#when youre recovering you do have to accept that even if you believe yourself to be in the right

[onsomenewsht]

Helpless to the bass and faded light

About when she bribes you and you dance with her like a filled stadium isn't looking

》 Leah Williamson x Reader

》 words count: +1k

》 she took my arm / I don't know how it happened / we took the floor and she said

You don’t like football.

It’s quite a boring game if you stop to think about it for a moment. Two dozen and counting people running around a ball trying to kick it into a huge net.

Not something you look forward to sit through for almost two hours.

Despite your father’s best efforts, you being his only kid and his only hope to pass down his passion, the sport never managed to interest you long enough to care.

You even found yourself in the stands of your dad’s favourite club’s home more times than you’re able to remember, going beyond yourself and cheering when the other people around you did.

The things you do to make your parents proud.

How you managed to have the English captain wrapped around your finger, regardless of your well-known dislike for her biggest passion and purpose in life, is still a mystery for your families and friends.

“Pretty please, just this one”

“Oh, shut up!”, you hit her arm and push her off you, both still naked.

You can’t believe your girlfriend is actually trying to bribe you with sex, not even waiting for you to fully recover before asking to go to the game.

“No, you ruined the mood”, you state as the blonde tries to kiss you again.

The huge grin of her beautiful face is quite dangerous, she can win you over so easily and you both know it.

Leah rises off the bed to retrieve a warm cloth from the bathroom and a clean shirt from the closet. You accept her attention, she’s always caring when it comes to you, but you’re pretty sure the extra effort has a not-so-subtle second purpose.

“You can’t buy me so easily, Williamson”

She can.

“It’s a really important game, my love”

“For who?”

“For me?”, she tries as she slots herself under your open arm, a grin hidden between your neck and the pillow.

“I barely bear you playing”

“You love watching me play”

“I love you, period”

Leah knows how much you think the sport is boring, going way out of your comfort zone just to cheer her. She feels immensely supported when she finds your big smile in the stands, wrapped in one of her jerseys.

It’s not that difficult for you to sit and admire your girlfriend in her element, focusing more on her movements and attitude than paying attention to the actual game.

What you find quite annoying is enduring Arsenal’s men’s team.

The defender’s fingers on your side are slowly soothing you in a compromising position, too relaxed and smitten to keep denying her anything. You know she doesn’t need much more to lure you into her trap and, unfortunately for you, she’s perfectly aware too.

When the blonde’s lips find the particularly sensitive spot on the base of your neck, you’re doomed.

~

You’re glad your father is already dead or you’d have killed him as you take your seat in the Emirates Stadium, surrounded by the Gunners’ colours. Your girlfriend’s name on your back could be the final nail.

The things you do to make your lover happy.

“You know I love you, right?”

“You better never forget this”, you quip back.

The English captain has been looking forward to this game for weeks now, you couldn’t have been able to turn her down in spite of it all.

She doesn’t need to know though, you didn’t accept to spend one of your date nights watching the North West London derby for free.

“Maybe you will enjoy it at the end”

Nice try, you will not.

“You know, my dad was a West Ham supporter”

“Could have been worse”, she smiles at you, reaching for your hand.

Talking about your father is getting easier as time finally moves forward and your grief keeps changing its shape. Compared to the abyssal black hole it felt like the first year and a half, its progress.

Leah didn’t meet him, crushing in your life a couple of months after his passing, but she managed to find a space in your heart that keeps growing despite all your fears.

They could have hit so well, bonding over their shared passion for the sport and their never-ending determination to make you happy.

You told her some stories about him, mostly memories to make your girlfriend understand how stubborn and passionate he was about the thing he cared about.

The one thing you all have in common.

“Yeah, he used to gift me a West Ham jersey every year on Bobby Moore’s birthday”

Leah’s laugh managed to overcome the buzzing atmosphere of the stadium, making you feel like she was the reason all the people around you were cheering. You sure think so.

“He sounds like an incredible father”

“Football obsession aside, he was good”

When you turn to look at her, the blonde’s eyes are already on you and the smile on her face is enough to warm your heart.

~

The first goal coming within five minutes has you quite engaged in what’s happening on the pitch, you even drag your girlfriend in a kiss as you both rise from your seats to celebrate.

Your commitment declined quite easily after that, more entertained by Leah’s reactions than the actual game. You nod in amusement every time she tries to talk you through one of her analyses, placing a hand on her thigh to stop her from standing up every time the ball is somehow close to the box.

The second half is more eventual, at least that’s what you can understand by the excitement the defender and the people in the stands around you seem to radiate.

You’re not clueless, you’re perfectly aware a five-nil win against Chelsea is quite the result. You care enough to think you can’t wait to go home - Leah is always in the mood for a private celebration when her team triumphs, especially over another London club.

“Can we go now?”, you ask as soon as the referee whistles three times, declaring the end of your and the Blues’ torture.

Leah’s happiness is contagious, so you’re not mad when she drags you in her arms to join her cheers and enthusiastic dance. It takes you less than a second to indulge her, letting the blonde spin you around and matching her excitement.

When she dips you and seals the move with a kiss the laugh that rises out of you is genuine and loud.

At first, neither of you notice the stadium’s camera pointed in your direction, recording your little moment of pure bliss in each other’s arms.

Looking back at it, as all your friends sent you the viral video, you know Leah saw you two on the big screen and went along with her little cocky display of affection and excitement for the victory.

You’re sure your father could be laughing at it too, despite the colors you’re wearing.

fine.

[ghostofhyuck]

NCT Dream and arguments with them.

AN: the many times i received a scenario of an argument aftermath, i just realized i never wrote a scenario about reader arguing with dream.

Mark Lee

Arguments with Mark are rare cases, but it's always because of a serious matter. It may be because of his career, and priorities or what not. Today, it's about him coming home sick. He explained to you that it's just a fever and it'll come off tomorrow, he just needs to rest because he have a recording tomorrow. Oh you love Mark but this is unhealthy, so some words slipped out of your mouth, like how he should be taking care of himself and how he shouldn't overwork at all. You tried to be concern for him but due to tiredness, it irritated Mark. You two fought for an hour, not even attempting to lower one's pride to say sorry. In the end, you two didn't slept on the same bed. But that night, Mark realized that you're just being concerned about his health. So the next morning, he apologized to you and had a day-off so that he can focus on recovering his health first. 

Huang Renjun

You think of yourself as a strong, independent girl. You always solve problems alone, and you're very used to your own comfort zone. That didn't changed when you met Renjun. You love him enough to let him in your safe space. But sometimes, Renjun can be a tending boyfriend that it may end up him nagging you. One time, he lectured you about how messy your apartment was, and even cleaning it by himself. You explained to him that you couldn't find time because it was hectic week for you, and he doesn't need to lecture you about it. Renjun justified that he was just trying to be helpful, and there, you two argued about it. In the end, Renjun accepted that he was wrong, and he was sorry because his tone may come out as wrong. You apologized too, and you two reconciled! <3

Lee Jeno

It's the little things that may start a war. You love Jeno and you feel so lucky that he's your boyfriend, but there are times where your insecurities struck you at the worst times. So when you found out that he's being shipped with a female idol, your mind just went spiral --- even thinking that he's cheating on you. And as much as Jeno tries to explain it to you that no, he's not cheating on you, and he doesn't even know that female idol. But you won't believe him! Arguments with Jeno doesn't involve any shouting, it may be come in soft voices but dripping with much disappointment. Jeno will be frustrated that you're doubting him, and thinking that low of him to do such thing. It may take a lot of convincing for you to apologize to your boyfriend, and end up crying to him. 

Lee Donghyuck

Arguments with Haechan are a frequent occurrence. It's his love language! He just loves teasing you and bantering with you because you're the type to never back down with him. But today was not the right time for his jokes. It was one of those days that you feel so slumped out that you don't have any energy for anything --- not even your boyfriends' teasing. You told him that you're tired, but Haechan kept going on, even making a joke that wasn't funny at all. It resulted with you shouting back at him. He was surprised with your words but he doesn't want to back down. It resulted to a heated argument that only stopped when you broke down in tears. That's when Haechan realized that he crossed the line, apologizing to you profusely. 

Na Jaemin

Oh you love your boyfriend so much. Jaemin is such a gentleman and he's very sweet too! But sometimes, his jealousy can be a too much! You told him about meeting with an old friend of yours who is a guy and his initial reaction was to be jealous of him. Why do you need to meet with him ALONE. Why does he doesn't know about this guy, and other things. At first you found it cute, until he's telling words like, "all men are same." or "he doesn't look trustworthy." when he hasn't even met your friend. Of course, you defended your friend which resulted him to say, "see!! you're even on his side!" the argument went on, and you didn't talk to Jaemin for a few days until he apologized not only to you, but also to your friend. 

Zhong Chenle

Arguments with Chenle would start because of small things, most of the time it would be because of a disagreement over things. You two are very opinionated about things, and it surely ends up in a heated argument most of the time. In a few weeks, you two will have your 100th days as a couple. You wanted something special, like a dinner date, but Chenle insisted on keeping it private and intimate such as a get-together with his friends. You thought that it wasn't necessary to bring his friends because it supposed to be just the two of you, while Chenle thinks that there's nothing wrong with it. You two fought over it for a few hours, eventually stopping it but not apologizing to each other. It'll take a few days for you two to resolve it and realizing that you two were wrong, and then compromised with each other's idea. 

Park Jisung

Arguments with Jisung are also a rare case. He's just a very chill, laid-back boyfriend who trusts you so much that he wouldn't do anything to start an argument with you. SO in the rare case when you two had an argument, it would be because of emotional stress. It's when both of you are too overwhelmed with everything and you two tried to prove who had it worse between the two of you. It's an immature argument where you'll end up crying and Jisung will not be swoon with your tears, "really? if i cry too will you pity me?" because as much as he wants to sympathize with you, he's going through a tough time too. It ends up with a short cool-off, and when you two are emotionally mature enough to talk, that's when you two reconcile with lots and lots of sorry. 

[sunkissed-zegras]

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 ─ KM²⁰

౨ৎ ─ summary | REQUESTED: "Okay there's a criminally low amount of Kate martin fics like that's literally my wife 😞 buttt my idea is Kate x reader where reader plays another sport at Iowa and gets injured at a game and Kate is js there with reader and takes care of her after the diagnosis. I js reinjured my knee for the 4th time and would love sum like that 😭🙏"

─ word count | 886

─ warnings | cute teasing/banter, mentions of injuries (duh), pretty much nothing but sweet, tooth-rotting fluff!

─ taglist | my wcbb taglist is in my bio! fill it out to be tagged:)

─ ev's notes | hope you heal your knee, nonnie! hope this fic made you feel better:) MY FIRST WCBB REQUEST!!!!!!! i'm so happy, please send in moreeeee! also so happy it's for kate my love, she is so nucnuncexijizjiuncru. anyways, enjoy!!!!!!!!

"I'M FINE, REALLY." YOU TRIED TO pry Kate's hands off your hips as she led you into your dorm.

You couldn't help but laugh at Kate's concerned expression. You'd just twisted your ankle and could barely walk. You were on strict instructions from the doctor to stay off the ground and most importantly, stay off the field.

And knowing Kate, she would make sure that you followed those orders because you didn't, you'd get hurt again. You were stubborn and she knew that, but she was equally as stubborn when it came to taking care of you. She cared about you deeply, and sometimes her worry could be a bit overwhelming, but you knew it came from a place of love and genuine concern for your well-being.

As she helped you settle onto your bed, you couldn't help but appreciate her persistence even if she was a little overbearing.

Despite your protests, Kate insisted on fetching ice packs and pillows to elevate your injured ankle. She hovered around you, fussing over every detail, making sure you were as comfortable as possible.

With a sigh, you finally relented, accepting her help and allowing yourself to relax. You knew that with Kate by your side, you'd recover in no time. Plus, having her around made the whole situation a lot more bearable.

As she sat beside you, you couldn't help but smile at her, grateful for her support. "Thanks, Kate," you said softly.

She glanced back at you, a smile playing on her lips. "You don't have to thank me, that's what I'm here for. How's it feeling now?"

You shifted slightly, testing your ankle gingerly. "It still hurts a bit, but the ice is helping. And having you here definitely makes it better."

Kate let out a small laugh as she shook her head. "You're such a flirt, you know that?"

"Oh shush, you love it." You teased back, a smirk playing on your lips.

She rolled her eyes with a smile, but you could see the warmth in her gaze. "Yeah, yeah, I guess I do," she admitted, her tone teasing.

You leaned into your bed, trying to ignore the pain that was still lingering in your ankle. You couldn't believe this was your second injury this season ─ at this rate, you weren't gonna play for the rest of the season.

You yawned as you glanced at the clock in your room before snapping your head back to Kate. "Kate! You're gonna be late for practice, get up!"

Kate laughed a little as she shook her head. "I told them I'm not going."

You scoffed as you raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You what? Since when do you skip practice?"

Kate shrugged nonchalantly. "Since my girlfriend decided to twist her ankle and needs me here to take care of her."

You couldn't help but smile at her words. "Kate, you don't have to do that. I'll be fine on my own."

She gave you a pointed look. "And you'll be even better with me here. Plus, me missing one practice won't kill me."

You chuckled, realizing that arguing with Kate was futile when she had made up her mind. "Alright, alright, you win. But only if you promise to make me some of your famous hot chocolate later."

Kate grinned. "Deal."

As you settled in with Kate by your side, you couldn't help but feel a wave of warmth wash over you. With her there, even the pain in your ankle seemed more bearable.

"Thanks, Kate," you said softly, squeezing her hand.

She smiled back at you, her eyes filled with reassurance. "Of course, that's what I'm here for."

She squeezed you in closer as your head fell on her shoulder. "I can't believe I'm not going to play in next week's game."

Kate knew that this was going to be hard for you, a twisted ankle wasn't going to heal as quickly as you wanted. Kate wrapped her arm around you as you leaned into her shoulder. "I know, it sucks," she said empathetically. "But your health comes first, always. And hey, you'll be back on the field before you know it, kicking ass like you always do."

You sighed, leaning into her warmth. "I just hate feeling so helpless, you know? I want to be out there with the team, not stuck in bed."

"They'd want you to recover. You can't help them by playing when you're injured and then getting more hurt ─ it won't do anything." Kate murmured, running her fingers through your hair soothingly. "You'll be back before you know it. And in the meantime, you've got me to keep you company."

You grinned, feeling a little lighter at her words. "You're right, I shouldn't worry too much."

She pressed a kiss to the top of your head as you leaned into her touch. "You shouldn't, I promise you will heal and be back in no time."

You nodded, taking comfort in her reassurance. "Thanks, Kate. I don't know what I'd do without you."

She smiled, her blues eyes soft with affection. "You'll never have to find out, because I'm not going anywhere."

You leaned in closer as Kate reached for the remote on this night stand. "Now enough with this sappy stuff, what do you feel like watching tonight?"

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[thydungeongal]

Reminded of this ask and specifically the phrasing "narrative cruft."

Folks, I'm something of a fan of RPGs. I think RPGs are a pretty neat marriage of narrative and gameplay. I think the two are pretty neatly intertwined. If the fiction and mechanics of an RPG are in tune, I would hesitate to call the fiction "narrative cruft." It would do a huge disservice to the game.

So what is being called "narrative cruft" here? I can't say for sure but I believe the source of this ask was the recently resurfaced really smart post by yours truly where I talk about how trying to reframe the action of D&D (killing creatures and taking their stuff either as amoral tomb robbers or basically a posse of vigilantes under the blessing of those in power) as somehow aspirational may be a lost cause and how people would do a lot better to just accept the gameplay of D&D for what it is because the game itself will suffer for attempts to turn it into something it very much isn't.

Here's the thing though: D&D is very much a game about dungeons and also dragons. And I feel a lot of modern D&D players already reject that premise. Simply looking at what D&D, by its rules, says:

All characters will have to take part in some degree of resource management. At the very least they will have to track hit points throughout the day. Depending on edition and class they will have to take part in managing class-based resources. Even equipment is often consumable.

When it comes to resource management during the gameplay these games are the most opinionated about (combat and exploration) depletion of resources is very much the name of the game. You can, throughout the day, recover some resources, but often at the cost of another. Characters will generally not be gaining more resources throughout the day.

Looking at the types of creatures that are represented as adversaries in the game, most of them occupy the fictional space of "the dungeons," a type of nebulous mishmash of underground complexes, often implying some kind of underworld, or the wilderness.

I won't go further than that but these three things are actually pretty harmonious with the traditional gameplay of Town -> Wilderness -> Dungeon that is pretty much part of the game's DNA. Even D&D 5e is at its core still a dungeon game. It is very opinionated about things like "the adventuring day."

This is no coincidence. D&D is very much a resource management game, a "trying to survive in a hostile space while your resources get depleted" game. The interplay of having to make meaningful decisions between when to move out of the dungeon and back into civilization to rest and recuperate is an important part of the game. The game itself tells you this by asking the GM to take the shape of the adventuring day as a whole into account as a consideration in adventure design.

And there's a lot to criticize there: some people don't want to engage with that gameplay loop. Thankfully there are games other than D&D out there! Some people may see the gameplay loop as problematic. True, and I do think that the division of the world into effectively conflict zones and "civilization" is deeply ideological, but it's as txttletale said in that post of hers that my post was a reaction to: you can either take the media at its own word ("for the duration of Return of the King we are monarchists") or twist yourself into a pretzel shape trying to argue that the things that the text itself says about the world and game it is trying to get across aren't actually meaningful and no no the core gameplay of D&D is clearly about a plucky little found family just doing goodness.

Anyway, the way I personally reconcile is by not bringing moralism into it. At least in my opinion, "Amoral tomb robbers" and "sell-swords working for the highest bidder" are infinitely preferable to any of the ways that try to frame the action of D&D as somehow heroic, because now that there is no attempt to sell it as somehow aspirational we can actually have a discussion, during gameplay, about how the way of things in the fictional setting of the game are actually kinda fucked up.

Also if I wanted a queer take on dungeon fantasy I would play a game built with that as part of the text from the ground up, like Dungeon Bitches, and even Dungeon Bitches doesn't try to frame its dungeon-crawling disaster lesbians as somehow aspirational: they are fucked up women in a fucked up situation forced into a lifestyle that is violent and dangerous because they have chosen it over the comforts of a civilization that often doesn't treat women and especially queer women well.

[galene-gothic]

𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝖺 𝗈𝗇 𝗒𝗈𝗎?

୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ I hope this reading found you in good health, every reblog is appreciated and thank you for everything :) ˖♡ ˎˊ˗ ꒰ 🐇 ꒱

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗             PAID SERVICES

⸼ ۫ ︎︎⊹ ! 🪡︎ Pile 1 ꒱

Some sort of an event happened in the past, that's what people are discussing. Whatever happened seems to have caused you a lot of confusion. I honestly feel like people were purposely trying to cause chaos in your life in order to have some drama in their lives. These people seem to either have been/are close to you or just a close witness to the situation. They're saying good things about you, they're talking about how you released your sorrow, resentment or just negative emotions in general. They're saying that you've left your past behind. I just heard 'this boy', I have no clue but the drama might have included some boy. They're saying that your motivation and enthusiasm are returning now. They're saying that you've accepted the situation. They're saying that you're choosing to focus on the positives of life. They're saying that back then you were trying your best to have a positive attitude towards life and make what you could out of it. They might have witnessed you crying or expressing your sorrow, anger or whatever on the verge of tears. They're talking about how you've grown out of it. They're saying that you've grown to respect yourself now and have a lot of courage. The people who put you in such a situation might've been victimizing themselves and might've successfully guilt tripped you to a certain extent but you seem to have recovered from the guilt. They're talking about your endurance and your morals. They are saying that your views have changed or seem to have changed. There's another group of people, likely the ones who made you go through such a traumatizing time. They're saying that you lack self-awareness. They're saying that you only care about yourself. They're saying that you've not accepted what you've done and believe that you've been falsely blamed. I'm getting that it's because while some of it was your fault.

The way they dealt with the situation and treated you was much worse plus they seemed to just need an excuse to criticize you when they weren't even that affected by the situation. People who had nothing to do with the situation might've gotten involved too. Like, supposing you dated your friend's crush, the whole friend group might've turned against you when it didn't even affect them at all. Some of you might've trouble regarding education, some of you might've been forced to drop out or dropped out on will too, for the rest, you're just having difficulties with your studies. People are talking about it. The people who legit pray for your downfall are saying that you have unrealistic dreams and plans. They're saying that you don't have realistic goals and lack the motivation and discipline to work on your career. Someone saying that you're not someone who wants to work solely for money, you're not the type to be like 'as long as I get money, I don't mind giving up on my dreams' or atleast that's what they think and are talking about. Whatever everyone is saying seems to be assumptions mostly. People from the past who know nothing about who you've grown to be. I'm getting some sort of a pause for you. Gap year from work, education or social media. People who literally have nothing to do with you are gossiping about how you lack direction in life. For those of you who aren't dropouts or are not taking gap years, you might give really vague answers when asked about what you wish to do in the future. You might say things like "I haven't thought much about it yet" or "we'll see" or you might be unsure about what field to study next and you might accept it and sometimes vocalise it "I am not sure what to take yet". People wait for you to post so that they can have something to discuss or make fun of. People from the past are slowly beginning to see that your perspective is changing and you're gaining enlightenment.

The tea here isn't about what they're saying, it's more about how fearful they are of your growth and how many people have their eyes on you. People who literally do not know you but know the people or one of the people who tried their best to traumatize you tend to follow you, your friends, your love interests, etc. just because they're obsessed with you. Like, these people went off to college in the same or different places while you could not afford it, their college mates and friends follow you, the guy you were seen hanging out with, etc. I'm getting a very karmic vibe here. I'm not sure what or when but them looking at you and talking shit about you is weighing them down and lifting you up, little by little. Things are rebuilding for you. You're independent and friendly and the new people in your life see that. You know, the first few days at a new school, college or work. If you're pretty, you realise that you're pretty because of the way people act towards you and the things they say. You might suddenly have those moments "maybe, I am even more attractive than I originally assumed". People are obsessed with you and watching you. They're trying to strategize your every move and keeping tabs on you. Someone here legit dreams about getting a revenge on you and some imagine being better than you, being chosen by someone over you. Even if people do not say that they're mad at you due to external validation from people, they make it obvious and they literally form bonds based upon their jealousy masked as hatred towards you. They're mad because of the support you receive from others. Some of these people regret it because they never imagined you actually leaving them and letting go of them completely. While, one of them was definitely praying on your downfall and still is, the rest, they were just trying to poke some fun to excite themselves. The tea is that people have so many different assumptions about you at this time because they have no clue as to what you're doing, who you're with, etc.

⸼ ۫ ︎︎⊹ ! 🪡︎ Pile 2 ꒱

Some of you here are from Pile 1, someone here is praising you, they're saying that you're mature and grounded. I think that this is someone close to you because you actually do seem to be this way. They're saying that you're generous and social. They're saying that you're practical and care about material objects. They're saying that you have a good nature and intentions. They're saying that you're nurturing and emotionally intelligent. One hint as to who is praising you, it is someone you've talked to when you didn't do your routine or felt unproductive. You likely told them that you didn't get your work done that particular day and they likely told you that it's okay to have those days as long as you do not make it a habit. Some of you might be balancing between two or more different streams of income and they're saying that you are trying to harvest better time management skills. This person understands you very well, they're saying that you have a personality that is very balanced and traits that often contradict each other. You're the coldest warm person, warmest cold person, nicest mean person, meanest nice person, logical and emotional, etc. all at the same time. They're saying that you've gone through many ups and downs in life but always try to balance things out. They're saying that you try your best to keep your grace under pressure until you finally crack and burst.

They're also saying that you struggle with balancing though. This is definitely someone who knows you well. They saw you finally being able to mentally leave a situation. They're saying that you're releasing past hurts and pain. They're talking about your sense of independence and courage. They're so proud of you and your growth and they feel happy to be able to witness your growth. They're saying that you regained balance and control over yourself and your life again. This person has a lot of love for you. The connection between the both of you is likely platonic. This person really admires you for walking away or distancing yourself from past situations. You still seem to be healing though. They have a lot of faith in you. They're talking about your friendliness and ability to grow. They're saying that you're efficient and most likely will be successful in the future. This person knows that you felt used by people even if they do not speak about it. While, this person talks highly about you, there's someone else who's talking shit about you. They're saying that your relationships are very short lived and that you're superficial. They're saying that you're a bitchy person who has no friends (I'm getting that it's not like you cannot have friends, it's just that you don't have a lot of them or people extremely close to you right now.)

If you do, they're not aware of that, I'm getting that this person is likely making other people hate you along with them. If you guys had a break up, people are talking about that. There's a lot of gossip going around currently. This pile definitely seems to have had a falling out with friends or something. I just heard "if she's sad, she tries to drag your mood down too". You guys might have started your healing journey around children or are healing your inner child. Some of you have different projects that are helping you heal better. There's also a chance that some romance changed your perspective, people are not talking about it but it's kind of a confirmation for some of you. People are saying that you lack a vision for the future. They're saying that you do not have enough drive to go after your dreams and stay consistent. People are also talking about your failed long distance relationship. For some of you, it might've been just a situationship but they're not fully aware of that. A group of people are talking about how you've lost direction. They're saying that you'll get nowhere in the future, I just heard it's 'neighbourhood karens'. Someone is saying that you're going through an unrequited love. People are saying that you have blocked emotions and legit tell people not to talk to you so that you feel alone. They're saying that you hurt their feelings, made them sad and are exaggerating everything you've done to them even though they've done worse to you.

⸼ ۫ ︎︎⊹ ! 🪡︎ Pile 3 ꒱

People are saying that you're a social climber. If you go to school or college, juniors are talking about how mean you are. People might even be slutshaming you behind your back. The funny part is that so many of you here are probably virgins. They're saying that you lack/lacked financial stability and stayed friends with people just for their money. People are saying that you're out of control. They're saying that you're obsessed with status and use people. People are also saying that you act like you don't need anyone. The person or people who are talking trash about you are people who are still crying over spilt milk, likely people from the past. Someone is talking about how you have large sums of money and are likely stealing money from others. If you went to a sleepover recently, the person might've lost some money and talked shit about you behind your back. These people tried their best to guilt trip you in the past and it did work for a while but it stopped working after a while. They're still blaming you for everything. I'm getting that people tend to feel lower than you and then act like you're the problem. You might have betrayed them or they might have betrayed or both. This is someone you trusted who let you down. You might have done something that hurt one person in the group and the whole group turned against you is the scenario I'm getting. You might have almost completely hid yourself away from the world. These people are not open to change, they take everything as a personal attack and are still the people that they were a few years ago. You, on the other hand are the type to grow every single day. I'm getting that for some of you, you used to talk shit about others with this person or group of people but as you started growing older, you started feeling like it didn't align with your personal values and you might have called them out.

Maybe, you just refused to talk shit about others but they were like "oh, you think you're better than us/me?" Let's just say that they failed to understand you but they fear you strongly. They know that you have a lot of hidden secrets, there are so many things that they're trying to figure out about your life. You've withdrawn and are silent but you are often not like this and they feel like you're going to come up with something in full force. You naturally attract attention even if unwanted and right now you do not want attention, you want peace but when you come out of this period of solitude, they don't know what's going to greet them. They were in your life for pretty long until you had a falling out, they were always confused when you entered those periods of solitude and jumped into conclusions but everytime they did that, you did something surprising so they're naturally confused when it comes to you and your life currently. Everytime they ignored your potential, you proved them wrong. They spread misinformation on you but well you have something you have been working on that they can pick up on intuitively and they're so curious and feel like when you do step out of the self isolation or whatever, you're going to be so big, they will not know what to do. However, some of them are trying to reassure themselves and the rest that you lack potential for any of that. They think that you might've hidden agendas against them. These people cannot let go of you, mostly because if one of them doesn't bring you up, the other does. You're rising above the problems and their bitchiness. You've realised how worthy you really are and you think that you've gotten over the worst already and they can pick up on it too. You do not give them the time of the day. Your life improved in some way after they left your life and they know that.

It could be anything, something as small as your first job or something as big as a successful business, however, either way you're ahead of them in some way, regardless of whether they accept it or not. You've let go and learnt from the past to a certain extent and you're trying to fully release, they feel like their fears will come true. Their biggest fear is you realising your worth and achieving success. The amount of resilience you have is something that they cannot deny. Some of you are taking a break from school, college or work, maybe it's been one or two years now, you're still growing something for yourself though. They know that you have an ability that they lack, self awareness and acceptance, you're very much the 'yes, what I did was wrong but I forgive myself' kind of person while they're the 'yes, everything is my fault' while denying everything and refusing to look into themselves and their actions. I just heard that you're on your way to become a ten. You know and manage to take time out when you burn out, they aren't like that. They're too scared of being behind in life even though something like that doesn't really exist. They're burnt out and not content. Their life is tiresome because of some routine, I just heard 'rat race'. You're taking a lot onto yourself and someone else is talking about how hard you are on yourself and appreciating your efforts. Some are talking about how beautiful, nurturing and respectful you are. You're growing, please continue doing so.

[biblio-smia]

IDEA

Mike vs. Spicy food

oh how weak i am for white boys

the food you cook isn't spicy. sure, there'll be an occasional chili flake added for a tiny bit of kick, but it's not spicy.

a little bit too much falls out of the container, though, pieces too small for you to recover. but you taste it and still find it mild, so you shrug it off and finish the meal.

the extra spices have no effect on abby, who gets through her entire plate with a shy smile that means she wants seconds. so your clumsiness hadn't ruined the dish; you breathe a sigh of relief.

it's not until mike comes home from work and fixes himself a plate that you worry, his loud coughs and red face sending you into a panic while he downs his cup of water. you think he's choked on his food until he asks how much spice you added - and the worry has dissolved into laughter.

mike doesn't appreciate your teasing, abby coming in to let him know that she had no criticisms of your dish - just to rub it in further.

"i'm not- it's delicious," mike insists, going in for a second bite. he focuses hard on the flavor rather than the way his mouth feels like it's been set on fire, chasing it down with cool water that only temporarily soothes.

"mike, don't force yourself," you chide, moving to take his plate.

"no, no-" mike is interrupted by his own coughing, his own throat betraying him.

you give him a knowing look and move to pull the food towards you; you were planning on eating some more with mike, anyway.

"it really is good," mike insists with a frown.

"it is," you quip. "too bad you have absolutely no spice tolerance."

"hey, i do!" mike scoffs. "i can eat that normally, and that's pretty spicy."

you stare at mike with a grin of disbelief, shaking your head. "mike, it's normally not spicy. like, at all."

mike's expression falls and you burst into laughter.

"okay, okay. can you eat hot chips?"

"don't like them."

"buldok noodles?"

"i think those would kill me."

"is it bad that i kind of want to see that?"

"you're the one who'd lose a boyfriend."

you laugh, loudly. "i can't believe i never knew this."

"okay, i'm not that bad." mike insists.

"worse than abby," you grin.

mike groans, dropping his face into his palms. "you're the worst."

you giggle. "i love you! and am never going to stop making fun of you!"

you pull mike's hands away from his face to give him a gentle kiss on his still-warm cheek. "you're cute."

mike bites back a smile, feigning indifference.

"my family is going to completely destroy you."

mike's smile drops.

bonus:

"think you can handle a bite?" you hold up a small bunch of noodles covered in a dark sauce.

mike scoffs. they didn't look that bad. he nods, moving closer to let you feed him a bite.

he doesn't even get halfway through the bite.

"what... is that?" mike heaves out, racing for the ice cream in the freezer. he's shoving spoonfuls into his mouth as he hunches over the sink, breathing heavily. "it... feels like.... hell in... my mouth!"

mike shakes his head as you laugh, coming up behind him and rubbing his back.

"how can you eat that?" mike's voice is muffled through the mouthful of ice cream, his chest heaving as he tries to collect his breath.

you're having trouble catching your breath, too; all the laughing has winded you. "i'm sorry, i'm sorry," you gasp out, arms encircling mike's waist.

mike spins in your hold, facing you and wrapping his arms around you. "that was a murder attempt."

"you agreed to try!"

mike shakes his head and you reach for his face, wiping a little bit of ice cream residue from his lips. "aww, honey," you coo with a grin.

"you're mocking me."

"i'm not!" you laugh, but you're clearly not convincing. "i'll make it up to you."

mike hums, pressing his face in the crook of your neck. "i guess i accept."

you laugh again, quietly, kissing just under mike's ear softly.

"bland," you whisper softly.

"okay!" mike splits from you, your laughter echoing behind him as he heads to the bathroom. you'd only just caught your breath when you hear mike call:

"that stained my lips!"

masterlist | requests are open!

[eu-nicola]

Confused Love - Luke Castellan x Daughter of Apollo!Reader

summary: you and Luke were the envied couple at camp, everything seemed perfect until certain news made you distance yourself from him.

no warnings

i was inspired by a request from @iliketopgun

It's already very late in my country, I don't even know what I'm writing.

You and Luke, were an amazing couple. Your relationship was so beautiful that it attracted the envy of the other demigods. Many felt inferior to her beauty and connection, but Luke and you didn't let that affect, even that made them feel better.

Both knew they were special together, and sometimes both of you felt superior to others, it was something that Luke especially had imposed on your relationship. Being the daughter of Apollo since you were little gave you beauty and skills in the most beautiful arts such as poetry and music, something that some people did not like because of the attention you received, especially Luke's attention, which any girl dreamed of having.

Despite the envy that surrounded you, you and Luke focused on your own business and the camp. Neither of them cared what others thought. But over time you realized that not everything was rosy.

For a few months, the relationship had been going through a difficult time. Luke started acting strange and distant, which worried you a lot. You felt confused and hurt by his attitude, not understanding what was happening. But then, everything became clear when you discovered the truth that Luke had stolen Zeus' lightning bolt.

This revelation was a hard blow for you. You couldn't believe that the person you loved had done something so dangerous and risky. You felt betrayed and for a while you decided to distance yourself from him. When you found out that Percy Jackson had been sent on a mission to recover the lightning bolt, you were about to tell on Luke but you couldn't.

During that time apart, you found yourself struggling with your feelings for him. On the one hand, you still loved Luke and wanted to believe that he could change and speak before a war broke out. On the other hand, you couldn't ignore the fact that he had done something serious and never mind that, you would be willing to join him.

When you found out that Percy had already gotten the lightning bolt you made the decision to go back to Luke, you knew this was a difficult decision but if you didn't do it now you wouldn't be able to go back to him ever again. The first thing you did that night was make sure no one saw you to go to Luke's cabin, you knew that surely that same night he would leave before everyone knew that he had been the thief. He was happy to see you and he was even the one who asked you to go with him and you did not hesitate to accept it, you knew that they could have the life they wanted and love would be present.

That same night, taking advantage of the darkness and the prevailing silence, both of you slipped stealthily along the paths of the camp. With soft and careful steps, avoiding branches and crunchy leaves, moved determinedly towards the exit. Using yours knowledge of the camp's secret corners, both found a gap in the fence that would lead them to the outside world. This time there was no turning back, now you had chosen him.

[damiansgoodgirll]

If you accept requests, I want to ask a Rhea Ripley x fem! reader: they celebrate the fact reader got over a person that wasn't worth her tears and Rhea confesses to them?

reader is bi just for the plot + this is based on a very personal situation of mine, i really hope you cannot relate because this sh!t is crazy.

rhea ripley x reader

he’s not worth your tears

you couldn’t believe you were so blind to fall in love with him.

he treated you nice. he showed interest first. he wanted to see you and go out with you. he took you to nice places and showed you some cute spots around town you didn’t even know, only to end up like one of the other women he was used to have.

and the worst part is that you really thought he cared. that he really liked you too.

but then he started ghosting you. leaving you on delivered, replying after hours, or worse, days. you couldn’t understand what you did wrong and if you did something wrong because everything was going perfectly fine.

when you first told your best friend rhea about him, she wasn’t sure about the whole dating/situation you had.

she knew how much you cared but she also knew how little he cared. she felt like he wasn’t enough for you and you were too perfect for him.

so she wasn’t surprised when one night you called her, crying your eyes out because he was ignoring you, of course, right after you’ve spent time in his bed.

you got feelings for him and you didn’t know what to do, knowing that he was only using you for his own pleasure.

rhea was mad. not at you, of course. you were just too blindly in love to realise how little of a man he was. she was mad at him, for making you doubt yourself, for making you cry, for hurting you and neglecting you. so she spent the night, hearing your cries and hoping she could relieve the pain you were in.

the second time it happened it was when you were at her place. you were so excited to see him again only for him to text you that he was busy with his friends and that you had to postpone your date.

rhea was beyond pissed.

“he’s not worth your time. hell, he’s not worth your tears” she used to tell you “if he makes you cry, he’s not worth it…a man who loves you should never make you cry”

but you were still too in love to realise that.

the third time it happened was when he had a party to attend and instead of asking you to be his plus one, he ghosted you for days before telling you that he wanted to see you.

you had enough.

of course you were in love.

but you couldn’t take it anymore.

being used and being ignored like that hurt you and you had enough.

so you agreed to see him just to tell him that it’s over. but the first person you called was rhea. you knew how much she hated him and you just wanted to hear her happy voice when you told her the news.

“rhea?” you whispered when she answered the phone.

“you okay? it’s a little too early for you to call” she said smiling hearing your voice but a little concerned when she was it was six in the morning, knowing that you weren’t a morning person.

“can you come over?”

“sure…let me get a shower, i was training…are you okay?” she asked, still worried.

“yes, just be quick!”

“fine, i’ll be there in 10 minutes” rhea said hanging up.

before you could even sit back on your couch, you heard the front door opening, sign that rhea was there.

“care to tell me what got you up at six in the morning?” she asked you.

“i’m finally over him!” you said smiling.

“you called me here for that? are - are you serious?” she asked a little annoyed.

“yes! i’m not thinking about him anymore! i’m not crying for him anymore! he ghosted me and i’m okay with that because i finally realised i deserve someone better! i wish i wasn’t so blind these past weeks but i fucking realised he’s not worth it!” you said a little to excited making her giggle. she was actually relieved that you recovered from the “i’m in love with him but he doesn’t care about me” phase.

“well…i feel like we should celebrate?” she asked.

“yup! you want a shot?”

“y/n, it’s almost seven in the morning…i meant we should have breakfast together”

“oh you right…what do you want to eat?” you asked her “i’m in a good mood, i’ll make everything you want”

“everything sounds good…what about pancakes?” she asked and you nodded.

while you were cooking, you couldn’t help, but feel rhea’s eyes on you watching you the whole time, the way you moved, the way you gently put the plates over the table.

she knew she had a chance with you now but she didn’t want to take things too far. she loved you and even if it was a little selfish, she was happy that you were finally single again, that you woke up from the nightmare your ex was putting you in.

and she knew she was going to confess, eventually, just not today. she was there, happy to see you happy again, helping you healing and regaining your strength and confidence that was broken.

[luvfy0dor]

Omg can I request like a teen reader reaction to fyodors death and how it would play out if they randomly saw dazai in the street after the whole thing?

“You're Not Gone, You Can't Be Gone, No ♡⁠˖” Dad!Fyodor w/ Child!Reader ੈ✩‧₊˚

Warnings; MASSIVE BSD spoilers, death, 5 stages of grief, 1 mention of kidnapping (doesn't happen), cursing

Description; You feel as though you'll never recover from your father's death, especially since he had recently promised that he would be home soon via the vampires. Seeing his rival and murderer in the streets afterwards doesn't help either, even if you've started to come to terms.

A/n; I genuinely don't believe he's dead, there is absolutely NO way. There is nothing that could convince me he's actually dead, not a corpse, not a tombstone, idc, he's alive and Nikolais ability saved him, source: trust me bro

When you had first received word about your father dying from Nikolai, you felt like you were going to die along with him. Your heart had been cracking up with anxiety when he seemingly took his sweet time to return home, and it shattered when you heard. Everything was going as planned up until the very end, when you waited day in and day out for your dad, and he never came back and never would. You were in denial for a while, but it slowly sank in when Nikolai had taken you to live with him. He wasn't around constantly, usually out figuring out what to do with himself, but he watched over you. You loved Nikolai, he was like an uncle to you, but he just wasn't Fyodor. You almost hated yourself for the way your voice became laced with venom and loathing any time he tried to do anything remotely fatherly for you, but you couldn't help it for the first two months. It was too painful to evoke memories of your dad, so you just angrily pushed any reminders away. That being said, you refused to get rid of any of his belongings. His ushanka lived on your nightstand and his cape on a hook on your door, and if you had rejected religion before, you started to embrace it to try and bring yourself closer to him, even in the afterlife.

After experiencing the denial, anger, bargaining and depression, the acceptance came. The thought of him still hurt you, but you were able to go on with your day without feeling paralyzed by your devastation. You didn't mind Nikolai doing fatherly things for you anymore. You didn't decline his offers to play card games or chess anymore. Chess was harder to come around to than card games were, but nonetheless you did it. It honestly felt victorious. You were able to look at the urn that held the ashes from Fyodors arm without wanting to throw up and instead smiled and spoke mindlessly to it about your day, even if you felt a little silly doing it. It helped you cope with the loss of the most important figure in your life, so you didn't see a reason to stop.

A couple months after his death, you spoke to the urn while you got ready for the day. You wanted to go to a bookstore a couple blocks away, so you decided to get up and walk there. You grabbed your belt and shoved it through the loopholes of your pants roughly. "My favorite author put out a new book recently and I wanna go get it today. Maybe afterwards I'll go to the cafe nearby, thoughts?" You asked the urn, receiving a deafening silence. "Great, I'll be sure to follow your advice." You huffed. After putting on and tying your shoes, you grabbed the tote bag that was hanging of your door handle and slung it over your shoulder, exiting your bedroom. You walked through the hall and out the front door having found the house vacant of Nikolai. The sun was shining today, a nice contrast to the previous days rainy weather. Your feet hitting the pavement underneath you made a quiet tapping sound as you walked along the sidewalk towards the book shop. You listened to music through your headphones for the duration of your walk and took in the sights of the city, the tall buildings towering over the streets and casting dark shadows into the alleyways between them.

You quickly arrived at the book store and took off your headphones to hear the cashier better when you checked out. The nice lady handed you your change and sent you on your way. Walking out, you peered into your bag with excitement before you hear a young man yell out. "Dazai- where'd you go? Don't tell me you're in the river again!" You almost froze in your tracks when you heard that. Dazai as in your father's rival, Dazai? It couldn't be. You peered through the people weaving in between eachother and heard another voice reply. "I'm right here Atsushi, jeez, do you trust me that little?" He sounded unserious. Your eyes landed on them, the tall man with overgrown brown hair immediately caught your attention and you could feel fear flood your spirit. Your first thought was the question of whether or not he would realize you were Fyodors child and attempt to kill you, or make you his new rival. Him and the white haired boy he had with him turned towards you and started walking down the sidewalk. Dazai noticed your staring and raised an eyebrow, his slender, bandaged hands shoved in his pockets.

"Are you alright? You've got a thousand yard stare on your face there, kid." He says. You bit your lip and felt your whole body tense as you shook your head 'no'. "You...uhm, I know you." You mutter, backing up a little bit. "Atsushi? Or me? I don't think I recall ever meeting you. Atsushi, was this one of your little orphan friends?" He turns to Atsushi. "You killed my-" Your breath hitches when you realize you were going to make yourself vulnerable to your most current fear of rivalry with this man, but you can't stop your words flowed out of your mouth like a waterfall. "You killed my father." Your voice shook and you held your bag of more books than you had originally came for close to your chest. Dazais raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

You swallowed hard and parted your lips, the words caught in your throat for a second. "Fyodor." His eyes widen again. "Huh...I never took him for a family man. Well, I can't really give you a truthful 'im sorry' because I'm not, but I hope you can overcome your grief. It sucks to lose people you love." He says, his tone seemingly sympathetic, but that only made you angrier. "You didn't have to kill him, though! You could have done anything else- amputate an arm, kidnap him, anything that would have left him alive!" You say, your eyes tearing up. He only signed and stated at you, adjusting the hem of his vest. "What's done is done, it's not like I can resurrect him. One day you'll understand that it needed to be done." He walked away and you couldn't help but feel the anger bubble up inside you. You weren't gonna let that slide. You clenched your fists around the bags handles and swung it up, hitting him right in the back of the head angrily. He let out a quiet "oomph" and rubbed the back of his head. You didn't turn around to see the rest of his reaction, instead bolting away.

You heard your heart beat in your ears, but you couldn't be bothered to stop until you got home. You unlocked the door and swung it open before pulling it shut with just as much force. Your energy was all directly fueled by your anger towards Dazai, you genuinely had no idea how he could be so inconsiderate towards a teenager who had lost their parental figure. You huffed and collapsed on the couch, the adrenaline and energy seemingly fading away instantaneously. You discarded your books on the small table and sniffled, curling your limbs into your body. "It's fine, he's just an ignorant, awful, dick." You mumble, wiping your stray tears away. "All that matters is that I know he didn't deserve to die.." you mumbled and felt your exhaustion catch up to you as you drifted into a sleep filled with dreams of reuniting with your father.

[the-hidden-pages]

Kinktober Day 1 - Dirty Talk - Tangerine x Fem!Reader

Disclaimers: I’ve never done a Kinktober. These pieces are rushed. As a result they may be poorly written and OOC. Apologies in advance.

Summary: On a job, through an earpiece, Tangerine learns how easily influenced you are by his words. 

Warnings: NSFW, Dirty Talk, no actual smut though.

There was the odd job that The Twins would be assigned that they couldn’t do alone.

Specifically, any infiltration that required a woman’s touch, or a job that required 3 parties. Not to mention, the odd time where one of the twins were ill or recovering from a wound.

The Twins may be some of the bests in the business, but even they had to outsource sometimes, all for the sake of a job well done.

So, on those rare occasions, The Twins would outsource to you.

The third fruit, Lemon would excitedly say.

You were quite endeared to The Twins – a fact that was rather dangerous, given your respective lines of work. But the moment you met the pair, your heart warmed as you listened to Lemon excitedly talk over his brother.

“I’m not quite sure who you are yet – could be a Daisy, sweet and reliable that one…”    

 “Lemon.”

“Or an Annie, can’t forget about her.”

“Lemon.”

“Mind, there’s no reason you couldn’t be a male train – sexist of me, I’m sorry bruv –“

“Lemon!” Tangerine snapped, whacking his arm.

“Oi! What, mate?”

“Much as I’d love to go on about which fuckin’ Thomas the Train she is, we have precious little time before she needs to make a move. So –“

“It’s Thomas the Tank Engine,” you interject.

Tangerine paused for a moment before turning to you, eyes widened ever-so-slightly.

“What?”

“It’s not Thomas the Train, it’s Thomas the Tank.”

Lemon laughed excitedly as Tangerine attempted to collect himself.

“It doesn’t bloody matter, does it? Now, did you read the briefing I sent ya?”

“Oh, was I supposed to? I thought you’d just explain on the way.”

A heavy silence hung over the group.

“We should call her Lime.”

“Lemon!”

Despite the annoyance that radiated off of Tangerine in that moment, a strange partnership had formed. You and Lemon got along swimmingly, and you thrived on getting under Tangerine’s skin.

A completely healthy office relationship, you would chuckle to yourself.

Eventually, the boys called on you for help again.

Lemon was slowed down – after taking a couple of bullets to the leg, he was wrapped up and loopy on morphine. This didn’t stop Tangerine from accepting the next call that came in.

“It’s just a small job,” Tangerine explained you over the phone. “You’ll meet me in a small hotel. I’ll give you some equipment, you’ll pose as some rich man’s wife and go collect the briefcase that we need.  Easy.”

“And how do we know that they’ll believe I’m this rich man’s wife.”

“Mother of all coincidences, you look like the few photos that exist of her. The job was made for you love, and it’d be helping me and Lemon out a bunch.”

You paused.

“You’ll get a cut of the profits too, obviously.”

“No, of course,” you snap out of your stupor. “When do you need me?”

“I’ll get you a plane ticket to Monaco for tomorrow morning. Thanks, love.”

There it was again; you note as you hang up your phone.

The use of ‘love’.

You weren’t immune to Tangerine’s charms. Sure, he was a bit rough around the engines, swore like a sailor, and frequently let his anger take over. But he was also incredibly sweet when he needed to be, and wonderful at talking his way out of situation.

He was also wonderful at talking you in to situations.

At some point, your endearment to the twins had grown. You weren’t sure when you had begun to see Lemon as a brother, or when your crush on Tangerine had developed, but it had. Before you would carefully plan out when you were helping The Twins, rejecting several of their job offers if something better was on the horizon, or if their success wasn’t in your best interest.

And now you were hopping on a plane to Monaco, without a second thought.

When you arrived in the hotel, Tangerine was already waiting for you. He stood by the window in the same impeccable blue pinstriped suit he wore when he met you, typing away on his phone with a furrowed brow.

“How’s Lemon?” you question, setting your small suitcase down near the bed.

There’s only one bed, you notice. In your mind’s eye you shrug – a problem for later.

“He’s already trying to get up and about, even though he fuckin’ can’t move his leg and he’s textin’ like a fuckin’ 12 year old who jus’ opened their first bottle of tequila.”

His accent always gets thicker when he’s angry. It shouldn’t make you smile, but it does.

“12 seems a bit young for tequila. Mind, I started on rum when I was 14.”

Tangerine just sniffs, continuing to type what you now know is a long, angry scolding.

“And if I recall,” you wander over to the bed as you speak, poking through the supplies on it. “Trying to get you to sit still after you’ve been wounded is always a futile task too. You’re no better.”

That finally caused him to look up, glaring for a moment before he slid his phone into his pocket with a huff.

“Right then. Shall we?”

“Are you going to explain what this is about? You didn’t even send a briefing this time.”

“Not like you bloody well read ‘em, do ya now?”

You grin. “No, I guess I don’t.”

He strides towards you, picking a medium sized box off the bed and passing it to you. “Exactly. Go change, and I’ll explain after.”

You reach for the box, but when you go to pull away, you find Tangerine holding it too tightly.

Your eyes flick up to meet his, confused.

“It’s good to see you, love. Really.”

It takes every ounce of control you have to not wildly blush or stutter. Instead, you reach out to grab his arm lightly.

“Good to see you too, T.”

Taking the box, you make your way to the bathroom and quickly begin to undress. As you remove the lid, you can’t help but marvel at the dress inside.

Your job was so cool.

The silk was cool to the touch, and the deep blue dress would serve to highlight every curve you had. The matching silver heels and jewelry in the box served to add an extra layer of elegance to the ensemble.

Exiting the bathroom, you felt powerful, unstoppable. Your mind kept flashing back to James Bond movies, where the women were always goddesses, perfection.

And the way Tangerine’s eyes traversed your body only made you feel ten times stronger.

“Will I do?” you question, noticing the way he swallowed thickly.

“Quite nicely, love.”

He turned around to busy himself with the remaining items on the bed – a gun and a thigh holster for protection, a small purse, and –

“An earpiece, so I can fill you in as we go. Less conspicuous than having your phone to your ear all night.”

“Wow, you really are accepting that I don’t do my research beforehand.”

You take it, inserting it in your ear and hiding it with a few strands of hair.

Tangerine watches quietly as you slide the gun holster up your thigh, ensuring everything was tightly fastened and slipping a small pistol into it.

“Good. Now, here’s the plan…”

“This is a stupid plan,” you mutter, walking through the double doors to the blinding lights and deafening sounds of the casino.

“It’s a perfect plan love, come on now,” Tangerine muttered back.

If you weren’t as stressed, you might’ve shuddered at that. It was bad enough when he called you love, but when he did it right in your ear, you were just about done for.

Damn earpiece.

“Right, because I’m a dead ringer for some mobster’s wife, so I can march right up and –“

“How can I help you miss?”

At the counter, a cheerful bartender smiled at you.

“Yes. My husband sent me to collect a case. It should be waiting under the name Maroni.”

“Yes of course. It’ll just be a moment; can I get you a drink while you wait?”

“Gin martini, please.”

You sit up on a bar stool, crossing your legs. Within seconds a drink is in your hand, and you smile graciously.

Your smile fades quickly, however. “I feel like everyone can tell I’m a fraud,” you mumble into your drink.

Tangerine is quick to answer. “How do you mean?”

“They’re staring. They can tell.”            “Love, if they could tell there’d be guns pulled on ya in 5 seconds flat. They’re lookin’ at ya cause you’re gorgeous.”

“You think?”

“I think if you weren’t posing as the wife of a dangerous man, you’d have ‘em lined up trying to get the chance to rip that dress off of ya.”

You chuckle into your drink.

“Something funny, love?”

“No, it’s just. You can’t be whispering compliments into my ear when I’m supposed to be keeping a straight face. It’s not going to go well.”

You can hear a laugh. “No? You don’t want to hear that you’re a vision? That if I didn’t know better, I’d be one of them men lining up for a chance to even talk to ya?”

“Only if you mean it,” you tease lightly, taking another sip and scanning the room.

“Of course I mean it, darling.”

You feel your thighs inadvertently clench at the change in pet name.

“And what would you do? If we were strangers, meeting in a place like this.”

“I thought you wanted to focus on the job.”

“The job’ll get done. This’ll just make it way more fun.”

There’s a moment of silence on the line.

“You going to seduce me, Tangerine?”

“You want me to? Want me to whisper dirty little words in your ear until you’re fucking dripping for me, so I can pin you to the door the minute you’re back in this room with me?”

Fuck.

“Do your worst,” you mutter, finishing off your drink and smiling to the bartender.

“It’ll just be a moment more, ma’am. Another drink for your wait?”

“Please.”

Tangerine pipes up. “You really think you’re gonna last with this game, love? You think I don’t notice the way you blush anytime I call you love or darling?”

You feel your heart drop, but before you can respond he’s speaking again.

“Did you think I wasn’t interested? That I didn’t want to steal you away like one of my trinkets the minute I saw you?”

Your chest fills with hope as the bartender brings your second drink.

“I get so turned on every time I see you, love. And seeing you walking out of our bathroom dressed like that, I nearly didn’t let you leave the room. I could’a dropped to my knees then and there, let you make a real mess of my face. I’d eat you out ‘till you were crying for me to stop, love, you looked like a goddess, begging to be worshipped.”

You clear your throat and take a large swig of your drink, desperate to clear the lump that had formed.

“You flustered already, darlin’? Cause I’m not even done, not even close. See, once I hold you, love you, worship you properly, well…then I planned to ruin you, see. I plan to force you on your knees, watch you look up at me all pretty, tears running while you choke on me. I plan to hold you down and use you like a toy, make up for all the times you drove me insane on our jobs.”

“Miss? The case,”

You inhale sharply, smiling apologetically at the bartender who’s holding the case out for you.

“Sorry, I was in my own world. Everything is here?”

“Everything is there, as requested Mrs. Maroni.”

“Wonderful.”

You open your small clutch purse, pulling out a small wad of cash.

“For the service.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Have a good night.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure you do,” Tangerine starts speaking again as you stand. Your face flushes as you notice the wetness between your thighs, and you pray it’s not visible on your dress. “I’ll give you so much pleasure you’re begging me to stop, love. Now we just got to get you home.”

“To a hotel room with one bed. What a coincidence.”

“A happy accident. But all I could think about when I saw was if I’d get lucky enough to have you in it.”

“Follow through on your words and you just might. Where’s my getaway car?”

“There ought to be a black Jaguar not too far from the exit.”

“Got it.”

“Do you remember that job the three of us took? Lemon was transporting the target in a different car, you and me were on the road. Took all my effort not to bring my hand up that gorgeous thigh of yours, slip a finger into that warm cunt, touch you until you were crying for me to pull over and fuck ya over the hood.”

“Shame you didn’t.”

“Oh, I plan to make up for lost time, love, don’t you worry. I’ll worship you like a queen, and when I’m done I’ll break you like a slut. And you’re gonna take every minute of it like a good little girl, tellin’ me how good I’m fuckin’ ya, that you don’t want anyone else. Can you do that for me, love?”

“Yes, Sir. I’m on my way.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

[prismatic-bell]

TAKE ACTION 2024, WEEK ONE: LET'S GET OVERTON IT

Hey, folks, here we go. I promised information and some organization to get things going. This week, I'm going to say something none of you are going to want to hear. But unfortunately, it's true and you need to come to grips with it now:

We're not going to get what we want in 2024. This is not a reason to jump out of the game. Let me explain.

Republicans will try to sell you that the "modern Republican party" began with Lincoln in 1860. This is not true. The term "Republican Party" began with Lincoln's party, but the modern Republican Party can be traced to Ronald Reagan, in 1980. Before Reagan, the parties were much more malleable; JFK was a Democrat and signed the Civil Rights Act, but George Wallace, the governor of Alabama at the time, was also a Democrat and famously said in his inauguration speech "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." In 1974 Gerald Ford, a Republican, provided amnesty for people who'd avoided the Vietnam War draft due to conscientious concerns--but he also pardoned Richard Nixon so the country "could move on" from Watergate. 

Reagan is where that all changed. Reagan brought in the explicitly antiqueer platform, the war on drugs aimed squarely at Black people, and while Republicans were known to have favored business over "the little guy" at least since Harry Truman called them out on it in the forties, Reagan went full fuck-you on us. This is why we will not get what we want in 2024: it took the Republicans thirty-eight years to get a guy into office who could pack the Supreme Court and push us toward fascism. Thirty-eight years! Maybe you can see why it's a little unfair to have expected Biden to fix everything in three years.

That, and the Overton Window.

The Overton Window is a political concept that lays out a country's political culture. Basically, anything you can see in the window is considered mainstream and acceptable, getting more extreme as we get to the edges. What's beyond the window altogether is what people won't accept. This window, however, moves. For example: in 1782 when the Constitution was written, basically nobody believed women should be allowed to vote. A woman's place was in the home. She didn't need to worry her little head about world affairs.

But over the next century, things began to change, bit by bit, as women gained small victories like being able to go in public without a chaperone and being able to do some forms of public work. In 1920, it became the law of the land that (white) women could vote. Today, very, very few people think women shouldn't vote, and those who do tend to get laughed at before they can even raise the idea seriously in any kind of lawmaking scenario. 

Since Reagan, the Overton Window has shifted severely right. That means we have to start pushing it back left. But if you've ever moved a heavy object and then tried to turn it around, you know it takes more than just really wanting it to turn. 

So we're not going to get what we want in 2024, because Overton. And yeah, unless the Dems choose a different candidate (unlikely, because they'd be losing the incumbent advantage), that means four more years of Biden. It also means we need to get a supermajority in the Senate and retake the House, and our goal in doing so is to stop the slide. The good news is, if we pull that off, in 2026 we get to start pushing back to the left. It's going to be slow (people who shit on incrementalists are a psyop).

But.

We have seen it done before and so we know it can be done again.

By 2030, we will be back on the path to sanity. By 2040 we may be able to recover at least most of what we have lost, if we stay the course, if we get organized, if we get loud.

And that starts with you.

Your action item this week is to make yourself a playlist. A playlist that makes you feel like you could fistfight G-d and win. 

Label it "Take Action 2024."

I'll see you next Sunday to talk about voting rights. 

[xvxnux]

don't!

(⭐) today is my birthday and i thought i'd post this pac about "what you shouldn't accept?". intuitive tarot reading and maybe not resonate with everyone, hope you enjoy this.

i

for pic one i see it's important that you don't allow any more emotional abuse. i see that you can have someone of influence or power (it can be a mother, father, boss) that directly affects your emotional and with that overloading your mental causing you to have heavy crises of anxiety and even depression. i see that it doesn't just stop there and that this person makes you feel diminished. it's important that you see the best way to work this out and try to get out of this pic one situation, unfortunately they do this to you out of pure evil and not because they want you to learn something. definitely that person has personal issues with you but I don't see a deep reason for that person to do that. it was probably things based in the person's own head and it's reflecting some kind of HER frustration on top of you.

random: i see that this person can attract fights and arguments to you, and i see that you are unwilling and unhealthy to face them. i also see that you will find some way to feel more peaceful and with that the fights and arguments will not affect you as much as now because you will be with inner peace. meditation, listening to your favorite music can help you. if you are asking for a spiritual direction i see that this north is about to be revealed to you and regardless of what the only thing you need to do is take the opportunity and move on, taking yourself out of this suffering.

ii

first of all pic two is not true! everything people say about you is a lie! the people around you (some friends or relatives) have only one function in your life at the moment: to let you down, to say that you can't do it, to say that you won't make it and that you shouldn't even try! the point is that you urgently need to cut these people out of your life. these people have no consideration and at least respect for you, people are cruel and spit any shit on you. honestly pic two people do this because they know it's easy to manipulate you, your ideas and your ideals. you are definitely a super open person and you trust these people, and the more you believe that you are everything they say the more you believe in people... you are sinking.

you may be afraid of being alone, and as much as you know yourself deep down and love the fact that you are like that, all that changes when you have to deal with people. Is it easier for you to believe in people, sinking like this just in exchange for a shitty friendship or company? not. you won't be alone, pic two, but you need to get these people out of your way or at least get the influence these people have on you.

random: you may be neglecting someone. not giving the real value that person deserves. there's someone wanting to get close, but you don't let that person in because of sheer arrogance and bad influence opinions. be careful not to become the people who hurt you pic two, that way you will definitely be alone!

iii

i see injustices of other people towards you, actually a person. i see that apart from this injustice you already have a big problem with yourself. this person can hurt you even though you know you have other issues that make you feel bad. It's been a while since you've felt a little happiness, right? i understand you. this pile can serve the people who chose pic one. this person is sapping your energy more and more, is a person who can be dramatic and blame bad choices on you. it's a person who sneaks up on you and hurts you when you're okay... ok, i get it. this person waits for you to recover to destroy you and with that you are in an infinite loop! this person who commits these cruelties against you is an immature person and uses a sharp tongue knowing that it will not have great consequences but it's time for you to turn against this person, you need to put him in his place!

you can refuse to impose yourself due to lack of patience or even avoid conflict, but it's better to get into a big fight where you have chances to attack than to be in a constant fight where you just get beaten. no matter how much you spare yourself i see that nothing will change. unfortunately you will have to go against it.

random: i see you are going to receive a gift, a very good opportunity. this can be a work or study opportunity, i see that with this opportunity you will have great financial gains.... it will be your chance to get out of this situation! but make no mistake, pic three, as long as you hide from the conflicts you will remain in the same situation.

[eletricheart]

Hello!

I would like to request a Donna x Reader where the reader just blurt something like “I really want to marry you” meanwhile been oblivious to Donna reaction when she heard that.

(This could happens while they are doing anything common, like washing dishes or cooking)

Paper Rings

(Donna Beneviento x Reader)

*image creds to owner

Word count: 809

i loved writing this its pure fluff and I got to listen to the album Lover again so tyy🫶✨ hope u like it😔🫡

ps: not proofread😭

ps2: song at the end

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

Then

You owned a bakery at the village, the best one some might say, therefore you knew many people. However, your favorite client was Lady Beneviento, her requests were always challenging but pleasurable to make.

You had a deal with the Duke to make deliveries for you, but sadly he had business in another area and couldn't go to the Beneviento State. Usually you would call the client explaining the order wouldn't be able to arrive that day, but…she was your favorite.

That's how you found yourself walking to her house with a basket double the order size as a "sorry i'm late".

Donna knew you were there the moment you stepped foot in her domain. While Angie was celebrating the opportunity to properly meet you, the dollmaker was running around the house trying to make everything perfect.

You didn't even have to knock the door due to Angie opening first. You were righteously startled but quickly recovered and smiled at the doll.

If dolls could smile hers would be the biggest ever. She kept jumping up and down pulling you into the house. "Come on come on come on! Ooh you took soo long I thought you tripped and died!" The doll shouted and giggled.

You chuckled. "Thankfully, I didn't die but I was scared of tripping and I simply couldn't ruin the gift I'm carrying."

Angie suddenly stopped walking and turned to stare at you. "You have a gift?! Gimme gimme." She made hand moves at you and tried to jump into your basket, which you quickly deflected and laughed at her antics.

"Later, I must give it to the Lady of the House first."

She groaned and ran upstairs, leaving you standing in the living room.

Donna heard you, how couldn't she since the woman had been listening ever since Angie opened the door.

The dollmaker was scared but also slightly excited to meet you. She knew Angie would insist she'd accept the gift, there was no way she could talk her way into staying in her room and only watching you the entire evening.

The moment she'd started to feel self conscious, Angie barged into her room and practically dragged her outside.

You could feel your hands sweating when you saw Donna, silently hoping she couldn't hear your heartbeat.

You smiled brightly at her and gently handed the basket. "I know this is more than you ordered, but Duke couldn't make it today and I didn't want to let you down so I came." You shrugged nervously. "Of course that doesn't explain why there's more, sorry. I…um…I've never been here so I thought I'd be late so I did more to apologize." The dollmaker stood still while Angie giggled, making you even more nervous. "It's absolutely fine if you don't want it, I didn't want to-"

Donna cutted you with the raise of a hand. She thought your rambling was adorable but she didn't want to stand there all day. "I want it, I-I like your baking."

You blushed and nodded while trying to hide a grin.

The doll looked between the two of you. "Sooo…can we eat?"

Now

That was the first time you stayed over at Donna's place. Now you were not only living together but completely in love with each other.

You've been teaching her some of your favorite recipes, her hair had some flour from before she grounded Angie for trying to make it snow. You believed Donna was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen, even when she'd frown due to the batter not turning alright.

It was in this simple moment that you truly realized how deep you were. Completely thoughtless, just mesmerized by her. "I really want to marry you."

Donna became stiff as a board, her face progressively getting more red than before. She turned to look at you, her mouth hanging open as she watched you slowly realize what you had said.

You chuckled nervously. "Sorry. I don't even have a ring. Sorry."

Donna nodded slowly and pursed her lips. "Ask me with a ring."

Your eyes shined brighter than ever. You quickly scanned the room and ripped a blank page from the recipe book. You rapidly made a paper ring and presented it to her. "I know this may not be the best proposal. But Donna, I'm deeply and madly in love with you. I never would've imagined we'd go from friends to this but I've never been happier. I would spend the rest of my days getting flour off your hair and running after Angie because she has a knife and then having to lock the knives inside a drawer that she will open again. I-The point is, I love you and everything everyone that comes along. Will you have me?"

Donna smiled softly, tears slowly falling down her eye." Yes, of course!"

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

requests are open: masterlist

[annwrites]

— pairing: shane walsh x fem!reader

— type: ficlet

— summary: you & shane (mostly you) try to talk hershel into letting you take care of the walkers in the barn

— tags: talking

— tw: discussions of loss of loved ones

— word count: 1,009

— a/n: find my other posts concerning shane, which take place before & after this, here

It'd taken a good bit of convincing on your part to talk Shane down from going full-steam-ahead and using the walkers in Hershel's barn for target practice.

Numerous soft words, touches, looks, and kisses later—and right in his lap, at that—he'd finally calmed enough to let you go inside and try and talk to Hershel yourself, instead of risking Shane, once again, acting first and thinking later, if at all.

At present, you and Hershel are seated at his dining room table, Shane leaning back against the wall, eyes intently upon you.

You lay your arms upon the tabletop, hands clasped in front of you. You do your utmost to maintain a calm, sympathetic demeanor, in every manor, as you talk with him. Shane had already done enough damage. So much so that when you'd initially come to Hershel to talk, Shane right on your heels, he'd initially told the both of you to get out.

He'd only acquiesced due to you and your genteel femininity.

"How do you know? How can you look at me and tell me you don't believe there's a chance? For a cure? Something? Rick insisted the same thing, and my answer is the same now as it was then: we've been fighting plague after plague since the world began. And we've always survived, just as we will now. Just as...as they might." Hershel asks, voice full of doubt.

"You've been sheltered here. I can appreciate that. But you've still seen them. Their skin is rotting from their bones. Entire limbs...missing. Their organs have decayed. There's...there's no coming back from what they've become. And I hate to say it, because it's still so awful to even try and accept, to even grasp, but they're walking corpses. Who they once were? Your neighbors and friends, your family—people you loved and cared for? They passed away a long, long time ago.

“I think that, even if by some miracle, a cure or vaccine—treatment—one day becomes available…it won’t apply to them. They’re too far gone for any amount of saving. And I’m so sorry to say that. Truly.”

He’s quiet for a long while, staring at the window across the room, his breathing steady. You know he’s thinking; considering.

He doesn’t look at you when he replies. “You’ve lost people you love. By your age, I assume your parents?”

He glances to you then and you nod.

“Would you see things this way if they were in there?”

“I would.” And you mean it.

Shane sighs. “Man, let me tell you somethin’-”

You turn abruptly toward him. “Shane, stop.” You say it firmly.

He shuts his mouth.

Hershel then looks at him. “If you speak again, this meeting is over. You’re not the one I agreed to listen to. I let you in my house as a courtesy. Same with my farm, which you and your people were supposed to have been gone from some time ago after Carl recovered. But I’ve allowed you to stay longer out of good Christian charity, which runs lowers with every word you speak. Don’t you forget that.”

Shane shakes his head, looking away, thumbs threaded behind his belt.

Finally, Hershel looks back to you. “How would you do it?”

“I’d really prefer—if you do agree to this—that you and your family not be here when we…put them down,” you say it as kindly—as softly—as you can manage. “I don’t want all of you bearing witness to it—in any form. I don’t want to risk any of you seeing it, or even hearing the gunshots.

“I know it’s dangerous: asking all of you to leave. But it would be, at most, for perhaps an hour. We can get started on digging the graves now…if you have an estimate of how many may need created? And then, when it’s time, a couple of our people can go with you, maybe to the training area we set up, since it’s already cleared out.

“And when you come back, and they’ve been laid in their graves, you tell us their names—what you want put on their markers—and we’ll help you do that, too. You’ll finally have a place where you all can go to see them. To talk to them. To mourn them and grieve. They can finally be put to rest.”

You reach across the table, resting your palm atop his clasped hands.

Hershel stares at the table and he’s quiet again for a long time. Then, “I need time to consider this. This isn’t a decision I can make on my own. They’re not just my family and friends.”

You nod, bringing your hand back. “I understand that. Take all the time you need.”

“And if I tell you, once I’ve decided, that my decision is no? If I tell you all to get off my land once and for all?”

You glance to Shane and you see his jaw feather and then he shakes his head.

You look back to Hershel. “Then we would leave. But you need to understand that…if you leave them in there…it may only be a matter of time. A matter of time before they get through the doors. Or break through the sides of the barn. And if—when—that happens… We won’t be here to help you if they begin to overrun the house, or your farm. So, I guess it’s a good thing Patricia, Jimmy, and Beth went through training.”

He stands then, as do you. “I’ll consider this.”

You smile. “Thank you for being willing to. For taking the time to listen to me.”

You all three head toward the front door, until Hershel stops Shane with a hand to his chest, which he then drops. “She’s an extraordinary young woman. You could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve her. Perhaps you should take that into consideration,” he nods his head toward you. “For her sake, when you think about what’s truly best for her.”

Shane doesn’t deign to give him a reply. He simply takes your hand firmly in his, leading you outside.

[lovemari]

IMPORTANT: Hello! My old account, Lovemari, got deleted. Therefore, I had to make a new one. I'm honestly pretty upset about this so I'll take some time to recover! Thankfully, all my posts are saved as I write them in google docs before posting. Please like and reblog so I can reach my old followers and potentially new ones!

Cat Date - Wanderer x Reader

Reminder: I'm not an experienced writer so construction criticism is always welcome! Also, I write for fun. I just wanted to share my work around the world!

Pairing: Wanderer x Reader

Synopsis: Wanderer asks you on a date in a strange way.

Notes: Let's be honest, in this fict, the cats were Wanderers wingcat lol. Also, not my proudest fict but I still like the scenario!

Recently, Dove, your cat has been acting odd. She's gone the entire day and comes back meowing at your door in the middle of the night, ruining your whole sleep schedule.

You believed it to be some kind of cat ritual or anything else that's crazy. Though, one day, or night to be exact, you found yourself quite curious. Dove hasn't been at your door for 2 days.

What do you do? You got up, at 12 in the night, and went to the neighbors house. He's quite the strange guy, if you were honest. Still, you always thought he was a cat himself. If not, then he certainly acted like one. So why not pay him a visit.

You knocked on his door, and out came the bowl cut dwarf, “Ugh..you? What is it?” He grumbled, clearly annoyed that you woke him up. At this point, you were panicking, “I can't find Dove! Can you help?” You rushed, with thoughts of Dove lingering in your mind. What if she was eaten by coyotes? Or even worse, stolen!

Your neighbor laughed, “I'm Wanderer, by the way.” He replied, as if nothing was happening. Before you could say anything Wanderer butted in, “Your cats with me. She's in love with my cat, Raven, for whatever reason. It's truly disgusting” He snickered, though, meaning no harm.

You blinked a couple of times before immediately rushing into his house. There, you saw Dove sleeping with Raven.

Swooping her up, you rushed out of the house. Wanderer stopped you before you could make your exit, unfortunately.

He gave you his number, “Tomorrow, 5:00, xxxx” He invited before smiling, “Let's have a cat date.” You gave him a weird look, was he drunk or something? Wanderer doesn't usually act like this.

You figured he wasn't right in the head so you rushed out, hoping he'll be sober in the morning.

You kissed Dove's head before turning off the night. Dove responded with an annoyed mew, clearly unhappy about you embarrassing her about her boyfriend. Unfortunately for her, you couldn't care less about a cat's love life.

You woke up early. You thought about it for a while but you decided you'd visit Scaramouche. Two reasons, actually. One, you wanted to make sure he wasn't drunk. Two, you didn't want to ditch him in case he wasn't drunk.

You got dressed and went to the place he mentioned. It was a cat cafe. You didn't know he was into that stuff but honestly, you weren't surprised.

You walked into the cafe, immediately being welcomed by some girl. You nodded, a little creeped out, before finding Scaramouche at a seat. You walked to him, “Hey.” You greeted. He looked at you, “About yesterday? I'm sorry.I was drunk.” He replied, quickly. He must be embarrassed.

You checked, “I figured.” your laughter stopped as you saw Wanderer blushing, playing with his hands, “I like you. That part was true” He confessed, his voice low and quiet.

You were surprised, to say the least. This man sure had a strange way of confessing but you found it cute.

You figured, it was too early for dating. Especially because you rarely talk to Wanderer. Still, there was something about him you enjoyed, “How about we have more cat dates before we decide what's best?” You teased, referring to when Wanderer was drunk. Wanderer nodded, acknowledging your tease and accepting it.

You could both see the sparks between you two.

[anjelicawrites]

The winner takes it all

Chapter I

Paring: Aemond Targaryen x reader

Synopsis: inspired by the Æthelflæd and Erik's storyline in The Last Kingdom. Might be spoilerish if you haven't seen it (go watch it!!!), even though I've just stolen the inspiration and went on with the story my way.

Warnings: Canon compliant violence, kidnapping, reference to Aemond’s brothel experience.

A/N: reader is AFAB, they/them pronouns are used (they are called “lady” and “daughter of the North”). The only descriptor is that they have long hair

A/N 1: this is an AU. Look at me taking the canon story of Westeros and yell “Parkhour!” as I jump out of the window clutching it in my hands.

18+ only, tank you!

The story of how you found yourself in your current predicament is quite easy, almost laughable in its simplicity.

When the Valyrian troops had mobilized and marched North, your foolish husband had forced you to accompany him during the war, leaving you an easy prey for the Targaryen brothers, who had invaded the camp, while the men were trying to conquer a city that was left empty on purpose.

You had tried to flee and hide and when that didn't work, you had fought for your freedom, to no avail, Prince Aemond was a far too skilled swordsman, compared to you. Still, you had confronted him: you were a daughter of the North, if your people weren’t giving up, you weren’t, either!

He had stared at you with a surprisingly soft eye in contrast with the definitive, yet gentle, way he had told you that a fight would be of no use, yet you had refused to lower your weapon, your hand trembling around the hilt notwithstanding: you were going to try and conquest your freedom, or die, if necessary.

His men had laughed and he had hushed them with a cold stare

"As you wish" he had said, drawing his sword.

You had known you had not a chance by seeing the fluidity of his movements, but you weren't going to go down without a fight. As you had tried to get the upper hand, you had realized he was humoring you, letting you play, like a cat would with a mouse, until you had fallen on your back, your sword too far away for you to recover. You had lain there, waiting for death to approach and he had surprised you by grabbing your wrist to force you on your feet, his left hand tight around the nape of your neck, you frozen in fear as you had seen the cruel smiles of the men surrounding you

"They are precious - Prince Aemond had said calmly - they are our greatest bounty" and the pieces had fallen in front of your face.

Even though running away was pointless, you had tried to elbow him in the stomach and he had just pulled your trashing body over his shoulder, a firm hand to keep you there, as he had walked towards his brother and their army.

You had heard the dragons before you truly saw them, their powerful breathing and movements rocking the earth.

Prince Aemond had stopped and gracefully removed your body from his shoulder, a firm hand around your arm to keep you from going anywhere, but it was not needed, the vision of the powerful beasts had froze both your mind and body: you couldn't believe the dragoness Vhagar could be so massive. You've heard stories, who hadn't, but the reality was another thing, your eyes couldn’t compute and your brain couldn’t accept that a creature this big was capable of living and breathing in front of you. Why did the Gods old and new allow for such a creature to exist?

Using your shock against you, Prince Aemond had forced you to move, until you were at Vhagar’s side and there you had stayed, rooted, incapable of hearing what the Prince was telling you to do. It was strangers' arms that had forced you up the beast's massive body and it was Prince Aemond who had chained you to the saddle, you were too dumbfounded to do or say anything.

It was when Vhagar had moved to fly, that you had started screaming and thrashing, forcing Aemond to curl one arm around your body; you were going nowhere.

The feeling of Vhagar soaring into the sky had pushed your stomach up to your throat and you had to physically force yourself not to throw up, sitting still, eyes closed in terror as the beast flew vertically upward.

"Don't be afraid - Prince Aemond had told you calmly the moment Vhagar was horizontal again - these chains are Valyrian steel, you will not fall".

You could only answer with a litany of scared noes, shaming yourself and your House, earning a joyless chuckle from your captor.

"You saddled for two" you had said after what felt like hours, eyes still closed in fear, mind calmer

"Of course"

"You planned this, all of this"

"We lost a city but, thanks to you, we will conquer the whole of the North".

You had tried to dislodge his arm from around your waist and he had let you, but where could you go?

You had noticed how gently Vhagar was flying. She, or better her rider, had seemed keen on trying to make the journey less of a trauma as they could, keeping a sure course and going slow, Vhagar using the currents of wind to keep herself afloat, instead of her massive wings. You had dared open your eyes again and had focused on her scales, unexpectedly warm under your fingers, not trusting yourself to stare anywhere else, too afraid of your reaction, preferring to lose yourself in your thoughts.

Aemond's voice in your ear makes you jump out of your jumbled memories

"We are going to land. Vhagar will be as gentle as possible - he stops for a moment and hums softly - don't be afraid".

He follows with something in what you believe is High Valyrian and Vhagar starts flying downwards, slowly getting to the ground, where many people are waiting for your arrival.

It isn't casual that the brothers have you walk through the mob, you know they are parading you around as a trophy, showing their people who they have kidnapped. There are hands everywhere, trying to touch you and pulling at your dress with ferocity, as if they want to tear it from your body, to the point that Prince Aemond has to use his men to shield you from the brunt of it, until you enter a big building and are instructed to go down a flight of stairs.

You face a big wooden door that one of your captors opens before forcing you inside

"You have a cot, a table and a bucket. Someone will bring you food and ale".

You turn around to face Prince Aemond

"Do you expect a heartfelt thank you?"

One of the men, a brute with mismatched eyes walks towards you with a purpose and you stand your ground. You are scared, Gods so scared, but you are not going to show it to these men. You are their captive and it’s going to become everyone’s problem.

"I've heard of the courage of the children of the North. Those of you who don't know how to use a sword know how to die on it. It can't be said of many - Prince Aemond pins you with his lonely eye and you find yourself unable to to look away, mesmerized by the lilac hue - they are precious and not to be hurt" he reminds his men

"They showed you disrespect, Your Grace" the brute says, frozen on the spot by his prince’s words

"And what can the disrespect of a dove do to a dragon?"

With that you are left alone in your cell with your heavy thoughts, your body still high on adrenaline and rage seems incapable of staying still. You pace around your small cell, actually trying to gauge the door for signs of rot or any sort of weakness, finding nothing; checking the thick walls surrounding you proves to be equally useless, none of the bricks moves, there’s no mud nor signs of humidity to show you a way out of here. Desperate you use the bucket to prop yourself up a bit to look out the small, rectangular window, the only source of light. With effort and standing on your toes, you grab the bars and try to look outside, needing to see if there’s still some servant capable of helping you, but your sight is met by an outstanding number of silver-headed people.

Everywhere your eyes land, you see Valyrians and no Northerner, your mind flying to the rumors of Targaryens using blood magic to multiply the numbers of their people, in order to make the conquered Kingdoms their New Valyria.

You land back on the floor and start looking for a way out again, methodically trying every nook and cranny of your prison, searching for a secret passage, with no luck, hoping against all you know about this castle. Even the door is solid and study oak wood, the hinges are new and shiny, freshly made to imprison you.

This is the moment you break down, you huddle yourself into the farthest corner of the room and start crying, your face pressed against your bent legs; you long for your father’s strong embrace and your mother’s soothing words. How you wish you could go back to when you were a young child and the world was full of wonder.

You feel so alone.

A couple of floors above you, Aemond is polishing his armor. He has no taste nor interest for the feast his brother is leading for the army or to rape the women taken captive from the camp; his body shudders with disgust at the idea of violating another human being, knowing too well what it feels like. No, he orders himself, we are not going down that route, the dragon garnishes look filthy with blood and mud. Mother would be ashamed to see me parade around looking like that. His hands grab the chest piece with too much force, he folds his long back to look closely at the etched metal, trying to think of the best way to clean the intricate design and he sees where one of your hits has actually left a dent. His finger touches it absentmindedly while his brain goes back to your fight, rewinding it to analyze it: you are rusty but you have been trained, probably since you were young, given how you had managed to work around your weak spots and how fast you were on your legs, even after being chased in the woods. Given the proper training, maybe under someone like him, you’d go back to your former glory. All right, his hand stops caressing the denting, what is going on here? You are bounty, a means to an end. Yes, you are beautiful, even covered in filth and looking so different from what he’s used to, but you are a prisoner, worth your weight in gold and silver, nothing more. You’ll be used to extort all the money possible and then sent back to your husband. If you’re lucky, after the conquest, you will be married to a nobleman loyal to him and Aegon, to fortify the union between the North and New Valyria; again means to a bigger end and nothing more, still, the fear and courage he saw in your eyes, the way you didn’t back down until you saw Vhagar, intrigues him. Even on Vhagar, after your initial terror, you held yourself with a strength he has rarely seen in non dragonriders. Your husband is a lucky man, he thinks and hopes he cherishes you, because you are worth every praise.

Everythig taglist: @hightowhxre

Aemond taglist: @phantoms-main-blog