#( but i also figured if you wanted we could finish this thread up? )

[slytherinshua]

YOU, ME, AND BULBASAUR

genre. fluff. warnings. neck kisses. gunwook is extremely cute and i'm extremely delusional and in love with him. mention that reader wears makeup and dresses. pairing. gunwook x fem!reader. wc. 700. request. no. a/n. i saw gunwook like indirectly kiss taerae's neck and it made me think of just how much of a neck kisser he would be 😭 and if you know me you know i'm a neck girl and that just made me so delusional like i'm feral rn it's not okay??? also can we talk abt how fucking cute gunwook's rosy cheeks are LIKE HES THE CUTEST EVER IM GONNA CRY.

“why are you getting all pretty? you going somewhere?” the tired husky voice of your boyfriend makes a smile start to form on your lips. gunwook had been sleeping peacefully until 2 minutes ago, hugging your pillow to his chest, still tangled under the sheets. you wished you could’ve stayed in bed with him, but you had a meeting early in the morning.

“just a work meeting. wish i could’ve slept in with you, wook.” you glanced up at him apologetically through the mirror, frowning at his sleepy pout and messy hair.

“not fair…”

“i know, baby. but i’ll be back in 2 hours and then we can cuddle.” you assured him, finishing the last touches on your makeup and hair. you turned around to face gunwook properly, ruffling his bed head as you stood up.

“can’t you just stay?” gunwook asked, following you to your closet like a lost puppy.

“it’s an important meeting…” you tried your best to stay firm and not let your boyfriend have so much affect over you. but it was hard, especially when he started planting small kisses on your neck as you sifted through your hangers to find a dress. you felt a small nip land to the dip in your shoulder and neck and you gasped.

“gunwook!” you hadn’t realized he was this clingy this morning. he didn’t stop despite your reaction, pressing a softer kiss over the spot he had nibbled. you willed yourself to not get too focused on his lips on your skin, to instead figure out what you were going to wear to your meeting. but he made it so hard to even remember why you were trying to get up in the first place.

“wouldn’t you rather just stay here? with me? and bulbasaur?” he pleaded, pressing a kiss to your neck between each word. you smiled at the mention of his bulbasaur plush that you had gotten for his birthday— he slept with it every night, opting to cuddle it when you couldn’t sleep with him.

you gripped the side of a navy blue dress, hanging on your last thread, gunwook seconds away from snapping it. was the meeting more important than your clingy boyfriend? did you actually want to spend the morning in a room with a bunch of grumpy middle-aged men when you could be cuddling with your boyfriend?

“you’re lucky you’re cute in the morning…” you sighed, dropping your hand from the dress, and your boyfriend knew he had won. you could feel his victorious smile against your neck as he pressed one last kiss behind your ear. and then he started steering you towards the bed until you both fell onto the soft mattress, him laying on top of you. he nuzzled his face in your chest and closed his eyes, completely content now that he was sure he had you for the entire morning.

you looked at his sleepy face, dark hair falling over his eyes, cheeks dotted with rosy stains, cherry lips formed into the most beautiful smile. you brushed his bangs away from his face, feeling his warm skin underneath the palm of your hand. god, he took your breath away even when he wasn’t doing anything.

“since you made me miss my morning meeting, at least give me a kiss.” you nudged his chin with your hand, and he opened one eye to look up at you. he didn’t waste time after hearing your request, quickly picking himself up to hover over you and press his soft lips to yours. he sighed, finally being able to taste your lip gloss that he had watched you apply minutes ago. he had been tempted to steal a kiss from you then as well, but he was considerate enough to not ruin your makeup until he was sure you were his for the morning.

gunwook’s lips always felt like pure bliss against yours. the weight of his body on top of you was like a weighted blanket, and you were determined to not move from the position for at least another hour. gunwook was right, you would always much rather spend the morning with him… and bulbasaur. 

↳ zerobaseone taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @eternalgyu,, @okshu,, @chewryy,, @haecien,, @sobun1est,,

@emmylksblog,, @talkingsaxy,, @thesunsfullmoon,, @chenleszone,, @sxmmerberries,,

@talking-saxy

[sterlingwhitvale]

It takes everything in Sterling to not bring up the evening’s drinks on the bar right then and there.  Of course, it had always been a looming threat, but Sterling had always counted on it being too obvious a move.  Who would believe in the chance that a victor’s own child would be reaped?  Especially when there were children with higher chances from tessarae?  Sterling clenched his jaw as he tried to tamp down the sudden rush of saliva in his mouth and the churning of his stomach.  Eyes gazed at the monster in front of him and tried to study him, try to find the man, as if he’d be able to figure out whether this was a simple taunt or a promise.  

Then they flicked to the glass in his own hand, a fleeting thought on whether he’d be able to break it against the bar, before stabbing a sharpened edge into the man’s neck before the president’s security could reach him.  He knew that choice would only result in his death, but if he truly committed, and made sure death stuck around and brought the man in front of him with him, could he save his children?

Without that guarantee, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.  He could kill the man and have his family executed in return, saving them from the reaping but killing them much quicker.  So instead, he abruptly stood, “Excuse me, President Snow, I’m suddenly feeling unwell.  Wouldn’t want to make you sick as well, so I ought to be going.”  They both must know he wasn’t sick, but it was up in the air whether the old man in front of him understood how narrowly he had just avoided death, and only because of those children he so carelessly threatened to reap.

" it will be a differing marvel once they reach reaping age, i'm sure, " he dismissively agrees. the tone doesn't match the stark, harsh reality of the situation. threat is there, but it's not boldfaced. instead it shows an indifference. as though them being shelled out to the arena is as much of a menial decision as satina picking two choices for her scoops of iced dessert. for a man who is renowned for his lack of subtly in facial expressions, there might be something humorous in watching the camera pan to him as one of his children's names got called by the current district eight escort.

light eyes watch as dark liquor goes down the other's gullet. " it's very quaint and charming, you'll have to forgive me though. i prefer to savor even if the libation is a few shelves down. " there's times he might indulge with government officials here and there ; one time the opposite's cup had an extra almond taste to it. he thinks it's unbecoming past youth to just gulp down a shot. instead he brings it up to his lips and takes a sip. it's not refreshing, rather more of a country swill. he can have something nicer once he retreats to his home office. " how is mrs. whitvale ? i'm due to make a visit with her soon. "

[ha-rinrin]

Hiding From The World

Summary: After a meeting with Silco, Jinx goes missing, leaving you to go find her.

Pairing: Jinx x Fem!reader

Wordcount: 1k

Authors note: The long ass story is still not finished im so sorry guys im gonna try to publish it as soon as I can 🤞🏻. I also did this at 2am, sorry if its bad I literally fell asleep in the middle of writing it.

Masterlist

It's been hours since you last saw her. Jinx was supposed to come back to the hideout after a supposedly urgent meeting with Silco, but the minutes dragged on, turning into hours, and still no sign of her. You tried to convince yourself she was just blowing off steam somewhere, but you couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in your gut.

Without a second thought, you head to the one place she might be. It’s a little secret basement in an abandoned building tucked away in the darker parts of Zaun, somewhere she figured no one would ever think to look, when you and Jinx first stumbled on this little abandoned building while exploring Zaun’s hidden alleys. The structure was half-buried under layers of graffiti and rust, but Jinx saw it as treasure—something forgotten by everyone else but perfect for the two of you. Together, you’d set up this place over the months, stringing fairy lights from the cracked ceiling, stacking old crates to make makeshift chairs, and even securing it with a series of hidden traps to keep intruders out.

The shadows stretch longer as you approach the building, slipping past the creaky metal door and down the stairs that lead to the basement. You disable the traps one by one, the steps so familiar you could do them in your sleep. Finally, you reach the heavy door that leads into the basement, taking a breath before pushing it open.

And there she is.

Jinx is slouched on the floor, leaning against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her eyes flicker with a mix of frustration and exhaustion, and you catch the way her hands keep fidgeting, as if even while sitting still, she can't quite find peace. She looks up when you enter, and something in her expression softens ever so slightly.

"Y/N," she mutters, sounding almost relieved. "Guess I’m not as good at hiding as I thought, huh?"

You close the door behind you, crossing the dimly lit room until you’re in front of her. “Not from me, anyway.”

She scoffs, but there’s a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. You slide down to sit beside her, close enough that your shoulders are almost touching. For a moment, neither of you speak. The silence is comfortable, settling like a blanket around you both.

You glance over, studying her for a beat. “Rough day?”

She lets out a bitter laugh, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling. “Silco thinks he knows everything. Says I’m too… reckless, like he doesn’t know me by now.” Her fingers toy with a stray thread on her pants, pulling at it absently. “Sometimes I think he just doesn’t get it. Doesn’t get me.”

You nod, listening to every word. “Sometimes I don’t think he deserves to.”

Jinx looks over at you, that fire in her eyes simmering down, replaced by something softer, something almost vulnerable. She doesn’t say anything right away, but her hand inches toward yours, her fingers grazing your palm as if she’s testing the waters.

You intertwine your fingers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “We don’t need him, you know,” you murmur. “We’ve got this place. It’s ours. Away from everyone else.”

She leans her head back, gazing around at the dim room, where the fairy lights cast soft, warm glows over the walls. It’s far from fancy, but it feels like home, like yours. The two of you worked to make it that way—a sanctuary in the chaos.

Her gaze drifts back to you, a small, genuine smile breaking through her tough exterior. “Guess that’s why I wanted to come here… I knew you’d find me.”

“Always,” you say softly, brushing a thumb over her knuckles.

For a while, you sit in comfortable silence, her head eventually finding its way to your shoulder. The weight of her against you feels reassuring, grounding, like the world outside doesn’t matter when it’s just the two of you in this little hidden corner of Zaun.

“You know,” she murmurs, her voice barely above a whisper, “this place… I’d never let anyone else in here but you.”

Your heart skips a beat, and you turn slightly, pressing a soft kiss to her hair. “Good. Because I wouldn’t want to share it with anyone else.”

She smiles again, her eyes half-closed as she leans into you. In this moment, with the flickering lights casting shadows across the room and the muffled sounds of Zaun fading in the background, you both find a rare, quiet peace.

Jinx’s head grows heavier on your shoulder, her breathing slowing, steadying. You glance down to find her eyes closed, the furrow in her brow smoothed out. It’s rare to see her like this—unguarded, peaceful, away from the chaos that usually surrounds her.

Carefully, you shift, wrapping an arm around her to support her as you slowly stand up. She stirs slightly, but doesn’t wake, her head resting comfortably against your shoulder as you carry her over to the old, beaten-up couch you both dragged in here ages ago. Easing yourself down, you settle back with Jinx still in your arms, her body now draped across yours.

She mumbles something incoherent as she nestles closer, pressing her face against your chest. One of her arms wraps around you, clutching the fabric of your shirt as if you’re an anchor keeping her steady.

You can’t help but smile, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ear. She looks so serene, her usual smirk softened, her breathing deep and calm. Gently, you stroke her back, your fingers tracing light, soothing circles as she relaxes even further against you.

The warmth of her settles into you, a quiet comfort that makes the dim room feel like it’s lit up with something more than just fairy lights. Holding her like this, feeling her heartbeat thrum in sync with yours, it’s like all the weight of the world fades away.

As minutes slip by, you let your head rest back against the couch, one arm wrapped securely around her while your other hand continues to run softly up and down her back. You could stay like this forever, hidden away with her, in a place that’s just for the two of you.

In this little pocket of the world, it’s just you and her, and for now, that’s all you need.

[icallhimjoey]

no no no no no NO no NO! NO! joe can NOT get away with this! he's gonna deny us our *fun* isn't he? this absolute bastard can NOT think that this is an acceptable way to keep us around! NO!

you know what? you're right. you're so very, very right. Wordcount: 3.3K

---

All The Aces

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

Joe was wrong.

Joe was wrong, but... he wasn’t stupid, as it turned out.

So that first time, you hadn’t really fully realised what was happening, which – fine. Who could blame you? And you would argue that, the next two times after, it also wasn’t really your fault that you hadn’t caught on...

The fourth time; obvious. You would’ve been an absolute idiot had you not put the pieces together... which, you had, so, you also weren’t stupid.

And also, if it wasn’t for Izzy, maybe it would’ve all clicked into place on the third time.

It was just that... Joe went about it a little too calculated at first, the sneaky fucker. Likely because he was also testing the waters, trying to figure out what he could get away with.

And.

Well.

The answer was: A Lot, Apparently. But again; who could blame you? Joe wasn’t stupid.

Joe wasn’t stupid at all.

When he’d buzzed you up into his flat whilst he was making dinner, you’d barged in with a million things on your mind. All of them extremely negative and ultimately: unimportant.

“I know you’ve not invited me over to just rant at you for ages, but, can I just rant at you for ages?” You dropped your bags right where you were standing.

Joe, spatula and pan in hand, eyes on the food, went, “Ages?”

“Okay, fine. A minute. Can I rant at your for a minute?”

You hadn’t even said hello to each other, priorities elsewhere right now. This shit was on your mind and you needed it off your mind.

Joe’s eyes quickly found his oven timer and he reached for it to set it. To a minute. Because he was a comical genius, you see.

“All right, one minute…. And, go!”

You ignored the stupid joke and just, unleashed. There was some work shit, some small annoying things that had frustrated you throughout the day, but when you got your phone out to read a text thread between you and a childhood friend, you really got into it.

The oven timer went ignored. It beeped, but Joe just silently turned it off and put it to the side. You were in the middle of a sentence and whatever the problem was, this seemed important to you.

He knew it was all petty shit you likely already had all the answers to, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t listen.

Joe tried his best to follow along. Really, he did. But he was also finishing your dinner, peeling potatoes and cutting vegetables, and you were going a hundred miles an hour, straying off the main story every ten seconds to explain whatever was going on better. Which, it didn’t. It only confused Joe more, but he nodded along. Said things like, Oh my god, no way and what the fuck at all the right moments like a good friend would do. Like a good boyfriend would do.

“It’s not my fault we’re not as close as we used to be, she went off and had four children- four, Joe. Four.”

You’d started pacing.

“And then she went, “oh you still living with that girl?” That girl – Izzy, we’re talking my best friend since uni, Izzy. That girl. What the fuck does she think she’s even saying?”

Arms were flying, and Joe silently covered a pan with a lid for fear of your phone landing in it.

“And remember when, like, four years ago, I went to celebrate new year’s with her instead of with our group, just because she’d asked a million times, and she didn’t want to come down to join our party? And then she mixed drinks and got me so drunk, I didn’t even make it until midnight? She’s still holding that over my head, look,” you just kept going, read a text message aloud about maybe trying that again and just doing mocktails so she would actually be able to see the fireworks this time.

You sighed aggressively and turned its back end into a frustrated cry.

“Am I insane? Don’t actually answer that, but… am I insane?”

You stopped pacing to look at Joe, and... you had to take a second to take in what you were seeing.

Joe was stood leaning against the countertop where, behind him, potatoes were sizzling loudly in a frying pan. He had his arms crossed over his stomach, head cocked to the side and he was just… staring at you. Slightly biting into his lip. Smiling, a little. It was a way of looking at you that you could feel within your chest. That made you whole face heat up as you felt how the tops of your cheeks blushed.

Rude.

Had he even been listening at all?

“Be helpful, please. Am I insane?” you asked again, arms flying once more, outraged and in need of a very specific answer.

Joe let his smile grow a little wider and kindly assured you, “You’re not insane.”

He got it right.

“Thank you.” You let your shoulders visibly drop, glad to have heard Joe say what you needed him to say. But then you looked behind him.

“You’re burning the potatoes.”

Joe just kept his eyes on you and said, “I know.”

Didn’t unfold his arms. Just kept his warm eyes on you, that fondly stared a little dreamily.

“Joe,” you scolded, half laughing as you stepped closer to take the pan off the fire, but Joe was faster and turned the hob off just before you could intervene. Then he immediately took advantage of you being closer and used both of his hands to cup your cheeks. To hold you by your jaw, and to tip your head back for him.

Then he gave you that same look again.

Half-lidded, soft, adoring eyes that just stared down at you as he smiled a little.

“What?” you asked, expecting him to lean down for a kiss that didn’t come.

“Not insane.” Joe cooed.

You sensed a but coming.

“But?”

“But…” Joe leant down a little, got a little closer. “But you’re very pretty.”

“But I’m very… Joe, that has nothing to do with–”

Joe cut you off with the kiss you’d been waiting for. Soft lips brushed to yours in a funny position because he caught you in the middle of a word, strong hands holding you in place. You let your fingers wrap around his forearms and attempted to pull away, but Joe wasn’t having it. He used the very brief moment your lips parted to whisper, “So pretty.” into your mouth before he was back on you, arm now curling around the back of you to keep you from leaning back any further.

The kitchen smelled of delicious food, and you’d just spent at least ten minutes pacing around the room whilst tirading about something ultimately so very insignificant, especially to Joe, but the boy was kissing you.

Told you that you weren’t insane.

Said that you were so pretty.

Had cooked you dinner and had let you spew about an old friend trying her best to reconnect without telling you that you were being silly.

You probably were being silly.

Today just hadn’t been the best day.

And written communication had the tendency to change in meaning depending on your mood.

You could read everything again the next day and interpret all of it differently.

You were being silly.

But the boy was kissing you now, and it was just the perfect remedy to a shitty day.

Joe held you in place and kissed you until he felt you sigh into him. Until you gave in, and decided that, yea, sure, Joe could just make out with you in his kitchen for a while if he wanted to.

Joe swallowed the soft sounds you made and softly groaned in return. He loved how he could feel you grow more relaxed under his hands. Loved the way you were pulling him down to you to get more of him. Loved how you started to deny him pulling back, now more desperate for him than he was for you.

When you felt Joe’s hands start to wander down your back and round out over your bum for a squeeze, you managed to break free from Joe just long enough to say, “Should we have dinner first?”

As an answer, Joe bent through his knees a little and you felt how his grip grew stronger as he was about to lift you up. You got your arms around his neck just in time.

“Nah,” Joe murmured into your mouth, hands firmly under your thighs as he encouraged you to wrap your legs around his waist. “Dinner can wait.”

You got walked over to the bed where Joe laid you down and then just lazily kissed you for a bit longer.

Where you sunk into his mattress and tangled up into his sheets whilst dinner out in the kitchen grew cold.

Where roaming hands were heavy and wandering, pulling at the hems of shirts as palms searched for smooth, bare skin to touch.

Where you eventually grew a bit impatient and tried undoing Joe’s trousers with fumbly fingers, not breaking your kissing.

Where you slipped a hand inside and felt how hard he was.

Where Joe pretended to suddenly care about dinner until you got your mouth on him and he let himself fall back into his pillows, eyes fluttering shut.

Where the sun was setting outside, casting the room in soft warm oranges as Joe used careful, gentle hands to get you out of your clothes.

Where Joe wanted to see all of you.

Where Joe wanted to feel all of you.

Where Joe made you laugh when you bit into his shoulder, and panted, “I take it back, what I said earlier. You are insane.”

Where, after a while, when Joe burrowed his face into your neck and didn’t remove it, you knew he was in the homestretch. Mind blank. Just feeling.

And you were right.

It didn’t take long for pants to turn into groans, for rhythmic thrusting to turn into sloppy hip-clashes, and for Joe to tense up all over with a held breath before turning into a boneless collapsed man who felt like all the strength within him had just left through his dick.

It took a while for Joe to return back to earth. He just laid on top of you, face pressed into the crook of your neck, breathing so close to your ear it almost sounded like he was inside of your skull.

When Joe finally did remove his face from being pressed into your neck, there was a spit-string connecting you together still.

“Oh, ew,” you laughed, moving your face away slightly, “That’s disgusting.”

Hovering over you, cheeks flushed and hair messy, you saw how Joe looked at the spot where he’d been drooling all over you, and he grimaced.

“Oh, no, maybe,” he leant onto one elbow to get a hand into the crook there, already laughing. “Maybe don’t,” he started wiping, tried to get a bit of duvet in there which only made you feel how wet it actually was. When you moved a little more to get a look, Joe tried to stop you from seeing the wet patch of saliva he’d left behind.

“No, don’t look! Stop!” he was laughing now, and against his advice, you got a hand in there to feel.

“What the fuck, Joe, you drooled all over– Joe! There’s a fucking puddle!”

For a short moment, Joe acted like a child caught sneaking a snack he wasn’t supposed to have taken from the pantry, very cute yet very guilty. That quickly changed into a more indignant attitude, where he gave you a face for giving him a hard time about enjoying himself.

It was only a bit of spit.

“I’ve cooked you dinner!” Joe exclaimed as he climbed off of you, and he said it like the argument was meant to make your neck less wet somehow.

“Which has absolutely gone cold.”

“Come on,” Joe held out a hand. “I’ll heat it up and we’ll have it outside.”

“How about,” you started, grabbing the hand and letting him pull you up. “You go heat up dinner, I’ll wash your sheets, and, um, shower.”

Joe didn’t let go of the hand he was holding, and pulled at it until you were up on your feet where he was quick to lock his arms behind your back to keep you close.

“How about,” Joe copied your tone to make you laugh, and got his face back into the same crook of your neck where he blew a raspberry to make you squirm. “We both take a shower, and then we get the rest sorted after?”

You’d never taken a shower as long together before. No funny business - just actual washing. Except, Joe would keep kissing you places he would then wash straight after, because you clearly thought his spit was dirty now, so every press of lips got chased by a soapy shower sponge and it took for fucking ever for Joe to stop thinking the bit was hilarious.

To be fair, you hadn’t quite figured out how to not laugh every time he did it, so... partially your fault, you guessed.

But what wasn’t your fault, was how not orgasming hadn’t been weird at all. How that hadn’t consciously crossed your mind once. You’d been distracted with wet sheets and soapy kisses and then after all that, a lovely home cooked meal outside on the balcony where you had it with your hair still wet, dressed in just T-shirts and underwear.

It wasn’t your fault the first time, it wasn’t your fault the second time, and it definitely wasn’t your fault the third time, when Izzy barged in right in the middle of it.

It also wasn’t exactly her fault, though.

All Izzy had done was get home from work.

You were right in the middle of the hallway of your shared flat, pressed up against a wall, half naked, in Joe’s arms.

And then Izzy walked in.

Now… you’d seen Izzy freak out before. But to see two of your friends mid stand-up-fuck in your own hallway after a long day at the office triggered a new form of anger within your flatmate. It didn’t help that, as you were trying to get out of Joe’s grip to rush into your bedroom, that Joe’s hold on you only strengthened.

Izzy was the first to start shouting, and a fraction of a second after her first, “Oh my God!” you and Joe started shouting too.

Izzy was stood in the doorway where she was shielding her eyes, workbag sliding from her shoulder into her elbow, and she was screeching on the top of her lungs, “Oh my God, Oh my GOD, no! No! What the fuck! No!”

Joe shouted, “Leave! Leave!” right into your ear with an unmistakable urgency in his voice whilst the cutting edge left no room for argument.

And then there were panicked screams coming from you, high-pitched words tumbling over each other, all sentences unfinished, half telling Izzy to close the door behind her, half telling Joe to let you go.

Which, he didn’t do.

Joe just held on stronger and used his legs to press you against the wall like he was trying to make the two of you disappear into the brick there, and it hurt.

The chaos lasted maybe four seconds. Five tops. It was all overlapped loud voices, all frantic movements and then… to make an already awful situation even worse… Joe orgasmed.

You shrieked, “Wh– Are you coming? Are you coming right now?” as your eyes nearly bulged out of your head with shocked outrage, hands trying to push at his shoulders whilst your legs tried to find the floor.

It was the worst evening you’d had in a good while.

After everything, you sat on the foot of your bed, hugging your knees and Izzy stood on the threshold of your bedroom, asking what she’d ever done to you for you to decide that having sex in the shared hallway at twenty minutes past six in the evening was a totally normal thing to do be doing.

Joe’d quickly left after. Was out the door in a flash after the world’s most awkward apology ever.

“Sorry Izzy, for, um... yea, for making you see… and, um, hear that.”

“Fuck off Joe.”

“Yea, I’m… sorry, I’ll leave. I’ll see you Friday, yea?”

“I said, fuck off, Joe.”

“So sorry. Sorry.” Joe had paused, and then a single look of Izzy had made him go, “Yea, yea. I’m going.”

He hadn’t even dared to turn around to find you in your bedroom first. He’d just walked straight out and texted you, “Got sent home. Call me in a bit?”

Promises were made of removing clothes behind closed doors from now on – preferably locked doors, please. And if you couldn’t take four more steps to get yourselves into your bedroom first, for the love of God, please, just go over to Joe’s. He’s got a whole place to himself and you could fuck on the doormat for all Izzy cared.

You apologized too.

Said it would never happen again.

And then Izzy said she had to not look at your face for the rest of the night because she kept reliving the visuals, and – fair. That made sense.

You kind of didn’t want to see your own face for a second either.

And there was no way that Joe had planned to deny you an orgasm like this, but... it was real fucking convenient that Izzy always came home from work around the same time each day. It was real fucking convenient that he’d gotten you incredibly worked up with cute little text messages all throughout the day. Real fucking convenient that he walked in with his shirt tucked tightly into his jeans and far too many of the buttons undone for you to be normal about it.

There was no way he’d planned it.

But he’d definitely given the situation a little nudge into the direction it had eventually headed into, and no one could blame you for not having seen it then.

Not yet.

But then the fourth time happened, and Joe’d just edged you all night. Was very open about his teasing. Made you tell him if you were getting close, and then when you did, he’d just… ease off. Pull back. Let you whine and cry for it until he thought you’d pleaded enough for him to be nice again.

He’d gotten you so close.

So, so close.

But not close enough.

And then, when he came and just rolled over after, you knew.

This guy was having sex with you without letting you orgasm.

“You’re sick, you know that? Like an actual sociopath.”

“I’m just following instructions.”

Yea, all right.

Yea.

Fine.

He’d gotten away with it up until now, which, well done, Joey. This idiot really thought he held all the aces, didn’t he? Smug little bastard.

But you know what?

Good.

He could feel that way.

You were going to let him feel that way.

There were loopholes.

Easy ones too.

Joe was wrong, and clueless, and maybe, actually… he was a little stupid, after all.

And you were stubborn. Determined. Persistent.

Dead set on proving yourself right.

Which you were.

You held all the aces.

Not Joe.

Joe was wrong.

You were going to outplay the player at his own thought-up little game, and he would see. Oh, absolutely, he would see.

He’d fucking see.

---

The Taglisted

@alwayslindie, @babybluebex, @capricornrisingsstuff, @chaoticgood-munson, @demonsanddemogorgons

@djoseph-quinn, @dolcevit4, @eddies-puppet, @emma-munson, @emotionaldreamer

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add yourself

[justanotherflemethstan]

this is not a drill, this is a thread on the creation of Flemeth from David Gaider!! as kind of the self professed Flemeth stan blog around here, I had to reshare

(alt text and full text transcript of the images included)

Link to the original post

Full text from the images below the cut:

CHARACTERS - DAY THREE: Flemeth

I have a type. I admit it. There are certain wells I can return to repeatedly and always find something new to explore.

One of them is older female characters. Mike used to rib me about it. Consider Wynne. Meredith. Genevieve. And, of course, the biggie: Flemeth.

Why are they a type? I... don't know, honestly.

I guess I have a feeling that older men fade, they strive to regain their youth or establish a legacy and we've seen that story a thousand times, but older women? They become free to become something new. I guess I see so many possibilities in that.

I had a conception of who Flemeth was, and why, right from the very start. Her creation went hand in hand with Morrigan, as a being whose thirst for retribution hundreds of years ago attracted an entity (slight confession: I didn't know Mythal specifically, at the time, "an elven god" was enough).

I also knew where Morrigan was right and very wrong about her. Misconceptions of the truth are built into DA's foundation, and they were fundamental to this mother-daughter relationship I was building.

Like many seeds I'd put in the world, however, I had no idea whether I'd ever get to explore it.

Knowing that she was a character of possible future importance, if not a major player in DAO, I wasn't much surprised when she was one of the first cuts the art team made in terms of getting a unique appearance. Thus the "batty old woman" players met in DAO. Not as hard a cut as the Qunari, though.

Going into DA2, I wanted both Morrigan and Flemeth, but we could only have one. So I picked Flemeth. This was the game where she really got to come into her own.

I remember the art team coming and asking if it was OK if she got a new model, as it'd be a retcon of sorts. I didn't care. I wanted it.

I honestly don't remember whether Kate Mulgrew was cast before or after Claudia. After, I think? All I recall is that Cab came into my office one day and asked if Kate might be a good fit

The squeal I made was un-manly. Cab took that as a "yes". 😅

I didn't get to talk to Kate until DA2, however. Schedules being what they were, we had a tight window to record Flemeth... so I had to write all her scenes before almost anything else in DA2 was written, before I even had a team! Ack!

It was OK, though, for the most part. I knew where I wanted to take her, and a big part of it was going to explain her transition - to set her up for the future. So I whipped up a script in, like, two days and off we went. Kate was a marvel in the booth. She adored Flemeth and you could really tell.

I didn't get to meet Kate in person, however, until DAI. This came pretty late in its development, compared to when we recorded her for DA2, and we flew down to Virginia (to accommodate her schedule - she was writing her memoir at the time, I think) for a single session. It was going to be *tight*.

I was a mess. I was finally going to meet Captain Janeway... and yes yes, I know she's also more than that. But come ON.

When we sat down, I figured I'd have to talk her through the character all over again. It'd been years since that one session at the start of DA2, right? And even more since DAO.

But, no. Kate remembered Flemeth perfectly.

I remember sitting there as she told me how much she loved the character, how rare it was to get one with so much texture and possibility. She called out my writing - my writing! - and waxed poetic about how she viewed Flemeth's arc. I... I was floored. 🫠

Then we began recording. One issue that quickly reared its head was how Caroline had to speed through the lines if we hoped to finish. Kate was a trooper, and most takes she'd get it in one (which is rare), but I was alarmed because we weren't giving Kate time to read the VO comments on each line.

I brought it up, as there were some lines (so much sarcasm) that required nuance - Kate was getting them, oddly, but I was worried.

"Oh, it's fine," Kate said. "I read the comments as we go."

"How could you? We're going so fast!"

"I'm a speed reader."

Oh. OK, then. That certainly explained it. 😁

We got to the confrontation scene with Morrigan and she nailed it. Over and over. More than once, Caroline would make a call and, before I could even interject and say "no, Kate had it right, actually" Kate would explain exactly why she did it that way and why it worked for Flemeth. I was in love.

She did the "I will see her avenged!" section all in one go. I got chills. Then we got to the final scene.

You know the one. With Solas.

It was this beautiful moment. She took it somewhere quiet and sad... and when she got to that last line, we all felt it: Flemeth was dead. Everyone was in tears.

I suppose I could talk more about the process. How she started off aligned with Morrigan's original Delirium inspiration, but I didn't pull back her loopy way of talking as much (bet you wondered).

I still don't know why it was so easy to slip into her voice, but I'm grateful I got the chance. ❤️

[mxltifxnd0m]

𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗟𝗔 𝗩𝗦 𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦

»——•——«»——•——«

Summary: You and Stiles can’t choose a couples costume

Pairings: Stiles Stilinski x fem! Reader, Scott McCall x platonic fem! Reader 

Words: 1.6K

»——•——«»——•——«

Warnings: no use of y/n, fluff, language, suggestive, spicy, implied smut, BUT NO SMUT, kinda a college au!

A/N: This was intended to be released in October, but I could not figure out how to finish it for my life. But hey, better late than never, am I right? Anyway I had no clue that Han and Leia’s ship name was Scoundress, but the more you know. Also, it is my first time writing for Stiles!

not beta read but YOLO

𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵

»——•——«»——•——«

"I don't know why you insist we should be Anakin and Padme! We would fit Leia and Han more for Halloween." Stiles whispered harshly, not looking up from the notebook that he was scribbling in.

You roll your eyes at him, "What are you talking about? I said we could do either, but I'd prefer if we were Anakin and Padme." You whisper to him. His head snaps up to protest, but a chair scrapes along the carpeted floor and interrupts Stiles. 

"There you guys are! I was wondering where you were." Scott says a little too loud, and the people at the other tables surrounding you and Stiles give Scott a dirty look.

"Scott, I know you don't visit the library often, but we typically use our inside voices." You whisper as he sits down next to Stiles. Scott shoots you a glare. 

"Anyways, I disagree. We should be Leia and Han, and that's final." You can see that Stiles is done with the conversation.

You squint suspiciously at your boyfriend, "You just want to see me in Leia's slave outfit from ROTJ, don't you?" You can see a red flush creep up Stiles's face and the tips of his ear as he stammers, trying to defend himself before giving up and returning to his notes. You chuckled under your breath to avoid disturbing the other students. 

Scott looks between the two of you, confused, "What are you guys even talking about?" 

"We are trying to figure out what costume we will wear to the party your frat is hosting." You explain, your voice low, "But we are split between two costumes. I want us to be Anakin and Padme, but Stiles-" He snaps up at the call of his name, focusing on the conversation, "-wants us to be Leia and Han." You glare at Stiles. 

"I thought Luke and Leia were together?" Scott says cluelessly. Both you and Stiles groan loudly at Scott's words. A girl from a nearby table glares at you and shushes you. You apologize quietly and turn your gaze to Scott. 

"We've gone over this before Scott. Luke and Leia are siblings, and Han and Leia are together. Do you just forget the movies as soon as we watch them?" Stiles asked exasperatedly. 

"No, I tend to fall asleep halfway through the marathons," Scott says guiltily as he scratches the back of his neck. Stiles closes his eyes and uses his hand to rub his face frustratedly. Stiles murmured something under his breath, and Scott's face screwed up into an offended expression.  

"I heard that." 

"Yeah, no shit, you did. I'm the one who said it for your little werewolf ears to hear." Stiles scoffed quietly at Scott. 

Scott goes to retort, but you snap your fingers twice to get their attention. "As much as I would love to see the two of you bicker, we all know how loud you guys get when you do, and I don't fancy getting kicked out of the library." You smile sardonically at them. They roll their eyes at you but yelp in pain as you lean over the table and tug their ears. 

"Could you guys be quiet? Some people are studying." The girl from earlier whispered firmly to you guys. 

You wince at her tone, "Sorry, we're leaving now." You whispered. You glared at Scott and Stiles and started to pack up your things to leave the library. Stiles scrambled to pack his things, and the two boys followed you outside the library. 

Stiles wraps an arm around your shoulder as you walk through the quad. You thread your fingers through his hand, and he squeezes your hand three times. The annoyed expression melted off your face, and a smile replaced it. You take a quick glance at your phone, checking the time. 

Your eyes widen, "Shit! I have to go! My class starts in 10 minutes." You untangle yourself, "Our discussion isn't over." You tell Stiles before separating yourself from him, pecking his cheek, and waving goodbye at the both of them as you speed walk to your class. 

»——•——«»——•——«

The sound of a keyboard clacking echoes through your silent bedroom. You're hunched over your laptop on your bed as you work on one of your papers for your English class. Lofi beats play quietly in your headphones as you read through your paper for the final time before returning to it tomorrow to edit it. A knock at your bedroom door catches your attention. 

"Yeah, what's up?" You say to your roommate as she peaks her head into your room. 

"You have a visitor." She says with a knowing smirk on her face. 

You roll your eyes at her, smiling, "Tell him he's actually banned from the apartment, then let him in." You instruct as you remove your headphones and stretch your back from your hunched position.  

She nods and closes your door before leaving. You can hear the voice of your roommate and Stiles's voice talking lowly in the apartment's entryway. You hear a scoff from Stiles and footsteps quickly entering the apartment and heading toward your room. He burst through your door, pointing at you. 

"You are so mean, you know that?" Stiles says with a slight pout on his face. He removed his backpack and toed off his shoes to leave near your door. He stands in the doorframe for a moment before you see a mischievous glint passes through his eye, and you catch it. 

"Stiles." You say his name warningly. 

He sends you an innocent smile before quickly running towards you and jumping onto your bed. You yelp loudly, closing your laptop and moving it out of the way of Stiles's landing. He lands on top of you, effectively pinning you to the bed. You can feel Stiles's chest move from his giggling fit as you try to squirm from underneath him. You give up after trying to push him off of you and thread your hand through his hair, scratching his scalp. He relaxes on top of you, settling his total weight on you. After a few minutes, he eventually rolls off you and sits on your bed.

"Any reason as to why you're at my apartment?" You ask him as you sit up and shift until your back rests against your headboard. You go to grab your laptop, but it's quickly moved from out of your reach, and you turn to glare at your boyfriend. 

"Oh, don't give me that look, you know what that does to me babe." Stiles sarcastically as he moves your laptop to your desk. 

"Besides, I'm here to present my argument as to why we should be Han and Leia for Halloween and not Anakin and Padme." Stiles moves closer to you and boops your nose after he finishes his sentence. You scrunch your nose at his actions and shake your head at him.  

"Nope, not going to hear it." 

He groans loudly, "I knew I shouldn't have asked you out, you prefer the prequels over the originals." He flops down on your bed, his head landing on your lap as his legs dangle over the side of the bed. 

"Is that your way of saying that we should break up?" You raise an eyebrow at him. 

He shot up from your lap, "NO! Absolutely not. You're like the woman of my dreams. I'd be an idiot if I broke up with you. Especially with the amount of shit we went through together in high school. I actually had dreams about marrying you, so-" His hands wave wildly as he begins to ramble. You roll your eyes at him and grab his chin to kiss his mouth to shut him up. He immediately shuts up and melts into the kiss. You peck his lips before pulling away. 

"You're such a dork." You smile at Stiles. 

"You're dating this dork." 

"Yeah, maybe Lydia was right. I am out of your league." You joke, and a noise of offense comes from Stiles. You chuckle at his pouty expression and peck his lips.

"I'm kidding babe." You say as you pull away. You move around the bed to straddle him, your thighs on either of his hips, his hands coming to rest on your waist, and you rest your arms on his shoulders. 

"How about we make a compromise? We go as Anakin and Padme this year, and then we can go as Han and Leia next Halloween." Stiles opens his mouth to respond, but you quickly put a finger in front of his lips. 

"I wasn't done, and to sweeten the deal, I'll wear Leia's slave outfit underneath both costumes." You lean closer to Stiles, "How does that sound." You whisper seductively in his ear and plant a kiss underneath it before pulling back to see his whiskey-colored eyes darkening slightly with desire. His hands tighten around your waist before flipping the two of you around, you landing on your back. At the same time, Stiles settles in between your open legs and hovering above you. 

"It doesn't sound fair, but if you wear the outfit often then I'll let it slide." He says lowly, lowering his face closer to yours. 

"Deal." You say breathily, your lips brushing his as you speak. 

"Deal." He says before smashing his lips against yours passionately. Your hands begin to wander and tug at each other's clothes. The room slowly grows hot and fills with low groans and whines coming from both of you. After you finished, you guys showered, went out to get the costumes, and tried them on when you returned to the apartment. 

Let's just say the slave outfit came off as soon as you put it on. 

[big-cheesy-productions]

SXSG SPOILERS

Okay, I finished Shadow's story. And I have thoughts. Mainly:

More thoughts below:

Overall, I enjoyed it. I think as a way to catch everyone up on Shadow's story and who he is as a character, it did great. It was heavy on exposition, but it's assuming most people haven't played SAB-Heroes-STH '05. Fair enough.

It just felt short. I just wish the cutscenes were longer, and I wish there was more Maria and Gerald and Shadow. The interactions we got with Maria were very similar to what we got in Dark Beginnings. It felt more like a refresher rather than a much awaited closure, but I'll take the closure we got and the reestablishment of Shadow's character.

I think I just would have liked if the story had a few more cutscenes dealing with Shadow, Maria, and Gerald's relationships rather than them trying to figure out what was going on and Maria repeating things said in Dark Beginnings. But that's just me.

I think Dark Beginnings was so amazing and it set my expectations very high, set a specific tone, and had threads that Gens wasn't planning on continuing. I think Gens also set up threads that it dropped too though, like, you know, the whole "maybe I can save them from their fate" thing that got mentioned, forgotten, and mentioned again that was only otherwise minimally discussed in the little snippets of conversation in the over world.

Why was Big there and those two robots? There weren't any other characters relevant to Shadow that could be there? Like Abraham? Or, hell, toss Silver in since he wasn't in the original.

Gameplay wise, it was super fun. It felt very clean. I like the direction Frontiers has set for future gameplay. I think it was a little easy, but maybe that's just because I'm an adult and just played a bunch of old games that have old game jank lol.

Would have loved to see more Rouge and Omega, but I'm glad they're setting up for Team Dark to return in future installments. I'll fucking take that.

I've said it already, but the use of Radical Highway and the symbolism of it was probably my favorite part. I don't know why they had Frontiers level though??? Like, why not one from HIS GAME? Instead of one from a game he's not even in??? Odd choice. Maybe they could have done one of the flashback ARK levels? That could have given us some juicy cutscenes.

Also just want to appreciate the fact that the first time Shadow defeated Black Doom it was as Super Shadow. This time is was all Shadow, no emeralds required.

I also like the confirmation that Shadow was not meant to be a weapon originally. I don't think that's always been super clear. Doom wanted a warrior of course, but Gerald going insane was the nail in the coffin. I would have liked to see more of Shadow's feelings towards Gerald on that, though I did like when Shadow first sees Gerald up close he backs away, and almost looks a bit frightened, until he realizes this is Gerald from before the ARK incident.

I think they could have added a bit more. I think that's my overall opinion. Hopefully DLC will add a smidge more? Maybe?

I really did enjoy it. I just wanted to jot down all of my thoughts!

Edit: I don't want this to read as super critical! I think I had very specific expectations for it and I'd like to replay it without those expectations now. I really think it's great overall!

Anyway, SEGA, remaster SAB2, Heroes, STH '05, and Sonic '06 and my life is yours.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

Do you sell versions of your embroidery designs? I'm obsessed with your Solas patterns and would love to try them!

Hello!

So, short answer is yes, while the first digital mockups I made were designed just for my own reference and as color guides for transferring the designs painstakingly by hand, I ended up going back to them and turning them all into digital vectors. This means they can be printed onto transfer paper or directly onto stabilized fabric for stitching, which is MUCH easier than drawing by hand. Lots of people asked me if I could sell the designs so I figured this part out and was able to test it myself--the tower embroidery was an example of printing the vector directly onto the fabric and worked out great!

(above: tedious hand-drawing process for the Hierophant design, vs my failed attempt at transfer pencils that did not work at all for the Tower, vs printing directly onto fabric which did work in the end)

Long answer is after I did that, I uh, never figured out how or where to list them for sale online. Or what all to include with them--like what level of written instruction to include, should i also make notes on the thread colors I picked, should I include my colored-in-versions as color guides or just let everyone free-for-all it, in the case of the Tower embroidery i also hand-dyed a lot of grey thread that was crucial for it coming out how i wanted it to look--is it deceptive to sell a pattern when other people can't necessarily recreate it the same way because of that? Should I list in general the dye instructions if they wanna recreate it, or for people who want some of my extra thread or for people who don't have an inkjet printer so can't print the design onto the fabric themselves, should i think about selling full "embroidery kits" that include the printed pattern sized for a display hoop and the thread needed? etc etc etc

(above: photo of the color guide I made myself with tentative thread color selections (warning NOT the ones I actually ended up using), photo of my pile of threads I picked from, and photo of some of the threads I ended up dying myself to get closer to the design I wanted)

Anyway that was all a lot of thinking and work to do, so i put it off!!! and uh here we are 2 years later and I have still not posted them anywhere. I really gotta get around to all that still...

But in the meanwhile, if anyone reading would like a pattern, just let me know directly what you're looking for and I can save the versions of the files as needed for your plans and send them over. like for a digital only version (so no threads or me printing for you) i would probably make a zip file with a transparent png of the design (so you can put it in a word doc to print at whatever size you desire), as well as a pdf with a few copies of it already pre-sized for a display hoop for ease of printing or transfer, the colored-in version i used based on the tarot cards, photos of my finished versions, etc (note to self i must remember to include the design both normal for direct printing and horizontally flipped for anyone who plans to use transfer paper for it since those are mirrored...). Oh and a quick explanation of how i managed to get my fabric through a standard printer if you wanna try that.

But yeah i'm happy to work out something with kofi or paypal or venmo and sell the digital ones for like $20 each or something for now, if you don't mind not having written step-by-step instructions accompanying the patterns and example photos. Or if anyone has suggestions on where to host them for sale, for someone not interested in maintaining a dedicated storefront like etsy or storenvy long term. Maybe Gumroad? If i stuck to digital-only sales something like that might work. I'm open to input for sure. If you want something more than digital like a pre-printed fabric (since it's kind of weird to do yourself), I'm still open to trying, it just would be a little more $ to account for the fabric/stabilizer and cost of shipping, and probably take me a few more days to do.

(above: example of finished DA themed embroideries)

But regardless, thank you for your interest at all!! I'm so glad people have enjoyed my embroidery series :) While I'd love to make lots of copies to sell to whoever wants one, I simply don't have the time, and they are SO labor intensive to make it really is like 80-90% of the cost is manhours. I spend anywhere from 5-15 hours making the patterns and vectors, but the stitching and rest of it itself is easily the bulk at 40-100 hours depending on complexity and number of threads used. So WAY more feasible to sell the patterns than make more to sell myself, and then anyone willing to put in the time can have one too :)

[differentpostrebel]

Lost and Found: A Pirate's Promise

This gif! cause Sanji was ready for war!

Chapter 27: Falling into Doflamingo's Web

A/N:  And we are back at it again with another chapter!! Also even though I did say like in 5 chapters we hitting a whole new arc… yeahhhh we aint done just yet… (heheh). Thank you guys so much for liking, following, commenting, and interacting!. We got lots of POVs, From Law, Our favorite lovesick cook Sanji, Zoro, and more!. Imma start making a masterlist and have it pinned on my profile so that way, every chapter will be on it!. But without further ado, let the adventure begin!

WordCount: 5.6K

Sanji x Reader, Sanji x Y/N, One piece X Reader.

Law POV… 

I dodged Doflamingo’s attacks, weaving through the barrage of deadly strings that cut through the air with terrifying precision. “Just a little more!” I thought, my breath ragged as I narrowly avoided another sharp strike. But in an instant, the strings closed in on me, wrapping around my limbs and slamming me against a tree with brutal force. My sword clattered to the ground, and my body strained against the pressure, the sharp wires biting into my skin.

Doflamingo loomed closer, a twisted grin on his face. “Why don’t you just hand over Caesar’s heart?” he sneered.

I smirked, despite the pain. “Is it really Caesar you want?” I asked, my voice dripping with mockery. “Or are you just scared Kaido’s going to kill you when you can’t produce SMILEs anymore?”

Doflamingo’s grin faltered, replaced by a flash of anger. The strings tightened around me, squeezing the breath from my lungs. He unleashed another wave of razor-sharp threads, aimed right at me.

“Room! Shambles!” I called out, swapping places just in time to evade the attack. My heart pounded as I landed a few feet away. “2.5 seconds… and I would’ve been sliced to bits,” I thought, my body aching from the narrow escape.

I tried to retreat, to get some distance between us, but Doflamingo’s strings lashed out once more, catching my leg and yanking me back. In a flash, he was on top of me, his knee pressing into my chest, pinning me to the ground. My vision blurred, the weight of his strength crushing me.

“You’re mine now,” Doflamingo hissed, his voice low and menacing. His fingers curled, ready to finish me off.

But then, the weight shifted, and I felt the sudden presence of another force. A sword—heavy and deliberate—pressed down, not from Doflamingo, but from above.

“Fujitora… why did you save him!?” Doflamingo snarled, his voice filled with fury.

The gravity around me intensified, pushing me deeper into the ground, every bone in my body screaming under the strain. “Ahhh!” I groaned, unable to move.

“I have my orders,” Fujitora said calmly, standing above me, his sword still raised. “I didn’t come here to kill him. My objective is to apprehend him.”

The crushing force kept me immobilized, my breaths shallow and labored. I felt my heart pound in my chest, but even that felt distant, muffled under the pressure.

Doflamingo’s cold laughter filled the air. “Now, about Caesar’s heart…” he said with a sinister smile, reaching down and snatching the small, fragile organ from my side.

Sanji POV… 

I stood with Kinemon, watching the commotion at the Coliseum unfold. My mind raced, trying to figure out how we could sneak in and warn Luffy before things spiraled even further out of control. I gritted my teeth, frustration building. There’s no easy way in with all these Marines crawling around.

Just then, I heard a familiar voice that grated on my nerves instantly.

“Hey! What the hell are you guys doing here?” came the all-too-recognizable tone of Mosshead.

“What… that’s—” Kinemon shouted in surprise. “It’s Sir Zoro! Hey, over here!”

“Subtlety, Kinemon!” I groaned, delivering a swift kick to his side to shut him up. "Do you want the Marines to find us?"

Zoro approached us from the shadows of the alley, his usual look of nonchalance plastered on his face. As much as I hated to admit it, I was relieved to see him. But there was something more pressing. Desperation clawed at my insides as I stepped closer to him.

“Zoro, have you seen Y/N by any chance?!” I asked, my voice laced with urgency. Every second without word from her was twisting my gut into tighter knots.

Zoro furrowed his brow and scratched his head. “No, actually I haven’t. But I did hear someone telling me to wait a couple minutes ago.”

I froze for a second, the words hanging in the air. Then, without thinking, I lunged toward him. “YOU IDIOT! That was her!” I yelled, grabbing him by the collar. “She’s in even more danger now, and you couldn’t even stop for two seconds to check?!”

Zoro glared, shoving me back. “How was I supposed to know it was her, dart-brow? I’m not some psychic who can read minds. Besides, I was busy trying to figure out where you wandered off to!”

“Oh yeah? Well maybe if you actually had a sense of direction for once in your life, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” I shot back, my irritation with him rising as it always did.

Zoro’s eye twitched. “You wanna go, love-cook? 'Cause I’ve got time to deal with you!”

“Deal with me? You can’t even deal with finding your way down a straight road!” I snapped, our bickering escalating by the second.

Kinemon sighed in the background, shaking his head at our usual back-and-forth. “Perhaps now is not the time for this—”

Zoro cut him off. “Look, I’m not here to fight you. I’m heading back to the Sunny. It’s under attack by one of Doflamingo’s executives.”

My heart dropped, and my annoyance with Zoro quickly shifted to concern. “What? Damn it! I knew something wasn’t right! Nami and the others are in trouble!” I clenched my fists, turning towards Zoro. “Alright, I’m coming with you!”

Just as I was about to take off, Kinemon stepped in front of me. “Wait, Sir Sanji! We have vital information that we must bestow upon Sir Luffy! We cannot abandon our mission.”

Before I could respond, a familiar voice echoed from the shadows. “There you are.”

I whirled around, and my heart skipped a beat. “Violet, my sweet!” I exclaimed, practically floating over to her. I swooped in and grabbed her hands, swooning as I gazed into her eyes.

“Sanji, this isn’t—” Violet began, but I was too far gone.

“This is fate, destiny bringing us together again in this moment of chaos!” I declared, still holding her hands like we were in some romantic drama.

Zoro groaned, glaring at me. “That kind of crap is going to get you killed, idiot. Snap out of it!” he growled, but I waved him off, completely ignoring his rant.

“Zoro, you wouldn’t understand the complexities of love,” I said, still fixated on Violet’s eyes. “In a world as chaotic as ours, love is a shining beacon of hope and—”

“Shut up, dart-brow!” Zoro barked, his patience wearing thin. “We don’t have time for your romantic delusions! The Sunny’s under attack!”

But I paid him no mind, too engrossed in Violet’s presence. Just as I was about to pull her into a dramatic embrace, Zoro muttered something that snapped me out of it.

“Well, I guess that favor Y/N owes me is finally getting cashed in tonight,” Zoro said with a smirk. “Since you’re not lovesick for her anymore, that’s one less competition I have to deal with.”

I froze mid-swoon, releasing Violet’s hands and spinning on my heel to face Zoro, my eyes blazing with fury. “What did you just say?!”

Zoro’s smirk widened. “You heard me. Now that you’re all wrapped up in your latest fling, maybe I’ll finally have some peace without you hovering over Y/N like some lost puppy.”

My temper flared. “As if Y/N would ever fall for someone like you, you brainless swordsman! She has taste and refinement, something you severely lack!”

Zoro’s smirk turned into a full grin. “Oh yeah? Then why is she always hanging around me, huh? Maybe she prefers a real man who doesn’t get distracted by every pretty face that walks by.”

I clenched my fists, my face turning red with anger. “She does not! Y/N deserves someone with class and elegance, not some brute who can’t even find his way to the nearest tavern!”

Zoro crossed his arms, clearly enjoying how riled up I was getting. “Keep telling yourself that, love-cook. But when she realizes you’re too busy swooning over every girl in Dressrosa, don’t come crying to me.”

“Why you—” I lunged at him, ready to knock that stupid grin off his face.

Before I could get any closer, Violet’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “Listen, Black Leg!” she said sharply, stepping between us. “Your ship has been hijacked by my colleague Giolla, and they’re making their way to Greenbit right now.” She looked at me with a mix of urgency and empathy. “If you don’t act fast, you might lose everything you’ve been fighting for.”

Laws POV… 

Doflamingo’s laughter echoed through the forest as Fujitora’s gravity technique kept me pinned to the ground, each second more suffocating than the last. I could barely move, my breathing labored and strained.

Doflamingo’s mocking voice cut through the haze of pain. “You know, Law, all this time you’ve been fighting against something far greater than you realize.”

I forced myself to focus despite the crushing weight. “What are you talking about?” I managed to croak out.

Doflamingo’s grin widened. “The World Government, Law. The 20 kingdoms that formed the foundation of this world, the Celestial Dragons—those who hold absolute power. The agreements made to keep this twisted system in place. It’s all part of the grand design.”

I struggled to piece together his words through the pain. “All this time you were a...” I began, my voice labored.

Doflamingo’s laughter grew louder as he continued to toy with Caesar’s heart, dropping it and catching it with cruel precision

Sanji POV… 

I stood at the crossroads of my decisions, torn between rescuing Nami and continuing my search for Y/N. The weight of my choices was heavy, but the thought of Y/N still missing gnawed at me. "Y/N, where are you, my sweet?" I muttered under my breath.

Flashback to 10 minutes earlier…

“Listen, mosshead, butt out of this decision!” I snapped at Zoro. “I’m looking for Y/N and also saving Nami and the others, got it?”

Zoro crossed his arms, glaring at me. “Idiot! How the hell are you going to be in two places at once? You can’t just split yourself in half!”

“Listen, I’ll head to the Colosseum, tell Luffy what’s going on, and then I’ll be the one in search of Y/N, got it?” Zoro shot back, his frustration evident.

“Alright, alright!” I relented, rubbing my temples in frustration. “I’ll go rescue Nami, and you find Y/N. Deal?”

Zoro nodded, a hint of relief on his face. “Deal. Just make sure you don’t get yourself killed while you’re at it.”

“Same to you,” I shot back, a smirk on my face despite the tension. “Don’t mess up and make me come rescue you too.”

End of flashback..

Here I was, riding the toy stallion with Violet. It still pained me to make the decision to split up, but if Y/N was anywhere close by, Zoro and Kinemon would be the first to find you. I tried to focus on the task at hand, though my heart ached with worry.

“Now, Violet, I told you to wait at the harbor, you naughty girl,” I said, fawning.

“I would, but the place is covered with Marines,” Violet replied, as we sped through the streets. “You and your friends may want to rethink your rendezvous point. I counted four battleships total, which means there are about 3,000 Marines scattered around.”

“And you managed to find that out in such a short amount of time?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s one of my abilities,” Violet said with a laugh. “Clairvoyance.”

“Clairvoyance, huh? That’s impressive,” I said, trying to keep the worry out of my voice. Violet assured me not to worry about her safety, but then she suddenly tensed, her gaze distant.

“I should be able to see your ship, but it’s simply not there,” Violet said, her tone turning serious.

���Wait, like it disappeared?” I asked, my heart sinking.

“It’s bad. It seems your ship emerged by now… where? And your ship was struck by lightning!” Violet said, her concern evident.

“Struck by lightning? Then Nami must be safe!” I said, relief washing over me as I made my way toward where the ship should be.  

Law POV… 

Doflamingo continued to taunt as Fujitora’s gravity powers kept me pinned to the ground. Each breath was labored, and the crushing weight felt like it was suffocating me.

“Damn that power,” I thought. “I’m completely immobilized.”

“There’s no way you’re a Celestial Dragon!” I managed to heave out, my voice strained.

“That’s me, well, that was me at least,” Doflamingo sneered. “But not anymore. Not many can say they’ve lived a checkered life as I have.” His taunts were infuriating, each word dripping with arrogance.

“Who cares, stop rambling, bastard!” I gasped, trying to push through the crushing weight.

“Sorry, Law,” Doflamingo said with a mocking tone. “Believe me, I would like nothing more than to knock back a few drinks and tell you all about my life story. But I don’t have time for all that. The Straw Hats are in Dressrosa, and I need to address that. And while I’m at it, I need to get my hands on that princess. It makes me most excited thinking about it.”

His words stung, and I could barely keep my eyes open as the pain intensified. The thought of you and the others in danger fueled my resolve. I had to find a way out of this, no matter what.

Fujitora’s head tilted slightly, his attention shifting. “I heard a thunderclap. I may be blind, but I’ve always had a keen sense for weather,” he remarked, his voice calm but focused.

From the bushes, Caesar emerged, desperate and frantic. “Joker! What are you doing?! Give me my heart back! I want it back now!” he whined, his usual panic setting in.

Doflamingo glanced at the heart in his hand, an amused grin spreading across his face. I struggled under the weight of Fujitora’s gravity power, each breath coming harder than the last.

“No good… I never said whose heart it was,” I managed to say between gasps of air. The words caught Doflamingo’s attention, and his grin widened.

Without a second thought, he crushed the heart, testing my claim. Caesar let out a dramatic wail, collapsing to the ground as if the very life had been squeezed out of him. But when nothing serious happened, and the realization struck that the heart didn’t belong to Caesar after all, Doflamingo’s amusement vanished. It was a marine soldier’s heart.

Taking the moment of confusion, I made my move. “Room!” I summoned my ability, the familiar blue dome surrounding us. “Shambles!” In an instant, I swapped myself out with a log, grabbing Caesar by the scruff and making a run for it.

“Joker, help me!!” Caesar shrieked, flailing in my grasp as we made our escape.

“You’ve got a lot of energy left, Law,” Doflamingo called out, already chasing us down with terrifying speed. Each time he attacked, I would switch the trajectory with an object, barely staying ahead of him.

We were heading toward the bridge, the path narrowing with every step. In the distance, I heard the panicked cries of the Straw Hat crew.

“Idiots! Keep your mouths shut!” I barked at them, knowing their noise would only draw more attention.

“So that’s your plan,” Doflamingo cackled, his eyes locked on the Thousand Sunny. “You think you can escape me by hiding behind your little pirate friends?”

“Doflamingo, wait! This doesn’t involve them!” I shouted, desperation creeping into my voice.

“Too late, Law!” Doflamingo’s laughter echoed through the air as he closed in. “Besides, I’m here to collect what’s mine.” His gaze fixed on the Sunny, and I could feel the threat looming over them.

I gritted my teeth. I had to stop him, no matter the cost.

Sanji POV…  

"Hey! You made my crewmates cry! You're going down!" I yelled as I launched myself into the sky with my Skywalk, my leg igniting with Diable Jambe. I aimed straight for Doflamingo, landing a burning kick right to his side.

"Sanji's here!" I heard Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Momo shout in relief. But Doflamingo simply laughed.

"This should be fun," he said with a wicked grin, his eyes gleaming with malice. "So, you're with the Straw Hats… Black Leg Sanji."

He moved so fast, I barely saw it coming. "Penta-Chromatic Strings!" Doflamingo shouted, and I felt the sharp pain as his strings sliced into me, knocking me out of the air.

"Sanji's hit!" Brook cried. "How? I didn’t even see him move!" Chopper added, panic in his voice.

I grunted in pain as I was falling from the sky clutching my side. "You don't have the strength to protect anyone," Doflamingo mocked, his laughter cutting through the pain. "Sanji!" Nami yelled, her voice filled with worry.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up, forcing the pain away. "Don't you dare turn your back on me… or my Diable Jambe!" I snarled, my left leg igniting in flames once again. "Poele a Friere: Spectre!" I unleashed a barrage of fiery kicks at Doflamingo.

"Let's go, Sanji!" Nami cheered. "Kick his butt!" Chopper added.

But then, I felt it—the sudden stop, my body freezing mid-attack. "What… I can't move! What the hell is wrong with me?!" My limbs wouldn't respond, as if they were bound by invisible chains.

Doflamingo laughed again, his voice filled with sadistic pleasure. "You’re no match for me, Black Leg."

I could see the crew in the distance, watching, their faces filled with fear. "What the hell are you guys waiting around for?! Use the Coup de Burst and get out of here!" I yelled, desperate for them to escape.

"We're not leaving you!" Nami shouted back, defiant.

But Doflamingo wasn't done. A flaming whip formed in his hand. "Overheat!" he called, launching the attack at me. I braced myself, but my body wouldn't respond.

"Shambles!" A voice from my left—Law. In an instant, I was teleported away from the strike, landing safely back on the ship with everyone else.

"There's been a slight change of plans. To the ship!" Law ordered, already assessing the situation. My left arm throbbed with pain, but I clutched it, trying to hide it from Chopper’s worried gaze.

"Sanji!" Nami shouted, running toward me.

"Oh… hey, Nami," I said, forcing a grin, but the pain and exhaustion were starting to catch up.

"Doflamingo is heading back!" Chopper cried out, his panic rising again.

"Great," I muttered under my breath, trying to regain my focus. Then Law turned to me, his voice low and urgent. "Sanji… what about the factory?"

"We found out where it is, but Franky says it's going to be tougher to infiltrate than we thought," I replied, my tone serious.

"And… Y/N?" Law's voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of his words hit hard.

I looked down at the deck, my chest tightening. "No, I couldn’t find her… Zoro's looking for her now." My voice cracked, and I hated myself for it.

"Wait, Sanji… what do you mean find Y/N?" Chopper asked, his concern growing. I could see the worry in their eyes.

"I lost her," I confessed, my voice strained. "I’ve searched everywhere, but she’s nowhere in Dressrosa. I don’t know where she is…"

"Hmph, the young princess is missing, huh?" Caesar chimed in, a smug grin on his face. "Maybe Doflamingo’s men already captured her."

I clenched my fist, anger boiling in my veins. "If they’ve touched her…" But I didn’t finish the sentence. There was no time for that now. I had to believe Zoro would find her. I had to believe she was still safe.

"We still need more time!" Law said, clutching something in his hand—a heart.

"Is that… my heart?!" Caesar wailed in panic.

"I'm afraid this is mine," Law responded coldly. "Yours? I've had that hidden this whole time." He held Caesar's heart firmly, showing no signs of letting it go.

"Listen, you guys need to head to Zou," Law continued, his tone sharp. "There are only two tasks left—destroy the factory and find out where Y/N is."

"Wait a minute!" Nami interrupted, her voice full of fire. "Hold on! We’re not going anywhere yet! If you think we’re going to set sail without our captain, you're nuts! We take orders from Luffy, NOT you!" she declared, standing her ground.

Just then, a massive explosion rocked the ship as we were hit with a cannonball from a nearby Navy ship. "Not good," I muttered, glancing at the damage. Things were escalating fast.

"Hold up, Law," I said, turning to him. "I realize we need to get out of here now and keep Caesar safe, but the operation with Caesar was just a waypoint. Our shared goal was to take down Kaido, wasn’t it? Why are you getting so hung up on Doflamingo?"

Law’s face darkened, but before he could answer, Nami shouted, "Time to go! Everyone ready?"

"Listen, Nami, you need to get to a clear sky!" Law called out. "Doflamingo possesses the String-String Fruit. He uses the clouds to get around."

"That explains it!" I said, realizing how Doflamingo had been moving so quickly.

Law then placed his blade against Giolla’s throat, using her as leverage. "One wrong move from Doflamingo, and she’s done," he warned, eyes cold.

With no other option, and knowing the clock was ticking, we initiated the Coup de Burst. The Sunny rocketed away from Greenbit, leaving the chaos behind us for now.

Zoro POV… 

We made it to the Coliseum, but there was still no sign of Y/N. Frustration bubbled up as I muttered, "Damn it, Y/N, where the hell did you go?"

"Do you have any ideas on how to get in? It’s all locked up," Kinemon asked, his voice low but urgent.

"No, but I could slash the bars down," I replied without thinking.

"We're trying to avoid exposure!" Kinemon snapped, clearly annoyed.

"Okay, so I can slash it quietly?" I offered with a smirk.

"That’s no help at all!" Kinemon shot back, his patience wearing thin.

Just then, we spotted someone passing by the bars of the Coliseum. "Hey! You!" I yelled, trying to get his attention. The guy froze, looking like a deer in headlights, then started freaking out.

"Hey, don’t leave yet! There’s something important I need to ask you!" I called out, but he just continued freaking out and cheering wildly.

"You sure this is a Coliseum and not a mental institution?" Kinemon muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey! I’m talking to you! Second floor, over here!" I kept shouting.

"Tears of joy shall flow to the end of time!" the guy screamed, completely ignoring me.

"Look, I don’t know who you are, but is there a way into the Coliseum? All the entrances I’ve found are closed up!" I shouted again, growing more irritated.

"I’m so glad I became a pirate! I can die happy!" the guy yelled, tears streaming down his face.

"What the..." I muttered, trying to process the madness.

Kinemon sighed. "Wait a moment, he said he knows Sir Luffy?" he asked, clearly confused. "How could he tell with our brilliant disguises?"

"Yeah, I know..." I muttered, wondering the same thing.

Just then, my transponder snail rang. I grabbed it quickly. "Hello?!" I barked.

"Now, Roronoa, there's no need to yell," came the familiar voice, making my heart stop.

"Where the hell are you, Y/N?! We've been looking for you!" I yelled into the transponder.

"Me?! I was yelling for you to wait!" she snapped back, clearly annoyed.

"Listen, that’s not the point," Y/N continued. "Doflamingo's men have been chasing me block after block. I had to change out of my disguise. Doflamingo has something planned for me, along with all of us and the rest of Dressrosa. That’s why I can't be anywhere near you guys yet."

"Where are you?!" I demanded, clenching my fists.

"Don't worry, I'm safe for now. I'll call again in a few minutes, Zoro. Please stay safe," she said, her tone softening at the end.

"Wait, don’t—!" I started, but the call ended.

I stared at the transponder snail, frustration building. "At least we know she's safe, Sir Zoro," Kinemon said, trying to ease the tension.

"Yeah, but we still need to find her. She could say she's safe, but that doesn't mean she's out of danger," I replied, my mind racing. "We need to talk to Luffy, tell him everything, and figure out where Y/N is before it's too late."

Y/N POV… 

"You got in contact with your crew?" Sabo asked as I handed back the transponder snail.

"Yeah, I reached Zoro," I replied, wiping my brow. "Told him I'd call back in a few minutes to explain the plan I have. Too bad that thug passed out from fear though... but we've still got two more left to make the call to Doflamingo." I smirked, glancing at the remaining thugs.

"And what's your plan?" Sabo asked, stepping closer with a curious yet cautious look in his eyes.

"Simple," I said, crossing my arms confidently. "We get one of these fools to call Doflamingo and tell him they’ve caught me. Lure him to the front of the Coliseum, kick his ass, make him chase me, let him think he's cornered me—only to have me lead him straight to the palace where we shut the whole operation down." I grinned, like I'd just outlined the most brilliant plan in the world.

Sabo stared at me, clearly skeptical. "Listen, Y/N, I'm all for kicking ass and taking down Doflamingo... but I don’t want anything to happen to you," he said, his voice growing serious as he placed his hands gently on my hips. "I just got you back, and I'm not about to risk losing you again."

His voice cracked, and I felt the weight of his words as tears began to fall from his eyes onto my chest. He was trembling, and I could feel the grief beneath his tough exterior.

"I already lost one brother... I can’t..." he said, choking on his tears.

The depth of his pain hit me hard. I stared at him in shock. 

"You were Ace's brother?" I asked, the shock of the revelation settling in.

Sabo nodded, his hands still holding me tightly. "And since you're Luffy's brother... that means you lost Ace too," I whispered, the weight of it all hitting me.

Sabo’s expression darkened, his eyes filled with guilt and sorrow. "When I found out... I lost it," he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. "I crashed. I... should have been there for him. I should have been there for Luffy."

"When did you find out?" I asked gently, placing a hand on his cheek and wiping away his tears.

"The day you were knocked out by King, and he caught us," Sabo replied, his body trembling. "When John and I went to treat your injuries, I went to an office and… saw the newspaper."

"Sabo..." I whispered, my heart aching for him.

"I should have been there... I should have been by his side. Luffy needed me, Ace needed me, and I wasn’t there for either of them." His voice cracked again, the pain of regret clear in every word.

I pulled him closer, feeling his pain radiating through me. "You can't blame yourself... you didn’t know," I whispered softly. "And now, you're here. You’re fighting for Luffy, and for everything Ace stood for."

Tears continued to stream down his face as he rested his forehead against mine. "I can’t lose anyone else, Y/N. Not you, not Luffy," he said, his voice barely a whisper. 

 I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close, letting him feel the safety of the embrace. "You’ve been through so much, Sabo. And even with all that, you were there for me."

He pulled back slightly, his eyes full of emotion. “But that's the thing, Y/N," he said, his voice rough with raw emotion. "You’re not just another person I’m protecting. You’re a part of my world. I’ve lost so much, I can’t... I won’t lose you too."

He exhaled deeply, his grip on my shoulders tightening as if grounding himself. “That’s why I have to go to that Colosseum," he said, determination flaring in his eyes. "To win the Flame-Flame Fruit. So I can carry Ace’s legacy and protect those who are important to me. If I have that power... I can make sure no one I care about gets hurt again."

I was about to respond when I heard groaning from one of the thugs. Giving Sabo a knowing look, I released the hug and made my way toward him. "Good morning there," I smirked. "Now, are you going to pass out like your buddy here, or are you going to follow directions?"

The man nodded frantically. "Good," I smirked, grabbing his transponder snail. "Now make the call."

We waited until Doflamingo picked up. His voice oozed malice. "Hello. This better be important, as I am dealing with an important matter."

"Sir, we got her... We got the girl, young master!" the thug said.

Doflamingo laughed. "I knew she couldn’t run forever. Now tell me, is she tied up nice and snug?"

It took everything in me not to snap back. "Yeah, she is. She’s tied up. Meet us at the Colosseum at the front, so you can take her."

"Splendid work you did. I’ll see you soon," Doflamingo said before ending the call.

I clenched my right hand, crouching in front of the thug. "Good job!" I said, landing a punch to his cheek and sending him flying into the wall. "Now what?" Sabo asked.

"Now, I call Zoro again." I grabbed Sabo's transponder snail and dialed Zoro. "Hello?! Y/N?!" Zoro's voice came through urgently.

"Y/N?! Where have you been?!" Luffy's voice followed, almost grinning through the call.

"Hey, captain. How’s it going? I was checking on your fight. I wish I was there to kick some ass too!" I said.

"Same here, Y/N," Zoro said.

"Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is I’m safe, but Doflamingo has had me tracked since I got here. He’s even got three men chasing me block after block," I explained.

"Where are you?!" Luffy demanded.

"Don’t worry, Luffy. I’m safe. I’m with... someone very special," I whispered that last part, hoping he wouldn’t pry. "I have a plan, but I want to ask your permission first."

"What is it?" Luffy asked.

"I’m going to have to get Doflamingo to take me to his palace," I said.

"WAIT, AS IN KIDNAPPED?!" Zoro’s voice cracked with disbelief.

"Yes, as in kidnapped. I need to get him away from the Colosseum and into the palace where I can hopefully shut things down. There’s more to the plan, but I can’t say much right now. I’ll see you guys in the palace."

Zoro's frustration was palpable. "This is a terrible idea! We can't just let you get captured!"

"I know it sounds risky, Zoro, but it's the only way to draw Doflamingo out and get him where we need him. If I stay hidden, he’ll just keep searching for me. This way, I can use the opportunity to get to the palace and stop him from causing more chaos," I tried to reason. 

“This is insane!” Zoro snapped. “You’re not just walking into a trap—you’re running into it! How many things can go wrong here, Y/N? Do we need to pull out the list? You’re going up against a warlord who is psychotic, you could get thrown in a dungeon, or worse! And we won’t even know where you are!”

“I know the risks, Zoro. But it’s the only way to distract him long enough for us to make our move.” I said

Luffy, who had been quiet up until now, suddenly chimed in. “Y/N, this is risky, even for you...”

“I know,” she answered, her voice steady. “But I can do this. If I can get him off the streets and into the palace, it’ll give us the upper hand. You just need to trust me.”

“Trust you?” I scoffed, rubbing the back of my neck in frustration. “I trust you, but this plan is reckless even by your standards! Do you even know what you're up against?”

“Zoro, I’ll be fine. Just make sure you guys get to the palace. I’ll be waiting.” I laughed as I continued speaking to Zoro over the transponder snail. 

"Trust me, Zoro. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think it was the best option. I need to be where I can make the most impact, and right now, that’s in the palace. The plan is risky, but it's our best shot at stopping Doflamingo and getting back to safety."

Luffy cut in before Zoro could respond further. "Okay, Y/N, but I need you to be careful. We’ll be there just as soon as I figure out a way out of this Colosseum!" 

“I’ll be fine,” I said, my voice lighter now, trying to ease the tension. “I trust you guys to back me up.” 

Zoro is not fully convinced. “This is still a terrible idea... If anything happens to you, I’m coming to drag your reckless ass out of there myself.”

I laughed trying to ease the tension. “I know you will, Zoro. But you won’t have to. Just be ready when it’s time.”

I ended the call and turned back to Sabo. “Okay, that’s phase one of the plan. Phase two will be when Luffy gets to the palace. You need to get to the Colosseum,” I said, giving his arm a playful shove.

Sabo’s eyes lit up with a roguish smile. “You know, a bit of encouragement would go a long way. How about a good luck kiss?”

I raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress a smile. “Focus on the plan, Sabo. We got things to do.”

He leaned in closer, his smile widening. “Oh, come on. Just one kiss for luck?”

I laughed softly, shaking my head. “You’re incorrigible. Just make sure you don’t get yourself into trouble. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Sabo gave me a lingering look before nodding. “You’ve got it. I’ll be careful. But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook for that kiss.”

I watched him go, a mixture of worry and affection in my heart.

I continued to run, my feet pounding against the cobblestones as the towering walls of the Colosseum loomed in the distance. The sound of distant battles and the chaotic energy of Dressrosa filled the air, but I focused only on reaching my destination.

Finally, I arrived, stopping just outside the Colosseum. I caught my breath, glancing around to make sure I wasn’t being followed. "Alright," I muttered to myself, scanning the area. "Now, I wait."

From my vantage point, I could see Zoro and Kin’emon standing near the entrance, talking to Luffy, who was behind the bars. Their conversation seemed tense, as Luffy’s impatience was written all over his face. I narrowed my eyes, watching carefully, making sure no one else had eyes on them.

This was it—the moment before everything would change. I just hoped I could intervene at the right time

.

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[spicybeefnoodles]

acts of devotion

summary: liu kang brings shang tsung a gift

warnings: none :)

Liu Kang knocked upon Shang Tsung’s bedroom door and waited patiently for the sorcerer to open the door. Behind his back, Liu Kang held a delicate bouquet of flowers and a small box holding a simple but beautiful comb. The god had noticed that the hairpiece that Shang Tsung often used to hold his hair back had grown old and worn, the design fading off with the constant use, and Liu Kang wanted to get a gift for his partner.

Creaking the door open, Liu Kang spotted Shang Tsung peeking through the door carefully. The sorcerer sighed and beckoned in the Fire God, and Liu Kang did so happily, shutting the door behind him as the sorcerer walked back to his dresser and finished applying the last of the product to his face. Liu Kang came up behind Shang Tsung and kissed the top of Shang Tsung’s head, breathing in the scent of rain and herbs. His lover always smelled fresh, no matter the occasion, but Liu Kang figured that made sense since Shang Tsung loved to take great care of his appearance.

“My love.” Liu Kang brought the flowers from behind his back and presented the bouquet to Shang Tsung. The sorcerer quirked up an eyebrow and breathed in the scent of the fresh flowers and smiled at the Fire God.

“Thank you, Liu Kang.” Shang Tsung smiled and turned around to press a gentle kiss to Liu Kang’s lips. The sorcerer sighed into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of being so close with his partner and having a brief moment of peace among the heavy weight of responsibility. Liu Kang pulled back and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen loose from Shang Tsung’s simple bun.

“I also got you something else.” Liu Kang presented the small gift box and opened up the lid, showing the new comb in the box. Shang Tsung smiled and picked up the comb gingerly, admiring the carvings and the designs of the metal. It was surprisingly lightweight and relatively simple looking, but Shang Tsung could tell this was expensive.

“Let me.” Liu Kang hummed. Shang Tsung nodded and turned in his seat. He watched the Fire God release Shang Tsng’s hair from its bun and took a comb to gently card it through the strands. Soon enough, Liu Kang started pulling back Shang Tsung’s hair into the signature half ponytail that he usually sported and inserted the new comb into the hair to complete the look. It made Shang Tsung look regal. The sorcerer slicked back a few strands that had escaped from Liu Kang’s nimble fingers but was satisfied with the overall result.

Liu Kang smiled and held his hand out for Shang Tsung to take. He stood up from his seat, and Liu Kang suddenly pulled the sorcerer into his arms and rested his forehead against Shang Tsung’s. Shang Tsung rolled his eyes but let it happen. The Fire God tended to be clingy when work on the hourglass got especially tough.

Liu Kang lightly swayed side to side, simply enjoying the peacefulness of the birds singing outside and the smell of a rich incense that Shang Tsung liked to burn. He enjoyed these rare moments with Shang Tsung, but they both had duties they had to attend to. And so, Liu Kang reluctantly peeled himself away from his partner, not before pressing a gentle kiss to the sorcerer’s forehead.

“What’s got you so needy, hm?” Shang Tsung smirked at the god, but Liu Kang didn’t respond, rather just smiling and threading their fingers together and leading him out of the sorcerer’s bedroom.

“Have I ever told you that if I could, I would spend the entire day worshiping you?” Liu Kang said it so bluntly that Shang Tsung blushed. Typically, the Fire God had a bit more tact, but he didn’t mind the more direct communication from the god.

“We’ll have to plan for that sometime soon. I think it’ll be a good look for you.”

“Yes, we should do that soon.” Liu Kang hummed as he walked the sorcerer to his laboratory. “It will be a good day.”

Shang Tsung rolled his eyes one more time but pressed a soft kiss to Liu Kang’s lips before disappearing into his lab. He was much too prideful to admit it, but Shang Tsung enjoyed these soft and rare days very much, where Liu Kang showered him with love and attention. Never would he have thought that he would devote himself to a god, but life has a funny way of bringing people together.

[mykingdomforapen]

spinning silk | writer's commentary

Hello! It has been a long journey but my Link Click fic, spinning silk, has come to a finish. It has been a joy to write and to share with you, and I really hope that you enjoyed the journey. I am so excited for you to read it now in its completion!

I thought it would be fun/interesting to include a writer's commentary about the story, as I've included elements that I'm excited about and would love to talk about the thoughts behind them, the history, foreshadowing, et cetera.

I will try to shy away from explaining too much in case we wanna preserve some level of the Author is Dead skskks . Happy to answer questions on a separate post or DMs though if there is interest! If you are interested in this commentary, please join me! If not, no worries and merrily we roll along.

Spoilers ahead!

The Epigraph

It's easy to miss the epigraph in this story, which is at the beginning of chapter 1 and is very brief. I don't know if anyone here is Chinese-literate, or if you popped it into a Translation app. If you have, you would have realised that the epigraph actually spoils the ending of the story!

A reminder of the epigraph:

君埋泉下泥销骨 我寄人间雪满头。 -Bai Juyi For his friend, Yuan Zhen

Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen were famous Chinese poets from the Tang Dynasty, and good friends. Bai Juyi would have written this after Yuan Zhen died. The poem's translation is thus:

Your bones are buried under the spring mud; I remain in the mortal world with my hair white as snow.

In the context of this poem, white as snow can indicate someone growing old as they sit at the grave of their friend, therefore their hair turning all white. It can, depending on the translation, indicate someone who sat through the winter until snow layered upon their head , by the time spring comes. Or, in the context of Link Click, Lu Guang's white white hair. Which interpretation should it be? 🙂

Also fun fact I accidentally miscredited the poem for the longest time to Li Bai, another famous Tang Dynasty poet. Oops!

Silk

Ah, this story is built on silk. I think it is fairly famous, the 'red thread of fate' from East Asian/Chinese culture, the concept that you are somehow tied to your soulmate by a long, connecting red thread. I wanted to use the concept of thread as fate, but expand it beyond just about soulmates and relationships. That was the motivation behind depending on silk imagery for Liu Xiao's plan, to play on a well-established concept in Chinese mythology and add my own twist to it. Especially since Liu Xiao was the one in S2 to make the comparison, of people having a thousand parallel fates/threads.

As I was musing on an idea for this fic, that was when I happened to visit an exhibit that included the life cycle of a silk worm. My mother then told me how when she was little, she used to raise silk worms as pets. That got me to muse on the process of making silk--how you have to boil the cocoon and then unravel it slowly until it is a single, long thread. You have to be so careful with it because if it breaks it's kind of pointless, and how magnificent it is that such a cocoon could be so uninterrupted, singular, continuous.

Which brings me to the climax with Lu Guang, when he is trapped in a literal and figurative cocoon of silk. So as Liu Xiao had said (or at least, I think he said it...I forget lol)--when you make silk by boiling the cocoons, you kill the silkworm inside. Silkworms leave the cocoons by chewing a hole through it, which essentially renders the silk unusable because it's all chewed and broken, but now the silkworm is a moth and flies free. The thread of silk, the cocoon, must be ripped and ruined, only then can a silkworm emerge with wings, transformed. Only then can it live.

(Fun fact: one of the first things I knew I wanted from this story was the scene of Cheng Xiaoshi using his threads of fate to sew up all the ripped seams of time. That was, in many ways, the impetus of this story's idea--the image of him so selflessly giving up his own future and life to the act of something as gentle as mending)

Wen Xi

I loved writing chapter 2, honestly. Not only because I get to write about a dive, which is the charm and heart of Link Click, and not only because I get to write about my culture and province (Cantonese represent!) but also because in my eyes, the Wen Xi dive functions similarly to how I interpret the earthquake arc functions for canon.

There was a moment where I almost had a scene where CXS actually interacted with Wen Xi in person. He would have run into her at one point, and of course he can't act like he knows her because she doesn't realize he was the one who did the job for him, but he would have had a moment with her. She was sitting on the curb, struggling with some of the mangosteens she bought. He remembers how she doesn't like getting her hands sticky and wet and how Song Liming used to open them for her when they were kids, so he would have asked her if she needed help and gave her that little bit of kindness. This was ultimately scarpered so that he and Qiao Ling could have that more plot-driven moment of worrying over Lu Guang.

Other Deleted Scenes/changed scenes

Not so much a scene as it is a theme that I wish I could have expounded on more but ultimately couldn't figure it out. Which is to say, I wish I could have played around with Liu Xiao more. Liu Xiao, Lu Guang, and Li Tianchen are the trio who are manipulating fate and the future. They are also three characters who are, in their own way and for their own reasons, trying to use the control of time to answer for a painful trauma that they cannot bear to face full-on. For Liu Xiao, that flashback scene of Liu Min would have played a bigger role in the story. I wish I could have completed this, but at the same time, in my head in order for him to confront it is to own up to it, and find healing from it. He did not want to do that in the playground of my imagination. So I left him be.

Actually, Liu Xiao was supposed to be a little more villainous in this story! He would have been a bit more purposeful about Cheng Xiaoshi, knowing that CXS' abilities are causing the 'knot' in the silk and then intending for CXS to die alone/far from Lu Guang so that Lu Guang would not repeat the cycle. Ultimately I preferred Liu Xiao to be a bit more morally gray. He struck me as someone who didn't have a personal grudge against CXS at the end of the day. All he wants is his own peace of mind.

There was also going to be a moment, although I ended up scrapping it early on, where the photograph of Cheng Xiaoshi and his mother would have played a bit more of a role in the story. There would have been a moment where, upon discovering what Lu Guang was doing with the silks and realizing how much damage it was causing not only to him but to the world, Cheng Xiaoshi would have felt like he was the cause of all of Lu Guang's misery and now also the misery of the concept of time and space, since Lu Guang was essentially destroying the world because of him. In a moment of being in a pretty terrible head space, Cheng Xiaoshi would have half considered diving back into that photo as his mom and straight up Terminator his childhood self to save everyone the trouble. Qiao Ling would have strongly talked him out of it. Ultimately I felt that was, well, a bit dark, and not really fitting to the rest of the story.

Speaking of the photograph's purpose, the opening scene used to be a wee bit different, where Cheng Xiaoshi would actually give Qiao Ling the photo of his mother and ask her to hide it from him. He would never explain why, but Qiao Ling would have a guess as to what the reason was. I changed it because I wanted the story to have a bookend. It begins with Qiao Ling holding Cheng Xiaoshi as he slept to keep him warm. As does it ends.

Culture(???)

I'll be honest, I'm borne of expats, so I'm not the one to break down the traditions and culture of the characters. At the same time, I definitely was raised in Chinese culture and spent formative periods of my life in China, so there are a lot of things I take for granted and not think to explain when in fact it is not actually a universal experience.

But anyway! This is a section to explain my caveat. I am Cantonese. Link Click very likely takes place in a northern city. China's food culture is EXTREMELY diverse, so the food that I have eaten in China, because I spend all my time in a specific province, is probably food that Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang, and Qiao Ling seldomly eat! But I couldn't help myself, so I wrote about my favorite foods. Because I write fic for ME.

That also goes for the daily living aspect as well. For all I know, Cantonese doctor visits, city walking, food delivery, groceries, etc. are the same as Northerners. For all I know, it could be wildly different! I have no idea. I do reckon though that our trio live in a quieter, smaller city than what I'm used to. I mean, look at their neighborhood.

Not regarding shanghuo, though. Shanghuo is everywhere in China.

Anyway, a quick rundown of things:

black sesame porridge: A very Cantonese sweet porridge. Technically considered dessert, but also lauded to be full of nutrition. Technically considered 'soup' but I write fic for me.

Also, black sesame soymilk. Soymilk is great.

Sun Wukong- LG compares himself, or wished to compare himself, to Sun Wukong escorting Tang Sanzang to the west. This is in reference to our beloved Monkey King in The Journey to the West! He is an iconic literary figure dating back to idk I think the 1400s or something and his story is quite long and mythical but long story short his mission was to escort a monk westward, towards South Asia, to collect some important scripts. He had to protect Tan Sanzang from all sorts of demons and devils along the way.

Pixiu- Lu Guang makes a passing comment in his point of view about putting a Pixiu at his doorstep and hoping it pays off Cheng Xiaoshi's debt. Pixiu is a little guy (arguably dragon, probably not) that likes to gobble up gold. If you put a little Pixiu statue in your area, the idea is that he will bring wealth to you. He's got a whole story about him where he ate up all the gold of the heavenly palace and the Jade Empress was so mad she sewed up his butthole so he would have eternal constipation, or something like that. Don't correct me if that's wrong because that's how the story was told to me and I delight in it LOL. I love him. He's my favorite idiot.

Clay pot rice -Also a very Cantonese dish. Frankly, the rest of China is missing out if it is only contained in the Canton province. Rice that is cooked with meats in a clay pot which makes the rice v ery aromatic and deliciously crispy around the sides. Qiao Ling was NOT going to take that out for takeout, that girl was 100% just gonna treat herself in a restaurant and CXS was gonna have to deal with scraps and leftovers.

Zhinü- I'm realizing that Lu Guang makes a lot of references in his internal monologue LOL. This is in reference to the Weaver Girl and Cowherd folktale, one of China's Four Great Folktales (which include Lady Meng Jiang, Legend of White Snake which is my personal favorite, and the Butterfly Lovers). It's a very classic Chinese story about a celestial weaver girl, Zhinü, who is the daughter of I think the Jade Emperor who is like the heavenly king of gods, and her lover the mortal cowherd. Long story short, her father was unhappy that she fell in love with a mortal and so separated her from her husband and children with the Milky Way. One day a year, the birds take pity on the lovers and form a bridge across the galaxy so that they can reunite. Between her and Lu Guang's weaving--or rather, spinning silk--I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a reference.

yangmei wine - Liu Xiao is drinking some Yangmei wine. Yangmei is a type of fruit in China and I am pretty sure I actually made him drink a different wine than what I'm imagining. What I intended for him to drink is a wine that is made of a particular fruit that isn't strictly speaking edible, or at least not eaten for enjoyment. It's usually always only used for making wine, and you let the little plums (so t ospeak) soak in the alcohol until it is a bright red. Very sweet. Very strong.

Sanmao- At one point Lu Guang compares Cheng Xiaoshi to Sanmao because Cheng Xiaoshi had a small sliver of hope for his parents snatched right from underneath his nose. Sanmao is an iconic Chinese character from a long-running comic that began in the 1930s. He is a poor orphan boy during the era before and during WWII, who is just trying to survive extreme poverty. He is often mistreated by passerbys and is very lonely, often looking longingly at other kids who have food to eat and have parents. Every time someone treats him with kindness and he has just a little bit of hope that he can have a family or some good fortune, some awful circumstance happens, usually tied to tense socioeconomic injustice or war.

One of the less traumatic panels of the comic lol:

Jiuzhaigou- Cheng Xiaoshi mentions wishing that he could go there one day, and then at the end Qiao Ling and Lu Guang say that they will go together. Jiuzhaigou is in the Sichuan province, it is a nature realm that is very beautiful. There are natural deposits that make the lakes ultramarine blue and crystal clear. It's so beautiful! A photographer's dream.

Tangyuan- sweet and sticky rice dumplings that can be filled with sweet filling such as peanuts, black sesame paste, sweet egg, or more! They are often eaten during holidays, both during Winter Solstice and the 15th day after Lunar New Year. Indeed they are symbolizing family togetherness, although less because of stickiness and more because of a pun in their name. But maybe stickiness has something to do with it? Winter Solstice foods in different regions of China are also somewhat sticky, even if they don't typically eat tangyuan. I just know what I'm told lol.

Doraemon-A popular Japanese manga/anime from the 50s or 60s that is immensely beloved by the Chinese to this day. He is a robotic cat from the future with a fourth dimensional pocket full of futuristic gadgets that he uses to help Nobita, a fourth grader in the 50s, with his every day problems. He's wonderful. Also, he has a time machine which is tucked in Nobita's homework desk. Fitting....

Yixiu- Another popular Japanese anime, I believe from the 80s, that was also quite popular in China. It's about Ikkyu-san, a little monk/prince whose profound wisdom solved all sorts of grown-up's shenanigans.

Jiejie- A reader had asked the significance of Cheng Xiaoshi calling Qiao Ling this in the penultimate so I figured I'd bring it up here as well. 'Jie' is an indicator of older sister, or a bit of a respectful but also affectionate term for a young woman. Just like how Lu Guang calls Qiao Ling 'Qiao Ling jie' in the show. When he does it, it's friendly but also not actually meaning that he sees her as a sister sister because it's attached to her whole name. Cheng Xiaoshi in this story, not necessarily canon, refers to her as Ling jie every now and then. To me, this is him hearkening to childhood terms, as that is what his parents would refer to her as when he was growing up.

Take this with a grain of salt because I am a diaspora and not originally from the culture. Qiao Ling referring to Cheng Xiaoshi as 'didi' (little brother) in the show, and in the end Cheng Xiaoshi calling Qiao Ling 'jiejie' (big sister) in this fic are not rare, so to speak, or inappropriate, but you don't typically refer to someone who isn't related to you as your 'didi' or 'jiejie' unless they are blood related to you. You can call your sibling this, or your cousins this, but uuuuusually not someone who is like a sibling to you--singularly, yes, like Ling jie, but not typically Jiejie. Them calling each other this means that they truly see each other as their sibling. Also, those terms are a little bit childlike, so to speak. There are more 'grown-up' ways to refer to your little brother or big sister. In Cheng Xiaoshi's case, someone his age will probably refer to a sister as 'a jie' or 'jia jie'--at least, in Cantonese this is the case. 'Jiejie' is a little kid's way of calling their sibling. Like, up until I was about 7 years old I would have referred to my sister this way. To call someone 'jiejie' now, particularly to their face, I feel is a very vulnerable address. It's like if you as an adult who usually calls their mother 'Mom', in a time of deep distress or sadness and in need of comfort, revert to calling her 'mama' or 'mommy'. Like, you're both probably in tears to get to this point. At least, that is my experience with addresses, and therefore Cheng Xiaoshi's lol. Any fellow sinos out there can correct me but that was my intention for that part of the story. Cheng Xiaoshi is vulnerable, and he is seeking comfort from his big sister.

Mama's nursery rhyme- The story of the little rabbits and their Mama Rabbit is a very well known children's story in China. The story wasrecounted as close to memory as I can, so the only other thing I can say about it is that this is how the song goes.

Well, that's all I can think of right now! If there are any questions or you're curious about something, feel free to send me a message! Otherwise, I hope I didn't resuscitate the author too much.

[vodika-vibes]

first off just wanted to say congrats for 500 followers!!! that’s such a great achievement🎉

and second i saw that you’re tup girlie and figured i’d drop a request for the event with tup!! i was thinking something with diamond bc our boy deserves a love that is everlasting😌✨✨ and could you make it gender neutral please?

Just The Two Of Us

Summary: You love Tup. It’s easy. Simple. The easiest thing you’ve ever done. You just aren’t sure if he feels the same way.

Pairing: Clone Trooper Tup x GN!Reader

Word Count: 540

Prompt: Diamond - Everlasting Love

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Thank you! And I'm always happy to write for baby boy Tup! I don't get to very often because people don't request him very often.

“Alright, are you ready?” You ask as you take Tup’s hand and tug him down the street.

“I am, but where are we going, cyare?” Tup asks, his gaze alight with fondness as you pull him through the crowds.

“It’s a secret!”

He laughs softly, and takes several large steps so that he’s standing next to you, and he threads his fingers with yours, “But wouldn’t it be more fun if you told me where we were going?” Tup asks, as he leans in so his nose is almost bumping yours.

“...are you trying to seduce me into spilling my secret?”

“Is it working?”

“....yes.”

He laughs, his forehead lightly bumping against yours, “Great! So where are we going?”

“I…might have reserved a room at the botanical garden for our date tonight.”

Tup blinks at you, “Cyare, that can’t have been cheap-”

“You’re worth it.” You say quickly, “Now! Hurry up!” You tug continue to tug him though the streets, until you reach the garden. Where you then lead him to one of the small greenhouses.

A greenhouse full of blue and white flowers.

You intentionally chose this greenhouse.

And there, in the middle of the room, is a table for two, with lit candles and a cooler full of food next to it. There’s also soft music filling the room. “Ta-dah~” You say nervously, as you look at his face to try and determine what he thinks.

“You did all of this for me?”

“Yup.”

“The picnic-?”

“Your favorite curry, the cooler is specially designed to keep hot food hot.” You explain quickly.

“The music-”

“You really liked it when we went dancing that one time-”

“The candles?” Tup asks, a slow grin crossing his face as he leans into your personal space.

“Uh…scented candles. The spicy scented ones you really like.”

“Mm,” His arms wrap securely around your waist and for some, ridiculous, reason you’re feeling kind of flustered with how he’s looking at you, “The flowers-”

“I like blue and white,” You say sheepishly, “and they make me think of you.”

“You didn’t have to go all out for me, cyare.” Tup says, a wide grin on his handsome face as he leans in so that his lips are hovering just over yours.

“Well,” You say, somehow even more flustered, “I love you and you’re worth it-”

You’re not able to finish your statement as his lips claim yours in a deep, and passionate kiss.

“You love me, huh?” Tup murmurs against your lips.

“Was that ever in doubt?”

He chuckles, “No. You’re not terribly subtle.” He kisses you again and again, “I love you too. Just as much.”

“You do?”

“You doubt it?”

“No. Never,” You kiss him quickly, “But you’ve never said one way or the other-”

“I’m sorry for making you worry. I didn’t want to pressure you. And then I just thought that you could tell.” Tup murmurs, “Will you ever forgive me?”

You beam at him, “Already forgiven.”

He releases a sigh of relief, “Good. That’s good.” Tup leans in and kisses you again, his arms tight around you.

You have a good feeling about tonight, and about the rest of your life. After all, you have Tup, and he has you.

[royaltysuite]

Behave! (A Park Jung-gil NSFW Oneshot)

Summary: Y/n never ‘liked’ working with or around Jung-gil. Each time, they did their best to irritate him to no end. However, word soon reached the Director about Y/n’s antics, so she decides to punish Y/n by sending them off to an abandoned house with Jung-gil in hopes that they’ll get along with one another. However, one wrong move from Y/n snaps the last thread holding Jung-gil’s sanity together and he makes it very clear who’s in charge……

Warnings: SMUT, just pure filth, rough sex, hate sex, oral receiving (male), slapping, spitting, degradation, dacryphilia, a bit of breath-play, over-stimulation, possessiveness, etc.

Word Count: 1.9k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!” The loud, annoying chattering of Y/n echoed loudly as they followed behind the Escort Team’s leader, Park Jung-gil, as he strolled through the empty corridor towards his office. “HEY, you brick wall, you don’t know how to greet a colleague? Wow…….” That was just the first encounter of many to come. 

A week later, their paths crossed once more in a hospital. “Hey, rookie, you good?” Y/n asked Jun-woong, who collapsed on the floor 10 feet from his hospital room. They didn’t get a chance to answer when he was suddenly grabbed and flung through the hall. Jun-woong hit the wall with a loud thud, grunting in pain and letting out a stream of curses. Taking in the scene, Y/n turned to Jung-gil with an irk in their eyes. “Isn’t it against the rules to attack a fellow reaper in the World of the Living?” “Isn’t it about time for you to shut your mouth?” Jung-gil answered, growing annoyed.

After that encounter with Jun-woong in the hospital, any time Jung-gil and Y/n would cross paths, the banter would grow more and more annoying. It became too much once the Director caught word of it. Calling Y/n to her office, the Director began to format a specific punishment for them. 

A couple of minutes had passed before a loud knock echoed in the garden. “Come in, Y/n.” The Jade Emperor called out, prompting said reader to enter and close the door behind them. “You called, madam?” Y/n asked, bowing their head in respect. “Yes. I’ve caught wind from a little bird that you’ve been causing a bit of mischief to a certain someone. And that someone being Mr.Park from the Escort Team. Would you like to tell me what’s going on?” She spoke, her gaze focused on the plant in front of her.

“It is just playful banter between two colleagues. Nothing too extreme.” “Hmm, while it may not be extreme, it revolves around one specific person and that cannot happen. So, instead of me scolding you with a lecture on respect for your seniors, I want you to go to this location. Once you arrive, you cannot leave until you finish the tasks. You may go now.” She explained. “Yes ma’am.” “You are dismissed.” “Yes, ma’am.” Y/n responded.

After her meeting with the Director, Y/n left to the address written on the paper given to her. It took a few hours to get there, but as they closed in on the destination, Y/n saw a figure in the distance that looked vaguely familiar. “Is that….Jung-gil? Why is he here?” Y/n mumbled with confusion. Once they got closer to the house, they parked at the end of the driveway before exiting the car. “Mr. Park, what are you doing here?” “The Director sent me here for an assignment though seeing as you’re also here, it would seem that she set us up on purpose.” He replied. 

“Well then, I guess we’re stuck here together.” “What do you mean?” “She didn’t tell you? Until we can get along and be respectful to one another, we aren’t allowed to return to Jumadeung. Now, I don’t know about you but I could use a break.” Y/n spoke, shuffling to the front door and entering the house. Jung-gil sighed in annoyance before entering after Y/n. 

Once inside, Jung-gil couldn’t help but feel annoyed at his current predicament. Just why was he the one to be stuck with Y/n of all reapers? “Aren’t you going to sit down or stand there like an idiot with his hand stuck up his ass?” Y/n chided. “Why must you act this way?” “Because it’s just how I feel. Is that so wrong? Should I act like you instead? All cold and frigid with no care about the world?”

“This is why no one can respect you in the workplace. You act so childish and ignorant.” He berated, frustration clear as day. “Childish?! Ignorant?! How dare you?” Y/n shouted, feeling embarrassed at his statement. Y/n stood up in a huff and marched towards Jung-gil until their chests could almost touch. “I pity the souls you had to escort. They should have been escorted by someone who they didn’t fear, like me. Tell me, in any of your past lives, were you ever happy?” 

That lone remark tipped Jung-gil over the edge. Wrapping his hand around their throat, Jung-gil pressed them harshly up against the wall. “Shut your mouth!” He seethed. “Or what?” The tension grew thicker as each beat of silence grew louder and louder. Soon enough, Y/n couldn’t hold it in any longer and pressed their lips against his. The action caught Jung-gil by surprise but it soon faded into an intense lust.

Their lips moved with such vigor, it left them breathless. Soon, they pulled away to breathe. “Take them off.” “Take what off?" Jung-gil huffed, a dark look of lust clouding his eyes. "Your clothes. I want them off. Now." "Don't forget who's in charge, you filthy brat. On your knees." He barked. "Make me~" Y/n chided with a teasing smirk.

              That smirk was quickly wiped off with a hard slap to Y/n's face. The pain was quick and heat pooled quickly in between Y/n's legs. "Don't make me say it again. On your knees, slut." "Yes sir." Sliding down to the hard floor, Y/n looked up at Jung-gil through their lashes with droopy eyelids.

             "If you don't want this, say 정지. Do you understand?" Jung-gil stated. While they may have been crossing many lines, Jung-gil wanted to be clear about what Y/n wanted while they were still somewhat clear-headed and not wanting to take advantage of them. "I understand, but could you hurry up and fuck me already? Or will I have to do all the work by myself?" They responded.

          Jung-gil scoffed and pulled Y/n into another heated kiss, letting go and allowing them to move closer to the couch nearby. Taking a seat in between Jung-gil's legs, Y/n made quick work of his pants and shuffled them down to the middle of his thighs. They slowly ran their hands against the imprint of his length prompting a sharp hiss from Jung-gil’s mouth.

         "Someone's a bit sensitive~" "Shut up…" "Whatever." Not wanting to waste a moment longer, Y/n led a trail of open-mouthed kisses along his clothed cock all the way up to his waistband. Sliding two fingers in between, they pulled down his underwear and revealed what they wanted most. Eyes widening, they let out a breath they didn't know that they were even holding.

          In all its glory, Y/n began to wonder if they were going to be able to stand after this. "So beautiful…" They whispered before moving in closer and taking his cock into their mouth. The sudden warmth overwhelmed Jung-gil in a rapid wave and he bucked his hips upwards gagging Y/n for a quick second.

          Placing a hand on his pelvis, Y/n signaled for Jung-gil to relax a bit. It was enough to cause him to pull back just a bit before he began a shallow pace. With each thrust, Jung-gil could see a slight imprint of his length in Y/n’s throat. Just the sight of it made his cock twitch in immense pleasure. But, that pleasure was ripped away before it became too much for him to handle. “Don’t worry, big guy, you’ll get more. But, I need you to hurry up and fuck me.” They murmured, rising to their feet and stepping out of the rest of their clothes. 

             The sight of their naked bodies could be barely seen in the soft moonlight, but Jung-gil could easily see how flushed they looked. “Bend over.” He commanded with an authoritative tone. “Yes sir…” Y/n responded without any hesitation. They rested their body across the arm of the couch, arching their back as if they were presenting themselves to him. 

              Jung-gil pressed his hips against the curve of their ass, sliding his cock in between their thighs. Giving a few thrusts between the supple flesh of their thighs, he let out a soft groan before aligning himself with their entrance. “Hurry up~” They whined, but were cut off by the sudden pressure of his cock slipping past their entrance. Y/n and Jung-gil moaned loudly, the pleasure slowly building once more. “Holy shit, feel so full~~” Y/n wailed, tears pricking at the corners of their eyes. Once adjusted, Jung-gil set a languid pace to get used to the tight feeling of their hole.

          However, that didn’t last for long. Jung-gil slipped out before plunging deep into them at an even faster speed. Each thrust sent shivers down Y/n’s spine as they let out short screams in pleasure. “F-fuck!!!” “So fucking good…”  The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed loudly as the room got hotter and hotter. “Please, please - more!” “Who’s in charge?” Jung-gil, yanking Y/n’s head back, hissed into their ear. Barely understanding, they let out a whimpering moan in response. “Who’s in charge, baby girl? Tell daddy who’s in charge of this slutty hole~” “Y-you, daddy! You’re in charge!” 

           “That’s right, slut…” Tilting my head to his, Jung-gil squeezed my cheeks together before spitting directly into my open mouth. Y/n groaned deeply, the act bringing them closer to finishing. The coil in their stomach was so tight that with a sharp thrust, it snapped. Y/n came with a loud scream, eyes rolling back so far in their head all they could see was white. This triggered Jung-gil’s release and he filled their hole with warm ropes of cum. Slowly coming down from their highs, the two fell back against the couch while breathing shallowly. 

            “Just know that I’m still going to annoy you.” “Yeah, whatever.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                The following weeks after their night together, Y/n stayed true to their statement of annoying Jung-gil at work. Only, just not as much as they used to. Jung-gil, on the other hand, slowly began accepting the taunts with a smirk. This didn’t go unnoticed by the Director. “I guess my plan succeeded then..” They whispered with a small smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note: After such a long while, I have finally finished up this request. I swear I’ve written and rewritten this so many times that I slowly forget how to spell words. But, that’s besides the point. I hope that you guys enjoy this and don’t forget that commissions and requests are open. They’ll be open until the end of my birthday week (ends on August 12th) so that way I can catch up on any other requests. With that being said, Stay Classy~~~

[xaeoism]

Muichiro tries to help you when you're in pain

You groaned due to the pain coming from the deep gash in your stomach. You looked down to see your clothing soaked in your blood, causing it to cling onto your skin uncomfortably.

You probably should have removed your clothing when the blood hadn't had the chance to dry up yet.

You took a deep breath in, before starting to peel off the clothing around the wound.

"Haah.. I can't.. do it.", you said to yourself as your hands tried to work as delicately as they could around the corners of the fabric. However, it was clearly a bad idea when you saw your skin get pulled up together with the fabric.

You looked up from the wall you had been laying on and sighed. Were you just going to die here, from this pathetic injury?

Suddenly, you heard some voices from around the corner. Then, two figures came into view. It was Muichiro and Shinobu. Once Muichiro saw you in your state, he hurriedly rushed to your side.

"What happened? Why are you bleeding so much?", he asked. You opened your mouth, wanting to reply but it only resulted in a violent fit of bloody coughs.

"You're in a horrible state. We'll need to stitch up that big gash at your stomach right here or I worry that your organs may spill out.", Shinobu spoke sternly, her hands digging through the medical supplies she carried for a pair of scissors, needle, and some thread.

You winced at the cold metal of the scissors coming into contact with your sensitive skin and shut your eyes. Shinobu was quick with her work, snipping off the fabric surrounding the wounded area with a high degree of accuracy.

"I'll need to peel off the dried fabric stuck onto the wound since I didn't carry any saline solution on me, please bear with the pain for a while.", she said, her eyes focusing on getting the fabric off your injury.

You yelped in pain when she tugged on a corner of the fabric.

"Wait-! Please.. Give me some time to prepare..", you spoke, watching her hands go near the piece of fabric once more.

"We don't have all day to wait, do you have a death wish?", Shinobu said, a hint of annoyance surfacing at your ridiculous request.

"No.. Just-Just give me some time to prepare myself for the pain..", you replied, your words slurring a little from the blood and spit that kept coming out from the corners of your mouth.

Muichiro held onto your hand tightly, giving you an encouraging look. He then tore some of the fabric from the sleeves of his uniform and bundled it up, before holding it out in front of you.

"Here, you can bite on this to muffle your screams. You can grab my arm as a way to deal with the pain as well.", he said, reassuring you that you can get through this.

You bit onto the bundle of fabric and held onto his arm as he moved you into a position that gave Shinobu more space to do what she had to.

"I'm removing it now."

You shut your eyes tightly when you felt her hands tug at the fabric again, bearing yourself for the pain. Shinobu peeled the fabric off, and you bit down on the gag as a burning sensation started to form at the location of the injury. Your nails dug deeply into Muichiro's arm and you were sure there were going to be red crescent marks littered on his arm later when you hear him slightly hiss in pain.

The searing pain at your stomach seemed to be burning you from the inside and you wanted nothing more than to just end everything right there and then. It also didn't help that you weren't given a break either when you suddenly felt the cold point of the needle sinking under the burning skin.

You bit onto the gag once more, the hot and cold sensation being too much for you. You grasped onto Muichiro's arm even harder. By this time, you must've broken through his skin already. You'll apologize later, if you're even still conscious by then.

When Shinobu finally finished stitching you up, you were completely spent. Your head was spinning terribly and you wanted to throw up from the amount of pain you had just endured.

Muichiro gently removed your hands that were still holding onto his arm and proceeded to remove the cloth from your mouth as well.

"It's alright, she's done with the procedure.", he spoke softly as he wiped off the blood and spit from your mouth.

You let out a sigh of relief as your eyes started to become as heavy as lead.

"Thank you, mui.", you said before you closed your eyes, giving into the exhaustion.

I'm not counting this as mui x reader since nothing about this was possibly mui x reader so no tagging I suppose.. Probably incredibly self indulgent work

[just-a-carrot]

I think you mentioned once that all the themes for our wonderland kinda came to you as the story progressed and it’s like??? DUDE??? THAT IS SO IMPRESSIVE considering this game had not only me but my FRIEND in tears by the end of it because of how important the things told in this story were to us and how closely to home they hit for us. I was a wet BABY after orlam’s chapter because he reminds me so much of myself and we have a very similar past and trauma, like I felt so fucking SEEN in that chapter and every time it would touch on his backstory and his anger and resentment towards being abused by the people who he was /stuck with/ who were /supposed to be his friends/.

like bro called me out in ways I didn’t know were POSSIBLE and you’re just gonna sit here and tell me that you were like “haha maybe I’ll add this in :)” CARROT DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU ARE AN ACTUAL FUCKING WIZARD AND NEED TO BE STUDIED.

YOU MAKE ONE OF THE BEST GAMES I HAVE EVER PLAYED WITH CHARACTERS THAT FEEL LIKE HUMAN BEINGS AND GIVE ME THE IMMEDIATE URGE TO GIVE YOU THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF MY BANK ACCOUNT AS SOON AS I FINISHED THE GAME AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO SLAP A “FREE GAME” PRICE ON IT AND SAY “haha I just like making games I don’t need to make money off of it :)” CARROT I AM SHAKING YOU SO HARD RN. CARROT MY MIND IS SPINNING HOW CAN YOU BE THIS NICE AND GENEROUS?????????? /lh

I actually seethe about once a day knowing that I can’t give you any of my hard-earned cash for like merch or the game, period. Carrot playing this game for free is like receiving a free winning lottery ticket on the STREET like I didn’t even DO ANYTHING and you’re just gonna give me something that CHANGED MY LIFE DRASTICALLY and PERMANENTLY ALTERED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY???????????????????? carrot I’m frothing at the mouth rn. carrot I’m insane. I fucking love this game so much bro you are a gift bro

yes....I would say many key parts of the overall story didn't really form until I was actively working on it. many of the arcs were just kinda skeletons where I knew essentially what I wanted to happen but with not much filled in, and then everything would just start flooding my brain once I reached it to start figuring out all the pieces and come up with new ideas and scenes along the way

I could not tell you how I was able to bring some of it together so well I honestly surprised myself at times lol...

I guess maybe because I had the core characters down so even when they'd show me new things about themselves in the new directions the story threads were taking it was always just like "oh ofc that makes sense" lol who knows... I have lived with these characters a long time now and they still surprise me but always in ways that feel like they're not new 😂

"haha maybe I'll just add this in :)" -> yeah that sounds about right 🤣🤣

oh gosh hahaha so intense jghghg I'm really touched??? that my game could have such an impact makes me feel very honored but also very sheepish lol. I am sorry you can't give me money(????). honestly ppl playing my games and engaging with my characters is my greatest joy. I don't need any money from it... And I'm lucky that I can do most of game dev myself so it doesn't cost me much (besides my own time and sanity) to make games, so it's not like I need money to keep devving either. I just want as many ppl as possible to be able to experience my stories (if they want to ofc 🤣 I also realize my stuff isn't for everyone)

I just want to thank honestly everyone that plays my stuff and interacts with me and shows their love for my chars. that's really the currency that keeps me going tbh (that and my mind plague)

this is such an intense ask I'm not sure what else to say 🤣 thank you so much tho 💕 the sheer energy of this made my heart go brrrrr

[thistlecatfics]

hey, sorry if this is annoying but i just found your works today and fell for them completely. your descriptions of bellatrix made my very old fixations rear their heads again. i was wondering what your current opinions are on jk rowling? i tried to look here but only really found things from before her terf-turn and that’s what i’m really interested in your thoughts on. i’m just curious and will be very grateful if you’d be considerate enough to answer

Hello! Thank you so much! Definitely not annoying and if I ever got an ask I didn't feel like answering I could very easily ignore it or delete it :)

The short answer: fuck jkr. the world will be better off when she dies.

The long answer: Yes, I feel anger towards her (see above lol), but there's also grief there. These books (and the fandom but the root is the books) helped me so much as a kid. I loved them, and it felt like I could be loved back by them. When I did EMDR therapy for my experiences of incest, I used Sirius Black as a resource to help me through one particular thread of memory and one of the themes that came up for me repeatedly during reprocessing is how much fiction and storytelling helped me survive and how grateful I am for storytellers. When I was a kid, if I was asked which celebrity I'd want to meet, I'd always pick her. She was important to me. I'm sad. I'm hurt. It feels genuinely painful to try to reconnect with some of those feelings.

Everyone likes to mock her casual post-canon reveal of Dumbledore as being gay, but that happened exactly as I was starting to come out and actually accept that I was gay, and it genuinely, genuinely mattered to me, and I'm stubbornly resisting the urge to feel embarrassed about my teenage joy and relief now.

(I always say I had some practice with this feeling of betrayal because the other book/book series which was so important to me as a kid was Ender's Game and Orson Scott Card was such an extreme, violent homophobe, but it definitely hurt more with jkr.)

(I recognize I'm gliding over the genuine fatphobia, antisemitism, sexism and racism in her writing and extra-canon world building but I do think the transphobia piece is the central one here - the area where she's doing the most acute and extreme harm.)

The embarrassing longer answer is that I'm arrogant enough that I think I could pull her back to reality (and get her out of that mold infested house) if I was given enough time with her. I'm really patient and really convincing and I have a ton of empathy for women who have experienced extreme patriarchal violence which has shaped their political views - even in a way that disconnects them from reality.

I'm also someone who is put off by how in many progressive spaces there's the dominant view that gender is a playground, not a violent system of power relations, and so I can connect with her on that point enough that I can fantasize about helping connect her to the full humanity of trans people (and also herself because by dehumanizing others we dehumanize ourselves.) (there's a lot to be said about the unique balance of wealth and whiteness and gendered trauma (and social media) as creating a potent dehumanizing force.) BUT I recognize that's just my impulse to fix and rescue and want to recreate this safe adult figure in my life and it's definitely not fucking happening lol.

(I also have a lot of feelings about how the fandom tries to deal with the problem of jkr but this is already plenty long and you only asked about my feelings about her haha.) (but yeah in general I follow the 'no financial support of her - not even a little bit. not even watching the movies on max or purchasing anything that might give her a cent.')

going to finish off with this really beautiful short piece of writing from Chinese Canadian trans woman writer Kai Cheng Thom from her book "Falling Back in Love with Being Human." Her ability to lean into empathy and love is a north star I try to follow.