#seven endless forests

[illustration-alcove]

Will Staehle’s cover for April Genevieve Tucholke’s Seven Endless Forests.

#will staehle #april genevieve tucholke #seven endless forests #book covers #american literature

[bookersebastien]

pjo reread let's go ✌️

#personal #not really but idk how else to tag it #finished seven endless forests and now a reread bc its easier on my brain rn

[beardedalcoholic]

Space Cowboys

The humans had abandoned them. After seemingly endless cycles of fighting the battle was about to be lost and the war with it, and the humans had left them to fight for themselves.

‘So much for the legendary pack-bonding of humans.’ Krillna thought to himself as he leaned around his bunker to lay down some suppressing fire on the enemy. Tungsten rods magnetically accelerated to near supersonic speed ripped into the battle field and enemies died by the dozens…but it wasn’t enough.

Seemingly endless waves of the reptilian enemies known as the Slentine seemed to crawl and slither towards their position. Fields of scales and fangs greeted him every time he looked around his barrier, looks of desperation and hopelessness looked back every time he turned away from the battle.

“You would think the humans could have at least left us the weapons before they ran like cowards!” cried out one soldier before he was cut down by enemy fire.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

“Did anyone else hear that?” Krillna asked after firing another salvo of rounds towards the slowly advancing enemy. Looking at his ammo counter and seeing it was empty, Krillna threw his weapon to the ground and grabbed the ceremonial bone dagger the warriors of his people were gifted upon maturity.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

Holding the blade to his chest and breathing the prayers of his youth, Krillna begged the seven skies of his homeland for the power of the mighty storm, pleaded for his spirit to be flown on the winds to his ancestors. Finding himself at the end of his prayers and ready to face the enemy head on and to fight tooth, bone and claw in the ways of his ancestors, Krillna couldn’t help but think he heard something on the wind again. Looking to the forest side of the battlefield, Krillna felt a rumbling through the pads of his clawed foot.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ RAWHIIIIIDE!

With the sound of thunder and snapping trees, Krillna felt all three of his hearts stop and fall.

Gierophants, mighty horned beasts weighing several tons with great crests of hardened skin behind the skull to protect the neck and a row of spines extending the length of the spine, each one several times as tall as Krillna’s seven foot frame. Easy to anger, nearly impossible to outrun, harder to damage and often found in herds of fifty to one-hundred the gierophant was this world’s largest inhabitant, but Krillna thought he saw something on the back of the lead beast.

Humans.

Humans were riding the gierophants…a herd of what looked to be sixty or more and each one had a human standing on the snout of the creature and even more behind the crest or between the dorsal spines.

RAIN AND WIND AND WEATHER

The humans were either lashed to a spine or each other with lengths of rope and each one was firing wildly into the horde of enemies, hanging sideways from the flanks of the great beasts, weaving between the spines, crouching behind the crest and all were firing their rifles.

HELL BENT FOR LEATHER

“Sir? Am I having a substance dream or are those humans riding Gierophants into the Slentine ranks in a stampede while singing what sounds like a human battle song?” A young warrior asked in disbelief as the battle field seemed to come to a stop. The pause didn’t last long as the slentine soldiers quickly turned their weapons on the stampede of human madness and animal rage.

WISHING MY GIRL WAS BY MY SIIIDEEE!

“You are most definitely seeing this pup, the crazy humans went and did the impossible again…WARRIORS OF CANTRAXA!” Krillna called out to the stunned warriors behind him, filled with a renewed hope for victory.

“DRAW YOUR BLADES AND RELOAD YOUR WEAPONS, THE HUMANS HAVE GIVEN US THIS CHANCE AND BY THE FIRE PLAINS OF OUR HOME WORLD I WILL NOT STAND BY AND MAKE NOTHING OF IT!” Holding his blade high above his head the Pack-Master let loose the battle cry of his ancestors with such ferocity that it seemed to ring from the very heavens, turned from his comrades and ran face first into the chaos of the newly evened battle.

ALL THE THINGS IM MISSIN’

Three hardened battle packs of Cantraxa warriors, thought to be beaten down by sheer numbers and attrition, thought to be defeated and simply too stupid to understand… howled. Each and every one felt what the humans referred to as battle lust and with the feeling of fire singing in their veins each and every one reached deep into their souls and called the ancient war cries of times long past. GOOD VITTLES, LOVE AND KISSIN’

The humans sang on, swinging wildly from the sides of the Gierophants or hanging on with one hand and firing with the other, seemingly oblivious to the rounds of enemy’s fire flying past them. With every human felled the others seemed to sing louder. Krillna was in awe of these small hairless creatures as he ran towards the battle, they rode the great beasts of this world like they were born to it, they faced a horde of enemies without fear and sang their defiance in the face of death and defeat. ARE WAITING AT THE END OF MY RIIIIIIDEEEEE~

================================================

The battle was won, the slentine ranks had been broken in half by the stampede and when the front ranks turned to fire on the new threat they were drowned in an avalanche of fur and fang, bullet and bone from the Cantraxa warriors.

The humans had run over and shot down much of the enemy, the field had been churned to a bloody mud pit of broken bodies and weapons, the Gierophants were long gone by then, the humans had dismounted and returned to base.

Krillna watched in curious amazement as the humans went about their post battle chores.

Groups of humans combing the battlefield for survivors, pulling bodies from the muck and determining if they could be saved or not. Slentine and Cantraxian alike were given final honors or medical aid…mere hours before these small hairless maniacs were riding juggernauts of death into battle while singing and laughing and now, they were providing aid and respect to not only their comrades but the enemy as well.

Amazing graaaceee

A hauntingly sad and seemingly profound song floated like fog over the battle field from somewhere among the humans.

How sweet the sound

Funeral pyres and graves were dug according to cultural wishes, wounded were cared for regardless of species or alignment in the war. Bodies counted and tears were shed that day and as the last sun in the sky fell below the horizon, Krillna found himself surrounded by his warriors and humans.

Holding a strange liquid in his cup, the humans called it beer…or maybe stout?...Krillna looked to the leader of the humans as she stood upon a table laden with food and drink.

“Tonight, we celebrate our victory!” The humans cheered and the Cantraxans yipped and howled like pups.

 “Tonight, we mourn our glorious fallen!” With a silence that choked the very soul, every human raised their drink to the memory of those they had lost and drank deeply. Krillna and his warriors all mimicked the humans in their silence and honors.

 “Tonight…we honor our worthy enemies.” The commander of the humans raised her cup one last time and as one all the humans followed. Krillna could not see the reason behind the last one but was not about to comment on it while surrounded by humans.

Instruments were tuned and soon employed to their fullest extent as humans began dancing and singing, wagers were made, games were played and for a few moments Krillna could almost believe that they were simply back in his homeland celebrating the lunar convergence festival.

Spotting the human leader on the outskirts of the revelry Krillna silently approached the human as she slowly drank and watched those she had shed blood with. Stepping on a fallen can of some kind alerted the commander and as she whipped her head towards Krillna, he froze in place…the look in her eyes was not that of a celebration, but rather that of battle mad soldiers. Items within reach categorized as weapons, responses and plans ranging from peacefully violent to disturbingly chaotic flashed through her face in seconds. Her grip on the cup she held and the tensing of her muscles told Krillna that she had to stop herself from launching the cup at his face.

Raising his clawed hands in a sign of peace Krillna approached the commander slowly. As he approached the tiny human, no more than five feet tall, Krillna noticed tears leaking from her eyes in a steady stream cutting tracks through the remaining dirt and grime upon her cheeks. Hands shaking the commander raised the nearly impromptu projectile to her mouth and took a steadying sip before addressing the large warrior.

“What can I do for you Pack-Master?” Asked the commander as she turned her eyes back to the celebration before her.

“You do not celebrate victory like the others? Why do you spill tears so freely War Mother?” Krillna asked, using the honorific of the greatest female warriors of his people.

“I uh…it just takes a little time for me to wind down from battle and get into the spirit of things, eventually I’ll head out and show these youngsters how to really party but for now I will just have to deal with the aftermath of the adrenalin.” The commander said with a small shake to her voice.

“I have heard of this adrenalin, most species would simply die if exposed to it but you humans produce it naturally?” The Pack-Master asked.

“Yes, our bodies naturally produce it and well…it dissipates quicker for some and for others it sticks around longer. Battle madness, bloodlust, berserker rage and more are just different names of the same thing, active or excess adrenalin…our minds are changed and muscles freed of restraints while under its influence but afterwards we have to put the beast back in the cage and deal with the mess it made, physically, mentally and spiritually.” The commander responded with a look in her eyes that said she was looking deep into the past.

“How did you humans tame the Gierophants? It was previously thought impossible to even safely approach them never mind ride them or direct them.” Krillna asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the maudlin thoughts the commander seemed to be sinking into.

With an almost visible brightening of her features the commander looked up at Krillna.

“We didn’t actually tame them, we were trying to find either a good escape route to get everyone out or possibly a way to ambush the Slentine army, make them fight on two fronts as it were. We ran across the herd of Gierophants by accident and sort of came up with the plan on the spot, we figured if they started to stampede in our direction the base would be destroyed but if they went just little to the side they would hit our enemies. Jackson over there used to be what we call a ‘Cowboy’ and said if you can point a bull’s nose in one direction the body would follow, so we made some lassos and climbing rigs and well, the rest is history.” The commander finished with a small shrug and a decidedly less shaky sip of her drink.

 Krillna was almost to shocked to breath.

“You found a herd of the planet’s largest and most dangerous animal, decided to irritate them into charging you with the enemy directly behind, hoping that they would run over said enemy and while they did that you threw ropes on them so you could climb onto them and ride them…you humans are insane.” with a shake of his great furred head Krillna could only thank the seven skies that these lunatics were on their side.

With a laugh the commander tipped the last of her drink back and wrapped her hand around one of his fingers, his hand being large enough to completely encompass her own, and began to pull him towards the firelight of the bonfires, a mischievous light in her eyes and a smile that spoke of wicked delights to come on her lips.

“Oh you haven’t even begun to see the madness of humanity, come and we shall sing you songs of our people.” The commander laughed as the crowd enveloped them, music wound through the air like smoke, soldiers and warriors alike danced and spun and Krillna could only laugh as he downed the rest of his drink and threw reservations to the wind with a final thought.

‘Humans are weird, but wonderful.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #humans are weird #ao3 fanfic

[amywritesthings]

silver underground. / chapter 20.

( Read on AO3 )

Pairing: levi ackerman x f!reader (attack on titan / shingeki no kyojin) Word Count: 6k Summary: flashback ten - also known as the final mission Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI - graphic violence, minor character deaths, titan deaths, bloodshed, graphic depictions of injury, despair, peril

Previous Chapter. / Next Chapter. | Masterlist.

CHAPTER 20 - FLASHBACK: TEN

Eighty to forty.

Slashed in half.

On paper, the tactical statistics sound nothing short of a miracle.

In a division plagued by endless casualties, any hope of saving lives rather than destroying them should (and will) sanction blind approval from higher command.

For the commandant, for the king, for the people behind those Walls relying on this team to succeed in breaching the forest to pursue the mission of the Scout Regiment, it’s the best idea curated to date—

And it’s all thanks to Commander Erwin and his right-hand man, Captain Levi.

Levi Ackerman insists he can take on any Abnormal single-handedly.

Commander Erwin insists his Special Operations squad can and will find a way through the thick of it, once and for all.

A triumphant success for humanity, no matter the cost.

— but that was on paper.

When you wake, Levi isn’t beside you in your bed.

His disappearing act in the morning isn’t unusual nor is it disappointing.

By now you're used to waking up without him, though you only find yourself sleeping thanks to him.

(He's admitted that, if he doesn't slip out earlier than when you wake, then he may never leave.) 

Although your relationship is the worst kept secret within the Special Ops squad, it’s still just that:

A secret.

What is not a secret, however, is the trajectory of what’s to come.

Not every day in the regiment is a nightmare, but this is the type of day the average cadet dreads when they pledge their allegiance to the Survey Corps.

So you ready for the day with noticeable weight on your shoulders.

A determination to see this through.

A promise to show up for your fellow man.

(An oath to Levi that the two of you will make it out of this alive and see another sunrise.)

Today will be brutal, but you can prevail.

Stepping out of your quarters in full Scout gear, you hear the whinnies and whines of nearing horses as they gallop toward headquarters.

You fix the collar of your cropped tan jacket in time with your footsteps descending down the stairwell, mind elsewhere.

Bodies hurry in and out of the open front door. Gear clinks. Blades sheath.

“Lieutenant James!”

That voice belongs to no soul you know.

You stop dead in your tracks right in front of the open double doors. Turning to the sunlight, you raise a hand to shield the rays to locate who may have spoken your name.

Before you stands an entirely new group of Scouts that you’ve never seen before. Fresh-faced and determined, if not a little terrified — there is a large array of them standing around in a semicircle at the mouth of headquarters.

All adorn the Wings of Freedom.

All press their fist backwards to their heart, denting the emblem.

You realize some of their faces look familiar.

Albeit it was a brief stint as a cadet in the training corps, recognition flutters over your face as you spy some of the hopefuls that slept not so far from your bunk in the barracks.

It's been years. What were once youthful faces now age well before their time.

“Lieutenant, sir!”

The one in the center, a short-haired woman with glasses, barks once more.

“We’re pleased to make your acquaintance and to serve under the command of Humanity’s Strongest.”

At first you say nothing, dazed at the sheer number of this squad. 

Seven people hold steadily onto seven individual horses, their shoulders shrouded by emerald green cloaks. Some keep their hoods adorned to the crowns of their heads. Others bare their nervous but brave faces to you.

“At ease,” you murmur, and they lower their fists. “I wasn’t aware another squad was joining us this morning.”

“Miro Squad, sir, at your service,” the short-haired person greets, bowing. “I received Commander Erwin’s urgent letter for additional soldiers in the pursuit of breaching the forest.”

They take a half-step back and gestures to their team, pointing out every soul on their squad.

Miro, their leader; Trina, their second-in-command with wild fiery hair; and Scouts Orin, Max, Penelope, Cesca, and Rini.

Seven additional Scouts.

Fourteen Scouts in full for this Hail Mary of a mission.

Then it hits:

Proposing half of the original projected damage was bold, even for someone as shameless as Commander Erwin.

He had no qualms with setting this mission up with the new layout provided by Levi, ensuring as much of an air-tight plan as possible.

Eighty to forty percent is nothing short of a miracle.

But miracles do not exist in the Scouts.

Your stomach drops into the dirt with the sickening realization of what Commander Erwin’s grandiose solution really meant.

Miro Squad is the forty percent reduction.

A cruel and inhumane buffer of surefire casualties in order to keep the Special Ops squad intact during the breach.

You’re staring at a group of devoured bodies before you even reach the trees.

“It’s…”

You struggle with your words before slamming your backward fist to your heart, raising your chin.

Some of the younger Scouts stare in awe at your blatant display of honor.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Miro Squad.” 

You bow, though you feel dirty for doing so.

“I trust Commander Erwin made you aware of today’s efforts?”

Miro nods. “We intend to serve however we can.”

They don’t know.

They need to know.

They need to make an informed decision before—

“Lieutenant,” a deep voice sounds behind you, and your skin crawls.

Turning your chin, you stare eye to eye with the blue-eyed man boring down on you.

Commander Erwin appears somber.

Stoic.

“Yes, Commander?”

The question is small, but it drips with a knowing venom.

Erwin is not fazed. “Captain Levi is tending to the horses at the stables. Can you aid him in preparation before departure?”

To you, you conjure what appears to be a clear answer woven between the lines:

Do not interfere. Do not disobey.

You hold rank to an extent in the Scouts, but what the Commander says, goes.

Continuing to hold his icy blue stare, you try to convey the question you cannot say out loud.

(Do they know what is about to happen?)

Erwin continues to stare right back, not the least bit fazed by the conflict in your brow.

He is confident. He is headstrong.

An answer.

They're going to dedicate their hearts.

(Just like you, too, promised years ago.)

Without another word, you turn on a heel and beeline straight to the stables.

Anger.

Why do you feel so much anger?

Is it because the outcome feels bleak well before mission has started?

Are the odds truly this stacked against humanity?

When you reach the parted doors of the stables, he's there — Levi Ackerman stands in front of his black stallion, gliding a gentle hand down its muzzle.

He senses your presence well before you even say a word.

He turns easily to you, but his eyes sharpen a fraction when he picks up how pinched your shoulders are.

“James,” he greets neutrally, brow knitting. “What’s—”

“Miro Squad just showed up.”

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb,” you snip, making your way to your own horse — she has a white coat with speckled gray spots all along her body.

She makes a small chortle noise when you near and you serve your flattened palm to her for a nuzzle.

(Behind the pen doors, you note she already has her gear in place. Levi must have already saddled her up for you while you were getting ready.)

The dark-haired man to your left sighs in a huff. 

“Not playing dumb, James. I was genuinely asking.”

“It’s the squad Erwin’s setting up for slaughter,” you decide to elaborate hotly.

A pause passes.

You don't turn to see Levi's expression, but you can sense how tense the space between the two of you has become.

“If it’s Miro Squad he called to action, then they’ve fared well in comparison to the other squadrons," he argues with little fire. "Did he personally request them?"

"Allegedly."

"Allegedly?" Levi repeats, sharper in tone. "Either he did or he didn't."

"According to Miro, yes, he sent an urgent letter requesting aid."

Finally you turn a cheek towards him, forcing your eyes to meet.

You know that look he gives you sidelong. 

Don’t start.

(Neither of you need to fight again, not before this mission.)

"Then Erwin didn't pick a random crop of Scouts to shit the bed and die on us," Levi reasons, softer. Conspiratorial. "I know you think he’s a bastard, but—”

“Worst case scenario,” you interrupt, “at least his Special Ops team won’t die?”

“If my strategy goes well, then no one dies." He counters with the certainty that’s entirely Levi. “You forget my name is on the damn ledger, too, unless this is you trying to tell me something.”

White-hot embarrassment courses your veins as your childhood friend waits for you to challenge his statement — to call him an equal-part premeditated murderer sat right beside the commander.

You can’t.

You won’t.

Instead you cool off by slowly petting your horse, willing your bad feeling to wither away.

After a moment, Levi wills his voice to soften again. “We need as many Scouts as we can—”

“I know.”

“—and even then, if we all kick the bucket, it's on me."

Levi finishes with a heavy sigh. He turns away, dropping his chin to his chest.

“I'll take whatever punishment fits the crime if it goes to shit."

A beat passes.

Blinking several times, you turn your body to him and drop the attitude.

“...and I'll do everything in my power to make sure we stay alive," you whisper softly. "That everyone comes home."

Levi’s head hangs, cascading his wispy black hair as a curtain over his face.

“That's not supposed to be your burden."

"Where you go, I go, remember?" you tell him. "For better or worse, I don't care."

"Wanna workshop vows, huh?" he mumbles. "Right now?"

This seems to ease the air about the stables.

Centimeter by centimeter, twin pairs of shoulders release in their tension.

You can't help but smile, even if the moment is tense.

"I think the Commander would find the dramatics funny."

"Oh, sure, proposing to your ass right before the single-biggest mission in Scout history would really tickle his funny bone," he sarcastically replies.

"It'd sure tickle Hange's."

"Hange doesn't need more ammunition, not after catching our asses that one time—"

"That one time that was your fault, you mean?" You grin as he glares. Still, his scowl is playful. "Loud Mouth Ackerman—"

"Shut up, Lieutenant."

Levi lets go of his horse and raises his hand, palm outstretched.

“Get the hell over here before anyone catches us a second time, alright?”

Albeit small, he smiles.

It's forced, like he wants to remember this — to focus on this.

The final moments before the point of no return.

Like a moth to a flame, you step away from your horse to step towards the short, dark-haired man.

Once you’re close enough, he pulls you in from the nape of your neck and drags your forehead to his, pressing them together.

His eyes squeeze shut.

You stare, memorizing his face.

“I love you,” he murmurs. “Don’t die.”

All the anger in your body melts away.

“I love you, too,” you reply just as softly. “I won’t—”

The stable door creaks.

You leap off of the captain to pretend like you’re picking up the bucket of water at his boots.

Levi stays put, dropping his arm like dead weight.

“Captain. Lieutenant.”

You don’t need to see the face to know it’s Erwin’s voice echoing through the stables.

“It’s time to move out.”

You both reply in unison, two different octaves.

“Yes, sir.”

.

.

.

.

.

The formation is simple:

Captain Levi leads the charge into the forbidden forest with Lieutenant James at his side.

Behind them in a diamond formation are the Special Operation Scouts Petra, Oluo, Gunther, and Eld.

Command Erwin, Section Commander Hange, and Moblit remain at headquarters for the recon and debrief.

At the rear of the formation are Miro Squad to specifically call out nearing and flanking titans that the first squad may miss.

They shadow the Special Operations unit as back-ups, no matter the cost.

And at first? It's easy.

Deceiving easy.

The mouth of the forest gives little trouble.

Both squadrons of Scouts breach the thick grove of towering trees without incident.

Thirty minutes into this mission, in the belly of this beast, not a single Abnormal has been spotted.

There aren't any typical titans, either.

It’s quiet.

Serene.

“Alright, listen up!”

With his hands tightly wound around leather reigns, Captain Levi finally calls to the Scouts behind him.

“Keep your eyes peeled. Abnormals do not move like other titans. These shitheads can be fast and appear at a moment’s notice.”

“Right!” Several of the Miro squad shouts back.

The Special Operations squad is too focused to reply.

Whenever you glance over at Levi, he’s smooth as stone. 

He refuses to allow any emotion cloud his judgment on a mission, and you can imagine it won’t be any different this go-around.

Because this mission cannot fail.

The Scouts must push forward, no matter the cost.

(Even if the irrevocable cost makes you sick to your stomach.)

The sun shines bright over a canopy of trees.

Your cloak is too warm in this type of weather.

As you push further into the thick of the terrain, nearing what is assumed to be the halfway point of the forest, birds chirp less and less.

Eerie silence overtakes the pounding of hooves into the dirt.

Then, as fast as an inhale, you see it:

Directly ahead trudges a nine-meter titan, peering around a thick tree trunk.

"Captain!" Gunther shouts. "Ahead at our twelve!"

"I see the piece of shit," Levi calls back. "We keep moving. I'll take care of it."

You don't doubt that he will.

As it continues to slowly advance on your formation, you can tell the team is a little more tense.

Ready — 

Except no one was prepared, not really.

The titan ahead is an army of one, but it is not the only titan here.

It was just the only one right in front of you.

Behind you sounds a scream so bloodcurdling that you nearly lock up on your horse.

You turn despite yourself.

Within seconds, you see Max get ripped clear off of his horse with the sheer force of otherworldly strength.

(...a hand?)

Then, a gust of wind sweeps and swirls the dirt into a lackluster tornado.

His horse narrowly escapes.

It rolls over and over, kicking up a thick dust cloud.

Max speeds through the air at breakneck speed like a human arrow —

Until he abruptly crashes into a thick tree trunk, dislocating his spine from his head.

The crunch is like ripping a stalk of ripe lettuce in half.

He simply crumples against the tree, limbs peacefully blowing in the wind like a leaf.

His Scout cloak billows over his shocked face, forever frozen in belated surprise.

Gone.

Just like that.

Then from the shadows, as if waiting for its prey, a five-meter titan stumbles around a tree to chomp on the recently deceased body.

It gnaws off his legs as they dangle in the air, spattering blood all over the forest floor.

Your horse gallops on.

You can't look away.

Then someone screams, forcing your eyes to rip away from the horror.

“Cesca!” A blonde girl shrieks to the right of the formation — Penelope, you think her name is. “Don’t!”

“It's devouring him!” Cesca wails at the top of her lungs. “We have to go back for him!”

“He’s already dead!” Trina calls with experienced calm. “There's no use, soldiers! Keep your eyes forward. We keep moving!”

“James—”

Your head turns when Levi calls to you.

Wide eyes meet a narrowed gaze.

“—that means you, too.”

Your eyes round with the realization that everything is happening so fast yet moving in slow motion.

What was that thing?

Was that a... ?

You were so busy watching Max get eaten that you didn’t realize three more titans appeared on the northeast corner, awakened by the screams of Miro Squad.

Shit.

This isn’t good.

This is not good.

“Levi,” you begin slowly, but he shakes his head.

"Don't hesitate. We push forward no matter what."

He's right.

Max is dead.

You just have to hope the rest of Miro squad keeps their wits about them.

You turn your head to make eye contact with Miro.

“Faster!”

“Roger, Lieutenant,” Miro tells you before shouting to their team. “Keep going, Scouts! We should be halfway through the clearing.”

“Miro,” Trina alerts them sharply, "three more titans are crowding from the right."

“Shit, what does that make it now? Seven of them!?” Miro hisses.

(Seven?)

Your eyes connect with Petra who appears equal parts shocked at just how quickly this mission has dissolved.

“I— there's a whole bunch of them in the back!”

Penelope calls frantically, staring behind her.

"They're surrounding us!"

Three to the east.

Another three to the northwest.

A couple to the south, and another...

Something entirely unlike anything you'd ever seen before.

“Captain, we’re going to need to ditch the horses,” you tell Levi in a hushed voice.

“Not yet,” he replies, smooth and certain.

“Not yet?" you repeat. "Levi, we have an entire army of goddamn titans on our—”

“I said not yet,” he coolly bites. “I’ll handle them.”

You know he will.

You just don’t want him to go up against them on his own.

Suddenly someone from the right side of the formation ignites their ODM gear, and they swoop overhead.

Blonde hair whooshes straight by the team and into the forest thick.

Penelope is the first to pull the trigger.

“I’m gonna get ahead of the curve and attack!” she calls, zipping through the trees towards some of the smaller titans.

Levi says nothing, but Miro shouts to their own squad: 

“That wasn’t the plan! Damn it, Penelope!”

Her body rounds one of the tree trunks and heads right, disappearing.

Say something.

Say anything.

If that thing that killed Max is how an Abnormal moves, then Penelope doesn't stand a chance on her own.

You speak to him again. "Captain—”

“Not yet, James.”

“Penelope is going to get killed!” you argue, your grip on the reigns tightening.

“That’s the choice she made,” Captain Levi argues in return, sounding a little too much like Commander Erwin in the moment. “Remain steady and wait for my signal.”

Twigs fold and crackle under new weight to your right.

Then a thud shakes the straight through the horses and into you.

Penelope must have taken down at least one normal titan.

“Captain!”

Miro shouts in the middle of the squad.

“Should we engage? My squad can take care of the titans and carve a path forward!”

There is a tense, pregnant pause.

Everyone waits for Levi's instruction.

Two smaller titans walk directly towards the horses.

The dark-haired man's nostrils flare with decision.

“I’m going to take down the two ahead,” Levi shouts, effortlessly swinging a boot to the saddle of his horse.

With the muscles of his thigh he pushes until both boots are surfing against his running horse.

His black hair blows wildly in the wind. Like a well-oiled machine, he pushes back his cloaks to reveal his ODM gear, readying for deployment.

"Miro, take your squad and eliminate the enemies flanking us. You can come back to us once you're finished."

“What about the rest of us, sir?” calls Oluo.

Levi’s eyes narrow at the enemies ahead.

“My squad will keep the horses going. We need to make it to the end of this forest, for humanity's sake."

"And Captain, what about Penelope?" you quickly ask.

"She's a lost cause, Lieutenant."

He speaks with that coldness he's been forced to adopt ever since your days in the Underground.

"We can't go back for her."

You turn to watch as Miro squad disengages formation and turns around, charging bravely towards the crowd of titans forming behind.

An array of shapes and sizes await their swords.

(Or their flesh.)

Any minute now and it could be a bloodbath.

Any minute—

Levi flies off of his horse, trapezing through the trees.

A gas trail from how hard his gear is working is your only indicator for where he is at such a height.

He twirls with the shine of his unsheathed swords, slashing the napes of the two large titans ahead.

A victory.

Except it's a short-lived victory, because you hear it behind you— 

Miro squad.

They're in trouble.

Even from this distances you hear Cesca, Rini, and Orin scream and panic.

Scouts fly between tree branches with smoke trailing behind. ODM gear ignites and retracts without any real clear sense of direction.

They're drowning back there.

You see the silhouette of someone falling to the forest floor.

"One of us needs to help them," you tell Eld, and he shakes his head sharply.

"You heard Captain Levi."

"They're two fucking Scouts down, Eld!" you snap at your comrade. "We'll lose seven whole people!"

"We can't go against captain's orders, Lieutenant!" Petra calls to you, and Oluo nods beside her.

Scanning your squad still soldiering ahead with the plan, you feel something grip your heart.

Yet another gut-wrenching shriek sounds from the forest.

Maybe it's Penelope.

Maybe it's Cesca.

The voices reverberate and echo through the forest that it's hard to tell.

You don't even realize that you're moving your hands over your cloak to push it out of the way.

Eighty to forty.

"The hell are you doing!?"

The clipped tone of Levi Ackerman as he drops back onto his stallion rips you back into focus.

His knee drops to the saddle, facing his soldiers rather than what's ahead.

Your eyes meet narrowed gray.

"I can help," you tell him calmly. "They're going to die."

"Stay."

"They're going to die, Le—"

"Stay, Lieutenant." Levi's nostril's flare. "That's an order."

Miro squad's screams continue to haunt your subconscious.

You promised.

You said you'd stay by his side.

But isn't this what the Scout Regiment is for?

To save humanity, to give them hope.

It used to be something you felt was such a crock of shit, but you can't ignore the screams back there.

You can't let them die.

"I'm going to help them," you tell him without a tremor. "You know I can do it."

Levi's eyes flash with an indiscernible emotion.

"We'll all come back in one piece. I'll guide them to the horses."

"No."

"And we'll make it to the end of this fucking forest."

You stare back at him, pleading a forgiveness you haven't asked for yet.

(You saved me once. Let me save them.)

"If you go," he growls, "James, if you go, I'll—"

"I'll take whatever punishment fits my crime," you cut him off, "but I can't let them all die."

His pupils shrink, sharpening the whites of his eyes.

The wheeze of ODM gear bursts into life as it lifts you off of your saddle and into the forest sky.

Without thinking, you twist at the hip and take off—

You head south towards the screaming squad as they fight to break free from the titan hoard holding them hostage.

Wind freezes your cheeks.

The outlines of their bodies grow more pronounced the closer you become.

Soon you see five Scouts flying around, swinging their swords to destroy the last remaining titan.

Below are a cluster of smaller dead ones decaying by the second.

Trina, Miro's second-in-command, screams at the top of her lungs as she reaches out to her comrades.

"Help! Please, I don't want to be eaten! Please!"

She's stuck in the clutches of a ten-meter titan, slowly bringing her closer and closer to its open mouth.

They’re everywhere.

(How did everything go so wrong so fast?)

You don't think about dying. You don't worry about how upset Levi will be when you return. You don't stop to second guess your actions. 

You don’t.

You just do.

Yelling at the top of your lungs, you rip both blades from their metallic sheaths at your hips.

Spinning from the momentum of your swing, you slice straight through the wrist of the titan holding Trina hostage.

She falls with enough smarts to break her fall with her own gear.

“James!” Trina cries out with equal parts despair and relief. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure you were all okay," you tell them, shaking your head. "I guess you didn't really need back-up. We still have your horses..."

But you trail off, confused.

They should be relieved.

They killed every last titan back here.

Yet the Miro squad cling to the trees, skin as translucent as ghosts.

"Something big ate Penelope!" Cesca sobs, swinging her sword frantically to keep invisible outstretched fingers at bay. Her eyes are a window to nothing. As if she's curled into herself as she screams to you. "You need to—"

You're about to ask what the hell she's talking about.

But then you see it:

Climbing.

No, crawling through the trees, running like a rabid dog through the branches to eye up its prey.

A titan.

In comparison to other titans, it's practically a sun spot.

And it's so fast.

Eleven meters tall. Maybe thirteen.

You can't tell when its crouched like that.

Deformed.

Curled in on itself.

Then it halts when it sees you, blocking you from the rest of Miro squad.

A chill runs up your spine.

You stop to balance against the side of a tree trunk, staring face-to-face with your first Abnormal.

Its grin is something straight out a nightmare.

Its eyes track you, as if it...

As if it hopes you’ll flinch and begin the chase.

Shit.

You can't get around it.

You're stuck here — but the other five aren't.

“Trina, Miro, find Captain Levi,” you force yourself to speak, unable to look away from the Abnormal. “Take your squad north. Tell them you found an Abnormal."

“But—”

“I said go north, damn it,” you growl, clenching your teeth.

"What about you?" Miro asks.

“I'll be right behind you," you promise, though you damn well know you can't run straight through with your gear.

Why isn’t this titan attacking you?

Is it just waiting for you to run first?

Dedicate your heart.

No — this thing isn't going to kill you.

Max is dead. Penelope is dead.

But you came just in time to save five others.

You can save them, yourself, and this mission.

No, you won't die.

Not today.

“Go!”

Shouting at the top of your lungs, the Abnormal finally dives to attack you. 

Only when you swing past it do you realize it was waiting — not for you, no, but for an eight-meter and ten-meter with blood all over its mouth to catch up.

Not one, but three Abnormals.

Shit.

Miro and Trina gather Orin, Cesca, and Rini.

All five swing through the trees back towards where you just came from.

In the meantime, you exhaust your efforts through intense ODM defensive maneuvers to avoid getting caught in the clutches — or teeth — of the three titans.

They chase after you, using the trees to their advantage.

It's no use.

You can't outrun all three.

So you'll have to fight these assholes to find a way out.

Turning abruptly, you side-step the lurching ten-meter reaching out towards you.

With a battle cry from the gut, you scream and slice straight through the nape of its neck. 

Steam emits as it gurgles and stumbles, effectively dying on the forest floor.

One down.

Three to go.

You set your sights on the smaller titan first, gliding and sliding through the trees.

(The eleven-meter titan will be your greatest problem. You choose to make it your final priority.)

When you flip in the air, crown pointed to the ground and feet in the air, you can no longer see the bodies of Miro squad.

Only a faint trail of their gas fumes linger.

It’s just you, and the things that want to kill you.

But you won't die today.

No, you are not dying in this fucking forest.

Because you promised him.

Skating across a large tree trunk, you swan dive in the air and reattach your gear to opposite tree trunks, sights locked on the eight-meter titan.

The eight-meter monster stares directly at you, but you use its shoulder to lodge your spike directly into its flesh.

The momentum of the swing offers enough brutality to effectively rip into the nape of its neck, causing titan blood to splatter all over your body.

It stumbles, falling to the forest floor. You remain perched on its shoulder, sword extended.

Two down.

You can do this.

You can finish these titans off and meet up with the team before the mission is over.

It isn’t a lost cause.

Determined to see it through, you turn on the heel of your boot—

With a might crack of its arm, the eleven-meter knocks you clear off of the eight-meter’s shoulder and straight into the tree your gear is already attached to.

Your head hits.

The world turns into stars right before your eyes.

And before you can find yours wits and attack back—

Its fiery palm seizes your body from the tree trunk and squeezes.

The momentum nearly rips your spine in half when the Abnormal grabs you.

You gasp for air, knocked clear from your lungs.

Because you didn’t disengage your ODM line latched into the nearby tree, the sheer force of its grip on you bends your gear, forcing you to ragdoll between the points.

Shit.

The grapple of your gear won’t budge.

It won’t detract. 

The jerking movements between the manhandling of the Abnormal and your jammed gear create a perfect storm of injuries.

Pops and crunches trickle up your body, breaking bones upon bones upon bones—

You see white. 

The titan cannot get you loose from the tree, and you cannot get loose from it, so you act on pure instinct — with what little strength you have left, it stretches out and around to swipe your sword through the titans hand, narrowly missing your own chest.

One chance, and you took it.

Because not only did the sword cut through the titan, but it split the ODM line keeping you eleven meters in the air.

When you realize you can’t even breathe when the titan lets you go, you know what’s coming.

Weightless and numb of your own pain, you can feel the wind on your face, but your lungs refuse to expand.

They’re trapped from a cracked rib, and you’re out of time.

Something as bittersweet as foolish bravery crawls through your skin, burning it alive:

No one is coming.

You told Miro squad to run.

You defied orders.

—but you promised Levi you wouldn’t die.

(Is this the end of all things, right here?)

The screams and shouts echoing through your mind are not of Levi and Miro squad, no, but of your lost comrades — the ones who experienced the very same hopeless, fleeting feeling of fear right before they went.

You think of ash-blonde hair. Ginger locks.

Were Furlan and Isobel afraid?

When they couldn’t survive the Scouts, when they fought titans, did they look up at the sky just like you?

Did they know it was the end?

Were they worried they disappointed Levi?

Did they think of you, too, the way you're thinking about them?

Would they hate you for what you've done to Levi?

Four pairs of hopeful eyes walked up those Underground City stairs and into this world, yet only one will remain.

I promised.

You open your mouth, but nothing comes out.

No screams.

No sobs.

You reach for the branches, watching the glittering sun through the canopy of trees, but you cannot touch them.

There is nothing you can do.

I’m sorry.

You continue to reach for the sky like you’ll catch on something without strength.

Your adrenaline-addled mind runs through so many memories—

The fighting rings of the Underground City;

The dream of leaving this place;

The feeling of the sun on bare skin;

Him.

Levi Ackerman.

Captain of the Scout Regiment. Humanity’s Strongest.

Your best friend.

The love of your life.

The boy who saved you, over and over, until—

“James!”

Suddenly your body reacts with a pained, strangled gasp.

The beauty of the sun disappears when a dark, oval silhouette overtakes it.

A brilliant shimmer of emerald billows around it.

It twirls and slashes the nape of the eleven-meters neck before pivoting south.

Towards you.

The silhouette nears at supernatural speeds, a trail of gas zipping in its wake—

It’s a man.

His gaze is overtaken by the whites of his eyes.

With how fast he’s descending from the tree tops, it’s a miracle he ducks and dodges every rogue branch.

His black hair is pinned to the sides of his head. The terror is written all over his face.

That face…

Levi.

You can’t speak, but you instinctively reach for his hand.

He grits his teeth, willing his body to fall faster. He breaks a barrier and soars closer to your orbit.

“Stay with me!” Levi shouts, voice determined and strong. “I’ll catch you!”

But you’ve been falling for what feels like hours, and he’s caught you so many times in the past.

When you struggled with ODM gear training, Levi would be the one to spot your fall. Every time, without failure.

But it wasn't his duty to catch you.

It wasn't his duty to come back for you.

He reaches out a hand, teeth clenched, but his fingertips just barely miss yours.

"Shit. C'mon, James, reach!"

He's getting desperate.

You've never seen him desperate.

The ground must be close.

Is it close?

(I’m sorry.)

You wish you could tell him. 

You wish you had the strength, the breath, to do so. 

(I'm sorry.)

You failed him.

You didn’t listen.

You should have listened.

With what little strength is left in your both, you roll your shoulder forward to send your hand towards his.

Your fingertips touch again, but he can’t quite grasp you. 

(But then so many others would have died. An entire squad of seven in a formation of fourteen instead of just three. Isn’t that what the Scouts are supposed to fight for, Levi? Isn’t that why we work so damn hard to achieve this dream for humanity?)

His breath hitches.

His eyes explode.

Because he knows what’s coming, too.

“James!”

A sorrowful breath that should be his name exits your mouth.

(Levi, I’m so sorry. I love—)

The back of your head slams into the ground.

A sickening thud.

A lost gasp of air.

The world goes black.

.

.

.

.

.

  Why did you do it?

Do what?

.

.

.

.

.

  “James!”

A baritone voice shouts your name.

It’s guttural, echoing with desperation. Fear.

.

.

.

.

.

  You gave me a second chance.

.

.

.

.

.

  The man dives through the trees at an otherworldly pace.

Arms pressed tight to his sides, he expertly zig-zags through an array of branches, propelling his body forward.

His emerald cloak billows from behind in an angelic halo.

As he nears, you can make out the whites of his widened eyes.

Instinctively, your hand reaches for him—

A certain sort of deja vu—

Then it hits.

.

.

.

.

.   Because where you go, I follow.

.

.

.

.

.

  Something heavy crashes straight into your body.

Two strong arms envelope you.

A palm cradles the back of your head.

Metallic gear wheezes, straining against its mechanics when your side hits solid ground.

Over and over, you spin at lightning speed.

Whatever holds you does not let go.

— then you collide with something solid, and everything just stops.

Silence.

Dirt kicks up around you in a cloud.

Twin hearts beat against each other.

Slowly you raise your hand to your shoulder—

Reaching— 

Until you find his hand.

Your shaking fingers curl over his.

.

#levi ackerman x reader #levi ackerman x you #attack on titan fanfiction #shingeki no kyoujin fanfiction #levi ackerman fanfiction #levi ackerman x female reader #aot fanfic #aot fanfiction #aot fic #snk fic #snk fanfic #levi ackerman fanfic #levi ackerman fic #attack on titan fanfic #attack on titan fic #levi x you #levi x reader #silver underground #amywritesthings

[midnightsapphire]

here’s a small snippet of my Hades x Persephone au with Aemond! I’m having so much fun writing this but I need help coming up with a title :c any help would be appreciated! 

-----

Aemond Targaryen, first of his name, rider of the largest war beast in all of Westeros, Vhagar, Prince Regent, Kinslayer. The list was growing endless as Aemond cast his single eye along the burning castles of Harrenhal, the orange flames that cast a glow against the blue sapphire he no longer felt ashamed of hiding away behind the leather eyepatches. He let out a victorious laugh atop his beast as his arms spread as wide as the wing’s of his dragon, relishing on the victory he had achieved for the crown, for his family, for his king. 

He watched as the people screamed, pleading with him to show mercy as they watched their homes, their fields, their livelihoods be swallowed in a gust of orange as Vhagar swept low enough to breath her hellflame along their borders. Aemond made note of their fear-stricken faces, the curses thrown at him, the bodies falling with every moment. 

Dare he say he relished in the destruction that followed his shadow. 

It had been long after the death of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Realm’s Delight, the Half-Queen no longer. The entirety of the Black’s reign whipped off the face of Westeros, a shell of an alliance that was never to be spoken in the King’s presence should they wish to keep their tongues, generously speaking on their part. The rule of Aegon the Second was rocky, but wholly accepted as the reign of the “true king” rose with Aemond’s assistance in allying themselves with the most powerful houses, keeping their own close and ridding the world of those that opposed them. 

“My brother, you’ve graciously returned!” Aegon slurred, his hefty cups of wine spilling with every word as he waved his hands graciously at the sight of his armor cladded brother, covered with soot and grime from the grueling fires that once again found itself on the ground of the Riverlands. Aemond bent the knee to his brother, casting his winged helmet at his side as he bestowed a sealed paper to his brother, that unceremoniously pushed the whore off his lap as he snatched the paper, lilac eyes skimming over it’s words as he felt a sickly smile grow on his face. 

“The fools had finally bent the knee.”

“They had no knees left to bend when I had stepped foot on their lands.” Aemond confirmed as he stood tall once again at the foot of the throne, his head held high as he glared at the whore that laid at Aegon’s feet, letting out a soft gasp and diverting her gaze away from the glimmering sapphire that ordained his face. 

“Perfect, they should remember with fire and blood who is truly meant to rule the seven kingdoms.” Aegon snickered as he stumbled upon the throne again, leaning his cheek along the top of his fist as he swallowed more swigs from his chalice, narrowing them at Aemond’s from above the rim. 

“Take it. Harrenhal.” Aegon spoke seriously, his head tilting as he eyed his brother. The ever dutiful son, the golden child, the one their mother clearly favored when he had bestowed the head of Daemon Targaryen after their fitful fight above God’s Eye, effectively ridding the world of the Rogue Prince and his blood worm, Caraxes. “You.. always had a knack for ruling, a taste for duty. Take it as it is, the barren wasteland. A gift from one brother to another.” He said with a brush of his hand. 

“It is no longer of any service to me when you have stripped the land bare of its forests and homes. Consider it.. your very own little underworld.” 

Thus he had become Aemond Targaryen, first of his name, rider of the largest war beast in all of Westeros, Vhagar, Prince Regent, Kinslayer, Ruler of the Underworld.

#aemond targaryen imagine #aemond targaryen imagines #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond x reader #house of the dragon imagines #aemond oneshot #aemond targaryen angst #aemond targaryen fic #hotd imagine #hotd imagines #house of the dragon imagine #foryoupage #house of the dragon #house of the dragon fanfic #ewan mitchell #aemond targaryen #house of the dragon angst #aemond fic #aemond targaryen x targaryen!reader #fic recs

[mochinomnoms]

Ok so this is totally inspired by the Ruggie being sick thing but sick Ptm Jade and Yuu taking care of him!!! I feel like somehow Azul would trick them into taking care of Jade (say he was busy or something with housewarden stuff). And when asked why Floyd can't take of his brother he'd butt in and say he hates how whiny Jade gets when sick. Idk I just have a feeling Jade would play up the dramatics when he's sick. And poor Yuu! Stuck watching the sick eel while endless fantasies go through Jade's head about a domestic lifestyle with them! And hopefully (but not likely) they won't have to see any nsfw thoughts this time!

-✨👀

Jade rarely gets sick, so when he does it's a whole ordeal of figuring out who takes care of his usual tasks and who will wrangle in Floyd (despite him and Floyd both stating that he's not Floyd's keeper and he thinks he's hella funny when he's up to shit.)

If we're setting this in ptm, then I can state with confidence that a second-year student named Marino De Reyes takes over Jade's tasks at Azul's request. And he does so beautifully. However, having someone to wrangle Floyd is a whole nother issue. Our sharky friend Tony is pushed to keep Floyd in check, as they're friends and Tony is typically more level-headed. However, when the two get together, their collective brain cells kinda die out and the two become menaces that actively encourage the other to get into shit. Honestly, Azul shouldn't be surprised, last the two were left to their own devices without someone to properly supervise, Floyd and Tony got tangled by a jellyfish's tentacles because, “they kinda looked like kelp and we wanted to see if they tasted good”. They got stung for over 15 minutes before Jade found them and had their fathers get them untangled.

They a little bit unhinged, to put it bluntly. So Azul and Aspen get busy wrangling their two friends from accidentally killing themselves parkouring on the roofs, So Azul, knowing that ptm!Yuu was taught first aid and care from the nurse, asks (begs) them to nurse Jade back to health. He can feel himself aging by the second, please Prefect, HELP.

So they do, and Jade is actually living in a delirious version of domestic bliss. Like, he actually thinks that you two are married and in your cottage by the forest and seaside. It makes the other students in the infirmary confused as hell, and the nurse giddy and teasing. Jade's not just wearing rose-tinted glasses, he got lasik surgery to have rose-tinted vision, because you can do no wrong. The fantasies he's having are actually quite sweet, just dreams of you two living together. You wake him up to take his medicine? He's visioning you hand feeding him breakfast in bed. Pushing his bangs away from his face to place a new wet towel on his fevering forehead? He's imagining you brushing your fingering through his hair. If Jade's sick enough to need someone else to take over tasks and have Azul owe you a favor to care for him, then he's just a bit delirious. For once, he's not filtering his words from his thoughts and just out right saying everything that his mind conjures.

“You're so pretty. A pretty, pretty pearl! Nurse Goethel, aren't they just beautiful? Ethereal, like seeing our galaxy in the night sky.”

“Pfft-oh? You're very correct Jade, wouldn't you agree, Prefect?”

“Um, well I—”

“I love your voice, my pearl. I can hear you speak all day…”

“Aw! How cute, did you know this Prefect? He's such a gentleman, you should go out—”

“You're so cute and sweet, I bet you taste sweet too~ I'd love to hear you moan for me as I—MmPH!”

Smothering a sick man with a pillow is not typically recommended by medical professionals, but you needed to preserve whatever bit of dignity you (and Jade at this point) had left. You thank the Seven that it was only you three in the room at that time. The week ends with Jade discharged and sent to his dorm with some antibiotics, but the nurse's teasing and swoons of young romance were just beginning…

(Now the real debate is whether or not Jade was actually delirious, or if he was pretending so he could say what he thought and gage your reactions. What do you think?)

#mochi asks #twst #twisted wonderland #jade leech #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #jade leech x reader #ptm #✨👀 anon

[esamastation]

Part thirty-nine of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight

-

Reno has decided he hates sleeping in a tree. He doesn't particularly enjoy any aspect of camping but he especially dislikes sleeping in trees. Even with a hammock to pitch between branches, it's never comfortable.

Stupid  SOLDIERs and their stupid endless stamina. Sephiroth and Hewley didn't even bother to make a camp or anything, they just slept wherever! Incredible. Not that Reno thinks Sephiroth actually slept at all. Sure, Reno didn't either, because the forest did not shut up all night and the fuck can sleep with all the noise, but still. Even after a day of fighting monsters and evening of sword practice, Sephiroth just doesn't quit, huh. The guy has issues.

Glancing over the edge of his hammock to see Hewley still asleep and Sephiroth sitting cross-legged, actually meditating, Reno lies back and sighs. So much for SOLDIERs not knowing when to quit, huh? 

After a moment of waiting while the sky above grows slowly lighter and all the damn bugs in the forest wake up for the whole new day of being nuisances, Reno digs out his PHS and shoots out a message.

Reno: If I have to spend another night in this damn forest, listening to Sephiroth's constant sighing, I'm going to lose it. Tell me you're done.

Rude: Your life is a constant struggle. Charcoal burner's house checks out. I'm back at the camp for supplies now.

Reno: Ooh, what did we get?

Rude: Two weeks worth of rations, and a case of contraband.

Reno: Finally some good news! I'll see if I can get the meatheads there before the day is out. Save some of that contraband for me.

Rude doesn't answer, and Reno settles down to wait for the SOLDIER Firsts to get up and get moving. Sephiroth does first - rising, of course, to do some more  sword practice.

Reno watches him work for a while before adding annotation to the watch log. 07:34, Sephiroth begins solo sword practice, no visible signs of his "energy alignment" practice. From Sephiroth's comments, he figures the guy is being careful with it, and doesn't want to be interrupted again - something he's already made a note of in his ongoing report.

This mission involves way too much paperwork already, and way too many questions. Sephiroth doesn't take in EXP anymore, apparently. There's something called Qi-deviation - his fit, maybe - which he's trying to avoid. He's now meditating with Materia, which is - something. And it's Reno's job to figure out explanations for all of this.

He's doing the work of a Science researcher, basically, observing Sephiroth like a lab rat for all sorts of unusual behaviours. Except he's doing it behind the Science Department's back. Wonderful.

Reno waits until Hewley shows signs of waking up before sending out the data package Tseng had prepared. Then he lies still, staring up at the forest canopy, listening.

"Good morning," Sephiroth says somewhere below. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, good morning - wait, it's morning? Sephiroth, you didn't wake me up?" Hewley asks. "I meditated most of the night, it's fine," Sephiroth says, dismissively. "I figured I might as well let you sleep, since I was going to stay up anyway."

"That's - considerate of you, but we agreed to change shifts," Hewley points out. "You should've woken me up anyway."

"What's the point of both of us staying awake?"

"It's not about what - Sephiroth, I know you've forgotten a lot about how this goes, but we're supposed to be a team," Hewley says slowly, pointedly. "And I would've liked to be included in the decision making."

"... Ah. I didn't… think of that."

"Just - wake me up next time," Hewley sighs.

Point in Hewley's favour there, for not letting Sephiroth get away with this shit. Reno definitely wouldn't have.

There's a sound of Hewley getting up just as both their PHS's beep out a notification. 

"Another mission?" Sephiroth asks.

"Mm, yeah," Hewley agrees, and judging by the sound of it he's looking through the mission files. "Hmm, there are monsters attacking a, uh, charcoal burner's house. They want us to clear them out."

"Sounds bad. Should we put off the other monster hunting mission for now?"

"... Yeah, maybe. Might be that it's an informant's house, or something," Hewley mutters. "Don't see why else they'd send us to help Wutai citizens."

Sephiroth says nothing.

Reno lifts his PHS to make another note before stopping. Sephiroth's apparent… unease has already been noted, and a bit of silence isn't exactly a clear sign of mutiny. The guy has second thoughts - like just about every asshole sent to the front. Nothing new about that.

Except for the fact that Sephiroth isn't allowed to have second thoughts, according to his files.

"Do you have any of those fruits left?" Hewley asks. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I picked some more earlier - and I think there's some rambutan over there too…" Sephiroth says and there's a sound of him walking over. "Huh, they are. Didn't notice them in the dark yesterday. Here, catch."

"Oh, those are edible?"

"Yes, you just peel them. Tastes a bit like grape," Sephiroth says and picks some more while muttering under his breath, "What they're doing growing out here though, I don't know."

"Nice. You remember Wutai pretty well, huh? Being able to forage and all."

"... I guess so."

Shutting his PHS off as quietly as he can, Reno puts his hands behind his neck and listens with a scowl as the SOLDIER Firsts enjoy fruit for breakfast. All he has is a few power bars. Che.

"Genesis sent me a message," Hewley comments. "Apparently Hojo is tearing his way through the SOLDIER program."

"... Oh?" Sephiroth asks, his voice audibly tensing.

"Yeah. More tests, observation, and a bunch of Seconds have been called in for extra injections."

"..."

"Yeah," Angeal answered. "Listen to this; Hojo's also taken personal interest in the SOLDIER cadet selection process and has stated that he'll be doing the Mako reaction tests himself."

"... Cadet selection process?" Sephiroth asks. "Is that for selecting new SOLDIER members?"

"Yeah. You probably don't remember, right? When they pick who gets to become a SOLDIER, there's a bunch of tests. Mostly they're physical - and once you pass those, you have to pass Mako reactivity tests. Not everyone can handle Mako injections, so…" Hewley trails away.

"... How many candidates are there usually?"

"Hundred or so in each batch. Of them, maybe ten make it through the whole selection process."

"I see," Sephiroth murmurs. "Hojo taking interest in that is… probably not a good thing."

Hewley says nothing.

Reno grimaces. Yeah, the creepy Head of the Science Department definitely wasn't happy that they yoinked his favourite lab rat from his grip huh. Here's hoping there won't be other incidents - though if there are, they will be Tseng and Cissnei's problem. Reno and Rude have their hands busy here, with these schmucks.  

"Nothing we can do about that here," Hewley says. "Ready to set out?"

"You don't want to warm up first?" Sephiroth asks. "We could do some forms."

"I'll warm up enough on the way there - there'll still be a lot of monsters between us and the house."

"Ah."

"Did you… " Hewley hesitates. "Did you figure out the whole thing with your EXP gain?"

"Yeah, more or less. Don't worry about it. There's still some hawthorn fruits left - do you want them?"

Reno rolls his eyes. Spoken like a man pasting posters on his walls to hide the holes in his house. Who would've thought that Sephiroth was such a shitty liar?

Sephiroth and Hewley set out, and Reno sits up with a stretch, the hammock rocking side to side underneath him. His neck is all fucked up from his sleeping position, but hell, at least he didn't have to sleep on the ground.

Easing himself onto the tree branches, Reno packs the hammock away and then drops down. There are just seeds and skins left from the fruits the SOLDIERs had been eating. Nothing left for him. Assholes.

Sighing, Reno picks some unripened hawthorn fruits from the tree he'd seen Sephiroth pick them from and heads after the SOLDIERs, to continue his watch duty.

This month's bonus had better be worth all this.

-

Gonna start leaving out the links to parts that are available on ao3 because list of links is getting ridiculous.

#fanfiction #ff7 #svsss #reno of the turks #sephiroth #angeal hewley #shen qingqiu #shen yuan

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Never Say Never

Chapter 15

Pairing: SingleDad!StevexReader

Summary: You are a 32 year old single mother, raising your seven year old son on your own. After being widowed at 30 and going out on awful dates with disgusting men for the past month, you have decided that you're giving up. You already had your great love. One person can't possibly get lucky enough to have two in their lifetime. But then your son starts playing baseball and the coach might just change your mind about that.

No posting schedule.

18+ only for eventual smut

Word Count: 8.5K

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Far later than she’d expected, you pulled into the driveway of your home. Dinner and coffee had turned into a stroll down the street to the local bar, The Stumble Inn, where the owner, Dan, loved a good play on words. A couple drinks, a lot of conversation, and quite a bit of laughter later, you'd all finally said your good nights, all of you heading off to your own vehicles for home. 

The boys were probably already asleep considering it was pushing eleven. That was alright. The four of you were planning on a bike ride tomorrow afternoon so if Steve wanted, he could always just leave Jeremiah there. No point in waking the kid to drag him home simply to bring him back again. 

Opening the front door, you stepped inside to find Steve on the couch, a rerun of Who’s the Boss playing on the tv. He turned to look over at you, his arms propped behind his head, giving you one of those glaringly bright smiles that made you feel like you needed to shield yourself, to bring a hand to your eyes to protect them. 

“Hey.”

Dropping your purse on the table by the door, you made your way into the living room, smiling down at him. “Hey. Sorry I’m so late. We completely lost track of time.”

“That’s alright. I was expecting it. I told you that you were going to be later than you thought. Robin and Nancy love to talk. And with you being all shiny and new, they had endless things to ask you, I’m sure.”

Steve pushed himself up to sitting with his legs still out in front of him, opening his arms to you. You happily accepted his invite, your body liquefying into him when his arms came around you, pulling you into the warmth of his chest. Sighing contentedly, you wound your arms around his waist curling your legs underneath you, relieved that the awkwardness of earlier appeared to be forgotten.

“They should get jobs as interrogators. They definitely threw the book at me. I don’t know if there’s anything they don’t know about me at this point,” you joked, “including the unfortunately mortifying third grade talent show story.”

“Ohh, do tell. I’m intrigued now.”

“No. That one is better left unshared. Trust me. I don’t know why I even told them. I think your friends have some kind of superpower. I was running off at the mouth, story after story. I couldn’t seem to make myself stop. To be fair, they were shooting questions at me so fast I barely had time to stop and think. I’m stuck being friends with them forever now, you know. They have far too much dirt on me. Way too much they could blackmail me for. I fear I’ve made a grave mistake.”

Steve’s laugh rumbled beneath you, his fingers slipping into your hair, thumb pressing into your skin as it slid over the back of your neck. Your eyes slipped closed, your body practically humming under his touch. His other hand moved under your chin, lifting your face to his and a soft moan escaped you when his lips found yours, gently, tenderly. 

You would never tire of his mouth, his touch, the way it set you aflame every single time. You wanted him in a way that was borderline dangerous. The way you wanted him was all consuming, like a fire raging through a forest, turning everything to ash in its wake. If it weren’t for the boys, you were certain you would lose your job because you would do nothing but spend hours in bed with this man. 

But there were the boys to consider. It was hard to concentrate on that fact when Steve’s tongue was exploring your throat, his hand slipping under your shirt. Fingertips made rough from working with his hands teased your skin, his palms covering your breasts completely, kneading and squeezing until you were grinding helplessly against his thigh, gasping. But that little voice in the back of your head reminded you, brought you back to reality, the reality where you did not want either of your sons to walk in on this very blatant display in the middle of the living room. 

“Steve…” you rasped, struggling through the haze of desire when his lips latched onto your throat, open mouthed kisses creating a path of destruction, obliterating everything that wasn’t him. 

“Hmm?” he mumbled against your skin, rolling your nipples with his thumb and forefinger, the jolt of pleasure shooting straight to your core. 

“We can’t.” It was a whimper, a whine because you didn’t want this to stop. You didn’t want to be the responsible mom right now. You wanted to take this man straight up to your bed, caution be damned. But you couldn’t. You knew you couldn’t. You couldn’t have him staying over, couldn’t have Eli knowing the two of you had shared a bed, not until you were certain this was something that was going to last. You couldn’t put your son through that kind of heartbreak, not after everything he’d already lost.

“Why not?” Now his hands were creeping up your skirt, each one gripping an ample amount of your ass, pressing your center right against the delicious friction of his firm thigh. 

“The boys…we can’t…the boys…”

Fuck. It was so hard to form a thought, to fight through the pleasure coursing through your very veins. His mouth teasing your earlobe, the delicious pulsing in your pussy with every press of his leg against you. You felt like a teenager. What the hell was happening to you? Were you seriously about to come just from dry humping a guy’s leg?

“But we can,” he growled, hands gripping your hips, flipping you over so your back was pressed against his chest. “Did I forget to mention they’re not here?”

“Wha…huh?” His hands slid along the insides of your thighs, pressing them open as they went. “Where are they?”

“Well, Jonathan showed up a few hours ago,” he explained, fingers slipping along the edge of your panties. “He said that Nancy had instructed him to come and get them. Repayment for me being so kind to watch them so you could go out with the girls.” One finger slid under the material, slipping through your already damp folds to toy with your clit. “They’re keeping them for the whole night so we can have some time alone. Isn’t that nice?”

“I…oh…uh-huh…”

Your head rolled back against his shoulder, that rubber band that was already stretched so thin within you stretching even more, threatening to snap at any moment as he circled, pinched, and slid over the very center of your pleasure. A rumble fell from Steve’s lips, his nose slipping over your jaw and down your neck. You were not going to last long. Not like this, not when you were already on the brink of destruction. 

“Come on beautiful,” he urged, his thumb taking over the work on your clit as he slipped one large finger inside of you. “Say my name for me. You know how much I love it when you say my name for me.”

“Steve…” The word came out choked, one simple syllable that threatened to strangle you as your muscles tensed under his touch, your body ready to shatter completely. 

“That’s my girl…wanna hear you screaming it, baby. No need to be quiet tonight.”

Oh shit. Those words…his girl, words you didn’t even know you wanted but you did. You wanted to make him say it again. You wanted to be his girl more than you'd ever wanted anything else at this moment. Everything in your world completely disappeared, shadowed by this man and the way he made you feel. 

He got what he wanted. Because as he slid a second finger inside of you, his thumb playing you like the most beautiful song ever written, his name fell from your lips over and over. A crescendo of sound that began as a gasp and rose to a scream when that band finally snapped, your body taut, shaking, before collapsing back into him in a puddle of satisfaction. 

“Jesus Christ, Steve…” you mumbled. “How are you so goddamn good…no, scratch that. I don’t want to know.”

He chuckled, arms wrapping around you, face nuzzling your hair, “Don’t worry, gorgeous, because nobody that came before you matters. They were all just practice leading up to the main attraction.” He nipped at your earlobe. “I’ve never wanted to make a girl come over and over again like I do you. The sounds you make, how beautiful you look, the way you say my name, it’s like a goddamn drug, honey. I’m completely hooked on you.”

Turning your body, you straddled him, feeling just how much he was hooked on you pressing into you. The thin fabric of his sweats and the lace of your panties was not creating much of a barrier and you fought back the urge to yank them off him and ride him right here on the couch. But not yet. There was something else you'd been wanting to do first, something that had been on your mind ever since your first encounter in her kitchen. 

“Well, if I’m a drug then so are you, Steve Harrington, because I am completely addicted to you.”

“Oh yeah?” His hands settled on your hips, a smirk on his lips. “Is this the part where you fulfill my fantasy? You’re already in the perfect position.” He bucked his hips up and you gasped, hands dropping to his chest. 

“Oh, I have every intention of fulfilling that fantasy but not just yet." Leaning forward, you caught his mouth with your own, your tongue gliding over his bottom lip teasingly. Your hands slid under the cotton fabric of his shirt, nails scratching gently down his chest, over his stomach. That little knot wound up within you again at the feel of that coarse hair against your fingers, tapering to a line leading you right where she wanted. Gripping the hem of his shirt, you tugged it over his head, tossing it across the room where it landed on a chair. 

Steve’s lower lip jutted out playfully, “This doesn’t seem fair. You still have a top on.” Acquiescing to his request, you pulled your top off, sending it the same way as his. His hands slid up your back, fingers popping open your bra expertly, slingshotting it. “Much better.” One hand gripping you between the shoulder blades, he sat up, his mouth descending on your breasts. 

“Yes…” you sighed, cradling his head against you, your hips rocking against his length once again. 

“You’re so damn beautiful…”

You smiled, pushing him back down on the couch, wiggling your body down. It was your turn to drive him crazy. Your lips moved over his jaw, down his neck, your tongue tracing a trail over the artery there before your teeth nipped at his shoulder. He grunted, hips bucking when you kept going on your journey south, mouth exploring his chest, teeth raking over his nipples. Hot, wet kisses over his stomach while your hands gathered the material of his sweats and boxers, dragging them over his thighs until his cock was free, bouncing back against his stomach. 

Your tongue ran over your lips as you settled onto your stomach between his legs. Steve’s eyes went wide, watching when you took his cock in your hand, dragging the tip of it across your lips. As your tongue darted across the already weeping slit, he hissed, head dropping back to the arm of the sofa. 

“Jesus Christ, honey.”

Bolstered by his reaction, you used your hand to raise him up, your tongue running along the vein underneath, from the base to the tip before taking him into your mouth, swirling your tongue teasingly. With a heavy grunt, his hips rose from the couch in an attempt to get more of himself in your mouth. 

Grinning around him, you continued your slow torture, only keeping the tip of him in the warmth of your mouth as one hand moved down to cradle his heavy sack, rolling his balls in your palm. 

“Fuck…oh my god…honey, please…need more…” 

His hands fisted at his sides and deciding you'd tormented him enough, you took the rest of him, as much as you could, working the base of him with your hand as you slowly worked the rest of him with your mouth. The sounds he was making, the animalist grunts and groans, the curses falling from his lips, were goddamn intoxicating. You'd never felt so powerful in your life as you did knowing you could reduce this beautiful man to a mewling mess with just your mouth and hands. 

Steve’s fingers slid in your hair, his palms cupping the back of your head as he lifted his hips to match the rhythm of your mouth. You relaxed your throat, gagging slightly as he thrust even further into your throat. He paused, as if uncertain if what he’d done was okay, but when you dug your nails into the flesh of his thigh, lowering your mouth over him again, he took the hint, thrusting once again until your nose was nuzzling the coarse hair at the base of him. 

“Shit…honey, I’m…fuck, I’m so close…fuck, stop…I…don’t wanna…not in your mouth…”

Releasing him with an audible pop, you rose to your feet, offering him your hand. He tilted his head in confusion, the look so adorable your heart tugged. How could one man be both the sexiest thing you'd ever seen and the most adorable thing you'd ever laid eyes on at the same time?

“If I’m going to ride you, let’s do it properly…in my bed.”

“Oh…yeah, okay…”

He scrambled, pulling his pants back up as he took your hand, following your lead up the stairs. You'd barely made it into the room when you slammed your hands into his chest firmly, sending him onto his back on the bed. Wasting no time, you slipped your underwear and skirt off before dragging his sweats and boxers down off his legs and onto your floor. 

The smile he gave you was so soft, so heart melting, his hands gently cupping your face when you crawled up his body, straddling his hips. He opened his mouth and your heart stuttered in your chest, terrified but also thrilled at what might come out. But just that fast he closed it again, pressing his eyes shut tight. 

Brushing away that hope that had flared and dwindled so quickly, you gripped him in your hand, slowly lowering herself down over him. Your warmth wrapped around him like a glove, welcoming him as if he belonged there. You sucked in air, your fingers slipping through the hair on his chest, your teeth biting down on your lower lip. 

“Fuck, you feel so good,” Steve growled as you rocked against him, his fingertips digging into the flesh of your hips as he met each movement. 

“Steve…Steve…Jesus Christ, Steve…” 

“You look just as beautiful as I knew you would. Come on, honey. Take what you need. You can have whatever you want. Give you whatever you want, honey.”

“Touch me,” you gasped, whimpering when his thumb found your clit, teasing as you pressed your hands into the mattress, arching your back, your muscles clenching as you came down on his cock again and again. “Yes. Right there. Oh god…so good…”

Your hips rolled into a circle and he grunted, “Yes, baby. Keep doing that. Shit.” His other hand came to your breast, squeezing, pinching, teasing, touching you just like you wanted and you moaned his name again. “Gonna come for me, beautiful?”

“Yes…so close…don’t stop…”

“Oh, I won’t, honey. Don’t worry. Look at me, beautiful. Wanna see you.” 

You struggled, working to keep pace as you pulled yourself straight, your hands gripping his shoulders for purchase. Opening your eyes, you looked down, that band in you stretching farther than should be possible as the heat in his gaze consumed you. His name ripped from your throat, so loudly you were sure the people in the next town could hear. 

Your body turned to goo, wax from a hot candle sliding down the edges of you to pool on the mattress around you. You had nothing left, your legs shaking and Steve knew, taking over for you. His hands grabbed onto your hips as he plunged himself up and into you before holding her down against him, a roar emitted through gritted teeth, painting your insides with his own release before bringing you with him as you both collapsed. 

Your cheek pressed against his sweat-slicked chest, the hair there tickling your skin softly. His fingers trailed over your back, your bodies heaving as you both struggled to catch your breath. 

“Holy shit…” he muttered. “So much better than I imagined.”

“Yeah…I…Steve?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think I can walk.”

His rumbling laugh shook your bodies as his arms held you, rolling you so you were side by side, your body still cradled against his. His lips pressed against your forehead. 

“Good thing you don’t have to. Honey, you’re so damn amazing. I…this…” He paused, his throat moving with a hard swallow, as if he were forcing down words he didn’t want to say to leave his mouth, banishing them to the darkness where they couldn’t see the light of day. 

“Yeah?” you pressed hopefully, tilting your head back to look at him, wishing for him to say it. To say the words that had been torturing you for the last few hours, the words you were terrified to say until he did. 

“I’m just so damn happy. I have never been this happy with anyone. I…” He stopped, eyes squeezing shut. “I like you a lot.”

Your heart squeezed tightly. No, of course he wasn’t going to say those words. Hadn’t you just thought how crazy it would be to say them so soon? Of course he wasn’t feeling any of that already. 

“I like you a lot too.” You forced a smile, not wanting him to see the disappointment on your face as you nuzzled down into him, the top of your head tucked under his chin. 

___________________________________________________________

Steve blinked against the harsh sunlight coming in through the window, one hand covering his eyes to ward off the glare. Last night came back to him in a burst of images that raced over the backs of his eyelids. The warmth of your mouth, the sight of you above him, your hair falling down your back, the gentle smile that curved your lips up on each side as you fell asleep nestled against his chest, your fingers toying with the coarse hair there as you hummed contentedly. 

Rolling his head, he looked down to find you still there but at some point in the night you'd both moved. Now your back was nestled against him, your ass pressed deliciously against him, explaining why he’d woken up with an erection. Winding his arms around you tightly, his lips explored the curve of your shoulder, the hollow of your throat, delighted when you moaned softly, wiggling in his grasp. 

“Good morning.” Your voice was husky, deep and raspy, choked with sleep first thing in the morning, just one more thing that Steve couldn’t help but enjoy about you. He would never tire of discovering new things about you. Each new thing only made him…

Love…that word was beginning to be a thorn in his side. The amount of times he’d had to bite his lip last night to keep from saying it was going to leave a bruise. The more time he spent with you, the more time he spent inside you, was making it harder and harder not to scream it out, consequences be damned. 

“Good morning.” His nose nuzzled into your neck, lips tracing a line, following it over your shoulder. “I swear, this is the best damn thing to wake up to. You are the best damn thing to wake up to. So much better than a slobbery dog demanding breakfast.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” His fingers skimmed over your soft belly to the curve of your hip, squeezing the ample flesh there. “I could really get used to this, honey. You in my bed…”

“Well, technically this is my bed,” you teased, sighing when his hand dipped into the apex between your thighs. 

“My bed, your bed…I really don’t care as long as I get to have you in a bed,” he growled, his lips wrapping around the skin at the hollow of your throat, sucking hard until you moaned deeply. “Jesus, I love the sounds you make. Wanna make you make them all the time.”

“Steve,” you protested, no real challenge in your voice. “Don’t we have to go get the boys?”

“We could push it just a bit.” Using his arm to push himself up, he pressed you onto your back into the mattress. Wiggling his eyebrows, he grinned. “I think Nance and Jonathan would understand if we waited just a couple more hours.”

“A couple hours, huh? You have big plans?”

“Oh honey, a couple hours is not nearly enough time for the plans I have for you.”

How about forever? It was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn’t say it. He couldn’t risk it, not now, not when he was in so deep that he was drowning in you. 

___________________________________________________________

An hour later, clad in only his boxer shorts, Steve was in the kitchen cooking eggs and toast while you took a shower. Unfortunately, human weakness reared its head and other biological needs needed to be met. They had made it known when your stomach had started loudly rumbling while he was buried deep inside you while he pinned your wrists down with his hands. 

As much as he hadn’t wanted to pull himself away, he’d begrudgingly done so. The girl needed to eat. While he wanted nothing more than to lock the two of you in that room for the rest of the day, you were going to need your energy for the bike ride he had planned for everybody this afternoon. He couldn’t have you passing out on your bike from low blood sugar.

He slid the spatula under the perfectly cooked over-easy eggs, sliding them onto a plate. Grabbing the two pieces of toast that had just popped up, he added them and set the plate on the table. He added the butter, salt, and pepper and was just going to pour your coffee when there was a knock at the front door. 

“Well shit,” muttered Steve, glancing down at his very bare chest. Grabbing his shirt from the chair in the living room where it had been tossed last night, he hastily pulled it over his head, figuring it would have to do if he wasn’t going to leave whoever was on the other side wondering if anyone was home. 

Opening the door, he found a woman on the other side. Her blue eyes went wide as she took in the sight of him in the doorway, her hand running over her sleek gray bob. The flowy black pants and floral buttoned top she was wearing seemed like a strange choice for a Saturday, leaving him with the impression that she was a professional of some kind. But you hadn’t mentioned anyone dropping by. 

“Hello,” he smiled pleasantly. “Can I help you?”

“I highly doubt it.” Her words were sharper than seemed necessary considering Steve had never seen this woman before in his life. “Is my daughter-in-law around?”

Shit. So that’s who this was. Justin’s mom and Steve had just answered the door wearing nothing but boxers and a t-shirt on a Saturday morning. That didn’t leave much doubt to what kind of situation this was and he wasn’t sure if this woman even knew about him. Had you told her about him? Or was she being blindsided, having the new guy that had replaced her dead son shoved in her face? 

“You must be Mrs. Randall. I…uh…I’m Steve Harrington. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He stammered the words. He would have offered her his hand but his palms were suddenly very sweaty. How did one handle a situation like this? 

“Oh, I know exactly who you are. Although why you’re standing in my son’s house in your underwear is quite a mystery to me.”

A nervous laugh rose up in him at her words, her eyes narrowing, head tilted as she studied him. He felt like a specimen under a microscope and judging from the way she was looking at him, he was not measuring up. 

“Well, you see…I…well, Y/N and I…I’m guessing she hasn’t told you about me.”

“No. She didn’t but my grandson did. Imagine my surprise when I had to hear from a child that his mother has a new boyfriend.” She gave him a tight smile, the kind people usually displayed when they were trying to hide how they really felt, but this woman did not seem to be trying to hide anything. Disdain was rolling off her in waves so strongly it threatened to knock him off his feet. “You really think it’s appropriate for you to be spending the night this soon? Have you even bothered to consider Eli’s feelings in the matter? How it might make him feel that some man is sleeping in the bed that his mother and father used to share? That doesn’t seem a bit tacky to you?”

Steve opened his mouth, having no idea how he was going to respond but feeling like he needed to. The pressure of a thousand stares, like being on stage waiting to see if you’d nail it or fall flat on your face, was heavy on his chest. But he was saved when you came bouncing down the stairs. 

“Something smells good. Did you cook break…” You came to an abrupt stop, hands gripping the towel you'd been drying your hair with when you saw the scene in front of you. Steve in his boxers, looking like a mouse staring down a cat. Judith, the cat, glaring at you both, with her hands on her hips, claws and teeth ready to slash and shred. “Judith…what are you doing here?”

“Well, after Eli dropped that particular very unpleasant and shocking bomb on me yesterday and you refused to talk to me, I decided we needed to have a conversation about this current situation.”

“You could have just called…” you began but Judith quickly cut you off.

“And what? Have you ignore my calls like you so often do? I don’t think so.” Judith stepped around Steve with a wave as if he were nothing but an annoying gnat she was wishing to swat. “No. I think not. I demand an explanation. I believe I am owed that. Precisely why did my grandson tell me that this man, who I don’t even know, who he barely even knows, is going to be his father soon?”

“Shit…” muttered Steve, earning a harsh glare from the woman that reminded him way too much of Mrs. Click from high school. He melted back against the wall, trying to make himself small and invisible to her unapproving gaze.

So this was why she came. She felt her son’s very memory was threatened by the presence of Steve. She thought that you and him were moving too fast. Of course she did if Eli was already talking about Steve being his dad. But it was just that, talk. The kid had been hoping for it before they’d even started dating. 

“Mrs. Randall, I think this has just been a really big misunderstanding.”

“Well, I was rather hoping so until I showed up to find you here in your underwear, clearly having spent the night. I mean, really.” She sighed, tossing her arms in the air. “You find this kind of behavior appropriate with a child in the house?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Eli isn’t in the house,” you snapped. 

“And where exactly is he?”

“He’s with my ex-wife and her husband,” Steve answered, folding his arms, his confidence returning now that he saw you weren't going to quaver under the glare of this lady. 

“Strangers!” shrieked Judith. “You left my grandson with complete strangers?”

“They’re not strangers. I told you, Eli is best friends with Steve’s son, Jeremiah. I know Jeremiah’s mom and her husband. In fact, I was just out with her and some other women last night.”

“Oh! And where was my grandson while you were out living it up and having fun like some teenager with no responsibilities?”

“He was with me. I took care of the boys so she could actually enjoy a night off.” Steve’s sympathy for this woman was quickly waning each time she opened her mouth. “I made them dinner and we played some games and watched a movie. Then Jonathan showed up and offered to take the boys overnight so she and I could have some time alone. I have never slept over when he’s been here.”

“Really? Because according to Eli, you and his mother had a sleepover just last week.”

Your teeth clenched together. “The boys were having a sleepover. We were watching a movie and fell asleep on the couch. Nothing happened.” Your eyes caught Steve’s, the two of you clearly remembering what did happen, what almost happened before you were interrupted, but it was none of this woman’s business. “And whatever happened or didn’t happen isn’t really any of your concern. Eli is my son.”

“He’s my grandson! None of my concern? It’s none of my concern that you’re acting like some rampant whore around him? That you’re just choosing to leave him with strange people so you can run around with your friends and have a good time like you don’t even have a child?”

“Whoa! Hey!” Steve stepped into her, finger pointing at her face. “You have no right to come in here calling her names like that. She is a damn good mom. She’s done all of this herself for a long time and if occasionally she needs a night to herself, she’s more than earned it.”

If someone could actually explode, he was pretty certain this woman would be doing just that right now. Her nostrils flared, eyes blazing, mouth contorted into an ugly sneer as she stared him down. 

“Just who in the hell do you think you are?”

“I think I’m her boyfriend. I think I’m her person. The person she’s chosen to have in her life right now. And I think I’m the person who’s not going to stand here and let you talk to her like this. I understand that it has to be hard for you to see her with someone else, to think about another guy being in your grandson’s life. But that’s not a choice you get to make. It’s hers. So unless you’re willing to have a civil conversation and listen then there’s the goddamn door.”

“I tried to help you. I offered to let you and Eli move in with me and you refused and now look at this mess you’ve created.”

“This isn’t a mess. This is my life.”

“And some life it is. I knew when Justin brought you home that he was making a mistake. You whispered all those lies about how much you loved him. I knew you never did.”

Your mouth dropped, a small gasp of pain escaping your lips, making Steve want to smack a woman for the first time in his life. Tears filled your eyes but you straightened your spine, refusing to allow Judith to make you fall apart.

“That was never a lie, Judith. I did love Justin. I still do.” 

“You loved him so much that you’re so ready to just replace him and move on. To allow some other man in his house, in his bed, in his role as Eli’s father.”

“There has not been any talk of Steve being Eli’s father,” you argued. “We are dating. There’s not even been talk of moving in together. All of that is coming from Eli. He adores Steve and he’s a kid and he just wants what other kids have. Can’t you see that?”

“He already has a father,” Judith whimpered, quickly losing steam as her grief began to take the wheel from her anger. 

“He does and I will never let him forget Justin. We talk about him every night before he goes to bed. I show him pictures and videos. I tell him stories. We order pizza every Friday because it’s what we used to do when Justin was home.” Those tears that had been lingering on your lash line now broke free, spilling down your cheeks as you held your hands out in front of you, begging Judith to understand. “We go to the apple orchard and the pumpkin farm every fall because it was a tradition we started with him. I show him his favorite movies and we listen to his favorite music. Eli knows all the words to The Most Beautiful Girl in the World by Prince and he knows how Justin used to sing it to me every time he’d return from deployment and we’d dance around the living room. Judith, Eli will never forget Justin because I can’t ever forget Justin. You think I don’t grieve for him still? Sometimes it hits me and the pain is so bad that I double over with it. But am I really sentenced to spend the rest of my life alone at thirty-two because the universe was cruel enough to take my happy ending away from me?”

Judith actually looked stunned. In the ten minutes Steve had known her, even he was shocked to find her speechless. This did not seem like a woman who ran out of words. 

Then the two women were hugging and crying. He stood to the side, unsure of what to do. He had the equivalent of emotional whiplash. He’d been so angry, ready to storm the castle and defend you to the death if need be, and now it didn’t seem necessary. You clung to each other, sobs shaking your bodies. 

“I’m sorry,” Judith sniffed, shaking her head, hands wrapped around your shoulders. “I’m sorry. I just…it’s so unfair that he got taken from us and then to know you’re with…” She jerked her head toward Steve. Well, alright. She might be apologizing but apparently she still wasn’t fond of him. “To know Eli may see someone else as his…I just couldn’t bear it. I fear I will be the only one to remember my son.”

“You won’t.” Your hands found Judith’s forearms, hanging on. “I could never forget him and I will never let Eli forget him. I promise you that. We…we don’t even know what this is yet.” Steve would be lying if he said that didn’t sting just a bit. “It’s so new. Who knows where it’s going but if it moves in that direction, Eli will still know who his dad is. And no matter what happens, you will always be his grandmother and you will always have a place in his life.”

Judith nodded slowly, her fist coming to her mouth. The woman appeared to at least be trying to accept it. Steve wasn’t sure what the history was here. He didn’t know what kind of relationship she and you had in the past but he hoped, if for nothing else than the sake of Eli, that she could. 

“Can I…would it be okay if I came into town for his first game?”

“Of course. Eli would love it if you were there.”

Steve wasn’t sure he would. He wasn’t sure he wanted to spend any more time with this woman ever. But this wasn’t his decision. He knew when he started this thing that you came with some baggage. And if the heaviest load was some uptight ex mother-in-law, well, he’d just have to learn to heft it if he planned on sticking around. 

“Okay. Well, then…I guess I’ll just go. It’s a long drive back. But maybe I could go pick him up and…”

You cut her off, “Steve and I are picking up the boys and taking them on a bike ride. They’ve been looking forward to it all week. So today isn’t a good day. If you would have called first I could have told you that. I could have told you all of this and saved you the drive.”

“Right. Next time I’ll call as long as you plan on answering.”

“I will answer as long as I’m not busy.”

Judith’s mouth pinched up again, the crying camaraderie apparently forgotten now. Wiping away any sign of weakness or vulnerability with her fingers under her eyes, she straightened her spine and turned for the door. It was disorienting how quickly she looked like she hadn’t just been falling apart, completely reserved once again.

“I will see you in a couple weeks then.”

“See you in a couple weeks.”

And then she was gone. You exhaled, your shoulders and head dropping forward, as if all the strength you'd held in to handle Judith had rushed from you in one breath. Your arms wrapped around your middle, reminding him of Eli after school just yesterday. 

Steve stood still, unsure of what to do. Did you want him to comfort you? Did you want him to leave you alone? Should he offer to just head and get the boys and come back for you later so you could have some time to process everything that had just happened? 

“I’m sorry.” The words were spoken so softly he almost didn’t catch them. “She loves to sneak up on me at the worst times. I should have seen this coming. She’s been itching to have it out with me ever since Eli told her you were my boyfriend.”

“It’s okay,” he mumbled, shrugging. It wasn’t, not really. He wasn’t sure how he felt after that whole exchange. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” you stated firmly. “I really don’t. Not right now anyway. Can we just eat?” Lifting your head, you pasted on a smile. “That coffee smells amazing and I could really use some right now.”

“Oh…uh…yeah…”

You breezed past him into the kitchen, leaving him standing there wondering what in the hell had just happened and what it meant that you didn’t know what this was between you.

____________________________________________________________

The boys were down on the sand, building a fortress from rocks and driftwood that they collected for their superheroes. It was still far too cold to even consider stepping foot in the water. The day was warm, the sun beating pleasantly down on their skin, but it would take months for the lake to absorb that heat, usually not pleasant enough for a swim until late June or even early July. 

You sat on the blanket you'd brought with you to sit on while you enjoyed the picnic lunch that Steve had packed. Sandwich crusts, chip crumbs, and stray blueberries laid forgotten on plates as the boys declared themselves full in favor of running off to play. You took a sip of her iced tea, glancing over at Steve. 

After Judith’s impromptu interruption, ruining what otherwise had been an absolutely perfect night and morning, he’d been rather quiet and awkward. He didn’t appear mad but disoriented, like a child who’d fallen off their bike after removing the training wheels and feared getting back on because they didn’t trust themselves. It was like he’d lost his footing and couldn’t find it again. And you knew it was your fault. 

Judith just had such a negative impact on you and you were so exhausted from constantly trying to convince the woman that you w were doing a good job of raising Eli. Was it easy? No. Did you screw up a lot? Yes. But at the end of the day your son was happy, healthy, and loved. Wasn’t that what mattered? Why could that never be enough? Why did every decision you ever made have to come into question by a woman whose son joined the military just to get away from her?

“Steve…”

“Hmm?” His head turned toward you and you could see how hard he was working to keep an impassive look on his face, to not show how he was truly feeling. What was he feeling? Was he angry? He had every right to be after the way Judith had treated him, after you yourself had dismissed him, telling him you didn’t want to talk. 

“About earlier…”

He cut you off, lifting his hand in front of him, “It’s fine. Really. You said you didn’t want to talk about it so you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s not fine.”

“It is. It’s obviously a tough situation for you that I don’t know anything about so…”

“But you should,” you stated firmly. Rising to your knees, you shifted until you were in front of him, taking both of his hands in your own. “You should. If we’re doing this…being an us, then you should know. Judith is difficult but she is a part of my life and she isn’t going anywhere. She’s Eli’s grandmother and that means that you’re going to have to deal with her sometimes so you should know our history. You should know exactly what you’re walking into.”

“But we don’t even know what this is, right? Isn’t that what you said? We’re not that serious so why do I need to know anything important about you?”

Ouch. His words hit their mark, exactly as he’d meant them to based on the tone he’d used. A missile he’d launched, his own hurt weaponized and aimed directly for you, successfully obliterating its target. You dropped down onto your heels as he pulled his hands back from you. His hand came to the back of his neck, rubbing, as if he could wipe away the tension that had appeared between them. 

“Shit. Honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“Yes you did.”

“No. I didn’t.” His cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk with a frustrated exhale. “I want to know everything about you. I do. I want to know it all, the good, the bad, and everything in between. I just…when you said that…”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Is that how you feel? That you don’t know what we are? I mean, I guess I just need to know what this is. I thought we were on the same page but maybe we’re not. What do you want here, honey? Is this all just fun for you? Is this a casual thing? Are you serious about us or should I be preparing to have my heart stomped all over?”

Those beautiful eyes were begging you for an answer, for the answer he wanted. And he had it. He had all of you. He had every piece of you that you had to offer. But you didn’t know how much to say. He had no idea how completely gone for him you already were, how you dreamed of the future with him, what it would look like, the four of you together. 

Your eyes drifted over to the boys, yelling and giggling as Lex Luthor and his henchmen tried to attack the Fortress of Solitude they’d built from whatever they could find on the beach. You could picture this, days, months, years of this…the two of you sitting back and enjoying your boys together. Watching them grow up, birthday parties and Christmases, Steve helping them with their ties for school dances, teaching them how to drive. Nights together watching movies and playing games. You could see it so clearly in your mind but you were terrified that if you shared all that with him he would leave a blazing path through this forest as he ran as far and as fast as he could. 

“Honey?” he prompted when you'd been silent for so long. 

“What do you want?” you asked, turning the tables on him, placing the ball in his court. 

“What?”

“What do you want from this? Do you see this as something that has a future? Do you see us together six months from now? A year from now? Ten years from now? Or in three months will I be just another in a long line of heartbroken exes?”

Steve reared back as if you'd just slapped him across the face. And maybe it had been an insensitive question but you felt it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Steve had been in numerous relationships throughout his life. Robin had shared that he latched on and fell fast because he was so desperate to be loved. Was that what this was? 

You felt like he really liked you, like he truly cared about you. But was it just his past traumas causing him to act like that? Causing him to feel things that weren’t really there yet?

“Do you seriously not know?” he demanded. When you just looked at him, he groaned. “How do you not know how I feel about you? This isn’t even in the ballpark of casual for me. I told you I’ve never felt for anyone the way I feel for you.”

“But how can you be sure? Robin said…”

“Robin said what? That I love too quickly because of my messed up childhood bullshit? Because my parents didn’t love me enough, I’m always looking for it elsewhere?”

“I mean, she may have said something like that.”

“And she’s not wrong. I have in the past. I stayed with Nancy because I was desperate for a family, a real family. I was desperate to make it work, to be successful where my parents weren’t. But I’m not twenty anymore. I’m thirty-two and I am well aware of my faults. I didn’t even see what I was doing then but I do now. I know every relationship I’ve ever had wasn’t really love. It was…I don’t know. Me just settling, searching for something, anything that would make me feel whole. But I’ve never found it. I’ve never felt it until you. I think you’re what I’ve been searching for. I’ve spent my whole life waiting for someone like you.”

This was the second time he’d said that to you and it didn’t fail to rock you to your very core once again. It shook your very foundation to know that this beautiful, perfect man seemed to think that you were the thing he’d been missing in his life, that you were the missing piece to the puzzle that he’d been hopelessly searching for. 

Your eyes roamed over his face, the flecks of gold in his eyes brought out by the sun, the freckles like angel kisses lovingly placed on his skin, those plump lips that girls would pay thousands of dollars to have. That word, that damn word, so simple, four letters, one syllable, was driving its way up your throat, desperate to be spoken. 

Your hands slid over his jaw, softly, gently, as if you were holding delicate treasure that must be protected, because you were. His Adam’s apple bobbed, the muscles in his neck tensing, as he waited for you to reply to the truths he’d just laid before you. 

“This isn’t casual for me either. I…I know my situation is different. I wasn’t searching all my life. I found…but he’s gone and when I lost Justin, I resigned myself to the fact that he was it. He had been my one shot at happiness and love and all that comes with it. But then here you came and you barreled through all of that doubt like a wrecking ball.” Your eyes slipped closed as you willed yourself to have the courage to jump off the edge, to soar through the air with nothing but hope that he would catch you instead of leaving you to hit the ground. “You snuck up on me and there is nothing just fun or casual about this because I…I love you.”

His eyebrows crept toward his forehead, every color in the spectrum dancing through his eyes that were now as wide as the moon and just as spectacular. You held your breath, your teeth worrying over your bottom lip. But then, as if in slow motion, his lips parted, curving into a slow smile that consumed his entire face, those little crinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes. His fingers slid into your hair, pulling you to him, his forehead pressing against yours as he whispered, “You do?”

“I do. I know it’s really soon. I wasn’t even sure I should say it. I realized it yesterday and it terrified me but it also…I don’t know. It just felt right, like something just shifting into the place it belonged all along. I told myself I wasn’t going to say it, that I was going to wait.” Your eyes squeezed shut nervously. “I was going to wait until you said it and I hope it doesn’t scare you. You don’t have to say it back. I don’t want you to say it because you think you have to. I just…I need you to know that I am all in. I am not going anywhere. I have already dove in way too deep. There’s no going back now.”

“I love you, too.”

“Don’t…please don’t say it just because I…”

“I’m not.” His fingers trailed down over your arms, linking his fingers with yours and bringing your interlocked hands to his chest. “I’m not. I’ve been trying not to say it too. I didn’t want to push you. I know this is hard for you. I know this is the first time you’ve been with anybody since your husband passed. I wanted to take things at your pace, follow your lead. I was waiting for you to say it first. But I do. I love you. I think I’ve loved you ever since that night I brought pizza over. And yeah, that’s crazy and it makes no sense because we barely knew each other but it’s true. I love everything I already know about you and I want to spend my life getting to know everything I don’t.”

“You…your life…?”

“Shit. Was that too much? I’m not about to pull out a ring or anything. I’m not asking you to promise the rest of your life to me. I just…I just meant…”

“Steve,” you laughed, pressing your lips against his to silence him. “No. It wasn’t too much. I know what you meant. I mean, we can’t really say we’re all in if we’re not expecting this to last forever, right?”

“Right.” He grinned, releasing your hands to wrap his arms around you and pull you in close. You sat between his legs, your back nestled into his chest, settling into place right where you belonged as the two of you watched your boys run down the sand.

Chapter 16

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#dad steve harrington #steve harrington #singledad!steveharrington #steve harrington single dad #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington smut #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #fluff #smut #fluff and smut #romance #second chance romance #second chance at love #widow #divorced dad steve harrington #slow burn #robin buckley #robin and steve #dustin henderson #max mayfield #mike wheeler #eleven hopper

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hello,

I apologize in advance if you've already answered something like this but my cursory look didn't show anything. I am looking for a game system that has an emphasis on the feeling of a wild west movie while still retaining general fantasy elements from DND. The wild spaces are slowly becoming tamed, increasing technological/magical advancement are pushing disparate communities together, and of course cocky assholes with guns (or a magical equivalent).

Thanks in advance

Theme: Wild West Fantasy

Hello friend, you might want to check out my Fantasy Westerns rec post, to see if anything there fits what you’re looking for. I especially recommend checking out the rec for We Deal In Lead and Clink. For the rest of this post, I try to span a very broad range, so I don't expect everything to stick - but perhaps one or two do!

Inevitable, by Soul Muppet Publishing.

Knights and wizards have defended the Kingdom of Myth for centuries. These lands have known peace and prosperity, but soon the kingdom shall be destroyed. The Prophets have declared that your city shall burn and Myth will fall. All those who follow your King shall die. It is INEVITABLE.

But you shall defy fate. Myth will not end while you bear arms. You will fail, but as long as there are still stories, they will sing of you!

Inevitable is a Arthurian Western roleplaying game for 2-6 players and a GM, where your party of disastrously sad cowboy knights fail to stop the apocalypse. This 284 page book contains all the rules, character creation and the setting for your campaign, thoroughly and evocatively detailing The Barren, the lands surrounding the Kingdom of Myth.

This game might be way you’re looking for: it describes itself as a fantasy kingdom, with western aesthetics. There are wizards, prophets, and rune-carved revolvers. Your reputation in the kingdom is important; it determines how well you can face challenges, and roll pools of d6 on a table of staggered success. If you want a taste before you buy, there’s a Quickstart with some evocative set pieces, a quick overview of the rules, and a quick adventure to run through with a list of pre-generated characters.

Far West, by Adamant Entertainment.

Imagine a fantasy setting that shatters the tropes of Medieval Europe. Imagine a collision of Spaghetti Westerns and Chinese Wuxia by way of Steampunk. Imagine a world where gunslingers and kung fu masters face off against Steam Barons and the August Throne. Imagine fantastic machines powered by the furies comprising the fabric of the universe. Imagine an endless frontier where wandering heroes fight for righteous causes while secret societies engage in shadow wars. Imagine…

This game is a combination of Wild Western tropes and Wuxia fantasy. Your characters are wandering heroes, defending the small and helpless against the strong and powerful. I look at this game and I think of movies like The Magnificent Seven. Mechanically, it’s its own system, but it draws heavily from Fate, using positive and negative aspects to boost rolls and spark complications.This game relies on some tropes that require entire table buy-in: I’m not sure how many assumptions the game makes about the cultures it takes inspiration from.

Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse (Savage Worlds), by Pinnacle Entertainment.

In Holler, the mysterious “Big Boys” own the mines, mills, and logging operations. They rule over every aspect of their workers’ lives—subjecting them to extraordinary dangers on the job and crushing oppression outside of it. The Big Boys have transformed the land of the Holler—rivers bubble with strange chemicals, strip-mined mountains crumble into valleys, and the air is choked with a toxic fog known as the Blight. The flora and fauna of the Holler grow more monstrous by the day. Demons of every description lurk in the forests. Mutant cryptids haunt villages with their strange cries and appetites. Vengeful haints leer from abandoned shacks and lonely cliffs. No one is coming to save the people of Holler.

The goal of the resistance is to build a coalition, to bring together diverse factions—humble workers, roustabouts, mountain men, dirt track racers, cultists, and even strange creatures of myth and legend to raze the works of the Big Boys and drive them from the Holler forever. Holler draws deeply on Appalachian history, mythic folklore, and culture to create a dark fantasy world of apocalypse and vengeance.

This sounds a little more grim and gritty, with cryptids, toxic fog and demons lurking in the forest. It uses the Savage Worlds system, so you’ll have to pick up the codebook to play with it, but the setting is very very fleshed out. This is a little less Wild West and a little more Appalachia, and the setting is a bit more on the horror side than most of the other games on this list, but there’s certainly a lot of wildness out there for you to fight!

TROUPE, by TheOriginalCockatrice.

A game about travel, discovery, and outsiderness, a combination of the best of Old-School and Story Games. Complete with 6 Jobs, including the Ghelf, the Hedge, and the Ogra, and includes a system for holistically coming up with a character from scratch.

The designer describes this game as an exploration of the road; the odd and unknown of the wild, what it means to belong, and what it means to be on the outside. You’re not heroes - you’re entertainers, jokers, healers and bards. There isn’t exactly magic, but there is myth and legend. This is a great game for folks who want plenty of challenges that exist outside of combat. Each character playbook comes with a balance of mechanical elements and descriptive options, and you’ll be rolling 2d6 plus your stat in order to determine success.

I’m not sure how much of a Western this is, but the designer actually hacked this game for BXLLET, a game about gunslingers in the apocalypse, in the zine Bxllet Clip, so it might be worth checking out!

Shotguns & Sorcery, by Full Moon Enterprises.

Welcome to Dragon City, a grim, gritty metropolis ruled over by the Dragon Emperor, with legions of zombies scratching at the city walls by night.

Whether in the streets of Goblintown or the prestigious halls of the Academy of Arcane Apprenticeship, people try to scrape by, make a living, and survive from one day to the next. You, however, are looking for something more than simple survival. And in this city, if you don’t make your own adventure, another adventure is sure to find you.

Shotguns & Sorcery is a fantasy noir game complete with Dragon City Intrigues, roving hoards of undead, and unexplored mountains rife with magical creatures. You’ll see magical staffs alongside light pistols, bows alongside submachine guns, and greatswords alongside canteens, playing cards and a camp stove. The game uses the Cypher System, with an additional character option alongside the three-part character sentence: your race. This includes the signature hafling, elf, dwarf etc.

Games I’ve Recommended in the Past

Knights of the Road, by bordercholly.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #fantasy #western

[bloodmoon24]

The Story of the Hell Tribes

Once upon a time, high within the clouds and behind beautiful, golden gates, lies a place known as Heaven. Populated by the beings of pure light that are known as angels. They are responsible to keep peace of their home and all of Earth and shielded all evil away. There is one Angel, named Lucifer Morningstar, who loves to dream and create new and exciting things for Earth to enjoy. To bring free will to humans and let them be with their own lives and happiness. But the elders says that his way of thinking is dangerous and should not be allowed to what Heaven organized for Earth, so he watched from the sidelines as he felt ignored and unimportant

Noticing this, six other beings saw his troubles and went over to comfort him. These beings were Satan, Beelzebub, Mammon, Asmodeus, Leviathan, and Belphagor. These six beings were inspired by his ideas, and they’ve been very supportive of his dreams for Earth. They were so enthralled of his ideas that they would help make his ideas come to light

From the dust of the Earth, two humans were created: Adam and Lilith. The first ever mankind to walk the surface of the Garden of Eden. Adam always craved and demanded for power and control, but Lilith wants to be her own person who doesn’t want to accept his submission, so she fled the garden. Lucifer was so drawn by her rebellious spirit, he went and found her and they laid eyes on each other, the two fell deeply in love. So they both worked together to bring the gift of free will to the rest of humanity. Back within the Garden of Eden, Lucifer and Lilith found Adam’s new wife, Eve, and gifted her the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and she gladly accepted

But with this gift, it came with a curse. With this single act of disobedience, a new evil found its way into Earth, created a dark pit of darkness and sin. Everything Heaven worked for was shattered. As of punishment for their reckless behavior, Heaven casted Lucifer, his love, and the six beings that supported him into the depths of the darkness that he created. When they fell, they have seen the new world of what Lucifer had created; a land filled with cruel and wicked creatures and wildlife. A place that is now called…Hell. At first, Lucifer thought they wouldn’t survive a day here, but when push comes to shove, him and the six beings managed to rule all over the land and every single creature obeyed their every command

So, one by one, the seven beings each ruled the seven parts of Hell, making their own kingdoms and their own people to rule over. And these kingdoms are named after what are known as the Seven Deadly Sins. Belphagor rules over the floating islands of Sloth, where the Baphomets can do drugs and feel like their worries melt away without a care. Leviathan rules over the depths of the Envy Oceans, where sea demons can be jealous about anyone else as the feel the bitterness of it. Asmodeus rules over the Lust Rainforest, a place where Succubi and Incubi can feel lustful desires without force and still being able to feel the love for their partners. Mammon rules over the Greed Outback, a place where Loan Sharks have selfish desires for wealth, power, or food. Beelzebub rules over the Gluttony Jungle, a place where Hellhounds can enjoy and have an endless satisfaction of food. Satan rules the hot and dry Wrath Desert where Imp demons can let out their bloodthirsty rage and kill to all those that angered them. As for Lucifer, he and Lilith rule over the Pride Forest, a place where Earth born humans go after death when they experienced damn nation of the Deadly Sins they’ve created

And from that moment on, the Seven Deadly Sins ruled all over Hell, their territories, and their people. The population of the Six Territories can travel through the other regions at will, but the Sinners of the Pride Forest are restricted, to never leave unless they have been given permission to from the King of all of Hell himself. After everything Lucifer been through, he still felt very bad after what he has done in Heaven, but he, Lilith, and the rest of the Sins all thrived of their lives. Lilith even starts to singing songs to help encourage all of demon-kind and all of Hell with her voice and music

Seeing this from above, Heaven saw this as a threat and from that, they made a horrible decision. At the end of every year, they would send down an army of Angel soldiers and kill any demon in sight. Making sure Hell and its Demons wouldn’t be able to rise against Heaven and their Angels. But from this, Lucifer and Lilith raised their first ever child; Charlie Morningstar, the Princess of Hell. She has dream to help all Sinners to be a better person and make their way up to Heaven. She sees the good in Demons of Hell and will not stop until those damned souls go to Heaven, so she made a choice to make the Hazbin Plains. A small paradise in the Pride Forest where Sinners can learn and grow to be better and to heal their souls from the evil and sin they have committed when they were alive. Will she succeed into helping all souls in Hell and show Heaven that Sinners can be redeemed and can be given a second chance? We will soon find out and see

#helluva boss #Hazbin hotel #seven sin tribe au #seven deadly sins #seven sins #hellaverse #lucifer morningstar #lilith morningstar #charlie morningstar #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel lilith #hazbin hotel charlie #helluva boss satan #helluva boss beelzebub #helluva boss mammon #helluva boss asmodeus #helluva boss leviathan #helluva boss belphegor #hell #heaven #heaven and hell

[garagesesh]

wintering

③ The Battlefields of Good and Evil, Love and Hate, and Husbands and Wives

gif: aemondtargaryensource ↸

pairing(s): aegon ii targaryen & (f!)reader

summary: fire and desolation, love and hate

warning(s): swearing, blood, descriptions of injuries, death, weapons, war

a/n: !!!this story will not be told in chronological order!!! this story is not written as a reader insert but as an OC on my ao3 if you find that format more enjoyable, it's linked below! please be kind, I'm trying to get back into writing after a long sabbatical. I would love to hear your thoughts. Enjoy!

wrote this in an hour, i was probably possessed.

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˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔ 　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ੈ✧̣̇˳·˖✶ ✦　　

The Stark army waited patiently over the side of the hill, hidden from the rest of the raging battle. Eight hundred archers, six hundred calvary, and four thousand foot soldiers waited patiently for the beacon from Lord Stauton and Princess Rhaenys. There were more men waiting, hidden, then there was fighting on the battlefield.

Dragons danced above the smoke covered battlefield that was hidden from Cregan Stark and his men’s view. Red and green intertwined with each other, breathing fire from within their stomachs, aiming to kill.

Since dawn, the greens and blacks had been in battle. The fighting had started a week ago. Ser Criston Cole had mobilized Stokeworth troops after Lord Staunton had refused to bend the knee to the greens. Cole and his men laid siege to the surrounding fields of Rooks Rest, hoping that the elderly lord would surrender.

A raven with the sigil of house Staunton had flown north and east. Cregan and you were already mobilized in Maidenpool, awaiting orders and you had finally received them. Only did you come to find the battle at Rook’s Rest had taken a turn. The Princess Rhaenys had joined the clash on top of Meleys. It was at first, a clear black win. Meleys had obliterated almost half of the greens men, until Aemond and Vhagar had swooped in from out of the smoke.

The Stark army had been given different orders, told to wait and hide from the skirmish to ensure the numbers were stabilized. Rhaenyra Targaryen did not want to be wasteful.

They were now on day three of waiting in the adjacent forest, hidden from aerial view.

Sitting on the horse next to your brother Cregan, working out possible battle strategies if the Stark army were to be called into battle. You had little hope for the Princess and her battalion considering the turn of events with the greens and the length of the battle.

Pouring over maps and strategy meetings fulfilled the seemingly endless days of which you waited.

But this morning felt different.

A horse not belonging to their guards sidled up to Cregan’s. “Lord Stark.”

“Lord Dustin.” He nodded. “Any word from Stauton?”

The older man shook his head. “None.”

Cregan hummed, turning back to the field of ash and smoke. “Anything else?”

“Yes, my Lord.” Lord Roderick Dustin inhaled sharply, a pregnant pause as he looked to the skies then back at them. “A third dragon is flying to join the fray.”

“Is it one of ours?” It was your turn to speak. Vhagar and Meleys had been fighting since the dawn, the larger dragon beginning to gain an advantage over the red queen. Princess Rhaenys was to lose this fight if no help was to show soon. Hoping that it would be Daemon or Jacaerys to support.

“No, my Queen.” Queen. You inhaled, your hands tightening around the reins and your heart fluttering with annoyance at the title. Adamant that you were a Stark to your brother and peers, not a Targaryen, Queen Consort of the Seven Kingdoms.

You were back in furs, blues, and greys, relinquished of the greens, blacks, and golds. Looking down at the embroidered Direwolf upon your glove, “I’m not a Queen, Lord Dustin.”

“Forgive me, my Lady.”

“It’s quite alright.” You bowed your head.

“The dragon is not one of our own.” He swallowed, the lump in his throat proving hard to get down with his nerves in disarray from the news. He adverted his eyes from you. “They’re saying it’s the green King.”

“What?” Aegon? Aegon was coming? You frowned, looking back at the battlefield then to the blackened sky. “That can’t be true.”

“The scouts have said so.” Lord Dustin was no liar, but he wish he was lying then. For the girl still clearly cared about the mummers King.

“Sister.” Cregan turned. His grey eyes full of care as he searched your usual stoic face now riddled with panic. “We need to ready our men.”

The elder lord looked between the two siblings with worry, before asking for the elders attention again. “There is more, my Lord.”

As Lord Dustin continued with his report of the churning waters of war, you went deaf to his words and Cregan's orders, the sounds of the erupting battle beyond the pines had engulfed you. Your eyes trained towards the skies, waiting for the glint of gold to peek through. Hoping, praying that the scouts report wouldn’t be so.

Then you heard the screech.

The black clouds parted, the wisps of smoke fused into swirls and there he was.

Sunfyre, diving into the dance.

Fucking idiot.

Brash, arrogant, moronic.

The golden dragon entered the battle. Vhagar and Sunfyre commanded by the brothers, breathing fire onto the men and snapping their jaws at Meleys.

A hand rested upon yours. Covering the Direwolf on the dorsal side of your own. “Y/n.”

You were gripping the reins tighter than you had beforehand, your back was bent over the steed in anticipation of cantering towards the ashen fields. The tight, waiting muscles were not able to relax as fire spewed from the dragons. Meleys and Sunfyre dove for each other, wings and talons narrowly missing each other.

Dragon fire seized the forest. The trees ablaze in plumes of orange and yellow. Hissing from the release of moisture.

Cregan begged you to ride away from the edge. “Y/n, we’re heading back to camp.”

That’s when Meleys fired at Sunfyre. Flames engulfed the smaller dragon, the red dragon's talons shredding the golden skin upon its wing, sending it spiraling. Down and down from far beyond the borders of the smoke to the battle below.

Aegon.

Without another beat, you set off. The horse gunned down the hill and in the muddy field heading for the emblazoned forest.

“Lysara!”, Cregan went after you but you were a woman possessed.

You charged forward. Gripping the reins, coaxing the horse faster. Into the pines that were now smoldering with fire. Embers stung your face and the heat burned your eyes as you navigated the steed through the burning forest.

Aegon.

You hurdled over fallen trees, stripped bushes, and steaming creeks. You could see the battlefield, the barbaric clash of men in their respective colors. Greens meshed with black. The golden tint of Sunfyre’s wing came into view, peaking just below the tree line-

The ferocity of the wind from the crashing dragon sent trees barreling down in front of you. The horse jumped up in fear, You gripped the reins, wrapping your arms around the animal's neck in fear, but its force was too much. You went backward, into a smoldering pile of embers. Your hair coated in black ash and your face burning from the fire.

The horse ran off into the flames, you would have to do the rest on foot. Hauling your body, heavy with armor off the ground, you grabbed your bow and quiver that flew off your person.

And ran.

You ran under fallen trees, around the bushes that had become bonfires. The smoke clouded your lungs and your vision became foggy. But you were almost there.

Sunfyre hit the ground with a roar. The dragon was alive but was he?

Aegon.

Your throat burned and tasted of ash as you ran and tripped in the mud. Sunfyre had created a cocoon in the center of the bloody field. Dirt piled in a circle, meters high.

You forgot you wore the Direwolf sigil as you cleared the pines and into the fray.

Aegon.

Your mind had been so entrenched in him that the adrenaline pumping through your veins had made you completely blind to the fact that men came after you with swords, daggers, and spears. A green cavalry soldier took out the black soldier with his spear. One of Staunton’s men threw an axe at the head of a green. Back and forth these exchanges went.

The Gods were on your side it seemed.

You slid down in Sunfyre’s crater. Discarding the bow and quiver. Stumbling over rock and dirt. You tripped and cut your knee on a rock protruding from the ground. Clawing your way to him. He was cradled by Sunfyre underneath a shredded wing.

“Sunfyre-“ You breathed and the dragon complied, revealing him.

“Aegon.” You climbed up the injured dragon and towards your husband.

You ripped off the gloves with your teeth. Soot and dirt covered your face, your singed hair out of its braid. The first thing you noticed was the smell.

Burnt barbecued flesh.

Then his face.

His flesh was discolored and charred on the right side, his silver hair had been burned away to his scalp. He had no brow and the skin began to pucker around his indigo eye that held no white eyelashes. His right ear had become blackened and bubbled at the top. The extent of his burns didn’t end there, they went down his neck and to where his doublet should’ve been. His armor was burnt into the skin on his bicep.

“Aegon.” You whispered, clutching at your chest. Tears spilled from your eyes, stinging from the ash and heat. “Aegon, please. Please don’t die, don't die, please don’t do this to me!”

Ser Criston Cole jumped off his horse, but made no move. Watching from the top of the crater as you ripped off pieces of your half burnt cloak, wrapping the scraps around his mangled arm. Your sobs louder than the battle that still raged on.

“Help!” Your guttural scream through your sobs, had wracked Ser Criston’s core. Your body wailed over Aegon’s. Tears splattered on his burns, smoke rising from where they hit. “Help him!”

“Someone get the medic!” Ser Criston barked at the soldier nearest to him. “Save your King!”

You searched your husband’s face for any sign of life, but Aegon laid still with his eyes closed and mouth ajar. “Don’t you dare do this to me you imbecile!”

Ser Criston was confused at how the woman who had run away from the King was now begging for him to live, but he supposed love worked in mysterious ways.

“My Queen.” He kneeled beside you, his gloves hand reaching for your shoulder.

“Is he dead?! Did I lose him?! Did I lose him?!” You wailed, your eyes bloodshot and glassy. “Did I lose him?”

Ser Criston had no answer but pulled you into his chest, your hands clawing at his collar. Your sobs wracked your entire being, over and over you repeatedly asked if he was gone.

Then the Red Queen fell and with her, Princess Rhaenys.

The Green’s calvary chased after the dragon just beyond Rook’s Rest, no doubt to take the prizes of the first victory. Lord Staunton’s men had been captured, unable to traverse where you had run from. No hope for the black army to retreat to the hidden Stark army. Rook’s Rest itself met fire and desolation, turning it into mere ash.

The medics took Aegon away.

“My Queen.” Ser Criston Cole gently raised your head off of his chest. “Come.”

They operated on Aegon all night. He was alive, they told you, but barely. It wasn’t until dawn when you, who had spent the evening pacing back and forth through the rain in front of the medic tent, was allowed inside.

With tepid steps and an uneasy stomach, you approached your husband.

Afraid to wake him.

His entire right side was wrapped in bandages that were once white. His chest rose and fell with a murmur. You wanted to cry at the sight of him.

Careful, as to not wake him, you reached out slowly and gingerly brushed his hair away from the untouched side of his face. “Aegon.”

His hood brow twitched under your fingers, but he did not wake.

Aegon wouldn’t wake for two weeks.

You had been recaptured by the Greens. Placed under house arrest for the remainder of the war. Whenever that would be.

You spent most of your time in the past two weeks pacing. Back and forth for hours. Sleep never came easy or if at all.

There was no news of the war. No news of Aegon.

You no longer had the ever faithful Ser Marbrand to protect you. Two unknown guards were placed in front of your locked doors. The only ones in and out were the guards and the maids.

You wished Helaena then, to comfort you. She was always good at that. Last you heard she was now on Dragonstone, pregnant with another babe.

Then there was your brother.

What were you thinking?

You had finally escaped only a few moons before. Finally reunited with your brother and Northmen. Relinquished from your mummer’s crown. To be free felt so sweet.

But you let that freedom slip through your own hands. Willingly back in the talons of dragon’s.

The chamber door opened. A face other than a guard or maid peeked through for the first time in a fortnight. “My Queen.”

You scoffed. “Ser Criston.”

“I am here to inform you of the King’s status.”

Your mind went to the worst. Aegon is dead. Succumbed.

“He is awake.” Criston Cole cleared his throat. “He’s been asking for you.”

The weight of the war and constant back and forth of pressure from the two sides. Your abandonment, whether it be back to where you first left, didn’t feel in vain anymore.

He was alive.

“May I see him?” You crossed the room. Taking a deep breath, turning away from the Hand.

“You may.”

You spun, now wide eyed. “When?”

“After you meet with the small council.”

“But you are the Hand!” You could feel your anger rise within.

“And you are a prisoner!” He seethed. “You abandoned your crown. Your husband.”

“You broke oathes! Promises!” You countered. “And now mean to slaughter my family!”

“Your family is slaughtering us!” He slammed his hand on the desk. The sound echoing in the dark chamber. “Your brother has eradicated almost half of our men in the Riverlands!”

You had no answer. Standing lifelessly with your arms by your side.

Rhaenyra is the rightful ruler of Westeros. That was undisputable. Cregan had chosen a side, your father had chosen a side, bending the knee to Rhaenyra. Now his son was fighting for the blacks to uphold the promise.

So many promises.

“One flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever”

“You are promised to Prince Aegon.”

“I’ll never leave you.”

“We will come for you in the morrow. Prepare your argument, My Queen.”

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔ 　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ੈ✧̣̇˳·˖✶ ✦　　

␛ to masterlist | ⎗ wintering masterlist

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⌘ you can find this on my ao3 account!

#wintering #aegon ii targaryen x reader #hotd #house of the dragon #aegon ii targaryen #aegon ii x reader #aegon targaryen #aegon ii x you #aegon ii fic #aegon x reader #asoiaf #fanfic #fic

[glitteryinknotes]

This face haunts me.

Sebastian.

This poor sweet soul, no different than the unnamed "darling boy". The only difference between them being that when Astarion got to him - he didn't have it in himself to disobey his master's commands anymore.

Sebastian. His life, his joys, his innocence stolen from him. Who was he? Who did he wish to be? Who could have he become in his time? We will never know. He will never know.

This moment in Astarion's storyline hit me in the face unlike any other. More than the hug and the confession. Not only because this is the moment we truly see the abhorrence of our lover's past deeds, but because Sebastian is presented as someone we - as the Tav romancing Astarion - are supposed to relate to personally.

We may not be exactly the same. Astarion's goals may be different, we may not be as naive, circumstances might be different alltogether. We may be smarter, more powerful, more experienced, more careful, whoever you headcanon your Tav to be and how their relationship with Astarion looks like in detail.

But it doesn't change the bottom truth.

We are the same fools who acted with kindness, benevolence and trust when it made no sense to do so. We are the ones who extended our trust and affection without any solid reason to. It paid off in our case - Astarion eventually trusted us, opened himself to us, allowed the morality and conscience he still had in himself to guide him for once, and showed willingness to be a better person - but we didn't know that he would when we invited him to our neck, followed him into the forest and in the first place - invited someone who just threatened us with a knife to our party.

We are the same fools who came to love and trust someone - objectively - probably undeserving of genuine love and trust, as things were back then.

Sebastian is one of the few true innocents Astarion seduced. Not a street drunk, minor criminal, brother patron. Not a degenerate from the city's underbelly. He is the true face of the horror Cazadorr unleashed through his vampiric pawns. This is what we choose to look past, forgive and take upon ourselves as someone caring for Astarion. This is the responsibility we must bear, the burden on our conscience we must now live with. If we truly care for him - and wish to think about ourselves as a person of any morals or a kind heart (which is the type of person who, storywise, pushes Astarion to be better than he was as we first encountered him, better than he himself ever thought he could be) - this is the "burden" that comes with the man we believe in and choose to be with, who we choose to see as someone better than everyone else sees him).

The seven thousand ritual - bound souls are now our burden as well. Our responsibility.

I personally believe that the choice to seek & aid the spawns in the Underdark is the only right choice for Tav & Astarion's story conclusion. To deal with the consequences of our choices; for Astarion to prove (if only to himself) that he indeed "can be better" than the one who made him and creatures like him; to finish doing the right thing. Cazadorr's end is a pivotal moment for Astarion, but even more for all the other unfortunate enslaved souls. For him is the final, decisive step towards healing and growing, for them... It's entirely up to you.

You and Astarion have all the time you need, in his own words. You can travel the world, engage in every kind of delicious debauchery Faerun has to offer, find a way to reverse vampiric curse, settle down in luxury and enjoy each other, probably all of the above, but I myself have been convinced, since the moment I saw Sebastian that tthe spawns should come first.

Help them the best you can. Make sure they have any joy in their tragic unlife, community, guidance, stability, safety, future, if that's even possible. Find a better place for them to settle down than the Underdark. Possibilities are endless, nothing is impossible in a magic - filled realm like Faerun. If Astarion has been lucky enough - they deserve a chance as well. If Sebastian - and those like him - deserve a chance, so do the other seven thousand.

And then you can go and have every fun awaiting two people happily in love.

#astarion #baldur's gate astarion #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 astarion #baldurs gate astarion #bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 sebastian #bg3 sebastian

[irayoeywa]

the game name ✧

part seven

neteyam sully x fem!omatikaya!reader

warnings/notes - fluff, utumauti is the na'vi name for banana fruit, characters speaking na'vi unless stated otherwise, lowercase intended, gif is not mine, divider creds to shifterium.

< part six part eight >

series masterlist main masterlist

it happened again.

this doesn't happen twice, right?

you and neteyam were hanging out in the forest, like usual. you were sitting on the mossy forest floor, with a visor in your hand. neteyam had mentioned that his ikran riding visor had been damaged so you offered to fix it for him.

neteyam on the other hand was laying on his back a foot away from you. he had his eyes closed as you quietly worked on the visor. the two of you sat in silence, just enjoying one another's presence.

the sound of the forest calming to you, that's why you did most of your weaving here. your eyes had peeled away from the visor to look at neteyam who was laying there peacefully, his chest moving up and down with each breath he took in and let out. you weren't sure if he was sleeping or not.

you were about to put your attention back on the accessory when something came into your view. it was an atokirina. and it was floating towards you. you stayed still, waiting for it to and just like you did the first time.

when it finally did, you sat in shock. it was hovering over the visor in your hands. you felt the gentle touch of the seed for a brief moment before it floated away. your eyes watched it leave your eyesight. you didn't realize that you had zoned out until you felt a touch on your knee that nearly made you jump out of your skin.

you turned to see neteyam with his hand resting on your knee as he looked at you, "you okay? you look a little shaken up."

your parted lips sucked in a small breath before you shook your head, "yeah no, uh- i am fine."

the words seemed to have no effect on the boy in front of you as he continued to look concerned. you decided to lighten up the situation so you pushed his shoulder lightly, "but you look well rested, had a good nap?"

neteyam's face morphed into a smile, a small chuckle leaving his lips, "i really didn't expect to actually fall asleep."

"i told you, it’s soothing out here." you smiled. you brought your eyes back down to the visor in your hands, it was fixed but you could tell that it would just break again if you gave it to him now.

"hey, do you mind if i give this back tomorrow? i have something that would make it more secure." you said, looking up neteyam.

"yeah, that's fine. i really appreciate you fixing it for me, you don't have to." he spoke.

"what are friends for?"

that’s what brought you here, walking through high camp. you needed immediate answers so you quickly made your way to the tsahìk's tent. you needed answers. the first time when the atokirina landed on your arrow, you came up with an endless amount of reasons for what it meant. after many days of thinking about it, you finally came up with the conclusion that eywa saw something special about your friendship with neteyam.

but what did this mean? instead of an infinite number possibilities running through your mind, it was blank. you were sure netayam didn't see it as he woke up as it was floating away.

you needed some guidance and who better to speak to than the omatikaya's tsahìk. when you finally made it to her tent there was someone leaving. you waited for them to walk away before you took a deep breath and slowly opened the tent flap.

mo'at was there with her back to you, she was putting away her things. you assumed that the person who just left was injured and tended to their wounds.

when she finally turned around you greeted her, "oel ngati kameie mo'at."

she returned the custom and gestured for you to sit down. you took a seat and looked at her.

"uh.. i believe the great mother has sent me a sign but i am not sure how to interpret it." you said, awkwardly looking around the tent. when you heard nothing in response, you brought your eyes back to her. she made a gesture for you to continue.

"oh uhm i was out in the forest with a friend and i was holding something of theirs and an atokirina came and rested on what i was holding.. but this isn't the first time this has happened. it happened about a month ago but i just assumed the great mother was telling me something about our friendship but now i am not sure."

this is the first time you had actually voiced out the occurrence to anyone. you didn't tell any of your family members and you and neteyam definitely didn't speak about it.

mo'at sat for a moment before she started to speak, "the great mother sees the bond you have with this person but you may not.."

you sat in confusion, what does that mean?

"i may not?" you repeated, but as a question.

"you may not realize the importance of this relationship which is why you received another sign. whether it is platonic or romantic is for you to decide my child." she answered.

once you were done talking to the tsahík, you thanked her for her knowledge and guidance before leaving and heading to your family's marui. once you got there, it was empty, indicating that you were alone. you felt relieved because you needed to process this information alone.

you took a seat as the tsahík’s words continued to replay in your mind as your brain tried to make sense of them.

‘the great mother sees the bond you have with this person but you may not..’

you felt a strange sense of comfort when you were with neteyam. you were only friends for a couple months but you always felt secure and comfortable with him. your friendship felt safe. so you figured that eywa was confirming your thoughts.

but the second sign was different. it even felt different. the fact that it happened while neteyam was sleeping made it clear to you that the great mother only wanted you to see it. but what did she want you to see exactly?

'you may not realize the importance of this relationship which is why you received another sign. whether it is platonic or romantic is for you to decide my child.'

now what does that mean? was that her way of saying you take him for granted? you truly appreciated neteyam, so how do you not realize the importance of your friendship with him.

after a couple minutes of pondering, a figure entered the space which caused you to look up. ri'an walked in, bow in hand.

"what are you looking for?" you asked, watching him walk around the marui seemingly looking for something.

"my riding visor. i left it right over here yesterday." he huffed, pointing to a spot that was now empty. his words made you look to the right of you, neteyam's visor sitting right beside you. it brought your thoughts back to him and what mo'at said.

maybe ri'an could provide some insight of his own.

"can i ask you a question?" you asked the boy who was still looking around, moving things around to find his visor. "yeah." he responded without stopping his investigation.

you took a deep breath, "do you think i take neteyam for granted?"

ri'an paused, the basket in his hand being calmly being put back on the table. he knew that visor wouldn't be hiding under the basket but he just had to be sure. he turned to you and it was quiet for a moment before he uttered one simple word,

"yes."

OH?

it took you a couple long seconds to actually respond and when you did all you could say was, "i'm sorry, what?"

"y/n you didn't tell him your name for months.. and tuseÿa told me that you avoid him when you're around other people. and before you say you don’t want any unnecessary attention, if neteyam was really your friend, a few extra eyes wouldn’t matter, right?”

ri'an was right. you were so stuck on the fact that being friends with neteyam would bring unwanted attention that you're kind of pushing him away. thinking about it now, you were surprised that neteyam didn't just leave you alone altogether. especially after you didn't tell him your name right off the bat.

when you didn't respond ri'an added on, "look, i don't think you mean to take him for granted but you do."

after another moment of silence, you let out a deep sigh, "i see that now."

"finally!" ri'an cheered and you glanced at him. he was smiling, holding the now found visor in his hand. you recognized it because you made it for him. a lot of the things in your family's marui were made by you. they were always grateful for the things that you provided.

"but why'd you ask me that? did somebody tell you that you take him for granted?" ri'an asked now sitting next to you.

"yeah, eywa." you responded nonchalantly.

ri'an looked confused before his eyes widened, "do you mean-"

"yes. yes i do." you interrupted him since you already knew what he was about to ask.

you spent the next couple minutes explaining to ri'an what happened and your talk with mo'at. out of all your siblings, ri'an was the one you were the closest to. even though he's an extrovert and you're an introvert, he matched your curious nature.

maybe it was a good thing that ri'an walked in when he did, he opened your eyes a little bit more.

the next day, you were attempting to calm your nerves as you walked through high camp. your hands were clammy from the nervousness you were feeling. and in your anxious hands was neteyam's visor, his fixed visor thanks to you.

after your talk with mo'at and ri'an, you realized you should start making an effort in your friendship with neteyam so you decided that you would go to his family's marui to give him the visor. even though you choose to do this, that didn't make you feel any less anxious.

when you finally made it to the olo'eyktan's family marui, you peered inside before making your presence known. the only people inside were his parents. the only two people you were hoping weren't there.

they were talking and laughing with one another. you would've smiled if you weren't scared shitless at the moment. after letting out a breath, you walked in.

jake and neytiri turned their heads to the figure that walked in. they both recognized you right away. you were the girl that is supposedly friends with their oldest son.

you brought your hand to your forehead before bringing it down, "oel ngati kameie jakesulli and neytiri." you greeted them properly. the last thing you wanted them to think is that you aren't well-mannered. to your relief, they greeted you back.

"what brings you here y/n? are you looking for neteyam?" jake asked you. neytiri just stared at you waiting to see what it was that you came for.

you glanced back down at the visor in your hands and nodded, "uh yeah, i fixed his visor and i was just coming to return it to him."

neytiri's eyes fixated on the visor in your hands but said nothing. jake nodded, "he's out right now but you can leave it here for him if you'd like."

"sure, can you just let him know that i brought it?" you asked, placing it on a small stool near the entrance.

"we will." neytiri finally spoke, her eyes meeting yours.

now even though neteyam's father is olo'eytkan, neytiri scared you the most. she was one of the most skilled archers in the clan and she always looked like she was judging everyone silently with her eyes.

"thank you." you smiled awkwardly before bidding your goodbyes and leaving as fast as possible. once you were out of their eyesight, you let out a sigh of relief. you may have been a little awkward but you were respectful and you made it out alive and that's all that matters.

neteyam finally made it back to his family's marui. recently, he had asked kiri for her help on something. so they went into the forest right after breakfast to finish up what she was helping him with.

it was now afternoon time when he and kiri got back and neteyam was hungry. when he got back home, he knew his parents wouldn't be cooking any meals until later in the day so he decided that he would settle for a couple fruits for now. when he went to pick up the basket of freshly picked fruits near the entrance, he saw his visor sitting on a small wooden stool. he paused and picked up the accessory instead.

"y/n brought that here for you." neytiri spoke. she saw her son eyeing the visor.

neteyam looked up at his mom in surprise, "she came here?"

neytiri nodded and neteyam looked back down at the visor. a smile spread across his face. he knew you were shy around most people and it was clear you didn't like much attention. the way you basically ran out that day when his family showed up. he just thought you needed more time opening up. and he was more than patient. so the fact that you actually came by to give him his visor meant a lot to him.

"she seems nice." neytiri said, grabbing her son's attention once more.

"she is." neteyam confirmed. he then glanced over at kiri who was obviously shocked at her mom's statement but when she met neteyam's eyes, she smiled.

"go." she then mouthed. neteyam nodded before grabbing a few things he needed before setting off towards his ikran.

when neteyam arrived at his destination, he unloaded the basket of fruits off his ikran and started walking towards the lake. the lake he goes to during his free time and more importantly, the lake where he met you.

finally reaching the lake, he was not surprised at the sight. you were there, feet submerged in the water while your fingers worked on something new.

"hey." neteyam spoke, causing you to look up from what you were doing. you smiled before looking at the basket of fruits in his hand.

"what's that for?" you asked.

"i wanted to hang out with you but i'm also very hungry so i thought we could eat together." he answered, placing the basket down next to you before taking a seat down as well.

"and how did you know i would be here?"

"when are you not here?"

"fair enough." you chuckled before setting your new half made anklet to the side. you grabbed a spartan fruit while neteyam picked up an utumauti. the two of you talked as you ate the fruits he brought.

"oh and thanks for fixing my visor, i really appreciate it." he said.

"you're welcome.. and to be completely honest, i was so scared going to your marui earlier."

"why?"

you looked at him, "your mom is terrifying. i feel like if i make one wrong move she'll shoot an arrow through my chest."

neteyam laughed at that. he knew his mom was intimidating but she's always been soft and endearing towards him and his siblings. it was always his father that berated them whenever they got in trouble. in some circumstances, neytiri was the one that saved them from jake's punishments.

"well, she said she likes you." neteyam smiled.

your eyes widened, "really?"

neteyam nodded. you put your head down to hide the smile that was peeking through. after being scared that his parents might not like you, it felt relieving to hear that you left a good impression on his mom. hopefully the olo'eyktan felt the same way.

since your head was down you failed to notice neteyam seemingly giving himself a quiet pep talk. he closed his eyes and did a silent prayer before grabbing something and turning to you.

"so i've been meaning to give you something." neteyam spoke.

you lifted you head to see him moving the basket of fruit to the side so there was an open space between the two of you now. he then scooted over so that space was now filled with his body.

you sat in silence, patiently waiting for whatever it is he wanted to give you. his hand was currently in a fist, he looked down at his hand before opening it, revealing a necklace. you followed his line of eyesight, seeing the accessory.

you smiled, gently taking the necklace from his larger hand, "did you make this?"

he nodded, "uh, yeah. but kiri helped so i can't take all the credit. and i know it's not as good as the stuff you make but-"

"no no no. this is amazing. thank you." you smiled. you brought the necklace closer to your face to get a better look. it was woven nicely from a white material. you then noticed a couple of colorful pieces connected to the rim of the necklace.

neteyam seemed to already know what your next question was so he decided to answer before you had a chance to ask, "so i also added some beads.. the ones from my hair."

your eyes immediately left the necklace and went to him. he looked nervous to say the least, which makes sense.

in omatikayan culture, acts such as giving gifts, giving something significant to someone else, and giving your own beads to someone are all signs of courting.

but neteyam surely isn't trying to court you.

that's not what's happening right now, right?

this series was originally supposed to be 7 parts so this was going to be the last one but i hate odd numbers so i expanded it to 8.

taglist - @fanboyluvr @liluvtojineteyam @arminsgfloll @squidalapobre @jjkclub @angelsamor @netedoongie @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @hana-yuri @riatesullironalite @camilo-uwu @audigay @jkeluv @marsbars09

#avatar #avatar twow #neteyam sully #avatar au #avatar the way of water #neteyam #cyb3rclouds #avatar fanfiction #avatar fic #avatar neteyam #kiri sully #neteyam x you #neteyam fluff #neteyam avatar #neteyam x y/n #neteyam x reader #neteyam x na'vi!reader #neteyam x omaticaya!reader #neytiri sully #neytiri #sully family #jake sully #neteyam fanfiction #atwow neteyam #atwow fanfiction #atwow #james camron #james cameron avatar #fluff #thenamegame

[leiawritesstories]

Familiar Stranger

written for @throneofglassmicrofics using the prompts "Morning," "Fracture," and "Rain"

Word count: 706

Warnings: mild(ish) angst ;)

enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shades of gray blurred the sky at five-thirty in the morning, the clouds softened by a film of foggy mist as if some divine artist had smudged charcoal across the heavens. Aelin kicked off her shoes, tied them together, slung them over her shoulder as she jogged through the cool, shifting sand, the grains chilly against the bare skin of her feet. Early June at the Pacific Northwest coast was still cool, the days not yet bursting with sweltering sun, but she loved the misty silence.

The tongues of silvery fog that blanketed the forested hills in the distance reminded her of something, of someone. Pine trees and cool breezes and green eyes, soft words and warm skin and sweet love--first love. Her first love.

She came to this tiny town on the coast every summer to stay with her family in the place she'd grown up. And every summer that she continued not to encounter Rowan Whitethorn made the twinge in her heart get a little less strong. All for the best; she had no reason to see the man other than the lingering ties to the years they had grown up side by side until she had run away to college as far away from home as she could.

Because she had bared her fragile heart, and he had fractured it with three simple words.

We're just friends.

Aelin skirted the edge of the mighty Pacific, her strides leaving faint prints in the springy wet sand at the ocean's edge. Every year when she visited, she walked alongside the ocean early in the morning, soaking up the solitary peace that she'd only ever found beside the rush of the waves. Nobody ever came out to the beach that early, allowing her to drink in the much-needed snatch of alone time before she had to face another day full of family, friends, and random old acquaintances whose endless stream of questions about her life were well-meaning but incessantly irritating.

The mist thickened to a drizzle, and Aelin turned around, slowly heading back towards her house. A ways off, she spotted the shadow of another person, the blurry outline of a figure moving through the fog. She glanced at her watch--almost seven now, about time for the smattering of early-morning joggers to appear on the beach. She ignored the other person, certain she would reach the trail that led up towards her family home before her path could cross with anyone else's.

As she paused to tug her shoes back on, she felt a shiver that wasn't from the rain dance down her spine, and she glanced up to find an incredulous pair of pine-forest eyes locked onto her.

"Holy gods," Rowan breathed, his chest heaving beneath the athletic tank top that was plastered to his skin with rain and sweat, "Ae?"

Cracks splintered through her chest at that achingly familiar nickname. "It's Aelin."

"Aelin." Her heart fractured all over again with the mere sound of her name in his voice. "It's been so long--"

"Long enough to forget?" She broke through his polite words.

Regret, pure and true, washed over his face like the tide lapping over the shore. "I could never forget you, or how much of an idiot I was."

She laughed, the sound clipped, caustic. "An idiot would have at least texted, probably called. An idiot would have tried to apologize." The raw agony of his last words from seven years ago spilled over her, drenching her more thoroughly than the misty rain. "You trampled my heart and never looked back, Ro." His nickname slipped out before she could think twice about it.

"And I'm so, so godsdamn sorry," he pleaded. "I've spent the last seven years--"

"Doing nothing." Shoes secured, she turned away from Rowan and veered onto the path that led towards her house. "We're strangers now, Rowan. Goodbye."

Foggy mists of gray swallowed his plea, the broken cry of her name that pierced her ears. Blinking back the film of misty tears from her eyes, Aelin strode towards the safety of her home, away from the familiar stranger she hadn't expected to see.

Away from the heart-stirring truth in his words that her unsteady heart couldn't bear to face.

~~~

TAGS:

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@morganofthewildfire

@mariaofdoranelle

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

@aelinschild

#my writing #prompt fill #throne of glass microfics #rowaelin #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowan x aelin #rowaelin fanfic #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin microfic #throne of glass #throne of glass fanfic #throne of glass fanfinction

[adreamof-spring]

Character: Feyre Warnings: None Short drabble for @feyreweekofficial Day 6: Warrior/Jack of All Trades Sometimes the woods whisper a sweet reminder of the power Feyre holds.

The forests outside of Velaris were old, far older than the city itself. It was a wide open maw of wood and fern, ancient and thick as the roots of the mountains that rose high above.

Feyre reveled in the familiarity she found here. Her feet would carry her to the outskirts of the city, and from there she would meander through the gates, threading through underbrush as the woods swallowed her whole.

Out here she could shed the mantle of her title, for the forest didn’t know her as the High Lady of the Night Court, nor did it know her as mother or mate.

But the forest did know her.

The magic here was potent—raw. As if Prythian’s deep well of life surged up and out from the soil beneath her feet, a living, breathing thing.

Feyre could feel that power curl around her, cling to her lithe frame as if it delighted in her presence. It would wind through her hair like fine fingers of silk, kissing the freckled curve of her cheek in warm welcome.

And her own magic would answer, rising as if plucked from the string of a harp.

Feyre breathed deep and pulled the boots and socks from her feet. Warm, sun-dappled grass brushed against her skin.

“Hello,” she whispered a small greeting, running a hand along the bark of a tree.

A shiver stole down her spine, coaxed by a pulse of magic that nipped at her skin. Her mouth quirked up. It was playful, curious...hungry, too. Not entirely unlike her husband dear.

Distantly, Feyre could remember a time when the woods had been anything but kind. Cold, jagged trees, a frost that ran deep. Death had awaited her in the bramble and brush, licking at the edges of her frail, mortal skin.

Her body had been so young and broken then, ravaged by the cruel hands of an endless hunger.

That place and time was now so distant that it felt like no more than a lost whisper of life.

Her skin was now flush with an immortal glow, and her heart thundered with a vitality she had never known.

Feyre Cursebreaker had been reborn, body and mind.

Magic—pulsing, vibrant magic coursed through her veins, feeling so very much like an extension of herself. She knew it would take little more than a curl of a finger for that power to do as she bid.

And it was that sense of control, the confidence in her own abilities that set the hard line of her shoulders, that filled her lungs with a sense of purpose. She could feel it, that great and terrible well of power at the core of her, sliding through her veins, lapping at her skin.

It was the power to change her destiny, to shift it as she might shift the wings at her back.

This forest was kindle to that power, and with each breath she could feel the elements crackling at her fingertips, howling to breach the outside world. It was a song of exultation, a symphony that played to the mastery of her gifts.

Feyre would never be cowed again, never be confined or set aside.

She’d found her home, her people, her life.

And each day she glowed at the miracle of it all, the sense of purpose.

Where once doubt had twined its vicious roots, confidence and clarity now surged.

Gone was the human with hunger in heart.

She was the ever-sharp blade of the warrior. The deft hand of justice. The scepter of the High.

Feyre was the child of all seven courts, their power now flowing through her veins.

She was one and all.

First of her kind.

Her hands rose, and that magic with it, Prythian answering her call.

#my fanfic #drabble #acotar #feyreweek2024 #feyre #feyre archeron #day 6: warrior/jack of all trades #acomaf #acowar #acosf #fanfic

[mingisdoll]

Alternative Remedies

Includes: gn!witch!reader, idol!fwb!San, cursing, yelling, a teeny bit of violence, mentions of stress, angst with a fluffy ending? cockwarming, size kink, homeboy is playing with your ass a lot lol

@newworldnet

Thank you to @bunnliix for giving me the drabble title

Done.

That's what you were.

Just utterly fucking done.

You were just supposed to relax and help Mr. Gold and Belle take care of baby Gideon but nope! You had to go on a small quest with Snow White and David Charming. Emma and Hook were taking care of baby Neal and you couldn't use Henry as an excuse to opt out of this quest since the young boy was with Zelena. She wanted to bond with him a bit more and Regina volunteered to take care of baby Robin. So now here you were.

Sitting in the back of a cop car

With the Seven Dwarves

And they were yapping about such damn nonsense. You forgot your earbuds at home so you couldn't ignore their endless bickering about whatever the fuck they were on about. When it was time to catch the bad guy, you teleported out of the car and in between Emma's parents.

The quest was easy. You took out the bad guys with ease. So why were you so fed up? Simple.

Dopey swung his pickaxe and tried to hit the bad guy but they dodged at the last second and the tip of the axe slashed your arm. What was worse was that it was laced with magic.

Light magic.

And you dealt with dark magic for the main part.

When you screamed, or screeched in pain, random bursts of spells were expelled from your palms and everyone was blown backwards.

Which leads us to now.

You were yelling at Dopey for being stupid and not paying attention to where the axe was thrown and Grumpy stood up for him. Poorly may I add.

Snow and David swore they say smoke come out of your ears as you cussed out Grumpy. The angry dwarf remained stoic but the couple could tell he was afraid for his life.

"SCREW THIS! SCREW ALL OF YOU! FUCK THIS SHIT! I'M DONE!"

You threw Dopey's pickaxe to the side and teleported out of the forest in a puff of smoke. You were now in your apartment, sighing to yourself as you laid on the bed. Then, a notification appeared on your phone and you were about to tell whoever texted you to fuck off when a look of pleasant surprise appeared on your face.

You didn't think twice about responding back. Choi San was definitely someone that could help you with your stress. It's even better since he knows you're a witch so you didn't feel the need to cover up your words if you were going to rant to him plus you can poof in front of him anytime you'd like

San: Hey, baby

San: I'm in town

San: Well, technically I'm in New York lol anyways

San: My group finished the first concert for our American tour and I told them that I was gonna stay behind since they wanted to go out. Told them I wasn't feeling too well.

San: Wanna come over? We don't have to fuck. I just want you close to me.

And that's how you ended up in his room, straddling him and kissing him fiercely. He matched your ferocity and grabbed your ass a lot. He squeezed your hips and played with both of your cheeks for a bit before pulling away.

You: Sure. I'll be there in a bit. Lemme get ready.

San: I'm in the same hotel as last time. I'll be waiting, kitten.

"Bad day today?"

"Oh you don't know the half of it, Sannie."

As you ranted about your day, he mindlessly played with the hem of your jacket and listened to your words tentatively. He cradled your face and kissed your forehead softly.

"I know you put a spell on this jacket so your memory doesn't get fucked up since you're outside of Storybrooke. But may I remove it for now? I want to feel you." He asked gently. "I thought you didn't want to have sex." You were confused. "I don't but still. I need you with me. Do you catch my drift?" He clarified and it dawned on you. "Yeah you can remove it for now. I need you as well." He smiled at your confirmation before slowly shrugging off your jacket and setting it on the nightstand. You took off your leggings and San brought you into a deep kiss before licking his fingers and plunging them into your hole. While he was doing that, you took off your shirt and so did he.

You forgot how wide he was and you almost came on the spot.

As you were admiring his strong build, he sunk you down onto his equally thick cock and you moaned loudly. He chuckled smoothly and leaned in to nip, kiss, and lick at your neck. He missed marking you up. You tried your best not to squirm around since you were just cockwarming him, but with the way he was smacking and grabbing your ass, you couldn't help but wiggle in his strong hold. He pressed you against his semi naked form and just held you. He may have been shirtless, but his sweats and boxers were just pulled down to the middle of his thighs.

You mindlessly ran your hands over his broad shoulders and gawked at his firm chest, tiny waist, sculpted abs, pretty collarbone, muscular arms, and his face.

Oh his face was to die for.

Sharp jawline, sharper eyes, a pretty nose, pretty lips, high cheekbones, and

Was that an eyebrow slit?

"Nice brow slit." You commented randomly and he smiled. You found it endearing when his smile made his eyes crinkle and almost close up. "Thank you. I wanted to try something new." He explained. "Well you look nice."

For the rest of the time, you were just sitting on his cock, moving every now and then to keep him firm so he doesn't go limp and slip out. You definitely needed this. You felt all your stress wash away and you sighed in content as you looked down at the man that was holding you down onto his cock.

Choi San will be the death of you.

#newworldnet #ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #ateez smut