#The epilogue to the plot I just finished running

[aihoshiino]

chapter 166 thoughts

As of chapter 166, Oshi no Ko has finished a roughly four-and-a-half year run started back in 2020. While there's some speculation about an epilogue or some extra content in volume 16 when it drops, this is where the main story ends. And you know what that means!!!

OSHI NO KO HAS OFFICIALLY ENDED WITHOUT ADDRESSING OR ACKNOWLEDGING THE FACT THAT RUBY KISSED HER BROTHER IN CHAPTER 143

please understand that this is FUCKING BOGUS

I'll probably do a longer post on this subject specifically, but my main critique of 143 when the chapter dropped was that while I liked the individual beats in it and I was really glad to see Akasaka finally addressing this tension bubbling underneath Aqua and Ruby's relationship, the immediate swerve away from showing us the aftermath of that kiss felt to me like an admission that the story was going to needlessly draw this out even more. Now that the story has ended and we can see that moment had literally no impact on the plot or even the character dynamics, I'd like to revise that statement - it feels like an admission of compromise. It feels like crumbs thrown to AquRuby fans to tempt them to keep reading and to stir up the waters of the ship wars, so people would keep reading and stay invested in the manga right to the very end. But most of all, it feels deeply disrespectful to both Aqua and Ruby as characters. Rather than exploring their feelings and giving both of them interiority and complexity in relation to incest or even just fucking acknowledging that the kiss had happened and letting their dynamic evolve, the series just memory holes the entire event and asks that you do too. Rather than letting Ruby have any development whatsoever as pertains to that relationship or, god forbid, let a female character move on romantically from the male lead, the series ends with her feelings so up in the air that I literally could not tell you what she thinks of Aqua by the time he dies.

ANYWAY… FINAL CHAPTER. BREATHES OUT VERY HARD.

I really can't believe it's taken us until the final chapter to actually deal with Ruby's grief over Aqua lol. We got a snippet of it last chapter but it was so brief that it really just felt like a tease. I also just think it's kind of bizarre that we're spending this little time on Ruby having feelings about Aqua's death to the extent that I have no idea how or when she found out about it.

It's also kind of hard to feel particularly strongly about Ruby's grief when the chapter doesn't really bother to explore it all that much. It's just a montage of Ruby quite literally Screaming, Crying and Throwing Up while Akane dispassionately narrates it all. The art also doesn't really help in terms of connecting with the emotions at play - I usually really like Mengo's expression work and the way she depicts extreme emotions but this all just felt like of… I don't know how else to put it. Goofy??? Is that an insane thing to say about Ruby grieving her brother???

Idk, something about both the panelling and just the extreme on-the-noseness of Ruby, again, literally Screaming, Crying Throwing Up while she's wearing a Burning cosplay Just In Case You, The Audience, Didn't Get It only for her to abruptly be done crying with no exploration or insight as to what's going on in her head that allows her to move forward.

Honestly, this is kind of the issue with everyone in the cast. The resolution is just sort of "Aqua died and we were sad about it but then we stopped being sad". I know what the story is trying to go for here - it's trying to express that even when you're in pain, life goes on and so you have to find a way to go on with it. But the result is that we spend all this time oogling at their pain without spending equivalent or even meaningful time on their recovery process.

It feels both excessive and undercooked at the same time and I'm left with the same icky, voyeuristic feeling I got from Aqua's funeral last chapter. This should be the point in the story at which we empathize with Ruby the most, but she remains a frustratingly distant figure right to the final pages. Part of this is an unfortunate consequence of Akane's narration directing these final chapters meaning that we're hearing about Ruby from an outsider's perspective and thus don't really see what's going on in her head… but if I can be frank, this has been an issue of Aka's with Ruby in particular basically nonstop since chapter 123.

As others & myself have noted, despite the absolutely catastrophic downward spiral Ruby is in at that point, Aqua revealing himself as Gorou basically flips it all off like a switch. There's some mild lipservice paid to the idea that Ruby is just using her dependency on Gorou to prop herself up and it's pointed out that the issues that contributed to her breakdown haven't actually been resolved - but none of these issues are ever even acknowledged again, let alone resolved. So, functionally, that reveal does fix all Ruby's problems in the space of a single chapter and the result is, again, that we spend multiple chapters gourging on depictions of Ruby's absolute rock bottom only for her to ping back to normal like a lightswitch. As such, the depictions of her pain feel less like explorations of Ruby's interiority and more like voyeuristic oogling at Ruby's misery and trauma and the effect is that the resolution to it all is both unsatisfying and a little gross. The result is that it feels like Akasaka is just indulgently mining the imagery of cute girls suffering because it causes simple thoughts neuron activation but doesn't respect these girls enough as characters to build them back up.

It doesn't help that this is basically the in-universe excuse for Ruby's career further skyrocketing. Instead of Ruby becoming a star on her own merits as the story keeps insisting she was supposed to, she's artificially buoyed by the public's morbid fascination with her tragedy. If I was feeling charitable towards the story right now, I would say this is an avenue of intentional critique but… well, I don't feel super charitable about the story right now lol

I WILL say that the one part of this chapter I did just uncomplicatedly like was the beat of Mem trying to suspend activities (presumably in the wake of her grief for Aqua) only for Kana to basically immediately explode into her room and help her get back on her feet. It's a beat that would've been much more effective if we'd, you know, seen it, but I otherwise enjoyed it and I thought it was sweet.

But. pbbbbtttt. I guess I can't talk around it any longer… let's get into the Dome concert.

To start things off on the immediately worst note possible, Akane describes Ruby performing at the Dome as being 'everyone's dream', including Aqua's. I'm reminded once again of the strange turn the story took in insisting that um, actually, performing at the Dome was totes Ai's dream all along (even though she literally didn't give a shit even a week before she was due to perform there herself) so Ruby performing there is fulfilling that dream for her!!! and I can't help but wonder if this abrupt shift in focus is an attempt to make readers forget what Ai's actual dream was - to see her beloved children grow up happy and healthy. Hell, it wasn't even really Aqua's dream, until the story suddenly had to try and convince us that his entire purpose for existence was to kill himself so Ruby could be an idol for slightly longer than she would've otherwise. The only people whose dreams she's textually fulfilling are Ichigo and Miyako and Ruby herself, but…

Honestly, is this really Ruby's dream anymore?

Who is Hoshino Ruby? What does she want? Why does she want it? These should be the very least of what we can concretely say about not only a protagonist but a character who has become a central figure of the entire story as Ruby has, but with the way Oshi no Ko has warped and distorted her, I find myself increasingly unsure of what the story wants her to be or how I should answer those questions.What does Ruby feel about Aqua? Was she still in love with him? Had she moved on, romantically? Was she still waiting for a response to her confession? Did she finally realize it was probably kind of shitty to respond to her brother going "lowkey wanna kms" by sticking her tongue down his throat? I Guess We'll Never Know.

This extends to whatever the fuck Ruby's relationship with idols and being an idol is. Almost the entirety of Ruby's time in the story has been spent reiterating over and over that Ruby cannot just be an idol who imitates Ai and that to truly shine, she needs to step out of her mom's shadow and shine in her own way. Ruby even literally tells Kana in no uncertain terms in 137 - "I'll be a star in my own way. I won't be like Mama."

While this has always been the text of the story, as I've pointed out before, the actual art with which Ruby's idolhood depicts her basically just as Ai 2.0. It relies so heavily on mining the imagery of Ai's charisma and personality as an idol and using them as the measure of Ruby's success as an idol that Ruby essentially has no visual or conceptual identity of her own as an idol. She's just Ai, But Arbitrarily Better, For Reasons The Narrative Fails To Actually Establish But Hopes That You Just Accept Anyway. This was always kind of annoying, but now that friction seems to have been resolved by… just making her Ai 2.0, But Arbitrarily Better (etc, etc) in the text as well. The fact that we're given no further insight as to Ruby's feelings and continue to just have Akane Explain Ruby's Character Arc to the camera also doesn't help.

All this combines to make the Dome concert and the final few pages feel exceptionally cold in a way I really don't think was intended by Akasaka. Yes, that splash page was nice and flashy but… I just felt nothing. I have no idea if or why Ruby cares about this. And even though the Dome concert has been hyped up through the entire story as the peak of Ruby's achievements as an idol, I feel no sense of accomplishment in her finally being there - not just because her journey to it was basically sneezed at us across two panels, but because it just feels hollow as a victory lap for Ruby. Again, she feels so distant and abstracted as a character that I can't bring myself to feel very strongly about her good or bad.

I think the perfect encapsulation of this are the final four pages of the story. Ruby's words here are very clearly intended to be a callback to Ai's words to Gorou in chapter one but as @all-of-her-light pointed out in our initial discussions of the chapter, Ruby very much does not have an equivalent to Ai's conclusion that she nevertheless wants and values the opportunity to find personal happiness and fulfillment outside of being an idol. Are we supposed to believe that simply being an idol is all that Ruby needs to achieve a similar degree of happiness and fulfillment? Is there no more to her than that?

I've seen a lot of people interpret this ending as exceptionally bleak and, as usual, gleefully predicting Ruby's immanent suicide because her beloved oniichansensei isn't around but this is indulging in, if you'll allow me to be frank, some pretty transparently ship-motivated flanderization. Despite what certain sections of the fandom would like to believe, Aqua and Ruby's lives, past and current, have never revolved around each other to the exclusion of every other relationship in their life. Ruby has a massive support network of people who love and care for her and actively want her to get back on her feet. I can one hundred percent believe that she does not need Aqua in her life to be happy and content.

The issue is that we don't see enough of Ruby to understand that ourselves. Again, she has become such a distant figure with so little insight into what she's thinking and why that this ending is basically a Rorschach test in which you can interpret basically whatever the hell you want or assume because we have so little canon basis to support or debunk our assumptions.

and yes. don't think i didn't see them. it IS both grimly hilarious and weirdly tonally appropriate for this ending that ruby has a bunch of oshi goods of ai and aqua including their fucking autographs set up to say goodbye to every day.

AND…… WE'RE DONE!!! THAT'S OSHI NO KO, BABY!!!! well, technically, there's going to be a 20 page extra chapter in volume 16 but I don't see it being big or substantive enough to meaningfully change my feelings about the ending so… I guess we're leaving it here. Damn. Feels crazy to be done with it.

I'll probably do a bigger post down the line about my thoughts on the ending as a whole but in terms of just How This Chapter Made Me feel, I guess the word is just… meh! It's definitely not an ending I like and I think the execution is sloppy and rushed but I also just don't really have the energy to feel angry about it. Maybe that's sad in its own way but tbh… I still really love Oshi no Ko! I still find it engaging and I find the characters I enjoy rewarding to talk about. I like the artistry of the anime adaptation. I don't blame anybody else for being so turned off by this ending that they're done with the series but for me, I like what I like about OnK too much that this ending could retroactively ruin it for me. Whatever else happens with the OnK franchise, whatever directions the anime and live-action take, this will always be the series that gave me Ai and the Hoshino family and. look at me. look at what she's done to my brain. could I really ask for anything more than that?

That being said, I'm definitely not done with discussing the series! I have fics to write (including a VERY exciting large scale project lined up with some friends), my Ai analysis post to finish and I also want to do a re-read of the series and finish my anime rewatch. I'll be here to discuss Oshi no Ko as long as I have things to say about it and as long as you guys will have me! Despite how the series ended, I've had a genuinely wonderful experience in the fandom and I really don't want to let go of the little community we've built together just because the series is done. I'm Ai's fan for all eternity!!!

[cosmerelists]

Top 10 Cosmere Fake-Outs: Ranked by How Well they Fooled Me

By "fake-outs," I mean times when the narrative tried to convince me that something had happened or was true (for example: this character is DEAD!) when in fact it was all a lie.

By necessity, THIS POST WILL CONTAIN LOTS OF MAJOR SPOILERS!

Specifically: Major spoilers for Warbreaker, Stormlight Archives, Mistborn Eras 1 and 2, and Yumi & the Nightmare Painter. I won't put character names in the titles of the entries, but if you haven't read all of those listed works, please move on!

#10: A Words of Radiance Death

In Words of Radiance, Jasnah is attacked by assassins while on board a ship with Shallan. Shallan sees Jasnah's lifeless body being stabbed, and then the ship literally goes down in flames. Jasnah has certainly died!

Yeah...I didn't buy it for even one second, to be honest. I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for the reveal that Jasnah had actually survived, because of course she did. (This is not a complaint!)

#9: A Secret Project Death

At the end of Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Yumi dies, and it's a real fake-out. Sanderson goes so far as to have a secret, extra epilogue that isn't in the table of contents where her death is reversed. I wasn't quite as sure while reading that Yumi would survive--at least, not as sure as I was when Jasnah "died." But I was pretty sure. 

#8: A Mistborn Era 1 Death

Specifically: Kelsier. When Kelsier dies at the end of Book 1 (!), I was shocked...and suspicious. Would Sanderson really kill off a character like Kelsier in Book 1??? Well, as it turns out...yes. But also no. Because Kelsier clings to "life" as a Cognitive Shadow and is still off doing things in future books. So I still count this one as a fake-out!

#7: Another Mistborn Era 1 Death

Another character who "dies" in Mistborn Era 1 is Marsh, Kelsier's brother. They find what they think is his completely obliterated body and are like "oh no." Of course, any time there is a completely obliterated body, we as readers will be suspicious: if it's really Marsh, why no face? But I actually wasn't too very suspicious of this one because Marsh felt like a character who could die, narratively speaking. I didn't, like, drop my book out of shock when he turned back up, but I was more surprised than I had been with the others.

#6: Just An Innocent Old Man in Way of Kings

This is referring to Taravangian, who in Way of Kings is presented as a dottering old man who's well-meaning but not too bright. I'm not going to lie, I bought this one hook, line, and sinker. The villain reveal for Taravangian did take me almost completely by surprise! The impact was only lessened insofar as I wasn't that interested in Taravangian pre-reveal, so I didn't feel, like, betrayed or anything.

#5: Nice Guys in Warbreaker

I 100% believed that Denth and Tonk Fah worked for Lemex, were relatively sad about his totally natural death, and were sincerely working for Vivenna afterwards. This is in spite of the fact that the narrative was not at all shy about dropping hints that this was not true. There's the fact that we're told people with tons of breaths are strong & healthy...yet I was like, "Yeah, makes sense that Lemex died of natural causes." We see Vasher position himself against Vivenna and company, and yet I was like, "Vasher probably has his reasons but it's not like Vivenna and company are doing bad things." This one was a shock especially because I liked Denth & Tonk Fah! 

#4: Dalinar and Amaram are BFFs forever

This one runs the risk of being more of a plot twist than a fake-out...but hear me out. We're led to believe that Dalinar has finished investigating Amaram and has decided not to believe Kaladin; he and Amaram are BFFs forever and ever. Then there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment when Dalinar is "out sick" for a week, but I for one thought nothing of that. Then it turns out that Dalinar was in fact laying a trap for Amaram, which Amaram waltzed right into, and Dalinar finally learned the truth. So I think it counts as a fake-out: I was certainly very surprised when Dalinar called Kaladin up "for an apology" and it turned out to be Amaram who needed to apologize. 

#3: Jasnah's Soulcaster

Shallan's whole plot line in Way of Kings is centered around her trying to steal Jasnah's very real and functional Soulcaster by swapping it for Shallan's broken one. Personally, it did not occur to me for even a second that Jasnah's Soulcaster also didn't work and was also a fake, so Shallan simply swapped one fake for another. In part, this was because I did not understand how any of the magic worked on Roshar at this point. But still. It definitely fooled me good.

#2: A Mistborn Era 2 Death

I will admit, it never even entered into the realm of possibility for me that Wax's old wife, Lessie, wasn't dead. We watched her die in the flashback. She was buried. She felt like just one of those fridged women and I had not even a shred of doubt that her death actually happened. I was so sure that when Bleeder literally reverted into Lessie's form and voice, I just assumed she had eaten Lessie's bones. This one really, REALLY shocked me.

#1: Mistborn Era 1: Follow the Ancient Text

But even so, I think the fake-out that most shocked me was the one at the end of Well of Ascension. Vin knew, per the very accurate ancient writings left behind by Kwaan, that she had to resist the power offered by the Well and give it up--even if that meant letting someone she loved die. This felt like such a classic climax and source of tension, that I was just waiting with baited breath hoping that Vin would give up the power. And she did. And it was a mistake. Because it turns out that if you copy down Kwaan's words--which were inscribed in metal so that they could not be altered--on to paper, then Ruin's gonna alter them and you can't trust the ancient prophecy after all. In following the "prophecy" at great personal cost, Vin was just doing what Ruin wanted anyway.

I'm still not over this one. 

[yoitsjay]

Confidential

Pairings: Hunter x fem jedi! Reader

Summary: after a successful but injury ridden mission in the outer rim, you set course for a medi center for your troopers. Only to get pulled out of hyperspace and shot down onto a familiar planet. Thank God The Bad Batch is there.

Warnings: bits of angst, lots of plot, made up clones and names, you get a cool lightsaber I have pictures, kissing, innuendos of more than kissing, hurt and comfort epilogue kinda.

Word count: 5,033

The last battle had many of your good soldiers dead. The separatists foothold in the outer rim was not something the council wanted, so they sent you to deal with certain planets. You had a 98.99 percent success rate with missions, and your clone troopers definitely made up most of that percentage.

You had a small battalion, maybe only a couple thousand instead of several. You got a few rookies now and again but most of them went to General Skywalker or General Kenobi. But regardless of who was sent to you, you cared for them like you did any other. You tried your best to learn everyone's names, and even learned Mando’a, courtesy of your medic and ARK Trooper Kasey.

You had just finished the battle on Alberon and left that battle with about a hundred dead, the majority injured including your commander. So you made it your personal mission to bring your injured troop to the medical center in the outer rim.

You knew it was risky, but what you didn’t expect was to be forced out of hyperspace because an explosion went off on one of your engines on the outside of the ship, and then attacked by separatists as soon as you exited hyperspace.

You had managed to fend them off, and the pilots did good with flying your smaller jedi cruiser, The Resplendent. But there was no doubt you were going to have to crash land.

“Pilots, can you maneuver The Resplendent to an empty pocket of land? avoid any cities, it stinks of separatist here.” You snarled, and your pilots nodded. “We got it General!”

You nodded, turning to the more technical clones in the bridge. “Can you tell me anything about where we are about to land? hostiles, terrain, temperatures?” You asked, gripping onto the back of their seats as the cruiser shook violently when hitting the atmosphere. “It's a crystal desert terrain, General. a major seppie city not far away. No hostiles so far, but I can't get much else. The planet’s name is Cryt” The Clone explained.

You nodded. “Buckle up boys! don't die on me now!” You shouted before running off the bridge and to the medical center. You managed to get inside and seal the doors just as the ship lurched forward, and was about to toss around the wounded soldiers, but you quickly raised your arms, and used it to keep the more wounded secured in their beds and up against the wall.

Your eyes were squeezed shut as you focused on keeping your soldiers safe, but as the cruiser lurched forward again you remembered that you didn’t buckle yourself to something, so that concentration was quickly broken as you flew forward into the farthest wall, a couple of injured clones landing beside you.

You groaned, looking up just as a broken piece of wall metal came flying towards you, again you acted quickly, extending your hand as you pushed the metal down and onto the ground so it wouldn’t hurt anyone.

You grabbed your clones, wrapping an arm around them as you brought them back to their cot’s. You then strapped them in, for their safety, and moved the cot’s all together to lessen any impact. You found something to hold onto, sensing that the ground was getting closer and closer…

And soon the cruiser hit the ground and it shook more violently than it had coming down, glass shattered and surgical instruments went flying, but you managed to deter them from hitting any of your boys.

Soon The Resplendent slid to a stop, and you sagged, giving yourself a few seconds before standing up to check on the men. The ones who were conscious all gave you a thumbs up, and the ones who weren’t you just quickly checked their pulses, looking over at your commander finally.

His helmet was off, which showed the interesting tattoo’s he had gotten done. The sides of his head were shaved with some patterns in the buzzed hair that connected to a tattoo on his face which he had told you were Jaig eyes, only bestowed upon warriors with high valor and honor. You had told him he deserved them so he went to get the tattoo much later.

He had some words in Aurebesh that went in a vertical line from his hairline and down to his jaw, closer to his ear on the left side of his face that said ‘Born to fight, Trained to win’ and you also thought that was pretty neat. He told you he had some tattoo’s elsewhere too, but again you didn’t mind the clones customizing themselves.

The top of his hair was slightly longer, still short but not buzzed or styled, so some loose pieces of hair fell on his forehead. He was asleep, which was good. You analyzed his splinted leg and arm, which looked to be healing well despite the rocky landing and the adrenaline that kept him walking despite your orders for him to lay down.

The medical droid had told you he had multiple fractures, but they would all be healed quickly with proper medical attention, but for now as long as he rested and didn’t move he would still heal fine.

You left the medical room, glancing around as non-injured clones filled the hallways, helping those who were injured because of the crash, or moving those who had died because of it. You sighed, placing your hands on your hips as you shook your head.

You then went to the nearest terminal, which was still working luckily, and you made an announcement.

“All non injured soldiers and personnel report to the bridge for further orders.”

Once the order was carried out, you made your way back to the Bridge, noticing a few more dead pilots and technicians, but most were alive, if not a little bruised. “Good job boys.” You sighed, standing in the center as your soldiers, and other personnel arrived at the bridge.

“General? what happened?” One of the clones asked, and when you turned around you realized it was your ARK trooper, Kasey. He had a slight gash in his head, but was holding some cloth to it. Your medic, Koba, was already assessing the damage of the bridge and the people in it.

You studied your troopers, most of their armor was painted orange and black, the orange matched your lightsaber, and to them it meant ambition, and fierce loyalty, which you loved. The black was just an accent color, but you had chosen to match them clothing wise.

A sigh fell from your lips and you spoke up, placing your hands on your hips. “We have landed on the separatist planet of Cryt. There’s a major city a few clicks west from where we landed, I'm going to go see if i can find any way to communicate with The Republic or the Jedi to send reinforcements and a new cruiser for pickup.” You explained, pausing for only a moment before you continued.

“I want you all to protect those in the medbay with your life. Keep a tight perimeter, and scrap any metal you can for some extra defense. Kasey and Koba are in charge while I'm gone. If Commander Pulse wakes up and tries to move, you tell him that my specific orders are for him to rest. And if I find out any of you let him walk around or give orders, you’re gonna get the grainy peas from the mess.” You growled, your men saluting automatically.

“But General- should you really go alone?” Kasey asked you, a worried look on his face. You sighed, shaking your head. “No, but I need my men here, safe and protecting their brothers. I can hide in plain sight, you can't.” You started moving your lightsaber so it was hiding on a clip you had on your lower back attached to your belt

Kasey sighed but nodded, and you left the bridge, heading to your quarters which were luckily still accessible. You changed into something a little less obvious, removing what little armor you did wear.

You changed out of your robes, and into a form fitting pair of tan jeans, as for your top you wore a sleeveless blue top, with a form fitting turtleneck collar. You placed on your bracers and hand armor overtop the fingerless elbow gloves you wore, and then came your leather boots which were a dark brown and went up slightly past your ankles.

A blaster was an unorthodox weapon for a jedi, but you had one just in case, and you clipped it to your thigh holster. The blaster also had a grapple attachment to it, which could help you scale the walls of the city to get inside.

Finally you pulled on a dark blue poncho, which hid your lightsaber successfully, and left it easy to grab just in case. You walked out of your room and said your goodbyes to your men before making your way into the desert where you pulled your hood up. “Wait General!” One of your men called, and you turned around, seeing a shiny pull up on an operational sand speeder. “Thought you could use this.” He grinned, getting off of the speeder.

You smiled and patted his shoulder. “Thank you…” You trailed off, hinting for him to give you his name. “O-oh! My name is Pincer.” He answered, nervous as he spoke. You smiled, getting onto the speeder as you nodded to him. “Thank you Pincer, now go join your brothers in the medical bay.” You ordered, watching as he nodded and ran back into the cruiser.

You pulled up your hood, using little clips you had in your pocket to keep it attached to your head so it wouldn’t fly off in the wind. You slid a pair of goggles you had in your room over your eyes, and you revved the engine before speeding off.

You knew Cryt, the lethal sands that could shred your skin, the cannibalistic vultures that circled overhead. It was your birth planet after all.

You sped through the crystalline desert, kicking up the sand which gave you a bit of cover as you reached the edges of the city. You scoped out the walls, searching for an access point. When you saw one, you sped closer before shooting your grapple upwards. You made sure nobody was looking before pulling yourself up, quickly scaling the wall until you pulled yourself up.

You avoided some patrolling droids, and found a staircase leading down. You took it, eventually finding yourself inside the city walls. You stuck to the shadows until you reached what looked to be a market area. The city felt familiar, but you had only been a baby when you were taken from here and raised in the Jedi Temple.

You visited a couple times before it got too dangerous when the separatists took over and the government became corrupt. It was a sad fact, but one you had accepted quickly.

You knew you had to get to a place where you could connect your com to a terminal and boost your signal in order to contact the jedi temple, and the only place you knew was the most popular and only bar in the city.

So you started making your way there, keeping yourself close to the shadows or the walls if possible… Until several loud explosions rang out through the center yard of the city. You heard screaming, and you looked up to see the droid facility being torn apart from the inside out. But that explosion had caused a chain reaction, and caused some construction towers to start falling.

You saw a group of kids running away, but the tower was getting closer and closer.

So you ran forward, extending your hand for just a brief moment as you suspended the tower, and grabbed the kids before moving out of the way, letting the tower fall down. “Are you okay?” You asked the young kids, who nodded to you in fascination. “Are you a-”

“Shh young ones, how about we keep that our little secret hm? i wont tell if you don’t” You whispered, offering the kids a warm smile and a couple credits from your belt as they nodded and ran off.

You sighed, standing and looking around before heading back to the sidelines. You might’ve just blown your cover, but for now you were in the clear.

Until you passed an alleyway, and hands reached from the shadows, one wrapping around your mouth while the other grabbed your waist and yanked you into the dark alley.

You grunted, immediately struggling against the figure. You elbowed him, wincing when you hit sturdy armor, however you elbowed him again, this time lower, which allowed you to make contact with an unarmored portion of that man. You did it a few more times before biting the man's hand.

“Ouch! fuck-” He cursed, but you weren’t done. You grabbed his wrist, and you twisted it, using your leverage as you swung him around, stepping behind him before kicking his knees, sending him to the ground.

You still had your grip on his arm, and had him pinned to the ground while twisting his arm, hearing him hiss.

“Okay okay! stop!” The man exclaimed, but you kept him under you. “I would let him go…” ANother voice hissed, and you saw a flash of a sniper scope above you. You then heard a pair of footsteps, heavy, behind you… and in front of you emerged another man, the shadows keeping him mostly obscured.

You stared down at the man below you, studying his armor… which was very clone like in the way it was designed. You then noticed the 99 printed on the man’s shoulder pauldron, and recounted the men surrounding you.

four.

99…

clone armor…

it clicked in your mind, and you released the man below you before standing up, glancing behind you as a large man stepped closer. You turned to the man you previously had pinned down, and he had just removed his helmet and stepped into the dim light of that alley.

He had a half skull tattoo, and a red bandana with a skull on it, keeping his longer hair out of his face. You narrowed your eyes for a moment before extending your hand, using the force to remove all their blasters, throwing them to the ground.

“Clone force 99, correct?” You asked, lowering the hood from your head, fixing your hair, moving the giggles to sit above your forehead. “You know us?” The man from behind you spoke up, slightly louder than he should have been.

“How could she not? she is clearly a Jedi.” The man behind the skull face spoke up, now beside the man with a datapad in his hands. “I am, but I'd like it if you shut up.” You growled, poking your head out of the alley for a moment before turning back to the man. “Were those explosions you?” You asked, and The man nodded.

“Yes, we were sent here to covertly destroy the droid factory so that the 212th could gain control of the city. it wasn’t ready yet, but then we saw a jedi cruiser falling from the sky.” The man explained, and he extended his hand to you. “I’m Sergeant Hunter, beside me is Tech, behind you is Wrecker, and above us is our sniper, Crosshair.” He introduced, and you nodded briefly.

“That’s great. I need to contact General kenobi. A lot of my men are injured. We were on our way from Alberon when an exterior explosion on our engines caused us to exit hyperspace, then we were attacked and had to crashland here. I need an emergency pickup.” You huffed, adjusting your poncho.

“Your explosion almost hurt a group of kids. I could have blown my cover and im sure pretty soon there will be droids fucking us in our asses if we don’t find somewhere to lay low.” You hissed, your language causing the sniper above you to snort. Hunter raised his eyebrow, but nodded. “Fine. We will follow you, and help you contact Kenobi.” Hunter stated, not sounding super thrilled but you didn’t care.

You lead the four enhanced clones through the alleyways until you reach the back entrance of what seemed to be an abandoned home. But you knew better. Last time you were here you were only a teenager. You remember begging your master to let you visit your family until he finally caved in and brought you.

This was your mother’s home.

You used the force to unlock the door, pushing it open with a grunt as you led them inside. It was dark, and dusty, but you brought them up to what seemed to be a living area. Everything was tossed or strewn aside like the place was searched. You frowned, but continued searching for something to boost the signal of your or Hunter’s com device.

Eventually you found a terminal, and you opened up the wiring panel. You took your commlink and you attached it to some wires before turning it on. While you worked on that, Hunter was trying to contact Kenobi as well, his brothers looking at you, before looking at Hunter and then back at you.

They were still very on edge around you, you may have been a jedi but they didn’t trust easily. Just then you got a com from Kasey, and you quickly answered it.

It was glitchy, but on the hologram you could see Kasey firing at something. “general! droid… ambush… backup!” Kasey exclaimed, his voice cutting in and out of the transmission. You growled, trying to patch the connection through. “Just hold on Kasey! don’t back down. Keep your vod safe!” You exclaimed, the transmission cutting before you could say anything else.

You groaned, clenching your hands into fists before taking a deep breath, Tech then walked over to you, kneeling down beside you, wordlessly helping you rewire the terminal, and soon You and Tech successfully boosted the signal, hooking up their comms to contact General Kenobi. Hunter spoke up first, explaining that some complications arose before you stepped forward.

“General L/n? what are you doing on Cryt?” He asked, a soft laugh leaving your lips. “Not such a funny story, Master Kenobi. Myself and my battalion were on our way to the outer rim medical center after the battle of Alberon when one of our engines detonated and we were pulled out of hyperspace. We were attacked, and had to crash land here. I came to the city to find a way to contact the Jedi temple when I ran into Clone Force 99. and now we’re here.” You explained, trying to keep the explanation brief.

“If you can, can you request additional backup? droid’s are attacking my men and I need to get back to them before they get killed. My cruiser is inoperable.” You explained, seeing Kenobi talking with someone else for a moment before he nodded to you. “We will be arriving shortly with a fleet. We will send some gunships down to collect you and your men. Perhaps you could aid us in taking back your home>” Kenobi asked, and you nodded.

“I'll do whatever you command, General, just help my vod- my men.” You quickly corrected yourself. Kenobi nodded and the transmission ended. You sighed, rubbing your face before turning to look at Hunter.

“Thank you.” You muttered, Hunter nodded and walked away, talking with his brothers as you gathered yourself, ready to leave before you felt a hand wrap around yours. “We did our part for Kenobi, we’ll go back with you to help your men.” Hunter stated.

Your eyes widened, and you shook your head in disbelief. “Why would you do that?” You asked, hearing the man chuckle. “Because you are the only general I've heard of that has willingly learned our language, and then called your men your brothers. So we will help you. even if they are regs.” Hunter explained.

You stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. “Prepare for one hell of a fight.” You muttered, running out of your childhood home and out to the streets where droids were already patrolling.

You grabbed your lightsaber from your back and ignited it. The blade glowed orange which surprised The Bad Batch. They had never seen an orange lightsaber before. But what was unique about your saber, was that it had a crossguard, with smaller lazers escaping from the sides.

Your muscles flexed as you swung your blade forward, slicing through a patrolling vulture droid. You jumped from his leg, spinning as you cleaved a rolling droideka in two pieces, before blocking several blaster shots that came at you. But then you unlinked something on your holster, and a smaller saber disconnected from the crossguard saber which was still ignited.

You ignited a small orange lightsaber in your left hand, and started dual wielding, slicing through droids. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.” Crosshair muttered to Hunter, shooting a couple of droids that you had left behind. “I like her!” Wrecker exclaimed, rushing to help you as you both smashed through some droids, paving your way to the exit. Hunter, Tech and Crosshair followed close behind, shooting or knifing down any droids that your lightsaber’s didn’t cut through.

Hunter watched you, watched the sweat dripping from your brow as you skillfully swung your blades before attaching them together again, however this time, instead of just a single blade you had switched your stance to a dual blade. Now that was unique.

You were strong, that was clear. Unlike most of the jedi he had seen, you actually had muscle on your arms. You were heavy in your swings too but you left no room open for weakness. You used your body mass to your advantage to flip and swing over droids.

And soon you and the batch were on speeders, and heading towards your crashed ship which was already under heavy fire. But just as you arrived, so did the republic gunships and fighters. You commed Kasey, who picked up after a few buzzes. “Lieutenant just hold on! we’re almost there and reinforcements have arrived!” You exclaimed, igniting your lightsaber whilst on the speeder as you wiped out several droids in one pass. You then jumped off the speeder, force jumping again while mid air as you landed on a vulture droid.

You plunged your blade into its head, jumping off and landing back onto the ground. The Bad Batch managed to keep up with your speed, following you inside the crashed vessel, cutting through droids until you reached the med hanger. “Kasey!” You called out, the blades of your saber shutting off as you clipped it back to your belt, inhaling with relief when Kasey’s head poke out from behind a barricade, Kobo right behind him.

“Hey General! right on time for the fun.” Kasey beamed, and you chuckled as he turned to look at Hunter and his brothers. “Who are they?” Kasey asked, and you grinned. “This is the elite Clone Force 99. They’re helping take back Cryt.” You explained, hopping over the barricades. “Is Pulse okay?” You asked, looking around the med bay but not seeing him.

“Feeling good as ever, General.” His voice carried out, and Hunter saw your face brighten up significantly… he almost felt… jealous… But he couldn’t think like that, he barely knew you!

But regardless he watched as you embraced your commander in a hug for a few moments before pulling away, smacking him on the back of his head. “You di’kut! you’re supposed to be resting your leg!” You exclaimed, the men around you laughing at your exchange.

Eventually you turned back to Hunter, nodding. “I'll be sending my men up with the gunships once they land, But i’ll stick with you if that's okay.” You started, walking over to him. ���Of course it's okay- i mean yea- its uh- its fine.” He cleared his throat, looking away from you.

Wrecker gasped. “Hunter’s got a crush~” He sang, and your face lit up, almost the color of your lightsaber. “Shut it Wrecker!” Hunter exclaimed, glancing back at you. You offered him a light smile, and he started blushing in return.

damnit.

He kind of zoned out after that, you were so close and he could smell your natural perfume, which smelled of smokey vanilla and baking smells, along with the smell of your sweat… It's only been two or so hours since he met you and already he felt like a horny cadet all over again after seeing some pretty Jedi for the first time.

But he noticed the way your eyes brightened every time you spoke to your men, especially your commander and lieutenant, he saw the way your lips curled up slightly before you laughed or smiled wider. He admired the way you moved, you were walking with purpose, but at the same time you were so graceful.

Wrecker was right.

fuck.

But he couldn’t stop looking at you, even in the midst of battle when you were on the frontlines with them, fighting separatists to free the people of your home world, he studied you, seeing you laugh, or grunt at every droid you slaughtered.

He thought you were gorgeous.

Even if you were covered in oil and dirt, and your hair was sticking to your face because of the sweat that dripped down your skin, you were still gorgeous.

At the end of battle, he noticed your afterglow, the way you smiled while talking with Kenobi, securing the peace of your planet.

Hunter's lips parted when you turned to look at him, he didn’t even realize you had walked up to him and started talking until Crosshair elbowed him in the ribs.

He snapped back to the present, trying to compose himself as you stared. “what? sorry-” He choked out, and hearing you laugh nearly made his knees give out.

“I said, while my men are healing, and are given a much needed break, I will be working alongside your squad, as long as it’s okay with you, sergeant.” You explained again, holding your hands behind your back as you stared right into his eyes.

he gulped.

he was in for it now.

-

You were on one of the Jedi cruisers now, having just showered and dressed into your under robes when you had bumped into Hunter in the hall. One minute you were talking, laughing… Then the next you were in your temporary quarters, and Hunter was kissing you, his hands sliding up your robes to lay flat against your warm skin.

Tongues and teeth clashed together, but you didn’t care, you didn’t want that moment to ever end.

And you fought beside Hunter for months after that, but you had a routine. After every mission you’d release all that passion with each other. And even when you went back to Coruscant, and was placed back with your squad, you found yourself partnering with The Bad Batch a lot more, and even when you couldn’t you’d find him on Coruscant.

So much passion, and love… And you shared it with him. Every piece of your heart you shared with him, just as he did with his own.

Nobody but your closest knew, and of course Hunter’s brothers knew. But your relationship was extremely confidential. Pulse understood, as did Koba and Kasey. They wouldn’t tell a soul.

And you were so grateful.

★Epilogue★

Order 66 killed so many, ruined so many lives. And had almost got you if you weren't able to remove the chips of your three most Loyal. You were able to hide with them, and escape from the growing Empire. Pulse, Koda and Kasey had felt so guilty, knowing the people you were raised with were probably slaughtered, and your battalion, you couldn’t save them all and it wore down heavily.

You hadn’t had any contact from Hunter, and you were scared to even reach out. Instead you reached out to an old Jedi contact, Cid, and you made your way to Ord Mantell with your remaining men. You had acquired (stolen) a ship from some pirates to actually get you there. But as soon as you stepped into Cid’s parlor, you sensed a familiar presence.

Your eyes searched the parlor, until you landed on a slightly hidden group in one of the back booths. You narrowed your eyes, and turned to your men who were looking at you curiously. “Guard the door.” You muttered, and started walking over to the booth…

You nearly choked, eyes widening as you saw none other than Hunter, and his brothers Tech and Wrecker and… another, one you didn’t recognize. But no Crosshair… and there was a girl, blonde with brown eyes.

When Hunter turned to look at you, he almost had the same reaction you did. You were both frozen as you looked at each other, But as quickly as it happened it was over, and not only was Hunter embracing you, so was Wrecker and even Tech.

You held them all tightly, tears beginning to fall from your cheeks, allowing Tech and Wrecker to pull away as you just focused on Hunter now, pressing your lips to his in a passionate, relieving kiss.

You pulled away again, sliding your fingers through his hair. “I thought-” he choked out, and you nodded. “I’m not, and you aren't either.” You whispered, kissing his cheek and then his lips again for a moment before pulling away when you heard the clone you didn’t know clear his throat. “Oh yes- hi.” You greeted the stranger, introducing yourself as you waved your men over.

It was a huge reunion, and that night you and Hunter shared a bed on your ship while his brothers and your men shared drinks and stories at Cid’s bar. But Hunter just held you as you cried. He was crying too, but more in relief that you were alive, and his arms.

he wouldn’t let you go again, and you wouldn’t either.

➺

Tag list:

Hunter:

All:

@moomoog017

[burntheedges-updates]

Over Again - main post & chapter list

This is my updates-only blog! Follow me at @burntheedges

Joel Miller x f!reader

summary: you fell in love with Joel Miller in Austin, Texas, in 2001, but you thought you lost him and your whole family in 2003 when the world turned upside down. now it's 2024, and you find the surprise of your life waiting for you in Jackson, Wyoming.

or, five times you and Joel fell deeper in love, on both sides of the apocalypse (and one time you did something about it)

18+ minors DNI

key themes: alternating timeline (2000-2003 / 2023-2024), 90s/00s country and latin music and dancing, romance, family vibes series tags/warnings: fluff, flirting, banter, romance, light angst (plus the angst of thinking the other person is dead for 20 years, aka the TLOU norm), pet names (darlin’, baby, honey, pretty girl), small age difference (reader is 26, Joel is 32/almost 33 when they meet in 2000), no use of y/n, teacher!reader (with vague details), smut (I'll update specific warnings for each chapter, but just FYI for later chapters: Joel calls reader a good girl, neck grabbing (no breath play), a bit of manhandling and spitting, a lot of sex) (feel free to dm any specific questions) a/n about reader: I've paid a lot of attention to how the reader is described in this fic. I've avoided skin color, hair type, body shape/size descriptions, and even clothing (except for one or two spots where you are specifically wearing jeans and boots). You are vaguely shorter than Joel. He does not run his fingers through your hair, and you feel the blood rush to your face or your face heat, but you don't turn red or pink. Please tell me if you notice anything I missed - I want this to be as inclusive as possible. a/n: this is the first fic I've written in almost 20 years. this man, I swear. wordcount: 42.6k

This fic is completely finished and posted! Chapter links under the cut.

Read it on ao3

Bonus: Mix CD (plot related) & series playlist, with headcanons: here.

Chapter List

Five times you and Joel fell deeper in love…

Chapter 1 - Meet Cute - Jackson, Early Winter 2023 | Austin, Summer 2000

Now with art by the amazing @kittyoperas!!

Chapter 2 - Breaking the Ice - Jackson, Spring 2024 | Austin, Spring 2001

Chapter 3 - Dinner - Jackson, Spring 2024 | Austin, Spring 2001

Chapter 4 - First Date - Jackson, Spring 2024 | Austin, Spring 2001

Chapter 5 - Staying Over - Boston, September 26, 2003 | Jackson, Spring 2024

… and one time you did something about it.

Epilogue: Together - Austin, December 2002 | Jackson, Early Fall 2024

Outtakes and Snippets

Canned Heat (Austin, October, 2001)

Preview/sneak peeks: fic preview | ch 2 | ch 3 | ch 4 | ch 5

[brekkie-e]

I have mixed feelings on the discussion about how "nice" Astarion gets if you go the Spawn route with him. Now, I am not reading fic so I've not personally seen the extent of how far people are running with the “redeemed” narrative. I might be completely unaware of some truly unhinged “Astarion helps old ladies cross the road with a smile on his face and kindness in his heart” takes. And I will be the first to point out his approval in Act 3 doesn’t always point towards a huge change of heart.

The flip side of that conversation that I’m not seeing discussed that much is the way Astarion talks about himself as well as the way the companions talk about him after choosing the spawn ending. In the scenes directly afterwards, and even in the epilogue a bit- you can see a very changed man. Not necessarily a humane society volunteer, but at the very least someone who’s taking responsibility for their life and viewing the world in a way they hadn’t before. Spawn Astarion’s growth cut scenes were almost jarring for me to watch after years of being comfortable with the bitch boy from Early Access.

Astarion is not the only one talking that way though! Karlach, Wyll, Minthara, Jaheira! They all respond to him as though he is a changed man. I scoured to find the actual lines since I’m away from my computer, but no luck. That being said, I do know that pretty much each companion reacts to his decision not to follow through with Ascension and his time afterwards by essentially saying, “You can’t fool me, we know you’re a good person.” In various degrees of intensity.

I know in his dialogue with Minthara he dead ass says, “Yep, love fixed me. I’m better now.” And he says it with zero shame, he’s happy about it.

At points the way the companions and he talk about it makes me frustrated with certain reactions and approvals that remain in Act 3. The further you get from finishing his plot line, the less of a changed man he really seems. His approvals in general still line up with Ascended Astarion’s. Some of his reactions to things seem out of touch with the man seen in the grave yard. For example, his reaction to being cheated on with Mizzora. Not only does his acceptance of that just seem like a different character than the one we see in his scenes after the palace, a man who clearly views your relationship as a serious commitment that he is proud of. But it also seems bizarre that he would be okay with you betraying Wyll at this point in the story. The man we see telling the spawn to go to the underdark, who thanks Tav for standing by him, and gushes about being excited to live again and embrace the good with the bad seems entirely juxtaposed to the asshole he continues to be.

Which is not to say that I want him to be all sunshine and rainbows. It just seems inconsistent. I think a part of that comes from the need to keep his reactions neutral enough that they might work for both endings. The problem with that being that Ascended and Spawn Astarion are such vastly different people in their main story scenes that it’s kind of impossible to line them back up again afterward. For me, it was hard to find it believable. Either his post Cazzador scenes were out of character, or his continued reaction scenes were out of character- it just depends on which you prefer.

Circling back to my original point, I guess what I’m trying to say is that his graveyard scenes and the companion commentary do make me think that he is still heading in a redemption arc direction. That it isn’t inherently out of character for him to be written as a character with a complicated relationship with morality, but more often than not ending up on the good side of the spectrum these days. The way I interpret it, it’s not so much because suddenly he’s altruistic and nice. It’s that he’s actively choosing change, which feels like a continuation of his recovery. He’s surrounded by people who hold him accountable. He’s trying to be better than he was. He’s trying to do right by the people who have helped him. He’s still going to bitch about it, and act like it’s stupid. But he’s going to independently prompt that the group save the kid from the hag because “that’s just what we do, I’m done fighting that reality.” In his post-Cazzador life, his only real loyalty is to his team. If that team is full of annoying do-gooders? Their his annoying do-gooders. He’ll complain about it, but he’d not trade his found family for anything. It kind of gives Loki in Thor: Ragnorak showing up with the ship. Or Megamind saving the city. I’m here. I’m going to be the hero because I guess I have to. I’m going to be positively insufferable about it though.

I certainly don’t think he’d be nice all the time. I think he’d still be a loose canon that lashes out. He’s in the middle of healing, not at the end of it. But I think if his redemption journey ends where it did in the game, the emphasis on how changed he was in his scenes and the companion commentary was a bit over done.

[absolutedestinyapocalypsse]

i think we're all in agreement that larian fumbled wyll's storyline but what i cannot drop after finishing my playthrough is how fucking strange his relationship to the flaming fists is???

like if you take him to kill the fists at the foundry he disapproves? these are the people who are actively torturing and enslaving the gondians to make massive police brutality robots. you can literally go to the foundry and WITNESS the steel watchers brutalizing children via tadpole but in the final battle ravengard's "help" is a bunch of fists whose job it was to protect the steel watchers? Literally all the flaming fists do is get in your way, try to arrest you for stopping murders, and run away from danger and Wyll is just endlessly supportive of it- he doesn't see why that's fucked up!

I get that they're his dad's guard and his inability to criticize his father for anything could have (should have) been a plot point, but instead it's just there! uncritically!! And i can kind of get it when it has to do with him being exiled bc parent child relationships are complicated, but there is literally no reason for him to be dickriding the flaming fists so much. Absolutely zero reason.

They set Wyll up as being this unfailingly moral character who would gladly become a devil before killing an innocent person, even when killing that innocent person is in the "rules" he's supposed to follow. He's not just uncritically obedient of Mizora even though she tells him that what he's doing is right, but when it comes to the flaming fists who are purposefully incompetant at best, and actively murderous at worst, and whom we have watched the entire game actively enable slavery and state violence he just doesn't care????

These are the flaming fists who were completely fine sending Florick to the gallows for trying to fight against their corruption and save ravengard. Devella is the ONLY person in the fists who's doing anything to address the bhaal killings and her colleagues actively get in her way/try to stop her from investigating them. If I were Wyll and I learned that my dad was fucking brainwormed bc the guard that was supposedly "unfailingly loyal" to him sold him out and actively stopped a rescue attempt, i would never want to see another fucking flaming fist in my life.

But instead at the epilogue party if he's the blade of avernus hes just like "my dad pardoned all the fists and made them pinky promise to do better :) isnt he great?" Be for real!

It's making me mad bc it's not the hypocrisy itself that's the problem, it's that they don't even attempt to say or do anything about it! It's a golden opportunity for Wyll to have to do some self reflection and grow as a character, like every other character who also has clear moments of hypocrisy like this. It's right there! And the game just totally chickens out. Like I know that not every country has the same relationship to police that Americans do, but it's literally IN THE GAME that the flaming fists are a corrupt organization who operate exactly like the american cops do. Larian please give Wyll a backbone to begin with, or make him reckon with the fact that he doesn't have one. Do fucking SOMETHING!!

[dre6ming]

The delicate beginning rush

Epilogue- Timeless

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Austin Butler x singer/actress fem reader

Warnings: fluff, mentions of alcohol, crying, pregnancy

Plot: finally after a long love story we get to see Y/n and Austin take their next step in their relationship and we have a few glimpses at what they’ve been through in the past 14 years

Word count: ~ 8400

Disclaimer: i didn’t have the patience in me to go and proof read this chapter, so just ignore the mistakes. I hope you can understand all the time jumps I did and I hope I was coherent enough

Timothee Chalamet

"I propose a toast for the lovely couple and I may be offered as much as a minute of your time I'd like to tell you what a great timeless love story we have before us... "

Taylor Swift *whispering*

"Hi I'm Taylor and we are now going to sneak up on the bride and see how she's doing. We're in this beautiful place, just south of Barcelona in Spain. It's currently

*looks down at the watch*

"10:34 am August 13th 2032..."

Timothee runs from the back and grabs the camera from Taylor laughing as he does so, taking a moment to look at himself in the small screen and fix his curly hair. "Hey, it was my turn with the camera.." Taylor jokingly says trying to grab the device back. "Well now it's mine... get in here Swift!" Timmy says turning around and catching Taylor in the picture. "As I was saying before, we are here to celebrate the wedding." Taylor says, glancing at Timmy with her best and most playful side eye. "And we were asked to film the most chaotic wedding video and I repeat chaos is mandatory." They both giggle as Timmy finishes up his sentence, before turning the camera back around to film the enchanting decorations, witch his friend has picked with most care and thought. The floral arrangements composed of daisies, purple star flowers and yellow dandelions formed a pathway to the small wooden house where all the magic was taking place now.

"Got cold feet yet sœur?" Timothee asks, making his way through the white curtains hanging form the door frame. He can see the back of her head, still that same 5.6' figure he saw 18 years ago, but yet different, her shoulders carrying a different cadence to them, the lines of her body talking about the yeast that passed. Her red hair friend was just in the middle of fixing the veil up in the intricate braid number she has going on. At the sound of her best friend's voice she turns around swiftly almost knocking to the ground Roxanne. "Timmy!" Y/n squeals hugging the one who's been like a brother to her, her face momentarily hitting the camera, the perfect moment for Taylor to steal it back. "Smile for the camera!" Taylor says as all 3 friends hug and smile to the lens. "I can't believe this is happening...fells so strange." Y/n sighs

Just then her mom makes her way into the room, looking at the watch in her wrist, very obviously annoyed with the small delays that showed up through out the day. "The cake will be here an hour later than it should, so I hope you have a good speech Tim." Her mom warns the curly haired boy, who suddenly feels slightly terrified. "I do ma'am." He nodded.

Taylor turns the camera filming the room, the mess on the make up vanity, the clothes thrown around, the pile of tissue clearly used to wipe away tears, everything looking out of a 2000 romance movie.

Billie Eilish

"Ey yo, I have the camera for the next few minutes and I thought it be a great moment to see this very wedding scene." Billie says making her way into the bathroom, where in one of the small stalls, Roxanne and y/n's mom hold up the puffy dress as the bride relieves herself. "Tell me this isn't the mort wedding scene ever. Hey there bride queen!" Billie waves to the clearly flustered girl, who tries to hide her face in the palm of her hands as the women around her laugh. "Enough with the embarrassment for the bride, I'm going find the groom, I've got my suspicions he's doing something ridiculous right now, bye ladies!" She exits the bathroom of the venue, her eyes searching for the blonde mess of hair that belongs to the groom.

After walking around for a minute she finds him hiding in the bushes, guitar in hand, sweating and shaking, as he snacks on some M&M he stole from the candy bar. "Hey there big guy!" Billie scares him, Austin taking a hand to his heart making sure it still beats. "Billie, Christ you scared me" the man laughed, loosing his bow tie the slightest bit. "Say hi to the camera, handsome boy!" Billie encourages pointing to the camera, as Austin awkwardly waves, a quivering smile ghosting his face. "What are you doing hiding in the bushes?" She asks, thinking if she should turn the camera off. "Talking myself up, I sang for her countless times, but it was never..." he breathes deep, before speaking again. "She was never my wife before, it's strange." Billie actually felt her heart heavy with joy for her dear friend, thinking that this is the one y/n chose to call forever. "Well she's still the same person she was 24 hours ago" she tries to calm his nerves, but the chuckle that leaves Austin's lips is mocking. "She's not, she's now my forever and I got to do right by her!" The blue eyed boy looks straight into the camera, the lens capturing the glimmer of true love in his orbs.

"Ok so play for the camera, she'll see it later!" Billie encourages him, as he picks up the guitar pick with shaky hands, clearing his voice once before hitting the cords of the instrument to form the most beautiful of sounds.

"Is it romantic how all my elegies, eulogies me..

I'm not cut out for all these clinical clones

These hunters with cellphones...

Take me to the lake where all the poets went to die, I don't belong and my beloved neither do you.

Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry

I'm setting off, but not without my muse..."

Austin proceeds to sing the whole song which he knew Y/n loved so much, but he couldn't help but add a small personal touch to it.

" I want auroras and sad prose

I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet

'Cause I haven't moved in years

And I want you right here

A dandelion grew up out of ice frozen ground

With no one around to tweet it

While I bathe in cliffside pools

With my calamitous love and insurmountable grief"

He changes the lyric, instead of the red rose Taylor originally mentioned, he sang their flower. The dandelions have become a symbol of their love and it all started with Y/n 10 years ago when she wrote the beautiful love song that he was now referencing. It wasn't rare that Austin went back to the things he knew she loved, mainly because he also loved them.

"Very well done Austin, think you can do that again in a few minutes?" Billie raises her brow at him, showing him that devilish smile of hers. Austin once again blushes a deep shade of maroon, licking his lips before laughing lightly. "How my darling wife Billie? Is she happy?" He asks, his eyes shining with wonder and excitement. "She was perfectly fine, peeing gracefully as ever.." Billie laughs biting her lip, before sitting down next to Austin, carefully trying not to her her dress covered in dirt. "She's perfectly happy Austin, trust me-" before Billie could say any more light footing was heard form a far, and then the thin figure o Timothee makes it's way out of the dark. "My turn!" He says to Billie, stretching his arm out for the camera in her hand.

Sighing she complies, giving his the recording device and leaving the two men peacefully. The silence grows thick, it was not so long ago that Timmy and Austin weren't the best of friends and Timmy had it out for Austin, but all that was a decade old and now the two were friends.

Timothee smiles at Austin turning the camera on, with out letting the blond man strumming the guitar know. He sits down in Billie's place, putting the camera down in the grass so that the angle might catch the two of them. Austin is to troubled by his own thoughts to notice that tho. "So man, you did it, you married her." Timmy says patting Austin on the back. Austin puts the guitar down next to him and rests his elbows on his knees, fidgeting with his long sleek fingers. "Feels unreal, to be fair I never thought she'd be ready for this, but then again I know I wouldn't have loved her any less if she hadn't." Looking up at the starry sky Austin remembered very clearly the night he first talked to Timmy about marrying Y/n.

...5 years ago...

Coming back from a short trip of visiting his sister and her family, Austin's pocket felt so heavy as he drove all the way to Timothee's apartment. In the pocket he had the ring his sister gave to him, he hadn't asked for it, but she gave it to him. It was their mom's ring and back when his mom was alive she gave it to Ashley so that she would give it to Austin.

Back then he asked her: why now? And why never back when he was in a decade long relationship with Vanessa? His sister had answered simple, looking out the window at Y/n who was playing in the pool with her kids, chatting with her husband and her and Austin's dad. She had said "I look at her and I see something I never thought I would see in any girl you would ever date, she completes you and you complete her. You both can work independently but together you thrive, she loves you honestly and you love he so. I don't know when you'll ask the question, but I know if you're ever going to ask it, it's her who's going to be asked, it has to be."

Driving now though New York, he could see his sister's eyes in the back of his mind, looking exactly like his moms, telling him with such truth that she believed Y/n was the one. Austin would lie if he said he was surprised, because he had known Y/n was the one, since he herd her voice filling the theater at the premiere of the movie that changed his life forever, just like she had.

He arrives at Timothee's place and lets himself inside, calling out for his friend. "Tim, hey man, I gotta talk to you about something.." Timmy appears in front of him in seconds, eyes curious about why Austin was here hours after returning from his and Y/n's trip to visit his sister. "Is y/n?!" Of course Timmy's first thought would be that Y/n was hurt or something, but Austin calms him down quickly. "She's fine, I just need to tell you something." Austin then pulls out the velvet box that was nicely sitting in his pocket and shows Timothee the gold ring. Timmy gasps, his eyes ready to fall out of their sockets. "Ok." Was all Tim could muster.

Sitting down at Timothee's kitchen table, Austin drinks his water slowly, looking at Timmy who's analyzing the ring, with his bows drawn together in concentration. Austin wishes now more than ever that he could read thoughts. "So you're going to ask her to marry you?" Timmy finally speaks, looking at Austin with a unreadable expression. Austin can feel himself breaking a sweat and taking a big gulp of water from his glass, he licks his lips, getting ready to speak. "Well.. actually.."

...present time...

"I remember the day you came to me with that ring, I saw it in your face, that you knew it was her ring, but you also knew that she wasn't ready to have it. Austin I believe there is a lot of things that need to go into a relationship for it to succeed, but watching you two I realized that when it's the right person it doesn't feel like an obligation or a dreadful effort. I know I have only seen the outside and I know there was great effort that the both of you put in, but you both seemed happy doing it." Timmy tells Austin, who fiddles with his wedding ring, as he remembers that day as well and how he explained why he knew that wasn't the time to propose, but that he would know when that time would be. Surprisingly to him, Timmy trusted him and kept the secret of the ring for 4 years, not once letting Y/n know that Austin had it. "There was a lot of effort, I was almost 30 when I met her, but I felt like I was 15, something in me didn't feel quite grown up yet and she was almost 20, but the things she had been through made her feel much older. I think we met perfectly in the middle and even on those nights that we went to bed mad at each other for some stupid thing, we still knew that when the first ray of light hit the ground we would make amends to each other." Austin speaks from the heart and he does it thinking of those times he saw tears in her eyes because he was less the respectable towards her, he can count those times on the fingers from both his hands, which in a decade long commitment doesn't seem like too much but to Austin it feels like a lot.

"People fight, my parents fought and so did hers, but they didn't love each other, so the best thing they could do was let it all fall apart, it's not the case with you two, you know it, she does as well, you'll be just fine and you'll be an awesome husband and maybe some day dad." Hearing those words Austin thinks back to his proposal and how much they both cried that night.

...1 year ago...

4 years, that's how long Austin held onto the ring his sister gave to him. Tonight however, it's finally time, he knows, he feels it deep inside his soul that she's finally ready to say yes to him. He feels the sweat gathering at the back of his neck, as his heart beats faster with each passing moment. Y/n is in the shower, getting ready for bed and he can hear her humming softly. The clock on her nightstand shows 1:34 am. He is sitting down on her bed, still dressed in his pants and shirt, the light smell of smoke and liquor hanging around him form the party, her birthday party, her 28th birthday party. He remembers being 28 and he remembers how lost he felt back then, how uncertain everything felt, beck then he was scared for his career, he was unhappy in his relationship and he felt like he had lost all control of his life, little did known that only a year later he would meet her. She brought him so much happiness and light and he can't see himself ever being without her again, he has already lived 29 long years without her.

As soon as he hears the door of the bathroom opening he springs up, hiding the small velvet box in his pant pocket, walking to the bathroom to take a shower himself. "Hi baby, did ya have a good shower?" He asks leaning down to touch his lips to hers, that funny feeling of bones turning to mush enveloping him whole in an instant. Y/n hums against his lips, holding tight onto the towel covering her. "I did, I'll wait for you in bed." She says to him, jokingly grabbing his ass and giving it a firm squeeze, making Austin jump a little, as she walks away giggling. He looks at her and her elegant walk, he loves her laugh and he loves the way the hair at the back of her neck sticks to her skin, he loves the way the small droplets of water that she missed when drying herself, shine in the light, making her look shimmery.

Austin tries to be as quick in the shower as he can, wanting to catch Y/n still awake. He had this proposal planned in his mind for months now and even though he rethought over and over again, afraid it would be too little, he always ended with the same conclusion, it was Y/n and he knew her, really knew her.

After drying his hair quickly with a towel and putting on his soft pajama shorts, taking the ring out of the pocket of his pants, he tiptoes his way to the living room. He takes a moment to admire the New York light from up here, he remembers the first time he saw those lights and he remembers how stupid he felt for having his heart set on someone so much younger than himself. He doesn't however remember ever thinking, back then, that he'd end up here, still with her, 9 years later.

Shaking himself awake for the daydreaming, he sits down at the large black piano, lifting the cover up and walking his long fingers along the cold keys. Taking a deep breath he starts playing, not wanting to be cheesy he spent days thinking about what song to sing to her, but he always came back to the same one, not being able to understand why, maybe it was because when Y/n wrote it with Joshua, she confessed to thinking about him.

Y/n Wrap me up in all your—,

I want ya

In my arms, oh, let me hold ya

I'll never let you go again like I did

Oh, I used to say

As his voice fills the room he hears her calling out his name, but he doesn't stop singing.

I would never fall in love again until I found her"

I said, "I would never fall unless it's you I fall into"

I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her

I found you

He hears the tiptoe of her bare feet against the marble floors in her apartment and he can already feel the tears stinging his eyes, as his emotions grow, forming a knot in his throat. "Austin?" Y/n questions coming into the room, but he doesn't turn his head to her no matter how much he wants to, he tells himself this is his challenge to get his Eurydice just like Orpheus did, so his shuts his eyes closed, forming the picture of Y/n in his mind as he keeps singing.

Heaven

When I held you again

How could

We ever just be friends?

I would rather die than let you go

Juliet to your Romeo

How I heard you say

Her voice accompanies his and he feels the salt streams travel down his cheeks and chin. Then he feels her hand on his shoulder and it's only now that he dares open his eyes and look at her.

"I would never fall in love again until I found her"

I said, "I would never fall unless it's you I fall into"

I was lost within thе darkness, but then I found her

I found you

The sing to each other, him with tears in his eyes and her with a compassionate, somewhat confused look. She takes his eyes off of his, when something in the corner of her eye, catches her attention. When she sees the gold dainty ring, she gasps loudly, taking a few steps back, covering her mouth with her hands in surprise. Over the years Austin had given her jewelry as gifts, even rings, but this ring, this one she knew. She had seen it in old pictures of Austin's mom. The ring was a meticulously designed gold band with a small ruby attached to it, it was even more beautiful in person.

Austin stops playing as soon as he sees her reaction, a million bad thoughts pass through his mind as he thinks that this was wrong. He wipes the tears away with the back of his hands, taking the velvet box in his hands and coming down form the piano bench to sit down on one knee in front of her. He clears his throat before speaking.

"I imagined this a thousand times, I never knew what I wanted to say exactly. I've been holding onto this ring for 4 years now and I couldn't tell you what made me believe that now is the time. Maybe something changed in you, maybe something changed in me, or maybe it was both of us that changed. I love you and I would be the happiest man to call you my wife and my partner in crime forever, however I want you to know baby, it's ok if this is not what you want, I love you regardless of a paper the legally binds us. I want you to understand that I will always be here, always. I am part of the family that you made, the family that will always show you love. So Y/n will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?"

Y/n was speechless, she had not seen this coming. She remembers know, how she used to think about marriage and being a wife, all the bad thoughts about the subject coming from her dysfunctional family. But now, after 9 years of being loved by Austin her mind had changed.

"Yes, yes I will marry you Austin! With all my heart, it's always going to be 'yes' for you!" She says, crying and laughing at the same time.

With trembling hands Austin takes her left hand in his and put the ring on her finger. It's a perfect fit! So maybe it was fate all along. He jumps up to his feet and wraps his arms around her, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Holding her so tight, he could feel her heart beating against his. They were two pieces of puzzle, being put together in a perfect connection.

...present time a few hours before...

"Hi Y/n and Austin, this is Roxanne, and I am your bridesmaid-" "One of them" Taylor and Billie correct Roxanne, causing the ginger girl to huff jokingly. "Ok one of your bridesmaids. We are now on our way to find the bride and get her ready to go for her man." Roxy says to the camera, walking along the other three women, in the direction of the room where Y/n was patiently waiting for them. When they open the door the expect to find a stressed bride, but not a crying one. Roxanne cuts the video and puts the camera down, as they all rush to see what's happened.

"Y/n, my sweet girl what's wrong?" Y/n mom asks, hugging her daughter tightly, as the small framed girl shakes with cries. Y/n finds herself speechless less only shaking her head. Taylor hands her a glass of cold water, which she happily takes, drinking it all. "Can I talk with Roxy?" All women exchange a few questioning looks, before exiting the room and leaving the two best friends to talk. Roxanne gets up from her seat and immediately gets on her phone. "Ok so where are we running away to? We're in Spain, so anything in Europe should be easy, but if you want to go home or somewhere else that's fine too, I got the car up front, we don't need any bags we'll just buy new everything." Y/n breaks out laughing, which further confuses Roxanne, who really believed her best friend got cold feet and the secret escape plan they had only discussed once was afoot.

"Rox I'm not crying because I want to run away, I'm crying because I am so grateful, growing up I never thought you could be happy and in love, I thought that was fiction. I never thought a boy would make me blush, would make my heart skip a beat, I never thought I'd fall for a guy. I'm just a bit overwhelmed and..." saying the last part y/n got a big lump in her throat and wiping away a few more tears she took a deep breath. "I'm going to tell you something and I need you to never say it to anyone." Y/n says being as serious as ever, looking straight at her best friend. "I swear, I won't, you know you can tell me everything." Roxanne assures her, sitting down next to Y/n. "Matt just called, they needed to kick my dad out, because he was already drunk out of his mind." Roxanne feels herself get worried, she knows this was Y/n biggest fear, because even with all the rehab work that she payed for, her dad did not seem able to drop the alcohol, he had promised her that how would for this day only so that he could walk her down the aisle, but that seems to be long gone now. "I'm so sorry" Y/n shakes her head not letting her friend get all sad and weepy about this.

"Don't be, I did my best, I really did, some people just don't want an out or they just can't, I don't think I care to know anymore. I just don't want mom to know about this, Matt is going to walk me down the aisle and we'll say dad's flight got cancelled." Y/n says before putting some eye drops in her eyes to help with the redness form crying. The two of them settled on this agreement and after hugging it out, Roxy let everyone back in the room, so that they could get the blushing bride ready.

Standing now at the other end of the aisle, where no one could yet see her, she feels the cold feet everyone has been talking about, but it was a different kind. Y/n knows she loves Austin, she knows he's the one, but the ever present question still stands: "Will marriage ruin them?". She remembers being young and just like any curious kid asking her mom about how she met her dad, it was before the fighting between them was an everyday occurrence. Her mom described someone so different from the man Y/n knew as her dad, so in her little mind she made the connection that marriage was what ruined them, then as she grew up when her parents would fight, her dad had this thing he always said: "it's been 9 torturous years" (y/n was 9) "it's been 10 horror years" (y/n was 10) "it's been 16 fucking ruined years of my life" (y/n was 16), her parents had her 7 years after getting married. At first she thought the years were just a weird coincidence, but they matched with every passing year, so she made the second obvious connection, SHE had ruined them.

Someone touching her arm gets her out of her trance, it's Matt, smiling down at her, looking so happy and proud. "I am so proud of you Y/n I've watched you grow up since you were 8 years old and I admire the woman you are now." She opens her mouth to respond but she doesn't get to, as the music started playing. "I won't let you fall, I promise" Matt whispers as they start walking in the direction of her future husband.

As they round the corner and she can finally see him, in his black suit with his caramel hair sticking in place, with his ocean blue eyes staring at her like she's the most precious thing on earth, all the doubt in her mind goes away and she knows, she knows she'll be fine.

Looking into his eyes, she can't even tell how or when she got face to face with him and it's not until Matt puts her hand in Austin's that she feels two things at the same time. She feels extremely happy and ready to make this man hers forever, but she feels the absence of her father now more than ever. "I got you, my darling!" Austin mouths to her, bringing her heart to life inside her chest, making her forget everything. Y/n nods her head at him and stepping face to face with him she smiles.

"I was blind, walking through life with tunnel vision, wanting to see only what's straight ahead of me, always focused on the next thing, never alive in the moment, then I saw you, standing in a crowded room, looking so perfect and beautiful. I bumped into you on purpose and after a few words you made my tunnel vision extend, day by day, moment by moment you made me see more, you took away my blindness and showed me the world, showed me what the quiet things in life give you, showed me what balanced is and you kept me up. I love you and I can't imagine a more perfect someone for me than you, my darling." Austin says his vows with tears in his eyes, looking at her and she feels herself wanting to start sobbing, but refrains from that, knowing it's soon to be her time, for her vows.

Clearing her throat before speaking Y/n gives the vows a quick assessment in her head. "Never blush just because a guy smiles at you, never think about a boy, never have a crush, never make the first move, never fall in love - are all affirmations I wrote in my diary as a girl thinking love was just fiction and every guy out there just wanted me for some ulterior motive, not because I was worthy of love. But then, then came Austin, with his Prince Charming smile and his perfect hair... with his soul and humor, with his heart. His heart that has been laid out to me, for me to love and take care of and for that I am so honored. I can't express how relieved I am that all I was afraid of, never came true and that all I wished to never happen, like falling in love, did happen. People find each other in the most wonderful of ways, Austin has 80% of the credit, I get 20% for looking beautiful in a crowded room."

After the vows are said, the officiant reads a few more things, before finally saying. "You may now kiss the bride." And Austin does. Leaning in, pulling Y/n flush to his chest, trying his best not to comb his hands through her neatly styled hair. It's weird how in the time they've known each other, they have kissed multiple times a day, but yet this kiss right now? This feels like the first kiss, like the best kiss, like a kiss that sealed it forever.

A few hours later everyone is sitting down at the tables, watching Timmy give his speech, one of the many speeches that were expected tonight.

"To be honest I never thought I'd be making this speech. Of course somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that the possibility was there, but I preferred to stick to that little 11 year old girl who had problems producing her "R-s"" everyone giggles at Timmy's comment about your past speech problems and you wish to be mad at him for ever disclosing such a big secret, but looking at him, fiddling with his mic, you can't. "She was always so down to earth and focused, she did have a habit of getting stuck in her head, still does, then one spring it all changed. My best friend and sister, was blushing at her phone, writing love songs, daydreaming even in the middle of conversations." Thinking back at her self, Y/n does now realize that's exactly how she acted. "I didn't give it to much thought, thinking it was just a passing thing, but it obviously wasn't, since we're all here." Austin leans in to whisper a sweet 'I love you' his hot breath brushing her neck, making shivers travel down her spine as Timmy went on with his speech. "I still remember the day I found out about that prick over there." He says pointing at Austin, who tries to playfully hide his face with the palm of his hand as Taylor turns the camera to them for a second.

Timothee giggles brushing a hand through his hair. "I never wanted to kill somebody like I did that day. I mean you have to give it to me, she was my girl, my little sister. But I'm happy to say that Austin proved himself to be quite the catch, nice looking guy, tall, sweet, funny.." "I love you too Timothee!" Austin shouts, making everyone erupt with laughter. "Yeah yeah, Y/n actually slipped me a 20 asking that I say all this, you know, keep that in mind before your head explodes." Timmy jokes and Y/n smiles knowing she didn't give him any money and all he was saying was in fact coming from the heart. "I was lucky enough to witness this love story, see it evolve and I was always so captivated by this 6th sense they seem to have about each other. Y/n doesn't actually know this, and with Austin's blessing I'm telling you, that he actually had the ring he proposed with for 4 years before he finally popped the question." Y/n was somehow not surprised to find this out, she had the feeling that Austin had been ready for all this way sooner than she was, but that he had waited for her. She looks at her now husband, taking him his features and noticing every new wrinkle that decorates his face, his smile lines had gotten a lot more pronounced, a sign that the two shared many laughs together.

"And he came to me, walked into my apartment and showed me the ring. I was taken back, I didn't know what he wanted from me. Was he looking for my blessing? Did he want to know if I thought you were ready for marriage? Imma be honest with you Y/n nothing had actually prepared me for what came out of his mouth and the only person who anticipated it was you actually, just a few weeks prior." Both y/n and Austin are confused, they don't know this part of the story and are now eager to find out what Tim means .

"See 5 years ago, a few weeks before Austin came to me with the ring, Y/n and I were in Vegas, Austin was also with us, we were there to celebrate the wedding of our dear friends Taylor and Joe, but that specific moment I'm thinking about Austin wasn't with us, he was back at the hotel." Timmy looks at Y/n as if to say 'do you remember?' And she nods, remembering exactly the talk they had.

...5 years ago Las Vegas...

Walking in the summer heat in Vegas was definitely an experience, only very few places are open at this time of the day so it's pretty quiet, no need for security, just a nice walk with her best friend, before the wedding of her friend and mentor Taylor. All the wedding fuss has made Y/n think about the whole situation again, she hasn't done it in a long time, since that night at the Oscar's, when Vanessa brought the subject up. Now 5 years passed and she can admit to loving Austin just as much, if not more, of that were even possible.

Passing the stores she looks into the window displays as Timmy tells her about something, she can't remember what, because she stopped paying attention to him long ago, getting stuck in her own head. One window shop in particular makes her stop in her way, it's a small wedding boutique, the dresses displayed aren't necessarily anything she would wear, but the sight of them makes her stop mid step . Timothee notices she's stopped so he does the same, following her eyes to the dresses. A million questions get assembled in his brain as the two stare at the white fluffy dresses.

"Would you marry him?" Timmy asks in a low voice. Y/n takes a deep breath. "Some day, yes! If he'd ask me today I'd probably say 'no', but if he asks me in 3-4 years, I'll say 'yes' with all my heart" she was being very serious and Timmy had to ask. "Why 3 or 4 years? What's that number?" Y/n shrugs her shoulders and returns to walking, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I couldn't tell you, I'm just not ready yet, I feel like he is though, I've seen him looking at the rings in jewelry shops every time we pass one and I can somehow feel it in him, I can't explain." She is rendered speechless as she tries to put words together. "And do you think he knows? That you're not ready?" Timmy asks.

Just as on cue Austin walks out of their hotel, noticing the two friends walking and waving at them before walking their way. She looks at him with bright eyes, her whole face lighting up at the sight of him. "He does."

...present time...

"'He does!' Was all she said, before he reached us and we never spoke about it again. I saw back then that she could see herself dressed into one of those gowns shaped like a pastry and I saw it hurt to admit that she was not ready for it, but I also saw how much comfort it gave her, that she knew Austin understood. Now why I say she's the only person to anticipate Austin is because of the talk he and I had when he showed up with the ring also 5 years ago, but weeks after my talk with Y/n."

...5 years ago...

"So you're going to ask her to marry you?" Timmy finally speaks, looking at Austin with a unreadable expression. Austin can feel himself breaking a sweat and taking a big gulp of water from his glass, he licks his lips, getting ready to speak. "Well.. actually.. I know she's not ready." Timmy let's out a relieved breath, because he was only thinking back to his talk with Y/n and he knew that if Austin were to answer differently, he would have had to be the one to tell him, what Y/n said to him back in Vegas. "She not ready, but I am, I think I've been for a while now." Timmy remembers her saying exactly that, that Austin is ready, so now Timmy's only fear is that Y/n was wrong and Austin wasn't going to wait for her, that he was going to leave her over this. "I'm going to wait, I'll see it in her eyes when she's ready, I can't say when that will be? Maybe 3 or 4 years."

...present time...

"'Maybe 3 or 4 years.' The fucker knew, how he knew I couldn't tell you. But that's why I told you all of this, because they've always known and they've been one step ahead of each other. There is no logical explanation other than the fact that they were meant for each other. I love you sœur and I'm happy that you found your person." Tears bream Timmy's eyes as he gives the microphone to Taylor, going straight to Y/n to hug both her and Austin.

Taylor waits for the moment to calm and then she smiles brightly at the couple. "I met Y/n when she was 16, a very difficult age, when you go through a lot of challenges and changes. I think part of why I was so attracted to her as a human being was because I saw myself in her. After meeting her I had promised myself to keep in touch, to guide her as much as I could, maybe this way she would not make my mistakes. So imagine my surprise when she walked into one of my studio sessions and she wrote an entire Love verse, only to later admit to me in the car, teary eyed, that it was about Austin. I was happy for her, but I was also terrified, he was her first love and that is a very important title, because you never forget it. Somehow all the stars aligned and she met the one who seems to be forever. A few months into her relationship with Austin, she and I found ourselves back into the studio and we were re-recording my version of Speak Now, on there I have this vault song, called "timeless" . After I played her that song she started crying and she said to me 'Sing this when I get married!' So I'd be a bad friend to not do it."

Taylor gets down at the piano that the band used and starts playing the cords of the song Y/n loves so much. Austin grabs her hand and guides Y/n to the center of the dancing ring, pulling her into his chest and swaying away to the sound of the song. Eyes locked into hers, he smiles at Y/n and both of them know that they really were timeless and that soon years would've passed and they would looks back at the pictures smiling, because even in a different life she would've turned his head in a crowded room.

...4 years after the wedding...

Life takes us on mysterious roads, some bumpy, some slippery and some easy going, but never boring. She was 19 and he was 29 when the met, it all seemed so forbidden and wrong, neither of them had the courage to dream to a future so unbelievable as the one they are living in.

"Austin don't get her wet, I didn't bring a change of clothes!" Y/n shouts at her husband, as he walks hand in hand with their 2 year old straight to the water. "Don't worry, I won't!" Austin shouts back laughing and Y/n closes her eyes, knowing full well that he definitely will. She enjoys the warm weather of September in L.A., angling her face towards the shy sun, as she pats her stomach, that has yet to start showing her pregnancy, event though she can swear that she feels the tiniest bit of a baby bump. She hasn't told Austin yet, but she's thinking of doing it soon, maybe today. She still remembers the day she told him about Manon.

... 3 years ago...

For the past week Y/n has been feeling like something was off, like she was just waiting for a cold to catch up to her and put her in bed for a few days. So she thought it's better to get ahead of it, that's why she's now in the waiting room at the doctor with Matt, Austin was away filming and she didn't feel like driving.

When her name gets called in she gets up and goes to talk with the doctor. After a short talk her doctor hands her a pink box and instructs her to go into the bathroom. Y/n has missed periods before, because of stress and just because periods are sometimes irregular. Her and Austin were using condoms and she doesn't remember it ever breaking or them forgetting to use one. Her anxiety is through the roof as the nurse draws her blood while she and the doctor wait for the test to come with an answer. "Here you go mrs Butler!" The doctor says when the timer beeps, but Y/n doesn't have the courage to look, asking the doctor to do it. "Well this one seems to be a positive, we will also do the blood test to confirm, but if you are comfortable I have an ultrasound and we could have a look." Y/n agrees and after getting her blood drawn, she lays down on the table with her shirt up, as the doctor puts the gel on her lower abdomen.

The doctor turns the screen to her and she doesn't really understand what she's looking at, until the doctor points to a white dot in the sea of black. "That I would say is a healthy pregnancy at about 5-6 weeks."

She leaves the doctor's office white in the face, which concerns Matt a bit, but he doesn't ask more than 'are you ok?' Knowing that she'll tell him when it's time for him to know.

Y/n lived the next 3 days until the last test came back as a zombie, not really talking or eating. Even Austin noticed the difference through the phone, but he could leave the set of the movie he was directing so he was counting on Timmy to tell him what's happening, only no one knew.

Straight after the blood work confirmed that she was in fact pregnant she drove herself that day to her gynecologist and she did all the tests possible, there was no doubt, she was going to be a mom. She cried in her car all the way back to her place and then cried for another few hours in her bed, clutching to her chest the tiny black and white pictures the doctor had given her. She was scared, scared of not being a good enough mom.

When she calmed down, Y/n picked up the phone and called Austin's phone, not caring that with the time difference he was sleeping. "Y/n?!" Austin responded in his sleepy voice and she broke down crying just hearing his voice. "Come home!" Was all she said before closing the phone on him and crying again.

Austin jumped up in bed, took his phone and documents in a small backpack, called his manager James and had him book the first flight back to New York City. He drove like a mad man, making it to the gate of the plane last. The 5 hour long flight felt like forever and the 50 minute drive from the airport back to Y/n's place felt like torture. When he walked in he was greeted by their pets, 4 cats and 2 dogs, but no sight in Y/n. His heart was racing and going to their bedroom he found her asleep, for a second he feared that she was dead, but then he saw her chest move with each breath and calmed down. "Y/n!" Austin said desperately, kneeling next to her bed and caressing her face. She opened her eyes with a flutter of her lashes, handing him the crinkled up picture that she was holding to her chest. Austin knew what it was, he had seen this type of picture at his sister, at his friends and even at Roxanne 2 years ago when she and Joshua had their son.

His blue eyes looked at her, scared to ask, but hopeful. "I'm pregnant!"

... present ...

Her calm is disturbed by the squeaking of her daughter, Manon and the laughter of her husband. Y/n opens her eyes, just in time to see Manon escape her father's arms and runs straight into the water. Austin is quick to catch her but not before she gets all wet, so he's now bringing a very upset, drenched little lady, to her mama. Y/n pull up the big beach towel and taking of her daughter's wet clothes, she wraps her up in the fluffy towel, holding her close. Austin sits next to them cuddling close, the two parents squishing their kid into a sandwich of love.

"Told you!" Y/n tells him giggling and he smiles in disbelief, shaking his head, leaning in to touch his lips to hers. Even now 13 years later the meet of their lips makes the two of them melt from the inside like it was the first time. "I love you!" He says, peppering kisses all over her face, to the shell of her ear, making her shiver, a soft whimper leaving her lips. Austin pulls back and looks at the blonde girl wrapped up in the beach towel, sleeping soundlessly. These two girls right here, are his whole world and his heart actually aches with how much love his has for them. He sees Y/n in every feature of their daughter and he's so happy to be a dad. Just then like struck by lightning Austin looks up at Y/n, who just like him, was looking at the small child sleeping. He could look at Y/n forever, she always looked so beautiful. Now that he was 44 he could see the age catching up to him when he looked in the mirror, but she, she looked like she did all those years ago when she stole his heart without even knowing. "Can we have another?" Austin finds himself saying before he can stop the words from leaving his mouth.

Y/n looks up at him in surprise and smiles. "Already beat you to it!" She laughs taking his big hand in hers and guiding it over her stomach. "Really? But we?" "We weren't trying" was what he wanted to say and Y/n nods knowingly. "We didn't the first time, maybe we should sue the condom company." She jokes and they both laugh.

Watching the sunset together all felt right, everything felt like it was supposed to. Austin and Y/n have everything they dreamed and more, life always finding ways of surprising them in the most beautiful of ways. And the both reminisce over the past 14 years, thinking back to the Delicate beginning rush, that started it all and being thankful for all the stars that aligned in their advantage.

"I love you my darlings!" Austin says, kissing Y/n’s temple.

The end!

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[jazzthatonewriterchick]

Hit ‘Em Up! (18+ Fic)

Pairing: Cowboy!Gojo Satoru x Cowboy!Geto Suguru x Black!Cowgirl!Reader (Slow Burn/Enemies to Lovers)

Synopsis: You get to meet Geto & Gojo the Gunslingers, the notorious outlaws that have every town and law enforcement in a twist, when your bum-ass BF offers you as payment to avoid going to prison. Little do they know that this is only a part of your plan to get what you desire. But when you realize that the infamous gun-slinging, smooth-talking cowboys could be everything you want and more when they offer you a deal to team up with them, will you successfully be able to go through with it? 

Warnings: Smutty Smut; 18+ (MINOS GTFO); poly!SatouSugu; Reader is Black & Fem; Mention of other JJK characters; Porn with Plot; Tragic Backstories; T/W for Childhood Trauma, Parental Death, Violence, Panic Attacks & Torture; Angst/Hurt/Comfort; Hand Kink; Masturbation; Voyeurism; Gay Sex; Polyamorous; Double Deepthroat; Mutual Oral; Fingering; CMNF; Spitroast; Riding; Unprotected PiV Sex; Creampies; Outside/Public Sex; Shotgunning; Multiple Positions; Spit Kink; Facials; MDom/fsub Undertones; Aftercare

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic. However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer's Note: I wanna take this time to thank everyone for continuing to read & support this story. I can't begin to express my gratitude & love for all of you! I feel like the updates for his story have been lacking a bit since I've been in school. Now I'm starting work this week, I'm afraid I'll become slower w/ updates, but I won't give up on his story. I love it so much. Even if it takes me till December to finish it, I WILL. I hope y'all enjoy! -Jazz

Chapters: One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen PT I & II. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-One. Twenty-Two. Twenty-Three. Twenty-Four. Epilogue + Soundtrack.

********

FOURTEEN: SWEET MEDICINE.

You wake up the next morning to a blinding light. 

At first, you think the snake bite got you and you’ve officially entered the afterlife, but then you hear Gojo’s voice. He is laughing and singing, his voice loud and off-key. You also hear the sound of running water. 

Once your eyes adjust, you find yourself lying beneath the trees in the same spot you feel asleep in. You slowly sit up, naked underneath your blanket and your foot elevated. You’re not in any kind of pain from the bite. Surprisingly enough, you don’t feel anything, but that doesn’t scare you like it should. 

Instead, you feel thirsty. You have a burning in your throat that can only be quenched with water. Any normal human being would simply go get water, so you do just that, not even paying any mind to the fact that you’re completely buttnaked. The early morning summer breeze cools your balmy skin as you walk through the forest, following the sound of the running water and Gojo’s awful singing. 

When you finally make it to your destination, all thoughts of water suddenly leave you at the sight of your partners in crime soaking in the water. The trees have given away to a beautiful creek and waterfall where cool, refreshing-looking water rushes freely down into the creek Geto and Gojo occupy. The water luckily hits their waist, so you don’t see anything below. 

You stand behind a tree with a thick tree trunk, shamelessly watching the outlaws scrub their arms and legs, sinewy with muscles and fine hair, with handmade soap and fern from pine leaves. Gojo faces you, his pecs and stomach glistening with water, while Geto has his big, muscular back to you.

“Would you please stop singin’ that song?” he groans, exasperated. “Other songs other than “Texas Hold ‘Em” exist, Satoru.” 

Gojo laughs, his blue eyes glistening in the sunlight. “But it’s the only song that matters right now!” he protests. “Don’t act like it ain’t catchy!” He continues to sing, his voice echoing among the empty forest, as loud as the rushing water. 

Geto shushes him, splashing him. “Keep your voice down! She’s probably still…” Gojo suddenly goes quiet, his eyes meeting yours across the way from where you stand. Geto turns around, his eyes aglow at the sight of you. “Oh, never mind.” 

“Hey, you!” Gojo cheerily says, breaking out into a smile. “You woke up just in time! We’re almost done if you want a dip. How’s that foot doin’?” You don’t answer, instead silently staring at them. You greedily drink in their bodies, hardened and scarred by years of their outlaw lifestyle. 

“Y/N?” Geto blinks at you, confused and worried about you not talking. Holding his beautiful, mahogany eyes with yours, you slowly reveal yourself to him and Gojo, stepping into the sunlight. Their lips part and their eyes widen at the sight of your naked body. 

Slowly, you stumble towards them, but Geto quickly reaches over and stops you, his arms blocking you from walking any further into the creek. “Whoa, whoa, wait,” he protests. “What are you doin’, little miss?” 

You twist toward him in his arms, smiling at the way the sunlight sparkles in his eyes. He’s so handsome. “You look so good,” you sigh. “I want you…want you to fuck me now.” Your hands trail down his chiseled chest, down his stomach, and farther down, down down— 

Geto quickly grabs your wandering hands, stopping you from moving down any further. “Hold on just a sec,” he says. “W-We can’t–” 

“He can join too,” you add, nodding at a shocked Gojo watching from afar. “I can handle two of y’all. Just let me show you…” You lean in towards the black-haired outlaw, your eyes trained on the same lips you felt on your body last night. 

“Wait, Y/N, stop,” he firmly says. His expression is hard, but worried. “Don’t do this.” You take that as a sign of rejection. He doesn’t want you. Suddenly, you feel burned and your lip wobbles as a random rush of tears begins to break. “Don’t you want me?” you sniffle. “Don’t you…” 

A sudden wave of nausea stops you from talking and you press a hand to your forehead, suddenly light-headed. Geto presses a hand to your back, rubbing it gently. 

“Y/N?” he questions. 

You open your eyes to look at two of them, but find there to be four, spinning and whirling and mixing into one another. “There’s four of you,” you giggle, gripping Geto’s forearms. “I-I feel funny.” 

That’s the last thing you say before you feel yourself lose your head and fatigue fall over you. Your knees crumble and you go limp in Geto’s arms. “Y/N!” Geto shouts, that being the last thing you hear as darkness overtakes you. 

*********

The next time you wake up, you see another blinding light. Now you really think you’re dead. 

“Oh, good,” an unfamiliar, deep voice says. “You’re awake. I was so sure you wouldn’t wake up at all.” 

When your eyesight adjusts, you turn your head to your head to find a handsome blonde man sitting in an armchair reading a book and drinking coffee. A white lab coat drapes over his blue button-up and slacks underneath, glasses perched on his nose. You squint at him, unsure of why he seems so familiar to you. 

When you see his eyes, that night at the train tracks comes rushing back to you. You sit up immediately. “It’s you!” you exclaim. “What are you doin’ here?” Once you do sit up, you regret it and press a hand to your pounding head. 

Nanami smiles at you, closing his book. ‘Well, you’re in my infirmary,” he chuckles. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Ms. Y/N.” 

Infirmary? Now that your vision has cleared more, you take a look around the strange room: polished wooden floorboards, butter yellow walls, and a wooden nightstand where a covered bowl of fruit and a glass of water sit. You sit in a comfortable bed surrounded by machines, including an IV in your wrist. These machines and the paper gown you wear prove Nanami’s words correct. 

Nanami rises from his seat, places his book on his chair, and walks to the window. “Where am I?” you ask. “I mean, other than in your infirmary.” He twists the blinds open, hitting you with rays of sun and a sight of apple trees blossoming with pink flowers outside your window. “Willow Springs,” he answers. “Your friends brought you here about three days ago. They rode like hell to get you here after you–” 

“Wait, wait,” you cut in, your eyes widening at the newfound information. “I’ve been here for three days?” Nanami nods, closing the blinds the minute you begin to rub your temples. 

You try to backtrack your steps and remember the last time you were conscious. You see flashes of the Devil’s Trail and its hot, sandy trails; the snake lashing at your ankle; the starry night sky; Gojo and Geto’s eyes. They’re all just flashes. No clear, cut memories you can focus on. “Why the hell can’t I remember nothin’?!” you exclaim. “Why can I–oh, my head hurts.” 

Your head feels like it’s about to explode with how hard it’s pounding. Not to mention how parched you are. As if reading your mind, Nanami passes you the glass of water along with the bowl of fruit. “Relax, eat and take a sip.” 

You do as he says and take a long sip of the water before taking off the lid on the bowl and popping a strawberry into your mouth. The sweet, juicy, tarty taste of the berry explodes onto your tongue and you tingle with pleasure. Nanami watches you from afar, arms crossed. 

Then he begins to relay more information to you: “After you were bit by that snake, the venom had a prolonged spread, meanin’ that it didn’t spread as quickly in the first few hours after you got bit. But after some time, probably during the night into the next morning, it slowly spread throughout your veins. Your immune system couldn’t fight the toxins, so that’s why you fainted at some point and were unconscious for so long.” 

He comes over to the end of the bed and takes hold of the warm cotton blanket covering you. “Brace yourself,” he says before peeling back the blanket to reveal your foot. 

You gape in horror at your foot tightly wrapped in bandages, your toes slightly red and peeking out of the handmade boot. “Oh, my God,” you gasp. “Look at my toenails!” They are black as if some kind of fungus has formed underneath them. 

“Those will clear up with the antibiotics I’ve been givin’ you,” Nanami explains. “As I said before, the Gunslingers rode like hell to get you here and immediately made a call to me to ask for help. Since you’ve been out, I’ve been takin’ care of you.” 

You blink up at the doctor, your heart fluttering at the mention of the Gunslingers. They brought you here? “They thought you were dead when they brought you in,” Nanami solemnly continues. “If they would’ve waited a day longer to bring you here, you would’ve been.” 

You don’t even want to think about that. “Where are they?” you ask. “Where’s my horse?” 

“All stayin’ at a bed and breakfast ten minutes away for the time being while you recover,” the doctor replies. “They’ve been visitin’ you daily, so they’ll be happy to know that you’ve awakened.” 

Once again, your stomach flaps and flutters like a jar full of butterflies at the mention of the gunslinging duo. Not only did they rush to bring you here while you were on the brink of death, but they also have been visiting you. You sip your water to hide how much this affects you. “Well, thank you for the help, Kento,” you say, “but I need to–” 

“I’m sorry, but you can’t go anywhere just yet,” Nanami interrupts, his tone soft but firm. You blink at him, confused. “You’ll have to rest at least for another week and gradually move on to walkin’ again. But you will walk.” 

You gape at him, wondering if he’s deadass. A week?! You can’t afford to lose a week of lying about when your target is out there somewhere…and probably looking for you. “Listen, I can’t be here right now,” you sternly argue, peeling back the blanket. “I have someone after me. Benji the Bandit–” 

“Doesn’t know you’re here,” Nanami says, putting the blanket back on you. “And before you ask, yes, our sheriff knows you and the Gunslingers are here, but he agreed to keep you here until you’ve recovered and as long as you don’t cause trouble. I doubt you’ll do much of that on that foot.” 

He nods down at your tightly wrapped foot that could scare even the hardest man alive. You sigh, realizing he’s right. You can’t do anything right now. “Thank you,” you say. “I mean it and…I’m sorry I’m so paranoid.” 

You feel embarrassed for acting the way that you do. Suddenly, you remember Geto’s words that he said to you on the Devil’s Trail: “You’re too hellbent…too reckless…” 

You wither with shame, realizing that he’s right. The reason you were put on those train tracks and bitten by that snake is all because of you and your stupid decisions. Maybe a week stuck in a bed is exactly what you need. Maybe it’s God’s way of telling you, “Slow the fuck down, my child!” 

Nanami shrugs, looking like it couldn’t bother him less. “Don’t mention it. I told you already that this town respects what you and the Gunslingers do for those who’ve been victimized by troubled folk.” You smile, feeling good about that. You didn’t realize so many people respected you other than feared you. 

The door suddenly creaks open and a young man with fluffy, pink hair and a bright smile pokes his head in. “Oh, she’s awake!” he says. “Mr. Nanamin, there’s an old couple downstairs who wants to see you, sir!” 

Nanami nods, already walking to the door. “Thank you, Itadori.” The pink-haired boy’s smile grows wider and he pops out of frame. “Excuse me for a moment,” Nanami says, taking his glasses off and placing them in his coat pocket. “Help yourself to the rest of the fruit.” 

He then closes the door and leaves you alone to your own devices. You sit there and chomp on the sliced apples, oranges, and strawberries before you hear the door creak open once more. “She’s right in here,” Nanami whispers. “Just please be gentle with her. She looks like she’s had a rough journey.” 

Your heart leaps, thinking that it’s the Gunslingers coming to see you. Though these visitors aren’t, your heart still pounds as fast as a hummingbird’s wings at the sight of the old couple standing before you. 

The woman wears a floral blue dress and matching flats, her silver hair that you remember always playing with when you were younger tied into a long braid going down her back. Her face has more lines than before, aged with time, but she still has those loving brown eyes that remind you of those chocolate chip cookies she used to bake you, warm and sweet. 

She covers her mouth at the sight of you, her eyes glassy and the gold band on her ring finger gleaming. It’s nice to know that after all this time, they are still together. “Y/N,” she tearfully sobs. “Oh, my darlin’, it’s really you!” 

You feel tears begin to push past your eyes too when you recognize them. “Mama,” you whisper. “Papa.” 

Her husband, who has more prominent lines and wrinkles in his face, takes his cowboy hat off of his head, showing off the same salt-and-pepper hair that he has on his chin. He wears a flannel and slacks with a corduroy jacket that you remember him always wearing. 

“Sweetheart,” he gasps. “Thank God, you’re okay! We’ve been worried sick about you, my love!”��

Mr. Eren and Mrs. Yuri Tokyoami immediately rush to your bed and stand on either side of it. They don’t touch you immediately, too afraid of startling you or possibly accidentally ripping out a wire, but they still take your hands in either of yours, gripping them tightly. 

You can’t believe it. You can’t believe your parents are here after all this time. “How’d you find me?” you ask, shocked. 

“We’re year-long patients of Dr. Nanami,” Yuri explains. “Your father needed his knee fixed years ago and we mentioned him to you.” You look at Nanami who only smiles, silently watching by the door. 

“Minus the outlaw part,” Eren chuckles, placing his hat at the foot of the bed. “I guess he put the pieces together once you were here and he called us immediately. We moved here three years after you left ‘cause the taxes got too high. After I sold the old farm and Yuri’s apprentice took over the bakery, we bought a much bigger farm here a couple of miles down the road.” 

The gears in your head turn slowly, processing all of this newfound information, but when your dad tells you that they moved to Willow Springs three years after you left home, you pause. “Y-You’ve been livin’ here this whole time?” you shakily ask. 

He nods, his expression confused. He doesn’t understand. He can’t understand. Neither one of them could ever. 

For so long, you’ve been wondering where they are and if they still lived in Elden’s Valley. You resisted the urge to go home, to call, or to even write a letter. You wondered if they still missed you or if they were still looking for you…if they even remembered you. 

And here they are now, aged with time and yet still so full of the same love they had for you years ago when they found you in that cart of flowers. 

You burst into tears again, covering your face. Yuri places a hand on your back, comforting you. Then you feel both of their arms around you, finally being embraced by the people you love most. “I’m sorry,” you sob. “I would’ve sent a letter or called if I knew, but I couldn’t–” 

“Honey, we know,” Yuri coos, caressing your hair. “We’ve seen you in newspapers and on those ‘Wanted’ posters. All we could do was pray for you to be safe and to one day come back to us.” 

To hear that be made perfectly clear to you—that they never forgot you—makes you cry even harder. “I’ve done so many things!” you cry. “Papa, I-I’ve–” 

“Hush now, darlin’,” he shushes you, pressing your head into his chest. He smells of tobacco and mint like he always has. “You’re still our little girl. Our flower, no matter what you’ve done in life. We could never be disappointed in you, my love.” 

You clutch his jacket and cry, cry, cry, letting all of your pain and longing come up to the surface. And at some point, Nanami leaves the room to give you time alone with your family who cry with you. 

*******

 That night, after your parents leave you to head back home, you spend the night in Nanami’s infirmary where you’re visited by two ghosts of your very recent past. 

Those ghosts being Geto and Gojo the Gunslingers. You’re chomping down on your dinner of assorted fruits, a spring salad, and green tea (Nanami insisted you eat light for now) when you hear a sudden knock at the door. Nanami has retired to his home, leaving the overnight staff to watch over you. 

You turn, expecting to see one of his aids or nurses there, but your stomach flips when you see Gojo standing there in his cowboy attire, hat and boots included. He only thing different with him are the sunglasses he has on instead of his blindfold. He looks like the fourth blind mouse with them on, but you also find them endearing. 

“Well, look who decided to join the land of the livin’ again,” he jokes. He takes the glasses down, giving you a peak of his blue eyes. “Did a bad dream wake ya, little miss?” 

Geto slides through behind him, taking his black cowboy hat off while Geto keeps his on. His hair is tied into a ponytail, the simple yet sexy hairstyle accentuating his handsome face. “It’s good to see you up, Y/N,” he sighs, sounding relieved. “We were worried.” 

They walk farther into the room, Geto taking a seat in the chair beside your bed while Gojo leans against the wall near the window. You sit up in the bed, feeling slightly embarrassed for them to see you in such a state. You can tell that Geto is genuine too when he says they were worried and you think back to Nanami telling you how hard they rode to get you here. 

“Thank you,” you softly say. Gojo smiles, happy to hear you talking. “We’ve got another visitor here to see ya.” He peels back the curtains to the window and raps lightly on the glass. 

A familiar, long face with big, black eyes and a silky fur appears behind the glass, staring at you. “Reneigh, darlin’!” you joyfully shout. As if hearing you, her ears wiggle.  “We’ve been takin’ care of her while you recovered,” Gojo explains. “Just brushin’ her and braidin’ her hair. She’s a sweetheart.” 

Hearing that they’ve been caring for your horse while you were unconscious makes your heart flutter. You pass it off as being grateful for their generosity. You take. sip of your tea, breathing in the steam, herbs, and lemon. “Nanami told me y’all visited me while I was out.” 

Gojo nods, moving to pick an orange slice out of your fruit bowl without asking. You let him do it. “Had to make sure you were okay,” he says like it’s so obvious. “Y’know, we thought you were already dead when we brought ya here. You felt like a limb noodle.” 

“Well, snake venom will do that to ya,” you chuckle. The duo laughs along with you. “Y’all met my parents too, apparently.” Geto’s eyes light up with recognition. “Oh, the farmer and his sweet wife?” he asks. You nod, inwardly cringing as you remember your parents mentioning the two while they were here. 

While Yuri was rather happy about the idea of the two being your friends, Eren was less than approving. “You’re friends with the Gunslingers?” he asked, sounding extremely perturbed by the idea. Yuri laid a hand on his arm, calming him. “Eren, honey, they saved her life,” she argued. “And they were so nice to us!” 

You gaped up at them, almost dropping your glass of water. “Y’all met them?” you gasped. 

Yuri nodded, smiling fondly. “Oh, they’re such gentlemen,” she gushed. “They came here to visit you at the same time as us one day and we learned that they rode ya in here. Such sweet men, they are.” You still gape at her starry-eyed expression, the gears in your head slowly turning. Geto and Gojo met your parents? 

Eren grunts indifferently. “They may be sweet, but they’re still wanted outlaws.” 

In that moment, you see yourself in him like you’re looking in a mirror. You would have said this same thing months ago before you met Geto and Gojo. All outlaws were the same to you…until them. And you need to defend them. “And so am I, Papa,” you argued, placing your hand on his bigger, wrinkled one. “They don’t kill innocents. They go after evil people, just like me!” 

“And they saved her life,” Yuri added, her eyes loving yet firm as they stared into her husband’s. “Just give ‘em a chance, dear. Y/N did and they seem very happy together.” She turned to you, still starry-eyed and excited. “So how long have you known ‘em? When’s the wedding?” 

You blinked at her, confused. And then you went hot with humiliation. “H-Huh?!” you stammered. “No, Mama, you’ve got it wrong! We’re just friends!” 

Eren looked relieved while Yuri looked like you just shot her. “See, Yuri?” he sighed. “Always jumpin’ to conclusions. She’ll get married when she gets married!” You didn’t ask why your mom seemed so overjoyed about you marrying two of the most notorious outlaws in the Wild West, but you didn’t want to know. 

You flush as you look at the two now, Yuri’s question about marriage still bothering you like a pesty fly. “So how were you two handlin’ things?” You ask, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible. 

Gojo points at the fruit bowl questionably and you nod, rolling your eyes. Now he decides to ask? He plucks a strawberry out of the bunch this time. “Eh, it’s kinda weird bein’ in one place for so long, but we’ve gotten used to it. It’s pretty nice to sleep in a clean bed and take a shower every mornin’.” 

“We’re stayin’ at a bed an’ breakfast for now,” Geto explains. “Just until you’re healed up, but we don’t really have a timestamp on how long we’ll be stayin’ there for.” 

“And it’s for free!” Gojo happily announces, his joy over such a thing endearing to you. “The old lady who runs the place told us she loves us for our work, so she gave us the room free of charge.” He smirks at you. “To tell ya the truth, I think she just wants to fuck us.” 

Suddenly, a series of memories come flooding back to you: the starry Western skies; the moonlight turning the tips of the trees silver; the softness of Geto and Gojo’s hair between your fingers; their calloused hands; their wet tongues and soft mouths; Gojo’s piano fingers sliding inside of you while Geto plays with your— 

You press a hand to your head, wincing at the embarrassing memories. Now they decide to come back to you of all times?! Geto notices your discomfort and places a gentle hand on your knee. “You alright?” he asks, concerned. 

When you flinch at his touch, he notices and quickly backs off, afraid that he hurt you. “Y-Yeah,” you reply a little too quickly. “M’fine.” You cough into your hand, attempting to recover. “So when are we thinkin’ of gettin’ back on the road to find Benji?” you ask, changing the subject. 

The duo look at each other, silently speaking to one another, and you can see that you said the wrong thing. Gojo quickly sprinkles some sugar on the awkward moment though. “Whoa there, girl,” he chuckles. “Relax! You just woke up from a venom-indunced coma. Can’t the Bandit wait till you’re better?” 

“But I am better!” you protest despite your black toenails and throbbing foot. “Nanami said I should be good in a week, so we can leave then.”

Geto becomes the voice of reason despite your disagreement with him. “You need rest,” he soothingly says. “We’ll have plenty of time to go after Benji once you’re 100%, but for now, just take this time to recuperate.” You think about his and Gojo’s reactions to holding you almost-lifeless body and give in to the duo’s “suggestion”. And just like that, it’s settled. 

“So what’s this about us gettin’ married?” Gojo asks, plucking another orange slice from your fruit bowl. “Your mama seemed pretty animate about that.” He gives you a smirk as he goes to peel the slice, but you snatch it back before he can. 

“Please shut up,” you sigh while Geto laughs. 

[phoenixs-fandoms-and-writings]

A Ball That Will Change Lives - Chapter 4

Fandom: Harry Potter (Marauders Era characters)

Pairing: Royal!James/Bodyguard!Lily/Commoner!GN!Reader

Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans, Regulus Black, Evan Rosier, Fleamont Potter, Euphemia Potter

Plot: You get to know Prince James and Princess Lily.

Notes: this account is anti-JKR and her beliefs.

Masterlist - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Epilogue

I do not give permission to anyone to repost or translate any of my stories. I also do not give anyone permission to feed my stories through AI or to be posted to any third party website or app. If anyone sees any of my work posted anywhere but here or my AO3 (simplyreflected), then it has been posted without permission.

Read on AO3 here.

You looked so stunning. Could you be their one? James knew that both Lily and him were thinking the same thing, both of them were entranced by you.

The two fiancés guided you into the gardens of the palace.

Your face lit up. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.” You blushed and looked down. “Aside from the two of you, that is.”

You walked ahead a few steps and bent down to smell the flower in front of you. You stopped and looked back towards James and Lily, before asking, “why did you bring me out here, your highnesses?”

“We brought you out here, because we have a question for you,” I responded.

Lily took James’ hand and held hers out. You stood up as she did this. “We’ve been getting to know you all night and when I haven’t been dancing with you, I was dancing with others, but it didn’t feel the same as it did with you. With you, it felt like there was some sort of connection between us.” You blushed as you nodded. “And I would like to explore it further, if that’s what you would like. I feel like you could be our missing piece.”

James had been looking at Lily as she’d explained, but when she finished, James turned to you as he held out his hand for you as well. “The first moment I saw you with Lily, I couldn’t help but think how stunning you looked. Then I joined both of you and got the chance to get to know you. You’re so much more incredible than you seemed. I would be honoured if you would join us and become part of our relationship. I’d like the chance to get to know you more.”

“What would happen to me?”

“If you say yes, the first thing would be us going back in there and announcing it to everyone,” Lily told you.

“You want me to be in your relationship, but what role would I play?”

“You would be our love, our partner, our equal. Whatever life you had before would change and it would take some getting used to, but we would help you transition. And if you wanted, you could have your family visit if you wanted or live in the castle with us,” James told you.

“No,” they both looked shocked and taken aback. “Sorry, what I meant is I don’t have family, so it’s not something we have to worry about.” They relaxed but looked apologetic. “I really want to be with both of you. It feels right being with you.” You took their hands, and they lifted them to their lips, kissing the one they were holding, keeping their eyes on you.

However, when they released your hands was when you heard the bell toll, making it known that it was midnight and the magic would wear off soon.

“I’m so sorry.” Your eyes widened, and just before you ran, you told them. “I have to go. I have to be back by midnight.”

You ran as fast as you could, and as you did you heard James call, “but how do we find you?”

You never answered him. You didn’t want to leave but you had to. Your stepfamily could never find out you were there. If they did, you didn’t know what would happen but it wouldn’t be good.

As you were running down the first steps, you felt a ring slip off. You didn’t stop to look, you ran to Regulus and Evan, knowing they would help you get back

When you got to the carriage, Regulus and Evan helped you and you got in as fast as you could before you all disappeared.

—————————

James and Lily followed you, but by the time they got to the front doors, you had already disappeared. James was crying. “We had them. They were so incr-”

He had stopped when he saw something shiny on the ground. “What the heck?” He walked over and crouched down, picking it up. He turned back to Lily and held out what he’d found; the ring that had been on your right hand. “This was theirs. I remember it clearly being on their finger. It matched them and their outfit perfectly.”

Lily raised her hand to his cheek and he closed his eyes. “We will find them. You and I will go out into the kingdom and search for them. We have to find them, my love.”

He leaned into the touch. “We will. You’re right.” He held the ring to Lily. “Keep this safe until we find them.”

She took it from his hand and noticed on the inside was an inscription, but she couldn’t understand the writing. “Do you understand this?” She showed him the inscription.

“No. We should take it to my parents. If they don’t understand it, then they might know someone who does.”

He took Lily’s hand as her other held tightly the ring that had been left behind. They walked inside and when he looked around, he saw his parents walking towards the thrones they sat in. If he had to guess, he would say they just finished dancing or talking to someone.

James and Lily head over that way and once standing in front of them, James spoke, “Mama, father, we found them. We found someone we like and they like us, but they ran off saying they had to be back by midnight.”

“They didn’t tell us how to find them,” Lily continued, before holding out her hand, revealing the ring. “They dropped this. However, there’s writing on the inside that we don’t recognise. We want to use it to find them, but we want to understand if the writing could help.” She paused, looking over at James, before looking back at the King and Queen. “Do you recognise the writing?”

Fleamont reached out as if to touch it, before he moved back, and looked up at her. “May I?”

Lily moved it so it was in between her thumb and pointer finger, holding it out to him. “Of course, your majesty.”

He took it and looked at the inscription. He shook his head not recognising the writing, so he handed it to his wife. “My love, do you recognise this writing?”

She took it gracefully and looked at the inscription. Her eyes widened as she recognised it. “Yes. I know this writing.” She looked up at her son and his fiancé. “Go to the family room. We’ll meet you there soon. I need to get an old friend who can help us find them.”

“Thank you, mama,” James said as he had tears in his eyes.

She stood up and hugged him. “You’re welcome, my children.”

With that, the two lovebirds went to the family room, curled up together on the couch; James leaning back on the couch and Lily leaning against him.

[wellcomeoneileen]

Post 2/? on Processing QaF

End of qaf -technical points. 

This is a very logistical view on the literal end of the show. My more thematic l thoughts about the whole final season are also under this tag, in post 1. Again, conceding that I am very new to an established fandom and this is my immediate processing of finishing my recent obsession, and there are probably several other posts like this floating around.

I read every spoiler possible. I read nearly every fanfic possible all before I watched any of the last season of QaF. The endless thought pieces really did help sooth me for seasons four and five. I think I was a much more at peace with them than fans who were watching it live back in 2005. But the last one or two episodes had me pausing with my jaw dropped multiple times. I hated it!

And I contemplated why - when I knew every single thing that was gonna happen, even several lines of dialogue I knew!

And I think it comes down to the breakneck pacing and editing.

:readmore:

Because right after finishing, I paced around my home angrily muttering over what had happening. And outlining the end like that, even though I was in a mood, still sort of made sense. 

Brian has been a sex god for several seasons. He let down his guard to let Justin in. Out of fear, he did what fans/Justin thought they wanted, and asked for marriage/said I love you with Justin. Brian loves him enough to not force him to stay, Justin loves him enough to not make him change. Peacefully and lovingly, they go their separate ways with the strong and insinuation that they will either do long distance or reconcile. That sounds good! It was horrible to watch.

The show betrays itself by acknowledging the Britin arc is the most important to the show and viewers by saving it for the penultimate scene. The final episode(s) have all really revolved around Brian. Even the girls leaving was really about Brian (in its show presentation, at least). And Brian and Justin have the final scene of all the characters resolving their storylines. The final, final scene was an ensemble one (as it should be for an ensemble show) which reflected on the show as a whole. That was the epilogue, because Britin was the denouement.

This is tough in two ways.

First, because the Britin arc has a bittersweet end, yet felt more like the writers wagging their finger at the audience instead of a thoughtful conclusion that was necessarily bittersweet. Whole other post.

Second, because of their editing – both storyline wise and visual execution wise.

The decision to show Justin and Brian in bed together, not even see Justin leave, and then show Brian in bed alone was pretty cutthroat. I literally paused and my jaw dropped – but not in a good, teary way, or my heart strings were pulled way, but in a … I felt like the writers were kind of flipping me off? Or flipping the actors off? I literally googled if Randy Harrison had fought with the showrunners because of that (and allegedly, yes, lmao. You can tell!!!). That was just an unpleasant viewing experience.

Then, the writers did not give any sort of breathing room for that emotional beat to end and then the series finale beat to begin. There is no space between Brian being left alone and Brian and Michael going to the club and then dancing. No space timewise, plotline wise, or even visually, as they literally meld the end of Britin into the start of Brian/Michael final.

Because of this, even though I’m sure it was written and outlined as very separate plot points for separate emotional beats for separate scenes, it doesn’t feel that way as an audience member.

Instead, it feels like a run-of-the-mill action-reaction pair for a singular emotional beat. It doesn’t feel, or look, like two separate, contained, emotional beats.

Without being able to digest a very bittersweet conclusion to what is arguably the most important plot line of the entire show, it still feels like we’re still wrestling with that in the final scene. It is LEAPING from denouement to epilogue, which even tacky, bittersweet rom-coms don’t do, if you pay attention ( I am literally thinking of how the HARRY STYLES FANFICTION movie Idea of You handled this similar thing better, good lord.)

Therefore, watching Brian dance alone, while we’re being told the thumpa thumpa goes on, feels like he’s being reset. Because we go oh sad, Britin is getting a bittersweet end :/ then THIRTY seconds later we are seeing Brian party and it’s impossible for audience members to not directly connect those dots. Those are the only dots we’re shown!!

I read a 2005 livejournal where stayci28 said she viewed the end as more symbolic than real. It’s about the queer community continuing matter what and it’s really about people will continue to rise up. No matter what is being given to them and they will persevere, they will be proud, they will be here and they’re not gonna go anywhere. That’s a beautiful sentiment, makes a lot of sense, and is a fitting conclusion for the WHOLE show after the Britin bit is wrapped up.

However, Ron Cowan himself said that was only half true in an interview here: https://bjfic.livejournal.com/2528384.html?

He said that the dance was real and was one last outing. Though the sentiment is true – the scene was meant to be about queers surviving, not Brian being alone or an old party boy. (sidenote: see post 1 for me complaining that if this is one last outing…what is Brian doing, exactly, with his time now??)

But the editing and the pacing did not give the audience that space - and so the final scene still seems to be solely about Brian, not about the overall message of queer survival and joy. It LOOKS, at least, like (as Tumblr user @sophsun1 said) Brian was out with no son, no lover (who was in the city he wanted to be in), in a burnt out club. Rip.

The smallest of changes, like having the Britin ending coming earlier in the episode, or even inserting a single “breathing” scene between the Britin and finale scenes would have established the scene beats much better. Honestly, just changing Michael’s awful line (really that whole convo) about Brian always being young and beautiful to simply be about the ~~hopeful future~~ would have set the tone to be not about Brian being miserable.

When I see really old comments online about the end, I don’t get the sense that people fully “got” the end. From what I’ve seen, even fans who were okay with a bittersweet end weren’t really connecting that the finale wasn’t showing Brian miserable, lol.

I think the writers continuously structured the show to revolve around Brian and Britin, then wrote themselves out of that with various in your face plots/dialog, but ignored that beyond the literal words on script, story STRUCTURE impacts viewing experience just as much! These final two scenes display the embodiment of that issue.

The writers desperately needed to slow down, allow digestion, and visually show a divide of scenes if they had wanted the audience to comprehend the last two scenes as separate beats and not action/reaction.

Later this week, I have lots of thoughts about S5 replacement plotlines that would have easily fit into Cowlip’s established world, and a lot about Brian Kinney’s value system and internalized gender issues :)

[artist-issues]

Been a while since we've heard, how did your readthrough of the Harry Potter books go?

Hey! Ho! I forgot to update on that didn't I? My bad!

I haven't worked out all my feelings about it! The last book was so...odd. I felt frustrated through the whole thing. Most of the books felt like you were waiting to figure stuff out—the main characters would try to get information and solve problems and fail or cause more problems in the process, but there was usually some secondary goal they consistently had hope in. Like, maybe Harry Potter can't figure out who's trying to kill him, and has constant setbacks in that. BUT, their secondary goal, winning the Tri-Wizard Cup, is usually...hopeful. They're usually doing well with one of their two main goals, and then the climax happens, and they lose something important, but ultimately ene on a hopeful note. You know, Harry wins the Tri-Wizard Cup, but Voldemort's back and Cedric is dead, that sort of thing.

But. In the conclusion of the series, it felt like the main characters were getting nowhere, in their primary goals AND their secondary goals, for so long. Then the ending, the pacing of it all, felt rushed. And I didn't love the plot device of the Elder Wand, or how in the climax of the book, when Harry is fighting Voldemort, they stop to have like a twenty-minute conversation about all the exposition the reader needs to know to understand how Harry is about to beat him—and Harry was basically insufferable for the whole book.

that was my initial impression. It might age better if I go back and re-read. I definitely like some of the Messianic notes of Harry dying for everybody—then picking his life back up again to defeat the bad guy once and for all.

and they killed Lupin. Which. He's my favorite I thought he had the most interesting "character arc" of any of the adult characters. It seemed like his biggest fear was inadequacy as a father, heightened by the fact that he's a werewolf, so he thought he'd make his son's life harder and more shameful by even being alive...so as part of that interesting character flaw, Lupin tries to kamikaze by going on the run with Harry. Then he goes back and resolves to live with his wife (who he wrestles with the safety of loving) and child (same wrestling match) because being present as a father and husband is the right thing to do, regardless of how difficult it is for you.

And then he dies anyway.

So it's like. What the heck was the point of that? Makes the lesson he, as a character, was teaching, hollow. Like "Living as a good father is harder than dying a martyr—but I'm dead, so I don't have to worry about that, I guess the thought was what counted."

And people will say to me "nooo he was willing to take risks and sacrifice! He sacrificed his life! To make a better world for his son!"

Yeah okay but we already had self-sacrificial love impacting an orphan's life through the death of parents in the main character. Lily and James Potter did that. Already got that lesson. Now tell a story about how just going on and living your life for someone, say to day, especially when it's hard and they might not thank you for it, is also self-sacrificial. I thought that was the mini-story Lupin's character was telling, on the side of the main plot. But then no, Rowling just repeats herself. She just starts an interesting thing and then finishes it in the least-interesting way.

I feel like one of the basics of storytelling is "create a character that needs to learn something. Then put them through the hardest circumstances so that they're forced to change into what they need to learn." Dying in battle was not Lupin's hardest circumstance. You know what would've been? Killing Tonks, his wife, so that he's forced to raise their son alone and still stay—or keeping them both alive, but Lupin's curse is worse than ever after the battle. Or just simply keeping them both alive, and putting a little nod in the epilogue to how Harry's kids defend Lupin's son from bullies, and it's hinted at that society still doesn't accept werewolves and their lives aren't perfect, but they're all sticking around for each other.

I mean you don't even get to have Tonks react to Lupin's death. And the only Weasley that was killed was one of the twins—don't get me wrong, that's still horrible. But if you're trying to make a point about the losses of war, kill a character who is one-of-a-kind to the audience...not one-of-two.

Also, the thing with Snape and Lily didn't hit. Haven't analyzed why, yet. There's something to be learned about showing and telling there. I mean, what the author showed me for seven books was a mean and nasty man who loved nothing. I experienced it with Harry. I tasted the sting of the insults and the cruel remarks and the unfairness. For seven books. You know what's less powerful? A handful of pages quickly info-dumping the idea that no, he was in love and acting out of unrequited love all along. Like anti-heroic Snape is a compelling idea to be told about, but it's not nearly as strong as the experience of being shown villainous Snape, moment by moment, book by book.

Same thing with Dumbledore's emotional reveal of his own history. Like. Okay. But you only just now told me I should care about Dumbledore's family, in the last half of the last book. I don't feel as badly about him and his family as I would've if you'd slowly shown me who they were, even in memory, for the last seven books—like she did super well with Lily and James and Sirius.

anyway. Those are my half-baked thoughts. I was also...running a super high fever and reading the last few chapters at 1 in the morning, at the time. So they're super underdone thoughts. Thanks for asking!

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Real talk: i have been pretty absent from this blog (i wouldn't say slacking necessarily because it is first and foremost a hobby, a means of communication second, and i do not consider it a job to any degree). Do not worry, nothing bad has happened, and a big part of it is rediscovering my love of literature. Got my hands on a copy of Thomas Kinsella's The Táin, read The Handmaid's Tale, and recently finished Ivanhoe through audiobook.

I've already been singing the praises of the Táin Bó Cúailnge so i'll spare you having to read through that gushing. Ivanhoe is incredible and shockingly sensitive on the topic of antisemitism for something written by an early 19th century Christian author intended for a majority Christian audience. The scenes with Robin Hood also filled me with a childish glee and i think it was suppose to be a surprise that this guy is Robin Hood but he introduces himself as Locksley and wins an archery contest and leads a gang of outlaws in the woods, including a hermit who refers to Alan-a-Dale quite a bit so it's very obvious to a modern reader. Handmaid's Tale was also as good as i've heard it was, but there's a specific detail i want to discuss that feels relevant to how i think of this blog and how others use it.

I've read the reviews and the plot synopses amd analyses, i knew about the epilogue that frames the story as a historical document a century or so in the future. This did not surprise me. What did catch me by surprise, and something i feel is entirely overlooked, is that this story of an oppressive theocratic regime that uses Biblical precedence to excuse extreme atrocities of human rights violations and turned out to not even last very long, is contextualized as the topic of a discussion hosted by First Nations academics who study white people cultures. You can be pedantic and say "oh but technically they're only First Nations coded because it's presented as a transcript with no physical descriptions" and to a degree you would be right; but when you see names like Maryann Crescent Moon and Johnny Running Dog used for professors of a University of Denay (an anglo-phonetic spelling of Diné/Dene) in Nunavit, there isn't much room for speculating what ethnicity they're supposed to be.

There are so many little details in the book referencing Indigenous genocide. Details suggesting forms of genocide Atwood would be familiar with as a Canadian citizen. To only bring up religious fanaticism and patriarchal regressive politics in Middle Eastern nations like Iran and Afghanistan as well as the United States as inspirations for a surface level five minute summary is one thing, but to ignore all the anti-Indigenous policies that are also obvious inspirations (literally just read the passages about how the Narrator/Offred's daughter was taken from her, renamed, and given to a "proper home" to get what i mean, it's that blatant) when the iconic epilogue makes it as explicit as it can be without writing "THESE ARE NATIVE ISSUES" in big red letters? I won't lie to you, it feels like a slap to the face. Especially when the take away message of such a conclusion seems to be that Native peoples will outlive these regimes.

[vaya-writes]

The Wyvern's Bride - Epilogue

When Adalyn gets sacrificed to the local wyvern, she’s a little annoyed and a lot terrified. Upon meeting the wyvern, she discovers that he’s not particularly interested in eating people, and mostly wants to be left alone. In a plot to save himself from the responsibilities his family keep pushing on him, Slate names Adalyn as his human Envoy, and tasks her with finding him a wife.

2300 words. Cis female human x Cis male wyvern (slow burn, arranged marriage, eventual smut). firefly-graphics did the divider.

Masterlist - Previous

Thank you for your patience. It's only been (checks notes) almost nine months. If it's not fresh in mind, I wouldn't force yourself to reread. The style of this chapter is slightly different, doesn't require much coherency with the rest. Anyway, thank you so much for sticking with me this long, and I hope you enjoy the final installment of The Wyvern's Bride. No content warnings for this chapter. Unless PDA makes you uncomfortable xo

There are memories tucked away in each corner of The Wyvern’s Flock. The façade may have changed, but Adalyn can still see herself in the foundations of the building. She still knows the number of steps from the entrance hall to the doorways. The bakery where she’d received customers has been rearranged, a taproom in its place, but the kitchen remains, equipped with the oven her father had modified. She can see it, past the counter where Grace greets them and takes their orders. 

Slate holds Adalyn’s hand when they enter what had once been her dining room. It’s still a dining room, part of her is glad to see. The fireplace still burns, and there’s a new clock over the mantle. But smaller tables and benches fill the area. Where once walls had hung bare, they’re now decorated with paintings and tapestries. Adalyn is taken aback by how much colour they bring to the establishment. 

There’s a pause in conversation when they enter the room. It doesn’t quite fall silent, but people still stare as they sit by the window. Adalyn goes as far as to put her back to the room, to better blot out the distracting eyes. She’s not here to mind the gossip. Only to have lunch and spend time with her husband.  

Word that a wyvern had settled in the valley had spread like wildfire, and people had come from far and wide, just for a chance to see him. It had started with the locals. People trying to sell their livestock. Craftsmen offering skills. The young and unmarried asking after serving positions. 

Then word had spread further. Merchants had visited, scrabbling at the chance to trade from Slate’s hoard. Niche craftsfolk had come next. There had been sculptors (mostly turned away), glass makers (temporarily contracted), painters (generously commissioned). Then the jewel smiths, the weavers, alchemists, scribes and tinkerers, until Slate was referring them elsewhere, interested in single purchases and commissions, but not yet ready to hire every person with a trade who came to his door.  

With all the skill and money coming to and from the valley, it’s no surprise when the area goes through an economic boom. The area flourishes. The trade festival becomes renowned. Northpoint and Tuscany both double in size as new folk migrate to the region. 

The Wyvern’s Flock reflects this easily. The seats are full and the atmosphere is lively. Grace and Gwen have nearly finished paying off Adalyn, years ahead of schedule. As far as Adalyn is aware, the ladies have no regrets. Moving away from their families had been a boon to them both. Grace gets to run her own business, and Gwen gets to run her own kitchen. There’d been obstacles (refurnishing, family drama, local pushback), but things have settled enough that the women now run their business together without raising too many brows. 

People stare at Adalyn though. Or perhaps Slate. He’s in his demi form, boldly grasping Adalyn’s hand over the table, sharpened teeth glinting as he talks. She used to shy from the attention. Feel judged by the stares; grow defensive at the scrutiny.  

Adalyn squeezes his hand. 

Slate pulls back to retrieve some papers from his bag. He moves his chair around the table, so they can pour over the blueprints side by side. She doesn’t flinch when his hand comes to rest on her thigh, though her cheeks do colour with blush. The gesture is under the table, hidden from public eye, and they are married. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the touch.  

It still thrills her. A smile plays at her lips. 

They chatter about their latest project. Adalyn’s first draft of the stable, drawn almost a year ago, had been cleaned up and heavily referenced in the newer blueprint. It always fills her with warmth, when Slate takes her ideas on board.  

The project can’t be put off any longer. With the workers streaming in, they’ll need a permanent stable. A safe way to deal with the offers for work and commerce. Currently mail is left at Fleecehold for Adalyn.  

The path through the Spires is steep and crumbling; twisting and incredibly narrow in places. Adalyn can’t help but admire those persistent and skilled enough to make it to the castle entrance. 

Most don’t. The path is dangerous. People are attempting to navigate it with alarming regularity. It’s gotten to the point where The Wyvern’s Flock receives a stream of complaints about lost packages, twisted ankles, and near falls. She knows it’s beginning to frustrate Grace and Gwen, despite their assurances otherwise. 

It only reinforces the need for a stable. One at the bottom for travellers to stow their horses and swap them out with mules. And one at the top for the animals that complete the journey. They’re considering hiring a guide too. 

Because the couriers don’t stop coming. The work applications and correspondences don’t slow. Slate had built himself a castle. It needs staff to maintain it. And there is no shortage of offers. 

Adalyn strokes the back of Slate’s hand with her thumb. 

He squeezes her leg back, automatic, before stopping suddenly. He gives a rueful wince. “Was I getting off topic?” 

She smiles. “No.” 

“But I was rambling.” 

Adalyn rolls her eyes. “I don’t mind. You know this.” 

His cheeks tinge grey with blush, before he presses a kiss to the back of her free hand. “I’m sorry, I’ve spoken about nothing but work.” 

She glances pointedly at the blueprints. “That was the plan.” 

Slate shares a soft look with Adalyn, his eyes sparkling. “I love you.” 

“Yes. I know.” 

Slate straightens. Places his hand over his chest in mock indignance.  

Adalyn relents, grinning again. “And I love you too.” 

Slate puts away the blueprints. “We can revisit this again when the materials are ready. Will you tell me about your morning?” 

Adalyn had worried that she’d be left with little to do when she sold her bakery. That the kitchen in the Spires would only keep her occupied for so long. That she’d finish reading Slate’s collection of books, and grow bored. She’d been wrong. 

In the days passed she’s practically become Slate’s manager. And that’s just regarding how he handles construction. Half of her job is keeping Slate on task. Reminding him to finish buildings before starting new ones. Helping him prioritise. Making a hard copy of his mental to do list.  

It takes patience and understanding. Slate tends to hop between projects on whim. At first she can’t fathom why he’ll be lengthening the servant’s quarters one morning, and then building a hunter’s lodge in the East Forest by the afternoon. 

Sometimes he needs it. Needs that project rotation, to prevent him from falling to tedium. Other times he jumps tasks so he won’t forget his new ideas. It’s her job to learn the difference. To gently coach Slate back on track, to take note of his ideas so he can come back to them later. He seems grateful for the assistance. And she appreciates being deferred to. Doesn’t mind the extra work. 

Adalyn’s tower had been left unfinished. A side project Slate returns to from time to time, in between other buildings. A servant’s wing had been higher priority. Their staff require a dormitory, a kitchen, a dining area, easy access to running water and a path to the mainway. Slate adds to the quarter every month or so, as more staff are recruited. 

When she’s not helping Slate, Adalyn deals with administrative errands. Sorts the mail. Handles the budget. Manages staff. Somebody has to draft contracts and organise pay and give the hapless craftfolk wandering their halls some semblance of an orientation. Scatterbrained as he is, Slate tends to hire people first and ask questions later.  

They’d first hired a goatherder, one who was willing to double as a poulterer. Adalyn didn’t want to head to Fleecehold every time she needed supplies, and having her own source of eggs, milk, and cheese (and somebody to mind the animals) is one of the first luxuries she put Slate onto. 

While construction was still underway, Slate had started hiring crafters directly. Many he would source from the valley – several professionals, and the occasional apprentice. Others he sent away for. Until there’re a modest collection of people living part time in the Spires, commissioned to create and build at Slate’s whim before the next year passes. A smith busy with hinges, nails, and other iron fittings. Woodworkers and carvers to furnish the place. Niche workers from afar for the more lavish fixtures. 

Then Slate hires artists.  

Decorations are a must. If not for his rich tastes, then to help tell the many corridors and caverns apart. People to spin tapestries, depicting Slate’s family history. Tanners, to produce leather and fine furs from Slate’s hunting, working in tandem with an upholsterer to ensure that seats and lounges are adequately cushioned. Weavers, to create an ample source of bedding for the servant’s quarter, and spinners, to make and provide thread and yarn for aforementioned weavers and fibre artists. Until Adalyn is dizzy with the sheer number of craftsfolks wandering their halls. 

Some of the art comes from further abroad. A handful of paintings and tapestries are commissioned. Slate hardly has the need for stonemasons and sculptors, but he still hires a few. He decorates the halls in limestone reliefs. The scales and wings of his family are repeated motifs. There are also hints at domesticity here and there. Designs featuring the valley; carved sheep in odd places, and crops and foods in others. Patterns peaking from a wall in the kitchen, or near the garden doors.  

Mostly they’d hired serving staff. As Slate’s castle grows, so does the housework. There is too much floor space, too many oil lamps and braziers that require maintenance. Adalyn has enough on her plate without handling the laundry or the sweeping and polishing.  

She’s still the only person allowed to wander the Tower. Slate had deemed his horde too valuable; hadn’t wanted anyone else handling their possessions. Adalyn figures he just doesn't want anyone fussing.  

Next they’ll have to hire a stable hand. And look for a guide, to take people up and down the Spires. But those tasks can wait. 

Grace arrives with their food. Cheese toast sprinkled with salt and rosemary for Adalyn – who makes a note to try cooking it at home. And a haunch of meat, dripping and rare, just the way Slate likes it. There’s wine too; the ladies had a trade deal with Ivar’s brewery, and Adalyn’s visits to The Wyvern’s Flock are a rare chance for her to indulge in his reputed winterberry wine.  

Adalyn digs into her meal while her friend lingers, catching her up on the latest happenings. Adalyn doesn’t get to be social very often, and she’s grown to appreciate the comradery and tentative friendship that the Grace and Gwen have offered her. 

They chat about Lindel. The woman had kept in touch with Adalyn, writing regularly. She still lives with her family, farming and spinning with the rest of the women in her village. Her life hadn’t changed much in the last year, but being the semi-final contender to marry Slate had bought her some respect amongst the others in her village. Even if she keeps the details of the trials to herself. 

Errah comes up too. She’s still a bit of a recluse, shepherding in one of the smaller settlements. Neither does she write, though Adalyn suspects that has more to do with her ability, rather than her desire.  

One of Slate’s cousins had been checking in on her, and the occasional sight of the silvery wyvern has been a fierce topic of gossip. Adalyn listens avidly. Lune hadn’t bothered visiting the Spires. It’s apparently poor etiquette for one wyvern to visit another’s territory and not declare themselves, but Slate doesn’t mind.  

Adalyn decides to visit Errah. If Lune is attempting to court her, then she’d probably appreciate the hard earned information Adalyn could share about that particular experience. 

Gwen wanders over, and conversation turns towards business. Repayments on the building. Mail collection. Food orders.  

The sun sets and the stars wheel gently overhead by the time Slate and Adalyn leave. They walk the settlement for a while, and Adalyn is struck with the fond memory of when she’d given Slate his first tour of the area.  

The night grows cold and Adalyn shivers. 

Slate wraps his arm around her shoulders and steers her towards the courtyard. He transforms, without a care for who sees him. Adalyn can’t help but smile again, reminded vividly of the first time Slate had landed here in this form. The power he’d given her at his entrance.  

What’s with that look? 

Adalyn shakes her head. “I’m just feeling nostalgic.”  

She brushes her fingers against his scaled snout. Smiles up at him, before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek.  

He rumbles; a sound of contentment.  

“I had a nice time tonight. Thank you.” 

He doesn’t reply, nuzzling his face against her shoulder instead. His tongue flicks out across her neck, playful and affectionate. Adalyn yelps, before dissolving into laughter at the ticklish sensation. 

Slate lowers his head further. Nudges her side, more forcefully.  

Climb on already. I want to take you home. 

She nearly flushes at his directness. Feigns shock with a hand over her mouth. “So forward, Slate?” 

His huff sends a breath of hot air at her face, but he doesn’t otherwise reply. He’s familiar with the joke. It’s not the first time she’s made it.  

Adalyn kisses him again before climbing up. Jests aside, she looks forward to getting back to the Tower. To whatever Slate might have in mind for the evening. 

Once more, the shadow of a wyvern passes over Clearwater Valley.  

[snail-studios]

For the ask game, what about an age of calamity timeline totk au?

(Like where there isn’t over a hundred years between the start of the calamity and rauru’s seal running out of magic. Just a few years maximum in between instead)

For example: Like does link just show up in Zora domain after being missing, with a ghost’s arm and a majority of his life force (or whatever heart containers are) drained? or what if a Zora patrol finds unconscious (again with a weird arm) along a river bank, presumably having fallen into it during the chaos of the upheaval? Or maybe Zelda and link trade places?

There are so many directions you can take it!

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

This is such an interesting idea!

I think in this AU I wouldn't send Zelda back to the past, but maybe the champions.

Maybe Link and Mipha have gotten properly engaged and courting is nearly finished (or they're married?) and so when the champions fall down that hole he is DEVESTATED. As much (and probably more) than he was with Zelda.

Now, why doesn't revali fly them out? Maybe he got bonked by a rock or something

Link's arm gets messed up, and Zelda is fully submerged in malice. The goddess in her blood stops her from being harmed, but it has steeped deep into her soul. They both wake up on the sky island, link with his raurru arm and zelda with some strange new abilities...

After searching for the champions, they come across some memories (which you play through as the champions) and realise they're in the past! So they do the plot stuff and go to the temples, where they find them in their respective temples, locked in time.

Rauru tells them they are sealed there as a sacrifice to keep ganon imprisoned, in temples raised high above the sky so none of his monsters can find them. When they go to Mipha's temple, Link snaps, and accidentally breaks the seal.

Mipha falls out of stasis, aging 10,000 years in less than a minute, and the sky turns blood red as the seal weakens. Rauru temporarily takes control of Link's arm and restores the seal. Mipha goes back to how she was before, the sky turns blue again and zelda is really pissed off with him. He knew he wasn't supposed to open the seal because rauru had told him with the other champions. The angrier zelda gets throughout the game the more the malice in her affects her personality, and she starts to look a little.....monstery

They fight Ganon, and instead of eating a secret stone he enlists the now completely malice possessed zelda to use her powers against Link, meaning he has to fight ganon and zelda at the same time, with Yunobo, Riju, Sidon and Teba (I'm sorry tulin is TOO YOUNG AND I LIKE TEBA) at his back. From far above Hyrule the champions do some magic sagey stuff, weakening ganon, and zelda breaks out of his curse, turning the malice powers against it and draining the malice from ganondorf's body and using it as a weapon for her and link. Ganon, in an attempt to survive swallows his secret stone and link and zeoda are flung into the air, the light dragon (which is revealed to be Sonia in a memory) helps them finish him off and the temples holding the champions fall, crashing into hyrule (and probably killing a lot of peoplehshdhletsignorethat) and so do zelda and link, holding each other as they crash into the water and miraculously not being vaporised :)

After this, they go to the temples and there is a lovely miphlink reunion and a big cuddle. And the epilogue is their marriage ceremony!!!! Obviously!!!!

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

Here is the epilogue I promised! Don’t let the new header fool you there is absolutely no plot to this… I hope everyone who read enjoyed this series and as a little treat for all we went through to get here this is one last look at where we ended up

Pairings: Jake Kiszka x Danny Wagner *slash

Tags and warnings: 18+ ONLY!!!, very NSFW, slight dom Danny, m/m sex, butt plug and facial… the babies being in love finally! very little editing

Word count: 2.6k

Jake had just finished lathering up his hair when he heard the door to the bathroom open. “I’m almost done” Jake spoke out into the openness of the shower, thinking Danny was probably wanting to get ready for bed soon.

It had been weeks since Danny returned from visiting Sam in LA and surprised Jake with a confession. What a relief it was to finally be able to tell Danny how he really felt now that he knew his feelings would be returned.

And returned they were, nearly tenfold. Danny being his boyfriend was more than he’d ever dreamed of. He was patient, caring, observant, though at the same time not too pushy or overbearing.

Honestly not much had changed between them other than their new bedtime ritual. They’d lay in bed together and both vent about their day, it was the way they decided to keep their work lives and personal lives separate, stay calm while at the restaurant and talk it out at home. No matter how riled up Jake would get about the supply truck messing up his order, or the cooks showing up late, by the end of his unload Danny would look Jake in the eyes and ask him “do you love me?”

Every night Danny would ask him the same thing and Jake would easily forget his worries. Instead he’d focus on coming up with a new way to tell Danny how much he loved him each time.

“I love you with all my soul”.

“I’ll always love you”.

“There isn’t a word to properly describe how much I’m in love with you”.

“My heart is yours forever”.

“My love for you knows no bounds”.

“All my love Danny”.

With every proclaiment of love Danny would smile and blush before giving Jake a kiss and they’d go to sleep together feeling absolutely content.

Jake looked forward to crawling into bed with Danny just like any other night, though when the shower curtain was drawn back and Danny stepped inside with him he realized he might be in for a little more.

“Don’t mind me, finish washing up” Danny smirked when Jake squinted through one eye as the shampoo washed from his hair.

“How am I supposed to do that when you’re standing naked right in front of me?”

“You prefer I join you in the shower clothed then?” Danny chuckled and reached forward to gently grab at Jake’s waist. “Here, turn around then”.

Danny used his grip on Jake to carefully turn him before grabbing his body wash and running his soapy hands across Jake’s shoulders and upper back, then lower until he slipped underneath his arms and started to wash his chest next. Jake closed his eyes and let his head fall slightly to the side, exposing a tiny piece of neck that Danny couldn’t resist leaning over to place his lips against.

Jake reveled in the the feeling of Danny’s hands and lips on him. Running a business proved to be exhausting, so neither of them had much time or energy to really fool around after hours. That didn’t mean Jake didn’t still think about it often though, and that showed in the way his body was already reacting to Danny’s touch.

“Jake” Danny spoke when his hands ran down his stomach and brushed against his hardened length.

“I know” Jake sighed in frustration and pent up needs, “just ignore it”.

“Jake” Danny spoke again, still rubbing his hands in slow circles across Jake’s lower abdomen, “I want to kiss you” he asked with his lips still connected to his neck. “Can I? Can I kiss you as much as I want?”

Jake turned back around and wrapped his arms around Danny’s shoulders, pulling him down closer to his level. “You can take my breath away if you wanted to” Jake replied before stretching upwards to connect their mouths in a passionate kiss.

Danny cradled the back of Jake’s head in one hand and let the other fall to the small of his back then took a step closer until their fronts were pressed together. Jake moaned slightly into his mouth at the contact, but Danny took it as an opportunity to slip his tongue inside and deepen the kiss. Jake’s knees went weak, but their hold on each other kept him upright as Danny continued to ardently kiss him.

Just when Jake thought things really would get heated Danny removed his hand from his back and reached behind them to turn the shower off. Without a word he disconnected from him and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a towel he then turned to beckon Jake over before placing the towel over his head and beginning to dry his hair off.

Jake stood there while Danny worked the towel over him, obviously still worked up, and he would have been embarrassed if he hadn’t looked down and saw that Danny had gotten just as excited about their wet make out session as he had.

“Ready to get into bed?” Danny asked after taking the time to dry himself as well.

“I’m ready for bed, but not for sleep” Jake replied with a pout because Danny had ignited this fire within him but hadn’t shown any intention of putting it out yet.

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna take care of you tonight” Danny attempted to ease him.

“Oh, is that so?” Jake’s pout turned into a smirk because now he got what Danny was doing. He was trying to pretend like he wasn’t dying for a good fuck like Jake was. “Then by all means, take me to bed handsome”.

Danny continued to keep his cool as Jake followed him down the hallway to their now shared bedroom. The thought that Jake had no idea what he was getting himself into with all that Danny had planned gave him the drive to stay as calm and put together as possible.

It’s been way too damn long, Jake thought as he crawled into the bed, excitement taking over and pushing all other thoughts of work or how tired he was out of his mind. Instead the only thing that was left was the throbbing between his legs and the way Danny looked as he joined him, hungry.

Danny immediately connected their lips again and grabbed Jake’s wrists to pin them above his head. “I want to show you just how much I love you tonight. Is that okay?”

Jake swallowed hard, tugging his arms slightly against Danny’s grip and seeing he wasn’t planning on letting go so easily. He remembered this domineering side of Danny from that night on the couch together and it excited him that he was coming out to play again, though he knew it could also mean some trouble. Either way the offer was really enticing and Jake being held underneath him like he was wasn’t in much of a position to make any requests of his own right now.

“Okay, show me” Jake gave in, letting himself settle on top of the pillows.

With Jake’s permission now, Danny’s eyes seemed to darken as he leaned back and took a good look at the body he had laid before him, ripe for the taking. There was so much he wanted to do, so many ways he knew he could reduce Jake to a crying whimpering mess, but he’d already made up his mind what he wanted to do before he’d even stepped into that shower with him.

“Keep your hands here” he demanded, loosening his grip on Jake’s wrists he still had pinned above his head and trailed his fingers down his arms, watching the reaction his fingertips brought to the skin along the way.

Danny sat up, wedging his knees between Jake’s thighs and parting his legs so that Jake was spread open in his lap. Now that he had him in the position he wanted, he slipped his hand underneath one of the pillows to retrieve the lube he’d gotten out earlier.

“So you prepared for this?” Jake taunted, watching in amusement as Danny popped open the cap and warmed up the slick liquid in his hands.

“Oh I'm very prepared” Danny replied, unconcerned with Jake’s snarky attempt at rattling his composure. He was in charge right now, and soon enough he’d have Jake fully aware of just how prepared he was.

One lubed up hand wrapped around Jake while the other slipped between his legs to start prodding at his entrance and within moments of beginning his steady strokes he was already slipping a finger inside. Jake relaxed quickly into the feeling of being partially filled, and Danny knew he could take another soon.

With a second finger already inside Jake was wiggling his hips, trying to get Danny to find that spot, but instead Danny only tightened his grip around his cock and started really stroking him.

“Danny…” Jake groaned, stilling his hips and furrowing his brows, “You can’t jerk me off like that or I’ll-”.

“It’s okay, go ahead and cum for me”.

“But Dan-” Jake was cut off by a choked sob as he tried desperately to keep himself contained while Danny vigorously worked him. He started to panic a little when he felt the coil in his stomach tightening knowing it was inevitable it would snap if Danny kept going, but he didn’t want it to end so quickly.

Danny knew where Jake’s thoughts were, knew he didn’t want this to be over, but what Jake didn’t know was that Danny was just getting started. “I know Jake, you’re going to be cumming more than once tonight. Go ahead and give me this one and I promise the next will be even better”.

Jake shot Danny a look, a slightly terrified and also excited all at the same time look, and then he reached his first breaking point. Unable to hold it any longer he came into Danny’s palm immediately feeling how badly he’d needed to get off. Maybe Danny was onto something. There was no way he would have been able to last long no matter what they’d done, so he went ahead and got that one out of the way.

“Are you good?” Danny asked when he felt Jake’s body loosen up again after his orgasm. Jake nodded, looking down at himself now soft and glistening with the remnants of his climax. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you hard again”.

With only a few moments to gather himself, Danny was pulling his fingers out and inching forward on the bed until he was pressing inside slowly, giving Jake the chance to adjust before he started a slow shallow thrust of his hips.

Jake groaned at the sensation. Being fucked was a different pleasure, but with it being so soon after he was still boardlining on overstimulation. Especially when Danny pushed in further and finally reached his spot.

“Fuuuuuck Danny right there!” He cried out, moving his hands only to rake his fingers through his hair as his back arched off the mattress.

“See what I said, look at you” Danny gleamed, proud of himself as Jake glanced back down and saw he was already starting to harden up again. Then Danny gripped Jake by the hips and pulled him further into his lap as he leaned backwards and started a harder faster pace, absolutely breaking Jake further apart with each pound into him and against that bundle of nerves.

The warmth in the pit of his stomach slowly returned as Jake moaned and writhed until Danny was suddenly slowing to a stop. Jake began to question why Danny was pulling out already, but he was silenced with another demand, “stay there”.

Moving from between Jake’s legs, Danny grabbed the bottle of lube again and Jake watched in confusion as he squeezed a few more drops into his hand then swung a leg over Jake’s waist.

“Danny wait are you... but you haven’t-” Jake became concerned when Danny reached behind him to lather Jake up again, though it only lasted a moment because then he felt Danny feeling around for something else. Danny let out a sigh, then leaned forward and revealed a small purple object, a plug.

While Jake was in the shower Danny had actually already taken the time to ready himself, then he’d put the plug in to stay stretched. With it removed now he sank down onto Jake in one fluid motion and they both moaned at the new connection.

Before Jake’s brain could even catch up to the stimulation he was feeling now Danny started bouncing up and down, tossing his head back and letting his jaw fall slack. Danny knew he wasn’t going to be able to last long either, not after all the work he’d already put in, so he started stroking himself until Jake decided to take over.

“Did I say you could move your hands?” Danny tried to maintain his dominance, though the way his thighs began to quiver and the tension in his lower stomach built he knew he wouldn’t have been able to keep it up for much longer anyways. So instead he gave in and let Jake touch him, planting his hands against Jake’s chest to get better control. “I’m so close” he cried, unable to stop his riding until his own orgasm began to wash over him.

“God Danny, don’t stop” Jake moaned, digging his heels into the bedding and taking over fucking Danny until he was shaking and collapsing over onto the bed next to him.

Jake used his cum coated hand to start working himself now that Danny had rolled off him. He’d been promised another orgasm and he was too far gone now to even care if Danny saw him finishing himself off.

“Jake come here” Danny begged, sitting up onto his elbows and pulling on Jake’s arm. Jake looked over at him through heavily lidded eyes, he was so close too he just needed a few more tugs… “Jake” Danny pleaded again, earning his full attention this time when he tugged on his arm again and opened his mouth.

Jake quickly got onto his knees and crawled over to where Danny laid waiting for him. “You want my cum?” He purred using his other hand to cup Danny’s cheek and slip his thumb inside his mouth.

Danny nodded and closed his lips around Jake’s thumb, giving it a suck and a swirl of his tongue before Jake grunted and pulled it out. He inched closer and Danny opened his mouth again, sticking his tongue out as well this time just before Jake painted his face.

Danny was right, he came harder this time than before, partially because it was the second time in one night, though mostly because he was so turned on by all of Danny's lewd acts.

“Since when did you get so kinky?” Jake panted as he fell back down onto the bed next to him, spent and chest heaving.

“Since I started dating the very sexy Jake Kiszka” Danny replied, turning onto his side and throwing an arm and a leg over his boyfriend. “Do you disapprove?”

“No no, absolutely not!” Jake hurriedly replied, taking Danny’s hand in his own and giving it a squeeze. “This was an unexpected treat, thank you”.

“Are you ready for sleep now then?” Danny settled next to him, knowing eventually they’d have to get up and clean off again before getting under the covers, but for now they were satisfied with just holding each other.

“Mhmm” Jake replied, his eyes already closed.

“Just one more thing” Danny continued, waiting until Jake peaked one eye open at him.

“Do you love me?”

[mumms-the-word]

seeing you so excited about dragon age has made me really want to get into it. if you've already talked about this and i missed it i am SO sorry but do you have any recommendations on where to start? it seems like so much fun but i am flying completely blind here, i know nothing but vibes and the fact that the games look right up my alley.

from my understanding there's 3(?) other games before veilguard (at least on steam haha) and they all seem to build off one another. would you recommend playing the other games first? (i know veilguard still hasn't released yet i just know next to nothing about the plot of the games and how much they're tied together raaahh)

again sorry if you've already talked about this, i just love seeing other people so excited about something, it makes me want to get invested in it too. hope you're having an excellent day! :)

Hello!!! I’m so excited that you’re interested in these games! They are some of my absolute favorites for a variety of reasons!

Currently there are 3 games + Veilguard (the 4th). The series starts with Dragon Age Origins, a gritty dark fantasy set in the country of Ferelden, which is being besieged by corrupted monsters called the darkspawn. You play a Grey Warden, a warrior (or mage!) selected to fight the darkspawn and save the country from ruin.

Dragon Age 2 picks up after the events of Origins and follows Hawke, a refugee from Ferelden who travels north to Kirkwall with their family…and then ends up being the person everyone asks to solve their problems. Results may vary, and it’s a fun chaotic time for all.

Dragon Age Inquisition takes place 3 years after DA2. The end of DA2 has spiraled out of control into a full on war. Everyone has gathered in one place to try and stop the fighting but, unexpectedly, the whole place goes kaboom with your character, the future Inquisitor, inside. They survive the explosion and end up with a mark on their hand that may just save the world, so now saving the world is their problem.

And soon we’ll have Veilguard, which takes place 10-12 years after DAI (12 years after Inquisition starts, 10 years after DAI’s epilogue DLC…it’s a long story). And it directly involves characters and plot arcs that began in DAI.

All of the games tie together narratively, but they’re also each their own separate campaigns. It’s not like the Witcher where you play Geralt for 3 games, you’re playing 3 (now 4) completely different heroes. But the span of time between Origins and Veilguard is only 22 years in the Dragon Age Universe so—yeah, lots of events connect together.

With Veilguard so close, it’ll be a tough shave trying to finish even one of the games before Veilguard releases and the floodgates of spoilers spill over. That said, if Veilguard has you hyped, but you want to play a different Dragon Age game to get your feet wet and explore a bit of the world, go for DAI (the third one)! A typical full playthrough takes about 60ish hours if you’re not rushing (but some of my inquisitors had an upwards of 150+ hours, and I have rushed it at a 45 hour run once). You may not finish it before the Veilguard release date, but since it’s the one that directly ties into Veilguard, it means you can just hop right in from one to the next.

HOWEVER, if you are interested in the ways the games connect to each other and want to see how your decisions in one game affects the world in the next game, AND if you feel okay with sticking your head in the sand to avoid any and all Veilguard spoilers, you can start with Origins and play all three in order. Each game shapes elements of the world of the next one (for example, who is king or queen of Ferelden at the end of Origins will come up in small ways in DA2 and DAI), and that’s honestly my favorite part of the games. I love seeing echoes of my choices from Origins and DA2 in my DAI game. It really makes it feel like my choices matter.

But Veilguard looks like it’ll be a relatively clean slate. It doesn’t look like there will be choices from Origins or DA2 that carry forward into Veilguard. So if you want to start anywhere, start with DAI. You can always experience what it’s like as a “basic” world and go back later, after playing it and Veilguard and so on, to play the earlier games and see how you can shape and alter the worlds in new or interesting ways. That’s how a lot of DA fans start actually. They play DAI, find out that they can shape the world by playing the other games, and then go back to Origins.

That’s a long winded answer but I hope it helps! I’m in the middle of a DAI run right now and the game really has aged so well. It doesn’t feel like a 2014 game. It doesn’t feel that outdated. And honestly it’s pretty easy to pick up and play (though I recommend playing with a controller, whether you’re on console or PC. The keyboard and mouse controls are horrible).

Go forth and age the dragons haha have fun!!