#so the whole faction is just kind of. whispering about their deal

[ailurocide]

Sorry for not remembering, but who are the parents of Mistle, Myrtle and Mallow?

I really like how they all start with 'm'.

No worries! A lot of stuff has changed with the move, including some family trees! It’s better to ask rather than assume and confuse yourself later on ^^’

Their parents are Frost-tongue and Larchface!

[redamoureux]

:00 if you could, maybe a yandere! hank x s/o who used to be an A.A.H.W agent? when they meet again, instead of s/o trying to kill them like they’re always have, reluctantly - they just flee?

─ Bad Blood

Yandere Hank J. Wimbleton Headcanons/short

↳ content warning: yandere themes, obsessive behaviour, stalking, shooting, violence, mild blood, murder, forced/dubious relationship, intimidation, hank's oddly kind of a soft yandere here

• genre: romantic

Working in an agency that's literally built to merely hunt one specific criminal is never an easy job. But with little place to work and protection around, you were obliged to accept the policy or you wouldn't get to see another day.

Auditor, the leader of the faction can be described as rather a cruel and vicious boss. Even though you've never met him directly, just by hearing whispers and tittle-tattle around the place never fails to make you falter.

So it doesn't suprises you when news about a massacre occured in one of the many base around the city reached auditor, he simply told his henchman to call up the janitors and clone even more grunts.

You were annoyed by this behaviour of him. Not only did he let his employees work in such poor condition, he also can't respect the values of lives. You thought the idea of this whole ordeal is just pure stupid. And most of the remaining mortal grunts like you also agreed, but your resentments are clearly silent, for the most part.

And the last but not least of your problems, Hank J. Wimbleton. Pratically being the root of the apocalypse happening nevada, he brings troubles or death for basically anyone he comes across. Heck, you were suprised that this man manage to even have a team in the first place.

One day, you were casually just sitting at the passenger seat of the agency's truck delivering supplies to another base that supposedly located not far away.

And the next thing you knew, another smaller vehicle drove right next to you, a hook suddenly emerges from the back of it and flew up above the truck's roof. While you and the driver were momentarily distracted by it, a bullet hits the window and shot the driver. Your startled state turned into panic and you immediately jumped out of your sitting position to grab the steering wheel, trying to control the truck while your leg tries to hit the brake.

Then something hits you on the head, knocking you out thus losing control over the truck and making screeching sound before crashing, almost rolling it over.

While you lay unconsciously on top of the driver's body, the smaller car's wheels halts just feets away from ths truck and two men comes out. The black figure near the broken window stares intensively at the two body before a voice behind him called.

Gaining your concious back by the throbbing pain in your head, you groan lightly before you took a glimpse at your surroundings and heard distant talking just outside the truck. Keeping yourself to shut up from the pain, you took the weapons stocked up under the seats and loaded it. Bracing yourself, you pushed the door open, getting the attentions of the men before you emerged and shot all around them immediately.

Fortunately, you were succesfully able to shot one of the guys and distracting the other, leaving only one familiar face to fight. Hank J. You gulp, wishing you really don't have to deal with him─ but you know your chances. And you're not dying without a fight atleast.

You kept on shooting, but he was be able to miss most of it and so you quickly changed guns when it ran out of bullets, before jumping out and running behind the truck. He followed closely and looked behind the truck, ready to kill, to find noone. A sound of car engine starting up makes his head perk up and he turns around to find the team's car moving forward at him at a fast speed, to which he quickly dodges. You kept speeding up until eventually they goes out of view.

With your heart pumping fast with adrenaline, you looked the rear mirror, seeing your ruined and blood stained form, you took deep breaths and have set one final plan in your mind.

Walking in the empty street, your footsteps clicks against the rocky road as you tinkered around with a broken tablet in your hand in attempt to turn it on. You bit the insides of your cheek as you remixed the wires again and pressed the power button.

Your attempt were proven fruitful when the tablet made a startup sound and the logo flashes up. You smiled at your succesful try as you happily looked at the screen. Suddenly you heard a short scream coming from an alley nearby which you stopped on your tracks.

You looked around to see where the sound may have came from─ when another long scream was heard once again, and this time you were be able to sense that it was coming from one of the alleys behind you. You ran towards the source of sound as a sound of bone cracking and a scream was suddenly heard again which made you hold your breath and lean against one of the closed stores.

You exhale and turn to take a peak, your eyes widen in horror as you gaze landed at the dead bodies on the ground, blood splattered almost everywhere as you saw a strong arm dropping down an ripped off arm. You mind screamed at you to run, and you were about to do so, when you heard pained whimpers. Squinting your eyes slightly, you saw a horribly injured grunt flump on the ground, staring at the tall shadow before them in terror and fear of their life.

You felt a sudden urge to save the grunt as you took out a syringe filled with some muscle relaxant drug and stared at it. You knew this has the high chance of possibly risking your life instead, but you're willing to try. Without a second thought you closed your eyes and sneaked up towards the man quick enough before he finishes off the grunt.

You stabbed the taller grunt with the syringe in the shoulder which made them to turn around and you punched him in the face. He let out a slight groan and buried his eyes in his hands to recover for a moment. You took this chance and helped the stunned grunt to get back up. As you're doing just that, you saw the taller grunt getting back his senses, so you whispered to the grunt you've helped "go!" With no hesitation, they nodded and ran.

Your relief was short-lived before you feel yourself being grabbed by the throat and thrown back harshly into the wall of the dark alley.

Groaning, you slump down the wall, feeling immense pain through your whole body from the impact. You merely looked up fearfully as the shadowy grunt slowly approaches you with shining, cracking red goggles. You swallow the knot in your throat and closed your eyes, preparing for the worst.

But nothing came.

Confused, you looked up and was taken aback with the grunt staring deeply into you, leaning in much closer than before. "Uh.." then all of a sudden, he pulled you up and carried you over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. You immediately tried to retaliate, kicking your boots and yelling but it was hopeless.

Eventually you gave up, feeling annoyed. You weren't even sure what or where he's planning to do or go, yet you were too tired to think so you eventually slept. Then you were rudely woken up when you were plopped down a hard chair.

You shook your head a little before the view of your surroundings fully came in. A few grunts walks around in what seems like a factory some sort doing their works and a grunt wearing sensor goggles and mask. He's looking at his computer sits infront of you before glancing up at you. "So this is the one that you wanted to recruit?" He questions, you turned to your side to see the grunt from before nodding. Now that you were able to see his full form, now did you realize that it was Hank. Being next to him, you began to sweat.

"Welcome in the team then."

─────

Well, getting recruited and a decent payment with the unexpected help of a criminal certainly is not an everyday thing.

Your now employer, 2BDamned, or doc for short, saw your repaired tablet in your bag and asked if you were able to demonstrate more of your skill. You did. You fixed some machine there that broke down. Which was also the reason how you're landed a job as an engineer in the team.

It was fairly.. normal you could say. The other grunts there were pretty nice to talk to, some would be fearful when seeing you though, and you weren't really sure why. The work condition is definitely better than what in AAHW provided. One small problem though. Hank.

I mean sure, it's expected, hank is hank, doing hank things. But something is just off about how he behaved around you. He would just stand next to you, saying nothing while watching you do work. One time you were rushing to go down the stairs to meet doc but you slipped and fell down. You heard heavy boots approaching fastly and within seconds hank was by your side, offering a hand to you. You took his hand and stood up with a little struggle before thanking him and tried to let go of your hand but he wouldn't budge. So the entire meeting with doc was tad awkward with him just holding your hand.

He also likes to appear out of nowhere. You were just casually shopping at the remaining stable grocery shop in the city when suddenly there was a shadow cast over you and the cashier trembling and sweating looking up behind you. Which would result you to sigh, knowing that it's him.

You weren't sure how to respond to any of this behaviour of his, so you kind of just let it happen. Sometimes he can be pretty creepy sure yet, you're just grateful that he's not suffocating you to death and letting you live a fairly normal life. So the least you could do is tolerate his behaviour. Hoping that it just wouldn't go worse.

REBLOGS AND FEEDBACKS ARE APPRECIATED!

@redamoureux

[glyphreader]

MtG Illustration: Personal Favourites 2023

This might be a bit late ... but before the new sets of 2024 start coming out, I wanted to make a post about my personal MtG illustration favourites from 2023. Whenever a new set comes out, I make a Top 5/Top 10 list for it, but that would be way too much for one post - so I'm only going to pick one for each major set (that I care for). So hear we go, starting with ...

Phyrexia: All Will Be One - Myr Convert (Illus. José Parodi)

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Phyrexia. I'm fine with it, but on a personal excitement scale, it's a 3/5 kind of deal. It's fun for a while, but unmigitaged evil gets stale pretty fast. My feelings towards ONE and MOM are a bit of a paradox - from a storytelling standpoint, the invasion absolutely should have spanned more than two sets. But I was also kind of happy that it ended after MOM.

Anyway, I like Myr Convert because it symbolizes the completion of New Phyrexia at the dawn of the invasion. This Myr doesn't seem to belong to any one of the five Phyrexian factions, it's just a Phyrexian basking in the twisted glory of its new home. This message is strengthened by the fact that Myr were unique to Mirrodin and thus are a symbol for the plane and its history as a whole.

I especially like the gesture of its left hand, how it's creepily caressing the structures of the Monumental Facade. It probably went through some horrible, painful transformation, but now the pain has subsided, and all that remains is a subtle, sustained ecstasy of having become part of Phyrexia.

Honourable Mentions: Swooping Lookout, Font of Progress, Ambulatory Edifice, Blazing Crescendo, Molten Rebuke, Paladin of Predation, Ovika, Enigma Goliath, Phyrexian Atlas, The Surgical Bay, Darkslick Shores

March of the Machine - Corruption of Towashi (Illus. Artur Nakhodkin)

I know, I know ... the obvious choice here is Storm the Seedcore, but after looking through all the cards in the set one more time, I've come to the conclusion that it's not my personal favourite. It's a masterfully done piece, don't get me wrong ... but the illustration is going so hard for the "renaissance painting" vibes that the Mirran armor and weapons feel a bit out of place and almost silly.

In the actual story, the unfurling of Tamiyo's iron-bound scrolls was a bit of a letdown. There was no real grandeur to it - Tamiyo just read a bit from her scrolls and then was distracted / got into a fit almost immediately.

Corruption of Towashi is more like it. Imagine you're a random citizen, staring up into the sky as giant scrolls unfurl above you and literally spell out your doom. If you study the background a bit, you can see that the three scrolls that are the focal point of this piece aren't the only ones have have been used to cast this spell. Dozens of others have been unrolled before them, their text now magically imprinted onto the sky. Together, they are all part of one grand ritual aimed at reshaping Kamigawa as we know it.

Because of how the story was told, portals just openend up everywhere and Phyrexia invaded every plane in basically the same way. But I like the thought that in a different universe (where the storyline was more stretched out), each plane was invaded in a slightly different fashion, and Tamiyo and her scrolls were the "plan" for Kamigawa.

Honourable Mentions: Storm the Seedcore, Moment of Truth, Breach the Multiverse, Collective Nightmare, Kami of Whispered Hopes,Joyful Stormsculptor, Thornwood Falls, Errant and Giada, Yargle and Multani, Referee Squad, Essence of Orthodoxy

Wilds of Eldraine - Archon of the Wild Rose (Illus. Chris Rahn)

I'm starting to notice a trend here ... apparently I have a thing for relatively simple compositions with a strong, central focus.

Archon of the Wild Rose was already my favourite before I saw the full set. First off, archons are just a cool creature type. Angels in MtG are kind of boring - they show up so much that they don't feel special anymore, and they have been humanized so much that they often lack that otherworldly aspect that a being made out of pure white mana ostensibly should have. Archons are basically the opposite, and that's why I like them.

This card is part of the "Beauty and the Beast" batch of cards that tells the story of Syr Armont and the cursed Redtooth elves. The archon functions as the "antagonist" of the story, since it protects the enchanted roses that can break the elve's curse. We only know the general outline of the story from Maro's lore article, but I like the idea of a white-aligned protagnist having to go up against a white-aligned enemy. The story would be a pretty boring if the thing guiding the roses was a random wild beast or a hideous demon.

Instead of her just fightning something and taking the rose as a reward, the confrontation between Syr Ardent and the archon would probably play out on a philosophical level, forcing her to confront her values and beliefs. In that way, the story that is being suggested here feels very Arthurian to me, a good blend of Eldraine's two main inspirations.

Honourable Mentions: Armory Mice, The Princess Takes Flight, Archive Dragon, Living Lectern, Hopeless Nightmare, Warehouse Tabby, Beanstalk Wurm, Troyan, Gutsy Explorer, Tempest Hart, Beluna Grandsquall, Mosswood Dreadknight, Tegwyll's Scouring

Lost Caverns of Ixalan - Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth (Illus. Ryan Pancoast)

Similar to New Phyrexia, Ixalan is a 3/5 for me as far as personal excitement for the setting is concerned. It's not really my thing, but I can still enjoy it. The coolest element about this set for me is the hollow core and the fact that we get to see the land curving upwards on many of the illustrations. It's a really unique feature of the plane and I'm glad it was showcased so well in the art.

As far as worldbuilding / creative goes, I'm pretty impressed that Wizards was able to take the idea for a set that wasn't originally supposed to be Ixalan and turn it into Ixalan halfway through. Nothing really feels out of place, but precisely because there was a bit of randomness/chaos involved, the result doesn't feel as calculated and predictable as other return sets, which is nice.

Out of all the Ojer creatures, Kaslem is my favourite. Initially I though she was just a butterfly lady and the two wurms/serpents were her familiars, but it turns out that they're actually her legs. Oh, and judging by the branches coming out from between the butterfly wings, she's also part tree. In a way, she almost looks like a Lorwyn elemental, a mix of different animal parts that symbolizes a higher concept. Because of this, she feels like a "proper god" - this is merely her corporeal form, but her essence is eternal. I also just like how happy the wurm on the right looks.

Honourable Mentions: Whispersilk Cloak, Petrify, Resplendent Angel, Hurl into History, Guidestone Compass, Self-Reflection, Bloodletter of Aclazotz, Greedy Freebooter, Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, Uchbenbak, the Great Mistake, The Core, Restless Anchorage, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel

So that's it. I've left out UB releases and Secret Lairs because I don't care about the former (even though some cards have really nice art) and the latter is too annoying to keep track of.

As far as Magic is concerned, I'm looking forward to the second half of 2024. Murders of Karlov Manor and Thunder Junction are ... OK (again, feeling a 3/5 kind of excitement here), but Bloomburrow and Duskmourn look really intriguing. Another set that I look forward to is Modern Horizons III, which will hopefully come with some more freeform, "out there" art.

[dark-frosted-heart]

Ikepri EN Election 2022 - King of the Beasts part 1

The suitors’ ambitions (Rio, Sariel, Clavis, Luke, Jin)

🐶Rio - I Want to Marry You!

We start off with Rio imagining what married life with Emma would be like.

Fantasy!Rio tells MC that they’ll just have to create a whole load of new memories as a married couple. He says that his heart grows fonder with each day, and as he wraps his arms around fantasy!Emma and starts to whisper in her ear, Emma stops his imagine spot, telling him that she can only take so much of his wild imagination.

Rio: Aww...But I was just getting to the good part!

It’s making MC blush and she can’t take it seriously. She asks if his ambition really was to marry her and he responds that it obviously is. She can’t tell if he’s joking or not. His eyes were sparkling as he thought of more scenarios. Rio says they could live in a little cottage in a little village, have afternoon tea in a garden on sunny days, and kiss at least three times a day. MC didn’t expect to have to deal with so many feelings when she had asked what his ambition was and can feel her heart beat strangely fast at Rio’s scenario. Rio continues to talk about his fantasy and then says that it’s what he thinks about all the time because he think they’d make a really great couple. Rio’s a good friend to MC, and he’s always full of smiles and affection. She knows he’s joking but sometimes she also feels that they could make a good couple too. But she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. 

MC asks what his real ambition is and Rio asks if she thought he was joking. He was being serious. As MC tries to process his words, he squeezes her hand, sending warmth straight to her chest. He asks her to consider it, he’d make a great husband. MC has no response to that and tell shim that she’s sure he’ll find someone he’ll love more than her and will marry. Rio calls her stubborn, but he loves that about her. When he laughs, MC feels strangely relieved.

🐍Sariel - Time to Discipline

MC goes to visit Sariel in his office and when he notices her, he asks her whose ambition she’s chosen to support. She informs him that she hasn’t decided yet, but actually came to his office because she’s curious about his ambitions. Sariel sighs and tells her that she has a knack for making things unnecessarily complex. MC explains that while, as Belle, it’s important to know what the princes’ ambitions are, it’s also important to get to know the people she works with. Actually, she’s just curious. Even if Sariel gives the most bone-chilling, devilish smiles, she’s interested in any ambitions he had that didn’t relate to the palace. Sariel lets out small laugh, saying it wouldn’t hurt.

His ambition is simple. He wishes to drill some proper conduct into the princes who have...issues. It’ll be difficult, but only for a short while. But it’ll be well worth it if it means permanently relieving him of the pain they bring. And he’ll be sure to discipline MC equally as thoroughly.

~MC’s imagine spot~

~end imagine spot~

MC shakes her self out of it, heart thudding loudly. While she admits that Sariel’s lessons are scary, her heart was racing for another reason. Sariel chuckles and wonders what kind of discipline MC had imagined. If she grants him her wish, it’ll be interesting to see if things play out the way she had imagined. It’s too late for regrets.

🐆Clavis - Becoming the Faction Leader

As MC stands in a hallway, she wonders whose ambition she should ask for next. Suddenly, someone whispers right in her ear, scaring her. After taking a few breaths to calm her heart, she looks up to see Clavis with a mischievous grin on his face. He was expecting a scream but it looks like MC’s the type that freezes. MC says that he could have just called out to her like a normal person, but the word “normal” is not in the prince’s dictionary. He had been waiting for her to ask him about his ambition but she never came so he went to find her instead. MC already knows what his is though since he announced it to everyone - to overthrow Chevalier and become the new leader of the foreign politics faction. Clavis says that he’ll make Chevalier do all of his dirty work, and use Nokto and Luke to set up traps around the palace. Just the thought of it makes him quiver with excitement. MC can just imagine him sitting in Chevalier’s seat in the office with a smile.

~MC’s imagine spot~

~end imagine spot~

Clavis assures MC that he has something for her too, but MC says she’s fine. He ignores her and throws an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close so that he can whisper to her that she’ll be his accomplice who gets to enjoy the fun alongside him. His captivating whisper sends a shivers through her, as if he was hypnotizing her. But as enticing as he is, she can’t go along with it without thinking about it first. She shakes him off of her and runs away, telling him that she’ll get back to him later.

🐻Luke - Spoiling You Rotten

MC and Luke are out sitting in the garden, Luke stretched out on the couch and answering MC’s question sleepily. His ambition’s to pamper MC lots. But MC points out that he’s been pampering her a lot already. Luke counters that she never gets to do anything for her because she always says that she doesn’t needs anything. If his ambition comes true, he’d pamper her so much that she’d forget how to live without him. She could just imagine him walking into her room with a plate of bear-shaped cookies as she lazed around in bed in the morning.

~MC’s imagine spot~

~end imagine spot~

MC tells him that she’d end up becoming the laziest person in the world. Sounds good to Luke. Yeah, to HIM. He asks if she hates the idea of him doting on her that much. MC doesn’t hate it but...internally, she thinks that his idea of pampering can be a little suffocating. He goes too far sometimes. And it was scary how he’d sometimes take over doing everything for her. She asks if he has any other ambitions but that was the only thing he could think of. He understands that he causes trouble for MC so he thought that pampering would be a good way to pay her back. MC tells him that he doesn’t have to pay her back though. At the moment, Luke reminded her of a sad teddy bear and she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Luke asks if he could just stick with this ambition and MC relents. She thanks him for being so considerate which makes him smile again. MC asks if the thing about paying her back was a lie. It wasn’t, but Luke thought she wouldn’t let him keep this as his ambition if he just said that pampering her was something he loved doing, so he added that reason instead. Luke had a knack for getting his own way and MC keeps falling for it. Luke hopes she chooses her and as she walks away, she can feel his heated gaze on her back, making her heart thud.

🦅Jin - Exciting Harem

Even though MC’s aware of what Jin’s ambition is, she asks him one more time just to be sure. He’ll say it as much as she’d like. He wants to create a paradise full of big-boobied women. Curves bouncing and jiggling as far as the eye can see. He’s sure everyone else’s asking for the same thing. Um, no. Regardless, Jin’s sure that MC will enjoy it. He asks her to just imagine it.

~MC’s imagine spot~

~end imagine spot~

MC’s sure that Jin’ll act like he always does. Jin’s a little surprised. She can’t see him 10, no, 100 times more excited than usual? He then says that MC’s probably upset because she doesn’t want to miss out. MC didn’t even consider that. She’s sure that he’d have fun, but it’d take a lot for her to get involved in stuff like this. A shame, Jin says while ogling her. He would’ve liked for her to be there. MC puts a hand over his eyes. He laughs and pulls her hand away, saying that it was just a suggestion. He won’t make her if she doesn’t want to. Instead, she can join him in admiring the ladies. That...she considers. 

Jin takes her hand in his and steps closer. As he stares at her with serious eyes, MC feels frozen in place. She doesn’t want to push him away and actually wants to get closer. Again, Jin says that he’d be delighted to invite her to his paradise. MC’s beautiful and hopes that she’d be more confident in her looks. If she’s not convinced, well, he can spend the night convincing her, he says in a seductive tone, leaning closer and squeezing her hand. Heart pounding, MC closes her eyes as she feels his breath on her cheek. And then something hard touches her lips. It’s a lollipop. 

Jin: Here’s some advice. If you don’t make it clear what you want, someone might snatch it away from right under your nose.

And he takes the lollipop away, popping it into his mouth instead. MC can only stare as she tries to make sense of what Jin said. He goes to leave the drawing room and tells MC that if she ever changes her mind about his big-boobed paradise, then let him know. He doesn’t mind if she wants to join the ladies, or join him in appreciating the ladies.

part 2

[dinosaurtsukki]

[ it takes two to tango ]

pairing: chuuya nakahara x f!reader

word count: 2.4k words

contains: enemies but they flirt a lot basically, so much sexual tension and teasing, flirty!y/n, fight scenes and dance scenes basically carry the same amount of sexual tension and i will die on this hill

summary: chuuya runs into you, his arch-nemesis, again at a masquerade ball on a mission and reluctantly allies himself with you to fulfill the same goal

a/n: okay here’s ANOTHER chuuya fic from your resident chuuya fangirl. this is my first time writing an enemies to lovers-ish fic and i had so much fun with the setting and sexual tension here so i hope you guys like it 

▸ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ◂

chuuya was being watched, he could feel it ever since he walked into the large mansion on undercover mission that mori sent him out to do. at first, he didn’t think much of it since he was going to a masquerade ball, after all. of course there would be a few girls or two who’s eyes he managed to catch. 

except, when he went off on his own inside the mansion to search for info on the enemy faction’s leader, who also happened to be hosting the party, he could tell he was now being followed.  chuuya wasn’t particularly alarmed, he could handle anyone by himself. but he was pretty pissed off when he realized who those familiar footsteps, that grew nearer than ever, belonged to.

without hesitation, chuuya pulled out his knife and whirled around to face a pistol directed at his face. even with the black, feathered mask covering half your face, chuuya would recognize his arch-nemesis anywhere. 

he watched your red lips curl up in a smirk. “fancy seeing you here, nakahara,” you purred.

“fuck, you again?” chuuya growled, not lowering his knife. 

“try as you might, i’m afraid you just can’t avoid me,”  you said, lowering your gun. “so, you’re looking into boss tanaka too, huh? i’m afraid i already searched his office before you came in.” 

“that so?” chuuya snorted, mentally cursing himself for not coming earlier. but then, you were always just one step ahead of him.

you and chuuya had been arch-nemeses ever since you crossed paths at a mission a few years ago. he had never heard of you at all and knew very well that you weren’t part of any organization. rather, you worked alone as a paid criminal: assassinating anyone or stealing information all depending on who your boss was. if you were from an enemy organization, chuuya would have thought better of you. 

“unfortunately not,” you sighed, raising the skirt of your scarlet dress and tucking your gun away in the holster strapped to your thigh. chuuya tried not to let his eyes linger too long on this show off skin and realized, with a lot of discomfort, that you looked really good tonight. the dress you wore complimented the color of your lipstick and fit you like a glove, hugging your curves in all the perfect places. your hair was even done up too.

“like what you see?” you smirked at him, causing chuuya to blush and dart his eyes away, only for you to chuckle at his response. “don’t worry, you’re not the only one enjoying the view tonight,” you winked. unlike chuuya, you were a tad bit more, upfront, about your attraction to him. after all, he was an amazing fighter and ability user, a port mafia executive, and very good-looking to top it all off. and tonight, he was especially stunning in his dark gray suit and the white mask that covered his eyes and part of his left cheek.

oh, if only you two weren’t enemies. but then again, sometimes working together had its benefits.

“boss tanaka’s downstairs mingling with the guests. i recognized a few of his co-executives there with him,” chuuya said, walking ahead down the hallway and back to the dance floor.

“oho? are you suggesting we team up for a bit?” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“only until we get what we need, l/n,” chuuya flashed you a look. “after that, it’s free for all, like always.”

“you got it,” you mused as the two of you entered the ballroom of the masquerade ball. you were thankful for the theme giving you an opportunity to look less inconspicuous after you snuck in uninvited. the two of you scanned the sea of masked guests before spotting the unmistakable large figure and bald head of your target in the middle of the dance floor, chatting with a few of his associates.

“alright, follow my lead,” you said, holding your hand out to chuuya. 

“your lead?” he said, looking at your hand with more than a hint of suspicion. you rolled your eyes at him.

“how do you expect us to get close and listen on him without drawing attention?”

chuuya looked from you to the dance floor and understood what you were talking about. still, “no way am i dancing with you.”

“how come? don’t know how?” you mocked, grinning at the infuriated look on chuuya’s face as he grabbed your hand and pulled you with him to the dance floor. 

“you’re following my lead,” he said lowly, placing a hand behind your back and pulling you close. you two were inches apart and up close, you could smell chuuya’s usual cologne and the faintest hint of cigarette smoke. then slowly, the two of you began to move with the music. 

chuuya had only happened to learn dancing, from koyou-san of course, when he realized it was useful for certain missions and mingling with a crowd. he was confident with his skill and maneuvered the two of you effortlessly through the dance floor and getting within earshot of boss tanaka. the whole point of dancing with you was to get in close and overhear his plans. 

except, chuuya was unbelievably distracted by how close you were to him. everything from your the intensity of your gaze as you listened into your target’s conversation, to the warmth of your bare arm against his, to the scent of your perfume, was enough to make him feel more than a little warm. damn it, was he attracted to you now?

“one a.m., tonight,” you suddenly leaned in to whisper in his ear. with a start, chuuya realized you were relaying the info you just heard. “they’ll leave for yokohama tower and conduct the trade there. they’ve got a buyer for the information we’re after. about no less than a billion yen, would you believe?” you chuckled.

“good,” chuuya nodded, leading you away to the middle of the dance floor when he felt your grip tighten.

“you’re not thinking of leaving me here, are you?” you narrowed your eyes at him.

“why? so that you can screw me over sooner?” 

“there’s still a few hours until one a.m, it would be strange for us to leave, don’t you think?” you said innocently, smiling when the live orchestra began to play a livelier music piece. “we’ve got time to kill.”

talking to you constantly felt like making deals with a devil. previous experience told chuuya to drop you here right here and now. but the need to be kept on his toes around you was terribly exciting. it was a different kind of rush that chuuya couldn’t get from fighting even the strongest of opponents.

and you were the only one who could give it to him.

chuuya noticed the shift in the music at the same time you did and without warning, moved his hand down to your lower back and dipped you close to the floor. reading his movements, you smirked and wrapped your leg around his as chuuya lowered you.

“good choice, nakahara,” you said, drawing out the syllables of his name and leaning in to whisper in his ear. “it takes two to tango, after all.”

...

years of running into each other in missions and having to fight only made you and chuuya familiar with each other’s movements. when you danced, you were in complete coordination that you didn’t even have to think about where to move your feet. the fact that your faces were partially hidden by masks did nothing to remove the intensity behind your gazes and by the end of the dance, both of you were breathless.

dancing was almost no different from fighting. of course there was movement involved, a whirlwind of limbs but this time with weapons in hand. and then, there was trust involved. but the trust you placed in your dance partner to lead was very different in the trust you placed with a rival who happened to be fighting for your side momentarily.

“well, well, guess we have no choice but to beat all these guys up,” chuuya smirked, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it carefully against the fire exit ladder. he wasn’t sure if he was going to get a chance to fight some people tonight but the chance presented itself when you two barged into the trade-off on top of yokohama tower. 

“i’m sure you enjoy that immensely,” you sighed, eyeing all the mafioso members surrounding boss tanaka that now had you and chuuya surrounded on all sides.

“why, tired?” he taunted you.

“no,” you snorted, taking out your pistol and loading a new magazine. “i just bought this fucking dress.” 

“do you two really think you could get out of this situation?” boss tanaka sneered. you and chuuya broke in right before the trade-off actually happened and he tucked the USB containing the information you two were after into his pocket. maybe he was right to think that, after all he had one of the largest organizations in yokohama second only to the port mafia itself. he dealt in the illegal weapons trade in the city and you could bet that your new client and the port mafia were hoping to take over that. 

but you were a highly-paid mercenary for a reason  and chuuya nakahara was the port mafia’s best fighter. this was child’s play at most.

chuuya rolled up his sleeves and got into his fighting stance beside you. “try not to drag me down, l/n.” 

“speak for yourself, nakahara.” 

and with that, the two of you sprung into action. chuuya, not letting his ability to give an unfair advantage, dodged bullets left and right before sending kick after kick, knocking opponents down to the ground. he easily dodged a punched aimed at his jaw and gripped a man’s arm before throwing him over his back. once he pulled out his knife to use it, he was even more deadly.

as much as he hated to admit it, you caught up with him with easily. you had both pistols out at ready, firing them at your opponents without missing a single shot. your movements were practically seamless, filling in for each other’s blind spots and hitting targets with just the briefest of signals.

at one point, chuuya whirled around to find one of your pistols pointed at him. without a second thought, he moved his head a fraction to the side as a bullet whizzed past his cheek to hit someone behind him.

“that was a bit too close, don’t you think?” he growled at you.

“you really think i’d be dumb enough to kill you with a bullet?” you snorted, walking past him to where boss tanaka now lay on the ground, bleeding from the gunshot wound. 

“im- impossible. those were my best fighters,” he coughed, staring up at you.

“well, rest assured, they did put up a fight,” you smiled sweetly before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out the USB you were after. “what do you think’s in here?” 

“trade routes, probably,” chuuya said, taking his jacket and slipping into it again before stuffing his hands in his pockets and addressing you. “so, how are we going to do this?” 

“well, i was the one who killed boss tanaka,” you raised your eyebrows at him, tossing the USB up and down in your hand. 

“yeah, but i killed more of his henchmen,” chuuya reasoned.

“those are henchmen. everyone knows it doesn’t end until you take the boss.” 

“any one of those henchmen could have killed you if i hadn’t taken them out first.” 

you sighed. “i really don’t feel like fighting you tonight, nakahara.” 

“let’s just get it over and done with then, l/n,” chuuya cracked his knuckles and before you knew it he had you bent over backwards against the railing of the rooftop with his hand wrapped around your neck. you tried to move but the red glow around chuuya’s body and the heaviness around you suggested that it was futile.

“no... fair... ability,” you choked out. now it was chuuya’s turn to smirk as he had you right where he wanted you.

“l/n, you’re the last person who gets to talk to me about what’s fair,” he said, plucking the USB out of your hand and tucking it into the pocket of his shirt before finally letting you go. you gasped for air, massaging your throat as you glared at chuuya. “that’s what you get for double-crossing me last time.” 

“guess i kinda deserve it after slashing your motorcycle tires,” you laughed. 

“go to hell, l/n.” 

“are you asking me out on a date, nakahara?” 

“you wish.” 

“one last thing,” you sauntered up to chuuya, your bodies as close as they were earlier while dancing. he braced himself for anything else you might pull. you raised a hand and for a moment, chuuya thought you were going to make another grab for the USB, only for you to lean in and plant a kiss on his cheek.

he was beyond surprised and it took all of chuuya’s willpower to appear uninterested when he could feel his cheeks burning from the contact. the amused smile playing on your lips only aggravated him more. 

“the hell was that for?” he scowled.

“just wanted to see how you’d react,” you shrugged nonchalantly, sliding your pistols back into their holsters. “until next time, nakahara,” you waved before stopping by the door that you two came in and looking at him over your shoulder. “maybe sooner than you think.” 

...

chuuya shrugged out of his jacket and took off his mask as soon as he got into his car. it had been a long night, especially after running into you, and he wanted nothing more than to get home, take a long, relaxing shower, and get as much sleep as he could before going to the office later that day. 

but before all of that, chuuya took out the USB that he had spent all night trying to get and opening his laptop to check its contents. however, when he finally opened it to find a single .txt file inside, he knew something was wrong.

“fucking bitch,” he cursed under his breath, realizing that you must have swapped out the actual USB for one that you brought with you when you kissed him earlier. it was even more frustrating when chuuya remembered that he was caught completely off-guard by it. 

after collecting himself, he finally opened the .txt file, even though he knew it would just contain a gloating message from you. but the message was just two words, typed beside what appeared to be your phone number.

chuuya could almost hear your voice as he read it: call me.

▸ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ◂

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[shelby-love]

ELIJAH MIKAELSON

Past Catching Up.

Requested: yes (by anonymous)

Prompts: none

Warning(s): none

Word count: 1.2K

Author's note: It’s always a pleasure to write about my Mikaelson men! Thank you for your lovely request. Happy reading! <3

~

The French Quarter was brimming with people, the streets buzzing all around. There were tourists in every nook and cranny of the city. Many sounds danced in the air, from wheeling bicycles to chattering. Jardin Gris Voodoo Shop was having a busy day, which was proved by the long amount of time you had spent inside.

These people didn't know in what kind of city they had stumbled in, but they didn't seem to mind.

Your hold on the small bag filled with herbs you had bought for Freya tightened impulsively as a little kid passed by you in a blur of a moment, ducking just in time not to trample you over with his bike. You sighed, glancing over your shoulder after him. There really was no point in lecturing the kid.

Your gaze fell in the direction of your walk again, being free of obstacles for what looked like 3 seconds. You felt yourself stumble against something hard, and instinctively you held onto the mystery for support. It takes you a moment to compose yourself and figure out the right excuse.

"Are you okay?" the man asks smoothly, still holding your shoulders in a vise grip.

You stepped out of that very same hold and looked up. He saw the shock register on your face before you could even attempt to hide it. Just like a year ago, a small smile played on his lips. Always in a way that made someone think he knows something they don't.

He reminded you of Klaus now that you thought of it. He was much like Kol too, yet very…no.

Yet entirely different from the sophisticated man you loved. Elijah Mikaelson was one of a kind after all.

"What are doing here Levi?" You asked him quickly. Your eyes fell on the surrounding vampires, those sent by Elijah to keep an eye out on you. There was not a doubt in your mind that one of them had already left to fetch him.

Even though Levi crushed your whole being when he broke up with you, erasing your feelings for him forever – a part of you refused to see the man with whom you shared many memories suffer great pain at the hands of Elijah.

You are a different woman now. An entirely different one; the last of your human beliefs had disappeared months ago when you were introduced to the supernatural world.

"Came to see you, of course," he drawled, lips twitching into a magnified smirk.

"Well, you wasted your time," you told him with a frown. "I want nothing to do with you."

Attempting to walk around his muscled body was of no avail as his hand grasped your wrist in which you were holding the herbs.

Levi took noticed and smiled, "You were never into gardening. What changed?"

You glared at him, wanting now more than ever to tell him you were delivering the herbs to the oldest witch on the planet. "They're not mine."

"Do you want to go get a drink? We should catch up," he proposed and you hated the way his smile grew by a mile. "There's a jazz bar here. St. James Infirmary am I right? Do you know where it is?"

"I've been living here for the last year Levi," You growled. "Of course, I know where it is."

And you did wish to take him there more than anything. You wanted to take him to the long-standing establishment of New Orleans, that has served as neutral territory between the supernatural factions of the city for decades. Fixing someone a drink using Levi should be easy as no vampire dared to touch you due to being Elijah's love.

"Great!" Levi said, his white teeth gracing you under the sun. "Then let's go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

How he managed to act like nothing bad ever happened between you two was puzzling, to say the least. While you had your wounds reopened with his sudden appearance, he seemed everything but wounded.

"Is there a problem here?"

You were never gladder to see Elijah's Armani suit as you were right then at that moment. You nodded your head eagerly and attempted to free your wrist. By now you had caught the attention of several locals and tourists in passing.

"He won't leave me alone." You gritted out, pulling your wrist again. "Levi let me go!"

It took a great amount of self-control for Elijah to keep his vampirism at bay. The look in your face was enough to pull at his heart that wanted nothing more than to protect you and have you in his arms.

"Can I suggest you listen to her and take a step back?" He asked him calmly, the tone of his voice stoic.

"Why should I do that? Y/N and I go way back, right love?"

Elijah's eyes visibly darkened, the veins of his vampire part threatening to surface. The younger man didn't know what he was dealing with, and as much as it pleased you to be in possession of that particular fact, you didn't want to your garbage-like ex of a boyfriend to be the reason behind Elijah's control loss of self-control.

Levi let you go, raising his hands in mock-surrender. Eventually he did stagger away, acting in a way that made it seem like the rejection didn't hurt or that the cold stare didn't put him into submission.

Elijah pulled you to him, grasping the side of your face with his hand while inspecting your wrist with the other.

Glad that he was there to intimidate your ex-boyfriend, you leaned in to give him a peck on the lips as a thank-you.

Although your brows came together very soon.

It's not over yet.

"Stay there," You pointed to Elijah before turning around. The Original vampire didn't attempt to stop you as the noble man in him had full trust in you like always. It was one of the many things you adored about him.

"I knew you were-"

You placed your hand lightly on Levi's shoulder, halting him in his steps and turning him around to face you – beaming.

Slap!

When it came to physically and verbally attacking someone, in your case, background always mattered.

Did they deserve it? What was it in for you?

Yes, and everything.

It sure felt good when your hand met his cheek. No. It felt more than good.

Amazingly satisfying aren't even the right words.

"Leave me the hell alone." You said in his face. "Unless you want my boyfriend to break your body like a twig."

Levi didn't have a clue how serious that threat was.

With a determined look you stalked back to Elijah. "Do you want me to wipe his memory?"

You eventually came to a decision and nodded. "Wipe it clean."

***

"Brother dearest!" Klaus' voice boomed when you and Elijah crossed the entry of the Mikaelson home, hand in hand. "I got a whiff of your encounter with Y/N's past lover. I've got to admit… You handled yourself very well back there."

"Why thank you, Niklaus." Elijah said monotonely.

"How melodramatic." Klaus mused. "Am I right?"

"Yes," You agreed. "I slapped him."

Klaus grinned, "So I've heard."

Ignoring Klaus became your expertise. Shrinking his voice into the background seemed way too easy as you leaned toward Elijah.

He placed his hands on your hips, your breathing mingling together.

"I've got to find Freya."

"She's in the drawing room." He whispered, having picked up where his sister was with his hearing.

Understanding dawned his eyes, "We can't change our past, so we live together in the present, and we fight the past off together when it comes knocking at our doors."

"Thank you for…you know. Not freaking out."

"Were you always this wise?"

"No," He replied with a chuckle. "That's the millennium rubbing off me."

~

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MASTERLIST

[cupcakemolotov]

Match My Heart to Yours

Okay, since the Exchange reveals have been pushed back until Thursday (for very, very good reasons) I have decided to post a tiny thing to hopefully tide people over. I do sort of intend to write more on this, but I have been stalled for a few months which means I need to change things up. So here is the first bit, hopefully you all like it!

You can also read it here on A03.

Synopsis: Enzo has an plan. Caroline has some serious doubts, because first all, werewolf, hot or not. Alpha, even. A political marriage to a man with his dimples seems like a terrible idea.

                                                            -

Caroline paused, chopsticks hovering over her container of fried rice. Across from her, Enzo looked relaxed, no real tension visible as he reached for another eggroll. “Excuse me?”

“Gorgeous…”

She narrowed her eyes at his placating tone. “I should have known your offer to pick up dinner two towns over was a bribe. You don’t even like Chinese food. You cannot be serious.”

Her witchy best friend would walk through fire for her, but perfect egg rolls an hour after they’d been picked up should have dinged as an obvious bribe. Though this was not nearly big enough. 

“Would I have made the drive if I wasn’t serious?” Enzo asked, sighing when her expression didn’t budge. “You know what I do. What I really do.”

Her gaze dropped to his wrist were a tattoo wound along the bones and tendons, the ink black and red, starkly visible against the olive of his skin. Usually he used the modern advances in makeup to hide what no magic could, because sometimes people were less understanding about this particular quirk of his magic than others. She’d never had a problem with it, but she was human and had no desire for his services. 

Caroline speared a piece of shrimp and narrowed her eyes in warning. “I am very aware of what you do with your magic when you aren’t perfecting fireballs and lightning strikes, Enzo. No need to be rude.”

“Care…”

She chewed carefully, giving herself a moment so she didn’t do something stupid like throw the food at him. The wood floors were brand new. “I’m human. No witchy bloodlines for ten generations or more, and definitely not a werewolf. São Paulo proved that. In spades. So, seriously, there is zero reason for your magic to like me for this.”

A faint grimace. São Paulo had not been a good time. Not for anyone. 

“You know it doesn’t always work like that,” he said patiently, dunking his egg roll repeatedly into the sweet and sour sauce, his expression wry. “Sometimes my magic has a mind of its own.”

She rolled her eyes. “Enzo, tell me something I don’t know.”

A small laugh escaped him. “True.”

“Have I ever done anything, absolutely anything, that would make you think I’d want to have a matchmaker stick their nosy magic in my life?” Caroline set her chopsticks down and started closing containers, her appetite gone. 

A sigh. “No.”

“Damn straight. Isn’t there some kind of ritual involved? Blood magic? The romance novels I read on this subject insisted consent was a factor and blood had to be given willingly, much to the displeasure of several southern mamas.”

He deliberately finished his eggroll, sauce-soggy rice paper and all, chewing methodically. “Normally. This isn’t a… usual situation.”

“Normally?” Sitting back, Caroline waved her hand. “The food buys you an explanation. So start talking.”

Enzo leaned back, chair creaking, and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Look, you’ve been in Europe the last, what? Six months?” 

“Eight, and should I be hurt you weren’t counting?”

He snorted. “You spent the last eight months chasing diamonds. Busy enough you even stopped answering texts in a timely manner, so I imagine you haven’t kept up with what’s been going on.”

“Excuse you? What text did I not respond to?”

“Emoji’s are not words, Caroline.”

Caroline pressed her chin to her palm, gaze narrowed. “Stop being old, Enzo. And let’s be clear. It’s not like I was chasing just any diamonds. These were expensive. The kind of expensive we peons can never actually afford to legally own.”

Enzo rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen your rate sheet. You do just fine.”

She grinned at him. “Thank you, I do very good work. But what does my previous job have to do with the completely ridiculous proposal you brought me?”

“Mason died.”

Caroline arched a brow. “Yeah, I saw. That was impossible to miss. International news, all those TV Pundits talking about who would take over as the US Alpha, blah blah politics. Since he had the bad taste to die outside of a challenge fight, I didn’t have time to worry about it.”

Enzo put the plastic lid back on the sweet and sour sauce, his expression unhappy. “That’s the problem. He did die in a challenge fight.”

“Huh?”

He sighed and pushed his chair back. “This is a bit of a complicated story. As nice as these chairs are, something a little more comfortable might not be adverse.”

“You’re not getting any of the beer in my fridge until I’m sure I’m not kicking you out.” She narrowed her eyes. “The odds are not in your favor.”

“Cruel, but I suppose well deserved.” His chin tipped towards his car, expression amused. “Is now a good time to mention the cheesecake in the trunk of my car?”

“Enzo!”

He laughed and sauntered into her living room, flopping his favorite squishy chair. Caroline picked the couch. She motioned for him to start talking, and he slouched a little further down.

“Look, a lot of this isn’t common knowledge, alright?” Enzo grimaced. “Though it should be and I’m not sure how much longer they are going to manage to keep a lid on how badly the Council screwed this up.”

“Cover up?”

“Among other problems.”

“Mason was their darling.” And, she knew, some factions had whispered, their pawn. She reached up and shoved her bangs back to hide her wince. “Losing a wolf so pro-witch would have been a blow. Losing the top Alpha who was also pro-witch is a political travesty.”

“Political travesty or not, Mason’s dead, and they’re going to have to deal with the new Alpha. He isn’t known for his tolerance.”

“Most werewolves are suspicious of magic,” Caroline pointed out, curling one leg underneath her. “Can’t really blame ‘em, with how they ended up as werewolves. Vengeance, magical curse. That sort of thing tends to sour peoples opinions, and then you know centuries later, they really improved things with their required silver legislation.”

“Yeah, you’re not wrong, but that’s not the kind of tolerance I am talking about.” He leaned back against the chair, and lifted his foot towards the coffee table, pausing, gaze darting towards her narrowed eyes. His foot thumped back against the floor. “The short version is that Mason was challenged, he lost, and the Witch’s Council, for lack of better words, bungled the announcement.”

“How do you bungle an announcement? Challengers have official channels they have to go through and everything.” She pointed at the TV. “They’ve even started wanting to televise the damn things, like it’s some kind of wrestling bout and not a fight to the death.”

Enzo rubbed a hand down his face. “From everything that I’ve been able to tell, Mason just… didn’t expect to lose.”

“That makes no sense. Mason wasn’t young, even by werewolf standards,” Caroline said slowly. “There have been rumors in Europe that he should have been disposed of as much as a century ago. They aren’t really sure why the packs here haven't risen up against him, particularly after the whole issue with his nephew abducting his bride after she’d been paired by the matchmakers to someone else.”

“Tyler Lockwood leads more with his dick than his brains,” Enzo agreed. “And that should have weakened Mason politically, spurring a few challenges. That it didn’t…”

“It’s only been ten years, and that isn’t that long for a werewolf,” Caroline pointed out. “It’s reasonable that the family of the disappointed groom would just now be in a position themselves to pick a fight. Hayley’s family is old blood but not particularly powerful.”

Enzo gave her a dry look. “When do werewolves ever wait to pick fights?”

“When they are going up against the top Alpha in the US and need public opinion behind them. The general public expects a dominance fight or a natural cause of death for all alphas,” she said dryly. 

He nodded in approval. “For someone so disparaging of politics earlier, you do have an excellent grasp of the situation.”

Caroline tossed a cushion at him, which he caught with a grin. “Please, my Mom was the Sheriff and Dad, well, you know Dad. Conspiracy theories and hatred of anything that so much whiffed of the unnatural. But none of that explains what actually happened?”

“We think Mason was using magic to win his challenge fights.”

Her lips parted. “But that’s… the packs would riot. Because something like that…”

“It’s something the Witch Council had to be involved in.”

She inhaled sharply. “That would be a disaster.”

“It is a disaster,” Enzo said bitterly. “There have already been two executions, and several investigations are still pending. We’ve managed to convince the new alpha to hold back the public announcement, but he’s losing patience. We need a solid infrastructure of a plan in place, because humans don’t do well with surprises of this kind, and right now we’re barely holding the alliances together.”

“And what?” Caroline asked exasperated. “The remaining Council has decided to hire a matchmaker? They think since the new Alpha is single, they must be in want of a partner? You’re going to announce the change of leadership, the challenge fight, and then announce he agreed to be matchmade?”

“Something like that.”

“Who is going to trust the Council after something like this?” She shoved her hair away from her face. “If I was the Alpha, I wouldn’t touch anything that they touch with a ten foot pole. That includes matchmaking.”

“I wasn’t hired by the Council, though a couple of my… co-workers have taken those contracts.” He seemed to consider his words and then shrugged. “I was hired by Bekah.”

“Rebekah Mikaelson?” She said, brows arching high. “Why is she involved in this? And I thought you two didn't get along. The last time you were in the same room, she lit your precious robes on fire.”

Enzo’s mouth curved into a slow smile full of male satisfaction. “She’s an odd one, but it’s not the worst way I’ve had someone flirt with me.”

“And the time she declared matchmaking the worst magical school in existence and she hoped you did the world a favor and never reproduced?”

“Charming, isn’t she? I don’t think she really likes children in general.” He looked unbothered. “The bit about my magic was just an attempt to be clever. Her insults have gotten better the more she gets to know me. I appreciate her dedication to getting my attention.”

“Yes, and that is what I am going to put on your gravestone. You finally got the attention you always wanted.” Caroline shook her head. “Insults and spells aside, why did she hire you?”

“Because the Witch Council is right, in a way. It’s going to come out that Mason lost a challenge fight and the witches tried to cover it up.” Enzo reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “A werewolf who is newly matched has more appeal than a single one, and it’s not a terrible way to divert the press.”

“Is he worried about appeal? Why are you worried about his appeal?” She threw up her hands. “He killed Mason. He is now unequivocally in charge. Why does appeal matter?”

“We need stability.” Enzo’s face went grave. “We can’t afford a year of dominance fights when we’re already struggling with sorting through Mason’s people for traitors. Announcing a match buys us time.”

Caroline froze. “You want the year truce.”

“We need that year, Gorgeous. I’m not sure we’ll survive without it. Pairing off the new alpha? It’s the only way we’re going to get it.”

“And you want me to marry him? Why?”

“Why not you? You’re smart, resourceful, and not bad on the eyes. That you're from a small town will add to your appeal. Small town girl meets werewolf Alpha, and it’s a match. People will love you.”

“I’m a Finder, Enzo. That’s not exactly the most politically correct of jobs.” Her gaze narrowed. “Am I even going to be able to keep working if I agree to this?”

“Once things stabilize, sure, why not?”

“You’re really selling this.”

Enzo shrugged. “You know that one of the true weaknesses of Mason’s was that he refused to find a mate or even attempt a match.”

There had seemingly been a good reason for that. Werewolves were blessed with supernatural strength, a lifespan that more than tripled a normal human’s, and were highly territorial. Most of the time, those instincts could be driven towards their pack and maintaining the careful balance that the world existed in. A werewolf in love was a dangerous creature. Werewolves fighting over their lovers more so.

It was why Enzo’s magic existed. 

“Uh huh,” Caroline drawled, unconvinced. “You're really going to tell an Alpha he can’t claim what’s his unless he agrees to a match, the very thing the last alpha decried as unnecessary. How’s that going? I bet not well.”

“The sooner you say yes, the better, then.”

She glowered at him, but he looked unrepentant.

“Seriously Enzo, matchmaking magic or not, this cannot be your best plan. I cannot be the absolute best idea you have for this.”

“Why not?” He leaned back. “From where I’m sitting, it’s a fantastic plan.”

Caroline’s jaw dropped and she stared at him. He was serious. She knew that set of his jaw, the glint behind his eyes. Matchmaking wasn’t a science, it was magic. A fail safe, a terrible and beautiful promise: that somewhere out there, somewhere, maybe, a soulmate existed. And if you were lucky enough, maybe magic would find them for you.

“Enzo, seriously this time. Why even ask me? You know I’ve never been interested in matchmaking with a werewolf or witch. I like my life.” She spread her arms to include the house. “What you're asking me to do, asking of me, it changes everything. Why?”

He was quiet for several moments, his gaze unfocused. When he spoke, his voice was strangely serious. “My magic likes the match.”

She considered that, shifting to hug her knees to her chest. She’d been friends with Enzo since she was seventeen years old and she’d dragged his half unconscious body out of a car wreck that should have killed him. In turn, he’d been there for her when her mom died and her dad disappeared. He’d helped her get established in her career of choice, even though he’d been disapproving of the reasons why she’d chosen to go into it. 

She trusted him. 

Enzo liked to hide what he could do because he was so good at what he did, and she’d seen him drunk more than once post-match. His magic was not… unkind, but it wasn’t easy, what it demanded of him. To put two people together, with the intention that they’d make a relationship work for possibly hundreds of years. The weight of success and the pain of failure were both so heavy. 

Enzo did not match lightly. 

His magic liked the match. 

Her stomach flipped as she really considered what that meant. No such thing as soul mates, Enzo always insisted, just the endless probabilities of human lives narrowed to a single red thread between two people. And here, he said, was her chance to see if this probability would work for her. 

She couldn’t decide what that made her feel.

“You swear this isn’t about Dad?”

A tip of his head. “While I have no compunction about putting a few hundred werewolves between you and whatever mess he left behind, it’s not about him. You were right. My magic should never have considered you for this. You’ve never wanted to find a match, and honestly, I’ve always liked that about you. And nothing about this is going to be easy. But when Rebekah brought me his blood, all my magic could see was you and the potential you two had together. I could no more deny you the chance to say yes than breathe.”

She groaned under her breath. “This could be a disaster. You know I hate politics, and I’m an only child. I’m terrible at sharing. He’s alpha. Nothing he does is his alone.”

“I know. The circumstances are unusual, so they’ve been willing to negotiate generous terms if things don’t work.” Enzo grinned. “No one wants to trap either of you, not when all parties know that magic isn’t infallible.”

She eyed him. “I don’t like it when you think you’ve got it all figured out.”

A laugh. “Come with me to New York. Give it two years. A year for the truce, a year to fortify whatever weaknesses his enemies attempt to manipulate. At the end, if you want out, no one will stop you. I’ll dissolve the marriage myself. No loopholes.”

Enzo never dissolved marriages. That, more than anything, told her how serious he was about giving her an out. How badly they needed to truce. 

“I guess you really do have this all figured out.” 

“I wish I did, but we both know that’s impossible with something like this. I can only read the magic, and tell you what I see. But I’ll do everything I can to help you.” He smiled ruefully. “We’ve gotten good at hiding bodies, what’s a few more?”

Caroline wasn’t sure she should have found that comforting, but she did. “And just who am I agreeing to consider marrying?”

Enzo suddenly coughed and stood, a familiar hint of devilment twisting his lips. “Klaus Mikaelson.”

She spluttered. “Klaus Mikaelson? You want me to marry Klaus? He killed Mason?”

His smile widened. “Yes.”

Caroline gawked at him. Before she’d gone to Europe, Klaus Mikaelson had been the third most powerful Alpha. Young, handsome, devastatingly charming, he made people forget just how terrifying he could be with a pair of dimples that raised the blood pressure of every woman past puberty. 

He was also Rebekah Mikaelson’s half brother. 

Enzo had been entertaining her for years about the Mikaelson sibling dynamic. Klaus had not been spared in those stories, and while she’d never met him, she knew two very important things: he was built on lines that had always, always snagged her attention, and the sharp temper of his wolf, the brutality of his temper, hid a clever, agile mind that made him dangerous to underestimate.

“Enzo!” She protested. “Klaus?”

Sliding his hands in his pockets, he spun towards her door. “Yup.”

“Just where do you think you are going?”

Enzo tossed her a grin over his shoulder. “To get your cheesecake. You didn’t think I lied about that, did you? And you might as well fetch me that beer. We both know I’m not going anywhere until tomorrow, at the earliest.”

Caroline stared at his back as the door clanged behind him, heart hammering in her throat for a hundred reasons she couldn’t explain.

[mostlycompetentwriter]

Start Line (Part One of Two)

M/F Pairing: Fem!Reader x Bang Chan (SKZ)

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 7.2K

Genre: Boys over Flowers AU! Strangers to enemies to potential lovers!

Summary: Starting a new school is never easy, but the four rich and popular boys who pretend like they’re above the rest of the student population? Well, that makes everything even worse.

A/N: You don’t need to watch the show to understand, but it might be fun! AKA this is a Kdrama recommendation. 

Also, I’m super sorry to the anonymous user who asked for this and probably impatiently waited for me to get a grip!!! 

Tagging @skzwriternet​

For my entire life, I’ve had to work harder than everyone else to secure the things that I wanted the most. 

Which is why nothing could enrage me more than the sight of the four boys sitting on the bleachers together in my new school’s gymnasium.

I had just recently transferred into the school on a swimming scholarship, and a young student assistant offered to give me a tour of the facilities before my first day of scheduled classes. Her name was Suzy, and she had enough intel on the school’s population that even the CIA would be jealous. 

I wasn’t normally one for drama, but Suzy’s warning about the school’s infamously named “F4″ was enough to leave me feeling cautious: “You see those guys over there?” she had asked when we sat down together on the bleachers. “It’s fair to say that they run the school, so most people try to avoid pissing them off.”

The boys in question were all starters for the school’s accolade-heavy basketball team. Apparently, that meant a lot in this affluent and well-endowed community, and I could tell that they considered themselves with the highest regard. Especially the oldest, a handsome blonde whose killer accent was surely the ruin of any one of those poor girls who flocked around them like they were desperate for attention.

“Bang Chan,” Suzy informed me. “He’s the leader, and his family owns an entire line of luxury hotel chains.”

“I guess that means something special?” I remarked, and Suzy gave me a curious look. 

“His family owns the school, but if we’re talking worth, then his parents pretty much own this whole town.”

“So, he takes advantage of that,” I noted, and Suzy nodded her head before indicating to the other three boys.

“They’ve all been friends since they were kids, but everyone knows that Chan and Changbin are super close.”

“Changbin?” I questioned, and Suzy pointed to the introspective and sullen-looking student who was ignoring all of the other girls with narrowed dark eyes. 

“His parents died when he was young,” she explained. “He lives with his grandfather.”

“Oh?” I wondered, and I looked at Changbin again with a fresh perspective - as someone who had experienced trauma that would follow him for the rest of his life.

“Felix and Minho are the real fuckboys,” Suzy continued. “They’re notorious for the weekend rule.”

“The weekend rule?”

“Find a college party, hook-up with a nameless girl, and then leave her before she’s too attached.”

“Fuck boys,” I grumbled in agreement, and Suzy sighed as if she had personal experience...but I seriously doubted that someone of her caliber would stoop so low knowing full well what kind of reputation she was dealing with.

“The entire school is at their beck and call,” she said. “They do whatever they want, and nobody ever questions them.”

“Well, I’m here to graduate and find a good college for swimming,” I said, meeting Chan’s gaze from a distance. “I don’t have time for games.”

The ominous faction leader smirked as he held my stare, eyeing me up and down with a flicker of interest that I chose to ignore when Suzy asked if I wanted to finish the rest of our tour.

Day One

On my first day of classes, Suzy was kind enough to stick close to my side, although I was beginning to see that she wasn’t very popular, and we were mostly ignored by the rest of the populace. Which was just fine with me.

“Check it out!” she exclaimed. “Our schedules are almost identical.”

“I’m glad,” I said, ducking my head to avoid a couple of rough-housing football players who were “playfully” knocking each other into the lockers. “I’m pretty sure you could get lost in here.”

“Well, ideally, most students start here in Elementary school, and they stay all the way through High School,” Suzy said. 

“A pretentious education at its finest,” I remarked, wondering how much money was literally walking by me with every Luis Vuitton bag and Gucci-made uniform that passed in opposing directions. 

“Do you start swimming after school?” Suzy asked, making easy conversation as we entered our first classroom - advanced biology.

“Yeah,” I said, following Suzy to the back of the room. “There’s a tournament this weekend.”

“Already?” Suzy gasped, and she plopped down into one of the desks next to me. “Will you have enough time to practice?”

“I’ll be fine,” I reassured her, reaching for a spare notebook as the teacher walked in to begin one of the most intense lectures that I had ever attended.

But the school’s Academic reputation was no joke, and I imagined that they hired the finest teachers that the school’s infinite endowment could afford - a budget that would eclipse the remainder of the public schools in the district. Yet, no one seemed to blink an eye at how obviously unfair that was, as if these well-off students deserved a high-class education simply because their parents made more money than they could spend.

My new socio-economic environment was becoming more and more apparent, and I was suddenly feeling every part of the outcast who wandered into the wrong part of town with good intentions. But a moralistic attitude would get you nowhere in life if everyone else refused to acknowledge the fact. 

I learned quickly that the students at this school were only looking after themselves, but the lesson was hard to accept. Which might explain my uncharacteristic heroism when it came to defending Suzy later on that afternoon when she agreed to give me a ride home after swim practice.

I was outside, sending a message to my mom, when I noticed a black SUV careening backwards at a speed that was far too fast. Meanwhile, Suzy had settled down inside the car to start the ignition, messing with the dials on the radio, when a powerful jolt sent her jerking forward. “What the hell?” Suzy shrieked, turning around in her seat only to startle with that “deer in the headlights” look of absolute horror.

“Shit!!” she cursed, and I watched her get out of the car before taking a deep breath and joining her on the opposite side of her smashed trunk where a huge crowd of students had started to gather around us.

They were talking rapidly amongst themselves, and I figured out why they were so interested the minute Bang Chan and one of his friend - Felix, perhaps? - walked up to Suzy with a bored expression. “You do this often?” were the first words I ever heard from Chan. “I can’t believe you got in my way.”

Suzy immediately bowed her head - submitting to the older Senior. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, but I couldn’t stand to watch her expose her most vulnerable position. 

“Hey!” I shouted, walking around Suzy’s crumbled form to stand toe-to-toe with the infamous Bang Chan.

“You must be the new girl,” Chan remarked, eyeing me up and down with vague interest. “I kinda expected something more when I saw you the other day...”

I seethed when his gaze fell lower, as if pointing out something that only hormonal teenage boys would care about. “I’m not here to impress you,” I replied, and he arched one brow.

“I don’t need to be impressed,” Chan said. “But your little friend disrespected me, and I think she should apologize.”

“You’re the one who wasn’t looking!” I snapped. “Anyone with eyes could see that you were too busy on your phone to pay attention!”

There was a collective conversation from the crowd, and Chan studied the growing conglomeration of students surrounding our confrontation. “Do you have proof of that? Or, is it your word against mine?”

“Someone with any sense of dignity wouldn’t act this way,” I countered, and Chan immediately started laughing.

“Oh? Isn’t that cute,” he said, eyes crinkling at the corners. “You have a lot to learn around here.”

“The only thing I’ve learned is to stay away from you,” I said, and Chan rolled his eyes like it was the dumbest thing he had ever heard.

And the torment only continued.

“Hey!” I snapped when he knocked his shoulder against mine, coming to stand in front of Suzy again with disdain.

“Pay for the damages,” he ordered. “And then apologize to me.”

“Chan-” Suzy started, but I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around. 

“I wasn’t finished,” I said, and our noses almost brushed from the minimal distance I allowed between us. 

“I don’t want to hear anything else about your idea of honor or whatever,” Chan sneered, but he paused when I held up my phone, pressing the play button on the video which provided convincing evidence of the incident.

“What about this?” I asked him, and I could practically see him come undone.

“Give that to me!” he demanded, but I took several steps away from him, returning my cellphone to my pocket. 

“But I’m sure the police would be interested in seeing it.”

Chan’s eyes perceptibly widened, and I felt a surge of triumph in knowing that I had the upper hand. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” I taunted him, briefly glancing over my shoulder at his friend who had started snickering - like he was enjoying our fight. 

“Fine,” Chan huffed. “What do you want?”

“You’ll pay for the damages to my friend’s car,” I said. “And...”

“And?” Chan snapped, clearly impatient.

“You can apologize to her instead,” I finished, and there were several consecutive gasps from the student population.

“Is he gonna do it?”

“There’s no way Chan will give in!!”

“Someone film this!”

My smile continued to widen at the jeers of my classmates, and Chan was finally at his wits end, spinning around on his heels to growl an imperceptible attempt at an apology to Suzy who could only look at him in awe. “We’re done here,” Chan said, and I shrugged nonchalantly, watching him storm away with his friend in tow behind him.

I sighed once they were both gone, feeling a sense of profound justice after proving that even the great Bang Chan could be defeated, but then Suzy appeared in front of me with a grave look in her eyes that told me this whole ordeal was far from over. “Y/N,” she whispered. “What have you done?”

Day Three

The next morning, I walked to my locker feeling every gaze turned in my direction. I frowned at each of them, wondering if this was the aftermath from the incident with Chan and his stupid friends. Yet, when I finally paused in front of my locker, an uncomfortable sensation of dread sent me into a cold sweat when I saw what was taped to the front of the door. 

It was a red card with a black skull at the top and the infamous “F4″ written across the bottom.

“She got the card!” someone announced from off to the side, and it didn’t take long for other students to rush in my direction.

“The card?” I whispered to myself, remembering Suzy’s previous warnings concerning the exploits of the F4 boys. It wasn’t an accident that I had received this ominous warning, and I knew that I was in trouble.

Quickly, I darted through one of the exits leading outside, placing me somewhere on a small veranda where I leaned against the bannister overlooking the school’s athletic fields. “What the hell is wrong with this place!” I screeched, projecting my voice across the fields, and I didn’t expect anyone to hear me...

“Why the hell are you screaming?” 

I paused at the sudden question, widening my eyes when I realized it was closer than I expected. “You come up here often?”

I staggered backward at the interjection, spinning around to locate the voice that had uttered the simple question. “Hello?”

There was a sigh, and then a familiar sweep of brown hair appeared from around the corner. “This is my spot, you know?”

“No,” I said, cringing at my tone. “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

The recipient in question was none other than Changbin, one of the four members of the school’s notorious F4. His dark black hair was wind-swept across his forehead, falling in thin strands over attentive brown eyes while he leaned against the wall of the small patio sectioned off from the rest of the veranda. “Lesson learned,” Changbin continued, swaggering up the stairs to stand next to me, looking out over the playing fields. “I guess I can’t come here anymore.”

“What do you mean?” I found myself asking without really thinking about what it might look like to show that I was concerned. After all, he was a member of the same F4 that had just terrorized me with their stupid calling card.

“You’re here,” Changbin replied as if the answer might suffice. “I have a feeling this place will be too loud.”

He sighed then before starting for the exit. “W-wait!” I stuttered, unable to put together a logical sentence before Changbin was already walking back inside.

But Changbin’s unexpected appearance proved to be the least of my problems.

For the remainder of the afternoon, I faced an onslaught of humiliation courtesy of my classmates. Everything from jeers between classes, to more insulting pranks like decorating the desk on my homeroom classroom with vulgar language and pictures.

Yet, worst of all was coming face to face with Bang Chan himself who smiled some kind of sickening smirk at me before quietly asking if I had had enough of the torment. “This is nothing,” I growled at him.

“Oh? Well, it’s only gonna get worse,” Chan promised, and he left without another word, leaving me to stew over a powerful combination of anxiety and frustration.

However, Chan’s idea of worse was, indeed, inexcusable. And I nearly screamed when I went to swim that afternoon, only to discover the pool littered with trash. But there was nobody around to help, and I spent the entirety of my scheduled practice time cleaning up with water, wrinkling my nose at a few questionable banana peels.

“I guess he went through with it,” a familiar voice interrupted my trash session, beaming through the haze of disgust lingering with every brush of my fingers across sodden newspaper or moldy plates.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded of Felix and Minho - the infamous duo who were practically glued to Chan’s side.

“We just wanted to meet you,” Felix said, and I watched through narrowed eyes as they brought over chairs from the side to sit down at the poolside.

I frowned. Couldn’t they help? “Why are you interested?” I asked instead, bringing another load of trash to the edge.

“Well, it’s been awhile since anyone stood up to Chan,” Minho explained, and there was a playfulness in his gaze that left me feeling uneasy in concern to their real intentions.

“Doing what’s right shouldn’t make me a martyr,” I said.

“But it does,” Felix replied with a cheeky smile. “He’s gonna keep up the torture, you know,” he continued, waving his hand around to indicate the trash still floating on top of the chlorine-caked water. 

“Forever?” I grimaced, hating that the word had slipped free without really thinking about what it would mean to admit such things to Chan’s friends.

Minho smiled, looking up at something over my shoulder. “I’m surprised to see you here, Changbin?”

I turned around as if it was instinctual, watching the same person from earlier on the veranda walk inside from the locker room. He seemed even more out of place than Minho and Felix, studying the pollution of trash swimming with me. “She’s interesting,” Changbin said, and I was surprised when my stomach did a few somersaults at his confession.

“I agree,” Felix inserted, leaning back against his elbows with his shirt sleeves rucked up high on his forearms. “It’s been a while since Chan has been this invested in something.”

“It would be nice if he could stop,” I grumbled, and I met Changbin’s sincere gaze as he knelt down next to the poolside.

“He’ll give up when he thinks you won’t back down,” Changbin finally decided, and I watched as he started gathering the trash floating in his direction.

Day Seven

In hindsight, my imagination ran wild with scenarios that were more insane with each progressive image that crossed through my head. 

But what could you expect from someone who had just figured out that she was being followed by three burly men wearing suits like they were the Men in Black. 

Each time I started to walk faster, they would also do the same. Until it got to the point where I was zigzagging around corners, doing my best to dodge out of their sight, only to find myself once again confronted with the strange men who had no intentions of leaving me alone.

Eventually, I paused on the sidewalk outside of the school’s entrance. I was running late that morning, which meant nobody else was around to witness this madness. But I was a strong, independent woman with a a no-nonsense attitude that compelled me to project my voice across the well-polished front lawn. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” I began, holding up my hands when they grew closer. “What seems to be the problem?”

“We have orders to bring you to our boss,” they said, which only confused me even more.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t know who you’re talking about?”

“Our apologies, miss,” the first man continued. “We were informed that you might try to resist.”

“Like I’m just gonna skip school and leave with a couple of strangers who have no conception of personal space,’ I glowered, but when I tried to spin around on my heel, I found myself colliding with an enormous chest, and I sighed, realizing that they had clearly been distracting me long enough for the third guard to sneak up behind me. “Fine,” I muttered, rolling my eyes when he grabbed my arm, leading me to the sleek black car running at the front of the school.

From there, my day only continued to grow even weirder, especially when I found myself walking up the steps of a gigantic mansion that looked like it could grace the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.

“Where am I?” I tried to ask, but the guards ignored my question, bringing me inside the house where I felt a twinge of misplaced guilt for treading my dirty sneakers across the pristine marble floors that practically shined with my reflection looking back at me.

“Greetings, miss,” a friendly tone greeted me, and I studied the older gentleman who dismissed the guards with a wave of his wrinkled hand. He was dressed impeccably in a suit with a long coat-tail, balding gray hair styled atop his head in a delicate swoop.

“What’s going on?” I demanded, but the butler was silent as he indicated for me to follow him. Down the crowded corridors, decorated with large, extravagant paintings, and down the granite staircase descending to the floor in a circular pattern.

Down a stretch of never-ending hallway that led to a bedroom at the end where two younger women - identically matched in uniform - greeted me by name before ushering me inside.

“Can you at least tell me where I am?” I asked the butler who followed us inside, giving out instructions as I was forced onto a stool in front of a vanity mirror, wincing when the woman immediately started to yank a brush through my long hair.

“This might take a while,” she said, and I frowned at her tone, coughing when a fresh puff of powder was streaked across my face - compliments of another girl who had a palate of make-up balanced on her hand like it was a paint tray and my skin was her canvas.

“I’d like to know something,” I insisted, but I was met with silence, crossing my arms across my chest as I resigned myself to the unexpected makeover since it was a thousand times better than my earlier scenarios where I envisioned myself dying from a James Bond-esque death.

It was only a half-hour later when the women declared themselves finished, standing back to admire their work while I had a staring contest with the girl looking back at me in the mirror. Because it was hard to believe that it was me with neat ringlets decorating my scalp, and sticky globs of mascara and foundation hiding the blemishes on my face.

I looked amazing, but it wasn’t really me. Still, I wasn’t given much time to study my new appearance, and I hesitated when the butler extended a black dress in my direction. “Our boss wants you to wear this,” he informed me, and I hesitantly accepted the expensive fabric.

“Who’s your boss?” I tried once more, but the butler simply smiled at me before waiting outside for me to get dressed, and I squeezed myself into the exquisite gown that swept the floor at my feet, hugging my curves and accentuating my figure in ways that my sweatpants and t-shirts couldn't.

When I finally walked back out, the butler smiled at me in approval before waving his hand in a grand fashion. “He’s waiting in the living room.”

I swallowed hard, following him once again through the maze of the house while wondering who I might be meeting. A rich donor? A potential Sugar Daddy?

They were all grand ideas that proved to be far better than the truth, and I could only gape in surprise when I was led into the living room, only to meet Chan’s eager gaze from across the expanse of white, designer-brand carpet.

“You!” I hissed in an accusing tone, watching the butler leave from the corner of my eye.

“Were you expecting someone else?” Chan asked, eliminating the distance between us with a few calculating steps. “They were right about the dress. You actually clean-up nice, Y/N.”

I scoffed at the backwards compliment. “Are you serious?” I nearly growled. “You kidnapped me for this?!”

Chan looked at me in disbelief, and I wondered if it was the first time that he had ever been rendered silent. “Do I not get a thank you?”

“A thank you?” I repeated. Incredulous.

“I brought you here,” Chan said, but he was clearly hesitating. “I thought you might like the attention? The clothes aren’t to your taste?”

“Shit, you’re dense,” I muttered. “Why the hell would you think that?”

“It’s obvious,” Chan said. “Talking down to me the other day, pretending like you aren’t affected by the F4 card...you just wanted my attention. And guess what, Y/N? I’m willing to give it to you.”

I blinked once, trying to understand his ridiculous train of bullshit. “What?!”

“You can be my girlfriend,” Chan said, shrugging one shoulder. “It’s a pretty big deal, but I’m sure you know that. I’ll even let you hold my hand between classes, and maybe come to your swim meets or whatever.”

“Chan...” I started, but then I broke off with a sigh because nothing I could think of seemed like an appropriate response. “I don’t think there’s even a remote chance that I would want to be your girlfriend.” I shivered, releasing a groan just saying the title. “Whatever you think is happening…it’s totally warped inside that screwed up head of yours.”

“Y/N-”

“Please,” I interrupted him, holding up one hand. “I’ve had enough, okay? I just want to go home.”

“But...” Chan tried to protested, stuttering around his words when I yanked off the expensive heels, chucking them off to the side. “How could you not want this?” he asked. “The outfit itself cost over $1,000 dollars.”

“$1,000 dollars?” I repeated, widening my eyes when I thought about how many hours my parents would need to put in at our local laundromat business to even make close to the amount he just threw away like it was nothing. “Chan, I might not live in the same world as you, but where I come from? You don’t make friends with money...you make them from the heart.”

“Impossible!” Chan protested, even as I turned my back to him. “Money can buy anything!”

“Is that why I’m leaving?” I returned, reaching down to hold my dress in place while feeling a small sense of satisfaction at having left Chan completely speechless.

Of course, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have tossed the shoes because the cement was hot against the soles of my feet, and I had attracted more than one curious look as I stormed down the street in search of the main road to take me back home.

“Stupid moron,” I huffed, practically jogging down the road with bare feet and my dress hiked up my legs to prevent me from tripping over the train. It was probably a sight for sore eyes when it came to the rich socialites who populated the neighborhood.

But like the sun’s rays penetrating the clouds on a rainy afternoon, I heard the sound of a motorcycle growing closer from behind me. Until the bike was right next to me, and the driver removed his helmet to expose a familiar bush of brown locks.

“Do you need a ride home?” Changbin asked, and I swallowed hard as I met his steady gaze. It was a simple question, but the fact that he didn’t even question me about why I was here? Nor could I detect any judgement in those impenetrable brown eyes that held all the allure, sending my heart knocking against my breastbone once again.

“Yeah,” I agreed, taking the extra helmet from him. “It’s been a shitty day.”

“I know how that feels,” Changbin said, and I was surprised by his easy conversation, planting myself on the seat behind him.

“Thank you for this,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist and shivering at the thick smell of his cologne.

“It seems like you might be worth the effort,” Changbin remarked before kicking his bike into gear, and my heart did something strange that might be considered very dangerous when it involved the F4.

But I couldn’t help it, and I had never been more at ease this close to someone else.

Day Ten

Despite my adamant protests, the school insisted that I needed to take a physical education course, which meant that I was forced to pretend to enjoy dodgeball with the rest of my classmates. Hiding out at the back while most of the other girls did all the hard work. But I was only meant for one sport, and dodgeball was as far from swimming as one could get.

It helped that Suzy had gym at the same time, and we talked between games, with Suzy leading most of the conversation.as she offered introductions for most of our other classmates. “Mandy,” Suzy grumbled at one point, indicating to a tall blonde with long legs and a permanent sneer. “She thinks that she somehow has a chance to be with Chan, even though he’s kinda made it obvious that he doesn’t think anyone here is good enough.”

“Really?” I snorted, seeking Chan out from the corner of my eye, playing basketball on the courts with the rest of the F4. 

“It’s a running thing here,” Suzy continued. “But most people don’t even try since they don’t want to get on Mandy’s bad side.”

“Whatever,” I replied, averting my gaze when Chan’s eyes met mine. “He’s not even worth it.”

“Most of our classmates would disagree,” Suzy said with a shrug, nudging her shoulder against mine when one of the instructors ordered us to begin the second round.

As usual, I lingered at the the sidelines away from my team, making a half-hearted attempt to play along, especially since I seemed to be a recurring target, using other bodies to protect myself from stray plastic dodgeballs. “What the hell,” I grumbled, wondering if that stupid F4 card was to blame for my classmate’s sudden desire to single me out from everyone else.

I crossed my arms at the thought, finding myself once again looking back over at Chan...Did he think it was funny to make me a target of ridicule? Well, at least Changbin was being surprisingly nice, and just the mere mention of the older boy was enough to do crazy things to my poor heart.

But lost in my daydreams, I failed to notice that Mandy and one of her friends had stalked to the edge of the court, rearing back to throw their dodgeballs at me while I was distracted. “Y/N!” I heard Suzy’s voice scream from across the field, and I looked away from Chan only to find myself frozen in place while a dodgeball flew in my direction.

The sickening CRACK! of the stupid thing hitting my nose was audible, and I immediately tasted blood on my upper lip. “Go clean yourself up, Miss Y/L/N,” one of the instructors said, but I was furious that she was treating the situation so nonchalantly.

It was all Chan’s fault. Even if he hadn't thrown the ball, he empowered his classmates to belittle me at every opportunity, and I was tired of being the school’s metaphorical punching bag. And I hated the tears threatening to fall, refusing to show any signs of weakness as I stormed past Suzy for the girl’s bathroom.

“Fuck,” I cursed as I leaned over the sink, splashing some cold water on my face as I looked at my bloody and mangled reflection in the mirror. 

This was the worst incident so far, and I hated that the situation had escalated to something physical, gripping the edge of the sink tightly as I closed my eyes to regain control over my breathing.

“Here,” a voice whispered from behind me, and I turned around with a glare already contorting my expression when I was forced to face Bang Chan once again.

“It’s your fault,” I replied, snatching the paper towel from him as I dabbed at my nose. “What the hell are you doing in the girl’s bathroom?”

“I’m sorry,” Chan said, but I refused to believe it was sincere, turning back around to check the damage of my nose in the mirror. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“You can’t be sorry after the fact,” I snapped. “You had every chance to make things right and leave me the hell alone.”

“Well, I can’t do that now...” Chan trailed off, and it was surprising to see him suddenly look so unsure of himself. “I'm just trying to help...”

“And who asked you to do that?” I returned, looking at him from the corner of my eye. “Even if you were the last person on Earth, I would never ask for your help!”

My exclamation was punctuated by a rather harsh sound after I shoved the paper towels into the trashcan, preparing to leave the bathroom before Chan grabbed my arm to turn me back around. “What do you dislike so much?” Chan whined. “I don’t understand...I’m rich, handsome, smart...”

“All of it!” I interrupted with a harsh tone, and Chan immediately stumbled back against the sink. “You must not realize, but do you think those things matter to me? Because I can’t even consider them when your entire personality is unattractive! Your arrogant attitude, your stupid face, and that ridiculous curly hair!!”

“Are you insane?” Chan asked, and his bewildered expression would be funny under any other circumstances.

“I’m not done yet,” I sharply interjected. “It annoys me that you guys are allowed to do whatever you want at this school, and the whole red card deal? Where you give everyone a free pass to bully other students? Like it’s nothing? That’s the absolute worst thing about you!!”

“Y/N...”

“Do I need to repeat it?” I interrupted once more. “I hate everything about you!”

The harsh exclamation was met by silence as Chan continued to stare at me, and I decided to leave him alone in silence to think about everything I had said, rejoining my classmates with a sense of relief at having stood up to someone who considered himself as better than everyone else.

Day Fourteen

“You should come with me,” Suzy remarked one afternoon, sitting next to the poolside with me as I swam my regular laps. 

“I’d rather not,” I said, pausing at the edge of the pool to consider her request - a night under the stars, as the school’s dance team had proclaimed it, and it was one of the biggest school events of the year.

“Why?” Suzy whined. “The F4 revoked your red card, and you can meet some more people...maybe even score some connections.”

“Right,” I scoffed, thinking the idea absurd, but I guess it wouldn’t seem so outrageous to the ones who had been dealing with these politics for their entire lives. “I’m not really that outgoing.”

“It’s okay,” Suzy reassured me, and I could tell that she really wanted me to come with her, which is probably why I felt compelled to agree. But her smile and cheering was worth it, especially considering just how good of a friend Suzy had proven to be during the past two weeks.

And that’s how I found myself walking up to the school’s gymnasium that weekend, wearing an uncomfortable black dress that Suzy had agreed to lend me for the occasion. “You look hot, Y/N,” Suzy said, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that my reflection reminded me too much of the time when Chan had brought me to his house to play dress-up.

“I can hear the music all the way out here,” I said, following Suzy up the gym steps.

“Yeah, this event isn’t regulated by the teachers, so it’s basically a free-for-all,” Suzy explained, and I desperately wished that I could find the appeal in that statement, especially once we entered the building, washing us in neon colors of purple and pink. “Let’s dance!” Suzy immediately cried, pulling me to the dance floor despite my protests.

Thankfully, I only had to awkwardly navigate the party scene for one song before Suzy became preoccupied with a very cute Senior boy from our homeroom. I was able to sneak away to the punch bowl, ladling some of the red liquid into my cup before bringing it to my lips. “Hmm,” I wondered, eyeing the drink because it tasted so familiar...”Oh well,” I said, shrugging as I proceeded to drain several more cups before sinking down against the wall, never noticing that a pair of eyes had been watching my every movement until a pair of Versace-toed boots stopped in front of me. 

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Chan remarked, and I was shocked that he had the guts to talk to me after honoring my request to be ignored for the past several days.

“What do you want?” I grumbled, reluctantly taking his outstretched hand to help me stand again because my vision was unusually blurry and my stomach was churning.

“The punch was spiked,” Chan said, chucking at my disheveled state.

“Spiked?” I repeated, finding myself totally incoherent as I leaned most of my weight against him. “When did that happen?”

“The Seniors do it as a prank,” Chan said, and his gaze seemed to soften as he held me close. “Do you want to sit down?”

“That would be nice,” I slurred, allowing him to guide me over to the bleachers where I dropped down with a thud!

“Damn, you’re pretty wasted,” Chan said, looking me over with an uncharacteristic amount of concern.

“I didn’t know...” I trailed off, pointing back at the punch bowl. “It tasted so good.”

“I bet it did,” Chan said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he cleared his throat. “I saw that you came with your friend, but maybe you might want some company?”

“Sure!” I said, patting the space next to me. “You’ve caught me in a good mood.”

Chan grinned - a genuine smile that I could hardly recognize - as he sat down with a sigh. “This doesn’t really seem like your type of scene.”

“Not really,” I agreed, narrowing my eyes when the room started swaying. “But you’re not my usual type of person.”

“Right,” Chan agreed, chuckling awkwardly as he messed up his hair - straightened instead of curly. “Maybe we could go somewhere else?”

I frowned because, even though I might’ve been a little more than tipsy, I still remembered that I didn’t like Chan, and there was no reason for me to go anywhere with him. “Are you intentionally ignoring everything I said from the other day?”

“No,” Chan murmured. “But I was hoping that I could give you space...and maybe a chance to prove myself?”

“Really?” I snorted. “How much have you changed since the last time we talked?”

“Probably not much,” Chan acknowledged, much to my surprise. “But after everything you said, maybe I’d like to? And I feel like you’re the only person who can be honest enough to help me.”

“Oh,” I replied, slightly disconcerted by Chan’s abrupt change in attitude. “Still, after everything you did...”

“I know I don’t deserve it,” Chan quickly agreed. “But I think you’re one of the rare kinds of people who believes in second chances.”

I exhaled loudly at his words, and in part to keep myself from throwing up after all the alcohol I ingested. “Where would we go?”

“What about a date at the diner downtown?” Chan asked, swallowing hard. “With me?”

“Let’s not call it a date,” I grimaced, and Chan agreed, even though it seemed to be a reluctant remission on his part. “But, yeah, that actually might be nice.”

“Perfect!” Chan said, and he was already on his feet with an energy that was impossible to ignore. “I’ll have Changbin tell your friend. Wait right here, and I’ll come back.”

“Okay,” I muttered, clutching my stomach as I watched Chan run off into the crowd. “Jeez, Y/N,” I groaned. “What are you doing with this guy?”

It might be one of the worst decisions of my life, but something he said struck a nerve deep inside of me. He might be unbearable, but he was right about one thing: people could always change, and I was the type of person who allowed second chances...just as long as someone was willing to earn it and prove themselves.

“Are we taking your car?” I asked, staggering against Chan’s hold as he brought us outside the gym.

“Yeah,” he said. “We can take my car, and you can sober up on the way.”

“Good idea,” I agreed, regretting the decision to drink so much of that stupid punch with every swaying step towards Chan’s expensive sports car.

He had the decency to open the door for me, and I fell inside with a grunt, waiting for him to turn over the ignition before he started fussing over me. “Do you need anything? Something to drink? Are you hot or cold? Should I turn on the music?”

“Don’t ask questions,” I gritted out - a response to everything while I leaned my head against the window.

“Got it,” Chan said, and he dutifully followed through on his promise, never speaking again until we pulled into the parking lot of the diner he had advertised earlier. “Do you feel any better?”

I nodded, an honest response. Because the drive had taken close to twenty minutes, and I had found a water bottle in the floor, downing the contents to settle my stomach and the wave of nausea that only alcohol could bring. “We can go inside,” I said, rolling my eyes when he made a show of coming around to help me out of the car, grabbing my arm despite my protests. “What is this place?” I asked when we walked inside, choosing an empty table near the back.

“My friends come here a lot,” Chan replied. “It’s quiet.”

“Quiet?” I laughed. “There’s no way it’s quiet if the whole school comes here.”

“They don’t,” Chan said, surprising me yet again. “Nobody knows we come here.”

He gave me a meaningful look, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was risking a lot by entrusting me with their secret. “Got it,” I said, miming myself closing a zipper across my lips (perhaps that was the drunkenness affecting my judgement).

But Chan still laughed, and then he went to the counter to order, leaving me to contemplate what the actual hell I was doing with the school’s literal celebrity who treated most people like shit, including me for a short while at the very beginning.

At this point, I really couldn’t blame the alcohol. So, what was wrong with me? Why was I doing this?

“Here,” Chan said, dropping a mug of something sweet down in front of me, effectively interrupting my internal conflict.

“Hot chocolate?” I asked, and I was definitely caught off-guard as Chan shrugged and sat down in front of me.

“I thought you might prefer this,” he admitted.

“Oh...” I started, searching for a good response. “Thanks?”

“You’re welcome,” Chan said, and he smiled as he watched me taste the foam resting on top. “Is it good?”

“It’s nice,” I admitted, and Chan had the appearance of someone who had just landed an acceptance to their dream college.

“You’re different from the others,” Chan said, switching the topic. “I like that about you, and it makes me regret everything I’ve done even more.”

“Yeah,” I huffed. “That red card shit needs to stop.”

“I agree,” Chan said, bringing his mug even closer. “My friends have wanted to stop for a while...”

“They’re way smarter than you,” I said, tilting my head to the side as if it might give me a different vantage point of the confusing boy sitting in front of me. “Did you really want to come here with me?”

Chan nodded, eyes gleaming. “You’re interesting,” he decided, mirroring the exact same thing that Changbin had said to me a while back. “I think I like you a lot, which is why what you said to me at my house and in the bathroom really made me reconsider a lot of things.”

“Oh?” I questioned him, amused by his reasoning, and possibly even endeared by his regretful expression. “I might learn to like you...” I trailed off, laughing at his puppy-dog eyes as he looked at me with obvious desperation. “If you learn to behave.”

“Is that so?” Chan remarked, and his smile was perfectly sincere. “Well, I think you’re the best person to teach me.”

And despite our complicated history together - unwinding after such a brief amount of time in one another’s company - I was more than willing to try for the very strange boy who was starting to show me the intricate layers underneath all the wealth and arrogance - a mere façade for something better, the potential for good if a brave enough person was careful enough to find it.

End of Part One

[billyspotato]

Visiting Day [Part 2] - Eric Coulter

Words: 3.100+ words

Type: Fluff

Warnings: English is not my first language, sorry if I misspell anything. Maybe swearing? Being naked?

[Part 1]    [Part 2]

A/N: Gif’s not mine :)

“I swear on Earth itself, Eric, if you don’t get your ass up” You start while listening to the alarm beside you.

Eric is rarely slow on getting up, but he still had these days where he doesn’t feel like it. He knows he can’t fall back asleep, so, he leaves the alarm playing to wake up the whole building.

The man under you moves slightly and the alarm is turned off, leaving your ears ringing slightly, because you were that close to the alarm.

You open your eyes to look at the buff blondie under you and he looks like he is getting ready to fall back asleep.

“You have to go train the initiates” You tell him while looking up at him, his eyes open as you do so, and he quickly glares down at you.

“Don’t remind me” He says with his raspy and low voice, a result from sleeping.

You roll off him and lay your head on your pillow, so Eric can’t use you as an excuse to stay and not work, and he groans out of frustration when his, now exposed, torso meets the cold breeze.

“Aren’t you working today?” He asks pulling your hair away from your face, just to gain your attention.

“Only after breakfast” You answer and open your eyes just to see his reaction.

A glare is all you get before he rolls his eyes in annoyance and sits up in the bed. You close your eyes again as he pulls himself up, probably revealing his naked self to the world.

As Eric starts looking through the drawers for clean clothes and you fall asleep again.

(…)

You walk in the cafeteria and see all the initiates eating their breakfast like they’ve been starved. You can’t blame them, the 6am workouts are the worst, no food in your system, only water. You felt like passing out most of the time when you did them.

You feel that people are looking at you as you walk up the metal stairs and once you check, many initiates are actually looking at you. Majority guys, but some girls as well. You can’t really tell what their looks mean since when you got interested, you were already up the stairs.

“Y/N” One of the leaders says when laying his eyes on you, “You got to save us before it’s too late”

You walk to his table confused and he smiles when the other leaders laugh at his choice of words.

“Eric is in a bad mood today” He says, and you can’t help but chuckle.

“Okay?”

“More than normal” He explains, “Some initiates annoyed him today at training and now we’re all paying the price”

You look around the tables filled with leaders and other kind of Dauntless members.

Your eyes land on the blonde man sitting alone and you’re able to tell that he’s annoyed just by how tense he looks.

You decide to go grab a muffin for your breakfast before going to him and some other leaders look at you, almost as if thanking for your existence.

No one, not even Max, can deal with Eric when he’s in his worst mood.

Once you’re close enough, Eric scrubs his face with his hands in frustration and you put down your food next to him, on the table.

“What’s up, bubs?” You ask in a loving and playful tone as he sighs out loud.

You put your legs over each side of the bench and take a good look at Eric, who hasn’t even looked at you. You lay your hand on his shoulder lightly and move it over to his neck, trying to relax his tense muscles by caressing his skin.

“I hate having to deal with initiates” He admits, pulling his hands away from his face and laying his cheek on his fist while looking at his food.

You stay silent for a bit, taking in what he’s saying and waiting to see if he wants to say anything else, before you jump in and talk.

“Are they that annoying today?” You ask while playing with the short hair on the back of his head with your nails.

He scoffs at your words as if they weren’t even half of what he experienced today.

“You’re going to have fun with them” Eric says ironically, not answering your question.

Oh, it’s that bad.

You’re not one to get easily irritated when training initiates because you try to understand that most of these people never fought or held a gun, but there are exceptions. And people compared you to Eric when those exceptions were a part of your day.

From disrespecting you or any other leader to refusing to work, you couldn’t just tolerate it. You’re okay when people feel exhausted and want to take a breather, but not when they step a foot on the gym and say, ‘I’m not doing it’.

No, that is not happening.

You decide not to talk any further about the matter and change the subject.

“We have ‘capture the flag’ today” You tell him, and he lets his shoulders fall and looks at the wall in disbelief. He completely forgot.

“Can’t Four go for me?” He asks and you smile at his words.

“No” You say, making him finally look at you, “I’ve been waiting to play against you since I became a leader. Don’t take this easy win from my hands, now”

Eric laughs at your words and you smile at him, noticing him finally relaxing.

“Easy win, uh?” He asks when calming down his laughter.

“Yeah, don’t think so?” You ask while smiling and he grabs his cup smiling back.

“You’re going to lose so fast” He says in almost a whisper and you gasp dramatically at his words before laughing slightly.

“You wish, Coulter”

(…)

You understand Eric’s annoyance, now. The initiates are starting to get to your nerves.

Not all of them. There’s this group of guys and girls that just make you want to rip your hair out. They are just doing the bare minimum.

You look at Four in annoyance and he sighs next to you.

The both of you look at the group of guys hitting a boxing bag each and you roll your eyes when noticing that they’re making fun of a girl next to them.

“Hey!” You shout, making your voice echo from the huge gym and the guys (and everyone else) look at you, “Stop playing around and start training! How many times have I told you this?”

One of the guys covers his mouth with his hand and you can tell that he’s trying not to laugh.

“10 laps around the gym” You order, and they look at you in disbelief.

Four walks away when noticing that there are some initiates who need help, back at the boxing bags, and you stay where you’re standing.

The boys continue to look at you and you frown at them.

“Didn’t hear me?” I ask and they nod.

Here’s the thing, initiates are not used to run around the gym, specially when they had a 6am workout with Eric, which was running through the whole premises of the Dauntless faction. Initiates run across when warming up, while Dauntless borns run around the room. Seems easy until you notice that your trainer wants you to run close to the walls and not take short cuts.

Damn you, Eric.

As the three boys start their laps around the room, you walk to over to the girl that was being made fun off.

“What’s your name?” You ask her and she looks at you, scared.

She answers you and you nod, looking back at the ranking board. Bellow the red line.

Once you start instructing the girl on how to really hit the boxing bag and adjusting her positioning, your sister’s eyes were glued on you.

She hasn’t really seen you up close since the altercation with your parents, but she has been trying her best on each training session.

She tries not to ask for help when it’s you or Eric training her, she doesn’t want to seem annoying and a slow learner to the two of you, but Four and other trainers really help her after hours.

You step away from the girl as she gets the hang of it all and you look around to see if there’s anyone else struggling, everything looks fine. You look around to check on the boys and they’re still running. God damn miracle.

(…)

You help some trainers carry the equipment to the train and Eric continues to make sure that he has every initiate in the big group of teenagers in front of him.

“Do we have everything?” You ask and the trainers nod.

You walk over to Eric and the trainers make their way to the front carriages, since they’re just going to monitor everything while the game happens, therefore, they don’t need to occupy more space in the only carriage you’re using.

Eric tells the initiates to get on the train and he’s quick to follow them, while you continue to look for your sister. Once you find her, you notice her talking and laughing with another girl, making you feel relieved over her finally having friends.

You walk close to the doors after checking if everyone is on and Eric stretches his hand out for you. You take it and he quickly pulls you into the carriage.

You close the sliding door once the train starts to move and Eric does the same.

“Alright” Eric starts, gaining silence and everyone’s attention, “We’re playing a game like ‘capture the flag’”

You grab one of the bags and pass it to Eric, who grabbed it and grabbed one of the guns.

“Weapon of choice,” He says, holding it so everyone can see, “A gun in which has neurostim darts as bullets, simulates the pain of a real gunshot wound. Only lasts a couple of minutes”

You see everyone tense up as the words ‘gun shot wound’ comes out of Eric’s mouth and you chuckle slightly.

“We’ll have two teams, me and Eric are captains” You say to everyone, making them look at you. You look over at Eric and smirk, “You can choose first”

Eric smirks back and says the name of the guy at the top of the leader board, making you bite the inside of your cheek in frustration. You’re quick to answer with the second on the leader board and Eric glares at you, gaining a smile.

“Y/S/N” You say, and she looks over at you in shock, expecting to be one of the lasts to be picked.

“Uh, picking the weak ones so you have someone to blame when you lose?” Eric asks and you roll your eyes at him.

You two continue to pick the rest of your team members until there’s no more initiates and the train stops. Eric and you jump out of the train and walk over to the amusement park in silence, the trainers are already going to their spots in case someone tries to trespass the limits of the park or if a medic is needed.

You play with the flags, both of them glowing in the dark intensely, and you give Eric the green one.

“You can have the ugly one” You tell him, and he grabs it, chuckling at you.

You two walk in the park and separate right away, so that Eric can go find a place to hide his flag.

“Alright everyone, we just have to wait until we hear the horn. Once we hear it, the game starts” You explain to your side of the team.

You take a look around the group and notice the fear written on some of their faces, especially your sister, she looked terrified.

And she is. She’s terrified of the idea of making you lose. She’s terrified of today being one of the days that her aim is awful. She’s scared of making you look bad.

“So, we’ll obviously need an offense and defense team. I’ll be in the defense, who wants to come with me?” You ask, grabbing your sister’s attention and most of the team lifts up their arm.

You start arranging the team, giving yourself more defense players, since you believe that Eric’s team is too good to let a big group of people run past them, towards the flag. And on the last minute, you look over to your sister.

“Actually, you’ll be offense” You tell your sister, making her look at you with widen eyes.

“What?” She whispers and you ignore her shock to look at the team.

“I’ll stay down here fighting while you guys try your best to get that flag, I can’t be the one to get it” You explain and everyone nods, “Don’t push if you don’t feel safe enough to do it. These darts hurt more than you think”

Well, that didn’t really relax anyone.

“Last 30 seconds” A trainer announces, and you look over at her and at your team.

“Let’s go” You say with a smile.

Everyone follows you while trying to fight their nerves and anxiety and as you take another step, the horn sounds.

You whisper commands as all of you start moving as a group and they all do as told, no hesitation.

You look over at your sister and she is too focused on what’s in front of her to notice your stare.

“Relax, I got you” You whisper only to her and she looks at you, almost forcing her muscles to do what you told her to.

Once all of you enter the center of the amusement park, you start looking around. It’s empty, no sign of the enemy team.

But you know Eric too much. This is a trap.

“Go around to their side” You whisper to half of your offense team and they run off right in that second. “Try to see where their flag is”

Your side of the team starts looking around as careful as ever while you continue to look at every box and wall suspiciously.

“There” Your sister says, and you look at her. She points at the second tallest tower of the amusement park; you can just see the tip of the flag waving with the wind. Bastards, they know how to hide it.

“Let’s go that way” You tell them and they all nod.

You all hesitate to go over the center of the park and go around just like the other half of your team, and once you meet them, you hear someone shout.

“They’re over here!”

You’re sure that’s Eric defense screaming, and him and his offense are coming right at you right now.

“You” You start by looking at your sister, “Go with those two to the flag” You order, pointing at other 2 team members, and she doesn’t move, “Now!”

The three of them get up and start running to the tower and you start hearing footsteps, many of them.

“They’re coming” You tell the rest of your team.

Everyone in your team peaks over the boxes and as you hear them start firing their darts, you help them.

Not all your darts hit someone or something, but with the help of some of the others from your team, you’re able to bring at least 4 players down.

“They’re defense is pushing us as well”

You decide to stop looking and aiming at the offensive team and try to deal with defense on your own.

You’re quick to study the scenery, how many teenagers do you see peeking out from the boxes and of course, how bad their aim is.

You’re not trying to lose an eye today.

After some more shooting, you’re able to bring down two of the defensemen and some of your team are also screaming in pain behind you.

You decide to push in when noticing that their defense is not trying to get up any soon and some of your teammates do the same.

They’re quick and silent when following you into better positioning.

How does your team not have the flag yet?

You peek again and smirk at the sight.

“Oh, there you are” You whisper to yourself before shooting at Eric.

He’s quick to move back and you look for a way to push in more.

A sharp pain hits your shoulder and you hiss in pain as you feel it. You look over to your side and you’re quick to react with the trigger as you see a guy from Eric’s team aiming at you.

You lean back on the box once he falls and you pull off the dart, smashing it to the ground. You’ll never get used to this pain.

You push in when noticing that your team is still standing like before and run closer to Eric. You notice him fighting a girl from your team and quickly shoot him on the arm and leg.

A tone of darts are shot your way as you do it and you’re quick to duck under the box. As you move over to the side, another sharp pain hits your thigh and you groan when caught by surprise.

You look around in confusion and quickly see Eric behind another box, now in front of you.

How the hell did he move so fast?

You crouch while hissing in pain from your leg and try to get better positioning, but you’re almost surrounded.

Eric peeks at you again after being done with another guy from your team and you pull the trigger, hitting him on this forearm. As he hisses him pain, you push in and land another two darts in his leg and a last one on his chest.

You duck again and a loud horn is heard around the park, snapping you back into reality.

You look over to the tower and see your sister with the green flag in her hands, waving it around as your team starts cheering.

You chuckle and stand up, regretting it right in the same second because of the sharp pain still circulating on your tight.

“You alright there, old man?” You ask when noticing that Eric hasn’t stood up.

“Fuck you” He says in a groan of pain and you smile.

(…)

You laugh at Eric when walking out of the park and he smiles down at you. You play with the flag on your hands and look around, finding your sister, talking to her friend.

You step away from Eric and he stops walking to look at what you were about to do.

Your sister looks at you and smiles right away. You give her the flag and she takes it.

“You deserve it” You tell her before walking back to Eric while still looking at her and grabbing his hand, “But just make sure to give it back, they have this weird thing about keeping it extremely clean for next year”

She nods before you could turn back around and you all walk back to train.

- - - - - -

A/n: I feel like this could’ve been better, sorry that it’s so simple.

I decided to tag everyone that asked for a part 2 and commented on the last part: @scarhades​ @seafrost-fangirl​ @letsthedogpackandthecats​ @prettyinblack231​ @a-dorky-book-keeper​ @xxxxxerrorxxxxx​ @artaxerxesthegreat​ @taina-eny​ @caro-jean​ @nico-jai-1​  @thatoneweirdfoxysexygirl 

🌸✨Sorry, but I’m not writing in this account anymore. Go check out my new one @twinklelilstarkey ✨🌸

[princessfbi]

Ok I have got to know what happened with Oliver's character on that one show that makes you rage so hard every time you see him.

WELL NONNIE I'LL TELL YOU!

This is a warning for spoilers if anyone wants to watch this show because my rage cannot be contained.

OK SO...

This show is called Into the Badlands and Oliver's character is named Ryder. Basically the premise of this world is that it's kind of post apocalyptic/alternative universe where humanity got so caught up in trying to one up each other that it sort of imploded and now you have this society where either you're super wealthy (the Barrons), super poor (Cogs and Nomads), or somehow a ninja (The Clippers and whatever the hell MK was supposed to be). ANYWAYS....

Ryder is the son of Barron Quinn. Now the surviving land is either divided into like factions run by Barrons (who control a majority of major trade) or there's these lawless lands that are run dredges of society. You either become a Barron by killing another Barron (which is what Quinn did) or you are an heir apparent. Ryder is more an heir presumptive because Quinn won't outright name him his heir even though everyone just assumes it.

This is because Quinn is batshit crazy and thinks he can just live forever through sheer stubbornness and will alone. This is especially hard to do because he has a massive brain tumor that's dwindling down what little bit of sanity he has leading him to make questionable choices such as killing the only doctor they have in the lands who would've been useful pretty much for the rest of the series but go off Quinn. Ryder has a lot of resentment towards his father, which I will get into in a minute, and at the same time has gone out of his way to prove to Quinn that he's a worthy heir. Except Quinn keeps comparing Ryder to his second and regent, Sunny, and he's just all around a shitty person in general.

NOW HERE'S THE AMAZING BACKSTORY WITH RYDER:

So, when Ryder was a child, he was kidnapped by these nomads who were trying to blackmail Quinn. Ryder's mother begged Quinn to pay the ransom and save Ryder. Quinn... refused. So the nomads tortured Ryder and (Gross warning) like cut off part of his toes and disfigured his foot in the hopes of crippling him and scaring Quinn into giving to their demands.

Quinn, again, refused.

Eventually Quinn's regent at the time, Waldo, defies Quinn's orders and goes to rescue Ryder from these nomads. Waldo defying Quinn is a big deal because he's a clipper which is basically a soldier (often brought in from the slave faction called Cogs) and they take their oaths to their Barrons very seriously. Barrons trust no one but their regents because again you can become a Barron by killing them. But Waldo always had a soft spot for Ryder.

SO Ryder is saved and eventually nursed back to health but he always has a bit of a tragedy cloud hanging around him because from what we were told Ryder was a very sweet, bright child before he was kidnapped and was brought back as "a broken bird" and he's been doing everything he can to get rid of the broken bird image ever since.

Quinn resented Ryder for making him look weak and Ryder resented Quinn for... Well being a heartless dick.

But here's the crazy part... They both, in their own way, still kind of loved each other.

Now I won't bore you with my rant about how the best antagonists are often the tragic figures who have fallen from grace (Peter Hale, Draco Malfoy, Loki to name a few) BUT I will say Ryder had the PERFECT foundation of showing that fall. He was an asshole and hard and spoiled and super privilege but also soft and still a little broken. There's a whole other narrative involved too with his childhood love and how his dad planned on marrying her but we won't get into that.

ANYWAYS Ryder still had this desperate need to prove to his dad that he was a worthy heir but in his attempts to prove himself (and his dad's fall into madness) his dad started seeing him as competition. Competition and another objects (like Quinn saw with most other characters but especially Sunny). But Quinn has this weird kind of pride when it comes to things that he considers his and an attack on his property is an attack on him. There's a character named the Widow who lured Ryder out and tried to kill him slowly and personally as well as Sunny as an attack on Quinn and he went bananas (sorta).

Ryder was fine eventually but he realized that trying to prove himself to his dad was never going to work so he decides to try the other option: which is killing his dad. Partially because if he doesn't, Ryder is smart enough to know that Quinn's going to get him killed, but also because Quinn's descent into madness is spiraling faster and faster and Ryder wants to protect the legacy. Nothing to inherit if his dad burns the whole thing to the ground!

Long story short, Sunny turns on Quinn and stabs him and everyone thinks Quinn is dead and Ryder takes credit for it therefore succeeding his dad by becoming not only Barron of his father's lands but some other Barron that got murdered by another subplot that was pointless.

Now Ryder is determined to bring peace to the lands (not out of some noble obligation but because he just wants people to chill the fuck out). And for the most part... he's doing okay.

BUT THEN PLOT TWIST HIS DAD IS ALIVE AND CRAZIER THAN EVER.

Basically his dad storms Ryder's house, chases him down in the garden, and they fight. But Ryder's foot that was crippled when he was a child trips him up and the fight gets even messier. Ryder's sword breaks and Quinn points the sword to his own chest and tells Ryder to finish him.

Ryder hesitates and so Quinn takes the sword and stabs Ryder. You know like a rational father would do.

Quinn then asks Ryder why he hesitated and Ryder whispers "because you're my father" before he dies in Quinn's arms. Quinn is... horrified because he realizes that with the death of Ryder is the death of the last parts of his own humanity. He mourns Ryder but also like... takes no responsibility for killing him but neither did Ryder so he can't process it. Later on he's haunted by Ryder but again the man has a giant grapefruit sized tumor in his brain so it's all very reverse Hamlet if you will.

SO LOOK AT ALL THIS POTENTIAL!

THE REASON I RAGE:

Is because Ryder was set up to fail from the beginning. Which is great!....... If that had actually happened. The show worked so hard to tell us that Ryder was a failure and a coward but if you look at it from a story perspective... Ryder was the opposite of a failure. Every time someone told him he couldn't do something, he proved them wrong. Again and again and again. But that was never good enough for anyone. So that vicious cycle would've been amazing to see!

But instead of exploring any of that, we had to watch a storyline that was frankly ridiculous from the beginning that took up way more time than it should. There's a character named MK, who was supposed to be inspired by the myth The Monkey King, but if you don't know that story then you never would've figured that out. Hell, I knew the story and didn't figure it out until I had to google his name because I kept forgetting it. In comparison to everything else happening in the show, this magical mythical storyline just didn't fit and I'm not kidding when I say I watched a season and a half of this show and forgot about MK every time.

Now if you noticed my icon is Buck in a Box. That's an inside joke I have with a friend about this fucking show. The first scene starts off with Sunny stumbling onto a group of Nomads who go absolutely feral about this massive box they don't want him to look inside. Turns out MK was in this box for reasons that were too weak for me to even remember but again MK was entirely forgettable. My friend and I kept talking about how it would've been better if Ryder had been in the box because the Ryder and Sunny rivalry had so much unexplored potential that would've been incredible if we started from the very beginning instead of just being told over and over again that Ryder hates being compared to Sunny.

Sunny is the main character and Quinn, unlike with Ryder, was incredibly proud to have Sunny "in his possession" and Ryder hated him for it.

But did we get to explore that? NO! Did we get to explore the parallels of Sunny and Ryder chafing at being considered possessions by Quinn? NO! Did we get to explore the trauma Ryder was working so hard to shake off? NO!

Instead the show spent so much energy victim blaming Ryder essentially for being the son of a Villain and his Nonsensical Ambitious Mother who had the misfortune of being kidnapped by bandits as a child while telling the audience that Ryder was never going to succeed. That Ryder had no honor and was a coward and weak.

They spent way more time trying to tell us that we should hate Ryder and that he was a bad guy but didn't do ANY of the work to show the fall from grace to prove that. Ryder remained a tragic figure that didn't fall from grace but was rather pushed off by lazy writing because they wanted to focus again on this magical ninja boy with a penchant for getting in the way and ruining everything.

I rage because Antagonist and Villain are not the same thing. Ryder had the potential of becoming a villain and his death by the hands of his father would've cycled him back into the role of a tragic figure. But instead... it was just wasted.

THAT is why I rage. You had the material right there and yet you spent so long telling us that we, the audience, don't like Ryder instead of showing us anything that would make us not like him (besides the whiny white boy thing).

Instead I found myself rooting for Ryder. Like could you imagine if Ryder and Sunny went against Quinn together instead of having the weakest rivalry known to man? Could you imagine Ryder's fall from grace of wanting peace in the lands as it turned to greed? Could you imagine Sunny becoming actual competition for Ryder instead of being manipulated to do so?

WE GOT NONE OF IT.

THIS is why I rage.

[chemicalpink]

Power and Control ♡ Jung Hoseok

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x reader

Genre: smut, angsty

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: Sugar baby themes, power dynamics outside the bedroom, unprotected sex 

Summary: Women and men we are the same but love will always be a game and I’m gonna make you fall.

A/N: Well this was a stubborn one. Like seriously took me a whole month to try and write Hoseok as a villan-y character and at the end... i kinda failed BUT I really liked this one. Thanks for waiting. I hope you are doing great with life aside from all that is going one. Take care. I hope you like this one! 

Hoseok wouldn’t dare to try and label what you and he had as conventional, hell, he wouldn’t even dare to try and label himself as conventional, quite the contrary, because really, what’s a broke college-graduate-to-be got to do when a beautiful, empowered woman like yourself is seeking out a sugar baby deal? Say no? He would have to be stupid, plus, it’s not like you two are 10 or so years apart, you’re just 2 years older than him; plus, the deal was simple enough, apart from a disclosure contract and a few sessions of experimenting what you two liked with each other, it had been easy enough to fall into a routine.

Said routine meaning two to three sessions a week, some weekends together and playing as arm candy in most of your business parties, to which he would then find his semester’s tuition fee paid off, the latest limited-edition Supreme collection on his college dorm and one time, an all-included vacation to Europe for Christmas.

As time went on, nearly a year into it, it had become harder and harder to keep coming up with excuses as to how exactly he was being able to afford such a luxurious way of living without it being apparent that he had worked for it, especially when his closed group of friends were clearly struggling with it all (he might have asked you once to pay for Namjoon’s tuition fee after he got injured and couldn’t work for the month, the guy so in the clouds hadn’t even noticed the debt gone), and you know, Jung Hoseok isn’t a man with fragile masculinity, he knows exactly who he is, so even if for him being a sugar baby was really no big deal, the constant assumption of sugar babies having daddy/mommy issues sure was in the back of his mind every time he so much as the thought of sharing his lifestyle with his friends crossed his mind (cause he did not have daddy/mommy issues, thank you very much).

“Hobi, this just got here for you, I thought we had talked about your shopping addiction?”  Namjoon said as he passed him by on his way out the kitchen, coffee mug in hand, small package on the other, placing it on the kitchen counter before turning to look at him. Hoseok so much as fake laughed his worst laugh trying (and most probably failing) to not make his roommate any more suspicious. 

See, the greatest excuse for the time being all those months ago, when you had started gifting him stuff and sending it to his dorm, was saying that he ‘might have developed an addiction to online shopping’. He had talked it out with you, and you agreed to start delivering the gifts on your sessions. Hoseok hummed while taking the package from the counter “I just- I had this coupon and I had to use it” Namjoon wasn’t even paying attention to him anymore, he could clearly not have said a thing.

“Hey, hyungs would you mind if I-OH MY FUCKING GOD IS THAT BOX FROM THE NEWEST CHANEL COLLECTION???” Taehyung was… quite a melodramatic man when it came down to his expertise: fashion; which was one of the reasons Hoseok could kind of breathe around his own home. Namjoon didn’t know shit about fashion. But Taehyung would a hundred percent not fall into his ‘I got a coupon’ facade for a split second. His throat ached to instinctevely deny the younger’s claim but he knew it would do no good. Hoseok had once committed the deadly mistake of wearing one of the perfumes you had gifted him for his birthday to one of their nights out and that man right there, Kim Taehyung, had known from a sniff that he was wearing a thousand dollars Paco Rabanne Luxe Edition 1 million 18 carats. How exactly? He wouldn’t dare to ask. Taehyung knew his fashion. But the night didn’t seem to come to an end soon enough with his friend’s questioning. “Hoseok-hyung, how did you get access to one of the most exclusive collection previews of the world? I mean, I’m all for Gucci, but go off I guess”

So they are talking about it. May the gods have mercy on his unable to lie for his life soul.

“It was a gift from uh- my distant rich- auntie?” both Taehyung and Namjoon turned to look at him in the most sceptical way possible, but soon went back to their conversation.

He was going to have the talk with you later, for the second time. As if on cue, his phone dinged with a text from you, very out of character, if he may add, you two kept it on the line of the contract that bound the two of you, no texting, no calls, no nothing. He was busy with school most of the time and you were probably busier with your business stuff anyways.

From: Y/N [12:38]

You got my gift?

To: Y/N [12:38]

Yeah. Now apparently I have a rich distant auntie that is sending me expensive af gifts.

To: Y/N [12:39]

But then again, who am I to complain, right?

From: Y/N [12:43]

Great. Wear it tonight. 10 pm sharp. Long day.

Over the course of the months with you, he had learnt quite a few things about himself, first, he had an expensive taste, he just couldn’t afford it. Second, you knew his love language was being gifted things, and lord, did you take advantage of that to keep him wrapped around your finger. Third, he always felt as if you had come to know him inside and out so clearly, you had come to read him like an open book but he couldn’t say the same. You were a reserved woman, he knew that. With your position and all, it made sense. But he was just as cold to people he wasn’t close with, so he had to have some upper hand at it. Even after spending days on researching you he always came empty-handed. Sure, you two fucked, kissed, hanged out, but there was just this sense of chemistry lacking as if you two melted together when naked but once the fog cleared, it became a constant battle to gain control over the other. You had gifts to win him over. He had his charm and amazing bedroom skills to keep you grounded. You made it work. Kind of.

He arrived at your place a few minutes before 10, making himself a drink at the sky bar in the middle of your living room as he stared outside the floor-length window to watch Seoul’s night sky and lighted ground of the busy city, your heels clicking on the floor when you entered the space.

“Oh you got here early?” he turned around to watch you dispose of your jewellery in the entrance table, stealing glances at him every few seconds “I didn’t think you would actually listen to me and wear it, do you like it?

Hoseok lifted the glass to his lips to sip the alcohol. The poorly lit room brought a new light to you that deep down he had known for a while but he wasn’t willing to accept, the tiredness behind your eyes luring him in, making him imagine for a second that the setting was much more domestic than what it really was “Got off classes early and yeah, it does the job, thanks”

You made your way to the bar to fix yourself a drink, all the while he couldn’t stop staring at you, the imposing aura you always exuded sending shivers down his spine, his mind racing. He could already picture you bent over the couch for him as you took a seat and waved him over.

He couldn’t even begin to comprehend how much time went by when your lips found his, your dress riding up your thighs when you moved to straddle him, hands finding your ass, tongues fired up with evident desire as you ground down on his hard length “You texted me first today” you broke away from the kiss to look at him funnily, for the first time in the almost a year knowing you, he could see the slightest of vulnerability in your eyes, fondness, for him. So after all, you were wrapped around his finger “Are you falling in love with me, miss Y/N?” 

Your answer was very much in character, sucking his jawline while your hands worked their way down his pants to free his cock, stroking him a few time to bring it to a full length, his head throwing back into the couch in pleasure as you retorted teasingly “Think you’re going to break my heart, Hobi?” 

He knew then that your favourite game had begun. A constant game of tug and pull to lead the sex that had become a routine for both of you.

He had somehow worked his way under your dress at the same time as he pushed his pants to his ankles and removed them, giving your clothed core just the right amount of friction you were seeking and providing him with the perfect moment to flip you both over on the small space, a smirk taking over his factions “You might be good looking baby, but you’re not a piece of art”

“God I need you so much right now” you whispered at him, before tracing the expanse of his back under his newly bought sweater, distracting him enough for you to take his place on top, aching core approaching his face as his smile didn’t seem to get any bigger “Dinner’s served”

“My favourite,” he said before beginning to suck on the inside of your thighs, working his way to where you needed him the most, hot tongue wetting your already drenching panties for a few seconds before he pushed the cloth aside and gripped you even closer to his face, teeth nibbling at your folds teasingly, drawing a loud moan out of you, walls instinctively clenching as his tongue traced you whole, lewd noises filling up the room, subtly grinding up to him as he traced circles on your clit before eating you out once again, up until your thighs started trembling against his head, yours thrown back in ecstasy at the pleasure. His face glistening with your juices once you let him take control over the situation.

Hoseok’s deft fingers rid you of both of your remaining pieces of clothings as you tried to catch your breath, fully aware of what was about to go on after you had your fun with him. Your exposed skin hits the coldness of the floor as Hoseok rolled both of you down the couch, making you shiver as a smile is plastered in the younger’s face; you close your eyes for a split second, not needing to know that for the time being, Hoseok was pumping his hard cock to ready himself for you, small fluttering kisses adorning the space just below your neck as he approaches your ear silently “I was thinking… a Tesla would be a great combo with my brand new Chanel collection, you know?”

A small laugh leaves your lips before you open your eyes to see him hovering above you, eyes  travelling your face, a few strands of hair covering his “You are not sweet talking me into buying you a Tesla, Hoseok”

“I was thinking more of fucking it out of you” it is then that he enters you in a swift thrust, letting you adjust for a few seconds before moving experimentally at the new angle for both of you that was your living room floor, his hand coming up to place your right leg over his shoulder, gaining him better access to have you whimpering below him, just the way he liked. Long, skilled fingers caress your clit as he keeps a steady rhythm inside of you, feeling the warmth enveloping him and your walls clench around him as he speeds up his pace on your nerve bundle.

“Oh g-Hoseok I’m gonna cum” your voice is strained and he feels it as the opportunity to wreck you harder, the movement of his hips hitting all the right spots within you, he can feel your leg cramping on his shoulder as a wave of pleasure hits you and he has half a mind to pull out and release himself on your stomach, both of you breathing heavily as the need starts to fade and it all comes to an end. 

You see, if you asked any of Hoseok’s close friends, they would describe him as pure sunshine, and he was, kinda, at least for the most part of his life, but he was also a man determined to get what he wanted in life, which was why, he was currently pondering his next move. After your little session at your living room floor/couch, he had felt a shift in the air, a longing between the two of you, and that only went on for the next few weeks as you would drop your cold facade and text him small things, as he kept on receiving packages at his dorm (without Tae or Joon knowing, thank fuck) and he had found himself thinking about you non-stop. It was pretty obvious, and if someone had known about your existence, they might have pointed it out, cause it was so obvious even for himself, that the tug and pull game of yours, had made you both fall for the other somehow. Which really, wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for that shitty paragraph on your contract that seems to keep replaying itself inside his mind. If you started becoming too familiar with each other, you would revoke the contract. He had agreed and signed it, thinking that it is just too weird for someone to grow acostumed to another if they just fuck and leave afterwards, but apparently somewhere he went wrong. And he clearly needed the money. You had yet to come to realise your newly found dynamics so he was living on borrowed time. And he had to act quickly.

Hoseok wasn’t really a strategic man, but luck always seemed to be on his side, so it took a mere week to come up with something. He had been visiting the hospital where his sister worked (per his mother’s request) just hanging out, which probably wasn’t even allowed to, but Jiwoo had insisted to wait for her lunch break as it was a slow day anyway. So he did.

“You’ve never told me how you paid off your tuition without dad’s help, Hobi” his sister commented as she went through some papers on her desk. His mind crashed. Error 404. Flee the country. It is one thing lying to his friends about his way of living, a completely different story when family starts asking.

“Oh I’m a- personal assistant of some CEO” he answered, turning to look the other way towards the entrance, almost nonchalantly, but life liked to have fun with him, so of course just as he is trying his best to keep you out of his mind, you had to be walking right through the door, not as outstanding as he is used to see you, but the aura you exude that is so uniquely yours is unable to miss out. You two didn’t talk on personal life, but he had researched you over the months, trying (and failing) to gain some type of useless power over you. It seemed like whatever wasn’t business, wasn’t you. So he had to play dumb.

“Who 's that?” he asked his sister, just as you were rounding the corner, Jiwoo turning to look at your disappearing figure

“Oh, that’s Y/N”

“Y/N like Y/N Y/L/N? the CEO?” the idea of maybe getting into acting and winning an Oscar crossed his mind, his sister hummed in thought

“I guess, Y/N is quite an unusual name right?” she resumed whatever she was doing before adding “But this girl couldn’t be her, she comes to visit her sister religiously every Friday”

“Is she sick?” so your cold uncaring demeanor was really just a front you put up for people.

“You’re starting to sound like a pervert, Hoseok”

He really wishes he could say he dropped the whole sick sister thing after that day, but the longer he thought about that, the cleared it was for him that if he was looking for an upper hand for you not to drop him out of the whole money deal once you realised you had both infringed the contract that brought you two together, this was it. He had immense self-confidence, if he said so himself. But there was something about going against you that wasn’t exactly easy to warm up to. He tried several times to come up with a plan but came empty-handed so he guessed he would just have to go with the flow. 

“You’re so wet already” he grunted as you felt his member teasing your entrance, his hand gripping your hair to bring you to face the mirror beside your bed. Hoseok had decided to drop by after he knew you were done with work, taking you by surprise at the unscheduled session, but then again, who were you to complain about the man, who in less than five minutes and some lazy kissing on your bed had both of you riled up and on all fours at his complete mercy “We’ve got some things to talk about, Y/N” 

You tried to turn your face to look at him directly instead of the mirror but he just tightened his grip as he thrusted forward forcefully, making you grip your sheets tighter attempting not to tumble over, a pleasurable sting on your scalp “I’m listening”

“Friday. Lunchtime, what exactly were you doing at the hospital?” he asked and could already feel your though exterior crumble, he just had to hope that whatever big secret it was having a sick little sister was enough for him to keep the upper hand in the situation.

Just as fast as that surprised look had appeared on your face, it was replaced with determination in your eyes as you pressed yourself back onto him, purposely clenching around him in the way you knew drove him crazy “Maybe I’ll talk. If you fuck me hard enough”

So he did.

“So what do you want in exchange for keeping my Friday’s whereabouts a secret?” you asked as his clothes were thrown at him

This was it. “I want my full tuition paid off before you call it quits on us”

You turned to look at him, laughing a little “Hoseok, a human vulnerability doesn’t mean that I am weak” you made your way to the bathroom “You’ll have to work harder for it”

Each day that went by was filled with dread of having his whole lifestyle crumbling down in a second, it had been so long since he had even so much as heard about you. Until he wouldn’t stop hearing about you (kind of) He remembers waking up to a 5am text from you telling him that he couldn’t have peace without a war, but if he was being completely honest, he was kind of asleep at the time so he couldn’t comprehend half of it. But it all became clearer when his phone started blowing up with texts, from Taehyung and Namjoon, to his sister and his parents. Apparently, you had a very expensive shopping spree in his name, delivered especially with lots of love to every person that could, and most certainly would question how exactly he had the kind of money to afford the luxurious gifts that they were all receiving. 

From:Y/N [9:02]

You start at 10. 

To: Y/N [9:02]

Y/N What’s going on?

From: Y/N [9:05]

Welcome to the team, board member Jung Hoseok.

So perhaps you would always have the upper hand when it came to power and control of whatever it was you two were playing. You had no doubt and no obstacle to ruin his whole life. But he guesses that his upper hand is shown in the fact that he could keep you from doing just that.

[bisexualklausmikaelson]

the sinking man (8/?)

a/n: i really am looking forward to picking this story back up! The previous chapters are up ao3! I have the same username on there so make sure to read my fics there too!!

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eight: whispers in the dark

.

The hybrids are not what she expects, at all.

She thought them to be this group of friends - odd souls that came together through these mysterious powers and bonded over their shared pain. Maybe even a merry band of misfits - like something out of a teen movie.

But instead, the hybrids seemed more like a strong and intense group of warriors, trained in to submission.

"They all look," Hayley sighs, as Tyler shows her around the vast field. She sees all their eyes from a distance - the ones fighting on the grass, the ones practicing their running, the ones working out. "So sad," she says.

Tyler shrugs at her as if he's used to it all by now. "That's because they're all stuck here," he reveals. "This place has a barrier around it, I'm the only one who can freely come and go," Tyler explains.

Hayley tilts her head to one side and raises a brow. "Why?" She wonders.

And unexpectedly, Tyler laughs. "Klaus really didn't tell you much did he?" he asks, jokingly. Hayley looks away, feeling ashamed. "We're his secret weapon in the war, no one else really knows about the hybrids," Tyler adds on.

The she-wolf takes another careful look around the field all of the hybrids seem to be trapped in. Other than a few entry ways into small cabins, she can't see much else for them - no place to do their hobbies, no books, no instruments, or anything else to pass the time with really.

It's as if they were robots.

"So, what exactly do all of you do all day then?" Hayley questions

"Mostly training," Tyler offers. "We have access to pretty much everything we need here, bathrooms, food, showers are all in the cabins - some of Klaus' compelled vampires minions shows up every two weeks or so to clean and replenish anything we need," he tells her, while bringing her to one of the cabins where she assumes that she will be staying in.

It doesn't look like anything special, just a large room with a bunch of bunk beds, a seemingly reasonable sized kitchen, a bathroom. "Wow, sounds like a pretty sweet deal," Hayley comments, thinking of the free lodging.

She regrets her words as soon as she sees the broken look on Tyler's face.

"Hardly," he whispers. "When we agreed to do this, we didn't realize this meant becoming Klaus' pack of bitches," he spits, with anger.

She feels as clueless as ever.

"What do you mean?" Hayley says.

Tyler walks closer to her, looking her straight in the eyes. "We're sired to him - we have to do whatever he says," he confesses and her face is nothing short of surprised. "And Klaus isn't exactly known to be a kind man."

She feels a smidge of betrayal by this information, and even more confusion due to the fact that she doesn't feel so sired to Klaus in the same way that Tyler seems to be.

"He never told me any of that," Hayley softly releases.

Her expression reminds him of when he first became a hybrid. He felt so strong and powerful - the thought of not being forced to turn at every full moon was no longer a worry.

Tyler pities her.

"Yeah," he says. "We didn't know about it either."

-

(Klaus is gone for longer this time.

Days, maybe even weeks.

It's hard to say - time passes by so slowly in this place.

She spends her days training with Tyler, he's so impressed by how strong she becomes in such a short amount of time that he almost compliments her on it.

The other hybrids are a bit cold towards her at first - they test her, looking her up and down and judging her.

When she does ask about Klaus, she's met with a lot of silences. Almost as if they aren't allowed to speak his name.

It makes her wonder what else he's hiding from her).

-

A few towns away - the vampire and witch factions seem to be gathering close. The bloody species war has only just begun and the rumbling from each side has torn apart so many.

The original family has always been a group of rulers, leaders - creatures who were both the hunters and hunted.

Elijah and Freya, being the eldest, took it upon themselves to attempt to unite their family as well as the different species they incorporated.

"Brother," Freya, the leader of the witch faction, enters the scene. "Have you gotten in touch with Kol and Rebekah?" she asks, placing a hand on Elijah's shoulder.

He looks out the window of their manor - one of the many Mikaelson mansions located around the country. "Yes," he nods, staring into the night sky. "They won't be joining us, I'm afraid," he admits.

"I see," Freya sings, flipping her long hair. "And Niklaus?" she wonders, as she carefully watches Elijah's reaction.

"He, surprisingly, is on his way as we speak," he smiles, sounding rather cheerful. Well, as cheerful as an original vampire can be anyway. "I'm hoping we can get him to cooperate and join forces with us," Elijah considered.

His sister doesn't seem as enthusiastic. "He's going to be hard to convince," she points out. "He's not exactly fond of teamwork," she asserted, with a finger on her chin, pondering.

He turns to her, his face fills with hope. "It's the only way to bring peace amongst the species, " Elijah claims - he passes his hands along the folds of his blazer, pressing them down and maintaining his perfect posture. "This war is going to get worse and worse if we don't find a way to bring it to an end," he believes.

"I have my witches in alliance with your vampires," Freya repeats. "They aren't fond of the idea of welcoming in Klaus and whatever band of wolves he's been rumoured to gather," she recalls.

Elijah's heard them too - the stories of the missing wolves, the ones who suddenly, overnight, vanished without a trace. The assumption is that it's Klaus' doing, he's the only one known to seek such companionship.

The wolves were a minority of a species, the weakest of the three. It's only natural for them to be desperate enough to team up with even the unbearable likes of Niklaus Mikaelson.

"My brother is," Elijah laments. He could say a million and one things about him, but he settles on this. "Misunderstood," Elijah concludes. "He's not all bad - I assure you."

He thinks of not the monstrous hybrid who makes everyone quake in fear but, of the painter, the dreamer, the sensitive soul who lurks deep inside his brother's body.

"I've never seen that man care for anyone but himself," Freya finally says.

She truly won't believe it until she sees it - the true nature of her mysterious younger brother.

-

Klaus makes his way towards Elijah's manor.

He hasn't seen his brother since they all got together to celebrate Kol's birthday - their relationship had become somewhat estranged. They have a bad habit of stealing each other's lovers. First Tatia, then Katherina - now well, no one really.

Elijah had occupied himself with his families matters for quite some time. Starting with bringing their elder sister Freya back from alienation. Then, mourning the loss of their brother, Finn.

Afterwards, their mother.

Klaus wonders how his visit will go.

-

(The wolves are stirring that night -

Hayley feels connected to them, all of them, strangely.

Almost as if she can hear all their hearts beating, the blood coursing through their veins, how they all sink together - like a symphony.

The hybrids suddenly begin having a weird attraction towards her, they start to follow her around like lost puppies, it even confuses Tyler.

He swears he's never seen them act this way.

She's never spent a whole lot of time around other wolves - it was almost as if she was kept away from most of them on purpose. Hayley often thinks about all the things she doesn't know about her past, how she barely remembers her childhood.

Somewhere, in her locked away memories, holds the answers to all her questions.

She hopes that she will be able to recollect them soon).

-

[feather-dancer]

Trollhunters Fanfic Recommendations - Part 3

Somehow there is now a third one of these because I read far far too much fanfic and have no regrets about it. It’s with great pleasure I can also announce I’ve been digging around for Trans Jim fics and found some gems while I was at it that have been included below.

You can find Part 1 of my fanfic recommendations here!

And Part 2 here!

Plus one shameless plug for my own current fics.

General Trollhunters

(And you're my Arcadia.) - All you need to know is it’s Jilaire post Season 3 and one line in particular made me burst out laughing.

Bitter[sweet] - Sometimes the thing you need most is just a really good friend when your body plain sucks. Contains Trans Jim and is delightful.

the red book - Far beyond the humble days of Season 3 and after living beyond his human family and friends, Jim has started to forget who he was and that he was ever just a human kid.

The Halls of Arcadia High - When Strickler disappeared in Season 1, his absence was felt in many ways even in the form of a humble piano left un-played.

Not - Not!Enrique isn’t his name yet it’s what they call him anyway. An albatross reminding him of what was taken before he even had a chance to start.

On the Radio  - The final telling of the Janus Order.

Gay stories for Tales of Arcadia - Yeah I’m pretty sure you can guess where this is going, LGBTQ+ rep!

Through the Fires - There was a before time, one where Gunmar still roamed free and Deya had yet to be chosen let alone felled. These are the words of the humble witnesses of that war, from the changelings to the trolls who would oppose them.

Trollhunters: A Series of Disjointed Drabbles - This is so cute and fluffy I might just spontaneously combust.

Insomnolence - It is after the final battle and Jim has a lot of thoughts.

another tragedy - Anxiety is a bastard, it gives a lot of bad thoughts but sometimes there is a little bit of truth buried beneath it all and it whispers all about how you can keeping doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Season 2.

i will always hold you close (but i will learn to let you go) - Sometimes the hardest thing you can do is learning when to let go. Sometimes however, even when you want to they hold back even tighter. Season 2.

your eyes look like coming home - Toby has been the witness from the start of just how close Jim has been to death multiple times over and how Jim he is about the whole thing. It scares him how this time might be it, again and again. Season 2.

The Collected Tellings of Shigir and Other Changeling Folktales - I don’t actually know which category to put this under so I’m going the to heck with it route instead. Does exactly what it says on the tin for your Changeling lore needs, some of which will be off-hand mentioned or outright appear during the fantastic Terpsichore - The Comedy of the Danse Macabre - ACT I.

Please note: The main fic is Stricklake if that’s not your cup of tea, the folktales however can be enjoyed regardless.

~~~

Stricklake

all that dazzling dawn has put asunder - The sequel to in my sleep i dreamed of waking, this is filled with delightful fluff, internal panicking and the joys of trying to explain how you’re a not and how that does not change the fact Strickler is still a was. Being a changeling in these strange after times are difficult even before the other baggage involved but at least you're still here to start.

Two Pisces in Alto Mare - When in Rome as part of a study trip abroad, you meet the most curious people sometimes and  by fluke or nature you may even do so more than once.

Filling The Gaps - Possibly a bit of an unusual mention but! These are little pieces of Fallout that were going on while our eyes were following elsewhere and boy it can hurt.

Rehearsals and DvD Bonus Features - Another from the home of Terpsichore - The Comedy of the Danse Macabre - ACT I which is being listed here because it does have Stricklake in it. Some things don’t make the cut with writing fanfic, either because the plot wandered off, it doesn’t fit right or it’s some backstory you haven’t quite figured out where it can be naturally brought up yet and in this case they’ve found themselves a home. Be warned, one particular chapter is explicit and has been marked as such in warnings in the chapter summary.

~~~

Alternate Universes

(Un)Becoming - Not technically an AU in the conventional sense but I’m putting it under here anyway. It’s Unbecoming, as ever the road to hell is paved with good intentions but as Jim threw in the towel the storm that’s coming will not be stopped. However, what if others caught glimpses of a world that still had a human Trollhunter to defend it?

Steve the Kind - Steve became the Trollhunter but how the adventure unfolds differently than when Jim was at the helm might just surprise you. Very slow burn Steve and Jim that in a rather refreshing change doesn’t throw Claire under the bus for it to happen. Praise be.

31 Days in the Darklands - Strickmar that somehow kinda works?? It helps with Gunmar having the space to breathe outside of getting Morgana out and be more of his own character. Storywise, in order to rescue Jim from the Darklands Strickler broke a deal that would cost his own freedom and now has to somehow maintain a treaty between three very different factions all the while keeping his own neck intact. The intense distrust in changelings continues on to boot but hey, nobody said politics was easy.

Building Bridges - So Gunmar is distinctly of the more Eldritch variety with dream powers, the ability to easily see through lies for the true emotions and thoughts, Bular has the Insight as well to a lesser extent and everyone has somehow managed to hop onto Stricklander’s bandwagon of we must protect Jim Lake Jr. at all costs. Now the race is on as both sides try to sway the young Trollhunter to their way of thinking and the Trollmarket has no idea how dangerously badly they’re doing so far.

Lost Souls - A fic written in variable snapshots. Jim was kidnapped and changed by Merlin far earlier to be his Champion to ensure he did the “right thing” while Barbara in desperation to find her son falls into the hands of Morgana thus mother and son become enemies without even realising it.

Faithfully - Barbara died overseas and yet somehow Jim still managed to make his way back to Arcadia to become the next Trollhunter. This road is far harder for it as a seemingly homeless orphan though on the flipside he keeps on acquiring dads. Contains Trans Jim, timeline variable snapshots and I love it very much.

The Burning - There was a fire, it killed Barbara and Jim was thought dead as well. Nobody could have guessed the feral half changeling that is running around like a cryptid is the very much alive Jim.

Finding Daylight - Jim is a very low ranking changeling, terrified of Bular and his home amounts to little more than a spot in the woods. Things started to go pear shaped for him when he accidentally stumbled over Blinky and only more so when the amulet picks him after Kanjigar is felled. Tis not a kind world for a changeling child out there and he has nobody really to help watch his back until he stumbles on a potential maybe.

~~~

The bonus shoutout for an excellent MSA fic   

A Sleep Like Death - Who wouldn’t want to go visit a tower you’ve inherited apparently and has haunted as all hell all over it? Not Vivi that’s for sure. Poor Arthur is just along for the ride and then things start to get really weird when they find it’s still occupied and thinks Arthur is his jailor.

[headspacedad]

Twingane AU: Ryou is with Voltron and KNOWS that Kuron wasn't his brother from the go - just subtle things that were off - but the fact changes nothing because Kuron's desire to help others is equally as genuine as Shiro's. Kuron even approaches Ryou at one point about this and Ryou tries to nudge him into composing his own identity outside of Shiro. So when the Big man himself returns? Ryou: Shiro, this is Jiro. He's our brother now. I adopted him. Shiro: Huh, Neat.

The first time Ryou is sure, really really sure, that the man in front of him isn’t his twin brother Takashi, is the day Ryou lies to him - and he believes it.

Up until now he’s had his doubts.  Yes, the other person felt - off.  Moved in ways that didn’t tick true or said things that were just slightly to the side of what Ryou was expecting to hear.  Said ‘if we can’ instead of ‘we will’.  Said ‘soon’ instead of ‘now’.  But.... how much of that could be all the time and things that had passed between now and when Little Magpie went off the grid?  Its been almost two years by now and Taks.... Taks has been through four different kinds of hell since then.  Of course he understands if his brother has changed because of it.  It would be impossible not to.  And this last - escaping from the Galra again.  Almost dying multiple times on an ice planet.  Being rejected, for a time, by the mechanical lion that Ryou knows means the world to his twin.  He gets it.  He gets that the man calling himself Shiro can’t possibly be exactly the same as he was when he left Earth for his final run at Kerberos and the freedom of space.  He knows that.  And he knows that Takashi deserves to be allowed to be whatever he needs to be while he deals with all of what’s happened to him.

Which is why he tells himself that the little things that feel ‘off’ to him, the things that whisper ‘not my brother’, are all just in his head or the result of what life has done to Taka while they’ve been apart. 

But he knows.  He doesn’t want to  - and he knows.

And the first time he lies to the mirror image of his twin and the mirror image nods and clasps his shoulder in understanding and believes him -

Ryou can’t pretend anymore.

He watches after that, watches and is ashamed at how many signs he ignored or missed.  And he watches because - this is his twin’s team, people his brother loves and cares about, and even if Ryou wasn’t coming to care about them himself - for his missing twin - he would still stand in the gap and stand guard against all harm.

But the stranger in his brother’s form isn’t harm.  He’s the opposite.  He’s close enough to Shiro that he can’t be anything but good and noble and self-sacrificing and true - even when he stumbles on the delivery of it sometimes.  And - Ryou likes him.  He loved him for his brother’s sake but for the stranger’s sake alone - he starts to like him.  Like hanging out with him, like helping him, like supporting and, sometimes, smoothing things over for him.  Whoever he is - the stranger in his brother’s form isn’t evil.  And it makes Ryou worry.  Because there’s no way the Galra created or found something like his brother and sent it to Voltron without evil intent and purpose.  So he decides to guard the new brother just as hard as the old while he keeps looking for Taks.  And he lets a few of the team in on it, because the Galra mean this to be a secret and so it shouldn’t be even if they have to keep it a secret from the man himself because there’s no telling what heartbreaking ‘failsafe’ the Galra might have implanted in him.

So when Lance brings up the new twin’s insecurity to Ryou - and Coran brings up the headaches - and Pidge brings up the crippling pain - they all decide they need to do something before whatever the Galra - whichever faction it is - have in mind. 

So they do.

No one can slap Haggar across time and space the way Allura learns to lay the smack down for the new twin’s sake.

And when Taka, and Ryou knows him immediately with his whole heart and without doubt or question, is brought back - Ryou is the one that, once the noise has died down, just a little, drags their new twin forward and introduces a stunned silent Taka to a reluctant clone.

“Taks, this is Jiro.  He’s our newest brother.”

Taka, because he’s Taka, doesn’t understand but he trusts Ryou with more than his life and his answer is:

“ooooh kay.... neat?”

“Yeah!” Ryou hooks one arm around Taka’s neck and the other around Jiro’s and states (because he wants to savor this moment and make it last and give everyone the breathing room they deserve but - sometimes the fire in front of you isn’t safe to wait for to arrive on its own):

“And we think our family might be larger than just three.  Wanna jump right back in the saddle, grab Black, and go help me, Jiro, the princess, Lotor (I”ll explain later) and your team find them before anyone else does?”

[dlwritings]

Firecracker Soul | Dean Winchester

Chapter 14 - Happy Anniversary

pairing - mob!Dean x teacher!ofc

word count - 4,638

warnings - language, oral (f receiving), fingering, unprotected sex (sex is cleaner with a packaged wiener), light spanking, daddy kink, Dean’s a dick

additional notes at the end

(previous)

Alice woke up to the sound of her phone buzzing obnoxiously on the bedside table. Dean groaned and rolled onto his stomach, and Alice mumbled an apology before grabbing her phone. Without looking at it, she pressed answer. "Hello?" she mumbled.

"Morning sunshine," Christine said. "Do you know what time it is?" Alice suddenly sat up straighter and looked at the clock on the table: 9:36.

"Oh my god," she said. "I'm so sorry. I totally overslept. I can be there in, like, a half hour. I just have to run home and change and then I'll be right there."

"Run home?" Christine said, a smile evident on her voice. "I take it you and Mr. Winchester had a fun night last night." Dean chuckled, and Alice turned to look at him, realizing the volume on her phone must've been too loud.

"Shut up," she said, not sure if she was talking to Dean or Christine. "I can leave right now."

"Don't worry about it," Christine said. "We can miss a week."

"We never miss a week," Alice argued. "How about tomorrow? Same time. I swear I won't oversleep."

Chrstine laughed. "Deal." She paused. "So when do I get to meet this guy?"

"Goodbye, Christine."

When she hung up the phone, she rolled onto her back with a sigh. "Sorry," she said.

"Mm, s'okay," he said. "I was getting hungry anyway."

"Yeah?" she said, propping herself up on her elbows. "I can make some pancakes or-" Dean cut her off by pushing her back down onto the bed and hovering over her.

"Not that kind of hungry," he said. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at him as he kissed up her legs, pushing them apart. Realization hit her, and she felt her body start to tingle. "How're you feeling?" he asked, pulling his boxers down her legs. "Are you sore?"

"A, a little," she said.

He kissed her thigh. "I'm sorry."

"S'okay," she mumbled. "S'not so bad."

He hummed. "Should daddy kiss it better?" She breathed heavily and nodded. "Mm-mm," Dean muttered. "Good girls use their words, remember?"

She nodded again. "Yes." Dean smiled against her skin and started kissing her thigh, sucking the skin until little purple marks remained. He noticed her start to squirm and chuckled before slowly licking her cunt. She whined immediately at the contact and put her hands on her chest. Dean looked up at her through his eyelashes before pulling away and moving up her body. He pushed her shirt over her tits and kissed them each before dragging his lips back between her legs.

"Play with your tits for me, sweetheart," he said.

She breathed out an, "Okay," before she started rolling her nipples between her fingers. Dean groaned at the sight and dove back into her core, fucking her slowly with his tongue and letting his nose brush against her clit. She let out high pitched moans and tugged at her nipples, feeling shockwaves across her whole body. Dean pulled back so he could watch how her pussy reacted to his thumb gently rubbing her clit. She whined and lifted her hips, and Dean looked back up at her.

"Tell me what you want," he said. She bit her upper lip and took a sharp breath in through her nose when he let his pointer finger circle her opening. He never quite let it dip in, knowing deep down that was probably what she wanted. "Come on, Alice," he mumbled. "Use your words."

"I, I-" She stuttered. "You. You. I want you."

Dean's cock twitched in his boxers as he replaced his thumb with his mouth, finally pushing his finger inside her and sucking her clit between his lips. Alice cried out and arched her back, cumming almost immediately. Dean kept his lips on her clit, continuing to flick the nub with his tongue as he pulled his fingers out of her. He moved his tongue all around her cunt, licking her clean before diving back in for a second taste. "Dean," she cried. His actions were faster, more desperate to get her to that high again. He knew she wanted him to fuck her, but watching her writhe on the bed from his tongue alone was intoxicating for him. "Daddy, please," she said, rolling her hips against his face. Dean groaned against her pussy, and just when he could tell she was about to cum again, he pulled away. She whimpered at the loss of contact, but he kissed the sound out of her mouth.

He pulled back and tugged his boxers off, tossing them aside. She spread her legs for him, and Dean smiled at her eagerness. "Why don't we try something else?" he said, helping her sit up. He sat with his back against the headboard, his cock hard and slapping against his stomach, and she sat and waited for him to tell her what to do. He patted his lap. "Want you to ride me," he said. A blush crept up from her neck to her cheeks as she bit her lip. Dean put his hand on her cheek. "It's just like when you rode my thigh, remember?" he said. She nodded, and Dean smiled. "It's just like that, but instead-" He took her hand and wrapped it around his cock. She instinctively squeezed it lightly, and he held back a groan. "Instead, you're riding my cock. You think you can do that?"

She nodded. "Yes." She moved her hand and straddled his hips, not quite sinking onto his member yet. Her forehead was pressed against his, and her eyes were closed. "You'll help me, right?" she whispered. He tucked some of her hair behind her ear and smiled.

"Course I will," he said. She nodded, took a deep breath, and Dean helped her line his cock up with her opening so she could lower herself onto him. He watched her face screw up and her lips part at the feeling. Dean tried to get her to open her eyes by brushing his fingers across her cheek. "How's it feel?" he asked. She swallowed thickly and buried her face against his neck.

"Feels really good," she said. Without him even prompting her, she rolled her hips against his, barely lifting off him before grinding back down.

"Oh, good girl," Dean praised, putting his hands on her ass. "That's right. Just like that." She nodded, her head still against his shoulder, and moved her hips again in a similar motion, moaning at the way he reached so deep inside her with this new position. Everytime her clit rubbed against his pelvis, her body twitched and she whimpered against his skin. Dean helped guide her movements, keeping his hands on her ass and moving her along his cock.

This wasn't enough. Alice could feel the desperation building in her tummy, but she wasn't getting there. She gripped his shoulders, her nails biting into his skin, as she lifted herself onto her knees and lowering herself back onto him. She moved faster, trying to bounce up and down on his cock instead of grinding against him. Dean tossed his head back and gripped her ass tighter before giving her right cheek a light swat. She moaned and bit his neck, trying her best to control her erratic breathing. She didn't last much longer, and as soon as Dean felt her flutter around his cock, he came right along with her. He helped her slow her movements while lightly kissing her shoulder.

Alice didn't move from his lap. She stayed there, her face still against his neck, and Dean could feel her eyelashes fluttering against his skin. Even as he softened inside her, she didn't move. She didn't want to say it out loud, not knowing if she was weird for feeling this way, but she liked having him inside her. She swore she could stay like that all day. She thought about it and felt her pussy clench again, causing Dean to groan. "You're gonna have to give me a minute, sweetheart," he said. "I'm not quite ready to go again."

"No, s'okay," she mumbled. "I just-" She decided to bite the bullet and very quietly whispered, "I like feeling you inside me like this."

Dean let out a chuckle that sounded more like a sigh. "I swear, you're gonna kill me one of these days, you know that?"

"Mm," she hummed lazily. "If you say so." She kissed his neck, sucking a bit so she could leave a little mark of her own. "Can we stay like this today? Just all day?"

"God," Dean said, "I would love to, but I have things to do."

"No," she whined.

"Hey," Dean said, playfully swatting her ass. "What did I say about being a brat?"

She swallowed nervously. "I get spanked."

"Right," he said. "And I know you seemed to like that a few minutes ago, but you wouldn't like it as much as a punishment. Understand?"

She nodded. "Yes, daddy."

Dean lifted her off his lap, and she shivered, watching the cum leak out of her. He chuckled and reached out, touching between her thighs and gathering up the cum on his fingers so he could bring it up to her mouth. Without him even saying anything, Alice opened her mouth and sucked his fingers clean. He groaned, pulled his fingers out of her, and kissed her deeply. "Like I said," he mumbled. "You're gonna kill me."

Alice giggled and scratched her fingers across his scruff. "So what do you have to do today?" she asked.

"Well," he said with a sigh, "I have to make sure Ellen's faction successfully collects some cargo from the airport, meet up with Crowley and some of his men on a Lucifer lead, and talk to a couple people who owe me some money." She sighed and pouted.

"How long will you be gone?" she asked.

"I'll be back before dinner," he said. "We're at Cas and Hannah's again. Do you want to make dessert or do you want me to buy something?"

"I can make something," she said. "I've got nothing to do today."

"Alright," Dean said.

"You think you could bring me home?" she asked. "I should have my car in case I need to go shopping."

"Mhm," Dean hummed, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She bit her upper lip, and he grinned. "You know," he said, lightly pinching her lower lip, "you have a tell."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked when he let go.

"It means," he said, "when you're nervous about saying something, you bite your upper lip."

"Do I really?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

He chuckled. "Yeah, you do. So what's on your mind?"

She sighed. "Can I come back here and make the dessert? Your kitchen's a lot nicer than mine." Dean smiled and furrowed his eyebrows.

"That's it?" he asked. "That's what you were nervous about?" She pressed her lips into a tight line and shrugged. He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Course you can. Do you remember my passcode?" She shook her head no. "091305," he said. "Can you remember that?"

"I don't know," she said.

"That's okay," he said. "I'll tell Derek he can let you in."

"Is he the only guy who works that desk?" she asked with a giggle.

Dean chuckled. "Somehow he's always the one there." He stood up from the bed and pulled her up as well. "Go use the bathroom so I can hop in the shower." She nodded and skipped off to the bathroom. When she came back, she slid on the pair of boxers she had worn to bed.

"Do you want me to make enough coffee for you?" she asked.

"Sure," Dean said. "That'd be great." She nodded, stood on his tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek, and skipped out of the room. Dean smiled and watched her until she was gone.

At home, Alice decided to pack some clothes to keep at Dean's. Mostly she just wanted essentials: a couple pairs of underwear, a pair of leggings, and some shorts. She could always wear a shirt of Dean's in public, but she was sick of having to run home to get clean underwear after spending the night.

The rest of her morning went by in a blur. She decided on a recipe, checked for ingredients at Dean's, then went out to the store to buy what he didn't have. She was making another pie, this time blueberry instead of apple. Once she had all the ingredients laid out, she set to work baking. She played her music at a low hum and danced around the kitchen, smiling brightly to herself. She was at her boyfriend's apartment making a pie for his family dinner. She wished she could take a photo of her life in that exact moment.

Alice had completely lost track of time when she put the pie in the oven. It was already almost 2:00. After cleaning up the kitchen, she decided to find a place to put the clothes that she had brought along. All she needed was a single drawer to herself, so she figured she would just move some of Dean's boxers and socks or something. She opened some of his drawers, finding most of them filled with shirts and ties, until she found one that was empty. Empty aside from a book.

The book was square and on the front had a photo of Dean with a brunette girl smiling with their foreheads pressed together. In the corner in calligraphy was the word love and the year 2010. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she took the book and sat on the floor beside the drawers. She bit her lip and opened it. On the front cover in delicate black handwriting was a note.

A year may not seem like much, but with you, it's already felt like a lifetime. Here's to a million lifetimes more. Happy anniversary x

Lisa

Alice started flipping through the pages, her eyes glancing over all the pictures. Dean looked so happy with this girl. Lisa. She could see now why Hannah had mentioned her at dinner. She didn't even have to meet her to know that she meant a lot to Dean. Part of her hated the girl. This had been ten years ago, but Dean still had the book. He was hers now, wasn't he? So why did he still keep bits of Lisa around? Another part of her was jealous, because she wasn't sure if Dean had ever looked at her the way he was looking at Lisa. Then again, they hadn't been together nearly as long.

Why was she even looking at this if all it was doing was making her sad?

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Alice jumped and closed the photobook when Dean stormed into the room. She rushed to stand up from the floor. "I, I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I found it in a drawer and-"

"And you thought that gave you a right to look at it?" he snapped. "You can't just go through my shit, Alice!" He ripped the book from her hands, and she winced. She had never seen him this angry before, and she wished she could rewind ten minutes and prevent this from happening at all.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I, I wasn't thinking."

"No, fucking clearly you weren't thinking!" he shouted. "Because if you were thinking when you did this, then that would make you a dumbass, and I never pegged you as a dumbass."

Tears started falling from her eyes as shame and fear crept into her head. Dean opened the drawer the book had been in and shoved it back in, slamming it shut with so much force, the picture frame of him and Lexi fell over. Without another word or even a glance in her direction, he stormed out of the room. When Alice heard the bathroom door slam, she grabbed her bag and went into the kitchen. She found a notepad and a pen in her purse and scribbled a note that said: The pie will be done when the buzzer goes off.

She left the note on the counter, slipped her shoes on, and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the lobby. She heard Derek say something to her, but she ignored him and made her way out to the parking lot. When she got home, she immediately went into her room and curled up into bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders and crying softly into her pillow.

How funny. Only a few hours ago, she wished she could take a photo of her life in that moment. Now, she wished she could sleep for a while and wake up in another story.

-

Things had not gone well at his meeting with Crowley. Apparently, Crowley had lost one of his guys who was tailing Lucifer. Lost, as in, the guy got too close, and Lucifer shot him between the eyes. They were no closer to Lucifer than they were the last time they met, and Dean was starting to get sick of waiting.

"What chance do we have of successfully getting a guy on the inside?" Dean asked.

"You want to plant a rat in Lucifer's family?" Crowley asked.

"I want to do something that could get us something useful," Dean said. "I'm sick of sitting here with our thumbs up our asses. We were so close to something, but we've just got more of nothing. How much longer are we going to keep chasing our tails?"

"Okay, calm down there Squirrel," Crowley said, leaning his elbows on the table. "We're going to get him. I have been toying with an idea."

"And you haven't shared?" Dean said.

"Because you're not going to like it," Crowley said. Dean leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He motioned with his hand for Crowley to continue. "You have one person who might be able to get on the inside."

"No," Dean said. "I'm not sending Jack in."

"He is a direct link to Lucifer," Crowley said. "His own flesh and blood. That means something to him. He would let the kid in."

"I'm not putting him in that position," he said. "He's new to all of this. There's a chance he's not strong enough to stay on our side. If Lucifer said all the right things, I think Jack might switch."

"He's that unloyal?" Crowley taunted.

"He's that naive," Dean said. "He's a good kid, and he's got heart, but he's not strong enough. That's just a fact."

"Then I'm afraid we're going to keep sitting on our thumbs," Crowley said. "Unless you can come up with something better."

Dean needed a break. He had to meet up with Bart to collect some money in an hour, but he figured that was enough time to run home and visit Alice. If she was in the mood, they could even have a quickie before he had to leave again.

What he wasn't expecting to find was Alice in his room, on the floor, looking through Lisa's photo book. After going off on her, he stormed into the bathroom to catch his breath. He gripped the bathroom sink in his hands as he hung his head. Why the fuck had she gone through his things? That book was personal, and she had no business opening it and paging through it.

When he looked at his reflection, he saw how crazy he looked. He had acted irrationally. Probably scared her. Scared his girlfriend who had been in a scary relationship before. That wasn't okay. Still, this wasn't all on him, right?

He left the bathroom and found his bedroom empty. "Alice?" he called. Nothing. He called her name again only to be met with more silence. When he made his way to the kitchen, he found a note on the counter: The pie will be done when the buzzer goes off.

He crumpled the note up and threw it back on the counter, his jaw clenched in frustration. "Shit," he mumbled to himself. He was frustrated, but he was also annoyed. He knew he should call her, but he didn't. Instead, he waited for the pie to finish and headed out to Cas and Hannah's.

Dean walked into the house without his usual greeting. Quick little feet ran up to him but froze as soon as she saw him alone. "Where's Ms. Alice?" Lexi asked with a pout. Dean's jaw clenched, and he walked past her and into the kitchen.

"She's busy tonight," he answered, putting the pie on the counter. "You'll see her at school."

"But I wanted to see her now," she whined. Dean didn't say anything, so Lexi stormed away with a huff. Dean greeted Jess and Hannah with kisses on the cheeks.

"Dean," Sam said slowly. "Where's Alice?"

"I said she was busy," Dean snapped. "Are you deaf?"

Everyone dropped the subject.

Dinner went by somewhat awkwardly. Dean gave short, one-worded answers to everything and started no conversations up of his own. All he could think of was Alice and Lisa.

When Lexi left the table and the adults sat around drinking, Jess was the first one who spoke again. "Alright," she said, "what's going on? What did you do?"

Dean scoffed. "You're automatically assuming it's my fault."

"Yes," everyone said back. Dean rolled his eyes.

"She went through my shit," he mumbled, sipping his whiskey.

"What'd she find?" Cas asked. Dean took another sip of his drink.

"Just something of Lisa's," he mumbled, not meeting anyone's eyes. "It was just some, some photo book she gave me."

"And you kept it?" Hannah asked. Dean clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at her.

"I get it," Jess said quickly. "She was a big part of your life for a long time."

"I know you guys want to make this into some big deal," Dean said with a shrug, "but I honestly just forgot it was there."

Sam scoffed. "Right."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"If you forgot it was there," he said, "you wouldn't have gotten so mad that she found it."

"That's bullshit," Dean said.

"It's alright that it still matters to you," Jess said. "You just shouldn't take it out on Alice."

Dean downed the rest of his drink with another roll of his eyes. He knew he had messed up, but he was just too damn stubborn to admit it. If he couldn't admit that to himself, how could he admit it to her?

-

After a sleepless night, Alice met Christine at the cafe for breakfast. She got there a half hour early just because she didn't want to sit in her apartment and mope any longer than she already had. She was staring at her coffee, stirring the spoon absentmindedly, so she hadn't noticed when Christine arrived until she was sitting in front of her. "Whoa," Christine said with a chuckle. "Someone's jumpy." Alice mustered up a weak smile, and Christine furrowed her eyebrows. "Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?"

Alice sighed and sipped her coffee before speaking. "Dean and I slept together on Friday. And yesterday morning. And then yesterday evening we got in a really big fight, and I left his apartment and haven't heard from him since."

Christine's lips were parted in shock. "Wow," she said. "That's a lot to unpack at once." Alice scoffed and drank more of her coffee. AJ came over with Christine's food, but nothing for Alice. When Christine questioned it, Alice explained that she told AJ she wasn't hungry. "When was the last time you ate something?" she asked.

"Lunch yesterday," she said. "I just haven't got any appetite. I'm so stressed out."

"What was the fight about?" she asked.

Alice sighed again. "I found a photo book of him and his ex. He was mad that I had gone through his stuff, and he's right. I was totally out of line."

"Did he hurt you?" Christine asked, her voice lowering and her eyes narrowing.

"No, no," Alice said quickly. "He just yelled. He called-" She hesitated, knowing Christine would likely blow it all out of proportion.

"What did he call you?" she pressed.

She shrugged. "It's not a big deal. It was the heat of the moment. He called me a dumbass." Just as she expected, Christine went off.

"Alice, that's not okay," she said.

"I've handled a lot worse," she argued. "And it was really my fault anyway. I shouldn't have-"

"I'm not going to let you spiral like this," Christine said, cutting off her excuses. "It doesn't sound like you deserved what happened. There are a lot of calmer ways he could've reacted to you snooping."

"Maybe I triggered something," she said. "Maybe it's a bigger deal to him than it seems to us."

"I don't think anything justifies him calling you a dumbass," Christine said. Alice just shrugged, staring down at her coffee again.

"I really like him, Chris," she whispered. "He's not like Greg. I know it. He flew off the handle once, but everyone flies off the handle sometimes. I can't let him go just because of that. Plus we-" She hesitated and bit her upper lip. "We slept together, you know? That means something to me." Christine pursed her lips and breathed heavily through her nose.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked.

Alice shrugged. "I guess wait until he reaches out to me. He's the one who's mad. I want to give him space to cool off."

"That's probably a good idea," she said. After a few beats of silence, she sighed dramatically. "I guess I still want to know about the sex."

Alice couldn't fight a smile as her cheeks heated up. "Who initiated it?" Christine asked. Alice didn't say anything, and Christine playfully gasped. "You did, didn't you?" Alice looked down at her coffee and nodded, which made Christine cheer. People looked in their directions so Alice slapped her friend's arm. "How'd it go down?" she asked. "What'd you do? Say something like, Sex me up, daddy?"

"What?" Alice said through a laugh. "No. No. I had already decided that I wanted to after dinner with my dads, and when we got back to his place, he asked me a little bit about Greg."

"Like what?" she asked.

"I guess my dad had mentioned him to him when they were outside," she said. "He probably alluded to how much he sucked. Dean inferred that he abused me. He asked how often and how bad it got, so I told him. And he was just-" She let out a breath through her nose as a small smile grew on her face. "He was so sweet, and he genuinely cared about what had happened to me and wanted me to know he would never be like that." Christine smiled for her friend, and Alice continued. "So I just, I kissed him, and I told him I was ready."

"How was it?" she asked. Alice's smile just grew as she hung her head.

"It was really good," she whispered. "He was really gentle and sweet and kept asking if I was okay. He ran us a bath after. It was just-" She sighed, then finally looked up at Christine. "It was really perfect, Chris. Both times." She pressed her lips into a tight line, suddenly losing her reason to smile as she thought about the fight again. "I won't lose him," she said. "I'm already in too deep."

"Just give him time," Christine said. "If he's as good of a guy as you say he is, then I'm sure it'll work out."

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

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[orokin-made]

1, 2, 7 and 10 for the Deadfire Ask Meme, please (Though of course you're more than welcome to just rattle them all off too if you'd like)!

Thank you! You are too generous with your enabling, really.

1.What did your Watcher make of the Deadfire Archipelago? Was it their first time there, or had they been there previously?

Elehal was born there! Though not quite in the section the game takes place in. It was kind of a shock, suddenly waking up back “home” after having been away for so long and having so much happen, but mostly he was excited to show his friends around and take them to all the cool places he knew. He spent most of the voyage from Port Maje to Neketaka talking about all the times he’d been to the city previously, and how wonderful it was, and all the things they should go see while they were there. After spending so much time exploring and learning about other people and places, it was kind of nice to be the local expert for once.

2.Did they have a favourite location?

He loves Neketaka. A big, exciting city full of exciting people and beautiful buildings, all built to his scale so he doesn’t have to bend over every time he walks through a door and the whole thing is built on top of the sprawling ruins of a different, ancient city?? It’s almost enough to make him settle down in one place for a while.

As for non-hub city locations, Motare o Kozi also has all of his favorite things all in one place: wilderness exploration, hidden ruins, mysterious machines, a connection to the Huana, just everything he could possibly want.

3.How about a favourite companion? Or a favourite NPC?

Elehal and Tekehu get on amazingly. They know all the same stories and songs, (at least the Huana ones, Elehal has a much wider knowledge of folklore/music from the rest of Eora) Tekehu is probably the best at getting Elehal to lighten up and laugh out of all the companions, and Elehal still gets to feel needed as someone to give Tekehu some direction and guidance. They have different experiences with being godlike, and that is a source of some tension between them at first, as much as Elehal tries to avoid it, but that’s a topic I'm exploring elsewhere atm.

(tbh it’s a good thing Aloth got in there first because I think Sharkboy and Lavaguy Elehal/Tekehu would simply be too powerful for the world to handle.)

4.Was there a companion or an NPC that they just couldn’t stand? What was it about them that irritated your Watcher?

Getting along with everybody -- and I do mean everybody-- is sort of Elehal’s whole thing, so people he actively dislikes are few and far between. That being said, he’s not fond of pirates or the Principi as a whole, both for the obvious reasons and just because he thinks their obnoxious and rude and kind of gross. Out of the companions Maia and Pallegina are probably the two he has the most difficult time building a relationship with, largely in part due to all three of them supporting different factions and having different visions for the future of the Deadfire. He and Maia could probably have done alright if the situation was different, bonded over a love of exploration and affectionate ribbing of her brother, but Pallegina and Elehal were rubbing each other the wrong way all the way back in the Dyrwood. I’m still trying to work out why specifically the two of them don’t get along, but I think part of it is their both so firm in their principals and values they just can’t find enough common ground when those values are in conflict with each other.  

5.Was your Watcher glad to have Eder, Aloth and Pallegina back again (if indeed they did)? Was there any other companion that they would have liked to have back in their party?

Eder and Aloth have always been important anchors for Elehal, keeping him grounded while he’s dealing with whatever Watcher nonsense he’s found himself in this time. Eder is so solid and unflappable, doesn’t complicate or overthink things, and is just all around the most reliable person Elehal knows. He trusts Aloth’s judgement and opinion more than anyone else’s, knows he doesn’t do or say things without giving them thorough consideration first and respects that. He’s also....real cute... just absolutely the most wonderful thing since sliced bread... how is he so small... a perfect man....

There’s a -- quietly -- longrunning joke between the rest of the party that Hylea and Magran got their godlikes mixed up when Elehal and Pallegina were born, which the two of them could bond over being offended by if they ever found out, but so far it hasn’t happened. Elehal felt pretty guilty for the whole mess Pallegina got into after she went back to the Republics, and really wanted to make it up to her somehow, despite their difficulties with each other. It didn’t exactly work out, but he got to apologize at least  

 6.What was your Watcher’s ship(’s) name(s)? Did they enjoy being Captain of a boat? Would they rather have been back at Caed Nua?

Yes and no. He loved being the Lord of Caed Nua, and still feels homesick for it from time to time, but having his own ship has been one of his dreams since he was a little kid watching boats come and go from his island. Ships are like castles but you don’t have to settle down in one place to live in them! Best of both worlds.

The Godhammer was a beautiful ship. Her name had earned him no shortage of incredulous and scandalized looks, and more than a few sharp words from Xoti and Edér, but he had been insistent. A private joke, of sorts. Magran had killed Eothas once before, now her chosen hounded him across the Deadfire. The goddess of trials and fire finished what she started. One way or another. 

7.Did they have a favourite quest or side quest? How about a least favourite?

Everything about the Black Isle was absolutely intolerable for him. He likes digging around for secrets as much as the next guy, but come ON. This is ridiculous. And awful.

He probably got the most satisfaction from the questline helping the roparu in the gullet, getting to just... help people without having to worry about consequences or compromising morals or anything.

8.Did your Watcher find romance, or close companionship, in the Deadfire? If so, who did they get close to, and how did that relationship develop?

While he and Aloth both had badly hidden, un-admitted to crushes on each other for the majority of their travels together in the Dyrwood, they were both also going through Some Shit and just. Not in any kind of place to be getting into a relationship. So their five years apart were difficult, but necessary, I think. Elehal is still going through Some Shit during Deadfire, but it’s less “My sense of self is being destroyed and I can’t sleep because of ghost whispers” so it doesn’t impact his personal relationships nearly as much.

Things are a little awkward in the beginning, trying to figure out if the other person still has feelings for them or if the whole thing was just, like, trauma bonding or something. But they get there eventually, and end up being very good for each other, in the end. Aloth understands how seriously Elehal takes his responsibilities and does what he can to make the burden of them lighter without downplaying the importance of what their doing, and Elehal encourages Aloth to find his own direction after having all his decisions made for him for so long, while still offering him support, and guidance if he wants it.

9.Which faction did your Watcher side with in the end, if any? Was there a particular reasoning behind their decision?

The Huana. There wasn’t really any other option for him, in the end. Letting any of the other factions set foot on Ukaizo, of all places, would have been simply unacceptable. He struggled with having to blow up the powderhouse and then lie about it, it’s not what he does, it feels wrong, but accepted it as another unfortunate but necessary action that he’ll answer for when the time comes. And, well, Onekaza is still technically his queen, and having her recognize him as Huana and earning her respect meant a great deal to him.

10.Where do you imagine your Watcher’s life takes them after the events of Deadfire?

HHHHHHHHH are we talking the depressing canon ending or the real one? Because in the real one he and Aloth take like, a year long vacation to Aedyr and spend the whole time going to libraries and museums and --safe, publicly accessible-- historical sites and Aloth finally gets to show Elehal that nice spot in the Cythwood by a waterfall. THEN they can start tackling the whole rebuilding the Wheel and hunting down the rest of the Leaden Key and all those other extremely important responsibilities.