#I had fun! despite the weird hands from the ref I used

[angrybatart]

You ever just....condemn yourself to a project idea? Because of a stupid thought you had? Well mine was

"Lethal Company, but the Employees have Dirk the Daring's voice."

And this buff, fucking monstrosity was born. Enjoy.

[mellosdrawings]

The Princes

Ten years later. When marrying a Prince turns a Queen and a Servant into actual Royalties.

Because Vil deserves a real crown and Jamil deserves to be treated better.

NOW I'M GONNA RANT ABOUT MY CHARA DESIGNS CHOICES AND ALL THE DISCOVERIES I MADE WHILE LOOKING FOR REFS! If you only care about art and funny doodles, you can scroll down for a handful of slices of life.

(Don't worry if you can't read my notes, I'm repeating myself better right under this)

Leona

-Lion: As you may know, one of my grievances with Leona is how his hair doesn't look like an actual mane despite being a lion. While I don't want to stray too far from the canon design with the usual drawings, that's the occasion for me to have some fun with a future version. Give that lion a beard and voluminous hair!

-Hair: First, get those bangs out of his face. Despite Leona being very confident, he still has bangs covering his scarred eye. I wanted him to finally own the aspects of him that may be scary to others (his UM, his scar, etc). I actually went with bangs framing his face similar to the ones he had during his Overblot. I wasn't sure whether to give him dreadlocks or curly hair, but I ended up choosing the free curls decorated with some atebas and braids so that Vil could have more fun styling them.

-Eye: Thanks @aria-faye for the idea, I decided to have his eye gradually lose its capacities with time. From a headcanon that, while the eye wasn't directly touched by whatever attack scarred him, the process of healing still had an impact on it and he gradually lost sight in his left eye years after years.

-Body: Not giving him a dad bod (yet, maybe in another ten years), but definitely giving him more voluminous yet casual muscles. Practical muscles with a healthy dose of fat and tissues. Also giving him two full sleeves of tattoos because I decided he should have much more than just his lion tattoo.

-Clothes: Went full Maasai dressing and Kenyan fabrics and beadworks. If you're not familiar with it, please go check it out, it's GORGEOUS!! Crown is beadwork too. He also has one Arabic styled foot jewellery.

Jamil

-Hair: My first order was to remove his double-faced hairstyle and also remove his bangs from his eye. Make him confident enough to show his whole face. Unlike Leona and Vil, he doesn't really want a crown though (he still feels weird about becoming royalty) so instead he uses a braid as crown. Also gave him a little goatee because I like facial hair and Jafar has a beard too.

-Body: He grew up! While he didn't quite catch up with Leona and Vil, he is now closer to their sizes than before, sitting at around 180cm. He kept his breakdancer/martial artist lean muscles but developed a bit of shoulders.

-Clothes: Went full Arabic dressing and fabrics (once more, go check the fabrics, they are pieces of arts). I gave him floral motifs instead of his usual fire/snake motifs (though he does have a snake earring and a fangs necklace) to symbolise his rebirth/blooming. Like Leona, he has one piece of jewellery that is beadwork.

Vil

-Hair: Here it was a bit tricky. Considering Vil's work, he likely changes hairstyles a lot, going from long to short for his roles instead of his wants. So I leaned into the little things he could add to his hair despite their constant changes, mostly jewelleries, beadworks and wool decorations he stole from his husbands. He also cares a bit less about them looking perfect and is allowing himself to be more natural. He doesn't have any facial hair (yet), keeping a youthful appearance for as long as he can. In another ten years though, he might start looking more and more like his father, beard included.

-Clothes: For Leona and Jamil's mental states, the three of them most likely started living in Sunset Savanna so they wouldn't freeze to death. Vil is well traveled so he can handle most temperatures without trouble, and he is used to dressing up in the local get ups. Here I decided to give him both African dress and Arabic fabric, and likewise both beadwork and golden jewellery. I gave him crown and heart motifs so he can keep being himself despite borrowing a lot from his husbands.

There, I'm done rambling. Here's some doodles, followed by some random headcanons.

-Vil does his husbands hair every morning and keeps giving them more and more intricate hairstyles. He developed a whole haircare and beard-care products set for them.

-When Vil is away for a movie, Jamil keeps his hair mostly down save for a few accessories.

-Jamil and Falena get along surprisingly well (to Leona's despair). Vil gets along very well with Falena's wife.

-Jamil acts as a Scalding Sands ambassador and still is the one to care for Kalim when he comes to visit, though this time he's doing it because he wants to and not because he has to.

-Vil got used to his new title immediately but Jamil struggles with it a lot. He still has a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he is no longer a servant.

-The servants at the palace love Jamil because he always makes their job easier.

-Leona finally decided to put his wits to good use and became Falena's advisor. He still fights a lot with Kifaji about the direction to take with the country, but he managed to make some of his ideas heard to help with the staggering inequalities in the country.

That's all for now!

[codename-adler]

Oohhh a French speaking AFTG fan!

Can I ask what’s the general opinion on the Marseille accent? What do Canadians think of it? Is it fancy? Or rough?

ouhh what a question anon! i'm tagging @givemethedamnflowers so she can help me out too if u want to <3

also i don't speak for all Franco Canadians / Québécois. fiy. ya know.

as a Québécoise first and foremost (Canadian comes 2nd in how i view my identity), and as someone WHO HAS A MOREAU FROM MARSEILLES in my close family, i love the accent. to me it's somehow much less grating than the Parisian accent (not the international French accent, that one's ok) despite being much more pronounced and how do you say... quirky? not weird, but like it's definitely peculiar. special! i like it a lot. it also makes me love Jean Moreau even more because it adds character, an edge, another area of fondness. i personally think it's very easy to spot, but contrary to the north of France, it's easier to understand.

i would say the most northern accents are much rougher, more difficult to understand than Marseilles or Paris, also because of the disparity in colloquialisms and regional expressions. but i do love them so. Bourgogne?? Normandie?? oh how lovely. and then down down down down south, neighbor to Marseilles, l'Occitanie (a fave)!!! oh and la Corse!!! so so beautiful to me. music to my ears. maybe bc, as Québécoise, like i said, i feel a little kinship with those regions' accents, bc the Paris/Île-de-France spit upon our accents as shitty, ridiculous, "not real French" or generally make fun of us, like we're somehow less smart bc of the way we pronounce things and speak with our accent. in my experience! and trust me, i've had a lottttttt of 'em. so the little scene where Jean keeps being annoyed by Thea calling him 'Paris' when he's from Marseilles? ACCURATE & GOLDEN! made me smile.

that being said, as it has been discussed many many times in the fandom, characters like Neil, Kevin and Jean, and even Andrew and Nicky, have such wild backgrounds, with how much they move around geographically + their mixed heritage, that all of them must have unique accents you can't really pin down. Jean left Marseilles at 14, was homeschooled, then forced to learn Japanese then English, in West Virginia, from native Japanese speakers. he doesn't have the Marseilles slang, the refs; his French is stuck at that level and it can't progress, and he also probably loses a lot of it, breaking down over time. finding his words must be a a nightmare. imagine trying to translate a word that isn't even considered French nor translatable outside of Marseilles' region!!! also, how old were his parents? what generation of slang has he picked up by default? or was he, sadly, taught international French?

SO MANY QUESTIONS! UGH! aftg & languages, French specifically, give me a headache (and heartache) every time.

i would say, watch films and series! please! from every part of the Francophonie around the world! Belgium, Louisiana Cajun, Acadia, Québec, Marseilles, Niger... it's a beautiful language, despite his devastating shameful hand in colonization and racism. the way the people forced to learn and speak it to survive have all found ways to make it theirs in infinite ways that help the language evolve and become richer. French is as much theirs now, if not more. French is much more that than the Republic. French is not Paris.

thank you again anon for allowing me to go off on a tangent, and apologies if there are any mistakes, misinformation or harmful things. please let me know kindly and i'll own to it and correct anything that needs correcting!

[adairtrashart]

here have all of the art fight refs i did for all of my cotl ocs

under the cut is their icons their icons and the links to their specific pages

sona

joined the cult just to figure out how they could use something like those ice curses very weird and pear wiggler brained and says stuff thats very nonsensical outside the very specific context they probably wont even tell you about half the time narinder keeps beating me up ingame help why does he hate me they dont end up attending a lot of the sermons because of being highly nocturnal (hung out with a family of owls growing up)

grebre

loves fighting and fights the other followers for fun (they dont understand that people are often afraid of them because of this) the random assaults stopped happening after the lamb figured out how to get the fight pit though despite being so warrior brained they dont actually like killing others and is one of the few followers who wont be upset if the loser in the fight pit is spared they handmade their gloves just to prevent themself from injuring their hands when punching followers with tougher skin/scales/etc thats a scar not a mouth and their mouth shaped scar also freaks people out because it makes them look like theyre doing an ominous smile constantly

haon

extremely religious and mostly does prayers she didnt know how to go about it very well at first though since the cult was extremely new at that point unintentionally inspired a lot of worshiping customs in the cult due to improvising stuff half the time doesnt like making requests but asked the lamb to retrieve the soul of her long dead sister in anchordeep once because of a dream she had

jularna

the lambs first follower they dont remember much about life before the cult due to how long its been (they dont even remember their original species beyond mammal) also the first dissenter because they got mad that the lamb bowed to heket (there were no prisons at that point so they were sacrificed and later revived) they died again after a failed mission attempt and temporarily became a coward (but fortunately they fully got over their negative feelings towards ritual sacrifice because of this)

manaon

very blunt astrologist who is practically married to its job is attempting to teach people about science but sucks at explaining things very badly mostly kept around because admittedly the lamb is curious about the stars (mostly for superstitious and god related reasons)

noantre

used to be a bodybuilder in his youth but is now a fairly relaxed mentor to grebre still a bit of a hothead though only joined the cult to have a place to be buried but now wants to live out as much of his remaining life as possible due to newfound motivation over things he never really got to do before

nomer

very egotistical and greedy (partially due to having been friends with midas in the past) used to have a high social status before the old faith destroyed his home for not worshiping any of them this led to him being secretly insecure about appearing faithful enough to the lamb acts like a snooty "high school clique mean girl" type of person even after he goes on a whole thing about proving himself a worthy disciple much later on does the high priestess laugh a lot

noty

hes very sickly and quiet but tries to help out anyways mostly just helps out with harvesting the easier crops and worship stuff witness agares is in love with him and eligos considers him as a brother overly concerned with appearing useless despite doing way more than a lot of the more ablebodied followers

panamer

theyre a him/thembo who talks like a surfer dude and mostly hangs out by the beach to go swimming during his freetime thats it thats the personality/lore this is mostly a bit character

putyno

basically what happens when you have someone who acts like a stereotypical fairytale princess in cult of the lamb a lot of people are suspicious of her because of how absurdly nice she is but shes just like that shell even be nice to you if you try to frame her as a spy and get her killed (*cough*webber*cough*) putyno can be pretty defensive towards anyone who messes with her flower garden though because of how deeply it upsets her

thorar

theyre the child of a worm and a deer thorar was never really sure what to do with their life but when they hyperfixate on something they tend to study it in extreme depth so without realizing it they essentially became a scholar horrendous fashion sense and often gets mistaken for a giraffe by people not really aware of how full on hybrids happen in this specific cult sometimes (going with the canon one species or the other thing being the norm outside of it)

thorty

thorty was originally a different species but the lamb felt like trying out the twitch bunny form on someone new they think it looks cute on her but she thinks its "ugly and kiddy" shes overly concerned with appearing mature and had a kid (anar) she wasnt prepared for because of it now shes just too tired all the time even with the lambs help with her kid (they felt kinda bad at that point)

tremer

tremer was brought in during the time where the lamb had to sacrifice followers to regain access to certain areas no one liked her because shes a jerk and she punched the lamb in the face but since the lamb specifically only needed a level x follower at that point they were essentially forced to pamper her until then unbeknownst to everyone she actually came from the goats cult and got here by accident during a mission it doesnt matter anymore though because she got fed to a door

tyjular

tremer told the lamb to bring in a dissenter (specifically to pick on) even after tremer got sacrificed to a door tyjular was still pretty spiteful over repeatedly getting locked up and how tremer was treated in spite of her behavior but hes too shy and self conscious to consider doing anything aside from being overtly formal with his leader

[blackheart-6]

dess-ember day 31/31

hi yall

today i bring my final entry!! i cant believe i made it

its a dess ref, but after the events of deltarune, where i imagine she will be freed

fun fact, i actually made the dess ref i still use exactly a year ago, so thats neat ^^

im not sure if I will keep this design for her being older (the age i usually draw her as is like 15 or 16), but i feel like it turned out okay

i made her a researcher (she researches things to do with souls and magic, things that exist in deltarune but arent really known about in my headcanons), but im unsure if it was the right choice. i imagine she got stuck with gaster in the code for a couple of years, but before that she didnt know what she wanted to do with her life. the way I see it, the gaster in the code with her is the one from undertale, so he has a lot of knowledge on magic and stuff, and learning about it was interesting and helpful for her, and after she got out she wanted to share her knowledge and learn more.

as i said, i dont know if this was a good choice of career, considering she wasnt really the type to become a researcher, but she also changed when she was in the code, so idk. i might change it later.

and for her design, i tried to keep her unruly look as much as possible, despite her job. i changed her hairstyle, keeping it short but giving her a side part and little hair pieces in front of her ears.

i also gave her glasses. i imagine shes needed them for awhile, but she didnt want to look like a nerd 😂 now shes just accepted her fate. i also gave her piercings on her ears, just as a callback to some of my older drawings of her, where i gave her piercings there too.

for her outfit, i gave her a pair of basic dress pants, and a turtleneck (because i love turtlenecks a bit too much lol). and then i gave her a green jacket/coat thing, cause i had to keep her with green, ofc.

and for accessories, i gave her a watch (to match with noelles watch), and i gave her a bracelet with noelles sweater colors. i also gave her a white ring on her left hand, because when i looked it up that was where aro rings were (i hope thats accurate lol).

and thats it, my final entry! its so weird that im here, i didnt think i would make it. i thought id get bored, or too busy, or run out of ideas or something, but i made it. there was a lot of struggle sometimes, and there was ideas i had planned that i never got to, but i feel like it really helped me, having this month. ive definitely gotten better at drawing dess, and i feel like my anatomy and posing had gotten better ^^. though, i dont know if ill do this again. it was difficult, and next year ill be in college, so i might be too busy. i guess we will just wait and see 😁

during this month, ive also thought a lot about dess in general. i have so many thoughts and ideas involving her, yet we still have such little knowledge on her. its weird, i have this whole dess created, but one day she will become obsolete, and we will see who dess actually is. i dont know how to feel about it. but, until we actually see dess, i plan to keep drawing my dess, and i might keep drawing her after we see dess, it just depends. even if im nervous to see her, i cant wait either!

but thats enough of my ramblings, im sure nobody read all that, so for a tldr, i just talked about why i designed older dess like that, my thoughts on my dess-ember, and my thoughts on dess ^^

i hope yall have a wonderful new years!! 🥳🥳

[eddheadsfanblog]

A headcanon ref of Future Tord. I had a lot of fun with this, i was bored.  Future story under read more. Did it in one hour. 

Tord left to find his own purpose elsewhere. But before he left, he promised his friends he’ll visit them. Even though he doesnt show it, they meant alot to him, but he had to build his own life.

Life was rough for Tord when he was on his own. Dumb old one bedroom apartment, dealing with his grumpy landlord, and annoying customers and boss at his retail job. Life seem so dull, boring, and too depressingly realistic, and Tord felt like his life wasn’t going anywhere. He considered moving back with his friends. But Tord thought if he moved back, he would feel like he gave up. He didn’t want this all to be for nothing. But rent was due and he was just fired. Tord knew he needed something to change all this. That was when he saw an ad on a paper about military jobs and training. Tord knew if he needed things to change, he atleast had to physically shape up. Plus he did miss messing around with war machines. It did make him think of his friends and how much he missed them, so he might as well work for something he enjoys and just for the nostalgia.

His new training started out rocky. Tord had the tendency to sneak around the base to mess with the guns and knives, going on the training grounds alone just to have some fun. But after getting into some trouble, his annoyed boss would always put Tord on cleaning duty. Despite all the trouble Tord gets into, his boss refuses to kick him out. He noticed Tord had natural skills and talents in hand to hand combat and being able to hit every target with bullets. After the leader dealt with Tords mishaps and controlling him, Tord became better at his fighting skills and shaped up well. He later became the leaders high ranked soldier. Tord made good money from his job and training and eventually got a nice house and car and all that. He even called his friends every once in awhile. Tord was then assigned into a group with two other leaders best soldiers named Pat and Paul, which Tord quickly became good friends with. He would go on fun and active activities, and even all get into some mischievous things themselves. It would always remind him of all the things he did with his old friends. Life seemed so good now, and Tord and his friends could not be more happy. That was until then, there was a sudden alien attack! Every alien race invaded alot of england. Tord and the rest of the soldiers were called in for an emergency. They were all put into war against aliens right away! Destruction and fights started that not even Tord was prepared for. It was all too crazy, but he did his best to manage himself during the war, even protecting his friends Paul and Pat from dangerous situations. Once it calmed down, cities and towns were in ruins. Tord lost his home from being blasted into pieces from lazers. His leader ordered his army into spreading out into different areas of England to somehow take down the alien race. Tord remained with his two partners. Even though Tord knows he had to set out on a long dangerous mission to hunt down aliens, the first thing he wanted to do was see if his friends were not dead. With the help of his partners, Tord snuck into London(also in bad ruins), and went to see his friends. He was so glad to see them all okay. Edd missed Tord the most. Before Tord left on his mission, Edd gave him his most prized possession, his lucky can. Tord was touched, and kept the trash necklace with him close ever since. But sadly it was the last time he saw all his friends together. Years and years of fighting and having to fix things, Tord grew older. Life was grey and messy. Things have changed. Tom and Matt wanted to help and joined Tord in the army to take down aliens and other enemies. Cola was outlawed and illegal and Edd went crazy over it and was now wanted for illegally making cola. It turns out the aliens attacked earth because they never got over the fact that Edd Tom and Matt kicked them out of their ship and stole it. Damn those three.

Additions:

-During the battle against aliens, Tord faced off with the alien leader and got his eye shot from a laser gun in the process, permanently blinding it.

-Tord became a mechanic and made crazy weird war weapons and machines for his team and the rest of the army. After cola was outlawed, he used some empty cans to make mini cola robots, they always failed. But after many weeks of work, he named one succesful cola robot Eddie after his cola obsessed friend. Basically his robot buddy.

[isshusgotissues]

ok ok ok so the refs from today. im just talking as perap does so feel free to ignore this

- it was kind of like a test to see how i could balance out quality with quantity. my canvas size has bumped up in resolution since the post from last year and im finally coloring line art, hallelujah. (i cant believe it took me so long to start doing that my old stuff was SO washed out with just black line art)

- tbh i did most of the extras (alt outfits etc) bc i thought it would be fun. and it was! well, the line art was. the coloring... oh god, what a drag. its so boring. so much procrastination... but im glad i finally got it out and just a little over a year after the first ones.

- so ya i said galar was like 90% done and NOW its like 200% done, and with that being said

- "yOu DiDnT dO tWiLiGhT wInGs ExClUsIvE oUtFiTs OR ThE cOrViKnIgHt TaXi DrIvEr" and my response is: when does it end, susan? MAYBE i will end up doing them. but it took me two months along with all that art i posted earlier this month and im tired. im not doing them today, not tomorrow, not for a while. galar is DONE i want to move on

- so the take away from the test is. i am not doing that again. JDGFG. the alt outfits and designs (basically the entirety of part 3)... i wont be including those in ref batch posts from now on. it was a lot. when i draw extras like that, ill just do it whenever. im not making them priority like i did with the posts from today.

- tbh i MIGHT aim to get gen 7 done this year. i can try it. i ACTUALLY have a few sketches done already so theres hope.

ok so now for comments on specific things

- firstly, tumblrs image limit forces me to put multiples on the same canvas, which i finally decided to take advantage of and have a few interactions that i wouldnt have done if i could just post them all individually so i think thats neat. adds some substance i think.

- again mustard isnt urshifu bc i couldnt choose which one he wouldve been. tho ngl hyde wouldve been cute as a kubfu

- ik honey has a team but i didnt like any of them for her so its free real estate

- yes klara and avery are the ONLY ones with gloves and dynamax bands. shhh i know. i know.

- nia was also kinda free real estate bc her only known pokemon is tyrantrum and. i didnt like that. i also didnt like galarian meowth for her either. so tbh i did it to match her earrings, but also i dont have ANY pikachu girls as of yet and i wanted to fix that (i say that as i already posted a pikagirl a few weeks ago HDHDGS)

- sighs. sordward and shielbert... i NEEDED a reason to justify their stupid hair ok i DONT care about anything else. i THINK it makes them better. maybe. probably not. and also i copy and pasted them despite trying to not be lazy with my art bc i just fucking hate them i dont care.

- the macro cosmos employees were actually inspired by this made by flare-gamer-64! its the reason i didnt go with aggron for peony. and at first i thought mawile for one of my designs would turn out weird but i actually think its fine now

- glorias mom is glaceon bc free real estate clause. and i just threw in hops and leons mom bc why not.

- snom anthro. s n o m a n t h r o

- close ups of allister and gordie bc i needed eye color refs for them. also wanted to draw gordies natural hair cuz hes cute

- i DONT think we see bede in his gym uniform BUT my official plushie of him has it so thats my reason for including him and completing the quintet of the kids in their uniforms.

- let us all take a moment to appreciate the confirmation that klara has feetpaws. ive started drawing hands more but im probably never drawing human feet. ever.

- annnd ball guy. what is ball guy you ask? ball guy is ball guy. dont question it.

- oh god i HATE the tundra outfit dont EVER make me draw it again shoes AND bags god the very last things i had to do involved the tundra outfits bc i was putting it off for last uhfjdvd

[egg2k16]

40 Fanfic Q’s Answered

the server wants answers, and they want them now!!! from this post

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Smut and pining all the way. Also, falling in love via laughing

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Eh...I don’t think so, I’m always 100% self-indulgent, so what u see is what I want

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Anything that has to do w mega sadness, I just Don’t. I can’t write anything sad, and if I do, there’s certainly gonna be A Lot of comfort afterwards

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

I have 91 wips, motherfuckers!!! My latest wip is a daddy month fic!

5. Share one of your strengths.

I think, since I’ve been trying to be sparser in my words, I’ve been able to better emphasize what isn’t being said

6. Share one of your weaknesses.

No action scenes from me are ever good, lmao

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

It was late at night, when he started to cry.

He didn't want to cry, but he did.

It's been years since he's last let himself feel, or was it since he was last allowed to feel?

He choked on his sobs, uncomfortable with his tears. He's forgotten how to properly cry. His entire body is shaking, and the connections between flesh and wire hurts.

He stops crying. He starts crying again.

This continues for another few minutes, until he feels as if he can't possibly have any more tears.

He wipes his face, pulls the covers up to his chin, and falls asleep.

(from Twilight on the Sea) I really like this bcus I don’t think I’ve ever really typed out crying in this way, n I tried to make it feel like it was a lot

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Cass was quiet for a moment. “... you know what? Maybe I’ll just go up there and surprise you.”

“If you do, then you already ruined the surprise, haven’t you?”

“Eh, I dunno about that. Seeing my beautiful face is a shock for many people.”

“Oh, I’m sure of it.”

“Hey, Koda? I don’t know about you, but it’s really late here.”

“Really?” Koda asks, then remembers that time zones exist. “Oh crap, what time is it over there?”

“It’s midnight. What about you?”

“It’s eight o’clock. Only four hours difference?”

“Oh hey, that’s not so bad.”

“It reduces our time,” Koda said, a bit whining.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“What are you going to do? Move here? Send for me?”

“You’ll see.”

(from Together) This was a gift for one my best friends on here, @suncatchr​ , and it’s about his ocs!!! I love this a lot bcus while it’s a soulmate au, it’s not ur average soulmate au, and I tried making it as original as possible! And this blurb, I just wanted them to effuse so much love w/o having to say love...cries

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

If this is by posted fics, then I remember writing Look What You’ve Done to Me was very very difficult, bcus, since it’s also a gift, for @daniel-bryan​ , I wanted to write it Good, n since my buddy usually wrote from the love interest’s pov, I felt a weird pressure to write Daniel Bryan’s pov as good as I could

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

2 of my fics in Spanish!!! My oc centric one, Rayos y Centellas, and my shyan one, oye cariño, solo pienso en ti ! Turns out writing in ur native tongue makes everything easier

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It’s a very passionate hobby!!! I just!!! try to pour all of my love into everything I write!!!

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

I’m not sure!!! I just watch movies n quietly scream to my gay lonesome bcus No One Ever Watches Movies ;-;

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

To just keep writing n not stop for details or forgotten lore, bcus it’s important to write down what’s firing u up Right Now. Of course, it’s very difficult following that ;;-;;

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

“No adverbs!” “No ‘said���!” “It has to make grammatical sense!” sometimes things Need those

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

Was gonna say my rewrite of the end of The Rover, but actually, my SPN fic Ube . Shit was peak inspired

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Eridirk (Eridan Ampora/Dirk Strider from Homestuck) all the way. The one otp that’s stayed thru thick n thin <3

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

A little mix of both, and tbh it depends on the fic, but I tend to write chronologically

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

I’ve started bullet pointing my ideas out before writing my fics, and so far, it’s been helping me be more streamlined n get my things written out faster n clearer!

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

Is the need for representation in all the niche movies I keep watching a muse?

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

In my dark room, w music blasting from my laptop, the TV w a soft hum, I have the perfect playlist to get the mood right, curled up in my blankies, n my plushie Sweet Pea by my side

21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Zero, we rely on autocorrect & editing while typing and die like men

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).

YOU DON’T SEEM SCARED.

Del Rio shrugs. “Working as a cop, it makes you numb to some things. It’s good, it lets you react to things as you should, and not how you’d want to.”

YOU SOUND SAD ABOUT THAT.

He makes a noncommittal noise. “It is what it is.” He eats another spoonful of his ice cream, then gets a thought.

“Can you show up?”

HOW SO?

“Can you,” he tries, waving his spoon around, “Manifest?”

I DON’T KNOW. I’LL TRY.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Del Rio assures, and he can feel the air around him smile. The...world, he thinks, around him shifts just slightly, and there seems to be a chink in the armor for a moment before it goes away, as if someone had wiped the glass clear. He realizes that this is her, trying to show up in a physical form, step out of the phone.

He doesn’t know where to look, but then his confusion wanes when a butterfly shows up, fluttering towards him. It lands near his phone, skitters a bit, flaps its wings.

“Lucy?” he asks, transfixed on the butterfly. Its orange wings are bright under the sunlight.

I THOUGHT I’D TRY SMALL, FOR MY FIRST TRIAL.

“Well, you certainly nailed it.” He smiled warmly at the butterfly, and he had the crazy notion that it smiled back at him.

(adapted from The Policeman , the first fic I posted!)

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

Yeah, probably The Policeman lmao, I remember it today n I cringe a little at the very obvious refs to other fandoms I made. Despite that, it continues being one of my best hits!

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Never

25. What do you look for in a beta?

I’m just thankful to have gotten a beta in general in life at all

26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I beta’ed once, and since English is my 2nd language, I pointed out syntax confusion, typos, n continuity errors

27. How do you feel about collaborations?

Can be done, it’s just that I am frightened. Tried doing that, it fell thru, n the new thing that came up, I still have to hold up my end of the bargain ;;-;;

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

cries omg ok so!!! Chancy_Lurking ( @lurkerviolin​ ) is one of my faves, n we’ve become friends, n their Felix+ Sense8 series is the reason for it all, and u know it’s good if it managed to make a friendship that’s last its good while, and also they’re so nice, and we vibe so well!!! thegoatz ( @daniel-bryan​ ) is also now one of my bestest friends ever, and I wuv him so much, he is such a good kid, n he’s so enthusiastic about writing, and I hope that spark never goes out!!! And adamwhatareyouevendoing ( @skatingthinandice​ ) bcus she’s doing a rewrite of The Last Kingdom where it’s all gay where it should be and vnjkdfsnvkd God, what a wonderful friend!!!

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I actually technically am working on a sequel to @rettaroo​ ‘s A New Kind of Touch ! Another promise I have to hold up eventually ;;;-;;;

30. Do you accept prompts?

Sure!

31. Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I try to follow canon as much as I possibly can!

32. How do you feel about smut?

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

33. How do you feel about crack?

Eh, it’s alright. I don’t normally look for it, so I don’t really have a solid opinion on it

34. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

I don’t want to read it, but I have so far encountered it twice very amicably: once here in a ficlet, and another in a longer fic on AO3, and they were both very good

35. Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Probably not, I don’t like sad things!

36. Which is your favorite site to post fic?

AO3! I’m RedLlamas on it!

37. Talk about your current wips.

Lmao which one. The one I’m currently working on is an impregnation kink turned “oh no I actually do wanna have a family” feelings fic!

38. Talk about a review that made your day.

Gonna be real w u, the best comments I’ve gotten have mainly been from my friends, who either write a paragraph or two going into detail of the fic, or just send a one sentence comment that’s just “screams!” I’ve gotten very few paragraphs from other people, n they’re always so!!!

My friends are the realest :’)

39. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

The perks of being a rarepair writer is that the only people who read my fics are the ones actively looking for content!!! And they can’t complain about my work because No One Else Is Writing For It!!!!!!

40. Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

All my fics are masterpieces, so I’ll do a summary change! For don’t you just know (exactly what they’re thinking?)

Dakota finds himself in unexpected heartbreak, and the universe decides to bring him in the direction of a night club with a dancer with stars on his skin.

[jeawrites]

RD AU Draft: 2

(Same as last time but now featuring some edited parts-- Considering this a draft because its mostly unedited and I haven’t added everything in yet- but feel free to read it! The finished part will most likely be uploaded on ao3 but I’ll be sure to post a link to it on here.) Anthony had, had a similar reaction to Evan’s when he saw Tyler’s outfit. He wheezed and laughed too hard for his own good, but he got over it quickly in place of his own excitement.

The entire trip to the skate park was about how much they were going to enjoy the bout, how much fun they were going to have. Even after they had gotten inside and seated it was still just him blabbering on.

“They’re so-so cool! I promise you’ll both enjoy this and-”

Tyler put his hand on Anthony’s mouth. “Okay, we get it. Calm down, dude,” he mumbled. After getting a nod, he removed his hand. Then, he jumped in his seat after hearing a voice. “Tyler?” he turned his head, fear raising in hm. More people he knew meant more people not letting him live down the fact that he wore this outfit, meaning more jokes, meaning- wait.

“Luke?” he asked, snickering.

The man in front of him grinned and crossed his arms. “The one and only,” he chuckled. “What’re you doin’ here? I didn’t know you liked derby,” he asked, curious. Tyler shrugged. “I don’t know if I do. My friend dragged me out here to watch. What are you doing here and-” he giggled, “With bunny ears?” Luke blinked and then chuckled. “These?” he gestured up, “Aren’t mine. I stole them from Ryan. He came with me this time, but I usually regular the bouts,” he explained. And, aren’t you one to talk, cat boy?”

Tyler decided to ignore the comment, not wanting to linger on the topic of his clothes. “No way is Ryan here,” he spoke, genuinely surprised. “Oh, yeah. It's his first time at one of these too,” he replied, “I wanted to get him introduced to a new sport.” Tyler nodded, and glanced over to his friends, who were both sort of looking at him in confusion. Which, that made him confused until he let out an ‘oh’.

“Right. Luke,” he looked at him again, smiling some, “This is Evan and Anthony, my friends. You and Ryan should come sit with us.” Luke smiled at the other two, getting polite smiles in turn. “Sounds great!” he agreed. “I’ll go find, Ry and tell him we’re over here,” he added and turned to walk away.

They all grew more excited for the bout.

--

The bout had started off good, the teams getting introduced and the first few rotations going well.

Tyler was really getting into it, yelling at the skaters, encouraging the team he was rooting for, the Derby Dolls, and getting just overly excited.

“Keep going!” Tyler shouted, watching as the girl quickly moved her way out of the group and onto the turn. The crowd cheered excitedly as well. “Yeah! You kick their asses, AnnihilateHer!” he shouted, gripping the edge of his seat. He was having a better time than he thought he would.

Evan watched the girl quickly move her way around one that tried to stop her, his eyes wide in amazement and his smile wide. “Good job!” he shouted, hoping his encouragement would reach her as she sped a corner.

Tyler watched her with careful eyes and then he glared at the ref who called her, managing to hear it was a backblock- like the eighth one called to night (not on just her). “She wasn’t anywhere near her back! Open your fucking eyes!” he yelled at the ref and he kicked the wall in front of him. He’s done it several times already.

Anthony laughed gently. He was glad his friends were enjoying themselves. “I told you both you’d like it,” he teased as the jam ended, the next one setting up to be a power jam. Tyler looked at him, his eyes sparkling and his grin crazily wide. “Dude this is sick! It’s so fucking cool- I can’t believe they’d allow a sport like this,” he laughed. “It’s wild,” he chuckled. “You’re wild,” Evan snickered, “You’ve kicked that wall a billion times now, and I think you’re voice is loud enough the refs hear you the last few times. Control yourself,” he teased and got a punch to the arm in turn. “Shut up and let me have this,” he stated, but there wasn’t any spite or sarcasm, he was still smiling and having a good time. This was fun!

He looked to Ryan and Luke, who were in a similar state, though Luke was calmer due to having seen this all live so many times.

“And she just slammed into her-” Ryan exclaimed, hands flailing as he tried to explain. “Yeah, I know, Ry. I saw it,” Luke laughed softly and he looked at him with wide eyes full of awe. “They didn’t flinch, Luke! That’s amazing! This is really cool-” he looked to the track as a new pack formed. “Can you imagine if I did that?”

Luke tilted his head a bit. “Ryan, if I could imagine you doing it, I’d already be doing it,” he answered and Ryan huffed a little. “Really, Luke! Think about it! It’d be so much fun to play together- to learn how to do this cool stuff and-”

“You know, you can play it,” Anthony answered him. Ryan paused and looked back, curiosity in his eyes. “What?” he asked. “You can totally play it. In fact, I’m making a mens team- if you want to play,” he offered and Ryan stared before grinning wide. “No way.”

“I’ll do it,” Luke followed, gaining eyes. “I’ll totally play. Sounds fun.” Ryan pursed his lips. “It does sound really fun,” he agreed.

Tyler looked at Ryan, nodding. “I was the first to join, can confirm it's very fun-” “You didn’t want to join- plus, you haven’t even played yet,” Anthony cut in and Tyler looked at him with a glare. “I was the first you asked which makes me first to join,” he stuck his tongue out at him, and Anthony stuck his out in turn before they both chuckled. “I was second to join then!” Evan declared, snickering.

Luke looked at Ryan as he spoke. “I was third. You wanna be fourth Ry? Come on, you wanna do what those awesome girls are doin?” he asked, encouraging him to join. Ryan bit his lip lightly, thinking it over before he nodded. “Yeah… Yeah! I do! I wanna do that shit too! Consider me on the team! Whenever it's actually made anyways,” he grinned.

Anthony couldn’t believe his team was actually beginning to form.

--

The bout ended on a good note, the team they were rooting for winning and Anthony treated his friends to dinner (he even took out Ryan and Luke- they were going to be on his team after all so he figured he’d get to know them).

But, when he got home and sat down to start putting preparations for the team together, he finally got hit with a realization;

Making a team was harder than Anthony initially thought.

He had to advertise out to get more people. Four weren’t enough to cut it- it wasn’t even enough to start practicing (five being a good place to start). He also had the issue of needing to register his team, get jerseys, budgeting, getting forms and waivers.

He needed some help.

He ran his hands over his face, and sighed. This wasn’t too good. Who could he get to help? He didn’t know anybody else who seemed to show an interest in coaching the sport, and it didn’t seem like the type of thing he could drop a flyer for.

He thought over people, thinking of names he hadn’t thought of for a good while until one hit him with a good familiarity and made the lightbulb in his head go off as he grabbed his phone.

Anthony stared at his phone, eyeing the profile he had quickly pulled up on Facebook- thankfully they were friends already. He was hesitant, of course. He hadn’t talked to Brock in years. Was this weird? He fidgeted a bit with the device before he sucked up his worries and quickly typed a message. When he finished it, he patiently waited, running his hand through his hair.

--

A yawn left Brock’s lips as he sat his bag down on his bed. His clothes were stained with a drink some lady spilled on him, and he couldn’t wait to get them off.

God he hated his job. He was the nicest person he could be, yet someone was always ready to complain. The fast food industry could die. But, that thought made him laugh a little. Like this country would let fast food die.

He shook his head and got changed quickly before he finally got into bed and looked at his phone, only to see he got a message from… Anthony?

He stared at his screen, eyeing the message a few times over in surprise. Why would Anthony of all people be messaging him this late? Or now? He hadn’t even talked to him for the last few years. Regardless of that thought, he opened the message curiously and read through it quickly, a smile crossing his face momentarily before confusion hit.

‘Wanna help coach a bunch of dumbasses with my dumbass?’

The idea of himself coaching didn’t sound right, but the phrasing of the request was funny and it did keep Brock’s attention, especially as three dots appeared at the bottom.

‘Roller derby, I mean. You wanna help coach it? Adult league.’

A sudden feeling hit at the mention of the sport. He had loved playing it as a child, really. It was dangerous- despite the gear they wore, but the team experience is something he always held onto, even after he aged out at 18. But, the idea of coaching it? It had never crossed his mind. Until now, and it was till laughable. However, an opportunity to meet new people is always nice, and he did need a change in setting from where he was now.

He especially needed the latter. Quickly, he responded back.

‘More details would be nice, like where you’re living these days. But, I’m in.’

--

Anthony didn’t actually live too far from him, so it wasn’t hard to start planning on moving closer to the area if he were to actually take up the coaching position.

“What’cha thinkin’ about?” he jumped a little and looked up from the counter before sighing. “Don’t scare me like that, Lui,” he mumbled before standing up straight. “Sorry, just thought I’d kick you from you daze before someone else did,” he spoke, a bit genuine and a smile went with it that Brock could resist. “It’s fine,” he passed it off, “Thanks for snapping me out of it, actually.”

The shorter nodded and kicked his feet lightly before speaking; “So, you gonna answer me?” Brock took a minute before nodding a little. “I was offered a coaching position,” he answered, “I’ve been considering taking it up. I’m supposed to go meet the… team they have so far and the actual coach.” Lui beamed. “You should do it!” he nearly squealed. “It’ll be good for you, Brock! Get you out of your comfort zone,” he added, “Plus- I can totally go with you to the meeting, right?” The brunette grew confused at that request. “Why… why would you want to go to the meeting?” he asked and Lui chuckled. “As your back up incase stuff goes wrong, of course!” he chuckled. “I’m a tough cookie!” he squeaked out and Brock chuckled. “Yeah, Okay. You can come. Just don’t be too mean to anybody.” “No promises!”

[thecreaturecodex]

Emperor Kojark

“Dragonborn Sorceror” © deviantArt user Blazbaros, accessed at his gallery here

[I’ve been running D&D for a long, long time. Almost eighteen years now. And I’ve been designing my own homebrew content for a long time too. So I’ve decided it’s time to turn over some stones and revisit old creatures and concepts from my games run in high school and undergrad.

First up might be a bit of a divergence for this blog, as this is less a “creature” and more a “unique NPC”. But I have demon lords and stuff here, and kobolds are in the Bestiary, so I’m giving myself a pass on this one. King Kojark was the first Big Bad in the first campaign I ever ran, “Return to Castle Kojark”. The joke was, of course, that this was the first time the PCs had ever been to Castle Kojark, despite Kojark’s increasingly bizarre insistence to the contrary. It was a random, nonsensical assortment of unfair deathtraps and weird monsters. Think a parody of 1e Gygaxian dungeon design, convergently evolved by a 14 year old who was only familiar with classic D&D modules through cultural osmosis. It was a lot of fun.

So I figured I’d revisit Kojark (the name was stolen from a Wizards.com kobold NPC, Lojark), and give him a promotion while I’m at it. The original Kojark was half blue dragon, but the sorcerer bloodlines in PFRPG work for that. He was also possessed by a demon lord, but that’s another story.]

Emperor Kojark CR 20 NE Small Humanoid This small humanoid has blue scales and has an imperious demeanor. He is clad in finery and clutches a staff.

Kojark considers himself Emperor of All Kobolds. Over the course of his life, he clawed his way to the top of his own tribe, conquered all of the kobold tribes within hundreds of miles, and then sent emissaries to faraway tribes to demand tribute. After demonstrating his mastery over other kobolds, he began to impress this power on other humanoid races. He accomplishes this both by using his kobold servitors to harass and steal from them and by masquerading as a human or dragon in order to create thieves’ guilds, mercenary groups and other profit-earning enterprises. Kojark is considering retirement, of a sort—he fears the coming prospect of death, and is researching immortality.

Emperor Kojark travels frequently, teleporting between different vassal settlements and keeping in touch with his underlings via sending spells. His home base is Castle Kojark, a sprawling dungeon complex built into the side of a tropical mesa. Dinosaurs and giant vermin roam the verdant swamps above, and the castle itself is well stocked with elite kobold soldiers, bound outsiders and an entire art gallery filled with constructs built or bought by Kojark over the years. Among his most loyal lieutenants are simulacra of himself, of which at least half a dozen exist.

Kojark enjoys toying with opponents—he is somewhat bored with his power and seeks to test his abilities. As a high level spellcaster with access to wish, his tactics are incredibly flexible, shifting to his current needs. Against most enemies he uses form of the dragon III for its defensive benefits, but may engage in melee with this form’s natural weapons if he feels unthreatened by his foes. Kojark casts mind blank on himself every morning, and shield and stoneskin if expecting combat; if these spells are not active when combat starts, Kojark uses time stop to ensure they are in effect before anything else.

Emperor Kojark               CR 20 XP 307,200 Kobold sorcerer 20 NE Small humanoid (reptilian) Init +10; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +16 Defense AC 35, touch 19, flat-footed 26 (+1 size, +6 Dex, +5 armor, +9 natural, +1 insight, +1 dodge, +2 luck) hp 172 (20d6+100) Fort +16, Ref +18, Will +21 Immune electricity, paralysis, sleep; SR 18 Defensive Abilities blur, freedom of movement; Weakness light sensitivity Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (average) Melee staff of power +16/+11 (1d4+5) or 2 claws +14 (1d4+3 plus 1d6 electricity) Special Attacks breath weapon (3/day, 60 ft. line, 20d6 electricity, DC 28), claws (12 rounds/day) Spells CL 20th, concentration +28 (+30 casting defensively) 9th (6/day)—dominate monster (DC 27), meteor swarm (DC 28), time stop, wish 8th (7/day)—form of the dragon III, greater planar binding, mind blank, power word stun 7th (7/day)— form of the dragon II, greater scrying (DC 25), greater teleport, simulacrum 6th (7/day)—chain lightning (DC 25), disintegrate (DC 24), form of the dragon I, mass suggestion (DC 24) 5th (7/day)—cone of cold (DC 24), seeming (DC 23), sending, spell resistance, waves of fatigue 4th (8/day)—fear (DC 22), fire shield, greater invisibility, stone shape, stoneskin 3rd (14/day)—arcane sight, dispel magic, fly, lightning bolt (DC 22), magic circle vs. good 2nd (8/day)—alter self, mirror image, resist energy, scorching ray, see invisibility, touch of idiocy 1st (8/day)—disguise self (DC 19), enlarge person (DC 19), mage armor, magic missile, shield, shocking grasp 0th—acid splash, arcane mark, daze (DC 18), detect magic, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance Bloodline draconic (blue) Statistics Str 16, Dex 22, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 26 Base Atk +10; CMB +12; CMD 29 Feats Blind-fight (B), Craft Construct, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Deceitful, Defensive Combat Training, Dodge, Empower Spell, Eschew Materials (B), Extend Spell, Improved Initiative (B), Quicken Spell, Spell Focus (evocation), Toughness (B) Skills Bluff +29, Diplomacy +31, Disguise +26, Fly +17, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (history) +24, Knowledge (planes) +24, Linguistics +6, Perception +16, Spellcraft +15, Use Magic Device +22 Languages Common, Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon SQ exceptional resources Gear belt of physical perfection +6, headband of mental superiority +6 (associated skills Diplomacy, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (planes)), black robe of the archmagi, staff of power, ring of freedom of movement, ring of wizardry (III), minor cloak of displacement, amulet of natural armor +4, dusty rose prism ioun stone, circlet of persuasion, wand of cure serious wounds (50 charges), jaunt boots, spellguard bracers, royal outfit, jewelry worth 2,000 gp, diamond dust worth 2,000 gp, silver mirror worth 1,000 gp (scrying focus), 3 diamonds worth 25,000 gp each (wish components) 6,000 gp worth of coins, gems and art objects Special Abilities Exceptional Resources (Ex) Emperor Kojark has ability scores built using 25 point buy and has access to wealth equal to a PC of his level. These advantages increase his CR by +1.

[retrocelly]

Brother’s Best Friend

Summary: Being the youngest sister of Jamie and Jordie Benn has many perks, including being introduced to their attractive friends. When you and Tyler Seguin start dating, it’s hard to find the right way to tell Jamie - well, unless he finds out on his own.

You hadn’t meant for it to happen - neither of you had. When you first met Tyler, it was because Jamie had brought you to practice. You’d sat on the side of the ice, slightly bored, having been raised on hockey. Tyler had looked over at you with curious eyes at first, which turned into flirty glances. By the end of practice, Tyler was itching to get your name. So when Jamie brought you onto the ice and introduced you as his “baby sister,” Tyler’s heart dropped.

It was a few years, a couple dozen charity events, and too many days off later when Tyler finally got tired of just being your brother’s friend. Still, he didn’t want to face Jamie, or god forbid Jordie, to tell them that he had the hots for their youngest sibling. When he asked you out, it hadn’t surprised you, but when he urged “don’t say anything to your brothers yet,” you were shocked. It took a while, but you understood the difficult place that Tyler was in, and you figured that you wanted to decide if this could be a serious relationship before announcing it to the family anyway.

For the following 5 months, you’d been much more eager to go visit Dallas, as well as more eager to attend practices and games. Jamie noticed. He also noticed that Tyler had been more careful around him. He wasn’t going home with any random girls, he wasn’t poking as much fun at Jamie, and he was eerily curious about Y/N. But still, Jamie didn’t put two and two together. Because of course, one of his best friends wouldn’t go behind his back with his sister, right?

In fact, you and Tyler were head over heels. You FaceTimed and called one another as often as you could. When you and Tyler were in the same town, you snuck secret dates in whenever possible. It was nearly a month ago when Tyler had first told you that he loved you, a sentiment which you gladly returned. The two of you had even talked about you moving to Dallas, after all, you’d known Tyler for years, and the relationship was moving quickly in the best way possible. You then decided that it was time to make your relationship public.

You had just landed in Dallas, ready to attend your first Stars game as not only Jamie’s sister, but Tyler’s girlfriend as well. You and Tyler planned on telling Jamie after the game, hoping that the Stars would win so that he would be in a good mood. You’d already told your parents and Jordie, all of whom took it surprisingly well. Tyler had let the news slip to a few players, but they knew to keep their mouths shut unless they wanted a very tense season.

You found your seat in the bleachers, calming your nerves for the night ahead. As the game started, everything was looking up. The Stars got on the board early, and Tyler even got an assist. You settled into your roll as cheering squad, Jamie got another on the board, and things were going well. Down on the bench, however, things were about to take a turn.

“That was a beauty, Chubbs!” Tyler beamed, giving his friend a pat on the back.

“Thanks Segs,” Jamie replied, “y’know you’ve been really nice to me recently.”

Jamie let out a chuckle and Tyler was about to dispute the statement when Radulov scoffed.

“I’d be nice too if I were banging the Captain’s sister.” Raddy laughed, Klinger hit his shoulder, and Jamie and Tyler froze.

“You what?” Jamie spoke, his voice low. If there wasn’t a game going on, Tyler was sure that Jamie would drop his gloves.

“Jamie,” Tyler started cautiously, “can we talk after the game?” Tyler was sure that he’d turned white as a ghost, and Jamie wasn’t feeling sympathetic, but he knew that he had a game to focus on, so he swallowed his pride.

Without speaking, Jamie turned his head toward the ice. The bench was filled with a thick uncomfortable silence, despite the fact that the arena was so loud. When Tyler and Jamie went on for their shift, Tyler was holding his breath. In any other situation, he would say that Jamie was a dedicated captain that put his team over most everything. But right now, Tyler wouldn’t be surprised if Jamie checked him into the glass just for payback.

Luckily, that didn’t happen. What did happen, in fact, was that an opposing player checked Tyler - hard. It was a late hit, the refs called it, and the player went to the penalty box. Without thinking, Tyler looked to Jamie, expecting the man to drop gloves and scrap over the dirty hit, but Jamie did no such thing. Instead, Tyler was met with Jamie’s unforgiving glare and an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

When Tyler got hit, you gasped. You stood up to yell for the obvious penalty. You’d expected your brother to start a fight for his friend, but that didn’t happen. When you looked onto the ice, Jamie was glaring at Tyler, who was still slowly getting off of the ground. If you didn’t know any better, you say that Jamie was mad at Tyler; but why would he be? It’s not like he had any way of knowing about your relationship.

The rest of that game was... weird, to say the least. The Stars won, but Jamie had been playing much more aggressively than normal. Furthermore, it was like he was refusing to communicate with his team. When the game ended, rather than celebrate like normal, Jamie skated directly off the ice and down the tunnel. The nervous feeling returned to the pit of your stomach - you knew that something was wrong.

You immediately left your seat and went to find your brother. When you did, you immediately wished that you’d stayed put in the bleachers. Jamie was sitting in the locker room, visibly pissed and nearly shaking with anger. You knew that he’d seen you come in, but he didn’t acknowledge you at all.

“Jam,” you began, taking slow steps toward him, “what’s going on?” When you reached him, you heard another person enter the room. This time, Jamie stood quickly and took two large, aggressive steps toward whoever else was in the room. When you turned, you were met with the terrified face of Tyler. Oh shit.

“How fucking dare you!” Jamie screamed, you’d never seen him so livid. “Not only did you go behind my back to fuck my sister, but you decided to brag about it to the entire team?!”

Oh shit. He was definitely taking this the wrong way - and you didn’t blame him. You knew Tyler’s reputation, and from Jamie’s view, Tyler had been messing around with you only for the boasting rights.

“Jamie, that’s not what it is,” Tyler pleaded, looking to you for some relief from the situation.

“Don’t even fucking look at her! Are you kidding me, Seguin? Of all the girls in the world, you decide to go after Y/N?” The more he yelled, the angrier he got. “Did you already sleep with every other girl in the fucking world, or what?”

“Jamie!” You interrupted, putting yourself between him and Tyler, worried that if you didn’t, Tyler would end up with a broken nose. “That’s not what’s happening! Don’t you dare insinuate that I’m some stupid kid with no say in this. We’re dating for god’s sake!”

Jamie paused, breaking his death glare at Tyler to look down at you.

“How long?” He asked, his voice strong and punching.

“Five months.” You replied, equally as bluntly. The two of you glowered at one another as if you were in a childhood argument all over again.

“So what, you just figured you’d never tell me?” Jamie asked, becoming more animated as his anger grew again. “Was I even gonna get an invite to the wedding? Am I already an uncle and you just decided not to tell me that either?!”

“Stop, Chubbs.” This time it was Tyler that spoke, earning a glare from both you and Jamie as you internally scolded him for using that nickname right now. “We decided not to tell you until we knew that it was a serious thing. I mean, I know that this isn’t ideal, and I’m sorry that we went behind your back, but we just didn’t want to make a big deal of something unless it was actually a big deal.”

Miraculously, that seemed to calm Jamie down. Tyler still kept his distance, but he walked over to you and gently grabbed your hand. Jamie scowled at the action, causing Tyler to drop your hand quickly. You sighed and grabbed his hand once more.

“Listen, Jam,” you stayed calmly, “we were planning on telling you tonight, and this obviously isn’t the way we wanted to do it. Tyler and I love each other, and that’s something that you’re going to have to get used to. I get that you’re mad right now, but when you calm down, we can actually talk about this instead of screaming at each other. Goodbye.”

You leaned up and gave Tyler a quick kiss on the cheek, earning another scowl from Jamie. You then left the locker room and walked into the hallway, which was filled with a very uncomfortable looking Stars team. You smiled at them and continued walking.

You had been sitting on the bleachers alone for nearly 20 minutes before Jamie came up to you. He sat next to you, sighing heavily.

“I’m sorry for getting so pissed.” You knew that it was hard for him to swallow his pride and apologize, given the current situation, so you were proud of him for doing so.

You looked up at him with a smile, which he returned with a scoff.

“S’okay, Jamie,” you muttered, “I hope you know that we’re good together - Tyler and I. Mom keeps calling him ‘lovestruck.’”

“Dammit, Y/N,” Jamie laughed, “mom knows too?”

“Yeah, you were pretty much the last one in on the joke. Jordie handled it a lot better than you did, by the way.” The conversation felt light again, and you were happy.

It wasn’t long before Tyler found his way over to you, sitting quickly and putting his arm around your shoulders. Jamie shook his head, still not used to the new relationship. In return, Tyler gave Jamie’s shoulder a shove from around you.

“You better at least tell me before you propose to her, Segs.” Jamie started, causing you to blush wildly.

“Well obviously; someone’s gotta help me pick out the ring.” You blushed further at Tyler’s words, and when you looked at him, he was just as red.

It would be a little bit before things were fully back to normal, but you were content with where they were now, and looking forward to the future.

[hazyheel]

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2019 Day 8 Review

From main event to curtain jerking, El Phantasmo took on Ren Narita. Phantasmo quickly overpowered Narita, putting him on the mat toying with him. This was a rough match for Narita. Normally he could kinda hold his own, but Phantasmo was kicking the shit out of him. Narita was able to hit the high belly to belly, but once again couldn’t bridge. The closest Narita got was a bridging german suplex, but only a near fall. This time around, Phantasmo got the win with a big frog splash. Phantasmo: 10, Narita: 0

Grade: C+. Decent match, not a lot of back forth, but this was a fun little extended squash. Not great, but I like seeing Phantasmo being a cocky dick.

Then we had TAKA Michinoku vs. Titan. The two were grappling quite a bit, with both really being able to stand up to the other. The two chopped the hell out of each other, and Taka tied him up in knots early on. Titan got the advantage once he started to speed up the match, using his high flying to keep him on his toes. Taka was able to fight back a bit, forcing Titan to the mat for submissions, but Titan could fight out of it. Titan was actually able to get a quick win with a Michinoku driver of his own, followed by tying his legs for a submission. Titan: 4, Michinoku: 0.

Grade: B-. A weak B-, because of the super weird finish, but they had a pretty good match. I liked how Titan really had to work to create space, while still resorting to his technical wrestling ways to fight out of certain holds. I’m bummed that Taka still hasn’t gotten a win, and this really felt like his most winnable match, so I hope he gets something soon. 

Next up was Robbie Eagles vs. BUSHI. Bushi started with a flying dropkick after his pose, and they were off to the races. Once again, Bushi used the belt to whip Eagles on the outside a little bit, keeping a strong advantage in the early stages. Eagles of course worked over the leg, Eagles fought hard in the match, hitting the turbo backpack, and reversing the kickout into the Ron Miller special. Bushi fought back into the match with a couple codebreakers, and then the MX for the shocking win. Bushi: 4, Eagles: 6

Grade: B. Pretty good stuff, I think that these two are blending together really well. Bushi is getting better and better as a singles star, and this tournament is only proving that more and more. I like how Bushi is resorting to bending the rules more and more to win, and he is getting those wins. This is a big deal for him, given that Eagles is one of the front runners in Block B. I don’t know if Eagles is falling out of one of those top spots, it certainly doesn’t seem like it. But it is exciting to see him lose. 

Into Jonathan Gresham vs. Tiger Mask IV.  The two shook hands, and began on the mat as we all thought they will. Tiger Mask also kept up pressure using quick strikes, and really assaulted his midsection with strikes. Picking up the speed seemed to favor Gresham, but Tiger Mask’s experience allowed him to continue to slow things down with holds. As the two fought on the ground, grappling, Gresham had Tiger Mask in a headscissors when he hooked the leg, and got the pin. Gresham: 6, Tiger Mask: 4.

Grade: C-. I wasn’t too into this. The wrestlers didn’t seem to play much to their advantages, wanting to work a striking angle. I think that this would have been much better if they kept things on the mat. I don’t think Tiger Mask is all that great in a striking contest, but I liked the finish, and I was happy to see Gresham get another 2 points.

Then we had DOUKI vs. YOH. Douki of course attacked before the match, and threw Yoh all around the arena. Douki took a page out of Bushi’s book at one point, choking Yoh out with his own jacket. Yoh really sold his ass off for Douki during his match, making it seem like absolute agony to fight this guy. However, Yoh fought back, focusing on the leg as he normally does. Douki locked in a necktie choke, and he couldn’t really do much to get out of it, not even by tapping. There was an interesting dynamic here as they both looked for a full nelson in order to get their respective dragon suplexes. In the end, Yoh broke out of the suplex de la luna, skinning the cat on the bottom rope for a huge superkick and then a dragon suplex for the win. Yoh: 6, Douki: 2.

Grade: B-. I think this was interesting, but not overly good. I like the dynamic between both guys looking for the dragon suplex. I also think that Douki’s matches suffer from not being brawls, so a match against Yoh wasn’t going to be his best just yet. 

Next up was Marty Scurll vs. SHO. Scurll came out with his actual head and neck taped up, from the goddamn ringer that Takagi put him through last night. However, he was faking it, and he attacked Sho before the bell. Sho went to work on Scurll’s arm, ringing it out to soften it up for the armbar. Scurll attempted to keep the match in striking territory, as he could not contend with Sho’s raw strength on the mat. Commentary pointed out that Scurll was not targeting the head or arm here, but rather Sho’s cauliflowered ear. And while Scurll tried to keep things in striking, Sho proved that he can go blow for blow with him. At one point, Scurll hit almost a pumphandle michinoku driver onto the knee for a near fall. At another point, Sho actually fought out of a chicken wing with nothing but his raw strength. Scurll tried to counter the strength by breaking the fingers, but that didn’t stop Sho from using his arms for lariats. Sho was then able to nail a last ride to the knees for a near fall, followed by Shock Arrow for the win. Sho: 4, Scurll: 4.

Grade: B+. Best match on the show up to this point. They did really well together on a stacked card. Scurll didn’t outright cheat during the match, but he certainly didn’t play fair. However, Sho got a second wind, and fought back to win the match. While it is unlikely that Sho gets the actual win for his block, he can still finish on the higher end.

Now, possibly the most important match in the tournament (according to the competitors) Rocky Romero vs. Ryusuke Taguchi. Not only was this for two points in the tournament, but the winner became the head coach of New Japan. I don’t know what that means, but it is important to them. Rocky came out with basketball gear on, while Taguchi was in his classic rugby. The match actually started with Taguchi making a basket in his arms so Rocky could shoot, but the ball hit him in the head, followed by a slam dunk with the ball to the floor. So this was a goofy one. Taguchi beat him up using his ass. The two traded clotheslines and hip attacks running between the corners, the crowd loved it. It took Taguchi a while to go for the ankle lock, despite Rocky’s injured leg from his match with Yoh. Rocky went for the arm in response, and at one point, Taguchi tried to pull Rocky out of an armbar for a powerbomb, but he didn’t have enough strength. Rocky countered the Dodon into a rollup, and after a few counters, Taguchi got the pin. Taguchi: 8, Rocky: 2.

In the end, the two ended up splitting the coach responsibility. They even posed together. This is so dumb, but I’m smiling.

Grade: B. The match was alright, I wasn’t a huge fan of it. I don’t think that they leaned far enough into serious stuff nor comedy wrestling. I think it would have been better if it had gone either way. But it was a fun little match with funny moments that made me laugh.

Then we had Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The two had some history from Pro Wrestling NOAH, where Ishimori has never been able to beat Kanemaru. Puts an interesting slant on this match, as Ishimori is still undefeated. Kanemaru jumped before the bell. Kanemaru quickly countered a springboard kick attempt by kicking out the arm, before dragging Ishimori into the crowd. Kanemaru tried to get the same win as last night by chucking a chair at Ishimori to get the countout, but Ishimori jumped it and made it back. Kanemaru continued to bend the rules, constantly using the ref as a weapon. Kanemaru had the whiskey, but Ishimori caught him. Ishimori was going to use the whiskey, but Red Shoes was back up and took it, only for Kanemaru to reveal that he had held onto the whiskey, and spit it at him, and a roleup for the win. Kanemaru: 4, Ishimori: 8.

Grade: B-. This was just shenanigans city right here. Kanemaru just did all his cheating spots until one stuck, and that entertained me. Ishimori’s first loss of the tournament came at the hands of a guy who patently refused to follow the rules, and it serves as some comeuppance, albeit at the hands of another heel. I liked it, although it was too short and one sided to get much more than a B-.

Into Bandido vs. Will Ospreay, a rematch from an Indie show over Wrestlemania weekend that was really good. This was for sure one that I was looking forward to. Started with a handshake, Both fliers were incredibly strong for their weight and speed, which led to an interesting match that included both power moves as well as flying. Bandido hit an awesome gorilla press into a falcon arrow, followed up with a low dropkick to the back of the head. When the two began striking, they were really beating the hell out of each other, with strikes that thundered in the arena. Bandido targeted Ospreay’s neck in striking, and Ospreay seemed to be fighting on the backfoot during this match. At one point, Osrpeay had Bandido up for a powerbomb, but Bandido countered into a reverse rana, followed by a springboard shootng star press to the outside. Another time, Ospreay hit a stundog millionaire, shoutouts to Mark Andrews, an old friend of his. At another point, Bandido drilled Ospreay with a superkick and a spike rana, only for Ospreay to roll through for a near fall. As Bandido went for the 21 plex, Ospreay held on, so Bandido hit a GTS and tried again, only for Ospreay to completely flip out of it. Bandido hit the shooting star slam, but Ospreay grabbed the bottom rope. Finally, in the finish, Bandido went for a moonsault, but Ospreay caught him on his shoulders, and it a stormbreaker out of nowhere for the win. Ospreay: 8, Bandido: 4.

Grade: A. Holy crap this was so so good. This may be my favorite match of the tournament so far. This was awesome. They flew around at crazy speeds, they beat each other into the ground with their strikes, and Ospreay nearly lost, but was able to pick up a shocking counter for the win. Bandido did great too, showing off some of his unbelievable strength and striking. They just clicked super well, and delivered a great match once again. Match of the night.

And in the main event, Dragon Lee took on Shingo Takagi, in another match that I couldn’t wait for. Lee was looking for a handshake, as he had everyone else. Takagi took it, but then pulled him in to start the match. Lee tried to kick things into another gear, but Takagi simply overpowered Lee with a hard slam. Lee wanted to go strike for strike, but interspersed that with fast paced flying. At one point, Lee went for his rana off the apron, but Takagi actually caught him and hit a Death Valley driver on the apron. Lee hit his usual corner dropkick, but it looked so painful as he connected with the side of Takagi’s head. Lee tried to go strike for strike with Takagi, this time with a knee lift and a huge lariat. Lee then hit a suicide dive, emphasis on suicide as Lee launched about 12 feet into the crowd. Takagi was hurting after that, struggling to hit the Noshigami and a pumping bomber, only getting a near fall for a lot of effort. As Takagi went for last of the dragons, Lee countered with a crucifix bomb for a near fall, and then hit a brutal running knee. Lee then hit an awesome combo, of a German off the ropes, a knee lift, a reverse rana and another knee for only a 1, and then he followed up with another running knee for a near fall. Lee almost hit desnucadora, but Takagi fought out and got last of the dragons for the win. Takagi: 10, Lee: 6.

Grade: A. Another great match to end out the night. They destroyed each other during this match, and Lee looked goddamn phenomenal. Even in losing, he came the closest to beating Takagi out of anyone so far. Takagi best the champion, as we thought he would, but he went through hell to do it. Definitely a must watch match.

Overall Grade: B.

Pros: Eagles vs Bushi; Scurll vs Sho; Rocky vs Taguchi; Ospreay vs Bandido; Takagi vs Lee

Cons: Gresham vs Tiger Mask; could’ve used more comedy for coach vs coach

Losses: Taka Michinoku, BUSHI, Ren Narita officially cannot win Best of the Super Juniors 26.

[rax-writes]

Title: Hard to Handle Fandom: Stranger Things Characters: Steve Harrington x Reader Word Count: 3,425 Warnings: None Notes: Can y’all tell that I’m on a massive “best friends turned lovers” kick? // Request from anon for “4. “I think i’m in love with you, and that terrifies me.” 75. “I want you to fight for me!” and 76. “Please don’t go.” from the prompt list for steve harrington with a side of extra large angst please 💗💗 (and if u only do a certain # of prompts then u can choose from those three :))” – (I couldn’t find a way to include number 75, so that’s why it got left out.) ♥

gif made by @v-writings

The first semester of college is always the most difficult, for an innumerable amount of reasons. Not only is it nerve-wracking to be thrust into an entirely unfamiliar situation such as college, but it is a momentous change in one’s personal life. They’re away from their family, they’ve now got to balance difficult coursework with attempting to have a social life, they’ve got to attempt to develop a social life in this new environment – there are a thousand and one things that change in someone’s life when they go to college. And any fragment of familiarity is held onto as if it were the most valuable thing in the world. Whether it be the blanket they brought that still smells like home, or a photo of their family setting on the nightstand, any sense of home is cherished.

For Steve, it wasn’t some treasured memento from home – it was you.

Thankfully, the basic courses that every college student must take allowed you to share almost all of your classes with Steve. He was more than grateful for it as well. Despite being the former King of Hawkins, he was now essentially insignificant – and he didn’t quite know how to handle it. He had grown accustomed to everyone in his school knowing his name, to recognizing him as arguably the most popular person at Hawkins High. But here, no one – save yourself – knew him at all. He felt insignificant, and that constant, sinking feeling pushed him even closer to you, made him even more desperate to be with you always.

If he had to guess, that would likely be the primary factor in why he fell in love with you.

Steve had always cared deeply about you. You had been his friend since elementary school, when you’d punched a kid in the throat for stealing his crayons. (You’d gotten in loads of trouble, of course, but it was certainly a fun memory to look back on.) Even when you’d both gained attractiveness with the onset of puberty, neither of you felt any different about one another. You were still just best friends, and absolutely nothing more.

This was what made it even more perplexing to Steve when he found himself staring at you much longer than usual, eyeing the way you held the end of your pen between your lips when you were deep in thought, or the way you’d rock up to class with messy hair and a coffee after a long night of studying. He found himself positively enamored by you – and it was absolutely mortifying.

The situation with Nancy had hurt Steve far more than he’d ever admitted to anyone. Sure, you knew all about how much he’d cried over it, how long he’d been heartbroken and downtrodden from it – but you didn’t know how irreparably it had damaged him. You didn’t know that he often lied awake at night, staring up at the ceiling as he wondered if she’d ever actually loved him? And if she hadn’t – if she’d never loved him in all the time they’d been together – how could he possibly tell if anyone else was feigning their love for him? Was he doomed to spend the rest of his life clueless as to whether or not he was a burden, an obstacle for the people in his life to overcome? How many people were only in his life because they felt obligated to be? You, Dustin – hell, even his own mother? Were you all only there because you felt trapped, spending every day working yourself up to leaving him? Were any of you there simply because you wanted to be, because you really did care about him?

These were but a few of the thoughts that constantly plagued Steve’s mind. Regardless of how many times he attempted to assure himself that you were his friend because you wanted to be, that you would never have stayed friends with him for this long if you didn’t actually care about him – he couldn’t shake the paranoia that you secretly despised him, and you were only still sticking around because you didn’t know anyone else here. The second you made some new friends, Steve would never hear from you again. You’d just toss him away, and the next time he’d see you would be at your high school reunion, on the arm of some douchebag who didn’t love you half as much as Steve did.

All of this only made Steve more apprehensive about his blossoming feelings for you.

And all of this only made him a thousand times more distraught when you started dating someone – someone who wasn’t him.

The guy’s name was Chad, and he was a bit of a prick, but he seemed to treat you pretty well. Chad himself wasn’t necessarily Steve’s problem – it was how you felt about Chad. It was how your entire face would light up when Chad would come up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing the top of your head. It was the smile that would spread across your face when he’d bring you take-out on a night he knew you were cramming for an exam. It was the way you’d laugh at his jokes, and the way he’d just smile at you as you laughed, as if you were the most beautiful thing in the entire world.

But since Steve couldn’t possibly bring himself to be upset with you, he generally took his frustration out on Chad.

Steve felt his entire body cringe when someone clapped his shoulder and sat down next to him at the picnic table outside the library. Chad gave him a friendly grin, as you took a seat across the table.

“How’s it going, man? Studying hard or hardly studying?” Chad questioned lightheartedly, and Steve managed to force out a brief laugh.

“Bit of both, I guess.”

“We’re going to the game tonight, do you wanna come?” you asked, and Steve felt almost embarrassed by how delighted he was by your offer. You’d both been extremely busy with homework lately, being that the end of the semester was fast approaching, so you hadn’t spent much time together. He was more than happy for any excuse to hang out with you – until he realized that that meant Chad would be there.

Oh well, Steve would just have to take what he could get.

“Yeah, sounds… sounds fun,” he said, and the smile that lit up your face made his mouth go dry.

“Great! I’ll swing by your dorm around six and we can walk to the game from there,” you said, and Steve just nodded, returning your vibrant smile.

That night, for the first time in a long time, Steve actually got ready. Not just the “do his hair and throw on some clothes” type of getting ready. No, Steve changed his outfit three times, spent twice as long on his hair than usual, sprayed on some of his seldom-used expensive cologne, and admired himself in the mirror for ten minutes, before he felt pleased with his appearance.

Truthfully, Steve didn’t even know why he was putting so much time and effort in tonight. The fact remained that you were still with Chad. No matter how nicely he dressed, no matter how fantastic his hair looked – you were still with Chad. That put a bitter taste in Steve’s mouth, and he immediately pushed it to the back of his mind. It’d been awhile since he’d gotten to spend time with you, and dammit, he was going to enjoy himself tonight. He wasn’t going to worry about who you were with, how long you’d end up being with them, or any of that other shit. He was just going to have fun, and enjoy hanging out with you.

Until you showed up at his door with slightly blotchy, red cheeks and puffy eyes.

“Woah, what the hell happened? You alright?” Steve questioned immediately, frowning as he bent down to look at you and brush some hair out from your face.

“Yeah, I’m fine, let’s go,” you said softly, turning to walk away. Steve gently grabbed your arm, and stopped you.

“Hey… what happened?” he repeated, this time with a much gentler tone. You let out a heavy sigh before turning around to face Steve again.

“I… I decided to go by Chad’s dorm early tonight, because I needed to use his computer to send an email to my professor. And when I went in there… he was with someone.”

“What exactly do you mean, ‘with someone’?”

“They… they looked like maybe they’d been kissing, but stopped when they heard the door opening. I don’t know, I… I just left and came here. He was yelling after me, but… I just left,” you explained, sniffling a bit before shaking your head. “Doesn’t matter right now. Can we just… go to the game, and focus on a bunch of people screaming at some guys chasing after a ball, rather than my currently fucked up love life?”

“Okay,” Steve said, nodding and brushing some more hair away from your face, before offering you a kind smile. “Yeah, let’s go.”

The game was pretty much exactly what you’d said earlier: a bunch of people screaming at some guys chasing after a ball. You got into the game much more than you usually did, and it was clear to Steve that that was intentional; you were choosing to focus on the game rather than your own thoughts. So, he did it, too. You both quickly joined those hollering and swearing at the game, occasionally screaming at the ref or cheering at the top of your lungs. Steve felt himself actually enjoying it – this weird, hyperfixated, energetic comradery between the two of you.

Until he felt that unfortunately familiar hand clap his shoulder.

“Oh my god, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Chad said, panting a bit and looking relieved. “Baby, I’m so sorry, it’s totally not what you think –”

“Then what the fuck is it, Chad?”

Anyone who has experienced the uniquely awkward feeling of standing next to an arguing couple would understand why Steve decided to sneak away. He waded through the sea of people until he was down a few rows, ready to return to you when you inevitably dumped Chad for good. Despite the fact that it made him feel a bit ashamed, he couldn’t deny that he felt a little hint of excitement rise up in him. You were finally going to be rid of Chad, and maybe – just maybe – Steve could be with you.

Every couple of minutes, Steve would look back at you and Chad, to see if the argument was over yet. It was mostly you looking furious and upset, and Chad doing his best to placate you, and to come up with excuses for why he was snuggled up in bed with someone else. The argument eventually seemed to be winding down, and Steve assumed that you had reached the point where you were telling Chad to get lost. The team scored, and Steve returned his attention to the game for a few moments. And when he looked back, he saw Chad leaning down to kiss you.

Something in Steve’s heart snapped. He instantly wanted to be as far away from there as possible. He felt as if he were in a bit of a haze, his legs guiding the rest of his shell-shocked body down the bleachers, and towards his dorm. He walked like a zombie, and he felt like one. When he reached his room, he managed to close the door behind him and kick off his shoes, before falling face-first onto his mattress, burying his face in his pillow. Tears that he didn’t know where there began to wet his face, and before he knew it, he was sobbing.

It was a myriad of factors that ultimately caused Steve’s little meltdown. There were some external factors, such as the pressure of the multitude of homework he was dealt resting upon his shoulders and weighing him down. But primarily, of course, he was crying about you. He was crying because he’d been so stressed about his feelings for you, that he’d never taken the time to actually deal with them. Now he was being forced to deal with them. And he was being forced to deal with the fact that you didn’t want him; you wanted some cheating piece of hair-gel slathered garbage named Chad, and you may never want him. All of these intense, burdensome feelings that Steve now felt for you were likely all for naught; you’d probably never want him. Why? Because he didn’t feel that he was worth wanting.

Steve couldn’t be sure of how long he’d cried, but when he was through, he just felt empty. He felt empty, and then mad. And for the first time, he felt mad at you.

It was another hour before you showed up to his room, knocking softly before letting yourself in. You found him lying on his bed, his hands folded over his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling. After you dropped your coat on the ground, he didn’t acknowledge at your presence, so for a second, you thought he was asleep, until he spoke.

“What’re you doing here?”

His voice was hollow and hoarse, and you frowned at his question.

“I’m here because you disappeared. You ditched me at the game, and I couldn’t find you anywhere. You actually worried me a little, I thought maybe you got sick or something. I wanted to see if you were here, and check to see if you’re alright.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Now go ahead, run back to Chad, like always. I’m sure he’s got some more bullshit excuses to give you.”

“What the hell is your problem, Steve?”

He sat up then, and in the dim light of his bedroom, you couldn’t see the tears that still stained his cheeks.

“What’s it matter what my problem is? Just go suck Chad’s face some more, and continue to not give a shit about me, just like you have been for the past several months.”

“You think I don’t give a shit about you?”

“Sure as hell seems like it,” Steve scoffed.

“You’re my best friend, and not having the time to see you makes me feel like a horrible person. You know just as well as I do that they’ve been piling on the homework for the past month or more, and I’ve just been too swamped to have the time to hang out. And it’s not like you’ve been coming to see me, either. But I know that it’s because you’re busy, and I don’t hold it against you. You need to untie the knot in your panties, and understand that I’m not doing this because I don’t give a shit about you. It’s because I just don’t have any fucking time, Steve.”

“Alright, and what about Chad? What about you being too blind to see that he’s obviously cheating on you, but you’re too thoughtless to just dump him and move on? Look, I get that you’re in love with him, but you’re being stupid.”

“I did dump him, you moron,” you snapped.

“Yeah right, I saw him kiss you.”

“Well, you must’ve left before you saw me slap the hair gel off him, and tell him to go to hell,” you retorted, and that visibly took Steve aback. “I told him that his excuses were bullshit, that I know he was cheating on me, and to never speak to me again. You clearly don’t know me at all if you think I’m ‘stupid’ enough to take him back, so I’ll just stake my ‘stupid’ ass home. Goodnight, Harrington.”

You snatched your coat up off the floor, and you were just about to walk out the door, when Steve jumped up to grab your arm, effectively stopping you in your tracks.

“Please don’t go.”

“Why should I stay?” you inquired bitterly. “To listen to you insult me some more?”

“No, I…” Steve trailed off before exhaling slowly and running a hand through his hair. “You’re not stupid at all. God, you’ve never been stupid, and you’ll never be stupid. I’m the stupid one. I got upset with you for no good reason, and I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve any of that. I’m so sorry.”

“But why did you get that upset over thinking I got back with Chad? I would’ve thought you’d just… tell me that I’m not making a good decision, and talk with me about it – not yell at me and call me stupid.”

“I know, I know. I should never have acted like that. I feel like such a jerk. I’ve just… got a lot going on, and I took all of it out on the first thing that made me mad – which was thinking that this prick cheated on you, but you were taking him back. God, I’m so sorry,” Steve said miserably, leaning his back against the wall and running his hands over his face.

“Steve…” you said gently, and he looked at you. “What’s going on? What all do you have ‘going on’ that’s making you this upset?”

“Just… just homework, and shit like that,” he quickly lied, then shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about it, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, Steve. I know you,” you said, frowning at him with a pitying look in your eyes. “What’s going on? Talk to me, please.”

“I… I think I’m in love with you,” Steve blurted out, before he could even think to stop himself. “And that terrifies me. And I don’t know how to deal with it.”

You just stared at him in silence for what felt like ages. The inevitable shock was clear on your face, from your raised eyebrows to your slightly agape lips – but beyond that, Steve couldn’t read you. He’d always been great about that, knowing what you were thinking without you saying a word. But now, you were stunned silent, and he didn’t have a clue what was running through your mind.

“You’re in love with me?” you finally asked, and Steve nodded. His mouth was too dry to choke out a response. You repeated, “You’re in love with me,” but this time, it felt more like a disbelieving statement. Again, Steve nodded.

He could feel his hands begin to grow clammy with fear, and he began wringing them together. He was on the verge of begging you to say something, anything at all to break the silence. Eventually, you looked up at him. Your eyes seemed to be scanning him critically, attempting to determine your next course of action. Then, all in one swift movement, you put your hand behind his neck and pulled him down to your level, crashing your lips against his.

It took him a moment or two to regain his composure enough to return the kiss, delicately placing his hands your waist, as your free hand moved to grip his bicep. Every single thought in Steve’s mind escaped him, besides the thought that you were kissing him – and it was the single best moment of his entire life.

When your hand drifted upwards into his hair, he managed to maintain his equanimity. But that went straight out the window when you tangled your fingers in his soft curls. As if on instinct, Steve pushed you back against the nearby door – which, mere minutes ago, you were getting ready to storm out of.

It was a very welcomed change of pace.

Steve’s hands moved from behind you to grip your hips, allowing your back to be pressed firmly against the door’s cold, hard wood. He pulled your hips closer, pressing your body against his, and both of you felt dizzy. By the time you broke the kiss, both of you were out of breath. Steve rested his forehead on your shoulder, and wrapped his arms around your waist, almost as if he were pulling you into a languid hug.

“I love you,” he heard you whisper softly, as if you were scared of saying it. “I’ve always loved you.”

“I’m pretty new to it,” Steve admitted, chuckling breathlessly. He absentmindedly turned his head a kiss to your neck, then added softly, “I love you, too.”

There were a few moments of content, comfortable silence, and you were the first to interrupt it. Steve could hear the smile in your voice when you spoke again.

“Now kiss me again.”

@v-writings @emmcfrxst @shirostellations @keithstellations @kendrasauhders @whoarumancek @willsomeoneholdmyhand @queen-of-the-pineapples @pansexual-and-a-geek @bisexualillis

[roseymoseyberry]

Bite the Bullet (one-shot)

Look. Look.

We all make choices sometimes.

And somtimes those choices lead to the realization that you might just like Megatron with red minibots.

Anyway, shout out to @canonmorelikecanyounot (18+ blog) because this is entirely her fault for her tags about Megatron flirting with Cliffjumper while in gun mode.

And man was it fun to write some v indulgent smut while also getting to play around with g1 silliness.

Title: Bite the Bullet

Series: G1

Ship: Megatron/Cliffjumper

Rating/warnings: Explicit for not so safe or sane gun play, one of the characters being in their alt-mode, technically dubcon since Megatron is a prisoner (but he’s v into it), annnd yeah. It’s gun fucking and Megatron is the gun.

For a refresher course on what exactly Megatron is like as a gun, here’s the main cartoon ref I used and the real life inspiration for his alt-mode.

“So you’re that type of mech, hm?”

Cliffjumper’s frown deepened and he barely turned his helm to glare over his shoulder.

However, he quickly found it was difficult to know where to point his glare when the enemy was stuck in his alt-mode. If he was a car it would be easy, and Cliffjumper had some idea of where to look at a flight-mode. He wasn’t dumb.

But it was a harder call when the leader of the Decepticons was a gun.

The muzzle maybe? But it was turned away from him since Megatron was laid out on the prison berth parallel to the cell barrier. The scope would have been his next guess, but it was also aimed at the wall. All Cliffjumper could see was the butt of the gun and the trigger and all along the bottom edge of the barrel.

Slag though, Cliffjumper almost didn’t mind since it gave him the excuse to drag his optics along the full length of the gun.

No, not gun. Not just a gun.

Megatron.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The minibot kept expecting the gun to move, to at least twitch or roll, anything. He couldn’t fully comprehend the fact that anyone could have an alt-mode that completely lacked mobility.

But Megatron just continued to lay there in the exact same spot as when Optimus placed him there the day before.

“I should think it’s obvious, Autobot,” Megatron replied, his tone amused. Cliffjumper’s hands fisted at his sides and his frown tightened.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Megatron’s laugh grated on his audials.

“You like my form, don’t you?”

His spark felt as if it had stopped cold in his chest. Cliffjumper gaped at the Decepticon before squaring his shoulders and pinching his lips tight. His head turned away sharply to look at the wall.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, so can it, rust bucket.”

“I think you do.”

“I said can it!”

“Your friend wasn’t subtle,” Megatron continued, unperturbed, and Cliffjumper felt his face heat up. No, he supposed Bumblebee’s “Behave” with a wink when they had switched off was pretty obvious. It wasn’t exactly something he was shy about admitting to normally – they all had their kinks, some so specific that his seemed mild in comparison – but Cliffjumper wished now he had kept his big mouth shut.

He was gonna get Bumblebee back after this. Maybe a good right hook to the noggin—

“You want to frag me, don’t you, little Autobot?”

Shame sparked across Cliffjumper’s circuits as he felt his array warm and his interface protocols online in a hurry.

“Sh-shut up!”

“You do,” Megatron said, dragging the last vowel out mockingly. Cliffjumper’s engine growled, even as his face burned. “No need to be ashamed. You’re hardly the first, and you won’t be the last. I am well constructed after all, and you will not find a more destructive weapon to hold in your hands.”

Cliffjumper gritted his dentae. He shouldn’t rise to the bait, he knew that, but he hated the feeling of unspoken words on his glossa.

“So you’re a nice gun. So what? What would I want with you anyway?” Cliffjumper spat out.

The gun hummed with obvious delight.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re well aware. It’s quite something to hold such power in your hands, to touch and perhaps to even taste that strength, isn’t it?” Cliffjumper’s fingers twitched and his mouth watered and his spark pulsed quickly in his chest. “And I know you’ll agree that to have destruction at your fingertips and taunt fate with it pressed to your frame can bring about a rush like none other.” His plating shifted and, slowly, spread out so that the growing heat could leak out without needing to turn on his cooling fans. “And while you may be small, Autobot, you won’t have any trouble taking my barrel inside you, will you?”

With the clamping together of his thighs, Cliffjumper’s valve throbbed behind his panel.

Frag.

“I’m not stupid, and I’m sure as slag not suicidal, so why don’t you--”

“But you are interested.”

Cliffjumper turned on his heel to glower at the Megatron again, his arms crossed over his chest. “Not in having you blow me up from the inside out!”

The gun cackled and Cliffjumper’s plating flared irritably.

“Is that all that holds you back? Then rest easy,” Megatron insisted casually. “In this form, while I am much more powerful, I am otherwise in most every other way the same as any other gun. And I assume you know how to safely indulge yourself, hm?”

Cliffjumper ground his dentae until he could swear he tasted sparks on his glossa. It didn’t help to fight the burning heat flooding his face or to ignore the distinct sensation of lubricant slicking his valve.

“You honestly think I’ll believe you can’t pull your own trigger?”

Primus, it was so weird to have this conversation when Megatron didn’t move at all. His voice was all that Cliffjumper had to go off of.

Did that immobility really go that far?

“Why else do you think I would let my lieutenants have the pleasure?”

A shiver raced down Cliffjumper’s spine at the thought of that very pleasure, to squeeze that trigger and feel that recoil for himself, because it – he – had to have a nasty kick. Frag, he would give anything to feel that for himself.

“And—and what do you get out of this?”

“Relief from the processor-rusting boredom of not only being a prisoner, but unable to move at that,” Megatron explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. However, his voice took on something too much like a purr when he continued, “And it’s not every day I find such an appreciative audience. I would very much enjoy having an adorable little Autobot like yourself lapping at my muzzle.”

If Cliffjumper didn’t know better, he’d think his face was melting off from how boiling hot it felt.

His hands were clenched so tight he was scrapping paint off his palms.

“Better yet would be the desperate clenching of your valve as you come undone around my barrel.”

Cliffjumper managed to keep the whine from escaping his vocalizer.

However, he lost the battle with his interface array as his panel opened with an audible shlick.

“Shut up!” he spat when Megatron began to snicker, and despite himself, Cliffjumper reached up to offline the cell barrier.

Compared with the rest of the hefty weapon, Megatron’s stock seemed nearly delicate. Thin and round and long, the only interruption to its sleekness was the lip where one half could slide into the other to collapse the stock.

And that lip caught on Cliffjumper’s anterior node as he rocked his hips along the slick length, trapping the stock between his valve lips to rub himself against. A grunt escaped his open mouth and his hold on the grip tightened.

“Sensitive, aren’t you?”

“And you never shut up, do you?!” Cliffjumper complained as he pressed the stock harder against himself. Finding a position had been awkward, but finally the Autobot had settled for straddling the stock and leaning over the rest of the gun so the muzzle faced away from him. One hand braced against the berth while the other was wrapped around the grip of the gun, fingers stroking and squeezing the unyielding metal as best he could while holding the rest of the gun to his frame, slowly warming it with how hot his frame was in comparison.

Another roll of his hips had Cliffjumper’s node catching on the stock’s lip again and he groaned as he repeated the motion yet again.

“Yet you persist. Am I that that irresistible, Autobot?”

Cliffjumper hated how the taunting only had his hips bucking harder.

“Arrogant glitch!”

But there was no denying the fact that Cliffjumper couldn’t take his optics off the length of the gun. The weight of Megatron in his hand grounded him while the beautifully maintained chrome caught and held his attention as it glittered and shimmered with his every movement. His forefinger stroked the trigger guard longingly while he leaned further forward, following the lines of the barrel as he got close enough that it wouldn’t take any effort at all to close his lips around the side of the long cylinder.

His hot ex-vent fogged the sleek metal.

Cliffjumper licked his lips before gritting his teeth.

“Go on then. Why not take a little taste?”

As much as the minibot wanted to argue, the fact was he wanted that taste badly. Cliffjumper told himself that surely just one lick wouldn’t be so bad. Just along the side, nothing dangerous, just a taste.

One small stroke with the tip of his glossa though only made the cloying hunger in Cliffjumper’s spark worse, made the chasm of need that much deeper, and a whine was out of his mouth before he could stop it. Megatron tasted like cleaner and ions and smoke, and Cliffjumper opened his mouth wide to flatten his whole glossa around the curve of the barrel, dragging along the completely unmarred surface, letting his senses be consumed by the heady taste. It only strengthened the closer his glossa lapped towards the muzzle.

“Take what you want.”

Impulse beat out self-preservation. Cliffjumper had to tilt his chassis, letting his forehelm rest on the berth and his hips tilt up so that he could shift the angle of the gun. Within a few moments he managed to get it just right so the stock was still pressed hard against his valve but the muzzle was aimed right at his face.

And that managed to give him pause for a second as the realization of just how stupid this whole thing was hit him.

Unfortunately, it also set his face aflame and lubricant dripped freely along the stock.

Cliffjumper opened his mouth and shifted the gun -- Megatron -- until the muzzle was between his lips and his glossa could plunge into the interior of the barrel.

The taste was caustic and burned his glossa and his proccessor swam in the overwhelming rush of arousal.

His hips jerked down hard on the stock captured between his valve lips, his anterior node finding the stock’s lip again to grind back and forth across, and his calipers clenched on nothing as overload took Cliffjumper by surprise. Cliffjumper clamped his thighs together as a moaned curse tumbled out of his mouth, muffled around Megatron’s barrel.

“What a good little Autobot,” Megatron purred from between Cliffjumper’s legs, and the minibot hated how it prompted another throbbing wave of pleasure through his array.

Cliffjumper was quick to lift his helm up and away and spit out a “Frag you” as he pushed up onto his knees. Megatron’s barrel had lines of his oral fluid streaked across it, his hammer and scope had splatters of transfluid across them, and his stock was absolutely soaked, drips of lubricant falling from the length to pool on the berth. Cliffjumper’s frame shuddered at the mess he had left all over the gorgeous gun and the burning taste of danger on his glossa. A low simmering heat reignited in his array before it could even fully cycle down from the overload.

“I’d much rather frag you.”

Cliffjumper licked his lips and his calipers cycled opened in preparation for what it already knew he would let it have.

Megatron had been aimed right at his helm and hadn’t pulled his trigger.

Maybe couldn’t.

"Fine. Why the frag not?"

It was on his back, servo around Megatron's barrel as he pressed the muzzle in past the soaked rim of his valve, staring down at the Decepticon's gorgeous alt-mode as he pierced himself on it, that Cliffjumper finally noticed the way the scope glinted at him. It was slight, easy to miss.

"Can you see outta that thing?"

"Perhaps," Megatron answered, his tone amused as it had been the whole time, but there was something deeper to it now, gravelly in a way that put even his usual voice to shame. "Would that stop you?"

The edge of the muzzle grated along Cliffjumper's valve walls as he pulled it deeper, just on the edge of pain, and it pulled a moan from his lips.

"If your talking didn't, then I dunno why you think that would."

Megatron chuckled and the scope lens flickered again.

That was one question answered at least.

Not that it mattered really. Not when Cliffjumper had the long, unyielding length of Megatron's barrel pushing in, bit by bit, stretching him so gloriously.

Once Cliffjumper had as much of it as he dared press into his frame, he carefully pulled and pushed the gun, slowly thrusting it into himself.

"F-frag--hah!"

"Is that really all you can take, Autobot?"

Cliffjumper grit his dentae and offlined his optics, wondering if he couldn't just ignore Megatron as he took his pleasure. But only a few seconds passed before he gazed down the length of his body again, watched the way the Megatron’s barrel disappeared past his stretched rim. The most powerful gun Cliffjumper had ever held in his hands, and his throbbing valve was enveloping it in wet heat. Each time he dragged it out, the way his lubricant shone on the black metal was too gorgeous to not watch glitter.

"Come now. Let me fill you completely.”

Cliffjumper’s hips jerked and his hands pushed before he could even think to argue.

Inner calipers gave way and Cliffjumper threw his head back with a shout as the muzzle kissed the very back of his valve. His outer most calipers cycled down as the edge of the muzzle was engulfed, settling snuggly around the thinner barrel and holding the entirety of the muzzle inside his frame.

Keeping Megatron trapped in his fluttering valve as Cliffjumper overloaded around him.

Cliffjumper arched his back as he whimpered, defenseless against the raw pleasure assaulting his sensornet as he shuddered.

“Mmm. Very nice.”

“Get melted,” Cliffjumper muttered breathlessly, internally embarrassed by how little fight was actually in his voice. In fact, he sounded well fragged, static hissing around the edges. It was with trembling hands that Cliffjumper carefully pulled the gun from his abused valve, pausing when aftershocks would have him clenching around the muzzle again.

Once free, Cliffjumper set Megatron down on the berth next to him, parallel to his frame, and then offlined his optics to give himself a moment to come down from the charged high. His valve felt empty but satiated.

“You made such a spectacular spectacle that I suppose you deserve something as a reward, don’t you agree?”

Cliffjumper onlined one optic and turned his head to glower at Megatron.

“I got what I wanted.”

“True. But I imagine that this will only sweeten the memory.”

Before Cliffjumper could think of anything to say to that, Megatron’s alt-form started to hum in a way that had nothing to do with a vocalizer. Cliffjumpers sensory systems were blinded by bright light and a deafening blast. The shock was enough to have his frame moving instantly, jumping and pushing himself off the berth to roll onto the floor with a yelp.

When Cliffjumper managed to reboot his optics and online them, it was to see the gun falling from where it had slammed against the wall from recoil, clattering to the floor.

And when Megatron’s form finally settled, it was with the muzzle nearly aimed at Cliffjumper.

The minibot stared, mouth agape, legs splayed open and frozen in place while his spark thundered in his chest.

“You—you—!”

“I never actually said I couldn’t pull my own trigger,” Megatron supplied, his tone smug, clearly pleased with himself.

And, despite himself – despite the spark-chilling realization that he had placed his life at Megatron’s mercy for an overload – Cliffjumper’s frame shuddered and his valve throbbed.

That damned scope flickered again, watching him.

Frag. Frag, frag, frag.

“You really are a fragged up little Autobot, aren’t you?”

Megatron was teasing him, and worst still, it nearly sounded like praise as well.

Cliffjumper’s face burned and outrage flooded his systems.

With an audible snap his panels closed and Cliffjumper scrambled to his feet, his engine growling threateningly.

“I outta throw you in a smelter myself, you no good slag-sucking decepti-creep!”

Megatron cackled as Cliffjumper berated him, occasionally slipping into genuine laughter when Cliffjumper demanded he stop laughing because he was being serious, slaggit!

Worst still was that Cliffjumper couldn’t just leave. He was the guard on duty, so he couldn’t leave Megatron alone down here, and he definitely couldn’t leave all of the sticky evidence of his activities with the Decepticon prisoner behind for anyone to find. Cliffjumper was pretty sure he would rather take a bullet to the processor than have to face Optimus if his leader knew what he had done.

Cliffjumper was stuck with the mouthy Decepticon for the rest of his shift.

So if he got a little enjoyment out of thoroughly cleaning Megatron’s gun form from his muzzle down to the end of his stock while cursing him out, well, Cliffjumper deserved something for his trouble.

“Soundwave.”

His lieutenant didn’t so much as look at him, busy with decrypting the code that held Megatron trapped in his alt-form. There was no doubt in Megatron’s processor though that he was listening. If ever there was a mech capable of multitasking efficiently, it was Soundwave.

After all, he had managed to keep Starscream distracted while sending Ravage to slip into the Autobot base, rescuing Megatron before the Autobots could even come to a consensus on what to do with their prisoner.

“What’s the name of that red minibot?”

This time Soundwave’s head did swivel to face Megatron’s scope.

“Cassette’s designation is--”

“No, no, not Rumble.” Megatron paused for a moment when Soundwave continued to stare at him. “Or whichever one painted himself red this week. I mean an Autobot.”

Soundwave’s head tilted.

“Three Aubobot minibots feature red paint.”

“The one with horns then.”

“Two Autobot minibots fit that description.”

Megatron growled. “The trigger happy one then!”

Soundwave’s head straightened as he nodded and said, “Minibot’s designation is Cliffjumper.”

“Cliffjumper, hm? A fitting name.” Megatron watched as Soundwave returned his full focus on the code that would soon free him again.

He couldn’t help a quiet chuckle to himself.

A fitting name indeed, and one Megatron would be sure to remember.

[mackinmacki]

Tomato Log V: Flight DLC (Gaming Nerds AU)

Rating: K+

Word Count: 3434

Summary: Maki decides it’s time to go see Hanayo, and maybe confess those feelings of hers.

Pairing: MakiPana

Notes: At least three months isn’t six months. Also, I love my references that most people wouldn’t be looking for or get.

Link: (FFN) / Banana’s Awesome Character Sheet Refs

Despite things seeming like they were fine again, Maki still felt uneasy. Though she was getting to talk to Hanayo more, there was still the specter of Rin that put her on edge. They hung out so much: what if they were becoming more than friends? What if they were already dating and Hanayo just wasn't telling her? Why did she have to be so far away?

Her sulking was once again gaining the notice of her roommates, and they weren't shy about bringing it up. "Have you ever played Xenoblade Chronicles, Maki?" This was how Nico started up their conversation one day while the two of them were in the same area. Maki was looking for something to eat while Nico was watching TV.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a video game. Look, Maki, there's a character in the game named Shulk, okay? I'm gonna call you Sulk. Because you're always sulking-"

"I get it." Maki, not realizing the irony, peeked out of the kitchen and sulked in Nico's direction. "What's your point?"

"My point is that you're a complete drag to be around. What's your problem anyway?" Nico looked away from the TV and smirked in Maki's direction. "Trouble with your fake girlfriend?"

"Sh-She's not fake or my girlfriend!" Maki protested, going red in the face as she retreated back into the kitchen area. It made sense that she was next to the oven, because she was heated. More than that, she was upset with Nico once again demeaning her best friend.

"So it is about her. I knew it." Nico laughed and got up from the couch, heading into the kitchen to confront Maki. "Why don't you actually do something about... whatever's bothering you instead of just moping around?"

"I don't have to take this from you." Maki frowned and folded her arms, leaning against the oven. "You're just an angry little gremlin with delusions of grandeur." That seemed to hit its mark, as Nico's face went red as she practically growled at Maki.

"You... You... You ass!" Maki scoffed at the lame insult, walking out of the kitchen and away from Nico. She had forgotten about the snack, but she wasn't really hungry anymore anyway. Before she could get to her room, she was intercepted by Eli. Apparently her roommates didn't understand what personal space was.

"Nico has a point, Maki. A rude point, but a point nonetheless."

"Were you just listening to us?"

"You two aren't very quiet with your arguments." Eli put her hands on her hips and stared Maki down. "If you're really worried about Hanayo, then you should talk to her about how you're feeling."

"I can't! It's just... weird to say that stuff on Skype." Plus it was just embarrassing in general to admit that she had real human feelings.

"Then just go see her! Gods!" Nico had returned to the conversation. "Aren't you rich as hell? Just get on your private jet and fly it over to her." That... wasn't a bad idea. Why did it have to be Nico who came up with that idea?

"I... have stuff to do," she muttered, rushing into her room and slamming the door. She tried her best to ignore Nico's laughter as she practically flung herself onto her computer chair, booting up Skype. Hopefully Hanayo would be online...

She was! Maki typed out a message, asking if they could cam for a bit. She waited with bated breath, worried that Hanayo would be busy again. Thankfully though, she wasn't, so they had time to spend together. Maki put on her headphones and started the call, smiling the moment Hanayo's face came onscreen.

"Hi Maki-chan!" Her smile quickly dropped when she noticed the worried-looking smile on Maki's face. "Is something wrong?"

"No! Well, yes. Maybe?" This seemed like such a bold thing to request, and her throat tightened at the mere thought of saying it. At the same time though, Maki really did want to see Hanayo in person. Maybe doing that would give her clarity on her feelings. "I... wanted to ask you something important."

"A-Are you quitting SunFall?"

"What? No! Never!" Now that was something she truly could never fathom doing. "I... I was wondering if you were going to be busy this weekend."

"Oh, that's a relief!" Hanayo smiled, then thought about what Maki said next. "Hmm, no, I shouldn't be. Did you want to try another raid?"

"Not exactly." Maki took a deep breath, glancing at the door as if she expected her roommates to be glued to it in anticipation. "I, uh, wanted to know if... if..." She fell silent, a blush steadily forming on her face.

"If?" Hanayo tilted her head slightly, giving Maki and confused expression. It was such a cute look that it made it even harder for Maki to respond, as she was too busy being warmed by her crush's insane amount of cuteness. "If I'm busy?"

"Well, you're not busy, right?" She'd already said that, so probably not. This was just leaving things in suspense: she needed to say something now. "A-Anyway, I wanted to come see you." There: she had said it. It was out in the open now.

"Maki-chan, you're looking at me right now, aren't you?" Hanayo smiled innocently, and Maki just wanted to slam her head on the desk. This was not meant to be, was it?

"Yes, but that's not what I meant. I... want to see you... in person." Realization dawned on Hanayo's face as her mouth fell open. "I-I think it'd be f-fun! We've never gotten to meet before, and you wouldn't have to spend any money."

"Wow, I... Y-Yeah! I'd love to see you, Maki-chan!" Hanayo's surprise turned into a smile. "I-If you really want to spend all that money just to see me-"

"Absolutely!" Maki interrupted before Hanayo could be any more self-deprecating. The amount of money she'd have to spend was more than worth it to see her, and that was the truth. "I really do want to see you this weekend, Hanayo." Any weekend, really. Any day at all.

"W-Well then, I can't wait to see you!" There was a comfortable happiness settling between them as they started to plan. "I hope you don't mind if my roommate comes with me to pick you up. I don't have my own car." That gave Maki pause, but she quickly remembered that Rin was not one Hanayo's roommates, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with that.

"That's alright. You know, you should really get a car though."

"I-I don't really go anywhere, though." Maki laughed and waved a hand dismissively. It felt really good to be able to talk like this again, like the long time friends that they were. Plus they were finally going to meet face to face. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this happy.

Now all that was left to do was to hide in her room until she had to leave so Nico wasn't able to say 'I told you so.'

The plane ride wasn't long, but Maki had been hoping to take a nap regardless. Instead she stayed up the entire time with her nerves on edge. She really was about to meet Hanayo in person for the first time. This was a big thing for her, and she didn't think she was prepared for it.

They'd been friends for so long now, and it took days and days of moping and jealousy for her to actually take this step. What if it was a mistake though? There was the positive that laying it all on the line could make all her wildest dreams come true, but at the same time there was a higher chance that she'd permanently ruin their friendship. They could probably still be friends, even if Hanayo started dating Rin, or was already dating Rin.

Okay, that was a terrible thought. It made her feel ill that her crush might be - likely was - all for naught. She didn't want to give up, though. Hanayo was just the most amazing, beautiful girl there was. There'd never be anyone else like her. 'Oh Gods, I sound like a lovestruck teenager.'

Maki slapped her cheeks as the plane came to a stop, trying to knock out any unnecessary thoughts from her brain. If she was stressed for the entire weekend, it wouldn't leave a very good impression. She surely was overthinking all of this.

Since it was only a weekend trip, she hadn't brought much with her. Everything she had was in a bag she slung over her shoulder and carried off of the plane. Walking with the rest of her first class passengers, she tried her best to think of anything else but the daunting task she had ahead.

She could think about SunFall. After all, there was a new miniquest coming up that she was planning on completing the first day. It wasn't a major update, but there couldn't always be major updates. All it would be was another notch on her completionist belt. She was so close, she could almost taste it.

She almost tasted the door as well, nearly slamming face-first into it while her mind wandered elsewhere. Luckily she halted just before she hit it, pushing open the door and pretending that was all according to plan. She tried to will the blush forming on her face down as she went outside to look for Hanayo.

She wasn't sure what to look for. Hanayo hadn't told her what kind of car her roommate drove, and there were quite a few vehicles - and people - around. None of them were Hanayo, though. Maki looked around the area, trying to find any indication that Hanayo was there. This would be so much easier if Hanayo would just get a cellphone...

"Maki?" Whirling around, Maki found herself being sized up by a shorter, ashen-haired girl. She had no idea who this girl was, but reacting to her name being called accidentally revealed who she was. The girl clapped her hands and smiled. "I thought so. You look exactly like Hanayo-chan described."

"Hanayo?" That got Maki's attention. If this person knew who Hanayo was, then they had to be the roommate that had driven her here. Since she didn't have bright orange hair, that meant she had to be... "You're... Kotori?"

"Mm!" She clapped again, bowing her head slightly. "Minami Kotori, at your service." Giggling, she stuck her tongue out slightly and pointed to a car that was parked right behind her. Maki had seen that car, but there hadn't seemed to be anybody in it. As if she could read her mind, Kotori chipped in just as Maki finished thinking that thought. "Don't worry: Hanayo-chan's in there! She's just hiding under the seats."

"Oh." Maki wasn't sure what to say about that. Was Hanayo as nervous as she was about this? That was somewhat comforting, actually. Not that it made her any less nervous, but it was something. "So, should we...?"

"Of course!" Kotori kept on smiling as she led Maki to the car, pulling open the driver's side door. Maki didn't know which side to enter from, though. She didn't want to accidentally try to take Hanayo's seat or anything. So she peered into the window and saw a familiar form trying to hide herself beneath the seats.

"Cute..." Maki muttered to herself, steeling herself to actually talk to Hanayo in person for the first time. She opened the door and poked her head in, putting on her best 'non-serial killer smile'. "Is this seat taken?" Was that lame or secretly clever? She hadn't thought to research that before saying it.

Hanayo looked up at Maki with wide eyes, a blush forming on her cheeks as she scrambled up to sit on the opposite seat. "N-No! It's empty." This would be funny if she wasn't so nervous herself. Maki just nodded and sat down, acutely aware of Kotori giggling from the front seat.

The beginning of the drive was quiet, with both girls being too shy to even look at each other, except for the occasional sneaked glances. It was up to Kotori to break the ice. "So, Maki, how was your flight?"

"It was alright. Kinda just flew by." For some reason, that response drew another laugh from Kotori, though Maki didn't feel comfortable asking why what she said was funny. Instead they lapsed back into silence, but that wasn't going to deter Kotori.

"Hey Hanayo-chan, didn't you catch a new item in that m and o game of yours?" Instantly, Hanayo tensed up, glaring at Kotori with possibly the most adorable angry face imaginable. Kotori could only smile to herself after she glanced back at Hanayo's expression. That would do the trick.

"K-Kotori-chan, you know that you don't 'catch' items! You acquire them, and it's MMO!"

"Does... Does she not know what an MMO is?" Maki leaned over and whispered to Hanayo, trying not to let Kotori be aware of what she was saying.

"N-No, she does. She's just being a... a..." Hanayo pouted up at Kotori, trying to come up with an appropriate descriptor. "A big meany!" Maki tried her hardest not to burst out laughing, stomping her foot down against the floor and faking a coughing fit. "O-Oh! Are you okay, Maki-chan?"

"Y-Yes, I'm f-fine." She faked another series of coughs until she was positive that she could keep herself under control. Then, after taking a deep breath, she was ready to keep going with the conversation. "A-Anyway, at least she's just teasing, right? My roommates actually have no idea what it is... Or they don't care," she added, thinking bitterly about Nico.

"Y-Yeah, I remember! You said they called it Moonrise, right?" Hanayo shook her head with a quiet 'tsk tsk'. "It's, it's... disgraceful."

"Disgusting," Maki agreed.

"Despicable," Kotori chimed in, smiling to herself as Maki and Hanayo began to talk about SunFall. All according to plan.

Maki wasn't sure why she expected something different than what she walked into. Maybe it was because she coming to a slightly new place, but it was a university just like hers, so really she shouldn't have been surprised when Hanayo's dorm looked pretty similar.

As soon as Kotori closed the front door, one of the dorm doors opened and out popped another girl, who turned to the three with excitement in her eyes. "You're back! And you brought the nerd!"

"Hah?" Maki barely had time to react before the ginger girl was upon her, invading her personal space. "H-Hey, what are you doing?!"

"I'm hugging you, duh." She laughed, giving Maki a funny look. "You have been hugged before, right?"

"O-Of course I have!" She started to turn red as she huffed and turned to face the wall, no longer attempting to struggle out of the hug. Sure she had gotten a hug before. Plenty of hugs, in fact! ... From her parents. That counted, right? They were hugs, after all. Human arms had indeed been wrapped around her torso.

"H-Honoka-chan, p-please let go," Hanayo pleaded, looking incredibly awkward watching the two of them. It was Kotori who once again stepped in to right the ship.

"Honoka-chan, please let go of our guest." Her smile turned into a strange grin. "Unless you'd like to wear the school uniform again." Honoka paled instantly, letting go of Maki and bouncing back.

"Ahaha, of course, of course! S-Sorry Maki-chan!"

"A school uniform?" As much as she was pleased to get her space back, Maki didn't understand what was so bad about a uniform. "Didn't you have to wear one in high school?"

"It's not the uniform. It's what I have to do in it." With that, Honoka ran back into her room, glancing back fearfully one more time before slamming her door shut. Kotori giggled behind Maki, drawing her attention.

"Have fun, you two. Enjoy your LMMOP."

"I-It's MMO, Kotori-chan!" That just got another giggle from Kotori before she went to her own room, leaving Maki and Hanayo alone in the living room.

"Uh... What did she mean by what she has to do in the uniform?"

"I-I'm not sure I want to know." Hanayo squirmed awkwardly, looking at Maki. "Sh-Should we go to my room?" Maki merely nodded, and the two of them headed for Hanayo's room. As they walked in Maki wondered if she was being too stoic and impersonal. Maybe she needed to be more vocal.

Looking around, Maki noticed that Hanayo's room wasn't too dissimilar to hers either. It was a lot cleaner, though. On the wall was a poster for SunFall, while on a shelf was a very nice-looking replica of Hanayo's beast tamer character. "Your room looks nice." That wasn't the most inspiring of conversation starters, but at least she was trying.

"Th-Thank you." She really was a far cry from the silent and powerful beast tamer Maki had originally believed her to be, but she didn't mind at all. Hanayo was too cute for words, and being in the presence of her made Maki's heart beat faster. This crush was going to be the death of her.

She noticed Hanayo's headphones laying on her desk, those flimsy-looking white earbuds that she could never approve of. "You really do need new headphones, Hanayo."

"Y-You've said that before." Hanayo giggled softly, picking up the headphones and holding them carefully. "They've served me well for this long."

"I'm still gonna have to get you some real gaming headphones." She looked around the room again, then turned to Hanayo with a small smile. "It was really nice of Kotori to allow me to spend the weekend here." Originally, she had planned to make reservations at a hotel, but according to Hanayo, Kotori had been insistent that she stay there instead.

"Yeah, I'm really glad you're gonna be staying here." Maki blushed at those words, but it made her heart warm up considerably. "I hope my bed is comfortable enough."

"Your bed?" She stared at Hanayo in confusion. "But where are you going to sleep?"

"The couch. You're my guest, Maki-chan. I want you to be comfortable here." Hanayo's smile was genuine, but Maki was frowning all the same. Sure, she was a guest, but she didn't want to intrude like that. It was Hanayo's bed, not hers.

"But it's your bed, Hanayo. I'm more than happy to sleep on the couch. Besides, I'm just happy to be here with you." That statement hit Hanayo first, as her face begin to burn up. It took Maki a moment, but when she saw how red Hanayo was, then realized what she had said, her own face began to play catch-up. It was at that moment that Kotori poked her head in.

"Ooh, and there hasn't even been a kiss yet." It was soft enough that it apparently only reached Maki's ears, and it caused her to blush harder if anything. She whipped around to stare wide-eyed at Kotori, who smiled at her. "You two don't need to fight over the sleeping arraignments. I already have that taken care of."

"You do?" Both Maki and Hanayo spoke at the same time.

"Mhm!" Kotori stepped into the room, holding a blanket in one hand and a pillow in the other. "You can both sleep in Hanayo-chan's bed."

"E-Eh?!"

"There's plenty of room, isn't there, Hanayo-chan?" That smile was definitely not innocent. Maki was sure of it.

"W-Well, m-maybe, b-b-but-"

"Perfect!" She tossed the pillow towards Maki, who, with all of her regality and grace, let it bounce off of her face and onto the ground. The blanket came next, landing perfectly on top of her and making her look like a very poorly-designed ghost. How mortifying. "I've heard it's going to be cold tonight, so be sure to bundle up. Have fun, you two!"

Maki yanked off the blanket as Kotori disappeared from view, but she was sure that there had been a devious grin on her face. Cold, she had said? Unlikely, since her face was hot enough now to warm a small farm.

"W-Well, w-w-we aren't going to bed yet," Hanayo reasoned, bending over to pick up the pillow and laying it carefully on the bed. Maki gulped and nodded, tossing the blanket on the bed as well.

"Y-Yeah, exactly." It was clear that they were both nervous, and while they eventually got back to hanging out like normal friends, the fact that they were to sleep in the same bed stayed on Maki's mind the whole time. 'Damn you, Kotori! ... Thank you, but damn you.'

[aurakaura]

Sina’s Magic 83

It was time for Tsukira’s second match which was a little worrying as Oradora’s Mirror ability looked like a challenge to over come. (Ref) “Now for our first battle of group 2 Tsukira against Oradora, begin” neither of them looked to be in a rush to attack. (Tsukira) “I guess I will go first then, not that it surprises me as both of us rely on more counter based techniques, now False Reality”. (Oradora) “Light Mirror Counter” Tsukira’s magic was deflected right back at her but she did not seem to fall for the illusion. “Now Crescent Waves, hate to tell you but sadly for you I have some offense abilities too”. The attack seemed to push Tsukira back, (Tsukira) “Spiritual Wave Slash” (Oradora) “Crescent Waves again” both attacks collided and destroyed each other. (Tsukira) “Phantom Mind Blast” I had my fingers crossed she could pull off an illusion technique this time. (Oradora) “Let’s have some fun Multi Mirrors Guard, this should keep your magic away from me”.

(Tsukira) “Phantom Stars Attack, ugh how about this one Phantom Blast....UGH what do I have to do?”. This was bad no matter what she did her attacks were shot away with the mirrors, they were a huge counter to her. (Oradora) “Now Crescent Waves the third, (Tsukira) “Ghost Stance Guard” she tried to protect herself but a mirror absorbed Oradora’s attack this time and then hit her from behind. (Oradora) “You may as well just quit, you are out classed and there is no way you could over come my team mates even if you defeat me”.

(Tsukira) “I...I won’t give up, there are many people who fell victim to my illusions despite their efforts to resist”. (Oradora) “I respect your efforts but you can not win this time Light Mirror Counter”. She seemed to launch a Light energy version of the Phantom Blast but Tsukira dodged. (Tsukira) “Now Phantom -whispers- False Reality” (Oradora) “Multi Mirrors Guard”. Oradora seemed to be preparing her mirrors for another counter attack....wait why is she frozen. (Oradora) “What no NO how is this possible....you you can’t have caught me” (Tsukira) “Sorry but I pretended to be attacking directly to trick you into absorbing an Illusion technique. Now Phantom Mind Blast plus Spiritual Wave Slash” I can’t believe it she was able to not only catch her in an illusion but also defeat her some how. I guess the Mirror form must use up a lot of magic, (Ref) “And with that Tsukira moves on to Round 3 congratulations”.

(Oradora) “I’am sorry for mocking you, it feels weird to witness an Illusionist out smart me but you were incredible”. She offered Tsukira a hand shake which was quite respectable, (Tsukira) “Thank you, your technique pushed me to think out side of the box”. The pair shook hands, I looked over in the crowd and Senkura seemed to be smiling, maybe she has learnt to respect Tsukira too. Her next opponent was Arushu though and he seemed to have the odds in his favor due to him being a Grand 5 member.