#ep.4 got me in a tight grip

[amimochi]

‘Is this milk drinking a habit of yours?’

[absolutebl]

Best & Worst BLs of 2023

My Top 15 BLs of 2023 are (in order)

1 Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

Nerds in love, deadlines, gaming, teasing, pining tiny idiots, casual affection, linguistic oops, ADORABLE. If you haven't watched this, it's a must. A perfect short form KBL, an office set reunion romance featuring geeks that really suits 8 eps with no fluff and no chaff. Just comforting and yummy.

I adored every aspect from the casting to the pristinely simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story - a cozy BL. It lives in my rewatch pile and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent.

Also recieves my 2023 award for best giggle.

2 I Cannot Reach You

AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan Netflix

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen.

Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way.

This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

Also wins the best thirst award.

These were the 2 BLs that got 10/10 from me in 2023. The rest of these got 9/10 from me.

3 My School President

Thailand YouTube

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? My favourite GMMTV BL offering to date. And yes, I've watched them ALL.

Received the Namgoong award for best wingman 2023.

4 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Thailand grey

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework. Steeped in history and family drama this is an elegant and classy BL. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. It's a marker of how great it was that it's so high on my list despite the ending which was very much not what I wanted.

Additional accolade, sexiest moment of 2023 - (the oil scene).

You could try to fight me, but you'll have no grip.

5 Kiseki: Dear to Me

Taiwan Gaga & Viki

The plot is totally ridiculous and slightly unhinged. There’s a gum-ball machine of cameos, elder gay rep, great chemistry from all pairs (everyone is queer), and a KILLER side couple. It involves all the tropes under a very offhand framework of gay mafia gangs + food = love. As a result Kiseki is a poster child for Taiwanese BL, and I happen to love Taiwanese BL. Bonus? They also managed to END IT WELL, which we cannot expect from Taiwan.

Best side couple 2023!

(thank goodness Taiwan made this list!)

6 Jun and Jun

Korea Viki

A delightful office romance about an ex-idol who joins cubical life only to find his new boss is his first love. With a snappy (sometimes even raunchy) script, enjoyable sides, a pretty as peaches cast, and descent chemistry this show made up for in style what it lacked in substance. I like fluff. I loved this. I smiled every moment I was watching.

Best flirting 2023.

AKA "the tongue knows" award

7 The Eighth Sense

Korea Viki

This one is a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it has a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

2023's most likely to appeal to non-BL watchers.

8 Unintentional Love Story

Korea iQIYI

The lead, Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is a fucking GIFT, who carried this show. He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes, which he used to carry a killer plot and challenging role. Forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the eyes EMOTING at us in PAIN. Driven by external conflict, social tension and pressure this story seems simple but it's actually refined and quite complex. I loved this show.

Best story structure 2023.

9 My Personal Weatherman

AKA Taikan Yoho

Japan Gaga

This is classic yaoi of the kind that really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. It's high heat is well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" which is exacerbated by the fact that they're already fucking. Sure is sexy tho.

Best use of props 2023 for the shower of sheets.

10 Our Dining Table

AKA Bokura no Shokutaku

Japan Gaga

Lonely salaryman and talented cook gets accidentally adopted by a college kid and his little brother. It’s a quiet & cozy little parable of found family alleviating loneliness. It's lovely & sweet with the romance beats used to build a family relationship, not just couple intimacy. Special.

First prize for domesticity.

11 Laws of Attraction

Thailand iQIYI

This is a great gay suspense thriller with several solid couples, fun plot, killer characters, queer rep, and a happy ending. It’s tons of fun and I had an absolute blast watching it.

Charn wins my favorite character of 2023.

12 La Pluie

Thailand Viki

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. With good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn high marks.

Most interesting concept 2023.

13 The New Employee

Korea Viki

So good, SO QUEER, so soft, a near pitch perfect office BL with conflict derived from that setting. Also found family and a lesbian bestie. This is what I wanted from this new crop of office set KBLs ALL ALONG. Rainbow rice cakes forever!

Best overall queer rep from Korea.

14 Step By Step

Thailand Gaga & YouTube & Viki

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk which added tension to the narrative and character development.

Chot wins best queer character 2023.

15 Love Tractor

Korea iQIYI

Most of this country-set BL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy and his hot young farmer. Hyung romance, puppy/cat pairing, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed = all my favorite silly tropes.

Biggest "he so pretty" gasp of the year award.

10 Worst BLs of 2023 (that I watched)

My Blessing

My Universe: Casanova Begins

Boyband the series

Cafe In Love

Chains of Heart

Hit Bite Love

Only Friends

Senior Love Me

The Luminous Solution

The Promise

Yes, you read that right. I know I'm against the flow but I really did not like Only Friends. Everyone's taste is different.

However I DNFed faster and more BL's this year than ever before, so that means my 10 worst probably aren't quite reflective...

10 Probably Actually Worst BLs (I dropped 'em)

My Story

The Day I Loved You

Beyond the Star

Crazy Handsome Rich

Dinosaur Love

House of Stars

Mr Cinderella 2

Love Bill

Stormy Honeymoon

The Star Always Follow You

Codicils in General

I only carefully track/watch Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Other countries are not fully represented.

My Numbers

So my spreadsheet chronicled 138 BLs that finish airing in 2023.

101 = watched & reviewed

2 = still in the docket (WDYEY2 & Love Syndrome III)

15 = CNF (could not find)

20 = DNF (which also accounts for how few very low scores I handed out in 2023 as opposed to previous years, I just stopped watching). Speaking of which...

Ratings spread

(# of stars. #of BLs given that rating)

0 (see the DNFs instead)

2 - IT'S DEPRESSING they killed the gay, save yourself

7 - I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT

7 - FATALLY FLAWED but still basically BL, however… do we want to support this kind of behavior?

9 - WATCH IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO but don’t expect much, it’s a total hot mess

17 - WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED probably around the ending or in narrative structure/cohesion or censorship

14 - RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS i.e. isn’t quite BL, convoluted, not strictly HEA, too short/long, or chemistry issues

30 - RECOMMENDED some concerns around tropes (like dub con) or story structure but still satisfies as BL

13 - ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED probably a few pacing issues or one flaw

2 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED faithful to tropes, happy ending, good chemistry, few flaws, high rewatch potential

(source)

[yichens]

Pick Your Vice Versa Outfit ↳ Talay Rawi Edition [Puen ver.]

My Top 10 Talay Outfits for @stormyoceans​​​​  layout insp. [x]

+ bonus:

(some thoughts under the cut!)

more rambles about these outfits for you monica! i hope you enjoy ^^

TOP 10 Talay Outfits explained:

10. Zebra Boy a stylish and flowy zebra print shirt with basic white slacks and talay’s signature white bag. this one is so silly but cool i had to include it. i actually am obsessed with both of the white & black print shirts tess owns but the other one is mostly worn my ohm in the series so i didn’t inlude it here (ep 2 when tess/talay goes to pester tun at the café). also i just like this scene a lot and couldn’t get over the “secret lover” -line. 

9. Reunion Blues a simple navy blue dress shirt and light colored pants plus talay’s round glasses. listen: am not a big fan of talay’s clothes in his own universe even if he looks adorable in them, but this one! this one is a legend. straight up iconic. he looks so pretty in dark blue and then we have this whole scene and ugh. just pure insanity. 

8. Goodbyes taste bitter an orange and white striped shirt and black jeans. am so obsessed with the v-neck of this shirt, it’s crazy. i don’t blame puen at all for instantly going like, “oh yes, that’s my bf now” bc honestly? very understandable. talay just looks so good in this shirt, holy hell. continues on the road of, “why must you dress up so nicely when the occasion is breaking my heart?” i guess these two are similar like that. 

7. Let us kiss again a red-blue-white striped sweater with red pants. i love this color combo on talay so much. blue and red just suit him. the shirt is also tight fitting and it’s amusing to see puen Struggling bc of it. man is not able to keep his hands off. it’s very understandable but pls sir, calm down. you’ve known each other like two weeks. and you still haven’t even told talay that you’re not kissing him just bc but bc you’re head over heels in love with him. get a grip. 

6. First Kiss a simple white sweatshirt and red/fucsia pants. i don’t want to say this but i have to say this: talay’s ass looks amazing in these pants. like, am not one to stare but oh boy. it’s right there! stealing the show! and then it’s combined with talay’s sexy wet hair after running through the rain to look for his long lost lover friend who he wants to make up with. Literally. bc they’re kissing by the end of this. and i scream. 

5. The Green Sweater a yellow-green sweater combined with white pants. talay looks adorable in this with his guitar and the sweater paws. am not at all surprised that puen looks close to tears bc bitch, me too. it’s just So Soft and then it’s mixed with the guitar (+ the lotus flower) and talay singing a love song and. i want to hug him so bad, puen get out of the way it’s my turn now. 

4. The Wedding Suit a light pink colored suit, apparently without a shirt underneath. this whole thing began with this suit. as i said, this one is 100% outshining the one puen wears in this scene. i am just in love with this suit; the color, the simplicity, the cut, the way talay wears it so casually. he looks amazing and positively ethereal. puen is marrying him on the spot. talay is thinking it’s a joke but i might just tell him it’s not. get a ring and be done with it, would you. this might sound controversial after me saying puen is rushing things with the kisses but i don’t actually have anything against it.  

3. Loneliness is yellow a simple black sweatshirt with bright yellow pants. i feel like the more heartbreaking the scenes get, the better talay gets dressed. he’s always serving looks when am crying on my floor. i don’t mind tho bc why not have several mental breakdowns at the same time, saves me the time. he looks absolutely glorious in that black shirt, and the colored pants are a wonderful touch. if tess got nothing else, at least he's had the sense to buy all these clothes.

2. The Gray Jacket a textured gray jacket with a black shirt and white pants. the texture on this jacket makes me go wild bc it looks so nice to touch and the whole jacket looks so cozy. am wondering how talay can wear that with the heat but that’s fortunately something that doesn’t get to me through my screen. he looks very huggable once again. he looks positively radiant when he smiles. and it’s just a plus that puen looks so gone for him bc yeah, valid. am in love with this sunshine boy too. 

1. Second chance a gray sweater with red details, combined with red pants. honestly talay’s best outfit in this whole show hands down. every time i start this ep, i am just blown away by this outfit. the styling team was going crazy that day. the shirt has a v-neck, the red details work so well, it fits talay nicely, the rolled sleeves, the delicate bag. the pants are tight fitting and make his legs look extra long and slim. especially in that billiard room lighting he just looks insanely pretty. i want to yell into the void. the void might yell back at me. 

Bonus: Striped Bathrobe a black and white striped robe, worn mostly for breakfast. i am not really sure what to call this but a bathrobe felt like the closest fitting one so i went with it. it’s crazy how this is literally the second outfit puen ever sees talay in if we don’t count talay being half naked. he got absolutely bewitched and talay is not even bothered. this striped robe is what truly mattered. and please let’s not talk about ai’dang. 

[shinwoonoh]

it’s ep 4 of the eighth sense and i still don’t believe jaewon is in therapy. 

i asked myself why? why, when it’s getting quite obvious that jaewon is in therapy, from the woman accusing him of just being here for the drugs and to jaewon stating his parents forced him to come here 10 years ago. he sits there on a couch for four as a silhouette. the water is clear and glowing behind him. she essentially tells him to spit it out for god’s sake, says he has depression, and jaewon tells her i’m getting sick of myself wearing a mask when I’m dealing with others.

(or a deeply personal piece about my experiences with being asian and the idea of therapy, all prompted by the privilege of getting to experience the eighth sense) 

[tw: depression, suicide ideation, ptsd]

i’m first generation chinese canadian and queer. my sister has depression, had thoughts of suicide, all while i myself was being emotionally and verbally abused at work. it’s been 5 years but when i drive by a white toyota 4runner (because that’s the car they drove), i’m still gripped with fear. i can only stare straight ahead hoping to god it’s not them it’s not them it’s not. i want to drive the other way onto oncoming traffic 

i told my mom then, that my sister needs help - a doctor, therapy, - call the goddamn pastor from church - anything. 

she told me, what use is therapy going to do?

my mom was a registered nurse. when i was a kid, she used to bring me with her on her night shifts and i’d eat tuna croissant sandwiches with the seniors in front of the biggest television box i’ve ever seen in my life. cross legged on the floor because the po po’s and gong gong’s took all the chairs. she told me if old white ladies ask for kleenex and you give them toilet paper, they’ll be mad. it’s different here. 

so it’s ep 4 of the eighth sense and i don’t believe therapy exists in the minds of asian people and culture

i took a new job. vowed not to make friends at work. clock in clock out. gave limited info when coworkers asked questions. smiled and giggled. i observed and mimicked behaviour that would let me fit in. i learned how to hug someone when they were upset (tight and long, soothe their backs with open palms) even though i didn’t want to hug anyone, let alone have anyone touch me anywhere that was soft

i was masking. 

been masking. for a long time.

i fit in so well, everyone likes me. i’ve been told i’m the favourite by pretty much everyone. hell, i’ve had coworkers fighting over me, told i can do and say no wrong. i’m not trying to brag. i hate being the centre of attention. i steer conversation immediately to the other person so i don’t have to talk about myself too much. just enough to seem normal, to look human - to be liked. 

(even as i’m writing this, there are too many words and paragraphs about me, why would anyone read this? y’all are here for the eighth sense but i’m going on like a celebrity writing their autobiography about their tragic childhood and how they were able to rise above - so, okay, i should start sprinkling in some actual t8s content analysis, for god’s sake)

jaewon says i want to free myself from human relationships

what happened to jaewon? we don’t know entirely yet. but everybody loves jaewon. the teacher will give him a good mark because he likes jaewon. everybody in class wants him to be their project partner and everybody’s missed him since he’s been away in the army please hang out with us jaewon let’s go drinking jaewon you better show up jaewon or it would be a shame, jaewon you are so likeable loveable cool lucky don’t worry about jaewon he’s got everything going on for him

then he meets jihyun and i think jaewon has a hard time finding the right mask to put on to deal with the freshman. and he slips a lot. when he starts to talk about his brother, after eunji shows up because of taehyung’s scheming, when jihyun repeatedly corrects him that it’s jaewon that wants to be friends - not him. and finally when he kisses jihyun

he’s having such a hard time and he slips up so bad, that the next safest option is to mask right back up

oh jaewon was drunk he has a habit of kissing and yeah he’ll join them after he helps yoon won wrap things up he’s the new best friend so let’s have a meal together with jihyun and his roommate next time

3 years into my new job, someone returns to the company and we become friends, on a soulmate level. i think i was in love with her - i definitely had a crush on her. but anyways, somehow i see her and i was suddenly all sorts of things because of her. i start to look forward to work. i add my coworkers on facebook and ig. we go to parties with our bosses and a few of us go on a couple of road trips even though the pandemic is blazing in the background  

she saw me, even when i didn’t want to be seen. i remember getting a particularly anxiety-inducing email from my previous job. i’m in the staff room sitting quietly, staring at my feet. i try to breathe. 

i’m alone for the whole of it but i emerge from the room again. ready to leave for the day and somehow, my friend sees me. asks me what’s wrong?

how did she know? i didn’t cry. i looked in the mirror before i came out. i didn’t even say anything to her. but i tell her, quietly at first and then easily and then finally with so much - so. much. honesty.

she tells me i get it. of course you feel that way. why wouldn’t you feel that way? it’s completely understandable. i know you. 

we hug. it’s one of the best hugs i’ve ever received. 

she leaves for another job. i try to go on, all open and soft parts exposed. but little by little, i go back into my shell. 

why would i want to show the entirety of myself? all the bits of me are all the ways i can embarrass myself, expose myself, show myself to people who will take what i show and twist and move it all in a way that becomes unrecognizable and uncontrollable

so i mask

but it’s goddamn tiring and exhausting. jaewon is exhausted. you see it in his eyes as he stares off out into nowhere when jihyun tells him his name. when they’re sitting in the train, and he’s smiling at jihyun at first and then jihyun’s smile falls open, and we see jaewon’s expression: there’s a downward movement to his lips. it’s so miniscule. maybe i’m imagining it

but that’s the moment i think jihyun sees when he tells aeri he ran into jaewon sunbae yesterday, and he didn’t look okay.

what was i talking about? oh yes, therapy and being asian and how disconnected that is to me. nobody asian goes to therapy. i can hear all the aunties and my popo saying sometimes doctors are wrong and medicine isn’t going to help. my grandma didn’t believe my grandpa had dementia and alzheimer’s even to the last minute of his death and past it. she said he was annoying and stupid when he forgot where he put his ring or when he would leave the stove on until a hole burnt through the pot.

in the farewell, a story about a chinese family that lied to their aging matriarch that she didn’t have terminal lung cancer. all of them flew back to china for a rushed and premature marriage, used as an excuse to go tearily say goodbye to their soon-to-be dead grandma/mom/mother in law, etc. the juxtaposition of them celebrating a happy marriage while crying on stage to her about her for her as she claps with happiness and pride, but also with confusion, is funny. they never tell her. and she miraculously is cured of cancer. it’s like she never had it. they lied to her because they wanted her to be happy. be happy so she wouldn’t die. 

so what good will medicine, let alone, therapy do? just be happy. easy, right?

i hope jaewon continues to open up. i hope he finds that soulmate of his, maybe in jihyun, maybe in himself. i know opening up and unmasking is scary. but also masking is so uncomfortable that i want to crawl out of my skin. it’s alienating and lonely. 

even writing all of this out, i still don’t think jaewon is in actual therapy. i’ve never seen it personally in asian media. so i think it’s so sad that when i’m being given a beautiful example of a korean person in korea going to therapy or whatever type of appointment relationship agreement this is where jaewon gets asked what’s bothering him and he answers truthfully and almost painlessly. like he’s been doing this for 10 years. 

and i don’t believe it. it’s so fucked up that i don’t believe it. i keep thinking when will the rug be pulled out from under me? surely there’s no such thing as an asian person going to therapy. fuck, evelyn travelled through the multiverse and there’s not one of her in therapy 

but it’s right there in front of my own eyes: jaewon getting counselled and advised, she has a notebook, an aquarium to look at when you’re nervous, big round metal balls to stare right back at you when you need a distraction and it’s been 10 years. i watched it all with the same eyes that saw my parents fight and punch holes in the wall before going to couple retreats at church and coming back stronger than ever. the last time i saw them fight, i was in high school. even as my sister finally spoke to her doctor and she saw a therapist, then a psychiatrist and now she’s on medication and she’s doing better. i’m not afraid she’s going to hurt herself anymore. my soulmate sees a counsellor and messages me randomly and it’s so eerily weird when she knows i’m struggling even when we’re a mountain apart

it’s all in front of me. but i don't believe it. 

[migueloharafanboy]

Strangers

Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

WARNING:  S P O I L E R S (SZN 4 EP 2), CURSING/SWEARING/ g a y t e n s i o n, BAD WRITING IM HAVING FUN

>> Strangers: Vecna’s Curse

~a little over a year later~

Steve stares up at Rick’s cabin with Dustin, Max, and Robin, feeling rather sick to his stomach. He wants to trust Dustin, but this just feels like a bad idea. He approaches the building, peering into the windows with a sigh. He didn’t really care that Dustin was friends with Eddie, what he cared about was the fact Eddie was a suspect. Dustin moves around to the door, banging on it as the others shine lights in the windows.

“Reefer Rick!!” He shouts as he bangs on the door with his palm.

Steve feels his stomach drop, elbowing the kid. “Don’t scream that.” He hisses, earning a scoff and eyeroll.

“Rick!!” Max yells as well, leaning close to the window.

“He’s not there.” Steve tries to reason. These kids are gonna get him killed.

He notices Max wander to the side of the house, only to stop as she shines her flashlight towards the lake. Robin and Dustin notice as well, and the three of them slowly walk to stand behind her. An old and terrifying boat house sits on the lake’s edge, lit by a blaring white light above the door. Steve glances to Robin, part of him hoping she’d reason with the kids. Without a word though, the kids walk over, and he and Robin trail behind. Inside is a bit, or a lot, more terrifying. Steve immediately spots a boat with tarps inside, and his danger sense tells him thats a hiding spot for sure. He glances around and spots an oar, turning off his flashlight and grabbing it. He starts jabbing at the tarps, earning a look from Dustin.

“He might be in here.” He reasons with the kid as he continues.

“Hey, look over here.” Max says, Robin wandering to peer over her shoulder. Max inspects a table, full of junk and wrappers and obvious evidence of life, “someone was here.”

“Maybe he heard us.” Robin says softly, looking it over as well. “Got spooked and ran.”

“Don’t worry. Steve’ll get him with his oar.” Dustin says sarcastically as he looks towards them.

“Ha, I know you think you’re being funny Henderson, but considering the fact that every one in this room has nearly died about a hundred times-” Steve says, looking at Dustin now and pausing his relent on the tarps, “-Personally, I don’t find it funny in the slight-”

Suddenly, a person leaps up from under the tarps, strong hands grabbing Steve by his jean jacket. He cries out in shock, yelling for them to wait as they easily press him back against the wall, pinning him up easily. And then he feels something press against his neck, his blood running cold. He holds his hands up, breath caught in his throat as he meets the intense gaze of Eddie Munson. Deep brown eyes bore into his lighter ones, but Steve notices the way Eddie’s hands are trembling, despite the tight grip he has on him and the object against his neck.

“Woah woah woah woah!! Eddie! Eddie!!” Dustin screams, holding out a hand cautiously. Robin and Max frantically run over, but Dustin pushes them back behind himself, “Stop! Eddie! It’s me. It’s Dustin.”

Eddie jerks his head towards Dustin briefly, his grip only loosening momentarily before he’s back at Steve’s throat. Steve stares up at him and breathes shallowly, wincing a bit as the sharp tip presses more into his neck. After all these years, he’s still surprised that Eddie is somehow stronger than him.

“This is Steve,” Dustin explains despite Eddie’s position, holding his hand out towards the older boy, “he’s not gonna hurt you. Right Steve?”

“Right, yeah.” Steve breathes quickly, nodding slightly as he glances between Dustin and Eddie.

“Steve - why don’t you drop the oar.” Dustin speaks slowly and calmly, reminding Steve of the oar he forgot he had clutched tightly in his hand. He takes in a silent breath and slowly holds out the oar, letting it drop to the side. But as it crashes to the ground, Eddie jolts, gripping Steve’s jacket tighter and pressing the weapon more into his neck. “He’s cool!! He’s cool!!” Dustin protests, and Eddie finally seems to be listening.

At this, Steve is quick to speak to Eddie again, desperate to get free, “I’m cool, man, I’m cool…!”

“What are you doing here.” Eddie almost chokes out, and Steve feels like the question is directed right at him, Eddie’s eyes boring into his. It makes his stomach twist, glancing down at the sharp tool against his neck. Eddie wouldn’t actually hurt him, right? Despite the death grip Eddie has on him, all Steve can see is fear in his eyes.

“We’re looking for you.” Dustin says, voice mixed with relief, fear, and concern for his friend.

Robin leans around him, “we’re here to help.”

“Eddie, these are my friends.” Dustin starts again and Eddie finally tears his eyes from Steve, looking over his shoulder at the boy as he pants. Dustin points over his shoulder to Robin and speaks, “you know Robin - from band!”

Despite the tension, Robin pretends her flashlight is a clarinet, letting out a few pretend notes, “doo doloolo…”

Dustin motions to Max next. “This is my friend Max - the one who never wants to play D&D.”

Max raises her hand in a half-hearted wave and offers a weak smile, letting her hand fall against her thigh after.

“Eddie. We’re on your side.” Dustin speaks slowly, desperately trying to reason with him. Eddie stares at Dustin, looking like he wants to believe his friend before quickly looking back at Steve. Their eyes meet again, and he can’t help but hope Dustin can save his ass. “I swear on my mother! Right guys?”

“Yes! Yes. We swear.” Max quickly responds with a confident nod.

“Yeah, o-o-on Dustin’s mother.” Robin quickly stammers after her.

Steve stares up at Eddie, nodding slightly. “Yup, Dustin’s… D-Dustin’s mother…!”

Eddie stares down at him, his eyes hard to read. Then tension swells for a moment, and then the taller boy is pushing away from Steve. Steve turns on his heel to breathe, while everyone else relaxes finally, Steve holding his neck and swearing under his breath. He leans over with his hands on his knees and breathes raggedly, slowly allowing himself to sit down. He keeps his head down for a moment, his mind racing and replaying what just happened. He hadn’t really seen much of Eddie since…

“Eddie…” Dustin says gently as he crotches in front of Eddie, pulling Steve out of his train of thought. “We just want to talk.” He assures, reaching for his friend. Eddie jerks in response, making Dustin hold his hand up. “Okay.”

Robin crouches in front of him, her voice soft. “We want to know what happened.”

Eddie is now on the floor against the wall, his head down. The boy sniffles, his voice sounding a bit broken, “you won’t believe me…”

“Try us.” Max adds.

Eddie looks at Max, sweat beading on his forehead and terror still in his eyes. He looks away after a moment, seeming to try and collect himself. Everyone stays quiet, letting him take his time finding his voice again. “I-I was just… Her body… just like, lifted up into the air. And uh… and she just like hung there… in the air… and her bones uh-” He closes his eyes and grimaces, letting out a pained noise. “Her bones started to snap… Her eyes man, it was-it was like there was something, like, inside her head… pulling. I-I… I didn’t know what to do, so I… I ran away. I left her.” Eddie brings a hand up to his face, shaking his head and looking away. “Fucking crazy, right?”

“No,” Dustin shakes his head, “we don’t think you’re crazy at all-”

“No, don’t bullshit me man!!” Eddie snaps, his voice breaking. “I know how this sounds!”

“We’re not bullshitting you.” Max states, her voice unwavering.

“We believe you.” Robin adds in.

Eddie sighs heavily, keeping his head down. Dustin takes a breath, “look, what I’m about to tell you… might be a little… difficult to take.”

Eddie looks at him, answering slowly. “O-okay…?”

“You know how people say Hawkins is… cursed? They’re not… way off. There’s another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins… Sometimes it bleeds into ours.” Dustin explains, seeming to choose his words carefully.

“Like… ghosts and shit?” Eddie questions.

“There are some things… worse than ghosts.” Max breathes, her gaze seeming to turn inward.

“These monsters… from this other world. We thought they were gone, but they’ve come back before. And that’s why we needed to find you.” Dustin slowly says.

“If they’re back again, we need to know.” Max says.

“That night. Did you see anything?” Robin questions.

“Dark particles, maybe?” Max adds.

Eddie shakes his head slowly, taking in all this new information. Dustin is quick to add in more detail. “It would almost look like dust. Swirling dust.”

“No man, there was nothing you could see, or uh… or touch.” Eddie says, mildly frustrated. “I tried to wake her man… She couldn’t move. It was like she-she was in a trance-”

“-Or under a spell.” Dustin adds.

Eddie looks up, gaze serious. “A curse.”

Dustin’s eyes widen slightly. “Vecna’s Curse.”

Steve makes a face, staring at them all while keeping his distance from Eddie. “Who’s Vecna?”

“An undead creature of… great power.” Dustin breathes, putting the pieces together in his head.

“A spellcaster.” Eddie adds, seeming to understand more now.

“A Dark wizard.” Dustin says, fear evident in his voice.

They all sit in silence for a moment, taking in all the information and calming down. Steve glances to one of the windows then, groaning softly. It’s nearly pitch black outside, he has to get these kids home.

He holds his hands up as he sighs and steps forward. “Look, guys. It’s late, we found Eddie.” He says as he motions to the boy, the two of them making eye contact for a moment. A familiar warmth buzzes in his chest briefly, but he’s quick to ignore it. “He’s safe, let’s get you kids home.”

“Oh come on Steve!” Dustin cries, turning towards him angrily, “we can’t just leave him again!”

“Hey, Henderson.” Eddie says, voice soft. Steve recognizes it from that summer almost two years ago now, how surprisingly kind the Freak was, “I’ll be okay man. Lasted this long, y’know?” Eddie reassures weakly and nudges the boy’s shoulder.

Dustin frowns as he stares up at his friend, “your mom’s probably worried about you.” Robin adds now, exchanging glances with Steve.

“We’ll come back tomorrow.” Max reassures, patting her friends arm.

Dustin stares at Eddie a moment longer before slowly giving in. “We will be back.” He assures him confidently, but Steve can see the fear in the kid’s eyes.

“I know.” Eddie snorts, crossing his arms. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be waiting for you guys tomorrow.”

“See?” Steve says and holds out his arms. “All’s well. For now.” His eyes linger on Eddie for a moment, only to turn on his heel and grab Dustin’s arm. “Let’s get going.”

[toruro]

i'm gna be real w u i haven't consistently watched anime since i was a college freshman and that was 4 years ago JAJDKD but one of the shows that had an iron tight grip on me before i dipped were fullmetal alchemist brotherhood n violet evergarden 😣

my roommate and i tried to get into blue lock a few months back bt watching at least one ep per day but we were so busy that we couldn't finish it LOL

oh i was also an avid reader of the jjk manga back then ! caught up at one point during the pandemic and never picked it back up 🥰

i also read csm and tokyo revengers but felt iffy abt the writing so i dropped both of them 🤐

ur so real for this i haven’t consistently watched anime since 2020 … ? i was and kind of still am the biggest hxh nerd … ALSO JJK AUAUAGh i caught up in the manga ages ago but i got mad the gojo was gone for so long that i stopped reading it …

i think i watched fmab in … 2017😭it’s been AGES i hardly remember anything ,, do u like naruto or bleach

ALSO i might be wrong but u seem like the type to love ghibli films

[biisexualemma]

winter soldier. bucky barnes

word count: 2348

warnings: a bit of violence

requested: N/A

plot: you have to watch bucky fight like the winter soldier

a/n: i wrote this literally like thirty minutes after i watched ep.3 of tfatws! it is basically bucky's fight scene in the club because it's literally all i can think about after that episode (jesus christ it had me feeling a lot of things) but from your perspective. so i wrote this, same idea, some things changed slightly, e.g. you are also working with sam and bucky-- anyway! hope you like!

pt.2 / pt.3 / pt.4 / masterlist

"winter soldier."

you clenched your jaw, your teeth grinding together, eyes glued to bucky's vacant expression. your stomach was in knots. you were against the plan to begin with, but you had no choice but to take zemo's lead on this. that didn't mean you trusted him one bit, not after what he put your friends through. your hand remained firmly tucked against your thigh, where your knife was strapped to your leg.

you could feel your chest rising and falling faster as the man approached zemo from behind, your heart beating harder in your chest. the main reason behind your not wanting to go through with this mission was bucky. you knew how hard he worked every day to remove himself from his past, and here he was, again, placed right in the middle of everything he wanted to forget. the only reason you agreed to it was bucky's reassurance that he could handle it.

but right now, you were reminded of the man you met many years ago for the first time, only without the mask.

the man's hand fell onto zemo's shoulder. "attack," he spoke in the eerily familiar tongue.

he didn't hesitate, his vibranium arm snatched the man's hand away from zemo, you swore you heard something crack. you clutched your knife, yanking it out of it's holder, but before you got any further, sam's hand was restraining you. he didn't look your way, holding his cover, instead you both watched bucky drag the man away from the three of you, twisting his arm behind his back to where you heard another disturbingly loud crack.

you tried to keep your cover, but you couldn't help but flinch watching him use his full force to plough his vibranium arm against the mans chest, knocking him off his feet. his body slammed against the hard floor and you gulped, sam's hand tightening around your wrist when you made to move again.

"hold it," you glanced at sam for a split second, his eyebrows knitted tightly together watching the winter soldier in action, but he knew the consequences if he made to intervene. you could tell it was unsettling sam just as much as it was you, to watch bucky like this. but you had no choice but to stand and watch your boyfriend ruin anyone who came within a foot of him.

the bar was silent, the only sounds to be heard were the muffled groans coming from the man at bucky's feet. you noticed some of the people surrounding the fight had pulled out their phones and began recording the scene. you wanted to snatch them away and crumple them, but resolved to taking a deep breath and biting down on your tongue as hard as you could. you just had to endure for a little while longer and then it would be over.

you watched as bucky took apart two more men who came swinging towards him, zemo's expression was full of more amusement than you cared for. you felt blood trickling in your mouth, the metallic taste filling your taste buds after you had flinched and bit down harder on your tongue.

if sam hadn't been there to physically restrain you, you would've intervened long before this could start. you knew bucky was no longer controlled by zemo, but watching him fight like this was a brutal reminder of everything bucky had done and been through. you dreaded to think how it was making him feel having to slip back into the mindlessly violent nature that had been drilled into him.

sam's eyes darted around, watching bucky take out one guy after the next. zemo couldn't keep himself out of it, he shoved forward a bystander, watching, almost gleefully, as bucky threw a swing at the man, spinning him backwards before delivering another blow so forceful it took out another man standing behind him. your breath hitched in your throat, you couldn't stop yourself from cringing when another man was thrown off his feet, his spine cracking harshly against the metal joists when bucky's metal arm collided with his torso and sent him flying.

your ears were ringing slightly, your throat tightening the longer you watched this go on. "didn't take much for him to fall back into form," you heard zemo lean into sam's ear to mumble this but you caught it. you were going to kill that man yourself after this mission was over.

sam's grip loosened on your wrist when bucky clenched his metal hand around one man's neck, lifting him off his feet and slamming him down against the bar. you moved away from sam before he could stop you, your eyes wide with fear when bucky tightened his grip, the man's gasps for air were all that could be heard, that, and the cocking of several guns.

your hand moved from its position on your knife, to the cool metal of bucky's arm where he stood slowly cutting off this mans air supply. you clenched your hand tightly to pull him away, but he didn't shift, his intense gaze was locked on the man beneath him.

"stay in character or the whole bar turns on us," zemo muttered under his breath, his eyes wide and locked on yours. you hesitated, but pulled yourself away, not wanting to be the reason this mission was unsuccessful after everything you'd done to get to this point. you knew how much was riding on this.

you let out short, strained breaths, your eyes still locked on bucky's unwavering expression. you wondered how much he still felt in control of himself, or whether he was simply just keeping up the act.

"well done, soldier," zemo spoke after a brief silence. your stomach churned every time he would use that tongue to speak to bucky.

you watched bucky's eyes shift up to the bartender, his eyebrows slightly knitted and his hand slowly unclenching from around the mans throat. the man let out a strained wheeze, the breath returning to his lungs as bucky released his grip and let him fall to the ground with a thud behind him.

bucky could hear your loud, jagged breathing as you stood as close as possible to him without raising suspicion. he almost broke away when he felt your hand grip his arm earlier. but he didn't dare look to you, instead he kept his stare locked on the bartender in front of him, waiting for the words.

"silby will see you now," the bartender was watching bucky with an uneasy expression across his face. you watched bucky's chest rising and falling, you wanted desperately to reach out and touch his hand but you had to remind yourself why you were in this position to begin with. you needed to follow zemo's lead, find the source of the super-soldier serum and then you could deal with how you were feeling later.

"you good?" your voice came out smaller than you intended it to. you studied his expression from his profile, his tight lips and clenched jaw, waiting for him to break and look at you, but he didn't. he let out a quiet, hmph, nodding once before following zemo and sam to the back of the club.

-

you wished you were back in the club watching bucky beat those guys to a pulp, because after the past few hours, things somehow managed to go from bad to worse. your lead was now dead, literally, you bumped into sharon, of all people, who was meaner than you ever remember her being, and there was also a bounty on all of your heads.

currently, you were sat alone after having picked out fresh clothes from sharon's closet. she had reluctantly let you guys crash at her place, agreeing to help find a lead to doctor nagel.

you weren't sure how long you'd been sat staring at the wall in front of you until you heard footsteps approaching the room you were in. you didn't have to look to know who it was, you already knew. he sat beside you quietly, without saying a word. you could feel his eyes on you for a while before you forced yourself to meet his gaze. it was the first time you'd looked at him as himself, since the incident earlier. you gulped, his blue eyes not shifting from your own for even a second.

"hey," he mumbled softly. your eyebrows knitted into a delicate frown, you found yourself biting down on your tongue again. "you good?" you nodded, close lipped as you shifted your eyes from his face and down to your hands. you hadn't noticed your hands had clenched into tight fists.

after a brief silence, you felt your fingers uncurl, bucky's hand now enclosed in your fist. you let out a shaky breath, revelling in the comfort his touch brought you. you fiddled with his fingers, a habit you had when you were anxious that bucky let you use him for.

"are you good?" you gulped, glancing at him for a second before focusing on your tangled hands again. he nodded, letting out a quiet hum.

"i wouldn't've gone in there if i thought i couldn't handle it," you nodded, feeling his hand squeeze yours briefly. "i came to check on you."

your eyes fluttered, a wave of tire washing over you suddenly. you shook your head. "i'm fine, don't worry," you said it out of habit, but you knew bucky was the type to always worry. especially when it came to you.

"i never wanted you to have to see that again," you knew he was referring to the winter soldier. you had fought him back in the day with sam, nat and steve, before any of you knew who he really was. you'd been through a lot together, only recently had you become more than friends. or at least, you were trying to give it a go, things just kept getting in the way.

"i hardly saw anything," you tried to lie to ease his conscience. you sighed, looking up into his eyes again, they were soft and inviting, his lashes fluttering slightly when you met his gaze.

"you've always been a terrible liar," he tightened his lips into a halfhearted, closed-mouthed smile, trying to ease some of your anxiety. you mimicked his weak attempt at a smile, moving closer to him and leaning your head atop his shoulder. he shifted his free arm around your waist, tugging you as close to him as possible, leaning down to press a lingering kiss atop your head.

"i just want you to be safe, buck," you admitted. "i don't like that you're having to go through all this again-- what with zemo-- and this place-- i see how people look at  you, how they talk to you."

"i know, doll," he mumbled, his lips resting softly against your temple now. you tried to relish in the short amount of time you had alone with him, your eyes closing for a moment as you breathed in his scent. "i don't like it either, but it's just for a bit longer."

you hummed quietly, letting yourself relax in his arm. your hand was still tangled with his own, your fidgeting had stopped and instead you let your fingers intertwine with his, him squeezing your hand now and again for reassurance.

"thank you for looking out for me," he spoke after a while of you two embracing each others company. "it's been a while, but it's a nice feeling."

you lifted your head, tilting your head back to get a good look at his face. he looked tired, but still wore a small, appreciative smile on his lips, along with his soft gaze. you felt your stomach flutter, you couldn't disguise a similar smile working it's way onto your lips. something about bucky was so sweet, in his nature, he cared so much for the people around him even if he was bad at communicating it sometimes. you wanted a better and quieter life for him when this was all finally over.

"it's nice to have someone to look out for," you muttered truthfully. you had spent such a long time fighting with the avengers, you'd never had the time to even go out on a date, never mind figuring out a relationship. and though it was difficult, sometimes, navigating your relationship with bucky, you knew at the end of the day, you liked him a lot, and you only wanted to be with him. and you were pretty sure he felt the same way towards you.

bucky's hand moved away from yours, to your chin, using his forefinger and thumb to tilt your chin upwards, your face moving closer to his. he leaned down and caught his lips against yours, his hand drifting to your jawline, where he held your face in the palm of his hand. your mind thought of nothing but the feeling of his lips moving against yours, soft and slow.

it didn't matter what was going to happen next, as long as bucky was there with you.

"oh-- shit-- i should've knocked," you pulled away, chuckling against bucky's lips, peeking out the corner of your eye to see sam had walked in and frozen once he realised what he'd walked in on. bucky groaned, his eyes rolling. of course, sam was interrupting.

"please-- get out," he shot a stone-cold glare towards sam, who chuckled uncomfortably.

"oh-- i wish i could," he groaned. "that was something i wish i'd never seen-- but the party is starting soon-- we gotta get out there."

you broke away, realising your short, but sweet moment was over. you kissed bucky quickly, one last time before pushing yourself up trying to shake your head clear of any thoughts of your boyfriend so you could focus on the mission.

you heard sam lower his voice, thinking somehow you wouldn't be able to hear him as he hung back with bucky, you walking ahead. "how you still got game like that? you're like a hundred and two--"

"hundred and six," he corrected, frowning at his partner. " and stop talking about my game."

[supernatural-jaeger]

fave 5 creations I’ve made in 2021! tagged by the lovely @emeraldcas 💚💚

1. The lakehouse love - I wrote this poem in may and it’s one of the first one’s I wrote. It’s so fluffy and domestic and I’d just started to realise how fun it was to write and contribute to the fandom. Also I had just gotten into the sweet sweet au of dclcu ☀️🏞🏡

2. 5 times dean was aging - this is the longest poem I’ve written, and one of the ones I worked the most with. I love how it turned out and again, so fluffy and domestic.

3. Reflections of a broken mirror - I had a moment in my rewatch earlier last year when I reached thee 5x4, and I watched it several times and made this poem before my brain could move on to the next ep. It got a bit lost in a major spn event, but in my mind this is one of my bangers of 2021.

4. I gripped you tight - who doesn’t like a spicy 🌶 destiel poem? It was really fun to write. Maybe I should make another one …

5. The dta poem series (X) (X) (X) - I never made it past the second book of down to Agincourt but aaah that fic never left me. I’m about to reread the second if not the first book too, because I really do want to read the whole 1,2 million words of that world and continue with my dta poems so bad.

Honorable mention; clown Cinderella - this edit is exactly how I picture myself when major spn-related news hits the fandom. Time to dress up and put my clown nose on, I’m off to the ballroom (dash) to mingle and have a splendid time amongst other well-dressed clowns 👠🤡

Many of you may already have done this but if some of you haven’t and would like to, either way pls tag me! I want to see 😁💕 tagging 5 mutuals I want to see the top 5 of: @chapeldean @caskarass @jactingjoices @postpunkdean @blue-eyed-cutiepatootie

[caesthetix]

SAY A LITTLE PRAYER — Ep. What Paradise Is

↪Eren Yeager mini-series

↪content; major character death, canon universe, heavy angst, description of violence, established relationship, spoiler for season 4, alternate ending, manga spoiler

"You know, I can't help but thank Eren that he killed her that night."

Everyone was busy with themselves after Jean beat Reiner to a pulp. The rest of them who were still awake, circling the campfire, waiting for sleepiness to engulf them. But that sentence was enough to stop them from dozing off, some pairs of eyes decided to fall upon them instead.

Hange tried to be neutral all the time. They needed to be the mediator between the Marleyans and the rest of the Survey Corps. After all, they needed each other if they wanted to stop the rumbling. Yet they couldn't help but speak up, they were human too after all.

"Huh?" It was Connie. "What do you mean by that, H-Hange-san?"

They just smiled softly as they looked down, watching their own reflection from the brown liquid in their hand. It was your favourite drink, coffee. Every sip would always be savoured as they imagined you sitting right in front of them.

"But we could use her strength. If she lived, she could help us to sway Eren." Armin spoke up, responding to their statement before. His blue eyes staring at the crackling fire, deep in his thoughts. "When we lost her, we lost seventy-five percent of the chance for winning this without having to harm Eren."

"You tell me that is the reason why he killed her?" The scowl on Connie's face hardened as he tried to connect the dots. "So we can't use her against him, eh? What a coward at the end. That lunatic bastard—"

"She would have followed him."

Mikasa's voice was soft and tiny as she cut his sentence. Yet even though it heard like a whisper, everyone could hear what she said. They blinked in confusion, except Hange and Jean who currently stood a few feet from them, somehow understood. The Marleyan raised their eyebrows in confusion, Annie could not understand what they were all talking about.

The rest of them were begging for more information, but the ravenette didn't give them any.

"She would have followed him."

Instead, she repeated the words. Her friends would understand her sentence — if they decided to use their brains for a while. They all knew you, she didn't have to give any further explanation regarding her statement.

Of course, now they understood why Hange thanked Eren for what he did to you. Even if you were alive right now, you were not going to be here, eating stew and drinking coffee while fretting about how to stop your lover who tried to commit genocide to the whole world.

You were going to be there, by his side, with your swords ready to be pointed out to anyone who tried to stop and harm Eren in any way. You would stand there, devoting your heart not for humanity, but for him. That was how big your love was, something that was blinding you, to the extent of worshipping him.

And they couldn't imagine themselves to be the one who sears their blades at you.

"You never told us, Hange."

Jean's voice filled the void, his feet stomping the grass underneath him, echoing through the quiet night. "That night, you never told us what happened." He stood on the other side of the campfire, his tall body looming in front of them as they seated on the ground.

The brunette stared at the man with a stern gaze, contemplating if it was the right moment to tell them. But their time was limited now, as their friends, they all deserved to know what happened that night.

"Alright." They put the metal cup down their lap. "Though I remind you now, it wouldn't be pleasant but," It even felt so heavy for them, by just thinking about your death. "But it would be so — her."

The veteran scout told them everything. From how you stood in front of their door, the coffee that they shared with you, to the time you cried when they gave you the key so you could go inside his cell. They were sure that you went there to talk and asked for a reason, but they knew thirty minutes wouldn't be enough.

Jean felt bad for asking, as he could see how much the commander suffered from this burden. Hange's hand balled into a fist, the other gripping tight on the cup's handle. Yet they keep on going, telling them how they saw Eren wash his face as if his hands were not stained by his lover's blood.

They explained the bruises on your neck, shaped like fingers as an indicator of how you died.

"Fuck." Jean cursed, his eyes glistening with tears that were threatening to fall. "Fuck." He shouldn't have asked, but it was too late, he could see the horror in your eyes, how afraid you were that night, how you were screaming for help but no one came.

For you to die, and the one who was responsible was your lover, he couldn't imagine the betrayal on your—

"But you know what's funny?" Hange spoke up once again, they were not finished yet. Their comrades immediately looked at them once again, asking for them to continue.

They sipped their coffee, recalling the gleam in your eyes, the comfort that they remembered up until now. There was no terror, you were not afraid of him even in your last moment. "There was no sign of resistance."

And that fact was enough to wake them up.

"Even from the start, when Eren choked her, she just stood there, letting him do it." They chuckled, almost maniacal. "Her eyes still shone with comfort as she looked at him. I-I always figure her out, I understand a lot of things about her. But, but I can't with this one."

They stopped, groaning as once again your eyes were the only thing that they could see. "I don't know anymore if she really believed that he must have to kill her for a reason," His hand shook the cup gently, letting the liquid swirl inside. "Or she believed that he would stop and let her go, even until she's gone for real."

And that last sentence broke them all.

The Marleyan couldn't look at the broken soldiers in front of them. Gabi and Falco pursed their lips, trying so hard to sleep. Annie who was sitting beside the unconscious Reiner, now having her pupils dilated as she understood the story, and who would be the mysterious woman that made them distressed like this.

Connie was silent as he kept gulping down water down his throat. Armin closed his eyes, but he could see it so clearly, the faith in your orbs. Jean just chuckled bitterly, muttering stupid woman again and again as tears were cascading down his cheek.

Then, Mikasa, her lips trembled as she tried not to sob. But whimpers already slipped, her empty cup fell to the ground as she put her hands on her ears as she wanted to stop the noises in her head. You brought joy, even in her life, and to be reminded that you were killed by Eren nonetheless, tore her apart.

The rest of the night was filled with nothing but sorrow. Tears accompanied them all to their sleep, silent weeps and choked-out sobs could be heard here and there.

Hange could only stay put under the white cloth that works as their blanket, staring into the dark green of trees, then went beyond that to see the night blue skies which adorned with stars. They subconsciously raised their hand, as if they were reaching for someone.

“Tell me, Hange!”

They tried to understand him, they really did. When they closed your eyes as you laid on the infirmary bed, they knew that you would appreciate it if they tried to understand why he killed you. Down in the basement, they tried to bait him with your condition, blaming him for how they lost another comrade.

“If there’s another way, then tell me what it is!”

But they were not you, they couldn’t see it. They wanted a reason but all they got from the man was just subtle answers, pain, anger, and how what he did was something inevitable. They just knew that he suffered too from what he had done, so perhaps it was enough.

They just wished — they could understand you.

"Oh, (Y/n)." They sighed, finally letting the tears slip down their cheeks. No one else saw them, it was just their lonely soul and the craving for your existence. "I think I didn’t know you enough."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ༶•┈┈⛧┈〄┈⛧┈┈•༶ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

His vision was supposed to be filled with lights, dark blue lights that came from the coordinate. He used to know it all, see it all, what happened in the world as he activated the rumbling, he could hear all the screams from those people underneath him. Trampled by gigantic power, without given any mercy.

He couldn't remember when it stopped. The terror, his friends fighting him so they could stop his plan — suddenly all he saw was just a bright pinkish sky. It was as if he was laying down on one of the clouds, soft and free.

The breeze tickled his long hair, good that it just swayed his brown strands softly, but not good enough to give him comfort.

Comfort, oh, how much he longed for that word.

The past few days had been so hard as he kept on living to grant freedom to the Island of Paradis. He could not count how many of his comrades died, how many of his followers ended up not seeing that freedom, let alone all the lives that he took.

And now when he knew that he failed, he chuckled as the realisation dawned upon him. After all these years — he was still the same useless boy.

"Eren."

He sat up in an instant. Dark green eyes searching for the source of where it came from. Surely he was not hallucinating, but that was a possibility. He didn't even know what this place, let alone believing that it was her voice.

"Hey, Eren."

But it was indeed your voice. No matter how many days or weeks passed after some time he had to part with you, he could always recognise that voice anywhere. Gentle, warm, and comforting, it felt like he was so close to heaven.

"You are here."

Then he felt it. He felt you. He looked down on his torso, finding two arms wrapped around him from behind. It felt so right as his hand slowly covered yours, testing it in case it was all in his head. But he could touch, he could trace his finger on the back of your hand.

He laughed, just a short one as he still processed what kind of magic existed in this place. You rested your chin on his shoulder, planting a peck on his cheek without warning that caused him to blush a hundred shades of red.

"(Y/n)?" He called out your name. "Are you real?" You only answered with a single hum. "How come are you real? Where is this place? Why am I here? I am not supposed to be here, I needed to finish the plan, Ymir is—"

You shut him up by placing your finger in front of his lips.

"You are free, Eren."

Silence. He could not understand that. Did it mean that he already died? But if that was the truth, why did he even feel more alive now compared to all those years that he spent before?

You slowly retracted your finger, pulling yourself from his embrace as gently as possible. Eren was still deep in thought, hands falling to the cloud-like ground he was sitting on right now. You stood up and walked in front of him, bare feet were now within his eyesight.

He could touch you before, and it didn’t feel like he was hallucinating. He felt your kiss before, and it made him sure that it was real. Bewildered, he looked up only to find you looking forward. Even though he felt that he was finally free, he was still curious about what happened in this moment.

"What is this place?" He asked again, now a lot calmer than before as he gazed at your face which showed nothing but peace.

"A transit." You started, eyes never leaving the glowing sight in front of you. "A place where you are finally free, but still misplaced since it was not the last destination where you should go." He hummed, processing your words that still felt unreal.

"Then why are you here?" All this afterlife thing was so foreign for him. "Why don't you leave and go to your last destination?"

"Oh, boy, you really asking me that?" You chuckled softly, snickering as if that was the dumbest question that you ever heard. Your eyes finally cast down to face him, and when he still looked so confused, you could only let out a sigh. "Because I am waiting for you, Eren."

You smiled wistfully, extending your hand for him to take. "What else could it be at this point?" He took it as he nodded at your answer. You helped him up, letting him stand by himself. And now as he looked around the endless clouds, he could finally embrace the fact that he was indeed — dead.

Anywhere he looked, he could only find the soft, white clouds refreshing the air. The colour was tinted orange as the sun in front of him shone like it would set anytime soon. But it had been perhaps minutes by now, and yet the colour never changed.

If he was finally here to feel his freedom, then he would take it. The world where he lived before was not his responsibility anymore. His friends had won, and it was not his place to ask for what happened next. Yes, he was ready to be free. But as he looked at you, he still had one, unanswered question that he needed to know.

"Hey, (Y/n)." He cleared his throat, melancholy striking his feature as your gaze met with his.

"Yes, Eren?"

How come you are here on his side? Why did you stay in this place alone just to wait for him? He killed you, why are you not running away? There was so much, so many questions that he never dared to ask you. But one, he needed to know the answer to this one question.

"Why don't you fight back when I try to kill you?"

You didn't flinch, you stood there with a neutral expression as if he just asked you if you had eaten before.

"Truthfully, Eren? I always thought that you were just trying to make me hate you. Looking at me with those cold eyes, tightening your grip like that." Your finger subconsciously went to your neck. "At first, I thought you were going to let me go at some point."

He could feel a lump start forming in his throat as he listened, tears were threatening to fall already. That was what you felt that night, you didn’t want to die. Of course, who in the right mind wanted to die? Let alone killed by someone that you loved.

"But as seconds passed and you were not loosening the grip, I understood." Then you continued, your hand now fell back to your side. Though, you still looked at him with earnestness written all over your face. "I understand that you had to kill me for a reason, that you knew it was for the best."

His breath hitched at your statement; which was supposed to make him feel guilty, to make him feel like he was not worthy of your faith. But with how there was no ill will nor sadness in your intonation, he couldn't feel any other feelings except — relief.

"So I believed in you, and I wanted you to know until the end that wherever I go next, I will always devote my heart to you."

You said it without doubt, as if you have been saying the same thing over and over again throughout your life. Yet somehow he could know that it was the truth. Perhaps you said that inside your heart for all the times that you spent with him.

While you still alive, you have put your faith in him, following him anywhere he goes. No one could sway your belief, you were devoted solely just to him. You praised his name, never leaving his side under any circumstances.

And he realised — that was the way you said you loved him.

So now, it was his time to do the same, to believe in you.

"Come on, Eren." You dusted the non-existent wrinkles on your clothes before extending your hand for him to take, a smile never leaving your face as you waited for him patiently. "Let's go home."

And without wasting another second, without any hesitation, he reached for your hand. The smile on your face widened at this, and the wind suddenly twirled around the two of you. He didn't know where home was, he didn't know where you would take him.

But as you started to walk in the direction of the sun, he followed. His eyes looked forward, dark green eyes turned into the emerald shade that was gone before. It was so beautiful, how he walked above the clouds, with your hand around his, guiding him to a new place called home.

Your laugh resonated in his ears as he caught up with you, gripping your hand tighter, afraid that he would lose you if he loosened up. Yet somehow he knew that he wouldn't have to be scared anymore.

Now he was finally free. From the burden on his shoulders, from the duty that was thrown at him by his ancestors, from the endless nightmare that he saw on each vision — it was all gone. And as his gaze fleeted toward your running form, he blinked in astonishment.

He saw you, a younger self of you perhaps, maybe when you were nine or ten. You looked beautiful, even with your hair slightly shorter, with chubby, adorable cheeks. Then you turned to face him, and he saw those glossy beads filled with purity.

And inside those, he saw a reflection. Of a boy not older than ten years old, with a brown outer and a sage green shirt, holding on to someone. Oh, it was him. He looked so free as he ran side by side with you, he looked so free with you leading him to his new home.

Laughter filled the air that surrounded you and him; high-pitched, carefree laughter that people would hear when children ran around the street to catch one another. That happy laugh slipped from both of your lips.

He held your hand tighter, not because he was afraid to lose you, but so he could feel your love even more. He ran with you faster, now becoming the one who followed you as he believed that you were going to take him somewhere, to the last destination.

A place where he could finally be free.

With you.

↪Back to Wall Maria

↪Citizen; @queenofcurse

↪Send an ask if you want to be a citizen of Paradis (taglist)!

[quickspinner]

You Only Had to Ask

(don’t get used to this pace, guys, I still have a lot of big fics to work on, but I can have a little one shot here and there. As a treat)

Alright, @airi-p4, here’s your fix-it fic. 😘 I wasn’t really gonna because I wasn’t actually that upset about the ep, but then there was chatting and I got to thinking--and the rest of my thoughts are under the cut because--

Season 4 SPOILERS for Truth and Gang of Secrets

eta sorry guys I swear there was a cut there before I posted, all fixed now

Because if you can just talk someone out of an akumatization out of Friendship then why the hell can’t we just do it out of Love. If we’re going to arbitrarily decide (despite repeated, frequent evidence to the contrary) that appealing to the person under the akumatization is a thing that can actually work, then WHY THE HELL NOT, LET’S GO. Talk-no-jutsu for the win.

(not that I’m bitter)

Our scene picks up during the fight in Marinette’s room during Truth. I’m really terrible at action you guys so please forgive the obvious deficiencies in the fight-related stuff (especially the way I completely forgot about Phaero for 90% of this.

Oh and I fixed Chat a lil bit while I was at it.

***

She had to stop him. Ladybug steeled herself, and then ripped the belt off of her mouth. “Luka, please stop! You can stop this. I know you don’t want to do this. This isn’t how you wanted to find out! You told Marinette she could tell you everything or nothing, that she could be herself with you!”

“But she isn’t,” Truth snarled. “Tell me—”

She didn’t wait for the compulsion, answering quickly to keep him from specifying. “She is herself with you! Her best self! And she does trust you, but some secrets don’t belong to just one person!” 

Truth sent Chat flying, and Ladybug had to dodge debris from his impact. “Luka,” Ladybug said desperately. “You helped me as Viperion. What did you tell your family and your friends after that?” 

Truth visibly jolted. Hope rising, Ladybug persevered, listening with one ear as Chat tried to extract himself behind her. She held a hand behind her in a wait gesture. “What would you have told Marinette if you had to leave to become Viperion? Would you have lied to her?”

“No!” Truth yelled, grabbing his head in his hands. “No, I would never lie to Marinette—I—”

“But you wouldn’t break my trust, would you? You know how important it is to keep identities secret!” Ladybug pressed.

“I know,” Truth ground out. “But I can’t lie to Marinette!” 

“So you wouldn’t lie to her,” Ladybug persisted, dodging a blast from Pharoah. She glanced at Chat and nodded a the orb, and he launched himself at the sentimonster with a yowl. “But you can’t tell her the truth, either, right? Because you don’t trust her?”

“No! I trust Marinette. I love her!” Truth growled, shaking his head, still in his hands. “Marinette wouldn’t be safe if she knew! I can’t put Marinette in danger. Or my family! I had to keep the secret.” 

“So you can see that there are reasons why someone might not be able to tell the truth,” Ladybug cried. “It doesn’t mean Marinette doesn’t trust you! It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you! I’m sure she loves you very much, Luka, or she wouldn’t be trying so hard, even when she keeps failing.” 

“I—” Truth gasped, and looked up at the wall above Ladybug’s head. 

“Look, she has pictures of you,” Ladybug said quickly, throwing out a hand to point in a way that blocked some of the Adrien photos from view. “Look, tacked on top of all these others! Aww, cute, she put a heart on this one!” 

Truth made a sound that might have been a sob, and fell to his knees. “Marinette,” he gasped, and the purple mask appeared over his face. “No,” he growled. “I won’t do this. Digging into her secrets won’t make her trust me any more than before!” 

“Yes! Fight it, Luka, I know you can do it, you’re so strong.” Ladybug knelt in front of him. “Fight it for Marinette.”

“No,” Truth growled again, louder. “She chose me. I told her—anything—or nothing—and I. Don’t. Lie!” The mask shattered, the butterfly and feather burst from his necklace, and Truth slumped to the ground, becoming Luka as he collapsed. Ladybug’s yoyo whirred out and clapped shut around the butterfly and the feather as she sighed in relief. 

Ladybug felt the compulsion lift from her as she released the purified butterfly, and quickly dropped back down beside Luka to scoop him up, tears in her eyes. “You did it,” she told him as she held him close. “You did it, Luka. I knew you could.” 

Luka’s hand closed around her upper arm. “Marinette...I have to find her. I have to tell her...I’m so sorry…” 

“She knows, Luka,” Ladybug said tenderly, smoothing the hair back from his face. “She’s fine. Now breathe. It’s going to be okay.” She rocked him a little bit. He was still shaking from the effort. She wiped tears from his face with her gloved fingers. “It’s been a rough day. I’m sorry.” 

He rested against her for a moment, eyes closed, breathing deeply as he tried to ground himself. 

“Ah, so, we’re done then?” Chat asked, tilting his head. “Because as much fun as we have together, I have someone—somewhere to be right now.” 

“Go ahead Chat,” Ladybug smiled. “I’ve got this.” She threw her lucky charm in the air, still holding Luka with one arm, and the ladybugs swarmed through the city. Chat grinned, giving her his two fingered salute before leaping out of the skylight.

Ladybug waited a moment, listening, but Luka began to push away from her, trying to get up. “I have to find Marinette,” he said heavily, but Ladybug tugged him back. 

“No, you don’t,” she said.

Luka frowned at her. “Yeah, I really do.” 

Ladybug took his face in her hands and he blinked in surprise. “No,” Ladybug said quietly. “You really don’t. Because she’s right here.” She took a breath as Luka stared at her in confusion. “I’m tired of having to lie to the people I care about,” Ladybug quavered, and had to clear her throat. “And...I need help. I can’t do this all on my own. You’ve always been there for me, Luka. I absolutely trust you. And even though it’s dangerous, I…” She paused, steeling herself as she looked into his still-confused but compassionate eyes. His hand found her shoulder and gripped it, and she smiled. “Spots off,” she whispered, and closed her eyes against the pink glow of magic that engulfed her. 

When she opened them again, Luka was still staring at her from between her hands. His eyes were like saucers. 

“Oh,” he said weakly, and Marinette giggled. Slowly, she drew him forward, giving him time to back away, though he still seemed too stunned to move. His eyes flicked down to her lips just before she got too close to see anything else, and his lips formed to match hers as she pressed into him. It was nice, spreading a pleasant warmth through her— 

All at once Luka came back to life. His arms wrapped tight around her, nothing like the cautious way he had held her while she cried. This time he pulled her close and curled around her, and his mouth began to move against hers in a way that sent thrills through her whole body, and just like that she went from the kisser to the kissee, bent slightly back in his arms as he kissed her again and again. 

“You’re so amazing,” he gasped between kisses. “I thought i knew that, but—” The next kiss was harder, and his hand was buried in her hair, and she nearly felt dizzy from it. “You’ve been doing so much,” he said, mercifully pausing the kissing to pull back and look at her. “I’m so sorry, Marinette, I—I’m so sorry.” 

“Me too,” she whispered, curling up against him. “Me too, Luka. It was wrong of me to try and date you when I can barely keep it together as it is. I just...I wanted it to work so badly…” 

“It will work,” Luka promised, guiding her head down to his shoulder. “We’ll make it work. Now, I know, and—um...hi…” He trailed off, and when Marinette peeked up at him, he was staring over her shoulder, his expression bewildered. 

Marinette lifted her head and looked around to find they were encircled by the kwami.    

“Oh,” she giggled. “I guess I, um...have some introductions to make.” 

“I guess so,” Luka replied weakly. “Hey, Sass.”

Sass chuckled, and flew to perch on Luka’s shoulder. 

“Hey,” Marinette pouted, poking Sass in the tummy. “We’re having a moment, here.” 

“By all means,” Sass smirked. “Proccceed.” 

Marinette pouted, but Luka just began to laugh, and leaned down to kiss the pout off her face.

“You heard him.” He grinned, and stroked a hand through her hair. “We have a lot to talk about, huh?” Then he froze, his gaze going distant. 

“Luka?” Marinette put her hand on his cheek, and he looked back down at her.

“Jagged Stone’s my dad,” he said wonderingly, and when Marinette bit her lip and nodded, he added, “Shit.” 

“Shh,” Marinette put her finger over his lips. “The last thing I need is for the kwami to learn to swear.” 

 “What makes you think we can’t already?” Xuppu snickered, and Marinette groaned, burying her head in Luka’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she mumbled, fingers curling in her hoodie.

“Not really,” Luka admitted, and she felt his big hands running over her back absently. “It’s a lot.” He sighed, and dropped a kiss on the top of her hair. “I probably need to get back to the Liberty. Seems like there are a few people I need to talk to.” 

“Yeah.” Marinette lifted her head, and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. His eyes fell closed and he made a pleased noise in the back of his throat that she liked very much. “You should rest, too. So...kiss me goodbye, and we’ll talk about the rest of it after you deal with your family.” 

Luka nodded. “I’m here if you need me, though. I mean it, Marinette. I know we haven’t had time to talk about the details, but this—” he glanced around at the kwamis who were still watching them like a favorite soap, “this is a lot. I’m yours first anytime you need to talk, okay?”

Marinette smiled broadly. “You’re mine.” 

Luka snorted softly. “Like that’s news.” 

Marinette giggled. “Shut up and kiss me you dork, and then I’ll take you home by Ladybug express.” 

Luka frowned. “Shouldn’t I apologize to your parents first?”

Marinette reached up and ran her hands through his hair again, regarding his kiss-bruised lips with satisfaction. “I don’t think you’re especially presentable right now.”

Luka blushed, and she grinned wider. “Right,” he coughed. “Then, yes please.” 

Some time later, Ladybug set a breathless Luka down on the Liberty’s deck. She was gone a moment later, and Luka stared after her with a dopey smile.

“Did you just make out with Ladybug?”

Luka jumped and turned to face his sister’s maybe-impressed stare.

“No! No way!” Luka—well, not exactly lied, because he hadn’t been kissing Ladybug. He’d been kissing Marinette, who was...Ladybug...his knees went weak and he had to sit down on a nearby rope spool. Trying to cover, he grinned up at Juleka. “Marinette and I made up.”

Juleka raised her eyebrows. “Made up, or made out?”

“Both,” Luka laughed. “She is my girlfriend after all.” He laughed harder at Juleka’s expression. “You didn’t notice?” 

Juleka’s wide eyes said she hadn’t, but before she could answer, someone cleared their throat. Both siblings turned to find Jagged Stone standing sheepishly on their gangplank. He gave a little wave of his fingers, and Luka and Juleka exchanged a look. 

“Well, this is gonna be a weird conversation,” Luka muttered under his breath. 

Fiction Master Post

[cellard0ors]

Fic: Movement (4/5)

Still working on this for @peachworthy. Should wrap up sometime this week or next and then the full thing'll get posted to AO3. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 here for now!

They decide to do it on a Saturday night.

Link has the weekend off from work and no classes. Rhett’s schedule is also free. They discuss the matter in terse terms, both seeming nervous about the idea, but neither backing down.

As such, Saturday rolls around with little fanfare until late into the evening. An evening that finds Link sitting on the couch, one of his legs jiggling and bouncing about as he waits for Rhett.

Rhett comes out to the living room holding a pillow and he offers it to Link. Link looks at it with some confusion and his friend clears his throat, eyes darting away, “For your lap.”

“My-?” Link looks down and then to Rhett and then…oh. Link colors, realizing that the pillow is to be used in order to cover any potentially ‘arising’ situation on his part. Feel exposed yet stubborn, he remarks dryly, “Don’t think I’ll need that.”

Rhett lets out a loud laugh and pats him in the chest with it, “Trust me. If I’ve done my job right? You will.”

“…point taken,” Link says softly and he takes the pillow, settling it over his crotch. To be fair, he probably will pop wood. After all, he sometimes pops it when Rhett’s full clothed.

Nude?

Yeah.

Link presses down on the pillow harder, even the errant thought of a nude Rhett causing a stirring. Rhett walks to the television and fiddles with the remote.

An app that Link’s noticed before, but never bothered with, is clicked on. Erotes Plus. The screenshots for the videos that come up are…certainly something. Link looks away, almost overwhelmed by all the bare flesh before him. The titles of the videos are also a bit much. Rhett notices and Link can hear the smirk in his voice as he says, “Prude.”

Link scowls and glares back at him and the screen. He is nota prude. However, titles such as ‘Lonely Housewife Squirts for The First Time’ and ‘He Rides His Daddy Dry’ would take anybody aback. At least Link would like to think so – he supposes some people are more immune than others. After all, his own history with porn is on the small side.

During puberty he’d taken his healthy peeks at nude magazines and a few of his friends had snuck out adult VHS tapes to check out, but for the most part it hadn’t interested him. Granted, this was probably due to his eventual discovery that – while he appreciated the female form – it didn’t draw his interest quite like the male one did.

And finding gay porn? Where he grew up? Yeah, pretty much a completely impossibility. And then – when he’d finally managed to snag some – it had, once more, disappointed. It all just seemed so cold and callous. Like a business transaction with a boatload of grunting. Not at all to his tastes.

Rhett, scrolling through the videos, finally finds one titled simply ‘Movement’ and turns to Link with an apprehensive glance, “Still plenty of time to say ‘no’.”

Link’s throat is dry. Unlike some of the other screenshots, this one is vaguer. It’s two forms silhouetted in shadow. One of those forms is Rhett. Link feels numb as he speaks, “I’m good.”

Rhett clicks the video and it begins.

He moves over and sits near Link, lounging against the other side of the couch in an oh-so-casual way. As if an adult video starring him hasn’t just begun to play.

The film opens with a lithe redhead in a yoga outfit doing various poses. While this is being shown the title card appears followed by the starring and since Link highly doubts Rhett goes by ‘Jenessa Star’, he can’t help but chuckle at, “‘Donatello Velvet’?”

“What?” Rhett asks simply and Link gestures to the television, “That’s you, isn’t it?”

“Problem?”

“That’s the screen name you chose?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it, I just don’t see you as a ‘Donatello’,” Link grins at him and Rhett laughs, rubbing one finger along his top lip thoughtfully, “What would you’d’ve gone with then?”

“If I was doing adult film?” Link asks and at Rhett’s nod, he crosses his arms and thinks, “I don’t know…Bevin, maybe?”

Rhett tosses his head back and laughs and Link feels a fissure of delight at that sound, just as he always does. He turns back and the redhead’s poses have become…much more complex. Almost painful looking as she contorts herself to degrees Link wouldn’t think possible and then she rises, stretching out and that’s when Rhett enters.

Or maybe it would be better to think of it as Donatello enters. Yes, it’s a little easier that way and Link does his best to cling to that, to try and stay nonchalant as he offers dryly, “Well, well – there’s a familiar lookin’ fella.”

Rhett just hums and they both watch as he walks up to the woman. He runs his hands along her shoulders and down her arms, whispering into her neck huskily, “Good form.”

Link can’t help but let out a snort. Rhett rolls his eyes, “Okay, okay – I know, I know. Dialogue’s a bit-?”

“Bad?”

“…it could use some improvement.”

“Uh huh,” Link just beams and hey, this isn’t so bad. Cheesy and kind of silly and maybe it will just stay like this. Light and fun. For all Link knows, they won’t even watch the whole thing. Maybe just some of it and then they can turn on something els-!

Rhett begins kissing Jenessa’s neck, white teeth visibly dragging along her skin and Link’s whole body tightens. A phantom sting starts along the same side of his neck that Rhett’s touching on Jenessa. Jenessa’s whole throat arches back, a pleasured moan leaving her and Rhett’s tongue is…very pink.

Link’s Adam’s apple bobs as he says (much huskier than he’d like) “N-Nice camera work…”

Rhett just hums, “Mac’s always had a good eye.”

“Mac?”

“Mackenzie, the director of this one.”

Link just lets out a sound of acknowledgement as he watches Rhett reach around Jenessa and tug at her tank top. Tug until her small, pointed breasts pop free. He cups them in his hands and he has…great hands.

They looks so tan against her skin, palms rough and big, and Jenessa lets out a full throttle moan. Rhett teases the pink tips, fingertips agile as they play along the sensitive flesh, as they circle around her areolas.

She whimpers and turns, kisses him fully, passionately, and it’s…messy. Wet. Link can feel his whole heart thump hard at the sight. Janessa’s hair is shorter than Rhett’s – cropped close to her scalp and Rhett’s hands have abandoned her chest to run through the short strands.

Link barely stops himself from reaching up and touching his own hair, instinctively wanting to mimic how that might feel. To imagine Rhett doing it to him.

He tries not to fidget and talking, talking will help, “Surprised this isn’t more, ah, instant.”

Rhett shrugs, “Foreplay’s a thing, man.”

“No, I know,” Link knows his voice pitches a little high at this, defensive, “Just…figured, mean...’s porn…”

“Some of the earlier videos on here are like that, but when EP got bought out, the new owners took the company in a different direction.”

“EP?”

“Erotes Plus. The platform these films are on,” Rhett explains and then he starts mentioning a few things about different production companies and distributors and the like, but Link is too distracted because Jenessa is now fully naked and Rhett is on his knees between her legs, feasting on her moist lower lips.

The silken tip of his tongue is parting her, dancing along the bundle of nerves that is her clit and her head is tossed back on a loud, wild whine.

Her pale body undulates and she’s gripping his long hair so hard. Link feels as if he’s having an out of body experience. This is his roommate. His friend. The man he’s secretly in love with.

And he’s pleasuring this woman with such…focus. With intensity and finesse and when he rises, his erection is clear, straining at the linen pants that are containing it. Link points to the screen weakly, “Hippie clothes.”

The comment is stupid and unhelpful, but Rhett just laughs, “Yeah – kinda the theme of this series. I’m like, a Yoga Instructor or something? Least that's the way it was explained to me, so – linen pants, cotton top – I mean, we’ve had better costumes, but for this shoot-!”

Rhett is talking some more but, again, Link is barely listening. His eyes are transfixed by what’s taking place on the screen. Janessa easily strips off Rhett’s shirt and then his pants and – No. Underwear.

Link is seeing Rhett’s dick. It’s there…thick, but not as big as his own, a visible vein running along one side. Dusky dark and with a blushing pink tip and gently curling hair hiding his full, taunt sack…

“Link? Buddy? You doin’ alright?”

“Fine.”

“Lookin’ like you seen a ghost," Rhett teases, but there’s a breathless quality to his words, “My body all that bad?”

Link just shakes his head and watches as Jenessa strokes Rhett, as his head falls back and he lets out a shuddering gasp that Link feels in his very bones.

Link is suddenly very, very thankful for the pillow that bobs some as it reacts to the situation taking place beneath it. That situation being Link’s own dick perking upwards, making his jeans tight and constrictive.

“You…?” Something Rhett said finally seems to click in Link’s head, “You said this is a series?”

“Yup,” Rhett murmurs and now the film shows him pressing Jenessa against one of the studio walls and she raises one leg high. Insanely high. It’s a very gymnastic level move and Rhett slots his cock up with her opening, sliding hard and deep into her body.

Jenessa lets out a wail of pleasure as he presses in and she holds that leg up – all strength and grace as he begins to move within her at a steady rhythm.

Her hips answer some, but it’s more about how…open she is. And how deep he’s getting. They’re eyes are locked as he picks up his pace, rocketing in and out of her, shaking her whole form with his thrusts, her tiny breasts jiggling with each movement and movement, they call this…

“Got an award for this one.”

Thank God. That one comment draws Link back to some semblance of sanity even as his body quickens with an unspeakable longing, a carnal hunger that aches, “Really?”

“Uh huh,” Rhett says with no small amount of pride, “Best Sex Scene.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I mean, I owe it to her to be honest,” he waves to the screen, “She’s the one turning herself into a pretzel throughout this thing. Same for the rest of ‘em. They kept finding co-stars for me to work with who had had extensive training in this sort of body contortion. It was just my job to, uh, well…”

Rhett waves again and the answer is obvious: to fuck them through it. Link is not at all limber. In fact, he’s kind of a klutz. Nothing to match up with someone like this.

For some reason, this realization leaves him hollow. Cold. His arousal dims some, “Where’d you get the award from?”

“XRCO.”

Link makes some sound that would imply he understands, but he doesn’t. Rhett sighs, “Got nominated for Most Popular Male Performer on Pornhub but lost to Johnny Rockwell. Guy deserved it though. Performance he did that year was nuts.”

Link’s lost in the vocal cacophony that is erupting from the television speakers. Moans, gasps, grunts, cries of sheer ecstasy as Rhett and Janessa really ramp it up.

They’re in a different position now, Jenessa’s body once more arched at a crazy angle and Rhett's just...really getting in there. His hips are pumping double time, like a jackhammer, and she is loving it.

Her blue eyes are flashing with adoration, her lips curled in that moue that speaks to an almost pleasurable pain and Link can’t help but ask, “Are the others with her?”

Rhett takes a moment to process the question and when he realizes Link is asking about the other films in the series, he shakes his head, “Nah, man. You don’t usually have repeating partners. Like I said, they found other people who could bend in weird ways. The sequel to this sees me with Julian St. Croix. Great guy. Really smart. He’s actually working on another doctorate. Plans on working in the tech field when he retires, which – money he’s making, should be pretty damned soon. You want me to dial that up?”

Link just shakes his head. The idea of watching Rhett doing something like this with yet another person and with a man no less…

He feels crappy for, well, feeling crappy. This is Rhett’s job. He shouldn’t take this personally.

Besides, it’s not like Rhett knows how Link feels about him. To him, they’re just friends and he should play the part of friend – be a friend, a good friend, “I can see why you won the award, Rhett. You’re doing a…a great job. Real good acting.”

The sound of the shocked (yet oddly sharp) laughter that leaves Rhett at that actually causes Link to finally look at him.

Rhett’s face is a ruddy red, like he’s embarrassed or something, and he’s looking at Link with a bit of a wildfire in his eyes, “‘Good acting? Are you serious?”

Link finally shifts about on the couch (which feels fantastic considering his body has been fighting off a plethora of sensations for a while now) as he fully turns to him, pillow still firmly in place, “Of course! I mean, it-it seems like you’re really into this girl,” he gestures to the screen, “when you’re doing this and I imagine that’d take some acting chops.”

He chews on his bottom lip and lowers his gaze, hands ghosting over the pillow as he talks to it more than Rhett, “Un-unless you really are into her.”

“Into her?” Rhett pokes one finger over to the television, “Into Janessa?”

“Yeah, I mean…if-if you two are a couple or-or were one or-?”

“Me and Janessa?” Rhett asks incredulously and some of the heat seems to leave him. Link gets the impression that Rhett had, for a moment, been mad or affronted by Link’s well intentioned compliment, but now is completely changing track. Now Rhett seems charmingly baffled, “You think I’m into Janessa?”

“I-I was just saying if you’re not into her in this,” Link waves to the screen where (seeing as the volume is dying down) it would seem the film is reaching its conclusion, “Then the acting is good and if you are-!”

“I’m not,” Rhett confirms firmly, “I am very much not, nor was I ever, into Janessa. We’re friendly, but we’d never work as a couple, man. She likes cats.”

Rhett says the last as if it’s a blasphemy and Link can’t help but giggle, suddenly feeling bright and light even though he knows better than to do so, “Problem?”

“Not a big fan of lil demons…”

“Noted, “Link sighs and he feels much, much better. The film is finally over, he’s seen some of Rhett’s work, and he can now say the following with sheer confidence, “I’m proud of you.”

And with that, Rhett freezes. He freezes solid, back going ram rod straight, and his eyes – they’re as round as dinner plates.

Big and green and looking at Link like’s a wild anomaly and Link worries that maybe he, somehow, inadvertently offended him with the remark so he’s quick to explain, “I-I mean it, bo. I’m proud of you. Going out there and-and doing something like this. Being so…so exposed and vulnerable and for anyone to see and yeah, sure, I mean, I guess it’s just for people to-to beat off to or whatever, but when you think about it, it’s something that brings people pleasure, which is a lot better than bringing something bad into people's lives and I know some would argue that porn is like, some gateway into violent dark tendencies or whatever, but for the average person it’s a good thing to explore and the fact you can so freely provide that to them and not be ashamed-!”

Link is blathering.

He’s a blathering idiot.

But he feels like if he stops talking, Rhett might snap at him. Or be mad. Or-!

But instead Rhett just shakes his head and whispers, “You’re unbelievable.”

Link’s diatribe cuts off. His blood stops in his veins. He feels completely seized.

“I’ve been trying so hard…fighting with everything in me,” Rhett breathes and he just…eases forward, eases closer. He’s in Link’s personal space and Link wonders if he should back up or something.

He can feel the heat coming off Rhett’s skin. His breath is bathing Link’s face as he rasps, “But I can’t anymore. You’ll have to forgive me, but…”

Rhett kisses him.

Rhett. Kisses. Him.

Rhett kisses Link.

Their lips meet in the smallest, quickest, sweetest little peck. The sound of it, the quick wet click of their lips…it’s earth shattering, sound-barrier breaking.

And Link feels his whole nervous system lurch at it. And Rhett is still looking at him, searching his eyes wildly. Link blinks and licks his lips and tries to speak, but there’s nothing to say.

Rhett just grins softly, “Bad for business…that’s what you are…”

Link’s gaze dips to Rhett’s mouth. To his lips. Lips that were on his seconds ago. His eyes feel heavy lidded as he gulps and Rhett just huffs as he kisses him again. Again.

Another kiss and this one is more than just a peck. This one? This one is the one Link’s been dreaming of, the one he’s been wishing for.

This kiss is perfect.

[rafaelblackbird15]

Teen Wolf Fic Recs Part 1: Steter

These took me awhile to put together, so please enjoy them. And if there's a problem with any of the links, (as this is my first time making a fic rec) just comment and I'll fix it.

These are Steter, Stiles Stilinski/Peter Hale fanfictions. Just skim through them and give them a try at your own will, I really enjoyed these.

Read the tags on the actual fics for appropriate reading.

And check out my other Sterek fic recs [Part 3] and [Part 4] and my Steter fic recs [Part 2]

********

heartbeat (hide your lies) by wolfscrow on Archive of Our Own

Words: 7323

Chapters: 2/?

Summary:

What he doesn’t expect, stupidly he should add, is the fucking werewolf that bit Scott.

Stiles runs into a clearing when a hush falls through the forest, spooking him into stopping just at the edge of it where the werewolf stands on the other side. He’s gigantic on two legs, feet twisted like an actual animal's are. And the arms hang on both sides brush the ground with their length, claws thick and black like Stiles remembers. His snout is long and formed into a loose snarl, eyes crimson bright and pupils narrowed into pinpricks.

Stiles stops breathing at the sight, goosebumps rattling up his skin and eyes catching on the blood that drips down the beast's fingers. He doesn’t see how this thing could be human at any time, so monstrous and terrifying as it is.

**********

don't tell me you wouldn't like this (watch this with me) by ladywinter on Archive of Our Own

Words: 845

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

So Saucery was talking about Peter/Stiles in her tumblr and I'd mentioned wanting, in ep 11 or 12, for them to interact while Derek was watching and which caused her to mutter endearments to which I started to comment... and then it got out of hand.

I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry.

*********

Stumbled Into Faith by orphan_account on Archive of Our Own

Words: 2315

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

The first time Peter Hale offered Stiles the bite, he declined.

The second time, he didn’t. But he didn’t exactly consent, either.

*********

a savage such as i by ahab2692 on Archive of Our Own

Words: 6645

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

“So what, are you taking me out to the woods to whack me? Is this the part of the movie where Al Pacino stares at the baby in the church while all of the henchman go out to slaughter his enemies? Because I kinda don’t want to die, and I definitely don’t want to be in pain. I’m not really a pain person. Well, okay, there was that one website that- No. Never mind. Shutting up now.”

*********

you know what this road is paved with by darthjamtart on Archive of Our Own

Words: 902

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

Peter's grip is bruise-tight around Stiles' wrist, reeling him in when he tries to jerk away.

[alternate scene from the season 1 finale]

********

Little Monster by covarla on Archive of Our Own

Words: 13108

Chapters: 3/?

Summary:

“I hate to bother you with this,” Scott began hesitantly. Stiles felt his stomach drop. Those words never meant good things. “There’s been some murders.”

There was the crunch of gravel behind him and Stiles turned. “Hold that thought one sec,” Stiles said as the redcap he’d been tracking lunged at him.

*********

Drabbles & Ficlets series by asarcasticwitch on Archive of Our Own

Works: 5

Complete: No

Description:

A place for all of my fics with five hundred words or less.

All works are completely unrelated, and none will be continued or expanded upon.

*********

Too Many War Wounds, But Not Enough Wars by neglectedtuesday on Archive of Our Own

Words: 26077

Chapters: 1/1

Part 1 of the Irresistible series

Summary:

The Nematon is dying. The once bountiful tree is withering, a husk of it’s former glory. It’s skeletal, shrunken and wilted and no one knows how to fix it. It’s supposed to be the height of summer but you wouldn’t know it. The Nematon isn’t the only tree that’s falling apart. Peter folds his arms. His eyes narrow as Jennifer, the emissary from Kali’s pack, tries to communicate with the sentient tree. She’s waving her arms around and chanting but so far all she’s managed to do is look like a complete imbecile. She’s the sixth emissary in as many months and still the tree decays.

*********

Watch My Enemies Get Destroyed by fur_claws_and_eyeballs on Archive of Our Own

Words: 5216

Chapters: 1/1

Part 1 of the Watch My Enemies Get Destroyed series

Summary:

He looks exactly as Peter had seen him last. Except everything is all wrong, the clothes too baggy on his thin frame, face gaunt and drawn in grief. Unnaturally bright eyes rimmed in black glare against pale skin. There is a fiery determination there, but all warmth is gone from his expression. He holds himself with equal parts stiff exhaustion and predatory grace. Peter is enthralled...and filled with trepidation.

“Stiles?”

***********

What Goes Around by KouriArashi on Archive of Our Own

Words: 71451

Chapters: 16/16

Summary:

“Well,” Stiles says, “if they’re going to hunt werewolves, I’m going to hunt them.”

It’s a ridiculous statement from a ten-year-old, but he’s obviously one hundred percent sincere. For the first time since the fire, Peter feels life stir inside him, feels purpose. It’s kismet, clearly. He’ll never meet the child he would have had with Olivia. Instead he’s met this boy, this brilliant, determined, cynical child with a world of potential.

Peter kneels down in front of him so they’re at eye level. “How do you feel about doing that together?”

**********

(baby) maybe that matters more by lavenderlotion on Archive of Our Own

Words: 16610

Chapters: 4/10

Summary:

“Well, well, well,” drawls a familiar voice that Stiles hadn’t even considered he might ever hear again. “The token pack human, left all alone?”

This is my personal favourite, I think it's beautiful and I always thought about this scenario myself. So this is, just wonderful.

*********

[cocoacinna]

indescribable. // tenya iida x reader/oc

warnings: intense smooching, leading up to sexy times but no sexy times, alcohol mention, ua students now adults, btw i did a bad job at describing tenya’s haircut y’all remember the kamino raid ep? yeah it’s that but minus the fake mustache also there’s mention of the kamino ep okay bye

the door creaked loudly as the two of you tumbled into the door. your lips were pressed against his, his hands gripping your hips as if it was the end of the world. he loses balance and the two of you land on the bed. lips still pressed together, you undo his shirt, button by button. your hand combs through his navy blue hair, looking for the right spot, before gripping onto it tightly.

your chest tightens from the lack of air. your mind tells you to pull away, but besides the tightness in your chest, it’s an indescribable feeling. indescribable, but not for too long. what was it? everlasting longing? a teenage crush turned into adult lust? what WAS it?

at last, you pull away and finally get a look at the new but all so familiar face. his frames perched on the bridge on his nose, his eyes the same dark, relaxing color as his hair, and his lips, parted and peach.

your mind is lost. you detach from all of your surroundings, wandering within all of your feelings.

when did you start feeling this way? and when did it get so...strong?

the brash loudness was nothing new in class 1-A. you sat at the back, more specifically in the lower left corner, away from everyone and interaction itself. you repeatedly kept looking at different parts of the large classroom, looking for something to get and keep your attention. your eyes keep looking at the same spots until you finally get something that catches your attention. a fairly tall and sturdy teen with navy blue hair and eyes. his eyes were sharp and stern and there was another feeling you could see, but you couldn’t get off the tip of your tongue. glancing over to the two people beside him. a girl with a hazelnut bob and bubblegum pink cheeks and one of the brightest smiles you’ve seen. a boy with a messy dark pine afro, freckles, and a definitive scar on his hand. they were all talking to each other and that’s when you realized what you saw in him. gentleness.

the hungry lips on your neck snatch you from your daze, and your lips part to sing sultry moans as his lips suck and pull on your skin, sure to leave a bruise. you feel the straps of your dress being pulled off and sigh breathlessly .

“it’s about time.” you whispered teasingly, longing for his gentle touch. you toss your head back and look into the ceiling, getting lost again in your whirlwind of emotions.

it was only hours ago...or minutes…? you can’t even remember what you said.

the club was dark but flashed random colors all too quickly. the dainty present in your hand shook frantically. you could recognize your former classmates over in a booth, but why did it make you so nervous? to see them again. you could see kirishima very obviously in the booth. he had broadened, his hair longer compared to his U.A days. the scar on his eye had faded, but there was a new one on the right side of his face. he was talking to someone who looked very familiar but…new. you couldn’t spit out who you thought it was. as usual. the person kiri was talking to turn to the side to face him and…

you could tell exactly who it was.

the same sharp and stern eyes, the sleek frames, the way he smiled at the people he loved and cared about. you felt your chest tighten and your ears felt clogged. the shaking in your hands worsened, and your breaths were erratic. you rose your head, and as you rose your head, you took in a deep whiff of air, and let it out. the shaking ceased, and you felt like...well, you. you opened your eyes and kirishima was waving at you and calling your name, but you couldn’t really hear him. the familiar figure noticed kirishima waving and turned around.

you felt your heart drop. he was indescribable. again. he looked, pretty much the same but… his haircut looks like that time when him and the other 4 went and did some stupid shit.

tenya looked over and finally locked eyes with you. your fingernails dig into the wrapping of the present, and you felt as if your heart would practically beat out of your chest. he smiled and waved at you, and as if you were at his beck and call, you strolled over to him. you smiled longingly at him and he was quick to wrap his arms around you, squeezing you for a moment. in that short moment, you got a whiff of his cologne. it was….clean-smelling. It had notes of pine, mint, and patchouli. It had also sparked a steep warmth inside of you that you’ve pushed aside for years.

“i appreciate you coming, y/n.” he said. no matter how loud it was, you could always hear him. you handed him his present.

*

you sat at the mini bar, the light surrounding the variety of drinks straining your eyes. you looked at the vodka bottle and the limes and lemons in the bowl.

“bartender!” you called sharply.

the bartender came over, and cocked and eyebrow. “you need something?”

“vodka and lime. in little shot glasses. 5 or 6. something that’ll make me not hear what I’m saying.”

“smart combo. toss a bit of whiskey in there and that’ll do the trick. coming right up.”

soon enough you had your shots, and you downed them one by one. it wasn’t too much to get you tipsy, but enough to let your mouth run loose.

your intentions were set for the night.

*

you were swirling your drink around in your cup as tsuyu was informing you on what you’ve missed over the years, but your gaze was focused on something else. he was over by the mini bar, a tall glass in his hand. you would’ve assumed vodka but with how tame he is, it’s most likely water. you dropped your cup onto the table and began to make your way over to him.

your senses dulled, the colors were blurry, and before you knew it you were in front of him, spilling your feelings. you couldn’t even hear what you were saying, but you felt your mouth moving and knew it was a lengthy confession. you felt your cheeks burn with embarrassment and possible regret.

it felt like forever before you got some sort of reaction. a hand squeezed your arm. you felt another hand gently explore your hair before settling at the back of your head. you leveled your eyes at his chest, then at his eyes.

his eyes were...kind. his fingers glazed the nape of your neck, and it made you shiver.

before you knew it, his lips were on yours in a soft, gentle kiss.

with your heart thumping in your chest, you lean your head to the side, deepening the kiss.

it confirmed all you needed to know.

*

you exhaled loudly as you felt your head hit the pillow. he peppered kisses from your neck all the way down to your stomach. your muscles clenched at the sensation and you closed your eyes, anticipation in your gut.

his hands gripped your legs, raising them onto his shoulders. he leaned in to kiss you again, quick and passionate. the both of you were out of breath. your hand cradled his face and your mouth formed the words before you could even think them.

“i love you.”

taggies!!!: @ramelanin @greywritesfics

[headspacedad]

I posted 11,270 times in 2021

153 posts created (1%)

11117 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 72.7 posts.

I added 955 tags in 2021

#sound on - 347 posts

#passing this along - 133 posts

#fic rec - 118 posts

#thanks for the tag! - 94 posts

#beautiful - 53 posts

#yes - 51 posts

#headcanon - 48 posts

#awww - 41 posts

#but - 36 posts

#oldtron - 34 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#also god probably got a good chuckle out of the completely unnecessary twists they got into just to eat something that he never said wasn't

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

The journey with Daniel Henney | Hamilton Watch

41 notes • Posted 2021-09-24 02:53:04 GMT

#4

I have had someone (@braincoins) call me out and demand a rabbit tax.  My phone didn’t want to give up its latest Fizz pictures but, for the fuzz and for @braincoins we will prevail.  Here we are, the Fizz That Is! in the fur (and the hay chaos she brings with her)

49 notes • Posted 2021-08-23 00:58:30 GMT

#3

Do you think it's safe to say that the majority of people treat the last two seasons of VLD as non-canon? (Or depending on who you ask, anything after season two?)

I don't know if I'd say 'majority'. First off I feel like there were a lot of casual viewers who probably just dropped the series and never gave it any thought afterward (lucky them). And second I would like to add the disclaimer that this is my opinion only, I don't keep a tight grip on the pulse of the general VLD fandom and that I cultivate my dash very strongly so I really only hear a very small part of it that generally tends to ring the same notes I do myself. From what I've gathered though I would feel safe saying the majority of fans who were invested seem to have rejected the last season for sure. Personally? I use how fans feel about season seven to measure whether they're Shiro fans or not. Because the second to last season was - yes, okay, it was shit and illogical writing with a lot of 'boy are we wasting time or what with this episode' and a huge dose of 'why is no one acting IC?' as well as a very firm sprinkling of 'boy, the paladins really all do hate each other, don't they?' - but despite that there were some interesting and intriguing concepts in the second to last season. They were jarring and poorly introduced, they weren't explored or explained but the interesting concepts and hints that It Could Have Been More were all over that second half of season seven. In fact there's a really solid fan theory that season seven WAS written with different characters in parts that other ones ended up playing and when viewed that way, the second half of the season would have made a lot of sense and been a very satisfying story (which makes it that much more frustrating because the story was Right There and the EPs refused to take it). So season seven at least had potential.

Except.

Except for the way Shiro was treated right from the very beginning when he suddenly wasn't piloting Black and no explanation was ever given why - -and all the way through to the end of it where he either sat out fights his team needed him during, was rendered helpless by being handcuffed to his fucking belt, wasn't even drawn into group scenes, was taken out of commission despite the fact 'our paladin armor must have protected us' while he was wearing paladin armor, was left out of that horrible 'we all hate each other' 'game show' only Great Heroes were allowed to play (and frankly, we can all just be glad he wasn't included because - wow, that episode was baaaaad) all the way through to dying two more times, going into screaming torture two more times, not having any family OR friends show up (because the EPs said it would be 'boring'), losing the fight that should have been his resolution fight and otherwise being reduced to a helpless, useless, exposition spouting sudden expert on how Voltron works set-piece. He was given no resolution to any of his issues introduced in the first few seasons and handed a giant robot that wasn't even allowed to be useful because that would eclipse how super special Voltron was supposed to be. Oh, and he's got a boyfriend for rep points but the boyfriend dumped him because Shiro wouldn't give up his long term dream so that he could become a stay at home house husband instead and then, multiple years after the breakup in which he is never mentioned or even vagued about, he dies so Shiro can get a sad. Ah, yeah, and let's not forget that Shiro is also suddenly dying of some disease that was never mentioned before or after or even given a name or resolution for. And finally lets include the fact that at one point the writers literally had Keith actually stand there in front of Shiro and tell him to his face that the team (without him in it anymore) was stronger than ever. So - yeah.

Did I mention they cut off even more of his arm too and gave him an ugly hoverboard there instead?

Basically what I'm saying is that I think the majority of active fans are rightfully upset with season eight (which was a whole other shit show ball of 'we don't know what we're doing' writing) but probably pretty content with season seven or at least don't reject it outright. There were intriguing concepts in it, most of the other characters got to do interesting things in season seven, most of them got moments to shine, they were still the 'heroes' (oh boy at that can of worms) of the story. Lance took some hard hits in season seven and so did Allura - and poor Lotor fans. How dirty Lotor fans were done, though mostly that was season six's ending. Same with Jiro/Kuron fans - that main beef was season six's ending and the lack of acknowledgment during season seven. So absolutely there are a lot of fans out there that are upset with seasons seven (and six). But I suspect, from my limited experience only, that most general fans are probably okay with season seven. (The show was hemorrhaging viewers and fans by that point anyway at an alarming rate). I also suspect that a lot of those fans that got disgusted with seasons six and seven went over to the 'there's no canon after season two' boat and frankly, I tend to paddle along next to it from time to time myself (except I hate to lose Jiro and Sven and Slav).

tl;dr: I think the majority of Shiro fans would like to treat the last two seasons (or everything past season two) as non-canon. I suspect there are several other character's fan bases that feel the same way. But I suspect, and could be completely wrong, that the majority of general fans only reject season eight and are okay with season seven (beyond the regular hiccups of disliking certain parts but still accepting the canon as a whole).

49 notes • Posted 2021-06-13 22:28:45 GMT

#2

So, I saw that post about Paladins gaining powers from their Lions, and all I can think about is how much of a little shit they'd be to each other. And I don't think Shiro would be exempt from the very occasional lighthearted use of their space magic. Imagine arguments over cleanup after meals. "Yes, everyone. Its a valid point that the last person to leave should clean up. But, uh -- (Ports away)." to the jeers and boos of the others. "Teleporting is hax! I call hax - Shiro!"

I think you’re talking about the post by

@mckinlily

so I’m going to flag them over here to get their take on things because I’m sure they’ve got all kinds of wonderful headcanon to go with their headcanon about that.  Personally for me?  At the end of the day, the paladins, Shiro included, are only humans.  And Shiro is the twenty five year old in charge of a bunch of parentless teenagers.  There are going to be times its just - its too much to resist how easy having those powers are going to make certain things.  Kind of the way if most of us were Jedi we’d generally just be using our Force powers to get things out of the fridge so we didn’t have to stand up and walk over to it.  So as much as I am sure Shiro tries his best to not only be fair but also to carry the majority of the burden of just about anything the team is doing -

there is no way the man doesn’t just sometimes go ‘outta here’ and disappear like that one gif of the kid throwing the peace sign before he fades out.  And I don’t think the kids can really hold it against him.

55 notes • Posted 2021-04-13 19:21:23 GMT

#1

HOLY CRAP!

why didn’t I know that our much beloved Josh Keaton is the one voicing Steve Rogers in the new Marvel’s What If first episode?

72 notes • Posted 2021-08-12 02:36:52 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[stachmousworld]

P*$$y fairy P. finale

Pairing: Steve rogers x WOC original character

Tag: Daddy kink, vaginal fingering, virginity loss (blood), oral sex, consensual all the way through.

Part 1

She closed her eyes…

“So, do you remember, now?” Steve asked, still on the armchair.

She swallowed with difficulty.

“Y-ep.”

“What happened then?”

“I lost my virginity to you.”

Steve hummed. “Yep, to me. Then you had to go back to college, and I didn’t see you again, until now. A year later. I had to dig up a little bit and I found out that I’m still the first and only one.”

She grunted annoyed. Who told him that? Was it Julie? No. She didn’t even know she had lost her virginity.

“Don’t pout. I have my ways. I was the only one, right?”

“Yes,” she hissed with snark.

“Good. Because I haven’t slept with anyone since you. Been having a serious case of blue balls and God know I’m not a teenager anymore, so there shouldn’t be a reason why I have to jerk off three times a day.”

“3? At your age?” She asked, suspicious. She didn’t really want to focus on the rest of what he said. She couldn’t think of his balls. His balls that she had in her hand a year ago.

“I fucked you 4 to 5 times last year, you didn’t complain. At the end, you were a babbling mess, not that I was doing better, mind you.”

4 or 5. She barely remembered the first one but the others. Doubts creeped inside her mind.

“Missionary, cowgirl, doggy, spoon, and doggy again, because why not. Your pussy was dripping with my cum. I even second guessed putting a plug in you.”

Ok. She was definitely aroused and way too wet. She cursed her boldness. She should have put a panty. Now her juices were running down her leg.

“Ok. I believe you. Can we go now?” She asked, hastily.

“Why so quick?”

“We are supposed to be at this conference,” she explained as if he was dumb.

“No.” He simply replied.

“Mister Rogers –.”

“Daddy,” he corrected her.

Her mouth fell open.

“You should close it or I’ll put something for you to suck on.”

Her mouth shut in an audible click.

“Mis –.”

Steve tsked disapprovingly. She sighed inwardly.

“Daddy,” she started through gritted teeth. “The conference is starting in a few. If we don’t want to get late, we have to go now.”

There was something in Steve’s smile that didn’t seem right. He patted his lap. She raised an eyebrow. He patted again.

She straightened her back and walked with confidence toward him. He eyed her expectantly.

She sat down on his legs. Steve grabbed her by the waist, turned her and forced to straddle his hips.

“A pretty girl like you, who am I to resist. Plus, I brought a little gift.”

“Why do you always sound ominous?”

“If ominous is making you cum then I’m evil,” he concluded with a smirk.

They stayed in this position for a while. Actually, she almost couldn’t feel her legs. She tried to move but he blocked her moves.

“Do you dream of me? Pounding you like the first time. Making you faint and die a little.” He didn’t let her answer. His hands went lower between them. She heard the unmistakable sound of belt and a zipper. She looked quickly down and tried to get off him. Steve caged her with his arms pressing her chest against his. There again, she couldn’t move. Her cheeks got warm. It reminded her of her second orgasm. How he bent her legs so far and he went so…

The only warning she got was the tip of dick hitting her hole and he slid in with ease. They both moaned. She gripped his shoulders, biting the tendon of his neck.

“Home.” He moaned. “’feels like coming home.” He grabbed her buttcheeks, massaging them. His rough hands spanked her flesh until she yelped. He licked her lobe and bit it. She keened, hands roaming in his luscious hair.

Hungry for his lips, she grabbed his head and kissed him. For the first time she was the one initiating one. Steve let her do whatever she wanted. She was still clumsy but did her best to please him. As a reward he slapped her cheeks and rolled his hips pressing the rest of his dick in.

“Bounce on my dick, baby girl. I want to see those boobs jiggle.”

She started moving and almost lost her stability. It felt so good…his dick felt better than in her dreams. She moved up and down, enjoying the pulsating hardn—

“Daddy!” she screamed as Steve bit her right nipple. He sucked the bead and rolled the other with his finger. She hissed and moaned not knowing where to concentrate. The pain and pleasure brought her to new heights.

“God, you’re still too tight,” Steve grunted. He grabbed her, stood up and walked to the kitchen. She tried to correct him and show him her bedroom, but he kept bouncing her on his dick. She screamed his name.

He slid out and bent her down on the kitchen table. He opened her lips and spit on her hole. Her hole twitched. Steve slapped her cheek and slid right in.

“Such a good girl…” He moaned. “Your hole was made for me.” He slammed in. Her eyes rolled back, she gurgled something resembling his name. She gripped the table and tried to stay stable. Steve chuckled darkly and started pounding her pussy. She bumped her head against the table to refrain her pleasure. It was so…she grunted as he lifted her left leg and placed it on the table. The new angle allowed him to get deeper.

“Fuck…should have fucked you in your dorm…should have fuckin…” He trailed off. Their grunts and moan resonated in the room. His balls slapped violently against her clit pushing her slowly over the edge.

He leaned forward his stroke getting deeper.

“I’m com…” He didn’t finish and bit her shoulder. Her entire body tensed. Her walls spasmed around Steve’s unforgiving dick. She didn’t know how he could be so hard and fast. She gasped and whined as he kept fucking her, stretching her hole so pleasurably.

“So tight…” he moaned. His body stilled. She sighed in relief that he was done. She enjoyed the feeling of fullness and the sticky mess inside her. She rolled her hips loving the friction.

“You really are pussy fairy. Should have known you’d steal my sanity,” he whispered on her back. She felt him smile and chuckled.

“Pussy fairy, huh?”

“Didn’t you listen to Jhene Aiko’s song?”

“You know Jehne Aiko?” She asked, shocked.

“I don’t live under a rock, you know?” He slid out of her and kneeled. “Anyway, I have a little gift for you.”

“Money?” She asked, hopeful.

“Better.”

“Better than mo—”

She gasped as a thick plastic plug slid inside her sore vagina.

“I don’t think it’s better than money,” she mumbled, tired.

“Think about it this way. At least, if you get pregnant, you’d be rich.” He helped her to get on her feet and held her in his arms. Pregnant?

“Do you see me pregnant?” She laughed, awkward.

“You’d be perfect,” he replied sincerely. His eyes bore into hers. The tension from previously turned into something more…intimate. She dropped her gaze and shuffled her feet.

“Thanks,” she replied quietly.

“I…” He cleared his throat. “I know that the situation is kind of weird but I’d…I don’t want you to think I’m using you for sex.”

He caressed her cheek softly.

“I have known you since Julie’s 20th birthday. I know it sounds creepy and I’m almost twice your age, but I’m interested in you. Really, not just your body. The discussion we held, the multiple conferences you accompanied me to and all the other activities where Julie couldn’t suddenly go.” He stopped talking, sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. Realization dawned on them.

“Julie…” she groaned, annoyed. “That’ll explain a lot, actually.”

Steve shook his head in disbelief. “My own daughter…it’s always our family. Always.”

Gathering her confidence, she spluttered. “Me too, you know.”

“Your family did that to you?” He asked, stunned.

“No. I mean I’m also interested in you,” she answered, suddenly shy.

Steve’s face shone. He grabbed her face and kissed her with passion. She responded with as much fervor. Happiness bloomed inside her chest.

A little later.

“So, you are my boyfriend or sugar daddy?” She joked before running away.

Steve stayed silent behind her. She giggled thinking she had won. Until a deep vibration erupted in her vagina. She stumbled and rolled on the floor as the plug vibrated. She clenched her legs and writhed on the floor. Waves of warmth washed over her.

“What did you, sugar?” He said, kneeling next to her head. His grinned was full of mirth.

“S-s-orry.”

Steve tsked. He stood up and unzipped his pants. His throbbing erection popped out. The vibration went higher. She bit her tongue.

Steve waved his dick, eyebrow raised. She rolled onto her knew barely making it. He slowed the plug. She sighed, a little relieved. It wasn’t better. The vibration was constant, and the plug was moving every, time she did. Steve understood her issue and approached until his dick was in her face.

“Last year, I didn’t have the time to cum in your mouth,” he explained, simply as if it was a normal reason to shove his dick in her face, while torturing her with a plug. “The faster you go, the faste –”

He didn’t have to say it twice. She swallowed his dick to the root. Steve grabbed a fist of hair and pressed her closer. She gurgled and contracted her throat around his dick making him moan her name. His grip loosened up.

She bobbed her head loving the thickness in her mouth. The saltiness of his precum and the vein throbbing on her tongue were salivating.

It didn’t take long for him to cum. He grabbed her head and fucked her throat. She closed her eyes enjoying the burn and discomfort.

Above her Steve was grunting, swearing and breathing hard.

“…made to suck…on your knees all the time…”

She barely had a warning before he came in her mouth. She swallowed quickly his load, coughing when a few went the wrong way.

“Good girl.”

 Fin.

[sorceress-coffee]

Gnome your Enemy, Courting Hazards

AO3 Link (available on 7/31/2020) This is pretty much Ep 4 pt 1& 2 with revisions.

River’s P.O.V.

I watched as Draal stood, growling lowly at Jim. “5 days,” he snarled, “we will fight in the forge.” He turned, huffing through his nose blowing out a cloud of steam. He walked out, head held high, nodding to me as he passed. I tilt my head in recognition, debating on following Draal to ask what had happened. As I stepped to follow after him, I was suddenly lifted from the ground and into a group hug with Toby and Jim, Arrrgh had already caught them.

Blinky clapped two of his four hands, grinning up at us, “Excellent, Master Jim! We should start your trying right away if you are to defeat Draal!”

Arrrgh laughed deeply as he walked out of the bar before setting Jim, Toby, and I down again.

Toby punched Jim’s arm, grinning “This is gonna be awesome! Right River? Oh! Hey River, when did you get here?” he asked.

“I walked in during your confrontation. What made you snap?” I asked Jim, frowning.

Jim was scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, “Well, I got in a fight with Steve, and-”

I raised my hand to cut him off, “No, why did you challenge Draal?”

“He was talking shit about his and Jim’s sparring yesterday!” Toby almost yelled, glaring at the memory.

Blinky clasped my shoulder as he guided us to the forge, “Come now masters, we have much training to do!” He took notice of the metal rod in my hand. “River? What do you have there?”

I lift the rod, looking over it confused for a moment, “Oh,” I held it out and tightened my grip slightly, as I did the rod began to glow blue and the lance I had forged with Vendel sprung to life, the veining in the staff giving off a faint sapphire glow. “Vendel and I found a way to channel my magic, he told me to find Jim to practice, but I think I’ll pass for today, he needs to learn troll fighting, not how hard I can bash his skull in.” I teased, lightly whacking Jim on the top of his head with the non-bladed end of the lance.

Jim laughs, smacking the lance away from him. “Those were the drawings you were working on Friday night, right? It looks amazing River!

“No way! I thought your magic was gonna be your cool superhero thing, now you have a weapon too?” Toby asked, pouting slightly.

I shrugged, “Think of it more as a sharp wand.”

Blinky held his hands out, “May I?” He asks. I smile and place the lance in his hands. He tested the weight, swinging it slightly before looking over the sapphire veining closely. “Incredible Lady River! You made the gems for this?”

I nod, reaching into my black satchel and grabbing the extra gem I took, not the one that looks like Draal’s crystalline back. I handed it to Blinky, taking my lance back. “You should see the one in the center of the Heartstone. I went a little overboard.”

Blinky inspects the gem closely before handing it back. “I will once Jim’s training is finished for the day, thank you Lady River.”

I nod noticing Toby’s eyes are locked on the crystal now in my hand, I chuckle before handing it to him. “I thought you could add this to your collection.”

Toby grins taking the crystal, he starts jumping, listing off various gems, trying to place what it could be. Arrrgh taps the stone, smiling “Not normal gem. Magic.” He explains, letting Toby know he won’t be to categorize it.

Jim shakes his head at his best friend’s excitement, “He’s not going to stop talking about this for a while,” he smiles to me before patting my shoulder. “Why don’t you head home River, you’ve been here for two days straight.”

Smiling, I nod, letting the lance collapse again. “I’ll be heading out soon. Is it daylight?”

Blinky shakes his head, “Sunset, actually. You’ll want to hurry home before Bular is out running around.”

Nodding, I hug Jim and ruffle Toby’s hair. “I’ll see you later tonight! Bye Blinky! Bye Arrrgh!” I took off running towards the exit for Trollmarket, keeping my eye out for a certain blue Troll. I frown slightly when I don’t see him, shrugging it off. Draal had a fight he probably wasn’t too worried about preparing for, but still, he was probably getting ready.

I climbed up the crystal steps to the canal exit of Trollmarket, playing with the lance as I walked, twisting it around my hand and back, slowly at first, trying to get the motions down. As I went to flip the lance over my hand it hit part of the stone wall and bounced back, hitting me in the head. “Ow…” I quickly grab the side of my head, trying to dull the throbbing. A sudden burst of laughter caught my attention. I looked up to see Draal, bent over laughing, at the canal exit.

I huffed at him, giving him a mock glare, “Oh, come on! I’ve barely had it an hour! Did you think I’d be doing backflips by now?” I asked, pouting a bit, still rubbing my head.

He straightens up, slowly getting control of his laughter, “You were just doing well, and then you were bested by a wall.” Snickering, “That’s two walls that have it out for you.” He remarked, referring to my destroying a wall in the forge during his and Jim’s spar.

“And here I thought you were supposed to save me when the walls decided to attack.” I snarked back.

He smirked before opening the exit, walking through. “I remember saying not to launch yourself off of walls when I can’t be there to help you, not that I’d protect you if they attacked.”

I followed him through the exit, walking beside him as we head in the direction of my house, laughing. “Well, I kept up part of my deal!”

���Still bested by the wall.” He smirked down at me.

Rolling my eyes, I collapse the lance, slowing my pace. “Well, I don’t have any training yet, of course, the wall is going to win! That’s like me trying to pick a fight with you!”

Draal slows to match my pace, snorting at the thought. “You’re too smart to try that. Even for a fleshbag.” He tilts his head in thought. “You will be training with the troll hunter?”

I shook my head, “Nah, Blinky’s gonna have all four hands full trying to keep Jim in line, I doubt he’d be able to handle us both. Besides, he has to train for whatever fight you agreed to earlier. Fighting me won’t help with that.”

At the mention of the fight, Draal stops short, watching me. “You don’t seem worried.”

“You’re sparring with Jim again, I’m more worried about falling off another wall.” I joke, frowning when I look back to Draal, a serious expression etched on his face.

“This isn’t just a spar River.” He began slowly, “Honor was questioned. I will answer the call.” He began, “This is a fight to the death.”

I could feel the color drain from my face, going cold at Draal’s words. “Death…” He nods, watching my reaction closely. “He doesn’t know that!” I yelled, throwing my hand in the direction of the canal. “He probably thinks this is just another sparring session!”

Draal huffed, “If his teacher has any sense, he will explain the mistake he made.”

“Mistake?! Draal, one of you could die!” I started to panic, scared for both of them. “Please Draal, I understand there are things Jim and I both don’t know yet of your culture, but please reconsider this fight. If either of you…” I trailed off, hands shaking. I did the only thing I could think of to calm down, I rushed forward, hugging Draal tight, hiding my face. “Please, just… consider it. I don’t know if asking this is acceptable for Trolls, but losing my family or my friend…”

Draal had gone stiff when I rushed him, moving into a defensive stance. When he realized I was hugging him, he didn’t know what to do. After a moment of silence, he finally reached up to pat my head, “If asked by anyone else, I would take insult, however, I will consider it. Though if he continues to insult, I will not hold back.” He stated.

I nod my head, still hiding against his chest. “Thank you Draal,” I slowly pull back when the shaking in my arms subsides. “Sorry for rushing you…”

He merely pats my head again, continuing our way to my house. “You need a trainer for that weapon, and I need to train, though I doubt it will be much of a fight to train for. I will train you how to wield your weapon properly, starting tomorrow. You’ve been locked in a forge with the old goat for two days straight. Get some rest.” He paused at the back door of the house, nodding to himself.

I yawned, nodding to him. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Good night Draal.” I smile and pat his forearm before heading in.

“Goodnight River,” He called, leaving for Trollmarket.

I quickly grab a granola bar, eating as I head up to my room. Kicking my shoes off before crawling under the covers, sitting up long enough to grab the gem I made that resembled Draal’s back and setting it on my nightstand then passing out for the night.

The next morning, I woke up early to do my chores, sweeping downstairs and dusting before Jim wakes up. Once I was done, I rushed upstairs to get ready for the day, changing into black baggy cargo pants, combat boots, and a dark purple long sleeve. Grabbing my backpack and satchel, I filtered through everything I needed for school and training. Grabbing my collapsed lance, I walked out of my room as Jim’s alarm went off.

Jim was dragging his feet as he was walked out, mumbling in Spanish. Grabbing his book bag off the banister he headed straight into the garage. It looks like we were leaving right away. I quickly stuffed the lance in my backpack and took off after Jim.

Toby was already out front with taco truck bags. “I grabbed breakfast and lunch!” He grinned, handing me a breakfast burrito and diablo maximus for later.

Jim yawned, taking his bag, “Thanks Tobes, next time they’re on me.” We ate as we walked to school, having decided to nix the bikes since Toby’s was crushed by Bular, and he was too nervous to ride with Jim or me.

“Thank you, Toby!” I grin taking a bite. “Ironic choice since Jim woke up speaking Spanish.”

Toby laughed, “Yeah, we have that comprehension test this week. Speaking of, any tips, teacher’s aide?” he looked up to me hopefully.

I shook my head, “Sorry Toby it’s a comprehension test, you’re speaking the entire time, no scantrons.”

Jim groaned, rubbing his eyes, “Besides, the last time we asked River for help, she would only communicate with us in Spanish for a week Tobes.”

Toby shuddered, “Remind me never to ask for language help again, I had a killer migraine trying to figure out how to ask for toast!”

I laughed as we walked into the school, “I’ll see you two later, try not to cause trouble.” I headed off to my art class.

During Senor Uhl’s class, I had to listen as Mary stumbled over both her Spanish and English. I cringed, between Senor Uhl’s chalk screeching on the blackboard, and Mary’s terrible story about playing two guys.

“Little did anyone know; Maria was juggling two hombres. Manolo was muy guapo, but Joaquin had muchos musculos.” As Mary spoke, I glanced around the room, glaring as I saw Steve harassing Jim. “And poor Maria had a pedoso heart.” I flinched hearing Mary, Senor Uhl’s chalk snapped once she said ‘pedoso.’

He quickly turned around, arms held behind his back, “What kind of heart did Maria have, Miss Wang?” He questioned Mary, walking around his desk.

“Um, a heavy heart. ‘Pe-Do-So.’ Or is it-” Mary was beginning to panic.

“I would hope Maria wouldn’t have a pedoso heart, because that would mean ‘gassy’” He interrupted Mary, lecturing her. “Did Maria have a gassy heart, Miss Wang?”

Mary was embarrassed and almost on the verge of tears, “Of course not Senor Uhl!”

“You were trying to say ‘pesado.’ ‘A heavy heart.’” He stated, “And it is with a heavy heart, Miss Wang, to tell you, that you have not shown the slightest comprehension of basic Spanish.” He grabbed the tissue box, holding it out towards her. “If you can’t even finish the exam, I have no choice but to fail you.”

Mary’s face fell, she grabbed a tissue quickly as she began to cry over her failing grade. I sighed, writing down the grade next to her name on a spreadsheet Senor Uhl gave me to keep a record as he focused on listening to them.

As the bell rung everyone got up to leave, I waited for all the students to exit.

“Mr. Lake, I look forward to your presentation tomorrow.” Senor Uhl commented to Jim as he passed by to leave, stretching.

“Yeah,” Jim chuckled nervously, quickly moving to the door, “I’m ready…”

I shook my head, handing the sheet to Senor Uhl before heading out. I found Jim and Toby by the lockers, Jim looking upset. “What happened? You look like you just failed instead of Mary.”

Toby shook his head, “He just got guilt-tripped by Claire for missing rehearsal yesterday.”

“She thinks I’m a jerk!” Jim threw his hands up as we started the walk to the canal.

“Two days in and you’re already skipping.” I shook my head. “How was training last night?”

Toby sighed, “Before or after the gnome stole the amulet?”

“I’m sorry, what stole the amulet?” I asked Toby, not sure if I had heard correctly.

Jim groaned, “That’s right, we need one of the gems you made, Blinky said it would help with getting the gnome.”

I nodded, “There’s a few stored in the Heartstone chambers by Vendel’s study, Blinky can grab whichever one he needs.” I pulled out a horngazel that Vendel had given me. Opening the entrance and walking through.

Jim frowned slightly, “You’re not going to hang out with us? I thought Vendel was giving you a break to train with the lance?” he asked, following me in with Toby.

I smile and nodded, heading down the stone steps, “He is, but you need to train for your fight with Draal, someone offered to teach me how to properly wield the lance.” I state, leaving out the part that I was training with Draal, not sure how happy Jim would be about it.

Toby looked at me confused, “Can’t be Vendel, I don’t think he’s that spry.”

I snickered shaking my head, waving them off as the met with Blinky and Arrrgh, “I’ll see you later, good luck with the gnome!” I called, running off to find Draal.

I scoured Trollmarket for almost an hour, asking other Trolls if they had seen Draal, most of which just snorted at me and kept on with whatever they were doing before. I sighed, walking through a part of the market dedicated to different types of Troll cuisine, wondering if Draal had to leave for something important.

As I made my way through the stalls, I was suddenly hit by something large and wall-like from behind. My feet were swept off the floor as whatever ran into me decided to lift me. I quickly grabbed my lance, angling it so the staff would ram into whatever had grabbed me as I activated it. As calculated, once I activated the lance, the staff quickly shot back and I was launched out of the grip, landing on my feet about 8 feet forward. Swinging the lance into a defensive position as I turned, ready to face whatever attacked me, I was met with laughter.

Draal had been my surprise attacker. Though he was laughing, I didn’t sense that he was mocking me. “What the hell Draal? What if I had stabbed you instead?” I asked, pissed at being caught off guard.

Draal clasped his hands, his laughter had died out, but he was grinning. “You weren’t aiming for anything vital, so it wouldn’t have done much harm. I’m impressed at your quick reflexes though. Good to know you’ve got some fight in you too.”

I groaned, realizing why I wasn’t able to find him. Why the other Trolls were looking at me like I was crazy when I had asked for Draal. “You were following me the entire time.”

Draal nods, placing a hand on my back to guide me as we walked. “Since you entered Trollmarket with the Trollhunter and the other fleshbag.”

“Toby,” I remarked, noticing how depending on who Draal was referring to, ‘fleshbag’ either sounded endearing, usually towards me or annoyed, Toby and Jim.

Draal snorted, “Right, To-bee.” He drawled out on purpose, smirking down at me. “We’ll be training in the caverns since you haven’t told the Trollhunter I was training you; I figured the forge wouldn’t be available.” He stated a slight irritation in his tone.

I sighed, “Sorry, he knows we get along, but with the outburst in the bar, and your fight coming up, I don’t know how he’d react.”

Draal hummed, leading me into the caverns, large dark caves illuminated by the glowing gems embedded in the walls. “You are worried he will disapprove.”

I snort a laugh, “Hell no, I just don’t want to psych him out before the fight.”

Draal smirked at my answer, seeming to be in a better mood. We stopped in a large cave, a little smaller than the forge. It was well lit compared to some of the other caves we had traversed through. Draal motioned for me to face him, pulling out a training staff. “Mimic my movements.” He started by holding the staff in both hands parallel to the ground at arm’s length. As I took the position and copied his stance, he swung the staff down to the side, then pulled it up over his head, standing on one foot.

I mimicked Draal for a few hours, the movements became fluid, more stances were varied. Soon he was instructing me on lunging techniques and blocking. Around midnight we were sparring fluidly. As Draal curled into his ‘boulder stance’ as I began to call it, he set off to ram into me. I quickly dug the end of the lance into the ground as Draal was a few feet away, closing in fast, and I vaulted myself over him, swinging the lance around to whack his side with the blunt end, landing behind him.

Draal landed on his feet and grabbed his side where I had hit, he cheered turning to me, “Well done River! Similar to your evasion of my surprise attack earlier.” He nodded to himself, going over the maneuver again.

I dropped to sit on the floor, chest heaving, covered in sweat. “Thanks, Draal. You’re a good trainer, I’m surprised how far I’ve gotten.”

Draal smirked sitting next to me, “You need a break. We’ve been training since the sun was up.” I grin, flopping back on the ground, looking up at him. “Thank Daya! I’m exhausted!” My stomach growled and I groaned.

Draal barked a laugh, “Looks like you’ll need to move or your stomach will keep screaming.” He poked my stomach as it growled again. I yelped whacking his hand away quickly causing Draal to frown, “You can’t be injured, you never sustained a blow to that side of your torso.” I huffed, hugging over my stomach before he could decide to prod and look for injuries, “I’m not hurt, that just tickled.” “Tickled? What is tickled?” Draal asked a look of utter confusion etched over his face. I tilt my head to face him, trying to explain what tickling is, “Well, being ticklish means that when you’re touched certain ways, it sets off nerves and you get this feeling under your skin, your skin jumps, but in a really weird way it's not a bad feeling. People’s reactions vary though. Some people laugh uncontrollably, others kick and punch, trying to get away from the tickling.”

Draal’s face was etched in morbid curiosity as he looked from his fingers to my stomach again. “Why do fleshbags have such weaknesses?” He begins to poke at my leg when he doesn’t get a reaction, he poked my arm. When I fail to react again, he starts poking at my sides that weren’t covered by my arms.

I screech, laughing. Quickly trying to wiggle away from Draal as he continued to poke my sides. Squirming, tears flowing down my cheeks, and gasping for air, I grapple his arm with my arms and legs, hanging off of it like a sloth. “STOP!”

Draal laughs at my tactic, lifting his arm so I’m dangling in the air. “How is this helping you?” He asked.

“Well you stopped, didn’t you?” I stuck my tongue out at him indignantly.

“Careful, you don’t want to lose that.” He smirked as I squeaked, quickly pulling my tongue back.

“Are you threatening to rip or cut my tongue out?” I asked in mock disdain.

He hums in thought, tilting his head slightly, “Possibly…” He suddenly shakes the arm I’m hanging from with a smirk.

I yelp at the sudden movement and let go, landing on his lap, glaring up at him. “How dare you, sir! I was hanging on that!” I gesture to his arm dramatically.

Draal shook his head and stood as my stomach growled again, picking me up off his lap so I was sitting in the crook of his arm. “Let’s get you some food.” He began to head out of the caverns.

Holding my collapsed lance close, I squirm in his hold, not used to being carried. “Um, Draal, I can walk.”

He glanced down but made no move to set me down. “You trained well past your limit today. I doubt you’d be able to walk far,” he reasoned. We quickly made it back into Trollmarket, stopping at a stall with food that was safe for humans to eat. Draal handed the food to me, walking through the market. “Eat this, it might taste like rocks.”

I took the food and began eating quickly, tilting my head at the taste, “not rocks, but nothing I’ve tasted before.” I spoke up. I pulled my phone out to check the time, groaning. “I have to get home, it’s 3 am, and I have school tomorrow… well, today.”

Draal nods and heads out of Trollmarket to the canal. “Why do you attend this school, surely you are learning well under Vendel.”

I laughed shaking my head, knowing human school was a weird concept for trolls in general. “If I had a choice in the matter, I would love to run off to Trollmarket and focus on magic studies, but as I grew up human, well, we are forced to attend learning institutions until we graduate high school, and if we don’t, we can get into trouble.”

“Bushigal!” He sneered, “Fleshbags and their idiotic rules.”

I shrugged, “Yup, and with mom being a doctor, well, she’s all about getting an education. I don’t think she’d be okay with me dropping to study magic any time soon.”

Draal hummed, “It is best she remains unaware, the fewer humans know, the better.” Climbing over the fence and into the backyard, Draal finally sets me down. “You said you could leave after high school, what are you in now?”

“I’m in my senior, or last, year of high school, I’ll graduate in June.” I paused, thinking about what Vendel has explained to me so far. “I’ve been thinking, Vendel said I would begin to age like a troll, does that mean I wouldn’t be able to stay around humans for long?” I asked Draal.

He hummed, thinking for a moment, “It depends on how long it takes for the fleshbags to notice you aren’t changing as fast. Worried? It's not like you won’t have anywhere to go.” He stated as if it were obvious to me.

I looked up at him confused, “Where am I supposed to go? I can’t exactly afford to move around to different cities or states.”

Draal rolled his eyes at my question, “Trollmarket. You’re a sorceress, not a human, you’d be welcomed and respected in Trollmarket. Why do you think the Trolls leave you alone yet go out of their way to mess with the other fleshbags?”

“Because Toby can be loud and invasive and Jim is the first human Trollhunter,” I state with a blank look.

Draal shook his head, “You are more Troll-like than you are human. You were recognized and taken in by the leader of Trollmarket, you study the arcane under him. The most fearsome warrior in Trollmarket took you under his wing to train you in weaponry,” he smirked, boasting, “and you’ve forged your weapon in the short amount of time you have been coming to Trollmarket. I’m surprised you haven’t moved in yet.”

I laughed at his boasting, grinning up at him, “Thanks Draal, maybe once I finish school, I’ll take you up on that.” I paused, yawning. “I’ll see you tomorrow for training my most fearsome warrior.” I tease hugging him, lifting my head slightly under his chin before heading inside, “Goodnight, Draal.”

If I had stayed a moment longer, I would have noticed that Draal had gone stone still at the gesture, once I had shut the door behind me, his jaw dropped, staring at the door, a hand rose under his chin where my head had been. Draal had to remind himself that I still didn’t know much about Troll culture and that I most likely had no idea what I had just done.

I was happily dreaming of moving to Trollmarket when loud banging on my bedroom door woke me up. “It’s too early!” I yelled, throwing my pillow at the door.

Toby burst in, seeing me in bed his jaw dropped. “River! It’s time to leave! Also, Jim has a problem! Pack your laptop,” he yelled quickly, slamming my door shut.

I glared at the door before checking my phone for the time. “Shit, it is late!” I jump out of bed getting dressed as fast as I can, grabbing my laptop before running out after Toby. “What’s the problem? Where is Jim?”

Toby and I were running to school. “He’s at my house, Blinky shrunk him so he could catch a gnome and he hasn’t gotten bigger!”

I groaned, “I’m guessing the laptop is so he doesn’t fail his Spanish presentation?” I asked as we barely made it onto the campus as the final bell rang.

“Yup! See you in Senor Uhl’s class!” Toby yelled, rushing off to his first period. This was going to be weird.

Once we finally got to Senor Uhl’s class, I spoke to him before the bell. “Senor Uhl, I’m sorry this is a bit different, but Jim’s home sick. Is it alright if he gives his comprehension exam by video chat?” I asked, hoping Toby’s plan would work out.

Senor Uhl tapped his desk thinking. “I don’t see why not. At least he’s responsible enough to keep up with schoolwork while ill.” He nodded, allowing me to set up the laptop.

I logged in and waved to Jim, snickering as I recognized the background as the dollhouse in Toby’s room. “Ready Jim?” I asked.

Jim gave me a thumbs up. “Ready to go! Hola! Sorry, I couldn’t be en escuela, Senor Uhl, but I’m sick en casa. Which is fitting, since I’m doing mi comprehension presentacion on Ponce de Leon, who muerto-ed from a great illness.”

“Hey!” Steve yelled glaring at Jim on the screen. “’Muerto-ed’ is not a word!”

I rolled my eyes at Steve, sitting at my desk in the back with the grading sheet.

“Nope.” Senor Uhl began, “I’m curious to see where this is going. Continue Mr. Lake.” He waved Steve’s objection off.

Jim grinned when he was given the go-ahead, and I smirked at Steve, Jim continued his presentation until a vacuum cut him off, I dropped my head to my desk. Why was Nana cleaning now? “the feunte de la juventud, the Fountain of Youth.” Jim continued, scrambling closer to the screen.

“What is that horrible noise?” Senor Uhl asked.

“Uh, constuccion.” Jim quickly explained. “Uh, remodeling. A minor intrusion. Un minute, Senor Uhl.” Jim's face planted against the screen.

“Mr. Lake?” Senor Uhl was confused, “Mr. Lake are you still there? We don’t have all day.”

“No, no… No need to fight at home.” Jim spoke up, turning back to the screen. “Ponce de Leon joined Columbus in the New… New- What in the world?!” Jim yelled, looking past the screen again.

The next thing I know, Jim is fighting with a gnome, running on and off-screen as he continues his presentation. After a few minutes, he sat on the toy couch, out of breath. “But in the end, they were taken care of. And that is it for my presentacion. I hope this wasn’t too much trouble, Senor Uhl. Hasta luego.”

Eli jumped up from his seat, applauding “Spectacular!”

Senor Uhl shook his head at Eli’s outburst, turning back to the laptop. “Very, very informative, Mr. Lake. C-plus.” He said. Jim groaned as his body began to misshapen. “Fine. B-minus.” Senor Uhl stated quickly, looking worriedly at the screen and Jim seized up.

“Jim! Jim, what’s wrong?” Eli asked, taking his seat again.

I rushed out of my seat, closing the laptop quickly. “Sorry about that construction must have messed with the wifi!” The bell rang and I ran out to find Toby, grabbing him as soon as I pass by and dragging him off campus, all the way home. “Jim’s freaking out! He started changing shape after his presentation!” I yelled as we ran into Toby’s house and up the stairs.

Toby slammed his bedroom door open revealing a full-size Jim sitting in front of the dollhouse. “Jim!” Toby yelled, “You’re big again!”

Jim chuckled patting over his ribs, “I think my spleen switched sides, but everything’s better now.” He joked.

Toby hugged him, “I’m sorry I failed you, Jim. I should have done it when I had the chance.”

I looked between the two confused. “What are you talking about?”

Jim pulled back and moved away from the dollhouse, introducing us to the gnome that was attacking him on screen. Toby quickly dubbing him Gnome Chompsky when Jim says we can keep him.

“Chompsky. I like it.” Jim grinned. I nodded in agreement, snickering when Chompsky tried the movie theater, yawning arm move on the doll.

Jim laughed closing the dollhouse. “Pretty good for a first mission. Two crises averted. It’s not like you get to rehearse these things.” Jim’s face fell as he took a sharp breath. “Oh, no! Rehearsal! I gotta go!” Jim took off running out of Toby’s house.

I sighed before getting up, “I have to go too, I’ve got training in Trollmarket. See you late Tobes!” I wave heading out, running to the canal. Excited to continue training with Draal. As I walk into the canal entrance I run straight into a blue troll, though he wasn’t the blue troll I was expecting. “Blinky? Are you leaving? The sun is still up.” I asked confused.

“Ah, Lady River! Good to see you, I’m waiting on Master Jim, he should be arriving soon, your school let out a while ago.” Blinky explained, frowning as the portal closed behind me with no Jim in sight.

“Sorry Blinky, he ran off to rehearsal, school activities sometimes last longer than a normal day,” I said, making my way to the steps.

Blinky sighed, disappointed that Jim wouldn’t be coming anytime soon. “That’s a shame, he has so much training, especially considering his match with Draal.” Blinky shuddered. “Maybe it’s for the best, that Troll has been in a strange mood since last night,” Blinky noted, walking down with me to Trollmarket.

I frowned, worried for Draal, “Strange mood? Is he sick? Can trolls get sick?” I asked, going over our training to see if Draal could’ve gotten hurt. “Did Bular attack?”

Blinky shook his head quickly, waving his hands, “No, nothing like that. Yes, trolls can get sick. I don’t think he ran into Bular after his night out, but he seems to be distracted, and Draal is never distracted.”

I snort a laugh, “Oh yes, the ‘most fearsome warrior in Trollmarket,’ couldn’t possibly be distracted.”

Blinky pauses, tilting his head at my choice of words, “Have you been spending time with Draal?”

I stiffen at the question, unsure of Blinky’s tone, “Well yeah, I mean, we’ve been hanging out since… wow, the first night we came to Trollmarket. Vendel had him take me home since Bular was still running around and it kind of became routine if I don’t leave with Jim and Toby. He offered to train me with the lance so there’s that too…” I trail off watching Blinky’s face.

His jaw drops when I mention training. “DRAAL offered to TRAIN YOU?” Blinky asked in disbelief, an annoyed growl from behind catching our attention.

“I did.” Draal was standing behind us, glaring at Blinky as if he was challenging him.

I grinned walking up to him, “Ready to go?”

Blinky’s mouth was still open, looking between Draal and me, trying to get more than ‘you’ and ‘him’ out in a sentence. Draal nods as his glare morphed into a smirk, “Maybe we should train in the forge since the Trollhunter is busy, that way his teacher can get a sense of what he’s up against in his next fight.”

I look up at Draal confused, then I turn to Blinky and shrug. “That’s fine with me, uh…” I waved my hand in front of Blinky’s face.

Blinky snapped his mouth close glaring up at Draal. “Let’s go then, I’m sure we will all learn a lot.” He huffed, turning to get Arrrgh, heading to the forge.

I kept my pace slow, Draal matching my step. I was still worried about what Blinky had said. “Hey, Draal? Are you doing okay?” I asked, looking up to him as we walked.

Draal tilted his head towards me, confused, “Of course, why do you ask?”

I shrug a bit, glancing to Blinky and Arrrgh ahead of us, “Blinky said you’ve been distracting since you came back from taking me home, I was wondering if something happened?”

Draal stiffened, “On my way back? No, I… didn’t think I was distracted.”

I nod, watching his reaction, “Did,” I paused, selecting my words carefully, “Did I do something?” Draal winced at my question. Frowning I turned to face him, “I did.”

Draal sighed, waiting for Blinky and Arrrgh to walk through the forge entrance before explaining, “Culturally it isn’t… bad.” He began, tilting his head in thought, “You wouldn’t have known about it either. Do not worry about it.”

“What did I do? I doubt you’d be distracted if I had accidentally done something small like insulting your cooking.” I said, trying to go over everything I did or said last night. “Was it the hug? No, you’ve let me hug you before… was it the teasing? Calling you ‘my most fearsome warrior?’”

Draal shook his head, sighing “It was the gesture during your hug,” He pats my head, “a troll nuzzles their head under another’s chin when courting.”

I froze under his hand, face turning dark red, “Courting… that’s more serious than dating.” I groaned hiding my face in my hands, “No wonder you were upset! I’m so sorry Draal, that was probably insulting.”

Draal was confused by my reaction, “You believe I would take insult to court you?” He frowns pulling his hand from my head.

I look up at him, face still red, “well, no but… I’m not exactly a Troll.” I tried to explain.

“Then you take insult to a Troll courting you?” He asked, brow knit as his confusion deepened.

“Not at all! Well, depending on the troll.” I muttered, tilting my head in thought. “Though I don’t personally know a lot of Trolls. I’m closest to you and Vendel, so I don’t see a Troll trying to court me anytime soon.”

Draal nodded, continuing into the forge, contemplating my answer.

“There you two are! I thought you were supposed to be training?” Blinky huffed, all four arms crossed over his chest, still irritated by Draal’s quip about teaching Jim. Arrrgh just pats his head, trying to calm him down.

Dropping my bag, I grabbed my lance. “Seriously Blinky?” I shook my head before taking my stance, ready for any surprise Draal might have up his sleeves if he had sleeves.

Draal smirked, taking his stance. We slowly circled the perimeter of the forge, watching each other for the slightest move to attack. Draal lost his patience first, roaring and taking his boulder stance he took off after me, quicker than when we were training last night. I stayed planted until the last second before springing out of the way just enough not to get hit. Swinging the lance around, I dug my foot into the ground as it made contact with Draal. Growling, my hands began to glow as I channeled magic through the staff, forcing the swing to continue and I was able to knock Draal back, causing him to uncurl and land on his back.

He sat up, looking at me bewildered for a moment before smirking and jumping to his feet. I took a defensive stance as he held his hands up, walking up to me calmly, “Hands,” he stated, holding one of his out, palm up.

I was confused until I realized that this was the first time I channeled magic into my hands without blasting something to pieces. I looked at my still wrapped hands, the magic hadn’t burned the bandages this time. I place one of my hands in Draal’s palm. He unwrapped it, looking over it for injury before nodding and unwrapping my other hand. “If you use your magic properly, you won’t injure yourself. Keep practicing channeling into the lance as we spar. Don’t overdo it though. Vendel will have my head if you get injured.”

I laughed and nodded, stretching my palms. I smirked, hooking his horn with the blade, and surging magic through it, enough to enable me to flip Draal over onto his back again. I grinned leaning over his shocked face. “That’s for your surprise attack yesterday.”

He barked a laugh before raising a hand quickly and jabbing my side with his finger, “Careful River, I still know your weakness.” He grinned up at me as I yelped before glaring at him.

“That’s just rude!” I growled out hugging my sides and quickly stepping out of reach.

Draal and I continued to taunt and tease each other as our sparring continued. Movements quickened and each blow increased in strength as we were both tossed around the forge, not hard enough to do anything more than bruising.

Blinky and Arrrgh watched on in shock. “Draal strange,” Arrrgh noted to Blinky, cheering whenever I was able to successfully channel my magic into an attack.

“Indeed, it almost seems as if… no, that can’t be right. Draal can’t stand ‘fleshbags’ he’d never…” Blinky remarked, his thought trailing off.

“Not human,” Arrrgh replied. “River more like us.”

“I know, it’s just hard to keep in mind considering she’s related by blood to Master Jim and he doesn’t have an ounce of magic without the Amulet of Daylight.” Blinky shakes his head, laughing when I launch Draal into a wall. “Well, if this how females are taught to ‘flirt’ in the human world, I pray for Master Jim’s life when a human female tries to court him.” He states, wincing as Draal catches the blade of my lance and throws me.

Landing next to Blinky, knocking the wind out of my lungs. I groaned closing my eyes trying to catch my breath. I could hear running when I didn’t make a move to get up right away.

“River!” Draal was next to me when I opened my eyes again, seeing his worried expression I give him a tired thumbs up. Draal let out a sigh of relief, letting me take my time.

Blinky and Arrrgh glanced at each other with knowing faces before huddling with Draal over me. “River tired.” Arrrgh smiled, seeing that I was fine.

“Perhaps it is time for a break?” Blinky suggested.

I began to wave him off then paused, “Jim will be here soon,” I groaned, slowly sitting up with Draal’s help.

Draal huffed seeing the bruises forming over my arms, blisters covering my palms. “And it looks like I’ll be taking you to Vendel after all.”

I smiled up at him and pat his cheek. “I’m sure you’ll keep your head. These are standard fleshy training injuries.” I said, shaking my bruised arms out, wincing at the movement. “Maybe a little more than standard.” I sighed.

Blinky cleared his throat, nodding to Draal and I. “Yes well, you go get healed up, Lady River. Arrrgh and I will be setting up for Master Jim’s training now. I’ve learned quite a lot from your performance and it will do good being incorporated in the Trollhunter’s training.”

Draal slid an arm around me so I was sitting on his forearm, similar to how he carried me last night. I smiled and waved to Blinky and Arrrgh as he walked out of the forge and straight to Vendel’s study. “Vendel.” He greets when we see the old goat.

Vendel looked up from his scroll, dropping it when he sees us. “What in Merlin’s name happened?” He rushed over to me, seeing my arms were almost completely bruised over.

“Training, I can keep up just fine in strength, but I still get injured pretty easily,” I told him, surprised that his worry was showing.

“Set her on the table and step out Draal, I need to examine the extent of the injuries.” Vendel directed, turning to file through different scrolls he had stored.

Draal sat me on the table, nudging my shoulder, he frowned at how beat up I had gotten. “I got carried away with your training, I forget you're not made of stone.” He apologized.

Smiling up at him I shook my head. “So, the training got intense, at least we know I can keep up with a troll during a fight!”

He smiled at my logic and nodded, “Try to behave,” he remarked before stepping out.

Vendel unfurled a scroll next to me, he quickly checked for more injuries before nodding to the scroll, “Alright, I want you to read this out loud and focus on the bruising of your arms.” He explained.

I looked over the parchment carefully, reciting the Trollish words slowly, repeating them as I looked at my arms, trying to focus. I felt a strange warmth extend from my chest down along my arms, then it spread through my torso and legs. I continued to repeat the incantation, realizing this was a spell, my eyes glazed over, glowing a faint blue as my palms did the same, the bruises began to shrink until they had faded completely.

Vendel watched, smiling as the glow faded from my eyes. “Hm, looks like the healing incantation worked.” He examined my arms again, nodding to himself. “Though, maybe we should work on some armor that will allow you to train to your limits without having to heal yourself after every session.”

I grinned up at him asking “I’m getting an upgrade?”

He chuckled, “You’ll be forging an ‘upgrade,’ take your time thinking it over though, it needs to be functional. Now, why don’t you go see Draal, I can hear him pacing.” Vendel shooed me out of his study with a small smile.

I smiled seeing that Draal was in fact, pacing outside of Vendel’s study. Leaning against the wall, I watched him for a minute before snickering. “Worried?” I asked him.

Draal stumbled at my question, head snapping towards the sound of my voice. Letting out a snort he looked over my arms, tilting his head noticing the bruises were gone. “Vendel healed you?” He asked, prodding at my arms.

“Nope!” I stated, letting him continue, “He taught me a healing incantation.” I explained at his confused glance.

Smirking, he ruffled the top of my head. “Something tells me at this rate, you’ll be using that spell often.”

I whacked his hand from my head, returning his smirk, “Careful Draal, or I might have to use it on you.” I teased, walking past him. He laughed falling in step with me, heading out of Trollmarket and into the canal. “How about we get something to eat, my treat?” I asked him.

He glanced at me as we walked further into town, staying hidden. “Where could we get food?”

I grinned up at him, heading to the park, “The taco truck of course!” I replied, happy that he wasn’t rejecting the offer. I paused in an alley, spotting the truck. “I’ll be right back.” I quickly ran to the truck, ordering a box of tacos. I could feel Draal’s stare on my back during the exchange. Once I had the box in hand, I took off back to the alley, grinning. “Let’s find somewhere to eat.”

Draal smirked picking me up. “I know somewhere fleshbags typically ignore.” He stated, climbing to the roof and heading over several buildings until we reached a warehouse with a large billboard on the roof. Draal settled us behind the billboard, facing the woods. “How’s this?” He asked, surveying the area for a moment, relaxing slightly when there was no sign of Bular.

I smiled jumping out of his hold and sitting on the ledge, patting next to me for him to sit. Once Draal was settled I took two tacos from the box then handed the box with six remaining tacos over to him. “Ever tried tacos?” I asked, taking a bite of one.

Draal sniffed the box, observing how I ate one before picking a taco from the box and tossing it in his mouth. “No,” he answered, humming in approval, “these are good!”

I smiled, glad he liked them. “That’s good if you ever want them, let me know and I can bring them, or we can eat out!” I grin finishing off my first taco.

Draal nods, happily eating the rest of the tacos along with the box.

Finishing off my food, I leaned back against the billboard, looking over the woods. “Today was a lot of fun, bruises and all.”

Draal let out a deep chuckle, “You fight like a Troll, Blinkous and Arrrgh looked terrified when you were able to throw me.”

I laughed at the memory, “You were shocked too!” I defended, “Aren’t you supposed to know what I’m capable of as my trainer?” I teased.

Draal snorted, “I haven’t trained a sorceress for combat before, so it seems we’ll continue running into surprises.” He tilted his head, thinking.

I smile content with the quiet, enjoying Draal’s company.

“River?” He spoke up after a few minutes. I hummed in acknowledgment for him to continue. “Why do you think a troll wouldn’t try courting you ‘anytime soon?’” He asked, referring to our earlier conversation.

“Well,” I began, sitting up a bit, “I feel if one tried, they’d be very intimidated by you and Vendel. After all, I’m training under both of you, and after today I can tell you’re both pretty protective.” I smiled up at him.

He hummed at my answer, thinking for a moment. “It sounds as if you don’t think my asking you is an option then.”

My smile turned to confusion, thinking he was teasing me. I held my breath slightly, waiting for a smirk or chuckle, but neither came. “Well, you’re not ‘not’ an option.” I tried to explain, realizing he was being serious.

“That doesn’t make sense.” He frowned, confused by my wording.

I shook my head, trying to collect my thoughts. “It’s just, I assumed your reaction to my ‘mistake’ last night was negative, and the way you explained it felt like it was unwelcomed.” I shrugged slightly.

Draal arched a brow at my response, “I knew you didn’t know what you were doing. You didn’t know the significance… but it was not unwelcome.”

My face began to overheat, and I knew I was turning red. “Then you’re open to courting me?” I asked, trying to calm the redness in my face.

Draal leaned down to be level with my face, studying the color change before leaning forward and nuzzling his nose under my jaw, pulling back, smirking slightly as my face turned a deep scarlet. “Does that answer your question?” He asked, and I could only nod, eyes wide. “I will wait for an answer, after all, the fight may change things.” He stated, frowning when mentioning the fight and the tension that may arise due to it.

“Okay… um, could you explain why you court that way?” I asked, trying to distract him.

“It’s how we scent. Your scent will mix with mine and it will let other trolls know you’re being courted, the same would happen to my scent. That’s why I was distracted today; your scent wouldn’t leave.” He explained.

“So, if I walked into Trollmarket now I might be met with Trolls flinging themselves out of my path in fear of enraging you?” I asked teasing.

Draal growled, all teasing gone from his voice, “If you accept, they had better. Though exceptions are made for family and family-like relations.”

I blink, stunned at the tone. “So scenting is marking, and you don’t like sharing.”

“Culturally, if a troll is trying to get close to you while you’re courting another, they are competing to court you.” He explained, irritated at the thought.

I laughed patting his forearm, “Trust me Draal, you would have nothing to worry about.”

Draal smirked down at my response, “Let’s get you home, you have to attend the fleshbag study dungeon tomorrow.” He stood, lifting me to sit on his forearm as he climbed down from the billboard.

Leaning back against his chest, I kept asking questions about courting as he headed to my house. “So, if my answer is yes, do I have to do something specific?”

“Usually the courting gesture is returned.” He explained, nuzzling his nose under my jaw again. “Just like that.”

“Okay, and just so I don’t do something stupid or insulting, is there a way to deny the courting?” I asked worriedly. If I found a way to court Draal on accident, I could very well find a way to tell him to fuck off on accident too.

He winced slightly, “You can say it outright, or deny the gesture by pushing me away.”

I nod, then frown, “What if it tickles and I whack you as a reaction?” I asked, knowing it was a real possibility.

He laughed poking my side for good measure as he responded. “I will keep that in mind if you do hit me. If it happens though, I assume you’ll be screeching too much to let me know right away.”

I puffed my cheeks out, crossing my arms over my chest, “says the one who kept tickling me till I couldn’t breathe!”

He grinned, setting me down as we reached the back door of my house, “You can’t blame me, I didn’t know it could get that severe,” he teased, glancing over the house before scenting me again. “Goodnight River.”

I smiled up at him, face becoming less red the more he scents. “Good night Draal.” I lay my hand over his cheek, wanting to return the gesture, but waiting as he had asked. “Get home safe!” I called after him as he left.

Running inside, I covered my face, trying to calm the raging blush. I took a deep breath before heading up to bed, smiling like an idiot as I fell asleep.