupid. And I know’ you’d keep it safe, but it’s something I have to have in my hand, you know.’ She babbled as she explained herself. And it wasn’t necessary. Because you did the same when you locked your doors. You’d walk all the way upstairs and back down again just to do a double check. Some things needed to be held, touched, seen in front of your eyes, a reassurance that it was real.

You motioned for Namjoon to reach over to grab your clutch from the floor near the bed. You flipped it open and felt around the small zipper compartment on the inside. ‘Yep, right here.’ You held it up… and did a double take.

‘Thank you so much for kee –,’

Yuna’s voice drowned out as you turned over the pendant in your palm.

Mum and Dad gave this to us when we were little. The clasp is loose, the memory of Yuna’s remarks from while she was getting ready before the ceremony echoed in your head.

Your mouth dropped open and your blood ran cold. You closed your eyes, and looked at it again. 

‘Y/n?’ Yuna’s voice found its way to you.

‘Babe, I have it. I- um, I’ll see you later.’ You mumbled into the phone, ignoring Yuna’s protests before clicking the power button to end the call.

You tried to rationalize what you were seeing, you tried to justify any of the scenarios your brain scooped up, no matter how implausible. You couldn’t.

Before you knew it your legs were moving. It was like tunnel vision. Nothing mattered. Not your pain, or your exhaustion, or your trauma. Not Yuna, not even Namjoon. In that moment you were focused on one thing, and one thing only.

Throwing the door of your home office open, you raced in and searched through the floor plans on the desk and pushed aside any other item in your way until you found what you were looking for. A thin silver strand caught your eye. Breathing hard, you pull it up and compare the two pendants.

Silver circular backing, the etching of a compass, the North star, in diamantes. ‘Shit!’

You felt the heat of Namjoon’s body before he placed his hands on your waist. ‘Wanna tell me what’s going on?’

You held up your hand. Yuna’s necklace. ‘Yuna’s parents gave her this. They gave it to both daughters when they were really young. I kept this for her, because  she wanted to use it today, but the clasp has always been a piece of work.’ You closed your eyes against the heavy truth. ‘That’s for damn sure.’ 

Namjoon was smart, but he couldn’t read minds – even you knew that. But you couldn’t explain, not when you were still figuring it out yourself. 

To see y/n’s perfect little world crumble when she gets the guy, the company, both parents, money, fame, respect, and the sister… Let me grab a front row seat and popcorn.

Or really, it was always right there, in front of you and you just couldn’t bring yourself to accept it.

Your husband reached over to trace both necklaces. ‘Talk to me, baby. One belongs to Yuna… and the other?’

‘Hobi and I found it outside the bar.’ You licked your lip.  ‘Around where the picture was taken.’

You didn’t need to look back at him. Namjoon didn’t need prompting. You could practically hear the gears in his head.

Until finally, he said the words out loud. ‘So this is definitely Helen’s?’

You nod slowly and concentrate on breathing deeply so your thoughts didn’t get too clouded.

‘Huru said that Maiya had a roommate with access to the legal department. Right?’

You loved this man. He could be so rational, even if the world was collapsing around him. In turn, that stability gave you something to stand on. ‘He said she’s got a record of someone staying with her, during her college years, into her working life.’

Hobi’s voice rang in your head. But she said it was her roommate, we all heard her.

Then Huru’s voice. Because the roommate that I couldn’t find, remember her y/n, that apparently took the pictures, well she’s got some connection with Gambit. I know this because I don’t have a single speck of information on her, other than the fact that they paid for her college tuition

You moved the rest of the papers off the desk onto the floor –  you had to sit down. Because this was…this was fucked up. First the Uncle and now you were being fucked over by the twin.

You lifted your legs and placed your socked feet on the office chair and you clutched at the edge of the desk. 

I can’t find her. It’s like she never existed.

Because Neenah didn’t exist. It was Helen’s past and Neenah’s future.

Okay. Okay. Think, y/n. Maiya. What was the point of Maiya?

Maiya has gotten Mihlan out of his sticky situations solely because she’s had a really good lawyer backing her up. Neenah Jae. Unfortunately she decided she didn’t really need to offer her services as pro bono any longer. She’s up for senior partner.

So Maiya needed Helen’s help… desperately. But Neenah wouldn’t give her the time of day… not unless Maiya would do something for her first.

Was it really that deep though? To fuck with her own self-respect. 

Maiya's voice from the club rang out. …the minute he was given to me to hold, I knew I would always protect him.

That made sense. And when Maiya mentioned that she had lost her brother all over again, because of you, she really meant that it was Helen that wanted you to leave Namjoon and lose it all, and when you didn’t, Neenah wouldn’t help Maiya. No wonder she was so unhinged.

Slowly, like the trickle of honey, the heavy, honest truth filled in all the blindspots.

You dropped your head into your hands and ran your fingers through your hair and tugged… hard.

You closed your eyes and rocked back and forth.

—-------

‘Y/n.’  Namjoon said his wife’s name, in an effort to stabilize her.

She shook her head, a half-hearted attempt to keep him out.  When she kept rocking her body forward and tugged harder at her hair, he knew he had to do something.

‘Y/n,’ he said firmly and shackled both her wrists. The rocking stopped.

‘What the fuck is this shit?’ She kept her eyes closed as she whispered the words. ‘Honestly, what the fuck!’ She raised her head and her voice. ‘I don’t deserve this Namjoon, we don’t deserve any of it!’

He invaded her personal space and took her into his arms. 

What else could he do? What could he possibly say that could make up for any of the shit she had to deal with in such a short space of time. It was like Y/n was allowed the time to heal and grow and be happy, only for all of that progress to be derailed.

He knew it wasn’t fair. Y/n didn’t deserve any of the bullshit that had been thrown her way in the course of the last few weeks. 

‘I’m not the cause of Helen’s problems, Namjoon!’ She placed her head against his abdomen and curled her arms around him, pulling him closer. He bent down and pressed a kiss into her hair.

‘This is all my fault, Joon. If she’s behind this, if she’s the one that’s doing all this, I –, ‘ she broke off, her mouth open, the shock still on her face as she shook her head, confused, still processing, ‘Fuck!’ She dropped her forehead against him.

Namjoon wasn’t used to feeling this helpless. All he could do was be there for her right now.

Backtracking everything, relooking at the files and connecting the dots… There was so much to retrace. Not to mention he had a packed schedule, Arem opened the following week, Kenta and Yuna were moving and all of it came second to the battle y/n had to fight within herself.

Crushing y/n closer to him. The anger that coursed through Namjoon was unyielding. It coursed through his veins, his bloodstream, until the tendons in his neck stood out and his body burned because he had nowhere to put it. He couldn’t make love to his wife, he couldn’t make her forget, he couldn’t find her with his hands and his mouth and his words as he usually would, not in her current state. He couldn’t leave her alone and vent to his brothers either. 

The most important thing to Namjoon was reassuring Y/n that he would never leave her, not for anything, especially not for something that was not her fault to begin with.

She nudged him away and hopped off the desk without warning. ‘I have to call Kenta.’

He grabbed her by her arm. ‘Y/n, he literally got married yesterday and he’s really worried about you.’ 

Her eyes flashed fire. ‘You can’t tell me that Kenta of all people didn’t know about this bullshit.’  He loved her fire. He would always rather see her fight and argue and use her smartass mouth, he would take a bitchy y/n anyday, over a helpless one. 

‘You can’t just demand answers from him. Imagine how he’d feel if you’re wrong about him knowing. If he does know, I believe he would have a good reason for keeping it from us.’ He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. Did he think that Kenta knew about Helen? Namjoon couldn’t know for sure. Was he equally pissed at the possibility of Kenta not knowing? Hell yes. But he wasn’t about to enable y/n. ‘Trust him, okay? You can ask him later when we see him.’

He watched as she mulled over his words, savored the moment when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Good. Holding her back from doing anything rash would also save her from saying anything she didn’t mean. 

Y/n would feel the effects twice over, if she hurt the people she loved, unintentional or not.

‘I don’t know what to do.’ It was a jagged statement. Something that made her look small and vulnerable. 

Namjoon touched his nose to hers. ‘I think you can afford yourself a day to process everything, baby. You don’t have to always be so strong.’

‘I don’t feel anything.’ She protested, a stubborn curve on her lips. 

‘Not knowing how you feel or how to feel, is not the same as not feeling anything at all.’

‘Stop it.’ He narrowed his eyes at her tone, immediately on guard. ‘Stop being so accommodating.’ Her voice rose an octave with each word. ‘Stop being so understanding, stop rationalizing, stop pushing, just stop loving me like this.’ She growled and placed a fist on his sternum to keep him at a distance from her. ‘Look at what we just found out. Really look at it! I’ve basically fucked your life over, your career. God knows what else she has planned. I am the reason you cheated on me.’

‘First of all,’ he placed his hands on her ass, refusing to let her distance herself. ‘You don’t know the specifics, y/n. You don’t know why Helen was actually there. You don’t know if it was her plan or a coincidence.’

Y/n scoffed and rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t be naive.’

‘You don’t have the right.’ He forced the statement through clenched teeth. ‘You don’t have the right to take responsibility. For any of it.’ He really, really wanted to bite her.

Y/n placed her forearms on his and glared, looking every bit a petulant, infuriating woman being told the truth they didn’t want to hear.

Namjoon looked at her pointedly, daring her to dispute. ‘Are you done with the generalizations? Want to make some more so I can shut them down?’

‘You sound like you’re pining for a fight, Namjoon.’

‘No, baby, you are.’ He squeezed her ass. ‘You have all this anger and all this pain and no place to put it and that’s why you’re snapping at me and you want to see if I will make good on your fears and walk away from you.’ He bent forward, stared into her eyes, and looked at her lips, but he didn’t kiss her. Not yet. Not this time. ‘I am not walking away. I am not folding. I am not giving you up. I don’t care who, what or why.’ He let her see how serious he was. ‘So if you want to fight, we’ll fight. You want me to ruin their lives and get rid of our problems permanently, I’ll do it. But it’s you and me, y/n.’ He whispered against her lips. ‘It’s always going to be you and me.’

Maybe it would seem like a long shot to keep fighting and clawing their way to each other, but it was the only thing that made sense to Namjoon. He would not let her push him away, not because of Kwang and definitely not for something like this.

He could see it as clear as day in her eyes, how terrified she was of losing him, of him getting hurt, and he wouldn’t let that fear win. Her bottom lip quivered, and she pushed hard enough that she got out of his hold and walked out of the study without another word.

Namjoon let her go. He watched her go, her bare feet, long legs walking away from him, his oversized t-shirt engulfing her small form... he was protective as a norm, but this feeling, the need to keep her safe, to protect her, to do anything for her fears and her pain to go away... it clawed at his heart. He didn’t like unfinished business. Not with y/n. But he also knew y/n needed space and whether she accepted it or not, her trust, her heart, her defenses were completely obliterated.  He would have to hover and stay close and protect her, especially now that they had enemies so close.

He rubbed a hand over his face and stared at the two necklaces on the table. Sabotage and blackmail and guns… It seemed like something out of a movie. Helen Mei. Neenah Jae. Maiya Song. 

Namjoon clicked his tongue and turned to look out the window of their study.

Kwang Jae was scum. Absolute scum. Fighting the urge to strangle Kwang with his bare hands, waiting out the red haze that coated his vision when he found the bastard lunging for her… He grit his teeth. Letting y/n make the final call was one of the hardest things he had to do.

And what y/n felt… how could he judge that? What he said was true. Her nerves were shot.

Emotionally, she had conditioned herself to trust Kwang, and sometimes the body wasn’t as good at playing catch up as the mind. And from what he’d heard from y/n, when she talked about it, Kwang was taking his time, savoring every second, using y/n’s body against her. 

Y/n was still a little girl on the inside. That little girl was taught to love her parents and not raise her voice at them, not protest any of their decisions for her life, and Kwang was a guardian. A solid male with a strong foundation for always making y/n feel safe… No child would want to disappoint someone that they love, or ever make them unhappy.

It was a crisscross of blurred lines between Kwang’s actions, his intentions and what he'd groomed y/n to feel. He wanted her to be scared of him. He wanted her to feel guilty for saying no to what he wanted to do to her. 

A glass paperweight was thrown across the room and shattered against the wall. Kwang wanted y/n to please him. 

Namjoon breathed hard, feeling all too helpless, with so much rage and nowhere to put it.

He couldn’t imagine how betrayed y/n was feeling. And he felt bad for pushing her but he had to push. She’d already been minimizing it in her head, highlighting her own feelings instead of his actions.

Just didn’t rape me.

He did. As far as Namjoon was concerned Kwang had been abusing y/n since the day he realized he was sexually attracted to her. But y/n couldn’t see that. 

Y/n was ashamed of herself, feeling guilt as if it was her fault, and what made it even worse was her perception of safety.

For a long time Kwang was a safety net. Realistically y/n didn’t walk into oncoming traffic like it was  safe, that would be ridiculous, but she was physically forced and also not. He touched her not as an abuser but a lover. And y/n did the only thing she could do in a situation where the odds seemed insurmountable – she dissociated. Ice princess. 

Namjoon sighed. Maybe it wasn’t fair to y/n at all to work on the theory he’d been spinning in his head, but the more thought he put into it, the more he knew he needed the story to be reiterated and confirmed. What really happened that day?

Did isolation and dissociation start with the trauma from her father, or did it start with Kwang? And if it started after the incident when she was younger, then how did she react before she defended herself, what did she feel then?

And if things had been different, her emotions, her response, did she alter the event in her mind or maybe she pushed it out of her mind completely. All night she seemed to be reliving the most recent one, instead of blocking it out, but only time would tell. 

If he was being honest with himself, Namjoon would rather focus on y/n rather than himself, because he had his own guilt to level with. He would be a fool not to admit that it was disturbing to be faced with the realization that he was part of a plan, that his lapse in judgment was relied on, let alone included in some master plan to ruin his y/n’s life. He was ashamed that it had worked perfectly for Helen, up until y/n decided she wouldn’t leave him.

And he would never leave y/n.

Maybe another man would be fazed with y/n’s reaction, her inability to react as the situation called for it, but Namjoon knew his wife. He knew her better than she knew herself. And he felt y/n’s love… everywhere. He saw proof of it, in his life. His brothers, his band, overlooking his flaws and mistakes –  she adored him and never shied away from showcasing it to the people that mattered.

Something inside him smiled dangerously as he remembered how he found Kwang clutching his jaw, blood dripping from his nose. Y/n may not have reacted in time for herself, but when she was clear headed he would remind her that she reacted when it mattered most. For all he knew, it was the same back then when he tried to touch her.

Yeah. The trauma would remain, but his y/n would make it out of this, and he would be right there with her. 

And maybe making her relive her trauma so fast was a reckless decision, maybe he’d been harder than he needed to be, maybe incensing and arguing with her wasn’t the best idea and maybe he wasn’t taking this whole Helen, Neenah bullshit seriously enough yet… but one thing was for sure, no one could tell Kim Namjoon how to take care of his wife, absolutely no one knew Kim Y/n better than him, and he would dare anyone to contest that, because the only thing worse than feeling broken, was the one you loved most treating you as if you were.

Taglist - @casnextdoor @jaysdimples @belliebelle @pinkcherrybombs @sweetjellyfishland @blushingatyou @jiminiesfavouritecolourisblue @somewhereinthestarss @k-brownsugar @namsona17 @taejinxkoya @notsooperfect @zae007live @its-hopes-world @shina913 @bri-mal @piecesofapril11 @kissme-ornot @toriluvsfics @agustdmwah @lochness-butmakeitsexy @petalsofink @definetlythinkimanalien @masterpiecejoonie @gcintia @danietoww04 @roguesthetic @rjsmochii @amymikaelson @hello-kittyy @mschievous247 @onlythehobi @deliciousdetectivestranger @daddypkj @callmemadhatter @rkivecenter @codeinebelle @creolesoul2seoul @nochelunaxx @serendididy [closed]

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Part 30 - Finale [V]

Part 30 - Finale [E]

Epilogue

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[joviantwelve]

Hello! I've been doing some long, hard thinking about my current commission offerings.

TL;DR:

I am doing away with my "standard" menu (headshot/halfbody/fullbody/etc.) in favor of more experimental work.

Effective June 1, my commissions will close completely, including the waitlist.

If you want any of my current offerings, please let me know before then. You will be added to a final waitlist queue, with payment only required once I get to you.

If you're currently on my waitlist, or are interested in what's next, please see the bottom of this post. Once the final orders are complete, I will focus on relaunching.

Below is a more elaborate explainer of why I'm doing this, and what I'll be doing next.

Introduction

Essentially, commissions have worn on me more and more as time goes on (which may be tangible if you ordered one recently and it took months). Part of me wondered if I was burned out on art in general, or it was just becoming less of a hobby for me, but that sentiment didn't feel quite right. After all, I could still get grabbed by a picture idea every now and again, which I would then crank out in one evening.

Was there some sort of difference between the pictures I could hammer out quickly vs. the ones I couldn't? Well, I wouldn't make a post about an investigation without already having a prime suspect.

My Art Style

When I first started drawing aliased, it was to quickly crank out panels for my forum adventures, mostly because I was using GIMP and didn't know anything about brush settings. I was way too frustrated with anti-aliased lines and how little I could make them look how I liked, so I retreated into something completely different.

It worked for a while, but as I became more comfortable with the style, I developed bad, perfectionistic habits (something I've already mentioned being A Problem I Have). I would tweak lineart at the pixel level, just because some stray bump or two bugged the hell out of me. I consider this one of the reasons my art output has slowed down.

Trying to embrace a "perfectly inconsistent," or "consistently imperfect" look as "my style" just created its own irony. For example, I will deliberately draw patterns and textures by hand, because it sticks out too strongly otherwise if I just paste it in. You can bump into this quickly enough by scrolling through my various character references.

I would love a world where all my OC references feel "current," but as it stands, I'm finding it increasingly hard to work on the remaining characters I want to draw while commissions are also an obligation. Taking a break from aliased character art commissions in order to work on aliased character art references is...just doing more of the same? It isn't a break.

In order to create breaks that actually feel like breaks, I have to compromise. ONE of these has to go home and change. My personal art gets priority here, and I still very much want my OCs to look consistent in their reference art, so...I need to find a more efficient way to draw for money that keeps my dysfunctional brain entertained.

The Long, Slow Realization

Back when I used GIMP, I tried the chalk brush on a whim and ended up quite liking it. The rough look helped me ignore what I would consider "imperfections" otherwise. However, perhaps because I had a comic or character references I wanted to keep consistent, I mostly considered it a fun oddity and nothing more.

More falling dominoes that would eventually lead to this post were my experimental style offerings that I introduced last year (at the time, I just offered it because I thought people may be interested in art that looked relatively unique), Art Fight (having to agonizingly obey "finished not perfect" because of the event deadline), and other gift art I did around this time (the reasoning being, it's gift art, they wouldn't mind if I used it to experiment).

Now that I use CSP and am no longer bound by webcomic obligations, I've been experimenting more with brush settings. Wouldn't you know it, most of my modern art of my original stories is no longer aliased. I go "off-model" deliberately, fuck around with layer settings and effects, and enjoy creating pieces just because I saw a cool tutorial, brush, or program I wanted to try. These are the types of pictures I mentioned I could crank out in one evening. Maybe they're not "formal," but I feel like they're the most "me."

With all this new experience swirling around in my head, I finally realized: Why am I not selling art I actually find fun to draw?!

The New Offerings

Currently, I'm leaning toward one style of illustration only, cheaper than the experimental style I offer presently, and "rougher" as a result. I want something equivalent to my '22 Art Fight output; something flashy, unique, and most importantly, quick to do.

The specifics are what I intend to figure out while I work through the queue. Here are some thoughts already rotating around in my brain:

Should I offer price "tiers" that roughly equate a level of "polish" (equivalent to sketch/flats/shading) or just go with one-price-fits-all?

Should I still offer sketches as a cheap alternative, or is that too confusing with my Ko-fi already sort of being that?

Should I offer specific pricing for bust/halfbody/fullbody/etc., or was that another symptom of why I had commission burnout before, and should be avoided?

Should I eschew all of the above and just offer one thing at one price (e.g. "give me $50 and I'll draw your OC" with no other choices for the buyer), or is that too intimidating?

And so on. The last option is currently what I'm vibing with the most, but it's definitely the most daring idea of the bunch, too. (& If you have any thoughts on this, let me know! I have so much more thinking to do.)

The Old Offerings (But New)

When I reopen, I would like to have as few options as possible. However, I have considered the possibility that an old offering would speak to me and I would add it to the new menu again. Here are some thoughts on those:

Icons have a pretty high chance of coming back.

I've always liked drawing faces and headshots the most. If I decide not to bring back headshot sketches, I could just roll it back into "icons" and instead offer colored sketchy headshots. This would be similar to the headshots I did for Art Fight, but...with colors.

Half/fullbodies would depend on how the new style goes.

This is elaborating on what I said in the previous section. While I'm sure my core audience (i.e., you) will be fine with a potentially spontaneous angle to my commissions, buyers I'm less familiar with might not be. I want to try "one price fits all," but if someone gives me shit about me drawing a bust when they were anticipating a fullbody, I might have to add options to specify this.

Regardless, the style would still be "experimental" either way--the composition is what's important about it (which is also why I feel like I can get away with one single price). If anything, I feel like forcing myself into the little boxes of "halfbody" and "fullbody" was partially what was stifling me. Like, when do I ever consciously decide to draw a halfbody of an OC? I don't. It feels very arbitrary, and I'd like to distance from it.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Character design is NEVER coming back!

I deeply appreciate those that did want a brand spanking new OC from me, but I've never considered myself to have a terribly strong design sense. They just kind of ended up being extra nervewracking to do because I had to design a character on top of drawing a fullbody. I will still take the final requests for these, but this is your absolute last chance for a Jovian Twelve™ Brand Original the Character.

What if I'm Already on Your Waitlist?

You don't have to do anything! I will get to you when I get to you. After June 1, I will close the waitlist, and whoever is on there will be able to have one of my old commission types, as promised. You can change your request anytime as long as I'm not currently drawing it!

Reminder that my waitlist is NOT "first come, first served;" I order it based on the complexity of what's wanted. Because of my slow pace, I didn't want to keep someone waiting forever when all they want is three sketch headshots, you know? This is a heads up that if you change your request, your position in the list may change as well.

I have no ETA when the current waitlist will be completed, given that currently, fullbodies are taking me months. Sorry :( Just another reason I'm making this post!!

What if I Want the NEW Style?

I will accept up to five (5) waitlist slots that want to "test drive" the potential new commission style, placed after the "traditional" queue is all cleared out. (So, you'd be waiting extra long.) If you're interested in this, get in touch! I will offer them to you at a lower rate than what I'm expecting to charge for the real deal, as thanks.

If you're already on the waitlist for something else, and want to test the new style instead, let me know! Just be aware this would bring you to the bottom of the queue as described above (but it WOULD give me one less commission I'd have to go through to get to the new stuff, WINK).

In the chance I get no takers the entire time it takes me to go through the waitlist, then the first five commissions I do in the new style will just have to be "test slots" instead.

Final Word

I know these long posts might not be terribly interesting to anyone that's not me, but I find it therapeutic to scrawl my thoughts out in text. Additionally, I'm over 30 years old and conclusions are still the hardest part in writing an essay. I can feel my writing style begin to devolve the closer I am to the end...

Uhhh.

Thanks for reading, and understanding?! See you soon, maybe?! Get in touch if you want to discuss Commissions From Me?? 💃 Cool.

[letstalktea]

Content: Grand Duke!Wyll x afab!Tav, post game, established relationship, fluff and smut

Word count: 950

The cool sheets of the bed – a bed so grand you could hardly believe that you'd been sleeping on the ground nightly not all that long ago – ran softly over your naked body. Once upon a time, you would have shivered beneath such chilly covers and cradled yourself for more warmth, but these days there was a greater source of warmth beside you.

You shifted under the covers, moving closer to the body beside you and laying your head against his bare chest. Wyll's chest rose and fell with even breaths as he slept, dreaming things you would never know but things that were entirely his own, just as you now dreamt of things of your own these days.

The scarring across his abdomen ran deep; blade marks, puncture wounds, the distinct pattern of claws. As you ran your fingers over each one, they burned around the edges. Once upon a time, after you both finally had time to sit and relax after the world finished falling apart, you had asked him for some of the stories. Each one was a hero's tale in and of itself and thinking about that made you swoon for him. He was more than The Blade of Frontiers these days, but that didn't mean it was any less a part of him than the day you had met.

You kissed his cheek gently, grateful to share a bed with a man like him.

His lips pursed and eyes creased before opening in small slits to stare at you.

You smiled, something between being cheeky and embarrassed at being caught. "Hello."

"Good morning," Wyll said before realizing that it was still pitch dark. "Or, whatever time it may be."

"Yes, whatever time it is." You kissed his cheek again before moving to his lips and wrapping your hand in his. "You know, I find it unfair how good you look even when you're asleep."

"I apologize for my good fortune."

"An apology isn't enough." With a mischievous smile on your face, you sat up in bed and rolled over to sit on top of him. "If you want forgiveness, you'll have to earn it."

"How could I deny such a request?" he asked as he wove his fingers in between yours and craned his neck so he could stare up at and admire you.

Your back arched as you leaned down to kiss the tip of his nose, a light giggle falling from your upturned lips. "My hero."

You leaned your weight against his palms to give yourself the leverage to raise your hips above his. His dick stood proudly beneath your wanting hole, waiting for you to take the initiative and welcome him in.

Slowly, you lowered your hips until the lips of your pussy were kissing the tip of his cock. Then you sunk further until you could feel the delicious stretch of his girth and how it made you bite your own lips to keep from moaning too loudly. It had been far too long since you last felt him in this way.

He squeezed your fingers between his own while his good eye continued to stare at your face. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm," you hummed. "I'm just adjusting. You're not small enough to go unnoticed, you know."

"I'll decide to take that as a compliment."

"How noble of you. You serve your position well." He was, after all, now his father's successor. You dropped your voice low enough that it sounded like a whispered breath. "If you would allow me to do the same."

You closed your eyes, trying to drown in the pleasure of him. Making love to Wyll was soft and passionate, a fever contained only to you and him and the bed.

Still bracing against him, you raised your hips and began to slowly roll along the length of his cock. Every time he bottomed out inside of you made you want to sing. His powerful gaze left you burning up inside and your legs weak. A part of you wanted to reach out and grab those horns of his just to see if leaning forward against them would give you a better angle to ride him, but the fierceness – the utter tenderness – with which he gripped your hands in his own would not allow it.

In the midst of your passions, he spoke up. "I've been wondering," he bent at the waist, sitting up and causing you to stumble backward slightly in his lap, "if it's time to make an heir."

You gripped tighter onto his hands to steady yourself and braced your feet onto bed behind him to keep your balance. You desperately tried not to think of how he shifted inside of you or how it felt like he had somehow grown even more when he mentioned an heir.

The words he spoke hung heavy in the air while you processed what he'd just said and the meaning behind it. Once you did, however, you could feel your expression soften. "You scoundrel."

"Alas," he smiled with a jovial tone in his voice, "even I have my moments. No man is without his weaknesses."

"Oh? I make you weak?"

"As well as give me strength." He pulled your hand close and laid a kiss against your knuckles. "I could ask for no better partner."

"Nor could I." With burning cheeks, you leaned forward as best as you could to rest against his shoulder. "Go slowly. This position can be… strenuous," was the world you settled on, "and I wouldn't want to have to stop before we have a chance."

He pulsed inside of you. "I shall do my best." Even if it would be difficult to restrain himself with a partner like you.

[flosbelova]

It’s So Sweet

Florence Pugh x Reader

Summary: Enjoying the simple and domestic aspects of your relationship (lyrics inspired by “Sweet” by Cigarettes After Sex).

warnings: none

word count: 701

A/N: I know I haven’t posted in a cool minute. I hope this drabble makes up for it :)

gif creds to owner :)

Out of all the relationships you've had, this one has been the most pure. Sure, it may have taken a while for you and Florence to get together but you're glad that you were able to wait for the right time. Everything with her was genuine and you never had to second guess yourself, and neither did she. You considered each other as best friends and would talk to each other about anything and everything. And you were both glad that you had each other to fall in love with.

It's so sweet, knowing that you love me.

With Florence, the big, extravagant things didn't matter. She didn't care whether you brought her to a big fancy restaurant, or if you brought her to the local breakfast diner. She loved being with you regardless. Spending time with you is her favorite part of her day. Getting to wake up next to you every morning and your face being the last thing she sees before closing her eyes.

Touch is her main love language, so whenever she could, she would find any excuse to touch you. Whether it be her hand on your waist as she passed by you in the kitchen, or her hand on your shoulder, offering you a small massage, or even handing you a soda bottle and making sure she brushed her fingertips against yours— whatever the case was, she wanted to express her love for you in this way.

Though we don't need to say it to each other, sweet.

The little things were what mattered most in your relationship. Joining Florence for a dance in the kitchen while she waited for the ingredients to heat up. Going on walks with Billie and seeing the way your face lit up when Florence would hand you a flower she picked up from the ground. Running errands together and somehow turning it into a mini date and grabbing a coffee & tea together right after.

Having the same days off were the best. You both stay inside after a long week of work, cuddled up on the couch and watching a chick flick. With Florence laying on top of you, you run your fingers through her hair and kiss her forehead. You continued admiring the girl on top of you, barely realizing your focus is now on her instead of the movie in front of you.

Knowing that I love you, and running my fingers through your hair.

Florence would have a sixth sense, knowing that you stopped paying attention to the movie. She looks at you and gives you a soft smile that erupts fireworks in your stomach.

"What is it, baby love?" Florence asks you. You blushed and looked away from her for a moment, taking in the pet name that you loved to be called, coming out of her mouth.

"Nothing," you finally look at her, a big smile plastered on your face. You bit your bottom lip just to keep your smile from getting any bigger.

Florence leaned in, brushing your lips together. Her button nose is pressed against yours as you break the small gap in between your lips. Your hands wrap around her waist, holding her tightly. Your other hand resting on the back of her neck, pulling her impossibly closer. You felt yourself smile into the kiss as you could feel the giddiness hitting you. Allowing the both of you to catch your breaths, Florence slowly pulled away but kept her forehead resting against yours.

"Do you wanna take a nap with me?" you break the silence.

"I could never say no to that," Florence chuckled and shook her head.

You reached for the remote to turn the TV off and laid down in a comfortable position. With Florence on top of you, she laid her head on your chest, listening to your heartbeat. You continued to run your fingers through her hair. You felt the bottom of your shirt being pulled up, along with soft fingers rubbing against your skin. You did the same to Florence as you slipped your other hand under her shirt and traced patterns along her spine. Within a few minutes, you both fell asleep.

It's so sweet.

[twinkletwinklenebula]

28

I didn't think I'd come back to one of my most visited forms of social media over 10 years later. What brought me back is the nostalgia felt of having this space to blog my thoughts and emotions during the most difficult times of my life. I realized that healthy habits need to be consistent and writing is an outlet that will continue to be a crucial part of my life for growth and processing my emotions. The only difference is that I choose to be anonymous this time.

It's been a little over 2 weeks since I've turned 28. As I started to reflect, I've learned a lot in my 20's but I don't want to spend the last 2 years making the same mistakes or worrying about the future.

Each year carried a personal milestone and life lesson, there's a difference between reading articles with the same advice and actually experiencing and learning these lessons personally.

Here are my 7 life lessons:

20: Change happens from within

I was in my third year of college and felt like I hit rock bottom. I've been struggling with depression and anxiety since starting college and managed to put on 100 lbs within the first two years as I looked to food and binge eating to cope and avoid the emotions I didn't want to process. While I was far into my engineering program, it really wasn't for me. There was this constant pressure and uncertainty of wanting to finish this program that worsened my anxiety, I had to make a decision.

During the fall semester, I took business courses to transfer to the College of Business in hopes Finance or Accounting would work out (not to mention the parental pressure of graduating as soon as possible and to commit to a program). It was my first turning point as I finally listened to what I wanted rather than what I felt my parents or peers thought was best for me. I also managed to see a dietician to start my weight loss journey as I wanted to commit to a healthy life style, not just a fad diet I found on the internet. Eight months later, I entered 21 about mid-way through my weight loss journey.

21: Confidence in yourself and BEING yourself is attractive

Feeling more energized and comfortable in my body from the weight loss, I started going out again, caught up with friends and even felt comfortable being in group photos. I got into the Finance program in college and started making new friends but it wasn't long until my thoughts and anxieties started to bring out new insecurities. Because of the timing of the weight loss and the new "confidence" gained through my journey, I started to fear that I'd lose friendships or "fitting in" if I put on weight again. As a result, I picked up on unhealthy habits to keep the weight down and threw off my own menstrual cycle and body's natural hunger cues. What I didn't realize was that I also started to be myself around people again because I felt comfortable going out - which was a big change from wanting to be invisible everywhere I went. The only person that would have rejected myself if I gained weight again was me.

22: Heartbreak happens but you cannot force someone to love you

After my four year relationship ended, I tried everything I could to save the relationship. Tried to change myself, told him I would work on any thing I may have done to ruin the relationship - I blamed myself for everything. I believed that we could make things work and that I was the problem. In reality, we just wanted different things and carried different values. All my insecurities I judged myself for had nothing to do with the break up. After processing all the hurt and anger, my perception changed and even respected him more as a person for his honesty. Break ups are not easy for both parties but we knew it wasn't going to work in the end. I just didn't want to accept that.

23: Therapy doesn't make you any less of a person

After I graduated college, the first thing I wanted to do was look into a therapy program. Not just behavioral therapy but one that would help address these unhealthy patterns and negative thoughts that I would constantly believe and live through. After a few intake visits with several psychologists, I finally committed to a CBT program specifically aimed to address issues with acceptance and commitment. Much of my anxieties and unhealthy patterns revolved around trying to be in control of everything and finding ways to prepare for the worse if something did go wrong. I started to learn techniques to diffuse from my emotions and thoughts such as mindfulness and daily body scans. I'm proud to say five years later, I've seen much growth since my first intake appointment even if I'm still seeing my doctor.

Therapy has helped me learn to process my emotions in a way that works for me. It does not forfeit your independence nor does it make you any less of a person for wanting to develop better life skills that work for you.

24: Find a balance between saving money and enjoying life

When I was 24, I was still living at home and loved the advantage of living rent free and debt free. However, my parents always had a mentality of saving money for retirement and emergencies - I didn't want to spend any of it. It was depressing seeing my friends travel, experience new places and shop for all the things they wanted yet I was too scared to enjoy or let loose. It wasn't until I finally pulled the trigger to take a trip to Japan (quite impulsively) but I enjoyed every moment with absolutely no regrets. Upon returning, the first thing on my mind was that I wanted to go back and travel to new countries and see the world beyond the pictures I always scroll through. The money spent on this trip was worth every penny and I also learned that I wouldn't want to do all this walking and traveling when I'm too old to even enjoy it. From there, I started to budget for trips and other purchases I wanted in life. Life is too short to live the same day twice right?

25: Perfection doesn't exist

I'll get back to this one later.... (no pun intended)

26: It's OK to take a break (and you also lose your parents insurance)

I turned 26 during the pandemic and was also laid off from my job because they no longer needed my role since our team had to work remotely. Honestly, it felt like I lost part of my identity not having a routine and I felt like a complete failure that I didn't have a job. However, I took this time to re-evaluate my sense of self and the hobbies and parts of myself that I abandoned when I spent those extra hours working. It took a while for me to get used to having this "break" but I appreciated taking the time to let myself reflect on what I really wanted to do with my life and to process the emotions I felt when I first lost my job.

27: Slow down

[cherrycheridarling]

dap me up | t.h.

tom holland x actress!reader

warnings: somewhat smut? swearing and fluff

summary: during an interview for your new film, tom exposes your odd routine during intimate scenes and your favourite flower.

a/n: i got carried away. there's a lot going on in here. enjoy?

wc: 2.6k

"Hello! I'm Adrien Fox with Pop Sugar and we are here with stars of the new film 'Week Off', Tom Holland and Y/N Y/L/N!" Adrien introduced you and Tom to the cameras.

You and Tom gave little waves, "Hello!"

"Now, let's get right into it."

Adrien began asking generic questions while you tried your best to prevent any spoilers from leaving Tom's lips.

"Can you explain the movie a bit to anyone who is unfamiliar with the book or hasn't watched the trailer?"

Tom opened his mouth to speak before closing it, "I think I'll let Y/N do that."

Adrien laughed before you spoke, "Yeah, um. It's basically a comedy with a little rated R content. Some romance, but mostly raunchy and hilarious stuff. It follows the employees in this law firm and their vacation away from work. Lots ensues during said trip including relationships, arguments and too much drinking."

"And you guys worked with many famous actors and actresses in this film. Like, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Hart, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and The Rock. How was working with that many iconic people in the industry? You guys are obviously incredibly well known as well, but I imagine some of these people were your idols growing up." Adrien asked and you and Tom nodded.

"Yeah, uh, yeah. It was an honour. Absolutely amazing. Like, I never imagined I'd be making films, let alone films with stars like Kevin Hart and Emma Stone, you know? I'm just really proud of this one and I love everyone who we worked on it with." Tom gave his answer making you nod.

You cleared your throat, "Yeah, Zendaya is my best friend and she has been for years, long before this movie came along, but I still got so excited about working with her. Jennifer Lawrence is amazing, so hilarious. You put her and Chris into a room together and it's just comedy central." you laughed with Tom at the memory.

"We've seen in the trailer that you two share many intimate and – may I say – risqué scenes in this film. Was it hard to keep that level of professionalism and friendship while shooting those scenes?"

You let out a little chuckle at the question before Tom rubbed his chin and spoke, "Since Y/N and I are already good friends off screen, I thought it would be awkward filming those scenes, but Y/N does this weird handshake after every take and it wasn't awkward 'cause it just made me laugh."

Adrien laughed a little before speaking, "What handshake?"

You shook your head with a smile as you recalled the first time you ever did the handshake with Tom.

"Ready, Holland?" you had your pyjamas on and were making your way to your mark in the set of your character's hotel room.

Tom nodded before following you in, cameras and crew hot on his heels, "Ready as I'll ever be."

He was shirtless. A pair of loose fitting grey shorts hung low on his waist. His costume for this scene as Niko Sai.

A black silk slip hung carelessly off of your frame. Ending at the middle of your thighs, v-neck dipping low on your chest. Your costume for Kora Patel.

"We're going to take it from Tom's line; 'You want me just as much as I want you'. Okay?" you and Tom gave a thumbs up, "Action!"

"You want me just as much as I want you. Everytime you sneak a glance at me and you think I don't see, but I do because I'm already looking at you, Patel." Tom walked behind you, looking at you through the mirror in front of you. "I don't blame you, I am incredibly good looking." he smirked to himself.

"I'm guessing you couldn't fit your shirt over your ginormous head?" you rolled your eyes.

Tom's smirk only grew, "Is that a little bit of drool on your mouth, Patel? Who knew the Kora Patel had a thing for Niko Sai? Oh, the Lord is good."

You rested your hands on the sink and leaned forward, "This is a useless conversation, Sai." you turned to face him, "I feel nothing for you. Don't you get that?"

He stepped closer to you and cupped your face in his palm, "Yes you do, you just don't want to." his face showed pain, all humour drained from his character.

You shook your head with a dry laugh, "You're only trying with me because it's convenient. The company's quiet little Kora Patel, right?"

He took another step towards you, holding your hip in a tight grip, "That's a lie. Nothing about us is convenient."

You chuckled before your hand flew to grasp his hair, tangling your fingers in his curls. Your other hand pressed against his pec. Nails tracing patterns on his skin. Tom's breath hitched along with yours as his body automatically drew closer to you.

You tightened your grip on his hair, "It is convenient because you know I keep to myself. You know that I won't go running my mouth about how long you last or if size really does matter. You know that I'm an easy one to fuck," you pulled him closer, "And toss aside, right, Sai?"

"No." Tom swallowed, "You're wrong, Patel."

You shrugged, "I can give you what you want," you ran your thumb across his bottom lip, "Physically." your eyes met his with heavy lids, "Not emotionally. That's why you need Remedy. Not me." your lips brushed his as you spoke, your voice just loud enough for the mics to pick up.

He leaned in and nearly kissed you before you pushed him away slightly by his chest, foreheads still touching, "Let me kiss you." he whispered, sounding so desperate that you nearly abandoned the script and pulled him into you.

You rolled your lips between your teeth, "And if I don't?" you raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"I'll leave you alone. If that's what you want, I'll go and have a useless one night stand with a girl who could never measure up to you." he pulled your hips flesh against his, "But if you let me kiss you. I promise to show you how much I mean it when I say that I'll spend all night showering every inch of your body with the love it deserves." he brushed his lips against yours again before bringing his mouth to your ear, "Just say the word, darling, and I'm yours."

Your heavy breaths were the only things that could be heard besides the small sound of shuffling behind the cameras. Your eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips before you closed the distance and pushed your lips to his.

Fighting for dominancy, teeth clashing, hands roaming. Unscripted groans falling from Tom's lips as you tugged on his hair, running your fingers along his scalp. His hands gripped the bottom of your thighs before you jumped and wrapped your legs around his waist.

"I still hate you." you breathed against his lips as he kissed the corner of your mouth.

You felt him smirk, "You sure have a funny way of showing it."

He carried you to the bedroom, gently laying you down and climbing on top of you, never breaking the kiss. His hands running down your sides, squeezing and rubbing. Your lips moving in sync until he pulled away only to attach his lips to your jawline, leaving slow but hard kisses down your neck, leading to your collarbone.

"Still hate me?" Tom mumbled against your skin.

You let out a breathy moan, "More than ever."

"What do you hate about me, Patel?" he lifted up the bottom of your black slip.

"E-everything." you fake gasped as he rolled his hips into yours.

He laughed dryly, "Everything, huh? The noises you're making say otherwise."

"You're such a dick." you moaned.

He smirked against your breast, "You're about to take my—"

"—Don't finish that fucking sentence, Sai."

Soft moans fell from your lips as you wrapped your legs around his waist again and pulled him closer to you. He groaned against your skin as the cameras picked up every noise, every movement, every kiss. You ran your nails down his back, surely leaving marks in its wake. His grip on your hips was almost punishing, as if he wanted there to be bruises the next day.

"And cut! Great work, guys. Ten minute break and we'll shoot it again."

Tom immediately got off of you and sat to the side of the bed before looking at you with concern, "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

You let out a laugh before shaking your head, "No, you didn't hurt me. Dap me up." you held out your hand and he stared confused.

"What you up?" he chuckled.

You smiled before lifting his hand and doing the movements for him, "Just like that." he finally got it down and smiled.

"You Americans are definitely odd." he teased.

You tossed him a wink as an assistant handed you a robe, "See you in ten, Holland."

"And that's the handshake. It's not really a handshake, more of a greeting. I just did it after our first intimate scene because Tom was acting weird and I didn't want things to be awkward." you explained with a shrug as Adrien and Tom laughed.

Tom nodded, "I thought I hurt her! So I asked if I did and all she said was 'dap me up', like, what?" he laughed with you.

"You guys have really great chemistry on and off screen." Adrien complimented making your cheeks heat up.

You nodded, "Thank you. It took a lot of work to break through his industrial ego." you joked with an exhausted sigh as Adrien laughed.

Tom gasped beside you, "I do not have an industrial ego!"

"Mhm, sure." you joked before reaching over and giving Tom's thigh a gentle squeeze, "I meant indestructible."

Tom huffed and crossed his arms, "This is bullying."

Adrien laughed again, "We have to talk about something," he started and you already knew what was coming, "Lots of fans have speculated that the romance on screen carries on off screen." he smirked.

You and Tom laughed nervously. Almost awkwardly.

The situations that you went through with Tom while filming definitely built your relationship with him and strengthened it. In all honesty, you didn't know if the feelings you had for him were reciprocated.

In Tom's head, he was adamant that you had no feelings for him beyond the big screen. Both of you were too timid to confess first. His feelings for you developed a few weeks into filming and since then have only gotten stronger as your friendship grew and you spent more time together.

The amount of times that this topic had been brought up today was tiring. Every answer was the same: "No, no. We're just really good friends."

You decided to joke around, "Honestly, I've asked Tom out at least twenty times and he keeps rejecting me." you pouted and sniffled.

Adrien let out a joyous laugh as Tom gasped and choked on air at your words.

"That is not true! She has never asked me out!" he defended himself.

You shook your head with a deep frown, "He's broken my heart too many times. This is probably my last time acting with him." you continued on with the joke.

Tom shook his head furiously, "That is one hundred percent false. If she had asked me out, we would already be dating." he let the words fall from his lips without a second thought.

You fought the instinct to snap your head towards him. His confession catching you off guard. You played it off with another pout and shrug. Unsure if he was joining in on the prank or not.

Adrien raised a suggestive eyebrow, "What I'm hearing is that Y/N just needs to ask you out and we have our new couple."

You fake gasped, "Why do I have to ask him out? He should be asking me out with a million roses and a horse drawn carriage." you flipped your hair over your shoulder.

"You don't even like roses." Tom laughed, "You like dandelions because they turn into those fluffy things that you can make a wish with." he remembered the information off of the top of his head, "And because it sounds like you're saying 'dandy lions' when you say their name."

You nodded with a smile, "A million dandelions then. And maybe I'll think about it." you joked with a yawn making the two men laugh.

"You heard it here first. We have a new couple on the rise. Tom just needs to find a million dandelions and a horse drawn carriage." Adrien laughed again.

Tom scoffed dramatically, "Find? I already have them in my garage, ready to go."

Adrien cheered as you felt a heat creep up your neck, "Did I say dandelions? I meant daisies."

"Got those, too." Tom smirked making you roll your eyes.

"Okay, we need to end this interview before Tom buys all the flowers in Berlin." you joked.

After the interview ended, you said your goodbyes to Adrien and the crew before you and Tom made your way back to your temporary hotel suite for the week of press junkets.

Tom walked you to your room, stopping at the door, "That was an odd interview." he chuckled.

You nodded, "Indeed. It was fun, though." you smiled and he returned the expression.

There was an awkward beat of silence before he spoke again, "T-that whole asking me out thing. You were kidding, right? Like, just a show for the cameras?" he laughed nervously.

You swallowed air before replying with a timid smile, "Y-yeah. Totally. Just for the fans." you nodded again, "Um, I should head to bed. More interviews tomorrow. See you in the morning." you gave him a little wave before turning to your door and pulling out your key.

He nodded with the smallest of pouts before turning on his heel and starting the walk back to his suite.

Just as your hand was turning the knob, Tom's voice called out to you again.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" he spoke in one breath.

You bit your lip to conceal your smile, but it was no use. His question sparked a flame in your stomach that wasn't dying out anytime soon.

You turned with a bright grin, "I'd love to."

His features went from pure fright to relief in a matter of seconds, "G-great. I'll- uh, I'll text you the details. Goodnight." he gave you a little salute making you laugh.

"Sounds good. Night, Holland." you nodded your head before entering your hotel room.

You leaned against the door as soon as it shut. A euphoric glow radiating off of you. You were going on a date with Tom Holland.

Tom happily punched the air. Skipping down the hallway, a new found joy in his step. Chris Hemsworth walked out of his room and examined the gleeful boy.

"What's got you all smiley?" he chuckled.

Tom stopped and smiled, staring at the ceiling, "I just got myself a date."

Chris raised an impressed eyebrow before laughing, "You really are Peter Parker. Night, kid."

"Goodnight, Chris." Tom's smile never faded as he made his way back to his suite.

Not even ten minutes had gone by since he last spoke to you and he already missed you. He pulled out his phone and pressed on your contact.

Tom: sorry i didn't have any dandelions. hope you can make an exception x

Y/N: i suppose but the horse drawn carriage is a must x

[lonely-lost-soul]

A Pirate's Life for Me

Cover Art Done By: @fridaydev-draws and @friday-dsv (Dreamsmp x reader) Pirate Au! Love Interests: C!Wilbur, C!Techno, C!Dream, C!Sapnap, C!Quackity, and C!Schlatt

~~~

Salt burned your lungs as you tossed open your window with a loud bang, the seagulls perching on your flower boxes screeched in protest and flew from your window. “Fucking sky rats get the fuck out of here you heathens!” You snarled out the window shaking your fist at the bothersome birds, the sounds of the ocean crashing on the shore filled your ears as well as the chatter of the dock workers. You let the breeze blow back your hair and you heard someone calling your name from down below.

“Good morning (Y/n)!” You glanced below you and grinned,

“Morning Eret!” They waved back enthusiastically their dress spilling around their ankles, a basket of fruit was balanced on his hip. “Opening early today? I'm sure your patrons would be happy to start their drunken stupor early,” She held a hand to his mouth snickering and you shot them a look.

“If that gets more money in my pocket then so be it, I won't complain too much.” You shrugged, “Will I still see you later tonight?”

“Always do dove, how can I resist a drink from my favorite bartender.”

“You can’t it’s my charm.”

“Will the both of you shut the fuck up!” Another man’s voice growled from another open window, “It’s too early for your bullshit.” You saw Eret click his tongue but smiled up at you despite the man's protests,

“I’m heading to the market anyway. These fruits won’t sell themselves, I'll see you later.”

“See you soon!” You closed your windows once more, but not before urging your daisies to grow one last time. You tossed open the curtains allowing light to spill into your cozy home, a small carpet was in the middle of your room. It was a deep red and the pattern was made of gold yarn, aside from that everything in your residency was made of dark wood. Your shelves were littered with books and empty cups, and your old worn journal sat open on your desk. It was filled with childhood memories and you continued to write in it to this day, it was easier then, things were simple and everything was innocent and new to you. Now your days were filled with sea fairing idiots who liked to drink themselves stupid, but you could handle yourself, you always kept your father's dagger on your thigh at all times. Those who were frequent customers knew not to mess with you and those who were new learned their lesson within the first ten minutes of meeting you. You inherited the bar from your father, a kindhearted man who died a few years before today, leaving you with the bar and the dagger you had on your hip. You fished through your closet pulling out your clothes for the day, your dress was a gorgeous light coffee color and came down to your ankles. The bottom was flared and had dark brown panels on the sides, it faded inward to a light green then back to the coffee color. The corset around your waist was a dark brown with light green trim, you tied it tight with a small huff making sure your waist was sinched perfectly. The sleeves came down to your elbows allowing you to move your arms freely while making drinks. The top of the dress ended just below your collarbone, you strapped your dagger to your thigh before lacing up your knee-high black boots.

You thought back to your tavern downstairs, you were fortunate enough that you weren’t running this entire operation yourself. You ended up hiring help and they were like family and you knew they saw you as such as well. Most of the girls didn’t have a family of their own so you gave them room and board, also money, of course, you weren’t a terrible boss! You opened the door to your room, you watched Cecil, the tavern’s mascot trot out of Juniper’s room. The border collie liked to switch up which rooms he stayed in protecting every one of your girls when you couldn’t be there for them.

The first of your girls was Adelaide or Addie, she was one of the first to fall under your care. She was around your age, a motherly type, sheep hybrid, who cared for the girls, and always gave the drunk patrons with mommy issues a shoulder to cry on. Her long brown hair always hung down her back, she typically worked tables, served food and drinks, and always got a generous tip from patrons.

The next girl was Judas, a squid-enderman hybrid who was taller than you could ever wish to be, although intimidating you couldn’t meet a kinder woman. A jack of all trades the woman helped out wherever she could, black-ish purple hair curled around her shoulders and some people came specifically to hear her sing. Her voice was like rich velvet and lured men and women in like a siren.

Juniper was after Judas, a demon hybrid who was naive but you’d be a fool to underestimate her. She worked beside you at the bar, she can make some mean fruity drinks, Eret always preferred her drinks over yours. Freckles adorned her face and shoulders, her light brown hair curled down to her middle back, purple horns sprouted from the top of her head. You wanted to adorn it with gold jewelry and you were saving up to gift some to her.

Yeti was a human woman like yourself, she didn’t bother with those who were rude or obnoxious. She kept to herself only really talking when she was spoken to or when there was an opportunity to crack a rare joke. She typically stayed on the sidelines, out of the scenes and Yeti liked to help Judas decorate her sets.

Zig was a kind young adult, they got along with everyone who came inside the tavern. Soft emerald eyes drew people in, and they tried to make sure tensions within the bar didn’t rise and start a fight. There would always be one or two that’s just natural, but one look at Zig and his magic words and they seemed to disperse, not wanting to hurt the kid’s feelings.

Vendetta was the tallest member of the group you had taken in, she was stunningly beautiful and didn't take shit from anybody. She was a guard dog if you will, making sure no one fucked with any of the girls in your tavern. While Zig did their best to keep people under control sometimes they couldn’t win. That’s when Ven would step in and ‘kindly’ escort them off the premises with or without force.

The youngest member here was Luvena. She was a moo-bloom hybrid with soft brown hair that sprouted flowers, her cow ears would twitch when she was excited and followed Addie around like she was her daughter. Addie took her under her wing and was training her to be a perfect little waitress, absolutely warming customers’ hearts. Luvena also loved to give out flowers, she was a fan favorite bringing new life into the tavern.

Cecil barked seeing his mama and scampered over to you, you poured food into his bowl as Juniper wandered into the hallway. Her head rested on the doorframe as she gave you a tried wave, “Morning (Y/n).”

“Morning Juni, We’re opening a little early today. Take your time I’m not expecting a big rush of bar patrons this early.” You assured her and she gave a sleepy nod,

“I’ll be down as soon as Ven’s out of the shower.” She yawned, “This beauty doesn’t come naturally.”

“Hardly darling you’re gorgeous just the way you are.” You reassured with a wink, Juniper flushed a little, happily laughing beside you.

“Just go wake the others will you, you flirt!”

Tossing your head back you gave a happy laugh heading down the hallway to make sure everyone was awake and ready to go for later. Addie and Luvena shared a room so she was in charge of waking up the youngest member of the tavern. Judas was already awake making breakfast for everyone when you headed downstairs, Zig was sitting on the counter beside her, they were the designated taste tester.

“Good morning Miss (Y/n)!” Zig chirped, the young adult hummed fondly, “Sleep okay?”

“Absolutely. What about you both? Thank you for making breakfast Judas.” You hummed fondly and Judas had a shy smile on her face.

“I slept well thank you.” Judas hummed softly, “Also it’s my pleasure. Want to make sure everyone’s healthy and alright.” She let out a little squeak as you wrapped your arms around her body, you barely came up to her chest,

“Judas please marry me,” You complained, “Your breakfast is always heavenly and you care for everyone. Please be my wife.”

“(Y/n)! Please.” She sputtered face turning a dark purple, Zig made a noise of protest and held his hand in the air.

“If she won’t marry you I will!”

“Zig! I’d be honored!”

Their entire face lit up with excitement and they hopped off the table to hug you tightly, you hugged them back and pressed a fond kiss to the top of their head. “I got to open up the tavern, you mind setting the table for me Zig?”

“Sure Miss!”

You sent Judas a kiss in the air which her face burned at, quickly going back to her cooking. You smiled eagerly and unlocked the door to the tavern, you shoved a bucket in front of the door to keep it open. The salty ocean air wafted through your nostrils and your eyes sparkled wondrously.

Today is going to be a good day.

Almost immediately a particular bastard caught your eye,

“You’re here early.” You mused raising an eyebrow,

“Heard you were opening early today sweetcheeks,” His voice was a low baritone, rough from years of smoking and drinking. Horns curled around his fluffy ears that stood out against his gruff exterior, he was a ram hybrid at its finest. “Figured I’d take the opportunity to get a special drink from my special girl,” He mused looking you up and down drinking in your figure. You scoffed at the retired man, he dressed like he was cosplaying captain jack sparrow, the gun’s in his belt just added to his costume and so did his large ruffled shirt, he was never one to forget his gold jewelry.

“Where’s Quackity?” You ignored him sitting him at his usual table, he frowned but you knew he was taking it as an opportunity to stare at your ass. He slid into the stool and put his feet up on the table, his boots were muddy but you could only control him so much. He was too much of a regular to get scared off by your threats and scolding.

“He’ll be in at his normal time. He’s not much of a day drinker, although can’t say I’m complaining. Having all your attention on me and all, considering I’m the only one in here. That being said, I’ll have my usual sweetcheeks.”

“Stop calling me that,” You scolded with a certain fondness that was reserved for the man. “You’re lucky you’re my favorite regular Schlatt,” you gave his ears a fond pinch and he bleated. He sent you a scalding look as you walked away, although the look soon fell as he got a good look at your ass once again.

“I’m your only regular sugar tits!”

“Schlatt feet off the table.” Addie criticized whacking his boots with a rolled-up menu, he rolled his eyes but dropped his feet to the floor. “You should know this by now, we go through this every day.”

“Yeah, yeah little lamb I’m on it. Judas here?”

“She’s always here,” She huffed spreading the menu down on the table. “Do you want your usual or something different? Should I get Quackity’s drink ready too?”

“Nah just stick with mine, for now, tell Judas I’d like to see her.”

Addie clicked her tongue and placed her hand on her hip, “fine. But if you’re just going to grossly flirt with her as you do with (y/n), then keep it to yourself.”

“You’re not the boss of me. Just because you look like an old hag-” The way she glared at him sent a chill down his spine, “shit babe take a joke will you.”

Eventually, people began to file into the tavern, as the morning faded into the afternoon and then into the evening. The tavern was bustling with life, Judas’s elegant voice traveled through the crowds and her voices seemed to float above the voices. Quackity joined Schlatt by his side seemingly irritated by a conversation they were having, Schlatt was about five drinks in at this point, which was much less than his usual, and Quackity on his second.

“What are they talking about?” Luvena asked swinging her legs as she sat on the bar beside you. Her moobloom ears twitching every so often as she tried to eavesdrop on their conversation,

“Vena it’s impolite to eavesdrop.” You scolded bopping her on the head lightly, she whined and rubbed the top of her head.

“I wasn’t!” She argued as you rolled your eyes, you looked over at the two men to find Quackity looking over at you. His hand was raised in the air, one finger was up summoning you to get him another drink.

“I’ll be back, why don’t you talk to Ven while I’m gone. She’ll keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter!”

“Good thing she doesn’t want to babysit your ass either, now shoo.” You motioned her to hop off the bar and she did so with a long, dramatic sigh. You looked over at Ven who gave you a silent nod, letting you know she’d watch out for the youngest member of your band of misfits. Meanwhile, you grabbed Quackity another drink and walked over to the two men at the table, “Someone order a drink?”

“Aye! Mamacita! Fancy seeing you here.” Quackity purred a bright smile spreading across his face seeing that you were the one to deliver his drink,

“Hey Big Q,” You greeted placing the drink in front of him, “You doing okay?”

“Better now that an angel walked into my sight,” He flirted and you rolled your eyes. “What? It’s true! You always brighten my day you know? Ow!” Schlatt hit his ex-first mate over the head,

“Take a breath lover boy. Thanks for the drink sugar tits.”

“You’re welcome, what were the both of you talking about if I may ask.” You hummed grabbing some of Schlatt’s empty glasses, an uncharacteristic frown came over both their faces. “Oh? Touchy subject?”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Just dishing out some old problems, most of which are better left unsaid.” He aimed that statement at Quackity, his jaw seemed clenched and Quackity’s brow furrowed in annoyance.

“Well I just want to remind the both of you,” You passed the tray of empty glasses over to Addie as she walked by, she took them swiftly. You grabbed the side of both their heads and pressed them against your chest, not that you knew but both men’s flushed to the tips of their ears. “No physical fights are allowed in this tavern. If one starts I won’t hesitate to kick your fucking asses. Got it?” They looked over your chest and locked eyes with one another, after years on the sea they could read one another’s facial expressions rather easily and at that moment they shared the same thought,

‘They should fight more often.’

“I said, got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” The repeated simultaneously as you pulled away,

“That’s what I like to hear-”

“(Y/n)!” Vendetta’s velvety voice called out from behind you, you turned and saw a group of newcomers file into your bar. Your body tensed momentarily,

Pirates.

Schlatt turned his head to follow your gaze and he tensed from behind you, “fuck me.” He growled and Quackity raised an eyebrow at his captain, he turned to look over his shoulder and his face lit up.

“Sapnap!”

The pirate who had a white bandana tied around his forehead glanced over at him and a smile lit up across his features. “Quackity? Is that you?”

“My man!” He stood up from his chair heading over to wrap the man in a hug, “I haven’t seen you in years, man.” You zoned out of their conversation eyes locking with a few of the other pirates who walked into the tavern. Vendetta and Addie both greeted them, but everyone who was under your care knew to keep their guard up around pirates. From what you could gather there seemed to be two crews, a crew of what only seemed to be two, Sapnap was included. The fire demon was still talking with Quackity, while the other man took in the view of the tavern, he had shaggy blonde hair, and had a few scars across his face. A porcelain mask sat on top of his head, a forest green cloak was around his shoulders, his hood was lowered around his neck. A sword was strapped tight against his hip and there was another dagger that seemed to be tucked against his side. His eyes gazed towards you and he winked teasingly with a coy smile, you scoffed looking over at Addie.

“Seat those two gentlemen yeah? Be careful, I’ll tell Ven and Yeti to keep an eye.” Addie looked at you, concern written on her soft features but she nodded. While Addie departed, you noticed Ven talking with the other group. Luvena was hiding behind Vendetta’s long legs, although a tall blonde boy seemed very keen on talking to her. You smoothed out your dress and moved towards the group of three, you eyed them up casually. The blonde looked to be around Luvena’s age, he had a shit-eating grin on his face and his uniform matched that of the second tallest in the group. The second tallest was clad in a light blue jacket with large golden buttons on the red collar. He had a cream-frilled shirt underneath and a black belt holding up his brown slacks, those were tucked into black boots. On his back seemed to be a guitar and was the only one of them not holding a weapon, but you knew better than to assume with pirates. His curly brown hair seemed to bounce every time he talked, he seemed to be the ringleader but there was no doubt that the real ringleader was the hybrid standing beside him. He was taller, on par with Vendetta in height, he had long pink hair that was tied in a ponytail on top of his head. A few pieces framed his face elegantly, there was no doubt he was the captain of the little crew that was in your tavern. He had a white shirt on with a deep low cut ‘V’ it showed off a good portion of his scared chest, around his shoulders sat a deep red jacket but his arms were outside of it and crossed over his chest. He seemed content on letting his second in command do all the talking, his red eyes were the only ones to meet yours. His head tilted upwards and before Vendetta could stop him he walked over towards you,

“You own the tavern?” His voice was a low monotone and it sent an array of pleasant chills up your spine.

“I do,” You raised an eyebrow crossing your arms over your chest, “Names (Y/n). You are?”

“Captain Technoblade of the ship Odyssey, I was hoping you had a few rooms and a table available. My brothers and I are pretty exhausted, we’ve been sailing all night.”

Brothers, they certainly didn’t all look alike, but then again you certainly had a mix of girls in your care. Your tongue swiped against the top row of your teeth, “Why don’t you and your brothers take a seat at the bar for now. Juniper will be happy to serve you, I’ll see if we have some free rooms available.”

“Thank you, once you return I’ll introduce them to you if you’d like,” Technoblade bowed his head before turning back to get his brother’s attention.

“I’d like that thank you.” You gave a nod motioning for Vendetta to follow you as you slid behind the bar with Juniper, Judas had also taken a spot sitting on the bar. You figured you’d let her know as well, considering she was another adult figure in the group. You knew either Juniper or Judas would fill in Addie considering the three were close. “Ven, can they be trusted?”

“Not too sure about the masked man, the one Quackity seems to be familiar with seems decent enough. He’s a fire demon though, could smell him from miles away, we all just need to be cautious.”

“Agreed,” Juniper added tapping her finger on her chin. “We should just try to curb all fighting if at all possible, what did the captain of the other group ask you?”

“They want a room, I’m about to check to see if we have availability. Thoughts on that?”

Judas let out a low hum her eyes followed both sets of pirate groups around the tavern, “I say if we have availability let them stay. They seem harmless so long as we don’t mess with them, which we’d never do.”

“Plus I can always stay awake to keep an eye on them.” Vendetta tapped her nails against the table,

“You sure.”

“As if I’d let anything happen to any of you, you’re my family.”

You all smiled softly, and you noticed Judas’s eyes widen, “Zig! Get that out of your mouth this instant!” She shot up from her spot and over to the person in question. The three of you laughed fondly at the nonsense, meanwhile, Juniper saw the three brothers sit at her bar. She moved away from you to greet them, you immediately could tell she was taken with the second eldest brother.

He seemed to be an absolute lady killer.

Vendetta ruffled your hair before going back to stand at her place by the door to keep the peace. You headed up the stairs to the rafters to check on the extra rooms you had, “Excuse me?” You tensed visibly turning around to face the man in all green. His eyes were mesmerizing, a fierce jade green to contrast his cloak, “Do you happen to have two rooms available?” The man held up two fingers to clarify his request,

“Do you usually start introductions with a blatant request like that?”

He chuckled a smile spreading across his lips, “I’m Dream and you gorgeous?”

“(Y/n), it’s your lucky day I’m about to check and see if any are available. My tavern is a hot commodity tonight.”

“Well, I can see why,” he spoke and you raised an eyebrow and tilted your head to the side.

“Oh?”

“It has the hottest owner around. Word spreads fast.”

You couldn’t believe this man was making your cheeks burn, he chuckled softly taking a step towards your figure. “Oh really, word spreads that fast on the open sea, Captian?” It was his turn to turn light pink, but he covered it up quickly with a chuckle.

“Touché.”

“I’ll get on that room for you and your friend. Take a seat, for now, this part is for guests and staff only you know?”

“So I have you all to myself?” He cheekily mused, he stepped towards you and before you knew it you were pinned against a wall. His hand suddenly brushed against your cheek, it was cold in comparison to your warm cheek. You felt Dream’s thumb brush against your cheek slowly, “You know...being on the open sea alone does something to a person.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” You mused pushing your forehead back against Dream’s, “All alone with only your crew with you.” Taking his other hand within your own you slid it up to your hip, you saw his entire face turn red as he stared down at your chest. “You’re probably missing a little love in your life, aren’t you Dreamy?” He nodded dumbly, his eyes still not leaving your chest,

Perfect. You weren’t going to let some pirate boy get the better of you.

He let out a grunt of pain as you spun him around and pressed his head into the wall with your elbow, your other hand has his pinned behind his back. “This hallway is for staff and guests only,” You purred in his ear before letting him go and swinging your hips before heading up the stairs fully. From behind you, Dream’s face was a deep, dark red and he had to clear his throat. Dream wasn’t going to let you go after that, I mean look at you, tough and able to hold your own, it awakened something inside him.

After checking up on the rooms you headed back down into the main hall, three-room keys in your hand. Glancing over at the scene in front of you, you saw Juniper dancing in the middle of the tavern the flirtatious brother at her side. Judas was sitting beside Schatt and Quackity at the bar, Addie was tending to Technoblade and the blonde at their little table. Dream and Sapnap were whispering to one another in the corner but still seemed to be enjoying the show. Vendetta was smiling softly by the door, beside her were Luvena and Zig both playing various instruments. You noticed Eret was also amongst the crowd, she had a brilliant grin on his face, it was flushed pink with alcohol and you smiled to yourself.

It was peaceful, and for a moment you forget half the patrons were scoundrels or pirates.

That was until the man dancing with Juniper locked eyes with you, his eyes lit up and he spun Juniper off into Addie’s arms. She giggled snuggling into the mother sheep’s arms, you heard a distressed “Juni! I’m holding glasses!” Before your vision was overtaken by the handsome flirt.

“Hello love,” He hummed, “May I offer you a dance?”

You were about to refuse but you saw Yeti, who finally made her appearance as it was getting closer to Judas’s set, giving you a big thumbs up “I’d be honored.” You responded taking his hand within your own, he pulled you out onto the dance floor and you felt his other hand politely hover on the small of your back. He allowed you to lean into his touch as he began to elegantly spin you around the dance floor, you were almost embarrassed to say felt like a princess. “Maybe I could get your name?” You asked above the music, “Since it seems you’re my dance partner this evening?”

“Wilbur Soot my love.” He hummed proudly, “The first mate of the ship Odysseus at your service. Plus I play music on the side.”

“Well now you need to play for us,” Wilbur twirled you around in a circle,

“Maybe one day. If you give me your name?”

“(Y/n) (L/n).”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

“I was right.” You commented biting the bottom of your lip trying not to smile,

“About what?”

“You.”

“Ah? Already talking about me I see? Is my manliness and gentlemanly qualities that renowned?”

“Not exactly.” He picked you up slightly and pulled you into a low dip, “I was right in thinking you a nothing but a flirty playboy.” Wilbur almost dropped you, you squawked grabbing onto his neck. He began to laugh as you clung to his chest,

“Alright love. You caught me red-handed.”

Wilbur set you on your feet hands on your lower back, you were pulled close to his chest. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“I get them for free hon. I own the place.”

“Oh...oh.” He paled a little, “I didn’t fuck up our chances of getting a room did I?”

“Nah lucky for you and your brothers, I have you covered, same with your buddies over there.” You motioned to Dream and Quackity’s friend, Wilbur’s face paled as he felt the chilled room key get placed in his palm. “What’s your little brother’s name?”

“Tommy.”

“Tell them both we serve breakfast free from 7 am to 10 am.” He nodded as you walked past, Wilbur meanwhile turned to look at Technoblade. It seemed he had his red eyes on the couple the entire time they were dancing. He held up a room key, it was labeled 205; Technoblade nodded his head before leaning back and talking to Addie once more. “Dream!” You called throwing a hand up into the air, instead of Dream, Sapnap looked up he nudged Dream with his elbow. The man was now wearing his mask, but at least you could tell he was looking at you,

“Well hello, darlin’ you must be (Y/n). Name's Sapnap. Dream told me about you, so you have good news for us I hope?”

“Pleasure, I'm sure he told you all about me,” He nodded, his eyes taking in your body especially your ass. “Got you both a room key, your neighbors. Across from the other crew of pirates. Just don’t fight and we won’t have any problems.”

“You mean those jackasses are staying?” Sapnap complained loudly, looking over your shoulder at the other crew members.

“You both didn’t think you were the only patrons, did you? This is a business after all.” You, tossed the keys their way, Dream caught it with ease and Sapnap fumbled it only a little bit. After they were in their hands, you waved them off with a flutter of your palm you turned around to go speak with Judas about her set but before you could take a step you saw Schlatt stumbling up from his seat. “Ah shit,” You knew what was about to happen, you weren’t paying attention to the ram hybrid so who knew how many drinks in he was. You felt responsible, for a while you and Judas had been trying to help Schlatt with his addiction. You couldn’t help but wonder what exactly set him off for him to get this drunk, Quackity caught him in his arms with a grumble. The man was a drunken mess, and as you approached you could hear his slurred speech and could practically smell the alcohol on his breath. “Schlatt,” You spoke carefully and as soon as you got close Schlatt detached himself from Quackity and lunged at you. His head was buried in his chest, he almost purred like he was very happy to be there, you rolled your eyes and ran your fingers through his hair. You were mindful of his horns but he seemed pretty eager for you to touch them,

“(Y/n).” He whined although it was muffled against your ample chest, “Why do pirates have to fuck everything up?”

“What are you on about Schlatt? No one likes pirates.”

“They’re gonna take you away from me, sugar. You’re my safe space, this tavern is my safe space.” You sighed listening to his drunken ramblings, you grabbed his horns and pulled him away from your chest.

“This is my life Schlatt, I’m not going anywhere trust me. Plus my family is here, they need me. So try not to worry okay?” You slicked back the hair on his forehead before planting a fond kiss there, everyone in the tavern narrowed their eyes at the scene. Even your girls were green with envy, at the sight of their lovely boss kissing someone who wasn’t them. He leaned against your lips eyes fluttering closed,

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Captian Schlatt? Or ex-captain if I remember correctly.”

“What?”

You turned your head and felt Schlatt’s arms wrap around your waist and held you close to his chest. The touch was protective and you felt your heart skip a beat, why was he protecting you, and why did you actually feel protected?

“Has the drinking finally caught up to you? Or was it the fact that you lost your so-”

Was that Dream's voice?

“Shut the fuck up.” He snarled and you were shoved behind him into Quackity’s arms, you felt less protected. “I’m not that person anymore and you fucking know that,” Vendetta came to stand beside the both of you a hand was placed on your shoulder protectively. You knew she was desperately wanted to step in and you held up a hand to stop her.

“This isn’t good…” Quackity murmured, “They’re going to fight. Schlatt’s going to get himself fucking killed.”

“Calm yourself. We won’t let it get that far.” Ven grumbled eyeing you waiting for your signal. But you were lost in the conversation or argument, the two were having, you couldn’t believe Schlatt was a pirate. He was so...he just didn’t...he was a drunk okay? That didn’t exactly shout feared pirate to you!

“Oh, are you sure? I remember that look, that’s the look you’d get before you stomped someone’s lights out. No wonder your son disappeared under mysterious circumstances-” Dream was shoved against one of the poles holding up the building. He grunted and Schlatt’s arm was pulled back ready to punch, but his arm was stopped by smaller hands,

“Pardon me Mr. Schlatt but you know how we feel about fighting in our tavern.” Addie bubbled, she had a smile on her face but it wasn’t kind, it was full of warning.

“Get the fuck off me, sheepie. This doesn’t fucking concern you.” Schlatt shoved her away and as soon as his skin made contact with her body he made a sound of distress.

“(Y/n)...” Addie murmured quietly, your father’s dagger was embedded in Schlatt’s arm,

“Fucking hell you bitch!” He snarled baring his teeth, you glared at him twisting the dagger he yelled in agony.

“Touch one of my girls again and next time this dagger is going right into your back.” You ripped the dagger out, splattering the floor with blood. He grabbed his arm tightly and looked at you with slight betrayal in his yellow eyes. “I mean it Schlatt, Quackity take him home.” The man nodded looking at you longingly, he muttered a quiet ‘Sorry’ before escorting him out of your tavern. “You,” You glared harshly over at Dream, “Go to your room.”

“You’re not my mother.”

“Then find another play to stay.” You spat, he turned away and you looked over at Addie, “Are you alright?” Your voice turned tender as you cupped her cheeks. She nuzzled against your palms and nodded her head,

“I’m fine. You didn’t need to-”

“Yes, I did. No one messes with you. With any of you on my watch.”

The sheep hybrid made a little sound as her bottom lip trembled, she wrapped you in a tight hug which you accepted without hesitance. Judas walked over next and wrapped you both in her arms, pretty soon you were surrounded by your girls and Zig.

All of them had the same mindset: comforting both you and Addie.

It was good to be loved.

Wilbur watched the scene curiously and glanced over at Technoblade who stood up from his chair.

“I think that’s our cue to leave for the night.” He looked over at his first mate, Wilbur nodded in agreement grabbing his guitar from the chair beside Technoblade.

“They...Techno were they talking about Tubbo.” Tommy whispered to his brother, his brow furrowing in concern as they all climbed the steps up to their room, “You don’t think-”

“It just might be Tommy.” Technoblade tilted his head to the side, “Guess that’ll be something we ask him when we get back to the ship tomorrow.”

“Well, this trip is going to be way more fun than I thought.” Wilbur snickered lighting a cigarette, taking a long drag, before letting the smoke curl out of his mouth and up into the rafters. ~~~

Tag List: @v01dw4lk3rz, @jam-bombs, @abovenyx, @glitterydigitalart, @phoenixaesthetic19, @luluwinchester, @boiled-onionrings, @pastelmoonwitche, @roxy3457, @alovestruck-fool, @victory-is-here, @mack4676, @fiorenc, @theoneandonlyyeti, @bloodrose0723, @sandyy-woo,

[shadowsinger11]

Adult Fun

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Requested by @theweasleytwinsgirl: hi love, can i request a fred fic in which it is quarantine then reader and fred try do it but their baby keeps on crying, thanks love!

Warnings: smut in case you haven't figured this out, pouty Freddie is adorable af

A/N: My god, I actually loved this request a lot! And I really enjoyed writing it lmao

Gif is not mine

Masterlist

Having a child with Fred was a blessing. The war was merciful enough to let you leave unharmed and years later you were lucky enough to have a baby of your own as you had dreamed for such long time.

Fred was an incredible father, no doubt, he was extremely caring and loving, showing a much softer side to your kid; one you'd never guess he had. But with the responsibility of raising a child came very limited time for you and Fred to relax, and it was understandable to say that your husband had become unusually moody over the past year since your baby was born.

Fred truly loved being a parent, but he really missed those passionate, intimate moments he used to share with you as his wife. He missed having your body trembling beneath him, he missed the feeling of your heated skin moving against his.

His need for you was growing stronger overtime and it had become terribly obvious when he started to walk around your house shirtless more often, pants hanging a little lower and hair messier than usual. But you couldn't really blame him; you'd been craving some adult time with your lover just as much as he did.

When quarantine struck, you handled it surprisingly well.

It was unpleasant to not be able to meet your loved ones for awhile, but at least you and Fred had more time to spend with each other. That's when his touches became lingering, more urgent and even slightly rough. Gentle caresses of your thighs and hips would turn into squeezing the soft flesh and chaste kisses would end with his tongue between your lips.

You hated to admit that the lack of intimacy was taking a toll on you as well. And unfortunately, baby naps weren't of enough time for you to catch up with what you both desperately wanted.

And that's why you tried very hard to keep yourselves busy while being stuck at home with your baby asleep upstairs.

Dozens of movies, TV shows, board games and even some poor cooking attempts which ended in a disaster, did nothing to help you and Fred in the months of a global pandemic and you ended up lying on the couch in your living room with absolutely nothing to.

"Merlin, I cannot possibly watch another episode," grumbled Fred, tossing the remote aside. "My head's about to explode."

You chuckled at his antic, but couldn't help but agree, "Honestly, mine too."

Your legs were nestled between Fred's long ones, head resting peacefully on his chest as he lazily ran fingers through your hair. You buried your face into the cotton of his red T-shirt and inhaled his characteristic scent of coffee and cedar, not planning to move away anytime soon. It had been exceptionally rare to be able to spend entire days simply cuddling your lover, but once quarantine happened, you often found yourselves snuggled up on the couch in your pajamas and you cherished those moments of seemingly eternal peace and security.

The way Fred tenderly caressed your sides up and down nearly caused you to fall asleep and you hugged him closer.

"You know what we haven't done in awhile?" Fred's low, groggy voice brought you back to consciousness. You slightly pulled away to look at him and sat between his legs.

After months of not having to run the shop, Fred didn't find it as necessary as before to make himself that presentable and his wild ginger hair now nearly reached his shoulders. But at the end, it was you who most enjoyed his messy, laid back look.

You lifted a hand to caress his cheek, thin stubble tingling your fingertips, and asked timidly, already having a vague idea.

"What?"

Fred involuntarily licked his lips and reached a hand to the collar of your thin shirt, gently slipping the hem down your shoulder to expose your bare neck and collarbones. His thumb traced patterns over the sensitive skin, causing goosebumps to rise upon it, and you looked into his eyes, dark brown irises blown with desire which you hadn't encountered in a long time and made you shudder under his touch.

"It's been awhile since I last had you," he purred, the corners of his lips curling up in a dark smirk that immediately sent you into submission and had you craving. "Will you let me have you now, little girl?"

Your mind immediately wandered to your child.

"What about the baby?" you asked, worried.

"Nothing will happen as long as we're quiet," Fred shrugged, then switched back to his dominant persona and caressed your bottom lip with his thumb. "Can you be quiet for me?"

A strangled moan tore from your throat before you managed to stop it, and you eagerly placed your legs on either side of your lover's lap, wrapping hands around his neck. Fred's grin grew wider at your neediness and his hands came down to greedily squeeze your hips and ass. He slammed his mouth onto yours, devouring your desperate whimpers and causing you to grip the hair at the nape of his neck. 

You rolled your hips against Fred's, hinting at how impatient you were, and he was more than happy to carefully lay you back on the couch and slip off your pajama shorts. His eyes stared at your black panties, undoubtedly damp at that point, and you could tell by his furrowed brow that Fred was already recalling all the things he'd planned to do to you for quite a long time.

"Darling, we have a lot of catching up to do," he breathed and ran a finger over your clothed core. It was warm and positively soaked, and Fred's mind went wild with uncontrollable hunger. His fingers tugged at the hem of your panties and slowly slid them down your thighs and legs, aiming to savor the moment before finally getting what he wanted.

The desire growing in his pants made it very clear that Fred needed release just as much as you did, so you let a hand wander down your body, giving him a show of your exposed pussy. You knew your game had worked when you earned a low growl from Fred, and he crawled between your legs, tongue wettening your swollen lips with one long lick.

"Fred..." you sighed and your head fell back, hands coming down to fist his ginger locks once again.

A cry from upstairs caused Fred to pull away.

You shared a knowing, slightly disappointed look. Fred groaned quietly, but rose to his feet nonetheless.

"I'll get it."

You lied back with a heavy sigh, staring up at the ceiling for the few extremely long minutes in which Fred was gone. You were relieved when the crying soon ceased, and you grinned widely as your lover crawled up to you, looking at you up and down.

"Where were we?" he asked smugly, smiling against your lips. You giggled into the kiss, arms grabbing onto his shoulders for support as his hand slipped between your thighs, fingers slyly playing with your folds and getting coated in your juices.

You bit back a low moan, buckling your hips up to create more friction. Fred's pace turned more urgent and he slipped two fingers inside you, thumb rubbing your swollen clit in rapid circles. Your sighs turned into choked gasps and your thighs began to quiver.

That was exactly what Fred had missed so dearly. He missed seeing you in such a pure state of pleasure; the rising and falling of your chest, your puffed parted lips, your eyes squeezed shut from the unbearable euphoria. Fred had terribly missed being the one to make you feel ecstatic.

Soon the spark in your belly ignited and you came hard around Fred's fingers, biting into the back of your hand to muffle the filthy moans that threatened to escape. That was the moment when he found you most beautiful; natural, radiant and happy.

His patience was wearing thin at that point, his erection aching from the lack ot touch, and Fred quickly took off his pants and underwear. His thick cock was painfully hard, the red swollen tip already leaking precum, and the prominent vein from the underside had you longing to taste it.

Fred gave his length a few slow strokes and your mouth began to water.

You eagerly spread your legs, inviting your lover to take you, and he nearly did, holding your thighs open to position himself at your entrance.

But the baby cried out again.

Fred cursed under his breath, the frustration finally taking over him for not being able to make love to you properly.

"I don't understand!" he whined, pulling back to sit on the couch. "It's not hungry, nor does it need a change of the diaper. What am I doing wrong?"

You moved closer to him and brushed a strand of ginger hair behind his ear. His pouty face both made you want to laugh and be sympathetic, and you gave him a sweet, apologetic smile.

"Chances are, it probably only needs a bit of some motherly charm to fall asleep."

Fred still seemed unsatisfied with having been interrupted after finally getting some alone time with you for the first time in what seemed like forever, but he didn't object as you put your clothes back on and left to check up on the baby.

However, before you walked up the stairs, you glanced at Fred over your shoulder with a mischievous smirk that immediately replaced the scowl on his face with a hungry expression.

"Give me a few minutes. And then I'm sucking you off."

@self-ship-love @susceptible-but-siriusexual @hufflexpuff @neovannii

Message me if you want to be added to the tag list, babes

Reblog my work if you enjoyed it!

Masterlist

[janshu]

In The Shallows...Part One.

Summary: @hanji-is-life more merman!Bakugo and so I shall provide! I was hoping to get this out much earlier, back in may because MerMay but better late than never I suppose! You, a marine biologist, take a scuba dive to see the local fauna off coast and you find more than you ever could've bargained for...

Word Count: 1.5.

Warnings: None but minor curses, mentions of the ocean, an illusion of drowning. Viewer discretion is advised at least.

How did you manage this?

You hadn't walked on the beach, much less roll around in the coarse substance. So how did it manage to get into your pockets? This was a new jacket so how?

A short walk from the parking garage to the pier was all it was, no beach travel involved yet it had wormed its way into your pockets, in between your toes and nearly everywhere else. 

Your team chuckles at your discomfort finding your squirming the funniest thing on the planet as they loaded up the sizable vessel for the day on the water. For the past several weeks you had been cooped up in a lab studying the samples others brought to you but now you were given the green light to head out into the field yourself. Your goal for the day was to gather samples, check on the status of the coral nursery, and a checklist of other menial tasks. A full plate all things considered, much better than getting a migraine staring through a microscope at sea water until you either give up or get sent home. 

Waves battered against the hull of the boat while you and your fellow colleagues suit up in scuba gear. The goal wasn't to go to the bottom of the ocean, far from it, fifteen meters was the maximum for today so simple snorkeling hear wouldn't cut it. You didn't get your diving certifications to be stuck in a lab. The salt spray refreshing against your skin for the few seconds it was vulnerable while you changed from your outfit into the designated wetsuit. Not the full suit that covered your body from head-to-toe, just a body one to keep your core warm when your swimsuit didn't offer much protection.

The boat came to a stop right around where the GPS locator dinged where the nursery site was and the captain gave everyone a thumbs up as you and your fellows attached their fins, tanks, SPG's and all the other necessary equipment. One-by-one each of them held their regulators to their mouths and fell back into the blue ocean below until it was your own, to which you received a wink instead while everything turned upside down.

Ten, twenty, thirty, a hundred. Regardless of how many dives you've had you'll never get over the beauty of the reefs. Each time serving something new, change was ever present in your line of work. Never seeing the same specimens twice to witnessing a rare species and everything in between. The sunshine overhead casting glittering ripples on the sandy floor, catching your eye on the schools of fish that swam by as their scales gleamed in different patterns. This was the closest feeling you had ever come to your childhood dream of becoming a mermaid. When you wished on your birthday candles and shooting stars to holding your breath underneath tub water in hopes gills would magically appear. That's what started this career. Maybe it was a long forgotten portion of your evolved brain from life's time in the ocean but you felt at home, a familiar sense of belonging that you didn't have on dry land. This was where you were meant to be but sadly your wishes had never come true and you were cursed to remain a land-dwelling mammal.

The beeping in your ears ripped you from your fantastical daydreams to remind you of the harsh reality. This is as close as you were going to get but that wasn't so bad, it was better having a little than nothing at all. Looking at the gauge meter it showed that you have roughly an hour left of oxygen which meant you had been in the water for an hour already. How time flies when you're having fun, absorbed in your daydreams, and checking on coral and taking samples.

"Hey, could we switch our tanks out without getting oxygen narcosis or are we screwed in that department?" Your voice came over the radio built in the full face masks everyone in the diving team used no doubt scaring those who were lost in thought as you just were. 

"Y/N...do you really want to stay out here longer? Shitting Christ, you should be glad you're out here in the first place!" The captain's voice responded from the safety of the boat. "Now get your asses back up here n' we'll head on ba-...what was that?"

"What was what?" 

A chorus of responses chimed in immediately after, some crackling from the distance they were from the source and others sounding as if they were a foot away.

"Nothing, never mind, must've been a Manta Ray. Forget about it. Just get your shit and come back, I'm gettin' hungry and its close to lunchtime so hurry up." The static cut off as he put down the radio and looked out into the churning ocean. The massive shadow he had just seen passing by the boat putting him on alert, he didn't want to witness any reef shark's feeding frenzy.

"We can come back tomorrow, Y/N. Nothing's stopping us from that, right?" Another voice, one of your favorite colleagues suggested. That was right, you were there and your boss hadn't explicitly said that this was a one time thing. Another visit would do some good to see if the biometrics have changed in a span of twenty-four hours.

"Alright, okay, we'll come back later for a differential test."

The group had a collective sigh of relief. You were notorious for loving the ocean to such a degree you'd do anything to stay in a while longer, they were all content with leaving now and coming back later if it meant they wouldn't see your sad pouting all the way back to the van. Picking up their equipment and vials everyone began swimming back to the boat now most of them making small talk and discussing their plans for the weekend while you were once again lost in your thoughts.

Something impossibly dark darted through your vision. Blocking out the beautiful view of the turquoise water and colorful life like an angry, ominous storm cloud. A blanket of blindness shrouding all light for a moment but it felt like an eternity as dread sunk in the pit of your stomach, anchoring you to the spot. The warm water now felt cold, goosebumps running up your bare arms and thighs like pinpricks. The heart that had been so calm in the home of your ribcage now pushing adrenaline through your bloodstream, adjusting to a state you weren't acting on. Fear. That wasn't a Manta Ray or a comically large Stingray that was something else entirely. A predator that crashed against the fragile cage of safety, security and believing you were untouchable in shallow depths.

You were reminded of the psychologically scarring and irrational fear of one's ankles being grabbed particularly in the ocean by a shark, the part of your lizard brain firing signals all across your synapses to detach the leg. If only. A fair trade, being left alone at the price of a limb but unfortunately humans couldn't detach or regrow whatever they lost.

That fear was horrifically evoked when something far more firm than a limp leaf of seaweed wrapped around your ankle. Slimey, cold as death and tipped with five sharp points. Reminiscent of a hand, a very large hand. Expanding across your bare skin like a calloused cuff that threatened to break the skin, sink into the meat and tear your foot off entirely. However, that didn't seem to be happening. No cloud of your own blood instead the safety of the boat got further and further away, turning into a speck barely seen in the shallow water.

"Wait, wait no! What the fuck?! Let go! What the hell?" When your brain managed to get over its fear and shock of the situation your fight-or-flight instincts kicked into high gear and your body began to thrash around against the hold. If it was a shark hitting it in the snout and eyes was imperative to get it to release but what if it wasn't? What else could possibly have your leg in its grip with a goal of pulling you away from the boat?

A flurry of indistinguishable voices and noises came over the radio. From yelps, screams and to curses but the thudding in your ears and the furious splashes drowned them all out, everything became topsy turvy, what was the bottom of the ocean and what was the surface became an abstract concept. The primal urge to escape was ripped away when the respirator giving you oxygen was unceremoniously and harshly ripped from your mouth, the hand that had done it orange and black. The water was salty, like you had dumped an entire container of table salt into your mouth and you washed it down with a sip of water. It was invasive, slipping down your throat into your lungs as they tried to gulp air instead. The more you inhaled the harder it was to move. Your limbs becoming as heavy as cement bricks. Unconsciousness began to consume everything, your body down to your mind. The eerie sensation of falling was the last thing before everything faded to black...