#hopefully i've got their characters mostly down

[lesbianherald]

hiii I’m curious : what’s your process for creating your stories? like character development, plotting, creating arcs, etc?

thank you for asking !!! i'm going to get way longer and more thorough about this than necessary I feel it in my bones so I'm going to read more this now (I included a few tidbits from my miro board for carry the blade :) )

it's such a mixed bag ! part of this is my adhd lmao, and part of it is because, genuinely, I think each story needs something different.

almost ALWAYS (with one rare exception of a sci/fi fantasy world I've been building for years) I start with character, especially in original work. Because character is everything it's who we're following it's what the audience/readership will grab onto. Usually I have a basic premise and setting already there, but I don't build on it until I get to know who we're dealing with in the story. And then after building up the premise, setting, and plot I do even more character work after.

sometimes.... sometimes I get really impatient to start and start writing half way through the planning process. But anyways.

so I come up with character. do the basics. think about what their deal is. What is the journey they need to have, the lesson they need to learn, what themes and emotions do I want to explore with this character? Why is she important to me? Why will she be important to others?

I also think a lot about relationships

i just wrote a coming of age dramatic comedy for instance, and for that one, I broke up the story into my protagonists relationships. Wrote out the arc/story of each relationship and then combined each of these arcs into the key points that made up the film. Each relationship I wanted to be relevant to her grieving process, as she had just lost her mother. IDK if that makes sense. I wish I could show you but unfortunately I cannot.

for fic its honestly similar, but we already know character, so I usually ask what about this character/these characters am I most excited to explore.

that being said, coming home came to me in the idea for what they'd be like in modern day, and then a single idea for a single scene - their first kiss in the lab. I wrote that first, then asked myself what the context I wanted to give it was. Of course, I changed it a little once I actually got to writing and fleshing out chapter eight.

but this fantasy fic i'm writing is a fun example. I'm building out a lot. I'm building out characters, the world, the themes. - using visuals to help me kind of guide myself.

but because I have adhd and get impatient. I am outlining throughout this process to keep myself entertained. perhaps ideally you'd figure out everything first then outline then write but my brain just doesn't work that way.

in fics, especially, the relationship is so important that I really like to see how the obstacles they face, both due to their own psychology and internal pressures, can reflect the themes, create tension, etc.

but i also like to reflect on side characters too - their motivations and desires. So they don't just become like - flat little reflections of the central love story.

Finally, and this i learned from acting theory mostly - but I love it - is in each scene I like to think of what each character wants, what they are going to do to try and get that, and why they want it. In this fic, wants are something I also look at from a chapter by chapter basis.

side note - and i'm only saying this this far down so hopefully not too may people will see it - but I do have a secret subplot going on throughout the first half of this story that the audience doesn't know about.

in order to make this work I've been mapping out everything going on behind the scenes, and making sure they pair up well with events that people reading will see. it helps me plant little hints and seeds while hopefully not giving too much away (secret subplot in blue, actual story in red)

sorry i know this is such a ramble I just took my meds and had a double shot of expresso so I am buzzing right now lmao! Obviously I'm not the expert and there's not only one way. And also it really is so different for me every time. It's important to think about what the story actually calls for !

[bookwyrminspiration]

For prompts “ hey, i know it’s really late, but... i didn’t know who else to call. “ or “how did you even get sick? you look ugly. come here.” as Kenric and Oralie?

Guess who's back at the dialogue prompts! It's me. This ask is rather old, so I don't know if you're still around, but if you are: I hope you enjoy, as they were quite sweet to write <3

ill-advised indulgences <- ao3 link

warnings: mild sickness

word count: 5.1k

Councillor Oralie didn’t enjoy midnight hails under the best of circumstances, and mere hours--if that--away from finishing a project that’d been bothering her for weeks was many things, but it was not the best of circumstances.

“Yes?” she sighed, unable to completely hide her irritation and knowing it was absolutely unprofessional of her; she hadn’t even bothered to look at the screen. The others would have her back in etiquette trainings without hesitation if they caught her like this.

“Hey, I know it’s really late, but... I didn’t know who else to call.”

She straightened in spite of herself, furious at the blush she felt spreading across her cheeks. But even stronger than the heat was the confusion.

“Kenric?”

“Forgotten me already, Ora?”

When she looked to the screen, she couldn’t see a hint of his soft, elegant features--not even an awkward corner angle.

Only stars, twinkling bright across her screen as she held it close in her palm.

“Why are you hailing? Is something wrong?” What was he even doing up in the middle of the night? He should be long asleep by now--just as she should’ve been, but she ignored that.

Something rustled, and his voice followed--low, like a sigh. “No, nothing’s wrong. Don’t worry your pretty head about it. I just…need a hand, and you’re less likely to be upset with me than any of the others for disturbing you so late. Or at least I thought you would be--that was quite a cold greeting.” He tried for light, but something in his voice strained and it fell flat.

“I’m sorry--you caught me in the middle of something; it was rude of me. What do you need help with?” The sleeve of her dress had slipped, and she pushed it back up her arm to have something to do, then tucked a straying ringlet back behind her ear. She couldn’t remember if she’d looked in a mirror that morning, and she wasn’t willing to admit to herself why she suddenly cared.

“Can you come to Siren Rock?” he asked, and she blinked.

“What are you doing at Siren Rock? Your Universe homework? If you’ve forgotten it, I think it’s a little too late to make it up.” She couldn’t help the laugh in her throat and smile on her lips, because it was such a ridiculous place for a councillor to be. People only went to Siren Rock for mediocre stargazing, or to appease their Mentors with proof they could passably bottle starlight.

Her laugh cut off as he answered, “Yes, actually.” He sounded amused.

“You’ve lost me,” she admitted. And yet she found herself trying to remember where she’d set her pathfinder; surely it was somewhere amid all these papers.

Still not showing his face, he explained. “It’s part of a…classified assignment. I was supposed to be working on it myself, bottling quintessence, but the quantity is more than I can manage. I can’t see straight enough to even guess where the right stars are anymore.”

“You’re bottling quintessence?” There it was, on the floor next to her desk; she must’ve bumped it off and hadn’t noticed amid the rest of the mess she’d made.

“From Phosforien and Marquiseire, yes. Can you help? It’s alright if you can’t, I’ll ask one of the others.”

“No!” The word burst out with more force than she intended, and she had to clear her throat before continuing. “I’ve already set my pathfinder. Do I need to bring anything, or is it just me you need?”

“Just you, Ora.” Then he added, “Make sure to bring a warm cloak, I don’t want you to get cold.”

“I’ll be right there,” she promised, ending the hail and turning from her project with a small pang of regret. She’d built such momentum, but it’d been doomed the moment she answered the hail. She could never say no to Kenric.

Except when it came to the one topic neither of them dared breath a word about.

~

The chill slipped around the edges of her thick rose cloak as Oralie glittered into the dark of Siren Rock, the uneven earth illuminated by the silvered moonlight creeping across it, the waves pulsing against the cliff’s edge and filling the air with salt.

It didn’t take her long to find Kenric, who lay back against the hard ground with his eyes closed. A stellarscope lay forgotten beside him, alongside a case of quintessence, almost full of bright bottles.

Unnerved, she moved to the other side of him; that much quintessence simply sitting there? Kenric was oh so careful, but the substance was too unpredictable to ever be safe.

And yet here she was.

“Kenric?” she asked, uncertain. He hadn’t moved, even though she certainly hadn’t been quiet.

The hand on his chest twitched, and his bright eyes found hers.

They looked…tired.

“Ora,” he answered, and it was as if a mask descended over him. Gone were the lines and exhaustion, now he smiled gently up as her, pushing to a sitting position. “Don’t worry over me--I see that crease in your brow. I was only resting my head to try and ease the blurriness.”

His smile widened, that crooked one that always made her heart beat twice as fast, but she didn’t believe him. “Did it work?”

He shook his head. “You’re all smudges--which is a shame. You have a lovely face.”

Now that it wasn’t through an imparter, there was definitely something wrong with his voice. Too thick? Too deep? Too worn?

And then she remembered she was supposed to say something back. “How many bottles do you have left?”

Something crossed his face she couldn’t identify, and she wanted to reach out to brush skin and feel exactly what it was. But she didn’t, and Kenric sat up straighter, entirely unaware of how his hair stuck out at the back from his repose as he turned to count.

“Four more--can you handle that?”

In spite of her concern, she scowled as indignation sparked. “Of course I can handle four bottles. I’m not fragile.”

“Of course you can,” Kenric agreed, running a hand through the copper of his hair--he wasn’t wearing his circlet, she realized. And he didn’t have a cape--didn’t he feel the cold? She could even through the thick fabric of her cape.

In the silence that fell, she stepped around him to pick the stellarscope up from where he’d left it; his hand reached toward it a moment later, as though he was going to get it for her, but had moved too slowly, and practically flinched away as he nearly bumped her arm.

Awkwardly retracting his hand, he blinked up at her. They were level, but only as she bent down; he’d stayed on the ground since she’d arrived, and it couldn’t be comfortable. She could see the flecks of green in the blue of his eyes, the lashes framing them as the red of his hair fell over his brow, the creases around his eyes, and the stars reflected in his pupils.

She realized she’d frozen looking at them, and heat bloomed deep in her chest.

“Phosforien and Marquiseire, correct?” She grabbed the accompanying bottling gloves, donning them as she straightened, hoping the slight distance would clear her head, that the chill of the night would wash away the flush she could feel spreading against her will.

It didn’t. If anything, the few feet between them intensified the charge as she stood over him reciting all the reasons she shouldn’t and couldn’t.

Kenric needed a moment as well, and his breath came heavy as he nodded. “Two of each, please.”

Oralie nodded, re-tucking that same stray ringlet back as she searched the sky; she’d called up her memories of the unmapped stars as she’d grabbed her cape, wanting to be prepared--if they could even be called her memories, since they’d been implanted in her head by a mind much sharper than hers when she’d accepted her circlet.

With careful precision she searched through the stellarscope, checking thrice she’d calibrated correctly before flicking the switch and filling the bottle she’d loaded.

The other three went just as smoothly, the only sound her roaring pulse as she worked; Kenric sat behind her--he’d asked if she’d minded, as he didn’t want to stand too soon and undo all the progress he’d made re-orienting himself; of course she hadn’t minded.

She tried her damndest not to squirm, even though she swore she could feel his eyes tearing bits and pieces of her away and draining her very essence.

Blinking away a heady flash of light with the final bottle of quintessence, she carefully placed all four into Kenric’s compartmentalized satchel alongside the other ten. Each divided section was thoroughly padded to keep the bottles from bumping together and increasing the risk of explosion.

As she crouched, resolutely not looking at him, her cape shifted. A cold breeze coiled around her and she shuddered, goosebumps raising on her arms as it washed over her so thoroughly it left her senses entirely blank.

And with it, her focus sharpened.

She’d been trying so hard not to be aware of him, she’d missed the signs--even though she’d known the moment he called something was wrong.

It wasn’t his eyes on her back she’d felt creeping and draining--or at least not entirely.

“You’re unwell,” she said, turning her head to look at him. And suddenly it was obvious--the shadows beneath his eyes and the flat line of his mouth, the heavy breaths and low voice, the fact the most he’d moved was to sit up when she’d arrived.

How he’d needed her to complete his starlight bottling, already entirely unable to see when there’d been hardly a dozen in the bag.

She could see him forming the defense in his mind, and sure enough, “It’s just a headache, Ora. A long day and intense starbottling. I appreciate your concern, but don’t worry your pretty head about it..”

Oralie scowled back. “Don’t patronize me. I can feel it, even from here.” She eyed the space between them.

She was a talented Empath--but she was valuable for her stellar interpreting abilities upon contact, not for being able to take readings without it.

If she could feel the bone deep weariness through the air…

“When will you learn you can’t lie to an empath?” she asked, shaking her head. And a sort of recklessness surged through her. “How did you even get sick? You look ugly. Come here.”

She lowered herself near him, the cold rock startling even through her clothes as she unfastened her cloak.

“Ora, you don’t--”

“You’ve lost your mind if you think I’m going to let you sit there in the cold when you’re sick.” She shrugged off the cloak, and Kenric only mildly protested as she wrapped it tight around his neck--if she’d needed any more proof that he wasn’t himself, that was it.

The thick gradient pink fabric shimmered under the moonlight, embroidered with roses and lilies and entirely at odds with Kenric’s simple color-blocked attire. But he sagged ever so slightly beneath it anyways, reaching up to clasp it tighter around his neck as her warmth seeped into him.

He looked to her then, and raised a brow. “Did you say I looked ugly? Is it really that bad?”

And even though it was the middle of the night and goosebumps had started to erupt on her arm, and his discomforted exhaustion pulled at her very core, she flushed.

“I didn’t--”

He laughed, and it made obvious the thick crackle in his throat. “Relax, Ora. I’m only teasing. I know I’ve looked better.” He sat forward off his hand to rub it over his eyes, grimacing.

She wanted to argue for some reason, but…he wasn’t wrong.

A faint gleam of sweat had broken across his brow, and his fingers trembled where they held the cloak close at his neck.

“I’m taking you home,” she told him, making up her mind right there. He furrowed his brow, so she continued. “You have your quintessence--surely whatever it’s for can wait at least until morning, if not for a day or two for you to recover. I insist--I don’t want you handling anything potentially disastrously explosive when you can hardly see straight!”

Kenric shook his head slowly as she retrieved her pathfinder from her pocket, gloves making her fingers slip before she removed them as she began to adjust it for the coordinates she knew better than any other.

“That’s kind of you, Ora, but it’s unnecessary.” He began to unfasten the cloak, but she stopped him by pushing the satchel of quintessence into his lap alongside the stellarscope and gloves. He tried again. “I’ll manage, and you have better things to do than worry about me.”

“You don’t know that,” she shot back, successfully clicking the pathfinder into place and reaching for him; she made sure to touch only fabric, but even so the feeling of his sickness washed over her. “Concentrate--I don’t want to lose you.”

“Ora--” he began, but shut off and did as she asked as she held the crystal to the light, casting a beam over them to draw them away; she’d done it that way so he wouldn’t have a choice--either concentrate and go with her, or get drawn into the light for eternity.

Not that she would’ve ever let that happen to him; her concentration had been wrapped around him even tighter than around herself.

From the intent way he stared at her, brow furrowed, as they reappeared, for a moment she wondered if he’d been doing the same thing. The fool.

“Thank you for being so cooperative,” she told him, and he laughed again, softer.

Kenric began pushing to his feet, and despite the nausea and headache that’d pounded through her when she was only touching the cloak, she reached to help him in spite of herself.

She flinched when their hands touched, and he must’ve noticed, for he pulled away quick once he was steady as he could be.

He looked around at the castles towering over them, the arranged rocks that made up his front yard; they’d materialized on the path towards his door.

“You’re adorably stubborn,” he remarked as she turned to lead the way; she had no worries about him not following now. What else was he going to do? Walk away from her?

Sure enough, his footsteps followed behind as she opened his door--but they fell heavy and shuffling, and he was attempting to hide a grimace when she turned back to look at him. And then they stopped, and she peered over her shoulder to see him still at the bottom of the steps, staring at them.

It took a moment before she figured out the problem. “Oh, you’re ridiculous.”

She didn’t allow herself time to cringe away or hesitate as she alighted down the steps and linked her arm with his, taking some of his weight.

“Ora, you should go home,” he tried, but she wasn’t hearing it.

“You can hardly stand and you want me to leave you alone?” she hissed, jaw tight against the malaise flooding her. A cacophony of hurts and aches bruising inside her ribs, pressing foul heat against her heart, throbbing in her fingertips. She refused to let it win. “I thought you were supposed to be smart.”

“Never, when it comes to you.” The words were like a sigh as he let them slip and leaned against her, giving in.

She decided not to try and decipher what that meant as she led him inside and was faced with where, exactly, to put him.

The stairs would be unwise with his trembling even though his bedroom was up there, so she turned instead towards his greeting room.

The plush cushions were where he’d meet guests and visitors from the population, if he wasn’t always so busy with such random errands--what on earth could he need so much quintessence for?

She deposited him on the cushions, guilty at the relief it was to no longer feel his symptoms as she pulled away to seek out remedies. She was almost entirely out of the room before realizing she’d forgotten an important step

“Have you taken anything already?” she asked, all business as the most ludicrous pang had her wanting to touch him again. To feel his flushed heat, even as dizziness washed through her.

Kenric took a moment to reply, and when she looked back over at him he’d hunched; his fingers pinched the bridge of his nose tight, brow crunched intensely and mouth a thin, pale line.

He started and straightened as he realized she was still there, still watching.

As though he’d been allowing himself a moment of weakness, one she wasn’t meant to see.

“Ah…no,” he admitted, and had the wisdom to look sheepish, so she didn’t say anything as she turned away again to allow him his reprieve.

He thanked her politely upon her return, leaning back against the couch and more composed as he downed the few elixirs she’d brought. Simple things, but hopefully enough to tide him over until she could convince him to see a physician.

But she knew trying now would be fruitless, and she didn’t want to waste his energy when he clearly had so little--he may have been able to fool the others, but he was most assuredly not fooling her.

She’d watched him too closely for too many centuries.

And she realized with a start as he cleared his throat that she was doing it again.

“I’ll make you some tea,” she offered, searching for the first possible thing she could think of to break the silence.

Kenric had taken off her cloak now that they were inside, and shook his head again. “Truly, Ora. I’m fine--you’ve done more than enough tonight. Don’t let me bother you any longer and go home--you need to rest.”

It took her a moment to respond, but only because she almost couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “You’re telling me to rest?” she scoffed, folding her arms over her chest.

He tried again. “I know you always want to help--”

“Then shut up and let me.”

“I--”

“No!” she cut him off. “When you hail me in the middle of the night for help, you don’t get to suddenly take that back! You should’ve known I’d realize you were sick when you decided to hail me--that one’s on you. Now I’m going to get you a cup of tea, because it’s cold out and your voice sounds horrendous, if you’re done complaining that I’m doing what you asked.”

“That’s not fair, Ora,” he protested, moving as if to get up.

“No, it’s not,” she agreed. “And don’t even think about moving.”

She fumed silently as she turned on her heel, that damned ringlet falling into her face again as she made for his kitchen. She was never looking for a fight with him, but he always managed to poke and prod and rile her up in the most mundane of ways.

She took a few calming breaths as she set the water to heat, and it was starting to work--until she heard footsteps from the greeting room.

Indignant again, she rounded the corner back to him, ready to scold him.

He beat her to it, pausing in the hall with a hand on the wall. “I’m only going for a shower--unless that’s not allowed?” He raised a brow as he said it, a challenging look of amusement on his pallid face.

It brought her up short, and she blanked for a moment. “Of--of course that’s allowed. I’ll just...I’ll be down here,” she finished inelegantly as those green-flecked eyes teased hers.

“If you insist--I do love your company,” he said, maddeningly, as he continued to the stairs; the elixirs must’ve been taking effect, for he seemed to manage without too much trouble.

And then she flushed as he disappeared from sight, realizing she’d been staring at him again.

The night must’ve been getting to her.

The momentum of her now long-forgotten project had pushed her through, and then the rush of Kenric’s hail and the chill of Siren Rock.

But now, warm and unhurried in Kenric’s home, lethargy began to tug at her.

Water turned on overhead, and she had to fight a tingling feeling along her skin as she realized he was, right that moment, undressed just a flight above her.

Shocked by the direction of her own thoughts, she shoved them away and returned to the kitchen, deciding she could use a cup of her own to reorient herself.

She’d just tentatively taken a first sip, hoping it’d cooled enough not to burn her tongue, when Kenric had walked back in.

Stilling, she watched the water drip from the spikes of freshly washed hair, his skin now soft and dewy instead of damp and sweaty--though his color had only marginally improved. Still too wan, still lined, bags under his eyes even more prominent under the kitchen’s crystal lights than the moon’s soft glow.

His clothes stuck to his skin and bunched slightly, and relief flooded her as she saw the simple house attire; he wasn’t planning on leaving again.

Unless he was going to try and get rid of her before he changed and went out…

“Like what you see?” he teased as he took the other cup of tea still beside her on the counter, the one she’d prepared for him.

Her face heated as she scowled, and she tucked that stray ringlet away again. “You really should lie down--you’re exhausted. I can see it in how you move.”

His smile lessened, and he sighed before he took a sip. “You truly won’t let this go, will you?”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

He leaned against the counter beside her, and something flickered through the malaise electric in the air between them--too quick for her to pick it up, but enough to have her on alert.

Turning, he searched her face, and she may as well have been laid bare for how much she was certain he saw. “I mean, Oralie, that you don’t need to stay. You’ve done more than enough for me already--you always do. But it’s late, and you must be exhausted. I can manage myself--I’ll listen to you, and I’ll take the night off. And I’ll even talk to Elwin in the morning. I’ve disturbed you enough for one evening.”

His voice remained low, his eyes still on hers, making it difficult to understand what he was saying.

And then it registered. She straightened, stiff. “I see I’ve overimposed myself. My apologies for not realizing--I won’t keep you from…whatever it is you need to keep from me any longer.”

She set the half-empty mug down that she’d forgotten she’d been holding, and turned away, ignoring the ache in her throat.

“That’s not--” Kenric started, but she cut him off.

“Then what is it, Kenric?” The defeated words burned, dangerously close to everything they weren’t allowed to talk about as she ached. “You say one thing and mean a million other and expect me to be able to parse it out? You say you want my help, and then send me away at the first opportunity. I find you barely able to see on the ground, and you worry if I can handle four bottles. What do you want?”

Silence fell for a heavy moment in the wake of her outburst, swallowing heavily; she was still looking at the door.

“Oralie,” he said, and she knew he was asking her to turn.

She didn’t.

“Oralie,” a plea. “Look at me.”

She wouldn’t.

And then footsteps, and he walked in front of her frozen pose.

Despite herself, she looked to him as he stopped in front of her, his hands reaching.

He hesitated a moment away from her hands, the open skin, but then he moved. Gentle over the fabric, he placed them over her arms, holding his breath as she flinched.

The elixirs had dulled the worst of it, but he wouldn’t be better without time.

“I’m sorry,” he began, quiet, earnest. “I didn’t mean it that way--I never meant to upset you. You can feel I’m telling the truth.” He was. “You’re too good to me, Oralie, you know? You’re so kind, and genuine, and helpful. I don’t want to take advantage of that--I’ll be alright, so I don’t want you wasting your goodness on me when you could be putting it into so many better things.”

“You asked me for help,” she reminded him, voice just as quiet.

“I did.”

“Then why are you trying so hard to push me away?”

She’d fought with him on practically every account since he hailed--even though he’d hailed her. Knowing she was capable and still trying to protect her, knowing he was unwell and unable and yet still trying to do whatever he could alone.

It was enough mixed signals, and it was late enough she could hardly bear their usual dance.

Her next question ached against her tongue. “Do you want me to go? Truly.”

Kenric’s eyes, which had been searching her face this whole time, fell closed. Pained.

He drew a breath, water still dripping from his damp hair, and confessed.

“No.”

The truth of the words rang through her where he still held her. And with it, all her anger drained, leaving only desolate longing she didn’t want to think about.

His fingers tightened around her arms, and he repeated it with a shake in his voice. “No, I quite like it when you stay.”

She knew how close they were pushing to things they shouldn’t talk about, and yet still she reached a hand to rest on his outstretched arm, bracing for the feelings.

She let them wash past her, passing her by without picking them up.

She shouldn’t, couldn’t.

She wanted to.

“No one would blame you for wanting company in your condition.” Her voice felt too light as she created the lifeline, an offer, an impossibility. Something they shouldn’t allow themselves, but that she longed for. Desperately.

And he wanted it too, so much it stole her breath.

“Of course they wouldn’t,” he agreed, slowly, the two of them watching themselves walk over the edge of a cliff they’d never return from. “I might do something unwise, after all.”

She could see it happening, knew this was her last chance to stop this mistake.

And yet she said, “We wouldn’t want that, of course.”

All there was left to do was enjoy the fall, before they hit the ground.

His hands loosened around her, slipping slightly as he exhaled, the weight of what they hadn’t said settling. Permanent.

And as her heart pounded, she damned them further.

She reached a hand out, tracing her fingers along his cheek and furrowing her brow at the heat. “I meant it when I said you should rest.”

And it was as if they both decided to never say a word about what they’d chosen for this night, the indulgence never to be acknowledged again.

“You always know best,” he agreed, leaning into it. His eyes fell closed and his brow softened, and they stood a moment longer.

“Come,” she said, fingertips light as she gently pulled. “Let’s get you settled.”

He followed as she led him up the stairs, past the still-steamy bathroom and to the living quarters she’d only been in a few times before.

They both winced when she snapped the lights on, and she quickly dimmed them.

Kenric’s sheepish embarrassment washed through her as she took in the state of the place; he’d been trying and not quite succeeding for years at keeping his personal space and his work space separate, and scrolls cluttered a significant portion of every surface available.

The bedspread was rumpled and bunched, left from however he’d rolled out of bed that morning--and he quite possibly had rolled, given that even stronger than the embarrassment was the mounting exhaustion.

She had no clue how he’d been able to push himself through the day.

She paid no attention to the mess as she drew them in further--she tried her best not to look at anything, not wanting to know.

Kenric said nothing as she let go of him, moving to the windows and propping them slightly.

Chill air slipped over her skin, a welcome relief from the staleness the walls had captured.

Without her prompting, Kenric had laid down--atop the covers, but laying down nonetheless. The bed seemed to swallow everything but the fevered brightness of his eyes as he watched her, but even as she watched, his eyelids started to flutter.

For some reason, it made her aware of how lopsided and frazzled her quick bun had become, so she reached up to untangle the tie and set it loose.

Kenric made a small noise, almost a hum. He lifted his hand then, an invitation.

Her heart stopped in her chest, and something in her screamed at them to stop, reminded her of just how much they weren’t allowed to want this.

But she took it anyway, and lowered herself to sit on his bed.

He was nearly asleep already, the poor thing. But still he whispered, “Thank you, Ora.”

She didn’t ask what he was referring to.

And as his eyes closed, she could’ve sworn they flickered to her lips, and a wave of…something, pulsed where they still touched. Too abstract and encompassing even for her to translate.

So she didn’t let herself try, dreading when they’d hit the ground.

She just let his hand hold hers, and watched his breathing settle as he stopped fighting himself.

And in that moment, she’d never been further from him.

Sitting on his bed, watching the lines of his face smooth and feeling the peace settling through him where they touched. Alone together with cool night air filling her lungs, everything she could not have prickled in the back of her mind.

The pillow was wet from his hair, and she wanted--oh, how she wanted--to trace the edge of his jaw, the line of his registry pendant over the smooth skin of his neck, to press her hand to his chest and feel his heartbeat. Reminding her over and over with its rhythm that he was alive, alive, alive.

But she couldn’t.

She wouldn’t do that to him--or to herself. To the countless people who needed her kindness to challenge the others’ fear and haste.

So she didn’t move, only breathed.

And tried to absorb every moment of this foolish, beautiful indulgence before it was gone.

[always-just-red]

hello hi! ik the fandom mostly favors interactions between LIs & MCs/Readers but i was wondering if you have your own ideas between the LADS boys like friendship headcanons between them? how their dynamic works and which would be the best bros with each other or strongest siblings rivalry vibes between them (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

hopefully this is alright to request! 🙏🏻

Hi!! That's totally alright, I've seen so many good takes on this already and I love a good character analysis, so would love to weigh in! I waited to answer this since I was actually working on this fic when you sent it, and that's got all the guys interacting, so check it out if you're interested! 🥰

Disclaimer: These are all my personal headcanons! I'm not the authority on the boys and their characterisations, nor do I claim to be, so pls be respectful if you disagree with anything!

Ok so!

I can see Rafayel and Sylus getting on well once they're more familiar with each-other (though maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part).

I think Sy would honestly force Raf to confront a lot of his own insecurities? After all, Sy seems a lot more comfortable in who he is-- he's got that self-assuredness and charm that we all know Raf has to put more conscious effort into portraying. Whilst we don't know the extent of his past, Sylus has clearly made peace with the fact that he has to do bad things sometimes, whereas Rafayel still seems to have a lot of inner conflict around his actions, morality and identity.

I imagine Raf resenting Sy a little at first and so acting out a bit, trying to one-up him etc, and Sy being Sy, I think he'd probably rise to the challenge (he could be the bigger man, but like, where's the fun in that??)

Sylus is smart, so I think he'd probably realise pretty quickly that Rafayel is masking. They've both been through a lot, and once they see that in each-other there'd be a mutual respect I hope. Plus they probably have common enemies?? So if they can both get over the instinct to lone-wolf it, that's one kick-ass team ready to go (and I will be SEATED, ready to enjoy the view!!!)

If the guys are all out together, Zayne's probably gonna take it upon himself to be mediator, care-taker etc, especially as I think he'd be the one to read between the lines and notice if any of the others are struggling (e.g. if Rafayel's getting worn out in a social setting).

At first, it would be because they're MCs friends! He knows she cares about them, so he's gonna be looking out for them all. But he needs a break! So once they're all more familiar, I can see the others trying to coax him into relaxing and letting his guard down a bit, and he'll appreciate that! (But he will keep one eye on the ball because, like, imagine Raf coming up to you and saying 'I've got this, you can totally trust me' like you would have a med-team on standby, y'know?)

I think Sylus and Zayne would naturally have a bit of rivalry in terms of authority, but it would be light-hearted. There's an ongoing debate around who MC left in charge (Zayne) but there's only one person who's actually convinced by that debate (Sylus). He's gonna assume leadership position anyway, and Zayne lets him get away with it to a specific extent, unless it crosses a line, and then it quickly becomes clear who the real leader is.

Xavier!! I can see Xavier being the 'quiet one' of the group who secretly has a lot more sway than any of them realise. The others are super comfortable around him, especially Zayne when he actually wants to relax, or Rafayel when his social battery is dead. But! Xavier's no push-over, and that quickly becomes apparent in any conflict.

I actually think Sylus would enjoy stoking Xavier's darker side (if Xavier gets involved in an argument you best believe Sylus has the popcorn ready) and that the two would make pretty good sparring partners. They'd have fun with the whole Hunter's Association vs Onychinus thing, similar to the MC/Sylus dynamic.

But at the end of the day?

There's a reason we love the boys-- they're all good guys, and whatever conflicts there are, they're gonna figure it out for MC's sake. They've all been through so much, and they're all selfless in their love for MC, so that's always gonna be something they can relate to and appreciate in each-other.

And I think they could all benefit from more genuine friends?

So yeah! That's my take! I know I love angst but I'm choosing to be an optimist, mostly because I love the found-family trope and I wanna see the boys getting up to sitcom-type shenanigans! 😭😭😭

[journen]

do you have a list of good CoD fanfics, or favorite writers in general?? <3

Presented in no particular order, here are some of my personal faves / fics I really enjoyed, and my own summaries for them. Hopefully you enjoy, thanks for the ask, anon!!!

I didn't tag all the authors because I'm not sure if they all have tumblrs, but also I'm shy tagging people ahjdfhkaheje. If any authors here are mentioned tho and you have a tumblr, feel free to lmk and I can update this post to include your tag!!:)

Anything rated mature I colour coded the name in red, and anything explicit green. Not all the mature fics feature smut, but yeah! I didn't want to link anything tooooo explicit here, but if anyone wants any, I can definitely rb this post to add a few more 😅

Also, just beware the tags on any of these fics because some feature kind of heavy subject matter. 👍

COF FIC REC LIST:

A Very MacTavish Christmas - @m3rrywe4ther

Prob my fav fic in the fandom lololol. HUGE RECCOMMEND. It's about Johnny who gets roped into spending the holiday Christmas season with his , for the most part, very not so nice family, and Simon accompanies him. So much stuff happens in this fic and it's such a great character exploration of Simon and Johnny independently, but also as a couple, and just so much stuff happens in it lol again, HUGE RECOMMEND!!!

We'll make Death Proud to Take us - Literal_Satan

Fic where, it starts off really sweet where Simon goes to Scotland with Johnny to spend Christmas with him and his family, but things take a drastic turn when Soap's brother, a police officer/detective, gets a little too curious about mysterious Simon, and the story spirals from there. All the guys end up on this crazy goose chase tracking down some of the people who were involved in Roba's brainwashing operations. The fic gets v dark at times and deals with some very heavy trauma so beware, but it's SO. GOOD.

Dream a Little Dream - Angelicasdean

Again, one of my total fav fics in the fandom!! AU where Simon leaves the army to raise his nephew Joseph, who's the sole survivor of the Riley family massacre, and Johnny is one of the daycare teachers at the daycare where Simon takes Jo 🥺🥺👍👍

Pretend to love me like I do - FetteEule

Really cute fic of Simon who accompanied Johnny to Scotland for his sister's wedding, under the ruse they are dating. They are v much pining but not there yet. Features lots of really cute domestic moments and Simon being really sweet to Johnny's kid nephew 😭🧡

Something important - Anonymous

One of the fics that has me totally brainrotted rn. It's about Simon's who's been de-aged to 6 years old, and Price, Gaz and Soap all taking care of him and trying to figure out how he got turned, and how to turn him back! They all get tested on their abilities to care for a child, and unwillingly learn a lot of details about Simon's childhood they never knew. This summary doesn't do it justice tho, so I'd just recommend checking it out! Beware tho again, there is some dark childhood trauma stuff but there are warnings at the start of each chapter that contains references to it.

Seasons - StinglessWasp

In this fic every chapter is set during a different season and tells a unique sort of story/mission/interaction Soap and Ghost have. Definitely some v good angst&hurt/comfort stuffs too. Starts off pre-relationship, and explores their characters a lot! It's just really good HUGE reccommend lol.

What the Eyes Don't see - WhiplashRogue

One of my FAVESSSS! So the premise is like, Soap can actually see ghosts ever since he was a child (which most other people can't see and also don't believe in), and Ghost has 2 spirits attached to him that follow him around(Joseph, and Roach). The fic starts off pre relationship, and it mostly about Soap trying to learn more about these two spirits and discovering more about Ghost's past.

All that's said in the Low Light - Headlocket

Probably one of the most emotional I've ever read LMFAO. It's about Johnny, who receives a back & knee injury bad enough he gets discharged from the army, and is back in Scotland living with his parents as he recovers. He and Ghost lost contact a bit since the accident, and it's sort of a story of them reconnecting. This description doesn't do it justice, just read it, but it will emotionally destroy you lol

Time Loops Suck (series) - Enter_fand0m_reference00

The first installment of the fic takes the idea that Soap is stuck in a time loop during the alone mission! And all the optional dialogues and interactions in thE alone mission are separate attempts of his trying to survive the loops and rendez vous with Ghost. It's just sooo good!! And then there's a follow up fic where it deals with the mental aftermath of the loops and Ghost comforting soap through it, then there's 2 other installments of Simon who instead goes through a time loop! They are such great character explorations in how both Soap and Ghost experience the loops, and I whooleee heartedly reccommend.

Yellow Card - SkerryB

Soccer au fic!! It's so good! Simon is the captain of a soccer team Soap is drafted to as their new goalie. Simon has had a history with Soap before though, that he was the only goalie Simon could never score on! So that's how it starts, and it's just so good from there!! Simon's family are also alive in the fic and his nephew is adorable.

You swept me off my feet - @ghoulishhone

Ghost is down bad for strong Soap, the fic xD This was a fic Ghoulishone and I were paired together to work on for the Ghostsoap server reverse bang! They wrote the fic and I made some accompanying art. Just a cute fic of Soap having to pick up Ghost after he gets injured and some other shenanigans that ensues:)

Dear Mr Ghost - @shortcuts-make-long-delays

SUCH A CUTE FIC!! The majority of the fic is these letter/pen pal exchanges between Ghost, and Soap's young niece Chloe...it's just. So. Good. And was written by a friend of mine too! BIG RECCOMMEND.

Give me Hope and Let me Down - MechanicalBones

Some of the best Ghost whump I read lolll. Ghost is captured by some people with ties to Roba and tortured. Meanwhile Soap is on his way to rescue him, and eventually he does, and there's a lot of hurt and comfort. It's also a getting together fic. 🥺

Unspoken Love - Hammy101

( Super amazing oneshot. I feel I can't do this fic justice with any summary. Just read it. 🥺 It has decent Ghost whump AND domestic off duty cute ghost soap angsty stuff it's just one of my faves ever!!!!)

Except You, You can Stay - Iravaid

Really realistic, believable portrayal and expansion upon a lot of the key events that happen in the Ghost comics. From his childhood, to the mental aftermath of Roba, his family dying...it's heavy but really really good. And has a happier hopeful ending that's Ghost/Soap 🥺

Hat Trick of the Heart and the sequel Family, Gotta Love em - Librarian_FanFicFan

Absolutely am obsessed with these fics!!! It's an AU about Ghost who is recently discharged from the military due to injury, and on a flight back to London where he is seated next to Soap, a famous footballer/soccer player. Ghost doesn't know who he is tho, but they hit it off and exchange numbers. The second installment features Simon's family!!! And Tommy being dramatic and shocked over the fact his brother got the number of this famous sports player... SUPER CUTE IF YOU LIKE RILEY FAMILY STUFF.

As for my fav CoD authors I wholeheartedly recommend anything by:

RedClegane, m3rrywe4ther, Hammy101, TheEdwardianOne, Iravaid, and so many authors but I can't list them all ahaha...but hopefully this is a good start!

Hopefully this helps anon! Sorry it took me a while.

[askthefamous8]

Even if I haven't been very active lately, 9 years is still pretty significant- happy birthday to the blog!

So like Percy up there I'm gonna do so dome reflecting. This blog's where I've often done that for some reason, but here's the tl'dr for blog related stuff.

• I would like to keep drawing stuff but feeling generally unsure in myself, and I'm wondering if all the years of fandom harrassment have caught up with me • I have one big project in mind, I've been dipping my toe into what I'd need to do it. No spoilers but it was one of the first things I played around with this series, so do with that what you will • If I can keep myself drawing, I want to use more of the original source material since I'm struggling with original ideas. So stuff like redraws, hOpEfULlY even animatics, just like what originally got me so into trains yknow? Because that's fun and sparks joy. And that always goes down a treat with you guys so bonus • As always I appreciate you guys not coming after me for being so inconsistent

The rest of this is me doing what Percy's doing in the drawing and reflecting, as there is indeed much 2 think about. It's also a little sad and venty so, there's your warning there.

.

Ok so obviously a busy year, we moved into our new house that we actually own, I spent most of the year planning our wedding, and then got married. Big stuff. Also! I came off antidepressants in the summer. I've been on them for...basically as long as this blog, 6 months after I started it I think. Which also means I'd been on antidepressants my entire adult life. Feels like a big deal and I guess I'm still adjusting.

Another big thing, but sad, is that my dog died about two weeks ago. If you follow me on twitter you'll have seen her but she did make an appearance here a few Halloweens ago

I got her when she was 13 and had her 8 years after that. So that's been difficult. Unrelated to that (probably), but I just feel...really mediocre. And before you point out the obvious, this has been present even before I came off antidepressants. But yeah just... mediocrity. In myself as a person, how I look, what I draw, my whole life really (barring my marriage thankfully). What have I achieved? I'm 26, I'm not working, I don't feel well, my art isn't good (I don't think so anyway- like yeah it's technically fine I guess but it's not, and has never been, very stand-out or impressive). And lately art doesn't bring me the same joy it once did, and I'm wondering if all the years of harrassment from this fandom (mostly the twitter side, tumblr's been pretty good to me) has finally caught up with me and put me off the whole thing. Or worse, that I just don't have as much of an interest in it anymore. I don't think I'll ever be like "ok yep I'm officially done with this blog" because I'm so stubborn but idk. I want to make things and be creative, I want to make more train art, but it doesn't feel the same. I don't know what's wrong. What do you listen to? What you want vs what you feel? I still enjoy train stuff, I love going to Awdry Ex every year. It's been like this for awhile. It's not even like I have a strong feeling of what I'd rather be doing as far as careers go. And even if I did, oh yeah I'm sure my two degrees in animation will be very relevant in another field (sarcasm). I feel adrift. My sails are open but there is just no wind. Planning my wedding gave me something to do and work on and just, feel useful but now that that's over I feel lost again. Losing my dog, who had become the center of my life because of how vulnerable she had become, hasn't helped.

On the more creative side of things, I also don't really know what to do with this blog's story either. The show's ended as far as most people are concerned, and I kiiinda wrote myself into a corner because once Thomas turns 18 he's going to leave for university, and that sets off this whole arc with James but basically the problem is it involves characters leaving and for some reason that feels like a no-no here. Don't get me started on the timeline lol. But Thomas works on a railway on Sodor, that's how it has to be...right? I guess I'm sort of at a crossroads of, ok do I want this to be close to the source material, and thus easily digestible to newcombers? Or do I want to make it more and more my thing and distanced from the source material? I doubt there's many new people coming since the series ended. And even then, there's a lot more humanization artists around now than when I started, so it's not like I'm filling a niche anymore. Just to be clear it's fine and also good that there's more humanization artists, variety is good, I just don't feel as "needed" anymore (which is 100% in my head and not an actual role that belongs to me or something). I started this blog when I was 17, so my interests and what I relate to have changed obviously. The character designs certainly have. It's never followed a super rigid story plan, but the core of it has always been the central cast doing things on Sodor. I however have always had a scene/project/animatic/whatEver in mind for when this 'series' would '''officially''' ''''end''''. But then what comes after that? I've always tried to run this blog like they are Real People that You interact with. But in real life there is no ending to the story, there's always more stuff to come. You get married, and it's wonderful, and then life goes on. The credits never roll. So maybe that's what I'm having trouble coping with...the progression of time. Ah, my old nemesis. I've always had trouble with letting go of things. There's nothing to say that I couldn't still draw stuff after the series "ends". I guess any story after Thomas leaves could be like... a sequel series or a spin off or something. Spin-off of a spin-off. Famous 8 All Grown Up. Famous 8 Qurter Life Crisis. Who knows. I certainly don't.

I've also been really into an original project unrelated to this but those don't get as much attention and while I'd like to do something with it one day, I don't feel very confident in being able to make that happen right now. But you know... as far my as art not being super spectacular goes... I think my individual talent has always been is my ideas, like the writing side of things. And then brought to life with my art, which normally isn't anything to write home about but is good enough to convey the idea and be not-awful to look at, lifts both of them beyond what they were individually. Maybe that's what I should focus on. Maybe that's wishful thinking.

So....idk. Idk what I'm doing but I'm trying to be gentle on myself and just let myself continue to drift, to heal from this heavy loss, and then in the New Year I'll try and pick myself up. Then there will be no more big once-in-a-lifetime events coming up, no more just-moved-into-a-house-and-oh-no-there's-a-bunch-of-things-that-need-attention-NOW scenarios, and no more big holidays for awhile. I guess we'll see.

If you read all of this I am so sorry but also thank you for reading my ramblings. And thank you for being around, whether that's been for a few months or for several years, but especially if it's been several years

[wordsaresimple-imnot]

That final line - Joe Liebgott x F!Reader

Summary: Things have changed between Joe and Reader after bearing witness to the Concentration camp. They moved from being best friends to something more emotionally intimate. Now that the war in Europe is over will they cross the last line and become physically intimate?

Warnings: 18+ content (smut, p in v) angst-ish (mentions of war & concentration camp), comforting each other, tooth rotting fluff at end, she/her pronouns (no use of y/n or 1st person POV, but told from Liebgott's perspective sorta).

A/N: I have the biggest respect for the real life heroes of WWII (and all other wars, past & current), this work & all other works is based on the actor(s) and character(s) portrayed in the Band of Brothers series.

A/N pt 2: I love how this turned out. Basically this is just my own self-indulgence wish that I could have held and taken care of Liebgott after that scene of him crying in the truck. As always, let me know what you think! I tried a different writing perspective and I like it, hopefully you do too. Comments, likes, and reblogs make me happy and feel validated!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joe Liebgott would forever be a different man. Easy Company had just liberated Kaufering IV but that included locking the poor souls back up for the medics to be able to try and get them back from the brink of death. The whole thing had left Joe feeling broken and full of pure rage and despair he didn't know how to get rid of it. So he grabbed a bottle of wine and wondered till he found a tree isolated enough he wouldn't easily be found. He just needed space.

He'd been alone for hours, judging by how low the sun was hanging, bottle long since empty, and eyes sore and dry from tears when he heard a twig snap. Looking around the tree, his heart both swelled and shattered at the sight of the person walking towards him. She was his best friend, been that way since Toccoa and all through the war thus far. The only person that could calm him down when his hot-headedness got the better of him and always had his back in every combat situation. He never had to worry when she was around. She was also the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and had long since accepted that his heart would always speed up a little when she was in eyesight. While his heart had the usual reaction at seeing her, he couldn't help but feel broken anew at the sadness on her face and emptiness in her eyes. He wasn't the only one tore up from their recent experience.

"I've been looking for you everywhere." She speaks barely above a whisper as she drops down next to him, already leaning against his arm.

"I'm sorry, I just had to get away for a while. I should have found you and brought you with me." He leans over to drop a kiss on the top of her head.

There's a beat of silence and then she speaks again, still in a low whisper, "Do you think they'll make it?"

The words are a dagger to his already bruised and bleeding heart. He gives a small sniff, trying to hold back the fresh tears.

"I don't know." He feels her turn her body towards him and knows she's taking in his appearance detail by detail.

"You can let it out, Joe. I know this is tearing you up. Please don't hold it in and let it destroy you." One hand grasps his while the other gently takes his chin and turns his head so their eyes meet. He tries to push the emotions back down and come up with something to say, but he loses all resolve when her hand moves to cup his cheek and wipe away a stray tear that falls out.

Joe is suddenly wrapping his arms around her, pressing his face in the crook of her neck and letting it all out. He feels her shift them so he's laying mostly on her, her back against the tree and arms tightly wrapped around him. One hand is gripping the back of his jacket tightly, holding him to her, the other is gently stroking his head, and when he feels the side of his face getting wet he knows she's crying too.

They stay like that for hours, until the sun is nearly gone and all tears have been let out. Even after the tears, they don't move, finding too much comfort in holding each other. The only thing that gets them finally moving is their stomachs growling. Joe gets up first, holding his hand out to help her up and starts walking them back to find some food. He looks down briefly when he feels her intertwine their fingers and give his hand a squeeze. The first smile he's had in days makes it way across his face and he squeezes her hand back.

As the days dragged on ahead, their bond grew even tighter. There was a new level of safety and vulnerability that blossomed. Hands would brush more often, hugs turned tighter and longer, if they were able to they'd often be found napping together tangled limbs and all. It was as natural as breathing to seek the other out and before Joe knew it, he was hit with the realization that he was head-over-heels in love with his best friend.

The popping of yet another champagne bottle drags Joe from his mulling and takes in the sight around him with a smile. They are in the Eagles Nest, the war in Europe is over and everyone is finally able to relax and celebrate. He's sitting by Webster and Perco, watching the other's talk and laugh, already more than a little drunk. His smile widens when he catches her eye, sitting next to Malarkey and they salute each other from across the room.

"You ever gonna make a move, Lieb?" Perco's question lands like a bomb right in his stomach.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He looks at the man next to him like he's crazy, but inside he's frantic. Is it that obvious?

"Oh come on, Liebgott. The two of you have been attached at the hip the whole war, even back at training. We've all noticed the stolen looks between you. The wars over, just go for it." Webster gives him a shove, pointedly ignoring the glare Joe shoots at him.

"I gotta take a leak." Joe abruptly stands and leaves before either of them can continue their pestering. They're right, he knows they're right. Since accepting his feelings, the only thing that's been holding him back has been the on-going war. Sure there's still Japan to figure out but right now, their immediate part is over and he doesn't have to worry about dying and leaving her or worse losing her any second to a bullet or bomb.

Not actually needing the bathroom, he finds himself wondering the halls of the Eagles Nest and randomly picking a room to go into. It's spacious with a sitting area, a large comfortable bed sitting against the back wall, a door leading to an adjoining bathroom next to it and doors to the right leading to a balcony. He heads to the balcony, throwing the doors open and leans against the railing taking in the mountains and open valley. It's so quiet and peaceful, he doesn't know how to reconcile it with the horrors the owner and occupants have done to the people of this land.

"Why am I always having to search for you?" A soft, happy voice speaks behind him. Joe turns around and feels his breathe catch in his throat at how beautiful and easy going she looks, leaning around the doorframe to the balcony. When he didn't respond, she stands up a little straighter. "What? Is there something on my face?"

Joe shakes his head and moves to stand in-front of her, raising his hand to trail a finger down her cheek. "You're beautiful."

"How drunk are you?" Her voice is playful, but Joe knew his words were having an effect on her based on the blush she now had.

"Not even tipsy. But drunk or sober, you're still beautiful." His hand cups her cheek, tilts her head up a little to fully meet his eyes and he decides to cross that final line. "I love you. I love you fully and completely; body, mind, and soul. I need you, more than I need to breathe. If you don't feel the same, that's fine. I will lock my heart away to keep you in my life however you wish to be. But the war here is done and I'm out of reasons to not tell you how I feel. Tell me you don't feel the same and I'll respect that, but if you feel even close to what I feel please let me know."

Joe see's tears form in her eyes and for a heartbreaking second he's sure she's going to tell him 'no' and walk away. Then he feels her hands on his face and holds his breathe as she rises on her toes, stopping when her lips are barely brushing his.

"I love you, Joe. I'm yours; body, mind and soul." And then her lips are pressing against his and Joe thinks he's died and gone to heaven.

Their kiss is passionate and slow, taking full advantage that they don't have to rush and can take their time exploring. Joe starts nudging her backwards, back into the main room and towards the bed. A line of clothes marks their path as they help each other be rid of them, kissing freshly exposed shoulders and necks as they go. Soon enough they've managed to be rid of everything and tumble onto the bed in a heap.

Joe leans back just enough to take in the site of her underneath him. Face flushed, lips swollen and glossy from kissing, hair spread out like a halo, chest rising and falling hard as she tries to catch her breathe. He leans his head down pressing kisses to her neck, trailing down her collarbone, around the swell of her breast and ending at her nipple. He takes his time delivering languid licks and sucks, making her skin pucker and rise. Not wanting to leave the other one out of the fun, his hand cups, massages and pinches a little on the flesh there, his other hand hasn't stopped caressing any part of her skin he can reach.

If he has any doubts of how he's making her feel, the gasps and moans falling from her lips dispel them quickly. Soon enough her hands are in his hair and scratching down his back as she wraps her legs around his waist pulling him closer. Joe stops his minstrations on her breast with a groan when his erection is pressed right against her wet core and he can't help but roll his hips into her again. This time they both moan.

"Joe, please. I need you." Her voice is ragged and the lustful look in her eyes almost has him finishing right then. He shifts to the side a little, giving him room to run his hand down her side and cup her core. She's soaking and his brain short circuits a little.

His fingers make quick work of making sure she is coated properly, detouring to her clit to rub until she starts to whimper and pull at him. As he meets her eyes, he raises his fingers to his lips and sucks her taste off of them.

"Goddamn, baby. Next time I'm spending hours down there." He rushes out as he positions himself at her entrance. "But if I don't have you soon, I might die." He looks at her for confirmation that she's ready and when she nods, he starts pushing in slowly.

They groan together at the feel of him sliding into place like a puzzle piece coming home. Once he's bottomed out, he drops down to his elbows, putting more of himself on top of her and rests his forehead against hers. Her thighs tighten around him as she turns her head to kiss him.

"Move. Please." She bites his bottom lip at the same time she scratches his back again.

"Yes ma'am." He presses his lips firmly to her, swallowing the moan she lets out as he pulls out and quickly snaps back in. He finds a steady rhythm, angling his hips just right so he's brushing that sweet spot within her. Her back bows, pressing her chest further into his and exposes her neck to his lips. He doesn't waste any time placing a hard bite where it'll be hard to hide the mark already forming. This spurs something in her and soon her hands are in his hair, tugging his head to the side as she returns the favor.

Joe can tell she starts to get close to her release, as her walls start fluttering around him and her moans start becoming more frequent. He raises himself up, gripping the headboard with one hand and dropping his other hand down to rub her clit.

"I know you're close baby. Look at me as you let go." His voice is deep and commanding. Her eyes immediately lock onto his and his movements pick up speed. A few more hard thrusts and a pinch on her clit and she's moaning his name and clamping down around him. The feeling of her combined with his name falling from her lips like a prayer has him falling right behind her.

As they come down from their highs, they exchange slow kisses and 'I love you's'.

Bonus scene:

Not wanting to waste a beautiful day, the guys had decided to have an impromptu baseball game. Joe stood in his spot, waiting to bat next, sending a smile and wave to the stands where his girl was watching and cheering. They were getting ready for the next play when Winters came strolling across the field. They all crowded around him, fully expecting to hear their deployment orders for fighting Japan. Instead he was giving them the best news they'd heard since VE day. Japan had surrendered. The war, all of it, was finally over.

All the guys started cheering, exchanging hugs and pats on the backs. Joe see's her coming towards them at an easy jog, a curious look on her face. He gives her the biggest smile and runs right up to her, lifting her in his arms and spins her around.

"Japan surrendered. It's over. We're going home." Her smile matches his as she fully takes in his words and hugs him back. Just as quick as it started, Joe stops spinning her and sets her down on her feet, then he's down on one knee, holding her hands.

"Marry me. Come back home with me. Or wherever you wanna live. I don't care. Just marry me, please." Everything dulls around the edges as he holds his breathe, waiting for her response.

"Yes, Joe!" She smiles bright enough to blind the sun and then starts laughing when he jumps back up and starts spinning her around again. The only sound is the cheering of their friends and their hearts beating in sync.

[a-butterfly1]

==✦NINJAGO AU MASTERPOST✦==

This is an AU I've been working on, I will actually work on it on writting ( on AO3 ) instead of making a comic/manga because I tend to procastinate when it comes to drawing panels ( if you have been keeping up with other pojects of mine you would know this), hopefully I will keep this updated.

==❤︎CHARACTER INFORMATION❤︎==

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon

Age- 1000+ (immortal) Height: 5'8 (1,73m)

Lloyd has lived many years, of course, now he's immortal, he doesn't have much of a choice but to continue living on. He was many things throughout his life: a bratty child, a son, a master, a hero and now he's nothing more than a myth, while still a part of ninjago history many actually question if he ever really existed or not. He ostracized himself from society for a reason, after all,- it's painfull to make relationships when they are so short lived. He is considered a god by many, but he denies that being the case, maybe the embodiment of the balance between good and evil but he wont try to call himself anything more. Lloyd now lives with the spirits of his family with the occasional visits from Morro and Garmadon, his father.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Jay Walker

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 115 Height: 5'10 (1,78m) Status: Nya's husband

He was a man of the spotlight, he shined brithly- TV shows, TheyTube channels, he was knowed worldwide. Not that he minds the retirement, he lived his life; he had two beautiful twins with the love of his life, Nya. He died happy, even if he was the last one to die, 3 years after Nya had passed. His last years were spent with Lloyd. In his many years in the Ninja team, he's come to realise he doesn't exactly have the same type of strengh like the others so he created a different weapon one that creates iron alloy strings, that resemble spider webs. He also practiced racing with his wife in his free time and created all kinds of machines and weapons which ranged from house equipment to ninja tech, like mechs, weapons and transport.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Kai Smith

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 95 Height: 6'2 (1,88m) Status: Skylor's husband and Nya's bio brother

Kai was a little bit of an influencer in his younger years, but as the years went by he settled more into being a family man with his wife Skylor and his little girl. How did he become a spirit? Well it was his idea; well his plan was to become immortal like Lloyd but he was intersected by Morro, so he opted for the second best option: giving his powers to Lloyd, so even if he was dead he would be with Lloyd through his power; what wasn't part of the plan was he actually becoming part of Lloyd as a spirit, not that he is complaining, he got what he wanted in the end; and since he was the one that piched the idea to the ninja, he just involved them all into the mad plan- one that Lloyd was unaware of. He trully is a mad man, no one, and I mean, no ONE, puts themselves between him and his family, the last person who did so, is no longer amoung us, the last thing they saw was Kai becoming a demonic ball of flames.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Nya Smith Walker

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 112 Height: 6'0 (1,83m) Status: Jay's wife and Kai's bio sister

Nya, famous racer, only had to step down from the hobbie/carrer when she got into a small accident, while she wasn't gravelly wounded that was enough for her to be proibited from competitive racing. From that day on she still raced but became more of an idol than a racer per say. She ended up working on engineer projects, solo or with Jay, mostly out of boredom. Now, since she is dead, she has more free time than ever, and uses it to learn and explore every digital corner of the internet, catching a few criminals in the way. Many say she is mystical and her strengh is as crushing as the waves in a storm can be, yet calm and relaxing as the days in the beach, others, like the Ninja themselves just see her as they're beloved sister.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Cole Brookestone

Age- 1000+ (spirit) Died at 87 Height: 6'8 (2,03m) Status: Vania's husband

Cole, King of the Kingdom of Shintaro, Husband of Queen Vania, father of the prince of Shintaro, and our beloved cake lover, sadlly passed away early, well earlier than his siblings at least, the unknowed illness that had taken the life of his mother had decided to claim another. Cole fell gravelly ill, bedridden in his late stages of life. Bedridden in the castle, he invited Lloyd over for most possibly a final goodbye, although he didn't think that Lloyd would stay around the whole time it wasn't completly unexpected, right there he was the first one to execute Kai's plan, and the first to discover the side effects of the plan; from then on he was part of Lloyd and made sure to let the others know of the end result.

==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==

Zane Julien

Age- 1000+ (nindroid) Height: 7'0 (2,13m) Status: P.I.X.A.L's husband

Caretaker of the rest of the Ninja team and their children, especially since those little kids sure liked uncle Lloyd a whole lot and would visit constently. He stayed with Lloyd in the monastery alongside P.I.X.A.L and Morro (who visits soo much he pretty much lives there, has a room and everything). Him and Lloyd share house chores, and Zane is in charge of looking at news around ninjago, to ensure it's safety, as well as helping in some researches since Lloyd is only one person and can only intake soo much information at a time. He is the only one that hasn't partaken in Kai's plan, since there is literally no reason to, Zane obviously doesn't die of old age, one may claim that he could possible get rusty and need repairs at some point but Lloyd and P.I.X.A.L are always around is any issue is to come.

==✿ADDITIONAL INFORMATION✿==

The Ninja team, many years after most of the team's death, has move the location of the monestary far away from the main ninjago island, and instead now lives in a far away island that Lloyd created west of Ninjago city, around the middle of Ninjago and the dark island (thats has been sealed away by Lloyd). The reason for that change is because of something rather strange, it's not just to ensure Lloyd's ever soo wished isolation but also because a merchant had attented to buy the place, with the intention of turning the monestary into a tourist attraction. Lloyd got a bit peeved and decided to pick up the mountain where the monestary was on top of and relocated it;

The only reason the Jay was living with Lloyd in his last moments, was because he genuenly belived he would miss the mark to execute Kai's plan, because he belives himself to be quite clumsy and distracted; either way he didn't miss it and now is with the rest of the team (which is a way to say that he can now torment the Ninja forever);

Lloyd has a cute nickname for all the Ninja's kids, and spoiled them to no end (he is the fun uncle who takes everyone to Disneyland), he calls Kai's daugther "munchkadee", Jay and Nya's twins has "Starlight" and "Moonlight" for the girl and boy respectively, and Cole's son is "Duckling";

the age diference of the Ninja are, from youngest to oldest: Lloyd - Nya - Jay - Kai - Cole - Zane ( to say, with maybe the idea of the 1 season, Lloyd (8->15) - Nya (15) - Jay (16) - Kai (17) - Cole (18) - Zane (30-40? he is old);

(conceivable for change) As of right now, Lloyd's power is one that could rival gods, the source of said power is something OP is still considering but the possible main reason might be related to "source dragons", has to why the other Ninja's had powers even after having kids is related to Lloyd giving them an artifact that has their specific element embodied into them (the artifacts are not phisical and can only be visualised when the Ninja have already passed, the artifact will most likely have the form of a card); (the reason of this possible change is the development of the plot of "Dragons Rising").

[pvnk-whvre]

Glitched lust part 2

A/N: Omg? Thank you for the love that was received on the first part of this! I'm not surprised to see how many people absolutely want to be between these loveable characters! I have to admit this was fairly self indulging, though I am glad to see how many others enjoy this idea of mine!

WARNINGS: Past sexual abuse/forced sexual actions. I didn't write the sex scene for it, but leading up to it, I did go into details. Reader has anxiety and dissociation episodes.

Part one

Also, I'm adding in one of my own characters to be your friend in a later part of this fic. He's not completely relevant, but if anyone would want a side story with him, just let me know. His name is Zane he's a hellborn incubus who works as a dancer who mostly works in the pride ring since "sinners know this the end, so they just blow their money"

Now let's get to the fic!

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On the other side…

“Froggie, you can't just keep turning everyone away. There's got to be someone.” Asmodeus said, running a hand alongside his partners face.

He huffed, leaning into his hand. “You said pick someone who I thought I could trust. Most of these others didn't look like they could even handle a gun properly or they looked like lowly thugs.” He complained, turning his face away.

Sighing, he pulled his hand away, hearing the door open and close on the other side. “Well I had to host this short notice, but there will be someone. Hopefully, that will be someone who is less disrespectful as some of the others have been. I'd like someone who could blend in with you so it's not as obvious.” He said softly, leaning down to place a kiss on the imps forehead.

Huffing again, he crossed his arm to listen to the conversation through the speaker on the desk set to a low setting. His ears perking up at the soft yet firm voice.

“To do my job.” They both heard in response to the secretary asking why they were there. Asmodeus nodded his head at the response while Fizzaroli groaned. “Assuming your boss is in here to do the other part of the interview?” That peaked both of their interests as they heard a smugness in your tone at the same time a hand reached the doorknob.

After a few seconds, the door opened, and you stepped inside the bigger room lights being brighter. Noticing Asmodeus, you quickly bowed to both him and the colorful imp beside him before sitting down in the chair in front of them. “You knew we were listening?” Asmodeus asked, leaning back in his chair, hands resting interlocked on his lap.

You nodded your head before speaking. “Yes sir, I saw the light under the door, and there was a speaker behind your secretary, I saw it when they leaned to give my resume back.” You slid said resume across the table along with the stamp instead of sliding it to Asmodeus himself. You slid it to Fizzaroli. “I'll take the liberty to assume it's him you want a gaurd for and that you told your secretary what your standards are, so I've been approved by you already.” You stated pointing to the stamp on the front of the envelope.

Fizzaroli's eyes widened at your statement before taking your resume. “Well you are right on that much.” He heard Ozzie respond, letting you both speak before reading over your resume himself occasionally glancing up at you. “He's an imp hybrid so he would fit in with me like Ozzie wanted…” He thought to himself.

“You're an imp, but you're crossed with something else. What would that be?” He heard Ozzie ask, looking up to hear this part of conversation for himself. Snorting at the irony, loving how in tune he was with his partner.

“Why, wouldn't the king of lust recognize one of his own beings?” You asked teasingly before moving on. “My parents were an imp and a succubus, so I'm half imp and an incubus.” Asmodeus nodded his head in approval, looking down to watch Fizz finish reading.

Fizzie nodded his head to Asmodeus in confirmation for this one, and Asmodeus pulled another stamp out of his breast pocket. “The time and date are on the back. You and a few others are to go there to do a more physical interview with me and Fizzaroli overseeing it. Please bring anything you would use while on the job. My secretaries number is on the back if you have any further questions.”

The way he had said “physical” made you snort in amusement as you took the card from him, looking it over before sliding it in your own pocket. “That's the king of lust for you, not knowing if it's an innuendo or just him talking.” You rolled your eyes at the thought. “I'll leave my resume with you to look over my lord just in case there was something your secretary missed.” Standing from your chair, you walked towards the actual exit before turning back with a smirk. “Since these were in your pocket instead of on the desk like they were in the other room, I'll assume there won't be many people there anyways.” And with that, you left closing the door behind you.

“Hmm.” Fizz heard Asmodeus hum above him. “What is it?” He asked, seeing a questioning look on Asmodeus's face.

He smiled down at him, patting his head. “I quite like that one, I feel he'll be the most likely candidate.”

A week later…

You were in Blitz's office discussing what payment percentage you would take and what he would take for the company if you ended up getting the job. “Well I'll be damned…” He'd said as he looked at what the starting price would be. “You technically are…damned I mean.” You snickered at the glare he shot your way, having already taken a look at the price beforehand. “People are willing to pay a lot for the things they want protected.” You added leaning back in the creaky chair. You leaned over to grab your already packed bag. “Well I have another interview to get to. I'll be seeing you, boss.” You nodded to him before making your way to the door.

You paused, hearing Blitz's chair slide away from his desk, and at the hand he placed on your shoulder, you turned to see him with a strange look on his face. “People are willing to pay a lot for that. Just if you get the job, don't let anything happen to Fizz.” He said before letting you go moving back to his desk.

With a shrug, you stepped out of his office, and closing the door behind you made your way out to the lobby, nodding at Loona on your way to the armory. Grabbing your belongings from your locker before clocking out of the I.M.P building to make your way to the parking lot.

(I'm picturing a model based on the 1990s Honda accord, but you can have whatever car you wish!)

Unlocking your car and sliding in, you tossed your bag into the passenger seat, pulling the meeting card out of your pocket to look at it while the A/C ran its course. Flipping it between your fingers a few times, you landed on the side with Asmodeus sigil. "How in the nine circles did I manage to end up here....I used to be a stripper for Wrath's sake..." Shaking those thoughts away the corner of your mouth quirked up as you slid the card back into your pocket before driving out of the parking lot.

It took a little while before you got back to your apartment, humming the song that last played from your radio as you entered your home tossing your bag on the counter. "I was going to relocate closer to I.M.P, but I should probably look for somewhere in the Lust ring just in case I land the job..." You muttered, walking over to your couch, pulling your phone out of your pocket along with the card and placing them both on the table. Sliding a computer closer from where it rested on the coffee table, you opened it up and plugged in the address for the meeting place on the card. "It's at his club?" You questioned, making sure you had the address correct.

After a while of doing some more research on the club so you could get more info on the layout, which there wasn't much to be seen other than the main restaurant, bar, the stage, and the more intimate rooms. Shutting your computer with a sigh, you leaned your head back on the couch. "What if I went there before the meeting date to gather more intel?" You thought about it some more nodding your head. "Would that be cheating?"

Contemplating it some more, you picked up the card and your phone typing the number in and letting it ring. "Asmodeus did say call if I needed anything..." After a few moments, a click sounded, and a voice answered. "Sabrina speaking on behalf of Asmodeus, how can I assist you?"

"Ah yes, I'm one of the candidates for the body gaurd job for Fizzaroli, I had a quick question." You leaned back your back cushioned against the couch.

"Am I allowed to come to the club before just to look around for a bit?" You paused waiting.

She took a moment before responding to the sound of papers being moved around before she spoke into the receiver. "Yes, you're allowed to do that. The club is still couples only, and that rule applies to everyone. So if you do decide to come please be mindful of that."

You sighed, nodding your head. "Alright, yes ma'am, I'll do that. That's all, thank you!" You waited for her to say goodbye before hanging up, tilting your head back with a sigh. "Who am I supposed to take with me?" You said to no one tossing your phone and the card on the couch beside you.

After sitting there for a moment, you stood up, shaking your head as you made your way to the kitchen. Making a quick sandwich before leaning against the counter to think it over while you ate. "I could take one of my old work friends?" You nodded your head, walking back over and shooting a text to a friend from when you worked in the clubs as a dancer.

You: Hey, completely unrelated to the conversation we were having, but would you go with me to Ozzie's? It's for a work thing and it's couples only.

Zee: Yeah! I don't mind blowing work tonight if you wanted to go today. This overlord guy is lucky I don't just leave. The money is good when he isn't being an ass. He can't even see to count it!

You sighed in relief chucking as he complained about his "boss" again.

You: I seriously don't understand why you don't find elsewhere. He doesn't have you under contract. But I'll come pick you up at 8 if that works? I'll pay of course.

Zee: ughhh I so would but his club is the most popular in the pride ring and I rake in more as a hellborn anyways, 20 dollars is 20 dollars 😘

Zee: I'll be waitingggg~

Rolling your eyes, you put your phone on the counter, pushing off of it and heading towards your room. "Alright, it's currently around two, so I have time."

You walked around your room, grabbing your necessities before heading to your bathroom, setting your belongings on the counter. Catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, you put your hands on the counter, taking a deep breath as you steadied yourself. “It's just another job, for a king of Sin yes but still just a job…” you hesitated before pushing off the counter with a groan your hands finding their way to your head rubbing at your temples. “Oh what am I saying! I'm just going to his club to scout the place out, nothing more!” Leting your hands fall to your sides, you sighed, shaking your head before getting the shower prepared. “You need sleep man get a shower, take a breather, and then get ready, routine just as it's always been…” Trailing off, you looked at the wall just letting your head go blank.

You flashed back to a memory of when you worked as a performer. Everything was like it was in slow motion, but you remembered when it was a much faster paced reality. You watched yourself slowly spinning on a pole turning and dipping before moving down the stage blowing a kiss to your boss, she made the show of catching it and placing it on her own lips before waving you off with a wink, a promise she'd be seeing you later. When you first started working there, you'd thought it was a sweet gesture, but it was only so she could show her authority.

The memory flashed to you later, taking a wad of money from her smirking as you counted it sitting down when she patted the cushion next to her. “You're my best performer, you know that? You bring in so much for me and my club.” She ended that with a caress to the side of your face. You knew what was coming. It was routine, another job. “Well I aim to please that's all.” You responded in kind, leaning into her hand.

She hummed running her hand from your hip grazing over the straps that held your little to the imagination outfit on then gliding between your chest up to the underside of your chin lightly squeezing your neck between her long red nails.

A moment later red blood dripping from those same claws, your own blood, you'd asked if you could go home for the night, that you were tired that you didn't want to “play” as she always put it.

“You do what I say when I tell you, you're nothing without me and my club. You're nothing without this job.” She walked closer sitting back in her chair using one of her boot clad heels to push your face up from where you'd been looking at the floor holding your neck, blood dripping down between your fingers and down your chest. “Now you aim to please, and you will please me when I say.”

You bit your tongue, nodding your head. “Yes Ma'am…” you'd muttered quietly, gagging when she pushed your head up further the gashes in your neck straining. “Yes ma'am!” You'd said louder more of a choked plea than anything.

She smiled fondly, releasing her heel from your chin to instead push against your chest. “That wasn't so hard, was it? You're nothing but an obedient pet for me to play with as I wish. Now, go on and do your job for me. Be a good pet now.”

You nodded, kissing up her leg and taking off her laced tights, gently moving her boot away from your chest as you kissed up past her knee.

Then you stood standing in your bathroom again. The whole place steamed up, forgetting your shower being on as you zoned out. Shaking your head to clear the memory, you took a shaking breath as you cut the lights out, turning on the low light in the corner as you got undressed and stepped inside the shower.

Later being in a nice suit undershirt slightly unbuttoned at the top and the vest pulling in your figure nicely as you held out a hand to your “date” He laughed as you pulled him out of the car in front of Ozzie's. It'd seemed he'd taken a book out of the 20's wearing a sparkling dress with a high slit up to his hip, hands gloved all the way up to his elbows, and some sort of furry scarf draped along his shoulders. A headpiece holding his hair back in an elegant style.

You rolled your eyes pulling him up he quickly got his footing rather gracefully considering the tall heels giving him a few extra inches over you, they followed up tights to a garter set on his exposed thigh with feathers adorning it. “You look amazing as always Zane, can't believe I've let you show me up.” You laughed, tucking an arm around him as you made your way to the big doors. “Oh back in your dancing age, you could have showed me up, don't even try that.” He scoffed, lightly shoving you. “When you hit the body gaurd detail, you started dressing so bland.”

You both smiled at the guard. You pulled out the reservation tickets you had received and also flashed your stamp from Asmodeus before quickly being escorted inside. “You're lucky that secretary of his gave me this, or I wouldn't have been able to get the reservation so soon. If not for the “bland bodyguarding” we'd have to wait just a month to get in here.” You'd leaned in towards his pointed ear to say that chuckling then pulling him away to lead him to your table right by the stage huffing out a laugh as he stopped you to slide a flower and feather arrangement into your breast pocket then taking his scarf and wrapping it around your neck flipping one side over your shoulder.

He nodded in approval, patting your shoulders before taking the seat you had pulled out for him. “There we go! Much better!” He slid his phone out of his pocket.

You looked surprised as he held it up. “How did you manage to fit pockets into that tight ass dress?” He smirked, throwing you a wink. “A girl has her ways, and I as a twink of a man sewed pockets in my dress because I may make my own outfits, but not everything fits in a clutch.” He held his phone up higher, grabbing your hand across the table. “Now smile for the camera, beautiful.” You sighed, smiling with him as he took a few photos. “Oh man, you rolled your eyes in this one! You're lucky you're pretty!” He poked fun going to play on his phone.

“May I take your order today?” A waiter asked, popping up out of nowhere. Zee jumped, but you turned toward them with a smile. “Yes me and my friend here would like to order our drinks now. I'll take a whiskey, neat. And my friend will have the frutiest cocktail you can muster.” You answered kindly, snickering as Zee reached to slap you on the arm. “As you wish, I'll be back shortly with your drinks and to take your order.” The waiter bowed slightly before walking away.

“The frutiest cocktail you can muster!” Zee mocked, holding his fingers up as quotations. “What is that supposed to mean!” He crossed his arms with a playful huff.

You shrugged, grabbing the menu on the table. “You called yourself a twink of a man, not me. Those are your words.” You laughed as he shot you a fake offended glare.

“Well, that's a stereotype. Not all of us fall into that category.” He picked up his own menu, and he started scanning over everything. “What if I got a salad? Would that fall into another stereotype?” He looked over the menu, blinking expectantly at you.

You gave him a deadpan expression. “Really? Come on you know that's not what I meant Zee. Plus you used to get the most sugary shit when we worked. You're welcome to trade for my whiskey when it gets here?” You set your menu down chuckling when he made a gagging expression. “Hey save the fake gagging for the camera!”

He made another gagging face before giving you a serious look. “I'd seriously rather die than drink that. It's so bitter!” Pulling out a compact mirror from his clutch he checked his makeup before groaning. “I'll be right back I need to fix my face. Order me the chicken parm please!” He shouted back as he walked towards the bathroom with a wave.

By the time he returned the drinks were there as well as your respective meals. “Ooo!” He shouted picking up the bright pink drink and taking a sip. “Ugh okay stereotypes aside this is amazing!” He took another sip moaning before taking your cup out of your hand setting it down before putting his cup in your face. “Try it!”

You'd leaned back a bit when he shoved it in your face, but you shook your head with a sigh leaning forward and taking a sip. It was fizzy but also creamy like some type of cream soda and strawberry ice cream. “Oh wait, that's actually really good.” You mumbled, taking another sip groaning when he snatched the drink back towards himself.

“Nuh uh get your own if you like it so much, I'd be more inclined to share if you weren't such a dick.” He said, wrapping his lipe around the straw and throwing you a wink before going to slurp it down. You knew it was because he just wanted it for himself, so you rolled your eyes in return, enjoying the rest of your own drink.

It was a while later you'd walked around a few times, found all the exits in the dining area, and found all the bathrooms. And you knew the food was really damn good along with the name of the drink Zane had gotten.

“Oh while you were looking around ahead of your job and I was relaxing, I asked the waiter what the name of my drink was.” Zane said, picking at his nails and putting his phone screen down on the table. “It's apparently called “the Asmo” Isn't that funny?”

You tilted your head curious about the name of the drink since it was good and then snorting when you learned its namesake. “Think that's what he tastes like when he fin-”

Now, you were currently trying to get a better look at the private rooms in the father back of the club. There were more staff in this area, and you'd been trying to slide back into the hallways to get a better look at the rooms and also behind the stage. You huffed at another failed attempt. “Oh come on, this place has good enough security if it's keeping me out.”

What you hadn't known is that there have been eyes on you ever since you got to the club.

Asmo had been in his office that evening when he'd gotten a call on his desk phone, letting it go to his secretary as he did paperwork Fizzaroli taking a nap in their room. He listened as the secretary handled the call before tuning it out.

"Am I allowed to come to the club before just to look around for a bit?"

He heard tuning back into the conversation, his pen momentarily stopping in its writing. Listening to catch up on what he missed in the conversation. He nodded his head as his secretary confirmed he could, but he'd still need a date. “I would have let that one slide.” He said to himself with a shrug. “They won't need a date to get in once they work for me.” He let the machine click off. His head popped up, however, when he heard the door to his office open.

Fizz came in yawning and stretching, walking carefully over to Ozzie's desk as he rubbed his eyes. “So you've basically already chosen him?” He said as he extended his legs to hop up on the desk and sit in front of Asmodeus.

Asmo blinked, thinking about what he meant before realizing what he'd said. “I mean, he does show the most promising attributes. He can gaurd you, he has a history of body gaurding, and he can blend in with you. Of course, I see him as a likely candidate.” He set down his pen leaning back in his chair, taking his reading glasses off and setting them to the side. He held his arms out for Fizzaroli. “Did I wake you up when I left?”

Fizz smiled but shook his head as he crawled into his lap. “I woke up once it started feeling cold without you.” He pushed his face into his chest since he was still only wearing his robe. “And I was going to try to convince you to come back to bed instead of working.”

Asmodeus hummed a fond smile on his face, turning up into a smirk. "Normally, I'd let you have your fun and pull me back to bed, but I've got to get everything sorted for the interview. As you've heard just now, a few of the candidates have called ahead to see if they can scout the place." He brought his free hand up to play with the end of the imps sleep hat, twirling the ball on the end between his fingers. "I wouldn't mind if you stayed in my lap, though." He trailed off, looking down to see that he'd already dozed back off, and he chuckled lowly in his throat. "It seems you've decided for me..." He continued doing his paperwork using his free hand to push his head closer to his fluffy chest using his thumb to rub at his cheek.

Fizz stood in the viewing box above the stage, trying to remember all of the candidates' faces so he could see who was and wasn't there. "Is it really smart to hold the test here, Ozzie?" He turned to where Asmodeus was sitting behind him while he was standing at the railing.

He had a smile on his face, pouring himself another drink. "I promise Fizzie everything will be okay. I'm hosting it here because this is where they'll be working the most. I have all of the kinks worked out, so there's no need to worry!"

It had sounded reassuring, and Fizz nodded his head with a smile, but his eyes flicked back over to all of the people out there.

.

.

.

I promise that in the next part, relations will start to develop, but I'm a sucker for a somewhat plot and character building. Please let me know your feedback. This is my first multi chapter fic! I'm also thinking about making a tag list so let me know if you'd be interested.

Tagging you two so far because you left love on my last part: @naathanuwu @sophb156

[bitbybitwrites]

I was tagged by : @porcelainmortal, @alasse9 @forabeatofadrum

Thanks for thinking of me! . . I should really do this before 2024 is up, right? 😂

BTW its still Dec 31 here where I am, so I'll say it counts.

I've done a lot more than I expected this year, as I look back. And I'm kind of proud of myself.

I started writing for another fandom - RWRB. Its been fun adding these characters to the mix.

I managed finishing 1 multi-chapter fic and a 11 shorter fics.

I'm still plugging away on 3 longer multi-chapter WIP, adding and posting chapters as I go.

I have compiled an additional WIP list of (*stops to count*) 16 other fics that are not posted yet, but are in various stages of readiness. I flitter around adding bits to each when inpiration hits.

I think that's about it for me for 2024 - still writing, slow and steady. 😊

I'm always so happy to see any of kudos and comments if you have left any . . . and I'm still really apologetic that I haven't gotten to responding to many. There's only so much time in the day. I will try to get to them!

WRITING GOALS FOR 2025: Basically write more, and write as often as I can. There are so many of my WIP I want to get into and finish . . hopefully some of you will find them interesting to read!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a productive and creative 2025! I look forward to seeing/reading all you create!

See links and descriptions to everything under the cut!

1.) COMPLETED FICS

April 2024

Falling For You (Klaine fic) - 26,089 words

Summary:

Kurt Hummel thought by donating his services as a florist to Memorial Sloan Kettering, that he would simply be giving back to the medical community. A good deed for the month of December. Little did he know that a few chance run-ins with an adorable doctor and a sweet little girl in the hospital lobby would change all that. Written for the Klaine Secret Santa 2023 Gift Exchange.

May 2024

Pretty Shiny things (Klaine fic) - 1,943 words

Summary:

The clangs and shrieks of the alarm system at Christie's Auction House filled the corridors, echoing through the mostly empty building. They were just as loud as the beating of Kurt and Blaine's hearts as they raced down corridor after corridor while they attempted to escape. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kurt growled through his teeth as he ran, slipping slightly on the polished marble floor as he turned another corner. “I leave you alone for five minutes . . . FIVE MINUTES, Blaine. What on earth did you do?” **** Discovered a fun new thing on Tumblr called Ficlet Friday. This ficlet was inspired by a dialogue prompt by annepi: Prompt: Klaine - “I leave you alone for five minutes...”

June 2024

hold me close (FirstPrince fic) - 836 words

Summary:

Alex has had a rough day. It's a good thing that Henry's home to take care of him. For a Ficlet Friday prompt : "Tell me anything. Everything.”

blythe spirit (FirstPrince fic) - 1,756 words

Summary:

“I . . . I don't know why you're even interested." “Baby, I love you.  I'm interested in everything about you." Alex gave Henry a very pointed and heated look that definitely hit the mark. The flush on Henry’s face now deepened.  He worried his bottom lip between his teeth for a few moments as he considered his options. “Come on,” Alex softly cajoled.  “You can’t just say things like: ‘I played Elvira in a school production of Blythe Spirit’ and not expect me to ask for pictures . . or at least the lowdown on it all.”  Alex pouted again to prove his point.  “I’m a weak man, H.  These are the types of things I need to know more about.” ***** From a Friday Ficlet prompt: "Tell Me anything. Everything."

nightfall (Klaine fic) - 219 words

Summary:

Blaine sighed as he collapsed onto the sand. With his chin upon his knees and arms wrapped around his legs, Blaine gazed out toward the ocean, deciding that the purple-ish pink sky that stretched out before him was absolutely breathtaking. If only he had his camera with him. It would be a perfect addition to his next gallery exhibit. ***** Based off a Tumblr Prompt/Ask Game - "Create a microstory from the prompt selected" Thanks to Falles for giving me: "49 - nightfall"

i'll always come back to you (FirstPrince fic) - 504 words

Summary:

Alex will always come back to Henry . . .always Based on a microstory prompt: #32 - dust motes

July 2024

fire island follies (Klaine fic) - 3,027 words

Summary:

Blaine Anderson is off to a weekend on Fire Island - well, his good friend Santana is draggng him on one. He's not so sure it's the best thing to do - but a run-in with a beautiful performer from the Fire Island Follies quickly changes his mind. ****** From a Tumblr Friday Ficlet prompt from bowtiesandboatshoes : "We're going to Fire Island.  It's like gay Disney World." Title is from an actual burlesque/cabaret show: The Fire Island Follies

i hate waiting (FirstPrince fic) - 555 Words

Summary:

Alex needs to keep his daughter from being bored.   inspired by this adorable picture on Tumblr by wordsofhoneydew

study date (Klaine fic) - 945 words

Summary:

"Get your hands off me!" The sound of a scuffle had Kurt look up from his reading. To be honest, Divination was such a bore of a class. It's not like he needed to learn anything new about it. Kurt had all of his mother's crystals, divination tools, and journals tucked away in her old trunk up in the attic of their home. He could read tea leaves and scry with the best of them. He had long ago lost focus on the chapter Professor Holiday had assigned them for the evening, so at this point, any other distraction would be welcome. Even if it was prefect duties.

Originally this was a bit of a false start for my fic, Advanced Potions

The original prompt was "hogwarts!au + 4. meet messy + 6. "what is that?"

August 2024

what can compare with your beautiful sound (Klaine fic) - 1,183 words

Summary:

Kurt’s brow furrowed as he concentrated on the task at hand. He had to get it just right. His hand hovered just a few inches higher, and with a deft flick of his wrist, a drop of wax fell from the lit candle in his hand to his canvas below. The canvas moaned in ecstasy. “Now, darling, we don’t want to shift, now do we?" Kurt softly murmured as he leaned in close. "You've been such a good boy for me so far." ***** Based off of a microstory prompt from Tumblr : "candles"

November 2024

smutsgiving/wanksgiving 2024: rwrb/firstprince - 662 words

Summary:

Prince Henry has been given a new gift for his bedchamber. Entry for Smutsgiving/Wanksgiving 2024.

smutsgiving/wanksgiving 2024: klaine - 580 Words

Summary:

Dinner was lovely, but Blaine is really ready to go home. Entry for Smutsgiving/Wanksgiving 2024.

2.) PARTIALLY PUBLISHED WIP:

(Klaine) If I Can Make Your Heart My Home - (Klaine Reverse Bang 2023) Life in New York City and working in the restaurant industry wasn’t exactly what Kurt Hummel had expected it would be. He’s lonely, stressed out and miserable. He’s almost ready to throw in the towel and return home to Ohio when a chance meeting with a musician in Central Park changes everything. (Warning: an angsty rollercoaster of a ride. Soooo many cameos from Glee characters! 😉)

(RWRB) Puppy Love - (RWRB NYE gift exchange 2023) The cold snowy day that Henry Fox discovers an abandoned beagle puppy in an alley brings handsome, flirty veterinarian, Alex Claremont-Diaz into his life. Alex is a single dad, recently moved to NY with his young son who Henry hasn't met yet - or so Alex thought. (Fluffy kid!fic)

(Klaine) Sanctuary - (Klaine Word Scramble 2023) Crown Prince Blaine has stumbled into a secluded glade, trying to escape the horrors of the bloody war his father had brought upon their kingdom. Mourning his beloved older brother and faced with the burden of taking his place in the kingdom, Blaine yearns for a place to hid from the world to deal with the issues weighing on his heavy heart. He encounters a mysterious elf, the guardian of the magical spring that Blaine has mistakenly defiled, whose growing connection to his life the young prince can't ignore. (Inspired by an idea/ artwork by @datshitrandom and @justgleekout)

3.) WIP FICS TO FINISH AND POST

My WIP list can be found here! I keep it updated. Feel free to ask me about any of them if you're curious . . 🥰. Hoping to finish some of these in the coming year.

******

OK so ( as usual) I'm late to post - so if anyone hasn't done this yet and wants to - take my big open tag for it and maybe some of these folks might want to do one of these wrap ups as well?

Tagging ( participate only if you want to): @wowbright, @gleefulpoppet, @daisyishedwig, @spaceorphan18 @special-bc-ur-part-of-it

@myheartalivewrites, @14carrotghoul, @thighzp @tailsbeth-writes @onthewaytosomewhere

@sophie1973 @getmehighonmagic @tinyarmedtrex @henrysfox @blueeyedgrlwrites

@kirakiwiwrites @madas-ahatters-world @sarkyblueeyes @heartsmadeofbooks @iboatedhere

@little-escapist @littlemisskittentoes @kurtsascot @hkvoyage @lilinas

Psst. . . and if any fanartists see this and want to share what they've drawn this year, tag me! I'd love to see your work if I've missed some!

[alan-without-the-an]

But does it truly matter which path I take?

Aaaaaand they finally get their introduction! They are finally done!! Many trials and tribulations (school...) but we finally finished >:)

Edit: I NEARLY COMPLETELY FORGOT! The template I used is made by @ai-kan1!!!!!

Here's the full body sprite:

Design + character notes, bonus doodles and other behind-the-scenes-esque stuff under the cut!! :DD

Originally... Alan was designed to be twisted from Rapunzel and Mother Gothel! (A weird mix of both... A little like how I used to interpret Silver as being both Aurora and Prince Phillip. That's how I justified it ^^")

This was the original draft:

They used to be a lot more nervous and anxious, but I wasn't satisfied with how they were rotating in my head (so to speak). Shy/Anxious characters are, though relatable, a struggle for me to write for some reason.

So instead of fighting with the character, I chose to build them from the ground up. Thus I gave up on the Rapunzel theme! (I also didn't want to draw long hair lol. I felt that leaving it out for an actual Tangled inspired character would be absolutely criminal of me >_<)

However, design features stayed mostly the same!

Things like hair color, hair style, glasses, body type and the pants getting stuck on the shoes are all design features deriving from the OG Al sona. All my other sonas will usually keep these features!

(A little Al sona I drew for Artfight as reference)

However, things like the pouch, the interest in stars and art and slight jumpiness (i.e. having sudden loud noises as a pet peeve) are things I kept from the old version!

One major change though: The outfit. Specifically how they wear it.

This is, if I'm not mistaken, one of the first proper sketches I made with the full outfit as it currently is. (This is also the sketch I used as a base for the digital illustration)

The reason for me changing is for a couple reasons:

1. Their silhouette was too uninteresting as is. The hair is too similar to Ace's and the bag/pants are lower down that they don't do anything in bust shots, which is what I usually do.

and 2. Personality-wise, they're much more on the casual side. Since I made their expression all stiff and aloof for character reasons, I wanted to alude to them being not that serious as a person.

N' thaaaaas everything. Or at least everything I've got time for! (Hopefully) I'll get to Yvette's debut post! And post more about them in general!!! When I get freedom!!!! Holiday soon!!!!!!

[footandantlers]

Introducing my 381k Payneland fic!

Some of you may have seen my post yesterday about how I wasn't sure on how I should post this monstrosity of a fic but the vast majority of you requested that I post it in chapters! So here's all the information you need to know about it.

When and how will it be posted?

The first chapter will be posted on the 9th of September. There will be 30 chapters in total all stretching out to be between 10-15k each. By this schedule the fic should roughly finish up April of next year! However the full thing is written so I may feel generous and occasionally post twice a week however I'd like to build a community! So I'll be creating a tag for you guys to follow over here where I'll post snippets, extended scenes and scrapped scenes. When the fic ends I also have alternative endings written out that you guys might like! Depending on the popularity of this fic I might end up even creating a discord server, I'm not particularly sure how this fic will do but I'm a huge fan of connecting with my readers, more about a discord server below.

Is the fic titled yet? What's it about?

Yes it is! The fic will be called 'My Godforsaken Loverboy' and it's an AU of Edwin and Charles being dorm mates at St. Hilarions spanning five years. It's very much a slow burn that may drive you insane but I promise I spent forever going through Tumblr hunting down popular head canons and dynamic wishes that seemed popular to throw in this fic so hopefully there's something for everyone! A proper summary will be released soon!

Is this based off the Netflix Series?

Here's where I may lose some people. While it's definitely got plenty of aspects from the Netflix shows (Mostly character wise) I planned the entire fic around the comics and Doom Patrol's season three episode 'Dead Patrol' so the dynamics may be different to what you'll be expecting if you've only watched the Netflix show! I apologise if this throws some people off but I adore them in Doom Patrol dearly.

Now a question for you guys, do we want a discord server?

I'd love a discord server centred around Dead Boy Detectives in general! Where we could share head cannons, fanart, fic recs, ect in more of a discussion way instead of screaming into a void. So here's my idea, I'm more than happy to create an overall Dead Boy Detectives server however it'd just have a channel or two dedicated purely to this fic but I'd have plenty of other channels for different fics as well! I've been on servers like this before and really enjoyed them. Send me a message if you like this idea so I don't lose track of you and if I get enough people I'll make it!

PS. Sorry to those that wanted it posted as a one shot 😔 I decided this seemed the most manageable and reasonable

[aye-jaye-2005]

alright, as promised, for the 50 notes on my post about being starved for mlm cod smut - here is my work. it's not very good most likely, so i apologize in advance

NAMES - König x M!Reader

Summary: König being a jealous bitch cause someone flirted with you. (the guy who flirted with you was being an ass anyway)

A/N: this is unedited. I was always ahead in english classes so hopefully this won't be a load of hot garbage.

Content Warnings: Aggressive Flirting (character won't take no for an answer), Injury, Strong Language, Badly Written Medical Care (i don't know how to write injuries and medical stuff, i'm sorry 😭), Badly Translated German, Praise Kink, Size Difference(?), P-in-P Sex, Jealously-Sex. (i think that's everything, please tell me if i missed anything)

********************************************************

You were doing combat training with König and a crop of new recruits.

"Alright, split off into pairs and practice. Small injuries are mostly excusable but please don't break anything."

There was a low grumble of "Yessir"'s and the group began to split off into pairs.

A smaller man saunters over to you. "M'name is Theo. Who're you, handsome?" Theo held out his hand for you to shake.

"Y/N." You shake hands with him briskly and pull your hand away.

"Ah, strong and silent type, are we now? I can work with that too." Theo got closer to you, chests nearly touching.

"Excuse me." You back away a step. "I just know when to hold my tongue."

Theo raised an eyebrow at you. "Are you trying to imply something, handsome?"

You shrugged. "Now, spar me. Isn't that why you came over here?"

"Not the only reason..." Theo mumbled under his breath.

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

Before you'd joined the army, you'd done various martial arts. You were quite good and were able to pin Theo to the ground a few times. Theo, however, was small and surprisingly quick. He wasn't all that good at fighting and hand-to-hand combat, but he could avoid you quickly. He tired out quickly and you were able to finally pin him to the ground. You let him up and let your guard down to go get a sip of water, and Theo jumped you from behind and held you down. His foot was on your shoulder and he was holding your arm down at the wrist with his hands.

"Now I've got you right where I want you." Theo hissed in your ear.

You rolled your eyes at him. "Can I go get my water now?"

"No." he growled. "Now, I have something I want to ask you, handsome." His voice became sickly sweet as he increased the pressure on your shoulder.

"Could it have waited until-"

"No. Stop giving me that fucking attitude." He pulled back on your arm, making your shoulder crack.

"Ouch- You're gonna pull my arm out-" You started tapping out to try to signal that Theo needed to let you go. "Theo, I'm tapping out, this hurts."

"No, you are gonna listen to me." Theo pulled back harder on your arm, making it crack a few more times. You stifled a cry of pain. "You, Y/N, are gonna meet me, Theo, out back by the barns after training is over. We're gonna talk, and late tonight we're gonna meet up and have some fun."

"And what if I don't want to?"

"Then I'm gonna do this." Theo gave one last pull on your arm and pulled your arm out of socket with a loud *CRACK*. You cried out in alarm and pain.

"I was- I was tapping out- You bitch-" You could hardly talk. You had never dislocated a joint, not even a pinky finger, and this was hurting like hell.

König came running over, having heard you yell. He saw you on the ground and Theo standing over you. "Anyone care to explain to me what the hell is going on here?"

Theo was quick to whip up a story. "We were just sparring and I was holding him down and practicing a technique I'd heard about. He wouldn't tell me it was hurting, sir-"

"That's Colonel to you, Theo." König growled at him.

Theo seemed to shrink under König's threatening stance. "R-right, Colonel- Anyway, Y/N wouldn't tell me I was hurting him, he wasn't tapping out or anything."

König sighed and muttered in German under his breath. "Y/N, come with me to the medbay. Theo, find someone else to spar with." He then shouted across the field. "HORANGI!"

A smaller man perked his head up and came rushing over. "Yes, Colonel?"

"I have to take Y/N to medbay, keep an eye on these utter buffoons."

"Yes, Colonel."

Underneath all the conversations, you were lying on the ground, sweating from the pain. König gingerly hoisted you up off the ground and helped you half-walk, half-stumble to the medbay. The nurse was able to quickly pop your shoulder back in place.

"It might be sore for a day or two, so don't overwork it too much."

"Yes, ma'am." You were panting from the effort it took to not scream when she put your shoulder back in place.

"You should stay here until lights out, 2300, so I can make sure nothing else is happening underneath. Gotcha?"

"Yes ma'am."

König put a hand on your uninjured shoulder. "It's about 1900 right now, so you won't be stuck here for too long."

"Yessir."

***

Just an hour later, Theo walked into the medbay. His eye was swollen and his nose was bleeding.

"Colonel punched me. Did'n have my guard up." he grumbled bitterly. Upon seeing you also in the medbay, his face lit up. "Well, hey there sweetheart. Any reconsideration on my offer yet?"

"No."

"Aww, handsome can't handle a little fun? Might muss up your spotless record or something?"

"Man, just fuck off. I don't have a spotless record, but I don't want to fuck you."

"I'm just messing around, babycakes. Learn to take a joke, lighten up a little!" Theo winked at you and turned to the stone-faced nurse.

You turned your face away so you wouldn't have to look at him. Unfortunately, you could still hear his frankly pathetic attempts at asking the nurses to sleep with him. You finally drifted off into a nap, glad to get some rest after this whole ordeal.

***

A nurse gently shook you awake. "Y/N, it's 2230, you may head back to your quarters."

"Oh- Thank you."

"Of course. Come back if it's giving you any trouble."

"I will."

It was a short walk to your quarters that you shared with König. There was a gentle evening breeze and you stopped a moment outside the door to drink in the delicious wind. You sighed satisfactorily and went inside.

"There you are, Schatz." He pulled you in for a hug. "I was worried about you."

"I'm fine, Kö, don't worry. It was that bitchass Theo who caused this whole mess. He dislocated my shoulder after I refused to meet with him."

König bristled. "He did what?" he backed away from you and bent down to look you in the eyes. "Did he try to ask you out, Meine Liebe?"

"He just wanted a one-night, I think. He tried again when he saw me in medbay and had the audacity to wink at me and flirt with me. I mean, honestly Theo, you think I'm gonna be willing to fuck after you dislocated my damn shoulder?" You started to wander slowly into the kitchen.

"Theo? His name is Theo?"

"Yes... where are you going with-"

König pushed you up against the counter and started kissing you hard. It took a few moments before you pushed him back slightly.

"Well, what was all that about, Kö?"

Now there was a passion burning behind König's eyes. "Well, Mein Schatz-" he took his gloves off and placed them on the counter behind you. "The easy solution to this is that i fuck you until you can't remember his name. I'll show you just how much better than him I am." Now he was taking off his boots and he was already undoing his belt. "Sound fair, Schatz?"

You blushed "I-" You cleared your throat as you were already getting hard. "God-"

König smirked at you. "Does it sound fair or not, Liebling?" König walked over to you and pressed his body against your stiffening cock.

Your eyes rolled back a little before you met König's bright blue eyes. "Yep, sounds- Oh, god- sounds good to me-"

***

König had you cumming quickly. He was quick and aggressive, and knew just how to hit those spots that made you make all those pretty little noises for him.

"Your first reason that I'm better than him: I can make you cum much quicker."

"Oh, please do-"

"Reason number two:-" König continued talking as you shuddered and bit back a loud moan. "If you, Liebling, are a good boy for me, I'll praise you much better than he ever can."

"God, yes you do-"

"Reason number three:-" König pulled down the waistband of his boxers to reveal his large, meaty cock. "I am definitely bigger than him, and you know it. Don't you, Liebling?" He pulled down the elastic of your boxers to reveal your own hard dick.

"Yes- Yes I know-"

"Come on, Liebling, say it with your full chest for me." König cooed in your ear. He started teasing the tip of your erect cock with his thumb. "Say it, Schatz."

"I know- fuck- I know you have a bigger dick than him-" You inhaled sharply and let loose a breathy, high-pitched moan.

"Hmm? Who's 'him", Liebe?" König eyes were dark with desire.

"Theo- I know you have a bigger- ahh- a bigger dick than Theo-"

You were already weak at the knees from König's relentless teasing. You leaned back and braced your hands on the counter behind you and you shuddered as precum started leaking slowly out your hard dick. "Oh god-"

"Reason number four: I can and will kiss you so much better than he ever will." To prove his point, König pressed his lips hungrily on yours, all while teasing you with his thick, calloused fingers.

You threw your head back and whined. "Yes- oh god, yes- You're a much better kisser than Theo-"

"Good, good, you're learning." To reward your learning, he started slowly, slowly pushing his dick into yours.

"Please- Please go faster- fucking hell-"

"I will, Liebling, just you wait."

The anticipation made your dick throb. "Please-" you whined. To retaliate, König covered your mouth, which just turned you on more. You moaned loud and long into his large hand.

Finally, finally König was starting to go faster. His dick was so large and long that he was able to slam that sweet spot each time, which affectively turned you into a whining, moaning mess.

"Reason number five:-" he paused momentarily for another deep thrust. "I know all your dirty little secrets."

"You know- you know all my dirty little secrets-" Each of your quick breaths was ended with a short, sharp whine as König kept slamming that wonderful little spot deep in you.

"And who doesn't?"

You couldn't even get the words out. König smirked at you. "Go on, who doesn't, Meine Schatz?" He paused his thrusts for a moment to let you get a word or two out. You were panting hard and your cheeks were flushed bright red.

"Th-Theo-"

"Good, good boy." He continued his relentless beat of thrusting, and even when it seemed he couldn't he went faster and harder. The sounds of your squelching arousal were filling the small kitchen.

You could feel that knot deep inside you starting to move outward, closer to the tip as König kept thrusting in you.

"Oh god- Ohh god-! I'm gonna- Aah-" Your whole body shuddered. "I'm-" You couldn't even get all the words out.

"Go on, finish your sentence." König teased.

"I'm so close-!"

"Tell me how close, Liebling." König smiled mischievously."

"So close- Mmm-" Your back arched and you groaned. "Almost there-"

Your whole body shivered and your hips bucked forwards as the knot in you became dangerously close to your tip. Your dick pulsed and throbbed, and one final rough thrust from König forced the knot out of you.

Thick, creamy liquid leaked out of your tip and ran down your dick, some threatening to go down your pants or on the floor. König milked your dick dry before pulling out, dripping his own milky semen.

König bent down on his knees to clean up the mess he'd made of you while you caught your breath.

********************************************************

(i don't know how to properly write aftercare and also i have a migraine slowly building so i think i'm gonna call it here)

anyways, here my fellow gay men, be fed. idk 😭

[glorious-spoon]

9-1-1 Season 7 Post-Mortem

Mostly because I want to put my thoughts in order. Full disclosure: I'm really not thrilled with a lot of the choices this season made, but I'm also not at the 'fuck this show I hate it now' level either. The primary, overarching issue, IMO, is that they tried to stuff a full season's worth of plot into ten episodes, and the pacing and emotional continuity suffered badly. And also there were some writing choices that were simply deranged (and hopefully would have been reworked had they not been laying down the tracks in front of the speeding train, so to speak).

(Cut for me rambling at length)

So: Bobby and Athena were largely really solidly written. The cruise ship disaster was great: campy and OTT, but in a fun way. Their marital issues and the eventual resolution felt like a natural continuation of issues they've had in the past. Bobby Begins 3.0 was a great episode other than the cartel element, which was some ill-considered racial stereotyping (I've said it before and I'll say it again: you could have had the antagonists in that episode be a bunch of angry locals threatening people for tresspassing on their property, and the whole thing would have been 100% less gross without actually changing much of the plot. Really felt like Tim was cribbing from the similar Lone Star arc, which was also lazy and racist). Amir was a fantastic character, and while I could have done without that last scene of him offering Bobby absolution, I feel like he was generally allowed to be both gracious and rightfully angry. The cop Athena stuff in the finale was... less great, but also to be expected. I would have liked much less of that and much more time spent at Bobby's bedside.

(I'm really sad about the house fire mostly because that was one of my favorite sets, but I do appreciate the poetry of the parallel, with Bobby actually managing to get his wife out this time. Though I do wonder where Harry was that night, lmao.)

Hen was similarly wonderful. I really liked getting to see her wrestle with the responsibility of being captain, and the fallout of the car accident scene. In a vacuum, I actually like Ortiz as a villain - a complicated one, with sympathetic motivations, but still ostentatiously cruel. Were it not for the fact that there are basically NO latine characters other than Eddie who aren't villains this season, it would have been great. ALAS.

Did not love the rescue dog/foster child parallel with Mara. Otherwise really loved getting to see her settle in with the Wilsons, and I'm really glad that we got to see Chim and Maddie take her in instead of leaving her at the group home by the end of the season. Really leaned into the found family element, and Chim taking care of his best friend's child in the same way that Mrs. Lee did for him.

CHIM! Chim my beloved. 'There Goes The Groom' is the one episode that I have basically no issues with at all. The hallucinatory trip through Los Angeles, wrestling with Doug's ghost, was gorgeous. Bringing back Kevin - also gorgeous. I loved that we see the Lees explicitly framed as his real family (and am spitefully glad that his bio dad was nowhere to be found. Fuck that guy.) Kenny continues to be, IMO, the best actor on this show. He killed it. We need so many more Chim-centric episodes, because they're always SO good. He can make both humor and pathos feel so natural and human. Give us more Chim!

And of course on to Buck's bisexual arc, which was... so painfully Buck, lmao. Full disclosure: I have a lot of trouble rewatching 7x04 and 7x05 because the secondhand embarrassment is just too much for me, but objectively it feels very right and in character for him. LOVED the first kiss scene, with his dawning realization of what's about to happen and his softly stunned joy afterward. His coming out scenes with both Maddie and Eddie were lovely and perfectly appropriate to both relationships. I really liked him taking the initiative to reach out to Tommy to apologize and ask for a second chance after he fucked up their first date. Loved Tommy showing up at the hospital after what was clearly a long, miserable shift.

Their date in the finale didn't really land for me mostly because of where it was placed in the episode; if they did something with the two of them after Buck spent the entire day at Bobby's bedside waiting to see if he was going to live, it would have felt a lot more natural to me to have them exhaustedly eating takeout on the couch or something instead of having a formal sit-down date with wine and place settings. Intentionally or not, that made it feel like they're still on Date Behavior with each other and despite some gestures toward emotional vulnerability, they're not quite there yet - as seen by Buck steering the conversation back to flirting and innuendo. My overall feeling on the relationship at this point is that it's cute, but I'm not seeing any real depth of feeling between them yet.

Buck and Eddie on the other hand - look, despite my many MANY issues with Eddie's plot this season, I loved how his relationship with Buck was written. I love the intimacy and familiarity of how they are together, I loved the way Eddie let himself lean on Buck, I loved how Buck is clearly positioned as an integral part of the Diaz family.

Unfortunately, that's really the only thing I loved about Eddie's plot this season. His relationship with Marisol was ultimately pointless; she was never fleshed out enough to feel like a real character, and we never even see the fallout of Eddie's cheating with regard to her; it's all Chris. The Kim stuff strained credulity, and also I never felt like he got any kind of emotional catharsis or resolution through it; he still hasn't really confronted any of his issues about Shannon, about their marriage and how it ended. That whole arc felt really wobbly in terms of tone, as well: using plot elements of a very famous psychological thriller without actually acknowledging any of the creepiness of it. I would have liked it to lean into that more especially with the scene where Kim dresses up as Shannon, an objectively creepy and unhinged thing to do.

The Diaz parents handled the Chris thing in a selfish and opportunistic way that felt both disappointing and inevitable. Hopefully that's going to be a hook for the next season and Eddie actually confronting them, but overall Eddie's plot this season really felt like they just tossed a bunch of balls up in the air and mostly failed to catch them.

Gerrard - look, I'm not that worried about Gerrard. I could have done without him, but ultimately he's going to stick around just long enough to make his inevitable defeat satisfying. At least, that's my hope.

[theglamorousferal]

Samantha al Ghul

Rain raced down her window as she looked out to the gloomy surroundings. Sam had never felt more at home than in Gotham she's realizing. The architecture and general vibe of the city resonated with her on a level she had only felt when in the Infinite Realms.

Sam's parents stuck out like a sore thumb, all bright and hopeful. They looked like you took two characters from a children's show and dropped them into a grimdark HBO classic. Sam loves them, she really does, but just one look at them would have muggers salivating.

She's been somewhat looking forward to this particular gala, if only because she managed to convince her parents to let her wear a dress that's mostly black with details of roses and thorny vines twisted around the bottom of the skirt. She would be blending in for once, something she had mixed feelings about. At least there would be some other kids her age there, at least according to her parents. Hopefully they weren't the usual stuck up people like Paulina, Sam was sick of her being the only one to talk to at functions in Amity.

They pulled up to a large gothic manor and the driver came to the door with umbrellas for the family, helping them out of the car. Sam's first thought when looking at the house was envy, she would love to live in a place like this. Her second thought was of getting out of the rain so that it wouldn't ruin her favorite combat heels. At the door, they were greeted by a butler who took their coats and introduced himself as "Alfred Pennyworth, head butler of the Wayne family." Which gave Sam momentary pause, the dredges of a memory popping up.

Why is that familiar? What does Wayne mean in accordance with Gotham?

As she walked in to the gala, she got her answer.

Standing next to a tall man with a streak of white through the front of his hair was someone she hadn't seen in years. Someone she thought had died that day ten years prior. Someone she always felt guilty for.

She was moving before she even realized, skidding to a stop before him.

"Ahki" She mutter low so only he could hear. The boy froze and then slowly turned to look at her.

"Ukht" He said back and suddenly they were both hugging, clinging to each other like they had when they were so much smaller. Tears rarely spent were shed. "How are you here? How are you alive?"

"I survived the fall. I don't know how, but I survived the fall but then I had amnesia and didn't remember anything. I was taken in by this couple who had wanted a daughter. By the time I remembered anything, it was too late for me to return to the League. How'd you get out? I thought you died that day!"

The tall man put his hands on each of their shoulders. "Maybe you should take this to a private setting? We don't want anything leaking to the press."

Damian seemed to think it over for a moment before looking at the crowd who were all staring at the two teens. They let go of each other and made their way to a balcony. "I managed to kill the interloper that held me, but when I looked over the cliff's edge, you were nowhere to be seen. I had assumed you had been swept beneath the current. I searched along the riverbanks to no avail." He glanced over her face, seeming to drink in the sight he had missed for so long. "How are you here?"

"I came with my adoptive parents. They're the ones who stick out like a sore thumb. I've been living with them in Amity Park, Illinois since I was found. They're good people, but they have their eccentricities. They want me to wear bright colors all the time." Sam's nose scrunched up in distaste. Damian chuckled.

"That hasn't changed I see."

"What about you? How'd you get out?"

"There was a coup, one of Grandfather's apprentices, Deathstroke, attacked him. In the chaos Mother managed to get us out and she brought me to Father. I've been living with him for five years now."

"Oh, so Father is here?" Sam thought for a moment then whispered. "I know Father is the Bat, but what is his real name? I know mother told us once, but my memory is still kinda foggy."

"It's his gala you're attending, Father is Bruce Wayne."

"That airheaded himbo?" Sam snorted, then thought a bit. "Wow he's a much better actor than I expected then."

"We should probably go make an appearance again, the vultures are probably talking about our outburst."

[linghxr]

4 years of Anki: How I make my Chinese flashcards

My first post on this blog was about 4 years ago on July 12th, 2019! That's also around the time I started consistently using Anki. I still review flashcards on Anki nearly every day, but a lot about how I make my cards has changed.

Fields:

Front: The word/phrase, in simplified characters.

Traditional: At some point I decided I wanted to improve my recognition of traditional characters, so I added this field. If the simplified and traditional forms are the same, I leave this field blank.

Back: The definition, written in Chinese and/or English. I try to use Chinese as much as possible, but sometimes I have to resort to English or mix both languages. I didn't start using Chinese definitions until a couple years ago, so my older cards only have English definitions.

Example: Example sentences or phrases that I usually get from Pleco or some other Chinese dictionary source. I replace the word/phrase in question with underscores because I used to mimic cloze deletion-style cards. Now I mostly do it this way out of habit.

Pronunciation: The pinyin with numbers for tones (since that's easier to type on my laptop). I also include variant pronunciations. Above I have both the Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese standard pronunciations.

Alternate: If I notice in the dictionary that there is some alternate form of a character or word, I'll often include it here.

Card front:

Here's how the front of the card looks. I use a cursive-style font called Swim the Wolf to hopefully improve my ability to read others' handwriting. It also forces me to slow down and focus on the example sentences.

This is how the front template looks in Anki:

{{Front}} {{#Traditional}} / {{Traditional}} {{/Traditional}} {{Alternate}} {{Example}}

This template is configured so that if there is text in the traditional field, the card will be displayed with a "/" separating the simplified and traditional text. If the traditional field is empty, the "/" separator will not be displayed.

Card back:

And here is the back. When I started using Anki, I actually had the definition on the front and the word/phrase on the back. That was back when I only wrote the definitions in English. I would try to guess the Chinese word/phrase based on the English definition and Chinese example sentences (thus why I had to use underscores in the examples). At some point, it got unmanageable, so I switched to word/phrase on the front and definition on the back.

Here's the back template:

{{FrontSide}} {{Back}} {{Pronunciation}}

So there we have it, my Anki set up! My method for making cards has changed so much over the years as I've learned more about what works for me and as my goals have evolved. I don't use any add-ons or extensions (unless the added font counts), so you definitely don't need to do anything fancy to get a lot out of Anki. I hope you can glean some inspiration from this!

[drunknillawafer]

right down the line: zuko x firebender!reader (part 10)

You grew up close to the Royal Family due to your father's position as a General, but you ran away from home after the agni kai against your best friend, Zuko. Now, you've joined the Gaang and plan on doing your part in ending the 100-year war.

Part 9 Part 11

hello!!! omg yall i've been waiting for this era... oh we're really getting into it now! sorry for the sokka lovers... it was so hard to write this one but it must be done! hopefully u guys like it, as always plz give any feedback by liking, reblogging, commenting, it means so much! thanks if you've read this far hehe... also thinking of another fic... but probably won't start that one until I'm done w this one... i don't own these characters or the atla world & it's about 2200 words, enjoy!

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

It’s been a few days since we all made it out of the desert. How we did it, I’m not sure. But I’m just grateful to finally be out.

The emptiness of the desert is different than the vastness of the North Pole. There’s no water around to soak and all our abilities become useless. The sun and seemingly endless surroundings beat us. No one could do a thing.

We were nothing without Appa. We are nothing without Appa.

With the revelation of the eclipse and rumors about our furry friend’s whereabouts, the five of us were on our way to Ba Sing Se. Hopefully, it would bring some comfort to Aang. The last shred of stability he was standing on was muzzled in the desert, and his pain since has been impossible to ignore. The one thing he brought from home is currently lost somewhere on Earth. How would any of us begin to understand?

\Katara can’t reach him. Sokka, Toph, and I don’t even want to try. For now, being en route to the infamous well-protected capital of the Earth Kingdom would be enough.

I’ve never been. Most of what the Fire Nation educated us on was about how we could manage to tear down the walls and go inside. It was a requirement to tell the story about the Dragon of the West, or Iroh, and his deemed ‘failure.’

Knowing what I know now of the old man’s heart and philosophy, it wasn’t a failure at all. It was a cry for mercy to the world so they could possibly forgive us for wreaking so much havoc. The tiny evidence that kindness still exists in our nation.

The train station itself is already a drastic change from the other Earth Kingdom villages I’ve visited. A well-built stone structure with a developed railway system and guards at every checkpoint. Ba Sing Se mostly kept to themselves, but I could tell from standing in these walls that it would be enormous and far more evolved in comparison.

After Toph saved us from the grouchy woman handing out tickets, we made our way to our designated cart.

For a single moment, it felt like the old times. We had something to do, somewhere to go, and a goal to achieve. Our banter started to return, but Aang’s hesitation for anything about hope could be felt by people halfway across the world. We were as normal as we could be, at least.

“Ah!” I hear Sokka yelp from behind me. All of us turn around to an Earth Kingdom guard. What now?

Menacingly, she grabs him by his collar and begins to point at his chest. “Tickets and passports, please.”

Katara and I share glances of concern, then we both get in defense mode. Protectively, I rest one hand on my sword. Silently, I beg for this to blow over. I don’t think anyone is in the mood to fight.

“Is there a problem?” The boy in blue asks the stranger.

“Yeah, I got a problem with you. You probably think you’re a big shot, huh?” The girl continues. “Let me guess, you’re traveling with the Avatar.” Have they met before? She didn’t look at Sokka like he was a stranger, but a well-known fool.

Sokka finally asks, “Do I know you?”

“You don’t remember me? Figures. Well, let me help you.” She grabs his collar again and plants a big, confident kiss on his cheek. This makes the blood rush to Sokka’s face, and he gleams.

“Suki!” He exasperates and hugs her. Katara lowers her defenses, but my hand is firmly planted on my sword. My body isn’t letting me relax and I don’t know why.

Awkwardly though, I try to make my presence known. “Um.” Is about all I can stumble out. The bubble in my throat is making it hard to sound anything but dazed and confused.

The boy in blue turns around to me as if he’s forgotten I was there at all. Don’t let it hurt; I tell myself. At least not yet. Be cool, calm, and collected. Everything the Fire Nation is known for, right?

Sokka pulls away from… Suki to face me. “Oh!” He realizes once his eyes land on mine. I’ve never seen this version of him before and it’s quickly my least favorite.

Suki stands in the same awkward place I am in, glancing between the both of us to connect any dots she’s missing.

Sokka turns his head back and forth, trying to come up with something to say. The words don’t seem to be settling in for him. “Suki! This is Y/N. We picked her up a while back. After Kyoshi Island.” Kyoshi Island had only briefly been mentioned among the five of us. Now I know why. I guess he does this everywhere Appa used to take him. The next words fall out of his mouth slowly, like a slap in the face I was desperately trying to avoid. “We’re friends.”

Sometimes when your heart breaks just the right amount, your body has no choice but to smile. The smile spreading across your face is the only thing keeping you together, like a band aid patching up a crack in a dam. It doesn’t do much for the dam, but it makes everyone else feel better.

Kindly, she greets me. “Hi! I’m Suki. I’m a Kyoshi Warrior, it’s so nice to meet you!” It doesn’t help that she doesn’t know. I can’t hate her, she’s too kind to hate. Too oblivious to see the pain I’m in.

How would she know about us if they haven’t seen each other since then?

Another logical reasoning that should make the upset, hurt, and worry go away. But it doesn’t. This is when I know the knot in my chest is not going to leave so easily.

I replay everything from the moment I jumped off of the crimson trees. When I spotted him, when he saw me. The handshake that confirmed the future, saving the village. The Northern Water Tribe. All of that came after her. I was just the second one to take his words as a promise.

Sokka can’t meet my eye right now. He can only let out a nervous laugh and rub the back of his neck.

On cue, “Avatar Aang. We need your help!” We turn our heads to the cry for assistance, successfully interrupting an impossible situation for the boy in blue.

☆

It wasn’t enough for the universe to make me realize that I’m in second place. It also had to force me to cross Serpent’s Pass with the one who got first place.

Logically, it’s better that we have her around. She’s a strong fighter, better than Sokka actually. It would help our odds. But part of me wished the grouchy lady had simply let us on the train.

The people of the Earth Kingdom, I have come to know, are set in their ways and I’m not getting out of this one.

I don’t know why it bothered me so much. It’s not like he’s wrong. We are friends. But I thought we were more. He sure acts like it everywhere else besides in front of her.

It’s difficult not to let it get to you. Let it consume you and dictate everything you’ve known about yourself to be true. Everything I had experienced with him was after. I would never make him feel the way she did, and I could feel it.

I haven’t spoken a single word to him since we left the train station, and he hasn’t noticed. He’s more concerned about Suki and her being here.

I’ve never known what it’s like for Sokka to not choose me.

For the night, we decided to sleep on a safe part of the Serpent’s Pass and attempt to walk in the daytime. Before the rocks disappear into the ocean, there’s a slab big enough for everyone and the refugees to camp. There’s also enough space to avoid them.

In this secluded area I’ve managed to find, where no one can see my true feelings, I find myself with nothing to do but think. Sitting on a rock I’m using as a bench, I look up at Yue as she’s planted in the sky, grazing us with her light.

I take a deep breath in and let the waves wash over me. The only sound is the water crashing into the rock. I try to not think about tomorrow, but right now. Here, I could wear the humiliation on my face with no one to hide it from.

When did I let Sokka have this much power over me? When did he manage to get under my skin?

It feels odd; to feel pain over something new. The last few years have been nothing but torture, but at least I’d gotten used to it.

This one. This is surprising and fragile all in one. If you had told me a few weeks ago that I’d be here, sitting and moping about Sokka, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here I am. With only myself to blame for letting my guard down.

I knew better, but I still did it. I let myself believe someone I cared about wouldn’t hurt me. Didn’t I learn my lesson last time?

It bites.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps against the pavement and I’m hoping I’m hallucinating them. No cactus juice, only me. But I’m not.

In front of me, Sokka finds my secluded safe space and I can’t find my smile band aid. There’s only a frown ready for him, but he’s not surprised. He’s come here to talk about something.

“So.” I begin. He sits down on the space available on the rock, next to me, shoulder-to-shoulder. I could feel his warmth flow through my body from this light touch. It’s still comforting to have him nearby.

“Yeah?” He questions. Sokka looks at me, and the moon is shining his face beautifully. It almost hypnotizes me, but then I remember.

“Suki.” Obviously.  

“Yeah.” This time I can hear the pain in his voice. It’s a tough conversation, but we owe it to each other.

“Was I just the second?”

“What? No. Why would you say that?”

“It’s how it looks. You said we were friends.” ‘Friends’ comes out of my mouth like its venom, a poison. A bad word.

“You wanted to be friends.”

“Yeah, but—”

“I don’t get you; you know.” Sokka stands, frustrated. “You’re confusing. You say you like me, but you don’t want to be my girlfriend.”

I shrug my shoulders. “It’s complicated.”

“Why?”

“Because it is!”

He zeroes in on his question. “No. Why, Y/N?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know.”

“Know what?”

“It’s complicated because of Zuko.”

Sokka almost knocks the wind out of me when his name hangs in the air. With all the might in my body, I am trying to hold the tears back. Why is he saying this?

“No, it’s not!”

“Then why couldn’t you say anything after the Northern Water Tribe? Why don’t you want to be with me?”

“I don’t know!” I sound like a child with nothing but empty replies.

“Yes, you do. And I’ve been here, waiting for you… But seeing Suki… it brought up a bunch of feelings.” Sokka sighs. “Aren’t I allowed to be confused?”

I’m trying. I’m trying more than anything to be more than where I come from. To be more than my roots and anger and pain and continuing the cycle. I don’t want to spew out venom, I want to be kind. But sometimes, I don’t do that well of a job.

“I’ll make it easier for you then.” I stand to look at him in the eye. “Don’t count me in as an option.”

“Y/N—”

But I’ve walked away before I could hear anything.

☆

Gently, Sokka pulls Suki away from him, separating their lips. He glances around to see if Y/N was near, she’s not. She didn’t see the kiss.  

It’s been an odd day for him.

He was already on edge with Suki joining them for Serpent’s Pass. He didn’t want anyone else he loved to be in danger. It was enough to worry about Katara, Y/N, Toph, Aang, and Appa all the time.

He knew it wasn’t realistic, but he couldn’t help it. Sokka had been this way his whole life. The need to keep everyone safe had been instilled in him since his mother died and his father left.

He could tell Y/N was upset with him from the moment he saw her face, and as much as it hurt him greatly to argue, it all had to come spilling out. For both of their sakes.

Sokka didn’t know until that moment that Zuko bothered him so much. The idea that Y/N was choosing between the both of them angered him. The universe is funny, though. It reunited him with Suki, and now he’s faced with the same problem.

But Y/N isn’t him, she won’t wait. She’s too grand. And he won’t make her. It’s over before it had a chance to begin.

He’s already hurt her.

Sokka’s sure she’d find some way to get him back, though. It was one of her best traits. The need to make everything fair. The fire inside of her never died out.

It wasn’t the kind of fire that terrorized villages and separated families, but the kind that keeps you warm in the coldest of places.

Now, he needed to deal with the girl in front of him, and he had no idea what to do.

-------------------------------------

tag list <3: @camilleverreault @staygoldsquatchling02 @yunloyal @lily-ann-b <3!