#he really said I’mma quit while I’m ahead

[the-unconquered-queen]

NAH FUCK HIM FOR REAL 🤬

But Threep, my hero 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 3: Apdnarg is Really Hard to Spell

 Yo guys, people are getting vaccinated, the sun is parting through the clouds, and I felt so nice that I even stopped listening to quite so many throwback 00′s BTS mashups (and yet I keep clicking on these dissonant catastrophes thinking “this time it’s got to be better. This time they’ll figure it out.” and like, no. Turns out you can’t match Brittany’s Toxic with BTS’ Black Swan. You can’t do that.)

This must be a sign that things are getting better. If anything, it means my personal tastes are improving. I mean I only clicked on like 3 “Dark Academia” Playlists where I could pretend I’m some sort of spooky witch in an abandoned library with a bad music player and basic taste in classical music (like can we ban Satie from Youtube for a little while?). Hell, I might even do a prompt update to this blog!

Yeah, you heard me, I’m actually going to stay ahead of the update schedule for Yugioh Abridged (maybe. I haven’t actually watched cuz of spoilers, I just noticed the thumbnail pop up on Youtube and was like “Damn it, they came out of hiatus??? I got hurry UP.”)

Anyway, speaking of the sky parting.

I’ll have you know my bro said this is actually more like a circumcision and it was one of the worst thing I have ever heard.

We get a chance to take in this lineup of confusing and varied character designs, and Joey. who is...still Joey.

The animators probably had to hold a strike in order for them to put Yugi in the audience, lets be real. There are TOO MANY PEOPLE in this shot and one is wearing a turban where you draw every single wrap. I hope those artists charged by the line.

Tea has a subplot where she’s just very frustrated with everyone she knows. They have been traveling together for like many weeks and got trapped in a foreign country so I get it. But at the same time, it’s kind of hard to picture Tea with female friends.

Because right now you got this 12 year old child, the other duelist who does not care about anything besides cards, and Kaiba’s 3 dragon cards that we’ve all collectively decided are female.

Hell it’s almost like the writers are asking themselves why Tea is here. Maybe they forgot. There’s no more ghosts to bus, no more people to knock out with her ass with random Olympic feats. Tea’s just sidelining.

(read more under the cut)

Mokuba is a itty bit bit taller this season, and so I guess that means he can legally climb on top of the cherry picker in order to give a riveting speech.

Really says a lot about Mokuba that he is so unphased about talking to, I dunno...an entire planet of people. Kind of a shame we never see this courage from Mokuba used for anything other than talking really, really big and giving everyone around him a really hard time.

Mokuba takes a moment to dunk on Yugi Muto, as is Kaiba tradition.

And then introduce the first pair of duelists, which obviously must be between the few people in this tournament that we actually know and care about.

Thankfully, in between last episode and this episode, Yugi has figured out who his own Grandpa is. This is a relief, because Yugi is such a mess, that I was fully convinced it would take over half a season for him to recognize it. I mean how long did it take him to figure out he shares a body with a ghost? Like half a season?

Instead Yugi recovered gracefully from not recognizing his grandpa, but it’s not like he bothered to tell anyone else, so the rest of our cast is just gonna be like “Is he my hairdresser? The guy who delivers my mail? Who is this guy who made absolutely no significant changes to his outfit or voice?”

Like sometimes this show goes full Spongebob silly kid’s show and you never know when to take it seriously or not. They might be sacrificing the entire cast next episode. I really don’t know. But for now their big concern is who is grandpa??? Like an innocent card version of “Are you my Mother?”

Faced with public speaking, Yugi decides to have a melt down.

We have seen him face monsters, we’ve seen him on TV dozens of times, he’s been in multiple competitions...but give a speech? Of course he can’t do that. The kid doesn’t attend enough school to know how to do that. Them’s learning skills.

And that was when a newly assembled wife-jet spliced through the sky like a souped up razer scooter and deposited 1 fully equipped Seto Kaiba in a Buzz Lightyear jetsuit.

THE RECOVERY.

Seto always watching over his Brother, ready to save this awkward party if it kills him (and it really should, that suit is held together by two seat-belts), making sure to get on that platform before Yugi starts going off about how he’s half an Ancient Egyptian. (Ah, life before social media. You could just be hella famous and also half a dead dude and people would just not know. I kinda miss the time before I knew literally everything about everyone.)

Please admire how close those flames are to setting Mokuba’s heavily hairsprayed mane completely alight. It would be an unforgettable spectacle.

These were absolutely just random ass jet packs that Gozaburo Kaiba made to kill hell tons of people, right? Like Seto found it in the family cabin, clutched to the heart of some crispy fried corpse and was like “neat! Mokuba! I found a cool toy!” and just plucked that thing out of that skeleton’s clutches and has been flying around for months?

Like this is Seto Kaiba’s Butter Glider, right?

Seriously what type of vehicle license do you need for one of these things? RIP My ‘Seto only has a scooter license’ headcanon.

Which I’m only even thinking about because I’ve had to try and make an appt with the DMV for days to get a freakin REAL ID. I went to sleep in 2019 and I could fly on a plane. I woke up in 2021 and it’s like “Want one last screw you?” and just...can 2020 please stop screwing me over? It’s March.

Anyway, the Jet is removed soon after, so no, this is not part of his new outfit. He goes right back to his Post-S4-Trauma-Normcore.

After wrestling this competition out of his brother’s hands and confusing everyone in the audience, Roland must have gotten the memo to cut the microphone before Seto got too excited and we were quickly ushered on to the next stage of the tournament.

One sec...the BTS Mashup playlist I just clicked on did a Black Swan X 7 rings mashup and it’s the worst thing my ears have ever heard.

Holy crap. I had to actually turn down my volume. Like...Ariana Grande already has music that has way too many overlapping singing parts on it--and then lets just stick a 52-person boy band on top? That’ll fix it. Yeah. Go ahead.

Wow. Even I had to change the song and you know how much I enjoy pop culture mistakes.

Spot the Mickey but like a million times easier because it’s a Massive Dick Shaped Dragon.

Yep. That’s my grocery shopping outfit. Except maybe not a lab coat and a duel disk. Wish I had a duel disk, that would make social distancing just a hell ton earlier. Just a “Yo, only one person in checkout, please” and then bap them on the head with a propelled discuss/hologram.

Anyway, Grocery shopping/Doctor man dueled the Purple Hair Boy, and considering that Purple Hair got screen time and shook Yugi’s hand once--I think that Doctor man doesn’t stand a freakin chance.

Good. I hate him.

Also, every time he breathes he’s gonna fog up his glasses. I have experience in this area. He can’t read his own cards in the same way I can’t read my phone if I’m in the refrigerated aisle.

So the way this tournament works, is everyone has to sit in the stadium to watch the show. Kinda like showing up to a football stadium just to watch a recorded TV monitor...but then again...that is how it feels to watch a football game at a football stadium when it’s live (at least with the tickets I usually get.)

And as we watch Grandpa waiting for his competitor, we find out that his competitor (Joey) is too busy eating snacks to give him the time of day.

Why do cartoon hot dogs always have lettuce? Is that seriously supposed to be relish? Or is there a place in the world where you put lettuce on your hot dog?

Sorry, bro has just informed of his favorite hot dog order, which is absolutely terrible so I will share it with you: a Five Guys hot dog with ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, onions, mushrooms, pickled peppers, and you guessed it--topped with freakin lettuce.

My own kin. How am I over 30 and just finding out that my baby brother thinks it’s normal to walk into a restaurant with normal god-fearing law-abiding people and order lettuce and mushrooms on a hot dog?

I have fully failed him.

The rest of this episode is watching both Joey Wheeler and Mokuba have a shared panic attack while Seto does freakin nothing.

Please remember that Seto has both a jetpack and a dragon wife plane and could have easily solved this problem. But nah.

Then again, Seto Kaiba has given this crew so MANY rides, that maybe he’s tired of being the Soccer Mom for the team?

Like they don’t actually say this episode, but Seto was the one in charge of like...this entire place, do you think he made the 2 for 1 special just to get Joey where it hurts the most? Or does it actually not take any subterfuge to screw Joey Wheeler because he’s just naturally this way?

Like Mokuba wasn’t there when Joey was told “stay right here, and then we will all go together to fight Dartz” and Joey was like “I’mma save Mai from herself although she told me not to!” and then he Hella Died. But, Mokuba did see the result, AKA, Joey’s dead body being carried on the back of Tristan. Maybe Mokuba never realized that Joey died because he went out of his way to be late?

Lets do a tally of every time I can recall with my dodgy memory that Joey was threatened to be DQ’d/pretty much was DQ’d either by his own fault or no fault of his own

-When he wasn’t allowed to go on the boat to Murder Island because he was a stupid nobody kid who did not have a dueling glove

-When he wasn’t actually supposed to be in Pegasus’ tourney and was, in fact, secretly using half of Yugi’s entrance ticket the entire time

-when Bandit Keith stole the ticket that Joey got from Yugi so then Joey had to borrow Mai’s ticket although she had just used it so it really shouldn't have counted. Because, really anyone could have just piggy backed off of each other’s ticket until the whole boat went through that castle.

-When his account was hacked to get entered into Kaiba’s tourney when Kaiba very clearly told him he could not apply solely because he was Joey Wheeler.

-When he was late to his sister’s eye surgery because he got mugged by Marik’s Rare Hunters, so she almost refused to do the surgery.

-When Joey got possessed by Marik, and as Marik, threatened to murder everyone else in the tournament including both of the Kaiba brother’s who’s tournament it was, and then chained himself to Yugi Muto to throw both of them to the bottom of the ocean.

-I think there was a point when he threatened to attack Kaiba in Kaiba’s own tourney while not possessed? Like several times?

-when he got struck by Lightning and almost did not stand up fast enough after being struck by lightning, which is apparently a type of DQ in Duel Monsters.

-When he tried to save Mai from getting hit by a fireball, but then Yugi did it instead, and then so many people were standing on the dueling platform that Kaiba couldn’t possibly DQ them all.

-When he entered the restricted area of the blimp in order to hassle Kaiba into landing the Blimp, which Kaiba did not do.

-When Marik killed Joey before Joey could press the “go” button on his duel disk to play the card that should have won Joey the match.

-When he was dueling a lawyer in a digital universe but then the dice was like...weighted? So Noah had to walk over and be like “The hell is this weighted dice? This is my perfect digital world? How did you even do that?” and then Joey won because the match was no longer legit.

-When Joey yelled at Noah too much and so Noah turned Joey to stone for being a rude ass spectator

-When Mai was like “Wheeler and Valon, listen closely: do NOT murder each other” and then Joey did a murder on Valon so she was like “I guess I have no choice, I was very clear” and killed Joey straight up.

-When Joey decided to block Seto’s fireballs while Joey Wheeler WAS a playing card, somehow disrespecting both Dartz and Seto Kaiba at the same time.

-When Joey was playing cards but then got absorbed into a giant Leviathan and basically couldn’t play anymore after that.

-There’s probably hell ton of S0 stuff I just haven’t seen yet.

-This episode

And Joey runs fast for a montage of wacky things that really have no business being in a theme park. Things like this:

(remember when Bakura almost died from a rock that ended up being a balloon? It comes full circle.)

The stuff that the Kaiba brother’s think is normal and fun.

Anyway Joey fights off a bunch of hologram snakes and bats and everyone is like “Should we tell him it’s just holograms???” And it’s like wow, guys, how many times have these ‘holograms’ straight up murdered Joey Wheeler and everyone else on this cast? Too many? Because I have a google doc with so many deaths on it. 7,805,844,048, to be exact.

Anyway, he gets there with five seconds to spare and Mokuba’s like “well at least you were still entertaining while we filmed you in front of a live audience being a total spaz for 15 minutes straight, so I’ll let you go.”

Grandpa and Joey start playing, Joey completely oblivious that this is just an older Muto, while Hawkins walks up awkwardly and is like “hey guys. I’m so sorry about this.”

(welcome to my font choices, for those new here, I have to make weird font color choices to make sure it’s legible for the colorblind and also for the non-colorblind. This one is not much contrast, so I may change it up in the future, but for now, this is Grandpa Muto’s new font. I apologize to every graphic designer reading this. Please don’t tell anyone who has ever hired me for graphic design about this blog.)

What’s funny about this exchange is that after they find out that Yugi’s Grandpa is Apdnarg (HOLY my brain cannot get around the spelling for that, and I will not change it in the caps. I cannot do a ‘pdn’ ever again), they don’t stand on his side of the field or anything. Hawkins is legit Solomon Muto’s only fan during this exchange and like...damn. Way not to back your Grandpa, Yugi.

Yugi immediately strides up to Mokuba to non-confrontation-ally inform him that he has stepped over a line and Mokuba is like “what are these things you say called ‘lines?’”

According to Mokuba, Solomon Muto begged him to be in the competition so he could relive his glory days (glory days making no sense here, because the game has only been released for the past 15 years, so glory days is like...the before times that can only be referring to disgraced archeologists and Pegasus ((who is, in his own way...a disgraced archeologist, too))) and Mokuba was like

“You trained Yugi Muto, right? Hey that’s good enough for me. This drama is gold. People will eat it up. Hell yes. Don’t be afraid to abduct him a little bit. Maybe trap a couple people in a digital hellscape for a little while? Now we go by Pegasus house rules here, so fire as many lasers as you want, but just make sure not to hit anyone in the face. Oh man, we are going to be swimming in cash. Love it, Muto Sr, love it.”

But I dunno, I feel like Grandpa won’t make it past next episode. It is Joey. We kinda need him to make it past Ep 4 of the arc. If Grandpa Muto becomes the new Joey Wheeler, that will be a weird transition for this show to make.

But that’s all for today, as always, here is the link to read these in chrono order becuase there’s SO MANY that you don’t need to read backwards--don’t do it--just use the chrono tag (and I don’t know if you can add compound tags, but I did separate the Season from the Episode, so if you write S4, it should only pop up stuff from S4. I didn't’ do that to seasons 1-3 though because I just...didn’t.)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

And because I brought it up: here it is, the best BTS Mashup that I found on my deep dive. Like legit--this one isn’t a mess:

Most of other ones are horrible in a fascinating way. Like I’m not even a BTS fan, I think I sort of age out of that metric, I’m just bored and quarantined. And lets be real, we all appreciate a good bop when we hear it.

[dreamingofmilk]

Sugar Babe Chapter 2

Synopsis: You and Erik prepare for your upcoming trip.

Word Count: 2,880

Warnings: cursing, mild smut

Chapter 1

Erik smiled brightly as soon as the words left your lips. A small groan slipped out from between them, so fleeting you almost didn’t catch it.

“Never thought it would turn me on to hear that.” He grabbed your hand and made his way to the jewelry store that was located next to his suit shop in the mall. 

You balked immediately, “What are you doing? We have to get your suits. Then we have t-” Erik cut you off. 

“Yeah we will get them in a sec. First we have to get you an engagement ring and two wedding bands for us to wear during the trip.” Erik spoke quietly to the jeweler behind the glass, he held up your fingers for the man to size. 

“Uhhhh bet you like that one.” Erik pointed at the one ring that you had your eye on. It freaked you out that Eric always knew exactly what you wanted. Were you that predictable, or was he just that good?

“Very good choices sir, I can have everything prepared for you by tomorrow.”

Erik shook his head, his body instinctively straightening. You knew that stance very well. This was the Erik that appeared during board meetings and negotiations. He was direct, but incredibly intimidating. Anytime this side of Erik showed up he always got what he wanted. 

Erik waved his hand at the clerk, “I need these done within the next 6 hours. Make any additional charges necessary. Money is no object.” 

The clerk cleared his throat, “Sir, you must know how busy we can be, we have other orders with higher priority at the moment. I cannot keep that timeline.”

Erik walked closer to the clerk, leaning over the counter slightly. You couldn’t see his face, but you knew the exact look he was giving the man behind the counter. Eyes scanning, looking for every weak spot they could find, anything they could exploit or bend to his will. Mouth smirking, like he already knew he won, but was enjoying the game. 

You hated to admit it, but this Erik was your favorite. There was something so sexy about a man who could always get what he wanted. Erik was an incredibly smart man, but a lot of people underestimated his intelligence just the same. The man was a certified genius, both in his field, and with reading people as well. There’s never been a negotiation that didn’t go in his favor. He always knew what to say or do to get the outcome he wanted. And his ability to read people and their deepest desires helped tremendously. 

“Consider this order your highest priority. Make any charges necessary. I will be back here in 6 hours and if the rings are not complete I will take my business to someone who can satisfy my time requirements.”

And there was the voice. Sharp, yet smooth. Light enough that anyone around him wouldn’t think anything of it, but the clerk definitely knew this was a threat, one that was anything but empty. You knew Erik well enough to know that he would switch stores just to prove a point. And you also knew there was no way the clerk was going to turn down an order with that many zeros in it.

The clerk lowered his head slightly, his defeat clear as day. Erik raised his chin, the smirk only widening as he reveled in his victory. 

“My apologies, sir. I will ensure your order is ready within the allotted time. We always appreciate your business.”

Erik nodded, “Thank you.” And sauntered out of the store without another word. You gave the clerk an apologetic glance as you followed him out.

Once you passed the threshold, you grabbed Erik’s wrist. “Was that really necessary? I could have just picked up the rings tomorrow.”

Erik grabbed your shoulders, leaning down so his eyes were level with yours. “Y/N, what do you think that man was telling me when he said we’d have to wait until tomorrow?”

You hesitated, but eventually spoke your mind. “That we would have to wait our turn like everyone else.”

He tsked, brushing your hair away from your face. “That’s not quite right. You have to read between the lines. Do you think he would have said the same thing if a celebrity or politician made the exact same order at the exact same time?”

You shook your head, “Of course not, but that’s different. They’re important.”

“And are we not important?” Erik raised an eyebrow, his eyes trapping yours. “Are you not important?” The sunlight hit them perfectly, and they looked like pools of molten chocolate, rich and smooth. Erik blinked slowly and the spell over you dissipated. 

“That’s what they want you to think. That you are not as important as those people, but why not? I’m just as rich, if not more, and just as famous. But because I don’t play ball or rap he was underestimating me, and all I did was call his bluff. I can’t stand being underestimated.”

You shook your head in disbelief, but you couldn’t keep the grin off your face if you tried. “Everything isn’t a board meeting Erik.”

Erik laughed, stroking your cheek once more before straightening. “Life is one big board meeting sweetheart. Especially as a black man.” He held his hand out for you. “Now let’s finish up here.”

The two of you made your way to the suit store where Erik picked up his suits. He eyed you as you waited for the suits to come out. 

“What?” You asked him. Erik smiled. 

“I know you wanted to spend the next two days helping me prepare for the trip, but now I need you to prepare for the trip as well.” 

“What do I need to prepare for? I just have to pack a bag. And I’m good.” You respond. 

“Well that would be true if you were traveling as my assistant but you’re not. You’re joining me as my wife. And my wife needs to do a good bit of things before we leave for the trip.” Erik said as he stepped closer to you. 

“Like what?” You asked incredulously. 

“I really don’t want to argue with you, I just need it done.” His voice was deep as he warned you. 

You rolled your eyes before shrugging. 

“Fine I won’t argue. What do I need to do before this trip?”

Erik grabbed your chin lightly, raising your eyes to meet his. His voice was deep and rough as he spoke. “Good girl, was that so hard? Roll your eyes at me again and I’ll give you a reason to roll them to the back of your head.”

It took a few seconds for what he said to register, but once it did, your cheeks burned and you looked down at the floor, anywhere to not see the smug smirk he was giving you. Erik has always been a bit flirty, but this was a different level altogether. Your entire body clenched and released from his words alone.  

Erik paid no mind to your reaction. “I need you to go get your nails done. Fingers and toes. Make it a spa day, facial, hair, whatever else you want. Just something so you don’t look so damn stressed like you always do.” You start to interrupt him, but the look on his face tells you he’s not finished yet. 

“After we pick up the suits we can go get new luggage, you can’t keep using the same beat up duffle bag for business trips like this. Then we have to go get you some new clothes.”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?!” You shriek, Erik escorts you out of the store and towards the store he wants to buy the luggage from. 

“Nothing babygirl. You look great every day you come to work as my assistant, but for the last time you will be my wife. So you must dress like my wife.”

“And how does your wife dress Erik?” You roll your neck giving him the most attitude you could conjure. Erik smiled slowly backing you into a corner of the mall. His arms blocking you in as his lips brushed against your ear.

“You’re going to learn to cut the attitude baby girl. I’m not with it.” 

You smiled innocently at him. 

“And you’ve already learned that that’s not going to happen.” You pat his cheek gently and start to walk away. He grabs your hand and pulls you back to him, his eyes running over your form. 

“Alright you wanna be boss baby, I’ll play along for a while. That’s okay but these things are non negotiable for people to truly believe that you are my wife. It’s just a few new clothes.” Erik said. 

“Yeah! And a spa day that I can’t afford!” You shout. 

Erik chuckled and pulled out his wallet showing you the copious amounts of cash he had. 

“We're going to the luggage spot together, I’mma pay for that. You already have my Amex card for the spa day and we are about to get you some new clothes. Stop acting like I don’t take care of mines.” Erik scoffed and walked ahead of you rounding the corner for the luggage store. 

You rolled your eyes and followed him, this day was not shaping up at all how you imagined it to be. 

————

The next two days were a whirlwind. And it just could not and would not slow down. You were definitely freaking out because leaving your job to Gina was not your first pick and you let Erik know that. 

He simply smiled and flicked your nose, cutely I might add, and told you not to worry. 

Now the big bad wolf was on the phone with investors and he had to be his usual business self hours before your flight. Seeing business Erik pacing in your living room littered with clothes and suitcases, just stressed you out further. He looked like he didn’t belong, as if he was some model fresh out of one of your discarded magazines. 

But the anger he spoke on the phone with sent you spiraling. You loved hearing Erik speak to investors, they always held such contempt for you on the phone but cowered in fear when Erik got wind of how they spoke to you. 

You were supposed to be packing and he was supposed to be telling you what to pack from the loads of new clothes he bought you. But how could you focus with this Adonis standing in front of you. An Adonis that you are supposed to pretend to be married to. 

You worried constantly the last two days that no one with two semi working eyes would believe that he would marry you. 

“Why are you staring at me?” Erik smirked at you as he hung up his phone. He licked his lips as he checked you out. 

“No reason. Okay big reason. There is no way anyone is going to believe that we are married. I mean neither of us even knows what a married couple acts like.”

Erik cocked his head as he stared at you. 

“Okay so turn on YouTube so we can learn to be a married couple. The fuck you talking about?” Erik kisses his teeth and walks to your half empty suitcase. He continued placing your newly bought folded clothes into the new Louis Vuitton suitcase he bought you. 

“I’m just saying look at you! Erik, you look amazing and put together no matter what happens. You handle everything so quickly and effectively. You’re so smart and capable of running this company. Who in their right mind would look at you and then see me and believe that we are together and have been married for the past three years? I’ll tell you. No one.”

Erik’s jaw clenched as he watched you ramble off. 

“Honestly this right here is why I never approached you. I knew you well enough that you would pull some shit like this. That you would self sabotage because of some bullshit that society tells you.” Erik continued packing up another suitcase. 

“I chose you because I trust you more than anyone else with company rules and policies. You’ve been in charge of so many projects because I know you have the leadership and management skills to get them done. I chose you to be my wife because your the smartest person I know and you look DAMN good in them fucking pencil skirts you wear. And I’ll be damned if you or anyone else tells me who should or should not be my wife.” He slammed your second suitcase shut and moved on to your carry on bag.

“I can pack my own carry on.” You stood up slowly and approached him with your carry on items to put in the bag. “I didn’t mean to make you upset. It’s just that others aren’t like you.”

“Yeah and they aren’t the CEO. I am.” He grabbed your hand as you finished packing your carry on. “The only thing that will alert people into knowing that we aren’t actually together is if you believe that we can’t.” He pulled you close to him, his heat and scent intoxicating. “Do I need to convince you that we can be together? That I want you?”

Yes. 

Your knees buckled as he placed a soft kiss on your cheek then below your ear. 

“No.” You place your hand on his chest and backed up.

Erik ran his gaze over you and bit his lip. He reached out to pull your body flush against his. His hands roamed your body freely, relishing in how you felt against him.

“You’re a terrible liar Y/N.” And with that he leaned down to run his tongue along the sweet spot on your neck. Then started sucking on your pulse point. A shiver ran down your spine. You couldn’t hide your moan if you tried, the man’s mouth was gifted. 

“Fuck.” You whimpered. Just as your knees were about to give out he pulled away and looked into your eyes, his hands sliding down your back to grab your ass.

“Y/N, you really have no idea how much I want you. If you were actually mine… the things I’d do to that fine ass body.” He shook his head, and you felt the rumble in his chest as he groaned, low and deep.  “You’re not ready for that conversation. Your scary ass couldn’t handle it.”

You bristled at the jab instinctively, your smart mouth couldn’t be contained. “I can handle anything Erik, you couldn’t handle me.”

Erik laughed, pulling you closer. “Is that right?”

“Damn right it is.” You crossed your arms, bringing your face in as close to his as you could.

He rubbed his beard, then smirked. “I already told you I wasn’t going to put up with your attitude sweetheart. You’ve been talking out the side of your neck all day today. It’s time I put that ass in check. Let you get a taste of what you’re dealing with since you think I’m playing games with you.”

In the blink of an eye Erik turned you around and pushed you against the wall, your hands trapped in one of his above your head. He pushed into your body from behind, his hips lined up perfectly with yours. You could feel the hard bulge against your cheeks. Erik grabbed your hip with his free hand and gripped just hard enough to make you gasp. His lips moved to your ear and he whispered some of the dirtiest stuff you’ve ever heard.

“Think I can’t handle you huh? Baby girl you have no idea how many times I’ve thought about handling your thick ass. My mouth salivates at the thought of putting you in check. If you weren’t so damn scary I’d be balls deep in you right now. I’d pick your little bratty ass up and sit you on my dick until you fix your attitude. Keep playing with me and you’re gonna get yourself into some shit you aren’t ready for. I really don’t mind showing my wife that I need her.” He groaned as you shivered against him, your body responding to his words. 

“Stop Erik. I need to get some sleep before the flight. Thank you for packing my bags for me, but I have a lot of stuff to get done and you’re distracting me.” You hoped he didn’t notice the tremor in your voice or how your body kept pushing back into him.

He pulled away, taking the heat of his body with him. “Okay, I’ll let you off the hook this time. Just make sure you come as the wife I know you can be. My partner.” He winks at you and places a kiss on your cheek. “Let it be known though if you were mine…. I’d tear that ass up every night of this trip. I’ll see you tomorrow” He backed away from you while shaking his head. He opened your apartment door and walked out while shouting. “My wife fine as fuck!”

Well fuck, what could you possibly say to that?

Taglist:

@aislinnsilver​ @wawakanda-btch​ @marvelmaree​ @chaneajoyyy​ @ljstraightnochaser @raysunshine78​ @fdwrites @soufcakmistress​ @girlsneedlovingfanfics​ @toniilaney​

[sailorspazz]

10 Dance Special Booklet - Taboo and Habanera [English Translation]

I present to you my project of the last few weeks: an English version of the comics that came with the Japanese special edition of vol. 4. (Thanks to @words-unleashed​ for providing cleaned scans!) Since it’s definitely not Tumblr Safe, the full scanlation can be found at imgur. com/a/HgbwYk1 (sorry to write it out weird, but Tumblr hides posts with external links when you tag search, so just copy and delete the extra spacing and you should be able to access it).

As a bonus, I also made a subtitled version of the track from the drama CDs that includes the “Taboo” portion of the story. The dialogue is mostly the same, with some additions/deletions, but if you want to hear all the steamy action as well as read it, definitely check that out, too. Since it was long, I had to split the video on Tumblr; start with the first half here (or escape this hell site and go to YouTube, where it’s all in one part: youtu.be/ B95vNjt-e6M , again need to copy and delete extra spacing)

Recently, I’ve been working on serious summaries of the chapters that have been released since vol. 5 (starting with #29 part 1). My true nature, though, is to be more snarky and make dumb commentary, so click below if you want a summary of these bonus comics (along with select Tumblr Safe images) where I just poke fun and be thirsty.

So after several volumes of the Shinyas making out without sexing each other, I guess the manga artist was like, “you know what, I’m not gonna have these guys fuck anytime soon (or ever, lol just kidding...or am I?), so I guess I’ll throw some smut crumbs to the poor, deprived shippers.” And we’ll take it and enjoy it, because we’re desperate.

The first story, called “Taboo: Just a bit” continues immediately after chapter 21, where Suzuki said that he’s okay with kissing, but no more! To which Sugiki’s immediate reaction seems to be, “Cool, cool...I’mma go ahead and find a way around that.” Also, he may be a bit insecure about the size of his nipples.

Note: Sugiki’s nipples are important to the plot of this story. I’m dead serious.

Sugiki wonders about Suzuki not seeming to be bothered by him saying he’s adorable, but apparently Suzuki gets called that all the time. And in one of the greatest leaps in logic in history, Sugiki says that, since everyone always found you so precious, surely you and your male friends all touched each other’s naughty bits when you were kids, right? Suzuki’s like, UMM, NO, WHAT THE FU-okay, yeah. yeah, we did. And he assumes, oh, since Sugiki brought this up, he probably did the same thing.

“lol, no, I didn’t do that. But I made you admit that you did.”

Sugiki’s closest experience to something like that was when he was in high school and another boy insulted him, beat him up, and then paid him and said he wanted to suck Sugiki off (quite the roller coaster, but okay). Suzuki’s like, oh shit, that sounds super fucked up, sorry to make you remember that, but Sugiki actually used the situation to his advantage by using the boy to develop his own skills. Those skills involved whipping the other kid with a stick, and teasing him with the fact that he never actually agreed to what he proposed.

Baby sadist in training.

Look at this man. That is all.

So as Sugiki uses their childhood experiences as a flimsy excuse to propose some dick touching, Suzuki notices something shocking: Sugiki’s nipples are hard!

Suzuki Needs An Adult after making this discovery. And he’s so distracted by those sexy nips that he isn’t able to stop Sugiki from making a grab at his dick. Which, as it turns out, is a bit stiff.

Top 10 Manga Betrayals: Suzuki’s dick getting hard from man nips.

Suzuki stays in panic mode for a bit, and when he snaps out of it he finds that his dick is no longer in his pants, but in Sugiki’s hand.

He protests a bit, but then is like, fine, I guess I’ll let you jerk me off. And goes back to thinking about those nips and how bad he wants to bite them and squeeze them, and also how he’d really like to just fuck Sugiki for good measure, too.

But as for the eternal question of who would be fucking who, Sugiki tries slipping a finger in to test the waters.

Which results in a big fat NOPE from Suzuki, so Sugiki just keeps jerking him until he gets off, getting just a mini facial as a splash lands near his mouth (we don’t see him lick it...but you know he wanted to).

As they’re getting ready to leave the studio, Suzuki brings up the “adorable” conversation from before, saying he’d imagine no one calls Sugiki that. Sugiki confirms that’s true, and Suzuki responds with:

Look at this man. That is all (again).

The second story, called Habanera, shows us what the Shinyas do when they’re each home alone. Suzuki, in a desperate attempt to prove his straightness to himself, is planning a porn marathon.

Meanwhile, Sugiki plans to watch a special DVD that features Suzuki doing a Q&A session. Which, for him, we can assume is the equivalent of watching porn.

A look at Suzuki’s selections. Bruh, I don’t mean to kinkshame, but...pig farm?

Just as he’s about to get started, he gets a call from some random chick he used to bang. He has no desire to chat, though, and hangs up on her, but while jabbing at his phone, he accidentally hits Sugiki’s speed dial, and quickly disconnects in a panic.

Rocking the Winnie the Pooh look here with his red shirt and no pants. Also, there are helpful warnings throughout the story whenever his (heavily mosaiced) dick is on panel.

Meanwhile, Sugiki is watching DVD-Suzuki talk about how to wink while dancing, and it’s making him feel A Lot Of Things

Back at the fap shack, Suzuki claims that just seeing Sugiki’s name made him go limp, because, you know, he’s Definitely Not Attracted To Him. He talks to his dick, trying to get it to firm up again. His dick has a girl’s name (Machiko) and is shown in some shots as having a face and wearing a little bow (yes, it’s as weird as it sounds. no, I can’t show it here).

The next video he has queued up starts, and well, I guess this is that pig farm stuff he’s into (which really just seems to be a domme lady berating the viewer)

Back at Sugiki’s, DVD-Suzuki has moved on to teaching how to blow kisses.

Yeah, this is definitely porn for Sugiki. And as he watches this he’s a bit miffed that it seems like Suzuki acts a lot cooler when they’re not together.

Meanwhile, Suzuki’s fantasizing about the sexy lady dominating him...except, the person in his fantasy starts to change from a porn star to...

Oh look, the man he’s Definitely Not Attracted To happens to show up in his fantasy while he’s beating off. He tries to make the image go away, but then eventually settles for keeping the face but having the rest of the body be the porn star.

Sugiki is practicing his kiss-blowing with DVD-Suzuki as his imaginary partner. And when he finds out that there are other DVDs like this one, he quickly starts searching for the back issues of these pornographic very educational videos.

After Suzuki shamefully blows his load to the thought of the Sugiki-faced female porn star, his phone starts ringing. It’s Sugiki, returning the call he accidentally placed earlier. Though to Suzuki, the timing feels suspiciously like Sugiki had been watching him or something...

[bard-llama]

WiP List

This is gonna be looooong (like, REALLY long), so I’mma go ahead and give you a cut here. But if you’re interested in what i’m working on, take a look!

Order purely based on the order my tabs are in. I’m only counting WiPs that actually have more than a paragraph written, because if I didn’t, this list would be even longer. Also, pls don’t judge me but what I name my WiPs 😂

Post-Coital Smoke

Kinda what it sounds like tbh. I just wanted Iorveth getting high and admiring Roche’s body and then Roche decided to be a tease. At some point, I assume there will be sex.

Angst: Sex object Roche

Iorveth’s POV of realizing that Roche hurts himself whenever he flirts at Iorveth. Premise is that Roche has been groomed (intentionally or not) by Foltest to be his. So when he feels attraction towards Iorveth, he needs to be punished. And obviously Iorveth helps him learn that no, that’s not okay and idk recovery???

Midwinter Feast

This idea was 100% spawned by me trying to write holiday fics, but Foltest hosts a Midwinter Feast where they close the city for 12 days, leaving Roche to get along with the Nonhuman/Scoia’tael(ish) delegation during that time. Also, Foltest might be using the feast as a delaying tactic to resupply his army. I legit have no idea where this is going, I just thought the idea of Roche and Iorveth stuck at a feast for 12 days was funny.

Solstice Feast aka To Birth a Verdant Future

This was actually an xmas gift for @lutes-and-dandelions, but I havent finished it yet 😓 But the premise is similar to the former in that it’s another solstice feast. But it’s set post-W3 with Emhyr as Emperor throwing a party in the new conquered capital of Vizima. Roche broods a lot about Foltest’s memory and how he hates Emhyr and decides to distract himself by hanging out with Iorveth and suggesting they follow an old elven tradition. And that’s all I’ll say. XD

Next Year (Solstice Feast sequel)

Literally set the next year. This time they merge their lives by merging their people’s traditions.

Lily Preserved in Amber

Okay, haven’t gotten very far in this, but I decided it was an elven rite of passage to go searching through the forest for a sign of your future. And Iorveth finds a piece of amber with a lily preserved inside. I haven’t decided if it purely means Roche or if it means his whole family with Roche and Boussy and Anais and all. So far, he hasn’t even found the amber yet lmao. But he did just discover music!

Character taking control of the other and Character B just letting go and enjoying themselves

Under the subheading “Porn Snips”, so uh, yeah. Starts with Roche and Iorveth fighting to decide who gets to top, involves Roche getting choked, and Iorveth ripping Roche’s pants off. Oh, also, they’re currently at a fancy party hiding somewhere in the garden lmao

Based on @moonlights-ordinance‘s art

Moonlight’s working on an adorable piece where Roche leans his forehead against Iorveth’s back between his shoulderblades. I decided to make it post-W3 with both of them working as paper pushers/administrators under Emhyr’s Temeria. And Nilfgaard does not believe in chairs with backs (or, really, Emhyr wanted to see how long Roche’s pride would make him suffer. It’s a long time). The idea is to show development over time as they slowly get more comfortable with touch and start using each other as backrests. And then the sweet scene Moonlight is drawing.

Eliza for @useless-empty-brain aka Can’t We All Just Get Oolong?

Next is Iorveth’s POV, but I legit cannot figure out where to start. But we’re gonna see some of his thoughts (like how Eliza volunteered him to stay in Vizima for an unspecified period of time and he said yes even though he can’t and now has to commute regularly because he doesn’t want to miss tea with Roche but also doesn’t want Roche’s spies to catch on lmao) and his curiosity about Roche and Foltest and what Roche’s mission is (which I... totally know.)

Roche’s Scars

@moonlights-ordinance sent me a great pic of a mod for Roche where he had some pretty vicious scarring/mutilation. So of course I decided I needed to tell the story of each one. But really, it’s a story about the stages of acceptance with scars. Both Iorveth and Roche start out hiding theirs, but eventually come to reveal them comfortably in public.

Vernon Roche of the Scoia’tael aka The Value of a Man

Does my title give it away? Oops? So, this is a found family fic where Roche is captured by the Scoia’tael and the elves and dwarves slowly come to see him as - well, I was gonna say human, but as a person, I guess. And start feeling really, really guilty, especially when some not great things happen to Roche. 

Oh also, Foltest is a giant dick and uh, SPOILERS he does not try to get Roche back. Which leads to a whole subplot that will end with a found family for EVERYONE, because they all deserve to be happy dammit.

All of that was just one document lmao. I have 24 documents, some of which have quite a few WiPs in them. 😱

Kiss Prompts

24. Deep kisses where they have their hands tangled in each other’s hair to pull them closer. AKA How to Fluster an Elf

When I got the idea for How to Fluster an Elf, I decided it was gonna fill the prompt dammit. And then it really, really expanded on me.

33. An unexpected kiss that shocks the one receiving it.

Roche dreams occasionally that Iorveth visits him and watches over him and sometimes speaks, but he can’t understand Elder Speech, so he assumes it’s all gibberish.

Then he finds out it’s not and suddenly he’s not so certain it’s a dream

16. One person pouting, only to have it removed by a kiss from the other person.

Okay, I literally just need to buckle down and write some good kissing. This is set in (Im)Perfect Strangers and Iorveth is pouting about them leaving the gardens, so Roche makes it up to him.

25. Wet kisses after finding refuge from the rain.

This one won’t actually be published with the kisses ‘cause it’s porn and the rest are T-rated lol. Buuuut Roche and Iorveth are trying to have a secret liaison in the forest when the rain starts. Featuring nature magic, tentacles, and Iorveth getting filled.

Scenes from Another World (aka AU premise)

Old Men in Vergen

Set during Witcher 3, but with an established relationship. Roche comes to visit Iorveth in Vergen to ask for advice on leading an insurgency. Iorveth just wants to feed Roche while he can now that he’s not the one starving in the woods.

Language Aphasia/Deal with the Devil

I wanted to write Gaunter! So I decided that Gaunter is in a mood for some mischief (he calls it being generous) and comes upon a traveling Vernon Roche who wishes that he could be understand Iorveth. Then Iorveth’s Scoia’tael find a passed out Roche in the woods and bring him to Iorveth for judgement. Only somehow, Roche only understands Elder Speech now. He can’t understand Common at all. The Scoia’tael find this very offensive and Iorveth is mostly freaked out that someone who can do THAT was wandering around his forest.

Bunk Beds: The Portrait of Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon

Based on a silly comic, Ciri convinces Iorveth and Roche to try to help her destroy the portrait. Geralt gets pissed and sends them to Bunk Bed Exile. Shenanigans ensue and somehow they start to get along.

Iorveth’s Scoia’tael Giving Him Shit For His Taste in Men aka The Lovestruck Fox

Right now, working on a piece from the POV of a new Scoia’tael recruit who is discovering that Iorveth’s Scoia’tael roast the fuck out of him over his crush on Roche. 

Speaking of, anyone have suggestions on prime roast material? I am not this creative.

Let’s Torture Roche!

No, really. This one is pretty dark. And told in kind of a different style than my usual, because I felt like it. So, premise is that Iorveth and Roche were a thing in the past, but then Roche was recalled to Foltest’s side and he went. So Iorveth is understandably pretty hurt and pissed (this was decided for a prompt of someone breaking down as soon as they’re behind closed doors). Buuut what he doesn’t know is that Roche is not with Foltest of his own volition. Hostages, blackmail, and torture are all involved and Foltest is a pretty horrible guy. But of course we need a happy ending, so eventually, Iorveth will rescue Roche and they get to recover together.

Life Debt aka Iorveth is an Asshole

The concept for this was that Roche saved Iorveth’s life and now that they were no longer enemies (set during Witcher 3), his honor demands that he follow Roche around until he can repay the favor. Featuring Iorveth being a trolling asshole, correcting the new Temerian Loyalist’s fighting abilities, and Roche being very, very tired. 

In application, it’s mostly angst so far, ‘cause I had to set up HOW Roche saved Iorveth’s life. And then I decided to really hurt Iorveth. But tbh I will probably skip ahead after establishing this stuff, because I just want shenanigans.

King and Country

I’ve got several WiPs for this one, including the Stripes’ recruitment, their decision to change sides, the Stripes being double agents, and of course, Iorveth and Roche’s developing relationship. But hey, I’ve skipped ahead to writing their wedding already, so... you know it ends happily ever after?

Friday Fight Night for Jan 29 (which I did not make oops)

So, this actually turned into a long piece that’s gonna be part of my Chronic Pain series. Basically, King Foltest is treating with the leaders of the Scoia’tael in Temeria and Iorveth is one of them. Unfortunately, he’s having a REALLY BAD pain day, but he’s also determined to be there to represent his people. Roche helps him see sense. Possibly forcefully.

Exhaustion Prompts

“If we’re both in this state, we both really screwed up somewhere huh?”

Iorveth and Roche are trapped in a dream and I got a little stuck creating the creature that trapped them there. But pretty sure Saskia is gonna interrupt their flirting by saving them.

“You were almost dead from pushing it too far!”

In which Roche has a heart attack from too much coffee. Yeah. He’s okay, though! But PT is about to blow a gasket and coffee will very much be disallowed.

Found Family Prompts

Taking Out the Trash for @useless-empty-brain

Literally a story about taking out the trash lmao. We’re gonna see if I can make this intersting.

Touch Starved for @mochii-girl

Honestly, haven’t gotten much done on this yet, but I’m thinking puppy pile cuddles in Corvo Bianco

Coffeeshop AU aka Brewing Romance and Dissent

Ooof I’ve got a lot of bits and pieces of this written, but nothing quite finished, except for the moment when things change from “we flirt as I order coffee” to “I make you special drinks and invite you to come visit me after hours”. Writing a canon coffeeshop au when I know shit all about coffee is HARD.

Curse Breaking

Omg this is one of the first WiPs I started for Iorveth/Roche, no joke. STILL WORKING ON IT! The premise is that Roche finds a feverish and dying Iorveth in an empty Scoia’tael camp, saves him with the power of True Love’s Kiss The Power of Strong Emotions, Like That Which You Might Have For Your Enemy. Then they team up to go save Iorveth’s Scoia’tael from a big bad mage and Roche invites Triss along for the ride, which totally doesn’t make Iorveth jealous. I kinda stalled out at the part where they reach the mage’s hideout and see the results of the mages failed experiments. On Iorveth’s people. It’s gonna hurt. A lot. But afterwards, there might be makeouts. And some sort of implication that they’re all down to do this (minus the horrible, traumatic parts) again.

Roche POV bloodplay

Roche’s POV starting from before his first encounter with Iorveth. Then he has a weirdly sexually arousing encounter with the elf, and tbh, that’s as far as I got. But Iorveth draws blood from Roche’s neck, presses his thumb to it, and then licks it off his thumb. Next, Iorveth was gonna be the one getting Uncomfortably Aroused, but I haven’t gotten that far. No idea where this is going overall.

Iorveth Investigates Roche

This kinda isn’t a real WiP in that idk if I’ll ever finish it. I mostly started it to do some worldbuilding about what public information there would be about Roche. 

Voyeurism AKA Eye on You

Yeah, I don’t have much for the next chapter yet, tbh. So premise is that Iorveth accidentally ends up watching Roche get off at the brothel and finds it really, really hot. Hot enough to get curious and go back for more. Next one is going to involve thigh fucking and Iorveth might possibly get pegged by Daph??? idk

Fake Relationship

Poor @lutes-and-dandelions has been waiting forever for this one and I can’t even find a place to end the scene and post what I have so far. Premise is that Iorveth and Roche are both investigating their missing men and the trail takes them to the Murivel Resort for Couples. So they go undercover. Featuring Roche’s POV of being doubtful, Iorveth using the excuse to flirt outrageously, strip gwent, and a magic amulet that hids Iorveth’s scar and that Roche hates.

Competitive Makeouts AKA The Chase

This was kissing practice and it turned into a casefic! Which is awesome because I love casefics even though I haven’t published any yet. So in this one, as Iorveth and Roche sneak off to makeout, they also end up investigating a conspiracy in the Temerian military. 

Iorveth/Roche(/Kayran) + Roche/Foltest aka Every Kiss Begins with Kayran

In which Roche accidentally walks in on Iorveth’s monthly fuck date with the Kayran and gets invited to join in. Then, somehow,  it starts to turn into a relationship. With an elf and a tentacle monster. And yet, somehow, this relationship is healthier than the one with Foltest. The contrast opens Roche’s eyes.

Pining and Poignards

In which Iorveth stabs Roche with his favorite knife and wants it back and is also maybe pining a lil bit. Meanwhile Roche is rather pissed, but also curious and begins to teach himself Elder Speech to try to read the inscription on Iorveth’s knife. I stalled out in the scene where Iorveth accidentally watches Roche masturbate in the bath.

Iorveth tittyfucking Roche

Look, it’s what it says on the tin. Roche’s POV of Iorveth’s fascination with his chest and how it makes him feel and then there is sex.

Dirty Gremlin Man

Iorveth gets off on Roche being a sweaty, stinky human. Roche pins Iorveth in a fight and Iorveth gets very distracted watching a drop of sweat trail down Roche’s face. So distracted, in fact, that he doesn’t think twice before stretching out his neck and licking it. Then, of course, he remembers where he is. Featuring a very confused Roche, a smidge of jealousy, and Iorveth stealing Roche’s sweaty clothing to do unspeakable things to it. And somehow they get together.

Want me to sit in your lap?

Geralt LEGIT says this to Roche like 5 mins into the Witcher 2 and it’s GREAT. So of course, I had to write a scene where he actually got to. This is set post Witcher 2 while Geralt, Triss, Roche, and Ves are headed back to Temeria. Triss offers Geralt a little stress relief - which involves warming Roche’s cock and watching Triss and Ves get to know one another.

Red is the Rose

So, Chapter 4 is set post-Witcher 2 and Iorveth is obsessing over the fact that the Rose of Remembrance still has not wilted. He wonders what might be possible, so when he hears a rumor that a certain Temerian Commander was taken captive by Dethmold...

Dethmold most definitely dies. But unfortunately, that doesn’t save Roche from the curses he cast. So they go looking for Geralt to find out how to fix it.

This has only been 9 of my documents, y’all. I think I have a problem.

De-Aged Fic aka The language of friendship is not words but meanings

Ugh, I lost my momentum on this one, which sucks, ‘cause the next chapter is so close to done. Iorveth just needs to do a little freaking out first. But then they will both be back to adults and have to DEAL with the fact that they made good friends and would kinda like that again. I think this fic is gonna be purely friendship for them, but they’re gonna get there.

Glory Hole

A fic for the @sugar-and-spice-witcher-bingo where Roche hears a rumor that some Scoia’tael go to this brothel on the outskirts of town and hey, he may as well check it out, right? By going undercover and working the glory hole, of course. He never ACTUALLY expected Iorveth would come, but his legendary mouth was enticing enough to draw the Scoia’tael commander out.

Snuggling

Thirteen “accidentally” handcuffs Iorveth and Roche together when they capture Iorveth. This leads to them lying on the cot in the Stripes’ holding cell, spooning. There is banter and tickling and escapes not attempted and also maybe some sex with Inexperience Iorveth (i say maybe because I already started the sex, but idk if it will fit in). 

Petals and Stripes

A weed is but an unloved flower

Okay, the Stripes are going to attempt to woo Iorveth during a battle. Also, there is a stabbing. And then a kidnapping. And then, miracle of miracles, someone actually tries talking!

One person's weed is another person's wildflower

Ves’s POV! She cleans up the mess her idiots make and terrifies the life out of one elven suitor, but first she’s gotta deal with her own conflicted feelings about her Boss, the guy she relies on to show her the shades of grey in the world, loving the elf she’s supposed to kill. 

After that, I’ve got 2 more fics planned in this ‘verse. One is gonna be a fluffy and/or sexy date after Iorveth and Roche have gotten together. The other is a Scoia’tael side story, featuring lots of gossip about the humans sending their Commander love letters.

Love Shack

The Better Part of Valor

Ugh, I’m stuck on the sex again. Roche is having a really shitty day, so he goes to the cabin and signals Iorveth that he wants a round. Iorveth offers gentle (for them) sex and praise. And at the end, there’s a very significant scene where Iorveth removes his bandana. Roche buries his fingers in Iorveth’s hair, but doesn’t actually see his face, as he’s laying on his stomach with Iorveth on top of him.

Medicine

The morning after! Roche wakes up to find Iorveth in the bath, facing away from him, and notices a new scar. Iorveth has to deal with actually revealing his scars in daylight and they discuss the significant differences in elven and human medicine. Hint: I turned my own medical procedures into elven medicine, so it’s pretty fucking good.

PWP Ovi

Set ambiguously late, maybe after Thou Art More Lovely and More Temperate. Iorveth and Roche explore what Roche can take. We start with overstimulation, go into consensual somnophilia, come inflation, breeding kink, and oviposition. Because elves reproduce by laying eggs, which is not at all the case purely because I started this WiP ages ago and was horny.

The Picture Says It All

There’s going to be 5 more pictures that Rinn draws for Iorveth. Next is Roche hard at work, hunched over a desk. Then we’re getting some shirtless Roche, for “research”, of course. Then Roche cuddling with PT and the rest of the team, about which Iorveth is not at all jealous. Then a face study of Roche during a fight and uh, Iorveth is uncomfortably turned on. And finally, a drawing of their cabin with a silhouette in the window. She knows.

Roche & Rinn: The Haunting of Barrack 8B

Oh man, I really want to finish the next chapter, because I already have the one after that done. But first, we get introduced to Adda! This ‘verse is going to feature Adda the White a lot more than any of my others have done so far and I’m very excited. Also, Silas continues to be terrified of the ghost and the ghost and Adda become girlfriends buddies.

Roche builds Iorveth a home

Set late in the ‘verse, after Roche knows his feelings, but they haven’t said them yet (not out loud, anyway). Iorveth takes a trip to go meet Saskia do things off screen and Roche ends up turning to his old hobby, carpentry, to keep himself from pining too obviously. So obviously he ends up builing Iorveth a solarium. And a pillow nest. And a scaffold so that flowers that blossom in the moonlight cover the glass and give them privacy.

I got stuck here because Rinn needs to give Roche a hint to get him to build the pillow nest, but I hadn’t developed Rinn and Roche’s relationship yet, so had to go back and do that. But eventually Iorveth returns and they have wonderful I’m-not-saying-it-but-i-love-you sex in the new pillow nest.

Foltest (WiP): Long Live the King

This is actually the last fic in the ‘verse, so I don’t want to give too much away. But actually, I haven’t figured out what the next chapter is, BUT I have the chapter after that started and it is GOOD, just you wait!! I’m very excited.

Don’t Cry For Me, Temeria

This ‘verse alone, I have 14 WiPs and a dozen more unwritten ideas.

(Im)Perfect Strangers

I am frustratingly stuck on this chapter. Theoreatically, we are going to have a check in on how the mountain and the rest of our cast is doing and then Roche launches his Wooing TM plan (aka dinner, gift, and dancing).

Between Two Fools

Yeah, Roche and Iorveth have very different understandings of what their gifts represent. There is some soft happiness and then a swift rug pulled out from under Iorveth’s feet, I’m afraid. BUT we are almost to the part where the two idiots sit down and actually talk properly.

Unlucky Number Thirteen

Not only do I have more of Thirteen’s story planned, but I have ideas for ALL the Stripes to have stories. We’ll see how that goes. But for now, Thirteen starts spying for Roche. A lot of still-nebulous stuff happens, including Thirteen’s first time, for which he asks Roche to help. Additionally, once we reach the (Im)Perfect Strangers timeline, Thirteen has a special story all his own. It involves learning to read and a secret I shall not yet reveal.

Silas

Like I said, all the Stripes are hopefully getting stories. But Silas’s is coming along nicely. He starts a new life as “Silas”, as a man, and joins the army. Boot camp is rough and awful and he’s not very good at any of it, but one day, Roche comes looking for a recruit. He needs a codebreaker to decipher Thirteen’s scouting reports (another one for pictures). So Silas joins the Stripes, but he’s still terrified that they’ll fnd out and think he’s been lying to them. Fortunately, they’ll be putting his fears to rest.

Stripes Sex aka Earning Your Stripes: The First Time

PT’s POV! The Stripes (pre-Silas) are all still getting comfortable with each other as a team. But Thirteen has known Roche the longest and in a specific capacity. So one evening when he needs to get out of his head, Thirteen asks Roche to dom him. PT is confused and scandalized and then jealous, but he gets to join in soon too. Meanwhile, Finch and Ves have fun with their bratty arsonist and Fenn is loving it.

break (v /brāk/): to destroy someone's resistance

This is very long and entirely build up to porn. And then lots of porn. A question during a random conversation leads Roche to make Iorveth ask him to take Iorveth utterly apart in a consensual non-consent fantasy set when they were still enemies in the forest.

Bath House

This was supposed to be a simple PWP where Roche talks dirty to Iorveth under his breath while the two of them are at the bathhouse with Boussy (who LOVES baths and brought them to the fancy bath house), Anais, and Thirteen (who HATE baths and react to water much like a cat). They kinda took over the story and there has been no dirty talk yet oops.

Iorveth POV: Tutti

Iorveth begins to reclaim his love for music and lets himself improvise and compose again. And he ends up writing a song that is the story of his and Roche’s romance.

Daggers, Dumplings, and Dresses

The Elihal/Hattori side story! Though we haven’t actually met Hattori yet. So far, Elihal is expounding on his past and his relationship with Iorveth (he used to make all of Iorveth’s fancy gowns for concerts). Elihal and Hattori won’t play a HUGE role in (Im)Perfect Strangers, but they will be appearing!

Ves and Ciaran aka The First Rule of Fight Club

Ves is stuck walking a very long way back to Vergen with the memory of Ciaran’s skin against her teeth. And even though elves lie like breathing, she can’t help thinking about what he said about Roche not being worth her loyalty. Slowly, she begins to work some things out.

Sex with Saskia/Dragonfucking

Yeah, it’s what it sounds like. Iorveth tells Roche that Saskia agreed to a threesome and where to meet, but he neglected to mention the rather large dragon that was currently rimming his ass. Roche gets distracted from his confusion by the hotness and watches Iorveth get fucked by a dragon (with 2 dicks to fit 2 holes, of course).

Come Inflation + Piss Play

Um. Yeah, it’s a PWP where Roche asks Triss for a potion that will make him come a lot. And then Iorveth wants more. No idea where it’s going, tbh.

Stripes vs Scoia’tael: Water Balloon Fight

Literally a water balloon fight. For morale.

Baby Mama

Uh, the title is a bit telling here oops. But let’s just say Iorveth and Roche go on vacation to the cabin on top of the mountain again when Iorveth is hit with the sudden extreme urge to breed. Roche is down, but at some point, they do actually need to talk.

King Roche aka fics where Roche is in charge and hates it. Some are more in line with this than others.

Post W3 Becoming Terrorists Together

Ah yes, the murder husbands fic. Literally, Roche gets stuck leading Temeria under Emhyr’s orders and he’s good at it, but he HATES it. Enter Iorveth, who both points out security flaws, joins Roche for a surprisingly unawkward bath, and proposes that they go hunting down war criminals on their own time. How can Roche say no?

Pre-W2 Ambassadorial AU

Different first meeting AU! In this one, Iorveth is sent as the elven ambassador to Temeria and it’s about as much fun as one might expect. Triss and Roche, the other outcasts amongst Temerian court, decide to befriend him. Well, try to anyway. idk where this is going, but it’s been fun. Also, Iorveth wears a fancy braid over his eye, because I said so. Also, I might be planning an OT3 porn scene at some point, because it turns out, elves are VERY sensitive to magic XD

Leap of Faith

Okay, yeah, this has nothing to do with King Roche, but it’s the doc I was working in when I got the idea. In this one, a mage captures Iorveth for Foltest and starts torturing him. Roche, without really thinking about it, decides the mage goes too far, so he kills them. Leaving him with an elven prisoner and a castle full of people who will consider him a traitor for that. They escape the city, but now Iorveth has gotta convince Roche that no, the King really won’t forget that whole murder and prisoner escape thing. 

The whole point of this fic was for me to write them jumping off a cliff lmao. When am I gonna get to that? Probably like last or second to last chapter, tbh. Which should be... after the next one? No, I lied, it’s next chapter! I need to get on that!

An ill-favour’d thing, sir, but mine own aka Possessive Sex

Piss Fic

Um. Yeah. Roche is really horny when Iorveth gets home and is on him immediately, which is great, but Iorveth has gotta piss. Which becomes less urgent as Roche is determined to have his face fucks, but after he comes all over Roche’s face, it’s VERY urgent and Roche is a fucking brat and won’t move out of the way. So obviously the response to this is to piss on Roche’s crotch - which Roche is apparently more than okay with.

Cum Dumpster Roche

Yeah, this one doesn’t have much yet, I literally just wanted Roche getting railed and claimed and L O V I N G it. 

Possessiveness

Iorveth spends a lot of time thinking about his enemy, his nemesis. He’s researched Roche extensively, spent hours thinking up tactics and strategies to outwit his nemesis. He literally knows what Roche named his stupid weapons, but he’s never actually met Roche.

But he’s dreamt about it. The Roche in reality doesn’t look like the assumptions he made in his dreams, but who cares about looks? Because Roche is his, and certainly not some dh’oine king’s.

Tentacles + Breeding

Gods, this one is SO CLOSE to being done dammit, I just gotta finish it!! But it’s a fun one. Iorveth and Roche are fighting, when Iorveth suddenly starts fighting plants, which are fighting back. Then the plants notice Roche and suddenly he’s tied up with vines and his clothes are getting torn off and uh, he’s not supposed to find this hot, is he? But he really kinda does. And then Iorveth goes and claims him and tries to protect him from a nearly-extinct non-sentient plant that sensed a warm spot to lay its eggs until someone else could come along and fertilize them. Iorveth is delighted to be that person.

Dream: Pleasure Slave

Yeah, Roche really likes getting claimed in these. In this one, he has a favorite dream setting where Iorveth rules some grand elven kingdom and Roche’s only role is to bring him pleasure. Not to deal with politics or nobles or policy, but just to make Iorveth feel good. So far, this features cock warming, come inflation, a leather cock cage (so to speak), prostate milking, and a very nice silver chalice that Iorveth expects Roche to fill before they’re done.

Roche wears a collar

This was gonna be a simple lil thing based on me creating Roche in heroforge and giving him a lil hidden collar. But then Iorveth decided to get really sappy and had to design and create the perfect collar for his enemy. And then, much to his surprise, he gets the opportunity to PUT his collar on Roche. Which is great, except the sight distracts him so much that Roche manages to escape.

But the next time they meet, Roche is still wearing that collar, hidden under his chaperon and armor. Iorveth has feelings about that.

Standalone

Crones fic aka And Ghosts Did Shriek and Shrill

So this is the angsty fic that started from a crack premise. Er, one of them. I seem to do that a lot. But in this one, Roche goes to the Ladies of the Woods and asks for his men back. The Ladies agree, in exchange for 6 lifetimes of service. But no creature can reverse death. Which leads to the Stripes coming back to “life” as ghosts - only Roche is the only one who can see them. Ves can’t (not at first). 

Believe it or not, the whole idea behind this was the Stripes roasting Roche as he tries to flirt (terribly) with Iorveth. But uh... somehow it turned pretty dark. Like, it’ll have a happy ending for sure, but it’s gonna be a lot about processing trauma and grief and building families and also curing a plague, because that’s the first assignment from the Ladies.

Stripes fics

Cuddles with the Commander

This is intended to be a sequel to The Pride of Temeria, but I kinda got stuck figuring out exactly how Roche should react. Tbh, I don’t have much of this written yet, but the goal is for Roche to approve cuddles with everyone lmao.

Fire Breating

Okay, this one started as crack purely because I love fire, but it’s actually been really fun. So, Iorveth and Roche are established and Iorveth has been invited to a family night with the Stripes, which is kinda a lil awkward. So they decide to showcase some of their talents - which includes Roche singing musicals and PT breathing fire.

Iorveth is horrified that humans have harnessed this skill.

Iorveth’s missing eye

This is really short and idk if I’ll continue it, but the idea was for Roche to really wonder what was up with the bandana over half of Iorveth’s face was about. And then, of course, to find out.

Iorveth Gangbang

Why is this under Stripes fics, you might ask? Well, I have great news for you. Guess who the gang is?

In which Iorveth and Roche are in an established relationship and Iorveth gets tied up in the middle of the Stripes’ camp while Roche orders his men to take him apart. Iorveth very much enjoys himself, and then when the Stripes are tapped out, Roche shows ‘em how it’s done.

Kink Bingo fics aka that event that I totally failed, but hey, prompts are prompts.

Age Kink

In this fic, Iorveth and Roche both end up captured by unknown forces and end up imprisoned together. I think the Stripes and Scoia’tael are probably working together to find them and save them, but in the meantime, Iorveth and Roche decide to get to know each other a bit better. Featuring muscle spasms, blow jobs, and pain kink.

Eskel/Lambert (okay, a little out of place here, but eh, it’s in the doc and I am still working on it)

Started for a prompt on tumblr, Eskel and Lambert end up fighting and, trying to keep the peace, Eskel casts axii on Lambert. Which leads to Lambert confessing that he bit Eskel because it’s the only way he could get his mouth on him. This leads to some dodged confessions, some frottage, and some snarky banter, because of course it does. 

Tempt Not a Desperate Man aka the Fuck or Die series that started with Devour What’s Truly Yours

Fisting

The next part of the series, where Roche struggles with the fact that he’s been high key horny ever since the encounter in the woods with Iorveth and nothing is satisfying him. Iorveth, on the other hand, is jealous and annoyed that Roche keeps going to the whorehouse.

Then Roche decides to make a potentially suicidal move and enters the forest to try to find the clearing from last time. And, as you might guess from my heading, fisting will be happening. 

Iorveth POV: The Chaperon

Okay, I don’t actually have much of this written, but it’s really cute so - Roche keeps using his chaperon as a cum rag, so Iorveth knits and/or sews him a new one.

“Human Bootlicker”

PWP where Iorveth jokingly suggestions Roche should surrender on his knees - and then Roche does. And asks Iorveth to take his prize. Featuring Roche coming all over Iorveth’s boots from getting his face fucked, then leaning down and licking up the mess while Iorveth watches and then comes over his face.

One Accidental Proposal and Five Attempts At Accepting

So one of the themes of this ‘verse is gonna be the Elven Baths where the Roses of Remembrance grow. As in, they decide to make the elven baths a place they meet up. This is the first time Iorveth takes Roche there, and Roche does not know what significance the roses have. But he DOES know that Iorveth blushes cutely when he tucks a rose behind Iorveth’s ear, so...

Iorveth would like to accept, only Roche doesn’t know WHAT he’s trying to accept.

The Legend

So in the game, there is a legend around the statue of elven lovers above the elven baths. “Legend has it the lover’s sighs are enchanted within these very stones, though only those in love can hear them.” 

Iorveth overhears his Scoia’tael gossiping about the legend and comes to an abrupt realization that Roche and him were the ones they were hearing. Oops?

Standalone Fics

Letters

This is kind of a bittersweet WiP that I mostly wrote in one go and then went to sleep and kinda lost the will for it. BUT the premise is that post-Witcher 3 Roche is in charge of Temeria and his brooding is interrupted when he receives a letter sealed with a forget me not pressed into wax. Iorveth continues to send letters describing his life as a “civilian” in Nilfgaard and how much he hates it and Roche relates a little bit too much. Then Iorveth decides to run away and live on the streets as a musician and he might inspire Roche to start learning the cello and presumably at some point, they meet.

Identity Porn

Iorveth and Roche have a meet cute in Flotsam’s tavern while the elf is listening in for local gossip and Roche is passing through on his way to meet with the other northern kings to get support in fighting against the new emerging threat of the Scoia’tael. Neither knows who the other is, but that doesn’t stop them from starting a relationship where they meet every time Roche passes through Flotsam. But their house of cards can only last so long, and at some point, they will meet as enemies. Who knows what happens then? idk, not me.

Gwent pinup calendar aka Cards Out for Your Country

Hahaha, so I started this series in response to some WONDERFUL art of Roche with his Tits Out For Temeria. And obviously we need more of that, so I created a list of 24 characters who are asked to pose for some pinup art, all in the name of Gwent. So far, I’ve only finished Dandelion’s pose/the introduction, but I do plan to do as many of them as I physically can.

Gwent Game in Corvo Bianco

Wow, I didn’t even remember this WiP, so uh... clearly I haven’t worked on it in a while. But it’s Iorveth’s POV of how surprisingly comfortable he is in Corvo Bianco and Iorveth and Geralt get drunk and play gwent.

Zoltan/Jaskier/Priscilla

A giftfic for Wibbly that involves Zoltan being sappy about his bards and then Priscilla dominates them. Featuring all my headcanons about dwarven genitalia (two holes, one with a retractible dick).

Dijkstra fics

Noticing Roche’s Fucked Up Relationship

Anyone else randomly finding themselves shipping Dijkstra/Roche? No? Ah well. For this one Dijkstra observes Roche and sees a few too many reminders of himself with Vizimir, except Foltest is no Vizimir, and Roche clearly hasn’t learned to set up boundaries. Dijkstra feels weirdly compelled to help him figure that out before Foltest destroys him.

Developing Respect Fic

Also known as “let’s torture Roche 1.0!” This fic switches between the present, where Roche has woken up in a cell somewhere unknown and it brings back far too many memories for him to be entirely sure of what is happening when. In the past, he was captured by Redania while on a mission for Foltest, long before he was anyone notable. Dijkstra comes to visit, curious about this prisoner who refuses to break, to even tell them his name or confirm his country (but he has a Temerian tramp stamp, so they know lmao). So Dijkstra decides that this is not a man who will be broken through torture and decides to try conversation instead. The idea is to show them slowly gaining respect for each other, but like, obviously Roche is still a prisoner. Eventually, he’s returned to Temeria in a prisoner exchange, but meanwhile, in the present, Roche is all alone, with not even guards around and no way to free himself.

and that’s all!! I am... legitimately scared to count, tbh. This post is so fucking long, the number cannot be good for my heart. But, that said, please come talk to me about any ideas you find interesting!! Or anything you have questions about! 

And if you made it this far down the list... wow. Thank you, you rock.

[reinabell]

Far From Home (Thorin x Reader)

A/N: So, I believe the song Far From Home (The Raven) by Sam Tinnesz is such a perfect song for Thorin. The video is above. I wanted to make a story about the reader singing it and Thorin being a bit awe struck. I decided to make the reader from our modern world, and she fell into Middle Earth, I’m sure you might have read stories like these where the reader is modern an stuff. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my first Thorin fanfic! Let me know if I captured his character correctly.

-Part 1- , Part 2

Pairing: Thorin x Modern!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Mild swearing, angst, again?

Word Count: No idea.

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

I remembered when I woke up here, Middle Earth. I had seen the movies, and read the books. I highly enjoyed J.R.R Tolkiens writings, they helped me escape reality. But to really, really, be in the story. That was something new entirely. The company was around me when I woke, of course naturally I freaked the fuck out. I was no longer in the safety of my own home, and strangers where circling me. I yelled and got up quickly, backing away only to have my back hit another person. That person I now know as Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey. He was one of my favorite people in Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. 

They argued about what they should do with me... Gandalf said said that I’m a good omen or something of that sort and they should bring me along. To which some agreed, but the leader, Thorin, of course did not. The thing that really got Thorin to bring me with was the fact that I was alone, and if they left me out here I would surely die. He said they would drop me off at the nearest town they could.

I soon found out that I dropped in just a day before they ran into the Trolls who stole the ponies. Let’s just say that ordeal was... a bit traumatizing in person. Trolls are disgusting. Although I knew of how this story goes, and what the company and I would face, it was different to actually be in a life threatening situation over and over again. 

Then soon after being captured by Trolls we played a life endangering game of Hide and Seek. I am not a good runner, never was. Thorin was quite pissed when I kept falling behind and nearly falling on my ass every 5 seconds. So he just kept a hold on me, literally. I thank him for saving my life, although I did not appreciate being thrown into a rocky hole in the ground. That hurt.

Let me say, Rivendell is absolutely beautiful! It’s bigger than shown in the movies, much more places to explore. At the dinner I sat with Elrond, Gandalf, and Thorin (and Bilbo?). That made me really nervous, but Elrond seemed to know that I was not from this world. He practily took a look at me and told Thorin “Take her with you”, in a much fancier way, of course. I don’t know if it’s because he knew I knew the fate of them, or because he didn’t want me there. I hoped it was not the latter. Either way, Thorin wasn’t so happy. It took a lot of talking to get him to finally agree to take me with him. Elrond had approached me after dinner and said I was always welcome in Rivendell if I decided I didn’t want to go with the company, I kinda wanted to take his offer but I knew I had to save the line of Durin. I wanted to make a difference.

Giant mountain rock monsters? Terrifying. But I survived, so that’s good. The Goblins, I fucking hate them. They’re worse then the Trolls. When It came time to run again, Thorin quickly realized I’m still, in fact, slow. So he once again kept his hold on me, another point to Thorin for keeping me alive. Oh, and this is about the time that it finally kicked in that I’m in Middle Earth, but I managed to dodge that crisis of realization by having to run for my life, once again. Surprisingly, I managed to keep up this time.

Dwalin kept on having to pull me up from the tree branches because I kept falling. Point to Dwalin. I realized I have an overwhelming fear of heights, at least when I’m hanging from a tree for dear life. Bilbo mustered up his courage and did his, “I’mma save Thorin” thing. Thank god, because I was too busy trying not to fall to my death. The Eagles came to our rescue, a point to Gandalf because I was literally falling when they came. 

Once we where put down on Pride Rock, I had to sit the fuck down to catch my breath. That Bilbo and Thorin hug was sweet, but then the realization had time to fully hit me, it was not fun. Would I get to go home? Did I really want to? I wasn’t sure, but my mood was the lowest it had been in a while. I guess the Durin brothers realized I was quieter then normal, so they tried to cheer me up. It kinda worked, but not much. I managed to convince them I was only tired, so they gave in and let me be. 

Soon after came more running, Thorin kept his hold on me as soon as we started running. Thorin earned his third point for saving my life, funny thing is that it was all over the same thing. Running. That leads us to where we are now, in Beorns house. I was very thankful to have a place to properly relax. Of course I started to thing more about the fact that I might never see my family again, and may not be able to save the Durins, which of course made me sad. I sat farther away from everyone else, I decided to get my mind of all the bad by taking a look around, so I did. There wasn’t much to really look at, but a guitar caught my interest. It was a little big but I didn’t mind. 

I always enjoyed playing the guitar back on Earth, so I picked it up and sat down with it in my lap, I started to play a tune to one of my favorite songs. 

“You play the guitar, lass?” Bofur called from across the room. 

“Yes.” I gave him a short answer. I hadn’t talked much to anyone in the company, I mostly only talked to Fili and Kili and even that wasn’t often, so it caught me off guard. 

“You where playing a tune you seem to know, mind singing it?” Fili said.

“Oh- no no, I’m not a good singer.” I replied with a chuckle.

“Sure you are, just give it a try.” Kili joined in with his brother. He had a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

“It may lighten the mood.” Bofur added.

“The tune I was playing isn’t exactly a happy song, Bofur.” I said. “Nor do I know how to play any other song.” 

“Well, I would sure like to hear it either way.” He said. 

“Yes! Please do sing for us Y/n.” Fili added, once again.

“Leave the poor lass be.” Balin said across from the room, but they ignored him.

“Once we take back Erebor, I’ll ask Uncle to add your chambers into the royalty part of the mountain! We would have windows unlike the rest of the mountain.” Kili said.

“Kili, what makes you think I want to stay in Erebor?” I asked with a giggle. Kili put his hand over his heart and gasped, mocking offense. 

“Seriously though, will you sing for us?” Kili said.

“If I do, will you all shut up about it?”I asked them all. “No offense.” I added.

“Promise.” Fili said. Bofur, Kili, and surprisingly Ori, who had been listening, nodded along.

“Okay then...” I said. A small sigh escaped my lips, I didn’t think this through. I really didn’t want to sing in front of everyone. For a moment everyone seemed to get quiet, but I ignored it and put the guitar up in the right position. I took a deep breathe and...

(Play song now if you want to, video is above. I know the song isn’t with a guitar or a female but just pretend I guess.)

I'm sending raven Black bird in the sky Sending a signal that I'm here Some sign of life

I'm sending a message Of feathers and bone Just let me know I'm not forgotten Out here alone

The air is cold The night is long I feel like I might fade into the dawn Fade until I'm gone

Oh I'm so far from home So far from home Oh Not where I belong Not where I belong Oh

I'm so far from home So far from home

I'm sending a raven With blood on its wings Hoping it reaches you in time And you know what it means

Cause out here in the darkness And out of the light If you get to me too late Just know that I tried

Oh I'm so far from home So far from home Oh Not where I belong Where I belong Oh I'm so far from home So far from home

The air is cold The night is long I feel like I might fade into the dawn Fade until I'm gone

Oh I'm so far from home So far from home Oh Not where I belong Where I belong Oh I'm so far from home So far from home

Oh Not where I belong Where I belong So far from home Not where I belong I'm so far from home

The song ended and everyone was quiet, I started to get really nervous and embarrassed. I laughed it off, and tried to play it cool.

“I told you it wasn’t really a happy song.” I said, while looking at the ground. 

“That was beautiful, lass.” Balin said, his eyes held a gentle look to them.

“It really was.” Ori added.

“Um, Thank you. I know I don’t have the best voice and all...” My voice trailed off.

“Oh, it was amazing Y/n! You should sing more often.” Kili said. He had a bright smile on his face.

“You flatter me.” I laughed. I kept my eyes to the ground though. Suddenly, Thorin spoke up.

“Everyone, find a place to rest. We have a long day ahead of us.” Thorin said. I looked up and gave everyone a small smile the got up and walked to a different room. I pretended to be looking for something but really I just needed to calm my nerves. After a while of “looking”, I sat down at the table and laid my head down. 

“Everyone is getting rest, you should too.” I heard Thorin’s voice say. I simply hummed as a responce, keeping my head down. I heard shuffling and a chair move, I guess that he sat down opposite of me.

“I know it wasn’t your choice to go on this trip. So if you want, we can drop you off next town, where ever that it.” He spoke. I lifted my head up to look at him.

“Thorin, you have it wrong. I chose to go on this journey, Elrond offered me to stay in Rivendell if I didn’t want to go on the quest, but I declined. I chose this.” I told him. He stayed quiet for a moment.

“Why?” He asked. 

“What?”

“Why did you chose to come along? You can’t fight, you can’t even run. Why did you come along?” Thorin replied. I was a bit hurt, he really didn’t want me on this quest, did he? It took a moment for me to respond, I looked down at my hands.

“I know I slow the company down... I know I get in the way. I try not to, I really do, but it happens anyways. But...” I looked up back at Thorin, his blue eyes locked with mine. “I know why I’m here, I don’t know how, but I know what I’m supposed to do. And I intend to do it. You may not know but I do.” I finished. Thorin was quiet his eyes now on the table, he was deep in thought.

“That song...” He started, his voice was strangly softer than before. I hadn’t seen this side of him. He looked back up to me, and I seemed to read the question that was on his mind.

“I don’t know if I’m going home, Thorin.” I answered for him. “I’m not even sure if I want to...” 

“Any reason for that?” He asked me.

“Yeah, but I won’t tell you.” I stated simply, a smile graced my lips. Thorin nearly smiled back but he stopped himself. 

“Get some rest, we don’t want you slowing us down more than you already do.” He said, his voice was still soft though. I laughed and got up from my seat.

“You too, Thorin.”

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

I really don’t know how I did on this. I had an idea, idk if I executed it right. I also have no idea how to write Thorin’s character so If you have any idea’s on how to improve let me know. Not even sure if there is enough Thorin x Reader in there. This might just be the begining of a story, maybe I can make a part 2 so I can add more Thorin x Reader. Oof, I really don’t know about this one. Give me an honest review so I can improve :)

[streetsofsecretswegone]

@tcpimpabutterfly​   said  :    ✩—Nick & Janie

Under the cut because long!

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Janie when she is entirely sick and FED UP of Nick’s trifling ways.

Who threatens to leave but never actually does? I know in my heart that Janie has no problem turning her back on Nick when she feels enough is enough and Nick, who believes he will get over her and look back on her as a fond memory -- has a hard time getting over her. So, yeah, Nick can’t find himself leaving if he says he’s done with all the “crazy shit.”

Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Janie!!

Who trashes the house? An argument can lead to Janie trying to get physical with Nick, him restraining her, her fighting back - things fall and get broken along the way. Chowder is barking and also ready to whoop Nick’s ass.

Do either of them get physical? ^^ Nick would NEVER hit Janie unless he thought she was going to try to kill him forreal. Then he has to knock her out. 

How often do they argue/disagree? Nowadays? Their relationship is fucked up so they argue more often than not. Like, “Nick get off my property.” “Nick don’t post my picture on Instagram.” It’s been a long time since they’ve been civil with each other. 

Who is the first to apologize? Nick!!!!! He’s out here like Usher releasing his woe in confessions, or Jay Z apologizing in 4:44. 

Sex:

Who is on top? Varies, but usually Janie. 

Who is on the bottom? Varrieesss.

Who has the strangest desires? Janie be on that freak shit.

Any kinks? So, Janie’s into safe knife play and rope play. Nick was cool with rope play, handcuffs, but then Janie whipped out the knife and he was like 😲

Who’s dominant in bed? You know powerplay is probably a big thing with these two.

Is head ever in the equation? I honestly feel like Janie isn’t into giving head, like regardless of if she loves her partner or not. I can just envision her pissed at Nick over something petty and she’s like, “my tooth hurts.”/“I’m trying to sleep, leave me alone.”

If so, who is better at performing it? Nick. He felt like giving Janie good head could put him on her good side.

Ever had sex in public? Yes, it leads to some AU babies.

Who moans the most? Janie.

Who leaves the most marks? Janie.

Who screams the loudest? I mean Nicky’s the one getting sliced.

Who is the more experienced of the two? I feel like the two have them have gained a lot of experience from being each others firsts in a lot of ways. They explored kinks together and what not.

Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Fuck.

Rough or soft? Rough as hell.

How long do they usually last? It ends when Janie’s sadistic ass says it ends. 💅🏾

Is protection used? Sometimes. Typically. If they were to fuck now, I can imagine Janie telling Nick that she doesn’t know where he’s been so he needs a condom.

Does it ever get boring? Nope!

Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? Strange by JANIE’S standards would be when she slept with Nick at the house he and Jerrold were sharing at the time. Jerrold was gone, of course, but Janie was still trying her hardest to conceal her sneer. 

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? In a better AU, Janie’s twins were the result of a PRISON VISIT. Nick always wanted to have a family with her, though. If so, how many children do your muses want/have? In main, Janie and Nick have Simone who tells Janie that she’s NOT her mother. In a better AU, Janie and Nick have Leticia and Levi. Nick has brought up the potential of them having a third kid but, I don’t know. Janie has strong reservations with Nick’s record of legal troubles. Who is the favorite parent? Both Nick and Janie are loved well by their kids. Though, granted, Simone loves her dad more on default. Who is the authoritative parent? Both - but in different ways. Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Nick!  Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Also Nick.

Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? I can imagine it can be difficult for Janie due to work purposes, and Nick has missed out on a few things due to his prison stint when the twins were 7 years old. There are fill-ins though, like Louis will pop up. Jerrold too because he views these kids as his niece and nephew!! There’s also Sal and Delores of course.

Who goes to parent teacher interviews? Janie has had to go to some alone when Nick was i n c a r c e r a t e d. 😔

Who changes the diapers? Both, because Cassandra specifically told Nick: “how the fuck do you not know how to change a diaper?”

Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? Both, but mostly Nick since Janie is getting ready for work by 4 AM.

Who spends the most time with the children? Nick...because he would have tea parties with Leticia or take her on her annual Friday shopping spree at Toys R Us. Plus, he’s bound to go see the latest superhero movie with Levi, if not play video games with him. He gets really engaged in doing whatever the kids wanna do, and he will be offended if he’s disrupted by it.  I mean really, Sal can say: “the warehouse is on fire!” and Nick replies, “I’m paintin’ baby girl’s finger nails!!” Who packs their lunch boxes? Janie. Who gives their children ‘the talk’? I feel like Janie would jump on it, because she has to tell Leticia to cut their hands off if things are no longer consensual.  Who cleans up after the kids? Janie...has spent some time doing that. Nick isn’t as prompt as he should be. Who worries the most? Nick gets paranoid sometimes. He tends to be paranoid with a lot of things. Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? From............someone in the family. (Cassandra/Cassandra’s kids)

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? That’s pretty much Nicky.

Who is the little spoon? 😌 Janie because she lowkey likes to feel safe.

Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? Nick tends to initiate this shit lmao

Who struggles to keep their hands to themself? Nick.

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? You mean how long can they cuddle until someone has to go to work or someone calls or he tries to initiate sex.

Who gives the most kisses? Nick.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity? Going out to eat Italian Food.

Where is their favorite place to cuddle? The bed!

Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? Nick, though I feel like this question is dangerous.

How often do they get time to themselves? You know in main she ain’t trying to be around him!! But even aside from that I feel like they find the right space and time to be together.

Sleeping:

Who snores? Nicky!

If both do, who snores the loudest? ^^

Do they share a bed or sleep separately? This is verse dependent. Cause they are not at a living together stage yet in main.

If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? Dependent. Who talks in their sleep? Neither.

What do they wear to bed? Night clothes. Pajamas. What else? 😤 Are either of your muses insomniacs? Nick can be sleep deprived sometimes, but not a insomniac. 

Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? I’mma say nah. Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? Varies! Who wakes up with bed hair? Nick’s been bald for some time now and, I’m certain Janie wears a bonnet. Who wakes up first? Janie at 4 AM! Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? Nick would. 😍😭 What is their favorite sleeping position? Nick likes to lay on his back with Janie slightly on his chest.  Who hogs the sheets? Janie. Do they set an alarm each night? Yes, Janie has a alarm set for work. Can a television be found in their bedroom? Yes.  Who has nightmares? Both. Who has ridiculous dreams? Nick. Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Nick is guilty of this. Who makes the bed? Janie - because even though she leaves first, Nick isn’t the best at getting the sheets together. What time is bed time? Janie has a more set bedtime than Nick does. Because the night, for Nick, can mean he has some serious work to do. Any routines/rituals before bed? Janie does what she has to do, while Nick kind of just flops in bed.

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? BOTH.

Work:

Who is the busiest? I feel like they’re both quite busy. Janie at the news station while Nick is (at certain point in times) a nightclub manager. These are equally demanding occupations. Who rakes in the highest income? I’d say Nicky. Especially since he got that $cozzari money. Are any of your muses unemployed? Nope. Who takes the most sick days? Nick. Who is more likely to turn up late to work? Nick. Who sucks up to their boss? Nick is his own boss soooooooooooooooooo probably Janie. What are their jobs? Janie is a reporter who also moonlights as a serial killer, Nick is a nightclub manager who is also a high-ranking gangster. Together they’re quite the pair! Who stresses the most? Nick, he’s always obsessing with thinking three steps ahead of everyone else. Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? Yes. Are your muses financially stable? Yup!

Home:

Who does the washing? Both. Especially when it comes to getting blood out of their outfits as soon as possible-

Who takes out the trash? Nick.

Who does the ironing? Both, Nick a little more.

Who does the cooking? Nick REALLY likes to go out to eat.

Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? Nick, especially if he gets distracted by the kids, sports, or an invasive Jerrold.

Who is messier? Nick.

Who leaves the toilet roll empty? Nick.

Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? ...Nick.

Who forgets to flush the toilet? Neither, Nick has been scolded by his mother -and sisters- for forgetting to put the toilet seat down all his life.

Who is the prankster around the house? Those darn twins!!

Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? Neither, they’re very prompt when they have to get out or get the fuck out.

Who mows the lawn? Nick - or Levi.

Who answers the telephone? Both, but Nick is more inclined to.

Who does the vacuuming? Both, but catch Nick doing it when he’s trashed the house too much while Janie is away and its important that he speed cleans.

Who does the groceries? Janie.

Who takes the longest to shower? Janie.

Who spends the most time in the bathroom? Janie x3!

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? Not one bit.

How many cars do they own? Janie has hers, Nick has his - so two.

Do they own their home or do they rent? Own.

Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? Neither.

Do they live in the city or in the country? New York City Baby 😜

Do they enjoy their surroundings? Nick can’t imagine being nowhere else, personally. Yet even with that said, I can imagine that Janie hates half of the population. She’ll find some reason to hate. Some way.

What’s their song? Nick’s so in love with Janie that it isn’t uncommon for him to hear a song on the radio and think about her. I mean, this is a man who made her so many mixtapes in high school. At the moment, Nick lays in bed and thinks of Common’s song “Faithful.” He’s also stared out the window while Jaheim’s, “Find My Way Back” plays. 😔 The main song that made him realize he was in love with her was, “All I Do Is Think Of You” by The Jackson 5 and it still rings true to this day smh

What do they do when they’re away from each other? Work and kill. Kill and work. Janie also bonds with Chowder while Nick bonds with Louis and Jerrold, who are not nearly as wonderful as Chowder!

Where did they first meet? HIGH SCHOOL, English Class!

How did they first meet? They had some boring classroom introductions on day one but Nick didn’t pay her much of any attention. Afterwards, He heard the name Janie said by the teacher, but he thought that the teacher was mispronouncing the name of another girl, Janet. Later, when Janie rose in the class to read something he would realize that she was, in fact, not Janet. Later on they would have their first actual conversation when Nick asked to copy her homework. He had to work a little charm on her too. 😏 because she was like :| “No.”

Who spends the most money when out shopping? Janie. Nick isn’t much of a materialistic man. This was a guy who wore bootleg Bart Simpson shirts when he was a kid.

Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Janie.

Who finds it amusing when the other trips over? Janie because she’s evil inside.

Any mental issues? To the roof.  Who’s terrified of bugs? Janie!! Who kills the spiders around the house? Nick has to! Their favorite place? Spaghetti Warehouse because that’s where they had their first date back in the day. Also, there’s specific areas in Florida they love. Who pays the bills? When they’re living separately they pay their own shit. When they live together, Nick has no issue making sure Janie never spends any of her hard earned money. Do they have any fears for their future? Janie may fear going to jail for her murders when she has her kids rgbmvfg Nick doesn’t fear a damn thing. He has a tattoo that says NEVER SCARED because he’s been through so much.  Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? Nick all the way! Who uses up all of the hot water? Janie. Who’s the tallest? Nick at 6′0. He’s even taller than his dad! Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Nick, but he second thinks that a lot. Who wanders around in their underwear? Nick. Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? jkhnk Nick, especially when those oldies come on. What do they tease each other about? I don’t think Janie necessarily teases, I think she complains about certain things like Nick’s music tastes, his grumpiness with the youth, all that. Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? I think Janie would get so tired of seeing him in that same damn leather jacket. Do they have mutual friends? Chowder is their mutual friend. :) No one else. Who crushed first? I feel like Janie had a crush on Nick that she effortlessly brushed off because he would always do something dumb to ruin it. Like flirt with some other girl in their class and that reminded her men ain’t shit. Any alcohol or substance related problems? No. Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? Nick. Catch him drunk calling her like, “i’m just sayin’ you could do better........” or, “I NEED TO APOLOGIZE”

Who swears the most? Nick doesn’t swear as furiously as Cassandra, but I feel that he does more than Janie all the same.

[joc-cook]

things you said on the porch at 3 am

↪meme.

NO SMOKING ALLOWED plastered in bold crimson type read glaringly on the front and back of Rue’s dormitory entrance. As lovely as it was acting all casual,  sat  s p r u n g y  on the edge of her mattress, Cook was, de facto, a smoker. He hardly noticed the disappearing act those slims pulled on the hourly, more a steady drip than clockwork. And he might’ve tried his LUCK if the girl hadn’t just gotten out of rehab on account of him and the suits decided to start doing their fucking jobs.  A little Jim was hardly a set-back, they agreed. Made her homecoming all the warmer -- d o w n  the hatch , both smooth and acrid, though it only seemed to SURGE the lad’s yearning. The death of him, some day. Rue was a champ, though. Wobbly pins of hers, trekking down the apparently endless flights of stairs to accommodate him. Almost  t o p p l e d , the both of them,  a few times. Clunky limbs and slurred laughter far too loud for that time of night. Or morning. Did it matter? The porch was a nice change of pace from all of that stifled air inside. Cook helped himself to the cheap plastic furniture provided. Hard to miss the glitter on her cheeks, twinkling away in the amber contrast of the patio light above them. The lad slid low, knees bowed out to reach in his chinos for that pack; His sight unwavering as she parked herself opposite him. When the laughter’d finally fell off, it was just the BUZZING of fluorescence and the trill of crickets to accompany them. Which was a stark difference from the usual  p o u n d i n g  of house or rock or trap, depending on the night, like. The yellow wrap clung to his whisky-dampened lip, and STUCK, cementing its place between them.  Cook greedily sparked the end and hit deep before tossing one Rue’s way. Who might’ve liked to forget how’d they’d last left things, by the ease of her snickering? Cook was almost convinced she had, if it wasn’t for an IRREFUTABLY sober hint dropped just a few days prior. ‘Guess there’s  a   l o t   to say. ‘ Subtle enough to get under his skin and smolder. And usually -- they did, but for once Cook came up short on words. Oh oh oh’s hung between them. Foggy circles on the wind. Lad’s tongue poked around his cheek on loop. “ Glad to ‘ave ya back, Ruester, “ he admitted eventually, with all due admiration, a TRIP in his voice.  “ Been way too quiet around ‘ere, right? “

Aside from the hassle of scrounging up a debt owed, but that was none of the kid’s concern. Really, he should stop calling her that, Cook thought. But she was -- a fledgling, with a bright future ahead if she just quit slumming it with the  d e a d  ends, sooner rather than later. As much as the lad puffed his chest and padded his own resume, there were still a few life lessons of his own to  f l e s h  out .  “ Not gonna lie to ya, peachy. I’mma bit- “  HICCUP.  “ A bit pissed. “  And when aren’t you? The cheek on that one always seemed to reignite Cook’s designated simper. “ Yunno I’m not tryina be a dick 'ere, right? “  No, that came easily, according to some. “Had some time to meself to think anyway, and I was uhh.. Spinnin’ me wheels, I know, but I was comin’ off this new cut and you know how it gets yer head all wired, like. Right, anyway. I was up, and I erm..and this is random, but yunno, Some old lady friends popped up, shocker, but it’s just.. that. Friends, right? “ Cook sniffed, habitually, while d i l a t e d puddles tore to the night’s sky.  “ I don’ think I’ve ever done this shit right, man. Never know where to fookin’ start. “ Puff puff puff.  “ Anyway, I’m just blowin’ off steam.. you know me. Cheers for lettin’ my drunk arse ramble on. You’re a good mate, Ruester. “

[chchanging]

This isn’t the one I talked about writing-- that’s still a wip--but this is the one that comes before it so yay more content

Mc: Rossi Mayhew, Queen of Big Dumbass Energy 

Rossi knows Jax’s hand is pressed against her back, but she doesn’t feel it. She knows the others are offering Lily their final goodbyes, but she doesn’t hear them.

There’s an aching chasm deep in her chest and as much as it hurts, focusing on it helps her block out their words. It helps her shut out the world in which Lily is no longer present. It’s not a world she’s sure she can live in—certainly not one she wants to.

Lily hadn’t just been her friend—she’d been her sister. Finding her wounded and bleeding out on their apartment floor had remained the worst feeling Rossi had ever experienced. The fear, the helplessness. Her only hope had been Adrian, and the blood that ran through his veins. The only thing that could’ve saved her. The waiting, the worrying, had been the worst thing she’d ever had to do.

The worst...until now.

There is no hope now; no coming back from the dead a second time. Rossi’s heart cries out for its other half once more, and now it always will. The only thing she can do is retreat into herself and hope when she comes to everything will have blown over.

“—ossi...Rossi!”

Jax’s gentle voice eases her back into reality. Everyone is looking at her. It seems they have all said their piece. It is her turn.

“You were closer to her than any of us could’ve hoped to be...would you like to say some words?”

Rossi lets herself meet Kamilah’s eyes. She realizes that tears are streaming down her cheeks, even though her breathing is even and no sobs accompany them like one might expect. It’s like her body mourns even when her mind is numb—a passive act that she truly has no power over.

“What does it matter?” She asks softly, voice clear. “What could I say? She isn’t here to hear it.”

“Rossi...” Jax murmurs again.

“I can’t...” she whispers, eyes falling closed as she attempts to stop the flow for at least a moment. Just a tiny reprieve. “I just...I can’t right now. If I try—“

She almost chokes on her words, and takes it as a sign to stop while she’s ahead. Kamilah nods solemnly, understanding.

“We won’t force you,” She reassures, with a single hand reaching to squeeze the young woman’s shoulder. “She would understand.”

Rossi presses a palm to her lips, squeezing her eyes tight as she fights for composure. With a nod, she breathes a shuddering breath. Jax takes her free hand and squeezes it, and she returns the gesture gratefully.

When she opens her eyes again, they are wet but no more tears fall. She clears her throat.

“There’s still one more thing left to do, and then we can all rest.” Adrian assures her softly. Everyone turns to the entrance of the ruins, their eyes coming to rest on a lone figure who hangs a good ways back.

Gaius looks mournful, truly, and when his eyes meet Rossi’s she can see that there is something he wishes to say.

“What happens now?” She wonders aloud.

“We discussed it.” Kamilah replies, eyes still locked on Gaius. “We think you should be the one to have the final say.”

“Me?” Rossi turns to look at her incredulously.

“You know where Jax and I stand.” She gives a little humorless smirk. “Adrian, however...”

“Many have died tonight.” Adrian continues for her, drawing Rossi’s attention to himself again. “It might have been unavoidable, but...well, I tell myself that they meant to do harm. Once, I would’ve said the same of Gaius.”

“But, now?” Rossi prompts.

“Now, I’m not so sure...” He frowns thoughtfully, gazing off into the distance. “I think I would be...willing to see what the future holds. But I can’t be the only one to feel that way. We’ve decided to trust your judgement. Kamilah and I may know who Gaius was, but, Rossi, you’ve been inside his mind. I think you know better than anyone what should be done with him.”

Rossi feels her chest swell.

After everything that had gone down, tonight—it meant the world to know they still trusted her.

And Adrian was right. She knows what she has to do.

Slowly, almost tentatively, her feet carry her across the room and to his side. Gaius tracks her every movement with his gaze, intense as ever. She feels the familiar tingle it sends through her. It should unsettle her, how he always studies her so closely. She wonders absently why it never has.

His eyes linger on the tear-tracks she’d neglected to wipe away.

“I had hoped the circumstances would be a touch more favorable.” He speaks lowly, sincerely. “I am...truly sorry about your friend. If I had moved faster...if I hadn’t let Rheya get the best of me...”

Surprising both of them, she reaches out to take one of his hands in her own.

“There’s only one person I blame for this, and he’s already dead.”

His skin is soft and warm against her own. She feels his thumb glide fleetingly over her knuckles.

“Lula’s okay because of you.” She adds softly, “I can’t thank you for that enough.”

Slowly, almost reluctantly, his hand falls from hers. “It isn’t much compared to all The harm I’ve done. But I’m glad.” He tacks it on the end like an afterthought, and she finds herself almost smiling when he looks off to the side.

“One of these days you’ll learn to just say ‘you’re welcome’.”

His lips twitch upward, but the smile fades fast. They stand in heavy silence. Everyone is waiting for her to pass judgment. Everyone wants to know what punishment she feels befits his crimes.

“You better, like...write my a postcard or something from wherever it is you go after this, Y’know.” She reaches out and makes a show of straightening that terrible cape of his, ignoring the look of surprise on his face. “If you drop off the face of the earth after all this I’mma be pissed.”

Gaius blinks. Once, then twice, then three times for good measure.

His eyes flick back towards the group of friends she’d left behind, gauging their reactions, visibly wondering if they’d really let him walk out of here just because she said so. He breathes a shuddering sigh, somewhere close to a laugh but not quite.

“Are you a touch insane?”

Even with the gaping hole in her chest still fresh, she finds it in her to give him a wide, genuine smile.

“Jury’s still out.”

Swallowing hard, Gaius watches her as if waiting for her to change her mind. When she doesn’t, there’s a strange look deep in his eyes. Like she’s given him a gift he couldn’t possibly repay.

“There’s not a chance in hell I deserve this.” Is all he says.

“Yeah, well, ‘deserve’ is a shitty word people throw around when they want to justify how they treat someone. If you don’t think you deserve a second chance,” She steps closer, almost challengingly, “then go out there and work on becoming someone who does. You do more good making up for what you’ve done than as a pile of ashes. Fuck what you ‘deserve’.”

For a moment, he drops his head and stares at the ground. He’s contemplating what she said, but there’s something in the way he does it that makes it seem almost as if he is bowing it in respect. When he looks up again, his eyes are clearer than she’s ever seen them and they sparkle with amusement. He’s smiling ever-so slightly.

“Eloquent as ever.”

“I do my best.”

He gives her one last meaningful look before turning away. Towards Kamilah.

“You said back in Japan...that one good deed doesn’t undo all the horror I’ve caused.” He pauses, jaw working. “How many do you think it would take...to call me friend.”

For a long time, she doesn’t say anything. She stands, impassive, with a hand on her hip, and gazes at him like a goddess passing judgment. Her face doesn’t change when she speaks—save for a nearly microscopic quirk of her painted lips, and the even less noticeable softening of her eyes. “Find me again in a thousand years. We’ll talk about it then.”

The tension Gaius wears like armor slowly seeps out of his shoulders. He chuckles, lowly, under his breath. “A thousand years,” He says in an easy tone, “I suppose I can give that a try.”

Jax steps forward before anyone can say anything else. His eyes are hard as stone, jaw set. “You saved Lula—I won’t forget that.” They lock eyes and Gaius waits as if he knows what comes next. “That being said: make sure we never cross paths again.”

“With pleasure.”

They nod once, in understanding.

Jax turns to leave, then, with his back straight and his eyes ahead. When he passes Rossi, he makes sure to give her shoulder one last squeeze. She smiles sadly after him.

Adrian clears his throat. This seems difficult for him—for a moment Rossi can see how deep his regret runs. How much he wishes things could be different. “I’ll take it upon myself to scour the edges of the world for you if necessary.” He says, tone dutiful, but there’s a pleading look deeper in his eyes. “See that it doesn’t come to that.”

Gaius’ lips twitch upward, only for a moment, before he nods. “You have my word.”

There’s a moment of stillness, of heavy silence. The goodbye doesn’t require a verbal acknowledgment. Rossi looks on as Gaius exchanges looks with the two of them for what she’s sure is the last time for a very long while.

He looks...proud.

And then he turns, taking one deep breath before looking at her once more.

She wants to say something, but she isn’t sure what. Thinking back to that night on the boat—the way he’d made her stomach flutter strangely—it wouldn’t feel right to leave him with nothing. She opens her mouth, but no words come. So she closes it.

It shouldn’t be this hard, she tells herself.

He watches the uncertainty ripple across her face and a tenderness catches hold of him. It’s something he hasn’t felt in quite some time.

“Don’t forget about me, out there.”

It seems with those words she has even surprised herself. She gives an awkward little smile and casts her eyes downward.

“I doubt there’s anyone in the world who has forgotten meeting you.” He chuckles. And then he steps forward...and brushes his lips against her forehead. “I don’t take this lightly. I’ll do you proud.”

He’d thought so little of her when they’d first met. Just some air headed tart his progeny had grown too attached to. Strange, now, to realize she’d become something of a guiding light.

Rossi, struck speechless for perhaps the first time in her life, flounders for something clever to say and comes up blank.

A bit of payback for a night he won’t soon forget, he thinks, and strides towards the door.

He doesn’t see the tear that rolls down her cheek as she watches him leave, but maybe that’s for the best.

[avidstarling]

Summer Of 2015, Germany

(Apologies for some mistakes in this dhsk im not much of a writer but I wanted to try so :’))) )

       Septi entered into a town called Rothenburg, A little shop had caught her attention She enters the place to smells of lavender and honey mixed together. A man stood there, smiling at the unfamiliar one "Ahhh, Velcome to mein swords shop! Ze name is Gerard! How may I assist?" "Uhhh...I dunno. Arent you... suppose to hurt me in any way possible?" "VHAT!! hell no! vhy vould I do zhat?" She then shrugs it off, looking down on her left hand, "im,, kind of used to it so,,, its weird ..sorry to startle ya.." "no no dont be-" He then leans into the counter, his voice going to a whisper."say....do you happen to have any sort of,, magic? or weaponry? be truthful" "well,, I have these stones? as well as uhhh.. does some claws count?" "interesting.. mind if I take a look at your hand?" she snickers,"As long as you don t plan on cutting it off cuz,, I need it" Though hes pretty stone-faced, that gave him a chuckle,"noooo mein friend, I may seem a bit unusual but I dont do that kind of things." He then dragged his hand around the moonstone on her hand, feeling the soothingly cold aura surrounding it. "ahhhh, a fine jewel...vhere did you get it from?" she kinda shrugs "Well,,,,,lets say a kind witch handed me this thing" "....vas her name Nedra?" Shocked, she replied "uhhh,, yea? How did you know?" He smiled and wrapped his hands around hers,"You see, we witches and wizards of all kind has an effective, yet secretive way of communicating with each other- She knew you would come to me. So she let me knows to be gentle with you""...oh-" Her ears lowered,         "So... if I have this thing on my hand,, and possibly on my cloak,, w- would that make me a.. witch?" She questioned. “More or less, dear, It takes some time to actually develop a set of skills that vould help you on your journey” she’s silent, not sure what to say. Gerard frowns at her silence. “Is there something wrong?” "N- No,, not really.. I just...." She's struggles with words at that moment. Gerard then looked to the steaming tea across his store “How about you settle down, ey? Vant some tea?” She then looks up,".. sure." He then got out of the stand, gesturing her to take a seat near the windows.“We’ve got oolong tea as of right now, have you tried em?” "Uhh.. I dont really know? I dont usually drink tea but maybe Nedra gave em to me while I was unconscious." He nods, pouring tea onto the cups he summoned not long ago With a plate in hand with two cups, Gerard heads to where septi was seating and placed the plate onto the table.“Enjoy, mein friend~”And with that, Septi took an unexpected long sip on the tea, her ear twitching a bit. "Hmm! Not bad-" Gerard smiled, “Im glad, It has quite a lot of benefits as well as some boost” "Thats nice~" Septi smiled lightly. "It... does kind of made me feel better." “I have served my purpose in life zhen." He then hummed a bit,“But uhh.. if you dont mind answering, of course, but vhat vas troubling you earlier?” She chuckles lightly,"Not at all. And... well, just.. I’ve always been a huge enthusiast about magic stuff in general I just... I dunno,, I thought about my home as well..." He nodded steadily,“And I presume your home vas not...swell?”"....yeah" When he finished his tea, he got up and slightly raise his hand to offer a pat. Septi nods a go ahead “I’m... very sorry mein friend” she held back her tears,"Its.. fine.. I’ll be fine, I’ve been through worst. Gerard was silent, he head back to the stand, quickly handing someone a sword that they had ordered by phone.        Though suddenly, A burst of security jumped in to the store. Septi held her hand up, but the German officers goes to the client getting their sword. The mysterious figure then flew up, shots were going off. Little did those officers know that they were behind them, slashing all one by one, got close to slicing a bit of septi’s neck,"Heck-" All the officers were struck down, dead. Blood was staining the hard wood floor. The mysterious person then spoke as they got to an exit "Eye for an eye and the whole world dies."And suddenly, they flew away Septi was,, confused,,, looking at the puddles of blood Gerard then sighed “...that. wasnt suppose to happen... But hey, what do you expect from your chaotic son...” "..son?" “Yeahhh, if I say a word about him, he’d threaten me to put me to jail so I cant say much-“ "....Damn" “Damn indeed, miss. Daamn indeeed” “Say... why dont you go and stay at that lil cottage over across the street September?” "Uhh.. sure I guess? I usually move on from places for reasons.. but, I suppose why the heck not?" “That’s the spirit, Kiddo! I’m sure you havent had a night worth of sleep, ey?” "..Whats a sleep?" “Ah.. well. Anywho, I can help you get set up with it if you want?”"If.. you dont mind? I’m not super familiar with this place so-" He chuckles,“Very well then” He then got the keys and lead septi out the shop. It was closing time anyway so, might as well. The both of them walked on ahead up from the shop to the cottage. Gerard opened the door for her and got to talking with his ghostly buddy in German The ghost couldnt speak english, but they smiled at Septi, nodding to her right, in which lead to her room.       Gerard then got down to septi, almost as if he was about to say goodbye to his kids as they’d go on their own."Alright, I’m not sure what tomorrow vill hold, but.. Do take care, alright?” Septi nods and wrapped one hug around him,"Thanks.. you too, pal," Septi then head on to her room when all of a sudden, Gerard shouted “wAI T!!” Startled, she turned around. “Sorry, eheh- I uhh... I forgot to give you this-“Gerard then reached for a sword he had held on to for a while “I’d like to give you this." He then had two hands on the blade, Septi was speechless."Y- you sure you wanna give me this?" “Ja, it was a nice friend I had.. but I zont use em anymore.. even if its still strong” Septi then steadily grabs the hilt of the sword, taking a closer glimpse at the long, silver blade "..thank you.." He shook his head “Neiiin, no need to sank me-“ "But,,, you didnt need to do it-" “As I said, I dont need it anymore, plus, this could be of massive help onto your adventures-“ Septi went quiet for a bit "Well, I’mma thank you anyway." She then smiled at him, giving him a salut He nods, saluting back as he exits the cottage Septi then entered her room, this was the first time she had slept properly since her and Nedra’s meeting. Not even the moon could wake her up from her deep sleep.

[subasekabang]

Long Dream –Live Remix– (A Side)

Title: Long Dream –Live Remix– (A Side)

Rating: T

Word Count: 7598 total, 3758 this chapter

Characters: Coco, Joshua, Neku, Beat, OMC, OFC

Warnings: Major character death

Summary: Her Magnum Opus nears completion, and as her audience approaches, she hurriedly arranges one final rehearsal.  Elaboration on a pet theory of mine, built out of Final Remix spoilers.

Every day streets are crowded with people

Every night streets are jammed with these noises

Things are so strange, are they real or a dream?

Where am I now, trapped in this city of illusion?

***

Neku surveyed his surroundings.  It didn’t take him long to recognize them.

“This is Cat Street…”

“Yo, finally!” Beat said, running a few steps ahead.  “We can get outta Shibuya from here!  I’m so ready to be done with this crappy Game!”

Neku looked up the street, murmuring, “Unless the way ahead has been rearranged too…”

He tensed a bit as Coco stepped up behind him, the tiny Reaper saying, “No worries fam!  See, the way ahead looks, like, totez clear!  That super tough wall you guys just made it past must’ve been the last challenge!”

Neku’s eyes caught on the café just ahead.  Even in this situation, it still sparked a very complicated emotion in his heart.

“Yo, whatchu waitin’ for,” Beat said, “an engaged invitation?  Le’s go, man!”

Beat took off.  Neku followed at a slower pace, saying, “Hold on!  While we’re here, shouldn’t we ask Mr. H what’s going on?”

The other boy skidded to a halt.  “Huh?  You think the H-Man’s gonna tell us anything?”

“He might.  We have time to spare—it can’t hurt to ask.”

Coco made a face as she walked up next to him.  “Uuuuh, source?  That guy, like, oozes bad vibes.  You should totez just finish the Game!  That’s all that matters, yeah?”

Neku shook his head.  “I still want to know what’s going on.  Out of the people who might actually know, Mr. H is the only one with an address.  We might not get another chance.”

The Reaper rolled her eyes and shrugged.  “I mean, I guess, but like, why risk it?  The finish line is literally right in front of y’all—just cross it and end the Game.  Then if you still wanna talk to Coffee Weirdo, just walk right back in and do it then!  It’ll totez be less stressful once we’re off the clock!”

Beat nodded.  “Yeah, man!  We gotta get this over with either way.  Plus we might get an explanation jus’ for winnin’!  We’ll keep the H-Man as a back-up plan, aight?”

Neku crossed his arms.  “I still feel like this would be less risky.”

“Aw c’mon!” Coco said, skipping down the sidewalk.  “You srsly need to chill, Neku!  Let’s just finish the Game already.  Besidez…while we stand here chatting, the other Players are still fighting Noise and stuff.  Like, uh, Shiki?  Do it for her!”

“Right: Shiki and Rhyme is still out there, Phones!” Beat said.  “We gotta end the Game now!”

With a sigh, Neku grumbled, “…Alright, I guess we shouldn’t keep them waiting.  But soon as we’re done, I’m coming back to get answers.”

The three of them ran down Cat Street, with Coco trailing farther and farther behind.  Eventually she came to a stop, and just watched the boys continue with a wide grin on her face.

“Ugh, finally,” she said to herself.  “This pair was WAY more stubborn than the last, 7.8/10 too much effort.”

Neku noticed they had lost her just as he and Beat ran over the city limits.  The next thing he noticed was pain.  Intense, searing pain, like his entire body was on fire.  Judging by the way Beat had toppled over on the ground, the same thing was happening to him.  Neku fell to his knees as the agony worsened.

“What’s…happening…?!”

Coco slowly approached them, taking care to not actually cross the limits.  “This is fine!  All according to keikaku.  Congratz on winning the Reaper’s Game: Expert Mode!  Oh btw, keikaku means plan.”

Beat cried out suddenly.  Black and red flames consumed him, burning brightly for a few seconds before vanishing, leaving not even ashes in their wake.  Neku’s eyes widened in horror.

“What did you do to him?!” Neku demanded.

“Erased him, duh,” Coco said.  “Though technically wasn’t me, actually my baby that did it.”

“What?!”

“He needs loads of food to grow up big and strong.  I’ve tried, like, a gazillion different things, and the Soul of super tough Players like you two is what works the best by far!  ty so much!”

The pain only grew.  Neku screamed, doing all he could to endure it despite knowing he was failing.

Coco put a hand to her ear.  “Mmmm whatcha say?  Couldn’t make that out.”

It wasn’t long before the flames consumed Neku as well, and then he too was gone.  Coco put her hands on her hips and smiled.  The world around her shifted, wavering like a mirage until it all melted into one swirling void of bluish clouds.  Before her spawned a massive creature: a tapir with purple skin and six tusks, yellow tattoo-like protrusions in the shape of flames erupting all across its form.  Its red eyes focused squarely on Coco.

“Yay!  Look at you, you absolute unit!  You’re, like, so strong now you could body anyone!”

Coco threw herself onto the tapir’s trunk, hugging it tightly—the creature gave a guttural rumble in response.  She could sense its power increasing, and giggled happily as she took a step back.  The tapir lowered its head and nudged her gently.

“Okay, okay.”

Reaching up, she scratched the tapir’s trunk.  It tilted its head and squeaked.

“Aw, who’s a good boy?”

Coco hopped up to the top of its head, lying down so she could reach far enough to scratch behind its ear.  The tapir lifted its trunk and trumpeted happily, then floated up and down in place, jostling Coco only the smallest amount.

“Haha, very good, such cute, wow!”

Soon it settled down.  Coco propped up her head with one hand, continuing to slowly pet the tapir with the other, and let out a long sigh.

“Tapez my dude, I’m, like, so glad I have you.  ngl you’re kinda my bff.”

The tapir grunted, swinging its trunk slightly.  Coco swayed along.

“I dunno when it’s going down…but I’mma make sure you get through it.  You’re one of my peeps too now!  So it’s a legit promise!”

Coco extended her pinky.  The tapir inclined its head a little and flexed its claws.

“Oooooh right.  Well, still totez binding lol.”

She pressed her face against the tapir’s skin, letting her eyes close.

“Aaaaaah, we’re almost there, Tapez.  Should just need, like, another few rounds and you’ll be a prime example of the ideal Noise body!  Though tbh if the next pair is as annoying as this one, totez just gonna yeet them straight into your stomach.”

Her phone chimed.  She opened one eye to look at the screen, and then rolled onto her back and groaned loudly, kicking her legs about in frustration.

“Uuuugh for real?  Fine, whatevs.”  She paused to pet the tapir one more time.  “Sorry Tapez, I gotta bounce.  brb and then we’ll go find you some more treats!”

The tapir squeaked a farewell, and then Coco stood up and shut her eyes again.  Focusing her power, she elevated her Vibe and reached out with her mind to feel for the world she wanted to travel to; after so many times, it was easy for her, and in mere seconds she had concrete beneath her feet.  Opening her eyes, Coco looked up at the skyline of Shinjuku and smiled brightly.

I love my city tbh.

***

Feel the people, hear the voices

They are reaching out to catch you

Feel the rhythms, hear the noises

You are beating all the visions

***

Coco moved through the city at a slow pace.  Shinjuku was a travel hub, a place that was purely transient for most: each moment was fleeting, but each brought something new, something different, and that everlasting tumultuous tide of life fascinated Coco in a way nothing ever had before.  Each second was something wholly unique, and she never wanted to miss even one of them.  She spun around on a corner, taking it all in, and just laughed to herself.

“Having fun, Atarashi?”

Her good mood was spoiled instantly.  She grimaced over her shoulder to see Joshua standing there, looking every bit as smug as she remembered him.

“fml what are you even doing here Kiryu?” she asked, turning around and crossing her arms in a huff.  “Can’t you, like, take a hint?”

“Nice to see you too.”  He raised a hand to his chin.  “Hm.  I’m curious: why is it you hold onto your wings even in the RG?”

Gesturing to them, Coco said, “Aesthetic.”

“…And what aesthetic would that be, exactly?”

“fyi I’m headed to a super important meeting rn so unless you’re finally ready to fite me irl then I, like, don’t even want to hear it.”

Joshua chuckled and brushed aside a lock of hair, which only made him seem even more smug and made Coco even angrier.  “Stimulating as that has the potential to be, we’d both be in quite a bit of trouble with the folks upstairs if we were to have a skirmish.”

“Oooooh good point,” she said as she turned away.  “And I bet you’re, like, already in hot water after the way you went off.”

“Nothing to worry about on that front.  I’ve spoken with my Producer and he assures me the matter has been put to bed.  Things in Shibuya will be staying the way they are.”

Coco spun around.  “WTF?!  You two are out of trouble just like that?  I literally have no words!”

“Hm?  Why, I would assume your Producer has been apprised of the details as well.  Has he not passed them along to you yet?”

There was a short delay, and then Coco glanced aside and grumbled, “That must be why he sent me that txt…”

“I take it you’ve been too busy with your side project to stay on top of the paperwork.”

Coco locked eyes with Joshua.  He was still smug, that would never change, but now there was a deadly undercurrent to his words that demanded Coco’s attention.

“tf are you even talking about?” Coco asked.  “You really need to stay in your lane, Kiryu.”

“That’s rich, coming from you.”

“Explain.”

“Well for starters, I know you’ve been poking around my city.”

“omg!  Tourism is a crime now?”

“Considering our circumstances I believe it falls more under ‘corporate espionage’.”

“It’s totez hilair to me that you consider the UG a corporation.”

“Setting that aside for the moment, there’s also the fact that you’ve been shirking your duties as Composer to jaunt off to an alarming number of parallel worlds as of late.”

Coco smirked.  “Aw, u just jelly I can travel between worlds without needing to call an Uber to get back.”

Joshua shrugged.  “I admit, it’s a skill I’ve yet to master—even my alternate selves seem to have difficulty with it.  One came to call on me recently, you know.  Said something about a bizarre Noise erasing two former Players in his world.”

Yawning loudly, Coco said, “Kiryu can I, like, get a tl;dr?”

Joshua’s face began to darken, the undercurrent gradually rising towards the surface.  “Well Atarashi, it certainly sounds like you’ve been attacking alternate Shibuyas.  If so, that’s something I believe qualifies as ‘in my lane’.  Wouldn’t you agree?”

Coco cackled.  “Pffft omg are u srs?  I am DECEASED y’all, the guy who just tried to wipe his whole city is acting protective up in this bitch!  lmaoooooo!”

Joshua stared hard at her.  “Coco, do think for a moment: how do you suppose the Higher Plane would react to this news?”

“What, are you, like, planning to tell them?  If you’ve got some proof then hmu.”

Joshua didn’t answer.

“lol that’s what I thought, smdh you better sit down Kiryu.  Even if I were, like, messing with parallel worlds or whatevs, why would the Higher Plane even care?  Angels from this world have no jurisdiction there.  It’s free real estate.”

Slowly, Joshua nodded.  “…Alright.  Perhaps you have a point.  Let’s leave the Higher Plane out of this hypothetical.  The only one you need to be concerned with…is me.”

The air suddenly felt very heavy.  Coco actually needed to remind herself to breathe, but she made sure her reaction wasn’t obvious.

“So, Atarashi.  Explain to me why you’ve been killing Neku in so many parallel worlds.  And, do try your best to make it a very good explanation.”

Coco brought her hands up to her face, twisting slightly away.  “lololol I’m confused.  Mad cuz I beat your record?  Or want to make sure I don’t off this world’s copy of Edge Head before you can tell him he’s worthy of your grace?  Honestly?  I ship it.”

Joshua paused.  “Neku himself isn’t the issue here.  But if you’re making a move into my territory—“

“Yeah yeah yeah, cuz you care, like, SO much about your territory!  I am SHOOK seeing you come in here acting like the authority on protecting your peeps!  I could learn so much about my job from watching you!”

“I’m feeling a bit of déjà vu.  I could have sworn I’ve already told you that a Composer’s job is simply to judge their people, and that it is only the existence and boundaries of their respective UG that require protection.”

Coco covered her mouth.  “omg!  Why would you say something so controversial yet so brave?”  She dropped her hands and stuck out her tongue.  “jk obv you’re full of it.”

“I don’t see why I should need to divulge my motivations to you of all people,” Joshua mumbled, “but if you must know…I was under the impression that Shibuya was not worth keeping around.  Now that I’ve seen it still holds potential, I of course have every intention of preserving the seeds that I’ve sown.”

Coco scowled at him, but didn’t speak at first.  Nearly a minute passed before she said, “Then tbh?   I’m not your enemy.”

Joshua’s eyebrows went up.

“It’s, like, only a matter of time before a new kind of Game starts up Kiryu.  Their Game.  And I’m gonna be mad prepared when it does.  If you had literally a single brain cell you’d totez be doing the same thing.”

By the time she was done, Joshua’s eyes had narrowed down to a suspicious glare.  “Surely you’re not referring to the party I’m assuming?”

“Like, who else?”

Joshua stared down his nose at Coco as he considered his next move.  Coco grunted, drew out her phone, and checked her messages.

“My, you truly are impossible to figure out,” Joshua sighed.

Coco gave her best Clearly Fake Smile and replied, “Because you’re an expert at that lol.  I’m nothing compared to your galaxy brain.”

“I think I could do it if not for that absurd…shall we call it a dialect?”

“Uh, this is how people talk now?  Hello?  If you knew anything about people, then like, you’d already know that, but as always you have 0 friends so buh-bye.”

“…Hm.  And, exactly how many friends do you have, Atarashi?”

Coco frowned.

Joshua turned.  “But, alright.  If this is some plan to deal with the Inferno, then I’ll drop the matter for now.  But, one thing I’d like to make clear before I go.”  He took one last glance back at her, eyes full of ice.  “I will not tolerate any interference in this world’s Shibuya.”

He was off without another word.  Coco suppressed the urge to shudder, turning back to her phone and mumbling half-formed syllables as she made herself look busy.  She looked back up to be sure that he was gone, and then sighed and tucked her phone away, gazing over Shinjuku once more as she waited for the tension to leave her body.  It was immediately replaced by joy.

“omg whoops.  Rōjin is totez still waiting orz.”

***

Is it angels?  Is it devils?

Whispering in my ears

Is it emotions?  Is it illusions?

I need to be with you

***

Coco poked her head through the shrine’s gate.  Looking up the path, she could see a bald, tan-skinned man with a stoic face sitting at the building’s entrance, his eyes already locked onto her.  She flinched.

“Uuuuh what’s up gamers?” she blurted as she stumbled forward.  “I know I’m, like, totez late, but I have a tru legit reason for it, get a load of this!”

The man was Seiji Rōjin, owner of the shrine and also Shinjuku’s Producer.  He offered not a single word as Coco hurriedly explained her encounter with Joshua to him.  When she was done, he nodded and closed his eyes; Coco looked around awkwardly for a few seconds, and then took a seat next to him.

“You must leave your Opus be,” he ultimately said.

Coco started.  “Uh, excuse me?  Abandon all my hard work just because that nerd doesn’t want me near his bf?  I think the heck not!”

Rōjin opened his eyes to look at her.

“…Um?  Something else?”

“The Higher Plane demands a Game.”

Coco blinked.  Then she rolled back, digging her fingers into her scalp and shouting, “AAAAAAARGH, srsly?!  I know I haven’t held a Game in, like, forev, but can’t they just let me handle thingz down here?  Please say sike!”

Rōjin said nothing.  As she accepted the reality of the situation, Coco’s heart sank.

“But…Tapez…”  She groaned.  “…Is, like, a teeny bit of faith in me too much to ask?  They know I’ve got mad skillz!  When you taught me how to make Tapez, you said I was one of only, like, three Composers whomst’ve ever been able to control Magnum Opus Noise—they should be totez impressed with me already!”

“The Higher Plane demands more of your position than mere talent,” Rōjin said.  “It demands discipline.”

Coco pulled herself back into a sitting position.  “I am, like, sooo disciplined!  I legit wanted to tear Kiryu’s face off, but I didn’t!”  She got back on her feet as she went on, “Like, sure, this is about Shinjuku, but the whole reason I’m working on Tapez is so he can protect my peeps!  Making sure he’s bad enough to dunk on anyone is literally The Best Thing I can be doing rn!  The Inferno is out there, you know, somewhere, and we dunno when they’re gonna throw hands!  And now I have to take time out of my counterattack schedule to run some basic-ass Game?”

She whirled back to face Rōjin.  He didn’t say anything.  Coco stared at him for a few moments, realizing she was getting a headache.

“…heck.  We don’t really have much of a choice, do we?  If the Higher Plane wants a Game so bad, then like, we gotta pull together a Game.  Tapez will just have to chill for a week I guess.”

Coco put a hand to her head as she trudged past Rōjin for the door.

“Ugh, lemme see, the Conductor obvs needs to show, and we should probably @ all the Officers too.  idk who’s gonna be the GM this week but they—“

The pain in her head suddenly turned sharp.  She paused mid-step.

“…they…”

Her vision blurred, then went dark.  And then she saw Shinjuku again, but it was…different, somehow.  As if viewed through some sort of filter.  She saw the streets, the people, and then a glowing red symbol up in the sky—and then the streets were empty.  Not a single soul was left in Shinjuku.  No, not quite, next she saw one person: a girl who slowly walked forward with a blank look in her eyes.  The girl stared straight ahead, but couldn’t see Coco.  Still, she opened her mouth to speak.

“All that’s left in the world is me.”

Coco gasped as the shrine came back into focus.  At first she was too surprised to make any sense of the event.  But as she breathed, she processed it, and her eyes shot wide as pure dread came over her.

“Uh…a-ah…I…”

Rōjin stood, watching her with furrowed brow.  Coco’s entire body shook as she turned to face him.

“I…I saw it again…!”

She jumped forward and grabbed Rōjin’s shirt.

“It was the same vision!  You remember, right?  From, like, WAY back when I first asked you about Magnum Opus Noise?  I saw it again!  Shinjuku was erased—it was an Inversion!  I-I…”  She looked down as tears started to form in her eyes.  “I haven’t seen anything since that day…why now?  Is…is the Inferno about to attack Shinjuku?  Is that what this means?!  Are we out of time?!”

She felt a hand on her head.  Looking up, she saw Rōjin staring back at her, his face as calm and stoic as ever.  Coco swallowed hard, and then exhaled slowly.

“R-Right…right.”  She managed a chuckle.  “Like, look at me, crying in the club like a little bitch!  Thanks bunchez, Rōjin.”

She stepped away and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.  Coco found herself looking up at the sky, as if to verify what she had seen hadn’t actually come true…at least, not yet.  The same skyline greeted her.  But this time, she just couldn’t feel happy about it.  This time, it made her feel resolute.  She turned back to Rōjin.

“Sorry fam.  But I, like, can’t just sit on my ass and play a Game rn.  The Higher Plane might not be convinced, but I just know the Inferno’s on their way to end my whole career, and I’m not about to take that.”

Rōjin paused.  Then, with a single nod, he said, “Mood.”

Coco giggled.  “omg, you’re, like, literally the worst!”

She left the shrine and made her way back up the street, thinking, Dunno how much more time I have to beef up Tapez.  My boi’s totez strong, but I can’t be too careful, and probs don’t have much time for last minute boosts.  I need to, like, think of how else I can improve his chances…

Her feet slowed, and she looked back at the shrine.

…Hm.  I wonder what she would think?

Coco crossed her arms.

I mean, she’s gonna be totez disappointed there’s no Game.  But like, she’s still my Conductor, yeah?  If I can’t trust her to back me up, then who can I trust?

She turned and got moving again.

At the v least I gotta ask.  Whatever it takes…my Shinjuku is going to survive.

***

Every day noises are killing these people

Every night noises are waiting for me but

Don’t run away, we’ve got no time left to fear

Where are you now, still it’s showing me illusions

[touchmycoat]

kinktober: day 5

Day 5: Subspace

I’m venturing into the realm of sub!Marco for the next few days

safeword!anon I hear you, and it’s something i’ve been thinking about and planning for and researching on for a while!! so far, this is the closest i’ve come: pre-scene emotional safewording lmfao (I’d really, really love to work out a full concept with actual safewording during a scene tho)

comeplay anon i hear you too i’mma take us there with the rest of this fic

part of the Second Chances verse

(first section is subtitled, “Ace and Sabo have clearly been to therapy, but make questionable decisions anyways”)

//

“Honestly I think he'd cry.”

Sabo blinked, slowly drawing his fingers out of the mess of den den mushi security wires and add-ons, etc., that he'd been absentmindedly working on throughout the conversation.

“In a good way?” he asked, dropping the glibness he tended to favor in discussions about Marco. For that, Ace was grateful. Not that he's ever bought Sabo's preferred facade of cool and crass, but it was still nice to see it fully falling away when it mattered.

“I don't know,” Ace replied earnestly. He too turned his full attention to Sabo, sensing the potential for seriousness simmering in the words between them. Whatever they decided today would have major impact on what happened with Marco, next time they were all together. “I mean, does he even like this stuff?”

“'Course he does.” Sabo sounded certain in the way he sounded when he wasn't. “It's been like, six months.”

“Well yeah, I know we're not forcing him or anything like that.” The words stuck uncomfortably to his throat, but Ace knew he had to get them out. He hadn't been sitting on this, at least not consciously—but he was only now beginning to realize, on this deceptively easy-going afternoon, catching up with Sabo, how much this had been unconsciously bothering him. “But going along with whatever we want? That's kind of his thing isn't it?”

“So you're saying,” Sabo's tone was like gathering storm clouds, while his body language went completely still and precise, like the alignment of a blade-edge, “that his ancient, crusty ass has been wanting vanilla fucking sex this entire time—”

“Okay, he's not a total pushover, I wouldn't go that far—”

“—but that he's probably been holding back and not telling us what he actually wants, out of some misguided idea of letting us explore ourselves or whatever? That sounds possible?”

Ace sat in confirming silence, frowning and letting his palms sink deeper into the bed. Sabo scowled, vicious and protective.

“Ace, your boyfriend's a bastard.”

“What, have you dumped him already?”

“I'll have killed him already. Next time you see him he'll be a decomposing corpse. Ace. Ace. If that's what he's really doing I can't be held responsible for what I'll do to his idiot ass—”

“You know how sometimes,” Ace said loudly, interrupting the tirade, “insecurities get the better of us?”

It was, in fact, something they've talked at length about. Ace could see Sabo visibly retrace his steps to anger, struggling to deflate.

“I mean, how did we even get here?” Ace was retracing the steps himself, trying to process all the sparking under his skin that's making him want to jump headfirst into the nearest bar fight. “We were only talking about the possibility of tying Marco up.”

“You had to get real with the crying thing,” Sabo grumbled. Ace idly kicked at him, boots thumping against his shins and leaving dust marks on his trouser legs. “Fine. Are we being irrational?”

Seriously considering the question, Ace could tell that Sabo read the answer on his face before he even had to say it.

“No,” Ace announced warily anyways. “I don't think we are.”

“We have to talk about it.” With him? Sabo wrinkled his nose. “I'd much rather just beat him up. You hold him, I punch.”

“Well hey,” Ace said, brightening up, “there's an idea.”

“You want to—” Marco was so surprised, he actually pushed Ace away to arm's length. That was probably a good sign, Ace thought. “Really?”

Sabo, draping himself all over Ace from behind the way he knew got Marco all kinds of riled up, grabbed hold of Marco's forearm. Hard. All three of them eyed the point of contact and its obvious part in the play.

“Is it so surprising?” Sabo asked, voice giving none of his underlying anxiety away. It made Ace uncomfortable, keeping something from Marco (particularly something as sensitive as this), but they had agreed this was the only way to truly see what Marco was doing. Besides, it didn't have to go too far. All Marco had to do was say no.

“From you? No yoi. But from you?” Marco turned back to Ace, not incredulous but still generally puzzled. Ace swallowed. “Ace? You really want this too?”

Ace could feel the weight of Sabo on him like reassurance, but he could also feel the warmth of Marco in front of him like... some call to morality, perhaps. It's not like Sabo was pressuring him to do things this way—in fact, this was Ace's idea to begin with. There was just an aura of deceit about this whole scheme, one that wasn't necessarily benign and harmless, that made Ace question his own starting judgment.

And yet, if Ace were to take the question at face value, the answer wouldn't fully be no. If Marco had asked, before this whole mess of insecurities cropped up, the answer still wouldn't have been no. Ace was curious, after all. Wasn't that the point of this whole endeavor, to explore and satisfy curiosities with trusted lovers?

(Wasn't that the shatterpoint of this issue, to be able to trust Marco in their exploration together? Instead, Marco had, unexpectedly, left them unmoored in quicksand, untethered on the high seas with their doubts about the nature of Marco's constant agreement to their requests.)

(No, Ace would go through with this. Anything, really, to get to the heart of this.)

“Yes,” Ace answered, and even Sabo reeled, just a bit, clearly having thought Ace would call the whole thing off. Marco wasn't quite frowning, but that wasn't the expression he typically reserved for Ace either. “I do. But if it's not something you want, Marco, we don't have to do it.”

Marco, clearly deliberating, looked between Sabo and Ace, searching for something that Ace couldn't figure out. Looked down at Sabo's hand.

“Tonight?”

Sabo shrugged, insouciance a total feint. “Why not?”

Say no. We know you don't want this. Just say no.

“Okay,” Marco answered with a shrug of his own, though one of the more wide-eyed variety. “If it's what you really want, that's fine by me yoi.”

Both Ace and Sabo must've done—something with their faces, because at once Marco's expression shifted, and he held out both hands in a placating gesture to pause. Sabo's fell away, leaving a red-rimmed white handprint behind.

“Or,” Marco said slowly, “you can tell me what this is really about, before we break out all the chains and whips yoi.”

“Marco—” When Ace started speaking in a rush of breath, Sabo straightened from his calculated drape, but left a squeeze the back of Ace's neck in clear support. Marco saw the gesture for what it was, and frowned. “We need to ask you something.”

Anything, yoi. That was what Marco's eyes said, but somehow, with great intuition, he said instead, “go ahead.”

“Why would you say yes?” The frustration manifested like kindling catching. Ace's hand moved in a gesture of corresponding feeling, and to his dismay, when he accidentally brushed against Marco, Marco pulled away. “We know you don't want this. How can you just agree to whatever we want to do?”

“Was this a test?” For a moment, Ace thought he saw a flash of anger in Marco's eyes, before they went blank. Maybe the squeeze to Ace's neck that time was a gesture of warning from Sabo, but Ace could hardly deflect now.

“Yes.”

Ah, it hadn't been anger, it had been hurt. Marco had never been overly invested in hiding away these sorts of feelings, and the hurt came across clearly now, as he drew his arms up to cross over his chest. Sabo insinuated a gesture like he wanted to reach out, but a quick warning glance from Marco left it unmanifested. It left Marco closed off, completely apart from them, and Ace instantly felt a wave of regret for not stopping this when he could've.

“And what exactly were you testing for?”

“We thought you might be agreeing to everything we want without actual thought to what you want,” Sabo stated bluntly. It was the bluntness born out of guilt though, the tone of confession before the guillotine came dropping down.

“And what,” Marco asked through gritted teeth, “gave you that idea?”

“Are you kidding?” Ace replied faintly. “It's all you do.”

The silence sat like dust motes in the air, present, but unmanageable. Left to float and irritate with no chance that Ace could catch it in a nervous palm. Sabo's hand too floated away, leaving the three of them islands unto themselves, distinct and disparate bodies occupying the same breathing space. Marco's breathing space, Marco's bedroom. Ace wondered if he and Sabo should get out, got more and more ready to bolt with each passing second.

Which made Ace's flinch all the more jarring when Marco suddenly dropped his arms with a sigh. He still looked guarded when he gestured with open palms at his bed.

“Look, can we sit?”

(cont’d)

[osmw1]

Dimension Wave   Chapter 12 — A Shadow Creeping from the Darkness

“Cleaver!”

My Iron Chef’s Knife glows red as I shout the skill name out loud. I begin to spin then use the centrifugal force to cut down the Darkness Lizardman with great strength. Swish! The knife goes cleanly through the Darkness Lizardman’s right hand and, along with the bastard sword it was carrying, it falls to the ground.

“I bagged one. You all good there, Shouko?” “Completely fine! Wild Dance the Second: Bloom!”

Once Shouko opened her glowing fan, flower petals dances through the air like some sort of special effect and tear into the two Darkness Lizardman. One of them gets cut down but the other swings its bastard sword at Shouko. She catches the blade between her fan and cleanly snaps it into two.

“Recharge…”

As Shouko mutters, her fan begins to glow white. Then, she attacks the Darkness Lizardman by thrusting her fan. She probably didn’t need the helping hand, but at the same time, I stab the Darkness Lizardman with my Iron Chef’s Knife. Our combined efforts take down the monster.

“Are you injured, Kizuna?” “No, not at all. I did better than I thought I would but fighting two at once might be too much.”

I did get hit once, but it was nothing. Not to mention, I earned more Energy than I lost, so it’s a net profit. Then suddenly, Shouko’s folding fan glows even brighter. Her offensive skills often need to charge up before they can be used. It can be anywhere from 10 seconds to three minutes. The longer it gets charged, the brighter and more powerful her fan is. While it’s charging, she fights and blocks normally. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that the fan is kinda mediocre at both offense and defense. Most of the offensive skills are area of effect and so it doesn’t do a lot of damage. Plus, it doesn’t block as well as a proper shield would.

“Alright, then I’mma gut them up. Cover me, alright?” “I have your back.”

I point my Iron Chef’s Knife towards the Darkness Lizardman I killed. I start with scaling the monster and quietly mutter out a skill.

“Speed Gutting…”

It takes a lot less time with the skill activated. Plus, it’s not mentioned in the description, but there are two other effects that it grants you. The first one is that it increases the success rate.  That’s why even when I do it so quickly, I get as many items as I would when I gut carefully. The second hidden effect is that the user feels a lot lighter and nimble. I’m guessing attack speed and gutting speed are both calculated the same way. Anyway, I gotta hurry up and butcher all three of them. We might be safe now, but who knows what’ll happen.

Clink!

The sound of Shouko parrying the enemy’s attack rings out. She’s already engaged in another fight. Enemies are coming quicker than I expected. Gotta hurry this up. We decided ahead of time that when I’m breaking down corpses and there are less than three baddies, then I’ll finish up before helping to fight. I get that it’s my job, but I’m still getting anxious about ignoring Shouko. I gotta do what I gotta do though.

“All done. And it looks like you’re fine too.”

As I finish gutting the three monsters, Shouko lands the finishing blow on the Darkness Lizardman. Needless to say, I go and cut up that fresh carcass too.

“How are you doing with your Energy levels?” “Aren’t you using skills more than I am?” “I have Energy Production X, so this is no problem to me at all.”

Two levels higher than me, huh? That’s an ex-frontliner for you. Even her skills are way beyond mine. Meanwhile, I finish up gutting and put the items in my inventory.

“Whew…”

I take a deep breath in the middle of this lull. All around us is forest, pitch black. The paper lantern Shouko brought with her is the only light source around. There’s not even a single star to shine down upon us. We’ve set up camp in the cave we found along the way. It’s been two hours since we’ve started, and I think we got the hang of it.

“Kizuna, how are you feeling? Are you tired yet?” “No, I’m good.” “Do not push yourself, okay? Even slight mistakes will cost us our lives as Spirits.” “This is nothing compared to the gaming sessions I was subjected to by Tsugumi.” “I see. Then, shall we continue for another hour?”

According to Shouko, Darkness Lizardmen are pretty good for experience. We’ve encountered a good number of them and so we’ve got a good number of items too. On the contrary, we encountered no other players to far. And, thanks to Shouko, we’ve been steadily chugging along. The biggest weakness right now is how dark it is. Maybe it woulda been better if I’d taken Night Vision. I have more than 20,000 Energy right now and I’m earning more at a good pace.

“…?” “What’s up? Did something happen?”

Shouko has an odd expression on her face. It’s the first time I’ve seen her like that and so I asked.

“No, but I hear something.”

You hear something? I perk up my ears too. Of course, I don’t have any skills or anything for better hearing, so I don’t actually hear any better. But…

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

She’s right. Footsteps of some kind.

“… over there!”

Shouko swings her fan at seemingly nothing. But, as she struck something with an audible smack, a somewhat transparent figure appears with a puff of smoke.

“Please, hold! I am not thine enemy!”

A ninja-looking figure clad in all black appeared. I bet he used a camouflaging skill like Hiding or something. And really? “Thine enemy”? What a clichéd character to roleplay.

“Your lies will not work on me. What are your true intentions for creeping up to us?! Speak!” “’Tis a misunderstanding! I am merely trying to escape a boss monster!” “A pathetic excuse!”

Shouko didn’t relent with her hounding, so I’ll cut it short. In any case, Shouko is being very suspicious of this figure in black and so I try to be the liaison.

“Well, let’s give him a chance to explain himself. Alright?” “If you say so, Kizuna…”

I soothe Shouko’s suspicions as I turn towards the ninja.

“So? Why were you hiding from us?” “Thou art mistaken; I did not mean to hide from thee. As I have said, I had been chased by a boss monster as I was gathering materials with dark attributes. Unfortunately, I encountered something more than I can tackle by myself and so, I escaped with my camouflaging skill to misdirect the monster.” “Hmph. Assuming you’re telling the truth, then where is the boss monster?”

I have a bad feeling about it, so I had to ask.

“It is in front of us, in the cave.” “I knew it…”

I had a feeling that might be the case when I first heard his excuse. Nervously, I take a look at the cave, but I can’t see well since it’s so dark.

“It is visible for me as I have acquired Night Vision.” “I see. Well then, my next question is what do we do about it?”

This Forest of Eternal Darkness blocks players from using teleporting items like “Tome of Returning” to send us back to town. There’s only one path and it leads directly to the cave. And that cave has now been taken over by a boss monster.

“What do you take us for?! We will not so simply perish!”

Shouko is unusually flustered. But she’s right. Us Spirits don’t die. Rather, when we lose all of our Energy, we just get really, really weak. We get sent back to level 1, you could say. Thinking about our situation carefully, it flusters me a little too. If we mess up, then we’ll lose all of the Energy we’ve earned up till now. Anyone got a good idea or anything?

“Please, take me with thee. I shan’t perish either!” “Hold on. I know why we won’t die, but why you too? Other races have penalties for getting defeated, right?” “It is for I am a Spirit.” “…”

I applied my palm directly to my forehead. They say there aren’t many Spirits in this game, yet there are three of us in this dungeon with practically nobody in it? Talk about a miracle.

“So are we.” “Pray tell, are we the same peoples?” “I would say that I am very pleased to meet another one of us, but not under these circumstances.” “I agree.”

If we had only met in different circumstances. Well, whatever. We’re still in this together.

“However, we should brace for this adversity we are about to face, though I do not mean to force it upon you. It is more so whether we are able to or not.” “Yeah, Shouko’s got a point.”

I don’t think any old plan would work against this monster. No matter how weak it might be, it’s still a boss. I’m not sure if our weapons would be any good against it. I really doubt we’d win in a head-on fight. Not to mention, we can’t rely on ninja boy. Why? Well, he literally was just running away from the boss.

“Let me atone for this sin through death!” “Hold your horses. Don’t jump to that from the get go.” “Oh, little Miss…”

… little Miss? I mean, I guess I look like a grade schooler. My character, I mean.

“It’s Kizuna. Don’t call me ‘little Miss’.” “It is my pleasure. Please call me Yamikage.” “… you a ninja or something?” “I did not know there were still ninjas.” “It’s because we’re in a game…” “O-Oh, but of course…”

Our introductions were short, but sweet. The guy clad in all black is Yamikage. Quite the stereotypical ninja. We’ve got a tomboyish GIRL, a traditional Japanese lady, and a old-timey ninja. … god, this is such an embarrassing party.

“Is the boss still in the cave?” “I see no signs of it moving.” “And just to make sure, what’s its name?”

I then quickly give Shouko a look. She always pays attention to the details, so she’d be useful now. But it doesn’t seem like she understands what my glance at her meant. You could almost see the question mark above her head.

No good, huh?

Well, we’ve technically only met today. I guess it was too much to expect to be able to communicate through our eyes. And by the way, what I meant was to check with her whether that name is correct or not. Who knows if Yamikage is laying? Maybe he’ll try to monster player kill or something.

“’Tis the Lizardman Dark Knight.” “The answer’s almost obvious but can the three of us beat it?” “That is unlikely.” “Aye, ‘tis an impossibility.”

It wouldn’t be a boss monster otherwise… It has been decided from time immemorial that boss monsters in MMOs are extremely difficult. Some raid bosses need nearly 10 people at once to be defeated. We might be up against something like that. But it doesn’t mean we’re completely out of ideas yet. It’s just that we might have to resort to cheesing the boss.

“Whatever. Do y’all have any ideas on what we can do?” “Aye. Perhaps we can run past the monster.” “You know, you escaped away from the monster by the skin of your teeth, right? Do you really think we can outrun it?” “’Tis another impossibility.”

So, we can’t escape it. Then, Shouko puts up her hand. I look straight at her.

“What’s your plan?” “How about we have someone act as a decoy?” “It wouldn’t be too difficult. But who’d it be?” “Since I have brought it up, let me take that role.”

It doesn’t sound like a bad plan, but I don’t like it. Shouko had already lost a lot of Energy by being defeated by another boss. It’s just my personal opinion, but I wouldn’t like to have that happen to a Spirit buddy.

“I’m against it.” “Nay for me as well.”

Surprisingly, Yamikage voted against that plan too. Maybe he’s looking at it from a Spirit’s perspective too.

“But why? Is it not our best plan?” “If we were to use Madam Hakoniwa’s plan, then let me be the decoy.” “Forgive me for being rude, but I believe both you and Kizuna lacks the defense. Besides, I have defensive skills with my folding fan. If I am lucky, then I shall be able to escape too.” “But, I had brought this problem to you. I cannot have Spirit comrades sacrifice their—”

I can’t believe that’s what they’re arguing back and forth about. They’re both so willing to make the sacrifice.

“I’m against either of you doing it. Why the hell are you guys so willing to throw down your lives?! What we should be focusing on is how to get all of us out alive, right?”

Both of them stare at the ground. This would totally be an emotional scene if this were a manga or something. Plus, there’s not much meaning to it if no one’s actually dying. We don’t know if Yamikage is going to accidentally MPK us either, let alone plotting doing so. Our first priority is to think of a better plan.

“Oh, right. I forgot to ask, but what skills do you have, Yamikage?” “I possess Night Vision I, Camouflage I, and Drain VII.” “Drain?” “It is dark magic which steals the enemy’s HP and MP.” “Huh. Didn’t know there’s a skill like that.” “Aye, that is correct. And as I am a Spirit, I would be absorbing Energy instead.”

That’s pretty handy, eh? But to have it at rank VII? That’s really high.

“Do you have a lot of Energy or something?” “Nay, such is not the case for me. I am but at around 20,000.” “20,000? That’s pretty much at my level then. How the heck did you get to rank VII already?” “I am losing 3,000 Energy each hour.”

… huh? To put it in other words, Yamikage’s spending Energy just to live? Our skills cost Energy to acquire. But because we can also take as many skills as we want, us Spirits can activate enough skills to be in the red. That’s how Yamikage’s losing 3,000 Energy per hour.

“Can you manage to earn anything?”

I guess you could call this high risk, high reward–style gameplay.

“I profit about 1,000 every day.”

So he says with a smug smile.

“Kizuna, he’s…”

Shouko is totally worried about his situation. I’m sure Yamikage can manage though. Well, I’d like to believe there are quite a few players who would do something like him. You could even say it’d be the more fun that way. By the way, our Energy levels are 20,000, 25,000, and 23,000 for Yamikage, Shouko, and I, respectively. Shouko also produces the most Energy out of all of us. In that case, Shouko’s plan might be our safest plan, but I wouldn’t never go through with it.

“Anyway, we can’t do anything if we can’t see the monster.” “Though, I am able to.” “Seeing is believing, as they say. I’d rather be able to see for myself. Let me get the skill too.”

I open up my menu and check under unacquired skills.

Night Vision I A skill for nighttime action. Activating the skill will counter any nighttime debuff. Consumes 200 Energy per hour. Costs 200 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Be active for more than 24 hours during nighttime. Upgrade requirement: Be active for more than 168 hours during nighttime.

I take the skill and a look towards the cave. Since it’s only level I, it’s still pretty dark all around. But at least now I can see the outlines and silhouettes of the trees and stuff around us. … and there really is a boss monster there. It’s a humongous Lizardman clad in black metallic armor. In its hands are a massive lance and shield. There’s no way the three of us can beat it. And it doesn’t look like a folding fan can break its weapon either. And, did I mention that the guy is gigantic? Its physical appearance is definitely appropriate for a boss.

“… oh!” “Is something the matter?” “Maybe, just maybe…”

I tell them the plan that suddenly popped into my mind.

“Will this truly work?” “Probably. It’s an old trick I got from a game.” “Aye, but how shall we get its aggro?” “I think I might have an idea about that.”

This pinch we’re in might actually prove to be a good chance for us.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /next/

(please support me on Patreon or Paypal)

[musiciatee]

HEY BITCH! *cracks my knuckles* I SEE YOU REBLOGGED A PROMPT POST, AND SINCE I LOVE YOUR WRITING I'M HERE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE >:) 64, 48, 18

okay 1) i love u a lot ok 2) i’m the werst and i don’t have the attention span to write three prompts at the same time so i’mma just post 18 for now but i’ll make sure to tag you when i post the other two!!

18. Red wine stained lips…

“How did you know you liked girls too?”

Annie nearly choked into the generously poured glass of red wine that Lydia had poured out for the two of them. Her mom was out of town for some kind of conference on child development which left the house (and wine collection) to Lydia to do with as she pleased.

We need a girls’ night. Lydia had declared, and she left absolutely no room for any arguments. Not that Annie had planned to put up much of a fight. Allison was still in France and she had typically been the one that did this kind of stuff with Lydia since Annie would be off doing something like helping Scott learn more about his abilities or helping Stiles clean up a mess the boys didn’t mean to create. But since Lydia had been introduced to the supernatural it became a whole lot easier to balance their relationship.

Plus, Annie wasn’t going to turn down some wine.

But the very last thing she had ever anticipated was for that question to leave Lydia’s lips.

Lifting her shoulder into a half-shrug, she pulled the glass of wine away from her lips and turned her head to the right where Lydia sat. “I dunno, I mean… I think I saw Rihanna in Pon de Replay and that kinda just did it for me?”

“That’s it?” She asked, disappointment clear in her voice.

Annie could only roll her eyes, “What do you mean ‘that’s it?’” She asked, raising an eyebrow and sitting up a bit more. “It’s not like LGBTQ youth get a fucking Hogwarts-esque letter in the mail when they turn eleven saying ‘Congrats! You’re one of The Gays!’.” She exclaimed dramatically, raising her free hand and wiggling her fingers for emphasis before dropping it. She shook her head and slumped back down into her seat. “Think back to your own sexual awakening, it was probably like that.”

Lydia sighed in unhidden frustration and a pout formed at her lips. Annie stared at her for a few silent moments, curiosity burning in her gaze before she gave in. “Why are you wondering?”

The other girl shrugged and took a long, drawn out sip before looking Annie in the eye, “After the whole… disaster with Jackson I just- I was thinking about past relationships and I realized that I never really gave myself the chance to…” She pressed her lips together, clearly looking for the right word.

“Explore?” Annie suggested dryly.

Lydia rolled her eyes but nodded nonetheless. “For lack of a better term.”

Annie set her glass down on the table in front of them and twisted her body so that she could face her friend, a serious look overtaking her features. “You know, you don’t have a countdown or anything limiting you. You have all the time in the world to find out your preferences.”

She mimicked Annie and placed her glass on the table before crossing her arms, a look of uncertainty making its way to her features. “But how do you know?”

“Self reflection? Experience? Everyone comes to their realization at their own pace. Some people realize it when they’re really little and some people realize it when they’re much older, and there’s nothing wrong with either one.”

“I’m not a fan of this subjectivity.”

Annie cracked a smile, “Well, if you wanna go ahead and create a mathematical theorem for How to know you’re queer please feel free.”

The redhead rolled her eyes once more and sighed dramatically, sinking deeper into the cushions as she brought her knees to her chest. Letting her chin rest on the top of her knees, Lydia gazed thoughtfully at Annie. “Would you be open to helping me figure it out?”

Annie looked at her in confusion, her brows drawing together as they stared at each other for several moments before realization crossed her features. Her confusion melted into clear disapproval. “I’m not someone you can just use for your experiments, Lydia. I’m not here for your convenience.”

Lydia quickly shook her head, immediately backtracking, Stretching out her legs so that her feet were beside Annie, she lifted her hands up placatingly, “No! I didn’t mean it like that I just… I want to be sure and I just want to know what it’s like.”

“Kissing is kissing, Lydia.” She said tiredly, rolling her eyes, her tone much less caustic than it had been before. “If you kiss someone you love you’re going to feel that… spark or whatever the fuck you’re trying to look for.”

Lydia sat up and nodded, lifting a hand to gesture towards Annie. “Then who better than you to be my first kiss?”

Annie shook her head and sighed, leaning back against the cushion, “Lydia, you don’t love me.” She said softly.

“Then you really don’t know me.” Lydia said, a bit of a challenge in her voice as she crossed her arms.

Annie could only look at Lydia, nothing but surprise in her eyes. Green met brown and she pursed her lips before breaking the eye contact and staring at the two abandoned glasses of wine.

“Annie, you’re my best friend and I could count the people I trust on one hand. This is really important to me.” Lydia’s voice was soft and earnest and when Annie dragged her gaze back to Lydia’s, there was nothing but honesty and genuinity in them. But still there was that paranoid, guarded little voice in Annie’s head that refused to let anything be as simple as they really were.

Swallowing hard, trying to ignore how dry her mouth had become, Annie forced a burning question from her lips. “You’re not… this isn’t some weird power thing, is it? Like…  you feel like you lost control in your relationship with Jackson so you’re trying to compensate somewhere else? ‘Cause I really don’t think I could deal with that.”

There was a flash of hurt that crossed Lydia’s expression but it was soon replaced with understanding. Lydia was many things and self-aware was thankfully one of them. She knew she had been a bit of a nightmare in the past and manipulation had one hundred percent been one of her specialties, she couldn’t quite blame Annie for being suspicious.

“I’ve been pretty terrible, huh?”

Annie’s sharp, critical gaze softened significantly at Lydia’s quiet admission. She pressed her lips together and it was like she physically released all the tension in her body. She slumped slightly and it was clear she was completely relaxed. Stretching out her hand, she took Lydia’s into her own.

“Like I said, everyone reaches their realizations at their own pace. That holds true for who you are as a person too, you know.” She said, her thumb sweeping gently back and forth across Lydia’s knuckles.

“I love you.” Lydia repeated, an affectionate smile playing at her lips.

Annie could only huff playfully, fighting her own smile as she moved her left hand to cup Lydia’s cheek. “You’re so obnoxiously attractive, I don’t get it and I hate you.” She finished with a grin before leaning in, closing her eyes, and placing her lips against Lydia’s.

Lydia almost immediately kissed back, raising her own hand and placing it on the right side of Annie’s neck. Annie was right when she said that a kiss was a kiss, the mechanics of the act were the same whether she was kissing Jackson or kissing her best friend, but there was still something different about it. Annie, while one of the sharpest people she knew, was all soft edges physically. Her lips were softer too, and she could taste the red wine that was long forgotten on the table beside them.

She moved her hand down from Annie’s neck down to her shoulder and down her arm, feeling goosebumps rising under her fingertips. Annie surreptitiously opened her mouth a little wider and Lydia picked up on the hint, letting her tongue sweep across Annie’s bottom lip before she reciprocated.

Annie wasn’t quite sure how long they had been kissing before she slowly pulled away and opened her eyes. Lydia’s eyes were still closed but as Annie leaned her forehead against the other girl’s, she slowly opened them.

“If the whole mess with Stiles doesn’t get resolved, you know where to find me.” Lydia said, referencing the kiss and run Annie had subjected the poor boy to only a couple of months ago.

Annie pulled away completely from Lydia, untangling her arms from her and practically throwing herself onto the other end of the sofa, a loud laugh echoing out. “Yeah right, like you won’t find an unsuspecting person to put under your spell by then.” She shook her head before a gleeful look of realization slowly crossed her features.

“What?” Lydia asked, amusement coloring her tone, watching as Annie sat up straight, her curls bouncing slightly from the sudden action.

“I kissed you before Stilinski! I told him I had a better chance with you than he did, oh my God, I’m such a fucking baller.” She laughed hard, lifting her hand to her stomach as she tried to catch her breath. “Oh, my God, he would explode.”

Lydia could only roll her eyes, “I’d maybe hold off on telling him… Like, forever. I don’t think his poor little heart could handle it.”

[ahiddenpath]

Nanowrimo Week 1 Update

Hey all!  The end of today marks the first week of Nanowrimo!  The benchmark for today is 11,667 words total.  Yikes!  

There’s a progress update and a snipped of my draft below the cut ;)

Okay, first: some housekeeping.  My old Nanowrimo word Count Blog Widget done broke on me!  I’m guessing there’s an external image issue or some kind of bandwith issue due to Nanowrimo usage?  I switched to a simple HTML tag that doesn’t rely on external images.  It doesn’t look as nice, but it works, and that is more important, lol.  Here’s the HTML to add to your bloggy:

<strong>Nanowrimo Counter 2017:</strong>

<img src="http://picometer.writertopia.com/words=11131&target=50000">

Just change 11131 to your total word count, and you’re done!  So easy :D

Okay!  So, my progress!

My current word total is... 12,774!  Which means I’m about 25% done and 1,100 words ahead, so I’m doing alright.  One concern is that I think I’m going to run out of outline about 15 days into nanowrimo, so I have to put effort into outlining the last few chapters of Seeking Resonance ASAP, lol!!!  Otherwise I’mma hit a wall in a week or so, oh noooo!

Crap, what happens next?  I have no idea, lol!  XD XD XD  WHO’S DRIVING THIS THING?!

So far, the writing has been alright.  It hasn’t been flowing super well, but it hasn’t been a tooth-pulling nightmare, either.  This is a terrible rough draft, but that’s normal for Nanowrimo (and honestly, normal in general).  It’ll shine up just fine later.

If you’re interested, he’s a raw excerpt from Nanowrimo Week One!  SO MANY ADVERBS, lol XD  Tentative title:  In Which Koushiro is Hazed by Children and a Grandma.

Although he had never been to Eimi’s market, her descriptions and an online search had led him here without difficulty.  Admittedly, he had expected more than a stretch of stalls lining either side of a cobbled street.  It seemed so quaint and sleepy, hardly worth her almost daily visits.

But this is what Eimi-san likes.  Koushiro approached the end stall, feeling oddly out of place.  The closest thing he had seen to an open air market was news stands and street food vendors pushed too close together in Tokyo, and those were flashier and louder.  Instead of a middle age man screaming into the passing crowd, he encountered an old woman dozing in a chair behind the cart.  Colorful vegetables were stacked in wooden crates tipped towards the street, a rainbow display of food.

Sweat beads that had formed during the walk merged into droplets that slid down his forehead.  Koushiro was so focused on finding food Eimi usually purchased at her market that he hadn’t considered what to buy.  He tried to think of what she had served him in the past, but quickly realized that, even with the ingredients, he wouldn’t know how to make it.

Chicken noodle soup.  They say that’s good for recovering, right?  But what goes into that?  Carrots?  Onions?  Perhaps a salad would be simpler…  He checked the lettuce stock and was alarmed to find that the old woman carried multiple varieties.  There’s more than one type of lettuce?!

So great was his panic that Koushiro failed to hear the approach of pattering feet.  When a high voice shouted, “Aegis!”, he jumped forward, and the crates rattled when he hit the cart.  The old woman stirred, straightened, and stared at her customer.

“Ah, good afternoon,” Koushiro said.  He tried to smile at the old woman, but most of his attention was the children swarming at knee level.  Three kids, a girl and two boys, had materialized, forming a fairy ring around Aegis.  Koushiro tensed when the girl threw her arms around the dog, but Aegis sat quietly and wagged his tail.  He relaxed, reassured that Aegis wouldn’t jump and accidentally knock the children over.  

The taller boy stood on tiptoe to see the old woman over the cart.  “Baba, look!  It’s Aegis!  Why do you have Aegis, mister?  Where is Eimi-oneesan?”

The old woman blinked, then leaned forward.  “Eh?  Is it Aegis, Minoru?  I can’t see over the cart.”

“It’s Aegis, it’s Aegis!” the girl cried.  “Pretty Aegis!  We missed you!  Good doggy!”  

Koushiro stepped back, unsure of how to behave.  His classes were usually offered to students pursuing higher degrees, and he hadn’t interacted with a child since he was one, himself.  Although they had different faces, these three seemed identical at a glance.  They painted an idyllic picture of children enjoying summer in the countryside: denim shorts, tee shirts, sneakers, tanned skin, messy hair, and the occasional dirt smudge.

The children continued to love on Aegis, which frankly looked like harassment from Koushiro’s perspective, but the old woman was focused on him.  Koushiro cleared his throat and said, “Um, pardon me, but do you know Anami Eimi?  I’m doing some shopping for her, but I’m afraid I forgot to request a list.”

She stared at him for a long moment before answering.  “Yes, we all know Eimi-chan.  She’s visited our market most days for years.  We were looking forward to seeing her again after her tour, but she never came.  We were going to send Minoru over in a few days to check on her if she didn’t stop by.  Is everything alright?”

“Um…”  Was it his imagination, or were the other vendors watching this exchange?  Koushiro gave himself a tiny shake and forced himself to look at the woman addressing him.  “I’m afraid Eimi-san took ill a few days ago.”

Minoru stopped mid-pat and whirled around.  “Eimi-oneesan is sick?!” he shouted.  Koushiro’s mouth twitched into a grimace that he quickly straightened. 

The old woman sighed and cupped her cheek.  “Oh, the poor dear.  There aren’t any colds going around…”

“What’s wrong?!” Minoru demanded.  “Will she get better?  Can I visit?”

“Um-”  If Koushiro inched back any further, he’d be standing in front of the next cart.  What was he supposed to say?  While Eimi would find Minoru’s concern endearing, Koushiro doubted that exposure to a loud, energetic child would be welcome at the moment.  “I’m afraid she isn’t well enough for visitors.  Eimi-san was in the hospital, but she’s discharged and on bed rest now.”

The boy’s dark eyes went wide and wild.  “Eimi-oneesan was in the hospital?!”

Why does he feel the need to parrot me at screaming volume?  “Y-yes, but she’s recovering.  She needs some quiet and good food, which is why I’m here.”  He smiled at the vendor, hoping he didn’t look as overwhelmed as he felt.  He must have failed, because she slid from her chair to her feet and walked around the cart.

While the children fussed, Minoru over Eimi and the younger two over Aegis, the old woman approached and tugged the handle of one of Koushiro’s cloth bags.  He surrendered it and watched as she packed it with vegetables.  “Like I said,” she began, “Eimi-chan has come here most days for years.  Minoru walks Aegis when she’s away on short trips.  We all know her…”

She placed a few carrots on top of the growing stack of vegetables, then paused.  Although this woman was a stranger, Koushiro was instantly wary of that mischievous smile.  “Or at least, we thought we did.  Who knew she had such a cute boyfriend?!  Good for her!  But really, making a young lady walk back and forth alone every day, goodness!  You’re supposed to escort her!  Honestly, we were all trying to set her up!  You had better take good care of her while she’s sick, understood?  My oldest grandson is quite handsome, you know!”

Koushiro lifted his hands and moved them in flustered motions, but he was too shocked to string together a vocal denial.  “Hey!” Minoru cried.  “I’m not the oldest!”

His grandmother tittered and patted the boy’s head.  “I’m afraid Eimi-chan is too old for you.  Akio is about the right age.”

“Nuh uh!  I’m ten!”  Minoru stomped his foot and jabbed his thumb against his chest.  “That’s double digits!  I bet Eimi-oneesan isn’t that much older!  Akio-oniichan is waaaaaaay too old!”

“Oh, my.”  The old woman grinned at Koushiro and shook her head.  “Regardless, it seems we old ladies don’t need to play matchmaker after all.”

Koushiro’s frozen tongue finally came unstuck.  “T-that’s not-  I’m afraid-  Eimi-san and I aren’t-  We’re friends.”  He assumed this would appease everyone, especially Minoru, but the boy stomped his foot more violently.

“What!  Why not!  If I were bigger, I would date Eimi-oneesan and take care of her!”

“Oh dear, oh dear.”  The old lady tipped her head to the side, but Koushiro recognized the glint of mischief in her eyes.  “Hush, Minoru, don’t scold the poor man.  I didn’t mean to put you on the spot, dear.  Here, please take these.”

Okay, so that’s it!  I’ll check in again next week!  Please cheer me on, and thanks for reading! 

[celebritylive]

Drake continues to cause a scene on the NBA court.

After the rapper’s beloved team, the Toronto Raptors, beat the Warriors for their first NBA Finals game win in franchise history, Drake, 32, can be seen on the sidelines talking smack to Golden State player Draymond Green.

As Green, 29, exited the court with the rest of the players, he came alongside Drake, who appeared to yell the word “trash” at the power forward after the two shared a heated exchange.

Green previously told reporters that he wasn’t worried about his team’s opponent’s famous superfan.

“Drake can’t shoot. Nor can he pass. You ever seen Drake play basketball?” he said at a press conference last week. “I really don’t care.” Draymond is famously mentioned in Drake’s song “Summer Sixteen.” A rep for Drake did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Green’s teammate Klay Thomspon seemed equally unfazed by the rapper ahead of the game, saying that he wouldn’t be listening to Drake’s hits until after the Finals are over.

“If it’s one of his soft, R&B songs, I’mma skip it ’cause I’m in ‘kill mode’ right now trying to get these four games,” Thompson, 29, told reporters at a press conference earlier this week. “So, I’ll skip ‘Hotline Bling’ or anything along that line.”

RELATED: Klay Thompson Reveals He’s Banning Listening to Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ During NBA Finals

Drake kept busy during the entire game, which ended in a 118-109 victory for the Raptors. The Raptors are the first team to go up against the Warriors other than the Cleveland Cavaliers in five years.

Drake poked fun at star Warriors player Steph Curry by sporting a throwback Dell Curry Raptors jersey to the Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night. Dell, Steph’s dad, played for the Raptors from 1999 to 2002.

The two had an exchange during the game, and while you can’t tell what they are saying, Drake clearly picks something out of Curry’s hair. After the game, he posted a video to his Instagram, saying, “Steph Curry hair lint for sale on my eBay right now!!! username: DraymondShouldntWear23.”

Drake is really picking fuzz out of Steph’s hair while talking smack

pic.twitter.com/03kkKKCVMe

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) May 31, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Despite Drake’s trash talk, he has two tattoos in honor of the Warriors. One says the word “gifted” under Curry’s number, 30, and the other says “snipe” under Kevin Durant’s number, 35. The rapper wore an armband covering the tattoos to the game on Thursday.

Drake’s court side antics have been causing quite the stir in the past few weeks, leading Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer to call out the rapper for crossing boundaries, after he gave Raptors coach Nick Nurse a mid-game shoulder rub.

RELATED VIDEO: Drake Shuts Down Claims He Had Plastic Surgery To Get Better Abs

“I see it in some timeouts, but I don’t know of any person that’s attending the game that isn’t a participant in the game a coach — I’m sorry, a player or a coach that has access to the court,” Budenholzer, 49, said of the rapper’s behavior in a press conference last week, when the teams were tied in their series, 2-2.

“There’s certainly no place for fans and, you know, whatever it is exactly that Drake is for the Toronto Raptors,” he continued. “You know, to be on the court, there’s boundaries and lines for a reason, and like I said, the league is usually pretty good at being on top of stuff like that.”

Drake subsequently responded with a cheeky Instagram post suggesting that his critics were simply “salty” about his team’s win.

The Raptors and the Warriors will face off in Game 2 on Sunday.

from PEOPLE.com http://bit.ly/2Xgjfb6