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moonlight-prose · 2 years

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♱ PRETTY BOY ♱

a/n: not going to lie this was going to be a fic idea a few months ago, but then i decided to throw it in with my kinktober prompts. i've been deep in my moon knight feels lately and writing for steven was a must. enjoy!

day three - face sitting | kinktober 2022

summary: date night with steven gives you all that you could have wanted and more.

word count: 2.5k+

pairing: steven grant x f!reader

warnings: MINORS DNI, cussing, pussy drunk steven, praise (m receiving), oral (f receiving), cum eating.

Date night was an annual thing Steven started. With him and Marc out being a superhero at all hours of the night, you rarely got to see your boyfriend if you weren’t helping him patch something up. Sure, he healed quickly, but with Steven he somehow managed to injure himself outside of fighting. An odd bruise here and there, a cut on his nose. All things that went away the next day.

Yet still he continued to ask for your help in patching him up. You teased him about it, telling him that he just wanted you to worry over him, but you didn’t even mind doing that.

Which led to the idea of date night. Every Saturday night he would take you wherever you wanted to go, giving you a whole night of just you and him with no interruptions. Marc played along with it. He gave you this, because he loved you just as much as Steven did—your happiness was always his top priority—and if spending the night with Steven meant you were content with them, then he let it happen. Some nights you yearned for Marc, wanting to know everything and anything he would tell you.

Except Saturdays solely belonged to Steven. The man who held your heart in his hand, who bought you flowers just because, and gifted you books that reminded him of you.

Walking down the street, you felt Steven’s hand slip into yours, a tipsy smile gracing his lips. After one whole bottle of wine and a filling dinner, the both of you were high on the endorphins of alcohol and lust. It started off innocent enough. He told you about the things you weren’t yet caught up on and you told him how things at your job were going. But then the touching set in. His thigh brushed against yours, his hand holding yours and purposely tracing the pulse point on your wrist.

Eventually you had to get out of the restaurant to get some fresh air or you’d wind up dragging him to the bathroom. Getting banned from one of your go to spots wasn’t a part of the plans for the night. So, you left. Leaving you here, walking hand in hand beside him as he led you back to his flat for the night.

You knew the second you were inside the both of you would revert back to your lustful nature. Both desperate for one another after so much time apart. But for now…you relished in this. A simple act of romance that would have seemed minor to anyone else, but to you it was everything. He wrapped an arm around your waist, brushing against the fabric of the maroon dress you chose for the night.

“I’ve missed you love.” Five days away from you was far too long in Steven’s opinion and he knew you shared the same sentiment.

Grinning, you leaned further into his hold, resting your head on his shoulder as you walked a bit unsteady in your heels. “Not as much as I’ve missed you.”

His building was just down the street, yet you didn’t want to go inside just yet. The night air was crisp and lovely against the bare skin of your legs—the sky practically sparkling with the sight of the half moon. You found it funny how often you looked up to the moon on the days Steven and Marc were gone. As if that was your way to connect to them—as if they’d hear you call out to them simply by looking at it too.

“I had a nice time,” you murmured, leaning against the wall of his building, taking in a deep breath.

Steven’s lips twitched, his eyes raking down your body with a look you knew you wore as well. The streetlamp cast a glow on the side of his face, sharpening his jaw and turning his brown eyes darker than you’d ever seen them. You knew what he looked like as Mr. Knight, knew that the suit he wore and the powers he possessed truly made him an ethereal being. But tonight…he was merely Steven Grant. The man you’d met by practically falling on top of him—the man you loved.

“Come here,” you whispered, watching entranced as he stepped closer, his hand coming to press against the wall beside your head. “You’re so pretty.”

He flushed red, eyes darting down to your parted lips. “I should be the one saying that to you love.”

“How about…” Trailing a hand up his button down shirt, you traced his bottom lip. “You kiss me instead.”

Steven didn’t need to be told twice. Surging forward he captured your lips in a kiss that practically seared through your body. You sighed, leaning into his body as his tongue swept across your bottom lip. Kissing him always felt like this. Soft, tender, and passionate enough to leave you wanting more than what he gave you. He kissed you like he knew in the back of his mind that you were breakable when held in his hands—you were his precious piece of art, something he had to protect.

It drove you wild with need.

You slid your hands into his hair, tugging sharply at his curls to hopefully elicit some sort of response.

“Steven,” you gasped, your knees buckling when his tongue delved into your mouth, sliding against yours. His other hand gripped your thigh, hiking it up around his waist in order for him to press even closer against you.

The space between you was nonexistent, but you wouldn’t have had it any other way. This was the Steven that you knew as your lover. The Steven that fucked you hard and fast into the mattress until you were incoherent. The Steven that licked, kissed, and nipped his way up and down every crack and crevice of your body. The one who wasn’t afraid of breaking you.

“I want you.” The words were tenderly pressed to his jaw and you smiled at the shuddered moan he let out—his hips bucking into yours.

“Out here?” he asked incredulously.

While that thought alone was appealing, you knew that he wouldn’t take you against the wall of a building. No, he favored comfort over the neediness of pleasure. He wanted to have you in a place where he could take his time with you. In a way that only made your heart ache for him even more, because no one had treasured you this much before. No one cared for your pleasure above their own before Steven and Marc.

“No.” You smiled, dragging your lips along his lightly. “There’s not enough room out here for that.”

He hummed in agreement against your lips, cupping your cheek lightly and brushing his thumb along the top of it. Hooking your leg even more around his hip, you dragged the evident bulge in his jeans closer, grinding against it to bring out the needy whine from him that you craved. He knew you held as much power over him as he did you and maybe that’s where the core of your pleasure stemmed from. The understanding you held with one another.

He wanted to give into you—wholeheartedly.

“Take me upstairs,” you whispered, moaning softly when his lips dragged along your throat. “Please.”

You threw in the please for your own benefit, feeling particularly needy tonight. Steven however was yanking himself away from you at the word upstairs, grabbing your hand in his and dragging you with him. The alcohol had worn off, leaving a burning desire in your chest to warm your body. Watching as he pushed a hand through his curls, heaving in a deep breath, certainly didn’t help the throbbing between your legs. If anything it made it worse.

Five minutes—and several dirty looks in the elevator—later, you were stumbling through the door of his flat. He locked the door, dropped his jacket on the chair, and was on you within seconds. Tender Steven, loving Steven, began to dissipate to the very back of his mind with every step closer you took towards the bed.

He bit down hard at the top of your right breast, sucking the skin into his mouth and smiling at the cry you let out. Meanwhile you were trying to unbuckle his jeans with shaky hands. The job was harder than you anticipated. Especially when his hand slipped beneath the hem of your dress, his fingers pressing right against your covered clit. Your head fell back as you moaned his name. The underwear you wore was practically soaked through—nothing but thoughts of tonight going through your head all dinner.

“Is all this for me love?” he asked, a slight hint of disbelief tinging the edges of his voice. Steven was always surprised when he found you wet and desperate for him. Almost as if he couldn’t quite believe you were real, let alone that you wanted him to be the one inside of you.

“Yes,” you gasped. Stumbling back, you nearly fell into his chair but his arm wrapping tightly around your waist kept you balanced.

“I want—” He paused, raising his head up to see your glazed eyes and swollen lips. His brain short circuited at the sight of you so willing to do what he wanted. If only he could get the words out.

“What do you want?” Your voice was dazed and heady with lust—just like the rest of you.

Steven took in a breath. “I want to taste you. I want you to use me.” He took your hand, leading it up to his jaw, tracing the angular curve of it until you eventually reached his lips.

Your eyes went wide with the realization, the breath catching in your throat, and very briefly Steven came to the conclusion that he made a mistake. That you wouldn’t want to do this with him. So, he tried to backtrack. Wracking his brain for anything to say that would fix this situation.

However, you dragging him to you by the collar of his shirt and roughly pressing your lips against his stopped his panic.

“Yes,” you said, the thought of riding Steven’s mouth, his jaw, all too enticing. “Fuck, I want that too.”

Somehow amidst all the kissing, you found yourself straddling him as he lay back on the bed. You still wore your heels, even your dress, but your underwear had been tossed off to the floor along with his shirt. Steven’s hands gripped your waist, his lips trailing along your shoulder with every roll of your hips onto his. If he hadn’t already told you what he wanted, you’d be sinking down onto his cock, but his request still rang loudly in your mind.

He wanted you to use him. To take your pleasure by sitting on that perfectly sculpted face of his.

You could feel yourself grow wet, your slick spreading on the tops of your inner thighs. Pulling away, you allowed yourself a moment to admire him. To imagine what seeing him between your thighs this way would look like. Steven and you had done your fair share of experimenting with one another, but this…this was new. Something you didn’t know you wanted until he said it out loud.

Climbing up his body, you hiked the skirt of your dress up until it was around your hips. His hands fell to your hips, eyes fixated on your dripping cunt as you pressed your knees on either side of his head. You’d never been so turned on in your life, but this…him, it caused an almost unbearable throbbing between your legs.

“You look…” he trailed off, running his hands around your hips, thumbs spreading you open for him to admire. “Delicious.”

Heat spread rapidly up the back of your neck at just his words alone. How were you ever going to survive him doing this?

“You look pretty,” you replied, pushing a hand into the curls that sat on his forehead. “My pretty boy.”

Steven simpered, his eyes lighting up at the compliment. You wanted to keep admiring him like this—continue to watch transfixed as his tongue ran along his bottom lip. But he wrapped his arms around your thighs, dragging your hips down and sealing his mouth over your cunt. Falling forward with a cry, your hands slapped against the wall behind his bed. It made him smile, his tongue running along your slit and sending a shiver up your spine.

“Fuck Steven,” you gasped, grinding your hips down into his mouth even further. “You’re so good at this. You look so pretty like this.”

His moan was muffled, his eyes falling shut as he sucked on your clit fervently. So much so that your eyes rolled back in your head, your hand shooting down to tug on his hair—hips rolling in short stunted thrusts. You knew you wouldn’t last long, knew that Steven was certainly capable of breaking you apart with just his tongue. Except you willed yourself to last.

Panting his name, you tried to get a hold of the control that quickly slipped away with each stroke of his tongue. Maybe if you pulled away, gave yourself some reprieve, then you’d last longer. But he didn’t like that. His arms became an unbreakable vice that kept your cunt pressed so tight against his mouth you worried you’d suffocate him. Grinding down, you let out an incoherent cry as the final strands in your control began to fray—your release building up in your stomach so tight you were afraid it would break you in two.

“Steven!” His brown eyes fluttered open to meet yours, a moan vibrating against your cunt, and that did you in.

You pressed a hand against the wall, trying to steady yourself while shocks ran up your spine and your thighs shook. The feeling was visceral. It tore through you, roaring like a tidal wave until you were unable to think of anything other than him. He kept going, licking up everything you had to give him and moaning for more. If you hadn’t stopped him with a shaky call of his name he would have certainly driven you to the very brink of insanity.

Funny thing was…you didn’t mind if he did.

On shaky legs you managed to collapse to the side of him, your chest heaving with every breath. But then you looked at him. Saw the dazed look in his eyes and how the bottom half of his face was shiny and wet with your cum. Your cunt clenched around nothing, a whimper leaving your lips.

“I want to do that again,” he said, wiping a thumb along his bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth.

How this man didn’t know he was beautiful was beyond you. This sight alone made you want to learn how to paint just to embed his image to the permanency of history.

“Baby,” you breathed, drawing his eyes back to you. “I need you to fuck me.”

He paused, eyes wide with lust and thumb still pressed to his lip. “Anything you want love.”

Reaching out your arms, Steven didn’t need to be told twice before he was laying himself over your. Kissing him, you moaned at the taste of you on his tongue. The night hours were just beginning, the moon barely reaching its highest point in the sky, and you…you were at peace with the man you loved. There was nothing more you could have wanted than simply this.

#steven grant x fem!reader #steven grant x reader #steven grant x you #steven grant x y/n #steven grant #moon knight #steven grant smut #moon knight smut #my writing #kinktober 2022

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sarcastic-sketches · 1 year

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Meeting the 501st

Carrying on from my Force of Nature AU post where I mash the TV show Primal (Genndy Tartakovsky) with the Star Wars prequels, Anakin has crash landed on a hostile planet and is now a feral amnesiac. He’s half-force and he’s going to use that to his benefit to survive this place.

So, years after Anakin has forgotten everything about himself, the Clone Wars are in full swing, the Galaxy is ready to tear itself apart, and both Dooku and the Jedi Council have taken notice of a very biologically active planet that has a bright star of a force signature on it. A force signature that could sway the tide of battle. Is there a nexus point on that planet or is it a person?

Both sides obviously don’t want the other to get it and use it against them so Obi-Wan, his padawan Ahsoka, and the 212th/501st go to the planet to check it out. (The 501st are kind of a satellite Legion that attach onto other Jedi led Battalions as and when needed… they are claiming Ahsoka as their Jedi if the war is still going when she's Knighted.) Expecting resistance from the Separatists, they don’t really anticipate the planet itself to resist them.

They soon realise this planet is hellish and the less men they have on the ground the better. Miasma fog that disorientate you and alter your memories, entire forests that move to grab ships flying overhead and bring them down to the forest floor for carnivorous fungi to feed upon, a crimson moon that crests over the horizon inciting predators to swarm and hunt on mass.

Rex says he can handle this with just Torrent and he’ll keep in regular comms with General Kenobi who is probably needed elsewhere more. Obi-Wan wants to stay, because hot damn does that force signature feel familiar but it can’t be, Anakin has been missing/dead for 4 years, and he can’t keep his priorities in order. So he leaves Ahsoka with them to keep an eye on the Force signature (that's been moving) but so far it’s keeping to the dense jungle that seems to take up half the planet. They set up camp and wait, feeling very creeped out by all the life on this planet that wants to eat and kill everything else and not seeing any clankers. Ahsoka's hackles are raised near constantly.

Fives: This is like Umbara all over again Echo: Don’t.

I’m gonna say all the boys are here because I want them to be and having only Obi-Wan lead them would have changed which battles they went to and how they fought them etc. (Also no Krell, because that guy can choke). The legions would have been shuffled around as there is one less Jedi General (who could pull a win out of his ass) to send off to different campaigns. Whenever Obi-Wan isn’t actively giving orders, he just lets Rex and Cody team up to do what they do best tbh. Rex wasn’t made a Captain of the most elite trooper calibre for no reason and there are three additional ARCs in Torrent.

They are shocked to discover that there are actually people living here but they are kept neat and secure behind their fortified walls. Tiny civilisations that strive to keep the nightmares out, by any means possible with vastly different lifestyles. You’ve got the witches who steal the life force of others to create more of their own, the humanoids who live exclusively underground to keep out of sight from aerial predators, and the more advanced communities who Do Not Leave their borders that they’ve made safe.

So the boys do similarly, making camp in a sort of fort - electrified fences, flood lights, constant fires, etc - and they are keeping watch when suddenly someone is sitting on top of a stack of crates handling their weaponry. They have no idea how he got past them but he looks human and doesn’t seem to want to eat them so they’re startled rather than threatened after a few minutes of watching him (they think it’s a him) not do much of anything. He’s clearly curious more than anything and he’s nowhere near as built as any of the clones. They could take him, right? The person looks kind of amused by their reaction anyway and darts off to a higher vantage point when one of the troops makes a grab for him. He’s a dark blonde, with hair that has grown into a curly mop, and the kind of lanky frame that's all limbs but with obvious deceptive muscle and strength to haul himself around that gracefully and that quickly. There’s also some nasty looking exaggerated canines and the clones are pretty sure humans don’t normally have reflective lenses in their eyes.

Hardcase: Uhhh, Rex, you copy? Rex: Yeah? Hardcase: There’s someone in the camp Rex: Repeat that?? Hardcase: He’s not wearing boots either. We think he came out of the jungle. Rex: On my way

Ahsoka, taking one look at Anakin, perched on top of their ship and looking down at all the gathered troopers like a cat in a tree, points and goes ‘that’s him. He’s the one we’re looking for’.

Still doesn’t really change the fact that he seems quite content to just bother them by being a nosy bastard about their camp but other than that he’s not really causing a problem. Or running away. He also has some amazing adaptation abilities - if he’s half-force, does that mean the Force is responsible for half of his genetic code? How much weird shit could come of that if the Force can handle slight morphological changes - He can grow gills if he’s kept underwater so he doesn’t drown. The reflective pupils aid him to see in the dark but during the day they are absent. Some of the men swear they’ve even seen him sporting a long flexible tail to hold things from time to time. The men all start bonding with this bizarre cryptid while Ahsoka and Anakin compare how big their fangs are and how sharp their claws are. Ahsoka is ecstatic that she now has a hunting partner because finally, someone gets it.

Rex: Didn’t think humans could get fangs like that, or claws Ahsoka: I’m not sure he’s entirely human. Seems too wild for that Anakin: Thank you Rex/Ahsoka: What

Up to this point he’s been entirely non-verbal and the troops assumed he couldn’t understand Basic. He absolutely can (retrograde amnesia doesn’t make you forget language) so he’s just been fucking with them. That’s ingrained, amnesia will not make him any less of a little shit. Thus begins the million and one questions they have for him once they realise he can speak and does understand them. He can also understand their droids.

They all start to let their guard down because huh he’s just a dude after all, trapped on a horrible planet and had to make do. It’s all fun and games until they see Anakin go from stationary to launching himself at a T-rex's throat that just charged out of the jungle in under a second.

They respect the fact that he is also an apex predator on this planet from that point onward.

#star wars #star wars writing #Anakin Skywalker #Captain Rex #Ahsoka Tano #obi wan kenobi #501st battalion #the clone wars #star wars au #sw au #Force of Nature #feral!anakin

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at1nys-blog · 6 months

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Hi, I don’t know how to properly make one so if it looks chaotic just know I don’t have any clue how to make this properly. Let just start then.

How to requests posts:

You can: request as an anon

But: leave an rappresentative emoji/letter/phrase/whatever

Why: so I know if you already requested, in that case it will pushed unless no one new requested something.

You can: ask me to write a fem/male!reader

If: you don’t I’ll automatically make gn!reader

You can: give reader a specific nationality/job.

You can: request a SMAU

But: you HAVE to give me more details, which can be discussed on private if you want

Or: you can trust me and leave it to me

But: in this case it might take me longer than usual.

In this case: at least tell me how you want things to develop; any plot twists involved I WONT ACCEPT A SMAU REQUEST FROM ANONS SINCE I WILL TAG PEOPLE

Please: say if you want a male!reader because my SMAU are always a fem!reader, is easier for me like that

You can: request a Character x Character

Might add more

Things I won’t write:

Romantic xreader insert for minors celebrities. As for now just Xikers. Just give me a name to use

Anything with cheating involved.

Anything with pregnancy.

No smut. Might change but as for now I won’t. I have nightmares since the last time I tried

ANYTHING THAT ROMANTACISES MAFIA RELATIONSHIP. This is very important pls take it in consideration.

ANYTHING FOR YUK1O OKUMURA AND T3TTA KISAKI. Another important rule to follow. I don’t like the guys I won’t write for them no matter what. Of course they’ll be mentioned, I just don’t want the focus to be on them.

I will not write kdrama ff. Both reader insert or Character x Charaxter

Might add more

I will not make a gn!reader SMAU AND THIS IS JUST BECAUSE IM NOT VERY COMFY WITHOUT A SPECIFIC GENDER FOR THOSE TYPE OF FANFICTION I’m pretty sure you can find blogs that does that, sorry if I’m not that type of blogs 😞

What might be taken down:

Why: they might not tell me anything. But try your luck I guess

Requests with celebrities or fandoms I don’t know

Why: I don’t have enough knowledge about them

Requests for latest MCU tv shows

Why: I didn’t like them, I don’t know what happened

Requests for fandoms I don’t follow anymore. Ex: Harry Potter; Doctor Who

Why: I might not have any ideas for those unless you have one

Attack on titans. I liked the first couple of seasons but then it got meh for me

Might add more

Things I will write:

Angst

Friends-2-lovers

Enemies-2-lovers my favorite

Strangers-2-lovers

And so on

Suggestive is a green light so ask if you want

Single parent!Au

Fantasy!Au and more

Smau

Fake texts

Headcanons

Might add more

For who I write:

But 1st, a couple of important things:

I might need to age up some underaged characters depending on the request

Is going to be divided in 5: List #1 is about my top favorite show/anime/manga/celebrities not counting One Piece and the MCU tv shows are about fandoms that I think no one writes for/writes less for THIS IS A FIXED LIST WILL MAYBE CHANGE SLIGHTLY IN THE FUTURE BUT ONLY IF I FIND SOMETHING THAT I LIKE AS THOSE FANDOMS AS WELL; List #2 is about fandoms I write for rarely because I am always for a loss of ideas; List #3 fandoms I haven’t wrote for yet; List #4 list of fandoms I never thought to write for but I won’t mind writing if someone asked.

MAINLY DOES NOT MEAN I WILL NOT WRITE FOR OTHER CHARACTERS. IT JUST MEANS THEY KINDA HAVE PRIORITY

List #1:

BLUE EXORCIST

Mainly: Bon, Renzo and Rin

One piece

Mainly: Zoro, Eustass Kid, ShanksxBuggy

Tokyo Revengers

Mainly: Mitsuya, Haitani brothers and Hanma

MCU LOKI HAWKEYE AND MOON KNIGHT

HVITSERK/MARCO ILSØ

MAMAMOO

DREAMCATCHER

Block B

Mainly: P.O.

Six of crows

List #2:

Actors in general will take longer if I don’t know the one you requested

Ateez

Stray kids

Grey’s anatomy

MCU

Criminal Minds

My hero academia

Alice in Borderland

Mainly: Chishiya and Kuina

List #3

Other Marvel movies/tv shows

Vikings

Mainly: Floki (non romantic), Ubbe, Hvitserk and Ivar

The last kingdom

Supernatural

Mainly: Dean Winchester

Jujutsu Kaisen

Chainsaw man

Fullmetal Alchemist: brotherhood

Noragami

List #4

IF YOU SEE A FANDOM YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUESTS IN THIS SECTION IT DOES NOT MEAN I AM NOT GOING TO WRITE FOR IT IS JUST I NEVER WROTE AND I WONT WRITE UNLESS PEOPLE ASK FOR IT SO ASK ANYWAY

Avatar the last Airbender

Trigun Stampede (2023)

Fire Force (anime ver.)

The legend of Korra

Aespa

Itzy

Seventeen

Twice

(western) singers

2 Broke Girls

One Chicago

Stranger Things

Sweet Home

The Last of Us (tv show ver.)

The umbrella academy (might take a while I have to rewatch it)

Game of Thrones

Doctor who

Percy Jackson

Merlin

Harry Potter

#requests #requests rules #requests are welcome #taking requests #writing requests #smau #anime smau #kpop smau #smau show

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kanadabiscuits · 1 year

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I posted 3,408 times in 2022

93 posts created (3%)

3,315 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ckerouac

@azraeldoesnotdispute

@whisky-soul

@timothyolyphant

@kaijuscientists

I tagged 2,928 of my posts in 2022

Only 14% of my posts had no tags

#pedro pascal - 385 posts

#fan art - 252 posts

#the mandalorian - 241 posts

#*cackles* - 134 posts

#timothy olyphant - 130 posts

#our flag means death - 129 posts

#chris evans - 117 posts

#sebastian stan - 101 posts

#oscar isaac - 99 posts

#moon knight - 89 posts

Longest Tag: 123 characters

#oh my heart i've had it up to here with disfunctional skywalkers making poor choices about emotional connections and family

My Top Posts in 2022:

See the full post

80 notes - Posted August 2, 2022

youtube

Oh no, they’re adorable.

111 notes - Posted October 7, 2022

This whole Twitter debacle makes me very thankful for this hellsite (affectionate).

I like my wonky, slightly broken but comfortable Tumblr. It’s like that ancient but ridiculously comfortable sofa in the rec room: You know exactly how to sit in it to avoid all the lumps and broken springs, sometimes you find treasures buried in the cushions, sometimes you and all your friends pile on to watch tv together, and sometimes it’s just you, a cat, a cup of tea, and fan fic on a rainy day.

133 notes - Posted November 7, 2022

I am not sure where to even start in expressing my love for what they are doing with Andor. I thought when they announced this series that this was just going to be a show about Cassian Andor, but it isn’t. Not really. With each character they introduce, each layer they reveal, I have been delighted to discover that I am watching the Rebellion’s origin story. And it is messy, filled with people who are trying to work together against an enemy that has not fully revealed itself, and even those who would rebel are unfocused and have widely divergent goals and priorities.

But you can see the ember and it is exciting to watch the tiny flame wobble and flicker and inevitably catch.

Also the music score. Also the beauty of the cinematography and the seamless integration of fx and natural backdrops. Also the sheer number of characters they have introduced and allowed to have time and story enough for me to love, and to break my heart if they die or betray or are betrayed. Also for once the Empire is not simply faceless troops and nameless commanders marching in the background while Vader and the Emperor menace the world, now it is a truly terrifying organization or military and bureaucracy, filled not with zealots to the cause, but men and women who have chosen this side and who ruthlessly claw and backstab to gain power and rise in the ranks. This is an evil we all know from watching the news each day. It’s chilling and it is effective.

So good. Andor is just SO GOOD. It is well-crafted, tightly written, enthralling, and just... stellar storytelling. Bravo. I cannot wait for the rest.

193 notes - Posted October 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Oh. OH. *sits here with eyes wet from emotion*

THAT’s why the colours of the Rebellion are orange and white...

989 notes - Posted November 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #yes this seems correct #Youtube

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violet-primrose · 4 months

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As the description says, this is basically a place where you can find The Sims 4 (maxis match) custom content, and various fan fiction content! The plan is to one day organize everything by tags, but since that's not a priority right now, you can navigate this blog as follows: ❇️ TheSims4 cc can be found under the "Posts" section; • There's everything from save files, create-a-sim, to build&buy – only things I download 🌻😊 📖 Fic recommendations, plus works I save to read at a later time, are under the "Likes" section. • There's Marvel (mostly Steve, Bucky, Peter Parker, Moon Knight and their actors), Harry Potter, One Pice, Stranger Things (Eddie and Steve), a little Percy Jackson and the Olympians (mostly Leo), a sprinkle of Sandman (Dream/Morpheus), a dash of Top Gun Maverick (Bradley Bradshaw/Rooster), and maybe some other fandoms I'm forgetting about 🌱🥰

Please remember to be kind and respectful to each other! and also to me, since English isn't my first language :)

Happy reading, and happy simming! ✨

#navigation #be my guest #bem vind@s #fic rec #ts4mm

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walriding · 9 months

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@smugliar asked: ❝ call me sentimental, but i worry about you. ❞

moon knight starters || accepting

He's never fully trusted Ace's motives. Even before, when they'd been able to share the pseudo-warmth of the campfire, it was obvious that the gambler's own interests were always the top priority. Ace cared about things, sure -- but only when they benefitted him in some way. That was how Miles saw it, at least. And their little arrangement, whether it was just a friendship or it was ever destined to turn into something more, was just another one of those things. What he couldn't completely figure out was what Ace thought he gained from it. From him. Was it really just physical? A little fun, a little stress relief? Or was there ever more to it?

In some ways, this new version of Ace is easier to read. Miles doesn't have to wonder about what's hiding behind that smirk and those sunglasses, doesn't have to ask himself if his pockets will get picked through before he's left to bleed to death in a cornfield or some similar bullshit. Now at least he knows what Ace wants -- to hoard a casino's worth of useless shit and kill anyone he thinks is trying to cross him. That, and do the Entity's bidding, whatever the fuck that entails.

He's more of himself in these moments between trials, but even then it's a warped version of the man Miles knew before. Still a bit of a sleazy charmer, sure, but there's an edge to it. An accusation as sharp as the knife passing between the killer's -- many -- hands. He doesn't trust Miles' intentions.

Ironic.

"Why do I find that hard to believe? I can wander around by myself without causing trouble, y'know." His hands are up, palms open and notably empty. "Nothing up my sleeves, either. You wanna pat me down? Give all those extra paws of yours something to do?"

#smugliar #(ʀᴜɴ ʜɪᴅᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅɪᴇ) ;;; Vᴇʀsᴇ: Dᴇᴀᴅ Bʏ Dᴀʏʟɪɢʜᴛ #now in beta editor!

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aphrostarot · 3 years

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What is Going on in Your Connection

What is happening in the connection between you and the person you are thinking of?

Please remember that this is a general reading and some things may not apply to you. Don't force it to fit. I offer paid readings on my page if you would like a personal reading. Prices are listed there. Please message me if you are interested!

Pile One (Rose Quartz):

Person A (Could be you or them)

For the sake of simplicity, I will be calling you partner A but you may resonate with partner two, and if that’s the case you will need to swap out the yous and theys.

Who are you currently?

Five of Wands:

The energy I am getting here suggests that you and/or this person were in a competitive and jealous relationship in the past. It was not a healthy relationship at all, and it was very painful. This does not have to be romantic, it can also be platonic.

Eight of Cups:

Right now, you're leaving that in the past. Healing from that relationship. You are managing to get through it, no matter how much it hurts, which demonstrates your strength and willpower. Even so, you're still in the process of healing from that relationship.

What are your thoughts on the connection?

Three of Cups:

You find this person very interesting, funny, and great partner material. Their presence would not bother you at all, as you want to spend time with them. You think you two are a perfect match. You want to go to parties with them. It is important to you that they meet your family and friends because you believe that they will get along well with them.

Oracle:

Feast:

It's important to slow down and acknowledge how far you've come. Don't forget to celebrate yourself and what deserves celebrating. If you don't slow down and recognize how far you have come, you will make your life far worse than it needs to be. Your guides are telling you to slow down, you need to listen to them.

Person B (Could be you or them)

Who are they currently?

The World:

The two of you seem to be mirroring each other. Following a period of completion, you are both ready to begin a new chapter of your lives.

Page of Cups:

After having gone through that phase of completion, now they are ready for a fresh take on life and love. They are trying to accomplish this. As a result, they are becoming more empathetic, romantic, and childish. It is as if they are looking through rose-colored glasses more often.

What are their thoughts on the connection?

Nine of Pentacles:

It is their dream to marry you. They want a very traditional relationship in which they are the provider. Taking care of you is important to them. They see you as the product of all their hard work.

Seven of Pentacles:

Although they are not in the position to be in a relationship right now, this card shows that their love for you will develop over time. They are willing to wait for you to come into their lives. If they are already in your life, this shows that they are willing to wait for this period in your relationship to end, they are willing to wait for you.

Oracle:

Mural:

This person’s guides are telling them to make sure they are their own first priority. For a long time, they have put everyone else before themselves, but now it's time for them to put on their own oxygen masks before focusing on everyone else. Currently, they are focusing on themselves, making sure they are okay.

The Connection

What is happening behind the scenes of the connection?

Knight of Wands:

Both of your guides are working endlessly to bring the two of you together, to make the two of you work. A lot of fast movement is taking place behind the scenes of this connection. Both of you are unaware of this, but your guides are working tirelessly to bring you together.

Six of Cups:

This is a soulmate card. As soulmates, your guides recognize that you two are being pulled together. Your souls are aligned, and you are being guided to each other. If you have the feeling that they are your soulmate, but don't believe it, this is the guide's way of telling you that you are right, this is your soulmate.

Six of Pentacles:

Your guides are putting a lot of people in your lives to help the both of you come together. They are being very generous with the two of you, they want you two to be together and they are giving both of you their best effort to make this work.

Oracle:

Thorns:

In this card, you are putting your own crown on every single day and then focusing on everyone else. Currently, both of you are concentrating on yourself so that when you two get together, you will be able to help others since you helped yourselves first.

Pile Two (Fuchsite):

Person A (Could be you or them)

For the sake of simplicity, I will be calling you partner A but you may resonate with partner two, and if that’s the case you will need to swap out the yous and theys.

Who are you currently?

Knight of Wands:

Currently, you are feeling very enthusiastic about life. You have been moving very quickly and pushing through life with great excitement. The pedal is firmly on the floor, and you are speeding towards your dreams.

King of Pentacles:

You dream of being on top, of becoming a leader in your field, of being someone that everyone looks up to. You are racing towards this goal. You want to be successful and financially stable and that is coming in.

What are your thoughts on the connection?

King of Cups:

The King of Cups is very romantic and very empathic. You are devoted to this person and want only the best for them. You believe this person could be the one for you, the one you would like to marry and spend the rest of your life with.

The Moon:

Since you are such a romantic you feel like you are not viewing this connection correctly. Part of you thinks that it is too good to be true and that you don’t view this correctly. You feel like this is another situation like you have been in the past.

Oracle:

Potion:

You understand the importance of self-care and what it means to practice it. However, there has been a lapse in your own self-care for some time, and your guides are telling you that right now, you need to take care of yourself. As soon as you do this it will help this person to come into your life.

Person B (Could be you or them)

Who are they currently?

Two of Swords:

They had been in a stalemate in their life and it was really hard for them. They needed to make a decision and they didn’t which caused them to live in this stalemate. They had people in their life who caused more harm than good and they knew that they needed to do something about it but they chose to turn a blind eye. Resulting in a stalemate.

Three of Cups:

Having this card come out too is showing me that they are no longer in that stalemate or they are just about to come out the other side. They're celebrating and they're very happy. They are happier than they have been in a long time. They have regained their footing or they are about to. They however are still on a healing journey.

What are their thoughts on the connection?

Four of Swords:

Currently, they are not ready to start a relationship yet because they are in a rest period. After getting out of the rough patch, they are trying to regain their strength. For a while, they want to heal and be alone.

Page of Swords:

They are interested in you, they can feel your energy and your presence and this makes them want a relationship with you. They have considered it. However, the things they have gone through in their life are holding them back from actually pursuing this relationship.

Oracle:

Castle:

This is the card of healing. This person is going through a period of healing themselves. This is all that they are focused on currently. Their guides are pushing them to maintain on this path, to heal so that they can be ready for a relationship.

The Connection

What is happening behind the scenes of the connection?

The Hierophant:

As this card represents tradition and marriage, it is telling me that you and this person will eventually get married. Both of your guides are pushing you to get to this point together. As this card also represents slowness, it also tells me that it will take some time, but that it will happen in the end.

Knight of Cups:

The romance card represents a relationship filled with devotion and passion. Both of your guides are bringing this to you. You two will be together one day you just have to be optimistic.

The Emperor:

In both of your lives, your guides have been elevated to a leadership position. The two of you are being led towards each other. They are helping mold you both into the people you are meant to be at the time of your relationship.

Oracle:

Flower:

The two of you may struggle to be honest with yourselves and your guides are saying that while you are together you will be more willing to be honest with yourselves. During this relationship, you will be more optimistic and aware.

Pile Three (Amethyst):

Person A (Could be you or them)

For the sake of simplicity, I will be calling you partner A but you may resonate with partner two, and if that’s the case you will need to swap out the yous and theys.

Who are you currently?

Four of Wands:

After a period of instability, your life has been very stable. You are ready to settle down, start a family, and plant roots. Create something of your own after living a life where you haven’t been able to plant your own roots.

The World:

The World is showing that you have reached an ending in your life. With the Four of Wands, it is telling me that the ending is in instability. You have found stability for the first time in a long time, and this has given you the chance to reassess what you want out of life.

What are your thoughts on the connection?

Knight of Pentacles:

Seeing as though this is the card of patience, this is showing me that you are willing to wait for this relationship. This person feels like they could be the one and you know that you do not want to rush into anything so, you are willing to take it slow and wait.

Ace of Pentacles:

You feel all warm and fuzzy when you think of this person; they make you very happy. As I mentioned before, you think that they are the one for you and you want to build a foundation with them. This card also suggests that you are willing to take things slow and wait as long as it takes. If you are already in this relationship, this is telling me that you are waiting for this person to propose. You want a ring.

Oracle:

Castle:

Taking the path of healing, and following your intuition, is the message of this card. Your guides are saying that you have taken the time to heal yourself in the recent past. You have focused on yourself and have listened to your intuition, which has told you that you needed some time alone to heal. And now that you are on the outside, you are ready to spend time with someone other than yourself.

Person B (Could be you or them)

Who are they currently?

Seven of Cups:

They are being faced with a choice. They have things going on in their life and have many options to get out of it but they are having trouble making that decision.

Seven of Swords:

This decision may have something to do with a betrayal of some sort. To me, it feels like they are dealing with a toxic ex or a toxic friend. Something that caused them a lot of pain. The reason they are struggling with this decision is that this person has a soft spot in their heart and they don’t know how to let them go.

What are their thoughts on the connection?

Three of Cups:

They want to spend time with you, they think that you are very funny and interesting, they want to spend time with you. They definitely are interested in you and have thought about being in a relationship with you.

Page of Wands:

They think you're cool and that you're fun to be around. This is another card showing that they have definitely thought about being in a relationship with you. If you are worried that they think you are crazy, this is not the case, they definitely think you are cool.

Oracle:

Lighthouse:

They are in a period of life where they feel like they are the only one who has their back. They have gone through that heartache and this has made them feel very abandoned and alone. Their guides are saying that they need this period of alone time to focus on themselves so they can heal and be whole again.

The Connection

What is happening behind the scenes of the connection?

High Priestess:

Your guides do not want you to know what is happening in this connection yet. All they are willing to tell you with this card is that what is meant for you, will never pass you up. Your guides are there to help guide you to what is meant for you, so, your guides are helping to guide you to this person.

Nine of Pentacles:

Your guides are leading the two of you together. Though, they want you to know that this will take some time. Your relationship with this person will be very traditional and you will have a lot in common. You will be attached at the hip. They want you to make sure that you have friends, hobbies, and other things outside of this relationship because you may end up lost in a bubble with them.

Knight of Wands:

Your guides want you to know that they are working hard to bring you together in the future. You two are not yet fully prepared for this relationship, your guides say. This is why it will take some time before the two of you get together. Before you get together, you need to focus on yourselves. According to your guides, this is the best course of action.

Oracle:

Universe:

In this relationship, you will learn that you are a mere speck in the galaxy of the universe, that you are not alone, and that you have an important role to play in your own world. In your individual worlds, you will accomplish a lot even if it does not have an effect on the whole universe. Your guides assure you that it is still very important.

Though tips are not required, they are very much appreciated. Thank you! Venmo: @ aphrostarot

Paypal: paypal/aphrostarot

#pick a pile #pick a card #tarot pull #oracle readings #spirituality #diviniation #astrology #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces

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anondudeao3 · 3 years

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Fic Recs!

Since I'm on hiatus, I've finally had time to do some reading, and I thought I'd give some fic recommendations, since I won't be posting for quite a while. These are my absolute favourites!

(I split this into two posts — one for JayDick and one for JayTim — because once I finished with the first half, I realised it was quite long)

JayTim

19th of October

By: gothamnight

Word Count: 8,395

Summary: Jason's stuck in a time loop and forced to relive the same day over and over again. Surprisingly, it's not that bad when he spends every day with Tim.

→ A 'Groundhog Day' scenario! It's so (bitter)sweet seeing Jason slowly fall in love with a Tim who completely doesn't even remember that they don't hate each other. And a happy ending!

Honeymoon

By: cinnamon_skull

Word Count: 14,793

Summary: Tim and Jason go undercover as a just-married couple celebrating their honeymoon in order to catch a high-profile drug lord. Hand-holding, kissing, secret rendezvous and bed sharing ahead.

→ Who doesn't love a good fake relationship fic? The ever-mounting tension between Jay and Tim is just chef's kiss, and seeing the difference between the ease with which Tim seduces people for the case vs how flustered he gets when things get too intimate with Jay is hilarious.

Worlds Apart

By: commanderquill

Word Count: 22,984

Summary: “Let me get this straight,” Bruce says, in full Batman regalia save for the cowl hanging from his neck, and Jason shuffles awkwardly. “You met the only merboy in all of Poseidonis, and within minutes of knowing him agreed to break into Atlantis’ highest acclaimed science laboratory to steal an experiment of top research priority, because it felt like the right thing to do? Even though you didn’t actually know what you were doing at first?”

“Was he cute?” Barbara pipes in with zero grace. “What?” she says in response to Bruce’s look. “It’s an important question. Boys are stupid around pretty people. You’ve met Dick, right?”

→ Okay, this one is pre-slash, but it's so fucking cute and well written I had to include it! It's little Jay and little mer!Tim having an adventure (small heist) together! It's so fun, you won't regret reading it. (I also recommend checking out their other works, especially 'One Step Closer', although it is unfinished and possibly abandoned it's so good. More kid Jay and Tim goodness!)

Forget Me Not

By: wellthatjusthappend

Word Count: 30,423

Summary: “It’s always nice to know how disposable we are to them, isn’t Replacement?”

“Jason?” Tim’s head snapped up, tension coiling all through him.

“Don’t worry though, we’re gonna prove them all wrong again.”

→ This is a heavy, angry one, but it hits so fucking good. Tim has been missing for almost two years, and when Jason finds him he has a lot to work through with how the whole family assumed he was dead and didn't look for him. Jason is only grudgingly helping him recover at first, and they don't exactly like each other, but watching them slowly get closer, and watching Tim grow into himself and the ways he's changed because of his experience is really beautiful. It's always fun to read morally grey Tim, and the writing really makes it feel so righteous, like Tim deserves to do the things he does.

strange fear i ain’t felt for years

By: Sister

Word Count: 31,350

Summary: “Can’t believe a pretty thing like you has to come begging to the Red Hood,” he says against Tim’s neck. “Thought they’d be lining up down the block for you. Thought Daddy would need to get the shotgun.”

“You’re the one with the shotgun,” Tim points out.

Tim’s benched with a broken arm and starts playing Jason’s personal Oracle. Things escalate.

→ Probably hilariously unnecessary to rec this, since it has almost 86.5k views on AO3, but it was one of the (if not possibly the) first JayTim fic I ever read. I reread it somewhat recently and still love it. The whole concept of Tim playing Jay's personal Oracle is one I love dearly, and I go wild for it every time I see it in fics. There's hot phone sex and exciting casefic elements too! If you somehow haven't read this, I definitely recommend!

The Knight's Quest

By: chibi_nightowl

Word Count: 67,449

Summary: Sir Timothy Drake never wanted to be a knight. But when his parents send him off on a quest to slay a dragon, what else was he to do? Of course, said dragon has his own thoughts on the matter and his counterproposal is much more enticing than a fiery death.

→ Ohhhh this one. THIS ONE. The fantasy was done so well. The plot was amazingly engaging, the descriptions were so immersive, the emotion, the worldbuilding. This story has it all. I promise you, you will not regret reading this one, it's positively magical. (I also recommend all of their other works, especially the 'Moon, Snow, and Ice' series! But seriously, all their works. There are so many and I've read them all, and they're all amazing.)

Bite Your Tongue

By: dnawhite76, Prubbs

Word Count: 109,135

Summary: Being raised by a famous actress and and hockey legend, Jason learned at an early age that his dirty laundry would always be up for public display. But that never bothered him until rumors started flying about his relationship with the internet's favorite rookie defenseman.

→ Now, if you're like me and you generally don't like super AU AUs — particularly no capes — (despite the surprisingly several over both rec lists, which I guess just shows that some of the best fics can be the ones that aren't what you're looking for!), you may be thinking why hockey? Just read it. It's so good. I honestly have no fucking clue what made me click it the first time, but I'm so glad I did. I don't know anything about hockey, I have zero interest in sports normally, yet this fic managed to be super engaging and interesting with all of the playing and hockey talk. And also the premise of them being shipped together by fans? Adorable and hilarious.

Edit: because I am just now rereading BYT for the first time in a while and I forgot, just a warning, it does use a slur for Romani once.

#jaytim #fic rec #jaytim fanfic

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phantom-of-the-501st · 2 years

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This is kind of a carry on from my last post about Mando S3 probably being delayed.

------

So this is going to be a controversial take, but can we start prioritising the Star Wars shows over the Marvel ones?

The reason I say this is because there are still frequent MCU films coming out, but that isn't the same for Star Wars. Now I love both, but there seems to be a huge amount of Marvel stuff in comparison to SW and it's a little irritating as someone who is wanting content for each.

Now the apparent release plans for this year (according to the Disney Shareholders meeting) are as follows:

Moon Knight

Multiverse of Madness

Kenobi

Andor

Love and Thunder

Wakanda Forever

She Hulk

Ms Marvel

Disclaimer: This isn't necessarily the planned release order.

Looking at this, the current release schedule consists of 3 MCU movies, 3 MCU shows and 2 Star Wars shows. This doesn't feel particularly balanced.

It gets even more annoying when you consider the fact that What If S2 and Secret Invasion were also rumoured to come out this year (though I am not sure they were mentioned at the meeting and the available time is also an issue).

On top of that, the only other Star Wars content for this year (The Bad Batch S2 and The Mandalorian S3) have both been taken off the release schedule.

It's annoying.

Like I said earlier, I'm a fan of both, so I'm excited for new MCU content, but the fact that there's so much of it that it's pushing all the SW content back irks me.

Personally, I think the SW shows should be given a little more priority because it's the only SW content we're getting (and we're not even getting it).

The continued delays of the stuff we want more of to make way for new content to also wrap our head around is becoming a little too much.

#please slow a little on the new content Disney #the mandalorian #din djarin #grogu #mando #mando and grogu #boba fett #star wars #the book of boba fett #baby yoda #book of boba fett #mcu #marvel

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lovecanbesostrange · 3 years

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It started with an ask on konako’s blog, that led to a small scene with Red kneeling before the Evil Queen. (x) That was almost Red Queen fun. But it spun into something very dark, because the Evil Queen did capture Red and torture as punishment followed (this goes into dead-dove territory, you are warned, it’s messed up). Here are 4k words of what happened in the palace dungeon afterwards (spoiler alert, excessive use of silver):

summary: Red made the Evil Queen look foolish and gets utterly destroyed for it (graphic depictions of violence included)

Finally a little triumph. The Evil Queen went down the stairs into the dungeon. Every step of her well-shined heeled boots echoed loudly from the stone steps. Sometimes she wished she had more patience to make good use of the cells down here. But she was bored too easily not getting answers and the prisoners died quickly. Her torturer barely had anything to do. Why did she even pay him anymore? (Did she pay anyone in the palace? They were allowed to live and had nice enough accommodations and food, for sure that was enough.)

But now Regina wanted to take all the time in the world. Her knights had captured that wolf woman! After the bloodbath she had caused weeks ago that made Regina look foolish, she would enjoy their time together now. And it would send Snow White a message in the end.

Two guards were posted outside the cell and two inside. Of course knowing they dealt with a werewolf made handling the prisoner easier. For one the full moon was a couple of nights away. And silver was easy to come by to keep her in line. Regina had also instructed her blacksmith to forge some chains in preparation for when she would be captured. It had been a priority task.

When Regina entered the cell she smiled and took in the sight. Red was chained up in the middle of the room. She was stripped down to her undergarments, her clothes on the floor, except for her cloak that was draped over one of the tables. Her arms were raised above her head, wrists bound by the heavy cuffs each connected to a chain going through a loop in the ceiling and then stretching all the way to a bolt in the wall. Her ankles were cuffed as well, a short heavy chain in between so she couldn’t take any significant steps. Not that she could run away, since her toes barely reached the ground. Red had to carry her weight in her arms, shoulders.

“Well, well, well, so we meet again.” Regina took her time to enter and circled Red, who tried to follow her with her eyes. “You made quite a spectacle the last time.”

“Do you want an apology?” Red’s voice was firm. Too firm for Regina’s taste.

“I don’t think you could muster up an honest one. You’re a deceiver.” Regina stopped in front of her. “Begging for those peasants’ lives and then killing my men.” She grabbed Red’s chin with her thumb and index finger. “You said there was no need for bloodshed and you happily slaid them anyway.”

“I wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t tried to take me.”

“As if you thought I would let you walk away from there.” Regina looked closely into those green eyes. Was the bravado real or just posturing? “Don’t get me wrong, the way you killed those men without a second thought was impressive. I can admire that. But the humiliation it would have been to return to the village and enact punishment, admitting to being defeated that day - I can’t let that slide.” She slapped Red across the cheek.

Red closed her eyes and didn’t turn her face back up. She was glad the villagers had been spared. Regina didn’t know how long she had stuck around to make sure there was no retaliation. And whatever was about to follow, would have been worth it. Snow had her plans to strike and they were close to luring the Queen into a trap. But every day more innocent people could die and Red could not sit by. She owed it to the victims of the wolf to use her strength for good now.

She heard Regina take a few steps back and looked again. The cloak was in her hands now. “Do you have any other name or should I just call you Red. Not very original, is it? Naming yourself after a bit of fabric.” Her fingers traced the patterns. “I sense magic in this. But I guess asking about it will not bring me answers, right? Just like any of Snow White’s plans won’t leave your lips.”

Statements. The Evil Queen had made up her mind already, questions weren’t part of whatever this encounter was. Red turned her hands around and tried to get a grip on the chain, change her position the slightest bit to take some strain off of her already burning shoulders.

“Do you know there isn’t much to find in books about your kind?” Regina exchanged the cloak for something else from the table. It reflected a bit of the amber light emitted from the fireplace and Red could see it was a simple dagger. “The one thing that is said over and over though is your weakness towards silver. I’m curious. Is it just the metal or wounds inflicted by it?”

Red already clenched her jaw before Regina put the blade against the skin on her upper arm, preparing to get cut. But instead Regina pressed the flat side on her skin first. Definitely silver. Pure. Red felt the effect in a matter of seconds and bit down, grinding her teeth.

Regina stood close again, caught her eyes with her gaze and kept pressing the blade against the tender side of her arm. “Don’t worry, I will write down everything I’m about to do here, so the books can add a chapter about how to break a wolf when in their human form.” And with that she turned the dagger and cut the skin. Red flinched, more from the shock than the actual pain. It was a relief actually to have the silver leave her.

“Are there noteworthy differences between a cut with this,” Regina lifted the dagger, “and a normal blade?” She gestured towards one of the guards and he immediately unsheathed a dagger from his boot. Without hesitation Regina reproduced the cut on the other arm. The blood almost tickled as it ran down. “Oh no, I’m making a mess. Getting blood out of clothes is such a hassle.”

Regina let one of the daggers fall down and with the other cut along the seams of Red’s top half of what she was left wearing. Red closed her eyes again as she felt air hit her exposed body. She knew which weapon Regina held and she could feel the silver being drawn over her skin, over her collarbone, between her breasts, down to her navel. The point barely left a scratch, but the offending metal felt like being brushed with a nettle. Red took in deep, sharp breaths through her nose.

That reaction was exactly what made Regina go slower with her movements. It wasn’t the sharpness that left the light red mark, no, it appeared the longer she held the blade in place. What an interesting sight to watch. Regina brought her free hand up to Red’s chin again, this time squeezing her jaw with her palm, digging her fingers into her cheek. Red looked at her again.

“You know, the longer you resist, the more adamant I will be to make you scream. That is how these things work.” She brought the dagger up to Red’s forehead, this time with the edge to cut into her skin again. It took a few seconds, but then the blood running over her eyebrows made Red blink.

“Can you hold this for me?” With that she wedged the silver dagger between the torn clothes and Red’s hips. Red squirmed trying to get away, but the blade touched her thigh ever so slightly. “I learned a valuable lesson the other day. A blacksmith works with iron. Like those chains holding you. Not used to working with silver. You would have to ask a silversmith about it. I even found one and he is working on special silver cuffs for me. Or rather, for you.”

Regina stood at the table again, her back to Red. When she turned around she held up a necklace. “So for now, I have to settle for delicate jewelry instead of the collar you deserve.” Under any other circumstance Red would have admired the piece. Obviously the star-shaped ornament was meant to hold a gemstone in place, a diamond or a sapphire, but this was stripped down to the silver components for one purpose only. “So you will get used to a leash later,” was all Regina added as she put it around Red’s neck.

Red held on. Her skin was crawling all over, the itch on her thigh burning already, but she tried to stay as still as possible. She couldn’t do anything against the tears forming in her eyes, betraying her brave face though.

Regina stood before her, brows furrowed. “Your healing isn’t as fast. I will need to wait hours to compare those cuts on your arms. There is something I am forgetting.” She rubbed her temples, feigning to think. “Oh, of course, I need a point of reference!” A clap of her hands alerted the guard. “You, get the girl from next door.” Red’s eyes went wide.

“No. Wait. You don’t need to drag anybody else into this.”

Regina stepped closer and slapped her across the cheek again, harder this time. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion and you will stop being so informal around me!”

“Yes, Your Majesty”, Red quickly gathered herself. “But please, there is no need-” But she already saw a frightened young girl being pushed into the cell. About her height and weight, seemingly healthy. For now. The girl fell to the floor and cowered there.

“I caught her stealing, so normally she would already be dead. But she can be of use for me.” Regina put a hand into her hair and yanked her head up, to make her look at Red. “Or do you want her dead right now?”

The terror Red felt was mirrored on the girl’s face. Was there a chance of survival for her? She was ready to beg for her life; to lie on that table where Regina obviously had more silver tools; to take any punishment herself. “No,” Red whispered. Another yank at the girl’s hair. “No, Your Majesty.”

“A fast learner.” She pushed the girl into a chair with cuffs on the armrests. Seating her in front of Red. The girl trembled and looked to the floor. Red tried to pull at her chains, but it only sent a jolt of pain through her shoulders.

Regina paced the room. After a while she came up behind Red. “Your shoulders must really hurt by now. Let me help you with that.” Her fingers played with the necklace and Red hissed. Shifting it around made the pain more noticeable. “The plate.” She said towards the guards. Behind Red a wooden plate leaned against the wall. A thin metal sheet on one side, coated in silver. She knew that before the guards shoved it under her feet. The wood added a few inches so in theory this took some of the weight off her shoulders, but the soles of her feet would soon itch, turn red, swell, hurt and most likely blister. She tried to balance on the outside of her feet only, to not hurt everywhere all at once.

“Do you know what the second thing is that some texts suggest to use against a werewolf?” Silence. “Oh, that was a genuine question directed at you. Do you know?”

“Fire.” Red answered between breaths. Her mouth was open now, it was dry. She didn’t dare to fully fill her lungs, because that made the necklace move. The attack on multiple parts of her body with the silver was starting to overwhelm her.

“That is correct. You know your weaknesses it seems.” Regina conjured a fireball in her hand. “Fire is pure. It doesn’t discriminate. It can be very elegant.” She stepped closer to Red, hand outstretched so she could feel the heat of the flame. “How fast can you heal a burn wound?”

“I don’t k-” Red couldn’t finish that sentence, because Regina held her hand to her side now. A scream was all that escaped her lips. The fireball wasn’t cast, but the flame burned her flesh. Red clenched her fists and tried to step away, the chains around her ankles making a screeching sound dragging over the silver plate. There was no escape, because Regina just followed with her hand. She closed her hand and the fireball vanished. Red went slack, her breathing sped up. The only good thing was that in this commotion, the dagger had gotten loose and fallen to the floor.

Red sorted out her senses, trying to gather her bearings, when she heard the girl scream. Louder, more fearful, indicating the horrible pain she never felt before. Regina had torn her clothes and burned her at the exact same place on her body. For reference. Red couldn’t put the horror of it into words. Would it indeed be better for the girl if she was dead already? She didn’t even know her name.

And Red didn’t learn her name over the next few days, because whatever happened, she would not talk to her. Regina had strictly forbidden it and the rotating guards would hit her at a single word. It was almost comical. Red’s body went numb. Cuts, rashes, bruises, welts, burns, scratches. It came and went. The pain was a constant throbbing, she got repositioned a few times, but it felt like she would never use her arms on her own accord again. But whatever happened to her, the girl looked worse. Red did heal faster from any wound not dealt with silver. But it did take a lot from her regardless. She lost track of time. What was sleep? Any kind of shame about being naked had vanished. Instead of clothes her body was covered in forming scars, marks and blemishes.

Red tried to count the rotations of the guards, to get any kind of feeling for the passing days. It was only days, right? It felt like forever. Silver on her skin somewhere at all times, lashes from a whip, getting burned with a torch, red hot iron, and so many cuts to make her bleed. The worst still a long deep wound on her right cheek, starting at her ear right to the corner of her mouth. When they allowed her some water, it even hurt to swallow.

Later Red found out it had been five days in total. It seemed like a small window of time. But the Evil Queen lived up to her name. Especially on day four, when she left permanent damage. While Red was mostly kept standing up, the girl was strapped to the chair. Not that she had any energy left to walk out of here, even if they’d opened the door for her. Regina stood behind her and pulled her head back.

“Just look at me, I’m sure this won’t hurt you.”

Red looked on as Regina dripped liquid into one of her eyes. The girl flinched, but that was a reflex. None of her sounds of discomfort or pain left her throat. That made Red more nervous than she would admit. And she was right to be.

“Just as I thought. Look at that, barely irritated.” She pushed the girl’s head forward, her eye teared up, maybe a bit reddened.

Regina walked around her and caught Red’s gaze. “Such beautiful green eyes. Quiet unusual. Of course not as remarkable as the wolfish gold, is it?” The way she kept staring was unnerving and Red’s breathing already picked up. Fear. In a short amount of time she had learned what fear truly was.

“Hold her steady.” A guard came and grabbed Red’s head from behind. Panic sunk in and she started to squirm, tried to turn her face away, to wiggle out of his grip. She wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but she knew she wanted out. Right now. No more pain, she couldn’t take anymore. But she had to.

Regina got a few drops out of the vile, into Red’s right eye. “Don’t worry, it’s mostly water. Just a tiny bit of silver dust mixed into it.”

Red pushed her body back as hard as she could, but her mangled feet had no grip, it was more like leaning into the guy. No force to get him off. And then the pain started. It felt like a needle prick. And all of a sudden the colors exploded in Red’s sight. Everything was sharper, the light from the fireplace brighter. She knew her eyes turned golden like before she would transform. It had happened a few times, when highly agitated. Now it was a physical response.

Regina laughed. “I did not expect that.” She met Red’s terror with fascination. More needle pricks in her eye, the urge to rub it away. Red pulled at her chains, she wanted to press the palm of her hand against her eye and get the irritating feeling out. But there was no chance. All Regina saw was the golden color and Red gasping for air, holding back a scream. The hitched breathing was a good enough tell that this hurt.

Worse than the pain that kept sinking in was the way Red started to see white dots, blind specks in her vision. Three, four, five, more and more. She blinked, her tearducts fighting off the intrusion, but the silver too strong an opponent. Red clenched her jaw and groaned. She let out a growl from deep within, filled with frustration and pain. It was more of a bellow than a scream. Regina smiled at that.

While Red’s left eye got back to its human green, the right eye stayed golden, a misty layer clouding the bright hue. It drew Regina’s full attention, while it would be weeks for Red to discover the permanent change. Blinded, only noting a change between light and darkness. Her eyeball feeling like it was rubbed with sandpaper made the rest of the day seem like nothing. Time moved on

And then unthinkable happened. The chains were loosened completely, the cuffs came off. Red tried to curl up on the floor, but she could barely move her joints. Everything hurt too much. But Regina laughed. “Remember that I said I will make you beg for more than mercy? How about you ask me to end her suffering?”

Red looked up. Trying to adjust to the impaired vision. As bad as she felt, the girl looked worse. “Please…”, the girl said and the guard standing behind her, hit her against the head immediately.

It took everything Red had to turn herself upright, to bend her knees and sit on them. To kneel before Regina again. No side eye, no hint of a smirk, no failsafe. The burn marks hurt worst next to the chafed skin around her neck from the necklace that was also gone now. “Your…” Red was shaking, she had to cough trying to speak. “Please, Your Majesty. End her suffering. I beg you. Please. It’s enough… enough…” And with that she fell down again.

“Pathetic.” Regina’s verdict was cold as ice. “And to think I had a gift for you just now. Guards.” They stood next to Red and pulled her to her knees again, held her up. Regina leaned towards her. “My silversmith has arrived.” She produced a silver object and only when the lock clicked around her neck did Red realize this was the collar she had talked about. She felt the burn on her throat and winced. It was a sound she was used to producing by now.

“So?”

“Please… Your Majesty…” Red was panting, she could not finish the plea.

Regina rolled her eyes. “If this is the best you can do, so be it. Ending the suffering now.” And with that her hand shot straight into Red’s chest and pulled out her heart. “Kill her. Rip her throat out like you always do.”

Red wanted to scream. She wanted to jump the Evil Queen. To tear up the men holding her. But what she wanted was irrelevant all of a sudden. The will to do it was overwritten. She looked at the girl, defeated, not even surprised. While Red’s mind fully woke up for the first time in days, all her muscles reacted to something else. The pain all over her body was terrible, but every second she didn’t comply was even more agony.

Red crawled more than she walked to get to the chair. She hovered over her nameless victim, tried to hold back, but those terror-stricken eyes met hers. “Make it quick, please.” Oh, if only she could turn into a wolf, those sharp teeth would take less than a second. Regina had specified how this girl was supposed to die and Red could not opt to cut her throat with a knife, she sunk her still very human teeth into it. The larynx, so easy to wrap fangs around, was hard, the skin and flesh thick. The scream the girl let out was only short, because the pressure suffocated her. It was impossible to make this quick-

Finally Red tasted blood. Tears ran down her face, but she could not stop herself from this horrible act. This slow, agonizing, inhumane death of a nameless chamber maid, who probably hadn’t even stolen a thing. Someone at the wrong place, at the wrong time, who had suffered for days for cruel experiments with no merit. One more victim added to Red’s tally. Not for good. Not in battle. Not in defense. Needless cruelty.

When the girl’s heart stopped, Red finally could let go. She sank on all fours, spat out what she could of the blood and wailed. Her own heart wasn’t even in her chest, but it had never felt heavier.

“Get the smith down here now, he knows what to do.” Regina sent one guard away. Red looked up, warm blood dripping from her chin, she could feel it. Disgusting. If she had any strength left, this would be the time to strike. But all Regina needed to do was a little squeeze. Her heart hurt. No, Red was helpless. Any thought of fighting back an illusion.

“I think it’s best that you lie down on the table for this next part.”

Red wanted to put her head under a guillotine right now. To kill like that was worse than any of the torture methods the Evil Queen had come up with. Regina had won. But Red couldn’t do anything but comply and lied down, waiting for her fate.

It came in the form of a small white haired man, holding a sort of chalice with a long tongue. His hands were shaking and Red couldn’t tell if it was because of what he was doing or just being in Regina’s presence. She couldn’t make sense of what was happening. A guard came and put her wrists into the handcuffs again, strapping her to the table. A chain going over her thighs and under the table fixated her.

Regina squatted down next to her, stroking her hair. “Feel free to scream for me now.”

“The mold.” Wood was pressed against her back. “Careful with your fingers there, wouldn’t want to burn you.”

And then everything was fire. The scream from Red’s throat surprised Regina enough that she stood up. Loud, agonizing, on the brink of collapse. What looked like a chalice was a melting pot, containing a few grams of molten silver. It was poured on Red’s skin and burned her instantly, severely. Water followed mere seconds later to turn the liquid back to solid, but the damage was done. A silver ring fused into her flesh. The pain and the sensory overload from heat to cold send her into shock. She was still screaming with the taste of warm blood in her mouth when the faint claimed her.

#OUaT #Ruby Lucas #konako #DRK AU #(this stands for Dark Red Kansas because feel free to ask me about the aftermath #we have this 'verse figured out and there are already so many tidbits from the aftermath #funnily enough this isn't even that AU because it is extremely canon compliant except for those five days Regina had fun with torture #and oh is there regret later that Red doesn't want to hear about - she leaves Storybrooke earlier but most of what happens is untouched #ah but meeting Mulan and Merida and Dorothy... and just the way that being cursed-waitress-Ruby saved Red mentally in so many ways #THERE ARE LAYERS!!! AND EMOTIONS!!!!)#guess what there's art to go with this!!!!!!#$!

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mevekagvain · 3 years

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Chapter 173 - Raskreia wears at least two rings on her right hand so I'm just gonna hc she wears them on each finger. Let her punch people please.

- Extremely hilarious how Seira's all "I cannot lie to the lord, it is illegal and ignoble." Meanwhile Gejutel's just "Now what bullshit am I gonna spout today ^^?" The reason he and Frankenstein are unwilling friends is because they have that in common even if neither will admit it.

Chapter 174 - Ludis and Karias,,, adorable. In fact, Karias' first panel appearance had him at peak pretty boy. Love it. Otoh, Rozaria and Kei are intimidating. Between Rozaria, Seira, and Raskreia, and even Claudia and Edian, all noble women are intimidating as they should be.

- The fact that Ludis keeps his coat's top buttons unbuttoned so you can see his plain white shirt underneath 😶. Works perfectly with my 'he's bffs with Rozaria and is closest to Karias since he's the only one who can handle and understand him completely' hc since that means the two rubbed off on him.

- Raskreia ily but could you not destroy the throne room just by raising your voice. That shit is expensive. Worrying that the clan leaders have no reaction though like okay maybe their infrastructure and architecture just all sucks.

- Ludis being the first to speak up,,, love him. Son.

- Still super fucked up that clan leaders who don't enter eternal sleep with the lord are looked down upon. Mvp lord obvsly was fine with it but the current generation? Yeah uh...

Chapter 175 - His smile to the Central Knight reporting to him 🥺 son boy ily

- M-21, Takeo, Tao, dw about Frankenstein. Man only needs like 30 minutes of sleep canonically so he had plenty of time to write up your shit.

- Regis darling hasn't mastered the art of jumping down from impossible heights yet. I guess that's something nobles actually need to train for.

Chapter 176 - Imagine going home and learning your house, garden, and surrounding land is now forbidden territory like, I wouldn't know whether to be flattered or insulted. Like mostly I'd be worried about the state of the house ofc but aside from that.

- I still can't get over the size because it's not even just one building, it's multiple buildings for two people. Raizel and his brother.

- Tao electrocuted the Central Knight so hard his clothes turned white goddamn.

Chapter 177 - Awfully romantic of you to give Raizel jewellery, esteemed lord. And even more awfully romantic of you to go find said jewellery as your first priority, beloved noblesse.

- Maybe mvp lord just trusted the traitors because he's only seen them mayne 10 times in his life. Nothing in canon proves me otherwise.

Chapter 178 - Raskreia, rebuilding costs. I'm begging you to stop destroying the throne room 😭

- Maybe it's cold because the entire estate has been abandoned and not had any upkeep for centuries. Ever thought about that?

Chapter 179 - The sanctuary only opening up on full moons is so dumb and inconvenient so I'm just gonna pretend that what it means is that it opens up for everyone else on full moons but noblesse can enter at any time.

- I do hc that the statues leading to the sanctuary/in the sanctuary are of previous noblesse but I also find it hilarious because... extremely buff noblesse. I bet unlike Raizel they'd beat people up and only use their powers as a last resort which is ofc exactly what he should be doing. In fact I bet all noblesse did that and he's just dumb. Angel noblesse whacking a noble with a stick until they die while still looking holy or perhaps looking like the devil <3 Door lady is just a noblesse with super high self esteem who wanted to make the sanctuary door cool.

Chapter 180 - Better suited to be lord how??? Raizel would be a horrible lord he doesn't know how to do anything. I still say he's illiterate in Lukedonian. He struggles to learn to press a singular button. You want him to run a nation???

- So mvp lord 100% just uses Ragnarok as decoration yes? I bet he hangs it up above his bed.

- The "I am glad you are safe" at the end of the message in the noblesse' sanctuary always makes my heart hurt like god for all his humour and personality, Ashoka truly and deeply cared for everyone and everything.

Sidenotes - Raskreia looks so pretty with her red eyes and just extremely regal as always. I love her. Wonder if she ties that cravat herself though, or does she just magic it.

- I've said this before and I'll say it again, Rajak truly has no reaction to anything. He does not care. The guy does not give a fuck as long as the laws are upheld.

#noblesse #raining while reading

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2460nodone · 3 years

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Trophies

Title: Trophies Category: Plays/Musicals » Les Misérables Author: AliceInSomewhereland Language: English, Rating: Rated: T Genre: Drama/Romance Published: 05-19-13, Updated: 05-19-13 Chapters: 1, Words: 3,671

Summary: They meet on their respective fields - his, baseball, and hers, soccer - and it changes everything. Enjonine modern AU for the Fic War on tumblr! Oneshot, rated T for language.

originally written for the e/e fic war and posted to ffnet. prompted with “soccer AU, baseball AU” by tumblr user samthenardier.

Chapter 1/1

He's not quite sure when he first noticed her.

Perhaps it was the weekend Courfeyrac hit the ball out of their diamond, and, as he played in the outfield, she reached him first to return it. He hardly paid her any mind, only nodding in thanks. She was clearly just as busy as he, covered in dirt and soaked with sweat, her shin guards smeared with grass stains.

Perhaps it was the weekend that it rained. Bahorel and Grantaire, playing on his team that weekend, were highly distracted when the women with whom she was playing declared their match to be shirts versus skins. She seemed to be the chief in insisting that it be the girls who played as skins, against the shirted boys.

The boys on his baseball team couldn't help but stare as the girls stripped, their shorts rolled low on their hips and clinging to their thighs in the rain, their tops bare, save for their soaked-through sports bras.

He noticed that she and her friends were frequently shooting glances in the direction of the baseball diamond, delighting and giggling when his teammates and opponents fawned over them.

Perhaps he noticed her the weekend that it was so hot they almost had to cancel – she, again, was shirtless, but this time her sports bra was soaked with sweat. They watched as she poured cold water over her face and head and shoulders – his teammates with hunger and desire, he with disinterest.

Perhaps it was the weekend he saw her running to their diamond, soccer ball under her arm and her hand entwined with another girl's, one with dusky skin and dark hair. They sat in the bleachers, watching and cheering and laughing. It was quite distracting. Afterwards, he watched as she made a beeline to Marius, just as Joly and Bossuet appeared to be racing to talk to her friend first.

He paid her little to no mind, though he did notice when she wasn't there sometimes, especially because his baseball team (and often their visiting competition) and the eternal pick-up soccer game that she participated in often went out for drinks together after their respective games were over. It seemed oddly quiet when she wasn't there, rare though that was, but it also irritated him when she was there, because she spent the whole damn time mooning over Marius and trying to get that freckled fool to pay attention to her.

He never bothered to interact with her; in fact, he didn't even know her name. Nor did he try to learn it. Whenever she came into his peripherals, he merely acknowledged her mentally as "Marius' Shadow."

However, everything changed when he was leaving the park one day, and came across her corned up against a tree, an older man who must have been her father screaming in her face as she cowed. When the man hit her across the face, he lost it.

He dropped his things, and suddenly he was next to her, then in between her and the man, then shoving the man away and shouting things that he didn't remember later. They tousled briefly, resulting in a bloody nose on his face and a black eye on the old man. The man stormed away, screaming and cursing at them.

When he turned, he didn't even have time to react before she slapped him sharply across the face. It left him momentarily dumb; he wasn't sure whether to pinch his nose to stop the bleeding or hold his smarting cheek. Then she was shouting at him.

"I don't want your help! I'm not some sort of damsel in distress that needs rescuing from some bourgeois knight in shining armor!" She shoved him, though it was hardly strong.

Her lip was bleeding and was starting to swell from where the man hit her.

Ten minutes later, he was in the dugout, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Hey," a voice said behind him, startling him. He turned, and there she was – fat lip, messy dark hair, long, thin legs and a torso hidden by an oversized jersey. She held a plastic bag in her hand.

He just sniffed blood, trying to keep it from running down his face more, and stared at her. He was hardly forgiving; if she resented his interference, he wouldn't interfere. He had a bloody nose and probably a black eye (try explaining that one at work tomorrow), all because he was trying to help her. So as far as he was concerned, they had no reason, especially now, to interact at all. He wanted nothing from her.

"Sit down," she ordered. Her tone surprised him; it reminded him of how his mother or his teachers would talk to him as a child. He wondered where she picked it up. Then he sat.

She put the bag on the bench beside him, digging around inside. From it, she pulled gauze, an ice pack, hydrogen peroxide, and band-aids. Without a word, she began mopping up the blood on his face.

"I'm sorry I slapped you," she murmured, keeping her eyes fixed on the blood that was still gushing from his nose.

He shrugged.

"It was my dad. It wasn't the first time," she told him quietly. He wondered why she was telling him this; from the look on her face, she was wondering the same thing. Then, "I'm Eponine. Eponine Jondrette."

He regarded her for a moment, and she finally met his eyes. They were a beautiful, bright brown, flecked with gold, but were dark and angry from the memories that were undoubtedly cycling through her mind. He looked at her lips; dried blood had trickled onto her chin, though she hadn't seemed to notice.

"Enjolras," he said. "Gabriel Enjolras."

Eponine's lips twitched into a small smile, then she got back to work on cleaning him up.

When she was finished, she threw the first aid supplies into her backpack. "I'll buy you a beer," she offered, "as a thanks – and an apology."

He's not quite sure why he kissed her.

It was several months after the day he fought her father.

They were heading off to the park together. His league's season was over, but he and his friends still met each weekend for pickup games. She had wormed her way into his friend group, and they had invited her along, eager to teach her how to play baseball. In return, she was going to teach them a little bit about soccer.

She met him on the corner near his apartment – it was more convenient for her to cut through his neighborhood to reach the park, as she lived a few blocks away.

"We need to run to my place," she said when he found her, not bothering to greet him. "I would've gone alone, but my phone was dead and I didn't want you to think I was ditching you.

Though they lived relatively close together, there was a marked difference between his neighborhood and hers. His was more affluent – he was a lawyer, the only son in a wealthy family, and therefore, his apartment was large and well decorated and safe.

Eponine's apartment, however, was one room of a giant, sketchy-looking complex. She joked that this was where the meth-heads came to die.

He worried for her safety.

Inside, however, she had done her best to make the place comfortable. It was colorful, but tasteful – very bohemian, but it worked because it was so Eponine.

She had hung curtains to separate her small bed from the rest of the room, and disappeared behind them for a few moments.

When she reemerged, she beckoned him over. "Enj, these are my soccer trophies from high school. I was being scouted for college, being offered scholarships and even full rides, but then I blew out my knee."

He hadn't known. He knew she was good, but not that she could have started in college. Nor did he know that her knee had ruined her opportunity to get out of – well, out of this life. It broke his heart; she could have truly been something quite incredible. She was smart, she was driven and talented, but lacking the resources to rise out of the life she so despised. To have come so close, only to have an ill-timed physical issue rip her chances away – he couldn't even imagine.

"That sucks, Ep, I'm so sorry," he told her sincerely.

She smiled warmly, though he could see a touch of bitterness in her eyes. "Whatever," she shrugged, "I have all these crazy trophies for my trouble!"

And she did. There must have been more than 30 of all colors and sizes, from participation awards to tournament placements to MVP's.

"My collection would totally kick your collection's ass," he teased, nudging her with his elbow. "I was given a partial scholarship to play in college. I wanted to go pro. I didn't have time for anything else, not even girls. My entire life revolved around baseball and school."

She looked at him. "What happened?"

He stared straight ahead at a trophy she had won her sophomore year of high school for most valuable player. "My priorities changed," was all he said. He could hear the hardness in his own voice; out of the corner of his eye, he saw her searching for something on his face before she turned back towards the trophies. He cleared his throat. "Anyway," he said, reaching out and touching a medal, "all my trophies are at my parents' house."

"I like having mine home with me," was Eponine's soft reply.

He looked at her. There was a faraway look on her face, an absent smile on her lips. "They help me remember a time when I was happy." She seemed to be talking to herself now, and he wondered if she remembered he was there.

He couldn't take his eyes off her, all of a sudden, and he felt something building inside of him that was foreign and, if he had to admit it, a little frightening.

When she turned to him, a questioning look on her face and an inquiry forming on her lips, he kissed her, swallowing whatever it was she was about to say. She responded immediately against him, and he pulled her body flush against his instinctually when her lips parted against his.

He's not quite sure why he slept with her.

He had never been with a woman before.

And she was vulnerable; he couldn't shake the feeling that he had taken advantage of her.

Marius and his girlfriend, the perfect, blonde Cosette, had gotten engaged.

Eponine had showed up at his door, in tears and completely inconsolable. So he ordered pizza, and ran to the liquor store around the corner for a bottle of Jack.

Three hours later, she was straddling him on his couch and kissing him wildly, half the bottle abandoned on the table behind her.

The whole experience, as intoxicating and wonderful as it was, was like being with a hurricane. It was wet and strong and dangerous, but he loved every second of it.

When he woke the next morning, she was in his kitchen, dressed in one of his t-shirts, making breakfast.

She kissed him good morning.

He's not quite sure when he fell in love with her.

They were out all night.

It was a warm night, in the middle of spring, a summery breeze sweeping through her hair and toying with the hem of her dress as she skipped around him.

Eponine didn't want to go home, and had talked him into staying out with her all night and going down to the docks to watch the sunrise.

"I've never seen the city when it sleeps," she had said.

They weren't together, per se, but Marius was married and Eponine was putting him behind her and now whenever she saw Enjolras she kissed him. He didn't hate it.

They had sat on the docks, swinging their bare feet inches above the water.

She grabbed his hand, humming a song into the wind. She was being strange; it was that mix of happiness and sadness that he'd learned to associate with her. Like she's almost ready to be happy, almost ready to let go of her problems, but she just can't.

She took his hand as the pre-dawn sky turns purple.

She kissed his cheek and then his lips when it turns pink.

When it turned orange, its bright glow lights up her face.

When the sun broke free of the water, she laughed. He had never seen anything so beautiful.

And that was when he knew: he'd fallen for her.

He's not quite sure why she wouldn't let him save her.

Eponine was stubborn, and always refused his help. He frequently reminded her that it was his job to help people, that it was his calling, but she would just snap at him that "a calling is a thing for entitled bourgeois boys," and that those he was "called" to help did not always want it.

When her little brother died, hit by a car in the middle of the night, he was not sure she'd ever come back to him.

She pushed him away. Stopped seeing him, stopped meeting him for baseball or soccer, stopped coming to his games and stopped showing up to her own. She wouldn't even answer her calls. Nor would she talk to any of her other friends.

Musichetta, her soccer friend, and Joly were dating, and even Musichetta had not heard from her in weeks.

When he finally saw her again, her face was gaunt. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, and hadn't eaten in weeks. Her already thin frame clung to her bones, her cheeks were sunken in, her hair was dirty and unkempt, and her hollow eyes had dark circles.

He didn't know how to save her, but for god's sake he tried.

He's not quite sure why she left him.

It isn't fair – that's the only thought that's cycling through his mind right now.

He's been sitting in this chair for, well, he doesn't even know how long. His friends keep coming to check on him, but he barely hears them. They can't say anything helpful anyway. They don't know.

All he can think of is her, of those precious moments by her side, as he stares straight ahead.

Directly in front of him is her casket. And he can't take his eyes off it, off her lifeless body laying there for those attending the wake to gawk and cry over.

He can't cry, he can't eat, he can't feel. He briefly wonders if this was how it was for her when little Gavroche was killed, and if that was the straw that broke the camel's back in her life.

He wonders, much more extensively, why he couldn't save her. He was always reminding her that saving people was all he wanted to do. He just wanted to help.

Why hadn't he been able to help her?

It was a sunny afternoon. They were sitting on the stairs of her fire escape. She was under his arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Not everyone wants to be saved, Enj," she told him. "Not everyone will let you."

"As long as you let me save you, that's fine," he replied.

She said nothing for a long while. "It might be too late for that," she whispered, avoiding his gaze.

And it was. It was far too late.

She was gone.

The only woman he had ever loved, ever cared for, ever had time for, was dead.

This was a woman who had opened up an entire new world for him, and he would never see her again.

He's not sure what comes next; now that he's lived in this world of hers, he isn't sure if he can live without her.

When he's angry at her, angrier than he's ever been before, he curses her name, screaming at her ghost for leaving him behind, for ruining his life.

He hates her; she destroyed everything about him, everything he was, and left this empty shell behind. He was fine before - he didn't know what he was missing, and ignorance truly was bliss. He was settled in his life. But then she appeared in it, and turned it upside-down.

He tries to breathe.

Azlema, her younger sister, walks up to him.

She wraps herself around him, and he lets her, squeezing her tightly. She, of course, knew Eponine too (in a way that his friends didn't), and just as he lost the love of his life, she lost her older sister - and her baby brother. So she understands.

"She loved you, Enjolras," Azelma murmurs, her voice shaking with emotion and thick with the tears that spill from her eyes. "I know she never told you, but she told me. She loved you, and she would've wanted you to know."

He cries.

He's not quite sure how he picks up the pieces.

It's been forever, but it's also been no time at all.

His nights are cold and lonely, and his days are torture.

Grantaire has moved in with him, though perhaps that wasn't the best decision on the part of his friends, as the other man is so full of anger and sadness himself that all they do is spend their time drinking.

Combeferre seems to catch on, because then he comes to stay, too.

Suddenly, he's forced to eat the food Combeferre has cooked. He's forced to look at Grantaire's artwork and give his opinions, he's forced to go to work and do a good job again.

He's forced to look at her photographs every day (but that one he does to himself), too. In them, she seems happy. She's bright and beautiful and alive. God, she used to be so alive, even when she was miserable, even when she was depressed. She could be in the worst mood, but being around her was like being in the middle of a beautiful storm.

He misses that.

Eventually, Courfeyrac convinces him to come play a pickup game.

It feels good, being back on the diamond. The power of the ball as it flies from his hand, the feel of the wind in his face as he runs from plate to plate. He especially likes being at bat, because smacking that fucking ball into oblivion is suddenly the most therapeutic thing.

And then the game is over and his friends leave and he's slamming his stupid bat into the ground, raging in the middle of the field, screaming at her at the top of his lungs and undoubtedly causing quite the scene.

He collapses, and then someone is there – Jehan, perhaps? – speaking to him, trying to calm him.

But what does it is Eponine.

No, she's not there, of course, but he sees her team playing soccer on the next field. Or maybe it's a different team, he isn't sure if her friends play here anymore.

He looks up into the overcast sky, closing his eyes to the clouds, and can almost hear her laughter carried to him on the wind.

He goes home, pulls out the trophies he took from her apartment and those he took from his parents' house. He places them in pairs around the apartment, wherever they fit - his next to hers and hers next to his wherever he can find the room for them.

"They help me remember a time when I was happy," she had said that first time he kissed her.

And she was right.

There they were, once again – playing baseball, playing soccer together, just like when they had become friends. This time, however, their endless games were in his apartment. But looking at their trophies together was, for some stupid reason, extremely comforting. It made him feel like she was there, in these dumb objects she had been so proud of.

He sees her in them. They make him think of her. And he misses her, he does, but she would want him to be okay.

She would want him to keep on playing, because she wasn't able to.

And that's exactly what he's going to do.

Fin.

#enjonine #enjonine fanfic #enjonine fic #enjonine fanfiction #e/e #é/e #eponine x enjolras #enjolras x eponine

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efrmellifer · 3 years

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Positions

For the first time in moons, the scratching of the quill was audible from the desk Aymeric had set up at home. It was somewhat unavoidable—he couldn’t leave the work undone, but he couldn’t bear to stay at the Congregation any more. He’d never felt good about staying there, making futile attempts to reduce the work waiting on his desk, and leaving Etien to tend two babies on her own besides (even if she complained very little). But now they were calling for Da as much as Mama, so he simply couldn’t make excuses in favor of the Temple Knights or House of Lords. These were precious moments that would vanish like melting snowflakes, and he wanted to see them before that happened, at the very least. Betula and Landric needed their father far more than any supply order needed a signature.

And, of course, there was Etien. Doting, devoted, deserving of more than Aymeric had been able to give her lately. He dipped his quill, but just watched the ink drip from it, thinking. What was stopping him now, really, from going to her?

If he could reason that the children needed his attention, how could he deprive her of the same? The world had never fallen to flame because she put heroism on hold to be with him. The pages of parchment couldn’t multiply. He resolved, he would read this page, and then he was done for the night. Now that he’d thought about it, he missed her, so near and yet not close enough he could touch her now. Damnably unfair. This page was going to last forever.

Etien looked herself over in the mirror, admiring the bright blue silk that clung to her differently in the cool air of a bedroom in Ishgard, rather than the Black Shroud before. Differently, but certainly not worse. If she was honest, she liked it. But then, she always liked seeing herself in this shade of blue.

She lifted her nightgown and layered it on top, doing a few of the buttons and studying her reflection. Good, the negligee wasn’t showing through. Now if only the blush on her cheeks wouldn’t, either.

She rubbed over her cheekbone. Why not blush? Her cheeks were likely to be flushed later on, anyway. She left the bedroom, bare feet padding along to the sound of parchment shuffling. With any luck, she’d catch him between tasks, and might be able to tempt him.

“Darling?” she asked, stepping into the room.

“Hello, Etien. I was just about to come look for you. Are you heading to bed already?”

“Not if I have to go alone,” she replied, stepping right up to the desk.

“I beg your pardon?” He started reorganizing things on his desk, realizing what it looked like as soon as he’d cleared out the center space. When was the last time the desk had seen that sort of use? The one in the Seat of the Lord Commander, he meant, not this one. Too long ago, that he knew.

“I said, ‘not if I have to go to bed alone.’ Come to bed with me?”

He already knew he wanted to. ‘No’ was not an answer he wanted to give. But didn’t say anything, just looked at her. He’d finished that one page, he had already dismissed himself from any more work for the night. And here she was, asking him to come to bed. Etien was practically nosing him along like a doe to a fawn taking shaky steps. And yet he hadn’t said anything.

He rose, stepping around the desk, and she extended her hand to take his. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he responded, finally finding his voice. “I worry I might have stayed there forever without you.” Hyperbole, but only by a small margin; if it hadn’t been for that first thought of her, he wouldn’t have realized how badly he wanted her company.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

He swallowed. “Am I a bad husband?” he blurted out.

Etien stopped mid-step, her foot lifted in the air. “Aymeric?”

He shook his head. “I think I’m over-tired.”

She squeezed his hand and kept walking to their bedroom.

She’d had high hopes for the exchange, hoping to say something seductive and witty and flash the blue silk in such a way that he’d have all but chased her to their room like the prize hind, but now they were simply changing silently, her undoing the buttons of the thick nightgown so she could remove the negligee beneath, and Aymeric sliding his way out of his clothes and into sleepwear.

But by a stroke of luck, he did turn to talk to her just as the nightgown slipped down her arms, revealing what she had been wearing below.

“Oh, you wore your wedding gift from Tataru,” he commented softly, crossing the room and playing with the strap on Etien’s shoulder, running his finger underneath it. “I made a mess of tonight, didn’t I? Absolutely sat hard in your plans.”

“It’s all right,” she replied.

“No, it is not. I’ve missed you, Etien. And I have because I was so lacking as a companion,” he wrapped his arms around her, “as a husband,” he kissed her shoulder, “and as a lover.” Now he grazed her neck with his teeth, drawing a gasp and a breathy exclamation from her.

“Aymeric, no--” he moved to let her go at once, hearing a ‘no,’ but Etien was quick to catch his wrists and hold him still. “You were so busy being a good Lord Commander and a good Lord Speaker. And a good father.”

“As relieved as I am that you are not holding this against me, I don’t find it fair to you at all that I let one of my favorite and most important positions slip down the list of priorities.”

“You can make it up to me,” she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice before it had even gotten to her lips.

“And how should I do that? I would lavish you in gifts, but all the spun sugar and sapphires in the world could never express my love for you.”

“Come to bed, Aymeric,” she giggled, turning and pulling him down to kiss her. “Just hold me all night, let me feel you there when I wake bleary-eyed before dawn, so I can roll over and fall asleep in your arms again.”

“And when dawn does come?”

“We stay in bed, together, as long as we can before the kits need us. And maybe we try my plans from tonight. Make a mess of me instead of those.”

“I certainly mean to try,” he responded, kissing her before he scooped her up and carried her the few steps to bed to set her down with the care afforded to bone china. “Until then, as the Lady Borel so sweetly requested, I am to hold you.”

She settled into his embrace with a happy sigh. “You know, you could never be a bad husband, because you care enough to be a good one.”

“As a wife like you deserves,” he said, kissing the crown of her head.

#someday I'll write smut but it wasn't today I guess!#it took a HARD turn into emotions and I followed it #fic #Aytien

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patandpran · 3 years

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The Nuisance and the Handsome Prince - A Sarawatine Medieval AU - Chapter 21

Tine is an aspiring Squire who has been training his whole life to work alongside the Kingdom’s finest Knights. Sarawat is a Prince who, on the outside, seems fierce and unapproachable. He is disinterested in any of his royal duties, namely his Knight training. What happens when Tine is assigned to be the fierce and handsome prince’s Squire?

As the Moon hung high in the sky, the Queen watched the Ballroom descend into madness. Contrary to popular belief, she thrived in chaos and pulled out her own dagger that Sir Green had concealed in her dress. She kept it hidden behind her back as Phukong leapt from the platform. She needed to make sure that her Allies were where they were meant to be if they were going to succeed against the Head Knight.

Fang quickly made her way across the ballroom to the Queen’s side, slinking through the crowd. As soon as she got to the Queen she murmured, “We have the advantage of surprise, Your Highness.”

The Head Knight had been so surprised by his Son’s betrayal that the King had been able to escape into the middle of the ballroom. The crowd scattered to the outskirts of the room but because of the blocked doors, the members of the court were trapped amidst the fight, putting them in danger as most of them were weaponless.

“Fang, the doors.” The Queen ordered and Fang gave her a concerned look. “I will be fine. The People are our top priority, as always. Plus, you know I can handle myself. Go!”

Fang looked out into the crowd and caught Ohm and Sir Man’s eyes, as well as a few others loyal to the cause. She nodded toward the doors and they quickly revealed their concealed weapons before running toward the exits to take out the Guards blocking the way.

Sarawat had taken on as many Guards as he could manage and Mil was right on his heels. His goal was to reach the Head Knight but with so many members of the court in the way, the path was a difficult one. Sir Boss still had Tine in his grasp and when Sarawat noticed this he yelled out, “Mil! Free Tine!”

“Kind of occupied right now.” Mil muttered as he faced off against a large Guard.

Mil and Sarawat were back to back, both swords raised and using the training they had learned together. Thankfully, they were now a united front instead of working in opposition as they had been lately. When it came to fighting, the Bear and the Wolf were a force to be reckoned with.

“I’m not exactly a damsel in distress.” Tine cried out. “I can free myself, thank you very much!”

“Oh, can you?” Sir Boss asked, a dark amusement in his tone.

Tine struggled against Boss’s grasp to no avail but, a moment later, Boss collapsed to his knees and released Tine. From behind Boss, Lady Earn stepped out with a satisfied grin on her face. “I will try not to take offence to the fact that you said damsel in distress, Squire Tine.”

Tine had to keep his jaw from dropping open. “How did you…”

“Just a little trick I picked up in the library.” Lady Earn explained and revealed what appeared to be a quill with a dark liquid at the end. “Don’t worry, it’s not lethal but he will definitely be paralyzed for a few hours.”

Tine bowed his head in appreciation. “Thank you, Lady Earn. I apologize for making any comment that might suggest a woman is not capable of managing a fight.”

“Just don’t make the same mistake twice.” Lady Earn teased, dangling the quill in front of Tine’s nose threateningly.

“Tine, what a relief to see your handsome face again.” Sir Green appeared in front of them, his usually perfectly coiffed hair out of place. He seemed quite ruffled by the situation which, of course, was understandable.

Tine watched in fascination as Green reached into his cloak and pulled out the dagger that Tine’s father had given him. “I thought you might be wanting this back.”

Tine held the weapon in his hand and, within moments, he felt fully recharged. It was as if his Father had instilled some secret magic within the dagger to give Tine the push he needed to rise to the occasion, no matter how exhausted and terrified he felt.

Remember who you are.

“We will keep helping the members of the court to escape.” Sir Green explained, before gently pushing Tine into the crowd. “Go help the Prince.”

Tine followed Green’s order and as he ran toward Sarawat, he noticed that Fang had successfully defeated one of the Guards which meant one of the exits from the ballroom had been opened. A flood of people started to flee the scene so there was even more chaos to navigate.

It also made it much more difficult for Tine to reach his destination when he had to battle a sea of frenzied people on top of random Guards. A hand reached out to him and he grasped it, hoping that it belonged to someone he could trust.

“Good to see you again, Tine.” Sir Man greeted with a smile that seemed a bit out of place based on the dire situation they were in but for Man, it just made sense. “Any chance you could use a sword? I took one off of a Guard.”

Tine had always knows that Man was a skilled fighter but that the fact that he not only defeated but also disarmed a Guard that was likely much more experienced than him impressed Tine greatly. Tine nodded and Man passed him the sword as people continued to stream by them.

“Two doors open… that means we’ve still got two more to go.” Man surveyed the situation. “Fang and Ohm have that one covered. Shall we take on the other?”

As much as Tine wanted to get to Sarawat, he knew the present priority was to get people to safety. So, without thinking twice about it, he followed Man through the crowd. He was starting to understand why his brother had fallen for Man.

When they made it to the door, Man and Tine shared a look before charging with their swords raised at the Guards blocking the doors. Tine’s sword made contact with the Guard’s armour and the Goliath of a man shoved Tine back with a few feet with a simple push. This fight was going to harder than he had anticipated but Tine had quick thinking on his side.

Using the same method he had used the day of his Squire trial, Tine ducked down and dragged his sword along the floor of the ballroom and swept it toward the Guard’s feet. Due to his helmet, the Guard had a limited range of view so the contact swept his feet right out from under him. The Guard fell to the ground and Tine landed one booted foot down onto the Guard’s chest before driving the hilt of his sword onto the Guard’s head, rendering him unconscious.

Tine breathed out and looked over to Man. The Guard and Man had their swords locked together and were struggling against one another. Their strength seemed to be matched so Tine ran toward them to help in the effort. But, just as he was about to raise his sword, an arrow went whizzing through the air and made contact with the Guard’s shoulder.

Shocked by the development, Tine looked up to a window where Sir Chat was crouched, bow in hand, the moon lighting him from behind. Allies were everywhere, it seemed.

“Good work, Chat!” Man called up to marksman who simply nodded in response before returning to his work.

Tine and Man worked together to push another one of the doors open, freeing up another means of escape for the people trapped inside of the ballroom. It seemed like they had the upper hand for once.

“Tine!”

Tine whirled around to see Fong, Fang and Ohm running toward him. As soon as they were close enough, Ohm crashed into Tine and enveloped his best friend in a tight hug. Tine couldn’t help but feel comforted by the contact.

“I don’t think Fong appreciates you hugging me like this.” Tine whispered to Ohm.

Fong rolled his eyes fondly before sandwiching himself between Ohm and Tine and commenting, “My two favourite people.”

“Enough of the nauseating adorableness.” Fang ordered and Ohm, Tine and Fang quickly untangled themselves. “We still have much to do if we’re going to stop the Head Knight. He still has most the Guard on his side and if we don’t act quickly, they’re going to overtake us. Spread out and disarm as many as you can or use other means to convince them to join us.

Tine breathed out and collected himself. This is what he had trained his whole life for: to defend the defenceless, to fight for justice and to take down those who want the world to continue on being unequal. Even if the system would not be entirely fixed if the Head Knight was removed from the playing field, it would be a step in the right direction.

“By the Moon!” Tine declared and raised his sword to demonstrated his allegiance to those inside and beyond the Castle Walls.

“By the Moon!” The rest of the Allies declared and quickly dispersed to fight for their cause.

Tine knew immediately where he was headed. He made his way to the centre of the Ballroom where Sarawat was fighting off a flurry of Guards as the Head Knight barked orders from afar. A few loyal Knights had gathered in front of the King to protect him from the Head Knight’s wrath and Tine saw that Fang had made her way back to the Queen on the throne platform.

The ballroom was slowly emptying of common folk which made it easier to tell who was on which side of the Fight. Tine go to the edge of a circle of Guards who were taking on Sarawat and Mil. Tine was somewhat torn about forgiving Mil so easily after the way he had attacked Sarawat so brutally and helped in his capture but Sarawat seemed to trust his friend with the world so Tine just had to have faith in Sarawat’s judgment. Plus, it was an undeniable fact that Mil and Sarawat fought well together.

The pair took down Guard after Guard but Mil seemed to be weakening slightly, likely due to the fact that he was still recovering from the injuries that the Prince had inflicted upon him. Mil wavered slightly but Tine charged forward and steadied the Lord. Mil looked at him with shocked eyes but that quickly changed to appreciation.

“I greatly misjudged you, Tine.” Mil expressed, wincing in pain as Tine helped him find his footing again. “I am sorry for that and while it doesn’t mean much, I know you understand the weight of a Father’s word. Even when they are in the wrong, it’s hard not to listen.”

The truth of Mil’s words rung true. If anyone understood devotion and family duty, Tine did. There was nothing more important to him than honouring his family and being true to who he was. Thanks to Mil’s condor, he now understood why Mil had so blindly followed his Father’s orders, despite how much chaos they caused. Mil had been trying to honour his family as well.

“Tine, get him out of here.” Sarawat ordered briskly. “He’s not fit for a fight.”

“I can handle it.” Mil gritted his teeth and tried to pull himself from Tine’s grasp with little success.

“Mil. You’ve done enough.”

Mil stilled in Tine’s arms as the younger Prince’s order hung in the air. Phukong held a sword in one hand and while he seemed to be holding it a bit awkwardly, the Prince had an air about him that made Mil swell with pride.

Phukong quickly ran toward Tine and Mil, slipping an arm under Mil. “Let’s take him to the platform. My mother and Fang will protect him.”

“Kong… I’m fine.” Mil protested. “Let me fight with Sarawat. I need to fight.”

“As the a member of the Royal Family, I forbid it.” Phukong practically growled. “That’s an order, Mil.”

Mil managed to let out a fond laugh which distracted him enough to get them on their way. Tine and Phukong had to fight off a number of Guards as they made their way to the platform. All the while, Tine could hear the clanging of swords and the anguished cries of those who were become casualties of the Head Knight’s mutiny. Tine just hoped that Sarawat was not one of those fallen few.

As soon as they reached the edge of the platform, Chat appeared and helped Fang, Phukong and Tine bring Mil up onto the platform. Phukong leapt up after them and cradled Mil in his arms, looking worried as ever. Tine could see the love that the younger Prince had for the Lord and it reminded him of how he felt for Sarawat.

When the Queen saw Tine, he tore his gaze away from her immediately, scared of how she might look at him.The Queen knelt down and put one hand on the Squire’s chin, before whispering, “Go fight alongside my Son… that is where you belong.”

Without another word, the Queen rose to her full height and turned back toward Fang who seemed to be assessing Mil’s wound. While he did not exactly need the Queen’s approval, Tine was delighted to have it all the same.

“The Bear has awoken!” Ohm declared excitedly as he, Man and Fong ran over to where Tine was lingering.

“Hello to you too, Ohm.” Mil choked out, a tired smile on his lips.

“As much as I love a good reunion, we have a Kingdom to defend.” Fang blurted out, reminding them all that they were still in the midst of a battle. “Ohm, Man, Tine, and Chat…get out there. Fong, you will stay with us.”

They charged out again into the battle and when Tine spotted Sarawat, relief flooded him. He made his way toward Sarawat, wanting to honour the Queen’s words and fight alongside the Prince.

“Tine…” Sarawat paused momentarily and Tine quickly saw how exhausted the Prince was. “You’re here.”

“Of course.” Tine responded as if it was the simplest truth in the world. “I can’t exactly go against the Queen’s order, can I?”

Sarawat’s eyes lit up. “That means she approves.”

It was, of course, very diffiuclt to engage in a proper conversation when both people involved were also pre-occupied with weapons flying at them from every possible direction. Tine wasn’t quite sure he had heard Sarawat correctly but it was hardly the time to ask for clarification.

Just as quickly as they were united, Sarawat and Tine were separated again, lost in a sea of clashing iron. Crimson spattered the ballroom floor and gave Tine momentary pause. What did it have to come to this? Why couldn’t they settle things with words rather than bloodshed?

But, of course, his thinking cost him and when he refocused again, Tine saw someone running at him with full force, a sword that Tine noticed was his Father’s design in his grasp. The Head Knight.

Before Tine could even raise his sword, Sarawat stepped into his path and held his sword high, just as the Head Knight’s fell downward. The Prince struggled against the Head Knight’s brutal strength. Sarawat grit his teeth and yelled, “Tine. Run. Now.”

“I won’t leave you, Wat.” Tine objected, his words wavering as his nerves crumbled.

“Your Squire is quite devoted, isn’t he, Prince?” The Head Knight sneered, spit flying from his mouth as he and Sarawat’s swords struggled with one another. “Some might call your relationship… inappropriate in nature.”

“For someone who’s sense of love does not extend beyond himself, you have quite strong opinions on how others show it.” The Prince snapped at the Head Knight, his teeth bared, before turning his focus back to Tine and softly murmuring, “Tine. If you care about me at all, please, do as I say.”

Tine did not want to leave Sarawat’s side but he knew that he would be no more than a distraction if he remained in close proximity. He squeezed the Prince’s arm momentarily, hoping it was not the last time he would be able to touch Sarawat in such a way.

Once he moved away, Tine saw that the Queen’s Allies had taken down any Guards that had not been convinced to remain loyal to the Royal Family. It seemed that the Head Knight and Sarawat were the last two in battle and all the rest of them could do was watch and wait.

Unfortunately, though, someone else intervened. Tine watched in horror as Lord Mil leapt down from the platform, ran for the centre of the ballroom and used his own sword to disarm his Father. The action, however, caused Mil to collapse just as his Fathers sword clanged against the ballroom floor.

Sarawat immediately fell to his best friend’s side. Tine covered his mouth to quiet his gasp and noticed that Ohm had appeared beside him. Tine’s gaze darted from Tine and Sarawat to the Head Knight who was more still than Tine had ever seen him. The Head Knight seemed to be processing the image of his fallen son and the room was thick with silence.

“Mil, you’re going to be okay.” Sarawat murmured to his friend, taking Mil’s hand in his and cradling the Lord’s head.

“You are the rightful future King, not my Father.” Mil responded weakly. “It is my honour and duty to protect you, Your Highness. But, more importantly, it’s my honour to call you my friend.”

“It is my honour as well.” Sarawat agreed and tried to remain calm despite his friend’s worsening condition.

“You did this! You broke him and now you pretend to care for him.” The Head Knight hissed in accusation. “You’re the reason why he is lying there crumpled and defeated.”

Sarawat reeled back on the Knight. “You have pitted us against each other our entire lives. You created this. You orchestrated the insanity that made me hurt my best friend.”

“This is the problem with you Royals.” The Head Knight muttered as he circled Sarawat but the Prince turned his attention back to Mil which mean his back was to the Head Knight. “You never take responsibility for your own actions.”

“Father.” Mil wheezed through his pain. “Enough! Sarawat is my friend. I hurt him and he hurt me back. These actions were inspired by the hate and paranoia that you instilled in us. YOU must take responsibility for what you created.”

It was then that Tine saw where the Head Knight stood. The man quickly reached down and snatched up his sword. Without even a moment of hesitation, he closed the distance between him and the Prince.

Ohm held back Tine with all his might. The Squire wanted nothing more than to surge forward and seek the revenge that he had always dreamed about, especially considering the man he wanted dead was threatening the life of the man that he loved more than the Earth itself.

“Wat!” Tine cried out in agony and warning as the Head Knight raised his sword high in the air.

Suddenly, the King stepped in between the Head Knight and Sarawat. The Head Knight stilled mid-swing but his sword remained raised.

“Do not hurt my son.” The King bellowed, blocking the Prince from harm’s way.

An amused smirk appeared on the Head Knight’s face. And just like that, the Head Knight’s sword pierced through the King’s heart.

#2gether #sarawatine #saratine #the nuisance and the handsome prince #my writing

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