#secondary question i know there were other places going through shit at the time

[alullinchaos]

i know wwii was a beyond major geopolitical event but it still surprises me how often i come across something that says "and things are this way because WW2"

[29pageshomestuckeveryday]

Homestuck, page 3,297

[S] Wake.

Song used: MeGaLoVania by Toby Fox, with Tensei on guitar

Author commentary: Fef is the first to go. She suffers a similar fate to the eventual comeuppance of her scorned moirail. Is there deliberate relevance to this echo? I dunno man, to be honest, lots of folks get gruesomely bisected in this thing. If you want it to be true, feel free to believe in it. As you know by now, believing in things always makes them at least kinda true. Especially when I'm the one doing it.

There are only five towers on the Derse moon, compared to Prospit's seven. Prospit has one extra due to Sollux's binary nature, and Derse has one fewer due to Aradia's dream self being MIA from the get-go (because of her ghost). Aradia's mysterious dream self conditions, and the question of where she actually is, get addressed in a couple of pages. Only visually though, and the viewer must make some inferences on what is actually going on there. Not anymore though, because now you have me along for the ride to EXPLAIN THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING!!!!! Oh yeah, also Dream Nepeta kicks the bucket, because it would be malpractice not to shoehorn in a little more dead Nepeta content.

There's a John arm there in the upper left, because why not. I didn't add them to many of the animations because it was more annoying to edit and resave Flash files than it was for simple GIF panels. But it also felt wrong to completely ignore the Flash pages during the retconned arm stunt. This seemed like a good place for one. Why? Maybe John sensed Jack's outstretched arm and thought he was going up top for a high five. It's established canon FACT that John doesn't like to leave people hanging, so let's say that's what's happening here.

We zoom way into the core of Derse to find Aradia's sleeping dream self. This is where she's been hiding all along. One simple visual provides so many answers and questions all at once, and since it's happening in a textless, rapid-fire animation, there isn't much you can do except sit there and take it like a chump, and start trying to make some inferences about what's going on here. That's okay though, I got your back this time. Having died long before they began Sgrub, Aradia is officially "the dead player," and Sgrub, in its unsettling state of all-knowingness, knew this about her as well and provided some structural accomodations on Derse from the very start similar to how it accommodated Sollux's binary nature by letting him be on both moons. We know that's a Quest Slab, because we already saw Vriska's in her Quest Cocoon. This one, however, is free-floating in the center of Derse's crypt, as if it were meant to hold a long-entombed corpse. The fact that Aradia began the game as a ghost seems to have resulted in a sort of "stillborn" dream self, or at least one that exists in a much deeper state of sleep than usual. Whether she's dead here, or in a coma, or sort of semi-undead...that isn't totally clear, and it doesn't matter much. The only relevant fact is that Aradia was going to stay put on that slab until exactly this moment. The only way off this slab for her is for the body to be consumed in this green inferno and resurrect as a god tier player. Note her robot self explodes as a result of the destruction of the dream self, just as the death of dream Jade established in [S] Descend. Even though Aradia is a very special case (there's nothing "normal" about beginning a session when one of the players is a ghost), and Sgrub accommodated her specialness in this way, this also charts a secondary path to achieving god tier status. We can then start speculating there are other ways of doing this even if the standard way becomes inaccessible (such as through death of the dream self). So when we find out Rose and Dave also manage to reach god tier in a similar way in [S] Cascade, it's an exciting development but not exactly shocking. The method they use was already seeded here. There are differences, of course. Rose's and Dave's Quest Slab ascensions should be regarded as more typical of how the game works, since they're "normal" players. The slabs are typically found in the core of the moon, not the planet itself. Also, the dream self typically is not lying on it in a sort of coma for many years in advance. They have to actually find their way down there and complete the ritual sacrifice. See also the Alpha Kids, who all utilized this method. They had no choice, since their session didn't even have a Battlefield, which is where you're supposed to end up if you do it the way John and Vriska did.

It's a whole new Aradia. Not a moment too soon, since frankly that robot bitch was a real drag. Just kidding, she was great too. All Aradias are valid. This one just happens to enjoy a major personality boost. A reinvigoration of her true self, due to not being dead, or doomed, or carrying around the baggage of the old, toxic relationships that resulted in her death. I see this form as a much more distilled version of her personality compared to all her other phases. Unwaveringly cheerful, exhibiting a fairly "normal" personality, and yet still as naturally drawn toward chaos, death, and destruction as ever. It's an odd thing about her. The only other troll who rivals her in terms of sheer delight and enthusiasm derived from destruction is probably Gamzee. You'd think that wouldn't be a flattering comparison. But somehow it works for her, says me. Crack ship, anyone? Please, don't sit there and act like I couldn't have made that work. You know it would have been great. There's something about her confidence as a god tier that seems related to her unflinching infatuation with death and destruction. Here she sees Jack bearing down on her and isn't concerned at all. She had the same demeanor while watching a black hole swallow the green sun and rip apart all of reality. She's completely fearless in this form.

A relentless, unshakeable sense of cheerfulness in the presence of horror is a trait Aradia shares with Gamzee. But for her, it's a positive thing. For him, it's negative. Why am I harping on this? I don't know, it's completely irrelevant. Just thought I'd point it out. After all, rams and goats are both known to be stubborn creatures. Did I actually intend for these two characters to have this in common? No, I'm not going to kid you about that. ("Kid" is a goat pun, and that was intended, so you're welcome.) Instead what I'll do is ram more quality analysis down your throat. ("Ram" was a ram pun, JSYK.) This is the third god tier we've been introduced to, and all in fairly rapid succession. One is a point, two is a line, three is a trend. So that means with this reveal in particular, the god tier stuff is starting to get very exciting. The story is paying out generously with it now, like a loose slot machine in Vegas, which makes you wonder how many more of these characters will reach this state. It stands to reason there will be more, due to the hot pace of these reveals. That assumption isn't wrong, but at the same time I tried to be somewhat judicious about not throwing too many of these out there, which would cheapen them a little. Shoving all eight human kids in pajamas by the end was probably pushing it a bit as it was. Still, as of this moment I'd say the mission is accomplished: your imagination has been successfully captured. Now you have a lot to speculate on. What do the rest look like? What are the color schemes, symbols, costume designs? Do you have enough raw material to start crafting speculative fan works, illustrations, OCS and such? (HELL YES.) Stoking the reader's imaginative fires in this way is every bit as much of the point of rolling out a system like this, as it is to serve the story's purposes.

Aradia shows off some powers. Turns out they're…time powers? What a twist. Then the animation flips an hour ahead, from the moment linked to the destruction of Derse, to another key moment. (Remember we saw Terezi crying and running off deeper into the lab at 3:14.) But suddenly it seems we have something else to associate with this timestamp: Vriska Time™.

Per the previous notes on Aradia, and extrapolating that perhaps achieving god tier status has a way of giving the player full license to be the purest version of themselves—that is, yoloing their best and truest life possible—then maybe Vriska is taking this idea to heart as well. God tier mode seems to bring something out of her. Like she feels empowered to fully tack into her role as a completely obnoxious, overconfident luck fairy. She's just capering around, taunting Tavros, and spreading her pixie dust. But unlike Tinkerbell's, this dust won't make him fly. Or will it?! (The answer is yes, when she throws him off yet another cliff in a few moments.) She didn't just become god tier, though. That happened quite a while ago, and she's simply been hiding it because she prefers her plain clothes (and more importantly, it would have been a spoiler). So this hyperactive fairy act seems more a result of the fact that she's currently wearing the outfit, rather than an extension of the powers themselves. Sometimes certain clothes and accessories just make you feel different. Remember how Kanye said wearing the Trump hat made him feel like Superman? Whoops, it was a mistake to mention that. I apologize. My youth pastor has a big smile on his face, and he's slowly shaking his head, as if to say, yes Andrew, it certainly was. And yes, I'm perfectly aware that I shot my youth pastor and he's dead now. I simply have him propped up on my knee, and now I'm operating him like a ventriloquist's doll. This is also a fact I should not have mentioned, and he is currently scolding me for that decision as well.

Here's little nod to Dave's strife with Bro, where he held up a decapitated smuppet to intimidate his opponent. The move is even less effective against Vriska as it was against Bro. She just taunts him back with his own useless pair of severed legs, which she clearly regards as a symbol for how she has a habit of repeatedly owning him, and this time will likely be no different. And also revealing to him that…she still has them for some reason? I think I made an inappropriate joke about that in the last book, and I'm being asked to apologize again. She wasn't even the one who cut off the legs. But a good thief doesn't let such a golden opportunity go to waste, does she? Maybe she even anticipated wielding the legs in a future moment just like this. The glorious moment where she foresaw herself vanquishing the loathsome villain Tavros once and for all. My hero. <3

This nifty little move Vriska pulls, and and how easily she pulls it, kind of proves how ridiculously outclassed Tavros is. Which also reveals how unnecessary the move was. Yanking the lance out of his hand, flipping it around with one hand in a split second, and then running it through the bullseye on his chest. (Which unfortunately somewhat reframes that symbol in hindsight as possibly being destined for this purpose, surprising no one because: Tavros.) If she did this, she could have done anything. Like, punch him in the face and KO him across the room for another nap at the bottom of the stairs? Or even if her intent was more brutal than that, she still easily could have stepped out of the way, smacked him in the ass, and sent him falling off the cliff without impaling him first. The pre-plummet impaling carries some additionally malicious messaging, obviously. Same deal as GAME OVER, when Gamzee did basically the exact same thing to Karkat (whose shirt also provided a couple of handy bullseyes to aim for). So why does Vriska do this? Later, she sort of admits that she got a bit carried away here. Everyone's all about to get carried away, now that we have just officially entered Murderstuck.

[prxttylittle]

@beencaughts hi

“Are you coming or not?” Prince didn’t want to. He had no interest in whatever Nick was about to do that was going to cause so much trouble but if it was as serious as he made it out to be, Prince didn’t want Matt to get caught up in it. If Prince didn’t go with Nick now, he was afraid Nick would drag Matt along.

Prince sighed and got into the passenger seat of the car. On the drive, Prince noticed as almost feral energy from Nick. He couldn’t relax. It was as if Nick had taken a full bag of coke and drank twice as many red bulls. His fingers tapped the steering wheel aggressively and he was non-stop fiddling with the radio. Sufficed to say, he was frying every last one of Princes nerves. “For fucksake! Nick! Will you relax, you’re fucking wrecking my head.” Prince snapped, slapping Nicks hand away from the radio. He’d seen Nick in many different states but this had to make it the top three most annoying. Despite his irritation, Prince was also nervous. What kind of task were they doing that Nick was so all over the place? They turned the corner and the street lights stopped. It was pitch black but Nick maintained his speed, turning on his full lights. Prince was definitely concerned now. They pull into a quarry. Prince sees another car and assumes this is a drug deal. Maybe he should assume this is the normal way of doing it. He meets teens at public street corners where any police offer could pass at any moment. Maybe some secret quarry at night is the best way to do it. Prince notices Nick doesn’t drive to the car park, where the other car is. He stays in front of the barrier. Prince sees the tyre tracks in the loose gravel behind the barrier. Maybe this is why. “Nick, I don’t know what shit you’re into. I’m not about this.” And maybe it’s strange for a drug dealer to be concerned about what illegal activity is about to take place but Prince already knows it’s out of his league. He’s a small time city dealer, he’s not the cartel. Plus, the way Nick is behaving is making Prince a little anxious. “Prince. I’m not fucking around tonight. You stay in the car, no matter what you see: do not get involved. If you see even a glimpse of another car or person you honk my horn. I don’t care if you’re just seeing things, let me know.” Prince chooses not to ask questions. Nick knows what he’s doing and has clearly thought this through, whatever this is. Prince looks ahead and someone gets out of the car parked ahead of them. Prince recognises him. They go to his school, Evan, he thinks. In fact, Prince and Luna had an argument about him maybe a month ago. Luna accused Prince of being jealous which he absolutely was not. Prince wasn’t actually entirely sure of who he is to Luna. Either way he was not being jealous at that party. That guy was simply standing too close and talking too much. He definitely didn’t take him as a threat, or see something like tonight happening. Prince watches as Nick gets out of the car. As he approaches the other guy, Evan, that’s when Prince notices the gun. Tucked into the back of his jeans, Nick pulls the gun into his hand. He can’t hear Nick and Evan but he can see Evan looks scared. Could be the gun Nick is wielding. Prince decides to set his sights on the rear view to make sure that nobody is coming. Why would they? Prince hears a shout and looks over to see Evan is on the ground. He’s practically sobbing. Nick has the gun pointed to Evans head. Prince is wide-eyed and stunned. What the hell is going through Nicks head? Why did he have to get Prince involved? Admittedly, Prince is kind of terrified. It’s unlike him but being a tough guy with fists in the halls of a secondary school is a much different realm than having somebody on their knees at gun point. Who is Nick? How long has he done shit like this? He sees Evan pass Nick a piece of paper which Nick reads and then shoves into his back packet. Nick then motions the gun from Evans head to the edge of the quarry. Prince is no interpreter but it looks as if Nick is telling Evan to jump. Prince assumes that’s wrong because that jump would kill a person in seconds flat. Princes heart races when he sees Nick grab Evans foot and drag him to the edge of the quarry. Prince and Evan make eye contact for a split moment. Evan looks desperate, and petrified. This guys life is flashing before his eyes and Princes, too. He figures Nick is only trying to scare the guy but Prince can’t watch anymore. He has to step in, right? Before this goes too far. If Nick is trying to scare the guy, it’s worked- they can go home now. He scrambles to open his door, losing eye contact with Evan. By the time Prince is out of the car, Evan is gone. Prince stops in his tracks, wide-eyed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Prince can barely catch his breath- he’s going into full panic attack mode now. Why the fuck did Nick need him for this? Why did Nick do this? What the actual ever-living fuck. Prince goes to the edge of the quarry, frightening Nick who didn’t see or hear him coming. “I told you stay in the fucking car.” Nick snaps. Prince looks over the edge but he doesn’t know what he’s looking for, he knows Nick pushed Evan and he can’t be saved. Prince is struggling to register what the fuck just happened but Nick walks away from him. He goes to Evans car and places the piece of paper on the drivers seat. Prince doesn’t see much else of what Nick does but what he does see is red. He goes over to Nick and punches him in the face. Nick barely reacts. Prince punches him again. Prince feels like he’s losing his mind. “You’re fucking psychotic! My girlfriend fucking knew that guy.” Nick shrugs. “Everyone in school knows him.” It could be a fair point except Prince doesn’t care about lying to everyone in school. How is he supposed to hide this from Luna, or Matt for that matter? Why did Prince have to be a part of this? Prince punches Nick again and they both go back to the car. The whole walk to the car, Prince is looking back just in case this guy might reappear and maybe be okay. Prince wants to believe he imagined the whole thing. Nick says that if for any reason they’re questioned by the police, they were together and if it’s anytime soon, Princes bruised knuckles and Nick face will prove it. “I’ll just say I made a comment about your girlfriend. Is that what you’re calling her now? And then we fought. Do you want to go get a drink? We can say we got drunk to make up after.” Nick is insane. He must be clinically insane. This man has not got a single brain cell forming together, Prince decides. He can barely compute that Nick is formulating an alibi for them. Prince questions why he is even involved when Nick answers that he was worried Evan would try to fight him and then Prince could have stepped in. That didn’t happen so really Prince wasn’t needed and Prince has been dumped with this massive load for no reason. Prince also doesn’t think he would have stepped in for Nick, considering he only got out of the car to try stop Nick. “You just fucking killed the guy! He fucking should have fought you, you stupid prick!” Prince can’t get Evans face out of his mind. He knew what was about to happen to himself. He was so scared. Even Prince was scared. He still is.  Nick tells Prince that he had a legitimate reason and that the world is a better place without him. That said, Nick won’t tell Prince and says it’s better he doesn’t know and Prince becomes too focused on his own panic attack to even ask anymore questions. Prince’s hands don’t stop shaking the whole way home, nor for the rest of the weekend.

“Did you hear?” Prince is at his locker with Matt and Nick talking utter rubbish on Tuesday morning when Cassie and Valerie approach them. Luna is beside Cassie but Prince barely spares her a glance. He’s barely spoken to her all weekend and even though Nick says it’s making him look suspicious, Prince doesn’t care. Him and Luna go through phases of not speaking anyway. Luckily for him they had a fight the day the quarry thing happened. So it’s not actually suspicious at all not that Prince cares. He’s still reeling in the fact that he’s a murder witness, or accessory. Takes somewhat of a priority. “Hear what?” The girls all look somewhat upset and Prince knows what this news is about to be. Val tells them the body that was found at the quarry was Evan and that he died. Prince doesn’t react (aside from a slight quiver in his hands) but Matt and Nick appear shocked. Nick honestly makes him sick. “Suicide.” Valerie clarifies and this does get Princes attention. “They found a note in his car, he must have written it before he jumped. It’s sad isn’t it?” Prince doesn’t make a comment on the gossip tokens Valerie has earned from this. Cassie’s the one that asks what the note said but Valerie shrugs. Prince doesn’t think Evans family plan on releasing what the note said. Prince doesn’t care what the note said. It was orchestrated by Nick, it’s not real. At least this is going down as a suicide and he and Nick don’t have to play their little alibi game.

Prince and Luna make eye contact. He blinks once and it’s enough to tell her to come over to him. She moved past Valerie and Matt and goes to Princes side. He lifts up his arm and wraps it around her shoulder. He kisses her temple. It’s going to be awhile before he feels any less shaken up but at least now he doesn’t have to worry about being a potential accessory to murder.

[sirchubbybunny]

I'm half thinking out loud and also asking a question, but do you need to justify treating yourself to something nice?

I had a bit of a moment of self-reflection a few days ago and in it, I think I was able to admit to myself that I've been through a lot of shit that I didn't deserve to go through. I've spent most of my life folding in on myself and I want this to be the year I start to take back more control. Last year, I started to do that by going back to therapy to heal and found the courage to try something new and different - feeling inspired by a friend to give myself a mohawk and now I can't see myself going back. For the first time in a long time, I finally started to not mind seeing my reflection. I didn't see someone I completely despised. Now, it's more so, I guess tolerance or something lukewarm to it.

I want that feeling to linger or I can get to a place where I see what she and my other friends see when they compliment me (be it telling me that I'm handsome or something like it). I want to be this person that I know I can be - a more authentic version of myself rather than just being, I wouldn't say repressed, just held back. I want to be someone that ten year old me would be so proud of to see if they crossed paths with me now. I don't know what that entirely looks like though, both in an aesthetic sense but also in a "hey, you made it, kid" way. I want to thrive, not survive, as the Switchfoot song would say.

To come back to my original point, I think about all the stuff I've wanted since I was a kid and in my teens and just how nice it would be to have them. I've been thinking about how, at some point while I'm slowly wanting to upgrade my wardrobe, that I need to get myself some nice boots at some point. I only recently got myself new Chucks after losing the last nice pair I had a year and a half ago, and since then I've been using an old pair I've had since I was 15 out of fear of ruining the new pair with how muddy and bad the weather has been.

I think about those boots and the idea of getting myself another denim vest to make into a secondary battle vest when I fill my current one up with patches and spikes. I've thought about getting myself a high quality leather jacket or a blazer. I've thought about getting myself nice quality hats that aren't grungy beanies for when I want to look and feel sharp (and to support independent shops). I've thought about all the tattoos I want to get, even though the idea of them turning into stained regrets scares me. I think about all of that and how, as much as I want them, there feels to be little reason to invest with how I don't get out much. In a way, it feels like buying yourself your dream car but you don't have a license or you can't drive anyway and it just sits in your garage.

Why do all of that if you can't take it out for a spin? Why should I get myself something nice if I don't have that external purpose for it? Certainly getting a cool jacket feels like such a waste if I might realistically only get to wear it a few times a year - and that's if I even get to do that and it's not just getting groceries. It's not like I have the money for that now, but when I do, it just feels nice, I guess. Is it a waste even if it's just something to wear around the house? I get it. If it makes you happy, it shouldn't be a waste of time. But still, I don't know. It feels like one for me, but I wouldn't tell others that if they were in my shoes.

[seancekitsch]

Requesting for a nervous but willing Hughie getting smooched, felt up, and eventually pegged/banged by the reader in order to get some intel.

unedited and i got carried away !!

It felt good, all of the kissing, the groping, the mindlessness of it all. He had played his cards right, flirting with the plant powered supe at an event for Vought to try to regain its good name. There was a carnival, a beer garden, live music, and you. A newbie, not unlike Annie, which is why she herself suggested the woman to be Hughie’s target.

The woman rocked back on top of him, coming apart from their kiss. Every time she rolls her hips, Hughie feels like he needs a cold shower. He’s never been with a woman so domineering, so willing to take.

It wasn’t hard to get to this point, at your apartment in Vought’s secondary housing for their extra supes. ‘The spares and unwanteds’ as Annie and now you had both mentioned, in that exact phrasing. He recognizes it as a clear Homelander-ism. He flirted, in his opinion poorly, but you hung onto every word. And you weren’t hard to flirt with; you were funny, gorgeous, and you had enough in common that he could have easily seen himself swiping right on you on Tinder in a normal circumstance. You seemed bored of the little PR stunt, and bluntly asked him to come back to your place, as simply as that. You grope at his sides, letting him squirm under you as you dive back in to kiss and suck at his neck.

“Wanna take this to the next level, pretty boy?” you whisper against his neck, and he hesitates, only for a moment.

And then you’re immediately climbing off his lap, and he thinks he’s immediately fucked this up. If he can’t get this intel, if you tell him to leave, he might run out of time. There have been so many moving pieces at Vought, so many new developments that—

“Earth to Hughie?” you ask, gentler than he expects you to.

“Hey, hey dude,” you move to sit next to him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “If you don’t wanna continue we don’t have to. We can stop it’s fine! I’ll still give you the information you want.”

His blood runs cold.

“Wh-why do you think I want… information from you?” his voice is quiet, distant. If you knew, what do others know?

“Oh I’m not stupid,” you laugh, “I recognize you, from the news? From Vought? And then it also begs the question of: why would a man as cute as you go after little old me, hmm? Supes complicate things. We’re not exactly easy to date.”

You had him there. He nods, understanding. Relief washing over him.

“Oh thank god,” he sighs, and leans into your touch.

“I was worried you’d strangle me with vines or some shit.”

You laugh, hard; it’s beautiful. Sounds like angels to him.

“I could still do that,” you joke, “but in a different context.”

He’s still hard, and he notices that joke only excites him more. You seem to notice too.

You stand up, walking towards the open door to your bedroom.

“Now Hughie, I’m going to give you the information no matter what, but I think I think we might both have more fun in here.”

You watch as his hands clench and unclench on the couch, his nerves sparking your nerves. He’s so handsome, really, in a boyish and incorruptible way. You want him to stay.

And steadily, Hughie rises from the couch, walks over to you, and kisses you eagerly. Harder than you expect. You pull him through the doorway, no breaking the kiss until you tumble onto the bed with him, yanking at his flannel to try to pull it off.

“You uh, have a lot more plants in here,” he remarks between kisses.

“Better for…. soundproofing,” you offer, “Thin walls.”

And Hughie pauses to watch, amused, as easily the worlds biggest pothos begins to trail its vines across the walls, one particular vine actually using the door handle to shut the bedroom door behind the two of you. His eyes then travel around your room, around all of your personal belongings, your civilian clothes on the floor, to…

Your dresser, where you forgot to put your strap on away. You feel your face heat up even though it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Part of you, you think, doesn’t want to scare him away.

“That’s— oh god— I forgot to put that away, I was moving stuff and…” you trail off when Hughie’s eyes meet yours.

“Dude, you totally don’t have to explain. I’ve been around,” He says with an air of confidence, which you don’t deny.

“Have you ever—?” the question hangs in the air, and you use this as the perfect time to fling his discarded flannel across the room.

“Have I? No, never. But maybe next time?” He let’s that question hang in the air next to yours, burying his face in the crook of your neck as he starts to unlatch the corset of your Supe costume.

“Oh, next time?” you ask, pausing to moan at his teeth scraping your pulse, “There’s gonna be a next time?”

You hope you don’t sound too eager.

He shrugs, and mumbles something that sounds like “sure” against your skin. Good enough. You hook your thigh around his hip and push, maneuvering him on his back under your straddled legs. You throw the corset top off somewhere near where you aimed his flannel, and lean down to kiss him, his hands almost immediately cupping your chest. You grind against him again, and he whimpers against your lips. Fuck, he sounds so sweet.

You break the kiss to reach for his belt, not missing the way his chest heaves and a dreamy smile spreads across his face.

“You want me to fuck you, Pretty Boy?”

“God, please,” he begs, and you smile as you get to work on the button of his pants as well, quickly pushing the jeans down and letting him kick them the rest of the way off.

He’s wearing boxers with penguins all over them.

“Are these your seduction plot underwear?” you ask, not hiding your laughter.

He sits up to grabs your hips, all while laughing with you.

“They’re lucky!”

“Says who?”

“Stop making fun of me and take your pants off so we match.”

You’ve never laughed this much with someone you were sleeping with. He was fun.

You shimmy out of your tighter than hell pants and then climb back on top of him as he wolf whisked jokingly at you.

“No penguins,” he comments.

“You like these better though.”

You’re right, he does. He dips his fingers under the dark lace, only to revel in the shuddering gasp in response. His head falls back into the pillow as his thumbs massage circles into your hips, guiding you to rock back and forth on top of him again. You can feel him, straining through his gaudy underwear, and fuck you want him inside you.

He whimpers below you, eyes screwed shut, and you shift away, pulling the elastic of his boxers down the same way you pulled at his pants. He springs free, his cock bouncing up to slap against his stomach, and you smile as you crawl down lower on the bed.

“Can I have a taste?” you ask, batting your lashes at him.

“You can have whatever you want,” he moans as your hand wraps around his length. You dip your head down, taking a curious lick of his tip, before taking him into your mouth without warning. He moans again, hands scrambling to find purchase in your hair and planting them there as you bob up and down on his cock.

You can feel him twitch in your mouth already. Fuck, how long has it been since he’s…? Well, you’re about to rock his world.

You rise up quickly, removing him from your mouth but not your hand, and a shiver runs through his body at the sensation of the cool air on his dick.

“You gonna be a good boy for me?”

He looks at you, eyes blown wide with lust, as he nods affirmative.

“I asked,” you squeeze the base of his cock and his mouth falls open, “Are you gonna be a good boy for me?”

“Yes! Yeah, please.”

“Please what?” you ask, one handedly working your underwear down (more easily said than done, but Hughie doesn’t mind the awkwardness).

“Please fuck me, I’ll be good.”

You smile at him like the cat who’s caught the canary.

Once your panties are thrown carelessly next to you at the end of the bed, you crawl up, hands and knees, until you’re hovering above him. You lean down to kiss him, sloppy, lots of tongue, before pressing the absolute sweetest kiss to his forehead.

You line yourself up with his cock and impale yourself on it, gasping in surprise at your own reaction. He feels even bigger than he did in your hand. You take a second, deep breathing.

“Are you okay?” he asks so earnestly it could kill you.

You let out a breathy chuckle.

“Yeah, you’re just, god— you’re big. Give me a second.”

And you both do, with Hughie letting out a sharp whine when you finally do move, at first a slow grind against each other’s bodies, and then honest thrusting.

Your thighs burn as you work yourself up to a rhythm, rising and falling on Hughie’s cock. His hands find your chest again, big calloused fingers massaging you, and genuine affection for this man blooms in your chest.

“Oh fuck this feels amazing,” he groans, bucking his hips up to meet your thrust and you scream, completely involuntarily, at how deep he really is.

“Oh!” you gasp, “you’re telling me, Pretty Boy.”

He meets your thrusts in rhythm now, letting you bounce on his cock as your thumb finds its way to his lips; first tracing them, then delving between them as he eagerly opens his mouth to accept it. Hughie sucks on your thumb and it sends shockwaves up your arm. You’re thankful for your plants, because you’re sure people in the apartments around you would hate to hear the creaking bedframe, to hear you chant his name.

His hips stutter, bucking you slightly.

“Gonna cum pretty boy?”

He nods furiously, still sucking your thumb.

“Beg for it, and I’ll let you,” you coo, teasing him.

He pushes your thumb away with his tongue, and starts absolutely babbling.

“Please fuck holy fuck, shit ahhh— let me cum? Please? I’ll be good I’ll make you cum i’ll do fuck— anything!”

Good enough!

You grab his hands from their place on your chest and move them to your headboard. Immediately his hands white knuckle the railings. You speed up, thighs now absolutely burning, calves ready to cramp, but it’s all worth it. You feel amazing.

He flinches, twitches, a familiar heat floods you, and you slow down, chuckling breathlessly. His right hand leaves the headboard, and reaches down to where your bodies meet. He rubs his thumb against your clit, and it takes only seconds for you to me shaking on top of him, whispering his name as you cum for him.

There isn’t cuddling after, but more flirting; joking and playful jabs at each other. It’s comfy. You freely give him all the information he wants, and then some. He watches in awe again as the vines of your pothos retreat to their normal tangles around their pots and stands.

“If you ever want more information, you know where to find me now,” you say nonchalantly after you throw on a big tee shirt from your drawer, hoping he takes the hint for more. He smiles, about to respond, when you notice something peeking out of his pocket.

“Are those my panties?” you exclaim, “Is that where they went?!”

He looks down, sheepish and bright red, but doesn’t move to empty his pockets.

“Guilty,” he shrugs, “I did say I liked these better.”

You smile, willing to give up the pair. Both of you drift to the door slowly, like a waltz, and when he’s in the door frame, he surprises you.

“So, next time I need information, I’ll just drop by, okay?”

You nod enthusiastically.

“No games or seduction plot but uhhh. If you want to use that thing…”

“Strap on,” you supply, deadpan.

“Yeah, right!” Strap on. If you want to use it.”

“Okay, Hughie.”

Both of you laugh, he presses a kiss to your forehead, and then he’s gone.

Until next time.

[moon-light-jukebox]

Germs [Reid x Reader]

this gif isn’t mine

Summary: Reader is sure the resident BAU genius doesn’t like her, but she’s not sure why. But even if he did like her, he’s a germaphobe, so he wouldn’t be comfortable with the things she wants to do to him...would he?

Pairing: Spencer Reid / (Female) Reader

Word Count: 5.6k

Rating: Mature 

Category: Fluff and Smut 

Content Warning: Brief mentions of torture and violence, usually criminal minds stuff, nothing explicit. Light choking, oral sex (female receiving), penetrative sex, fingering, language (maybe?) 

A/n: I have come out of fan fiction writing retirement for this one. Let me know what y’all think!  masterlist

y/n - your name

y/l/n - your last name

italicized text is Reader’s sassy inner thoughts

---

I’m not sure if I believe in hell, but if there is a hell, I’m sure it feels exactly like Louisiana in July. Every time I walked outside I felt like I was walking into soup. Gross. I couldn’t help but feel guilty over my sigh of relief when I walked back into the local precinct the team was currently working out of. Young women are dying, and I’m worried about a little bit of heat.

But, fuck, it was hot.

Speaking of heat, I thought as I threw open the door to the conference room only to run smack into the hottest thing I’d ever encountered.

“Shit,” I exclaimed before I thought better of it. “I’m so sorry.” I ran my eyes up, up, up, all the way up his body until I met his eyes; those beautiful honey brown eyes that threatened to have me acting like an idiot if I stared into them for too long.  

Dr. Spencer Reid’s cheeks were tinged pink, his posture stiff, his fingers clutching the file he was carrying for dear life. “Don’t worry about it, Y/n,” he sounded uncomfortable, which made my stomach drop. “My fault.” With that, he quickly maneuvered around me and headed off to complete whatever genius task he had to complete.

My eyes followed him until he was out of sight before I mentally shook myself. ‘C’mon, this is pointless,’ I thought. ‘He doesn’t even like you.’ Which I really thought was true, the good doctor went out of his way to avoid me whenever possible. ‘Plus, he’s a germaphobe.’ This thought was confirmed true. He didn’t shake people’s hands, the only people I’d seen him touch during my time at the BAU were members of the team that he’d known for years, and some of those even seemed reluctant.

Admittedly, I didn’t know a lot about germaphobia; since I couldn’t ask the only genius I knew, I did the next logical thing. I googled it. Every person I’d read about seemed to experience germaphobia differently. Some people could have sex, but others were grossed out by the very idea. Knowing my luck, Spencer Reid and his beautiful hands, and his soulful eyes, and his cheekbones that could cut glass was in the repulsed by sex category. Which is fine! Right, it is fine to not be interested in sex; the only problem was I was very interested in every part of him.  

Maybe he thinks I’m gross. Maybe I stink? Maybe he’s just repulsed by my very presence. Regardless, I couldn’t see Spencer Reid ever shoving me against a wall and fucking me senseless.

I sighed, making my way over to the conference table, pulling out a chair before I flopped into it. I could feel the exhaustion settling into my bones. We had been in Louisiana for almost a week now and we were still no closer to finding our unsub. He was a white man, he worked in a lower-paying job, and he hated women. Obviously, that didn’t narrow it down much.

The unsub was targeting women in clubs and bars, following them outside before he bashed them on the back of the head. After that, he threw the girls over his shoulder and took them to his car; he moved them to a secondary location before he tortured them. The first two victims had survived. They were traumatized, but they were fighters; they both said the same things, ‘he kept my eyes covered the entire time,’ “I never saw his face,’ ‘I did whatever he told me to do.’

We thought the killing of the third victim had been an accident, but that accident had excited our guy enough that he changed his ritual; the killing was crucial now. We had 4 bodies, 2 live victims that couldn’t tell us anything, and no leads.

Sighing, I leaned forward, bringing the heels of my hands to my eyes. I hated feeling helpless. The answer to who this fucker was is in this evidence somewhere and I will find it. If it’s the last thing I do.

The doors swung open again, pulling me from my thoughts. Hotch lead the parade of people, followed by Morgan, JJ, and Dr. Reid. Our unit chef looked gravely serious…not that that necessarily meant anything, in the 6 months I’d been with the behavioral analysis unit I hadn’t seen him have any other expression.

Morgan pulled out his phone, hitting what I suspected was speed dial number 1. “Hey baby girl,” he said, without his usual swagger; even he was tired. “You’re on speaker. You’ve got me, Hotch, JJ, Reid, and Y/l/n.”

“And I have the always wonderful Emily Prentiss, and the dashing David Rossi on the line, effectively putting my favorite people together again, as they should be,” Garcia quipped. I don’t think she meant to include me in her list of ‘favorite people,’ but it made me smile anyway. “Okay, crime fighters, what’s the play?”

“We’re still no closer to finding the unsub,” Hotch began. “He’s highly organized, methodical, and paranoid; but he hasn’t killed in 3 days, this is a break from his escalation pattern. He’s going to strike soon.” Hotch leaned over resting his palms on the shiny fake wood of the conference table. “Our best chance is to send an agent out there as bait.” There was a general murmur of agreement before he continued on. “Garcia, we need you to find all of the night clubs, bars, and whatever else you can think of in the updated comfort zone.”

The sound of keys clicking made its way through the speaker. “Assuming we’re excluding the places he’s already hit, that leaves us with 3 possibilities.”

“So far he hasn’t struck a place twice,” Prentiss chimed in. “Do we think he’s going to hold to that pattern?”

Reid moved over to the board where the map of the county was displayed. “I think so. This guy is too careful to risk going to a place where he’s been before. The chance of him being recognized is too great, especially when everyone is on high alert.” He gestured to the area he had circled on the map. “His pattern seems to be focusing in on this center point right here,” he said, placing a pin in the map. “This area means something. Garcia, what is the closest club or bar to the intersection of Washington Avenue and Harrison Street?”

“That would beeeeee…The Blue Fox.”

“That’s where he’ll be,” Dr. Reid said confidently, his eyes moving to Hotch’s face.

The older man nodded. “It’s our best lead so far, we have to run with it.”

“It’s Friday night,” Rossi pointed out. “We’ll have to act soon.”

Hotch nodded, seeming to be lost in thought. “We need to send agents in there tonight. We know the victims were all on dates or flirting with a man right before their abduction. He targets women that are happy with their companions then waits til he can separate them.”

“Who are you planning on sending in, Hotch?’ JJ questioned.

“Y/l/n is the youngest, she fits the build of the previous victims the best.” His heavy gaze rested on me. “What do you think?”

Like it was even a choice. “I’m in.”

Hotch nodded, accepting my answer. “Good. You’ll partner with Reid.”

“What?!” I squawked, much to my embarrassment. I cleared my throat before I continued. “But, Reid and I…I just thought Morgan would be the obvious choice.” Fuck, I’m just digging a bigger hole.

Morgan gave me an easy smile. “You’re just saying that because you wanna see my moves, little mama.”

Hotch cleared his throat, bringing our attention back. “Morgan is too intimidating; the unsub might not move in if he feels too threatened. You’ll go with Reid.” When he was met with silence he continued on, “alright, let’s get to work.”

-

And that is how I wound up in a club in Louisiana on a Friday night, in a tight black dress, with Spencer Reid beside me. After he walked into the club holding my hand. He doesn’t hold hands, I cringed internally at the thought. He must feel so uncomfortable.

He waved the bartender over, ordering a drink for me and a water for himself before turning to me. “I thought a drink would loosen you up a bit. You look nervous.”

I am nervous. “Right. Thanks.” I drummed my fingers on the bar, my gaze sweeping around the club for anyone who seemed out of place and especially creepy. Most lone men at clubs and bars were creepy, but we need especially creepy.

“Is that because you don’t think I can have your back?”

My head snapped back around. “What?”

Spencer paused to accept the drinks from the bartender, sliding him the money. “In the conference room. You seemed upset that Morgan wasn’t going to be your partner,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Is that because you think I wouldn’t have your back?”

Fuck. I blushed to the roots of my hair. “No, Spencer! God no! It’s not that, I know you’d have my back.” I took a sip of my drink before I said anything else. “It’s just that…you don’t seem to like me very much, and I know you have a thing about germs, and I thought maybe that’s why you didn’t like me.” I was babbling; I was absolutely babbling. “I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable, that’s all. Morgan has never seemed uncomfortable around me, so…” I trailed off lamely.

The corners of his lips quirked up in amusement. “So, you didn’t want to partner with me on this because you didn’t want me to be uncomfortable?”

I nodded, fidgeting with the straw in my drink.

Spencer moved closer to me, his right hand coming to rest on the small of my back. He seemed as calm as he could be, meanwhile I suddenly had trouble breathing.

It’s for the case. He has to do this for the case. Calm down.

"What do my issues with germs have to do with this?" he wondered, leaning closer to me. I could feel his breath on my neck; my skin broke out in goosebumps.

Double fuck. “Well, we’re supposed to be…together. And you think I’m gross. What if you have to kiss me?” TRIPLE FUCK. “Not that we’d have to kiss,” I tried to backpedal. “But we might, you never know. And I just didn’t…I don’t want you to dislike me more than you do.”

The teasing smile slipped from his face, the fingers on my lower back flexing slightly. He regarded me with a tilt of his head. "You're serious?" At my shaky nod, he continued. "Y/n, I don't think you're gross."

“You don’t?” I squeaked.

He lifted his hand from my back then, sliding it up to my shoulder, his free hand moving from the bar to rest on my hip. Spencer brushed my hair back before he leaned forward. Slowly, slowly, slowly, I felt his lips touch the tender skin of my neck. My eyes fluttered shut, unable to suppress a gasp at the contact. Spencer Reid’s beautiful lips slid down to the place where my neck and shoulder met, then I felt his teeth nip the skin before he placed another kiss there. He worked his way back up towards my ear, the hand on my hip moving slightly so he was almost grabbing my ass. “I don’t think you’re gross,” he breathed, causing me to shudder. I could hear the smirk in his voice. “Germs don’t bother me in that way, especially around people I know. I wouldn’t have a problem kissing you, baby.”

I was going to need new panties after this. Spencer Reid, awkward, sweet, Dr. Spencer Reid just called me Baby.

“…Oh.” Really, y/n. Oh; you went with oh?

The good doctor pulled back, his face close enough to mine that I could see that he had freckles under his eyes and that those beautiful eyes got more golden towards the center. "Oh."

-

Michael Watkins was the name of our unsub. He was a short white man with a receding hairline and a bad temper. His last relationship had ended 3 months before the first attack; Spencer was right to pick this bar. Shortly after he tried to make my pussy combust with his neck kisses, Reid suggested I walk to the bathroom, assuring me he’d be watching if anyone followed.

Watkins’ hand was in my hair, dragging me outside before I made it to the ladies’ room. I felt a jolt of fear as I struggled to escape, strands of hair being ripped from my head. I shouldn’t have worried, because no sooner had the outside door opened than I heard the velvety voice of Derek Morgan. “FBI! Put your hands where we can see them.”

He attempted to run. Why would anyone try to run from Derek Morgan?  

After the medics confirmed I was okay, I was sent back to the hotel while the rest of the team went with the local police to book Watkins and try to get a full confession.

“Good work,” Hotch said, his hand clapping down on my shoulder.

The highest praise I’ll ever need.

I hopped into the shower right when I got back to my room, not wanting Watkins’ touch on me for a moment longer.

Spencer’s touch, however,…That was a touch I wouldn’t mind having on me. But he’d barely looked at me once he made it outside. I knew he was being affectionate in there because of the case, we were playing a role. I knew that. I still couldn’t stop the twinge of hurt I felt.

But he doesn’t think I’m gross. That had to count for something.

I had just got done blow drying my hair enough so that it wouldn’t look too crazy when I woke up when there was a knock on my door. Figuring it was Emily, I didn't consider the fact that I was in my pajamas, and my face was scrubbed free of makeup.  

It wasn’t Emily. Spencer Reid stood on the other side of my door, his eyes running down my body before he met my bewildered stare again. “You look comfy,” he commented with that damn little smile on his lips again.

“Oh. Yeah. I took a shower.” Way to go, y/n, you’re really killing it tonight.

“I see that,” he said, his cheeks going a little bit pink. “Can I come in? I thought we should talk.” Was he nervous? Why would he be nervous?

I ushered him in, shutting the door behind him. He sat on the bottom edge of my bed; his body angled towards the headboard. I briefly debated about where to sit before I joined him. Don’t make it weird, y/n.

He cleared his throat before he began. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable tonight. I just wanted to make sure we got the guy.”

Right. “Oh, it’s okay, Spencer. I get it. I wasn’t uncomfortable.” I picked at the frayed edge of my sleep shorts, my eyes dropping so he didn’t see anything on my face that betrayed how I was feeling; you can’t be too careful around profilers.

His hand reached out to cover my own fidgeting hands, one of his hands covering both of mine. His hands were so big. His fingers were so long, the veins in his hands were so pronounced. I bet those fingers would feel really – FOCUS.

“I’m also sorry you thought I didn’t like you.” His thumb had started to move slowly over the back of my hand. “I do like you. I like you a lot, actually. I just…” I brought my gaze back up to meet his eyes. “I just get nervous sometimes.”

“You didn’t seem nervous in the club.”

“No,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t nervous then because it was my job. I wasn’t worried about misreading a signal…doing the wrong thing…I’m not the best with social cues.” I had noticed that about him before. “But I am a really good profiler.” And he’s humble too, apparently.

“I know that you couldn’t fake your reaction to me in the club. Your breathing became quicker, I felt your pulse jump under my lips when they were on your neck. I saw how blown your pupils got." He shifted closer to me then, bringing his other hand up to push my hair behind my shoulder like he did earlier in the night. "Just like they are now."

He leaned closer to me, his voice was lower, and it made my stomach flutter. "You're clenching your thighs together, Y/n. Your shirt may be baggy, but I can see how hard your nipples are too." His tongue ran out to wet his lips. "If I'm wrong, just tell me now. If I've misread this, I will leave right now, and we can pretend this never happened." Spencer brought both his hands up to cradle my face; despite how wet my panties were, how tight my nipples are, how badly I wanted him to touch me, this gesture made me feel special. He was holding me like he actually cared about me like I was precious. "But, if I'm not wrong, and you want this too, Y/n, tell me. Tell me you want this too and I won't stop touching you until you scream my name."

I let out a soft whimper then. Like it’s a choice. “I want this,” I leaned into his touch. “Please, Spencer.”

His thumb brushed over my cheek, his eyes never leaving mine. “Please, what, baby?”

“Kiss me.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than his lips were on mine. His lips were softer than I imagined, they were firm and almost…questioning. When I nipped at his bottom lip, something seemed to break free inside of him. His lips slanted over mine with a hunger I had never felt. His tongue ran over my bottom lip before I opened for him. Spencer’s tongue moved into my mouth while his hands moved; one hand moved back to grip my hair at the base of my skull, tugging firmly, the other moved down to my neck, not applying any pressure, just resting it there in a gesture that felt possessive.

The need for oxygen broke us apart, his lips moving across my cheek to my jaw, then down to my neck. “How could you think I didn’t like you?” he mumbled into my skin. “You have no idea what you do to me. None.”

I threw my head back when he sucked on my pulse point, a moan ripping from my throat. “W-what…what do I do?”

Pulling back from me, he gripped the bottom of my shirt, looking at me for consent before he pulled it over my head. His eyes were firmly on my chest, his lips parted, his breathing heavy. He pushed me down slowly on the bed; I was on my back and he was hovering over me. I felt his mouth place hot, wet, kisses from my collarbone down towards my breasts. His right hand landed on my breast, his thumb brushing back and forth over my nipple while his lips moved closer and closer to my left. I tangled my hands in his hair, urging him forward.

“You want to know what you do to me?” he raised his head slightly, making sure my eyes were on him when he flicked his tongue over my nipple, causing me to gasp. “What do you do to me in your little skirts, with your little smiles, and your little laughs?” He gave my nipple a sharp pinch. “You’re all I fucking think about, y/n.” With a growl, he finally took my nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and tongue. He switched to the other breast while he adjusted himself over me, bringing his pelvis down to rest at the seam of my body between my thighs. I shifted restlessly under him, trying to grind my pussy against him. He was so fucking hard.

With a groan, he lifted his head and started kissing his way towards the middle of my chest, moving down to the curve of my stomach. “Do you know how many times I came back to my hotel room after spending all day with you and was so hard I had to cum before I could think of anything else?” he peppered kisses down my body as he spoke.

My eyes shot open at this confession that he seemed to think was no big deal. “What?” I couldn’t believe this. “You…you touched yourself and thought of…”

He hooked his fingers into the waistband of my shorts and panties, taking my raised hips as an invitation to remove both from my body. "You. I thought of you." He threw my clothes on the floor, pulling my legs open. His eyes moved over all of me, his Adam's apple bobbing when he swallowed hard. “I thought about kissing you. About making you squirm for me.” He ran his fingers up and down my thighs, his mouth running slowly over my inner thighs. Spencer’s hands hooked around my upper thighs, moving me to where he wanted me. “But, most of all, I thought about this pretty pussy.” He placed a kiss on my clit, chuckling at the wanton moan that came from me and how my fingers tangled in his soft brown curls. “I thought about all the different ways I could make this pretty pussy cum all over me.” With that, he ran his tongue up my slit before flicking it over my clit.

Dr. Spencer Reid was good at everything, so of course, he was good at this too. His mouth moved over me, watching my reaction to see what I liked best. His tongue moved in circles around my clit before slipping down to my opening. His tongue plunged inside me, fucking me, while his thumb came over to rub my clit.

“Spence- fuck- Spencer, please.” My hips tried to shift restlessly, but his arms were iron bars holding me still. He slowly moved his left forearm to rest across my hips, bringing his right hand down to my throbbing pussy. He pulled his mouth away from me, much to my dismay. He pushed one finger, then another into me. My head thrashed wildly, and my thighs started to shake. “Spencer!”

He just smirked and curled his fingers, hitting the spot inside me that made everything in my body pulse. “What, baby?”

My breaths were coming in gasps, my voice was a needy whimper. “Make me cum, Spencer. Please, please make me cum.”

He needed no other encouragement. His fingers continued their steady thrust in and out of me while his mouth covered my clit again. He alternated between flicking my clit with his tongue, then circling it before pulling it into his mouth, sucking lightly.

“Spencer.” I felt my orgasm rising. “Spencer don’t- don’t stop. I’m gonna cum, please make me cum.”

He kept his pace steady, sucking on my clit, moaning at my words. His eyes had been closed, but at that moment they opened and met mine. Then I felt his teeth ghost over my clit, I saw the want in his eyes. That was my undoing. My back arched, my mouth hung open in a silent scream. I heard myself say his name over and over again. Spencer pushed his fingers inside me, massaging me through the most powerful orgasm I had ever had. With one final kiss on my oversensitive clit, he withdrew his fingers, putting them into his mouth to suck my orgasm off of them.

He kissed back up my body, and I tried to respond, but I was still so shattered. I had never felt anything so powerful before. He cupped my face in one hand and kissed me slowly. I returned the kiss, moving my hands to the buttons of his shirt.

Spencer broke the kiss, pulling back to look at me again. “Hang on, baby.” His hand came up to still my own. “We can take a second. It’s okay. Just breathe.”

This beautiful man smiled at me then. I felt my heart flutter when he leaned down to pepper soft kisses along my jaw, his thumb coming up to wipe a tear that fell from the corner of my eye that I hadn’t even noticed.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that. He shifted to lay beside me, whispering reassurances to me while I came back down. This was just one of the ways that Spencer was so different from every other man. I didn't feel rushed, or pressured. I could feel how hard he still was, I could feel the tension in his body, but he simply kissed me while he cupped my jaw.

He made me feel…cherished.

I moved my hands to tangle in his hair again, deepening our kiss. He didn’t move my hands away when I started to work on the buttons of his shirt. The fire that I thought had been calmed by my orgasm had come roaring back. Spencer moved his hands to his belt while I finished with his shirt. His shirt came off, tossed in the same direction as my clothes. I pulled his pants and boxers down his legs, watching his cock spring free.

Everything about him was painfully beautiful. His angular cheekbones, the jaw that looked like it was carved from granite, even the toned muscles of his body. He had a small trail of hair that went down from his belly button to his groin. His cock laid against his stomach, the head glistening with precum.

“You’re beautiful,” I whispered, kneeling beside him, running my eyes over his body.

His soft hand came to grab mine, pulling it to his lips. He kissed the back of my hand, smiling softly at me.

I moved to straddle him, lower on his thighs. I took him in my hand, moving up and down, twisting my wrist as I neared the tip, swiping my thumb over his head.

“Baby,” he groaned. “Y/n, as much as I want you to do…whatever the fuck you want with me, I’m so close. I feel like I’m going to explode.” I bit into my bottom lip, unable to totally stop the smile spreading over my face. “Please, I need to feel your pussy wrapped around my cock.” He moved his hands to my hips, urging my body forward.

I raised up on my knees, taking him in my hand again, lining him up with my entrance. The tendons in his neck were strained, his fingers gripped my hips so hard I knew I was going to have bruises tomorrow. As I slowly started to sink down on his cock, Spencer let out the sexiest groan I had ever heard. His eyes were fixed where our bodies were joined, watching his dick slid deeper inside of me.

“Come on, baby,” he whispered. “You’re doing so good. Just a little bit more.”

He was so long, he wasn't overly thick, but just thick enough to cause a pleasurable stretching when he breached me that was almost painful. I gasped out a sound that might have been his name when he bottomed out inside me. I slowly circled my hips, adjusting to him. Spencer’s nails dug into my hips as he forced himself to stay still.

“Please move, y/n. Please. You’re so fucking tight.” He groaned as my walls fluttered around him. “Do you like it when I talk to you? Does that make your pretty pussy wetter?” He smirked at my whimper as I tightened around him.

I began at a slower pace, trying to tease him. Spencer quickly lost patience with that; he thrust his hips upwards, meeting my movements, his hands pushing me down onto him. I leaned forward, bracing on hand on his shoulder, the other on the bed. He pounded into me while I tried to match his pace. Spencer’s hand moved from my hip up to wrap around my throat. I nodded, forcing my eyes to stay open as he moved inside me.

His fingers squeezed slightly, pulling my face closer to his. Our lips met in a sloppy kiss. My thighs burned from matching his movements. “You feel so fucking good, y/n.” His grip on my neck tightened ever so slightly, which only heightened my arousal. “I want to feel you cum on my cock. Can you do that for me, pretty girl?”

He flipped us over quickly, never pulling completely out of me. Spencer moved to push my legs further apart, the change in angle allowing him to fill me deeper than I thought possible. His hair was sticking to his brow, his cheeks were flushed, his breathing erratic. He was the most fucking beautiful thing I had ever seen.

One hand held my leg, the other went down to my pussy, his thumb moving over my clit at a rapid pace. “Tell me what you need, Pretty Girl. Tell me how to make this pretty pussy cum all over me.”

I whined at his words. “Spencer, I-“ my voice broke off. I was so fucking close. "I need you." He seemed to understand my broken plea. He brought his body down, his chest flush against mine. He rocked into me at such a fast and hard pace. His hand still in between us rubbing circles around my clit.  

I felt his lips ghost over my ear. “I want to fucking hear you, y/n.” His speed increased, his thrust getting choppier. He was close. “I want this whole fucking town to hear what you sound like when I make you cum. When you cream all over my dick, I want you to scream my name.” With that, he moved his mouth down my neck. He bit the same tender area he had kissed in the club, where my neck met my shoulder.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck yes, Spencer!" I felt myself begin to splinter apart. “Please make me cum, fuck please.” My babbling finally broke as my orgasm tore through me. I couldn’t hear his deep groan when I came, my scream was too loud. I felt the vibration against my neck. It was only as I started to float down that I realized my nails were dug into his back. With a few last thrust and my name on his lips, I felt Spencer pulse, cumming inside me.

We lay there for a few minutes, just breathing before he rolled off of me. I felt overwhelmed, so I was relieved when he tugged me over to him. He wrapped his arm around me when I laid my head on his chest. I felt his lips on my forehead. “It’s very important for women to urinate after sexual intercourse to avoid UTIs, but you have another minute or so before that becomes more urgent.”

I couldn’t control my laugh at his comment. "Thanks, Doc." I kissed his chest. "Only you could make me cum so hard I almost blackout, then go back to being…you." I slowly untangled myself from him, going to the bathroom to handle business. When I returned, I found Spencer where I left him, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, one hand resting behind his head, the other over his heart. He looked so lost in that moment.

“Spencer?” I asked, crawling on to the bed. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t pretend that something wasn’t bothering him. “When you said that I just go back to being me…Do you not like that?”

My heart broke a tiny bit at the question. “Spencer, no! I love that! I love your little facts and statistics!” How did he not know that? “The best part of my day is listening to you talk. Just being with you is wonderful.” I cupped his face, bringing his gaze to mine. “Sure, I like what we just did; but I liked you before that. I want both.” Fuck. “Assuming you want me,” I rambled quickly. “This doesn’t have to mean anything, I know that it doesn’t always-“

He cut me off by pressing his lips to mine in the sweetest kiss I had ever felt. It was filled with hope and promise and…Spencer.

“It means everything to me, Y/n.”

-

I didn’t see the rest of the team until the next morning when we all boarded the jet; I was so ready to go home. I personally didn’t think anything appeared that different. Spencer sat beside me on the couch, but that wasn’t weird…right? We were just co-workers, sitting beside each other super casually. Had we spent most of last night and a little bit of this morning screwing each other’s brains out? Certainly. But you couldn’t see that…right?

Morgan’s chuckle is what confirmed I was so wrong. “Hey, y/l/n,” he called, smiling so hard it looked like his face would split from his amusement. “You missed a spot.” He pointed towards his own neck.

There was a beat of silence before Hotch snorted. SSA Aaron Hotchner, the man who never found anything funny was laughing at me.

I felt myself turn tomato red, angling my body towards Spencer’s, burying my head against his shoulder, away from the rest of the team.

“I bet you’re glad pretty boy was your partner now, huh?”

I may have wanted to melt into the floor in embarrassment, but it was sort of worth it to see the blush on Spencer’s cheeks.

--

[screamin-abt-haikyuu]

Asahi accidentally tells you his feelings in front of the entire team (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1! I would suggest reading it first before proceeding!

Asahi accidently blurted out the L-word as Y/N was rushing out of the club room. He does not know if Y/N heard him. But the entire Karasuno VBC did. Is the gentle giant going to get through this without crying dying making a mess?

Asahi x gn! reader || Sfw Genre: Comedy and fluff at the end Word Count: 1.5k+

The entire Karasuno team is looking at Asahi in stunned silence. They all heard him say he loves you. 

However (fortunately or unfortunately for him), you did not really hear what he said. The entire club’s eyes are glued to the club room’s open windows as they watch you sprint away, eager to make it in time for your movie.

Asahi’s eyes are open wide and he keeps opening and closing his mouth but no words are coming out, he is simply gaping like a fish and making incomprehensible noises. His face is so red and hot that one could make their entire breakfast on it. 

Asahi: I-I-I d-didn’t m-mean t-t-to s- NOYA?! TANAKA?! WHY ARE YOU CRYING?!?!

Noya: *in between sobs* Asahi-san, you have grown up so fast!

Tanaka: *loud noises that seem to indicate agreement with Noya* *violent sobbing*

Suga intervened: Oi, you two, stop it! Your cries might catch Y/N’s attention.

Meanwhile, Hinata has run over and climbed on to the club room’s window and is now shouting live updates of your whereabouts. 

“Uwaaaah Asahi-san, I do not think Y/N-san heard you. I can see them running towards the gates.”

Kageyama kicks Hinata, “BOKE, don’t shout their name from the open window, they might hear you, you BOKE!”

“BAKA, Kageyama, you don’t have to kick me, I am only trying to help!”

At this point, Tanaka and Noya are rolling on the floor and crying violently, Kageyama and Hinata are trying to kill each other while Suga and Daichi try to separate them. Asahi is staring at the floor, wishing for a hole to open up and swallow him. The rest of the team is just standing around in silence, trying to absorb the mess that has happened in the last 30 seconds. 

So, you know, a usual day at the Karasuno Volleyball Club.

This is what is going on in Asahi’s mind right now:

“It’s certainly a relief that Y/N did not hear me. Or did they?!?!? and they just pretended to ignore me so they wouldn’t have to answer?!?!?! After all, it has only been 4 months, I do not expect them to love me so soon. What if this scares them off?? If they really did not hear me, that would have been great if the entire team hadn’t heard me say it. And knowing these people, I am sure Y/N will know about this before tomorrow. WHAT IF THEY HEARD ME AND THEY FREAKED OUT AND RAN OFF AND WILL NEVER COME BACK? -” and on and on it went.

"Uh-Oh”

Suga’s words snap Asahi out of his overthinking trance (good timing, I should say, because at this point he is seriously considering shifting to India and becoming a monk). He looks up to see Suga looking out the window. He pales.

//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What have you been doing since you ran out?

“Shit, I’m going to be late if I walk there. I will have to run if I want to make it in time. The theatre is not that far, though, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

These are the thoughts going through your head as you sprint away from the club room. As you are running, your mind wanders back to Asahi (as it usually does). You have a tendency to replay every moment with him in your mind and you are thinking back to the conversation that had just taken place. Asahi had looked so cute when you were handing him his hairband. You couldn’t wait to see him tonight and you had told him that as you had run out of the room. And it seems so had he-

And then it registers. 

Wait-

//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A very loud -WHAT?! resounded through the room. It was your voice. And even though it came from the outside, it felt like the entire room shuddered. The sound sent chills through Asahi’s spine and he started quaking in his shoes.

Suga: Uh Asahi, you have probably already realized this but Y/N seems to be running back in this directio-

The club room’s door slams open with such force that it makes everyone jump. You stand at the doorway, panting loudly, with the most incredulous expression on your face.

Asahi is dead now. I am sorry to say but his soul has left his body and it will not be returning. Let’s all come together to pray for his peaceful departure.

You look at Asahi. His face has drained entirely of its colour and he looks ready to pass out. You can almost see steam coming out of his ears as he stares at you in absolute horror. 

“D-did you j-just say you love me?” you manage to gasp out your question as you try to steady your breathing.

Asahi is dead, Y/N, dead people do not speak. 

He is shaking as you walk towards him. The expressions on his and teammates’ faces have already answered your question.

Even though Asahi is terrified out of his mind, he is trying to read your expression. How he chooses to answer right now is probably going to make or break your relationship. 

In between all the confusion on your face, he sees a hint of something else in your eyes: Hope.

You stop in front of him. You ask him the same question again, but much more calmly this time now that your breathing has somewhat normalized.

As he continues to try to read your expression, he realizes you are not mad at him. Instead, there is a slight earnestness in you. He calms down a bit.

“Y-yes.” he says, barely meeting your eyes.

“Do you really mean it? Or was it just a slip of your tongue?” you ask, hopeful, but also bracing yourself for the worst. What’s worse is that this is all happening in front of PEOPLE and all of their eyes are on you both. This is bound to make Asahi want to nope out of here. But the damage is already done and all you can do right now is wait for him to answer.

“I- I mean it (your heart soars for a second) but- (aaaand there it comes crashing back down).”

Asahi’s eyes are back to looking at the floor now and his fists are clenched. 

“but this...this is not how I wanted to tell you. I wanted to make it special for you. But I fucked this up too.”

You did not know what you were expecting him to say but this was certainly not it. Your eyes widen in surprise.

“And I- I understand if you do not feel the same way. Or if you want to b-break up with m-me.”

His voice cracks at the last sentence and even though he’s looking down, it’s not hard to figure out that he is holding back tears. 

“Special for me?” you say as you close the distance between you and him. You use your hands to cup his face and tilt his head up so that he is looking at you. His eyes are full of tears that threaten to fall at any second. 

“The only thing I need for it to be special for me is YOU. I do not care about where you said it, or how you said it. I just care that you said it. That’s the most special thing you could have done for me. You are the only thing I want and need. Everything else is just secondary.”

You wipe away a tear that has fallen from his eyes. 

“However, to make things even: I, L/N Y/N, standing here at Karasuno High School, in the Volleyball Club Room, surrounded by the weirdest audience ever, (why are Tanaka and Noya hugging and crying?? Why does Hinata seem to be in the middle of pantsing Kageyama??), would like to tell you, Azumane Asahi, that I love you too.” You kiss Asahi on his forehead, rubbing comforting circles on his back and give him a big smile. “Was that special enough for you?”

“Yes!” he exclaims, as he throws his arms around you and pulls you in for a short but passionate kiss (something he has never done in public before). His tears are now freely falling but he smiles the biggest smile at you and everything he wants to say to you, all the love and gratitude he has for you, you can see in his eyes. “I love you” he whispers as he loosens his hold on you. 

“I love you too. Can’t wait to see you tonight.” 

You are horribly late for your movie but you don’t care anymore. However, you do know it is important for your boyfriend (WHO LOVES YOU BACK!!) to focus on volleyball. So, you use the movie to excuse yourself and you finally walk out of the room, with the biggest smile on your face. You cannot help but laugh as his teammates almost blow the roof off the place with all their yelling and cheering for him as soon as you leave. 

Suffice it to say that even though you did “see” the movie, you still have no idea what it was about.

FIN

HOPE YOU ENJOYED

Oh my god I finished it. 

This was so enjoyable to write for me I cannot. I don’t think it was too bad for a first attempt??? I’m???

Please do not repost without permission.

Likes, reblogs, follows, comments are much appreciated. 

Pls lmk if you would like more content like this. 

Buy me a Kofi! <3

[saltwatersweetner]

Forever and Ever and Ever

Armin x Reader

You were a lost cause way before you even knew.

CW: Manipulative Behaviors, Cheating, Lying, mild strangulation, Gaslighting, love bombing, obsession, minor violence, reader is the work of year's of manipulation.

In all honesty, you liked the attention at first.

To have someone so wholly and devoted to you was amazing. Never having to question his whereabouts or do all the other things your friends had complained to you about was like a dream.

Until Annie came along and suddenly; it was like you didn’t matter anymore.

It's not that you didn’t trust Armin, you trusted him so much. You knew he wouldn’t intentionally hurt you right? At least you thought he wouldn’t—but you also weren’t blind to the way they acted with each other—like two long-lost lovers.

Like now.

You were supposed to be hanging out but he’d arrived late, the remnants of laughter painting his lips and red-tinged cheeks.

It almost felt like he was mocking you.

“Sorry I’m late Annie needed— wait where are you going?”

You didn’t even let him get a word out before you were walking away. You honestly wanted to be as far away from him as possible you felt...unstable almost.

Like you couldn't breathe; like you were close to screaming and tearing your hair out.

“We were supposed to meet at 12 o’clock, the movie started at 12:45; it is 4:16.” Breathing through your nose you yank your arm from his grip and continue walking.

Of course, he runs after you, not seeming to quite grasp how you were actually feeling.

He manages to grab your arm again completely stopping you in your tracks. He didn’t look it but Armin was strong as shit.

“H-Hey im sorry Annie needed my help with something and I lost track of time I didn’t mean to—“

Yanking your arm from his hold you give him the meanest look you could muster. You could tell the look on your face surprised him because you’d never looked at him like that before with so much malice and contempt.

“It doesn’t matter what you meant you stood your girlfriend up for 4 hours.”

Armin huffs and tries to grab you again but you evade his grasp “You just want me to abandon my friends when they need help?”

You felt violent.

You never felt…violent; towards your boyfriend before.

There surely must be something wrong with you to want to hurt him in such a way, to make him feel the way you did…but you didn't find it in yourself to care.

���No, but as your partner I expect a lot more communication than a on my way text! Do you know how embarrassing it was to stand here without any clue as to if you were coming?”

You had no regard for the other stragglers around at this hour who were just a little invested in the drama goin on on this side of the sidewalk. Armin however did care expressed by the way his neck and ears were turning a bright red. He puts his hands on your shoulders to keep you in place, distress, and embarrassment painting his features.

“You’re making a scene, lets's talk about this at your place.”

Objectively his place was closer and you both knew this. That's what puts all the clues you didn't want to see together and confirms at least one suspicion.

Laughing you can only shake your head as hysteria starts to set in “She’s in your dorm isn’t she that's why you want to go to mine.”

You were on the verge of a mental breakdown. Your emotions just felt everywhere and you couldn’t even think of how to get your thoughts back in order.

Why did you feel like this? How could Armin of all people make you feel like this?

“No your dorm is just closer.” He says it so confidently that you were almost inclined to believe him if you didn't already know that he was full of shit.

Something like a bell goes off in your head.

Pushing him away, you can't help but laugh “No my dorm is a 10-minute walk from here your dorm is around the corner.”

Armin's eyes search yours almost calculating something before nodding faintly “….yeah she's in my dorm.”

Sadness is a secondary emotion.

Anger takes hold much quicker...and then you just feel empty.

“So is it fun fucking her while your girlfriend is waiting for you?” Your voice is so quiet that if he wasn't so close to you he wouldn't have barely been able to hear you.

Armin looks panicked again but also almost, relieved? The expression is gone from his face before you can even take actual note of it.

“We’re not fucking, she just needed my help. I would never do that to you." Armin's hands find your face trying to convey his words "I love you so much, I wouldn't ever think of doing something like that. You know me (Y/N).”

Your jaw ticks under his warm palm “Do I?”

The violent urge had subsided by this point but you were nowhere near a forgiving mood. You didn't like being angry, much less being angry at someone you loved.

“You do." His thumbs rub pseudo soothing motions into our skin and you almost felt the urge to lean into him. You brain was playing tricks on you "You're the love of my life, my future, my everything. I would never think of cheating on you, you have to trust me its nothing going on between us.”

He punctuates each word with unwavering eye contact that makes your anger start to waver but you stay strong.

“I don’t believe you.”

You wanted to, you really, really; wanted to but something inside of you refused to let him sweet talk his way back into your good graces.

“Then I’ll spend all the time I need to convince you—starting now, let's go get dinner I wasted enough of your time today.”

You let him pull you into a hug that almost made you relax if you weren’t so pissed off. You didn't believe him but what other choice did you have? He was being so sincere and apologetic it was almost too tempting to believe him.

Armin does make it up to you however, and many times over almost to the point where he was back to normal after letting Annie steal all his time from you. It was almost like falling back into routine living in pure relationship bliss.

But sometimes—just sometimes when he came to see you. You could just barely smell a hint of a perfume clinging to his skin.

You trusted Armin, you did; and you couldn’t even find evidence that he was lying about not cheating on you. So why couldn't you let it go?

Why were you obsessing over this?

Were you just being crazy?

“Girl I hate the stressed look on your face, just confront him.”

Biting your thumbnail you keep your eyes locked on Armin’s back. He was sitting around with his friends no more than 600 feet from you and as far as you could tell unaware of your presence which at this moment in time you preferred considering he would probably coerce you into sitting with him.

“I tried that I need actual proof.”

Your best friend gives you a look filled with pity that you ignore completely. You’d rather die than continue with your accusations without knowing if you were just filled with paranoia and insecurity.

Turning away from them you pull out your phone and send a precautionary text to Armin which is replied to almost immedietly. The fact he was replying like nothing was wrong made you almost feel guilty for borderline stalking him.

Your best friend's voice breaks your train of thought “She’s laying her head on his shoulder.”

Waving her off you plan out another text to test if he would start lying about anything. You just wanted to catch him doing something, anything, really. “Mikasa does that.”

She tries again “They're holding hands?”

Hitting send you almost feel irritated at her voice “Mikasa does that too.”

You wished she would give you something with substance something that finally proved you right.

To make you stop feeling so fucking obsessed.

”Well damn do Mikasa kiss your boyfriend on the mouth too??”

Your head whips up at breakneck speed and you’re gifted to the sight of Armin giving Annie one of the softest kisses you’d ever witnessed. He only kissed you like that when he was feeling particularly sweet.

Armin lied?

Honestly you almost expected it, no boy could ever be so perfect.

A terrifying numbness takes hold of your heart.

Your phone finally buzzes with a response but you ignore it in favor of gathering your things “Let's go.”

Your best friend looks worried and unsure. Even she hadn't expected this outcome either “You’re not gonna confront him?”

Slipping your phone into your pocket you shake your head. You felt like your entire world was silently imploding “And get embarrassed? No thanks.”

“You ok pumpkin?”

You could only shrug in response, you didn’t have a real answer for her and you weren’t gonna hurt yourself trying to find one.

Silently parting ways with your friend you head back to your dorm and pack anything of his that you could find into a bag. You wanted every trace of him scrubbed from your room.

You wanted him to stop existing.

Your minds a blur as you somehow materialize into his dorm building. The plan was to get in and get out and hopefully not cry and make a bigger fool of yourself.

The second you appear on his floor you're greeted by Jean who seemed to be on his way somewhere but immediately changes his mind the moment his eyes land on you.

“Oh (Y/N) whats up! Armin's not home right now so—“

Connie, who was in his room jumps up and pokes his head out the door once he heard your name; trying and failing to look inconspicuous behind his tall friend.

You don't question their nervousness because of course they would know anything that had to do with the whole thing; they were his friends after all.

“You can stop covering for him I already know now move so I can give him his shit and be done with it.” Narrowing your eyes you try to go around him but he blocks your way.

"Move."

When Jean doesn’t move but starts to look apologetic you get mad enough to shove him completely out of your way sending him tumbling to the ground.

Connie jumps having watched the whole exchange with wide eyes “Oh my god Jean are you ok?!”

Swinging Armin's door open has Annie jumping out of his lap in surprise. Armin's staring at you like a deer in headlights and can't even bother to get a word out before you’re throwing the bag filled with his things onto his floor.

“Fuck both of yall.”

You’re barely out the door before he’s following after you calling your name along the way. He doesn't even have the nerve to look shameful as he buttons his pants along the way.

You originally planned to take the elevator back down but with him following after you the stairs were your best bet.

Armin latches on to your wrist before you can make it through the doorway. Once again you’re reminded just how physically strong he actually was as he pulls you firm against his chest.

“Armin let me go.”

Armins grip only tightens the more you struggle against him, his arms were practically an iron cage at this point and the longer time went on his hold on you turned almost painful.

“No, not until we talk about this.”

Still squirming in his arms you huffed in almost defeat “There's nothing to talk about, I don’t want anything else to do with you!”

If you could see his face you’d have watched the mild panic drop into something a little more sinister.

“So you wanna break up with me?”

You strangely feel conflicted at his question but you still find it in you to answer "...yes.”

“Why.”

You turn your head to try and catch a glimpse of his face “Are you serious?!”

He seriously had to be fucking with you it's the only thing that made sense.

“We can work through this it was a mistake—“

Trying to kick him you huff when the hit doesn't land “You don't mistakenly cheat on somebody!”

“You’re making a scene we can talk about this in my room.”

Technically the scene was made as soon as you sent all 6’1 of Jean Kirstein flying down the hall but, details.

“No im not going anywhere with you especially not in the room you fucked your little girlfriend in!” Kicking your feet out your thrashing is only temporarily quelled by Armin pressing you against the wall.

“I didnt fuck her!”

Stomping your foot you just narrowly miss his foot “Bull. Shit.”

You had never been so angry at him before, he’d never done something to hurt you before so you weren’t even sure how to emotionally react.

Your emotions were just...everywhere.

It was almost unhealthy.

“We almost did and its no excuse for it—“

Kicking the wall you almost manage to knock him back “Then why would you kiss her?! I saw you, you little fucking liar; you kissed her in front of everybody do you know how embarrassing that is—why are you crying?!”

Armin's tears were landing on your shoulder in burning hot trails. “You cant leave me you cant.”

Groaning you try once again to force your way out of his grip; to the same result. Meanwhile, Arkin continues his monologue.

“You’re the best thing thats ever happened to me you’re right im fucking terrible but you have to give me another chance I can fix this.”

Armin's grip tightens significantly at that.

It was so tight in fact that it was starting to cut into your oxygen. Patting his arm in a panic you shift in his grip only making it worse.

“Armin—Armin that hurts let go—“

Your ribcage felt like it would snap at any moment. Like one wrong move would kill you.

“No, im not letting go until we fix this.”

He squeezes tighter not giving you any other option. Your heart was pounding wilding in your ribcage with a mixture of lack of oxygen and fear.

“Armin im—cant breath pleas—I cant—“

If you could see his face you’d know just how unhinged he truly looked. “Not until you hear me out, I’ll let you pass out if I have to.”

Black spots were starting to cloud your eyesight and in pure desperation, you managed to croak “ok…talk.”

Armin lets you drop just barely managing to catch you before you fell. You were beyond dizzy and while you struggled to catch your breath Armin lifts you into his arms and robs your back in an attempt at being soothing.

“It's ok my love breathe we can work through this together.”

Weakly pushing at his shoulders you try to get out of his arms but can't. Your energy felt strangely zapped and you quickly give up on trying to get him off of you. With all the fight drained out of you all that was left was how hurt you truly felt.

You couldn’t believe that this was the boy you loved. That he could manage to rip your heart out in such a way.

“I hate you so much, why would you do that to me?”

Dropping your head onto his shoulder all you could do was cry while Armin took you back to his room.

“You don’t really hate me; you’re just upset right now, it's ok we’ll work it out.”

While you two had your scene down the hall Annie had been putting her clothes on at the behest of Jean who was still bright red from embarrassment. He hadn’t expected you to be able to basically fling him down the hall considering the huge height gap.

Did he kind of deserve it? Yes. Would he admit it? No.

The blonde girl after dressing herself quite literally refused to leave as now she had a bone to pick with Armin.

When he comes down the hall Annie felt a shiver roll down her spine. Something about him was fundamentally—wrong.

He wasn’t looking at her with those sparkly eyes anymore and if she knew any better she’d see that he looked downright disgusted with her.

Ignoring him she immediately sets her sights on you “(Y/N) I swear I didn’t—”

Armin cuts her off “Please leave she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

Annie blinks back in shock not expecting Armin to interject so rudely “Im not talking to you—I know it doesn’t fix anything but I’m really sorry.”

You don't even turn your head to address her eyes shut firmly and pressed into Armin’s shoulder “Are you really?”

“W-what?”

You weren’t stupid enough to think she didn't know you two were together—everyone knew you were together. Where one went surely the other followed.

And you really weren’t mad at her…maybe a little bit…but you didn’t blame her. She owed you…nothing.

It was Armin who betrayed you after all.

And now you were crying again.

Annie nearly flinches backwards at the animosity that seemed to pour out of Armin now. He was angry at her like it was solely her fault for your tears.

“We don’t forgive you, do we?”

The use of we is manipulative, strictly there to put you on the spot and to give a false sense of comrades. He wanted you to feel like this was only between you two, like Annie was the enemy.

You knew what he was doing.

When you don’t answer his soothing hands turn slightly violent on your skin, you knew his grip would leave dark bruises in the morning. To everyone else it looked like he simply adjusted his grip but you knew better.

Armins voice is tight and threatening “Do we, (Y/N)?”

Annie watches confused as you practically lock up and then shake your head slowly. She couldn’t explain it but all of a sudden she was very deeply afraid. Her stomach turned with an unknown sickness and finally listening to her instincts gets the hell out of there, but not before spitting out;

“You’re fucking weird!’

Armin hums somewhere back in his throat and takes you into his room without speaking a word to Jean or Connie all his attention seemingly attached to you. In reality, he was thinking of every way you’d try to break up in the coming days and every way he could stop that from happening.

“Its ok baby we’ll get through this together, it’ll be like it never happened, like she never existed.”

You somehow felt like he had a double meaning there, a sinister one. It's emphasized by the way Armin tilts your head back forcing eye contact. He’s cradling your face like you're the most precious thing ever; he’s beautiful like this, so soft and doting. 

But Lucifer was also beautiful.

“ You want to forget about her right? All you have to do is tell me so and she’s gone for good.”

He runs a thumb over your lip sending a tingle down your spine. He seemed almost mesmerized by your mouth. Like he wanted to devour you from the inside out.

You don't know why you were allowing him so much of you at the moment. You should be disgusted by his hands roaming your body so quickly but you felt strangely, relieved?

“Armin...”

He surges forward before you can get the thought out and latches his lips to yours. He invaded every one of your senses forcing you to feel nothing but him, like the true dictator he was.

It was messing with your head.

As much as you didn't want to admit it Armin was the air in your lungs, you couldn't breathe without him, and you couldn't sleep. It was sick but it was true. You'd been together for year's, he was the only solid thing to ever grace your life.

But, he finally hurt you.

Even in this moment, where your guard was considerably lower; the betrayal still felt almost like a fever. Like something you could never be prepared enough for. It felt like he’d personally carved out your heart. 

And as greedy as he was; here he was once again demanding it.

That was something you would not be able to live through a second time.

Pulling away you put a hand on his face to stop him from chasing your lips “If you do that. If you hurt me like that again...I’m really leaving, I promise you.”

And you were serious.

Your heart wasn’t fragile by no means but who wanted to be cheated on? You’d already look dumb taking him back now and if it were to ever happen again you couldn’t bare the shame that would bring.

“You would leave me?”

Armin’s stare is cold and calculated. A look you only ever saw when you'd made him unreasonably angry. It was rare but familiar.

You nod without fear “without a word.”

“Leave me?” Armin laughs under his breathe and that look is in his eyes again as he forces your back into the bed. He makes a show of climbing over you; imposing his body weight onto yours, stealing the few bits of oxygen he so graciously gifted you. “That’s funny that you think you even have a choice.”

“Try to leave me if you want, you'll hate every moment of it. I'm welded into your bones you cant tell where I end and you start and you want to leave me?” he laughs again truly amused at your boldness while his hands explore your body is warm waves.

“You’re mine forever do you understand? I own every inch of this body. Death couldn’t even keep me from you.”

You stare at him incredulously, almost wanting to feel shocked at his declaration “Armin I’m serious.”

“So am I,” He forces your legs open and makes himself comfortable between them “You may not realize it yet but you need me. You need me so much it hurts but its ok i’ll make sure you never forget.”

And he did.

And just like he told you, every waking moment afterward was spent pressed to his side. You truly didn't know where one began and the other ended. You didn't even have time for anyone but him nowadays so that was ok too.

Armin was all you needed right?

You were his and his alone after all.

[noelle-holi-gay]

Good day Hazel! Just wanted to ask ya how on earth are you so consistent in writing? Whats your process like? I know you for Dare To Dream and im honestly fuckn impressed how you wrote 25k in... a month? I could barely manage 11k in two months! Admittedly I havent read a bunch of your other Suselle and Kriselle fics, but I'm still impressed how consistent you are, even with the recent concert one I'm surpised how fast you were.

Life kinda gets in the way sometimes, I haven't written in like 7 months because I've been absolutely hammered out with irl happenings, and I wanna know how you manage your schedule and momentum when writing.

Hey! Sorry I didn't answer this sooner, the past few days have been actually insane as I'm sure you can guess KDSJHGFSDHFGSDF

So, I don't know, this is kind of always a hard question to answer because process is always so personal, you know? But I do have a few tricks I use to make it as painless as possible, so that when I sit down to write I actually get words on the page. First, though, don't knock your pace, friend; 11K in two months isn't bad at all. Sometimes you can do a lot more with a lot less, anyway.

Primarily, I have outlines, and I outline constantly in my head. I don't always write down my outlines explicitly, but I think about my stories allll the time when I'm walking places, in the bathroom/shower, doing chores--whatever occupies my body and not my mind, I'm usually thinking about my stories. Sometimes down to the details; I've blocked out entire conversations between characters in my head before while in the shower or something, including which versions of 'said' i use for which lines and where I cut the dialog with actions, and all that shit. If you've already got it in your head, then when you have free time to actually write, it often just dumps out of you onto the page.

If I don't have a really strong idea for a scene already loaded, though, it can be a bit harder to jump that first sentence hurdle; but it gets a lot easier over time. I have had to start so so many scenes over the years that at this point I just run through a bunch of different potential starts--starting with fast-paced action, starting with dialog, starting with a character's internal thoughts, starting with a description of the setting, starting with sensory imagery that the POV character is feeling--and then find one that works and write it down before I can second-guess myself, just so I can get over that initial hump. It becomes quicker and quicker with practice. And once I break that hump, the rest of the scene usually flows pretty easily.

If I'm REALLY struggling with how a scene should go, thuogh, that usually means there's something missing from it structurally--its too boring, or its too convoluted, or something like that. In that case, I'll really think about what I'm trying to accomplish with the scene, what the best way to get there is, and if there's any sub-conflict I can leverage within the scene to chug it along. Oftentimes in scenes, you want there to be two parallel 'conflicts' happening that can bounce of of one another (though I use 'conflict' pretty loosely here). For example, maybe Kris and Noelle are having an emotional conversation about their childhood; but at the same time, maybe they're walking down the street. The 'walking down the street' part may sound horribly insignificant, but keeping things in motion like that is very useful for breaking up the conversation: maybe Noelle looks away to admire the scenery before going on, or Kris trips after hearing something particularly unexpected, or they both stop walking for a minute, even though they're going to be late for class, because they've realized this is more important--the secondary 'conflict' in the scene gives you something to bounce the primary conflict off of. If I'm having a lot of trouble getting invested in a scene, in my experience, it's usually because I need to give it a secondary conflict.

From a logistic standpoint, too, a lot of my productivity literally just comes from having google docs on my phone, because if I'm in like for two minutes at the grocery store, well, that's two minutes of writing I can accomplish. The little things add up, especially since I don't bring my computer everywhere -- if I were limited to just writing on my computer instead of when im walking places, eating lunch, running errands, etc, my fics would never ever get done. It's at least 30-40% of my writing time these days.

Hope some of that was helpful and/or interesting! Hope you have a good one.

[shushiyuii]

Naga tommy pranking his family (who didn’t know he was a nags) with safe noms because he was hungry and completely forgot they didn’t know about him or safe noms, they think some random snake just came and ate them.

I FRIGGING DID IT, I MAY NOT HAVE WIFI BUT I DID IT. Well i may may not have gotten a bit angsty with this one buttt here it is!

Warnings: Vore, Unwilling prey, Angst ( ;3 just read it trust me)

Words: 1.9K+

He slithered throughout the forest, climbing through the trees and branches. Trying to find whatever prey he could as he was starving, it wasn’t an easy task to satisfy a naga’s stomach. Nor was it a simple task.

That was the thing he hated about being a naga, so many struggles such as hiding the fact you were a naga from your family! Which may not have been a smart task, but then again many people were scared of nagas so he’d prefer to keep his secret hidden.

But the thing is, he was absolutely starving and did not want to take whatever food his family had as they were struggling to get food from the recent shortage of food out in the wild, hence why he was struggling himself.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t eaten, he had breakfast with his family but with Naga’s they require a lot more maintenance than other creatures, requiring a lot more food than humans.

He had no idea how he had gotten away with it for so long, he kept up this secret for so long now, years. And not once had he slipped up, his family always thought he was out adventuring out in the forest and by the end of the day would hide his naga features to be found by either Phil, Techno or usually Wilbur.

When he was younger, his mom had raised him for a period, but one day got found by humans. So his mother, took him away to safety and told him this, “Hide from any humans, if you see any. Run.”. That was the last thing she had ever said to him, and he never forgot it.

After that he learnt to be independent and wild with instinct, since it was really the only way he knew to survive. And grew to hate humans.

That was all until he was found by Wilbur. One day who was singing by the roots of a tree, singing a tune when Tommy had spotted him.

He didn’t like the sight of a human but was entranced by the music the human was playing. So, he approached the human and hid his naga like features.

Wilbur looked over when he heard the shuffling of the bushes and saw a little runt boy, “Oh god. What’s a little guy like you doing in the forest?”. Wilbur came closer to help Tommy but he hissed and bit Wilbur, who surprisingly didn’t seem to mind.

“You’re a little odd ball, aren’t you? Don’t worry I’m not gonna hurt you! What’s your name?”.

“T-Tommy.”, “Nice to meet you Tommy, I’m Wilbur!”. Wilbur then took him home, gave him food and was accepted into the family, where he learnt human customs and went out to the forest to let out his wild instincts and couldn’t have it any better than that.

But now, he was starving, and he had no idea how he was going to keep charge of his instincts in check, because who knew what could happen when he lost control.

He remembered when he was younger, he kept conscious through the entire thing but, he didn’t know what would happen now, especially since it’s been years since that time.

But he could barely stop himself from snapping his head towards a slightly moving bush and pouncing on it. That was until he heard voices from a distance, yelling his name. What? What was his family doing here at this time?

He slithered through more trees, quickly seeing his family wondering the forest. “Tommy! Where are you?”, “Where is he?”, “No idea, hope we find him soon”.

Unfortunately for him, he felt his body begin to slowly slither down the tree and couldn’t stop it, Fuck. No. No. No. No.

This couldn’t be happening, he couldn’t, not now, not to his family. Please.

Soon he got to the ground, slithering on the floor just like a snake would, when he turned into a naga he was fairly a lot taller than his family. Which meant a scenario he did not wish to think of.

The family strolled throughout the forest for a while, looking for any sign of their missing relative, “Do you think he head home already?”, “Nah, way too early. He’s always out at this time.”. Techno turned his head as he heard rustle of a bush.

Wilbur turned along side Techno, “Tommy? Is that you?”. He asked, and he question was answered when Tommy pounced out of the bush and onto Wilbur, he wrapped his coils around Wilbur and tightened. Wilbur screamed in fear, which Tommy did not like as it hurt his sensitive ears.

“T-Tommy?!”, he yelped out as Tommy tightened his coils further, he answered with a hiss as he loomed more over Wilbur, “Tommy, mate?” He heard from behind him, Phil, his dad. Who he wanted so badly to hug in his coils and cry but he was way too focused on the prey in his coils, he doubt he could caught the looks of fear from either his and Techno’s faces.

Wilbur looked to Tommy with tears forming in his eyes, who looked to be so tight in his coils, he hated the sight. He never wanted to hurt them. He wanted to comfort Wilbur, let him know it would be okay, but the fact was that he was scared himself.

Techno seemed to snap back into reality as he ran towards Tommy and began to try and pry him off of Wilbur, but much to their dismay. Tommy striked at Techno, who luckily dodged but it didn’t help the face that he almost just bit his brother.

Unfortunately, that’s when he made his move and unhinged his jaw. That was when he placed Wilbur into his mouth, he licked at Wilbur, he hated to admit it, but he loved the taste, it was of a nice cinnamon.

He was terrified when he tilted his head upwards and swallowed. He didn’t want this; he didn’t want to swallow. He tried to take control of himself, but his hunger drove him mad, he could only rely on his animal instincts, not his humanity.

Soon, Wilbur went down his throat and into his secondary stomach. He hated the feeling, usually he’d enjoy it, but it felt so horrible when it was his brother. When he felt Wilbur tucked away his head turned to Phil, who looked horrified with tears in his eyes.

“Tommy, mate. Please. I know you don’t want to do this”. He slowly slithered closer to Phil, Techno following behind. He knew Techno was familiar with snake like behaviour and if he were to make a sudden movement, he’d strike.

He pounced again, coiling tightly around his father, he could feel Wilbur squirm and cry as he did, they were all scared. And just like Wilbur, Phil was swallowed down to join him. Phil was strong and gave a small fight, but it wouldn’t be like the next person.

His head snapped to Techno, his eyes dilated even more. He was going to get a hunt and he was excited about it, but on the inside; he feared what was to come.

Techno ran to get distance, and Tommy followed. He felt his body move slower than it usually would when actually hunting, he was playing with Techno, and he hated it.

Soon enough, he got bored of this game and scared the fuck out of Techno by pouncing on him and coiling tightly. He had never seen Techno so scared. He squirmed in the coils, Tommy struggling to get a good grip, having to tighten his coils so much. He hated how Techno looked as if he could barely breathe.

He loomed over Techno, he wanted so badly to say “I’m sorry” but his mouth wouldn’t move. He couldn’t say goodbye, the last thing he would see of his family was their terrified faces as he swallowed them whole. And then he’d be lonely again.

He felt Techno give a fight as he landed in the first stomach. Afterwards, he slithered under the shade of a tree, feeling his family cry and squirmed. He hated it. But he couldn’t control as he fell asleep, both physically and mentally tired…

…

He woke up, he didn’t feel anymore movements, he didn’t even want to move. He knew what had happened. He had no motivation to eat nor to live, he hated what he had done.

He coiled in on himself slightly, letting out soft sobs which soon turned into full on crying.

…

But his cries stopped as he felt soft movements, rubbing from his second stomach. He shot up, putting a hand to where his secondary stomach was on his tail, “Wilbur?! Dad?!”. There was hope in his voice, and he heard a voice, Wilbur’s. “Toms?”. The voice sounded tired, but no weak.

He hadn’t digested then, he felt the weight from the three of them, it hadn’t changed, they were fine, they were safe, tucked in.

“Oh shit, oh fuck. Are you guys, okay?!”. “Me and dad are fine, just tired.”, he poked at Techno, who groaned. He seemed to be sleeping. “Techno’s sleeping”. He snorted, finally able to have laughed after what had happened. “Typical Techno”, Phil laughed.

Soon there was silence, but not really a bad one as Tommy rubbed his stomach soothingly, hoping to comfort his family, “Toms?” Phil asked. “Yeah Dad?”, he answered. “How come you never told us you were a naga?...”, “I didn’t want to scare any of you”, he huffed, “But look what that lead us to”.

“What happened exactly?”, Wilbur asked , wondering what had happened throughout this whole thing, “Basically as a naga, I need to eat a lot more than you do. I need more food, hence why I go to the forest”.

“And because of the lack of food, you were struggling right?” Added Phil, “Yeah, I lost control. I didn’t mean to scare you guys like that I swear”, he rubbed more at his stomach in an anxious manner. “It’s okay Toms, we kinda just held on. Because we knew it was you and well, in reality you wouldn’t hurt us”.

They were probably right on that part, even with nagas, they were still a family kind of species. Even if they swallowed family, they’d be safe. He saw those three as his family, they were safe.

Tommy felt rubs come from the inside of his stomach, so he stopped himself and leaned, finally getting the comfort he wanted from his family. After a while he asked, “Do you guys wanna come out?”.

Wilbur snorted, “As much as it is warm and comfy in here, it’s tight so, yes please.”. And then he proceeded to let the family out of his stomach, even Techno who was now awake. They all stared at Tommy as he was now in his naga form, they couldn’t really get a good look at it for a while.

He was scared for a minute when he saw Phil’s smile and reached his hands out to his son, his face barely fitting in Phil’s arms, but he managed to give Tommy a kiss on the forehead, which his hair was then ruffled by Wilbur, and got a playful punch from Techno.

The four of them laid there then, Tommy’s head on Phil’s lap as he played with his hair and Techno and Wilbur using him as a jungle gym, he found it offensively funny. He loved his family.

[dameronology]

everything i need {mando x reader}

summary: din has to rethink his life plans how that you’re by side - not that he’s complaining {i do have a taglist but it’s 1am and i simply cannot be arsed to find it, please accept my not very sincere and very tired apologies}

warnings: much language 

enjoy!! sorry for the lack of imagines lately, i’m back at work and working as a director on two of my group projects so i am neck deep in covid-related paperwork. 

- jazz

p.s this has not been proofread, because i am just that shit 

Din Djarin had never needed a reason to find a home. Settling down permanently wasn’t an option in his line of work. Permanence had never been part of his plan. 

Then again, a lot of things hadn’t been part of his plan. The Child certainly hadn’t; if you’d told him five years ago that his firstborn son was going to look like...well, like that, he probably would have drop kicked you into the next rim. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t imagine his life without the kid now, or that he would rain hell on anyone who would dare lay a finger on the toad-like toddler. His life had gone in a direction he never could have anticipated and his son wasn’t even the biggest detour. That was you. Din wasn’t even entirely sure where you’d come from or when you’d come into his life, but he would have first surrendered his ship and everything on it before even considering the notion of living without you. Whether it was simply luck, or whether there was some higher power who finally decided to give him a fucking break, The Mandalorian had a family. He was no longer a lone gunslinger with nothing to lose; now, he had everything to lose.

The fear that came with his newfound vulnerability was a small price to pay, however. In the quieter moments - when it was just you and him and the kid - he had no question in his mind that everything was worth it. Every fright, every concern, every agonising moment that Din spent overthinking and calculating a million and one ways to keep you both safe was completely and irretrievably worthwhile. It was a little unconventional but a family was a family. A clan of three. 

You didn’t often get to take breaks. They came every few months, usually whenever Din needed had had a particularly had job. You’d found your place halfway between helping him kick-ass and babysitting the Child (who at this point, was essentially your son too). It meant that days you were running across rooftops in Nevarro with a blaster in hand, and others you were running around after your kid, holding a diaper rather than a gun. The duality was astounding.

The last few weeks had been a little hard. There had been one bounty who had been relentless, and another who had tried to take a hit at you. It hadn’t taken long for you to put the bastard in his place but the Mandalorian had taken it a little more personally than you. Before throwing him into the carbonite, Din had broken a little more than six of the target’s ribs and given him a nice shiner on his left eye. He never minded when he was the one who had a punch or two thrown at him but when it was you? Din never took to it lightly. 

Once both bounties had been sent to their respective clients and you’d collected your rewards, Din had set the Crest’s path towards a jungle planet. It was one he had frequented a few years ago - before you, before the kid - and whilst it was a little desolate, it was safe. It was away from any Imps, any potential danger. It meant that you could both let your guards down for a bit and put your feet up. Plus, the Child had been dealing with cabin fever for the better part of two weeks and you were convinced you were going to lose it if you didn’t get the little fucker to some open space soon. Preferably one with lots of frogs, because he was not taking well to the freeze-dried food that you’d been fobbing him with him for the last few months. 

You were laying in an open field, weight propped up on your elbows as you glanced out into the grass over your sunglasses. Din was making his way back towards you, trudging through the long blades; the low evening sun was bouncing off the beskar of his helmet, causing you to scrunch your face up. You could tell from the way he was talking that he was exhausted. He’d been on kid duty all day (it was your turn tomorrow) and somehow, that was more tiring that any bounty. 

‘Where is he-’

Your question was answered before you could even finish it; the little creature suddenly appeared through the grass, hitting your shin with a thump. Digging his claws into your jeans, he scrambled up onto your legs, plopping into your lap and leaning against your stomach. He peered up at you with big brown eyes for a second, before twisting back around to rest his head against your chest for a nap. There went your evening plans.

‘Did he eat anything?’ You raised your arm out to Din, signalling for him to sit next to you.

Aside from his helmet, he had shed the rest of his armour. The material of the undershirt he was wearing was soft against your skin as you leant into his side, letting it a small hmph as you did. He instinctively wrapped his arm your waist - because even on a safe planet, Din was naturally protective - and pulled you closer, using his free hand to run a finger over the kid’s wrinkly head. 

‘I saw him swallow a frog whole.’ His modulated voice replied. ‘It’s still disturbing.’

‘Not as disturbing as when he ate the fish whole.’ You grimaced, glancing up at him. ‘The thing was bigger than him and he gulped it down. Biologically, it doesn’t work.’

‘Nothing about him makes sense.’ He said. 

‘The only thing that makes sense is that nothing makes sense.’ You joked. ‘But I guess we’ll find out a little bit more when we work out where the hell he actually came from.’

It was a subject you didn’t approach too much. You knew that one day, you’d have to hand him back over to his own species; it was all well and good to look after him when he was still small, but you had no idea what he was going to grow to be. Finding his home planet had sort of been a secondary quest for you and Din, between bounties. Given how slow the little bastard aged, time wasn’t too much of a concern. Knowing where to start was the problem.

‘I wish we could keep him forever.’ You quietly murmured. 

‘Me too, cya’rika.’ Din gave your shoulders a light squeeze. ‘But we have to do what’s right for him.’

‘I know.’ You nodded. ‘What do you think we’ll do after we’ve found his home? His species?’

It wasn’t something that Din had given much thought. He was so used to planning everything in the moment - hours ahead, at most. He hadn’t thought in terms of days, let alone weeks or years. It made sense to, because you weren’t going anywhere. He had an opportunity to have a life outside of being a bounty hunter; you’d shown him that much. He’d found a home with you - a sense of contentment and belonging - but in a physical sense, he’d never thought about settling on a planet. When he was younger, the idea of having his own children and his own clan had played on his mind, but it had faded as the years went by. Maybe it was time to revisit the idea.

‘We could get married.’ Din quietly suggested. ‘Start a clan of our own. Something permanent.’

‘I didn’t realise that the word permanent was in your vocabulary.’ You replied. 

‘It wasn’t. Not before you.’ He said. ‘There was a lot of things I never thought about before you.’

‘A clan?’ You intertwined your fingers with his, giving his hand a light squeeze. ‘In a few years, absolutely - but I am not doing it on that pile of junk.’

‘That pile of junk got us here.’

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head - but there was a smile on your face. ‘We don’t have to think about it now. One step at a time.’

There was silence for a minute, as you both pondered to yourselves. In the same way you hadn’t been part of Din’s plan, he hadn’t really been part of yours. When you’d met him, you’d never expected to fall in love with him. You couldn’t see his face, or his emotions or his feelings - but after a while, you saw him. It was though you had seen straight through the armour and right into his very soul without either of you trying. You were first person to see him as Din, and not as the Mandalorian. You understood his humanity, and the fact he wasn’t always a warrior; it meant he could let his walls down around you, and seek support and solace in a way he’d always thought to be terrifying. And it was, at first, but now it felt natural and healthy. He had you and you had him. Nothing else mattered.

‘I’ll go wherever you go.’ Din broke the quiet, eyes falling down to where the child lay in your lap.

‘You’d do that for me?’ You rested a hand on the side of his helmet; it was cold against your skin, but the gesture was there. ‘You’d give us all this up for me?’

‘I’m not giving anything up.’ He replied. ‘When I have you, I have everything I need.’

Din had always been blunt and straight to the point: sometimes it was a blessing, sometimes it was a curse. Right now, it was completely and entirely a virtue. It meant that you didn’t have to second guess his feelings for you, or worry about him leaving you. Everything he said to you was a promise. Talks of your future were mutuals goals, things to look forward to together. 

‘I love you.’ You pressed a kiss to the edge of his helmet. 

‘I love you too.’ Din replied. 

‘So let’s retire right now and get a moisture farm on Tatooine-’

‘- don’t push it.’ 

[cockroachmotherfucker10]

PRIDEFALL UPDATE: real or fake?

What is Pridefall?

Operation Pridefall, also known as Project Pridefall or simply Pridefall, refers to an attack planned by /pol/ (a political discussion board on the anonymous website 4chan) for all of June, AKA Pride month. The original 4chan thread, which has since been deleted, was primarily focused on “redpilling,” i.e. spreading queerphobic propaganda to make people question the LGBTQ+ community. However, now that it has spread outside 4chan, there are threats of harassing, doxxing, and outing queer people (especially minors) on social media, spamming gore and rape videos in private messages and Pride tags, and even kidnapping, assaulting, or killing queer people in real life.

Specific targets include Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and dating apps. The goal is to go after smaller accounts so the queerphobia isn’t lost in the comments.

Is Pridefall real?

Yes and no.

I searched “pridefall” on 4chan last night. Apparently any new threads on it are being deleted, and anytime someone mentions it, everyone calls them slurs and says no one is doing it.

However, Pridefall is gaining some traction on Instagram--I have seen it for myself. I don’t have TikTok or any dating apps, but I’ve heard that some people are spamming homophobia on TikTok. As for Twitter, I only looked briefly, but I saw some Pridefall accounts there, as well as a lot of warnings and blocklists from people who are worried about it.

I’ve also heard that there have been a few Reddit and Discord raids, and that there is an Operation Pridefall Discord server (someone who spied on them says they have been banned on Discord as well as a platform called Riot before, so very few people are left on the Discord server now).

What do you think, Lia?

This is not coming from 4chan. No one on 4chan is interested anymore.

Most likely, people outside of 4chan heard about it and decided to take matters into their own hands.

The original 4chan thread wanted to make Pridefall “normie-palatable” by avoiding Nazi imagery or other overt unpleasantness, but I have seen a LOT of both on Instagram. This reinforces my belief that 4chan isn’t doing this.

A lot of the people behind this are young, or at least unsophisticated. Most of the Pridefall accounts on Instagram engage in very childish trolling, and one of them said they were a minor. Some of the threats I’ve seen are so outlandish that I can only imagine they came from a fairly young person.

My guess? Most of these people are around 13-19.

There are also very few of them and some of them probably have multiple accounts. Anti-Pridefall accounts outnumber them by far.

However, on Instagram I’ve seen Pridefall accounts following each other and commenting on each other’s posts, so there may be a few groups working together.

A lot of this shit is going to get deleted. I know Instagram is working through reports very slowly right now because they have fewer people available due to COVID-19, but most of the worst accounts I saw last night were deleted by this morning. I saw some more accounts deleted today.

Most, if not all, of these Pridefallers are just trying to scare us. Because they’re probably quite young, there’s very few of them, their accounts keep getting deleted, and law enforcement can track online activity, there is no way they have the balls or resources needed to coordinate major attacks.

There is a very, very slight chance this could spill over into real life, but as long as you practice basic online safety, you will be fine.

That being said, if you are threatened or doxxed by a Pridefall account, PLEASE contact the police. Better safe than sorry.

I do think that the threat of being doxxed or outed is more real than the threat of being attacked. I have already seen one Pridefall account who posted a trans boy’s address on Instagram (he is okay, he posted recently) and another who posted someone else’s address.

There is little chance this will last throughout Pride month. Apparently the goal is for Pridefall to worsen until the end of June, but given that this is most likely just some vastly outnumbered teenage trolls who are bored in quarantine, I seriously doubt they’ll be able to stay interested for a whole month.

This might not be as big on Tumblr. Tumblr is a lot more anonymous than, say, Instagram, which will hopefully deter would-be doxxers. It’s also known to be a highly liberal and queer-friendly site, so any Pridefaller with half a brain cell should know that A) their content is sure to be outnumbered and reported (only us Tumblr users know how bad staff is at deleting questionable stuff), and B) anyone with the original goal of “redpilling” is sure to fail here. Plus, I only remember seeing few, if any, mentions of Tumblr on Pridefall planning threads.

Still, expect to see some Pridefall activity here. Unsurprisingly, not all of these Pridefallers have half a brain cell. Some of them will definitely be unable to resist the lure of a community as openly queer as Tumblr, and we’ve all seen or heard about doxxing, harassment, gore, Nazis, and queerphobes on here. Also, 4chan has historically had some beef with Tumblr, so young teenage boys who idolize 4chan may target us for that reason.

How can I stay safe?

If you have any social media accounts where you A) have posted identifying personal information, and B) are openly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community (especially if you’re queer yourself), put them on private for June. Any other accounts are probably fine to stay public.

If you need a private Tumblr, you can make a password-protected secondary account and only share the password with mutuals you trust.

It is probably okay to be openly queer on a private account (e.g. have pronouns/rainbow emojis in your Instagram bio), since a private account is not likely to be doxxed. But if you want to be extra careful, remove queer identifiers from anything that is publicly visible.

Use Pridefall blocklists. They’re all over Instagram and Twitter. I may repost some here.

Report any Pridefall accounts you see. This is VERY important because this is how we can actually get rid of Pridefall content.

DON’T RESPOND TO ANY PRIDEFALLERS WHO PERSONALLY INTERACT WITH YOU. I know it’s tempting to give a snarky reply, but if they message you, comment on your post, etc, just block them. Seriously, don’t feed the trolls. It's exactly what they want.

Make sure your password game is strong. Use a different password for every site (I know, I know, it sucks), and use passwordmeter.com to test their strength. Write them all down on a piece of paper.

Make sure your username game is strong. Don’t use the same username for multiple sites, and avoid putting personal information in your username, such as your name or birthday.

Do NOT open random links!! Pridefallers could message you links that will give you viruses or track your IP address.

Don’t accept DMs or follows from people you don’t know. Pridefall accounts don’t always look like Pridefall accounts. Some of them are undercover.

Use a VPN. This is probably a little overkill unless you’re particularly at risk of being doxxed, but it will hide your IP address.

Be careful who you interact with. A lot of queer people on Instagram are DMing Pridefall accounts or commenting on their posts, but this could make you a target. As helpful as anti-Pridefall accounts are, you might even be targeted for following those.

Be wary of Pride tags. Unfortunately, a lot of Pridefall accounts plan to infiltrate tags commonly used by queer creators during Pride month. Use discretion when looking for queer content.

Be safe IRL. Lock your doors, lock your windows, be aware of your surroundings, don’t walk alone in poorly lit places, know basic self-defense, etc. Again, I absolutely do not think people will be attacked in real life, but you should be doing this shit all the time, not just in June. Thanks to COVID-19, you’re safer inside anyway!!

Make yourself hard to dox. Even though I have a very unusual first name (it's not really Lia), I am extremely hard to find online. I just went into an incognito browser window and searched my first and last name in quotation marks, but I didn’t find myself until page 4 of Google (and that result wasn’t even posted by me). I’m only half as careful as I could be, but here’s some of the things I do:

-I never use a picture of myself as my profile pic, except for Facebook and Instagram, which are both on the highest privacy settings possible.

-If I post identifying information on a public account (my college, my age, etc), I use a pseudonym or my first name only.

-On Instagram, I only use my first name, and I used special characters to type it, so you won’t find me if you search my name.

-On Facebook, I only accept friend requests from people I know. Most, if not all, of my Instagram followers are IRL friends, friends of IRL friends, and trusted Internet friends.

-If I’m really being paranoid, I’ll make a brand-new email account to sign up for a site. That way, my accounts aren’t all linked through one email address.

-Before I post a picture online, I delete the EXIF data with verexif.com, since EXIF data can hold GPS coordinates.

🌈 Stay safe, everyone.

You will not be harmed. You will be okay. Like cockroaches, we are survivors, and we will get through this!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

-Mod Lia

[sparetimeimagines]

Patience

Tsukishima Kei x Reader

Part 2 of Habits

Tags; soft core, smut, fluff, Soft Tsuki

Masterlist

“Go home, Tsukishima.”

It had been weeks since you’ve seen him.

No text messages.

No phone calls.

Nothing.

You felt yourself being played.

He finally got what he wanted, for you to confess to him once again that he was right.

Condescending asshole.

Why does this keep happening to me? You thought as though this time around things were supposed to change.

However, this time it felt different. This time, you felt him picking at the stitches he swore he wasn’t going to play with.

And now you feel stupid.

You feel stupid for driving all the way up there at two in the morning.

You feel stupid for believing he meant what he said and falling for every word of it.

“I broke my phone. I swear. I swear I wasn’t blowing you off. I had exams and my phone was broken. I didn’t have time to come down and see you. I promise you I wasn’t going to fuck this up again. God, you have to believe me.”

“Go home, Tsukishima.”

“No. Not until you let me explain.”

He shows up with flowers and you slam the door in his face.

“Baby, please.” You hear him through the door. “Open up.”

“No fuck you, Tsukishima.”

“Don’t be like that, Y/n.”

He had to manipulate you. You thought as long as you cut off everyone else, everything would work out right.

Some fool you are.

He can’t stay out there for long. Eventually he’ll have to go away, go home and leave you alone.

You open the door hours later to walk your dog; the same one he bought you for your birthday a year ago.

“I figured you’d still be here.” Unamused, you stare at the blond who waits with his elbows resting on his knees.

“Just let me explain.”

You sigh, letting him tag along.

“You can walk with us. She needs to go out.”

“What about the flowers?”

“Hold them. Toss them. I don’t care.”

He holds them the entire walk, them wilting in the process.

“She’s gotten big.”

“Yep.”

“I can’t believe you still have her.” He watches the fluffy black dog sniff around a tree.

“Her dad fucked up. Not her.”

“I know.” He frowns pushing his glasses up by the bridge. “I’m doing that a lot lately.”

You pay attention to him from the corner of your eye with nothing to counter him with, so you remain silent.

“You should have called.” Ten minutes have passed and he’s like a kid waiting to be lectured; quiet and focusing on anything to keep his attention. In this case, it’s the rocks he kicks from under his shoe.

“How could I have called if I didn’t know your number?”

“Find a way!” Your outburst catches you by surprise as you turn to him. “You could have found a way.” You turn away from him hiding your face. You didn’t mean to get emotional. It was supposed be quiet.

“Y/n.” He sighs, the tips of his ears growing red. “I had no way of getting to you. It was finals. What was I supposed to do?”

You had no intentions of letting him know how badly he hurt you.

You thought better of him.

You thought he knew that.

“I don’t know. You could have tried.” You sniffle trying to hold back tears, looking at the sky.

Are you crying because you’re sensitive? Are your feelings hurt? Are you upset with him? Why now? Why not earlier when he was locked outside of your apartment.

“I did try.”

“How?”

You turn to him with a stray falling from your eye. “I trusted you, Kei. You made me feel safe. Then you tarnished that.”

You focus on his face, red like yours.

“Do you know how that made me feel, Tsuki? Of course not. Because you only think about yourself.”

You point your finger at him, he remaining silent. Simultaneously, the four legged creature decided to run after a squirrel. The leash splits from your hand and instantly Kei starts chasing her.

You follow after them, he much faster than you. Following the duo on unstable ground, you step in a dip rolling your ankle.

Beside you, you welcome the bouquet of flowers Tsuki dropped chasing after your dog.

Minutes later he comes back with your dog on the leash and you sitting on the ground with an ankle starting to bruise.

“You’ve always been clumsy.” He chuckles looking over your ankle. “Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t walk on it. Here let me help you.” He extends his hand to you but you whisk it away instead.

“I got it, Tsuki.”

You attempt to collect your ground, instantly failing when it came to applying any pressure to your ankle.

“See. Bad liar.” He scoffs.

“Shut up, Tsuki.”

He extends his hand once more, those long fingers wrapping around your wrist. “Just let me help you.”

“Fine. Fine.” You give up. “Don’t you dare drop me.”

He hands you the dog leash, scooping you into his arms.

“You’re making it really hard not to.”

Inside the home, he lays you on the couch letting the dog free.

“I try to make things right and you end up hurting yourself.” He groans giving you the side eye.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Well it’s your fault.”

“Whatever Tsuki. You’re so full of shit.” You roll your eyes throwing an arm over your face.

“Aww she’s sorry.”

You look out from your arm seeing Kei laughing at your pup dropping toys on your stomach.

“Yeah acts just like her dad.” You throw the ball with slight frustration while he watches amused.

He loves her. Always had. She always listened better to him too.

The pup brings her toy to Tsuki this time, begging for someone to play with her. He leaves out of your sight and returns with something frozen wrapped in a towel. He lifts your leg with ease and sets it in his lap.

“Now. Since there was so much to talk about. You know, from you ghosting me after I confessed to you, again, to how you rejected me, again. Explain yourself. And it better be good because I’m hurting really bad right now.”

He presses the cold compress hard against your skin making you jump, hissing in reaction.

“Tsukiiii.... shit.” You hiss throwing your head back.

“Mmm that’s not the first time I heard that.” He smirks watching you. “Besides woman, how many times do I need to explain this to you. I. BROKE. MY. PHONE.” He glares running his hand along your leg. “Take it or leave it. That’s my story.”

You return his glare and sigh.

“I hate you, Tsukishima Kei.” You groan with your eyes sealing shut.

“That’s not what you said last time.” His deadpan eyes were audible.

“Well, I take it back.” You allow your ears to guide you, his touch secondary to your hearing.

“You can’t just that it back.”

“Watch me.” You fold your arms across your chest, not bothering to look at him. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this position right now.”

“So it’s my fault.” He scoffs as you feel his eyes watching you.

“Yes, its your fault.” You sigh scooting closer to him.

“So I see.” He says. “How’s your ankle feeling?”

“I’m hurting so bad right now.”

He lifts the ice pack exposing your purple ankle.

“It’s going to hurt a lot more when you have my kids.”

That caught you off guard. Not that you haven’t mentioned having a family more than once in the time you dated...

“Your kids?” You sit up on your elbows watching him watch you.

It’s just been awhile.

“I’m six feet tall. Did you think they were going to be bite size like you?”

“There’s a chance. Besides, who said I’m still having your kids? Maybe I want someone else’s.”

Tsukishima bursts out laughing. “There’s no one in this world who’s going to put up with you. You’re whiney.”

“And you’re an ass.”

“And yet you sound surprised.”

“I’d kick you right now.” You roll your hips further in the couch, simultaneously closer to Tsuki. “You’re a jerk and I hate you.”

“Again with the catch phrase. News flash. You don’t mean it.” He sighs running a hand over your foot.

“Does that hurt?”

“Yes.”

“How about here?”

“Yes.”

He’s trying to massage your ankle, kisses on it, working up to your core.

“Here?”

“No. Tsuki, what are you doing?”

“Good. I think I should inspect this area a little longer.” He completely ignores your question. “You know, just to be on the safe side.”

His long fingers brush against the edge of your shorts, him receiving a moan as his lips touch your skin.

“Tsuki no, I’m hurting.” You moan, your mouth disagreeing with your body.

“I’ll be gentle.” His voice, soft and reassuring, matches the look in his eyes, those caramel irises rolling to you in a daze. He takes his glasses off placing them on the coffee table nearby. His fingers trace up your leg, delicate gestures along the curve of your body, feeling the tension building from the inside.

Those eyes reconnect with yours, he crawling on top of you with a leg on each side, straddling your waist but it’s obvious he’s holding back. His fingers trace along your jawline, guiding your lips into his.

This toxic, mesmerizing affect he has on you leaves you obedient and purring.

“Will you forgive me?” He hums into your neck leaving soft kisses in trail to your breast where he takes your shirt off.

“I’ve always loved your body.” He runs the back of his hand across your skin. “You’re so beautiful.”

His lips pepper you to your nipples, one hand caressing your skin in circles, the other massaging the free breast.

“Maybe this will distract you some. You know. From the pain.” He moans between the light bites.

The separate hand travels south to your navel, the backside painfully slow until he meets your shorts.

“Is this ok? I’m not hurting you right?” He stops, eyeing you as you exhale with a long relaxed moan. “I just want to make you feel good.”

You nod generously, your eyes closing ready to relax.

He slides your shorts off your hips.

“I never get tired of seeing this.” He moans leaving open mouth kisses on your hip bones. “You’re beautiful.”

His cold fingers trace along the exterior of your lips watching how you react. His hot breath teases your heat as he slides down into his stomach, wrapping an arm around your thigh pulling you closer.

“Mmm Kei.”

“Yeah? Baby girl you like this?”

“You said you were going to be nice.”

“No, no I said gentle. Purr for me.” He smirks exposing his teeth in glee.

“Tsukiii.” You pout arching your hips into him.

“Patience Baby.” He runs his index along your slit. “We have no where to be.”

“Kei, you know I’m impatient.”

“Yes, Baby Girl.” He slides the finger along the outside. “But I also know you’ve been neglected, and I need to fix that.” He spreads your lips. “And I am truly sorry.”

He slides his tongue over your clit, watching your eyes roll back in your head. Your body trembles preparing for him.

He brings the same finger from earlier to your entrance slowly stretching your needy hole.

“Fuck Tsuki.”

“Shhh Shh. Baby Girl.” He counters your long exaggerated moan. “I just want you to feel good.” Kei releases his finger from your core, watching your eyes open in distaste.

“Relax. I’m just tasting you.” Sliding his finger in his mouth, he keeps your eyes locked, sliding it back inside your ravishing flower. “You taste so good.” He moans feeling himself grow hard. “So damn good.”

Pumping your core, he slides a second finger into you adding more tension.

“I love you so much.” He mumbles, his insecurities exposing him.

You smile running your fingers through his curls as he lean in closer, licking your folds.

His left hand finally releases your breast, sliding to your adjacent thigh, barricade himself into your core.

He laps your slit too many times to count, the ecstasy overwhelming you as you buck your hips against his hold.

“Tsuki.” You moan while he pins your hips down.

“Patience Baby. This is all for you.”

“I need you. You have this control over me. And I hate it.” You pant with needy eyes. He stops what he’s doing, pulling out of your lubed heat, leaning over your body.

Chest to chest, nose to nose.

You grab his neck pulling him into you. Your taste on his lips, your tongue attacking his with needy lust.

Your fingers trace his face, cupping a cheek and you moan into his mouth.

“You drive me crazy.”

You break, turning to his neck licking the sweat from his skin.

“Can I have you?” You shutter, your words caught in your throat.

“Baby Girl, you can have whatever you want.” He hums kissing your lips tenderly.

“I want to feel you inside me.”

“Baby... you’re hurt.”

“I just want to feel you. Tsuki please. I want this.” He sighs and sits up.

“Somewhere else. I don’t have enough room on this couch. I’ll hurt you.” He eyes your bedroom door and back to you.

“Please, Kei.” You moan rolling your hips against his clothed bottoms.

He relocates you to the bedroom taking off his shirt. You stop to admire his chiseled body from volleyball, releasing a painful moan, sliding your fingers over your clit.

“Fuck... baby girl that’s my job.” He dives down in between your legs clasping his hands over yours, pinning them to the side, continuing laps from before.

“You feel so good Tsuki.” You moan as he sits up.

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

“You’re saying this like it’s my first time.” You smirk with a giggle.

“Look, Baby Girl. I really don’t want to hurt you. I can get... distracted.”

“I’m fine Kei. I promise you I’ll let you know if it’s too much, ok?”

He leans over your body, kissing your lips, your breast, your core and sits up, losing his bottoms.

“Promise?”

“I promise Kei.” You smile feeling him line up with you.

It was different this time. The lust was different. His touch is sensitive. He runs his hand along your thigh as he presses into you.

“Oh, Baby Girl.” He moans with his head thrown back. “You’re perfect.” You feel your breath hitch inside you with the new found pressure. He leans forward, slowly rolling his hips into yours again. His runs his fingers in your hair as he begins thrusting slowly.

Open mouth kisses, he hears your breath getting caught in your throat.

“Are you ok? Is this fine?” He asks and you nod.

“You’re just big. Give me time.” You adjust your hips and he slows his pace. “No... Kei. Keep going.”

He bottoms inside you scraping your cervix and causing you to gasp.

“Oh my.” You catch yourself and he pulls himself out halfway.

“Are you ok?” He watches your eyes and you nod with an embarrassed giggle.

“Oh my goodness, Kei. Just go. I’m fine.” You laugh frustrated while he smirks.

“Ok ok.” He kisses you and sets a steady tempo.

Are you ready to trust him again? Your heart races in your ears as thousands of things run through your head.

He’s feels amazing.

I want to trust him again.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

But can you trust him?

He leans into your neck leaving kisses too many to count.

“I’ve missed you.” His groan, so low you could have ignored it, sends chills down your spine. Your core tightens and he notices.

The cocky blond leans down and places his lips to yours. His thrusts are clean and he pulls you in. “I don’t ever want to be without you again.” He’s breathy and his body gives under pressure, collapsing as he finishes inside you.

His broad shoulders cover your body while he leaves kisses across your skin to your lips.

“Then don’t leave, Kei.” You bury your head into his chest as he kisses your forehead.

“I’m not going anywhere, Baby Girl.”

Tag List:

@kellyisalone

@girlyluke

Hopefully it’s something you will enjoy ☺️

[lizaloveslevihan]

i have this headcanon where jean tries to get the 104th crew to believe that Levi/Hange are actually in a relationship, but no one believes him. so the group pools in a money bet that jean is wrong, but jean gets lucky and the 104th crew hides in the bushes and sees Levi/Hange quickly kiss each other. then sasha accidentally gasps too loud in shock, the couple hears them, and then Levi comes over and finds out about their bet and takes all their pooled money to treat Hange out on a date lmaooo

Title: The Bet

Ao3 Link: Here

Jean had absolutely enough of it. 

It had been a nice, quiet morning — the perfect way to start his day off. They had worked tirelessly the day before on construction, and so he was more than glad to be able to take some time off and relax with his friends. They were planning on going to town to hang out, and perhaps even stop by at Niccolo’s to get some of his food for lunch, as per Sasha’s request. He had a strong inkling, however, that the food wasn’t Sasha’s only motivation. 

He scoffed at the thought as he made his way down the unusually quiet hall. Those two were ridiculous. It was so obvious that they had feelings for one another, anyone could tell. He and Connie had discussed it multiple times behind her back, and they had even dropped more than enough hints about how Niccolo reciprocated her feelings. But she was stubborn and in denial about the whole ordeal. He couldn’t lie — it really frustrated him to a certain extent — especially since the person you held dear to you actually returned your feelings. Hopefully, he and Connie could finally push them in the right direction sooner than later because they more than deserve to be happy together. 

The halls would have been normally packed at this hour, but the commander, ever so gracious, gave almost everyone a day off so the rest of the soldiers had most likely slept in for the day. He had thought the silence to be a little comforting that morning, but the moment he turned at a corner, he immediately thought otherwise. 

Shit, he thought, already backing up ever so slowly, trying his hardest not to look at the sight in front of him, not again. 

He was lucky the captain had his face buried in Hange-san’s neck, and that the latter had her eyes closed, grumbling protests as she arched her back against the wall, otherwise Jean was a dead man. No, scratch that. He’d be more than a dead man. The captain would personally see to it that Jean would be cleaning the entire HQ with a toothbrush to atone for the embarrassment of being caught. He cringed as the inappropriate noises his two superiors made echoed louder across the empty halls, and he turned back once he reached the corner and all but ran away. 

More than disgust, he felt anger bubble in his stomach as he frustratingly used the longer route to the dining hall. Seeing them once was already too much for his eyes, but this was the seventh damn time. His only consolation was that they did it in the hallway this time around which provided him more space to escape. Nothing would ever top that incident where he caught them doing something much more scandalous in the supply closet. One would think that the captain, being an Ackerman and having all those keen and powerful senses, would notice if someone opened the door and walked in on him doing… things to their highest-ranking officer. But it seemed he was just too distracted in his indulgences . 

God , he couldn’t look at any of them in the eyes for almost a month after that. And the fact that they had met up with different dignitaries the day after and kept such a stoic and professional facade had really gotten to his nerves. 

Jean heaved out a deep sigh as he halted in the middle of the training grounds. The cool air calmed him down a bit as he ran his fingers through his hair in irritation. What was wrong with these people? Really? In the hallways? Where everyone could see you?

He looked up and stared at the horizon. Sure, he was frustrated in seeing his superiors, the people he considered to be his secondary parents, in a completely inappropriate and frankly, disgusting situation. But he was more annoyed at the fact that it was always him who kept walking in on them. He’d told the rest of his friends more than once about the captain and the commander’s affairs, but they never believed him, meaning that they’ve never encountered the unfortunate situation of seeing them together. The only person who was even remotely convinced was Armin, but at least he didn’t find it out the hard way. Lucky bastards. 

At the same time, however, his heart ached. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but there was a tinge of envy that latched itself onto his heart. Niccolo and Sasha, Hange-san and the captain — they were all the same. Jean allowed himself to wonder for a brief moment just how it would be like to have your feelings returned, to be able to hold the person you loved in your arms and kiss them whenever you could. Even in the oddest of places. 

He shook his head and started his journey once more to the dining hall. These were selfish moments he rarely let himself entertain. He thought about her beautiful dark hair, those hardened yet, soft gray eyes, and found himself at peace with the fact that she was happy. Even if it wasn’t with him. Jean let a long breath out. He hoped, at the very least, thoughts of her would be enough to erase the image of his superiors from his mind. 

He hoped. 

-------

“What’s gotten your panties in a twist?”

Jean looked up and glared at Connie who had an eyebrow raised as he forked a piece of fruit and shoved it in his mouth. He didn’t realize he’d been scowling the entire time during breakfast, but it seemed like it couldn’t be helped. So much for not letting that image ruin his mood. Damn it. 

“You idiots wouldn’t believe me if I told you anyway,” Jean huffed as he glanced at everyone else pointedly. The first person he saw was Mikasa, of course, who sat across from Eren. They kept eating their food silently, as usual. Sasha was in the middle of grabbing another chunk of meat while Armin was the only one who seemed genuinely interested in whatever Jean was going to say. His blonde friend paused, looked up at him, and spoke, “Is this about the captain and Hange-san again, Jean?”

This grabbed Sasha and Connie’s attention who immediately stared at Jean with amused expressions. 

“Come on, Jean. We know they’re always together,” Connie stretched out the last word, his mouth full of food as he waved his fork around in front of his face, “but like, together, together? I find that really hard to believe.”

“Plus, the captain? Feelings? Love? ” Sasha scoffed, taking a large bite of the meat in front of her and then resting her arm on Connie’s shoulder, “Doesn’t sound like he’d be the type. He’s always grumpy and Hange-san is the complete opposite. I don’t even know if he’s capable of being someone’s… partner .”

Jean raised an eyebrow at her as he propped up his elbow and rested his chin on his palm, “And what do you know about love and partnerships, huh Sasha?”

Sasha obviously hadn’t been expecting that jab, which then prompted her to start choking on her meat and slamming the table with her fist. 

“Oi! Sasha!” Connie exclaimed, immediately standing up and moving behind her to perform the Heimlich maneuver. After about five seconds, she spat out a large piece of beef which landed right in front of Armin who conveniently sat next to Jean himself. Instead of disgust, Armin just sighed, took his tray, and moved to Jean’s other side. 

“The hell was that, Jeanboi?!” Sasha cried out after chugging down a glass of water. Her face was all red from the near-choking experience, which was a convenient way to hide any blush. Jean, who had stood up out of concern earlier now sat back down as he took in his friend’s question. Connie slapped a hand to his forehead as he moved back to his old position. Eren and Mikasa sat there unmoving as expected. 

“It was a simple question,” Jean said calmly, taking a sip of his water. His friend was annoyingly way too obvious. “Didn’t know you’d be so affected by the whole concept of love .”

Sasha had the absolute audacity to give him a confused look as Connie tried stifling his laughter by putting a hand over his mouth. “It just took me off guard, okay? I don’t know anything about love ,” she argued, her face still flaming hot as she gave Jean a pointed look before going back and shoving more food down her throat. He looked to Connie who rolled his eyes as his lips turned into a smirk, and before Jean was about to straight-up call her out for her obvious feelings towards the Marleyan chef, the large wooden doors of the dining hall opened loudly. 

“Good morning, everyone!” Hange-san’s cheerful voice echoed across the large room. Jean groaned inwardly as he made no move of looking at her and the captain, whom he was pretty sure was next to her if not trailing behind her. He still had yet to get the image of them in the hallway out of his head, and he prayed that they weren’t going to be staying too long. If they were, then he had to start racking his brain for a good excuse to get out of there. 

“Good morning Hange-san,” Armin greeted, a small smile on his lips. Everyone else nodded in recognition as the commander went to stand in front of the end of the long table, a relaxed smile gracing her lips. The captain was instantly by her side, crossing his arms and glancing at everyone with his usual passive expression. However, there was something different with the way he held himself together. His shoulders were more relaxed, his eyebrows weren’t as scrunched up, and he had a faint blush on his cheeks. They were both dressed in their civilian attire and seemed ready to leave. Jean didn’t notice all of these, of course. He kept his head down and continued to silently eat his food. 

“Just wanted to let you guys know that Levi and I will be going out to town today to check on some of the infrastructures,” the commander spoke, both in a friendly and semi-authoritative tone, her brown eyes sparkling slightly with excitement over the innovations they were doing on the island, “I take that all of you will be going out to town as well?”

“Yeah, we’re planning on going around and visiting Niccolo for lunch. Sasha’s missed his food already.” Armin said, a slightly teasing tone on his part. Jean knew that Armin had been on board with the whole “getting Sasha and Niccolo together” agenda. He was even the first person to notice their affections for one another. But he had chastised Jean and Connie for pushing it to happen. He argued that it was much better for them to figure things out themselves which he insisted would happen naturally. Jean and Connie shared some of his sentiments but ultimately got tired of the incessant mutual pining. But then again, Jean thought suddenly, if those two would get together then he would not only have one but twice the chance of finding himself in another unfortunate and disgusting situation. The thought of walking in on Sasha and Niccolo multiplied his feelings of annoyance which made him bring a hand to his face to start massaging his temples. 

“Everything okay, Jean?” Hange asked suddenly, concerned. She maneuvered her way next to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Jean yelped a little before removing his hand from his face and looking up at her. Damn it , he thought, his face heating up, he still couldn’t take that image earlier from his head. It also didn’t help how he started thinking of all the times he had caught her, Uhm, aroused expression. “I’m fine, Hange-san. Just a little headache. Nothing to worry about.”

The commander’s eyebrows scrunched together and Jean couldn’t help but break eye contact and stare at the wall behind her shoulder. He knew how protective Hange-san could be at times. She wasn’t as overbearing as his mother, but he still prayed then and there that she would just accept his response and leave his personal space. 

“Don’t overwork yourself, alright? Or any of you,” she added, looking up and down the row, “It’s your day off. You all did a wonderful job yesterday and deserve to rest. If you want, you can just stay in your room and take a nap or something. Going into town can be tiring and—”

“The brat said he was fine, Hange,” the captain spoke up, his expression unreadable as always as he directed his gaze towards the two, “Stop doting on him. He can take care of himself. I mean, look at how big he’s gotten.”

There was a hint of bitterness at his voice which Hange simply laughed at. She gave Jean’s shoulder a light squeeze before catching his eye and giving him a small smile. Jean nodded and gave her a tight-lipped smile of his own, hoping that it would be enough. Hange searched his eyes for a bit as if making sure he really was okay, before nodding and moving back to the captain’s side. “Don’t stay out too long, alright? We still have a meeting with Zackley tomorrow and I expect everyone to be there.” her face suddenly shifted and became a little stern. 

“Yes, commander,” everyone spoke simultaneously. 

“Come on,” Captain Levi suddenly started walking away without a glance back. Hange scrambled after him as she laughed and shook her head, all the while mumbling something beneath her breath. The moment the door closed behind them, Armin stood up which grabbed everyone’s attention. 

“Jean is right, guys,” he spoke, glancing down at the man, “There’s really something going on with the captain and Hange-san. I may not have seen it but I can tell.”

Connie scoffed as Sasha shook her head. “They’ve always been like that. They’ve been close friends for years , haven’t they?” Connie explained, “I just can’t see them making out and holding hands or being all weird and sweet with one another just like what Jean keeps saying.”

“That’s because you actually didn’t , Connie,” Jean frowned, “If any of you idiots actually saw them making out or worse , then we wouldn’t be having this dumb conversation. And yeah, they’ve been close friends for years which all the more makes it reasonable for them to get together and shit.”

“If that’s the case then Sasha and I should have gotten together years ago too, huh?” Connie jabbed, elbowing Sasha who started to laugh at the idea. Jean rolled his eyes and swore under his breath. There really wasn’t any point in arguing with everyone, especially those two. All he could hope for was that the captain and the commander would eventually slip up and display their affections for the rest of the world to see.

“Okay, how about this,” Connie started, standing up as well and spreading his arms, his eyes twinkling, “They’re going to town, right? What if we follow them for a couple of hours and see how they act around each other without us? That way we can really prove if they have a romantic relationship or not.”   

Jean raised an eyebrow at his friend. That was a bad idea. As much as he wanted to prove to everyone otherwise, he wasn’t really keen on following those two and seeing more of them than he already had. There was also the whole issue with Captain Levi. He’d like to think that Hange-san wouldn’t really mind getting caught, but what if she did? Now that would also cause some problems. But Sasha was already nodding her head and agreeing to the plan. Even Eren glanced up, a little curious about the situation. Mikasa scoffed but said nothing. 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, guys.” Armin said, being the voice of reason once again, “What if we—”

“Don’t worry, Armin. We’ll be careful. Besides, it’s everyone’s day off so a lot of us should be going to town, right?” Sasha argued, “It’ll be crowded which would make it easier to follow them, undetected.”

“And!” Connie smirked, digging into his pocket before placing a handful of money on the table, “We should all place a bet on it! Whoever wins with their argument gets to split the money.”

“Oh! And we should put lunch on the losing side’s tab!” Sasha grinned, confident that she would be getting a free lunch, “Oi Mikasa, Eren, what side are you guys on?”

She turned towards the pair and was surprised to find that Mikasa was the first one to speak. “That shorty? And Hange-san?” she shook her head and placed a wad of cash on top of Connie’s pile before proceeding to finish the rest of her food, “Hange-san is too good for that runt.”

Jean, a little stunned at how willing she was on playing this dumb game, gave a minuscule shake of his head. Sure, Hange-san was much livelier and friendlier, but the captain had a hidden kindness within him that Jean had seen with the way he had made tea for everyone one particularly tense evening when negotiations with the volunteers were difficult to achieve. He saw it in the way he oversaw some of their training and heavily criticized their skills, even going as far as demonstrating how to fight better. He saw it in the way he always looked to Hange-san whenever they were in a stressful and tense meeting, concern evident in his eyes. Throughout all these years, he could confidently say that Captain Levi was a good and kind man, and he was pretty sure even Mikasa knew that despite her small dislike for him. 

Connie smiled triumphantly and looked at Jean with an “I told you so” expression plastered on his face. Before he could say anything more, Eren spoke up. “I agree with Jean and Armin. The captain and Hange-san have a deep bond.”

Could this day be more full of surprises? He glanced over at Eren who didn’t even look up. His tone and voice, though dry and quiet was filled with an assurance Jean couldn’t place his finger on. Eren had been like that for a bit of time now, which Jean could only connect with him seeing his father’s memories and the anxiety of facing enemy forces outside the island. He didn’t think Eren, out of all people, would even care to talk about this sort of thing, especially given how oblivious he was to Mikasa’s feelings for him. He shook his head again and focused on Armin’s surprised face. He didn’t seem to expect Eren to participate in this small gamble either. No one did. Armin studied his face a little bit before nodding, suddenly looking pleased. “That’s good then. So three against three.” 

Jean was a little hesitant to bet with money out of all things (and lunch), but the moment Armin fished out a good amount of his own and placed it on the table, he felt as if he had no choice but to follow through as well. He stared at the growing pile of cash and started to wonder how he would be spending his share. Oh well. He could think about that after he stuffed himself with some free lobster. 

“Wait so who would keep the money for now?” Sasha asked, looking around the table, “ I’d love to , but I might lose all that that cash —”

“Not to mention, you might accidentally keep some for yourself,” Connie rolled his eyes. He started reaching out for the pile, “Here, I’ll take it —”

“ No ,” Armin said firmly, already whipping out an empty pouch and started shoving in loads of cash, “If any of you two kept it, it’d be a disaster, to say the least. We’re giving it to Mikasa.”

For the first time in his life, Jean silently prayed for the captain and commander to actually give them a show. 

They better not let him down. 

-------

Jean, once again, had absolutely enough of it. 

It was hot, the streets were crowded, and they hadn’t anticipated the idea that their two superiors wouldn’t just be looking at the infrastructure. After checking with some of the other builders, they had also gone to the public library, the market, and into the small tea shop, everyone knew Captain Levi loved. They acted the same as they would whenever the rest of them were there, which was both disappointing and relieving for Jean. It didn’t help how rowdy Connie and Sasha were the entire time — making jokes and commentary on just how special their relationship was. They kept going on about how walking together was so “ romantic ” and how going to buy tea was so “ nerve-wracking .” Jean wanted to bash his head against the wall. Actually, he wanted to bash their heads against a wall. If they had paid closer attention, they would have seen the soft gazes the captain directed to Hange-san the entire time, or how she went out of her way to pay for the tea and buy an extra tin for him. These two were being ridiculous and it had gotten to the point where he would rather just pay for their lunch instead of spending another hour going around in a futile attempt to disprove them.

Armin, Mikasa, and Eren were silent most of the time but they overall didn’t seem to mind what was going on. Like Sasha said, It was a good thing that the streets were crowded which made it easier to hide from the two. They eventually ended up in the local park where they sat down on a bench and seemed to start having a serious discussion. The six of them all sat by a large tree behind the two, only half-observing them. 

“Can we just declare victory already? I’m so hungry,” Sasha complained, wiping sweat away from her forehead. Connie nodded, shooting Jean a disgruntled look. 

“Oi! Don’t look at me like that!” Jean exclaimed, stretching his long legs across the grass and pointing an accusing finger at the two, “This wasn’t even my idea.”

“There wasn’t anything wrong with going out, you guys,” Armin said, rolling his eyes as he continued to stare at their two superior officers. “Besides, it’s only eleven. We can stay here for a couple of minutes more, and Jean, Eren, and I will treat the rest of you to the seafood.”

Armin had a disgruntled look, a little frustrated with the situation as well. His gambles had always been correct and so this was new territory for him. Eren rolled his eyes and scoffed, however, there was still a knowing look plastered across his face. He lifted his finger and pointed to the two, “They’re getting up.”

At this, everyone whipped their heads to look at the “couple.” When they started making their way to where the six of them sat, Armin immediately whispered-yelled, “Quick! Everyone to the bushes!”

They all collectively scrambled to hide behind a large bush that surprisingly managed to obscure all of them together. Because this section of the park was rather quiet and relatively free of people, they all heard each footstep and noise the two had omitted. Which turned out to both be a good and horrible thing. 

“Do you think they’ll get back soon?” Hange asked, her voice harboring a mischievous edge to it. 

“Those brats are still going to eat lunch. That should take a while, considering one of them is obsessed with the Marleyan.” Levi scoffed at her. 

Sasha knitted her eyebrows and blushed fiercely, and because her curiosity got the best of her, she tore away one of the branches in the bush and made a space to watch the two converse. 

“Aw, Sasha and Niccolo are just so adorable ,” Hange cooed, sitting against the large tree where they previously sat, giving everyone a perfect view of her and Captain Levi. “It’s a shame neither of them has figured out their feelings yet. They would be so nice together.”

Levi raised an eyebrow before hesitantly coming to sit next to her. “You’d actually let the soldiers date?” he asked incredulously, a disbelieving expression on his face. “And why do we have to sit on the fucking ground out of all places?”

“I told you, it’s much chiller under here,” Hange smiled softly, “And, well, Sasha is a big girl. I’m sure she wouldn’t let that distract her from her duties. Kind of reminds me of the good old days.”

“But then why do we still have to fucking hide around?” Captain Levi asked, a small pout making its way to his lips. Jean tilted his head slightly just to catch Connie and Sasha’s eyes widening. Mikasa had a look of absolute disgust, while Eren and Armin both had a small smirk on their face. 

“ Because , clean-freak,” Hange rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand with one of her own and caressing his cheek with the other, “We have to be proper role models. And,” she grinned naughtily, leaning towards the captain, “Isn’t it much more exciting to have a forbidden relationship ?”

Though she said that last part much softer, everyone still heard her. The bold statement alone was already enough to garner a reaction from the rest of the group, but then the captain hummed in agreement before quickly grabbing the commander’s head and pressing his lips against hers. They would have gotten away with this entire situation if only Sasha hadn’t gasped so loudly and if Connie hadn’t jumped up and away, both their faces flaming red. Though Jean felt immense satisfaction at seeing not only Sasha getting called out, as well as them finally witnessing the captain and Hange-san’s secret love affair , he felt his blood run cold. He sat there, frozen, sure that any second now the adults would be coming for him and his friends. 

It wasn’t long before Hange-san and the captain appeared before them. And though the latter had an incredibly annoyed expression, his arms crossed and all, he didn’t seem angry as Jean expected. Hange-san simply harbored an amused expression on her face as she giggled at everyone’s positions. “Well, so much for a forbidden relationship, huh, Levi?”

“Which one of you brats was responsible for this?” the captain huffed, his face tinged a little red as he glared at every single pair of eyes. Eren and Mikasa simply gave him a passive expression, though Jean could swear that the latter had been annoyed with the way she sneered at the captain. Connie and Sasha were sprawled all over the grass, their faces flaming even more at the sight of their two superiors. After a couple of seconds, Armin stood up and calmly spoke, “We all made a bet on the nature of your relationship and decided to follow you, captain.”

The adults looked at each other, seemingly speaking through their minds. Jean never really figured out how they did that, but he supposed it was from years of fighting together side by side. After a few tense seconds, Hange-san burst out in laughter. “I’m surprised it took you kids this long to figure it out,” she giggled, surprising everyone with her words, “I thought for sure we would have been caught a while ago. Levi isn’t exactly subtle—”

“Oi! Don’t put this on me!” Levi said, scandalized. “ You’re the one who insisted I come along today—”

“Wasn’t it you who insisted?” Hange said, putting a hand on her hip, “I told you, I was going to meet up with Onyankopon—”

Everyone stared at them with wide eyes as they continued to bicker like an old married couple. Jean was prepared to kneel and beg the captain not to make them scrub the toilets at HQ. He was also prepared to lie about the situation and make something up that would ease the situation. He was also prepared to run the fuck away and blend back into the crowd. He wasn’t prepared, however, for the two adults to find amusement in the situation and continue to flirt their hearts out. What the fuck?

“For fuck’s sake, we have better things to do.” the captain finally said, slapping a palm on the commander’s face, cutting off her story about how he expertly persuaded her to do things in Zackley’s office years ago ( thank god he did that) , “You brats said you made a bet? 

Everyone nodded, save for Mikasa. Connie and Sasha were finally starting to snap out of it, though, Jean couldn’t tell. Their faces were still on fire and they still refused to make eye contact. 

“Pay the fuck up then.” the captain said firmly, stretching out the hand that wasn’t on the commander’s face, “We don’t have all day. Hand that shit over and go back to headquarters if you brats don’t want to clean the entire fucking castle with a toothbrush.”

Jean’s eyes shifted to the commander who finally took off the captain’s hand off her face. A few tense seconds passed before Mikasa sighed, stood up, and placed the pouch on top of the captain’s hand. The Ackermans glared at each other, pretty much like they always do, before Mikasa gave him a tight-lipped smirk and walked away. 

“Now kids,” Hange-san said, leaning down and putting up a finger as the captain started to count the money, “Following your superior ranking officers around town the entire morning and delving into their personal lives isn’t really nice.” she said, her brown eye gleaming and her voice dripping with obvious sarcasm, “However, I must commend you for taking the initiative to ah, survey the situation and going out of your way to discovering the, hmm, truth . I’m proud of all of you.”

“Now get lost.” The captain spat out before Jean could even comprehend the commander’s words. They immediately did as they were told and ran the hell away from the weird couple. Connie tripped twice and Sasha pressed her hands to her head, muttering “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god” over and over again. Armin was a little flustered as he shook his head, and Mikasa had an incredibly disgruntled and disgusted look on her face. Jean met Eren’s eyes as they ran away, and he gave him a small smile — the first he had seen in a long time. 

Jean felt a mix of emotions. He was startled and confused. He was also satisfied and pleased. But most of all, he was frustrated at the fact he wasn’t able to get free lobster. 

Oh well , he thought as they finally came to a halt by the exit of the park, he’d surely get full from all the gloating he was about to do. 

-------

“So that’s why you sent them back home.” Hange chuckled as she sat in front of him. 

Levi scoffed as he started to peruse the menu. “If I didn’t then they’d just bother us here too.”

“You’re just grumpy because you lost the bet, captain.” Hange hummed, drumming her fingers on the table as she started to flip through the menu as well, “I told you they were onto us. Or that they already knew. You didn’t listen.”

“Whatever, Commander .” Levi huffed, “I’m getting your free lunch already, as promised. Stop rubbing it in.”

“But that’s not exactly fair since you stole the kids’ money.”

Levi glared at her as Niccolo finally appeared in front of their table. 

“Oh! Commander Hange! Captain Levi! What can I get you two—”

“We’ll have two orders of the lobster and some tea,” Levi said, already knowing what Hange was going to order, “And here,” he grabbed half of the amount they had collected from the kids and shoved it into Niccolo’s hands. “Take Sasha out once we get back from Marley, you hear me? Don’t be a chicken shit about it.”

The chef stared at him blushed furiously, “I uh— I don’t know—”

“If I were you, I’d just listen to him, Niccolo.” Hange smiled, patting his arm gently, “I’m sure she likes you too.”

Niccolo just stood there, looking back and forth between the two, his face incredibly red. Hange couldn’t help but chuckle again. Ah, this reminds me of the good old days.

“Stop standing there and get our food,” Levi huffed, crossing his arms and looking up at the kid, “You look like a constipated freak.”

He eventually pocketed the cash, making sure it was okay to do so, and scurried back to the kitchen.

“Happy now? I’ll get you cookies from the bakery after we eat, okay?” Levi said, staring at her pointedly. 

She looked at him affectionately before straightening her back in her position, “Do you think he’ll really do it?”

“Tch.” Levi said, a small grin tugging his lips as his eyes softened, taking in her beauty, “Don’t underestimate him. If I could do it, then he could do it too.” 

[bbrandy2002]

Fool’s Rush In -- Chapter 16

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Liam x MC

Warning: Some language, mild sexual talk

Since it’s been awhile since I last posted an update, in the previous chapter Madeleine had confronted Riley with a video after she left the ball. 

Thank you @burnsoslow for the preread and beta.

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

Riley sat on a leather bench at the foot of the bed with a television remote held loosely between her hands, folded in her lap. 

Somehow her worn-out body managed to walk from the corridor after the encounter with Madeleine, up the many stairs of the quarters she shared with Liam and to their bedroom. The shock of the situation combined with exhaustion and throbbing pain in her lower back was secondary to the fear she felt at possibly giving up the man she loved. 

With trembling hands, she had slipped the DVD into the player and watched her nightmare play out on the screen -- It was all true. Madeleine acquired an illicit video of Riley and her ex-husband that the Queen had no clue was recorded of her or existed.

Her thumb grazed over the pause button several times, but she knew pressing it wouldn’t stop the hurt and embarrassment she felt at that moment at watching her former husband violating her trust and privacy. It wouldn’t stop Madeleine from releasing the video of it to the press and public. And it wouldn't stop the love she felt for Liam -- no one was powerful enough to take that feeling away from her.

But it was those words Madeleine threatened her with that got equal consideration with that video in Riley’s mind. She tried to envision how the scenario would carry out if the video was released and for those who would be affected by it: her father, her friends, her former students. 

Liam.

“It’s a shame that he’ll lose his reign, all because of you.”

“Would you really do that to Liam?”

“Do you genuinely believe you’re worth all the trouble it will cause him?”

Riley hit the pause button, her hands flying up to cover her tear-laden face as she bent over in sobs, shaking her head. She was wrestling with that inner voice, replaying Madeleine’s words like a broken record while struggling to remember everything Liam told her about trusting him and his love for her.

No matter how hard she tried to let his tender voice speak to that sacred place in her heart, Madeleine’s threats and taunts were getting the best of her. If there was even a slight possibility that the Countess was right, and Liam would get dragged through the mud in all of this, then there was no question what needed to be done. 

Those scattered bricks that formed the walls she came to Cordonia with, the ones Liam had broken down, were quickly stacking up again, one on top of the other. If something didn’t happen soon, Riley would be surrounded and suffocated inside that impenetrable cocoon that initially caused herself to doubt her worthiness to him in the first place.

All of those insecurities and fears crept up faster than a flooded riverbank, and she felt powerless to stop it from rising. Even if she could, she’d never allow Liam to suffer the consequences of something she had the power to prevent. To hell with whatever happened to her, but not him. He saved her weeks ago, and as her teary gaze slid from her hands to the wardrobe closet across the room, this would be her way of saving him.

Riley picked up the remote from her lap and tossed it aside. Determined to get out of the palace and Cordonia before anyone could see her, she swallowed her anger and grief and swiped a knuckle under each eye to dry the tears shed. 

She rose to her feet faster than she should have, feeling an intense shock of pain that began in her hip and shot down to her feet. There were no doubts that the fall from struggling with Madeleine injured her far worse than she wanted to admit to herself. With a shrieking whimper, she ground her teeth together and doubled over, feeling like she might faint. 

Riley grasped her back and gave herself a second to breathe through the pain before straightening up and staggering to her wardrobe to pack whatever she could as quickly as possible.

_____________

Liam stepped off the dance floor with Olivia's arm curled through his and escorted her back to their table. The conclusion of the ball was nearly upon him, and most guests had already stopped on their way out to say their farewells and offer congratulatory well-wishes. When they'd ask about the Queen's whereabouts, he'd tell them she had something come up that needed her attention. No one dared press him on the issue.

Checking the time on his watch, Liam looked up as Maxwell ran over with his phone in hand and dropped into a seat. He looked curiously at the out of breath Beaumont and asked, "What's going on, Maxwell?"

"Sorry," he replied before plucking a flute of champagne from a passing server's tray and gulping it down quickly. Wiping the droplets that dribbled from his mouth to his chin off with the back of his hand, he panted. "I ran here as fast as I could. I just got a text message from Drake. He's heading back soon."

"Did he say what the results of the paternity test were?" Olivia asked.

Maxwell nodded. "Yeah. They're Bastien's for sure. Las Vegas officials are allowing Drake to leave, but they've detained Bas until he pays up the $200,000 he owes to Boom Boom. Drake's return flight is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning, Cordonia time."

Liam pulled out his wallet and tossed $100 at a smug Leo, who promptly counted them out and stuffed the bills into his pocket. "I told you those little dudes weren't mine, bro. Really, your doubt in me hurts." 

"I'll admit you were right, Leo. But you do have a track record when it comes to being involved in weird stuff like this."

"Yeah, I've gotten myself into some pretty hairy shit a time or two," he laughed as the memories came to him. "Ahh, good times, good times. But, y'know, it wasn't always just fun and games with me, Liam. During those few occasions when I'd show up to train on being the top dog of this place, Father taught me several valuable lessons. Wanna know what they were?"

"Not really," Liam answered dryly, then tossed back the rest of his scotch to prepare himself. "But I assume you're going to tell me anyway."

"Damn right I am! This is good shit to know, straight from the Big Kahuna himself." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You must never tell anyone what I'm about to share with you all. This is top secret, classified Cordonian shit we're talking about; lives are on the line here. Father would be pissed if --"

"Just spit it out already!" Olivia snapped.

"Alright, first, never jizz in a jacuzzi unless you want to be covered in a thin spiderweb-like amalgamation of your own gravy. Daddio said he learned the hard way on that one ..."

"Oh, God. Leo!" Sickened, Liam dropped his head.

" ... Next, when you kiss a woman's hand, do it on the thumb side. Most people scratch their asses with their fingers, but rarely their thumbs. I might be an exception to the rule on that one." Leo chuckled to himself. "And lastly ... Rys spermies are MEAN sons-of-bitches, and we should dip my balls in a mug of hot water every day to kill them before having sex." 

"What the hell?" Olivia grimaced as she lowered her coffee mug away from her lips and pushed it away. 

"My dad told me the same thing," Maxwell boasted. "Except he called them Beaumont spermies. I guess he heard the same story from someone different than your dad."

Liam lowered the hands that were covering his face and breathed out heavily, "Leo, did our father ever teach you about anything other than using protection and sex during these meetings? Anything about negotiations, taxes, treaties ..."

Leo considered him for a moment. "Nope. He said you'd do all that stuff."

Liam grumbled. "Of course he did."

Olivia looked between Leo and Maxwell and scowled. "Well, it's too bad neither of your fathers took their own advice." She grabbed her clutch from the table. "At least I'll rest easier knowing the two of you aren't reproducing. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"I'll walk out with you, Liv." Liam rose and left the ballroom, having had more than enough of his fill of Leo for the night. There was also an incredibly sexy woman upstairs he'd been dreaming of pleasing all day, and he was overly eager to make good on his promise to join her shortly. 

______________

Liam made his way through the residential wing and down the long hallway to his quarters. While undoing his tie, he stopped midway when he noticed a vase that usually sat on a decorative table along the wall, tipped over on its side with bundles of long-stemmed roses littered on the ground around it. 

As he stooped down to pick them up, he found it oddly peculiar -- they didn't just fall over like this on their own. If a member of the staff had knocked them over, they would have picked them up; he felt certain Riley would have, as well.  

After rearranging the flowers in the vase and situating them back on the table, Liam removed his key card from his pocket and swiped it through the key fob next to the door.

"Riley! I'm home," he called out in a sensual tone, knowing she was most likely upstairs -- hopefully naked and ready to get her ass spanked -- and wouldn't have heard him.  

Taking a moment to check his reflection in the entryway mirror, Liam smoothed back his hair and tested his breath against his palm, satisfied he was good. After a quick stop in the kitchen to grab a can of whipped cream and chocolate sauce, Liam ascended the stairs, two at a time, to his bedroom. 

"Daddy's ready for his dessert ..." his exuberant voice trailed off as the sultry smirk he donned quickly faded away when he walked into an empty room. "Riley?"

Glancing around the bedroom, the en suite door was still open, and the light was off, so he knew she wasn't in there. The bed was still in pristine form and didn't look touched. He wasn't at all worried; Riley likely went for a snack, even though that thought seemed rather odd considering how adamant she was about returning to their quarters earlier.

Liam placed the toppings on a side table and slipped out his phone. He plopped down on the bench at the foot of their bed, thinking maybe he'd missed a message or call from her. 

There was nothing.

He scratched his head; it wasn't like Riley not to mention to him if she'd gone somewhere, not that she had to. But in this case, she knew he'd be up soon. Thinking about the overturned vase Liam walked upon, something started to not sit well with him. 

With the cell still in his hand, he pulled her contact information up. Just as he was about to hit the dial button, he heard "Liam" in a low, raspy voice.

Relief washed over him as he stood and put his phone away. "Love, you worried me. Everything okay?" Her face was ashen, and her eyes red and swollen. Liam's insides immediately clinched.

Riley didn't answer as Liam crossed the room, frantically approaching her, worry engraved on his features. “Riley, love, what’s wrong? What happened?” His eyes were desperately searching for any clue as to what was clearly something wrong with his wife.

She held out her hand, preventing him from coming too close. “Please ... don’t.”

Bewildered, he asked, “What are you doing, sweetheart?”

Riley turned her head away somberly; she couldn't bear to look at him. She had planned to get out of the palace before he returned from the ball; there was no way she would be able to face him. Liam would want an explanation that she couldn't give him. But when she got to the car, Riley noticed there was something important she forgot to give back to him, and there was no way she would take it. Maybe somewhere inside, even if she couldn't admit it, she needed to see him and do this right. “I ... have to go.” Her words were barely audible.

Liam's brows bumped together. “Go? You’re going somewhere this late? But you were tired before --”

“No,” Her head shook faster than she realized before she spat the rest out. “I’m leaving Cordonia. I’m returning to Las Vegas, and I’m not coming back.”

“Riley? What the hell is going on? You were fine and having a good time 30 minutes ago, and now, all of a sudden, you want to go back to Nevada. What am I missing here? Does this have something to do with what happened at dinner? Because I told you --”

“You’re not missing anything. I came here to prevent you from marrying Madeleine, and I did that. That was the agreement, and now ... I’m going home.”

Liam started to laugh and wagged his finger at her. “Leo put you up to pranking me? He's mad about me sending that damn monkey away and is trying to get me back, right? Because if he did, that's just … just heartless. And I don’t find it funny.”

“No, Liam.." She shook her head again. "Leo didn’t put me up to this, and it's not a prank.” Riley carefully pulled off the wedding bands she came back to give him and held them out to him.

He looked at them and gritted his teeth. “Put them back on,” he commanded.

“I can’t do that, Liam. They belonged to your mother, and I’m not taking something so sentimental with me back to Vegas.”

“You’re damn right you're not taking them back to Vegas with you because you’re not going!”

“I am.”

“No, you’re not!”

Riley choked out into a wispy sob, “I’m so sorry, Liam. I'm so sorry!”

He said nothing as he stared at her in disbelief and saw that she was serious. “Why?” He asked as his throat clenched and the first tear slipped down his cheek.

Her body felt leaden, never having seen him this shattered. “Liam, I just want to go home, okay? I mean ... this has been an amazing experience, and I’ll never forget it, but I miss my home, and my job, and my friends ..."

“Fuck your home! I’ll buy you one here that looks just like it. Visit your friends all you want ... hell, bring them here if you want to; I don’t care. That's NOT what's going on! There’s something you’re not telling me. And I want to know, NOW!”

Riley startled at his yell, wanting to hold him and make it better. “Liam, I don’t want to be in Cordonia anymore, or be the Queen, or live in this palace. I want to go home.”

He motioned around the room.“THIS is your home, Riley ... Cordonia.  I’m your home! This palace is your home." Liam scrubbed a frustrated hand furiously over his face. "Again, you were fine 30 minutes ago. What changed between you leaving the ball and coming up here? You're not telling the truth for some reason, but I can’t figure out why. Did I do something to upset you? Did someone else do something to upset you?"

"No!" she responded expeditiously.

"I love you, Riley. You know that, right?" She nodded; the glisten in his blue eyes and the desperation in his trembling voice was destroying her willpower. "Do you …  still love me?"

Riley slammed her eyes shut. She loved him with every fiber of her being, and to tell him so in this very moment would only serve to prolong this hellacious situation. The only way to protect him from losing everything -- in her mind -- was to let him go. He would fight her on this, and it broke her heart to see the pain and confusion in his eyes, but it had to be done.

“Do. You. Love. Me?” he enunciated his question once more. The struggle and agony on her face were evident to him.

Riley turned away from Liam and faced the door. Did she have it in her to answer that question with a lie?

"... the council will have no choice but to question Liam's decision-making abilities after not only squandering his pick of a queen on some American nobody but now one whose ass will be featured on the desktops of teenage boys across the world. It's a shame he'll lose his reign, all because of you. Would you really do that to Liam? Are you worth the trouble?"

The sadness crushed her. There was no other way to protect him. Riley swiped at her face and answered firmly.

“No.”

With that, the Queen walked out, leaving the King in an empty room with his shock, his confusion, and an unimaginable pain he'd never get over.

-----------

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[dontcallmecarrie]

continuation of this, because the idea lives rent-free in my head [heads up for minor profanity]:

Under other circumstances, planning a prison break wouldn’t have taken more than a week, tops.

Stranded in this weird hellscape, however...

Ivan Vanko sighed, and scrubbed a hand down his face. It was either that, or survey the main room of the bunker Victor von Doom had somehow managed to secure because he was a goddamn overachiever that way. Ivan’d probably be more annoyed if it weren’t working in their favor at this moment— wait a minute.

“How’re you holding up?” Ivan asked warily as he looked at him from a safe distance across the war room, because now that he thought about it, Victor had been acting...very weird, lately. 

Which was a problem, because Ivan had more than enough on his plate just trying to figure out how to get them all back home when he wasn’t stuck watching Loki and his feral counterpart circle each other like cats half a second from brawling, or the headache he got when the two Winter Soldiers came back from recon or supply-gathering or whatever the hell else they got up to ever since they’d joined up with the others and found out where Justin’d landed. 

Ivan didn’t think he was wrong to be paranoid about this type of radio silence, not when it was coming from the poster boy for a type-A personality. 

“I? Am fine.” Victor said, and Ivan might have even believed him if he didn’t have that maniac glint in his eyes that precluded the type of disaster only their esteemed leader could prevent, and sure enough— “Get the others, I have a plan ready.”

.

Once more, Loki was inordinately proud of the friends allies he had.

In an entirely different universe, limited resources and external factors working against them, and they still managed to pull stunts like this off. 

“What kind of...” His counterpart muttered from his spot in the corner, even as Victor walked them all through his plan to break the last of their party out of one of the most secured locations in one of the most powerful countries on the planet. Ivan nodded along as he took notes, presumably for whatever hyper-specialized gear they’d need, while the Winter Soldier looked over their plans with a pensive frown before throwing in the odd comment here and there.

Victor was in fine form today, confidently answering their questions as he ran through contingency plans and every last scrap of intel they’d managed to access. 

“This is why.” Loki said quietly, and his counterpart seemed lost and oddly bereft as the rest of Cabal plotted. “You wanted to know why I allied myself with Midgardians? Here you have it.”

.

“You know, you don’t have to do this.” The Winter Soldier told his counterpart. “Justin’s my friend, you have your own problems to deal with, Soldat.”

A single blink was his answer, and right, he’d been stubborn from the start, hadn’t he. It was...probably why HYDRA’s conditioning never took, which was good, but also frustrating as all get out because Soldat— and just getting him to pick a name had been a trial in and of itself— was dead-set on coming along.

“I mean it. We’re going home as soon as Ivan can figure out how to use the Tesseract to reverse whatever the hell he did to get us here, you’re going to be the one to deal with the consequences and you’re going to have enough on your plate as is.” 

How someone could look so mulish without moving a muscle, Winter didn’t know, but Soldat sure managed to pull it off nevertheless. 

“Oh, let him.” Victor interrupted their standoff. “It’s his choice to make, and we need all the help we can get, Winter.”

“We can pull it off.” He countered, and Victor inclined his head.

“Of course we can, I’m the one who planned it. But you can’t deny that four people trying to break someone out of supermax is a fairly tall order.”

“Ah, fuck, this is going to be a disaster.” The Winter Soldier pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan as he abruptly realized they’d be throwing two Lokis at the problem and would there even be a supermax standing, afterwards?

“Excuse you, my plans never fail—” 

“You sure you want in on this train wreck?” He asked Soldat abruptly, “Because odds are, it’s going to be like this the entire time.”

A single nod, and Winter leaned back with a sigh. “Fuck, I was afraid of that. Fine, okay...but when it goes to hell, I told you so.”

.

For the record, everything didn’t go to hell within the first five minutes. 

...it took six.

.

“Objective secured,” the Winter Soldier barked over the specially-made comms Ivan had handed out, as his left hand easily snapped the cuffs limiting Justin’s movements and immediately started ushering him to the extraction point while Loki set to work shorting out the camera system. Justin seemed to be frozen in place, but that was secondary; clearly he was in shock, but Winter couldn’t afford to put him at ease, not when they were operating on such a limited time frame and so he didn’t think twice about lifting his friend in a fireman’s carry. 

Elsewhere, Other Loki’s distraction continued to draw the guards’ focus.

“Okay, moving onto phase three. Victor, you ready?” Ivan’s voice came through loud and clear even as the alarms continued to blare around them.

“On i—” Victor’s voice cut off as what could only be an EMP went off, casting the entire facility in darkness for a few seconds.

Ivan’s creations were good, but he had limited resources to work with and so for the two minutes it took for their comms to get back online, they were on their own.

Fortunately, everyone in Cabal had taken that into account. 

“Come on,” Loki ushered them along and Winter didn’t even blink at the familiar green sparks that lit the way. In the distance, the guards’ surprised yelps told them Other Loki had decided to step up his own game long before they met up with him in the hallway. 

“Took you long enough. Is this him?” Other Loki’s smile had a strange sort of curiosity, and going by the way Loki had tensed, he’d noticed it too. 

“We can talk once we’re done.” Loki demurred, and set to work getting the array that’d teleport them out of here. 

As he did, Winter gently set Justin down. “Sorry about that, we’re on a bit of a time crunch.” 

“I—” Justin sounded oddly nervous, looking between him and the two Lokis, and Winter sympathized. 

“Yeah, I’m impressed the building’s still standing, too.”

If possible, Justin seemed to curl in on himself even more, and Winter reached towards him in concern. Hey, you okay? I’m sorry we’re late, things happened, but—”

“We’re ready,” Victor interrupted as he and Soldat rounded the corner and rushed towards them, and Winter froze as he saw who else they had in tow and whipped around to check, but—

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” Loki said as he stopped short, seeing the problem. 

Justin Hammer frowned at them in mild concern, as the Justin Hammer at his side started to hyperventilate. 

Whoops.

“Shit, I am so sorry—” Winter started, before he whipped around just in time to catch the shield hurled in their direction and fuck, that meant the Avengers were here, coming in hot and they had two noncombatants in direct range—

A single look told him the others were on the same page, and without saying a word, Loki and Victor set to activating the array while Winter hurled Captain America’s shield down the hall as he took up a defensive position. Soldat mirrored his position, and Other Loki seemed more curious than anything else but still threw out a shield strong enough to deflect the explosive arrow for the split-second it took for the array to kick in and get them the hell out of dodge before anyone got a good look at them. 

Then, and only then, did Winter have the time to take a step back and turn around and realize— 

“Ah, fuck, we accidentally kidnapped someone, didn’t we.”