#fire force when it has really good shipping all the time>>>>>>>>>>>

[youreaclownnow]

Some soft benimaru x konro (drew this for one of my friends)

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno fanfiction recs: romance-centric

I, like many others, definitely enjoy a good romance every so often. All of these recs are going to have the romantic development of the characters as the forefront of the story, so just because the fic includes a ship doesn't mean it will go on the list. That means, many of them might feel more on the slice of life side of the spectrum, but that's not the case for all!!

There is going to be a mix of ships here so if you're interested in one in specific then use the search feature!

Started: 2024.08.28

Last Updated: 2024.12.19

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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To Build a Home - RedPowder || ao3 || E || kakasaku || canon divergence || ongoing

Sakura and Kakashi are assigned a mission that will change the path of their lives forever.

Kakashi and Sakura are forced to marry on orders from the village and I know that description sounds dumb, but trust me when I say this fic is gold. I've always had a hard time with kakasaku fics because I feel the whole teacher/student thing gets swept under the rug too easily, but that's not the case here. Their past relationship from team 7 is a glaring shadow over their marriage and the guilt over the whole situation weighs heavy on Kakashi. This mission isn't easy for either of them and it takes a lot of pull and tug to ensure things don't completely blow up. To Build a Home is probably one of my favorite takes on this ship as the portrayal feels realistic and the character feel accurate to themselves. Just give it a go!

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Approaching Sun - ANerdInAllHerGlory || ffn || T || sasusaku || blank period || ongoing

After 2 years, Sasuke returns to the village where friends anxiously await him. Still troubled by the mysteries of Kaguya and his personal guilt, Sasuke is split between friends and his journey. Troubled by rising casualties and international dependence on her abilities, Sakura is torn between her love for Sasuke and her duty to her village.

Approaching Sun is probably one of the most realistic depictions of Sasuke and Sakura's relationship that I have read. This takes place during the blank period and references the novels, so it feels like an actual possibility of what went down. As much as I love them, I have a hard time believing that their relationship was smooth sailing and so I think this is an interesting take.

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The Fool - thekatthatbarks || ao3 || T || shikasaku || blank period || complete

Ino kicked at a pebble on the ground, her arms folded across her chest. “How long?” Shikamaru sighed and pulled the cigarette away from his lips. “The war." It was a lie somewhat. He’d liked her since they were kids but had simply ignored the budding crush expecting it to fade over time. It hadn’t and by the time the war came around, he accepted he would always carry it despite his increasing efforts to drop it. He’d tried drowning it in the river, burning it in a fire, covering it up with something else. But it was all to no avail. It stuck with him, always apart of him. “Have you ever told anyone? Chouji? Her?” "No."

I actually really like Shikamaru and Sakura as a pairing (or just working together in general); however, I haven't read much of them. The Fool was a great post-war read where with some meddling (curtesy of Ino) we get to watch the progression of their relationship into something more than friends.

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Nightmare in Red - Sariasprincy || ao3 || M || itasaku || non-massacre AU || complete

Haruno Sakura used to think the eyes were the windows to the soul, but after witnessing the horrors of the Sharingan firsthand, she's convinced they are the doors. It was pure chance that led Sakura to the discovery of the disease eating through Uchiha Itachi's lungs and now that she's aware, she knows she cannot just turn a blind eye. But how is she to treat the very man who tortured her while at the same time keep her nightmares from consuming her? That she doesn't know, but she knows she has to try, even if it nearly kills her in the end.

Itachi unintentionally captures Sakura in his mangekyou after being rolled into the hospital for her to heal. While Sakura tries to work through the impacts of the genjutsu she continues to work with him in an effort to cure him of the disease infecting his body. I actually really liked how the whole thing played out. Itachi's sickness was sort of a mystery in the original series and so I found it rather interesting to see what was done in regards to it. Anyway, I love their interactions and Shisui is (like always) a great character as well.

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Blind - ObsidianSickle || ffn || sasusaku || T || canon divergent || complete

It was almost time, Orochimaru was going to take his body as a vessel. He hated being used...he refused to be used. With that thought, he took the kunai in his hand and slashed across his eyes.

If you're a fan of long reads, then you might want to check this out! Sasuke is blind and Sakura helps him through it now that he's back in the village.

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Ghosts - ElegiesforShiva || ffn || sausaku || M || blank period || incomplete

In love and loss, it often comes back to family, and Team 7 had always been fated, hadn't they? Deny it as she may, Sakura finds her heart strung to them with an uncanny reverence and the weight of their ghosts. Sakura-centric. Heavy, heavy angst. Slow burn Sasusaku. Canon pairings. Lots of friendship feels. Eventual (consensual) lemon.

Ghosts is a pretty dark read where basically everyone is suffering. Sasuke and Sakura in specific have an especially hard time coping with their individual struggles yet they find comfort in each other. Check TWs before going in

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Home is Where the Heart is - DeepPoeticGirl || ffn || sasusaku || T || blank period || complete

And with every moment together, they get just a little closer, a little more comfortable with each other. Fall a little more in love. Post-war. Pre-epilogue.

This fic is actually adorable! Taking place during the blank period we get to see how Sasuke and Sakura's relationship slowly progresses. If you've always wondered what their travels were like then definitely check this one out.

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In Times of Peace - SouthSideStory || ffn || sasusaku || M || blank period || canon divergent || complete

The war is over, and like Konoha, Team 7 has rebuilt itself from the ground up. Everything has changed, but Sasuke and Sakura remain much the same. Eleven years, she thinks, is a long time to be in love.

Sakura and Sasuke have like a secret relationship going on. Also, Sakura as a jonin sensei is so good!! I really wish that someone from the original cast actually went down that route, but whatever.

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Labyrinthine - FM_White || ao3 || itasaku || M || canon divergence || complete

ItaSaku (Post Uchiha Massacre) AU: Some things are destined to be. It just takes a couple of tries to get there.ItaSaku. Light KakaSaku.

I actually really liked how this was done as team 7 is still a family, Sasuke didn't lose his mind, Itachi picked a much more respectable path imo, and the characters are all adults.

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Only a Crush by Gingersoup || ao3 || kakasaku || M || canon divergent || complete

It was supposed to be an easy, fun night out. She never intended to wake up in her sensei's bed, half-naked and with no memory of what happened the night before! As she tries to unravel the mystery of that night, something sinister is growing beyond the walls of the Leaf Village... and what was only a crush spirals wildly out of control.

Sakura is unwillingly thrust into the world of illegal drugs, trafficking, and sex all while coming to terms with her new feelings regarding her former sensei. I typically don't like kakasaku, but I think this work is done tastefully well. The characters are both adults and the immorality of the relationship is not ignored, so be prepared for a lot of "we can't," "this is wrong," etc.. Anyway, Sakura is an absolute powerhouse and I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between all of the different characters and villages!

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Dreaming's End - thepiedsniper || ao3 || T || kakasaku || canon divergence || complete

Sakura didn't avoid the Infinite Tsukuyomi with the others, and all the events that happened afterward were simply the product of her dream-state. When Sakura finally wakes up from years spent in her personal "paradise," she must to learn how to start again. Kakashi is there to help her. ~*~ (TWs for genjutsu-related unreality)

Basically, imagine the entirety of Boruto was Sakura's dream in Infinite Tsukuyomi. When Sakura manages to breakout during the war she's left to deal with serious ramifications of the life she just lived. She finds herself constantly questioning what's real and Kakashi tries to help her through it. Awesome read!

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Mamihlapinatapai - FM_White || ao3 || E || itasaku || canon divergence || ongoing

Mamihlapinatapai・Yagan. (n.) a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other would initiate something they both desire, but which neither wants to begin In which Sakura tries her hardest to raise one hell of a rambunctious baby by herself, Sasuke is searching for something unknown, and Itachi is the uncle.

In another life where Itachi doesn't end up dying and instead tries his best to help Sakura raise his niece in Sasuke's absence. It's my head canon that everyone came together to help with Sarada just like they did for Kuranai, and so Mamihlapinatapi satisfies that thought for me. I like how Sasuke was criticized in this since as much as I understand the necessity of what he's doing, I also find it completely unfair to his wife and daughter. Itachi and Sakura form a great bond and it's all very domestic and just super fluffy all around, which I love.

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Louder than Words - SouthSideStory || ao3 || T || sasusaku || non-massacre AU || complete

Sakura hasn’t uttered a single word since the day her family died, but Sasuke is determined to hear her, one way or another. (No Uchiha massacre AU.)

Sakura gets taken in by the Uchiha family after Fugaku finds her on a mission. She's been mute ever since, but that doesn't stop her and Sasuke from forming a close bond.

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Snake Bound - shefalls || ao3 || E || sasusaku || canon divergence || complete

"You... took me with you." "That's what I said." "To Orochimaru. You took me with you, to Orochimaru." Sasuke nodded curtly and shoved the medical kit a little more insistently into her hands. Sakura accepted, and prayed to every known god that Orochimaru would ignore her existence. She should've known the gods don't listen. Now only on AO3. Sequel up.

What if Sasuke took Sakura with him like she asked? Snake Bound explores that idea and it's honestly a very uncomfortable read. Their relationship is based off of the isolation and dependency their new situation puts them in. All they really have is each other and the new bond that brings is not a healthy one. Super good

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Armour-Sleeved Single Hit - thatdamnuchiha || ao3 || T || madasaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

Sasuke always told Sakura she was weak. Even after she trained with Tsunade for years he only had eyes for Naruto whom he considered strong. She would forever be invisible to him no matter how many mountains she toppled.Being a member of Team Seven despite Sasuke’s refusal to acknowledge her meant she got herself into her fair share of sticky situations. Getting stuck a hundred odd years in the past had to take the cake though.But she was just a weak little girl and compared to the shinobi of old she’d be ridiculously pathetic. Sasuke had said she was weak to him – a modern day shinobi who hadn’t been forced into battle after battle like they did in the Warring Clans Era. Obviously she’d be nothing more than a spec of dirt in the eyes of the Founders.

Sakura manages to find herself in founding-era Konoha! While trying to prove that medical ninja are capable fighters she unknowingly gains the affection of Madara Uchiha. After all, the Uchiha find beauty in strength. Super cute read!

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Always You - alex-halcyon || ffn || T || kakasaku || age swap AU || complete

[AU. Age-swap] Kakashi x Sakura. From academy days to the third shinobi war and beyond, Kakashi and Sakura grow up and fall in love.

Basically, Sakura takes Rin's place on the old team 7. The progression between the characters is quite interesting as it definitely isn't smooth sailing for Kakashi and Sakura. However, even through everything they find themselves drifting towards each other. Pretty cute imo.

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interim - stannide || ao3 || T || sasusaku || blank period || one-shot complete

Sasuke lives with Sakura in the weeks after the war.

Interim is such a wholesome read where Sasuke and Sakura rekindle their former relationship. Super fluffy

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Tozette || ao3 || T || sasusaku || blank period || one-shot complete

Sasuke is actually eighteen the first time he looks at Sakura and realises abruptly that he wants her.

I think we all know by now that Sasuke has always been attracted to strength, power, so why not when it comes to romance? Essentially, one day on a mission, Sasuke discovers he has a strength kink. Watching him continuously get flustered throughout the fic because of his admiration towards Sakura's strength is so entertaining. Really fun read

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the problem with how time works - MurderMittens || ao3 || E || kakasaku || generation swap AU || complete

"I don't remember you being this uncomfortable when Kakashi was nine and had a crush on you," Ino pointed out neutrally. "You thought it was flattering before." She moved to pour more wine into their glasses as Sakura exhaled sharply out of her nostrils. "Obviously! It was fucking cute when he was a kid! But now he's..." she trailed off, gesticulating feebly. Ino, taking pity on her, finished the sentence: "Now he's a stone cold hottie who looks and sounds like he'd murder the ever-loving shit out of your vagina."

Sakura and Kakashi's generations swap place and boy is it entertaining. With Naruto as his sensei, of course Kakashi has met Sakura. Now that she's back in the village after years, Kakashi decides to try his best to win her over.

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on still water - summersirius || ao3 || T || shisaku || canon divergence || complete

and sometimes, there are days without rain. —shisui/sakura

I'm actually devastated that the author decided to not pursue the plot line after about chapter 15 (it was so good too), but On Still Water is great nonetheless. Some really cute Shisui x Sakura moments

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never let 'em know your next move - MirrorImage003 || ao3 || T || itasaku || non-massacre AU || one-shot complete

six times itachi is surprised by sakura, and the one time he's surprised by his mother.

Sort of drabble style moments between Itachi and Sakura and it's honestly adorable.

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Hatsukoi - sparklyfaerie || ao3 || sasusaku || gen || non-massacre AU || complete

Sasuke leans away as the girl turns to him, and his mother doesn't need to be any closer to guess as to the expression on his face. The girl's body language changes in an instant, and Mikoto recognizes the posture of a little girl in love. It's kind of adorable.

Probably one of the cutest sasusaku fics I have read as Hatsukoi follows them from genin to marriage! It's told in multiple perspectives and it's full of tooth rotting fluff. You get to watch the slow progression of their relationship over time and how they grow even closer in Naruto's absence. Definitely read if you want something light!

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(oh, you'll probably go to heaven) please don't hang your head & cry - SafelyCapricious || ao3 || T || itasaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

There’s no such thing as a good death. But Sakura faces her death without any regrets. Her dying is keeping her precious people safe — and that’s all she can ask for. So she dies with a smile, taking thousands of enemies with her. She wakes up and falls off the branch she’s laying on.

More of a pre-ship than anything actually romantic, so maybe this isn't the best for this list lmao.

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Ghost - twilightdazzle || ffn || M || sasusaku || canon divergence || complete

Sakura is officially declared missing on a Wednesday morning. Wednesday, what a stupid day to go missing. Of course, Sakura is the only person he knows that is annoying enough to interrupt the middle of the week like this.

Sakura goes missing and this fic is basically Sasuke slowly losing his mind over it. Ghost is honestly pretty darn touching and feels true to Sasuke's character. Everyone is concerned for Sakura and that doesn't exclude him despite how nonchalant he makes himself seem.

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Send me some recs if you have any to share! I'm generally fine with any ship as long as the story is good :)

[ddejavvu]

Excuse Me, Barmaid - Hiccup Haddock x Reader (Part 3) | SERIES MASTERLIST

Summary: Berk is a small island with a small populace. Everybody knows everybody, and everybody especially knows the son of the Chief. When you’re thrown into the mix, arriving alone on a ship from an island they’ve never heard of before, you’re the talk of the village. It, of course, doesn’t help that you’re now roommates with the aforementioned son of the Chief. Stoick’s hospitality is welcome, but how will you survive living amongst the Chief of Berk and his inquisitive son, all while keeping your secrets close to your chest?

Contents/Warnings: afab!fem!reader, mentions of sex, runaway!reader, non-canon timeline (no valka yet/stoick is alive but hiccup has dragonscale armor + trader johann hasn't... y'know...), more to be added as chapters are posted

WC: 7.5K / navigation / inbox / ddejavvu's summer of series

A/N: i was so happy to receive positive feedback on the last part! I'm really enjoying writing this series so far and I hope you're enjoying reading it. somehow i made this one only a hundred words shorter than the last part! it was not supposed to be this long.. this is shaping up to be a very hefty series <3

feedback is greatly appreciated! comment, reblog, talk in the tags, send me a message, tell me what you think!

Waking up is hard. It takes immense effort for you to peel your eyes open, and you wonder why exhaustion clings so tightly to your frame until you remember that you’d nearly been blown up last night. That has you jolting upright in bed, and when curious green eyes set in a large, flat, black face peer down at you from above, you almost lose your lunch- dinner?

“Oh, gods,” You breathe, because this is perhaps the most new information you’ve had to process in one day. There was a fire last night, and you’d slept beside a dragon.

Toothless seems to realize he’s spooked you, because he shuffles backwards looking contrite. He really is a piteous sight, his eyes wide and his head dipped in worry, and you stretch a groggy hand out to reach for his nose when you remember he’s not going to eat you.

“Um- sorry. It’s okay. Good morning, Toothless.”

The massive dragon takes careful steps forwards, avoiding your legs and stomach, to press his head into your hand.

He’s adorably affectionate for something his size. He barely manages to miss taking you out with one of his massive paws as he leans so far into your scratches that he falls sideways, but one of his back legs bumps the post of Hiccup’s bed and the man jolts awake with a pained grunt.

Toothless’s auditory fins shoot up, and his green eyes blink curiously at his friend. But he doesn’t rise from his position beside you, pressing part of his hefty weight against you as your fingernails scratch up and over the crest of his head. When they travel to his chin he gurgles happily, the noise making Hiccup hoist himself onto his elbows in bed and stare down at the purring dragon in your lap.

“I almost forgot you were here.” Hiccup admits, his voice raspy, “And then I tried to breathe. And I couldn’t, and I wondered why it felt like there was smoke clogging up my lungs. And then, well…”

“Morning,” You grin sheepishly, “I’m here.”

“You’re on the floor.” Hiccup notes, forcing himself upright even though you’re sure he’d rather remain passed out in bed for the entire day, “I- I’m so sorry. You should have taken my bed. I assume my dad put me here last night?”

“It’s okay! He did,” You nod, waving a hand to placate Hiccup’s guilty scrambling, “I could barely walk all the way here after the fire. But you literally had to be carried. I think you were passed out by the time we got here,” You recall foggily, “And your dad said he wanted me in your room, so that Toothless could keep an eye on us both. I still don’t think he trusts me.” You admit, eyes downcast at Toothless’ gummy grin while you rub behind his ears, “But he hasn’t banished me yet.”

“Saving my life definitely helped,” Hiccup sighs, slumping back against his headboard, “Thank you for that, by the way. I wouldn’t have asked you to do that for me.”

“You didn’t have to ask.” You shrug, your voice small, “I just- did it. It was the right thing to do.”

“Most people wouldn’t throw themselves headfirst into a blazing building to save a man they hardly know.” Hiccup narrows his eyes good-naturedly at you, “You know that, right?”

“Most people have more to lose than I do.” You meet his gaze head-on, serious, “I have no home, no people, and no future. You do.”

Toothless warbles worriedly at you, and you realize you’d stilled in scratching at his scaly hide. You start back up again but he’s not satisfied, standing to butt his head into your chest and park it against your stomach. He’s pushing himself against you, but not enough to make you fall backwards, just enough to put grounding pressure against you while he purrs into your lap. His tail swishes lazily, contentedly behind him, the red fin standing out against his black scales and the brown wooden floor.

“You have people.” Hiccup tilts his chin upwards towards Toothless, “You can count him as someone on your side. And you have me, too. And- okay, maybe that’s all you have right now, but even if Berk doesn’t end up being your home, or your future, you’ve still got us.”

Toothless unburies his head from your stomach to crow affirmatively at you, and you let yourself smile, trusting the strangers- friends you’ve come to know.

“It smells like my dad’s made breakfast.” Hiccup hums, sliding out of bed and standing awkwardly on his one remaining leg. He braces his weight on the bedpost, and Toothless rushes for a dresser in the corner, only to find empty space on top.

He shrieks worriedly, and Hiccup’s eyes dart around the room.

“Um, awkward question: have you seen my leg?”

You blink owlishly, peering around the room just like Hiccup and Toothless are, but your search doesn’t yield the metal prosthetic. You recall grabbing it last night- tearing it off of his body, really, and chucking it behind you. Horrified, you realize that it was likely no one had ever picked it up, and it’s probably still lying abandoned in the carnage of the hall.

“About your leg.” You start, staring at Hiccup with wide, guilty eyes, “I might have lost it last night in the fire? I tried pulling you out and it came clean off. I was trying to get you out fast, and I didn’t think about going after it when the fire was out.”

“Oh,” Hiccup’s brow furrows slightly, “That’s okay. I have spares. Was it damaged?”

“I have no idea,” You breathe, “You have- spares? Spare legs?”

“They come in handy,” Hiccup grins, reaching for Toothless who ducks beneath his rider when he realizes he’s Hiccup’s newly-appointed crutch. The dragon helps Hiccup hobble over to the dresser, and he pulls open a drawer in the top row to reveal four metal legs identical to the one you’d tossed behind you last night.

“That’s… a lot of spares.” You note, watching as Hiccup takes one from the pile and bends awkwardly to attach it while still standing. It sounds almost painful, the way it snaps and clicks into place, but he stands like he doesn’t feel a thing once it’s connected.

“There used to be more.” He admits sheepishly, bouncing lightly on the ball of his foot and the spring mechanism in his prosthetic to get used to the feeling, “They get bent or snapped sometimes. Not every day, but I’ve learned to keep a few spares on hand.”

You realize now that there’s a lot of things you’ve never had to worry about. One thing you do worry about, though, is clothing. You’d left everything behind in the dead of night, and your tunic has some stains on it that make you look much more disheveled than you’d prefer.

“Hiccup?” You ask, and he turns from where he’d been moving for the stairs, “Do you think I could borrow some clothes of yours?”

“Oh!” His brows shoot towards his hairline, “Yeah. Sorry, I- I didn’t think about that.”

He scavenges through a dresser drawer, pulling out a green tunic that looks rumpled from disuse, “Is this okay? It’s one of the older ones my dad had made for me, but it was too big for me to wear. I was- not the typical viking kid.”

“That looks perfect.” You shrug, taking it and feeling the soft linen beneath your fingers, sturdy and aesthetically pleasing, “Thank you, I- uh, is there somewhere for me to change?”

The open layout of Hiccup’s house does you no favors. But he pries at Toothless’s wing, “Uh, here. Just do that-”, extending it outwards so that it acts as a massive curtain, and he turns so that him and the dragon are both staring pointedly in the opposite direction of you, “I don’t have a closet.”

“Thank you,” You laugh, shrugging out of your old, stained tunic. It’s a relief to have off- you’ll still need a bath, but you’re sure that improved your smell tenfold. The green one smells like firewood, something you’re sure Hiccup was forced to chop as part of some young viking training program. You clear your throat awkwardly when you’re done, “Okay, I’m good,” and Toothless drops his wing, pattering eagerly towards the stairs and the smell of breakfast beneath them. 

“I wouldn’t recommend bathing until we get some hot water.” Hiccup explains, “Right now the basin outside is probably frozen from last night, but there’s a stall behind the forge you can use once we get there.”

“That sounds amazing.” You admit, feeling grime and sweat cake your body, “I’m sure I smell terrible.”

“Breakfast smells better,” He shrugs, nose scrunched teasingly, “You ready for food?” Hiccup asks, leaning on the railing at the edge of his loft. You nod, but really you’re not sure. Seeing Stoick again feels intimidating, even if you’d left things on better terms last night than you’d thought possible. He’s still a very large, very angry chief of the village you’ve crashed, and your stomach ties itself in nauseating knots just thinking about facing him. But neither Hiccup nor Toothless give you much time to think, because they bound down the staircase in the corner of Hiccup’s loft, peering at whatever Stoick’s setting on the table for breakfast.

“Oatmeal?” Hiccup asks, and Stoick glances up at him with narrowed eyes.

“Yes, son. Oatmeal. Pancakes are for vikings who check to make sure there’s no stray bombs around before lighting a fire.”

“That was not my fault. And it wasn’t Y/N’s, either.” Hiccup scoffs, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to stare his dad down. You’re sure he’s looking as intimidating as he can, but that’s not very intimidating without his armor or snarling dragon.

“Aye, I know it. But still,” Stoick grabs him around the shoulders with one massive arm, tucking Hiccup into his side and scrubbing at his hair to mess up the already-scruffy strands despite his son’s yelps of protest, “‘Seems like you’re trying to get yourself killed sometimes.”

“Okay, alright, thank you- thank you, Dad!” Hiccup shoves himself out of his father’s grip, hobbling disorientedly over to a chair at the table and wrenching it out to seat himself. He kicks another one beside him out for you, grinning sheepishly up at you from behind his mussed hair.

“He knows I don’t like oatmeal.” Hiccup murmurs conspiratorially, a stage-whisper at best, clearly audible to Stoick who’s milling around a pot of porridge, “He makes it whenever I mess something up.”

“I made it,” Stoick’s voice booms from where he’s sliding two bowls across the table, steam rising from their contents as they make their way over to you and Hiccup, “Because it’s quick and easy. And nutritious.” Stoick offers up a bowl of nuts and a bowl of berries, “Until that hall is repaired, we’re going to have to fend for ourselves. And council meetings will have to take place here.”

“How long will it take for the hall to be repaired?” You ask, and you hadn’t been staying silent on purpose, but when you speak it feels awkward. Stoick, his back turned to you, tenses, but he answers in an even tone, free from scrutiny.

“The twins have to do it themselves. No help from humans or dragons.” Stoick declares, “So, probably a while. No guarantees- a few weeks, maybe, a month. There’s going to be trial and error, I’m sure. But it was their fault, so it’s their responsibility to fix it.”

“They didn’t mean to, dad.” Hiccup reasons, swallowing his mouthful of gritty oatmeal first, “Why can’t we help them?”

“Because, son. It was still unwise of them to bring explosives into our communal hall. They can blow up their own room as many times as they see fit, but if they affect all of us, they need to apologize to all of us. And their hard work will be a fine apology.”

“You realize that trusting the twins to rebuild the great hall as they see fit is a recipe for disaster, yes?” Hiccup shovels berries into his breakfast, and you take a few for yourself, “If no one is supervising them, they’ll install cannons on the roof.”

“Gobber and I are supervising,” Stoick assures Hiccup, sitting down so roughly that the table scoots an inch away from him, “He’ll pop out every few hours from the forge, and I’ll check on them when I pass by between engagements.”

“So it’s oatmeal for a month.” Hiccup concludes drearily, and you bury your smile in a spoonful of the stuff.

“Be grateful.” Stoick warns his son, shaking his spoon at him warningly, “Unless you want to start making breakfast for the house.”

By the way that Hiccup falls silent, you assume cooking isn’t one of his specialties. But that’s okay- he seems to have mechanics, blacksmithing, and dragon-taming under his belt, so that’s enough.

“I can make breakfast tomorrow.” You offer politely, “Or- lunch or dinner today, even. I wouldn’t say I’m a master chef.” You admit, “But I can feed people. To earn my keep.”

Stoick studies you, then nods once.

“Dinner.” He decides gruffly, “You can handle dinner. Lunch is stew from Gobber.”

“Eugh.” Hiccup’s nose scrunches, and he puts his spoon firmly back into his bowl of oatmeal, “You mean the guy who uses his spoon-attachment as a back scratcher? I think I’ll go hungry today.”

“A back scratcher-” You repeat absentmindedly, remembering that Gobber is missing an arm and a leg. ‘Attachment’ makes it sound like he’s got a spoon for a hand, and you’ll take Hiccup’s advice on skipping lunch if it means avoiding any cross-contamination between uses.

“Don’t be so dramatic! It’s fine.” Stoick scoffs, “I’m sure Toothless will eat it without complaining, won’t you?”

A quick glance at the dragon reveals wide, scared eyes and he accompanies it with a wary rumbling sound.

“You’re all a bunch of sissies.” Stoick decides, shaking his spoon at the lot of you, “You’d starve in the wild!”

“That’s why I’ve never gone rogue,” Hiccup smarts, nudging your leg beneath the table, “Y/N, now that things have calmed down a bit, do you still want a tour of Berk?”

“I’d love one.” You nod, and despite Hiccup’s whinging, the oatmeal is quite good. Bland, but when berries and sugar are added, you enjoy it. It’s a substantial meal, and when you scrape your bowl clean you collect Hiccup’s and Stoick’s as a thank-you.

“I can wash up.” You offer, “Where’s the basin?”

“It’s outside.” Stoick nods, but Hiccup protests.

“You don’t have to! I can do it,” He stands, but Toothless butts his head against the back of Hiccup’s chair, knocking into the backs of his knees and toppling him into a seated position once more.

“I can do it.” You repeat, laughing at the glare Hiccup shoots Toothless as you head for the door, “I’m trying to help out as thanks for letting me stay.”

“See, now that’s how you act grateful, son.” Stoick grabs an almond from the bowl on the table, flicking it at his Hiccup. You grin to yourself as you shut the door, but the sound still carries through the open windows as you beeline for the wash basin, “You should ask Y/N for lessons before she leaves.”

“Which would be when?” Hiccup asks, and you freeze where you’re reaching for the dishrag draped over the metal bucket.

There’s silence, uncomfortable silence as neither man speaks. You listen despite yourself, bowls still clutched in your hands. 

Finally, Stoick murmurs, “I don’t know, Hiccup.”

“Not for a while, right?”

“I don’t know, Hiccup.” Stoick repeats, sounding tense and exasperated, “We’ll find somewhere for her to go.”

“But why? Why can’t she stay?” Hiccup asks, and you force yourself to plunge the bowls into the chilly water instead of standing there and eavesdropping, “She’s already been a huge help so far. I know you didn’t exactly see the hall before it blew up, but she had it really clean. And she’s washing dishes and making dinner- she’s not trying to kill us! She doesn’t have some underhanded, nefarious plot, she’s just looking for a place to stay.”

“But it can’t be Berk.” Stoick insists, and you wonder if either of them know how loud they’re being, “Hiccup, ye’ don’t know the lass. Not really. All you know is she’s been nice so far. Which doesn’t guarantee that she won’t cause trouble later.”

“She’s lost.” Hiccup insists, his voice darkening, and you feel shame tinge your cheeks while you scrub furiously at long-gone oatmeal stains, “And she’s trying to find a home. She dove into a fire to save me, dad, doesn’t that mean anything to you? Just let her stay! Can you imagine how stressed she is right now? She has no idea what’s going to happen to her! Just- take pity on her, please? Let her stay on Berk.”

“Ah, fighting again, are they?” A thickly-accented voice comes from down the pathway, and you jolt your head up to see Gobber hobbling along, “Stoick’s naturally loud, and Hiccup shouts when he’s trying to win. They’re a disaster, they are.”

“I’m not givin’ a complete stranger a free pass to the island!” Stoick grunts, somehow louder now as things get heated, “I told you she can stay for a bit. I told you we’ll find her a home. I’ve already let her stay longer than I’d planned- stop pushing, Hiccup! My answer is no.”

“Ah. Awkward.” Gobber notes, stopping beside the washbasin and levelling you with a grimace, “They’re fighting about you.”

“I’m not trying to cause problems.” You insist feebly, but when the door slams open and Hiccup storms outside, it seems you’ve failed.

“Hiccup,” Gobber tries, his tone cheery, “Son, why don’t you help me make our stew for lunch? Your dad will leave soon to check on the villagers, you can each cool off a bit.”

“No thank you, Gobber,” Hiccup keeps his head down, Toothless hot on his tail, crooning worriedly, “Y/N and I are going for a flight.”

“Right. Well- ehm, be back for stew!” Gobber calls, and you hurry to rinse the soap off of the bowls and set them out to dry before Hiccup has left you behind, “I’ll make extra so everyone can have seconds!”

“Come on,” Hiccup mumbles, irritation tinging his tone, his tense shoulders looking like coiled springs about to snap, “We’ll take an aerial tour first.”

He mounts Toothless without so much as a saddle, and you scramble to take his hand and hoist yourself up.

“Toothless,” Hiccup lays a hand on the dragon’s head, “Get us out of here.”

The dragon takes off without a second thought, and you crane your neck back to see Stoick joining Gobber at the door, watching as you fly away from the house.

“Hiccup,” You hum hesitantly, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” He sighs, after a tense moment of silence where you weren’t sure if he’d yell at you or cry,  “My dad is just- stubborn. And we fight, like, all the time. I just wish he’d listen.”

“He wants to keep you safe.” You reason, your voice steady as you curl your arms tentatively around Hiccup’s middle. Toothless is gliding calmly over Berk, circling lazily, but it’s still nerve-wracking to be flying, especially without a saddle.

“He’s the Chief, and he has to make the best decisions he can in order to keep everyone safe. I don’t blame him,” You admit, “I just wish he’d change his mind.”

“He will.” Hiccup decides, his voice resolute and firm, “I’ll make him.”

“Let’s worry about that tour first,” You beg, slightly uneasy at the prospect of egging on another father-son argument, “What’s that building down there?”

“What, that?” Hiccup peers at the hut you’ve pointed to, smoke pouring from its chimney, thick and black, “That’s the hatchery. There’s, like, ten fires in there to keep the eggs warm.”

“Ten fires.” You note, your brows rising in surprise, “Don’t let Ruffnut and Tuffnut anywhere near that.”

“Definitely not,” Hiccup laughs, patting the side of Toothless’s head, “We’re allowed, though. We can start our tour there. Come on, let’s go see some babies, bud.”

Toothless grumbles irritably, but dives towards the hatchery and lands gently on the grass beside it. You nearly slip off of his back just from the landing, but you manage to fake a landing when Hiccup slides off and takes you with him. You stumble towards him and he braces you with his hands on your arms, eyes wide in alarm.

“You okay?”

“I’m new to flying, remember?” You grumble, feet planted firmly in the grass, “I’m still getting used to landing.”

“That’s okay, it took us some time too.” Hiccup strolls towards the hatchery doors, but Toothless remains stubbornly sat outside, “We mostly crash-landed at first. Toothless probably won’t join us in the hatchery- the babies annoy him. But we can pretty much walk from here.”

You give Toothless a parting pat on the snout and trail behind Hiccup, stepping through the low entryway into the hatchery and feeling the air warm significantly.

It’s at least twenty degrees hotter here than it is outside on Berk. It’s stifling heat, the kind that’s hard to breathe in, and you wince as your clothes suddenly stick to your frame. Hiccup’s tunic seems a whole lot less appealing to wear now that it’s gathering sweat- you’ll really need a bath after this.

But the scenery makes up for the sweat; there’s dragons everywhere. Big ones, tending to their young, little ones, squirming and yelping in search of food, ones that haven’t even hatched yet in eggs that glow or rustle in place. There’s so many- you wonder how Berk even has room for more, and you follow Hiccup numbly, mindlessly as you stare in awe at all of the dragons.

“Aren’t they incredible?” He asks, and through the fondness in his tone, you realize: this is who he is. He’d told you the story of how he’d met Toothless just yesterday, but you’d failed to comprehend just how tightly bonded his soul is to that of a dragon’s. He was put on this earth to love them, and they all seem to return the sentiment as he walks past.

“Her clutch just hatched yesterday,” Hiccup points to a large dragon with what looks like warts on her body, “That’s a gronckle- that’s the kind of dragon that Fishlegs has.”

Hiccup was right- they’re chunky. But you’d been right too, gorgeous, and her eyes widen and seem to sparkle as she catches you admiring her babies. With a lolling tongue and a good-natured snort she nudges one of her rotund babies towards your feet, and the tubby thing gets rolled across the hay-strewn floor until it’s grunting and grumbling up at you.

It’s cute until it burps and sends a chunk of glowing magma towards your shoes. You stumble backwards in shock, feet sliding and failing to get a grip on the hay that’s littered across the floor. It’s Hiccup that has to brace you from behind, one hand on your back pushing hard against your weight, “Sorry! They’re not great at controlling themselves yet. You might want to steer clear of the fire-breathing ones.”

“Aren’t they all fire-breathing?” You ask, and you let him direct you towards a stall further down the building that’s now looking to you like an old, repurposed barn.

“Not exactly, no. Some of them shoot poison, some of them shoot deafening sound waves, some of them shoot scalding water, and some of them-” He catches sight of where you’re staring wide-eyed, terrified at him, “Uh, don’t worry about it.”

“I’m going to be shot with poison?” You blink rapidly, tense muscles on high-alert, ready to bolt for the door if need be.

“No! No, not at all.” Hiccup promises, “Just- stay away from that stall at the end?”

You shuffle three steps away even though you’re already twenty.

“They’re all friendly, though.” Hiccup walks you past two more stalls, an empty one and one with a pretty purple dragon inside, “And if the poison-thing did happen, which it won’t! - we have all the antidotes.”

“That’s reassuring.” You mumble, nearly tripping over a lithe baby dragon that weaves through your feet, “What’s that one?”

“A terrible terror!” Hiccup laughs, barely avoiding stepping on the thing himself. He plucks the lizard-like baby off of the ground, dropping it when it latches its gummy mouth onto his wrist and letting it hang there, his eyes narrowed in exasperation.

“They’re biters,” He explains, “But the babies don’t have teeth.”

“I can tell why they’re named terrors,” You spot the mother, nipping at the wing of one of her other babies halfway across the barn, “How do you fit this many dragons on Berk?”

“It’s difficult, sometimes.” Hiccup admits, “But a lot of dragons come and go. If they’ve found people that they attach themselves to, like Toothless and I, or Astrid and Stormfly, then they’ll primarily live here. But a lot of them just come to socialize and eat. There’s far more settlements in the forests nearby- traditional nests and burrows for those that don’t like being in small, wooden homes. These dragons have just come here to nest, and might not stay on Berk.”

What he’s describing sounds like a dragon’s paradise. Free food, no predators, and a warm place to hatch their eggs- you’re surprised more don’t stay on Berk. You certainly want to.

“But the babies imprint on people really easily.” Hiccup continues, lost in his own dialogue, “They’re more outgoing when they’re little, and if the babies stay, so does the mother.”

“Is it hard for the mothers? Being split up from their babies?” You eye a snoozing dragon in the corner, one with a tranquil blue crest spanning over her head, her scales the same azure hue.

“If a clutch is small, it’s pretty common for someone to take in the whole family.” Hiccup notices you staring at the blue dragon, “Like- that Hobblegrunt? She’s only laid one egg- they have small clutches. So they’ll be a package deal. Dragons with bigger clutches are usually less resistant to letting their babies be split up, but since Berk is so small, they’re never too far away.”

“She’s pretty.” You note, eyes roving over her coiled-up form, the barest hint of a jagged green egg concealed beneath her wing, “Are all of her species that color?”

“Actually,” Hiccup grins, stepping towards her with a rhythmic thumping sound over the wooden floorboards, “They change colors. She’s blue right now, because she’s relaxed- calm. She turns orange when she gets annoyed- that’s one step away from red, for angry,” Hiccup demonstrates by stroking a hand over her crest, disturbing her peaceful slumber. The rush of orange over her scales makes you gasp, and sure enough, she cracks her eyes open to let out a warning chitter at the man trying to rouse her from sleep.

“Don’t talk to me like that,” Hiccup teases, continuing to stroke over her scales. She gets a clearer view of him, her eyes finally wide open instead of persistently trying to close, and she croons in a greeting, her scales melting into a softer yellow hue.

“There we go. Yellow means happy.” He croons, scruffing at the bottom of her chin, “Do you want to meet her?”

“Is she a fire-breather, or a poison-spitter?” You ask warily, but you’re already stepping closer- albeit tentatively.

“Fire. But she’s even cooler than that. She can predict things before they happen, and she can influence other dragons’ moods. They’re considered lucky, y’know?”

Of course you didn’t, but the constant rambling is helping you feel a little calmer in the face of meeting yet another dragon. You’re worried she might become territorial around a stranger while cradling her unborn baby, and when her scales explode in a rush of purple you stop dead in your tracks.

“What does purple mean?”

“Curious. She’s just checking you out. Come on,” Hiccup gestures encouragingly towards the dragon, “Remember, if she doesn’t like you she’ll turn red. You’ll know if you need to back off.”

You step forwards again, one foot at a time, painstakingly slow until you’re planted firmly in front of the hobblegrunt. The scales at the very edge of her frill speckle between purple and blue, and when you present your hand like Hiccup had taught you she pushes her nose into it and snuffles hot and damp at your palm. 

She closes her eyes, leans into your touch, and her scales shine brilliantly yellow again.

“All right, there we go!” Hiccup cheers, his eyes shimmering like her hide, “She likes you! A lot,” he notes, watching her rub her massive frilled head into your stomach, grumbling like she’s purring all the while. She uses the bottom of her chin to push against you, and you take the hint to rake your nails over the scales on her neck.

“She’s beautiful.” You hum, cradling her massive head in your hands, and she glows impossibly brighter under your touch. She’s got a massive underbite, fangs protruding proudly from her lower jaw that eclipse the upper ones. Her eyes are round and beady but endearing all the while, and her tongue is forked where it slithers out of her mouth to flick at your wrist. Her snout rears upwards in a point that looks like a horn but is made of the same flesh and bone that her other scales cover. She looks sharp and scary, especially considering the pointed tips of her head frill, but she rubs herself against you like a pro, expertly avoiding pricking you with any of her sharp body parts. The swell of her chin, protruded ever-so-slightly like the vocal sac on a frog but less malleable, grazes your stomach as she butts herself against your torso.

“She could be your dragon, y’know.” Hiccup suggests, his voice high-pitched and airy like he knows he’s pushing it, “If you’re going to stay on Berk, you’ll need one. And, I mean, she clearly really likes you. The fact that she’s let her guard down while you’re around her egg is huge. And if you’re bonded to her that’s just one more reason my dad can’t kick you out.”

“I think,” Your breath escapes you, and each word you manage to produce running on empty steals more of it from your lungs, “I- I’m not ready for that. Yet. Or- probably ever, because your dad still wants me gone, and I’m not going to have some spiritual experience with- with a fucking dragon and then sail away two weeks later. Hiccup this is-” All of a sudden you feel trapped, and you take the dragon’s head in your hands to redirect her elsewhere, gently pushing her off of you as you stumble backwards, “This is not. Fair. I can’t get attached to anyone here because if I have to leave again-”

“Relax.” Hiccup’s hand curls tightly around your bicep, holding you in place as if you’re going to flee from the hatchery and run wild into the forest, “Relax. It’s- okay. Really, it is. Let’s get some air.”

The hobblegrunt croons sadly after you as you storm for the doors of the hatchery, but you rush out without turning back. Tears prick at your eyes, suddenly and viciously, and you breathe out the air that’s trying to become a sob in your throat as you stare frantically over the wide, expansive forests of Berk.

Toothless, who’d been lounging lazily on the grass ten feet away springs to alert, grumbling questioningly as he pads over towards you. Hiccup stops three feet behind you, which you appreciate, but his dragon isn’t so courteous. Perhaps they’re not the best at reading human social cues.

Toothless nudges his giant snout into your back, gently enough so that you’re not knocked forwards into the grass. But you jump just the same, your skin feeling like it burns wherever it meets scales.

“I don’t want you to leave.” Hiccup speaks from behind you, and you let the wind whip your hair as you stay firmly turned away from him, “And you don’t have to. But- I almost think you want to.”

“I don’t.” You swear, your voice shaky and thick, “I- I want to stay here. It’s perfect here.”

“But… you don’t want to trust us. You don’t want to trust anybody.”

“I just met you,” You’re raw with emotion, and you bring one hand to your face to press aggressively against your mouth, “How can I trust you when-”

“I know, you don’t know me. But I trust you. You remember what I said earlier, right? You have to trust us too, if you want to stay? Berk is a community- a family. And if we let you in… you have to return the favor. And right now I don’t think you want to let anyone in. And I don’t know why, I don’t know exactly why, but I do know that you’re in crisis. Sure, Berk sounds great, but when you realize that you have to let people get to know you, you’d rather get back on your boat and sail away. But what are you gonna do at the next island you come across? Either they’re the same as we are, and they want answers, or they’re the opposite, and it’s miserable there. If you really want to stay,” Hiccup bridges the gap between you two, standing so that his shoulder rests against your own, “Prove it. Not today, if it’s too much. Not tomorrow, if you’re still panicking. But if you want my dad to let you stay here, you have to give him a reason to. He’s shipping you out because you’re a weary traveler- act like a Berkian, and he’ll let you become one.”

When the lump in your throat subsides- the one that had been there since he’d plucked you apart piece by piece and read your soul like a page from his tattered journal - you sniffle, “Are you Berk’s resident speech-giver? You’re-” You dash a tear off of your cheek, sniffling again, “-really good at it.”

“My dad’s are even more dramatic,” Hiccup chuckles, pushing his shoulder against your own, “Listen, I’m not trying to overstep. It’s just- Berk has no outsiders. We won’t let you live on the outskirts of the village for the rest of your life, hiding away from the community. We will flood your doorstep with bread and- and pastries and fish, and we will have our dragons airlift you out from your roof and bring you to the hall for dinner.”

“I’m finally getting used to flying on a dragon,” You huff, letting Toothless worm his way beneath your arm and bracing your palm against the flat of his head, “Please don’t dangle me underneath one.”

“Then let’s go make some more rounds.” Hiccup mounts Toothless again, offering you a hand, “All we have to do is make you a beloved member of Berk’s community, and then he can’t send you away.”

“More ass-kissing?” You ask, and he cranes his head backwards to nod affirmatively.

“More ass-kissing. Toothless, let’s get back to our tour. Just- stay away from home, okay? If Gobber knows we’re back he’ll give us stew.”

Toothless’s response is less-than-enthusiastic, so you’re sure he’ll fly out of sight.

If there’s a long way around Berk, Toothless is taking it. He glides low over forests and you catch a glimpse of a glittering lake or a set of rocky caves here and there. It’s a magnificent island, as beautiful and complex as the people there, and Toothless takes a detour around the island to tilt sideways and dip one of his wings into the sea.

It sends up an arc of airborne water that splashes towards you, and you shriek even though it doesn’t reach you. Hiccup laughs, and it’s a free sound as Toothless climbs higher into the sky, incline still low because neither of you are secured in a saddle. You wind up back over Berk’s cliffside forests, and the wind whipping past your ears croons like a violin.

Toothless arcs around the far side of the village, and a small hut stands in the shadow of the mountain that used to house the great hall. It’s currently a smashed pile of rubble, and you can see two blonde vikings and one two-headed dragon milling around in the wreckage.

“They’re getting right to work,” You laugh, mouth close to Hiccup’s ear so that he can hear you despite the rushing wind, “Who’s house is that? Behind the mountain?”

Hiccup groans, and you can feel it where your hands are wrapped around his stomach. 

“Remember when I said Berk doesn’t have any outsiders?”

“Yeah?”

“Mildew is our exception.”

You’re almost afraid to ask who Mildew is, but when Barf and Belch swing their tails behind them and they strike squarely against the side of the wooden hut, a skinny figure explodes from the doorway, fists already raised alongside his voice. Toothless circles low, drifting towards the confrontation.

“I told you teens to keep your dragon away from my cabbage patch!” Mildew screeches, his rotted mustache swinging as he scowls at Ruffnut and Tuffnut, “If you can’t keep that beast away from my house I’ll have Stoick kill it, I will.”

“Barf and Belch could totally take down the chief.” Tuffnut laughs brashly, but when he sees you and Hiccup landing on Toothless mere feet away his eyes blow wide, “Not that we’d ever let him! Just- it could totally happen, they’re, like, the best dragon in the world.”

You land two reassuring pats on Toothless flank to ensure there’s no hard feelings. He warbles appreciatively, tossing his head back to grunt at you.

Hiccup glares exasperatedly at the man, “Just- ignore him. There’s no need to flatter Mildew- he’ll never like you no matter what. His opinion doesn’t matter. Mildew,” he calls, “-your cabbage patch is fine. My dad ordered the twins to rebuild the hall. They need their dragon to help them haul wood. If the great hall isn’t rebuilt, all you’ll be eating is your cabbages.”

“Oh, of course, it’s Hiccup to the rescue,” Mildew grouses, rolling his bulging eyes, “And I suppose your night fury’s going to help by burning my hut down?”

You slide off of Toothless, suddenly, inexplicably protective of the sweet black dragon, “He won’t, but I might. Do they call you Mildew because that’s what’s growing in your mustache?”

The man takes a good, bewildered look at you, clearly noticing you for the first time through his fit of unbridled rage. Ruffnut and Tuffnut snicker relentlessly at your sass but Hiccup manages to conceal a snort by swallowing it.

“Who are you?” Mildew’s lip curls into a snarl, “Another saboteur come to destroy our village? Not surprised Hiccup’s brought you- he’s always bringing disaster to Berk.”

“And what do you bring to Berk? Headaches?”

Toothless imitates laughter into the small of your back as Mildew waves his hands in frustration.

“Oh, it’s useless. Just wait- it’ll go wrong like it always does, Hiccup. And I’ll be here, like I always am, knowing I was right.”

“Oh I’m sure,” Hiccup calls, his voice dead as he leans exasperatedly on one leg. Mildew’s headed back for his hut, his head bowed and his mouth muttering angrily, “Thank you for prophesying our doom for the third time this week, Mildew. Much appreciated- I hope we don’t see you again soon!”

“What a dick.” You observe, watching the door to his hut slam shut so hard that one of the planks of wood splinters, “But seriously, is the Mildew thing about his mustache?”

“His house isn’t any cleaner.” Hiccup grimaces, “Ruff, Tuff, how’s rebuilding going?”

“Hiccup, it’s a breeze.” Tuffnut declares, propping one foot up onto a plank of wood at knee-height and looking very regal as he proclaims, “It’ll be done by sundown.”

Ruffnut, who’s on her knees clearing away the ground of its splintered wood planks, mutters, “Sundown six months from now.”

“If you just worked faster we’d be done by now,” Tuffnut groans, “Aren’t you done clearing the ground yet?”

“If you helped me-!” Ruffnut shouts, and stands to be eye-level with Tuffnut.

“Sweeping the floor is beneath me,” Tuffnut’s eyes narrow, and he braces himself on his knees.

“And we’re going,” Hiccup decides, grabbing your elbow, “It’s best not to witness their wrestling matches because then you can’t be held liable for not stopping them. And you don’t want to jump in.”

You see why, as the second you take off, they begin kicking and shoving each other. Helmets and their horns are used as weapons, burnt wooden planks are brandished as swords, and you hear someone scream as you fly out of sight.

“They’ll be fine.” Hiccup assures you, throwing a hand back to rest soothingly on your thigh, “They always are.”

The village of Berk is dense, but the outskirts are dotted with buildings here and there. You ask about a large silo and Hiccup informs you that it’s exactly what you’d think it was- a storage facility for grain, seeds, and any other dry ingredients that can be preserved for long winters. You wonder if you’d be able to steal some nuts for dinner- some flour to bake bread maybe?

“What about that one?” You ask, pointing at a blocky structure only a few yards away from the silo, “What’s that for?”

Toothless growls.

“Oh, that? That’s- uh, that was our armory. We have another one, it’s more central to the village and it’s stocked with our essentials in case of invasion. That one,” Hiccup’s voice turns sheepish, “Is where we threw all the stuff we don’t use to kill dragons anymore.”

“Oh.” Your brows raise, “So it’s just- full of… torture devices?”

“Pretty much.” Hiccup grimaces, “Toothless, take us down.”

The dragon lands roughly beside the armory, and Hiccup nearly falls off of his back. He catches himself on one of Toothless’s ear fins, and the dragon shakes his head to smack him with the other one in retaliation. You find yourself grinning despite the somber mood, and Hiccup gestures you towards the building.

“It’s cool stuff- great inventions.” He strolls towards the building, almost reluctantly, “But it’s a part of Berk’s past everyone wants to forget.”

Cracking open the massive doors reveal a spiked lance mere inches from your nose. You yelp, stepping backwards on instinct, and Hiccup catches you from where he’s standing only feet behind you.

“Careful. Everything either stabs or explodes in here.” He grimaces, “If you thought the dragons were dangerous…”

“This is barbaric.” You breathe, horror rising in your gut as you stare at the numerous devices made of iron and wood, all designed to snuff the life out of the creatures you’ve been making friends with all day, “These- why do you still have these?”

“What else would we do with them? We can’t exactly chuck them into the ocean.”

“Take them apart! Strip them for lumber,” You catch sight of something that looks like a guillotine and have to shut the doors again, “Hiccup, all of that stuff is just sitting there. No wonder Toothless hates it here,” You gesture to the dragon who’s chosen to sit beside the silos instead of follow you, “The dragons probably think if they step out of line you’ll break open the torture chamber.”

“They know we won’t.” Hiccup replies hotly, and you realize how offensive it might have been to suggest Berk would ever harm them again like they had before. But it’s haunting even standing there and looking at the contraptions- you can’t imagine the man in front of you ever using one.

“I’ll help you take them apart.” You offer quietly, hoping you sound kinder now.

“They- might be enough to make you a bed.” Hiccup notes, clearly accepting your feeble apology, “Y’know, so you don’t have to sleep on my floor again.”

“That’s something.” You hum, “But how are we gonna convince your dad to let me move a bed into your room if he still thinks I’m leaving as soon as he can find somewhere else for me to go?”

“We don’t need his permission if we sneak it in.” Hiccup shrugs, “But I’ll need help hauling this stuff down to the forge- I can’t exactly break apart the iron with my bare hands.”

“But you’re so strong and vikingly,” you tease carefully, staring at his arms that are miles skinnier than his dad’s.

“That’s it,” He scoffs, but his eyes betray him by twinkling in amusement, “You can drag this stuff down to the forge by yourself.”

He turns and pretends to leave you there, his gait too slow to effectively escape before you chase after him.

“Wait!” You laugh, grabbing his hand and tugging him back, “You haven’t even shown me where the forge is! Help me,” You turn him around, “Help me destroy these dragon-torture devices and bring peace to the island once and for all!”

“Once and for all,” He nods once, grinning, “Now you’re acting like a Berkian.”

feedback is greatly appreciated! comment, reblog, talk in the tags, send me a message, tell me what you think!

[zarnzarn]

TW: jumping on the manwhore au but aftermath, discussion of S/A, read carefully.

Three weeks pass.

Odysseus is carried through them with ecstasy and joy, reuniting and grieving and laughing and rearranging.

But then everything settles down, and-

It was him who'd ordered it. Ordered owls to be carved into every free inch of Ithaka, coveted shipments of the secretive birds for his personal menagerie, sold trinkets in the market. Made no secret of who favoured them, when he had half the houses painted blue.

But now every step he takes in his own home haunts him.

He cannot so much as look to the side before feeling the urge to flinch away, shame growing inside of him until it chokes him up. Cannot look at any owls. Cannot look at any of his men.

("Well, if our captain can't think his way out of it, at least now we know talking filthy works just as well!" One of the men chortles, unaware of how Odysseus' blood had run cold, standing with his hand raised to knock.)

("This day, you've lost it all, consider this as my goodbye-")

("Come on, she's a beautiful, powerful lady! How bad could it really have been, Captain?")

("Captain?" Eurylochus whispers, as Odysseus wipes the blood off his mouth and reaches for his cloak. The ships are silent, even though the roar of the waves has left. Eyes stare at him from all directions, wide and-

Pitying? Horrified? Odysseus can't really tell.

"Full speed ahead," He says, voice ruined, and keeps his chin high as he hobbles back to his room.)

(When the sirens come, all he sees is Penelope. It is nice, at least, to know that he can discard the intrusive thoughts creeping in about natural reactions and forced pleasures.)

("Please- please don't do this, don't make me choose, I'll do anything-")

("Leave me the fuck alone, both of you. If Penelope does not take me back after all of this, it's her choice. But I have to get all of us off this island and it's better me than you.")

"Ody- Your Majesty!" Odysseus reaches into his robes, pulls out the whittling tool and the wood, busies himself as he walks. It's one of the younger men, the ones who'd barely been boys when they left. "Listen, we were wondering if- if you'd come join us at the festival! The- all of the men, really, we've been- heh- missing you since we now have to share you with the rest of the kingdom. We could- we could sing together? Like we used to?"

Athena's prayers.

"You go ahead," Odysseus murmurs, eyes on the carving. "Next time."

"But you didn't come for the last one either!"

"I have-" He hears his own sharp tone, stops and swallows to soften it. He was terrible to all of them, he knows, those last few days aboard the ship, rude and sharp and brutal like all the other royals, where he never was before. "I have work to do. Have a good day. I've heard the new hound stock is coming in today, you should see if you want a pet."

He ignores whatever is said in response, walking on. He wonders, darkly, what they think of him. Do they still think he enjoyed it? That it was a privilege to be had by gods?

("He won't speak to us!" One of them hiss that night, when the lad comes back sniffling and downcast, like all the others. They'd grown up with Odysseus, almost like younger brothers, and all of the younger ones were taking the sudden frigid silence hard. They all were. Somewhere they had lost their friend, left him behind without noticing, until only their king returned. "He cannot possibly think we think less of him for sacrificing so much, for- the gods are impossible to hold up against, he can't think we blame him for-"

"We don't know what he thinks," Polites says, pulling his head out of his hands and wrapping his arms around himself. "He doesn't even look at us."

The men around the fire are all silent.

"He has to know, right?" Someone whispers. "He has to.")

"What did happen on the trip back?" Penelope says, voice quiet, sitting next to him. He jolts. When did he reach their bedroom? "Something did. You have barely touched me since that first day."

Odysseus opens his mouth, but for the first time, he has nothing to say. What can he? She had known, the first second he had turned his eyes from her in shame, and yanked him back in anyway with eyes blazing like a lion, growling that she didn't care what he had to do to come back, as long as he had.

Odysseus doesn't feel like he has.

Penelope carefully takes the whittling knife away from him, as well as the spear he'd carved. "And you have not prayed, after your return."

(He had tried. Had walked right upto the temple steps when everyone was asleep, and then turned around and thrown up in a bush.)

"Have you heard the story of the high priestess Medusa?" He murmurs, staring at the wall. Watches the shadows dancing across. "Athena used to tell me about her. One of her favourite devotees. I never understood why she cursed her, when it was not her fault."

Penelope puts a hand on his shoulder. Both of them are shaking. She has seen the scars, the ones that glow beautiful and bright, left behind by each god who touched him.

"A gorgon, snake-woman, capable of turning anyone she looked upon to stone, gods and humans alike. No eyes upon her, ever again."

The breeze blows in.

"At the time, I thought it to be a curse." He whispers. Remembers the story of the way she had screamed in the temple bower for Athena's help, insane, at the feeling he knows now is violation of self and celibacy both; Athena's chosen, ripped away from one of their ways of worship by force. "Now I know it was a blessing."

"But-" Penelope swallows. "Perseus-"

"Was a mercy." He looks at the ground. "She was pregnant. She did not wish to be. Athena granted her so."

"The shield is to honor her," Penelope murmurs. "Not a trophy."

He hums.

"I-" Penelope starts, voice thick. "I remember when you asked. When we first got married. If I was fine with not being joined with you in bed often, as long as I was satisfied. Was it-?"

"Only her priestesses can have true celibacy, her devotees less, me lesser. I had a crown to continue, so Athena accepted a more lenient vow, when I became her student." He stares out at the sea, the sky. "But I had vowed. I had sworn." A half-sob escapes him, some delayed noise of grief. It feels far away now, and the scars have all healed, but he cannot move past the violation, the stares, the whispers. The shame of betrayal. "I had an oath, Penelope."

"It was not your fault," Penelope whispers, taking his hand like he will shatter like glass. "Poseidon seems to target all of Athena's people. If anything-"

"We fought," He says, turning his head to press his face to her shoulder, shuddering as he confesses it. Abandoned by his own god. "She left. Maybe this is her punishment, all the eyes, all the time. Paranoid that another Olympian will jump out of the shadows, do it again."

"Or," Penelope says after a long pause. "She does not know. Only one way to truly find out."

Odysseus considers.

"Could you," He swallows, throat clicking. "Could you get me- the things from my shrine?"

-

He does not expect her to actually arrive.

He shakes in front of her, for the first time, feeling small and foolish and broken. Wishes he could go back to being twelve, do it all over correctly. "Lady Athena," He says, as formally as he can. "I beg your forgiveness. Please- please, is there anything I can do to-"

"About time," She interrupts, bored. "Finally willing to concede that I was right?"

Odysseus feels bile rise in his throat. "Yes, goddess. I was- stupid, to ever consider otherwise."

Penelope's hand is clenched tight in his robes, kneeling with him.

"Good," Athena says, pleased. "A war well won, all things considered. Our glory will go down in the history books." A pause. "Why are you on the floor?"

"What?" He chokes out.

"You've never kneeled to me once, even when I've taken you out at the ankles, you impudent brat," She snorts. Odysseus feels his pounding heart freeze in his chest at the- fondness in her voice. Fondness. She is not furious with him, not unforgiving. "What, do you want something else-"

She knocks him on the head, flicking him on the forehead playfully- then freezes as he looks up at her. Goes completely still, and he knows she can see what they did to him.

Penelope's hand reaches out to steady him.

"Only your forgiveness, goddess," His voice breaks. "Only that."

-

After, Penelope holds him, crying silently herself as she wipes at his cheeks. Athena sits with her head in her hands, helmet removed, anger finally under control but completely silent. Just sits there at the edge of their bed, bent over, face buried in her own palms.

Finally, she straightens, inhaling. Turns to look at him. "You may not be alive to see it," She tells him, quiet and furious. "But this is their last transgression, I swear to you. I will find a way to get revenge. They will die."

"I do not-"

"They will die. And no vows have been broken." She hesitates, hand hovering over his ankle. Odysseus crumbles, nodding desperately, and nearly passes out at the relief of the familiar touch, sharp and cleansing, godly and unlike the chaos of all the others. "You need not apologise to me about that."

He sniffs, turning his face into Penelope's shoulder. It feels freeing, some latent relief that Athena finally sees him, understands, forgives. She is not the terrifying goddess so far removed, cold and cruel, that he was starting to think she truly might be; bowed over in grief and horror for him, like a friend- he just wishes this was not the reason why.

Her eyes are gold at the edges. Crying. Nauseated almost, at the fact that- her uncle. Her father.

"Would you-" Odysseus wheezes. His heart hurts still, for their fight, for what happened after, for how hard he knows she will take it. "Can you-"

"Anything, champion," She says softly, strained. Gives him a half-smile. "My friend."

"The wings-" He whispers, feeling stupid, but-

"Slow," Penelope murmurs, reaching out to steady Athena as she climbs in close. Her voice is wrecked. She does not say anything more.

Owl wings fold around him, not white or blue or pink, patterned and brown like the mud; home. Home.

"No one will see you," Athena murmurs, and her voice is wretched, but caring. "No one can see you. Peace."

"Peace," Odysseus repeats, and leans into them both, letting the darkness shroud around them like an embrace. Peace.

Home.

[the-californicationist]

i did send the same thing to another writer i enjoy bc i love different takes on things, but my little dumpster brain has had one thought in the last 24 hours - imagine confiding in your captain that you'd like to have a baby bc biological clock or whatever, and being in the field really puts a damper on your sex life, so that makes it difficult. but the 141 will do anything for one of their own, so if that means they're running trains and taking turns on you DAILY until it takes (and probably even after 👀), then so be it.

lol... you lit a fuckin' fire with this ask, my friend. hot!!

"The Window" (141/Reader)

You awoke to the soft tinkling noise of his belt and zipper, rattling at the edge of your bed. Your captain, John Price, was answering his call of duty, and within moments, you knew he would slip his fat, flaccid cock between your legs and allow your warmth to make him harden within you. He preferred it this way. First, he would rub you with it, heavy and smooth, smearing your wetness all over his skin. Then, with a singular talent, he would somehow stuff his soft, lolling head into your hole, feeding himself into you gently, letting your body take him in on its own as your pussy pulsed for him, and he would rub your clit absent-mindedly, comforting himself with your swollen lips, sighing raggedly as you covered him up. Once he was hard - and fuck, he was impossibly hard - he would fuck you through your blinding pleasure, his girth giving you burst after burst of hot, searing bliss.  

He wasn’t your boyfriend - none of them were - but the members of your task force, the 141, had all agreed to be the father of your child. It had started when Captain Price first saw your appointment on the team calendar. You’d meant to post it privately, but you had failed to do so. He came to you right away, his face full of worry,

“Wha’s goin’ on, Spar? Goin’ to the main base hospital… Wha’s all this about?”

So, you’d told him, a little bashfully, that you were trying to get pregnant. You’d be turning 28 this fall, and you wanted to be a mom, sooner rather than later. Every few weeks, you were shipped off to some too-cold or too-hot locale, getting shot at and flash-banged. There wasn’t really time to find a date, much less convince them that you would make a good mother. The last time you tried to use Tinder, one guy had called you ‘Rambo’ and blocked you, so it wasn’t going well. 

“I’ll go with you, little bird. Sounds important.”

“You don’t need to do that, Captain. I’m sure I can take out a loan for it…” You thought out loud, remembering the pamphlet and all of its cost breakdowns for IVF treatments.

“A loan? Last time I checked, love, it was free,” he chuckled. 

“Free when you have someone who’d be willing to give it to you, sir,” you challenged him with your confidence, trying not to be ashamed, even of your ‘Rambo’ nickname. 

“Sparrow,” he raised his voice and nearly shouted your callsign incredulously in the small mess hall where he’d found you, “There’s no bloody way you don’t have someone willing.” 

“Wha’s goin’ on, Cap?” Gaz poked his head in behind the door. 

“Nothing,” you tried to stop the literal landslide of embarrassment that was happening to you.

“She wants to have a baby,” Price told him, smiling a bit as your cheeks turned pink.

“A baby?” Gaz commented with no small amount of surprise.

“Who wants a baby?” Simon yelled out from the hallway before opening the door wider and scooting around Gaz to join into the conversation. 

“A bairn!?” Soap barged in, slamming the door all the way open and forcing Gaz to tumble into the kitchen. 

So, the whole team knew in a matter of moments, but Price kept his word. He drove you to the hospital for your appointment and asked more questions to the doctor than you did. Unfortunately, he heard all of the strictest rules and took them to heart. No cigarettes, no caffeine, plenty of rest and… plenty of exposure to male ejaculate. 

There had been a meeting, of which you were not a part, between Price and the other men in your task force, and they had come to a conclusion: they would put a baby in you. It was their singular mission. A bit of back and forth had occurred when you found out their plan.

“Is there… we dinnae want to pressure you, lass, but,” Soap looked around at Ghost, Gaz, and Price before settling back on you, “Are there any of us you wouldnae like to be the father? We willnae take offense.”

“No! I’d be happy to have any of you… I mean… But, I don’t want you to feel like you need to do this if you don’t want to,” you could feel the heat of your shame rising in your cheeks, and you knew you were as red as a lobster. You heard a bit of laughter at your comment and feared the worst. But then, Gaz explained,

“I’m afraid all of us very much want to, Sparrow.”

He had even palmed his growing cock for emphasis. 

But, it had to be fair, you decided. There should be a schedule; no favorites. And for the first month, there was. Soap was your Monday, Ghost was Tuesday, Gaz was Thursday, and Price was Friday. But then Price had a meeting and so Soap was Friday, and Price was Saturday. That meant Ghost was Monday. You were in training on Tuesday, so Gaz was Wednesday, but Soap couldn’t do Thursday or Friday because he had to go in for his annual review. So, he joined Gaz on Wednesday, stepping in right after him as if you were a pretty little mailbox and the boys had come to drop off their packages. 

When the weekly schedule fell apart, you hung a big calendar in your quarters, and they’d pencil themselves in. That was fine until you had been shipped out to Aqtabi. You’d tried to keep it up while you were in the field, remembering what day was which, but the truth was that sometimes you had no idea if it was morning or night. Was that the sun or a flare? 

And sometimes it didn’t matter. Something would happen on a mission, and Price would crawl beneath your scratchy woolen sheet, searching for the comfort of your arms, not saying a word, not even asking you if it was alright, but just taking you there in the cold night of the desert, filling you up and keeping his cock sheathed in you, safe and sound. 

And sometimes you needed them, too. Waiting on exfil, huddled together in the pouring rain beneath a sad tarp, you’d crawled into Gaz’s lap, looping your arms around his neck and letting him hold you in a cradle, using his big chest as your pillow. You’d dozed, exhausted, and he’d rubbed himself against you through your clothes, coaxing you to pull down your pants so he could empty himself into your womb, quick and filthy. You remembered how it felt when his come had soaked through your panties as you sat next to him in the helicopter, letting him hold your hand. 

You felt a little guilty that you weren’t exactly hoping for a child during those first few months. You were enjoying their affections, no matter how platonic they may have felt. 

It didn’t stay that way, though. Soap was the worst offender. When he fucked you, he wanted to spend most of his time eating you out, sucking on your clit with his mouth like a hungry dog, soaking himself in your scent and your flavor before finally mounting you, crawling over your body like the hound that he was, dipping his cock into you and beating your core like a drum. He’d stare into your eyes when he could manage it, and he’d slipped up one day and told you he loved you. That you were his girl, his wee bonnie lass, and that he’d raise the bairn with you, even if it was Black like Gaz, tall like Ghost, or had Price’s big nose. It’d be his and yours. He’d be the daddy you wanted him to be, he promised. 

Then, you’d had to deal with Gaz. He’d made dinner reservations at a restaurant near base while he had your legs held up to your chest, helping you wait the twenty suggested minutes for his “lads” to “soak in”. Told you he was just hungry, but he had also happened to buy you a nice dress, and he’d driven you in his sporty little Beamer, bright red and clean as a whistle. He’d fucked you after dinner, sneaking in a double feature, which was expressly against the rules. Told you he couldn’t help himself, and he said he’d been thinking about you all weekend, cock in hand. 

Ghost was like his namesake, haunting you all over the place. He found you in the locker room, and decided to fuck you standing up, sweaty from your sparring match. He’d washed you off in the shower, and he’d taken you in there, too, after coaxing you to make him hard again by sucking him off. Ghost would slink by you in the reference room, stalking you through the bookshelves, and dragging you to the storage closet to fuck you on all fours on the floor, maps and looseleaf pamphlets about Russian spy camps under your rosy red knees. He got vocal that night, cramped with his huge body in that tiny closet, telling you what a good girl you were for him, how you fit his fuckin’ cock so perfect, how he’d never want anyone else, how it felt so good to fill your body up with his load. 

Then, there was your captain. At first, you weren’t sure he was truly a willing participant. He seemed to avoid you unless he was on the schedule. He didn’t cut in line, and if you were on the couch or in the kitchen with one of the boys, he’d leave you be, smiling at you a bit before grabbing his tea and escaping back to his office. But, then you realized the truth: John Price wanted to put a baby inside of you more than anyone else, and he would go to the ends of the earth to make sure it happened. 

“Hey, little bird,” John’s finger pet the side of your cheek as you woke, feeling him pull down your pink silk panties so he could start to warm you up, “I’m your Sunday.”

“Mm,” you rubbed the sleep out of your eye and opened up your legs for him, giving him full access to your body on instinct at this point, “John, we gave up on the schedule. You can come whenever you want. Or, you can stop.”

“Can’t stop,” he kissed your mouth as he leaned over you, and you tasted peppermint and tobacco mixing together with something heady and lustful, “We’re in the window.”

Ah. The Window. All of the boys talked about The Window and when it was coming up next. They’d all downloaded trackers on their phones, watching you like birds of prey for when you ordered a box of tampons, checking with you to see when you were off the rag. And then, you’d be “in the window” of ovulation. Their best chance at succeeding at this mission. 

They would fuck you at any time of the month, and Soap and Price would even fuck you through your period, having read in some magazine that there was a small chance of success. But, being in The Window was like covering yourself in honey in the middle of a cave in spring and waking up all the bears inside it. Fertile ground, ripe for the taking. 

“Mm, fuck,” you keened. John had two fingers in you now, pressing on your soft spots and stretching your hole. You wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss, which he moaned into. 

“Feel good, Spar? You want to make me hard, pretty bird?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, looking up at him with desperate eyes, “Yeah, I do. Please, John…”

 He slipped himself in, half-hard already, and you felt the body of it slide into your core. It was soft, and you liked to squeeze it with your muscles, feeling him writhe inside of you when you did, reveling in his pleasure. He sat back on his heels to let you play with him fully, watching you grind your hips on him as he massaged your clit to its full, swollen height. He was in no rush, and he spoke to you casually. 

“Has Kyle been in this weekend?”

“No, it was Soap,” you tried to remember, “And then Ghost, and then Soap again.”

Price chuckled warmly,

“That boy wants a baby so badly.”

You smiled with him, agreeing, 

“He does. He interrupted Gaz on Thursday and asked him when he’d be done!” 

Price laughed with you then, his eyes gleaming and crinkling at the edges,

“Oh, Christ. He’d be a good one. They’d all be good.”

You watched his mood shift. There was something solemn about it, and you wanted to chase it away. You rubbed your hand along his furry belly, locking your ankles around his hips and shamelessly rocking your hips to fit more of him into you. You confessed, 

“You’d be good.”

His eyes found yours again and he stilled, wondering out loud,

“D’you think so, Sparrow?”

“I know so.”

“Can I tell you a secret, little bird?” He whispered, lowering himself into position and stuffing his hard length even deeper inside of you, making you worry just a bit if he could hurt you with that thing. 

You nodded, kissing his huge Adam’s apple in his throat and nuzzling through his beard. He told you the whole truth as he pounded himself into you without mercy, 

“Sometimes, I wish he would be mine. I wish…” He almost stopped, but he kept going, like a raft in the stream, too caught in the current to go back to the shore, “I wish you could be mine, and then I could rub lotion on your belly when you got big. And I could cook for you when you got tired, and I could read to you, even when he was still inside of you, and I know he could hear my voice. I wish, sometimes, that when it happens, that I’d be the first to know. That you’d tell me first, because you knew it was mine, because you’d want him to be mine.”

You were stunned, and you were coming, and the two were very separate events. As your pussy pulsed and tried to milk him of his come, making you dizzy and almost sick with pleasure, you were shocked by his admission. You grabbed his face and made him look you in your eyes,

“John…” You panted, coming down from your first high of many with Price, “I had no idea you felt that way.”

“I didn’t either,” he smiled, but the corners didn’t reach his eyes. 

When he fucked you this morning, you had no idea how good it could feel, but he showed you. He rutted into you, desperately, like some sort of beast, unable to stop himself. It was as if he would fuck himself bloody in you if he had to, and you wanted to take him as best you could. You felt him finally start to come, and he plugged you up with his thickness, shoving himself as deep as he would go, sealing you off and keeping you warm and elevated. 

He kept his cock in you, gasping for breath and petting the hair out of your face. He kissed you, cheeks and chin and neck, all the way down to your breasts where he suckled from your nipples, almost dreamlike in the way he was touching you, fully covered in you the entire time. 

“Sleep, birdie,” he nuzzled your neck and continued to lave his tongue over your breasts, “I’ll wake you when I’m hard again.”

Part 2

[lost-inthe-v0id]

Someone PLEASE needs to do this

Like something about zuko and fire bending reader being engaged. Like she’s a royal and they’re being “forced to get married” but they actually fall in love. They support each other through everything and they’re literally stuck at the hip. They sneak out to see each other and whenever they have to go to formal events they can’t wait to see each other and they goof around all night. She knows all of his secrets and how he feels about his father and mother.

Reader somewhat gets along with Azula. Reader doesn’t like the way she treats zuko sometimes but she acknowledges she is only a product of the adults around her so she has a soft spot for her.

Then when zuko get exiled he’s so caught up on getting his fathers approval. He promises to her he’ll be back before she knows it. He knows how hard it is for her in the palace. She tries to go with him just as his ship is leaving, pleading with him one last time; insisting she can be of help. He declines her kinda harsh but she understands and bids him farewell. She walks away but remembers she has to give him something. A token of good luck. When she runs back to give it to him she over hears Zuko talking to someone telling them he didn’t want reader to come because she’d be baggage, a burden, dead weight. Reader is hurt and goes back to her room in the palace and cries her sorrows away. She really thought he thought more of her, he always complimented her when she firebent, she was taught by the best and he still thought of her as deadweight?

In Reality Zuko only said that because he knew he wasn’t going to come back for a while, he knew it would inevitably she would fall for someone else during the time he was away. What if he came back with his hopes up only to find her in the arms of someone else, someone who was there for her, who would care and love her then and there. He wasn’t good for her. And the faster he convinced himself he could move on, the less he would cling to her when he inevitably saw her again.

Time passes by and reader comes to the conclusion from the help of overthinking, that he never loved her. It was all a facade to win the approval of his father. If he really cared for her , he would know how awful it was in the palace without him. He abandoned her. And for what to find some kid?

She joins azula. She’s really good at fire bending and she hates to see azula practically destroy herself and the people around her for some approval. So she decided if no one will properly take care of her, she will. Over time Reader has disconnected her feelings from the actions she takes under Azula. Her only concern right now is Azula. She realizes Azula at her core is a wounded little girl and she takes care of her as her own.

IDK when or where reader and zuko reconnects or see glimpses of each other again but when he sees how she cares for Azula he melts away. You’re so scary to people around you but soft and nurturing towards his sister. He wants that. He needs it. At one point when you challenge him to fight due to anger from maybe hurting Azula in some type of way or jealousy due to his kindness towards katara. When you firebent in the past you made sure your flames wouldn’t hurt him but now they’re coming at him full force and he doesn’t know what to do.

@ me if u do plz give credit 👉👈🥺 I can’t write like that

[alexa-yukiyu]

Hello there this is a request from a friend (who doesn't have Tumblr) for a request for a Whitebeard Pirates x reader

A young 13 year old girl she knows Whitebeard is her father but she doesn't care, like she was a product of a one night stand, like she has his hair, strength, and haki,

Like she knows Whitebeard is her father but she doesn't make a big deal about it, like in a way she doesn't see Whitebeard as her father, (not in a hateful way of course), but she kinda sees him as a stranger, but in a good way

She's also has a devil fruit power, copy-copy fruit, that lets her copy another devil fruit though physical touch, she has train herself and study about other devil fruit powers, if in cause she counters one

Like if she tells anyone who her father was they would shock but she was just shrugged it off, not taking it seriously that, she is the only daughter of the World Strongest Man in the world

Like father like daughter she also has his physical strength and stamina, also you know about Whitebeard giant genes, yeah she also has it and is the same height as Ace, despite only being 13 years old

But when it comes in their personalities she was more laid back, even in serious situations, example: with her lack of reaction with also knowing that her father is the captain of the Whitebeard pirates, she really doesn't take anything serious

Mandatory Visits ( Whitebeard pirates x f!teen!reader)

A/N Two in a row??? :0 Let’s pray guys to keep the streak going, or at weekly streak 🤔. I don’t think I will keep the streak tomorrow, I need to do my exercises yall.Not sure how to feel about this one though guys, did I fell out or is it hitting?

Reader here is replaced by dokucha which stands for reader in japanese

Dividers by @/drinkthesky and @/firefly-graphics

“Dokucha, do you really have to go?” Luffy whined, looking down at the teen from the deck of the ship

“For the hundredth time, yes, I need to go, you know that,” she sighed as she began to work on ropes keeping the Mini Merry from drifting from the Sunny.

“You already went last week, though; why do you have to go again?”

“Luffy-nii, That was months ago.”

“So?”

“So the deal was that I need to check in every few months, or he comes here himself and won’t allow me back.”

“So let the old man come! I won’t let him steal my crewmates!” he growled out.

She lets out a sigh, but a small smile grows on her otherwise serious face at her captain’s antics.

“Don’t worry, Luffy-nii, he won’t steal me. All I have to do is check in, and I can come back.”

“You’re leaving?” A small voice piped from the Deck

“Oh, That’s right. You weren’t here the last time I had to do this, weren’t you, Chopper?” She questions, looking up at the reindeer

“I have to go to the Moby Dick.”

“The Moby Dick? The Whitebeards ship? What do you need to go there for?”

“The Old Man allowed me to leave the crew as long as I would check in with him and my brothers every few months,” She answered absentmindedly.

“Your dad is with the Whitebeard Pirates?” He questioned

“Hah? Her old man is Whitebeard,” Luffy said dismissively.

“Oh”

Dokucha watched as the statement slowly sank in, and Chopper’s features slowly morphed into one of horror.

"W-W-Whitebeard?!"

“Hmm, did I not mention it? Sorry, Chopper, I must have forgotten.

“You’ll be back in a week?” Luffy questioned, ignoring the existential crisis his doctor was experiencing

“Just like always,” she promised.

“Finally here,” she sighed, relieved, pulling the small vessel closer to the Moby Dick and tying them together to ensure that the Mini Merry didn’t venture off.

Once this was completed, however, a force landed on the small ship, violently swaying it against the waves. Dokucha rapidly activated her Devil Fruit, igniting one of her hands in fire. She then sent a fist to the intruder, only for her attack to be stopped by an equally fiery palm and a very familiar grin.

“You’re getting better at it, but you still don’t hold a candle to the original.” He laughed

“Ace-nii,” She sighed out, extinguishing her hand; the man in front of him mirrored her actions and opened his arms wide for the tall teen, grinning when she walked into them.

“I thought you would be out on a mission.”

“And miss my favorite sister visiting us? No way”

“Ace, I’m your only sister.”

“Therefore, my favorite one.”

Any Comeback the teen may have had is cut off by the voice of their eldest brother sounding from the deck above them.

“Alright, you two, enough of that, come on board; Pops is waiting for you, Dokucha.”

“I’m coming,” she called dismissively as she grabbed hold of the rope ladder. The man behind her once again copied her movements and watched as she turned around to address him.

“You really think I got better at copying your fruit?” she questioned, a tinge of nervousness behind her words.

“You have; last time you visited, you were only able to make a few sparks, pretty weak sparks if you ask me,” He answered, letting out a few snickers.

“Alright, no need to be a jerk about it,” She called, rolling her eyes as she continued climbing up the ladder, a proud smile taking over her features, taking a hold of Marco’s outstretched hand, letting out a small squeak as he quickly pulled her over the railing and crashing against him, letting out a laugh as he did.

“Are you getting smaller?” he teased, looking down at her.

“You’re an even bigger jerk, Marco-nii,” she deadpanned, glaring up at the man.

“I’ll have you know I am quite tall for my age. Give me another year, and we’ll see who’s gonna laugh last,” She growled, pushing him away.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear the noise you let out,” he called out teasingly.

“Shut up!” She growled and stomped her way to the upper deck, where she knew she would her father would be

“Alright, you old Man, here I am.”

“Still as insolent as ever, you damn brat,” he barked, narrowing his eyes at her remark, a heavy fist hitting the side of his chair as he spoke his words.

“And you are as brittle as ever. Don’t move too much there; you might dislocate a bone. Heard it is common at your age,” she shot back, matching the glare that was sent his way

This continued for a while, with neither side wanting to back down until a smile broke into the giant’s face, a booming laugh escaping him soon after

“You have certainly grown in the past months, but you are still as cheeky as you were. Have you decided to stay?”

She scoffs at this

“Dream on; I don’t care if you are my flesh and blood; I am a Mugiwara trough and trough, and nothing will change that.”

“You’ll change your mind one of these days, child, and we will be waiting with open arms for the day.”

Kind of incomplete end but I really din’t know where to take it but I wanted to include Whitebeard for you guys, I almost just deleted it and left it to brotherly exchanges

Taglist:

@Imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

@dreaminganimelove

[optimisticgardenhologram]

Not to be some sort giant simp, but because it's his birthday I wanted to write something nice and complimentary for him. But also genuinely and objectively as possible I think Mello is actually a fair bit more humane (or maybe the better term is "less cold-blooded") than he gets credit for?

The evidence:

1. He was very genuinely upset when they are informed of L's death, and doesn't even think about the matter of the successor-ship until Near speaks up alluding to it.

2. After Sayu was rescued/traded from the mafia she's asked to help in the investigation by providing any details of her experience. However she can't because she says she neither saw nor spoke much to her kidnappers. This indicates Mello (as the mastermind of all things related to this project) told the mafia members that they were to stay away from her and generally left her alone. She's a tool to him to achieve his ends but he takes no pleasure in using her this way nor has intention to cause her any additional harm, fear, suffering than is already an unavoidable part of being kidnapped and held hostage across the world.

3. When Soichiro confronts him with the Death Note by announcing Mello's real name and then actually starts writing, Mello could have killed him on the spot faster than Soichiro could write. He had access to the gun next to him in the open desk drawer. You can tell that even in this case he doesn't want to shoot Soichiro, and though Mello's hand hovers over the gun ready to grab it, he does his best to talk Soichiro down instead. Then he apologizes to Soichiro and thinks about how he never intended for Soichiro to die but at the same time he shouldn't have joined up with Kira. There is an important difference here between the anime and the manga; in the anime he tells this to Soichiro aloud which might be interpreted as a way to distract Soichiro while Jose prepares to fire, but in the manga because it's unspoken we know it wasn't meant as a distraction, but genuine regret and remorse.

4. When Mello crashed the SPK, Lidner wasn't really a hostage. She'd already been helping him secretly for a while and continues to do so afterwards; and she -wanted- Mello and Near to work together and was trying to help them do that - meaning she'd have gladly brought them together regardless. But they role-played her like one to cover for her in front of her colleagues, make it seem like she was being forced into it rather than reveal the truth that she was a double-agent.

5. While Mello frequently brandishes his gun as a threat and for coercion, he never actually fires it. Still no one ever doubts that he would use it if needed. Despite fanon often portraying him as a trigger happy nut-job, the canon demonstrates how controlled and coldly resolved he truly is.

6. A pretty commonly repeated sentiment on social media discussions is that unlike Near, Mello doesn't work well with others because he's too much of a lone-wolf and too insecure to work in a team because he would make everything about dominance and power struggle.

I really don't think this is right. Despite stubbornly refusing to work with Near, the evidence shows he's pretty good at getting along and working with other people. Like in the mafia he seems perfectly happy to let Rod Ross be top-dog; he doesn't appear to have any interest in being a big shot and throwing his weight outside of matters directly involving the notebook. Rod Ross is the one to give orders, dole out discipline, and is generally in charge, and he trusts Mello because Mello's proven his value as a loyal team member over time.

He also works well with Halle and Matt who both appear to be there by choice, neither are in the least afraid of or deferential to him and they seemingly work on equal terms together as opposed to a hierarchical boss/subordinate relationship, which for example so prominently characterizes Near's interactions with his group.

With Matt in particular he's way more patient than is even reasonable to expect, given how it seems like Matt spends a lot of time whining, slacking off, and messing up - no shade meant on Matt (love him dearly) but going by the manga that is what we see. But Mello never scolds him or gets angry or snappy. Mello's internal monologue does show that he's annoyed but he doesn't externalize it, doesn't lash out and is patiently long-suffering when it comes to Matt's shortcomings. He basically just accepts the situation being what it is and moves on. And of course is regretful and sad when Matt dies.

We don't see much of Halle and Mello's interactions as they mostly take place offscreen/off-page but from what there is they seem very casual and comfortable with each other and Halle was very clearly emotionally affected by his death and speaks up for him in 104, believing he sacrificed himself intentionally. Basically, Mello's issues and anti-social behavior stemming from his inferiority complex is SPECIFICALLY centered on and triggered by Near. With everyone else he was able to work very effectively, and they hold him in high regard and can maintain good relationships with him.

7. He seems to have sympathy for Misa and is judgmental about the way Light weaponizes her trauma and idolization.

8. Although she's on his enemy's team, he felt enough pity for Takada provide her a blanket when he orders her to undress, which directly contributes to his own demise. I believe he knew (intended as part of his plan) that X-Kira would kill her to stop her from talking, so it was a small gesture that is practical in that it could make her more willing to quickly cooperate, but also give some small comfort during the short remaining time of her life.

None of this makes him not-evil or villainous, but I do think he's genuinely a more compassionate person than he's typically cast as. Certainly the least villainous of Death Note's wide cast of villains. As it's noted in the Japanese wording of Volume 13 he's "not pure evil" and he "has a pure heart and acts mean to get the attention of the person he likes" (scream). I don't think Ohba intended any of the Wammy's characters to be either pure good or irredeemably evil.

[transformers-spike]

More sparkling nonsense but autobot edition??? Back at it with giving everyone a daughter lmao

Wheeljack with a daughter who is a chip off the old block and just like him maybe even too much like him. He probably learns to be a little bit more careful (barely) because his kid is always right over his shoulder. She's always trying to sneak along on missions or doing something that could get her in trouble. She's also very much like Wheeljack in that she likes to tinker and build things. God forbid you need to do home repairs or diy work, she's right there trying to help. If she's sees something is broken she doesn't just try can fix it but also improve it. Your home has built in sprinklers and fire extinguishers in every room.

"Honey, did you do something to the toaster 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯?"

Your daughter sheepishly avoids your eyes.

"What did it do?"

She looks so guilty you almost don't have the heart to tell her it shot out a flaming piece of toast right next to your face.

Ultra magnus's sparkling is surprisingly naughty. She repeats swear words at first not really knowing what they mean and everyone has to try not to laugh because kids innocently cussing is funny. The problem arises when she realizes the adults are trying not to laugh and she run yelling frag and calling people fraggers, growing up around military personnel she probably ends up learning some creative swears. She 'Borrows' and moves things from Mag's office while not taking any of the blame. His wife and daughter are his blind spots so good luck trying to pin anything on them.

"She called her homework-"

He paused and made air quote "- a mother fucka"

You almost snort your tea out your nose as he looks at you dubiously.

"Probably learned it from Jackie or Bulk they've been using human swears."

Ultra magnus nods solemnly, seeming to have bought your lie.

Prowl's daughter is very rule oriented and has specific ways she likes to play. She likes to line up her toys by color, height and sometimes frame. Generally gets along with the other sparklings as long as they play the "correct" way and they don't tell her secrets. She comes off as shy but it's only because she tends to be wary when meeting people for the first time. She has no hesitation to snitch. Doesn't matter if it's you, Prowl, Optimus, or even the decepticons. Likes adhering to strict schedule/routine. Everyone gets a kick out of a pint sized Prowl trying to bots more than half her size around.

"Daaaaad, Mom just went 15 miles per hour over in a school zone!"

"I didn't notice it was a school zone!"

Ratchet ends up with a son just as stubborn as him. Ratchet worries constantly when he's a baby and even more when he's a teen. His kid is basically forced to learn about medicine because Ratchet worries what would happen if he or another medic isn't there, you are also forced to learn how to weld. He loves to push Ratchet's buttons. As he gets older him and Ratchet gang up on you to take care of your health.

"You need to do your stretches if want to stay flexible."

"I know, Ratch."

"And take your vitamins." Your son pipes up.

You deadpan at both of them.

goddd - i always love this stuff. Wheeljack's daughter is a little rascal and bro doesn't see anything wrong with teaching her how to shoot cons and build bombs. Horrible influence on her, but oh well, you fucked up and kept his child. These are your consequences to bear. Also I'm half tempted to say he doesn't bring her along on missions usually just because her mom says no - but if she "secretly" follows them and sneaks aboard the ship he'll pretend not to notice Ultra Magnus's child is a gremlin but he doesn't believe you if you say she did anything wrong. She is perfect in his eyes because to him she's the sweetest thing ever. Idk if you mean like a TFP version of Prowl or G1/IDW or any of that - but him having such a serious, extremely organized child is a great touch. Ratchet can only blame himself in all honesty. At first he's the one stressing both you and his son out - but now they joined forces to remind you to stay hydrated and yell at you for being up at 1AM. I think he'll have a complicated relationship with his child, but he's doing his best (even if his best isn't enough)

[falllpoutboy]

the ritualistic humiliation of alicent this season was absolutely disgusting and the show constantly needed to remind us that she is the character we should root against all the time and never feel bad for her, everyone else gets a pass because they’re a slave to fate, apparently, but not her. nearly every single plot point this season regarding her is swiftly followed by a punishment, whether literally or narratively.

she starts this season by having clandestine consensual sex with criston cole her sworn sword. they are so bad at being clandestine that otto and larys have clearly suspected something is going on with them. after being stood up by her, larys then replaces her regular lady’s maids with some from his staff so that they can spy and report back to him which makes alicent uncomfortable enough to send them away. that’s punishment #1

she and criston are having sex when b&c happens and are interrupted by helaena and jaehaera running in. but remember, jaehaerys was not the original target of b&c, and the mastermind behind it, daemon is redeemed by the end of this season, so alicent is so much of a POS hypocrite that while she too busy having sex with the LC of the kingsguard, her grandson dies on HER watch. and as much as i loved alicole, i really hate that the writers used their relationship to seemingly punish the characters when they literally haven’t done anything wrong. and now helaena knows about the affair too. punishment #2

alicent is confronted by rhaenyra at the sept of baelor, who lets slip that she heard viserys push for aegon to be king as his last words to her. but oh no, silly alicent, rhaenyra is here to tell you about the song of ice and fire, this stupid prophecy that has been passed from Targaeryen king to heir for generations now. how would alicent have known about it when she is neither king nor heir? doesn’t matter, she’s stupid for believing his words to be literal and stupid for playing a part in crowning her son. punishment #3

alicent takes moon tea, as an abortifacient or as a late contraceptive, we’ll never know! but the very act of taking moon tea is now perceived by grand maester orwylle, who now also has reason to suspect queen alicent has been having an affair. punishment #4

bitter and disillusioned with herself for not knowing about a stupid fucking prophecy nobody told her about and letting her horrible son aegon be crowned (even though the council was planning on installing him anyways), alicent talks down to aegon by reminding him he’ll never be as good of a king as his father (L O L) and he should do nothing. such a rousing speech leads to aegon getting drunk, flying out into battle on his dragon and getting maimed because of it. why did you say such mean things alicent? now look what you did. punishment #5

back at the small council, alicent advocates for herself to be regent with only one person there to agree with her, grand maester orwylle but not even her lover and closest confidant advocates for her. the son she is scared of the most becomes regent instead. silly alicent, don’t you know you will never be respected in a room full of men? how do you like misogyny, something you have apparently never personally experienced until this day, now? punishment #6

alicent goes to the sept of baelor to pray with helaena when a riot mob happens and is forced to retreat. this mob is apparently so righteously angry at not having enough food, they throw fish in her face with such good aim and call her the queen of fishes, alicent trips and falls for leaving helaena behind momentarily, and she also receives a bloody gash on her arm before barely escaping with her life and helaena. oh alicent, didn’t you know that the blockade of ships that carries food into the city which has been enforced by rhaenyra and corlys has actually been your fault the entire time?? punishment #7

back at the small council, alicent confronts aemond and is relieved by her duty on there by him. maybe its because she brings up a theory that he is now avenging the bullying he went through when he was young, which one could argue happened on her watch, is why she gets the boot. oh well, there goes any little ruling power and say in the war effort she had left. punishment #8

alicent sees off her brother ser gwayne who makes mention that their father otto kept her closer to him than gwayne because she was his favored child. Oh! so because alicent was otto’s favorite, it doesn’t really matter that he sold her into marriage and marital rape at age 14 last season. why would you ever want to be otto hightower’s favorite child? punishment #9

alicent also asks about daeron, with gwayne saying how unlike to aegon and aemond he is because he was raised away from them in Oldtown and not by her.. she even says this and gwayne dissuades her of that opinion but honestly, once alluded to that alicent is a bad mom, it’s just her biased brother claiming otherwise. punishment #10

[naneun-no]

You guyyyysssss (fandom rant ahead)

I was off X/Twt for a long time because I switched over to bsky and have generally found it to be a much more positive, small space (like I actually have regular, positive interactions with mutuals rather than just shouting into the void and observing dumpster fires, imagine)

But I hopped back on X these last few weeks to keep a closer eye on the discharge stuff, and because army Twitter still pops off sometimes with HILARIOUS memes and takes and content even if generally it’s a hellscape.

But like.

Good GOD is it a hellscape 😫

Do you guys go on there?? Do you see the crazy?? Has it always been like this??

Like I knew tkkrs acted crazy cause I would get their asks in my inbox, but I guess I’m even more delusional than them cause I really thought the taennie “cosplayer” pics combined with AYS and the enlistment would be a wake up call. Guess not 🙂‍↔️🤣

The other ships are fine because I find it cute and funny — it’s a little weird because I’ve spent so much time in my jikook bubble that I forget that there are genuinely vmin and minimoni and namkook and poly truthers out there and that is so funny and odd to me? But like in an amusing, interesting way. They’re not being dicks about it.

But the solos??? THE SOLOS. That’s the worst part maybe?!?! I went down a rabbit hole y’all and they’re out here talking about Jimin like “he gives too much love to the members, they don’t deserve him, I will never respect them” you mean his best friends?? Like I’m not saying he doesn’t have other friends who he’s closer to and who I’ve never seen, and I’m glad he does! And obviously he doesn’t have the same level of connection with every single BTS member at every single moment! But like… he would choose them over you every single time? And every single member would choose Jimin over their solo stans every time? Like what

There are people out there who really try to protect him from six of his closest connections in the world? Ppl who take it upon themselves to be like “get behind me” to a grown man they’ve NEVER MET in order to protect him from HIS OWN FRIENDS. How do they say it with a straight face??? I’m laughing as I write this???

I dont even mind people being solos. Like. I think the forced-OT7-ication of all BTS fans is kind of silly. Why should we expect every single person who stumbles upon BTS to be equally obsessed with each member, or even value them all? I wish they would, but for some people, they just will never click with all 7 — they find a member they gel with, and they support them alone. Fine. Whatever. But then to go out of their way to hate on the others? To craft narratives where the members hate each other and hold each other back when they so clearly are the happiest as a team? Bro how? Why? What? BTS could have disbanded years ago and they didn’t. They didn’t have to renew and they did. Maybe don’t assume you know more about a literal stranger’s life and situation than they do???

And the crazies hide in plain sight. Because I watched AYS with my IRL friend who is 1) an extremely sweet, clever person and 2) a taekooker (she was targeted as a baby army by the bad algorithms and now she’s sucked in) and watched her say “aw they have such a sibling relationship” when jikook cuddled in bed and then watched her squeal and get butterflies when Tae forced JK’s head onto his shoulder (and I’m not saying anything negative about taekook in that moment but it was far from a cutesie coupley moment, even amongst other AYS taekook moments). I just say that to show how wild perspective can be because she truly saw alllll the jikook antics and chalked it up to friendship and saw 3 moments of taekook coexisting platonically and saw it as a grand romance.

And same for me! Like I ship/support/whatever you want to call it jikook, so that’s the lens through which I viewed AYS and the enlistment and the discharge live and all of it. And sure there are so many people who think I’m crazy for being a real person shipper but at least I’m not denying multiple levels of reality to do so?? And I have a healthy sense of self-doubt?? Idk if jikook are anything more than friends, I *think* they are but they could just be friends and I would be like “ah, okay” because I DON’T KNOW THEM.

Sorry this is such a random rant I’m just… I’m in such shock after doomscrolling on X for like an hour. I need one of those eyeball-washers that’s in a chem lab. I need a juice cleanse. I need to spring clean my brain because what in the anti solo fuck did I just read 😭😭😭

I know this is nothing new. I know if any of my followers read this you’re gonna be in the comments like “Nico it’s always been like this where have you been” but idk I guess I had time away and forgot how bad it was. Stay safe out there for real 🥹

[sasukekys]

What are the chances of Kishimoto "breaking up" (in the literal, explicit sense, without having to look for subtexts in the writing) SS, don't get me wrong I know they are "only together" (Sasuke going home just for his daughter) because of Sarada, but Sakura continues to use Uchiha clan symbols, the house is full of Uchiha clan symbols and we need to believe that they are married precisely because of that (even if there is no ring)

And when I say breakup, I mean Sasuke saying "enough" and we get the truth of the situation

uhhhh no? sakura wearing the uchiha crest doesn’t force us to believe in anything, i’m sorry, i’ve been getting way too many anons about ss and somehow all of them are trying to push the ship to be believable in one way or another, wether it’s that we need to believe sakura is married to sasuke because she wears the uchiha crest, or that you can’t decanonise the novels because of sj, or that sasuke needed to fall in love with sakura to have a daughter with her… it’s the rhetoric that feels iffy, so i beg your pardon if i’m mistaken, but i’m wondering about your true intentions regarding ss in this blog.

sakura wears the uchiha crest but sasuke doesn’t, it’s the only moment of the story that he stopped wearing it, not after the massacre, not after tobirama called them a cursed clan. coincidentally, the moment kishimoto designed sakura wearing, sasuke isn’t anymore. it doesn’t say anything good about sasusaku, but rather it only makes sakura look worse.

fugaku says you can only be considered an uchiha after you master the fire style jutsu.

sakura surely hasn’t done that, and yet she still wears the uchiha crest. this is at the very least disrespectful to the clan’s name and beliefs.

not only sakura is ignorant about the uchiha, but also about sasuke as a person. his “wife” can’t even tell if he ever wore glasses, a trait that is literally in the person’s face.

she doesn’t have a wedding photo with sasuke, she doesn’t even have a normal photo with sasuke, she doesn’t have a wedding ring. but more importantly, she doesn’t have any of sasuke’s affections. has never been kissed, even though she still tries to get it and then lies to her daughter about something that is “better”. her daughter questions if she’s really married, and sakura can’t even comfort her in that. so many insecurities, and the only thing to overcompensate to all of that seems to be many many uchiha crests.

when naruto mentions “the truth about itachi” to sasuke, kishimoto does draw sakura wondering about it, but she never demonstrates any interest in some big truth about the most important person of the guy she’s “in love with”. when sasuke talks about his revolution, she thinks it’s great timing to confess to him (even though he has already rejected her before) and say she wants things to go back as they were… sasuke had just said he wanted things to change, did she even pay attention? sakura is constantly portrayed as ignorant, but not innocently, not being kept in the dark by others, sometimes she’s willingly so. she chooses to be ignorant. just one more indication of her selfishness, portrayed in many occasions in the manga.

what we can take from all of this is that sakura doesn’t care about her surroundings if it doesn’t affect her personally. sasuke’s clan isn’t important to her, not the history, not the sad truth about it, what truly matters is that she can use it as a decoration. she doesn’t have sasuke’s affections, but it doesn’t matter, because she can compensate that by flaunting his crest everywhere, i guess. it makes her look like she only cares about status and empty titles, that’s how she’s always seen sasuke and that’s what he’ll ever be to her, someone to fulfil her fantasies, to make someone so unremarkable feel special that “she won” against all the competition. but it still doesn’t say anything good about sasusaku.

i don’t remember where this quote is from but “someone pointed out how in gaiden we see sakura brandishing the uchiha crest, we see her painting it on her house, and wearing it proudly on her back even though she’s not an uchiha. you know who else was doing that in gaiden, the shins. yes, sakura is using the uchiha name in the same way the shins are. kishimoto made it a point to show us that sakura thinks of the uchiha in the same way the shins do by brandishing the crest on her house and on her clothing. we all know sasuke doesn’t wear that crest anymore. we know he doesn’t particularly care who wears it anymore. we know he has taken up itachi’s ideology about practically everything. so why does it seem so important to sakura and people say that kishi isn’t anti sasusaku.”

so does kishimoto really need to say things explicitly? do things have to be perfectly said? no one can use their interpretation skills anymore? is there some hidden truth beyond everything he has written already? let’s be for real.

[ricksdirtyarchive]

Easier 🐶

Fluff - Master list

Fluff

"Oh my god! You are unbearable!" You shouted at Rick.

"I'm unbearable?! H-h-have you met yourself?" Rick fired back.

"Yes, I've met myself and I think I'm a pretty damn good girlfriend" you fired back. "Unlike you"

"I'm not your girlfriend. I'm a fucking boy" Rick raged. "At least I'm not some hack pharmacist, with a fake fucking lab coat" he pointed to your coat as it hung on your ship.

"Fake lab coat? Fake lab coat?!?" You yelled. "Mother fucker, I earned this goddamned lab coat by working hard. You earned yours by-"

"Don't you dare say what I think you're going to" he said through gritted teeth.

"Being born fucking smart" you said it anyways.

"Oh jesus- fuck, I was not born smart (y/n)" Rick sighed angrily. "I worked hard, I threw myself into it."

"Same fucking thing!!" You exclaimed.

"Okay- you know what, well, I'm sorry you weren't born smart" He rolled his eyes. "If you fucking hate it so much, that I was "born smart" then fucking leave. It's easier for you to leave than me" Rick threw his arms up before letting them drop to his sides.

"You want me to leave?" You say injury lacing your voice. Your eyes pricked with tears. "I fucking love you, you asshole" you shouted. "Why is it easier for me to leave? Huh?"

"Because I fucking love you too" he replies back, "I'm the genius. I'm the one that has irrational attachments. It's easier for you to leave because you won't suicide mission yourself. I fucking will" the fire in your eyes had died out. He noticed it, immediately regretting telling you to leave.

"F-f-fine." You sniffle. You tensed your body, forcing it to be strong. "I'll fucking leave then" you say. You storm off to your house, ripping your coat off the ship mirror. "And fuck your stupid spaceship" you scream as you start your own car and drive off.

"I fucked up" Rick muttered.

"No shit you fucked up" Summers voice came from the garage door. "Grandpa Rick, not to say I'm better than you - because obviously you're really angry right now - but you're blind. (Y/n) is an amazing person and she treats you right. She puts up with your craziness and loves you through it all" Summer begins.

"But then, you go and belittle her intelligence and make fun of her lab coat because she didn't earn hers the same way you did. And that's fucked up." She continued on. "You should be nicer to her and understand that college took her a lot of time and energy that she maybe didn't always have. Especially when she's working and also being dragged along the cosmos with you, me, and Morty. So I don't know maybe... go after her and tell her you love her and make it up... but also change for her grandpa Rick. Be the man she needs and deserves. Not a piece of shit" Summer turned on her heel and went inside.

"I am a piece of shit" Rick mumbled. He got caught in his self loathing before deciding that he wanted you and needed you. He got in his ship and went looking for you.

You had a place Rick wouldn't find. Your location chip was thrown off by the large amount of electricity and satellite waves. You sat on a log in front of the lake. An ice cream cone in your hand that you picked away at slowly. It melted onto your fingers. Something that usually ailed you but today you were unbothered.

You were watching the little ducks on the pond. Suddenly hearing them start speaking in a way you could understand.

"Fuck you" quacked a duck.

"No fuck you" said another. They all began swimming in circles saying fuck you to each other. You sat back.

"Huh." You thought aloud. "Rick" you said loudly onto the lake. Rick appeared from the brush behind you.

"How'd you guess?" He smiled bashfully.

"The ducks were quacking then started saying fuck you's" you rolled your pretty (e/c) eyes. "You're the only one I knew that knows I wonder was animals actually say."

"Ha ha yeah... not as pleasant" Rick said. "L-look. I don't wanna know if it's easier to stay or go. I don't want you to leave." Rick sat next to you.

"You told me to leave" you say injured.

"I don't want you to leave" he held your hand tightly. "I want you to stay with me forever."

"It doesn't erase the thi-"

"I'm sorry for belittling your intelligence... and for making fun of your lab coat. If I love you, I shouldn't make fun of the things you have and the way you got them, after all, you're as smart as me... and emotionally intelligent, something I don't have" Rick sighed. His eyes bore deeply into yours. The same eyes that had seen the cosmos and walked unafraid and unashamed.

"You're right... you shouldn't do those things." You agreed. "But I also shouldn't call you names like unbearable, or say things I know make you upset" You acknowledged.

"I'm sorry (y/n)" Rick says. His hands holding yours.

"I'm sorry Rick" you say back. He enveloped you in a deep hug, holding your body closely to him. "I love you" you say.

"I love you more than you could ever know (y/n)" Rick replies. You sat and watched the ducks for awhile. As they roamed around talking vulgarly and nipping at each other in a way you and Rick actually understood.

"You should figure out a way to undo that" you laugh.

"Yeah- I really should , shouldn't I?" He laughs along side you. "I definitely need to do that" he said, your eyes widening as the ducks started being progressively more intense. They all look ed directly as you and Rick.

"Rick. I think we should-"

"Yeah, let's  go" Rick says quickly grabbing your hand and running to the ship.

[woradat]

Dear, memories #3

<- back — PT3 (here) — next ->

Tarn had always been the patient one. Patient to a fault, some might say. Even back in the good old days—if by “good” we mean “a flaming dumpster fire of verbal abuse and unchecked ego”—he kept his composure. You, meanwhile, were busy running your mouth like you were auditioning for “World’s Most Punchable Face” But now? Now Tarn doesn’t even get angry. He just… laughs

Because really, it’s hilarious how small you look from where he’s standing now—so far above the mess you’re still wading through

It’s funny how power changes the taste of old insults. Once upon a time, your words might’ve stung. Now they’re just noise. Background static. Like a mosquito trying to heckle a dragon. He knows what he’s capable of. He knows who he is. And unlike you, he’s not desperately clinging to a persona built on sarcasm and secondhand bravado. He doesn’t have to try anymore, he simply is the superior force in the room

Is this what you used to feel like? That smug sense of control, the power to bend the game to your will? If so, congrats. Tarn gets it now. And honestly? It’s intoxicating. Knowing he could end you right here and now—at the bar, no less, poetic as hell—and nobody would lift a finger. Maybe they’d even applaud. But no, that’d be too easy. Too quick. And Tarn? He’s not in the business of easy

No, he’s thinking long-term. Strategic. Because if he’s going to settle the score, he’s going to do it with flair. He’s going to make it art. Besides, the hit list has been thinning out lately—an occupational lull, really—so what better way to kill time than to toy with the past?

And look who stumbled back into his life like fate’s idea of a joke. You. At the perfect moment. The stars must really like him this week

How fortuitous - How gloriously convenient

They say revenge is a dish best served cold—but Tarn prefers his with garnish. Something theatrical. A little extra seasoning. After all, why just win when you can humiliate?

Now, he’s not saying he’s been lying in wait all this time like some cartoon villain with a tragic backstory and a monologue problem. He’s not that petty (Okay, maybe a little petty)

But still—just because this is coincidence doesn’t mean he’s not going to wring every drop of satisfaction out of it. You’ve practically handed him the opportunity on a silver platter, and it would be rude not to accept. Tarn's not just going to take advantage of this—he's going to enjoy it

Maybe a bit too much

Just imagining your expression when he makes his move—when you finally realize how much the tables have turned—makes him nearly giddy. Not that he’d ever admit that out loud. That would ruin the mystique. And if there’s one thing Tarn values more than revenge, it’s looking cool while exacting it

“Tarn! Are you even listening to me?”

“Hm? Sorry, Nickel. Mind repeating that?"

“Never mind. You wouldn’t do what I tell you anyway. You’re good to go”

“Much appreciated”

And with that, he strode out of the infirmary, unaware that he’d been spacing out. That kind of lapse was rare for him. He was usually razor-focused, disciplined, cold

But maybe—just maybe—he was looking forward to this little reunion more than he cared to admit

Can you blame him?

So many possibilities. So many delightful, calculated ways to turn the tables. Tarn liked to say he never took things personally when it came to work. But the truth? He was a masterclass in professional hypocrisy

Still, it’s like they always say: love what you do, or you’ll go mad

And Tarn? He’s thrilled

.

.

It had been hours since that loud, messy night at the bar — long enough for the artificial buzz to wear off and reality to hit you square in the face. And reality, in this case, meant dragging yourself back to the ship before your teammates found you and decided to haul your shiny ass back up themselves. The last thing you needed was to scratch the fresh coat of paint — the seventh this week — courtesy of their oh-so-gentle method of transportation

“Hey! One second later and we would've left without you, you know that?”

“Chill out. I was totally gonna hitch a ride on some random ship parked out back. You think I was gonna beg you? Please”

“Now that everyone’s here, can we not start a fight? Pack up. We're heading out soon”

Supreme Red’s calm voice cut through the snark like a soothing AI meditation loop. He was, without question, the most mature out of the three of you. No one really said it out loud, but you all silently accepted him as the unofficial captain — because, let’s face it, he had the emotional range of a functioning adult and the leadership skills of someone who'd survived multiple near-death space fiascos without screaming

Then there was Hardwire…

A walking headache with a mouth that could probably violate intergalactic decency laws. Half the time you couldn’t tell if she was quoting some ancient Earth drama or making it up just to sound cool. (Probably both.) Still, she was like the sibling you never asked for and definitely didn’t order, but somehow ended up stuck with. The universe had tossed you three together in its usual chaotic style, and weirdly enough, it worked

Hardwire had been pushing you to grow up from the moment you met her — mostly by being the most immature person you’d ever encountered. Her chaos taught you patience. Supreme Red, on the other hand, passed down actual knowledge — survival tips, repair hacks, and that unshakable cool in a crisis. He was kind of a legend, in your book. Not that you’d say that out loud. But yeah, you respected the guy. Which, for you, was saying a lot

Three bots. No backup. No reinforcements

But somehow, nothing felt missing. This was perfect

“The board’s actually fixed? I thought the whole thing got fried”

“Are your optics working or are you just pretending again? I fixed it. I’m a genius, in case you forgot”

“Oh wow, look at you. So smart, very humble” you rolled your eyes, your voice dripping with sarcasm. This was the usual dynamic — biting remarks, endless teasing, and enough banter to confuse anyone who didn’t know better. Outsiders might think you two hated each other. In truth, you were just… siblings in denial

“Too bad your frame didn’t grow to match your ego”

You added the jab with a smirk

“HEY!”

Supreme Red didn’t intervene this time. He just watched the exchange with a quiet smile, a glint of amusement in his optics. Maybe, just maybe, if this moment could last forever – it wouldn’t be such a bad thing

.

.

Fate operates in silence, cloaked in secrets no mind can predict

Five hours ago, the ship buzzed with life, laughter, casual banter, the soft humming of circuits and camaraderie. Now, it lies shattered and smoking on the surface of a nameless planet, twisted like a carcass devoured by unseen jaws

You were lucky to remain conscious. Or maybe that’s the curse. Disoriented and bleeding coolant, you dragged yourself through the mangled corridors, ducking under collapsed beams and searing sparks, eyes scanning through the black smoke for any signs of the other two bots. Maybe they were still alive. Maybe…

Then a scream

Not just any scream. Supreme Red. His voice - mechanical yet painfully tears through the wreckage like a razor across steel

You ran. Without thinking. Without breathing. Hope screamed louder in your mind than the fires did in your receivers

You turned a corner

— and the world stopped

It wasn’t silence. The fire still crackled. His scream still played. But time itself seemed to freeze, trapping you in the moment of horror that refused to pass

His optic just one hung loose from its socket, swinging slightly as if it, too, had tried to escape. The rest of his face had melted into the wall, metal fused with metal in a grotesque sculpture of agony. The scent hit you then — scorched alloy, burning insulation, and something else. Something organic. Sickly sweet and wrong. Your systems lurched; you nearly purged on the spot

energon: thick, bright, and slick – coated the floor in erratic patterns, sprayed from what was once his arm, now torn from the socket and left twitching, sparking weakly. And then the scream… that endless, awful scream kept going. Even as you stared into the hollow cavity where his throat should’ve been

It was a recording

His voice module had been torn open, left to loop the final cry. A cruel echo embedded in the ruin of your teammate’s body, still active, still screaming even though he was long past pain

Torn wires hung like veins from his chest. Shattered plates bent inward like broken ribs. Everything about the scene felt wrong, obscene — like you’d stepped into someone nightmare and couldn’t wake up

This wasn’t just an accident

Something.. someone did this

Your steps faltered, retreating instinctively in a futile attempt to distance yourself from the tragic spectacle before you, only to be met with a wall of presence as your back collided with someone standing behind. You must have been too consumed by the gravity of the moment to notice the silent approach of the enigmatic figure. Judging by the hand that now settled upon your shoulder - broad and firm enough to nearly envelop it entirely, they were clearly much larger than you

“Quite the sight, isn’t it? We’ve invested considerable effort in tracking him down. Remarkable, really… how fortuitous this moment is”

"I afraid I must ask you to accompany me aboard the ship, Y/N, for questioning regarding your involvement with and support of the former Decepticon, Supreme Red. He has forfeited his right to speak – but you still have the chance to prove your innocence. I urge you to cooperate for your own sake" His voice was soft, his words carefully chosen—elegant and melodious. Yet this bot wielded them in the worst possible moment. To mock? To assert dominance? Perhaps both

And to refuse…

would be to invite death

Or worse—something far more unforgiving than death could ever be

[innerfare]

Random Beckman Headcanons 

Summary: a random collection of Benn Beckman headcanons

CW: None // SFW

———

Beckman mends the holes in Shanks’ shirts because otherwise, he has to listen to Shanks complaining about pricking his only thumb, followed by a barrage of one-arm jokes Beckman has heard a million times by now. 

Though his captain and crew prefer a summer island with large swathes of beach on which to lay about, Beckman prefers a peaceful fall/autumn island. His favorite activity is sitting in the crisp, quiet air, chain-smoking cigarettes and watching the breeze carry away the smoke. He might clean his gun or read the newspaper while he does. 

His father was a good man, and they had a close relationship, but he died when Beckman was twelve, leaving him to take care of his grieving mother, who passed just a few years later. His father is the man who taught him how to shoot, and Beck hasn’t missed a shot since he died. 

Is the best poker player on the crew, better even than Shanks. Doesn’t play outsiders without the crew there to back him up because his clean sweeps usually end in another pirate player claiming he cheated and starting a fight with him. 

That’s actually how he and Shanks met. Shanks had started a fight on one end of the bar by hitting on the wrong man’s girlfriend, and Beckman had started a fight on the other end after winning a pirate captain’s ship, the Red Force, in an illegal card game. They ended up back to back in the middle and fought their way out together. 

Super intelligent. Is actually very well read, comes from a fairly good family, received a good education from an expensive school, and joined the navy as soon as he came of age. Though he quickly gained a strong reputation as a marine, he was disturbed by some of the things he saw (served under a certain Sakazuki) and deserted. 

Went on the run, considered joining the Revolutionary Army but didn’t want to be a soldier anymore, started gambling as a means to make money under the table. Had a few close calls with the government but was otherwise fine on his own- until the night he met Shanks. 

Shanks saved his life in that bar and proposed they combine his experience with Beckman’s new ship and start a pirate crew. They did just that and never looked back, though there have been a few hangovers that made Beckman momentarily regret his decision. 

Isn’t just typically intelligent, though. He’s actually very high in emotional intelligence, far more emotionally intelligent than the average pirate. It really works to his advantage as a first mate, as he’s able to better predict how people will react to Shanks’ various schemes and plan around that. The crew thinks he’s some sort of psychic or possesses a secret, fourth form of Haki. It’s really just above average listening skills. 

Something of a gentle giant. A bit sensitive. Always the first to realize when one of his captain’s jokes didn’t quite land and might have caused offense. 

That being said, isn’t as good a guy as everyone thinks. The only reason he doesn’t cheat at poker is because he doesn’t have to, and he definitely fights dirty. 

Speaking of fighting, Beckman is a bulldog. Lives for a good fight. Loves boxing, doesn’t hesitate to climb into a ring. The man is a perfect shot but doesn’t fire a bullet unless absolutely necessary, not because he’s particularly frugal but because he loves getting his knuckles bruised and bloody. 

Such a smooth talker it's unreal. Does his best work without a wing man. Despite being tough as nails, manages to strike women as the sensitive type. Does very well with the ladies.

After all this time, doesn’t know all the particulars of Shanks’ relationship with the Clown. Is a little worried about those particulars so he simply doesn’t ask. 

———

Hope you enjoyed it! If you want more, you can check out my masterlist here!

[izzabela]

I don’t know if anyone has asked this before, but the Lin Kuei trio with a reader who works as a military special forces operator? I don’t know but I’d like to think that on tactical terms the Lin Kuei and a military soldier can work pretty well together so I would definitely want to see how this will play out

When Worlds Collide - Lin Kuei x GN!spec-ops!reader (headcanons?)

in which past meets modern warfare

a/n: bro the fact you requested this and i'm getting into COD is INSANE THE TIMING IS AWESOME

ship[s]: none

warning(s): cod x mortal kombat?? ghost reference? soap ref? gaz & price reference??

You are a spec-ops soldier, working with the most elite soldiers in the world under the guidance of the American military. With the Outworld Investigations Agency opened, they're gonna need some manpower....

Introducing you and TF141, so perhaps this is a mk x cod fic??

- all three of the brothers would be very impressed with your records and awards. you are a decorated member, and the fact you are decently younger compared to your coworkers impresses them further

- Tomas asks you questions. lots of them. where you've been, what you've seen, the kills you have (it surprises you he knows the difference in the terms), he even asks others about you

- Bi Han wants to inspect every piece of modern equipment you have. he asks incredibly well-informed questions about the weapons, he even sketches ones that pique his interest the most so he can show his clan back at home

- Kuai Liang is the lucky brother who gets to hold and try the equipment. you and your team watch over him in the gun range as he shoots down practice targets with ease (ninja precision is crazy)

- Tomas and Soap might get along the best. he'd definitely be thrown off by how vulgar the team gets, but he and Soap are very friendly with one another

- Bi Han, Ghost, and Price. those two would be having a blast together talking about manly adult leadership stuff

- Kuai Liang might get along best with Gaz. Something about these level-headed men having a normal conversation in front of neanderthals is refreshing to you, snd you really appreciate that

- teamwork wise, not including the 141, they'd work pretty good with you. you're a great all around: sniper, foot-soldier, hand-to-hand, you know the drills for the shit they go through on the daily

- specifically, you and Kuai Liang would work together with a knowing silence. something like Price and Ghost since those two knew each other for so long. something about you and Kuai covering each other's asses without saying a word means you guys are in perfect sync. i can imagine it (can't you?)

- working with Bi Han is like Price and Soap, or Ghost and Soap. You definitely would try and liven up the mood as you off enemies left and right. Bi Han might actually scold you mid battle, too, expecially talking about distractions

- Tomas is Gaz, and working with him is like nothing but butter sliding smoothly on bread. Tomas is everything in a package: smart, skilled, quick-witted, and level-headed. Tomas knows when it's the right time to do things

- i think you and Bi Han would get into the worst spats and fights when discussing how to further push into battle. i'd say it gets physical, with you ordering him to stand down as the "professionals handle this"

- Kuai Liang and you could also get into some hefty drama and fights too. i think Kuai would actually apologize too, considering that maybe you might have seen more than him

- outside of the missions, everyone gets along well (maybe). when the three lin kuei bros are out drinking with you and your team, that shit is fire. Tomas probably gets drunk first, but that's after maybe five cups of hard ass liquor

- Kuai is next drunk, then Bi Han

- back to mission stuff, when you and the Lin Kuei trio aren't fighting, you guys agree on strategy rather easily. in fact, they like how you pull your strats. Bi Han takes mental notes to implement to the clan

- yeah, that's it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

guys i want to write a COD fic soon, but idk who to start with. after my reqs though

also, school started for me, so writing may be coming slower

see yall in the next fic!