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rainydayandmondays · 6 months

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It's Cold

Summary: Ransom wakes up to a chilly, fall morning with nothing to really combat the cold he feels. It doesn’t help that Jake has you hogged across the bed to himself.

Pairing: Jake Jensen X Reader, Ransom Drysdale X Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: 18+ only. Explicit language, explicit sexual content, unprotected sex, fingering (women receiving), creampie.

Author's note: It's been a while since I've written anything for a fandom. We'll see how this goes 🤷🏾‍♀️

Chapter 1 in All is Well series written with @buckybarnesisdaddy and @theinheriteddutchess.

Early November

Waking to soft puffs of air on the back of your neck, you’re aware of the bear hug hold that Jake has on you. He’s worn his favorite Stars Wars t-shirt and boxer briefs to bed. But they do little against the fall morning. The temperatures had just started changing and even though outside was no autumn landscape, the cooler air of last night had caught you by surprise. Jake pulled you tight to the curve of his body, greedily soaking up any body heat that radiates off you. He was a covers hog as much as he was a cuddler. And while most times he preferred being the big spoon, there were nights that he curled into you. Your arms did little to reach across his broad chest and left you circling his trim waist. He liked those nights, your hands always seemed to wander down in your sleep. In the morning, he would wake to your hand tucked just under his waistband. His dick somehow knew it was you and reached out for the tips of your fingers. Like it knew it belonged there.

As Jake continues to snore into the crook of your neck, you blink away the sleep to see your other companion. Ransom Drysdale was a new addition. Where Jake was nothing but ready to please, his golden retriever energy taking over most of his personality, Ransom was like one of those temperamental Bengal cats. It’s leopard coat just flashy enough to catch anyone’s attention. But those paws always ready to swat away at anyone who had the gall to get too close. He did things on his terms, living to be contrary to everything and everyone. He had fought you, ready to prove that he didn’t need anyone, especially not you. The others had tried to get to know him and all had quickly been caught on the wrong side of his harsh tongue and haughty expression. It was Jake, his complete opposite, that had brought him around. More specifically, the way that Jake was with you. Jake didn’t care how he looked tagging along behind you. He didn’t care how small he looked letting you be the big spoon. And the way you called him Jakey. Were you trying to infantilize him? Even now, Jake had so wholly wrapped himself around you, you would think that he thought you would vanish from his bare hands.

Ransom had woken up before either of you. The cold nipped at his body. He always preferred sleeping in the nude. However, you made him promise to at least wear underwear when all three of you were together. Most nights he would come to bed with your required attire, only to slip them off and kick them to the bottom of the bed. He wouldn’t admit it, but he loved the squeak of surprise you would give if you rolled into him during the night. He wasn’t ashamed of what he had to offer, never had any complaints. But there was something extra special about you finding him and his little friend in the night. The fact that he disobeyed made it all the better.

But now he lay there, the cool of the room getting to him and you across the bed snuggled into Jake. He frowned as he watched the two of you peacefully laying together. He wasn’t jealous in the slightest. Never could be. It was cold, just cold. Jake’s snoring wasn’t helping either. He stared at you, daring you to wake up. You couldn’t be that comfortable. Reaching up, he drew a line down the side of your face. His fingers tingled from the warmth of your cheek. You had to feel that. You twitched slightly, letting a little moan slip out. That got his attention and he twitched himself, all be it a little lower. He reached out again, this time going down and then up your cheek. That did it.

You caught Ransom quickly lowering his hand beneath the blankets. The outline of his profile in your direct eyeline. You watched as he pretended to sleep.

“Ran?” You whisper his name, careful not to wake the IT expert behind you. You reach out to lay a hand on his bare chest. Ransom always liked to complain about the cold. Except for sleeping, he was always wrapped in some kind of sweater. Wooly, cable knight, it didn’t matter. Feeling his skin, you feel the coolness of his chest. That cool touch you felt is starting to make more and more sense.

“Ransom?” Hearing his full name causes the corner of him mouth to twitch. Smug bastard was going to be difficult this morning.

Rolling towards Jake, you ignore the small huff leave Ransom.

“Jakey?” Reaching out to put a hand against Jake’s cheek, you feel him pull you closer, his legs locking with yours.

The small moan he lets out as you start to follow the lines of his sideburns, let’s you know that at least one of them would listen to you this morning.

“Jakey, wake up.” Your second call to him has his eyes fluttering open. You see as he tries to focus in on your face without his glasses. Once he zeroes in on your soft smile, he sighs softly, leaning in to give you a small peck.

“Morning precious,” you smile at the nickname. After making the mistake of letting him know how you never really got The Lord of Rings, he set out to show you the entire trilogy over the span of a holiday weekend. By the second movie, he had taken to quietly mouthing Gollum’s lines. When calling him out on it, he turned to you and whispered “My precious.” The nickname had stuck ever since.

“Can you go see if Bucky’s made breakfast?” You watch as his forehead creases. The three of you are usually the last to the breakfast table each morning. The sun was barely breaking its way through the curtains. It couldn’t be time to go down just yet.

Staring down at you, he goes to question your request until he sees Ransom shift behind you. The way he subtly inches towards you, feigning sleep while his mouth inches into a slight smirk. Jake looks back to you, seeing your eyes silently pleading that he understand.

Jake understood. He always did. Your arrangement maybe different from societal norms, but when had he ever worried about that. When you found him bent down picking up small baggies of orange slices outside of his niece’s soccer game, you hadn’t judge him. Just smiled down at him and helped get the remaining bags into his backpack. Even after months of dating when he let you know about his real job, not the fake corporate IT one that he told everyone, you had just smiled. He moved into the house shortly after and readily took on the role of your person. There were others in the house, but he was yours.

When Ransom entered the picture, he saw how hard he fought everyone. It was going to take time for him to trust and be trusted. Jake pitied him. He just needed someone to not judge him. You, who hadn’t judged all his dorky attributes, laughed at his awkward jokes, and didn’t run after learning about his elite task force, you could help Ransom. Lying in bed a few months into Ransom being here, he suggested that he move to your room. And as before, you just smiled up at him.

“Okay,” Jake nodded leaving you with a longer morning kiss this time.

Watching Jake grab his hoodie off the back of his desk chair and hustle out the room, you turn back to Ransom. This time you find him facing you, eyes staring down at you, the smirk full blown.

“It’s cold,” at his remark, you give him your own smirk and scoot over to snuggle into his chest. Ransom would never ask specifically to be held. He didn’t need that. Two people embracing without it leading to fucking. What was the point of that? He just needed you to get close enough and his little friend should be able to take over.

Moving closer to him, you quickly gasp as you figure out just why he’s so cold. Little bastard broke the rules again. Looking up at him, you see his tongue quickly jut out to lick his bottom lip, “What’s wrong, princess?”

You shake your head at him, bowing it to fit beneath his chin. You’re not sure where the nickname came from. Knowing Ransom, it was to either get under Jake’s skin with a term of endearment too close to his for you. Or he probably thought he was being smart by playing off the fact that when it came to this room, you were in charge.

Feeling you breathe against his collarbone, Ransom runs his hand down your thigh, grabbing just under your knee. Hiking it over his hip, he leans into you. Fuck this cuddling.

“Ran,” you chastised him as he griped your hip and began palming your ass cheek.

“It’s. Cold,” he punctuated each word, moving your hips closer and causing your breath to hitch. The heat from you radiating through your underwear, giving him just a taste of what your warmth felt like. If only he could maneuver the both of you just right, he knew he could slip in. He was confident you would be ready for him.

“What do you need, Ran?” His eyes snapped down towards you. So concentrated in pressing you against him, he hadn’t noticed you staring at him. He hated this question. What could he possibly need? You always did this. Tried to reduce him to some needy little thing. You had Jake the puppy to be that for you. He was Ransom Drysdale for fuck’s sake. If anything, you should be needing him. You did need him, he could tell you that you needed him in your pebbled nipples he could feel through your nightshirt and your thigh tightening around him.

“I need you to stop being a bitch so we can fuck,” he growled down at you.

Your answer was instant, as you quickly untangled yourself from his grasp and started to roll towards the other end of the bed. You don’t get to roll away. Not from him. His hand shot to your wrist pulling you back. You looked at him incredulously, body tight, as the corners of your mouth pinched in. He could tell he fucked up. But what’s it to him. If anything, he could go find one of the others and have them bounce on his cock for him. He didn’t need you. He didn’t need anyone.

He stared back at you, willing you to break first from this Mexican standoff. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. That should do the trick. You hated his smirk, knowing he only did it because he’s an asshole. You would throw him out of the room, send him downstairs to think about what he said. Any second now, you would yell at him to get out.

Looking at Ransom, purposely wearing that smirk, you see his eyes flicker down in almost regret. It’s a split second, if anything, and he quickly recovers his smug mask. You sigh, knowing that he was a spoiled brat. But only because he had learned that was only way to get attention. Ransom needed attention, constant attention. For him, your attention meant you cared, and if you cared, maybe you could like him. If you liked him, maybe you could comfort him. If you comforted him, maybe he could feel loved.

The tension leaves your body and you relax back down next to him. With your wrist still in his hand, he doesn’t notice your other hand reach under the covers. Sure that he has won, his smirk falls into a true smile until he feels you grab onto him. It’s not your first time handling him, you know how to tight to squeeze and where to rub. You slide up and down, giving him a few languid strokes before using the type of your fingernail to gently scratch along the head. His body’s response is immediate. A low groan leaving his throat, as he dribbles onto your fingers.

“Is this what you need, Ran?” Exhaling harshly through his nose, he bites down on his tongue to stop from answering. Gazing up at him, you stroke him a bit more, running her fingernail along the vein on the underside of him. You notice the tick in his jaw as he bares down, refusing to admit to needing this. Your shirt having ridden up, you trap him between his pelvis and your tummy. Rubbing him along your soft belly, he slides easily as he continues to drip onto you.

Jolting at the sensation of your skin against him, he tightens his grasp on your wrist still trapped between your torsos. Peeking up at him, you catch his blown pupils gazing down at you. You let a quick smile go just to push his buttons that bit more. He answers by grabbing onto your leg, hiking it back over his hip. His hand inches over your ass before disappearing under the edge of your underwear.

The slick his fingers encounter quickly coats them and he runs his index and middle over your lips. He could feel them getting puffy, imagining how they looked cushioning his two fingers. He slid them back and forth, just nudging at your little hood that was just starting to pull back. One more pass and he shoves them into you. You audibly gasp into his neck and he just watches you, dazed at you crumbling under him. Your own hand continues to press him against your tummy, encouraging him to rut onto you.

“Stop,” your response is strong given your labored breathing. He stops the glide of his fingers but gives one final tap to that spongey spot that always leaves you humming. You glare at him as you untangle your wrist from his hold to push him onto his back.

Swinging your leg over his hips, you straddle him as his hands on your thighs steady you. Pushing you your underwear to the side, you hold him in place as you lower onto him. His fingers dig into your hips as you drop. There’s that warmth he needed.

Fully seated, you lean forward placing your forehead against his. He was sure you were going in for a kiss. If you needed a kiss, he figured he could give you that. He mouth parts, waiting for your move, only for you to whisper against his lips, “Fuck your princess.”

Well, fuck him if that didn’t make something in his head switch on. He brought up his legs, using the purchase the bed gave his feet and started pumping into you. You bounced atop him, your arms wrapping around his neck. The needy little moans spilling out of you and onto his lips, as your fingers tangled into his hair. He could feel you clenching around him and he knew he had you. Reaching a hand over, he rubbed at that little pearl, tapping at it on every downstroke. You finally broke with a choked yelp and he felt your vice grip surround him.

“Take it. Take it,” he babbles as your walls flutter around him, urging his balls to pull up, and let go. He heard your little squeak as he held you to him, shooting what had to be a week’s worth of cum. He feels you kiss him as he pumps into you. He knew you needed that. As he came down, you milked him a couple of times, squeezing gently as you laid on his chest.

Rolling off of him, you turn to him, his eyes closed and his breathing quieting.

“Still cold?” He chuckles at your question, licking his lips and turning towards you.

“It wouldn’t be such a problem, if your other one didn’t insist on hogging the covers.” Sighing, you read his comment for what it is. Ransom would never ask to be held. Ransom doesn’t need you.

“It’s not that you’re cold. You’re actually hot. You’re a furnace. You don’t retain heat, you radiate it.” He smirks at your analysis, readying a smart comeback, you cut him off, “Go take a shower.”

He snickers before sitting up and searching for his underwear that’s bunched at the bottom of the bed. Purposely bending in front of you to bring his boxer briefs up, he makes sure you get a show of it. He knew you needed that.

Opening the bedroom door, you hear him remark, “You can go in now, puppy.”

“Ran,” you scolded him, to which he holds his hands up and walks out.

Grabbing the duvet from the edge of the bed, you see Jake come in with a mug of what hopefully is Bucky’s freshly brewed coffee.

“Okay to come back in?” You nod at his question as he nudges the door close with his foot, before approaching you with a Yoda mug.

“Bucky is still working on breakfast. It’s French toast day. He was still dipping the toast in egg when I went down, so the coffee wasn’t ready yet. But he walked me through the whole process.” You smiled at Jake as he rambles. More than likely he’s already had his morning cup waiting to return to bed. Accepting the mug, you take a few snips before putting it down on the nightstand.

“Come back to bed,” Lifting the duvet, you reach for Jake. He doesn’t need to be told twice. Hurrying to his side of the bed, he whips his hoodie off and throws it towards his desk. Climbing in behind you, he’s quick to pull you against him. Griping your waist, he slips his hand into the front of your underwear. Hooking his hand around you, he feels your swollen lips and the stickiness of Ransom slowly leaking out of you.

“He left her here like this. She’s all puffy, but still needs something to fill her. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her,” you whimper as he gathers the little spend that has leaked out and pushes it back into you with his fingers.

Relaxing behind you, he leaves smalls kisses onto the nape of your neck. His fingers still inside you, sporadically tapping at your sweet spot.

“I love you, Jakey,” you whisper, as you begin to nod off to sleep.

Jake smiles behind you, tugging you closer, “My precious.”

@theinheriteddutchess, @buckybarnesisdaddy, @sarahdonald87

#jake jensen x reader #ransom drysdale x reader #jake jensen #ransom drysdale #basement harem #the losers (2010)#knives out #jake jensen fanfiction #jake jensen smut #ransom drysdale fanfiction #ransom drysdale smut

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kaatiba · 8 months

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A Look Back - August in Review

Another month has flown by! As promised in my last newsletter, here's a recap of everything I've written and done since the end of July.

New for this month (and going forward), I'll also be posting these recaps to tumblr!

In August, I wrote 10,455 words throughout 22 writing sessions and wrote for 13 days out of 31. I am not surprised my stats are down by half of what I did in July, as I've spent two weeks out of commission and occupied by a knee injury that was not only painful and stressful, but also sapped me of all my creative energy.

But any writing is good writing, and I'm glad I didn't force myself to try and create, because I also needed to rest and recuperate. So what did I write this month?

First and most excitingly: I've re-published my fable, The Peacock, The Crown, and The River! I've decided I care more about getting readers now than trying to get traditionally published, a full-time and exhausting endeavour with no guarantee of success. You can read it in full, for free, on my site!

I'm halfway through Chapter 5 of LofM! My whole crew is officially on the run, having committed treason (for an excellent if possibly fatal cause).

The last scene I wrote is one where everyone learns about how 1) Nilam and Ilyas first met my MC Halah and 2) how Nilam acquired her war leopard, Zsa Zsa! I love it; it’s a lighthearted moment and a group conversation that, I think, comes across as natural and real…which I struggle with depicting. Read the excerpt here.

I also shared another excerpt depicting a tense moment between Halah and Raoul and slipping in some added backstory regarding the background political turmoil. You can read it here.

I introduced a new(ish) wip with a new and punny title!

In reVamped Vignettes, Laika, a werewolf, lives in an old manor house that is either sentient or haunted, along with a debonair dwarf, a recalcitrant selkie, a shy orc, and a grubby cryptid of an elf. That's a lot of personalities for one house—and then one night she stumbles on a miserable vampire named Kyle, who's just been kicked out of his nest by his sire. Laika might have a bite just as bad as her bark, but she's not so heartless as to let a vampire face sunrise with only his snapback for protection...so she invites him over. These are their (mis)adventures.

See the full wip introduction here. I'm not actively working on it, just collecting ideas and inspiration for it. Still, that could change in an instant, knowing me.

For Oracle wip, I wrote this silly little post that speaks to the character relationships and dynamics:

Fin: I could fix him Alyss: I could break him Ro: I could indulge his every whim because it’s hilarious Sage, if he was sane and not consumed with revenge: none of you people care about me :c

I've also decided to make Fin (aka the White Rabbit) have albinism, which means I need to do research on the condition.

I've been sort of idly thinking about Glitch lately. It's not ready to be written yet, but here are my most recent point-form thoughts on it.

I've started redrafting Rivener! I'm hoping to re-publish it in 2024! Initially I was aiming for January but...that's looking unlikely.

Last but most definitely not least, I wrote another fix-it fanfic! In soldier keep on marching on (waiting on that morning sun), Boromir survives the attack on Amon Hen...and the world is the smallest bit brighter for it. This fic was heavily inspired by phenomenal Boromir lives AU art by author and artist Emily B. Martin, who gave me permission to write it and then very kindly reviewed it! I am so incredibly honoured and thrilled that she did!

Well, that's a wrap on August. I hope this month was kind to you and that next month is kinder still.

#kaatibawrites #kaatiba.speaks #monthly recap #long post #and here i thought i didnt do anything this month #my brains a liar #a DRAMATIC liar too

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darkesthourrpg · 2 years

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BASKETS FOR A CAUSE

THE TWO OF CUPS. The card that represents that of joyful connection and cooperation. And what a fitting card it is for this spring charity auction where supernaturals far and wide are coming together to meet new people, create new friendships and give back to a great cause.

Spring is in the air and supernaturals across the city are gathering together in Central Park, which has been closed off for a private event where spring activities will be hosted throughout the park and baskets will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The NYC coven has casted a non-audiunt spell across the park soundproofing the event from humans potentially passing by, a handful of seraphs have volunteered to act as security (although it is completely optional for seraphs to volunteer or just enjoy the event as any other guest may), and all of the proceeds raised throughout the day will go towards the NYC hospitals specializing in supernatural care and blood banks around the city. So get those baskets ready and those daylight rings on to enjoy a fun and festive day out in the sun.

REMINDERS

In game, this event will take place over Saturday, May 8th. Feel free to post starters and threads now reacting to any of the below activities. While OOC, the list of baskets will be posted later today on the 7th.

For the Basket Bidding, if your character’s basket was selected for the auction, that specific character will not be allowed to bid on any other basket seeing that they will already be participating themselves (we will be reaching out later today to let everyone who submitted baskets know which characters of theirs were selected/will be out of the bidding wars).

If your character did not submit a basket, it will be your turn to bid. You will send in your bids via messages or asks to the main with the number of the basket your character is bidding on and the amount they are bidding on (more details to come later today). These bids are meant to be anonymous so please make sure you are sending the bids to the main and not posting them in the discord chat or in the notes of any of these event posts.

Bids will be updated in real time (aka whenever an admin is on), so make sure to keep your eyes on the main!

Once the bidding has been closed, it will be revealed who has won which baskets. Once there is a winner of each basket, the identities of the bidders and the bids will be revealed. The event at that point will be over and you and the other player can plot together to decide when to cash in on these outings.

This event is a fun way to get everyone interacting, so we hope you enjoy it and in the meantime, before the baskets are posted, have your characters interact to any of the below-

ACTIVITIES

The Main Event: The Basket Auction (stay tuned)

Central Park Zoo: Experience wildlife in the heart of Manhattan. Central Park Zoo is home to some of the city’s most unique views. Stop by for the chance to spot snow leopard, take in a sea lion show, or find your inner child at the Petting Zoo area.

Carousel: Claim a seat on Central Park’s famous carousel.

Row Boats: Take a boat out onto the lake or embark on a gondola ride or paddle to your heart’s content on a raft that looks oddly like a swan

Movies on the Green: Bring your own blankets or borrow one of the many being handed out to attendees as you snuggle up on the green with popcorn and watch a number of classic movies.

Concert Stage: Join the West Side Theatre as they put on a production over at Central Park’s concert stage.

Karaoke: Brought to you by On Pitch, visit the Karaoke Booth to belt out one of your favorite tunes

Paws and Claws Pet Adoption & Play Pen: Swing by the Paws and Claws booth to play with adorable critters from puppies to kittens to bunnies, you can bring home your very own furever friend.

Roller Rink: Brought to you by Roller Rocket, strap on a pair of roller skates and roller around the make-shift rink to 70s hits or take your skates on the go as you venture around the rest of the park.

The Fountain: Make a wish at the famous fountain. Although the fountain and coins aren’t magical, you never know if luck may be on your side. Just be careful not to fall in.

Blank Slate Caricatures: Get your painting done or a caricature of you and a friend, brought to you by Blank Slate.

Book Swap: Head over to the New Leaf Books booth to swap a book with that of another attendee or if socializing with one another isn’t your thing, you can always just buy a new book for sale to keep you company.

Fortune Telling: Get your palm read or fortune told at the Good Omens Booth.

Free Flowers Per Your Mood: Brought to you by Fantasy Gardens, the local dryads will craft and be handing out the flower or plant that best represents you or your mood

The MET: If the sun is getting to be too much, head inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art for some shade and refreshments as you take in the art around you and the current fashion exhibits.

Carriage & Bike Rides: If you want to go on a leisurely ride, you can always take one of the many bikes around the park or you can climb into one of many horse drawn carriages and be pulled around.

BOOTHS

Coffee Cart: Get your coffee or blood if you’re a vampire fix at the Coffee Cart brought to you by the Caffeine Crypt.

Rose-Tinted Champagne: For the adults in attendance, make your way over to the Rose-Tinted Booth which will act over the course of the event as an open bar. They will even be handing out flutes of champagne for those who want to sprawl out across a picnic blanket and relax.

Sucré Pastry Booth: For your pastry fix, visit the booth hosted by the patisserie Sucré.

Art in Motion: If you love art, Art in Motion is the booth for you with local artists selling their paintings and beaded jewelry with all proceeds going towards the event’s cause.

Vintage Things: Like Art in Motion, the Vintage Things Booth will be selling antiques for the cause.

Heroes & Comics: Check out the limited edition comics and comic book stand

Happy Scoop: What outing would be complete without a scoop of delicious ice cream? Vegan and Dairy free options available for your dietary needs.

Broken Records: For the music lovers out there, head to the Broken Records booth to listen to some good music and invest in some records of your choosing

Food Trucks: Another of other food trucks are scattered around the park from the iconic New York Hot Dog Stands to Shawarma and Gyro booths.

#darkestevent #darkestevent7

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bowlerhatwearer · 9 months

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what are the plots of all your original ideas?

Greetings Anon ^^

I do have to admit I have quite a few original ideas, so I do hope it is alright that I only write about a few of them :-.) (Of) Swords and Pens

“Of Swords and Pens” is the story about the war between the armies of the “Fauna Republic” and the “Tigris Empire”, two countries that have been fighting against each other for decades, with both Commanding Officers, and neither the armies governments, ready to end the violence or holding negotiations.

In the middle of all of this, is Blaise Owens (Neutral), a palla’s cat and old as well as (nearly) retired war journalist who tries to bring the war finally to an end for a variety of reasons, they are supported by Minerva Border a clouded leopard and soldier of the Tigris Empire as well as Clover Luckfoot, a rabbit who is a soldier too but on the side, Fauna Republic, the two have agreed to help Blaise with their mission, for the old cat has saved their lives.

During their adventure/ and journey, the three will face many challenges, uncover secrets and meet many different kinds of people, friends and enemies alike.

One of said enemies, being the mysterious “Ace”, the leader and minister of the “Ministry of Visions” an organization not many know, what it actually does, and with even less people being aware that it is “Ace” who has been fueling the war, planning to keep it this way, forever.

~~~

The City

Following the events of "Of Swords and Pens", Dr.Peng Li (@northerngrail) and Nikolai Akdow uncover information of a city, that has been isolated by force for many decades now.

Wanting to support the people inside of the city, they travel there, of course, their presence does not go without notice.

For not everyone welcomes them warmly, or wants them to meddle into "affairs they should not get involved with".

Among them is the "City Council" who follow direct orders from "The King" but other people and organizations as well, want to keep the status quo as it is...or to rule the city by themselves.

But fortunately for Peng and Nikolai, they are many allies, old and new, who are ready to support them in the goal, to end the forced isolation of the city.

~~~

Rise of the Marauders

Around the same time as the events of "The City", Clover and Minerva get a message from Tonic Corner, the shop owner had remained to rebuilt their store.

However, recent troublemakers they have encountered, together with reports of increasing attacks against both, the Fauna Republic and the Tigris Empire, some that also Minerva themself have witnessed and experienced, concern them, which is why they ask Clover and Minerva for help.

No one of them could have imagined what they would have uncovered.

For a new organization has founded itself, from what the Fauna Republic and the Tigris Empire left behind.

Disgruntled soldiers, together with criminals and the likes, have founded the criminal, and terrorist organization, calling themselves "The Marauders" who are ready to bring fear and pain, into the hearts of everyone.

Of course, Tonic, Clover, Minerva are not going to let this happen, and with the support of old and new friends.

~~~

Broken Hearts

With the Ministry of Visions no more, there are of course other groups who would be more than delighted to fill in the now vacant position.

"The Cult of the Broken Heart" with their charismatic leader "Gilgamesh" is spreading trough the Fauna Republic with more and more towns welcoming the cult and accepting them.

Looking at the development with concern, Joanna Owens and a few others begin to look into the cult and what it is about, as well as what ties and connections exactly, it has with events from the past, and what "Gilgamesh's" true goals are...

I do hope that those short explanations/summaries of the plots of these stories are satisfying, if you would like to know more or have further questions, please feel free to ask ^^

Yours sincerely

Bowler

#Ask #Anonymous #Anon #Swords and Pens #Of Swords and Pens #The City #Rise of the Marauders #Broken Hearts #Peng Li #Blaise Owens #Joanna Owens #Owens Family #Nikolai Akdow Swords and Pens #Tonic Corner Swords and Pens #Fauna Republic Swords and Pens #Tigris Empire Swords and Pens #The Marauders Rise of the Marauders #Clover Luckfoot Swords and Pens #Minerva Border Swords and Pens

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xtruss · 10 months

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Seven Times “Demented Biden” Lied on Ukraine

The US announced last week that it would expedite the delivery of 155mm howitzer-launched cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite earlier characterizing the use of such weapons as a “war crime,” and promising to remove them from US inventories. What other Ukraine-related promises has the Biden administration broken? Here’s a partial list.

The fallout from the Biden administration’s approval on the transfer of M864 Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) cluster bombs to Ukraine continues to spread, with US allies, dozens of human rights and anti-war groups, and the United Nations condemning the decision, and Moscow warning that it will result in a further escalation of the conflict.

Cluster Bombs

The US military had previously pledged to eliminate its M864 stocks, and stopped using them in 2016, citing their high dud rate (which can reach up to 20 percent). These particular weapons are reportedly over 20 years old, thus further decreasing their immediate viability as a weapon, but increasing their deadliness to civilians and the surrounding environment over the long term.

In February 2022, then-Biden press secretary Jen Psaki characterized the possible use of cluster munitions in Ukraine by Russia as “potentially…a war crime.” Apparently when the shoe is on the other foot, that’s no longer the case.

Long-Range Missiles

In May 2022, Biden assured that the US was “not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia.” Less than a month later, the US announced that it would send M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, to Kiev. These weapons have a range of between 80 and 110 km. A year after that, Washington’s UK allies announced that they would send long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have a range of more than 250 km. Now, discussions are underway in Washington on the possible delivery to Kiev of a variant of a HIMARS known as the ATACMS, which has a range of over 305 km.

Kiev has already demonstrated its readiness to use its HIMARS and Storm Shadows against civilians in the Donbass and infrastructure in Crimea, as well as Belgorod region and Donetsk's border with Rostov region, which everyone in the West (apart from former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, perhaps) definitely recognize as Russian territory.

Tanks and Planes and American Crews

When the Ukrainian crisis first began, President Biden expressed caution about the types of military equipment that the US would be willing to deploy, and who would operate it.

“We are showing our strength and we will never falter. But look, the idea that we’re gonna send offensive equipment, and have tanks and planes and trains going in with American pilots and American crews – just understand, don’t kid yourself, no matter what you all say, that’s called World War III. Okay? Let’s get it straight here,” Biden in March 2022.

But less than a year later, in January 2023, Biden announced that the US would be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Kiev, with the announcement serving as a palliative to ease the transfer of hundreds of German-made Leopard and Leopard 2 MBTs. In May 2023, the US greenlit the training of Ukrainian fighter pilots to fly F-16s, even though just a few months earlier Biden promised that Washington would not be sending F-16s to Ukraine.

As far as “American pilots and American crews” are concerned, the recently leaked Pentagon assessment on the status of the Ukrainian conflict revealed that NATO countries already have dozens of special forces boots on the ground, including at least 14 American troops. On top of that, thousands of foreign mercenaries, including combat veterans of US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, have flowed steadily into Ukraine over the past 16 months. The Russian military announced Monday that it had information that Kiev is working with CIA-controlled private military companies to expand the recruitment of volunteers from the US and Canada to use as “cannon fodder” in Ukraine. If these aren’t the “American crews” that Biden was talking about, what are they?

Defending ‘Democracy’

On the campaign trail in 2019, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden pledged that “as president,” he would “ensure that democracy is once again the watchword of US foreign policy, not to launch some moral crusade, but because it’s in our enlightened self-interest.”

Has he kept his word on that foreign policy pledge in Ukraine? Well, to date the Zelensky administration has imposed martial law, canceled presidential elections scheduled for 2024, imprisoned political opponents, banned opposition parties, and gone after the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Must be a special US ‘export’ brand of democracy.

‘Transparency’ on Ukraine

“If the president were standing here with me today, he would say he works for the American people…But his objective and his commitment is to bring transparency and truth back to government – to share the truth, even when it’s hard to hear,” Jen Psaki said at a press conference in the White House in January 2021.

An often forgotten facet of the Ukrainian crisis is Biden’s intimate involvement in shaping US policy on the country going all the way back to his tenure as Barack Obama’s vice president and the 2014 coup in Kiev. At a Council on Foreign Relations event in 2018, Biden bragged about his personal intervention in Ukraine’s domestic politics to get Viktor Shokhin, a prosecutor investigating a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma on money laundering charges, fired. Biden jovially recalled how he told Ukrainian officials that the US would withhold a $1 billion loan agreement to Ukraine until the prosecutor was let go. Kiev folded, and the prosecutor was gone.

Later, it emerged that Biden’s son Hunter was sitting on the board of the energy company. Later still, President Trump got impeached for nudging Kiev to reopen the investigation into Burisma. And just last month, it was revealed by investigators in Congress that President Biden and his son allegedly received up to $10 million in bribes from Burisma’s owner to court favor with the powerful politician.

Has Biden met his administration’s pledge to be transparent on Ukraine-related issues? Judging by his string of denials, and most US media’s blackout silence on the matter, the answer doesn't seem encouraging.

Dangerous Lies

As the NATO-Russia proxy war marks its 500+ day anniversary, it’s anyone’s guess what the future holds. Washington’s European allies, pouring in nearly $100 billion in weapons and as much or more in economic and humanitarian assistance to Kiev, are growing increasingly weary of continuing to support a conflict that has thrust their economies into a recession and threatens to leave them deindustrialized husks.

Perhaps in time Biden, his administration, and the Washington political machine will come to the same realization in Ukraine that it did in Afghanistan in 2021, and pull out of the country, leading to the swift collapse of its puppet government.

Or, on the contrary, perhaps the pendulum will swing in the opposite direction, and NATO will entangle itself more deeply in the conflict (as Kiev and some alliance members are seeking), and potentially thrust the world into a global conflagration that could easily go nuclear.

Biden has promised repeatedly that the US “will not fight a war with Russia in Ukraine,” saying he recognizes that “direct conflict between NATO and Russia” would be “World War III.” But his track record on other promises and commitments made to date relating to Ukraine leaves much to be desired.

— Ilya Tsukanove, Monday July 10th, 2023

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danaslewis · 1 year

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Tanks To Ukraine with Ben Hodges and Dana Lewis/Transcript interview

Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (00:00) I don't think the joint staff really believes that Ukraine can defeat Russia. And so because of that, they, they stop short of saying, let's give them this, let's give them this. And because I think they also have an exaggerated, uh, perception of the risk of Russia using a nuclear weapon. Host - Dana Lewis : (00:19) Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of backstory. I'm Dana Lewis. As I record this, Germany is finally announcing it will provide leopard or leopard tanks to Ukraine, and it will allow other European countries, which own leopards to do the same. America will also send a few dozen M one Abrams tanks. A few hundred tanks could be on the frontline in Ukraine. Within months, they will, according to my guests this week, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, change the battlefield and help Ukraine towards victory. And that's a key word, victory, because up until now, a lot of Western countries have said, okay, stop Russia. But they've not quite said they want Russia to lose because of fear of what that might mean. Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges is the former commander of US Army Europe, and he joins us now from Germany. Hi, Ben. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (01:19) Hey, good morning, Dana. Host - Dana Lewis : (01:21) And you've, you've taken on a new role now, uh, with human rights first. I mean, what, what is the focus? Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (01:27) So I joined human rights first this past summer because, um, I wanted to broaden my perspective on certain things beyond just traditional defense and security issues. And frankly, because I was concerned about the rise of extremism, not only in Europe, but even in our own country back in the, in the States. And so human rights first gives me the, the chance as a senior advisor to stay focused on, uh, Russia's aggression and, and, uh, Europe, but also to, uh, weigh in on those matters about protecting our own democracy at home. Host - Dana Lewis : (02:03) You are in the epicenter of this debate now, uh, Germany, over the question of whether to supply leopard two tanks or not. Maybe yes. Uh, maybe no, maybe rain. Maybe snow. It goes on and on. And it looks like maybe Germany's about to get on with this. They're at least advertising that they're about to make a decision. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (02:31) So, uh, last Friday, uh, at the, the meeting of the Ramstein contact group, uh, Germany missed a great opportunity to clarify not just about tanks, but about their strategic view of the world, about, you know, their role, uh, in contributing to stability and security in Europe. Uh, first week on the job for the new defense minister was a global stage, was been a perfect opportunity to say, um, yes, of course, not only are we gonna do everything we can for as long as it takes, which is what Chancellor Schulz has said, they could have specifically said, for now, we are willing to at least allow other nations to have layards to donate them or give them to Ukraine if they want, as we continue to review our own policy instead, uh, the new defense minister said, I'm not a strategist, I'm the minister, which that's not a great, uh, way to start, but of course, if you are the defense minister, of course you have to be a strategist. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (03:32) And then secondly, he said that we are going to start, we need to count and get accountability of what we have . So after eight years of this war and one year of the special military operation, the German Defense Ministry doesn't know how many tanks they have and what their status is. I mean, that, that really, uh, lays bare. What we've all suspected is that the, uh, the German, uh, defense ministry does not have the culture of readiness, even though their officers know how to do this. The civilian leadership there. And, and the bottom line is that, um, Germany still lacks self-confidence. And so they, um, when it comes to defense type issues, and, and, um, you know, so the Chan Bundes counselor has to deal with internal politics inside his party. And, uh, so they come across as hesitating, uncertain. To be fair, the United States also has stopped short of a fullthroated. We want Ukraine to win. And so that allows Germany to hide a little bit behind, um, the US Host - Dana Lewis : (04:41) General Petraeus. Uh, you know, your, your former commander when you were in the hundred first Airborne, um, he, he said that the US message was unhelpful. Um, that yes, the M one Abram tanks from America would probably be unhealth, uh, would be unhelpful to Ukraine because of the, the maintenance the jet fuel needed. It's, it's just not the tank for the moment, but he said, look, if if the US in giving a dozen or 14 tanks, uh, would be enough to give Germany some self-confidence about supplying the tanks, then it should, should just do it. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (05:18) E exactly. This, this is the United States. And, and what, what I hear coming from the Pentagon, unfortunately too much, not just from the White House, but from the Pentagon, is, um, you know, they stopped short of saying, we want Ukraine to win, and therefore we're gonna give everything that they need. Um, the closest that, uh, secretary Austin is, is able to come. Now, of course, part of this, he, he couldn't be on a pretty tight leash from the White House, but he said, we, we want Ukraine to be successful. What, what does that mean? Successful at what? And, and, and then the chairman who, who I've known for many years, a very, very good smart professional soldier, you know, keeps talking about, you know, Ukraine should negotiate. I don't know, I don't think it that they could eject Russia. I mean, he, first of all, I disagree with him. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (06:08) Second of all, um, the chairman talking about negotiation is that's, that's not his role. And, and so, but this has revealed to me that, uh, I don't think the joint staff really believes that Ukraine can defeat Russia. And so because of that, they, they stop short of saying, let's give them this, let's give them this. And because I think they also have an exaggerated, uh, perception of the risk of Russia using a nuclear weapon. And I think they also were, are thinking in very traditional conventional terms. You know, there was a huge debate in World War ii. Eisenhower decided to push the broad front. So you had US forces in a broad front from north to south, rather than focusing, um, for a, a penetration that would've brought about a quicker result. And I think that the joint staff thinks like Eisenhower did in that regard of a broad front versus a decisive operation that would isolate and liberate Crimea and then take care of all the rest later. Host - Dana Lewis : (07:15) I mean, you often speak about isolating and penetrating into Crimea by Ukraine, and a lot of people are scared when they hear that. I mean, hear that, that question of should they enable Ukraine to take back the Crimea because they fear that the Crimea probably is never gonna be taken back by Ukraine because Russia will do anything and everything. And you talk about nuclear blackmail, everything to defend Crimea, and that there is not a decision making diplomatic, um, de decision making that's, that's been taken that yes, Crimea eventually is a goal that Ukraine should have. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (07:57) Crimea is the decisive terrain. Ukraine will never be safe or secure, nor will it ever be able to rebuild its economy. As long as Russia controls Crimea. I mean, when you just look at the map, you can see if they sit in Crimea, they can reach all of Southern Ukraine. Uh, they can disrupt any traffic going in and out of Odessa or the Nero. And certainly they'll continue to block anything going up into Aza Sea. So where Ukraine has two, uh, major seaports, bear, Danskin, Mariupol, both of which of course right now are occupied by Russian forces. So as long as they sit in Crimea, they're gonna be able to keep doing this. They'll wait a couple years for us to lose interest, and then they'll pick, pick back up where they left off. So, uh, I, it would be a significant mistake for Kiev to agree to any kind of negotiation where Russia retains Crimea, especially because I think that they can liberate Crimea by the end of this summer. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (08:53) Now, yes, um, there are people that say, oh, this is a red line for the Kremlin. You know, we've been hearing that the Kremlin was gonna escalate if we provided javelin, if we provided Stinger, if we provided high Mars, if we provided Patriot, if we provided Bradley, none, none, none, none, none. Um, and I think that, um, if we think, if we think differently about C Crimea not as a, a big blue arrow that's going to go and, and attack it in the old fashioned way, but instead isolating it by, uh, destroying the two, the only two links that connect Crimea back to Russia, one obviously is the K bridge. And notice the Russians did not do anything after the Kch bridge was severely damaged. I mean, they, they couldn't escalate after that. They're trying to repair it, and maybe they'll have it repaired by March, but I'm sure the Ukrainians will revisit that K bridge again. And then the other line of communication is the so-called land bridge that runs from ov down through Marial, Mela topa to Crimea, sever both of those with long range precision fires. And then you start making Crimea untenable, there's nowhere to hide. Sevastopol, zaki, all the big places attacks, uh, ground lodge, small diameter bombs, gray eagle, that place becomes untenable. The Russians won't be able to operate from there. Host - Dana Lewis : (10:23) So as an, as an army general who spent your entire retired life, Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (10:28) Retired, Host - Dana Lewis : (10:29) Retired who spent your entire life commanding forces, if I told you, go and fight, uh, Lieutenant General Hodges, send your men in there and defeat that enemy, but don't take their major launchpad where they, uh, re-arm, um, regroup, um, and, and actually attack from what? I mean, what would you say to me? Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (10:54) I would say, uh, whoever gave me that order has failed to remember history. I mean, we went through that in Vietnam where the, uh, the vie and the North Vietnamese had a sanctuary, um, outside of Vietnam, uh, where the North Koreans had sanctuary and where the Taliban had sanctuary in Pakistan. So, uh, what we have done is in effect, create sanctuary for the Russians by limiting the weapons we provide to, uh, 90 kilometers the gimler rocket that's or missile that's fired by high Mars 90 kilometers. So anything beyond 90 kilometers of where high Mar is located is in effect sanctuary. And, and I'm, I'm not talking about just inside Russia or Belarus, I'm talking about Crimea. And so Russia has sanctuary from which they're able to launch these Iranian drones, airstrikes, uh, the black seed fleet sells out, um, and launches caliber missiles. And, and so, uh, and of course they've got gigantic logistics, uh, sites in, in Crimea as well. Host - Dana Lewis : (12:05) Does providing tanks in inevitably they're gonna come, I think whether agree come directly from Germany or whether they come from some of the other nations in Europe, the, the Leopard Anglia parts as they're, as they're called. Do you think that they will change the, the battlefield? Are they a key here? Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (12:22) Yes, because the, uh, armored force, well, let me lemme step back. I think that Ukrainian general staff realizes that they can pretty much hold Russia with what they have already. O obviously at great costs. But after five months, Russians have not been able to take Bach mo, right? So doing what we would doctrinally call economy of force, holding that back, that gi that should give the Ukrainian general staff the confidence that they can build up a large armored force that is trained logistically ready. And it's built around, uh, Ukrainian armored vehicles, plus captured Russian vehicles and increasingly western armored vehicles. And probably something in the strength, in the strength of a division, an armored division. So three or four brigades, uh, that would be used in a, uh, a penetration of these linear Russian defenses between, um, the, uh, Nero River and Mario Opal, or Zizia or Mela Topo with the, with the objective being to isolate Crimea. So drive direct towards sea of Aza, and, and now you have severed with land forces that land bridge, uh, and then in there you exploit that, then you can bring in high Mars and you can start pounding away on Crimea. Host - Dana Lewis : (13:52) And what's the danger if you don't do it? What, what's the danger of this debate just continues on and time becomes a very muscular factor for big Russia, which is recruiting and re-arming and, and thinking about its own offensive. And there are all sorts of rumors about one that's coming. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (14:12) Yeah. Um, I, I think you raise a very important point that the longer this goes on, um, the more Ukrainians are lost, more innocent people are killed. Um, I, I am skeptical about the ability of Russia to, to start all over here, um, that there is talk about a Russian offensive, about a new mobilization, but, um, you know, that was such a cluster last September. I don't know if they've repaired or fixed all the problems of last falls, uh, partial mobilization. Uh, we'll see, um, having thousands of troops, of course, uh, does not equal a real threat if they're not backed up by more artillery tanks, you know, those other kind of, uh, combat capabilities. Um, and I don't know what they've got still in the, in the locker, uh, that they can bring out. Um, so I'm, at this point, I'm skeptical about the, the reality of a major Russian threat that could, that could seriously call change the dynamics on the ground. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (15:18) But the problem with time is not that Ukraine will lose the will, but that the west loses the will. And so I think, uh, the Ukrainians are looking at the calendar and they see, here's an opportunity we could liberate Crimea by the end of August. That's the decisive bit. And then we can turn our attention to what's left in Donbas. And of course, once Crimea is gone, there will be a lot of, uh, internal issues going on inside Russia. And I think the willingness of people to continue fight and die and Danes and lu hunts for Russia will drop off dramatically. Host - Dana Lewis : (16:02) Two, two really interesting tweets from the Lithuanian, uh, foreign minister. And I, you know, I love little Lithuania because they're pretty bold and they've led the debate on so much of this. But Landsberg came out and said, one, um, if we fully and finally accept that Russia has to lose in order for us to avoid future wars, then I believe that all the other questions about sup support for Ukraine will become much easier to answer. Yes. And then he came back to this time question that you and I just talked about. You said, the longer we discuss how Ukraine should or should not be helped, the more Putin can build up his armed forces and murder civilians. That is why we need to overcome our fear of victory and act. Now. Is there a fear of victory, do you think? Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (16:49) I think there, um, the way he said it is, is more articulate than I could have said it. But yes, I think, uh, people are in disbelief or they're worried like, oh my God, we Ukraine might actually win. Then what? And, uh, you, that would call into question a lot of different beliefs that many people have had for decades. So, uh, I think it is important that we should get our heads around the idea that Ukraine can win and will win, and let's do what's necessary to make that happen as soon as possible. So a fear of victory is actually very, very clever. And I think the White House has a fear of victory because, um, they're not sure what comes next. Host - Dana Lewis : (17:30) Does Germany have a fear of victory, do you think too? And that's why they can't quite decide whether to start pushing tanks across the border into Ukraine? Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (17:38) I think it's, it's not so much fear of victory on the German side. I think it's a fear of themselves. I think they don't trust themselves. Um, you know, I hear all the different things about history, about, um, um, guilt a about all this other nonsense that is, um, and I call it nonsense because there was a period of about 20 years where we had a massive German bundes fair, 14 divisions, thousands of art. So this, you know, fear of, uh, military, this is newfound and um, or newly rediscovered. And so, um, they've got to decide if Germany, the Germans have to decide if they really do value, uh, international rules-based order, human rights, um, international law, then they have to take a stand. I mean, Germany has benefited from this more than anybody since the end of the war, this, this whole international order. And so if they're not willing to defend it, then we run the risk of losing it. Host - Dana Lewis : (18:39) Last question to you. You were, I think, more than anybody I know, um, the, the person who called this right pre February 24th, 2000, uh, and, and 22, uh, while so many people were debating whether Russia would actually pull the trigger, Ben Hodges in, in interviews that you and I did, even, even prior, uh, you know, several months prior, you said Russia's gonna do it, Russia's gonna go across the border. Here we are a year later, Ben. Um, did, did this go exactly the way you, you thought it would because this has been months and months longer than anybody probably thought that the war would go on? I thought it would be short. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (19:24) Of course it didn't go exactly. Cause I thought it would, um, and you're being generous. I was sure the Russians would attack, but I did not believe they would attack in such, like from five different directions and that they would go all in like that because it wasn't necessary. I didn't think that for them to accomplish what their objectives were, nonetheless. Uh, Host - Dana Lewis : (19:44) Well, you, you may be saying that they attacked badly and you didn't think that they would attack so badly and do such a bad job. Okay. You did, you did predict they would roll into Ukraine. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (19:54) Yes, absolutely. Um, the, um, I think I would've expected us to have acted faster by now. Really? I mean, this incrementalism by the administration, uh, and they think they're doing it right. I mean, they, they think, I, I, I've seen people commenting this is working, you know, it's, you know, we're, we're not putting too much on Ukrainians too fast. And there's a kind of a condescending attitude that comes outta Washington, towards, towards Ukraine, and the Ukrainians are that they don't have anything else to prove. They, they have demonstrated they can do just about anything. Maybe it's not clean. It, maybe it's wasteful in certain, in certain cases, but I mean, they're fighting for their life. And, um, I think that, uh, you know, when somebody from the Pentagon talks about, oh, you know, we don't wanna burden them with the huge fuel consumption of a, a Abrams, or they're not ready for this, or it'll take too long to train on that, come on. I mean, we, but it's because we have not, we, the administration and the, and the Pentagon have not accepted that yes, Ukraine is gonna win and that Russia is not going to use a nuclear weapon. Host - Dana Lewis : (21:06) Lieutenant General Ben Hodges retired. Thank you so much, sir. Lt. Gen Ben Hodges : (21:10) Thanks you once again, diner for the privilege. Host - Dana Lewis : (21:14) Okay. And I hate to tell you this, but the clock is ticking the doomsday clock on Tuesday. The bulletin of Atomic Scientists reset the symbolic Armageddon timepiece, 90 seconds until midnight. And that's the closest it's ever been in its 75th history. Thanks for listening to Backstory this week and share this podcast. I'm Dana Lewis and I'll talk to you again soon.

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cielrouge · 3 years

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A Dream So Dark (Nightmare Verse #2) by L.L. McKinney: Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates) Alice must cross the Veil to rescue her friends and stop the Black Knight once and for all in Wonderland.

Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds: Jamal’s best friend Q is brought back to life after a freak accident … but they only have a short time together before he will die again. How can Jamal fix his friendship without the truth?

Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley: Before they can save the world from the monstrous phantoms, four girls who have the power to control the classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water must first try to figure out how to work together.

For All Time by Shanna Miles: Tamar and Fayard, two Black teens, are fated to repeat their love story across hundreds of lifetimes, from 14th-century Mali to the distant future, as they struggle to break the cycle.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna: Inspired by the culture of West Africa, a feminist fantasy debut traces the experiences of 16-year-old Deka, who is invited to leave her discriminatory village to join the emperor’s army of near-immortal women warriors.

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis: The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls--they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a "welcome house" as children and branded with cursed markings. When Clementine accidentally kills a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape to find freedom, justice, and revenge.

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron: Set in a West African-inspired fantasy kingdom, Arrah comes from a long line of powerful witchdoctors, yet fails at magic. When Arrah trade years off her life for magic to stop the Demon King from destroying the world—that is if it doesn’t kill her first.

Legacy of Light (The Effgies #3) by Sarah Raughley: After Saul’s strike on Oslo—one seemingly led by Maia herself—the Effigies’ reputation is in shambles. Belle has gone rogue, Chae Rin and Lake have disappeared, and the Sect is being dismantled and replaced by a terrifying new world order helmed by Blackwell. If the Effigies can’t put the pieces together soon, there may not be much left of the world they’ve fought so desperately to save.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn: In this King Arthur retelling, Black teen Bree Matthews infiltrates a secret society of powerful magic wielders to find out the truth behind her mother’s untimely death.

Mem by Bethany C. Morrow: In alternate reality Montreal (1925), a young woman’s personality is the result of a startling experimental procedure, leaving her to struggle with the question of who she really is.

Miles Morales, Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds: But Miles Morales accidentally discovers a villainous teacher's plan to turn good kids bad, he will need to come to terms with his own destiny as the new Spider-man.

Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard: Half-mortal teenager Helen Thomas goes to live with her father—who is Zeus, masquerading as a university professor—and must do her best to keep the family secret intact.

The Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds: After falling for Kate, her unexpected death sends Jack back in time to the moment they first met, but he soon learns that his actions have consequences when someone else close to him dies.

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith: Set in a futuristic, hostile Orleans landscape, Fen de la Guerre must deliver her tribe leader's baby over the Wall into the Outer States before her blood becomes tainted with Delta Fever.

Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney & Robyn Smith: When Nubia’s best friend, Quisha, is threatened by a boy who thinks he owns the town, Nubia will risk it all—her safety, her home, and her crush on that cute kid in English class—to become the hero society tells her she isn’t.

A Phoenix First Must Burn: 16 Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope edited by Patrice Caldwell: Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron: In this contemporary fantasy inspired by The Secret Garden, Black teen Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants with a single touch. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family, when a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir.

A Psalm of Storm and Silence (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #2) by Roseanne A. Brown: As the fabric holding Sonande together begins to tear, Malik and Karina once again find themselves torn between their duties and their desires.

A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) by Amanda Joy: After learning the truth of her heritage, Eva is on the run with her sister Isa as her captive, but with the Queendom of Myre on the brink of revolution, Eva and Isa must make peace with each other to save their kingdom.

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko: In a West African-inspired empire, Tarisai is raised by The Lady and sent to kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?

Redemptor (Raybearer #2) by Jordan Ifueko: For the first time, an Empress Redemptor sits on Aritsar's throne. To appease the sinister spirits of the dead, Tarisai must now anoint a council of her own, coming into her full power as a Raybearer.

The Ravens by Danielle Page & Kass Morgan: The sisters of Kappu Rho Nu share a secret: they’re a coven of witches. For Vivi Deveraux, being one of Kappa Rho Nu’s Ravens means getting a chance to redefine herself. For Scarlett Winters, a bonafide Raven and daughter of a legacy Raven. When Vivi and Scarlett are paired as big and little for initiation, they find themselves sinking into the sinister world of blood oaths and betrayals.

Rebel Sisters (War Girls #2) by Tochi Onyebuchi: Though they are working toward common goals of helping those who suffered, Ify and Uzo are worlds apart. But when a mysterious virus breaks out among the children in the Space Colonies, their paths collide.

Reaper of Souls (Kingdom of Souls #2) by Rena Barron: After so many years yearning for the gift of magic, Arrah has the one thing she’s always wanted—at a terrible price. But the Demon King’s shadow looms closer than she thinks. And as Arrah struggles to unravel her connection to him, defeating him begins to seem more and more impossible.

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy: A North African-inspired feminist fantasy in which two sisters, Eva and Isa must compete in a magical duel to the death for the right to inherit the queendom of Myre.

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves: In Portero, Texas, teens Kit and Fancy Cordelle, daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, bring two boys with similar tendencies to a world of endless possibilities they have discovered behind a mysterious door.

Siege of Shadows (The Effigies #2) by Sarah Raughley: After Saul reappears with an army of soldiers with Effigy-like abilities, threatening to unleash the monstrous Phantoms, e-year-old Maia and the other Effigies hope to defeat him by discovering the source of their power over the four classical elements, but they are betrayed by the Sect and bogged down by questions about the previous Fire Effigy's murder.

The Sisters of Reckoning (The Good Luck Girls #2) by Charlotte Nicole Davis: The blockbuster sequel to an alternate Old West-set commercial fantasy adventure.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow: Set in the near-future, in which a captive teen human and a young alien leader—bonded by their love of forbidden books and music—embark on a desperate road trip as they attempt to overturn alien rule and save humankind.

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi: Set in a futuristic, Black Panther-inspired Nigeria, sisters Onyii and Ify, separated by a devastating civil war, must fight their way back to each other against all odds.

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst: When the goddess Bayla fails to take over Liyana's body, Liyana's people abandon her in the desert to find a more worthy vessel, but she soon meets Korbyn, who says the souls of seven deities have been stolen and he needs Liyana's help to find them.

The Weight of Stars by K. Ancrum: After a horrific accident brings loners Ryann and Alexandria together, Ryann learns that Alexandria's mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way trip to the edge of the solar system.

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson: Black teen Marigold and her blended family move into a newly renovated, picture-perfect home in a dilapidated Midwestern city, and are haunted by what she thinks are ghosts, but might be far worse.

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle: Black teen Rue, from a poor neighborhood who, after learning she is half-human, half-goddess, must embrace both sides of her heritage to unlock her magic and destroy the racist gods poisoning her neighborhood with violence, drugs, and crime.

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Thomas: In this Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut, two witches from enemy castes—one seeking power, and one seeking revenge—will stop at nothing to overthrow the witch queen, even if it means forming an alliance with each other and unleashing chaos on their island nation.

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood: An Ethiopian-inspired Jane Eyre retelling in which an unlicensed debtera, or exorcist, Andromeda, is hired to rid a castle of its dangerous curses, only to fall in love with Magnus Rochester, a boy whose life hangs in the balance.

Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson: Black teen Andre Cobb undergoes a liver transplant and as a side effect winds up slipping through time from present-day Boston to 1969 NYC on the eve of the Stonewall riots, delivering a story that is part romance, part gay history, and part time-travel drama, exploring how far we have and haven't come.

#yalit #black authors #ya sff #black ya sff #booklr #book recs #book recommendations

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shijiujun · 3 years

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Okay if y’all have read my top 2020 danmei list from a week or two back, you’ll know this is currently my favourite danmei (outside of Qi Wei Shang + 2ha hahaha), so here’s a proper, full rec!

- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series -

Summary:

Ji Yan Ran is the Emperor’s brother and wields military power in the novel, and it starts with an object being stolen from the palace. Ji Yan Ran has to retrieve the item secretly, and so enlists the help of Feng Yu Sect’s Sect Master, Yun Yi Feng, who heads the martial arts world’s one and only information trading post. Yun Yi Feng does not deal in business that involves any royalty, but Jing Yan Ran offers him something he cannot refuse - the Blood Red Lingzhi, a rare and mystical herb that is rumoured to be able to treat his life-threatening condition.

Yun Yi Feng was used by his shifu when he was younger to test out all kinds of poisons and cures, and since then, his body flushes dangerously hot and cold frequently, with bouts of severe coughing fits in between. Throughout the first mission where he spends time with Ji Yan Ran searching for the stolen object, he allows Jing Yan Ran to take care of him. Their relationship is pretty flirty and touchy right off the bat, with Ji Yan Ran knowing really clearly that he wants to take care of Yun Yi Feng. When Yun Yi Feng goes anywhere without a coat, JYR always has one ready. He promises all his riches to him, even his mother hahaha (but that’s because he knows he deceived YYF with the Blood Red Lingzhi and is willing to give YYF everything else while also continuing to look for the lingzhi for him).

Of course, they have to uncover a plot and conspiracy against their enemies who are plotting to dethrone the Emperor, and also reveal the secrets of Yun Yi Feng’s birth.

Read:

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Not Available | Novel Translations | Manhua

Characters:

1. 云倚风 Yun Yi Feng (right) - The revered Sect Master of Feng Yu Sect as his sect controls the flow and movement of information. People from all over buy information or hire the sect to help them get information, and is considered a neutral sect within the wuxia world. Very intelligent, a cool-headed strategist who also loves riches, whose eyes light up at the sight of treasures and money.

He was a child remnant of a war, and picked up by his shifu Gui Ci, who brought him to this island to live with other kids he picked up. His first few years were spent rather happily there, but then one day the man gave all the children bowls of what they thought was soup but ended up being poison because Gui Ci wanted to test out his new concoctions. At the end, only YYF survived after multiple ingestions of poisons and experimental cures. Because he was the ‘strongest’ out of all the other children, Gui Ci began testing out all sorts of poisons and cures on him after. If someone came to him after having been poisoned, Gui Ci would poison YYF in the same way as a test subject to use cures on, and only after they worked on YYF would he use them on the patient.

His shifu is considered a mad man, and the last straw was when he locked YYF up with several scorpions for a few days and YYF was the closest thing to death at that moment, and afterwards, realizing that he’d gone overboard, Gui Ci is more careful about poisoning him, allowing him to have a slightly more normal childhood, but because of this YYF’s body would flush hot and cold frequently and unbearably. He manages to escape from Gui Ci and sets up Feng Yu Sect.

He only has 5 years left to live if he doesn’t find the Blood Red Lingzhi, when he meets Ji Yan Ran and his request. After meeting JYR he realizes how sweet life is, to have someone who always thinks of him, who cares about his well-being, who wants to make him happy, who buys and gives him everything he wants. In the beginning he is unable to reciprocate knowing he’ll die soon, but they get together anyway after a close call, as JYR tries to find the Lingzhi for him.

He also loves to cook and play the zither, but is so bad at both!! He’s so terrible that every time he approaches the kitchen or the zither the servants themselves try to redirect him subtly and chase him away because they CANNOT stand his dishes or his music hahahaha.

2. 季燕然 Ji Yan Ran (left) - Army commander/general, and a prince. Close to the Emperor, who’s his older brother, and takes a liking to YYF the moment he meets him. He bluffs YYF, says that he has the Blood Red Lingzhi, and then realizing how much YYF needs it, he feels more guilty and guilty for lying to him, and once admitting it, he promises to do whatever it takes to find it for him.

He’s very smart as well, has eyes only for YYF and is willing to indulge him in every single whim he has. If YYF complains that he doesn’t have anything to wear (even in jest), JYR has the garment stores in the whole city send 10 outfits each for YYF to pick. And even though he hates YYF’s cooking and playing of the zither, he lets him do it anyway, fond but exasperated while everyone is staring daggers at him for not stopping YYF.

A few years ago, a close friend of his and the Emperor’s died, and JYR suspects that their father had something to do with it. It’s something that has been troubling him for many years and it’s a dilemma for him because he has to balance between questioning the Emperor but also trusting him and being a good brother/official to him, as clues keep pointing towards the Emperor and his father being involved in shady deals/decisions. His relationship with the Emperor, his brother, can be described as close, but of course even though they are close and trust each other to a good extent, there is still room for a tiny bit of doubt that both brothers are well aware of due to their positions, not that this affects their relationship.

Openly is affectionate to YYF in front of everyone, including his mother, who likes YYF alot as well. YYF once worried if the Emperor would oppose his relationship with him, but JYR said that their relationship should put the Emperor even more at ease, because the world and other officials would not recognize an Emperor who liked men and didn’t have any children, meaning that JYR becomes an even smaller threat to the throne.

3. 暮成雪 Mu Cheng Xue - An assassin who keeps popping up throughout the novel, and is a frenemy to YYF especially because he stole the cuteass snow leopard that was supposed to be YYF’s and refuses to return it. Not good nor bad, he does whatever he’s paid for.

4. 江凌飞 Jiang Ling Fei - JYR’s godbrother, who didn’t have a good childhood with no one to protect him in the Jiang family, one of the big wuxia families in the novel, as he had no parents and was technically brought up by his scheming uncles/cousins etc. He befriended JYR when they were younger and acknowledged JYR’s mother as his godmother because she was truly and genuinely good to him, and spends a large part of his days running in and out of the Jing manor. He’s JYR’s right hand man, but his dream is to be a bum wandering through different parts of the world, having fun whenever instead of being boggled down by duties to the Jiang family and other things.

Amazing Scenes:

YYF unceremoniously using JYR’s arm as a pillow while he’s talking

Basically YYF fainting and getting sick a lot and JYR always there to catch him ;-; To dote on him!!! Ahhhh my heart

Other Things I Like in the Novel:

The first time YYF plays the zither in the Jing manor, JYR’s mother, shaking, goes to JYR and asks, “Is Yun-er learning some evil cultivation music?”

YYF tends to go out to the markets and will buy back 2kg of flour for example, while all the servants shudder in the fear and cry in front of JYR, who can only sigh but indulge him

YYF’s favourite things include JYR’s mother taking his blankets out to soak up the sunlight in the day so he has fluffy, warmth-filled and fresh-smelling covers everyday to collapse into

JYR once asked YYF if it’s a good thing that he met him, and YYF says, “Of course it’s a good thing I met wangye, because of you, I now know that life can be sweet and warm too.”

YYF carves out what he thinks the Blood Red Lingzhi looks like based on some bogus description JYR gave him and because he’s so hopeful and happy about finally being able to have the lingzhi, he carves it out and wears it like a pendant, and everytime JYR sees it he wants to slap himself for being such a motherfucking asshole and deceiving this man

YYF keeps forgetting his cape/coat, so JYR always gives him his, but YYF keeps taking and not returning and on the fourth time it happens, YYF looks at JYR expectantly, and JYR says, “You’ve already taken three, this is my last one, I’m gonna freeze to death, left without a cape if I give you this one”

JYR always tempts YYF into doing things by giving him treasures, and jokingly promises YYF his army commander ring, which symbolizes his authority and power, and YYF unceremoniously takes it knowing what it is, and refuses to return it to him - After a few times this happens, JYR makes a replica of it so they matchy matchy ;-;

They travel South in a holiday for a few months after the first arc is wrapped up, knowing that YYF doesn’t have much time left to live, and every single day is painful for JYR as the time YYF spends conscious decreases day by day

YYF asks for some oil/salve to use as lube from the army camp’s physician, a night before JYR is due to go off for war, and the physician scolds the messenger for having the time to think about such thoughts, and when the messenger says it’s for YYF, physician is like “... oh. okay, here you go, give this to him” without another word HAHAHAHA

#a sword of frost #danmei #danmei recs #一剑霜寒 #min's why you should read #cnovel #i'm determined to complete 10 so bear with me yall!!!#hahahahhaa

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miraculouswolf99 · 3 years

Text

Breaking Into The Watchtower Part 1

Miraculous Ladybug-DC Universe crossovers are some of my favorite fanfictions. They are just a good match. I especially love ones where the Justice League either ignores the Paris situation or one of the League members gets the messages for help and doesn’t believe them. Mostly, it’s the Flash, Guy Gardner, Green Lantern, or Booster Gold.

In this story, some of the miraculous have changed hands for my story. There will be new holders and different holders for old miraculous. All of my OC characters will also be included. Nathaniel has the fox, Marc has the turtle, Rose has the horse, Juleka has the tiger, and Alix will have the bunny.

*****

“This is most definitely not something that I would ever have thought that I would ever do,” White Wolf says.

“We are magical teenagers that use the power of mini gods and mystical jewelry,” Beautifly says. “Your statement pretty much sums up every day of our lives.”

“Trust me, I never thought that I would be doing anything like this before I met Plagg,” Cat Noir said.

“At least I can cross this off my bucket list,” Ladybug giggled.

“Why is the name of the Olympian gods would this be on your bucket list,” White Wolf looked at the teen hero weirdly.

“I put it on after they started to ignore our cries for help,” Ladybug crossed her arms. “Or, when it was made obvious that they were ignoring us, at least.”

“How much sleep have you gotten lately,” Beautifly asks. “You only get this sassy when you haven’t slept in about two days.”

“I remember going to sleep on Wednesday,” Ladybug put her hand on her chin as she started thinking.

“Uh… It’s Saturday,” White Wolf deadpanned.

“Oh,” was all Ladybug could say.

“If you don’t go right to sleep after we get back, I am sending Plagg over to destroy every device you have to make sure you are not distracted and can finally sleep,” Cat Noir threatened.

“But what if there is an akuma,” Ladybug protested.

“Then we will have to make sure that Cat Noir saves his power so that he can Cataclysm the moth when it comes out of the akumatized object,” White Wolf says.

“And the damage,” Ladybug continued to protest.

“We will get to that when we get there,” White Wolf said.

“You are sometimes too selfless for your own good,” Beautifly shook her head.

“Yeah, she tends to be like that,” Cat Noir chuckled. “Why do you think I force myself between her and the villains we face when she tries to protect me because she will take the hit for me. But she needs to be the one that the attack does not hit because she is the one that purifies the akuma.”

“We are a very colorful crew,” Beautifly giggled.

“Says the butterfly girl whose hero outfit is almost entirely black,” White Wolf said.

“Not my fault that Flutter is a monarch butterfly kwami,” Beautifly shrugged.

“I certainly wish that I had some color on my suit,” Cat Noir says. “While the black makes my eyes pop, the color doesn’t match my personality at all. Why couldn’t Plagg be a tabby cat or a white cat?”

“Because he is the literal god of bad luck and nobody thinks of either of those two other kinds of cats when bad luck comes to mind,” Ladybug stated. “Deal with it, Chaton.”

“Yeah, you really need some sleep before you become permanently sassy,” Beautifly says.

“I blame Hawkmoth and his never-ending late-night akumas,” White Wolf stated. “My ears are still ringing from that banshee akuma he created last week.”

“And talk about unoriginal,” Cat Noir rolled his eyes. “Scream Queen was probably the most obvious choice of name in the history of villain names.”

“Even more so than that Poison Ivy woman in Gotham,” Beautifly asked.

“Well, she could have called herself Mother Nature,” Cat Noir shrugged.

“Point made,” Beautifly said.

The four then looked at the rest of their teams preparing themselves for what was going to be done. The Greek hero team had stayed the same throughout the three years of fighting, but the French team had changed. Their current members were Vulpix, Emerald Turtle, Queen Bee, Viperion, Lady Unicorn, King Monkey, Ryuko, Shadow Cat, and Bunnix. The last two being the newest members of the hero team. The Greek team was Gladiator with the grizzly bear miraculous, Tigress with the leopard miraculous, and Ocean Mage with the mermaid miraculous. The last one being the only person to be currently using a magical creature miraculous on the planet.

All of the heroes were getting ready in their own ways. Ryuko, Ocean Mage, and Viperion were meditating. King Monkey, Bunnix, Tigress, and Gladiator were all getting themselves hyped up for the mission. Queen Bee was trying to find a way to take off her gloves to file her nails. Vulpix and Emerald Shell were cuddling, comforting each other, and probably trying really hard not to start making out. The same could be said about Shadow Cat and Lady Unicorn. Those four were always the more timid ones of the group, even though all of them were amazing heroes.

“Alright, does everyone remember their parts of the plan,” Ladybug asked them, snapping them out of their trances.

“I will make sure that everything goes smoothly and no one truly gets hurt,” Viperion says.

“White Wolf, Lady Unicorn, and I take out our biggest worries to being discovered before we are ready,” Bunnix added.

“The rest of us force them into a position where they have to listen to us,” Gladiator said.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Some of them were still looking nervous about what they were about to do.

“Are you sure doing this is the right thing to do,” Lady Unicorn asked. “We could get into serious trouble for this.”

“We wouldn’t be doing this at all if they stopped ignoring us,” Tigress crossed her arms. “Even with all these miraculous being active, Hawmoth’s akumas are getting more and more dangerous.”

“He is also akumatizing more dangerous people like con artists, martial artists, and policemen,” Ocean Mage says. “What’s to stop him from going all Scarlet Moth and sending his moths to a prison if he gets desperate enough?”

“That is why we need their help,” Ladybug said. “If contacting them through official means does not help, then we must do what we have to.”

“I just hope that we don’t get labeled as criminals for this,” Beautifly said.

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

If there was one thing that Robin currently was, it was bored. He had to stop himself from yawning as he sat in another long and boring meeting of the Justice League.

One would think that a young hero like him would not be a part of one of these meetings. But this was less of a war room and more of a meeting between all heroes to discuss general things involving heroes in general and not entirely league business. It was always the same things being discussed in these meetings. Egotistical politicians trying to control the league, villains breaking out of prison again, as well as discussing potential new members of the League and the Young Justice team.

Other than Robin, the rest of the Bat-family was there as well. Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Oracle, Spoiler, Orphan, Batwing, and even Batwoman. The Super family was also there. Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, and the former Superboy that now called himself Krypton. Robin smirked at how Conner had finally broken the trend of having “Super” in his hero name. He may be a clone, he knew that both Kara and Jon both adored him. The other young heroes that were there were Red Arrow, Artemis, Aqualad, Tempest, Miss. Martian, Beast Boy, Starfire, Zatanna, Kid Flash, and Impulse.

And other than Batman and Superman, there were also the mentors of the other young heroes as well. Green Arrow, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Dr.Fate, and the Flash. The other adult heroes in the room were Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Wonder Woman, Sparton, Black Canary, Red Tornado, all three Green Lanterns, Black Lightning, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom, the Atom, and Katanna.

As Robin looked around, he noticed that he was not the only bored-looking young hero. The entire Bat-family looked to be wanting to be anywhere else, especially since they lived in a city where a crime was committed every five seconds. But the other heroes that looked bored were Superboy, Krypton, Red Arrow, Aqualad, and Beast Boy. They were all probably like him. They were excited to be part of league meetings until it was discovered that there was a lot more politics involved than actual hero work.

“Does anyone have anything else that they would like to add,” Superman asked the room.

“How about we talk about actually saving people instead of dealing with politicians,” Nightwing muttered, making the Bat-family hide their snickers.

“Especially that psycho Lex Luthor,” Krypton muttered from his place next to Nightwing.

“Well, if that is all…” Superman was about to wrap up the meeting.

“Wait,” Zatanna shot up from her seat, her hands on her head. “I sense something.”

All the younger heroes were all now thinking how something interesting was finally going to happen during one of these meetings. But the heroes were also all reaching for their weapons if they had them.

“What is it,” Wonder Woman asked the magician, her hand on her sword.

“There is an incoming magical…” Zatanna was cut off.

A bright blue portal opened up right under her feet. She fell in before she could finish her warning. The portal closed right after she fell into it.

“What in the world,” Flash gasped.

“ZATANNA,” the members of Young Justice yelled their former team member’s name.

“Oracle,” Batman did not even have to say the entire order.

“I’m on it,” the wheelchair-bound hero immediately started typing on her holographic computer. “She’s… I can’t find her.”

“What do you mean you can’t find her,” Captain Atom demanded to know.

“It’s like she vanished into thin air,” Oracle continued typing. “She’s nowhere in the Watchtower, or on Earth, not even on my planet in our galaxy. There is no sign of Zatanna anywhere.”

“She managed to say that it was something magical that was approaching,” Wonder Woman says.

“Dr. Fate, can you do something,” Superman requested of the lord of order.

The master sorcerer stood up from his seat. While he, personally, did not care for Zatanna other than a fellow user of the mystic arts, his current host body was that of her father. So finding her will hopefully silence all the yelling that Zatara is currently doing inside of the helmet.

But before the lord of order could do anything, another portal opened up behind him. But unlike the bright blue of the first one, this portal was a ring of blue surrounding a white portal. Something had quickly reached through and Dr.Fate was instantly turned into an ice statue. An invisible figure sneaked through the portal before it closed.

This caused all the other league members and Young Justice members to all jump and, drawing their weapons or preparing their powers. They all looked around and were on guard just in case another portal opened up.

“Oracle,” Batman ordered her again.

She was typing as quickly as humanly possible.

“I can’t find anyone else in the Watchtower,” she said, still typing. “I’ve run heat scans, x-ray scans, even the program to search for invisible opponents. I still can not find anyone else in the Watchtower.”

A soft tune suddenly played throughout the room. It was like a theme song for a peaceful day in the Fall played on a flute. A ball of light soon soared to the end of the room and brightly flashed. When the flash died down, the heroes were all shocked to see a message had been written in light in the air.

“We Just Want To Talk.”

It floated there for about a minute before Superman and Maritan Manhunter flew over to the message to examine it. But the moment that one of them touched it, it vanished in a burst of orange smoke-like light.

“It was an illusion,” Nightwing was the first to realize it.

“Maybe that is how they are hiding,” Red Robin opened up his own holographic screen over his glove and started typing. “Under an illusion.”

“And if they are magical like Zatanna said, it would not be possible to detect them since the technology that can detect magic has not been invented yet,” Oracle added.

“There is no such thing as magic,” yelled out Kid Flash.

Young Justice rolled their eyes, used to the constant rants that the speedster goes on about his disbelief in magic. It certainly annoyed those like Aqualad and Tempest, who both were born in Atlantis and attended the conservatory of sorcery there. Few other magical heroes tolerated the loud-mouth. Which was why heroes like Phantom and his brother Gold Siren wanted nothing to do with the team. (Reference to my fanfictions on Wattpad, Phantom Music and Home.)

“Try to find out where the illusion came from,” Superman ordered.

“You could try looking right in front of you,” a female voice was suddenly heard.

The heroes all turned and saw three masked teenagers standing there. Two boys and a girl.

The first boy was a redhead with his bangs covering his right eye. He had on a fox-themed skin-tight orange and white outfit with red boots, gloves, and a red jacket. He also had real fox ears and a real fox tail as well. A flute was strapped to his back.

The boy next to him had black hair with green tips, which matched his turtle-themed outfit. The outfit also had a dark green leather jacket and boots with a green shield on his back, going with the goggle-like mask over his eyes.

The girl was blond with a single black streak in her ponytail. Her outfit was definitely themed by bumblebees. But unlike the shoes of the two next to her, her shoes had a slight heal to them. Like a two-inch-high wedge heel. Around her waist was a spinning top on a string.

“What have you done to our allies,” Captain Atom demanded of them.

“They are perfectly fine,” the turtle boy informed them.

“Why should we believe you,” Robin held his katana in his hand.

“Because we need your help and harming your fellow heroes would not help our situation,” the fox boy crossed his arms.

“What could you possibly need from us,” Black Lightning’s hands sparked with his powers.

“How about for you to stop ignoring us while we have been fighting a terrorist for three years,” the bee girl yelled at them.

“We also are not lying,” the fox boy said. “We have no reason to lie when surrounded by most of the world’s heroes.”

Before they could say anything else, all three were surrounded by separate green spheres that floated them up into the air. The Green Lanterns all had their rings pointed at one of the masked teens.

“This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous,” the bee girl complained as she crossed her arms.

“I got captured by the original Green Lantern,” the fox boy looked to be almost fanboying inside of his sphere.

“Lucky, I got that class clown Guy Gardner,” the turtle boy almost seemed to pout.

“Hey,” Guy Gardner protested, offended.

“Why are you here, where is Zatanna, and what did you do to Dr. Fate,” Superman demanded of the three as he flew close to them.

“You know, you are a lot less threatening than you think you are,” the bee girl stated with a smirk. “By the way, whoever told you that underwear on the outside of your pants was a good choice needs to be thrown into fashion jail.”

Most of the Young Justice team had to stop themselves from laughing. Even Superboy, Supergirl, and Krypton were trying not to laugh. They had no idea who this girl was, but she was certainly sassy.

“How did you get into the Watchtower undetected,” Superman continued to demand answers from them.

“That is for us to know,” the fox boy started.

“And you to find out,” the turtle boy finished.

The smirks the three had told the league something, alright. Batman was the first to realize what it meant.

“There are more of them,” he said.

As if him saying that was their cue to come in, three more masked teens almost seemed to materialize into the room. A guy in a monkey-themed outfit hit his Ruyi Jingu Bang against the ground and then threw it into the air.

“Uproar,” he yelled.

He threw his now glowing staff into the air, the staff letting out a flash as it spun in the air. With a swift flick of her lasso, Wonder Woman grabbed the weapon before it could fall back into the monkey boy’s hand. But something else fell into his hands that they did not see.

But then came the second masked teen, who looked like he had been born of the ocean. He took out what seemed to be a hilt made out of sapphire. Water came out of the hilt as the masked boy flicked his wrist, the water forming into a whip. Before they could move, the teen whipped all of the Green Lantern’s hands at once. Pulling his whip, the masked teen caused their hands to collide together.

That was when the monkey boy threw the object that he had caught out of the air. Katana was close enough to try and slice through it with her sword, but she was intercepted by a second masked girl, this one appearing out of nowhere and seemed to have a tiger theme to her. Even if she was purple and black and not orange and black. Katana’s sword was met with a metal tiger-claw gauntlet. While they fought, a bunny-themed girl showed up and intercepted Green and Red Arrow, fighting both archers at once. Then, to the shock of the Green Lantern trio, a stuffed octopus child’s toy landed on their connected hands.

For a moment, nothing happened and they wondered why a stuffed animal had been thrown at them. But then their rings all started to malfunction at once. The rings stopped glowing and all three trapped teens were released from their bubbles. And since the rings were no longer working, the Lanterns all fell to the ground without their ability to fly.

“We’re teenagers, not stupid,” the bee girl smirked.

No longer wanting to underestimate the masked teens, the big hitters of the league all started to move toward them. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Red Tornado, and Captain Atom.

“Venom,” the bee girl shouted.

The top in her hand seemed to grow a bit in size and start glowing. As Superman flew at her, she dodged him and managed to touch him with her top. He fell to the ground and did not move from his punching pose. He was paralyzed.

“Confusion,” a female voice shouted.

Wonder Woman turned around to almost immediately be scratched on her arm by a girl in a leopard-themed outfit. The scratch on her arm glowed purple and the hero suddenly became very dizzy and could not seem to focus. She had never been drunk before, but she was sure this was probably how it felt.

Captain Atom’s hands lit up as he aimed one of his energy blasts at the masked teens. As he was just about to blast, another masked teen appeared. This one was themed by a brown-furred bear. Probably a grizzly bear.

“Roar,” a male voice yelled just as Captain Atom blasted.

The bear boy’s fist lit up gold and he punched right into the energy beam. To the surprise of the league, he was able to keep the beam at bay with a single punch.

Red Tornado was about to throw one of his twisters when he was hit on his robot head by a thrown horseshoe. It bounced and flew around like a boomerang-gone-wild until it landed back in the hand of a horse-themed girl.

All of the heroes and masked teens in the room were either fighting or dodging the attacks of another from one of the other groups.

“Enough,” a male and female voice shouted at once.

Even the Justice League froze as the voices boomed throughout the room. Standing on the other side of the room were six more masked teens. Three boys and three girls. The two that had shouted were a ladybug-themed girl and a boy with an icy wolf outfit. The boy standing next to the ladybug girl looked to be related to Catwoman while the girl next to the wolf boy was like a butterfly turned human. The last two were a snake boy and a girl that looked to be dragon-themed.

“All of you, front and center, now,” the ladybug girl ordered.

All of the animal-themed teens stopped what they were doing immediately. They put their weapons away and walked over to join the others at her sides.

Wonder Woman looked at the group for a few moments. The drunk feeling had been lifted from her and she could focus. There was something about them that was making an old memory of her’s rise to the surface. An old story that her mother used to tell her about when she had been friends with, who she had called, an adorable and wise little creature known as a kwami. A creature that she also remembered was bound to a magical object called a miraculous.

“The ladybug and black cat are active once more,” she gasped.

The league looked at the Amazon princess in shock. She actually had an idea who these teens were.

“We thought that you would be the one to recognize our magic, Wonder Woman,” the ladybug girl softly smiles.

Wonder Woman approached the group, putting her sword away as she did. And surprising the league again, she bowed to the ladybug girl and cat boy. The two of them and the wolf boy and butterfly girl bow back.

“It is an honor to meet the wielder of the ladybug miraculous,” Wonder Woman said.

“The honor is all ours, daughter of Hippolyta,” the ladybug girl says. “Tikki says to tell your mother ‘hi’ for her.”

Wonder Woman smiled at that.

“Would you care to explain exactly what is going on,” Batman ordered them, crossing his arms. “Starting with where Zatanna is and what you did to Dr. Fate and Superman.”

The bunny girl got out a pocket watch from her pocket. She checks the time.

“We can answer the first question now,” she smirked. “We’re right on time.”

She put her watch away and then threw her hands forward yelling “Burrow.” Out popped the same type of portal that Zatanna had disappeared through. And seconds after the portal was opened, out fell the magician.

“What just happened,” Zatanna immediately asked.

“The rest of your comrades will be fine somewhere between five to ten minutes,” the butterfly girl says.

“Before we go into the full explanation, do you guys have a bathroom in this place by any chance,” the leopard girl asked.

#crossover #justice league #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fandom #original character #original heroes #original miraculous #ml salt #lila salt #alya salt #nino salt #i love salt #crossovers are the best #part 1

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angstymdzsthoughts · 3 years

Text

I promised that I would share the convo me and @time-flies-by had earlier today regarding the Maleficent AU post, so here it is!

time-flies-by Dude that Maleficent AU-

angstymdzsthoughts I knoooow

angstymdzsthoughts It got a bit dark on me

time-flies-by It did, but goddamn was it good!

angstymdzsthoughts Right? I'm super happy with it

time-flies-by As you should! It actually gave me chills

angstymdzsthoughts WWX goes to sleep in his husbands arms, happy and in love. Wakes up to that husband mutilating him Thank you!!!

time-flies-by The best part, is that LWJ doesn’t even see anything wrong with it. He’s just like, “it has to happen”

angstymdzsthoughts Yep! Just another part of getting married to him

time-flies-by WWX definitely leaves understanding Madam Lan a lot better.

angstymdzsthoughts Oof LWJ grows up around spouses who seem perfectly happy with life after losing their wings And his mother, who still had her wings, was miserable So he thinks hes actually helping to make WWX happier

time-flies-by Double oof WWX really doesn’t understand what he was getting himself into.

angstymdzsthoughts Oh my god other spouses try to warn him (in a quiet subtle way so their husbands don’t get upset)

angstymdzsthoughts All the Lans are taught that this is a special, intimate experience between spouses

angstymdzsthoughts I feel like Su She is jealous that LWJ got to experience that and is vindictively happy when WWX ran away

time-flies-by Oh my god, the Lans all brainwashed into thinking that the tight smiles, and the tears are signs of love, when in reality their spouse is trying so hard to not hate them. Soakxldowkenenw fuxking Su She

angstymdzsthoughts The spouses are all trapped. Oh wait

angstymdzsthoughts The "soulmate" thing only happens once or twice in a generation and Madam Lan had been the most recent before WWX so the spouse around who tries to warn him away is an old woman who has been married and trapped in the CR for life 55 years That makes it so much worse

time-flies-by Oh my god, imagine wwx accidentally runs into the the wing room, and is absolutely horrified to find all the wings there, so he goes to lwj and is all like “Lan Zhan? What’s this?” And LWJ just goes “don’t worry Wei ying, I’ll make sure that never happens to you.” And what he means is “I’ll make sure your grounding isn’t as painful as theirs.” And wwx trusts LWJ 100%, but then their own grounding happens.

angstymdzsthoughts OOF Oh my god just rip my heart out

angstymdzsthoughts All I can picture is WWX crying and calling LWJ a liar before he's silenced Most disturbing part is how gentle and loving LWJ is being while hes Removing His Husbands Limbs Soft little praises and telling WWX that they will be happy together now

angstymdzsthoughts Ohhh WWX is totally gonna blame himself if he saw the wings and didn't immediately run Gets to Yunmeng like 'how could I be so stupid to believe him'

time-flies-by Ooh especially if the spouses before him tried warning him too.

angstymdzsthoughts Yes Exactly

time-flies-by WWX: The signs were all there. . . There was a red flag everywhere!

angstymdzsthoughts The way WWX sees it is like that 'face eating leopard party' meme Everyone else is just plain horrified

time-flies-by Oof 😂

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ is crying in the CR asking what he did wrong Yunmeng Jiang is ready to start a war in order to get WWX his wings back

time-flies-by Omg yesssss The Lans are all clueless and offended because they see NOTHING wrong with their traditions.

angstymdzsthoughts Someone tries to put it in perspective for them. "How would you react if your spouse cut off your hands?" But the Lans dont get it and just dig their hole deeper. "Thats ridiculous! You Need hands! Wings are in no way a necessity."

time-flies-by Aish 😓

time-flies-by Yeah no, the Jiangs are definitely cutting all ties with the Lan after that.

angstymdzsthoughts The Lans argue that wings do nothing but make someone fickle and reckless and arrogant. They Need to be earth bound so they can learn stability and humbleness ... Oh my god... Horrible thought

time-flies-by Do tell

angstymdzsthoughts Some children of grounded spouses end up with wings too But they get them cut off when they are younger Should it be LXC or LWJ who use to have wings?

angstymdzsthoughts Spend their entire adolescence being ashamed of the wings and eagerly waiting for the day they can be removed

time-flies-by Oooh maybe LXC?

angstymdzsthoughts The most recent wings added are a pair of small white ones maybe half the size of WWXs and the sight of them make him run out because he may be sick

time-flies-by Oh god, what if there’s like, a whole room just full of children’s wings.

Angstymdzsthoughts Of course the Lans would keep them Ohhh WWX hears people talking about the grounding ceremony that will follow the honeymoon and has no idea what their all talking about He asks and the Lans explain that it's a sacred ceremony between spouses that truly binds the new spouse to the Lan family WWX is like- oh wow that sounds really great! Like a big 'welcome to the family'!

time-flies-by Oh no that make it worse! WWX is super excited for the ceremony. He’s like hyping himself up nonstop.

angstymdzsthoughts Oh with the Lan members with wings- they normally have a form of the grounding ceremony when they get their courtesy name and become a Real Lan. Lose your wings and get a name Oh my gooood WWX and LWJ go to bed that night talking about how the bonding ceremony will be tomorrow morning and LWJ assures him that he knows WWX will be perfect

time-flies-by Oh god no, I’m just imagining a bunch of children scared but super willing to lose their wings, because they’d been taught that having them made them everything the clan was against

angstymdzsthoughts WWX, cuddling close: What if I mess up and make a fool of myself? No ones really told me what to do yet. LWJ, petting WWXs wings lovingly: Don't worry, I'll take care of everything Exactly

time-flies-by Oooh I just got chills again

angstymdzsthoughts Something about LWJ touching and admiring WWXs wings in this context... 😨

time-flies-by LWJ: once I get rid of these, he’ll be all mine.

angstymdzsthoughts Touching wings isn't a normal thing outside of family (given that touching in general isn't normal in Chinese culture) but WWX was always super ok with friends petting his wings. He totally offered to let LWJ touch his wings when they were teenagers after catching him admiring them

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ hadn't felt a wing since his mother died shortly after her Binding and WWXs are a really beautiful glossy black color that turns a dark, rich purple if the light hits them just right. Of course he wants to touch

time-flies-by 😥😥

angstymdzsthoughts LWJ, cautiously running one finger along the feathers: They are so big... WWX: Of course they are! My wings have to be big and strong to carry me while I fly! LWJ immediately snatching his hand back, suddenly cold at the remainder that WWX can and will fly away far, far away from him

time-flies-by LWJ is really undermining the love WWX has for him by being that concerned that he’ll leave him.

angstymdzsthoughts He got brainwashed by his clan and he saw his mothers constant attempts to escape. Everyone around him said that the only reason she was trying to leave was because of her wings. If his own mother would leave him because of wings, what would stop WWX?

angstymdzsthoughts Madam Lan got way too close to actually escaping and QHJ was pressured into finally doing the ceremony. Madam Lan didn't last long after that

time-flies-by sent a post Source (****)

angstymdzsthoughts Hahaha

angstymdzsthoughts You know what would be worse? Baby A-Yuan with wings

time-flies-by Oh noooooo

angstymdzsthoughts Like au where LWJ didn't do the binding and unbrainwashed himself Then A-Yuan is born with wings and he grows up being told he won’t be a Real Lan if he keeps them So his parents have no plans of removing them but as his naming ceremony gets closer Yuan says he Wants to get rid of them WWX is immediately packing a bag and getting him and his son the hell out of there. LWJ is right behind him with another bag

time-flies-by Oof yes I like that

time-flies-by But like what if, the day before they leave or something, A-yuan runs to the elders and tells them about what his parents plan to do, and he’s so desperate to get rid of his wings that he asks them to just do the ceremony there and then

angstymdzsthoughts AAAAAAAAAA

time-flies-by When LWJ and WWX wake, they’re so stressed cause they can’t find A-yuan, but a few minutes later he comes in all proud and wingless

angstymdzsthoughts I mean since its Maleficent au wings are apparently magic and can be put right back on but Still Horrible WWX cries LWJ is gonna fight to get his sons wings back and then get his family the hell out of there Oh my god..... LWJ walking through a room full of tiny, near identical wings looking for the little pair that he would recognize anywhere

angstymdzsthoughts Let's a few tears out when he finds them. Remembers helping WWX clean and groom them and watching while WWX taught their son to balance and fly using those wings Hates himself for not seeing what his clan was doing to LSZ and not getting them away from all of it sooner

time-flies-by Codnekaoenen perfect

time-flies-by Heartbreaking, but perfect

angstymdzsthoughts Also, if things had gone according to plan and they left before LSZ did the Binding Yuan, struggling and crying: But I won’t be a Real Lan! WWX, throwing Yuan over his shoulder to carry him mid tantrum: Then you're gonna be a Wei. Lan Zhan, would you please carry this bag? LWJ, taking the bag: Mn. Wei Yuan sounds nice.

angstymdzsthoughts Then they go to Yunmeng so LSZ can grow up in a healthier environment

time-flies-by Oh I like your version better.

angstymdzsthoughts You brought the pain, I brought a bandaid

time-flies-by Haha yes yes, thank you

angstymdzsthoughts Oof tho. LWJ finds the wings and brings them home where WWX is guarding Yuan while he sleeps. They Return the wings while Yuan sleeps and return to making plans to go to Yunmeng once Yuan wakes When he wakes up and has his wings back he bursts into tears.

angstymdzsthoughts Could be because he really missed his wings and is glad to have them back or because this means he's gonna have to go through the grounding AGAIN and it really hurt the first time and he doesn't want to go through it again. Maybe both

time-flies-by If both, then WWX and LWJ will do their best to reassure him that he won’t have to go through the grounding ever again.

angstymdzsthoughts Aww little Yuan crying so hard he can hardly breath and bringing his wings around himself so he can pet and groom them because he needs to make sure this is real and their back

angstymdzsthoughts Oof. Imagine LXC seeing this and wishing he could have kept his wings. Goes to visit his wings and knows that they are too small to fit his body now that hes an adult so he's lost his chance

time-flies-by *sigh* we really should give LXC a break.

angstymdzsthoughts Never Ok how about he gets his wings back and even tho there too small because they never got the chance to grow with him and he'll never be able to fly hes so unbelievably happy WWX and Yuan teach him how to groom his wings correctly because the only person who ever did that was his mother and he cant quite remember how to do it

time-flies-by *sniff* family bonding time

angstymdzsthoughts He starts an arrangement with Yunmeng Jiang so he can send any winged Lans to them for half the year so they can learn that having wings Isnt the worse thing in the world

time-flies-by Oooh yes yes That’s good.

#Time-flies-by #Had a great time and the story kinda got away from us to the point that we made an au of an au #Maleficent AU #Wei Wuxian #Lan Wangji #Lan Xichen #Lan Sizhui #mdzs #mo dao zu shi

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mrsalwayswrite · 3 years

Text

To Call Forth Love- Chapter 8

Guys, I’m so sorry this chapter has taken me so long to get out. My family was sick for awhile (nasty stomach bug) so i barely had any time to write, and then this chapter took me forever to edit. Plus this chapter just kept getting longer and longer…oops?

Also, writing sexual tension is my jam but writing actually smut terrifies me. There is a bit of mild smut in here (spoiler) so feedback is always appreciated!

Lastly, a huge thank you to everyone specifically who has commented! I cannot tell you how much your encouragement means to me!

Warnings: mild smut, swearing, Ivar being Ivar, fluff

Words: 12,000 (omg, what??? why didn’t someone stop me?)

Tag List: @youbloodymadgenius @heavenly1927 @zuxiezendler @punkrocknpearls @love-all-things-writing @southernbe

Series Masterlist

Kari blearily reached over to turn off the alarm on her phone. It blared from the small table she used as a nightstand. Though she considered herself a morning person, there was something about waking to an alarm, forcing you to jolt to wakefulness, that was never easy to do. Laying on her back, she rubbed a hand down her face, eyes still closed. At least she was not opening the studio this morning. Sasha was back so most of the openings did not fall on Kari anymore. She would never tell her boss but those two weeks were rough.

"Fuck. What time is it?"

Immediately, her eyes flew open. In the next second, she shrieked and thrashed in the bed, not expecting a deep, gravelly voice coming from her bed. Why was someone in her bed? She definitely went to be alone last night. She always went to be alone. Panic surged through her as she spun around to put space between herself and her unexpected companion. Although the rapid movement, and still only being half awake, caused her to almost fall off the side of her bed. She just managed to catch herself, leaving her half sitting, half crouched like some gargoyle at the end of her full-size bed, clutching the pale lavender comforter and white sheet gathered precariously around her.

"What the fuck was that for?" Her visitor growled as he laid on his back, an arm thrown over his face.

"Ivar?" Her panic was slowly abating as she realized it was not some stranger in her bed. Though her mind still felt muddled as to how he ended up here. "What…. what are you doing in my bed?"

"I told you last night. Fuck. Did you forget already?"

"I…. I thought I dreamt that."

That got his attention. His arm moved to his side so he could stare at her with those intense blue eyes and a naughty smirk on his lips. "Do you dream of me often?"

She ignored his question, thinking back to the conversation they had during the night. Even though it was hazy and felt more like a dream than any real conversation. Then it hit her. She was not wearing a bra.

"Oh my gods, don't look!" Without hesitation, she rolled off the bed and dashed to her closet.

"What?"

"Don't look!! Ivar, please!"

"Why? Fuck. Stop shouting too."

"Because...because I don't have a bra on!"

He chuckled, folding his arms behind his head to shamelessly watch her. "Mmmm…. I noticed last night."

"IVAR!!"

She grabbed a cute sports bra, feeling beyond self-conscious in her gray, cotton sleep shorts and matching thin, cotton t-shirt. Ignoring the man in her bed, she rushed to her attached bathroom. As she quickly donned her leopard print, strappy sports bra, her mind tried to remember last night. All her mind could recall was waking up with him behind her, they talked…. she questioned him…. he said something about missing her and he had a key. That made her groan softly. Why did he have a key? How did he get a key? Looking into the mirror, she quickly fixed her messy hair, throwing it into a quick bun. So many questions swarmed her mind, all dealing with how to best handle this newfound situation she found herself in. Why could things with Ivar never be simple?

Once ready, well as ready as she was going to be for being startled awake, she stepped out of the bathroom and moved to stand at the end of the bed, hands on her hips. "You have a key."

Ivar had rolled onto his side, eyes closed. "Can we talk about this later? What fucking time is it? Why are we fucking awake?" He grumbled, not even looking at her.

It was now that Kari finally noticed that her bed's current occupant was shirtless. A handsomely toned chest and back were impossible to ignore, making her mouth suddenly feel dry.... and those tattoos.... She rigorously shook her bed, dispelling the distracting thoughts. Now was not the time for ogling. As calmly as possible, she answered Ivar, dropping her gaze to the rumpled sheets. "It's seven and I have to get ready for work."

"Call in."

Her head jerked up to stare at him. "What?"

"Call in to work. Don't go in." He repeated firmly.

"Ivar, I can't just do that. I have to be there in two hours."

He finally shifted and opened his eyes to look at her. It was unfair how handsome he looked lying in her bed with the morning sunlight peeking through the curtains over her window. Now was not the time to think about that. Mentally, she prepared a rebuttal for whatever scathing thing he was going to say, only for it to die dramatically on her tongue.

"Whoa, your eyes…." Subconsciously, she took a step closer as if physically drawn to him. Now with the haze of sleep and panic gone from her mind, she was able to fully see how the typical blue seemed to leak into the whites of his eyes. It was disconcerting to say the least. His intense eyes were now even more extreme.

"I know." He snapped, turning away from her and rolling back to his side.

"No, no, no. You don't get to do that. You already owe me so many answers." She crawled onto the bed and over to him. Although frustrated with him, the way he tried to ignore her and hide his face away made her worried. Gently, she brushed the few loose strands of hair off his cheek. When that did not even get a reaction, she gripped his chin and turned his head. "What's going on?" She asked softly.

"Nothing."

"Ivar, you answer me honestly or I'm going to walk out of this room right now and start getting ready for work."

In an instant she watched as the pain and fear in his eyes morph into anger. His gaze hardened and his lips pressed together as if sealing in the venom-laced words just waiting to come out.

"Ivar? Talk to me." She tried again, but at his furious look, she pulled her hand back.

Silently, he rolled over to the side of the bed. She watched as he reached down and began strapping his leg braces on over a pair of black sweatpants.

"Ivar?"

"It doesn't fucking matter."

"Yes, it does, whatever it is."

With his braces on, he pushed off the bed, stumbling for a moment before catching himself. His back still turned to her, he hobbled over to where his t-shirt, shoes and cane were.

"Please…." Tears welled up in her eyes. It was stupid to be getting so emotional over this. But never before had he shut her out like this. She hated how much it hurt. And it shouldn't hurt this much. Since the beginning she reminded herself frequently she needed space from him. But now that he was pushing her away, giving her that space…. she hated it. She wanted him back, teasing and smiling. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Fuck. Fine!" He spun around, shirt in his hands and flames in his frenzied gaze. "Every few months, my eyes look like this, and it means I'm more likely to break a bone. It happened more often when I was a child. Now I know to just lay around in bed otherwise dumb fucking things happen and my shitty bones break. There. Fucking happy now?"

"Thank you for telling me. And I'm sure you've heard this a million times, but I'm sorry."

At her apology, he yelled and threw his shirt across the room. The shirt slammed into her closed bedroom door. "Fuck your pity! I don't fucking want it!"

The echoes of his shout hung in the air. He stood there with fists clenched and chest heaving, glaring daggers at her. A tendril of fear snaked itself up her spine. A brief memory of Hvitserk warning her came to mind and she wondered if this was what he meant. She remained frozen, sitting on her bed, concerned if she moved it would set him off.

After an excruciatingly long minute, Ivar closed his eyes and roughly ran his hand through his loose hair.

"Ivar, why did you come here last night? Why not go home?" She quietly asked, twisting and untwisting the sheet around her hands.

"Seems I made a mistake." He scoffed, staring towards the window. "I'll leave so you get on with your day."

"Gods, that's not what I'm saying! Ivar, please! I'm just trying to understand. Please just…. just talk to me."

"It doesn't fucking matter anymore." He snarled.

"You said you didn't want to be alone…. last night….at least, I think so." She said hesitantly, more to herself, recalling their conversation, than actually speaking to him. To her surprise, after a moment, he seemed to deflate right before her. His shoulders slumped, head tilted forward to stare at the floor. In the blink of an eye, he changed from a cornered, snarling wolf to looking like a kicked puppy. Cautiously, she crawled off the bed and slowly approached him. The whole time he never moved but neither did he raise his head to acknowledge her. After taking a deep breath, she tenderly cupped his face. Her words were just above a whisper. "Push me away if you want to…. I’m just…. I’m just trying to help. What can I do? Please?"

After a second, he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers and placing his hands on her hips. They stayed there for several seconds, neither saying a word. Though she could almost feel the internal war being waged within him. His thumbs rubbed back and forth on her sleep shorts. Her hands slipped from his face to the back of his neck, one carding through his hair gently as she gave him time to think.

Finally, he breathed out. "Stay with me…. please."

Her heart fractured at the quiet brokenness in his voice, the masked pleading in his tone. How often was he forced to be alone throughout his life, lacking connection and attention that he so desperately wanted.

"Ok, I'll try and call in. If not, I'll…. we’ll figure something out, alright?"

He nodded, turning his head to nuzzle her temple. She giggled at the sensation and tried to escape but he only pulled her closer. After a couple more moments of teasing, he allowed her to guide him back to the bed, a smile on both of their faces. He sat down on the bed, forearms on his legs as he watched her.

Trying to ignore his focus, which she was positive was not on her face, she grabbed her phone and called the studio. She paced nervously, tugging slightly on her sleep shorts in a vain attempt to cover the amount of her thighs showing, as the phone rang. Thankfully her boss was the one to answer.

"Hi, Lydia. Something has come up. Is there any way someone can cover my classes today?"

"Are you alright?" Her boss asked, immediately going into concerned mom-mode.

"Yeah, I'm fine….um, it's, um…."

The phone was abruptly snatched from her hand. She spun to see Ivar talking on it, an amused smirk on his face. How he had managed to sneak up behind her unawares, she could not figure out.

"Hello, Lydia, yes? You are Kari's boss?" Ivar questioned, taking the couple steps and dropping back onto the bed. "I apologize for inconveniencing you by taking Kari's time. My ride to my doctor's appointment fell through at the last minute, and I have a rare condition which forces me to go get checked often. Kari was kind enough to…. hmmm? Yes."

There was a long pause from Ivar's speech, clearly listening to whatever her boss was saying. Kari was unsure if she wanted to throw something at Ivar or die from embarrassment. As she started to walk past him, still pacing due to nerves eating at her, Ivar grabbed her arm. Next thing she knew, she was bodily yanked onto the bed. Before she could squirm away, he snatched her feet, forcing them into his lap. Pressing the phone against his ear with his shoulder, he began to massage the bottom of her feet. She should be mad at him, she really should but suddenly she felt relaxed and blissed out. His touch was the perfect amount of rough and gentle, kneading and rubbing like it was his profession. A moan accidentally escaped her and she covered her face with her hands, barely hearing the chuckle come from him.

He finally spoke into the phone again. "I understand. Yes, I promise…. that sounds like her. Yeah, I plan on changing that soon…. bye."

He set her phone down on the bed, and continued his ministrations, never ceasing his relaxing touch.

"What, ah, what did she say?"

"She said you've never taken a day off or had a sick day, so you are overdue for one. She hopes I feel better and that you do a good job of taking care of me." He answered then turned his head to look at her with a mixture of shock and bemusement. "You really haven't taken a day off?"

"I didn't have a reason to."

"No reason? I don't know, how about to do something fun? Spend time with friends? Day drinking? Watch movies? Not deal with people? Fuck, there are plenty of reasons to skip work."

"I don't have friends to skip with." She mumbled to herself, her eyes having drifted shut on their own accord. It was a truth she had realized and sort of come to terms with.

He must have heard it though. "You do now." He said with something like a promise in his tone.

She opened her eyes to look at him, his face turned downward to focus on her feet. Now she was able to really look at his tattoos and his broad, sculpted back. The sweeping lines of ink seemed to emphasize the strength apparent in his muscles. It was truly a masterpiece. Her eyes greedily sketched over his bare skin, wondering what it would feel like under her fingers.

"Like what you see?"

A blush warmed her cheeks at having been caught staring. "They're beautiful. What are they?"

"The tattoos? Mostly Nordic tribal designs, some are specifics from the Sagas."

Curiosity burning, she pushed herself up, almost leaning against him with her chest barely touching his shoulder. With one finger, she started tracing one of the designs which began on his back and moved over his shoulder to end on his chest. "Did they hurt?"

He scoffed, head slightly tilted to watch her. "I've been in pain most of my fucking life. This was nothing."

They sat in silence for several minutes, him still rubbing her feet and her tracing his back and shoulder. It felt strangely domestic and intimate, but more importantly, it seemed natural for them to be in this position, relaxed and at ease with one another.

"What do you want to do today?" She asked in a hushed tone, peering up at him.

With a wicked smirk, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No! Not that!" She swatted his arm lightly, yet she could not help but laugh as he pouted adorably. "What do you normally do on these days?"

That quieted him. His body tensed slightly under her and he pointedly returned his gaze to her feet. She switched from tracing his tattoos to just running her hand up and down his bare back soothingly.

After a couple of seconds, he answered, his voice resigned and frustrated. "Movies, TV shows, video games, reading. Anything that will keep me in bed and resting. Sometimes my mother or Floki will come play chess with me."

"But you're usually alone?"

His lack of response was telling enough.

"Well on the days I don't work, I always lay around in bed for as long as possible then make a full English breakfast. Should we start with that?" She proposed, hoping that would cheer him up. Honestly, she had no idea what to do for him today, but feeding him seemed like a good start. Besides, her stomach was beginning to rumble.

"Yes, but first…." In an instant, he wrapped his arms around her and tackled her to the bed. She shrieked as her back suddenly hit the bed again which promptly turned into giggles at the silliness of it. A sharp inhale escaped him, silencing her. She watched a pained expression swiftly cross over his face before it vanished, only the lingering hints of pain in his eyes. After a moment, he shifted them so they laid facing one another.

Feeling bold, she touched his cheekbone, gazing into his vivid blue eyes. "I don't know why, but your eyes like this remind me of a crystal ball. Think you can see my future?" She teased.

His hand landed on her hip once again as he grinned. "I can. Want to know what I see?"

"Mmmm?"

"You’re going to kiss me."

She giggled. "I do? You sure that's not just your imagination?"

"I am no mere mortal. These eyes prove my divinity and with that I can see into the future." He leaned closer, his breath fanning across her mouth tantalizingly. "And I see you, with those pretty pink lips, kissing me right now."

Her breath hitched in her throat at his close proximity and the way her mind easily recalled what kissing him felt like. "And what would happen if I do?"

"You'll have to find out. I can't give away everything about the future…. unless you choose to worship me as your god. I can make you my favored priestess and bestow favors on you."

"Favored priestess?"

"It's a highly coveted job."

"I'm sure it is." She deadpanned but unable to keep the amusement from her voice. Overly aware of her actions, she ran a hand down his chest, feeling the muscles twitch under her palm.

The increasingly blurry line between friendship and something more screamed at her. Even just the way they were laying on her bed, the memories from her upbringing reprimanded her actions. Her grandmother telling her chastity was a virtue and to not let a man touch her. How God would frown upon anything remotely sexual outside of marriage. Yet her lips tingled at the memory of his kisses. She could not deny to herself how much she enjoyed them. How sometimes she found herself fantasizing about kissing him and letting him pleasure her again. Which was wrong. They were just friends. Even if the alluring draw to him was irrefutable. A single kiss would not hurt though. Maybe that would be enough to satisfy the heat currently curling in her belly. Hopefully.

"One kiss." She murmured, nervous excitement heating her blood.

Immediately, he leaned closer, his lips just skimming over hers teasingly. Gently, he tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth, drawing a needy whine from her. His hand on her hip tightened as he released her lip, only to press a lazy kiss to her mouth that spoke of contentment and familiarity. Their mouths moved languidly, lips barely parting as if they had all morning to just enjoy the feeling and taste of one another. All too soon, in her opinion, yet not soon enough for now she desired more, he pulled back but just enough to brush the end of his nose against hers.

"I told you, you'd kiss me." He playfully said.

"You're unbelievable."

"I am your god now. You can't speak to me that way."

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes, then gently pushed on his chest. Following her movement, he allowed himself to be pushed onto his back with a smug look the whole time. "Come on, your priestess is making us breakfast before our stomachs rumble anymore."

"I like this. I could easily get used to this arrangement."

"Sure. You alright going down the stairs?"

"I'm not that incapacitated." He snarked, a flash of anger passing through his gaze.

She chose to ignore that. "Alright, I'll meet you down there."

Slipping off the bed, she headed downstairs to the kitchen. Thankfully her roommate was not at home this morning, otherwise she was baffled how she would explain Ivar's presence to Alana. Soon she needed to figure out what to do in regards to that. Ivar clearly had no intentions of leaving her alone. Plus, the more time she spent with the youngest Lothbrok, the more she found herself becoming distraught at the idea of him no longer in her life. This morning, she chose to ignore that predicament, content with enjoying making breakfast for them.

Humming softly to herself, she pulled the necessary items out for their breakfast. Soon bacon lay on the cast iron pan, the first hints of sizzling filling the air. Eggs and sausage waited for their turn next. The sounds of the coffee pot percolating made her smile as she danced around the kitchen. Distantly the sounds of Ivar moving around upstairs could be heard.

A sudden knock on her door caused her to freeze as she pulled some bread out for toast. Her mind scrambled to try and think of why someone would be at her door this early. Then she remembered.

"Shit! Erik!"

Racing as if on fire, she turned the stove off and hurried to the front door. Yanking the door open, she was met with the sight of Erik standing there in his business casual trousers and a button-down long sleeve shirt.

"Erik, hi. I'm so sorry." She gasped out, holding the door open.

His green eyes swept over her body rapidly before meeting hers. "Um," he cleared his throat, "I thought you wanted a ride today?"

"I do, sorry, did. Ah, something came up. I'm so sorry, I should have text you."

"Ok, is your phone off? I texted you about fifteen minutes ago."

She lied, tugging on her ear nervously. "Yeah, I forgot to charge it overnight. I'm so sorry for making you wait around for me. It's my fault you'll be late to work."

He shrugged, rocking back on his heels, a small smile on his face. "It's fine. My boss is lenient as long as we get our work done and don't miss any appointments."

"Oh good." She smiled in return; happy he would not get reprimanded because of her. He already did so much to help her out. As they spoke, it did not go unnoticed how his eyes continuously drifted down to the large amount of skin exposed by her sleep shorts. Self-conscious, she spoke again, hoping to distract from her body, even as his clear interest made a blush rise to her cheeks. "Is there something I can do to make this up to you?"

"I still haven't thought of how you can pay me back for gas money."

She chuckled at his shy look as he confessed. "We can put this on my tab too. Maybe I'll make you dinner or something?"

Erik opened his mouth to respond when a shout caused his mouth to snap shut.

"KARI!"

Closing her eyes for a moment, Kari silently prayed to whoever was listening for patience to deal with what she knew was about to occur.

The tapping of his cane and loud footfalls were enough for her to know Ivar was approaching. She turned to look at him and immediately wanted to smack her forehead against the doorframe. Of course, he had decided to forgo his shirt.

"Who the fuck is this?" He growled low once he was close, the predatory look in his eyes undeniable. In this moment he resembled a snake ready to strike without hesitation, more than someone who was in chronic pain. Standing there next to her, only wearing sweatpants and the braces over his legs, he was the one who seemed more runway ready than Erik in his business casual outfit.

"Ah, hi, I'm Erik Redsen." He said skeptically, eyeing the dark-haired man like he was unsure if he needed to grab Kari and make a run for it or talk to him about taxes. "I live next door. I was supposed to give Kari a ride to work this morning."

"Well, she won't be needing one anymore." Ivar snapped harshly.

"I can see that….and you are?"

"Ivar. Ivar Lothbrok."

Erik's eyes widened comically as he scanned Ivar with new eyes. "Right. Are you two…. friends?"

Before Kari could explain, Ivar beat her to answering. He shifted behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her flush against him. "You could say that. We have a very…. satisfying relationship. Don't you agree, kitten?"

At this point, Kari was positive her face most likely resembled a tomato. She tried to push his arm off her, but he only tightened it in response. "Ivar." She hissed.

"Mmmm? I'll wait for you in the kitchen. You did promise me breakfast after such a vigorous morning." He planted a hot, open-mouth kiss on her neck before he looked up at Erik with a disarming smirk. "I'm sure we'll see each other again; I plan on being here more often."

"Ah, sure. Nice to meet you." Although Erik sounded anything but pleased as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

Leaning heavily on his cane, Ivar slowly walked towards the kitchen area; though it did nothing to negate the aura of danger surrounding him.

Once he disappeared from view, she let out a sigh before turning back to Erik. "He's just a friend. It's complicated. We don't….um, yeah. He's a friend." She tried to smooth over but even to her ears it sounded weak.

"It's alright. Um, I need to get going. I'll…. I’ll see you around."

"Ok. Hey, think you're free to shop this week?"

He smiled shyly, walking backwards down the short driveway. "I'll check my schedule and text you."

"Thanks. Bye, Erik!"

She closed the door after he saluted her, making sure to lock it. Taking a deep breath, she mentally girded herself for the inquisition that was about to happen once she entered the kitchen. She had to stick to her guns in this. It was OK for her to have other guy friends, there was no rule that said Ivar had to be the only one. Besides, she had known Erik longer anyway, so he would have priority. She doubted Ivar would appreciate that sentiment though.

In the pause before returning to the kitchen, she also tried to use that time to douse her libido. She was upset with Ivar for the clearly possessive action towards her; while simultaneously, between the tight hold against firm body and that salacious kiss, arousal coursed through her body. It was infuriating how her body reacted to even the simplest touch from him. If he knew how much she was puddy in his hands….

Once she felt in control of herself again, she headed towards the kitchen. Ignoring what just occurred seemed to be the best way of handling that awkward interaction. Erik was her friend and that was none of Ivar's business.

The dark-haired Lothbrok sat on a bar stool, leaning on the island that faced into the kitchen. Though his face remained impassive, his gaze was hard as stone, silently demanding her to explain.

Wordlessly, she returned to preparing their breakfast. Turning the stove on again, the bacon started to sizzle. Thankfully, the coffee had finished brewing so she poured herself and her brooding companion a mug each. A little milk and sugar went into hers, and she made sure to leave them in reach so Ivar could fix his own coffee.

Attempting to ignore the obvious tension swallowing the air in the small kitchen, she focused on making their food. Sausages were cooked, along with eggs, toast and tomatoes. She would have loved some black pudding but her roommate refused to let her keep some in the fridge, so Kari was forced to stop buying it. As she silently moved about the tiny kitchen, her mind worked on cataloging what she had potentially for them to eat for lunch and dinner. Which did not consist of much. She could try and make something but cooking was not her forte. Ordering out seemed the best idea. Although she did have popcorn so they were set for watching movies.

Suddenly Ivar's smug tone broke through her thoughts. "Erik Michael Redsen. Twenty-eight years old. Works as a personal banker downtown. Went to school for art history. Well that was fucking stupid."

"Gods, Ivar!" She turned on him, horrified. "Did you just do a background check on him?"

"How much do you really fucking know about this guy?" He demanded with a threatening undertone.

She sighed, trying to decipher if he was coming from a place of possessiveness or actual concern for her safety. With him, it could go either way. Returning her attention to making their breakfast, she put the salt and pepper away as she answered. "Honestly, not much. We don't really hang out. We carpool to the grocery store and sometimes he gives me rides to work so I don't have to take the bus. That's it."

"Take the bus." He mouthed as if it was a foreign concept. He then slammed his hand on the countertop, making her jump at the unexpected noise. “Hell no, you aren't riding no fucking bus. I'll have my driver take you to work."

"No."

"No? No, what?"

"I'm not using your driver."

"Fine. I'll buy you a car!"

"No! I can't…." She turned to really look at him, pushing her ego aside to be transparent. "I can't afford a car right now. We also don't have space for me to have one here. Besides, I don't mind taking the bus."

"I'll pay for everything with your car."

"Ivar, you're not listening! I don't want one! Thank you for offering but I'm OK. I like riding with you in your car but I don't need my own right now. I wouldn't have anywhere to park it anyway."

He tilted his head to the side, looking at her with a peculiar expression.

"What?" She sharply said.

"You don't…." He stopped himself, rubbing a hand over his mouth, as if choosing his words carefully, before continuing. "You really don't care about my money, do you?"

"No, why should I?" She chuckled, putting their food on the two ceramic plates she pulled out. "Honestly, it's kind of intimidating."

He barked a laugh, as he seemed to stare off into space.

A flashback hit her to her conversation with Gyda a couple days ago. She peeked over at Ivar, wondering what Pandora's box she was accidently going to open with her question. "Your ex?" She asked softly.

He tensed for a moment, staring into his coffee mug. For a moment, she thought he would ignore her question or rebuke her for asking. Instead, he silently gave a single nod, not meeting her eyes.

How many times was she going to feel her heart break for this man? How many times did he feel used? Abandoned? Unwanted? At what point did the aloof and cruel mask he wore become a permanent fixture to protect his heart?

Wiping her hands off on a towel, she walked around the counter to come up behind him and wrap her arms around his shoulders. "I promise I don't like you just for your money or name or whatever other stupid thing people have done to you. I like you. For some unexplainable reason, I like you, though you do have the habit of pissing me off."

"You like me, huh?" He teased, relaxing into her embrace.

"Don't let it get to your head. You won't fit through doors anymore."

He laughed loudly at that. "You sound like Floki."

After giving him a gentle squeeze, carefully of his fragile state, she walked back around to finish up the last touches of their food. "I kind of want to meet him but I'm also scared, you know?"

"He's harmless since he doesn't carry around his axe anymore."

"That's…. what? That's not reassuring."

He just smiled…. and somehow, she was less comforted than before.

She finished up their plates, setting Ivar's in front of him on the island, and placing hers in front of the other bar stool next to him. They both began eating, drawing a pleased grunt of approval from her companion.

"I don't trust him."

"Who?" The brunette covered her mouth, having taken a bite of eggs. The last thing she wanted was to spew food all over Ivar. There was no way he would ever let her forget that.

He narrowed his eyes at her as if her question was redundant. "That Erik guy. He wants to fuck you."

"Well, he isn't going to since I'm not interested in him." He grumbled, but before he could speak up, she cut him off. "You, sir, still owe me an explanation of how you got a key to my townhouse."

"Hmmm…. Let's say your property management didn't need much…. persuasion….to hand over a spare they kept on hand."

"I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not."

He winked at her as he bit into a piece of bacon.

Pointing her fork at him, she hoped he understood how crucial this next statement was. "You can't just show up here whenever you want."

Chewing on a piece of toast, he just stared ahead with a cool expression.

"Ivar, I'm serious. We're lucky Alana isn't here this morning."

"I noticed that, where is she?"

"She has an early day at work today."

He hummed, digging into his food.

She opened her mouth to further press on the importance of her statement but changed her mind and sipped on her coffee. He was already moody enough, if she continued to pester him about this, his mood would only darken. Later, she could reiterate her stance. There was no way he was going to give up the key he had. However much she thought it was weird and unfounded for him to have a key, it was just so…. Ivar to think it necessary. That did not seem a battle worth fighting over. Him just randomly showing up, that was something they needed to set rules on.

They finished eating their food and decided to watch a movie next, both keen on the idea of laying around in bed. When Kari reminded him that they would have to use her laptop to watch a movie if they went back upstairs, he grumbled loudly, saying something about fixing that but she paid no mind. After cleaning up, they headed back up to her room. When she went to argue it would be better to watch a movie downstairs on the TV there, she noted how he slowly ascended the stairs, holding onto the handrail with a tight grip, and how he gritted his teeth. Biting her tongue, she kept her comment to herself, instead rushing up the stairs to grab her laptop and set up her bed for his arrival.

He made it to her room but instead of coming to the bed right away, he hobbled over to where his shirt lay. She watched, curious, but also admiring his body. A heat curled low in her belly as she watched his muscles tense and the ink dance across his skin. He was truly a beautiful specimen of masculinity.

With something in hand, he came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Here."

She took it from his outstretched hand, seeing it was the newest iPhone, which wasn't even supposed to be released until that Friday. "How? Wait…. why?"

He unstrapped his braces, setting them on the ground. "I told you I was getting you a new phone."

"You didn't have to; my phone is just fine."

"It's a piece of shit." He grunted as he dragged himself to lean against the wall, in lieu of a headboard. "Besides, this one had better security features. I already programmed some of them and I can show you the rest later. I'll switch your Sim card for you too."

"Ivar…." She started to argue but was cut off when he snaked an arm around her waist and tugged her against him.

"Just say 'thank you, Ivar' and shut up. I want to watch a movie."

"Thank you, oh gracious, benevolent god." She said in a sickly, sweet voice as she batted her eyelashes at him.

"Cheeky." He nipped at her earlobe, causing her to squirm. Pinning her against his side once more, he pressed his mouth to her ear and he whispered in a husky tone. "You can call me that whenever you want."

A bolt of desire shot through her at his voice and the wicked images it painted in her mind. Her traitorous heart began to beat a rapid tattoo in her chest in excitement. Shifting the laptop in her lap to distract herself from her body's unconscious reactions, she teasingly answered. "I'm sure your brothers would love that."

"Fuck them. They know I'm better than they are anyway."

She rolled her eyes at his cocky comment. "What movie are we watching?"

"None of your shit." He snatched the laptop from her, scanning the streaming service. "I'm buying you a TV for your room next."

"No, you aren't." She mumbled, as she shifted to lay down.

Her bedroom was by no means Spartan but it certainly was on the sparser side. Her bed took up most of the space, the only other furniture was the two small tables, one holding her jewelry box and her plants and the other she used as a nightstand. All of her clothes and shoes she kept in the closet, some hanging and some in plastic drawers. Besides the pile of clean clothes in the laundry basket she needed to fold and put away, but she ignored that. Her beloved books were lined up neatly on the windowsill or a couple stacked on the nightstand. The only decoration she had on her walls was a stick-on wall decal that was the quote 'not all who wander are lost' in a flowy script. Even her suitcases and yoga mat were shoved under her thin metal-frame mattress.

There were a couple other knick-knacks around but she had purposefully kept her space simple. Just for the fact if she needed to suddenly pack up and move….it would not be difficult. However depressing of a thought that was.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she laid her head on her pillow, listening to Ivar mutter about the lack of good choices. Eventually he picked out some movie she had never heard of before. He stayed reclined against the wall with her laptop in his lap, a pillow against his lower back. From where she laid next to him, Kari could see the screen but found her eyelids staying closed. To the sounds of gunfire, swearing and some man yelling "motherfucker" often, she dozed off.

*****

When she cracked her eyes open, it was to be met with a pair of captivating eyes already staring at her from the pillow next to her.

"You know you drool when you sleep?"

Absent-mindedly she wiped a hand over her mouth and sure enough found the traces of drool there. "Sorry." She said, voice still coated in sleep. "How long was I asleep?"

Ivar laid on his side facing her, arm tucked under his head and the laptop nowhere in sight. "Almost two hours."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how tired I was."

"I ordered us lunch. It should be here soon."

"Thanks."

They laid there facing one another. From this angle she was able to admire the tattoos across his chest and the Thor's hammer necklace hanging from his neck. Gingerly, she reached over and touched one of the tattoos on his chest, only for it to jump under her finger and make her squeak in surprise. He laughed as she mock-glared at him, then rolled onto his back. When she made no further movement, he snatched her hand and laid it upon his chest, silently giving her permission to continue her exploration. He placed both of his hands behind his head, eyes intent on her the whole time. With that, she shifted closer, to sit up and gaze down at him. Her hand returned its tracing of his decorated skin, admiring the lines of both color and his sculpted body.

"I always wanted to get a tattoo." She quietly confessed, watching her hand trace the colored lines on his skin.

"Why haven't you?"

She shrugged. "My mother would've been livid. Plus, I could never fully decide on what I'd get. I want something that…. means something…. not just a cute design."

"I'll take you if you want."

"To get a tattoo?"

"Why not?" He sounded almost offended, but the upward tilt of his lips betrayed his amusement.

She giggled. "Ok, when I decide what I want, you can take me."

He hummed his agreement. Her attention returned back to his magnificent body, dragging her finger from his chest up his shoulder, following one of the tattoo's lines. She wondered what kind of tattoo she would get. Part of the reason she never got one was she did not want to go alone and if Ivar was offering to take her, maybe it was meant for her to get one. Something small, probably. She liked the look of minimalist tattoos. Perhaps on the inside of her wrist or her ankle? The idea made her smile. This could be another step for her to choose her own future, to solidify her own identity. Even it felt strongly rebellious compared to the values of her family. She was forging her own path, without their influence any longer.

Ivar abruptly sat up, startling her from her inner musings. In one swift movement, their faces were close enough she could feel his breath on her lips. She sat spellbound, unable to pull away, causing her heart to race. His eyes landed on her lips, eyeing them like a choice morsel to be consumed. His smoldering gaze made her mouth go dry. The tension, the desire, heated the air between them until she wondered if it alone could burn them.

That craving she fought so ardently threatened to overwhelm her. The yearning for his touch, for his lips on hers, to show her what only he could give her. Never before had she been so consumed by someone, to desire them so much she struggled to maintain her vow. It was infuriating, the constant battle. Wanting to draw closer, to give in and allow him to sweep her away. Yet her mind screamed at her to pull away, to maintain the status quo, to only allow friendship between them. Even if that line was blurry at best. It was something at least. A line she needed, to protect both of them.

Forcing herself to pull back, she witnessed a flash of hurt and anger cross his eyes before her gaze dropped to her hand still on his chest. Her breathing felt erratic, matching her heartbeat. They stayed there, caught in a stalemate, neither drawing closer or further away. A dance they subjected themselves to on more than one occasion, each time still as tangible and dangerous as the last.

Luckily, a loud knock on the front door echoed up the stairs, breaking the spell over them.

"I bet that's the food, I'll go…. I’ll get it."

Wordlessly, he dropped back onto the bed, jaw tensed and eyes made of ice.

She quickly retrieved the food from the delivery, surprised to see it was sandwiches, chips and drinks from a local favorite of hers she had mentioned once in passing. She carried the bag and cups upstairs, worried how Ivar's mood would be now. Would the rest of the day be awkward and tense? On numerous occasions, she reminded him they were just friends, even if he seemed to hate that notion….and her heart begged for more. It could not happen.

Entering her bedroom, surprise filled her to see him sitting up in the bed, the laptop next to him queued up to Netflix.

"What do you want to watch?" He asked casually as if nothing had happened.

"Um...have you heard of The Last Kingdom? Some of my coworkers said it's really good." She slipped back into her spot and handed him his drink cup.

"It's alright."

"Would you want to watch it with me?"

"Sure." He turned to slyly grin at her. "Hopefully you don't fall asleep this time."

"I'll try my hardest." She quipped.

They sat up against the wall, eating the food with the laptop near their knees. What potential strain she worried would exist never occurred. A part of her wondered what that meant while another part chucked it up to Ivar's mood swings. Either way, she was grateful.

By the second episode, the trash was disposed of and the laptop moved to the side table. Kari lay back against the pillows bunched behind her, half sitting up, half laying down. Ivar had his head on her stomach, an arm slung over her hips, fingers caressing the exposed skin of her thighs. She ran her fingers through his unbound hair mindlessly as she watched the tv show.

Eventually his arm over her withdrew, his hand drawing random patterns on the strip of skin exposed between her sleep shorts and shirt. Too absorbed in the show and in a comfortable position, she did not pay much attention to his actions. It did not take long for her core to subconsciously start to clench as his fingers slipped past the waistband of her shorts. She tried to ignore it, figuring he was trying to get a reaction out of her. Even if her attention was now split between the show and his provocative touch. His fingers traced her skin just under the waistband of her shorts. After several minutes where she started to relax, his fingers inched a little lower, toying with the top of her underwear.

She knew she should say something, to stop him from touching her but a flood of new sensations prevented her. Never before had anyone touched her like this. Her ex had tried but she refused to let him. Now though, it was as if invisible cords held her down, forcing her compliance. Her body possessed by his simple touch and curious about what he would do next. Her hand stilled in his hair, using it to anchor herself. His hand creeped lower. His fingers lightly grazing her outer folds. Her hips jerked instinctually. His head on her stomach prevented her from moving away. Pressing a soft kiss to her exposed skin, he chuckled lowly. A stirring sensation swirled between legs, something she had only felt one other time. Then with a barely-there touch, his finger traced her womanhood.

"Ivar…." She whined, though if it was encouragement or reprimand, it was unclear.

He lifted his head to look at her as his fingers continued to gentle caress her sex. "Has anyone touched you?"

She shook her head, mouth suddenly dry and words unable to escape.

Staring at her, he slipped a single, thick finger into her sex.

Her eyes slammed shut, a gasp falling from her lips at the foreign sensation. Her back arched slightly as her body made to accommodate the pleasurable intrusion.

"Look at me, Kari. I want to watch you." He commanded,

Her eyes snapped open, meeting his starved gaze. The naked desire in them sent a chill down her spine. Under his gaze, she was paralyzed. Slowly, his finger slid in and out of her. The heat in her belly steadily grew between his actions and his hungry eyes that seemed to feast on her pleasure.

After a few passes, he surprised her by sliding in a second thick finger. Her gasp transformed into a moan at the strange feeling of being full. The lewd sounds of his fingers easing in and out of her and her wetness overshadowed the TV show still playing but ignored by both. Her body began to feel hot all over, sweat forming on her skin. Without her conscious permission, her hips started to rock with his fingers, desperate for more friction, chasing a release only he could give her.

"That's it, kitten, good girl." He praised. His thumb rubbed a circle over her clit, making her body try to shoot off the bed at the sensation though he held her down easily. Whimpers slipped from her lips. Completely pliant under his touch, she made no attempt to escape. The fire coursing through her veins deterred her, the need for more overshadowed her own fears.

Still gazing at her hungrily, he leaned forward and licked her breast over her t-shirt. Her breath stuttered, chest heaving at the jolt of electricity that scorched her. It was all becoming too much and yet not enough. Her hips ground against his hand unashamedly. Lips parted as she panted for air. His hand played her like an instrument, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. This time when he licked her breast with one long swipe, he rubbed her clit at the same time. The sensation was devastating, pushing her over the edge. With a cry of his name, a wave of pleasure overwhelmed her. His fingers continued to pump into her, helping her ride out her orgasm.

Finally she laid there, unable to move, unable to even think. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as her lungs fought for air. He chuckled at her, making her flush even more. Agonizingly slow, he dragged his hand out from between her folds, only to pop the two fingers that had brought her to completion into his mouth and loudly suck on them.

"Fuck, you taste amazing." He groaned, still eyeing her with a purely predatory look. Leaning over, he nipped at her breast, then laid on his side next to her.

"What…. what about you?" She managed to ask, the delirium of bliss dwindling.

He raised an eyebrow.

She pointedly looked at the obvious bulge in his crotch and back up at him.

"Have you ever….?" His question trailed off while a crooked smile lit up his face.

She blushed, tugging on her earlobe. "I've...um, never actually seen one in real life."

"Gods, you're so innocent." He chuckled, shaking his head amused. A second later, he rolled onto his back and folded his hands behind his head. When she made no move towards him, he rolled his eyes and taunted her. "Well? Or do I need to pull it out for you too?"

Biting her bottom lip, her eyes darted back and forth between his face and his obvious erection. What was she doing? Her grandmother would be horrified. Yet her curiosity reared its head, encouraging her onward. Somehow, she knew with Ivar, she was safe. Not just physically but safe to explore her sexuality, something previously forbidden. He may be irritating at times and possessive at others but she knew he liked her innocence. And with him, touching him and letting him touch her...it did not feel wrong like when her ex tried. No, it felt like being home.

Before she could sike herself out with her frenzied nerves, she reached over and unbuttoned his jeans then slowly drew the zipper down. "Can…. can we take your pants off?"

"No."

His sharp retort had her whipping her head to look at him. Instead of meeting her eyes, he stared up at the ceiling like it personally offended him.

"Um, ok." She licked her lips, debating as what to do next. She tried to imagine what Alana would advise or even Gyda. Carefully and nervously, she guided her hand into his pants and boxers. Her hand wrapped around him and she found herself swallowing dryly. It was at this moment she was unsure what to do. He must have seen the hesitation on her face. Without a word, he wrapped his hand around hers and pulled his cock out, fully exposing it. Her eyes darted to his face and back down to his member.

"Um…. are they always...this…. this big?"

He smirked. "You're good for my ego, kitten."

That did not really answer her question but she doubted now was the time to probe further. She made a mental note to ask Alana…. hypothetically of course.

Her hand was unable to wrap all the way around his cock. Even though having nothing to compare it to, she was positive this was an impressive specimen. Holding her breath, she gently slid her hand from the base to the tip and back down. His cock twitched against her hand, making her giggle but she kept her focus on it. Slowly she repeated the movement a couple more times. With each pass she began to feel more confident. When noticing wetness gathering at the tip, she ran her thumb over it, smoothing it around and found it helped glide her hand along.

She glanced up at him, since he had not said anything either in encouragement or redirection, only to see a pained expression on his face. Immediately she yanked her hand away from him, terrified she was hurting him. "Are you OK? Am I doing it wrong? Does it hurt? I'm so sorry."

"No, fuck." He grunted then inhaled sharply. "No…. it’s just been awhile."

"Oh." She was not sure what to do with that information, so she focused back on her task. Memories of listening to Alana and some of her friends talk, plus a few movies she had seen, gave her some inspiration as she continued stroking him. Before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned over and gave a little lick to the tip of his cock.

"Fuck!" He shouted, hips jumping, hands gripping the sheets tightly.

Seeing his reaction, she felt powerful, bringing this strong man under her control like this. It was alluring to know with just her hand, he was utterly at her mercy. The sweat beading on his forehead, his chest heaving with his fervid, shallow breaths, mouth slightly open. He was always handsome in her mind but seeing him like this, it was captivating. She continued guiding her hand up and down his member, swiping her thumb along the top frequently to spread his precum.

"Fuckkkk, Kari." He groaned out, hands fisted in the sheets now. "I can't…. ah, fuck!"

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and aimed towards his stomach. In the next second, his cum shot over his bare skin. Thinking how he continued his ministrations after she finished, she pumped him a few more times until he swatted her hand away. His chest heaved as he panted, one arm thrown over his face.

Silently, she got up and went to the bathroom to grab a towel and clean him up. Making a mental note to throw it in the wash before Alana could smell it and know what happened.

She returned and wiped him up, marveling at what just occurred. In comparison to others, she knew this experience was minor but to her…. she felt so wanton, so scandalous. She could not help the silly grin on her face, even as her stomach turned in knots. It went against everything her grandmother taught her, but she could not regret it. Even if it could never happen again.

Once done, she set the towel on the ground. The youngest Lothbrok silently laid there the whole time, arm over his face. The longer his silence endured, the more confusion and apprehension dispelled her confidence.

Finally, she could not take it any longer. "Did I…. was it ok?"

In the next instant, his arms snaked around her and yanked her back onto the bed. Her squeak of surprise was cut off when his mouth descended on her possessively, as if attempting to steal the very air from her lungs. His body hovered over hers, pinning her to the bed as he claimed her lips completely. The way his mouth dominated hers, forcing her tongue to fight with his, the fire that shot through her body at his touch, was intoxicating. She willingly surrendered to him. Her hands tangled in his hair, keeping his mouth on hers. A needy whine slipped from her when their mouths unlocked, only to become a moan when he trailed his tongue over her neck.

"I want to taste every inch of you," he breathed against her skin, pressing open-mouth kisses that were sure to leave marks on her. "I want to corrupt you in every way imaginable."

Her body arched into his touch, weak and throbbing for more. Even his words shot desire coursing through her. Air seemed unnecessary, only his mouth was a requirement to continue breathing.

"Ivar," she whispered in a slow, shaky breath.

That seemed to clear his lust-fueled haze. He shifted to press his forehead to hers, both panting and lips swollen, evidence of their raging desire. After a moment, he rolled over onto his back, pulling her to lay partially on his chest. His hand glided up and down her back soothingly.

As they lay there, Kari knew they crossed a line. Even if she could not make herself regret it, things had shifted between them. At least for her. They were at a crossroads. The entire time she knew Ivar, they had been toeing the line of friendship but this…. for her, this crossed it. And she was not sure what to think about it. Her mind continued to berate her, reminding her that they could only be friends. And not friends with benefits. She made her vow and no matter what, she promised herself to keep it. Even if it meant losing him. That realization felt like a stab in the heart.

"Ivar, what are we?"

"What do you mean?"

She bit her bottom lip. This was not a conversation she wanted to have, but this limbo, this stalemate they resided in...it ate away at her psyche. Her head told her that friendship was the line they could not pass; meanwhile her heart longed for his affection that he so easily bestowed upon her. Tipping her head up so her chin rested on his chest, she watched him as he stared up at the ceiling, an arm behind his head and the other caressing her back. "We're not a couple…. but we aren't just friends either, I think."

"Who the fuck cares what we are!" He snapped harshly. "I'm Ivar and you're Kari. Anyone with a problem with that can go fuck themselves!"

It sounded so simple coming from him, but she knew whatever was between them was far from simple. He knew her choice of remaining friends. Then a thought crossed her mind that seemed to steal her breath away. "Are there….do you do this with other…. friends?"

"Do you?" Those mesmerizing eyes moved to her, staring at her as seeking to penetrate her mind and witness all her secrets.

"If I said yes, what would you do?" She meant the question to be teasing, to add a lightness to the conversation. Yet soon as the question slipped from her, she knew it was the wrong thing to say.

Instantaneously, a menacing glint entered his eyes and tension coated the air like oil. His body slowly moved, forcing her onto her back and leaving him hovering over her like an angel of death.

"I'd fucking kill them." He declared in a terrifyingly calm tone. His eyes were cold as ice as he stared down at her, his lips pulled back in a snarl. All she could do was stare up at him, scared to move. One of his hands grabbed a fistful of her hair, forcing her head to tip upward and bare her throat. Her breath froze in her chest, unable to pull away, unable to escape his hold on her. "You are mine. Do you understand?"

Tears sprang to her eyes unbidden with how tightly he gripped her. This side of him, this cold fury was more frightening than his fiery anger.

"Yes…" she choked out, as he continued to glare down at her.

After a moment, he let go of her hair, smoothing it down. Then he dropped his face into the crook of her neck, laying on top of her. She could feel his labored breath on her skin.

"I can't…." He slowly inhaled, after he pressed his lips to her neck as if in apology. "I don't share. And the idea of you with someone else…."

Her heart hammered in her chest, the residual fear still oozing like molasses in her veins. His hands held her firmly, like that would be enough to keep her. She stared up at the ceiling, unblinking. They laid there for several minutes, both caught up in their own thoughts. Sometimes she forgot how dangerous he was. Why everyone was so concerned for her safety. But this….it frightened her. This side of him that could so easily switch from fiery wrath to frigid terror. She was unsure what to do.

"Kari, I…." His voice trailed off but she could hear the apology in his voice, even if words failed him. "I'm a selfish bastard."

"Mmmm…." She hummed, lips twitching. Her hand ran through his hair. After a long moment, she quietly asked, "Just Ivar and Kari?"

He pressed another soft kiss to her neck, his other hand seeking hers to entwine their fingers. "Unless you've changed your mind?"

She knew what he meant, and to hear the faint traces of hope in his voice made her words feel like lead as they rolled off her tongue. "I'm sorry."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"It's not…. it’s not worth it."

"Then why do you let it affect us?"

She sighed, knowing there was no way to win this conversation without spilling all of her secrets. "Please, Ivar."

"Fine." He grumbled, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

Eventually, he started caressing her skin with feather-light kisses as if worshipping her. His lips started on her neck, an occasional nip only to be soothed by his tongue after. Torturously slow, those kisses reached her ear to continue their journey along her jawline. Once he found her chin, his hand left hers to tug on her chin, tilting her face downward to meet his. His mouth hovered overs hers for an agonizing moment before sealing a gentle, sensual kiss to her lips. Their lips moved as if time itself stopped for this moment. No rush, just a silent conveying of emotions that could never fully translate to words. Her mouth and tongue danced a waltz with his, a willing partner even if she knew it was better to leave the dance floor. It called to her, summoned her, and like a spell cast over her, she allowed him to lead.

When he finally released her, lips swollen deliciously, he leaned up slightly to gaze down at her with something akin to devotion. The look made her squirm self-consciously because she wondered if her face mirrored his.

"We probably….um, not…." She stuttered out, dropping her gaze to his chest. Her thoughts swarmed about like a beehive kicked over.

"No." He chuckled in a low and husky tone. "I'm kissing you and touching you. Fucking try and stop me now."

"But…."

His mouth descended on hers in a harsh kiss this time, swallowing her feeble protests.

"Ivar, you can't…." She tried to reason, only to be silenced once again by his possessive mouth, claiming hers.

She yanked her mouth away. "Stop."

This time he nibbled down her neck while his hand squeezed her thigh, rising higher and higher towards her sex. Although she tried to wiggle away, it was impossible. She was no match for his physical strength, nor was her willpower resolute enough to keep her from thoroughly enjoying his seductive touch.

"Stop, stop. Fine. A quota." She gasped out, her body beginning to burn under his assault.

"What?"

"You can…. this is so weird...a kiss quota."

He lifted up to stare at her like she was insane. "You're serious?"

She nodded.

"Twenty kisses per day and they roll over if unused."

She laughed. "No way."

"Too low?" An arrogant smirk played across his mouth. "I know you love these lips. Thirty kisses."

"No! I was thinking like three."

"Three? Fuck that."

"Four."

"Fifteen."

"Ivar, that's too many. We might as well be in a relationship." She giggled. Never before would she ever have guessed she would be arguing over a daily kiss quota, but here she was.

"I don't see a problem with that."

"But we're not."

"Fuck." He nuzzled her temple, letting out a long sigh. "We're just Ivar and Kari remember? Who gives a fuck what others think."

"Five." She amended her number.

"Twelve."

"Six."

"Ten."

"Seven."

"Nine."

"Eight."

He pressed a greedy kiss to her lips as if sealing their agreement. "Eight."

"No roll over."

"Argh!" He finally rolled off of her and laid on his back beside her. "Today's kisses start now."

"What?"

"Yes."

They rested next to one another, staring up at the ceiling. Kari had a stupid smile on her face and wondered if Ivar did too.

"How are you feeling?" She quietly asked.

"Fine." He huffed but after a second, entwined their fingers and brought it up to his lips. "Today was more fun than going to work, right?"

"Well…."

He growled.

"Yes, it was. I never just lay around in bed, but this has been…. nice."

"Nice?"

"Perfect."

"Mmmm. Better."

She giggled at the pure smugness in his voice. "Should we keep watching our show?"

"Unless there is something else…."

"No."

After an apparently necessary kiss from their quota, they started the show back up on her laptop. Her head was on his shoulder and their fingers still entangled. For a second, she wondered if she should be concerned with how completely normal this felt. There was no denying this connection they seemed to have. Cuddled up to him, she relished in the sensation, for who knew how long it would last.

Ivar squeezed her hand. "Did I mention your ass and legs look fucking amazing in this shorts yet?"

"Shut up." He buried her face against his shoulder, flushed with embarrassment.

"You don't believe me?" He snickered, fingers skimming her bare skin tantalizingly. "I can't keep my hands off them, fucking amazing."

"Gods, Ivar, stop!"

Thankfully, he did but only after receiving a kiss in recompense.

*****

A couple of episodes later, and four kisses from the quota, Kari was still cuddled up against Ivar, her head on his chest this time. They had taken a break to make popcorn after they restarted the last episode. Yet, like their bodies were magnetized to the other, they subconsciously drifted back to cuddling once the popcorn was gone. With his hand rubbing up and down her back and his rhythmic heartbeat beneath her ear, sleep waited just on the outskirts of her mind to pull her under. Because of this, she barely registered a knock on her door until it suddenly opened.

"Hey, Kari, I think this Friday we…." Alana's blue eyes widened like saucers when she fully registered the scene before her. She blinked owlishly for a long second before clearing her throat. "Hi, um, Kari, can we talk privately please?"

"Sure." Kari pulled away from Ivar with dread filling her. She had not realized what time it was and now that Alana had seen Ivar…. her mind fumbled to come up with a decent excuse, even though she knew it was fruitless. Each step feeling like she was walking to the gallows, she followed her roommate down the stairs and to the small living room.

"Alana, it's not…." She started, hoping to start the conversation off but was cut off.

"What the hell is going on?" Alana rounded on her, lips pursed and hands on her hips. "I come home and Ivar Lothbrok is lying in your bed, under your covers, shirtless and you're clinging to him like a koala. Tell me it's not what I think it is."

"We're just friends…"

The blonde interrupted again. "Bullshit. Are you two fucking? Tell me right now!"

"No, we aren't. I swear."

"We told you to stay away from him. What's going on?"

"It's...it's a long story."

"I don't want him here."

"Why not? You bring guys here?" Kari asked defensively. Never before had she had a guy over, the whole year and a half they were roommates.

"Because he's a Lothbrok!" Alana sighed, after a quick glance up the stairs to confirm they were still alone, she continued. "You don't…. I don't want you caught up in that world. You deserve someone sweet, and kind…. and who treats you like a princess."

"Weren't you telling me the other day to get out there? Go on a date with Erik?"

"Because Erik is a gentleman. He'd treat you well. He'd probably propose after a month of dating you. He's been smitten with you since last year."

The brunette rolled her eyes but smiled at the sentiment. She may disagree with Alana's viewpoint of Erik's level of attraction to her, but she knew her roommate meant well. The blonde had been pressing her lately to ask him out herself.

Before Alana could say something else, they both heard footsteps coming down the stairs. After a moment, Ivar appeared with his t-shirt on over his sweatpants, shoes on, cane in hand and hair pulled back in a man bun.

"You leaving?" Kari questioned, desperate to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Yeah, there's something for work I need to do before going into the office tomorrow."

She moved to stand before him, gaze sweeping over his body as if she could read his pain level with just a look. Meeting his eyes, she quietly asked. "You'll be alright?"

He snorted, rolling the cane in his hand. "You sound like my family now."

"Probably because they care about you."

He hummed, ignoring her comment. "You should be getting a box in the mail tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I ordered you some clothes."

"Ivar…."

"My priestess needs to wear more than just yoga clothes." He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Though, I do love how tight they are on your ass."

She laughed, pressing a hand to his, unfortunately, covered chest and carefully pushing him back. "Unbelievable."

Instead of shifting away from her, he used her hand on his chest to pull her against him. His lips crashed against hers like he needed her to breathe. She clung to his t-shirt as her legs trembled under the reckless abandon of his mouth. Only when she felt boneless did he finally allow her to pull away, desperate for air. With short pants, she gazed up at him wondering where that came from.

"I'll text you tomorrow."

"Oh ok." Was all she could say, her brain still fogged up by the insatiable kiss.

He cupped her cheek, looking at her with something like adoration if seen in anyone else, before glancing over her shoulder at Alana. "Nice seeing you again." Without waiting for a response, he walked to the front door and out of it.

The sound of the door closing seemed to lift the haze over her mind. She turned around to see her roommate glaring at her with arms crossed over her chest.

"Just friends, huh?" She scoffed with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "I don't know what game you're playing with him but I don't want anything to do with it. Apparently, you're not quite the woman I thought you were."

"Alana…."

"Save it." She stormed past Kari and up the stairs to her bedroom.

With a sigh, Kari trudged over and locked the front door. She wondered how true Alana's words were. After everything that happened today with Ivar, was she even the woman she thought she was? Or was he changing her? And was it for better or worse?

She honestly was not sure….and it scared her a little.

#To Call Forth Love #vikings #vikings fandom #vikings fanfic #vikings fanfiction #modern ivar #ivar x ofc #ivars heathen army #ivar romance #ivar the boneless #modern!ivar #modern!ivar x oc #modern vikings #mzwrites

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wildcardaces · 2 years

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@ruby-static "hot damn" edition!

Where only orion would do that

But first!

Anna: so...

Anna: whos goin first?

That moment when theres a mission where you gotta go into the water and a leopard seal is going ">:)" at you. Poor anna XD

Mai in the background: oh don't worry. R flight attendant they're with me!

Dan sitting there all relaxed and chill while anna is just holding on for dear life on a plane shes never been on before akfbsivhwnfu-

Anna: SHADE HOLY SHIT-

When the prank war escalates and the oldest chaos twin shows his full strength. Anna is scared and honestly probably impressed at this mans strength

Orion, a woman of few words, pulling out a peice of paper during her wedding and unfolding it. Everyone thinks its the longest vows any penguin will ever say...until she turns it around and it just says "HOT DAMN"

Arctic loses her mind shortly afterwards XD

Shawn: clover, be careful!

Clover absolutely risking getting freezing cold from water to save her cousin who cant swim? Absolutely! Anna and shawn are just- right there ready to pounce into action if anything goes wrong.

And the finale!

Did i say cousin?

I did!

Riley: will i be as tall as you one day papa?

Jpg: probably not

Not pictured: rookie giving his giant husband a quick elbow jab in the gut shortly afterwards. AKFBWINS-

#agent a anna #wildcard dan #shade #shawn #clover #Riley #orion #aunt arctic #jet pack guy #rookie #club penguin ocs #club penguin oc #club penguin

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swordofpevensie · 3 years

Text

Anything I Do, I Know You’re Gonna Watch

[Chapter • I]

warnings: academic rivals to lovers, set in 1946, peter x you, strict family, mentions of nervousness, stress, war, uni students (equal of stress actually), both peter and you study medicine because i love the idea of peter being a doctor, i emphasize peter was a king a lot (because like,, why not?).

a/n: i strongly needed an academic rivals to lovers fic with peter, so i wrote it myself eheh. i don't know how long it will be or how frequently i'll share because uni is literally crushing me. anyways, wow i am so excited to share this with you. there might be mistakes as english is not my native language, feel free to correct me please. also, i checked the oxford's website to get the info about uni & lecture. still, if there is something wrong, please inform me. i sincerely hope you like it, please tell me what you think. ♡

word count: 1067.

playlist: (yes, as i'm so excited that i even made a playlist)

oh johnny, oh johnny, oh! • the andrew sisters

campus • vampire weekend

heartburn • wafia

collide • tianamajor9, earthgang

you haunt me • sir sly

killer queen • fil bo riva

willow • taylor swift

d is for dangerous • arctic monkeys

tear you apart • she wants revenge

are you gonna be my girl • jet

braindead! • yungblud

greek god • conan gray (the song that gave the story its title)

tighten up • the black keys

achilles come down • gang of youths

library pictures • arctic monkeys

anna sun • walk the moon

everybody talks • neon trees

hey now • the regrettes

rumors • sabrina claudio, zayn

lover i don't have to love • bright eyes

you always hurt the one you love • the mills brothers

C H A P T E R • I

You took a deep breath before entering the classroom. It was the first class of the first day of your first year in the university and you felt very nervous and excited at the same time.

You were nervous because university was something new in your life and you had so many worries such as if you would find someone to be friends with, if you would be successful, if you would something embarrassing, if your professor would like you or not.

However you were excited because as a person who liked learning, you looked forward to attend to your classes and meet all of the new subjects waiting to be learnt. You had worked so hard to be there, in this university and in front of this classroom door, and finally being there felt amazing.

You took a step and entered the classroom. It was noisy and already crowded. It was a normal classroom, not a amphitheater one. You shortly looked around and saw a empty seat which was behind a crowded boy group. You walked towards there, trying to stay calm and not look at them. Your mother warned you very seriously and strictly about not getting closer with boys. She wanted you to be successful, not more. Boys were distraction according to her and she never wanted you hear that you got closer with a boy.

You sit and put your bag to the seat next to you. You took your notebook and pen out and started waiting for professor to come.

“Hey, isn't it Pevensie?” You heard a boy in front of you speaking.

“It really is.” Another boy replied. “I am surprised that he is here. I heard he couldn't afford the fees.”

“He probably got a scholarship. Don't you remember such a big nerd he was?”

“Ugh,” The boy said. “He was unbearable. I bet he hasn't changed. Probably still a caring brother everyone appreciates and the best student every teacher adores.” Although the words he used was in fact good, it was clear from his voice that he was mocking.

You frowned. Why did they talk about him in that way? Why did that Pevensie do? You look at the door that the boys were looking.

You saw a tall and broad shouldered boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt with dark brown trousers. His boots were also brown. His black coat was on his arm. He had a leather messenger bag hanging on his shoulder. He looked just like any boy in the classroom, except for the fact that there was something strange in the way he walked and stood. His steps were slow, however his walking made him seem strong. When he first stood up looking for a place to sit, you saw that he stood very upright, his chin was up a little bit. Nothing about him was underestimating, his eyes didn't look others in that way. But he just seemed strong, in a weird way that you had to gaze at him to figure out.

Then you realized what you were doing and looked directly to your notebook. You thought he didn't see you but he did. He smiled to himself but fastly stopped and went to sit to the empty chair which was away from yours. It was the only empty chair left, otherwise, he would like to sit near you and find out the reason behind your curious looks.

Thankfully, the professor came and started talking. The whole class was silent now. You focused on the professor and every word she said, sometimes took notes down. She introduced herself, the lecture, and said she'd start although this is the first day.

The subject was about the relationship between patients and doctors and the professor asked how the relationship should be in general.

You and he raised hands immediately. You were so excited and ready to answer because you spent your holiday with studying beforehand for the lectures. You went to libraries, read everything you found related to your courses.

He was quicker than you, so professor chose him to speak.

“Peter Pevensie,” He introduced himself.

“Yes, Mr. Pevensie,”

His answer didn't last too long but he expressed his opinions easily and quickly. You noticed he spoke somehow wisely and as if someone asked him to give advice. You couldn't understand why he spoke like this but then you thought you were paying attention to him so much. Therefore you took a short breath and focused on the professor again.

After he was done, you raised your hand and the professor let you speak.

“Y/N Y/L/N,” After introducing yourself, you started to express your opinions, which were the opposite of what Peter said. You thought doctors could be emotional and friends with their patients while Peter said doctors must be logical and distant.

He turned his head and looked at you, watched you as you spoke. He liked that there was someone he could compete with and share his ideas, also argue. He liked to argue because he thought arguing respectfully was a way that someone can improve themselves.

After you finished, three more students began to speak however Peter didn't pay attention because he still was watching you and analyzing you. He carefully looked at your clothes, how you kept shaking your leg, how you kept notes and listened very carefully. He was glad that there was somebody he could try to be friends with but above all, compete and beat. That was an old habit of him, competing and beating.

Like they said, the leopard can't change its spots.

Throughout the lecture, you and he constantly raised your hands, spoke, and listened very attentively. Everything you and he said opposed each other. At some point, you thought he did that on purpose, maybe he was objecting to your ideas deliberately just to annoy you. But then you thought why would someone at your age do such thing? You decided to not care at all. You weren't supposed to think about anyone, you were supposed to think about your lessons.

That was what you were thinking when the class was over and you were leaving the classroom to go and buy a coffee.

On the other hand, Peter was thinking about you, but he had some plans. Plans that included defeating you and being the best in the department.

okay, okay, it really happened. i finished writing. oh god i am so excited about this fic! please tell me what you think. i hope you enjoy reading!

love, andrea. ♡

#andreaiswriting #narnia #the chronicles of narnia #narnia fanfiction #peter pevensie #narnia imagine #narnia fic #peter pevensie imagine #peter pevensie fanfic #peter pevensie fanfiction #peter pevensie fic #academic rivals to lovers #peterpevensie #high king peter x you #high king peter the magnificent #peterpevensiefanfiction

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nightwingshero · 2 years

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Hi!! MW+Alfie anon here again! Now I'm curious to hear more about your Assassin's Creed OCs, if you have any lore to share about them yet <3

I do!!! Thank you so much for asking!!! And welcome back, I hope you’re doing awesone, anon! I am sooooo sorry this is so long. I used this as an excuse to kind of get their main storyline outlined and it...was a lot more than I first intended. Please do not feel pressured to read through all of it, I swear this feels more like an essay than anything. Its just that a lot happens and this is honestly the most summarized I can get it without sacrificing crucial information. Its also not edited, so I’m sorry for any mistakes. Under the cut, love!!!

Callista of Sparta

Callista is actually descended from Menelaus and Helen (before she runs off with Paris) through their daughter Hermione, who married Achilles' son Neoptolemus. And when Neoptolemus tried to take revenge on Apollo for his father's death, he died and Hermione went off and married Agememnon's son (which is her cousin, but that's not the point). Before that happened, Hermione and Neoptolemus had a child, and Apollo was actually so impressed with Neoptolemus' attempt that he blessed the bloodline, meaning that Callista comes from a bloodline touched by not only Aphrodite, but Apollo as well. And these are stories that her mother and father told her when she was young.

When Callista was born, her parents swore that they were blessed by the gods themselves for giving them such a beautiful daughter, and they wanted it to where she would stay perfect and pure forever, so they protected and sheltered her with hopes that she could work at a temple or work alongside a priestess instead of being married and having children. At least, at first. Unbeknownst to them, however, the Cult of Kosmos decided to wipe out the entire bloodline of Agememnon, which included Callista and her parents. One night, her home was attacked by mercenaries hired or following the Cult, and her mother gave Callista the dagger her father gave her mother for their wedding gift, and told her to run. The incident was brushed off as a bear attack that happened while the family was on an outing and eating together, but everyone knew better and were too scared to say much of anything. So they didn't question the story and wrote the daughter off as dead, while Callista hid. After that, she lived on the streets of cities or villages, staying in caves or old ruins as she traveled to try and find a new home as she kept the dagger, the last thing she had of her parents, close. There were multiple times where she had to defend herself and she had to teach herself to hunt for food when begging and stealing was not an option.

Eventually, she finds herself in Korinth, where she gains the attention of Anthousa, and the woman took her in. Offering her a place to stay and food to eat, Callista promised herself that she would stay by Anthousa's side, and as she learned about the hetaerae, she believed that unlike the other gods, Aphrodite and Apollo hadn't abandoned her. Seeing it as a sign from Aphrodite herself that she was there and found by the beautiful woman she will grow to view as an older sister. Callista was sent to Kythra to learn to worship Aphrodite properly, working close with the priestess along with the twins Eritha and Diona. By the time Callista was of age and was ready to return to Korinth, her and Eritha were best friends and swore to stay in touch. Over time, Callista becomes one of the more renowned hetaerae that even the leader of Korinth is smitten with, and it goes as far as him gifting her a leopard cub to show is favor for her.

Years later, as war is about to spark between Sparta and Athens, Korinth develops a problem through The Monger--a criminal who takes control over the city and looks to either run the hetaerae out of the city or take control over them. Callista, who has found family with her fellow hetaerae sisters, is extremely concerned for it, and refusing to lose another family to bad people, she takes things into her own hands. She begins to poison the Monger's men whenever the opportunity rises, doing her best to keep innocent people safe. Though after a while, the Monger takes notice, but at this time, Brasidas and his Spartan soldiers show up in Korinth, eager to establish an alliance with the city's leader.

As this happens, Nyx from the Cult of Kosmos is informed by Diona of Callista, offering the woman a way to manipulate her way into Korinth. Nyx leaves Athens to pay Callista a visit and then whispers lies and mistruths to her in order to fuel an already uneasy feeling Callista held for soldiers and directing it towards Brasidas himself. Even though Nyx was the one that ordered the Agememnon bloodline to be taken out, she has no idea who Callista really is, and its information that one of her spies later comes to find. But Callista doesn't trust either party, but when Brasidas starts asking and seeking for Anthousa, Callista decides that she will have to kill him. She can't poison him because that would take time in trying to seduce him and Callista can't risk that going wrong, and she also doesn't want to risk something happening to her sisters before she succeeds. So she takes her dagger and tries to sneak in to kill him while he sleeps, but of course, he's a light sleeper and things don't go according to plan.

Callista runs from Brasidas after cutting the side of his cheek only to find herself in an altercation with more of the Monger's men. Brasidas saves her before they can take her, and they strike up the deal of working together to take down the Monger and he'll let her live. She agrees but she's still very wary of him. Whispers from the Cult continue to reach her ears, and they try to twist her in doing their bidding. They want Callista to insist on a public death to spark anarchy so they can easily gain control during a vulnerable time, but she unexpectedly sides with Brasidas. Over the two years of him being in Korinth, they grow very close and actually fall in love. When Kassandra makes it to Korinth, Callista is finally taken by the Monger and stashed in the warehouse. Kassandra carries her out to save her and Brasidas shows up to help Kassandra fight as the warehouse burns. He asks after Callista and is relieved to hear she's safe. Callista provides support while Brasidas, Anthousa, and Kassandra work together to take down the Monger.

After Korinth is freed, Brasidas has to return to Sparta and he asks Callista to go with him. But after all the years of having to deal with the Cultists whispering in her ear, she's still not sure. Nyx was killed by Kassandra's hand, but Callista found out what the Cult's spies were trying to do to her, and she killed them before they could twist her mind any further. One of those spies happened to be Sotera, who actually found out about Callista's bloodline while she was in Korinth, and Nyx was searching for her to punish her for keeping it from her. Callista beat her to the punch when Sotera misspoke, tipping Callista off as to what was really happening. On top of that, Callista doesn't feel fit to be a wife. She's a worshipper of Aphrodite, not Hera or Hestia. She feels lacking, so Brasidas returns to Sparta alone while Callista takes time and travels back with to Kythera with Kassandra. She helps Kassandra uncover Diona as a traitor and the one that helped manipulate Callista. After she's killed, Callista confides in Eritha about her fears and insecurities about Brasidas. Eritha reassures her that while yes, Hestia and Hera are the main goddess to worship for home and marriage, the foundation of it is love, and that Callista will be fine.

Callista shows up in Sparta where Brasidas is more than pleased to see her (and yes, he does the "Sparta has missed you!" in that excited voice he does). They run into a bit of a snag when the two kings become unsure of Callista because of her bloodline and seeing her as a threat, being potentially an heir for the throne (and many more with her bloodline, lets be honest). Most of the issue comes from Pausanias (the Cultist king), but Callista has no intention of claiming anything other than Brasidas as a husband. When that's squared away, they do marry, and when he's injured in meeting Deimos in battle, she helps nurse him back to health and she becomes pregnant with their first child. When Brasidas and Kassandra fight to take down Kleon, Brasidas is gravely injured, but doesn't die. He takes a lot of time to recover, but thankfully lives. They eventually have three children in total, and remain close friends with Kassandra, her wife (another oc of mine), and the rest of her family.

Alessandra Tazim

Alessandra is born to a Greek woman who is descended from Callista and an Assassin her mother met (who was descended from someone close to Altair) when she was in trouble during her travels. The first few years of her life, Alessandra listened to her mother's stories of myths, heroes, and their ancestors, including Callista of Sparta--though the story is more glorified than what it actually was, but most Greek myths are. Her mother helped teach her different languages, including Greek, Latin, and Turkish. Her mother had a huge hand in Alessandra wanting to travel and see the world. Unfortunately, her mother was taken and killed by Templars to get to her father.

A few years later, her father remarried, and a bit later Alessandra was blessed with a little brother, Yusuf. At this point, Alessandra was aware of the Assassin’s way of life, and was under training with her father and another man named Ishak Pasha. When she’s 15, Alessandra began her travels that her father encouraged, providing aid to other Assassins while also learning from them. Two years after the start of her travels, her father falls leaving just her stepmother and younger brother behind. After the fall of her father, Alessandra returns to Constantinople where her stepmother and brother settled, and is 17 years old; at this point she’s rather proficient in her Assassin skills and decently well-rounded and even offers support to Ishak in taking down Vlad Tepes. Nalan (her stepmother) worked hard as a pastry cook to help provide with Yusuf being the delivery boy, all while Alessandra did what she could to help Ishak keep the people of the city safe, often trying to discourage Yusuf from running around and climbing on the streets, wanting him to choose something different than the Assassin life out of fear for losing him like they did their father. Nalan couldn’t help but compare young Yusuf to their father, however, and that only made him do it more, him learning to steal to help contribute.

Not long after her return, she catches the attention of a young suitor, one that had future intentions of proposing. It never came to be, however, as Alessandra saved an older mother who held her young daughter while being robbed. The woman turned out to be married to an Italian noble that was aware of the Assassins’ fight, and was an old friend of Giovanni Auditore da Firenze. Word was sent to Giovanni, and he reached out to Alessandra with the intent of proposing an arranged marriage between her and his eldest since both had strong Assassin heritage, hoping that it would then be a strong partnership, and later result in the passing the torch down to their own children. Alessandra agreed.

She spent the net year learning to act as a noble as fast as she could considering that she didn’t exactly come from noble blood. Giovanni brushed her worries aside when it was mentioned, however, and he even sent money to try and help offset the loss to her stepmother and brother for her leaving them behind, claiming that it was fitting considering the history of their own family name. Alessandra hadn’t known at the time that the Auditore’s weren’t really from noble blood, but she just took him at his word and learned to fit into society the best she could. Her and Federico wrote to each other often, becoming fast friends. When they first meet face to face, Federico is deeply amused due to the fact that her Italian was perfect on paper, but it was a bit...off when she spoke it. So he tried to help her adjust as Giovanni settled her in Firenze before the big announcement.

Alessandra wasn’t in Firenze long, a few days to a week (at most), before things started to go wrong. She has her first run in with Ezio the day before his big fight with Vieri de' Pazzi. She catches his eye and he watches as she leaves, Alessandra offering Federico a small smile as she goes. Federico watches in amusement as his little brother unknowingly checks watches his fiancé, only telling Ezio “careful, little brother. You could not handle that one” with a small smirk. The next night, Alessandra meets Federico at the top of a tower after he lost a race with Ezio, the older brother making a joke to his betrothed about his younger brother running off to meet a woman in the middle of the night despite his disapproval, in which Alessandra only responds saying they were truly no different. They stay out and talk as they stargaze before Alessandra takes hear leave to a nearby town to do an errand Giovanni requested of her.

By the time Alessandra returns, the Auditore family is in shambles, and after hearing word of what happened, she rushes to Piazza della Signoria in an effort to save her fiancé and his family. Alessandra was only able to save Petruccio while Giovanni and Federico were hanged, causing Ezio to yell from the crowd. While she was absolutely crushed, Alessandra kept a hold of the youngest Auditore as her and Ezio fled. Both showing up at Paola’s brothel would be the first time they exchange words. Ezio is far too angry to truly comprehend who or what she is, so she just allows Paola to teach Ezio to blend in and steal, also suggesting he fix the hidden blade. She does assist Cristina and Ezio in grabbing Giovanni and Federico’s bodies for their last rites. After they’re added to the pyre, Alessandra stands silent while Ezio proposes for Cristina to run away with him, to which she refuses, thinking of her own family. After their exchange, and equally broken-hearted Alessandra walks past and squeezes Cristina’s shoulder to offer as much comfort as she can before walking away.

Ezio began his focus on revenge, in which Alessandra offered her help by telling him upfront that she was an Assassin, expecting Ezio to be aware of his own heritage. When he is confused by that, she holds her tongue and becomes secretive, not wanting to be the one to tell him his own family’s secrets. So she offers to help teach what she can: using eagle vision, how to do the leap of faith, etc. The basics Ezio would need. She even tried to teach him to do a clean assassination (claiming that learning with straw dummies for just a few moments isn’t enough), but him being so driven by anger and revenge, he brushed her off and went after his first target--Uberto.

Alessandra helps Ezio and his family flee Florence, staying with Mario as he informs Ezio of his heritage. He offers to help train Ezio and Alessandra in swordplay, since Ezio was new to the life and Alessandra favored daggers. Over the next six months, Alessandra and Ezio establish a relationship dynamic that seems very rocky: Ezio being flirty with Alessandra shooting it down, both very confident in their own right that seems to clash more and more. Alessandra will often taunt and tease Ezio when he rolls out of haystacks ungracefully with pieces trapped in his “perfect” hair, Ezio pokes fun when he becomes better at swordplay than Alessandra and puts her on her ass, in which Alessandra answers with her daggers, and so on. Mario almost becomes exasperated at the two if it wasn’t for his constant amusement. When Ezio then denies his heritage to her (six months before he denies it to Mario), Alessandra is disappointed in his answer, and she feels he has a duty to fill, but she says nothing--believing she had no right to have a say in Auditore matters. Her mind becomes clouded with uncertainty as to where she should go from there--to go home to her family, to stay and avenge her lost fiancé, or to go somewhere else entirely.

While Ezio works to focus on his mission, Alessandra decides to travel and continue some of her work that she left behind before coming to Italy. The things Ezio is going through reminds her much of her own family and her own heritage, so she returns briefly to Constantinople, where to her horror, she sees that Yusuf was on his way to becoming more of a thief. Alessandra takes time to try and teach Yusuf what she can to ensure his safety, knowing that he would continue on no matter what she would say. Before long, Yusuf was using their father’s hookblade, following Alessandra’s instruction. She left only a bit after that, however, as she followed a calling and begins to make her way to Greece. The stories her mother and father guide her there, how there were Hidden Ones and those that were “far greater than our own comprehension”, and she follows the stars she has always been so entranced with to find her way to where Sparta used to be. Alessandra has the intention to re-establish connections from her earlier travels, starting in Greece, when she suddenly sees visions of Callista. As they grow more frequent, Alessandra follows them to where she discovers the urns of Callista and Brasidas. Its where she runs into Kassandra, and while they distrust each other at first, the Eagle Bearer warms up to her when she learns that she’s actually descended from her old friend. Kassandra tells her stories of Callista, stories that her mother hadn’t even known, which unnerves her a bit but she can’t help but listen in fascination. Eventually, Kassandra gives her the last of their belongings (a ring, necklace, and Callista’s family dagger) that she had kept safe for all those years. Then, with a new sense of clarity, Alessandra returns to Italy.

Her arrival coincides with the death of Francesco de’ Pazzi and she’s received with the sight of him hanging half naked from the very tower Ezio’s family was imprisoned. Her anger rises and she confronts Ezio about it, claiming that it is not how they do things, and to her shock, he concedes on the matter, then welcomes her back to Florence with a smirk. They’re time apart had resulted them in growing as people, which is shocking to both though neither admits it. Alessandra agrees with working alongside with Ezio, helping bring the Templars to an end in Italy and avenging his family. They’re dynamic doesn’t change much, but with Ezio being less hot-headed and Alessandra being less patronizing, it turns into something more of an unlikely friendship. The teasing and taunting still persists as Ezio flirts just to get under her skin, poking at her so-called iron clad resistance to his charm while she still laughs at his novice moments--though they grow fewer and further apart over time.

Things change between them when she follows her friend to Venice, feelings growing between them that they refuse to discuss. Alessandra becomes conflicted when she grows jealous of Ezio and Rosa flirting, and over time, she becomes angry with herself. After only being there for a few years, Ezio and Alessandra attend Carnevale di Venezia, and Ezio runs into Cristina once more (and yes, I moved the canon timeline up a bit), and their not-so-great interaction only validates that things are truly over between the two--and so he feels right in his own feelings for Alessandra. He finds her at the celebration on the arm of a noble, having charmed her way into being a plus one in order to gather information for both of them. He, almost rudely, interrupts a dance between her and her companion to cut in and dance with her himself, in which she tries hard to be sharp tongued to scold him, calling him idiota in the process. Ezio easily brushes it off by being his charming self, claiming that as a gentleman, it would be unforgiveable to not dance with such a beautiful woman. Alessandra can’t exactly tell if he’s joking or not, doing his usual bit just to get a rise out of her, but the new, intimate feeling flusters her as she tries to laugh it off. Much later, they meet on the rooftop with their mission completed, and Ezio makes a comment about missing the dress as Alessandra approaches in her usual Assassin gear. As she playfully smacks his chest, he catches it and brings it to his lips, and takes advantage of her surprise to pull her close and kiss her.

Over the ten years spent in Venice, they have at least one child (maybe more, depending on how things play out), and while Alessandra does take time to travel between Venice and Constantinople to help he brother, she mostly stays at Ezio’s side through his mission. The time is a bit of a blur (meaning I haven’t fleshed this out just yet), but when they finish their business in Rome (after returning to Florence in between), they make their way back to the villa. After the attack Cesare Borgia launched on Monteriggioni, Alessandra sends their child(ren) to Constantinople to stay with Yusuf, his wife (another oc), and their child so they can stay safe while she assists Ezio in Venice once more. There she helps Ezio by offering the connections she has made in her travels to help him build his Brotherhood, carrying out his orders by assigning and choosing Assassins to send out around the world--one she does herself in order to help her brother fight in Greece. After fighting to bring down their control over the city, Ezio and Alessandra chase after Cesare, and during their battle, Alessandra is injured. While being chased by Templars, they climb a tower, and Alessandra almost slips but Ezio reaches down to catch her, holding her hand while trying to pull her up. She cries as she smiles up at him, making a decision. Ezio catches onto the look she gives, but she pulls up quickly to give him a kiss, whispering she loves him before she pushes off...falling from the tower as Ezio screams after her.

In a rage, Ezio finishes off Cesare, then continues to search desperately for his love’s body, but comes up empty. Assuming the worst, Ezio throws himself into continuing his father’s work: finding Altair. While Ezio travels, believing the love of his life is dead and gone, Alessandra is found, barely alive, by farmers on the outskirts of the city. Eventually she becomes conscious in spare moments, whispering different names of different Assassins, trying to plead for the people to find her people so they can get her; most of the time its Ezio she calls for. Eventually La Volpe comes across her and he brings her to Claudia (Ezio’s sister), and they help to nurse her back to health the best they can. When she’s somewhat better, she asks for Ezio again, and she’s finally told that he is gone in search for Altair. Claudia insists she sent a letter to inform him, but Alessandra feels despair, knowing what her death could have done to him and blaming herself--though she did it so to not slow Ezio down in the first place. She decides to sail back to Constantinople to see her brother and his family, to tell him in person that she was alive despite the protests she received.

When she arrived in Constantinople, she had no idea that Ezio had already arrived and began his work with Yusuf. Assassins under Yusuf kept an eye on the port, and when they recognized Alessandra, they sent word to Yusuf about urgent business on the port. Yusuf, who had been in deep mourning of his lost sister, welcomed Ezio with open arms not only as the Mentor, but as a brother-in-law. And while they didn’t speak much about their loss, Yusuf decided to cope with small jabs at his friend, telling a joke regarding him getting his sister pregnant after Ezio made the comment about being “twenty years late to his wedding”, softly insinuating that he had intended to marry Alessandra. When he hears word that there is urgent news that he needs to see for himself, Yusuf assumes its an altercation with Templars, so him and Ezio leave and are fully prepared for battle.

They’re not, however, prepared for Alessandra’s arrival. And as soon as Yusuf sets his eyes on his lost sister, he exclaims wildly, slapping shoulders and smacking chests of his fellow Assassins, saying that he knew she wasn’t dead, insisting that he told them as such. Alessandra immediately made her way to her brother as he called “Andra!”, seeking to reunite with her, only for her punch his shoulder and demand what had happened to her city and why there were Templars everywhere, the two of them immediately falling into the sibling dynamic they’ve always had. Alessandra doesn’t recognize Ezio at first, as he hides in the crowd and watched in the dark robes she’s not used to, but eventually they have a moving and emotional reunion that involves tears of both parties, and extends to the rest of her family when she sees her sister-in-law and nephew. From then on, Alessandra takes it a bit slow but does what she can in assisting Ezio and Yusuf. When Yusuf is injured while protecting Sofia, Alessandra becomes overwhelmed with grief, believing he was left to bleed out as she was taken with Sofia. Ezio, enraged by the turn of events, is able to get Yusuf medical attention just in time before calling the Assassin Brothers to arms to take back what was taken. Once the struggle is over, and everyone is safe, Ezio and Alessandra leave Constantinople at the demands of the Sultan, with promises of keeping in touch with their long distant family.

#oc: callista of sparta #oc: alessandra tazim #my ocs #assassins creed #asks

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