#hot stuff goodness and I'm so mad she got cut out of yet another chapter

[nodameshield]

this gd scene keeps getting cut out of every flc i try to add her into, so i’ve decided fuck it, I’m gonna share it and you decide where in the ‘verse you want it to be. it fits just about anywhere at this point so, have at it. the train scene my beloved.  ::::

(M rated! proceed with caution if you’re not into that!) thank you for reading !! ♡

“Fuck,” Goh sighs, breathily, biting his fist in a poor attempt to keep his moan at bay.

Ash hums, interested, “not a bad idea,” he teasingly murmurs, trailing open-mouthed kisses down Goh’s throat, his tongue coming out to sweep over already heated skin.

Goh groans, mortified. “Ash,” he keens, not actually trying to push the aforementioned away, “Ash,” he repeats, “we’re on a train!” he finally says, although he is struggling to remember why that is relevant at all.

Ash is undeterred. “Okay,” he allows, sounding more humorous than he should, “so maybe it’s a bit of a bad idea.” Though certainly that won’t stop him. “But I’m sure we can manage?” he hints, eyes mischievous, glinting with fire, and hungry for Goh.

Hating himself a little, Goh tries to push away, holding onto whatever little willpower he’s got left, watching it diminish in slow motion as Ash presses his hands harder to Goh’s hip-bones. “Ash,” he groans again, “come on—get off me already…”

To be fair, it had been Goh who’d started it. Indulging in a make-out moment graced by their Pokémon lounging in one of the common train compartments, and the momentary privacy of their own cabin. They were supposed to be dropping their things off, join the Pokémon for lunch and playing and…and they were gonna do just that …. in a second … they could get away with a kiss or two before that … right?

Right.

Goh reconsiders his intentions as Ash palms over his pants. He groans a third time, resolve evaporating as sweat breaks on his temple.

Well, he couldn’t say it hadn’t gone according to plan. “We’ll make a mess,” Goh complains, wrinkling his nose lightly, but all the same pulling Ash into him, grinding into the contact and offering some friction as well. He’s all up for it, really. It’s more the technicalities that bother him.

Luckily, Ash has never—would never—care for those. “We can use a—” *ugh, he hates he’s even saying this, but “—*a condom.” Ash bites, without much heat, for currently his main concern is unbuttoning Goh’s pants, and not so much whatever conditions his end-goal might require.

Momentarily pausing the mood, Goh raises a skeptic eyebrow. “You are suggesting a condom?” he baffles. Wow, he thinks, strange things do happen in Kalos.

Ash rolls his eyes, leaning back to address Goh with some sarcasm of his own. “We are on a moving train.” It’s far from practical, but it’s also far from the weirdest place they’d gotten intimate in. “I figured it’d be more comfortable… you know, considering…”

Goh kisses away the light scowl that’s begun forming on Ash’s face at his rant. One, two, three gentle sweeps of the tongue, getting him back into the rhythm, which, luckily, isn’t hard for them to do. “Thank you,” Goh breaths, sweetly against Ash’s mouth, “that’s thoughtful,” he smiles.

Ash smiles back, then throws a nervous side-glance. “Yeah, I don’t think I actually have any, though,” he sheepishly admits.

Ash really hates them, and though he usually keeps a spare in his wallet—for a situation just like this one,—they’d used it up a few weeks back, when they not-so-wisely decided to fool around in the middle of the woods. (No. He won’t be referring to that episode. Yes. It was a good time. Thank you.)

Goh grants point for trying. “There’s a few on my bag, over there…”

Despite the technicalities, the mood isn’t lost and, if anything, it feeds on their energy, on laughter and off-site kisses, hasty hands and wait a second, I gotta get the—ah!

[bubblesthemonsterartist]

I'm a Zenyuki shipper. Or at least I thought I am one of them. Your fics are confusing me. After reading them it feels like I was blind until now and I manage to ship only obiyuki now. So, thank you, I guess? Now I'm searching for other authors like you, do you have any recommendation? (Good fan art interests me too) Have a nice day!

hahahaha… Maybe you’re a multi-shipper, nonny. No harm in that!

In response to your request for recommendations, though… :3 :3 :3

OBIYUKI’S ASSEMBLE!! :D

I have a LIST, friend. A magnificent LIST of authors for you to choose from but is probably not all inclusive. I wrote this a couple of months ago when someone else asked me for recs and we have GROWN significantly since. Lemme give you a 4-author starter pack that’ll keep you busy reading for some time, and then there are many many more.

IF SOMEONE SEES THIS AND REALIZES I SKIPPED THEM/SOMEONE ELSE, PLEASE REBLOG/COMMENT FOR ME I HATE TO LEAVE PEOPLE OUT AND I KNOW I PROBABLY AM RIGHT NOW.

All of the following authors also have AO3 accounts:

@sabraeal, naturally. She is my writing buddy and I love her deeply. Plus, she knows EXACTLY how to murder me. (Pls start with Seven Suitors and then go harass her for more All Pain Will Turn to Medicine for me. ty ^_^ )

@infinitelystrangemachinex - Gorgeous prose, beautiful stories, breaks my heart every time (pls do it some more?)

@vivianwisteria - Just amazing writing. Wonderfully emotional and complex. She gets a visceral reaction out of me with every update.

@xaphrin - This woman. This woman destroys me ALL THE TIME with all the lovely goodness (She’s also one of my favorite readers! Because she gets SO MAD AT ME :D )

MORE AUTHORS In alphabetical order:

@akai-vampire - Has been putting out some amazing multi-shipper content since long before I joined this fandom, but of course I am partial to her obiyuki content. She’s a grab bag of sweet and “hey who’s cutting onions in here?”

@another-miracle - Has dared to put onto the screen the hurt/comfort follow up fic that we all wanted, we all craved. I have it saved in my inbox so I can have feelings about it regularly. Has written some fantastic shorts since!

@azalearhoden - Writes some amazing prose of short moments glued together into something gorgeous and beautiful that I would have never thought of!

@codango - Look. L O O K. You may think that you don’t need cowboy Obi, but trust me… you do. You so so do. (Also has an assemblance of shorts that range from OH MY HEART T_T to Oooohhh myyyyy :3 )

@claudeng80 - Has a million ideas and puts them to paper in record time! There’s too many stories for me to wrap her up into one sentence!

@glitter-and-golden - A obiyuki kids story that’ll break your heart and some fantasy fantasticness. 

@jaygirl987 - From short hot scenes to her first multi-chapter fic that is turning into something epic, I love her stuff!

@k-itsmaywriting - Freakin amazing woman who puts out the most beautiful AU’s. I love it when she can come to play and I hate to see her leave, but school is the most important, yo!

@kaedix - Writes the sweetest stories, from mama and papa Obiyuki to the Mall AU that I am still dying over almost a year later.

@krispy-kream - I don’t know how many times I have seen this one post and I have been LITERALLY TERRIFIED to click on the link because she DESTROYS ME WITH HALF A SENTENCE. (No, seriously, I still can’t get through this without tearing up)

@lalesath - Has written ONE GORGEOUS, FEELS INDUCING FIC for us, but there is more trapped away in her computer. I feelz it in my bones. Won’t you feed us? XD

@littleaverill - Puts out some amazing ficlets that have you begging for more! I wish I could write like her…

@maverae - Has written TWO fics to share with the class, BUT I KNOW SHE IS HIDING MORE FROM US. Give us your delicious prose! We are hungry!

@nebluus - Has STILL written my all time favorite Obiyuki fic, Blizzard. That story gives me all the feely feels in my little shipper heart.

@nonstopdoodle - Girl is filled with fantasy and writes the COOLEST AU’s. I love them all so much.

@obiisms - I lovelovelove her Meaning of Trust fic on AO3 you don’t even know how much. She takes hard subjects and just delivers.

@onoheiwa - Hnnnnnnggggggggg writes some of the most amazing short stories. I die over her arranged marriage fic (Did not know this was a thing of mine, BUT I GUESS IT IS A THING)

@owlsshadows - Oh man. Oooooh maaaannnnnn.. if you have not read her gender swap AU where Obi is the pharmacist and Shirayuki is the assassin, you have not lived.

@ruleofexception - I wanna say she is our FASTEST writer, throwing out some amazing fics within a day and cutting through ALL the BS!

@thelionshoarde - Oh myyyyy… how do I wrap this one up? You’ve gone some delicious canon-esque smut with feels and some fantastical AU’s to choose from. Please enjoy with my blessing :3

ARTISTS (also in alphabetical order and some of these will be repeats):

@goldenrose101 - My friend. You must. YOU MUST view their obiyuki comic. And then love it. IT IS A REQUIREMENT

@heartamplifier - Again. Some amazing. Amazing. AMAZING. edits and manips. I love her

@lalesath - F A N T A S T IC and G O R G E O U S edits! SO MANY OF THEM.

@miinah13 - Just adore their drawings BUT BE CAREFUL! SHE HAS A SERIES THAT MAKES ME CRY BIG FAT UGLY TEARS but you should totally check out anyway

@nebluus - You may notice that she is listed twice. THAT IS BECAUSE SHE IS AMAZING. Search her ansh tag for Akagami no Shirayukihime art.

@nonstopdoodle - YES. SHE ALSO DOES THE ART!

@stuffaeamade - My goodness gracious, she has the MOST impressive tag for AnS art. I HIGHLY recommend.

@thelionshoarde - YES YET ANOTHER AUTHOR THAT ALSO DOES THE ART!

@vfordii - Oh my… I absolutely love everything that she does, but my top two have GOT to be Obiyuki Kiss and Bellydancer Obi. (I’m sure she will convince me that there are more delicious arts waiting in her brain to be posted, BUT I LOVE THOSE THE MOST NOW

@youseimanami - One of our newest and (hands down) most prolific artist (she just completed Inktober and did 31 DAYS OF OBI/OBIYUKI CONTENT. GO LOOK AT THE MAGNIFICENCE. GO GO!) and is a very sweet and encouraging person.

@yumelinh - I absolutely adore the way she does her edits and colors our favorite characters. They are fantastic.

Special mention to @akagami-no-rae because, while she is not obiyuki, she likes hanging out with us and graces us with Hnnnng-worthy AMV’s, edits, and artwork! (occasionally a fic, too

[aliceslantern]

Nocturnal Memory, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 17

[Summary:  Dying takes a lot out of you, it's true, but when Demyx wakes up for the first time since his fight with Sora nothing's right. His memories are fragmented and he's missing his true name. And he's not the only one. An incomprehensible mystery and an inevitable war make him question what, exactly, he would do to become whole, and reclaim the music lost to him.

on FF.net/on AO3]

The next few weeks became a bleary slog between work and training. He didn't even have time to try and fix the guitar, but even if he did, he doubted he could. The weather got hotter and drier. He got sorer and sorer, but found that, after a while, those mortar bags weren't so heavy, and he could get through a day without feeling like death.

And he wasn't great with the knife, maybe, but he could at least block things now. The first time he disarmed Lea came as a surprise to both of them. He was finally starting to pick up on the whole "holes in the guard" thing. It was in the timing. There was always a brief break in defense after Lea attacked, of course, when he normally sprang back. Only this time, Demyx was actually able to slip in a solid kick to the stomach and knock Lea off balance. After so many weeks of getting beat up, it was satisfying.

"Well," Lea said, coughing, "It's about fucking time."

"…You don't remember your parents, do you?"

Talking to Yuffie was still like treading a minefield. However tentative their interactions were—even friendly at times—the wrong thing could make her mad. "Only my mom a little," he admitted. They'd built quite a bit of the aqueduct at that point. The goal was to finish it by summer, so the dry season wouldn't be so straining. "I don't think I ever had a dad."

"My mom died when she gave birth to me." There was pink sunburn across her nose and she scratched at it, getting gray mortar onto her face. "We didn't exactly have an Aerith at that point."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "I never really knew her to miss her."

"Sometimes it feels like I came out of thin air. Or an act of will."

She laughed. "I know how that is. Even my dad, when faced with a kid, was like, what the hell is this? I think that looks pretty good."

The compliment took him off guard. "Uh, thanks. Once I had to watch these guys build a stone wall for days. I had to get into this noble's palace to steal a scroll. Those dark corridors work, but they're pretty conspicuous, so I couldn't just teleport my way in. I guess I picked something up then. I picked up a lot of skills that way. I'm not a half bad potter. I can weave pretty well."

"A lot of marketable skills."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. "Hello mister job man? Here's my résumé. I know it says I was part of an evil organization, but I'm experienced, I promise." Shit. How am I supposed to get a job if we get through all this?"

She sighed. "Hell if I know. They always make it sound like we're fucked."

"We kind of are."

"I don't want to believe that." She heaved down a stone. "We've always fought. We probably always will fight. We'll pull through."

"What if we don't?" Demyx put down his trowel.

She turned. "What do you mean, if we don't?"

"If we lose."

"Weren't you all just "hey I want to fight with you guys!" a few days ago? You can't think like that." Her cheeks were turning red. "You're not allowed."

Here we go. "I'm allowed to feel however I want."

"Fuck that." She brushed the dust off of her legs. "Let's go eat. I'm starving."

Sometimes Demyx would wonder if following through with his drunken epiphany was a good idea. All the evidence pointed to the fact that they would absolutely get crushed. Sora's uncertainty, mounting reports that worlds were flooding with Xehanort's darkness… It didn't look good. And every time he even allowed himself to consider what being a double agent might mean, his heart started to race and he couldn't breathe and the room around him seemed dizzy.

Yuffie was right about some things, though. There wasn't really any way to sit idly by, as tempting as it was. If he bailed now, he'd still be surrounded by the plan making and the statistics and the-this and the-that. There was no escape, literally or figuratively; he didn't have any control over the dark corridors anymore. And where would he go?

Besides… he very nearly had friends. At the end of the day the committee would ask him along to dinner, and they would just… hang out. No talking about the war, or Xehanort… they talked about normal people things. It was a bizarre sensation.

Cid liked to play cards. He had a battered old deck that Demyx was positive he'd marked. Mostly they played—funnily enough—Hearts. It was the only card game that Demyx was competent at.

"You know you're the only one to beat me," Cid said. He tapped out a cigarette and lit another. Cid's smoking was getting heavier and heavier. Demyx didn't know how he afforded it.

"I don't believe that."

"Leon's sick of it and Yuffie's terrible."

He shuffled the deck again. "21?"

"…I guess."

"Where'd you learn all this stuff, kid?"

He shrugged. "Ten. Mostly." Luxord hadn't frequently invited him along to the card parties, but any time he had had certainly been an experience.

Cid dealt them each a few cards. "Say we make this more interesting."

"Good luck with that. I'm broke."

"Say if I win… you buy me a cigarette."

He laughed. "Alright, fine. And if I win… you give me yours."

Cid smirked. "Hit or sit?"

He looked at the two cards on the table in front of him—ace and eight. It was a shame he was never this lucky in real life. "…Sit."

Cid turned over his other card; cool sixteen. With an expression Demyx guessed was supposed to be calm and confident, he pulled another card. A six. "…Motherfucker. All right. A deal's a deal. Though joke's on you, I only have three left." He handed over the pack. "Remind me to never play with you again."

He lit up one of his prizes. "Oh, don't be a sore loser."

Cid grimaced when the smoke hit his face.

June ended without much comment. Three days of rain trapped them all within their respective houses. This was apparently a sign of the dry season coming. Demyx helped Dilan set up a rain collection tank on the roof.

"Haven't seen hide or hair of you in days," Dilan said gruffly. They both hefted the tank into place on one of the drains.

"Well. We wanted to get most of the aqueduct done to get this rain."

""We."" He gave the tank a solid kick. "Is that connected?"

"Feels like it."

"I'm glad you're at least following your convictions." His tone was bitter.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm merely surprised."

For a moment he could only stand there, speechless, as rain pattered off of their jackets.

"The situation gets grimmer by the day," Dilan continued. "I figured you, of all people, would be long gone. I admit it gets tempting."

"I can't leave," he said.

"What on earth is holding you here?"

"I can't use the corridors. I don't want to. Isn't this your home? Don't you care about it?"

Dilan shook his head. "I'm afraid I have nothing left from what made this place home."

In the distance, thunder boomed.

"I don't want you to make any mistakes," Dilan said. "You'll as good as get yourself killed."

Demyx's hands shook.

"Goodness, you needn't listen to me. If this is how you want to waste your life, go ahead." He shook his head and started towards the door.

"I am so sick of people telling me how I should feel or what I should do." His voice was barely audible. "This… sage advice…"

Dilan didn't look impressed.

"I don't want to hear it anymore. From anyone. I'm… I'm going for a walk."

Dilan shook his head and started towards the door. "Very well."

His clothes were nearly soaking by the time he was down by the ground. He crammed his hands deeper into his pockets. It was raining so hard he could barely see. Cold drops snaked down his neck. His eyes were hot.

He wasn't sure this was the right choice. Not really. But he was doing something good, he was being almost normal. Better than sitting holed up in that castle, bored and alone and stewing in his own memories, conscious of the pressing quiet around him…

The sound of the rain sharpened. The air was humid and hard to breathe.

Ahead he saw a shadow, blobby and black, below the archway leading towards the marketplace. He figured it was some sort of Heartless and drew the knife, but it disappeared.

A human arm tightened around his neck. He floundered and tried to remember what Lea had taught him, but sharp panic clouded his head. Demyx flailed and tried to yell, but a bony hand in a leather glove covered his mouth. He bit one of the fingers hard, but the figure didn't relent. He dropped like a rock, figuring that maybe his weight would take them off guard, but they countered with a sharp kick to his groin. He crumpled and saw stars. He heard them pick up his useless knife and struggled to move, but he hadn't yet caught his breath.

He heard the cut more than he felt it, right into his belly. The figure twisted the handle. Demyx tried to scream but the shock had paralyzed him; he could only exhale sharply.

He was forced onto his back. The figure grabbed at his face. Demyx could only see the maw of the black hood. The figure pulled back his eyelids, took a good look, yanked out the knife, and was gone.

For a moment he lay on his side. Blood spooled out of him, quickly diluted by the rain. He struggled to sit up. He had to yell, to make some sort of noise; he couldn't breathe. The rain seemed squiggly and the wound inside him burned. He sat up and immediately fell as pain crashed through him.

He wasn't going to die like this. He refused.

Darkness encroached his vision and he saw another blur, in violet, coming towards him. He started shivering. He tried to call for help but was too busy passing out.

Trembling and feverishness all over. The room was blurry and dim. Something sticky and cool clung to his chest and side. His head pounded.

He must have slipped in and out of consciousness. Shadows came into the room and left. He couldn't see well.

A memory smoothly unfurled. "Don't go." His own voice, to his mother, her lying there still in the bed. The air was freezing; a storm was coming. The water looked green. He was on some sort of boat, up high, looking down when the first shadow climbed across the horizon—

The stickiness on his body smelled like menthol. He couldn't focus his eyes but he could see now at least a little. The room was warm in color, dim, and a fire burned in a fireplace at the corner. A brown-haired figure hummed a little tune as she did something at a cabinet against the wall.

He tried to speak. His mouth was so dry. "…Aerith?"

Her head snapped up and she rushed over. "You're awake," she said. She checked his pulse.

"What… what…"

"Don't speak. I'm so glad Yuffie found you when she did…"

He felt like he'd been hit by a freight train. A gummy cloth clung to practically his whole torso. Rain still pattered against the roof. "What day is it?"

"It's only been about twenty-four hours."

"…Really?" He lay still. She poked at the gummy cloth. "What happened?" He vaguely remembered—the shadow, his own knife.

"A Heartless hurt you pretty badly. There's a new pureblood that's very stealthy. It poisoned you."

"…Heartless?"

"It punctured your side." He tried to sit up; she pushed him back down. "I only just was able to remove the poison."

"No, it wasn't a Heartless, it was… something else… A person. I saw them." He clutched at her sleeve.

"One of the symptoms of the poison is hallucinations. You more than likely made that up." She smiled.

"No." That couldn't be true. "No, I didn't. I swear. They—they stabbed me with my own knife—" So much for not being able to be poisoned. No wonder he'd been able to get drunk so easily.

"Your weapon was in its holster when Yuffie found you." She pointed to a small night table, where the holster lay on top of his shirt and jacket. "It happens. You're not the first person that thing attacked. How do you feel?"

Demyx half believed her. The fight already was distant and faded. He'd only seen the shadow… the maw of the head… how could he be sure…

He knew that beading and those zippers anywhere.

"My head is killing me."

"I'd be surprised if it didn't. Like a bad hangover, right?"

He shook his head dismissively. "What's this green stuff?"

"It's a healing tissue. I couldn't help but take a crack at those scars. I hope you don't mind. It seemed to help at least a little."

He wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"I can probably take it off, actually. I know it's not that pleasant." She pulled at an end of the cloth and helped him sit up. It sounded sticky and wet when it came off his skin and made him shudder. "I know you must feel sick, but you healed well." Most of the stuff was off of him, other than a patch stuck to his side. "Not all patients are so good."

"Or so unconscious."

She shrugged. "How has this rain been treating you?"

"Well, other than getting stabbed—" She yanked at the patch and it came off painfully, causing him to swear.

"The medicine in this tends to fuse with the skin. Nobody likes it," she explained.

He looked at his side, amazed to find no wound, only a red patch. "This healing stuff sure is complicated. Aren't you supposed to just cast Cure and be done?" He remembered his weeks and weeks of recovery, and how he'd always felt like they were dragging it out.

"Cure is nothing but a temporary metabolic boost that'll make the tissue grow back without treating anything. You can get into real trouble that way. Not to mention, get into a serious caloric deficit." She handed him a glass of water. She'd put the green stuff back into a glass jar full of iridescent liquid. "I'm afraid I couldn't do much for these after all." She poked gently at some of the scars.

"It's… all right." He wished he had something to put on to cover himself up. At least she'd left on his underwear.

"You really have been through a lot," she said lightly.

"I guess so." He looked into the glass of water, which shimmered slightly in the poor lighting. "Aerith, how did you know you wanted to fight back?"

She thought about this, twisting the end of her braid. "I never really had any other option. I was… very young when this world fell. It impacted every part of me. I want to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"Is that why you took up healing?"

"Maybe." She drifted in thought for a moment. "I know it must feel different for you and the others."

He laughed awkwardly, sending a spasm of pain through his side. "Well. Some of this mess is our fault. How can we not clean it up?"

""We"? Or "I"?"

Demyx shrugged.

She stood. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll tell everyone that you're okay."