#I still have to decide which one of them would fare better

[arolesbianism]

I should rly get around to designing the Jackies and Olivias from my swap aus now that I have ideas for how to differentiate them for their non swapped counterparts, but at the same time the eternal dread of having to commit to either keeping or changing the gravitas uniform for the swap aus hangs over me with ever increasing pressure, so maybe I can just only draw headshots of them and commit to that til the end of time instead

[gyuswhore]

Statistically Speaking...

part of the svt TA collab

kim mingyu x reader

est. word count: 10-15k [fat chance]

est. release date: 10th September

warnings: TA! mingyu, fluff, smut [MINORS DNI], angst, statistics, more to be added in final post

synopsis: In all your years of academic endurance, you’ve never failed. A 100% success rate, despite you cutting it close at times. However, the line graph that is your life starts tanking somewhere around the time you began taking this hellsent Statistics in Psychological Research class. With a professor that wouldn’t know his ass from his head, and an overworked, overenthusiastic, and overcaptivating TA, it couldn't possibly get any worse than this. However, statistically speaking,…it could.

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[a/n]: first look into the TA collab fic!!! @camandemstudios has been along time in the making and I cant wait for you all to read all of the fics in full. accept this piece offering from me and please let me know what you think of it so far!

masterlist

“Right. How can I help you?”

Pulling out your printed assignment, you bring the sheets of stapled paper to the centre of the table, writing facing him. 

One look at the sparse format of the cover page, Mingyu blows a full mouth of air at the sight of recognition. Without you having to say a thing, he flicks to the very last page, finding the rubric printed on a separate page. 

“It’s a 37,” you inform him like he couldn’t see the bold 37/100 in the bottom Total cell. 

“Do you think you deserved a better grade?” he asks. It would have sounded direct, an accusation even. But he asks with an intonation of genuinity, like he genuinely wanted to know. 

It stumps you regardless.

“Well…I know I can do better, at least,” you decide to answer. 

“You’re here, which means you’re at least willing to try. That’s a start,” he murmurs. His eyes are laser focused on the sheet beneath him, holding it open as his eyes move faster across the page than you can keep up with. Somehow talking to you while taking in the words on the paper.

“I remember marking this,” he says, looking up to address you. “Your concepts are nearly there, but your structure and wording were the problem.”

“You marked them?”

He raises his brow, “I hope that wasn’t an accusation. I need to stick to the rubric.”

“I thought the professor marked the lab reports.”

“He’s…supposed to.” There’s a forced reservedness in his voice. “I mark them and he puts in his comments if he has any. But I’m not sure you’d fare any better than this if it was him behind that pen either.”

Every question that floated in memorisation, from the form and structure, to the nitty gritties of the data presentation, all evaporate as you realise you’re at a loss for words. 

Even more embarrassingly, you feel tears prick the back of your eyes as the next words leave you in a low voice, “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“That’s alright,” he says as reassurance, though it sounds awfully rehearsed. Like he says it everyday. “We’ll work through it.”

He lets out a big sigh, adjusting in his chair and running a hand through his hair. The motion has you noticing the dishevelled nature of the mop on his head, un-uniformed and sticking out at certain places, yet still somehow cohesive with his look. His shoulders are straight and taut, fingers working as they fiddle and flick the pen in his hand. 

Despite it all, his shirt is ruffled and creased, unbuttoned at the first couple steps. The buttons are misaligned, one side of his collar higher on his neck than the other. It takes an effort to not reach over and fix it for him.

“Lab reports can be quite tricky if you aren’t sure what you’re doing. Did you refer to the tutorial?”

You mean the one that did nothing to help? “Yes.”

“You got those bits right, format and whatnot. But—”

“It was a lump of writing about subheadings and word counts,” you say plainly.

Mingyu lips are in a tight line. “Well, yes, but it helps—”

“I know the results are supposed to go in the results section. I don’t need a PDF to tell me that,” you cut him off. Your voice is reserved, and you hope it comes off as a point across and not a complaint. Although it was a complaint. “I want to know why the entire section was ruled off as incorrect when we were never properly taught how to write it in the first place.”

“Dr. Cho—”

“Is no help.”

“I understand—”

“He can’t even mark his own papers. I’m quite sure that’s not in your job description. It’s supposed to be him here. Not you.”

It’s silent. There was nothing in your voice that suggested you wished to pick a fight, on the contrary, quite calm and matter of fact. Mingyu’s fingernails are going white as his grip on his pen and paper grow stronger. 

“And yet, we continue to show up. Because we do what we must.” He raises his head in control, a small smile on his face, eyebrows unnaturally raised. “And, better that I’m here rather than no one at all. I can help you too.”

Help, he did. 

Mingyu had made it quite clear his time with you was limited, but by the end of the near 25 minute session, nearly every inch of your printed assignment was covered different colours of notes and corrections, additional papers and post-it notes pasted on the back as you remain careful to not lose them as you slip the stack in your bag. 

It’s only then that you spot the segregated stack of papers in your bag that you remember. 

“I almost forgot,” you say, grabbing the pile and placing it in front of him. 

“Where did you find this?” he asks sharply. 

“You left them at the desk of the lecture hall last week,” you say, before quickly adding, “There was a class right after you left. I took them off the professor’s hands before they got lost. Thought it might be important.”

“I’ve been looking all over for these,” he says as he goes through the pages and files. Random sticky tabs and highlighted regions across the pages. The leather strap watch with the broken clock face remains on top, and he picks it up. He looks up to you with wide, sparkling eyes and a smile that feels genuine. “Thank you.”

You flush for some reason, “O–of course, couldn’t just leave them there.”

It isn’t till you’re pushing yourself out of your chair that he says something. “You can come in at 3:30 tomorrow.”

“Pardon?”

He’s stood up as well. “I have a free thirty minutes before office hours formally start. I can help you out a little more without the crowd.” 

Feet planted on the ground, there’s not much you can do but stare. “Um, sure. I can come in a little early.”

He nods casually, “Thanks again for the papers. And the watch.”

You smile, “No problem.”

[absolutebl]

Could you recommend me 1-2 good "standard" bl from each of the main bl producing countries (China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea)? I'm interested in the differences in tropes and execution between bl from different countries, especially Taiwan and Thailand. I'm looking for bl that's highly rated because it's well-executed but doesn't stray from the expected formula for its region.

Great BLs that ALSO rep for their country's style

I really took the "represent" part seriously. Here are my (end of 2024) quick pulls, explanations etc in the linked posts at the bottom.

Japan

Seven Days (or I Cannot Reach You)

Old Fashion Cupcake

For the darker stuff: Tokyo in April is

Korea

Semantic Error

To My Star

For their new style of darker stuff: The 8th Sense or Love for Love's Sake

Thailand

These were absolutely the hardest to pick, so I couldn't stick to 2. There's just so much Thai BL.

My School President - best high school rep (heritage = Love of Siam, Love Sick, the true Thai BL beginnings)

Bad Buddy - best uni BL rep (heritage = 2gether, SOTUS, the beginning of Thai BL global dominance) alternative = Oxygen which is possibly the most classic Thai uni BL we have ever gotten (but Bad Buddy is better acted)

We Are - best GMMTV ensemble piece, heritage is actually also Love Sick, but in 2024 everyone is gay.

Lovely Writer - best meta

My Ride - best pulp

The Sign - best wild what-the-actual-fuck? ride (KinnPorshe also an option)

For an example of the few times Thailand got elevated: I Feel You Linger in the Air or A Tale of Thousand Stars. But these are atypical, we only get a few of them a year from Thailand.

Taiwan

These were the easiest to pick.

We Best Love

Be Loved In House: I Do

But actually: History 4: Make Our Day's Count will tell you everything you ever needed to know about Taiwanese BL in one mess of a show. It's just... not that great.

China

Addicted

Word of Honor

The Philippines

Gameboys

My Day

Vietnam

Mr Cinderella

My Lascivious Boss

But by most standards neither of these are actually very good.

Here's a 2022 post where I talk about the differences between country's styles and approaches.

If you want representative samples from a historical perspective than I do that here:

In that post, you'll need to decide what kind of representation you want to consume though, because some are very old, and others newer, since this is set up to learn about the evolution of the genre.

I also wrote a whole series on the history of the genre along with my top 10 picks at the time (2022). It's old now but still holds up for what you want. I would say pick any two from the top ten of each list, but please understand my personal taste leans toward the lighter fluffier fare. (Which means my top ten from places like Japan is very skewed. Also several countries have added new top 10, for me personally, in 2023 & 2024).

Here's a fun one on the tropes people love in the different countries

And a personal favorite, very silly and not helpful at all.

(source)

[peachesofteal]

Hey Peach!!

I just read the ultimate angst post you made and I'm literally not ok but I absolutely love your writing. You write angst so so well it's astonishing and I strive to write at your level one day.

But I can't get all these possible scenarios out of my head about that au so I thought I might share them with you.

So I'm thinking Darling is going to the motions of grief and anger as the boys leave and so decides to ignore them completely. Like she goes ghost mode on them. They text her their apologies on the day their leaving and for obvious reasons can't keep in touch after that.

Darling is a complete mess for the first couple of months after their departure. Living in that apartment alone would become too much for her. Every nook every coner holding precious memories of their times together. She would cry looking at the knick knacks they'd left behind accidentally. Fantasizing about what could have been if she had told them, If they hadn't decided to break up on the spot without consulting her, if they had communicated better. But it's too late now, their gone and she can't even let them know she's pregnant, not that she wants to anymore after being dumped like that.

She decides eventually to pull herself together for herself and her growing child. An apartment move was very necessary for her mental well-being so she decides to move somewhere her child can have a fulfilling upbringing. A fresh start somewhere where she isn't consumed by their memories. Somewhere that doesn't remind her of them when she's walking through the park where she would pick wild flowers together with Johnny to put in pretty vases on the dinning table or going to their favourite grocery store and shops looking for ingredients to try new recipes together which might not always turn out great. Or when the local pub owners ask where her pretty men are when their away on ops. Those little things would chip away at her if she had to think about them constantly.

So she moves and begins her difficult and lonely journey as a single parent but still trying to enjoy all her first milestone of her pregnancy. She goes to these wellness classes for expecting mothers where she has to watch couples enjoying their pregnancy together while she sits there all alone. It's difficult to attend these check-ups and classes but she manages for the sake of her child. She might have a little gender reveal by herself or with some friends but in my head darling might go to a bakery with the little slip of paper the maternity nurse had given her and asks them if they could make a cupcake with the adjacent colour filling on the inside so she can celebrate at home, probably with some nice food and her favourite movie. Deciding the name of the child, painting and decorating a nursery, going clothes shopping she wishes she had them there with her as much as she doesn't want to admit missing them, she also might cry alot along her journey but she is constantly learning as she goes along to give her child the best possible life she can provide. But as her mental health fluctuates she finds it increasingly difficult to take care of herself as she nears the due date to give birth.

All this is happening while the boys are on their very difficult and taxing mission. Trying their best to stay alive for each other while dealing with the guilt of hurting darling the way they did . They try to rationalize their decision to break up with her to dissipate their growing guilt but to no avail. They're constantly thinking about her, wondering how she's faring, if she's eating well, if she's recovering from the hurt they caused. They hope to come back alive to talk to explain their reasoning for their decision and try to make it up to her again. Not realising the darling they had left behind was long gone by the time they would get back.

Sorry for going off on a tangent I hope you enjoy my little take on your au. The real angsty parts comes when they get back a realize she's gone for good. Thanks again for blessing us with your writing 💗

I am throwing writing tools at you! Books! Notebooks! Pens! Paper! Laptops! Disco baby au 18+ Mature themes.

I love all of this, but one thing that really sticks with me is the image of Darling, sitting at the kitchen table, alone with a cupcake. You don't have a party, don't have friends over, you just go to the bakery and get this one, singular cupcake, made for yourself.

And then, when you finally get home, after a way too long day at work, your body sore and back tired, you sit down in front of it.

You always thought, that if you were to have a baby, this is something you'd do with your partners, if you even chose to do it at all. You always envisioned not finding out, leaving it for a surprise when the time comes, but this... none of it feels right. None of it feels like it should, and you think that means you shouldn't wait. You should get to know, right now, since there's no one else to share it with, no one else who even cares.

So, when you finally cut into it, and finally see that stupid color on the inside (because also, screw this whole concept to begin with) you don't feel joy. Or excitement. You feel crippling sadness, and you rest your head on the table as you start to cry, cradling your belly with a hand when the baby starts to move.

This was supposed to be good. We were supposed to be happy. You can't not think about the way Johnny would whoop and cause such a ruckus at the news, the way his eyes would light up and how he would pull you in for a devastating kiss. You think about Simon, and the way his eyes would grow wet, even though he swore he wasn't crying, how he would hold you and tell you how happy he is, how much he loves all three of you now. You, Johnny, and little baby girl.

You can almost see them, in the flat, almost hear them, and if you close you eyes, you can picture them sitting on either side of you, holding your hand, kissing your skin slowly. Making you feel loved. Making you feel safe.

But they're not there. You're alone. You, and little baby girl, doing it on your own.

[yuumcbr]

TWST X OBEY ME! 2

part 01

Some people asked for a second part, about this post

So here are some more characters:

AU Summary: Years after graduating from NRC, Yuu lives with a boy from TWST and he proposes to Yuu.

After accepting, Yuu says that she would like him to meet her family.

Yuu= MC

There is a better explanation in part one.

Just as Jade knew that having you around was like having Grim around, you knew that dating Jade meant constantly living with Floyd.

So it was obvious that when you went to Devilton to meet your family, you would be taking both of them. Jade was against taking your brother at first, but gave in (You know he only said Floyd wouldn't go because he wanted to tease him a little).

When you arrived in Devilton, you told them to be careful when touching or/and eating anything, since poisons and curses are extremely common.

Which only made Floyd more out of control, you were happy that Jade managed to hold him back (it would be bad to start a fight here, especially since you didn't know how merfolk would fare in a fight with demons).

You decided to stop at a grocery store in Devilton to buy some Cursed Candy Apples to take to your brothers and some Apples of Truth for Jade to use when her One Magic had already been used on someone and no longer worked.

But when you noticed, the trio of two mers and a monster cat had disappeared and done one of the few things you didn't want them to do: eat something and get into a fight!!

Apparently Floyd and Grim found the names of some of the food at the stalls next door amusing and forgot to pay, when Jade tried to pay for them, the owner refused the Taumarks and didn't hesitate to get into the middle of the fight.

The fight:

Salesman, Jade, Floy and Grim: *Fighting with punches, kicks and magic*

Yuu: STOP IT!!

Jade, Floy and Grim: *Look at an angry Yuu*

Salesman and the other demons who joined the fight for fun: *recognizing MC*

Demon A: Damn, I told you it was a bad idea to fight

Demon B: You said the complete opposite!!

Salesman: Sir/Miss MC - *walks away from the twins* - I apologize for the confusion, but these thieves can't get away with it.

Yuu: When you have a problem like this, take a picture of the thief and take it to the authorities, there's no need to get into a fight.

Yuu: As for the costs and expenses of this fight, I ask that you write a letter with the damages and send it to the House of Regrets within 3 days and I will settle it.

*Yuu turns around*

Yuu: And you 3, come with me!

As they walked a little:

Jade: *smiles* Oh, that was unexpected, Yuu-san!

Floyd: Shrimp is always full of surprises, hehe!!

Yuu: I'm still mad at you guys!!

Well, it didn't take long for Jade to notice that you worked a lot on government issues, or that there were only demons around.

To say that he and Barbatos got along would be an understatement, when Barbatos started talking about recipes with Hellfire mushrooms and Cat Ears mushrooms, you had the slight impression that Jade was exchanging you for the fauna and flora of Devilton.

You already imagined that your next days off would be spent exploring mountains that would have a new landscape.

It's better for you to make a list without Jade knowing which ingredients he brings to the Devilton Lounge are cursed or/and poisonous to give to Azul just in case.

Mammon found Jade to be a strange person, especially when he smiled. He seriously felt scared, he even asked you if you really wanted to marry a weird version of Barbatos.

You laughed at that, the two looked alike, but they were very different.

Barbatos is quiet and reserved, as he does not want to spoil or interfere in the future and thus be surprised by the paths that time will follow.

Jade is quiet and reserved because he likes to observe every detail of a person and get to know them better, to learn their strengths and weaknesses and use them if necessary.

Jade also had a very soft side when it came to nature and his passion for learning was extremely motivating.

Not to be outdone by Barbatos and his mushroom recipes, you gave Jade cigar cookies rolled with Hellfire mushrooms that you bought in town.

It was fun to see his reaction when he discovered the ingredients in the cookies:

Oh, do you eat Hellfire? I never thought you could make something so sweet with mushrooms, maybe you should try with the ones you have at home, you're going to help me make them for Azul and Floyd, right? After all, we don't want them to miss out on something so amazing.

When I thought about what Cater's proposal would be like, I initially thought he would do something as magically loving as possible.

But if you've gotten to the point where Cater proposes, I'm guessing you've been through a lot of ups and downs in your relationship and it must have been hard to break through the barriers he's built to protect himself from the world.

I think for Cater, it would be perfect if you proposed to him, in a quiet place with little to no movement.

Now, I'm sure he'd try to tell you that he's looking forward to meeting your family, but along the way make sure to calm his nerves (he's nervous to meeting your family).

Tell Cater that your family is a busy one and if your brother Asmo says something about Cater not being as beautiful as him, it's because Asmo believes he's the most beautiful person in the world, so there will never be anyone more beautiful than him.

He finds your family names a little strange, but he thinks it's something about different emotions.

Before going to Devilton, meeting the queen of the rose kingdom, Rose was something he will never forget.

And her saying that she considered you family, so that extended to him and that he would take good care of you was extremely, how can he say it, encouraging? Honorable? Charming?He doesn't know how to describe this feeling, but he's sure it's something positive.

On the other hand, nothing really scared him more than finding out that he would be surrounded by real demons for the next few days, you could have told him that, Prefect!!

What do you mean you didn't think about it? You explained to him that since you noticed that TWST was a place where all races lived practically in harmony, you didn't think there was a need to say which race your family belonged to.

Cater even thought that you could be a Demon, but you explained that you were just distant relatives who only found out they were related months after meeting each other.

It's obvious that you, Cater, Mammon and Asmo went to countless places like restaurants, spas, theaters and tourist spots.

When they're at an electronics store (Asmo and Mammon are picking out items to improve the quality of Asmo's Devilgram posts [Mammon is carrying the bags]):

Cater: Nee Nee Yuu-chan, what do you think of these headphones, we could match *Cater shows you a pair of headphones with white and red patterns so that each earbud has the opposite color pattern to the first*

Yuu: *smiles* That looks amazing!Cater: I know, I have great taste, I'm your fiancé after all! *winks*

Yuu: *laughs* Yeah, I couldn't ask for anything better!!

Cater: *loses her composure for a few seconds* He, aren't you a cute person?

Yuu: That's right!! I just remembered *takes something out of her bag*

Yuu: Here!! Remember when we first met and I said I didn't have a cell phone and you asked me to go buy one?

Cater: Do you still remember this? picks up the wrapped box and opens it to find a weird looking cell phone

Yuu: This is a DDD, it's like the cell phone in our world but different.

Cater: stops looking at the DDD when she sees Yuu showing her own DDD with a lilac and pink sheep on the cover

Yuu: Now we're a match!!

Cater: smiles as she turns around and sees a reddish and yellow sheep on her cover

Obviously you met Lord Diavolo and visited the castle, and Cater fell in love with Luke's cuteness (he said he wasn't cute [he is]).

You avoided the dangerous places with Cater, since he wasn't the biggest fan of adrenaline when it meant running or dying (which is something that happens a lot in Devilton).

You got the impression that he really enjoyed having tea with Simeon, Luke and Barbatos, maybe because it reminded him of the time they were in Heartsbyul.

Yuu, thank you for existing!

What did you say, Cater?

Hmm? I didn't say anything, Yuu-chan~♡

Ever since college ended and his romantic relationship with Leona was revealed, things had been tense.

Leona said it was worse before and that this is common in society. He noticed how people found it strange that you two were dating, since Leona is an unfriendly and lazy person and you are someone who always helps everyone and is kind.

(In fact, you get into a lot of trouble and when you get out of it you end up solving a problem that no one else could solve and this made others think you were someone extremely dedicated and helpful).

Leona felt strange with you getting so much attention, but it was funny to see people's faces when you ran to him like a happy puppy when it saw its owner, abandoning anyone else who was talking.

Always putting him as your main priority, always keeping curious and nosy people away when he was irritated and wanted silence, always surprising him in a strange way.

He didn't expect you to get used to the etiquette, rules and politics that involve royal life so quickly.

He didn't even expect you to get used to it, actually.

However, you even taught Cheka's royal etiquette teacher some tricks!

That's why he wasn't so surprised to see that you and Queen Rose were such good friends, since she values ​​elegance and natural beauty above all else.

As the years went by and the pressures of a royal wedding appeared, it wasn't that Leona didn't already have it in mind, she was just waiting for the right moment.

However, any planning Leona, Ruggie or Falena had for the right moment to happen was thrown out the window when a tiger-like beast of a man flirted with you with the excuse that there was no proof that you were engaged (i.e. no ring on your finger).

And that pissed him off so much that he proposed to you right then and there.

When you said that before the wedding you would like him to meet your family, he found it strange.

Weren't you from another dimension, planet or something?

Taking Leona to Devilton was complicated, but you knew how to get the lion out of its den (this is one of the reasons Kifaji goes after you all the time).

The house of lamentation was reasonable for Leona, maybe small, but it would do.

He knew you had seven siblings, since Falena had asked if you had siblings and how your relationship with them was.

Falena's idea was to say that an older sibling has to take care of the younger ones and that he expected you to understand the expectations that the relationship between the two of you would cause.

He remembers that you said that every day was something new with your siblings and that you never stopped discovering something new about them, since each one had a different personality, it was difficult to understand each one's feelings and thoughts.

And instead of you starting to think about your relationship with Leona, it was Falena who started to think about his relationship with Leona.

For Leona, it was normal to have a feast at every family meal, but it was rare for all the food to be eaten so quickly.

Was your family starving? You had to explain to him that at the beginning of the meal you had to put everything you wanted to eat on your plate, otherwise your older brother Beel would eat it all while you were chewing the third bite.

Leona didn't even need an explanation as to why, since like Beel's introduction previously said, he was the sin of Gluttony, so he would eat constantly.

You introduced him to Satan and Solomon, saying that they were great at chess, but he thought they were similar to Azul and Jade at first.

You said that Barbatos was more like Jade and that Satan acted more formal when meeting someone new.

When Leona understood that all her knowledge of etiquette and social rules had been learned by frequenting a castle in the region, it was as if a piece of the puzzle had been completed.

When Luke said Michael's name, it caught Leona's attention, since you were wearing that guy's ring.

It was Diavolo and Barbatos who had to explain that this ring was like an extremely powerful magic seal and that it would prevent you from losing control of your magic.

You and the others didn't like this subject.It was strange for Leona to see you sharing a giant cow pillow with one of your brothers, Belphie, but he soon fell asleep nearby.

Mammon saw the scene and took photos that he knew you would definitely pay a good price for.

After all, you had said you would take something for Ruggie and why not add the embarrassing photos of Leona as an extra souvenir? It could be a motivation for a certain lazy lion to get out of bed and do his duties.

Okay, Leona is definitely against this anti-nap friendship.

At one of the tourist stops to meet Solomon:

Yuu: *Hands Solomon a potion*

Yuu: Sorry I didn't give it to you sooner, I think it must have worked this time!!

Solomon: Hmm... I see that even after graduating you continue your studies, huh? *shakes the potion to analyze the color*

Leona: *Raises an eyebrow in doubt* what potion is that?

Solomon: An immortality potion *says opening the gafara and drinking a little*

Leona: What?

Yuu: Before I went to NRC and met you, I was sad to know that among everyone in my family, I was the only one who wouldn't live for thousands of years.

Leona: ... an immortality potion would be practically impossible.

Yuu: It's not impossible, Solomon has made it before, I'm just trying to replicate it.

Leona: Have you made it? If it's true, why don't you tell me the recipe?

Solomon: Memories of certain things fade after a few thousand years.

Solomon: Now MC, there's still something missing, I suggest testing it on one of your brothers, I think Mammon would be happy to know there's a chance you could live longer.

Yuu: ....

Leona: So you're after immortality?

Yuu: No, just the recipe for the potion. I don't think it would be worth living in a world without you.

Leona: ....

Leona: You're annoying. *looks away*

Yuu: Yes, I'm your annoying bride! *wink*

Solomon: ...

It was always unusual for Leona to have someone give up something important for him or make an important decision without considering him.

So...

You know, Herbivore, it's not like I care about spending eternity taking care of your shit, but I guess your brothers do care if you're not there to take care of theirs.

Phew, I'm done!!

I never wrote Jade and Cater, so it might be weird.

Leona is kind of OC too, I think he should be a little more selfish and I don't think he would react that way to seeing Yuu arrive and make friends with everyone when he hasn't been able to in years.

I also think I made Cater more shy, I think that even though he's always smiling and taking pictures, he's still a very different person.

I thought that as the years went by, he would start to act more like himself, although I'm not sure.

And about Jade, I have no idea what came out in the end and if he's similar to Jade.

I always found him very enigmatic.

[recurring-polynya]

I reblogged that great meta post the other day about Renji filled the role of a heart character, and then I happened to be flipping past this page, which I've probably read a million times before:

I think the takeaway from this panel is supposed to be some neat and ominous foreshadowing about Urahara's bankai. There's also sort of a recurring theme in Urahara's arc of regret that he isn't able to act directly (or perhaps that he has to send/endanger others on his behalf). Urahara-enjoyers can go run with that, if they want, because, as is my way, I will be talking only about Renji.

Bleach is a battle shounen, so of course there is a tendency to rank characters and to tally up Ws and Ls. Renji never fares well in these conversations. Orihime doesn't either, which is absolutely inane, because her primary power is *healing*, and none of the main cast would still be around if it weren't for her. It was suddenly interesting for me to read this line, and think suddenly think of Renji in the same light.

Urahara isn't the only captain who holds back using his bankai. Ukitake jumps into Kyouraku's fight with Stark because he doesn't want Kyouraku to have to go to bankai. Shinji can't use his when other people are around. Unohana went to the trouble of becoming one of the best healers in the series in order be able to fight with her bankai for more than 0.6 seconds.

On the other hand, shit starts to go down, and Hihiou Zabimaru is out, immediately. Hihiou Zabimaru is an accessible bankai, a familiar bankai. They can run down 16 Menos in a row, but they can also crash through a wall, or work as a mode of transportation, or you can even use them for a surprise attack. They are good for training and giving people strength, whether it's helping Chad learn his powers, or giving Ichigo something to beat on when he needs to work his way out of a depressive funk.

Color Bleach+ notes that Squad 6 admires Byakuya, but they like Renji. I think that's just a microcosm of a larger theme though-- in Bleach, power sets you apart, makes you remote, makes you something different from those around you. Aizen and Stark are noted to be profoundly lonely. Urahara and Kyouraku have to send people they care about to their deaths as they hold themselves back for strategic reasons. Gin and Hitsugaya poison their relationships with their favorite people because of their devotions to their own separate duties. The one-shot reveals that captains can't even go back into the resurrection cycle and have to go to Hell instead.

Renji gets pretty powerful by the end of the series. He even replaces Hihiou Zabimaru with Sou-oh Zabimaru, who is better for killing guys, but you can't hitch a ride on them. He never becomes a captain, though. The longer I've thought about this, the more I love this ending for him. He gets to marry the woman he loves and have a kid, he gets to keep running his squad with his weirdo captain/bestie, he still gets to go drinking with the other lieutenants. It's exactly parallel to Ichigo's ending, in the sense that he chooses his friends and loved ones over the pursuit of power. Like, Kubo was really not fucking around when he superimposed those images of Ichigo and Renji swearing on their souls as Renji is fighting Byakuya and decides that dying while doing his best to save Rukia was worth it, even if he never ends up surpassing Byakuya.

He doesn't die, though, he gets to live, and help out his friends and train people with his bankai and make them stronger and I think that is very fucking based of him.

[hongcherry]

needed me || l.c (m)

"You're still thinking of him while on your Valentine's date."

❤️ Pairing: fwb!Chan/Dino x Reader (afab)

❤️ Rating/Genres/AUs: M(18+); PWP, smut, angst; Friends with benefits

❤️ Warnings: unprotected sex (be safe! esp in fwbs <3), fingering, creampie, dirty talk, multiple positions, multiple orgasms, markings/bruises (hickeys), 0.2 seconds of degradation, semi-emotional sex

❤️ Word Count: 2.3k

❤️ Project: For Freya (@angelwoozi) for our Valentine's Drabble Exchange! I apologize if it lacks in angst! I'm still working on "emotional sex," so this was a nice challenge for me. I hope you enjoy it! 🥰

❤️ Author's Note: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Please stay safe (in multiple ways heh), and I hope you all have a great day. Also, I decided to write in the present tense for once, so please ignore any incorrect tense changes LOL.

seventeen masterlist | main masterlist

The rising heat in your body is due to two reasons.

One being your Valentine’s date went poorly, and two being your body is still buzzing with need.

You had gone to your date’s place, fully expecting to get laid on this so-called love day just so you didn’t have to wallow in endless candy wrappers alone. However, as their hands had roamed your body and their moans filled your ears, you couldn’t help but imagine it was him instead. Him, who has been your friend for three years and fuck buddy for less than one. Him, who can draw out your mewls with the graze of his fingertips. 

Although your date had touched you in places you enjoyed, it didn’t elicit the familiar feelings you have grown accustomed to. That caused you to spring from them, excuses flying out of your mouth as you hurried to grab your belongings.

It’s why you find yourself pressed against Chan’s door, his mouth moving against yours hungrily. One of his hands travels from your waist to grip your leg that’s hooked on his waist. He massages the flesh of your thigh as his tongue explores the cavern of your mouth. Your hands are gliding up and down his bare back—the results of his relentless workouts evident under your touch.

Chan pulls back to catch his breath.

“Should we slow down?” he asks between breaths.

You shake your head, eyes falling upon the faint, dark spot on his neck that wasn’t caused by you.

Chan had told you he didn’t have plans for Valentine’s this year, so you figured it would be no big deal for you to show up unannounced. What you weren’t expecting was for him to answer his door half-dressed, hair messy, lips slightly swollen, and a faint mark on his skin. Your heart had stopped a beat at the sight. You were well aware of the state Chan was in.

It wasn’t long before a woman emerged from his room, wearing just a tee and panties. The heat in your body had increased. You weren’t sure if it was because Chan was faring better than you at getting laid, or because he was fairing better than you without you.

After Chan told his “date” about you coming over to inform him of a family emergency, the lady left with sympathy that you didn’t entertain. Maybe it was best to play along, but you didn’t care if they believed it or not.

Seeing someone else’s marking on Chan brought a mixture of emotions; however, you decided to channel anger out of all of them.

“Why?” you scoff. “We’ve gone fast before.”

Your mouth connects with his again in hopes of returning to where you left off—to simply be in a state where you only felt his body on yours and nothing else.

“I know,” Chan pants when he moves away again, “but aren’t you upset that your date went bad?”

Right.

Telling Chan how rude your date was was a lie. The reason why your date went south wasn’t that your date was rude, it was because you couldn’t stop thinking of the person in front of you.

As if you would ever disclose that though. 

He just…feels good. He knows your body like no one else.

“I’m over it,” you sigh and lean in; however, Chan stops you.

“You can talk to me,” he tries to reassure you, which only results in an exasperated groan from you.

“I don’t need to talk, Chan. I just need you to fuck me,” you argue.

Chan’s eyes roam your face for a moment. 

“Fine,” he says before he crashes his mouth on yours. If you didn’t want to talk to him, he could at least help you feel better in a way he knew how.

You find yourself straddling him in his bed minutes later. You’re both left in your underwear, clothes forgotten somewhere along the way to his room—a trail that’ll be a morning reminder of how you are never asked to stay the next day.

That damn mark on his neck had become darker over time.

You try to ignore it, but it’s so blatantly visible you can’t help but glance at it every time you move away. You hate knowing someone else had touched him in an intimate way.

As you lean down toward his neck, you note that it shouldn’t matter if he was in bed with someone else.

As you lick and suck on the column of his neck, you recall how you’re not his.

As you create your own marks on his skin, you hope he can’t remember which hickey was from his date.

You hope all he will remember tomorrow is your mouth on him. You want him to remember how he’s moaning and gripping you closer as if he can’t get enough of you.

Chan doesn’t seem to care that you’re littering his skin with bruises as he yanks your bra and panties from your body. One of his hands grabs your chest while the other moves between your legs.

Your mouth finally finds his again, moans getting lost in each other's mouth as he glides two fingers in your wet heat. You’re grinding against his hand and shoving down his underwear.

“So damn eager,” he grunts while you pump his hard length.

“Just need to feel you,” you reply.

Chan’s fingers come back glossy with your arousal. He nudges your hand from him to coat his cock with it.

His room is filled with your moans when you sink down, fingernails clawing at his torso while your eyes shut briefly. There’s not a moment of peace as Chan snaps his hips into yours roughly. You have to press your palms on him to keep your balance.

“Shit, Chan,” you gasp. He’s large inside you, stretching you in the most addicting way.

“Always so tight for me,” he comments, eyes focused on where he’s gliding up in you. 

Your sight lands on his face. His eyebrows are furrowed, and his mouth is open. You know he won’t meet your gaze, so your gaze lingers on him. Over time he’s stopped making eye contact whenever you were fucking. You wonder if it comes from guilt. Despite only catching him with someone else once, you’re sure he’s had other “partners” that's been in your position. You aren’t the only one who’s seen and heard Chan in this way.

The thought spurs your hips to move.

You want to be the only one who can satisfy him like this. You want to make him feel so good he will only come to you when he needs a release.

Chan curses under you. His hips slow, and he throws his head back as he lets you bounce on him quickly. A hand stays on your hips while the other runs through his hair.

“That’s it,” he praises.

Your walls clench around him, loving how blissful he looks. You want to keep going–give him everything you have–but your energy is being spent fast. Your hips gradually decrease in speed. 

Instead of Chan moving you himself, he flips you over and pushes a leg up to get deeper. His mind is foggy, but somewhere in that smog is the image of you on your date tonight. You were dressed nicely; your appearance was fixed up in a way he’s never seen before. At least in a way that was never for him. 

Always for someone else.

Always for someone unworthy.

He enters you again swiftly. There’s no gentleness as he slams his hips forward. 

He recalls how many failed dates you’ve been on. How many failed dates he has been on just to spite you. He knows that’s childish. He doesn’t care about his dates in the way he should. He’s told himself that if the right person came along by chance, he will accept them happily. Though, each date never seemed to be the one.

“They never fuck you properly, hm?” Chan taunts as he continues to rock into you. “That’s why you always come here. You know I’m the only one who fucks you this good.” 

Your grip on his arms tightens at his words.

“Tell me,” Chan demands and grabs your face to angle it.

Your eyes are wide in shock as they find his. His hold is gentle compared to his sharp, slow thrusts.

“T-tell you what?” you pant. There’s a whole gamut of emotions racing through you. You’re terrified he’ll make you admit he knows your body best, yet you’re also eager to tell him that it’s true. 

“Tell me I fuck you better than anyone else,” he says.

“Channie–” you try to say, but he doesn’t give you the chance to finish your response.

“Fuck, Yn,” he huffs as he pushes into you once more before pausing. His hair is matted to his forehead, sweat covering his skin in an oddly beautiful glow. He stares at you–really watches you as if any slight movement will tell him what he needs to know. 

“I don’t know if we should do this anymore,” he finally confesses after a few minutes.

Your eyes grow in size. An invisible hand squeezes your heart, and the pain has you holding your breath. 

“Wh-what are you talking about?” you force out, but you’re afraid of his answer.

He leans back on his heels and looks down at you. The movement causes a slight shift, and you involuntarily clench around him so he doesn’t slip out. Chan sucks in a breath at the feeling.

“Don’t go on those dates,” he blurts instead.

Your head tilts in confusion. You’re trying to gather your thoughts, but it’s difficult. Out of all the times he wants to have this conversation, he chooses now.

“I’m tired of seeing you with someone who isn’t me. I can’t do this knowing you’re doing the same thing with other people.”

You swallow harshly.

You can’t believe he’s actually saying it, and for a moment, you think you’re dreaming.

“Chan, I–”

“Let’s just finish, so we can–”

“Hey, hey, stop,” you huff.

“What?” he questions as he averts his eyes.

“I only went on dates, because I didn’t think you wanted more,” you disclose.

Chan peers at you again, shaking his head.

“That’s not true,” he says softly and raises you from the bed. Your legs rest on either side of him, arms wrapped around his neck. You bite back the moan that wants to escape at the new position. “I’ve wanted more for so long, but we had made it clear we shouldn’t get into a relationship together.”

You nod, recalling the first night you slept with him and the agreements you both had set. 

“I’m willing to start one now,” you answer, a little nervous even though you’re sure of his answer.

Chan smiles, lips finding yours for a short kiss. “Me too.”

Your body moves against his again, albeit more slowly this time. Chan holds you close as you roll your hips. The slow pace lasts for a few minutes until Chan adjusts himself, so he can rock into you roughly.

There’s something about his thrusts that feel different. They’re harsh, but not in the way they were before. They’re calculated and less frantic. Regardless, each push has you edging closer to your climax.

Chan knows you’re close by the way your legs are squeezing him and moaning louder. He whispers praises in your ear that have you crying out his name a minute later. 

When he goes to pull out, you hold him tightly.

“Inside me, please,” you beg quietly.

“A-are you sure?” Chan asks. Although this isn’t the first time he hasn’t used a condom with you, he’s always pulled out. 

Nodding your head, “Yes.”

Chan adheres to your request, hips moving with newfound vigor that causes you to mewl as you begin to feel overstimulated. However, it feels so good that you feel the tightness in your stomach builds again.

“Gonna come again, baby?” Chan asks with an air of cockiness. 

“Mhm, fucking me so good, Channie,” you whine.

Chan’s hips begin to lose their force, and it doesn’t take long for him to thrust one last time. You suck in a breath when he fills you.

When Chan pulls out, his eyes are stuck looking between your legs. He gently lays you back and brings a hand to your clit. He rubs it hastily as he watches his cum spill from your spent pussy. He moans when you clench and more escapes from you.

You come for the second time with a plethora of his names. Chan smiles upon hearing them, watching your body shiver with pleasure. When you slowly ease down from your high, Chan pulls away.

“You okay?” he wonders.

“More than okay,” you smile at him.

“Let’s talk more about us tomorrow, okay?” he suggests and begins to climb off the bed. 

“Sounds good,” you mumble, watching as he leaves for the bathroom. After a moment, you hear water running. You’re teetering into dreamland when he comes back. Your eyes flutter open, not knowing they had closed earlier. He takes your hand and guides you to the restroom.

“A quick shower then we can go back to bed. Can you do this without me? I want to change the sheets,” he kindly says.

Although you wish he would stay with you, you nod and step under the warm water. It feels relaxing and immediately you sigh at the sensation.

“Okay,” he replies then presses a chaste kiss to your mouth before he leaves.

As you clean yourself, you feel as though a layer of sadness is scrubbed away. There’s still more to discuss tomorrow, but at least you know you’re one step closer to being a real couple. 

Despite your date not going the way you planned, you’re much happier with how you spent your Valentine’s. 

For my “shy/silent” readers, I’ve created a feedback form where you can share your thoughts on my fics in a more anonymous and private way. ^-^

©️hongcherry // DO NOT REPOST OR MODIFY Please consider reblogging if you liked this work to show your support. Feedback/commentary is always welcomed.

[mosquito-queen]

the first thing she notices after pushing open the door to her apartment is a breeze. and with it, a fresh layer of annoyance is tacked onto the already simmering anger. yelena is going to drive the electricity bill through the roof - why can’t she just use the door? she has a key for christ’s sake. a key!

the thought of the key makes kate grind her teeth, leaves an ache in her chest, makes her confuse anger and hurt. yelena has a fucking key.

kate steps into the apartment, drops her bag and does a scan for the familiar blonde. she still hasn’t decided how she’s going to approach this conversation, still doesn’t know how to make sense of her own emotions and much less yelena’s, doesn’t know the right words to make sense for either of them. maybe she shouldn’t have it.

claws skittering on the hardwood interrupt her thoughts. lucky is beelining from the end of the hall towards kate, and on his heels comes yelena’s voice, strained, “kate bishop, where is the -“

but kate is stepping into the bathroom doorway, holding up a new bag of gauze. she almost forgets to be angry.

because yelena is in the middle of mediocre surgery: she’s standing barefoot on the bath mat, leaning against the sink counter with her shirt off, and pulling a surgical wire through her skin just above her hip. there are bloody handprints on the porcelain, bandage wrappers littering the floor, and she’s got a split eyebrow that would fare better with some of those stitches instead of butterfly bandages. kate’s frown deepens when she spies the bottles: an open whiskey on the closed toilet lid and the other a beer on the sink ledge with condensation forming a sheen of water speckled with blood. the beer is an ice pack and the other is nursed as tylenol. ridiculous woman.

“ah, yes,” yelena motions between the stitching and bag, “can you?”

“hello to you too,” kate mutters, opening the gauze pack.

kate hasn’t seen yelena in nearly a week. well, yelena hasn’t seen her in nearly a week. she’s shown up to the apartment in worse states, but this one is confusing. yelena had been perfectly fine last night. in a dress. no scratches. perfectly fine with jewelry and her hair up and her eyes had been glittering at someone that wasn’t kate. she had been fine last night.

the humiliation and anger rise with bile in the back of kate’s mouth. why is she so incredibly angry? it isn’t like they’re formally dating. she swallows hard and washes her hands quickly in the sink before taking over, shooing away yelena’s hands from the wounds after yelena finishes the last stitch.

kate starts dressing it. she has gotten remarkably better at playing doctor since noticing yelena does a shit job patching herself up - not because she can’t, but because she doesn’t care enough.

but kate is still mad at her.

yelena lounges her weight against the sink, completely gives up control to kate’s hands. trusts her without meaning to, or understanding why, or even being aware of it. she mistakes the reason for the quiet and the way kate still hasn’t made eye contact, “i will clean up.”

kate blurts: “you know, i saw you.” she swipes the antiseptic a little too harshly and yelena flinches, “last night,” she moves to inspect the rest of yelena’s wounds, planning on returning to the cut on her hip after it’s settled a bit longer, “with him.”

“what?” yelena frowns, and kate is roughly tilting her head to fix the poorly applied bandages along her jaw. yelena’s eyes dart, try to find kate’s, but there’s no luck.

instead, kate grinds out: “at the restaurant. i saw you kiss him.”

but yelena is only half listening. she’s too hung up on the way that everything feels wrong in this room, she’s too caught up in the intensity at which kate is refusing to look her in the eyes. she’s unable to understand why it bothers her so much that kate won’t look. why isn’t she looking? kate is always looking at her.

she’s always looking at her in a way that makes yelena’s heart rate pick up, in a way that makes her palms sweaty, in a way that makes it an easy choice to seek out kate’s bed after a mission. she’s done this a million times now, hasn’t she? where she’s come home - home? - in the dead of night, or lazy afternoons, or right before the birds start to sing (kate hates when it’s in the morning), and kate sits her on the sink or the toilet or the edge of the bath and tends her wounds. and she looks at yelena like she’s trying to make a wish.

and it feels like, fuck it feels like… it feels like more than just patching wounds. kate has gotten remarkably better. and that’s how it always goes. except right now. instead, kate’s fingers are tight under her jaw and she isn’t being careful or soft or even looking at her. god, why does it bother her so much?

“kate, look at me.” yelena is pulling her face away from the archer’s grip, leaning off the counter and standing on her own, and kate instinctually takes a step back. she obeys, looks yelena in the eye, looks at her in way that makes yelena’s mouth go dry. and she barely makes out: “why are you angry with me?”

and it’s the wrong thing to say.

and yelena wishes she never asked kate to look at her.

because the fury boring down on her makes yelena’s insides balk. because she never wants to be looked at like that - like she’s committed the most painful atrocity against the one person her mind always drifts towards. she doesn’t have too much time to reflect on why it hurts so much for kate to look at her like that.

because kate is spluttering, throwing her hands up, “of course i am angry! what did you think was going to happen? i saw you kiss him! and i thought -“

it suddenly becomes stupid, too vulnerable, too much. kate trails off, covering her face with her hands, groaning, “oh god.”

but it’s too late: “what? what did you think?”

“yelena. what in the - what? don’t you - aren’t we…?” she trails off, gesturing between the two of them. gesturing to the past months of yelena using kate’s apartment like her own home, of yelena waking up with nightmares until kate invites her into her bed, of yelena keeping the fridge stocked, of kate patching up yelena in the bathroom and being close enough that they share the same breath, of kate braiding yelena’s hair, of them spending until the break of dawn talking and talking and talking…

and yelena could resolve this. she could easily say: it was a job, and the fresh smattering of hurt was the end result, and that kate should see the other guy. or what was left of him.

but instead, yelena is growing cold and turns her back on kate so she can face the mirror and identify the next section of bodily pain to address. now it’s her turn not to look at kate. she feels something clench in her chest, wants to soothe the fear welling inside, a fear she does not want to address, “i do not know what you are insinuating, kate bishop. spit it out.”

it’s cruel and they both know it. they both know yelena is on the brink of running, and maybe that’s why kate is standing in the door frame with her eyes locked on yelena’s reflection in the mirror: “you treat me like you’re in love with me, but you’re out there kissing him.”

love?

yelena white knuckles the counter top, that frenzied panic tearing up through her heart and lungs and clawing its way up her throat. no. she just… no, kate’s just confused. yelena doesn’t… she can’t do that. right? only the version before the red room had capacity for that. she’s not formed any connection with anyone after the red room in the same way she felt so deeply as a child. a weapon cannot…

love?

she grew up in a way that controlled for that, that didn’t make space for that, that never intended for her to have access to human emotions. instead, everything became a transaction. what was love but another word for manipulate? and yet… what else was it when she felt compelled to be close to kate, and to protect her, and to memorize her overly complicated pizza order just in case she had a bad day? oh fuck. why did it hurt so much when kate wouldn’t look at her? why did she want her hands to be the ones to fix her?

love.

she’s focusing on the wrong thing again. because yelena’s idea of love was defined by whatever disney movies she had watched in ohio. it had never crossed her mind of what love actually looked like in the real world. she had no idea where to even go with this conversation that would be remotely helpful. so yelena leans into the only thing she does know and that she is remarkably good at: pushing people away.

so yelena says into the mirror, “n-no. why would you? that’s not anything i wanted you to think.”

a small part of kate wants desperately for yelena to mean she didn’t want kate to think she had been willingly kissing someone else. a small part of her wants to think that yelena is absolutely in love with her but too pigheaded to admit it. but, that part is small and the rest of kate knows that her face is red hot and her hands are clenched, and she wants to break that stupid fucking mirror, “then what do you want? why are you always here? in my bed, in my personal space, in my fucking clothes. why do you always come back here? just stay gone then, just go. we don’t have to play nice just because we’re hawkeye and black widow.”

for a moment, everything inside of yelena stops.

because for some reason, she had never factored into the equation the possibility of kate being the one wanting to leave. and it feels like an explosion. she whips around so she can face kate, sweat beading around her collarbone and hip aching, she’s steadying herself with a hand gripping the counter and bowl of the sink, and the change in position brings her back to the present. the sheer amount of emotion raging through her body is too overwhelming and she shouts, “i do not know what i want!”

how could she know? natasha was the only person that ever asked her and the only thing she got out of that revelation was fanny. and the way it connects back to natasha makes yelena angrier and she smashes the beer bottle on the floor, “i don’t know what i want! but i know it isn’t that,” it comes out broken at the end, with a hiccup, with a heartbreak, and the exertion from the day and the sudden burst of emotions has her sliding down the the sink, butting the back of head into the cabinet doors when she settles at the bottom in the stick of beer and glass, “it sure as fuck is not that.”

and kate is silent in the doorway, waving lucky off from where he’s standing worried at the mouth of the hallway. she turns her attention back to yelena, looking at this girl turned killer-weapon turned human and she knows there is no way the universes could ever make her walk away from yelena. she knows she would tear herself apart to bring yelena back every single time. she thinks she’s known it since the beginning.

kate hadn’t known what was different about yelena when they met the first night on the roof. she hadn't released the arrow because yelena was not actively striking her - not because she had an overwhelming sense to obey. certainly not because the sight of yelena’s face knocked the air out of her lungs.

it was still different when they fought after that. because kate knew she was good, she had plenty medals to prove it, but she wasn’t win-against-a-black-widow-good. yelena held back her punches. but it was just because eleanor was paying yelena. it was just because her mom said not to hurt her. right?

it was different when kate asked to get drinks and yelena said yes. yelena said yes and it made her heart flip, erupted butterflies and her head felt fuzzy. her head always felt fuzzy when yelena was around. but it was better not to think about it.

and then yelena kept coming around. of course with gaps and no contact and so much reactivity. but yelena kept coming around. and she had flowers waiting for kate the first time kate went to visit her mother in prison, and she took lucky on walks until kate stopped being so fucking scared that kingpin would be just around the corner, and she had her own drawer in the dresser and a toothbrush and brought fanny around (who was a much better guard dog than lucky), and yelena was just so fucking sweet.

so excuse kate for thinking yelena belova had feelings for her. excuse her for thinking yelena was fully aware of what messages were being sent, excuse her for thinking.

except kate was still thinking.

yelena can feel kate looking at her. looking at her in a way that seems like judgment will be weighed. yelena knows she’ll never get into heaven. but, kate exhales and is picking her way through the glass, unfazed, jaw set. like a righteous angel. she crouches down to yelena’s eye level, her hands gripping the sides of her bruised up face, and using the pressure to force yelena to look at her.

this time yelena says: “i killed that man.”

there is still a brilliant anger in kate’s eyes, and it cloaks the desire, so yelena is caught off guard when kate presses her mouth into hers. when kate destroys her with the softest kiss. maybe she would never get into heaven, but this was surely a heavenly way to die.

yelena never had any intent to fall in love. with anyone. ever. she certainly had no intent to fall in love with kate bishop. and yet it seems like her heart never got the memo. it’s hammering now in her chest like a freight train. and then kate pulls back for a moment.

“is this what you want?”

oh. a sharp inhale: “yes.”

and then kate kisses her harder.

[uroboros-if]

Hi! So, I love your game, but I have a big "issue"...

I still don't know if I should go for Salvatore of Ciocana, to be fair...

I love both characters equally, and both are tropes I love in different way - with Salvatore, it would be a golden child + outcast story, while with Ciocana it would be the idea of two outcast finding solace in each other. I adore both of these!

And so I'm curious... do you have a sort of... "general mood" or "few descriptive words" you could share about each RO's path without spoiling too much? Maybe it would help me decide!

And yeah, "replays" is sadly not a possibility for me, since I'm the kind of person who in 99% of games can't play multiple routes and try various romances - I feel like betraying and cheating on the first RO I've picked and other similar feelings. So I have to make the choice count!

Anyway, thanks!

Hi Konoi and Noir!! 💕 This also happens to me 🥲 part of the joy of IFs is playing through different scenarios, but I always feel sad pursuing another character!!

Your ask has inspired me to create a kind of "Which RO is for you?" Quiz, but I'm making it in interactive novel format, as I want to customize the results and questions better!

A preview! The design is not at all final, and the screenshot only shows one part of one RO's result. Ideally, it'll cover not just personalities, but also what tropes you enjoy and generally account for what you're looking for in a particular route! You'll also see multiple results if you want to see how you fare with multiple ROs, and what I recommend most out of all of them. I hope you'll like it ❤️

(This has been really fun for me and only takes a fraction of my brainpower to write, so rest assured that I'm allocating leisure time to this project!)

But for now, I'll answer your specific request under the read more!!

The tone and dynamics of Sal and Cio's route might differ dramatically based on how you play the story, so it's hard to pin down. All routes will be incredibly angsty, but it depends on if you take the Divine route (siding with gods) and Mortal route (siding with mortals). There may also be an in between route.

I use these terms loosely as I do not want to lock in the MC to one or the other, as doubting your beliefs and changing your mind should be part of the story! Alas, who knows if I can do that!

Sal, Divine route: sand through your fingers, broken clock, desperation and longing, comfort at the end of time

Sal, Mortal route: betrayal, searing sun, melting candle, you were supposed to be with me, redemption

Cio, Divine route: shadows of a doubt, giving up, darkness of the void, peace, coiling bitterness in your stomach

Cio, Mortal route: sacrifice, leave them, ichor in your veins, broken promise, gaping chasm, fallen angel

I'm not sure if that's in any way helpful, but I hope it gives you more direction! I hope what I'm making will give you even more guidance!! Thank you so much, Konoi and Noir 💕💕💕

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for ignoring a childhood friend?

This happened a while ago, but I still think about it pretty often.

I used to have a friend, let’s call her Ally. Ally and I shared one thing in common — we were the weird kids. We used to sit at a lunch table by ourselves and bitch about how mean the popular kids were. A little cringey, but hey, we were in middle school, what are you gonna do?

Our friendship suddenly cut off because, after she asked why she had such a hard time making friends, I suggested, “Well, you are kind of sensitive.” This caused a massive rift between us. This would be fine, since I had already made some better (though only slightly) friends. But she somehow convinced the staff that we were actively fighting, which we weren’t. I was mostly just avoiding her. This meant, a couple of times, I was called out of class just so that we could sit in the counselor’s office to “make up”. She also believed, even when we got older, that I should “protect” her from her bullies, even though 1) I never saw her get bullied, and 2) that shouldn’t necessarily be my responsibility, especially after we weren’t friends anymore.

But that was in middle school. People change. And she did, sort of. We obviously grew apart, and because of that, I thought she matured, since I wasn’t around her as much. We started becoming more friendly in high school. My friend group even included her during lunch, and she seemed to move past her petty stage.

Without going into too much detail, another classmate called someone in my friend group and said she was going to really hurt herself. When my friend called 911, this classmate was furious when she got sent to the hospital. Ally was friends with her, so this caused some high school drama. Ally took the classmate’s side, because she believed because of their mental illness and her attempt, that it didn’t matter how my other friend felt.

Ally only got more and more immature from there. Slamming her books together and stomping out the door during an argument at lunch, rolling her eyes and making a face every time she walked past me in the hallway, and generally being nasty to me and my friends. Luckily, I didn’t get the brunt of it, but my other friends sure did.

We tried going to the office about it, but they said because of her disability, they didn’t want to get involved, and suggested we just “ignore it”. So we did. And, eventually, everything blew over, as high school drama does. Even if it drains everyone of every last bit of energy we have before it does.

The next year, she starts trying to rebuild our relationship, which I don’t want to do. She starts constantly texting me (I don’t know why I didn’t just block her number), asking me why we can’t be friends again. She gets me Christmas gifts, then uses them against me during an argument. I keep telling her why over and over, how awful she acted a year before, how you can’t force people to be your friend, how her personality and constantly playing the victim made her difficult to be around. She kept making a face in the hallway, talked about me behind my back (or so I heard), and yet she wanted to kiss and make up.

Junior year, things went quiet again. We didn’t like each other, but we were civil. I had stopped responding to her texts, and she had stopped pestering me. She was gone for a while due to a surgery, and I didn’t see her again after that.

Then, suddenly, COVID happened.

Over online learning, I got a few texts from her about my desk set-up, like what kind of plant I had next to me, what was my stuffed animal’s name, stuff like that. I decided to be nice, and responded, but ignored every subsequent response, and she didn’t try again.

I didn’t hear from her again until my freshman year of college (I’m a junior now). From a new number, she asked me how I was, what I was doing, normal fare. Instead of responding normally, I sent her a response in Japanese, since I was learning it at the time. I pretended this was a new number, and that I had no idea who she was talking about. She bought it, and I blocked the number.

I know that she could have changed, and maybe she was trying to reach out. But, considering how awful she was, and the kind of people she surrounded herself with, I don’t know if she could ever change enough to make up for how she’s acted.

Should I have given her a chance? I can’t now, of course, but maybe I could make an effort to find her if you think I should?

What are these acronyms?

[ace-reviews]

SPRING 2024 ANIME RECOMMENDATIONS

The anime industry needs to chill the fuck out. Literally stop. This isn't your heart.

If you somehow have time left over after the 86,000 returning series this season, watch these new cartoons also.

---

ZACK’S RECOMMENDATION #1: Kaiju No. 8

For the sake of full disclosure, I ended up dropping this manga after about a year when due to a number of reasons I had to play catch-up on a bunch of Jump and Jump+ titles. I ultimately decided cuts needed to be made and this was one of them, but I made that cut with the full knowledge that it would eventually get a kick-ass anime and I was right because I’m always right.

The anime looks better than I’d hoped and sounds better than I imagined. The background music sounds like something from a blockbuster movie, and I mean that as a compliment, considering that's basically what it is. Even if you’re not really into kaiju, this is still worth checking out. Unless you’re allergic to beautiful animation and/or poop jokes.

ZACK’S RECOMMENDATION #2: A SALAD BOWL FULL OF ECCENTRICS

This series became a lock for my recommendation this season (even over the train anime, which is very good and you should also watch) the moment I discovered it’s based on a light novel by the same guy who wrote Haganai and A Sister’s All You Need. I’ve never read any of the novels in question because I’m illiterate but I enjoy both of those anime very much (though I will admit that the latter is not for everyone). Haganai transed my gender and for that reason alone I will support Yomi Hirasaka (by watching and recommending anime adaptations of his books. Alas! if I could only read) ‘til my dying day.

This was a solid premier on its own merits, as well. The characters are fun and likeable, the jokes land pretty much every time (at the very least, I can’t immediately think of any that didn’t), and reverse isekai stories are still uncommon enough to be fun. There is the unfortunately ever-present concern that Our Hero will turn out to be a sex pest, but based on Hirasaka’s track record I’m not too worried about that. Really, more than Haganai or A Sister’s All You Need, the anime this premier kept making me think of the most was Hanamatsuri (side note: you should watch Hanamatsuri.)

Also, look at her. She’s reading Detective Conan. I’m reading Detective Conan. That’s so cool of both of us.

---

CHARLIE’S RECOMMENDATION #1: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Cheat Powers

Fairly standard fare for the cozy isekai sub-genre, but it’s a decent way to spend half an hour, if you don’t mind the harem aspects.

CHARLIE’S RECOMMENDATION #2: Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again

It was fine, I guess. Watched it because the premise seemed cute, and I wasn’t wrong. Felt like a short comic but animated, and the art was good. Really wish they didn’t have family members lusting after the grandparents, though.

---

FEN’S RECOMMENDATION #1: Route of Odd Taxi

FEN’S RECOMMENDATIONS #2: Train to the End of the World & The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio

[virtie333]

Hey, everyone. I never thought I would have to write this, but here we are.

Those of you who have been reading my stuff for a while know that I’ve been through the ringer these last several years. Three personal losses combined with simple bad luck created clinical depression (on top of a lifetime of anxiety) and suicidal ideology. I discovered that I am mostly likely high-functioning autistic and now I’m dealing with age-related health issues. Writing, especially Damerey, has been my escape, but it hasn’t been easy. Dealing with chronic pain and chronic fatigue takes its toll.

Recently, my boss decided that everyone must be independently wealthy like she is and reduced my hours significantly. I have a horse and a cat that need their teeth worked on, another cat and a dog that need vaccinations, a car that needs repair, a house mortgage, car payments, debt from a previous vehicle, and now medical bills. So, for the first time in my life, I had to get a second job just to make ends meet. With my health issues, this is going to make life rough, and I don’t foresee having the time or energy to write anytime soon. I have the outline for a new long-fic, but the odds of me actually getting it written are slim to none right now, which is why The New Recruit may be my last one. I gotta admit, I’m so damn tired of keeping this ship afloat.

Last week on my birthday, I was reading through several old Damerey fics, stories written during the height of the ship. As someone who came into it late, I often wonder how my stories would have fared if I had written and posted them back then. Would they have gotten 500+ kudos? Would they have 20+ comments per chapter? I’ll never know. I struggled to complete The New Recruit. I love it and I’m proud of it, but it kills me seeing it struggle. The kudo count is respectable, but the feedback is… well, I rarely get a lot of comments. Those that do so regularly have become friends, and I am grateful for that, at least. But feedback literally feeds a writer, and not having much leaves me feeling starved and unable to write, especially when I’m already physically and emotionally exhausted. (If anyone is really, super shy, you can send an anonymous Ask!)

I love this ship and I am not leaving it, so anyone else who posts Damerey stories or artwork, I WILL BE THERE!!! I will support it with everything in me. I still have stories galore in my head, including that one that I’ve never had the guts to write, but they are going to have to stay there for a while.

Maybe something wonderful will happen in the next year and things will get better. In the meantime, I hope you continue to enjoy this story, and if you’ve just started reading this one, I’ve got over four years of stories for you to read! And if I do come back, I hope that my regulars will still be around, ready to join me on a new adventure with Rey and Poe.

Thank you all so much for reading!

My AO3 Masterlist

[drunkenlionwrites]

very tender hurt and comfort with Vash tending to your wounds please? Maybe Reader has a lot of scarring and this is the first time Vash is seeing it? Pre relationship please so theres full of yearning and unspoken intimacy JDBSIDJJAHDIDHDJ I WANT THIS MAN SO MUCH HE HAS TAKEN OVER ALL THOUGHTS

Hi, dear anon! I am so so sorry, this request literally has been sitting in my inbox for 2 months and not because I didn’t like it, but for the opposite reason! I’ve been writing and re-writing it many times, and because I tend to go overboard with angst/hurt-comfort stuff when it comes to Vash, it turned out to be just 1000 words of fluff. Yeah, sorry to all the guys who requested fluf and got angst and vice-versa. Seems like I’m not good with requests, maybe will change the submissions to suggestions later. Anyway, hope you’re still somewhere out here nonnie and you can see this! Warnings: mentions of scars and wounds, reader without specific body parts descriptions, Vash calls you a fem!gendered word in french once though, slight pining, fluff

There’s a sudden loud laugh, shuddering of the glasses and the next moment you’re laying face down on the sandy soil in front of the saloon. Your Thomas got freaked out and yeeted you over his head right into the dirt. For real? You’ve felt a sharp unpleasant pain on the left side of your body – your cheek, belly and a part of hip and knee burnt. The inside of your mouth tasted like sand, dirt, and humiliation. You spat and saw particles of blood in your spit. Wincing, you stood up, Vash’s hands already caringly holding your elbows.

“Hey, you’re okay there?” You turned to the side to see his concerned face that grew even more so when he saw the deep scrapes on your cheek. Wolfwood placed a hand on your shoulder as he passed through you to the saloon entrance with a chuckle: “That’s a pretty nasty fall for someone who claimed to be the best rider out of us, sheriff”. You could just growl at him pettily, hearing Vash’s scolding above your head as you tried to dust off your clothes as best as you could before entering the building.

Just great…One thing you’ve been confident in was your Thomas riding skill and you made sure to tease Wolfwood ‘cause of his clumsiness with saddle. You didn’t know what was wrong with those two men, but they both were so much better than you with everything: their shooting skills and physical prowess were not a joke, and you’ve felt a tinge of bitterness every time one of them roared to you to stay back or run away (which most of the time you didn’t listen to). But nevertheless, you’ve been so used to being one of a kind, the strong one, the clever one. The promising young sheriff of your town. Well…the town that doesn’t exist anymore, but still!

Waving off Vash and his attempts to check up your bruises, you went straight into your room for the night once you’ve booked them. This soured your mood a bit – the jeans were dirty and ripped now, the bruises were pretty big, even if not really deep, Wolfwood for sure will tease you back relentlessly, and Vash saw you falling so ungracefully…ugh. Deciding to be a grown up about it, you went for a shower, which made you feel better and decided to sleep off your bad mood. Surely, with a new day it’ll all feel like a funny incident to remember sometimes and laugh about, right?

You heard soft knocks on your door when you’ve been drying off your hair with a towel. “Hey, that’s just me. Wanted to check up on you if you don’t mind?” a sheepish voice spoke, muffled by the door. Of course, he would do that… Opening the door you saw a tall blond standing there, already in his nightclothes, with a small med kit in his hands, which he shook a bit before your face. “Ummm…I know you don’t wanna, but it’s still better if we treat your wounds, you don’t want to get an infection and then nasty scars on your pretty face, right?” Pretty, is it? “Vash, I have my fare share of scars, I don’t really care about them, but if it makes you happy, sure” you stood aside from the door, letting him inside.

Sitting beside you on a bed, Vash started cleaning the skin around your scratches with antiseptic, leaning awfully close to your face for you liking. He seemed to be preoccupied with a task, making ‘tsk’ sounds like a concerned mother would. You’ve felt a tinge of warmth at this thought, not daring to dart your eyes to the side and concentrating on breathing calmly. “Show me the other bruises” Vash asked, and you obediently lifted your shirt to reveal the biggest one that marred your skin from the upper stomach to the hipbone without giving it much thought. Seeing your friend’s cheeks and tips of the ears turning pink, you decidedly pulled it back. “Um…that’s fine. Thanks for worrying about me, I can just do it myself” you smiled reassuringly at him.

“Oh, sorry, I..didn’t mean anything like that. Just noticed that you already have some scars there. Did you get hurt a lot?” you chuckled as you raised your shirt once again for Vash to continue with his medical care. “Well, even though it’s just a silly nickname now, I used to be sheriff for quite some time. Yeah, I have some. Some are knife wounds, some from gun shots, maybe now some new from falling off Thomas” you tried to end it on a funny note, but Vash only frowned and placed a hand on your shoulder. “You know you can stop anytime? It’s not like you must continue to live such a risky life… You can find a nice occupation suitable for une jeune fille like you. Settle in a relatively calm and nice city? Wouldn’t it be better?” He said as if coaxing you, his voice soft and dreamy.

It was your turn to frown at his words. “You know I would if it was something I wanted, right? I never wanted such a life, especially not now, not when I…well… when I’m doing something important and helping you out. And I’ll ask you out of my room if you raise this topic again, okay?” Vash shook his head and chuckled, pressing his fingers, covered in healing balm to your bruised belly. “I surrender, sheriff. Please, spare this pitiful outlaw!” You laughed at that, his fingers somehow burning your skin way stronger than the deepest abrasions.

[diabolikwriter]

Nga yawne lu oer - Chapter 2

Recom! Miles x Na’vi/Avatar! Fem! Reader - Chapter 2:

Warning: Strong language, character death, skull crushing, Racism.

Word Count: 1319

Chapter 2: Reunited

                                    Miles’ POV

“What’s you name kid?”

“Spider… Socorro.”

No. No it couldn’t be.

Miles kneeled so that he could be more eye to eye with the boy.

“Miles?”

To say that the colonel was shocked would be an understatement. A really big understatement.

“No one calls me that.” Said his son. His very grown-up son. Well to be honest 15 years had passed, so of course he didn’t expect to see a little chubby baby boy. Well he didn’t expect to see his son at all, and to be honest he hadn’t really thought about him since he had woken up in this new body of his.

“I had figured they would have sent you back to earth.” He said still baffled at the appearance of his son, but if his son were here, did that mean that she would be as well? No, he had to stop thinking like that. This wasn’t his son. And she hadn’t been his fiancé, no she had been human Miles’ fiancé. He was interrupted from his thoughts by human Miles’ son.

“You can’t put babies in cryo, dipshit.” Retorted Spider. And yeah, he was definitely her son.

Lyle had managed to recover the last minutes of human Colonel Miles Quaritch’s life, and he couldn’t say that he was all that surprise by the outcome.

“Give it up Quaritch! It’s all over.”

“Nothing’s over while I’m breathing.”

“I kinda hoped that you’d say that.”

From there on the fight escalated, and Miles ended up having to need his exomask.

“Hey Sully. How does it feel to betray your own race? How does it feel to be the cause of all this death? How does it feel to steal another man’s woman, to make her betray her own race! I have no idea what you promised her, but just know that you’ll regret turning her against me.”

In the video Sully hissed at him. But wait. Why was he accusing Sully of turning someone against him? And a woman. No it couldn’t be. The last memory he had of her they were fine, but now that he thinks about it, human Quaritch had seemed a bit… down.

“You think you’re one of them? Time to wake up.”

The fight then continued with Human Miles ending up destroying the window to the shack, and just as he was about to finish the job, he was shot, not once but twice in the chest, by that savage woman, and just as Quaritch had taken his last breath and hid the ground, the screen went black.

Miles bent down over human Miles’ corpse and removed his exomask, he then remove3d the skull and looked at it. Miles always thought that if it’s dead then it’s dead, and what’s left is just an empty shell, so when he felt the need to crush the skull he did, besides that man was weak. He noticed the chain where he knew human Miles’s tags would be, and he decided to pick it up, but when he did, he noticed something other than the tags. It was a ring. And not just any ring it was yours. The engagement ring he had given you. Then did that mean that you were dead? Or had you indeed betrayed him? For some reason he didn’t know which scenario he hated more, because apparently no matter what… he had lost you. His heart wept for the loss of you, but soon a new feeling settled in his very being… rage. Blood-boiling, all-consuming rage.

He might now be what he hates the most, but now he’s stronger and physically younger than Jake, therefore he will destroy him this time, and as human Quaritch said, nothing is over while he breathes.

                                 (y/n)’s POV

Panic was coursing through your veins, and you were pushing your Ikran to fly faster. Neytiri, Jake and Neteyam was not faring better either, the tension in the air was thick, and you just hoped that you would reach the kids in time.

You had gotten the call from Lo’ak, the kids were at the old shack, but they were not alone. Neytiri was hissing and growling under her breath something about the Great Mother giving her strength to not pluck the eyeballs from her youngest son, and if it weren’t for the situation you would have laughed. But you were fighting the same thoughts, you were filled with worry, the kids knew that that place was off limits, not even you had been there, and you don’t think that you could handle the sight of him lying there. You never stopped loving him, you never stopped grieving, you never found someone else and a part of you regrets betraying him, but he had become a monster, he had killed innocents, and for that she couldn’t forgive him, she wouldn’t forgive him. When you were near the old shack, you took a deep breath and then through your bond told your Ikran to land, Neytiri, Jake and Neteyam did the same. You all slowly made your way towards the kids’ location and what you saw made you freeze. There was a group of avatars in military clothing, with guns, and they were surrounding the kids, you could see Lo’ak, Kiri, Tuk and Spider, your small beautiful son, who was hissing at the avatars, you felt her heart clench.

You and the others ducked behind trees and Neytiri started making sounds, calling out to the kids and then the fight broke out.

                                Miles’s POV

Those arrows. They were hers, the savage woman. They belonged to Mrs. Sully; the local tail that made Jake Sully betray them all.

Miles had gotten himself to safety and while loading his gun he called out “Mrs. Sully is that you?”

“Demon! I will kill you as many times as I have to!” Oh he didn’t doubt that she would try, and he could feel the fear, but no this time it would be him ending up as victorious, not some savage bitch.

The fight escalated and Miles felt lucky, because Mrs. Sully weren’t alone. No, she had her husband, the traitor, with her. Unfortunately, the kids managed to escape into the jungle, and Miles and his team could not catch up to them. Miles saw the human boy fall down and immediately went in that direction and just as he was about to reach the boy, a hiss interrupted him and his team and when he looked up, he froze.

“(y/n)?”

Sure enough it looked like you and you made your way towards the boy, holding a knife and still viciously hissing at him and the other recoms. He stared at you as you protectively crouched over the human boy, and he could also see the confusion in your eyes.

“Miles?” Just as your angelic voice had called his name, Lyle who had sneaked up behind you hit you with his gun and you passed out over the boy.

Miles quickly went forward and gathered you in his arms, and yeah it was definitely you. He had seen your avatar form before, but you seemed a bit different, you had matured a bit, and your hair was braided like those savages, and you also wore the same skimpy outfit. But he could still see you, in spite of you seemingly having embraced the culture of those savages. He clutched you to his chest and carried you towards an opening and out of the corner of his eye he saw Lyle carrying Spider.

Even though he knew that he and human Miles technically weren’t the same, he could feel his heart fluttering at the sight of you. You might be blue, but you were still as beautiful as the day that he had lost you, and he knew deep down that he wouldn’t let you go ever again, neither you nor your son would leave his sight.

Taglist:

@ratchetprime211 @mechformers @iwishiwas-anita​

[bloofinntoona]

Dear Sebastian

Word Count: 1.9 k

Themes: fluff, hurt/comfort, a little angst, sebastian sallowxf!reader

Summary: every summer, you and sebastian write letters to each other.

Summer of Year Five

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☟━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

Dear Sebastian,

I do hope you are faring well. To be quite honest, I was worried about you. I know the situation is not easy right now, but I believe that things will slowly get better.

The professors had me stay in Hogwarts for another week after the term ended. Headmaster Black was dumbfounded that such repository existed just under the school. My, I wished you’ve seen how stressed that made Gladwin Moon. He forgot about the Demiguise monkeys, and now he keen on learning more about the secrets of ancient magic. They decided to keep this a secret from the ministry. I think it’s for the best. I also promised Professor Fig that I would keep it locked inside.

My father asked me to stay in London during the summer holiday – he said not having me around these past months was rather odd. I’d say it was because nobody helped him prepare his supper after work. Sleeping in my own bedroom felt empty after being with friends at Hogwarts. I missed the shenanigans that I witness at school, and I do miss going on adventures with you.

I would love to hear back from you.

All the best,

[Y/N]

┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☝︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☟━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

Dear [Y/N],

I’m doing better, thank you for checking in on me.

Apparently, the people at Feldcroft told me that Anne decided to stay at St. Mungos. At least I know that she is cared for and safe. I still hope that there is a cure, and I will keep trying no matter what. The house never felt this vacant, even after my parents passed, I still had Anne by my side. Thankfully, one of my neighbours took pity and let me stay with them. If I help them with chores, of course. Better than empty house and cold nights, I suppose.

I can’t lie but I kept having nightmares about the cave. I kept seeing my uncle’s body on the ground again and again. Even worse, I saw the horror on everyone’s face after. I can’t seem to shake it off my head.

Thank you again for writing. I haven’t talked to Ominis again. I might have severed whatever bond we have left.

I wished I could visit London.

Best regards,

S.S

┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☝︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☟━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

Dear Sebastian,

I’m sorry to hear about your nightmares. I too kept replaying my fight with Ranrok in my head, and just how I wasn’t able to save the Professor that I look up to. Before I left, the professors gave me several bottle of Dreamless Sleep potion. I’m sharing a few bottles for you.

You would love London. I will take you to all of the bookstores here. I visited my favourite, just in front of the River Thames. That being said, I picked up a Herbology book for you. I remember you brought Shrivelfig Fruit to Anne that one time, maybe this book would help you learn more about other types of plants out there. I hope the owl delivers the package to you in one piece.

I also just received my O.W.Ls grade, and I scored an E. Not bad for a new student, eh? I had a hard time remembering all the charms, which means I really need to lay off from using my ancient magic. I rely too much on my power.

I sent a letter to Ominis as well. He also wished the sixth year can come sooner. The Gaunts House sounds dreadful. Oh, he visited Anne as well. He said she is doing better. She has you in her thoughts, but I told Ominis that you were taken care of, and she should focus on recovering.

Best,

[Y/N]

┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☝︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☟━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑

Dear [Y/N],

You are far too kind. I don’t know how I could repay you. It brings me ease to hear about Anne and Ominis. It does give me a glimmer of hope that I can reconcile with them, in due time. The potion works wonders. I was finally able to have a decent sleep after months.

I have read the book. I can’t believe there are no sentient plants in the muggle world. How do they fight off their foes? I don’t understand. I might try to make some of the remedies written here and give them to Anne when I get to see her.

My O.W.Ls are not as great as I hopped. I passed, but the whole ordeal took the toll on me. Professor Weasley sent me a note that she is ‘disappointed’ because I’m a ‘bright student’. But worry not, I shall do better at my N.E.W.Ts.

By any chance you write to Ominis again, please tell him that I missed having him around. And I wished that we can talk again if he is ready.

Although I have to do this sodding farm work everyday, I was surprised to see the plentiful yield we got this year. I’ve sent you back some Dittany Leaves I personally planted myself – hope it helped you brew more Wiggenweld potions for your adventures.

I’ll see you soon at Hogwarts,

S.S

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Summer of Year Six

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Dear [Y/N],

What a school year it has been! If I may, I shall start this letter by saying thank you for being there for me. I don’t know what I would do without you. I hope your trip with Poppy to her grandmother is going smoothly, please do write back whenever you can.

I wanted to let you know that Anne wished to spend time with me this summer. I am overjoyed, packed my bags in a jiffy and went straight to St. Mungo’s. Anne never looked better, she said that the wizards who work there were able to create a spell that let her supress the pain. It still comes in bouts, but it wasn’t as painful as it was. She decided not to continue her studies in Hogwarts though, so I plan on sneaking more books, perhaps from the restricted section, to her when we are back.

I hope the injury that you sustained after your first Quidditch match is better. That daft Leander, knocking you from your broom just because he couldn’t keep his eyes away from you. I bet you ten galleons he has a crush on you. You should keep an eye out if he gives you anything edible, I’m sure they will be laced with Amortentia.

I look forward to hearing about your adventures.

Warmly,

S.S.

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Dear Sebastian,

What a year indeed. My arm is far better right now. And Leander got his punishment already from having his house score deducted. I think the hatred from Gryffindor students are enough. I shall keep note of not taking any edible presents from him.

Poppy and her grandmother are very pleasant hosts. I think I ate my lifetime worth of pumpkin pasties. I wished I can send you some, but the owl will surely eat them before they get to you. They took me to a Hippogriff den that she just discovered near the coast. You should see how adorable Hippogriff babies are, I just wanted to hug them all! Her grandmother graciously taught me how to approach magical beasts better, not just by floating them mid-air and stuff them in my bag. And guess what? I saw a black Hippogriff, just the one you said you’d like to fly on one day. Here’s a feather for proof.

I’m glad to hear that you can spend some time with Anne. Please tell her that I hope she is feeling better, and I do wish I can meet her again.

I am a bit worried about my N.E.W.Ts studies though, kept having dreams about failing it. I didn’t realize just how much I have to catch up again.

Thinking of you,

[Y/N]

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Dear [Y/N],

Such majestic feather – if I was there, I swear I will jump on its back and fly around the hills. Maybe I can have you flying next to me? I would love to fly around the highlands with you. I can show you this small forest that my parents used to take me. We would harvest many unique magical plants that you can’t find anywhere else.

If you’d like, I would love to help you study. We always have the Undercroft for ourselves and the Room of Requirements too, if Deek isn’t there to talk about the potions you’ve brewed. Call me your own personal tutor.

The big news that I have, is that Ominis finally went to visit Anne and I. As you knew, Ominis and I were able to chat and even joke around now. I told him that the was he looked gaunt after spending time with his family, and he didn’t appreciate that one bit. Anne seems happy to have him around. Frankly, I find it weird if Ominis has romantic feelings to my sister, but deep down I know he will truly cherish her. For that, I shall not intrude. Now it felt like things were back before the curse, but I wished you are here to join our little trio.

I don’t know if you have visited the hospital, but there are little shops just next to it. I saw this dragonfly brooch and thought of you – apparently the shop keeper said it meant happiness and new beginnings. How fitting. Hope you like it.

Yours,

S.S

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Dear Sebastian,

The brooch is beautiful, I immediately pin it on my jacket and wore it to an outing with Poppy and her grandmother. We had delicious dinner and butterbeer. They teased me for smiling whenever I look at it, but I am glad to have a piece of you wherever I go.

I can’t believe you had the gall to make fun of Ominis. Even I found that joke terrible, you egg. I’m happy to see you happy, Sebastian. And I shall take you on that offer to study together, Merlin knows I need it.

I shall travel back to Hogwarts with Poppy just few days before school starts. Looks like they just built a new train station and I’m able to be one of the first passengers – how lucky am I! Before we have to pack up, her grandmother took us to see Thestrals. I am sticking to my opinion that these are beautiful creatures, and misunderstood. I managed to feed and even pet them, they are such gentle creatures.

Everyday I hoped I can share these experiences with you. I cannot wait to see you again very soon.

All yours,

[Y/N]

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Summer of Year Seven

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My Dearest [Y/N],

Words cannot describe how much miss you. I'm writing to you back at my home in Feldcroft. The house is still empty, but I’m holding on to the memories that we made during the years in Hogwarts. I can’t believe it took me all this time to finally confess that I am utterly in love with you.

I know that you will do well in your future endeavours. All of your hard work in classes will be fruitful, especially since you achieved an amazing score at N.E.W.Ts – might I add that I contributed as your personal tutor? The ministry will be lucky to have you as an AUROR. I thought about doing the same, but looks like I can’t shake the thought of embarking the same journey as my parents to become a professor. Who knows, maybe I can actually find a cure for Anne in the future. Just promise me that you will be safe, as I don’t know what I will do if I lose you.

Nobody stood closer to me when I was in distress. Even when Anne and Ominis pushed me away, you believed in me. You made me realize that I can live a better life, and I will continue to do so. For you. With this letter, I vow to be a better man for you, a man that can stand next to you and you can depend on.

I’m glad you came to Hogwarts.

Forever and always,

S.S

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A/N: Aaaaah sorry for not updating as much these days! I'm having a writer's block especially thinking about the sequel to 'cross your heart'. But I appreciate all the support i get everyday <3

[majorsoapfan]

I'm curious about ma plinth knocking out Strabo and sejanus hiding sabyn

Hi! Yeah, of course! This is long though, just so you know.

Ma Plinth Knocking Out Strabo

Basically, I have a lot of conflicting and intermixing thoughts about Strabo Plinth as a character. These thoughts ranged from: 'Strabo had been doing what he had thought was the best for his family and had wanted them to have a better life with more opportunities' to 'Strabo hadn't truly thought about how his family would fare personally in the Capitol and had been too blinded by ambition' to 'Strabo betrayed his people and had sided with a culture that would never truly accept him, his intentions and reasoning for doing so were a mixture of good and bad, but had then set his family on a path that meant they spent most if not all of their remaining life isolated/rejected/hated and had then unknowingly financed his son's murderer's rise to power, who would then go on to brainwash his home District in particular and if Ma Plinth had been able to see the future and what his decisions would result in at any point of the process, then she would have hit him with her frying pan.'

It was that last thought especially that made the writer in me perk up and go, 'you, continue'.

That's how it started.

Ma Plinth doesn't have seer abilities in this one (although I am considering a separate fic of the same), but the general gist of this fic is that Sejanus, once again, snaps and decides to break the tributes out of the zoo and is hiding them in the Capitol until he can get them home (details of which including whether he has help or not are still being worked out).

Strabo however, is getting more than a little suspicious of Sejanus' behaviour in the meantime. And after a little investigating, discovers what he's up to. He immediately wants to turn them in, triggering a huge argument with Sejanus about the same.

Only for Ma Plinth to finally have enough and decides to give her cookware another use, catching both Strabo and Sejanus off-guard.

Basically:

Woman snapped, can you blame her?

Sejanus Hiding Sabyn

This fic starts with the Arena bombing and while Marcus still gets captured and tortured, Sabyn, Velvereen and Facet all succeed in escaping.

Sabyn however, is by herself, she survives the fall, but still isn't able to get out of the Capitol. So she's trying to hide/survive when she's found by Sejanus.

Sejanus is so relieved to see her. Yeah, Sabyn isn't Marcus, but she is still a) a kid who doesn't deserve to die, b) from District 2 and therefore home, and finally c) someone who he is able to help, so he brings her back to his apartment to hide her there until he can think of a plan to smuggle her back to District 2.

. . . It doesn't take long though for Ma Plinth to find her. And from there, Strabo. But they become involved in hiding her as well.

Strabo really isn't happy about any of this as he knows that not even their money will save them if they get caught. But he can't turn her in either, because even if he can convince Gaul and the President that he and his wife had no involvement in this, Sejanus is doomed and he's not about to screw over his own son.

From there, the main plot focus on Sabyn's dynamic with each of the Plinths, including a showdown/conversation with Strabo about what he did in the Rebellion.

There are also two B plots currently being planned, but may or may not make the cut.

B Plot 1: Velvereen and Facet trying to survive in the Capitol and figure out a way home, while plotting revenge on their Mentors (particularly Livia, who is demanding Facet's return so she can win her Prize).

B Plot 2: Some of the Mentors, inspired by the way the other tributes were able to run away/not get caught and not wanting their tributes to die, start scheming up ways to get them out.

That's all I have for it for now. Hope you like them.