#Open Meetings Law Complaint
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Crimes and Punishments Part 2: Speedsters
Masterpost
“Why are we all here again?” The Flash asked Batman. Batman just made a noise in response. Like a hmmph, that somehow insinuated that Flash should know the answer to that question.
Robin hangs up the phone with this Danny person, and states that he should be arriving shortly. And he does, coming right through the window, gaping the whole way.
“Guys, I can’t thank you enough for hosting this meeting. And setting it up and everything, but mostly for hosting. Because my realm is slightly poisonous to you guys and because you’ve given me the chance to visit space! We’re in space right now, how awesome is that?! Can someone tell me all about this place later?” Danny rambles, as excited as Red said he would be.
Red gives Bruce a smug look in response.
“You’re welcome, Danny.”
“Now that we’re all here.” Batman grunts and everyone starts taking seats around the table.
Danny sheepishly takes a seat at the middle seat facing the window. The three speedsters sit across from him, Bruce at one head and Nightwing on the other. Red sits next to Bruce and Danny, Robin sits next to Nightwing and Danny. Danny pulls out a few pieces of paper and a pen.
Once everyone is situated, Batman gestures to Danny. “You called this meeting, about some broken laws?”
Danny nodded solemnly, his aura becoming slightly darker and more oppressing. He faces Bruce, “Yes, I have on my council the ancients of time and speed.” He turns to the speedsters. “You have been accused of breaking Clockwork, the ancient of time’s, rules about interfering in the timestream. He has stated many instances that you have left your own time, changed the past, and changed the future. Unfortunately, in doing so you have also corrupted reality and interfered in more laws of my dimension in bringing back the dead.”
“I’m sorry, but who exactly are you to be the authority on time and speed and, what, the dead too? Who are you at all?” Flash asks.
“We were told you were King of an alternate dimension, how does our dimension affect yours at all?” Kid Flash asks.
“I’m not the authority for time and speed, those are members of my council. Clockwork has been bringing complaints to me about all of you for a long time, but it wasn’t until I started investigating the other matter-” He makes a gesture towards Red, who nods, “that I discovered that the main cause of these problems has been your meddling with reality. You have created cracks in reality, caused by the fracture in the space-time continuum, and these cracks opened your realm to mine, which is poisonous to yours by the way. Clockwork has been cleaning up your messes in the timestream, and now I have cleaned up the leaks, and there is patchwork being done on reality right now.” He checks the last few points on his paper, making marks for each correction being made.
“You have control over all of that?” Impulse blurts out.
“More like I have control over the people who control all of that. Mostly. I’m in charge of space!” Danny smiles wide, fangs out and aura glowing for a second. “Your main interference with Space is the fact that you broke holes into your dimension, but I’m not big on punishments. Speed, the one who gave you your powers, she said you’d met with her before?” Danny pauses and glances between the speedsters.
“We’ve met the Speedforce.” Flash states. “We don’t fully understand the Speedforce or how it works though.”
“Yeah, that would be her! Dani doesn’t take the time to explain anything, always places to be, you know? But, she presently doesn’t have any complaints. Which complicates matters for me. Clockwork is demanding that she take the gifts she gave you, your powers, but she is refusing.”
The speedsters, having tensed, all relaxed at that.
“But Clockwork demands reparations for all the damage you have caused, and all the work he has put in to correct your mistakes.” Danny shrugs in a what-can-you-do manner. “And you have each meddled in the timestream correct?”
They each confirm.
“Right. We’re going to have to come to an agreement on repercussions for your violation of time law and space law. Now, I can’t say for sure who did what, or how many times, and what damage in particular it caused, which means unless you want to fess up right now, you’re all going to receive equal punishments, on the assumption you each caused a third of the damage.”
“I did most of it.” Flash says immediately. “I was the first to get my powers, I didn’t know how to use them, or how badly messing with the timestream ends up until I did it multiple times.”
“But we all did it!” Kid Flash argues.
“I’m technically messing with the timestream right now.” Impulse mutters.
“You did it while learning too! At least you figured it out before creating something like Flashpoint.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Danny raises his voice over theirs as they start to argue. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” He rubs his head for a moment. “Now, mistakes are understandable, especially while learning new powers. So, in the future, new speedsters will be given leniency so long as you three take responsibility for teaching them the dangers and the rules. We will not punish those learning unfairly.”
The speedsters settle back down in their chairs.
“We can teach new speedsters.” Flash agrees.
“Wonderful! That burden is now part of your punishment.” Danny makes a note on his paper. “One of the main damages done, raising the dead in your alterations of the timeline, will at this point not be undone. From this moment on, everyone stays how they are. We don’t want to go around killing people for your mistakes.”
The speedsters start glancing at the Bats, not having known that was even an option.
“Thank you.” Red states on behalf of the speedsters. Danny nods.
“With that covered,” He looks back at his papers, shuffling through a few. “Clockwork has made an agreement with Dani, as punishment for abusing your powers they will be taken away-”
All the speedsters start to interject, but Danny lets out some eldritch features and lets his aura become more and more powerful and fear-inducing until they all cower back in their seats. Once they are quiet he continues.
“I have been informed that you are all heroes on this planet, so we have all agreed to call this community service. Based on how long you’ve been helping and a few other factors, we made this decision: you will each lose your powers for a total of two months, and then be placed on probation. If you continue to serve your community and use your powers for good, then we will have no further problems. If any of you mess with the timestream on purpose your powers will be revoked permanently. If it is an accident, your powers will be removed again temporarily, but for a time period yet to be determined, but that will be longer than two months. Do you understand?”
They all nod slowly, but the Kid Flash speaks up.
“What if they need us while our powers are gone? We do help, we have people counting on us, what if our teams need us?”
Danny gives him a smile. “The Bats, when I spoke to them about the situation earlier, were concerned about that as well. If you agree to this plan, and we agree to only take one of your powers away at a time, that way the other two can coordinate and help when needed.”
“Will I be sent back to my own timeline?” Impulse’s voice is small and quiet.
“No. Just like with the dead, what is done is done.” Danny makes sure to have eye contact with Impulse. “This agreement does mean you could never go back though, so if you did want to…” Danny trails off.
Impulse shakes his head.
“Okay then.” Danny checks his papers again. “Were there any more questions?”
He gives it a moment.
“Then I will take this agreement back to my people and make sure everything is set. Then we will need to set up a time frame for the removal periods. For now though, everything is done. Thank you so much for your cooperation!”
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A pro-Israel “surveillance network” that has offered bounties for information on pro-Palestinian protesters is establishing a foothold in Australia and claims to have secured meetings with key federal politicians, leaked messages show.
Shirion Collective, which has largely focused on the US and UK, boasts of its ability to scrape digital fingerprints to “aggressively track and expose antisemites”. It is one of a number of groups that have gained prominence on social media during the Israel-Gaza war, publicly naming individuals it accuses of being antisemitic.
Shirion Collective claims it has an AI tool called Maccabee which can identify and track targets.
In one post on X, Shirion outlines a scenario in which the tool creates and releases deepfake videos – falsified content that looks and sounds genuine – to embarrass individuals who take down posters picturing Israeli hostages.
On its X account, Shirion Collective has claimed to offer bounties of US$500 for information on people in videos. In a December post it claimed it would pay up to US$15,000 for “crucial insights” about politicians, US$7,500 for medical doctors and US$250 for students.
Leaked screenshots of Shirion’s Telegram channel, shared with Guardian Australia by the White Rose Society, an anti-fascist researchgroup, show Shirion has become active in Australia, with participants identifying potential targets and boasting of attempts to meet the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, and the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson.
Anonymised Shirion members discussed presenting O’Neil and Paterson with a list of names to ensure they were “brought to justice according to the rule of law”.
“Need help. We managed to get into home affairs calendar, need to come prepared with people with hate speech and names that the government didn’t held [sic] accountable,” one anonymous user said.
“Meeting with Clair [sic] or her stuff [sic] … we also have a meeting with the shadow minister.”
Both O’Neil and Paterson’s offices said they had not met anyone who identified themselves as part of Shirion Collective.
The leaked texts show people on the Shirion channel discussed adding the names of individuals to a “watch list” and mass reporting posts on social media.
Some Australians whose social media accounts were linkedin the channel had shared antisemitic, racist and conspiracy theory content on social media. Others were pro-Palestinian activists who do not appear to have posted or shared antisemitic content.
When contacted via its social media accounts, a Shirion member describing themself as the “social media guy” said the “Ai is a quiet project with an internal team”.
The Shirion member said “bounties were for info and was in the USA not Australia”. The member said Shirion’s Telegram channel was open.
“The telegram [sic] is open and we do a soft verification that people are real. But freedom of speech is welcome there,” the Shirion member said.
The member said they would refer Guardian Australia’s questions to a “commander” but no further response was received.
Shirion Collective is one of several groups that say they track and fight antisemitism, largely through identifying individuals online.
Canary Mission, which has been operating since at least 2015, maintains lists of students, professors and other individuals on its website who it claims “promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews”. Another prominent account on X, StopAntisemitism, shares the names and employers or academic institutions of individuals, and often directs its more than 298,000 followers where to make complaints.
The leaked posts from the Shirion Collective Telegram channel point to some publicly available material its contributors regard as antisemitic, but also discuss creating “infiltrator” accounts to view and share material from private Instagram accounts.
In the leaked posts seen by Guardian Australia, contributors do not reveal personally identifiable information about any individual that is not publicly available.
The Shirion Collective account on X/Twitter has identified people it alleges have posted antisemitic material, or statements in support of Hamas, and tagged in their employer or academic institution in the case of students.
Naming someone online is not necessarily illegal, but Michael Bradley, a managing partner at Marque Lawyers, warned there were potential implications depending on the nature of the claims, such as harassment and intimidation or even racial vilification.
“Using social media as a mechanism for coalescing groups that want to engage in doxing activity, it’s obviously extremely powerful,” he said.
Last month, a Sydney resident named Theo had a picture of his house and his street address posted to a Facebook group.
Theo, who asked that his surname not be used, had raised a Palestinian flag and placed a blackboard with messages critical of Israel in front of his Botany home.
Less than two weeks later, a jerry can with rags stuffed into it, a disposable lighter and large bolts were placed on the bonnet of his car with a message that read: “Enough! Take down flag! One chance!!!!”
The incident prompted the deployment of the bomb squad and local police.
The investigation has not been transferred to the counter-terror investigators and remains with local police.
also
@huzni @el-shab-hussein @dirhwangdaseul
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On The Mat
pairing; choi seungcheol (scoups) x afab reader
genre; smut (minor dni)
warnings; filth, unprotected sex, fingering, sex in a public place (though no on is around), lots of banter/bickering, jealousy, jeonghan is an innocent bystander, rough sex, pet names, degrading names, man handling, a wager is made, creampie, dacryphilia, crying (obviously) from pleasure, mention of sex in the shower, and mention of eating food. also me not really understanding jiu jitsu or anything for that matter but trying to make it work.
w/c; 2.9 k and some change
requested; yes
a/n; i went a little crazy with this one, i could have just answered the ask and been simple with it but the pictures also made me feral so here we are. hope you enjoy it. tagging @duhnova and @lipglossjun because it's the law
Your phone dings again making you roll your eyes in faux annoyance. That was the third text from Seungcheol you had received in the time it had taken you to leave your apartment to drive to the gym where he was taking his jiu jitsu lessons. Normally one of his friends would pick him up but today everyone was busy and you had been met with a pouty complaint and even poutier request.
“I don’t want to miss the lesson. I’m working so hard, if you come get me we can get dinner afterwards and go back to your place for the night. Doesn’t that sound nice? I think it does…please baby? I know it’s out of the way for you but I will make it up to you, I promise.”
Those words lingered in your ears when you pulled into the parking lot to find it mostly empty. No one in front of the gym, causing you to frown. He had given you the time to pick him up so surely you weren’t late. Glancing at your phone you swipe through the pictures smiling at the first, raising a brow to the second, then dropping your mouth open to the third.
Your thighs pressing together out of instinct as your eyes scan over the tight shirt that Seungcheol had chosen to wear under his gi, how he was flexing in front of the mirror. Licking your lips in an attempt to calm down, you put your phone into your pocket and slide out of the car making your way to the gym trying to open the door, finding it locked. “Shit…”
Just when you are about to take out your phone and call Seungcheol you see him jogging towards the doors, a smile on his face when he sees you. Seungcheol steps to the side letting you step inside though you gesture to the car then find him gesturing to his gi. “I gotta change baby. Do you want to go to dinner with me in my gi?”
“I–well no, but there’s no one here Cheol. Why haven’t you changed already?” Seungcheol’s fingers slide along yours to hold your hand leading you further into the building. “Because I just finished up a few minutes ago and wanted a chance to wind down on my own, and because I knew you were coming to pick me up.”
Your brows furrow in suspicion causing Seunghcheol to laugh when he meets your gaze. “I missed you, that’s all.” You scoff, digging your phone out of your pocket, waving it at him as you speak, Seungcheol’s smile growing even wider. “Oh I’m fully aware of how much you must have missed me. If you are willing to torture me with pictures. That’s why I thought you were already changed in the first place.”
Reaching for your phone, Seungcheol unlocks it with your code looking over the pictures with a smug look on his face especially when he reaches the photo of him in his t-shirt. “You act like I would wear a shirt that is that tight out of the building.”
Seungcheol raises a brow this time when you scoff, reaching to take your phone back from him, slipping it back into your pocket. “It wouldn’t be the worst idea. You look really good in it, now unless you are going to show me some moves go get cleaned up and changed.” You had been joking but Seungcheol stops in his tracks, a smirk forming on his lips even when you keep walking only to be pulled back towards him. “Would you want me to?”
“Want you to do what? Get changed, yes? I’m hungry and you said we’d go back to my place…you’ve already teased me enou–” You start to finish your sentence when Seungcheol pulls you against his chest, his hands sliding along your sides causing you to squeak out a laugh instead of words.
“We will get food and go back to your place but do you want me to show you some of my moves baby? The mat is right there…I’m getting really good.” Your cheeks begin to burn, you glance around making sure there is no one in the gym before you meet Seungcheol’s eyes causing him to laugh. “There’s no one here…just us.”
Seungcheol’s fingers bunch up your shirt so that his fingernails can scratch lightly at your sides causing you to let out a soft sigh when you tilt your head. “I’m stronger than you think.” The smirk on his lips spreads into a full smile when Seungcheol tilts his head moving his hands to yours walking backwards towards the mat. “Then we will put a wager on it. If you can pin me down then I will treat you to dessert.”
His hands falling from yours, Seungcheol leans down to untie your shoes glancing up at you when you scoff out his name. “Hm? You don’t want dessert?” Of course you did, he knew that you loved sweet things. “What do you get if you pin me down?” You watch mischief flash over Seungcheol’s eyes, his hands running over your calves down to your ankles before he helps you out of your shoes.
“To have my way with you.” When your thighs press together instinctively, his voice dropping an octave, Seungcheol smirks, raising a brow at your movement. “Don’t get weak at the knees already, Y/N. You are stronger than I think, right?” Stepping away, Seungcheol bites at his lip, tightening the belt of his gi.
“Is it really fair that I’m going to be dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and you get that?” Seungcheol laughs at your words, his eyes following you when you step on to the mat. You were stalling and he knew it. “Mm, if you are as good as you think you are it won’t matter what you are wearing. I remember plenty of times you pinning me down with your thighs. Course I let it happen and you were usually sitting on my face.”
His words catch you off guard causing you to gasp, you start to speak telling him how it isn’t far to dirty talk during a fight but Seungcheol’s arm is under your thigh, his other behind your head and you are on the mat before you can speak. “Hi.”
Looking up at the man, you catch your breath shocked at how quickly a man with such girth moved. “That…that wasn’t fair. You cheated you, big oaf.” A laugh slips from Seungcheol’s lips, his nose brushing along cheek to your ear where he takes in a breath of your shampoo before speaking. “All if fair in love and war bab–”
A groan takes over the end of his sentence when you use your free leg to brush between his legs agreeing to his statement. Seungcheol’s arm relaxing on your leg allows you to move so you can quickly pin him to the mat resting over his hips but only briefly when he stares up at you. “I’d say that was more cheating than what I did.”
Without much effort, Seungcheol lifts your hips with his, tilting you backwards, as his hands grab your wrists. Using his momentum he pushes you over, putting you on your back on the mat with a small thud - a small exhale of breath leaving your lips. “And this one was completely fair.”
You struggle against his grip arching your body towards his only to laugh a moment later realizing there was no way you were going to move unless he allowed it. “Fuck…when did you get so strong Cheol?” A smirk spreads across the man’s lips at your words while he leans down to brush them against yours to speak. “I told you I’ve been working hard, but I also just don’t use it to my advantage with you often. Why? Do you like it when I do?”
Your stomach sucking in with anticipation at wanting him to kiss you, Seungcheol leans back when you try to meet his lips, a laugh warm against your cheek instead when you finally answer him. “God…yeah I do.” His brows furrowing, Seungcheol had known you liked it, he could tell but hearing you say it was a different thing altogether.
“Fuck…yeah? Well I won.” You didn’t need him to tell you that, impatiently you lift your hips towards his, causing Seungcheol to groan against your neck when you grind against his already hard cock. “Then do something about it, or I’ll leave you here and go home.” Seungcheol laughed at your impatience, how sassy you were getting. His hands slide along your arms, moving to his knees between your legs so he can sit up in front of you.
“Patience baby…don’t make me fuck some respect into you.” When you scoff, Seungcheol laughs again, his hands loosening his belt so he can pull off the top half of gi tossing it to the side causing you to moan at the sight in front of you. His muscles hard under the tight gray t-shirt, each movement visible under the fabric. “Jesus Christ…I don’t want you wearing that anywhere anyone else can see it.”
“Why?” Seungcheol’s eyebrow shot up, amusement in his tone at your sudden change of heart. “Because you look like a fucking whore Cheol.” A gasp leaves your lips when Seungcheol’s hand collides with the side of your leg though your jeans. His fingers digging at your flesh underneath while he leans back over you to connect his lips to your neck sucking softly between words.
“I’m the whore? You are the one under me Princess.” One roll of your hips towards him grants you another groan and his hands back on your body, clothes finally being removed. “Who wanted me here? I could have waited, you are the one who needs a lesson in patience. Such a pretty little whore.”
“God, you need something in your mouth.” You laugh when Seungcheol tosses your bra over his head not caring where it lands, his fingers sliding up your throat to your chin and finally two into your mouth giving you something to suck on while he kicks his pants off along with his briefs. “Maybe I am needy today, but you’ve been on my mind all fucking day. Then I found out I got to see you…put yourself in my position. All wound up and finally getting to see your sexy ass.”
Biting around his fingers gently, you moan feeling Seungcheol’s free hand slide between your thighs once he has removed the rest of your clothing. The tips of his fingers brush over wet folds making him mutter your name into the air, his eyes locked on yours as he pushes his fingers deeper into your mouth causing you to gasp around them.
“That’s a good girl, get ‘em nice and wet so I can fuck you with them. Have to get you ready for my cock don’t I?” Your eyes closing when you gag around his fingers only to have him pull them back letting you gasp for a breath, Seungcheol watches you smirk and suck on your bottom lip. “You are so gross Cheol.”
The man smiles, his wet fingers taking the place of his other hand when he moves to his side watching your body jerk at the sudden contact. “Am I? I think you like it. Keep your legs open or I’ll pin them open. You know I can.” A moaning whine leaves your lips, Seungcheol’s arm moving so he can work two of his fingers into your waiting pussy. Your hand wrapping around his forearm at how full you suddenly feel knowing it was only the beginning.
“Fucking tight…always so tight. How fast can you cum for me?” You didn’t realize it was a competition but when Seungcheol asks the question, you aren’t given time to answer it. His fingers are buried deep while his thumb works in tight circles around your clit eliciting a high pitched moan to fall from your lips.
“I think I can get you there in the matter of seconds if I want to. I know every inch of you.” Now you wanted him to shut up, you wanted him to put something in his mouth but there was no way you were going to think of coherent words or full sentences while your hips rolled over his hand and he pushed you towards your orgasm so quickly.
The sounds of your wet pussy filling the room were music to Seungcheol’s ears, his cock resting against his thigh twitching and leaking heavily wanting to be inside of you. “Please!” A single word from you causes a groan to escape Seungcheol’s mouth, his eyes falling on your face when you fall over the edge cumming around his fingers hard. Your thighs close around his hand no matter how hard you try to keep them open but Seungcheol doesn’t stop thrusting his fingers into you until tears are rolling towards your hair.
“Fuck…there you go. So fucking pretty.” Out of breath, trying to think clearly, you open your eyes to watch Seungcheol suck his fingers clean. Your legs are still shaking while you lift your hand to run it under your eyes to start to push away the tears of pleasure only to be stopped by a hand on your wrist. “Leave them…I plan on fucking you so hard you are going to cry again.”
You whine out a laugh, Seungcheol’s hand moving to your leg as he moves between your thighs. His hand sliding your knee to his hip while he positions the head of his cock at your dripping entrance teasing you by pushing it only slightly and pulling back. “You are such an asshole. I can’t stand you.”
“And you are a liar. I love you and I know that you love me, so tell me the truth and I’ll keep my promise and fuck you.” Leaning down, Seungcheol brushes his lips over yours so sweetly you almost want to melt despite the earlier treatment from him being the polar opposite. “Fuck you…I love you. If you don’t fuck me right now I swear to god I’ll call Jeonghan and get him to fuck ME!”
Jealousy was one of Seungcheol’s many traits and one that you used rarely against him but hearing you say Jeonghan’s name and that you’d have him fuck you instead sent your boyfriend over the edge. With one swift motion he pushes into you hard and deep, taking your breath away causing the last word of your sentence to lift almost to a crying moan. “And I’ll kick his ass for you even thinking about him. You are mine, this pussy is mine…”
Seungcheol’s mind was on fire at your words, how you could even think about Jeonghan in a time like this, with his cock inside of you. He would just have to fuck those thoughts right out of you. With a thrust that sent you into the mat causing you to cry out his name, your eyes closing so tightly you squeezed out more tears, Seungcheol thought he was achieving that goal.
“Yeah baby? That what you wanted? My cock buried in this sweet little pussy? Who’s it belong to?” Your fingernails leave bright red streaks along Seungcheol’s arms as you try to hold on to him for some way to keep yourself mentally grounded. Even with his firm flesh under your touch you start to lose yourself to the pleasure. “Fuck, please! Please? Don’t stop…”
He had no intention of stopping, he was so close to his own climax and with how you were clenching around him he knew you were close too. Burning his face in the crook of your neck, Seungcheol latches his mouth onto your throat sucking a deep red spot marking you when you fall apart on his cock. The sound of your whimpers and moans sending his mind into a tailspin, the feeling of your nails against his back sending him over the edge after you.
Seungcheol only pulls back placing his hand on the mat so he can lean back to watch himself fuck his cum back into you. His eyes move between watching the white ring form around the base of his cock and the tears run down your face while you moan his name like a prayer. “That’s right, you’re mine. So fucking beautiful. Love you so fucking much. God…I could fill you up again.”
“Oh my god…you really are a whore.” Your words are whispered on a soft breath making Seungcheol laugh. Carefully pulling from you, he leans down to press a kiss to your chest working his lips up to yours before muttering against them. “You might be right, but that just means I’m a whore for you. You make me crazy.”
Lifting your leg, you drape it over his hips sighing against his lips. “You made me all sticky and you made me cry.” Seungcheol smirks on your lips before leaning to kiss your cheeks collecting your tears on his lips. “Mm I fucked you too good and there is a shower here. I can keep my promise and fill you up again.”
Groaning in faux disgust, you watch Seungcheol stand up extending a hand down to help you stand. “You promised me food Choi Seungcheol, not your dick. I can’t eat your dick.” The smirk widens on your boyfriend’s lips making you smack his hand away and for him to laugh loudly. “I’m just saying, you could…in a way. I’ll get you food, come on grumpy. Come shower with me and I’ll show you how good my balance has gotten off the mat.”
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the sound of the applause
actor!eren x f!reader
**part of my method acting series
content: pain pre cursor.
an: songs mentioned - london boy by taylor swift, golden hour by jvke, girlfriend by avril lavigne. anyways. this chapter tame af. we are starting our demonic era. and no, you are not getting an eren pov until I say so. and I have covid so I am feeling extra evil and already writing the next one.
previous part linked here
--
You’re twelve years old the first time that you feel it.
You have hippies to thank for the entire ordeal. In your small, small town in Canada, there’s very little tension or importance on the arts. Singing, dancing, acting - like many places around the world - fall short to the highs and lows that come with sports.
Your middle school is no exception. A school that can barely spare money to fund a dying arts department, that begrudgingly offers one generalized art class that covers the basics of painting. Except when the hippy dippy parents in town petition, file a complaint with the mayor, they’re sequestered to include arts in all sectors that sports are included in.
A law that opens doors insanely. And creates the opportunity that exposes you to it. The singer showcase at the football pep rally.
And if you have to, you guess you have to thank food poisoning as well. Because Paulina, the original girl who was supposed to sing, was missing from first period that morning and you were all too quick to offer to take her spot.
They give you that pitchy, old black microphone and let you sing your heart out to one of your favorite old songs, At Last by Etta James. And when you open your eyes, the recollection of the performance is wiped from your mind seconds after you finish, and there’s only one thing you remember. It rings so hard, the sound so loud in your eardrums that it’s all you feel. The rush of the blood, the eyes staring back at you, and your cheeks burning.
When you think back, long and hard, that’s the first time it happens. The first time you feel it. It sits with you, that resounding pressure, that digs on you to give in. The need, the want, the infatuation with the rush you’re feeling.
And the obsession with the sound of the applause.
--
“Y/N. Wake up.”
You aggressively push your forehead into the plush of your pillow, creating a nice symphony of groaning songs in response to Danny, who is interrupting your beauty sleep.
“How long has it been?” you murmur into the pillow, the stinging in your head and the fatigue sitting in your body telling you it couldn’t have even been an hour.
“An hour. But I just realized, the bridge didn’t come out right when I was mixing so you have to record it again.”
“Can you come back in like three years? When I have the energy?” you groan.
“Y/N. I’ll see you in five down there.” he definitively states, shuffling out of your room.
Against every fiber of your being, you pull yourself out of the bed and drag yourself down to the studio, making it a point to glare at him as you re-record the bridge of the song you wrote yesterday. You give it a few tries, messing with the octaves and inflections, until you get a shining thumbs up, and wrap yourself into the blanket left on the couch.
“You write anything new?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
You hold out your green book to Danny, opening it to the page marked, at which your producer is already wrinkling his nose. He hasn’t even read the lyrics yet, but you’re sure the title - Cry - is already setting him off.
“You didn’t even read it yet.” you respond, frowning.
“I don’t have to read it to know it’s brilliant. But you were there in that meeting last week and you know this isn’t what we can push out.” he responds, turning back to his soundboard, half-pulling his headphones back onto his ear.
“Danny. I-I just haven’t been able to write songs like that lately. This is what’s coming out.”
After nearly a year of writing music and touring, Danny and Sareen have leaned heavily into your Lover Girl branding. An affectionate term used by your fans, but now the entirety of the breadth that you work with. You’re widely known for the lovey dovey, sweet songs you write so when anything that falls outside of that mold, it isn’t stuff Danny and Sareen appreciate.
But you haven’t been able to write any of that lately. Which only makes that resoundling, crackling, heavy pressure in your head worse. Like you’re defective.
He turns around in his swivel chair, taking the little bound book you’re holding out for him, as he starts flipping through the pages. The worn down book you were gifted on your birthday years ago is filled with every mess of lyrics you’ve written, though none of them are meeting the game plan that was set weeks ago.
That announcement sent everyone on your team into a frenzy, which was so far from your initial reaction.
First of all, it was a rumor. That you were one leg away from being a triple threat. Second, if it’s true, you’re ecstatic. Enthralled and honored and every feeling in between. That you were even in the consideration for being a triple threat, let alone a few feet away from it.
No one else on your team saw it that way. Your producer, Danny, saw this as a sign that you need to be making more music and faster. The songs you make take you weeks to write at this point, no thanks to the perfectionism that comes with writing the lyrics and working out the sound. He’s set a goal for you - to write one song everyday. It makes it - that impending doom in your head - ten pounds heavier.
Your manager, Sareen, is no better. She only took this as a sign that you need to start being more vigilant. A hard-assed woman in her forties, Sareen is all about work ethic. That staying determined is the only way that you will get through this. And she’s extremely blunt when she tells you so.
Stars don’t take breaks. If you want it that badly, you have to work harder. There’s six thousand things working against you, take it as a note that you need to be running faster. That you aren’t trying hard enough. Those are equivalent to dumbbells for that rock on your head, that you’re sure is responsible for pinching all your nerves.
And it’s a matter of proving yourself. To Sareen, Danny, Eren, and everyone who watches you.
You appreciate the push. It’s extremely draining, but worth it when your song releases are so anticipated that you’re selling millions of copies before the song comes out. Have sold out stadium tours, and are shortlisted for awards nearly every time you do something.
You wake up. Get ready for the show. Memorize lines in between shows, film when you don’t have shows. Write songs on flights, produce through voice memos since you’re hardly in one place at a time.
And when you think about it all, finally being a triple threat, finally getting to hear Eren say that he told you so like you said that first night on set together, it’ll all be worth it. It’ll be over.
You can stop running. You can stroll, swim, make the music you like. So you oblige. This is part of the process, you just have to push through. There’s an end goal in sight. And being near Eren is a part of it.
“Have you ever thought about writing a song about…Ricky James?” Danny asks, swinging around in his chair as he smiles at you.
You wrinkle your nose as you throw the closest thing, an empty CD case, at Danny as he laughs back.
“Ew, Danny. That’s so not a thing.”
Ricky James, an infinite, insurmountable amount of talent, was your co-star on your last movie, Little Women. A British singer-songwriter, who virtually blew up over night.
He was nice - definitely the charismatic, flirty type of co-star. You’re positive half of it is the accent. After the two of you started doing press for Little Women, everyone was swooning over the two of you together. At how you guys had a handshake, did your famous kiss scene in one take, and how in almost every interview, he made it a point to joke that he was in love with you.
You get it. It works well for the press, gets people talking about the movie. But you could never like a guy like Ricky James. Or anyone who wasn’t Eren, for that matter.
“I know it’s not a thing. You’re all goo goo ga ga over loverboy. But it’s the same thing that we did for Little Women. He used the fact that people like to speculate to his advantage. It wouldn’t hurt to do the same.” Danny responds, shrugging.
“I already do use that to my advantage. It’s no secret that I earned my whole Lover Girl branding from writing love songs about Eren.”
“Yeah, but you know how it’s been for Eren lately. Maybe it’s not the best thing that your name is attached to him anymore? For both of you?” Danny states.
Eren’s had a rough go of it lately. After Satellite Port failed and the joke they made at the awards show last year, he’s all but resigned into what you call hiding. He said that he’s just busy, focusing on landing new roles and getting more credits under his belt. You know that he recently signed a deal with Scott Clarkson to film five movies with his studio, which is promising.
But you know Eren too well. He’s retreating, hiding in all senses of the word. From you too. The texts he used to send you - good luck before every show, a good morning even though you were on different sides of the world - have ceased all together. And the few seconds you do catch him, he seems worlds away.
And it’s not just you who has caught onto it. The last time you saw Historia, when she came to watch your show, she mentioned that she was concerned about him, that she thinks he’s being a little bit self destructive by working with Stone Studios. That Scott Clarkson is not a good idea.
Granted, Scott Clarkson is buddy buddy with John. You know that’s a touchy subject for her and made it a point to bring it up to Eren. To see if he was okay. But you were flying out for a tour and forgot to. And then he started showing up in the press again, hanging out with the cast he’s been working with, so you figured it was fine. That he’s going out again, smiling in photos.
“That-that’s not true. He’s on the come up - he’s going to be the lead in the Gatsby remake that Stone Studios is doing. I’m sure he’ll get an award for it.”
“There’s no need to get defensive. I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt to expand your horizons. Triple threats are awarded for being versatile, not sticking with what’s easy. Maybe you just need to push the boundary of what you think you can do.” he says, giving your forehead a tap.
“It kind of feels like cheating to write a song about someone that’s not him.” you murmur, looking down at the pages in your hand. Eren’s handwriting is scribbled onto the invisible string page. Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven.
“You know, Sareen’s not too keen about this relationship. And I know that Eren’s team isn’t either.” Danny states.
“Who are they to tell us who we can date?”
“It’s not about who you can date. It-it’s about the image. Tying your name to his doesn’t exactly always work in your favor, Y/N. There’s no loyalty in an industry like this. And for Eren’s case, you’ve never really helped him in that sense. When you stand together, with the success you’ve had, all they see is a failure in Eren, when he’s really not even that bad.”
“People’s comparisons aren’t my fault. And Eren’s doing fine, he-he’s okay.”
“Now, he is. But a few months ago, it was your name next to his that was dragging him down. If it comes down to triple threats and it’s between you and him, are you telling me that you would really pick him over you?”
Yes. One thousand times, yes. Though you know that’s not the answer Danny wants.
“You have to be more selfish, Y/N. And maybe that’s selfless for Eren's sake too. There isn’t room for the both of you, right now. I know you love him, but Sareen has a point. Is working this hard worth it if you don’t get what you want out of it? You and Eren have all the time in the world to be together, just focus on your career before him.”
You frown, staring at the wrinkles pressed up against his forehead.
“You can have what you want - have your cake and eat it too, write all these corny love songs about him after you make it. Stop running when you’re actually there, kid.”
You look down at the pages, the thoughts floating through your mind, as the lyrics start spilling out. For your first song that’s not about Eren.
London Boy.
--
You try to make a point to call Eren before releases. Key word, try.
But it doesn’t happen that way. Because Eren’s in Los Angeles and you’re in Tokyo and the time difference messes the two of you up so bad that when they surprise drop London Boy, you don’t get to warn Eren beforehand.
And when he texts you about it, you can feel the guilt creeping into your chest. Because you know he’s too nice to say what he actually thinks about it. If it were you, you’d wring Eren’s neck out for writing a song like this about his co-star he’s rumored to be dating. But Eren is Eren and he would never.
eren: “he likes my american smile?” babe, you’re canadian.
eren: i like the song. really.
you: i have dual citizenship.
you: eren. i’m so so sorry. i meant to tell you before but the time differences, we just kept missing each other. you know i don’t mean any of it, right?
you: it’s just a marketing thing danny and sareen planned. the song will be a hit if people are speculating who it’s about and stuff.
eren: i figured. you don’t have to explain yourself to me!!!!
eren: you’re a pop princess <3
eren: and currently number one on the billboard hot 100 for the fourth time in a row!!!
You nearly throw your phone across the room at the notifications, the frustration building so hard that it’s all pouring out of your head. You can see the stack of gifts at the front of the room - candies from Falco and Colt, as well as Marco, Historia, and Reiner - for the release.
And it’s moments like this, when you’ve been running so fast and pushing so hard, that you resort to one of your worst tendencies. Because the only thing that helps you when you feel like this is being a masochist. Feeling bad only makes you want to feel worse. Like you deserve it.
So you inflict it on yourself. By reading what people say about you online.
You reach back for your phone - ignoring the messages from Armin, Bertholdt, and Levi - as you scroll to Twitter, hiding the light of the phone under your sheets as you look through the app.
You look at the trending tab. Y/N L/N, London Boy, Ricky James, Eren Jaeger, and love is dead are trending.
You press your bolded name and swipe to the recents tab, scrolling through every tweet, each one categorizing, sticking in your mind as you scroll. A mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
That you’re pretty. That you’re ugly. That you have no personality, that you write mediocre songs, that you’re the best actress from Attack on Titan. That you’re lucky for bagging Ricky James and Eren, that you’re too good for Eren, that you’re horrible for writing the song.
You place the phone flat on the sheets, the absence of light making your eyes sting, as the tears string out of your eyes.
You want to make your cake and eat it too.
But is it even worth it if this is how you have to get there?
--
You stick your hand out, swinging it in the air with Ricky as you do your handshake, and plop onto the couch. Danny and Sareen called a meeting with Ricky’s team before you guys went to the wrap party for The Proposal, which is the only thing on your calendar that you were actually looking forward to this month.
Because Annie and Armin are the leads and because you know Levi and Hange are going to be there.
“This is Michael and Nancy. They’re my talent managers.” Ricky states, pointing out the two people across from you.
“Sareen and Danny. Sareen’s my manager and Danny’s my producer.”
“Is he behind the genius of London Boy?” Ricky asks, smirking at you.
“Shut up. London Boy isn’t about you, Ricky.”
“Oh, shut up. I know I’m your muse.”
The line sits in your stomach wrong, because all you can think about is Eren. Seventeen year old Eren, shimmering green eyes on that empty set when you wrote New Year’s Day. You shake your head as Danny turns to the two of you, a smile on his face.
“We have an idea.” Danny states, a smile on his face.
You and Ricky nod as Nancy and Sareen start laying out the plan, each consecutive word twisting horribly in your stomach.
Surely they can’t be serious.
“We think that the two of you should date, as a PR move.” Sareen states, handing over a folder to you.
There’s dates listed out, public places where they want you and Ricky to meet at, and songs they want you to release about each other. All down to the slated releases, ideas for album covers, and interviews they want you to do.
“This is part of Y/N’s triple threat campaign. I think putting in this whole ruse of a relationship and writing songs about it, especially if there’s some part of it that will be drama because of Eren and Lana, it’s even better.”
“Lana?” you ask.
“She’s Ricky’s old girlfriend. They aren’t dating anymore, which is something that we should capitalize on. For the both of you. This should get Ricky into the leagues for the Album of the Year award when he releases next year.” Nancy states, flipping through the pages.
You look over at Ricky, ready to fully shut down the idea. But when you turn your head to him, he’s flipping through the pages, writing down his own ideas in the folder.
“Ricky. You’re not actually considering this, are you?” you whisper.
“You aren’t?”
“I’m dating Eren. No, I’m not considering fake dating you for the press.”
“Eren, who was seen on a date with Myka yesterday? Right.” he states bluntly, flipping through the pages.
“That’s just tabloids, Ricky. Be serious.”
“And so is this. Myka and Eren are in a movie together. You and I are musicians. You can do the same thing as him and I bet you he wouldn’t even care. And he shouldn’t, because your career comes first.” Ricky states, leaning forward on his knees to discuss more with Danny and Sareen.
You flip through the folder again, each consecutive page filled with more and more details of how they want you and Ricky to pretend. And the last page has the words bolded, little stars around them.
Y/N gets triple threat status! Ricky gets Album of the Year!
“Y/N. Have your cake and eat it too.” Danny warns, a reminder of what you’re supposed to be prioritizing.
“This is the time to run, Y/N. You’re almost there.” Sareen affirms, the two of them nodding as they look at you.
And by the way five of them are staring at you, big eyes filled with anticipation as they wait for your response, you know you can’t say no. That insurmountable pressure - to please, to be successful, to be the best - wins out, every time.
Danny’s produced for three different hit pop stars. Sareen’s managed some of the biggest names in the industry. And you have no idea who Nancy and Michael even are, but if they’re working with Ricky, they’ve got to be in the big leagues.
You put the folder down, giving all of them a nod, as they all erupt into cheers. Ricky leans forward to give you a kiss on the cheek, which you tell him to save for the cameras, as you take the folder and walk out.
And figure out how you’re going to tell Eren.
--
You head to the wrap party three hours later and any excitement you had about the event is immediately drained when you know that Eren’s going to be there and you have to talk to him about it. Break up with him.
“Y/N!”
You turn around to find Armin and Annie, the two of them wrapping their arms around you as they press kisses to your cheeks. You try to stifle the literal tears that are making their way to your eyes at the sight of them, their blue eyes the same soft ones you’ve always known.
“Annie. Armin. I’m so excited for the movie, I’m sure it’s going to be great.” you say, squeezing both of their hands.
Two of your shyest friends still, they’re both blushing at the praise as Connie and Sasha walk up. You’re wrapping your arms around all of them, as everyone else - Reiner, Mikasa, and Jean - join you.
“So Y/N. London Boy, huh?” Connie asks, smirking.
“Did you guys know that Eren is from London?” Sasha says, sarcastically.
“Oh, quit it. It’s just one of those PR things. The triple threat thing made them all go crazy.” you respond.
“We respect the hustle, Y/N.” Connie states, mock saluting you with Jean.
“There is no press better than you and Eren releasing Medicine and Dress on the same day.” Mikasa states, earning a bunch of laughter from the group.
“Oh god. Don’t remind me. Whore move, from the both of you.” Reiner says, pinching your cheek. Connie mocks the ah ah ah, from Dress, which has you all laughing.
You smack his hand off as Marco slings his hand around your shoulders, squeezing hard and smiling at you so big, in earnest, that it makes your chest hurt.
“Can you believe it? You’re so close to it, Y/N - I can feel it.” Marco says, leaning forward to press a kiss onto your cheek.
You reach up to squish the plush of his cheek as Marco mimics your movements, the two of you smiling at each other. And then you feel two warm hands on your shoulder and turn around to see Eren, soft green eyes looking into yours.
And it makes you burst into tears. Soft green eyes, albeit a little tired looking, and Eren’s hair all grown out. When did Eren grow his hair out to his Season Three length? The last time you saw him, it was so short. He looks the same. He feels far away. And that pressure in your head is resounding.
“Yeesh.” Connie says at the sight of your spilling tears, earning quiet laughs from everyone.
Eren brings his hand up to your cheek, swiping the wetness away, as he glares at Connie.
“Connie.” Eren warns, the tone in his voice threatening.
“Sorry. Just missed him, that’s all.” you respond, wiping the last of the wetness off your face as they all smile at you.
“Man, every time I see one of you, you’re crying.” Hange says from behind you, the group of you turning your heads and immediately tackling them and Levi into hugs. Eren reaches for Hange first and you go for Levi, his stupid minty smell making your tears return.
You look up at Levi, who's glaring at you, and can’t help but smile.
“Levi. You could at least pretend you’re happy to see me.”
“I am happy to see you. But not when you’re crying in public. You two are going to give me an ulcer.” he states, frowning as he glares at Eren at your side.
You look over at Eren, the end of what Hange said catching up with you.
“You cried in front of them? About what, Eren?” you ask, voice soft.
“Ah. Nothing.” Eren responds, cheeks lightly pink as he runs his hand through his hair.
You both let go of Hange and Levi as Armin and Annie take to the makeshift stage, giving a little speech about their time on the film and how grateful they are for everyone in the room for supporting them. And as they do, Eren jabs his elbow into your side.
“Ow. What gives?” you whisper.
Eren places hand on his chest, feigning shock.
“Don’t tell me you forgot our secret hand signals already?” he whispers.
Jab in the side. Meaning, you need a second to talk, away from everyone.
“As if.” you respond, giving a nod to his sign.
He gives you a smile as you both turn your heads back to Annie and Armin, who are playing the trailer on the screen now. And when they finish, the resounding noise of the claps are the last thing you and Eren hear when you go out to the balcony, the cold air surrounding you both.
You wrap your hands around your arms, which Eren picks up on too fast and suddenly he’s taking his coat off and wrapping it around you. Making a point to pull your hair out of the collar, hands focused on fixing your hair around your face.
“Eren.”
“Yes?”
“I-”
The words die on your tongue. Because here he is, the perfect green eyes you fell in love with staring at you in the lamplight of the dark, and you can’t say it. You can’t shatter his heart into pieces or be the one to let him go.
When he’s one of the only things you’ve wanted.
“I know how you feel, Y/N. You don’t have to say it.” he whispers, hands tucking your hair behind your ears before letting go.
You can feel the tears spilling out of your eyes as you frown at him, the look on his face so pained that it hurts.
“I’m guessing they don’t want you to see me, at least not for right now?” Eren asks.
You nod, aggressively wiping away the wetness on your cheeks as you reach for his hands, squeezing three times. You hate that he knows. That Danny and Sareen think he isn’t good enough for you. When you’ve always been the one who was never in the same league as him.
That Eren was the one who defended you when you were there, but no one’s letting you do it for him.
“I still love you, Eren. You-you know that?”
“I know that.” he whispers, nodding. His eyes are focused on your hands, interlocked with his. He reaches in for your bicep, fingers tracing over the fish tattoo right above your elbow.
“Fishbowl, Y/N. We’ll come back to each other when it’s time. Just don’t be a stranger.” he says.
You nod, reaching forward and wrapping your arms around him as you nearly sob into his chest, his voice soothing your hiccuping, even though you’re the one who just smashed him into pieces. And when Eren wraps his hands around your cheeks, giving you one last lingering kiss, before walking away, you can’t help but sit there in the cold, his jacket wrapped around you and letting the tears bite on your skin.
--
You close your phone, giving Ricky a glowing smile, as you both settle into your seats at the Institute Music Awards. The two of you officially went public earlier today, though you’re both still denying any rumors that you’re dating.
“How does Ricky compare to Eren?”
You try to hide your scoff as you answer, trying your best to stay neutral in your response to avoid becoming a headline the next day.
“I’ll always have so much love for Eren. We grew up together and really came into this hand in hand and no one could ever really take that away. And there’s no bad blood between us, we’ll always be best friends.” you respond, giving them a polite smile as you walk away and swallow hard.
You can see Eren twenty feet down, in a specially designed suit that he looks wonderful in, smiling for the cameras. He’s standing in between Hyla and Myka, since their film is premiering in a few days.
“You look green, doll.”
You turn around to find Sukuna, who you fake punch in the shoulder and glare at, before pulling him in for a hug.
“You sure you’re not talking about yourself? That’s your girl down there.”
“Jesus, Y/N. Don’t ever associate me with her again.” Sukuna mutters, rolling his eyes.
“Oh? Was it not you saying she wasn’t that bad when we were kids?” you tease, poking into the soft of his cheek.
“Well, that was before I found everything out. I’d say a prayer for your boy over there, he’s about to get himself into a gnarly mess he won’t be able to get out of.” Sukuna responds, eyes focused on Eren and Hyla posing together a few feet down.
“What do you mean?” you ask, linking your arm with his as the two of you walk down, past him. You make it a point to attempt to make eye contact with Eren, but he’s too focused on Hyla that he misses you all together.
“I just mean…he’s about to get himself involved in things he shouldn’t. And you should stay far away.” Sukuna states, giving Ricky a polite smile as he joins you at your side. Sukuna gives you one last kiss on the cheek before Ricky links his arm with yours, dragging you to your seats.
You both settle into the seats, giving Marco a big smile as he sits next to you.
“Hey. Where’s Hisu? I saw her name card here earlier but it’s not here anymore.” you whisper, as the lights start dimming ahead.
Marco winces, giving you an awkward smile as he puts his hand over yours and squeezes.
“She doesn’t want to sit with Ricky. Or you.”
“Oh.”
“Just for today, Y/N. Because of the history and all that, you-you know that.”
You shake your head, ignoring the stinging, as you give Marco a half-hearted smile, nodding.
“No yeah. I get it. I’ll talk to her soon.”
“Okay.” Marco responds, giving you a smile.
You make it a point to do your best throughout the awards show, fake whispering in Ricky’s ears every time the camera is on you two, holding hands and comparing hand sizes, letting him tuck your hair behind your ear once and a while.
And it’s all going great and peachy, until Hyla gets called on stage to perform. You crane your neck back to find Sukuna, giving him a warning glance as he rolls his eyes, making the motion that he’s choking himself.
One of the most insane things about Hyla and Sukuna’s beef? The fact that they perform and write songs about each other, that are so insanely written, that they trend for weeks.
You’re sure Hyla and Sukuna are what Danny and Sareen dream about in their free time.
Hyla gets on stage, giving everyone a soft smile as a few of the girls join her on stage, adjusting their microphones. You can feel Ricky squeezing your hand hard, his jaw clenched.
“You good?”
“The lineup. Hyla, Myka, and Lana.” he responds, glaring at the three of them.
You focus your eyes on the third girl, Lana, who is Ricky’s ex-girlfriend. The only reason he wants to fake date you. Apparently, the two of them broke up after you and Ricky started trending, her insecurities about the people’s words overruling any reassurance that Ricky could give her.
“This is my new song, it’s called Girlfriend. I hope you all like it.” Hyla says, giving a smile as the upbeat music starts.
Hey, hey, you, you
I don’t like your girlfriend
No way, no way I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you I could be your girlfriend
You lean back as you observe the visuals and the line of backup dancers supporting the three of them singing, their performance extremely upbeat and punk pop star that you can’t help but tap your feet to the beat of the song.
That’s until they reach the bridge. When Hyla pulls one of the back-up dancers from the background to the front and Lana pulls Eren on stage, the two of them are seated on the makeshift chairs on the stage. Hyla’s singing around Eren, rolling her eyes at the back-up dancer.
Who's wearing the exact outfit that you wear on your tour, a sparkly, billowing pink dress. And when you take her in properly, you realize that she’s supposed to be you. The same hairstyle, eye color, skin tone. You can feel your throat dry as you watch Eren’s cheeks tinted pink on stage as Hyla sings around him, the entire audience erupting into cheers.
(Oh) In a second, you'll be wrapped around my finger
'Cause I can, 'cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in?
She's so stupid, what the hell were you thinkin'?
You feel Marco’s hand on yours, squeezing hard, as you focus in on the performance, trying to ignore the fact that the big, black camera is shining on your face and that everyone in the room is looking at you. And that millions of people must be talking about it at home. You turn back to give Levi a look and he shakes his head, mouthing don’t cry which you halfheartedly nod in response too.
Jean and Armin have switched seats with the two girls behind you, their hands on your shoulders, squeezing, as Eren and Hyla walk off stage, hand in hand past the back up dancer who’s supposed to be you - who's crying fake buckets of tears now.
And when it’s all done and over, you skip the afterparties and let Mikasa drive you home. She tucks you into your sheets, making it a point to help you wipe all your makeup off and leave a bottle of water by your bed, you sink into your sheets and do it again. Let that overwhelming, embarrassing, deep rooted hatred sink in.
And pull up Twitter. Read about how everyone hates you. Relive the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you yet. Stare at pictures of Eren and Hyla and ignore the resounding sound of the applause the two of them received.
--
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pls comment on this post or any of the chapters if you want to be added to the taglist <3
#seeingivywrites!#method acting#eren#eren x reader#eren x y/n#eren x you#eren jaeger#eren jaeger x you#eren jaeger x reader#eren jaeger x y/n#actor eren#actor eren x reader#actor eren x you#actor eren x y/n#aot actor au#aot#aot x reader#aot x y/n#aot x you#snk#snk x you#snk x reader#snk x y/n#attack on titan#shingeki no kyojin#attack on titan x reader#eren yeager#eren yeager x y/n#eren yeager x you#eren yeager x reader
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1,000,000 stranded Southwest passengers deserved better from Pete Buttigieg
The catastrophic failure of Southwest Air over Christmas 2022 was the worst single-airline aviation failure in American history, stranding over 1,000,000 passengers. But while it was exceptional, it was also foreseeable: 2022 saw Southwest and the other carriers rack up record numbers of cancellations, leaving crews and fliers stranded.
It’s not like the carriers can’t afford to improve things. After pulling in $54 billion in covid relief, the airlines are swimming in cash, showering executives with record bonuses and paying titanic dividends to shareholders. Southwest has announced a $428m dividend.
This isn’t a new problem. Trump’s Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was a paragon of inaction and neglect, refusing even to meet with consumer advocacy groups. This is bad, because under US law, state attorneys general are not allowed to punish misbehaving airlines — that power vests solely and entirely with the Secretary of Transport.
It’s been two years since Biden appointed Pete Buttigieg to be the human race’s most powerful aviation regulator. Buttigieg started his tenure on a promising note, meeting with the same consumer groups that Chao had snubbed, but after that hopeful beginning, things ground to a halt.
As Corporate Crime Reporter details, William McGee of the American Economic Liberties Project was impressed by the Secretary: “He was intelligent, articulate, he had good questions for us, he was taking notes, he seemed concerned.” But 18 months later, McGee describes Buttigieg’s leadership as “lax.”
https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/pete-buttigieg-and-the-southwest-airlines-meltdown/
Buttigieg likes to tout a single enforcement action as his signature achievement: fining six airlines and ordering them to issue refunds to US passengers. But only one of those airlines was a US carrier: Frontier, which only accounts for 2% of all US flights. The US monopoly carriers have gone unscathed.
The US carriers are in sore need of regulatory discipline. In 2020 alone, United racked up 10,000 consumer complaints, twice as many as any other carrier. Under Buttigieg, the DOT investigated these airlines and closed every one of these complaints without taking any against them.
This is part of a wider pattern. In Buttigieg’s 18 month tenure, not a single airline has been ordered to pay any fines as a result of cancellations. In the absence of oversight and accountability, the airlines have made a habit out of scheduling flights they know they don’t have the crew to fly (they used public covid funds to buy out senior crew contracts, retiring much of their workforce).
This gives the airlines the flexibility to offer many flights they know they can’t service, and to allocate crew to whichever runs will generate the most profit, stranding US passengers and holding onto their money for months or years before paying refunds — if they ever do.
Consumer groups weren’t alone in sounding the alarm over the deteriorating conditions in the airline sector. In 2022, dozens of state attorneys general — Democrats and Republicans — sent open letters to Buttigieg begging him to use his broad powers as Secretary of Transport to hold the airlines accountable.
What are those powers? Well, the big one is USC40 Section 41712(a), the “unfair and deceptive” authority modeled on Section 5 of the FTC Act. This authority allows the Secretary to act without further Congressional action, to order airlines to end practices that are “unfair and deceptive,” and to extract massive fines from companies that don’t comply.
As McGee told CCR, “the scheduling and canceling of flights is both unfair and deceptive.” In order to force the airlines to end this practice, Buttigieg would have to initiate an investigation into the practice. The American Economic Liberties Project called on Buttigieg to open an investigation months ago. There has not been such an investigation.
Even on refunds, Buttigieg’s much-touted signature achievement, the Secretary has left Americans in the cold. US law requires airlines to give cash refunds to passengers on cancelled flights. But to this day, passengers are sent unfair and deceptive messages by airlines offering them credit for cancellations, and fliers must fight their way through a bureaucratic quagmire to get cash refunds.
McGee and other advocates met with Buttigieg twelve times sking him to address this. When he finally took action, he ignored the domestic airlines — which racked up 5,700% more complaints in his first year on the job than in the previous year — except for tiny, largely irrelevant Frontier. If you are an American whose journey on an American airline was cancelled, there’s a 98% chance that Buttigieg let them off without a single dollar in fines.
McGee isn’t an armchair quarterback. He is an industry veteran, an FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher: “I canceled flights. I rescheduled flights. I diverted flights. I delayed flights. I did that every day.”
Apologists for Buttigieg claim that he’s doing all he can: “Pete isn’t in charge of airline IT!” But while USC 40 doesn’t mention computer systems or staffing levels directly, it doesn’t have to: the “unfair and deceptive” standard is deliberately broad, to give regulators the powers they need to protect the American people.
In understanding whether the million fliers that Southwest stranded on the way to their Christmas vacations could have expected more from their DOT, it’s worth looking at how other regulators have used similar authority to protect the American people.
Exhibit A here has to be FTC Chair Lina Khan, whose powers under FTCA5 are nearly identical to Buttigieg’s power under 41712(a) (the DOT language was copied nearly verbatim from the FTCA). Two years ago, Khan began an in-depth investigation into the use of nonompete agreements in the US labor market.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events/2020/01/non-competes-workplace-examining-antitrust-consumer-protection-issues
This investigation created an extensive evidentiary record on the ways that workers are harmed by these agreements, and collected empirical observations about whether industries really needed noncompetes to thrive (for example, noncompetes are banned in California, home to the most profitable, most knowledge-intensive businesses in the world, undermining claims that these businesses need noncompetes to survive).
Then, right as Southwest was stranding a million Americans, Khan unveiled a rulemaking to ban noncompetes for every American worker, using her Section 5 powers. Khan’s rule is retroactive, undoing every existing noncompete as well as banning them into the future.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge
This is what a fully operational battle-station looks like! Khan and Buttigieg are among the most powerful people who have ever lived, with more and farther-reaching regulatory authority, more power to alter the lives of millions of people, than almost anyone who every drew breath.
And yet, when Secretary Buttigieg jawbones about the airlines, it’s all pleading, not threats. As McGee says, “If you have a Secretary of Transportation who does not punish the airlines when they act terribly, then we should not be surprised when they continue to behave terribly.”
State AGs from both parties are desperate for Buttigieg to back legislation that would return their right to punish airlines. So far, he has not voiced his support for this regulation. When the Secretary of Transport won’t act, and when he won’t support the right of other officials to act, the American traveler is truly stranded.
Image:
Tomás Del Coro (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomasdelcoro/24575277589
Japanexperterna.se (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/japanexperterna/15251188384/
CC BY-SA 2.0:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
—
Tarcil (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Brea_Tar_Pits_Elephant_Statues_1990_right.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
[Image ID: The La Brea tar-pits. A Southwest jet is nose-down in the tar, next to a stranded mastodon. In the foreground are the three wise monkeys, their faces replaced with that of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.]
#pluralistic#inaction#regulation#swa#southwest air#corporate crime reporter#pete buttigieg#Section 41712(a)
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The broken family bond between Harry and Petunia!
wow while usher was dancing his socks off at half-time you were thinking about petunia dursley née evans' malicious treatment of everyone's favourite grouchy knobbly-kneed jock... what does this say about you anon? look inwards
i feel terrible that i do not have too many thoughts about the broken family bond between harry and petunia but i DO have thoughts about what harry represents as a challenge to the nuclear family unit and its associated class connotations that petunia cares so much about. one thing i have been thinking A Lot about recently is petunia's description of snape as 'that awful boy' in ootp (which ofc, at the time, harry thinks is a reference to james), and how petunia's ideas about class and social mobility colour her view of wizards and, by extension, her resentment and contempt for harry. sooo i have talked about that instead......... ctrl + f neoliberal renders 2 results below i'm so sorry
when we meet petunia in the canon timeline, she's a parody of a tory home counties suburban housewife, striving middle class in the very thatcherite neoliberal sense, all about the house prices and the pension pot, with her perfectly maintained peach home decor and pristine garden, with a husband who has made his money through a managerial position in industrial manufacturing, who sends her son to private school and monitors the material wealth of her neighbours and associates very acutely. we know that young petunia wanted to join wizarding society and was rejected by it, and we know that adult petunia now holds wizarding world and its culture in open contempt. we particularly know that petunia hated snape, and that, other than lily, snape was the first wizard she ever really met. to young petunia's eyes, snape had all the visible markers of poverty and of being working class ("They live down Spinner’s End by the river," she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation.') nevertheless, by virtue of being a wizard, this shabby poor-looking boy was elevated above petunia as something particularly special, and sneered at petunia as lesser than him as a result. i think this is interesting, because i think young petunia processes her rejection from magic by starting to think of magic and wizarding culture as a perverse subversion of the class system she knows and believes in, where a visibly working class person can somehow be special and worthy. (we can speculate what she would make of james potter as her son-in-law - james, while obviously wealthy, is old money posh coded - he doesn't work for a living! - aka not at all invested in the hard-work discourse, keeping-up-with-appearances that the new money suburban types that petunia strives for).
why does this matter? i just think it's very striking that petunia's complaints about harry are so often expressed less in terms of the danger of his magic, than his threat to external perceptions of her and her family, and, especially, as a challenge to their class position
petunia makes critiques of harry's messy appearance, his misbehaviour at primary school (caused by his magic), his association with the criminal (sirius black) and the shabby (the weasleys), and his refusal to respect or show any deference to vernon and the family despite their great attempts to maintain the trappings of respectability. the particular horror of harry's presence in the dursleys' life, in petunia's mind, is that his existence makes her family an alternative blended family, which compromises all that petunia holds dear in terms of the trappings of middle class respectability that puts a great deal of social capital on the nuclear family unit and no deviation from it. i don't mean to suggest petunia only perceives magic as a class threat, or that she doesn't fear harry's magic as something dangerous. her response to dudley's dementor run-in proves how much she fears what magic can do (and, ofc, she knows what happened to lily). but what's striking in DH is that petunia is still umming and ahhing, as vernon is, about whether to go into hiding. unlike movie!petunia in that deleted scene, book!petunia still isn't convinced about 'what these people are capable of'. for this reason, i think petunia has come to think of wizarding culture in terms of a fundamental challenge to the class system she understands and upholds, and to the primacy of middle class new money neoliberal suburban identity that is petunia's entire worldview. and that's really the source of her beef with harry: not his threat to her safety, but to her class identity, which is adult petunia's whole world.
#petunia’s favourite usher song is love in this club#meta#the dursleys#petunia dursley#banging on about class again i am SO sorry
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OVERLOVED
CHAPTER 1
index | next
pair : jjk x y/n
synopsis : you meet jungkook when you're trying to find another tenant for a spare room in the house you rent a room in, you have to lie to get your landlord to let him stay. Life turns upside down from there.
genre : roommates to lovers, fake dating, slow burn, smut, fluff, bantering, pining, yearning, college students, aspirant professor jk, aspirant journalist y/n, reader is a child of divorce, both have trust issues, mild angst, sexual exploration, first love, impromptu dates, soulmates.
Chapter 1
BELOVED WINDOW
On days you felt the weight of the world on your shoulders weighing you down, crumbling you into pieces you went to that room and sat by the window staring at the starry sky visible from there unlike your room where there was nothing but mostly darkness. A very old cupboard filled the space in front of the window making it useless, you'd tried to shift even with help from some friends but none of you could move it even an inch from its place. When you placed a complaint with the landlord he dismissed your request to get rid of it as it was a gift from his father in law on his wedding to his late wife hence, a reminiscent of his good old days.
About a week ago your landlord had assigned to you the task of finding a tenant for the other empty room in the house. His son used to live there but he left to work abroad and now he'd slowly stopped contacting his father and therefore, he decided to rent the room as his pension didn't prove to be sufficient for his growing medical bills.
Regardless of the few inconveniences you had to face, you liked the place as it was the only accommodation you could afford on your allowance and your part time jobs weren't that regular to rely upon for serious expenses. Your father was the one who suggested this place as he knew the landlord Mr. Choi and gained his trust for your safety and convinced him that you wouldn't cause any trouble.
Mr. Choi was a bit orthodox in his views of the world as expected from a man of his age. He had made it clear that he wouldn't allow cohabiting with a male unless you were married or any sort of casual hookups inside the house. You could invite your boyfriend only if he'd been approved by your parents.
You were looking out the window as the to-be tenant of the room you were sitting in had texted you an hour before that he was on his way. You waited and waited until you dozed off by the window sill lulled by the cool breeze blowing on your face. When a packers & movers truck stopped behind the house you were awoken. You blinked your eyes a couple of times to see clearly a hot guy stepping down from the driver seat, tattoos going up his sleeve when he looked up struggling to keep his eyes open under the direct sunlight you noticed the lip piercing shining. He looked away after taking a full view and then looking back at his phone to check if it matched the image on the screen provided by you on the online site where you'd put up a to-let advertisement.
Realisation struck you like lightning on a pole and you ran downstairs as fast as you could right before Mr. Choi could open the door. He hated exactly the type of guys that you had just seen. You realised you'd made a grave mistake. He would never allow a guy like that to reside in his own home. He would never leave an opportunity to taunt a stranger walking down the street with tattoos or a beard, Jungkook didn't have a beard or any facial hair but he did have tattoos.
To save your sanity you didn't want to look for a tenant once again and reject this one. He was the only guy who was willing to give such a good amount for this 'pig sty' as labeled by some comments online. He didn't even negotiate about the rent and only asked when was the earliest he could come look. As you saw the guy had already moved out of his old place as he came with all his stuff in a truck, he had high hopes that he would get his hands on this place.
By his profile online you knew he was also a college student just like you with a knack for art, music and photography. And you knew from your own past experiences how difficult it was to find a rental place you didn't want him to stray like a homeless until he could find another place.
"Sir the new tenant must be here" you said to the old man smiling at him as he stood with the support of his cane nodding at you.
You opened the door your heart palpitating and a lump in your throat. The boy met you with a polite smile as soon as he saw you.
"Neo?" He asked his eyes curious. "I don't know..." before he could continue explaining himself for using your random online name you interrupted him.
"Oh Jungkook I have asked you not to call me that so many times..." you faked a laughter before pulling the guy by his arm and standing by his side. He was flaggerbasted by your sudden actions and you were glad he was rendered silent.
"Mr Choi meet my boyfriend Jeon Jungkook. Also the new tenant. Don't worry we'll not enter each others room." You said with a fake smile plastered on your face while your whole body was sweating profusely.
"Stay at a distance of 6 feet." Mr Choi said putting his cane between both of your arms and pushing Jungkook aside.
"Sir he has brought all of his stuff here... please let him stay here, he's been approved by my parents. We're supposed to get married after we graduate and find jobs. Next year appa will hold our engagement ceremony." You said whatever came to your mind at the moment.
"Your father should've found a better man, what is this... he has tattoos everywhere and what's this thing..." he started saying all sorts of things again and you knew better than to let him go on with his ranting which could cause Jungkook to leave.
"Mr Choi even the good guys have all these things nowadays its not uncommon... Jungkook is a great guy trust me" you said leaning your body in front of him.
"I'm trusting you but if he creates any trouble I'll whip his ass and make him run around Seoul for three days" He glared at Jungkook but you caressed his arm from the side. It felt awkward to be touching a stranger's skin like that.
"Don't you both dare to goof around under my roof. I don't care what you do outside the house but stay at a distance after you enter that door." He said going away towards the dining room.
"Come with me Jungkook I'll show you the room" you held his hand to lead him upstairs. As soon as you reached inside the room he jerked away your hand.
"What the fuck! What was all of that?" He shouted but you widened your eyes at him and he lowered his volume.
"What the fuck was that..." he muttered.
"If you wanna stay at this place then play along with it... I didn't knew you looked like this in person. Mr Choi is quite orthodox and he doesn't likes the unconventional lifestyle of the youth. That's why I had to lie to him. If it benefits you in any way you can stay here..." you were explaining to him wishing he would stay, hated yourself for praying he was under a crunch with no other option besides this.
"What will I get if I play along? There should be some compensation considering how I let you lie about whatever..." he said his hand swinging to point at you and him.
"I'm sorry I don't like it too. I have a long distance boyfriend my father set me up with him and it suddenly struck me that Mr Choi doesn't knows about him so I just played with his ignorance."
"Oh god... whatever just stay away from me. I don't like being touched by strangers especially girls who are strangers." He said stepping backwards from you.
"Are we still strangers?" You asked looking at him watching you closely. He thought for a second but then you changed the topic.
"If you want to leave you can but this is a decent place at a decent price..." you spoke as he looked around the room. He looked outside your beloved window for a solid minute and the view must've appealed to him. As there were no tall buildings around you could get a clear view of places situated far away. And the fresh air that came in was the best thing about the room. It always kept the room cool making any sort of air conditioning unnecessary.
"There has to be something for me to act as your fake boyfriend." He folded his arms as he stood in front of you. You squinted your eyes at him as if thinking about it.
"I'll pay 1% of your rent" you offered him your hand as if to lock the deal. He chuckled listening your words.
"I could eat street food with what I save" he joked pushing your hand down with his finger.
"Are you gonna bring in your stuff now?" You asked him looking outside the window at the truck. It occurred to you that you wouldn't be able to sit by this window at ungodly hours anymore.
"Yes, I'm just waiting for you to leave" Jungkook said while you were just thinking about the window, a place you'd grown attached to in the past two years.
"Can I say bye to the window? Then I'll leave..." you said touching the windowsill where you uses to sit and dream on full moon nights or when it rained. You knew exactly how silly it sounded but what's important to you is important to you.
"What! Don't you have a window in your room?" Jungkook asked with an expression which said he couldn't believe you or the question you just asked.
"There's a giant old rusted almirah in front blocking it" you whined complaining for the umpteenth time now about the blocked window.
You hung around the window holding its frame and said in a dramatic manner "you beautiful window how many memories I made sitting by you... how many story plots I came up with sitting right here. So many hot summer nights I spent sleeping by your side. I'm gonna miss you so much I hope you'll like your new friend"
Jungkook controlled his smile and laughter looking at you before he went outside to bring in his stuff with the help of some other men. You offered to help him to bring in some small boxes without saying anything of it and he appreciated in a silent way with a tiny smile on his lips which left your heart warm.
#bts#bts series#bts stories#bts fanfic#jungkook#jeon jungkook#jungkookie#jungkook scenarios#jungkook x reader#jungkook cute#bts fluff#jungkook college au#jeon jeongguk
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Stowaway Chapter 6
Trafalgar Law x Fem!Reader
Info: This is my first time posting a story on Tumblr and my first time writing a x reader.
Summary:
The reader is a slave to a nobleman due to her devil's fruit ability which allows her to control the emotions of the people around her. She flees to bump into Trafalgar Law and boards his ship.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11
The day you get to meet the Straw Hat captain came much sooner than you expected as Law returned to the ship after watching the battle unfold at Marine Fort and demanded they set sail. Law's jaw was clenched as the sub sped its way to the battlefield. Everyone was on high alert while cannons were fired at the sub as soon as it emerged. Law ordered half the crew to prepare for surgery while he ran to the deck to collect the Straw Hat captain. You stayed on the bridge with Jean Bart watching the sub's status and preparing for a quick escape. With Straw Hat and the former warlord Jimbi on the sub and rushed to the surgical room you start the ship moving as fast as it could to get away from the war.
Bepo came running into the Bridge complaining that Law wouldn't close the door to the deck. You ran over to the door with Bepo to see Law sitting with the door open looking at the new ship that arrived. One of the four emperors of the sea red hair shanks ship had arrived.
Bepo begged for Law to close the door but he didn't move. You walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and he sighed, "Something just doesn't feel right. Like we are forgetting something." he admitted. As he does so a scream can be heard from the shore and the pirate clown throws a hat toward the sub. As soon as the hat landed in Law's grips he nodded as if he understood what felt missing.
Bepo immediately freaked out begging for the two of you to close the door which you did. You began running down the hallway and Law passed you the hat, "Take care of this while I begin surgery." you nodded as he ran in the direction of the surgical room while you ran to the bridge. Bart had already begun the descent and was pushing the sub to the max as it sped away from the scene. You look out the back window to see ice coming for the sub and shout at Bart to go faster.
Bepo's screams from the surgical room echoed to the bridge. You and Bart do everything you can in the bridge to get the ship to go faster underwater and deeper. Finally, you were free and were in calm waters you announced this to the captain who just responded good work before continuing with the surgery.
While Law and the crew who understand medical practice worked on the injured Bepo whined just outside the bridge begging to resurface. Shachi and Penguin grew tired of his complaints and went to beg Law to resurface. See how they have been fleeing the war at full speed for a while Law agreed.
Once you resurfaced Bepo ran to the deck only to be met with a snake. Soon one of the Warlords jumped aboard the ship from the marine ship that sailed beside your sub. Quickly you ran into the surgical room and alerted your captain and the two of you approached the deck while Law washed his hands.
On the deck, the warlord Boa Hancock stood demanding to see Luffy. Law informs her that Luffy is stable and that he has done everything he could but he is more concerned about his mental state. That is when you pipped up, "Which we have our ways of dealing with." you stood proudly as Law yanked his head toward you in concern.
"I won't ask you to do that." he hissed and you shook your head grabbing his hands.
"I want to." was all you said looking into his eyes as yours glowed purple. He just nodded knowing your determination.
Boa Hancock didn't notice you until now and became defensive. "I will not have another woman lay her hands on my beloved!" she shouted angrily and pointed a disapproving finger at you which caused Law to glare at the woman and step in front of you to shield you.
"If you want Straw Hat to survive I suggest you let my crew do whatever they can to do so." he snarled which took her aback slightly as her priority was to see Straw Hat alive.
She put her finger down but her eyes never left you. "You have a very powerful Haki," she states now approaching you. "You're a devil fruit user?" she questioned as she circled you. "But your observation Haki is extremely powerful."
You pull away from her, "I don't know what you are referring to." you admit but she just hums and walks away.
You all make a plan to follow the empress to her island Amazon Lily where only women are allowed to step foot. There Law and Jimbi agreed to dock at the bay just outside the island so Hancock could keep Luffy safe while still trusting him in your ship's care. The boys on your ship were jealous wishing they could speak to the Amazon ladies and enter their land.
After a few days, Boa Hancock requested your presence at the castle. You mocked the boys as you left with the Amazon ladies entering their land while they cried wishing they would be summoned to the castle too.
Boa Hancock first wanted information on Luffy which you informed her he was still in his coma. After you answered that she began to pry into your devil fruit ability.
You remove your gloves and tell her how your powers work and how you will use them to keep Luffy calm when he awakes.
"But your powers are more than transferring emotion?" she asked knowingly and you nodded informing her that you can also feel people's emotions.
"that isn't your powers dear that is your observation haki which is quite strong and is amplified by that devil fruit." an old lady spoke appearing from behind a pillar. "it's rare for people to be born with your level of Haki but in comparison to people who have trained their Haki it is still quite weak." she pointed out circling you. "I presume that you can constantly feel the emotions of the people around you?" she asked poking your ungloved hand.
You pulled your hand away, "yes. I wear these gloves lined with sea prism to avoid it."
The old lady nodded. "Sea prism can only do so much against Haki especially as yours grows stronger. If you train your haki you can use it for more than just feeling other emotions and be able to control when it is active."
"And how do I do that?" you asked now curious.
"you can train here with us until Luffy recovers." The empress offers. "But you will need to be rid of that hideous outfit." she pointed to your jumpsuit with your ship's Jolly Roger.
The empress provides you with the very revealing outfit of the Amazons which you get made fun of wearing by your crew when you return.
Over the next week, you trained with the Amazons to hone your Haki which left Law alone with his crew missing you. He spent his time reading up on Haki to better support you and to start growing his own.
One day the empress was training you when she noticed a slight shimmer of scaring on your hip. It is really hard for someone to notice your scarring where your tattoo was and even harder to make out the shape but if you knew what the marking was like Hancock did it would send shivers down your spine.
When the empress realized what was on your hip she demanded that everyone stop training and that she was going to take a bath resulting in the place shutting down. The empress pulled you into the bathing room with her and her sister and sat you down. Your thoughts were swimming wondering what you did wrong and what she was going to do to you.
"How did you hide your mark?!" The empress demanded now approaching your hip and touching the scarring. You quickly pulled back and covered the spot where your mark was.
"How.... How do you know?" you stammer. The sister of the empress now saw the mark and understood why their sister had dragged you into the bath.
"You can hide a mark but the scarring will always remain and the scarring on your past will remain as well." she started now using her observation Haki to see the full outline of the tattoo.
You looked into her eyes and used your ability to read her emotions to feel a sense of familiarity and horror. "You were once a slave?" you spoke out loud.
The empress immediately shouted at you to never say that word out loud. After calming down she nodded, "Both my sister and I escaped 19 years ago. This is the biggest secret of this island and can never be spoken about. The only other person who knows is Luffy who bravely kept this secret." she turned her back and revealed her mark.
You took a deep breath, "The only people who know my secret are Law and Bart. Law rescued me around a year ago now when I was running away from my master a celestial dragon. When Law saw my mark he offered to use his powers to remove the ink from my skin but I guess I still have some scarring." tears formed in your eyes, "I fear that my master now knows I am with the heart pirates and will be coming after me soon." you admit.
The empress now with her shirt back on placed a hand on your shoulder, "You can stay here on this island. Here no man will ever hurt you again."
You shook your head, "As great as that offer sounds I would like to stay with Law. I.. I love him." your eyes shifted to pink and the empress nodded in understanding feeling the same way toward her Luffy. If she wasn't running this island and had that responsibility she would never leave his side.
"very well. If at any point you need a safe place to hide you are always welcome here," she spoke and gestured for her permission to leave. You bowed your head before running off.
When you returned to the bay the Heart Pirates you ignored the snickering the crew gave at your outfit as you pushed past heading straight to the office. There Law sat at his desk with the paper keeping track of what the news said about Luffy. "You're back early." He commented as you collapsed on your bean bag.
"The empress saw my mark." you groaned solving your face into the fabric of the bean bag.
Law's eyes widen, "How?" He questioned in concern turning toward you. You shifted showing your side the tattoo laid and the scars shimmered ever so slightly only someone who knows what they are looking for would know what was there. "Are you okay?" He asked leaving his seat to join you on the floor and rubbing where the mark was.
You nodded your head watching his hand rub your side. "Can you do me a favor?" You asked.
The next day you walked off the ship with a new mark on your hip a black heart that matched the one on Law's chest it covered the entirety of your right side and strategically covered the scars.
***
Over the next week, you continued to train with the empress but the day Luffy awoke you could feel his strong emotions from all the way across the island. You paused your training feeling the Straw Hat anguish so powerfully through your bones. The Amazon lady you were training with watched in confusion as you sprinted towards the bay. As you ran toward the bay you felt a pull deeper into the forest where you changed direction.
When you finally reached the young captain he was shouting for his brother and destroying everything he passed. Jinbe was running quickly behind him. You get hit with an overwhelming amount of emotions the pirate is releasing and fall to your knees tears filling your eyes. But you took a deep breath and pulled yourself up.
You know you can't get close to the pirate or you might be injured by accident so you close your eyes and focus on making an emotional mist to reach him. He wasn't too far in front of you but he would need the full effect of your powers to pass his willpower. A cloud of grey started to form out of your hands and float towards him. The cloud surrounded him as he tried to fan it away screaming. You pushed more mist out of your hands using all your might to subdue the rampaging pirate.
The pirate fan away more of the mist before laying his cold dead eyes on you. Fear engulfed you as you cut off the stream of mist and the pirate charged at you.
"LOOK OUT!"
You got shoved out of the way of the pirate's path by the Fishman Jinbe. Where you stood Luffy now stood his fist on the ground where you were huffing. You took this chance to reach your arm out to grab his ankle and push a calm emotion through the pirate.
His anguish was so strong and overpowering that you screamed as you pushed more of your energy into him. He screamed as well but it slowly decreased as your powers began to sink in. Finally, life came back into the boy's eyes and he fell onto the ground with tears streaming down his face. He was still sad but at least he was no longer a raging monster.
You sigh in relief before lying on the ground breathing heavily. Jinbe lifts the two of you into his arms easily and carries you to a tree where you both can rest. "thank you y/n" he said and you nodded in response.
He then bent down and started to speak to Luffy to encourage him to continue without his brother.
It didn't take much longer until you felt Law's blue room cover the area. You smirked before just you were shambled back to the bay. You landed right in Law's arms who stood just outside the cloth fence that surrounded the island.
Law just laughed, "How'd I know you would find yourself there." he turned back to the ship carrying you away. You smiled happy to have helped in some way. "I'm glad you did though he could have easily reopened his wounds if he didn't calm down." Law looked over at the forest where Jinbe and Luffy remained.
"I did the most I can but grief still must play its course." You say as the forest shakes with Luffy screaming his brother's name.
After the last scream, Luffy seemed to calm down as the ruckus he was making died down. You never got a chance to meet the famous Straw Hat pirate before an old man arrived who everyone claimed was the right hand to the past pirate king. Law and the old man spoke before Law ordered everyone to set sail. But before you boarded the ship you ran up to the old man, "Please can you tell the empress and the amazons the y/n appreciates everything they did for me?" You asked
His eyes lingered searching your figure.. no your aura his eyes landed on your hip before he raced back to your eyes and gave you the softest smile, "I will be sure to." You smile before running off where Law waited for you holding the door open.
"Do you think I'll ever get to meet Luffy again in a much better state?" You asked smiling and the two of you walked down the hall.
Law smiled, "I am sure you will. He is another D after all."
***
Your confidence had reached an all-time high now being able to control your observation Haki you rarely wore your gloves. The other crew members quickly learned what your real devil fruit power was as you began to use it more confidently in battle and just around the ship.
Your crew landed on an interesting and beautiful deserted island with flowers that towered above everything at least 20 feet up but some reach 60 feet. The crew and yourself were memorized and you deboarded. Law walked out of the sub last and stood on the deck to give orders to the crew while everyone stood on the beach, "We need to stalk up on provisions as it will be a while before we reach the next island with civilization. Split off into teams and see what you can find."
Ikkuka ran up to you and grabbed your arm, "y/n, can we please team up together It has been so long since we did anything together." She whined.
You looked up at Law who nodded in approval before turning back to Ikkuka with a smile. "Of course!" The two of you ran off into the forest of flowers to search for anything useful.
After not that long of a hike you found a beautiful fresh water waterfall into a small pond. Ikkuka smirked at you before removing her uniform revealing a swimsuit she wore underneath. She ran to jump in splashing you in the process. Seeing how the water is fresh it doesn't seem to affect you in any way. You smiled peeling off your uniform as well glad you chose to wear a sports bra today and you jumped in.
Being a devil fruit user means you don't get the pleasure of swimming very often as the sea always tends to find you and pull you down but the pond is shallow enough for you to stand if anything does occur. The two of you laugh playing in the pond until Penguin and Shachi find you too and insist that you get back to work. The two of you laugh splashing them and encouraging them to join your fun and they quickly give in to the two beautiful girls who flutter their eyes begging them to join and not tell the captain.
You started to feel fatigued the longer you stayed in the water and were the first to hop out. As you pulled on your suit you felt a sharp sting at the back of your neck. You slapped it away but instantly began to lose vision.
"y/n," Ikkaku laughed stepping out of the pond, "We should bounce now that the boys crashed the party." She approached where your stuff was to find just your uniform no longer folded neatly on the rock but fallen on the ground. "y/n?" She began to look around but you were nowhere in sight. "y/n?"
"Ikkaku what's wrong?!" Shachi shouted from the pond swimming closer to the edge.
Ikkaku turned around, "I can't find y/n!" She was holding your uniform beginning to panic.
Shachi gestured for Penguin to follow him out before turning back to Ikkaku, "Calm down she probably just wandered off."
"Or wandered back to the captain." Penguin snickered now jumping out of the pond. Ikkaku nodded but couldn't help her worry. The three decided to split up in search of you calling your name as they went.
Shachi was the first to find his way back to the ship to find Law who stood on the deck looking curiously at Shachi who just come out of the forest calling your name. "Shachi, what is wrong?" Law demanded jumping off the deck and onto the beach.
Shachi looked nervously at the captain, "We can't seem to find y/n." he informed taking a step back from the captain, "We were goofing off in the pond and y/n was the first to leave but then she just disappeared." Shachi pointed towards the pond and the two of them started running meeting back up with Penguin who found no traces of you.
Ikkaku came running to the pond out of breath, "There is another ship that way!" She shouts pointing in the direction she just came from.
Law gestures for Shachi and Penguin to follow him as he dashes across the forest. He quickly reaches the beach Ikkaku was referring to only to see a ship sailing away and is at least a mile off by now too far for Law's powers to reach. "Damn it!" He yelled looking closer at the flag on the ship to see none other than a world government flag and his blood began to boil. "Get everyone back to the ship NOW!!" Law shouted angrily as he began his sprint to the ship. He can still catch you he knew it.
Shachi and Penguin quickly began running through the forest yelling for everyone to get on board before meeting Law back on the ship. Half the crew was able to make it back on the ship before Law decided he couldn't wait any longer and ordered a submerge. The other half of the crew remained on the island confused.
The sub was much faster than the world government sailboat once underneath the ship Law shambled his way to the deck slicing anything that crossed his path. The entire boat was covered in his room as debri hovered over the ship leaving a path of destruction. Most of the navy who was aboard the ship was thrown overboard and the stern was now detached from the boat threateningly looming over the ship.
"WHERE IS SHE!" Law shouts angrily at the captain of the ship who fell to the floor terrified.
"I I... I don't... Kk..know who you mean.." The man studdered hiding from the surgeon of death.
Law sliced the man in half before looking up deeper into the sea where he spotted a much smaller ship with a bounty hunter flag. Narrowing his eyes Law could see the deck was a man holding you down on your knees and holding your chin to watch the terror Law inflected on the ship he believed you to be on. "DAMN IT!!" Law shouted again before jumping up and slicing the ship in half beneath him where the Polar Tang raised through catching Law before he hit the water. Law pulled out his transponder snail to communicate to the bridge while he stood on top of the sub.
"GO AFTER THAT SHIP!" He ordered into the snail and the sub began to move at full speed after the small ship.
You were held down by a bounty hunter hired by your master to retrieve you. He mocked you as you watched Law destroy the world government ship, "Awe it looks like he got the wrong ship. I wonder if he'll be able to catch us now." He laughed holding your face to force you to watch. "Oh look. I think he spotted us!" The man laughed again as you made eye contact with Law before you watched him split the ship in half and ride the sub toward you.
The sub picks up speed but the man holds his arm outwards and the ship begins to slow much to Law's anger as he begins beating the sub yelling for the crew to move. The man holding you down laughed using some sort of ability to push the sub back.
Law angrily threw the transponder snail as far as he could before shambling himself in its place in the air. "Oh wow, he must be desperate." The bounty hunter laughed watching Law grab something out of his pocket throw it closer to the ship and transport himself. Law teleported right above you holding his sword out in the air as he fell towards the ship. Law had the scariest look you have ever seen as he drove his sword straight through the bounty hunter not even bothering to use his powers to lessen the blow.
Before you knew it you were sitting on the cold medical table in the polar tang. You watched as Law buzzed around the room over-analyzing every mark on your body. You just sat there feeling guilty.
Law used a cotton swab to clean out the smallest mark the hunter made when injecting the solution that made you pass out. You let out a big sigh, "He knows." you say causing the captain to pause. "He knows I am a part of your crew and he is just going to keep sending more hunters."
Law paused to think before returning to cleaning your cut, "So what. He is just a noble, all he can do is send cheap ass hunters and when they continue to fail he'll give up. I won't let another one lay a hand on you again." he finished cleaning to his standards before placing a bandage on it and gripping your shoulder with his promise.
You shake your head, "It's not him I am worried about. It's who he works with." your eyes dart to the corner of the room. Law quickly took note and slowly moved in front of you and grabbed your hand causing you to look into his eyes.
"It doesn't matter who he sends or who he knows I will protect you I promise," he spoke sternly. You nodded your has full of tears before digging into his shoulder to release your tears. Law just rubbed your back blinking away his tears as your hands made contact with his back.
You sniffled, "But he is some kind of warlord." you explained wiping your tears away, "Do... Dofl."
"Doflamingo" he spoke coldly finishing your words, you just nodded. Law froze his blood ran cold a the mention of that monster.
You look at the captain's curiosity as he refuses to meet your eyes while his head spins. "Law are you.." you begin but are cut off by his yanking his head up and flashing you the biggest smile.
"you have nothing to worry about." he jumped up and kissed you on the forehead. "I'll protect you." he smiled gently before heading to the door a swiftly leaving.
You sat alone in the medical room but as much as Law could try and mask his emotions he could never hide his true emotions from you. His fear overwhelmed you and left you frozen.
Over the next few weeks, you felt Law's slight anxiety every time he looked at you before he quickly masked his emotions the best he could. You tried your best to ignore it but you couldn't help but feel guilty for his emotions.
Whenever you docked at a new island Law would keep you locked in the office until he staked out the island and deemed it safe for you. Once he had done so he would allow you to come out as long as he stood by your side the entire time much to Ikkuka's guilt.
The few times a hunter was on an island they backed off after seeing you next to your captain and were followed by Bart, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin. But it wasn't just the hunters who fled but everyone else as well. Store owners quickly closed their stores feeling the intimidating aura of the 5 pirates released with every glare.
You began feeling like a burden and trapped. You stopped joining the crew on island visits and resided in the office staring out the window and watching the rest of the crew run free.
One day your mind continued to wander when you sat on the bridge alone and laid your eyes on the transponder snail.
***
Law returned to his office holding a stack of new books in his arms, "Y/N. I bought some new books I thought you would enjoy." he spoke as soon as he entered the office while you sat by the window in response. Law sighed seeing you still in your gloomy mood. "why don't you go out tomorrow and stretch your legs?" he suggested but you still didn't respond. "I can tell Bart and them to stay back and it can just be the two of us." You look toward your captain but still don't respond.
He sighed placing the books down before heading over to you and sitting down next to you. "I'm sorry I've been a little overprotective lately." You laid your head onto his shoulder for comfort and he reached his hand up to pet your head.
"I called Hancock," you admit which causes Law to pause. "I am going to Amazon Lily until my master gives up." This time Law was the one not responding. "They sent a ship that will meet me at the next island in 3 days. I already talked to Bepo about how I can get there in time for the randevu." You refuse to look at law while you explain.
Law pulled away from you causing you to fall slightly no longer having his body holding your weight. You waited for him to say something but he just stood up and stayed there his thoughts swimming. You waited as you feel his emotions shift around unable to settle on one. You reached your hand out grabbing his arm. "This will be for the best. Next the marines are going to join the hunt"
"SO WHAT!" He finally snapped, "I am already being hunted by the marines they can't do anything." He turned to face you with sadness in his eyes.
"And when Doflamingo joins." You said causing Law to freeze and look at you painfully, "I know he scares you which is why I need to leave until we ar both strong enough to face him."
Laws jaw grinded as you spoke and he thought about the man who has taken the one good thing is his life away once doing it again.
"I don't know what he has done to you but I can feel the effects even mentioning his name has done to you. Law I love you." You spoke standing up to look him in his eyes. This was the first time you said that word to him. Law looked down at you the tears in his eyes began to fall silently down his face which you carefully brushed away and smiling softly "I will be safe on Amazon Lily and we will be together again one day." He finally nodded and rested his face in your hand.
"I Love you too."
***
Next Chapter
#one piece#one piece x reader#trafalgar d law x reader#trafalgar law#fem!reader#trafalgar d water law#writing
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After bidding Benjamin and his family farewell for now, and Berko giving Ian a huge hug after waking up just in time to see them leave, Ian led them back to the eastern gate. They would have to pick up their own transport vehicles before taking the outer tunnel connecting to the south eastern gate, emerging back above ground a short distance away. There was already a group gathered in the street leading to the exit, three massive open top trucks and a scattering of motorcycles of various quality and repair. The people gathered there wore a smattering of partial soldier uniforms as well as attire common for wasteland mercenaries. It wasn’t hard to find Zeera, standing among the workers with practiced and overly familiar watch, barking orders as needed. It only took her seconds to notice the trio of newcomers to her party, and she cracked a snide grin as they approached, Ian holding the paper authorization in his hand, ready to give her.
“Heh. Secretary Morna must think we have platinum in our trucks if he’s sending a bunch of cyborg mercenaries to help guard it,” Zeera’s greeting came as a scoffed sneer as she looked over her assigned assistants. She didn’t look impressed, but she also didn’t look hostile. More like she was dealing with a bunch of pets that needed proper handling.
“Got a problem with it?” Whip asked in return, his eyes narrowing in unamused distaste saturated with boredom from having heard the same complaint too many times.
“What makes you think we’re cyborgs?” Ian cut in, giving one last chance for Zeera to retract her position and start again in a more amicable manner.
She didn’t take the offer though, just huffing and giving Whip a sideways glance before looking back to Ian. “Please. All three of you have the halo eyes. And it’s not like bluebell here even tries to hide anything on his back,” she scoffed, nodding her head towards Whip. “I ain’t gonna pick a fight though. More just surprised your kind even exists anymore. Thought you’d all gone berserk and gotten put down by now. But, I can’t deny you’ll be useful. Just don’t do anything crazy and I won’t have to put you down myself,” she offered as a scathing withdrawal, shifting the rather bulky plasma submachine gun to her shoulder and turning back to her team. “Alright kids, let’s head out in five. Those who don’t make it by then don’t get paid. The puppies can drive themselves, and I better not see anyone provoking them. We don’t need to give them a reason to bite.”
Midas had to sneer at her disregard of gun safety, even if the power cell had been removed for now, and had a half consideration that he might just accidentally forget to protect her if she ended up being a target. As Whip wordlessly ushered him to his bike, Midas obediently followed, noting how Whip’s protective shielding arm around him was also acting as a sort of cover.
‘Remove the bullets from your pistols,’ Whip directed Midas silently, flicking his eyes to meet one of the truck drivers that was staring at them and getting him to flinch and return to his task of starting the engine.
‘Why?’ Midas returned, irritable because of their treatment as well as the idea of not being able to use the more effective metal beads. Plasma did nothing against the larger wildlife around here.
‘Don’t give them a reason to blame us if one of them ends up dead,’ Whip returned. He already knew Ian had the same idea, the pack of bullets for his rifle being subtly removed from his pouch and stowed deep in his bike’s compartment. Physical bullets were illegal in all three cities, but they all knew the further away from the cities people got, the more loose laws became. Neither Whip or Ian was going to give these soldiers or mercenaries a reason to use them as scapegoats.
As the others started mounting their bikes, Whip swung onto the back of Midas’ bike, taking the bullet case Midas passed to him and storing it as well. Midas still seemed grumpy, but he took his usual position at the front, looping his fingers into the rings that made up one of the controls.
“Nice Cerah loot. Where’d you steal that from?” a gruff mercenary asked, staying a few feet away from them but still nodding at Midas’ bike.
Giving him a half glance, Midas huffed. “Garbage heap,” he answered shortly.
The mercenary grunted in amused disbelief. “Sure. Let me just look up the serial number registry and see where it’s supposed to be in service,” he pressed, seeing if threatening to report Midas would get him to talk.
“Sure. The bulk of it is from model S7-24-12-11, but the shocks I had to pull from model SC24-72,” Midas shot back, unfazed. “And I had to construct the interface from various parts of an old high wire transport compartment, a neural link motherboard manufacturing device, and a broken vending machine. Do you want the serial numbers for those too?”
The mercenary ended up twitching his head back in surprise at Midas actually talking back to him instead of stammering under the hazing. But he recovered quickly and half forced a short laugh. “Damn kid, that’s a lot. Bit of a handyman there, I see. Might actually be useful to have ya around then,” he chuckled, waving his hand dismissively as he casually left to join his own riding buddy.
Midas could only squint in annoyance after him, giving an unimpressed breath at the return comment and shifting to get comfortable while they waited for the direction to leave. Whip couldn’t help adding his own genuine chuckle though, leaning over to mutter quietly. “Nice one. Just don’t get too feisty, or they’ll stop playing fair,” he cautioned, giving Midas an approving pat on the upper back.
“Then they better be ready for me to meet them on the playing field they set,” Midas scoffed back, reaching his free hand into the other controls as Zeera shouted and gestured for the group to proceed.
“HA. We’ll see if you can keep that claim. Mister ‘I can’t tell the difference between coffee and mud’,” Whip teased back, adjusting his weight to his usual position for a long ride.
Midas’ mildly flustered protest was half lost to the roar of slightly over twenty engines, and Whip ended up just flashing him a toothy smile before quickly raising a brow and nodding his head towards their departing group. The response he earned was just Midas punching too much power into the bike’s gears to cause it to jerk both of them to harass Whip, then smooth out into a steady ride to keep in line with the others. Whip could only laugh again, being more than used to this method of attempted torment from the lad. And just like always, Ian slid in diagonally behind them, rolling his eyes at their antics even as their tires scuffed up clouds of dirt that forced them to keep a bit more distance.
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I enjoy designing the extra characters for this sometimes =u=
#my art#cyborg#ocs#original story#post apocalypse#rizen#sci fi#web light novel#original characters#zeera#writing#long post#semi slice of life
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Back To The Future
Back To The Future
Please notice I made a change this week. This is some old school Utica stuff. The Schedule appears late on Monday. Sometimes after the Monday Blog is posted. Y’all seem to like it better that way. Just like you seem to enjoy emailing me instead of commenting on the Blog. The only page that gets more hits than Ode to Mr. Turtle is my contact page. As long as you’re reading and making calls…
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#Bishop#Carreiro#Indiana Attorney General#Open Meetings Law Complaint#Pawtucket#Providence Diocese#Rhode Island Democratic Party Chair#San Francisco#tax exemption#Tidal#Tobin
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BEAST SSKK content you ask for? The shit pen poet (the same one he keeps sending you these long ass Beast hcs) strikes again:
-sskk's relationship vs their personalities paint such a hilarious picture to anyone involved because many read their the cold, monotone stares (they are communicating telepathically) and quiet glares at each other (admiring each other like the Mona Lisa, up and down, up and down--) when in presence of company as dripping with coldness and disdain. The ADA was so fucking shocked when they learn about their relationship not just because they do not "act" like a couple but because they've apparently been together for like. A while. And Akutagawa simply never felt the need to inform them about their mafia in-law(s) and then looked at them like they were stupid for not figuring it out before (he bribed ranpo to keep quiet).
-For the longest time they could not comprehend sskk being in a loving relationship because they just act like they always do. And then one day Oda stumbles upon them being affectionate in private. Do you know they both wear long sleeves so that they can secretly pull up the other's coat sleeve and hold their hand while it stays hidden from view? It's why they always appear to stand impossibly close to each other yet "never touch". This is canon Oda told me so. Oda also is the reason why the ADA has an 8 minute long video of Atsushi peppering Akutagawa's face in kisses as a way of stalling him from going away on a long mission outside of the city by himself (It was working) until someone came to badger aku for taking so long to get ready.
-Akutagawa hates when the others see him be affectionate he hates that shit. Not cause he thinks it's weak or shameful, he just doesn't want to give his coworkers the fucking satisfaction. Always trying to hide it. One time Tanizaki knocked on his door and immediately opened it cause he heard to many noises from his room and the conversation went somewhere along the lines of,
Tanizaki: "What the hell was that noise? Who were you even talking to"
Akutagawa: (threw Atsushi in the closet) "The voices in my head, now GET OUT"
-Atsushi doesn't hide his relationship but none of subordinates have the courage to ask him until they see him with the gloves off and see a wedding band. (When they do meet Akutagawa they're low-key more intimidated by him from appearance alone than their boss.)
(lackey voices) "Youre married?!"
(Atsushi voice) "I've been for a while now."
"HUH?"
"Hirotsu-san read the vows."
(Hirotsu voice) "The executives are still incredibly dismayed that you two rejected having a wedding celebration altogether."
-Akutagawa hated the winter cause he remembers the harshness of of the cold and the countless of friends he had woken up to dead besides him, friends he had to dig out through the snow and use his hands to dig at the earth for them to have any kind of loving burial. Atsushi hated the winter because the basement, the cell he was locked up in majority of his life was unbearably damp and cold, and because the tiger under his skin always prevented him from getting sick or fought off injuries, no one ever gave him and his frostbites the luxury of warmth, and his body would be black and blue and stiff at the joints, heart hoping he could hibernate and never wake up again. They both start enjoying the winters when they bury themselves under tons of blankets and curl up into each other--slotting up against each other like perfect puzzle pieces, or like they're finally complete and whole after years of painful emptiness against their side, in their hearts. Atsushi warms Akutagawa's frail fingers with his own, and Akutagawa allows Atsushi to bury his cold, cold nose against his neck with minimal complaint.
-Akutagawa found out that tigers can, in fact, get high off of catnip. Magical tigers due to ability usage also count, especially with the extremely sensitive senses that can smell it from a mile away. Apparently Byakko loves that shit. They still haven't gotten rid of all of the white cat hair around the house. Atsushi will never live it down. The only good thing that comes out of it is catnip spiked coffee because it's much more bearable to do anything away from your favorite person if you're too high as fuck to be anxious.
-The tiger's regenerative and endurance abilities are so funny to me with its implications because I like to think that it translates to Atsushi being unable to get drunk easily. Chuuya forcing him to socialize and celebrate after a mission and he has to drink when he's poured a glass out of respect, but he never gets seems visibly tipsy. Everyone takes it as a challenge. Akutagawa comes to pick him up from the bar (it's always the text for help) and the conversation is always some variation of "How much did you drink?" "1000 shots." "Now I know why the tiger is always mad." "Hn."
-(I need to cut in, that in my world, BEAST Atsushi doesn't leave the port mafia. Is it healthy? No. but neither is the orphanage. Atsushi immediately hallucinated being chained to the medical table when he woke up there I swear he's never gonna get better dawg. Also I cannot leave the black turtleneck, jeans, and doc Martens behind. He still does evil mafioso shit and stays a bit deranged that's what makes his softer side so good and compelling as a lover. I cannot imagine him not needing the mafia's power on his side to help protect the book with Akutagawa as a part of his mentor's last wish. Also he looks too sexy--//is taken out back and shot like a lame horse)
-talking about deranged, Akutagawa says he loves to hear Atsushi talk until he actually opens his mouth. Sometimes it just makes him mad. You know when you feel so comfortable with someone you can't keep the shit to yourself? yeah. It's something like that.
"Your dorm is small and feels claustrophobic, your apartment looks like a jail cell. "
"Shut up."
It reminds me of the orphanage basement."
"Fucking get out of here."
"No."
-I like to think that one of the small acts of love Akutagawa does for others is sew or patch clothes up. He does it for anyone he cares about. Growing up with nothing, he would use Rashomon to mend and alter his clothes. He would sew up the other kid's clothes or make them tiny stuffed toys for entertainment when he could, be it with Rashomon or with some straws and a sharp edge from a metal hanger that he repurposed to act as a makeshift sewing needle. That being said, Akutagawa knows how important the jacket is to Atsushi--a gift to him from Dazai and a sense of safety to him for various reasons (looks back at the winter hc)-- and takes it upon himself to mend it when its in rough shape, or in one case, near completely torn to shreds. The first time he did it, Atsushi cried to him in relief, body bowing into itself, curling up around the jacket held to his chest, until his head was pressed against Akutagawa's lap, quiet "thank you's" mumbled into the fabric of his pants. Now Akutagawa always fixes his coat when Atsushi asks, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.
-They love kicking the door to the other's work place down they never open it like normal people. Atsushi kicks that shit off its hinges and Akutagawa kicks it open normally but uses Rashomon to tear it off the frame as he walks out.
This was a rollercoaster and probably more out of character than usual but I never claimed to stick to canon unless is suits my own needs. Please enjoy this offering.
Beast Anon far from wanting to being too straightforward but. Will you marry me
All of these are SO so good. Thank you so much. I love you. Your Beast sskk characterization is flawless!!!
I DO agree Beast sskk look perfectly neutral (bordering hostile) towards each other to an outsider. It is true that they… Don't really need words, or kind looks at that, to communicate with each other. Also they're sorta just like that in general, so they're perfect for one another. Tbh, it's years of emotional repression for Atsushi + He's Just Like That™ for Akutagawa. But they ARE perfect for each other I seriously can't stress this!!!! Enough!!!!!! And the fact that they can get each other all the time although their thinking is completely incompressible to everyone outside of them is comforting and endearing (I'm repeating myself here but. It's true. I'm soft for them.). So yeah, nobody at the agency would guess they were dating (or even just friendly frequenting each other)- especially, you know, after the terms they left each other in at the end of canon. Akutagawa of course would never bother correcting them- I can't quite put my finger on why it's like that, but it just feels so terribly right for them to not want others to know they're together? I feel like it has to do – other than both of them being generally highly reserved people – once again with the fact that the connection they share is so intimate and personal and simply theirs, as it is inexplicable and impossible to understand for an outsider (here's the pessimist mindset they kinda share), so they don't bother with explaining, because they already know others wouldn't get it. But it's still very cute. This was written about canon sskk, and although canon sskk and Beast sskk are deeply different, I think it can apply to Beast sskk too. And in addition to all of this, there's also the general phobia of losing someone they love they both share that would have them reticent to make it known to others how much they care for each other, even if it's people as trustworthy as the ada. THAT BEING SAID, Akutagawa IS the kind to taunt the ada for not figuring out once his relationship with Atsushi is unavoidably revealed- “Apologies, I thought this was a detective agency, I had assumed the supposed detectives wouldn't need me to tell them in order to figure it out”. He's just like that. In the end, it's cute, it's a display of trust towards the ada.
Kinda went off the rails here but the point is that yes they have whole conversations telepathically. They'd be like
Atsushi:
Akutagawa:
Atsushi:
Akutagawa: You know that's not true
Atsushi: [Feigning obliviousness] But I didn't say anything? *big cat eyes*
Akutagawa: YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SAID
I LOVE THE HOLDING HANDS UNDER THEIR COATS IN A WAY THAT'S NOT VISIBLE FROM THE OUTSIDE!!!!! FULLY INTEGRETED IN MY BELIEF SYSTEM!!!!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! Talk to me about how they're each other's only comfort in the cruel world ANY time. How each other's presence is the only thing that can keep them standing despite everything. How the only thing that can ground them is knowing the other is by their side. I don't want to be dramatic or anything here but they give each other's existence a reason thank you for listening.
I'm sure the ada have whole gossip sessions during breaks about Akutagawa's love life when he isn't there- after all, he is their weirdest member, which is remarkable on its own. I just KNOW Naomi wouldn't believe he could be dating someone (fair enough I’m with her on this), and as everyone is discussing the matter she ends up convincing Oda to investigate- who doesn't really like the idea, but is also notoriously easy to get dragged along and also is realistically the only ada member with a good chance to not get caught AND the only ada member Akutagawa likely wouldn't slice on sight even in the eventuality he did get caught. That's how they got the aforementioned tape.
I know it's the same for everything you say beloved Anon but. Atsushi peppering Akutafawa's face in kisses to keep him from going on a long mission – because sure as hell the ada's priorities aren't his priorities – is also a big Yes (it was working perfectly until interrupted)
Cue to what I was saying earlier about them wanting to keep their relationship very very private but it counts six times as much for Akutagawa in particular. After all, Atsushi doesn't know the ada, so he really doesn't care about what they think (see: Atsushi weaving, half threateningly, half bashfully, at Kunikida and Tanizaki when climbing to Akutagawa's window). Akutagawa on the other hand would HATE for anyone to enter in his private business and would TOTALLY Rashomon-throw Atsushi in the nearest closet / street / out of sight if anyone he knows was to approach (thank you for the throwing-Atsushi-in-the-closet “talking to the voices in my head now GET OUT” image tho Anon literally have been thinking of it every day for one week)
Idk. I know we talk about Beast sskk being married a lot but… The single fact of Atsushi taking his gloves off and having a wedding band underneath… The way he keeps his love for Akutagawa hidden and safe and protected and always with him… I know that's not what I should be focusing on here but I'm having a moment. (The way I'm struck by each and every word you say Anon for real)
Aaaaaahhh, I can see Akutagawa and Atsushi hating winter. The picture you depicted about Atsushi never being granted the luxury of protection against the cold because his ability would have eventually healed him anyway (although did little to ease the pain) is especially impactful and truly makes you wish for someone by his side who can protect him and keep him safe. They are perfect puzzle pieces!!! The image of them under an hill worth of blankets makes me melt, thank you so much. Domestic Beast sskk and especially Beast sskk sleeping together safe and sound is my favorite thing in the world.
CATNIP EFFECTING ATSUSHI ASLKBVWLVBUAGHVB you /know/ Akutagawa would never let him live it down. But also Atsushi missing Akutagawa every second he spends away from him so true 🥺🥺🥺
Ooooohhh I totally agree Atsushi can't get drunk to his regenerative abilities, I've always thought that too. It's cute how Akutagawa would still come to pick him up. Atsushi would send him “help” text calling out for support and Akutagawa arrives to a bar full of passed out bodies on the floor and Atsushi sitting alone on his chair with an empty glass in his hands a big sad puppy eyes. In the end he only missed Akutagawa.
(Seriously, the separation anxiety is strong with this ship)
I can work with the concept of Beast Atsushi staying in the pm!! In the end the pm is one greatly charming organization in bsd, it makes me kinda sad to let it go in Beast (I have my whole theory about pm boss Beast Higuchi and the Beast renaissance but that's for another time). I also genuinely think that the Atsushi / Chuuya interactions in the pm would be wonderful. And Atsushi absolutely needs to keep his cool outfit.
YEAH. OMG I KNOW THE FEELING OF FINDING THAT PERSON AND FEELING LIKE YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH SOMEONE ELSE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE AND BEING PERFECTLY UNABLE TO SHUT UP SO WELL. Man Beast sskk were already traumadumping five minutes in meeting each other, tbh it's not hard to believe Akutagawa is going to know Atsushi's mind like the back of his hand. A LOT of late knight conversations and “It makes me think of…” “Go to sleep.” “You can try to push me down the bed if you want” “No. You're warm.” But in the end Akutagawa always gives in (╥﹏╥) After spending all his life repressing pretty much everything about himself, I guess it'd be kinda exhilarating for Atsushi to have finally found someone he can just talk with, no overthinking- the words would really get flowing.
I DO SUBSCRIBE THE AKUTAGAWA-CAN-SEW BELIEF!!!!! LIKE!!!!!!!!! WHOLEHEARTDLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Akutgawa sewing is canon to me. And he totally mends everything Atsushi rips off of course, that's what they are (╥﹏╥) For real this is hitting me so hard. Because clothes are such an important side of sskk's relationship, and when Akutagawa patches Atsushi's coat, he's sewing a part of himself in it. That's their coat now, and that's the coat that embodies their love. Beast sskk is insane
Hell yeah kicking doors off + sskk being identical and the same even in the smallest things
Not to be dramatic or anything but Anon you're rewriting a whole bsd Beast universe continuation here and I’m more invested in your monthly asks than any other of the official bsd serializations
#(Anon do you know that this ask got deleted for like six hours and those were the worst six hours of my entire life)#atsushi nakajima#ryūnosuke akutagawa#sskk#shin soukoku#bsd#bungou stray dogs#bsd beast#people asks me stuff#beast anon#Did you know that a single text block can contain a maximum of 4096 characters. You'll never guess how I found out
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On February 8, an Oklahoma transgender teen named Nex Benedict died. While an exact cause of death has yet to be determined, we know that Nex was involved in a violent altercation with three girls in a girls’ bathroom at Owasso High School. The next day, Nex died. (According to reporting from NBC News, Nex identified as transgender and preferred he/him pronouns, but also used they/them pronouns.)
We also know from Nex’s family and friends that Nex experienced routine bullying and harassment at school because of his transgender identity—as did other LGBTQ+ youth according to a number of media accounts. What’s more, this harassment is taking place in a state where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric has proliferated in recent years. In 2022, Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law requirements that prevent trans youth from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. (Nex’s mother said in a recent interview that the bullying Nex experienced intensified after the Oklahoma bathroom bill went into effect). What’s worse, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of education has vehemently attacked any efforts to make schools more inclusive for LGBTQ+ youth and is on the record stating his belief that transgender and nonbinary people do not exist.
On March 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it was launching an investigation into Owasso Public Schools over concerns that the district failed to adequately respond to allegations of sex-based harassment (under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex). The investigation was opened in response to a civil rights complaint filed by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)—an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
In this post, I’ll outline what happens once OCR opens a new investigation, what I’m hoping to see from this investigation in particular, and why I’m ultimately skeptical of this enforcement tool as a lever for bringing about meaningful change.
What does it mean that OCR opened an investigation?
OCR enforces Title IX and other federal civil rights laws in publicly funded educational institutions—including all K-12 public schools. The agency’s primary enforcement tool is investigations into potential civil rights violations. Most investigations are opened in response to civil rights complaints received by the agency.
The bar for OCR to investigate a civil rights complaint is low. And that’s by design. OCR’s civil rights complaint process is intended to be a low-cost avenue available to parents, families, and community advocates concerned about potential violations in public schools—one that does not require hiring legal representation to pursue. But that also means we should not read too much meaning into the fact that ED opened a new investigation. OCR opening an investigation does not mean federal officials suspect that a civil rights violation took place. It only means that a complaint alleging a form of discrimination enforceable (in this case, Title IX) by OCR was made in a timely manner.
What happens once an investigation is opened?
The goal of an OCR investigation is to determine whether an alleged civil rights violation took place and to decide what district reforms are appropriate based on what the investigation uncovered. In practice, the scope and scale of OCR investigations varies widely. Sometimes OCR conducts large-scale investigations that include multiple site visits and meetings with a wide variety of stakeholders. Other times, OCR interviews only a few stakeholders alongside a review of extant documents and data. When and why OCR deploys more investigatory resources are unknown, but that means it is difficult to predict exactly what shape this investigation into Owasso Public Schools will take.
It is also unclear how far-reaching this investigation will be. In some cases, OCR only investigates allegations related to the specific incident outlined in the complaint. In other words, were Nex’s civil rights violated by Owasso Public Schools? In others, OCR investigators interrogate whether the alleged incident is one part of a broader pattern of civil rights abuses taking place. In other words, are LGBTQ+ students’ civil rights routinely violated in Owasso Public Schools? These differences may seem subtle but are hugely consequential for the ultimate scope of the investigation and the scale of any proposed district reforms.
OCR’s letter notifying HRC that an investigation was being opened seems to imply the latter approach—stating that OCR will investigate “whether the District failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students” [emphasis added]. This is critical if OCR aims to address the conditions that led to the harassment and bullying that Nex experienced, especially considering reports of numerous other instances of harassment of LGBTQ+ youth in Owasso Public Schools.
It is also important to underscore that OCR is one relatively small federal agency that has not been adequately staffed or funded for at least the last two decades. This has become an acute challenge over the last several years as OCR’s caseload has exploded and as Assistant Secretary Catherine Lhamon has prioritized more systemic investigations. The consequence of this reality is that investigations can take years, and still not be particularly thorough. At best, an investigation like this could take less than a year. At worst, it could be several years before it is resolved.
What should happen next?
Most OCR investigations are not instigated by an incident as tragic as this one. It is imperative that OCR investigators handle this case with care. At minimum, that should include careful engagement with Nex’s family and friends (to the extent they wish to be involved), along with other members of the school’s LGBTQ+ community.
Hearing directly from LGBTQ+ students is also critical considering Owasso Public Schools’ initial response to news of the investigation. Per an official statement, while the district intends to cooperate with federal investigators, it “believes the complaint submitted by H.R.C. is not supported by the facts and is without merit.” Initial reporting also reflects inconsistencies between what Nex’s family and friends said took place, versus the school district and the police departments’ official accounts. Moreover, Oklahoma’s state superintendent, Ryan Walters, has publicly denied that Nex’s death had anything to do with his gender identity even as the criminal investigation into Nex’s death remains ongoing.
This context underscores how important it is that OCR works to draw its own conclusions about the bullying and harassment of Nex and other LGBTQ+ students in Owasso Public Schools rather than relying on conclusions drawn by the district and police department.
What might come of this investigation?
In theory, if a school district is found in violation of civil rights law, OCR can rescind federal funding or have the case referred to the Department of Justice for further judicial action.
In practice, findings of civil rights violations are exceedingly rare. Most investigations that lead to mandated reforms are resolved through negotiations between OCR and a district. OCR’s policies favor negotiated settlements over more forceful enforcement actions at every step of the investigation process. Thus, unless a school district is blatantly and repeatedly refusing to cooperate with OCR, the likelihood of some penalty for violating civil rights law is very small.
The agency’s preference for negotiating with districts also means that the resulting resolution agreements often include reforms that seem mild, at best, and wildly insufficient, at worst. Take, for example, a recent resolution agreement OCR entered into with Rhinelander Public Schools in Wisconsin. This case, like the Owasso investigation, involved persistent harassment of a gender non-conforming student by some teachers and students and a district’s repeated failure to adequately respond. In the negotiated settlement, the district agreed to 1) assess whether compensatory instructional time was owed to the harassed student; 2) provide trainings to both staff and high school students on what constitutes sex-based harassment under Title IX and the district’s Title IX grievance process; 3) improve how it documents accusations of sex-based harassment; 4) conduct a school climate survey “to assess the prevalence of sex-based harassment and obtain suggestions for effective ways to address harassment.”
Of these actions, only one was directly aimed at improving the school environment for LGBTQ+ students–mandatory trainings for staff and high school students. Putting aside the fact that OCR’s standard Title IX reforms seem insufficient to remedy widespread harassment of LGBTQ+ students—especially in a state where the top education official’s anti-LGBTQ+ biases are on full display, a large body of evidence indicates that these types of one-off anti-discrimination or diversity trainings are often ineffective.
Thus, unless OCR officials take a radically different approach in this case (which I hope they do given the gravity of the incident), the outcomes of this investigation are–unfortunately—unlikely to bring about significant reforms in Owasso Public Schools.
What can ED do to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ+ students?
The Biden administration’s long-awaited and much delayed updated Title IX regulations are expected to be released next month. This overhaul of Title IX is notable for several reasons, including that it codifies the Department’s interpretation that Title IX protections extend to discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
The pending adoption of the new Title IX regulations is particularly important in this case because in July 2022 a federal judge in Tennessee temporarily blocked ED from enforcing its new interpretation of Title IX after 20 conservative states—including Oklahoma—filed a lawsuit to stop its enforcement. This meant that OCR’s ability to enforce this more expansive interpretation of Title IX had been severely limited until the new regulations were formally in place.
This is not to say that updated Title IX regulations alone will be sufficient, and they will undoubtedly be challenged in federal court as Republican lawmakers and attorneys general have made clear. But its delays have led to an environment where districts must choose between complying with state law or federal guidance and where the rights of LGBTQ+ students remain painfully unclear—and in lots of states, including Oklahoma, under attack.
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Part 1
Part 2
????
This
Note: Tav has a backstory. Post-game but not very spoilery I think?
"So," Astarion smacked his lips to break the pregnant silence, "Your brother."
Tav grimaced, her back turned to Astarion where she sat in the opposite end of their tent. It had been an eventful night and the Sun would soon come up, leaving them to hide within layers of fabric and the partial cover of a cavern.
"My brother," she echoed with a hint of exasperation to her tone. Astarion sat up, having been lounging casually over their travel beddings.
"Putting aside that you have a brother who is a Monster Hunter--"
"I told you, I didn't know he'd become one."
"...You've barely even mentioned your family before, Darling."
She twisted to face him, brows furrowed and lips pursed. A picture of frustration.
"It... It just wasn't relevant," she argued clumsily. Astarion rolled his head to the side while observing her reactions.
"So there are no more pleasant surprises we should expect? No more drop-ins by cousins, siblings or mothers-in-law?"
Tav visibly bristled in response.
"I'm not married," she immediately retorted, "You should know that."
"Should I?" Astarion found himself hissing, "Just as I should've known to expect this chance encounter, I'd wager. Do you realize that it took me months to find out your full name? And that's only because you happened to write it out in a document for the bank. Honestly, love, I understand humility is considered a virtue in your little charity, but you could stand to talk about yourself a little! At the very least to the person you consider your partner, don't you think?"
She was stunned into silence by the outburst. Within that silence, his genuine complaints began to sink in, as well as the realization that came with them. Her face fell, eyes flicking downward when facing Astarion became too much.
"You're right," she said in a voice thinner than air, "I only talk about things that, that don't entirely matter. Things that are shallow."
Fiddling with the end of her braid became much more interesting than whatever Astarion may have been doing. She heard a slight shuffle of the beddings, but shame kept Tav's head bowed.
"I can't take back the moments where I held back before. But I can try to be more open from now on."
There was only a moment more of silence before Astarion answered:
"I don't need your entire life's story, Darling. Not right away. However, I don't know how to be there for you if I don't know anything about the things you've been through. And to be extremely clear, I want to be there."
His hand came into her field of view when it was placed over hers, still toying with her hair. Hesitantly, she lifted her chin to meet his beautiful set of eyes. They were filled with a warmth for her, complimenting the gentle tone he'd used to soothe her. A small smile came on at the love she detected in this treatment.
"What would you like to know?"
Astarion leaned back against his hands, getting comfortable for the ride.
"Let's start with something easy. Where did you grow up?"
"The High Forest. Our commune was at the North Western edge of the woods."
"Commune?" he questioned with a tilt of his head. Tav smiled.
"It's a small village of about six or so families, depending on where you draw the lines... I have several half-siblings. We don't use currency amongst one another and instead share our resources."
"Well, that certainly is... Different," Astarion hummed, forming a smile and yet failing to disguise the wrinkle between his brows. Tav only chuckled at him.
"It's alright. I understand some of the Wood Elf ways aren't common in the rest of Faerûn. It was a culture shock for me too, when I first started mingling with other races."
"And when was that, dare I ask?"
There was a small pause to Tav, her demeanor shifting minutely. Being who he was, surviving the way he'd had to for years and years, Astarion immediately picked up on these small differences. The way her shoulders lined up, how she subtly averted her eyes. The smile that was just a little too tight to be genuine.
"I went over twenty years without ever meeting anyone but another Elf," she started with an almost unnoticeable tremor to her words, "and when I did, it was because a settlement had formed right outside the forest.
"Our village went on high alert. I should explain that we had strict traditions, and the Elders were passionate about protecting the High Forest from outside influence. No one was happy that these people had moved in what they considered to be too close."
"Let me guess: No one but the sweet little Yarkona, excited to flee into the real world from her cozy woodland cocoon," Astarion sang. Tav moaned, pulling up her knees to wrap her arms around.
"Yara," she corrected, "That's what I was called back then.
"Like you said, I didn't feel as everyone else did. I was the youngest in the village, and maybe that's why I was so curious to see it for myself. So I snuck to the settlement to watch the people in it. Spying like I did was my introduction to the world outside the forest."
"And tell me: How did it disappoint you?" the Vampire cut in, leaning closer with a leering grin. Tav raised her brows in surprise, gazing upon her lover. Then her expression softened at once, her hand moving to cup Astarion's cheek. She knew where his pessimism came from and skipped questioning it entirely.
"In fewer ways than my own people did, that's for sure," she instead stated with a faint smile. This one wasn't tense, but also didn't quite reach her eyes, leaving shadow where there was meant to be a glint of joy.
Astarion turned his head within her hold, humming as his lips met the skin of Tav's palm. After a few appreciative kisses, she sighed pleasantly. Red eyes met hers and a toothy smirk spread across her lover's features.
"You've done well sharing tonight, Darling. I think you deserve a fitting reward for such good behaviour," he practically purred, crawling closer until he hovered right over Tav. It was skilled the way he ran his hand up her thigh, causing her to unfold from her guarded position as if in invitation.
Their lips collided in a heated kiss with Tav ending up pressed against the rugs functioning as the tent floor. But when Astarion's lips strayed from hers and down her jawline and neck, he suddenly felt the pressure of a hand on his chest.
He leaned back as prompted, gazing down at Tav with a sheet of confusion over his expression. She was blushing like she usually would under his ministrations, her eyes pretty with pupils blown out, dark despite the lantern light.
"I don't want to do this with my brother's tent ten feet from ours," she murmured, the color on her face growing more intense. Astarion felt a laugh come on at the admission.
"We can find creative ways to stay very, very quiet, my love. And besides, now I know you grew up in a polyamorous home where all the Elves were fornicating with one another. I'm sure your brother wouldn't be embarrassed about the prospect of what I wish to do with you."
"It's not like they were 'fornicating' out in the middle of the village for everyone to see," Tav hissed in exasperation, "I-- I'd like at least a little bit of privacy. Please."
When it settled in how serious his lover was being, Astarion's expression smoothed over. He sat up, holding out a hand for Tav in order to help her do the same.
"You don't have to beg, Darling. As lovely as it sounds when you do," he mused, giving her hand a pull when it finally settled in his. She relaxed with an outward breath, fingers curling against Astarion's as they sat together.
"By the way," she said suddenly, "I didn't miss you calling my elected faith 'a little charity' before."
Her brow quirked and Astarion pursed his lips in disdain. Before be could answer, Tav landed a kiss on his mouth, effectively stalling the effort.
"An argument for another day," she stated with a hint of amusement to her, laying down on their beddings to begin settling down for the day.
#astarion x tav#astarion#yarkona#bg3#baldurs gate 3#bg3 tav#tav#bg3 spoilers#bg3 fanfiction#fanfiction#tav backstory
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LAW AND LOVE
A/N: Just posting to see if there is any interest......
"You've got to be kidding me!" I groan as I eye the deflated tire on my car. "I don't have time for this. Seriously!"
After my 10 hour shift at the restaurant, the last thing I wanted to be doing at dusk was changing a flat. I was exhausted and just needed a good soak in the tub. With a large glass of wine. Red. Hell, forget the glass, give me the whole dang bottle.
I press the slide key in to unlock the trunk and open the hatch to pull out the spare and jack when I see shattered glass on the ground around my vehicle. The fucking passenger window is completely busted.
"Oh fuck me!" I sigh as I leave the rear of the car to go inspect the damage.
Looking through the window I can see the center console is up, where I kept all my spare change and different odds and ends. My console is the equivalent of a junk drawer in someone's home. The glove compartment is not only open but hanging precariously from its hinges, the contents scattered across the seat and floorboard.
"What the hell…." I ask no one in particular as I pull my phone out to call 9-1-1.
"Helena Emergency Services," the operator answers after a half ring.
"Yes, I need to report a break-in and request police assistance."
"What's your address ma'am?"
"I'm in the parking lot on 3rd and Independence. Someone broke into my car," I explained.
"Okay, I have an officer in the area and have paged him to your location."
"Thank you," I sigh as I run a hand down my face. This is the last thing I need to happen!
"Ma'am, do you need me to stay in the line? Do you think the perp is still in the area?"
"Uh…..oh….um…I don't know," I say as I scan the area. "I don't think so. It's pretty deserted right now."
"Okay. The sheriff is only about 2 minutes away so if you feel safe, I'll go ahead and hang up."
"Yea," I smile in thanks, although I know the operator cannot see me. "Thank you for your help."
The line goes dead and I slip the phone back into my pocket and cross my arms as I await the cop coming to take my report.
Wait, did she say Sheriff? Even though this screws up my day I didn't think it was crucial enough to elicit the Sheriff. I'm sure he has more important things to take care of than a car break-in. But she did say he was in the area so maybe it's just a case of who was closest.
I kick at the gravel and small shards of glass as I wait. In no time at all, an older model faded red truck pulls in. I can see there is only one occupant in the cab and I hold my breath, hoping and praying that it's not the perp coming back.
I watch warily as the man in the pickup parks and gets out. He steps out of the truck and I hold my breath as he reaches back into the cab. Is he grabbing the weapon that will be my demise?
Thankfully, he pulls out a beige Stetson and proceeds to sit it on his head. As he approaches, I can't help but notice his bow-legged cowboy stride. How appropriate for Montana.
I let out a shaky breath as the badge on his belt shines in the early evening light. 'Oh thank God, it's the sheriff!' I tell myself.
"What seems to be the problem sweetheart?" he asks and I swear to the heavens that every bone in my body melts at the cadence of his honeyed voice.
'Problem? The only problem I have is you're not inside me, fucking me raw.'
I clear my throat and my gutter of a mind and try to remember what my original complaint was. As the sheriff steps closer, I hear the crunch of glass under his boots and it dawns on me.
"Someone decided to break into my car," I tell him as we both survey the damage. I can't stop myself from sneaking glances in his direction. He was a very gorgeous man (can you call a man gorgeous?) His bone structure is impeccable; his profile is perfect.
“Have you noticed anything missing?” he asks but I can’t seem to pull myself away from staring. When he turns his head and his forest green eyes meet mine, I realize he’d spoken to me. Is that a smile in his expression? Can eyes smile?
“Oh…um…what?” I respond, embarrassingly.
“Have you noticed if anything has been taken, Miss……?” he questions again, subtly asking for my name.
“Oh, uh no?” I answer, not sure because I hadn’t really been paying attention. “And you can call me Y/N, Officer.” Two can play that game.
“Okay. Well, Y/N. I’m Sheriff Beau Arlen but you can call me Beau,” he replies. “Is there anyone with a vendetta against you? Anyone you can think of who might want to cause you trouble?”
“Just an ex in a couple states over,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders. “But I doubt he’d travel all this way. Too much work and it would take away from his hobbies.”
“And what hobbies would that be?”
“Other than sleeping with anyone other than me, he plays online video games. He has made it his life mission to conquer every player alive.”
“Well Y/N, I must say this ex of yours sure seems like he’s got a few screws loose,” Beau tells me, looking straight at me.
“More than a few,” I laugh. “But yea, I seriously doubt he’d put the energy into coming to Helena to break into my car. Hell, he doesn’t even know what kind of vehicle I drive now anyways.”
“Okay, so we can rule the idiot ex out,” Beau determines. “Anyone else?”
“Well, I’ve only been here for a little over a month and other than a pissy customer, no. But I don’t think it would warrant this.”
“Hmmm, so we moved to town at about the same time, huh?”
“You’re new too?” I ask, with a tilt of my head. “How did you become Sheriff so quickly?”
“I’m the interim sheriff until the actual sheriff gets back on his feet,” he explains and then pulls out a notepad. “So I’m guessing I need to take down some information.”
I nod as I contemplate the way he swiftly transformed into his Sheriff role. ‘What is he hiding? He shut the conversation down quickly and deftly.’ I give him my contact information and a list of what I could remember that was in the vehicle, then he offered me a ride home; which I took because my new home was on the other side of town.
@lostinaseaoffictionalbliss @spnbaby-67 @tftumblin @sea04056140561 @delightfullykrispypeachch @larajadeschmidt133 @atc744 @vicariouslythruspnspn @squirrelnotsamm @sandlee444 @blacktithe77 @hoboal87 @mogarukee @deanwanddamonsns @supraveng @deandreamernp @akshi827878 @lyarr244 @kazsrm677 @chriszgirl922
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To Protect, and To Hold
Writers Notes- I've been watching House of The Dragon and if ya know ya know. Had to write a smutty piece inspired by it. Warnings- loss of virginity, brief breeding kink, all good things on a sunday morning
You struggled to contain rolling your eyes at the local squabble going on before you. Boys it seemed…would be boys. Even if their age claimed to be “men”. You’d been on the tour for just over a month and a half and you were near on pulling your hair out.
Your father, the king, had taken the liberty of arranging a tour across the bordering countries for your hand in marriage. You were of age now and he wanted to see you married off to form an alliance quickly.
The men before you bored you. They spoke of nothing but entitlement and the vastness of their army. Things that meant little to nothing to you. Their words did not ensorcel, nor did they provide comfort or intrigue.
Now a group of them were barking back and forth about who’s claim to the nearest loch was rightfully theirs to offer the good princess. Soon fighting broke out and your kings guard did their best to break it up.
“Very mature and alluring.” You muttered off to your side.
“Does none of this please you?”
You bit your lower lip attempting to contain a bout of laughter at the dripping with sarcasm remark of the head of your guard.
William stood on your right hand side , as he always did for the past few years. His helmet under his arm, other hand twitching over where his sword was currently sheathed. Watching the events to see if it was necessary for him to interject.
Eventually your other guards manage to corral the visiting lords and princes away from one another. With tired eyes you looked to William and nodded.
“That will be all for the day.” His voiced boomed over the open hall. Mutters of frustration and complaint didn’t escape your ears but once William spoke everyone knew to listen. Your word was law, enforced by your loyalest guardsmen.
An armored hand held out to you that you took readily, lifting from your seat and being guided away from the loud noisy hall. Shouts already breaking out again and fights apparently resuming on the assumption you had fully left.
“I can’t do this anymore.” You rubbed at the bridge of your nose, blinking blearily into the bright outdoor light on the gardens once you’d left the dark dankness of the meeting hall.
William turned back to you, those bottomless eyes examining you, as if you were hurt, but you knew he understood what you meant.
“You must pick a suitor-“
“Billy! You saw all the gems we’ve encountered over the past few weeks! Selfish, boorish and spoiled brats. Thinking because I’m a woman I should be grateful that they’re asking for my hand!”
You felt hot tears stinging behind your eyes, shaking your head willing them away. Not willing to let them fall in front of William. You were the only one to ever call him Billy, a term of endearment that you used to drive home to him that you were truly and utterly done.
He stepped towards you, the plates of his armor gently clanging with the sudden movement. His hand cradling your downturned chin, a frown pasted on your face as he lifted it up to meet his gaze.
“Then we will leave. At first light tomorrow.” You felt whatever grip that had slowly been tightening around your heart over the past weeks slowly loosen. Eyes closing in relief as you felt the heat from his fingertips melting into your jaw.
To be held in this soft gesture, in a way you knew none of the men you’d seen as suitors recently could ever hold you like this. For he was not only holding your face physically, but the churning rapids of your emotions felt accepted and held as well.
William saw you, not as a breeding mare for future heirs, but as a whole. A friend, an intellectual, a lover of baked goods and sunshine, as a woman, and maybe dead last-a princess.
Once you returned to your chambers for the evening William went about the arrangements for your return home. The king would not be pleased, he knew this. But he also didn’t care.
He was trusted to take care of the princess and her alone. Politics be damned.
It turned his stomach watching these feeble, useless men attempt to prove themselves to you. They were cowards, coming from name alone, claiming to profess love for their princess but he saw through them all.
They wanted her in a gilded cage. To call upon as they liked. To sire “true heirs” then another half dozen bastards by their whores and lovers scattered through their kingdom.
William had joined the kings guard when he was just over 16, rising in ranks, seeing true battle and bloodshed. Hardening himself to the coldest winters, and even colder hearts of the elite.
Thinking himself dead inside, as a member of the guard should be, but then he was assigned to protect you. A riotous princess with no intention of being held captive by a husband.
A girl who would play in the mud with her younger cousins, who actually enjoyed her schooling and chose to participate in archery and sword fights.
His cool facade melted piece by piece over the time he stood watch. His adoration and affection growing day by day.
Your incomparable beauty only flourished more when he saw you laughing or smiling, engaging in activities that made your heart soar. Seeing you forced towards a crowd of unworthy gnashing suitors who believed to have a claim to the throne made him sick.
Sick with disgust. Sick with envy.
He didn’t deserve you but Gods, neither did they. At least if he knew one could protect you, be there for you, love you…as he did. But he knew deep down that no one could.
You sat in your chambers, packing up as many dresses as you could, fingers shaking with urgency as you dreamed of sailing home, seeing your castle come into view over the deep blue waves.
To not have to look into the eyes of another dishonest man for at least a fortnight was all you asked for. To be told you were beautiful beyond comprehension, to be force fed gold dipped lies to your face as if you being a woman, were too dumb to see through them.
You paused in your packing to look out over the balcony attached to your room, the sky having fallen dark and the full moon emerging beyond the clouds.
How you wished you could enjoy this country for its natural beauty, instead of it being soured by the actual reason you were here.
How quickly you lost your patience and wanted to leave, and how immediate William’s response had been. You could tell he was just as exhausted by the whole experience as you were.
A man of the guard who still was attentive to your needs, he’d grown to interpret and understand what you wanted before you’d even need to speak the words. Acting as a true protector and a friend.
You felt your hands curl into one of your garments, ice cold jealousy seeping into your veins for those who didn’t have to wed for profit. To gain alliances, who could wed for love.
Then you’d thought of William taking a bride and that jealousy solidified into a heavy rock in your stomach. He’d never expressed a desire in taking a wife, but you knew you couldn’t stop him should he meet the right person.
How you wished you could be that person.
It was only a handful of nights that William ever had off from watching you, but it hadn’t escaped your notice that on occasion he’d disappear from the castle. You knew because you’d searched for him.
Evading Tuomas, the other younger guard that was always assigned to you when William had a night free. Tuomas couldn’t read your mind like Billy could, knowing which halls had secret doors that you’d escape through. Or where cracks in the foundation lay big enough to hide in.
You’d search for William those nights, hoping to catch him reading in his study or half asleep on his bed and surprise him with a visit where the two of you could talk candidly. Not as guard and princess but as man and woman, equals.
But some nights he couldn’t be found, and the nagging thought in the back of your mind of him escaping to the inner city to visit a pleasure house would leech into your body and mind.
Worry, anxiety and unbridled jealousy. But there was nothing you could do, or say. It was his life and choice and you were just a ward he was hired to protect. He was paid to be your friend and confidant- as much as you wished it went beyond that.
A sharp knock at your door pulled you from the droning thoughts circling your mind. Dropping the now heavily crinkled dress from your grasp you moved to the door, easing it open.
Met with your reflection on the shining chestplate before you, eyes drifting upwards to finally settle on the chocolatey brown ones above.
“My princess?” William.
“Yes?”
“The arrangements have been made, we’ll leave at dawn.” All you could do was nod in understanding. “Shall I send for handmaidens to assist in your packing?”
“No that won’t be necessary, I’ve already begun that myself.” He nodded in acknowledgment, a loose strand of his brown hair falling forward. You ached to reach up and brush it away, letting your fingers linger on the grown in scruff that hugged his firm jaw.
“If you should need anything I’ll be in my post right here.” At that he turned facing forward, you wondered how he managed to move so gracefully and silently despite having a full armor suit on.
You closed the door slowly, retuning back to your things, folding and placing them off to the side to be packed and parceled neatly onto your ship in the morning.
Morning. Returning home. To be criticized for your actions, admonished for your lack of “princessly” duties. Returning home without a suitor chosen would reflect poorly on your kingdom, on your father, and possibly even on your younger siblings.
What state was the monarchy if the eldest daughter couldn’t even be wed off? Damn tradition , damn it all. You sat on the edge of your bed as realization stole over you.
You’d never been one for tradition, who were you to start feeling guilty now? Suddenly you felt your feet padding slowly over to the door, hand resting in the heavy iron handle. Tugging it open once more, revealing William standing where you’d left him.
Spinning on his heel to ask if you were alright, all you saw were his lips opening but before words could escape them you pushed to your tip toes, your own mouth meeting his.
The feeling of of his scruff scraping against your soft skin, the taste of his tongue gliding along yours, the exquisite rush of adrenaline pumping in your veins and pounding in your ears as every nerve ending in your mouth and body lit up.
Pulling back a fraction of an inch for breath you were met with his heady lidded eyes, a look of passion and wonderment pulled at your heartstrings as you wove your hand under the ties of his chest plate, stepping back into your room pulling him along with you.
The heavy door edged closed behind you both, the only sound your labored breathing, the candlelight in the room casting a golden glow over your bodies.
You leaned forward again to kiss him once more but a bracing hand held you at bay. Confused you looking into his eyes once more, questioning, hoping that emotion wasn’t at the forefront and didn’t reveal the hurt that potentially lay beneath.
“Princess…we mustn’t.” His voice was hoarse, gravelly, in a way you’d never heard before. Pained.
“William I-“ you what? What could you possibly say to express your true feelings? “Don’t you want me?”
A low blow. William flinched at the sorrowful tone in your voice.
“Of course I do but… it isn’t proper. You need to be…for your marriage bed-“ words fell out of his mouth messily, all his mind could focus on was the look of lust in your eyes, built up over years and the way the candlelight illuminated each of your features more beautifully than he could’ve expected.
“You mean, unsullied?” You asked, letting your hands glide over his chest, nails clanging against the metal. You swore you could hear the rapid beat of his heart under the plate. “William.”
Anguish. Pure spite for his position in life. To yearn to be with you, in every sense.
“Princess I…We can’t.” His words however didn’t match his actions as he let your hands snake up behind his head, unclasping the buckles that held his chest plate in place. He felt them loosen then give way, the harsh metal clanging to the floor.
“Don’t you want me?”
“Only every moment of every day.”
“Not at night? In your dreams?” You tauntingly trailed a finger coyly along the side of his neck, coaxing the combinations that held his pauldrons in place. The metal plates sliding free and joining his chest plate on the floor.
“In my dreams I already have you.” You didn’t bother to suppress the moan that bubbled up in your chest, eyes closing, feeling your lower body respond eagerly to his words.
Hearing your soft moan undid him, all the sleepless nights dreaming of you, imagining your touch. Here you were before him, asking if he wanted you. He did. He always had.
He no longer resisted as you moved to unbuckle his gauntlets, the bracers up his arms, each barrier to your touch falling away piece by piece until he was only in his tunic and breeches before you.
Gripping the front of his shirt you pulled him in once more, lips greedily meeting his, each taste more intoxicating than the last. Stars seemed to burst behind your eyes as you felt his own hands give way and rest along your hips, kneading the fabric of your dress which suddenly felt far too heavy and warm.
His mouth crashed against yours, wave after wave, like the sea eroding a powerful boulder. Any resolve that might’ve remained was quickly washed away. He spun you around, your hands meeting the cool stone of the wall before you, the heat of his body pressing along the length of you.
Williams lips traversed the landscape of your shoulder, traveling upwards, sucking and adorning each new inch of skin with affection. His hands responding in kind as well.
His broad hand palmed over the front of your dress, fingers entwining with the top laces of your bodice, strings coming undone. Allowing his digits to dip between the folds of the dress, drifting over exposed skin.
Nipples hardening at the sensation, a tugging so deep inside, like an invisible thread attached to every nerve ending of your body, tugging and plucking,vibrating. Then his thumb brushed against the hardened nub.
Biting your bottom lip, choking back a gasp. The soft whimper you made only made him harder. The swell of his cock straining against the confines of his pants, throbbing, begging for release.
The next thing you knew you felt the entirety of his hand slipped deeply into your dress, warmth, then the feeling of his rough calloused hand working the fullness of your breast.
Your eyes fluttered closed, savoring the sensation. Deft fingers swirled around your nipple drawing another gasp from you. You barely noticed as his other hand worked relentlessly, untying each stay on your dress, gaping open at the side.
You arch against him, pressing your backside against his clothed member and you hear the near primal growl that escaped his lips. Hands shooting away from your chest to the top of your thighs holding you tightly against him.
Your hands scrape against the masonry in the wall as he grinds into you, shockwaves bouncing around your body and settling between your legs.
You’re spun around once more, lips diving forward to meet his again. It could never, no- would never be enough. The taste of him, his scorching skin touching yours freely.
Your one hand presses against his chest, finding its way under his tunic, feeling his bare skin under your palm excites you beyond measure. Always covered in cool harsh metal, but it seemed there was flesh underneath.
The flesh of a pure blooded man, but you’d find out soon enough. Your other hand instead searched lower. Finding the distinct shape jutting out from his leather breeks you let your palm rest against it, pressing upwards following the length of him.
Gods he was huge. Not shocking but it thrilled you nonetheless. His head fell to your shoulder with a low groan, nipping at the soft skin there.
Dying to hear the noise he made again, to drink it deeply from his lips this time you let your palm graze along the front of his pants once more, applying just the right amount of pressure.
Before you could reach where the head was you felt a tight grip steadying your wrist.
“Princess if you continue this-“ your knees felt weakened at how deep his voice had become. “The night may be over before it has properly begun.”
You pulled your hand away from him once he released it instead letting it drift upwards to float against the side of his face, pressed to his cheek. His own hand reached up to hold yours in place.
Those eyes, the color of the sky at midnight, deeper than any ocean, gazed back into yours. It was nearly your undoing. Your dress had begun to sag on the side and his clever hand worked the last remaining stays free, the garment puddled at your feet.
You felt heat rise in your cheeks, being completely bare before him. His eyes shifted along each curve and divet of your body, hungrily taking you in.
Your hands splayed over the front of his chest, working underneath his tunic lifting the soft material up and over his head. Rustling his usually neatly brushed hair, seeing it loose and hanging in his face had your heart racing.
In a swift movement he’d slipped his arm behind your knees, scooping you up tenderly and moving across the bedroom. He moved easily, strong corded muscles flexed underneath you.
“William” his name a whisper on your lips, staring into the abyss behind his eyes, met with sparks of desire flashing before you.
“Princess” he set you softly down on your feet, the back of your thighs brushing against the edge of the bed. He monitored every movement you made as you knelt before him, making quick work of the laces on his breeks.
Pushing down the material of his pants, his cock freed, standing prominent. Head red and leaking, it looks so enticing. Your tongue darts out to lick your lips, then you venture a taste. A long, slow, stripe from base to tip, the salty musk of him playing along your tongue.
His head falls back, eyes closed, a furrow to his brow. You just barely touched him but he felt himself throbbing, dying to bury himself inside you. What he’d dreamt of doing for years now.
You part your lips to taste him once more but he’s lifting you up, hoisting you as If you weigh nothing. Your legs wrap around his waist, feeling the hard length of him pressed to your abdomen, moaning in response.
His lips are on you, stealing the soft noise from your mouth, tongue running the crease of your lips, begging for entrance. You grant it willingly. Kissing until you’re light headed. William’s cheeks are a rosy shade of pink that bled up onto his ears.
He smiles into your kiss once more, and you relish seeing this side of him. The taste of him on your lips only ends when you both go tumbling onto the bed, shared laughter rings out as your brush your fingers through his now thoroughly mussed locks.
“Billy-“ you gasp out feeling his large form over your own, braced on his forearms looking down at your beautiful face.
“Yes, my princess?”
“I need you. Now.” You could feel yourself clench around nothing, knowing he was so close yet too far away, aching in every way possible.
“As my lady wishes.” He placed a gentle kiss to your temple, adjusting his position, you could feel the blunt hot head of his cock lining up with your entrance. Hands subconsciously gripping the covers.
It didn’t escape his notice.
“We don’t have to-“
“What? You’d prefer we play cards?” you jest giving him a reassuring grin tilting your hips up to meet his if only briefly. He grunts at the sensation.
“Just promise me you’ll tell me if you want to stop.” The sincerity in his eyes caused you to surge forward and kiss him again, biting his bottom lip as you fell back against the covers looking up at him.
“I promise.” Reassured, William edged forward, you could feel him begin to enter you slowly, inch by inch. You let out a low moan feeling yourself be coaxed open,a brief spark of pain and then a dull ache as your body adjusted to his size.
How could pleasure and pain feel so blissful all at once? He held himself in place a moment as you felt your body relax and open more fully to him. As if sensing this change he withdrew an inch or so then pushed back in.
“You feel so good, Princess.” He managed, rocking out then in again and again. Pace beginning to quicken but still paying attention to your body, noticing any small adjustments.
“Fuck” he hissed at the next movement of his hips, you felt yourself arch your body to accommodate his next move. “You feel so fuckin good.” Hearing him speak like this had your head spinning.
Proper head of the kings guard, never spoke so filthy in probably his entire life, spilling forth blasphemy and you LOVED it. Out and In.
Every delicious inch of him.
“Billy” you gasped as he touched something deep inside you, a shudder running along your spine.
Out. In.
You were a maiden and yet your hips knew just how to meet his. Your body had some deep intelligence inside it that told it how to move.
He hissed as you tugged on the loose strands of locks you’d coiled your fingers around.
Sweat beaded your upper lip, an unnatural heat settling between you two. Feeling him drag along your sensitive walls once more had you arching upwards again, but this time adjusting both your positions.
Legs greedily wrapped around his slim hips, a seated position between you two now. His strong arms held you steadily in place as you two moved.
The change in angle as he slid into you again had you crying out. His lips were on yours tasting each delicious moan that left your lips.
How were you to find anyone else in the lands to sate your desires after this?
“Tell me you’re mine.” He said, soft, you’d almost not heard it. Maybe he hadn’t meant you to.
“I’m yours, William.”
He grunted thrusting into you with a new fervor. A punishing rhythm causing the bed to squeak against the floorboards, accompanied by each new moan echoing from your mouth, each octave higher than the last.
“All mine-“
“All yours” he growled at your response, a deep grumbling you felt rattle through your chest and sinking down to your toes.
A sort of ache tensed in your palms, a tightening sensation coiled in your stomach.
A string strung too tight, a wall with a landslide behind it, fit to burst, begging to explode.
“William, I-“
“Yes Princess, let go. Come for me.”
You gripped at his back, holding tightly to him afraid you might be torn apart from this feeling inside you.
One large hand held your back in place, the other found your thigh, hiking it higher against him, you felt yourself drifting downwards hair tossed along the sheets and pillows.
The strained grunts coming from him made you realize he was close too. The room felt hazy, a foggy glow, everything else ebbed away and all you could focus on was each new brush and sparking tingle threatening to burst fully into flame.
And burst it did.
Engulfing every inch of you, tearing through every cell in your body. Core tightening and fluttering, an explosion behind your eyes followed by an insurmountable pleasure you’d never known possible.
Your ankles had hooked behind his lower back, pulling him in-no, Needing him closer.
As if your own body was unwilling to let him go, you clenched around him and that was his undoing.
Williams body went rigid holding you to him like a vice as he groaned loudly coming, You could feel the hot spurts filling you to the brim.
He moaned your name, the first time you’d ever heard it beyond just “princess” and you swore you felt your heart truly crack open along with the rest of you.
Coming down from both your highs was slow, soft pulses of pleasure still coursed through your body as he fell to your side brushing a strand of damp hair away from your eyes.
William leaned over, propping himself up enough to place a tender kiss to your swollen lips. Your face felt hot, the comfortable warmth echoing throughout your body still.
An overwhelming emptiness took over as you felt him slide out of you, his seed spilling onto the covers beneath you. The thought of it taking root inside you, carrying his child- to run away together. Felt almost comforting.
You felt his arms wrap around you pulling you closer to him still, cradling your body next to his, both attempting to slow your breathing.
Locking eyes with William, staring deep into his soul, knowing he could easily read you as well. A glimpse of regret flashed in his eyes for a split second.
“No.” You quickly managed, peppering a few kisses along his neck and jawline, “this was right.”
Not regret for taking you, but fear of what would happen to you if anyone found out. If this night of lovemaking…lead to something. Something that would begin to show in the next few months.
“Princess…” the dull glow from the dying fireplace and moon outside illuminated you both, waves of light rippling around you. “I love you.”
He wanted to say it now. Now while you were still his. Now before you were forced to marry some useless suitor. Now before everything changed.
“Will- Billy.” You smiled sweetly at him. A smile so tender and kind he felt the painful ache in his chest increase tenfold at the thought of not seeing it directed at him again. “I’m yours.”
Pulling his face closer to yours, opening your mouth to lay another searing kiss to his lips, a stirring rising up in you once more, already excited at the prospect of him bedding you again.
“I love you too.” At that his kisses grew more fervent, more heady and intoxicating. Desire flushing through you both again, feeling him begin to harden once more against the side of your thigh.
Whatever the future held you didn’t want to think about it tonight. For the night was beautiful and clear. Your knight beside you, in the only place you ever wanted him to be and the future was a distant dream.
#billy russo x reader#billy russo#billy russo x female reader#billy russo fanfic#billy russo x y/n#the punisher#the punisher au#marvel fanfic#the punisher fanfiction#punisher fanfiction#fantasy#ben barnes character#the darkling#shadow and bone
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Here is the nutrient-dense rooibus tea that many may not be able to swallow. If you are feeling tender, please do not read any further and take good care of your body/energy.
Anything that happens in this reality is God's will, even when our minds can't intellectually understand or make sense of it. That means there are no accidents. And there will always be heartbreak and horrific suffering in this reality just like there will always be sweetness and care.
Each of us come into the world with our own roles to play. I don't know why women in Sudan live in the horrific conditions, but what I do know if that if I take advantage of the privileges I have in the West, I'm being of service to them in some way.
Through conscious actions such as choosing to go for a walk in the misty cold rain, mindful that I have no threat of being raped, over slouching down in a chair and mindlessly scrolling on the internet.
Through movement --relaxing my body with deep breaths because there is no reason for me to look over my shoulders from fear and anxiety that someone will attack me.
Through a gratitude practice--just being thankful to eat a comforting warm meal around the kitchen table with loved ones, even if it is not the most nutritious.
Through thoughtfulness: how thoughtful I am in allowing my body to receive rest when tired or kindly making enough nutritious food to share with the single mother busy with toddlers on her hand.
Through decolonial sexual intimacy --being explorative and open, having the kind of sex I enjoy, and allowing myself to be have lots of fun and live more sexually liberated.
Or through creating authentically without complaint of being tired, blocked, or hungry-- are ways that I/we favorably impact the spirit of the women in Sudan who do not have the same freedom and access that I/we have, may never meet me/us, but can feel a greater sense strength through our meaningful actions that have long legs.
Remember that we are deeply enmeshed and connected in the greater ecology of life. What I do with day has some impact upon the collective. There is a karmic gift in living in places where we have more opportunities to speak, express, and be through everything we do.
In the West, the laws of karma have been always configured into our experiences. When we just squander our energy, we create a disconnect that causes of lose even more energy/power.
Two major influences impacting karma in an undesired way are our programming and conditioning from our family line and dopamine addiction.
I like to get to the core quintessential element of transformation. If you want to transform, you need energy. And to grow your energy is to expand your consciousness.
As we open up our consciousness, we can help to favorably influence or undo our karma through our heart-based thoughts, actions, and deeds, quieting/softening the mind, expanding the nervous system, and growing our prana (life force) through evolving our energy beyond a very basic, root chakra, sexual extinct. In other words, sex must include the whole body, especially the heart. Otherwise we stay stuck in these small singular stories of ourselves.
This is a temporary school we are living in so live it to the fullest. The body is also temporary so be good to it. Get all the lessons and blessings out of this reality. When you graduate from this reality I.e. die, you wills realize, once again, how much time you wasted taking this "game of life" too seriously than what was necessary. And all of this requires some level of devotion and courage, the essences of us where we can easily become too distracted to embody.--India Ame'ye, Author
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