#to be fair they were really stealthy

[emotional-piece-of-meat]

Damian and Cass do normal children activities because they deserve at least a small part of a happy childhood. 

So one day, with Dick's influence, they try to do a prank on their father. Firstly Damian thinks he is too mature for it (he is not, he is eleven), but soon he starts to think about it as a mission. Way to prove his skill to Grayson and, maybe, Father. He invites Cass because she is the only worthy companion in this household, and Cass is just happy to be included, honestly, so she helps.

They, using all the preparation they had for less funny activities, sneak into Bruce's room at night with coloured markers and joyful confidence in their abilities. Bruce, obviously, wakes up because he is extremely paranoid and an anxious sleeper, but he lays still and doesn't show it to let them finish. And in the morning he uses all his acting skills, pretending that he doesn't understand why they giggle silly.

Dick winks at him, because he knows, Alfred only nods in understanding.

[it-happened-one-fic]

Hi, sorry to bother you but I would like to ask for a post from Leona, where Cheka is trying to get her two favorite people married (ie Leona and the reader)

Hi! Sorry it took me so long to respond to your ask! I had a bit of trouble writing this one, but over all I had fun too. I hope you enjoy!

Duly-Noted - Leona

Type: Gender-neutral reader/ fluff/ sfw/ featuring Cheka/ request

Word Count: 1790

Leona huffed out a sigh as he watched Cheka play with you on the floor of the Ramshackle dorm from his relaxed lounging on the couch.

It hadn’t taken him long to figure out his nephew’s scheme when, as soon as the little fuzzball had appeared, he’d cheerfully stated that he wanted to come and play with you. Of course, Cheka had given himself as soon as he’d included his demands that Leona come along with him, even though he’d been to visit you at Ramshackle dorm plenty of times on his own.

Cheka was definitely fond of you, and Leona couldn’t really blame the kid considering how you patiently played along with the child. But that wasn’t what was really going on here.

What was going on here had more to do with Cheka’s pressing questions about why Leona so often told family members that he wasn’t particularly attached to anyone at school.

He could still see Cheka’s bright eyes looking up at him with an insistent frown on his face, “You know that is true, Unca! You like Y/n!”

Leona had snorted at his nephew, shaking his head at the child and, for once, was genuinely amused, “And what makes you think that?”

“You look at them the same way Papa looks at Mama. And Y/n likes you too! Why don’t you just take them home with you? Then you don’t have to worry about leaving them here while you visit us!” Cheka was as determined as Leona had ever seen him, but it was a drastic misreading of the situation.

Leona had plenty of reasons to not want to visit home, and none of them had a thing to do with you. But the moment he’d told the child that, Cheka had smiled. 

He’d been all but beaming up at Leona from where he sat on his lap, hands fisted in Leona’s shirt like he thought his uncle would run away, “But you do like them.”

There were moments, like right then, when Leona almost wondered if Cheka was more intelligent than his father. Perhaps he’d taken after his mother in that sense. But then Cheka’s hare-brained plot for tricking you and Leona into a relationship certainly hadn’t been well schemed.

After all, Leona wasn’t the only one who'd caught on. You had, too. Though, to be fair, Cheka wasn’t exactly being stealthy with his questions about how, “Wouldn’t it be great if we all lived together?”

Leona had fully planned on handling it, but you'd only smiled, shaking your head and saying you’d talk to Cheka about it, “He’s just a kid after all, and he doesn’t mean any harm. There’s no need to come down on him so hard.”

Leona had only eyed you with rising eyebrows before shrugging, “Have it your way. But he won’t drop this easily. He’s a stubborn little thing.”

You’d snorted, elbowing him lightly as you went by to rejoin his nephew, “Must run in the Kingscholar family.”

And that had been that.

Truthfully, Leona hadn’t known what you’d told his nephew, but Cheka had fallen largely silent on the matter of a possible romance with you after that. 

In hindsight, though, Leona really should have known better to think that was all there was going to be to it. Nothing was ever that simple. Especially when you or his nephew were involved.

He had to hand it to Cheka, though; he’d been completely caught off-guard when the child had suddenly questioned him about his wedding plans. Especially since it happened during a trip to Sam’s with Ruggie.

Cheka held up the little ring-shaped lollipop, and before Leona could even start to refuse to buy the treat for him, the child spoke with innocent curiosity, “What kind of ring are you going to get for Y/n when you two get married?”

Leona blinked, his eyes widening as he stared at the child who just stared up at him while Ruggie did a spit-take and Sam’s eyebrows lifted. The only sound that broke the silence was the occasional beep as Sam continued to scan items.

Leona finally frowned, crossing his arms as he eyed the child, “What makes you think I’m going to marry the Herbivore?”

Cheka frowned almost immediately, as if he were trying to mirror his uncle’s expression, “Y/n and you like each other. But Y/n said they couldn’t move in with us until you two had gotten married. They said people would talk since we’re royals and they aren’t if you didn’t.” 

Cheka’s expression slowly shifted to one of concern, his tiny hand reaching out and grasping Leona’s pants leg, “You are going to marry them, aren’t you, Unca? Y/n’ll be sad if you don’t.”

Ruggie only barely managed to contain his laughter in an ugly-sounding snort that had Leona shooting him a look while a smile began to creep across Sam’s face.

“Did they?” Leona’s gaze shifted back to his nephew as he spoke, his tone careful as he eyed the child. But he was already putting two and two together without Cheka having to say anything.

You certainly had talked to Cheka about it, but now Leona was going to have to talk to you about this.

Ruggie wiped his eyes lightly before kneeling, humor still flooding his voice even as he eyed Cheka, “Well, marriage is a pretty big deal, Cheka. Leona can’t just go proposing without putting some real thought into it.”

Cheka frowned, but Ruggie only titled his head, reasoning with the child easily, “Y/n deserves the best, don’t you think?”

Leona watched, eyebrows raised, as Cheka frowned thoughtfully before his tiny face cleared like a sun coming out from behind clouds, and he nodded, smiling widely, “Oh! I see! Leona wants to sweep Y/n off their feet like those princes in the stories Mama likes so much.”

Leona didn’t even bother hiding his groan as Ruggie snickered mischievously, nodding and egging on the child, “Exactly, so you’re going to have to give him some time to do just that.”

Ruggie paused, glancing up at Leona with a grin that had Leona glaring at him warningly. But the hyena beastman was hardly even phased as he looked back at the child seriously, his eyes sparkling with poorly disguised mischievousness, “We’ll both have to support him, Cheka.”

Cheka’s expression turned determined as he nodded before looking up at Leona, “Good luck, Unca!”

Leona sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out an annoyed, “Uh-huh,” as he watched Ruggie lead his nephew out of the store.

 He would get Ruggie for what a mess this was inevitably going to end up being, as well as deal with whatever the little mercenary wanted in exchange for his assistance later. First, he had a certain herbivore to find.

And he couldn’t complain that you were hard to find. But then you never were.

You were, as ever, at Ramshackle. Working on upkeep for the run-down building on your day-off, just like you usually did on the weekends when you weren’t working at the Mostro Lounge.

Leona didn’t even have to call out since Grim handled letting you know he was here for him.

You turned, blinking up at him in surprise, before a smile split its way across your face. Leona wasn’t really looking at you, though. Instead, he was staring at the busted chair you were apparently working on with a frown. 

How the crossbar had wiggled its way out, was beyond him, but that was evidently enough, what had happened.

“Leona! No little prince with you today?” Your voice was bright, and Leona found himself looking back your way as he propped himself in the doorway.

He crossed his arms as he looked down at where you were seated on the floor, tilting his head at you, “Nope, but a certain little prince did tell me what you told him the other day.”

You blinked in confusion before your eyes slowly cleared, and you let out a small chuckle, shaking your head slightly, “Oh, that. He bought the marriage excuse pretty easily, and at least that way I didn’t have to lie or something like that to him.”

Leona felt his eyebrows rise at your words as you twisted to go back to work on the chair, seemingly unconcerned by what side effects your words might have had.

“Yeah, but now that he’s found out we’re dating when no one else has, he’s going to report directly back to either Falena or his wife,” Leona pushed himself off the wall as he spoke, walking over to where you were.

You simply shook your head at his disgruntled words, a smile on your face, “I still don’t see why it would be so horrible for them to know. But even if he does tell them, they probably won’t believe him. Not if Falena is as concerned about your love life as you say he is.”

Leona frowned as he watched you before kneeling and reaching around you to help you support the chair while you fought the crossbar into place, “No, he’ll call and ask all sorts of questions or, worse, have his wife ask me all sorts of questions.”

You hummed, tilting your head slightly, “You’ll be able to handle it if it comes to that. But, like I said, I really don’t see why it’s a big deal if they know or not. I’d like to meet your family.”

Your words caused his eyebrows to lift once more as he glanced over at you, watching as a frown crossed your face.

You glanced over your shoulder at him, confusion accenting your voice as soon as you spoke, “How did you find out what I’d told Cheka anyway? Did he just tell you?”

Leona let out a huff, his ears twitching as he glanced off to the side, “He saw one of those lollipop ring thingies at Sam’s and asked me what sort of ring I was going to get you for the wedding.”

You laughed aloud, earning yourself a look even as you shook your head in light-hearted amusement before glancing at him, “Hopefully nothing like a Ring-pop. That would be hideous.”

Leona grinned, leaning forward to rest his chin on your shoulder, “You don’t want something big like that?”

You snorted, shaking your head, “No. I think a rock that size, even a fake one, would be a little heavy.”

He let out an amused huff, turning his eyes back to the chair as he idly considered what sort of ring might actually be best, “Duly noted.”

After all, your thoughts on it all mattered too, even if you didn’t know that held actually had been looking at some rings already.

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request Astarion's s/o avoiding him to prepare a Valentine's Day surprise feasts for him? Nothing angsty however, she just makes up excuses to throw him off.

Astarion x Reader - Valentine's Day

It was official. [Y/N] was avoiding him. And Astarion couldn’t figure out why.

He assumes he’s done something wrong. He just couldn’t figure out what. For all his social graces, charm, and etiquette training to seep in with the noble lords, he still had the incredible knack of saying the wrong things at the wrong time with this group of people. No one seemed to get his biting wit or rapier sharp jabs, usually with their literal counterparts. Except for Shadowheart and Lae'zel, but…that really didn’t add credibility to his argument.

At first, he hadn’t noticed. Astarion wasn’t some puppy that followed them around camp, like that mutt they picked up. He had his own entertainments and [Y/N] had their own business to attend to. It was a lot of work keeping their once neat little conclave turned full blown circus in line, but [Y/N] seemed to manage. Astarion often thought during lost moments that if anyone really wanted to take over the world, they should study and harness whatever power it was they had to keep drawing people into them. Forget the tadpoles. Much less slimy as well.

Still, he wasn’t immune to being ignored. And after a while he started to wonder what could be so important. Not that he was looking for attention. To reiterate, he was not a lost puppy following them around. Astarion was just….curious as to what could have bedazzled their focus so.

Stealthy as a cat, he followed after [Y/N] as the snuck off into the forest around their camp. Their third time out there, if his observations were correct. Silently and cautiously, he followed. Until he felt it was the perfect time to announce himself with an accusatory, “what are you doing out here?” as he stood to make his presence known.

“Gah!” [Y/N] exclaimed in a startled sound. Prone, for a moment in surprise as they turned to face him. Astarion had never seen this expression before. In battle, they were always so fierce and focused. Even when he ‘surprised’ them on one of their early nights together, hungry and asking for more than he probably should have, they still had this spark of defiance & fight about them. But genuine surprise? Now he had to know what was going on.

“I said, what are you doing out here?” He repeated in case they missed it in their shock. “Why are you slinking out here in the middle of the night like some manner of shade? Surely you can’t be coming out here to relieve yourself that many times. Wyll’s cooking isn’t that bad. And why haven’t you talked to me at all today? It’s very rude.” Looking into their eyes, which had softened out of surprise into their usual fair expression, Astarion realized he was scolding them for something he was upset about and took a deep breath before he apologized. “Look…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that...I don’t like secrets darling. So if something is wrong, or if I’ve done something incredibly foolish, just tell me so we can move on from it.”

“….it’s not really a secret…” Astarion arched a brow at their reply, then watched them move to the side to reveal a blanket, candles, and what looked like one of the better bottle of wine they’d abscond with from a pillaged merchant cart they rescued. “It was…more meant to be a surprise. To celebrate.”

Astarion was racking his brain at the moment to think on what they could be celebrating. Of course, every day they were alive, kicking, and not turned into mind flayers seemed a good enough reason to celebrate, but this seemed more formal than that. He tried to think about what it could be and then he suddenly realized. ‘Oh shit’. It was Blessed Hearts Day.

A frivolous feast day where lovers would croon and swoon at one another, give horrible tacky gifts, then drunkenly stumble down the streets to fuck like rabbits, which was probably the only reason it was on the cusp of spring.

Astarion had never paid much attention to it. Besides it being a frivolous holiday, he never had any reason to pay attention to it. Other than the fact that around this time of year he could pull in 2 or 3 victims a week, rather than his usual 1, for Cazador, if he played his cards right. Everyone was searching for love around this time of year, and Astarion was happy to provide.

Well, not happy, but obliging.

Well, not obliging, but amenable.

He never would have thought that someone as steadfast & stalwart as [Y/N] would be interested in something as foolish as Blessed Hearts Day. But, then again, he never asked. So who was the real fool here?

“I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t get you anything.”

“It’s alright.” They reply with a smile. And Astarion felt that it was very much not alright. They had given him so much, kept giving him so much, and he continued showing up empty handed at their door. He’d never felt so much like a cad. “This was just something I wanted to do. I’ve never…had someone…to share Blessed Hearts Day with.”

Suddenly he wished for the ground to open up like one of those portals and swallow him up. Astarion couldn’t feel any lower than if he was under Avernus. But then all their hard work would go to waste, and they couldn’t have that.

“Well, it seems we’re in agreement again my dear. I’ve never had someone to truly share the holiday with either. Pawns and playthings, sure. But a true someone,” Astarion stepped closer to press his hand against their cheek, “my someone, well…that will be a new experience for me. It seems every where I turn, you’re always giving me new experiences.”

They seemed pleased by his words. Which was good because that’s all he had at the moment to give them. And his heart. Such as it was.

They spent the evening together under the stars. Talking some, but mostly quiet. Falling into each other’s arms much later and wrapped up in their picnic blanket in the cool grass before the night was over. He still thought it was a frivolous holiday, as he intended to spend everyday reminding [Y/N] how much he loved & how much they had changed him, but he supposed he could see the appeal now.

[hazyange1s]

Silly Little Sebastian Sallow HCs

I LOVE that I’ve seen so many headcanon posts recently because I devour all of them. Here’s me throwing in my two cents with a bunch of random tidbits I’ve sprinkled into my fic/writing 🖤

He’s almost always on time. Though he can be a bit disorganized when it comes to schoolwork (hard to keep track when you’re doing your own side projects too), punctuality is important. Literally attached at the hip to his pocket watch.

Speaking of the pocket watch, it was his father’s.

Takes both Ancient Studies and Ancient Runes as electives.

His amortentia smells like pine from Scotland’s forests, smoke (a la confringo), old books, and the candies he likes to snack on 24/7.

Following that, Sebastian is a huge foodie and loves to cook for his friends/family.

Favorite color is red (a rich, dark shade like maroon)

Has a big soft spot for nifflers.

Loves Shakespeare - Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are his favorites

Really just loves all fictional literature; from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to Dante’s Inferno and Homer’s the Iliad.

Chaser for Slytherin but isn’t the biggest Quidditch fan otherwise (he just enjoys the glory and excitement of a good competition)

Super stealthy. The only person who can (usually) catch him before he sneaks up on them is obviously Ominis.

Actually a fair dancer - he and Anne used to make up routines in their living room when they were little

Dances a good ceilidh, too. (kilt kilt kilt)

Born in Aranshire and traveled a lot in his youth, as his parents’ research demanded it.

Is terrified of the Black Lake after having an awkward run-in with the giant squid his first year…but loves to swim elsewhere

Secretly hates his freckles :( but overall, he’s fairly confident in his looks - without being cocky (man knows the effects he has on ~ the ladies ~ (and gents) he just doesn’t always understand it).

The scar on his lip is from Anne scratching him during a fight over a toy at age 6.

Not the most “traditional” guy, but he IS a hopeless romantic after giving him time to be comfortable showing it.

Loves starting ridiculous arguments with Ominis when he’s bored

^^ man needs CONSTANT stimulation

Birthday is October 24, 1874; he’s a Scorpio sun, aries moon, gemini rising

Might add onto this whenever the urge strikes 😇

[buckyalpine]

Shapeshifting Bucky

Random thought from the depths of crackfic hell. But imagine an AU where Bucky's time with hydra also included the ability to shape shift on top of his super soldier serum. He can turn into whatever but he really only shifts into a wolf most of the time. Stealthy, huge, strong, agile and an absolute puppy. Werewolf Bucky is the scariest mf to exist. In his wolf form, his fur is nearly jet black, a stark contrast to his beautiful blue eyes. His teeth turn into sharp fangs and his claws could slash through just about anything.

However.

The large furry thing is nothing but a little puppy around you.

Human Bucky struggles to show his affection for you even though he loves you like crazy. He loves touching you but hesitates to do anything. Wolf Bucky has 0 issue hopping onto the sofa he doesn't fit on, attempting to curl up in your lap. He doesn't fit on your lap either and you end up drowning under a heavy mass of dark fur, the chuff he makes as you adjust himself is equivalent to his usual pouty face.

How dare you try and squirm away when he wants pets and cuddles.

And honestly, he's pretty irresistible. Even Tony's found himself petting the soft fur when he walks by, scrunching his face when he realizes who he's petting and cursing to himself immediately after. It's not just Tony either. Most of the Avengers catch themselves mid pet, occasionally shrugging and going back in while shaking their heads at themselves.

That isn't the only thing wolf Bucky enjoys.

“Bucky!” You stare at your boyfriend who was a human last time you left him, now in his wolf form sitting on top of your duffle bag you'd packed for an upcoming mission. There's no way for you to get to it, sitting as its hidden underneath him and it doesn't look like he has any plans on moving. He growls when you try and get closer, daring for you to try and leave when you just got back from a mission earlier in the week.

"Baby, I have to go, you gotta get off" You try to reason with him but he just stares at you with piercing blue eyes. By now you can read his body language and he's not hearing any of it.

Don't think so, stay with me

"C'mon, you know I'll be back soon" You gently scratch the top of his head and he nuzzles into your palm. He tiled his head to the side widening his gaze as best as he could and you couldn't help but giggle at how cute he looked, silently pleading with you.

"Aww, don't give me those puppy eyes Barnes, that's not fair" You coo while he lets out a whine, huffing and resting his head on his front large paws until his ears perk up with a bright idea.

"For fucks sake Bucky!" You laugh incredulously when he picks up the bag with his teeth, shaking the clothes out and burying himself under them, happy to be surrounded by your scent and finding another way to keep you there.

"What’s going on" Steve walked by the room, wondering why you hadn't come to the jet yet, eyes growing wide when he saw what his best friend was up to "What the hell"

"Oh my god" Sam looked over Steve's shoulder, snorting at the way Bucky was now half asleep while you were still in your tac suit but your bag now nearly torn to bits. You shrugged, deciding to give up, looking at the over grown puppy waiting for a belly rub, giving the two men an apologetic smile.

Bucky snuggled happily on top of your clothes, his nose nudging into your hoodie, before closing his eyes, ears twitching contently while your on the phone with Fury, coming up with a lame excuse as to why you couldn't join.

Some other things I imagine for wolf Bucky:

He's the cutest thing ever. Sam nicknamed him Sirius Black and he loves it.

Loves eating meat. Eats a lot in general.

Fiercely loyal

Likes to go on walks

I'm sorry for this, I have a headache, instead of taking an Advil and sleeping, I'm out here giving into my ridiculousness, I'll see myself out.

[fuctacles]

Eddie Munson Collectible

For @subeddieweek Day 4 | T | 1115 | transfem Steve, playing dress up, fluff, established relationship, Eddie in a dress :3 and I've included a lil doodle | Ao3

"What are you doing?"

Eddie jumps a foot in the air at the sudden intrusion, grasping at his chest. 

"Fuck!" he yelps, eyes bulging at his girlfriend, who suddenly appeared at the doorframe, leaning casually against it and observing his antics. 

It's not like she was being stealthy, and his music wasn't turned up that loud either. He was just too preoccupied with whatever he was doing to notice her coming back home.

And that thing seemed to be trying on Stephanie's dresses. 

"You scared the shit out of me. Do you want me to die?" he wheezes. But she doesn't care about his heart right now. What she cares about are his hairy shins sticking out from her yellow summer dress. 

"Were you playing dress up without me?" she asks, raising her eyebrow. 

Eddie gulps, grabbing the flowy fabric absentmindedly. 

"Uh, yeah? I was kinda curious how it feels."

Stevie is silent for too long, but when he looks up, all he sees is her glowing smile. 

"Well, why didn't you say so?" she asks cheerfully.

She steps into their bedroom and opens their wardrobe wider. She hums and ahhs until she finds the thing she's looking for, pulling it from between the flowing fabric. 

"I got this one because it reminded me of you. It's not really my style, you know."

It wasn't and he thought as well when he first saw it but you don't question your girlfriend's wardrobe choices, especially when it took her so long to get comfortable in dresses. Stephanie preferred flowy, girly clothes with puffs, lace, and gathered fabric. This was a black, off-shoulder bodycon with flowy, Stevie Nicks-type sleeves.

"Well?"

Eddie looks in the mirror, where he's drowning in the sheer volume of Stevie's puffy sleeves, and the sunny yellow fabric clashes with his pale skin. He nods.

"Okay, let's do it."

Stevie's grin is so wide he's afraid for the well-being of her cheeks. (He'd kiss them better if needed, of course.) She hovers over him, impatiently helping him unzip the dress he has on so he can change. 

"You weren't so excited the first time we had sex," he murmurs under his breath, muffled by the fabric he's pulling over his head. She hears it though, and slaps his arm, almost making him lose his balance due to his immobilized state. 

"I've had sex before, but never saw the man I love wear something so pretty for me."

Eddie blushes instantly, reaching for the dress held up for him. They've said the L-word before but it overwhelmed him a little bit every time. He felt like he'd never be over the fact he was dating such a beautiful girl. So bitchy, sporty, and yet interested in his hobbies. 

He was the happiest man alive, so what was letting her play with him like he was a doll? She didn't have it in her childhood so Eddie would be happy to provide now.

The fabric has a lot of give, so he doesn't feel trapped in it despite what his reflection suggests. More like snugly wrapped. It's short, pulling up above his knees, and the line of his collarbones looks extra bony when displayed like that. His shoulders aren't very wide, but the contrast of his pale skin to the skin-tight blackness makes them pop out more. And the sleeves...

He can't contain his glee and starts flapping them before Stevie has the chance to fully zip him up. They are long and flowy and fun.

"It's like my ren faire shirt," he says, spreading his arms to see the full extent of the fabric. "Heh, I feel like a bat." He grins up at his girlfriend and finds her eyes sparkling with joy too.

"You look like a princess," she offers instead. He seems appalled at the comparison.

"But you're the princess," he points out with a pout. His arms never stop moving the fabric. 

"Nuh-uh." Stevie shakes her head. "I'm a queen."

Eddie huffs, putting his hands on his hips dramatically. 

"You know these are two different titles. It's not hierarchised."

Stevie rolls her eyes. 

"What's the rule, baby?" she asks, eyebrows raised. Eddie sighs.

"No nerd talk in the bedroom unless we're role-playing," he recites.

"Correct. Now be a good doll and spin," she instructs, making a circling motion with her finger. Eddie does so, the sleeves swooshing around him. "You look so hot," she says with a groan. 

Eddie stops to eye himself in the mirror. He should probably take off the socks he was still wearing, they weren't a fitting addition to a dress. 

"I should lose the socks," he says out loud, looking for confirmation. 

"Sit down," Stevie instructs immediately. He takes a couple of steps back to sit on the edge of the bed and she kneels in front of him to pull off his socks for him. She kisses his bony knees while she's there. "You're so pretty," she says, looking up at him. "And all mine to play with."

Eddie's heart thuds harder at the double meaning. He pushes her face away, groaning.

"Stooop!" 

She giggles, falling back to lean on her hands. Her loving gaze is still on him.

"Can I? Please."

Eddie huffs.

"Of course you can." What a silly question.

He'd never deny her anything. So he lets her sit behind him and brush his hair back, style it up to uncover his neck, and frame his face. Lets her swap his hoop earrings for a pair of dangling roses and put lipgloss on his lips. All the time he's facing the mirror, watching himself being pampered with care and love.

Once she's done, Stevie wraps her arms around him and leans over his shoulder to face the mirror as well.

"My pretty metal doll. Collector's edition."

Eddie snorts. 

"Don't laugh. This shit is priceless," she scolds.

"I should have never told you about collectible figurines," he sighs.

"Too late. Now I'm hooked."

She put her fingers under his chin to guide him into a kiss. It's a soft caress at first, but soon he gives in, leaning into her warm chest to get consumed. He sucks on her tongue like it's the only thing keeping him alive and sighs into her mouth when her hands wander, giving extra attention to his exposed collarbones and thighs. She leaves a trail of goosebumps on the insides of his thighs and he knows the tight dress will hide nothing.

Stevie squeezes his sides before parting, giving his lips one last lick, and finds him in a daze, eyes blown and under her spell. The prettiest doll to play with.

"How do you feel about wearing heels?"

[talisidekick]

Thanks for being so compassionate! As someone who's had to defend himself from assault pre transition and assault and attempted trafficking during transition which has contributed to some agoraphobia centered on thoughts like "damn, wasn't safe off T not safe on it", it's been rlly scary seeing ppl shrug off how transmascs are endangered in real life in service of discrediting transandro discourse. Cool seeing who's really real I guess????? anyways hope you're well and warm. Srry about my run on sentence lmao

There is absolutely nothing to apologize for. We only get to see one side publically, and that's pretty much just trans women issues. Media likes to cover just us. I rarely see news stories about just trans men. We don't see the stories about trans men getting stalked or followed around in stores by total strangers, getting attacked in public, rarely a mention if a trans man gets killed. It's happening but you don't see it. You don't see a flood of forum posts about the constant dismissal of, unique brand of hatred around, or the types of dangers faced by trans men.

My introduction to questioning my gender was actually FROM transandrophobia. The reason for this is I've had more of a curvy figure since ... well forever, even though my body was producing T on it's own. I got A LOT of compliments on it by pretty much all my friends (which were mostly girls, and yes that probably should have been a sign but I'm a bit thick sometimes, okay?) because I was "unconventionally sexy" because of it. I'm now remembering I do have a shirtless picture somewhere from before I was on HRT ... I'll work up the nerve to show that at some point to prove that point. Anywho, because of this, a random ass stranger had been following me as I went to grab a few things from a walmart after my shift. It was weird as fuck. Uncomfortably close, constantly looking at me but not what they were pretending to, and I kind of knew this dick was waiting until there was no one in the aisle before pulling something. I'd been mugged before at 14 and 15 so at 24 I was kind of like "I'm not getting stabbed in a damn Walmart" and just made sure to be quick. I got out of the store and met up with some old work friends and just let them know someone was following me and I wanted to wait them out. Props to my friends at the time, they bullseyed the dude (to be fair he wasn't being stealthy) and called him out. And he yelled back "You'll never be a real man" to me. My friends laughed at him because as far as we all knew, I was cis. But this would happen two more times in the same week. A lady would tell me I shouldn't be doing "this" to myself with a full body gesture, and that god "loves" me; and a college colleague flat out dismissed my concerns on something because "only a real man would need to worry about that". It got me wondering if this was a new fad, to hate on someones manliness, and upon looking that up I learned about what exactly transgender meant, the experiences of trans men and women (just a bit on women, my concern was on trans men at the time), and thought it was kind of cool there were people who'd know two sides to the gender spectrum. But it must SUCK to have to go through the bullshit I did and actually be affected by it. Like, no one has any right to tell another man they're less of one.

This whole situation would actually come back to help me 2 years later in finding myself. I'd only really looked up trans men and curiosity mid covid lock down would lead me to look up non-binary and then trans women. However, transandrophobia is how I, a trans woman, got her start. So it boils my blood when I see people talk about T being toxic or trans men having it easier. It shows a complete lack of understanding and a lack of acceptance and willingness to empathize. Trans men and trans mascs have different issues, that doesn't make them lesser, and while those issues may not affect me, it doesn't make it less of my problem to help deal with where I can. I know certain issues I'll have no experience on, no idea how to help, but that doesn't mean I can't still offer to be support. Everyone should be doing the same, and shame on those who aren't.

You deserve equal treatment and support in your fight for it, not dismissal. Those that dismiss the issues of trans men aren't allies, they're transphobes. And fuck transphobes.

[wolken-himmel]

In which Jade and Floyd try to make (Y/n) fall in love with Azul — with the help of a very convincing PowerPoint presentation!

Request by anon.

[This is Part (2/2); Part (1/2) can be found here.]

"Shrimpy, it's so nice of you to join us today!"

The drawn down shutters veiled the Mostro Lounge in an ominous darkness that left you queasy and disoriented, especially when you noticed the ropes that bound your hands behind the chair you sat on. Your heart skipped a beat when a light beam was swung right onto you, almost blinding you entirely. But, just in time, two tall figures stepped in front of you to shield you: Jade and Floyd.

Was this an interrogation?

A growl escaped your lips upon spotting them. "I hate to break it to you, but I never was given the option whether to join you or not. You basically threw me over your shoulder and dragged me here..." you cried out and tried to wiggle your way out of the bounds.

Jade shrugged. "Fair point," he said, his passive attitude eliciting a sigh of relief from you. However, your newfound comfort was soon washed away when he stepped away, an eerie grin on his lips. "But instead of useless apologies, we shall start with today's event: a presentation on how wonderful, amazing, and kind our dorm leader Azul Ashengrotto is."

It was only then that you noticed how the bright light wasn't the produce of a lamp, but instead a beamer trained at the wall across from you. When Floyd pressed a little button on his remote, the pure whiteness shifted into the introduction transparency, the title being 'The Greatness and Generosity of Azul Ashengrotto' in a fancy font.

"Look! That's two alliterations in a row, Shrimpy!"

The sheer absurdity of the situation made you furrow your eyebrows as you stuttered out, "Why—"

"We heard you talking about our boss the other day," Floyd cut in, an amused grin on his lips while he watched you squirm in discomfort. "Shrimpy and the baby seal always think they're so stealthy— but they're not!"

"So... you heard me ramble about Azul to Grim."

"Precisely," Jade said. "And we did not like your conclusion — which, if you do not recall, said that you would give up your crush on Azul due to his exaggerated reputation as a manipulator."

You froze in your struggles to narrow your eyes at them coldly. "You guys are stalkers."

Floyd rolled his eyes, unaffected. "Hush, it's in the name of love—" His serious demeanour broke down into cackles as he added, "And less night shifts for me!"

"If you do not object, we shall begin, prefect."

"I do object—" you wailed out.

"Without further ado, let us begin," Jade announced, all the while ignoring your shouts of protest. It was only when he turned away from you that you ceased your attempts of rebellion. A satisfied smile on the eel's lips, he took a deep breath. "Azul Ashengrotto is at the top of his class, always revered as one of the most reliant and supportive students on campus."

"Supportive?" you cried out. "He manipulated students into signing shady contracts."

"Do you not see that he has changed his ways? The new system that has replaced the contracts is overtly generous," Jade explained smoothly.

At your argument being countered so easily, you shrank into yourself and, for a moment, deeply reconsidered your views. The only thing that the two Octavinelle students witnessed from you was a quiet, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Floyd clapped his hands in utter delight at you accepting your temporary defeat. "Oi, Shrimpy! I was wondering why you always avoided our boss!" he suddenly commented, and you jumped in fear. "A few days ago, you were laughing at one of my jokes when Azul slinked over— that's when you ran for the hills with your short legs..." A Cheshire cat grin appeared on Floyd's face.

Your cheeks heating up, you stuttered out an embarrassed, "B-Because I get nervous around him! He has that sophisticated air around him. And he's also really pretty..."

Floyd clicked his tongue mockingly. "Eh, poor Shrimpy... is just as socially awkward as Azul."

"Hey, I'm not! I'm only like that when he is around."

"That's a good sign for us, actually," Jade mumbled to himself, reconsidering his approach to the whole operation. Within a split second, he had made up his mind and turned to you, smiling kindly. "But (Y/n), we understand what your greatest fear is— what stops you from accepting your feelings."

"You would never..." you scoffed angrily.

"You fear that he will manipulate you and your feelings, to get whatever he wants before he drops you without a warning. You fear that his feelings for you will be without genuineness."

The vice dormleader's monologue left you speechless. Yet, your pride didn't allow you to completely show your awe, so you merely muttered a dejected, "Alright... maybe you do understand me a little bit." Your gaze downcast, you began prodding one feet against the other to busy your mind.

"Ugh, let me tell you, Shrimpy..." Floyd exclaimed vigorously and slung an arm around you. "Our boss likes you, too. And he's really serious about it! He's been nagging my ears off ever since he's overheard your little talk."

"Yes, Azul is quite determined and genuine in his pursuit for your heart," Jade added softly.

Your eyes wandered between the two of them, the expression on your face always flickering between uncertainty and suspicion. They had you caged in; there was nowhere else to look but their expectant faces — and the pressure was building up. And it was only when you couldn't take it anymore that you exhaled and whispered, "You sound so convincing, and yet my mind screams at me not to trust you slippery eels." Your head hurt from all the thinking.

Floyd gasped. "Slippery? How offensive!" he cried out dramatically. "We're moist, if I may correct."

Jade waved his brother off. "Anyway, what Floyd wanted to say is that you should try and get closer to Azul."

"And how would I do that?" you asked shyly, though there was a spark of determination in your voice now. "With what reason would I approach him?"

Floyd broke out into uncontrollable laughter. "Definitely not with the reason that we kidnapped you and forced you through an hour long presentation."

[adobe-outdesign]

A grundo neopet review, perhaps? For the soul?

Grundo are somewhat under-appreciated in my experience, which is a shame, because I really like them. They occupy a specific niche in Neopets, being the only alien species (save for Aishas, but they seem to be related to aliens rather than just straight-up being aliens) and serving an important role in many of the original Virtupets-based plots.

Their designs are nothing fancy, just being monocolor (save for their eyes, which are often though not always red) and lacking any noticeable markings. However, their solid-color eyes, fairly rare among Neopets, pop really nicely, and their ears have this really nice doubled-tube shape that is one of the most memorable things about them. They're pretty cute looking overall, and I really like the facial anatomy on these guys, which is almost frog-like in a weird way.

Grundos also faired really well when it comes to customization, in that they're exactly the same save for some standard unification stuff like shading adjustments. The bad news is that they were saddled with not one but two fists, but the good news is that they look at least somewhat natural and it's not like their hands were ever particularly well-drawn to begin with.

Favorite Colours:

Transparent: Transparent is usually a pretty good-looking color by default, but the transparent Grundo goes the extra mile by embracing their alien nature and giving them these really cool looking glowing green organs, the only pet to get this treatment. The organs go great with the pale blue body color, and most of the anatomy looks solid. Granted, I'm not totally sure if the ears would have bones in them or not, and the ribs don't actually connect to anything... but then again, you can always say that's just because they're an alien and move on.

Faerie: Solid-colored faerie pets are usually a miss for me, as they often just look like regular pets but with wings. The faerie Grundo, however, is abosolutely beautiful. The dark blue base with cyan eyes and toenails is unique (or at least it was until the stealthy Grundo came out, but I digress), and the dark color helps cover for how plain the body is. Most importantly, though, are the wings, which are designed to look like the night sky. It's a great nod to the Grundo's space origins and is super different than the standard faerie fair (say that five times fast).

A UC/styled version is available, though the design changed so little that the differences are pretty negligible.

Woodland: I literally just went over this one in my woodland review so I'll keep this brief, but the woodland Grundo is super pretty. The leaf ears are absolutely perfect and the subtle gradient and leaf-like veins over the body are lovely.

BONUS: It's always neat when pets get a species-specific color. In all honestly I have no idea why the mallow Grundo exists because there seems to be no rationale behind it and Grundos don't usually get food colours (unlike, say, Chias), but hey, I'll take it; its fun and silly.

Strictly speaking the UC/styled version is better because it looks way more marshmallow-y, but there's something just deeply uncanny about the face that I can't place but I really don't care for.

[pagesfromthevoid]

Glitch | k.h. | 5

Kakashi Hatake x fem!reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Warning: Tooth rotting fluff. Student's POV.

Author's Note: This is cute as fuck. Also, I'm a sucker for the team's sneaking around spying on their teachers.

Talk to Me! | Series Masterlist | AO3

One Month Following Their Decision...

“I think she and Kakashi-sensei are dating,” Sori announced one day, a month or so after their teacher and her “friend” started spending more time together than usual.

Ayato rolled her eyes as she rewrapped her hands. “Sori, there’s no way they’re dating. You’ve heard her complain about Genma asking her out all the time. She doesn’t have time.”

Tashiro nodded in agreement, whittling away at a stick he was sharpening. But Sori shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest like a child. “Kakashi-sensei is always hanging out with us now though! Why else would he do that if they aren’t dating?”

“Maybe because two of his team members left the village and the other is training with the hokage?” Tashiro offered as an explanation, not looking up from his task at hand. “I bet Kakashi’s bored and she feels bad for him.”

“You really think she pities the Copy Ninja?” Sori questioned, brow raised. Both ninjas shrugged indifferently, returning to their tasks. Sory huffed in frustration, throwing his hands in the air. 

“If you really think they’re dating, then go follow her around,” Tashiro suggested, though he had a sly grin on his face. Ayato elbowed him, giving him a pointed and knowing look: he was trying to instigate. He was always trying to instigate. 

And Sori always fell for it. 

“That’s a genius idea, Tashi!” He exclaimed excitedly, pointing at his teammate. “We can practice our reconnaissance skills –sensei is always complaining about how bad we are at being stealthy. She can’t be mad if we’re practicing.”

“Sori, that’s a terrible idea,” Ayato argued, shaking her head. “She’ll be mad because we’re prying into her personal life –and have you met Kakashi-sensei? He’s like the epitome of private! We don’t even know what he looks like!”

“Do you think she’s seen his face?” Tashiro inquired, and Ayato glared at him.

“Stop it, Tashi.”

“It’s a fair question, I think,” Tashiro countered, finally looking up at them. “I’m in.”

“C’mon, Ayato! It’ll be fun. And you know you’re curious.”

Their conversation continued in the secluded corner of the training grounds, hidden from the prying eyes and ears of the village. The trio of young ninjas had developed a close bond during their time as Kakashi's students, and now, with their beloved sensei's behavior piquing their curiosity, they couldn't resist the urge to investigate further. Sori's excitement was palpable, and Tashiro's mischievous grin only grew wider. 

Ayato sighed in resignation, realizing that there was no stopping their impulsive plan now. With a resigned shake of her head, she agreed, "Fine, but we need a plan. And if we get caught, you better have a good excuse."

Tashiro eagerly leaned in, taking charge of the planning. "We'll split up, each of us tailing one of them separately. We won't get too close, just enough to observe. If anything seems...intimate, we back off. Agreed?"

Sori and Ayato nodded reluctantly, recognizing the importance of discretion in this mission. The prospect of seeing Kakashi-sensei's face was an added incentive, but the risk of being caught and reprimanded by their sensei was enough to be worried. She was scary when she was mad; more so when she was mad at them.

The next day, they put their plan into action, keeping a careful eye on their two teachers. Sori followed Kakashi as he made his way through the village, feeling the weight of responsibility mixed with the thrill of espionage. Ayato and Tashiro took positions to follow her, discreetly observing her without attracting attention. It was their day off from training; she had told the three to take a break and relax before they were sent on their next mission. It was a shame she had no idea they were on their own mission.

The hours passed, and the trio's stealth skills were put to the test as they moved silently through the village. When they met up –when Kakashi and her ended up at a dumpling stand to eat –the three hid out together to share their observations. Despite the secrecy of their mission, the observation turned into a strange mixture of suspense and amusement, especially as they realized the lengths Kakashi went to in order to maintain his indifferent image. He wore his mask even during their private moments, leaving the true nature of his expressions a mystery. It was hard to determine just what the two jonin were talking about, or how he was looking at her with the mask on. It was clear she was giving him looks, but the team had definitely picked up on her crush on Kakashi long ago. 

As the day unfolded, their curiosity only deepened. They watched as Kakashi and their sensei laughed together, shared meals, and engaged in quiet conversations. It was evident that there was a strong connection between the two, but they always seemed that way. There wasn’t really that big of a change between the two. They ate together, they talked together. She touched him a little more than they remembered, but none of them thought that was anything important. He wasn’t touching her back, so it could be that she was still crushing on the Copy Ninja.

Now they just needed to know if Kakashi had returned those feelings.

“What the hell are you three up to?”

The team suddenly turned around, seeing Lady Tsunade standing with her hands on her hips. Sakura and Shizune were trailing behind her, both carrying stacks of books and paperwork. The three genin panicked, all stammering and trying to come up with an excuse as to why they were spying on their sensei.

Luckily, Sakura saved them. “They’re definitely dating. Kakashi-sensei gets so flustered when he’s around her.”

But Shizune shook her head. “I think you guys are projecting; both of them have lost a lot. Just because they spend time together doesn’t mean they’re dating.”

Tsunade snorted, however. “Please. Look at them.”

The five shinobi turned their attention back to the two jonin who sat on a bench next to each other, enjoying their meal. If the two had noticed they were being spied on, they didn’t make any indication of it. To the untrained eye, nothing they were doing was any different than how they usually were. Kakashi had finished his meal disturbingly quick, hiding behind his mask again. She was half turned, leg crossed under her, as she looked up at him. They weren’t sitting particularly close to one another, nor were they really touching. Kakashi seemed a little tense, but he usually did lately.

“I…am not seeing what you’re seeing, Lady Tsunade,” Sori admitted, squinting his eyes at the two.

“Just you wait,” she ordered, narrowing her eyes with a smirk on her face. Shizune rolled her eyes; the hokage obviously knew more than she was letting on. 

The team continued to watch, their curiosity piqued by Lady Tsunade's confidence. As they observed, Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out a woven bracelet –nothing terribly exciting, really, to anyone watching. But as she held up her wrist for him to place it on her, he had a small, subtle smile behind his mask, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that only appeared when he was genuinely pleased. She accepted with a soft grin, her eyes lighting up with gratitude. It was a simple exchange, but the genuine warmth between them was undeniable.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow triumphantly, grinning as she crossed her arms over her chest. "See? You pay attention to the little things," she said, her voice low as if she were sharing a secret. "The little things speak volumes. It's in the way he looks at her, even with that stupid mask on. And it’s the way she lights up when she’s looking at him. That is how you know.”

Ayato and Sakura both looked enamored by the whole thing, blushing excitedly at how sweet Kakashi seemed to be towards her. Shizune was rolling her eyes with a knowing grin, pushing Tsunade and Sakura back towards the hokage’s tower. Sori whooped with excitement, yelling about how he knew it! They were dating! Tashiro just shrugged indifferently, though he was grinning too.

Sori’s exclamation, however, drew the attention of the two jonin. Sakura’s eyes widened before she spun on her heel and took off with Shizune and Tsunade, not wanting to get into trouble. Ayato hit Sori in horror, turning to run off as well but their sensei appeared before them, hands on her hips.

“And what do you think you three are doing?” She demanded, brow raised. 

Kakashi sauntered over with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a book. “I think they were spying on us.”

“You two are dating!” Sori accused, pointing between the two, trying to steer the trouble away from his team. 

She and Kakashi exchanged appraising looks. Then Kakashi shrugged.

“I didn’t think it was a secret,” he explained simply, returning his attention to his book.

“Did you guys think he just hung out with us at training because he was bored?”

Team 12 stammered again, and Sori blanched as he considered his answer. 

“At least you practiced being quiet today,” she hummed, turning on her heel to walk away now. Kakashi started after her. “Next time, don’t scream about it.”

*****

“Sorry about them,” she sighed when they returned to her apartment.

Kakashi shrugged halfheartedly, slipping his sandals off at the door. “It was bound to happen eventually.”

“It’s definitely your fault,” she teased as she fell back onto her couch and closed her eyes. 

He raised a brow, looking down at her with a narrowed eye, sitting on the floor by her head. “And how is it my fault?”

“You decided to be cute and give me a gift in public,” she reminded him, bringing her wrist to her chest to touch the bracelet. 

Kakashi took her hand, holding it up to his to look over the bracelet he had given her. “I’m glad you like it. Tsunade helped pick it out; I’m not great at gifts.”

“It’s not your fault then, it’s hers!”

[therhythmafterthesummer]

Alone Together (M) ~Lee Know

Pairing: SpacePirate!Minho x Smuggler!F.Reader Themes: Sci-Fi AU (barely) | Smut | Established Relationship (kind of) | Lovers (idiots) to Even More Lovers (affectionate) Word Count: ~8k | AO3 Synopsis: Minho was a man on the run, an outlaw. He was always getting himself into trouble, thieving and fighting against the people that perpetuated an unfair system that did nothing but bring pain to those the system considered lowly and unworthy. For his next mission, he decided to ask for help from the person he trusted most in this world, you. Warnings: star wars concepts used very loosely and probably very poorly · made up locations · mentions of slavery and morally questionable situations · the term suicide mission is used once · your honour they’re sickly in love · graphic depictions of intercourse (smut warnings under the cut).

Due to all the abovementioned warnings, this story is intended for an adult audience only. Minors please do not interact.

Author’s Note: i started watching the book of boba fett, and it seems like it’s impossible for me to watch anything star wars related without wanting to write about people boning in space. so this piece was born ! it’s incredibly self-indulgent, but i hope someone else out there gets to enjoy it too~

this was barely proof-read, so if anything sounds weird don’t hesitate to let me know lol

Smut Warnings: this is very vanilla tbh · praise · fingering [F.Rec] · protected penetration [piv].

Disclaimer: the story represented in this work does not represent Stray Kids in any way; anything described in this story and all actions performed by the characters are purely fictional, this was created just for good fun.

As an outlaw, Minho’s entire livelihood depended on him not attracting too much attention to himself, on laying low and being as stealthy as possible. Which was why it almost felt counterintuitive to be here right now, trying to get his ship caught on the radars of a cargo ship. Although, to be fair, it wouldn’t have been the first time he tried to get into this cargo ship in this exact same way, but usually he’d have a bit more preparation than this.

“Shit… Here we go. Buckle up, boys”, Minho informed his crewmates.

Their entire starcraft shook violently as the gravitational beam of the much bigger starship pulled them towards it. They were discovered almost as soon as they came close to the vessel, and Minho had honestly taken a leap of faith with this move, because this could’ve gone two ways: like it was going right now, them being pulled towards the hangar within the starship, or they could’ve been shot down on sight.

Getting within the perimeter of a smuggler ship was always dangerous, especially when done unannounced, but Minho was desperate, so he did what he had to do.

As soon as his ship was parked within the hangar, he unbuckled his safety belt, standing up and stretching his limbs. “Guys, get ready. Remember what I said, no sudden movements, no arguing, just follow my lead, okay?”

Hyunjin and Felix nodded in understanding, getting out of their seats and stretching as well, just as loud thuds started to resonate within the crammed space they called their ‘navigation room’. That was a bold claim, this ship consisted only of that navigation room, small enough to go undetected when needed, but not that good for long periods of time travelling, he’d admit.

“Open up, hands in the air!”

Minho nodded to his crewmates, and once they both lifted their arms he hit the door’s button on his console.

Four super battle droids stood right outside, with their blasters pointed right at them. Minho hadn’t seen this model of droid before, they must’ve been one of your latest acquisitions, and somehow, that thought brought a smile to his face. However, new droids meant that they wouldn’t know who he was, which also meant things could get out of hand really quickly.

“Step out!”

Minho got off the ship first, with his hands in the air as instructed, followed by Hyunjin and Felix. The droids immediately took a hold of their wrists, rather forcefully, and it made him wince.

“Hey! We’re cooperating, don’t be so harsh, jeez…” The droids completely ignored Minho, simply continuing their task of holding their wrists behind their backs and binding them together.

“Names, and what were you doing fluttering around this ship?”

“I’m Minho. These are Hyunjin and Felix”, Minho replied simply, gesturing with his head as he named his two crewmates. “We came to speak with your captain”.

“Our captain has no time to deal with stowaways”, one of the droids scoffed, pointing their blaster right to Minho’s forehead.

He couldn’t help but smirk, the words flying past his mouth before he could even think twice about them. “How can you call us stowaways when you were the ones to pull us in here?”

The droid went silent. Minho figured that if it could make facial expressions, it would’ve looked annoyed.

“It’s really important”, Minho urged. “I’m sure she’ll understand. If you’re planning on throwing us to the trash chute, don’t you think she’d like to make the call herself?” 

The droid in front of him went silent again, the other three were just surrounding them, pointing their blasters at them. It was taking the droid so long to say something, Minho started to really worry that he had miscalculated how this part of the plan would go.

Ultimately, the droid lowered its weapon, and the three of them heaved a sigh of relief. “Follow me”.

The insides of the ship looked almost the same as they had last time Minho was here, save for a few changes to the corridor’s decor. How long had it been? Three months? Six? It was hard to tell these days when he was running for his life half the time.

The group of droids guided the three of them towards where Minho knew the main control room would be, where you probably would be. He should’ve been unfazed, Minho had seen you thousands of times, but somehow every single time without fail his heart would flutter, especially when so much time had passed since he last saw you.

As soon as the doors of the main control room slid open they were engulfed by the sound of clicks and clacks from the amount of droids sitting at their stations just pressing buttons. It was impressive, how you had put together this entire operation almost on your own, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“Captain”, the droid spoke finally, snapping Minho out of his daze.

Ah, there you were, hunched over your desk, with your fingers flying on the touchscreen that was embedded in it. What were you doing? Planning your next course? Ensuring the safety of your routes? Checking for imperial ports in the vicinity? Minho was always curious, mostly because he was nosy. He wanted to have as much knowledge as possible at any given time, but he also just liked to hear you talk about things. He quite enjoyed hearing you speak, he’d admit.

“What is it, B2-49?” Shit, just your voice could kickstart Minho’s heartbeat. He should visit more often, the longer he spent away the more your mere existence affected him, and it was, quite honestly, inconvenient.

“The stowaways wish to speak with you”, the droid, B2-49, informed you, and you scoffed, not lifting your eyes from the screen under your fingertips for a second.

“How can you call them stowaways when we pulled them in here in the first place?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth”, Minho couldn’t help but say, grinning at you once the sound of his voice finally pulled you from your task.

Your eyes went wide as soon as you spotted him, you clearly weren’t expecting him, and Minho would lie if he said he didn’t enjoy catching you off guard, that he didn’t enjoy your attention.

Your gaze jumped from him to his two companions, and your brows furrowed. You looked at him again, right in the eyes, confusion written all over your face. “What’re you doing here?” 

“Can’t I just drop by anymore?”

“You can”, you leaned back in your chair, crossing your arms over your chest. “But something tells me you’re here with a purpose”.

‘So when I come here to fuck you isn’t a purpose?’ was what Minho would’ve liked to say, because that was often why he came to your ship, but he’d always come alone. Hyunjin and Felix didn’t have to know any of that, so he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he chose to take a direct approach.

“We need a safe route to infiltrate the Antrilian quadrant”.

You scoffed, incredulousness painted all over your face. “Have you gone mad? Antrilia? Want me to get you right to the intergalactic council as well?”

Antrilia was known for hosting the biggest slave ring in the galaxy, it was heavily guarded by imperial forces, and it was Minho’s goal to bring it all down, to free every single slave in the quadrant, stealing a few prized possessions in the process–he had to get his money’s worth, of course. 

It was a very personal task, considering two of his crewmates had been taken by the empire recently. Saving his friends and taking it all down wouldn’t be easy, the entire quadrant was heavily guarded, which was why he had come to you, the best, most discreet smuggler he’d ever known.

“I’m being serious”, and he was.

Minho’s entire purpose was to rid the galaxy of every single slave camp he could, that was how he met his crewmates, they formed their own guild and were now some of the most wanted men in the galaxy. Ever since he himself escaped from one of those places when he was just a kid, he made it his purpose to wreak as much havoc as possible, to bring down the system. It was dangerous, and he’d been close to dying more times than he could count, but he just couldn’t turn a blind eye to it.

You looked at him for a moment, your eyes jumping all over his face. After a while, you finally unfolded your arms to place your hands flat on the table. “Oh my Gods, you are serious. Do you have a death wish?”

Minho gave you a smile, a smug one, and you immediately brought your fingers to your temples, rubbing circles there.

“I can’t do that, Minho”, you said as soon as you seemed to realise he wasn’t going to back down.

“If there’s anyone in this galaxy that can get us there is you. I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t truly believe that”, and Minho really meant it. Regardless of his personal connection to you, he knew you were incredibly good at your craft.

You looked at him for a few moments, quiet, pondering, he could almost see the cogs turning inside your head, and for a brief moment he wondered if you would just shoot him down completely. That was, until you spoke again.

“What’s in it for me?”

"My gratitude", Minho said in a mock tone, and you quirked a brow, almost as if you were telling him ‘be fucking serious right now’. 

So he clicked his tongue, slightly annoyed that you didn’t want to play along. “The receptor of an imperial cruise with a valid code”.

Immediately, a glint of excitement appeared in your eyes, 

“How did you… Get your hands on that?”

Minho shrugged. “I have my ways”.

You were silent for a while, just looking into his eyes and tapping your fingers on your desk. Minho looked right back at you, waiting for you to make your decision. This wasn’t the first time he was asking for a favour, but it was certainly the first time he was asking for something so dangerous, so he could completely understand if you didn’t want to help him. He wouldn’t have taken it to heart either way.

With a deep intake of breath, you finally stood up from your desk and walked a bit closer to the group, to stand right in front of Minho. “This is not something I can decide just now. I need some time to think about it”.

“There’s not much time, I’m afraid”, Minho gave you a genuinely apologetic smile, and you sighed, somehow sounding both defeated and annoyed.

“Quit being dramatic. I’m sure you can give me at least twenty four hours”.

“Twenty four hours sounds reasonable”.

You looked at Minho for a moment, and then looked at his crewmates. “Who are you guys?”

“Hyunjin”.

“Felix”.

Both of his crewmates introduced themselves at the same time, but you seemed to pick up their names anyway. You signalled your droids to remove their restraints, giving them both a welcoming smile. “Welcome aboard, Hyunjin and Felix”.

They simply returned your greetings, sounding immensely grateful now that they were no longer bound. You were just about to walk away when Minho cleared his throat with a frown on his face.

“Aren’t you going to untie me, too?”

You looked him up and down, and a devilish smile made its way to your lips, making the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “Why should I?”

“So you untie my friends and not me? Seems a bit biassed on your part, doesn’t it?”

You walked closer, standing so close he almost felt as if you were going to kiss him. Right there. In front of his friends. And that realisation had his heart pounding in his chest, and, even more annoyingly, it brought heat to his ears. He tried his best to not show how affected he was, though. He stood his ground, with the self-assured smile he could pull off.

Bringing your hand behind him, you took a hold of the device binding his wrists. “Say please”.

His smug façade crumbled immediately, replaced by a look of incredulousness. Minho scoffed, tilting his head to the side and looking you right in the eyes. “You can’t be serious right now…”

The corners of your mouth quirked up, and the mirth in your eyes made him both feel giddy and incredibly annoyed. 

“I’m dead serious, Lee Minho”, you told him, and Minho realised then that if he leaned in just the tiniest bit, he could definitely press his lips to yours, and for a second, he genuinely considered it.

If it had been just you and your droids, he certainly would’ve kissed you right then and there, but the presence of his friends behind him gave him pause. It wasn’t like Minho minded if they knew, it was that he wasn’t sure whether you would mind or not. But based on how things had gone between you two so far, he figured you would, so he took a deep breath, closing his eyes to avoid looking at your triumphant face.

“Please”.

“Please, what?”

His eyes snapped open, and there was nothing he wanted more in that moment than to wipe that glint of victory in your eyes. Regardless, Minho swallowed his pride, he was in no position to try his luck.

“Please, captain”.

You smiled, clearly satisfied. With what Minho figured was a press of a button on his cuffs, the thing unravelled from his wrists, finally letting him move freely.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” You tapped his chest, and Minho had to bite his tongue. Oh, he was so getting his payback for this.

Before he could say anything, you spoke again. “You guys can stay here today if you want. There’s plenty of rations for all of us, including the few other living people on this ship, but I’m afraid there’s only one spare room conditioned for people to stay in besides the crew’s”.

“We’ll stay”, Minho rubbed his wrists, trying to ease some of the ache caused by his restraints.

The room provided to them was big enough, with a bunk bed embedded on one of the walls, and another on the other. Very sterile looking, nothing in particular stood out, it was just like any other room Minho had seen on a spaceship of this size. The biggest add-on was the adjacent washroom, which the three of them immediately rejoiced at when they noticed it.

No one ever spoke about it, but depending on the ships you travelled in throughout the galaxy, a washroom could be considered a luxury, so the prospect of a good shower and a fresh change of clothes was certainly appealing. Minho let his younger crewmates take the spot first, since he was sure both Hyunjin and Felix were dying to feel clean again.

As he waited for them to come out, slouching on one of the chairs in the room, Minho’s mind couldn’t help but wander. He’d never imagined he’d be here, in your ship, with any of his friends. He’d hoped that maybe one day, if things worked out, he could introduce you to them in a less… Contained fashion. But things never seemed to go as he expected whenever it came to whatever it was that was lingering between you two.

As soon as his friends were ready, Minho immediately rushed to the washroom. He took his time just washing off all the grime and gunk that had stuck to him during their almost never-ending travels the past handful of days, so truly, he was immensely grateful for that shower. 

“Do you think she’ll help?” Felix asked from where he was laying on the top bunk as soon as Minho came out of the washroom.

“Honestly?” Minho rubbed a towel on his head, trying to get his hair as dry as possible. “I really have no idea”.

Hyunjin eyed him for a moment, leaning back on his hands from where he sat on the bottom bunk. “You sure? You seem to be awfully close with the captain of this ship”.

“I mean, I wouldn’t say awfully close”, Minho was great at lying and deception, but even to him that statement sounded incredibly disingenuous. “We… Know each other”.

“You know each other? Or you know each other?” Felix wiggled his eyebrows at Minho, just as the older man was sitting on the bottom bunk of the other bunk bed.

“If you ask me, I’d like to think she’d do it. But this is very different from any favour I’ve ever asked. More dangerous… So who knows”, Minho decided to completely brush off the curious eyes, and even more curious questions of his crewmates. Explaining his connection to you was something he’d rather not speak about, not now at least.

Felix looked like he was going to say something, something incredibly annoying. So Minho decided to abruptly stand up from his bed and intercept him. “Anyway, I’m going for a snack”.

“A snack?” Hyunjin asked once Minho walked past him. “Is that how we’re calling the cap–”

Before he could even attempt to finish his sentence, Minho took the towel he had draped over his shoulders and swiftly snapped it in Hyunjin’s direction, hitting him in the arm.

“Ow! Unnecessary!” Hyunjin rubbed his upper arm, pouting.

Minho simply offered him a ‘deserved’ before he walked out the door.

Minho did intend on finding something to snack on before bed, but he would lie if he said he wasn’t keeping his eyes open in case he spotted you. All he’d seen so far was the odd droid going about their business, and a couple of crew members who greeted him as usual.

“Who gave you permission to wander the corridors of my ship?” 

Minho’s skeleton almost jumped out of skin at the sudden voice speaking to him. As soon as that initial shock passed he knew it was you, how could he not know when the sound of your voice was already ingrained in every crevice of his brain? So he decided to put up his best smug façade once again, ignoring the way his heart started to thump in his chest just at the sound of your voice.

“You did, captain. If my memory serves me right”.

You just scoffed in response, and started to walk towards him. Once you stood in front of him, you crossed your arms over your chest, and simply looked at him with a frown on your face.

For a moment, Minho didn’t say anything, just like you didn’t either. Your gaze was stern, guarded, just like it usually was whenever you were into your Captain Mode. After all, you spent most of your time around your crew, leading them, planning morally questionable arrangements to get work going, so it was no surprise to him that you looked at him like this.

However, after a few more moments of silence, the frown on your face turned to one of concern, and, honestly, Minho would lie if he said he didn’t like it when you worried about him. Because he knew that was what was going through your mind right now, worry.

“Is there anything I can say or do to get you to not do this?” 

Minho gave you a smile, a genuine one, the ones he reserved mostly for you, and for moments like these. “No”.

You sighed. “For a pirate, you sure have a lot of morals, don’t you?”

“Being a contradiction is my favourite pastime, baby, you know that”, he registered the pet name falling from his lips a second too late. There was nothing he could do about it, it was like his brain would automatically shift into Smitten Mode whenever you two were on your own. If you were displeased by it, you didn’t show it or say anything about it. “I must say, I find it rather cute that you’re worrying about me that much”.

You scoffed at that, rolling your eyes. “Of course I worry about you. Unfortunately, you’ve got this horrible habit of risking your life, and since I’ve got the horrible habit of caring about you, it’s only natural that I worry”. 

Had you no regard for his weak heart? How could you tell him you cared about him so nonchalantly? And while you were scolding him at that? He wanted to say something back, to bicker a bit more, but his body seemed to not agree with that logic, because it decided that the best reaction would be to rush blood to his ears and his chest, making him flush.

So, to counterattack, Minho simply did what he did best, to display his affection through his actions instead of his words. Cradling your face in his hands, he dragged his thumbs over your cheeks, and as he stared into your eyes he could see all your walls crumble, just like they always did in situations like these. ‘Cute’, was the last word to leave his mouth before he pressed his lips to yours.

Warmth spread quickly inside of him, the tiny whine that escaped your mouth as soon as your lips connected ignited in him all those feelings he usually tried to ignore, and the way you kissed him, with as much desperation as he felt, had blood rushing to his length immediately. Minho couldn’t help it, it was instinctual at this point, to get hard when you so much as touched him–even if that touch was only your lips on his, your hands grabbing his top, and your tongue inside his mouth.

Before he knew it, he had moved, walking forward and pressing you against the cold metal walls of your ship. His hands finally left your face to hold your waist instead, and you took it as an opportunity to loop your arms around his neck, burying one of your hands in his hair and tugging gently.

“Missed you”, Minho mumbled against your lips as he slotted one of his legs between your own, pressing his thigh right against your core. He wasn’t ashamed or bashful of the words that came out of his mouth, he was way past that point, he’d decided long ago that sometimes–especially after long periods of time apart–telling you how he felt was better than having to bottle it all up.

“Missed you, too”, you mumbled back, bringing one of your legs to wrap around his hip, pulling him close, kissing him deeply right after. You, clearly, had also decided to let go of those inhibitions as well.

Moving his hand from your waist to your bum, he groped the flesh over your bottoms, just as he detached himself from your mouth to sparsely press kisses on your neck, right in the areas he knew you were the most sensitive, making you whimper. “Can’t believe you made me fucking beg to get me out of the handcuffs”.

“Wouldn’t have been the first time”, you replied with a strained chuckle, digging your heel on the back of his thigh, enticing him. It was certainly working. “Probably won’t be the last, either”.

“You minx”, Minho chuckled, returning his lips to yours, pushing his tongue inside your mouth, taking a hold of your thigh and squeezing it.

Your heavy breathing, the warmth emanating from your body that immediately seeped into him, kindling the fire that burnt bright inside of him, that fire that didn’t seem to die regardless of how much time passed, all combined had Minho’s head spinning, had him growing impossibly hard. He needed you just as much as he needed oxygen in his lungs, and for a brief second he considered taking you right there, right in the middle of the corridor, uncaring of who could walk by and see you two.

As usual, though, you brought some sense into him, tugging hard on his hair to get him to detach his mouth from yours, mumbling a breathless ‘wanna head to my cabin?’ to which Minho simply replied an overly confident ‘thought you’d never ask’. So, as soon as he separated himself from your body you took his hand in yours, pulling him along the corridor, following the familiar path to your sleeping quarters.

There had always been this thing about your room that gave Minho an immense amount of peace. He wasn’t sure if it was the infuser you seemed to have on at all times, the one that filled your room with whichever relaxing essential oil you’d gotten your hands on during your travels, or if it was the clear signs that this was your living space–the seemingly permanent heap of clothes on the chair next to your bed, the journal you kept on your desk, the huge, old-fashioned map of the galaxy taped to the wall… It was all so incredibly you, it made him feel completely enveloped by your presence, it comforted him, really.

His favourite part of your room, though, was your bed. Incredibly comfortable, with just the right amount of firmness to it, saturated in the smell of you. And maybe later, Minho would be able to bury his face in your pillow, to try and etch your essence into his memory to get him through the hard days to come. 

Right now, as your clothes and his landed on the already existing pile of clothes on your chair, he could hardly think about any of that. The feeling of your bare skin against his was more than enough to drown him in the moment. Every sigh, moan, whine that came out of your mouth whenever his lips touched your skin, the warmth of your body under him, it all let him ignore the world out of this room, out of this ship, let him focus on only you and him and the deep desire that was burning bright inside of him.

Between your hands roaming his back, the desperate way you clung to him, kissing him so hungrily he could barely breathe, Minho knew it was only a matter of time until you talked, or until he talked. He always wondered who would be the first one to ask that burning question that always hung in the air, most of the time it was him, but on odd occasions, you’d cave, and he was always ready to answer when you did.

“Have you been with other people since the last time we saw each other?”

There it was. You beat him to it this time, but, honestly, it really didn’t matter who asked it. To him, regardless of who broke the question first, it never made the entire thing any less absurd.

“Other people?” He propped himself on one hand to get a better view of you, dragging the other hand all the way from your shoulder to your centre, feeling your heated skin under his palm. His fingers teased your folds, spreading your essence all over, getting his fingers drenched. Gods, you were so wet for him already, and you’d barely even started. 

Minho was impatient. He always was the first time he got you under him like this after a long time. He wanted you, he wanted to see you squirming and writhing under his touch, so he wasted no more time, easing his ring and middle finger into your dripping heat. A quiet moan flew past your lips as soon as he was buried to the knuckle, gripping the bed sheets near your head once he started slowly thrusting his fingers in and out, letting you get used to the intrusion. 

“There’s been no one else. No one could ever remotely compare”, he emphasised his words with a hard nudge on your sweet spot, and a tug on your nipple, eliciting a moan from your lips. “There’s been flirting, I’ll give you that. Knowingly and unknowingly. More often than not to get ourselves out of tricky situations, you know how it is… But physically? Emotionally? I haven’t wanted anyone else since the first time I buried my head between your legs and got you to moan so sweetly for me, sweetheart”.

“Minho, my darling…” Your voice was airy, your face flushed, and quiet moans continued to spill from your lips as he picked up his rhythm, prepping you, moving his fingers against all those areas inside of you he seemed to have committed to memory throughout the years, the ones that would labour your breath and get you to moan a bit louder the longer he worked you up. 

Minho dipped, finding your mouth and kissing you with force, with need. Because all this time, all he’d ever needed was you, he always did. Every day, even when he decided to ignore it. 

You held onto his forearm, lightly digging your nails on his flesh, but he didn’t mind. If anything, it reminded him of the fact that he was here, with you, making you feel good, getting to enjoy you once more.

“What about you?” Minho said once he disconnected his mouth from yours for air, leaving a trail of kisses from your cheek to your neck.

He wanted to know. He wouldn’t judge you, you were free to do as you pleased, after all. That was how it worked between you two, although ‘worked’ could be considered a very loose term here. “Has anyone taken care of you these past handful of months?”

You shook your head, inhaling sharply when Minho continued his descent down your torso, attaching his mouth to your chest as his fingers kept going in and out of you, as he kept stimulating that area within your walls that he knew would get you to lose your train of thought.

Of course you hadn’t had sex with anyone else. You never did. You hadn’t in years, just like Minho hadn’t, either.

“I only–Oh!” Your words cut off, replaced by a breathy moan once Minho’s lips found one of your nipples and sucked it into his mouth to flick it with his tongue. He could feel you clenching hard around his fingers, and it almost made him dizzy with how hard it was getting him. 

You swallowed, audibly. Your fingers tangled in Minho’s hair, tugging at it as he kept working you up. With his fingers, with his mouth, with his tongue… He loved to coax the most delicious sounds out of your lip, but he wanted to know. He needed to know. So he let go of your nipple, finding your burning gaze as soon as he looked at your face. 

“I haven’t”, you whined, just as you sneaked a hand down your body, finding your clit to draw circles on it. “You are the only person I ever want. I’ve been cursed since the very first day I met you…”

The bead of precum that had been slowly growing on the tip of his cock fell onto the bed once your words registered in his brain. And Minho realised then that he, too, had been cursed since the very first day he met you. Cursed to be in love with you for the rest of his days, cursed to have to ignore that fact and live in this arrangement you two had conjured.

Leaning in, he captured your lips again, and the whimper that came out of your mouth as soon as he started to kiss you was enough for him to know just how true it all was.

“Go faster”, Minho mumbled against your lips between kisses, picking up the pace of his fingers. “C’mon, baby, I know you’re close. Rub your precious little clit faster. I need you to come on my fingers”. 

“But…” You started to protest, but you sped up your motions anyway, squirming, whining. “It’s too soon”. 

“Doesn’t matter”, Minho kept flicking his fingers against your sweet spot, just as you kept pleasuring yourself. “I’ll get you to come again later. We’ve got all night. Please, love…”

He returned his mouth to your nipple, suckling and licking the hardened bud. You were swearing a lot, writhing a lot, and as soon as the most desperate ‘close…’ fell from your lips, he trapped your nipple between his teeth, nibbling softly on the sensitive flesh. Your whole body shook with your release, and your moans mingled with his own groans of satisfaction. He revelled in the way your walls clamped around his fingers, in the squelching sounds produced by the movement of his fingers going in and out of your heat. 

Minho let go of your nipple, already knowing it’d be too much for you after your high. Your hand on your clit stopped, but you kept your fingers there, applying pressure to prolong your release just as he kept slowly stimulating your walls.

“Fuck…” You finally moved your hand away from between your legs, and your body slumped on the bed, a clear signal that your high was over. 

Pulling his fingers from your core, he slid them up to tease your sensitive clit for a second, chuckling at the jolt of your body with the contact. You looked so absolutely stunning like this. Flushed, panting, almost glowing. 

Holding your gaze, he brought his fingers to his mouth, savouring your taste as he licked them clean. You swallowed, and Minho removed his fingers from his mouth, only to bring them to yours. “Open up, sweetheart”. 

And you did. Letting him ease his fingers inside your mouth. Your lips wrapped around his digits oh, so perfectly, and your tongue lapped him up just as your eyes closed and your brows pulled together with a muffled moan. “Look at you… Always eager to give a good suck”. 

You hummed, nodding. 

“Most beautiful girl in the galaxy”, he couldn’t help but say as he looked at you eagerly sucking on his fingers, as he felt your tongue lick his digits. 

When he removed his fingers from your mouth, he finally leaned in, pressing a brief kiss to your forehead, and moving to connect your mouths once again right after. He hugged you close, laying on top of you and covering you with as much of his body as he could, enjoying your warmth.

Minho finally let you take a breather, removing his mouth from yours to instead press kisses on your collarbone. You sighed, content, and the way you massaged his scalp as you held him close had heat spreading in his chest and face, probably making him blush like a fool.

“Fuck, I haven’t come that hard in months…” you mumbled, still slightly breathless. Minho chuckled, resting his weight on one elbow to look at your face, smiling softly at you. 

“And we’re only just getting started, hm?” Minho kissed you briefly, pulling away from you when he felt your hand wrap around his length, stroking him leisurely. “Nuh-uh. None of that”, he tugged your hand away from his cock, eliciting a pout in response.

“You don’t want me to touch you?”

“Oh, baby…” Minho stretched his arm, blindly reaching for the knob of the drawer of your nightstand. “Want you to touch me so much”, he blindly rummaged through it, quickly finding the box of condoms he knew you kept there. “But I want you so fucking bad right now. Need to be inside you now or I’ll combust”. 

You chuckled against his lips when he leaned in to press a quick peck on your lips. Pulling himself from you for a moment, he focused on the box in his hand, dumping the contents on the bed by your head and grabbing a single packet.

There were still as many as he had seen last time he was here with you. 

Minho quickly tore the foil packet open and slid the condom on his length, giving himself a couple of tentative pumps to make sure it was all secure. Lining himself with your entrance, he teased you for a moment, lost in your lustful gaze and the way you bit your lip in anticipation, lost in the burning desire inside of him. 

He couldn’t help but kiss you again, right as he started to ease his cock between your walls. You moaned, holding him tightly, kissing him desperately. Minho simply grunted, and he started to feel lightheaded just by your warmth around him. You were so intoxicating, and the feeling of you around him was so familiar, and even a bit comforting. As he slid centimetre after centimetre within your core, he was reminded of why he was here.

Because you were warm. 

Because you were home.

Once he bottomed out, he propped himself up to look at your face. One of your hands came to rest on his cheek, and your thumb softly caressed his skin. Minho turned his head a bit, just enough to kiss your palm as he started to move. The feel of you around him, warm, tight, wet, made him close his eyes, made him quietly moan as he enjoyed the onslaught of sensations coursing through him.

Your legs wrapped around his waist, and your heel dug on his ass, trying to get him closer to you. 

“Harder”, was all you mumbled, and it made him chuckle and open his eyes. 

“I’m trying to be careful and you want me to go harder?” Minho kept his rhythm slow, almost teasing you.

“Who’s asking you to be careful?” You pressed your lips to his neck, once again making him flush–although at this point he wasn’t sure if the flush had diminished at all since he came into this room. “It’s been too long, darling. Six months, three weeks, and two days, to be exact. I missed you, and all I want is for you to fucking ruin me, Minho”.

“Shit, what am I gonna do with you…” 

Pulling himself away from your embrace, he sat straighter, throwing one of your legs over his shoulder and starting a brutal pace right then and there. The moan of surprise that came out of your mouth as soon as he started moving fueled him, it almost made him lightheaded, making him completely forget where you two were, not caring if people heard you at all.

Minho wasn’t sure where to focus; on your tits bouncing with every single one of his thrusts, on the way your face scrunched up in bliss, on the absolutely divine feeling of you wrapped so snugly around him… All combined had sparks of pleasure racing up and down his spine, had his head spinning.

“Is this what you wanted?” With a tight grip on your thigh, keeping your leg flush to him, making sure to hit that area within your walls that would make you produce all those sounds he wanted to hear. 

You nodded, swallowing as you brought a hand to his abdomen, sinking your nails into his flesh. The sting made him grunt, made him throw his head back and snap his hips just a tad faster.

“Look at me”, you mumbled, somehow both commanding and breathless, dragging your nails down his abdomen. As soon as Minho complied, your lascivious gaze almost made him burst. Eye contact was a thing that you always enjoyed, but he wasn’t too sure he’d be able to stand it for long, not at this moment at least. The way you looked at him always made him want to blow, especially so after months of no physical contact.

Minho just chuckled, finding your breast with his free hand to knead the flesh and pinch and roll your nipple between his fingers, eliciting a strained moan from you, making you bite your lip to keep your volume in check. “Are you trying to make me blow?”

As soon as the question came out of his mouth, he felt you clench around him, and he couldn’t help but groan at the sensation. He knew you were doing it on purpose, you always liked to work him up, get him to lose his sanity with the simplest things, and he always fell for it, because it was just so good. “What if I am?”

“You sound… Way too self-assured for someone who’s… Borderline gasping for air, you know?” 

The laugh that had started to bubble over from you got caught in your throat, replaced by a string of swear words as Minho moved his hand from your breast to your mound and pressed his thumb on your clit. He might’ve been struggling, but he was determined to get you to struggle as well.

You swallowed, licking your lips as you clearly tried to pull yourself together enough to bicker with him. “But you like it, huh?” 

“I fucking do, shit…” He just sped up his fingers, trying to get you to your peak as fast as possible.

Minho really couldn’t tell how much time passed of him pounding into you, rubbing your clit and tugging on your nipples, and he honestly didn’t care, either. This was always the best part, getting to lose himself in the moment, pleasuring you and getting pleasure of his own just by the feel of you there, under him, around him.

Every time you spoke, it brought him increasingly closer to the edge, your ‘just like that, baby’, and your frequent and almost incomprehensible ‘so fucking good’ simultaneously going to his head and his cock, fueling him even further. When you finally came, he couldn’t hold back the groans that came out of his mouth in tandem with your moans. The feeling of you clenching so tightly around him sent a shiver down his spine, and before he knew it, he was leaning into you, kissing you deeply, messily as he chased his own release.

You held him tightly, tiny squeals muffling against his lips as he kept his relentless pace. The sudden sting of your nails trailing down his back was the final push he needed. Minho saw white for a brief moment, groaning and grunting and maybe even moaning at the feel of your teeth sinking on his bottom lip, at the feel of your hands on his back, and your hips flush to his as he filled the condom inside of you–the only physical barrier between his body and yours.

All that pent up tension he’d been harbouring for months and months seemed to quickly evaporate from his muscles as he melted into you, into your kiss and your tight hug. His ears were ringing a bit, but he didn’t mind. All he could care about was the fact that you were right there, pressed completely against him.

After he left one more kiss on your lips, he pulled back just enough to look at you. You smiled at him, a genuine smile that had his heart skipping every other beat inside his ribcage. He returned the gesture, just as you brought your hand to push his now soaked fringe away from his forehead, pulling him down to press a kiss right there, making him chuckle in disbelief.

Once he pulled himself away from you completely, he carefully slid the condom off of his length, tying a knot to make sure nothing spilled out. Taking the discarded foil packed, he placed it on your nightstand and laid the condom on top of it to dispose of later. 

As he laid back down, he simply looked at you. You had that look in your eyes, the one you hardly ever showed to the people around you… Vulnerability. Minho always saw it after you two had sex, and he knew that under that vulnerability there was something, many unsaid words that you wouldn’t dare say out loud to him. 

“Marry me”, Minho broke the silence, and you huffed an incredulous chuckle.

“Aren’t you tired of asking me to marry you?” 

“Are you tired of me asking you to marry me?”

You went silent for a moment, just looking into his eyes. Minho didn’t really need you to respond, he knew what the answer was. 

“No, I’m not”, you replied simply, exactly what he knew you would say. “How would we even make a marriage work? We can’t even make a relationship work, Lee Minho”. 

“We’ve never tried”. 

It was true. Although the connection he shared with you was laps more than physical, you’d never entertained the possibility of a relationship. You hadn’t let him try, and he hadn’t been persistent–sure, he asked you to marry him every other encounter you had, but he never really pushed it. Because he knew it was a complex situation, him being an outlaw, a pirate, a rebel, and you being a smuggler, both probably with hefty bounties on your heads.

“Do you want to try?” you sounded genuinely incredulous, almost as if you had just realised that he was being genuine about it.

Minho propped his head on his elbow, just looking at you. And then it dawned on him. “You’ve never thought I was being serious when I asked you to marry me before, have you?”

You opened and closed your mouth a few times, but ultimately, you shook your head, and he couldn’t help but scoff, dropping his head back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. 

“Well, I have been. Every time”.

“But why?” Your voice was barely a whisper, and when he turned to look at you his heart clenched just by seeing tears collect in your eyes. You didn’t let them fall, though.

“Because I love you”, Minho replied simply. “You’re clever, fun, one of the bravest people I’ve ever met, you’ve saved my life numerous times. Whenever I’m with you I feel at peace, and when I’m not, I worry about you, about your health, or I wonder if you’re out there getting yourself in trouble and I’m not there to help… I’ve just… Been in love with you for years, and I can’t keep on going pretending that I’m not. That I’m okay leaving your bed or an inn or you leaving my ship as if I don’t want you to stay”.

Minho could feel the lump in his throat, the way his voice shook slightly, but he didn’t care. He needed to let those thoughts out now, otherwise he wasn’t sure how long it would be until he got this boost of courage again. He honestly hadn’t even realised how much he’d been hurting with this until the words came out of his mouth. He’d spent years pretending this arrangement was fine. It clearly wasn’t. At least not anymore.

You went quiet for a while. A long while. Minho was honestly starting to second-guess ever opening his mouth, and it was just as he was about to stand up from that bed that you finally moved, wrapping one of your arms around his waist and burying your face in his chest.

“I hadn’t thought… I didn’t think…” You were rambling, your voice was muffling against his skin, it was hard to understand anything you were saying with the verbiage that was coming out of your mouth

“Hey… It’s okay”, Minho dragged his hands up and down your spine, hugging you even tighter against him, effectively stopping your ramble. “Breathe…”

You took a deep breath, draping your leg over his hips and pulling him even closer to you, which did ease his worries a bit–at least you weren’t kicking him out of your bed just yet.

“You smell nice…” You mumbled suddenly, rubbing your face on his chest. It immediately made his heart race and his chest flush. Minho wanted to say something, but honestly, the words were stuck in his throat, suddenly feeling bashful, as if he wasn’t naked on your bed after having sex with you.

When you finally pulled away from his chest, you looked him in the eyes, looking incredibly vulnerable. Minho simply brought a hand to your cheek, feeling your heated skin under his palm as his thumb moved back and forth.

“Minho… Every time you go, every time I leave, my heart just hurts so much. And I honestly don’t know how to deal with it. With my feelings, or how we could even make this work”.

“I’m sure we can figure something out… Maybe not today, maybe not even this week, but I’m sure we can”.

You closed your eyes then, heaving a sigh. “You know this isn’t gonna be easy, right?”

“I’m aware”, Minho’s lips quirked up a bit, suddenly amused by your choice of words, and he couldn’t help but bring even more clarity to it. “It hasn’t been easy until now, either, has it?” You gave him a smile as well, opening your eyes again. “I’m willing to take my chances. I… Really want to try”.

Your gaze flickered between his eyes for a bit, and then you were leaning in, pressing a tender, brief kiss on his lips. 

“I want that, too”, you whispered, pecking his lips once again, murmuring the most tender ‘I love you’ as you hugged him even tighter, making Minho go impossibly redder, making his heart beat so fast he thought it would leap out of his chest. “If you don’t come back alive from your insane borderline suicide mission, I’ll personally go to the afterlife and kill you again”.

Minho chuckled, pecking your lips. “If you help me then you can make sure I don’t die at all, sweetheart”.

“Huh, so that’s why you’re here now professing your love to me? Trying to seduce me into helping you fulfil your pirate affairs?” Pushing him to lay on his back, you got on top of him, kissing him time and time again. His heart felt as if it was ready to burst, and for a brief moment, it was almost as if everything was okay. As if everything would be fine.

“Need I remind you you brought me into this room yourself?” With a hand on your bum and the other on the back of your neck, Minho simply kept kissing you, uncaring of anything happening outside of these walls. 

“Don’t change the topic”.

“Is it working, though? Am I successfully seducing you?”

You scoffed at that, pressing one loud, final kiss on his lips before you shuffled around, sitting on him, straddling his hips, and placing your hands on his chest. “Of course I’m gonna fucking help you, Lee Minho. But not because you’ve got the best stroke game I’ve ever experienced, but because I stupidly believe in your cause”.

“Gods… Keep inflating my ego, please”, Minho couldn’t help but groan. His hands immediately found your hips, kneading the soft flesh there. “I just love it when you do”.

“I know you do”, you grinned, dragging one of your hands all over his flushed chest, up his neck, finally settling it on his cheek.

Minho caught your hand in his, keeping it in place as he turned to press a kiss to your palm. Your gaze shifted then, that playful glint you usually had when you teased him replaced by something else, something akin to love, maybe even hope. And in that moment, he seriously believed everything would be okay. That he’d be able to save his friends, free the slaves, and make it out alive. That he’d finally get to truly be by your side.

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Constructive feedback (or even keysmashes, really) is always welcome :)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

could i request the bishops + lambert with a rat reader that's a master thief, but is from a place where the old faith didn't have a really tight grasp so the reader hasn't really ever heard of the cult or the old faith?

Leshy

Being a master thief has gotten you surprisingly far in life, stealing things from berry seeds to bags of gold. Enough to comfortably get by. You're just very stealthy in all you do.

When you visited Darkwood for the first time, it was fairly easy sneaking around by using the trees and bushes as cover.

You were practically invisible to the average person and not even the Droppers noticed you.

Unfortunately, the worms beneath your feet sensed you wandering too close to Leshy's temple to their liking, being quick to inform their leader of your intrusion.

You ended up facing him, and his first accusation was that you were stealing for Lamb's cult.

Imagine his confusion when you respond with "who?"

He thinks you're playing dumb, though you sound dead serious when you claimed not to know who they were....nor did you know who he was.

"I am Bishop Leshy of Darkwood! Bearer of the chaotic Green Crown! Everyone in the Old Faith knows my name!" He boasts, thinking this will somehow jog your memory.

But the truth is that where you're from, the Old Faith's gospel didn't really latch onto your society. So you knew nothing of the bishops, nor their war with the Lamb's cult.

Your only interest is the price Leshy paid for that Green Crown.

Despite feeling insulted, he decides to let you go since you aren't allied with Lamb (plus as the youngest bishop he didn't rly know what to do with an outsider like yourself).

He only demands that you never returned, lest you be strung up in the trees or buried six feet under.

You just took some souvenirs in the form of gold nuggets and pretty little worm skulls for the journey home.

Kallamar

The worm's more paranoid brother, on the other hand, had his fair share of outsiders trying to weave their way into the cult...

Only to snatch up glowing crystal clusters and raid shipwrecks for treasures.

Midas was one such thief until he was banished for redistributing the treasures and acting like a "god of fortune" to clueless followers.

Anchordeep has a law forbidding followers from selling crystals for profit and trespassing onto shipwrecked areas.

In his realm, the punishment fits the crime as it consists of the accused's hands being infected with some disease--ranging from severe itching to boils....or even necrosis.

You're totally unaware of this law (not that you'd care about the law to begin with) and go about your thievery business like usual.

Somehow you avoided alerting Kallamar--even tricking him into falsely accusing others of stealing crystals--but he eventually found out and had you brought to his palace for interrogation.

Even though you tell him you've never heard of the Old Faith nor his laws, he's certain you're just making excuses.

"It's just common sense...you don't walk into someone's house and just take whatever you want!!" He snaps.

While he's generous not to punish you with necrosis or boils...your hands are left constantly itchy for several days, persisting even after you returned home emptyhanded. They ached and hurt all over.

You didn't realize you damn near scratched your own skin off until you noticed blood under your nails.

Heket

You'd think there wouldn't be much to steal in swampy, humid, smelly Anura. But you were quite wrong.

Back at home, your folks got shipments of menticide mushrooms (which are a delicacy as both a soup and, of course, hallucinogens).

They never got spores to grow their own supply, though, and lately Anura's trades have been lackluster.

So you decided to travel there and do some "charity work" with your master thief skills. Plus find a few keepsakes along the way.

Besides the mushrooms, nobody in your village knew much about this domain....nor were you aware of its arrogant amphibian ruler.

You were in cahoots with Sozo's followers, visiting their grotto and camping grounds, stealing heaps of shrooms for them in exchange for gold and tarot cards.

Ofc you'd pocket some of the spores for yourself.

Eventually your thievery was discovered after a Mushroomo accidentally sold you out to Heket while they were high, leading to her finding and interrogating you.

She blatantly accuses you of stealing for Lamb...but is taken aback when you admit to not knowing them, the bishops, or the Old Faith.

"Your folks have traded with Anurians for ages....yet you know not of our religion??"

"Some of the elders have, but none of your "doctrines" really stuck around for long."

Heket finds this revelation most puzzling, but in her confusion you flee her temple, and she barks at the guards to stop you.

Fortunately for you, no frog there could leap fast enough to keep up.

Shamura

Of all four rulers, this wise old spider had the greatest understanding that the Old Faith's gospel cannot touch every bit of land out there..

It's simply impossible for everyone in the world to know about it (let alone conform to its teachings) even if all their followers combined went on missionaries to spread the word.

That being said, they weren't completely alarmed when the bugs informed them that they caught an outsider--specifically a thief, aka you.

You were hoping to take some prized pieces of pottery and gold, but you got caught in a trap and busted big time.

Normally you're fearless, but being face-to-face with the Bishop of War while being webbed up in a silk cocoon (and seeing similar victims strung-up on the ceiling of the temple) had you scared shitless.

You were 100% convinced that Shamura was going to dissolve your guts into acid and feast on your corpse.

And yet...they spoke to you rather calmly, curious about your place of origin rather than angry over your thievery.

They ask you different things about your village, what religion it follows, how much it knows of the OF, etc.

Their followers kept reminding them that you're a criminal and should be prosecuted as such.

Eventually they do, but instead of death you're given a chance to earn your freedom by participating in a fighting pit.

Somehow you win and get to take all of the loser's money.

Lamb

First, they notice their offerings mysteriously vanishing from the shrines around the cult.

Then they realized all the gold bars made from their refineries were suddenly gone, the chests completely empty.

When they mentioned this during a sermon, half their followers are confused...while the other half began pointing fingers at each other and start arguing.

Lamb sees them accusing each other all the time of stealing, so he usually takes the accuser's word for it and puts the suspect in the pillory for a little while.

But things get messy as the problem continues and they're running out of materials to build pillories with.

They'd rather not be chastised by the One Who Waits for causing such discord in his cult, so they temporarily halt their crusades and investigate.

Eventually, Lamb discovers it's been you all along, but since you're a rat...for a moment they believed you were related to Ratau and Ratoo.

You don't know who tf they are..nor were you aware that you've been stealing from a cult.

Honestly, they're impressed that you managed to evade them for this long, but displeased with the fact your actions nearly tore apart their entire following.

Since you aren't affiliated with the Old Faith, they don't punish you harshly, yet want you to understand there's consequences.

Your sentence is community service for a day and apologizing to every follower.

It's humbling as hell, but you get through it and Lamb lets you take some treasures home.

[sereisstuff]

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 || two

- Life is no longer the same since the sully family have arrived on the metkayina lands, will this be a new beginning or an ending.

Warnings - slight angst.

Word count - 4.5K

This took me so long to write and it doesn’t even make sense because my brain isn't clicking, it may seem rushed. so I know this is gonna flop hard, it’s triggered my creative juices though so I will be writing more for neteyam and Lo’ak, Ao’nung as well.

There had been many eclipses since the Sully family arrived on the Metkayina lands, many lessons had been taught and friendships were blossoming. Aonung had once promised you he'd have nothing to do with the Sully children after teaching them, yet you saw the façade he carried with those words. Aonung was the most stubborn of you three, but even he caved into building relationships with the Omaticaya children. Slowly but surely, he was adjusting to them.

“Gotcha” you shouted, surprising Tuk. You had spent the day with the youngest of the Sully family, tasked by your father with sharing knowledge about the Ilu to her. You weren’t complaining, preferring her childish behavior over the constant pestering from Aonung about the sully brothers.

“This isn’t fair, you catch me every time” Tuk cried from her spot, her green eyes sparkling with disbelief. She chose to hide behind the saddle stand which didn’t really do well to hide her.

She was energetic as you expected, always bouncing around, always ready for a new adventure. In some way she reminded you of yourself as a child, her bright innocent eyes glistened with wanderlust, something more than what she was permitted to do.

You knew better than to let her roam around alone, so you did your best to keep her safe and entertained.

“Don’t worry little one, I’m sure you’ll grow to be a stealthy warrior one day” You replied, lowering your body to her height.

“You really think so?” Tuk’tirey gleamed with happiness, she’d always watched her mother with adoration, a fierce warrior in the omaticaya clan, and wished she’d grow to be the same.

This was the only reason why she was so persistent in joining her brothers and sister in their own endeavors, even when she wasn’t supposed to. After all, Tuk’tirey was eager for adventure.

You responded with a curt nod, reassuring the young girl, “I do not think, I know you will be” your voice was filled with assurance, engulfing her in a soft hug.

“Now come on, lessons are over now for you and I’m sure your mother would be worried if you do not return home before the eclipse” you let her go from your reassuring embrace, twirling a piece of her braid between your fingers. Tuk complied, surprising you when she reached for your hand, holding it in her own without question. Advancing both of you towards the sully family's marui pod.

“What is it with you and my brother? '' Tuk asked curiously as she continued dragging you.

You frowned upon hearing this, “what is what, tuk?” You responded, eager to hear what she thought.

“You are all he talks about, he used to be with me and the others but he spends his time following you around now” she laughed, her giggles were contagious causing you to sniffle.

“I apologise Tuk, I don’t mean to take your brother away” Tuk shrugged her shoulders, looking up at you with adoration. Her large eyes peered into your own “it isn’t that, we are grateful” she giddily spoke “it would be great to have another sister,”

From afar, the others had just arrived back on their ilu’s, another day of lessons and laughter filled their hearts but Neteyam couldn’t think properly. His own beating chest craving for something, someone, which made it hard for him to focus.

The sole reason why he enjoyed the lessons was because of you, the girl he’d spend time with star gazing into the dead of night, speaking nothing but the truth and concealing each other’s secrets with an oath of protection. It was almost like a devotion to each other and he was wholeheartedly dedicated to preserving it.

The scene before him brought out a smile on his lips, his pearly canines on full display watching Tuk’tirey pull you eagerly towards their marui, as the eldest brother this made his heart soar, doting at the sight.

He steadily jumped off his ilu, ignoring the questions flying from his brother's mouth, Lo’ak had been pushing his limits recently, although Neteyam never held anything against his younger brother, he still used it as an excuse to throw his attention to you.

Jake sully knew there was something brewing in the shadows of feelings between his son and the youngest daughter of the olo’eyktan so he could not blame him for the mistakes that Lo’ak would make.

The connection you both made not once faltered from his mind, he thought about it often and knew you’d do the same.

“You remember how to breathe” you quizzed, voice calm and soft as you guided neteyams hand back to his stomach. The beaming planet of light was close to parading you all underneath another cold night, nearing dusk you and Neteyam floated within the tides. A shell in hand while the other was being held within neteyams grasp, against his torso.

He hummed, nodding his head in focus. “I remember,” came his response. Neteyam held your hand firmly against his abdomen, not once making an attempt to move it from the place he held it.

You were nervous, hiding the scattered shivers of your body in a horrid attempt to appease your dignity “okay, good. You see this shell here?-“ you raised your hand out of the water, showcasing the glimmering shell in between your fingers. You awaited his answer, watching as his doe eyes settled on the shell with a curt nod.

“I’m going to throw it and I want you to retrieve it” you ordered, firm but with a hint of kindness in it. Neteyam was eager to showcase how much he’s learnt.

“that also means you have to let my hand go”

Neteyam was aware of his actions, wanting to hold you for a moment longer. Your presence bought a sense of calm tides to his raging waters, a solemn promise of unspoken words that granted him a sense of freedom. It was both confusing but also as if it was by fate; he felt you were unlike the others, your entirety affecting his own in more ways than one and it was out of his control and in the hands of Eywa.

He said nothing, letting his fingers graze against your skin one last time. So slowly it was agonising, you pulled back the shudder that began to form.

You readied your aim, throwing the shell into the depths of the sea, watching as the tides took hold of their claim, tugging on the object and pulling it below. Neteyam took no time debating his actions, stealing one last breath before pummeling himself beneath the water.

A few minutes passed by and his silhouette had yet to make an appearance, you knew he’d come back up. He wasn’t one to give up so easily.

Neteyam popped back from beneath the sea, hand raised in the air with a beaming smile “found it”

You grabbed his cheeks out of happiness, screeching in delight “you did it, Neteyam. You really did it” you were beyond proud, heart soaring with colourful emotions.

Neteyams cheeks grew at the sight, his chest heaving from the lack of air but he truly felt accomplished seeing your reaction.

“Did I pass your test?” He asked, eyes wide in inquisition. Your head bobbed in response, “you did more than that, I’m so proud of you” you released, without a second thought you pulled his head down between your palms, resting your lips on the bow of his braids in a tender kiss.

Neteyams eyes lowered, shadowed, his hand making its way to curl around your wrist and when you noticed what you had done, you felt your confidence sway. Those same nerve wrecking shivers return, reminding you of what you felt prior to this.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Neteyam shook his head, “don’t say sorry” he demanded, eyes not once leaving your face as you tried to conceal the contortion of distress plaguing your features.

“Don’t apologise for that,” he retorted, “do I get another if I do it again” he asked, lightening the mood but it only earned him a slap on the side of his head “you are unbelievable”

Neteyam hurled in fits of giggles when you pushed his head under the water, before you could swim away, his hand wrapped around your foot tugging you to his side.

Your head was immersed in the tides, as you looked around clearing your line of sight, beneath the surface neteyam’s skin glowed in dots of bioluminescence making it easier for you to see him. He grabbed you by your waist causing you to shriek under the water, immediately calming down remembering whoms hand engulfed you.

He pulled a piece of your braid, twirling it between his fingers. The moment felt blissful and your heavy surroundings helped cover your nervousness. You couldn’t help but lean into his touch as he dragged a single finger down the side of your face.

“Can I?” He signed, in the heat of the moment. You nodded, granting him consent and with that; neteyam leaned in, lips softly touching your own in a longing embrace. Emerged and one with the sea, with eywa you connected.

Your hands grabbed the back of his neck, until you felt his braids on your own. Holding him as if he was a fickle part of your imagination, delicately nuzzling your fingers in his hair. As you shared breaths beneath the covers of Eywas gifts to the people, you did not want to leave his embrace.

With that night you both left, keeping the words you shared as something unspoken. You couldn’t bring yourself to mention the happenings again, pushing them below an unreachable surface but Neteyam didn’t. His longing stares and attempts to woo you did not go unnoticed. He’d be by your side, sharing his plate during the communal feast, gifting you with new pieces for your braids. Tending to your pain when you had no one to share your feelings with.

As you made your way out of the sully marui pod, Tuks words stuck in your mind, you found your path already filled with another’s presence, judging from the sway of his thin tail and the shade of blue, you knew it was Neteyam. The tall boy peered down at you with a toothy grin, his head adjusting slightly down towards your shorter stature.

You couldn’t help but feel the heat in your cheeks burn against your skin from his strong gaze, you remained ignorant to your feelings, pushing them aside for the greater good of your nature.

“Neteyam” you greeted faintly, standing firm in your place. Over time you grew to enjoy his companionship, yearning for his presence during your solitude, it seems as though for the first time since your heart had been broken, it finally chose someone to piece it back together.

“Eywa’s little helper” he addressed, granting you a subtle bow of his head. You couldn’t help but shift around in your spot.

Avoiding his gaze for a slight while.

“Why so sheepish?” Neteyam sniffled, teasing you to no end. He knew you were a person who valued her connection with eywa over people, when you explained this to him everything clicked in place. Why you were often quiet, saying very few words and placing reason over your inability to converse properly at times. You were shy.

You shoved him playfully “why are you always so questioning?” You asked, your eyebrow bone rose. Neteyam peered back at you.

“I wouldn’t be a mighty warrior if I wasn’t curious” he countered, arms crossed over his puffed chest, full of pride. You knew it was all an act and withdrew from laughing.

“It will be the death of you, a mighty warrior does better knowing rather than wondering” you admitted.

Neteyam could only hope that wasn’t his fate, not before he’d do something that he’d carry with him into the embrace of his ancestors. He grinned, gazing into your cerulean eyes but was once again disappointed when you averted his line of sight. He couldn’t help but feel the happiness drain from him, it truly felt as if fate despised him when it came to you.

You lightly grabbed his shoulder in between your fingers, your soft palm grazing across his skin nearing his neck. Neteyam snapped out of his trance feeling your touch.

“Are you okay? you lost focus a bit there” you asked in concern, from the beginning you’d placed your boundaries with him, shoulders only. His touch stung your palms and palpated the core of your chest, his skin against yours sent the lortsyal inside your stomach into a panicked frenzy. Although you shared a connection in front of Eywa, you could not bring yourself to admit it.

But you were genuinely worried “I’m okay, do not worry yourself,” he expressed, thankful for your caring nature. No matter what you did, every trait you had, neteyam could never find a reason to not further his feelings for you.

“You mustn’t lose focus if you’re to be a mighty warrior Neteyam,” you scolded him, missing the glimmer in his eyes, “Eywa’s little helper always looking out for me,” Neteyam returned with his usual teasing tone, he leaned down. Hands behind his back with a scrutinising look.

“Whatever,” you huffed, the echo of footsteps caused your ears to shift. Distracting you from the close proximity that neteyam induced between you both.

Tuk observed you both, smiling to herself.

“Bro, you totally ignored me back there” Lo’ak confessed with disbelief, Kiri not following to far behind him. she shot you a smile and a frantic wave of her five fingered hand.

“I’d ignore you too” kiris mellow voice acknowledged her eldest brother's choice, appearing by his side. The eldest of the sully family, starred up from beneath his brows, sending daggers to his youngest brother.

Every time he’d get close to you it seemed either Lo’ak or Aonung would ruin his advances toward you, you both had a solid foundation of friendship now. Spending endless nights together and early mornings, yet, it still didn’t seem to satiate his desires. He felt pulled for more, there was something else that he had to uncover about his feelings.

But when he’d finally get you to speak to him, not under the eclipse but instead when the sun shone and the sky was shaded blue, one of the two morons would completely ruin his chances.

While the brothers spoke, you hurried off, Neteyam granted you a knowing look of comfort but you once again ignored it. You could do without a look of pity, you anxiously approached your stoic mother who stood just before the entrance of your own Marui pod. The dissatisfied look on her face spoke before she could utter a word.

“Your father tasked you with teaching the young sully girl about Ilu. Why am I hearing that you were with the eldest boy instead.” She asked, towering over you. Her large orbs didn’t help decrease your fear, your mother was a fierce woman and her eyes played a big part in it.

“I did mother, Tuk’tirey is a quick learner and I had only just spoken to him” straight to the point, your mother would accept nothing less.

She huffed “Tuk’tirey is a child who should not be controlling your decisions nor should the Sullys eldest son for the matter, your path is clear yet you steer off into a different direction as if you cannot see”

You wanted to fight back, stand your ground but what came out of your mouth could only be heard by the insects “I done what was asked”

A sigh escaped her lips, she wasn’t displeased by your presence. She was your mother and she cared deeply for you but you had responsibilities to attend to and she would make sure your focus was on that.

“And you will continue doing what is asked, you have responsibility to this clan that you must carry.” She continued, you could only take her scolding with your head bowed in shame.

“I know you are burdened by this, but you are chosen for a good reason. Eywa would not have honored you if you were not fit for it, now go. Lessons are to be taught and the day is fleeting” she assured with a hint of compassion seeping through her tone.

You bowed your head in shame, nothing brought you more pity than the gaze of disappointment from your own family “yes, mother”

You left the marui pod with a bashful display of emotions coaxing your face. You had let the distractions of the sully family take you away from your teachings, prioritise what was needed over what was wanted.

Yet, you didn’t know what you wanted right now. Your heart beat furiously at the sight of the eldest sully son, your hands grew clammy but your soul felt at peace. It was a feeling you could not unravel but it was causing distractions. You felt torn between two worlds, one where you wanted to be free, to pursue companionship and the other was to your people.

As your pace slowed and your heart settled, you made your way to the reef, sitting on top of the rocks in anguish.

Neteyam approached your dishevelled figure, slowly pacing himself towards you with a fellow feeling, he knew that look all too well and couldn’t help but follow you the moment he saw it. His heart curled at the sight, throat tight to suppress the anger he felt.

“Go away” you strongly spoke aloud, your ears perked up but your body did not. His steps were faint and he could feel a sense of pride swell in his chest at your sense of hearing, a skill.

Neteyam claimed his spot beside you. You could only huff and roll your eyes at the sight, it wasn’t his fault for what you’ve done. It was your own for letting the distractions of a fickle sense of adoration cloud you from your responsibilities.

“What’s wrong?” He quirked,

“I don’t wanna talk about it, Neteyam. It is my own to carry” you paused, slightly agitated from the conversation you just endured. You couldn’t bring yourself to be mad at anyone, not even your own mother. You could only blame yourself for being such a fool.

“You don’t have to carry this alone, I know what it’s like to feel burdened by these roles,” his voice low and accent thick, his eyes darkened at the sight of your dejection.

“But I do, I must carry this alone. It’s not your fault but I cannot be beside you anymore, it was a mistake to think I could carry this responsibility and be happy, if my mother sees you here she will have my throat” you couldn’t look at him, feeling a single snap in the chords of your heart. Your soul was no longer at peace.

“Kehe” Neteyam muttered under his breath, shaking his head in disapproval “if you think saying that will make me leave, you’re wrong. If your mother is to have your throat she can have mine as well, I will not leave you not like this”

You shook off the feeling, wanting to avoid the topic. You did not have time to be fooling around, this you knew. The moments you had with neteyam were dearly held in your heart, he slithered you out of your shell and aided your willingness to be more open.

You were torn, haven’t you given enough already.

Neteyam reached for your hand, Entangling his fingers between your own “I trust you, you can trust me” he spoke ever so softly.

You looked up at him, the sorrow in your eyes broke through the facade you carried. The shield you placed before you cracked and displayed the great hurt you carried.

“I feel like no matter what I do, it’ll never be enough. I do not deserve such an honourable rank. I'm not fit for it, I want to be free. I want to roam the ocean and enjoy the gifts of Eywa but I cannot and I have no choice. It’s almost like I have to reject every ounce of myself in order to fulfil the role I was given. I’ll never be truly seen unless I deny every fibre of my being.” Your cries were silent but the tears that flew down your cheeks, like fine silk spoke otherwise.

Neteyam nodded his head in understanding, surveying your bodily expression, not once inching away from you, he held you with utter care and his sweet adoring smile had yet to make an appearance.

“You have a strong heart,” Neteyam finally spoke, his head tilted back with truth.

“I know it is hard, this responsibility. But you are not unworthy of it. You care so deeply for your surroundings, for the children, for me. You do what is asked even if it’s something you cannot understand, you think being you is different from being a leader but you are wrong. You have everything a leader is and what makes them. Your mother might believe you need to shed yourself to be worthy but I don’t. I believe you’re worthy of it all” he expressed, holding tight on your hand as he placed another on your cheek.

Neteyam found it hard to express and comfort people but he felt no need to restrain himself from comforting you, it came naturally. He couldn’t bear seeing you in such a state that holding himself back from shouting blasphemous words to protect you was lenient. His main focus was you and for once in his life, he finally understood why Eywa brought you two together.

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, only your intertwined hands stole your attention. Neteyam gently caressed beneath your chin, tilting it up to meet his before he searched your orbs once again. The tear-filled ducks were no longer full of your sorrow, you could only pity your state but Neteyam frowned upon the broken walls before him.

“Even if no one sees you, I see you, Renaia.” Neteyam admitted, biting the inside of his cheek, his eyes scrunched painfully but his body reached for yours with longing.

Your tears were no longer evident as you grasped his face in your own palms. Neteyam responded with a sweet bountiful smile, his heart pounding against his chest.

“Neteyam” you utter in hushed breaths, barely crossing the barrier of silence but he heard, his ears peeking up.

“You’re the only one I have eyes on, it’s always been that way the moment we arrived.” His husky voice displayed honesty, Neteyam leaned into you. Forehead to forehead.

You grasped a newfound hope, placing a hand over the skin of his chest in an attempt to mirror his actions “I see you, Neteyam but it would bring me great shame if I was too bring you embarrassment”

He scoffed “shame? You bring me nothing but pride and I’d be honoured to have you as mine for the rest of our lives.”

From the start Eywa has been trying to show you that Neteyam was for you. As you were for him but you were clouded by your gifts, responsibilities and the weight of the village that you did not see the connection.

Neteyam shivered, closing his eyes to truly take in your warmth, your acceptance “You’ve had my heart for a long time Renaia” you couldn't control the sniffles of your cries, molded into happiness. The eldest sully son held you against his chest.

“I will always protect your heart, Yawne.” he promised, bringing you into his hold where he secured you beneath him.

In that moment two become one, the barriers of friendship crumbled and solidified something more than the eyes can see. If your mother was to kill you, so be it, Neteyam would die beside you and this he knew.

…………………

I very much hate this, I’m not even kidding I despise this piece of work and can only hope some form of enjoyment came from it. I will be writing for aonung, Lo’ak and our golden boy neteyam again but I’ve been thinking of other writings that are far different from this, I tend to have knack for writing long stories, making a part two and then the part two being my worst pieces of work.

Tag list:

@gamorxa

@hummusxx

@yihflor

@sakura-onesan

@cafesho

@Buttercake2234

@bangtanxberm

@eldiandiablo

@emasian

@soulsofstories

@prettybakerswife

@lu002

@qxldnya

@zbeezoutlet

@elli-aesthetics

@flyingmushroomss

@idkwhattouseasausernameblog

@maraudersrry

@instabull

@dakotali

@notmeduhh

@baeyrah

@ntyilh

@embrycallsballz

@idkwhattouseasausernameblog

@neteyamsgirl

[tossawary]

Some quotes and thoughts on the potentially fatal injuries of background characters due to Sha Hualing's invasion of Qiong Ding Peak. The text does not explicitly mention anyone dying except (I think) Elder Sky Hammer, every other character is just "injured" or "captured", but I think Shen Yuan just didn't get to see the full damage while he was focused on the plot and keeping relative control of the dangerous situation.

"Before the elegant, magnificent Qiong Ding Hall stood more than a hundred unknown individuals, roiling with demonic qi. The leader of this invasion was in fact a young girl who appeared to be more more than fifteen or sixteen.

Shen Qingqiu's heart thumped with excitement. She's appeared! She's finally appeared!"

Volume 1, Chapter 2, page 101.

Sha Hualing really showed up to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect with 100+ lackeys in tow! When Shen Qingqiu immediately counters "Disciple A" and "Disciple B" after leaving the Ling Xi caves, one of them says that the demons have "injured many of our sect siblings", but they don't mention anyone being killed. This bit a little later in this sequence on also seems to imply that somehow no one on Cang Qiong Mountain Sect has died yet:

"Parting her red lips, Sha Hualing elegantly suggested a method that seemed fair and just: "Why don't we each choose three representatives ad hold three matches?"

This suggestion was solid. For many years, the Human and Demon Realms had maintained an uneasy balance and had yet to drop the pretense of peace. Eliminating Sha Hualing and her mob wouldn't be impossible, but it would likely light a fuse. The demons definitely wouldn't let her death go unanswered, and it wouldn't be worth it if they stirred up an even greater conflict. On the other hand, simply letting them go would also generate trouble. They couldn't allow outsiders to come and go as they pleased from Qiong Ding Peak. By setting conditions and holding some matches, each teaching the other party a lesson or two, both parties could back down and save face. It would be the best way to handle this."

Volume 1, Chapter 2, pages 104-105.

There's a "no one has died yet, so maybe we can laugh this off still" vibe. This seems a little incredible to me! Perhaps the protocol in the face of an overwhelming force is to turn away and sound the alarm, because the bells are ringing loudly when Shen Qingqiu exits the cave. (Though a strange barrier set up is apparently preventing Qiong Ding from receiving support from other peaks.)

After the three matches, after Shen Qingqiu has been poisoned and Liu Qingge has shown up, the demons' retreat is described like this:

"Sha Hualing led her troops and fled while summoning a bolt of red gauze over her head, which she threw upward. Unfortunately, it simply couldn't block the fierce rain of sword glares. The red gauze was quickly pierced full of holes. On top of that, Cang Qiong Mountain Sect's disciples were hemming the demons in, so mot of the horde suffered great injuries or were captured. Only the small heart of the group that had kept near Sha Hualing managed to escape down the mountain, thoroughly battered and humiliated."

Volume 1, Chapter 2, page 131.

So, it sounds like a lot of the demons were killed as they fled. Some of those "great injuries" might have been fatal and I doubt that Cang Qiong intends to return "captured" demons to the Demon Realm. Sha Hualing is the only one they can't really kill, because she's important enough that her elimination could spark greater conflict.

My instinct is to think: "Oh, some Cang Qiong disciples definitely died here." If Elder Sky Hammer (with his poisoned weapon and poisoned armor) alone is any indication, these demons are here to kill people, and some cultivators may have been more than "injured" when demons showed up at the gates. There's a hundred of them! Here to cause chaos! Trying to be stealthy! (Just look at what happened at the Immortal Alliance Conference!) They probably got the drop on someone. Although I do hope that Qiong Ding has some security precautions that would allow most disciples in the demons' path to take shelter rather than engage.

Also, unless they can run from the Demon Realm to the Human Realm in a single day, or without stopping across several days (which is very possible in this world), these demons may have stopped somewhere to raid a human settlement for supplies or for fun. And I bet Sha Hualing and the remainder of her little army also caused damage on the way back to the Demon Realm, unless Cang Qiong cultivators chased them the whole way, and I hope that they did for the sake of any random people in Sha Hualing's path.

This incursion was likely far uglier than this fragment of the incident that Shen Yuan gets to see before he passes out due to the Without a Cure poison. Though I don't believe that anyone in the following chapter mentions any deaths on Cang Qiong's side, I feel like... a hundred demons invading (one of whom is wielding all of that poison) would have gotten someone on the way in.

[hornyhornyhimbos]

NSFW Alphabet ~ Steve Harrington Edition

warnings and tags: MINORS DNI (18+) lots of mentions of oral m!receiving, piv smut but not really, missionary sex, cowgirl sex, and lotus sex are all talked about, mentions of quickies, mentions of toys, honestly there's probably more but i'm too lazy to look LMAO

SFW version can be found over on my ST blog - @honeysuckleharringtons

A = Aftercare (what they're like after sex)

This man is so lovey-dovey. Lemme tell y'all. You spend an hour having sex, you're getting two hours of cuddles afterward. As soon as you both finish, his arms are immediately wrapped around your torso and he's trailing soft kisses along your collarbone. It's safe to say his favorite after sex activity, cuddles for days.

Now, as for you. He is always making sure you get whatever you need. But he is a little dumb sometimes so you do have to occasionally say, "Hey, can we get after-sex snacks?" but once you say it, he's sprinting down the stairs to make you a bowl of your favorite cereal.

B = Body Part (their favorite body part of theirs and their favorite body part of yours)

His hair. There's a reason he was called "The Hair" in high school. He actually loves having a good hair routine and takes pride in having a nice appearance. I just feel like he has a really good relationship with his hair, yk?

As for you my darling, I can't unsee this man being a boob guy. Like A-Cups? The perfect size to hold in his hands! D-Cups? The perfect place to lay his head when watching a movie. Every titty is a good titty.

But if we're talking non-sexual, he just really likes all of you. Every inch of your body has something different to offer him, how could he choose?

C = Cum (any cum-related headcanons)

He loves watching you swallow his cum. He loves it when it dribbles down your chin and your tongue juts out to catch it. He loves when he pulls out and it spatters all over his stomach and you just lick your way around his stomach. He loves that you love his taste.

D = Dirty Secret (any dirty secret of theirs)

Before the two of you got comfortable with the idea of phone sex, he used to jack off while looking at a Polaroid of the two of you from his family's summer cookout, taking in how beautiful your body looked in that teeny red bikini.

E = Experience (do they know what they're doing?)

Safe to say, this man got his fair share of bitches in high school. HOWEVER those were just hook-ups. You were the one who taught him the difference between hooking up and making love.

You also taught him that lotus is his favorite position but that's a conversation for later 🤭

F = Favorite Position (self-explanatory)

Hey, look it's later!

Up until you, Steve had always had very vanilla, missionary-style sex. He thought it was the closest he could get with a partner, holding their hands as he watched them climax beneath him. That was, until he came in one day and saw you reading a Cosmo magazine.

The article had been about "5 Sex Positions You Need to Try ASAP!" So naturally, he peeked over your shoulder to see what the article had been all about.

Though he thought he was as stealthy as a ninja, his hot breath tickled your neck and you nearly knocked him out with the magazine when you turned to face him, not realizing he'd made it to your place yet.

So once you registered it was him, it struck up a conversation about spicing up your love life. You didn't really need the help, you were in the rabbit stage of your relationship, but it didn't hurt to ask. And so, you presented him the illustration of the lotus position and expressed interest in it. Needless to say, he was gone from there.

He loves the intimacy of it. The forced proximity, the need for eye contact, the feeling of your legs wrapped around his waist and your arms over his shoulders, one usually at his nape, tugging the little waves that sit there. He especially loves that it gives him very easy access to your boobs.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Definitely depends on the situation. If it's an anniversary or something special, he makes it as romantic as he can. But if you're having a quickie on his lunch break, he's laughing his ass off at how clumsy the two of you are being in the supply closet. He's a sarcastic ass so that doesn't help matters either.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they?)

He keeps it pretty clean-shaven I'd say. He struggles with insecurities of how curly it is so it kind of bothers him to look at. Plus he knows it tickles your nose when you go down on him so he just feels there's more harm than good from not shaving it.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment?)

As previously mentioned, Steve is always a hand-holder during missionary (and during cowgirl too when he's not holding your tits). As previously mentioned, his favorite position is lotus. It's safe to say, this man's love language is quality time and he LOVES romance and intimacy.

J = Jack Off (masturbation headcanons)

He rarely jacks off. That's what you're for, right?

No but in all seriousness, the only time he will is if you aren't spending the night together and he just really needs it. Then he'll call you up for a good ol' round of phone sex. Your voice is enough to get him off anyway, so why not take advantage of it every now and again?

K = Kink (any or all of their kinks)

Oh, this man and his praise kink. He didn't receive much praise growing up, so the little "Doing so good, Stevie's" and "Look so beautiful inside me, babe's" really make him feel good about himself.

He also enjoys edging and orgasm denial/delay. He loves when you're giving him a handy or a BJ and just... pull away. Something about letting go and giving someone else control instead of being uptight and stressed from work, it just feels so good to him.

L = Location (favorite place to do the do)

Surprisingly, he probably enjoys good ol' bed sex the most. It just feels natural, like that's where the two of you should be together forever.

Though one of his favorite memories is when he bent you over the kitchen table one day while passing the time until dinner finished cooking. He also likes car sex, the possibility of getting caught when you're parked in a random parking lot/parking garage, and the closeness of it.

M = Motivation (what gets them going?)

Oh, he LOVES lingerie. One time he came home to you cooking dinner in nothing but one of his t-shirts and a brand new pair of lacy blue panties peeking out from underneath and he FOLDED.

N = No (something they'd never do, turn-offs, etc.)

If you ever asked him about any form of scat play (piss, shit, vomit, any of it) he'd be out of there so fast. While he doesn't particularly like his parents, his mama raised him to be a very neat individual and he knows how many germs are in that shit (literally) so scat play is a big N-O from him.

O = Oral (preference in giving/receiving, skill, etc.)

He loves both. Him receiving happens more often because there's no way you'd ever say no to having his dick slammed down your throat, but he loves both.

As for skill, you definitely had to show him how to give head. He'd always been curious, but Tommy H. had always told him about how nasty it was the couple times he'd tried it on Carol so it wasn't until he was older that he'd opened back up to the idea. Luckily for him, you were very happy to be the first contestant.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Depends on the overall mood and vibes. He loves those nights where all is quiet, he puts on candles and lets you have a nice, hot bath while he sets up the most romantic scene you have ever seen. But he's definitely not opposed to a quickie, he LOVES the fast pace, the possibility of getting caught (because he loves the idea of anyone and everyone see the hold that no one but he has on you).

Q = Quickie (opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Oh, this man and his quickies. It's pretty much a part of your daily routine to have a quickie in the shower. It starts on the premise of "saving water by showering together" but really, it's just easy access to having sex and keeping yourselves awake for work.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He's not one to experiment unless it's something you wanna do. He's very much a creature of habit and unless it's something he knows he'll like, he's never gonna ask you to try new things. However, if you come to him and ask "hey, i was thinking of trying xyz in the bedroom" he'll fold in a second.

As for risks, wowwee does this man love the idea of getting caught. Having quickies at work, car sex in a parking lot, leaving the curtains open occasionally, having sex in the bathroom when the party's one room over in the living room. He loves the risk of showing off the things only he can do to you.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

How many rounds definitely depends on the vibes. Like if it's for an anniversary, he's making sure he's well rested the night before because he's not going to sleep until you've cum at least 5 times. But if it's just like casual, everyday routine type sex, he'll probably only cum like once or twice and make sure you've cum as many times as you need to before he's out like a light.

As for how long he lasts? This man can go for HOURS without cumming from all the orgasm delay and edging he's received from you.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themself?)

He definitely owned a fleshlight before meeting you but he didn't need it anymore so he just threw it out. idk that they weren't invented until the 90s fight me bitch

Now as for you, when the occasional Dom!Steve shows up, he LOVES watching you squirm when he's pressing a vibrator to all the places you need it but not giving it to you long enough to cum.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He loves being teased as opposed to teasing you but as previously mentioned, Dom!Steve makes an occasional appearance and when he does, buckle up girlfriend, buckle the fuck up.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He definitely doesn't make noises, he's much more of a "moaning your name" or a string of "fuck fuck fucks" rather than just incoherent moans.

He isn't like too loud unless it's warranted. Like during quickies, he gets loud because it raises the probability of getting caught but overall, he's not super loud unless you tell him to be.

W = Wild Card (random headcanon)

He loves thigh riding as much as you do.

Also he loves titty-fucking.

X= X-Ray (let's see what's going on under those clothes)

As @writer-in-theory once said, compression pants. 'Nuff said.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Pretty high in the beginning of your relationship but definitely goes down after the rabbit stage. Not that he's gonna say no to sex, he's just not asking for it every thirty minutes.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He's out like a light as soon as aftercare is over. Like after you shower up, he's asleep as soon as he hits the pillow.

However, morning sex really wakes him up. It's quite a juxtaposition depending on what time of day you're having sex.

-> taglist: @liberhoe @writer-in-theory @esoltis280

[simp2537]

Moon Helios

A/n: Warning there are a few triggers and stuff. I’ll place them below. The font below is Fjerdan. Enjoy

꓄ꃅꀤꌗ ꎇꂦꈤ꓄ ꀤꌗ ꎇꀭꍟꋪꀸꍏꈤ

Word count : 1.5k plus

Series trigger warnings include: Child abuse, anxiety, religious trauma, racism, manipulation, some division of canon, Alina hate?, trauma, ptsd, bullying, insomnia, self-neglect, mental health issues, guilt tripping, cult theme and all other shadow and bone stuff

Act l : The academy 

Chapter One

Cold and dark was all the academy was. The training of a helios was hard and many died trying. Children taken for their extra ordinary abilities. Children willing to protect what is there’s without a doubt. 

Children made into Helios’s. A girl sit in a circled arena with her eyes closed breathes in and out. Her h/c hair pulled up and into a tight braid. A figure approached her with a dagger in their hand. 

The figure charged at the girl coming into the torchlight. The girl stops the dagger with one movement of her hand and brought the figure to the ground. 

The s/c girl opened her eyes to reveal cloudy white eyes. The figure opened her eyes as well to reveal the same cloudy white eyes. The girl pressed against the ground was shorter than the h/c girl. 

“Really Isla?” The h/c asked the dark skinned girl underneath her. Isla rolled her eyes even though she knew her friend couldn’t tell. She tapped against her friend’s shoulders three times.

“Off Y/n.” Is what those three taps meant. Y/n got off Isla and help her off the ground. Around Isla’s neck was a small device that made small clicking sounds. 

“Where’s your ribbon?” Isla asked using her clicker. Y/n wrapped a blue ribbon around Islas wrist. The ribbon was long enough the two girls could have their own space but short enough to make sure they stayed together.

Isla’s nappy was pulled into a ponytail with some loose curls out of it. Y/n gasped onto Isla hand and began to guide her through the sanctuary. All Helios’s in training had their sight taken away from them so that they could train from nothing.

Isla was different though. She didn’t have a voice to speak. Without her voice she was at a bigger disadvantage than most other students. Y/n made it her mission to protect and help Isla.

Isla was a great beauty. With an innocent and kind face. She was very small and stealthy. While Y/n although also was beautiful she was more strong and the better fighter. The two girls were opposite.

Isla sweet and kind. Always ready to help. Y/n angry and protective. Always ready to defend. In many ways the reason Y/n felt so close to Isla was because she reminded her of her sister. Alina. Alina was sweet, and kind. Always needed Y/n’s protection. 

As the pair walked through the halls Isla kept a tight grip on Y/n’s globes hand. Suddenly Y/n stopped and Isla frozen behind her. A taller boy blocked their path.

He was tall with messy black hair, the same cloudy white eyes, and fair skin. Niko was his name. Y/n knew he was an ugly boy even though she couldn’t see him. He just felt ugly. His presence made the girls want to throw up.He had a bronze chest plate, sword strapped to his back, and a smirk kept on his face. He blocked the girls path.

“If it isn’t the mute and the half-breed.” Niko announced. Y/n glared so fiercely at the boy even though he couldn’t see it. 

“Get out if our way.” Y/n growled her tone laced with annoyance.

Niko scoffed and crossed his arms. They were covered scars much like the two girls. Niko stepped closer to the pair. Y/n held her arm out protectively in front of Isla. Niko felt the movements of Y/n arm and smirked. Isla gripped onto Y/n’s hand as her guide. Y/n gently pulled Isla behind me body. Niko smirked as he moved, when he moved forward Y/n moved back. 

“The poor poor mute can’t do anything without her protector.” Niko mocked as he stepped forward. Then Y/n stopped backing up Niko stumbled into her chest. 

“Get out our way.” Y/n said glaring up at him. Niko stared down at her. His hatred for Y/n wasn’t well hidden. As a grisha how could he not hate Y/n. Niko placed his hand under Y/n chin with a smirk. 

“I like it when you beg.” Niko mumbled while he lean towards her. Y/n moved her eyes up. Untied the ribbon and pushed Isla back. Then Y/n’s fist collided with Niko’s jaw. 

“ꀤ ꓄ꂦ꒒ꀸ ꌩꂦꀎ ꓄ꂦ ꁅꍟ꓄ ꂦꀎ꓄ ꂦꎇ ꂵꌩ ꅏꍏꌩ!” Y/n growled mixing english with frjerdan. Niko turned his head towards Y/n with a glare he knew she could feel. More trainees entered the hall as the fight ragged on. Isla held onto the hall as she hear the grunts and groans of Y/n and Niko’s fight. 

Y/n was on top of Niko her bruised hand pummeling into Niko’s face. A set of heavy footsteps began down the hall but they were drown out by the cheers of the fight. Y/n couldn’t stop her anger had filled her glass to high.

Her fist wouldn’t stop. She’d pull her fist back and slam it back down. Over and over. She felt the vibrations of someone walking towards them. The closer the footsteps got the harder her fist became. Then she pulled her fist back and a strong hand held hers back. 

The grip on her hand was tight, but gently. The cheering had stopped, the hall had been filled with silence. Y/n dropped Niko with her other hand and looked up. He stood above her with a calm look. His brown eyes peered down into Y/n’s cloudy one. 

Egon Waldow stood above his prized student. Other Helios ran to the scene and watched as Egon pulled Y/n away by the hand. Isla felt Y/n getting pulled away, her vibrations were further and further. Isla went to follow her but one of the instructors stopped her and guided her away. 

Egon pulled Y/n by her arm into his rooms. Y/n didn’t struggle she knew the way even if she couldn’t see. She could never seen anymore. As Egon pulled her into the room her crossed her arms and steered down at her. 

“ꅏꂦꀎ꒒ꀸ ꌩꂦꀎ ꒒ꀤꀘꍟ ꓄ꂦ ꍟꊼꉣ꒒ꍏꀤꈤ?” Egon asked his fjerdan accent coming through into his speech. Y/n stared down at her feet. Images of the room flooded into her mind as she looked away. Y/n moved towards a large table filled with papers and scrolls. Y/n gently picked up one of the scrolls.

“ꅏꃅꍏ꓄ ꀤꌗ ꓄ꃅꀤꌗ?” Y/n mumbled softly in fjerdan. Her words weren’t as well pronounced as Egon’s but she was learning. 

“Those are not for you ꒒ꀤꈤꃅꂦ꒒ꂵꍟꋪꋪꍟ.” Egon explained while taking the scroll away. Y/n glared up at him while crossing her arms. She could practically feel his disappointment in her. He’d been training her better then that. He’d been training her to control her anger, her fury, her stupid temper. 

“ꀤ ꍏꂵ ꈤꂦ꓄ ꍏ ꒒ꀤꈤꃅꂦ꒒ꂵꍟꋪꋪꍟ.” Y/n whispered as she leaned against one of the chairs. She could see the enter room in her head like she always could. The bed was on the back wall. His bedside table is clean and tightly. The entire room is clean and perfectly organized. Egon tilted his head to the side. He gently grabbed her chin and had her look up at him.

“ꌩꂦꀎ ꍏꉓ꓄ ꒒ꀤꀘꍟ ꍏ ꒒ꀤꈤꃅꂦ꒒ꂵꍟꋪꋪꍟ, ꌗꂦ ꀤ ꅏꀤ꒒꒒ ꉓꍏ꒒꒒ ꌩꂦꀎ ꒒ꀤꈤꃅꂦ꒒ꂵꍟꋪꋪꍟ.” Egon said while mixing English with Fjerdan. His dirty blonde hair was peppered with white. His calloused hands gently held her face. He stared down at her with a fatherly gaze. He didn’t want her to feel bad about what she’d done but she could be fighting like that. 

“ꌩꂦꀎ ꀸꀤꀸ ꈤꂦ꓄ ꃅꍟꋪꍟ ꅏꃅꍏ꓄ ꃅꍟ ꌗꍏꀤꀸ.”  Y/n whispered so softly she could barely hear herself.

“What?” Egon asked inching his face towards her. Y/n felt tears prickle her eyes as she pushed him off her. She bit her lip as her hands shock. 

“He was being an ꍟꌗꌗ! He called Isla a mute, he called her weak! It made me so mad. I really tried to stay calm, I promise I did. I told him to move and get out of my way. He wouldn’t listen to what I had to say! I didn’t mean to hit him I just hit him. I couldn’t stop my fist I was like I was possessed of something!” Y/n rambled quickly her voice shaking. She began to scratch at her neck as she stared away from him. 

Egon gently grasped her hands. Her hands were soft, not yet so rough as his. He stared down into her white eyes are tears weld up inside.

“ꀤ ꍏꂵ ꈤꂦ꓄ ꍏꈤꁅꋪꌩ ꌩꂦꀎ ꃅꀤ꓄ ꃅꀤꂵ, ꀤ ꂵꍟꋪꍟ꒒ꌩ ꅏꀤꌗꃅ ꌩꂦꀎ ꅏꂦꀎ꒒ꀸ ꍏ꓄꓄ꍟꂵꉣ꓄ ꓄ꂦ ꉓꂦꈤ꓄ꋪꂦ꒒ ꌩꂦꀎꋪ ꍏꈤꁅꍟꋪ.” Egon explained. His voice was calm and collected. The tears fell down Y/n’s face. She crashed her arms around his waist as she buried her head. Egon sighed and wrapped his arms around his sobbing student.

Y/n sobbed into Egon’s torso, her tears dripping onto his shirt. Egon strokes her hair and whispers soothing words in her ear. Egon tells her that everything will be alright. Egon kisses her forehead and holds her close, offering her warmth and comfort in her moment of distress. Despite the sadness, there is a sense of bonding that comes from this moment as Helios master and his prized student lean into each other for support.

As he gently held onto her as she practically crumpled into his arms. Y/n struggled to breathe, this was too much. All she wanted was to go home. Back to Alina, back to Mal, back to the meadow. As if he could hear her thoughts he gently grabbed her face. 

“This is your home now, and you will be a Helios. You will serve our Sun summoner just like I do.” Egon said while holding her face up.

“Was it worth it?” Y/n mumbled as she stared up.

“What?” Egon questioned gently.

“Was it worth it? You gave your life for this. You gave up your religion, you gave up your family, your nation. Everything.” Y/n stared up at him. All she needed was to be to,d it was worth it. Then she’d do it. She’d continue going through hell for her Saint. Egon stared down at his face unreadable. 

Y/n could see through her blindness at the moment. Her sight had come earlier then most. She could see through her mind unlike many of her competitors. But now she was just blind. Egon lend down and kissed her forehead.

“For our saint, it was all worth it.”