#anyway all of these could be fixed in RAW easily

[rosesrambling]

there are many good critiques of dnd 5e offloading too much work on the DM to interpret and manage the rules but my PERSONAL pet peeve is the wild magic sorcerer

per RAW, wild magic surges happen whenever the DM calls for a roll. it’s one of your key class features & resets tides of chaos, and exists purely within the realm of DM fiat

wild magic surges have a fairly low % chance of happening in the first place, and mostly aren’t really penalties. so in my experience DMs just call for the roll after every leveled spell. which is fair! except

tides of chaos resets on each wild magic roll not each wild magic surge. this would basically give sorcs advantage on every single spell they cast with an attack roll! which seems a bit silly and overpowered, unless you house rule the ability to work off surges instead.

it’s just a whole mess of an archetype which requires the DM to intercede on a class feature, and the easiest way to offload that work unbalances the class unless you make a second house ruling. which is again, just more unnecessary work. absolute mess of an archetype that typifies the wider problem

[sluttywonwoo]

can't stop thinking about the guys(skz,svt and atz I have too much free time) cumming too soon like what would make them cum and how would they react why do I wanna cry bro idk

i wanna cry too it’s ok (answering for svt in this ask but if u wanna see one of the other groups send another)

seungcheol: it doesn’t happen to him often… maybe when he’s tired or it’s been a while and when it does, he turns it around on you lmfao like “why did you clench like that, you know what it does to me” >:(

jeonghan: if his dick is in your mouth… he’s probably cumming. like seungcheol, how is it his fault that your mouth feels that good?? he’d be embarrassed though and make it up to you by eating you out (which he was going to do anyway)

joshua: he’s usually pretty good about slowing down when he gets too close but sometimes even that isn’t enough to stop him from cumming and he’s filling you up without warning. his voice is so raspy as he mumbles apologies into your mouth. he knows you think it’s hot but he’s still embarrassed by it.

jun: it’s like a game he plays with himself, thinking he can last even when he can’t. edging himself until it becomes too much. he’s more frustrated by it than anything. he’s just like “damn, sorry babe” but will keep fucking you through his own oversensitivity to make you cum

soonyoung: can happen at the drop of a hat tbh. he’s got crazy stamina but for him that means he can go again and again even right after cumming (and that’s what he does)

wonwoo: it only happens when he’s been teasing you for so long that he’s incredibly worked up too and can’t help himself. so so embarrassed but pushes it down and plays it off. he’d punish you instead since it is your fault (ahem jeongcheol) and overstimulate you until he’s ready to go again

jihoon: it usually happens when you’re on top. something about you riding him makes jihoon lose control… and when he does, he can’t even bring himself to look at you for a couple of minutes. this is easily fixed, though, because you just have to get him hard again and he’ll forget all about the embarrassment (for the time being)

seokmin: if we’re being honest, he could cum from just your hand feeling him up over his pants. he’s just so into you and it’s easy for him to get carried away with how good your touch feels. but next thing you know he’s literally moaning apologies into your cunt as he eats you out

mingyu: most likely to happen for him if he’s fucking you raw… which is a problem in of itself but he’s usually able to pull out in time to just cum all over you. it makes a mess but it’s safer than the alternative and he’ll spend the next several minutes sheepishly cleaning you up while you lay there unimpressed.

minghao: he can make quickies quick. if you don’t have a lot of time, he puts all of his focus on cumming as fast as possible and sometimes it happens too fast. he likes to make you cum first so it always makes him feel guilty if he’s finishing way earlier than you, but he’ll drop to his knees and finish you off before you can even register what’s happened.

seungkwan: he loves praise but he also gets super flustered by it so if you’re praising him a lot in bed he might just lose it. it isn’t very common for him but when it does happen he tries to be casual about it. for him, being casual means pretending like nothing happened and adopting a very high voice all of the sudden and muttering “everything’s fine” to himself repeatedly as he rummages through your bedside drawer for your vibrator

vernon: man is easy. seeing your boobs is enough to get him fully hard… meaning you sitting on his dick is enough to make him cum. it isn’t unheard of for vernon to cum as soon as you sink down onto his lap. he gets so red and frantic, yelling at you to get off of him but usually it’s already too late. luckily, he’s got a short refractory period and a humiliation kink so he’s ready to go again in no time.

chan: he can be a bit too confident. it’s always endearing but chan talks a big game and can’t always deliver. when he cums too early and gets all embarrassed, it’s easy for you to pick up the slack and take over. chan submits to you so easily after he’s made a fool of himself (in his eyes) and you love every second of it.

[strongheartneteyam]

[ credits of the Neteyam pic go to cinetrix ]

Champagne Problems

Part 6

Pairing: Neteyam Sully x female!human!reader

CW: a lot of angst, tension between neteyam and reader, heartbroken neteyam, sexual tension, heartbroken reader, insecure neteyam, jealous reader, neteyam just won't leave reader's head, hurt/comfort (?), TRIGGER WARNING for some sensitive themes like reader showing signs of low self steem and not thinking she's worth it, friend group dynamic among reader, adeline and kate, kiri being sweet, reader misses neteyam and regrets dumping him, reader thinks she's protecting neteyam from hurt by staying away from him, spider makes an appearance, kiri being protective over neteyam's feelings, reader tells kiri she likes neteyam. Tell me if there's more, pls.

Here I come, finally updating this incredibly angsty fanfiction :') I hope y'all enjoy this. Writing this fic breaks my heart, guys… it feels raw, honestly. Maybe I'm just speaking like this bc I'm on my period + I'm listening to a sad Taylor Swift song but omg my heart aches rn

Not proofread. I'm sorry, babies, I'm dead rn. So freaking sleepy and finishing this at 5 am bc my mind just wouldn't let me sleep and kept forcing me to think about and write this chapter.

Part 5: The sand hurts my feelings

𓇼

It hits different 'cause it's you

I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost

Rip the Band-Aid off and skip town like an asshole outlaw

Freedom felt like summer then on the coast

Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings

And I never don't cry at the bar

Yeah, my sadness is contagious

Hits Different (Taylor Swift)

𓇼

"Hey." Neteyam greeted you in a dry tone. He found it hard to look into your eyes so he just gazed rapidly into them and then kept his eyes on the ground.

His heart was broken, aching and his pride was shattered. Neteyam hated to see everybody around him looking at him with pity in their faces, knowing that he had been dumped by the girl he loved. He wondered if the boys - Lo'ak, Rotxo and Ao'nung - looked down on him now. Neteyam suddenly felt like he was not a good hypothetical mate. He had always thought he would make a good, reliable and loving mate to the girl he would one day choose to be his but you made him start doubting that after last night. He knew it was probably stupid but still he couldn't seem to get rid of those feelings.

You tried to hide your uneasiness but it was written all over your face.

"Hi." You answered Neteyam, your heart pounding in your chest, anxiety leaving your hands cold.

The pain you were causing Neteyam could be easily seen in the way his jaw clenched, in the way he weirdly looked insecure instead of confident as he always seemed to be. You wanted to say "I'm sorry", you wanted to say "Maybe I did the wrong thing when I refused to become your mate" but you had seen him with Munì. It was useless now, anyway.

Lo'ak looked at Neteyam, then back at you and then he would redo the whole thing all over again, like he was waiting for the both of you to exchange more words. Poor thing. He seemed even more tense than Neteyam and you.

"Rotxo, Ao'nung" Neteyam rapidly called, looking now at the Metkayina boys "Tonowari is waiting for us. Clan business." His voice was serious and seemed slightly annoyed, his face stern 

You wondered if Neteyam said "clan business" instead of giving more detail because you were sitting there too and he was mad at you. Well, you didn't blame him if that's how he felt. You deserved it. You could have been nicer to him this morning.

"Let's go!" Lo'ak spoke loudly, like he was trying to get out of that awkward situation as fast as he could

"Chill out, forest boy. We're going." Ao'nung teased and Rotxo laughed 

"I'm Metkayina now, fish lips. Stop calling me that." Lo'ak responded 

Frenemies indeed.

The boys left and your gaze was fixed on Neteyam's back as he walked away next to the other Metkayina. As you looked down at the beach floor, you wished that ache inside you would just vanish but life doesn't work that way.

When you looked up, you saw Tsireya's and Kiri's big feline eyes fixed on your face. It scared the crap out of you. They seemed even wider now.

"What?!" You sounded legitimately startled

"Neteyam told me and Lo'ak he was gonna ask you to be his mate at the party." Kiri stated

"And how the hell did every person in this tribe find out about that? Did he tell them too?" You didn't mean to sound rude but you really were overwhelmed by the situation

"It's just me, my brother and Rotxo. Only we know, other than Kiri and Lo'ak. My stupid brother overheard Kiri asking Neteyam how it had went, what answer you had given to Neteyam and he told Rotxo. I saw them laughing like idiots and asked what was so funny. That's when Ao'nung told me." Tsireya said, like she was sorry about the fact that so many people knew about yours and Neteyam's intimate business

𓇼

The day after that, you and the girls went back to Hell's Gate. You decided it was better to leave things the way they were. To let Neteyam have a nice, healthy and proper relationship with someone of his own kind. Like your father always used to say, na'vi and humans will never be equal. But he meant it in a derogatory way, with prejudice against the na'vi in his words while you meant something totally different. It was just natural that na'vi would marry other na'vi, not a human. The differences between both cultures did not just speak loud, they actually shouted like a mad person. You knew you could never get accustomed to being a na'vi male's mate. Not even if that male was Neteyam and just thinking about leaving him behind, thinking that you felt absolutely nothing for him, made you feel a burning, painful sensation in your heart. And of course Neteyam would be better off with an emotionally stable mate. Munì seemed perfect for him. 

You totally did not feel anger boiling inside your guts anytime you thought about her stupid smiles and giggles back when she was talking to him at the beach. She would make him happy and you were totally happy for them. The next step for you would be actually believing the words you just thought.

𓇼

One month and a few days had passed. You felt grateful that you had been able to dodge all the demands to go conduct scientific researches on the Metkayina tribe that you had received until now, asking to exchange positions with colleagues and staying in the lab, doing paperwork instead. You were doing everything in your power to avoid Neteyam. But you could never seem to be able to avoid the pain that washed over your body and the tears that wanted to come out - but never actually did because you were always strong enough to hold them back - whenever a sad love song started playing in your earbuds or in one of your friend's phones. It seemed like every fucking dumb love song reminded you of him.

After Kiri sent you a message almost begging you to go visit her, making you feel guilty and saying that she missed you a lot and now that she had her own marui, you just had to go to the reef and see it, you couldn't say "no". She was being too adorable and you missed her too. You asked Kiri if Kate and Adeline could come along and she excitedly agreed, so, the three of you used your next couple of days off to travel to the Metkayina beach again. It was a blessing that Neteyam had traveled to the Omatikaya tribe to see his grandmother Mo'at and was gonna be gone for a while, as Kiri had guaranteed you.

Kiri always had a very human side to her, just like Lo'ak. Neteyam didn't even seem like he was half human at times. He was extremely proud to be na'vi and wore his indigenous culture with honor all over himself. You could never see Neteyam asking to have his own place. He was too attached to his family - and you thought that was extremely cute. It wasn't traditional amongst the na'vi for an unmated young girl to leave her family's marui like that but Kiri was clever and she found a way to get what she wanted out of her parents.

𓇼

Adeline, Kate and you woke up as early as the Pandoran skies got clear and dragged your sleepy and tired asses to the Metkayina tribe. Being a scientist would never not leave a person overworked and exhausted. Like most mornings, you had drank way too much caffeine already for such an early hour in the day.

"Girl, how do you always look so beautiful? I could never." You pointed out as you watched Adeline make two thin braids to frame her round, delicate face and put her black curly hair in a voluminous bun on the top of her head, while the both of you were inside the science team's helicopter, heading to the Metkayina reef.

You had always found Adeline extremely pretty with her dark skin, voluptuous figure and feminine style. She always made sure to look cute.

"I don't know. I guess I'm God's favorite." She joked around and the both of you started to laugh

Adeline was also funny. She could put a smile in your face anytime, even when you were sad. You considered her a sister from another mother.

"You guys are stupid." Kate teased as she was laughing too and holding an energy drink filled with caffeine in her pale hand. She'd drink those often to help wake her up.

Kate's long, blonde, wavy hair fell gracefully over her chest. Her eyes were blue and she was tall and had an athletic but slim body. Damn, you only had breathtaking friends.

𓇼

Kate and Adeline had decided to take a nap after lunch in Kiri's marui and they asked if you would come too but you refused as you were far too restless to be able to sleep. That beach brought back too many memories…

So, now you found yourself sitting in the sand, watching the ocean waves break as they hit the shore with Kiri by your side. She had managed to make you say the truth about why you seemed so troubled.

"Yeah, (y/n), you fucked up big time." Kiri stated with that aura of wisdom beyond her years that only herself knew how to effortlessly exude.

You wanted to dig a hole in the sand under your feet and jump inside of it, hiding and never coming back up again. Of course you'd fuck it up with Neteyam. You had a cursed tendency to self sabotage. You did not know if being so freaking aware of it made you better or if it actually made you worse.

"Are you mad at me?" You ask nervously with furrowed eyebrows 

"(y/n)! It's not my feelings that you should be worried about! It's not my heart that you broke." Kiri scolded you as she looked at you with those big feline yellow eyes like she was actually horrified. You felt so bad for thinking it was kind of funny. "I know you don't wanna be Neteyam's mate but do you not care about him at all? Not even a little bit? He hasn't been the same ever since you dumped him and left. Poor thing can barely go train with dad. I think I saw him sniffing while hiding one of these days. Eywa knows that prideful teylu" (edible Pandoran bug) "would never cry in front of us."

"I swear I didn't mean to be cruel. I just did not know… how to react. It was sudden, you know? It's like, I don't know… a cultural shock? Humans don't go around asking people they just met to marry them. Or… become their mates." It would never feel normal to say "mates" to you

Apparently you had acted just like Kat Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You, when she would cold heartedly refuse Patrick Verona over and over again. You used to always watch that vintage movie with Tracy. It was one of her favorites. 

"Don't act like it was the first time you two had met. Neteyam stared at you all the time when you came to our tribe. I swear to Eywa I've never seen him nervous to talk to a girl before but you have a power over my brother… it's fucking crazy to watch actually. He's like a needy, dumb dog drooling over you when he looks at you. It's even freaky." Kiri couldn't hold it back so she burst into laughter, hiding her mouth with her big but delicate hand

You were nervous as fuck but you started to laugh too. It seemed like the nervousness and guilt and tense vibe of the situation only made it worse, making everything even more funny and absurd.

"You know the worst part of it all?" You looked at her like a child who just broke their mom's most precious vase

"Great Mother, don't tell me there's more." Kiri said, incredulous

"I think I like Neteyam." You confessed like you were a good catholic girl confessing her sins to a priest

"You like him?!" She almost screamed

"You don't need to declare it out loud for the whole reef to hear!" You got slightly mad

"You teylu!" She smirked as she moved her head from side to side in disapproval "Why the hell did you dump him then?"

"I don't know, Kiri. Don't judge me, okay?" You put both your hands over your face, hiding it and moving your head from side to side yourself this time. 

At least you knew your attitude had been controversial and confusing to say the least. They say the first steps to recovery are realizing and admitting you're insane.

𓇼

It was now eclipse. You were inside Kiri's home with her and your human friends. Kate and Adeline were finishing unpacking their bags.

"Guys, I'm going out for some fresh air, okay?" You said, trying to find an excuse to get out of that marui filled with girls - human and na'vi.

"You've been acting weird lately." Adeline pointed out "Spending too much time alone."

Kiri discreetly looked at you with a look of concern in her face, as she was the only one of the girls who knew the reason behind your strange demeanor.

"I just need some air. I'll be back soon." You spoke as you walked towards the door of the marui

"Don't go in the ocean! It could be dangerous!" Kate yelled. She was the "mom friend" of the group.

"I know!" You laughed "I'm not stupid. I'm a scientist too. But thanks for your concern."

You walked through the beach for a while, trying to take a certain tall, handsome blue alien out of your mind when you saw Spider walking in the area too. He waved at you and you waved back.

You weren't as close to Spider as you were to Kiri and Lo'ak but you did love his company.

You sat on the sand with him, looking at the ocean, just like you had done with Kiri earlier and you two started to catch up and eventually the talk got deeper, more philosophical.

"Don't you feel crazy, Spider? Living among beings of another species? Don't you feel… left out?" Your eyes looked at him with genuine doubt in them

"I do, sometimes." He sighs "Especially because of how Mrs Sully acts towards me, at times" the both of you laughed quickly "But this place is my home. I was born in Pandora, I know nowhere else that I could call home. And also, I grew up around Lo'ak, Kiri, Neteyam and Tuk. They're family to me, even if not related by blood. It doesn't really matter in the end, family are the ones who are there for you. Not your bloodline." 

"Oh my God, I totally agree!" You rapidly say in a slight loud tone, chuckling, like you wanted to emphasize how much you shared the same opinion with him

"So..." You pondered if you should tell him or not "Neteyam talked to me last-"

"Yeah, I know. Ao'nung told me." Spider interrupted

"Of course he did..." You rolled your eyes and sighed. So everybody knew already...

Spider chuckled softly.

"Anyways, Neteyam calls me tawtute. I think it's funny that he calls me "human", but in na'vi"

"Yeah, that's him being affectionate towards you. He likes you. A lot." Spider pointed out

You stoped smiling and your heart started feeling painful.

"He probably hates me now, actually. I totally blew it off. I was really insensitive towards him." Shame and regret covered your face, as you were crestfallen

"Have you ever thought about apologizing?"

"Yeah, of course I have. Many times. I just…" You hesitated "I guess I can't face him now."

"Oh, c'mon. I know you can do it. Isn't it worse to be feeling guilty and sad and let Neteyam think you don't feel sorry for hurting him?"

"You have a point, Spider. God, I hate it when you're right." You laughed and slapped his arm softly, in a playful manner

𓇼

Adeline and Kate slept peacefully next to you, each one of them in a different mat - but the three mats had been placed next to the other. You, on the other hand, hadn't been able to sleep well in almost two months. Kiri told you and the girls she was gonna stay up and she now was, at the corner of the marui, making herself a new beaded necklace in the light of a tiny fire she had lit up.

As you laid quietly in your mat with your eyes closed but wide awake, you heard footsteps inside the marui. You could not believe it when you opened your eyes and you saw it was Neteyam. His tall, slender figure and head full of thin braids that danced in the air as he moved made you recognize him immediately, even in the dark of the eclipse.

Damn! Wasn't he supposed to be in the Omatikaya tribe right now? And what the hell was he even doing here instead of going to his parents' marui?

𓇼

Taglist:

@iman-lu

@leaveitbythewave

@creepytoes88

@live-laugh-neteyam

@swaggygurlbae

@neteluvr

@layla2-49

@a-blog-name-2003

@lala-1516

@jakesullyfatjuicypeen

@yeosxxx

@iaratezaewa

[cakerybakery]

To further the After Eden idea of Lucifer/Lilith/Adam/Eve having adventures on untamed Earth.

I would give Adam an axe as a weapon/tool. He’d be more the fighter/protector of the group as one of the strongest in it. He’d use it of course for normal axe stuff, chopping wood, makeshift hammer, can’t think of a third thing. But also against wild animals trying to eat them. Plus he uses a guitar or axe as a weapon in the show so it’s fitting.

He’s a bit more likely to stick around camp when they make camp. He’ll explore with everyone else but he’s not prone to going off alone, at least not very far. He was created to be the first man and protector, it makes him uneasy if he can’t quickly get back to the group he low key thinks of as his to keep safe. But he has a disproportional sense of danger.

He’s over confident in himself and under confident in everyone else. He lacks a sense of danger about terrain, particularly if they’re in a group as he’s overly confident he can keep them safe from a few rocks or a little bit of water. But if someone is doing something by themselves, even mildly dangerous, it freaks him out.

A half rotting log over a river? It’s fine. Eve in a tree? PANIC!!

Eve I think would have a cast iron pot. Lucifer used a good deal what was left of his power to make it for her. It’s heavy but she won’t let anyone carry it for her as she feels it’s special since Lucifer had to use up so much of his powers to make it. It helps keep them all fed as she now can make stews or boil oats, roast foods too. It’s more versatile than just roasting on a stick or eating things raw. If she figures out bread she could make some in it too. Plus it packs a wallop.

She’s a bit of a gather by nature and does tend to wander off or climb stupidly high just to reach possible food. Adam practically has a full time job keeping an eye on her. He is easily goaded into getting things for her when he says that’s it’s too dangerous.

“But I need that fruit for breakfast tomorrow. I’m sure my big strong protector can get it for me if it’s too dangerous for little old me.”

“Darn rights I can! Just watch me!” … “wait, how did I get in this tree??”

Lilith would rather avoid danger at all costs, not just for the group as a whole but to avoid putting Lucifer in a position that might trigger his anxiety. She carries a spear/trident. Mostly it gets used for fishing. I’m not sure which I prefer she has so I’m thinking she has both. She tried to use a spear for fishing but the fish too easily slipped off so she and Eve developed the trident to hook fish. But the spear is better for protection. She uses a sharp rock for the spear as it lasts longer in a fight but the trident is wooden and carved since that’s easier to replace or fix if she smashes it against a rock trying to fish.

She thinks Adam is too protective. She can take care of herself, thank you very much, and so can Eve. They don’t need Adam hovering all the time. And then immediately hovers over her tiny husband.

Lucifer doesn’t really want a weapon. He’s just as strong as Adam, having been reduced to a mere mortal man (mostly). Which is still hella strong as the only mortal man is Adam, he just doesn’t look it and is incredibly weak compared to how he was as an angel.

He has a bow and arrow, he was a cherubim according to one version of the bible and in modern times we tend to associate cherubs with cupid and bows and arrows so I thought it was fitting. It also gives him a long distance attack which I think would be similar enough to his angelic powers that he’s more comfortable with it than Lilith’s spear or Adam’s axe.

Most of his powers have been reduced to some fire starting and mild healing. He tends to be more of a support role.

Adam looks at him and goes, “you’re a tiny guy, you should stay here with Eve.”

Lilith looks at him and goes, “you’re too sensitive for this, why don’t you sit this one out.”

Eve looks at him and goes, “do it anyways.” Partly to get him out of her ‘kitchen’ and partly because she knows he’s not as weak and helpless as the other two think. He’s an angel for goodness sake, wings or no wings. He’s just as strong as Adam, he has some of his powers left, he’s way more resilient than the three of them, and he’s not going to get better mentally if everyone treats him like some delicate little flower.

It’s one thing not to purposely upset Lucifer, it’s another to act like they can shelter him from the fact that Earth is wild and dangerous and they will on occasion be in danger and they’ll get hurt, this is what they signed up for when they decided to tell heaven to fuck off.

And because I forgot this bit last time. Lilith and Lucifer are married. Adam and Eve are married. But Adam and Lilith sleep with both Lucifer and Eve but not each other, much. At least not one on one and she doesn’t want to get pregnant by Adam so that’s 100% out. Lucifer and Eve sleep with Adam and Lilith, but not each other, much. They’re more a friends with benefits type thing.

[impactedfates]

One Final Dance - Xiao x GN!Reader

Summary: You wanted to keep your job a secret from your boyfriend. You knew what could happen if he found out, but the truth always comes to light and he found out. But just before you deal with the consequences, you requested just one final dance with him

Warnings/Extra: Angst (At least I tried to make it) // Character Death (Reader) // OOC Xiao? // Not really proof read… // Time skips are seen like this -------->

.

.

.

W.C - 1423

A/N- My friend read it, I read it. I have a heavy love/hate relationship with it ngl, leaning more to hate but there is things I like about it. Which I hope you do too…ANYWAYS. Although I read it and so did my friend, I didn’t actually fix or edit anything. So you’re reading the raw (?) piece technically…enjoy? (I hope) 

Working as a Fatui member, you often had missions outside your home nation. This mission was situated in Liyue. You looked around the vase land, exploring a bit before returning back to your base camp. However, unluckily, a group of treasure hoarders came by. You were quick to pull out your weapon and were ready to fight them off.

You were doing well, however you didn’t notice a treasure hoarder coming up behind you, he raised his weapon and was about to slash it down towards you, you were able to turn your head in time to see a green mist suddenly in front of you, sending the treasure hoarder back.

You eyes met the back of a masked man, he was quick to dispose of the rest of the treasure hoarders, it went faster as you were quick to help him. After all's been dealt with, he turned to you.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m…fine…who are you?”

He turned back around, his head turning towards you as his polearm disappeared into thin air. His Anemo vision shined. You couldn’t help but take in his appearance fully now that there weren't many distractions.

“Who I am is not important…be safer next time”

He said, before disappearing in the same green mist he appeared in. You paused a bit. Remembering his appearance. His mask, his short green hair, his tattooed arm. His clothing. And his voice.

You paused a bit

You wanted to see him again.

.

.

.

“How many times must I tell you to be careful”

The man who you learnt was named Xiao spoke after saving you for the nth time. You smiled slyly at him and scratched the back of your head.

“Quite a lot it seems”

You replied, Xiao shook his head at you, disappointed. He had given you his name, so you could call him when you were in danger. Although you could easily defend yourself from most enemies. You couldn’t help but want to see Xiao more and more with each encounter.

“If you continue calling my name like this, I’m going to think you’re messing with me”

“Is it so wrong to want to see you?”

You admitted, raising a brow. He seemed taken aback by your statement before crossing his arms. Oh he was definitely going to lecture you about calling his name just to see him.

“I had thought it was…suspicious. You seemed completely fine every time you called for me, and you also seemed perfectly capable of fighting…so you only called my name to see me?”

“...Maybe?”

“...If…if you truly just want to see me…then just stop by Wangshu Inn instead. I think it’s…better. We can actually talk without being interrupted by hilichurls attacking”

And with that, Xiao quickly left, teleporting away.

.

.

.

“What do you mean you don’t know how to dance!?”

You exclaimed, looking shocked at Xiao when he revealed his inability to dance. He looked away, a blush dusting his face before nodding.

“My life was filled with fighting, even after Morax saved me, I am still fighting. Fighting to protect Liyue, fighting my karmatic debt…I guess I didn’t have time to learn to dance”

“But you have time to hang out with me huh?”

Xiao’s cheeks grew redder, turning his whole body away and crossing his arms. Even though he did this to hide how he felt, you could tell he was flustered.

You softly laughed at your friend's reaction. You enjoyed these times. Where you could get free time from your usual Fatui duties to hang out with Xiao. Someone who you had gained feelings for. You wish you could tell him your true occupation but…his job to protect Liyue and you being a part of a group that could put Liyue in danger? It was best for you to keep it a secret, so you could continue this friendship.

You slowly walked up to Xiao, tapping his shoulder and lending a hand out towards him.

“Well…if you want. I could teach you. Right here, right now”

Xiao turned to you and looked at your extended hand. With a small sigh he took your hand, with a grin you were quick to pull him into a slow dance. Guiding him on where to place his hands. With each step you took, with each mistake he made as he apologies with a small blush. The moonlight shining on the two of you. And near the end of the dance, perhaps it was the atmosphere that made things the perfect setting. Slowly he leaned in and you two shared a kiss under the moonlight.

I guess your feelings were reciprocated.

.

.

.

Today marks the anniversary for you and your boyfriend Xiao! You’ve been dating for 3 whole years and everything was perfect. You had your ups and downs sure, every couple does. But you two truly loved each other. With a bag in hand and a wave bye to your comrades. You made your way to Wangshu Inn.

You smiled at Verr Goldet, who gave you a nod as she saw you walk up. She was the first person to find out about your relationship with the adeptus himself. And she grew fond of you.

“Xiaoooo, are you here? Where are yo-”

You froze, eyes widening when you saw someone pointing a polearm at your neck. That someone, being your boyfriend. You quickly raise your hands and tried to walk back a bit.

“X-Xiao? What’s going on?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

You opened your mouth to ask, what was he talking about? Until you stiffened. Did he…find out? Find out about your true occupation.

“You said you worked as a wandering merchant…you had goods with you I-I thought I could trust you…I wanted to surprise you today by picking you up but I couldn’t find you where you said you were…I got worried, I saw you with the Fatui…I thought you had gotten caught but…no…it was clear to me you were lying to me from the start”

You looked down, thinning your lips. You couldn’t deny his allegations, he saw you. He knew you were lying but…you truly did like him.

“Xiao…I…please, I love you, my job as a Fatui won’t affect this relationship”

“But it might affect the safety of Liyue! You…”

Xiao felt the words die on his tongue. He loved you dearly, but he cannot just let you go after finding out who you work for. After finding out what you could do to endanger the citizens of Liyue.

“[Name]...I’m sorry I just…I hope you can understand, but I cannot just…”

“...I understand”

Xiao lowered his polearm, he took some deep breaths as you carefully placed your gift on the ground and slowly walked over.

“But…before you…well…ensure I’m no longer a threat to Liyue…can we have one final dance?”

Xiao looked at you, his eyes softening at your request. After much thought, he put away his polearm and lent out his hand which you happily took. And just like 3 years ago, you two danced under the moonlight. The movement was careful, no mistakes made anymore. Xiao leaned in for the final time and gave you a kiss.

With a heavy heart, he summoned his polearm again and stabbed you through the chest. You coughed up blood, quickly clinging to his clothing, you looked up to him and smiled despite everything. The blood running down his polearm and dripping on the ground.

Your eyes slowly lost their light and sparkle. The light and sparkle Xiao loved to see. He held your body close to his own. He felt like crying. But he couldn’t, not now.

.

.

.

After burying your body, after placing flowers on your grave. He teleported himself back to WangShu in, his eyes landed on the bag you wanted to give him for your anniversary. He walked over to it and picked the bag up, taking the gift out he felt a shortness of his breath as his eyes landed on it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The traveller's eyes lingered on a photo frame of Xiao and an unfamiliar person. The two of them smiling, Xiao is holding onto the person in a loving embrace. They turned to Xiao, wanting to ask about it but they stopped themselves as they saw how he looked at the photo himself. With such sadness and seemingly regret.

They thought it was best to keep quiet about it. It must’ve been someone important to Xiao that had been laid to rest. 

If only they knew that Xiao was the reason they had to be laid to rest.

[plzu]

my form is but a wreck beneath you - (Miguel O'Hara x Venom!Symbiote!Reader)

summary: you find out the penalty that awaits you for breaking Miguel's #1 rule: don't let out the symbiote warnings: overstimulation, p in v sex, dubcon elements, no Y/N, implied venom x reader a/n: day 1 (don't look at today's date shhh) of @flightlessangelwings's kinktober 2023 prompt list: overstimulation. the unofficial part 2 of sleeping with roaches. title inspired by Sleep Token's Gods wordcount: 1.5k

“It's too much..!”

“Oh, yeah?”

An endless current of pleasure crackles forth from your core and prickles just beneath your flesh as Miguel mercilessly rocks into you.

“That's too bad,” he says, without an ounce of sympathy. “You're gonna have to keep taking it.”

His skin feels hot and heavy against you. When he speaks, his words come out in a low, gravelly murmur against the skin of your neck. The space between your bodies feels impossibly, deliciously wet. It makes for an embarrassing squelching sound as he repeatedly disappears into your achingly sore cunt; it does little to mask the raw-throated whining that tumbles incoherently from your gaping mouth.

You've lost track of how many orgasms he's managed to rip from you already.

Buzzing like a gnat in the foggy recesses of your brain is something like a gleeful coo from Venom within, like he's pleased with the position you're in. Go figure. It's his fault you're even in this position in the first place, but you're the one getting punished for it while he sits on the sidelines and observes.

Pervert.

This huge building was built for Spider-people, easy to traverse if you can swing on webs and can literally walk on walls.

You are not one of those people.

You're a nobody, who, through some unfortunate twist of fate that resulted in losing your best friend, ended up becoming a host for a symbiote.

As such, if you slip and fall whilst walking along one of the many long, suspended corridors in Miguel's headquarters, you don't naturally have a way to save yourself with your normal, human limbs.

Venom's limbs, on the other hand?

Well. Before you had time to even process the fact that you were falling, Venom emerged, completely encasing your frail human body with his so he can use his strong, inky tendrils to haul you both back up to safety.

Forget the fact that he could have potentially fixed your broken body, like he’s done before.

Forget the fact that literally any of the dozens of Spider-folk milling about could easily have come to your rescue.

Forget the fact that he could have simply shot out a single inky tendril, similar to the other web-slingers, without having to completely emerge himself. An action that only would have resulted in a warning glare from Miguel.

No matter how unintentional, you transformed into Venom in this dimension, breaking the #1 rule you have to follow in order to keep in Miguel’s good graces. (Relatively. The guy’s a huge grump). A problem you're now being bodily disciplined for.

Now you’re flat on your back, wrists shackled above your head by some high-tech handcuffs, completely at Miguel's mercy.

(Or lack thereof.)

He made you cum with his hands first, a disdainful sneer on his face as you clamped down on his thick, unforgiving fingers, crying out. He didn't stop, not as you squirmed helplessly against his hand, not as the second orgasm crested mere moments after the first, not as you bit your bottom lip raw in an attempt to suppress a cascade of apologies from spilling from your mouth.

Sorries were worthless, here. After all, the goal wasn't to get you to apologize (which you already did, on your knees). The goal was to see how long you can go, how much you can take, while keeping Venom contained. An exercise in self-control and obedience.

(It didn't matter that the symbiote was sitting smugly satisfied within, watching Miguel ravage your insides.)

(Like Miguel would trust you if you told him, anyway.)

Then he moved his attention to your breasts, harshly yanking both shirt and bra up at once to reveal your hardened nipples. He tweaked and tugged at them until you came yet again, pussy fluttering uselessly around nothing. (You didn’t even know it was possible to come like this.) Even after your bucking orgasm, Miguel continued rolling your nipples between his thumbs and forefingers until the pleasure turned to pain, and every contact made against them afterwards would just chafe. 

Every orgasm since then has been produced by the relentless thrust of his cock inside you. There's a moment's reprieve as Miguel slides nearly all the way out of you so he can maneuver the lower half of your body. His large hands grip the backs of your quaking thighs, spreading your legs wide open, completely displaying the abused, sopping wet mess of your cunt to him. Pushing your legs higher and further against your torso, he looks at the way your pussy frames his thick length, gleaming in your overflowing juices. Then he slides slowly forward, disappears into the aching clutch of your sex, making you whimper.

No matter how many times you've done this before, how many times he's stretched you out with the impossible girth of him, your pussy can never seem to fully accommodate his size, and he so rarely gives you the chance to get used to him.

No, that could be mistaken for affectionate. 

So you revel in the sweet pain instead, choke on it when he pummels into you with an angry, restless fervor.

Feeling the glide of his cock against your over-sensitive walls, you can't comprehend how this man has the stamina to keep going. You're both drenched in sweat. Some brown fly-away curls stick to his damp forehead, and it’d be endearing if he weren't so ruthlessly fucking into you, contempt in his crimson gaze. 

You don't know how much more you can take. But he's still ramming into you at a punishing pace. It's like he was made just to draw out both your pleasure and your pain, in whatever circle of Hell this is.

��Miguel, please,” you whine. “I don’t- nnh- I don’t have anything left..!”

“We’ll see about that, nena.” He hooks your legs over his broad shoulders and bears down further into you. The head of his cock presses deep against your cervix, the contact making you gasp, exhausted eyes flying wide open.

You wriggle in place, body instinctively trying to get away from the overwhelming feeling of him pressed so deeply into you. But it's fruitless. Trapped between the hard and unforgiving floor and the weight of Miguel's body, there's nowhere to go as he continues to fuck you senseless.

The sharp sting of pleasure that erupts in your core with every thrust muddies your thoughts until all that's left is a contiguous stream of Too much too much it's so good s-so good d-don't stop don't stop please-

A dark rumble in the back of your skull indicates a chuckle from the symbiote. He certainly finds it entertaining that even though Miguel has surely wrung out every last climax from you, even though your muscles ache from being manhandled, even though your insides have been rubbed raw, you still silently beg for more.

Miguel's thumb finds its way between your bodies to your already-swollen clit, making you jolt.

“I can't, I can't,” you sob, shaking your head. There's no way you can cum again, there's no way-

“You will,” he growls, rubbing erratic circles against the bundle of abused nerves. His cock is wedged firmly against your center, a stubborn pressure you can feel fill up your gut so fully. His hips rut against you, and you’d almost swear that he was trying to puncture your womb.

The dam keeping your orgasm at bay finally breaks under the persistent knocking of his head against that agonizing sweet spot inside of you, flooding Miguel's cock with your release, your mouth hanging open in a wordless shout. Your body trembles with the ferocity of your climax, limbs pulling taut until they finally go lax.

Your chest heaves with exertion. Your wrists feel uncomfortable in their restraints, arms almost aching with the desire of wanting to stretch in any other direction besides above your head, but unable to.

Miguel's cock twitches, and you realize he's still inside you, practically plugging you up.  

Between ragged breaths, you muster up the energy to blink bleary eyes up at him from between your trapped limbs. There's almost a hunger in his gaze, in the way his mouth hangs open and in the protrusion of his fangs. His chest heaves with less exertion than your own, tanned skin shiny with sweat.

It's these little moments where the anger and hatred for you seems quieted, replaced with something else, something almost tender and obsessive. Despite your exhaustion and aching limbs, it makes your heart flutter, and your pussy clamps down involuntarily around him.

This snaps him out of it with a grunt, and his lips pull back in a snarl.

He pulls back out of you, allowing your legs to slide off from the breadth of his shoulders. Your cunt aches with the sudden absence of his warm, heavy cock. You think with distant relief that this is it, that the torment of unending orgasms has finally ceased, but then Miguel moves his right arm up and firmly grasps the restraints of your wrists.

His face inches towards yours, tantalizingly threatening and permeating heat. You feel his cock slide against your slick folds, brushing abrasively against your clit and making you flinch in his hold.

“Now,” he mutters, words fanning against the damp skin of your cheek. “Let's do this one last time.”

[pool-floatie]

Tall Tales Part 3.

Aaa! Im so glad people are liking this, I enjoy writing it even more! Dont yall worry, Jace isnt that bad I proooomise, he just has to be a little bit of an evil boi so I can get my fearplay fix. 🤷😅👍

The little human, still unsure what to make of the Giants sudden gesture of affection, was flushed pink in the cheeks. They raised their shoulders in an attempt to hide the blush, but the only person who could have seen it was a bit spaced right now.

"o-oh sorry did that hurt ?"

Av shook their head, -it only hurt a little.... Thats improvement . . but why would he care anyway !? He almost killed me!-

Jace tried to think of remedies for bruises, or if the purple color was a good thing, or how long they might take to heal,, anything! but his useless brain held nothing of value to this situation.

"wellllllll, , , we could eat ? Im starving right now."

Av still wasnt sure if this huge fucker was going to eat them or not.....

" ..Mhmm " they mumbled.

Jace smiled, food was a thing he could accomplish.

"Wonderful! now, I usually go out and hunt but that requires both hands and some mobility, so I can't carry you with me,, ooh, let me check something."

Jace placed av back on the jacket. He turned and lifted a whole ass boulder, revealing a 'small' stash of herbs and plants, Jace hummed in thought,

" well I have this -" he showed an entire handful of potatos, still attatched to the plant. "I just use most of these as spices, but these things are good fillers"

Av was glad he had some form of nutrients, truthfully they were quite hungry.

" su- sure..."

Jace smiled, placing a few potatos onto his jacket in front of Av, and began popping a few into his mouth.

Av averted their gase from Jaces mouth, not wanting to envision that future death too vividly.

They approached the raw, fresh-out-the-ground roots, and picked one up examining it.

-Maybe this is all he'll give me, just enough to survive , and it'd look stupid complaining, but, , , he doesnt seem too still be mad ?-

...."um, humans c-can't, um, have these raw ... " Av stammered nervously.

Jace sighed

"well...damn, it's supposed to rain tonight... But I think I can get a fire started for a little while.

Av watched the titan move across his land, covering the huge distance easily. He gathered wood (just huge dead trees), set up a wood pyramid, and sparked a flame using rocks.

As the fire caught and the flames grew, Jace worried that the tiny may be getting hot in his jacket, he scooped up the fabric in two hands and moved it to a cooler spot, farther from the fire

"sorry if it got a lil hot for a second, you ok in there ?"

Av, still shaken and sprawled on their ass from being moved so abruptly, just stared ahead and gave a nod.

Im gonna grab water and cook these up, ok ?"

Without waiting for a response, Jace left the camp . Left Avril there. Alone. On the ground.

They looked both ways, as if expecting a trap to spring, took a cautious step back, , , and

Bolted

[bettsfic]

How do you know when it’s time to move up from post it note, to index card, etc…? What if we can’t objectively dictate we improved or you are the kind of person who needs a lot of space from a work to even like it a little? This isn’t me trying to be extra I truly mean these questions.

And could you use the same technique of lifting small weights by writing a novel that isn’t as complex as I’d prefer

Responding to latest ask

but that's the challenge. learning how to love small, imperfect things. it's not about writing. it's about revising.

here's another analogy:

visualize yourself in a factory. this factory has a number of machines, and each one helps take a raw material and turn it into a finished product. you have to run all the machines. you know in theory how to create the product; it's a product you use so frequently that you're intimately familiar with it. and you want to make a big, intricate, beautiful version of this product, just like the kind you buy. the problem is that when you walk inside the factory, all the lights are off. you don't know how big the space is or how many machines there are.

you stumble around and find the first light switch. you approach the first machine. you have the raw material in your hand and you put it into the machine and turn the machine on. you want this thing to be enormous, so you shove a whole lot of the raw material into it. it takes forever, and the machine doesn't do a great job. like the first batch of pancakes, you have to throw it out. so you try it again and maybe this time the machine more or less does its job.

before you can find the next machine, you have to find the light switch. it takes a while, and you get tired quickly from carrying this huge amount of not-quite-raw material around, but you do and you put the material from the first machine into the second. the second machine mangles it. you have to start over. but that's not a huge deal, because you've already found the light switch. you return to the first machine, and this time you know not to use so much raw material because you don't know how the second machine is going to work. the third thing comes out even better, and when you return to the second machine--much more easily!--it does an okay job. okay enough to look around for the light switch over the third machine.

but you're so eager to make the thing that it never occurs to you to stumble around for an excessively long time finding *all* the switches. that seems like a waste of time when you're making so much progress with this machine right here, and anyway, knowing all that work you have ahead of you might freak you out, and so it's best for all that to stay in the dark until you get to it. and that's fine. god knows that's what i did.

there's one machine that just won't work. you need to fix it but you don't know how. so you leave the factory. maybe in your frustration, you burn it down. you find a new one. in this factory, you know from the previous factory to find the first three light switches before you begin, and make sure that weirdo machine from before is working fine. you also know to use a smaller amount of raw material so you can get through it faster and waste less in the long run.

do you see what i'm saying? when writers tell me they're disappointed in themselves for not finishing a novel-length project when they haven't even taken something shorter and simpler through the revision process, i just imagine them in a dark factory in front of the first machine, shoving in tons of raw material, not knowing how many machines there are or what they do or how to fix them when they break. you swear you'll take it through the whole factory on the first try by feel alone. some people think they can skip right to the final machine.

the light switches are important, because once they're on, they're on forever. that's what it feels like when you're ready to write a novel. you can see the full process lit in front of you. and even with all the lights on, it won't go perfectly, but you've worked with broken machine #4 before and you know how to fix it, or maybe you call in a repairman (editor) to take a look at it and give you some advice.

i've been writing for ten years, i have 1.5 graduate degrees in writing, i teach writing, i've been published and i've earned more accolades than i ever thought i would. and i still don't have all my lights on. i'm still taking raw material through the machines i'm familiar with, and i have enough lights on that starting all the way at machine #1 with new raw material, knowing how many machines there are and how long it takes, has become more daunting than it used to be.

i've gotten to the point where i'm happy with the product that comes out of my lit-up machines. i'm even happy giving it to others. but i'm missing that final machine that will turn it into a product that can be sold. a lot of writers think that last machine in the dark is overrated, and i'm inclined to agree. you don't need it, you know? it's more fun and satisfying taking new raw material through the process than it is to light up that last machine and put in an agonizing amount of work, when you don't even know if the product will sell. but here i am, getting closer and closer to finding the last light switch.

perfectionists know they're in a factory, but they don't know how big it is. they don't know what's ahead of them, and instead of turning on the lights and playing around with the next machine, finding out what works and what doesn't, throwing away raw material because they believe it's precious, they move into a new factory hoping that this one only has one really good machine, an intuitive one that they already know how to use, so they can turn on the light, shove in all the raw material, and the product will come out perfectly.

[the-owl-tree]

I wish starlight had a better redemption arc. lowkey that’s the only reason I hate her outside of her dumbass backstory (I could fix it) and the lack of explanation for her being almost alicorn level gifted. like lemme tweak her backstory a bit:

she was considered exceptionally talented and everyone had high hopes for her to go far in life or could even get into celestia’s school (kinda like twilight) but she was suuuuper attached to sunburst in an unhealthy way (bpd gang rise up) leading to her revolving her entire world and life around him and when he left she completely spiraled and used her powers to keep others around her from leaving. her specialty are memory and mind altering spells since she canonically even after her “redemption” can’t seem to stop revoking other pony’s rights to free will.

she operates on pure natural talent and raw might due to lack of proper training so it was actually really easy to defeat her and send her packing out of her village. her second appearance she came back with the alicorn amulet (the one trixie had in that episode, but it was gone so fast I am ignoring it. that’s such a cool item wasted on one episode?? no) which is how she fucked with alternate the realities.

in a world where friendships and bonds are pretty much building blocks for their society I can see it being probable that pony’s without friends could suffer health wise too. not just mentally but physically. maybe she never got her cutie mark and blames friendship in general for stunting her. she doesn’t hate just twilight, she hates ALL of equestria. every other pony has someone and she has nothing and no one. no friends, no cutie mark, no purpose. just rage.

when she is defeated again, she should have faced actual consequences. send that horse to prison. idk. why did cozy glow get sent to hell. this isn’t about her.

I think a probation period or similar where she has to earn back the right to use her magic while attending the friendship school and amending her crimes would have been good to see. she her earning forgiveness. show her earning her cutie mark! show her apologizing to every pony she hurt and then accepting they won’t like her anyway! I know it’s a kids show and really they can’t do too many heavy topics, but also I hate this horse

Starlight's insane magical power without any amulets or anything bothered me, I like the idea of her getting her hands on it instead of her just being super mega OP. I get it's for the sake of the plot but it's also sort of like...does magic need to be trained? What's the point of magic schools if the average unicorn can learn a teleportation spell rather easily? do you guys ever think about how OP magic gets in the later seasons, regardless-

It felt weird that the way they chose to write her being won over by Twilight is literally forcing her between a rock and a hard place. Either start being nicies or apocalypse time forever, isn't that fun! It makes it even more disingenuous with how little time they spend redeeming her or even having her recognize the impact she's had on those around her (it bothers me the show seems more invested in how Starlight has been hurt by the Our Town debacle than the Our Town ponies). It also doesn't help her backstory is embarrassing...like girl write a letter you can levitate quills some kids have to use their damn mouths!

I disagree with her being locked up, mainly because I think MLP's weird tonal dissonance around incarceration is uh really weird for the neon pony story (seriously. why did they lock the child in tartarus, why did they turn the child to STONE). Rehabilitative justice is a GREAT thing for kids to learn, showing that anyone can change with work, kindness, and friendship (in the show at least lol)! But by not centering who Starlight hurt and just rushing through her actually working to be better, it makes her story lacklustre and half-hearted. At least in my opinion!

[katsukikitten]

continuation of a selfship drabble master list here

The leaves on the ground give him pause, brow furrowing as he notices you haven't posted anything for a solid two weeks now, not even a status. Almost a month since he spoke to you last.

He sighs, berates himself for doing it but he has to know that you're at least still alive. Checking your location first and he's thankful you still haven't turned it off. Looks like you're either headed back to your apartment or out. Sees that Taro is with you and closes the app.

Tells himself that's good enough, that at least he knows you're living, that you were in the hands of someone he trusted dearly. So he pockets his phone only to pull it right back out.

Is she okay?

Sky blue eyes stare down at the message, chancing a glance at you who's driving as if he could get into trouble. Slander thumbs make quick work of a response.

I reckon

makin me sing all the fuckin songs on the radio

especially TOD

Kaza feels conflicted, tongue running along his teeth as he rereads the rapid messages. Before he can reply another comes on.

Your singles've been playing a lot. not while I'm in the car but shit is obvious.

Fuck, fuck he shouldn't have even fuckin recorded them. Soft sad melodies that played in his head during the witching hour. Shouldn't have ever put your voice memos layered to sound like background barely audibly just for him to call out to you before the next verse. Text me when you get home, I love you. Something he said to you over and over again.

that vent song we made together that Muzan fuckin released anyway.

and this sad ass song I can't stomach

we ain't strangers to them right

pretty girl think that? that we're fuckin strangers?

Attached is a link to the song that he clicks quickly to listen to, lyrics solemn and sad. Just his single, just like the vent song he and taro made, still unable to capture the well of sadness and anger in his chest. Glaring down at his phone, trying to calm his breath, Akaza was the main reason why the band had to take a hiatus in the first place.

Punching band members, punching aggressive fans that asked about you, punching Muzan when he tried to offer up his niece as someone that he or Gyutaro could date. He would have broken his jaw if it wasn't for the other three band members trying to pull him off.

Like pulling a wild dog off a bone.

A wolf off a carcass.

He did break Koku's orbital bone with his elbow when he tried throwing them off. It was Gyutaro who thought quickly enough to shout "She'll be pissed if ya get jail time."

But the threat of that died the next day when he found himself smiling down at four men in a four v one that he instigated. Running his hand through his fading pink hair. Biting the inside of his already raw cheek.

He reassures his bandmate easily

your pretty girl always thinks the world of ya. tell her the truth she'll believe ya

To which the dark haired man replies quickly

fuck off you first

"Stubborn bastard." He growls to no one but himself before his phone pings, not a message but a notification.

Clicking on it way too quickly to see a selfie of you and Taro both flicking off the camera. The man is smoking, cigarette hanging from his lips, phone in his other hand screen still aglow as if he was in the middle of a reply.

Clearly at a stop light, your hair wind blown and the two of you are in your car, the one he helped you fix up and by helped he asked you to "sit and look pretty princess" while he did all of the work because he wanted to.Still does.

But he can't, not anymore. No way to explain what happened and maybe he doesn't think he deserves to even attempt to tell you a truth you won't believe anyway.

The caption reads still livin, still hate the end of summer

He pats himself down for his smokes, debates if he should vague, cupping his hand around the end of the stick before the flame flickers to life and catches. Burning as he breathes in and exhales slowly leaving a gray cloud in its wake.

Deciding against it when another selfie comes through, you with your eyes closed and peace sign up, oversized hoodie, his hoodie, making the neckline a bit lower, seeing something circular and black on a dainty chain, like a ring or band. A necklace he doesn't recognize, at least at first, eyes going to the caption.

we'll go back to strangers

Stomach dropping as the lyrics match up to the song he listens to now. Although she wasn't musically inclined she's always been drawn to it, he knew that. Knew her music reflected her moods more often than not.

Knew that when he released his single. The one that made her go radio silent to the entire group, even if she wasn't angry with them, for an entire two months before Gyutaro showed up at her door.

Another text comes in pulling him from his thoughts only to fan the flames.

she still has that fuckin ring

And then it hits him, the circular band too small for his inked digits burns against his skin under his shirt hanging from a chain. Fingers flying to it to feel the smoothness of the rose gold and the embedded onyx gem and black diamonds surrounding it. The same ring you flung back at him when everything happened so fast.

Looking at the photo you posted again and finally seeing the 'pendant' for what it really was. A black wedding band meant to match a black gemmed wedding ring.

The revelation makes him see red, makes a clotting mix of deep sorrow and anger twist and knot in his chest, losing when one starts and the other ends. Just how he sees you and him. Quick to start his bike, to abandon his half finished cigarette and skid out of his parking spot before he heads back inside to bloody his knuckles again. He was the cause of this, of your sorry.

Your pain.

Heart beating way too fast and yet slowing as he starts to become numb. Grip tight on his bike's handle and phone making it glitch. Snapping pictures, opening apps from feeling his skin, the sensors not knowing what to register and trying to pinpoint the most pressure.

Meanwhile his speedometer climbs higher and higher.

190

200

220

250

Slowly creeping higher as his bike whines from exertion. Weaving between cars that barely register as a blur as he navigates the highway this late at night.

His phone vibrates excessively before his headphones interrupt the looped song to signify he had an incoming call before picking up for him. Wind from no helmet going to to make it near impossible for him to say anything back unless he screamed.

"Slow down and delete that fuckin picture before she sees it. Right the fuck NOW!" Gravely voice rarely raised, especially when aimed at family.

But Akaza can't be fucking bothered, barely audible as he growls "Shut the fuck up." With that he hangs up and when it rings again he doesn't bother answering it, launching it into the concrete guard unable to watch it explode into a million pieces from his speed.

Part of him thinks he should let go, just finally let the ride take him like it was always supposed to.

Fitting that a violent life would lead to a violent end.

Until the ghost of you curls around his back, static before your pretty voice would ring through his ear pods because you called him on his way home from work.

"Careful Jiji, I just want you home in one piece."

Making him grip his brakes as fast as possible without flinging himself over the handlebars, stopped on the side of the shoulder as a few cars past by him.

He walks back the handful of miles to where he threw his phone, whistling lowly when he sees nothing but a star shower of glittering glass and smashed innards.

Kneeling down and determining that nothing was salvageable. Running his broad palm through his hair slowly.

God could he be anymore of a fuck up?

He was sure he couldn't.

But he'd be proved otherwise, when he turns on his new phone the next afternoon sees several missed calls from his foxy sister, from Taro and one from you at 3am.

Not a vague, not a message, a phone call. Voicemail flashing at the top of the fresh screen. Inked fingers fumbling over the glass as he goes to listen, your voice filling him with absolute dread.

How you try to force the venom into your tone, how you can't hide how you've been crying, how you're still shaking. Pouty lip wobbling from the weight he put on you by giving in to his anger.

"You better be fuckin dead."

Before the line goes as dead as he feels inside.

He really truly was a demon.

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LOST EDEN ー Carla Ecstasy [05]

ー The scene starts outside of Banmaden

Male Ghoul A: Oi! Are you done honing the swords!? Make sure to do the spare ones as well!

Male Ghoul C: Hold up! I’m still doing the final check-ups of the armor!

Male Ghoul B: The Vibora are on their way to attack this castle! We don’t have a single second to lose!

Male Ghoul C: Look who’s talking! Maybe move your hands instead of your mouth then?

Male Ghoul B: Excuse me...!?

Male Ghoul A: Oi, wait. Now’s hardly the time for us to start arguing, is it?

...But this really sucks. With the war drawing close, Shin-sama’s training has become more and more strict.

Haah. I feel like my body isn’t going to hold up at this rate.

*SCENE SHIFT*

Kino: Aha! The Ghouls are starting to panic with the Vibora clan commencing their attack. 

( ...Well then. The war will start at last. )

( To ensure that I can gain control over the Demon World ーー I will need a place which can serve as my footing. )

( Being located in the centre of the Demon World, Banmaden would honestly be the ideal fit. )

( There’s also Eve as well. With her connections to the Demon Lord, she could use her as quite the powerful trump card. )

Putting that aside, there’s two people who could get in my way.

( Carla and Shin ーー No matter what happens, I can’t imagine they will ever become my pawns. )

( I figured Carla would make a run for it to Rotigenberg, fearing his illness. )

( But he’s surprisingly persistent and ultimately decided to stay here at this Castle. )

...This is exactly why I hate people who can’t get over their big-ass pride.

With people like that ーー You have take them down a peg or two. 

ー Kino approaches the Ghouls

Male Ghoul A: Ah, Kino-sama!

Kino: You guys seem really motivated! How does it feel, knowing you’ll be heading into your very first fight?

Male Ghoul A: Ahー ...Well.

Male Ghoul B: ...That’s...

Kino: ...? What’s wrong? You seem anxious.

Male Ghoul B: Ahー Yeah. We are. You see...

Kino: ...? You can tell me anything. I’ll listen to all of your worries.

Male Ghoul B: No, it’s just that we don’t have any magical powers. ...So we can’t help but be worried how much of a chance we’ll stand against the Vibora.

Male Ghoul A: Besides, we lose to the Vibora troops both in numbers and raw power...

Kino: Yeah, I understand. I’m worried about that as well. 

Even though I made Carla a suggestion which would easily fix the issue with the Vibora, he blew it off. 

Male Ghoul B: Fix the issue with the Vibora...?

Kino: Exactly. A wonderful plan where nobody would have to fight.

Male Ghoul C: Eh? What does that plan entail exactly...!?

Kino: Fufu. You seeーー

ー Kino explains to them

Kino: There you have it. As long as we offer her to the Vibora Clan, we’d easily be able to form an alliance with the Vibora Clan.

I guess he said no because he doesn’t want to lose his own woman.

Male Ghoul B: ...No wayーー So we’re being forced to risk our lives in an unnecessary fight over such a trivial reason!?

Male Ghoul A: Does that mean that Carla-sama doesn’t take us into consideration at all...!?

Male Ghoul C: ...Hey. Why don’t we go confront him directly about this?

Male Ghoul B: Confront him directly, huh? ーー You’re right. Let’s go tell him that he can’t just sacrifice us like this!

Male Ghoul A: Okay, off we go!

ー The Ghouls run off

Kino: Perfect. They took the bait, just as I thought.

Now Carla will have some important taken away from him as well. 

I hope he loses all will to live. That’d make my job a lot easier.

Anyway, I better go check how things turned out afterwards. ...Well then, for my next moveーー

ー Yuuri walks up to him

Kino: ...Hm? Aah, Yuuri. Anything you need?

Yuuri: ...You seem to be in a good mood.

Kino: Yeah! My plan is going perfectly, fufu~

Yuuri: ...Kino. There is something I would like to ask you once again.

About the Founders who are supposedly trying to get us out of the picture.

That is what you told us, but he accepted us as his allies so we can fight for him.

I simply cannot imagine that his end goal is to get rid of us.

Kino: Ah, about that. that was just something I said on a whim.

Yuuri: Hah?

Kino: Like I said, I randomly made it up. 

Yuuri: ...Why would he tell such a lie? 

Kino: Eh? No reason in particular. Just felt like it.

Yuuri: ...

Kino: Oh geez, don’t make such a scary expression, Yuuri. 

ー They can hear a commotion

Kino: Ah. Seems like Ghouls are finally rebelling against the Founder King. I can’t miss this!

ー Kino walks away

Yuuri: Kino...

ー The scene shifts to the saloon

Carla: ーー It is awfully noisy in the entrance hall.

Shin: ...? What could be happening? Don’t tell me it’s the Vibora!?

Carla: No, it is too early for that. Besides, it does not sound like a fight.

Shin: Then what on earth...?

Carla: ーー Either way, let us go. 

ー Yui gets up

Yui: I’m coming as well.

ー The scene shifts to the entrance hall

Male Ghoul B: There he is! The Founder King!

Male Ghoul A: Founder King! Please listen to us!!

Carla: ...!

Shin: Oi, oi, what’s this ruckus for!? Calm down!

Male Ghoul B: We want to talk to the Founder King! You stay out of this!

Shin: Excuse me...!?

Carla: Shin. Stop.

Shin: But, Nii-san!

Carla: They said that they want to talk to me. So I shall listen. 

Shin: ...!

Carla: Yui. You return to your room.

Yui: No. I’ll stay here. 

Carla: ...You will not do as I say?

Yui: I’m sorry. I will not.

Carla: ...!?

Selection

→ I cannot ignore this

Yui: I cannot ignore this situation. 

Even if I were to return to my room, I believe I would worry myself sick.

So I shall remain here.

Carla: ...So you are remainig here out of your own selfish desires. Do as you please then.

Yui: Yes...

( He sounded a little cold just now... )

( But I am indeed being selfish, so I guess I cannot blame him... )

→ I want to be by your side (❦)

Yui: I want to be there for you. Always, at all times.

No matter what happens, that is a choice I made for myself. I will not regret it.

Carla: ...Hmph. If you are that insistent, be my guest.

Yui: Yes...!

ー Carla walks up to the Ghouls

Carla: Sorry for the wait. Ghouls, tell me what you have to say.

Monologue

The Ghouls suddenly stormed Banmaden. 

They are demanding an audience with the Founder King.

I wonder if the reality,

of the Vibora Clan who have initiated their attack on Banmaden,

is affecting them as well. 

In the end, the misgivings (疑問) around Carla-san’s possible involvement with the death of the young lad,

has yet to be resolved. 

Given these circumstances,

It honestly would not be strange,

if this had triggered feelings of displeasure and doubt (疑問) towards the Founders,

amidst the Ghoulsーー

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

P5R Random Thoughts #2

(I am currently doing a blind playthrough of this game. Please no spoilers in the tags or notes if you can help it!)

So far I've seen two Persona awakenings: Joker's and Ryuji's. (Morgana already had a Persona so I'm curious about how he awakened but I presume the story will get to that later.)

The neat thing about the awakenings is that they are undeniable triumphs but also not a cure for their problems.

You might think, well duh, they've still got all the cruel things and people in the outside world to contend with - but I'm actually not talking about the external. I'm saying the awakenings are a breakthrough for their inner problems but that they don't "fix" their internal struggles completely.

It's really notable in Ryuji's awakening. Ryuji hears "you're a punk", "nobody's going to look beyond that", "you only cause problems for others", etc., and says. Yeah actually. I'm a punk. Let's roll, baby. And then awakens to a goddamn pirate which is great.

It's triumphant, because Ryuji doesn't say "that's not who I am", Ryuji says "actually, asshole, that's exactly who I am, and you have no right to look down on me for it". Tells him off for looking down on him while smiling then shoots him a cocky, arrogant grin right back. Good for him! *wipes tears* Good for him.

However... as much as this is a triumph, it also suggests some concerning things about the way Ryuji views himself. He spends the entirety of the build up before this point lamenting the fact that he can't do anything useful, even though he brought things with him that he thought would help. In fact, he near constantly brings it up and looks incredibly guilty about it - and what's more, when it comes to the track team and what happened, even though it was Kamoshida who aggravated him and broke his leg, Ryuji doesn't deny the accusation that the track team's disbanding was his fault. Ryuji accepts the notion that he causes problems for other people, when in actuality, he does his best to be as helpful as possible and hates people who take advantage of others. He's trying to offset all these internalized beliefs that he is somehow a "bad influence" and "nothing but trouble" - so, he's caught between the ideas of "I'm a bad influence. So what?" and "I'm a bad influence. I need to make up for that by pulling my weight as much as I possibly can." It seems Ryuji genuinely thinks he's not that great of a person which... come on. I hope we get a bit of resolution to this later on... because he's not a bad influence at all. At least, not on Joker. It's the other way around actually.

As for Joker, I've talked a bit before about how he has the spirit and the compassion and the raw anger to fight against injustice, but is currently rather directionless. The story will likely show him becoming more certain about his beliefs and convictions, and more importantly, what to do with them.

As for my other random thoughts so far:

Morgana is so self-interested and kind of hilariously morally grey. "They seem useful for my goals." "We don't have time to be worrying about other people!" (after they stopped to rescue him...) "Yeah you suck Blondie. Anyways, Frizzy Hair-" *points at shadow* "KILL." Is it bad that I find him genuinely amusing at this point?

Red-haired ponytail girl showed up and she's really, really nice to people. Like... to the point where I'm a bit suspicious? Ugh maybe this is just me being naturally mistrustful but she's really kind of overly nice, and it makes me feel like she's compensating? That plus the promise/deal she talked about at the beginning... I don't know. Consider me curious anyways. All those comments about how thin she is though... I hope she eats properly? Like this situation could easily be a suspicious one or it could be driven by insecurity and self-hatred. Or she could just be nice and I'm overthinking it.

Love the transitions and the way you can see other characters in the background sometimes before their proper introductions. The little details and the overall feel of the game is really nice. Like, I'm pretty sure the girl in the pink sweater is Haru, right? And you get a little bit about how she's maintaining a garden on the roof? (She seems precious, honestly.) Also Joker and Ryuji walked right past Sae and Sushi Boy, which is really funny to me. And in the main menu! If you switch too fast between options, Joker crashes into the screen dfhvndifjvn

Speaking of the menu, in the background, you can see Joker holding his hand up and out, which shields his face from player view, and the words "Don't look at me" in the background... hm... more characterization for the boy, I suppose

[blood-injections]

ooh tell me about amputee Ghoul whump (I was considering doing an amputee Kobra fic actually but I'm not sure how to write that so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts)

It's just a one shot about him having a prosthetic leg and having to accept help when soreness he's been ignoring all day catches up to him during a firefight and he can't walk back to the trans am and he's fucking frustrated because he feels like a liability, a cripple, and the others have to keep putting in his head that jeez no, just because you need help or mobility aids doesn't mean you're a liability to us >:(

Basically it's yet another fic in which I project on fun ghoul and put him in Situations, specifically ones I've been in lmao cause I'm an amputee myself. Anyway so ask me anytime if you're unsure how to write Kobra or any other character, it depends on the amputation, like I have a prosthetic leg so thats what I gave Ghoul, and I'm not really sure what specific things someone with say a missing arm would go through, but if they have a prosthetic, I'd imagine a lot of the same chronic pain and soreness, because your skin tends to get irritated easily in a socket, and if you sweat in it especially, the stump or wherever it rubs against you gets really raw really easily, rashes or blisters, hot spots, and when its like that it fucking hurts, I've had it bad a couple times and could hardly put any weight on my leg because every step just feels like you're getting stabbed or like a shock is shooting up your leg though your bones. And yikes, for a killjoy i can only imagine, living in the desert and being on your feet all day and sweating in that heat would be hell. It also depends like what kind of prosthetic, like if it's an actual one with a socket, they'd deal with that, but its danger days so what if they had a cybernetic one without a socket? They wouldn't have those hot spots but I imagine they'd be crazy sore wherever skin and metal connects, idk why but something tells me it'd be crazy itchy? Like, just past where it cybernetic part starts, a scratch you can never itch. And they could have phantom limb pain too if the character has lost the limb and didn't always have it like that. i dont know what thats like because i was born with my disability, but I'd imagine it's like dysphoria if anything, something aching thats not there, and then also wanting something or in this case, wanting something back so bad its agony, because if they lost their limb I'm sure they'd grieve it bad for a bit, maybe even forever, I know a lot of people that lose limbs struggle to accept that yeah, you're disabled now.

There's so may other things I could go into like parts breaking and how difficult it'd probably be to fix or replace them in the zones and mobility aid specifics and ohh the dehabilitating back pain you have if your prosthetic leg isnt the perfect length and your hips arent level, etc etc, if you do write the amputee kobra fic and need anything else im your guy :)

[soupedepates]

I gaze into the grey eyes of my tired lover.

"So you want to know?"

"Yes. Because I want to know you."

I smile and take her on my heart.

"I was born at the margin of a little town. Five kids reached maturity out of seven. I am the second one.

Although it was a city technically speaking, it felt like the countryside. We had hens in the backyard and two pigs.

Well, I met Tekla while playing outside with the neighbourhood's children. She was the daughter of the "weird lady in the woods". She was... odd. She always was.

I said first: "Go away, girls aren't allowed to play with us", you know, like a fool. Look at me now.

She took my younger brother's knife and started chopping her hair. She said then: "Now I am a boy like you, so I can play with you". For all of us, a girl should have long braids, and a boy should have an almost shaved head. To make it easier for mothers to fight against lice. So, of course, I shrugged and accepted her in our games.

If you're more of a hound, strong, fierce, and smarter than you seem, she was a rabbit. Easily frightened, but putting herself in danger all the time, with such eyes holding, in the honey of their irises, the mysteries of the universe. Her eyes were glittering gold in the sun and looked like raw honey otherwise. Big round eyes asking questions at everything. Her hair, once cut, couldn't be disciplined anymore. When it had regrew, it stayed a bushy mess.

I often called her an idiot hare. Because, you know, she knew she would get afraid, but did it anyway. And got paralysed by fear every single time.

When we started becoming more adults, I nicknamed her "bunny" fairly often. She gifted me my first dress. She was the only one who knew. I started to grow my hair because of her.

We got married at eighteen. We moved out quite far away; she wished to get away from her mother, who, for having met her a bunch of time, was a colossal bitch of a woman, and there were no place for me, no job I could pick up, and my older brother wanted me out of the house as soon as possible.

I never got along with him. We often fought. He used to find me too effeminate. Fuck, he was right. He did give me that scar. Don't worry, I broke some of his teeth and burst one of his eyes.

No, don't look at me like that. My father was a drunk and my mother was simple-minded, but we couldn't be called a bad-renowned family. They never laid hands on us. Never ever. And we were five hot-headed youths, always picking up fights. But we were honest people. My father worked at a workshop in the suburb, my mom worked for the same workshop, and we weren't rich by any mean, but neither were we poor. Lech was in an apprenticeship with the wheelwright. He just happened to be a dick. And as the only girl among four boys, even if they didn't know it, I had to be tougher than him. Mostly to piss him off.

So yeah. We got married and out of the town. We went near the ocean, in a small community. I worked on the fields and Tekla was a seamstress.

Oh, Tekla was a witch.

So yeah. I've never seen her sew, really. She cheated the system with her magic. She spent her time building us a home inside the cabin we bought with our savings.

I hunted to get meat on the table. I sold some of my venison, and we were starting to have quite a bit of money when I got her pregnant. We were, like, twenty. She wanted a child. I liked the idea of having a family before fixing my body. We had money for the baby, and we were stashing pieces for me to see a Love priest.

It was nowhere enough money, so I became a Hunter. Now we started to be a bit more comfortable. She carved herself the cradle.

Then... Well. It happened. I don't know how they knew, but they knew. First time I met the Inquisition. Someone had snitched on us - I knew who a bit later. They held me down on our bed and Tekla was crying and trying to escape their grip. There were eight of them.

I am strong. But three men were immobilising me. I struggled but was no match. I could scream at them. Did they even hear me? I don't think so. They forced her to let down her Glamour while threatening to kill our baby in her womb. But... They let me go without a mark. Tekla swore I never knew. She said she tricked me into believing she was a human. She lied to protect me.

They kept her in a cage next to their carriage for three days. With no food nor drink whatsoever. They got other witches in there. Poor girls. Some were barely teens.

Tekla said to me, the night before her death, while the stake was finally ready: "Don't cry, my little dove, I gave you all my love. I need you to be strong because I am so pitiful."

I was holding her feeble hand. She was shaking. My poor little bunny. Trapped in a cage. Famished. Dirty. Terrified. Still, she smiled. She needed me.

And she said: "Don't let go of my hand."

I didn't.

And she said: "You're beautiful. I am so happy to be loved by a beautiful woman."

I felt a weeping in my throat.

And she said: "Say you will save me. I beg you."

I couldn't lie.

And she said: "It's dark here, and I am scared."

Then the sun rose.

They tied her on the stake with the others. And they lit it on fire.

I saw her crying while her flesh was turning into ashes. While her bushy hair was caught in the flame.

And she ultimately stopped crying. She didn't have enough tears. I stayed strong. I stayed strong as she melted. She needed me to be strong.

When sun set, I found the snitch. I drew an arrow between his stupid eyes. He died on the spot. He should have suffered as much as Tekla suffered.

And I destroyed our home. With my bare hands. I shattered the cradle. Broke the toys. Tore all the clothes up. And the quilt too. Everything. It smelt like her and I was hoping to die here with her by the morning.

Early lights hit the threshold after a night of wailing. Pitiful, isn't it? I left forever furious. I wanted to reduce to shambles everything... Nothing mattered anymore, I was on my own now. And I only had to think about myself. I had to survive to spite them all off. I had to be better than them. I had to become egoistic, even if it meant losing the goodness in my heart. I was a dead girl walking, so why would I need a heart? It died while her skin melted...

Why are you crying?"

"It's tragic."

"It's me. I died this day. On the stake, next to her."

She holds me close.

"But with you, I feel like I'm alive again," I smile while stroking her hair.

[do-it-for-the-fandom]

Fic prompt: undercover kiss set sometime at the end of s4 🙌🏻👏🏻

Could-be-canon insert between 4x19 (47 Seconds) and 4x20 (The Limey).

Was also given a word of the day (like, two months ago, sorry) which was "rough". So, here you go: two birds with one stone!

Rough.

She hadn't expected it; the way he slammed her back against the wall. The force of impact caused her to bite down on his lip and she could taste the blood it drew.

She wanted to apologise, but he was unrelenting and she couldn't pull away, couldn't stop. She ran her tongue over the wound to soothe his pain and the guttural moan she incited was like a drug: instantaneously, she was hooked.

His kiss was rough and bruising, like the raw brick he had her pinned to.

His tongue as angry and forceful, as his words had been just moments ago.

What they had been fighting about, she wasn't quite sure. Everything, it seemed.

These past few days nothing was the same as it had been before and she didn't know why. She didn't understand what she had done, how she had hurt him. All she knew was that this felt an awful lot like the beginning of the end.

And that hurt.

Her skin scraped along the porous wall as he leant further into her. His knee slipped in between hers, forcing her legs to part for him; not that she would have denied him, anyway.

Better judgement was a thing of the past, doing the right thing wasn't her concern anymore.

She just wanted this closeness, this illusion that everything between them was fine.

She could lie to herself easily enough, she had been doing it for years now.

She had all but abandoned her watch, closing her eyes and shutting out the world around them - including the man they were supposed to be staking out.

But getting caught now would jeopardise their entire case - that is, after all, why they were currently making out in a seedy alleyway behind one of the city's most infamous nightclubs.

Letting their suspect slip through the cracks now would ensure they still had a case tomorrow. That's what she told herself, anyway.

It wasn't at all, not even slightly, because she couldn't focus on anything more than the taste of his mouth.

It wasn't at all, not even slightly, because the coil in her stomach was tightening with each involuntary roll of her hips against his.

It wasn't at all, not even slightly, because his touch had stolen the breath from her lungs and now she was feeling dizzy.

And weak in the knees.

And her heart was racing a million miles an hour.

Too soon, she felt his lips pulling from hers and it took everything in her not to chase them, to reclaim them with the same level of ferity he had shown.

"He's gone," Castle whispered as he stepped out from between her thighs.

The chilled night air filled the space between their bodies, making the loss of his warmth all the more cruel.

His eyes stayed fixed on the dark end of the alley, where their suspect had disappeared into the night, purposefully avoiding hers.

Her arms crossed her torso like a protective shield as she fought to catch her breath.

"Go home, Kate. There's no point in pursuing anymore."

While logic told her he was referring to their suspect; in a relationship built on the precarious foundation of subtext and innuendo, she would never be certain.

"Castle..."

He looked at her, his eyes almost begging her not to continue.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

It was pathetic how broken and needy she sounded, but she didn't care.

She wanted his reassurance, his promise that this wasn't over yet.

That there was still hope.

"Tomorrow."

[get-wr3ckered]

| Cuyan- (Mandalorian!OC) |

Summary: As the purge of Mandalore wages on around her, Iliana Byrnne desperately searches for her clan's foundlings. Warnings: Angst? SW cursing, canon-typical violence, mentions of injury and blood, an allusion to child death, purge of Mandalore.

Wordcount: 500+

Notes:

The timeline for this fic is a little ambiguous, I'm not 100% sure of the exact timeframe between order 66, the Mandalorian purge and Rex + the batch going to Saleucami.

Eventual oc x Omega (parental relationship)

Any Mando'a will be translated at the end.

I think I've added all the appropriate warnings and tags but if I've missed something or tagged it incorrectly feel free to let me know and I'll fix it asap!

Masterlist

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

-Prologue: Mandalore, lost-

Smoke invaded Iliana's lungs, its talons digging into her chest and tearing at the flesh. The flicker of flames reflected off of her vizor, rubble shifting underfoot as she ran blindly. Her home was crumbling around her and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

'The foundlings,' Her mind cried out with every step she took toward the nursery. She prayed, begging the gods not to let her be too late. 'I have to get to the foundlings!'

Every step was agonising and yet Iliana refused to let herself falter. The blaster shot to her abdomen, one of many wounds that had bloomed among the gaps in her armour burned incessantly, her every move pulling at the raw flesh and drawing fresh blood from between the wound's jagged edges.

She had watched too many of her brethren be gunned down. she'd played witness to too many full-fledged warriors falling right alongside the planet she cherished. If they could not stand against the onslaught, if they could fall so easily then what chance did the foundlings have?

Feet scuffing against debris, Iliana all but threw herself through the nursery doorway. Achingly she lifted her arm, bracing herself on the doorframe with her vambrace as the light on her helmet flickered to life.

Iliana's breath stalled within her throat, the sight before her threatening to stamp out the already dwindling flame that was her hope.

The ceiling had caved in, and broken fragments of duracrete lay strewn over the area where she'd once watched the foundlings play. The shattered glass that had once made up the windows littered the room. The nursery had been decimated.

And then her gaze caught something amongst the rubble. Something so small, so still. Her knees buckled, falling from under her as a sob tore through her throat.

A tiny, lifeless hand.

"NO!" Scrambling forward Iliana fought feebly to move the duracrete, her weakened state rendering the action useless. "Haar'chak."

"C-Cabur?" A meek voice called from the shadows, barely audible over the rumbling of more bombs dropping in the distance.

Iliana's head swivelled, surveying the room desperately. As if the gods had heard her pleas, there tucked into an alcove that had miraculously outlasted the waves of aftershock stood two foundlings, hands clasped together soot and dust clinging to their skin as tears carved a path down their cheeks.

Clambering over the rubble, Iliana fell at their sides in an instant. Reaching up, she cradled their cheeks carefully in her gloved palms. Checking them over seemed futile, a waste of precious time that none of them had and yet she did so anyway, fortunate to find nothing life-threatening upon either of their small forms.

Willfully ignorant of the ache in her muscles and swallowing down the pained grunt that rose like bile in her throat, Iliana lifted the two children into her arms. "I'm gonna get you out of here adike, I swear it. I won't let anything happen to either of you."

Burying their faces in the crook of her neck was the only response Iliana received as her feet moved once more. She tightened her hold on them, pushing herself to move faster. She intended to keep her promise to them, even if it took her dying breath to do so.

If only the universe had been on Iliana's side.

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Mando'a: Cuyan- survivor, Haar'chak- damn it, Cabur- guardian/ protector, Adike (plural of Ad'ika)- little ones Taglist:

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