#yes those accessories are supposed make the flag

[ann-creator]

Will post tomorrow because my tablet is probably transphobic (it's wifi doesn't work)

Anyway! Happy trans visibility day with Maria Ren and her best friend (Matt) who's there for her

Love them both.

[lutawolf]

Unforgotten Night (2022) Ep 1

My brat with a British accent wanted to write this together. Her once again covering the sub and me covering the Dom. I told her that she was a sadist and this was supposed to be bad. Iffy "noooooo, no, I'm just a special word for someone who wants you to suffer with me" You will be able to find the lovely iffy's companion post here.

It didn't help that I got so many requests to watch this. I think some of you are sadists. Is there something about doing this to a sadist that turns you on?? I included the Coconuts Mafia in my torture because if I'm going to take one, then the team should too. Thank you so much for the support and commentary! @biochemjess @suga4mycoffee read here @mematryoshkame @minisculecosmos @hereiswhereitbegan28 @akitbeast and their commentary here and Pebee. Also make sure to read @feralpansexual bdsm red flags post here

For those that know nothing about the series and this is your first time hearing about it: Kim (sub), a 25 year old office worker, has been in one sided love with his senior, Day, for a a long time. To forget about him and move on, he decides to have one night stand with a random stranger he met at the bar. What he didn't know was the stranger would start liking him to the point of no return. Kamol (Dom/Sadist), a 30 year old mafia, has some special needs in bed and so he keeps switching partners but no one is able to satisfy him. One night he meets Kim, who perfectly meets his needs. Right at that moment, Kamol decided to make the man his own.

Promo Poster

Seriously guys, what the fuck is that picture above. His FACE. "When you want to be tied up, but the idiot you're fucking doesn't know how to do it properly." I would like to be on the side of the Dom here but I can just hear the sub saying "Gotta do everything my damn self" Also, why are they using a glorified shoelace?? I mean, I haven't even started the episode yet and I'm dead. Where is the chemistry? What is it with these poses? They feel like their about to give a beginner's class in couples yoga with fun accessories.

Episode 1

So begins my drinking habit, I mean watch. No really, this turned into a drinking game. I took a shot every time a sub cries. I was tipsy by the end of the show. There was torture... Of the audience kind. Ellen DeGeneres shoes, constantly running water taps, 80's music and a horrible English breakfast with anemic sausage. On the plus side, I laughed a lot. I highly recommend as a group hate watch.

We meet Kamol as a "business tycoon" and you can tell they are trying to set an air of arrogance and command. The typical portrayal of a Dom. I didn't feel it though. I was deeply underwhelmed, he really wasn't giving strong power vibes. Ohhh, the ominous whisper "Something big is coming up." I'm all a flutter. Also, this might be an American thing but he just gave the weakest hang shake ever. As a Dom, I would be embarrassed. That's the one area where it is completely acceptable to have a pissing contest and you just barely held finger.

The next scene shows a weeping and marked up submissive. I've got no issue with one night stands but you still put the work in. Not only should there have been respect for limits but also aftercare. Instead he leaves him and has his bodyguards take him out. Can we get more Dom low class?

Why, yes we can "They always say they can take it but they never last" Yeah, okay. He wasn't any more satisfied than you buddy, so who is the real problem here? That's just stupid. You don't pick someone off the street and go, lets do a little whip and tickle. It takes a masochist to like pain and every masochist likes a different type of pain. This is like me asking if someone likes ice cream and then making them eat the flavor that's my favorite. Dumbass, I said I like ice cream, doesn't mean I like that ice cream.

We have a lot of weepy sub scenes. Then the girls aka assistants, take their boss to the bar. I don't know how they thought this was a good idea. The music alone would cause me to cry and drink too much. However, it's at the bar that Kamol (aka shoelace Pillsbury Ceo) shows up and notices Kim. Finally we have the moment they meet. In a bathroom, because the mafia apparently really appreciate bathrooms.

Kim is stumbling drunk into the bathroom and Kamol thinks this is a brilliant. Follows him into the bathroom. Where we have the conversation of,

Kim "Are you starting at me"

Pillsbury "I'm staring at you"

Kim "you interested"

Pillsbury "Yes, you caught my eye"

All why the mother fucking water facet is going!!!

Weepy Sub "in that case can you help me forget him"

Pillsbury "As long as you can tolerate it" 🙄🙄 Because yes, I like chocolate chip ice cream and so will you! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Weepy "No problem, you can do whatever you want" that's a good way to get stds kid and then you'll really have something to cry about.

Oh look! We finally have the, you're drunk, who me talk. It went as expected. Weepy sub is now up against the bathroom counter. Managing to avoid the still running water! It's torturing me! This is not my flavor of masochism! Then he calls him Baby. Which fits weepy sub. It's a very accurate pet name.

We show up at Pillsbury's place where they are magically changed into robes.... And they ones again talk about if baby is drunk. Yet they never talk about what kind of kink they are into. We apparently just gonna wing it, cause yeah that works. Guess we can blame it on him getting all hot and bothered at being called Mister. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The most consent talk we get is, you can suck this up right. And then he beaks out the Toys-R-Us cuffs that baby can easily slid right out of. He started him off real light with luke warm wax that's barely dripping. Yet we get this face.

At this point, I'm thinking boy can't handle much. Then Pillsbury breaks out a horse flogger. You guys, I wasn't expecting accuracy and if you want me to give a break down of why the flogging was so fucking God Awful that I took two shots! I can. Needless to say it was grossly inaccurate but even that doesn't match the horror of this.

Meanwhile his flogging is on the level of "I’m going to FLOG YOU……with kindness"

"W-would you like to talk to me about my childhood wounds as I whip you very gently"

On the plus side, there was a very nice, very accurate bite mark. I've got a bitting kink myself and no way THAT was fake, so kudos for that.

Then the true torture again. Dripping faucet. While Pillsbury finally gives some kind of aftercare. A bath with sweet kisses. While whispering sweet nothings of "You are the one".. It's not much but it's finally something so we'll take it.

But then baby wakes up alone to a Best Western breakfast. Is it any wonder he booked it? Maybe start acting like a Dom and taking care of your subs? Hmm.

I can't leave you without mentioning the stick on tattoo.

It shifts. For a second I thought we were going to get a shifter bl but they were just teasing. It's just a bad fake tattoo.

So there you have it. My torture is now our torture. Especially if you made it all the way through, what ever, that was that I wrote. Hope you got a few chuckles 💜💜💜

[shesawriter39049]

|FEVER| M|

Pairing: Namjoon X Reader

About- Namjoon just has a kink for letting you do whatever the hell you want with him...Whether that be putting him in a hot pink suit shirtless! Or, telling him he’s a good boy as he fucks you into oblivion!

OR- Namjoon and yourself hooked up 5 months ago when the boys were in London on Tour, and you were the creative director for there British GQ & Harper’s Bazzar Cover! Now, months later he’s prepping to release his second mixtape “RM vs Rap Monster”. Opting to go a complete 360 from his first release Mono in all realms. So, with that being said BigHit thinks he needs someone with a little more... “umph” Take a wild guess as to who they call...

WC:1.2k (Sneak peek)

WARNINGS: Switch OC (Top & Bottom...but there's no real dom/sub tones here) Service top/power bottom Namjoon, praise kink, Fingering, Unprotected sex(Back shot), come play, dirty talk, light choking, light overstimulation, (This is lowkey a little softer than it sounds) The OC kinda leads this, but Joon isin’t the cliché “sub” he just likes letting her take control.

NOTE- Just my take on the OG cliché Artist X Stylist AU (Though she’s more of a full package, Art Director/Stylist/Photographer ETC) I have tried to add some minor elements to make it a little more realistic. I will say I typically stray from “Idol-verse” just because if we’re being real, the cultural difference alone sometimes stunts my creativity...BUT I just had a little fun with this one...so I hope you all enjoy it. Also, I don’t go into much physical details but in my mind regardless of race, aesthetic wise the OC is a huge contrast to what he’s use to which is part of her appeal. I picture a tatted Barbie of some sorts...

SIDE NOTE: No shade, but shade, I was lowkey inspired to write this bc I have very strong opinions about the creative team at BH....

*** Let me know if you guys want the full thing or not...I kidna flaked on posting because it is such a cliché lol

SONG- FEVER DUA LIPA  FT ANGELE

~~~~~~~

“Well, it’s a yes for me” Eyeing him in this Hot pink-fitted Burliti suit, which you paired with a very sheer black Arnar Mar turtle neck. The minute you saw the piece on the runway you’d been dying to get it on someone with melanated skin, and it just so happens, the boys are fresh off the US leg of their stadium tour! So, lucky for you, baby boy’s been in the sun a lot, and Namjoon’s currently a sinful shade of brown and you're totally here for it…

Then to top it off, the mesh material of the turtle neck creates the perfect silhouette around his offensively toned chest, outlining the muscles sinfully. Eternally snorting at the way the fans are gonna thank and curse you out all at the same damn time once they see the looks you’ve pulled for this man!

And yes, you had your crew bring extended shades of foundation and concealer, because his face and neck will match if your name is going to be attached to these damn photos! 

Head tilted to the side as you silently observe the way he rakes over his reflection in the mirror, it’s a sixth sense you’ve acquired as a stylist at this point. Half of your job is essentially being a hype man/self love coach, real shit, a lot of these artist aren't always as...confident as one may think!

And just like clockwork Namjoon runs his palm down his thighs, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles on his pants for the umpteenth time in the span of oh I don’t know 30 seconds? Which in turn prompts you to say….

“You look good Joonie...” Musing over your second glass of Don, the compliment was genuine, tone warm, soothing even, not a hint flirtation insight because that wasn’t your motive. You weren’t trying to get him flustered you’re just trying to gas him up a little, you wanted to see Namjoon get alittle cocky and feel himself!

Ears perking up like an overgrown puppy, head whipping in your direction “Yeah?” The way this man’s eyes just lit up like the soul skyline. I just-goddamn, an almost bashful smile toys on those plush lips of his, and you can’t help the way your chest flutters with nothing but fondness.

“So fuckin cute” Flutters off your lips, as you hide a smile of your own behind a half empty whine glass. The delivery was so faint it almost go lost in the background music floating through the air. However the slight flush hitting his cheeks let you know Namjoon heard you whether he wanted to admit it or not!

”Mmmhmm, the color looks fuckin insane against your skin, not to mention, the way everything's going to pop once we tone your hair a little! “ Eyes drinking him in from head to toe, though there was nothing suggestive playing within your iris. Very much aware of time and place and right now your genuinely looking respectfully! Seeing if any alterations are needed, making sure you like where everything sits along his frame. Making notes in your phone of places you want to pin and adjust later...snapping a couple shots here and there. 

Licking his lips anxiously as he plays with the lapels on the blazer “But like-I mean-I- dont’-It doesn’t look like I’m... trying too hard or anything?” Brows furrowed in the center of his face, jaw tight, wincing slightly at his own words, almost as if he was afraid of your response. The vulnerability within his delivery was more than evident, and no matter how common this is with artist, it’s still just as devastating! Regardless of how much he tried to play it off as if he was just making casual conversation, you can see how blatantly uncomfortable he is . Gazing back at you wide eyed, and uncannily exposed, pointing at the outfit in question. Licking his lips anxiously as he plays with the the blazer, switching posses subtlety trying to get a better feel for the suit.  

You stayed silent for a minute, taking the time to actually process before speaking which is rare, not gonna lie. Gaze piercing as you hop off the bed, wine, and accessories in hand, swaying closer. “It’s fashion”. The baited pause almost implied that’s all you had to say, as if one-word was self-sufficient, and in your mind it was...but you knew better than to just leave it at that.

“Art at its finest Mr. Kim” You smile something a little devious, and he flushes even deeper as you slowly start to invade his space eyes locked with him meaningfully. You can physically see the shift, the closer you get, Namjoon starts fidgeting slightly under your gaze but he doesn't back down.

“It gives you room to play, create...it’s something that let’s us connect to people without saying a damn thing.” Suddenly the hand that wasn’t holding your alcohol has become a prop, flailing around haphazardly as you spoke, pointing at the various pieces hanging on clothes racks in your suite! The penthouse has essentially been transformed into your own personal walk in closet for the next 5 or so days! “It’s a statement. A opportunity to tap into a side of yourself that maybe you can’t always verbally articulate to the world around you! More importantly, it’s supposed to be fun, it’s literally something that can be removed within seconds! I mean we all have to wear clothes so why not just enjoy it?”  Head cocked to the side as you appraise him, brow quirked, eyes warm, yet there's a clear challenge playing within your gaze.

Namjoon’s watching you intently, almost as if he’s taking mental notes as you speak...the heaviness within those dangerously honed eyes of his could almost be unsettling to some, but you quite like it. Made you feel as though he actually gives a flying fuck about what you’re saying.

“In my opinion the only time it looks like someone’s “Trying too hard” Making little air bunnies with your spare hand “Is if they look uncomfortable in what they’re wearing, confidence is key, and I know you know that better than anyone RM!” You muse batting your lashes in Namjoon’s direction, and he dimples back at you, eyes sinking into tiny crescents, face rivaling the color of his suit, trying to hide said smile behind his own glass of champagne.  

“I could put you in a damn clown suit...” Words trailing off your tongue lackadaisically as you grow distracted searching the bar for a specific chain from John Hardy. “Which” Focus snapping back in his direction making the later splutter a little “Would be fire as fuck if I did by the way, but-”  Namjoon ended up cackling midsentence, almost choking on his drink in the process, fist pounding against his sternum.

Yeah..killing the leader of Bangtan wasn’t really high on your list tonight....

“Ayee, none of that shit...” Smacking him in the back a little more so just to be an ass because he wasn’t even choking anymore “Don’t die on me until we at least get this damn photoshoot done, I had to cancel my trip to Jamaica for this shit!”

Now he’s damn near choking and his laugh was contagious, it’s just.. loud, carefree so yes, your cackling, and there's nothing cute about it. But you honestly don’t care, you let yourself get lost in it! Finally able to feel the atmosphere in the room start to shift to something a little less scripted and a little more organic...

Throwing his hands in the air as If he’s waving a nonexistent white flag “I’m sorry, noona” There’s a pout playing in his lips, not exactly aegyo per say, but it’s fuckin adorable “Blame PD-nim, it’s his fault we had to do this so last minute” Wheezes from his throat, in the form of a slight whine, almost rivaling Jimin if I’m honest.

You already know he was laughing more so due to your delivery, specifically, your casual use of profanity over anything else. This is actually something you use to be self-conscious about, especially at your first shoot with the boys, at the shoot for GQ . Well aware it wasn’t as common in Asia for people especially women to use “fuck” like a comma. So you were hoping they wouldn’t be offended, or uncomfortable by your dialect, and, thankfully they didn’t seem to mind. Much like Joonie over here, they found it entertaining over anything.

“Yeah, a huh, sureee...” Eyes rolling to the back of your head playfully as you start lightly altering the suit in question with clips and pens. “Stay still babe” The pet name slipped off your tongue effortlessly, honestly, that's what you call most people in your life. However you were far too focused to notice how wide eyed and flustered the man before you became upon hearing it directed at him so casually.

A faint little “Sorry” muses off his lips as he gnaws on his inner cheek, trying to stay still as you ghetto-rig hems into place until you can get this under your sewing needle.

“ No, but real shit…” You sigh, taking on a slightly more serious tone “If you step in front of that camera like you own the bitch, regardless of what your wearing..., then they can’t tell you shit! If your comfortable there’s no such thing as trying too hard” You shrug nonchalantly like that was the simplest concept known to man, downing the rest of your drink “Alright, that’s all, thanks for coming to my Ted talk” Waving him off as if you’re about to leave the room and he pouted playfully, jokingly begging you not to leave him yet...it felt good to be able to banter like this. The shift continuous shift within the atmosphere was more than welcomed…

Hesitantly you watch his eyes find their way back to the full length mirror, which promptly smacks you back to reality!

Unfortunately you didn't fly all the way to Seoul just to drink,  and shoot shit with Namjoon for hours on end,  your actually here to work…

Sooo...

“Alright” Placing your arms on his shoulders, giving him a reassuring squeeze as you peer over his shoulder. Meeting his gaze through the glass, chin resting gently against the blade. “Back to the reason you came Mr. “I’m sooo anxiously” Shooting him a teasing little smirk in the process “The suit, yay or nay”

So, here’s the thing technically the official fitting is tomorrow, and as far as his team knows he’s in the studio with Yoongi and Hoseok finishing up a song!

Which of course raises the question as to why he’s here..alone..mind you..no staff or security in site.

Just Kim Namjoon and yourself.....

~~~~

Heyyyy, Lemme know if you guys want this or not, it will leave kinda open ended because it was supposed to kinda be a 3 part mini series initially. Part 1 ends the morning of the shoot, the full thing is set to be around 6/7k! Spoiler, the company is going to want to keep her around for more than just Namjoon’s solo project....

Also, YES...I did see that they actually put Tae in that Burliti suit (I wrote this long before that shoot was released)...I actually hated the way it was styled it though...I never thought I’d say this but MGK’s team did a better job than BH....

[costumesource]

An analysis of Toby Stephens and his different military costumes as featured in Lost in Space, Hunter Killer and 13 hours: the secret soldiers of Benghazi. 

All costume commentary by @itsmariemccurdy​​, gifs by @costumesource​

Hi so I was in the military for 5 years and have worked for the military pretty consistently ever since and if there’s one thing that makes me nuts, it’s bad military costuming.

“But how are they supposed to know what’s right!” you cry.

“It’s called Google, my good bitch,” I answer. 

That’s only like 1/10th of an answer, though. See, I’m also a writer and even when I think I know something, I still look it up to confirm. I check multiple sources and when I say sources, I don’t mean Dave’s medium.com blog and a quick browse through the images tab. I mean stuff produced by actual subject matter experts. 

So when one sets out to produce a film or show featuring characters in uniform, research doesn’t mean “but this is how they do it on the CW.” These people have budgets that can cover, at the very least, some solid reference images from ye old dvidshub.net (it’s free DoD imagery. That’s the joke.).

I loved Lost in Space but let me tell you about the way I twitched over Toby Stephens’ uniforms.

(Lost in space) Why does every TV and stock photo producer believe anyone in the military wears their collar popped? Why? I don’t understand it. It’s nails on a chalkboard.

Then there’s his lack of rank and even branch insignia while he’s at home. Who is this guy? What branch of the military is he in? Where are his various patches? 

Tbf I don’t know exactly what those guys are or aren’t supposed to wear in terms of identifying insignia, but they wear *something,* like the flag and a patch with their blood type on it. In other scenes, he is wearing something close to correct, but here - he’s come home and for some strange reason stripped everything off his uniform except that goddamn belt.

That belt haunts me. You wear that for like, a hip or drop holster, which he has in the gif of him getting out of the vehicle (below). But here he’s turned in his weapons because he’s going home, and like some absolute fucking dork he kept that belt on over his blouse (that’s military for shirt). 

Here is what SEALs look like when they’re doing frogman stuff:

Putting Lost in Space up against Hunter Killer and 13 Hours show something very important: what happens when you have at least one military advisor on the set and the director listens to them. 

Lost in Space really had to up the ante on “lol this is what a soldier looks like right.” We’ve got him wearing a flak vest on deployment, but no SAPI plates. For the uninitiated, SAPI plates are the ceramic composite plates that go inside pockets of the flak vest that make it, ya know, bulletproof. A flak vest without plates is a bad fashion accessory. You can clip stuff to it.

(Lost in Space)

I never saw Hunter Killer, but I have no gripes with either movie. He’s even wearing at least one SAPI plate in Hunter Killer! Notice how the flak vest looks nice n thicc and not conforming to his body shape compared to the flat pancake in the LiS gif?

(Hunter Killer)

That’s because there’s a big ol ceramic composite plate stuffed in there. Or whatever the prop department came up with to approximate how a flak with SAPIs looks on the human body. Those plates are legitimately expensive.

13 Hours had military advisors and some of the defense contractors who both survived and were featured in the movie on set and in the early production process, teaching the actors how to move, how to speak, and how to set up their combat kits. That’s why it doesn’t just look right, it feels viscerally real.

(13 hours)

(13 hours)

This is just a lot of words to say that I feel about military costuming is the same way historical fashion experts feel about period movies. When it’s good, it’s great, and when it’s bad, it runs the risk of ruining the whole thing.

[soramel]

Chained to You (Part 4)

genre: angst, romance, unconventional relationship warning: eventual smut A/N: cross-posted; the story continues at Part 18 in wattpad;

1 2 3 4

Part 4 words: 2,595

Drumming your fingers on the steering wheel, you unconsciously bit your lip as you tried to sort your thoughts out. You even closed your eyes... forehead scrunched in confusion as your failed attempt to detach yourself from all the happenings irritated you more.

So what if he has a woman?

It shouldn't be surprising at all because he's accomplished, has a good family background, and for sure, the looks that everyone would kill for.

Did I just admit that he's attractive?

You scoffed at the thought. Those sleepless nights you spent on analyzing worksheets after worksheets finally altered how your brain functions.

Your phone rang, pulling you out of your reverie. Its noise cutting through the deafening silence in your parked SUV. Then a knock came through the window, startling you. "Fuck!" you said out loud, clutching your chest.

It was your bodyguard. "Saeho!" you shouted at him sounding annoyed but it only muffled through the car door.

Taking a quick glance at your phone, you saw it was the devil you were just thinking about seconds ago. Instead of taking the call, you chose to open the window instead and talk to Saeho.

"What?" you snapped at him, also wondering how he found you so fast.

"You need to head back inside, Ma'am," he said in a stern voice, not liking the disappearing act you pulled.

You sighed and said, "I know. Just give me a break."

He watched you lean your head back on the headrest as you try to recollect yourself. The ringing of the phone just ended when it rang again with the same caller id. With a drag, you handed out the device to Saeho, but he just looked at it.

With another nudge of the phone in the air, he took it slowly from your hand.

"Sir," he answered as he put it by his ear.

There was a pause before Taehyung spoke up.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice laced with darkness that even made a big man like Saeho gulp.

"She's safe, sir. We're in the basement parking. She's inside her car. She gave me her phone for me to answer," he explained.

"Get her back here. Now."

Then you heard the line cut off.

Saeho handed back the phone to you and pleaded for you to follow his boss' order. "Ma'am, this way, please," his voice having a more hint of emotion now as he snuck in his arm through the window to unlock your door.

With a huff, you alighted from the vehicle and passed him your purse.

Saeho followed your steps, taking an enough distance from you like he always does. You suddenly stopped from your tracks and faced him again.

"I can't really go back there this soon. I'm still annoyed," you wondered out loud, leaving the man in conflict. It really is indeed difficult to serve two masters at once. He didn't know what happened when he saw you rushing down the hall and it was not his place to ask why. But he was smart enough to deduce the reason behind your act.

He might not show it but he feels bad for you, but at the same time, he wants to keep his job. Taehyung pays him a handsome amount which sustains the needs of his wife and ailing child.

"We're in no hurry but we have to keep moving, Ma'am," he replied in compromise.

You turned around an walked towards the entrance at a much slower pace. He opened the door as you headed inside the elevator lobby and waited for a lift.

#

"She's tightly guarded, Sir. We can't find a window to execute the plan," the man spoke through the phone.

The news earned a sigh from the other line.

"Keep trying. It'll be more difficult to get to her once the ceremony's all over."

"Copy, sir," then the hired man ended the call.

Regardless, the receiver prepared himself for the worst, and that is having to do everything by himself.

"Useless bastards," he muttered under his breath.

It was two hours before midnight and they only had little time left to act on the situation. Once they miss this window of opportunity, they'd have to take matters to their own hands and it won't be a pretty sight.

There were still no progress from the team he sent. It was difficult to bypass the heiress' security. Although they blend well in the crowd, his men were trained enough to recognize the security team's tactic.

Namjoon wasn't the type to get his hands dirty. No matter what job that is.

J, negative

He then replied without hesitation,

Plan B

He threw the phone on the table with a thud after sending the text message.

#

When Jungkook received the order, he immediately left the hotel suite to pursue his target.

#

Saeho approached Taehyung cautiously and said, "Number unidentified, but I sent someone to follow through and extract information."

Taehyung's jaw tensed in response. "Why not grab one of them now?"

"We can't do that without grabbing much attention. Unless, that's fine with you, sir," Saeho replied. Taehyung's eyes were deeply set on you as you talk with your colleagues. He roamed his stare on their faces then to the people within your perimeter, then back to you. His eyes met yours.

Without breaking away from your gaze, he uttered, "I'll bring her back to her room. Keep me updated."

"Yes, sir."

Saeho then gave way to Taehyung as he strode the distance between you. From his cold demeanor, he flashed a warm smile to your colleagues, making them flustered.

You felt his hand slid around your waist. His hold was gentle yet firm.

"S-sir!" one of your colleagues managed to utter a greeting. Both men and women looked at your fiancé with admiration.

You casually introduced him to them. "This is Minho, Song, and Hyeji. My team in one of my projects. And you already know Jae."

Without further ado, Taehyung said, "Would you mind me taking my wife back? We need to head back early for tomorrow's wedding."

This made you take a step back but with his kind of hold, you were only able to put an unnoticeable distance from him. "Already?" you voiced out in protest.

"Sure!"

"Of course," your team replied in unison.

"You need to have a proper rest," Taehyung told you before flashing his swooning smile back to your colleagues.

"Thank you, excuse us."

You were still confused as he led you out of the banquet hall. You were stuck to his side until you could finally free yourself from his grip once you stepped in the lift.

"What's happening? Isn't it rude to just leave our own party? Like that?"

He's getting on your nerves and your annoyance is also starting to get the best of him. He thought the attitude was because he was 10 minutes late to your dinner.

Taehyung let out a sigh and faced you after pressing the floor button for your suite. "Charles will handle it. I just want you to get your rest."

Though that was just his excuse.

You crossed your arms in front of your chest, "If you were paying attention, I was still in the middle of a conversation with my team when you decided to have things your way. I didn't like that."

He tried his best to hide his sarcastic smile by looking down but you caught on. Your brow twitched in annoyance. His actions and the way he treats you makes you feel disrespected. No matter how much you want to cut ties with him, you need to know the tricks hidden up his sleeve.

Why would the news of merger suddenly brought harm to your family's life

Why the Kims, your supposed protector, are sweeping important facts under the rug

Why does your father trust them so much

Questions that you're sure would pile up as you try to uncover the truth. Despite that, you're determined to protect what's yours even though that means selling your soul to the devil.

You stared deep into his eyes.

"Fine. See you tomorrow at our wedding," you let out in a dismissive tone.

He sighed inwardly in relief as he watched the door slam right in front of him.

The room was dark as you entered. With a sigh, you blindly took off your accessories starting with the earrings.

You're getting married tomorrow and it's really happening. To an estranged childhood friend, a man you barely know, a lover of someone else. Red flags that were enough to stop someone from proceeding with the foolish ploy.

But this is for your family's sake.

The Kims are a possible threat you had to understand first.

On a flick of a light switch, you were startled to see a man standing in the middle of your suite. You almost squealed in shock but it got cut off when he approached you in a stride, stifling your voice.

Fear rose up in your chest and your imagination had gone haywire with the thought of why would be someone in here.

"Hush, I'm not here to harm you," he looked at you intently and you slowly start to associate a name on the man's face. It should have comforted you but it only added to your growing fear and confusion.

Jungkook?

He saw the recognition that flashed your eyes, then he continued in a much lower and hushed voice. "Promise me you won't scream, I just need to talk."

Your brows furrowed. What is Taehyung's friend doing in my room, surprising me like a murderer, in the middle of the night?

Just to know what the fuck is going on you nodded your head thrice, still breathing heavily, with your pulse racing.

Once his grip loosened, you immediately took a step back, holding your purse in front of you as if that was enough for a weapon to defend yourself.

"What are you do--" your loud and scandalous voice made him cover your mouth again. You didn't see how but he's now on your back, your body tightly pressed to his.

"Not so loud," his voice laced with irritation. It wanna made you scoff, you should be the one irritated in this situation, not him.

"Taehyung's not who you think he is," he murmured, hoping that will stop you from fighting him off.

You did your best to calm down to show him that you're ready to listen. Not that you don't know what he's talking about. You know who the true Taehyung is.

Jungkook loosened his hands on you once he thought he piqued your curiosity.

You turned to him, a little bit surprised at the very close distance he had put in between.

You looked up a bit to meet his eyes.

"I know who Taehyung is,"

You told him, full with pride.

He was about to speak when you cut him off, "So if you're here to warn me about his lover, you can leave. I've already decided," you told him and he seemed surprise at the news. It looked like that was not the thing he was pertaining about but you could care less.

This marriage is more than you and your feelings.

If being close to the threat will help save your family, then be it. If they're not and they're really trying to help, then better.

Jungkook raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You're truly whipped," he said in disbelief. Well that was not new to him. He knew Taehyung during his teenage years. He knew how he was or is with the ladies.

"I'm not. I-" you were about to spill some sensitive information but you luckily caught yourself.

No one else is supposed to know about this except you and your private investigator, Hoseok.

"Well that sucks but that was not just it, Princess," he informed, the title he used sounded like a mock.

"His family will use yours to get what they want. This might bring harm not only to your family, but to everyone."

#

Tilting your head to the side, "then this will be just another billion dollar venture for them," you stated after Jungkook told you what he could let you know... for now. He has yet to see for himself and the organization which side you're on. It was a huge gamble for them to involve you in this. If it were up to him, he would rather not involve a socialite like you. The type that Taehyung lures in and break. But to Namjoon, you were different.

He silently strode to the door and looked into the peephole to see if there are guards. "How did you get in here anyway?" you asked him, as you were sidetracked from his movement.

"The balcony," he stated as he walked back. "They'll eventually monopolize the IT industry. All the servers, engines, systems, running in this country will be under their control. Just masked in different names."

"We traced that 65% of the sector belonged to their family already. Indirectly,"

"and if this will go out of hand, there will be irreversible repercussions." he finished as he stood before you, meeting your gaze intently.

You walked around the living area of the hotel suite, settling on the couch. "I didn't know they had that slice too," you blurted out as you went in deep thought. The Kims are involved in a lot of ventures. May it be in security services and systems, management consultancy, logistics, and others. But so is your family. Well your mother's side to be specific. With it being more prominent in hospitality and airline industry.

You traced back your gaze to the intruder.

"Regardless, that's none of my business, Jungkook. The world is what it is." you told him.

And he knew.

A privileged woman like you won't understand it. Because the system fits well for you that you became a part of it.

His jaw almost twitched in disgust, but he managed to mask it off with a smirk. "Your family will be their puppet. You will bear the damages once things fall out of place,"

"Then I'll make sure it won't," you replied, looking at him straight in the eyes.

Taking a deep breath, you suggested, "I could pretend this didn't happen. I'll let you slip back where you came from without sending a distress call to my security next door." then you took out a black device out of your purse, lifting off its switch. Then you placed your thumb on top of it, ready to press it in any second.

He let out a chuckle. "You'll be lying dead on the floor before they arrive here, don't underestimate me."

You let out a sweet smile and shook your head. "I'm not. I know you're very capable of that seeing how you managed to get here," then you unceremoniously pressed the device which made made him jump to his feet and briskly left, leaving the glass door open. All the while making sure that you know how pissed he is and he's not yet done with you. If eyes could kill.

Saeho barged in right after a beep. "Ma'am," he let out. When you seemed fine, his eyes scanned the room immediately, looking for any threats.

With your gaze on the glass door, he jogged onto it seeing that it was ajar.

You stood up and headed into the bedroom. "Please close it. It's getting cold," you calmly ordered as you closed the bedroom door shut.

[chaos-and-sparkles]

Percabeth Wedding Headcanons

They considered not getting married as a fuck you to Hera, but decided a better fuck you would be to not let her rule their lives. 

Annabeth wore a white suit with a blue tie and Percy wore a black suit with a grey tie. 

There was a huge fight over who got to be whose bride's/groom's bitches. Eventually Tyson was Percy's best man, with Jason, Frank, Hazel, Nico and Leo in his crew. 

Annabeth's maid of honour was Thalia, with Reyna, Piper, Magnus, Clarisse, Rachel and the Stoll brothers in hers. 

Chiron officiated. Estelle was flower girl. Grover was ring bearer, and he began chewing the cushion halfway through the ceremony, while sobbing the most.

 Coach Hedge held his club up threateningly, but his eyes were suspiciously moist too.

 Calypso was the next big crier, sitting with her arms crossed stubbornly in a white vintage T-shirt and faded jeans, tears seeping out through the corners of her eyes.

Almost all the gods came. 

Aphrodite was jumping up and down and cooing over them, giving Percy looks that made him turn bright red. She looked exactly like Annabeth to him now. 

Apollo was sprawled in a front seat that he was not supposed to be in, and had dragged Will and Meg with him, Will smiling awkwardly while Meg chatted with Artemis about how annoying Apollo was.

 Hermes appeared to Percy in the dressing room ("Do you gods have NO respect for privacy?") because he 'had a message for him.’ A message from him, George and Martha, for once, wishing him good luck. They chatted, and then Percy asked if he'd met Annabeth too, but Hermes stiffened and left. 

Afterwards tho he and Annabeth came face to face during the reception, and it was awkward and silent. It ended with both of them in tears about Luke, but it was healing for them both. Hermes gave her her dagger back, and Annabeth was surprised and asked how he got it back from Tartarus. Hermes said Bob had found it and sent it up, and was on the lookout for her laptop too -

But he didn't get to finish, because Annabeth hugged him hard, and after initial shock he hugged her back.

The tension between Athena and Poseidon was palpable, and they were seated as far apart as possible. 

Poseidon thumped Annabeth on the back so hard she almost toppled into the lake, booming "I should have known! My son and I seem to have yet another thing in common - a love for queens among women." And Percy turned red again. Poseidon gave Percy a huge hug, and went on to meet Sally Jackson. Poseidon took his son marrying a daughter of his rival better than Athena did, though. 

When Annabeth and Athena met, there was some tension. It was difficult for Athena to admit she was harsh and unfair with what she said to Annabeth in HOO, and to apologize, but Percy put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder and stood behind her, even when Athena turned her piercing gaze on him and asked that she talk to Annabeth alone. He only went when Annabeth asked him to. 

Athena told Annabeth she was proud of her, and added that there was a chance she might be as great, and even greater, than Daedalus. Annabeth knew this was her best attempt at showing affection, and appreciated it. 

Athena then accosted Percy, on his way back with drinks, and gave him a once over and humphed. Percy didn't flinch or show any signs of being intimidated, and she raised and eyebrow and finally said, "I will admit, Perseus Jackson, that I did not think you a good choice for my daughter. I still have my doubts... However you have proved yourself more than worthy, and so I gave you permission to marry her. But make no mistake - if you hurt her, I will crack your skull open and extract every brain cell you have left, until you are a drooling, gibbering mess." Percy replied, "If I hurt Annabeth, she'll break every bone in my body before you even get to me. So I don't think you have to worry about that." They parted on fair terms. 

Artemis met Percy and Annabeth together, and they had a short conversation about the merits of being turned into a Jackalope, vs the merits of being married. "Life as a Jackalope is more enjoyable than it would seem. However, you have chosen your bane, and against all odds, I hold hope for you both." she concluded. 

Hestia was tending the flames when Percy and Annabeth went to meet her, both respecting her as the most helpful goddess of legit all time. She smiled and simply said, "Hope is stronger than ever now, Percy Jackson, for you now build a new and loving home - a rarer place than you would expect."

Mr. D insisted on making a speech, and making it out to Perry Jorganesson and Annie Bell.

The only god not present was Zeus. In fact, he'd banned the gods from going when it became clear that everyone wanted to go, but the gods' respect for him after the way he handled the HOO fiasco was in negative numbers so every single one of them sneaked out of Olympus. Even those who normally wouldn’t have gone went to spite him.

Hades and Persephone went as a couple. Hades sniffed and smirked, saying only that he was glad Percy was 'not my son's type, or I'd have to deal with you' (but he low key ships Percabeth). Persephone though, smiled radiantly and was one coo away from fangirl squealing. Before they left, Hades gave them a note from Bob.

"Bob saw two stars already. They were next to him in Tartarus. Bob says hello." Percy and Annebth sobbed for fiat that, holding each other tightly. They made a point of mapping every single constellation that night. They almost cried again when they saw the Huntress above them.

Hephaestus's eyes twinkled, and he said, "I see that trap in Waterland worked after all - even if not in the way I'd intended."

 Ares just grunted that Annabeth had a better weapon (the dragon fang sword) than the last time he saw her, and took his sunglasses off to glare at Percy. "Now there are TWO goddesses who'll kill me if I snuff you out."

The highlight though was Hera waltzing in, smiling smugly like she'd set up the whole thing, and eating a slice of cake, turning a seashell-and-flower arrangement into a cow because it 'looked better, and brought back memories'. She left soon enough, but not before the cow had left a warm gift.  

Grover gave his blessing as Lord of the Wild, Rachel gave hers as the Oracle, and the gods fully expected Percabeth to ask for one of their blessings next, but instead the two turned to Sally Jackson and asked for her blessing as the 'supreme goddess'.

The ceremony was in the pavilion, and the reception was around the canoe lake at twilight. The trees around the canoe lake were hung with fairy lights, and Juniper and the dryads had ensured that the sweetest, most fragrant flowers grew. Seashells decorated the venue. Calypso had brought moonlace that began to glow and smell even more beautiful as night began to fall. The Hecate cabin had enchanted sparkling butterflies to flutter around them both after it got dark. The naiads sang in voices nearly as beautiful as the sirens, although lighter and airier. The pegasi flew in formation.

Bessie the Ophiotaurus as well as the Hippocampi were in attendance.

Percy and Annabeth did their first dance underwater, and kissed before resurfacing. Everyone looked around for the dance floor, but couldn't see a thing, when they realized - the lake was the dance floor. Percy had managed to magic the lake, with favours from the naiads and Poseidon, into a liquid dance floor that rippled different colours with each step.

Their wedding day had been on the last day of camp, with the whole camp invited, so with nightfall came the camp traditions, but even better. 

There was the fireworks display of course, but with Leo's help it was doubly glorious and even began to tell Percabeth's story. Annabeth looked like she'd die when it began showing the Thrill Ride of Love part of the story, because "It doesn't matter if we're married Percy! It's still embarrassing!"

Camp fire was even more cheerful, what with the gods and mortals allowed in for the first time, and of course Piper+Leo and the Stoll brothers played pranks - it was funnier than it would have been because their pranks overlapped and backfired on each other instead.

Instead of wedding bands, Percabeth were married with camp beads - an owl and a trident artistically intertwined in a silver thread carved heart, designed by Rachel. Hazel summoned the silver and some jewels to embellish them - and this time, she knew, somehow, that they weren’t cursed.

Of course the cake and all food and drink was blue, as well as the flowers, the wedding party's outfits, and (on Annabeth's request as a surprise for Percy) the guests’ clothes. Aphrodite went super overboard with that, and even Artemis succumbed to a small blue flower and fang accessory in her hair.

As soon as the dancing and music ended (as soon as they could get the mic away from Apollo), the activity underway was Capture the Flag with Percy and Annabeth leading opposite teams composed of their bridal parties+friends. Coach Hedge and the Hermes, Ares, Aphrodite and part of the Apollo cabins along with a bunch of minor god cabins went on Annabeth's team, and Will, Meg, and the rest in Percy's. The gods sat it out (some had to be physically restrained) as did Grover, the nature spirits, animals and mortals (Rachel had to be dissuaded from entering armed with plastic hairbrushes and improv lighter-and-spray flamethrowers).

Nobody won. Instead of crossing over the boundary line when they met with each other's flags in hand, Percy and Annabeth started making out. Clarisse could be heard grumbling about it later.

Grover and Thalia stayed back long after everyone had left, and the four of them spent time together until four in the morning.

BTW Annabeth proposed to Percy right before he was about to propose to her. They both looked at each other in surprise for a solid minute, and then burst out laughing. It was impossible to tell who said yes, or if any of them did, but they didn't need to. 

They’d both gone to Tyson for the engagement rings. Tyson was confused at first, but promised to keep their secret from each other.

Grover on the other end of the link just stopped mid conversation with the Council of Cloven Elders and Dionysus, and bleated loudly in relief, "FREAKING FINALLY." out of nowhere, and while everyone looked bewildered, Dionysus though just took a sip of diet coke and rolled his eyes, sighing, "Took them long enough."

They proposed to each other on Percy's birthday. Annabeth had baked another blue cupcake ("I'm getting better at it, too!") and they were cuddling/play fighting/sprawling on the sofa late at night in Sally's apartment, talking. They sat with their legs crossed together, devouring the cupcake with their fingers, talking about their plans.

 Annabeth mentioned that she'd designed this new building for New Rome that she was SO excited to build (Reyna had contracted her as New Rome's architect), and asked if Percy wanted to see the design. Percy agreed, and she retrieved a roll of paper. Annabeth began to explain enthusiastically, and, pointing at the center of the design, said, "And this is my favourite part." Percy leaned in further to see what she was pointing at - at the heart of the temple, where the altar should be, was a blue-silver ring with a wave design over the words "will you marry me?"

Annabeth looked almost anxiously at Percy, but he looked blank. Finally, Percy uncapped Riptide, which she hadn't noticed was poised in his hand as if he was going to point or correct something on the sheet, and instead of expanding into a sword, it remained a ball pen - with a simple silver ring etched with the words "Wise Girl" around its tip.

They stared at each other, stumped, before exploding in laughter. 

Sally and Paul came running from the next room, Estelle copying them and giggling in Paul's arms, worried that it was a monster attack. When instead they saw Percy and Annabeth laughing and hugging, each wearing a ring on fingers covered in blue frosting and looking as if they couldn't quite believe it, Sally burst into tears right there and had to explain to her concerned kids, laughing, that these were happy tears because secretly she still couldn't believe that they had all found their happiness and it was something she'd only dared to dream of because it was everything she ever wanted for her son and she was happy to and oh how long had she waited and worked and hoped for a happy ending for all of them but never really expected it and this was too much - 

[shirewalker]

Twelve Days of Nikolina - Day 1

Summary: A series of twelve one-shots where Nikolai and Alina find themselves in varied Christmas/Winter settings in a countdown for Christmas.

Every fic will have its specific rating and summary.

But in all of them these two are the best nerds in love <3 Pairing: Alina/Nikolai Multi-chap (on-going) Rating: Varied Read on AO3

Serendipity

Rating: (soft) Teen Summary:  Alina is in search of the perfect scarf. She might find more than she bargained for...

Alina walked through the somewhat packed halls, wondering just where she could find someone that would help her find the perfect scarf. Genya had insisted on a girls’ weekend at David’s lodge (he wouldn’t be there, of course) and Alina desperately needed a scarf. Her old one had suffered a glorious death at the hands of Zoya and Harshaw’s cat.

“Excuse me!” She flagged down a salesperson that seemed to be free. The place was still a bit rundown after the morning sales and Alina felt lucky to find a free salesperson.

“Hello, how can I help you?” He turned to her, quick to jump into selling mode when he saw her haggard look.

“I need to find a scarf. A really good one.”

He seemed to hold back a surprised chuckle, then he turned and pointed to the left escalators, “Just up those. To your right you’ll find all sorts of winter accessories.” He paused, “Well, after this morning��s surprise Christmas sale I’m not sure what was left, but that’s where you’ll find scarves.”

“Thank you!” Alina was already going up the escalators, cursing herself for not checking for the existence, or lack of a spare scarf. She, who always was so damn cold on her neck.

The upper floor seemed to have been robbed by a runaway tornado, compared to downstairs. Of any items that were left behind, nothing was in place, let alone in presentable condition. A couple of clearly tired clerks seem to be attempting to give this part of the store a more presentable look. Possible walked about, careful to not get in their way.

Alina made a beeline towards the table where a large label announced the existence of SCARVES.

“Yes!” She let out under her breath as her eyes caught on the beautiful, golden-yellow scarf that seemed to beckon her from under a pile of scarves in drab, dark shades of winter.

But the moment she tried to tug it from under the ugly pile, the scarf refused to come to her.

“Come on!” She tugged again, and much to her surprise, the only thing that came through the tower of scarves was a man.

In her surprise, Alina almost let go of her find.

“Oh saints! Are you ok?”

The man, whose dark golden hair was in a state similar to this store’s floor – in utter disarray – shook his head and looked to her.

Alina blinked fast at the sight of the most beautiful hazel eyes she’d ever seen.

“Well,” A lazy smile curved his lips, “I am now.”

Alina didn’t know what to say to his reply. Until she saw his hand was firmly attached to the other end of the scarf. She scoffed, “Too bad. Because I need this scarf.”

His gaze left hers, rather reluctantly, to find her hand tight around the scarf. He arched his eyebrows, “Huh, look at that. The only good find in this floor and we both had to snatch it at the same time.”

“Not at the same time. I saw it first.”

He shrugs and cleverly finds his way out of the table, without letting go of the scarf, “Hard to tell, since there was a pile of scarves in the way, as well as that neat little tower showcasing the samples no one will ever buy.” He came closer and Alina had to tilt her head up.

Saints. He was tall.

“I assure you, I saw it first. Now let go, I really, really need it.” She hated the begging undertone to her voice, but it was important!

The hazel-eyed stranger tilted his head to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face, “For what?”

She rolled her eyes, “For what? To wear it, of course!”

His chuckle was a beautiful sound. Except he kept holding on to the damned scarf, “If that’s the case, there’s plenty of other scarves here. Why this one?”

Alina was growing tired of this stubborn man and his beautiful eyes and his wonderfully addictive voice… She scoffed and looked away, “I love this colour, ok? Now please… Let it go.”

He didn’t move or say a thing for a long time. Then he tugged on the scarf until they were toe to toe. Alina had to breathe hard in order to look somewhat composed. He leaned in and whispered, “All right.” Then, to her eternal surprise, he wrapped it loose around her neck. “It was clearly made for you,” He added after taking a look at his handiwork.

Confusion had Alina blinking fast and trying to speak. She shook her head and took a step back, making sure to hold tight to the scarf around her neck, “Why?”

The stranger shrugged, “Your honesty.”

“That’s it? Because I love the colour?”

He winked, “And it looks wonderful on you. Now, sunshine, I’d love to continue to bask in your beauty, but I seem to be lacking a scarf now…”

Sunshine?

“Huh, well… Why don’t I help you find a replacement?” Where the hell did that come from? She had things to pack!

The stranger beamed at her, “That would be wonderful! To spend a second longer in your company?” He put a hand to his heart and Alina felt her own skip a beat, “Allow me to pay you a coffee once we find a scarf, please.”

She shouldn’t. She really had to pack for the trip. But… She’d be lying if she wasn’t utterly drawn to this hazel-eyed stranger. Something seemed to pull her in.

“I suppose... If you can find me a decent coffee.”

“Oh, I can not only find you a decent coffee, I can find you the best coffee in town.” He paused and offered her a hand.

Alina stared at the outstretched hand before realising he was asking for hers. Stunned, she gingerly placed her fingers on his broad palm.

His fingers closed around hers and he smiled again, “Name’s Nikolai. A pleasure to meet you, sunshine.”

She swallowed down and nodded, “Huh, I’m Alina. Pleasure is still debatable.”

Nikolai laughed aloud this time, “Saints, you are wonderful.” Then he kissed her knuckles before letting her hand go, “Now, let’s go find me a scarf.”

Alina followed him back to the pile of scarves, hand tingling from the kiss, and silently wondering if fate had driven her towards this impossible man.

Maybe.

After all, it was Christmas. Anything could happen on Christmas.

[solarmorrigan]

It was only normal, when spending some time away from your place of origin, to want something that reminded you of home. A national flag, perhaps, or some photographs of loved ones, or an obnoxious heirloom cuckoo clock.

There were no places Crowley really thought of as home; he may have come from Hell, but he certainly didn’t want to be reminded of it any more than was necessary. Home for Crowley was more of a form – he didn’t favor snake-themed accessories and décor just because they looked cool (though they did, which was certainly a point in their favor).

For Aziraphale, Crowley supposed it was difficult to find an object that accurately represented Heaven; most depictions and related icons had been created by humans, after all. They were nice, but, if Crowley’s memory served, not quite right.

Representations of angels, though? Well, those were harder to get wrong, so far as Earthly appearances went. Particularly if you only focused on the wings.

Crowley had seen a lot of angel wing accessories come and go – some more tasteful than others, but all worn with such sincerity that they always just worked for Aziraphale.

Of course, since the days of Not Armageddon After All, Aziraphale had drifted slightly from items like his angel wing ring and watch chain fob. Crowley supposed learning that your angel brethren were more than happy to destroy the world in order to win an argument—and then destroy you because you’d stopped them—would be enough to sour anyone on the motif.

(Interestingly, the winged mug Crowley had gifted Aziraphale with as a joke some time ago had been exempt from the purge; Crowley allowed himself to feel very smug about this.)

The dearth of accessories did rather make the new ring stand out when it appeared, though.

It was small, sitting on Aziraphale’s right pinky, just where the golden ring used to be, but it was most definitely different. It was silver, for one, thought Crowley knew Aziraphale preferred warm metals; it was also a bit thicker than the delicate sorts of things Aziraphale had adorned himself with over the ages – it appeared to be stacked, or… coiled?

Finally, after an entire morning of attempting to discretely follow Aziraphale’s hand with his eyes (and really, Aziraphale never moved around this much, but he chose today to rearrange the poetry section? That was just rude), Crowley reached out as Aziraphale was passing by the chair he was lounging in and caught him by the wrist.

“Oh!” Aziraphale jumped, startled from thought, and blinked down at Crowley in consternation. “If you really needed my attention, you could have called my name.”

“This is new,” Crowley said by way of answer, turning Aziraphale’s hand this way and that. “It’s… a snake?”

It was, indeed; a little silver snake curled thrice around Aziraphale’s finger, with finely wrought little scales and little dark stones for eyes.

Crowley continued to stare at the ring, perplexed. Aziraphale didn’t do snakes.

(Well– no, no, Crowley wasn’t making that joke even in his head. Low-hanging fruit.)

“Well, yes,” Aziraphale said after a moment. “I hope you don’t think I’m trying to step on your theme, or – or anything of the sort. I just saw it and… it made me think of you.”

“Me?” In a perfect world, Crowley’s voice hadn’t squeaked so much on a single word.

“You,” Aziraphale confirmed, voice warming a bit. “I realize it’s the wrong color of course, but–”

“Wrong – color?”

“The head isn’t shaped quite right either, I know, but it’s such a small ring, I supposed it was alright,” Aziraphale went on.

“Uh. Yeah. Alright.” Crowley nodded, gathering himself back together.

So Aziraphale wanted to wear things that reminded him of Crowley now. That was fine and definitely not something to feel emotions over.

“Good.” Aziraphale smiled, sunny as ever, but just sharp enough to suggest he may have been enjoying Crowley’s reaction a bit more than he’d let on; then he leaned down and kissed Crowley on the forehead, mild as you please, like he was trying to short circuit him. “May I go back to my books now?”

Crowley nodded, releasing the grip he hadn’t realized he’d still had on Aziraphale’s wrist.

Aziraphale wandered back towards the poetry books he’d left half-sorted while Crowley remained where he was, still watching Aziraphale’s hands at work, still distracted by the ring, though now for different reasons.

A person’s definition of home could always change.

Idly, Crowley wondered if he’d be able to find anything wing-themed that would suit him.

[hoseokmylovesworld]

Picture of Love | 11 (M)

Pairing: Photographer!Hoseok x OC x Producer!Yoongi

Genre/Warnings: Hoseok AU/Yoongi AU/Includes strong language, smut, dirty talk, praise kink

Words: 6,056

Summary: Charlotte Galloway is the leader of the up and coming girl band, “She-Bang”, with a side hustle as a photographer for anyone who will hire her.  She meets a fellow professional photographer named Jung Hoseok who helps “She-Bang” realize their dreams and Charlotte to make a love connection along the way.

"I didn't know we were going shopping." I turn to J-Hope once I finally get myself together from my insane fit of laughter.

Even standing here now with my eyes travelling over all the sexual gadgets on every wall, I couldn't bring myself to believe Jay brought me to a sex shop. The place was way bigger than I could have guessed. Rows of dildos and vibrators, vibrating dildos and anal stimulators went on forever it seemed. There were even walls stocked with weapons, accessories and rope for bondage along with every leather creation known to man. On the opposite wall of the store were imaginative costumes for roleplay. The classic doctor and nurse duo caught my eye and my mind took off with a bed room scenario including Jay in a snazzy lab coat and scrubs and me in a tight, red and white nurse's ensemble. Mmm.

Being pulled out of his shocked stare, he turns to me, flustered.  

"Yeah? Neither did I." He remarks, turning back to his surroundings with his hand with his hand on his hip, finding the humor in the situation, finally. "...Unless you wanted to...I could... you know... " he gestures to the toys to communicate that if I were interested, he would buy me something.

I'll keep that in mind.

"No, thank you. I'm quite satisfied with the collection I have now... Thanks though." I say, looking back at him to gauge his reaction, but taking a few more steps into the business.

Jay makes a slightly caught off guard face and his cheeks slowly, but surely accumulate a pink hue.

"Don't act surprised, you saw that coming. Probably." I brush off.

"Yes, I suppose I did." He laughs. "Well, I'm sorry I brought you all the way here for nothing. Makes for a good story though, ha... I'm gonna kick Suho's ass for this." He curses under his breath.

"Oh? Or did you do this on purpose to tell me something?" I move closer to him and rest my hands on his chest, making suggestive eyes at him, planning to make my move.

He takes hold of my waist in turn, but his next words contradict his actions. "Charlotte, if I wanted to tell you I wanted to sleep with you, I would." He utters smiling, as if it were nothing.

Ooh, bold and rude are we?

"So...why haven't you? Do you not want...?" I don't finish my sentence out of pure embarrassment and offense. I begin to back away and release myself from his grip in fear of making a fool of myself any further.

"No! I mean yeah, I do!" He stammers, attempting to bring my body back to himself. "I just...I thought you wanted to take things slow." He makes a very confused, yet hopeful face. My shoulders drop and I can't help, but let out a giggle.

Of course the reason he hasn't questioned me about sex is because he's concerned. How am I even able to be associated with this man?

"Yes, I do... but I'm thinking this can be the exception." I move closer and lean up to whisper in his ear and press my hand to his crotch, evoking a groan from J-Hope. "'Cuz I really like you. Also because I really wanna suck your dick." He laughs nervously, briefly ducking his head into my neck.

"That sounds... amazing, but I probably should get some food in you first." He looks down into my eyes, caressing my face once again.

"Or you could put something else in me." I persist, biting my lip for effect and keeping eye contact.

J-Hope just laughs freely, all nervousness gone. "That sounds even better, believe me, but I'm serious. You should really eat something and I'm actually pretty hungry myself." He says more sternly, but still has yet to remove my hand. That's the second hard-on I gave him today and he's not jumping my bones.

Is this a joke?

"Wow, what a gentlemen... fine, I'll play by your rules." I relent, accepting that I've lost the battle.

"Good... because soon there won't be any." he whispers in my ear and then  took my hand that was on his crotch and kissed the back of it all while looking at me with those bedroom eyes.

Mission complete. Message received.

I then take the hand that's holding mine and kiss that as well, earning a pleasantly surprised face from Jay. "Good. Let's get outta here."

I drag him out of the building, not sparing the silly blonde another glance on the way out. The car is charged with sexual tension and comfortable yet static silence.

J-Hope pulls up to a large, stone building and parks directly in front of it. "This is where we're having dinner?" I inquire as he helps me out of the car.

"Yeah." He shrugs. "Hope you don't mind." He sends me a smirk and doesn't wait for a reply, leading me towards the building that reads Nob Hill Apartments on at the top. Oh.

I take a good look around the lobby on our way to the elevator. It was filled with huge leather chairs and mahogany furniture and marble walls, altogether a very expensive looking place. Before I can comprehend what's happening, my view is disrupted by the closing of the elevator doors. Coming back to myself, I assess the situation aloud.

"So, what are we going to do about dinner at your apartment?" I'm genuinely confused as to why he didn't just go to the drive through or something. The elevator dings once we reach the fifteenth floor and we step out to approach a lone door at the end of a short corridor. "I'm gonna cook for you, of course." J-Hope takes his keys out and unlocks the door. Oh this just keeps getting better and better.

"You're... gonna cook... for me?" I stand, dumbfounded in the hall. Jay just turns to me and flags me over with a tilt of his head and a flick of his wrist. "Yes, now come in." He laughs. I cross over the threshold into Jay's apartment that happens to be huge as fuck. Before I have a good look around, he requests that I take my heels off and he removes my coat and put them all in the coat closet. A fucking coat closet in an apartment.

"Alright, would you like the grand tour?"

"Yes, please."

"Ha ha, okay."

The closest was the full bathroom, which was surprisingly, very clean, next was the fully equipped laundry room. After that, was Jay's bed room, which had a beige upholstered, king sized bed with a mac laptop resting carelessly on the bed spread, a walk in closet, another full bath, a metal computer desk with a neat desktop setup, for editing I assume, and a stack of books on top of it. The walls were a cool grey and the space was very tidy, but the room still gave off a comfortable, "lived-in" feeling.

"Next is the living room." Along with the initial door that lead us to the bedroom from the hall, there was a sliding, white door that took up most of the wall that lead to the living room. 

Well shit.

The first thing I notice about the living room was the magnificent view of the city from its abundant windows. The Golden Gate and Bay bridges along with the rest of the San Francisco were lit up against the night sky. I let out a content sigh. J-Hope comes to stand beside me as I stare at the beautiful view. "That view is part of the reason why I took the place. My roommate loves that view too." I immediately turn my head in his direction at this.

"Roommate?" I ask, slightly concerned.

"Oh, yeah, well, not really my roommate, my friend is just staying for a while. He won't be back tonight though, don't worry." He rubs my arms, comfortingly, while shooting me a flirtatious glance and I decide to study the living room further so as to not jump his bones right here. 

He'd better not.

It had dark, hardwood floors with a large grey rug covering most of it and a coffee table sat on top of it. A hefty three seat, leather couch accompanies the coffee table and is flanked by two more leather armchairs in front of the full entertainment system and massive flat screen.

"Nice." I say to myself, but he responds "Thanks. That's my guest/roommate's room over there." He points to the closed, sliding door on the right of the living room, directly across from his.

"And this is where all the magic happens. The kitchen." I am then lead into the kitchen that does not belong inside an apartment, but a two story suburban home. There's every kitchen appliance ever to exist and all the cabinet space you could ever wish for. There's even a granite island with three stools in front of it. I take a seat in one as J-Hope gets to work pulling out utensils and ingredients. I watch as he pulls the sleeves of his white dress shirt up to his forearms and washes his hands.

"You have such a nice place here." I say continuing to ogle my surroundings.

"Thanks. Yeah, I worked really hard for it." He doesn't bother taking his attention off of what he's doing.

"I see that. What does your roommate do?" I ask, simply trying to make conversation. I could give a shit what his roommate does for a living.

"Uh, he's a music producer." He shares absentmindedly, very focused on his task.

"Oh, that's cool." I nod. "What are we eating anyway?" I try to peak over his shoulder.

"Chicken parmesan and some spaghetti." I audibly gasp behind him, my eyes popping out of my head.

"That's my favorite food." I announced excitedly.

He turns slightly to me with a pleased smirk. "I know." He almost purrs or at least that's what it sounded like to me. "Oooh, he listens." I cooed proudly. "Of course he does." He shot back satisfied with himself causing me to giggle.

This along with the thought that he probably prepared for this night under different circumstances on a separate occasion really warmed my heart completely.

"Hey, you want some wine to hold you over? This might take a while." He points to the chicken he was in the middle of seasoning.

"Oh, yes please." I accept without a second thought. J-Hope pulls a bottle of Dom Pérignon Rose from the fridge and pours two glasses. I take a sip and savor the taste and watch Jay as impressed as I've ever been. Man, he's got money, a nice car, a nice place and he can cook! 

From what I can smell anyway. God, please don't let me fuck this up anytime soon.

We make small talk for a little while longer before I begin to get bored just sitting and watching his back, so I make my way to the counter, near the stove, where he's working to get a closer look. I glance at the browning chicken in the pan and then up at J-Hope through my lashes and we lock eyes before he chuckles and looks away, I notice, he even starts to blush. How fucking cute is that?!

"You want a sneak peak?" He says, preparing a spoon full of the homemade spaghetti sauce for me to sample. Yeah, a sneak peak of that dick.

"Yeah sure!" I answer, just happy to have his attention again.

He happily escorts the spoon to my lips and my eyes widen once the sauce hits my taste buds.

"Jay," I grab his arm quickly as if I have pressing information to tell him. He looks back at me intently, awaiting my message. "I don't know if you know this, but...this is actually good." I say in a shocked voice. I drop the act and let out a chuckle when his shoulders drop from their tense pose and he narrows his eyes at me.

"That's very funny, but I'm not surprised." He replies, suddenly reaching out to touch my face. He swipes his thumb across the corner of my mouth and comes back with a red sauce that he immediately sucks into his mouth all while making eye contact with those bedroom eyes of his. "Tease." I whisper under my breath, making my way back to the island to sip on my wine. Jay chuckles at my actions and continues cooking, forcing me to do nothing, but look at his impressive back muscles. Taunting me without even trying now.

Get it together Char.

More small talk ensues until I peak to see Jay plating the food. He brings two plates and the bottle of wine over to the island and sits beside me. "Whew! Finally, I'm starving." I dig in without a second thought or reply from Jay. Once again I'm speechless at how delicious this dish is that I've been eating all my life.

"OH, J-Hope!" I mumble frantically through all the food in my mouth. He all-but jumps in his chair and looks me over for any injuries. "What? What is it!? Is it the food? What's wrong?" He asks wildly, trying to find solutions.

I nod hurriedly and swallowed everything in order to speak. "J-Hope, this is so fucking good!" I announce the reason why I was making a fuss and his expression completely changes from one of concern to betrayal. He goes back to eating his meal, fighting off a desperate need to laugh, while I for one took to laughing at his expense openly.

"Awww, Jay. Don't be mad." I teased through laughter as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "You nearly gave me a heart attack." He replied, emotionless. "Awww, I'm sorry. It was just so delicious. I couldn't help myself." I say peppering kisses along the exposed right side of his body. I continue to do this as a moment of silence comes over us until Jay speaks up.

"That's twice I fell for that joke." he whispers. "I know! I'm amazing aren't I?" I let go to reward myself with a fork full of chicken parm.

"I can't argue with you there. Just not again, please." He looks up feebly, only half joking. "Yes, Jay, you got it. Thanks so much for cooking me this amazing meal by the way. It's lovely." A genuine smiles adorns his perfect face and I mentally pat myself on the back for putting it there.

"Of course, I've actually been wanting to do this for a while, but haven't found the right time. Ha, maybe I should be thanking Suho for telling me to go to that place."

I knew it! He had been planning to make me dinner after all. I don't know how to respond once my suspicions are proven true, as I'm filled with so much pleasure to hear that he would plan all this for me. It shows that he really put a lot of thought into this night to cook my favorite food, save an expensive wine bottle for the occasion and entertain my foolishness all the while. I place my hand on his forearm that rested on the table without thinking.

"You don't have to, you know?" I said in a low voice.

"Don't have to what?" he inquired genuinely lost at my vague sentence.

"To...Impress me, I guess." J-Hope was clearly not expecting this answer, as his eyes got the slightest bit wider and his mouth moved into a small frown. He was obviously lost. "I mean...What I mean to say is, you've taken me to the most expensive restaurants and nothing less, used your resources and connects to get wonderful photos and videos for my band and here you've worked really hard to make me this amazing meal and...I really appreciate it. No one has ever done this much for me... But I would be satisfied with like a burger and fries or something too." We both can't help, but laugh at that last part.

"I know Charlotte. That's the main reason why I like you so much." I give a toothy grin at the compliment that made me feel warm inside and make a side note to ask him about the other reasons later. We each go back to eating in comfortable silence before he decided he had more to say on the topic.

"I want to, though." Were his next words, leaving me the one to look at him in confusion. "Impress you, I mean... I mean it's not like you don't deserve it and it's no secret, I think you're... incredible and honestly, probably the most stunning girl I've ever met." I look down at the commendation out of habit. Jay gets up out of his chair to close the distance between us and lift my chin up to look at him with his thumb and index finger. "So forgive me for wanting to go the extra mile for someone as utterly brilliant as you are."

My stomach struggled to withhold the slew of butterflies running rampant inside it at the amount of praise coming from Hoseok. I honestly didn't know how to take it all, I definitely wasn't used to this and I could swear I felt tears flaring up behind my eyes at the sentiment. But there was no time to process it anyways seeing as Jay's lips were headed straight for mine and I welcomed them, gladly.

He took my face in both hands and bent down to plant on a kiss on my waiting lips. Instinctively, I wrap my hands around his middle, feeling everything I can and let my legs spread wider to give him better access so that I was on the edge of my seat and there is no space left between us. Jay's tongue easily enters my mouth as the kiss turns rough and I let out a soft moan, loving where this is going.

He runs his hands down my sides, not missing a single curve on his way to my thighs. I feel his hands caress the backs of my thighs and suddenly I'm being lifted into the air onto the island in the same exact position without breaking the kiss. An excited and impressed squeal escapes as I land, causing Hoseok to chuckle into my mouth. His mouth travels down my jaw to my neck, spending time on my sweet spot before he explores my collar bones and repeating the whole process with a hunger, like his life depended on it.

He dragged my body to the edge of the counter, one hand on each of my ass cheeks, causing my skirt to ride all the way up. With this, he properly grinded into my center, which was right where I needed him.

"Nnngh... You gonna give me what I want now?" I ask breathlessly in Hoseok's ear, in as sultry a voice as I can muster. "Yes, Charlotte." He pants in between his attacks on my neck. "Anything... You want... It's yours."

Arousal seemed to rush between my legs at the assertion and the delicious assault he was delivering to my jugular.

"Mmm." I hummed in approval, gripping the silky black hair at the crown of his head and pulling it back so that I could look him in those beautiful brown eyes. He wasn't expecting the rough action, moaning at the loss of exposed skin to gnaw on. He looked absolutely ravenous. His eyelids hooded with lust, chest heaving with excitement, ready to pounce again at any moment. I doubted I looked any different. 

It was an odd experience, seeing Hoseok so wild and untamed like his usual gentlemanly self, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to enjoy every minute of it.

"Take me to you room." I say before connecting our lips again. Jay wastes no time in picking me up and getting us to his room. He makes a b-line directly for the bed and carefully places me down on it before going to climb on top of me.  He gives me a passionate kiss that sends warmth through my chest and continues his onslaught on my neck. 

"God, I love your collar bones." He explains giving them a pleasant nip. I moan in delight at the statement. He starts to make his way down my body and I stop him because I have plans of my own.

"Ah-ah." I interrupt him. Jay looks up at me in bewilderment. "Take off your pants and get on your back." I instruct earnestly. A smug smirk appears on J-Hope's face, I don't return it seeing as he is unmoving between my legs. "You calling the shots now baby?" I try not to get distracted by the titillating chill that runs up my spine at the pet name or the memory of our almost first kiss with the phrase before it.

"Don't play dumb, you know what I want." I press, not even trying to hide the carnal desire building up inside of me for this man. Jay seems taken aback and pleased with my answer all at once. He moves off the bed to properly remove his offensive clothing, getting completely naked. "Fuck." I let slip while ogling his body, seeing that he has six pack abs and a very large penis.

"Soon, just be patient." He replies in a smug voice, getting back on the bed. I take advantage of his position and grab hold of his shoulders, pinning him to the bed so that I'm on top. "Smartass." I say as I go to flick his nipple with my tongue.

"Sss! Ahh, uh, that's new." He swallows hard, not knowing what to do with his hands at the sign of something new. "Just sit back and relax, baby." I drawled, pleased that the pet name had the same effect on him as it did on me.

I watch him visibly release the tension from his body and went back to tracing the expanses of his body with my tongue. Jay was mostly silent unless it had to do with his nipples or the area around his privates. I teased him by leaving hickeys on his hips and v-lines and blowing on the sensitive skin, even going as far as biting his thighs a couple of times. 

I would make my way back and forth across his pubic bone and kitten-lick his cockhead each time, but never putting it in my mouth, causing him to whimper. I was having the time of my life just worshipping this man's body, enjoying his moans of pleasure with no rush for him to return the favor... Now that's new.

In my fun-filled daze, I hear Jay's voice in between the pants and whines. "Charlotte," He mewls. "Please..."

Oh? "Hm?" I look up to find his face screwed up in anguish, his left hand fisted in the sheets and the other half covering his face. "What was that?" I question, nipping at his abdominal muscles once more.

"Please-ss! Please stop teasing..." He looks down at me, pleadingly, which I return with a smug smile of my own. I've never been the one to earn pleas from a partner during sex, let alone wish to hear someone beg, but with Hoseok, it was one of the most magnificent sounds to ever grace my ears. It's all I've ever wanted.

"Is that what I'm doing?" I ask coyly. "Yes, Charlotte that is what you're doi-haugh!" His fretting was cut short as I finally took his erection in my hand, offering some kind of friction. "There's no need to raise your voice." I all, but whisper, letting the heat of my breath fall onto the tip of his cock.

"Hoo, ha ha, Charlotte," He begins, losing his patience.

"Say it again." I let my tongue slide up the side of his length briefly.

"Ahh, say what?" Jay asked cluelessly, surely losing his mind. "You know what." Is all I offer him with a sinister gaze. I felt a surge of power rush over me and I loved it. Being in control for once.

"Huhh... Please?" He takes a crack at it, but I wanted more. "Is that all you got?" I inquire while running my fingers along the underside of his balls.

"Mmm! Please, Charlotte will you put my dick in your mouth?" He spat out all at once, chest heaving.

"Mm, better... What will you give me?" I give his cock one long stroke and watch his body shudder. My mouth fell open at the sight and I couldn't resist the urge to touch myself. I hiked my skirt all the way up and stuck my hand inside my underwear to find an insane, but not surprising, amount of arousal already there. Collecting some, I teasingly swirled my fingers around my clit waiting for Hoseok's reply.

Hoseok looks down to see what all the movement is and his head falls back on the bed defeatedly in response. "Ugh, anything! I'll give you anything." He repeats his words from earlier and it's almost enough. I just need one more thing.

"Who's cock is this?" His dick twitches in my hand at the query.

"Oh, it's yours. It's all yours Charlotte, all of it." He panted out wholeheartedly, making my clit throb underneath my fingers and my stomach fill with butterflies simultaneously. With this, I finally took him into my mouth, hollowing out my cheeks and jerking him off with my hand. 

Jay tremors with the contact and immediately fists the sheets, this time with both hands. I take the hand in my panties and drag his fist to my head, signalling that he should grab onto  that instead. He takes the hint and takes a fist full of my hair in his hand and tugs, causing my hand to quickly find its way to my clit again.

"You like when I pull on your hair, huh, baby?" I nod as I bob my head up and down on his dick and let out a moan of approval, sending vibrations through him, causing him to pull on my hair again and the cycle continued as such until Hoseok announces, "I'm gonna cum, Charlotte." I made no move to get off of him, I only nod in understanding. This exchange gives Hoseok the approval he needs to hold my head down on his cock as he hits the back of my throat. 

Tears well up in my eyes at the pressure, but I fight through it as this is all I wanted and this is definitely not my first rodeo. He groans and comes down my throat in hot spurts, waves of pleasure visibly running through his body as he does. He promptly sinks into the bed, satiated and happy while I clean up the mess, still sucking on and sometimes licking up and down his cock because I can. 

Hoseok comes back to life at some point and doesn't stop me, he only caresses my face and massages my scalp and I feel him start to get hard again in my mouth. 

"God, you are amazing." He looks down at me with nothing, but adoration and I give the same gaze back.

"Come here." He orders with his finger. I'm powerless against his strong, heated gaze as I climb my way back up his body. He meets me halfway and I'm sat in his lap, kissing his soft, swollen lips. He works my shirt up over my head and gets rid of my bra in record time. This most definitely is not his first rodeo either. 

He forces me straight back and pins me to the bed now. He eyes my bruised neck and chest with pink and red hickeys covering my brown skin, proudly before diving in to gift me more. I giggle and moan at the gesture. He must really have a thing for collar bones, it's kind of cute.

He travels down to my breasts and gets a kick out of my squirming as he greedily, stroked my nipples with his tongue. Migrating further south, he licked and sucked skillfully down the plains of my body with his sinful mouth. I whined at the loss of contact, as he carelessly removed my skirt and underwear at once. He looks me over once again in awe, it seems. I almost start to fidget under his gaze, but I fight it. The show I put on earlier reminds me of how confident I truly am and I find the power to gaze right back at him with lust filled eyes, silently begging him to take me.

"You're so beautiful, Charlotte." The pure adoration in the way he utters my name sends a delicious chill down my spine. I smile in thanks, not knowing what else to say and frankly struggling to find the words. He doesn't give it a second thought, instead, he backs up and pushes my legs back so that they're touching my stomach and takes my clit into his mouth without warning. 

I intuitively, buck my hips into his mouth, Jay puts a stop to that by grabbing my thighs and forcing them down. The force he exerts will definitely leave bruising, but I find I am more than okay with that when I think about how I want Jay to leave his mark on me. The thought alone causes me to moan out and I grab Jay's head for leverage, twisting my fingers into that thick black hair that I love so much. He hums in approval into my pussy and I let out a tiny shriek.

"Ohhh, yes! Don't. Fucking. Stop." I pull his face closer to my cunt with both hands and my body arches off the bed when he sucks my clit into his mouth and repeatedly flicks his tongue against it full force.

"Shit! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, hah!" I felt myself getting close when he Jay inserted two fingers and started fingering me at an intense speed, catapulting me directly into my orgasm. My body froze in place and everything around me stood still. I let out a silent cry and my eyes rolled back into my head as Jay continued to finger me tirelessly for what felt like forever. He continued until I begged him to stop and I couldn't get mad at him for it because I loved every second.

I laid there in a drunken daze, chest rising and falling frantically, slightly convulsing without being touched. I felt Hoseok's body cover mine without putting much weight on me and I turned to face to him. He put both his hands on my face and kept calling my name even though I was right in front of him. With my vision slightly clouded with white spots and my drunken nature, I could see why he might be alarmed.

"Hey, Charlotte? You okay, babe?" The pleasant nickname brought some awareness to me and my senses and I was finally able to make Hoseok out with no spots or anything blocking my vision. The only thing I could think to do when I saw his beautiful face was to kiss him deeply. And the only thing I could think to say afterward was "Thank you."

He just laughs and caresses my face. "Anytime Charlotte." He lays his head on my chest and we just lay there for a while, enjoying the other's company.

"I mean what are you aquaman?" I jokingly ask, causing the both of us nearly cry with laughter. "No, but I try." He lifts his head up slowly and sends me a timid gaze. "You think you got one more in you?" He asks through hopeful, squinted eyes.

As if on cue, his cock twitches against my thigh, fully hard and I can feel arousal swell deep in my gut once more. 

"If what happens next is anything like what I just experienced, I got whatever you want." I said seriously, looking deep into his eyes. He smiled, getting up to put on a condom and bouncing back to the bed like an excited puppy. He gazed at me longingly from above before pouncing on my lips. He kissed me fervently all the while reaching to down to make sure I was still wet enough for the main event. Of course I was.

"You ready?" He asks. "I been ready for a long time." I reply truthfully. I've waited for this moment for what seems like forever and now that it's finally here, I'm trying to revel in it for as long as possible.

Suddenly, he thrust his cock inside me while staring deep into my eyes and I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. My jaw goes slack and I still his hips to get used to his massive size, but I don't look away. Eye contact during sex isn't a foreign concept to me, but I haven't done it with anyone since my ex. I didn't expect to want to capture the feeling it brings with Hoseok, but it feels more right now than it ever did before.

I girate my hips toward him, letting him know it's okay to move and he pulls almost all the way out and then delves back into me deeply. He hits my g-spot with most of his thrusts, causing my jaw to drop and my eyes to roll back into my head briefly before I refocus on him again and again.

"God, you look so fuckin' hot when you do that. Nnngh, so good baby, you're so good." I smile lazily and hum happily at the praise given to me. Jay takes notice of this.

"You like when I tell you how good you are?" He demands, his thrusts getting more powerful. "Ah! Yes!" My back completely arches off the bed and Hoseok follows my hips up into a new angle where he's on his knees, taking the weight of my hips and my shoulders and arms are the only part of me on the bed.

I let out a shout at the new angle that is bringing me closer and closer to my climax. "Right there! Oh my God, yes!" I scream as Hoseok takes complete control, guiding my body where it needs to go with his body as well as with his words.

"Oh, yes. You're so good Charlotte. Just taking my cock like that. Just take it, it's yours. All yours baby. Ooh--squeeze it like that again... Oh fuck."

Hoseok's intoxicating words and his rapid thrusts left me floating in a sea of nothingness. Euphoria spread from the tips of my toes to the every pore in my body. I was once again frozen in time and space, just a non-responsive pile of gummy limbs left throbbing around this cock for him to use as he pleased. And use it, he did and I welcomed every second of it. He came into the condom a while after me because he has the labido of a horse on steroids and collapsed on top of me. It was not a completely unwelcomed experience. I eventually wrapped my arms around him and vice versa, I was completely content.

A few minutes later, he got up to throw the condom away and made his way back to bed for a bit of cuddling. I haven't been a cuddler for years, but like most things when it came to Hoseok, I made an exception.

"That was absolutely amazing." He uttered into my chest, that was now cluddered with hickeys and fingerprints. "You can say that again. You're a fucking animal Jay, who knew?" We both laughed.

"I could say the same about you. Oh and Charlotte?"

"Yeah?" I peer down at him to get a better look.

"If we're gonna keep doing this, maybe you should learn how to pronounce my real name so I can hear you scream it next time." He smiles at me only half-joking.

I don't hesitate to take the pillow under him and slam it down on his face.

But he's not wrong, I would love to.

[coldace24]

CA/SUAL

Standing on the edge of the sidewalk, the whole crossing was laid out in front of me, filled with crowds and cars, hustling and bustling in yet another busy day. With the sun glaring at amazing intensity on the top my head, I could only breathe a heavy sigh, casually wiping off another drop of sweat with my sleeve.

As I crossed to the other side, the overwhelming heat had me decide to use a different route home than usual, somewhere with more shade, perhaps through the small-time market lined with wonderful, sun-blocking canopies overhead.

I really didn’t want to leave my apartment, especially not during noon when the heat was this bad, but alas, I had ran out of toilet paper, and running out of it during times of emergencies would be…devastating. So I went and bought a pack of rolls, just so I wouldn’t need to have to go out again in a while just to restock.

Passing by the electronics store just around the corner of the market, my eyes caught sight of the video playing on the store’s large screen display. Four girls were dancing to an upbeat music, looking fierce and rather pretty at the same time, and before I realized it, I was standing there, admiring their performance. Even as the video looped, I found myself still watching, entranced as it showed a girl with blonde hair and….cat ears I think, singing with an expression that seemed to speak to my heart.

“KDA huh…” I mumbled as their group name popped up at the end of the video before looping again. “They seem pretty cool.”

I stopped myself from getting too absorbed with the video and started to walk towards the market, humming their song that was now stuck on repeat inside my head. In a few more steps, I was under the canopies, and the familiar sight of meat shops, vegetables and spices put a smile on my face. If I was any good at cooking, this place would probably have been heaven, but sadly, all I can cook are instant noodles and fried food.

The calm breeze passing through the street, and the shades provided by the canopies allowed for a comfortable stroll, much appreciated as the heat seemed almost unbearable. To my surprise though, from the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of someone wearing a rather thick coat which seemed impossibly uncomfortable to wear on such a sunny day.

“….well, to each their own.” I mumbled to myself, but before I could look away, the person in question tripped at uneven ground, sending cabbages and leeks flying everywhere, a deadly hailstorm of gastric healthiness. In a fit of panic, the person started hurriedly collecting the vegetables scattered all around the floor.

“…..are you trying to tell me something, huh, life?” I grumbled as I went to approach the person, picking up the rest of the sprawled greenery on the way.

“Hey, are you alright?” I asked as I picked up a handful of greens.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just tripped and it’s nothing big, ahahaha…” The voice of a female surprised me, my attention shifting to the golden high-heels on her feet that were about five inches tall. Well yeah, with shoes like those, you’re bound to trip on these uneven streets.

“Uh… here you go.” I held out my hand filled with the veggies.

“Ah, thank yo-” She froze as she looked up to my face, or at least I felt like she did. I couldn’t exactly tell as her features were hidden by a black face mask that covered her nose and mouth, and round-rimmed purple sunglasses for her eyes. Is she a fugitive or something?

“Ah…감사함니다.” She continued in what seemed to be Hangul or Korean, much to my surprise and dismay. Why would she start speaking Korean now?

“Oh uh… do you need help?” I tried not to sound suspecting as I asked. She only shook her head, her black cap sliding from side to side. Only then did I notice the letters “KDA” printed boldly at its front. Fangirl…?

Although she denied my help, as soon as she stood up, the paper bags holding the vegetables ripped, leaving the greens sprawled out on the floor yet again. I swear I heard a yelp come from her as she hurriedly tried to gather them again. As amusing as it was to watch her get flustered trying to hold everything in her arms and fantastically failing, I decided to help her out instead.

“Woah there!” I quickly caught the few leeks that fell off her arms. “Um… how about I just help you, okay?”

She shook her head vigorously in protest at first, then noticed the amount of veggies still on the floor while her arms were already full. A heavy sigh escaped her breathe, nodding weakly as she passed me the ones in her arms to pick up the rest. Not long after, we were headed off to her destination, vegetables in hand, and awkward silence in the air.

“So uh…” I tried to start up a conversation. “…you’re Korean?”

“예, 저는 한국인입니다.”

I have no idea what she said, but it sounded like a yes. Gah, why is she even speaking in Korean? I’m pretty sure she spoke straight English before. This is more trouble than it should be.

“Uh…so what brings you here then?”

“Hm…우리는 영화 촬영을했습니다.” She turned to me as she spoke, although there wasn’t really much point since I couldn’t see her face. Okay, this time, I really have no idea what she just said.

“…Oh, okay. Cool.” I tried to play it calmly, hoping she wouldn’t notice my inability to comprehend what she was saying. To my surprise, she started laughing. Crap, have I been caught?

The rest of the way was me trying to figure out her answers to my questions, which, apparently, she found fairly funny as all she ever did was laugh at my pathetic attempts at understanding her. Soon, we were standing in front of the door to some apartment, on the fifth floor of some building…somewhere. Seems I focused too much in trying to understand her that I lost sight of my whereabouts on the way.

As she rung the bell, the shuffling noises and muffled chatter from inside turned into the sound of rushing footsteps that grew louder and louder. After a brief pause, the door swung open, and we were face-to-face with a woman who seemed oddly familiar; her purple hair and amber eyes gave it away, but I couldn’t seem to pinpoint who she was exactly. The way she stood in front of us, her stature, posture, and aura seemed to give off the kind of vibe you’d get from divas and celebrities. Perhaps she was one?

“What took you so long?” Her brow was raised as she asked.

“미안 늦었 어.”

“Hangul….?” The purple-haired woman looked surprised, but seemed to understand as her gaze fell upon me. “Oh… well, hello there.”

“Uh…hi.” I couldn’t make it sound any less awkward. “Here’s your uh…vegetables.”

I tried to hand her the greens, but she didn’t seem to be willing to accept them. Her eyes darted back and forth between the girl in the coat and the veggies in my arms, as if silently asking what she’s supposed to do with this. After a brief pause of awkward staring, the purple-haired woman smiled a mischievous grin.

“Well, why don’t you come in?” She stood aside and gestured for me to enter. A yelp came from the coated lady beside me as she shook her head vigorously at the woman’s words.

“Uh no, it’s okay I-”

“I insist.” Her grin grew wider. “It’s just a little hospitality and gratitude for helping my friend here with her…vegetables.”

“Uh…okay then. I’ll just drop these off inside.” I didn’t really know what else to do nor what to expect from this turn of events. She ushered me inside, the lady in the coat following right behind us who seemed to be avoiding my gaze whenever I turned to her. The place wasn’t anything fancy, kind of like those common four-person apartments with the kitchen, dining, and living rooms connected all together at the center, with only the bedrooms separated. Sitting on the sofa were two other ladies; one had dark hair tied back to a rather wild ponytail, her features suggested she was of Japanese descent, while the other had violet hair tied up to two buns on either side of her head, complimented by her slim facial features, she seemed to carry a style reminiscent of Chinese culture.

“Oh hey, you’re finally back, A-” The Japanese woman stopped mid-sentence as soon as she saw me. “Wha- who are you?”

“Uhh…nobody. I’m just here to uh, help carry the um, vegetables.” I tried to explain, motioning to the greens in my arms then pointing to the coated lady.

“Oh.” She seemed to accept that so easily, much to my delight. “Well, let me get that for you.”

She stood up and took the vegetables from me, giving me a quick thanks as she carried them off to the kitchen. The Chinese lady followed behind her, giving me a quick nod before she proceeded to help the other. Seeing as my job was done, I turned around and started to walk towards the door, only to be stopped in my tracks by the purple-haired woman.

“Leaving so soon?” She smiled, which at the sight of, somehow managed to make me feel chills. “Why don’t you join us? We’ll be having hotpot for lunch. It’ll be good~”

“Uhh, no it’s okay. I’d be imposing too much.” I tried to decline as politely as I could, but her smile was setting off a lot of danger flags all over my head. Who the heck would want to eat hotpot on this freakin’ hot day?

“Oh but it’s just our way of saying thank you for helping out our friend.” She made it sound as convincing as possible, which somehow seemed to affect my thinking, even if just for a bit. “Isn’t that right, Ahri?”

Her gaze turned towards the woman in the coat, much to her surprise as her name was called. With a heavy breath of sigh, she removed all the accessories covering up her face, revealing a familiar blonde hair and…cat ears? Oh.

Her features were stunning, the hazel color of her eyes seemingly glowing, threatening to mesmerize me if I stared any longer. Needless to say, she was very pretty, her aura exuded that sense of beauty and grace, someone who was positively poised and charming at every move. Then, I remembered her tripping… Oh.

“Evelynn…” Her eyebrows were furrowed as she called the purple-haired woman’s attention. “왜 이런 짓을하는?”

“Oh just let it be, Ahri. It’ll be fine.” She rolled her eyes in response to what seemed to be worry in Ahri’s tone. “Besides, I haven’t seen any reaction yet. Probably doesn’t know who we are anyway.”

“Uhh…..” I wanted to tell them that I did know who they were, thanks to Ahri revealing her rather memorable face, but it might’ve made my situation more…difficult. Besides, I never really knew any of them, I just know they’re part of some group called KDA and they sing and do uh…stuff.

“So, you will be staying, yes?” Evelynn’s eyes were staring at me, accompanied again by that smile that always seem to make me feel weird. Somehow, with the way she said it, tone and all, I felt compelled to accept. Well, whatever. Might as well.

“Um…yeah, okay. Sure.”

“Perfect!” She clasped her hands in what seemed to be delight in her expression. “Akali! Kai'sa! We’ll need to prepare enough for five people! Our guest will be staying for lunch~!”

The way Evelynn said ‘guest’ felt weird, like it wasn’t really what it was supposed to mean. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Ahri planting her face deep into her palm. Imagine that, a face-palming cat-girl. Not a sight you see everyday.

I stood at the side as I watched the other two prepare, the Chinese woman whose name seemed to be Kai'sa was setting up the table while the Japanese, Akali, was cleaning and cutting up the vegetables Ahri and I had carried. Somewhere to my right, near the far side of the room, Ahri pulled Evelynn along and started a somewhat quiet argument. I watched them bickering for a good while, then a glint of light came from somewhere to my left, catching my attention and gaze in the process.

With each masterful cutting and slicing motion of Akali, the metal surface of the knife in her hand reflected the sun’s rays coming in through the window, sending it towards my way in a flash of blinding light. Upon seemingly finishing her job, she gently set the knife down beside her. It was then that I realized, it wasn’t really a knife, but rather a Kunai, a sort of Japanese dagger you commonly see in movies and anime. Woah, this girl’s hardcore.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” Kai'sa had approached me, gesturing towards a seat on the table she had finished preparing. She had a sweet smile on her face, which I very much appreciated after going through a couple of Evelynn’s 'smiles’. Although, when I tried to look closely, her eyes had this tinge of worry, perhaps due to having a stranger in her abode. Well, I couldn’t really blame her. I’d worry too if some stranger was suddenly going to eat lunch with me.

“Ah, thank you.” I thanked her in the most polite tone I could muster and proceeded to sit down. In front of me, just around the center of the table, was a large ceramic pot on top of a portable stove, inside it was some sort of yellowish-orange broth and a few cabbage leaves already being slowly simmered at low heat. After a few moments, Akali approached and started to add the rest of the ingredients in, organizing it in a way so that each one stays in one location and avoid mixing up with the others. There were cabbages, mushrooms, leeks, radishes, carrots, some noodles, and delicious slices of meat; a good, hearty home-cooked hotpot.

Soon, everyone had settled down at the table; Evelynn right across in front of me while Ahri sat beside her, and the two Asian beauties, Akali and Kai'sa, at each end of the table.

“Before we eat, I’d like to thank you again for helping our Ahri with her groceries.” Evelynn had her wry smile on as she turned to me. “But it’s a shame how you never really knew who we are, so why don’t we introduce ourselves.”

“Ladies?” There was a brief pause.

“We are KDA!” On cue, they all spoke together, spelling out their group name with an energetic tone. I was surprised at their sudden increase in volume that all I did was stare at them for a couple of seconds.

“Hey, you okay?” Akali was the first to break the silence. Her brow was raised in concern at my lack of reaction.

“Uh…yeah, I think.”

“Well, to explain it clearly, we’re a Korean-pop idol group called KDA.” Kai'sa tried to calmly expand on their previously laconic introduction. “Well, we say Korean, but really, we’re from different countries. Although, the language we use for our music is a mix of English and Korean, thus we fall on the category of Korean-pop, or K-pop for short.”

“Ohhh, I see. That’s fairly easier to understand.” I nodded my head just to show that I understood.

“우리 정말 이러는거야?” I thought Ahri spoke to me at first, but then I realized she had her face turned to Evelynn.

“Yes we are doing this, Ahri. It’s good PR.” Evelynn rolled her eyes as she replied. Ahri could only furrow her eyebrows in concern.

“So uh hey, I’m Akali.” Akali extended her hand towards me, looking rather chill compared to anyone else in the room. “I’m the group’s rapper, and well, the youngest and last member to join. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” I smiled as I shook her hand. She was so chill with it that it never ocurred to me I was shaking hands with a celebrity.

“I’m Kai'sa.” Kai'sa introduced herself as soon as our gazes met, although she didn’t seem to want a handshake. Bummer. “I’m KDA’s dance choreographer and um, hi.”

“Cool.” I smiled at her which managed to bring a smile out of her lips too. As the two ladies finished their self-introductions, I turned to the two sitting across me. Evelynn caught and held my gaze, her other brow was raised as if questioning my stare.

“If I must.” She finally sighed. “I, as you must already know, am Evelynn. One of the group’s lead vocalist and, well, elder sister perhaps?”

Akali and Kai'sa seemed to hide a snicker as Evelynn mentioned the words 'elder sister’, much to the purple-haired diva’s dismay. But instead of calling the two out though, she turned to their blonde companion.

“And of course, this is Ahri.” She motioned her hands as if presenting Ahri. “Our group’s glorious leader, as well as it’s face, and our main lead vocalist.”

“Wow, uh, quite a lot of titles, huh? Nice to meet you, Ahri.” I beamed a smile at her.

“안녕.” She responded with her own smile which was very much breath-taking, but after that, she turned away. Was it something I said?

“A-Anyway, now that introductions are over, we should start eating.” The anticipation was within Kai'sa’s voice, she must really like hotpot. “The hotpot should be well cooked now, and the broth should’ve seeped well inside the ingredients. I guarantee it’ll taste best if we dig in now.”

“잘 먹겠습니다!” All four of them say together, perhaps a small thanks for the food. Not before long, we were chowing down, positively delighted with the flavor.

“So, what do you think?” Akali asked me just before she slurped up some noodles.

“It’s pretty good.” I say as I set my bowl down. “Amazing flavors.”

“Oh, thanks, I guess. But I don’t mean that.”

“What do you mean then?”

“What do you think about our group, I mean.” She pointed to her groupmates with her chopsticks.

“Oh. Well, I think you guys are pretty cool.” I say in all honesty. “Actually, I just saw your music video a while ago, before I bumped into Ahri. Awesome neon rap by the way.”

“Heh, thanks. So…” She seemed to want to continue our conversation. “…who do you like the most?”

Everyone turned towards me at the mention of Akali’s question, their eyes actually looking eager to know.

“Uh…” The hardest question was suddenly dropped on me from out of nowhere, all the more harder as the people in question were sitting right in front of me.

“Well?” Evelynn’s impatience was oozing.

“To be honest… I don’t really know.” I tried to play it safe, but irritation seemed to appear in Evelynn’s face. Perhaps it wasn’t best to be indecisive and just go for one? So I immediately followed up. “BUT… if I really had to pick one…..well, um…it would be… uh…. Ahri..?”

“Huh, another point for Ahri then.” Akali shrugged.

“Of course it would be Ahri.” Evelynn shrugged too.

“Well, we knew it would be Ahri.” Kai'sa also followed suit.

“너희들…” Ahri seemed to want to say something, but just shurgged and continued on eating.

“Can you tell us why, though?” Akali pointed her chopsticks at me.

“Hm…well, I guess I just find it cute that she keeps speaking in Korean even though she knows straight English.” As if on cue, Ahri choked on her food and started coughing and wheezing. Evelynn quickly started rubbing her back as she gave her a glass of water.

“You knew?” Evelynn turned to me and asked, as if it was such a surprise.

“Well yeah, I guess?” I tried to recall how we met at the market. “She spoke to me in straight English before she somehow started speaking in Korean.”

“Oh dear.” Kai'sa’s face was planted with worry. “Are you alright, Ahri?”

Ahri responded with a nod as she set down the glass and started inhaling and exhaling deep breaths.

“Oh…was I not supposed to know?” I asked.

“No, you weren’t.” Ahri replied, and this time I could understand her in full English.

“Well, it’s not really much of a big deal…kind of.” Akali set her chopsticks down. “We were kind of trying to sell Ahri’s image as, well, someone who only speaks Korean, and that Evelynn, or any of us would be the one to translate for her.”

“And now that you’ve found out…” Kai'sa’s eyes looked pleading as she spoke.

“Um…if it needs to be kept secret, I can just not tell anyone, right?”

“I find that hard to believe.” Evelynn was glaring at me, but then it softened to more like a stare. “…or so I would say if you weren’t so ignorant about us or our fandom. Can I trust you to keep your word?”

“Absolutely.” I gave her a thumbs-up. “Besides, I think you guys are awesome, and so is this hotpot you invited me for. Oh, and if you’re talking about images, then maybe you should worry more about Ahri tripping on the street.”

“What…?” They all simultaneously turned towards their leader as she could only blink at them without any explanation. “Why did you have to tell them that too?” Even when she was pouting, she still looked so pretty.

“Well, they had to know how we met, right?” I tried to stifle my laugh. Before we knew it, we were all smiles and laughter as we kept talking about the silliest of things over hotpot.

“Last piece of meat is mine!” I shout as I reached for the meat with my chopsticks, but before I could, Ahri swooped in and took it for herself. “Hey!”

“You can’t beat a fox when it comes to meat.” She grinned and winked at me before munching it down.

“Oh wait…those are fox ears?” I only realized then. “I thought they were cat ears.”

“I’m a fox. And foxes love meat.” She then swoops over my bowl and steals the slice of meat I was setting aside to eat as a finale.

“Hey!!!” I stopped her chopsticks with my own. “Well you’re definitely acting like a theiving cat.”

“Aww.”

“What’s the deal with those ears anyway?” I took the meat off her chopsticks and sliced it in half, giving her the other part.

“It’s my image. Oh, thanks.” She happily ate the slice I gave her. “My fans call me Gumiho, which is in reference to a nine-tailed fox lady from Korean Mythology.”

“Ohhh, so that’s why you had all those shiny tails in the video.”

“Mhm.”

“Are the ears real though?”

“That’s a secret.” She winked at me. I could only stare at the protruding animal parts on top of her head in wonder.

“They’re real.” Akali whispered sarcastically loud in my ear, loud enough for everyone to hear and laugh about. “Ahri and her ears aside, how about we all get a photo?”

“Um… I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Kai'sa warned.

“Why not?” I asked out of curiosity.

“If the fans find out…they might find out who you are and stalk, or even assault you just to find us.”

“Woah, that seems extreme.”

“You have no idea.” Akali shook her head as if remembering something bad. Then, her face lit up, as if an idea had sprung inside her. “But what if….”

Next thing I knew, I was posing in the middle of the four ladies as Ahri held up her phone for a group picture. My face was covered with the same disguise Ahri wore when I first met her at the market; apparently, the mask and cap belonged to Akali, while the purple shades were Evelynn’s. And with that, we took a close up photo of our faces. Cheese~

Click! Snap!

“Hey.” Ahri called my attention as I stepped outside the apartment, about to leave. “Thanks for helping me carry those vegetables. Funny how I never actually got to thank you for that.”

“Nah, it’s cool.”

“So…see you around?”

“Maybe?” I shrugged. “If we ever run into each other again in the market, I guess?”

“Hopefully, I’m not tripping down again.” She laughed at the memory of it. I raise my hand up for a high-five, and she slaps it hard. Soon, I was on the street, waving goodbye at the celebrities standing outside their apartment door. Hopefully no one saw them. Hopefully.

The next morning, the whole internet was going crazy about an official post from Ahri, the leader of the super popular K-pop group KDA, on twitter. Apparently, she posted a picture of her and her groupmates with an unidentified person in the middle, sharing a groupie with them with the translated caption “Hotpot with our newest fan~”. The picture went insanely viral as the search for the mystery fan continued.

This is insane. How do you even deal with this, huh, Ahri?

That’s a secret. Come on, they’re waiting for those veggies.

[End]

[godseyegalaxy]

Candle and the Wax Flower - 4

Cere upholds her part of the bargain

can also be read on tapas!

Aprox 3400 words

 Cere covered her eyes in the hope of shielding herself from the burning sun, but, as her vision went white anyway, quickly regretted it. Violent clicks burst from her chest, only to become screams as she switched to something her captor might understand. But still, Icora continued to swing her like a heavy sac as if she didn’t just slam her head into the door post. The unfiltered afternoon sun burned her eyes anyway and she writhed and clicked in weak protest.  

“Get. Me. Back. Into. The. Water.” Cere’s voice growled.

She knew Icora’s crew was watching. They never seemed to sleep on this horrid ship, always something to do, something to whisper under their breathes’ and suddenly she had enough of it all. A high-pitched warning call silenced them all.

Pathetic, she thought. That she of all beings was being treated like an object and cowering behind her arms. Her tail flailed wildly, in hope of snagging Icora or, preferably, the wooden railing that would be her last obstacle.  

Last obstacle that would start a long road to a stupid journey.

All she wanted was her sister’s neckless back.

Now she’s looking for a lost land-city.

She hated Icora.

“Alright, you can stop that now, or I’m going to be in the water with you.” Cere could hear Icora smiling. Like a child! Icora was talking to her like she was a child and Icora herself a mother! Unbelievable.

“The thought of you in the sea makes me sick, you witch.”

“Oh come on, name calling isn’t nice.”

“You’re only happy because you’re getting what you want.”

“Hmm? Then I suppose you’ll be happy in a few more seconds. Or? Can you not feel happy?”

“Eat my-“

Her tail fin slammed onto the deck as Icora threw her onto the railing.

“Well then.” She said, loud enough for the deck to hear her clearly, “I know we’ll be seeing each other soon—But do you have anything else to say?”

Cere dragged her hands down her face and opened her eyes to slits. Blurry figures she’d grown to know as Icora’s fine crew faced her, watching like they always had. Predator and prey. Trust in their captain, and also trust that Cere was a native of the sea and lashed out like it too. The closest blob stood a couple of meters behind Icora.

She rolled her head to face the captain.  

There was once a time when they would go years without catching wind of each other. Where she could go back to living a normal life in her people’s towns and pick up trade and travel again. Cere, honestly, missed that time.

She snapped her head back to the crowd and said the first thing she thought of.

“Duces Fuckheads.” She flipped them off and, with well-trained ease, turned and threw herself off the side of the ship.  

The sting of the ocean waves soothed as the air left in her lungs solidified and the cool waters rushed around her. Cere stayed suspended for a long moment, bathing in the soft blue light. This wasn’t home, but damn if it wasn’t better than that Mother forsaken shithole of a ship.

Cere turned and, with a second of calibration, bolted for the isolated Island.

----

Brinkley let the last of the upper crew slide past him before stepping into the Captain’s office. The odorous wall of stale sea water hit him first, and he had to hold back his lunch. He wouldn’t be on a ship if he didn’t like the smell of fish, but that mermaid smelled much worse than any rotting pile of guts and scales. He never got used to it.

Icora’s old familiar chuckle rose above the ascending footsteps.

“And what do the buckets say, Brinkley?” The captain had her back to him, and studied something on her wall of trophies. Icora tended to forgo her coat and accessories while she was in her office, like nothing in the outside world would dare take advantage of her while schemed.  

“They’re all clean, Icora.”

“And did you make any progress with Martie?” She pulled away to look at him over her shoulder.

“No.”

She smiled but didn’t laugh. Brinkley shut the door behind him.

“You know, that’s one of the many reasons I like you.” Icora sighed and gestured him closer, to look at the pot-marked map that laid in front of her. “You’re reliable. Consistent. Predictable.”

“You only like that because you yourself are none of those things.”

“Is that what you think?”

“Yes.”

She laughed this time. Picking up discarded pins and tools she used to mark where they were going to go, she let Brinkley look over the dots and dashes that made up all of their wayward trips. Brinkley didn’t know of many isles that didn’t have their boot prints on them, didn’t know of any nation that hadn’t seen their flag fly into port or off shore, but still, there were always things to do. People to check up on, trading routes to make sure were still free of growing monopolies and countries to make sure stayed on their own lands. And if not practical, then they were off finding treasure or whatever suited Icora’s fancy that morning.  

The sea, Icora said once, changed at will; who knows what will drop into it next.

He traced the newest line from the point the ship was to where it would soon be. He checked the coordinates once, then twice, then tapped his fingers on the desk.

“Ask away.” Icora slumped into her seat, looking up at him expectantly.  

“What are you planning?”

She offered him a drink. He declined with a wave of his hand and, Icora drank for him.

“Predictable, see? Why do you think I’m planning something?”

“You’re always planning something and... these places you’ve marked...”  

“What about them?”

“You know what. I want to know why. I know it’s not just a treasure hunt or whatever you told the mermaid and I know it’s something much bigger than what we normally do.” There was something sharp in his voice, demanding and accusing, hardly detectable. Like a jellyfish’s stinger.

But it wasn’t like Icora was never stung before. It was determined a long time ago that Brinkley couldn’t scare her.

She still waited to responded, just long enough to make Brinkley think that she’d thought about her words carefully.

“I trust you. You know that.”

“Yes, and I you.” He said almost automatically.

She closed the gap between them, grasping his heavy coat with one hand. “Then trust me when I say if you tell anyone about this, I will leave you and whoever else on whatever island we land on and never look back.” She smiled and waited for his response.  

When none came, “A long time ago, I left something in a place I knew I would forget, on a land much larger than any of these islands, yet a few days ago it suddenly came back to me. I asked myself ‘why?’. Why should I remember after all this time. And trust me, it’s been a long time. But there’s really only one answer; it’s time for me to get it back.”

--

Cere felt the water die. Not all at once, but as if the creatures teaming around in the light knew there was a boundry they shouldn’t cross, so they kept well away from it. A gradient that, after she swam far enough, left her feeling light headed. She knew where she was and knew she still had further to go.  

But, there was a stop she could make first. Then, maybe she could bypass the island all together.

She dove further down the water column and braced for the current that would take her close to the island chain but... it didn’t come. Down further as the light faded into inky black and still there was no rush of water.

This place really is dead

Cere ignored the rotting pit in her stomach as she retraced her steps to the lighter, warmer waters. Naturally Icora would have her do this. Naturally. Beings like her didn’t care about the sea. No for the things living in it, anyway. They could never understand what it meant for water to be dead. They would only care when it was too late.

--

Cere slowed down as the ground started to slope upwards. Usually her people never got this close to the rocky isle shores, there was no reason for it. Sure, there were many creatures to be hunted in the tidal zone, but the coast was not her territory. Oh, how she wished she was in her territory.

Her arms and eyes burned as she lifted herself onto a rock close to the shore. The land in front of her was brown, grassy. This was not the place to be. Back into the water.

Cere followed the island’s shore until the beach receded into the land and tree roots grew in between the boulders. Here... Here would do.  

She watched as the juvenile creatures bolted out of her path while she slowly moved inward. The water tasted different, not dead but only brackish. Still gross. She lifted her head out of the water to find the green canopy shielding her eyes from the sun. A head of her, the tree roots grew too thick to go any close to land and, even if she could, the possibility of leaving quickly would slowly disappear. This would do.

So, Cere pulled herself towards the closest tree and gathered her hair neatly in front of her and started to sing.  

Her voice was nothing compared to sirens, or even the whale songs that made up the white noise of the sea but, as Icora had described once, she had a voice ‘surprisingly gracefully for such a hideous creature.’  At the time Cere immediately tried to stab her with a sharp rock, but she had appreciated the complement, only a little bit.

She sang in her native tongue, softly at first as she started to breathe in air and then louder, to fill in the spaces underneath the canopy. The sounds of the marine forest paused to listen to the mermaid, even the sea winds ceased to move the leaves above.  Straining to hear beyond her voice, Cere sand louder until the snapping of twigs called her to stop.

Wait... She must wait. Who knows what could set it off.  

The leaves moved again and, so did the water but nothing could cover the sound of something wading through the water.

“Creature of beyond the island, you have called?” a quiet voice met Cere’s ears, sending chills down her spine. Not that she was afraid, hardly, but the spindle-like voice grated against her skull.  

“I have, and I would like to ask a question. Please, are you iwi-atua?”

“Fairie? Yes I am.”

“May I look at you?”

“Yes.”

Cere turned her head and bowed at the person in front of her, standing in the water with their root-colored hair spilling like a cloud of ink in the water. Beyond that they were naked, bare and smooth skin, almost like they were a part of the forest itself. If they weren't thousands of kilometers away from the nearest human civilization, Cere might have thought them human. But that would be a grave mistake to say out loud.  

“What is your name, sea- creature.” the Fairie took a step closer, smiling with jaded eyes.

So, they were hungry on the isle. And here Cere thought she’d have a pleasant conversation.

“I am a Daughter of the Mother, please call me as such.”

Cere gave no indication that she saw their smile twitch. “Very well then, Daughter of the Mother. What is your question?”

“There is an Island north west of here, 30 knots if by sail, past were the water turns bleached and dead, does that island virgin to human or Fae influence?”

“A strange question for a creature such as yourself. 30 knots? Do you know of sails and wooden coffins? Why do you, Daughter of the Mother of the Seas, care?”

Cere tilted her head. An interesting game they were playing- another chance at her own life.

“I am trying to get back my sister’s necklace,” Cere answered honestly, “And visiting the island will help me obtain my goal. I came here because I know for sure that your people, and others, reside here and thus may know if your sisters and brothers are there. Are there Fae or Humans on the island?”

A tingling sensation rushed down Cere’s spine, a growl vibrating the back of her skull. She didn’t give a satisfactory answer, it seemed. But damn them, if it was a fight she was going to get into, then it was a fight she was going to win.

Cere thought all of this without indicating a single thing. To her surprised however, the fae creature answered.

“There has never been Humans or any land creature on the island. Fae, however, used to live there before the Witch killed everything, my people moved soon after and none has been there since.”

Cere watched the water ripple as the woman stepped close to her, hair dragging behind her like smoke.

“That place is not for the likes of you. Fae were killed there. That land is ours.”

“Then I guess its lucky for us that I won’t be needing to go there, is it?”

There were many phrases that Cere had learned while being with Icora and her crew. Many curse words but a lot of well-to-use idioms too. ‘Kicked the bucket’ was a fun one that she enjoyed hearing, mostly because she didn’t know what a bucket was at the time and kicking was something she’d never done before, so her finding out that ‘kicking the bucket was another way of saying ‘dying’ brought out a rare laugh within her. But there were more practical ones, like the saying ‘red sky in the morning, sailors warning’ because this was true to her knowledge, her own people used it with different phrasing and ‘The last straw’ when finally, someone stopped taking shit from others. She couldn’t count how many times Icora had pulled ‘the last straw’ with her.

Cere had picked the last straw with the iwi-atua.

It leaped at her with the speed that, if she were not a mermaid, would have disoriented her and would most likely lead to her death. But she was a mermaid. A daughter of the Mother, as she warned, and the fae did not disorient her.

--

The Galleon swayed gently as she waded in the water, perfectly at peace with the ocean and wind. Most of its crew were below deck, eating a lunch of rice and fish while the ones above deck did their routine checks.  

Martie sat against one of the walls, a good number of different sized papers spread across the table and sticky rice in her hands. It was a writing assignment, or, more correctly a report that Icora had already written, but had copied the papers she’d used and gave them to her to see how well she could write the same report. How much time did Icora have to just waste on giving her assignments? Grated, it was probably Brinkley that suggested it.

Fuck that dude.

In her increasing desperation to get the paper done with, she’d even asked the other crew members siting around her for help. But most of them ignored her or played dumb. Every time. Every time she had homework it was like they’d never met her. Martie didn’t know if it was because some of them wanted nothing to do with writing a report or because Icora had given them an order not to help.  

Sen-Woo, one of the gunners, a deckhand and the first person that she had gotten to know sat down at the opposite end of the table, making her papers slide.  

“Oh, sorry Martie, didn’t think you���d still be working on that stuff.”

“You know I always wait for your ever so insightful advice. Tell me. What should I do today.”

Before joining Icora’s crew, Sen-Woo was an entertainer of sorts. He was also a student of science. And a successful merchant. And a school teacher. Because of his background, he would give impromptu lectures on how the world worked that made even Brinkley stop and listen. But what excited Martie the most was the fact that he could talk about the newest of sciences and then immediately turn around and say the most profound and dumbest stuff she had ever heard.

He gave her and insidious look and snapped back. “Respect your superiors and do your homework in your own space.” But the frown didn’t last long, his broken tooth smile crept up like it always had when he tried to be angry. “Ah, I’m just teasing.”

“I had no idea.” Her face had stayed placid the entire time.

“I was going to offer you singing lessons, actually.”

The clump of rice she was aiming to eat fell back into her bowl.

“Singing lessons?”

“Yeah, it’s about time you learned the really important stuff like singing shanties with us.” he gestured to everyone on the room. While most of them wisely made no acknowledgement of the comment, many more were smirking over their meal.

He was serious. Martie knew Sen-Woo and he was serious.  

A thousand words and incomprehensible sounds flooded her mind but her mouth just opened and closed like a fish.

THUMP

The wall behind Martie shook, but before she, or any of the others, could do anything, shouting and footsteps sounded above them. Rushing to see what had hit our ship no doubt.  

Martie bounded up and squeezed past the other members of the crew as they sped towards the stair case, however, everyone paused as they heard the captain.

Laughing. She was laughing. Loud and jovial as if drunk on stolen wine.

Half the crew sighed and went to sit down and finish their meal.  

Tia, one of the few that never moved even shouted. “Never have I ever seen so much commotion for a single fish.” She laughed and caught a bowl that was tossed at her. Martie climbed the steps anyway.  

Darkening clouds covered the sun, promising rain at a later date, but the nausea Martie usually felt was absent from her mind and she walked over to Icora’s side by the railing.

“Cap’t.” She said as a way of greeting.

“Martie. Help Auali’i pull up the net. Cere has something with her.” Icora’s tone set her on edge, there was something wrong. Maybe not too wrong, Icora had a different tone she used for big problems. Just like she had different voice marking how good a mood she was in so Martie knew when to prod her with questions or turn in her work. On a scale of one to ten, ten being worst case, this was maybe a six or seven.

She silently obeyed her orders, got behind Auali’i, and started to pull on the ropes bringing Cere up to the deck. A moment later Brinkley was behind the captain doing the same, a wordless conversation happening between them.

Martie willed herself to breathe normally as the net rose above the railing. Cere appeared a moment later, silver tail hanging over the net, shinning iridescent in the sun like it usually did, however, black and red oozed down the mermaid’s chest, most of it coming from a mass she held in her arms.  

The mermaid waited until the net lowered to the grown before turning to Icora. The side of her face and neck had deep claw marks gouged into them with some of the same ooze leaking out in small diluted streams. Cere didn’t seem to care, instead she lifted the mass she was clutching.

Martie watched as it unfurled and stared for a long minute. No... it didn’t really unfurl, it was hair, golden red hair, that fell down and mixed with Cere’s own ink black. Brinkley actually stumbled back in something akin to horror.

She was holding a covered head. But it wasn’t a creature that Martie had ever seen in her life.

“I come back bearing gifts.” Cere’s broken voice dripped with distain as she looked up at Icora.

“How thoughtful.” Was all Icora said.

[oohnoniall]

Queen of Serpents || Galan Ashryver - Chapter Two.

{WARNINGS: adult language, fantasy violence, woman owning her sexuality and her body, woman using her sexuality and body as a weapon, woman saying “fuck emotions i’m scared”, manipulation mentions, toxic main character but she learns, toxic parents, self-harm, self-hate, fucked up family}

The dining hall was filled with bright light. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered the entire left side, facing the sunrise for early morning breakfast. For the dinner service, lanterns had been hung along the ceiling creating the warm glow of stars on the brightest of nights. It went beautifully with the flags of dark blue and cream that hung along the walls. The limestone walls seemed to be filled with light. It was enough to make the Kalthanen nobles wondered if it had been embedded with magic.

        Arya held Calanon's arm as they entered the dining hall. She had changed from her blood-red gown into one of the deepest blues. So dark that it was almost black. It nearly matched the flags that hung around the room. Gold bands wrapped around her arms where Nox and Luna had been just hours before. The snakes had needed a break from their recent traveling. She had almost declined the invitation in order to care for her pets herself.

        Calanon had informed her that would go against her parents' wishes.

        Her head was held high as they stopped at the end of the three tables. The high table with the royal family was the only one sitting horizontally, the courtiers' tables were vertical so they could be watched under the careful eye of their sovereigns. She dropped into a careful curtsey, her eyes not leaving those of the princeling.

        She wouldn't marry him. But he could be a fun plaything. At least for a few days.

        "Your Highness," Galan Ashryver spoke, a smile gracing his handsome features. "Please, sit with us." He gestured to the seat that was left open beside him. It seemed as though Calanon would be sitting with the courtiers.

        Her cousin pinched the inside of her elbow. It was a warning that she would not be getting away from him so easily. She ignored it. He had done much worse to her and she did not doubt that he would do worse during their time in Wendlyn.

        "Of course, Your Highness," she gave the princeling a winning smile before she released her cousin. She strode over to the high table, almost floating on air. She was nowhere near as graceful as the Fae that lived in these lands but she carried herself as though she had already been crowned queen.

        Galan stood, pulling her chair out for her. He helped her to sit, holding her hand as she sat. She didn't notice the tingles that had gone up his arm. Nor did she notice the look on his face as he gently pushed her chair in.

        Galan Ashryver sat down beside her, his hands clammy and his heart jumping in his chest. The perfect prince had experience with women. But none like Arya Nostariel.

        "How did you find your journey?" He asked as the first course was set in front of them. It was a simple soup, filled with vegetables and chicken that was perfectly spiced with the imports from Kalthanen. 

        "Long," Arya gave him a gentle smile before she took the daintiest bite that Galan had ever seen in his life. She didn't fail to notice the slight smile gracing his lips, but she knew better than to mention it on her first night. "I'm afraid my Nox is even more temperamental than normal because of it."

        "I was wondering about the snakes," he admitted, that slight smile broadening until it captured his eyes. She didn't want to think about how nice it was. "Do you always travel with such ... interesting companions?" He seemed to struggle with just what to call her lovely pets.

        Arya looked at him with an amused smile, a perfectly manicured eyebrow-raising ever so slightly. "I hate being away from the darlings. They get so testy without me."

        His left eyebrow rose. She did not fail to notice that there was a small scar just above it, as though he had been knicked by something at one point. It was not the only scar on his face. He had several small ones scattered along his face, mainly small and easily unnoticed. She doubted she would have ever noticed them had he been anyone but the Crown Prince. Arya was destined to be a queen. Even if she knew for a fact that this time, she would not get what she wanted. 

        "How long have you had them?" She hated that he was the first man to ask her such a question. She hated that she felt a rush at being asked such a simple question.

        She felt just as useless as most of the women in the courts. It disgusted her.

        "Nearly three years," she admitted, giving him the smallest hint of a smile. They could flirt, she could tease and taunt him as much as she wanted. But she wouldn't allow anything to come from it. Not when there was so much at stake for both of them. She knew that her parents wouldn't take kindly to her ignoring their commands. Even if she did manage to marry into a royal family.

        The king and queen of Kalthanen were critical of their children. They often made the decisions for their children, giving them no room for disobedience. 

        Arya had been on her best behavior her whole life if only to keep from being disowned. Her sisters had not been able to do the same. Two would-be queens gone before Arya had ever been born. Aragorn had been six when their eldest sister had been sent overseas to live the life of a peasant. He'd been eight when it had happened again. Eight years old and scared to death that he would be the next to lose his family and his crown.

        Aragorn had made sure Arya knew the difference between doing as told and pretending to. He had made sure he wouldn't lose another sibling. But all he had done was make a political enemy. Arya had grown up in a cutthroat environment. She had grown up knowing that the only thing that would ever matter was being the one who wore the crown.

        She just happened to look damn good in one.

        "They certainly make a nice accessory," he admitted as their dishes from the first course were taken away and soon replaced by a platter of roast chicken that smelled deliciously of herbs and garlic. A small serving of potatoes laid underneath, covered in a rich gravy that Arya was certain would make her stomach turn.

        "Oh?" She asked casually as she cut a small bite from the chicken. Wendlyn's food was heavier than she had anticipated. Kalthanen meals were kept light, made to be enjoyed outdoors with the sea breeze and a light, white wine. She had not expected dense flatbreads, heavy wines, and meats. It reminded her disturbingly of Adarlan.

        "Yes," Galan laughed lightly as he spoke. The sound sent a chill up Arya's spine that she found annoying. "I thought my mother was going to have a heart attack when you stepped out of that carriage." 

        She hid her smirk by taking a bite. Her gaze drifted for a moment to some of the lower lords who had joined them for dinner. She wondered what they would have thought of her arrival. Maybe someone else had a similar reaction to the queen. It would not have surprised her. Arya had always enjoyed making a scene. Having attention on her was a drug that she would never in her life get used to.

        "It's fortunate that she didn't," she said after swallowing, her gaze now back on Galan completely. For a spoiled prince, he was quite pretty. She supposed most spoiled princes were. Dorian Havilliard had been in any case. "I wouldn't want to be executed upon my arrival. I'm certain that would put a damper on things."

        Galan laughed again, crinkles forming by his eyes. She ignored it as best she could. Counting it as an imperfection. If she could find those imperfections then she could paint a picture in her head of an imperfect prince. She wouldn't be nearly as tempted to disobey her parents if he wasn't perfect. She had standards after all. No one less than perfect would do for her. 

        The truth of the matter was that she did not want to give up her crown. She knew her cousin would sooner get the throne but with a dash of hemlock in his wine he wouldn't be a problem. She would not kill her brother for it. She'd allow Calanon to do that for her.

        Calanon was dumb enough to.

        "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you," he brought her out of her thoughts with a promise. One that nearly made her smile. "Besides, I was nearly in the same boat."

        One of her perfect eyebrows quirked up. "Oh?"

        "I've never seen a goddess walk on land before."

        Arya rolled her eyes, glad that he had said something so absurd that she would never be able to look at him in a romantic light again. 

        "What I mean is," Galan quickly tried to fix what he had said. Clearly, he was almost as embarrassed as she was annoyed. "I've never seen anyone handle a serpent that way before. Even the Fae don't bother keeping them as fashion accessories," he shut himself up with a piece of flatbread.

        "It's not normal in Kalthanen," she told him with a very slight smile. 

        "Then how did you come across them?" This was a safe topic for both of them. She didn't have to worry about revealing too much about herself and he could keep himself from making a fool of himself.

        "I wanted something that most people didn't have," she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I thought they would be more intimidating than hounds."

        Galan nodded his head once almost as though he understood what she meant. "They do capture attention."

        It was Arya's turn to laugh. She had not done so in several years. The tension of being what her parents had wanted and her failings recently had been enough to crush any sense of humor she may have once had. 

        "Yes, I suppose they do," she watched as servants took away the main course and brought out dessert. 

        The King of Wendlyn stood then, gently hitting his glass with his spoon to gather the attention of the rest of the court. "Friends," he said once he had gotten everyone's attention. "We are honored to welcome Her Highness Arya Nostariel of Kalthanen to our table. She has traveled a long way to grace us with her presence. This visit shall be the beginning to a long and prosperous alliance with our neighbors."

        The King sent a kind smile over to where she sat, raising his glass to her while he did. "Should you require anything, your highness, please only say the word."

        Arya bowed her head in thanks, raising her own glass with a dainty hand. "You are far too king, Majesty. It is no wonder my parents speak so highly of Wendlyn royals."

        Her parents did not say a kind word about anyone. Not that Arya had ever heard. Still, she knew how to play the games. She knew what was expected of her and what would gain her entrance anywhere. 

        "To Arya Nostariel! And the future of our two kingdoms!" The King drank from his class, his court following suit.

        Galan's cheeks were a light shade of red, his eyes on his father. He said nothing as a plate of rich, luxurious chocolate cake was sat in front of him. It was his favorite dessert. A similarity he shared with his cousin.

        Arya did not mind the silence. In fact, it gave her more time to think. She knew that they didn't expect her to be here to find a suitor. If they expected anything it was another trade agreement or maybe they wanted to create a military alliance. Either way, they would not be daft enough to think of marrying Galan off to her. Kalthanen was a strong kingdom but it was small. Whatever they gained from Kalthanen would not be worth having a Nostariel sit on the Wendlyn throne. 

        The sound of quiet chatter and the clinking of forks was enough like home to make her feel on edge. While she loved the country of Kalthanen, she did not love the court setting. She was made to rule, built for brutality and violence. The courts had made her this way. So on edge that she didn't dare break the perfect mold her parents had made of her. That would be showing weakness.

        If there was one thing that she did not do it was show weakness. 

        The uncomfortable silence was broken when Galan cleared his throat, his plate looked untouched but his wine glass was now empty. 

        "I didn't know he was going to do that," he admitted, his cheeks still stained red.

        "I did," Arya did not find it to be that big of a deal. "I'm shocked he waited until after the main course."

        "He probably wanted you to be impressed with us first," he admitted with a slight smile. "We don't get many visitors. Not human at least."

        "I suppose the Fae have their own way of doing things." She lazily ran her fingertip over the lip of her wineglass.

        "Well, yes," he said with a slight shrug. "They're not ones for all this formality. At least, not the ones I've met. They seem to prefer getting in and out."

        "How can they be sure they've gotten what they wanted?" 

        "Magic would be my guess. That and they're better trained than we are. They could wipe us out if they pleased."

        So Wendlyn had a Fae problem. She had known that they lived in close proximity to the magic users but she had not thought it would be such an issue. Surely they had come to some sort of understanding. How could they live so close without some kind of peace? Of course, the same could have been said for Terrasen and Adarlan. She knew how that had turned out. How it was still turning out.

        There was war brewing on the continent. One that she was glad she would be far from. Adarlan had terrified her, even before she had ensnared Dorian. Getting out of there had been the best thing she could have done. Even with the harsh punishment she had dealt with.

        "I think you're giving them far too much credit," Arya almost made a show of looking Galan over. One she was sure he was very aware of. "If everyone in your military looks like you ... Well, I would be afraid if I were one of the Fae."

        The red staining his cheeks deepened. She almost smiled. She loved it when she could get her way. She had been a temptress for a long while. The game of cat-and-mouse amused her more than it should have. It kept her busy when she was worried about something, mainly what she would do if she were to be the next outcast.

        "Lucky for you, not everyone in my military has my physique." He watched her carefully, noticing how the corners of her mouth tried to quirk upwards before she stifled it. He noticed the green of her eyes and how it had deepened just a bit. He noticed everything and yet nothing at the same time.

        "Yes," she mused thoughtfully. "Lucky for me."

        She picked up her wine glass then, draining it of its contents. Galan watched the way her throat moved when she swallowed.

        "If you will excuse me, Your Highness, it's been a long day. I should retire for the evening," Arya said as she moved to stand. Galan stood with her as if he were on a string that was connected to her.

        "Allow me to escort you to your rooms," he bowed his head politely. The perfect picture of the perfect prince.

        "I'd be honored," Arya told him before she bid his parents a good night. It nearly killed her to have to drop into a curtsey before them. She hated bowing for anyone. Hated knowing that she didn't hold all the control, all the power. One day, she would be the one people bowed to.

        She'd be the one they feared.

        Galan offered her his arm, a warm smile on his handsome face. She took it without a second of hesitation. She wished that she could have just walked alongside him, head high and acting as herself. Yet, none of this would work if she didn't come off as a demure princess. The one every man would wish to bed, the one that she could never be.

        The two left the dining hall, the murmuring of voices becoming quieter as they passed. She could feel Calanon's eyes glaring into her back. 

        Let him be angry with me. Let him feel like the fool. Arya didn't care how Calanon felt about her leaving without him. She didn't need a keeper. She could protect herself from whoever caused her trouble. She had been trained for years to be the best, to be a queen. It was not up to her cousin to decide if she was ready for that or not. It was not up for anyone to decide that. Arya was her own woman. The only one who could ever decide her fate. Her family may have liked to believe otherwise but ultimately, Arya was in charge of her life.

        At least, she hoped that she was.

        "I haven't told you," Galan's voice was soft, a whisper compared to the ceaseless chattering of the dining hall. "You look beautiful tonight."

        Arya nearly laughed. Of all the things he could have commented on. "Thank you, Your Highness."

        "Please, call me Galan. This Highness stuff feels stuffy," he admitted with a soft smile. She noticed how much lighter his eyes became when he smiled. She tried not to notice the warm, fluttery feeling deep in the pits of her stomach.

        She'd only ever felt that stupid flutter once before. That morning when they'd first met. It was completely asinine. He was just a silly boy. Easily manipulated, easily fooled, and breathtakingly beautiful.

        If only she was here to play with a princeling.

        "Are you certain that's wise, Your Highness?" Arya spoke after a moment of consideration, although it was mainly to keep herself from laughing. "It may make some think we're a bit ... Familiar."

        He didn't say anything for a moment. Perhaps thinking of what that would mean. Or he was thinking of how the silk of her dress would pool above her hip, how it would feel in his hand. She would not have put either thought past him. She didn't truly know what was in his heart but that didn't mean she didn't know what other lordlings had thought of her.

        Maybe a princeling was different. But she doubted it.

        "I think it would show that we're friends," he said finally. "I don't think there's anything wrong with being friends. Do you, Arya?"

        The way he said her name made that fluttery feeling come back. It sounded as though it were a song that she'd never heard before. The 'ahri' was less harsh when he said it, the 'yah' soft and delicate. It was almost as though he treasured the name, treated it like one of the poisons she so lovingly mixed together. There was something about it that just made her cheeks flush.

        She hated him for it.

        "I think we must remember why I'm here, Your Highness." She kept her head high, her emotions were carefully hidden in a little box inside of her mind. So little that she could barely remember where the latch was.

        "Why are you here, Arya?" He was not as stupid as he looked. This alone should have shocked her. "I'm not stupid enough to think Kalthanen has suddenly decided to give us military support."

        "I'm surprised. It took Adarlan far too long to realize that," she slipped her arm from his, sauntering on ahead of him.

        "What?" 

        "Mhm, that fell through. Don't worry, my parents aren't stupid enough to throw in their lot with a madman. They just wanted to see how mad he was." More lies, more deceit. She wouldn't tell him that she had been vying for the throne of Adarlan. He didn't need to know any of that.

        "So why are you here? To spy on us?" Galan caught up with her quickly, his legs were a few inches longer than hers. "Or is it something less threatening?"

        Arya gave him a charming smile, stopping just at the door to her bed chambers. "My parents wish for me to marry. I'm here to find a lord."

        He looked at her then, really looked at her. No one had ever just stared into her eyes like that, no one had looked into her very soul before. She kept her head high, didn't break his gaze for a second. She wouldn't let anything scare her. Not even a would-be-king.

        "No, you aren't." Galan shook his head once. "You strike me as the kind of woman who would sooner lead on her own."

        "I wouldn't worry too much, Galan." She kept her eyes on his as she spoke. "My parents will agree to the military alliance, our trade agreements will stay in place. All that has to happen is you allow me to do what I need to do."

        It was as though he were making a deal with the Valg. She knew this. She knew that he probably wouldn't go for it. He looked as though he wanted to argue with her about it. But he clenched his jaw and nodded his head once.

        "Very well," he said. "But I still expect to be friends with you. After all, you called me Galan."

        The princeling gave her a sliver of a smile before he walked away from her. Already, plans were forming in both young sovereigns' heads. Wendlyn would never be prepared.

[astralescent]

another thing I wish canon didn’t just gloss over is the entirety of Marth’s exile, like, how can you skip ahead three whole years like that as if nothing important happened in there. anyway i always felt like these years had to have a major impact on his development as a character/fighter/person/etc. so I’ve been thinking about all kinds of things that must have happened during those three years and I think it’s about time I jotted some of those down

Marth doesn’t look away from Altea and then the horizon until he passes out with exhaustion two days into their trip to Talys

when they get to Talys and the king offers them sanctuary in the eastern fortress, he also suggests Marth joins the local school to resume his education once he feels up to it. the entire exchange is between King Talys and Malledus, with the occasional intervention from Jagen. Marth doesn’t say a word the entire time; he just stands there, shaking and struggling to keep himself in check

they leave him alone their first night in, but bring to his attention the next day that they will need to get organized to make things work and keep the fort in order. they of course leave that up to him and that is his first experience at dealing with managing time, people and resources. he has no idea what he’s doing at first but learns quickly thanks to being very open to his knights’ feedback

they establish a routine of maintenance tasks mixed with mild training over the weeks. most of the knights gradually build their moral back up with friendly sparring and shared meals

Marth eventually gets frustrated with them for taking it easy on him during training. on a whim, he challenges Ogma instead, leader of the local band of mercenaries and bodyguard of the king’s daughter

he gets wrecked

it really hecks him up for a while, makes him start believing he really doesn’t have what it takes and lowkey gets flashbacks of overhearing his dad mentioning his ‘flawed physiology’ and considers he should just give up

someone among the knights understands what’s going on and informs the mercs of how badly that fight messed him up

Ogma sits down with Marth and tells him that his lack of physical strength is only gonna hold him back if he keeps trying to fight like someone who’s physically strong. he tries to convince him there is a way for him to make use of his natural assets, which takes a while because it is a concept his dad and the trainers he hired made sure to never let him consider

Marth decides to take a break from training to ponder on that. he isolates himself for a couple of weeks, never joining the others for meals or anything, only taking care of his horse in the morning and then taking off to god knows where around the island

when he gets back to mingling with the others, he tells Ogma he wants to train with him. Ogma accepts on the condition that he submits himself to a little merc initation, which he does but im not gonna talk about it here because it deserves its own post

Marth kinda ditches his knights except for meals and tasks; he spends the entirety of his days training with the mercs. it takes a major toll on him as he is both not fit to keep up with them and not willing to settle for less. Barst is the one to point out that he is still very young and this much training just can’t be healthy this early in his development

the next time he dines with his knights, Marth asks whoever’s free to ride to the castle and arrange for him to meet with the king, who extends an invitation for dinner in the following days. the next day, Marth returns to the place where he had his initiation, on his own

he eventually has dinner with the royal family. notably, he meets the princess of Talys, and the king offers him to join her on some of her daily classes

Marth falls into a very steady routine of spending his mornings in the capital studying, his afternoons with the mercs training, and his evenings with his knights

on Marth’s 14th birthday, the King gifts him with some furniture and accessories to make the fortress more homely. he and his knights spend most of the day placing them around the fort, and then decide to treat themselves to a good dinner at one of the restaurants in the nearby village

Marth gets very sick during his first winter in Talys; after an intense sparring session, he accompanies Barst, who wants to go chop some firewood, dangerously under-dressed. he’s already coughing by the time he processes how cold it is and is bedridden with a pneumonia for a solid two weeks after that

about a year and a half into his exile, King Talys asks Marth if he likes his daughter after they’ve been through a few weeks of dancing lessons together. not understanding the sense of the question, he says yes, and the king arranges for them to have a few dates over the following months

Marth mentions this odd turn of events to the mercs, who are like older brother figures to him by that point. they don’t have any comments on the matter, until, weirdly enough, Ogma isn’t around. that’s when they explicitly tell Marth what they suspect the king has in mind for the young royals

uneasy, Marth stops taking classes at the capital and instead asks for unlimited access to the library. he starts studying by himself at the fort and gives as an excuse that he wants to spend more time with his knights, which eventually turns out to be true;  Marth develops a special attachment to Gordin, who’s closest to his age of all the knights and doesn’t speak to him with as much formalities

he keeps in touch with Caeda, who starts visiting the fort regularly. their friendship evolves a lot more genuinely without constant adult supervision

he also gets to see Caeda and Ogma interact in a more casual manner for the first time. it gets him curious about Ogma’s story, so he asks the other mercs about it eventually

learning of his mentor’s past redoubles his motivation for training and he makes tremendous progress within a few weeks, now able to best Ogma’s subordinates and any of his knights

on Marth’s 15th birthday, the mercs, the knights, Caeda and him all get together at the eastern fortress. they drink, they get Marth drunk, he has a good time and sings and dances for a while. things get blurry but they eventually find him curled up in the corner of some room upstairs begging to go home

he has no recollection of any of it the next day and gets frustrated with everyone suddenly going soft on him. he responds by becoming rude to them, which eventually leads to him getting into a fistfight with Cord. Cord gets a broken nose, Marth gets a broken wrist

Marth is forced to take a 8 weeks-long rest to recover, and decides he needs a break from people. during those two months, he only really talks to Gordin and Caeda

a few days into it, he decides to visit the town closest to the fortress. an antique shop catches his interest, where he finds the first piano he’s seen since leaving Altea. he plays a few notes with his left hand, his right one being out of commission, and attracts the attention of another boy in the shop

the boy introduces himself as Gabrien, son of the owner of the shop, and explains that he never learned piano but played this one a lot because his father has had it forever and can’t seem to sell it. he notices Marth’s handicap and offers to be his right hand. they play music for a while. Gabrien eventually tells Marth he’s supposed to meet with his best friend later that day and invites him along

Marth meets Allie, Gabrien’s best friend and the only child of a couple of farmers. they get along nicely, and he spends most of his 2 months break with them

when that time is up, he’s told he can start exercising again but still can’t go back to full training, so he still spends a lot of time with Allie and Gabrien who now go out of their way to come fetch him at the fort

on a sunny day, Allie comes to get him without Gabrien. she says her friend can’t make it, but she and Marth can still have a picnic just the two of them, so they do. she kisses him, he lets her

on the next rainy day, Marth meets up with Gabrien at the shop, who says they won’t be seeing Allie because she has to help with chores at home. Marth sits down to play some piano on his own now that he can, while Gabrien sits next to him and listens. Gabrien eventually kisses him, and Marth lets him

neither Allie or Gabrien shows up the next day, or the one after, or ever. Marth eventually comes to the conclusion that they spoke to each other about what happened the last times they saw him respectively, and he feels awful

he spends days locked up to study the few books he has left, and gradually starts joining his knights for meals again. one day, he apologizes for his behavior from months earlier, and rushes to see the mercenaries and do the same

he spends the rest of his recovery doing light exercises and watching everyone train. when he finally gets the okay from his healer, he trains by himself while the others are busy with other things

a month later, he challenges Ogma to a fight

he wins

in the next days, he rides to the capital to return his many books and takes a quick detour to visit and thank the King for the first time since he stopped school

he visits the antique shop and the old farm on his way back, but doesn’t see either of his former friends

since it’s most of what they occupy their days with at that point, Marth decides to shake things up when it comes to training. he has his knights and the mercs come together to help out and challenge each other, and turns it all into something more pleasant by organizing little tourneys, relays, games of capture the flag and such

on Marth’s 16th birthday, he is gifted with a very nice rapier and a new battle outfit that’s pretty similar to his old one but actually fits him

there’s just a bit more than a month that passes after this before the Galder Pirates invade, and that time is arguably the best of their stay as everyone is in good spirits

[halloweenfor]

Uniform Costumes - Men's Scottish Kilt Costume

Theme Halloween Costumes

Police Costumes

Oy! Whit’s fur ye’ll no go by ye! We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns, Haud yer wheesht. Gie it laldy.Can you understand any of that? Because we certainly can’t. Scottish is a language all its own and it shows. If you can make heads or tails of whatever they’re saying, you might be ready to wear this Scottish kilt and look like a true Scotsman. Maybe you’ve seen Braveheart enough times that you’ve memorized every speech. Or maybe you’re giving in to your great love of plaid. Whatever the reason, this kilt will make you feel like a real man who’s wearing something that resembles a skirt. While it might feel a bit cold underneath (underwear is optional although traditionally not worn, probably so it’s easier to moon people whenever you feel like it), people will be too busy admiring your fashion sense that soon you won’t even notice the breeze. Of course, if you’re going to start wearing a kilt, you’ve got to get yourself a set of bagpipes. Kilts are for people who are at the very beginning of their journey into Scottish culture. Bagpipes are for the pros. You show up to an event wearing a kilt and playing the Bagpipes and you’re basically treated as royalty. It hardly even matters if you know how to play the bagpipes, because is anyone even going to know that you don’t? And if they do, you can always say that you need to tune it once you get home. We don’t even know if bagpipes need tuning, but it sounds good, right? Put that kilt on and make like the Lord of the Dance, because you’re a Scotsman now, laddie!|L|Polyester||||2019-07-09 14:18:18.963|instock||DR5084|Theme Halloween Costumes|International Costumes|This Men’s Scottish Kilt Costume is a fun look for Halloween in the Highlands!||876802053557|DR5084-L||Scottish Costumes|||||0|https://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=38286&userID=186078&atc=1&productID=870187077|||||||https://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=38286&userID=186078&mobile=1&productID=870187077||||||||| 870187078|Raving Mad Hatter Women’s Costume|38286|HalloweenCostumes.com|https://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=38286&userID=186078&productID=870187078|https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/45486/1-5/raving-mad-hatter-womens-costume.jpg|https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/45486/1-2/raving-mad-hatter-womens-costume.jpg|59.99||Fashion|Costumes|Mad StyleWonderland is a brand new scene. Alice’s waking life was set securely in the Victorian era with lace chocked corsets, perfect curls, and spotless gloves. But just a few bunny hops away, the scene down the rabbit hole was getting wild. Nothing is boring in this underworld.  Those buttoned-up Victorian morals? They simply don’t apply. The world is full of vibrant talking flowers, magical cookies that will change your size, and power enraged queens, they don’t have time for salad forks and fainting couches. And the fashion-forward leader of this kaleidoscopic kingdom? The Mad Hatter! The Mad Hatter has a crazy look with checkers, hearts, and vibrant colors.This is someone who knows how to rock a mad look. She’s shaking things up in this underground dreamworld. When you’re dressed in this Mad Hatter costume any party you hold will be a tea party that no one is ever going to forget. Product DetailsYou’ll feel like a mad boss in this gorgeous dress with its layered skirt with a purple peplum topper, diamond-patterned fabric, and a retro card pattern that matches the card patterned train. The velvet bodice has a diamond-patterned front inset panel with purple polka doted decorative buttons. The dress is topped with a purple-trimmed brown velvet shrug with attached card patterned bow tie that ties the whole ensemble together. Rocking WonderlandIt doesn’t take long to feel at home with the March Hare and the dormouse when you’re wearing a look as wild as this one! It’s perfect for Wonderland themed parties, performances, or a Halloween costume that you could wear solo or with a group. Pair up with Alice and the Queen of Hearts to make the most of this season’s whimsies. And for once, you can let your freak flag fly freely. After all, everyone knows that you all are mad down in Wonderland! |XL|Polyester||||2019-05-17 07:22:45.143|instock||DR11162|Theme Halloween Costumes|Storybook & Fairytale Costumes|Give your next tea party some psychedelic flair when you wear this Raving Mad Hatter Women’s Costume.||888368269716|DR11162-XL||Alice in Wonderland Costumes|Mad Hatter Costumes||||0|https://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=38286&userID=186078&atc=1&productID=870187078|||||||https://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=38286&userID=186078&mobile=1&productID=870187078||||||||| 870187079|Sexy Varsity School Girl Costume|38286|HalloweenCostumes.com|https://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=38286&userID=186078&productID=870187079|https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/3191/1-5/sexy-varsity-school-girl-costume.jpg|https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/3191/1-2/sexy-varsity-school-girl-costume.jpg|49.99||Fashion|Costumes|If you want to get straight A’s this Halloween then this Varsity School Girl Costume is exactly what you need. Everyone will know that you’ve got school spirit and much more when you enter the party scene in this sassy outfit this year. Sure, you spend most of your days nose deep in your textbooks but it’s time to be that dreamy schoolgirl you’ve always wanted to be!High school never goes how any teen imagines it, but with this costume, you can relive those glory days as the most popular girl in class. You’ll look confident enough to act as both student-body president and head cheerleader. With this outfit, you’ll fit in with every clique, the jocks and the Goths, the band geeks and punk rockers, the class clowns and the bookworms… yeah, pretty much everyone. When people see the confidence just pouring out of you, it’s going to attract a lot of attention. So be prepared to make a bunch of new friends! Oh, and don’t worry about overheating in the crowds of new friends because this outfit is actually layered. Simply take off the shirt and vest combo when things get too hot and you’ll transform into an after-school special. Your red plaid bra matches the cute mini skirt and makes for an even more alluring costume.Complete this honor-roll look with a pair of sassy stockings and some cute high heels. 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(Yeah, we couldn’t believe it when we heard it either.) So, to avoid their imminent capture they grease the hands of the local cops. Or the judges, depending on how big their criminal enterprises are.But you, Officer Anita Bribe, would never accept any money from criminals. Pfft. Of course you would. Because who doesn’t like a little extra cash in their pocket? How else are you supposed to pay for those shiny new handcuffs? And how are you supposed to pay for those Aviators? A girl has got to have accessories.In this Women’s Officer Anita Bribe Costume you can accept all the bribes that you want. And there will be a lot, because as we said earlier, criminals don’t want to get caught. And they are willing to pay the big bucks for their freedom. How else are you supposed to buy all the cool accessories to go with this costume. Like the handcuffs, they can be used on more than just bad guys, they hold suspected bag guys just as well. And how would you pay for a new baton, your last one accidentally broke when someone thought a cool 50 bucks would get them out of trouble.This costume will have you rolling in the dough. It’s not like batons grow on trees.

See Details & Get More Deals at: Best Halloween Costumes 2019 :: Shop

[judemurdock]

hey there demons, it’s me, ya boy, back at it again with another character.

rip, anyway this is jude, he’s very angsty and he hates everyone, i love him so much.

TRIGGERS BELOW: rape, heavy transphobia, murder. read at your own discretion

Ten Easy Steps to Creating a Monster

Step One: You’re born into a body that feels wrong and a name that doesn’t fit right. Sierra Murdock, they tell you it is, until you have no way not to respond to it, to feel that unease in your chest, like something is off but you can’t place exactly what it is. You go to church with your parents every week, and listen to the parents of people in your youth group talk about the dirty gays and the transgenders that will certainly go to hell. You aren’t meant to have overheard that, and your parents don’t know how to react when you ask them, at the age of six, “who are transgenders?” You are innocent, Sierra, with wide eyes and curly hair, and a soul too young to be tainted. When it’s explained to you, everything makes sense, and you understand. You understand why your skin feels awkward and you always feel like crying. It’s nothing that can be helped, when you’re not sure that you can verbalize it or even if you want to. So you continue being Sierra for several years, feeling all sorts of anger at the people in your church so you leave it, and your faith, behind. With it go all of your friends, some of whom have adopted their parents belief that you’re going to hell, just because of who you are. The ones that don’t believe that are told by their parents they’re not allowed to play with you, like being not trans is contagious and they could catch the disease next.

Step Two: Before you hit puberty, you come out to your parents, hands shaking and throat closing up on you. Your mind is racing as it imagines every possible outcome, kicking you out of the house, calling you a tranny, threatening to kill you, disowning you, or worst of all, ignoring what you say. Telling you it’s just a phase and eventually you’ll grow out of this, so stop being stupid and get out of my sight. The worst doesn’t come to fruition, thankfully, but while your father embraces you as you sob and shake and try not to break down any more than you already are, your mother distances herself from her family, from you. One week later, her bags are packed and she hasn't looked at you once since you came out, though she says, forlornly like you’re doing it to hurt her, “You will always be my daughter and that bond we have … if you ever want it back, just drop the silly attitude, Sierra.” Her words cut and sting and make you nauseous but you hold your head high as she goes and try not to cry.

Step Three: At thirteen years old, you start hormone blockers, preventing your body from developing any more female than it already has. It’s a bit late to be starting them, honestly, but money is tight since your mom left and you just hope that while it’s late, it isn’t too late. Your hair is cut short and your name isn’t Sierra anymore, it’s Marcus, but people don’t call you that. They call you tranny and dyke and all sorts of names that attest to just how cruel children can be. Prejudice isn’t born, it’s taught and the few friends you have that call you Marcus aren’t enough to offset the ones who still think of you as Sierra. It’s flat out hatred they have for you and you know that it doesn’t get any easier. Not for a long time and you won’t make it to a long time if it keeps up like this. Eventually, you’ll snap and like an exploding star, you’ll destroy everything around you.

Step Four: The names persist. They want you to cry at thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old. They want to see you hurt and struggle because it’s proof that you aren’t a boy, because the people who push you down in the hallways are boys, who pull your pants down in front of the urinal and demand you pee standing up are boys, the teachers who conveniently don’t see anything are boys, and you, Sierra, you’re not a boy. You’re just a little girl trying to get attention. Your skin is littered with cuts from being slammed into lockers and bruises from being stuck with a team of boys who hate you in gym class which must be fair because you’re the one who wanted to be treated like a boy. And boys get pushed down in flag football, even though there’s clearly a no tackling rule, the gym teacher was watching another group play.

Step Five: The final straw comes on your sixteenth birthday, when you’re now Samuel. When your not so friendly group of flag football buddies corner you in the locker room and your shirt is pulled up, revealing your binder. They say that you’re just a little bitch and you can’t be allowed to go out into the real world like this, so really, you should be thanking them. They’re helping you. One goes to watch the front door to the locker room, another goes to watch the back, leaving just you and the ringleader, Sierra/Samuel, and no one is coming to help you. Unless you figure out a way out of this, the skin that already doesn’t fit right will be even worse, even more unbearable. When his hands reach for your jeans, you lose all sense of time and you don’t remember what happens next. You just know that he’s only the floor in front of you, bloody and bruised and beaten to a pulp. There’s a teacher in the room, and another, followed by the vice principal and the principal and a cop. They see you, curled up in the corner of a bay of lockers, shaking, crying and with your assailant’s blood on your hands. You’re taken out in handcuffs, stuffed into the back of a police car, and your dad leaves work to go to the police station. Your birthday present, your first dose of testosterone, is forgotten on the kitchen table.

Step Six: The parents of your abuser want you in jail for the rest of your life, they scream at you, call you a murder, yet it’s still a name you prefer to the slurs their son hurled at you. They can’t believe their son would do that and even if he did, trans lives are worth less than normal lives. He was going to go to a good college, play football, and maybe go pro. And because of you, he never will. People stand outside the court where you are due to stand trial and shout at you, say you’re going to hell, and a small, sarcastic part of you appreciates the almost bookends like way it echoes your life ten years ago. The boys who stood guard testify after being told that they would be accessories to rape and you are set free because you acted in self-defense. It wasn’t premeditated and there was nowhere you could have retreated to. It’s justifiable homicide and you truly are the victim here.

Step Seven: Your father doesn’t quite meet your eyes in the aftermath of it all, flinches a little when you let it slip just how jaded and bitter you’ve become. It’s a huge blowout that day, with you shouting at him for letting it escalate to that point. He’d seen the bruises, listened to you cry every day after school, and yet, nothing was solved. Each day you went back to the hell hole they dared to call an institution of learning, each day you came home just a little more broken and depressed, each night you went home and barricaded yourself in your room. Now, to be fair, whenever your father would ask if you were okay, you’d snap and scream and tell him to get the fuck out of your room and he isn’t a mind reader so how was he supposed to know that you meant I’m not okay. I’m sad and scared and I need you. Please don’t leave me. It’s all your fault that he never put the effort into being there for you and it’s because you rebuffed him at every turn. You did this to yourself.

Step Eight: Out, damned spot! Out, I say! You are Lady Macbeth and the blood on your hands doesn’t let you sleep. The few friends you had either hate you or are afraid of you or have simply just drifted away but regardless, your phone doesn’t ring anymore. During the nights, you pick up your guitar or you wander the streets aimlessly, trying to come up with something to make the buzzing in your head quiet, to drown out the little voice that says you’re a murderer and what you did is unforgivable in gin or rum, or whatever you can get your hands on. It used to call you Sierra, say that you’re a girl or something equally hurtful but you were able to ignore that because that you knew wasn’t true. Murderer, on the other hand? Hurtful, yes. Accurate? Hell yes. One of those nights, wandering the city awash in the neon lights, people attempt to bash you, but this time, you don’t let anyone hurt you. You know better now, know that they’re going to judge you anyway and this time, you won’t take it lying down because maybe they’ll leave you alone after. You fight for all you’re worth, put all of your pain and misery into beating the people who would beat you given the chance. When you look in the mirror after returning home, with a black eye and a swollen lip, instead of feeling upset, you feel proud and that is the moment you refuse to let anyone try to hurt you ever again.

Step Nine: Some people you meet through your more illicit hobbies clue you into an underground fighting ring and when you step into the club for the first time, you feel alive, skin tingling and blood pumping. You want that to be you, to be in the ring, fighting to hurt someone while they’re looking to hurt you except there’s no malice behind it. This is all about the money, not because you’re trans or because you’re a killer. You lie about your age, tell them that you’re eighteen because you need this and truthfully, for the first time, you’ve allowed yourself to want something that isn’t necessary to your survival. You rise through the ranks quickly and they introduce you as Jude “The Unbreakable” Murdock. The name sends a rush of adrenaline through your veins every time and you’re unable to resist the smirk you get when you hear it because you know that it’s true. You kind of love it.

Step Ten: Unbeknownst to you, someone from the Sanctum observes all of your fights and places their bets on you every time. You proceed to win every round you enter, because you’re small but you’re fast and quick on your feet, used to being on the lookout for people about to hurt you at any moment. You use your opponent’s size against them, striking hard and fast before you’re gone again. On your eighteenth birthday, that someone approaches you and offers you the one thing that you’ve been saving up for. They offer to pay for you to transition, in exchange for selling your soul. Without so much as thinking about it, you sign on the dotted line, shake their hand and within the next few months, you’re a changed person. It happens so fast it’s basically a whirlwind, but the how it happens doesn’t matter to you as much as it happening. It takes a few months to fully recover from surgery, but once you’re fully healed, it’s back into the ring you go, this time with more confidence. During your fights, you’re quick-witted, fast on your toes, and constantly analyzing. Outside of them, you’re jaded and angry still, but it’s the best defense you have, the best way to keep people at bay. People are a weakness, they only bring pain, and you’re not about to let anyone close enough to hurt you again. They may call you a monster now but you’re only Frankenstein’s Monster, Jude, and everyone who hurt you or stood by? They’re Frankenstein. Go destroy those who made you.

[ruiyuki]

OMG PLEASE TELL THE CLANNAD STORY LMAOOO

omfg lmao ok fine. its long and dumb and legit facepalm stupid but I have time to kill, so I hope you do too. Get ready, grab yo booze and gather around kiddos its story time.

ok first context of this story is I dated this guy for 2 years while I was 19 in uni. lets call him..... Sony Erikson. Erikson for short ok? Ok.

One important thing you need to know abt Sony Erikson is that he was one of those nerds that took.. fiction way too literally.. basically claiming this one work of fiction would be what he aspires his life to be. Like Ted in HIMYM being a die hard Star Wars fanboy and naming his kids Luke and Leia... .. . actually exactly like Ted bc dis guy told me the exact same thing.. huh. nothing wrong w sw or himym ted btw js

So Erikson, was a family man. He wanted 2 kids - a girl and boy - and a whole nuclear family with a white hot soccer mom SUV in the suburbs to go with it. Keep in mind we were both 19 and he was already talking abt all of this shit while I had VEHEMETLY expressed I never ever ever never want kids. no. nada. Im fuck shit scared of childbirth this fear aint going away. I'll be the one whiskey aunt til the day I die, swear on it. red flag #1 ok.

Erikson, was also an anime fan. And you guessed it, one of his favourite animes of. all. t i m e. is Clannad. And yknow what Clannad is about? FAMILY. So being the typical couple we are - making our s/o watch things we ourselves like but they might not enjoy - obviously he makes me watch it in the hopes of trying to convince me I would change my mind about future children when I am still a I-have-no-idea-what-Im-doing-in-life 19 year old. Clearly a brilliant plan for someone Im not even sure I want to spend the rest of my life with.

.... I kid you not when I say, he said to me: "Clannad is what I aspire my future family to be like". Word. For. Word. red flag numero deux.

Ok fine. We watch it. Get thru s1 and its not terrible... tolerable nbd. I actually found it quite cute.... But yknow what else happens in Clannad? THE TERMINAL ILLNESS CARD. ahdjkfkdls B R U H I've seen enough kdramas back in the day to know how dumb this trope is,,, and I h a t e it. Despise it with a burning passion. Terminal illness is not your accessory for drama, producers. Get yo shit together and do some real research.

But dis guy. Dis Erikson guy. Looooveeesss it. He's sappy and thinks its the greatest expression of love and family and compassion and committment there is.

... barf.

Tbqh I would've been less mad at the TIC and sappiness if weren't for the fact that the image of Nagisa - the main chick - sweet sweet softspoken timid housewife Nagisa - was his "ideal" image for a wife and therefore "what he wanted [me] to be".

.

.

.

B I E T C H. If there is one thing I am known for it is being a stubborn bitch. Especially when someone tries to change who I am - I just do the exact opposite. So guess what bud, I got more hardheaded than a Steelix with Iron Head. I dont take shit from anyone. I aint your sweet housewife.

But I digress.

You keeping up with number of red flags so far? Bc we're at three.

So. We get thru like the 10th episode of s2 or smth and I've had enough. I cant take it anymore. And then he gets all upset at me for not... enjoying it....??? Even tho I made it clear I wasnt expecting to enjoy it considering the themes and what it was suppose to mean???!?!?!?... so ye that snowballs into a hissy fit and I just leave. Not dealing w this bs.

We dont talk or message for a week.

L m a ooooooooo

Ok so like a week goes by and he msgs me like "so are we gonna talk abt this or wat?" And then ok ya sure we sit down and talk abt what happened like what couples should do.

But the conversation doesnt resolve anything and digs up even more issues we'd already been past. Or so we thought. I point out the things I dislike abt him and he calls out that Im too stubborn, that Im not feminine?? enough and that it demasculinates him - LMAO WOW IM SORRY I HAVE TO LAUGH HERE HAHAHHAA - and that Im an alpha bitch. Exact words.

Y u p.

Woweee.

Ya bye. I call it. I leave.

The end.

... not really. There's a sequel to it where he tries to "get me back" for 3 months following but thats for another time. But ya thats how I broke up w an ex over Clannad. HAHHAHAHAHA god what was I thinking,,,,